By remarkable coincidence, it transpired that the unfortunate Mister Wolowitz was a close friend of our two associates and young Penny. Within moments she had raised him on her portable telephone and we found ourselves descending the stairs to meet him. He greeted Penny warmly and we were introduced as 'Sherlock' and 'John'. He was an exceedingly short gentleman with neat black hair, most probably of the Jewish faith. I expected that Holmes would no doubt read more about him than this, I was not disappointed.
"Hmm, I see that you are an engineer who resides in his mother's house and that you frequently perform conjuring tricks." he remarked casually as he handed over the grateful man's wallet.
Mr Wolowitz was taken aback, he wore the same expression I had seen countless clients don when Holmes worked his own brand of conjuring trick.
"Did Penny tell you all that?"he asked, a little confused by Holmes' unusual comment.
The girl theatrically shook her head.
"I simply had to read it in the contents of your bag and the hand with which you reclaimed your property. I observe that the purchases you have made for yourself lie intermixed with those clearly destined for a lady much older than yourself, therefore they cannot be for the blond girl to which you recently became engaged,my congratulations by the way-"
Wolowitz gave another start at this, nothing had been said about the existence of such a girl.
"If not the girl,"continued Holmes, "Then I deduced, your mother. If they are for your mother,then why are they placed in a single bag? Surely it would be more logical to have placed them in separate bags had you lived apart. Ergo you must be planning to unload them in the same location,the only logical inference is that you live with your mother. As for your profession and your hobby of conjuring, your left thumb proclaims you to be an engineer. Unlike the last engineer I encountered, yours is still attached to it's hand."
I nodded knowingly at this, recalling the incident to which my friend alluded.
"It is the palm of that hand which speaks of your affiliation with the prestidigitative arts. It bears a ring of calluses which is only formed by routinely concealing coins in the palm."
"That's amazing! No wonder they call you Sherlock!...I suppose you're Dr Watson, right ?" he jested with glee.
"That is correct,"said I, nodding assertively.
At this the man burst into a fit of laughter. " Ahh that's a good one! Well it's been great meeting you guys. I gotta drop ma off at her bingo then get back to work, I owe you one for gettin' my wallet back Sherlock. See ya Penny."
With this he was gone before we could explain that before long we may be working alongside him...
Newly suited we left that grand marketplace into the glorious midday sun. We once more boarded Penny's machine and headed in high spirits for our appointment at the university. We alighted at another of the tarmac squares which seemed to do for the conveyances what stables once did for coaches. I later learned that some even had stableboys known as valets who would take the helm of your vehicle and guide it to a berth for a small fee. Our two hosts came towards us, Doctor Hofstader grinned broadly as he approached Holmes.
"Howard phoned me about his wallet, good going, I wish I was there. It's not every day you have the opportunity to see Sherlock Holmes in his element."
Holmes nodded modestly, "On the contrary Doctor Hofstader,"he said, "If this interview goes well, you may have the opportunity of seeing me working at problems for the foreseeable future. Albeit of a chemical rather than a criminal nature."
Somewhere behind me, I heard the metallic rattle of Penny's motor-vehicle pulling away.
"Right then let's make a start gentlemen," said doctor cooper as he led us away into the building.