...
'So the killer goes to the bank leaves a threatening cipher, Van Coon panics, returns to his apartment, locks himself in, hours later, he dies.' Sherlock stated out loud
'The killer finds Lukis at the library, he writes the cipher on the shelf, where he knows it'll be seen, Lukis goes home, later that night, he dies too' I continued
'Why did they die, Sherlock?' John asked
'Only the cipher can tell us' Sherlock stated as he bolted out the door with John and I closely behind him
'The world's run on codes and ciphers, John' Sherlock explained
'From the million pound security system at the bank to the PIN machine you took exception too. Cryptography inhabits our every waking moment' Sherlock explained
'Yes, ok, but' John said before getting cut off
'But it's all computer generated – electronic codes, electronic ciphering methods, this is different. It's an ancient device, modern-code breaking methods won't unravel it' Sherlock stated
'Where we heading?' John asked
'He needs to ask some advice' I stated since Sherlock Holmes would never admit he needs help
'What! Sorry?' John asked shocked and amused
'You heard her perfectly, she will not say it again' Sherlock replied as I opened my mouth to say it again he put one gloved hand over my mouth and I grinned at him.
'You need advice?' John asked still shocked
'On painting, yes I need to talk to an expert' Sherlock stated as we walked around the side of the museum which confused John. We walked up to male teenager
'Part of a new expedition' the young male spoke
'Interesting . . .' Sherlock stated pulling out some photos from his pocket
'I call it Urban Blood Frenzy' the teenager said laughing
'Catchy' John said sarcastically
'I've got two minutes before a Community Support Officer comes around that corner. Can we do this while I'm working?' He asked his eyes still not leaving the wall.
'Take a look at these' Sherlock said as he held out a phone to the teenager. He turned around and threw the spray can at John who caught it. His eyes then landed on me.
'Why Hello there' He said smiling and I rolled my eyes at him
'Know the Author' Sherlock said firmly
'I recognise the paint, it's like Michigan, hard-core propellant, I'd say Zinc' He said to Sherlock, his eyes still looking over at me every often
'And what about the symbols? Do you recognise them?' Sherlock asked
'I'm not even sure it's a proper language' the teenager spoke jokingly
'Two men have been murdered, Raz, deciphering this is the key to finding out who killed them' Sherlock said firmly
'And this is all you've got to go on?' Raz asked amused
'It's hardly much, is it?' Raz asked
'Are you going to help us or not?' Sherlock asked and Raz looked over at me again and smiled
'I'll ask around' Raz said
'Somebody must know something about it' Sherlock said his voice slightly raised
'Oi' a security guard called out as he walked around the corner. Sherlock grabbed my hand and bolted off with Raz following, John however wasn't so fast.
Sherlock and I bolted through the streets of London and stopped a few blocks down, panting heavily.
'Should we go back for John?' I asked in between pants
'No, he can look after himself' Sherlock said before taking my hand once more and hailing down a taxi.
We soon arrived back at Baker Street and I sat in the lounge room watching patiently while Sherlock looks over at his notes on the wall.
I started to doze off on the couch and was woken a few hours later by the door slamming open. I sat up straight and noticed I now had a blanket over me. I smiled softly as I made eye contact with Sherlock who was silently pleased I was happy about the blanket.
'You've been a while' Sherlock stated as he turned back to the wall of notes
'Yeah, well, you know how it is. Custody Sergeants don't really like to be hurried, do they?' John asked clearly pissed off
'Just formalities, fingerprints, charge sheet, and I've got to be in magistrate's court on Tuesday' John explained
'What?' Sherlock asked distractedly
'Me! Sherlock, In Court, on Tuesday, they are giving me an ASBO' John shouted
'Good, fine' Sherlock said still distractedly
'You want to tell your little pal he's welcome to go and own up any time' John said angrily
'This symbol, I still can't place it' Sherlock said angrily. John just started to take of his jacket when Sherlock shoved it back on him
'No, I want you to go to the police station and ask about the journalist. The personal effects will have been impounded, get hold of his diary or something that will tell us his movements' Sherlock said as he pushed John out the door while grabbing his coat
'Are you coming Tage?' Sherlock asked and I nodded while following him out the door.
'Go and see Van Coon's PA, if you retrace their steps somewhere they'll coincide' Sherlock said and he put his gloves on and grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me with him.