XXXII. The Adventure of the Stagnant Mind

[so_meretricious]

{Holmes is looking a little better in colour and spirits than he has been, though just as pained. The thrill of the chase, the challenge is completely gone for him, but his contract remains unfulfilled.}

Have any of you aboard found suitable distraction, besides that of parlour games and idle gossip? I should be thankful to hear.

Comments

[strangehstorian]

[Talking about something that's not the flood! Hooray!]

Well, some of us are investigating the coma phenomenon!

[so_meretricious]

Supernatural and mystic forces are quite outside my purview.

[strangehstorian]

It is possible that it's neither, though!

[so_meretricious]

The possibility remains, however remote. Have you come to any theories or hypotheses?

[blesseddumbfuck]

I like to talk to people, but that's 'idle gossip', isn't it?

[so_meretricious]

Talking to people is not immediately gossip, idle or otherwise, unless your subject happens to be the rumours, shoddy conclusions, and speculations about those around you and with whomever you are conversing.

[notiaraincluded]

You could hit the gym.

re-posted cos I can't edit

[byronicsherlock]

[Have a shot of the wall, showing the board full of notes and photos and case-related-stuff from one of the cases Sherlock brought with him. Sherlock's voice comes from behind the camera.]

Victim, female, 23. On her way home from a long weekend in London. [Zooms in on a train timetable, relevant numbers circled in red.] Died approximately 2.15 on the Great Malvern-London Train. Passengers assumed she was sleeping for at least an hour. She was eventually discovered to be dead just before pulling into Oxford.

[Zooms in on autopsy photos.] No markings on the body, [written notes and tables] blood-work came out normal.

[Camera turns around and have a shaky close up of Sherlock's face, he's not looking great either, dark circles under his eyes.] Shall I continue?

[so_meretricious]

I assume that this blood work detects and yet found no traces of poisons and the like? If so, yes, by all means do continue.

ff also pretend I remembered to put: [private]

[byronicsherlock]

Yes. But there's a possibility something was overlooked, unusual, slow acting, combined with something else... I have samples, I intend to run my own experiments as well.

The police write-up is here. [Raises a wodge of papers.] You're welcome to it.

[He drops into his chair, and steeples his fingers.] Samantha Cresswell, left her house at 8.30 on Friday morning, travelled down to London on the train, met her two friends there, one a London native, the other came in from Bristol, also on the train. They spent the next three days, on the town. The usual, eating out, clubbing, the parks, the galleries. Ticket stubs and booking records support the friends' stories. The Bristol dweller left earlier, she was working on Monday. Samantha bid her friend goodbye at approximately 1.00 in Paddington station. The train wasn't busy. Off peak, and a work-day. Only five witnesses came forward. Two remembered seeing her board, three more saw her 'sleeping.' She died within moments of boarding

Duly Noted! {Private}

[so_meretricious]

Mm, I'd say she indeed missed her stop.