Hello Kitty i hope you are doing well. I was wondering (and apologize for bringing back less than stellar memories), how was Jim, Richard...whatever his name is, as a house guest? Did he stay long? (Was it like a protective custody situation?)
He came to me shortly after the trial and we spent about two weeks or so meeting up in cafés and hotel rooms, until I believed him and began to worry about his situation. He stayed with me from then on until Sherlock Holmes and John Watson found him there, so for just over a month. I tried to track him down after that, but no luck, and I thought that by concentrating on finishing my story and getting that published, I'd be helping him anyway.
It was all for his own safety, yeah. He was terrified- He said that he was terrified that Holmes would find out about my story and turn on him, that the money he'd offered him to pretend to be Jim Moriarty was turning into threatening behaviour and he didn't know how much longer he could keep it up. It seemed very natural at the time to offer up my flat - Holmes had completely rejected my offer of help at the courthouse, so we thought I was as good as non-existent to him from that point onwards.
Rich had all the information; everything he told me could be proven. I just didn't realise at the time that all his evidence was fake, and I felt for him, I really felt for him. As horrible as it is to think about now, I was very close to the man I believed was Richard Brook.
And Rich was lovely. I don't think anyone but Sherlock Holmes himself could have doubted that he was a genuinely lovely man. He was always polite and kind, he always knew the right thing to say, and it makes me feel sick to think about it now but he made me laugh, a lot. He used to go food shopping for me and keep the flat clean because I was so busy working on my story. When I wasn't, we spent a lot of time together. After our initial meeting and after I'd spent a week or so researching everything, I honestly never doubted or was suspicious of him. He was like something out of a fairy tale.