Beryl looked over the carefully typed manuscript. It wasn't a masterpiece, she knew. She wasn't the author her father was, particularly on her first attempt. He would have made it much more dramatic and Holmes would have seemed much more intelligent, she was sure.
Some of the conversations Beryl had made up, based on things her father had taught her about reason, logic, and analysis which he in turn said he'd learned from Holmes. The few times she had met the great detective, he had been distant and distracted, but always willing to talk about deductive reasoning and analysis to her as well.
At the bottom of the final page were some notes written with a pencil, obviously added later in her father's sloppy handwriting. Janus had testified about the case and since no treasures had actually left the building, the magistrates treated him gently and he was not charged with any crime.
The other criminals in the gang had turned on Sir Crosby and given evidence, and Crosby himself confessed, saving the nation from an embarrassing trial. Beryl had looked but could not find a Crosby noble family, so apparently his debts and imprisonment had ended the line's status and all its assets had been sold off.
The Abernetty family still had a fine home in Luton, so apparently there had been some other member to carry on the line. Beryl could not get into the British Museum, but after the war, she planned a visit to see if the Tolec display was still up and if anyone knew about the doorway behind it.
She neatly arranged the double-spaced, carefully typed pages and pondered them. Maybe after the war she could get the story in print as well. While not famous at any level, her connection to Sherlock and Dr Watson would probably interest a publisher. Until then, it was just a fight to survive and hope the world that that previous generation had helped build survived to see the future.
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The Dreadful Business of the Abernetty Family
Misterio / SuspensoJohn Watson's daughter Beryl finds the notes about a case her father never finished, during WW2. A free story experiment, written only for Wattpad. Stay tuned for irregular updates. Raw, unedited, unre-written, this is just how it comes out on th...
