The Deceiving Bonds: A Memoir of Sherlock Holmes
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Hi. This is my first Sherlock Holmes story so I might get them a little ooc. I haven't read all of the Sherlock Holmes books so there are a few things I'm sure I don't know about like how old they are. So if I write something that doesn't agree with the books, please don't hold it against me.
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Disclaimer: I don't own the Sherlock Holmes books, characters, ect. but I do own Lilah and Anthorne Davis.
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They were a strange pair, the Davis siblings. The brother and sister shared a few facial features but other than that, the similarities ended.
Anthorne Davis had unkept, somewhat greasy black hair. His eyes were green and were his strangest feature. They were dark and yet, they weren't. They're color seemed to change with his mood. He was tall, almost lanky. He also had soft, almost womanish features. He looked to be thirty-five years old.
He wore a top hat and traveling clothes. The clothes, a over coat, dress shirt, and trousers, were threadbare and I could almost see skin on his leaf arm.
His sister, a woman named Lilah Davis, wasn't much better off. Her clothes, a blue-green traveling dress and a blue shawl, where, if not worst, in the same condition as her brother's. She had black hair with a red tint to it. It was pulled back unfashionably and looked greasy also. She had the same green eyes of her brother and her features were more womanish. She was also about five inches shorter than him. She looked to be twenty-seven years old.
She also kept glancing around with the air of someone who was either afraid or nervous, I couldn't tell which. That in it's self was strange enough.
I was very curious as to what information these two had to tell me. There had been a murder a few miles away from Baker Street, where I, Sherlock Holmes, lived with my friend, a doctor named John Watson.
The Davis' and the murder where all about to change, and disrupt greatly, my life. Only I never knew it. Another strange thing about this case that was strange. For I always depended on observation and observation always gave me an idea of what to except. In this case, my skills of observation failed me when it came to the most important person involved: Lilah.
And so is the case of The Deceiving Bonds.
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Chapter one
"Well Mr. Holmes, I suppose you're wondering why we're here," Anthorne Davis said. We were in the sitting area with the Davis' sitting on a couch while Watson and I sat on two chairs.
I truly hate it when people say 'I suppose you're wondering why we're here.' Of course I wondered. Wasn't that obvious? But I simply said, "Yes, I do wonder."
"Well sir, my sister witnessed the murder you sent the word of a reward about," he said. Anthorne had a Yorkish accent and it waved slight as he said this.
I glanced at Watson. He had something of a horrified look on his face. He must have been wondering, as I was, why a young girl would be out in the streets at such a late hour as midnight, when the murder took place. And what effect did it have on her to witness such a thing.
"Oh?" I asked, keeping shock off my face, "Why didn't you go to Scotland Yard?"
"Well sir, I didn't think it would do my sister any good, having to tell it and relive it. She still a bit shocked," he said. "A bit shocked" didn't even the girl sitting next to him. She kept her shawl tightly around her, even though it was warm inside. And her strange eyes hadn't ceased moving. I was now deciding she was looking for the murderer, afraid that he would jump out of the shadows and get her.
"I see," I said and glanced Lilah Davis over again. "Why have you come forward now?"
"Well, sir," he said and became anxious, "I thought it was time and since you are the closes to where we live, I decided to come to you."
I thought otherwise. He probably wanted the 1000-pound reward for whatever purpose and was going to make his sister relive those events. It angered me but there was nothing I could do.
"Very well. Miss Davis if you're willing…" I said and watched her. She turned her face quickly to mine and only then seemed to realize I had spoken to her. She stared at me for a few minutes with frightened eyes.
"I'm sorry?" she muttered.
"Lily dear, tell him what you saw," Anthorne said. Her eyes grew wide and she turned to her brother.
"But…" she started but her weak voice was overrode by her brother's stronger, Yorkish one.
"Lily, tell him what you saw," he said firmly. She gave me a side glance and her eyes grew widen even more.
"I can't…" she whispered and I realized that my emotionless, indifferent stature might be intimating her. So I let my face relax a little and soften into some emotions.
"Lily, tell him what you told me," Anthorne said. Lilah Davis grew more distressed. She glanced back at me again, only this time she wasn't frightened. Her expression was begging me to make her brother stop forcing her.
"Perhaps you should let her speak when she's ready, Mr. Davis," I said. Lilah looked relieved while Anthorne seemed somewhere between anger and relief himself.
"Alright then. Should we leave and come back?" he asked.
"Actually I would like to ask you some questions," I said.
"Oh?" he asked and became anxious again.
"Why was she out at midnight on the night of the murder?" I asked. Anthorne anxiousness became more apparent. What was making him so nervous? I wondered.
"Oh, she was…was…was running an errand," he said quickly. I then knew he was lying. Lilah looked at him surprised at this but didn't say anything.
"Is that true?" I asked her. She turned quickly to me. She looked me over and said, "Yes. Our other sister, who's married, was with child and gave birth that night. I was sent to get a doctor. My brother couldn't do it because he was out of town on business with my brother in law. A severant and I were the only two people there to help her."
That response threw me off. I didn't let it show but it wasn't believable. But she had to be lying, her brother was.
"Who was the doctor?" Watson asked. Lilah turned to him.
"It was a man named Michael Fisher," she said. She seemed to have taken over with the conversation. I looked at Watson. He wasn't showing anything on his face.
"Do you think you could tell us about what you saw that night," I said. She had grown confident and I thought she might be ready.
She looked at the floor for a moment and nodded.
"I was walking and had forgotten to get a horse to take me to the doctor in the excitement. I was walking through an alley and I heard voices. I didn't think anything of it at first until I saw to shapes or shadows. The alley was completely dark so I couldn't see much. I didn't see the faces but I saw a hand moving with something in it at another man. When I saw the other man fall, I realize what happened and ran away. I went to the doctor and told him all that had happened that night. He brought me back on horse with him and when we got back, he gave me some kind of sleeping tonic. I was brought to my room and there I fell asleep," she said. Her eyes never left the floor.
"Could you describe the murderer?" I asked.
"He was tall. He actually had Anthore's figure. But that's all I can tell you," she said.
"I see. If that's all I suppose you can leave," I said. I stood and went to get the money. It was some I had been saving. That was one thing about me I wasn't going to understand. If I was given money to spend on what ever I wanted, it usually went to my savings. I rarely spent money unless I had to. I suppose it was a good thing when it went to what I did for a living.
I got the amount of money and returned. The others where standing by the door. As I handed Anthorne the money, his eyes and the eyes of Lilah lit up.
"Thank you sir," he said and left. Lilah followed him. I looked at Watson and asked, "Well, what do you make of them?"
"They were lying about the doctor, I'm sure of it," he said and went to his records. He looked through them slowly and when he was done, he turned back to me.
"There isn't a doctor known as Michael Fisher," he said.
"What else was she lying about then?" I asked. It was mostly to myself. I was sure she told the truth about the murder but what about the sister who was giving birth? I was sure that part was a lie. They were a strange pair, I thought as I sat to think.
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Well tell me what you think.