Sherlock Holmes in 2012: LORD OF DARKNESS RISING Read Free Page B

it.”
    “Well, simple, my dear fellow; I came through the back door as every actor did two nights ago and as they will in 48 hours. And Adnan will need to come in to detonate his bomb at that time – as every good actor should…”
    “And that will give us an opportunity to nab him, is that it?”
    “Yes, by George, I think you’ve got it! ” Sherlock exclaimed, getting up from his seat and making his way to the back door of the balcony.
    Ashford looked after him, smiled to himself and returned to his watching the few men left down on the floor – those who were still combing the aisles.
     
    Hours later – nearly 3:00 AM by Ashford’s wristwatch – the search of the Majestic Theatre had come up empty! On the one hand, Ashford was glad that no bomb had been found on the premises, yet, on the other, he was worried that Adnan had placed his device in some other theatre or even in one among the hundreds of buildings lining Broadway. Once the Majestic had returned to its ghostly tranquillity in the hours preceding sunrise, Ashford had made his way home, and as soon as he had reached his living room, he had taken his cell phone out of his pocket to call Denver in Washington with the news.
    “ That does it! ” Denver exploded over the line. “As soon as I put my hands on him, I’m gonna slap the cuffs on him and send him to Guantanamo for a spell and see how he likes it.”
    “Hold on, sir, maybe Mr. Holmes was right insofar as The Mouse Trap and the bomb connection was concerned – maybe the bomb is to be installed on Saturday…”
    “Can you explain what you mean by that?”
    “Well, sir, if Adnan made it so obvious to show himself at the Preview, maybe he wanted us to search the theatre and come up empty so that he could see his way clear to plant the bomb whenever he likes after we’ve left the theatre.”
    “That’s a thought – yes, that’s probably what he’s got planned – but, and again, we’ve been chasing our tails with no evidence to show for our troubles.” Denver paused. “Okay, keep the Majestic under surveillance for now – and I mean no one in or out of the place until Saturday – do you hear me?”
    “What about the people who work on preparing the sets and that kind of stuff?”
    “ When I said no one, I meant no one , Ashford! ” Denver was shouting again.
    “Okay, I’ll keep you posted.”
    “You do that!”
     
    Since there was no train that would get him back to Washington the next morning, Sherlock decided to stick around New York and remain hidden in the theatre until the FBI found the bomb. When everyone seemed to be packing up and Sherlock saw that practically all of the agents had reported finding no device of any kind anywhere in the building or in its ventilation system, he slumped to the floor of the darkened basement and waited until the quietness of the night had enveloped the theatre once again.
    He had made a mistake somewhere – but where? He had been so sure the bomb had been planted when Adnan attended the play. And that assumption had proven wrong. There was no device hidden anywhere in this theatre at this point in time.
    “I was an idiot!” he blared into the silence. “Why didn’t I understand this before? This has been a cat and mouse game from the beginning and Adnan wouldn’t have changed his modus operandi just to please me!” Still mumbling to himself, Sherlock began pacing the floor of the basement. “He wanted me to think and act exactly the way I did. There wasn’t to be any bomb in this theatre 48 hours before the play – the man needed a free hand to plant his device after everyone had concluded there wasn’t any bomb anywhere, so that he could come in as he pleased between now and Saturday to hide it.”
    Now that he had concluded that Adnan would return to the theatre well before the curtain rose on Saturday night, Sherlock wanted to stay hidden in the Majestic’s basement – or any place suitable within