Prompt from Domina Temporis: Up on the rooftops.
"John, did you hear something?" Mary asked me late one December night. It was only a few days before Christmas, and we were enjoying a quiet night in by the fireside, she with her knitting, and me with a copy of the latest medical journal.
"Not a thing, dearest," I assured her. Still, there had been several burglaries in our area lately, serious enough that I had even gone to Holmes for assistance, so I put down my journal, asking, "What did it sound like?"
"It sounded like something on the roof." She startled, dropping her knitting, then twisted to look upwards. "There it is again! Something up on the rooftops!"
I opened my mouth to ask her for more details, when I heard the sound as well. It sounded like something scrabbling on the rooftops, but was a much heavier sound than any small animal that may normally reside there would make. I grabbed a poker from the fire, and with a warning at Mary to stay inside, I ventured up to the rooftops.
To my surprise, there I found Holmes, lying on the ground with blood running from his forehead. "Holmes!" I exclaimed.
He stirred with a groan, and I helped him to sit upright. "What happened?" I asked.
"The last thing I remember was a man in red appearing from behind the chimney. We tussled, and I had him at my mercy when he slipped my grip and slammed head against the rooftop. After that, I do not know."
After a brief search of the rooftop for clues, which Holmes insisted on, I brought him back inside to tend his injuries. He ended up staying the night as I watched him for a concussion.
After that night, the burglaries stopped. While Holmes maintains that the man was an amateur, scared off by meeting opposition, I am not so convinced...