"Don't even, Sherlock Holmes, this recipe has remained secret since my great-grandmother wrote it down and I will not share a single ingredient!"
"Mrs. Hudson, I won't sell it on the black market," Holmes chuckled. "I am conducting research to see why the majority of the populace denounces fruitcake. I must isolate its ingredients to deduce which causes the offence."
"You and the doctor like my fruitcake; I'm not concerned about the general populace."
"Mrs. Hudson…"
"Mr. Holmes…"
"Brown sugar; you have bought a large quantity and you rarely use it."
Mrs. Hudson brandished her spoon. "Out of my kitchen."
He backed into the hallway.
"Out of my sight as well!"
He stood by the doorframe.
"Pineapple, I recall. Walnuts…eggs, baking powder, and flour. They have a slight texture difference, you know. That's how I deduced that you used both, despite their identical colors."
In the kitchen, she cracked an egg.
"Dried fruits…raisins and cherries, I do think. Several varieties of both?"
She sighed.
"And of course you need shortening for cake…" He paused. "Now that I have deduced all but a few of the ingredients, maybe you'll consider revealing the rest?"
Watson came downstairs, tracking the smells from the kitchen. "Ah, she's baking again," he said happily. "I smell vanilla—are you making fruitcake, Mrs. Hudson?"
"Vanilla ,too," Holmes called.
Mrs. Hudson emerged and said shortly, "A teaspoon salt." And then she marched back into the kitchen, leaving Holmes victorious…
She took out her small flask and smiled. "And the secret ingredient," she whispered. "Caribbean rum."
Alice Wright: Holmes is on the case...of what is in the fruitcake.
