Sherlock Fanfic: A Most Unfavourable Deal (JWP 2014 Amnesty Prompts 1-7)
Title: A Most Unfavorable Deal
Fandom: Sherlock (BBC)
Alternate Postings: At AO3
Rating/Content: PG13, forced plot and dialog for the sake of a challenge, utterly ridiculous. Also a corpse.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 221B
Disclaimer: Not my world.
Notes: Written for watsons_woes Amnesty Prompt #6: Something from Nothing. (AKA Make your own prompt.) The prompt I made up is "Combine multiple pre-existing prompts in a single entry." So, I leave it up to the comm mods whether this also counts for the other prompts used here, namely the following Amnesty Prompts: #1-Hidden Words, #2-Favorite Format (221B), #3-No Joke, #4-Stellar (the crab nebula), #5-John Constable, and #7-The Terrible Storm Has.... All together to make this particular 221B an Watsons-woes Amnesty Prompt Grand Slam. (I mainly just did it to see if I could, I'm not fussed about the points :-D)
Summary: The strangest things can provide motive for murder.
A Most Unfavorable Deal
"Obviously it's a deal gone wrong, but there's no drugs or valuables anywhere in this flat. Then this arrived today." Lestrade passed an opened courier envelope. "Should have been delivered yesterday, but flooding from that terrible storm delayed it. Cut off whole villages."
Intended recipient behind him, dead on the floor, Sherlock examined the framed postcard inside. A colourful explosion on a black field, with an embossed overlay:
Just flew back from holiday in the
Crab/Orion Star Nebula. Boy are
my arms tired.
"It's a space-thing. John?"
"Nebula," John said, peering over Sherlock's shoulder. "I've heard of the Crab and Orion, but not in combination. They've nothing to do with each other. Never heard of a Star Nebula either."
"See," Lestrade said, "the timing seems like the deal was over this, but the delay bollixed it. Buyer killed the seller."
"But who kills someone over a space postcard?" asked John.
"Exactly."
Sherlock hummed, tilting it, viewing it edge-on. A faint difference- "Anderson! UV torch!"
With egregious mutterings, Anderson slapped the torch into Sherlock's outstretched palm. Sherlock shone UV light onto the card, turning it to face the Yarders.
Just flew back from holiday in the
Crab/Orion Star Nebula. Boy are
my arms tired.
"Remove the ridiculous postcard." Sherlock passed the parcel back. "You'll find a John Constable painting, missing since July, worth half a million pounds."
"Really?" gasped Lestrade.
John grinned. "Brilliant!"
-.-.-
(that's all of them! \o/)
Fandom: Sherlock (BBC)
Alternate Postings: At AO3
Rating/Content: PG13, forced plot and dialog for the sake of a challenge, utterly ridiculous. Also a corpse.
Warnings: none
Word Count: 221B
Disclaimer: Not my world.
Notes: Written for watsons_woes Amnesty Prompt #6: Something from Nothing. (AKA Make your own prompt.) The prompt I made up is "Combine multiple pre-existing prompts in a single entry." So, I leave it up to the comm mods whether this also counts for the other prompts used here, namely the following Amnesty Prompts: #1-Hidden Words, #2-Favorite Format (221B), #3-No Joke, #4-Stellar (the crab nebula), #5-John Constable, and #7-The Terrible Storm Has.... All together to make this particular 221B an Watsons-woes Amnesty Prompt Grand Slam. (I mainly just did it to see if I could, I'm not fussed about the points :-D)
Summary: The strangest things can provide motive for murder.
A Most Unfavorable Deal
"Obviously it's a deal gone wrong, but there's no drugs or valuables anywhere in this flat. Then this arrived today." Lestrade passed an opened courier envelope. "Should have been delivered yesterday, but flooding from that terrible storm delayed it. Cut off whole villages."
Intended recipient behind him, dead on the floor, Sherlock examined the framed postcard inside. A colourful explosion on a black field, with an embossed overlay:
Just flew back from holiday in the
Crab/Orion Star Nebula. Boy are
my arms tired.
"It's a space-thing. John?"
"Nebula," John said, peering over Sherlock's shoulder. "I've heard of the Crab and Orion, but not in combination. They've nothing to do with each other. Never heard of a Star Nebula either."
"See," Lestrade said, "the timing seems like the deal was over this, but the delay bollixed it. Buyer killed the seller."
"But who kills someone over a space postcard?" asked John.
"Exactly."
Sherlock hummed, tilting it, viewing it edge-on. A faint difference- "Anderson! UV torch!"
With egregious mutterings, Anderson slapped the torch into Sherlock's outstretched palm. Sherlock shone UV light onto the card, turning it to face the Yarders.
Just flew back from holiday in the
Crab/Orion Star Nebula. Boy are
my arms tired.
"Remove the ridiculous postcard." Sherlock passed the parcel back. "You'll find a John Constable painting, missing since July, worth half a million pounds."
"Really?" gasped Lestrade.
John grinned. "Brilliant!"
-.-.-
(that's all of them! \o/)