Chapter 4

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For the next few days, Sherlock was hard at work trying to figure out the case. So far there was no outstanding lead on the murders, but he was determined to solve it.
The police had already questioned the key witnesses for any information but Sherlock wanted to do his own informal interview and, of course, he asked John to come with him.
"I've arranged to meet one of the witnesses who found Jenny Watts after her murder. I'd like for you to come along," Sherlock said to his companion. John looked up from his newspaper to see Sherlock leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen. He makes everything seem so easy, John thought. Even standing.
"Yeah sure," John replied. He stood up and folded his newspaper in half and reached for his jacket. He became aware of Sherlock staring at him intently. "Um, Sherlock?"
He shook his head and blushed. "Sorry, John. Let's go!" Sherlock walked out flat.
John followed as quickly as he could and they both hopped into the first taxi they saw. Sherlock told the cabbie an address that John didn't recognise and off they went.

~

They arrived at a very posh estate near the centre of London that seemed to emanate wealth with each step you took. All of the houses had black iron gates with long driveways and perfectly manicured front gardens and everyone of them was painted white, which was nearly blinding in the mid summer sun.
Sherlock walked up to the gate of one of the houses and rang the buzzer.
"Who is it?" spoke a gruff voice from the small speaker.
"Sherlock Holmes with my companion Dr John Watston," Sherlock replied.
"Ah, Mr Holmes! Do come in, sir." There was a low buzzing and the iron gates opened slowly to allow the men to enter.
They walked up to the house and were greeted by the man they heard over the speaker. He was surprisingly young looking for someone with a house such as the one he lived in.
"Mr Holmes, it's a pleasure to meet you," the man said shaking hands with the detective.
"Pleasure's all mine, Mr Hansworth. This is Dr John Watson," Sherlock said introducing him.
"Please, call me Joseph. Nice to meet you, Doctor. Please come in." He moved out of the way of the door and welcomed the men in. The hallway was very sleek and spacious with perfectly coordinated furniture and centre pieces.
Joseph Hansworth ushered them in a large lounging area and told them to sit. He offered them a beverage but they both declined.
"How did you know Jenny Watts?" Sherlock asked as soon as Joseph took a seat.
"She was renting the small flat I own just down the road from here," Joseph replied taking a sip from his cup.
"So you didn't know her outside of your rental agreement?" Sherlock leaned back into his chair and laced his fingers together.
"Mr Holmes, if you're implying that I was having a romantic relationship with Miss Watts then you are greatly mistaken. Our relationship was strictly professional," Joseph replied defensively.
"How did you come upon her body?"
"She hadn't payed her months rent and I was going over to see if something had happened. It was bizarre that she hadn't contacted me about it, as she had done many times before."
"Did she regularly miss her payment day?" Sherlock asked.
"Occasionally once everyone couple months but she always payed it in the end."
"What was so different about this time that you went to see her personally?"
"It had been over a week and she would have normally made some form of contact with me," Joseph replied. He seemed to be getting annoyed with Sherlock which was probably because he kept suggesting that their relationship was more than just professional.
John was getting a bit uncomfortable in his chair and started to fidget. The chair started to make terrible squeaking noises which earned his a warning glance from Sherlock.
"I'm presuming you have a spare key to get into the flat?"
"Well, yes."
"So you just wander in any time it suits you?"
"Of course not! I only went around there to make sure everything was okay! She would always know if I was coming round or not!"
John could see that Sherlock was pushing his boundaries. An argument would start if he carried on like this.
"Did she know you were coming to her flat when you found her?" Sherlock leaned forward and held a gaze with Joseph.
"I left a message on her voicemail but when she didn't return it after a couple hours I decided to pop round."
"And when she didn't answer the door you just let yourself in. Do you do this often if she wasn't in?"
"I thought she was ignoring me! Her lights were on and I knew that she'd never leave them on throughout day because she didn't like paying too much for her light bill! Mr Holmes, I've really had enough of you suggesting that I had something to do with her murder!" Joseph shouted and glared at Sherlock.
"I never once suggested anything to do with you being part of her murder. I'm just trying to get an idea of your relationship with Miss Watts," said Sherlock with a level face. He knew that it wasn't smart to retaliate back when you need information from someone. "Anyway, I think we're done here. Would you mind if I looked around her flat for a while. I'll return the key when I can." Sherlock stood up and shook hands with Joseph Hansworth who then walked over to a dresser and produced a small silver key.
"Here, just don't break anything," he said placing the key into Sherlock's hands.
Sherlock walked out of the room without waiting for John and left the building. He started to make his way towards Jenny Watts' flat when he heard someone call his name from behind. He spun around to see a very puffed out John running down the street towards him.
"Sherlock," John wheezed when he caught up. "Why do you keep doing that?"
Sherlock turned around and carried on walking. They were in silence except for the sound of their feet on the pavement and the wheezing of John getting his breath back.
Joseph Hansworth, Sherlock thought, what a terrible liar.

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I wanna do a shout out to DontCare246809 !!! Check out the Disney Genderbends series. I guarantee it's a good read if you're into that sorta thing,
Sandwich 😜

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