Andrea Frazer - Holmes and Garden 01 - The Curious Case of the Black Swan Song (16 page)

Colin had evidently been in during the evening, and he must remember to keep the door to his room shut, for this time the little bugger had peed all down the pair of slacks he had left out for the grand opening in the morning. Once again the cat had got one over on him. His hands, completely independently of his brain, made strangling motions in the air. He’d get his own back, one of these days, you just see if he didn’t.

From his own room, his partner was just taking off his shirt when he heard the anguished cry from the other bedroom. ‘Holmes! He’s done it again.’

Chapter Seventeen
Saturday

They were both early into the new offices the next morning, and once more they surveyed, with pride, the job they had done furnishing it. The front office looked modern and professional; the back office, in total contrast, had that ‘old, steady, trustworthy, established firm’ look. The desks were on the left and right walls as one entered, and against the opposite wall, with only a break for the door which formed the back entrance, were oak filing cabinets, stacked to give the appearance of a giant pharmacist’s cabinet.

One of the large rugs they had also bought at the auction looked stunning across the middle of the floor, and Holmes had also found two wing chairs in leather for the client’s to sit in while they consulted with their chosen detective. In a corner stood a large coat and hat stand with, Garden noticed, a deerstalker – as threatened – hanging from it, as well as a cloaked overcoat and, hung on the wall, was what, the younger man presumed, was a second violin. It was all so reminiscent of the pub they had visited the previous evening that Garden realised that Holmes
was
taking the whole thing seriously, in his own, unique way, but that he had lapses of concentration, and was liable to fly off, for a while, on a tangent.

Glancing his eyes around the rest of the back office, he noticed that there were gilt-framed pictures on the wall, and a venerable old clock ticked on the wall. It felt like a long-lost home, and definitely had the atmosphere that would make it easy for a person with a problem with which they could assist to unburden themselves. It certainly inspired trust and confidence.

The piper also turned up early, and went up to the empty flat upstairs to get his instrument tuned up and ready to play. He was resplendent, as promised, in full Highland regalia, looking absolutely fantastic, and would certainly cause a stir playing out in the main street. It was an auspicious start. If only the rest of the day could go as well.

At nine o’clock sharp, their piper took himself off to being playing, and he could be heard greeting somebody as he went through the door. Both men stood still, a small smile playing about Holmes’ lips.

‘Is that a client already?’ asked Garden, his stomach turning over nervously.

‘I think I know who it is,’ replied Holmes, who was now definitely smirking. ‘If I’m not mistaken, I should be able to introduce you to our new receptionist/secretary.’

Garden’s stomach gave another involuntary flip, and he unconsciously checked his appearance in the gilt-framed mirror which was hung next to the door to the outer office for just that purpose. When on earth had the man had time to sort this out?

Holmes held the door open to usher his partner through, saying at the same time, ‘May I introduce you to our newest member of staff, Ms Shirley Garden.’

Holmes had only gone and hired his mother, who was supposed to be happily temping her way to a living without any complaint. ‘When the hell did this happen?’ demanded Garden in a croaky voice tinged with shock.

‘When I nipped out, when you were in the shower yesterday evening. Your mother is always very well presented, and I thought she would be the ideal front image for our new venture. She’s neither an air-headed youngster, nor a gorgon-headed old monster. What do you think?’

Garden thought nothing. For the first time in his life, he had passed out cold. He couldn’t wait to get away from living with his mother, and now he was going to spend every day working in the same offices as her. He must have been very evil in a past life – maybe Vlad the Impaler – for this was his worst nightmare come true.

When he returned to consciousness, he found himself in the secretary’s chair where Holmes had managed to haul his unresisting body, his mother was fanning his face with a clean tea towel, and in the spare seat intended for clients who came in to enquire about their services, was a woman weeping copiously, and bleating that they just had to help her, because she couldn’t stand it any more.

It looked like their very first official case had walked through the door and, as it were, caught them with their pants down. Outside, the piper was playing a lament, having switched from the lively tones of a reel, and it set the tone horribly accurately.

They had to look professional and experienced, they had to do it confidently, and, more than that, they had to do it
now
!

THE END

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The Curious Case of the Black Swan Song

ISBN 9781783756285

Copyright © 2012 by Andrea Frazer

This edition published by Accent Press 2014

The right of Andrea Frazer to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers: Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon, CF45 4SN

These stories are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental