After Arabella had accomplished the vital task of having her hair cut, the next thing on her list was renovating her flat. Before she did that she made all the necessary calls to work out her financial situation so that she could properly pay Mrs. Hudson the rent every month and she could make all the purchases she needed to while she was in hiding. She wouldn't dare use her account which she knew could be monitored by the record company or anyone clever enough who was close to her. With that out of the way she felt much better.
From there she began to work on the renovations, beginning with her bedroom. She really wanted that ready so that she was not taking up Sherlock's bedroom any longer. Thankfully it was in very good shape, it just needed new wallpaper. With Mrs. Hudson's approval she had selected a very nice ice blue, which was her favorite color, which had an almost Baroque design pattern in it. After a few hours she had completed everything within that room including cleaning the windows and floors and all the shelving in the closet. All she needed now was her furniture which would be delivered the next day, meaning she would have to spend one last night upstairs in 221B.
The following morning her furniture was brought early and moved directly into 221C. With all of her new possessions finally there she was very ecstatic to begin to work and make this flat into a comfortable home for herself. She had purchased a very nice bed frame with a simple wooden headboard along with a bedside table and lamp for each side of the bed. For now she did not get a dresser since she had so much space in her closet and there was shelving in there too. That would serve her very well for now. When she had made the bed with ivory sheets and duvet cover with a black scroll pattern, she felt extremely satisfied knowing that she now had a bedroom she could use. Now she wouldn't have to sleep in 221B. Not that she didn't like being there, but knowing that she was using Sherlock's bedroom she felt more motivated to get her own room functional so she wouldn't have to use his anymore.
From there she began working on the living room, which was in much more need of attention. After stripping the walls of the old wallpaper, Arabella got right to work putting up the new one, which was very similar to the one in 221B, which Sherlock had apparently shot at and created a smiley face within due to the fact that he was bored. With the walls completed she worked on the floors before laying out a large black and white rug and arranging her sofa, coffee table, chairs and lamps. This process took the longest, but she was very happy with her work and extremely pleased with the results. Cleaning the bathroom and kitchen areas and prepping them for use did not take long at all, before she knew it, Arabella now had a beautiful flat all to herself.
She loved it.
For the first time in a very long time everything was her own, selected by her and set up as she wanted. She was very happy and comfortable now. It had taken about five days to complete everything she needed to in all of the rooms, but it was all worth it. Being able to do all this made her feel like she had gained more of her independence back again and she felt more like she had when she lived back on the farm. It was wonderful.
Mrs. Hudson was very pleased with the results of Arabella's work, claiming the flat had never looked so lovely. John even stopped by when she was done and complimented her on how nice it looked. Sherlock had not seen it yet, he had been busy working on experiments and a small case that week so she barely saw him after she had moved downstairs.
On an early Saturday morning, Arabella laid on her couch looking at the small album of photographs she always kept with her when she travelled. Photos of her father and her, plus several precious moments she never wanted to forget. There were more photos in albums back at her large mansion in the States, but these were the photos she never could travel without having near her. As she gazed upon these photos she listened to the beautiful music playing through the Bose stereo system she bought to keep her iPod docked in if she wanted to listen to music without headphones. Music was her life, and not just because of her singing career, but it had always been around her and she loved it. Without music, she felt like she would die a slow, painful demise. Currently she was listening to her absolute favorite sonata ever composed, "Moonlight Sonata" by Ludwig van Beethoven. Something about that piece just captured her attention, invaded her senses and would never let her go until the final note. Setting the album down upon her stomach she closed her eyes for a while to just listen to the piece. She was so entranced by the music that she never heard the soft knock on the door or the sound of the door opening afterwards.
Sherlock walked into the room, noticing Arabella on the couch with the photo album resting on her stomach while her eyelids were closed. Doing a quick deduction he could tell that she was not asleep, she was just solely focused on the music playing. Even he did the same thing when he listened to music. He said nothing for the duration of the song, allowing her the time to listen to the hauntingly beautiful piece until it came to its end.
"You're very fond of the piece," he said in that beautiful baritone voice.
Arabella's eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice, not having heard him enter. She gasped in surprise when she heard the voice and saw him standing there. Her body jolted as she sat up suddenly before she began to try and get air back in her lungs.
"Sherlock...my God...you scared me," she managed to say.
A small smile crossed his lips. "Not my intention, I just thought I would stop by and see how your flat looks now that you've completed it."
Sitting up and placing the album on the table before her she stood up and paused the playlist of music on her iPod.
"And what do you think of it?" she asked.
Sherlock looked around the rooms, taking in all of the changes and noticing how she had renovated everything. "You did a very good job, I take it you are very comfortable living here?"
Arabella nodded. "Yes I am, and thank you." She then stood up. "How have you been?"
"Doing well. John left this morning to visit his sister for a few days," he replied.
"Yes he mentioned he would be," she said before deciding she should be a good hostess. "Can I get you anything? I was thinking of making some tea if you would like."
"No thank you, but you may go ahead," he replied.
Arabella nodded before retreating into her kitchen to make her tea. While she did this, Sherlock walked over to her couch and sat down. His eyes looked toward the open pages of the photo album. The photographs before him showed Arabella when she was younger, evident from the person within the photographs with her. The male standing next to her possessed similar features to her, and they were very happy in those pictures as shown by their smiles. He had red hair, which explained where Arabella received her dark auburn hair. It could only be her father. He remembered how she told him about her father's death, an event which changed her life. After that she had to sell the farm they lived on and she ultimately decided to take the job offer to become a singer.
"Your father, I presume," he said gesturing to the photos as she walked back into the room.
Arabella sat down beside him, nodding when she noticed what he was looking at. "Yes. His name was Nathan."
Sherlock nodded. "You were very fond of him," he said as he further examined the happy moments captured on film.
"Oh yes. He was all I really had, after my mother left he was the only parent I could depend on. I still had my grandparents on his side of the family, but they passed away before I turned twenty-one. My mother's grandparents had passed away before I was born. But my father was always there for me, taught me almost everything I now know, and he always supported my singing. I owe all my happiness to him...well, all the happiness I once had."
He could detect a rather bitter tone in her words when she mentioned her mother. Of course she had reason to be angry with her mother, leaving her at such a young age, really abandoning her.
"I see you do not have a high opinion of your mother."
Arabella sipped her tea before placing it on a coaster on the wooden coffee table before her. "Absolutely not. I know she's my mother and she gave me life...but she left me and my father when I was a child. She never said goodbye or even tried to contact me, and did she ever try to fight for custody of her own daughter? No. She never even said a word when my father passed away, it seems pretty clear that she didn't care about me."
Saying these words hurt in a way. Arabella was not the kind of person to say mean things about someone, but she felt her mother didn't deserve any kind words. Swallowing a little she turned to Sherlock.
"Do you think it wicked of me to say such things?" she asked curiously.
Sherlock shrugged a little. "You do have reason to be upset with her."
She nodded. "That's why I had to turn her away when she did find me."
Sherlock shifted in his seat, turning more toward her. "What do you mean?"
Arabella suddenly realized that she never had spoken to Sherlock about her surprise encounter with Camille, that had been the same day as her attack and near abduction. She had pretty much forgotten about that meeting with all of the other things which were going on.
"Oh, I never mentioned that. Remember the day when Jason tried to abduct me? After my conference, this woman approached me claiming to be my mother. At first I wasn't sure what to think, but when she said her name, with the correct maiden name, and showed a photograph of me and her when I was a child, I had to believe it was her. She knew things that no one else would have. But...she had changed. She was nothing like the mother I remembered, she apparently married someone of wealth and was flaunting it with all of the expensive clothes and accessories she had. She insisted that she was proud of my success and that she wanted to be back in my life, but I refused. She told me that she had never been happy on the farm and she had to do what would make her happy, achieving a life of luxury. When my parents had their final fight, she said she didn't want to live on a pathetic farm as a simple farmer's wife. I remember those words she spoke so well. For so many years I thought I had somehow been at fault and responsible for her leaving us, but I realized how wrong I was later on. So, I dismissed her."
Taking in everything she told him, Sherlock found this encounter to be interesting. "You're certain it was her?"
Arabella nodded. "Yes...it had to be, if it wasn't it, that woman would have had to have had serious plastic surgery to perfect the features which my mother had. And how could she obtain that photograph of me and her? Or even know certain things which only my father and I would have?"
He nodded. "I see."
"Like I said, she abandoned me when she walked out that door. My father was truly the one person who loved me most, raising me on his own and helping me through all of the important phases of my life. And then suddenly, he was taken from me. I still can't understand how it happened."
Sherlock recalled everything she had told him when they first met, remembering how her father had died from an asthma attack. As he considered all of the things she told him, something suddenly registered in his brilliant mind. Maybe he had been investigating this case from the wrong direction, there seemed to be something else that could have been a factor. He had to be certain.
"Arabella, I know this is a difficult subject for you, but I really have to ask you to retell me everything that happened surrounding your father's death. Tell me when you last spoke to him, and the timeline which led to you finding out about his death."
Hearing his stern tone and noting the serious look in his eyes, Arabella knew that he really needed to know all of this. She had no idea why, what could it possibly have to do with anything?
"Well...I told you that my father was not happy with the offer I had been given by Rick. When he learned about the ideas which Rick and the record company had for me, he was furious. He knew that my voice was better than that, I shouldn't have to be changed to gain fame. On a Sunday evening I had spoken to him over the phone since I was away at the university, he had met with Rick personally and had exchanged words with him in an argument. While he told me that he was not happy with the ideas, he knew it was up to me in the end. I had pretty much decided I was not going to take the offer, I knew my father didn't like it and I didn't want to leave him.
"The following day I had gone to my classes as usual, I had planned to call Rick that evening and decline the offer. However, things took an...awful turn. Right as I was returning to my dorm room I saw Police Captain Scott Graham, a very good friend of my father's, walking toward the building I lived in. I was surprised to see him, but it was he who told me of my father's death. He had been expecting my father to meet him for lunch that day, but when he never showed up, Scott had gone to the house and found my father already deceased. He tried to revive him, but it was too late. I was so broken up when he told me this news, my father had always been responsible when it came to managing his asthma. I know that he had been planning to clear out this one section of land which had been overrun by weeds which did have an effect on his breathing, but the fact that he never got to his medication in time made no sense. He had done similar projects without problem before, but this one occasion...I don't know how it could have happened that way. None of it makes sense. I completely forgot to decline the offer from Rick that day, and he even came by to check on me."
Sherlock's eyes narrowed a little. "When did he arrive at the university?"
Arabella did her best to get the correct estimation of time. "I would say...maybe fifteen minutes after Scott left. He only stayed for about twenty minutes to take some time to talk with me, but he had to get back to the station, he just had to tell me personally and not over the phone."
"And how did Rick find out?"
"He said that he had driven past the farm and saw the police there and when he found out he came straight out to check on me."
His eyes narrowed even more. "And you believed him?"
Now that she was explaining everything, it did seem a bit weird when it came to the timing of everything that happened. "I didn't question anything at that time, it all happened too fast for me. I was still in shock that my father had died."
Sherlock nodded, he couldn't quite argue with her when it came to that. Shock did strange things to people in reference to what it was capable of doing to them. However this did not change things for him, that which he had been wondering about seemed to now be more solid as a possibility worth pursuing. Certain things revolving around Nathan's death made him suspicious about the way things happened. Now he felt he had a lead which was worth checking into, and he also felt that if he was right, it might shed light on Arabella's current case.
Pulling out his phone he began checking for flight times. In order to investigate this deduction he had made, he would have to travel to the United States and Arabella would have to accompany him. Finding a suitable time, he stood up suddenly.
"Arabella, I need you to be ready to leave here in an hour. Just pack a few days worth of clothes," he said before walking toward the door.
Arabella still didn't understand what he was talking about. "Wait, Sherlock what is this all about?"
Sherlock stopped and turned toward her. "You're right. None of what you were saying makes sense. Everything you told me indicates something else was in play when your father died. You came to me to solve your case, well there is a lead here which I need to pursue. You might not think it's directly involved with your case, but believe me I think it is a factor."
A new lead stemming from her father's death? Arabella didn't like the sound of that. Suddenly she felt a strange shudder of nervousness crawl down her spine, slowly and almost painfully.
"And...what lead is that?" she asked.
"I believe that we need to go back to where this all began for you. Back to Indiana."
Her eyebrows drew tightly together, still confused. "What for?"
Sherlock exhaled calmly, looking her directly in the eye. "I have reason to believe that your father may have been murdered."
Hey everyone! Sorry for the slight delay, I've been very busy lately so I've been writing only small sections when I was able to. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter, now we can see that the plot is beginning to take an interesting turn. Was it really a murder? We'll have to wait and see what Sherlock discovers when he takes Arabella back to Indiana. As to the budding romance between them, I promise that will be addressed as well but I have to also address the case at hand, I have a lot planned for that. Thank you to everyone who commented on this story, please keep reviewing and letting me know what you think! reikat: Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you continue to! And thank you to everyone who favorited and followed this story, I really appreciate it! :)
