Excerpt: A Study in Cerulean

Officer Barrow stopped us outside the door. I noticed that he wouldn't look me in the eye. He seemed rather nervous. "Dr. Remton, you haven't seen your sister in awhile, correct?"

"Not since her husband was alive, although we still kept in touch."

Officer Barrow nodded. "Yes, well, I'm sure you know that she was a bit...quirky, correct?"

Quirky?

"I don't know what you mean. She was always a brilliant painter, and she loved the color cerulean, but there’s really nothing I’d consider TOO far out of the ordinary…”

Officer Barrow still looked at me funny. “Maybe you should see for yourself Doctor.”

Well, wouldn’t YOU be worried?

I opened the door first. It was beautifully carved mahogany [mahogany?], with a lion’s head doorknocker. Cooms followed behind me, with Officer Barrow taking up the rear.

A world of blue exploded into my eyes.

The entire house-everything-was painted cerulean blue. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen. The floor was blue. The walls were blue. The furniture, blue. Even the ceiling was blue.

When I saw it, I laughed. Hard. For several minutes I just stood there rather insanely with tears coming out of my eyes. Cooms and Barrow looked at me like I had three eyes.

“My sister,” I gasped after a few moments, “My sister does everything in cerulean. Everything. She writes in cerulean. Her silverware is in cerulean. Her clothes are cerulean. It seems as if her house is cerulean too.”

Barrow raised an eyebrow. “So there’s nothing unusual about this? Nothing that we should look at suspiciously?”

“Not in the least.” I replied. “Please show Mr. Cooms and me around the house now, Officer.”

“And make sure you show us everything, Mr. Barrow,” said Cooms. He still seemed annoyed about Barrow from humiliating him before. “I want to make sure that in your infinite wisdom you haven’t missed anything.”

Barrow mumbled something under his breath that sounded unpleasant, but said aloud “I’ll show you everything you need to see, Mr. Cooms. Then I’ll leave you to your methods”.

Barrow was as good as his word. He showed us every single room in the house-all of them. And it was a large house. Barrow showed us into broom closets, into hidden cupboards, into small side passageways I never would’ve known existed…even the bathrooms were examined in detail, and I have to confess that there’s nothing. Nothing at all. The house, besides its cerulean color, was completely mundane in every way. There was only one thing that seemed at all out of place. In the kitchen next to the table there was a dog’s food bowl and water bowl. The name Tobin was written on the food bowl.

“And what have we here?” asked Cooms. He bent down to inspect the food and water bowl.

“That’s the food and water bowl of Old Tobin. He’s lived with Elizabeth and Jeffrey for 12 years. He’s staying with the neighbor for now.” Barrow shivered. “That dog hates me. Every time I come near him he barks like mad and looks like he’s going to kill me! Stinking mongrel.”

It took me a second to remember that her husband’s name was Jeffrey.

When Barrow was done showing us around the house, Cooms stepped forward. “Well, thank you Officer. That was quite enlightening. Now, why don’t you go back to playing cops and robbers with the farmers?”

Barrow stared at Cooms for a long time. “Mr. Cooms,” he said slowly, “I would be very careful if I were you. Very careful. Those…unqualified may find that they’re in for far more than they’ve bargained for.” He turned and walked slowly out the door. Cooms glared at him. It may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn he looked nervous.

I turned and looked at him. “What was that about?”

When Cooms turned back to me, I was sure I had imagined it. The customary arrogance was back. “I have no idea, Dr. For some reason he sees fit to undermine my validity. But I wouldn’t worry; as I have already proven, I am perfectly capable of using logical deduction effectively, and I am certain my methods can be utilized to far greater effect than that Scotland Yard castoff.”

I laughed; hearing Cooms speak like that made me feel better.