And then there was three; a Sherlock Fanfiction

Twelve

The bell twinkled brightly, alerting the staff of the arrival of new customers. Lilly took a sip of her coffee while she watched the man behind the counter welcome the new faces brightly. She relished the bittersweet taste in her mouth as the man ran through the specials.

Growing bored of watching the customers order, Lilly turned her attention back to the two men sitting with her. Sherlock was staring off into space across from her, surely trying to work out the current case in his 'superior' mind, while John was shoving a roast beef sandwich into his mouth. He was the only one to order any food, but Lilly decided she needed a cup of coffee if she was going to survive the next couple hours.

It was almost 10 pm and, although she hated to admit it, Lilly was never much of a night owl. The only time she ever willingly stayed up past midnight was when she was laying in bed, reading under the covers by torch light.

"Well then," John said between mouthfuls of bread and meat, "don't we just need to figure out who the head of the 'network' is? Then we could figure out who's bodies are actually laying in there and find the real people in whatever country they escaped to, right?"

Sherlock didn't say anything.

"Well, whoever it is would need access to the DNA records for one," Lilly said, trying to narrow down the profile, "they would need passports, maybe foreign currency if they went far, and a new identity,"

"That's where Gracie came in." Sherlock answered.

"What?" John asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

Sherlock sighed, "she was talented with technology, didn't care for the law, and needed money.; she was a perfect target. She helped create the fake IDs and most likely handled the DNA issues.  Then, once she'd fulfilled her purpose, they took her out. But unfortunately for them, she saw it coming, and her fear tipped off her sister. Now I assume they're just trying to clean up their mess before we can trace it back to them."

"You assume? Rather humble for the Sherlock Holmes, don't you think?" John mocked, and eyebrow quirked up at Sherlock.

"Oh shut up," Sherlock spat, trying to conceal the smile fighting to appear on his face.

"Well how are we supposed to figure out the real culprit? We tried the email to no avail, and that Detective Ledtrade said that they hadn't had any luck in connecting the supposed victims." Lilly said, not straying from the case. She groaned while Sherlock and John sat in silence once again.

The sound of a text alert snapped them out of their thoughts. Sherlock reached into his pocket and snatched his phone, pulling it out to check the new message. The scowl on his face caught the attention of Lilly and John.

"Who is it?" John asked, a crease forming in between his brow.

"Blocked number," Sherlock replied. An identical crease appeared in between Sherlock's as he opened the message.

A cloud of uneasiness settled around the table as Lilly and John leaned in to take a peek at the message as well.

The three stared at at the black iPhone, studying the photograph it had received.

The picture was taken from a camera phone and somewhat grainy. It pictured a large white home, obviously owned by someone relatively wealthy. The yard was immaculate, and the third window on the second floor was open partially. A mail box was in view, as the photograph was taken from the road. Sherlock zoomed in on it, making out the numbers 238 and "The Ashworth's"  painted in neat black calligraphy on the side.

"Why would someone send you a picture of this? Do you think it has to do with the case?" John asked, glancing up at Sherlock for an answer.

Sherlock scraped back in his chair and stood up, "I don't know, but I think we should check it out. Not many Ashworths in the book, you think?"

•••

Lilly, John, and Sherlock sat together in the back of a taxicab. Sherlock sat feverishly typing o his phone, looking up and learning all he could about the owners of the home they were about to investigate.
About ten minutes from the destination, Sherlock started to fill the other two in.

"Simon Ashworth and Madeline Ashworth live in 238 Hundley Lane. The couple are in their late thirties and will be married thirteen years in September. Simon Ashworth, like his father George Ashworth, is a successful film director and producer, while his wife, Madeline, was born into a wealth. Madeline often travels along with her husband while his filming, and has starred in multiple Ashworth productions,"

Sherlock turned his phone around, showing a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Ashworth to both Lilly and John.

"Wait, I think I've seen her," John said, squinting at the picture, "yeah, I've seen her on the telly,"

"And I recognize Simon Ashworth, I read his autobiography a year ago. He studied English literature at a university for a while until he met Madeline abroad. They did their first movie together, with the aid of Simon's father, George Ashworth. George died a year ago of a heart attack, it was all over the news,"

"Yeah I think I remember that," John said, then he turned back to Sherlock, "so what are we supposed to do?" And how do we even know they're connected to all of this?"

Sherlock shrugged his shoulders, "instinct John, and we need to talk to them. Ask them if they know anything about Gracie Brown,"

"It's almost 11 Sherlock! How are we supposed to get in their to talk to them? It's not like we can just waltz on up to the door and ring the doorbell. They'd likely call security before we can utter a word!" Lilly exclaimed, "we'll need a rather good plan if we want to get inside and actually talk to them," 

Suddenly the cab stopped, and the three looked around, "we're here,"
_____________________________________
Hahaha I'm casually dying inside after that lame ending but what are ya gonna do?

fun fact: the last name Ashworth is "dying" in the UK. Ancestry.com claims that many surnames are actually very close to becoming extinct!

photo: Simon Ashworth, played by Matthew Gray Gubler (my sister is in love with him)