The Puppeteers (Mycroft Holmes)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Murder She Wrote

Mycroft sighed as he sat back down in his seat. He had been obliged to bring work home tonight as a possible threat had been identified and was being taken care of. Finally finished with the day's work, he was simply waiting for a report from the task force. Jason had called to say there was information Mycroft should have immediately. It would be here...

Someone knocked.

"Enter." He sighed. Hesitant steps came in. He opened his eyes and frowned. Usually they would drop off the files and leave the delivering to Anthea. He stood slowly. "Miss Herd..."

She looked at his extended hand with hesitant eyes. He withdrew slowly, unsure what to expect. Taking a deep breath, Cameron held a Manila folder out to him.

"The suicides have stopped." Mycroft opened the folder as she spoke. "We traced the last killer's contact. The middle man, I guess. It was a man named Christopher Murphy. Forty-three, unemployed as far as his records say. Havi was going through the works when he..." She swallowed. "He found phone and bank records. They're on page six. They all go to each of the killers' families. But there was one that he kept going back to, a woman named Brooke Savage."

Mycroft looked up, hearing the tremble and hesitation in her voice. "And she is?"

"Page twelve. Brooke Savage was married to a man named Lucas Hall. He was abusive and a career criminal. She tried to run multiple times but he always caught her. Her last attempt, she made it. Moved to London, started a new life as a... as a florist. Her new name is Savannah Brooks." Her voice dropped to a whisper and she looked down.

Mycroft flipped to the page and stared at Savannah's picture. His stomach dropped, his lungs shuddered quickly and then hitched up.

He shook his head slowly, sinking into his chair. "No... She's divorced. She..." He stared at the file. Everything was true. Everything he knew about her was there. But her name was wrong, the name under spouse was wrong.

"Are you sure?" He choked.

Cameron nodded. "We triple-checked. I'm sorry, sir. Your marriage isn't even valid. But she..." She reached over the desk and flipped a few pages ahead. "Murphy contacted her a number of times, starting in February 2002. From what we gathered, Savannah refused to work with him. But her hus-" she paused as Mycroft tensed. "Lucas Hall came close to finding her in 2009. Evidently, Murphy's employer offered protection and they contacted her again to offer a second chance. She accepted."

"To do what?" His voice was rough. He cleared his throat quickly and nodded for her to go on.

Cameron stared at him. "To kill you, sir."

Oh God.

He took a shuddering breath and closed the folder. "I'll increase security. What do you know about their plan?"

Cameron's eyes widened but she kept up. "March 21st, sir, is the planned attack. As far as we've ascertained, Savannah has been awaiting activation. Whatever the reason for the attack, her employer isn't ready yet. Savannah will carry it out and then the employer will apparently help her disappear yet again. Lucas will probably be terminated. If um... I may, sir, we have a suggestion. We think it would be best if you let it play out. It's up to you, you have to live with her. But if you act now, you could spook her employer and we'll be back to square one."

He nodded slowly. "Yes, thank you. We'll increase security closer to the date but it will be allowed to continue for now. Is that all, Miss Herd?"

Cameron nodded hesitantly and left on quiet feet. Mycroft waited for the heavy door to close before sagging into his seat. His head fell into his hands and he choked on a wave of - dear God - pain? Grief? Betrayal?