Sherlock Sam and the Case of the Counterfeit Dollars

It was a quiet evening at 221b Baker Street.  Sherlock Sam and I had just settled down with the evening paper, happily full on Mrs Hudson's home made kibble, when a knock sounded from the front door.  Mrs Hudson answered it, we heard a muffled conversation, and then the housekeeper appeared holding a letter. 

"Special delivery for you, Mr. Sam," she handed him the letter and quickly left the study.

A most mysterious letter...

Sherlock Sam sniffed the letter, and then quickly opened the envelope and scanned the contents.  What the letter said, I will never know, but we both noted a small scrap of paper fall from the envelope.

A clue?

"A great crime has been committed, Watson," he said, tucking the envelope into his collar. 

Sherlock Sam was grave as he revealed our next caper.

"Only I can see the contents of the letter, but this small scrap of paper is our clue to solving this mystery."  He stood, "I shall need to retire to the library, to ponder all that this might imply."

The hours passed quietly, I studied the evening post and, I'm sorry to admit, might have napped.  I knew Sherlock Sam would be applying all manner of science to this small scrap in order to reveal all that it would tell us.

Sherlock Sam in the library.

I stood and stretched my legs in the hall.  I realized how engrossed Sherlock Sam must be, since a tray of tea sat on a small table outside the library, Sherlock Sam's favorite treats untouched on a small plate.

Sherlock Sam must be deep in thought.

At length he reappeared, concern etched clearly across this face.  He was dressed to go out, and I could tell by his impatience that he was in a hurry. "You know my methods, Watson. There was not one of them which I did not apply to the inquiry. And it ended by my discovering traces, but very different ones from those which I had expected."

A startling revelation!

 "You mean..."  I had not expected the usual suspect to be at the heart of this crime.

"Elementary," said he.  "It is apparent that the crime includes the counterfeit of large sums of money.  This one scrap is the only proof that the villain does not have the method perfected yet.  My hope is that we can stop him before he floods the market."

I felt a chill deep in my heart.  This could only mean that the culprit was Sherlock Sam's arch-nemesis...  None other than Monty Moriarty!

What devilish scheme has Moriarty devised this time?

Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to "Sherlock Sam and the Case of the Counterfeit Dollars" and an explanation to this craziness!