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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30TH 1900
1st Courtroom, Old Bailey
"It seems that our case has been decided," boomed the Judge, the golden scales behind him tipped all the way to the to his left, indicating the jurors' votes "the evidence and case of the prosecution appears to have been insufficient. This court hereby declares the defendant, Mr. Soseki Natsume...
"...NOT GUILTY!"
The gallery of the Old Bailey's 1st courtroom erupted into loud cheers as confetti began to rain from the ceiling, and the famous celebratory fireworks launched and exploded into the air. "This court is adjourned!" bellowed the judge over the final few cheers and whoops from the gallery, before stepping down from the bench and filing out with the remainder of those involved with the trial.
SAME DAY
2nd Defendant Lobby, Old Bailey
"OH NARUHODO SUBSTITUTE EXCHANGE STUDENT!!!" squealed Natsume happily as he pulled poor Naruhodo into a rather tight hug, the two police constables guarding the front door wondering if he was attempting to now strangle his own defence attorney.
"Natsume-san. I... can't... breathe...!" gasped Naruhodo, his face beginning to turn purple from such a tight embrace.
"THANK! YOU! FOR! PROVING! MY! INNOCENCE! ONCE! AGAIN! BANZAAAAIIIIII!!!" cried Natsume, suddenly letting Naruhodo go and striking a variety of different strange poses.
"Natsume-sama, you really do get into a lot of trouble..." said Susato with a wondering look on her face "You know, someone would think you were cursed!"
"Cursed?! Surely it's not THAT! HORRID! VAN! ZIEKING! FATE?!"
"Perhaps it's the season?" said the voice of Sherlock Holmes.
"UWAAAAAGH! That Sherlock Holmes, mine greatest enemy!" said Natsume from fright "RUINER! OF! MY! LIFE!"
"Well it's not that bad. I only accused you of being the murderer because you were at the scene of the crime with a knife, and the victim, the poor Ms. Dee Ceased, was stabbed to death."
Susato flicked quickly through her notebook. "But it was a butterknife he was holding."
"But it's still a knife," argued the great detective, holding his pipe to his lips.
"You can barely cut toast with it, never mind stab someone!" added Naruhodo.
"But it's still a knife!"
Naruhodo and Susato rolled their eyes, knowing that trying to argue that point across any further would simply be a waste of time.
"Anyway," said Susato "what did you mean by 'it's probably the season?'"
"Don't you know what day it is tomorrow?"
"October the 31st," replied Naruhodo after a moment's thought.
"Yes, but what day is tomorrow, October the 31st?" replied the great detective, clearly expecting more.
"Well if today is Tuesday, then tomorrow must be Wednesday," concluded Susato.
Sherlock finally gave in, and cried: "It's Halloween tomorrow!"
"Oh, that? I remember reading about it somewhere when studying my English, but I guess I must have forgotten," said Naruhodo.
"I've also heard of it, but I've not looked into it that much," added Susato, flicking through her book as she tried to remember what page it was on.
Sherlock looked as though what Naruhodo and Susato had just said was the most shocking thing in the world that anyone could have said. "How the hell can you not know anything about Halloween? It's an annual celebration of all things spooky and strange through dressing up, lovely sweets and candies, and spooky decorations."
"AHA!" cried Natsume.
"Is something the matter, Mr. Moustache?" asked the detective, looking around at the Japanese author's shocked expression.
"That explains a lot. I was on Regent's Street the other day and I saw a frightening skeleton in the window of someone's house. I immediately dropped all of my groceries and ran straight home, cowering under my duvet for the rest of the night, hugging my cat for protection."
"If you run at the sight of a decoration, you should probably avoid going out during any festivals..." said Naruhodo under his breath.
"Still, I've often heard little children talking about seeing ghosts and vampires around the place at Halloween. Though thankfully, I'm not superstitious," added Sherlock.
"Holmes-sama, you walked in on Naruhodo putting a boot on the table to let the polish dry and we thought you were going to fall down the stairs... again."
"And when Iris accidentally knocked over the salt, you picked it all up and threw it over your shoulder at me."
"Well I'll admit that you have me there..." said Sherlock, glumly, knowing that his reasoning had been defeated "Still, we can give Halloween a proper old celebration tomorrow!"
"Whatever you say, Holmes-san," shrugged Naruhodo "You can go outside and get a cab to wait for us if you want. Susato and I have to go and sign Natsume-san's release forms at the front office, so we shouldn't be too long."
"Alrighty then," said Holmes "see you in a minute."
The three Japanese exchange students stepped out the door of the defendant lobby, leaving Holmes in the finely-decorated room by himself, with the only company being the two bailiffs guarding the entrance from the defendant lobby to the central courtroom, who whispered between themselves about going for their lunch break as soon as Sherlock left the room.
"Bored... bored... bored..." the detective tutted to himself as he wandered around the room, before deciding to leave it, and step into the grand lobby of the Old Bailey, practically packed to the rafters with public officials either on their way to or coming from the cases in the numerous courtrooms. Solicitors and clerks walking into the courtroom dressed to the nines in their official black robes and white powdered wigs.
On the wall opposite, a large glass mirror with an ornately-decorated golden frame hung on the wall, showing the reflections of the gold and crystal chandeliers that hung from the high marble ceiling.
"The case of The Crown versus Von Bork shall be read in Courtroom Number 3 in five minutes!" announced a clerk at the top of their voice, causing the detective to flinch slightly before he noticed who was walking past him -- Prosecutor Barok van Zieks.
The tall and gaunt-faced prosecutor, whose looks truly did deem him worthy of the title of "Death Bringer of the Old Bailey", strode past quickly, the members of the public clearing the way for him for fear of falling victim to his curse. As Holmes watched on, Van Zieks, briefcase in-hand, tilted his hat as he walked past the mirror on the wall.
"That's odd," hummed Holmes, standing aside to try and make sure that his staring was not so obvious "he didn't seem to reflect in that mirror at all."
As quickly and as stealthily as he could, Holmes crept through the crowd, following closely after Van Zieks, who was being followed by the moustached Tobias Gregson and three police constables -- one of whom seemed to be carrying a long piece of thick black cloth.
"Now what on Earth could they be doing with that cloth?" Holmes thought to himself, taking out a pen and notepad and taking note of it while trying to keep an eye on the prosecutor, who appeared to be walking towards the front entrance, where the afternoon sunlight was streaming in through the glass in the doors. Van Zieks stopped in his tracks just short of where the sunlight fell on the floor, and was quickly handed the long black cloth by the constable.
Holmes could see through the glass that a large black windowless carriage was parked outside, which had been secured by a constable either side, and a constable sitting at the front of the closed carriage with the driver. The fear-inspiring prosecutor placed his case in the hands of the other constable as he took the cloak and carefully wrapped it around himself. He picked up the case again and nodded at Tobias Gregson, who nodded to the two constables either side of the carriage door outside.
The two constables picked up a thick black sheet of fabric each, and held it out so that the entire width of the street was no impassable.
Gregson held the door open for Van Zieks, who quickly stepped out and down the steps to the carriage, which promptly opened.
Suddenly, part of the thick cloak that covered Van Zieks slipped slightly as he was getting into the carriage, causing Van Zieks to hiss loudly with the pain. He then practically leapt into the carriage and closed it behind him, before the carriage quickly drove off, the horse pulling it galloping down the road at top speed.
"Most peculiar..." hummed Holmes, pocketing his notebook again while the team of policemen that had escorted Van Zieks to the door practically disbanded on the spot, going their separate ways.
"Holmes-sama!"
"NGHYAAAAAHH!" cried Sherlock Holmes, almost falling over.
"There you are!" finished Susato "Did you manage to get a carriage for us yet?"
"Er, no. I was just - er - heading out to get it now, Miss Susato! Not to worry. I'll find one sooner or later!"
The so-called Great Detective of the Foggy City ran out the door in-search of a cab, but with fresh doubts on his mind. Naruhodo and Susato just shrugged at each-other, brushing it off as it just being Holmes's natural weirdness.
After midnight, 31st of October
Sherlock Holmes's bedroom
221B Baker Street
The fire in the grate had all but died away several hours ago, as Holmes sat on the side of his bed, carefully flicking through a particularly thick-looking book in the light of an oil lantern on his bedside locker and the moon shining through his bedroom window.
"There's bound to be something in here. Let's see..." The detective flicked through the various sections that Mythology for Buffoons covered, starting at Alicorns and working his way through Angels, Arions and Asrai, Basilisks, Baba Yaga and Bigfoot, Centaurs, Cerberus and Carbuncles until he got to what he needed to find.
"Valkyries... Vampires!" exclaimed Sherlock quietly, prodding at the section with his finger. Long blocked paragraphs of information on the ghastly things was printed on one page, while the other featured a frightening illustration of a vampire, fangs out and all, lunging upon a rather frightened-looking young woman.
"Vampires [read Sherlock Holmes] are beings that feed on the life force (typically blood) of the living, and are often known to be the cause of mischief or death. They are often described as looking pale, having particularly sharp fangs or canine teeth, and often wear shrouds or cloaks. They will also cast no reflection or shadow. They retain the ability to transform into fog, bats, and wolves in some cases.
"Vampires can easily be identified through looking at certain signs. Vampires will often avoid (as they are repelled by) religious entities, such as churches, bibles or holy water. They will not enter a house or place of living unless they are invited in, and are often repelled by sunlight and anything made of silver, as it burns them. Vampires are also repelled by garlic, and are unable to cross running water (such as a river or brook).
"To kill a vampire, you will need to expose them through what they are repelled by (see the above paragraph) which will often burn them, or to kill them via putting a wooden stake through their heart.
"Interesting... very interesting..." thought Holmes to himself, comparing the information in the book to the notes he had jotted down earlier. "He certainly matches the description. It's simply a matter of proving it..."
The following morning...
"Good morning, Iris-sama," yawned Susato as she came down the stairs, with Naruhodo following behind her, still half-asleep.
"Good morning, Susy! It'll just be the three of us for breakfast this morning, as Holmesies had to run into town on some rather early business."
"I'm not at all surprised," yawned Naruhodo "he's always running around. He doesn't really ever seem to stop, does he?"
"Well, as Iris-sama said in A Study in Scarlet..." Susato removed the book The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes from the sleeve of her kimono, opened it and quickly flicked through it to the specific part she was looking for, before she hit upon it. "Holmes-sama is sometimes 'down in the dumps at time, and [doesn't] open [his] mouth for days on end.'"
"Oh, that part was just made-up, Susy," said Iris, setting three hearty servings of sausage, bacon, egg, fried tomato, and toast (with a choice of either jam or marmalade) down on the breakfast table in-front of them "I didn't want people to think he just ran about all the time. I got exhausted trying that one out."
Naruhodo smirked at the thought of a ten year-old girl trying to calm down an already excitable thirty-something year old man as he spread strawberry jam thickly over his toast, thinking it to be a rather strange change of normal roles.
There was the sudden sound of someone trotting up the stairs to the flat, before the call of "I'm baaaaaccckk!!!" from the voice of Sherlock Holmes as he came through the door. He didn't even remove his hat and coat before he was into the kitchen and standing at the breakfast table. "Okay everybody," asked the detective "how's your schedules for this evening?"
"Well, Susato and I were going to go to Oxford Street this afternoon to buy some stationary..." said Naruhodo, setting his toast down again, consciously hoping it wouldn't go cold.
"And I was going to get Susy and Narudy to proof-read my new story this evening," added Iris.
"Why is it you ask, Holmes-sama?"
"We're having a very special guest over for dinner this evening. I was just out to give them their invitation, and I just received their reply. Don't worry, it's someone you're all at-least somewhat familiar with."
Sherlock produced an envelope whose blood-red wax seal of a familiar emblem of crossed-scythes had been broken to open the letter. The letter inside was written in neat and extravagant calligraphy.
Dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes [it read],
It would be a pleasure to attend dinner at your apartment in Baker Street this evening. I shall be present for around seven o'clock.
Yours faithfully,
The Hon. Sir Barok Van Zieks, Bt, Qc
"P-Prosecutor Van Zieks?" said Naruhodo with a raised eyebrow "Why are you inviting him of all people?"
"I thought I'd be friendly," said Sherlock, grabbing Naruhodo's jam-laden toast and biting into it (much to the disappointment of Naruhodo, who had been rather looking forward to it) "after all, you have confronted him in court so many times I thought that it would be just a polite thing to do."
"I'm not entirely sure it's a good idea for prosecutors and defence attorneys to be too friendly outside of court though, Holmes-sama."
"Nonsense! Well, the invitation has been accepted now, so there's no going back."
"In that case, I'll roast some beef for him! I read in The Daily Circus once that he's a big fan of roast beef."
"Naruhodo-sama and I can decorate if you want, Holmes-sama," added Susato.
"I've taken the liberty of buying the decorations for you ahead of time, so it won't take you as long, luckily. I'll go and inform the landlady of our visitor's special arrangements and then I'll be carving turnips for Halloween in the meantime," said Holmes, setting the toast back on Naruhodo's plate.
"Er, you can keep it, Holmes-san."
"Why thank you!" said the detective, taking the toast again and heading off.
October 31st, 7PM
221B Baker Street
"The decorations certainly are strange, Holmes-san..." said Naruhodo.
"Nonsense! They're perfectly fine!"
"I don't recall there being any mention of these in The Japanese Guide to British Decorations for Special Occasions..." added Susato, flicking through the book in-case she happened to miss it.
The flat now smelled of strangely pleasant yet somehow disgusting hybrid smell of nearly-cooked roast beef and garlic, as giant bundles of garlic were suspended from the ceiling and draped across the old army dispatch box that served as the coffee table. The dinner table had been specially set with a copy of the Holy Bible as a rather eccentric centrepiece on Holmes's part.
Outside, a carved turnip sat on the doorstep, specially carved with a side profile of Holmes's face, complete with pipe and deerstalker cap. Baker Street was otherwise dark, with a full moon hanging in the middle of the dark sky and the orange glow of streetlights providing some light.
Holmes watched with a slight smirk on his face as Van Zieks's horse drawn carriage went along the street, coming to a stop at the fron tt door. Van Zieks stepped out, draped in his long black cloak and with a tall grey top-hat on his head. He thanked the driver and instructed them at what time they were to return to collect him at. The doorbell then rang.
"I'll get that. I told the landlady that she could take the evening off, seeing as it was Halloween," added Holmes, speeding down the stairs before anyone else could say anything. Naruhodo, Susato and Iris shrugged at each-other, before quietly remarking that the detective had been behaving rather strangely all day.
Holmes quickly opened the door. "Good evening, Sir Van Zieks," he said.
"Good evening, Mr. Holmes," said the so-called death god and unknowing suspect of vampirism "It was very kind of you to invite me for dinner, and rather sudden I must confess."
The two stood staring at each-other in silence for what felt like quite a while.
Van Zieks raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Holmes? Is there a problem?"
"Mm? Problem? Who said that there was a problem?"
"Pardon me saying so, but it is rather traditional to allow a guest inside when you greet them. Especially when you invite them for dinner."
"Oh, is it? Ha! I had totally forgotten. Please, come in."
"Thank you," said van Zieks as the detective stood aside and allowed him entry. The detective took the cloak and hat from the prosecutor and hung them up on the rack.
"I took the courtesy of bringing some of my wine as a gift for your kind hospitality. It is specially made on my estate."
"Why thank you!" said Holmes, examining the bottle. "1895, I see."
"Yes, it was an excellent year."
"Just upstairs. We've been anticipating your arrival. If you just take a seat, we'll let you know when dinner is ready."
Holmes led the prosecutor up the stairs and into the main living area, which looked even stranger now that it was adorned with garlic hanging from the ceiling.
"Ah..." said Van Zieks, looking somewhat pained.
"Oh yes, I forgot to mention, we've had a rather large influx of spiders recently. The autumn weather and all that, so we've hung up garlic in-hopes of repelling them. I hope that isn't an issue?"
"...Not at all."
"Excellent. I'll leave you to speak with Mr. Naruhodo and Ms. Mikotoba, as I must go and help Iris see to the dinner."
"Alright then... Japanese attorney..." said Van Zieks as Sherlock watched on secretly from the hallway, watching as Van Zieks ducked carefully to avoid the garlic and engaged in rather awkward small-talk with Naruhodo and Susato. He watched as Van Zieks quickly noted the Bible sat on the small table beside his armchair and moved it somewhat out of sight.
"Holmesies, what are you doing?"
"Gah! Oh, Iris, it's just you. I'm doing nothing, I'm just standing here."
"Holmesies, it's not polite to stand and stare at people you know, especially guests."
"I'm not staring! I'm just... watching?" said Holmes with a shrug, not a hundred percent sure if that excuse would work.
Iris continued to glare at him. "Never mind that anyway! When will dinner be ready?"
"I'm just getting ready to serve it up now," said Iris.
"Right, well I'll call them to the table now then, shall I?"
"Yeah. But no staring! It's rude."
"Right... right. Okay everyone, Iris has just reliably told me that our dinner will be ready to serve soon, so if you would kindly join us in the dining room, you will all be served shortly."
"What are we having?" asked Van Zieks as they made their way to the dining table.
"Roast beef. Iris remembered reading somewhere that it was your favourite meal."
"Ah yes, that was that interview with The Daily Circus, wasn't it? I remember it well, especially after the reporter broke into my office at the Ministry of Justice and refused to leave until I answered every one of his questions."
Van Zieks sat down at the dinner table, as his eye caught the Bible that served as the rather eccentric centrepiece, as well as being a part of Holmes's self-proclaimed 'cunning' plan to expose the so-called "death bringer" for who he really was once and for all.
"Really? Interesting, interesting. I'll fetch a bottle opener for your wine."
"Mr. Holmes, do you mind if I remove this Bible from the centre of the table?"
Sherlock nearly let a smirk slip. "Oh? Why?"
"I am rather averse to religious artefacts, you see, and—"
"Understandable. I'll even get it for you," said Sherlock Holmes as he quickly grabbed it before anyone else could and threw it out the doorway and into the hall "There. It's gone. Out of the room."
Van Zieks raised an eyebrow as everyone else took their seats. "Er, thank you."
"No problem. There's your bottle opener," said Holmes, handing Van Zieks the corkscrew.
"Thank you," replied Van Zieks plainly, digging the screw deep into the cork, before pulling the cork out with a rather neat-sounding "pop!" and poured it into a wine glass, snifting it and taking a sip of it. As they sat down and Naruhodo thought that it would made a rather nice change for Van Zieks to outright drink the wine, rather than throw the glass across the room and into a candelabra, crush the glass in his hand or toss the entire bottle into the gallery.
"So Sir Van Zieks, you're a prosecutor, eh? That must be rather interesting."
"It is, actually," said Van Zieks, shooting an ice cold stare at Naruhodo and Susato "there are many strange cases that have been brought before the Old Bailey. For example, my first ever case was to prosecute Charlan Musgrave, the leader of a large gang that specialised in organised crime."
"Really? I also knew a fellow Musgrave in school. I think he may have been Reginald..."
"I see. I understand that you yourself are rather popular, Mr. Holmes. Your daughter, I take it—"
"Roommate, actually," corrected Iris "My real daddy is away overseas." Naruhodo and Susato blushed slightly, but kept to themselves. They might've said something about it one day, but now was not the time to say it.
"I see. Your roommate's stories are rather popular with my servants, and I have picked up and read a number of them in the past. They really are the most interesting. For example, what was the one.... A Scandal in Bohemia? I must confess I rather enjoyed it."
"Really? Thank you!" chirped Iris "They're really popular apparently. I heard recently that there was a fight in a bookshop recently after the latest edition sold out in minutes."
"I remembered reading something about that in my work briefing. Prosecutor Groanin Payne is the one handling that case, I'm led to belie—"
"Oops!" said Sherlock as his elbow 'accidentally' knocked into his glass, causing it to fall on its side and spill its contents down the table and across the floor. "Clumsy me!"
Holmes watched as Van Zieks shuffled his chair backwards slightly to avoid the dripping water. "I'll get a cloth, Holmes-san!" said Susato, almost getting up.
"Don't worry about it, Miss Susato! It's only water! And I wasn't that thirsty anyway," said Sherlock, recalling going to the local church earlier and having the water blessed especially.
"Now then, Mr. Holmes, if you don't mind me asking... is there any form of particular reason for you inviting me here tonight?"
Holmes perked up slightly.
"You see, when one invites ones friends for dinner, one tends to know them well in-advance, rather than through mutual association," he said, glancing at Naruhodo and Susato "and furthermore, one tends to do so well in-advance also."
"I see... you must have caught onto me..." said Holmes with a shrug "I did have a reason for inviting you for dinner tonight."
At that point, everyone's eyebrows were raised in varying levels of amusement and bewilderment. "Oh?" asked Prosecutor Van Zieks, as stern-looking as ever, "and what might that reason be?"
"Because you, Sir Barok Van Zieks," said Sherlock, standing up and pointing for dramatic effect "are a vampire!"
Audible gasps could be heard from Iris, Naruhodo and Susato. "I beg your pardon?!" cried Barok Van Zieks "Is there some form of joke here that I should be trying to understand?"
"Yes, you, Sir Van Zieks, are a vampire! And don't dare attempt to deny it!"
"Mr. Holmes, this is such poppycock! What evidence do you even have to suggest that vampires exist? Let alone evidence that I actually am one!"
"For starters, Sir Van Zieks, the glass of water I am after spilling and you're after avoiding is holy water. I had it specially blessed and positioned so you would be in the 'firing line', so to speak, of it spilling."
"Holmes-san, I think he was just trying to avoid getting wet..." suggested Naruhodo, whose dinner was now also going to be ruined by Holmes, never mind just his breakfast.
"Well what about avoiding bibles? You deliberately moved the one on the coffee table aside and the one that was on this dining table."
"The one in the coffee table was in the way of my elbow. And a Bible on any dinner table is not nescessary!"
"Plus, didn't you move the second Bible, Holmesies?" added Iris.
"Well, what about avoiding garlic?" asked Sherlock, his argument now sinking faster than a lead balloon "You avoided it like the plague!"
"I'll have you know, Mr. Holmes, I have a severe allergy to garlic! It brings me out in hives."
"Plus, it was hung rather low, Holmes-san. I'm not very tall, but even I was ducking under it."
"But when you were walking in the Old Bailey yesterday with your police escort, you didn't cast any reflection at all from where I was standing!"
"That was probably just the angle, Holmesies," sighed Iris.
"Oh yes. As far as I recall, the mirror's angled to the ground," said Susato, flicking through her notebook "It's for security reasons, I believe, not just decoration. To make sure that nobody is carrying any weapons into the building."
"But you're pale! And you have sharp canine teeth as well!"
"Mr. Holmes, everyone's canine teeth are sharp. And you are rather fair-skinned yourself. Are you going to accuse yourself of being a vampire next?"
"No, but.... avoiding sunlight yesterday? You were wrapped in a large black cloth as you were being escorted to your carriage. You accidentally let some skin slip and you were injured, so you got into the carriage and sped away."
"Mr. Holmes, that was for security purposes."
"Security purposes?"
"Yes. Being known as a prosecutor has brought some amount of fame to me, hence why I am a favourite of The Daily Circus and other members of the gutter press for photos and interviews. What has happened in my... er... previous cases... has also not helped, seeing as I have been made reputable for an alleged 'curse' on whomever I prosecute; It has made me a favourite for assassination attempts from less reputable organisations and people before, as well as interruption from reporters. The cloth was to prevent me from being photographed, and the escort was to make sure I got home as quickly and as safely as fast as possible."
"But what about when it slipped and you gave a cry of pain?"
"Ah, that? I can prove what happened," said Van Zieks. In his traditional move, he threw his leg up upon Holmes's empty chair, and pulled up his trouser leg ever so slightly, revealing a large bruise across the middle of his shin. "You see, the steps into the carriage are collapsible, meaning that they can be folded out and folded in again whenever needed. A police constable neglected to open them out fully, and so I ended up hitting my shin across it."
"But what about bringing your own wine? Are you not drinking someone's blood?"
"Mr. Holmes, it is wine. Does it not smell and taste of wine?" Sherlock picked up the so-called "death bringer"'s wine glass and swirled it, before taking a mouthful of it, swirling it around in his mouth like mouthwash and gargling it before swallowing. "Mm! It is wine! And 1895 was a good year!"
Van Zieks rolled his eyes. "You, Mr. Holmes, are a charlatan. And if you don't mind, I shall be heading for home at once. I see if I can find an omnibus at this hour..." The death-bringer recorked his wine bottle and collected it from the table. "I shall bid you all good evening," said Van Zieks before turning and heading out the door, closing it behind him.
"I don't understand! How could he not be a vampire?!" cried Holmes, exasperated.
"Probably because vampires don't exist, Holmesies," shrugged Iris "but I'm more disappointed in the fact that I had to make roast beef and everything just so you could do all this."
"And make Susato and I hang up all this garlic!" said Naruhodo.
"I think we'll be smelling of it for a month," said Susato.
"I think you'll be eating garlic for quite a long time, Holmesies..."
"Yeuch!" Sherlock winced at the thought of the high cost that this failed claim had brought him.
"Though now that you mention it, you could help me proof-read my new story when we all finish up," added Iris.
"What story would that be, Iris-chan?" asked Naruhodo.
"The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire, actually."
Naruhodo and Susato winced. "I think we've had enough 'vampires' for one day, Iris..."
THE END