You can read "Letting Go" (my companion fic to this) before or after... or not at all! Doesn't matter. Just know that Kameko's in both. ;D
Note- Pretty much all of these stories are pre-John and are written out of order. :P If the date is essential, I'll let you know. For now, just keep in mind that this first chapter takes place about three years before "Study in Pink."
You know the drill- Kameko's the only one that belongs to me. ;)
Enjoy!
)oOo(
"Is there anyone here who has a scrap of reason?"
No one heard this question except for the questioner herself, who walked onto the crime scene unnoticed. She, being of diminutive stature, easily crossed the safeguards and made her way to a point at which she could more easily observe the goings on of police.
"The playground?" the girl mused in irritation. "Really? Couldn't they have picked someplace more convenient to murder someone? Not that I especially like the playground, but at least the swings are a suitable place to think... and a great excuse to kick the passers by."
She snickered for a moment, remembering all the good times (mainly bruising kicks to the shins of passers-by) that were centered around those swings. And the time that she knocked out that prat Martha Richards. Priceless. The girl shook herself out of her reverie. She had to focus on the facts:
Four child murders all in the vicinity. All of them attended this school or have relatives who attend this school. And every single last one of them were extraordinarily infantile brats who believed that the entire world belonged to them because their mummies and daddies were a little better off than the rest of us. Imbeciles, every one of them. The papers didn't mention the last bit. They also didn't mention the tidbit of information that is vitally important to this case. Now to find someone at least somewhat competent to explain everything to. What a chore that will be...
She wandered over to where the forensics team was examining the body. The girl glanced over the corpse, observing with distaste that it seemed exactly the same as the others.
Stupid serial murderers. Why can't you be more creative? It'd be so much more of a challenge... or at least, as much more of a challenge as you simpletons are cable of presenting. When I, the great Kameko, am a detective inspector, I'll clear you all out so quickly that you won't know what hit you. You, sir, are so pathetic that studying the man on forensics is more interesting than the corpse you left behind. Bloody idiot.
The man in front of her was tall and had a pale, pinched, sniveling face that was rather displeasing to look at. He had light brown hair that was parted in the middle and fell roughly straight on either side, framing a face that -in her opinion- should not have been framed. After studying him for a minute, she couldn't hold it in anymore. Mustering as much strength as she could, Kameko kicked him in the shin. Whirling around, he shouted furiously,
"What the hell was that for!"
"Cheating on your wife," she replied calmly as if it were the most natural thing in the world, which irritated the man even more.
"What- I am not! You don't even know what that is!"
"Having sex with a women who isn't your wife even though you're married." Smirking smugly she walked away from the flabbergasted man before he could react. Passing a woman with dark brown skin and curly hair and looked as if she could have been Kameko's aunt, the child commented,
"I don't know what you see in him."
The lady spun around, trying to find the speaker. However, the girl had already disappeared from view. Dismissing it as the result of sleep deprivation, and perhaps slight paranoia, she went back to work. Kameko wandered around the crime scene, taking mental notes of the Yard's poor habits and inwardly criticizing each of the members. She despaired of finding anyone with a grain of sense when her eyes lit upon a man with greying hair and a kind, worn face. Strolling calmly up to him, she commented wryly,
"What a lovely collection of imbeciles there. Are they yours?"
"How did you get in here?" He looked down at her with a mixture of worry and slight disapproval. Grinning deviously, she replied,
"Magicians never tell their tricks. Their audiences of ignoramuses wouldn't understand anyway. Now if you'll excuse me..."
Before he could reply, she walked quickly away from him and disappeared from view. Kameko understood his wariness, of course- she wouldn't want some idiot child walking onto her investigation, either. Of course, she wasn't an idiot by any means, but he couldn't know that. He wasn't quite bright enough, but there was hope for him, unlike the rest of these imbeciles. Her eyes lit upon a man with dark, curly hair and wore a long coat. Now here is a proper thinker. Kameko wandered over to him and stood a few yards away. She observed his methods with a curious frown and waited until he acknowledged her. At first he didn't notice her, so absorbed in his task was he. After a few minutes, however, he realized she was hovering his shoulder and began to get irritated. After several more minutes, he said gruffly,
"Go away."
Kameko ignored his order. "You aren't with the Yard."
"No."
"If you were, you would have killed the guy on forensics ages ago."
"Yes, now go away."
"But the police still let you come in, so you aren't an amateur." She paused and frowned in thought. She murmured, "Detective Inspector? No, that's the grey-haired one in charge of the monkeys. Private detective? No, the police don't go to private detectives. Hmm... You aren't paid, but you help anyway. You don't care about the victims, either, so this isn't charity. It's fun. And you are actually intelligent enough to solve crimes, as is evidenced by your looking over here when no one else has had the sense to. You must be something entirely different."
Minutely impressed with the child's deduction skills, he said, "Consulting Detective."
"Ah! That explains things." Kameko smiled impishly. "You help the police when they're in a fix, then. Which they're always in a fix, it seems, but since you only help with the fun cases (I would, too, if I were you), they're left to fend for themselves when it comes to the simple things that even their tiny little brains should be able to wrap themselves around."
"Leave me alone. I'm working."
She rolled her eyes. "I can see that. You're on the right trail, but you aren't going to get anywhere if you don't have all the evidence that links the kids together."
"You think you have something important to tell me." It was a statement, not a question. He stared impatiently at Kameko, who smirked at the attention he finally gave her.
"I know I have something important to tell you. You are the only one with enough brains to actually understand this."
"Spit it out."
"Someone is impatient." She leaned forward and whispered into Sherlock's ear. A hint of a smirk played the right corner of the detective's lip.
"Clever."
"Yes, I know." Her tone was condescending, but somehow it fit her.
"There you are, you little brat!" The man from forensics came rushing toward them, red-faced and looking ready to paddle Kameko's hide.
"Uh-oh, that's my cue. Good luck with the case. You're going to need it." She saluted and dashed off before anyone could catch her. Alone, the consulting detective scoffed quietly,
"Luck, if only such a thing existed, then life might be a bit more interesting, a bit less... predictable, and so, dull. There is only preparation, planning and the occasional opportunity, though even those are the result of timing, work and previous actions made to line up nicely."
Still, there was something about the girl was mildly interested him. Perhaps it was the fact she wasn't a dullard like most people he met. Perhaps it was the fact she actually observed her surroundings. Or perhaps it was the fact that she was able to irk Anderson and the others the same way he did. No matter what, though, it didn't really matter. Now that she gave her information, she had nothing more to do with the case. She was no longer an active factor, in both the case and his life. Now to get those samples to the lab...
)oOo(
And so it begins...
Please review, especially if you have any ideas for what mischief Sherlock and Kameko can get into! Also, don't be limited by what's in "Letting Go." I mostly plan on pre-John stuffs, but if you want an older Kameko, ask, and you might just receive. ;)
However, I don't want to seem like a copycat of "Just for Fun," which if you haven't read, you really ought to because it's wonderfulness! :D
