His Empty Chair

Chapter 3

Authors Note

Just a warning there is mentions of blood in this chapter. Anyway hope you enjoy!

1st September

Six days. It had been six days and still nothing. Sherlock was going mad with it, he had to solve it. Six days and still there was no new information. He could not stand it, there was nothing new and he had to solve it, he was getting absolutely nowhere with the code and now the party was coming up and he was being forced to go. He was sick of John's incessant pestering and he did not know how much more he could take. The only thing he had found from the girlfriend was that he was an absolute beauty and that it was so wrong of the world to make him die. He did not care, there was nothing to interest him. Fruitless hours had also been wasted as he tried to see if there was any way for him to find the sniper which killed the manger before him. He knew that it was a pointless search but he was desperate and needed to think of something different soon. He had hoped to find out what he had been going to do that night but again there was the story of the victim going to their consultant.

"There is just nothing new John. We are getting nowhere with this case. What is it with the consultant? Two brothers murdered because of a plan to see them. There has to be connection. John do you remember what that girl said his name was? You know the consultant?" Sherlock looked up from his usual position to find the chair across from him empty. He stared around him in puzzlement. But John had been right there, they had just been talking. This seemed to be happening more often, Sherlock just always presumed that John was going to be there that when he finally wasn't he never quite understood. "MRS HUDSON!" Sherlock yelled out into the empty flat. He didn't even know if she was here but he needed to know when John had left. There was thumping and scraping as she apparently made her quick way up the stairs. He couldn't help a slight look of annoyance coming over his features at the noise but he quickly wiped it away as she entered the room.

"Oh Sherlock what have you done to that chair?" Sherlock had completely forgotten about it. He smiled a little as he looked towards the chair in front of him. It was piled high with papers and all manner of rubbish, Mrs Hudson had a very strong suspicion that there was a human eye there as well. She started to pick off the papers and put them on the table. "Sherlock what was it you wanted?" She was still attempting to clean the chair but she was finding it harder to avoid the now obvious human eye sitting on it. Sherlock had his hands steepled in front of him thinking but at her words he rested his arms on the arms of his chair and looked questioningly to Mrs Hudson.

"When did John leave?"

"Oh Sherlock dear he hasn't been round in days." Mrs Hudson was now attempting to close the fridge which seemed to be stubbornly unable to shut, she was muttering under her breath about how she was really going to have to ask John about fixing it.

"Why did he leave; he was just here he was talking about our last case-" He was abruptly cut off by a sudden thought that seemed to be crystal clear to him. "Two for the kill, I was right it isn't talking about the brothers it's talking about us..." All of a sudden he was blind to everything around him. He had realised so much in the space of two seconds and yet now the dread and fear in him rose hungrily to the surface. Of course the one connection between the two brothers, Hayden and James. They were both going to see their 'consultant' then they died before they even made it there. Of course it was their consultant. The only defining feature between the two killings. Years apart. This realisation came as such a shock that he leapt from the chair in triumph. He had been so blind. He needed to find out who the consultant was, but he also needed to find the murder scene. If he found that, possibly there would be another clue. Sherlock quickly thought back to when he realised what the numbers meant. They were an address B122. And it couldn't just be anywhere, it had to be somewhere where it would be moderately wet and where the obvious blood would not be noticed. Thinking hard he tried to picture the numerous locations where the murder could be. He slowly mentally crossed each one off. But it was when he came to the last one it was when he felt a sudden sickness and fear spread through him. He knew that place and it was now he realised that Moriarty was definitely behind this. His mind was racing and he couldn't help the sudden fear that had creeped up on him. It was only Moriarty who could strike such fear in Sherlock, only he could make him act like a fool. He now understood. Four for the number, the first line in the riddle, it was the four digits of the door number and three for the street was obvious. The murder scene of James was the pool. The pool where it all began. Sherlock's first case and the first meeting with Moriarty. Of course that would be the murder scene of James. But the question is why was both James and Hayden Broadweather were murdered. There must be some criminal background behind James, because why would a pizza owner want to kill his worker. What if James was higher than him in the chain of command, that could be why Paul was so envious of James. Maybe James was head and Paul wanted the power. But that must only be partly true because when he had been talking with him he had been very scared. He kept looking over his shoulder and when he said that he murdered James he himself was murdered. So someone else was controlling him. Paul had been an indecent man but he did not seem the type to commit murder. So someone must have been forcing him to kill James and he was not to say anything. Moriarty was definitely behind the death of James but James had said he was going to his consultant why would he be at a po-. Again Sherlock's thoughts were abruptly cut off by the sudden realisation. How could he have been so stupid? He thought back to his client this morning, saying the name of her brother's consultant. James. He had been so stupid how could it have taken him this long to realise. They had been going to their consultant, the only consulting criminal in the world. James Moriarty. But Hayden was not killed by Moriarty. He was murdered by someone else. But Sherlock cast that worry from his mind because his focus could not waver. Hayden and his murder are irrelevant. He had to go to the pool and see if there was anything of use. Moriarty wanted him to find it so he would. He quickly stood up and grabbed his coat. "Mrs Hudson I'm going out won't be back till late."