Don't Be...Dead

11- Investigating!

(Sherlock)

“Mycroft.”

“Ahh, Sherlock, how are you? Glad to be back in the realm of the living?”

“You said you had a case,” I stated, ignoring his question.

“Yes, yes.” Mycroft pulled out a file and handed it to me. “No John?”

“He’s sick. I see you’ve quit your old diet and are attempting a new one. Why you bother anymore is what I don’t understand.” I opened the file Mycroft had given me and started to flip through it. The first thing was a photo of a woman, and my mind was working rapidly, trying to deduce what it could from the small black and white photo. “Tell me about her.”

“Julie Mansic. Found dead last night.”

“And? You wouldn’t call for just another dead body.”

“She was working solo on a military- uh- project. We’ve recovered most of the data, but a section of it is still missing. We believe that whoever killed her may have taken it.”

“What was this project about?”

“If that becomes necessary information I will be sure to let you know.”

“I’m sure it will be.”

He sighed, “It seems she was working on some sort of camouflage that would render the wearer completely invisible, at least to the naked eye.”

“So you want me to find who killed this woman and what? Get back the remaining formula?”

“Precisely.”

I ran up and into the flat, eager to tell my blogger about the case I had just acquired. First thing was first, I needed to check out the place of Julie Mansic’s death. However, I wasn’t going anywhere without my Watson. I walked into the sitting room to see John lying on the couch asleep, an open book lying upside down on his chest. He was snoring slightly and I debated whether or not I really wanted to wake him up. I sat down on the arm and shook John slightly.

“John?” John frowned and mumbled something before grabbing my hand and using it as a pillow. I smiled and used my other hand to gently shake him awake. “John?”

He jumped with a start then, eyes focusing, stared at me. “Sherlock?”

“Feeling better?”

He nodded, rubbing his eyes. “God, I was out. Didn’t know I was tired. I must have been sick.”

“That’s what happens when you run out without a coat on.” I placed my hand against his cool forehead. “At least your fever is gone.”

“What did I miss?” John sat up and stretched and I sat across from him in my chair, explaining the detail of the case as best I could.

(John)

I nodded as Sherlock finished telling me the details of the case and stretched. “So, scene?” He nodded and I got up. After a few minutes I was next to him in the cab, and a bit later we arrived at Julie Mansic’s flat.

Sherlock swept everything over with a quick glance before moving into her bedroom. I followed. Julie was still there, though the blood around her was now dried. Sherlock nodded to me and I examined the body.

“Dead several hours. She was shot, yes, but died before that. Some sort of poison.” I looked a Sherlock confused, “Why would they shoot her if she was already dead?”

He said nothing but moved to inspect the body. He pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on. Sherlock then leaned in, checking her body and clothes for any indications to what happened. He observed the bed around her, then moved to the window. Frowning, he went back to the living room. After a few minutes he returned. “Come on John.” He then ran out and proceeded to hail a cab.

Once we were both in the cab, I turned to him.

“So?”

“Two separate parties. Makes it a bit hard to tell. One was a woman. Long, dark hair. Someone of high standing, not in government itself though, more like a royal or somebody famous or rich. Second party, the shooter. Male, tall, right handed. Came through the window. Works some sort of job that requires manual labor. This one is less likely to be the one with the camouflage plans.”

I nodded, not bothering to ask how he knew these things. It would just feed his ego. The cabbie pulled up outside Baker Street and I paid him while Sherlock ran inside. A few minutes later I went up after him. Coming upstairs, I wasn’t surprised at all to see Sherlock lying on the couch, hands together, pointer fingers resting on the bottom of his upper lip. I picked up my laptop and sat down in my chair.