Elementary: Blood and Ink by Adam Christopher

Author:Adam Christopher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan Books

20

CLARITY GAINED

Back at the precinct, Watson left Holmes in one of the big meeting rooms, where he and a department computer tech worked on the footage recovered from the security feed at Rio’s Gio’s. She wandered into the hallway, where the department’s hot beverage machine was, dispensing the NYPD’s famously awful coffee. As she waited for her cup of barely drinkable yet scalding liquid to be prepared, Detective Bell came over and began eyeing up the snacks in the vending machine alongside.

“And now we wait, and wait, and wait,” said Bell. He picked his candy bar of choice and began depositing quarters.

“Right,” said Watson, laughing. “The default state of the police detective. Nothing has come in on anything else then?”

“Nope,” said Bell, watching as his snack clunked into the tray at the bottom of the vending machine. He bent down to extract it. “No hits on the BOLO we have out for Sophie Absolom. We’re still canvassing stores that sell fountain pens. Vanderpool’s lawyer told us where we could put our theories and took his client away, but not before we told him not to leave town. Nothing yet from the hotel Vanderpool was staying at. They’ve got good security footage but it doesn’t show much—people coming and going, Trent, Sophie, Vanderpool included. And it confirms his alibi for the night Gregory Smythe was killed.” He sighed, his fingers busy working the wrapper of his candy bar open. “Feels like we’re treading water here, you know?”

“Believe me, I know.” Watson nodded, taking a tentative sip of her coffee. Perhaps it was the long hours and the frustrating nature of the case, but somehow the coffee actually tasted pretty good for once.

“You really think Holmes can pull something out of the footage from that pizza joint?” asked Bell, nodding toward the meeting room. “He’s been in there for a couple of hours now. I could hardly make anything out on the sidewalk, let alone reflected in the window across the street.”

“Well,” said Watson, “there was definitely something there. Maybe if the image can be enhanced just enough. It doesn’t need to be perfect, only—”

Holmes rushed toward them down the hallway, his face lighting up as he saw Watson and Bell.

“I have something!” he said, then began waving at them frantically. “Quickly now, quickly!” Then he turned and dashed away.

Watson and Bell looked at each other, then went after Holmes.

* * *

Holmes led them back to the meeting room, where he had been working. At the far end was a large television, at least sixty inches across, and on the long table that filled most of the room were two laptops. Seated in front of one was a young woman with her hair tied up in a ponytail. She was wearing what looked like running gear. Watson noticed that an armband holding a music player, headphones wrapped around it, was sitting on the table behind the laptops.

Holmes pulled up a chair at the other laptop and gestured to the woman. “Sally Eastman here is the best forensic image technician the New York Police Department has,” he said.

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