Chapter 8

April 1999

Irene stretches out on the couch in the sitting room. She snuggles into cushions yawning widely. Just as soon as she is on the verge of sleep the door bangs open and Sophia comes storming in. Irene groans and sits up to look over the top of the sofa. Her eyes widen as she takes in the state of Sophia's. She leaps up and dashes into the kitchen to fetch their first aid kit and to fetch the maid. She comes back carrying the first aid kit and the maid enters following her carrying a pile of clean clothes for Sophia. The maid places the clothes on the sofa and guides Sophia to sit down. Sophia hisses as she comes into contact with the fabric. Irene hovers holding the first aid kit. The maid takes it from her and deals with the lacerations on Sophia's face. 'What happened?'

'Who, you mean.' Irene's eyebrows rise. 'That new client, the one who insisted I go to his place,' Irene nods. It allowed the two of them to service different clients at the same time (and yes Irene is above the age of consent). 'I knew I shouldn't have made an exception for him.'

'He was very persuasive.' Irene counters.

'But my gut told me to ditch him but the money…' Sophia groans. 'It would have set me up for retirement.' Irene sighs heavily. 'What?'

'You've got years to go yet!'

'Rene dear, I'm 49. At the most I've got another five. And by that time you will have taken over the majority of our clients.'

'Who was he?' Sophia looks at Irene with a confused expression. 'The client?'

'The son of…' Sophia trails off

'Of who?' Irene asks tentatively.

'Victor Clay.' Irene and the maid gasp. 'Yes, the boy will claim it was self-defence and Victor hasn't got the best morals in the world.' Irene turns and runs upstairs. 'I hope she's going to pack.'

'Bex!' Irene's voice floats down the stair and into the sitting room. The maid, Bex, looks at Sophia.

'Go.' Bex rises from the floor and walks gracefully to answer Irene's call.

In her room Irene has piled plenty of clothes on her bed. Bex walks into the room and raises her eyebrows. Irene stops and looks at her. 'Don't look at me like that. Help me.' Bex starts folding the clothes form the bed as Irene drags a couple of suitcases from the back of her wardrobe. She look back wistfully at all the clothes she's leaving behind. 'I'll miss all of these.' She firmly closes the door. Bex packs all of the clothes inside the suitcases without complaint. Irene dashes out of her bedroom and into Sophia's. She does the same with Sophia's clothes piling them high on the bed. Sophia walks into her room and frowns at Irene's choice of clothing for her.

'Seriously?'

'Yes. If we have to hide then we have to be normal. At least for a time.'

'It'll be weird.' She looks at Irene. 'How long?'

'At first no clients for two or three months. Then we gradually work our way back to where we were.'

'No.' Irene pauses. 'You work your way back up. I'm retiring.'

'But-'

'My decision in final Rene.' Bex walks into the room and packs all the clothes from the bed into Sophia's suitcases. 'For you Rene this will be a mere holiday. Or a working one if you wish. There's enough money for me to live comfortable somewhere warm, for Bex here to run the house while you're away and for you to set yourself up in business in six to twelve months time.' Irene and Sophia glare at each other before Irene backs down and nods acceptance. 'Good, let's go get some sun.'

Sherlock runs into the woods near the back of his childhood home. He ducks under and behind some bushes and stays still in a crouched position shaking slightly. He closes his eyes and images of the four Pycroft lads fly in front of his irises. His eyes spring open. His mind goes back to the encounter that led Sherlock to be hiding in bushes. He had been walking in the woods gathering samples of leaves and soil beneath the tree canopies. He had been given the idea by talking to Mr Drake and Mrs Nelson. He had walked into a clearing and stumbled upon the four of them shooting drugs. The younger two boys were snorting lines of coke and of the other two, one had a tourniquet wrapped around his upper arm and was inserting a syringe into his vein and the other was untying his tourniquet. He had stared at them for a few moments before one of the younger boys had noticed that Sherlock was watching them. 'Get the freak.' The cry came. Sherlock turned and fled. All four of the boys chased him through the woods, and their drug induced haze they gained on him. In the bush, Sherlock hears the sounds of four pairs of footsteps thundering towards his position. He involuntary flinches as they pass. He breathes an internal sigh of relief. He clenches his fist not realising that he was still clutching the samples he had collected. He waits for a few moments more before creeping out of his hiding place and hastily walking back the way he had fled. Thank you Mr Drake, Mycroft, for making sure I know every inch of these woods, thank you, thank you, thank you he thinks making his way back to the main path running through the trees. Upon reaching the path a cry goes up. 'Found the freak!' Sherlock takes off again running down the path. Risking a glance back he sees that all four of the boys are a distance away and with a little bit of luck he can make it to Mr Drake's fence. He speeds up still clutching his samples. He bursts out of the woodland and sprints for the fence at the bottom of Mr Drake's garden. He places his hands on the top and springs over sliding down the other side to a rest where the fence stands upon the ground. He breathes heavily to regain control of his breathing. Moments later he hears the Pycroft boys leave the tree line and look around for him. They pass his hiding place and for the second time in an hour he breathes a sigh of relief.

In the sitting room of Mr Drake's house a young inspector watches as Sherlock leaps the fence at the bottom of the garden and slump at the bottom of it. He glances over at the door of the sitting room before returning his gaze to Sherlock. 'Mr Drake, sir?'

'Yes?' comes the reply.

'A boy has jumped the fence into your garden.'

'What's he doing?'

'Just sitting there.'

'Just sitting there is he?' Mr Drake shuffles into the room and looks out of the floor length windows. He laughs. 'That's just Sherlock. He and his brother use this place as a hideaway when they're hiding from bullies.' He heads back to his kitchen. 'Give it ten minutes and if he's still there call him in.' the young inspector watches Sherlock. After a few moments it seems like Sherlock knows that he is being observed he looks along the garden to the windows and the inspector feels like he makes eye contact with him. He watches Sherlock move carefully and stealthily along the width of the fence to the corner of the garden and he crawls his way down the length of the garden, keeping as low as possible. The inspector walks up to the windows and covertly watches Sherlock work his way down the garden. Sherlock taps on the glass and the inspector opens the windows to lets him in.

'Thank you.' Sherlock slides the window shut just as four boys jump up on the fence to look over. They hang there for a couple of moments before disappearing. The inspector looks down at Sherlock as he visibly relaxes. 'Just in time.' he mutters.

'Who were they?' Sherlock looks at the inspector.

'It doesn't matter.' He replies. 'Where's Mr Drake?' the inspector gestures to the door.

'Kitchen.' Sherlock walks through to the kitchen. The inspector follows.

'Mr Drake?' the old man turns.

'Sherlock, what happened?' Sherlock waves him off. 'I've got some samples for the experiment.'

'Species?'

'Oak.'

'Label them and put them in the refrigerator while you clean yourself up.' Sherlock gives him a genuine smile.

'Thank you Mr Drake.'

'You're fond of him.' The inspector remarks causing Mr Drake to smile. 'Who would have thought it? The formidable Chief Superintendent Drake, the man who gives no quarter, fond of a young lad.'

'I'm allowed to thaw out in my retirement, Inspector.' Sherlock re-enters the kitchen, clean and wearing fresh clothes. 'He stays here when his Mother has to travel for her job.' Mr Drake answers the inspector's unasked question. 'Sherlock, this is Inspector Gregory Lestrade of Scotland Yard. One of the most promising inspectors im my opinion.'

'Thank you sir.'

'Nice to meet you Inspector Lestrade, and thank you for letting me in.'

'The Pycrofts again?' The immediate tensing of Sherlock's muscles gives the retired and serving policemen the answer needed. Mr Drake sighs in annoyance. 'How's Mycroft surviving at University?'

'He would graduate today if he was given the chance to.' Sherlock glances up at the clock. 'Thanks for the help again Mr Drake, I've got to get back, Mummy wants me to go somewhere with her.'

'Give her my best Sherlock.'

'I will Mr Drake, good to meet you Inspector Lestrade.' Sherlock leaves the kitchen with Mr Drake watching him. He pokes his head through the door. 'I almost forgot, Mummy invites you to her birthday party next week. You two inspector if you're still here.'

'Tell her we'll be there, thank you Sherlock.'

The next day Sherlock creeps into the woods and makes his way silently and stealthily to the clearing the Pycrofts had occupied the previous day. He climbs a tree near the edge of the clearing and listens to the ambient noises of the woodland. Once he is certain that no one is coming he creeps into the clearing and carefully looks around. He spots a couple of used needles and a small bag containing white powder abandoned in the grass. Sherlock slips some latex gloves out of his pocket and slips them on his hands. He takes a see-through bag out of another pocket. He turns it inside out and uses it to pick up the needles and bag. He secures them in the bag by tying the top in a knot and scoots out of the clearing just at the two elder Pycroft boys enter the glade sniping at each other. 'It's got to be here somewhere.'

'I can't believe you lost it.'

'Shut it. Just look for it.' Sherlock slinks through the trees before reaching the main causeway through the forest and running the length of it towards the village. He heads home going by Mr Drake's house and he gives the drugs to the retired Chief Superintendent.