I do not own Sherlock I really, really, really, really, want to but I sadly don't :(
A simple note.
He looked at the note with in trepidation, it was a warning.
"Short and sweet." he sighed.
It only said two words, "BACK OFF!" very little in the way of clues. Watson had watched Sherlock determine the personality of someone form something as simple and impersonal as a business memo but this was only two words and Watson knew he couldn't do anything without clues, and he would never try. Find a theory to match the facts not facts to match the theory, he would always say.
"This is not our man." Sherlock said interrupting his thoughts.
"What, of course it is. We are close on his trail. It's obvious he left us a note to back off." John said.
"No, our man did not leave this note. Our man is stylish, meticulous, disciplined, well thought out and imaginative. The person who wrote this note is lazy, impulsive and cheap." Sherlock said.
"How could you possibly know that?" John asked a little annoyed that he came to a conclusion out of nowhere yet again.
"Simple. Writing that note was a spur of the moment decision, it was written on the hotel's note pad with the use of the hotel pen. The man we are chasing would have used his own pen and paper and written it well in advance, and he definitely would not have left it behind himself, not to mention the words themselves, back off. No imagination what-so-ever! Simple and boring, something a twelve year old would write. Not to mention the exclamation marks. Too many and way to blunt, as though he was shouting, No. this man hasn't any style at all!" Sherlock said with disdain.
"Yes, but maybe he was in a hurry," John suggested wanting to be involved in the brilliance that was one of Sherlock's deductions.
"No, the words are all in capitals - probably to make it more difficult to compare to other hand-writing samples, but each has been carefully written ending with a dot at the end of the letters. If they were in a hurry, the end of the letters would have a tick-like mark of one who is impatient to get the pen off the page and moving on to the next letter," Sherlock said.
"But don't the capitals suggest that they were planning ahead?" John asked.
"An afterthought at best, people who plan ahead would have used their own pen." Sherlock said like it was obvious.
"But they could have used the hotel pen because it was easier. Most people would." John said annoyed as Sherlock only got more and more self-absorbed.
"Yes but once they found out it doesn't work they would have used their own pen. Look here in the corner. There are scratches and scribbles of trying to get the pen to work, someone with their own pen obviously wouldn't persist doing with the hotel pen." Sherlock said.
"Ok, and that's how you knew they were cheap and disorganised." John said, glad to finally follow what Sherlock was saying.
"No, I know they're cheap because they took the pen." He said with a smirk as he grabbed his coat and left the room.
John just shook his head as he ran after him as Sherlock as he always did.