Chapter 8: You Can't Hide
The next morning Scarlett woke at 9 and had breakfast with Mrs Hudson chatting on and on about someone called June who was married to Ted and had a son called Shaun and Shaun had bunked school and blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Eventually at 10 she managed to excuse herself from Mrs Hudson's dining room and went to get ready, she hadn't really listened to a word she had said simply nodded at the right points. Her mind was swimming with everything else. Questions she had no answers to, flooded her brain as she got ready for the day. Who is the killer, how does he know me, what makes me so special. Suddenly with the presence of that question came another set of all together different ones. Why did Sherlock let his guard down?
After getting ready she put Bruce on his lead and led him to the front door, before her hand had even touched the handle a voice broke the quiet.
"Where are you going?"
"To take Bruce for a walk" Scarlett said turning around to see Sherlock fully dressed standing at the top of the stairs.
"Not alone, John will go with you" he said slowly, his face was cold and his eyes empty again.
"John!" he called loudly looking back towards the door,
"What now Sherlock" John asked annoyance in his voice as he appeared on the landing,
"You will accompany Scarlett while she exercises her pet" said Sherlock clearly.
"What?" asked John confused he looked like he had only just woken up? But Sherlock did not answer him but simply strode past him and back into the flat. John shook his head slowly before looking down at Scarlett.
"I'll be with you in a minute, I'll just get my coat" he said slowly before disappearing back into the flat.
Bruce wined as Scarlett waited for John, the dog was anxious to leave.
"Hey" said John finally as he made his way down the stairs his coat on and his hair less messy.
"Ready" Scarlett asked, he simply nodded and they made there way out together. At first there was silence, and then Scarlett spoke.
"Sherlock is a weird man" she said slowly after 15 minutes of silence. John simply laughed at first.
"What's makes you say that, I mean other than the fact, the man is raving lunatic" he said slightly sarcastically, Scarlett decided against telling John, if he didn't see Sherlock open up then maybe Sherlock didn't want him to know and Scarlett honoured that.
"No reason really" she laughed along.
When John and Scarlett arrived back to the flat, Sherlock was sitting in his chair staring at the pictures again. Bruce had returned to Scarlett's room.
She sat down looking up at the mutilated pictures of girls she had vaguely known.
"Any news" Scarlett said in a vague attempt to enter conversation, Sherlock merely shrugged.
For two days after this nothing happened, nothing even changed. Other than the fact that Sherlock would run out the house like an excited child Scarlett would have thought that he had given up.
She had gone back to her usual life, well as much as possible, she was escorted everywhere by either John or one of her trusted friends, Sherlock had questioned them all before she was allowed out with them and every day when she returned to 221b Baker Street, Sherlock would question her on every tiny detail of her day.
The man was starting to become more than a little irritating.
"Just some friends" Scarlett shouted for the fifth time that night "god you sound like my mother" Scarlett moaned as she dumped her bag on the sofa.
"What friends" said Sherlock again his voice strong.
"What does it matter you wouldn't know them anyway, and I was with the trusted friend. Rachel was there!" Scarlett said angrily.
"Well encase you forgot there is a man out there trying to kill you" said Sherlock.
"You are kidding me aren't you, of course I haven't forgotten it's the only thing I think about these days and if it wasn't for the fact that I go out, I think I would have gone mad by now" Scarlett said grabbing her things and heading towards her room.
After a few minutes there was a quiet tap on the door and voice called in. "Are you ok?" came John's silent tones.
"I'm fine, you can come in" Scarlett answered from her spot on her bed.
He pushed the door open slowly and Bruce looked up before deciding he was allowed in and laying his head back down.
"I know he can be annoying sometimes but he is trying to help" said John as he sat on the end of her bed.
"I know, it just gets to you after a while, I mean there is a guy out there planning on killing me and you know the worst thing ... the waiting" Scarlett shook your head "It's been 5 days since we got those bloody letters, and not a word"
"I'm waiting for a man to kill me, just waiting. Trying to carry on but that information looms over me everywhere I go, sometimes I wish Sherlock hadn't found out, sometimes I wish I never knew, coz then I wouldn't fear every movement, then I could at least live properly until I died rather than this hollow shell. I don't even feel like me anymore"
"I know it's hard Scarlett but trust me we are doing everything we can, I promise nothing will happen to you" said John as he touched her shoulder softly, Scarlett smiled weakly but were interrupted when the door bell rang. Bruce immediately started barking and Scarlett shush him quickly. John and Scarlett made their way to the door, Sherlock stood at the top of the stairs as John pulled the door open. Inspector Lestarde stood outside his face showing a look of sadness or rather worry.
There was silence as they all sat round in Sherlock and Johns flat and Lestarde sat down, he pulled a brown envelope from his pocket and handed it to Sherlock who stood in the middle of the room looking at the older man expectantly. "It's another letter from J-T-R" he sighed his eyes darting to Scarlett.
"Read it out loud" Scarlett requested her voice far stronger than she felt. Sherlock ripped open the envelope and unfolded the paper from within. "Why are you hiding my love?" Sherlock began his voice slow "She is mine and I will find her. I expected better from you, I expected you to understand what I could do to you all. Do not think that that floppy headed detective can protect her, he cannot. Tut tut tut" Sherlock then held up the page a three photographs were once again stuck to the page, this time they were not of a gruesome scene but none the less it made Scarlett's stomach turn the were of her out and about. All the photos were in black and white as though taken from CCTV footage, The first was of Scarlett and John at lunch the other day taken from a distance but well enough that you could see each person's face. The second was of Scarlett, John and Sherlock walking across the road from Scarlett's flat both Scarlett and John were holding boxes as well as tied around Scarlett wrist was a lead for the large dog walking beside her. But the last photo was the worst of all it was a photo of Scarlett answering the door the number 221B was clearly visible on the door.
"This is just shoddy" was written underneath, and silence filled the room, he had found her.