Chapter 5: Another Thread
I should've been suspicious of her intentions. After all, she hadn't been the most loyal wife; first dealing with Raffles and now me. However, as a woman who just longed to be loved, and really loved, I understood. But why she was attracted to me - I had no idea in the slightest. I even asked her once why she had loved me. Her response?
"You're real," she said. "Probably the most real man I have ever met. There's nothing phony about you, Sherlock Holmes."
We were busy enjoying tea that day, sifting through the many possible entanglements of Raffles; if only there was a way to catch him in the act of something. I had made a bulletin board with his photograph along with threads and pins, maps, and other information. So far all the threads were either loose or not coming together in the way that they should. Much like the Lord of Crime case that was buzzing around in my head; I wanted to catch this man. Mainly because of Lillie of course. She had also released the contents of her briefcase to me so that we could also add those to the evidence we had been collecting. It was only a matter of time before I was going to catch him…or so I thought. There was a loud knock at the door of my flat - the sound of law enforcement. Before I could get to the door it was busted open by two police officers and behind them was Reginald Diamond. My blood pressure began to rise.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" I yelled.
"This investigation ends now…hand over what my wife gave you."
I looked at Lillie and things suddenly clicked in my head. Arthur had her tailed here and more than likely saw the briefcase she carried with her.
"This is ridiculous! You can't barge in here without proper cause."
"Yes I can Holmes. If you take a look at that briefcase you will notice my initials on it."
I knew the briefcase Lillie had been using had belonged to him. But what was he trying to do? Say that I had stolen from him? The officers walked over to Lillie and the briefcase that lay open. They picked up the case but also all of my documents that were pinned to the wall.
"Don't you touch that!"
One of the officers looked in my direction with his stick drawn. I was readying myself in case I had to go into combat with him but Lillie shook her head at me. I would soon encounter this officer later when he got promoted. I'm sure you know who Gregson is. After I calmed myself the officers retrieved the case and handed it to Reginald.
"Come Lillie; you are through with this affair with this man," he said, waving a hand to her.
My temper began to rise. How dare this man interfere with my investigation!? There was no way in hell this was legal but given the fact that Reginald was a particularly wealthy man it made sense that he had friends in high places. I always thought no one was above the law but this man and Raffles were proving me wrong. Money and power in the world can pretty much allow you to do anything you please. Reginald and the officers began exciting my flat. Lillie looked in my direction with a look of sadness. I raised my hand toward her to say something but I couldn't get any words to come out. I should've known at the moment that something was suspicious about this event with Reginald but she…she was in my head. Lillie. How I only wished to help her. Looking back, she was the one element that clouded this whole investigation. I watched and she and her oaf of a husband headed out the door. I went over to my window and pulled back the curtains. They swiftly got into the carriage and began to drive away. Scotland Yard behind them. I wasn't going to let her go without a fight though. The carriage was already leaving my sight, but I didn't care. I raced down the street as fast as I could trying not to trip - I needed those documents! What if her husband found out about her past? Everything was now on the line and Reginald had taken everything away.
"Wait!" I called out to them, running out of breath until I knew it was of no use anymore. Sadly, I shook my head and turned around to head back to my flat. Unfortunately, I felt someone grab me from behind. Not one, but two people. I struggled and fought but then felt a sharp needle get injected into my neck. Suddenly, my arms began to feel limp. My heart quickened with fear. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening here - I was being kidnapped.