Trust in Sherlock: Book 2

Chapter 40-Third Person POV

Silence.

Silence settled over the room like fog.

After the hospital, everyone had gone home. Now it was just John, Mary, Eva, Mrs. Hudson, and Lestrade sitting in Mrs. Hudson's front room. Sherlock had disappeared and nobody knew where he had run off to this time. Mrs. Hudson suggested behind the clock face of Big Ben and it seemed to be the most likely option.

Eva lay asleep in Mary's arms, completely unaware of the tragedy that had just occurred. Her innocent face was the only one unblemished by tears.

The silence of the room was broken by a soft knocking at the front door. Mrs. Hudson sniffled and tried for a smile, "Oh who could that possibly be at this hour? It's almost supper time." She said, trying to gather her bearings as she hurried out of the room and into the main hallway.

John didn't care who it was. He knew it wasn't Sherlock, for he never knocked. Everybody else it could be didn't matter.

The sound of Mrs. Hudson's heels clicking against the wooden floors were accompanied with a much softer, slow paced stride. Mrs. Hudson came in first, then it was her- the girl from the hospital. John supposed it was Maggie's sister after listening to her breakdown in Saint Bart's Hospital.

Penelope looked around the room, observing each person's face. Despite a common grief, everyone had a different expression on their faces.

The man with dark grey hair looked conflicted, as if he doesn't quite know what to do now nor does he know if he should even believe in this morning's events.

The blonde woman that held the baby had her eyes glued to the floor, absentmindedly stroking her thumb across the child's arm. Her eyes were red from crying, yet Penelope could still see her beauty. There was something majestic about her that the younger Jones sibling couldn't quite put her finger on. The woman had run out of tears, but the despair still remained etched into her features.

The lady who had opened the door for her, Hudson Penelope believed was her name, made a feeble attempt to hide her tears behind a smile to be polite. Still, it was obvious she was broken hearted.

The last person in the room was a shorter man with sandy blonde hair with maybe a bit of grey beginning to show. He sat next to the woman with the baby, his hands folded under his chin and his elbows resting on his knees. He looked up at Penelope, meeting her analytical gaze. Even from where she stood, she could see the blank numbness he felt. To tell the truth, he was the hardest to read. This must be John Watson.

John watched the young woman, spying the same observant glint in her eye that Maggie always had. Is she talented like Maggie was? He instinctively searched for any sign of a weapon or any sign of possible hostility from her. He found none.

Seeing as nobody else acknowledged her presence, John said, "You're Maggie's sister, yeah?"

Penelope blinked, pulling out of her thoughts. She looked down at John and slowly nodded. "I was." She said quietly. Penelope cleared her throat awkwardly. "And you're Harry's brother right?"

John didn't expect that. He opened his mouth, then closed it. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Uh, yes. You know...Harry?" He cringed using his sister's nickname.

Penelope looked away, embarrassed. So he didn't know about her. "Yeah. We're pretty close I suppose." She forced herself to look at John. "I came to London a few weeks ago, hoping to surprise my sister. I ran into Harry my first day here." Penelope ran a hand through her hair, internally chastising herself at the tears forming in her eyes. "God, if I hadn't gotten distracted. If I had just gone straight to Maggie's place, maybe this wouldn't have happened. I could have invited her over to my hotel last night. We could be having tea right now." Penelope sniffled, yet shed no tears. Now was not the time for that. "Sorry." Penelope said quickly. "I've always been a little dramatic. I suppose it runs in the family, just in different ways." She smiled distractedly, "Maggie always had a thing for the dramatics."

John looked away, thinking of how to change the topic. "So you're only visiting London?" He asked, forcing himself to look back at Penelope. He found it painful facing someone so different yet so similar to Maggie. They had the same stiff posture and the same speech patterns-both speaking fast and saying whatever comes to their minds first. Physically, they were opposites, yet it was the small things that gave away their relations.

Penelope nodded. "Yes. I'll be staying for a while, but eventually I'll have to go to my home in America." She paused. "I suppose I'll have to call mum. No doubt dad knows by now considering he's closely acquainted with two of the Holmes brothers."

John nodded distractedly, the sudden thought of a funeral passing through his mind. He, Doctor John Hamish Watson, was going to have to go to yet another funeral for another dear friend.

He felt as if his life were repeating itself. First the war in Afghanistan, then Sherlock's fall, and now Maggie's death. John wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

He wanted to believe this was Maggie's sick idea of a joke- a way to get back at Sherlock for his fake suicide, but it felt different this time. John had seen Maggie in the ambulance. He saw her burnt flesh and sweat-drenched clothing. There was no way she could have survived.

"Someone should find Sherlock." Lestrade spoke up, his voice rough from not speaking for a long period of time. "I don't trust him on his own at a time like this."

Penelope looked over at John, expecting him to jump at the chance to find him. As expected, John said, "I'll find him." And began to stand up.

However, Penelope stepped towards him and gently pushed on John's shoulder before he could rise to his feet. "No, I'll go. You watch after your family."  John frowned, as he had never told her that Mary and Eva were a part of his family. He said nothing to comment on this, but gave Penelope a thankful nod.

Penelope stepped back from John and turned to Mrs. Hudson. "Thank you for welcoming me here. It's been a pleasure to meet my sister's family."

And with that said, Penelope left 221B and began her search for Sherlock Holmes.