"Sherlock?" I question him.
"That's," John stumbles backwards a little before catching himself. "That's the pink lady's case, that's Jennifer Wilson's case."
I looked at John and all I could see was horror on his face.
"Yes, obviously." Sherlock responded not yet realizing the situation yet still looking down at the case.
"John...don't." I start walking towards them both.
Sherlock finally realizes John's tone and smacks his lips.
"Oh, perhaps I should mention, I didn't kill her."
"I never said you did."
"Why not? Given that text I just had River send and the fact I have her case, it's a perfectly logical assumption."
"Sherlock, do people usually assume you're the murderer?" I ask concerned, now walking towards him and the case to see what's inside.
He turns his head and smirks at me.
"Now and then, yes."
I don't know how to respond to that.
He jumps up and sits on the top of the chair he was sitting in. John walks over to the chair right across from him and sits there. I take my place, in between the boys, in front of the fireplace on the floor. I sat and stared at the fire, watching the flames raise and lower until John speaks.
"How'd you get this?"
"By looking." Sherlock responds.
"Where?" I ask turning back around to face the boys.
"The killer must have driven her to Lauriston Gardens." Sherlock turned his head to look at us. "He could only keep her case by accident if it was in the car. Nobody could be seen with this case without drawing attention to themselves, particularly a man, which is statistically more likely"
I let out a laugh at that statement before apologizing.
"So obviously he'd feel compelled to get rid of it, the moment he realized he still had it." I chime in.
"Precisely, wouldn't have taken him more than five minutes to realise his mistake. I checked every backstreet wide enough for a car five minutes from Lauriston Gardens, and anywhere you could dispose of a bulky object without being observed. Took me less than an hour to find the right skip."
"Sherlock, you dumpster dived for a suitcase?"
He completely ignored my statement as John spoke up.
"Pink. You got all that because you realised the case would be pink?"
"Well, it had to be pink, obviously." I pointed out.
"Why couldn't I think of that?"
"Because you're an idiot." Sherlock responded.
"Sherlock!" I yelled at him shocked.
"No, no, no, don't look at me like that. Practically everyone is. Ms. Maddox here barely passes that threshold."
"Well gee, aren't I just the lucky one to understand your genius" I respond sarcastically.
Sherlock waved me off.
"Now, look," Sherlock gestured to the case. "Do you see what's missing?"
"From the case? How could I?" John responds sarcastically.
"Her phone." I chime in. "Where's her phone?"
"Right, there was no phone on the body, there's no phone in the case. We know she had one. That's her number there, River just texted it."
Wait a minute...
"Sherlock..." I begin.
"Maybe she left it at home." John adds.
"Sherlock.." I try again.
"She has a string of lovers and she's careful about it. She never leaves her phone at home."
"Sherlock..." I calmly try one more time before I lose it.
"So then why did River just send that text?"
"Well, the question is where is her phone now?" Sherlock responds crossing his legs.
"SHERLOCK!"
Both boys look at me on the floor.
"Did you just have me text the murderer from John's phone?" I question him.
"The murderer...you think the murderer has her phone?" John looks between Sherlock and I.
"Maybe she left it when she left her case. Maybe he took it from her for some reason." Sherlock states.
"Either way, the balance of probability is that the murderer has her phone." I finish his statement, rubbing my temples at the headache about to form.
"Sorry, what good will texting the murderer do?" John asks.
Ring Ring Ring
We all turn our heads and look towards the phone. I back up a little in shock. John picks up the phone to see the number calling back. Sherlock smiles.
Ring Ring Ring
"A few hours after his last victim,"
Ring Ring Ring
"and now he receives a text that can only be from her."
Ring Ring Ring
"If somebody had just found that phone, they'd ignore a text like that,"
Ring Ring Ring
"but the murderer..."
Suddenly the ringing stops. And just as suddenly I realize exactly where Sherlock was going with this.
"Would panic!" Sherlock and I say at the same time.
Sherlock flips the Pink case closed and stands up grabbing his jacket. I pick myself up off the floor, grabbing my coat. John finally looks up from the phone.
"Have you talked to the police?" he asked.
"Four people are dead, there isn't time to talk to police." Sherlock responds.
"So why are you talking to us, then?" I ask.
"Mrs. Hudson took my skull" He replies putting on his coat.
A SKULL?! This day just keeps getting crazier and crazier.
"So, we're just fill-ins for your...skull?" I question, now confused more than ever.
"Relax, you're doing better than the skull."
Suddenly, my stomach growls yet again.
"Well?" Sherlock says.
"Well, what?" I ask.
"Well, I do believe I owe you some dinner."
My eyes light up from those words. One thing I will admit and I am not ashamed of it. I am a sucker for food.
"Hell yea, you do. I was starting to think you forgot!" I yell putting on my scarf.
Sherlock turned to John who was still sitting.
"What, I'm invited?" he asks.
"I like company when I go out, and I think better when I talk aloud so the more, the merrier. The skull just attracts attention and people think I'm lonely, so..."
John can't help but smile at the statement and I let out a small giggle as well. Sherlock smiled at us both and noticed John still in thought.
"Problem?" Sherlock asked.
"Yeah, Sergeant Donovan." John said.
My smile dropped and my mood instantly soured. Sherlock's did too.
"What about her?"
"She said...You get off on this. You enjoy it."
"And I said "dangerous," and yet here you both are." Sherlock started with a smirk. John smiled back.
"You should've heard the mouthful, River gave her. I have never see-"
"Can we go please? I'm hungry and haven't eaten all day because of you two." I interrupt him, not wanting him to finish his statement. I turn to walk out the door and I catch the small smile on Sherlock's face. I feel warm.
John hops up and soon we are off, back into the night.
After walking for a few minutes, I become restless.
"Sherlock, where are we going?"
"Northumberland St's a five minute walk from here."
"You think he's stupid enough to go there?" John intercepts.
"No. I think he's brilliant enough. I love the brilliant ones. They're all so desperate to get caught." Sherlock says with a bright smile on his face. I can't help but roll my eyes.
"Why?"
"Appreciation! Applause! At long last, the spotlight. That's the frailty of genius, John, it needs an audience."
"Does that go for you as well Sherlock?" I turn and ask, humor fully in my voice.
He only turns and looks at me for a second before scanning our surroundings.
"This is his hunting ground. Right here in the heart of the city. Now that we know his victims were abducted, that changes everything."
"Because all of his victims disappeared from busy streets or crowded places, but nobody saw them go." I finish his thought.
"Think! Who do we trust, even though we don't know them? Who passes unnoticed wherever they go? Who hunts in the middle of a crowd?"
"Don't know. Who?" John asks.
"Haven't the faintest."
Suddenly I stop in my tracks. My brain starts to hurt and I feel dizzy.
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait. Wait. Wa-
"River? River can you hear me. I need you to breathe."
It's dark and loud but his voice is the loudest of them all. I start taking deep breaths. It slowly starts to get brighter and suddenly all I see is blue-green.
"River, are you ok?" I hear John beside me. I turn my head to look at him and realized that we were in the middle of the sidewalk. And I was in Sherlock's arms. I try to stand on my own but Sherlock has to lift me until I get my bearings.
"I'm fine, I'm just hungry, honest." I say looking at them both. John nods his head but Sherlock doesn't look convinced in the slightest. I stare at him with pleading eyes, begging him to let it go.
"The food place is right over here. Are you sure you can walk?" He asks me yet again.
"Yes. Let's go" I say and we all start walking to the restaurant.
We walk into a quaint little shop with a large window at the front, We are gestured to the small booth right in the window. I climb into the corner and Sherlock sits next to me on one side while John sits on the other side of me.
"22 Northumberland St. Keep your eyes on it." Sherlock tells us, sliding off his coat.
"He's not just going to ring the doorbell. He'd need to be mad." John replies.
"Well, he has killed four people." I respond.
A burly man starts making his way over to us.
"Sherlock!" He greets the tall man with a handshake. "Anything on the menu, whatever you want, free." He hands us some menus. "On the house, for you and for your date and the lady as well" he says with a huge smile. I can't help the snicker that escapes my mouth.
"Do you want to eat?" Sherlock asks John.
"I'm not his date." John tells the man.
"This man got me off a murder charge." The burly man says.
"This is Angelo." Sherlock introduces the man to John and I.
"Hello." I respond to not be rude and shake his hand before looking at the menu.
"Three years ago, I proved to Lestrade at the time of a particularly vicious triple murder that Angelo was in a completely different part of town, house-breaking." Sherlock explains looking out the window.
"He cleared my name."
"I cleared it a bit."
"What a touching story. Can I get the Carbonara and the garlic bread, please?" I ask Angelo politely
"Nothing happening opposite?" Sherlock asks Angelo.
"Nothing and of course, i'll get that to you, right away Ms?"
"Maddox, but you can call me River." I explain.
He nodded at me before continuing. "If not for this man, I'd have gone to prison."
"You did go to prison." Sherlock responds.
"I'll get a candle for the table. It's more romantic. and i'll get your pasta right away, Ms River." Angelo says before walking away.
"I'm not his date!" John states again but is of course ignored. I can't help but laugh fairly hard once he walks away.
"So, it seems to me like i'm third-wheeling. How awkward for you both. It's like i'm the chaperone." I say with fake embarrassment only to get shoved by John.
"You, shut it." he says only to receive my tongue sticking out at him. "What are you, five?"
"No, I'm five and three quarters." I say holding up three fingers. I turn my attention back to Sherlock who's staring out the window.
"You may as well eat too, John. We might have a long wait." Sherlock says sliding his menu over to John.
"Aren't you gonna eat too?" I ask him.
Angelo swipes in with a small candle and places it on the table. I giggle once more.
"I don't eat on the job." Sherlock responds looking out the window.
It's quiet for a while.
"People don't have arch-enemies." John states to Sherlock.
Sherlock takes his eyes off the street and turns to John.
"I'm sorry?"
"In real life. There are no arch-enemies in real life. Doesn't happen."
"Doesn't it? Sounds a bit dull." It's quiet again for a moment. "What do real people have, then, in their real lives?"
"Friends?" John states. "People they know, people they like, people they don't like. Girlfriends, boyfriends. River, back me up here."
"I-" I swallow hard for a second. "Sorry John, this is one thing I can't help you with." I give him a sad smile before putting my head down.
"Yes, well, as I was saying..." he trails off, looking at me before back at John. "Dull."
"You don't have a girlfriend, then?"
For some odd reason, I feel my stomach drop when John asked that.
What's wrong with me?
"Girlfriend? No, not really my area."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and lifted my head up to look out the window.
"mmm, Boyfriend then?" I ask turning around.
It's still... and you can cut the tension with a knife
"That's fine, by the way." John adds
"I know it's fine." Sherlock responds.
"So, you've got a boyfriend then?"
"No." Sherlock says before looking back out the window.
"What about you, River? Any special person in your life?" John turns the question to me.
I freeze at the thought. It takes me a moment before I realize I haven't answered him.
"Ah, no. Not uh.. not really my area either." I say looking down.
"Right. Okay. You're both unattached. Just like me." John says picking his menu back up.
Angelo comes back with my pasta and Garlic bread and John's meal and we start to eat.
"John, um..." Sherlock starts.
I look up at him with a mouth full of pasta.
"I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work, and while I'm flattered, I'm really not looking for any.."
I choke on my pasta as John cuts him off.
"No," John states shaking his head vigorously. "No, I'm....not asking... no. I was just saying, it's all fine."
At this point, I can't stop laughing.
"Good." Sherlock responds. "Thank you."
Suddenly, I get a chill up my spine. I stop eating and turn my head to look out the window.
"Sherlock. There." I point across the street. "The Taxi. It's stopped."
"Nobody getting in, nobody getting out." he finishes my thought.
I secretly slide my phone up and take a picture of the license plate. Something tells me, I'm gonna need it.
"Why a taxi?" Sherlock whispers.
I flip my head around to him.
Has he really not-
"Oh, that's clever. Is it clever? Why is it clever?" Sherlock begins to question.
"Sherl-"
"That's him." John cuts me off.
"Don't stare." Sherlock says.
"You're staring."
"Yea, well you can't both stare, stop it." I respond.
And suddenly, without any word or notice, Sherlock has grabbed his coat and headed for the door.
John and I look at each other for a brief moment.
What is he up to now?
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