The Case of the Bishop's Telegram

Section I

The Scene

Hand-drawn case map for The Case of the Bishop's Telegram, showing The bishop's residence, Westminster. — The ground in question.

Setting: The bishop's residence, Westminster
Time: Friday morning, third Friday of March 1894
Weather: A cold spring; the river-fog low; the cathedral bells at the half-hour
Atmosphere: A bishop's panelled study; tall windows over the cathedral close; a black-bordered diary on the desk; the smell of beeswax and old hymn-books.

Section II

The Suspects

The Reverend Mr Pelham

Bishop's chaplain, recently arrived

A young, reformist clergyman of thirty, two months in the post, with strong views upon colonial missions and a sharp tongue at the chapter-meeting. The bishop had not yet warmed to him.
Mr Spurway

Verger, twenty years

A heavy, slow-spoken man of fifty-five, who had been passed over five years ago for a deputy-vergership at the cathedral. He had a private grievance against the bishop and a patient memory.
Mrs Hatherly

Housekeeper, twelve years

A composed widow of fifty-eight, whose son was a colonial-government clerk in the very territory of the bishop's old indiscretion of '79. The son's preferment was on the line: a small post he had hoped for as senior clerk was due to be filled in May.
The Reverend Mr Pelham (the elder)

Former curate of the bishop, retired in Brighton

A weathered clergyman of seventy, who had served with the bishop in '79 and remembered the matter. He had been at Brighton for ten years and had not been to London in any of the past three years.

Section III

The Evidence

The threatening telegram

The telegram was typewritten on a Post Office form posted from a Westminster office at six o'clock on Thursday. The threat was in plain English; the demand was for two hundred pounds in Bank of England notes by Wednesday's post.
The threatening letter's particulars

The letter that followed the telegram named the colonial post - a junior diocesan secretariat in '79 - and mentioned, in particular, the senior-clerk's appointment due to be filled in May, with the warning that any inquiry following the publication of the matter would close the appointment to anyone of the household's connection.
Mr Spurway's deputy-vergership

The verger's grievance over his passed-over place five years ago was real, but he had not, by the cathedral's testimony, written so much as a complaint to the chapter; he kept his grievance in private and at his hearth.
Mrs Hatherly's son's appointment

Mrs Hatherly's son, Mr Hatherly, was a colonial-government clerk at the very territory of the bishop's '79 indiscretion. His application for the senior clerkship was due to be considered in May. The matter, on enquiry through a friend at the Colonial Office, had hung upon a small private recommendation from the bishop's office which the bishop had not yet given.
The Westminster typewriter

Holmes asked, at the Westminster Post Office, for the typewriter used for outbound telegrams. The form had been typed at the public typewriter at the office's counter - a steady machine in good order, but one that anyone might use at sixpence the application.

Section IV

Statements & Testimony

Mrs Hatherly

Housekeeper

“"I have served the bishop these twelve years, sir. The matter of '79 I knew of from his own quiet word at supper, when his lordship was sorrowful one evening. I - I am very anxious for my boy's appointment. The Colonial Office asked his lordship for a recommendation in February; the recommendation has not yet been written. I do not know how to ask for it."”
The Reverend Mr Pelham

Bishop's chaplain

“"I have my views upon colonial missions, Mr Holmes, and his lordship knows them. I have not been at the Westminster Post Office these three months. I should not have done so wicked a thing as a typewritten telegram against a fellow churchman."”

Section V

Your Verdict

Three picks render a verdict. Name the culprit, choose the method, and nail the keystone clue. We score all three — partial credit if you got the culprit but missed the method, full credit only if you got Holmes’s exact reasoning.

1. Name the culprit

The Reverend Mr Pelham Bishop's chaplain, recently arrived Mr Spurway Verger, twenty years Mrs Hatherly Housekeeper, twelve years The Reverend Mr Pelham (the elder) Former curate of the bishop, retired in Brighton

2. Choose the method

Which of these accounts of the deed best matches the evidence?

Mrs Hatherly typed the telegram herself at the Westminster Post Office to compel a recommendation for her son's senior clerkship; the apparent blackmail is family pressure misframed. The Reverend Mr Pelham used the Westminster public typewriter at six, sent the demand from reformist conviction, and meant the old colonial matter to force the bishop's confession. Mr Spurway joined his five-year grievance to the bishop's old colonial indiscretion, typed the threat at the public counter, and demanded Bank of England notes by Wednesday. An unknown colonial blackmailer learned the bishop's secret from the old diocesan post, sent both messages through Westminster, and demanded two hundred pounds before publication.

3. Pick the keystone clue

Of all the evidence above, which single piece nails the case?

The threatening telegram The threatening letter's particulars Mr Spurway's deputy-vergership Mrs Hatherly's son's appointment The Westminster typewriter

Choose a culprit, a method, and a keystone clue to render your verdict.