THE PAINTED MISDEMEANOUR

CHAPTER V

"The ring from house 0916," Mr. Holmes went on to say, "Mary Lemont's ring was missing its valuable gem, therefore, this diamond matches its size."

Alexander went grim.

"This means that you may have stolen the diamond from her," Mr. Holmes said, changing his tone.

Before Alexander could defend himself, Veronica let go of my grip and moved forward.

"The...diamond.. ring is mine..." She spoke with a trembling voice.

"I don't know if it's a habit of yours to constantly tell a lie or if you are trying to help your brother," Mr. Holmes grumbled.

"She's telling the truth, Mr. Holmes," Alexander replied.

Mr. Holmes raised an eyebrow, "How am I supposed to believe a word that comes out from a naive little girl."

I could see that Veronica was bothered with Mr. Holmes' way of describing her. She backed away and crept behind me.

"The only way to find out is to go back to house 0916 to prove that this diamond is hers," I said.

Mr. Holmes glanced over his shoulder, "A long walk back, but it will do."

"But I'm not sure if Mary's body has been taken to the morgue or evidence has been collected by the cops yet. So we have to move quickly now–"

"No.." Alexander refused, a sudden burst of fear in his voice was heard.

"What do you mean, no?" Mr. Holmes asked.

"—This tells me that you are hiding some valuable information from me."

"No, no, no, we don't want to go back there ever again.. It was a terrifying experience.."

Mr. Holmes' eyes lit up and he began to roll up his sleeves, "I'm intrigued, do tell me about your experience."

"—Otherwise, I may have to figure it out on my own, and if I do, and you're guilty, you will be held accountable. You wouldn't want to be a disgrace to yourself or your sister right? I'm giving you one final chance; choose wisely."

With each syllable, Mr. Holmes fixed his gaze on his trembling four eyes. Alexander swallowed and nodded, attempting to avoid eye contact with the mastermind in a coat.

Mr. Holmes is an expert at threatening anyone. I could see why he was good at his job.

The immense pressure weighed Alexander down so heavily that he almost appeared to have another seizure just standing in front of the one and only Sherlock Holmes.

"Sit down all of you," Mr. Holmes instructed, bringing a chair for Alexander. "Let's talk."

Veronica and I sat on her bed, while Alexander sat in the chair Mr. Holmes provided. Instead of sitting down, Mr. Holmes leaned his whole body against a wall.

All of us were cramped in Veronica's small, messy bedroom as the three of us waited for Alexander to talk. But not a single sound was emitted from his mouth.

*Bang*

"Say something, don't waste my time," Mr. Holmes slammed his fist against the wall.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking," Alexander replied, his breath unsteady.

"Think faster," his arms folded and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

The diamond was still in his grasp. While waiting for Alexander to speak, he began to notice some sort of unintelligible carving glistening from it. He then whipped out his magnifying glass and inspected each carat carefully.

I looked at him squinting his eyes at the small diamond. I still don't think a magnifying glass is useful in that situation.

"V.S." Mr. Holmes mouthed, a clear reflection of the word engraving showed itself in the lenses of the magnifying glass.

"Veronica Smith.."

Veronica turned her head to Mr. Holmes.

Something was not adding up; why would Mary Lemont be in possession of Veronica's diamond ring?

Mr. Holmes strolled over to us and he handed the diamond back to Veronica, "take this on one condition, explain the marks on your arms, did Mary Lemont harm you?"

Veronica reluctantly nodded, her eyes said it all.

"Why you?"

The silence was deafening.

Veronica hopped off the bed and walked over to her brother and yanked his shirt.

An audible sigh was heard from Alexander, "follow us."

Mr. Holmes and I exchanged glances; why do we follow them all of the sudden?

"Where are we going?" I asked, standing up.

"Back to house 0916."