Red Leech
Andy Lane
 A few months following the events of Death Cloud, Sherlock Holmes is pleased when Mycroft comes to visit him at Holmes Manor in Hampshire, but Mycroft's visit has a serious purpose, he has come to let Amyus Crowe know that British Intelligence suspect that John Wilkes Booth has come to England under the alias to John St. Helen. Without any encouragement from Mycroft or Amyus, Sherlock sets off to Godalming where Booth is suspected of hiding out, enlisting Matty Arnatt's help along the way. Sherlock enters the grounds of the house in Golaming that he suspects Booth is staying in, there he is kidnapped from a brief period of time by a man whose face is scarred by fire on one side, this man may be Booth and is being aided and guarded by three fellow conspirators. Sherlock escapes with Matty's help and immediately returns to Holmes Manor and lets Mycroft and Amyus know what happened. They are somewhat disappointed that Sherlock has let the conspirators know that they are under investigation. The next morning, the Holmes brothers visit Amyus who concludes that the conspirators will have taken flight and will be heading to America, so he needs to follow them. When they discover that the conspirators have kidnapped Matty, Amyus, Sherlock and Virginia chase them on horseback, but are unsuccessful in rescuing Matty. Given the new turn of events, it is decided that Sherlock will accompany Amyus and Virginia to America as he is the only one who knows what all the conspirators look like. Once they reach America, Sherlock locates where Matty is being held and he and Virginia follow the conspirators (and Matty) on board a train. The conspirators find Sherlock and Virginia, and after a perilous fight on the roof of the train, Sherlock is captured and the train is diverted to the headquarters of the organizer of the conspiracy, Duke Balthassar. In conversation with Balthassar, it becomes clear that the conspirators plan to invade Canada and have it become the Confederate stronghold—a plan which Sherlock is determined to foil.