A Study in Scarlet

The next day, Holmes and Watson go to see the rooms at 221B Baker Street. The lodgings consist of two comfortably furnished bedrooms and a large, shared sitting room. They’re so impressed with the rooms and the affordable price that they sign immediately and move in. Watson finds Holmes easy to live with: He rises early, spends his days at the laboratory or roaming the streets of London, and rarely stays up late.

With little else to occupy him, Watson spends the first few weeks trying to better understand Holmes, though he is too polite to ask him about his occupation. Watson is startled by the contrast between the depth of Holmes’s knowledge about the law and aspects of medical science, and his complete ignorance of literature and philosophy. Watson attempts a systematic study of his new friend, but gives up when he cannot reconcile what he observes. Holme’s abilities on the violin are also inscrutable to Watson. At times, he plays well and can perform difficult songs at Watson request. However, he often produces no music at all, instead just making sounds that appear to reflect his mood or thinking.

Holmes often has clients who come from all classes of society. One morning, Watson reads an article about the science of deduction. It explains how keen, careful observation of the right facts can be used to logically infer the truth about anything. Watson criticizes the article as being absurd and far-fetched, only for Holmes to reveal that he wrote it. Holmes explains that he uses the techniques outlined in the article as the world’s first consulting detective. By using the science of deduction and analysis, he is able to solve many cases government authorities and private investigators cannot parse. He then demonstrates this by revealing how he knew Watson had been in Afghanistan when they first met: from his demeanor, body language, and other seemingly minor details. 

A man appears outside their apartment. Holmes determines that the man is a retired marine sergeant. Watson hopes to prove Holmes wrong, but the man does turn out to be a sergeant with the Royal Marine Light Infantry.

Holmes claims it is easier for him to make deductions than to explain how he does it, but he attempts to anyway: The man’s tattoos and haircut, and the way he moved all suggested a marine sergeant. Watson is amazed, but Holmes claims it is all very simple.

The sergeant delivers a letter from Inspector Gregson of Scotland Yard detailing and asking for assistance with a puzzling case. They have discovered the body of an American man named Enoch J. Drebber in a vacant house on Brixton Road. There is blood in the room, but there is no wound or evidence to suggest how the man died. Holmes is reluctant to help at first, claiming Gregson and his colleague Lestrade will get all the credit for solving the case. Eventually, he decides to go anyway and invites Watson to join him.

On the way to the crime scene, Holmes is quiet and refuses to share any thoughts because he doesn’t have all the data yet. When they arrive, rather than going to see the body, he first spends a lot of time observing everything outside the house. Inside, Holmes takes his time thoroughly inspecting the body. When he is finished and Gregson’s men remove the body, a woman’s gold wedding ring falls to the floor. Gregson believes the ring complicates matters further, but Holmes disagrees without elaborating why. Also found in the dead man’s pockets are a gold pocket watch, some business cards, and letters addressed to Drebber and a man named Joseph Stangerson about their return to America.

At this point, Lestrade discovers the word “RACHE” written in blood on one of the walls. Lestrade jumps to the conclusion that whoever wrote it was writing the name “Rachel,” but was interrupted before they could finish. In response, Holmes laughs at Lestrade and proceeds to inspect the rest of the room using a tape measure and a large magnifying glass.

Holmes refuses to explain his theory of what happened, but provides Gregson and Lestrade with some clues: The murderer is about six feet tall, in the prime of his life, and with feet small for his height; the murderer and victim arrived by a four-wheeled carriage pulled by a horse wearing three old shoes and one new one; and the murder weapon was poison. He also explains that Rache is German for “revenge.”