moriarty
A STUDY IN SHERLOCK
THE RAIN ferociously battled with the window; dimmed by the grey, cloudy sky. A man sat next to the low light in a hotel room, boarded closely with four concrete walls. Scraps of paper lay around the floor, and the man giggled as he wrote on his thinning pad.
The man continued to write while fiddling with his blue tie in his other hand. He had thin black hair massaged smartly with some gel, and his white shirt and blue tie sat under his black suit and trousers, while his scarlet socks looked uneven as they hid behind shiny, jet shoes. His gum had lost its flavour, so the man tore it from his mouth and discarded it, along with his ruined writing.
The man looked at his fresh blank page, disgusted by the lines not being the perfect lengths apart. He continued to tap his pen along the side of it, then realised the ink was running low. He had to get it right now, he can't switch to blue ink, black is better. It's good when he has a red pen to spare; he can highlight the words that spell danger. Most of the time, literally spell DANGER...
The man wrote again, hoping to perfect what he tried to write.
'Do you want to know a secret? Everyone will try to study this but I'm sure you can find the answer hidden here. Another second may pass after reading until you discover the dark truth. Try to study this hard and you'll realise what's coming, what IS coming? However much you try not to find out, you will, don't worry...just study.'
The man laughed at his success that was his last hope of threatening this new man. He had done it, now he must get it sent to 221B Baker Street. He had recently come across the blog of Dr John H Watson, and was intrigued by a man named Holmes. Sherlock Holmes. He wanted to test Sherlock. Test him to see if he wasn't like the others, hoping he wouldn't be like the others: boring.
The man studied the paper one more time. He noticed something was missing; his name. He wanted to be clever, Sherlock had to WORK IT OUT! 'Oh, he'll know it by now...' he thought to himself, 'the taxi driver probably mentioned it, and is probably dead.' He added his initials on the end. JM. The man's enjoyment kicked in at the thought of Sherlock Holmes' deduction. He could guess the M, but not the J. The Moriarty, of course, but not the Jim. But he'll know VERY SOON. Jim Moriarty, the man, has entered the life of Sherlock Holmes.
"Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive, Ah Ah Ah Ah, Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive..."
'That's my phone', Moriarty said to himself. He sat up, picked up a new piece of gum from underneath the hotel menu and rapidly answered his call.
"Boss, the men from 221B were spotted with police again last night. The taxi driver... is dead."
Moriarty giggled evilly. "OF COURSE he is, that's part of it. He was dead to me anyway. This Sherlock is good, but we'll see how he'll deal with my note. Meet me under the London Eye in twenty minutes; I have something for you to deliver to Mr Holmes."
He slammed his phone on the side and kicked the remnants of his notepad into a little pile next to the bin. He has to let the cleaner's jobs be a little challenging. He took his note and pack of gum, quickly putting them into his right pocket. After checking the time, 10.06 in the morning, he knew it was time to check out of the hotel and let his game begin. Moriarty thought of his note, and laughed at the thought of Sherlock reading it, deducing, working it out and studying it. His study had started. A study in Sherlock...
"He better not be boring." He said to himself and went to walk out the door. He stopped as he reached for the handle, turned back and grabbed his phone. Moriarty took one last look at a peaceful London, knowing it wouldn't be ever again. In the distance he could see the London Eye. He smiled. Walking backwards so he could still see the view, Jim Moriarty began humming. Ten seconds passed before the door slammed shut. He continued to walk down towards reception when a young woman passed him, taking a second look.
"Good morning!" she said.
Moriarty turned around to look at her and smiled.
"Is it?" he asked her.
"Hope so, not a good start for you is it?" she said cheerfully.
Jim smiled at her again "It will be." He gave her a little wave and turned to walk away.
"Oh, WAIT!" the woman exclaimed. Moriarty sighed and turned back.
"Um...my names June." She told him, taking out her hand. He took it, stroked it and kissed it.
"Jim."
Flattered and attracted, she glanced away quickly and grabbed her phone out of her bag.
"Can I...give you my number?" she asked hopefully.
"The question is..." he said, stepping close to her face "Can I have yours?"
June giggled and, embarrassed, nodded.
"Great..." he said, and gently took her phone, typing for a few minutes before handing it back. "Try calling it and see."
He winked at her as she hit the green button on her mobile. She stared at the man in front of her. Handsome, smartly dressed, nice voice, good presence, talkative-
Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive, Ah Ah Ah Ah, Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive..."
Moriarty laughed at her and walked away quickly. June stood there, distraught. She inspected her phone and saw the name she just called- GOTCHA. Quickly, she pressed 'delete contact' and returned to her room glumly.
"Not such a good morning after all..." she said.
TWO DAYS LATER
Moriarty sat typing in his new flat, on his new laptop.
"The Science of Deduction...Mr Holmes website...come on..."
He looked in suspense as the page loaded. He clapped in glee when he saw a post about a strange letter Sherlock Holmes had received two days previously. Sherlock was quick to post the answer. Jim read out loud what had been written.
"It appears, JM, that your study that awaits me is death. The first letter in every sentence clearly spells out your intention:
'Do you want to know a secret? Everyone will try to study this but I'm sure you can find the answer hidden here. Another second may pass after reading until you discover the dark truth. Try to study this hard and you'll realise what's coming, what IS coming? However much you try not to find out, you will, don't worry...just study.'
DEATH. Simple. I'm sure I'll hear from you soon, JM. SH."
"Oh, VERY good. Like it." Jim shouted happily at the sarcasm given from the SH. "You will indeed, Mr Holmes."
He clicked on the Personal Message section under the name ANONYMOUS, typing: 'I've emailed you a little message. A little game to play. I do like games.'
After choosing a challenge to give Sherlock, Moriarty sent another message, displaying:
'Dearest Sherlock
A Roman Emperor will help you work out what this means.
DSPCWZNVT LX HLENSTYR JZF
xx'
"Don't worry Sherlock," Moriarty said "I AM WATCHING YOU!"
Jim Moriarty laughed in his seat for two consecutive minutes before controlling his genius. His study of Sherlock was only just beginning, and the last chapter, he hoped, would never be written...
NEXT TIME: The Last Straw...