Adler and Hooper (BBC Sherlock)

IV - She-Male

            Molly stared down at the autopsy report she had just written. The woman, Caroline Matthews, had four broken ribs, along with her arms and femurs snapped in two. One arm, and one femur did not appear to have broken from the fall. It was most likely done by the weapon, which caused the wound to the back of the head. Molly thought it was most likely a walking stick, but that was one thing the autopsy couldn’t tell her.

            When she got back to her flat after work, she told Irene the results. Irene told her that Greg had found some people who were around the flat at the time they believe Caroline had died. Tomorrow, Lestrade would bring them into Scotland Yard, and Irene and Molly could question them. Luckily, Molly had the next day off of work, so she didn’t have to worry about calling in or faking illness, which she would have refused to do anyways.

            Three people were brought in for questioning. Two of which were neighbours. The third was Caroline’s boyfriend, who had found her.

            Kady Darwin was brought in first. She lived in a flat across from Caroline.

            “Miss Darwin,” Irene started after Kady was seated in the interrogation room. “What do you remember seeing September 23rd, around 3:40 pm at Caroline Matthews’ flat?”

            Kady stuttered. “I s-saw, this person enter the flat.”

            “Man or woman?” Molly asked.

            “A man,” Kady said. “He had on a dark brown trench coat.”

            Molly frowned. “How do you know it was a man?”

             Kady’s stuttering was uncommon now. She was beginning to calm down. “I–I never saw his front, just his back, so I can’t give you any details on his facial structures. It was strange, though. Th-They were wearing a hood – like they were wearing a hoodie under the trench coat. I thought about calling the police, but Caroline had told me a few days earlier that her cousin was coming to visit. I thought that maybe that was him, so I ignored it.”

            Irene crossed her legs. “Do you remember seeing this person leave the flat?”

            “No,” Kady bit her lip. “I didn’t even hear anything until an officer rang my doorbell.”

            “Thank you, Kady,” Molly said. “If you remember anything, give Detective Inspector Lestrade a call.”

            Lestrade, who had been waiting by door, led Kady out.

            The next neighbour came in, giving no more information than Kady had except for one thing: He saw a woman enter the flat. Caroline’s boyfriend didn’t say anything either. Nothing other than he had found her and he didn’t notice anything about the house different.

            Molly sat on the sofa with a sigh when she and Irene arrived back at the flat. “How are we going to do this, Irene? We’ve got nothing to go on – besides a she-male in a hoodie covered by a trench coat.”

            Irene headed straight for the kitchen, and began boiling water in a kettle. “You aren’t thinking it through, Doctor Hooper. A she-male?”

            “They both said different genders,” Molly said. “What am I supposed to deduce from that?”

            “It wasn’t a she-male, dear.”

            “Then what was it?”

            Irene turned her head towards the sofa. “It was a man and a woman,” She said. “I assume one went in, and the other followed behind a few minutes later.”

            “What about Caroline, then?” Molly asked. “How did she get in there with anyone noticing her bloody and broken.”

            Irene thought for a moment as she grabbed a mug from Molly’s cuboards and set it on the counter. “Maybe, they found her isolated somewhere. Greg told me that Caroline’s boyfriend said she didn’t like attention. She probably jumped from somewhere she thought no one would be around. The killers found her still alive, and took her back to her house. One goes in to check if anyone was in the flat. When they see that there isn’t, they bring Caroline inside. The second person goes in a few minutes later and together, the man and woman euthanize Caroline, escaping before anyone get back. They are luckily unseen while they escape, and the boyfriend comes home to find Caroline.”

            Molly sighed. “Clever. Now, I’m so sorry that Sherlock doesn’t give me lessons on deductions, observation, and crime solving – although I doubt he does that for anyone.”

            “He doesn’t?” Irene said, returning to the kettle. She put a tea bag in the mug, then poured the water into a mug. “Does that make me special?”

            Molly looked at Irene, frowning. “Maybe.”

            “Don’t be jealous,” Irene said with a smile. “I’m sure, if you’re good, Sherlock will give you lessons as soon as he gets home from hospital.”

            Molly blushed. “No. He wouldn’t. He’ll just go back to asking me for body parts to experiment on.”

            “Are you really okay with that, Doctor Hooper?” Irene asked, grabbing another mug and putting a tea bag and water into it as well. She dropped some sugar into each mug, and poured in some milk.

            Molly folded her arms across her chest. “You do realize that you can call me Molly, right?”

            “That wasn’t an answer, Doctor Hooper.” Irene walked into the sitting room and held out one of the mugs she now held to Molly.

            “It wasn’t meant to be,” Molly said, accepting the mug. “Yes, I am okay with it.”

            “No you’re not.” Irene said.

            Molly frowned at her. “How would you know?”

            “I have experience with women,” Irene told her. “Some of my clients are women. I don’t believe any of them nor myself would like being used as a source of body parts for experimentation.”

            Molly said nothing. She drank her tea in silence, and neither her nor Irene said much for the rest of the evening.