As we get into the final chapters of the story, there’s a gap I think I need to go back and fix. I edited out a short paragraph from Chapter One because I thought at the time it was one too many levels of angst in Watson’s litany of self-recrimination.

Now I realize I made a mistake in cutting it because it supports a bit of drama that begins in Chapter 13. I’m going to drop it back in, but to save you the trouble of hunting it up, I’ll post it here…

It’s very short, but if you’re following the chain of events, it may give you an extra link to work with. It falls during Watson’s remembrance of all the mistakes he feels he made in the last three years before Holmes’s death:

What was it that made him shy like a skittish colt in the face of open emotion? It may have been a shield against the endless pain brought to his doorstep. He was the last recourse for so many troubled hearts. Or maybe it was some childhood grief that could never be healed.

I appreciate your indulging this bit of backtracking. Chapter 13 will be up soon – as always, thanks for reading.