Dark Secrets (Sherlock x Reader)

On A Case With Sherlock Holmes

Percy shook his head, scratching the back of his neck. ''No, she never wanted to go near the snakes. She hated them and told me to get rid of them before we got married. I keep them here in my flat. They never leave their cages.''

''You seem to be an avid collector. Did it anger you when she told you to get rid of the snakes?'' Sherlock inquired, glaring dangerously at the suspect.

''No!'' Percy stuttered. ''I mean, of course, I was upset to have to get rid of them, but I was willing to! I loved her, I didn't kill her.''

You nodded. ''That will be all for now. We'll be in touch if we need to ask more questions.'' You shook the nervous man's hand and left the flat alongside Sherlock.

~

''This case is getting on my bloody nerves!'' Sherlock called out, throwing one of the files across the room. ''There is not enough evidence to support any of our theories.''

You and Sherlock had been at it for three days now, and still, you had gotten nowhere with the case. You had plenty of theories, just nothing to prove them with. And without proof, you couldn't solve the case.

Molly, whom you had met on the first day of your job, had examined the body. There were traces of poison in the victim's blood just like you and Sherlock had suspected. It was clearly the cause of death and the snakes seemed to be the culprit, but it just wasn't possible.

She never went near the snakes and there was no way a snake could've made it up to her flat, into her bedroom and back home. Her fiancé's alibi checked out, so it couldn't be him. You just couldn't figure it out.

''We could talk to the fiancé again. Perhaps we missed something,'' you offered.

''You know he's innocent, (Y/N). It's obvious he has nothing to do with this.''

You huffed and sat down in the chair across from Sherlock's. Neither of you spoke another word. You were both deep in thought, trying to find a clue that you had missed before.

A knock at the door interrupted you.

''It's open!'' Sherlock shouted.

A tall woman shyly walked in and greeted you both. It was the victim's sister. ''I- I'm sorry to interrupt you both,'' she stuttered. ''Something has been going on lately and I thought maybe it has something to do with the case.''

''Continue,'' Sherlock stated, leaning forward in his chair, his full attention on her.

''Well, I've been feeling quite tired and lethargic lately. Just like my sister did before she- before she..'' she trailed off, tears brimming her eyes.

''You're grieving, Ms Stoner. It's normal to feel that way,'' you tried to assure her as kindly as you could.

She rapidly shook her head. ''No, no, I know it's something else! Something is wrong, I swear it!''

''I have an idea,'' Sherlock mumbled. He stood up and grabbed his coat, earning a confused look from both you and Helen. ''I want to relive Julia's last night. We'll spend a night in her bedroom. Hopefully, it helps us finally solve this case.''

Helen nodded. ''I'll help you in any way I can, Mr Holmes. Anything to solve this case.''

''Well, I'll leave you to it then,'' you said, standing up. ''I'll head back to the morgue and see if we missed anything.'' You grabbed your coat and checked if you still had your keys and phone.

''No, I want you to come with me.''

You looked at Sherlock, a blush creeping up your neck. ''What?'' you stammered. ''You want to spend a night in her bedroom together?'' You started to feel nervous, but couldn't understand why. You quickly managed to shake it off and regained your composure.

''You can sleep on the floor.'' He shrugged. ''I just need you to work with me to solve this case.''

''Right, of course. Let's get to it then. Ms Stoner, we'll be needing your assistance to recall her final moments.''

~

''Alright, tell us what Julia did when she came home from a night out with her friends,'' Sherlock instructed.

''Well, she had a few drinks, but she wasn't drunk. She called me to tell me she made it home safely since I was working a night shift that day. We spoke for a bit and then she hung up because she wanted to take a bath and relax,'' Helen recalled.

Sherlock nodded along to her words and wandered into her bathroom. He looked around, imagining the victim's final moments as he did so.

You followed him and instantly, your eyes fell on an expensive-looking shampoo bottle right next to the bath. You picked it up, the brand was Roylott's. ''Sherlock,'' you called. ''Found something.''

He turned to look at you and immediately caught on to what you were thinking. ''Do you use the same brand?'' he asked Helen.

''Yeah, it's our stepfather's brand. The shampoo isn't on the market yet, though. Our stepfather wanted us to try it out first.''

''We should take this to St Bart's and have it tested,'' you said.

Sherlock nodded. ''Don't use this stuff again, understood? Not until you hear from us.''

Helen nodded and stood back as both you and Sherlock rushed out of the flat.

~

''It was the stepfather! That son of a bitch!'' you panted as you jumped into a cab with Sherlock.

''He's a good liar,'' Sherlock grunted, obviously upset he hadn't seen through his act.

Molly had analysed the shampoo and found traces of the same poison that she had previously detected in the victim. That was all the evidence you needed and you called Lestrade straight away as you headed to the stepfather's house.

''I have to admit, this case was brilliant.'' Sherlock couldn't help but smile.

''I agree. Adding poison to their shampoo, so that every time the girls used it, they'd be slowly killing themselves. Brilliant!''

''And carving two holes in Julia's ankle to direct us to Percy, that was genius. Scotland Yard would have fallen for it instantly if we hadn't been on the case,'' Sherlock added. ''I don't know why you work for them, (Y/N). They're a bunch of idiots and you are the opposite.''

You smiled at his compliment. ''Well, I need to pay my rent somehow.''

He rolled his eyes. ''Boring!''

The driver parked the vehicle and you both flew out the cab, throwing some money on the backseat. Lestrade and the other officers hadn't arrived yet, which gave you the honour of arresting this cunning arsehole.

Sherlock kicked the door open and stormed inside, gun at the ready. ''We know you're here!'' he called out.

You went into the kitchen, lowering your gun and sighing in disappointment at the sight in front of you. ''He hanged himself,'' you mumbled.

Sherlock was soon by your side, grimacing. ''No suicide note. I guess his motive will forever be a mystery.''

''A disappointing ending to a brilliant case.''

''Let's go back to my flat and look for a new case. Lestrade can handle this.''

You nodded and followed him back outside, already excited to work on the next case with him.