Title: For Want of a Nail
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: G
Length: 553
Summary: Inspector Gregson writes to Holmes after Professor Moriarty has escaped
A/N: Title taken from the poem "For want of a nail a shoe was lost, for want of a shoe a horse was lost ..."


The following was sent by express delivery to Holmes by Inspector Gregson.

My dear Holmes,

It is with great regret I have to confirm my earlier telegram saying Professor Moriarty has escaped our grip.  We have successfully snared the rest of the gang, but as we tightened the net your bird slipped free.

We had planned the timing exactly as you had stated.  I left Scotland Yard to take the cab waiting for me.  Unfortunately, as I approached the cab, a sudden loud report rang out, startling the horse, which pulled forward.  It took less than two minutes for the driver to calm the horse and straighten the reins which had been tugged from his hands, but the delay proved catastrophic.

By the time we had reached the river the ferryboat had departed.  There was but a ten minute wait for the next boat, yet it felt like one of the longest ten minutes I have even spent.

Upon our arrival on the further bank of the river we discovered the cab with the driver we had originally arranged had departed with another fare.  The new driver had to be one of the slowest cabbies in existence; one wonders how he could make a living when he took so long taking a single fare.

When we reached the solicitor’s office we discovered Mr Featherweight had left the premises, believing we were not coming after all.  We sent his boy to find him and they returned a few minutes later.  By this time I was becoming increasingly worried at the passing minutes.

Nevertheless, with the necessary document in hand, we hurried on foot to the railway station.  We had dismissed the cabbie, for at the pace he drove we realised it would be as quick to take the footbridge over the railway line as it would be to drive round.  I was aware we would have missed the train we had intended to catch, but was hopeful the next train would still serve our purpose.

We had a further ten minute wait for our train, which did not seem too bad, until we realised we would be catching the stopping train, which further compounded our delay.  By the time we reached our destination we had lost an hour and the professor had had ample time to make good his escape.

I can only regret such a minor incident as a startled horse could have such a large impact on events and hope this does not bode ill for you.

Gregson

***

Three years later

My dear Holmes,

I, along with my colleagues at Scotland Yard, am delighted you have returned to us.  The tale of your amazing escape from the Reichenbach Falls is one I shall long treasure.  We are all delighted you were able to entrap Colonel Moran and thus rid London of another enemy.

You may be interested to learn, when I interviewed Moran, he told me the report which startled my cab horse had in fact been a shot he had deliberately fired.  It would appear the escape of Professor Moriarty was not, as we had thought, due to an unfortunate chain of events, but one which had been meticulously planned.

I am extremely grateful that in the end, the planning came to naught.

I remain,

Yours very truly

Tobias Gregson