Sherlock Holmes (ACD): Fanfic: The Man with the Gold Tooth

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Title: The Man with the Gold Tooth
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: G
Length: 997
Summary: Esme works for Mycroft Holmes in a house he runs for government business, and when Sherlock Holmes arrives one morning she has an important role to play.

At about 11 o’clock in the morning, Esme heard someone knocking at the front door.  Since Young, the butler, was out, she opened it, to see a clergyman standing on the doorstep.

“Good morning, Reverend,” she said.  “Please come in.”  As soon as she had shut the front door, she added, “Would you like some coffee, Mr Holmes?”

Sherlock Holmes gave a bark of laughter.  “Are my disguises becoming so obvious now?”

“Oh no.  Your brother warned me to expect you, so I have been looking at all our visitors this morning.”

“Have there been many, apart from myself?”

“Only the butcher, who I have met before, and a gentleman with a gold tooth.”

Holmes had been walking towards the drawing room but stopped suddenly.  “What did the man with the gold tooth want?”

“He asked if Mr Holmes, that is Mr Mycroft Holmes, was here, and when I replied he was not, the gentleman left me a note to deliver to him on his arrival.  Would you like to see it?”

“Yes.  If this man is who I think he is, then things are moving faster than I had expected.”  Holmes thought and then said, “I may need you to take a message.  Can you fetch your coat and hat while I read the note?”

“Certainly.”

By the time Esme had returned wearing her hat and coat, Holmes was waiting for her.  “When you leave here,” he said, “walk down to Pall Mall.  Walk briskly, as if you are on an errand, but don’t look as if you are in a particular hurry.  From there, take a cab to Whitehall.  I have written the exact address on the envelope.  Once in the building say you have a message for the man of the day, and you will receive further instructions.  Does that make sense?”

Esme nodded.  “Yes, Mr Holmes.”

Esme went out and did as Holmes had told her.  Fortunately, she was able to hail a cab almost as soon as she reached Pall Mall, so it was not long before she was in Whitehall.  She entered the government building slightly nervously and as she did so, she spotted the man with the gold tooth she had seen earlier.

Within the house on St James Street there was always a password, which changed every day, so when a man in uniform approached her and said, “Good morning, miss.  How can I help you?” she replied confidently, “I have a message for Mr Humphrey Whittingham.”

“Certainly, miss.  Come this way.”

The man set off up the stairs at a quick pace, and Esme was forced to almost run to keep up with him.  He showed her into a small office, saying, “Mr Whittingham will be with you shortly.”

A few minutes later, Mycroft Holmes came into the office, looking as though he had walked faster than his usual measured rate.

“Mr Holmes, your brother sent me with this message,” Esme said.  She handed it over.

Mycroft read the note and then looked at her.  “There’s more, isn’t there?  You asked specifically for Humphrey Whittingham.”

“Yes, sir.  I hope I did the right thing.  When I arrived here, the gentleman with the gold tooth was standing outside.  I’m not sure whether he saw me come in, but I had a feeling he was waiting for someone.”

“Fortunately, I believe we have outwitted them this time.  He would be expecting possibly Young, but definitely he would not imagine my brother to have entrusted you with this errand.”  Mycroft paused, before adding, “However, we do not have much time to lose.  Wait here for the moment, I will return when I can.”

Esme waited for about fifteen minutes before Mycroft returned.  “The gentleman in question has left his post, no doubt to call upon me again at the house.  We will take a cab back, but I must ask you to walk the last part of the journey so it will appear that you have completed your errand on foot.”

“Of course, Mr Holmes.”

Once the cab had dropped Esme off in the street parallel to St James Street, she waited for it to depart, before walking briskly back to the house.  By the time she had the house in sight, she saw the cab was already driving away.  She also saw the gentleman with the gold tooth knock on the front door, and Young answer.  Accordingly, she slipped in through the back door.

She reached the main part of the house just in time to hear Mycroft Holmes say, “We thank you for your kind offer, but on this occasion do not see the need to take you up on it.”

“Really, Mr Holmes, and what makes you so sure of that?”

“We have already spoken to your associate, who was persuaded to make the exchange on your behalf.”

It sounded to Esme as if the other man almost growled, but then she heard his footsteps heading towards the front door, and Mycroft called out, “I believe the gentleman is leaving, Young.  Could you bring his hat for him.”  The door was opened and shut, and then Mycroft added, “If lunch is ready, I’d be grateful if you could serve it now.  I have a busy afternoon ahead of me.”

“Certainly, sir.”

Esme hurried to help Young serve lunch and was rewarded by hearing Mycroft Holmes thanking his brother for sending her with the message, which had confirmed where the associate could be found.  The additional time the man with the gold tooth had spent waiting to spot the messenger, before concluding one was not coming, had been sufficient for Mycroft to send an officer to intercept this associate.

“All in all,” Mycroft said, “it was a very good morning’s work.”

“It’s not the last we shall see of him, I don’t suppose,” Holmes replied.

“No, he’ll be back.  And with any luck, next time we’ll have sufficient evidence to arrest not just him, but those he’s working for.”