#again this makes me want to see mycroft and vogel interact

[onceinawhilemoon]

Fuck. I just realized that Vogel might well have been the one behind the police files on Violet's case disappearing in the first place. This line, "I'm failing to be of much help," his delivery of it, the seemingly innocuous question about the "precious information" and even the way this scene is framed...

I mean, we all know Vogel was stirring the shit from day one, but the possibility didn't even occur to me because I just assumed Mycroft had something to do with the missing files. Now that I think about it, though, there are way too many inconsistencies..

Why would Mycroft remove the files but not the folder that contained them or the crime scene report? He even left the judge’s letter (evidence of bribery) intact at the manor. I don't think he'd ever be careless enough to leave them behind if he truly wanted to cover the tracks, and he sure has the means to erase an entire room full of evidence from existence if he wanted to. I assume he also has some level of influence/control over what gets published in the news, so why would he remove the files but still allow the Chronicle to report about the investigation and completely contrdict the tuberculosis narrative by saying "cause of death unknown" ? If Sherlock happened to read it, it would raise all kinds of alarm bells...

All this to say.. I don’t think Mycroft intended to dispose of any physical evidence besides hiding the truth itself from his brother, I think he just wanted to take him out of that place at all costs and as soon as possible. Maybe he was confident in his ability to keep it all in Cordona and keep Sherlock away from it ? (especially with Sherry’s post-traumatic amnesia and Jon helping tremendously with that) I like this interpretation because it shows how despite all his careful planning and foresight, he was deeply affected by what happened and too tired to account for a future possibility in which Sherlock might want to revisit the past and investigate. I imagine he must be beating himself up over this oversight because all those breadcrumbs he unwittingly left behind eventually helped Sherlock piece everything together...

On the other hand, I can definitely see Vogel hiring someone (like when he hired a random guy to pretend to be a sailor) to relocate or get rid of the files to further complicate things for Sherlock and string him along, or to prove to him that systems, institutions, and even society as a whole reject the truth and reject it so vigorously that they're willing to alter or erase records to suppress it.

Heck, Vogel might well have wanted Sherlock to believe it WAS Mycroft because bonus points if he managed to destabilize Sherlock's mental state AND fuel the feud with his brother.

Removing the files or relocating some of them to the “discarded document drawers” but keeping an empty folder with big bold letters stating “The Case of Violet Holmes” does give strong vibes of someone deliberately trying to lead (or mislead) Sherlock rather than a poor attempt at evidence disposal, or even vandalism or mishap on the police’s part, for that matter.

That would also be the perfect way for Vogel to ensure Sherlock is locked onto the "Sisyphus to Ozymandias" path, because if Sherlock found that information was being deliberately suppressed, it'd trigger his obsessive need to pursue it until he's uncovered the whole truth...