Love, Lies and Murder
Chapter Three: As the plot thickens...
Effie made a face and shook off her hood, stairing at him through heavily done up eyes. "What cocaine?"
"The cocaine you have in your pocket.
Effie stood and spun around. "No pockets Holmes, off your game today."
Holmes just smirked, reached down her dress and pulled it out. "Thank you."
She slapped him. "Hands out of my dress."
Randell sighed.
Mary moved in between them. "You know...if you two worked together...this could be solved very quickly."
Effie frowned at the girl before sitting on Holmes's desk, displacing his papers. She leaned over and knicked a ciggerette of his. "Fine, fine, truce if he agrees."
Mary looked at Holmes. Holmes nodded. "Truce."
Effie smirked. "Light?" She asked, leaning in to him.
Randell looked at Dr. Watson. "Did you notice anything amiss during your visit to Anna? I know that she sees you once a week so you would be one to notice a difference."
Holmes lit the cigarette for her.
Watson shook his head. "Nothing."
Effie smiled, taking a deep drag.
Randell rubbed his chin. "Did you see her at her room in the Stews or up at the house we found her?"
"The Stews."
Randell nodded.
"How many months pregnant was she?" Effie asked, examining her fingernails.
"Three."
Effie nodded, kicking her feet, ignoring Holmes look as she kicked towards his violin. "Three months ago she was working in the East End...well, the theatre district as the Stews are in the East End...I should talk to Alex and Thomas, they both were working there at that time...."
Randell sighed. "As was I, but I don't remember Anna being down around us."
Holmes rescued his violin.
Effie pouted and aimed her kicks for a potted plant.
Randell watched, out of questions an amused at the silent antagonisim.
Holmes let her go this time.
"Oh, almost forgot...Irene sends her love." Effie said, smirking at Holmes.
"When did you see her?"
"Last weekend at a concert, she was quite insistent to hear what you've been up to and I was only happy to oblige her in a laugh."
Holmes glared at her.
Effie smirked and hopped off the table. "She said to give you another picture if I get a chance but I must admit, I forgot it at home." With that, Effie swept out of the room done with her questioning.
Watson grinned behind his hand as he lit his pipe, watching Randell trail after his boss.
Mary hesitated a moment before following.
Watson shook out his match and glanced up at his old friend, watching him for a moment before speaking. "She disturbs you."
"Not at all. She amuses me."
"Amuses you?"
He nodded.
"And why is that my friend?"
"Not quite sure."
Watson smiled. He knew why but he wasn't about to tell his friend.
A few months later...
Effie sat at Holmes's desk, studying the papers before her. A curl hung down in her face and she angrily swiped it away, still stairing at the papers. It had been three months and they were no closer to clearing Effie's name then they were crowning young Mary the King of England. Holmes's Baker Street lodgings had quickly been taken over by the Grey Agency as the Yard had seized their own lodgings in an effort to take Effie into custody. Only Thomas's background as a member of the clergy had stopped them thus far, granting her sanctuary...provided she never left the apartments shared by the eight lodgers.
Mary sat curled up in a chair, half asleep, the papers falling from her hand.
Holmes was pacing and smoking.
Effie coughed waving hr hand to clear some of the heavy smoke. "Must you puff away on that thing? It is enough that you are killing yourself but we do have to live here too."
"I'm thinking."
"What a shock." Effie muttered.
Randell sighed and picked up Mary, carrying her to the room four of them shared, leaving the two detectives alone, a guaranteed bad move in the old days.
"I can stop...you can go to prison."
Effie glared at him. "You wouldn't hand me over to the yard...you know I'm innocent."
"Doesn't mean a thing if we can't prove it."
Effie sighed. "We'll never prove it...there's no evidence that doesn't point to me." Effie said, finally reaching the tears that had failed to surface. She put her head in her hands, crying silently, staining the papers below her.
Holmes moved to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her.
Effie stiffened in his hold before falling against him, crying softly. "I'm scared." She whispered.
"I know..."
She lay against him, her tears slowing before finally stopping. She then smiled, laughing lightly. "You're comforting me...such a shock it would be to your fans to for them to realize you have a heart."
"I can stop."
"No... it's...nice."
He nodded.
Effie looked up at him, moving her face closer to his.
"Oy! EFFIE! Post for you!" Thomas yelled, striding into the room, causing Effie to jerk away from Holmes.
Holmes growled.
Thomas raised an eyebrow at Holmes, handing Effie the letter. "What's his problem?"
Effie shrugged, slitting open the letter, frowning at the wax seal.
"What is it?" Holmes asked.
"It is from Alex, he says he has news and I should meet him in town,"
"Effie, you can't go..."
Holmes shook his head. "Thomas is right."
"I have to go, this could be the key we need."
"Effie, come on, the Inspector has people watching this house constantly."
"Then I won't leave out the front door Thomas."
"No." Holmes told her.
"Yes." Effie said, standing. She smirked and patted his head. "Just think, in a few hours you may be rid of us." And with that, she strode upstairs to change.
"Can we lock her in a closet?"
Thomas smirked. "As fun as that would be...she knows how to pick locks."
"Tie her up?"
"Tried it and she kicked me down the block when she got free."
Effie came back down dressed in Mary's clothes, looking a lot younger then she normally did. "Wish me luck."
"Effie...please...don't do this."
Effie looked at him for a minute. "I have to Holmes...I can't...just sit here."
"Fine, fine...do what you must."
"Look, If I'm not back by dinner, come after me, the address is in the letter, Randell knows the code." And with that, she was out the window. Suppertime had come and no Effie. The clock was heading steadily to dinnertime and Randell was pacing, while Thomas tried to use the code to break the address.
Holmes paced.
Randell adjusted his pace so that the two didn't run into each other as Thomas worked, occasionally cursing. "Why couldn't Alex just...tell the bloody address."
"Because that would be too easy, and he wanted time." Randell said softly.
"Tine for what?"
"That I don't know. But it only makes sense, he's the only one of us who did not take up residence here, instead staying in the city, he sent Effie a letter sealed with her own seal and said he had news, but why not just come around to tell it to her when he knows she's wanted...and he adjusted the code so that only she would understand it.
"He killed her...Anna...he killed her and he wants time to kill Effie."
Thomas stared at him. "But...he's her brother..."
"So?"
"They love each other..."
"Maybe not." Holmes glared at Thomas. "Work faster."
"Yes sir." Thomas said and turned back tot he papers.
Randell raised an eyebrow at Holmes's order.
Around midnight, Thomas let out a cheer.
"Yes?"
"I got the city."
Randell threw a book at him. Just then, Holmes' landlady came in, glaring at the four men. "Post for you." She grumped, holding out a letter to Holmes.
Holmes tore it open
Inside was a three-page confession of murder, signed and sealed by Effie Lenore Gladenspike. A small, bloody thumbprint dotted the signature
"Alex forced her to confess...to cover for him. We HAVE to find him...now."
"But I can't get this stupid thing, I just know she's in London..."
Randell fought the urge to strangle the other man. "Are you sure...Holmes, we could have all been decived."
"No. Effie didn't do it."
"How can you be so sure...she's an incredible actress...and she seems to have played you for a love sick fool."
Mary shook her head. "She didn't do it."
"But how could Alex...it's just not possible, I'm sorry but I grew up with them, he wouldn't' kill Anna!"
"People change. Deal with it!" Mary told him.
"He loved her!"
"Well now he doesn't! It happens all the time...I mean my god...there's like 30 Jerry Springer episodes alone on that topic."
Randell and Thomas stared at her, confused.
"Never mind. Let's just find her."
"I still don't believe he did it, they were going to have a baby." Thomas muttered.
"A baby he didn't want so he killed the mother."
"He wanted it!" Thomas and Randell yelled together.
"You don't know that!"
"I do." Randell hissed, striding towards the girl. "I was there when he was told, I saw the tears in his eyes, I still have the ring he put in my care to give to her when he felt she was ready to be his wife. I have the wills for him that leaves everything to his child and Anna."
"And it could have changed since then. He could have snapped. He could have met someone else. Tons of things"
"He could also be laying dead on the stoop." Watson said softly from the doorway.
"What?" Mary turned to face him.
"Alex is lying on our front stoop, dead of a slit throat."
Holmes frowned; this was getting most confusing.
"And he's wearing Effie's coat."
"Odd."
"Very." Watson said and moved over to Holmes, holding out his hand. Laying in it was the comb Holmes had given Effie to keep her hair pinned up when she went out as a boy. It was a joke gift, indicating she was horrid at her costumes, but the girl had made light of it and wore it in her corset every time she went out.
"Hmmm..." Holmes paced
Watson watched him.
Thomas went back to the note, frowning.
Mary looked at Thomas. "Well?"
Holmes was thinking...someone who knew Effie and Alex...and who could want them and Anna dead...
"I got the street numbers but that doesn't help without the name."
"TRY HARDER."
"I am!" Thomas snapped at her.
Randell backed away from Thomas and sat in a chair, pulling a knife from his pocket and cleaning his nails.
Holmes eyes Randell.
Randell didn't notice as he deftly carved off a bit of his fingernail, shortening it. He examined it before cutting a bit more off, carefully handling the knife as an expert.
Holmes glared.
Randell finally looked up. "What? It was long."
"And you killed Anna."
"What?!"
