Shadows of the Past (BBC Sherlock) -1-

9. Liberating

"Not guilty," John snarled into the phone. The moment we left Old Bailey, John got a hold of Sherlock. We were hustling down the sidewalk; I had to trot to keep up with John. "They found him not guilty. No defense and Moriarty's walked free."

Nobody could believe it. Like those in the courtroom, people worldwide would be astonished by the verdict. I was much more pissed than shocked. While many couldn't get over the verdict, I pushed away the shock and thought more as to why the verdict came out the way it did.

"Sherlock." I focused back on John's phone conversation. "Are you listening? He's out. You—you know he'll be coming after you. Sher..."

"I guess he's not too concerned about Moriarty if he hung up on you," I noted. "I just can't believe it. That verdict should have been an easy and right decision."

"You think something made them change their minds?"

"Why else would they switch the verdict? I don't know what it was, but something made them change it."

A cold realization hit me like a battering ram. If Moriarty was free...was I safe? He knew I was staying in London, and that why involved Sherlock. Would he have people watching me? Would he make personal visits now that he was a free man?

I stopped in my tracks; a panic attack was close to happening. Would I be able to head back to Maryland after I got what I wanted from Sherlock? Would I be safe back in Maryland? I thought I had been after my first visit to London, only because I knew Moriarty dropped me like trash after I had tried to murder him. He didn't want anything to do with me after that.

I had a feeling I got back on his radar.

John noticed I wasn't following him. He stopped and came back for me; concern was in his brown eyes. I felt sick to my stomach, like I was about ready to puke on the sidewalk.

"Do you know any good places to eat?" I asked thickly. "I need something to take my mind off this."

My question took John by surprise. "Oh, um, yeah I know a few places. Hold on, let me think."

I threw him a grateful smile while he mulled over options in his head. I inhaled the fresh air, but it wasn't helping much. Not guilty. I bet Moriarty felt high and mighty now that he got what he wanted. If I had seen that look on his face, I would have lost it. I would have torn across the room to attack him.

I shuddered, pushing that bad idea away. I would have only gotten myself arrested if I had tried that.

John pulled over a taxi. We both got in.

The place John picked was nice and quaint. It was sort of packed too, probably because we got in around the lunch hour. Instead of the odors being appealing to me, they almost made me sick. Today was just a bad day.

There was a lot of awkward silence at our table. We got a booth near a window. Most of the time I glanced at the scenery of London that I had somewhat become accustomed to. I wondered how much longer I'd be staying here. I knew John would let me stay forever if it ever came to that. I knew I didn't want to stay in London for the rest of my life; I had to return home.

Despite wanting to drown out the verdict with overeating, I lost my appetite by the time the food arrived. I picked, mainly moving it around in the plate.

"Something on your mind?" John asked cautiously. He'd been watching me since our food was set in front of us.

I looked up at him from my plate. I shrugged, slumping against the booth. "I'm...I don't know, scared."