The Case of the Displaced Detective
The Case of the Displaced Detective Omnibus
By Stephanie Osborn
Twilight Times Books
Kingsport Tennessee
The Case of the Displaced Detective Omnibus
Contents
The Case of the Displaced Detective: The Arrival Book 1; Copyright © 2011 Stephanie Osborn; Cover art by Darrell Osborn
The Case of the Displaced Detective: At Speed Book 2; Copyright © 2011 Stephanie Osborn; Cover art by Darrell Osborn
The Case of the Cosmological Killer: The Rendlesham Incident Book 3; Copyright © 2012 Stephanie Osborn; Cover art by Darrell Osborn
The Case of the Cosmological Killer: Endings and Beginnings Book 4; Copyright © 2012 Stephanie Osborn; Cover art by Darrell Osborn
This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are used fictitiously and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 Stephanie Osborn
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.
Twilight Times Books
P O Box 3340
Kingsport, TN 37664
www.twilighttimesbooks.com/
First Edition, October 2013
Cover art by Darrell Osborn
Book cover design by Ardy M. Scott
“When It's Springtime in the Rockies” (Traditional) Lyrics by Mary Hale Woolsey, 1929
Published in the United States of America
Table of Contents
The Case of the Displaced Detective: The Arrival Prologue—Objects, Subjects, and Beginnings
Chapter 1—Water Falls Through Wormholes
Chapter 2—Old Dogs and New Tricks
Chapter 3—Familiarities
Chapter 4—This Isn’t London Anymore
Chapter 5—The Game’s Afoot, At Last
Chapter 6—Disruptions
Chapter 7—Of Burrowing Rodents and Giant Rats
Chapter 8—Making and Taking Potshots
Chapter 9—Never Theorize Without All the Data
Chapter 10—Visions and Revelations
Chapter 11—An Iliad and an Odyssey
Chapter 12—The Best Laid Plans
The Case of the Displaced Detective: At Speed Chapter 1—Ruminations and Rehabilitations
Chapter 2—Artistic Pursuits
Chapter 3—Hitting Their Strides
Chapter 4—Nocturnal Pursuits
Chapter 5—The Game Is Afoot
Chapter 6—Distressed Detectives
Chapter 7—Flashbacks, Flash Forwards, and Flash Dances
Chapter 8—The Puzzle Pieces Fall
Chapter 9—Ghosts of Christmas Past
Chapter 10—Picking Up The Pieces
The Case of the Cosmological Killer: The Rendlesham Incident Prologue—Encounters
Chapter 1—Detective Diaries
Chapter 2—Promises
Chapter 3—New, Old Venues
Chapter 4—A Fresh Start
Chapter 5—Curiouser and Curiouser
Chapter 6—Close Encounters of the Unexpected Kind
Chapter 7—All Work and No Play
Chapter 8—Old, New Friends and New, Old Enemies
The Case of the Cosmological Killer: Endings and Beginnings Chapter 1 — A Different Game is Afoot
Chapter 2—Unpleasant Discoveries
Chapter 3—Remembrances
Chapter 4—Truth Will Out
Chapter 5—Interludes
Chapter 6—Murphy’s Law
Chapter 7—Considerations
Chapter 8—Mending Broken Things
Chapter 9—Putting Humpty-Dumpty Together
Chapter 10—Weak Branes and Weak Brains
Chapter 11—Surprises
Chapter 12—Settling In
About the Author
Praise for
The Displaced Detective series
"...if you love a mystery and are also into science-fiction (and I mean classic science fiction, the really good stuff), the Displaced Detective series will make you deliriously happy, especially if you enjoy a good Holmesian pastiche."
~ Melissa A. Bartell, for Bibliotica.com
The Case of the Displaced Detective: The Arrival Book 1 (November 2011)
"[The] books are wonderful. They go a step beyond what we think of as Holmes and take him into the modern day, seamlessly transitioning from Victorian to modern."
~ Dellani Oakes, author of The Ninja Tattoo
"...Sherlock finds himself pulled forward into another century and a new life. As Sherlock adjusts to this new placement with the help of Dr. Chadwick and others, he finds he must learn new mores as well as new information as he becomes involved in a murderous plot to either steal or destroy a secret project.
"A glimpse into our future as knowledge expands and is put to new uses. A great tale of suspense,romance, intrigue and action with murder added to the mix that draws Sherlock and Skye Chadwick into danger.
"...The flavor of this tale is a mix of the old and the new and, like Sherlock, will make the reader long to return to the old times as well as love to explore the new. I'm happy to highly recommend a fun read that kept me on the edge of my seat, a nail biting story, beginning to end."
~ Anne K.Edwards, author of Shadows over Paradise
The Case of the Displaced Detective: At Speed Book 2 (November 2011)
"...Stephanie takes Sherlock Holmes to an entire new level. Her story setting places the reader smack dab in the middle of story. She takes science and Holmes and blends them into a book that keeps the reader wondering how he is going to get out of this scrap.
"Then she takes it one step farther, Stephanie Osborn follows this wonderful madcap adventure with the second in the series, titled The Case of Displaced Detective: At Speed.
"I can only guess where Stephanie will take Mr. Holmes and his new sidekick Skye a scientist as she maneuvers him through the 21st Century. Yes, I said the 21st Century. I refuse to give away any other clues. As Holmes would say, “Elementary my Dear Watson.”
"As a reader and fan of Holmes this series is on my list as soon as they are available. I will be adding them to my ever growing Holmes Library."
"Ultimately, both of the first two books in the Displaced Detective series are faithful to the Sherlock Holmes milieu and mythos. Holmes acts like himself, albeit with a bit more heart than head; the romance between Holmes and Chadwick makes perfect sense in context, and the mysteries being solved are appropriately complex...such a pleasure to read."
~ Barb Caffrey, author of Elfy, for Shiny Book Review
The Case of the Cosmological Killer: The Rendlesham Incident Book 3 (July 2012)
"...The Rendlesham Incident is a well paced sci-fi mystery that pits Homes & Chadwick against something not of this world. It leaves the reader puzzling over where it can possibly go wrong next.
"Skye Chadwick is a fun character. She is intelligent, witty and spirited. She doesn't back down from a tough situation and is read to take on any situation. Like Holmes, she is brilliant and resourceful. Although, by her own admission, her deductive powers are learned rather than intuitive, she is a great investigator.
"I love Osborn's characterization of Holmes. He's true to his Victorian sensibilities, but shows his indomitable personality and ability to adapt to adverse circumstances. Holmes is a far more sympathetic character in Osborn's series. Perhaps it was the style of the times, or maybe Sir Arthur Conan Doyle d
idn't believe in revealing Holmes' softer side, but I like the loving attention he showers on Skye, as well as the passion they share. He is the Holmes I always felt lurked beneath the words.
"I highly recommend this book for all who love a good mystery and adore Holmes. Also a great read for sci-fi enthusiasts.
~ Dellani Oakes, author of The Ninja Tattoo
The Case of the Cosmological Killer: Endings and Beginnings Book 4 (November 2012)
"...Endings and Beginnings is a convoluted mystery, so guessing the twists and turns of the plot will be nigh-impossible; readers will discover what is going on at the same time that Skye and Holmes discover it. Even so, Your Humble Reviewers detected no logical deduction errors. The story also contains a fair amount of physics jargon regarding the tesseract-repair problem, but it is clearly presented and tripped no alarms with the engineer half of the Exploding Spaceship duo.
"Holmes, as usual, is the Smartest Man In The Room (unless Moriarty is there), but now he has the Smartest Woman In The Room working with him, so he has someone who can keep up with him and bring her own unique expertise to bear. This makes for a different dynamic than with Dr. Watson of old, but it works because Skye and Holmes are spouses as well as business partners.
"If you like a good detective story, don’t mind your hard SF to have a bit of parallel universes or like a good alternate reality tale then this series is a good choice."
~ Angela Blackwell for Exploding Spaceship Reviews at Bull Spec
Also by Stephanie Osborn
Burnout: the mystery of Space Shuttle STS-281
Extraction Point! (with Travis S. Taylor)
The Cresperian Alliance (with Darrell Bain)
The Y Factor (with Darrell Bain)
The Case of the Displaced Detective:
The Arrival
Prologue—Objects, Subjects, and Beginnings
A TALL, DARK FIGURE, CLAD IN FORMAL Victorian eveningwear, strode briskly down the shadowed street, casually swinging his silver-embellished walking stick. No carriages had passed in the last half-hour, and only one hansom cab had wandered by ten minutes before, its horse’s hollow hoofbeats echoing between the buildings. The gas street-lamps were long since lit, but between them were patches of deep darkness, patches entirely too broad for comfort in these circumstances. Beneath the brim of his silk top hat, eagle-sharp grey eyes darted about, studying the shadows, alert and aware. For well this man knew that danger lurked in the gloom this night, danger peculiar to him alone; and he was alone. So very alone.
But not for long. He was headed to a specific destination. To the one man he knew he could trust, the one man who would stand at his side regardless of danger—for had he not done so, many times before? Was not this the reason for the deep, if largely unspoken, bond of friendship between them?
His friend would help. There was no doubt in his mind on that point. Already today two attempts had been made upon his life, and well did this man need help.
“Not far now,” the words breathed past thin, pale lips. “Almost ther—”
The words died on said lips.
A hulking, brutish shadow materialised from the alleyway in front of him.
The elegant man in the top hat ducked just in time to avoid the lead-weighted bludgeon that swung through the space his head had occupied fractions of a second before. Instead, the silk hat took the brunt of the blow, flying across the sidewalk and into a puddle in the gutter, its side crushed. Flinging up his cane and grasping each end in his hands, the gentleman dropped into an Oriental horse stance, and prepared to do battle.
“‘Ere, now,” the other figure said, in a coarse growl. “Hit’s th’ end o’ you, it is. Me superior won’t be ‘arvin’ it, an’ Oi means t’ see ‘e don’t ‘arve ta.”
“You can try,” the gentleman replied, calm. “But better men than you have tried, and here I stand.”
A guttural, angry sound emerged from the assailant, and the cudgel swung again, this time with enough force to crush bone. Deft, the gentleman caught it with the center of his cane, but to his chagrin the walking-stick, his weapon of choice in many a similar street altercation, chose that moment to give up the ghost. It snapped in two, splintering and cracking. He snarled his own irritation, and flung the pieces aside when he realised there was not enough left to use as a decent weapon.
Then he began to flit and weave as the other man smirked and lunged at him, swinging the club repeatedly, as hard as he could. It was a dance of death, and one wrong move by the gentleman would have serious, possibly fatal, consequences.
But the man in the evening dress was not without weapons; no, his best weapons were permanently attached to his person. The alert grey eyes watched, looking for some opening; and when he saw his chance, he struck like lightning. A fist shot out at the loutish face, catching the hit man squarely in the mouth just as he realised his danger and started to shout for help. All that came out was a grunt, however, and the assassin fell to the pavement as if pole-axed, with both lips split.
The gentleman hissed in pain, grabbing his fist with his other hand for a moment to let the worst of the discomfort pass before examining the damage.
“By Jove, he has sharp teeth for such a troglodyte,” he murmured, peeling off the ruined black kid glove to expose the bloody knuckles beneath. “Completely through the leather and into the flesh. I shall have to have this disinfected, for certain. No time for that now. Go, man!” He turned swiftly to resume his journey.
A crack resounded from the brownstone close at hand, and the man felt a spray of stone chips strike the side of his face. He flinched, and a sharp curse left his lips. He took to his heels and rounded the corner of the street, then disappeared into shadow.
* * *
Not ten feet away from the gentleman, though invisible to him, an elegant blonde woman in a white lab coat stood between tall, electronic towers. Behind her, concentric rows of computer consoles were manned by two dozen scientists, engineers, and technicians. Surrounding all of them was a huge, domed room carved from solid pink granite.
The woman stood for long minutes, silent, watching.
Finally one of the technicians broke the electronic silence.
“So, Doc, whaddaya think?”
“What do you think, Jim? How were the readings?” The woman turned toward him.
“I’ve got bang-on, Dr. Chadwick,” Jim noted, glancing down at his own console, brown eyes darting about as he surveyed his readouts. “But I can’t say for everybody else.”
“Rock steady at Timelines,” someone else called.
“Sequencing looks good…” another said.
“Software’s running nominally.”
“Hardware’s humming right along…”
On it went, from console to console. Finally the woman nodded.
“Perfect,” she purred in deep satisfaction. “We’ve got our subject. Page Dr. Hughes and have her come down.”
“On it, Doc,” Jim grinned, reaching for the phone.
Chapter 1—Water Falls Through Wormholes
ARE YOU SURE, SKYE?” DR. CAITLIN Hughes, the project director, a roly-poly redheaded woman, murmured to the attractive woman at her side.
“I’m sure, Cait.” Dr. Skye Chadwick, a tall, athletic, well-proportioned blonde in her late thirties, and Project: Tesseract’s chief scientist, tucked an escaped strand of long spun gold behind one ear; the rest remained in the thick French braid that draped down her neck. “We’ve dinked all the way around it for several months now. We’ve got the alternate continuum thoroughly mapped out, and we know what we’re doing. All systems are fully operational and running like the proverbial top. It’s time to go in and observe firsthand. We’ll watch the actual event, then send in an exploration team.” She turned and met her friend’s bright green eyes. “Don’t worry. Washington will be more than satisfied.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about that,” the project manager waved away the reassurances. “I just don’t want you or any of the team gettin
g hurt if something goes wrong.”
“Nothing will go wrong,” Dr. Chadwick said, almost in a whisper, but with confidence. Dr. Hughes took one look at the blue eyes, glancing between the clipboard full of notes and the information on the monitors, and realized Skye was concentrating on the preparations. Caitlin waited for a few moments, allowing Skye to follow through on the prep work before speaking again.
“I can’t believe you actually found an alternate timeline like this one. It’s…well, it’s fascinating. The similarities, and the differences…”
“Yeah,” Dr. Chadwick chuckled. “You know, the parallel universe concept has been around a long time, and it looks like we’ve finally managed to prove it. I’ll be glad to get this done and the sanitized paper written and published on the matter. It’ll blow the community wide open, not to mention the whole field of research.”