221B

Chapter 15 - A Study in Pink

We arive back at 221B, breathing heavily in the hallway between the door and the stairs.

"That, was ridiculous." John says after he hangs his coat up on a hook and Sherlock drapes his over the bottom of the bannisters. "That was the most ridiculous thing, I've ever done." He finishes when the three of us lean against the wall, catching our breath. Sherlock's next to John and I'm on the edge beside John.

"And you invaded Afghanistan." Sherlock points out, and John giggles in response. A second after John starts to giggle, Sherlock and I also begin to laugh.

"That wasn't just me." John replies. "Why aren't we back at the restaurant?"

"Oh, they can keep an eye out." Sherlock says, more serious this time. As he speaks he waves a hand dismissively. "It was a long shot anyway."

"So what were we doing there?" I ask.

"Oh, just passing the time." He leans forward a little bit and looks at John and I. "And proving a point."

"What point?" John asks.

"You." He glances at me, and when John looks away for a second, he mouths, "You too."

I give him a questioning look again and he mouths to me, "Tell you later." He smirks, then turns towards the direction of Mrs. Hudson's flat and calls out to her.

"Mrs. Hudson! Dr. Watson will take the other room upstairs!"

"Says who?" John asks Sherlock. Sherlock turns back to face us.

"Says the man at the door." Sherlock replies, nodding to the door just as there's a knock. John looks at Sherlock for a moment in surprise and Sherlock smiles. John stares at him for a moment longer and then turns to go answer the door.

I look at John as he passes me. "You haven't taken the other room...?"

He laughs. "I was considering it."

"Then how come-?"

"I work with Sherlock Holmes, Kate, I've got to be here early mornings too sometimes. Or even late at night."

I laugh. "I suppose so." I reply as he walks over to the door. I turn back to Sherlock when he leans his head against the wall and blows out a breath, I raise an eyebrow and he glances at me without moving his head. He smirks again and just then John opens the door.

"Sherlock texted me. He said you forgot this." I hear Angelo's voice.

"Ah," John says, then turns to face us. Sherlock grins for a moment, and John turns back to the half-open door. "Thank you." He closes the door moments later and turns back to us, his cane in hand.

"Turns out you don't need that as much as you think." I comment.

He smiles. "Yeah I guess not."

Just then I hear someone rushing down the stairs and the three of us turn towards whoever's coming down them. It's Mrs. Hudson, who appears to be very upset.

"Oh Sherlock, what have you done?" She says, clearly upset and slightly tearful.

"Mrs. Hudson?" Sherlock asks her.

"Upstairs."

She moves to the side of the stairs and Sherlock rushes past her, John and I glance at each other and then follow Sherlock quickly. He opens the living room door and goes inside, there we find Lestrade casually sitting in the chair facing the door where Sherlock usually sits, and other police officers searching through the flat, going through his possessions. Sherlock strides over to Lestrade.

"What are you doing?" He demands to Lestrade.

"Well I knew you'd find the case. I'm not stupid." Lestrade replies.

"You can't just break into my flat." Sherlock answers quickly.

"And you can't withhold evidence. And I didn't break into your flat."

"Well what do you call this then?" Sherlock gestures to the police officers in the room.

"It's a drugs bust." Lestrade replies with a somewhat innocent look on his face.

"Seriously?! This guy, a junkie?! Have you met him?!" John says. Sherlock turns to face us and walks over to John.

"John..." He says quietly.

"I'm pretty sure you could search this flat all day, you wouldn't find anything you could call recreational." John continues, ignoring Sherlock.

"John you probably want to shut up now."

"Yeah, but come on..." He trails off when he looks at Sherlock. They lock eyes for a moment. "No." John says a few moments later.

"What?"

"You?"

"Shut up!" Sherlock replies angrily. He turns to Lestrade. "I'm not your sniffer dog."

"No, Anderson's my sniffer dog." Lestrade replies, nodding towards the kitchen.

"What, An-" Sherlock stops short when the kitchen doors slide open, revealing more police officers searching through that room as well. Anderson, of course, is there, and turns towards the living room. He raises his hand in a sarcastic kind of greeting.

"Anderson, what are you doing here on a drugs bust?" Sherlock demands, clearly pissed off at all of this.

"Oh, I volunteered." Anderson replies venomously.

"They all did. They're not strictly speaking on the drugs squad, but they're very keen." Lestrade says when Sherlock turns back to him. Donovan comes into view of the kitchen entrance, holding a glass jar containing a few white, round objects.

"Are these human eyes?" She says to Sherlock, referring to the contents inside the jar.

Sherlock turns quickly to her. "Put those back!"

"They were in a microwave."

"It's an experiment!"

"Keep looking, guys." Lestrade says to everyone searching in the room. He stands up and turns to Sherlock, who turns to look at him. "Or you could help us properly, and I'll stand them down."

"This is childish."

"Well, I'm dealing with a child. Sherlock, this is our case. I'm letting you in, but you do not go off on your own. Clear?"

"Oh what, so you set up a pretend drugs bust to bully me?" Sherlock glares at him.

"It stops being pretend if they find anything."

"I am clean!" Sherlock announces loudly so everyone in both rooms can hear him.

"Is your flat? All of it?"

"I don't even smoke." Sherlock says, then unbuttons the cuff of his shirt and pulls it up, revealing the nicotine patch on his forearm.

"Neither do I." Lestrade says, then does the same thing with his shirt, revealing a similar nicotine patch on his forearm. Sherlock rolls his eyes in response, and then pull their sleeves back down.

"So let's work together." Lestrade says. "We've found Rachel."

"Who is she?"

"Jennifer Wilson's only daughter."

Sherlock frowns. "Her daughter? Why would she write her daughter's name? Why?"

"Nevermind that, we found the case." Anderson says, pointing to the pink suitcase. "And according to someone, the murderer has the case, as we found it in the hands of our favorite psychopath."

Sherlock turns to Anderson. "I'm not a psychopath, Anderson, I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research."