Back at Baker Street, I bring John's picture up on my laptop and start cross sectioning bits off. Once they're at a suitable size, I send a message to the printer to begin printing. John pins the pictures to the mirror, whilst dad writes the numerical value beside each symbol. Once all the symbols have printed, I stand up by the fireplace, focusing my mind on the images in front of me. John sits down at the desk, his head in his hands as he nods off and dad joins my side, closing the book he used to translate the numbers and tossing it aside. I scan through the numbers, searching for a code type or pattern in the way the numbers are spread. Beside me, dad notices something at the same time as I do.
"Always in pairs, John," dad says, jerking John awake. He blinks and turns around so he's looking at us, squinting against the light.
"Hmm?"
"Numbers come with partners." John ignores him, looking blankly around at the flat instead.
"God, I need to sleep," he groans. I feel wide awake, the adrenaline of steadily getting closer to finding the answer encouraging me onwards.
"Why did he paint it so near the tracks?"
"No idea," John mutters in reply, barely awake.
"Thousands of people pass by there every day."
"It's a wide audience," I say, "and not everybody who goes past will be able to translate the symbols. We thought it was graffiti at first, so anybody else would just presume that as well. Obviously the smugglers use that line for trading, so they'll be the ones the message is aimed at and they'll be able to decode it."
"Of course," dad says in realisation, my comment triggering a new line of thought in his mind. "Of course! He wants information. He's trying to communicate with his people in the underworld. Whatever was stolen, he wants it back." I nod, glad that he gets what I was implying as he runs his finger across the symbols. "Somewhere here in the code."
"I can't see any lettering in there. Perhaps it's a book code," I suggest, and he nods, pulling three photos off of the wall and heading towards the door.
"We can't crack this without Soo Lin Yao."
"Oh, good!" John says sarcastically, sleepily getting up to follow.
"It's highly possible that this is a book code," dad says as we slip onto the street. "They're easy to get hold of but incredibly hard to crack unless you have the right book. Soo Lin, the graffiti was sprayed so she could see. She has a copy of the book and can help us decode the message." We hail a cab and order the taxi to take us back to the museum. We need to find Soo Lin and the last place she was seen will help.
I jump out of the cab as it pulls up to a stop on Trafalgar Square and head straight into the building. We search around for a bit until Andy sees us and walks on over.
"Two men who travelled back from China were murdered, and their killer left them messages in the Hangzhou numerals," dad says, skipping the pleasantries.
"Soo Lin Yao's in danger. Now, that cipher - it was just the same pattern as the others," John continues. "He means to kill her as well."
"Have you even the slightest idea where she is?" I finish.
"Look, I've tried everywhere: um, friends, colleagues," he says, shrugging. "I-I don't know where she's gone. I mean, she could be a thousand miles away." I walk away in exasperation, looking for a change in sequence. The teapots inside a glass case display takes my eye and I stride over.
"Sherlock," I call quietly and dad turns around, his eyes narrowing as he reaches the cabinet.
"What are you looking at?" John questions.
"Tell me more about those teapots," dad demands as he walks over, pointing at the display.
"Th-the pots were her obsession," Andy begins, stuttering nervously. "Um, they need urgent work. If-if they dry out, then the clay can start to crumble. Apparently you have to just keep making tea in them." I nod my head in agreement as I bend down to look more closely at the shelf. I've studied Chinese antiquities and I know the ritual to keep the teapots in shape.
"Yesterday, only one of those pots was shining," dad says, noticing now what I found. "Now there are two."
"But that would mean she'd been here..." John says, his eyebrows furrowing as he turns around, expecting her to pop up from behind a case somewhere.
"And there's nobody else working on them?" I question, turning around to analyse Andy.
"N-no, she was the only one working on this particular project," he tells me. "She was the expert on the Chinese antiques that were coming in." I nod, frowning. If one teapot appears on the shelf shiny the following day, then that means she comes here during the night. I look at my watch to check to time and bite my lip, unsure what to do.
"Show me where she worked," I demand and dad and I stand up straight as Andy starts leading us away. "How am I doing?" I ask dad as we walk down the corridor.
"You're asking the right questions," he tells me and I smile with pride. That's as close to a compliment that I'm going to get now. "And you're thinking logically. You're getting better," he concludes, smiling down at me. As we arrive in the room, Andy flicks the light on, illumination the large space.
"Th-this was her desk," Andy explains, leading us over to one around the middle. "When she wasn't doing the demonstrations, she'd come here." I thank him and he leaves us.
"So what are we doing now?" John questions as the door closes and dad looks around at the desk.
"Now, we wait."
The sunlight begins to filter out of the room and I sit up from my place on the floor, and I nudge John's slumped figure.
"It's time," I say, watching dad slip out the door. He sits up, and moves over into the corner whilst I stand up, checking around to make sure the coast is clear. The plan is for dad to follow Soo Lin Yao here so that it seems that she is alone, but then dad is going to creep back in and then we'll have the element of surprise on our side. We sit in the corner for about a minute, our breathing sounding loud in the empty room.
"Are you sure he knows what he's doing?" John asks me through a whisper.
"Probably not," I tell him, smiling. "He'll just wing it and hope for the best." John nods in the darkness and we fall silent as the shadow of a woman appears at the door, holding a teapot. We hold our breath as she slips inside, setting herself up at her desk. As she pours the tea into the teapot and then picks the lid, carefully stroking around the rim, the outline of a very familiar mass of curls appears at the door. Unaware of this, Soo Lin continues her restoration of the pot, picking up the teapot and pours some of the hot liquid inside into a pair of cups which are waiting on her desk and I see dad slip through the door. As she swishes the tea around to cover the edges of the pot, dad creeps up beside her.
"Fancy a biscuit with that?" Dad says loudly, making Soo Lin jump, gasping in fright as she drops the teapot from her trembling finger. Dad's reactions are quicker then hers as he squats down, catching the teapot easily before it his the floor. "Centuries old," he says, looking up at her. "Don't wanna break that. " He straightens up slowly to make sure he doesn't startle her and I stand up from my hiding place as dad hands back the teapot. He flicks a switch on the desk, turning on the the lights to illuminate their faces as John and I walk over. "Hello," dad say, smiling slightly at her. I join dads side and John arrives beside me. "Sherlock by the way, Sherlock Holmes," he introduces himself. "This is my daughter -"
"Sophia Holmes," I say, extending a hand.
"Yes," dad continues as he sends me a glare, "and this is my colleuge John Watson." I notice he's corrected himself to what he said to Sebastian a few days ago. John shakes hands with Soo Lin.
"Why are you here?" she asks us as she draws her hands in. "How did you find me?"
"We saw the cipher on the statue in the basement," I tell her kindly. "There are several others dotted around London." Soo Lin nods as dad pulls up a stool beside her.
"You saw the cipher?" she questions. "Then you know he is coming for me."
"You've been clever to avoid him so far," dad praises her gently.
"I had to finish ... to finish this work," she explains, gesturing to the teapots. "It's only a matter of time. I know he will find me."
"Who is he?" dad questions. "Have you met him before?"
"When I was a girl, living back in China," she tells us, nodding. "I recognise his ... 'signature'."
"The cipher," dad puts in.
"Onlyhewould do this," she continues. "Zhi Zhu." My eyes narrow as an immediate translation appears inside.
"Zhi Zhu?" John questions.
"The Spider," dad mutters as Soo Lin places her right foot upon he opposite knee, nimbley unlacing her plimsole and slipping it off. On her heel is a black tattoo of a lotus flower inside a circle. My eyes narrow even further as I recognise it.
"You know this mark?" she asks dad.
"Yes," dad comfirms. "It's the mark of a Tong."
"Hmm?"
"Ancient crime syndicate based in China," dad explains and John nods his head in understanding, turning back to listen to Soo Lin.
"Every foot soldier bears the mark; everyone who hauls for them." I nod, seeing the obvious but unpredictable.
"'Hauls'?" John questions and she looks up at him. His eyes widen.
"Y-you mean you were a smuggler?" She lowers her gaze in regret and slips her shoe back on to hide the brand which has owned her life.
"I was fifteen," she begins. "My parents were dead. I had no livelihood; no way of surviving day to day except to work for the bosses."
"Who are they?" dad asks.
"They are called the Black Lotus," she says. "By the time I was sixteen, I was taking thousands of pounds' worth of drugs across the border into Hong Kong. But I managed to leave that life behind me. I came to England." She smiles slightly as a tear slips down her cheek. "They gave me a job here. Everything was good; a new life."
"Then he came looking for you," dad says insensitivley.
"Yes," she confirms, swallowing before continuing tearfully. "I had hoped after five years maybe they would have forgotten me, but they never really let you leave," I nod my understanding. I know how smuggling groups such as The Black Lotus opperate. Stay, or die. It's the only way they can insure that their movements aren't told of. "A small community like ours – they are never very far away." She lifts a hans to wipe the tears away. "He came to my flat," she continues, chocking slightly as another slips down her face. "He asked me to help him to track down something that was stolen."
"And you've no idea what it was?" John questions, but she shakes her head.
"I refused to help."
"So you knew him well when you were living back in China?" John confirms, leaning forward. Soo Lin nods sadly.
"Oh yes," she looks up at dad, her eyes glittering with the pain. He's my brother." John straigtens up in surprise and dad nods thoughtfully. I don't know what to think. "Two orphans," she continues, the tears still slipping down freely. "We had no choice. We could work for the Black Lotus, or starve on the streets like beggars," I nod as she pauses,giving her the encouragment to keep talking. "My brother has become their puppet, in the power of the one they call Shan – the Black Lotus general. I turned my brother away," she explains, blinking away more tears as she speaks. "He said I had betrayed him. Next day I came to work and the cipher was waiting." Dad takes the photographs from his jacket pocket and lays them down on the table.
"Can you decipher these?" he asks softly and Soo Lin leans foward, pointing to the number beside Sir William's portrait.
"These are numbers."
"Yes, I know," dad says and Soo Lin points to another picture, one taken of a close up of the portrait.
"Here: the line across the man's eyes – it's the Chinese number one."
"And this one is fifteen," dad says, pointing to the first picture to show that we already know the numeral system. "But what's the code?"
"All the smugglers know it," she tells us. "It's based upon a book ..." I smile slightly, but my joy is short lived as the lights go out around us. Soo Lin looks up in dread and fear as dad stands up, glancing around sharply. "He's here," she says softly, her face full of fear. "Zhi Zhu. He has found me." Dad sprints off across the room as he hears something.
"Sh-Sherlock," John calls urgently. "Sherlock, wait!" Dad charges out of the room and John turns to Soo Lin, holding her as first priority as I fumble for my gun. "Come here," he says, holding his hand out and leading us across the room towards a cupboard. "Get in," he orders calmly. "Get in!" She slips inside but I stay with my back against it, crouched down and pistol cocked.
"The book which the smugglers use, what is it called?" I ask her, frantically.
"Sophie-" John begins, disapproving of me bringing this up now. It's unlikely that she'll get out alive. We need information.
"I-it's a book which everyone owns," she begins, her voice shaking as she looks around at the darkness. She swallows and tries to continue, but is silenced my the sound of gunfire. John and I look up at the sound, then he turns to me.
"I have to go and help," he says,and I nod. "Stay here, and bolt the door after me." He hurries off after the sound and Soo Lin's face fills with dread, her entire body paralysed with fear. It's going to be useless to try and get any more information out of her now.
"It's alright," I say stiffly, reaching to tap her back. "I've got a gun." She looks up at me with a look of shock. Did I just suggest shooting her brother? Bit not good. I grimace, turning away. "Look, I'm sorry -" I'm cut off by anothe gunshot, closer to where we are. I jump up, my fingernails biting into my palms as I tense up. Another gunshot. "I've got to go..." I say, hesitantly, throwing her my pocket knife. "Aim for his heart," I instruct as she catches it and another tear glimmers down her face. It's either him or her. I dart through across the room again to the door, my gun held down but ready for when 'the spider' shows himself. I make my way out into the foyer and up around the stairs to the balcony when I hear more gunshots. My pace quickens as I look behind me, glancing around for any sign of Soo Lin's brother. A shadow flickers for a second in front of me and I dart forward into a display room. In front of me is the back of 'Zhi Zhu's head, and in front of him, behind a glass case displaying numerous ancientskulls, dad ducks, protecting himself from the gunfire.
"Careful!" dad calls, but the gunman fires again. "Some of those skulls are over two hundred thousand years old! Have a bit of respect!" I smirk, knowing dadwould care more about the preservation of ancient skulls then his own life. Zhi Zhu stops firing, seeming to sense me. I hold my breath as he turns around, face unmasked unlike our last little adventure. His face seems familiar, and I recognise him as Lee, the boy from the skate park. He obviously recognised me and wanted me gone. I hold my stance as he stares at me, then he turns, heading out. Why's he retreating? "Thank you!" dad calls sarcastically, but then senses that he's gone. It's very unlikely that he's gone after John, so that must mean he's going...
"Oh my god!" I call softly and dad peaks through the glass of the case.
"Sophie?" dad hisses. The beat of a drum silences him from pursuing. I look around, then charge after the sound. He was aware of four people in that room: dad, John, me and his own sister. Now that he knows that Soo Lin's alone, he'll go after her. My feet hit the ground in rythmn with my heart and the drum beat, though everything seems to be in slow motion. The drumming stops as the door below me, which leads to the restoration room, swings shut. She has a knife and instructions on how to use it, but will she act on them? Already knowing the answer, I speed up, flying along the marble floor and sliding down the bannister to get me back to the foyer. It's too late. A single gunshot and a short cry, and then no more. Highly unlikely that she managed to disarm him, amd even more unlikely that she would be able to shoot him - both the moral and physical ability are lacking. I hold my gun out, as I shoulder barge the door, aiming to injure, not kill. As I swing into the room, I look around cautiously, checking for the gunman before cursing, I've let him slip through my fingers three times now. I step into the room, still frantically looking around as I walk, until the body of a young woman slumped up against a desk catches my eye. I rush forward, lowering my gun as I draw near and reach her hand for a pulse, and looking for a sign of life from her chest.
"Soo Lin?" I question. "Can you hear me?" Behind, John creeps into the room and I stand up.
"Over here!" I call as he looks around and John tenses up at the sudden noise. "She's still alive!" John sprints forward, shrugging off his coat as he reaches me and almost throwing himself onto the floor to listen. I stand there for a moment as he examines her, before drawing up, looking grave.
"Dead," he mutters as he looks at her body with guilt. My eyes glance over her body to her hand and notice another origami flower lying in her upturned palm. I take it, looking it over before placing it back in her hand as the door opens again. Dad slips into the room, turning the light on as I start to walk around, looking for the window that Zhi Zhu escaped from. I head torwards it and just catch a glimpse of a dark figure heading out of bullet range before he dissapears. Adrenaline pumping through me, I swing my legs over the side of the window, and begin to plan my route down.
"Sophie," dad calls softly, and I turn around to face him. "He's gone." I shake my head in denial as he helps me back through the window,my hands shaking too much for them to be much use. I've never liked heights.
"It's my fault," I spit out bitterly. "I should have stayed. I thought she would use the knife."
"Knife?" John questions.
"Inside left pocket," I mutter and he pulls it out. "Why are we like this?" I ask dad quietly, just so only he can hear me. "I should have known she wasn't going to use it before I left." My teeth clamp shut as I look to the floor in anger.
"You used your brain," dad tells me gently. "It's what I would have done. You heard we were in danger, and once you knew we were alright, you headed back. Nobody blames you."
"The police are on their way," John.says a he lowers his phone from his ear, and dad glances back at him before turning back to me.
"You okay?" I nod, more annoyed then upset.
It takes the police precisley five minutes and fourty five seconds to arrive with an Ambulance and all the flashing lights that go with them. As the police rush in, I begin to direct them towards the body, but a female clamps some handcuffs on me.
"What are you doing?" Dad demands, storming over to the woman. She ignores him as she walks in front of me.
"Sophia Holmes, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder. You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something you later rely on in court, anything you do say may be given in evidence."
"This is ridiculous," dad spits.
"Mr Holmes, the childs guardian?" the woman questions, spinning around.
"Yes, he is," John replies, stepping forward. "Why is this necessery?"
"It's fine, John," I mutter.
"No it's not," dad snaps back.
"I thought I'd made myself quite clear. She is charged with suspicion of murdering Ms Soo Lin Yao." She pulls the gun from my pocket. "Mr Watson mentioned that this young lady was the last to be seen with Ms Yao, and the victim was murdered with a gun. Here's the gun on the lady which was last seen with the victim. Have I explained myself we enough?" I stand still throughout this, not restraining or biting back at any of the things she listed. John looks around the room in fury as Soo Lin is carted away, whereas dad marches up to the officer.
"I don't know what makes you think you can arrest my daughter on the grounds that she 'could have shot the victim'," dad says as he stands less than a meter away from her. "Even more to presume that she was the one to do it when, according to the video footage on the CCTV cameras and an eyewitness account from me, she was in the upstairs gallery at the time of the murder."
"All you have to say will be noted down when we take you in for questioning," the woman repeats. "Besides, who shot the victim if it wasn't her? One of you?"
"Her brother," I say loudly from behind. "Soo Lin Yao was working for an international smuggling agency before she moved to England. He followed her here, needing her help with the absence of something one of their own smugglers took, but when she denied, he threatened to kill her. He's just fullfilled his promise."
"Where was he supposed to go?" The female asks, turning around to look at me. "There's a steady drop of about twelve meters out of the cloesest window, and if you lot were supposedly outside, one would have thought you would have caught him. I must say, it's not the best story I've heard." She turns back to the others in the room. "Alright, we're done here," she calls, and another woman steps forward to take me out. I turn around slightly in time to see the officer which arrested me begin to talk to dad, before the door shuts behind us and I'm led out of the building and into an awaiting police car.