Prompt from Hades Lord of the Dead: From the corner of the room there came a terrible muttering...
Um... this one is not very pretty. Warning for animal cruelty, not graphic.
From the corner of the room there came a terrible muttering. I shone my lantern towards it, and a man reared up out of the darkness, rasping hoarsely, "Don't touch it, don't touch it!"
Startled, I took a step back, nearly colliding with Holmes. He steadied my hand, keeping my lantern directed towards the man. "Here is our culprit, Watson, but I fear we've come too late!"
At his direction, I shone the lantern towards the other side of the room. There was a lump of black fur lying there, undoubtedly the last remains of Mrs Goodard's cat. We had found the man behind the thefts, but had come too late to save the cat - and, it seemed, the man's sanity.