Chapter 9 Flashes

The concert hall was as black as the streets of London during the witching hour. The stage stood in the front of the room, foreboding and sinister. Shellock gazed at it. There was an almost pretentious air to it, with its shiny wooden boards and its heavy curtains of navy blue. Shellock took a long drag of his bubble pipe.

"This place seems to be of the fancy variety," Shellock mused. He noticed the sandbags hanging above center stage. "Perhaps Lemmy got bonked on the head by a sandbag, and thereafter was taken to hospital?"

Watson shook his head.

"Oh no, Mr. Holmes. My family and I would have known about that if that were the case." He looked up at the evil stage. A sort of appreciation entered his features. He started to inadvertently hum a melody, one that was spunky and chirpy. His eyes twinkled as his voice rose in volume. Shellock looked up at his assistant with interest.

"Do you have an appreciation for the musical art, Watson?"

"Yes. Very much so." He chuckled and looked back at the stage. A smile, small but lively, appeared on his face. "Lemmy has also been very encouraging of both me and my music. I really should thank him for that sometime soon."

Shellock felt another flutter in his ribcage. It was an odd sensation. It felt unfamiliar to the genius detective. It was becoming abundantly clear to him that Watson and Lemmy shared a very strong bond. Yet, what did that have to do with the flutter in Shellock's chest, the feeling of warmth spreading across his body, and the warm tears building in his eyes?

"Well, I am sure that Lemmy would really appreciate that gesture, Watson," said Shellock. He wiped his eyes and started to make his way over to the dressing room. Watson followed, sticking very close to the detective. Shellock made sure to pick up the pace as they made their way up the stairs and around the bend. The more time they spent dawdling, the less time was dedicated to finding Lemmy.

Shellock slowly opened the door to the dressing room. He took note of every detail of the dark room. It was rectangular in shape and narrow in area. A door to a bathroom laid at the end of the room. Mirrors, professionally lit, aligned the walls.

But those weren't the only details of note. Shellock also saw that, on one of the tables in front of one of the mirrors, was a powder puff, lipstick, and face paint. Shellock approached and eyed it suspiciously. He picked up the puff, turned it over in his hands like pizza dough, and sniffed it. He reeled back in disgust upon getting an idea of what it smelled like.

"Ah. The stench of dragon koopa." Shellock promptly dropped the puff back on the table. "I believe that might indicate Lemmy was here."

Watson nodded, his eyes shining like the mirrors.

"I believe you might be right, Shellock." He pointed over to a chair on the other wall. On it was a multicolored clown suit. "I think that might also be an indication that he was here."

Shellock approached the Clown suit and picked it up. He turned it over, peeked inside. It was certainly an odd piece of clothing. And yet, Shellock felt as if it was important. Somehow, this clown suit was special.

"Watson," Shellock said. "Did your brother adorn outfits like this often?"

"Mmhm," Watson said as he nodded in confirmation. "He always wanted to make me and my siblings laugh. Whether it be with a Clown act or with a pun, he was always delighted in seeing us smile." Watson chuckled. "He really is an awesome person. He always knows exactly what to do when one of us is feeling down. He can take the negative and turn it into the positive so quickly that you would forget that there even was something to feel bad about."

As Watson talked, Shellock felt another flutter in his chest. He gripped his bubble pipe between his teeth as he put his hand to his heart.

"He...he sounds like a great guy."

"He is. He is also an awesome brother," said Watson. A tear trickled out of Shellock's cheek. Watson approached him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

For the first time ever, Shellock didn't have an answer to that question. This was just so...overwhelming. A picture flew across his mind. A smiling Watson, talking to him with informality and love. Another picture came up, this one involving the other Koopalings asking if he was okay. They were looking at him with concern that he didn't even know Koopas were capable of feeling for other Koopas.

What was this? Was this just Shellock's overactive, over analytical brain going into overdrive? Or were these flashes, perhaps, something more? Could they be memories? No, no, that was ridiculous! It was obviously the former! Shellock was just using his imagination to try to put himself in Lemmy's shoes. Yeah, that was it. That had to be it.

"Of course I am okay, Watson," Shellock said as he wiped his face. He turned toward Watson and faced him strongly. "I am just...I am surprised. That's all." He put his hand on his shoulder and stared into Watson's questioning, concerned eyes. "But don't you worry, dear chap. This brother of yours will be returned to you safe and sound."

A look of disappointment flashed across Watson's face, much to Shellock's surprise. However, it quickly faded away, and Watson put on another smile.

"I don't doubt that for a second."

Shellock hesitated, biting down on his lip as he patted his assistant on the shoulder. He turned back to the costume on the chair and took a drag of his bubble pipe.

"Well," he said. "I suppose this clown suit could be seen as evidence." Shellock's eyes drifted over to a chair a few feet away. On it was what appeared to be a composer outfit, crafted from royal blue fabric. He approached it with an eyebrow raised. "What is this?"

"Oh, that was worn by me," said Watson. "You see, I put on a symphony a few days ago, and I wanted to look my best."

"Hmm," Shellock said as he picked up the outfit. He found a lock of blue hair attached to the collar. Obviously, Watson was telling the truth. "Interesting." He turned back to his assistant. "So, you interacted with Lemmy in this room?"

"Yes. Since he was my opening act, I told him that we could Split the profits of the performance between the two of us."

Shellock nodded. He slowly put the outfit back in its place.

"I see, I see." He stroked his with one hand and cradled the bubble pipe in the other. "This is quite an interesting case. It seems that you and I are starting to make some progress, Watson." Right at that moment, Shellock's stomach growled. He turned toward the blue haired Dragon Koopa and softly smiled. "What do you say we take a quick break for lunch so we can discuss what we have discovered?"

Watson smiled back.

"That sounds great!