The Blind Banker (Sherlock Holmes x OC)

FOUR- The Investigation Continues

Shortly afterwards, Sherlock, John, and Anita were staking out the tourist shop, The Lucky Cat, in a restaurant opposite it. Sitting at a table next to the window, with John sitting on one side and Anita and Sherlock on the other. Sherlock was writing the two Hangzhou numbers with their English equivalents onto a napkin. John was also taking notes.

"Two men travel back from China. Both head straight for the Lucky Cat Emporium. What did they see?" John asked, looking up from his notes.

"It's not what they saw; it's what they both brought back in those suitcases," Anita replied.

"And you don't mean duty free," John joked, just as a waitress brought over Anita and John's meals.

"Thank you," John and Anita said to the lady.

"Think about what Sebastian told us: about Van Coon- about how he stayed afloat in the market," Sherlock told John.

"Lost five million..." John trailed off.

"Made it back in a week. That's how he made such easy money," Anita finished, the pieces starting to connect.

"He was a smuggler," Sherlock simplified as Anita and John turned back to their meals. Anita shoved Sherlock gently and silently asked if he wanted anything off her plate. Sherlock smiled at the gesture but shook his head. Anita huffed at his stubbornness but let it go.

"A guy like him- It would have been perfect," Sherlock stated.

"Business man making frequent trips to Asia. And Lukis was the same, a journalist writing about China," Sherlock continued as John and Anita hummed in agreement.

"But why did they die? I mean, it doesn't make sense. If they both turned up at the shop and delivered the goods, why would someone threaten them and kill them after the event, after they finished the job?" Anita asked, very concerned as to why the two men had to die. Sherlock smiled at Anita's compassion.

"What if one of them was light fingered?" Sherlock offered.

"How d'you mean?" John chimed in.

"Stole something; something from the hoard," Anita explained.

"And the killer doesn't know which of them took it, so he threatens them both. Right," John finished as it finally dawned on him. Sherlock looked out the window towards the shop, then raised his eyes to the window above it. Looking down to the ground floor again, Sherlock started talking.

"Remind me, when was the last time that it rained?" He focused on a Yellow Page phone directory sealed in a plastic wrapper which had been left outside the door to the flat beside the Lucky Cat.

Without waiting for an answer, Sherlock stood up and left the restaurant. John sat back in exasperation while Anita huffed and dug her wallet out, placing down money for both their meals. Then the pair got up and followed after Sherlock.

Across the road, Sherlock and bent down to the Yellow Pages. The plastic wrapper still had drops of water on it, and the top of it had broken a little. He ran his fingers over the top of the wet exposed pages of the directory.

"It's been here since Monday," Sherlock stated.

"Could've gone on holiday," John reasoned. Anita looked up and shoved John softly, pointing at what she noticed.

"D'you leave your windows open when you go on holiday?" she asked.

The group started to walk to the rear of the building. Anita and Sherlock looked up and saw a cantilevered metal fire escape.

Taking a short run at it, Sherlock jumped up and grabbed the end, pulling it down towards him until it touched the ground, then he ran up the steps towards the window of the flat. As he reached the top, the ladder swung back to its horizontal position before John or Anita could grab it.