Chapter 12 - On the Case
"It's beautiful here," Sophie breathed as they walked around Hyde Park.
"It is, isn't it?" he nodded, taking a look around before glancing at Sophie. She felt his eyes on her and looked over at him, causing him to blush and clear his throat, embarrassed that he had been caught.
She giggled, linking her arm with his. "Thank you, Basil. Today's been amazing."
"I'm glad," he said, noticing a soft white particle float down from the sky. "Sophie, look," he murmured, pointing to the sky.
She beamed at the sight of the first snow arriving, the fluffy flakes drifting lazily down towards them. "Wow…"
Strolling slowly so that they could watch the snow freefall, they huddled close together as the air became chilly.
"Mr. Basil!"
Basil blinked, raising an eyebrow until he realized who had called. "Hello!" he exclaimed, spinning around with a huge smile on his face. "Miss Flangerhanger!"
"Flaversham!" a wee girl mouse laughed, running into his open arms and embracing him tightly. "Oh, Mr. Basil! We've never seen you here at the park before!"
"I suppose there's a first time for everything, my dear," he chuckled, setting the child down before getting up and waiting for her father to approach them.
"Terribly sorry," Hiram Flaversham puffed, giving a weak smile to the couple. "She saw you walking by and outran me."
"Quite alright, Flaversham," Basil said, shaking hands with the toymaker. "I'm very glad you found us. Sophie, this is Hiram Flaversham and his daughter, Olivia. Mr. and Miss Flaversham, this is Sophie Ward."
"How d'ya do, Miss Ward?" Flaversham asked, offering his hand and a warm smile.
"Very well, thank you, how are you?" she smiled back, delighted to meet more of her favorite characters from this world. Kneeling down, she got to Olivia's level and offered her hand to the child. "Hello, Miss Flaversham."
"Hullo," Olivia giggled, shaking hands with the older girl. "You can just call me Olivia."
"Then you can call me Sophie," she smiled. "I've heard quite a bit about you from Basil."
"Have you?!" Olivia beamed. "Then you know that Mr. Basil saved me and helped me find my Daddy?"
"Oh yes, that seemed like quite an adventure," she laughed. "Basil, would it be alright by you if they came over for supper one of these days?"
"I think that's splendid," he chuckled. "We do get together often, but it would be nice to have a meal. We could have supper tomorrow! What say you, Flaversham?"
"That'd be lovely, thank you!" he nodded at once, hugging his daughter. "I know Olivia would like it. Oh! Sweet heart, don't you have something to give Mr. Basil?"
"Oh yes!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up at once. "I'll bring it tomorrow for you!"
"That's quite unnecessary, but thank you, my dear," he patted her head. "Well, in the meantime, shall we take a stroll together, or do you both have other matters to attend to?"
"Oh no, it's be a privilege," Flaversham smiled.
"Come with me, Miss Sophie! I want to show you the pond!" Olivia cried, taking Sophie's hand and dragging her off.
Sophie laughed, letting the little girl take her away. She already loved it here in London…
~221B~
The following morning, Basil took care to make sure everyone was in their proper place. Sophie was left at the library in the care of Ms. Robinson, who accepted her happily with open arms, while Alyssa and Peter were dropped off at Mouseland Yard where they were introduced and instructed by Professor Swissair and Doctor Cheddler. In the meantime, Basil got back to work, summoned by a young noblemouse in close relations with the Queen herself.
"Good day, sir," the young mouse greeted Basil, torn between wanting to be solemn due to his situation, and yet extremely excited and eager to meet the famous detective. "I'm so grateful you could come."
"Of course," Basil nodded, shaking hands with the noble. "May I introduce my trusted colleague, Dr. Dawson."
"How do you do?" Dawson smiled politely, also exchanging a cordial handshake with the mouse.
"Please come in," the mouse insisted, ushering them in. "The room is this way."
"Tell me, Lord Derby, has anything been moved or tampered with since you contacted Mouseland Yard?"
"No sir, I haven't even allowed Inspector Vole to deal with anything," young Albert Derby shook his head.
"That must be a blow to his pride," Dawson noted in mutter, earning a chuckle from his friend.
Entering the parlor, the three mice were greeted with a strange and tragic scene. Albert's elder brother, Norman, lay dead on the floor, lying face down upon the carpet. A single piece of parchment lay on the corpse's back, with scrawled, sloppy words: BEWARE THE UNDEAD. Everything else seemed to be in perfect condition, which gave the look an even eerier feel.
"Great Scott!" Dawson gasped.
"Now that Mr. Rathbone's finally made it, can we get on with the investigation?!" Vole fumed, insulted that the young noble had forced him to wait and forbidden him to touch his brother's body until the renowned detective arrived.
"Certainly, thank you for waiting," Basil waved him off, kneeling beside the corpse. He took the paper from the victim's back and held it up, raising an eyebrow at it. "It's a fine piece of paper…but there is no watermark." He balanced it delicately on his fingertips, cocking his head as he gazed at it. "The paper is made of oak…from our own lands…" He sniffed it. "Hm…Belladonna…"
"What's that?" Lord Derby asked, not catching the words.
"Atropa belladonna, Lord Derby," Basil repeated. "One of the most deadly plants known to mice. It appears that this murderer has a thing for drama." His brows furrowed as he remembered Ratigan but quickly shook it off. It wasn't possible…was it?
"How'd his lordship die?" Vole asked, turning the mouse over.
"The same plant that we smell was used to kill him," Basil said immediately without even looking at the body.
"But Basil, how can you tell-?" Dawson started.
"Elementary, my dear Dawson," he stated, walking over to the table where the tea set remained. "The brow of Lord Norman is beaded with sweat – one of the side effects of this plant is the inability to control bodily functions, such as sweating or breathing. I'm certain that he died of heart failure due to poisoning."
"And just how was his lordship poisoned?" Vole asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"With this," Basil said, picking up the teapot and taking off the lid, lightly sniffing it. "Yes, just as I thought. One of your servants must have poisoned the tea with Belladonna berry extract – a rather concentrated and powerful dose, might I add – and he drank it, not realizing until it was too late. "You say this happened just a few hours ago?"
"Yes," Lord Albert nodded, his stomach churning at the thought. "I had no idea…that could have been me!...and on his own birthday…" He looked away, distressed.
"Are there any servants that you have that have been recently hired?" Basil asked, pulling out his pipe and lighting it.
Albert began to shake his head when realization sparked in his eyes. "Yes! The butler, Mr. Jarvis!"
"Always the butler," Vole muttered. "Right, I'll go and ask for him."
"I'm afraid you won't find him," Basil shook his head as he smoked his pipe. "He's gone by now."
"We'll see about that," Vole frowned, excusing himself and running downstairs.
"I say, Basil, how on earth does this note tie in to all this, and why would the butler want to kill Lord Derby?" Dawson asked, scratching his head as he struggled to put the pieces together.
"The butler is clearing working for someone else, the real mastermind behind all this," the detective assured them, his mind once again filled with the thought of his arch-nemesis. "But the note…" He looked at it once again, frowning at the words. "'Beware the Undead'…"
"Sounds rather like Frankenstein or Dracula to me, if you'll pardon my imagination," Lord Albert commented.
"Perhaps you are not too far off," Basil muttered, chomping on the stem of his pipe in agitation.
"You can't mean to say that there's a zombie running around London, Basil," Dawson shook his head. "It's not logical."
"Perhaps not the zombie you're thinking of," Basil said grimly.
"Do you have any idea, Mr. Basil?" Albert prodded, anxious to get to the bottom of the case.
"Oh, I have my suspicions…" Yes indeed, he had his suspicions, but for now, he held his tongue. Better not to jinx himself now...still, would he never be free of that terrible menace?
~221B~
"They're here!" Fidget exclaimed, hopping up and down as he checked the window.
Mrs. Judson hurried to the door and opened it, delighted to receive a hug from little Olivia. "Hello, dearest! How we've missed you!"
"Hullo, Mrs. Judson!" Olivia smiled, clutching a rectangular box in her arms.
"Do come in," she insisted, ushering the Flavershams into the parlor, which was miraculously clean, thanks to Sophie, Alyssa, and Fidget's help, and much to Basil's annoyance.
"Flaversham! Welcome!" Basil grinned, going with Dawson to greet their guests. The men shook hands before Basil introduced Peter and Alyssa, as well as Fidget. They had already been told of his change for the better, and Fidget proved to be quite amusing as he stumbled and did small tricks to amuse Olivia.
"I brought you your present!" Olivia smiled, handing him the box.
"Oh…really, you shouldn't have," he stammered, feeling the child's eyes on him. Giving a sheepish smile, he opened the box and gaped at the gift. "Why…a Mousivarius! Good heavens!" He started to laugh, his eyes wide with delight, his hands cradling the new violin. "How on earth-?!"
"Daddy made it," Olivia giggled.
"Since you wouldn't let me pay for your troubles, I got to work on that instead, but I kept getting interrupted with other clients," Flaversham explained modestly. "It was Olivia's idea."
"Try it, Basil!" Sophie insisted, her eyes sparkling in the firelight.
Tenderly, he set the instrument against his chin and drew a long, sweet note, testing the item. A grin spread over his face as he played a few more notes. "Ho-ho! It's brilliant!" Kneeling down, he opened his arms and allowed Olivia to embrace him. "Thank you…thank you very much…Olivia."
Olivia beamed at him, kissing his cheek and giggling as he started to blush. "You're welcome, but Daddy made it."
After shaking hands with the toymaker once more, they were herded into the dining room by Mrs. Judson and shared dinner, laughing and joking all throughout the meal. Afterwards, Basil played on his new violin while the others danced merrily.
"Miss Sophie, are you and Mr. Basil very much in love?" Olivia whispered as they stopped for tea and cookies.
"Very much," Sophie blushed, nodding her head.
"Good," the child chirped. "I like you, and I'm glad Mr. Basil is so happy with you."
"I'm glad, too," she agreed, hugging the little girl and kissing her forehead.
It wasn't for another hour until the Flavershams left, wishing them goodnight and promising to return another. Peter and Alyssa excused themselves and went to bed early while Fidget and Dawson went to help Mrs. Judson clean the kitchen.
"I think Dr. Dawson has a thing for Mrs. Jusdon," Sophie smirked.
"I do believe the feeling is mutual," he chuckled. He had noticed how they acted towards one another when they thought no one was looking in the past four months that Dawson had come to join him. "Ah, I've been meaning to ask you, Sophie. The Queen is hosting a party in honor of Lord Derby."
"The noblemouse that died?" asked Sophie, startled by the news.
"Yes. Lord Albert and I agreed that they continue with his brother's birthday festivities as it may bring another culprit to light, or even allow the police to find some clues." He rolled his eyes at this, skeptical of their work, earning a laugh from her. "At any rate, I was invited on his behalf with Dawson and was wondering…if you would…that is, I realize this could be dangerous, but seeing how you don't shy from danger and insist on helping in any way possible-" he tripped over his words.
"I'd love to go," she said shyly, nodding her head once. "Thank you."
He smiled, grateful that she seemed to understand anything he tried to get across without having to say it. Taking her hands in his, he kissed them both, his lips lingering for a moment before looking into her eyes. "I promise you, I shall make sure no harm comes to you while we're there."
"I'll be all right," she reassured him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "So long as you're there, I know I'll be fine. To be honest, I'm much more terrified at the idea of facing nobility than actually encountering danger. I'm not a very good dancer-"
"Neither am I," he chuckled, taking her in his arms and letting her rest her head against his shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get through it together."
~221B~
She was setting an old set of volumes on the Hundred Years War back on the shelf when she heard scuttling from a few aisles down. Sophie pursed her lips, wondering if there were children running about the library. As far as she knew, there were only a few mice that had dropped in at different times looking on their own for anything that caught their fancy. Still…curiosity got the better of her, so she quietly set the books down and tiptoed closer until she could hear their voices clearly.
"It's not safe for us to meet."
"Still, we gotta do something – one of us will probably be next!"
Interested, she slunk behind the massive bookcase and squeezed into a nook left by the wall, her eyes falling upon three mice that were dressed in filthy, worn overcoats, one of them wearing a bowler hat, the other a newsboy cap, and the third a sailor's knit cap. Her brows furrowed as she listened to the rest of the conversation.
"They won't suspect folk like us meetin' in the library," said the one in the newsboy hat. "Now listen up – four of us is dead already, and the doc keeps sayin' that it was some sort o' poison that got 'em all."
"What is it?" the sailor asked.
"Belladonna or somethin' like it," the bowler hat man replied. "Some plant or flower."
Sophie's eyes widened as she heard them speak, covering her mouth as so not to gasp.
"You know we'll be next," the sailor whimpered. "It's bad luck, I tells ya!"
"He's been taking us down, one by one, 'cuz we up and left instead of stickin' around," the newsboy hat nodded gravely. "Speakin' o' which, I'm surprised Fidget isn't dead yet."
"The traitor," spat the sailor.
"At least he'll be safe for the time being, workin' for that detective," the bowler hat mouse nodded. "But not for long…'specially not with him on the prowl."
Sophie raised an eyebrow upon hearing "him". Just who was this person they were so afraid of? Their voices had dropped to a whisper by now, and she held her breath as so not to give herself away and hear them. She saw how they shivered at the mention of this unnamed fiend, intriguing her even more so.
"He's gone and rid himself a noblemouse and now the rest of us. The cops don't care for us, though, they won't help us none," the newsboy hat wearer shook his head.
"And now with that…human…he's more powerful than ever," whispered the bowler hat man.
"Human?" Sophie thought, utterly lost now. "What human?"
"Aye…I tell ya, he's got more lives than a cat," the sailor nodded. "He's like the undead…no matter how many times he goes down, he manages to get back up."
"Well, we ain't doin' any good here. Might as well get out."
"G'luck to ya all…we'll need it."
They shook hands before taking turns and stepping away one by one. When Sophie was quite certain they had gone, she peeked out from her hiding place and slowly, calmly, walked back to the front desk, her mind filled with questions. "I better write this down so when I get home, Basil will know all about it."