- Holmes is called to a manor house to investigate the brutal murder of a country lord with a fireplace poker and reconcile the story of his bruised and battered wife with the facts.
- Inspector Hopkins invites Holmes to assist him in solving the brutal murder of Lord Brackenstall with a fireplace poker at his country estate. According to his bruised and battered wife, her husband was a secret alcoholic who kept his drinking discreetly hidden. On the night in question, she alleges that her house was invaded by a locally notorious thief and his two larcenous sons, who bound her, stole the family silver, bludgeoned her husband to death, and calmly helped themselves to some port wine. Lady Brackenstall denies that the obvious bruising on her face and hands are connected to the murder. When something about the three wine glasses used by the perpetrators bothers Holmes, his mind begins to move in a new direction.—duke1029
- Holmes is urgently called to Abbey Grange in Kent at the request of Inspector Hopkins. Sir Eustace Brackenstall has been murdered. However, Lady Brackenstall was a witness to proceedings and from her testimony the case seems cut and dried - a notorious gang of thieves was responsible.—grantss
- Sherlock Holmes is summoned in the middle of the night by Inspector Hopkins to assist in a case. When Homes and Dr. Watson arrive at Abbey Grange, they learn that Sir Eustace Brackenstall has been bludgeoned to death, apparently with a fireplace poker. Lady Brackenstall recounts to them that the previous evening, she was checking that the house was secure before retiring for the night. She found a door off the dining room open and was confronted by an intruder. When she awoke, she was tied to a chair and her husband was lying on the floor in the dining room as the police subsequently found him. Holmes in convinced that Lady Brackenstall is concealing the identity of the attacker and sets about to learn why. The solution is found when Holmes solves the death of a family pet named Fudge and the mystery presented by a glass of port.—garykmcd
- Holmes wakes Doctor Watson up early one winter morning to rush to a murder scene at the Abbey Grange near Chislehurst. Sir Eustace Brackenstall (Conrad Phillips) has been killed, apparently by burglars. Inspector Stanley Hopkins (Paul Williamson) believes that it was the infamous Randall gang, a father and two sons, who have committed several other burglaries in the neighborhood. Holmes and Watson arrive at Abbey Grange, where Lady Mary Brackenstall (Anne-Louise Lambert) is resting with a purple swelling over one eye, the result of a blow during the previous night's incident. There are also two red spots on her arm. Her maid, Theresa Wright (Zulema Dene), who has been with her mistress since she was born, later tells Holmes that Sir Eustace stabbed her with a hatpin.
Lady Brackenstall tells Holmes that her marriage was not happy. Sir Eustace Brackenstall was a violent, abusive drunkard. Moreover, Lady Brackenstall found it hard to adjust to life in England after the freedom that she enjoyed in her native Australia, which she left 18 months before. She had been married for about a year. She then tells what happened. She says that about 11 o'clock, she walked around the house to check it was secure before going to a bed. In the dining room, she encountered an elderly man coming in the French window, followed by two younger men. The older man struck her in the face, knocking her out. When she came to, she was tied to an oaken chair with the bell rope, which they had torn down, and gagged. Then Sir Eustace came into the room and rushed at the intruders with a cudgel. One of them struck and killed him with a poker. Lady Brackenstall fainted again for a minute or two. She saw the intruders drinking wine from a bottle taken from the sideboard. Then they left, taking some silver plate.
Sir Eustace's body is still lying at the murder scene. The poker has been bent into a curve, suggesting a strong attacker. Hopkins tells Holmes some unsavory things about Sir Eustace: He poured petroleum over his wife's dog and set it alight, and once threw a decanter at Theresa. Theresa says Sir Eustace physically and verbally assaulted his wife, especially when he was drunk. Holmes examines the knots in the bell rope, and the frayed end. He notes that if the bell rope was tugged hard enough to tear it down, the bell would have rung in the kitchen, and asks why nobody heard it. Hopkins answers that it was late, and the kitchen is at the back of the house, where none of the servants would have heard. This suggests that the burglars must have known this, indicating a link between them and one of the servants. Oddly, the thieves did not take much, only a few items of silver plate from dining room. The half-empty wine bottle and glasses interest Holmes. The cork had been drawn with the corkscrew of a "multiplex knife", not the long corkscrew in the drawer, and one of the glasses has bee-swing dregs in it, but the others have none.
Observations Holmes is already annoyed at being called to investigate a case that apparently has a ready-made solution, so he and Watson catch the train back to London. On the way, however, Holmes thinks better of his haste, and pulls Watson off the train at a suburban station, announcing that they are going back to the Abbey Grange. Having mulled things over while on the train, Holmes has reached the following conclusions: The Randall gang was clearly described in the papers, and anyone making up a story about burglars breaking into the house could use the descriptions. Burglars who have recently made off with a rich haul don't usually do another job so soon after. It was an uncommonly early hour for burglars. It is odd that they struck Lady Brackenstall to stop her screaming, as this would most likely start her screaming. It is odd that they resorted to murder when the three of them could have overpowered Sir Eustace. It is odd that they did not ransack the house. It is odd that they didn't drink the entire bottle. Holmes also draws Watson's attention to the wineglasses. The presence of bee-swing in only one indicates that only two people used the glasses; they poured the dregs into the third to make it look as though there were three. Holmes deduces from this that Lady Brackenstall and her maid lied. Upon returning to the Abbey Grange, Holmes climbs on the mantelpiece, examining the severed end of the bell rope, and a bracket upon which he must kneel to reach it. Holmes has now developed the killer's profile: 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) tall, active, dexterous, and quick-witted. He cut the bell rope with a knife, and frayed the loose end to make it look broken. But he could not reach the end still hanging from the ceiling, which is cut clean. Sir Eustace's blood is on the seat of the oaken chair. How could a splatter have landed there if Lady Brackenstall was bound there before her husband's murder? Holmes confronts Lady Brackenstall and Theresa. He tells them he knows they are lying and demands the truth. But Lady Brackenstall stands by her story. On the way out, Holmes notices a hole in the ice on the pond and writes a note for Hopkins.
Conclusion Holmes searches for the killer: almost certainly a sailor (indicated by the knots and the active physique), who was previously acquainted with Lady Brackenstall, and whom she and Theresa would protect. Her only contact with sailors was on her voyage from Australia, and only with the officers of her ship (her social equals). Lady Brackenstall traveled by the Rock of Gibraltar of the Adelaide-Southampton Line, which is now halfway to Australia. However, the ship's first officer, Jack Croker (Oliver Tobias), has been promoted to captain. He has remained in England and in two days will take command of the company's new ship, Bass Rock. His employers describe him as a splendid fellow - hot-headed ashore, "but loyal, honest, and with a kind heart."
Holmes takes a cab to Scotland Yard, but does not go in. He tells Watson he is reluctant to name the criminal to the police until he knows more. That evening, Inspector Hopkins calls at 221B Baker Street, with two items of news. As suggested in Holmes' note, the stolen silver was found at the bottom of the pond. Why should the burglars have put it there? Holmes suggests that the theft was a blind - a deliberate false clue. But Hopkins rationalizes that the pond was chosen as a temporary hiding place. The other news is even more problematic. The Randall gang was arrested in New York that morning, so they couldn't commit a murder in Kent the previous night. But there are other gangs of three burglars; Hopkins will look for them. He asks Holmes if he has any hints to offer. Holmes reminds him of his suggestion of a blind, but Hopkins pays no heed, and leaves. Later that evening, Captain Croker comes to Baker Street, summoned by a telegram from Holmes. Holmes demands a full account of what happened at the Abbey Grange that night. He warns Croker that he has already deduced most of it: if Croker lies or conceals anything, he will summon the police.
Croker met Mary (Lady Brackenstall) on the voyage from Australia. He fell in love with her, but not she with him. He was even pleased to hear of her marriage to a wealthy gentleman. Then he happened to meet Theresa, who told him of Sir Eustace's abusive behavior. He met secretly with Mary at the house; the last time on the previous night. They were in the dining room when Sir Eustace burst in, insulted Mary, and struck her with the cudgel. He then attacked Croker, who killed him with the poker, in self-defense. Croker adds that he has no regret whatever, for he would not leave Mary in "in the power of this madman". To avoid the scandal that could ensue, Croker and Theresa concocted the cover story of burglars caught in the act. He cut down the bell-rope exactly as Holmes deduced; he opened the wine bottle with his pocketknife's corkscrew; he took some silver plate, and dropped it in the pond. Holmes tells Crocker that the police don't yet know the truth, and that he will wait 24 hours before revealing it, allowing Croker to get away. Croker indignantly refuses the offer - he will not leave Mary to "face the music" as an accomplice. He offers to agree to any version of the case that will leave Mary out of it.
But Holmes was only testing him and is impressed by his loyalty to Mary. He has given Hopkins "an excellent hint" and doesn't feel he must do more. He designates Watson as the "jury" and asks him to "render a verdict". Watson declares Croker "Not guilty." Holmes tells Croker he will keep silent unless someone else is charged, and that he may come back to Mary in a year.
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