To the people at Pioneer and the heirs to the greatest mystery writer of all time Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I am only using the characters and plot here for entertainment purposes. You both have way more money than I ever will, so don't bother to sue me.

Chapter 5: Miss Washu shows herself

As much as I wanted to run over to the manor and find out who was shining that light in the window, Tenchi needed my attention. For the rest of the night, Ayeka and I watched over him, listening to his heart through our stethoscopes, making sure it's beat was steady.

As dawn approached, I grew sleepy. Ayeka had no patients the following day, save for an afternoon appointment to the Gypsy camp so she let me sleep on her sofa.

Later that morning, I awoke. Ayeka had Tenchi out of bed, and he seemed all right, if a bit tired. "Now remember, Sir Tenchi," she said, in the bedside tone all us doctors have to learn, "you must avoid undue excitement or stress. You barely missed having a dangerous heart attack, but only because you are young and in rather good health. You do have the same condition as your grandfather, and it will get worse as you get older. But if you take my advice, you should live to a ripe old age, in spite of it."

"Yeah, yeah, I got you." Tenchi nodded.

"And I second Ayeka's opinion," I put in.

"Did I ask for an opinion from you Ryoko?" Ayeka's gaze turned to me. "I must remind you Ryoko, I'm the doctor for this area and for the Baskerville family! You have no-"

"Hey, I was just backing you up! Last time I ever do that!" I yelled back.

"When do I need you to back me up? If I remember right, you barely passed through our class concerning cardiac conditions and treatment-and I'll bet it's because of 'favors' you did for Professor-"

"Hey, what are you saying? That I slept my way through med school?"

"Girls, girls," Tenchi was holding up his hands. "Please, could you just let me go home?"

"Very well," I said, and couldn't resist smirking at Ayeka. "I'll walk you home."

"I am not leaving Sir Tenchi in your care, not in his state!" Ayeka screamed. "Especially since you'll likely be smoking those cigars around him, and that's the last thing he needs!"

"Hey, second hand smoke never hurt anyone. Besides, you've got to get some shuteye, or you won't be in any shape to check up on those gypsies later."

Ayeka frowned but nodded; whatever else you could say about her, Ayeka was a devoted doctor. "And of course, you'll be seeing about the light shining from the window?" she asked.

"What light?" Tenchi asked.

Putting our argument aside for the moment, Ayeka and I told Tenchi about how we saw a candle shining from on of the window of Baskerville Hall, just like the one he and I saw out on the moor. "But-the only ones in the manor when we went out were the Barrymores-Barry, Alan and Cohen have their rooms by the stables," Tenchi mused, then shook his head. "Never mind. I'm well enough now, and I'm going to see what that was about."

Tenchi and I had gone back to the manor; and to the room where Ayeka and I saw the candlelight shining in the window. We'd given word to Rea Barrymore, and soon, she, her husband, and the three stablehands were in the room with us.

Tenchi told of our encounter with the escaped convict. "And then, because it was so late, we spent the night at Dr. Ayeka's cottage instead of back here" Tenchi said, omitting the part about his heart condition, "and from there we saw a light in the window of this very room. Exactly like the one we had seen earlier, and assume that Selden had been shining, from the old cathedral.

Allen, Barry, and Cohen just looked puzzled. But from the way the butler and his wife started, I didn't need Washu's powers of observation to tell they were the culprits.

Neither did Sir Tenchi. "What were you doing!" he cried to Noboyuki. "Was it that murderer you were trying to contact? Why!"

"Please, sir," said Noboyuki, his voice surprisingly calm, "I only gave him food and clothes, nothing more."

"But even that still constitutes as aiding a fugitive!" Tenchi shouted. "Tell me, why?"

"I can't say," Noboyuki answered. "I can't."

"There are two Scotland Yard Detectives in the village looking for that very convict, and if you don't tell me, I'll turn you in to them."

"I can't-"

"No." Rea held her husband's hand and looked at Tenchi. "He-he came to us, the night he escaped. He was so wretched, so cold and hungry, and I had to help him because-because," and her voice was barely audible, "because he's my brother."

We all were silent. "Your-your brother?" I finally said.

Rea nodded. "My younger brother. I know what he did, and I knew we were breaking the law by helping him. But I just couldn't-" Her eyes clouded up, and she burst out sobbing on her husband's shoulder.

"We were making arrangements for him to leave the country," said Noboyuki. "They did horrid things to him in that asylum; even operated on his brain to the point were he has the mind of a child. Please sir, do with me what you want, but please, spare my wife. She only wanted to help her brother."

Sir Tenchi was silent for over a minute, then the color faded from his face-I think he was remembering what Ayeka and I said about avoiding stress. "Very well," he said in a low voice. "but if the police somehow learn of what you've been doing, I'll deny any knowledge of it. And once he's out of the country, you and Mrs.. Barrymore are to leave Baskerville Hall. And it's only because of the years of service you both gave my grandfather that I'm giving you that much!"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Noboyuki said, then led a sobbing Rea out of the room. Allan Barry, and Cohen followed after them, supposedly to resume their work with the horses.

Tenchi walked over to a nearby chair and sighed. "Great, just great," he muttered. "Someone's trying to kill me, I find out I have Grandpa's heart condition, and now I'm party to helping a killer evade justice. I'm beginning to think there really is a curse on my family-and it's not just to do with the Hound."

I smiled at him. "Just remember," I said, "don't get into anything too stressful or exciting, and you should be fine. You're young, and otherwise quite healthy, so you shouldn't have any heart trouble, as long as you follow doctors orders. In fact," and I smiled coyly as I leaned close to him, "this doctor says it's all right to have a little excitement if you wish."

"Um, er, I've got to go look over some of Grandpa's financial records again," Tenchi stammered, then slipped out of my fingers and quickly left the room. "Great, just great," I murmured, then remembered I had that report to make to Washu.

After dropping my report at the telegraph office, I headed back towards the manor. Strange, it felt, to be alone, out in the countryside entirely by myself. It had been so long, and for the first time I was struck by how beautiful the countryside was-"

"Oh! Oh! Look Kiyone, it's doctor Ryoko!" I instantly recognized that voice-and groaned. Even as I did so, I turned to see Scotland Yard Inspectors Mihoshi Lestrade and Kiyone Gregson walking up towards me.

"Oh Ryoko, it's so good to see you!" Mihoshi squealed enthusiastically. She was this blonde airhead whose ditziness made me wonder what Scotland Yard was thinking when they let her join-unless it was some sort of twisted way of showing how unfit women were in law enforcement. That and the fact the director of the yard was her grandfather.

"So, is Miss Washu Holmes here to track after this Selden character too?" Kiyone muttered. She was a fit athletic type with a no nonsense personality I rather liked. We might have been closer friends, but in my first publication, of a case where Washu and I worked with her and Mihoshi, I mentioned that she arrested the wrong suspect and she kind of held it against me. "Wherever you go, she's usually not far behind."

"As a matter of fact," I said truthfully, "Washu's back in London. I'm just here visiting my good friend, Sir Tenchi Baskerville, the new lord of Baskerville Hall."

"Is that so?" Kiyone looked rather ambiguous.

"Ho, Doctor Ryoko!" I looked, and I saw that old man Frankland driving his carriage up the road. "Fancy seeing you out here on this fine day! And who are these two lovely ladies?"

I introduced him to Mihoshi and Kiyone. "So you're the two lady Inspectors the Yard sent to catch that convict, eh? Well, I have to say the two of you are darn sight prettier than I imagine Scotland Yard's other detectives must be." Mihoshi blushed, and even Kiyone smiled a little. "In fact, I may be able to help you two get your hands on this fellow."

"You can?" Kiyone asked. "How?"

"Let me show you." Motioning at his carriage, the three of us climbed in, and he drove us to his house.

Frankland's home was a small but luxurious abode, with a a small domed room set aside for a large telescope. "Astronomy is a hobby of mine," he explained, "And one day, when I was looking through the scope, when I saw something-and I think the time's about right now. "He allowed each of us to look through the eyepiece. I saw a young girl, who looked about eleven or twelve, dressed in gypsy fashion, running up towards the rocky hills. "I've seen her running back and forth, from town to those hills, every day for the past week. I've been wondering what she could be doing, and when I met you two it hit me-she must be running errands for that convict Z Selden!"

"She could simply be going to the Gypsy camp," Kiyone suggested.

"No no," Frankland retorted. "Gypsy camps always move around, and the gypsies only go into town when they have to, which isn't very ofton. No, that girl must have somehow gotten acquainted with that man, and she's doing favors for him." He grunted. "Miserable buggers, those gypsies are. I've repeatedly petitioned to have them driven out of the county, but Yosho Baskerville lets them stay on his land-or rather he did; hopefully this Sir Tenchi will prove more reasonable."

"This does bear looking into," Kiyone admitted. "Thank you Mr. Frankland."

"Always glad to do my duty on behalf of law and order, madam Inspector," Frankland nodded courteously.

As we left the house, Kiyone looked at me. "Shouldn't you be going back to Baskerville Hall? She asked.

"Well, Sir Tenchi's not expecting me back for several hours," I said. Besides, I wanted a little excitement.

"Yeah Kiyone, besides three against one is better than two," Mihoshi said. "It's not like Dr. Ryoko doesn't have any experience in this sort of thing, and you know she's good with a gun."

Kiyone frowned, then nodded. "All right. But just remember, shoot only if you're shot at." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small revolver."

"No thanks, I brought my own," I said, showing her my big .455 Webley. "Hey, you never know what you might run into out here on the moor."

The three of us had made our way up to the hills where we saw the girl walking. Kiyone was looking down at the rocky mud surface. "Okay, it looks like she went this way." She pointed to a series of small footprints. "They lead this way," and we followed them to a small opening of a cave.

I threw down the cigar I had been smoking, and we went inside It was obvious that someone had been living there-was a blanket and a kerosene lantern, as well as several copies of the London Times-but the blanket wasn't the same as the one Tenchi and I had saw earlier in the cathedral.

Kiyone picked up several volumes of books. "From what I read of Z Selden, he's not much of a reader-hardly likely he'd have copies of 'Plant Poisons and their Antidotes,' and How to Identify Metals by Their Reaction to Fire,' hanging around."

"Ah, maybe he robbed a library?" suggested Mihoshi.

"People rob banks, not libraries," I mumbled. Suddenly, the girl we had seen through the telescope had stepped into the cave. "What are you ladies doing here?" she asked.

"I'm Inspector Kiyone Gregson of Scotland Yard," Kiyone said, "and this is my partner Mihoshi Lestrade."

The gypsy girl then looked at me. "And you're Doctor Ryoko Watson?"

"How'd you know that?" I asked.

She held up my discarded cigar. "What other woman in this area smokes this brand?"

"How do you know what brand-?" Suddenly I looked at her face, and recognized that grin. "Washu!"

Puppet A popped up on her right shoulder-and even was dressed like Washu's disguise. "SHE SURE FOOLED YOU!"

"WASHU IS THE MISTRESS OF DISGUISE!" added Puppet B.

If it wasn't for the danger of ricochets, I would have used those dummies for target practice right then and there.

End of chapter five.

Okay, to readers who've been following this story for a while, I've changed the casting-again. I realized that Z, the villain from the third OVA series, would fit in better for the Selden role than Doctor Clay. Guess why.