The Mysterious Woman on Baker Street

by Dawn M Duval

Sherlock is intrigued by a woman who has been hanging around Baker Street. Who is she and why is she there?

The Mysterious Woman in Baker Street

By

Dawn M Duval

I struggled up the stairs with the shopping bags and into our flat. Sherlock was standing looking out of the window.

'You're up at least,' I said as I went into the kitchen.

He was up but he was still wearing his dressing gown, not that that was unusual.

'No need to help, I'm fine,' I muttered. 'It wouldn't hurt you to go occasionally. What would you do if I did actually find someone and get married?'

Sherlock was still looking out of the window, oblivious to me.

'You're not listening to me are you?'

'There she is again,' Sherlock said, speaking at last.

'Some woman caught your eye has she?' I joked as I joined him.

'She has my interest.'

'Lucky girl,' I said pretending to misunderstand him.

'Do you see her?'

I looked down onto Baker Street, but I just saw the usual crowd.

'Can't you see her? That woman there.'

'So what is so interesting about her?' I asked.

'She's been there for half an hour, occasionally she'll go out of view but she soon comes back again.' Sherlock said looking at me at last.

'Maybe she's waiting for someone.'

'She's been staring up at this window.'

'Maybe she's seen the strange man in his dressing gown watching her.'

'No, she wants to come and see me but she's scared,' He said looking out again. 'She's gone!' He said heading towards the door and down the stairs.

'Sherlock you're not dressed!' I said racing after him, 'You can't go outside in bare feet.' But as usual he ignored me.

I found him wandering Baker Street looking for the mysterious woman.

'Sherlock come back inside you're getting strange looks.'

'I always get strange looks.'

'She's gone anyway,'

'That's true,' Sherlock said with disappointment and after looking up and down the street again, finally came back inside.

'Show's over folks,' I said to the people staring at Sherlock.

'I don't know what you are so worried about, a man in his dressing gown isn't the strangest sight you'll find in London.'

Sherlock was back at the window again as soon as we went back inside.

'Maybe she's just a fan,' I said giving Sherlock a cup of coffee he probably wasn't going to drink.

'No she wanted our help. But something was stopping her.'

'Well she's gone now. We'll probably never know.'

'We will. A woman like that doesn't hang around Baker Street for no good reason.'

'A woman like what?'

'Well I only saw her from a distance, but I could tell she was a professional woman in her late twenties who's recently divorced. Not to mention she's in great need of a consulting detective.'

'I thought you only saw her from a distance.'

'I did but I was watching her for half an hour.'

Sherlock spent days staring out of the window. I was pretty sure she wasn't going to come back. But he was certain she would. I was out when she finally made her reappearance. Sherlock told me how he'd spotted her, left by the back door and crept up on her.

'Looking for someone?' he asked.

'Mr Holmes!' She said as she turned around to find him.

'I believe you've been wanting to see me. Either that or you enjoy wearing out the pavement on Baker Street.'

The first thing I knew about it was when I got a message from Sherlock to meet him in a café a few streets away from our flat.

Sherlock was handing a drink to the mysterious woman as I came in.

'Ah John take a seat. Miss Milliner here has been rather anxious to see us.'

'Why here?' I said taking a seat.

'She doesn't want to be seen at our flat.'

'But she's already been staking out Baker Street. Anyway is it any safer here?'

'We're perfectly safe here, everyone else is extremely dull. Banker, Dentist, Secretary and about to become unemployed,' he said indicating the various people around the room. The last of which was looking extremely worried.

'Even so,' I said lowering my voice. 'How can we help?' I asked.

'It's my husband,' she said, 'He's gone missing.'

'Is that all,' Sherlock said rolling his eyes and getting up. 'I suggest you contact the police.'

'I have, but they don't seem too concerned.'

'That sounds about right,'

'I think something terrible has happened to him.'

At this news Sherlock sat down again.

We agreed to take Mrs Milliner's case.

'Well you were wrong about one thing,' I said to Sherlock as we walked back to Baker Street.

'Was I?' Sherlock asked surprised.

'You said she was divorced.'

'She is.'

'But she asked us to look for her husband.'

'She has hasn't she? Interesting but she is definitely divorced. Her wedding ring was far too clean which I think is for our benefit more than anything else. Also it was far too large. She's lost weight probably since the divorce. No point in getting the ring resized when the marriage is over. It was only being held in place by the other ring which we were supposed to think was her engagement ring but it wasn't it was a ring she usually wears on her right hand.'

'You can't have seen all that the other day.'

'I didn't, it's just confirmed my suspicions. There is one thing of great interest. Why does a woman who's so clearly divorced want us to find her ex husband?'

We went around to the house of Mrs Milliner's husband (or ex husband). I rang the bell a few times and looked in the window.

'There's definitely no one home,' I said.

'Of course not that's why we're here.'

'Well she could have been lying about his disappearance too.'

'She could.'

'Well it doesn't look like anyone has broken in.'

'Yet.'

'Yet?' I said turning around to find Sherlock had somehow opened the front door.

The alarm was going off. Sherlock casually entered. He soon located the alarm and coolly deactivated it as easily as if it was his own.

'You knew the pin?' I asked carefully closing the door behind us.

'It was mind numbingly obvious. People are so predictable,' he said as he started to look around. 'Well one thing's for certain, if he was abducted it wasn't from here.' He said heading up the stairs.

'Really?'

Sherlock stopped for a moment, 'Well if I was being abducted I wouldn't stop to put the house alarm on.'

'Good point,' I said following him up the stairs.

Sherlock was rummaging through the bedroom, looking in drawers and cupboards.

'Anything?' I asked.

'He left of his own accord. There's a suitcase missing as well as various necessities. He's probably left with the woman.'

'What woman?'

'The one that stays here. She doesn't live here but she stays here quite often.'

'So he's not been abducted then? He's just gone off with some woman. So that's that then.' I said rather disappointed.

'Why?'

'Because he's off on his jollys somewhere.'

'But why did his ex wife want us to find him?' Sherlock said heading off downstairs again.

I followed him.

'He must have a computer around here somewhere,' Sherlock said searching the place. 'Ah ha,' he said pulling out a laptop.

Sherlock took a seat and started it up.

'Oh,' Sherlock said looking slightly surprised.

'What?' I asked sitting next to him.

I looked at the laptop as it started to play a video.

'If you're watching this, you're obviously poking your nose into something that doesn't concern you,' a man I presumed was Mr Milliner said. 'You can tell my ex wife she'll never find it. Give up now Mr Holmes.'

Sherlock was slightly taken aback.

'Surprised I know it's you? Of course she's gone to you, only the best for her. But my advice is to give up now.' The video ended.

'Well,' I said wondering what to make of it.

But Sherlock had a smile on his face, 'Wonderful,' he said with glee. 'I love a challenge.

We went back to Baker Street to consider our next move. Sherlock was enjoying the prospect of a new puzzle.

'I think we need to talk to Mrs Milliner again, so she can tell us what the hell is going on,' I said.

'That's if we can,' Sherlock said distracted.

His phone started to ring.

'Lestrade,' he said looking at it before answering.

'Well we won't be talking to Mrs Milliner any time soon, not without the help of a medium,' Sherlock said as he hung up.

We met Lestrade close to the Thames. There was a body under a sheet.

'We found her in the Thames this morning,' Lestrade said.

Sherlock headed straight to the body and pulled the sheet off.

'It's definitely Mrs Milliner,' I said.

'That's not who this is,' Lestrade said.

'No she's Sarah Clements,' Sherlock said as he examined the body. 'Milliner was obviously a pseudonym.'

'Oh right,' I said, one day he might actually tell me what's going on.

'It looks like suicide,' Lestrade said.

'Then why did you contact me?' Sherlock asked.

'She had your details on her. I've learnt that when you're involved things don't tend to be as simple as they look.'

'John what do you make of it?'

I crouched down to look at the body. She did look like she'd drowned. There was no bruising from fighting back or being held down. 'Looks like drowning. Could have been suicide,' I said, 'Oh,' I said finding something unexpected.

'You've found the puncture mark on the back of her neck?' Sherlock asked.

'Drugged?'

'I would say so. Drugged and then thrown into the river to drown.'

'So it looks like suicide?'

'At first, but the post-mortem would surely find the drugs if not the mark.'

'That's true.'

'One thing's for sure they wanted her found. Using this stretch of water and at that time of day.'

'Why do you think she was killed?'

'Because she didn't have whatever it was they wanted,'

'So is this our fault?' I asked.

'Hardly, she asked us to find her husband. If she'd have told us what it was she was really looking for, then maybe she wouldn't be here now.'

'But he's got whatever it is and we don't know where he is.'

'Yes we do, he's in Argentina.'

'Oh is he?' Nice of you to tell me.

'And he hasn't taken it with him.'

'Really?'

'Whatever it is, is trouble and he's escaping from it. So he wouldn't have taken it with him.'

'So what now?' I asked as we returned home. 'Is that it?'

'Of course not. We need to find whatever is of such interest. He must have known I'd find it.'

'You might be surprised to know but not everybody thinks you're as wonderful as you think you are.'

'It's their choice if they choose to underestimate me. But he knew I was the best, he said so.'

'Ok so what is it we're looking for?'

'Something precious,'

'And where is it?'

'Somewhere unexpected.'

'So do we know what it is we're looking for?' I asked as we approached our destination.

'A diamond,' Sherlock said with relish.

'A diamond, what's so special about it?'

'It's red,' Sherlock said as he stopped walking. 'Here we are.'

I looked up at the building, 'A library?'

'Not the usual place you'd expect to find a diamond and that's exactly why it will be here.'

I tried to look inconspicuous inside the library unlike Sherlock. He was scouring the place. Next thing I knew he was climbing the shelves.

'Sherlock!' I said in hushed tones.

He jumped back down again looking smug and pocketed something.

'Needs dusting,' he said to the rather confused looking librarian as we left.

'You got it?' I asked when we were both out onto the street again.

'Oh yes.'

'How did you know it would be there?'

'Mr Clements was obviously an avid reader. The library was extremely close to his heart and the last place you'd expect to find it.'

'How did you know it was a diamond?'

Sherlock pulled out the box and flipped it open, showing a beautiful red diamond ring.

'It was Sarah Clements engagement ring. I saw her wearing it in an old picture in one of the drawers. He probably got it back when they divorced.'

'And she wanted it back?'

'She probably wasn't too fussed, the marriage had ended badly. That was until someone had offered to buy it,' He said putting it away. 'Red diamonds are very rare and therefore extremely expensive.'

'But they killed her.'

'Because she didn't get it. She was no longer of any use.'

'But his house wasn't the house of a multimillionaire how did he afford it in the first place?'

'Chances are didn't get it by exactly legal means. They probably didn't realise just what they had. After all she'd been wandering around with it on her finger for years.'

'And now someone's after it?'

'Someone's desperate to get it.'

'So what are we going to do? I suppose we should hand it over to the police.'

'We should.'

I thought that was the end of it. It was an interesting case although not very profitable. We didn't get paid, your client turning up dead seems to put the scuppers on that. Not that Sherlock cared. He doesn't bother himself with such trivialities as having enough money to be able to eat. I was talking to him about that (I say 'to' it was more like 'at' since he was paying no attention to me whatsoever) when he got an email.

'I'm going out,' he said getting his coat.

'Where to? I'll come with you.'

'No where of anything interest. I'm sure it'll be terribly boring.'

'If it was boring you wouldn't be going. Come on where are you going?'

'If you must know there's a possible lead in the disappearance of the Brighthouse girl.'

'Well then I'm definitely coming.'

I did wonder why Sherlock hadn't wanted me to come. He usually likes me there if only as someone to show off to.

We approached a particularly seedy looking warehouse.

'Is this a good idea?' I asked as Sherlock pushed open the door.

'Feel free to go back if you want but I'm not leaving.'

I followed Sherlock in, it looked pretty deserted.

'There's no one here, it's a windup. Let's go,' I said.

'Oh there's someone here,' Sherlock said and as he did we heard the door lock.

'I knew you'd come Mr Holmes,' an immaculately dressed woman said as she appeared out of the shadows.

'You have my interest. I don't suppose you really do have any information in the missing girl case.'

'Of course not,' she said with a smirk.

'We'll be going then,' Sherlock said turning to go.

'I don't think so,' she said as two thugs blocked our path.

'You have something of mine,' she said.

'The diamond?' Sherlock asked.

'We've not got it, the police…' I started.

'John,' Sherlock said stopping me as he got the box out of his pocket and opened it showing the ring.

'But you said…'

'Did I?'

'Give it here,' the woman demanded.

'I'm not just going to hand it over,' he said snapping the box closed and pocketing it again.

'Fine, we'll just take it,' she said nodding to her heavies.

They tied us up together before taking the box out of Sherlock's pocket.

'Thank you gentlemen, you have been most helpful,' she said as she received the box which she immediately put away. 'Have fun, if you're very lucky someone will find you, you're chances aren't wonderful though,' she said as they left.

'You knew this was a trap didn't you?' I asked Sherlock as I struggled with the rope.

'Of course I did.'

'But still you walked right into it?'

'I was bored and it was a Thursday.'

'Wonderful and you let me come too.'

'I did try and stop you if you remember.'

'So now what?' I asked.

'It's a shame we haven't got something strong and very sharp.'

'Like a diamond,' I said seeing the irony.

'Like a diamond,' Sherlock echoed as he arrived in front of me, hands free with the diamond in his hand.

'You've still got it?' I asked in shock as Sherlock worked at my rope with the diamond.

'Of course, just a simple bit of misdirection. It's just a good job she didn't check the box.'

'So what are we going to do with it now?' I said massaging my sore but free wrists.

'I think maybe we should stop off at the police station on the way home.'

'I think that's a good plan,' I said as we headed for the door.