John jumped into Lestrade's car, closing the door forcefully behind him. Lestrade followed suit. Once in the car he turned to John and opened his mouth to speak. John gestured for him to wait.
"Greg, where was Sally Donovan last seen?"
"What?" Lestrade asked, caught off guard by the question.
"Sally, where was she last seen by anyone?"
"Um, she had dinner with her mother on the night she was taken."
"Where does her mother live?"
"Somewhere quiet, about an hour outside of London, I think."
"So nowhere near Church Street?" John inquired, just to be certain.
"Now hang on—when she first disappeared we put out a missing person's report. A cabbie came forward who recalled dropping off a woman fitting Sally's description on Church Street, but we thought the lead was a dead-end." Lestrade frowned, "How did you know that?"
"Look at these," John said, as he pulled out his mobile and opened the two text messages from -SH. "After the first text I waited at Church Street for 20 minutes but saw no one. I received the second text this afternoon, but just read it now."
"What?" Lestrade cried after reading the texts. "John, why didn't you tell me immediately? You could have gotten yourself in serious trouble."
"Honestly, I guess I was wanted to believe that Sherlock was out there, solving cases...maybe even needing my help once in a while. After the first text I tried to tell you, but Sally had just disappeared. I forgot."
"This is exactly what I was worried about when I let you dig into Sherlock's files. You can't forget about your own safety."
"I know, I know. But what if it's Sherlock and he's trying to stop the kidnapper...or lead us to him?" John offered.
"Or, what if it was the kidnapper?" Lestrade countered. "All we know for certain is that someone is directing you to crime scenes before the crimes occur. You have to admit, it's a bit...weird."
"Not for Sherlock," John replied quickly.
"Either way, we need more information." After a few moments of silence Lestrade added, "I think I know how to get it."
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