"Kids, we're here." Victor said.
The two children eagerly looked out the bus windows and they marveled at a beautiful Victorian styled house as they pulled up to it. The family all grabbed their bags, got out of the bus, and walked up to the front door; Elsa knocked and an elderly couple answered with smiled adorning their faces.
"Mom, dad!" She exclaimed.
"Elsa!" They cried as they embraced their daughter.
"It's so good to see you, my dear." Elsa's father, Jonathon said before noticing Victor and smiling. "Oh, it's wonderful to see you too, Victor."
"Thank you very much, sir." Victor said, smiling and shaking Jonathon's hand.
"Victor, we missed you and Elsa so much since your last visit." Elsa's mother, Lydia added as she gave her son-in-law a hug.
"Hey, grandma and grandpa." Peter said as he and his sister stepped forward.
"Hi, guys." Moira said shyly.
"Peter, Moira!" Lydia exclaimed, showering her grandchildren in hugs and kisses.
"Look at you two! You've gotten so big!" Jonathon said, ruffling Peter's hair playfully.
"Oh, come in, come in. We don't want you all standing outside on the cold doorstep." Lydia said as the group made their way into the house.
"Wow, this is so beautiful." Moira said as she looked around, her eyes wide with awe.
"Thank you, dear. I decorated it myself." Lydia proudly replied.
"Why don't you kids go upstairs and get settled in while your mother and I talk with your grandparents for a little bit?" Victor suggested.
"Sure thing, dad. Come on, sis." Peter said, ushering his sister to follow him up the stairs.
"Right behind you, bro." Moira giggled as she followed close behind the twelve year old with their baggage in tow.
"Those kids." Jonathon chuckled before he turned to face his daughter and her husband; his expression changed from amused to solemn rather quickly. "Uh Victor, Elsa? There's… something you need to know."
"What do you mean, Dad? What's going on?" Elsa asked.
"What's the matter, Jonathon? What's wrong?" Victor added, wrapping an arm around Elsa's shoulder.
The two elders looked at each other, then back at the younger couple with concerned looks on their faces; something was definitely up.
"You see, some… rather unpleasant things have been happening around the city lately." Lydia spoke up.
"Unpleasant things? Like what?" Victor inquired.
"Like a few robberies, break-ins… but mostly kidnappings." Lydia hesitantly explained. "No one knows who's behind them or why they're happening, but it can't be for anything good. So we'll all need to be on our toes and be extra careful, especially the children."
"Yes; if anything bad happened to them or either of you, I'll never be able to live with myself." Jonathon said with a sigh.
"Don't worry, dad; we'll be fine." Elsa said, reaching out to grasp her father's hand.
"Yeah; as long as we're together, nothing bad is gonna happen." Victor added.
Upstairs, Peter and Moira were exploring the many rooms on the second floor, trying to find a good one for them to occupy.
"Hey, what about this big one?" Moira suggested.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure that's the master bedroom." Peter said before spotting an open door on the other side of the hall. "How about this one?"
They looked into the room through the open door and saw that it had two beds and was big enough for the both of them.
"Nice! But maybe we should check with grandpa and grandma about it first." Moira said.
"Good point." Peter replied, nodding his head.
"Hey, kids! You wanna check out the backyard?" Victor called from downstairs.
"Coming!" The children said in unison before leaving their bags by the door and going back down the stairs to see what their parents wanted.
When they made it to the backyard door, they saw their parents and grandparents standing in the middle of the most beautiful garden either of them had ever seen. Their eyes brightened when they stepped into this very garden.
"Do you kids like it?" Lydia asked.
"Grandma, this garden is amazing!" Peter exclaimed.
"Thanks. I've been working on this little thing for the past few months." Lydia said proudly.
"Oh! Kids, there's something else we want you to see." Jonathon said, leading his grandchildren to a large tree in one corner of the yard.
"What's up there?" Moira asked.
"Well, climb up this rope ladder and find out." Jonathon said playfully, showing off a custom-made rope ladder.
"Ladies first." Peter said, allowing his sister to go ahead of him.
Moira rolled her eyes and began to climb up the ladder with her brother following close behind. When they made it to the top, Peter and Moira were surprised to see a beautiful new tree house.
"Whoa!" They cried.
"You like it?" Jonathon called.
Peter and Moira didn't answer; they were too busy exploring the tree house and seeing what there was to see.
"This is incredible!" Peter said.
"I know!" Moira added before opening a small window and gasping.
Peter went to join her and they were met with the most breathtaking view they've ever seen in their young lives.
"Look at this view! You can see the whole neighborhood from here!" Moira said.
"Whoa…" Peter added in astonishment.
"I take it you kids like the tree house?" Jonathon's voice asked.
"Are you kidding? This is so cool!" Peter cried, turning around to face his grandfather.
"Well, I'm glad you think so… because it's all yours." Jonathon said with a smile.
"Ours?!" The two children cried; their eyes wide with shock and surprise.
"That's right; I built this just for the two of you… with a little help from a couple neighbors."
"Well, it's awesome all the same. Thanks, grandpa." Peter said as he and his sister descended the ladder back down to the ground.
"Yeah, thanks so much." Moira said as she gave Jonathon a big hug.
"No problem." Jonathon chuckled, hugging the little girl back.
"Think of all of the adventures we're gonna have this week." Peter lamented.
"I'm sure it's gonna be amazing." Lydia said wrapping an arm around her grandson's shoulder.
Victor and Elsa looked at their children, then at each other; as long as they were careful, they knew this was going to be an exciting week.
0-0-0-0-0-0
"Is that all you've got? Is that ALL YOU'VE GOT?! Come on; give me your best shot!"
"HIYA!"
"Whoa!"
A loud thud was heard, followed by a few gasps for air.
"Whew! Watson, are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
"Oh no, Holmes; I'm fine. But that was quite the kick." A round man replied as he got back up onto his feet.
The man dubbed as Watson approached his companion, a man who was younger, taller, and thinner than him. His name was Shamus Holmes.
"You really think so?" Holmes asked, wiping sweat from his brow. "Because the last time I did a kick that hard, I punctured a hole in the globe with my foot. And Mrs. Hudson next door was not very happy with us about that; she said we were causing quite the ruckus."
"That was because we were practicing in the study and she was lending us the globe; a horrible decision, really. But I must say, you're getting better and better at this karate business. And I could safely say the same about your fencing lessons." Watson replied.
"That's because of you helping me train, Watson. You make an excellent coach."
"Well… you were always a good student."
"Ahem. Mr. Holmes? Dr. Watson?"
The two men turned around to see a young woman in a maid's outfit standing in the doorway with a tray in her hands.
"I thought you might like some water and fruit, sir." She said timidly.
"Ah, refreshments. How thoughtful of you." Holmes said, taking the tray from her and setting it down on a nearby table. "Thank you, Naomi. That will be all."
"As you wish." Naomi said before briskly walking out the door and down the hall.
Holmes took a water bottle from the tray, opened it, and took a few healthy gulps of water from it as Watson grabbed an apple and took a bite.
"You really think I'm getting better?" Holmes asked, swallowing another swig of water.
"Yes, of course." Watson agreed before taking another bite of his apple. "And if you keep it up, you might even earn yourself a red belt."
"Who knows?" Holmes chuckled.
"You always know." Watson joked, making his partner laugh even harder.
"Master Holmes, Doctor Watson?" A third voice said.
A bald man with a handlebar mustache and wearing a gray suit was standing in the doorway with a serious expression on his face. It was most likely the butler.
"Yes?" Holmes asked.
"Someone is here to see you. He says it's very important." The man said.
"Alright, send him in." Watson said as Holmes nodded.
"Yes, Doctor." The man said before another man stepped into the room.
"Thank you. That will be all, Pierre." Holmes said.
The butler, now dubbed Pierre, nodded and exited the room, leaving the three men alone.
"Ah, Inspector Frederick LeStrade." Holmes said, politely shaking the man's hand. "What brings you to Baker Street today?"
"No time for small talk, Holmes. There's something you need to know, it can't wait." The Inspector said in a rude tone. "There have been even more reported break-ins and burglaries going around the city… as well as three more kidnappings."
"Three?" Watson repeated in shock.
"All in one day." LeStrade replied.
"That is awful." Watson cried.
"Yes, and that's why I've come here." LeStrade said, turning to the younger man. "Holmes, I need you and Watson to take a closer look into these crimes and get to the bottom of this whole thing once and for all."
"But why come to us, Frederick? Can't you and your men handle it?" Holmes asked, raising an eyebrow at the Inspector. "And if I remember correctly, you said you didn't want me to go poking my nose into Scotland Yard's business anymore."
"Never mind that. I came to you because you two are the finest detectives in all of London." LeStrade explained. "My men can't wrap their heads around these incidents and if anything goes wrong, then these poor people would've disappeared without a trace, but I know for a fact that you can find them no matter what. Here's a list of all of the people who recently went missing."
LeStrade handed Holmes a clipboard containing a list of the missing people along with their pictures and their addresses and a detailed map of a small quadrant of London. Holmes looked at the list, then handed it to Watson before glancing at the map; quite a few places were marked, most likely the places that have lately been ransacked.
"What do you say, Holmes? Will you do it?" LeStrade asked.
Holmes paused and thought about it for a moment before saying, "We'll see what we can find out, Inspector. And we'll find these missing citizens as well."
"We'll get right on it." Watson added.
"Good. Thank you." LeStrade breathed a sigh of relief.
"Do you know where the latest crimes were committed?" Holmes asked.
"I do. The most recent was 2697, Robin Lane; home of the Jones family." LeStrade replied.
Holmes nodded his head at LeStrade before turning to Watson and saying, "There's no time to lose, Watson; to the scene of the crime."