Chapter 16: Information
*This is told from Sherlock's point of view*
The ride from the hospital to Scotland Yard was a lonely one. I knew Watson was going to pull through, but the emptiness of the carriage compartment was more than I could bear. Though I would never tell John this, he was a great partner. Emotions! How they ruin me so! It was only a matter of time before things got out of hand and my friends ended up dead because of my irrationality. Luckily, I was able to keep pressure on Watson's wound just in time for the police to arrive. But I had come close…so close to losing him. The carriage finally awoke me from my thoughts and stopped outside the Yard. I walked inside and was greeted by none other than Inspector Lestrade and officer Gregson. Two people I didn't care to speak to or see.
"We've got Purvis in a holding cell, but I'm not sure if we should let you talk to him Sherlock," Lestrade said. "He's quite battered."
"Nonsense. I only need a few minutes," I said ignoring them and making my way to the holding cells.
I walked past the familiar holding cells until I spotted the man I desperately needed to speak to. His face was indeed bloodied, but in my opinion not bloodied enough. There was a small bandage that covered the left side of his face. Thank goodness his hands and feet were chained because as soon as he spotted me, he appeared like he wanted to strangle me.
"Why'd they let you in here?"
I opened the holding cell with one of the keys that hung on the wall. No one was going to stop me from learning something. Any information that could lead me to A.J.
"I just came to talk," I told him sitting down across from him. "I know you laced Rosenthall's drink and then pretended to be unconscious. Pretty good acting if I say so myself."
The great burly man just shook his head. "If you deduced that then you probably know I haven't been employed by Rosenthall for very long."
"Of course," I replied. "Once you found out about his past as a slave trader you decided you no longer wished to work for him. Though a simple resignation letter would have sufficed."
For the few seconds I had laid eyes on Purvis at the banquet I noticed a military tattoo on his forearm. He had served in the Boer War and had no doubt seen the relations between South Africa and England first hand. While the war ended in a victory in South Africa, the English government became interested in the country again once gold and diamond deposits had been discovered.
"Once you knew about the diamond fields he ran, you made a deal with Raffles didn't you?"
"How can you or anyone want to protect a man like Rosenthall? He is an obnoxious, snobby, upper class idiot who is getting rich off the backs of labor. I've been to South Africa, Mr. Holmes. We had no right to be there in the first place."
"I'm not here to discuss politics," I said wanting to get right to the point. "Here's the deal, you can tell me what I need to know and I can pull some strings and let you go."
Purvis looked down at his shackled wrists. The wheels in his head were turning but it looked like he still didn't want to budge.
"Right now you are charged with attempted murder on my friend and colleague Dr. Watson," I said with a slight bit of anger growing in my voice. "But any info you can give me on Raffles would be greatly appreciated. You're just a small fish…we are after the big one."
I watched the man shift in his seat. Praying and hoping he would open his mouth and give me something I could use. Anything. Something. A small thread to Raffles - tying him to anything at this point. He scratched his chin for a few moments…hard to do when your hands are chained. Finally after a few moments he spoke.
"There's an art studio on King's Road in Chelsea. He rents the space - keeps all kinds of costumes and disguises in there."
At last an address! It reminded me of the flat Lillie and I had tried to enter so long ago that Raffles had already fled. My next step was that I wanted to infiltrate this "studio" of his but I had to think rationally about this. Almost losing Watson put my priorities in line.
"Thank you for your cooperation," I said, rising from my chair. "I'll speak to the Yard about the charges." Then I paused. "He'll come for you, you know? Raffles. There is no doubt that he will after he learns what you told me."
"I can take him," the man said with a boost of confidence.
"I highly doubt it," I said, leaving the prisoner in his cell.
On my way out I spoke to Lestrade and the other officers about the man's cooperation with me. Though I didn't tell them what he told me, Lestrade could tell that I was after someone else. Like a bloodhound on the trail of a pheasant, I now had the scent of a man I had been after for years. As I hopped into my carriage, my first thought was to head back toward the hospital but instead I decided to make my way back to Baker Street to strategize…again.