Fic: Carlito's Way: Gen

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Title: Carlito’s Way
Rating: Gen
Length: 221b
Notes: AU-canon divergence for “The Sussex Vampire,” POV client
Summary: What if the client in “The Sussex Vampire” wasn’t Ferguson, but his wife (which Doyle, by the way, doesn’t even give a first name, but I always call her Soledad) and the letter wasn’t addressed to Holmes, but to ‘Three Continents’ Watson.
Author’s Note: for the July prompt: dog days and inspired by this photo of a neighborhood in Lima, Peru called Barranco.


“Ay, pobre Carlito! Qué vamos a hacer? Eso maldito nos matará a todos.”

The spaniel looked up at her with a doleful expression. Slowly, clumsily he got to his feet, then abandoned his basket in the corner.

Without stopping to lick her hand, he shuffled to a stack of newspapers and journals at the foot of the armchair opposite her.

“Carlito, no tengo tiempo para leer, mi amor,” she protested as he rooted about the pile. He bit the corner of one newspaper and dragged it to her.

“’The Adventure of the Priory School’” she read. “You think we need a detective, mi cariño? No hay nada misterio aquí sino mal. Mal, mal, mal y no hay remedio.”

He barked twice, pawed at the newspaper, and collapsed to the floor with a whimper.

“Ya, ya,” she cooed and scooped him up into her lap. He snuggled close and licked at her chin. She held the newspaper to one side and resumed reading.

“John Watson? El amigo de este detective is un John Watson! Puede ser el mismo? Hay muchos John Watsons in este mundo, mi amor.”

Carlo woofed.

She nodded. “Quizás. Vale la pena de pedir.”

She deposited Carlito back in his basket and went to her writing table.

“Dear John,
I hope you have not forgot those nights in Barranco…”

---
translation
Oh, poor little Carlo, what are we going to do? That damned kid (little thing) is going to kill us all.
Little Carlo, I don't have time to read, my love.
There's no mystery here, just evil (bad). Bad, bad, bad and there's no remedy.
Ok, ok.
The friend of this detective is a John Watson! Can it be the same? There are a lot of John Watson's in the world, my love.
Perhaps. It's worth asking.

Comments

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

This is lovely - and multi-lingual as well. I trust Watson hasn't forgotten Barranco.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Thanks! My Spanish is very rusty but I have a soft spot for all of Doyle's Latinas. I think they deserve a voice. Yeah, Watson may not kiss and tell but I think he does kiss and remember :)

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

Clever old Carlo - and clever old Okapi ^__^ A very nice twist on canon.

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you! And you (as you do) hit on the one point that I didn't make. If Carlo was alive when Watson knew Soledad, he'd have to be a pretty old dog.

[debriswoman]

Such a great turnaround:-)

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

I bet I can name one of the three continents!

[okapi1895.livejournal.com]

Ha! I sometime use the line 'three continents is an underestimate' in my fics. I like to think it was Asia (India or Afghanistan), Australia and South America. With perhaps a Caribbean island or northern Africa added.