Chapter 1: The Case Begins
John had a few choice words to say to Sherlock but reasoned it would be best for them not to be said in front of an infant. He would rather not upset Rosie. Sherlock said traveling to America would be fun and exciting. John should have known better and left Rosie with Mrs. Hudson for her safety. What Sherlock 'forgot' to mention was the small detail of the scale and reach of this case. The first idea that popped into John's head is a mass criminal organization, he really should have left Rosie with Mrs. Hudson.
As he stood in front of the hotel, he wondered, what had they got themselves into. Some mysterious woman showed up and offered Sherlock a case and before John knew it they were on a plane to America. If he was Sherlock, John might wait for the other shoe to drop, as not every client just happened to give them paid first-class tickets to New York. But he wasn't Sherlock so he decided to leave that kind of speculation to the expert.
John hoped Sherlock knew what he was doing, especially as Rosie was with them. He unbuckled Rosie from the baby car seat and took her in his arms. The concierge walked up to him after a brief word with Sherlock. The concierge took the luggage from the boot of the car after a brief word to John.
He entered the hotel and saw Sherlock finish talking to the women behind the desk. At a first glance the hotel lobby was rather beautiful. The windows let in light which reflected off of the chandeliers and brightened the room. The light highlighted the lobby's cream walls and modern minimalist style.
"Room 45 for you and Rosie, and Room 46 for me. Miss Olympia said she will visit us tomorrow," Sherlock stated, giving him his room key. The keycard looked simple but elegant with the hotel's name on one side and the bar strip on the other.
"Well then, let's see what kind of rooms we got," John said rather uneasily. Often when someone gives an expensive gift it's to alleviate guilt. Just what has Mrs. Olympia gotten them into?
About two hours later…
There was a knock the the door, Watson went to open it and saw a woman standing in the hallway.
"May I come in?" she asked. Her gaze was sharp, her clothing casual, there was a certain look about her. So this must be the client.
"Of course," John answered as he let her into the flat. After she entered, he stood awkwardly not knowing what to say say to the stranger.
"I hope you find your rooms accommodating," she said politely.
"Yes, they are fine." John replied as he pointed towards a couch. She sat down on chair near the couch where Sherlock rested.
"Ah, Miss Olympia," Sherlock said, "this is Doctor John Watson. John, meet Miss Olympia."
"Nice to meet you Dr. Watson, I have heard great things about you," Miss Olympia said. She shook John's hand as a friendly gesture, noting his awkwardness towards her.
"Now shall we get down to business," Sherlock got down to the point before Watson could reply. "I was promised an extraordinary case. I'd rather you not have wasted valuable time that I could have used to finally solve 'A sign of Four'."
"Yes, of course. The case I am about to give you is highly sensitive, as I previously explained it. The fact of the matter is we have a small matter of a killer who has hurt one of my relative," She said as she gave John a side glance after seeing his blank look she continued, "Is Dr. Watson up to speed on the matter?" She looked at Sherlock for an answer. John realized the weight of his ignorance as he felt left out in working this case.
Sherlock glanced at Watson before he replied, "What you propose is impossible but I agree to let the facts lead me to my own conclusions. John is rather more sympathetic than I am and I rather not get him in any more trouble than needed."
"Fair enough. Then-," Miss Olympia began speaking before Watson cut her off.
"Hold on," John cut in with irritation, "What do you mean I'm sympathetic? What is the full story about this killer and your 'relatives'?" His patience with Sherlock's method has its limits, he was rather tired of being left out of the process. He might not be able to follow all of Sherlock's thoughts but he can at least know the facts.
Miss Olympia had a great poker face, hiding her thoughts from John. Sherlock on the other hand was annoyed by this speed bump in the case.
"Dr. Watson, I mean you no offense but Sherlock assumed it would be easier to solve the case without having to be tangled up with my family's business," Ms. Olympia said seriously, "It can get very dangerous, and you have a daughter. You cannot afford to such a situation. My family has many connections and we have a broad view of family. The issue is that we need to keep this quiet. No publicity whatsoever. I request that you not write any of what you find on your blog. I'm sure I'm not the first person to come to you with such a request."
"No you are not. I still don't like being left in the dark. What if what I don't know ends up putting me in danger?" John replied with even more irritation.
"That is why I have given the choice to your trusted friend," Ms. Olympia said bluntly.
"He doesn't always make the right choices," John said as he gave Sherlock a look, reminding him of the time he pretended he was dead. Sherlock might understand facts but sometimes he can be blind when it comes to understanding human beings.
"For crying out loud John!" Sherlock said in exasperation, "I had no choice but to pretend I was death for the duration I did! Moriarty's underground was still out there! You, Craig Lestrade, and Mrs. Hudson were still all in danger! If I had revealed myself as alive much earlier than I did the chances of your survival would've been decreased extremely!"
"That would've been better than the hell those few years put me through!" John shouted angrily as he stood up to glare at Sherlock.
"Not to me John!" Sherlock replied loudly without standing up, "You are one of the few people I care about in this pathetic world!"
"Oh that's right," John said sarcastically, "Everything's all about you isn't it?"
"Yes!" Sherlock said bluntly making John scowl.
"You are a complete ass, Sherlock!" John said angrily, "By the way his name isn't Craig!"
"Then what is it?" Sherlock replied with a normal tone.
"His name is Greg," John sighed as he calmed down, but before he could sit back down his daughter started crying, "Oh now look what you've done. You've made her cry."
"We," Sherlock corrected.
"What?" John asked in confusion.
"We made her cry," Sherlock answered, "I'll talk with the client. You go comfort your fleshy defective alarm clock."
"She is a baby Sherlock," John sighed as he walked off, but the only response was a dismissive gesture from Sherlock.
"Right," Sherlock said as he addressed Miss Olympia, "Now where were we?"
Ten minutes later…
"I still don't agree with you keeping me in the dark," John told Sherlock as he rocked Rosie to sleep.
"It's a good thing then that you don't need to," Sherlock said quickly, "Now we have a lead to follow so if you're done with your tantrum, follow me."
"Where?" John yelled after Sherlock who made was out of the door before he could get a word in.
"To the police department, family lives in New York and the NYPD had all the relevant information transferred to them."
"I haven't even scheduled a babysitter!" John exclaimed exasperatedly.
"Well I did," Sherlock said as he walked back into the room, "While you were brooding I was looking out the window to see if the babysitter had arrived."
A women of about twenty years of age stood outside John's room as Sherlock opened the door wider, "The muppet is in there. You know what to do, and we're off. " The woman nodded a bit stunned at Sherlock's hyperactiveness. Sherlock immediately resumed walking in the direction he was initially walking.
"But-," John started to protest. With one final glance at the babysitter, he dashed off after Sherlock.
"I gave her your number, she already has mine," Sherlock started going through the checklist that John was bound to ask him about, "She knows where we are going and it's her job to look after a baby. I would think it's fairly straight-forward."
John struggled to keep up with Sherlock's pace as he kept wanting to look over his shoulder to his hotel room. "Where are we going?" He asked Sherlock.
"We will go to the New York Police Department. Then I will go to see the crime scene for myself. At the same time, you will go to the victim's family's house." Sherlock pressed the down button for the lift.
"Splitting up," John observed. Sherlock was really not a people person, better John talk to the grieving family. The lift doors opened, and Sherlock entered with John right behind him.
"The witness lives in another state, also where the crime scene is, so you will talk to him once I give you his number," Sherlock divulged as he pressed the ground floor button.
"Is the police department going to give you their files?" John asked as the lift descended.
"No, Miss Olympia already gave me a copy," Sherlock stated.
"Then why are we heading to the police department?" John quizzed.
"I want to know what kind of police they are, whether they will be any use. I am also going to need them to do a background check on Miss Olympia," Sherlock replied.
"Didn't ask Mycroft?" John continued the interrogation.
"She's not from the United Kingdom, therefore he would not be immediately interested. If I was to get him involved he would laugh and brush the mere idea away," Sherlock stated. The doors to the lift opened and Sherlock and John walked out in the direction of the ground floor exit.
John was really started to regret not pushing for the truth. What kind of secret would make people laugh at it? Why would a joke be dangerous? Sherlock really liked the odd cases, but even he should know his limits. If Mycroft would laugh it off, then why is Sherlock reacting any different? The brothers may not always get along but on an intellectual level during cases they were more reliable. Then again, maybe Sherlock just doesn't want to ask his older brother for help.
"Let the case begin then," John sighed and pushed open the doors to exit the hotel.
Later at the NYPD…
"Sherlock Holmes," the officer asked, "the one from that blog?"
"Yes," Sherlock replied annoyed, "Now if we can get to the matter of the Anne Wakely case-"
"I'm sorry but it's an open case, we are not allowed to disclose the specifics of that case with civilians," the cop said stubbornly.
"I'm not a civilian, I'm a consulting detective and at the moment I'm acting on behalf of Anne Wakely's family," Sherlock countered with just as much stubbornness.
"Look, Mr. Holmes and Mr. Watson, I know that maybe in London you operate differently, but for all I know your blog could be just sugarcoating. I am personally on Anne Wakely's case and I know for a fact that they did not hire you on their behalf," the cop said with narrowed eyes.
Watson spoke before Sherlock continued on his single-minded path, "Call Greg Lestrade of Scotland Yard, he can vouch for us."
Sherlock sighed, "We didn't directly speak with her parents we took the case after an extended family member contacted us." The police officer did not look impressed. "Call her parents again," Sherlock challenged.
The officer gave up and after a look at his folder called up Anne's parents. "Hello, this is the New York Police Department calling to ask if you happened to hire Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to look into your daughter's case?" he asked. After another few words he said goodbye and hung up. He looked up at Sherlock and said, "I guess you're cleared. I would still like to call up the officer you mentioned, I would like to know what to expect from your involvement in the case."
"What do you know so far about Anne Wakely's death?" Sherlock asked bluntly. He was not one to beat around the bush, he was not one for formalities.
"Don't like niceties either?" the officer stood up, "Follow me, my desk is over there." He tilted his head in his desk's direction. Once they walked to his desk he took out a folder from his desk and opened it. "Let's see, Anne Wakely was murdered leaving New York, her body was returned to the NYPD as she lived here in the city. She was on her way to visit a friend but ended up being murdered. Her body is in the morgue downstairs, the end," the police officer bristled, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a case to solve." The police officer took his phone, hid the file in his desk and walked past them.
"Well that was rude," John observed.
"Very," Sherlock confirmed. After a glance at the nameplate he continued, "But we have work to do, not worry about Officer Smyth's mental state." Sherlock quickly glanced around before he took Anne Wakely's file out of the officer's desk.
"What are you doing," John hissed.
"Well it's not very fair that we are bound by the law but the police don't have to share information with us," Sherlock said while taking pictures of the file with his camera phone. John quickly shields him from the view of other police officers as to prevent any confrontations.
"You could have insisted," John pressed, "besides, don't you have a copy?"
"We already asked," Sherlock countered, "and yes I do, but not an updated file, I noticed it was the initial report. For all we know they may already have a suspect." He closed the file and placed it precisely where he found it. "Let's go."
"Oh, hey! You must be Sherlock Holmes," a voice stated, "the man with the weird hat."
Sherlock turned around to the sound of the voice. A man stood there looking at him with a coffee mug in his hands. The man, however, didn't look like a cop. He wasn't in uniform and his blue eyes were carefree and looked at him with curiosity. He wore dark blue jeans, a button down shirt under a blazer/monkey suit top, and dark shoes. His chocolate-brown hair was parted at the side, of setting his square jawline.
"Yes, my name is Sherlock Holmes, and this is Doctor John Watson," Sherlock indicated his friend.
Less than ten minutes later…
The group laughed hysterically as Sherlock recalled one of their cases.
"So you're the infamous Sherlock Holmes," said a female voice from behind Sherlock which immediately made everyone calm down.
"Yes," Sherlock said as he turned around to stare at her, "and judging from your clothing and the badge clipped to your belt you're the Lieutenant. You also have a look about you that suggests you're a no-nonsense kind of copper. However, you have a kind side to you as well, but that is hidden by your loyalty to your job."
The Lieutenant just looked at him quietly before she walked off to her office without saying a word.
"Speechless," Castle remarked, "She must like you Sherlock. She wouldn't shut up around me when we first met since I'm not a cop at all."
"You're not a copper?" John asked in confusion, "I thought the American Law Enforcement didn't allow civilians to work with the police."
"His is a special case," Detective Esposito piped in, "It began with a series of murders based on his books. He was instrumental with solving it, besides as a writer he's able to see things us cops can't. It's because of him we solved many cases. I guess you could say he's a combination of you and your boyfriend."
John stared at Esposito for a few seconds with a blank expression before breathing deeply so he wouldn't overreact.
"We are NOT gay," John said sternly and a bit loudly.
Before the conversation could continue Sherlock's natural restlessness prompted him to stand up catching the attention of John, Esposito, Detective Ryan, Richard Castle, and Detective Kate Beckett who for once was intrigued by the conversation much more than the case; quite unnatural for her.
"Well gentlemen," Sherlock said while he glanced subtly at the clock on the wall, "While this has been fun, we must really get back to work." John caught on to Sherlock's running out of patience with the social niceties.
"Yes," John piped in, "We have a case to solve."
"Hey why don't you two tag along with us," Castle said not missing a chance to talk to the eccentric detective. he could practically imagine a whole book series dedicated to him, too bad he already had a blog going.
Sherlock seemed a bit nonplussed at the idea of the police joining the case, he did not work well with others and it showed. John was a bit surprised but understood the annoyance of an officer whose capabilities were in question when a victim's family contacted a foreign contractor. John was a bit worried how Sherlock might react with the addition company.
"First, I will need to see the body," Sherlock stated and Detective Kate Beckett reluctantly led him to the morgue with Castle's prodding; besides a part of her was interested in seeing if all the stories about what Sherlock can do were accurate.
At the morgue…
"Lanie," Kate said as she walked up to the M.E, "We need to see the body of the late Miss Anne Wakely."
"Didn't you already do so?" Lanie asked frowning before she noticed Sherlock and John, "Who are those two?"
"I'm Sherlock Holmes and this is Doctor John Watson," Sherlock said a bit hurriedly.
"You're the 'hat' detective?" Lanie asked with a raised eyebrow, "If that's the case why aren't you wearing it?"
"I hate that hat," Sherlock replied bluntly.
"Okay then," Lanie shrugged before redirecting her attention to Kate, "You sure it's okay to let civilians help with the case?"
"That's a bit hypocritical," Castle remarked raising an eyebrow, "You work with me all the time and I'm a civilian."
"Okay," Lanie conceded, "I see your point. This better not bite me in the ass."
Lanie then walked over to a small square door and opened it before pulling out Anne Wakely's body. She lifted the cloth from her neck and the leg where Miss Wakely was shot.
Sherlock glanced at the body after he ripped the cloth all the way off the corpse, he kept in mind the circumstances of her death. The bullet wound was already sewn shut by the morgue staff, the bullet placed in evidence. The depth of the wound would suggest that the shooter stood far from her when he shot her.
"What was the caliber of the bullet?" Sherlock asked not expecting a reply.
"Not sure yet," said the M.E who happened to be an african-american woman named Lanie, "But we think it's a 45. The calculations haven't been completed yet. I had to do an autopsy of another body that came in earlier this morning for another case."
"The caliber is unimportant right now anyway," Sherlock said as he moved to the neck wound, "John what do you think?"
John then leaned closer to the wounds and examined them for a few minutes before he stood straight up again.
"The bullet wound looks to be much older because there's some bits of dried blood around the wound," John said, "the neck wound on the other hand is paler and newer. Even if that weren't so she would've bled out to death without the help of an EMT which she clearly was unable to get."
"Agreed," Sherlock said nodding.
The wound at the throat was obviously what killed Anne Wakely. The cut was too deep to let her live long. It was a bit gruesome. Why did he not break her neck? The CCTV footage gave Sherlock an impression that the man was fit enough to do it. Cutting her would have left blood on his clothes and his hands (which, according to the footage, were hidden in the hoodie the man was wearing). Shooting her then cutting her required a gun and a knife. By the looks of the cut, not a straight knife either, the curved cut was not as even as it should have been.
Anne's expression in itself was odd, even though she was already shot she was surprised by her attacker. Remembering the footage from the CCTV camera, he then thought that based off of the footage, maybe he pretended to help her only to kill her once her guard was down.
Time to see the scene of the crime.
"John," Sherlock said as he headed towards the door with Kate and Castle right behind him, "You head to the family's house after you get as much information as you can concerning the autopsy and let me know what you find once we meet up again."
"Is he always like this?" Lanie asked as she watched Sherlock head out the door.
"Unfortunately," John sighed, "Anyway, is there anything more that I should know in order to help with the case. Especially if there's anything weird that you might have found."
"There is one thing," Lanie replied as she headed to her desk and picked up a bag, "I found this in her neck. The knife he used probably was old enough to chip."
"What kind of metal is that?" John asked as he squinted at it.
"It's some kind of black bronze," Lanie replied with a tone that indicated she wasn't sure.
"Come again?" John asked in confusion since he had never heard of a weapon made of black bronze. Especially since he never heard of bronze ever being black before.
At the scene of the crime…
Sherlock took in all the detail as he used his phone as he compared the original crime scene photos to the scene in front of him.
There was a blood trail starting near the entrance of the alley. The coroner's report said she lost a lot of blood before her throat was slit. She could have collapsed as soon as she saw the alley that would prove shelter from the assailant. Adrenaline, after all, doesn't last long.
The tapes Miss Olympia gave him did introduce a possible suspect, that is if the man didn't run from the actual murder or didn't kill her out of mercy. There were many possible theories of how the man was involved, always good to keep an open mind.
The blood spatter was rather violently painted on the wall, not hesitant or accidental. Definitely murder, definitely professional. If so then the man who left the alley was likely the murderer.
Sherlock then knelt down as he took his magnifying glass out of his coat. If he was lucky he might get an impression of the shoe of the murderer. There might not be any mud but from the security camera a man of the height would leave some impression even if it's the dimensions of the shoe if not the design. Unfortunately for him any light shoe impression would have been destroyed by the police or the forensic team.
"Is the forensic team always so careless?" Sherlock asked out of irritation.
"No," Beckett said with equal irritation, "She is the best forensic analyst I know. You've met her already."
"Then did she bother to look where she stepped?" Sherlock asked as he noticed a small pool of dried blood. The murderer probably used a knife which he then dropped, but why? Why would he need his hands or hand free? Why didn't he put it in his pocket or wherever he hid it before.
"Looking for footprints?" Beckett asked, "Isn't that a bit optimistic for this scene?"
"No, there should have been something left," Sherlock replied, "Now we'll just have to take down all the shoe measurements and cross out all the police and forensic personnel. Sometimes the smallest of details can solve a case." Waste of time, but at least then he might try to cross reference that with the security camera footage. He then trailed the pool of blood with his eyes to try to imagine where the murderer would have stood. Based on his height from the video-. And there it, barely visible, but with one eye closed, yes, it's really there. Seems like they have a possible shoe size. He'll have to cross reference with the video footage. The slight indents probably wouldn't have been disturbed that much even if he turned on his heel to get out of the scene of the crime.
"Where was she shot," Sherlock asked changing the subject.
"We don't have the location yet. She must have been running for a long time," said Detective Beckett.
Well that's just fantastic. No wonder we were hired for this job, besides the bizarre supernatural opinions of Miss Olympia, thought Sherlock as he asked, "Did you cross reference last nights footage with other cameras in the area?"
"We lost her a few streets over, there weren't any cameras to follow her," Kate said shaking her head.
"Show me," Sherlock said with some excitement now that he was getting somewhere.
Meanwhile, at the Wakely house…
John was trying to ask for any details about Anne Wakely that they might need. What he didn't expect was for the carefully worded responses. He knew that Sherlock and Miss Olympia were hiding something but now it seemed to really impair his ability to collect valuable information.
All he managed to gather is what the police already know. She was killed while was traveling to a friend's. She was a nice girl, she had a few close friends, but no enemies that would want her to die a violent death. In the past she did get into trouble a few times but that's in the past. According to the police, she was just at the wrong moment and the wrong time.
"I am very sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Wakely," John started again gently, he was really tired of the secrets, "I know that you are leaving something out. While I was warned by Miss Olympia, I need to know about anything that might affect the investigation. You have to keep in mind that we are not the police, our loyalty is to you." Well his was, Sherlock was interested by curiosity. In retrospect, John realized the tension at the mention of Miss Olympia.
"There is a great deal that we can't tell you. You won't believe us," Mrs. Wakely defended.
"Sherlock has a very open mind, he follows the facts," John replied.
The couple looked at each other. "We think she was murdered due to her ties to the other side of her family. Her father is a very powerful man and has many powerful enemies," Miss Wakely started, "Anne was going to visit Camp Jupiter, another camp that was for kids with her type of powerful family. It's all the way across the country, how did they find her. It was only last minute that she decided to visit her friends instead of going to Camp Half-Blood. Of all the routes she could have chosen, how did they find her?" Her speech ended in sobs and Mr. Wakely hugged her close.
"Can we get in touch with her father?" John asked again. She dodged his initial attempt but he really hoped she could give him something that Sherlock would be able to use.
"No, I haven't talked to him in seventeen years," Mrs. Wakely stated tiredly, "but if you have spoken with Ath-Miss Olympia, you can ask her, she should know where her half-brother is."
Was that a slip up, John thought, probably just used to calling her by her first name as they are family.
"Okay. Thanks for your help. I promise you that we'll get that shite-faced prick," John said. He frowned internally as he noticed the tension when Mrs. Wakely mentioned Miss Olympia. He then thought, Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. I've never heard of those places before. Jupiter? As in the planet or the Roman god? Was she into astronomy? Not from what I saw of her bedroom. Half-Blood? That name seemed odd. Maybe Sherlock knows about it since he probably heard it from Miss Olympia as her family is involved in this. Or maybe Sherlock has a list of all the American camps in this country in his mind palace. You never know with Sherlock.
Back with Sherlock …
Sherlock was annoyed, if the surveillance camera was tilted a bit the other way, it would have caught a glimpse of which direction Anne came from. Instead, the detectives have to visit all three streets which in themselves branched out. It doesn't help that Anne was returning to the hotel not running from it. There was no endpoint they could use as a reference.
It took a good hour and a half with the help of Castle and Detective Beckett to find the place where she was shot.
The first thing that popped into Sherlock's head was that there were two assailants. The murderer could have shot her, but he didn't. Sure it would have been loud and would echo in the alley, but someone took that risk already when they shot her initially. That means two attackers who probably weren't even partners. Otherwise they would have both used guns as knives are a bit too hands on than long range weapons, not good for employers who don't like the spotlight. So it wasn't an assassination, but Anne was targeted, that much was obvious. There were other civilians in the area, yet only she was killed though two killers were running lose.
"Find anything?" Castle asked intrigued in Sherlock's process.
"For starters, she was targeted even with two killers running amok. They weren't working together but somehow knew who to kill. It's unlikely we will find anything on the shooter here as he would would have shot from afar and we can't be sure she didn't turn around when she was shot. We'll have to look for if there were other bullets that missed her. We might find the position of the shooter from there. The murderer would have been nearby enough to notice her as she was shot and take advantage of her injury. Again we'll need surveillance footage to determine his former position. Now, I have to meet back up with John, he should be back from talking to the family by now."
"That sounds like that would be an awesome story," Castle remarked, "Mind If I bring you two into my next book? It's all fiction, mind you, but all plausible."
"I don't care either way," Sherlock said bluntly, "John might be irritated though since writing about the 'Hat' Detective is his hobby. You'll have to talk to him about it if you don't want to anger him."
I had not intended to bring some of the characters of Castle into this, but I'm gad I did. I'm sorry if the personalities are off. You'll have to forgive me for that, because I haven't seen Castle in a LONG time. Next chapter will be centered on Sam and Dean. Unsure how long that chapter will be. might have fighting in it since they'll probably be doing a different case while investigating "Ultio" who they met in the prologue. currently thinking of having Bobby bring them onto the same case as Sherlock but that'll probably happen down the road. may even connect Jodie with Detective Kate Beckett in a way. they'll probably just be old high school, college, or police academy buddies. you supernatural fans do know who I'm talking about when i say Jodie so I won't say her full name right now.