Sherlock Holmes and The Mystery Of Einstein's Daughter

Chapter XII The Denouement Looms - We Return To Berne

Our return to the monastery was a race against the dark. The rough path led us into thick mists swirling down from the mountains. I could have done with a sturdy Shan pony. Any hope of an hour’s fishing on the Tisza dissipated by the minute. By the time we reached the monastery the candle in the kavass’s lantern had reached the full extent of the coiled spring on which it rested.

Before Holmes and I separated for the night I asked, ‘What have we learned today?’

‘Confirmation the infant Lieserl was born palsied,’ my comrade replied.

By sun-up Archimandrite Nikanor was dressed and bustling about. We breakfasted with the monks on carp and rudd. Before our departure we were led to the visitors’ book. Our host shook hands and murmured a blessing over us. In turn we presented him with the ferruled fishing rods, the lures and spinners. We commenced the long journey back to Switzerland, starting with a tarantass to Novi-Sad. The ferry transported us across the Danube for the next leg. We settled into a comfortable railway carriage. Holmes was silent, deep in the Baedeker. I fell into a reverie, mulling over our adventures of the past few weeks with their endless twists and turns and utterly improbable discoveries, the searches in large damp boxes in dim rooms, the watchful, puzzled clerks. The feeling we were forever being observed. The jolting carriages. Jelena’s song. Miss Durham’s explanation.

Budapest and Vienna came and went. I interrupted my companion. ‘Holmes, is it possible Mileva’s father carried out the killing without Einstein’s knowledge? After all, he would want to free his daughter from - ’

‘Impossible,’ Holmes broke in emphatically. ‘The infant was blessed on the first day of her life, not the customary fortieth day. Einstein would have been informed. The lack of christening records, the lack of a birth certificate. The complete silence. From the moment of that blessing he and Miloš began to hatch a plan to put Lieserl out of her - and their - misery. The mystery is why they waited so long. I can only presume Mileva - and Zorka - put up a fight.’

‘And what of Mileva? Did she finally consent?’

‘No. It was a fait accompli. It would have been a terrible shock. Besso said how she lost her happy temperament around September 1903.’

I fell silent, ruminating to the chug of the steam engine. A railway attendant opened our compartment door. We would be in Zurich in ten minutes. We changed trains. We were on the last lap. The denouement lay only hours ahead.

In Berne, we called the university from our hotel. Professor Sobel insisted we take a cab to the campus immediately. He sounded beside himself with excitement. When we entered his office, he jumped to his feet, bristling with anticipation.

‘My dear sirs,’ he exclaimed, ‘please don’t seat yourselves. The Rector has asked me to bring you to him the moment you honoured our portals again. He wishes to hear the results from the horse’s mouth, I think you English say. But first- ’he held up a journal, ‘have you heard the wonderful, wonderful news?’

To his delight we both shook our heads.

‘While you were away Albert Einstein has startled and bewitched the whole world! He has published an extraordinary paper on the electrodynamics of moving bodies in the most learned scientific journal of all, the Annalen der Physik. He has come up with a theory that escaped the greatest scientific brains, George FitzGerald, Koffman, Lewis, Minkowski, Planck, even Poincaré.’

The words came to me as though filtered through cotton wool.

‘Which being?’ I heard my companion ask.

‘L=mV²,’ came the gleeful reply. ‘It’s a scientific earthquake.’

Generously, the Professor brought me into the conversation. ‘Dr. Watson, isn’t it wonderful! L=mV². Energy equals mass times the square of the speed of light. Gravity and acceleration are essentially one and the same thing. Isn’t it truly remarkable?’

I stared at him uncomprehendingly. It was clear something of immense importance in physics had taken place in our short absence. Its ramifications were beyond me, except for the fact Einstein was at the heart of it. I felt unable to look into the Professor’s overjoyed face. We were bringing news of a murder in which we held Einstein complicit. Failing to note my confusion the professor rushed on.

‘We must change our entire view of the universe! Young Einstein proposes that the speed of light is constant. He determines the relationship between mass and energy.’

He paused, seeking a way to bring the discussion down to my level.

‘If Einstein’s theory is correct, a clock located at the Equator should run slower than one at either pole. If you could go into orbit around the Earth for a month, you would be one thousandth of a second younger than those of us who stayed behind. Isn’t that amazing! Don’t you see, gravity is no longer a force in space and time but part of the fabric of space and time itself! Put simply, due to the equivalence of mass and energy, the gravitational field acts as its own source.’

His hands clapped together in excitement. ‘Gentlemen, it’s a scientific earthquake,’ he repeated. ‘Albert Einstein has altered the principle of Conservation. I assure you, this paper will change physics forever.’

The Professor put his hands to our shoulders. ‘Come, come, Mr. Holmes, Dr. Watson. Let us hurry down to the Rector’s office where you can make your report in person.’

The Rector greeted us warmly.

‘Professor Sobel tells me your travels took you as far afield as Serbia. Heavens above! We are happy to welcome you back to Berne safe and sound. I trust you had an interesting time?’

We were waved to a comfortable Shenzhen sofa. Our hosts seated themselves in arm-chairs facing us. The Rector beamed from ear to ear.

He continued, ‘I presume Professor Sobel has given you the news? Most remarkable, most remarkable. Who would ever have thought it - except our friend here and me, of course,’ he laughed, tapping his colleague’s shoulder. ‘The implications are immense. Isaac Newton will topple off his plinth. The focal point of physics will fly away from your Cambridge University and alight here at Berne. At our University.’

It was clear the Rector had put to one side the scarcely-veiled anti-Semitism and aversion to the flamboyant and rebellious young Swabian.

‘Now all that remains is for you to give us the results of your investigation. Have you uncovered any skeletons in his cupboard?’ at which query he and the professor broke into loud, almost raucous laughter.

Holmes placed his fingers together as he always did when poised to deliver his verdict on a matter of consequence.

I braced myself. I felt sick. ‘Get on with it, Holmes,’ I urged him silently. ‘Tell them the wretched news and let’s clear out of here.’

My comrade stared in prolonged silence at the two men before us. Their bright smiles began to fade into expressions of concern and bewilderment. Finally Holmes commenced.

‘As you say, Dr. Watson and I have returned from conducting a confidential enquiry in the Balkans.’

Our hosts nodded eagerly.

‘We were charged by Professor Eli Sobel here with the investigation of two notes delivered anonymously to you, Sir,’ he said, looking directly at the Rector.

‘Yes, yes,’ came a joint response.

‘The first note referred to a Swabian by the name of A. Einstein and to a Lieserl. The second note simply stated “Titel”.’

The two heads nodded vigorously.

‘Both notes,’ Holmes went on, ‘were written on cartridge paper in red ink by an anonymous and disturbing hand. My interpretation of the word “Titel” combined with the type of paper and Mileva Einstein’s place of birth led us to spend some weeks in the Kingdom of Serbia.’

By now I had been brought to a pitch of exasperation. For Heaven’s sake, Holmes, stop footling, I begged under my breath. Tell them.

‘As a result of our investigations we have discovered something of vital importance about Einstein. It is imperative you should know about it before you offer him employment at your famous University.’

‘Which is?’ Professor Sobel and the Rector demanded in unison.

‘That there is absolutely nothing to report about him. My good friend and I found nothing amiss. Nothing. I think you may fairly go ahead and offer him employment. We trust Albert Einstein will have a long and successful career in science.’

My comrade and I rose as one, stretching out our hands.

Holmes asked, ‘If there is no other point to which you would wish to draw our attention?’

I observed the most profound expression of relief on Professor Sobel’s face as he shook his head. In a babble of thanks and chortles and goodbyes we were shown from the office.

We were once more on the streets of Berne. A short distance from the university I grasped my comrade’s arm, unable to restrain myself any longer.

‘Holmes,’ I demanded, ‘you know perfectly well you did not tell the truth back there. Whatever the mitigating circumstances, however palsied the infant, you yourself concluded that this contemptible scoundrel Einstein was deeply involved in the dispatch - murder - of his daughter.’

Angrily I continued, ‘He may not be Lucifer himself but he is at least the equal of any of the Four Horsemen! Regardless of whatever astounding scientific theory he has just propounded, one word from you to the Rector at this or any other university and his career in physics would be at an end. For reasons far beyond my comprehension you failed to report the truth!’

‘My dear friend,’ came the reply, ‘whoever sent those notes had sufficient knowledge to ruin Einstein’s career without our investigation. Why then were we needed? When the Professor handed us the first scrap of paper I concluded - wrongly - that someone was intent on preventing Einstein’s career from taking off. Perhaps a wronged woman, a jilted lover.’

He frowned. ‘Now I realise Zorka’s objective lies elsewhere but where and how we are to proceed - that is the question. And as yet - ’

His voice tailed away. The tangle of small streets brought us unexpectedly to the square containing the Café Bollwerk. The tables were refilling with the gaggles of students we had unconsciously been following.

‘Then what do we do?’ I asked.

‘We wait, Watson. We wait.’

We seated ourselves at a table. ‘Holmes,’ I accosted crossly, ‘what have we accomplished? Nothing!’

I repeated, ‘We have accomplished nothing. We criss-cross the Danube. We face a host of diseases any of which would have been fatal to men of our middling age. We rattle around on the worst of cart-tracks, stay in hostelries more run down than any in England since Chaucer’s time, and brave a haunted house. Despite all this, the Rector and Professor Sobel know nothing about Lieserl, under what circumstances and to whom she was born, let alone her desperate fate.’

‘Patience, my dear Watson,’ came Holmes’s laconic words. ‘We must- ’He broke off, glancing sharply over my shoulder.

‘I see we are about to have an interesting encounter with an old friend.’

The now-familiar figure of Professor Sobel was approaching the café at a brisk pace. On catching sight of us he came to an abrupt stop, then waved energetically and hurried towards our table.

‘Mr. Holmes, I must thank you from the depths of my heart. Discovering nothing was the finest outcome we could have wished. Dr. Watson, I was on my way to your hotel to deliver this.’

He withdrew an envelope from a pocket. ‘I believe this should cover your expenses.’

I reached out a hand to receive the envelope.

As I did so I heard Holmes say, ‘You knew the truth all along, didn’t you, Professor Sobel?’

Holmes’s eyes were fixed on Professor Sobel’s as though reading his very soul. Both the Professor and I froze.

‘What do you mean, Mr. Holmes?’ he asked, a hint of anxiety in his tone.

‘Our hotel lies in a quite different direction - you were not on your way there,’ came the reply. ‘You had no idea Watson and I would be here, at the Café Bollwerk. You expected instead to meet your future Assistent, to tell him the good news, that we had discovered nothing. I am certain young Albert is hot-footing here even as we speak. We told the Rector there were no skeletons in Einstein’s cupboard, but you and I know that was not true.’

‘What did you find out?’ the Professor asked.

‘It will only confirm what I believe you yourself already know,’ Holmes replied.

‘Namely?’

‘That the Lieserl referred to in the first note was Einstein’s illegitimate daughter,’ Holmes continued. ‘That she died a violent death in Serbia aged around twenty-one months.’

The Professor stayed silent for a moment. Finally he asked, ‘Why did you choose not to disclose this to the Rector?’

Holmes seemed to reflect for a moment.

Finally he answered, ‘On balance, I felt Mileva’s well-being and her love for Einstein and their son Hans Albert obliged us to let sleeping dogs lie.’

The Professor broke into a relieved laugh. ‘I admit I did know more than I revealed,’ he exclaimed. ‘Even the Holy Patriarch when hungry will steal a piece of bread. When that first note arrived I confronted Einstein just as I described to you. I said the note had raised serious concern in the Rector’s mind and I insisted on knowing who Lieserl might be. I told Albert his entire career was teetering on the edge of the precipice and that my concern had not been quelled by his vehement response to the simple query, Do you know anyone called Lieserl? A mild “no”, with a polite “I’m afraid not” would have sufficed.’

‘Then the second note came,’ Holmes prompted.

‘Yes. I brought it with me to the Bollwerk and told Einstein of its content.’

‘How did he respond?’ I enquired.

‘The word “Titel” jolted him badly. He promised to take me into his confidence on the condition I would do everything to keep the matter from the Rector’s ears.’

‘I presume you agreed?’ I said.

‘I gave him my word.’

‘Continue please, Professor,’ Holmes ordered.

‘Einstein pleaded his case. He told me how hard he had fought to leave home and get into the Zurich Polytechnikum, about his struggle with the mathematics. How he wandered into a seminar and saw Mileva, a dark-haired Slav, sitting there, the only female student in the class. How she offered to help him. How they spent more and more time together until he forgot she had a limp and wore an orthopaedic shoe. And how they went secretly to Como in the spring of 1899 and there on the banks of the lake they made love.’

He went on, ‘When she realised she was pregnant Mileva begged Albert to let her stay with him here in Berne. He refused. Against her will he sent her back to Novi-Sad to have the child. He said he never saw it before it died.’

‘Did he say how the child died?’ Holmes asked.

‘He swore it was from Scarlet Fever.’

I intervened. ‘And you believed him?’

Professor Sobel shrugged and stayed silent.

‘Professor,’ I asked, my gorge rising, ‘if you knew all this, why - ?’

Holmes interrupted: ‘You mean, why did he send us galloping off to Serbia?’

‘That’s precisely what I mean.’

Holmes glanced at Professor Sobel.

‘Our Professor knows the world of Academe only too well. The smears, the jostling, the smouldering ambitions, the perpetual hatreds and jealousies. Desperately - more than anything in the world - our friend wanted Einstein in his Department. He already knew Einstein was an analytical genius in the making, an Isaac Newton, a Kepler. Professor - am I correct in believing Mileva gave you prior knowledge of the equivalence theory Einstein was about to launch on an astounded world?’

The Professor nodded. Holmes looked back to me.

‘Professor Sobel also knew from the minute the Rector sanctioned young Einstein’s employment in the Physics Department jealousies would erupt. Rumour-mongering would become rampant. A shadow of distrust would endanger Einstein’s position at the University. It could even wreck his career. The Department’s reputation would be sullied, the Rector humiliated. Pressed almost beyond endurance, the Professor cast around for a solution. And it was you, Watson, who gave him an opportunity he seized upon with alacrity.’

Before I could make an indignant protest, Holmes continued. ‘Professor, Watson’s ruse commending me for an Honoris causa landed on your desk. Astutely you realised all rumours about Einstein could be scotched before they arose if the great Sherlock Holmes investigated and found nothing. You were certain the Balkans would defeat us. Einstein’s reputation - and your Department’s-would be safe for ever.’

Holmes gave a grim smile. ‘It was a grave risk you took. It very nearly succeeded. I have said that if I had not become a Consulting Detective, I would have become a scientist. May I say that had you not become a scientist you would have made an excellent Sherlock Holmes.’

‘Or a second Moriarty!’ I exclaimed, seething with indignation.

‘Or a second Moriarty!’ Holmes agreed.

Both he and Professor Sobel burst into a roar of laughter at my hot displeasure.