Done with Finals! After today Christmas break!
-Wildflower
221B.........
Sally Donovan and Lestrade were in the living room of 221B when John came home. "Sherlock something weird......" He paused when he saw Lestrade and Donovan, "What's going on?"
"Kidnapping." Sher told him.
"Rufus Bruhl, the ambassador to the U.S." Lestrade told John.
"He’s in Washington, isn’t he?" John asked.
"His children were kidnapped." I told him.
"Max and Claudette, age seven and nine." Lestrade told John and Donovan showed him a picture. I had a very bad feeling about this case, James's next move on the board. "They’re at St Aldate’s."
"Posh boarding place down in Surrey." Donovan told us.
"The school broke up; all the other boarders went home – just a few kids remained, including those two." Lestrade told Sher who was typing in a laptop.
"The kids have vanished." She told us.
"The ambassador’s asked for you personally." Greg told him as Sherlock was halfway out the door and I was following him.
"The Reichenbach Hero." Donovan says sarcastically.
"Isn’t it great to be working with a celebrity." Greg said as we all left.
St. Aldate's school.........
Greg’s car drives into the grounds of the boarding school and pulls up outside the front entrance. Two police cars are already there and a woman is standing in front of one of them, leaning against the bonnet wearing a shock blanket around her shoulders and crying while a uniformed female police officer talks reassuringly to her. A man, probably a plain clothed police officer, is also talking to her but walks away as Greg, Donovan, the boys and I get out of the car and approach. The woman blows her nose on her handkerchief. "It's all right." The female officer comforts presumably the House Mistress.
"Miss Mackenzie, House Mistress. Go easy." Lestrade says quietly the Sherlock. We stay back as Sherlock goes and talks to Miss Mackenzie.
"Miss Mackenzie, you’re in charge of pupil welfare, yet you left this place wide open last night." Sherlock then raises his voice anrgily, "What are you: an idiot, a drunk or a criminal?" He grabs the blanket and pulls it from around her shoulders. She gasps in fear as he glares furiously at her, "Now quickly, tell me!"
"All the doors and windows were properly bolted. No-one – not even me – went into their room last night. You have to believe me!" Miss Mackenzie said in fear.
"I do. I just wanted you to speak quickly." Sher told her gently then turning around, "Miss Mackenzie will need to breathe into a bag now." I then walked up to him.
"What the hell was that, William?" I asked him anrgily, "You scared the hell out of that woman." I heard him gulp.
"I don't have the patience for her." He told me.
"Don't make me call your mother." I warned before walking inside. We were led into the dormitories, where the crime scene was.
"Six grand a term, you’d expect them to keep the kids safe for you. You said the other kids had all left on their holidays?" John said out loud as Sherlock and I began looking around the room.
"The intruder must have been hidden inside some place." Lestrade guessed.
"Show me where the brother slept." Sher said as we finished looking around the girl's dormitory, we were instantly led there, "The boy sleeps there every night, gazing at the only light source outside in the corridor. He’d recognise every shape, every outline, the silhouette of everyone who came to the door." Leaving us the room, Sher goes outside the door and pulls it almost closed, then raises his hand and points his fingers as if they’re a gun, showing the others how it would be seen through the frosted glass. He pushes the door open and comes back into the room, "What would he do in the precious few seconds before they came into the room? How would he use them if not to cry out?"
"He would use it to leave a clue. All the spy books, this little boy is clever." I smirked.
"Get Anderson." Sher told Lestrade. Soon afterwards the room has been darkened as much as possible by closing the wooden shutters over the windows. Sherlock shines an ultraviolet light onto the wall beside the boy’s bed where the words 'HELP US' have been written on the wall, only now visible in the black light. "Linseed oil."
"Not much use. Doesn’t lead us to the kidnapper." Anderson told us.
"Brilliant, Anderson." Sher told him.
"Really?" Anderson questioned, shocked.
"Yes. Brilliant impression of an idiot." Sher said.
"I don't think it is an impression." I told my boyfriend and he smirked back at me. Sher then points downwards, shining the light close to the floor. "The floor." There are several sets of illuminated footprints of varying sizes leading towards the door. Sher and I slowly follow them.
"He made a trail for us." John said.
"The boy was forced to walk ahead them." I deduced.
"On what? Tiptoe?" John asked noticing how small the footprints are.
"Indicates anxiety; a gun held to his head." Sher told John. He walks slowly out into the corridor, which has also been blacked out, and follows the footsteps. Anderson walks beside him with another black light. "The girl was pulled beside him, dragged sideways. He had his left arm cradled about her neck." After a few yards and the trail stopped.
"That’s the end of it. We don’t know where they went from here." Anderson told us and I rolled my eyes, as Sher stops and Anderson turns to him, "Tells us nothing after all."
"You’re right, Anderson, nothing." Sher said then taking a breath, "Except his shoe size, his height, his gait, his walking pace." He reaches to the closest window and tears down the blackout material that had been stuck across it. Daylight comes back into the corridor. Putting the light onto the window sill, he kneels down and takes his wallet of tools and a small lidded plastic Petri dish from his inside pocket. While the police go back towards the bedroom, he puts the dish on the floor, opens the wallet and chuckles contentedly. John and I squat down beside him.
"Having fun?" John asked.
"Starting to." Sher awnsered.
"Maybe don't do the smiling." I suggested and Sher looked at me confused, "Kidnapped children, Sher."
St. Bart's..............
We walked into the hallway of the lab and Molly was on her way out for lunch. "Molly!" Sher said.
"Oh, hello. I’m just going out." Molly said, awkwardly.
"No you're not." Sher said turning her around.
"I've got a lunch date." She told us.
"Cancel it. You’re having lunch with us." Sher told her leading her back to the lab then reaching into his coat pockets, he dramatically produces a bag of crisps from each pocket.
"What?" Molly said confused.
"Need your help. It’s one of your old boyfriends; Sam's brother - we’re trying to track him down. He’s been a bit naughty!" Sher told her, reaching the fire doors at the other end of the hall, he turns and smiles back at Molly, who has stopped dead a few paces back. John also stops and stares at him and I was next to Sher.
"It’s Moriarty?" John asked.
"Of course it is." I told him like it was obvious.
"Er, Jim actually wasn’t even my boyfriend. We went out three times. I ended it." Molly told us.
"And that was very brave of you." I told her.
"Yes, and then he stole the Crown Jewels, broke into the Bank of England and organised a prison break at Pentonville. For the sake of law and order, I suggest you avoid all future attempts at a relationship, Molly." Sher told her then we both walked into lab, John and Molly followed shortly after.
"How do you two know it's Moriarty?" John asked.
"Becuase he wants to piss Sam off." Sher told him.
"Plus he messaged me." I added amd Sherlock looked at me.
"You didn't tell me that." Sher said.
"Well, I just got it." I told him,pulling out my phone bringing up the message.
Have fun with this one
M
I showed it to Sher. "I hadn't even seen it yet becuase it vibrated in my coat pocket while we were walking in here." Then Sher started to do his thing and I went out into the hallway to make a call but they called me first. "Hello?" I awsnered.
"Ms Finley?" A manly, American voice awnsered.
"This is she." I awnsered.
"This is the President of the United States and I have a proposition for you." He told me.
"Okay?" I questioned.
"I am willing to pardon you on one condition."
"What is that condtion?"
"You work for the FBI for a year, maybe two."
"How long do I have to think about it?"
"A week."
"I will let you know my awnser with in the week." I told him.
"I will be expecting your call." Then he hung up. I then saw Molly come out of the lab, looking kinda flustered. Then I walk into the lab to find John standing next to Sherlock.
"This envelope that was in her trunk. There’s another one." John told him.
"What?" Sher said confused.
"On our doorstep. Found it today." John gets the envelope out of his pocket and looks at it. "Look at that. Exactly the same seal." I walk over to them as Sherlock reaches into the envelope and takes out some of the brown dust.
"Breadcrumbs." I told them.
"Uh-huh. It was there when I got back." John told us.
"A little trace of breadcrumbs; hardback copy of fairy tales." Sher said.
"Hansel and Gretel." I told him.
"What kind of kidnapper leaves clues?" John asked.
"The sort that likes to boast; the sort that thinks it’s all a game. He sat in our flat and he said these exact words to Sam and I : Every fairytale need a good old-fashioned villain." Sher said then puting down the envelope and adjusted his microscope, "The fifth substance: it’s part of the tale."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"While you were taking that call I found a Glycerol molecule, the witch's house." He told me. "PGPR!"
"What's that?" John asked.
"It'used in making chocolate." I told him.
Cab on the way to Scotland yard.......
"John, you take the next one, I need to talk to Sam." Sher told John as he dragged me into the cab. "Scotland yard." Sher told the cabbie, then looking at me. "Something is wrong. Who called you?"
"American President. He gave me an offer for me to be pardoned if I work for the FBI for one or two years." I told him, honestly. I saw no point in trying to keep it from him. "He is giving me a week to think about it."