The Great Mouse Detective x Oc Female Insert

Small Experiment and the Waterfront

Narrator's POV Back at Basil's Flat

Basil lit up a lamp as he and Audrey were both looking over the list with Dawson being by their side, eager to see what they came up with.

"Offhand, I can deduce very little. Only that the words are written with a broad pointed quill pen which has spattered, twice" Basil examined with his magnifying glass before handing it to Audrey as she says "That the paper is of…" and tosses it in her hand, testing the weight to determine what type of paper it is before adding "Native Mongolian manufacture, no water mark" and then handed the paper back to Basil, who says "And has…" and puts the paper to his lips and smacks it several times before saying "Been gummed, if I'm not very much in error…" and returned the paper to Audrey, who sniffs at the paper and was in disgust at the result as she said "By a bat who has been drinking Rodent's Delight! A cheap brandy sold only in the seediest pubs" and then Dawson says as he was intrigued by their discovery "Hmm. Amazing".

"Oh, not really, Doctor. We still don't know where it came from. Perhaps a close inspection will tell us something. Audrey, if you please" Basil says while he is rummaging at his desk for the next stage as he pulls out his microscope and Audrey brought the list over and put it under the microscope. Basil focuses the lens on the letter as he says "Hmm-hmm. Hmm. Coal dust. Clearly of the type used in sewer lamps" and Audrey takes a look before pulling out her camera and takes a quick picture and Dawson tries to look through the microscope, but Basil has taken the list and is holding it over a small flame, letting it catch on fire. "Uh, but Basil, I-I-" Dawson tried to say.

But Basil shushed him as he said quietly "Shh! Don't speak!" and Basil lets the ashen remains of the list fall into a bowl and he pats it down with a small wooden masher. He pours the contents onto a glass jar of a yellow chemical, which turns blue. Dawson stares at the liquid with his bifocals as Audrey also looks with fascination while Basil returns with a vial of a red chemical. "Excuse me, Dawson and Audrey" Basil said and he holds the red chemical over the jar carefully as he mutters "Steady hand…" and Basil lets a single drop fall and a small puff of smoke comes out as the chemical turns violet. Basil sets the jar below a glass spout and reaches to the other side of the chemistry set to turn on a small flame. The green chemical inside bubbles up and slowly makes its way through the tubes, Basil encouraging it softly. "Yes, yes. Good, good. Come along, come along, come along, come along. Come along, come along, come along come along…. Haha… Yes, yes, good, good. No, bad. Good, good, oh, no. Come along, come on. Yes, come on" as the three watch intently as a single green droplet is hanging above the violet chemical.

"Yes… Yes…" Basil says and the droplets falls, making the chemical turn red to Basil's elation.

"Ah-ha!" Basil exclaimed and stands between Audrey and Dawson and puts an arm around their shoulders in companionship. "We've done it, you two! This reaction could only have been triggered by the paper's extreme saturation with distillation of sodium chloride" Basil said and then moves away from the table as both Dawson and Audrey continues to study the now-clear chemical. "Is that... Salt water?" Audrey said and then Dawson says "Great Scott!" and Basil rummages through his set of maps of the London area as he says "It proves beyond a doubt, this list came from the riverfront area" as he uses his darts that he has earlier to pin the map to the wall. "Ah, now steady on there, Basil" Audrey said. "No, no. Elementary, my dear Audrey. We merely look for a seedy pub at the only...spot…" Basil said as he marks the spot with another dart. "…where the sewer connects to the waterfront" Basil said in a low voice.