I started, “Could it be—”
Sherlock cut me off immediately, “No John. It cannot be.”
“But Sherlock!”
“John it is never twins. It will never be twins. And I sincerely hope that one day you will understand that. Twins is never the answer and it never will be.”
“Then triplets!” I exclaimed.
“Oh Watson. The answer is never going to be twins, triplets, or any form of two same faces. No the answer is quite obvious and elementary.”
“Then why isn’t obvious to me?”
“Because as usual you see but do not observe. Jason Tai came home, drank water, and collapsed. Poisoned. Cyanide. He didn’t drink bottled water. He didn’t drink that gaseous water, whatever it is called. No. He drank tap water. Scotland Yard’s conclusion that he was poisoned via the water is wrong. As usual. He also didn’t have a special glass or mug or tumbler that he used all the time. He chose a glass at random from his cupboard. So their second conclusion that the glass had poison on it is also wrong. If we eliminate the water and the glass, what is left?”
I thought for a few moments and then responded, “The doorknob!”
“Yes. And given that Mrs. Tai supposedly was wearing gloves at the time she touched the doorknob and those gloves somehow ended up in the fire, she is the obvious murderer.”
“But Sherlock there was no doorknob!”
“That is what got Mrs. Tai caught. No doorknob? A locked house. No robbery. Husband comes home and collapses dead. Wife comes home and calls for help. And in the meantime the doorknob and the gloves that touched the doorknob disappeared? How? Anderson having to come to me for this case proves he will never amount too much. Anyways, putting this case aside, we have an even older case to revisit.”
“Which case?”
At that time the door opened and Mycroft came in, followed by Player. Mycroft looked in pain as Player lamented on, “…and then we can lie in wait and pounce on—”
Mycroft cut Player off, “Oh do please shut up.”
Player clamped his mouth shut as Holmes asked, “So Mycroft. Any new information from my dear old friend?”
It had been 3 months since Moriarty had resurfaced and Mycroft had been working around the clock trying to get some information on Moriarty, where he was hidden, and his next steps. Sherlock, in the meantime, had decided to lean back and wait for Moriarty to make his next move. Mycroft said, “You know I have new information. That is why I am here. But why did you have to stick this obnoxious kid with me?”
Player looked pained, “Obnoxious kid? I’m 25!”
“Oh my bad. Obnoxious adult then. Please stay away from me. I do not like you one bit and I would much rather go to another one of those meet and greets,” Mycroft shuddered, “then have to deal with you again.”
“Fine. Mr. Holmes thought it would be a good for both of us if I helped you out, but I got the message. I will stay away,” Player responded.
Then Player sat down with a huff as Mycroft turned his attention to Sherlock and said, “Moriarty is planning something big and it will start soon. It will most likely require you to run around the town. Legwork,” Mycroft shuddered again. “So get ready little brother.”
“Ooh fun. I can’t wait,” Sherlock said, with a gleeful smile.
And then as if that wasn’t enough, Mrs. Hudson came in with a letter, “Sherlock this just came for you. The kid said it’s urgent.”
“Thank you Mrs. Hudson. How is Emma Thatcher? Did she get married to John Rockfort?” Sherlock asked.
“Yes. After Emil’s suicide and attempt to trap her and John, she got over mourning his death rather quickly. They got married over the weekend. But how did you know?”
“You just told me,” Sherlock smiled, indicating the other letter in Mrs. Hudson’s hand. I looked at it and the envelope read “Mr. and Mrs. Rockfort” in the corner. Mrs. Hudson chuckled and left the room.
Sherlock opened his letter and commented, “Interesting. Well the game has begun.”
He handed the letter to Mycroft and leaned back in his armchair again. Mycroft read through it and asked, “So get up and start working. Stop this man before he does anything.”
“No. The obnoxious adult and Watson will work on this. Moriarty knows that he could have challenged me, but what he sent is not challenging so I refuse to budge,” Sherlock refused.
I took the letter from Mycroft and read it aloud, “The wait is over Sherlock. Let the games begin. Below you will find your first case. Solve each case, send me the answer, and maybe London will survive. Else I will be quite glad to take London down, with you in it.”
I turned over the page to reveal a Scrabble board and several scrambled words. Player commented, “Isn’t Moriarty supposed to be some evil genius? He’s sending a crossword puzzle?”
“No. It’s more of a game. But what are we supposed to do with this?” I questioned.
“Watson once again you see but do not observe. The Scrabble board is incomplete. You have scrambled words. Fill in the words. Once it is filled out, you’ll probably find a new message from Moriarty,” Sherlock responded.
Mrs. Hudson came back with another letter, “Sherlock one more letter for you.”
Sherlock took it and read it. He commented, “Interesting. Now we’re talking.”
“What do you mean?” Mycroft asked.
“Moriarty has also provided me with some cases. If I can solve his cases and get to him before his game runs its due course, we may have a chance to finally bring down his empire,” Sherlock responded.
“And you believe him?” Mycroft asked, incredulously.
“No. But it is definitely better than solving crossword puzzles and playing games. So, dear brother of mine, you will work with Player and Watson on the games, while I go about solving these cases. Let’s see who gets to Moriarty first. Now chop, chop. Get out of here,” Sherlock pushed us out of the room and closed the door in our face.
Mycroft sighed heavily, “Well let’s go to Diogenes Club. I’ve already been outside for too long.”
Siggy by Serpensortia
Tags by DreamyButterfly
comment:
p_commentcount