Chapter Ten: Abductions
"Sherlock! Phone!" Annalise held up Sherlock's cell phone.
Sherlock rushed into the room. "Sherlock Holmes."
There was a slight pause. "Like I'd say no. Give me ten minutes." He hung up.
"Lestrade?" Annalise asked, knowing the answer but asking anyway.
"Obviously. Go find John." Annalise took off, her short, skinny legs carrying her with great speed, and in moments returned with John.
"May I come this time, Sherlock? Please?"
"I don't see why not," Sherlock replied. He took Annalise's hand and led her out the door, John following close behind them.
"A series of abducted kids, and they seemed to be linked to Moriarty," Lestrade explained when the trio arrived. "And who's this?" He pointed at Annalise.
"This is Annalise," Sherlock explained. "John and I have sort of... adopted her."
"Right, and why is she here?"
"You'll see in about ten minutes," John muttered.
Lestrade handed Sherlock a piece of paper. "A list of all of the abductees' names, where they live, where and when they were last seen, all of that."
Annalise quickly scanned the information. Eight five-year-old girls, all last seen by their schools. Seemed like perfectly normal kids...
"Why do you think it's Moriarty?" Annalise asked.
"Right, I forgot. We also got this." He showed the child - catching on that she was somehow qualified - an envelope addressed AWH. "It's on the same stationery that Moriarty used when sending us the pink phone, and the same pen. I have no clue AWH means, though. Thought maybe Sherlock could figure it out."
Sherlock, John, and Annalise all spoke at the exact same moment. "Annalise Watson-Holmes."
"How do you know about that?" asked John, raising an eyebrow at Sherlock. Meanwhile, Annalise held out her hand to Lestrade, took the envelope, opened it, and read what was inside.
"Annalise told me."
"And how does she know?!" John's face began to redden.
"Mycroft," Annalise replied, smirking slightly. "He told me, I told Sherlock, and before you start making a fuss, I'll remind you that there are eight kids missing, a ninth about to be taken, and that ninth is probably me, so for the love of God, let's not get into domestics right now!"
"What?!" All three adults looked genuinely shocked.
"All of this is meant for me. The envelope, addressed to me. The note inside says This one's so obvious, even a child could do it. But do you dare solve it, little one? Or are you too afraid? JM xx. The note implies that the answer is obvious and also that it will scare me. So let's look at what we have: the list of information." She picked up the list. "If you go down the list of names, and look at the very first letter..." She drew a circle around the first letter of each child's name. "Ashley, Natalie, Nora, Abigail, Linda, Isabel, Sylvia, Elizabeth. A-N-N-A-L-I-S-E. Annalise. He's taking me next."
Hey everyone! This chapter is dedicated to 2 people:
First, to Mary. Mary, darling, you have gotten me through thick and thin, helped me in both loss and win, taught me how to start again, and overall an awesome friend.
And second, to my Enigmatic Emma. Emsies, you have filled so many holes in my heart(s), as a Doctor Who and Sherlock addict, a baking buddy, a fellow adorer of my cat, someone to go to the mall and mock consumerism with, and most importantly a bringer of actual and literal blankets during a tougher part of my life.
A shorter chapter, this time. Thought a cliffie would be fun. Don't hate me, my lovelies. As always, thank you to my dearest livvykitty for her help, and to all of YOU for reading, following, favoriting, and REVIEWING!
Don't forget, the SWEEPSTAKES!
Love always,
Kathryn-Willa