Andrea Frazer - Holmes and Garden 01 - The Curious Case of the Black Swan Song by Andrea Frazer Page A

front office, so we can have a public face and a private face where we can get on with our work in peace,’ replied Holmes, relighting his pipe which had gone out, a frequent occurrence which he dealt with almost unthinkingly.
    ‘And I could move into the flat,’ squeaked Garden, who was only now realising that he could be about to inspect his future home, ‘and stay with you in the meantime, which was a very generous offer, by the way. Thank you again.’
    ‘Don’t mention it, old boy. I’ll be glad of the company, if truth be told. Aha! I think I see our chappie just crossing through the flowerbeds, en route to us now,’ he concluded, pointing with the stem of his pipe at the figure of a young, fair-haired figure in a dark grey suit, and a smile that was visible even at this distance.
    The figure checked momentarily and waved in their direction. ‘Yes, that looks like him,’ confirmed Garden, feeling a flock of butterflies start to flutter their wings in his stomach. This was the beginning of the rest of his life, and it was indescribably exciting as well as daunting.
    Once more, a scaly dragon version of his mother reared up in his head and gave a puff of flame but, this time, he imagined himself mounted on a horse and in a suit of armour, sword at the ready. She was not going to win. For the very first time in her life, where he was concerned, she was going to lose the battle – and he’d finally become himself.
    Justin Budge jogged over to them, arriving at their side not one whit out of breath, and looking one hundred per cent the fit youngster he was, curse him. He greeted them smoothly – a bit too smoothly – whipped the keys to the kingdom from his jacket pocket, unlocked the door, and invited them to enter their future together.
    The inside proved to be everything that the outside had promised them, and there was already a built-in reception counter in place, with room for a small desk and chair behind it. There was also room for a few chairs for anyone who was waiting to be seen. The place was clean, light and airy, and had been well maintained.
    Moving through to the back part of the building, there was a good-sized room that stretched most of the way across the width of the front office, with plenty of wall space for filing cabinets.
    ‘Wow!’ was all Garden could find to say.
    ‘Superb! Perfect!’ Holmes was also lost for words at the ideal layout of the ground floor.
    ‘It used to be an estate agent’s office,’ offered Budge with a smirk of superiority, as this business had evidently had to close due to the cataclysmic fall in house prices, and had, therefore, reduced the competition in the town now that business was tentatively on the up again. ‘Would you care to see the upstairs as well? The access is from just beyond the back office. Did you notice the access door to the staircase?’
    Neither of them had, so deep had they been pulled into their dream of the future that beckoned them so strongly now, and they followed him up to the first floor. Here was the ideal bachelor or starter flat. It had a small kitchen and shower room, a fair-sized living room and bedroom, and a box room that could be used for occasional guests.
    ‘There is also access to loft space, although it hasn’t a great deal of headroom, but would do for storage,’ Budge explained further, but he didn’t have to do a hard sell on these two. In fact he didn’t need to do any sort of sell at all. They both thought it was perfect, and Garden was already working out where his furniture would go. ‘Well, what do you think, or would you like me to leave you alone for a few moments so that you can discuss it in private?’
    ‘Most considerate of you, Mr Budge. We’ll meet you outside in a couple of minutes,’ replied Holmes.
    When he had left, the two men broke into enormous grins, and Garden started dancing round the living room, Holmes eventually joining in, although at a more stately level, and with a mite