The Black Phantom

By Annette Siketa

Is there any truth to a family legend, or are a series of murders more 'down to earth'?  Holmes must use all his ingenuity to unmask an obscure killer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Annette Siketa
• Release date: Mar 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215448090

Annette Siketa

For those of you who have not yet made my acquaintance, my name is Annette Siketa, and I am totally blind. Were you aware that most blind and visually impaired people are extraordinarily perceptive? To sighted people, this ability must seem like ESP, and I suppose to a certain extent, it is. (I'm referring to the literal meaning of Extra Sensory Perception, not the spooky interpretation.) To compensate for the lack of vision, the brain and the other four senses become sharper, so that we can discern a smell or the identity of an object. I promise you there's no trickery involved. It's simply a matter of adapting the body to ‘think’ in another way.Being blind is no barrier to creativity. Like most things in this world, life is what you make of it, and after losing my sight due to an eye operation that went terribly wrong, I became a writer, and have now produced a wide variety of books and short stories, primarily of the ghost/supernatural/things that go bump in the night genre.So, how does a blind person write a book? On the practical side, I use a text-to-speech program called ‘Jaws’, which enables me to use and navigate around a computer, including the Internet, with considerable ease. Information on Jaws can be found at www.freedomscientific.comOn the creative side...well, that’s a little more difficult to explain. Try this experiment. Put on your favourite movie and watch it blindfolded. As you already ‘know’ the movie – who does what where & when etc, your mind compensates for the lack of visualisation by filling in the ‘blanks’. Now try it with something you’ve never seen before, even the six o'clock news. Not so easy to fill in the blanks now is it?By this point you’re probably going bonkers with frustration – hee hee, welcome to my world! Do not remove the blindfold. Instead, allow your imagination to compensate for the lack of visualization, and this will give you an idea of how I create my stories. Oh, if only Steven Spielberg could read my mind.

Book preview

Foreword.

It is a common belief that someone who is insane is identifiable by their actions.  For example, a woman running around with a carving knife and screaming at the top of her lungs would be considered a lunatic.  And yet this perception is not always correct.  Perhaps the woman was suffering from brain fever, or was so enraged that she had momentarily lost all reason, in which case she would be regarded as temporarily deranged.

But more often than not, the genuinely insane are not raving lunatics.  They can be calm and rational and well behaved, and this is where the paradox lies, for behind the façade of normality is a person capable of unspeakable acts.

I mention this as a prelude to the last case in this volume, because it is precisely this ‘double personality’ that had everyone fooled, including the man whose power of perception is marvellous to behold - Sherlock Holmes.

Chapter 1.  The Case.

––––––––

I had spent the evening with several old friends, and the congenial company – not to mention the abundant whiskey and cigars, had seen me return to Baker Street in the 'wee small hours'.  As a consequence, by the time I came down to breakfast the next morning, Holmes had already devoured two boiled eggs and the contents of several newspapers.

Anything interesting? asked I, sitting at the table.

Yes, the eggs are overdone.  I suspect they were boiled nearer five minutes than three and a half.

I meant in the newspaper, I said rather grumpily.  Holmes could be infuriatingly precise at times, and my mood did not improve when, upon receipt of my own breakfast, I removed the top of the boiled egg to find that the yolk was hard.

Not especially, he continued, discarding the newspaper and opening up another.  "Life is infinitely stranger than anything the mind of man can invent.  If we could fly over the city, remove the roofs and peep at the queer things that are going on, the strange coincidences, the plans, the cross-purposes, the chains of events, it would make every fictional story stale and redundant.

In my opinion, most reported cases are absurdly censored.  Journalists place more emphasis upon the platitudes of the magistrate than upon the details, which contain the essence of the matter.  Depend upon it, there is nothing so unnatural as the commonplace.

I can quite understand your thinking so.  You are often brought into contact with the strange and the bizarre.  But really, some cases are ridiculously predictable.

Oh?  Would you care to put it to the test?  He put down the newspaper he was reading and picked up a discarded one.  He turned to page five and folded it so that only a single headline was visible.  ‘Husband’s Cruelty Exposed’.  Now, what can you make of that? he asked.

I should say that a drunken husband beat his wife when she discovered he was having an affair.

Sherlock Holmes burst out laughing.  Upon my word, Watson, it is you who are predictable.  I could have written your answer on a piece of paper before you had uttered it.  This is the Dundas divorce case.  The husband is a teetotaller, and no woman has been named as co-respondent.

So, what was the cruelty?

He had developed the habit of removing his false teeth after dinner and hurling them at his wife.  I think you will agree it is an action not likely to maintain marital bliss. 

We were interrupted at this point by the arrival of Inspector Lestrade.  We had not seen our old friend for some time, and whilst his greeting was affable enough, I saw at once that he was labouring under a great strain.

Holmes also perceived the Inspector's demeanour.  I take it from your troubled expression that you have a problem.

Lestrade sat on the sofa and began absently twirling his hat.  Are you doing anything in particular at the moment? he asked.

No.  I have a few cases on hand but nothing that can’t wait.  Why do you ask?

I’m just on my way to a place called Chaddie Hill in Essex.  I was called in there last week to investigate the murder of a local bigwig named William Webber, but the case is not as straightforward as it seems.

And you want my help?

Lestrade was a good detective, and it was not often that he sought direct assistance from Holmes.  He therefore looked a little embarrassed as he replied, Yes.  The inquest is today, and I thought you might find the case interesting.

Webber? repeated Holmes thoughtfully.  I believe I read something about it in the newspaper.  Strangled wasn’t he?

Yes, but he wasn’t the only one.  Chadwick Hall has a bloody past, and the whole area is steeped in a local legend, and...  Lestrade broke off and looked at the clock on the mantelpiece.  Look here, Holmes, would you mind if we discussed it on the train?  It leaves in fifteen minutes, and the story behind the murder is quite involved.

Though I was smarting from my earlier failure to prove my point, I set aside my foolish pride and asked, Would you mind if I accompany you? 

What about your boiled eggs? said Holmes, who was already donning his coat and hat.

I grinned as I shoved them into a pocket.  If need be, I’ll use them as weapons.

––––––––

We took a cab to Paddington Station and were soon speeding out of London.  Lestrade sounded rather despondent as he said, The public don’t know half the effort that goes into an investigation.  Most think that the police don’t have a clue and are just wasting time.

And yet, said Holmes, it is attention to detail that gets results.  Now, give me all the facts in the case.

Lestrade loosened his coat and lit a cigarette.  "The first point is that Chaddie is the diminutive of Chadwick.  The whole area was once owned by the Chadwick family, who were gifted it by Charles the first.  There were the usual assortment of good lords, bad lords, and lords that were done to death, but eventually, the family died out and the property – now greatly reduced in size, made its way into the Fielding family.

"I will set them aside for the present and concentrate on William Webber.  Now, the beginning of this case lies