The Swedish Furrier

By Annette Siketa

Holmes recounts the intriguing story about two men and an old murder.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Annette Siketa
• Release date: Apr 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463788325

Annette Siketa

For those of you who have not yet made my acquaintance, my name is Annette Siketa, and I am totally blind. Were you aware that most blind and visually impaired people are extraordinarily perceptive? To sighted people, this ability must seem like ESP, and I suppose to a certain extent, it is. (I'm referring to the literal meaning of Extra Sensory Perception, not the spooky interpretation.) To compensate for the lack of vision, the brain and the other four senses become sharper, so that we can discern a smell or the identity of an object. I promise you there's no trickery involved. It's simply a matter of adapting the body to ‘think’ in another way.Being blind is no barrier to creativity. Like most things in this world, life is what you make of it, and after losing my sight due to an eye operation that went terribly wrong, I became a writer, and have now produced a wide variety of books and short stories, primarily of the ghost/supernatural/things that go bump in the night genre.So, how does a blind person write a book? On the practical side, I use a text-to-speech program called ‘Jaws’, which enables me to use and navigate around a computer, including the Internet, with considerable ease. Information on Jaws can be found at www.freedomscientific.comOn the creative side...well, that’s a little more difficult to explain. Try this experiment. Put on your favourite movie and watch it blindfolded. As you already ‘know’ the movie – who does what where & when etc, your mind compensates for the lack of visualisation by filling in the ‘blanks’. Now try it with something you’ve never seen before, even the six o'clock news. Not so easy to fill in the blanks now is it?By this point you’re probably going bonkers with frustration – hee hee, welcome to my world! Do not remove the blindfold. Instead, allow your imagination to compensate for the lack of visualization, and this will give you an idea of how I create my stories. Oh, if only Steven Spielberg could read my mind.

Book preview

THE SWEDISH FURRIER

by Annette Siketa. Based on the characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle

Copyright © 2020 Annette Siketa.

No part of this book may be manipulated, transmitted, or altered by any method or manner whatsoever. All rights reserved. Please respect the authors’ rights. Only through honesty can the insidious practice of illegal copying be curbed.

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Contents

The Swedish Furrier.

And Now For Something Different.

Other Books & Freebies.

About Me.

(From ‘The Failures of Sherlock Holmes’. See further below for details.)

It has always been my opinion that complete rest and peace of mind are essential adjuncts to curing illnesses. Even with the advances in medical science, a patient cannot be treated effectively if they are in a constant state of agitation. Such was the case when, the day after he rescued the boy from the river, Holmes showed the first symptoms of a heavy cold.

He had also sustained several cuts and facial scratches, the latter courtesy of Molly’s flailing hands. I was not overly concerned about the cold, but the open wounds being flushed with germ-ridden water was another matter. Infection was a real possibility, and I determined to keep a professional eye upon him.

I had just handed him a glass containing a tonic when he said, There is no such thing as a mystery in connection with a crime.

Oh? said I, urging him to drink. He was quite pale and fidgeting with a piece of string.

The solution is always a matter of logic and deduction.

I doubt the police would agree with that statement. In the last six months alone, there have been at least five crimes that have totally baffled them.

My dear fellow, you misunderstand me. I would never venture to suggest that the police are incompetent. I merely remark that there is no mystery when clear, deductive reasoning is applied to a situation. Do you recall the Kershaw-Olsen murder case?

This incident had emerged several months earlier, and after the trial, it had been studied and theorised from every angle, with the newspapers suggesting, arguing, or hinting at a possible solution.

Yes, said I, and it’s a real puzzler.

"Is it? Let us examine the facts. Mrs Kershaw, whom I later adjudged to having seen better days, reported the disappearance of her husband, William, to Scotland Yard. She was accompanied by a family friend, Karl Muller, and between them, they told such an extraordinary story that the police were immediately interested.

"According to the couple, two days earlier, Muller had called on Mr Kershaw at his lodgings in Fitzroy Square, ostensively to collect a small debt. The time was about three o'clock in the afternoon.