Sherlock Holmes and the Engineer's Thumb 1 | Page 33

Grace Langley
When I look back at the many cases of 2016; it becomes increasingly hard to choose
one of great significance. But this is not the case because they were all boring, no,
in fact it is because they were all hair raising, perilous and above all deadly. However
there was one case that stuck out like a sore thumb because of its general relevance
to the life of sherlock Holmes.
The plaque shimmered like moonlight on lake as I rectified it on our front door. The
contrast between silver plated sign and the dark,sinister oak door really was
beautiful. The door creaked like a sword being pulled out of a tight fitting scabbard as
I confidently opened it andclosedit again, wondering at the way the light played
across the lettering. “221B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes Detective and CO.”
221B Baker Street is situated on the second floor and is part of a quaint victorian
terrace on Baker Street in the centre of London. This medium size 10 roomed
apartment is as quaint as any country cottage on the outside and indeed in the living
quarter. But when a client walks through our front door all they are met with is a
business like glacier containing cuddling armchairs and an appealing front desk all
immaculate. Our private area on the other hand is a chaotic forest o f furniture and
belongings corned by wallpaper as old as your grandmother. When I am sitting on
my bed in the early mornings and my feet suspended above the soft insulator carpet
that is the opposite to the interiour of the workspace as a tree is to a skyscraper.
The rest of the living space is much the same. Apart from the rooms in which my
companion has scattered a hall of disgusting and revolting goods related to past
cases.
Then I opened the familiar door for real and greeted the loyal receptionist and
housekeeper Mrs Hudson, who sat behind an oak desk that matched the door
precisely and exactly in the preference of my partner. Her chair was a high-backed
leather contraption that would be expected in films and the floor was a carpet that
was soft blankets under my booted feet. The walls were sharp blades cutting the
waiting room into shape.
After a short conversation of little interest with Mrs Hudson I found myself outside a
second door with its own silver plate. “Dr Jane Watson Assistant ,Medical and
Weapons Specialist.” This door I had oiled and so it didn’t make the ear splitting
creak of the other. I was just about to sit down when the door I had just wandered
through was almost flung off its hinges. “Jane did you hear about the murder,”
snapped my unprecedented visitor. “ Yes Mr Holmes the commissioner phoned Mrs
Hudson early this morning. She rescheduled all of our appointments for today
besides those related directly to the murder.” I replied in a calm but slightly annoyed
voice, “ there was a note on your desk.”