Upon entering the Prayer Chapel, I must say that I was more shocked by the scene than a man of medicine and a veteran of bloody war should ever have occasion to be. "My God," I exclaimed and, as I looked at my friend, I saw that the stern set of his mouth had not noticeably changed, but that his eyes opened wider than usual for but a moment.

The body of the Right Reverend Harold Respess lay upon its back upon the altar as if reclined on a bed. But the great amount of blood that had dripped down the altar and the spatter of dura matter and other brain material mixed with dark blood on the very center of the altar front facing the chapel created one of the most ghastly scenes of carnage I had ever beheld -- especially shocking because of its location in a church. It made me think of legends of old blood sacrifice and pagan rites, of Aztec priests cutting the hearts out of sacrificial victims while they were still alive.

As we moved up to the altar, it was even more unsettling to note that the entire back of Respess's head had been blown away, shocking contrast to the relatively clean but nonetheless gruesome hole in the center of his forehead. Blood had soaked the altar cloth and spread out to drip down three sides of the shrine.

"What do you think, Doctor?" asked Holmes. For once, as was rarely the case, I was able to offer my friend some expertise in the one area where I exceeded him in knowledge.

"Well, Holmes, the judgement that his wasn't suicide is, I believe, obviously correct. Note that a wound to the center of the forehead could be effected by oneself, but the absence of the weapon argues against that, and the complete lack of burning of the skin around the wound suggests that the gun had to have been more than arm's length away. A large caliber pistol no doubt -- either a large military Webley or a Colt's Dragoon or some such weapon. Note that the wound is about a half inch or more in diameter.

"Also, it's clear from the admixture of blood and brains on the front of the altar that Respess was not in this final position on top of the altar when the fatal shot was fired, but, rather standing -- I would judge -- a few feet in front of the altar and facing the murderer who was standing in the aisle when the shot was fired. Notice the splatter of blood droplets and brain matter before the altar and on the steps leading up to it. The wound, of course, was instantly fatal."

While I was speaking, Holmes was continuing a circumnavigation of the altar, and when he arrived at a spot directly opposite my position, precisely where the minister would stand, he said, "Hello! What's this?" I interrupted my pronouncements to see Holmes kneel down and begin prying the dead man's left hand open to reveal a piece of brown paper or parchment that had been clutched in the man's fist.

Holmes stood up and unfolded the crumpled fragment and read what was written thereon to himself at first; then he intoned out loud, as if he were a schoolboy again, standing to recite upon command of his mentor some declamation:

"MY soul, sit thou a patient looker-on; Judge not the play before the play is done: Her plot hath many changes; every day Speaks a new scene; the last act crowns the play."

"I know that verse, Holmes," said Father Craft.

And I thought I'd heard it or read it too, somewhere, sometime, but I could not place it.

"It's from Quarles," continued Father Craft, "an epigram entitled 'Respice Finem.'"

"Yes, said Holmes, "RESPICE FINEM: 'Look to the ending.' But there's more -- a line across the page, then more verse written below:

'If you find this, then there's an end of me
But not the play, the name's a pun you see.
Those are awake who lay in wait for blood.
St. Alban's aid alone can stay the flood.'

Most strange, and most terrible, I am forced to believe."

"Gibberish!" I said. What could possibly be made of that?

"Much, My Dear Watson," answered Holmes immediately. Clearly a riddle within a puzzle wrapped in an enigma -- But as Poe quotes Browne, 'What song the Syrens sang, or what name Achilles assumed when he hid himself among women, although puzzling questions are not beyond all conjecture.' Note that we have some interesting words to muse upon.

"Obviously, the first line of the riddle poem has come to pass and is literal -- Respess is undeniably dead. Then, immediately after mention of himself, Respess writes about the name being a pun -- perhaps, yes, I think HIS name, "Harold Respess" -- "Harold" could clearly connect with "HERALD" and we have "Respess" / RESPICE which, if my Latin serves, by itself means "Examine the Past." After all, Respess was a mysterious man with a chiefly unknown past and but one seeming close friend at present, Deacon Fredricks, who has hastened hence shortly after the discovery of the crime. And it can't be coincidence that Respess came here, to St. Alban's and that 'St. Alban's aid alone can stay the flood' -- presumably one of blood. This horrible crime is proof enough that there is at least one "awake" who is out for blood and already guilty of shedding it, but the verse declares that there is more than a single bloody villain. Perhaps we are dealing with a company of devils.

"Father Craft, you neglected to tell me about the sudden and unscheduled ringing of the bells of St. Alban's just before the discovery of the body."

"Mr. Holmes! How could you possibly know of that?" the minister asked, staring in awe at my friend, and I must confess my own amazement at Holmes' pronouncement -- although I should certainly be used to them by now.

"Inspector Conyers," continued Holmes, "I highly recommend that you make every effort to find Deacon Fredricks in all haste. I believe he is in grave danger. Father Craft, I'm afraid I must bid you good day. I have a pathway of thought that I must travel immediately while the trail might stil be warm. Come, Watson, back to Baker Street."

As we were leaving, Holmes made sure we were several paces ahead of the Reverend Craft and the Inspector. He leaned just a bit in my direction as we paced out of the blood-blasphemed chapel and said, "The Altar, Watson. We must return later and examine it more closely."

Proceed to Part Five