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Chapter Nine
In 221B Baker Street, Sherlock was pacing restlessly. He flailed his arms in near-manic excitement as he put together the facts in his genius mind. Alin, however, wasn't listening. She was still too numb from the sight of flames ravaging her family's beloved house. The fire department had, thankfully, put out the fire before it had spread to either the café or the store, but they hadn't been able to save her home.
"This- this is the clue we've been waiting for!" Sherlock exclaimed in ecstasy.
If Ash had been in the room, she would have told him off for his callousness, but as soon as they had arrived at the flat, Watson and Mrs. Hudson had ushered Ash into a spare bedroom in Mrs. Hudson's flat. John had done his best not to overwhelm his god-sister by fussing over her too much, but he couldn't help at least asking her what he could do. She had silently refused, instead shutting herself away from everyone else, including Alin.
Ashhasfinallysnapped, she thought. Idon'tblameher,though.Thatwasquiteashocktoher,andshecanbarelyhandlechangeasitis.Wearealwayssocarefultoturneverythingoffandunplugthingsthatitisalmostunthinkablethatthiswouldhappentous.Ashisalwayssosentimental,too.Shecanlookatafloorboardandrememberathousandthingsthathappenedwhileshestoodthere.Andherroom...thatwasalwayshersafeplacewhereshecouldgoandthinkduringherdarkmoods,andmoreimportantly,feellikeshecouldsafelyhidefromeverythingthathauntsher.Nowthatfortressisgone,justlikeeverythingelse.
"Sherlock, what are you going on about?" Lestrade asked. Sherlock turned on him in wild eagerness.
"You said that the fire was caused by arson."
Arson? Alin thought. Imustnothavebeenpayingattentionduringthatpartoftheconversation.
"Yes. So?"
"So? This fire was caused on purpose, but it would be easier to burn the store or the café rather than the house. So why the house? Simple. The arsonist wanted to make a point."
"And that would be?" John asked.
"Stop helping with the alchemy case."
"Then why not burn down the store? That's where the alchemy books are."
"Exactly!" Sherlock exclaimed with a manic grin. "He still needs the books, so he can't burn down the store until he has the materials he needs. However, he can't have the girls helping us, so he destroys the house instead so that they can at least be distracted!"
Lestrade frowned. "I'll post a couple men around the store to keep watch. It'll mean overtime, but I don't want to take any chances."
John sighed. Exhaustion etched his features more deeply than Alin had noticed before. She made a resolution to help out Ash's god-brother however she could while she stayed in Mrs. Hudson's flat. Lestrade, too, looked at Watson in concern. The doctor noticed their stares.
"Guys, there's no need to look at me like that. I'm fine. Really. I'm just... worried about Ash. She's normally really good at taking hits despite her nature, but so much has happened recently. I knew I shouldn't have let her get involved!" John swore and banged his fist on the side table, making the teacups rattle. He whispered half to himself, "What was I thinking?"
"She was capable of saying no; she is the only one in charge of her decisions. She is an adult. Ash would do anything to help you, just as you would do anything for her. And besides, she wanted the adventure. She tires of living through her books and art and poetry- she wants to have her own life, too. She saw this as her chance." Alin paused, letting that sink in both for John's benefit and hers. She, too, felt guilty about letting Ash meddle with things they all knew she shouldn't.
"Watson, what happened? To Ash? Was she always like this, or...?" The question hung thickly in the air like acrid, black smoke. All eyes focused on John. Lestrade looked as if he wanted to say something to save the doctor from having to tell the story, but the words never made it to his lips. John leaned back in his chair with another heavy sigh and stared off into the distant land of memories.
"I was seven years old when Ash was born. My parents were best friends with her parents, so it was no surprise when Keith and Rowena asked Mum and Dad to be her god-parents. After all, the Hadleys had been designated as Harry's and my god-parents long ago. Ash was a beautiful baby. She really was..." He sighed, smiling dreamily at the memory of her smiling face and infectious giggle. Things had been so wonderful at that time... why had it all had to go wrong?
"Back then, she lived out in the country with her mum and dad. We used to visit them a lot even though we lived far away. I never minded. I loved playing out on the hills and moors with Ash.
"I didn't realize it until I was older, but the reason why we visited so often was because Rowena wasn't... normal. She was mentally ill. She had tried to get it treated before, but through various circumstances, her treatments with either misdiagnosed or else fruitless. Rowena finally gave up seeking help, and the Hadleys decided to live out in the country where the fresh air and less stressful lifestyle could help bring her peace. However, Rowena's illness -to this day, I still don't know exactly what it is- worsened. When Ash was eight and I fifteen, it had gotten to the point where Keith couldn't care for both her and her mother. Since no one wanted to institutionalize Rowena, Ash's and my parents decided that she was to live with us.
"By the time I turned seventeen and was ready to go into university, Ash and I had a much stronger bond than she did with anyone else in my family, so I decided to remain close to home so I could help whenever necessary. Even at that age, Ash began showing signs of mental illness herself. She had seen what her mother went through, and even though she didn't show it, she was frightened to death of the idea that she could end up like her mother. I think she still is, but after all the trouble her mum had with the doctors, she's never been brave enough to ask for help. She hated Rowena for 'stealing' her father from and 'abandoning' her, and she never, ever wanted to be the same way. After seeing her so distraught, I decided that I wanted to become a doctor so I could help her."
"But you didn't," Sherlock said, making Watson jump. No one had realized that the consulting detective was actually listening. "Well, you didn't become that kind of doctor."
John smiled sadly. "You're right. A combination of factors contributed to that, but that's a story for another time. Suffice to say that when I decided to become an army doctor, Ash tried to be supportive of me, but she was very angry. While she got along well enough with Harry and my parents, she loved me best. Whenever she would get in one of her dark moods, I was the only one who could get her to eat or come back out to the rest of the world... she never told anyone else the things she confided in me, and for good reason. Some of the things she dreamed of or wrote about were simply frightening. I still cannot comprehend how such an innocent person as Ash can imagine these horrible things and depict them with such clarity. She knew that she couldn't tell anyone else about it all without being perceived as a freak. As it was, she was never really good at making friends, and her odd mannerisms only made things worse. I was pretty much the only person she had...
"When Ash was sixteen, my parents taking her to the cinema when their taxi collided head on with another vehicle. My parents and the cabbie were killed instantly. It's a miracle that Ash didn't die as well. As it was, she was in ICU for quite a while. I remember rushing up the to car and seeing their bloody bodies and pulling Ash out of the wreckage and thinking, 'Oh,God,isshegoingtodie?'"
His voice broke, and tears had formed in his eyes. The emotion in his tone had moved even Alin. The raven-haired woman swallowed, trying not to think about how she would have felt had she been in his place. She looked at Lestrade, who had tears in his eyes. Even Sherlock had fixed his absolute attention on John, though Alin guessed this was out of the granule of concern he felt for his flat-mate and not for the broken-hearted woman currently in the neighboring flat. However, she didn't blame him for this. After some time, John was finally able to resume his tale.
"I had hoped that perhaps the trauma of the event had blocked any memory of it. Instead, she suffered from recurring nightmares. Harry, Keith, and I discussed at length who should be her legal guardian once Ash left the hospital, and we mutually agreed for me to take her in. It was difficult, but we worked hard, and she pulled through. By the time she entered university, she had made a full recovery physically. However, when she had her moods, they were much darker and longer than before. I begged her to see a specialist, but she always swore that I was the only doctor she ever needed. I probably should have made her go anyway, but funds were tight, and our schedules were both busy. She had decided to live at home, even after graduating, and she didn't move out until I went off to the war. Just before I left, we searched for somewhere she could split the rent with another person." He looked at Alin with thanks in his eyes. "That's when we met you, Alin."
The black-haired woman nodded and replied,
"Yes, and from then she seemed like a normal person. Or, rather, as normal as humanity is apt to become. Other than her dark moods every once in a while and the medicine she was prescribed, I could have easily overlooked any other... signs of trauma and passed them off as quirks." She paused a bit, thinking over Ash's many quirks, then resumed her story-telling.
"Yes, they would have been easily dismissed, and I would have been just as happy to do so. However, through a bit of instruction from Mr. Watson, I quickly learned what Ash needed a bit of help with how to deal with some of her moods. Though," at this she turned to face John, "I have found that once she is in a darker mood, then it is best to leave her for however long and not prod her to come out of it. It seems such a tactic only lengthens the duration of such a mood. Either way, I would wait them out, and when she wasn't then I put her to work in my storefront. She was a blessing to be sure. It is by far easier to only work one register than two, and usually two is needed for such a place as mine. Lucky for me, she is also quite adept at restoring old books; I only showed her once, I believe, and she did it near-perfectly on her second try. She really is quite intelligent. Her memory is very good, too. Though it seems that might have been her downfall..." Alin trailed off sadly. Then, looking up, locked eyes with Sherlock, seeming to completely ignore the other two listening to her.
"I want to help. And no, you do not really have much of a choice whether I come or not, actually. I willfollow, and I willgive my input, and I willhelp end this case before something else happens to her."
"Fair enough, I suppose." Sherlock answered, in his usual lazy drawl, "But you willfollow my rules. That, and I expect an answer to one question I have. Why were there bones in your house?"