The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories Part II (34 page)

JENNY: Sorry sir. It won't happen again, sir. I'll get back to work.

SMITH: You'll do nothing of the sort.

JENNY: Sir?

Cut to:

SCENE 8. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

Small, homely. Perhaps an unobtrusive clock ticks, sedately.

Smith is pouring a cup of tea.

SMITH: Sugar?

JENNY: Sir?

SMITH: Do you take sugar?

JENNY: No, sir, no thank you.

SMITH: Very well. Mr. Holmes, kindly pass over that plate of biscuits, would you?

Holmes is a little nonplussed by all of this. It makes him uncomfortable.

HOLMES: Yes, of course. Here.

He passes over the plate.

I should be going.

SMITH: No, I think perhaps you should stay.

Something in Smith's voice makes Holmes change his mind.

HOLMES: Very well.

SMITH: Excellent. Now - I am Nathaniel Collington Smith and this gentleman is Mr. Sherlock Holmes. And you are...?

JENNY: Jenny, sir. Jenny Snell.

SMITH: Drink your tea, Miss Snell.

JENNY: I shouldn't be in here. If Miss McCarthy finds out...

SMITH: You may safely leave Miss McCarthy to me. Drink your tea, then Mr. Holmes will pour you some more and you can tell us what's wrong.

JENNY: (
Relaxing
) Yes sir. Thank you, sir.

She drinks, gratefully.

Cut to:

SCENE 9. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.

HOLMES: That was typical of the man. She wasn't a servant to him, just a soul in distress.

WATSON: What was the matter with the girl? Obviously, it was nothing trivial.

HOLMES: How do you know that?

WATSON: If it were, you would hardly be telling me about it, would you? When do we get to the Guttridges of Cripplegate Square?

HOLMES: Patience, Doctor. Let the tale unfold at its own pace.

Cut to:

SCENE 10. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

Jenny takes another gulp of her tea.

She puts down the cup.

SMITH: That's better. Now, Miss Snell. What is it that's so upset you?

JENNY: I... can't tell you.

HOLMES: Is it something to do with your other job?

JENNY: How did you know about that?

HOLMES: I've observed you once or twice arriving here in the evenings as I was leaving. You always come wearing some sort of uniform. Obviously, you have other employment during the day.

JENNY: I'm a nursemaid. Well, not really a nursemaid. Just a sort of cleaner really. Like here. (
Panicky again
) Look, I've got to go.

She stands.

SMITH: Miss Smith, please try to stay calm.

JENNY: If anyone finds out...

SMITH: No-one will learn anything from me. And my young friend here is the very soul of discretion. Do you know what a detective is?

JENNY: I think so, sir.

SMITH: Well you're looking at one. Guardian of secrets, seeker out of truths.

JENNY: Oh.

SMITH: Now please - sit down, compose yourself and tell us what's wrong. You must not fear.

Cut to:

SCENE 11. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.

HOLMES: He had an almost hypnotic way with her. I'd never seen anything like it before.

WATSON: What was her story?

HOLMES: At first it seemed nothing. Just an oversensitive reaction.

Cut to:

SCENE 12. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM

JENNY: During the day I work at Guttridge's Private Orphanage in Clerkenwell. Have you heard of it?

SMITH: No.

JENNY: Mrs. Guttridge she's the owner. She takes in babies.

HOLMES: Orphans, presumably.

JENNY: No, sir, not orphans though most of them might as well be.

HOLMES: Then what?

SMITH: Unwanted children, Mr. Holmes.

HOLMES: Unwanted? For what reason?

SMITH: There are many. Cost, space, social stigma, general encumbrance.

HOLMES: Good God.

SMITH: Something else they didn't teach you at university?

HOLMES: (
Absorbing the idea
) Yes...

JENNY: Anyway, the women bring their babies to Mrs. Guttridge, and she takes them in.

HOLMES: So she's a philanthropist.

SMITH: I think you'll find that money changes hands.

HOLMES: Ah.

Cut to:

SCENE 13. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.

WATSON: (
Distaste
) Baby-farming. You're talking about baby-farming.

HOLMES: The concept was totally new to me then. It was quite a shock.

WATSON: It's a shocking practice.

HOLMES: No, I mean it was a shock realising how little I actually knew of life. A valuable lesson.

WATSON: Yes, I'm sure it must have been. (
A moment
) So - this girl Jenny worked for a baby–farmer.

HOLMES: Yes.

Cut to:

SCENE 14. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

JENNY: The women pay so much a week. Or sometimes, they just make one... donation.

HOLMES: And what happens to the children?

JENNY: Mrs. Guttridge looks after them until they're older. Then she finds people to take them.

HOLMES: I see. And something has happened to upset this arrangement?

JENNY: Yes sir.

SMITH: Something connected with Mrs. Guttridge?

JENNY: No, sir, not her. It's her husband. He's a nasty piece of work, sir, though I shouldn't say so.

Cut to:

SCENE 15. INT. THE MEDICINE ROOM, THE GUTTRIDGE HOUSE.

GUTTRIDGE: (
Very sharp
) Get out of here, girl. You've no business in here.

JENNY: Please sir, Mrs. Guttridge sent me to fetch some iodine, sir.

GUTTRIDGE: Iodine?

JENNY: Yes sir.

GUTTRIDGE: Very well.

Glass bottles clink as he takes one from a shelf.

You fetched this yourself, do you understand? I was not here.

He hands it over.

JENNY: Very good sir. Thank you sir.

GUTTRIDGE: Tell her otherwise and I'll see you're dismissed. Now go.

Jenny rustles away.

Cut to:

SCENE 16. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

HOLMES: Where did this conversation take place?

JENNY: In one of the store rooms, sir. Where the medicines and things are kept.

HOLMES: Interesting.

SMITH: Go on with your story, Jenny. Surely you're not so upset just because someone told you off?

JENNY: If I was, I'd always be crying, sir. No, it's more than that.

HOLMES: Give us the facts.

JENNY: Well... I'm not sure I can. Not real facts, like.

HOLMES: Without the facts, how can we help you?

JENNY: Well... (
She trails off
)

SMITH: There's more to life than cold facts, Mr. Holmes. Jenny, suppose you tell us this in your own way?

JENNY: Yes, sir. Well, there's something wrong in that house. Something very wrong. If it was just Mrs. Guttridge, everything would be so different...

HOLMES: But it's her husband who causes you this alarm.

JENNY: He hates them, sir. The poor little babies. He hates them!

Cut to:

SCENE 17. INT. THE PARLOUR, THE GUTTRIDGE HOUSE.

From a nearby room, three babies cry, noisily, insistently.

GUTTRIDGE: (
Wearily
) For the love of God. Can't you shut them up?

JENNY: Some of them are sick, sir.

GUTTRIDGE: Again?

JENNY: Mistress says they'll be over it soon.

GUTTRIDGE: Why she has to devote her life to this, I cannot tell.

JENNY: She says they need her, sir. They need her.

Cut to:

SCENE 18. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.

WATSON: She was a rare woman. Most of them are only interested in the money. The babies come a very poor second.

HOLMES: You speak from experience?

WATSON: Indirectly. These people are supposed to be registered. Local doctors carry out regular checks. The stories I've heard...

HOLMES: Perhaps this one will be different.

WATSON: I hope it is.

Cut to:

SCENE 19. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

JENNY: Mr. Guttridge's always complaining about the children, about his wife, everything.

HOLMES: And yet he helps her run the orphanage?

JENNY: Yes, sir. In some ways... in some ways he's just a quiet little man. He does whatever his wife tells him to. He only moans about things when she isn't there. (
She realises how relaxed she's become
) I shouldn't be talking about him like this. Promise me you won't tell! Please!

SMITH: We've already promised. Have no fears.

JENNY: I'll try, sir.

SMITH: That's the way. Well, Jenny - a husband who complains about his wife. I'm afraid that's something that goes on in a good few households, West End as well as East. Something else has happened, hasn't it? Something more serious.

JENNY: Yes. Yes it has.

Cut to:

SCENE 20. INT. A BEDROOM, THE GUTTRIDGE HOUSE.

A large room with many cots.

The babies are quiet. Gentle snores, snuffles, sleeping–noises.

Jenny is checking one particular cot.

JENNY: (
Approaching
) There, that's good. That's nice. (
Very low
) He'll have nothing to moan about now, will he, the old misery? (
Closer
) Feeling better, now, are you? Are you?

The baby is not moving. A long moment.

Oh no. No. Please, no...

She runs out.

Cut to:

SCENE 21. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

HOLMES: (
Matter–of–factly
) How many of them were dead?

JENNY: (
Very upset
) Three. The three who'd been sick. And sir - (
low
) This was the day after I saw Mr. Guttridge messing about with the medicines. The very next day.

SMITH: Ah.

JENNY: As God's in his heaven, sirs. I... I think he killed them.

Cut to:

SCENE 22. INT. THE SITTING ROOM, 221b BAKER STREET.

WATSON: It wouldn't be the first time, I'm afraid. Were the babies insured?

HOLMES: As usual, you cut straight to the heart of the matter. Yes, they were.

WATSON: Was there a doctor's report?

HOLMES: Mrs. Guttridge did everything by the letter of the law. The doctor was sent for straight away.

WATSON: And?

HOLMES: “No obvious cause of death”.

WATSON: It may not have been the most rigorous examination. Those East End practices are desperately overworked.

HOLMES: And some of the doctors there are not above taking money to turn a blind eye.

WATSON: That is a disgusting suggestion.

HOLMES: Which you know full well to be true. Every barrel has its rotten apples, Watson. It will always be so.

WATSON: (
Reluctantly
) Yes, I'm afraid you're right. (
A moment
) I take it you investigated this Guttridge man, then? Was it your first murder case?

HOLMES: Actually, I was reluctant to get involved.

Cut to:

SCENE 23. INT. SMITH'S OFFICE, THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

HOLMES: You must go to the police.

JENNY: The police! I can't! Don't you know what happens to servants who criticise their masters, sir? I'd be out on my ear and no character. Then what would happen to me?

HOLMES: You have your job here.

JENNY: Four hours work at fivepence a night? Could you live on that?

SMITH: No, he couldn't. I understand your problem, my dear.

JENNY: (
Very fearful
) There's something else, sir. Something I haven't said.

SMITH: And what is that?

HOLMES: She's afraid that Guttridge knows of her suspicions.

JENNY: That's it, sir. He knows I saw him doing it - whatever it was. With the medicines.

HOLMES: When was this?

JENNY: Five days ago.

SMITH: Have you been in to work there since?

JENNY: Every day. I'd get the elbow otherwise.

HOLMES: You are a very brave young woman.

JENNY: Brave? Not me, sir. I've been terrified, I tell you straight.

HOLMES: Has Mr. Guttridge said anything to you? Or done anything suspicious?

JENNY: No. But I've kept away from him best I could.

SMITH: Very sensible of you. (
A moment
) My young friend here will look into the matter.

JENNY: (
Gratefully
) Oh, sir...

HOLMES: Smith?

JENNY: I'm ever so grateful, sir. I had to tell someone - I'm glad it was you.

Cut to:

SCENE 24. EXT. OUTSIDE THE BRITISH MUSEUM. NIGHT.

Quiet traffic, pedestrians.

SMITH: (
Deep breath
) Another fine night.

HOLMES: Why did you say that to the girl?

SMITH: My dear Mr. Holmes, surely you found the story... interesting?

HOLMES: Of course. The girl is observant and intelligent, and her suspicions are probably correct.

SMITH: And she appears to have great faith in your ability to help her. Which I share.

HOLMES: Thank you. But the fact remains I don't see what on earth I can do.

SMITH: You can stir yourself out from behind your books and look into the real world for a change. What sort of detective turns his back on a possible murder case?

HOLMES: I can hardly march up to this woman's... establishment and tell her I'm investigating three suspicious deaths.

SMITH: Of course you can't. But there are other ways. Put that brain of yours to use.