Elephant's Memory (Sherlock BBC)

4: Moribund

Clara smiled a little as she touched her skull-shaped glass to John's. She took a sip, and was surprisingly content with the cheap red wine. Sherlock wasn't drinking much; he had poured himself a small amount of the same wine in a glass and seemed a bit annoyed as he set it on the table, sinking into thought. Clara sat next to him on the couch.

"You alright?"

"Conversation is a bit boring, isn't it?" Sherlock said coldly. "It never gets down to what's really important."

"Conversation doesn't get boring. Small talk does." Clara swirled her wine around in her glass, almost seeing Susan's eyes in the reflection. "And often enough, People don't wan't you to know their innermost secrets, even if they are obvious. They want them to stay covered, like a sheild."

"You speak as if from experirnce."

"I do." The conversation died there, and Sherlock looked at her for a long time, only looking away just before Clara finished her wine. "I should be getting home soon. My family will be worried."

"Mmm, I'm sure you'll want to be well rested for the autopsy tomorrow."

"Autopsy?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, autopsy."

"So, this si what you do? You solve puzzles for a living?"

"Consulting Detective." Sherlock replied tetchily.

"And you, Clara, why are you here? Shouldn't you be at some big party, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous?"

"I'm... Along for the ride, I suppose. And let me tell you, those parties are nothing but a big snore most of the time. None of it is real. It's adults playing pretend." She dusted her hands off, but allowed john to pour more wine in her cup. "I need to get home to my daughters. Karen and Katherine are probably at each other's throats right now, and who knows what trouble Julie's getting into." Clara said, taking a deep gulp of wine. She relished the familiar burn as it went down her throat.

"Oh, stay for a while longer!" John said. "I'm sure Sarah would appreciate your company."

"Oh, I'm sure Ms. Evangeline doesn't want to speak with me."

"No, of course I do..." Clara said. awkwardly, before sitting up straighter. "Who's up for a card game?"

"I'm in!" John said. Mrs Hudson, who had just come in and poured herself wine, sat down next to Clara on her other side as she picked up a pack of cards from the table and shuffled them. Sherlock's head snapped over to the door just before Lestrade stepped in.

"Your butler said that you were here, Ms. Evangeline. You haven't been answering your phone." He said, looking rather downcast.

"Pardon?" Clara asked looking up from where she was dealing cards. Sherlock's eyes snapped to Lestrade, looking him up and down before he pursed his lips.

"How long?" Sherlock asked lowly.

"Three days."

"Excuse me? What's going on?" Clara asked, standing. Sherlock looked Lestrade in the eye, his expression reading Well, I'm not going to tell her. Lestrade shuffled his feet.

"You might want to sit down..."

"i'll stand, thank you." Clara said, stabs of fear entering her heart.

"No, really, you out to listen." Sherlock said.

"I'll stand." She said. Her ankle already felt better, and she didn't want to sit. Lestrade sighed.

"Two nights ago, there was a report of a body in a dumpsters less than six blocks away from your home." She froze, going extraordinarily pale. "We found one, and we just got a hit off of his dental records." Clara didn't even blink. "Ms. Evangeline, your son was murdered." It hit her like a ton of bricks, and Sherlock moved to catch her faster than any of them could blink.