A/N: I do not own anything Sherlockian, except Kathryn Granger and Julia
Stamford, but since I killed her off, there wouldn't be any point in that,
anymore. Oh well, please R/R. Enjoy!
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Chapter 4- Sherlock's Surprise At this, Holmes's eyes widened considerably and, to the surprise of the rest of us, he stood up very quickly and began to pace around the room, eyebrows knotted, as though in deep, preoccupied thought. After a while, he stopped and then said:
"I beg you to pardon the interruption to this very interesting narrative. As you can perceive, this is a very shocking development. Pray continue."
At this, Holmes returned to his chair calmly, but I could tell by his pale face that this was a very astonishing turn of events unforeseen by him.
"As I was saying," Lestrade continued, somewhat more cautiously as a result of Holmes's reaction, "the pathologist determined that death was instantaneous, caused by a wound that punctured the left atrium of the heart inflicted by a very small, but sharp object. Time of death was estimated to be between the hours of 10 and 11 o'clock in the evening before. The maid was the person who found her when she went to bring the breakfast. An interview with the landlady revealed that a mysterious stranger called upon the victim on the night of the murder, but as of now, we have no clue as to the identity of that person, and we do not have any other leads to go on. None of the other servants or the landlady could reveal anything else as they already retired to there own rooms by that hour. I would very much appreciate it if you would come around with me to look at the case."
Holmes had now recovered from the initial amazement of the news and now was pondering the facts over in his mind.
"Yes, yes. Why not?" He mused after some time. "I will come around with you now and have a look at the case. You won't mind if my friend, Miss Granger comes along with us?"
Lestrade shook his head. "Of course not, Mr. Holmes; I have no objection whatsoever," he answered.
"Perfect," Holmes exclaimed, "Watson, would you mind going downstairs with Lestrade for a moment to hail a brougham? I have something to discuss with Miss Granger in private and we will be down shortly."
I consented, and made my way down the stairs, followed by a very bewildered Lestrade.
"Upon my word, Dr. Watson," he said in an astonished voice, "Just between you and me, I think that Mr. Holmes is out of his mind. Blimey, he's acting stranger than usual. I am beginning to regret my informing him of this murder. I hope that his reaction will not impair his ability to solve this case."
"I think that Holmes is just shocked that Julia Stamford is now dead," I replied, smiling. "I've never seen him like this before in all our years of friendship. I know him well enough, however; to know he will put his emotions aside when he is looking at the case at hand.
Holmes and Kathryn shortly followed us, just in time to catch the brougham waiting outside. The journey itself to the crime scene was an uneventful one. Holmes himself was silent and brooding with his fingers arched in front of him and his eyebrows knitted above his steely grey eyes.
Kathryn, Lestrade and I were engaged in a quiet conversation about the prospects of the case at hand.
"I've got some of my constables still searching for any shred of evidence as to the identity of the culprit," said Lestrade, "but as far as I know, nothing important has been discovered, not even the murder weapon."
"Why did you inform Holmes so early on in your investigation?" I asked. "You have never handed a case into his hands so quickly before."
"Well Doctor, normally I would have waited until all the evidence was gathered before consulting Mr. Holmes," replied Lestrade, "but as this situation involves a close acquaintance of his, I thought that it would be better to inform him sooner. I also didn't want to hear of his complaints that I had consulted him too late and had robbed him of potentially valuable evidence."
"Perhaps you should not have informed him at all, after seeing his reaction to the news," commented Kathryn sternly, "His relationship with the victim may bias his judgement and impair his ability to solve the case."
"Well, what's done is done, Miss Granger," replied Lestrade hurriedly, "I don't deny that my actions were a little rash, but it seems to me that Mr. Holmes is back to his old self" He glanced at Holmes surreptitiously, before quickly changing the subject, "So, Miss Granger. What brings you to London and why are you interested in this case?"
"I'm here in London on research for my next mystery novel," Kathryn replied simply. "The same reason explains my interest in this case. I hope to make my stories as realistic as possible, to bring the readers into the scenario itself. But enough about me, for here we are at scene of the crime."
Indeed, the bed and breakfast where Julia Stamford once stayed was before us. The four of us stepped out of the cab, and at once Holmes had pulled Kathryn aside and the two of them strolled up and down the street, examining the scenery.
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Chapter 4- Sherlock's Surprise At this, Holmes's eyes widened considerably and, to the surprise of the rest of us, he stood up very quickly and began to pace around the room, eyebrows knotted, as though in deep, preoccupied thought. After a while, he stopped and then said:
"I beg you to pardon the interruption to this very interesting narrative. As you can perceive, this is a very shocking development. Pray continue."
At this, Holmes returned to his chair calmly, but I could tell by his pale face that this was a very astonishing turn of events unforeseen by him.
"As I was saying," Lestrade continued, somewhat more cautiously as a result of Holmes's reaction, "the pathologist determined that death was instantaneous, caused by a wound that punctured the left atrium of the heart inflicted by a very small, but sharp object. Time of death was estimated to be between the hours of 10 and 11 o'clock in the evening before. The maid was the person who found her when she went to bring the breakfast. An interview with the landlady revealed that a mysterious stranger called upon the victim on the night of the murder, but as of now, we have no clue as to the identity of that person, and we do not have any other leads to go on. None of the other servants or the landlady could reveal anything else as they already retired to there own rooms by that hour. I would very much appreciate it if you would come around with me to look at the case."
Holmes had now recovered from the initial amazement of the news and now was pondering the facts over in his mind.
"Yes, yes. Why not?" He mused after some time. "I will come around with you now and have a look at the case. You won't mind if my friend, Miss Granger comes along with us?"
Lestrade shook his head. "Of course not, Mr. Holmes; I have no objection whatsoever," he answered.
"Perfect," Holmes exclaimed, "Watson, would you mind going downstairs with Lestrade for a moment to hail a brougham? I have something to discuss with Miss Granger in private and we will be down shortly."
I consented, and made my way down the stairs, followed by a very bewildered Lestrade.
"Upon my word, Dr. Watson," he said in an astonished voice, "Just between you and me, I think that Mr. Holmes is out of his mind. Blimey, he's acting stranger than usual. I am beginning to regret my informing him of this murder. I hope that his reaction will not impair his ability to solve this case."
"I think that Holmes is just shocked that Julia Stamford is now dead," I replied, smiling. "I've never seen him like this before in all our years of friendship. I know him well enough, however; to know he will put his emotions aside when he is looking at the case at hand.
Holmes and Kathryn shortly followed us, just in time to catch the brougham waiting outside. The journey itself to the crime scene was an uneventful one. Holmes himself was silent and brooding with his fingers arched in front of him and his eyebrows knitted above his steely grey eyes.
Kathryn, Lestrade and I were engaged in a quiet conversation about the prospects of the case at hand.
"I've got some of my constables still searching for any shred of evidence as to the identity of the culprit," said Lestrade, "but as far as I know, nothing important has been discovered, not even the murder weapon."
"Why did you inform Holmes so early on in your investigation?" I asked. "You have never handed a case into his hands so quickly before."
"Well Doctor, normally I would have waited until all the evidence was gathered before consulting Mr. Holmes," replied Lestrade, "but as this situation involves a close acquaintance of his, I thought that it would be better to inform him sooner. I also didn't want to hear of his complaints that I had consulted him too late and had robbed him of potentially valuable evidence."
"Perhaps you should not have informed him at all, after seeing his reaction to the news," commented Kathryn sternly, "His relationship with the victim may bias his judgement and impair his ability to solve the case."
"Well, what's done is done, Miss Granger," replied Lestrade hurriedly, "I don't deny that my actions were a little rash, but it seems to me that Mr. Holmes is back to his old self" He glanced at Holmes surreptitiously, before quickly changing the subject, "So, Miss Granger. What brings you to London and why are you interested in this case?"
"I'm here in London on research for my next mystery novel," Kathryn replied simply. "The same reason explains my interest in this case. I hope to make my stories as realistic as possible, to bring the readers into the scenario itself. But enough about me, for here we are at scene of the crime."
Indeed, the bed and breakfast where Julia Stamford once stayed was before us. The four of us stepped out of the cab, and at once Holmes had pulled Kathryn aside and the two of them strolled up and down the street, examining the scenery.