Howdy, peeps! Hope you're ready for the next exciting chapter of The Lady Mouse Detective!
Danielle and Dawson made their way together to the human flat above their home. They waited quietly as the two humans who lived there, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, were discussing a case and preparing to head out to do some investigation. As they waited, Danielle felt an odd fluttery feeling in her stomach. She moaned as she clutched at her belly.
"Danielle, dear, are you all right?" Dawson asked the young lady.
"Yes, I'm fine, just a few butterflies," Danielle replied. "I guess I'm just a little nervous about being on my first case."
Dawson smiled. "I understand that. I remember my first case, I was very excited AND anxious. It's a completely understandable feeling."
The mice waited until Holmes and Watson had left, then crawled out into the main room. "Toby!" Dawson called out. "Toby, where are you?" Just then, the floor shook like an earthquake, and within moments a panting basset hound was standing in front of them. He playfully licked Danielle, but he growled at Dawson.
"Toby, be a good boy," Danielle giggled at the hound. The dog looked around, confused. "Basil's not feeling well, so I'm going on the case with Dr. Dawson," the girl explained. "Is that all right, boy?" Toby panted happily. "Good. Now let's go. We're off to Kingsleigh and Brennan's Law Firm." She grabbed a nearby leash and hooked it to the dog's blue collar. Then, she and Dawson climbed onto his back. "All right, Toby, onward!" Toby obeyed and ran out of the flat and onto the street. He ran so fast that Dawson was knocked from his seat and had to grab onto the dog's tail in order to stay on. Danielle held onto his collar and stayed on, feeling sick.
Finally, the hound stopped in front of Kingsleigh and Brennan's. "Good boy, Toby," Danielle praised him, patting him on the head. She crawled down onto the ground, with Dawson crashing next to her.
Just then, Dawson noticed the girl's rather pale and sickly face. "Are you certain you're all right, my dear? You look a bit ill."
"I'm fine, Doctor, just a little dog sick, I guess. I'm more used to traveling by cat."
Dawson eyed the girl, not fully convinced that she was well. "You're not coming down with something, are you? Because if you want, I can just handle the case by myself."
"No, no, no, no, I'm FINE," Danielle tried to reassure him. "Like I said, just some motion sickness. I'll be perfectly fine in a minute."
"Well, if you're sure..." Dawson went up to the door of Kingsleigh and Brennan's and went in. Danielle stayed behind for a minute, frowning. She wasn't being fully honest with the doctor. For the past week or so, she had been feeling nauseous at odd times. She didn't know what was causing it, but she knew that something was wrong. She had just been hoping that it would go away by itself. Danielle let out a small whine as she gently rubbed her tummy. "If I don't feel better by tomorrow, I'll tell the doctor," she made the same promise she had made for the past week. Then, she went in behind Dawson.
Dawson and Danielle looked around the building. It was very old, and not very friendly-looking. They went up to the desk, where the secretary greeted them. "Can I help you folks?"
"Excuse me, madam, but we're looking for Mr. Brennan," Dawson told her, tipping his hat. "Is he in today?"
"I'm afraid not," the secretary replied.
"Oh, well this is rather urgent," Dawson told her. "Would you happen to know when he'll be back?"
"He didn't tell me."
"Oh for the love of God," Danielle groaned, pushing Dawson out of the way. "Listen, lady, Brennan is the main suspect in the recent disappearance of his partner, and we're not leaving until you tell us when he's going to be back, or where he lives, or SOMETHING!" Dawson gaped at the young woman, both impressed and frightened.
The secretary blinked. "I...I really DON'T know when he's coming back, but I DO know where he lives. Maybe you can reach him there." She took out a piece of paper and wrote down the address, then handed it to Danielle. "H-Here."
Danielle snatched the paper away from the secretary, then became immediately brighter and happier. "Thank you, madam." She turned to walk out, with Dawson closely following her.
"What the deuce was that back there?" Dawson asked as they rode Toby to Brennan's home address.
"What do you mean?" Danielle asked.
"In the law firm," Dawson explained. "One moment you were ready to shove your fist down that woman's throat, and then the next you're the most cheerful mouse in London!"
"I don't know, I guess I was just tired of not getting results," Danielle replied.
"Well, a good detective doesn't just lose himself...or in your case HERself, just like that," Dawson instructed her. "You have to control your temper, even when the people you're questioning aren't giving you what you want to hear."
Danielle sighed. "You're right, Doctor. I'm sorry."
"That's quite all right. You're still new to this. But please be careful. The next mouse you try that tactic on might not cooperate as well as the secretary did."
"Right." Danielle frowned. This isn't good, she thought. Whatever virus I have must be messing with my emotions now. Wait, is that even possible? Oh wonderful, I have some sort of new virus that upsets your stomach AND turns you into an irritable arse! As soon as we find this Kingsleigh fellow, I'm telling Dr. Dawson EVERYTHING!
Once Toby found Brennan's home, the two mice dismounted and went up to the door. Dawson knocked on the door. Within seconds, a pale gray mouse with icy blue eyes opened the door. "Good evening, sir. Might you be Alfred Brennan?"
"Yes," Brennan replied, eyeing the two oddly. "And who might you two be?"
"I'm Dr. David Q. Dawson, and this is Danielle Benson. We're consulting detectives. We're here to ask you a few questions about your business partner, Harold Kingsleigh."
Upon hearing the mouse's name, Brennan took off running in the street. "After him!" Danielle yelled. She chased after Brennan, with Dawson trying to follow, but being older and less in shape than she was he had a hard time trying to catch up.
The two chased after Brennan through a few alleys, until finally Danielle caught up to him and lunged at him, knocking him down. "No, no, no, please!" Brennan pleaded as she pinned him to the ground. "I swear, I swear to God, I don't know where Kingsleigh is!"
"Then why did you run?" Dawson inquired.
"Because I knew that you wouldn't believe my story," Brennan responded.
"Try us," Danielle replied, in a tone that told the pinned mouse that if he lied to them he'd be in big trouble.
Brennan took a deep breath. "Could you please let go of me?"
"Depends...are you going to run away again?"
"No."
Danielle reluctantly let the mouse go, and true to his word he didn't run. "It...It all happened about four nights ago. Kingsleigh and I, we just went out to a local pub for a few pints. It's a thing he and I do every week. We're not just business partners, we've been best mates since law school. I was even the best man at Kingsleigh's wedding. Well, anyway, we went to the pub, and I had a few too many. I got completely drunk. Kingsleigh, he was always a better man than me, he only had, maybe one or two. All I remember is getting drunk at the pub and flirting with some pretty girls, and then everything went blurry...I must've passed out at some time. Anyway, the next clear thing I remember is waking up the next morning in my bed. Kingsleigh must have walked me home sometime before blacking out. Like I said, he's a better man than me. So I go into the office with a splitting headache, and Kingsleigh doesn't show up. I figured, he probably had more than I thought he had, so he must be sleeping it off. But then when I went to check on him at noon, his wife tells me that he never came home. I was too ashamed of myself to tell her the whole truth, so I just told her that I didn't know anything about Kingsleigh disappearing. I swear to God, that's all I know!"
"You're telling the truth?" Dawson asked.
"May God strike me down if I'm not."
Danielle stared into Brennan's eyes. She was silent for a moment, almost looking into his very soul. Then, she nodded. "He's telling the truth. I can tell. All right, Mr. Brennan, all you need to do is tell us the name of the pub you went to, and you're free to go."
"The Rat Trap...we went to the Rat Trap," Brennan answered. With that, he got up and ran.
"The Rat Trap?" Danielle repeated the name. "That's the pub that my father's henchmen used to go to!"
"That's right! I remember going there with Basil on our first case to find his secret lair!" Dawson agreed.
Danielle nodded as she mounted Toby. "Come on, back to Baker Street. We need to do a costume change."
Yay, Toby! I love Toby! I even named my own dog Toby (although my Toby is a bichon frise rather than a basset hound). Why that dog doesn't like Dawson, I'll never know.
Hmm, Danielle's not feeling too well. Hope she's going to be OK. ;)
Next chapter, Danielle and Dawson head to the Rat Trap. Oh boy, this is going to be awesome!
All my best, DiscordantPrincess.
