Young Sherlock: Night Break by Lane Andrew

Author:Lane, Andrew [Lane, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9781447294580
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

Sherlock grabbed Matty’s arms and shoved him sideways, through an open door and into the next office. Matty started to say something, but Sherlock grabbed his jaw and stopped his mouth from moving.

‘Ah – the newspaper boys,’ a voice said. ‘Is that the late afternoon edition?’

‘Yes, sir,’ Sherlock said automatically. He turned his head. The man sitting at the desk was as thin as Mycroft was fat. His top hat and frock coat were hanging on a coat stand, and Sherlock could see springy metal bands around his upper arms, presumably keeping his cuffs from falling on to his hands. He had a green visor held to his forehead by a band around the back of his neck, shielding his eyes from the light from the tall window.

‘Give me a copy,’ he said. ‘I’m expecting news from Constantinople.’

Sherlock handed a newspaper across and the man threw a coin at him. ‘Bring the evening issue as soon as it arrives. Bring it straight here first, then you can do the rest of the building after. There’s a half-shilling in it for you if I get the newspaper first.’

‘Yes, sir.’

There was a pause as the man opened the newspaper, then realized Sherlock and Matty were still there and glanced at them, waiting for them to leave. Sherlock for his part was worried that Mycroft was still out in the corridor, maybe talking to someone, but he didn’t want to raise suspicions here. He pushed Matty out of the office, making sure their backs were towards Mycroft’s office.

In fact, his brother’s recognizable figure was striding down the corridor away from them.

‘Lookin’ for the lady wiv the tea trolley,’ Matty guessed.

‘We’ve got a few minutes,’ Sherlock said. ‘Let’s get in there and look for that letter.’

They moved quickly along the corridor and into Mycroft’s office. Sherlock was half afraid that his brother might have been sharing it with someone else, but if he was, then Sherlock supposed he and Matty could just pull the newspaper trick again. In fact, there was only one desk, and the office was empty of anyone else.

Sherlock put his pile of newspapers down and glanced around. Everything was neatly filed away. The maroon leather surface of the desk was almost bare, apart from a green blotter, a fountain-pen stand, an inkwell and a photograph in a frame. Sherlock couldn’t help himself: he reached out and took the photograph, expecting it to be either of their parents or possibly of him and Emma.

In fact, it was a picture of a woman in a white dress. From her freckles Sherlock judged that she was probably a redhead. Her hair was curled, and her smile was so vivid and genuine that Sherlock found himself smiling as well.

‘I said it before – ’e’s a dark ’orse,’ Matty observed. He had put his newspapers by the door.

Sherlock put the picture down. ‘He probably doesn’t even know who she is,’ he said dismissively. ‘He keeps it here just so everyone else thinks that he has a woman in his life.

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