no place like holmes - preview

8/7/2019 No Place Like Holmes - Preview

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NoPLAClIKH o L M E S

JASONlETHCOE

THOMAS NELSONSinc_ 1798

NASHVILLE DALLAS MEXICO CITY RIO DE JANEIRO

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A SHARPE BOY

Griffin Sharpe noticed everything.When people spoke, he noticed the color oftheir teeth. He also counted the number of frayedthreads on men's shirtsleeves or the number of feathers on alady's hat. And he didn't just notice that they were there. Healso carefully noted the color and the type of bird that hadsupplied each one.

He memorized entire sections of the Bible, Webster'sDictionary, and the Encyclopedia Britannica, and could recallany part of them when he needed to. Everything he saw wasphotographed with his mind's eye and stored for use at a laterdate. In other words, Griffin Sharpe was one of those rareindividuals whom people refer to as a "genius."

But even though he was incredibly smart, Griffin was ahumble boy. His father, who was a Methodist minister, hadtaught him that the sin of pride was the basis of many others.And Griffin did his best to resist the temptation to correct otherswhen they were wrong. He'd found out quickly that being rightall the time didn't help him make friends.

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JASON LETHCOE

In fact, one of the main reasons Griffin had traveled allthe way to London from Boston was because he hadn't beeninvited to spend the summer at a local camp with his school-mates. The other children hated him for being the teacher'spet. Answers to questions seemed to pop into his head beforethe schoolmaster had even finished asking them, and it washard for Griffin to contain his excitement when he saw thesolution to a problem. That never went over well with hisclassmates.Griffin had the bruises to prove it.

He gazed around the tiny train compartment in which henow sat, his sad, blue eyes taking in all the details. He wasalone; the other three seats in his compartment had beenempty for several stops. Griffin had just finished counting thenumber of tassels on one of the velvet window curtains whenthe brass-trimmed door slid open and a friendly man's faceappeared.

"Ticket, please."Griffin reached into his coat pocket and removed his ticket.

As he handed it to the conductor, he noticed that the manwore round brass glasses that were called Pince-nez, that oneside of his handlebar moustache was waxed and curled moretightly than the other, that he had a spot of Dijon mustard onthe left side of his jacket's lapel (probably from his lunch), and,most strangely of all, that the edges of his shirt cuffs had dirty,gray marks around their edges.

All of these things Griffin noticed in the split secondbefore the conductor had torn his ticket. Everything aboutthe man was acceptable and ordinary in Griffin's opinion, butthe man's soot-stained shirt cuffs gave him pause. Then, as

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NO PLACE LIKE HOLMES

the man handed back his half of the ticket, Griffin quicklydeduced an explanation.

"Oh ... excuse me, but has the train been shorthandedtoday?" Griffin asked politely

The conductor hesitated, appearing confused. "Excuse me?"Griffin smiled and indicated the man's sleeves. "I don't mean

to be rude, sir. Iwas just curious since I happened to notice thesoot marks on the edges of your cuffs. I assumed that perhapsyou might be helping with the fireman's duties, shoveling coalinto the engine's firebox. The coal dust on your sleeves indicatesthat you probably weren't wearing gloves,"

The conductor gave Griffin a long searching look and thenburst out laughing. "My word, young man! You're a regularSherlock Holmes!"

Now it was Griffin's turn to be confused. "I'm sorry, but Idon't know who Sherlock Holmes is," he said.

In response, the conductor reached into his back pocketand pulled out a rolled-up pulp magazine. Handing it to Griffin,he said, "Mr. Holmes is the greatest detective in the world.Everybody in London reads about his adventures in the StrandMagazine. My wife can't get enough of them ... waits in lineevery Tuesday to get the next installment."

Griffin flipped through the beautifully illustrated mag-azine quickly One of the pictures caught his eye almostimmediately It showed the famous detective standing in frontof a modest brick building.

The address was 221 Baker Street.Griffin gasped with surprise. He glanced up at the friendly

conductor and said eagerly, "But that is precisely the address towhich I'm heading. I'm going to visit my uncle!"

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JASON LETHCOE

The conductor studied him with a curious expression. Thenwith a chuckle, he said, "Well, as I live and breathe. Wait until Itell my wife that I met the nephew of Sherlock Holmes. She'llbe so excited that she might faint right there on the spot."

Then, after giving him a friendly wink, the man duckedback out of Griffin's compartment. The boy sat staring at themagazine, overcome with excitement. He'd never met hisuncle before, but his mother had always referred to him asSnoops, a nickname she'd used since they were children. He'dnever heard her say his real name, so Griffin had to call himUncle. After all, calling a relative he'd never met Uncle Snoopsseemed a little strange.

Could it be possible that his uncle was the same greatdetective that the conductor had mentioned? He knew thathis uncle and his mother were half brother and sister, so it waspossible they had different last names. He studied the pictureof Sherlock Holmes, noting his tall, lean frame and angularprofile. If he squinted at the picture, he thought the man didresemble his mother's side of the family a little.

Filled with anticipation, Griffin settled back into his seat andbegan to read. And the more he read about Sherlock Holmes,the more excited he became. For here was someone with a mindnot unlike his own, someone who observed even the smallestdetails and was helping people with his talent.

For so long Griffin had prayed that God would give him anopportunity to use his talent for good, and that he could find afriend as well. He'd asked Him to help him find somebody whowouldn't make fun of him and call him names for being smart.

And finally, after a very long time of asking, he'd receivedan answer to his prayer.

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no place like holmes - preview

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