Eye Contact *ON HOLD*

Case Closed

Later, outside the college, the police had arrived with an ambulance and quite a few squad cars. Sherlock and Maggie were sitting on the back of the ambulance. She had since recovered from the sight of Sherlock torturing the dying man, and he had explained the entirety of the situation to her. Moriarty, she thought. Seems interesting. A paramedic put an orange blanket on Sherlock’s shoulders, walking away as Lestrade approached. Maggie had her own blanket clutched around herself.

“Why have I got this blanket?” Sherlock asked Lestrade as he reached them. “They keep putting this blanket on me.”

“Yeah, it’s for shock,” Lestrade answered, nodding at them both.

“I’m not in shock,” Sherlock said, obviously aggravated.

Lestrade grinned. “Yeah, but some of the guys wanna take photographs.”

Maggie smiled a bit at that.

Sherlock rolled his eyes. “So,” he said. “The shooter. No sign?”

Lestrade shook his head. “Cleared off before we got here. But a guy like that would have enemies, I suppose. One of them could have been following him, but nothing to go on.” He shrugged.

Sherlock gave him a pointed look. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

It was Lestrade’s turn to roll his eyes. “Okay, gimme what you got.”

Sherlock stood up. “The bullet they just dug out of the wall’s from a handgun.  Kill shot over that distance from that kind of weapon - that’s a crack shot you’re looking for. Not just a marksman: a fighter. His hands couldn’t have shaken at all,” he said, demonstrating a shaking hand at Lestrade as if he didn’t know what it looked like, “so clearly he’s acclimatised to violence. He didn’t fire until I was in immediate danger, though, and made sure to miss Maggie,” he said, nodding in her direction, “so strong moral principle.”

Maggie looked off over the police tape and her eyes widened. She got up and nudged Sherlock.

“You’re looking for a man probably with  history of military service,” he said as he turned to see what she wanted. She nodded in John’s direction. “Nerves of steel…” he trailed off as he saw John there. John looked back at them for a moment, his face showing nothing, before he turned his head away. Lestrade began to follow their gaze and Sherlock turned to stop him before he could see the man and start asking questions.

“Actually, you know what?” he said, stepping into the man’s line of sight. “Ignore me.”

“Sorry?” Lestrade asked.

“Ignore all of that. It’s just the… the shock talking.”

He turned and grabbed Maggie’s arm, beginning to walk toward John.

“Where’re you going?” Lestrade said, walking after them.

“I just need to talk about the rent,” Sherlock said, never breaking his eyes away from John’s form.

“But I’ve still got questions for you!”

Sherlock turned back to him in obvious irritation. “Oh, what now? I’m in shock!” he said. “Look, I’ve got a blanket!” He shook the corner of the blanket at Lestrade as if to prove it.

“Sherlock!” Lestrade said, beginning to interrupt.

“And I just caught you a serial killer… more or less.”

Lestrade looked at him for a long moment.

“Okay. We’ll bring you in tomorrow. Off you go.”