Sherlock Holmes and the Mysterious Patient

Sherlock Holmes is sitting in room number 221 in a five star hotel of Lahore. He along with his friend and colleague, Dr. John Watson, is on vacations. Dr. Watson is reading local news on his iPad while Holmes is busy staring down the windows observing the people in the street below. The intercom rings and the operator says that there is a Mr. Rana Mujeeb wants to see him. Both men look each other with surprised expression and then tell the operator to send the man in. Mr. Mujeeb is looking pale, is about 60 year old and visibly rich but worried. He barges in to the room and asks almost pleadingly for help to Mr. Holmes, but upon seeing another man in the room, he stops midway through his sentence.

Holmes: Mr. Mujeeb, this is my friend and colleague Dr. Watson and you can say anything in front of him as you would privately to me. 

Mr.Mujeeb: Well, Mr. Holmes, I am here with great hope that you would help me.

Holmes: Pray be seated and tell me everything. Every minute detail.

The man begins telling his story.

He is an industrialist and also patron of a large private hospital. Few weeks ago, he was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The doctors told him that he had maximum of 20 days left. But since then it has been almost 2 months and he is still alive.

Holmes: And where did you go for the diagnosis?

Mujeeb: to the very hospital of which I am the patron. It is the best in the country, Mr. Holmes.

Holmes: And what happens to the hospital if you die?

Mujeeb: Well, according to the conditions of the trust, the next senior most member of the board will be the chairperson.

Holmes: And I gather that the man responsible for your diagnosis is the senior most?

Mujeeb: Yes, she is.

Holmes: She! This is interesting, Watson.

Mujeeb: So you will help me?

Holmes: Can I have your visiting card?

Mujeed: Takes out his wallet and hands over a visiting card to Holmes.

Holmes: I shall think over it. 

Holmes: (As if an afterthought) Mr. Mujeeb, you walk a lot?

Mujeeb: Yes I do but how do you know?

Holmes: Never mind. Have a good day.

After Mujeeb left, Holmes asks Watson what he thinks about the man.

Watson: Well, he seems well to do, probably afraid for his life and apparently without children.

Holmes: Excellent Watson. But he is not without children. You did not observe when he narrated the last part of his story? A she? There was a certain agony in his voice and he lowered his gaze, probably ashamed or ruing. I think the same doctor was his beloved and for that reason, his wife and probably children left him. Now he realized his blunder that he ruined his family life for someone who is after his life.

Watson: So the doctor is involved?

Holmes: And the ring on his left hand finger, with strange numbers carved. Most probably, he is a member of a secret society. And I would say, an influential member, quite high up in the hierarchy.  His collar is a little loose which shows he has lost a few pounds in the last couple of weeks. A note of 20 Kronas in his wallet means he has been to Sweden recently. Why? We don't know yet.  The little splashes of dust on the sides of his boots and trousers shows he traveled in an auto-rickshaw and walked quite a distance on foot. While a ticket of the local bus in his purse shows he rode it recently, most probably today or yesterday. Now why would a man with so much money hire an auto-rickshaw or use public transport instead of taking his own car? His card has only a land-line which is quite odd given that almost anybody here owns a cellular phone.

Watson: Very odd indeed.

Holmes: And he was wearing his watch on his right hand instead of left.

Watson: Does it signify something?

Holmes: Yes very much. I wear my watch on my right hand.

Watson: What is your theory then?

Holmes: I simply don’t have enough facts to construct a theory. Come along.

Watson: To the hospital?

Holmes: No. To Mr. Mujeeb's office.

Cramped inside an auto-rickshaw, Watson says to Holmes that why not hire a Sedan or may be a Limousine? To which Holmes replies that he is a consulting detective and not a politician who would throw away money on unimportant things.

The office of Mr. Mujeeb is located on Mall Road. The exterior design is very mysterious. A lot of symbolic work.

Holmes: Freemason! That is important.

Watson: Does it have anything to do with the murder plan?

Holmes: With a conservative country like this where Freemasons are considered as the follower of Satan, what do you expect?

There in the office they meet with Mr. Mujeeb's secretary. He is about as old as Mujeeb and knows everything about his life. He tells them that the wife and son of Mr. Mujeeb are still there, living in Anarkali Bazaar. 

Upon getting the address, Holmes and Watson go towards Anarkali. The address is that of a small restaurant on the farthest end of the Food Street. Holmes is dressed in Shalwar-Kameez and looking more like an Afghan. One of the usher in the Street even asks him in Pashto: "Raza kena der kha khurak de" (come and sit, the food is good). Unable to understand, all Holmes manages to do is a smile. And here they realize that it is not London and they cannot do anything without an interpreter. They are in luck as sitting in one of these restaurants is a group of students conversing animatedly in accented English. These are Dr. H.M.Khan along with Zeeshan and other fellows and are readily willing to assist Holmes in his task. Taking them along, they reach their destination. At the restaurant they ask for the man they are looking for and find him. The 20-something lad is busy in dealing with the customers. He does not show any reaction when Holmes mentions that they are here on behalf of Mr.Mujeeb. Probably he never knew who his father was. They meet his mother, an old lady who had been through hard times. She says that yes she left her husband after she knew he did not love her anymore. And since that day, she never seen or talked to him ever.

On the way to hospital, Watson asks Holmes about the lady.

Holmes: She was lying.

Watson: She is not his wife then?

Holmes: She is. But she was lying about her not speaking to or seeing of him. You observed the table lamp, a quite expensive piece. It is the same as the one present in Mr. Mujeeb's office. And the shoes? Made in Italy. Watson, she still receives gifts from her husband. But she is concerned about her son's reaction and that is why she is probably silent. 

Both Holmes and Watson go to the hospital. Dr.Saleena Merchant is about 50 years old but with her refined looks and dress, she is looking a lot younger. It is quite understandable why a man like Mr. Mujeeb would leave his family for her. But is she really capable of murdering someone?

Holmes: I am Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective and this is my friend and colleague Dr. John Watson.

Dr.Merchant: How may I help you?

Holmes: Well, we are here to investigate about the illness of Mr.Mujeeb and his mysterious recovery.

Dr.Merchant: Everybody is surprised at his recovery. The board responsible for his diagnosis and our colleagues abroad had the same opinion that the illness was terminal. The only difference of opinion at the time was that we thought of 20 days while our foreign friend thought maximum of 18 days.

Holmes: And I presume you are working in this hospital since long?

Merchant: I am one of the founding members of this hospital Mr. Holmes!

Holmes: Remarkable! That would be 15 years I understand?

Merchant: 16.

Holmes: Can you describe what the illness was?

Merchant: It is called microvasocardioencephalo...

Holmes: I was expecting English!

Merchant: Oh, my apologies. In simple terms, Mr. Mujeeb has or had a condition which is very rare. In this condition the body is unable to support the normal metabolic processes.

Holmes: So you are sure there is absolutely no cure for this?

Merchant: Well practically yes.

Holmes: Practically?

Merchant: Yes. Theoretically there is a cure but that cannot be done. 

Watson: And that is?

Merchant: Human meat.

(Read Part 2)

(P.S. With apologies to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who invented the character of Sherlock Holmes. The story is based largely on local folklore. Hope you people are able to solve the mystery. Otherwise, come back here when all will be revealed. Happy New Year)

(P.S.S. As regarding the last post about NTS-GAT, many people asked about my competence of giving those tips. So my locus standi is that as far as I can remember, I have appeared in at least 15 times in that test which gives me sufficient experience. :P The grades and the result of those 15 attempts is an entirely different matter and should not be discussed in public :P :P :P )