Needless to say, the Holmes/ Watson accounts differ considerably from Moriarty’s own narrative. In his telling of the tale we have what appears to be the definitive description (which I have set down in detail in The Return of Moriarty): It is Moriarty—in the midst of planning a huge robbery—who finally follows Holmes across Europe to Switzerland and so to the Reichenbach Falls. Professor Moriarty did not confront the Great Detective on his own on that ledge high in the mountains—as in the Holmes/Watson versions—but was backed up by one of his cohorts from the Swiss branch of his crime family. Also present was Albert Spear, armed and dangerous. In the Moriarty version, Holmes is held at a distance in a kind of Mexican standoff while Moriarty dictates his terms. He points out that if there is any act of aggression, Spear will shoot Holmes “like a dog.” He then demands that they go their separate ways and pursue their own destinies. He proposes a truce, after which, “I will endeavour not to cross your path again, on the understanding that you will not cross mine.”
