The Holmes Called A [Sherlaide III]

Cavanagh Crop-Up

Baker Street

Sherlock threw his phone onto the desk and buried his head in his hands, gripping his unruly, now oily curls as he groaned, "Still nothing from either of them..!" John frowned and squeezed his friend's shoulder.

"Is her phone still off?" The blogger asked Mycroft, who was typing away feverishly on his phone. The elder Holmes nodded curtly.

"Yes. Finley, however, is still in his flat."

"Anything from the street cameras?" The detective enquired as he slumped the rest of the way onto the desk.

"Only some footage of her leaving Finley's flat with Teddy. My people lost her a few blocks out because of system maintenance."

"So she could be coming back since she's got Teddy with her?" John ventured. But Mycroft shook his head.

"No. She's going in the wrong direction to be coming back here, " The British Government replied with a grim tone, "Sherlock, my people have gained access to Adelaide's text conversation with Finley. I'm having them sent to your email so we can look through them on the laptop." The curly-haired brunette didn't acknowledge him, having tucked his head into his arms. The Army Doctor and the Cabinet Minister shared a solemn glance.

"Mate, we will figure this out. Don't go giving up now."

"If I had just kept my head for once and not pressured her, my expectant wife wouldn't have fled and she might have actually told me what's going on. What if she's just left Finley's to check into a hotel? I yelled at her and made her cry. The exact opposite of what I promised to do..."

"As I have already assured you, I am certain that that is not the case, Brother mine," Mycroft sighed while pulling up the texts on his brother's laptop. Now, let us see what we can find from these messages. He went back to the previous evening and began to read through his sister-in-law's texts. When he found it  he piped up, "You said Adelaide mentioned Finley needing her help last night?"

"Yes, which is why she went to his flat and not Tara's. I deduce that you've figured out what his need was?" Sherlock grunted. His best friend squeezed his shoulder again, knowing that the consulting detective was wallowing in guilt, fear and longing.

"It would seem that Finley was stalked last night on the tube by a man with whom he and Adelaide appear to be familiar. And from today's conversations, I can see that she planned to confront this man and at least one other person this evening after work. There are no details as to their identities and past associations other than that Adelaide has met with them several times and wishes to prevent them from getting close to Finley."

Sherlock finally sat up, reaching for his phone and gun, "We must go to him then and discuss this in person. Adelaide, the baby and Teddy are no doubt in danger."

"I believe that would be wise." Mycroft agreed, twirling his umbrella and paging his chauffeur as John helped Sherlock get himself put together enough to look presentable. Then the three were out the door and on their way to Finley's. The DI was told to meet them there as well. Best to have the Yard on alert now. Sherlock remarked dimly to himself.

When they got there the group was greeted by a pale Finley who looked more nervous than they had ever seen him. Sherlock was even prepared to plead for his cooperation but the youngest Cavanagh didn't last long before breaking.

"I-I know that I promised not to get you involved since this has always been mine and Adelaide's problem, but she's been gone for two hours now and I haven't heard from her at all since she left!" Finley confessed, "She made me promise not to tell you because she feels she has to fix this mess on her own."

"Finley, you need to tell us who's behind this so we can go fetch Adelaide and sort out what to do with these people who have been threatening and stalking you both," Greg coaxed, "Do your grandparents know about what's happened?"

Finley shook his head, "No. We've never told them when this happens."

Sherlock grasped his brother-in-law's forearm, "Each second you delay telling us puts Adelaide at greater risk. Please. I need to make sure she's safe and well, as well as Teddy and the baby. This is at least partially my fault..."

The gamer exhaled and then gave in, "The people who have been threatening me and Ada... they're our biological parents. Bruce and Alison Cavanagh."

Thank you for reading!! 😘 See you in the next chapter!!