Student Question
What's an alternate ending for "The Red-Headed League"?
Quick answer:
An alternate ending for "The Red-Headed League" could involve Holmes miscalculating the timing of the robbery, allowing John Clay to complete it during Holmes' absence at a concert. Alternatively, the tunnel might lead not to the bank, but to a restaurant where Clay aims to destroy incriminating evidence. Holmes, realizing the error, redirects the police just in time to thwart Clay's plans, showcasing the unpredictability of crime-solving.
A common element in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries is that the endings work out perfectly due to Holmes' methods. However, sometimes the success of his crime-solving depends more on "luck" than might appear at the first reading. It can be fun to contemplate what might have happened if everything didn't go perfectly for the brilliant detective.
In this story, Holmes seems to have taken more time than necessary to uncover the bank robbery plot. It seems that he knew early on that "a considerable crime is in contemplation," yet he took the time to go to a concert and did not arrive in the bank vault until late at night. This was because he thought John Clay would wait to rob the bank until Jabez Wilson had gone to bed for the night. But what if John Clay bribed the house girl who worked for Wilson...
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to get Wilson out of the house on a ruse? Then Clay could have completed the robbery while Holmes was enjoying the violin concertos that afternoon, Holmes and the bank manager would have arrived to find an empty vault, and the criminal would have escaped with a fortune in French gold.
Another twist would be that the tunnel Clay was digging went not to the bank, but to one of the other buildings behind the pawn shop. Perhaps the owner of the Vegetarian Restaurant owned something of great value to Clay--some evidence that would put him away for life. This restaurant owner had been blackmailing Clay; Clay needed a way to not just kill the witness but also destroy the evidence. So he tunneled into the restaurant. Holmes arrives in the bank vault, taps the floor, and to his surprise finds it is not hollow. He must quickly rethink his theory. He knows the tunnel must be going to one of the other businesses on the street. The police immediately raid the tobacconist, the little newspaper stand, the carriage-building depot, and the Vegetarian Restaurant. They intercept John Clay just as he is about to murder the restaurant owner.
You could come up with numerous other ways the story could end, some of which would have Holmes still successfully solve the crime, and some of which would show that Holmes muffed it. If you are creative and want to be a writer, this is one way to practice your craft. Have fun!