Chapter 14: A Costume Piece

Again, I am pulling some inspiration from the A.J. Raffles short story "A Costume Piece"

The mansion of Rosenthall was very extravagant. Even the entryway of it was a sight to behold. White marble adorned the two huge doorways and specks of gold lined the tiled floor. So clean and beautiful that you could see your reflection in it. Next to the Moriarty mansion, this was a masterpiece of a house. Of course Rosenthall with his wealth loved to brag so it was natural to see elegant statues, balconies, large staircases - anything to show off. We arrived shortly after the banquet had begun. Women wore the most delightful dresses, while the men wore their best suits. Though I had tried to dress up as best as I could I still felt out of place. However, as I looked over at Sherlock, I realized that he probably felt more out of place than anyone. He and I were in the back of the ballroom; he with his arms folded and mine behind my back.

As long as I had known him, he was never one for parties or frivolity. I spotted a lovely couple to the left of us having a grand time - it made me wish I had asked Mary to come. But I knew that despite all the glitz, glamor and lights - we could be heading into danger. A man like Raffles was someone I was anxious to meet out of curiosity but he was also very vile. Rosenthall entered into the picture and next to him stood a very tall burly man.

"This is my personal bodyguard Purvis," he said. "He can be of assistance."

Purvis just nodded. But for some reason the look in his eyes gave me a bit of a chill. No wonder being a bodyguard was his line of work. Sherlock though was unfazed.

"Where do you keep it?" He asked.

We followed Rosenthall into another room. Inside it on a large stone table was one of the biggest diamonds I had ever seen. It glinted spectacularly in the light of the room.

"I haven't seen Arthur yet," Rosenthall said. "You two are welcome to have some drinks in the parlor-"

"We are going to stay in this room tonight," Sherlock interrupted.

"Suit yourself," Rosenthall said. "Purvis will be outside this door if you need him."

And with that he shut the door. I didn't want to tell Holmes I was a bit famished as knowing him he would just utter a snide remark. We weren't here to enjoy ourselves. We were here to catch a thief. After the banquet was over and we heard the last guest leave. Holmes explained that he wanted to catch Raffles in the act of stealing and the only way to do that was to watch this room like hawks. We needed proof of the attempted theft. There was a window in the room which Sherlock said would most likely be Raffles entrance. We were awkwardly sitting on our knees in the dark. My bad one started to hurt a bit so I fidgeted and sat indian-style on the floor.

"Steady John," Sherlock said, still eyeing the window.

"Sherlock, the guests have gone. The banquet is over. He didn't show. Maybe we should just-"

"Shhh…"

"What is it?"

Sherlock put a finger to his lips and pointed to his ears. This was a signal for me to listen. We heard no music. No guests. Not even Purvis nor Reuben. Something was definitely amiss to not hear anything. It was very still and quiet. Sherlock stood up and walked over to the door and opened it. I stayed put not wanting to get in his way. However, what happened next caused me to leave my post and rightfully so.

"John!" Sherlock yelled.

I quickly got to my feet as best as I could and left the room. Purvis was on the ground a drinking glass not far from him. Rosenthall was also unconscious; an empty drinking glass in his lap. Being a doctor, I noticed their pulses were fine and breathing was normal. Sherlock took one of the drinking glasses and sniffed it.

"Their drinks were laced with something. Not powerful enough to kill, but to put them to sleep for a bit."

We then heard a sound coming from the room we had just left. Hurriedly we ran back to the room and both drew our weapons. The sound we were hearing was coming from the window rattling. All the hair on the back of my neck was on end at this point. There was no doubt in my mind that we were about to meet the man himself: Arthur James Raffles. With nervous energy, I heard Sherlock already cock his revolver. My old service revolver was shaking in my hands. I was terrified. Not of Raffles, but that the man standing next to me would shoot him without question. A few seconds passed and we finally saw the window open. A rope ladder then hung in the window. Two men climbed up the rope and into the room. Immediately, Sherlock turned the gas up in the room.

"Evening gentleman…" he said cockily.

I looked at the two. There was one rather tall and handsome man with a small costume mask covering his eyes - this must be Raffles. The other fellow was a bit shorter but also wore the exact same mask. This smallish fellow must have been Bunny. They also drew their revolvers as well.

"Rosenthall knew you were spying on him. Though I must applaud you on your choice of disguises. No one would suspect ruffians in this mansion." Sherlock said with a laugh. "It's over…the game has been won."

Raffles lowered his weapon and took off his mask. Piercing eyes fell upon the great detective. Sherlock stumbled backward for a moment. This had most likely been the first time the two had seen one another since their encounter.

"Still playing detective pretty boy?" Raffles said inching closer. "You can't be serious in protecting this man? You know he is an illegal diamond trader! Not to mention prostitution!"

Sherlock huffed. "You're one to talk A.J. Besides, I only took this case so that you and I could meet again." I was surprised at how calm Sherlock was speaking.

"I see…come back to me for more eh?" He said with an evil smirk.

I shuddered and nearly gagged.

"We've got you this time," he said. Raffles then looked in my direction.

"Good to see you have a new friend, Sherlock. And while that does make this situation a bit more difficult, I still have the upper hand."

Suddenly, I felt a violent shove to my back. Bullets went flying and I turned around and noticed that Purvis was the assailant who shoved me. "Go now!" He yelled at Raffles. I stood up as best as I could and took three shots at the two intruders. In the commotion, shots were going off all around us. However, Purvis gave them the opportunity they needed. They escaped through the window; Raffles left the diamond behind. But that no longer mattered. I stood my ground and saw Sherlock run over to the windowsill. We had counted on them being here tonight. But what we didn't count on was Rosenthall's bodyguard turning on us. Sherlock huffed and puffed in anger. He then turned around with fire in his eyes. Before I could stop him he lunged at Purvis, knocking the giant to the ground. He then jumped on top of him and began punching him in the face. Blood spurted with each blow.

"You bloody bastard! You let him get away!" He hollered.

I ran over to the pair and tried to put my hands around Sherlock to get him to stop. Suddenly, I felt a violet pain in my right side. I clasped my hand to it and saw a red liquid covering my entire palm. This liquid was blood. Amongst the chaos, I must've been shot. Given the adrenaline I was feeling in the moment I didn't take any notice. My head started to feel dizzy. The last thing I heard before going unconscious was Sherlock's voice.

"Watson?! John!" the voice said.

Everything went black.