The Flower Seller ( WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 26

Nicole opened the secret door which brought on another bout of swearing by Lestrade, the scene before them what neither expected. The walls were covered with symbolic writing and strange diagrams, a small marble altar towards the back on which burned several candles, a gold plate containing the bleached bones of what once must have been a small animal, a large black feather, and a jewel encrusted chalice. Lestrade sniffed the contents of the chalice, announcing it to be brandy. Nicole did the same, but noted a metallic hint suggesting blood in the mix. "Did Rotherham have any cuts on him?" she enquired.

"None," Lestrade replied, studying the walls. "This is all that dark stuff. Fucking pervert."

Nicole's gaze fell on a stone statue set in a recess behind the altar, moving closer to examine. "A man's head on a lion's body," she observed, "with wings and what looks like a tail."

"Keeping something like this behind a secret panel means only one thing," Lestrade observed.

"Perhaps, although it might not be for the purposes of practising black magic."

"Really," Lestrade snorted. "This ain't the place where you'd hold a fucking tea party."

"I agree. But, statues like this are representative of Egyptian culture."

"I don't care what it fucking represents. Rotherham was up to no good in here."

A sudden gust of air extinguished several of the candles, Nicole grabbing the one remaining lit to study the walls. "I think there's another door," she announced. "Help me find it."

Her hands brushed the walls, feeling for anything that might suggest a concealed entrance, failing to find it. She knew it had to be here, guessing whoever entered Rotherham's bathroom had done so through this room. With no hiding places, it meant the killer most likely left through this room too. Wherever the exit, it was staring her in the face. She scanned the walls for a second time, frustrated at not being able to locate it, making a mental note of everything in the room to report back to Sherlock.

Lestrade was waiting in the bathroom as she emerged from the room. "Well, who killed him?"

"My gut says Blackwood."

"Could have been a servant. Someone disgruntled."

"Unlikely. This death...this murder was deliberate. It's meant to send a message to whoever needs one."

"So, Blackwood did this. And, he chose Rotherham. Why?"

"Blackwood is Rotherham's illegitimate son. Rotherham is head of the Temple of the Four Orders. My guess is that's the connection."

Lestrade stared at her. "Fuck a duck."

"Precisely," Nicole replied, placing the candlestick still in her hand on Rotherham's dressing table.

The journey back to Scotland Yard was undertaken in silence, Lestrade offering his carriage to take Nicole home. She declined, knowing she now had to find Waverly. As she exited the police station she saw Dolls waiting in the same place, hands shoved in his pockets to keep warm.

She crossed the street, half expecting him to disappear as she approached. "What brings you here?" she said.

"Waverly."

"Where is she?"

"Ain't in your pay," he replied, about to walk away.

"How much?"

"A shilling." Nicole rummaged in her pocket, pulling out the required coin. Dolls accepted it with his grubby fingers, slipping it into the pocket of his threadbare waistcoat. "Can take you to her."