The train slid to a halt at the station, whistling loudly. The doors opened, and the seven of us got off. The day was warm, but a steady breeze kept it comfortable. None of us were wearing coats -- except, of course, for Sherlock. How he hasn't died of heatstroke yet, I'll never know. He would probably wear that thing in the middle of the desert. Err, I'm getting off-topic.

"So, where to now?" Kelsie asked. In case we would be long, we had each brought a few days' worth of clothes with us in a bag (Sherlock and I had stopped by Baker Street before leaving for the train) and Kelsie slung her pale blue messenger bag over her shoulder.

"Any more mysterious texts?" Angel asked. "That would be the best place to start."

Kelsie shook her head. "Nothing."

"Whoever brought us here wanted us in Hertford for one of two reasons." Sherlock started walking, the rest of us falling in behind. "Which are . . . ?"

"Number one." Liam answered. "To give us information about the killer. This information could be delivered in person by a yet unknown source, or be some kind of clue or mocking statement left by the killer themselves."

"Or," Kayden said the words we had all been thinking, but couldn't say. "It's a trap, and we're all going to die."

No one said anything for a few moments. "Yes, that's a possibility." Sherlock admitted. "But for now, let's find a hotel and get some rooms for the night."

We rented two double-bedded rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys. Sherlock grimaced as he sat down on the bed, sliding his bag underneath. "It's either sleeping with an idiotic teenager who will start whispering to the other when they think we're asleep, or sharing a bed with a chronic snorer."

"Haha." I said flatly, pushing my bag beside his. "I could be saying the same thing about you."

Sherlock looked at me, confused. "I don't snore."

I nodded. "Yes, you do. Remember all the times we've shared hotel rooms? Trust me, you snore." Leaving him there to digest this fact, I went into the girl's room, making sure that they were settled in alright. I went back to the boy's room.

"We're burning daylight. Why are we still here?" Kayden sighed, kicking his feet restlessly.

Sherlock didn't even look up from his phone. "Because we need data. We can't just go rushing in without a plan."

"But we don't even know where we're running in to." Liam said quietly.

Sherlock made a throwing off gesture with his hands. "Listen, I'll figure it out. I just need some time. It's about time to eat, right? Go with John and get some food."

Collecting the girls, we went to a sandwich shop not far from the hotel. I let everyone order their own food first, hanging behind to look around the shop. After the Hound of the Baskervilles mystery and finding the meat order in the vegetarian restaurant, I always tried to be alert when entering somewhere new or suspicious. Nothing particular caught my eye, but I did notice a man standing outside the restaurant who seemed a little odd.

He was dressed casually, and seemed to be having a normal phone conversation. But something about his straight posture, brushed-back but perfectly windblown hair, and the neatness of his clothes -- he seemed almost too perfect, I realized.

"Doctor?" Kelsie tugged on my arm. "It's your turn to order."

I grabbed a sandwich for both me and Sherlock and paid for our meal, but by the time I had turned back to the front window the perfectly dressed man was gone. Trying to hide my disquiet, I sat with the others as we ate.

"This is pretty good." Kelsie smiled. "Reminds me a lot of my granddad's."

"You visited him all the time when you were a kid, right?" Samantha took a large bite, her cheeks puffing out from all the food.

Kelsie nodded. "Yeah. He was really nice. Every time I came over, we would go fishing or go out looking at things in town, and no matter what we did we would always go to a little sandwich shop not far from his house and eat lunch there." She smiled sadly, the happy memory tinged with nostalgia.

"But he died." Liam said suddenly. "Just like all of us, he was poor. And when he got cancer, he didn't have enough money to get treated." His cold, hard eyes stared intently into the table and beyond it's fake, rock-like print. "Just because we can't make as much money, we're put down and abused. But most of the rich people our age are spoiled brats who don't even know what they have, while good people who deserve it are killed . . . " His words were like venom, cold and hard.

"Li." Samantha put a hand over his, her hand gripping tight around his clenched knuckles. He looked at her, his face contorted into anger, then he relaxed, his hand loosening slightly. He took a deep breath, then muttered, "Sorry."

Kayden finished his sandwich in one last, huge bite. Swallowing it down, he stood up. "I want to go for a walk." He said. "All this sitting around is making me bored."

Angel brightened up. Leaving her sandwich on the table, she chirped, "I'll come too!"

"Wait, hold on." I intervened. "We don't know yet what could be going on. I don't think Sherlock would want you going out on your own."

"That's why there are two of us." Kayden said with the brash courage of a teen-aged boy who thinks he has mastery over the world. "Angel's really smart, and I'm really strong. We'll be fine." It sounded like he just wanted to go for a little walk, but the look in his eye told me that what he was really thinking now was Try and stop me, old man.

"Really?" I said, as if impressed. "After all, you two kids should be more than enough to take on the entire town, if you had to. Why should I stop you from going out all alone?"

Kayden's looked at me suspiciously, not quite sure of the sarcasm in my voice. "Exactly." He said, his eyes darting around for help. Samantha looked away, a little grin on her face as she figured what was coming next. Liam stared stolidly at the table, chewing contentedly with a bovine air. Kelsie just looked down, her face neutral.

"Well, then." I held out my hand. "If you're going to insist upon taking that walk, do you promise to protect Angel with your life, as a man?"

"Of course, I mean, I guess so . . . " He could definitely sense danger now, though under what form he could not tell.

"No, I won't just take your word." I insisted, holding my hand out closer to him. "Shake on it."

Kayden's eyes flickered with hope. A way to master the situation. He seized the chance gratefully, squeezing my hand in a brutish grip and mousing my knuckles painfully.

I grimaced slightly, letting him think he was winning, then put my other hand on his, holding it in place. I then let my hand fold back, bending his elbow into a chicken wing-like shape. I then applied pressure in and down, in a technique I learned in the Army, although in Japanese martial arts it was known as Nikyo.

"Ouch!" Trained in martial arts, he knew enough to drop to his knee when he felt the pressure, but he couldn't repress the yelp of pain.

Liam let out a short bark of laughter, like a fox. "You've just been schooled, Kayden." Samantha grinned, helping him to his feet.

But our playful banter was interrupted very suddenly. A man ran into the sandwich shop, looking around wildly. "Call the police, someone, anyone, please!" He panted.

"What's going on?" I stood up, taking a few steps towards the man. "What happened?"

"On my shed . . . there was . . . there was . . ." The man choked.

"Spit it out, man!" Liam growled.

The man whimpered with fear. "On m-my shed was a sentence written in blood!!"

My heart fell. "What- what did it say?" I fumbled.

The man shook his head. "I don't know! At least, I don't understand it! I mean, of course I remember it. How could I forget such --"

"Just tell us what it said!" Kayden yelled.

"OK! OK! J-just calm down." The man gulped. "It said, 'The rise of the Ripper is near'."