The Adventure of the Century-Long Turnabout

The Blooming Attorney

A century ago.
December 18, 8:25 pm.
Reichenbach Falls
Susato found herself standing in the only hallway the falls had. Her clothes were pretty damped by the time she reached the end where she was expecting to meet a man, instead, she just found a bunch of books.ni
She had received a letter two weeks ago. She would never forget the handwritting of that man even if she wanted to, she recognized instantly who had sent that letter. Said letter didn’t say much, Holmes just wanted to see her at the falls, just in the point she was right now.
She was afraid. The hallway had prints but they only went in one way, the two owners of the prints had never returned. She knew what had happened, but she refused to believe it. She was still hoping to see Sherlock Holmes waiting for her, she begged for him to be alive…
She looked at the books in the floor and her heart jumped; she recognized both Sherlock and Naruhodou’s journals. She took and held them strong against her chest, her eyes started to water when she confirmed her worst fear at the moment she opened Sherlock’s journal and found a letter written in the first pages:
“Ms. Susato, I’m sorry for everything, I’m so so sorry.
Just as you suspected, Mr. Naruhodou’s death wasn’t an accident, he was killed by the man you know as James Moriarty. I have no concrete proof but I’m sure of it, you won’t be able to find proofs either but I assure you that he was punished for it, however, it cost me my life as well. Don’t be sorry for me, it was my decision and now you will be safe too.
However, my dear Ms. Susato, there’s still part of the truth that remains in the dark. I know Mr. Baskerville is involved in Mr. Naruhodou’s murder, I know you will be able to find it out and solve this case that has brought so much pain to us.
I will leave you all the evidence I could find, I hope the best for you. Please, tell Iris that I’m sorry, if it’s in your hearts to forgive me one day I will be so grateful and my soul may rest in peace.
Take care of little Naruhoudou.
Sherlock Holmes.”
Sherlock was gone. This was the last case of the Great Detective.
Susato just wanted to stay there and cry until her eyes dry, but she couldn’t, she couldn’t let Sherlock’s life to be in vain, she needed to find the truth.
She read all she could from both journals even if her heart ached with each word, with each memory. The evidence Sherlock left wasn’t a lot; Naruhodou’s evidence bag, a broken tea pot, two receipts from a drug store and a ticket from a jewerly along to a small box. Susato knew what was inside but, in sake of her, she didn’t open it. If she took even a glance at it she would be unable to move anymore.
She climbed the hallway back again to go home, praying all the way for Holmes’ soul and hugging the evidence bag. It was starting to get dark.
“Stop” said a deep voice, startling Susato. She lifted her gaze and found a big man, pale and visibly tired. The man was holding a gun and pointing at Susato. “Hand over the evidence, I know you have it”
“Mr. Baskerville…”
“Ms. Naruhodou.” That hurt, even more coming from the man who was involved in Ryuu’s murder. “This doesn’t have to end here for you, please.”
“You are ready to kill me if there’s no other way?”
“I would prefer not to. I’m tired of all this.”
“You killed the victim at your manor, you needed an attorney to get you out of the hook but Naruhodou-sama discovered the truth.”
“…” Baskerville’s expression didn’t change. Susato kept herself strong.
“And now you’re trying to get rid of the last evidence that’s left from your crime.”
“ I see no point in hiding it from you anymore, the case is closed, all the people involved is dead. It’s not like you can do anything at all.” Baskerville said, serious. “Yes, I killed that man. But I had to.”
“But Moriarty was your ally, why didn’t you use his resources? And then later why you let Naruhodou-sama to defend you if Moriarty could get you declared innocent in an instant? Holmes-sama told me everything.”
“I HAD to…” Baskerville made his gun click. “That’s enough. Now. The evidence!” he now looked nervous.”I know that you have a child, you have to return with him, forget all of this and focus in your son. If I ever find you again I won’t hesitate to kill you, I don’t want to kill anyone else so please. I already have the weight of four lives on my shoulders…”
(“Four?”) Susato held her tongue enough to not actually ask. She knew more than she let him to see, she was smart as always and she wouldn’t let him win so easily.
Susato gave the evidence to Baskerville, bitting her lip. And him, just as he received it was like it burnt him just by touching it. Baskerville checked the evidence, took Ryuunosuke’s journal and threw the rest into the fall.
“I have to make sure exactly what did this attorney discover…you can now forget all of this. We shall never meet again.” And then he ran.
Susato looked at the fierce water for a while, she knew that the evidence was now lost forever, however, the truth was still at her reach. Not everything was lost.
She ran too but to an opposite direction, looking behind all the time to make sure that she wasn’s being followed. She found a stone right where Sherlock said in his journal it was and lifted it, finding a metal box.
She opened it and found a new note from Sherlock:
“I knew you could do it Ms. Susato.
I deduced that Baskerville would like to come and make sure that all the evidence from his case dissapears. It’s okay, we’re a step ahead of him.
During his trial, Moriarty presented Mr. Naruhodou’s journal, forged. So, we had two journals in existence. However, Moriarty wasn’t able to destroy the original since it dissapeared as soon as the forged one was finished. In truth, Baskerville stole it as a guarantee and it stayed hidden until a few days ago, you will find it in this box along with my own journal. Being the nervous man he is, Baskerville won’t check my journal and just dispose of it so, as you may have seen, it was a book in blank with the two notes for you.
However, he will keep Mr. Naruhodou’s journal to compare it with the one he has and make sure that he has both the original and the forged. Here is when your next mission starts.
He doesn’t have the original anymore, it’s in this box, so when he notices it he will panic and will want to find it at any cost. You must hide it until the moment for the truth cames, it must feel like an eternity passes before it’s time but it will surely come.
I believe in you and I’m sincerely sorry to put this burden upon your shoulders Ms. Susato, only you can finish this now.
I wish the better for you.
Sherlock Holmes.
P.D. I also saved your ring, Mr. Naruhodou would like you to have it.”
“Oh, Holmes-sama…thank you.” She murmured, putting the small right in her hand. Teass soon rolled down her cheeks again but she wouldn’t let that it stop her.
She stood on her feet carrying the metal box and ran foward, accepting that her life would only be harder since then. But she didn’t care.
She would always keep moving foward for all of those who were left behind; Ryuunosuke and Sherlock. And those who will walk at her side; Iris and little Naruhodou, her dear child.
//////////////
Susato’s next move was to build a case against Baskerville. Moriarty was gone and with that, Baskerville had lost his protection, he confessed to the murder on that millionaire at his manor but said that he had to.
The police discovered that Barkerville would inherit a large fortune from the victim and believed that it was his motive, however, Sherlock had his doubts.
Why did Baskerville killed the man if himself was already rich?
Susato spent a lot of time and effort to try and answer that question, she had chased Baskerville in every way possible and obtained a lot of information.
Baskerville wasn’t living in London anymore, he had been offered a high position in the United Kingdom embassy at a foreign country and he was now living in that country. The Kingdom of Kura’in.
It was a special position, only reachable by legacy or bloodline due to Kura’in’s laws.
Susato found out that the previous ambassador was the man that died at Baskerville’s hands. Deducing the rest, it was clear that Baskerville commited murder in order to inherit the position at the embassy, not the fortune.
The next questions would be; why he did his crime to appear so obvious? Why did he let Naruhodou defend him even if he had Moriarty to do the job?
Sherlock had been the one to get the defense request signed by Baskerville, he had met him before for a case and trusted him. Naruhodou never actually met the man.
At first, Susato believed that it was just an very innoportune action from Sherlock and that it had ended up getting everyone involved. But the signed letter changed everything, Baskerville had willingly acepted Naruhodou as his lawyer.
However, as soon as Ryuu discovered the truth he was murdered. Susato now knew that there were lost pages from Ryuu’s journal that my be the last piece of the puzzle.
For now, Susato had no way to prove that Naruhodou’s death was connected to Baskerville at all, Sherlock was sure that Moriarty was the one who killed him to put him out of the way but it was also highly possible that he discovered something that Moriarty didn’t want to. This last was supported by the receipts from the drug store, one was clearly forged (the one with Sherlock as the customer) but the other was suspicious. It was found in Naruhodou’s evidence bag so he had discovered it, but if Moriarty stole his journal he could’ve altered the receipt too at the moment of the accident. Sherlock left a note at his journal respecting this receipt; it was indeed burnt but it was “clean”. Clean in the way that it wasn’t covered by ash like the teapot, it was entirely posible that the receipt that Naruhodou found and the one that reached the team’s hands were different.
That must be the secret written in the lost journal pages.
Last, Susato noticed that even if Baskerville was declared not guilty and inherited the fortune not so long after Ryuu’s death he waited years to occupy his position as embassador. Why? What was helding him?
One day, a stranger showed up at Susato’s new home.
“Ms. Susan Wright?”
“That’s me, how can I help you sir?”
“First, to stop pretending…” the stranger pulled out a gun “Susato Mikotoba”
Susato felt her entire body going cold. The man pushed her into her house and kept pointing at her. She was alone, Iris and the Wright that took care of them had went to buy groceries.
“W-what do you want?” Susato asked.
“Sit there and read this, quickly.” The stranger handed a envelope and pointed at a chair. Susato held the letter with trembling hands and did what she was asked to do.
“Ms. Susato Mikotoba.
I know you want to find the truth, I know how badly this case hurts you. You lost Mr. Naruhodou and Mr. Holmes and I sincerely apologize for it.
I decided that I’ll confess. I have no reason to lie to you, actually, all I ask from you is that you listen to me and try to understand, please.
I killed that man in order to obtain this place at England’s Embassy at Kura’in, I needed it. Now, you may ask why if it was already in his testament that I would inherit the place I still killed him. I needed to, I truly needed. It was my only option.
Moriarty controlled everything, my money, my home and my entire life. You know how messed up my nerves are, I felt like I couldn’t handle it anymore.
It was all a plan. The man I killed was my best friend…Dr. James Mortimer. He was the first one to give up his life in my steem, it was all his idea, he left a letter in wich he explained everything in case it was needed.
I needed to get rid of Moriarty at any cost but I was unable to, he was so powerful. But then, I remembered Sherlock Holmes.
That man was all I needed, he was the only one capable of hunt down James Moriarty. But all he would do was to put him in prison and that was useless to me, he would continue his schemes. He needed to die.
I knew Mr. Holmes wouldn’t do it and that’s why, may god forgive me, I hired that lawyer; Naruhodou Ryuunosuke.
Holmes had told me about Mr. Naruhodou, he was a dear friend to him and a great man. I knew that if he got involved with Moriarty that would spurr Holmes into action to protect his friend. If he could capture Moriarty then I could finish the job and have my assistant kill him and end everything once and for all.
It wasn’t my intention to get that man killed, I swear to god.
I don’t know what he discovered at my manor, I don’t know why Moriarty was so mad at him. I had nothing to do with his murder, it was Moriarty. That night he appeared at my cell and said: “Don’t try to be smarted than me, Baskerville. You wanted that lawyer to help you, you tried to get rid of me. I’m afraid that Mr. Naruhodou just suffered an unfortunate accident, you will have to change your attorney if you want to get out of here.”
He obligued me to sign his defense request and then showed me Mr. Naruhodou’s bloodied journal…every night I dream with that poor man, I took him to his death by a selfish plan.
I’m so, so sorry Ms. Susato. Truly.
But it what happened next was just what I was hoping, even better. Sherlock Holmes went fully after Moriarty until he cornered him, he wanted revenge. You know how it ended.
Sherlock Holmes took his own life along with Moriarty’s. And since then I was free at last.
I could get that place as an Ambassador that my dear friend had left to me, I had reached my goal.
But now I feel my sucess to be like a heavy burden, it took four lives to complete; Mortimer, Naruhodou, Holmes and Moriarty.
I’m sorry.
I know being sorry won’t bring them back but I beg of you; stop chasing this case, please. We both have suffered a lot but I needed this, I’m now living peacefully at last, after so many sleepless nights, after all that suffering I’m at least being able to breath freely, to live.
I told you all the truth, it’s done, it’s the least I can do for you. But please, let me live.
Let me leave, and I will let you live in peace too. I will assure you a good life, Ms. Susato, for you and the child I left without a father.
Henry Baskerville.”
At the end, Susato was shaking. She wasn’t sure if it was out of fear, sadness of angery. All her deductions were true.
It was too much.
She wasn’t sure of anything at that moment. Who was being more selfish? Baskerville, for wanting peace at her loved ones cost. Or her, for wanting the truth over his peace?
She was offered a quiet and comfortable life too, but, was it fair? Was it worth Ryuu’s and Sherlock’s lives? What would they want her to to do?
To find the truth.
But, she already knew it all. Now…what?
“So, Ms. Susato Mikotoba” murmured the stranger. “My name is Walter Barrymore, my family has served to the Baskervilles for ages and now I’m the one assigned to watch over you at my master’s request.” He was still holding the gun, he hasn’t finished yet. “Now that you read it…” he aimed. “What will you choose? A peaceful life, or a quick death?”