A/N: This was written for an ice bucket fic challenge last year.
Holmes and companions do not belong to me.
notes: Holmes and Watson discuss the Abernetty case...
"The affair seems absurdly trifling, and yet I dare call nothing trivial when I reflect that some of my most classic cases have had the least promising commencement. You will remember, Watson, how the dreadful business of the Abernetty family was first brought to my notice by the depth which the parsley had sunk into the butter upon a hot day."ACD...The Adventure of the Six Napoleons.
Cold Case?
"In fact, my dear Watson,
Explain, if you will,
A matter
I don't understand;
Surely that classical,
Elegant case
Has earned its own page
In The Strand?"
~0~
A pause for his Boswell
To gather his thoughts,
This was something
He'd planned not to mention;
An element of that
Affair long ago
Which, it seemed,
Had escaped Holmes' attention.
~0~
The timing, he knew
Had been crucial indeed;
The hot day
And the melting
Of butter.
Such a perfectly
Simple conclusion
Destroyed
By the words
He would have to
Now utter.
~0~
Deep breath;
"My dear Holmes,
There is something,
Alas,
Which might cast
A new light on that day.
You recall,
When we opened
The door to that room,
An item which
Hindered my way?"
~0~
"Of course, I remember
Your startled response;
As the obstacle tipped,
Splashed and clattered.
A sign of the housekeeper's
Slovenly ways.
I really don't see how it mattered."
~0~
The moment
A loyal associate dreads;
Another deep breath...
Watson took it.
"Holmes,
Did you ever consider
Instead;
That the pail was in fact
An ice bucket."
~0~
Ice!
And a frozen expression
Gave way
To a chill
In his comrade's
Great brain.
Eliminate all the impossible thoughts
And examine the ones
Which remain.
~0~
His fine calculations
Of friction and mass,
Of parsley weight,
Heat over time;
Now useless
If butter was chilled
To deceive
And distract
From the truth
Of the crime.
~0~
He swiftly retraced
The events,
And rewound
The thread of deductions
With care.
If timing was out
By a couple of hours
Then his client
Could not have been there!
~0~
Holmes sighed
And then glared
At his partner and friend
Who expected
An icy response
"A telegram
Must be conveyed to
Lestrade;
And the butler arrested
At once!"
~0~
"Pray, is there
Anything else
To declare,
Now that case
Is completely unwrapped?"
"Dear Holmes,
Just one word
I would venture to add ;
'Norbury'
Would seem to be apt."
~0~
A/N 2 "Watson, if it should ever strike you that I am getting a little overconfident in my powers, or giving less pains to a case than it deserves, kindly whisper 'Norbury' in my ear, and I shall be infinitely obliged to you." ACD: The Adventure of the Yellow Face.