Sherlock Holmes' reply has touch of mystery

It's always good to hear from you readers, especially in these days when the conventional wisdom is that people don't read anymore. I know you do, and I am grateful.

It's even better when you take things a step further than I did. For instance, last month I wrote about the enduring influence of Sherlock Holmes on our culture.

I theorized that he is alive and well and still receiving his mail at 221B Baker St., London, N.W., so reader DiAnne M. Pittman, of Augusta, wrote to his old digs.

"Being a Sherlockian fan, I decided to investigate," she told me in a note. When we later talked by phone, she said she had told the detective that the next time she is in London (her son lives there) she would drop in.

"I said I hoped Mrs. Hudson would be at home and could teach me how to prepare a pot of real English tea," she said. She informed him that here in the South, we drink our tea cold and very sweet, much unlike the British custom.

She concluded her letter to me: "Enclosed find a copy of the great detective's response to my note. Mr. Holmes tucked his business card into his letter. I have carefully filed it away in the event that I should ever require his help.

"Like Elvis, Sherlock lives!"

Yes, he still lives, but I fear he has been abducted and is in mortal danger. Here is how I decided that, using her information and Holmes' letter and deductive reasoning.

First of all, the detective's response to her is dated Dec. 10. That was a full month before my column appeared (and was mailed to him). Even Sherlock Holmes, with his awesome mental powers, is not clairvoyant, and I'm pretty sure he has not perfected time travel. His chronological goof is obviously an attempt to alert his fans that something is amiss.

Second, his letter addresses our local reader as "Dear Sir." Again, one of the greatest minds of all time would certainly know that "DiAnne" is feminine. It is a cry for help from a man who is under duress, or perhaps it is a momentary lapse brought on by torture.

Third, he does not reply to "DiAnne," but to "DiAnna." Holmes and his biographer, John Watson, did not make their solid reputations by being sloppy or illiterate. It is a clue, and it further cements my belief that a criminal mastermind holds the two men and is nefariously orchestrating their business dealings.

Finally, there is the way Holmes ends his letter:

"As you know, it has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important. I recommend you to never trust to general impressions, but to concentrate yourself on details. Singularity is almost invariably a clue. The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more difficult it is to solve. -- Your obedient servant, Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective."

Exactly! Holmes is hinting that we should focus on details such as the ones I cited above so that we can effect his rescue.

The very look of his letter proves it is no hoax. The text appears to have been typed, double-spaced, with two spaces between sentences; people used to do that with typewriters, and I'm fairly certain Holmes does not own a computer. A mere detail, but the final bit of evidence that Holmes is in danger.

Who is the abductor? For what reason? What will happen next? It is up to you, dear readers, to solve this case that DiAnne Pittman has set before us. But hurry. The game is afoot!