1
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson were sat in the sitting room of 221b Baker Street reading newspapers, when Sherlock slammed his paper down on the table. "IM SO BORED!" Sherlock shouted "Why is there never anything to do around here?" All of a sudden there was a knock at the door and seconds later the click of the lock and footsteps ascending the staircase, the sitting room door flung open to reveal Inspector Lestrade followed by Mrs Hudson.
"Sherlock we've got another one." Lestrade said hastily.
"Another what?" Sherlock asked clasping his hands in his lap.
"You know exactly what."
"Well judging by the small flecks of blood on your finger nails you must have been near blood and there is an awful lot of mud on the hem of your trousers and your shoes meaning you must have been in a muddy area, also your holding an envelope with the words Thames murder no. 3 printed in big black letters so I'm presuming another Thames murder, oh Greg you make it too easy."
"Well done Sherlock you continue to amaze me." Lestrade said sarcastically.
"I know." Sherlock replied with a faint smile clearly not even trying to be modest. Sherlock and john grabbed their coats and followed Lestrade out of the door and into a big black Lexus parked on the curb outside the flat.
"Hello Sherlock." said the unmistakable posh voice of Mycroft Holmes as john opened the sleek car door.
"Hello Mycroft, why are you here?"
"Nice to see you too."
"I never said it was nice to see you, I asked why you're here so please answer my question." Sherlock said impatiently.
"I am here because the people at the palace are getting worried about these murders and as your dear brother they sent me to find you."
"So where did you find the body this time?" John interjected before there could be any arguments.
"We found him just down river from Westminster Bridge lying on his front on the surface rather than submerged like the others."
"YES!" Sherlock suddenly shouted, making John jump out of his seat.
"What?" John asked.
"I beat my high score on doodle jump!" he said with a grin. John turned to look out of the dark tinted windows with a concerned sigh.
By the time the Lexus pulled up alongside the dark murky river, Sherlock had established that it had a leather arm rest that when pulled down made a loud squeaking noise and had been playing with it for five minutes before Inspector Lestrade handcuffed him to the seat in front. The driver cut out the engine and Lestrade hopped out and opened Sherlock's door "If I take these cuffs off, will you be sensible?" he asked him.
"Yes." Sherlock mumbled like a naughty child. Lestrade pulled the key from his pocket and thrust it into the lock, allowing Sherlock to stroll out across the river bank to examine the body, slamming the door behind him. He crouched down beside it with his arms resting on his knees. "Right let's get this party started, do you have any background information on the victim?" he asked, turning to look at Lestrade.
"Umm not much." he said taking his PDA from his jacket pocket "His name was Alex Daniels, he was in his mid-forties, he had a wife and three kids and that's pretty much it to be honest."
"Okay." Sherlock said with a glazed expression, his long, bony fingers already moving across the man's body examining it in great detail. Finally after just a few minutes of intense examination he stood up and straightened his back.
"What's your verdict?" Lestrade asked.
"Well, I found traces of dried salt on most of his clothes, most likely from the salt water in the river, and he had a few flecks of blood on his chin and hands, but there was no wounds that would show the cause of death and finally he had traces of various types of acids on his finger nails the most evident being sodium hydroxide." he said all this extremely fast causing Lestrade to look extremely confused for a moment before coming to his senses. "Oh erm yeah he was a lab worker at London university." he said, taking another quick glance at his PDA.
"And what were the other victims' jobs?" Sherlock asked.
"One was a plumber, and one was a shop worker." Lestrade replied beginning to get confused.
"What kind of shop?" Sherlock asked, starting to make the situation sound like twenty one questions.
"Um a small place that sells things that make you smell nice," he said. "You know soap, smellies that kind of stuff."
"That's it!" Sherlock shouted excitedly "I've got it!"
"Got what?" John asked.
"The link, I've got the link between the bodies." Sherlock said.
"Well what is it then?" Lestrade asked.
"You must know, come on!" he yelled "Anyone?" no one spoke up. "Oh come on it's obvious!"