kkolmakov
Sometimes there's a woman. Not the Woman, and only for a brief time - but that doesn't mean it doesn't count.
Esmé Webb is a modest librarian with a quiet life and a talent for remaining unseen. She exists in the margins, finding sanctuary among the stacks of books - until the silence of her flat is broken. Someone is visiting her home when she's out. Someone is leaving traces behind, shifting the edges of her reality.
And there was the man. A man who appeared without warning and vanished without a trace. He's a shadow in the corner of a pub, a presence that feels both like a threat and a promise. The perfect man who seems to have started the shift in her life.
When Esmé brings her case to 221B Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes is met with a mystery that refuses to be solved by logic alone, since Esmé has an uncanny ability to see right through him and to put everything else out of focus.
In the search for the truth, some things are better left buried.
Content & Trigger Warnings:
Please Note: This story contains mentions of blood, violence, and sexual assault.
Reader Guidance: These themes are handled with care as part of the characters' histories. There are no graphic descriptions of these events included in the narrative.