The Other Side - BBC Sherlock Fanfiction

Chapter 16 - Solving the Case

Angel

"...Angelina Drski." All heads turn to me. Nobody knowing the truth. My heart beats furiously in my chest and I breath heavily in order to calm myself down.

"You never read the end of the letter, Toni. You don't understand."  I say, my voice about to break. She lunges forward in an attempt to hit me but is, thankfully, held back by her handcuffs. I take a few deep breaths until I deem myself fit to speak.

"George isn't dead, I swear, he's in safe hands - the safest I know. I never killed your brother." I try to explain, disregarding how dangerous the ground I am treading on is. 

I can practically see steam coming out of Toni's ears and her face is red as a beetroot. 

"No," she refuses to believe, "you're lying, I know you are. I searched everywhere for him, I even checked the list of toddlers who died that month; his name was there." She accuses.

"I told you, he's in the safest hands I know." I repeat.

"And whose are they?" she spits.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that it's confidential and you are regarded as dangerous." I explain, trying my best to at least sound sympathetic. 

"He's my brother, I'd never hurt him!" Toni pleads.

"And you tried to murder someone today, do you see our problem?" I reply, losing my patience. 

Evidently unable to think of a comeback, her shoulders slump and she sulks. Despite myself, I feel sorry for her. I know what thinking someone you love has been killed does to a person, you become so consumed by worry that it takes over all rationality and blocks out any influence your conscience may have had. Your trust goes out the window and you suspect anyone that lays eyes on you. It is a terrible thing to go through.

I shut away my empathy in the darkest corner of my mind and plaster on a smile. 

"Well Jim, my dear, the police will be here in a minute and, seeing as you're a world class criminal I recommend that you skidaddle." I suggest cheerfully. He contemplates for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"I wouldn't want to crease my suit," he says, smoothing his jacket in his signature way, "it's Westwood." Smirking he takes a few steps away but turns and says. "And Toni I think that Dr Watson might need a hand figuring out how you got the poison into Angel's milk." He winks and leaves.

"Yeah, actually I would. Care to explain?" says John. Toni glares at me.

"Not until I know where my brother is." She attempts a bargain.

"No chance, but I can explain it for you John, or Sherlock." Seeing this as an invitation to explain Sherlock launches into his deduction. 

"Toni had been following Angel around all day, evident from the fact that she appeared in the shop that Angel was in and here. She knew that she wanted to kill Angel but it had to be original, can't stand to be like everybody else, that much is clear from her shoelaces and the tattoo on her left ankle. That explains the unusual poison. She had decided on your method, now it was just a means of somehow slipping it into Angel's milk, because as she has kindly pointed out, you can't smell vodka in milk. A bit risky if you ask me, what if she hadn't drunk it, someone else had? But happy with this little fact, Toni had to wait for the opportunity to put her plan into action, hence the stalking. Seeing Angel go into a shop she quickly followed, getting her name-badge from work out and pinning it to her blouse. She slipped into an empty checkout which, seeing that it had the shortest queue, Angel obviously went to." Sherlock paused as, through the curtain, appeared Lestrade and his much disliked crew. "Oh, hello Graham." He muttered before continuing. "Whilst scanning the milk which Angel had so conveniently been buying Toni subtlety put the poison in." John nods understandingly whilst he processes the information. A couple of policemen took Toni away, presumably to a police-car, to my relief - now I don't have to keep up the pretense that I don't know any of the police force present. 

"Wait, Sherlock, you didn't actually explain how she got the poison into the milk?" 

"Yes I did!" Sherlock says defensively. "She did it whilst she was scanning the milk." He repeats. John and I smile knowingly.

"You don't know, do you Sherlock? You don't know how she did it and you don't want to admit it." Out the corner of my eye I see Anderson and Donovan smirking and decide that I need to do something about it.

"I think that those to might know, actually." I say, gesturing towards the two people. Their smiles vanish instantaneously and cheeks blush red. "Well, do you?" I ask impatiently. When I am met with no response I smile bitch-ily. "I thought not. Next time check that you know the answer yourself before sniggering like a couple of teenagers." I roll my eyes and explain what everybody had been waiting to hear. 

"Toni used a syringe to get the poison into the bottle. She got the syringe from the drug dealing business she's involved with - and no, you won't be able to catch the others, Greg." He sighs in disappointment.

After asking me all of the usual questions the group of policemen finally leaves. I am told that I'll be out of hospital by the end of tomorrow but will need to take it easy - yeah, right. I have a Prime Minister to save...