After recovering from the startling discovery that Carmen S. had stolen his best pipe, Holmes made further investigations into the situation. First, he discovered that not only had she stolen his best pipe, she had also taken the hat that she had left at Mrs. Hudson's doorstep. However, this discovery did not upset Holmes as much as the discovery that she had taken his best pipe. He believed that since the hat was originally her property, she had the right to take it back if she wanted it.

Holmes had also questioned Mrs. Hudson and examined both the windows leading to the basement and the back doorway. I later learned that Holmes's questioning of Mrs. Hudson confirmed his suspicions -- she had seen nobody enter through the front door other than Holmes and myself, nor had she heard anybody enter. The bars on the windows leading to the basement were clearly in place, and Holmes had seen no signs that anyone had entered the house through the basement. However, the back door was another matter. There were clear signs that somebody had forced around the lock, and there were some footsteps evident outside the back door. Holmes was able to confirm that the footsteps matched those he had seen outside the British Museum.

After he had finished telling me what he had discovered, Holmes took his second-best pipe and smoked it for a long while, trying to think of a good plan to entrap Carmen S. However, he finally gave up, because he was so frustrated over her actions that he couldn't think as clearly as he would like. Instead, he decided to relieve his frustrations by playing the violin yet again. So from 3:30 to close to 5:00 he played the violin to soothe his frustration.

It was at that moment when Inspector Lestrade arrived. Holmes could not refrain from grinning when he saw Lestrade's shamefaced expression. "What could possibly have happened to you, Lestrade?" he asked. "After all, you currently have an accomplice to the thief we are after, while I still have to figure out a way to capture our thief."

"I don't have Miss Turner anymore," said Lestrade. "A few moments ago, we discovered that she escaped. Worse, we have every reason to believe that this Carmen S. had released her."

I stared at Lestrade, then turned to Holmes. He sat there, clearly not surprised by this turn of events. "Really?" he asked. "And how did this happen?"

"We tried every technique short of actual torture to get Miss Turner to say anything about her employer that would be useful to us," said Lestrade. "She said nothing. So we decided to keep her at Scotland Yard until we could bring her to trial. At about 4:30, it appears that a woman dressed in a dilapidated red dress, and a matching red bonnet entered our headquarters. She had black hair and blue eyes. She looked like a wealthy woman who had fallen into evil days and was reduced to working for her living."

Holmes looked extremely interested in the description of the woman. "Go on," he urged.

"She said that she earned her living by selling various items to poor and imprisoned people. Today she had some food to sell to the prisoners. The constable in charge, believing her to be harmless, showed her the way to the prison cells, and left her alone with the prisoners. Unfortunately, a short time afterwards, several of our prisoners were mysteriously released and tried to escape to freedom. It took all of our constables, even those who guarded the exits, to subdue them, for among the prisoners who were released were two very strong men. When the prisoners were finally subdued and returned to their cells, the constable went to find the woman so he could urge her to leave. However, not only couldn't he find the woman, he couldn't find Miss Turner either!"

Holmes began laughing. "So that was her plan. Disguise herself, enter the prison, and release some of the prisoners as a diversion! That was very clever of her!" It was obvious that he believed that the mysterious Carmen S. had been the woman who entered Scotland Yard peddling food to the prisoners. I had to admit to myself that it was very likely that Holmes's opinion was the correct one. "So then what did you do?"

"When I was alerted, I investigated the cell where Miss Turner had been kept, and found this," Lestrade said, handing a sealed envelope to Holmes. He examined it, then handed it over to me. The letter read as follows:

"This is your final clue, Mr. Holmes: Serinus Canarius."

Underneath the words was a sketch of part of a river, then the signature followed. This time, she signed it, "Miss Carmen Sandiego".

"This is extraordinary!" I said. "Why did she reveal her full name and not use her initials?"

"Either because this is a clue to her last crime, or because this is a clue as to where she's hiding," said Holmes. "In either case, she does not plan to stay here long. But by heaven, she won't escape so easily!"

"Do you have any clue as to what her letter means?" Lestrade asked.

"It's obvious what Serinus Canarius means," said Holmes. "That's the scientific name for the canary. The river points to --" he stopped, clearly thinking for a minute. Then he leapt to his private index, examined it, then yelled, "We don't have much time! We must get to Canary Wharf as soon as possible!"

"You really think that she will be there?" Lestrade asked doubtfully.

"She must be there!" Holmes said. "Using the scientific name for the canary is part of the clue, as is the river! The river part she sketched is part of the Thames River, and Canary Wharf is near the Thames River! That is where she will be, and in all probability, that is where she has been hiding. But before we go, I have to give you something." Holmes then handed Lestrade the sketch of "Samson and Delilah".

"How on earth did you get it?" Lestrade said.

"Miss Sandiego was in my rooms," Holmes said, looking frustrated. "She stole my pipe and took back her hat! I have every reason to believe that she stole my pipe simply to best me or to humiliate me."

"She certainly did that," Lestrade said, laughing openly at the idea of Miss Sandiego outwitting Holmes. "But as you said, we must get to Canary Wharf, if that is where she will be. I have a cab waiting for us outside."

"Then come along, Watson!" Holmes cried. "The game's afoot, and we have a thief to catch!"

It took about fifty minutes to get from 221B Baker Street to Westfeary Circus, near Canary Wharf. During that time, Holmes told Lestrade that he believed Carmen Sandiego had traveled from the future to this time period. Lestrade laughed at Holmes, saying, "You really believe this woman is from a time period different from our own? Or are you just unwilling to believe that a person from this era can actually remain one step ahead of you?"

Holmes glared at Lestrade, then said, "All the evidence I have indicates that this woman is from a future time period. By the way, I do not think you will need the pistol which is in the hip-pocket of your trousers."

"And why not?" asked Lestrade. "Isn't it wise to take precautions?"

"It is, if the criminal in question is dangerous," said Holmes. "In this case, however, I do not believe Miss Sandiego is dangerous. The main clue pointing in that direction is how she rescued her henchwoman. She did not use physical violence; instead, she used her intelligence and stealth." He said no more until we reached Westfeary Circus, where he told us to wait while he asked somebody near Canary Wharf for information.

About five minutes later, Holmes returned. "Come with me. I think I know where she's hiding." He led us down West India Avenue, then north till we got to Cabot North Colonnade. "I was lucky to find an old seaman heading from a pub on West India Avenue. His ship had been here since last Tuesday, being repaired, and since he had been here before, he knew the area quite well. He told me that until last Wednesday, one of the big warehouses had been abandoned. However, last Wednesday, he saw that two people had apparently rented the building, or at least that was what he had been told. The two people were women, and his description of one of the women matches the description of Miss Carmen Sandiego. He told me where the women were staying, and here we are!"

We were at the other end of Cabot North Colonnade by that time, and Holmes stopped in front of a seemingly abandoned warehouse. However, there were signs that someone had moved in, for there was a wagon tied up next to the warehouse. Holmes and Lestrade tried the doors to the warehouse, and found that they were unlocked. They opened the doors, and I followed them.

There, in the centre of the building, stood a cylindrical-shaped object over six feet tall. The door was open, and in the doorway, stood a young woman who could only be the mysterious Carmen Sandiego. I have seldom seen a more strikingly beautiful woman that Miss Sandiego. She had on a long red coat which concealed much of her outfit underneath, except for a yellow turned-up collar of some kind. Her hat was the same kind of hat that she had left for Holmes recently, and I could clearly see that she wore it in such a manner that it covered one of her eyes. However, I could see that the visible eye was blue. Finally, I could see that her hair was black as night and wavy. Miss Turner was nowhere to be seen, but in all probability she was concealed inside.

Lestrade yelled, "Carmen Sandiego, you are under arrest for two counts of grand larceny, one count of petty theft, and one count of aiding a prisoner to escape! Miss Paige Turner is also under arrest for one count of attempted grand larceny and one count of escaping from prison!"

"I don't think so, Inspector," said Carmen. To my surprise, she was smiling in a very serene manner. She then turned to Holmes. "We meet for the first time, Mr. Holmes. I am honored," she said, tipping her hat at him.

"I would share your sentiments, if you did not do your best to humiliate me," Holmes said, angrily.

"Even I need someone to keep me from having a swelled head," said Carmen. "I believe you also need to have your ego deflated, only more so than I do. Would you not agree with me, Dr. Watson?" she added, turning to me.

Privately, I agreed with her, but had no wish to incur Holmes's wrath, so I said, "Even if I did, I would not say so. However, I will say that I do admire your skill in eluding Holmes. Not many people are as successful at that as you are."

"Thank you, Doctor," she said, tipping her hat at me. Returning her attention to Holmes, she said, "I have left two mementoes for you. One of them is here in the warehouse. The other is with the Elgin Marbles. You will find the marbles soon enough. Ciao!" And with that, she closed the door.

"Stop her!" Holmes yelled, leaping toward the cylindrical-shaped object. But a second after he did so, I saw reddish lights suddenly surround the device. Then a yellow light also surrounded the device as it began to spin. Holmes was racing toward what was obviously a time machine, but I was uncertain that he would reach it in time. The machine spun wildly for a couple of moments, then in a flash, it vanished just as Holmes reached it! Carmen Sandiego and Paige Turner were gone.

Holmes immediately began examining the warehouse for the memento Carmen Sandiego had said she'd left behind. At the same time, I heard Lestrade babbling incoherently beside me. Turning, I noticed a completely stupefied look on his face. This was obviously too much of a shock for his entirely practical and unimaginative mind.

I returned my attention to Holmes, who was heading back toward us. In his hand, he held something wrapped in newspaper. "Is that the memento Miss Sandiego said would be in the warehouse?"

"Yes," said Holmes. "I suggest we go home and unwrap this memento, and leave Lestrade to recover coherent speech," he added, glancing at Lestrade with undisguised amusement. We then left Lestrade, still staring at the place where the time machine once stood, and babbling.

Before we hailed another cab to return us to Baker Street, we left a message for Lestrade with the cab driver who took us to Westfeary Circus, saying that we would be in Holmes's rooms when he found us.

Now back in Holmes's rooms, Holmes unwrapped the memento, while I noticed that the newspaper page Miss Sandiego chose was the same one which ran the announcement about the painting. When unwrapped, the memento was revealed to be a color photograph and a letter. The photograph was of Carmen Sandiego tipping her hat and smiling serenely at us, the envelope which contained the letter was addressed to "Mr. Sherlock Holmes." Holmes tore the envelope open, and we read it together. It ran in this way:

"To Mr. Sherlock Holmes:

Now that this challenge I have set for myself is coming to an end, I owe you and your loyal colleague, Dr. Watson, an explanation of who I am and why I came to your era.

My name is Carmen Sandiego, and I am a thief from the late twentieth/early twenty-first century. I was orphaned at a very young age, and until recently had no clue as to who my parents were. Now I suspect that they were a Malcolm and Marguerite Avalon from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mrs. Avalon died in a fire in her hotel in San Francisco, California, and I might have escaped that same fire. I grew up in a girls' orphanage, and later became a member of a detective agency called the Acme Detective Agency. There I became the best detective Acme ever had. Unfortunately, I began to run out of challenges, and that may have triggered deeply hidden fears of abandonment. I also began to fear that I might completely break down if I did not find some new challenges for myself -- a problem you would understand. Therefore, I left Acme, and became a thief. However, I steal mainly for the challenge and not because I need money or works of art, as I have plenty of money I have attained legitimately. The detectives of Acme now chase me, most notably two teenaged detectives named Zack and Ivy. They are brother and sister, with Ivy being older than Zack.

Some years ago, I had the good fortune to buy the complete collection of Dr. Watson's published tales, including ones that came after the account of the Red-Headed League. This inspired a desire to test my thieving skills against your detective prowess. So I began reading the doctor's stories and doing research into artistic objects that might have existed in 1890. However, as I immersed myself in reading the stories, I noticed two troublesome points about you. The first was your pronounced egotism, while the second point was an equally pronounced aversion to women, combined with a belief in negative stereotypes about women. As a result, I decided to deflate your egotism, while hopefully demolishing some of the negative stereotypes about women, most notably the one about them being seen but not heard. I also realized that deflating your egotism might enable me to see your entrapping skills in action.

So I chose to steal the pedestal with the three goddesses from the British Museum, the sketch of "Samson and Delilah" from the Ashmolean Museum, and your pipe for that very reason. Because my henchwoman Paige Turner wanted to see the London in which Charles Dickens lived, I agreed to bring her back in time with me. Once I found a suitable location in the East End, Paige and I entered the time machine, I set it to the appropriate time and place, and then activated the machine. Within minutes, we were in London, where I proceeded to put my plan in action. First, I stole a wagon near Canary Wharf; then I proceeded to steal the Elgin Marbles with the aid of what I call a hovercraft device, a device which requires no wheels; then going to Oxford and stealing a cab; and finally stealing the sketch and leaving my letter behind. I then withdrew to my hiding place and awaited your next move while I planned the theft of your pipe.

While I waited, I had Paige check the newspapers for clues as to your next move. Today, Paige was unable to get a copy of the London Times until I had left for your rooms. She read it, and loyally but unwisely decided to help me by stealing the painting for me. She had never read one of Watson's stories because she preferred what you would call the classics to more popular works, so she was not tipped off by the name of the artist. When I got back after stealing your pipe and leaving the sketch behind, Paige was nowhere to be found, but the newspaper was. I read what she had circled, and immediately saw the name Mary Morstan, whom I knew was Mrs. Watson. I realized that Paige had walked into a trap and had probably been captured, so I disguised myself to rescue her, after putting the marbles in the one place where nobody will probably expect to find them. You do not have to search for them, as I have no doubt that by the time you find this letter, they will already have been found. Once that was done, I left my final clue behind and retreated with Paige to our hideout to await your arrival.

I hope you do not mind my keeping your pipe too much. Besides the fact that its theft would deflate your egotism, it would be a valuable memento of my adventures. Also, smoking is bad for your health, as the good doctor no doubt realizes. I remain,

Very truly yours,

Carmen Sandiego

Until Next Crime!