A Murder Shall Commence.

Chapter 2

"If you want to know more, find the poppies in the garden of the Convent which is missing a Nun?" Isabel read over my shoulder.

"We don't know what it means, but we're trying" Fisher added, as he and Newham led us over to a blackboard on which the message had been written out in full.

"Fisher's been trying out a couple of ciphers on it, but it's all been nonsense so far" Newham added, sighing heavily. "We'll keep trying, though."

"How do you know it's a cipher-thing?" I asked curiously. "Whatever a cipher is?"

"We don't" Fisher replied. "But it seems logical that it should be. Otherwise, why do 'Convent' and 'Nun' have capital letters?"

"Perhaps they're the key words?" Isabel piped up suddenly. "Allie, solve it like a complex crossword!"

"Izzy" I said doubtfully. "I don't think..."

"Try it!" my sister ordered firmly. I sighed, sitting down on a chair and staring fixedly at the blackboard.

"If you want to know more, find the poppies in the garden of the Convent which is missing a Nun" I read aloud, mainly to myself in order to kick my brain into gear.

"Why is there a convent which is missing a nun?" I asked, to nobody in particular.

"We could ask around?" Newham asked. "You know to see if any..."

"I...don't think so" I cut in quickly. "No. It's cleverer than that. A Convent which is missing a Nun...Why are only those two words in capital letters?"

"Tea, anyone?" Isabel asked brightly, as I dissolved into thought.

"Please, Izzy" Fisher smiled. "Lieutenant, if you'll get to work on the substitution codes, I'll keep working on ciphers."

"I reckon I can manage that" Newham nodded. "We'll leave Allie to think outside the box, I reckon."

And as Isabel bustled off to make tea, that's exactly what they did. But my mind was spinning. What did this mean? 'If you want to know more.' Did that mean that there was more information to gather? If so, this was turning out to be more like a treasure hunt than I had first anticipated. But if it was a treasure hunt, then surely the answer to the puzzle would be a place. A Convent which is missing a Nun...

Then it hit me.

"Covent Garden!" I yelled, jumping up.

"What?" Newham asked instantly.

"The answer to the riddle! It's Covent Garden! Look for the poppies in the garden of the Convent which is missing a Nun! Convent and Nun are both in capital letters, and if you take away one nun, or one N, from Convent you get Covent. I believe we're looking for a poppy seller in Covent Garden." 

"Right" Isabel said sarcastically. I frowned at her, through the silence that followed.

"Well?" I asked. The shifty looks between the three of them confirmed my suspicions.  They all thought I was completely off my head.

"I'm going down to Covent Garden" I announced, heading for the door and grabbing my coat. Isabel rolled her eyes.

"I'll come" she sighed. "But only to keep you out of trouble, Alianna Winter."

"We'll see you later, then" Fisher smiled.

"Stay safe, you two" Newham added. "And come back when you're done."

"I'll bring her back" Isabel chuckled, following me out of the door as we began to worm our way through the maze of corridors that was Scotland Yard.

We emerged out into the windy street a little while later. After hailing a cab, we got in, and, it seemed, Isabel finally got to speak her mind.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked, lookimg worried. I frowned, but made it look nonchalant.

"To be honest, not really. But it's better than any of those ciffy-things Fisher's trying at the moment."

"Cipher"  Isabel corrected coolly. "And yes, I suppose. "What are you going to do if you're wrong?"

"Go back and say I was wrong" I said bluntly.

"You're not bothered about being wrong?" Isabel asked, looking surprised. I sent her the same face back.

"Why would I be?"

"No reason."

I looked away. Isabel was hiding something. I just knew it.

We arrived at Covent Garden, and I jumped quickly out of the carriage. Isabel paid the fare at a much more leisurely pace, and I tapped my foot impatiently on the cobbles as I waited.

"Right" I beamed, grabbing her arm and grinning wickedly. "Poppy sellers. Shout if you see one."

Covent Garden was a throng of bright, bubbly noise. Something must be happening, I thought randomly. It surely wasn't always this busy, I decided, as Isabel and I wormed our way through the crowds, arms linked and our other hands on our handbags. We were taking no chances here.

"Poppies!" Isabel pointed to where an old woman was sitting alone on the pavement, two baskets of poppies at her feet. I hesitated a little.

"Right."

I didn't know whether I was more worried about the fact there actually was a poppy seller where I had thought there would be one, or what I was supposed to do now I had found her.

Fortunately for me, Isabel solved that problem.

"Excuse me" she said briskly to the old lady, half dragging me over with her.

"Yes?" the old lady asked, scowling at the two of us from under her grubby old hood.

"Do you by any chance have a message you're supposed to pass on to someone coming looking?" my sister asked, and I cringed. Way to go for subtlety, Isabel.

But the little old lady's scowl melted into what I supposed was an amused smile.

"I rather think I do, young lady" she replied, in a thin, grating voice. "Although I wasn't quite expecting two young ladies like yourselves to come hunting."

"Always expect the unexpected" I put in wisely, making the little old lady cackle with glee.

"I shan't keep you any longer" she said. "Here's what you're looking for. I'll be gone now, if you don't mind."

With that, she shoved a piece of crumpled paper in my hands, picked up her baskets of poppies and shuffled off. I glanced at Isabel, who looked, I thought, a mixture of impressed, disgusted, and slightly terrified.

"Well" I sighed, trying to lighten the mood. "Let's see what we've got, shall we?"

I opened the paper. We both winced. It read:

rienwssindae /\ ethhte /\ hPteiawr \ nlay / m \ Cehhut \ rfco \ h / yftirned / pao/ Brlp \ ueeh / Bt \ usli \ l / \ eh 

I looked again at Isabel. Isabel looked back at me.

"It's going to be a long night, isn't it?" my sister remarked.