The Vanishing Solicitor of Gray's Inn

A solicitor leaves his lodgings at a quarter past nine and never reaches his chambers. A letter arrives from the Continent in his own hand - and it rings false.

“Holmes returns”
Sidney Paget · The Strand Magazine, October 1903 · Public Domain

Section I

The Scene

Setting: Mr Edgar Chenery's chambers in Gray's Inn; his lodgings in Doughty Street; a small public-house in Theobald's Road
Time: Friday afternoon and evening, 2 November 1895
Weather: A cold, wet day, the lamps lit by four o'clock
Atmosphere: The hush of the Inns of Court at the year's turn; the smell of damp greatcoats; the rain on the pavements outside Doughty Street.

The rest of the edition is reserved.

Sign in with Google to read the rest.

Today’s case is free for every reader. Back issues open with a free Google sign-in, limited to three archive reads each calendar month. Strand subscribers may roam the full archive at will.