The Problem with Jackie - Ch 4

Sherlock paced around the flat energetically, clasping his hands in front of him, his eyes narrowed.  John sat in an armchair, calmly drinking a cup of tea.  "You okay?" he asked his nervous flatmate.

"Yes, yes, absolutely fine, now shut up and let me think," he snapped.

John raised his eyebrows.  "Yeah, thanks for that," he muttered, taking a sip of tea.

Sherlock stopped and scratched his head, his black curls ruffling in the process.  "Sorry," he said quietly.  "I just don't know where exactly to start."

John smiled a little.  "Well, you could always talk out loud.  That helps, doesn't it?"

Sherlock nodded.  "Quite," he said.  "Okay."

He closed his eyes, his brow furrowed.  Suddenly, his thoughts began tumbling out.  "Girl, about twenty-five, well-off from the looks of her clothes, her shoes were generally well-kept, but recent scratches and mud indicate that wandering in the alley only happened recently.  Her fingers were calloused, but he rest of her hands was quite smooth, corresponding to her occupation as a professional harpist.  Could be a student, but the expensive nature of her jewelry and attire suggests that she just came from a performance, most likely her own.  The state of her body corresponds with a terrible beating, most likely focused on the skeletal structure to an almost obsessive degree.  As you said earlier, the weapon was most likely a bat, judging by the size and shape of the wounds.  All of this is the boring usual stuff, besides the concentration on the bones.  And the beans."

"So what do you think the beans mean?" John asked, taking another sip of tea.

Sherlock rubbed his face.  "The beans.  The beans are the tricky part."

"What all do we have here, then?  What are the unique elements of this case?" John pressed.

Sherlock looked at him.  "My skull didn't talk back as much as you do," he said.

"I'd guess it didn't talk back at all," John replied.

"Depends on how I was feeling that day," Sherlock said, resuming his pacing.  "Unique characteristics of the Jackie Eddings murder include one, she was a harpist; two, there was an unusual concentration on the skeletal structure; and three, four beans were put into her hand post-death."

John suddenly looked at Sherlock.  Sherlock stopped and looked back at him.  "What is it?" he asked.

"It's just…this all reminds me of something…" John said, licking his lips in concentration.

"Reminds you of what?"

"A fairytale, actually."

Sherlock laughed.  "A fairytale?  Really, John, I don't see how—"

"Haven't you ever read Jack and the Beanstalk?" John interrupted.

"Possibly.  My mother always tried to calm me by reading fairytales.  Never really helped, and never really listened.  It wasn't my fault that the postman had murdered someone—"

"Well, for some reason, this case has some rather peculiar similarities to that story," John interrupted again.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow.  "How so?"

"Her name, for one thing.  Jackie and Jack are similar.  Then the beans.  Jack bought magic beans in the tale.  And then there's the harp.  One of the characters in the story was a talking harp.  You see what I mean?"

Sherlock had a faraway look on his face.  "Yes, I seem to remember this now," he said, his voice as distant as his eyes.  "And her bones, they were crushed , right?  I'll have his bones to make my bread.  Rather interesting, isn't it…?"

"If by interesting you mean twisted, then yes, it is," John replied.  "So should we call the Inspector?"

"Do you know me?"

"Right," John said, setting his mug down and getting to his feet.  "So what are we going to do next?"

"Fetch me a phone book and all the fairytale books at the library," Sherlock said.  "It's time to do some research."