Free The Adventure of the Manufactured Miracle (The Midwinter Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes Book 1) by Craig Janacek

deplorable lack of action amongst the criminals of London. Despite his complaints, it felt good to be back at Baker Street after a many-year hiatus. I gazed at the crystalline frost on the windows, which gave me pause to consider stoking the flagging fire. Before I could rise, however, a familiar voice rang from the direction of Holmes’ bedroom.
    “Indeed, Watson, I hope your desire for peace on earth is fulfilled.”
    I turned to him in astonishment. “I say, Holmes, at times I wonder if you are Father Christmas himself. How do you know what I’ve been thinking?”
    He chuckled merrily, as he strode into the room. He was fully dressed for the day in his typical suit, with no foppery to indicate the approaching holiday. “Come now, Watson, we have known each other for almost fourteen years. You know my methods, pray put them to use.”
    I attempted to recall what I had been doing when Holmes had interrupted my post-prandial reverie, but failed to ascertain how Holmes was able to read the train of my thoughts. I finally admitted this failure.
    Holmes merely smiled complacently. “Then I will tell you. When you looked up from your papers, your eyes travelled first to the fireplace and from there to the coal-scuttle. As soon as I opened the door, I became aware that the temperature of the room is about three degrees lower than what you find optimal, so you were clearly contemplating adding some additional coals to the fire. The sight of my cigars mixed in with the coals caused you to subtly shake your head in virtuous dismay at Bohemian habits, which of course led your gaze to the Persian slipper in which I have taken to storing my pipe tobacco. From there, your eyes darted back to the coal-scuttle, and a mischievous grin appeared upon your face. You were obviously thinking of adding a lump of coal to the slipper in two nights’ time in hopes that I would equate such a discovery with a visit from Father Christmas down our chimney, whose ‘gift’ would signal a need for me to become more tidy in my habits. You then glanced over at the little patriotic decoration that, with the help of a hundred Boxer cartridges, I once adorned our wall. A small shuffling of your feet then induced you to look down, where your gaze lingered upon our bearskin hearthrug. A slight crinkle appeared in your brow, as if wondering wherever I had acquired such an item. Very briefly, your eyes darted back to the V.R. and you speculated whether I had coursed the poor creature myself. From there you glanced back at the fire and shook your head very slightly, before your eyes rose up to linger upon the boughs of holly with which Mrs. Hudson has seen fit to deck out our mantle. Clearly, the combination of a bear-hunt, the regret that in the rush of the holidays we failed to purchase a sturdier log for our fireplace, and the evergreens upon the mantle suggested to you the old Germanic holiday of Yule. Although originally a feast for Odin, many of the elements of its traditions were subsequently intermingled and absorbed into our current holiday after they were introduced to England by our queen’s consort, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. This realization brought your gaze back to its final resting place upon the V.R. where you hoped that the common bond that links our gracious queen with her hotheaded grandson, Kaiser Wilhelm II, would be sufficient to enable continued ‘peace on earth’ for both our nations.” [3]
    When he finished, I shook off my amazement and applauded with vigorous appreciation at his feat. “Bravo, Holmes!” I cried.
    “It was nothing, my dear Watson, merely a close observation of your features and drawing a reasonable chain of inferences,” said he, dismissively. But I thought I detected a slight flush of color spring to his pale cheeks, and suspected that this one was one of those dramatic moments where his proud and reserved nature was overcome by his human love for praise and admiration.
    But the moment was not