The Jack of All Trades {Sherlock Holmes}

Chapter Seven

"So, this is what you do, you and John?"

"Yes, I thought that was fairly obvious," Sherlock answered, tetchily.

"Then, what's your title?" Sherlock looked at Evelyn, confused.

"Excuse me?"

"Your title, like, what do you call yourself?" she asked, gesturing to him. "You know, like, a zoologist, or a detective." Sherlock blinked for a moment.

"Consulting detective."

"Oh, see," Evelyn whistled. "I should've known that." She paused for a moment, looking over Sherlock's shoulder, and in an instant something popped into her head, only to exit as soon as it came. "Are those... numbers?"

"Yes," Sherlock sighed. "An ancient Chinese dialect."

"I should've known that as well," she growled at herself, frustrated at herself for something. "So, it's a cipher, then."

"Exactly."

"Book code. Each pair of numbers is a word," Evelyn said, picking up a page. Sherlock slowly lifted his head and looked at her.

"How did you know that?" She looked at him and gestured to the page.

"Look, two words have already been translated," Evelyn announced, pointing to them. Sherlock took the photo and stared at it, his eyes widening slowly.

"John," Sherlock said. "John, look at this." Sherlock took the photo out of the evidence bag as John came out of the kitchen. "Soo Lin, at the museum- she started to translate the code for us. We didn't see it!"

"Nine mill," Evelyn read. "Nine million quid."

"Yes, but for what?" Sherlock quickly put on his coat and scarf. "We need to know the end of this sentence."

"Whoa, wait," Evelyn asked. "Where are you going?"

"To the museum restoration room," Sherlock grimaced. "We must have been staring right at it!"

"At what?" John asked.

"The book, John!" Sherlock exclaimed. "The book- the key to cracking the cipher! Soo Lin used it to do this whilst we were running around the gallery, she started to translate the code. It must be on her desk!"

"And, he's gone." Evelyn blinked. "Oh, yeah! No, absolutely, a quiet night in's just... just what the doctor ordered." She laughed as John spoke.

"Ha ha hah."

"I mean, I personally love going out every evening and wrestling a few Chinese gangsters, not many girls would though."

"Speaking of that," John started. "Where did you learn to kick like that?" Evelyn froze for a moment, memories flooding her mind. She thought quickly, shifting through excuses and reasons.

"Oh, I took a self defense class a few years back," she answered, her eyes shifting slightly to the left. "Shall we get a takeaway?"

"Oh, yeah!" John said, standing up to find a menu. "Yeah, sure."

Evelyn shifted off her jacket, laying it on the back of the chair John had just been in. She rubbed her temples as she quietly mumbled. If John had heard her, he wouldn't have recognized the language. She raised her head when a knock at the door sounded.

"Ooh, blimey, that was quick. I'll just pop down," John said, handing Evelyn a glass as she thanked him.

"Should I lay the table?"

"Um..." John thought. "Eat off trays?"

"Yeah." Evelyn stood, taking a sip of the punch that Mrs. Hudson made, before searching through the kitchen for the trays. She could vaguely hear John downstairs.

"Sorry to keep you, how much d'you want?"

"Do you have it?" Evelyn froze. She slowly walked towards the open archway, standing behind the wall as she listened.

"What?"

"Do you have the treasure?"

"I don't understand," John said. Suddenly, moments later Evelyn heard a crack and a thud. Her breath hitched, she hadn't prepared for this. A man came up the stairs, and Evelyn knocked him off his feet, racing down the stairs to alert Mrs. Hudson when a hand caught her.

She yelled out when a rag covered her mouth, and she took a deep breath in, stupidly. Chloroform, the word registered in her head for only a moment as she struggled.

Then everything went very pitch black.