"Is there a Mr Sherlock Holmes here?"
Charlotte stood to face the man in the door way, looking over him swiftly.
"I think you better sit down, Mr Hunter." She said returning to her seat. The man jerked back, startled.
"I'm sorry?"
"I said 'I think you better sit down, Mr Hunter'." She repeated levelly.
"But… but how did you know…" He asked shakily.
"The tag on your briefcase, it has your name on it. Now, please, sit down."
Hunter took the seat opposite Charlotte.
"Will Mr Holmes be long?"
"He is currently away on a case-"
"Then perhaps I would be better returning at another time…" Hunter interrupted, standing to leave.
"Nonsense, you have clearly travelled a long way. My father may be away, but I will be more than happy to look into anything which may be troubling you."
"But you're what? Fifteen?"
"Yes, but age is no guarantee of efficiency."
"What?"
"It's from a movie, never mind. How can I help?" She asked, instantly in a more professional frame of mind.
"My daughter. She's being threatened."
"Threatened how?"
Hunter sagged a little as he opened his briefcase, producing several envelopes stuffed with documents. He tossed one of the packages over to Charlotte. She pulled out a handful of papers, scanning the contents. The first was full of emails and chats, all of which contained some sort of promise of violence. Another sheet showed anonymous messages from various websites, fragments from a much larger psychological war being recorded over the internet. Then Charlotte came to the hand written messages that had evidently been shoved through her door. The letters were carefully constructed so as not to give away anything about the writer and the paper was unexceptional. Charlotte carefully returned the papers to the envelope and thought for a moment before addressing her client.
"Mr Hunter, have you or your daughter consulted the police about this matter?"
"No," he paused, looking uncomfortable. "She doesn't know that I'm aware of the situation. She left her computer on once and I saw the emails. Then I started to notice the letters on the doorstep. I deleted the messages as soon I as took photographs and I hid the letters, I didn't want her to see any more than she had to." Hunter explained nervously.
"How long has this been going on for?"
"A few months."
"And something changed very recently."
"What do you mean?"
"Your daughter has been receiving threatening messages for several months now but you haven't gone to the police. Now, you're visiting a consulting detective. What changed?"
"Yesterday she received a message rather vividly describing her dying sometime over the next week."
"And you believe that your daughter is in real danger from this?"
"Someone is threatening to kill her, so yes, I believe she is in danger."
"M Hunter, please try to remain calm. How old is your daughter?"
"Almost seventeen."
"What can you tell me about her school life? Her friends, what were they like? Boyfriend, girlfriend?"
"As far as I can tell she was always very happy. She never had very many friends. There was a boy once, a few years ago. Nothing happened between them. He was several years older than her; she couldn't be allowed to pursue a relationship with him."
"Did she stay in touch with him?"
"I honestly couldn't say."
"Very well. If you leave me your address, I'll visit you at your home tomorrow. Please try not to worry too much about your daughter, I believe no harm will come to her."
"You have an idea then?"
"Yes, I think I understand the situation at hand but please, don't ask me to explain now. I honestly don't think you'd understand." She said, ushering him out the door.
Charlotte waited until she could no longer hear Hunter's protestations before reaching for her phone. She drummed her fingers impatiently against the desk as her call went through to voicemail.
"I thought I better let you know I'm not going to be in tomorrow. A case has turned up so I'll be away, not sure how long for. Since dad's busy with this murder, I thought I better take it. I assume standard rates apply?"
