Names.
It had happened accidentally, the six of them meeting for the first time. They all had a job to do at 221B Baker Street.
Yelling at a brother.
Yelling at somebody else's brother.
Yelling at a boyfriend.
Retrieving stolen evidence.
Retrieving stolen body parts.
And making tea.
And while the first meeting had been an accident, the ones that followed weren't. They would meet for tea and cake once a month and talk. Almost everything was open for discussion, the only thing the unspoken rules stated were six forbidden topics.
Alcohol.
Men who ruled the world.
Work.
Crime scenes.
Death bodies.
And Him.
"I need a new name," she said after they all had settled down with their coffee, Kopi luwak, the most expensive coffee in the world and a ridiculous gift for entertaining the son of an Indonesian millionaire. What the man hadn't known was that the boy had given her all the information she needed. Information his father had been trying to hide from her by foisting the boy on her. There was something delicious about the irony.
"What are you using now?" Harry asked, her eyes closed as she savoured the taste of the excellent coffee.
"Melati, but I have enough of everything Indonesian for a while."
"What about Bella?" Molly enjoyed the horrified look on the other women's faces. Sally actually shuddered.
"Apple," Sarah said.
"If I would name myself after a Smartphone it would be Blackberry, besides I'm fruity enough as it is."
"I was thinking about Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter, actually," Sarah said, putting a piece of cake in het mouth.
"Moon Unit, Suri, Little Pixie, Peaches," Sally added, naming all the names that celebrities had used and she could remember. She wasn't ashamed to admit that she loved to sit back with the latest gossip magazines to rewind after yet another bloody murder.
"No thanks, I prefer to be taken at least a little bit serious."
"Tallulah," Mrs. Hudson suggested.
"Tallulah?" Molly giggled. "You watched Bugsy Malone too yesterday."
"I have to do something and watching the BBC is at least slightly entertaining." Mrs. Hudson smiled.
"Billy, Charlie, Jamie, Jeri," Harry smirked, "there is nothing as enjoyable as screwing with people's gender biases."
"Too ordinary."
"Elvira."
"Brunhilda."
"Calypso."
"Lilith."
"Khadija."
A phone ringing stopped their wild name throwing.
"Khadija speaking, "Khadija replied automatically, used to adopting a new name at the drop of a hat. "Yes. No. I'll let him know. Okay."
"Khadija it is then?" Sally asked, as she pocketed her phone again.
And it was. The subject of Khadija's name quickly forgotten, as they talked about the latest best seller, the stock market and Molly's cat.