Lestrade gaped at Fielding. Looking over at Holmes, she could see that he was just as shocked as she was. Good, he hadn't known or even suspected.

"You said something about someone running off with the experiment?" Holmes said with a warning glance to Lestrade. She glared at him but kept her peace.

"Yes, the head neurologist, Julie Canton, decided that what we were doing was wrong and took off with it." Fielding's voice became angry again. "She destroyed her part of the written work also, the only part we couldn't recreate. None of us knew.." she stopped. "I can't tell you any more. Classified. Anyway, the project was cancelled. That woman cost us a Nobel Prize. I'm glad she's dead now." She no longer looked remotely anything like a good fairy godmother; she now resembled a witch.

Lestrade sneered at her, and, before Holmes could stop her, said, "That woman was my mother. And if you don't want to be an accessory to murder, you better tell me and Mr. Holmes here the whole truth about this project."

Fielding stared at her in shock. "I..I...didn't know she had children." Then she sighed in defeat. "All right. It was a project to create a drug that would help doctors to understand the human mind better through psychic contact. Elaine was the head of the project, and at first seemed willing to do anything to succeed. Then the backer showed up.

"He...was...a very strange individual, and seemed to be good friends with Fenwick. They were always talking.

"One day, he came in and told Elaine that he was putting Fenwick in charge, and that he was going to change the experiment. He wanted the drug to enable humans to teleport any place they wished. Elaine immediately protested, but he silenced her, saying that either she did as asked or she would be taken off the project.

"So she helped us finish it, and like I said, her part was the most important. We wouldn't have been able to do it without her.

"The day after it had been made -- we called it the T-222 drug -- she disappeared with what little we had made, and destroyed all her files. The project was cancelled, and I got my teaching post here."

Holmes nodded slightly. "The pieces are starting to come together." He looked at Fielding and asked, "When did the backer die, and what was his name?"

Fielding gaped at him. "I...I never said.. anything about... Okay, his name was Nick Harris, and he died about twelve years ago."

---

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Tom demanded.

The disfigured man chuckled. "Those four know who we are," he said, pointing at Watson and the Irregulars.

The man who had come in with him smiled evily, "Yes. Now, where is it?"

"Where is what?" Tom asked. This must be the 'boss' the two men had talked about.

"Yeah, Moriarty, what do you want with this guy?" Wiggins asked.

Moriarty smiled again. "The ring. And don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."

"How do you know I have it?" Tom asked, delaying.

"Because we have checked your sister's apartment from top to bottom, and it is not there. And if she had put the ring on....Well, I doubt you would all be here, having fun. You'd be trying to find out all that you could about it."

Tom smirked. Maybe this guy wasn't that smart after all....

Then Moriarty asked, "Where are Holmes and the lovely Inspector?"

Something must have shown on their faces because Moriarty then said to the disfigured man, "Find them, Fenwick."

Fenwick instantly jumped to do his master's bidding.