The Unfinished Case// A Sherlock Story

II

"You mean the security industry?" John asks. Sherlock is oblivious to their conversation as he walks towards the area where the hostages once sat. Black marks can be clearly seen on the ground, indicating signs of struggle from the hostages.

Sherlock walks around viewing every single perspective of the hostages. Re-enacting the movements of the hostages as he predicts what they would have done during the heist. He follows the black marks on the ground until he reaches the last one. When he looks up he sees the far side of the building, a hole in the wall. A bullet hole to be more precise.

Immediately he rises, quickly walking over to the damaged wall. The bullet used immense force as it was able to pass directly through the wall. But judging by the size of the bullet it was shot from nothing but a mere handgun.

"Hand me your gun" Sherlock demands sternly as he takes a step back from the wall and holds out his hand. Hesitantly, Lestrade places his handgun in Sherlock's palm and takes a few steps back.

"There were two women and two men in here during the heist." He explains as he walks back to the small area where the hostages sat.

"Yes, how did-"

"Two women because they both wore heels, hence, the scratch marks and indents, two men because they both wore black shoes which created these marks" Sherlock demonstrates as he drags his left foot on the ground creating a black smudge line.

"If they dressed this fancy it means that they were in here to examine the building and design the interior."

"One person got dragged more than the others. He sat here" Sherlock says as he gets onto his knees with his hands behind his back.

"Most likely the boss of the group. Now if Crimson was standing in front of him like so" He explains getting up and stand a few inches away from where he imagined the hostages was. He raises his gun towards the wall facing him.

"And she shot merely inches beside his head," he says before firing at the wall.

"Then the distance from the wall and the bullet is still far, thus, the bullet should not have gone through the wall but only dent the exterior," Sherlock walks to where he shot the bullet.

"Therefore-" he presses his ear onto the wall "this wall is fake," he says as he knocks on the solid surface only to be returned with a hollow sound.

"I need people to demolish one of the walls in the building pronto!" Lestrade speaks into his walkie talkie before heading out the building.

"Now the main question is why? Why would someone put this much trouble to threaten a security company," Sherlock asks walking around, pondering on the different reasons for the act.

"Maybe she is psychotic and wants to pick on someone," John says looking at the wall that Sherlock just shot.

"Wait a minute," John speaks earning Sherlock's attention.

"What," Sherlock asks as he rushes to John's side.

"Look inside the hole," John says getting out of the way for Sherlock to view the other side of the wall.

What displayed behind the wall was the faint figure of a black rose. "This wasn't the escape exit, this wasn't a mistake, this was another puzzle in the game she created," Sherlock thought as his eyes widen at the discovery.

"Sherlock what are you-" A voice inquires as it walks towards them.

"Don't" Sherlock interrupts Anderson.

"Don't speak, it's incredibly annoying and distracting," Sherlock continues as he looks through the hole.

"Ok, I've got some men here to break the wall," Lestrade says pointing towards a few police officers holding sledgehammers.

"Won't be necessary," Sherlock exclaims as he takes one of the police's hammer and smashing the wall himself. The wall collapses to the ground after one strike and the room is soon filled with dust. They all cough from inhaling the dust before stepping into the dirty room.

When the debris and dust fade away the group was greeted with a single black rose placed on the ground. Beside it was a smooth looking envelope, "relatively new judging by the exterior of the envelope and the freshly cut rose" Sherlock thinks as he steps towards the objects.

He picks up the envelope and opens the seal. He pulls out the handwritten letter and scans the cursive words written on it.

"Fast, but not quick enough.
Smart, but not sharp enough.
Deducting, but not deducing.
The game has just begun, and we can clearly tell who has won
But if it is a fight that you propose,
Thank call none other than the
Crimson Rose"
- C.R

The corner of Sherlock's lips curls upwards as he walks back to the group, handing Anderson the letter.

"Interesting," Sherlock exclaims before exiting the building and onto the streets of London City.