Hi. Yes, I'm still alive. I know you're tired of hearing my excuses, but I beg you to bear with me. I finished my exams not long ago, and believe me when I say they drained my brain like nothing else is able to do. I also ran into a patch of really bad writer's block...Also, at the moment I found myself Sherlock (BBC) fascinated...and this obsession is really really bad, like leaving me no other choice except to focus on that story.

Anyway, I'd love to thank anyone who is still reading this story and the reviewers for last chapter; Lady Wesker, Guest, Guest and miskamimi. Thank you! You have no idea what reviews mean to me!

Replies to:

Guest

Hi, like I said, sorry for the wait (I won't repeat myself; it would get boring if I did. So check the previous paragraphs :-).) Thank you for your review, and I hope you like this chapter! And action will come, I promise.

Guest

Hi, thank you for your review. Sorry for the wait (same as I told the other Guest). I hope you like this chapter

Disclaimer: All the usual stuff...anything recognizable is not my own.

The book that Sherlock had given her turned out to be more than useful.

Just as he had said, Giselle's strength had increased considerably.

Her lessons with Holmes continued at a faster rate since she had left her job at the bookshop, especially when Holmes had no cases he deemed worthy of his time, most of which would end up as a discussion topic. Holmes' tutoring encompassed a lot of topics, including but not limited to plants; of which the scientific name was a must, much to Giselle's chagrin, their extracts and geographical location, a map of London's roads, streets and alleys, soil and dirt differences found in London, knowledge on several different weapons and Anatomy, which delighted her beyond measure.

She barely left 221B anymore, leaving only when Watson's insistence that she was harming herself became unbearable.

She didn't want to admit it, not even to herself, but she was afraid of seeing her past tormentors once again, and she did not feel physically confident enough. Giselle knew that they would not dare touch her in the presence of someone else, especially if that someone else was Holmes or Watson.

However, there was something comforting in the thought that her body was improving in strength and agility, even though she was not confident enough to face anyone. According to Holmes, she would have been ready to face an opponent and hold her own in only a matter of weeks.

"Not through sheer strength." He had said. "But agility and craftiness are on your side."

Giselle had basked in the glow of the praise all through the afternoon.

Praise from Sherlock Holmes was hard to come by, and so she revelled silently till the end of that day.

Their interaction also grew and bloomed, slowly but steadily.

Sherlock was fascinated by Giselle's thinking process and mentality, and it was not uncommon for him to start a debate or argument simply to hear her views and thoughts on the matter. All of this became quite obvious to Giselle as the sleuth's choice of topics became stranger and stranger as time went by, ranging from work choices, to feminism, slavery, food choices, clothing preferences, literature and cosmetics and vanity.

More often than not, such case-free debates, not only included Giselle's thoughts and views on the topic at hand, but also the thoughts and views of other people she knew and of society at large 'of her time'.

John Watson was occasionally present for such debates and Mary Morstan even less frequently.

And it was during one of John Watson's visits that Sherlock decided that a discussion of the Ripper Case would be a fine addition to the tea and scones that Mrs Hudson had provided.

Giselle was telling Watson about how a crime scene was treated by the police in the twenty first century, to her knowledge. Holmes was nodding his head as the blonde woman was talking animatedly, her tea gone cold and forgotten on the low coffee table.

"I quite agree with the methods you're mentioning, Miss Elmer. If only Scotland Yard was smart enough to adopt them, cases like the Ripper case would be closed, and not gone cold."

At the mention of the word 'Ripper', several different reactions went around the low coffee table. John almost sagged in his chair, not wanting to believe that his friend mentioned such a gory case in front of a woman while Sherlock had a hard time keeping a smile off his face as he saw Giselle literally perk up at the mention of that particular case.

"Don't you think that this particular case might be too gruesome to discuss in the presence of a lady?" John said, frowning at Sherlock.

"Not at all, Dr. Watson." Giselle said enthusiastically.

"I've always found the Ripper case particularly fascinating." She said, a smile stretching her pink lips.

"That would mean that the Ripper case remains famous in the future. Tell me, Miss Elmer, will any new theories be put forward?"

"Oh, yes. Quite a lot. But I do not remember the names." She replied, uncrossing her legs and re-crossing them the opposite way.

"I see. Is there any particular theory which you took a liking to?" Sherlock said as he leaned forward, his violin's bow twirling in his hand.

"Yes, of course. Though I do not think it is a very modern one, and I put in some personal adjustments to it." She said.

Watson was staring at the pair, his mouth slightly open and quite forgotten by the others as his friend motioned with his hand to encourage her to continue speaking.

"I do not have all the facts and evidence." She said, her teeth biting her lip.

She was feeling quite apprehensive.

It had suddenly dawned on her that this might be a type of demonstration, whether to test her abilities or prove a point, she did not know.

"However, I think the killer might have been a woman." She said.

"Do you have any evidence to support your claim?" Sherlock asked.

"No." She replied slowly, the feeling of walking on knives was becoming increasingly stronger.

"Remember what I always taught you about evidence and theories, Miss Elmer."

His voice had also taken a different tone, it was silkier...smoother, almost hypnotic.

Dr. Watson's confusion was growing stronger by the minute.

Giselle's discomfort had increased to a visible level, if her frown and clutched fingers were anything to go by.

"Holmes." Watson's voice was soft, and ignored by both.

"I already told you that I do not have all the facts, and my theory was wrought from reasoning what I found out." She said, her voice had gone lower than it had during their earlier conversation.

She paused once again, took a sip from her cold tea and examined the still quiet table.

She took a deep breath in and licked her lips, before she took the metaphorical plunge.

"I think that it might have been a woman because, at the time, the murders occurred in too short a time for the prostitutes to not be alert for any man acting suspicious. Although judging from their profession and from the fact that all of them, if I'm not mistaken, were in an inebriated state, any precaution taken was quite lax. However, other people who might have been passing by were not. So, after the murder, a man with blood stains would have struck suspicious. A woman, though, especially one dressed as a midwife, would not. Also, it seems to me that the victims were not random but chosen. Why were both Elizabeth Stride and Cathine Eddowes killed in the same day? And why was Mary Kelly killed in her room? Wouldn't it have been easier to find another prostitute in a desolate street? Or convince her to go to a desolate street."

She stopped and shook her head, her eyes fixed on her cold tea. "No. The murders we pre-mediated. The killer wanted them dead. But why? Let's say that the killer was a man, though I have my doubts in that. What possible reasons could he have had? He contracted a disease from one of these particular prostitutes and so he killed those in his suspected list? They ruined his marriage? They saw something which they should not have seen?"

"They're all plausible reasons." Sherlock said, crossing his hands.

"Yes, but I still think that a man walking around with blood stains would have been suspicious. Let's say the murderer was a woman. What reasons could she have had? They ruined her marriage? She was the mistress of a man and was jealous of his other lovers? They saw something which they should not have seen?"

She stopped, wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue once again. Her greyish orbs were caught in the detective's dark ones, and though he did not utter a single word, she could discern what he wanted to say quite easily.

What is your argument based on? He wanted to say.

She almost nodded in response.

"I think it might have been the second one. The killer had a good anatomical knowledge of the human body, so she must have had close relations to a doctor or a surgeon, or maybe even a scientist who studies human anatomy. So close that he might also have let her see his notes and scribbling, maybe even a procedure that he might have carried out on a patient. A maid perhaps? Maybe even a cousin or a friend. The murders were also done in a quick fashion with little time to spare. So the killer must also have been practiced in skinning animals or dissecting the human body. I think that it's highly unlikely that a woman would be allowed to dissect the human body in this era, unless her connection was with the scientist, although I don't quite think he would have let her try her hand with a scalpel on his work. So what other way could she have gained such experience?"

She stopped and frowned as she unclenched her hands and placed them flat against her thighs. A moment later her frown cleared.

"A butcher! She must have worked with or helped a butcher. I think that the killer was a woman who had experience in a butcher's shop, that would explain her efficiency with a knife, and close relations with a doctor or surgeon, which would explain her knowledge of the human body."

She looked up at her two companions, both of which had very different emotions colouring their faces.

Sherlock was smiling; he was clearly quite amused with how the conversation had turned out.

John's mouth was still slightly open and in shock.

"Unbelievable," he murmured. "Holmes, you've just ruined all of Mrs. Hudson's hopes of marrying her off to a respectable man."

Be a dear and leave a review? Please? What did you think of Giselle's reasoning? Do you agree? Not agree? (Don't be shy if you want to put in your reasons...I personally love talking about serial killers!)