The weather in London was particularly bleary today. Due to the rain that had fallen the previous morning, a thick fog had cast itself all over the town. It wasn't impossible to see where you were going or what you were doing, but it did obstruct people's view. While it may have seemed eerie and chilling to most, the weather made London seem more peaceful and serene. There were few people on the road and the streets were clear of the pickpockets and scum that usually walked the streets during this time.

Sherlock Holmes walked down the foggy streets towards the local pub that was located in Ludgate Hill. With his coat wrapped around his body to shield him from the chilly air and his bowler hat atop his head, he silently observed the small amount of people who walked the street while going over the contents of the letter he read earlier that week.

Sherlock Holmes,

I am contacting you today because I am in dire need of your help. For my safety and for your own, I am not going to divulge my name. However, I would like to arrange a meeting with you. If you can, please meet me at the Red Lion Pub in the center of Ludgate Hill this Thursday at 10:00 AM. I will be sitting in the very back. I hope that you will meet me.

After observing the sharp edges of the letters and the slightly messy handwriting, Holmes was able to deduce that the person was definitely male. It was an easy deduction to make. Usually, the typical handwriting of women was very neat and precise, whereas men's handwriting was very sharp, but sloppy. Women also prefer to write in cursive while men particularly wrote in print. Holmes found it amazing at how one could tell so much from the tiniest details. Too bad most people were not intelligent enough or analytical enough to figure those details out.

When he finally arrived at the pub, Holmes was a bit surprised at how respectable the area and the establishment was. It looked as if it was a small restaurant rather than a pub. Upon walking inside, Holmes quickly noticed the strong scent of whiskey and tobacco smoke that was lingering in the air. The place was very dimly lit and very quiet. There were very few people inside seeing as how it was still pretty early in the morning. A couple of people sat at the bar while other people were scattered around at different tables.

His eyes quickly found the back of the bar, and found the very last table empty.

'Interesting. For someone who seemed to have wanted to see me so desperately, I would have expected them to be on time,' he thought as he walked to the back. 'Or maybe this is just another precaution to make sure no one else has accompanied me and he is in fact already inside. Yes, that would seem more logical.'

Holmes sat in the empty seat and took off his hat, placing it on the table. He sat comfortably in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. If he was correct, this person would be approaching him in five, 4, 3, 2, 1...

"Sherlock Holmes?"

'Right on time.' Sherlock turned around and faced the direction of the voice. His first thought was that he was correct about his assumption of the gender. He was definitely male. As he stood up to greet the man, he noticed that he was a bit taller than himself, probably the same height as Watson was. His eyes were the same color as Watson's were, but a shade lighter, making them look much brighter. His hair, however, was much like Sherlock's, despite the fact that it was a bit longer. it was very dark brown, to the point where it almost looked black.

"Yes," Holmes replied.

"My name is James Sinclair. It's a pleasure to meet you," he greeted as he outstretched his hand. Holmes willingly shook it before speaking again.

"You're American?" he asked, which sounded as more of a sure statement than an actual question.

"Yes. I was born in America, but I've lived here for almost my entire life."

"You've lived here for your entire life, yet you speak without an English accent," Holmes commented.

"I guess just being around my parents and their colleagues so much, the English accent never stuck," he explained.

"I see. Well, we didn't come here to discuss your personal life, so let's get down to business, shall we?" Homes suggested as he took his seat. James nodded and took the seat opposite from him. "Before we begin this, may I ask why you felt you needed to contact me? I mean I'm sure that the British police could have been able to locate a missing person."

"I'm not really sure who I can trust. You're notable for solving the most extremely difficult cases in London."

"Yes, that may be so, but it doesn't mean that you can't trust-"

"It does. I came to you because you were the last person I knew I could ask. I have been putting this missing person's report in the papers since this person has been missing, and someone has been paying off the newspaper editors and publishers to leave it out of the paper."

"So it's a missing person's case is it? Which publication, exactly?"

"It's a lot of different publications around London. The London Daily, the Hillingdon Times, the East London Advertiser. Those are just a few of the many."

Both men stopped talking as a female server approached their table. 'Hello gentlemen. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine," James replied.

"Same here."

"Alright. Well, if you need anything, just let me know," she smiled at both men before walking away.

"And someone has bribed them to keep the name of the missing person from being published?" Holmes continued, unfazed.

"Yes."

"How long have they been missing?"

"A little over a month."

"And who is this person? Do you have a picture or any sort of information on them?"

"Yes. I have a couple of pictures and other things. Her name is Rosemary McClaire."

Upon hearing the name, Holmes's interest was immediately piqued. 'Well, this is an interesting turn of events. So, someone has been keeping her name out of the papers.' "May I ask what is your relation to the victim? Are you her husband, or…"

"No," he smiled a bit. "I'm just a very close friend of hers. Our families have known each other since I moved here."

"Has her other family members made efforts to alert London of her disappearance, or is this just your doing?"

"It was her father and I who decided to do it, but as you know, that was a lost cause."

"Yes, it would appear so. And her mother didn't suggest it as well?"

"No. Well, it's her stepmother, actually. She and her stepson said that letting the public know of her disappearance would cause a public uproar," he said as he handed Holmes the pictures he had.

He looked at the pictures that James had given him. The first one showed Rose holding a small baby girl in her hands as she sat on her bed. He could safely assume that this was her baby sister seeing as how he could not recall seeing a ring or the leftover mark of a ring on her finger. The second showed a much older girl, probably at the age of three, smiling as she and Rose were in the kitchen preparing something together. The last picture was of James and Rose. It looked as if they were at a carnival or circus of some sort. Her hair was blowing in the wind a bit and her eyes looked bright as she smiled into the camera. Yes, this was definitely Rosemary.

"You said that her disappearance would cause a public uproar. Why do you think that?" Holmes asked, looking up from the pictures that were in his hand.

"Her ancestors are one of the founders of Greenwich. The mansion she lives in is known as the Greenwich Estate. Generations of her family members have lived in that house. But I just think that's an excuse made to not bring her back."

"Why do you say that?"

"Rose and her stepmother have never gotten along. And her step mom isn't in her Father's will. If anything happens to her father, Rose will get everything, and her stepmother and stepbrother will leave with nothing.

"I see. Well, it just goes to show you that money is the root of all evil," Holmes joked. 'No, it can't just be an issue over her father's will, could it? No, that seems way too simple. There must be something deeper.'

"I suppose," James agreed. "Here. I was able to retrieve her journal. Maybe you can find something useful in it," he said as he reached in his bad and handed Holmes the lavender leather bound book. He looked it over a bit, noticing that the side was a little worn.

"You didn't read it?"

"I didn't want to. I didn't even want to give it to you, but I figured that you could use all the help you can get."

Holmes grunted in response, quickly skimming through the pages before he slid the pictures inside and set it down on the table. "I'm assuming that Miss McClaire's father is the only one who knows that you've done this?"

"No, he doesn't know yet."

"Well, I suggest that you don't tell him."

"James raised his eyes at this. "I assure you, he can be trusted."

"I have no doubt in that. However, I would like to keep this whole thing quiet for now. You can't risk letting this information slip. Also, I'm not yet sure if the step mother and step brother can be trusted. They are not her immediate family, so foul play cannot be eliminated just yet," Holmes explained.

"Yes, I suppose. I wouldn't think them to be the kind of people to do something like this."

"Yes, well… as you said earlier, it has been over a month since her disappearance. At this stage and time, no one can be trusted."

"Look, I don't want this to get blown out of proportion or anything like that. I just want to find her."

"Of course. I understand. Is there anything else I need to know?" Sherlock asked as he got up to leave.

"No, that's all."

"Alright then. I have your address, and I'll be sure to contact you if anything develops."

"Thank you, Mister Holmes," James nodded as he shook his hand once more. Holmes gave a curt nod before he exited the pub.

'This is quite the turn of events. But the question is, can he be trusted? He could be Rosemary's previous assailant, and he is trying to finish the job. That's unlikely, however. There seemed to be genuine concern there. Regardless, this has indeed given me a vast amount of valuable information to work with. Yes, this is most engaging, indeed.'

Hey guys,

I wanted to post this a lot earlier, but I have had a virus on my laptop since last Monday night. I have no idea how it got on, and I can't fix it until I get something to fix it. I'm posting this from my sister's annoyingly huge laptop, which I hate because it has a different version of Microsoft Word, and it messed up the format and everything. This chapter was supposed to be a page or so longer, as a matter of fact, but it's just really complicated for me. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try to get it up as soon as possible.

Anywho, thanks to those of you who reviewed and everything else. There was a lot of new information in this chapter, and no Rose! I'm thinking of doing the next chapter like this, but I'm not sure yet. It's still making me a bit sad with the little reviews I've been getting. Come on people, don't be shy! Send them in, I won't bite! I love hearing your opinions, I really do, so keep the reviews comin'!

Sincerely,

PoisonLipz

P.S.: I have a lot of links on my profile page of the things that have been mentioned in the story so far. The newest addition to my collection of links will be a picture of James, and I'm pretty sure you'll all be happy when you find out who it is, seeing as how he will be an important addition to the story!