We'll start at the beginning, shall we? It was about nine years ago. One of my patients...

[Watson reveals the ongoing deception to his publisher] Greenhough: We'll start at the beginning, shall we? Dr. Watson: It was about nine years ago. One of my patients was a Scotland Yard inspector investigating the Paxton murder case. I give him the name of the murderer, but gave credit to a, heh, nonexistent detective. At the time, I was hoping for an appointment to the staff of a rather conservative medical college; I... knew that they'd frown on my little, uh... Greenhough: Hobby... Dr. Watson: Exactly. Well, I didn't get the appointment. Instead, what I got was a quite unanticipated public demand to meet this "Sherlock Holmes." Greenhough: So you hired this Reginald Kincaid. Dr. Watson: He was an actor. Unfortunately, he was also a gambler, a womanizer, and a drunkard. Greenhough: John, you have jeopardized the integrity of English literature! Still, I should have known. He was always borrowing large sums of money off me and, uh, never paying me back. Dr. Watson: The cad! Greenhough: Oh, don't worry, we deducted it from your royalties.