| The Poster and the Inn |
After eating, Lily, Sherlock, and John head out to the Barkley's. John was reluctant to leave Rosie, but Lily's mum insisted it was fine and her dad brought out a bunch of Lily and Liam's old toys he'd dug out of the attic. Rosie seemed content, so John went along and promised to be back soon.
Uriah drives them as he wants to stop at his own house anyway for something else to eat and a break while he waits for them to investigate.
"I told you," he says, as they drive up to a house crowded with officers and a few passersby. Caution tape is around the perimeter. They get out and see an officer coming towards them, not looking very happy under his thick mustache. He almost looks familiar to Lily, but she can't place him.
"Mr. Holmes," he says. "I'm Officer Brent Davis. I just received a call that you would be here." He turns to John, then Lily. His bushy brows furrow. "Wait a minute. Is your father Emmet Marlow?"
"Yes!" Lily says, shaking his hand. "I'm Lily."
"Yes, you are!" His face brightens. "I went to school with your father. You look just like him!"
"Yes, I get that a lot."
"He made a little rocking chair for my daughter when she was a toddler. I believe that was the last time I saw you." He puts his hand closer to the ground. "You were only this high. Wow, I'm old. Are you a detective now, then?"
Lily struggles to answer. "Well... I tag along with Sherlock and John, if that counts."
"Let me show you in. What do you know about the case?"
"What was on the news, really."
As they enter the house, Sherlock takes in a deep breath. "I miss that smell."
"What?" Lily raises a brow. "Cigarette smoke? I didn't know you smoked."
"Not anymore," John says pointedly.
"I know, I know, Mum." Sherlock turns to his left, toward the room that seems most occupied by officers and activity. Markers are on the floor where the Barkley's were found, though there isn't much evidence itself marked. "Reiterate it all — the whole case as you know it, that is. We were told much of it could be town gossip." As Sherlock closely observes the entire room, Officer Davis begins.
"Nancy Barkley's niece was in town, has been for a few days. Her name is Mary Gray. She said she and her aunt went out to a small get together with some of Nancy's friends. James stayed home. On the way home, she said they met a man she'd never seen, but he wanted to talk to Nancy. Nancy stepped away to talk to him, Mary said she heard her call him Henry. When Nancy came back to Mary, she told her not to mention the man to James, and they went home. Mary went to make some tea for her and her aunt, while Nancy came in here to talk to James. They started fighting, according to Mary, and she only heard a few words." He turns to another officer. "What were they, exactly?"
The officer pulls out a notepad and flips through it. "'David,' 'coward,' and 'my life.'"
Officer Davis nods. "After that, Mary heard a scream, and then she ran to the room, but it was locked. Couldn't find a key, nothing. She went outside and looked through that window-" he points to the large window on the front wall "-and saw them both on the ground. When she called us, we had to break the door down to get to them. James had already passed, and Nancy was rushed to a hospital. That's what we know so far."
Sherlock turns to Lily. "Do you recognize those names? Henry? David?"
"I mean, they're common names, but I don't know anyone with them."
"Have they completed James' autopsy?"
"Not yet," Officer Davis replies.
Sherlock walks back across the room and looks at the door, which is now broken. He looks closely at the knob and the lock, on both sides. "And the key hasn't been found?"
"No. We've searched the whole house. We're looking a second time, to be sure, but I don't expect to find it."
Lily turns to him. "I heard people suspected Nancy. Is that true?"
"At this point, I don't know. The door was locked, no one saw anybody else on the street that night. We haven't been able to talk to her of course as she's unconscious. The mention of this Henry and a David make me wonder about an affair. It's possible he attacked her first and she acted in self defense. I just don't know yet."
Sherlock leaves the room and reappears on the other side of the window. He then crouches down, disappearing again. Lily walks over to the window, passing the large dining table she recognizes as her father's work. Sherlock stands again and gestures for Lily to open the window.
She finds the latch and sees it's already been flipped open, then pushes up on the window, though she struggles; it's large and heavy. Sherlock reaches in and pushes it up the rest of the way. He has to hold it open.
"The latch is already open," Lily says.
"I'm not surprised. Someone has been out here."
Officer Davis walks over. "How do you know?"
"The dirt. Clearly someone has been standing on it. The weeds behind the flowers have been trampled."
"Mary was out there, when she found them," Officer Davis reminds him.
"True, but I imagine she wasn't standing here for very long to make this much of an impression. She would've immediately run for a phone."
"David, then?" Lily asks. "Or Henry?"
"Probably one of the two." He hoists him himself up and climbs in via the window. It closes behind him. "That wasn't difficult. Where's Nancy's niece?"
"She's staying at the inn now," Officer Davis answers. "It's not far from here. She may be at the hospital right now, sitting with Nancy. Her mother, Nancy's sister, is on her way as well, though I don't know what she could tell us."
"We'll stop at the inn later tonight. Go ahead and call Uriah. I'll look for the key in the meantime." Lily texts Uriah and tells him they're ready, then helps Sherlock and John search for the key. They look in drawers, even in the room itself, in the office, the study, the bedroom. There isn't anything of interest, including the key, anywhere. Uriah arrives to take them back to Lily's childhood home, where they find Rosie still playing with toys in the floor, now with Lily's dad.
"And this is Thomas?" he says, picking up a train out of a line of them.
Rosie puts it back. "Yes."
"Where are they all going?"
"Um... Paris. But the big monster is in the way." She grabs one of Lily's old teddy bears, which is missing an eye and has seen better days, putting it in front of the trains.
"Oh, dear."
He looks up as Lily, Sherlock, John, and Uriah file in. Rosie gets up and runs to John. Lily's mother is already in the kitchen, starting on dinner.
"What did you learn?" she asks, so Lily gives her the run down, mentioning Henry and David.
"Do you recognize those names?"
"No, I can't say I do. Emmet?"
He walks into the kitchen. "I don't believe so. I can look in my files of past clients after dinner." He starts helping Lily's mum, so Lily goes to her childhood bedroom to unpack and freshen up before they eat. John and Rosie are in Liam's room, while Sherlock has the guest room, but Lily wonders if he'll use it. He doesn't sleep much either while he's on a case.
He walks past Lily's door, peaks in. "We'll go to the inn after dinner."
She perks up. "You mean you're eating dinner?"
"Probably not. Can we get a taxi or anything around here?"
"I can drive mum and dad's car. The inn's not far. Maybe five minutes down the road."
"You have a license?"
"I used to need it, before I lived in London."
He nods a bit in understanding, then his attention turns to the room. The walls are light pink, covered in posters of Fleetwood Mac, the Beatles, the Monkees, the Backstreet Boys, and a few magazine spreads of actors Lily had a crush on in the 90s. There's a bookshelf in the corner, mostly empty as she brought her books with her. All that's left here are children's books she liked as a kid. Her old, white bedroom suit is still there, along with her purple bedding, some stuffed animals, and a few articles of clothing in the open closet she can no longer wear but her mum insisted she save.
"Why am I not surprised?" Sherlock says.
"About what?"
"What your bedroom looks like." His eyes fall on the Backstreet Boys poster. "Although, I did not expect that."
"You know the Backstreet Boys?"
He grimaces a little. "Vaguely."
"Kevin was my favorite."
"Which one is he?"
She points to the one in the middle with the dark hair and mustache.
Sherlock squints. "Is he wearing earrings?"
"Yeah."
"To each their own, I suppose."
"Oh, come on!" Lily argues. "He was so cute."
"You'll have to forgive me if I can't agree with you."
"Dinner's ready!" Lily's mum calls, so Lily gets up.
"Are you coming?" she asks.
"I still need to unpack."
"But you should eat something."
"I'm on a case. I have a lot to think about."
"Even one bite?"
He frowns. "Maybe."
They leave her room and head to the dining room, which also has a table her father built, as well as matching chairs. Her mother doles out plates while her father lays out silverware. He pulls out a booster seat and sets it on a chair. "It was Liam's. I don't know where Lily's got to."
"They save everything," Lily tells Sherlock and John.
"Well, they bring back memories," her mother argues. "And you never know when you'll need them — like now."
They all sit at the table, Rosie in between John and Lily, Sherlock and Uriah across from them. Her parents are on either end of the table. After saying grace, they dig in, though Lily notices Sherlock taking only one, small bite. He's too busy thinking.
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The inn is a small affair down the street from Lily's house, on the main road through town. It's more like a large house than a hotel, and Sherlock is pretty sure the owners actually live here as well. There are a few guests finishing up dinner. They approach the front desk, Lily going ahead while Sherlock and John hang back.
"Hello, Lily!" the woman behind the counter says. "What are you doing home?"
"Investigating," Lily replies, gesturing to Sherlock.
"I suppose you're here to see Miss Mary Gray, then."
"We are."
"She's in the dining room." The woman points to her left, into a room with a large, wooden table. A buffet-like set up is on the far wall, the food nearly gone. Sherlock heads inside.
There's three people in there now, a couple and a young woman. Sherlock approaches the young woman. "Mary Gray?"
She looks up. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess. I'm Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective. I'm here to talk to you about last night."
She gestures to the chair across from her. "Be my guest." Sherlock sits in the chair across from her, while Lily and John sit on either side of him.
"Well," Sherlock begins, "we already know you and your aunt went out to a gathering last night. Where, exactly, did you go?"
"It was one of her friend's birthdays. Dorene, I think her name was. She lives just a couple streets over. Not far. It's probably a three minute drive, but we walked."
"Why?"
"There was wine at the party. I didn't want either of us to drive if we were going to be drinking."
A light goes off in Sherlock's head. "So you were both drunk when you left?"
She sits up, shaking her head. "Oh, goodness, no. I only had one glass, and Aunt Nancy only had two or three. She was a bit tipsy, sure, but she wasn't drunk."
"And on the walk back is when you met this Henry fellow?"
"Yes. We were walking down the main road, and he was walking on the other side. He called out to my aunt, and then she told me to wait there and she would go over and talk to him. I didn't hear anything they said, just her calling him Henry. When she came back, she told me not to tell Uncle James about it."
"And you've never heard that name before, correct?" John asks.
"Never — I mean, not in connection with my aunt."
Sherlock thinks a moment, then starts again. "Tell me about the fight you heard. You said you went to make tea when you returned home, right?"
She nods. "Aunt Nancy asked me to make some tea, and then she went into the dining room with Uncle James. At first, I didn't hear much, but then there was shouting. Uncle James wasn't very loud, but I heard Aunt Nancy say, 'David,' 'coward,' and 'my life,' though not together like that."
"Was that the order you heard them in, though?"
"Yes. I don't have the foggiest idea who David could be either, before you ask. I went to finish the tea because I figured it might calm everybody down, but then I heard a scream, so I ran to the dining room. It was locked. I knocked and yelled for them to open the door, but when they didn't, I went outside and looked in the window and that's when I saw them laying there. I called the police immediately."
"And you didn't see anyone when you went outside?"
She thinks for a moment, but finally sighs. "No. Nobody."
"Is there anyone you can think of who would want to hurt your Uncle James?" Lily asks.
"Hardly. He was harmless, and nervous. He was quiet. He never said a bad word about anybody, never raised his voice — at least, not since I've known him. My mother and my aunt always told me military service changed him, had a horrible effect on his mind. I guess he didn't used to be like that."
"Was he in Afghanistan?" John asks.
"Yes, with Aunt Nancy. That's how they met. They don't really talk about specifics. I guess it affected Aunt Nancy, too."
Sherlock stands. "Well, this has been an informative talk. Thank you for your time, and... sorry for your loss."
"Thank you," Mary replies quietly.
As they leave, Lily says goodbye to the woman at the front desk. When they're in the car, she glances over at Sherlock. "So, what do you think?"
"Right now, I'm not quite sure. I feel like I'm missing at least one more piece of this puzzle."
"What, who Henry and David are?"
"Yes, probably. Didn't Officer Davis say that Mary's mother was coming in?"
"Yeah, I think he mentioned it."
"Good. Maybe she knows something more."
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