"Are you eating breakfast?" Lily asks. She's at the kitchen table, and has been for some time, waiting for Sherlock. Liam is also there, as it's now Saturday, and he's finally able to come in and visit.
Sherlock stops in the doorway. "Oh. Hello."
"Hi," Liam says, mouth full.
"He made eggs this morning," Lily says.
"I see."
"He makes good eggs," Lily's mum supplies.
Lily's dad, also eating, agrees. "That he does."
Sherlock sits at the table next to Lily, sort of across from Liam, with the table being round. Liam swallows his food, then excitedly asks, "Can I come to the hospital today?"
"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to spend my day off in a hospital," Lily says.
"Neither would I," her mum agrees. "Of course, I worked there."
Sherlock shrugs, looking down at the plate of eggs Lily puts in front of him. "You're welcome to come if you want, though I think we are about to wrap up this case. I've received some information this morning that I think clears most everything up."
"From who?" Lily asks.
"Mycroft."
"Cool. I'll be there when you do the whole solution part," Liam says. "I love that part."
"Eat your eggs," Lily tells Sherlock.
He frowns a bit, head titling almost in confusion. "I'm not hungry."
"How?" Liam asks, getting another plate of eggs.
"I rarely eat when on a case."
"But-"
"Besides the occasional baked good."
"He had steak last night," Lily's dad says. "Lily made it."
Liam gasps. "Lily made steak?"
"Very poorly, but yes," Lily replies.
"It wasn't that bad," Sherlock says. "The béarnaise sauce was the hardest part."
Liam laughs. "Pigs are flying outside, aren't they? Dad, check the window."
"Oh, come on, Liam." Lily nudges him.
"Can you blame me for being surprised? 'I can't cook, it's too hard. It's too subjective. I can't cook.'"
"I don't sound like that."
"Yeah, you do."
Lily rolls her eyes but doesn't argue, instead finishing her eggs and sausage. "Once you're done eating, Sherlock, we'll go."
"What about me?" Liam asks, once again with a mouth full of food.
"That's your third egg! Not to mention the two sausages."
"Three," her mum corrects.
"Excuse me, but I didn't get any steak last night for dinner. I had a bowl of cereal and then I was sent off to bed."
"You came in too late," Lily's dad says. "Your mum and I didn't get steak, either. We went out to eat last night."
Liam glances at Lily, a smirking smile on his face that both worries and irritates her. "How romantic." Lily nudges him again, this time almost hard enough to bruise. He takes this as a sign to shut up.
Sherlock looks around the table, still confused. "I... suppose I'll eat a few bites." He begins to eat, so Lily puts her plate in the sink and goes to her room to get her purse, her phone, and her shoes. When she returns, Liam and Sherlock are ready to go.
"I'll drive!" Liam says, grabbing his keys. Lily and Sherlock follow him out. Sherlock sits in the back, so Lily gets in the passenger seat. "Tell me everything about the case. I want to know what's going on."
Sherlock doesn't answer, instead making a phone call, so Lily tells Liam everything they know so far — or everything she knows. Sherlock holds on to his theories for now.
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When they enter the hospital, the smells hit Lily all at once, familiar and stomach-turning — the cleaner, the alcohol — and they mix with the sounds of beeping and, somewhere in the distance, crying. She sometimes had to come into her mum's work for one reason or another, but she isn't any less used to the environment. All she can think of is being sick — sick enough to come to the hospital. Or when Liam was sick enough to go to the hospital. None of it seems to faze him, though.
"Is she awake?" Lily asks Sherlock.
"Not yet. Officer Davis is on his way. Should be here any minute."
"And... he's gonna wake her up?"
"No," Sherlock replies, unhelpfully. When they try to gain access to Nancy's room, the officer waiting there makes them wait for Officer Davis.
"Smart to call him," Lily says.
"I know."
Officer Davis arrives a minute or so later, and he greets Liam and Lily warmly. "I can't believe you two are this old. You're adults!"
Liam looks down at himself, then back up. "Are you sure?" Officer Davis laughs.
Sherlock gestures to the door. "Shall we?"
Officer Davis nods, so the waiting officer opens the door. "What's the rush, Holmes?" Davis asks. "She isn't awake yet — believe me I've been checking. What'd you call me here for, anyway?"
Mary and her mother look up when they all enter the room. Lily greets them, while Sherlock continues talking to Officer Davis. "Did you check Nancy's clothes?"
"Well, yeah, when they brought her in here, we took a look at them. No blood or anything."
"Let me see them," Sherlock says, turning to Mary and her mother. The latter grabs a clear, plastic bag off a hook on the wall and passes it to Sherlock.
He opens the bag, pulling out Nancy's pants and shoving his hands in the pockets. His brows furrow when he pulls out nothing, and then he sees the cardigan lying atop Nancy on the bed.
"She looked cold," Mary says.
Sherlock hands the bag to Lily, who straightens out the clothes inside.
"What are you doing?" Liam asks.
Sherlock starts searching the cardigan's pockets, though he doesn't actually pick it up. His face lights up. "A-ha!" He pulls out a key.
Officer Davis' eyes widen. "Is that-?"
"The missing key? So it is."
"How did you know it would be in there?" Liam asks, far too excited.
"Because Nancy is the one who locked the door."
Lily's brows furrow. What for?"
"To protect Mary."
"Me?" she says. "You mean... she knew?"
"She knew what?" Officer Davis asks.
"That the man coming to visit her could be dangerous." Sherlock is clearly fighting a smile, excited to not only confirm his hunch but share the answer with everyone. He didn't get to do that on the last case; he's awful proud of himself now.
"Walk me through this, Holmes. From the beginning."
"Gladly," he replies. "Mary and Nancy met a man named Henry on the way home. Henry was a boyfriend of Nancy's that went missing and presumably died while they were in the military — he was sent on a mission he did not come back from. This Henry approaches Nancy, telling her what happened to him and who sent him on that mission, and then making arrangements to meet her at home — through the front window. Nancy was worried he was dangerous, something bad would happen. So, she locked the door to protect Mary.
"She went home and confronted James, for he was the one who sent Henry on that mission. It was a dangerous mission, recommended for at least two men. James sent one — Henry. He knew Henry wouldn't return. He was in love with Nancy, he wanted her for himself. Nancy likely asked James if this was really true, resulting in their fight. That front window, if someone were to climb inside, would have to be held open by another person. Henry shows up at the window, gives James a heart attack, Nancy helps Henry climb in — probably to help — but he hits Nancy in the head, knocking her out."
"But why would Henry do that?" Mary's mother asks.
"It wasn't him. It was a disguise. That's why Nancy was suspicious of him."
"Then who's David?" Officer Davis asks.
"Maybe the man who really showed up. I haven't got that figured out yet."
Lily ponders it for a moment, then remembers the context. Nancy said that name during their fight. A light goes off in her head. "King David."
"You're right," Liam realizes.
"Give me context," Sherlock says.
"King David's biggest transgression," Lily explains. "At least the biggest transgression recorded. Anyway, he was supposed to go out to war, but he didn't, and he saw this woman bathing on a roof. Found out she was Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers. He had her brought to him, had... you know, relations with her. But she got pregnant, so he tried to get her husband to be with her so he would think it was his. It didn't work, so he put her husband where he knew he would die in battle. He married Bathsheba himself. Nancy was comparing James to King David."
"Brilliant," Sherlock says.
"But if it wasn't really Henry, and it wasn't David, then who was it?" Liam asks.
Sherlock deflates a little. "I don't know. I'm hoping when Nancy wakes up, she can provide more information."
"Should be any minute now, the doctors said," Mary says.
"Then we'll wait." Sherlock turns to Lily and Liam. "Fancy an early lunch?"
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The three of them sit around a table in the hospital cafeteria. Officer Davis is making calls, getting the key submitted for evidence and Sherlock's theory thoroughly investigated.
"Why would the man not have all of this in order already? He didn't even find the key in her pocket," Sherlock says.
"He works in Boscombe, Sherlock. This sort of things doesn't happen around here," Lily replies.
"Still."
Lily only shrugs. She finishes her sandwich then moves on to her biscuits, which could be better — but could be worse. Liam has been done eating for a few minutes, and Sherlock also seems to be done, though he didn't eat very much.
"Who would pretend to be Henry?" Liam asks. "I mean, seems like no one in town knew about him at all. She didn't even tell her own niece."
"Maybe he was from out of town," Lily says.
Sherlock nods a bit. "I had to get the information about James and Henry from Mycroft. He looked into the records. It would have to be someone who was there when it happened or someone with access to those records."
"Someone couldn't get access to them? Like, you know, illegally?" Liam asks.
"Possibly, but they would have to be very skilled at that sort of thing. It wouldn't be easy. Mycroft only got access to them because he's basically the government."
"Mycroft's your brother, right?"
"Unfortunately."
"Did he not just help you on this case?" Lily chides.
Sherlock rolls his eyes. "I suppose."
"I don't know why you hate your brother. He seems perfectly nice to me."
"Were you there when you met him, or had you checked out?"
"He cares about you."
Sherlock waves this off. "Of course he does. It's smothering."
"Smothering? You haven't seen him in weeks! Not since he gave you that case."
"He's got eyes and ears everywhere, believe me."
Liam's brows furrow. "What, like Nick Fury?"
"Who?"
"Dude, do you ever sit down and watch a movie?"
"I always guess the ending."
Lily shakes her head, gathering their garbage so she can throw it in the bin. "He watches reality TV."
"People are so..." Sherlock almost shudders.
Lily laughs as she throws their trash away, then finds both Liam and Sherlock standing when she returns.
"Nancy's awake."
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"Should we really be questioning her now?" Lily asks, standing outside the door with Sherlock, Liam, and Officer Davis.
"She insisted," Officer Davis replies. "As soon as she got her bearings, she wanted to talk about everything. Her family said we should be there so she doesn't have to go through it all twice."
They enter the room, though Lily and Liam stay by the door, presumably not to crowd Nancy. Officer Davis and Sherlock join her family at her bedside, then quietly introduce themselves.
"Sherlock Holmes?" Nancy says. "You're that famous detective guy, aren't you? What on earth are you doing here?"
"I have a friend who's from the area. I was called."
Nancy nods a little. "Well. Mary told me you need me to fill in some blanks for you. Should I just start from the beginning?"
"Please," Officer Davis says.
"Mary and I left the birthday party — you don't need me to detail the party do you?"
"Was there a man there?" Sherlock asks.
"No."
"Did anyone at the party know about Henry?"
"No."
"Proceed."
"We were walking back, and I was a little tipsy, I admit. So when I saw that man across the street, I immediately recognized him as Henry. It was a good disguise, from a distance. When I got closer I felt something was wrong; I thought maybe it was me, or maybe the injuries he'd suffered changed his look a bit. He told me what James had done, asked to come to the house to talk about it. I almost told him no, but then I thought, what if it is Henry? I decided I would take precautions but let him in, so I arranged for him to meet me at our front window in half an hour. He agreed, and then we went home. I didn't want Mary to know anything about it — how would she think of James, if he had done it? I sent her away and locked James and myself in the front room. I was going to let Henry in and keep him there, should he be dangerous.
"James and I argued, and he admitted it. He was yelling, and I was yelling, and I realized he was getting pale. When Henry arrived, James saw him and just... collapsed. I screamed, I went to open the window. I needed someone to call 999 and I needed to give him CPR. I panicked. When I let Henry in, he struck me. In the split second before I was out, I knew for sure it wasn't him. Henry would never do that. And that's all I remember."
"Was there anything else familiar about the man?" Sherlock asks. "Anything about his voice or his manner?"
"No. No, I don't think I've ever met him in my life."
Sherlock sighs a bit, hopes dashed. They don't even have a description because he was disguised — but it was a good disguise. Good enough, anyway. Who would have the skills to accomplish that as well as get the information about James? "If you remember anything, give me a call." He writes his number on a nearby napkin, gives it to her, and then says goodbye. What more could they do there?
Officer Davis follows him out. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Holmes. I'm going to have her statement taken down and get all the ducks in a row. If you find anything on this false Henry, give me a call. I will do likewise."
Sherlock nods in reply, Lily and Liam say goodbye, and then they all pile into Liam's car to drive back home. It's a quiet ride; they're all thinking.
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At home, Sherlock goes to his room to call John and fill him in. Lily helps her mother tidy up and they make plans for dinner while Lily tells her and her father about what happened. Liam excitedly interjects during the description.
When Sherlock exits his room, he looks troubled. "I asked John if he ever knew anything about Nancy and James and Henry from his time in the army, but he said he didn't think so. He's contacting old friends, but what do we have to go on?"
"Are you going to call Mycroft again?" Lily asks.
Sherlock sinks into a chair at the kitchen table. "Unfortunately, I think I have to." He rubs his eyes, then frustratedly tousles his hair. "That's two suspects that I haven't caught. No news, no sign anywhere of either of them."
"You'll find them," Lily assures.
"When? How?" He groans. "I hate not knowing."
"Well, if he were from out of town, like Lily said, he would've been noticed here," Lily's dad says. "I can make some calls and see if anyone saw a stranger in town. Marcy at the inn ought to know, anyway, unless he was too smart to stay there."
Sherlock perks up. "You're right — the inn. How could I miss that? What's the number, I'll call right now."
Lily's dad looks it up and gives it to Sherlock, who immediately calls. Liam nudges Sherlock. "Put it on speaker."
"Hello?" Marcy says.
"Hello," Sherlock replies. "This is Sherlock Holmes. I'm calling regarding the Barkley case."
"Oh! Well, I'm happy to help, if I can."
"Did any strange man stay there around the night that James died?"
There's some rustling, a bit of a sigh. "I wouldn't say strange, but I believe there was a man who stayed here around that time. He didn't strike me as odd."
"What name did he give?"
She searches a moment. "Samuel Roberts."
"What did he look like?"
"Well, he was tall. He had light hair. Let me see... He had dark eyes. He was quiet, but he was friendly. Sometimes people stop here for a night or two when they're traveling because we have good rates here. He stayed for only one night."
"When did he check out?"
"The morning before Mr. Barkley died."
"Did he say where he was going?"
"London, I think."
Sherlock pauses, thinks. "Alright. Thank you."
"It's no problem, Mr. Holmes. I'll call if I remember anything else."
"Alright. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
Sherlock looks to Lily. "Do you think he was lying?"
"About his name?" She says. "Most likely. So why is his last name Roberts?"
"I was thinking the same thing."
"If that was a hint, then maybe he wasn't lying about London."
"He wants us to find him."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't," Lily's mum says.
"What if he hurts someone else?" Lily asks. "We can't just let him run free."
"I suppose not, but you can't run off and hunt for him by yourself."
"I'm going to call Lestrade," Sherlock says, going back to his room.
"He's an officer," Liam explains to their parents.
"Well, that's a relief," Lily's mum mutters, but Lily is still worried.