Entry 30

"So Mr Stephanos Angelopoulos and Ms Henrietta Latimer were supposed to wed yesterday afternoon in Derbyshire," Juniper stared at her notes written neatly in longhand in her travel-sized notebook. Strands of her hair floated on the wind as a breeze came through. "However, Mr Angelopoulos never showed, leaving Ms Latimer alone at the altar. Our Greek interpreter, Miss Niki Melas, says that she nor his sister, Miss Katerina Angelopoulos, has heard anything from him since his sudden disappearance."

Shirleigh hummed in acknowledgement.

"And you are rummaging in the grass...why?"

With a handful of soil, Shirleigh rose from her spot on the ground, the knees on her trousers dirtied and scuffed.

The two companions were in the city of Buxton, a relaxing spa town located in the county of Derbyshire. Rather than remaining still and attempting to solve such a pressing matter from their flat in London, Shirleigh suggested that they head out to the scenic location of the wedding instead.

"Wouldn't you want to be searching for clues at the last-known whereabouts of the victim?" Juniper inquired. "He wasn't even present for the wedding."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Shirleigh held up a finger before her face and directed Juniper's attention to the outstretch of land several feet away where the ceremony was to be held. "If you remember, that over there is where Mr Angelopoulos and Ms Latimer were to be wed. You can make out where each of the chairs and the altar had been placed from the impressions made in the grass and dirt. You can track even where the guests had walked from where they arrived, which all seem to flow from one direction. However, if you observe here, just a distance away from the ceremony..."

Shirleigh motioned to the ground where the grass seemed to have been disturbed and stemming from it was a faint trail of dirt coming from a direction opposite of the guests'.

"Someone was standing here..." Juniper murmured. "Do you think it was whoever kidnapped Mr Angelopoulos?"

"My dear Watson, whoever said anything about a kidnapping?" Shirleigh lowered herself to the ground and crossed her legs. "You asked me why I wasn't looking into Mr Angelopoulos' last-known whereabouts, these are Mr Angelopoulos' last-known whereabouts."

Juniper's eyes widened at the comment made by her friend. She spun around to overlook the countryland, her skirt twirling around her in a similar fashion. Blades of grass were carried by the wind and a chill was sent down Juniper's spine, though it was hard to say if it was the cold or the shocking information relayed to her.

"But...why?" Juniper asked and it almost seemed as though she were talking to the wind. "Why would he show up to his wedding to...not show up?"

Shirleigh fell back into the grass, her arms stretched to either side. "Something suggests that another party is involved. Perhaps we will need to pay Ms Latimer a visit."

»»————-　♔　————-««

Juniper gazed out of the window of the hansom cab lost in her thoughts. Her hands were clasped together in her lap and she twiddled her thumbs. She quietly sighed as she watched how the scene they investigated turned into trees and eventually buildings.

"Is something wrong?"

Shirleigh had noticed her partner's slightly pensive behaviour.

"Huh? Oh," Juniper turned to her companion sitting across from her and placed one hand atop the other to prevent further fidgeting. "No... I'm fine..."

Juniper rested her head against the window, her eyes drifting to the world outside and catching onto the passing street lamps.

"It's just... I was thinking about how beautiful their wedding must have looked. I'm sure there were happy faces and flower petals dancing in the wind. I believe the weather yesterday was also wonderful for this time of year. For it to all come crashing down like this..."

Shirleigh remained silent.

"Would you ever... No, that's a silly question. Hypothetically, if you were to have a wedding, what would you want it to be like?"

Shirleigh shrugged. "I never really thought about it before."

"Yeah..." Juniper's eyes glistened in the warm lights of the town they entered. The golden light cast her in an elegant glow that made her seem fragile. A faint smile formed on her lips as she mused. "I'm not sure what I'd want. I just know that I would want it to be somewhere of importance to me. Maybe back home? Perhaps in a church with beautiful stained glass that would paint the guests in radiant translucent colour."

A brief silence.

"And I would want you to be there..."

Shirleigh looked up at her companion but Juniper never tore her gaze away from the outside. Shirleigh turned her attention to the brick buildings that lined the cobblestone as they approached the next destination in their investigation. 

"Ms Latimer," Shirleigh began. "My name is Shirleigh Holmes and this is my companion Juniper H. Watson. We have decided to take on your case about your missing fiance. You may speak freely before the both of us."

"Oh, yes, Inspector Gregson told me about you," Ms Latimer sat at one end of a small dining table in a quaint countryside home. Her voice wavered as she spoke. "I'm sorry to be so insistent, but you must find him. Please."

Shirleigh and Juniper exchanged glances.

"It seems that you have some more information to tell us," Shirleigh stated, leaning forward on her elbows.

"Stephanos had been acting strange leading up to our wedding day," Ms Latimer explained, clutching a handkerchief in her lap. "I thought that maybe they were just fits of anxiety. Getting married is a huge step, you know? But as each day passed, it just got worse. I've tried to ask what was bothering him on multiple occasions, but he assured me that everything was alright."

"Your Greek interpreter, Miss Melas," Shirleigh motioned toward Niki who had been standing further back from the dining room to stay out of the way. "Had mentioned something about a cryptic letter the day before yesterday. Do you still have it?"

"No, not anymore. I had found it on the table by the front door, where we usually keep the mail, opened and laid out. I had picked it up to read it but Stephanos came back from upstairs and snatched it from my hands. He looked incredibly dishevelled. I was worried that I was going to have to call off the ceremony."

"Do you remember what the letter said?"

"Um, something about 'if he doesn't play his part, the show will end'. I'm sorry, I can't remember exactly what it said. But there didn't seem to be a return address on the envelope if that helps."

Juniper turned her attention to Shirleigh whose expression portrayed the utmost dismay. It would seem that Juniper wasn't the only one to make the connection that the letter Stephanos Angelopoulos received resembled the ones found on culprits and victims of their previous cases.

"Is something wrong?" Ms Latimer asked seeing that the two were too shocked to say anything.

"Oh, no, we may have realised something crucial in solving your fiance's disappearance," Juniper assured her. "Which reminds me, was there someone that he may have spoken to recently? Anyone could provide vital information, so if you can remember anything at all, it would be of great help to us."

Juniper wasn't used to leading questioning during their investigations but with Shirleigh's mind elsewhere for the moment, it was necessary for their progression. She just hoped that she was asking the right questions.

As Ms Latimer thought about Juniper's query, Shirleigh was still rendered speechless at the revelation that the letter Mr Angelopoulos received before his disappearance may have been sent from the same individual who had written the ones she had begun collecting from recent cases. What was this person after and how was it that Shirleigh often found herself caught in the middle?

"Is she alright?" Ms Latimer wondered. "Ever since I mentioned the letter, she's been a little out of sorts."

"Oh, yes," Juniper tugged at Shirleigh's sleeve. "Shirleigh, did you hear what Ms Latimer said? She mentioned someone named Winona Kemp. She and Ms Latimer were friends until Ms Kemp found out about the engagement. I was thinking that maybe we could talk to her next."

"Wonderful work, Watson," said Shirleigh suddenly rising to her feet. "Let us go meet with Ms Kemp, shall we?"

Shirleigh made her way to the front door and retrieved her coat from the tall, metal rack beside it. Juniper rose from her seat at the table and gave Ms Latimer a quick bow before turning to catch up with her partner who had already left the premises.

"What else did Ms Latimer say about this Kemp person?" Shirleigh asked when Juniper caught up with her.

"Oh, uh, just that Ms Kemp had grown rather upset at the fact that Mr Angeloupolos had asked Ms Latimer to marry him. The three were apparently really good friends for many years. It sounds like Ms Kemp had taken a liking to Mr Angeloupolos but he had fallen in love with Ms Latimer. A love triangle..."

"A what?"

"A love triangle," Juniper repeated. "It's where you have three people and one of them likes one person but the person they like becomes attracted to the other in the group."

"Sounds unnecessarily complicated," Shirleigh stated bluntly.

"You might need an interpreter, though," a voice called out.

Niki Melas had approached them from being left behind at Ms Latimer's residence.

"Oh, Miss Melas," said Juniper. "Terribly sorry for our sudden retreat."

"No worries! But Winona Kemp primarily speaks Greek, so I was hoping to tag along."

"I don't see why not," Juniper agreed. "We could certainly use the help. What do you think, Shirleigh?"

Shirleigh hummed in acknowledgement. Juniper shrugged.

"Shirleigh, Miss Watson," a familiar voice said from behind.

The partners turned around to find Mr Hudson standing before them. The both of them were taken aback at his presence and Juniper couldn't help but think about how strange it was to see him someplace other than the Palace. Niki stood in-between glancing back and forth in confusion.

"Wh-what..? Mr Hudson? Why are you here?" Juniper stammered.

"How did you find us?" Shirleigh interrogated.

Neither Shirleigh nor Juniper had any form of technology save for the electronic magnifier Shirleigh used and the portable typewriter Juniper carried around, both of which do not connect to the internet. Given this information, it was odd that Hudson happened to find them in a small town in Derbyshire when they hadn't informed anyone, other than Niki Melas, of their current whereabouts.

"Have you seen the recent news?" Hudson asked rather ominously.

Juniper slowly shook her head while Shirleigh remained silent.

"You might want to."

The three of them entered a nearby restaurant where a few of the televisions had been broadcasting the local news channels.

"An epidemic of teenagers and young adults slicing their own ears off is on the rise," a female news anchor announced. "The terrifying event began just a few days ago during the concert of J-Pop idol Ichiro Adler whose popularity has been on the rise since his debut a few years ago. A few dozen individuals were hospitalised in East London after his performance at the Troxy music venue. It is unknown if this occurrence is the start of a new trend amongst fans or if something else is behind these frightening actions. More at six."

"What...?" Juniper's stomach turned. "I don't understand...w-we were just with him, what is this?"

"Shirleigh?" said Hudson.

Shirleigh, who had yet to say anything, stood perfectly still as her eyes were transfixed on the television screen on the wall across from them. Her mind had already begun to try to make sense of the sudden erratic behaviour of the fans from the venue.

"It could very well be something as simple as alcohol or drugs," Shirleigh said aloud but it seemed to be directed more to herself than to anyone else. "No, it's most likely a drug epidemic. It would be unlikely that all of the victims, which included minors, would have been able to purchase alcohol at the venue. Drugs, however, are easily distributed amongst teenagers. But which one? What would cause you to sever your own ear from your head?"

She folded her arms across her chest and tapped a finger on her arm as she closed her eyes in deep thought.

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention—," Shirleigh turned to face Hudson only to find that he had disappeared. "Where'd he go?"

"Huh?" Juniper was snapped out of her stupor. "Oh, he was right beside me, wasn't he?"

"Anyhow, let us be on our way."

Shirleigh left the restaurant with Niki close on her heels. Juniper stayed behind a bit longer, staring at the bright screens. During her studies in medical school, her professors covered topics relating to drugs and substances. Perhaps the ear-slicing phenomenon truly was the work of some new, illegal substance, but as far as Juniper was concerned, she had never seen or heard of anything like this.

She turned on her heels and left the restaurant setting off to solve the case of the missing groom.