Entry 20

"This may be a more sinister affair than I initially thought," Shirleigh mumbled. I wasn't entirely sure if she wanted me to say anything in return, so I remained silent. "The Red-Headed League was certainly a nice distraction from the...'vampire' case and I thank you for that. However, I fear the two cases may be connected."

"I beg your pardon?" I nearly choked on my evening tea. "You think the two cases are related to one another? I fail to see any connection whatsoever."

"It was the very thing you pointed out earlier. The honey."

"The honey...? The smell Jana had mentioned in her writing?"

"You also noticed it at the first scene of the first victim, no doubt."

"You're right! But...what does it mean, exactly? Does that put one of the people Jana described at the scenes of both crimes?"

"It is quite the possibility," Shirleigh propped her head up on her armrest and gazed into the flames in the hearth. "They very well may be the culprit in the 'vampire' murders..."

The choice to mention the vampire murders and not Jana's abduction, in particular, made my ears perk up.

"You know exactly who it is, don't you?" I asked.

Shirleigh's eyes flicked over in my direction before returning to the fireplace. Her expression was melancholic and the way her eyelids lowered told me the answer to my question.

"Who is it?" I whispered as I leaned forward in my chair.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she reached over to her end table, picked up a book, and handed it to me. It was a book I recognised. One that was lent to me by a friend just recently.

"Reichenbach Falls?" I wondered. "You had me lend this to you the other day because you wanted to read it. I suppose you have already finished it. But...what about it?"

"Do you remember what he did to those who opposed him?"

"Reichenbach? Sure. He would push them from a roof and into the river after having slit their throats. He would watch them drown from where he stood. I believe he successfully murdered five people. It is quite difficult not to remember such cruel behaviour. Why?"

Before Shirleigh could respond, something registered in my mind. The similarities between the deaths of those in the novel and the victims of the Sussex vampire were uncanny.

"Imitation is something common in the criminal world," Shirleigh explained. "Usually new criminals copy the crimes of a previous one, hence why it is also called the 'copycat effect'. Inspiration for imitation crime can come from witnessing a crime in person or through different forms of media."

"So whoever has been draining the blood of the victims has also been pushing them from rooftops because of this novel? That is so...specific..."

"The mind is a powerful muscle, but weak all the same. It is immensely impressionable."

"Okay..." I said running my fingers over the embossed cover. "...But that didn't really tell me anything."

"She disappeared just after visiting. She lent you that novel, left her phone behind and has yet to return to retrieve either of them."

I felt my eyebrows knit together at my partner's suggestion as she continued.

"What did the scent of her perfume remind you of when you first met?"

I rose to my feet, clutching the book to my chest unable to find something to say. I stared down at Shirleigh whose attention was now transfixed upon me. I shook my head in silence, hoping that somehow it would change whoever was responsible for the recent deaths of those poor people.

"I...I don't understand..." I mustered. "Why would she be doing this? She's a wonderful person, at least from what I could tell. She never struck me as the kind of person who would...kill..."

"Humans are full of surprises," said Shirleigh rising from her chair. "But I do agree upon the fact that it is extremely uncharacteristic."

"How do we stop her?"

"She has already completed her life's mission."

I shook my head. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"There was another."

"Another...?" My eyes widened. "There was another victim...?"

"Lestrade and her team found the fifth body yesterday evening in Bexhill. Only one event remains and it is written in that book which you hold."

The five confirmed murders completed the imitation. Well...almost. I shivered at the thought of what was to happen next.

I glanced at the book in my possession and closed my eyes in thought. Reichenbach had killed five people before he threw himself from a building in an episode of inevitable madness. The building... What was it again? I opened my eyes and stared at the book jacket, the silhouettes of the very moment Reichenbach met his demise depicted on the cover.

"The cathedral..." I whispered, my eyes fixed on the silhouette of the gothic structure. "Is she going to...?"

"All of the victims have been in the counties of Sussex,"  Shirleigh interrupted. "I have strong reason to believe we shall find her at the Chichester Cathedral tomorrow night."

I stared at my companion who had her eyes closed and fingertips pressed together.

"Moriarty..." I anxiously fiddled with the ribbon on my nightgown. "...Why...?"

Shirleigh placed a hand on her forehead and the other on her hip.

"You knew this entire time, didn't you?" I said. "Ever since the day we met Lestrade at the morgue you have been acting...strange..."

Shirleigh looked at me. "I have?"

"It appears that you fail to realise that you too are very expressive."

"Hm."

"Why did you not think to tell me sooner?"

"...I did not..." her shoulders slumped. "...I did not wish to worry you..."

My shoulders dropped, seemingly mimicking her body language. A strange sense of déjà vû  washed over me.

"Shirleigh... If anything, you not telling me things makes me worry more."

My companion took on the appearance of a child being chastised by their parent. Her actions grew timid and she avoided my gaze.

"How do you feel about...all of this?" I asked walking up to her. "The both of you knew each other for a while, yes?"

"I—" she shifted in place. "I'm not sure of how I feel... I am having quite a difficult time wrapping my head around all of this. If it truly is her...I..."

"If it 'truly' is? Are you still unsure if it actually is her?"

"No...I know it is her. I just...don't want it to be."

I paused in front of my companion and took her hands in mine. I gazed at her fingernails and I could feel her eyes on me.

"No matter what happens, I will be here when you need me. I will journey with you to catch murderers, to save people, and to help our friends. You do not have to do everything alone. There are people who are always ready to stand beside you. I just...hope you know that."

When I looked up at her, her eyes resembled crystals in the fire's glow. It may have been my imagination but various emotions danced in those crystal orbs. This is when I realised that just because she rarely expresses emotions does not mean that she doesn't feel them.

I gave her hands a comforting squeeze before releasing them and turning to the hearth.

"This doesn't bode well..." I said aloud. "But we'll face it together just as we have with everything else until this point."

She gave a resolute nod and I felt that everything would be fine, even if it were only for a moment.