The Baker's Detective

| The Office and the Tapping |

By the time John got back to Baker Street, Lily was anxious to leave. The case was odd, to say the least — and it's connected to Robert. Another con of his, another game. He's baiting Sherlock, taking him on the wild goose chase. At the end, he wants to be found. But where's the end? And what happens when Sherlock finds him?

Sherlock merely knocked on her door and said, "The game is afoot," and off they went. Despite everything, he almost looked excited — worried, but excited.

The cab ride to the office was short, as it's located in the city. And now here they are, standing outside of a tall, tan building in the middle of London, with multiple signs tacked onto it. One of them says, "For Lease."

"We might have to call that number," John comments.

"Is it for the right office space?" Lily asks.

Sherlock turns in a slow circle, stops at the office building again. "Interesting."

"What?"

"The location."

"There are tons of offices around here," John says, but Sherlock doesn't reply, instead walking inside.

The lobby is nicely decorated, with chairs, fake plants, a few paintings. A directory is pinned on the wall with arrows or floor numbers. The number William Jacobs gave them is 105. First floor, down the right hallway. Next to the number, it says "For Lease."

"That answers that question," Sherlock says.

"Other offices have for lease next to them," John points out.

Lily shrugs. "But there's only one sign outside, with one phone number. They're all probably owned by the same person. Or company."

"No other office here says red headed anything either, so he didn't just mistake the number."

"Let's visit 105, then, shall we?" Sherlock follows the arrow down the right hallway, and they pass a few occupied offices and a few unoccupied ones. 105 is at the very end of the hall. The door is blank, no sign or anything. But the wall bears a few marks.

"Does it look like something was hung up here to you?" Lily asks, pointing. The paint, in four places next to the door, seems different. "The paint looks newer here."

Sherlock squints at the wall, but he finally nods. "I see it."

"There was a sign here. I bet he filled in the nail holes and covered it up."

"Archie Samuel?" John says.

"Robert, Ray, whatever you want to call him," Sherlock replies. He tries the door handle, pushes, and it doesn't budge. He frowns. "It's locked."

Lily reaches around him, brushing his hand as she grabs the handle, trying to ignore the butterflies she feels. She pulls, and it opens. "It's a pull door, Sherlock." His cheeks color at his blunder, but he doesn't comment on it. He gets right back to the case.

"This is too easy. He's waiting for us."

"You mean... he's inside?" Lily whispers.

"He could be. But he knows we're coming. There's no point in trying to surprise him."

John pulls out a gun Lily didn't know he had, but she's glad of it now. He walks ahead, gun out in front of him, sweeping the room. The door opens to a sort of hallway, with blank walls. The hallway turns to the right, into a big, open room. It would make for a nice reception area if it had furniture. There's a window on the far wall, the blinds shut in front of it.