Mortar & Stone: an Elementary fanfiction

Chapter 9

Captain Gregson's office was brightly lit and well lived-in. Piles of papers and boxes of files took up almost every available surface.

"How did it go?" Gregson asked, leaning back in his desk chair, hands in lap.

"Miss Lee states she only tipped Hapston off for the publicity;" Sherlock glanced at Joan, "and she wants protection from the Mayor. She seems to think she is next on his hit-list."

Gregson raised an eyebrow. "And you think she's genuine?"

"We haven't ruled her out as a suspect," Joan looked at Sherlock, daring him to object. "She has motive, but there's nothing tying her to Naples, and... I don't know... there's just something not right about her."

Sherlock sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. "We still haven't interviewed Goodwin's wife," Sherlock said. "He wouldn't let us anywhere near her; but a scorned spouse who possibly knew Naples? Ample motive."

Gregson exhaled. "Well, the Mayor's office just called. Someone's tipped the media off about the Mayor's affair and one dead paparazzo. The photos haven't surfaced yet, but it's only a matter of time..."

"I'll give you two guesses where the tip came from," Joan said. "Being the Mayor's concubine is one thing, but what's more sensational than being involved in a murder investigation? It will up her publicity overnight."

"Well if his wife didn't know about it, she does now." Sherlock said.

Gregson stood. "I'll get Bell to talk to her, see if she already knew about the affair, or Naples. You two keep digging for links."

"Will do," Sherlock turned to leave.

"And that protection detail for Rosia Lee might be a good idea," Gregson added, furrowing his brow. "At least we can keep an eye on her."

He gave a sharp nod opening the door. "Joan?" He said, gesturing towards it.

In spite of herself, Joan gave a small smile as she brushed past him on her way out.

_________________________________________

He was pacing.

Pacing was always a bad sign. It meant they were at a dead end. It meant that soon he would lose his careful composure. And Joan did not want to be around when that happened.

"I'm not convinced," he gestured emphatically toward their 'wall of crazy', as Joan liked to call it. "The most obvious person is the Mayor himself; but the blackmail letter does not fit with that narrative; if he is the killer, why send it at all?"

"To confuse the trail?" Joan suggested. "It's obviously working..."

Sherlock shook his head as if it were a snow-globe, hoping the evidence would settle back into some recognisable pattern. "No. A man like the mayor would never leave anything to chance. He'd hire a professional hitman, and ensure nothing could be tied back to him."

"So it's some elaborate frame-up, as you first suspected."

"Perhaps..." Sherlock squinted at their scant wall of evidence, long fingers tapping on the mantle.

"Ok let's go through the details again." It was Joan's turn to pace. "Rosia Lee tips off Hapston to get photos of her and Mayor Goodwin in the act. Goodwin then receives a blackmail letter with the photos asking him to send the money to Naples' address. But Naples said at that same time he'd been receiving messages and money asking him to kill Hapston, which he thought was from the Mayor. Goodwin denies this, but admits sending the blackmail money. Naples receives it, goes and kills Hapston, then the photos in question are scattered around the body. I'm assuming this is to assure the Mayor is implicated, which Naples denies doing. Marcus says Mrs Goodwin's shock and anger on his news of the affair was genuine, and she didn't meet Bob until long after he had cut all ties with Naples."