Holmes's gaunt face, caught in the flickering glow of the room's kerosene lamps, was a study in chiaroscuro, and the effect was almost diabolical. His words were equally eerie and ominous.
"This is a most singular case," he began, gazing out into the black tide of darkness that now held sway outside the room's two large windows. "It is all silhouettes seen through a gauzy screen, forms and shadows whose movements are at once visible and yet indistinct. I believe I know who the actors are and how the drama has played out thus far. I see them, Watson, these shadowy figures, strutting behind
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