The Death Game

Chapter 10

 Another clue found. Man found dead on the south bank of the River Thames.The tide had receded to reveal the body of a large man wearing black trousers, a white shirt, black socks and no shoes. Trademark of the Golem, an assassin. Real name Oska Dzunda, one of the deadliest assassins in the world. The Golem squeezes the life out of his victims with his bare hands. 

What do we know about this corpse? The killer's not left us with much... just the shirt and the trousers. They're pretty formal; maybe he was going out for the night? But the trousers are heavy-duty, polyester, same as the shirt, cheap. They're both too big for him, some kind of standard-issue uniform. Dressed for work. What kind of work? There's a hook on his belt for a walkie-talkie. Tube driver? No. Security guard? Most likely. But there's something else.

The killer must have been interrupted, otherwise he would have stripped the corpse completely. There was some kind of badge or insignia on the shirt front that he tore off, suggesting the dead man worked somewhere recognizable, some kind of institution. Ticket stubs in his pocket. He worked in a museum or gallery. Quick check, the Hickman Gallery has reported one of its attendants as missing, Alex Woodbridge. Tonight the museum unveils a re-discovered painting, a long lost Vermeer. Now why would anyone want to pay the Golem to suffocate a perfectly ordinary gallery attendant? Inference; the dead man knew something about it, something that would stop the owner getting paid thirty million pounds. The painting's a fake.

-Scotland Yard-

''Remind me again why I'm here?'' Juliet asked her, skeletal figure perched over John Watson.

''Sherlock... he needs me to find out more about the dead man we found earlier on the beach...'' John replied, looking around waiting for Lestrade to appear, ''And we need to find his address... which is exactly what inspector Lestrade is getting right now...''

''Yes I think I understood that when Mr Holmes screamed it into the telephone... why me though? I'm not a detective nor a doctor, I'm not going to be much use to you.'' his friend answered furrowing her brow.

''Sherlock thought you were bored, nothing else to do, why not enjoy the thrill of this adventure eh?'' Dr Watson laughed, Lestrade appearing before them with a piece of paper, ''Thank you, now off we go!'' he said giving a big smile to the woman next to him.

-Alex Woodbrige's home-

The deceased man lived in a tiny attic bedroom, they were led upstairs by a woman. At the window which looked up into the sky was a large object covered with a white, thin sheet. John was asking small questions to the lady, questions which might help him find out more about the man. Unlike Watson, Miss Waters was more of a move around person, she made her way to the covered object in the corner of the room, slowly lifting the top of the sheet but it slipped from her small fingers, falling to the floor and revealing a telescope.

''Stargazer, was he?'' wondered Juliet, a small smile of sympathy on her lips.

''God yes. Mad about it. It's all her ever did in his spare time...'' the lady replied, blabbering on about how great of a man he was and how he loved his job at the art gallery. Suddenly she said something that caught both Juliet and John's attention. They listened all ears as the woman talked to them about a recent break-in that occurred last night, before he was murdered. Nothing had been stolen, only a message on the landline for Alex.

''Oh, should I speak now? Alex? Love, it's Professor Cairns. Listen, you were right. You were bloody right! Give us a call when-'' a woman's voice played on the telephone before being suddenly cut off.

''Professor Cairns?'' Watson asked an eyebrow arched.

''No, no idea. Sorry.'' was all the woman answered before being suddenly pushed out of the way by Juliet who stormed down the stairs, dragging doctor Watson with her, all the way outside the flat and into the busy street. Before being able to say anything, John was stopped by the vibrating sound of his phone trilling a text alert. It was Mycroft, Sherlock's older brother, asking how the case about the lost memory stick was going and if he had talked to the Andrew West's fiancée yet.