Canon of The Non-Sacred Writings: Five New Sherlock Holmes Cases

By Richard K. Tobin

As Holmesians are aware, the literary works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are referred to as the Canon of the Sacred Writings. The title of this collection of short stories reflects my desire to belong to the extensive list of authors and fans that want to grow the literary and entertainment history of Sherlock Holmes. In the five short stories, readers will note Holmes' continued mastery of forensic science and logical reasoning as the cornerstones of resolving the thorny issues presented. Holmes' analysis and deductions are the centerpieces of the stories that form this collection. I hope you enjoy your time with Sherlock.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MX Publishing
• Release date: Nov 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781787051287

Book preview

Canon of the Non-Sacred Writings

Five New Sherlock Holmes Cases

By Richard K. Tobin

2017 digital version converted and published by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

First edition published in 2017

© Copyright 2017 Richard K Tobin

The right of Richard K Tobin to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of MX Publishing.

MX Publishing

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Cover design by Brian Belanger

I started writing in my retirement years as I cared for my ailing mother. Her favorite comment to my siblings was ‘Mordecai is taking good care of me’. The pet name was taken from our famous Canadian author Mordecai Richler. I dedicate this book to my mother for her unfailing encouragement and support. May her afterlife be just as wonderful as she believed.

Once a Mountie Always a Mountie

"Yes, you are right, American women are good looking. I found that out by taking short walks around New York when I had a few minutes of unoccupied time.

I learned more respect for your country by walking your streets.

And you are staying three nights you say Mr. Rippa?

The desk clerk Sal, looked at me curiously.

He struck me as part Italian, perhaps some Indian Blood. Regardless, he had a dark complexion. His black hair was plastered to his scalp and swept back in a wave on the right side of his head. I told the desk clerk to just call me Monty. He was the personable sort, asking questions about the nature of my visit and wondering if he could assist me in any way.

I went on. I practice nursing in Canada after 8 years of police work with the Mounties.

Mounties, I am not that sure about what I know of the Mounties.

I said, They are officially known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They are Canada’s official national police coast to coast. I don’t count too much anymore in the RCMP world. I gave it up for the less strenuous life of a nurse. I can now relax some of the time.

A Mountie friend of mine was murdered. I was going to quit my police job and become a nurse but I postponed it in the hope that I could help find the murderer and bring him to justice. Hopefully he would be given a long time in prison. That’s worse than dying in my opinion. After my friend’s murder, I thought of becoming a nurse more seriously.

The desk clerk whose full name was Sal Della Vella said, When I come across a good crime story I will at times send it into one of the local newspapers who do not mind amateurs sending in true crime stories.

As I finished checking in Sal said that he was through for the day if I wanted to meet him in the hotels lounge for a drink. Sal seemed interested in my past work with the RCMP and he was most likely wondering the purpose of my visit to New York.

I replied, Yes, let’s continue our conversation Sal. I will just run my suitcase up to my room first, and come down to join you.

Sal said, I am looking forward to it, and to be truthful I am hoping to hear a crime story or two.

I had to laugh. I was soon sitting across from Sal and we talked easily like old friends. He was attending college in the evenings but he soon switched the conversation back to my short career with the R.C.M.P. I told him my favorite story of that time in my life.

A few months after a friend of mine was murdered, who arrived in Halifax where I was posted but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He had to stop over in Halifax, it not only being the capital city of Nova Scotia, but an excellent seaport as well. It was to be a brief stopover until he continued his journey to New York City.

You may know that Sir Arthur created the famous Detective Sherlock Holmes and not his sidekick and valued friend Dr. Watson."

Sal replied, Yes I have read a couple of them. I read two or three of his mystery stories. They sell on this side of the Atlantic.

I delved into my story. "All the Mounties in Halifax were instructed to ensure that Sir Arthur had a pleasant and uneventful stay in Halifax. He was going to New York, to iron out difficulties with royalty payments with an important American publisher and to sign a new deal of one kind or another. Also, since he had a bit of time he planned to see Halifax and this part of the world. He was even thinking of visiting Toronto and Montreal, two big Canadian cities.

As I learned our inspector and a couple of our top Sergeants were with Sir Arthur for the duration of his visit. His books sold well in Canada and he was considered a celebrity in our part of the world.

As it turned out, the great writer had heard of the murder of my friend. He was always interested when an officer of the law was murdered. Sir Arthur believed that a strong police force would help a city prosper and grow with the citizens feeling safe and secure in a peaceful environment. Feelings of safety and security free a citizenry, leaving them with energy to build and grow their community.

For my part, I knew where he would be having lunch and since the restaurant was on my beat, I timed my foot patrol for as close as I could to lunchtime.

As luck would have it the lunch party arrived by car just as I was no more than twenty feet away. More than one of Sir Arthur’s entourage recognized me, including Sergeant Gibbons."

Surprisingly as we sipped on our drinks Sal turned out to be a good listener. I would try not to disappoint him with my story of how Sir Arthur Conan Doyle helped solve the murder of an RCMP officer in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Sal encouraged the continuation of the story; This is getting very interesting.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his literary agent were set to enjoy a pleasant lunch enjoying East Coast Canada pub culture. I booked off work and I didn’t want the visitors and dignitaries to wonder why I was