The Baker's Detective

| The Detective and the Sandwich Shop |

The wall is gone, replaced by the new railing for the walnut and white stairs, though the wall behind them still needs to be painted pale yellow. The toilet's fixed in the bathroom, and the shower and sink have been installed, along with the white tiles. The cabinets in the kitchen likewise are now in, and the appliances were delivered and installed this morning.

Lily and Raven, the latter of whom is back from holiday, are painting the sitting room area, including the statement wall, and potentially the hallway. Liam is at work today, but he's coming tomorrow with Elliot to put down the backsplash in the kitchen, hopefully paint the wall behind the stairs, and bring in the couch. Lily was going to pay the store she bought it from to deliver it, but Liam told her not to waste her money since they could do it. She just hopes it will... go well. Generally.

"I can't hear the music at all," Raven complains, taking Lily out of her thoughts. There are already splotches of light blue paint on her old clothes and arms. "Turn it up, Lil; I'm ready to perform."

Lily turns it up only a little. "We can't sing too loudly. We might disturb the neighbors upstairs."

"Oh, they'll live. I'm sure they won't be able to hear it anyway."

"Well, they've heard enough. I have it on good authority that at least one of my neighbors is bothered by all the noise this renovation is causing."

Raven stops painting, turning to look at Lily. "Don't tell me they came down here and complained."

"Oh, no, I've never heard a word out of him — never met him either. It was his..." she thinks for a moment "... roommate's daughter, I believe. She's three years old, and she's called Rosie."

Raven scoffs. "So he sent her down to complain?"

"No. I met her when Mrs. Hudson was babysitting her. We were talking about the renovations, and she told me that, 'Lock says they are too loud.'"

"Lock?"

"His name's Sherlock. I guess that's what she calls him."

"Sherlock?" Raven says thoughtfully. "Like the detective guy?"

"That's it!" Lily exclaims. "I knew his name sounded familiar. Surname's Holmes, isn't it?"

"I think so," Raven replies. "Didn't he fake his death or something?"

Lily nods. "Yeah, I remember hearing about that a few years ago now... Mrs. Hudson's warning about the upstairs neighbors suddenly makes much more sense."

"What'd she say?"

"She warned about one of them — I'm assuming Sherlock — making occasional noise, and them having some visitors for their work coming in. She also said something about 'interesting characters.' I'm assuming she meant their clients."

"I think I remember reading about an uber-bad guy showing up here in one of those blog posts," Raven says. She thinks some more. "He had a weird name. Started with an, 'M.'"

"Yeah, I know who you mean," Lily replies. "I think he's dead, though."

"Oh, yeah, he's been dead a few years now. I remember reading that much. Shot himself so Sherlock would have no choice but to kill himself, too. That's a ghastly detail you don't forget."

Lily cringes at this, imagining what it would've been like for Sherlock to witness that, to be in that situation. He'd obviously prepared for it, what with the whole faking his death thing — though she doesn't think he ever said just how he did it — but still. Having to jump off that building (the details are coming back, now that they're talking about it), to say goodbye to loved ones, to see someone die, even if he was the bad guy. She goes over and turns the music down again.