Chapter Three

The woman's body had been removed from the scene and the sword had been given to Madame Vastra for investigation. At first glance it was fairly unremarkable, but closer inspection showed it was a finely worked blade and the gold coloured inlay on the handle was proved, by Vastra's incredible sense of taste, to be real gold.

The sun was rising, and as it did so it glanced off the bottom of the handle, catching in it a set of initials - P.C.M. This did not seem to mean anything to either Vastra or the inspector, and Jenny herself had no clue.

With one last sweep of the scene Vastra declared " I think we have gained all we can from being here. Jenny and I will retire and mull the case over. When we have solved it I will be in touch. "

"Oh..." said Branning, sounding rather disappointed. "So you don't know who did it?" Rather snappily Madame Vastra replied "No. But as soon as we find out who owns the sword I feel we shall. Good day to you."

Jenny turned to go with Vastra, as she did, pausing to wave at the lone policeman. He looked as though he was going to have anything but a good day.

As they approached the carriage, Strax nodded to Vastra and, upon seeing Jenny, nearly toppled over. He flung the carriage door open to find Jenny's overdress in a heap and the place empty. "What magic is this, boy!" he demanded, poking a stubby finger at Jenny's stomach.

With a grin on her face she replied "It's called a window Strax", laughed and climbed gracefully into the carriage followed by her wife. After firmly securing the door, Strax waved his fist menacingly at the carriage and muttered "Damn window".

All the way back to Paternoster Row, he could be heard complaining to himself about how cyber monkeys and stun guns would have contained the situation much the carriage, Jenny curled herself up in Vastra's lap. Vastra was slowly stroking her hair, thinking about how beautiful it was. No other human had hair that danced in the sunlight the way hers did.

"I'm sorry " Jenny said suddenly. "I jus' didn't want to be left out."

"No. I'm the one who should be sorry." sighed Vastra. "I just wanted to protect you. But in the end it would have just been better if I'd let you come but prepared for what you may have seen. Strax is awfully good in a fight but is much too impatient for a guard. I should have known you would outwit him, and easily at that too. I just can't help but love you so much that I don't want to see you hurt." She finished in a rush, welling up with emotion.

As she lifted her head, Jenny's lips came up to meet her own. "I love you more" she whispered and pressed her pink lips into the Silurian's own surprisingly soft, green ones. Vastra tried to resist, to tell her that she loved her more but Jenny's fingers had begun to tease along her neck, and with a moan she pushed back, letting her reptilian tongue slide with ease alongside Jenny's delicate mammalian one.

It felt as if they were in that embrace for hours, but in reality it was mere minutes. They were roughly jolted back to reality by the abrupt stop at Paternoster Row and the remembrance of the case they had to solve. With a sigh they headed inside (Strax with a suspicious glare at Jenny) to see what progress could be made on the owner of the sword.

By the time the sun set Jenny and Vastra had worked their way through almost all the books in the vast library searching for anyone with the initials P.C.M. Jenny had once inquired about how Madame Vastra had collated such a vast library in her short time in Victorian Londan. She had replied that it, along with all the other furnishings in the house, belonged to the previous owner - Jenny didn't like to think what had happened to the previous owner.

Suddenly Jenny exclaimed "Ma'am! Look... 'One of the wealthiest of the landed gentry families in London is headed by Lord Patrick Charles Merriman. It is believed the heir to his vast fortune will one day be the grandson who shares his name.'"
Madame Vastra smacked her palm to her head. "Of course!" Without explaining she set out across the study towards a stack of back issues of newspapers - a must for any detective. "Here" she said triumphantly passing a paper to Jenny.

She read:
'HUGE HEIRLOOM HEIST- Patrick Charles Merriman, grandson and heir to the late Lord Merriman has fallen victim to an armed attack by the infamous Towers Gang. One man was apprehended after Mr Merriman knocked him out with a helmet from suit of armour, however the others escaped with a valuable hoard containing many precious heirlooms such as Lord Merriman's gold inlaid sword and thousand of pounds of diamond jewellery'

"Really DCI Branning or I should have seen this one coming. I just never expected that sword to be found" Vastra said, sounding exasperated at herself. "It has been rumoured for years the Towers gang have used that sword as a taunt to policemen across the country. As each member got arrested one by one, the next 'inherited' the sword until the last person left out of jail remained with the sword."

Jenny inquired excitedly "Who? Who was the las' person outa jail ma'am?"

"Daniel 'Slippery' Sparrows. So called for his extraordinary talent at evading capture in the tightest of circumstances. If we are going to catch this man once and for all we are, dare I say it, going to need help."