Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the dead businessman
Ever since what has been come to be known as the Adventure of the dead businessman, which I always thought was completely unoriginal on the part of my colleague, Dr. John Watson, I have always been unsatisfied with how the newspapers turned the story inside out. I have decided to write this story to clear up some of the finer details of the case. It started on the 4th of February, 1898, I was sitting in my armchair in my residence at 221B Baker Street, when I heard the knock on the door, up until then I had been pondering how little cases I had recently had. I stood and walked to the door, opened it and a man with dark hair, brown eyes and mutton chops, completed by a top hat and suit with a golden pocket watch hanging from his jacket.
"Mr Holmes, I suspect, hello, my name is Winston Ainsworth" he said politely. I responded by saying "Yes, Sherlock Holmes, please come in." He smiled, nodded, and strode into my flat, he sat himself down on the chair next to mine and I sat again.
"So, Mr Ainsworth, what is it you want of me?" I asked in all seriousness. He looked me over once, then said "Well, I need your help with a problem I'm having in Manchester, if you would be so kind as to help me, but first, I want to see your powers of deduction firsthand, to ensure you are not just a con." After that I looked him over once, then without stopping once, I said "Well Mr Ainsworth, I can tell your mother is French and your father was English, I detected a slight accent in your dialogue however you have an English surname. I also know that you have Lyme disease, as evident by the circular mark on your hand, and you have recently sprained your ankle, I noticed you slightly limping, favouring your left leg, which means you've recently been doing some kind of strenuous exercise, but look at you, obviously a man of wealth and power, what kind of strenuous activity does a man like you endure, I'm guessing you ran somewhere, possibly after trying to catch up to a train after missing it. Finally, your pocket watch is engraved with the initials H.A. which stands for Harry Ainsworth, your father, the man who owns several companies worldwide and one of the richest men in England, I can only assume he gave it to you when you were a child." I must say I'll never forget the look on Mr Ainsworth's face, he looked positively astounded and shocked at the same; believe me, and that kind of look wasn't good on that man.
"Bravo, Mr Holmes, bravo, well I do think I'll accept your services, how much are you usually paid, I'll double it" he said, voice booming.
"I don't get paid, all my services are free, now tell me, what is the situation in this place in Manchester?" I asked him.