Holmes: A Study of Pink part 3

Jo stared at Sherlock with wide eyes and an open mouth. She tried to speak but could not find her voice; it was hiding inside of her, cowering in the darkest corner of her heart. It all gave her the overall appearance of a startled fish. 

"What does this mean?" she finally stuttered, almost silently. 

"Watson don't you see!" Sherlock exclaimed "It all fits! The way the bodies were arranged, the shining boots, the style of execution! The Browning!! Whoever killed those people was a former member of the British military." Sherlock leapt out of his chair "Get dressed, we're going to Scotland Yard!" 

Sherlock dashed upstairs and returned several minutes later dressed in an AC/DC t-shirt, a pair of grey trousers, black boots and his knee length leather jacket. He saw Jo sat on the sofa with her startled fish impression. 

"Get dressed!" he shouted.

Jo obeyed her orders and ran upstairs to get drsse. She quickly slung on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of boots. As she left her room she picked up a brown jacket and put it on, grabbing her handbag from the door handle at the same time. 

Jo returned to the hall just in time to see Sherlock stuffing a Steyr M9-A1 pistol down the back of his trousers. 

"I hope you've got the safety on" Jo chuckled, trying to bring a little light of the situation, "Are we really gonna need it?"

"Probably" Sherlock replied "I know what I'm looking for now. We're going to catch our murderer tonight!"

The two left 221b with haste, hailed a taxi and ordered the driver to take them to Scotland Yard. However Sherlock quickly changed his mind shouting "No wait stop! Take us to Coronett Library!"

Jo looked at Sherlock, a puzzled expression on her neat face "Why are e going back there?" 

Sherlock spoke sombrely "I have a hunch."

The taxi swerved through the streets as the rain began agin. It didn't seem to want to leave Jo alone today. They arrived at the library and Sherlock saw what he had been hoping to see. The lights inside of the library were on. 

He quickly payed that taxi driver and the duo ran to the door of the church like building. 

Sherlock drew his gun from the back of his trouser and whispered to Jo "There's a back door. Keep it covered!" 

Sherlock opened the door of the library silently and entered, shutting it quietly behind him. Jo quietly paced around to the back of the church, making sure she ducked below the windows, looking for the back door. 

Sherlock's eyes darted around the room and found what they were looking for. Stood in the centre of the room was a tall man with a muscular frame and a bald, shining head. He had his back to Sherlock and the only item of clothing Sherlock could see him wearing was an old trench coat. Sherlock's eyes focused on the mans hand. He was holding something in it... a pistol. Specificaly a Browning L9A1 pistol. His grip was loose around the weapon, almost as if the ma didn't want the weapon in his hand. 

"Is there something you want sir?" the man asked, his voice was strong but gruff with and English accent.  

Sherlock narrowed his eyes. He raised his gun and cocked it. The man heard the click and turned. Sherlock got a good look at him. 

The man, as Sherlock already knew, was tall, muscular and bald. But now he saw that the man had a square jaw, dark eyes and a hooked nose. His lips were thick, his eyebrows bushy and stubble gathered around his mouth. Beneath his trench coat the man was wearing a suit with various military medals pinned onto it. Sherlock's eyes narrowed further. 

Medals: Former or currently in military. English accent shows British military and weapon supports this theory. Weapon is of the same make as the one used to execute the three dead.

Stubble: reveals unkempt nature

Eyes are wild with bags beneath them; the man is stressed and has not slept.

"Justice would do." Sherlock replied, this was his man, "The three you left in here weren't the first were they."

"No, sir, they were not." the man replied. He was staring at the floor, his face half hidden in shadow now, "And they are certainly not going to be the last."

"Why did you kill them?" Sherlock asked, hiding his own gun behind his back. 

"Kill them?" the man muttered, he sounded puzzled, "I did not kill them. I released them from the shackles of life!" 

"Oh..." Sherlock sighed "You're one of those killers!" 

The man moved like the wind; quickly and silently. His Browning was aimed for Sherlock within seconds, pointing directly between his eyes. 

"Don't dare to mock my work!" the man shouted "Perhaps I shall show you the truth of life next, sir."

"And what is the truth of life?"

"The truth of life is this, sir." the man growled "The meaning of life is: death."

The man's finger was begining to curl around the trigger of the Browning and Sherlock's eyes narrowed again. 

The amount of preassure the man was placing of the trigger was light whcih revealed he had no impression of killing Sherlock. Well, he wasn't going to kill Sherlock yet. 

Jo was at the back of the library and had found teh door that Sherlock had reffered to. She hadn't the slightest idea what she was meant to do. Catch the killer should he attempt to mount an escape?

Sherlock's own hand whipped forwards and his own pistol was pointing at the man's face. 

"Who are you?" Sherlock asked. 

"The Life Bringer!" the man smiled. 

"Yes I got that bit" Sherlock exclaimed "But who was you before all of that?" 

"I was..." the man stuttered. He seemed to have been stumped by Sherlock's question, "I was... N... Ne... Neville Boone."

"Neville Boone" Sherlock said "That's who you are, not the Life Bringer."

The man's, or Neville as he was really known, eyes turned wild and a fire erupted into life within him. In a crazed frenzy Neville flung his arm in the air and fired his gun, screaming "Nooooo!"

Sherlock ducked and the bullet flew trhough the air and slit into the fuse box that controlled the lights. 

The library fell into darkness and Sherlock scarppered to look for cover. 

Jo heard the sound of a gunshot inside of the library and she tried to open the door. It was locked. She made an attempt to force it open but it was no use. The door was stuck fast. But even if Jo had succeeded in opening the door what would she have done? Even with her military training she would be no match for a man wth a gun in the dark. A man who, according to Sherlock, had his own military training. Jo looked around. She searched the grass around her for anything she could use as a weapon. 

Sherlock had found a small crevice in the wall which he could sink into to use as cover. HIs brilliant mind would be of no use to him if a bullet passed through his brain! But it all made snese to him now. The bodies, the execution and now the murderer himself. The way the murderer was talking and the other murders he had admitted to commiting. He was insane. 

"You came back from fighting in the wars and found that all your military training..." Sherlock sneered "All that knowledge of how to kill was useless. For a long time you'd been fighting for your country and now you'd been forced to return to whatever dank excistance you're living in. You couldn't cope so you did the one thing you really knew how to do. You started killing people!"

There was the sound of another gunshot and a bullet ricoched off the wall near Sherlock. 

Then came the angered screams of Neville "I am the Life Bringer. I began seeting the poor sheep of this world free!" 

"You're a murderer and you're going to prison Boone!" Sherlock roared. He ducked out of the crevice for a moment and fired several shots into the darkness. He had no intention of killing Boone but of wounding him. There was no way Sherlock could apprehend the killer while he had a gun. 

"Never!!" Neville shouted firing two more shots "I am the Life Bringer! My work cannot be stopped!" 

Jo heard more gunshots inside of the library and shouting. The words were indstinguishable but she could tell that Sherlock and the murderer were having some kind of argument. But she'd already found what she needed. It wasn't much but it'd do to subdue the killer. An iron shovel fixed onto the end of a long wooden pole. Jo picked up the shovel, approached the back door and lashed out with her foot. Her heel made contact with the cold wooden and there was an undeniable creaking sound as the door slowly came off it's hinges. 

As the door fell inwards Jo headed inside, the shovel ready to attack. 

Sherlock heard the door open and moonlight flooded the inside of the library although it did little to illuminate the cold stone room they were in. There was the sound of gunshots and a woman moving and Sherlock recognised that Jo had come through the back door. 

"Who's there?" came the shout of Neville "Where are..." 

Nevilles voice was cut short by the sound of metal whacking against his head and he fell to the ground with a loud crunch. 

Jo walked into the light so that Sherlock could see her with a shovel slung over her shoulder. 

Sherlock was staring at her, replicating her impression of a startled fish...

THE END

WATCH OUT FOR SHERLOCK HOLMES AND JO WATSON APPEARING SOON IN: HOLMES