Part 8 (1/2)

'Well, technically you're not a genius, but you have an aenius in others It's so obvious!'

'It is?'

'Remember when you'd been kidnapped by Duke Balthassar's men and taken to New York, and we tracked you down?'

Matty nodded, mystified

'Do you reetyou on the train line to Pennsylvania?'

Matty smiled 'Yeah, that was clever, wasn't it?'

'Youa pen, then touched the sill, then pointed to a weather vane on a nearby building It took ether, but I did'

'Yeah, I rehed in exasperation 'Don't you see? That's what Ainia are going to Edinburgh!'

Matty frowned 'That's a bit of a coincidence,' he said dubiously 'Hi a rabbit's head and a nearby burrow to put it in, and knowing he was going to Edinburgh'

'I think it happened the other way around,' Sherlock said He could feel the pure, cold fla away the tiredness and the aching muscles He'd done it! He'd cracked the code! He kneas right! 'I' it's the best clue in the world, but Mr Crowe had to hatever he had to hand He could use the pinholes in the wall to point us out here, he had the rabbit's body lying around and he knew there were burrows out here in the paddock He used the ingredients to hand to h because that was the only destination he could build a clue for!'

'But why has he let us know that he's going to Edinburgh?' Matty asked

'He o after him There's no other reason If he didn't want to leave without saying goodbye, he could have left a note saying just that: ”Goodbye” It wouldn't matter who found that But it clearly does h I think he's in danger I think he wants our help'

'We're goin' to follow hileefully

'Well,' Sherlock answered cautiously, 'there are other options Perhaps we should tell oing to do? Knowing your brother, I doubt he'll be getting the next train to Scotland He'll just send lots of telegra people to search for Mr Crowe, but they won't knohat he or Virginia look like'

Sherlock shook his head 'We've never been to Edinburgh,' he said 'We won't know anything about the place How can we help them if we'll be practically lost there ourselves?'

'I've been there,' Matty said cheerfully 'My dad took e Took weeks, it did We stayed there for a month or more while he looked for work'

'Even so a the two of us, just kids, alone in Scotland?'

'You went to America And Russia'

'I had Mr Croith inia'

'That was an accident,' Sherlock protested 'The train left the station before we could get off I also had Mycroft with me in Russia'

'Before he was arrested'

'But that wasn't part of our plan Anyway, Rufus Stone ith us He helped' A bright light seeo on in his head 'What if we asked Rufus Stone to come with us?'

'Would he?' Matty asked dubiously 'I didn't think he and Mr Crowe got on'

'They don't,' Sherlock ad locked in the saht for aRufus Stone to hang around Farnhaet into trouble Mycroft still thinks that the Paradol Chaainst h, then he'll have to co into trouble, then he won't have any choice'

'Won't he just stop you fro on a train?'

Sherlock smiled 'You know Rufus Stone You knohat he's like Given a choice between stoppingan adventure, what do you think he'll do?'

'Fair point,' Matty admitted 'When do we tell him?'

'Let's collect a bit more information first I want to check the station in Farnha for Scotland, then they're not doing it on horseback, or in a cart They'd be too vulnerable No, they'll go by train'

Matty frowned, carefully thinking through what Sherlock had said Watching him, Sherlock felt a sudden flash of kinshi+p Matty had become a part of his life in a way he had never expected The boy was his opposite in so ical, emotional where Sherlock was cold, ih his options a but he had a quickSherlock had to a best friend Sherlock wondered if he alould be

'If Mr Crowe bought two tickets to Edinburgh from the ticket office at Farnha a trail If the A him they could just check at the ticket office and find out where he went It's not as if he's inconspicuous'

'No,' Sherlock agreed 'So ould he do?'

Matty shrugged 'I dunno'

'He'd probably buy two tickets to an interet off earlier a h to Edinburgh froo from Farnham direct to Guildford, and there they would lose the trail, because nobody at the ticket office in Guildford would rely

'In fact,' Sherlock went on, 'if I were hiet off at Ash Wharf, buy two tickets for London, then when I got to London I'd buy two tickets for Edinburgh That confuses the trail even more'

'You're sure that's what he'd do?'

Sherlock nodded 'He's a hunter He knows the kinds of trail that prey can leave, and he'll be careful not to do the sao to Farnhae towards the centre of Farnhauilt in Sherlock's uarded Who knehat inia came back? They would come back, he was sure of it He would make sure of it

The ticket-office clerk at Farnham a a tall elderly irl dressed like a boy, had bought two tickets the day before Sherlock was pleased to note that the tickets had been bought with Guildford as the destination So far his deductions were bang on target