Chapter 2: A Study In Yellow

Baker St.

Annabeth POV.

I staggered from my old flat all the way up to the address Percy gave me a few hours ago, 221B Baker St. Although I was a little daunted that a slightly well known detective invited me as his flatmate, I was more concerned with how life would be like, the cases, the murders, the people, it all seemed like something of a dream, and I liked it. I went up to the door and banged the little knocker on the door, but the sudden appearance of Percy from behind me made me turn away.

"Hello." I saw Percy stepping out of a taxi and paying the cabby his fare.

"Ah, Mr. Jackson." I said, going over to him, but he just came to me and shook my hand.

"Please, just Percy." As we broke our handshake, I couldn't help but admire the spot where the flat was located, smack dab in the middle of London with a little café on the ground floor, Speedy's Sandwich Bar and Café.

"Well this is quite a prime spot. Are you sure it's not too expensive?" I asked, very afraid that my army pension wouldn't be nearly enough to cover the rent.

"Well the landlady has given me a special deal. Owes me a favor. A few years back her husband was accused of a few nasty crimes and was sentenced to death in New Jersey. I was able to help out a bit." Percy said

"Sorry, are you saying you stopped the execution?" I asked.

"Oh no, no, no I didn't stop it (laughs)… I ensured it." He said casually, even with a smile. I was so freaked out that I didn't notice the door open up and a kind looking woman with long, straight brown hair, sparkly blue eyes and a the warmest smile I've ever seen on someone.

"Percy!" the woman said in a sweet voice as she hugged Percy. After a few seconds they broke the hug and Percy gestured to me.

"Dr. Annabeth Chase, meet Mrs. Sally Jackson, our landlady and also my mother." I was a little bit shocked when I heard that the landlady of our flat is also the mother of my flatmate, and from the story earlier I got the impression that Percy inadvertently killed his father.

"Y-You're his-" I started

"Why of course she's my mother, what do you expect, a flat as beautiful as this could be afforded on your army pension?" asked Percy and I raised my hands in defeat.

"Hello Mrs. Jackson." I said, going over and shaking her hand but she sweetly replied:

"Please Annabeth, just Sally. Come in, come in!" Sally led us through the door and shut it behind us. The bottom floor of the flat was slightly cramped, but I still fit as me and Percy walked up the stairs and through a single door on the second floor. To properly describe the flat itself would take too much complicated words and descriptions, so I'll only say this: it was scattered, messy, and probably the dirtiest flat I've ever seen, but there was no dust or mold anywhere in the room, just papers, books and a few pieces of furniture here and there.

"Nice, very nice…" I said, going to the kitchen where the dining table was covered by a load of chemistry equipment.

"Soon as we get all this rubbish fixed up/So I went straight and moved all my belongings in." Percy and me talked at the exact same time, and we both looked at each other with confusion.

"Wait, this is all yours?" I asked as Percy walked over and started picking up objects and putting them somewhere.

"Well I could straighten a few things up…" said Percy, throwing some papers around and stabbing a book to the wall with a knife.

"Is that a-" I started, pointing to the thing on top of the fireplace.

"Friend of mine." He said, picking up the brain in the jar and holding it up. "Don't worry, it's just a baboon brain, although it does appear to be smarter than a human brain more often than not."

"What do you think then Dr. Chase? There's another bedroom upstairs, if you'll be needing it." asked Sally, smiling and Percy and me looked at her in shock.

"O-Of course I'll be needing it, why won't I be needing it?" I asked as Sally walked to the kitchen, making comments about the chemistry equipment.

"Wait, what do you mean about not needing two bedrooms?" I asked

"Well because you and my son will be sleeping together won't you. Oh I do hope you keep the noise down, the neighbors don't really appreciate noises late at night." She said and both Percy and me blushed heavily.

"W-We are not dating!" said Percy, about to drop a box on his foot.

"Oh don't worry Percy, your taste in women won't be judged, but I do like her a lot." Said Sally and I turned away before I became a walking cherry. I immediately plopped myself on a little couch before looking at Percy who was opening up my laptop.

"Looked you up on the internet last night." I said, ignoring the giggles of Sally.

"And what did you find? Something interesting?" he asked, smirking.

"Well I found your website, 'The Science of Deduction'."

"And what did you think of it?"

"Well, you said you can identify an airline pilot by his left thumb and a woman having an affair by the state of her knees?"

"Yes, and I can read your military service in your face, and your leg and your brother's drinking habits on your mobile phone." He said, reminding me of the incident back in Bart's hospital.

"How did you do that by the way?" I asked and he was about to answer before Sally interrupted.

"How about these suicides then Percy, three exactly the same. I thought it'd be right up your street." She said, holding up a newspaper.

"Four." Said Percy out of nowhere, surprising all of us. "There's been a fourth, and there's something different about it this time."

Just then, heavy steps echoed from the stairway and a man came in.

"Where is it this time Di Angelo?" asked Percy, not even bothering to look at the man.

"Brixton, Lauriston Gardens." Said the man, Di Angelo I guessed.

"What's different about it, you wouldn't have come if there wasn't something different about it."

"Well you know how they don't leave notes? This one did. Will you come?" asked Di Angelo and Percy's eyes narrowed.

"Who's on forensics?"

"Michael." Percy visibly scoffed at this "Michael".

"He doesn't work well with me, and I don't like him." Said Percy, crossing his arms.

"Well he won't be your assistant."

"I need an assistant." Di Angelo sighed heavily before saying.

"Alright whatever, will you come?"

"I'll take a cab."

"Thank you." Di Angelo bowed slightly in relief before leaving the room. When Percy was sure he left, he started jumping around and celebrating like a five-year-old child who got the toy he always wanted.

"Yes! Splendid! Four serial suicides and finally one of those bastards leave a note! Oh it's Christmas. Mother, I'll be late. Might need food." Percy went over and picked up his scarf and coat and went over to the door.

"I'm your landlady and mother dear, not your housekeeper." Sally said, surprisingly calm.

"Something cold will suffice. Annabeth, make yourself at home, have a cup of tea or something. See you lot later." With that, Percy ripped the door open and trampled out of the room.

"*Sigh, look at him, dashing about… You seem to be more of the sitting down type. Most of you youngsters are all around shopping and whatnot, but I can't blame you for not being like them, what with your leg and all…" At the moment Sally mentioned my leg, some part of me snapped and I lost myself.

"DAMN MY LEG. Sorry, I am so sorry, it's just (taps leg with cane), sometimes this bloody thing…" Sally seemed fairly shocked and offended for a moment, but it all melted away with her soothing smile.

"Oh no worries dearie, I've got a hip. Now you just rest your leg and I'll fetch you that cuppa."

"Yes, that'd be lovely, thank you." I replied.

"Just this once dearie, but I'm not your housekeeper." Sally walked over to the kitchen and started boiling some tea as I picked up the newspaper already on the sofa I was sitting on and started flipping through articles. One specific article caught my eye, a picture of a woman who had recently committed suicide, and in the little sub header was the picture of… Di Angelo? His name was Detective Inspector Nico Di Angelo.

"Why would a Detective Inspector come to this flat? And how does he know Percy?" I thought.

"You're a doctor." I whipped my head towards the doorway and saw Percy just standing there. "In fact, you're an army doctor."

"Yes." I stood up in acknowledgement.

"Any good?"

"Very good."

"Seen a lot of injuries, then. Violent deaths." Percy started making his way towards me, hands behind his back and a straight posture.

"Comes with the job."

"Been in some trouble too."

"Yes, yes. Enough trouble for a lifetime." Memories of my time in Afghanistan started flashing before my eyes, but it all seemed to drain away when I looked into Percy's sea-green eyes, that looked kindly back at me.

"Want to see some more?"

"Oh god yes." I replied without hesitation and we both left through the doorway and were rushing down the stairs. "Sorry Mrs. Sally, I'll skip the tea. Off out."

"Both of you?" asked Sally from her kitchen which Percy replied:

"Four suicides? All of which were impossible? No point in sitting at home when there's something fun going on!" Percy went over to his mother, grabbing her by the shoulders and kissing her on the cheek.

"Look at you, all happy. It isn't decent." Said Sally with a less reprimanding tone than I thought.

"Who cares about decent? The game, Sally, is on!" Percy seemed cheerful as we went outside and hailed a cab for the both of us and before I knew it, we were off to Lauriston Gardens.

POWERLINEBREAK~~~~~~~~~~~

Taxi

Annabeth POV.

The cab ride was quiet aw the entire time Percy was on his phone, or my phone, texting to whoever's number he put on the screen. So many questions about Percy filled up in my mind, where are we going? Who was he? Why did a detective-inspector of New Scotland Yard come to him? How did he know about me? As more questions formed, it seemed as though Percy noticed because he asked:

"Ok, you've got questions…"

"Yeah, where are we going?" I immediately asked.

"Crime scene. Next?"

"Who are you? What do you do?"

"What do you think I am?" I thought about it for a minute; the lab, the detective-inspector, and the website and figured it out all on my own, mostly because of the web links I found on Percy.

"I'd say… private detective."

"But…"

"But the police don't go to private detectives."

"Good. I'm a consulting detective, the first one in the world. I invented the job."

"What does a consulting detective do then?"

"It means when the police are out of their depth, which is all the time, they come to me for help." I inwardly chuckled at Percy.

"The police don't consult amateurs." Percy then looked at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes before turning away.

"When I met you the first time earlier I asked you Afghanistan or Iraq. You looked surprised."

"How did you know about that?"

"I didn't know, I saw. Your haircut and the way you hold yourself says military. But your conversation says you were trained at Bart's – so definitely an army doctor. Your face is also tanned, but there's no tan above the wrists. You've been abroad but not sunbathing. You're limp is very bad and noticeable when you walk, but you didn't ask for a chair when you stand like you've forgotten about it so it's at least partly psychosomatic. That said, the original circumstances of the injury were probably or were traumatic. Wounded in action, then. Wounded in action, suntan – Afghanistan or Iraq." I was utterly amazed, but there were still some facts that needed clearing up.

"You said I have a therapist."

"You have a psychosomatic limp, of course you've got a therapist. And there's your brother. I saw it in your phone: expensive, email enabled and MP3 player. You're looking for a flatshare, you wouldn't buy such an expensive phone so it's a gift. There are scratches, not one, but many and made over time – it's been in the same pocket as keys and/or coins. You wouldn't treat a luxury item like this if it were yours so it's had a previous owner. Next bit's pretty easy, you know it already, the engraving."

"The engraving?" I recalled that my phone had an engraving on the back, but I didn't really care before today.

"Mallie Watson. Clearly a family member who's given you his old phone. Definitely not your father, this is a young woman's gadget. Could be a cousin but you're a war hero with no place to stay and it's unlikely you've got extended family, not one you're close to. So clearly it's a sister. Now who's Kayla? Three X's on the phone says it's a romantic attachment and the expenses of the phone says spouse not boyfriend if 'Kayla' is even a boy name, it's most probably short for some other name. Must've given it to him recently because the model is only six months old. Marriage trouble then, six months and she's already given away the phone. If he'd left her, he would've kept it because of sentiment but no, she wanted rid of it. She left him. She gave the phone to you because she wants to stay in touch. You're looking for cheap accommodation, but you didn't go to your sister for help. That says you have problems with her. Maybe you liked her husband or don't like her drinking."

"How-can-you-possibly -know-about-the-drinking." I emphasized every word as Percy started smirking devilishly.

"A shot in the dark, a good one though. Power connection, there are tiny little scuffmarks around the edge. Every night she plugs it in to charge but her hands are shaking. You'd never see those marks on a sober woman's phone; never see a drunk's without them. There you go, you were right." Percy handed me my phone back and I was utterly stunned by his explanations.

"I was right, right about what?"

"The police don't consult amateurs." Percy grinned at me and I sat there in shock and awe.

"That…was amazing." I said and Percy turned away, clearly happy with himself.

"Really?"

"Of course it was. It was extraordinary, quite extraordinary." I praised Percy, but he didn't seem too interested in what I said.

"That's not what people normally say."

"What do they say?"

"Piss off." We both started chuckling uncontrollably as our cab finally arrived at the destination.

POWERLINEBREAK~~~~~~~~~~~

Crime Scene

Annabeth POV.

We exited the taxi, but I paid the fare, and we walked down the road a bit to the crime scene where I said:

"You were right. Mallie and me don't get along well, never have. Kayla and Mallie split up three months ago and they're getting a divorce and Mallie drinks, a lot."

"Spot on then. I didn't expect to be right about everything." Percy seemed jolted that he got all of that right, except for one thing.

"Mallie is short for Malcolm." Percy stopped in his tracks as I trudged onward and I looked back at his stunned face.

"Mallie is your brother."

"Yes, now what am I supposed to be doing here?" I said, but Percy ignored me and shouted:

"Brother!" he angrily lumbered forward as I tagged along behind him.

"No, seriously, what am I doing here?"

"There's always something, always something I get wrong. Argh!" Percy scolded himself as we approached a very punk-looking woman, most likely a detective.

"Hello Freak." Said the detective, leaning on a police car.

"I'm here to see Detective Inspector Di Angelo." Said Percy nonchalantly.

"Why?"

"I was invited."

"Why?"

"I think he want's me to take a look." Percy made a thoughtful face and I giggled on the inside.

"Well you know what I think don't you?" asked the detective, looking very annoyed.

"Always Thalia." Thalia looked even more annoyed as Percy just walked right under the police tape. I was about to follow when Thalia stopped me cold.

"Eh, eh, eh, who's this?"

"Colleague of mine, Dr. Chase. Dr. Chase, Detective Thalia Grace." Thalia looked at me oddly and then back to Percy.

"A colleague? How do you get a 'colleague'?" inquired Thalia, bearing the same mischievous glint in her eyes that Sally had when she thought we were…

"No, we are not dating if that's what you think." I said, but Thalia still looked like Sally as she let us in, speaking in her radio:

"Freak's here. Bringing him in." Thalia led us to the doorway of an abandoned looking flat where the Detective Inspector was waiting for us inside. Suddenly, a rather short man in blue coveralls, with a weasel-like face and black hair came out from the crime scene and Percy looked at him with a mix of annoyance and sarcasm.

"Ahh, Michael. Here we are again." Michael sneered at Percy, who smirked at his face.

"This is a crime scene Jackson. I don't want you contaminating anything. Are we clear on that?" said Michael and I swear I could see lightning coming off those two (like the ones in anime where you see a spark between two people).

"Quite clear. And is your wife away for long?" Michael visibly flinched at the mention of his wife and Percy became excited.

"Oh don't pretend you worked that out. Somebody told you didn't they." Percy smiled and said:

"Yes, you told me about that, along with your little affair."

"H-How did you…?" stuttered Michael, quite distressed.

"That's for me to know, and you to never find out. See you later Michael Yew." Percy smiled as he walked into the abandoned building. I nervously followed, avoiding the stares of Detective Thalia and Michael as Percy led me to a room where a bunch of policemen in blue coveralls and booties were prepping to go into the crime scene.

"Who's this?" asked the Detective Inspector as he put on his coverall.

"She's with me." replied Percy, putting on some latex gloves.

"But who is she?"

"I said she's with me." Percy replied sternly and the Detective Inspector stopped asking.

"Aren't you gonna put one on?" I asked, picking up a coverall from the table and putting it on, but Percy didn't reply and just asked Detective Inspector Di Angelo:

"So where's the body?"

"Upstairs, top floor." He said. The Detective Inspector led us up a winding staircase, explaining the situation to us on the way up. "Name's Jennifer Wilson, according to her credit cards. We're running them now for contact details. Hasn't been here long, maybe a few hours and she was found by a couple of kids who were on a dare to sleep in the attic of this old flat. I can give you two minutes with the body."

"I may need longer." Percy replied and the Detective Inspector shrugged as he opened the door to the top floor of the building. There, in the middle of the room was a middle-aged woman in a bright yellow overcoat lying dead on the floor. There was no blood or any gore so the crime scene was relatively clean. I flinched a bit and felt like I was going to puke, but I steadied myself as Percy came in closer to examine the body.

"Shut up." Percy said out of nowhere and the Detective Inspector looked at him confused.

"I didn't say anything."

"No, you were thinking. It's annoying." The Detective Inspector glanced at me in puzzlement but I just looked back at him with the same expression. Percy's sea green eyes scanned the body and he pulled out a little magnifying glass and started going over the body, examining every part from clothing to accessories, occasionally touching and smelling the body. Eventually, Percy started looking at the words carved in the floorboards: "Rache". After a few minutes of looking on in interest, Percy stood up, smirking all the way as he started typing something on my phone.

"Got anything?" Asked Detective Inspector Di Angleo

"Not much." Said Percy.

"She's German." Michael suddenly appeared behind me and started talking. "Rache. It's German for revenge. She could be trying to tell us someth…"

"Yes, thank you for your input." Percy slammed the door in Michael's face and returned to typing on my phone.

"So she's German?" asked Detective Inspector Di Angleo.

"No, of course she's not. She's from out of town though. Intended to stay in London for one night before returning to Cardiff – so far, so obvious."

"Sorry, obvious?" I asked and unfortunately Percy ignored me and moved on to Detective Inspector Di Angelo's question.

"But what about the message?"

"Dr. Chase, what do you think?" I was caught off guard when Percy asked me that.

"Of the message?"

"Of the body, you're a medical woman."

"You know we have a whole team outside right?" Percy rolled his eyes at the comment.

"How many times do I have to tell you, they won't work with me."

"I'm breaking every rule just letting you be here…"

"Yes, because you need me." the Detective Inspector looked on in defeat and said nothing as Percy called me over to examine the body. The Detective Inspector left the room, telling everyone to back off as I kneeled down to the body of the woman in yellow.

"What exactly am I doing here?" I asked

"Helping me make a point." Percy whispered

"I'm supposed to be helping you pay the rent."

"Oh but this is much more fun." Percy grinned like a psychopath as I looked at him with curiosity.

"How is this fun? There's a woman lying dead."

"Perfectly sound analysis but I was hoping for something deeper than the obvious." I sighed as I leaned in closer to the body and started inspecting it.

"Yeah… asphyxiation, passed out, choked on her own vomit. Can't smell any alcohol, so it's most likely drugs, possibly a seizure."

"You know what it was, you've read the papers." It took a few seconds to register what Percy said when it finally hit me.

"She's one of the suicides. The fourth?"

"Percy I gave you two minutes, now I want everything you've got." Said Detective Inspector Di Angelo, coming into the room and closing the door behind him.

"Victim is in her early forties. Professional person going by her clothes, I'm guessing media going by the frankly alarming shade of yellow. Traveled from Cardiff today, intending to stay in London for one night, obviously from the size of her suitcase."

"Suitcase?"

"Suitcase, yes. She's been unhappily married for at least ten or more years. She's also had a string of lovers, but none of them knew she was married."

"Oh for god's sake if you're just making this up." Detective Inspector Di Angelo looked at Percy suspiciously but he just sighed in annoyance.

"Her wedding ring, it's at least ten years old. The rest of her jewelry has been regularly cleaned, but not the ring, state of her marriage right there. However the inside of the ring is shinier than the outside, meaning it's been regularly removed. The only polishing it gets is when she works it off her finger. It's not for work, look at her nails, she doesn't work with her hands, so what or who does she remove her ring for? Clearly not one lover, she'd never sustain the fiction of being single for that long, so most likely a string of them. Simple as that."

"Brilliant." I blabbed and Percy looked at me with a glint of pride and vanity in his eyes, however the Detective Inspector didn't look as pleased. "Sorry."

"So what's this about Cardiff? Explain that." Said the Detective Inspector and once again Percy sighed.

"It's so obvious, can't you see it?" I looked at Percy to see if he was joking, but he was completely convinced that it was as plain as day.

"Umm, not really."

"Dear god, what is it like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring. Her coat, it's slightly damp so she's been in heavy rain in the last few hours, but there was no rain anywhere in London at that time. Under her coat collar, damp too, meaning she turned it up against a wind. She's also got an umbrella in her pocket but it's dry and unused, so it wasn't just wind, it was strong wind. Too strong to use an umbrella and we know from her suitcase that she was intending to stay overnight so she must've come a decent distance, however she can't have traveled more than two or three hours because her coat is still wet. So, where has there been heavy rain and strong winds within the radius of that travel time? Cardiff." Percy pulled out my phone and showed the Detective Inspector and me a weather report from Cardiff, which showed there were currently heavy rains and strong winds in that area.

"That's unbelievable." I blurted and once again Percy looked at me but just shrugged my comment off.

"Why do you keep saying suitcase?" asked Detective Inspector Di Angelo and Percy looked at him with confusion.

"Yes, where is it? She must've had a phone or an organizer. Find out who Rachel is Di Angelo." Said Percy, walking around and about, trying to look for signs of a suitcase.

"She was writing Rachel?"

"No, she was writing an angry note in German. Of course she was writing Rachel, no other word it can be, but the question is, why did she wait till she was dying to write it?"

"But how do you know she had a suitcase." Once again, Percy rolled his eyes at Detective Inspector Di Angelo.

"Back of her right heel and calf, tiny splash marks that aren't present on the left. She was dragging a wheeled suitcase with her right hand; you don't get that splash pattern any other way. Going by the spread of the marks I'd say it's a smallish case. Case this size, clothes like this and a woman this conscious, it could only be an overnight bag so we know she was staying only one night. Now where is it? What have you done with it?"

"There wasn't a case." Percy perked up at the mention that Detective Inspector Di Angelo didn't know where the case was. His face contorted from a sort of thinking face, to one of realization as he ran out the room.

"SUITCASE! DID ANYONE FIND A SUITCASE? WAS THERE A SUITCASE IN THIS HOUSE?" Percy shouted and no one replied with a yes, only shaking heads and disregard filled the house.

"Percy, there's no suitcase!" Percy started running down the stairs and was rambling to us saying:

"But they take the poison themselves, they choose, swallow the pills! There are clear signs, even you couldn't miss them."

"Yeah, right, thanks, and…?" Percy frantically ran down the staircase as he said:

"It's murder, all of them, murder. I don't know how but these aren't suicides, these are serial killings. We've got us a serial killer, love those (claps hands together), there's always something to look forward to."

"Why're you saying that?"

"Her case! Come on, where is her case?! She obviously didn't eat it so someone took it with them!" Another look of realization came over Percy. "So the killer must've driven her here and forgot the case was in the car."

"She could've checked into a hotel, left it there?" I asked but Percy disagreed.

"No she never went to a hotel. Look at her hair! Someone that color-coordinates her lipstick and shoes would never leave any hotel with her hair looking like…" Percy's eyes widened at a hidden fact that both the Detective Inspector and me didn't see. "Oh… Oh!"

"Percy?" I asked and Percy looked at me with excitement.

"Serial killers are always hard, you have to wait for them to make a mistake."

"But we can't just wait!" shouted Detective Inspector Di Angelo

"Oh we don't have to because our killer's already made a mistake! Get onto Cardiff, find out who Jennifer Wilson's family and friends were, and find Rachel!"

"Of course yeah, but what mistake?" asked Detective Inspector Di Angelo and the most trivial and vague answer escaped from Percy's lips:

"Yellow!" With that, Percy disappeared from sight, leaving both Detective Inspector Di Angelo and me confused and completely in the dark as to what passed through Percy Jackson's complicated mind.

ENDLINEBREAK~~~~~~~~~~~