Story: In The Fog
Author: Richard Harding Davis
Source: In The Fog (Queen’s Quorum #29), available online here.Story Number: 40
4 strangers meet in one of the most prestigious clubs - The Grill. A fifth person, Sir Andrew, who is supposed to talk later that night in the house supporting a ‘Navy Increase’ bill is seen immersed in a detective tale. There is another politician among the quartet and he is hell bent on keeping Sir Andrew occupied for the night; he says the only thing that can keep Andrew occupied would be a Sherlock Holmes story! One of the strangers, an American diplomat, reveals that he knows about a mystery currently plaguing the Scotland Yard which not even Holmes could solve. And thus begins the three interconnecting stories from the three gentlemen which keep everyone glued to the supper table including Sir Andrew.
The American who is in the process of experiencing his first exposure to the London fog(he describes it for almost 10 pages), with very limited visibility, he ends up in a house where there are 2 dead bodies – one of a Russian princess and one of Lord Chetney who has just returned back from his voyage. Just before he enters the house, he happens to notice another Englishman leaving the house - he later identifies him as the brother of Lord Chetney and the police consider the brother to be their number one suspect. Still in the fog, when he makes his way to the police, they are not able to find this house. The second man’s story involves how he was robbed of the diamond necklace by the Russian princess – which is found on the body of the girl. The third man who happens to be the lawyer for the young Chetney completes the remaining strands of the story by proving his client innocent and revealing another person(the Russian girl’s lover) as the murderer. He ends the story by pointing fingers at one of the 4 gentlemen in that club as the man the police is searching for.
And then there is the final twist!
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