Summary

The Boscombe Valley Mystery tells how Sherlock Holmes solved a murder case in Boscombe Valley.
      In 1888,Sherlock Holmes invited Dr John Watson to go with him to the town of Ross-on-Wye to solve the mystery of the murder of Charles McCarthy.The police led by Scotland Yard investigating officer,Inspector Lestrade had conclude it was a murder and the suspect was the victim's son.James McCarthy was accused of having killed his own father,Charles McCarthy.
      The first witness,the gamekeeper (Moran) saw the father,Charles and then James,the son on the path to Boscombe Pool.The second witness,Moran's 14-years-old daughter,Patience saw James arguing with his father.Both Inspector Lestrade and Dr Watson concluded it was an open-and-shut case of murder.However,Holmes disagreed with both of them.holmes opined that there were some facts that simply did not match.Holmes posed the following.
      Who was McCarthy meeting at the pool?
      According to his serving-man he was to meet someone at the pool,an appointment from which he never
      came back alive.
      How could the meeting be with James?
          James was in Bristol
      Why did McCarthy use the call "Cooee!"?
          The call "Cooee" was the usual call between father and son.
      Why did McCarthy get angry with James?
      Why won't James reveal the exact conversation he had with his father at the pool?
      The details of the conversation would have saved james from being convicted.
      How did a piece of clothing a few yards from James disappear?
      What did McCarthy's last words "raat" mean?
      Who would have wanted McCarthy dead,if not James and why?
      Was Miss Turner,who wanted to marry James,involved in this case?
      In addition,Miss Alice Turner,the daughter of John Turner on whose estate the McCarthy lived,believed that James McCarthy was innocent of the crime.She sent a telegram to Holmes asking him to investigate the case.
      Holmes used his usual deductive powers and keen observation skills to find the answers to his own doubts.He checked out the background of John McCarthy and Turner.He also visited the scene of the crime,Boscombe Pool for clues.He was able to prove Inspector Lestrade wrong.
      James McCarthy was in jail by then.Sherlock Holmes had arranged for the prosecution case against James to fail if it seemed that the court would send him to the hangman.He got the real killer to confess.The confession letter was only to be used should the court find James guilty,which it did not.James was innocent of the crime and discharged,the real killer died of natural causes.