The Curious Case of Dr. Watson
by Lyrical Soul

Chapter One

As I am about to unveil the face of the killer, a frantic knocking on the door of my room jolts me from the fog-riddled dream streets of London and back into the harsh reality of my bed in Baker Street. "What is it?"

"Mr. Holmes!" Mrs. Hudson's voice pierces through the grey silence of the early morning. "Oh, Mr. Holmes, please wake up!" The door knob rattles, and I thank the stars that foresight led me to lock it before retiring last evening. "Mr. Holmes! Please!"

"Do go away, Mrs. Hudson," I groan, looking at my bedside clock. It is barely five. "And tell whomever has come to call at such an ungodly hour to do so also." I tuck my head back under the bedclothes and try to recapture the thread of the wonderful dream I was having.

The incessant rapping becomes a heavy pounding. "Please open the door, Mr. Holmes!" Her tone has taken on a frantic quality. "Inspector Lestrade is here. He said to tell you it is an urgent matter concerning Dr. Watson."

I jerk upright in the bed. "Watson?" Shoving the blankets aside, I leap from the bed, tug on my dressing gown, unlock my door, and wrench it open. "What is it, Mrs. Hudson?" I take in her paler than usual countenance, her watery eyes, and the wringing of her hands. "What has happened?"

"Inspector Lestrade is in the sitting room. He says he needs to see you concerning the good doctor."

"Calm yourself, Mrs. Hudson." I give her a small pat on the shoulder and draw my hand back quickly. "Have you wakened Dr. Watson?"

"He's not here!" she cries. "He seems not to have returned last night. Oh, Mr. Holmes, if some evil has befallen him-"

"There now," I cut her off. "I'll see to the Inspector. You let him know I'll be in directly, and take yourself back downstairs. And try not to upset yourself any further. All will be well." I close the door and hurriedly attend to my toilet and dress. 

***

In the sitting room, Inspector Lestrade is standing near the cold fireplace, his dark eyes darting about the mantle at the hodgepodge of items lying about. He looks up as I enter, and nods his head in greeting. "Mr. Holmes."

"Ah, Inspector Lestrade," I greet, keeping my tone neutral. "You have given Mrs. Hudson a fright, coming here in such an imperious manner."

"I've no time for your verbal lashings regarding social niceties, Mr. Holmes. Do you know the whereabouts of Dr. Watson last evening?"

"That you are asking such a question, combined with the hastiness of your own dress leads me to believe that there is trouble afoot. What has happened? Has he been harmed? Tell me everything."

"I'll do no such thing." His tone is hard and firm. "I will say that there has been an accusation."

"Against Dr. Watson? Of what nature, this accusation? And by whom?"

"He is currently.... keeping company with Mrs. Penelope Langstrom of Westingbrook Manor?"

"Well, 'keeping company' is such a frivolous euphemism, Inspector. Let us say she is a woman of his acquaintance. She has made an accusation?"

"Improprieties of a grave nature have been mentioned, and I do not need to tell you the seriousness of accusations of this kind, Mr. Holmes. Dr. Watson is in dire straights if this proves to be true. And even you, with all your deductive skills, won't be able to fight the facts this time."

"That remains to be seen." I say this with confidence, but I also harbor a feeling of dread. I do not like the prickling at the back of my neck at the thought that someone has made such an accusation against Watson. "Again, Inspector... what is the accusation?"

"Mrs. Langstrom was found this morning, bound and gagged in a hayloft on a farm near Rexford. Her condition... well, she's been beaten, and there is evidence of some rather... shocking behaviour. Deviance, if you will. Unnatural acts of a sexual nature. The lady says such was perpetrated by Dr. Watson against her will."

I scoff and wave a dismissive hand. "Watson is being accused of such... unnatural acts? Why, he'd no more have to resort to such things as would Don Juan. He is considered quite the catch in more social circles than even I can fathom, where many an insipid female has practically begged him to indulge in shocking acts, Inspector. Why the letters alone would prove..." I let the implication linger for a moment, and am rewarded by Lestrade's raised eyebrows. "Yet, he has remained above reproach. And as for Mrs. Langstrom..." I practically spit the name out... "There would be no reason for him to resort to force. If I may be so bold in saying."

"Nonetheless," Lestrade says forcefully, "an accusation has been made. You know as well as I that a thorough investigation into this matter will be necessary."

"Of course." I turn my sharpest gaze on him. "Where is Dr. Watson?"

"At the Yard. Held for questioning."

"Has he been placed under arrest? And what is the bond?" I go to my drawer, and unlock it, searching for my cheques. "Or should I need to wait until the bank opens to obtain the funds?"

A slow flush creeps up the Inspector's neck, and he shakes his head slowly. "He is not under arrest, so-"

"You disappoint me, Inspector." I cut him off, and slam my drawer shut, locking it again. I hurry toward the rack, and take up my and hat and overcoat. "And you show Dr. Watson great disrespect. Let us go to Scotland Yard and rescue my chronicler before he is scandalized any further."

"Mr. Holmes... what was I to do? Contrary to your low opinion of me and men in my profession, there are laws which I am sworn to uphold. There has been a charge of gross indecency, carnal knowledge, and unlawful seduction. Serious crimes." He looks at me with a cold and haughty look. "None of which you can expect me to overlook or disregard because we have had past dealings."

"No, of course not," I say, eyeing him with some frost of my own. "After all the time I have devoted to assisting you in your most baffling cases, making you a celebrated man in your work, why indeed would I expect you to show my friend and colleague the slightest courtesy, and spare him such embarrassment?" I take up my walking stick. "To Scotland Yard, then."

He opens his mouth to speak further, but I silence him with an upraised finger. "Say no more, Lestrade. Only know that by poking your stick in search of honey, you have managed to rouse the hive, and must now deal with the consequences of your actions." I hurry down the stairs to his waiting four-wheeler.

 
Chapter Two