"The candle isn't necessary."
"It adds a nice touch though," Eleanor says, picking up her menu and looking at the options.
"I need to look at those receipt scraps," Sherlock whispers nodding towards the waiter stand.
"You want me to distract them?" Eleanor asks.
"That would be nice, yes."
She calls for the waiter. "Hi, yes, do you... um, have a vegetarian menu? I can't have any meat what so ever so..."
"Oh, um... let me go check in the back..." He scurries away from her and into the back of the restaurant.
Sherlock pops up from his seat and goes into the little box full of receipts, sorting them out quickly. He sits back down just in time for the waiter to come back with a fresh menu.
"Here you go ma'am," the waiter says.
"Yes, thank you," Eleanor says. She gives the menu a once over, then says, "Vegetable Alfredo, please. And my boyfriend will have the five cheese ravioli special."
"Yes ma'am." He takes away the menus.
"You so owe me a steak later," Eleanor says, leaning across the table. "Whatcha find?"
"Nancy went her everyday for lunch. Only one day she came with someone else," Sherlock says, handing her a receipt. "Do you know a Sir Oliver Kreisler?"
"Yeah, he's the CEO of Kreisler Cooperation. They specialize in.... computer chips," Eleanor says.
Sherlock points to the signature at the bottom. "Why would the CEO come to an Italian shop with his secretary?"
She looks at the order. It says a few things but what really sticks out is 'Nancy's Order'. "She must of had her own special," she mumbles to herself.
"Wait a minute. Half of these receipts have his signature on it. Why would he have come to more than one lunch with her?" Sherlock asks.
The waiter comes and sets down their food, asking if everything was alright. Sherlock says yes and shoos him away.
Eleanor picks up her napkin and places it in her lap, grabbing her fork and taking a bite of her pasta. "So she has lunch with her boss every few days. That doesn't explain why she's dead."
"I think we should head back to Baker Street and look at all the facts together," Sherlock says, getting up.
"No no no, Sherlock Holmes!!" Eleanor says, pulling him back down in his seat. "You sit and eat your food."
"What are you, my mother?" He asks.
"I might as well be," she mumbles.
"I don't eat," he says after a few minutes with an exasperated sigh.
"You do now," Eleanor says.
He sighs and leans against his hand, picking at his food.
She rolls her eyes, then asks the waiter for two boxes and the check, then pulling out her wallet and credit card. She pays for the bill, then hands the carry out to Sherlock and walks out of the restaurant.
"Finally, I thought we'd never leave," Sherlock says, starting to walk down the sidewalk beside Eleanor.
"You know, sometimes you could try and be a little more human," Eleanor says.
"How much more human can I get? I'm made of the exact same material you are," Sherlock says.
"Yes, but you don't have a heart," Eleanor says. The crowd starts to get thicker and thicker on the sidewalk. Eleanor grabs Sherlock's arm and loops hers in between, causing Sherlock to squirm.
"Calm down, Holmes, I don't know my way around and would rather not get lost," Eleanor says.
Sherlock slowly starts to loosen up just as they round the corner to Baker Street. "Here."
Eleanor lets go and opens the door, letting Sherlock through.
"Mrs.Hudson!! I'd like some tea!!!" Sherlock yells as he ascends the stairs.
Mrs.Hudson pops her head out of her door. "What's he yellin' on about?" She asks Eleanor.
"Oh nothing," she says, starting to climb the stairs.
Eleanor finds Sherlock starting a web on the wall behind the couch. She lays down her stuff on a chair and goes into the kitchen to make some tea.
"Moriarty," Sherlock mumbles to himself.
"Just a minute!!" Eleanor calls, pouring the hot water into the cups.
"What?" Sherlock asks, spinning around so he's facing Eleanor.
"You called?" She asks, handing him his mug of tea.
"No, you called."
"You said 'Moriarty' and I answered," she says, taking a sip of her tea and shifting on her feat. "What is it?"
"Ummmm nothing I was thinking... Yes, I was thinking," Sherlock says, turning to face the web.
Eleanor goes to stand beside Sherlock, looking at all the evidence they had collected so far. "Poor soul."
"Who?" Sherlock asks, turning slightly to look at Eleanor.
"The woman," Eleanor says, pointing at a picture of Nancy Pennington. "She had two children and a husband and now she's dead."
"Poor soul indeed," Sherlock says.
She walks over to the leather chair and sits down, crossing her legs in front of her.
Sherlock walks towards the desk and takes a chair, placing it in front of the web but closer to Eleanor.
"He did that," she whispers shakily.
"He? He who?" Sherlock asks.
"James."
"What did he do?" Sherlock asks, slightly confused.
"After a murder, he would place a picture of his victim on a wall. And he'd just stare at it," she explains. "Just stare at all of them."
The silence between them says everything.
And says nothing as well.
~
YOU ARE READING
Anatomically Correct Heart
Mistero / ThrillerIt's no surprise Moriarty is alive. At least it isn't to his sister. Eleanor Moriarty is a quiet, shy girl who keeps to herself. It isn't until Moriarty shows up in London that Eleanor has to change for the best. Now that he's back, she's called...
