The Mind of a Detective
A Talk With Sherlock Holmes
"It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it. If you were asked to prove that two and two made four, you might find some difficulty, and yet you are quite sure of the fact."
How does my mind work? My dear, ignorant, idiotic friend, I could not begin to tell you.
But first, please tell me how your mind works. Go on.
I'm waiting.
Your silence - it's extremely entertaining for me.
It must be infinitely boring to be you. I mean, seriously. Think about it. How can you not look at something and automatically trust your intuition? It's like everyone else on the planet has just shut down their instinct – it's quite amusing, actually, especially when it comes to people like Lestrade. He's a funny little man who has absolutely no idea what he's doing… Have you met him? Oh, you have. Well, I'm sure you find him just as half-baked as I do.
Oh, I have no doubt I'm some sort of a sociopath, one way or another. Yes, and I'm sure that someday, that will all become clear to everyone. But really, how many 'me' copies have you met, that can draw theories from the slightest, tiniest clues?
I thought not.
You know what else seems strange to me? The way people like you automatically underestimate others. I mean, take for example, my first case with Watson. That cabbie, well, you never would have expected him! I did.
Well… I knew it was a cabbie. I just didn't know it was him.
Oh, don't look at me like that. Like you could have done any better.
...But you know what does make me unsure – makes my step falter?
Death.
It's such a strange thing, when you think about it, but you have to be philosophical about your approach.
It's not suitable to just think about the definition-
'Death is the term used to describe the cessation or permanent termination of all biological functions that sustain a living organism', you say?
Don't be sneaky. I saw you use Wikipedia, admit it.
But that's beside the point. Death is not the topic to be thinking about. It's the idea of what's beyond it. The Unknown.
Perhaps that's what really scares people about Death.
The point I'm trying to make here is, that while a murder in cold blood is not – under any circumstances – an okay thing to do, death is not something anyone should be worrying about.
I mean, it's all going to happen to us someday. Some quicker than others, but that's the way life works.
I'm not a detective all the time, imbecile! Just because I never struck you as the philosophical type doesn't mean I can't dabble occasionally in the precocious art of unraveling the meaning of life.
But I've got more important, pressing matters on my mind than to think about what awaits me. After all, I'll know when I get there won't I? Hmm. That may be sooner than you think. Oh, nothing - forget it. It's not important.
Have you heard about my latest case? It's quite fascinating, I think you might find. Moriarty. Finally, I may have found a man whose intelligence matches mine.
Well, there's your answer.
What do you mean, 'to what'? I asked you earlier 'How many 'me' copies have you met, that can draw theories from the slightest, tiniest clues?' Don't tell me your memory is that short.
But what does Moriarty want?
Let's find out, shall we? I wouldn't miss this case for the world. Care to come along?
Excellent. Watson can fill you in on the details of the case along the way.
But first, I think a cup of tea or two is in order. Mrs Hudson does make excellent tea.
!~!
A/N: Whaddya think? Leave a review, please, telling me. Sherlock is an excellent character to write about; he's so detailed. Do you think I should write more Sherlock fics? Or stick to the Hunger Games one I'm writing currently? Well, I, for one, enjoyed writing this. I may write more in the foreseeable future.