The Case of the Lambeth Mission Fund

It was the third Sunday of October 1893 when the Reverend Tresham of St Anne's, Lambeth, sent his churchwarden up to Baker Street between matins and luncheon.

"The mission-school fund, Mr Holmes - twelve months' subscription, raised by my curate Mr Trevallion. Eight hundred and forty pounds counted at last quarter's close; four hundred pounds short upon the auditor's count this morning. The architect is to be paid on Monday at noon. My curate cannot account for the deficit; he has confessed to taking it himself. He is my own nephew. He has not the look of a man who would do this thing."

We took a hansom across the river. At the gate of the parish church a flower-seller's barrow had been set against the railings, the woman missing a front upper-left tooth and her sing-song carrying down the lane: "violets, two pence the bunch, fresh this morning." The vestry was small and panelled, the books open upon a deal table; the curate sat with his head in his hands; the parish treasurer, Mr Sangster, stood at the window with a businessman's anxious composure.

The Scene

Hand-drawn case map for The Case of the Lambeth Mission Fund, showing St Anne's church, Lambeth - the vestry. — The ground in question.

Setting: St Anne's church, Lambeth - the vestry
Time: Sunday late morning, third Sunday of October 1893
Weather: Damp; a Sunday quiet on the river; bells from across the lane
Atmosphere: A small panelled vestry; deal table strewn with subscription-books; a black gown on the peg; the smell of beeswax and Sunday's incense.

The Suspects

Mr Trevallion

Curate, the rector's nephew, the confessor

A pale, slight young man of twenty-eight, the rector's nephew and a curate of three years' service. He had walked the parish with his subscription-book through the year and held the daily charge of the mission fund. He had confessed to the diversion before luncheon; he could not say where the money was.
Mr Sangster

Parish treasurer, fifteen years; a City man of business

A broad, prosperous man of fifty-five, in his City life a director of a small private bank. The treasurer of the parish for fifteen years, and the curate's uncle by his late wife.
Miss Hatton

Sunday-school superintendent; the curate's fiancée

A composed, quiet woman of twenty-five, the curate's fiancée, who had assisted Mr Trevallion at the parish-rounds through the year and knew the fund's progress to the shilling.
Mr Banks

Verger, twenty years

A heavy, slow man of sixty, who held the second key to the vestry's small safe. He had been at the parish all his working life and had no other living than what his pension and verger's pay set him.

The Evidence

Mr Trevallion's confession

The curate's confession was made to his uncle the rector at half past ten this morning. It was full of grief and meagre of detail; he could give no account of where the money was nor of what had been done with it.
The cheque-stubs

The fund's cheque-book held thirty-two stubs across the year. Each draft had been signed by Mr Trevallion and counter-signed by Mr Sangster as the parish treasurer's office required. The drafts ran in regular weekly amounts to the architect's progress-payments and to subscriptions returned.
Mr Sangster's private papers

Holmes asked, with the rector's permission, for a sight of the parish treasurer's private papers in his desk at the vestry. There he found a folded letter dated August: a Cape Town merchant's circular invitation to subscribe to a colonial gold-mining venture, and Mr Sangster's pencilled note in the margin - "£400 by Michaelmas - to be replaced from senior fees."
Miss Hatton's parish-book

Miss Hatton's own parish-book, kept in her hand and signed by each subscriber, agreed to the penny with Mr Trevallion's running total at the close of every month.
The verger's keys

Mr Banks's second key to the vestry's small safe had hung on a chain at his waistcoat through the year. He had not opened the safe alone in thirty years; the parish had no record of any unauthorised access.

Statements & Testimony

Mr Trevallion Partial

Curate; confessor

“"I - I have erred, sir. I cannot say more. The fund is short and I have signed the cheques. My uncle has been kind to me these years and I would not have him see this from any other man's mouth. The money - the money is gone."”
Miss Hatton Reliable

Sunday-school superintendent; the curate's fiancée

“"My book agreed to the penny with my Trevallion's at September, sir. He brought every shilling home to me each Saturday evening. I cannot believe he has taken so much as a sovereign of this fund - whatever he may say of himself this morning, the man I know did not do this thing."”

The Scene

The Suspects

The Evidence

Mr Trevallion's confession

The cheque-stubs

Mr Sangster's private papers

Miss Hatton's parish-book

The verger's keys

Statements & Testimony

Your Verdict