Welcome to Baker Street

112. Don't wear your heart on your sleeve

"Superb analysis, Sherlock. My compliments." Jim applauds from the screen. "Maitotoxin is increasing the flow of calcium ions through the cardiac muscle membrane, messing with her heart rate. I find it exquisitely ironic that once again chemistry is horribly destructive for Miss Adler," he says, hinting at the words Sherlock spoke when he beat The Woman.

The detective arches a brow at that quote. How can Jim know the exact words he pronounced that night? Did he bug Mycroft's office?

"The last time you defeated her, your analysis of the chemical effects of sentiment on her body handed you the perfect ammunition to deduce the password to her cameraphone and bring her down. Now, I decided to replicate that scene as my fair retribution for her carelessness." He shows Irene a wolfish grin as his eyes narrow to two slits. "Chemistry is destroying her body from the inside. I calculated the exact dosage that will make her heart fail, unless..."

"Unless I figure out the right code. Again," Sherlock whispers, finally understanding the nature of that new riddle.

"Precisely."

"What code?" Giulia asks.

Sherlock points his finger to the keypad on the wall.

"I suppose that since Irene Adler blew her chances with me and my brother because of the password of her phone, this time I must find once again the right combination and type it on that keypad in order to have the antidote administered to her."

Moriarty smirks from the monitor. "It's just a matter of finding the right sequence. Only numbers, this time. No room for one of your clever tricks." He curls his lips, disgusted at the idea that several months ago, the dominatrix allowed the detective to exploit her sentiment and destroy their joint plans.

Jim peeks at his watch and sarcastically adds, "I suggest you hurry, Sherlock. Miss Adler's heart risks skipping a beat."

His face vanishes from the screen while the speakers in the room resume Mozart's sonata. That merry sound in such a dire situation gives them the creeps.

Holmes takes a deep breath to clear his head, then goes straight into his robotic mode. "Very well. Let's start with what we have."

"Eager to save her again, are you?" John mocks him.

Sherlock rolls up his eyes and walks to the keypad to study it.

"Are you offended because I overlooked the tiny detail that I got her out of trouble before?"

Watson hobbles to him and replies scathingly, "You could've just told me."

Sherlock shrugs. "Would it have made any difference to you, knowing she was still alive, out there somewhere?"

"Did it make any difference to you?" Giulia asks.

Sherlock lifts his head to look at her flushed cheeks; he stares at her for a few seconds in silence, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

John reads the room and tries to switch their attention to the small screen of the keypad, pointing at the blinking spaces for the combination.

"A seven-number code," he says. "It could be anything, from a date to a generic string of digits."

"Not anything," Sherlock corrects him. "Moriarty has just mentioned the right sequence, whatever that means."

Giulia follows his reasoning and moves to the table at the centre of the room.

"He gave us three clues: a Nautilus shell, a sunflower, and the image of a galaxy. Assuming that we are supposed to assign a number to each of them, maybe the right sequence is merely the correct order of the clues," she suggests.