The Case of the Cursed Corpse, Chapter the Tenth.
A huge 'thank you' to my awesome beta, Medcat.
To all who read and reviewed, thank you very much.
Mrs. Pencil- It gets better. Yes, that touched my heart, too.
After what Watson went through, I thought I'd better clarify where the soap came from.
Hades Lord of the Dead- I was wondering where you were, glad you are back online. Also glad that you like it.
Anonymous {}- You must be the fifth or sixth person who has commented on that. I love to write it, I think that the concern is quite sweet. They sure do have a mystery on their hands, and here are the results, just for you.
Westron Wynde O- I loved writing it, and I'm glad that you liked reading it.
The Liberal Admitted- Glad you like where the story is going. I must admit, I had not thought of killing off Dr. Leonard before he could say anything. Hmmm... Thanks. Oh, btw, what's a woobie? Sounds cute.
Dr. Leonard strode into the room and closed the door. Turning to Watson, he said "I am glad to see you awake. How are you feeling?"
"Oh, so very much better than I was. Thank you so for all that you have done for me. Now, you were saying about the test?" prompted Watson.
"Oh, yes. You were right, Mr. Holmes. The soap was impregnated with nitroglycerin. No wonder both men collapsed. Dr. Watson, someone must be very angry with you," the doctor said.
"Actually, we were just shown to the room, and we were not told which articles to use. Therefore, it could just as easily have been me," said Holmes.
"I'm very glad that it was not." acknowledged Watson. "But Dr. Leonard brought up a good point. Who would do such a thing?"
"I think that the question should be 'who could do such a thing', said Dr. Leonard.
"No, that's too obvious." said Holmes. "If I were going to do such a thing, I would not want anyone to know that I could. Mrs. Leboux is much too obvious, so that would rule her out, because someone wants people to be suspicious of her. Until we figure out what's going on, I do not think that we should mention our suspicions. Dr. Leonard, how long are you going to be looking in on Watson?"asked the detective.
"A few days, perhaps a week. It really depends on Dr. Watson." explained Dr. Leonard.
"Oh, just curious. You would not happen to have about twenty minutes or so on your hands right now, do you?"
"To do what, precisely,"asked the doctor.
"To have a cup of tea with Mrs. Leboux,"answered Holmes.
"I would love to join you," admitted the doctor.
"I shall not be present."
"What? Where will you be," asked Dr. Leonard.
"I think that someone should check to see the state of Mrs. Leboux' nitroglycerin. You prescribed it for her, did you not?"
"Yes, I did."
"And would you know how many she would have left?"
"Since it is something taken as needed, the answer would not be exact, but I could tell if a lot of them were missing, if that is what you mean."
"Yes, it is exactly what I mean."
"And how do you plan to get into the dresser without the key?" asked Dr. Leonard.
"Holmes can do wonders without keys," volunteered Watson. Holmes glared at him.
"Well,"said Dr. Leonard, rising. "I had better go and have some tea, then. I shall see you later." He looked at Holmes. "Good luck."
"Thank you. How do plan to get an invitation to tea?"
"The same way I always do. I put the kettle on, sit down by the lady of the house, and ask her how she is doing. It usually drums up some business, and I have only been thrown out by an irate maid once."
Holmes and Watson shared a glance and dissolved into laughter. "And you have called ME a cheeky bugger, Watson!" the detective laughed.
His face became more composed. This being said, gentlemen, let us each do his duty, and meet here after we are finished." Holmes and Dr. Leonard left the room together.
Watson thought he would just close his eyes for a moment. The next thing he knew, Dr. Leonard was sitting down by him.
"Well, now all we need to do is to wait for Mr. Holmes."
The wait was interminable. After what seemed like forever, Holmes came in and sat down.
"Holmes, what kept you?"asked Watson.
A red-faced Holmes admitted "I got all my facts. Where to go, what to do, and how to do it. I did, however not know that Yvette's dusting, sweeping, and bed-stripping day for milady's chamber was today. I have been bent practically double in the closet. The god who looks after foolish detectives must have heard my pleas that Yvette not open the closet door. All I could have done if she had would have been to fall out at her feet. I could look up at her only after I escaped the confines of that closet, for truly I do not think that there was enough room in there to even move my eyes."
"Oh, poor Holmes! Did you get the nitroglycerin?" asked Watson.
Holmes held up a small bottle.
"Here now, what are you doing with that?" a voice from behind him asked.
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