Chapter 36

“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.”

-Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Case of Identity

I arrived at the hospital desk to find no one there. I followed the shouting to Tom’s room, where two nurses were trying to stuff Tom back into bed and Debra was trying to mediate. Tom was in full fury, and the only good thing was that the rent-a-cop outside his door was missing.

I tried my best Marine Drill Instructor imitation and shouted, “STOP”.

Everybody paused and stared at me. I walked over to Tom and ordered him to sit down on the bed. He did. Then I asked the hospital personnel to please wait outside while Debra and I sorted things out. They left only when we assured them that Tom would calm down and get back into bed.

As I shut the door behind them, Tom greeted me with a limp wave. “Help me, DD. I’ve got to get out of here.”

He was looking somewhat better. A little of his color had returned, and he was animated. But he didn’t look ready to leave.

“Are they ready to release you?” I asked.

Debra Yates pointed at Tom’s chart at the foot of the bed. “No they’re not, DD. That’s the problem. We’ve all been trying to tell this stubborn man that he can’t just walk out of here. He’s not well enough yet.”

“You don’t understand,” Tom said. “I had a visit this afternoon from Philip Green, that Sherlockian.”

“I saw him at the mansion, and he told me he was going to visit you,” I said.

“DD, he knows about the Grange diary. He’s guessed there are things that haven’t been recorded in the inventory. He didn’t tell me in so many words, but I’m certain he’s going to the Grange Estate in Wisconsin. Remember I told you about it. It’s a huge property that Grange built back in the twenties called The Haven.”

“So let him go there,” Debra said. “What’s the problem?”

“The problem is that I am not going to let Philip Green find those Doyle notes and that manuscript before I do. This is a once in a lifetime find. I must locate that stuff before he does. Those Doyle notes about Jack the Ripper are worth more than anyone can dream of, but it’s not about the money. It’s the find itself. It’s a dream come true. I will not let that egomaniac claim it for himself.”

I sat on his bed. “Tom this isn’t like you. Slow down for a second. Take a deep breath. Let’s analyze this. Do you believe Philip Green was the one who pushed you down the stairs and took the diary?”

“He’s my first choice, DD. I hate to think so, but he seems to know an awful lot, and my guess is that he’s seen that diary. Even if he wasn’t the one who pushed me and has the diary, he knows about it. That means he’ll do anything to get it. He’s an absolutely ruthless collector. If he is the one who took it from me, then he knows everything that I know about the notes and the lost manuscript.”

“What makes you think the notes and the manuscript are at the Grange estate in Wisconsin?”

“Maybe they are and maybe they aren’t. I’ve been over everything at the Chicago mansion, and I didn’t see anywhere else they could be except in that safe that Mrs. Toller mentioned.”

“They could have been in there, but they weren’t. We got it open today.”

“So...Were those numbers I found in the secret compartment a combination for the safe?”

“Yep, but it was totally empty. Ivy Douglas and James Dodd were there, too. They both claimed they had no knowledge of any wall safe in the library. So maybe there’s another secret panel or some other secret hiding place in the mansion that we haven’t discovered yet.”

“That could be true. But I believe that Philip Green thinks he’s exhausted all the hiding places at the mansion, and he’s going to The Haven. And if there’s a possibility the notes and manuscript are there, I can’t let him get them before I do. He’s headed there, I’m sure of it. I’ve got to have a look for myself. I can’t pass up this opportunity. You see that, don’t you? We can’t waste another minute.”

Tom was spiraling, talking louder and faster with each sentence.

“Tom, slow down.” I touched his arm. “Those nurses are going to come back in here again if you don’t.”

“All right,” he said tight lipped. “I’m calm.”

“Let’s assume for a second that you do feel well enough to go there to search. How would you get there? And even if you got there, how would you get in?” I shot the questions at him all the while trying to shoo him back into the bed.

“Getting in there is the least of my problems,” he said as he paced back and forth. “I’m the appraiser. I know they’d give me carte blanche. If they try to stop me, I’ll call Morrison, Morrison and Dodd and get permission from James Dodd or someone else from the firm if I have to. And as for getting there, I was counting on you driving me, DD.”

“Tom, I’ll be glad to take you there, but not tonight. Wait a few days until you feel better. They’re not going to let Philip Green have the run of the place. He’s not the appraiser. He’s got no standing. So the best course is to wait a few more days until you’re really up to the task.”

“Tom, I agree with DD,” Debra Yates said. “You can’t be bouncing around with that fractured collarbone.”

“Listen you two. I’m trying to tell you, I’m going up there tonight - now. Philip Green is a sly one. He’s got a lot of clout with his big international reputation as a Doyle scholar. A few years ago, Green got involved when some Conan Doyle papers that had been missing for 40 years were found in the office of a London legal firm. Can you believe they had a dozen cardboard boxes filled with Doyle’s personal effects and papers? The boxes were filled with correspondence with a lot of famous people and materials relating to Conan Doyle’s involvement in numerous court cases where he believed there had been miscarriages of justice. In the end, Christie’s auctioned off the memorabilia for millions, but Green held up the sale for years with his wrangling over ownership. It was a close thing.”

“No wonder Ivy Douglas wanted him to take a look at all the Sherlock Holmes manuscripts in the estate,” I said.

“She was smart to call him in. He knows everybody, but he’s got a big ego, too. They’ll probably hand him the keys of the kingdom at the Haven when he tries to intimidate them like he tried to intimidate me. Believe me, he can be extremely persuasive when he quotes Doyle and mentions everyone he knows. He’s impressive and very smooth.”

Debra sighed. “See what I mean, DD? I can’t get him to come to his senses.”

“I’m going there tonight, DD - with or without you. Please come. I need you.”

I considered all the options. I’d never seen Tom like this, so driven by ambition and the need for recognition. It wouldn’t do for him to go it alone. If he tried to drive, he’d hurt himself or probably kill some other innocent person on the road. On the other hand, both Karl and Morgan had warned me not to leave Cook County or I’d face consequences. I felt trapped. There was no way out. I took a deep breath and said, “All right. I’ll do it, but against my better judgment.”

“Noted,” Tom said as he struggled to get up.

Tom was having difficulties pulling on his pants but rejected my offer to help.

“This is kind of embarrassing you know,” Tom said, ceasing to wrestle with the pants. “I’m a well known bookseller. I shouldn’t be seen in this position. I’m going to finish dressing in private.”

“Tom,” I said, “you realize you’re finally going to have to tell us what Grange said in the diary.”

“About?”

Debra swore under her breath. “You better remember this part, Tom. We need to know who Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fingered as Jack the Ripper.”

“I didn’t get that far in the diary. That’s another reason why we have to find Doyle’s notes. Don’t you see?”

He grabbed his clothes and hobbled into the bathroom.