Devil Take The Hindmost •Sequel To Life Is But A Dream•

•The Reichenbach Fall: Part Five•

Chapter Twenty-Six: Playing Detective

The clear blue sky is littered with grey clouds in rows that appear in a pattern. Under that sky was a small cafe near 221B, where Lucy and I sat, talking and drinking tea together. Two months had gone by, and not a word from Moriarty. Needless to say, the two months were more peaceful than I expected. They were something like bliss. I could actually feel myself getting better, not just physically, but emotionally as well. My best friend kept me grounded, making me drift away from the shadows that would seduce me with deceiving charm at night, waking me in terror. Not a word was spoken of this terror to her. She needed to see me as her friend, innocent and whole.

We had planned to meet her siblings later that day, were it not for my uncle approaching the two of us as we spoke about the engagements.

"Hey John." I said, and half- smiled.
"Hello Mr. Watson." Lucy greeted, shaking his hand.
"Aspen, Lucy. Care to come into the flat?" He asked us. I glanced to my friend, and shrugged my shoulders.
"Why not?" She said, then grinned. We stood and followed my uncle to the door. I allowed Lucy to go first, then glanced back to see John holding a package, spilling with bread crumbs.

"Aspen?" My friend called, and I was pulled out of a trance, then followed her upstairs.

We were met with Sherlock, Lestrade, and Sally Donovan standing in the living room exchanging words and paperwork.
"What's this?" I asked, and glanced to my friend who held wonder at the sight of the detective.
"That's Sherlock Holmes!" She whispered to me, making Sherlock glance in our direction.
"Kidnapping." He said to me and my uncle, who had just appeared in the room.

"Children of Rufus Bruhl, named Max and Claudette, aged seven and nine." Lestrade explained, while Sally showed pictures to my uncle.
I turned to my friend, who was still in awe of Sherlock.
"Um, Lucy is there any chance I could postpone? Just this once?" I asked, and nodded.
"Yeah of course. Go do your thing with Sherlock Holmes. My brother loves his cases." She mentioned, then left the flat.

"Isn't it great to be working with a celebrity?" The detective inspector teased as Sherlock left with his coat.
"Aspen, you didn't have to do that." John said, heading down the stairs with myself.
"John, I'm okay. I can do this." I said, "your therapist does wonders." I lied to his face.

I squeezed into the middle of Sherlock and John in Lestrade's car, and we headed off.
*
I was reading the book I had gotten at the library when we stopped in front of a boarding school. Following was Sherlock, Lestrade, and Sally getting out. I myself was preparing to, when my uncle stopped me.
"Aspen, please don't." He said.
"John, you know I'm going to. Honestly, don't you know me?" I said, resisting his command and hopping out of the car.

"You're right, I don't know you," he said, and I couldn't tell if he was joking or not. "For instance, you're reading something different for a change. That's not like you." He said, then snatched the book out of my hands as we followed Sherlock and Lestrade inside the school.
"Hey, give that back." I told my uncle, reaching for it.

"John, come here." Sherlock called, and my uncle obeyed- once he had given me my book back.
I silently brushed my book of any tainting as the group moved on.

The school was like a palace compared to mine. There were bedrooms that were spreads from the classrooms, perfectly isolating the children from their daily torture. It was in one of these rooms- a girls room that Sherlock began investigating.
I was the last person inside, taking in the white beds and vibrant pink walls. Near the door was a wooden trunk that could only be occupied by what a girl could have: books, toys and dolls. I paced over to a bookshelf to find a stuffed rabbit, which was a soft blue with blue eyes. Next to it was a fox standing straight up on its four stubs for legs. Between to two animals was a picture of who the siblings were. I felt a small smile warm me up as I touched it, remembering my childhood.

"Hey, Aspen." I heard Sally call, and looked back.
"Please don't touch anything. We don't know what they could've done with the items in their rooms." She ordered me. I nodded and took my hand off the fluffy rabbit.

"Show me where the brother slept." Sherlock demanded, and Lestrade obeyed.

We were taken to another part of the dormitories, this time with blue walls with white beds. The contents had much more masculine accessories, like action figures and spy novels. I walked towards one astronaut figure on the floor, closest to Sherlock, and touched it, making sure Sally didn't see. On the shine of its helmet was a sort of liquid that I couldn't identify. It was almost invisible, but there was a shine on my fingertip that was exposed when I brought it closer to my face. It's then I notice the neck of a bottle peeking out from under the bed, and pick it up.

"Sherlock-" I called, and the detective came over to me and took the bottle from my hands. He glanced at me, a gleam in his eyes that held something like satisfaction. I felt my lips curve into the slightest smile at the thought of Sherlock reflecting on me a positive vibe.
"Linseed Oil. Get Anderson." The man ordered the Detective Inspector and Sergeant.

Before I know it, the windows are shut with wooden blinds, and Sherlock offers me an ultraviolet light.
"Do the honours?" He asked. A sense of confusion washed over me, and I looked behind him to see Sally, John, Lestrade, and Anderson waiting.
"S-Sure." I said, taking the bright light and shining it over the wall.

A bright blue wall was all until two ominous words appeared, a vibrant white.
"Help us." I said out loud, and felt immediate sympathy for the children. Something overwhelmed me, and I gave the light to Sherlock, then sat on the boys bed.
"Not much use. Doesn't lead us to the kidnapper." Anderson stated.
A dull pain began in my head, along with my core. I shut my eyes to block out the outside voices, trying to think of what had happened.

As Sherlock explained, I imagined.
"They made a trail for us!" John exclaimed, and I could see a young boy spilling the oil on the floor, splashing his, his sister's, and an unknown man's feet in the puddle.
"He was made to walk in front of him." Sherlock began to think out loud. Still in the dark room, I imagined a sister and brother dragged alongside a man.
"On what, tiptoe?" John asked.
The two children were on their tiptoes.
"Indicates anxiety. A gun held to his head." Sherlock said.
I kept trying to avoid the full pain in my head. The whole scene with the three humans was in daylight, but this pain was a shadow looming in the background. A whimper escaped my lips as I covered my ears. A voice began to echo in my head.
"You're in my way, you're in my way, you're in my way..." On and on and on. One of my hands trails down to my chest to control the rise in my pulse, and my fingers find the necklace that is an "A."

Something like a hallucination takes over my mind, and I am in what looks like a factory. Piping and machinery sounds encapsulate my subconscious, while the only light I see is a candle. Dim, it shines on nothing around it. I crouch down to blow it out, but before I can, a voice calls me. Instead, I picked up the candle and walked along with it, following the voice.
"Aspen! Aspen!" There was, but something appears under my foot, causing me to slip.

"Aspen!" John said, and I opened my eyes. Sherlock, Sally, and Lestrade stand over me. I am laying on the floor, covered in cold sweats. I felt the linseed oil under me, as John helps me up.
"You okay? You were out of it! Come on, we've got to get to the hospital." My uncle said, and I said nothing, just obeyed him.
Before I follow him into the hallway, I glance back at the boys room, wondering what could've caused me to have such a vision.