Voyage 1909 Ch. 01

"So, who sent you to steal those jewels?" asked Freud.

"I'll tell you, though this man can kill me any minute, even here, in this guarded cabin."

"Well, what's his name?"

Slade drew his face closer to the psychoanalyst and whispered:

"Sherlock Holmes."

"Who?" exclaimed Freud.

"Sherlock Holmes. 'Twas him who made me commit not only this crime but many others, even more daring ones. He's a really dangerous man, I tell you. But I'll tell you all about him."

"Mrs.Brown, can I have a word with you?" Doctor Watson heard a male voice behind his back, while standing by the rail of the promenade deck, enjoying the view of the open sea and the light breath of warm breeze. He turned round to see Sigmund Freud standing before him, holding a walking cane in hand. The next thing he knew was the lower end of the cane flying right in his groin.

Watson stood by the rail, not uttering a sound but making painful grimaces with his face, shifting from one foot to the other.

"Stop pretending you're a woman!" cried Freud. "I know you're a man, Doctor Watson!"

"Fuck!" Watson let out a scream of pain, trying to grab his injured balls through the smooth, silky fabric of his dress. "Who told you?"

"Your friend Sherlock Holmes," answered Freud.

"Did he? Oh, shit, just can't grasp my balls through this fucking dress. Why the hell did he tell you about me? It was him who made me wear women's clothes."

"Your friend is a mentally unbalanced man, and an evil person to boot, Doctor Watson."

"You think so, Doctor Freud? And why did you hit me in the balls? What evil genius put you to it?"

"Did you know Professor Moriarty?"

"Of course I do. He's the archenemy of Holmes. Damn, will my balls ever feel better?" Watson squatted down and looked up at Freud. "Did Moriarty ask you to club my nuts with your cane?"

"Did you ever see Professor Moriarty?" the psychoanalyst went on asking questions.

"I didn't. I've never seen him."

"Then how do you know he exists?"

"Holmes told me about him. But why? Why are you asking me all this?"

Sigmund Freud poked Watson's breast with his cane.

"Because there's no Moriarty at all."

"What do you mean 'no Moriarty'?"

"Holmes and Moriarty, it's Jekyll and Hyde. It's just the same man with a split personality."

"You must be kidding," said Watson, slowly getting up to his feet. "I can't believe it."

"Holmes just invented Moriarty to get himself busy. Soon he started playing part of Moriarty by committing all sorts of crime, then solving the cases as Holmes, but never being able to catch his nemesis."

"You're talking some bullshit, Doctor Freud," Watson shook his head in disbelief. "I've known Holmes for many years, I've been through a lot with him."

"I tell you, idiot," Freud shouted nervously, "there's no Professor Moriarty! There's only Sherlock Holmes!"

To be continued...