The Adventure of the Tobacconist's Demise

Inspector Gregson, and his Scotland Yard assistant, Alfred Cooke, have braved the bitter air of one of London's coldest winters on record to come across town to 221B Baker Street. Standing before the fireplace, the two Scotland Yard detectives wait until they are sufficiently thawed out before they finally speak.

Addressing Holmes and Watson, Gregson relates the circumstances surrounding the curious incident of the Tobacconist, Manfred Maloney, who was found stabbed to death in the Tobacconist's this morning. Near the dead man's body were a puddle of water and a rolled up newspaper. The forefinger of Maloney's right hand was smeared with blood, and the word ERIN was scrawled in blood on the cigar case above his body.

Gregson believes that if they can just find a person named Erin who knew Maloney, they can solve the mystery. Gregson's assistant, however, has suggested that the word ERIN is a code word of the Erse Kernes, a secret revolutionary group active in Ireland; and he believes that Maloney's death was some sort of revenge killing.

Gregson asks Holmes which of the two theories the Baker Street sleuth thinks correct; but Holmes expresses his wish to visit the scene of the crime before embracing any theories.

At the Tobacconist shop, Holmes notices that the area behind the main counter is in disarray, as if someone had been frantically searching for something. And above the back shelf, next to a photograph of Maloney himself smoking a pipe is a large hanging calendar. Penciled into the calendar block containing today's date are the initials "D.H." and the time "9.00 a.m."

"Did you find a weapon?" Watson asks the Scotland Yard Detectives. "No" replies Gregson. "Do you have any witnesses or suspects?" asks Watson. "None," says Gregson. "The body was found this morning by carriage driver Daniel Hardy, who stopped in the shop to purchase some pipe tobacco". "Indeed," remarks Inspector Cooke, "this is very complex case. It seems too much to hope that we ever find the solution". "Not so, Inspector," offers a confident Holmes. "Quite often, the more complex a case appears on the surface, the simpler is the actual solution".