Martha Topping Ring! Ring! Mrs Hudson’ s cheerful voice lept up the stairs. It was always so pleasant to hearing her in the morning. Light footsteps crept closer to my back, followed by a recognisable tone,“ Client!” Sherlock stated calmly, lounging back into his worn chair. Striding over to mine, I replied“ I know” A smug expression crawled on Sherlock’ s face.
“ How?”“ Sorry?”“ How did you know it was a client? All you heard was the doorbell. How did you know?”“ How did you know?” I asked, keeping a straight face. As Sherlock’ s assistant / friend, I should be used to the sudden interrogations but he still always catches me out. I stared around the flat. On top of the mahogany fireplace, lay the skull that often took my place when I had to go help Mrs Hudson solve her sudoku. Pages of unsolved crimes lay beside it, stabbed with a long knife. Tickling the corners of the paper, a fire blazed, filling the room with stuffy warmth. Large doors gracefully opened revealing a clattered kitchen full of science equipment and animal eyes. The fridge even held a human head! On the the wall, to the right of Sherlock, a yellow smiley face was painted on the wall covered in bullet-holes from times when Sherlock was“ Bored”. Beside it was a landscape of string and notes. Pictures of suspects and victims were sprawled across the surface. Sherlock exhaled,“ Watson. Oh, Watson. You really do have the worst answers.” I rolled my eyes. At that moment the door swung open, slamming against the wall. Entered an average-sized man dressed in ink-stained clothes and shaggy hair into the room. Mrs Hudson came hurrying after him; mopping away the dry mud his heavy boots dragged behind him.“ Are you Sherlock Holmes?” he shook the room as he spoke, yet he still trembled slightly.“ Yes.” Sherlock replied smoothly.“ I am in need to tell you about a strange case I have come across this morning.”“ Go on.” he added interested.“ It well … it’ s … it’ s about my thumb.” Sherlock whispered to me out of the corner of his mouth“ Don’ t think of a title for your blog.”“ People love the titles.” I replied sarcastically.“ Don’ t think of a title!” sharper this time.“ Already have. Sherlock Holmes and the Adventures of the Engineer’ s Thumb!” He grinned at me. I grinned back.“ Hello?” Our attention snapped straight back to the man, for a moment I forgot someone else was in the room.