Sherlock was sitting in his Baker Street armchair, lost in thought, when suddenly an angry Mary and John burst in. Their telephone in hand. It was still very early. The sun had only risen a few hours ago.
"Sherlock! You have to help us. I think something's happened to Katie," she burst in, explaining what happened last night and immediately handed him her phone.
She played back the message on his voicemail. It was listening to Katie talking to someone and asking what he wanted from her. She sounded panicked. In the background he recognised the sound of engines and he knew she must be in a car. When the message suddenly stopped, he looked at Mary and John in shock.
He got up with a swing, put on his coat (although the temperatures were mild by now, he had to be there) and ran out the door.
"Where are you going?" cried John after him.
"To the club" it was now shouting from below.
Mary and John followed him and a little later were in a taxi that was to take them to the club.
Twenty minutes later they arrived at the same club. They realised that staff from Scotland Yard were also there. Apparently they already knew about it.
"Sherlock, John, Mary? What are you all doing here?" asked the Detective Inspector, slightly confused.
"It's about Katie. I think she's been kidnapped" said Mary.
Greg breathed deeply and stroked his face with his hands.
"Yes, I know. Constable Reid had received a strange message from her and she was not at home or at Barts," he sighed. "But wait, how do you know about this?!" and looked at her questioningly.
Sherlock briefly explained to him that Mary had received a message from her tonight and what the content of the message was. Then Greg told them that Katie came to him about a month ago. She had an envelope with her. It contained an article in the newspaper threatening to kill her.
All three stood there stunned and said nothing. Sherlock was about to say something when a desperate Detective Constable rushed to him.
"Greg, I have... Oh, Mr Holmes, John, Mary? What are you doing here?"
Mary told him about the message she got from Katie on her voicemail David nodded and then turned back to Greg.
"I was able to track down the employee who let people in and out the door yesterday. He'll be here in 10 minutes"
"Very good. In the meantime, Mary what happened yesterday?" he asked and looked at her.
Mary talked about her evening and then she explained that Katie suddenly got a message and beamed and went outside. They assumed it was from David.
He turned to her in shock and replied that he hadn't written her a message yesterday.
Sherlock then asked him to look in his messages. David sighed, but finally reached for his phone. He scrolled through the sent messages and didn't have to search long. Without a word he held it in front of their faces. He became as white as a sheet.
"Well, if you didn't write her that message, then who did?" Sherlock asked.
"I have no idea. I was at work all day yesterday and in the evening I met up with my mate Peter." He paused. "Wait, Peter was with me. We had a bit too much to drink and at some point I fell asleep. But no, that's impossible. It can't be," he noted with a startled look.
"What's his name?" Sherlock was excited and shook him on his shoulders.
"Peter Jenkins."
"Lestrade, have a search made immediately for a Peter Jenkins in the files Find out everything you can about him. And put out an APB for him!" cried Sherlock.
Greg immediately spoke into his phone and requested all the data from Peter Jenkins. In the meantime, the doorman from last night had also arrived and he told you that a black limousine car had been provided for her and was taking her away. He also knew the number plate number. Lestrade now also issued a search notice for the car.
A little later Greg's phone rang with the information about Peter Jenkins.
Sherlock turned around expectantly and listened to what the DI had to say.
"Peter Jenkins, born Bennett. Mother: Christin Brown, now Jenkins, Father: Holden Bennett; born in the USA, last lived in Missouri, since a few months in London, works at Clos Maggiore".
Sherlock looked at him with wide open eyes.
"Wait, what did you say? Bennett? Is his father the Holden Bennett who's now executed as the executioner-killer?"
Both John and Mary looked at him with startled looks. John was the first to find his language again.
"Wait, you mean the one who tried to kill Katie too?
But Sherlock did not answer, but turned to Lestrade.
"Find the car and I want all the information about the evaluation of the letter" he ordered.
Then he turned away and was ready to go when he heard in the background that Lestrade was getting another call.
"Sherlock! We have found the car. It's parked in an alley a few streets away from here!"
He turned around immediately and followed the DI. John and Mary after it. Greg sent another officer to Clos Maggiore to get more information about Peter Jenkins.
It was not long before they reached the car. Sherlock took a pair of gloves out of his pocket and opened the cabin at once. He flew over the entire cabin with a glance before he went to the driver's cabin. He pulled out his little magnifying glass and studied every single centimetre. Then he noticed a tiny piece of fabric on the driver's seat that was not visible to the naked eye. He picked it up carefully and put it into a small tube.
Then he leaned out again.
"You may begin your examination. Let me know if you find anything" turned around and walked quickly to the street to wave a taxi. What remained was a puzzled DI and a questioning looking couple.
He arrived a short time later and jumped out of the taxi. He followed the long corridor, up the stairs to his destination. He had just arrived at the lab when Molly came in.
She seemed stressed and looked quite exhausted.
"Oh, hello, Sherlock." she greeted him in a tired voice.
"I hope you won't be needing anything from me today. I'm pretty exhausted and as Katie didn't turn up for work today, I have to do her work too".
So she did not know it yet.
"She won't be coming back today either. She has been kidnapped and, frankly, I need YOUR help. I have discovered some fibres here and I need to know what family of fabric they belong to" he explained.
Molly stood there with her mouth open and stared at him.
"How... how kidnapped? What happened? Is she all right? Is she alive or dead?" She almost whispered that last part.
"MOLLY!" Sherlock yelled at her with a warning.
"Are you going to help me now, or are you going to continue asking questions here that are just wasting time?!
It took her a moment before she caught herself again and hurried over to the individual chemicals that were supposed to filter out the composition of individual elements of the fabric.
After more than an hour, they discovered that it was a fibre residue from a standard hygiene suit used in laboratories or in the food industry. There was only one particle left which they could not identify. The mystery was solved when Sherlock answered his phone a short time later.
"Sherlock. We found residues of chloroform in a small tube under the seat in the car. We also found out from his workplace that he works both as a waiter and is responsible for meat deliveries and -"
"Polar coat" he whispered softly.
"What did they say?"
Sherlock excitedly held the phone in his hand and screamed.
"Lestrade. She's in a cold store. I've found a scrap of fabric that has Polarcoat - a special coating for hygiene suits specifically designed to work in cold chambers. Immediately send all emergency personnel to the refrigeration facilities belonging to the restaurant! I'll wait for them by the beard!"
Even before Greg could admonish him to have illegally stolen evidence again, he had already hung up.
Molly stood motionless in the room and stared at him.
"What's wrong?"
Sherlock smiled slightly at her and replied, "We've got a lead."
Then he pulled his coat off the hook and walked out the door.
Moments later, a grey-mottled car with a mobile siren on the roof was already racing through the streets, stopping in front of the detective.
Sherlock immediately got in and they drove away. Reid in the driver's seat and Greg beside him. Next to Sherlock in the back seat was another officer. Greg turned to Sherlock and said there were three facilities. He had sent some officers to two of them and they were now on their way to the third. It was the oldest one and had been running at a low level for a few years because the temperature control was broken and was getting too hot for the meat products.
On the way there he got news again that the others would be empty.
So she had to be in the third one.
'Hopefully she's there', he thought.
"I hope you are not mistaken! And I hope we're not too late," Greg replied to him in a slightly anxious tone.
Sherlock just stared out the window and prayed that it wasn't too late.