Believe in Sherlock

Chapter 34-Maggie's POV

The cab slowed just down the street from the flat after Sherlock's sudden shout to, "Stop!"

The cabbie looked surprised but said nothing as we all split the fare evenly. I got out first and Sherlock followed. John got out on his own side of the cab and closed the door behind him. The cab drove off, leaving the three of us standing on the pavement.

"Stay outside and out of sight. No matter what you hear, don't come in." I demanded sternly.

Sherlock simply scoffed while John nodded.

I headed for the front door while the two men went and hid by the side of the building, out of sight. Safe.

I knocked on the front door and waited for a response.

Charles's voice came through the earpiece instead. "Come in." He said happily.

I opened the door and stepped inside. I readjusted the camera in my pocket so it could catch everything on video. I walked up the stairs and into Mr. Brown's flat.

"Maggie, what a surprise." Charles said sarcastically.

I simply glared at the man.

"You? What are you doing here?" Jim Brown asked nervously.

"Just here for a chat." I replied simply and stood in the doorway where I could keep both men in my sights.

"Where are your little detective friends, Sherlock and John?" Charles said. I hated the sound of their names in his voice. He grinned sinisterly at me, knowing my hatred toward him. He seemed to enjoy my torture.

"That's none of your business now is it, Mr. Magnussen." I said with anger clear in my tone.

"Please, it's Charles." Charles answered as if I cared.

"May I ask how you two know each other?" Jim asked looking from Charles to me and then back to Charles.

The smirk never left Charles's face as he said, "We've been acquainted with each other for a small amount of time. That's not important however. I believe that Margaret is here for a reason." Charles leaned forward in his seat and gestured for me to continue.

"I came to ask about the case, Mr. Brown." I said, shifting my attention cautiously between the two men.

"The case?" Jim's voice cracked nervously. He cleared his throat and continued. "What about it?"

"I know you did it. Might as well confess." I shrugged nonchalantly and kept my gaze on Charles and Jim.

Jim's eyes widened and he looked at Charles with a panicked look on his face. Charles kept his face neutral and returned my intense gaze. "What makes you so sure about that?" He questioned, ignoring Jim's obvious look of distress.

"You worked for Moriarty, yes? Well, you were the one who ordered his corpse to be 'transferred'." I said, looking at Charles before continuing, "You ordered Jim to get the job as the driver of a hearse. The coffin was dug up and transferred to a hearse to be moved."

Charles leaned forward, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees. "Why do you say 'a hearse' not 'the hearse'?" He asked with a satisfied grin on his lips.

"The hearse at the crime scene was not the one that carried Moriarty's coffin. You, Mr. Magnussen, drove that one. Jim Brown was just the distraction for us. He notified the police because he knew they wouldn't find anything and Lestrade would therefore notify us and ask for us to take a look at the clean hearse." I said swiftly, trying to get to the question I wanted to ask.

"So, where is the coffin?" Charles asked with a sinister smile.

I smirked slightly and paced across the room, "That question gnawed at my mind for quite a while...until we came here for the first time. Moving across the room, I notice a slight downhill slope in the flooring. Also, on the outside of the building, there is an attachment, a third floor if you will, connected to this flat. But the only thing I see is a wall. The slope leads to this wall." I moved towards the wall I was pointing at. I followed the slight slope until finally putting my hands on the beige painted wall. "The coffin is in the secret room."

I looked around for a second before finding a small and barely noticeable catch in the desk sitting beside it. I flipped the switch and the wall slid to the side, revealing a large wooden coffin inside.

I turned around to see the two men standing now. A nervous frown on Mr. Brown's lips while an impressed smile occupied Charles's mouth.

"Very good, Miss. Jones. I'm quite surprised that you solved this. Now, did you share any of this information with Sherlock and John?" He asked.

I hesitated before simply replying, "No."

Charles nodded and took a step towards me.

"Now, the only thing that I can't understand is, why?" I asked my one question.

Charles stopped advancing towards me and laughed shortly. "The great Margaret Jones can't figure it out?" He taunted.

I didn't reply and just watched him carefully.

"You expect me to just tell you? How idiotic do you think I am?" Charles took another step towards me.

"Well, I'm not sure if you want me to tell you what I think." I said with a small smirk.

Charles continued to walk toward me until he was a mere inch from my face. I didn't break eye contact with him. It would make me seem weak. That was the last thing I needed. To be weak.

Suddenly, I came to a realization. "Oh. That's why." I said.

"Please speak your thoughts." Charles requested.

"You didn't need his body. You needed something he was buried with." I said.

"Very good. Do you know what that object would be?" Charles quizzed, stepping away from me and started to pace back and forth like a lion hunting it's prey. I felt relief wash over me now that he wasn't so close to me.

"Something worth a lot of money." I said, speaking my thoughts out loud.

"Yes..." Charles said.

"Something important. Extremely important." I said.

"You're getting warmer." Charles sang, his voice going higher slightly.

"A plan?" I guessed.

"And she sticks the landing!" Charles exclaimed with fake enthusiasm.

"What plan?" I asked.

Charles stopped pacing and looked at me. "A plan to destroy Sherlock Holmes and England." He answered, stepping close to me again.

Our bodies were almost touching, he was so close to me. I looked up to see his eyes staring at me curiously. "And what did the plans tell you?" I asked, swallowing nervously.

"That you were the perfect weapon to destroy him. Use his emotions against him." Charles replied. "Take anything that he loves and destroy it." He bent down so he was even closer to my face. "Now, here's what you must do or else Sherlock and John die."

I felt tears well up in my eyes as he told me what I have to do...



(A/N) Wow, that was a hard explanation to come up with. I hope it makes sense and you liked my own little version of "The Empty Hearse" I know it's completely different from what it will be but I was just basing it off the title alone. What do you think Maggie will have to do?? Will Sherlock find out what happened? Will Charles destroy Sherlock?