Mycroft Holmes (41 page)

“Satisfying?” Douglas whispered.

“Beyond,” Holmes whispered back.

Revenge
, he thought.
Not ethically sound, perhaps
.
But sweet
.

He could purchase the building outright, he speculated as he watched the horses run—the one that housed his beloved Regents Tobaccos. And although Douglas had already paid to restore his family home, why not provide funds for Douglas to start a colored orphanage in London, one named after his wife and child.

After all, the Pennywhistles could run the shop. What need was there for Douglas to torture himself day in and day out with the smell of tobacco? At least until they found a physician who was more to their liking.

“You are humming to yourself, Holmes,” Douglas interrupted.

“Not ‘La Donna è Mobile,’ I hope,” Holmes asked with trepidation.

“No. More like Bach’s
Mass in B Minor
. ‘Gloria,’” he responded with a laugh.

Holmes laughed too, and turned his attention back to the race.

The horses were all fleet of foot, but in the end, Green Riband took the prize.

Everyone applauded.

Holmes sighed contentedly.

He had not bet this time. He’d had no need.

One of those buildings, he mused, could be near his present abode—he had seen a nice one for sale, if in need of renovation, on Baker Street. His brother Sherlock would soon graduate and might require a pied-à-terre in London, family life being what it was.

And of course, Mrs. Hudson would make a very fine landlady
…

THE AUTHORS WISH TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOLLOWING FOR
their invaluable help in bringing this project to fruition:

Deborah Morales, intrepid and fearless producer (and all-around mensch); Steve Saffel, whose editorial skills (and patience) are nonpareil; Miranda Jewess, for her marvelous attention to detail; and Leslie Klinger, for his love of Sherlock Holmes and his persistence in freeing him.

We would also like to thank the Titan team for going above and beyond for us: Nick Landau, Vivian Cheung, Laura Price, Alice Nightingale, Emma Smith, Julia Lloyd, Paul Gill, Chris McLane, Ella Bowman, Katharine Carroll, and Hayley Shepherd.

AT 7’ 2” TALL, KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR IS A HUGE HOLMESIAN IN
every way. An English and History graduate of UCLA, he first read the Doyle stories early in his basketball career, and adapted Holmes’s powers of observation to the game in order to gain an edge over his opponents. He played basketball for the Milwaukee Bucks (1969–1975) and the Los Angeles Lakers (1975–1989), scoring 38,387 points to become the National Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer. Kareem was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1995. Since retiring, he has been an actor, producer, a coach, and a
New York Times
best-selling author with writings focused on history. His previous books include
Giant Steps, Kareem, Black Profiles in Courage, A Season on the Reservation, Brothers in Arms, On the Shoulders of Giants: My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance
, and the children’s books
Streetball Crew: Sasquatch in the Paint, Stealing the Game
, and
What Color is My World?
—which won the NAACP Award for “Best Children’s Book.” In 2012 he was selected as a U.S. Cultural Ambassador by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Currently he is chairman of the Skyhook Foundation and a columnist for
Time
magazine.

A PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER AND SCRIPT CONSULTANT,
Anna Waterhouse has worked alongside film and TV legends to repair structure and dialogue. She has consulted for premium cable miniseries and basic cable series, co-producing a feature-length documentary for Mandalay/HBO. She was supervising producer and co-writer (with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) of the critically acclaimed feature-length documentary
On the Shoulders of Giants
which won the “Best Documentary” NAACP Image Award and two Telly awards in 2012. She has written several how-to screenwriting seminars for
Writers Digest
and teaches screenwriting at Chapman University in Southern California.