Hello, I'm going to give writing a longer story a go! I have a fair amount of the plot planned out so I'm pretty excited. Please read and review to help me improve my writing and to help me gauge interest, thanks! I'll do my best to publish at least biweekly. Oh and the rating may change, but I think T is a safe bet for now!
The cadaver belonged to a thirty two year old female, judging by her short hair and simple dress she was either an exceedingly busy woman or a rather lazy one. Chipped nail polish also suggested that she didn't have much time for herself. Her face was aged and the effect was only magnified by the periorbital edema, most likely preset from a lack of sleep.
Looking around the house, which was well maintained, It was clear that a hectic lifestyle was more likely the problem.
She lay in her kitchen next to a shattered teacup. It was as if she had just fell dead without warning. A small crescent shaped burn adorned the lateral potion of her smallest finger.
What was unusual about this death, and the ones the police believed to be related to it, was that there was no clear cause of only unusual makings were small electrical burns on each of the victims.
At first, the deaths were booked as cardiac arrest as result of accidental electrocution.
The previous death had been what tipped the authorities off that these deaths may not be accidental after all. The victim was a patient in a state ward, he had been asleep when he was electrocuted and the nurses at the hospital reported it was unusual because the room in which he died lacked all electrical devices, even wall sockets were absent. The palm of his right hand was burnt.
This most recent victim was also the first one that Sherlock was examining.
Lestrade stood in the doorway, his back to Sherlock, keeping the other investigators out. John was watching Sherlock work, curiosity etched on his face.
Feeling John's eyes on him, Sherlock went about his work, happy to have him along on this case.
Sherlock lifted the woman's hand and examined the burn. Using a pen he looked at in her mouth, her teeth were stained, but it was a color unusual of tea, and the enamel was worn- it indicated that she was a regular coffee drinker.
"This woman had company when she died." Sherlock mused quietly. Lestrade turned around.
"We found no evidence of an intruder or a visitor."
"You weren't looking properly." Sherlock opened the cupboard above the sink and turned to John. "What do you see?"
"Sugar, cans of soup, hot chocolate, a lot of coffee, som-"
"Yes exactly, coffee! and what was in that mug?" Sherlock inclined his head slightly to indicate the shards of porcelain on the floor.
"Tea?" John replied. "There's a box right there on the counter." He mentioned, pointing it out.
"Yes a box with only five teabags and only two of them are gone."
"So she doesn't drink tea often, I still don't see how-"
"Oh isn't it obvious! She doesn't drink tea at all, judging by her teeth she's quite fond of coffee, another testament to her busy life style. She made the tea for a guest. "
I'm going to need the her cell phone." Sherlock told Lestrade. "I'd also like to see the rest of the bodies."
"They're all at the morgue, except for the first two who have already been buried"
"Come on, John" Sherlock said, and walked past Lestrade and out of the room.
John followed him, shrugging apologetically at Lestrade as he passed.
The florescent lights of the crowded morgue were bright, and four carts and their occupants were in the middle of the floor, their lightweight white plastic body bags splayed open around them, so as to provide Sherlock easy access.
"Good Morning, Sherlock. Hello John" Molly greeted them with a sweet smile, her hair was up and she set down some files near the feet of the nearest cadaver, and walked over to them.
"Molly" Sherlock said as we walked by to the nearest cadaver.
"Hello Molly, How are you?" John said smiling warmly at her and stopping to talk.
"I'm pretty well,And how are you two?"
"Glad to hear it. We're doing great. He-"
"John! Come look at this!" Sherlock shouted from his position leaning over the body.
"Sorry. I really ought to go see what he wants." John told her. It had become second nature to apologize on behalf of Sherlock's lack of manners.
Though, John suspected he was somehow jealous of Molly getting John's attention, even if it was just for small talk and pleasantries.
"What do you see?" It was a recurrent question, now that Sherlock had decided to train John in the art of observation and consulting detective work.
"More burns, almost looks like part of a hand print..."
"My thoughts exactly." The hint of a smile played at the corner of his lips.