Royalty

Chapter 22: The Man With The Key Is King

Sherlock's POV:

(A/N: Sorry, sorry again about that break. I did finally get through my own mental block, and I'm hoping to get another chapter or maybe even three total by tomorrow, so ... 

Anyway, so sorry again, and also sorry for saying sorry every freaking chapter)

"Mrs. Rucastle, please, just start over at the beginning. I assure you, you're not a suspect." Heavens, this woman is annoying. Anxiety-ridden all over, I'm sick of her. She can't keep her voice stable, it's like it wobbles all over the place, and this is the third time I've had to refocus her. She keeps going off on tangents.

And I did mean what I said, she's obviously not a suspect. Dithering all over the place, barely able to form a coherent thought. But I somehow managed to force my voice into politeness. Or at least something that is barely passable as politeness.

"W-well, see, it was the end of the day, I'd just finished a little meeting with some of my friends, lovely people you know. We had a sort of tea get together, with these lovely little --" My eyes must have hardened, because her gaze met mine and she shrank back slightly.

"A-anyway. I had just been using my husband's little meeting room, and I knew Alice had left for school like normal. I-I think it was about ... about ... about ... well, maybe eight or so when we finally called the police. She normally stays quite late at school, anyway, you know, she's hardly ever home ..."

I glanced over at Astra and John to see if either of them had heard the bit about her husband's 'meeting room'. John was attentive, but looked about as frustrated with the woman as I felt. He was trying to take notes, but I could see a few randomly violent scribbles on the paper. Astra was texting furiously on her phone apparently in an unwanted and heated conversation with someone.

I snapped my fingers in front of her face and she pushed my hand away. "Sorry, Sherlock ... Someone is just being an absolute --" The blithering woman interrupted, continuing her story.

"And then, about an hour l-later, they found her phone, and the alert went out just a few hours after that ..."

I took a deep breath, trying to regain my little remaining patience. If the maid is anything like this, the wall at 221b will be gaining a few more bullet holes. "You say Alice spent most of her time at school. Is it a good school? Is anything ... suspicious likely to go on there?"

She shakes her head after a moment. "N-no, not really. Very nice school, clean history and everything ..."

I nodded slightly. I keep sticking on one point: Alice herself was kidnapped, for something about her. Not her parents. Now why was Alice targeted? Well, judging by her trajectory on the day she was taken, it seems she knew something important. But what does a Year 10 girl find out that makes her worth kidnapping? I can't think of a single way this quiet, secluded, nice, bright girl would ever be mixed up in anything criminally.

"I-is that all ...?" the woman asked tentatively. I sighed. The butler had been drunk and entirely unknowing, the wife was getting on every one of my nerves, the husband had at least been straightforward but unhelpful, and I had officially lost my patience with this case already.

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Astra's POV:

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. I felt about as stressed and annoyed as Sherlock looked as we left the house. We hadn't gotten around to the rest of the rooms, and questioning the staff had been an absolute bust.

The butler was drunk and evidently had no idea what was going on. The maid was quiet, and, while cooperative, quiet and nervous. The husband seemed to measure every one of his words very carefully, putting me very on edge the whole time. And his wife was just ... ugh. She seemed sweet, but more than a bit scatterbrained.