Chapter 13 Summary & Analysis: Holmes's Confession

Spoiler Warning: This summary and analysis contains plot details for Chapter 13 of Holmes Is Missing. Read on only if you have finished the chapter or don't mind spoilers.

Summary

Brendan Holmes sits in his bedroom unpacking a duffel bag with meticulous precision while his partner Marple watches from the silk sofa. Everything is pressed and folded. When Marple tells him she missed him more than she expected, Holmes admits he was a handful before he went into treatment—an understatement, given the drug habit that nearly derailed their PI licenses and lives.

The last item Holmes retrieves is a small prescription bottle of buprenorphine, which he calls his new best friend. He explains that, unlike methadone (Schedule II), buprenorphine is Schedule III and carries a lower potential for abuse on paper. Marple repeats the phrase “on paper” with audible skepticism. As Holmes sets the bottle down, Marple notices a tremor in his hand and asks if he is all right.

Holmes sits on the end of the bed, clasps his hands to still the twitching, and drops a bomb: his time at the treatment facility taught him that his investigative instincts are gone. He believes he is finished as a detective and will never work a case again, calling it “the end of Holmes.” Marple, stunned by this uncharacteristic defeatism, tries to reassure him that he just needs time and that she and Auguste can handle the workload. Holmes cuts her off, saying there is something else that might shock her more, but before he can continue, the violent shattering of glass from downstairs interrupts the scene, leaving the conversation suspended on a cliffhanger.