September 2004

My Fellow Sherlock Holmes Fans,

"It is an old maxim of mine that when you have excluded the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." So spoke the ever immortal Sherlock Holmes.

Yet I wonder if even he might have wondered about these mysterious emails. I have examined them up, down, backwards, forwards, left, right, inside, outside, etc, etc, etc. I have sent it to various acquaintances without success. I have even written back to the good doctor only to have him reply with another cryptic message: You will know when the time comes.

Know what? What time? He never replied.

He also said in his email: Please tell your acquaintance that I learned to use a computer because Holmes thought they would help us in our cases. Unfortunately, I am only able to send emails and type up my stories for I am thoroughly befuddled about the rest of the machine! Rest assured, however, I do mean to learn…as soon as I learn how to type with more than two fingers!

Poor Watson, always degrading himself. He also went on to mention that they had acquired such a machine from Mycroft and Holmes, at first, refused to use it! After much cajoling Holmes used it and found it quite entertaining, though he didn't say so in as many words.

But I digress.

As I've stated before, I am the good doctor's "editor" and publisher. Why he chose me, why he chooses to send his work via email, and why he uses such cryptic messages I'm sure only he could answer.

As Holmes would say, "The game is afoot!"

Most sincerely yours,

Scarlett Red Rose

Postscript: As I was drawing this letter to its conclusion I was alerted to another email. In this Watson said that he was learning more of the basics of the computer and doing exceedingly well at it. Although, he hastens to add, it is rather difficult with a hawk-eyed critic at his shoulder!

SRR