Chapter 8

Sherlock and Watson are forced to split up to tackle the mysteries behind this case, and Watson makes an astounding discovery.

Sherlock leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and steepling his fingers together, deep in thought. 

“What we have here is a great mystery, one that I fully intend to solve,” he said, “however, this case has much more to it than even I could have anticipated.  Watson and I shall return to my rooms and I will go over the details of this case tonight in greater depth.  We will return tomorrow morning.  In the meantime, it would be advisable for you to go about your normal day-to-day behaviors, Ms. Cutter.”

At this, Sherlock grabbed the keys and the little box, while Watson carried the journal. They walked outside, and down the road, looking for a taxi.  During this time, Sherlock did not speak at all and would hardly even nod to Watson to acknowledge that he heard.  After a few minutes, they were able to hail a cab.  As Watson climbed in, Sherlock suddenly stopped and jerked upright as if he had been struck in the face.  

“Watson! I have had a revelation!” he said, “No time to explain at this moment, go back to Baker Street, I must run an errand or two before I can join you there. In the meantime, go ahead and eat and do not worry about waiting up for me, as I may be quite late.  I will explain everything upon my arrival.”  

Then Sherlock began walking down the road, still carrying the box and keys.

Upon arriving back at 221 Baker Street, Watson made some tea and pored over the notes he had taken during the first visit to Mr. White’s home that morning.  It all seemed to be running in circles.  First there were the cryptic messages, and then the crudely drawn map of the house.  Following that was the discovery of the three keys, during which they also found the message spray painted on the wall in the shed.  

“This case is very strange,” he thought, “especially this code, ‘What’s on a lock, what’s on a trail?  You search for me, to no avail!’ which seems to be a prank, or maybe a boastful criminal leaving a taunt for the police?”  

He searched through his notes and reread the newspaper from that morning, desperately trying to find any clues.  Around 8:30, he decided to go ahead and eat supper, asking Mrs. Hudson to bring up an extra tray of food for Sherlock, should he arrive at a late hour with an appetite.

Once Watson ate, he decided to read through Mr. White’s journal to see if there were any further clues, and to pass the time till Sherlock returned.  Several pages in, he found information relating to the man known as “The Weasel”.  Feeling excited, Watson eagerly read the page, which went like this:

“Earlier this month there was a series of break-ins in a nearby neighborhood.  It seemed out of the ordinary, so I installed a second lock on my front door to increase security.  However, the crimes seemed to have stopped.  For two weeks there was no mention of a break in anywhere nearby.  Being curious, I inquired about the matter to Roger, who said he was wondering the same as I.  We decided that the criminal may have been killed by a gang or something along those lines, perhaps even an overdose.  Possibly even captured by the police.  Three days after this conversation, I returned home from work to find that my door was unlocked.  My heart began racing as I tried to remember if I might have left it unlocked as I was leaving that morning.  Unable to put myself at ease, I eased the door open. I peered inside, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.  Cautiously, I made a very thorough search of the house and turned up nothing.  Nothing broken, and nothing missing.  I called Roger and he said that his house had been broken into as well, and that nothing was broken or disturbed, aside from a couple of little trinkets, an old watch, and a couple of pages from his notes on particular business cases, along with a page that he and I had been mapping out where crimes had been committed for the past month. We have determined to figure out why we have had these break-ins, but have nothing in the way of evidence at the moment….”

Watson read over the next few pages, which mostly detailed day to day business and musings of Mr. White.  After about 5 pages, on an entry two months later, was a very intriguing narrative from Mr. White:

“Today a very unusual and unsettling event has occurred. Upon returning home, my front door was unlocked once again.  As I made my way carefully inside, I heard a voice from my living room, “Make your way in here, Mr. White.  As long as you cooperate and do not try to run out, you will be fine.” I slowly walked into the living room, avoiding making any sudden moves.  As I walked through the doorway, I saw a man standing with his back to me.  He was quite tall; he appeared to be over 6 feet in height, compared to my height of 5 foot 7 inches.  He was wearing a black suit, and appeared to be carrying a pistol in both of his pants pockets. I asked him what he wanted, to which he responded by laughing.  

“It’s not what I want,” he said, “but what the boss wants.  You see, I have been contracted to get you and your business partner to stick to business and keep your noses out of my client’s dealings. As we speak, an associate of mine should be having a nice chat with your friend, Clyde Rogers.  I instead have been told that you are to give us any and all information you have or think you have about the crimes that were committed 2 months ago and up till now.  I have also been instructed to monitor your activities on a daily basis and if either one of you step out of line and begin digging where you don’t have any business, I will kill whoever it is.”  

All this time he never turned around, and just as I thought this, he spoke again, 

“I will not turn around, and my face will not be known to you.  Therefore, sit down on this couch and cover your head.  If you so much as lift your head an inch, I will shoot you.  And remember, I am the eyes and ears that are always watching and listening.  Nothing you do will be kept a secret.  So do not meddle in affairs that do not concern you.”  

As I sat there, with my face covered, I could hear him walk out the front door, closing it behind him.  I sat there motionless for a solid hour before I dared to move about again. Shortly after, I received a call from Roger, saying that he had just been held at gunpoint in his home and threatened to abstain from looking into the crimes that had been committed.  I related my story, and he told me that his attacker was short, even shorter than myself, perhaps 5 foot 4 inches or so. He even saw the face of the man who held him up.  After further discussion, we concluded that we had no choice but to go along with the demands of these hit-men.”

Once he finished reading the entry, Watson leaned back in his chair and let out a breath that he didn’t realize he had been holding. He closed his eyes, going over in his mind everything he had just read.  

“What will Sherlock have to say about this?” he murmured.

Reviews

[Kimberly Miller]

Wow, so much in one chapter! Very good! I found it helpful to go back and reread the whole book again, just to keep me up to date on some things and, if acceptable, I have a recommendation or two. First, perhaps Sherlock would drop the usage of " is very obvious" or " it's really very obvious" when he goes to explain his deductions. I feel like it may be a tad overused and although I know Sherlock has a bit of an ego, perhaps showing some humanity to that part of his character might be an improvement. Also, while I enjoy the depth-ness and thought that goes into each chatper, perhaps a little side-action might be a possibly? Whether it ties into the whole plot of not is up to you, I just know that often it helps keep the story changing. Just some thoughts! No complaints, lovely chapter, very well done and i look forward to more!!

[Jeremy Hiles]

Thank you for your review! Yes, I was rereading it the other day and noted that he does say that a lot, so there are plans to cut some of those instances! Thank you for the suggestion! Yes, I have thought the same thing, and there are plans for the next chapter to include some side action! I can't say what that will be at this moment, there are eyes and ears everywhere watching, but I will say that it will tie in nicely! Thank you very much for your review! More will be on the way soon!