"Mr. Holmes? I'm Theodora Miller; I emailed you to let you know I was coming to talk to you about a case." She offered him a file stamped with the name of a law firm, but he waved it away and motioned for her to sit.
As she joined him at the table, he scanned her pre-emptively. He had no real interest in her case one way or the other, but he couldn't help it. Her hair was the most obvious, as it puffed out around her face, somewhat frizzy and definitely thick.
He noted the slight wave to her hair at the base of her skull. It had recently been pulled back, but too loosely to be for the purpose of fashion (and based on the lack of makeup and the simple clothing, she didn't care for putting up her hair anyway). There was a distinct kink in some of the shorter hairs around her face from being pinned up, so it wasn't athletic related—if it had been, why bother with tiny strands?
No, she'd just come from a chemistry class, but her bag only held a manila folder and a blue binder labelled Latin IV. She was taking Latin and an advanced chemistry class—as evidenced by her need to tame her hair—so she was likely studying to be a scientist of some sort.
His gaze travelled to her books. An Agatha Christie novel and a well-worn copy of Hamlet told him enough about her psychology to say she was interested in forensic sciences, having a macabre interest in death. No wonder she knew about him, she probably followed his blog.
Her fingers drummed on the table seven times, her foot tapped twenty-one, and she bit the inside of her lip seven more. As she flipped through her binder for a clean page, her papers were invariably topped with her name and the date and then neatly organised in each individual binder for every subject. Clearly, she suffered from some form of compulsions.
She was also growing increasingly uncomfortable as he studied her unabashedly. Socially awkward, judging by the degree in which even this indirect interaction disturbed her.
As her discomfort grew, she fiddled with a necklace that had seven charms on it, most notably one in the shape of a lightning bolt coming from a cloud.
"Sorry, but what's the case about?" John interrupted.
"My best friend was arrested for the murder of one of our classmates, but I know she didn't do it."
"And how do you know?" Sherlock asked in a bored voice.
"Because I did it."
Sherlock rolled his eyes. "So tell the police this."
"I did. The problem is, we all confessed. My friends are very loyal, you see, and they wanted to protect me."
"Really? All seven of you confessed, but only one was arrested?"
"How did you—" Theodora's fingers had tightened around the charm in her surprise, and remembered it as the sharp edges bit into her skin. "Ah, the necklace. Yes, Estella is the lightning bolt."
"Interesting that she's not the falling star."
"That's Helga. It's based on personal preference, not name meanings."
"And you're the seven point star?"
"Well, yes. Now that one I don't understand."
"You have some sort of compulsion about the number seven, and you clutch at the charms of your friends whenever you're worried about them, but never at your own; obviously, the one with the least wear is yours."
"Correct on all accounts."
"Can you describe each friend to me, starting with Estella?"
"Estella Cigam, two days my elder, German and Swedish, she's the lightning bolt and cloud because she loves storms and will brew for days before she finally loses her temper. She's pretty much obsessed with herbs, especially poisons, and she enjoys collecting gems and sewing.
"Helga Latrommi, I haven't the faintest how old she is because she refuses to celebrate her birthday, she's the falling star because we often joke she's actually Helen of Troy, forced to relive mortal life over and over. She's extremely pretty, you see. She meditates and does yoga, and if she has a temper I've never seen it.
"Eva Cormac, my oldest friend and roommate, she's a few days over three months my elder, and her symbol is the thistle because she's obsessed with Scotland, she's a Scot and extremely proud of it. Her dad owns a t-shirt store for tourists who come to Scotland, and she absolutely loves working with him there. Like me, she is always reading and writing.
"Camilla Sawyer, three days younger than me, she's the rose because it's her middle name and she's also very feminine and admittedly rather prickly. She desperately wants to be an actress, and she knits more than most old women when she's not sneaking off campus with a boy."
"Alyssa Latrommi, Helga's adopted sister who's a month younger than me, is the kitten charm because she's like a little black cat; I call her Ally Cat when she's being particularly annoying. She's obsessed with manga and anime, and is really rather quiet around most people.
"Tarquinia Finnegan, the oldest at seven months my elder, is the oak leaf and acorn charm because we call her Artemis or a dryad, since she absolutely loves archery and gardening. She's always up to her elbows in either mischief or dirt.
"And then there's me."
"Why is Estella in the middle?"
"She's our unofficial leader, even though she can't stand being in charge of us. We based it on how we walk, actually. We always walk Helga, Eva, me, Estella, Quinn, Cammy, and Alyssa, from left to right."
"Why?" John asked in bewilderment.
"Conversation flows best that way. I sat down and mapped it out one time."
Sherlock's eyes snapped open. "You didn't do it, but you're willing to take that to your grave. I can't help you."
"So says the man who faked his own death to save his friend."
"You understand you will go to prison while a murderer walks free?"
"None of us seven did it, but we all believe otherwise. I've tried to tell them that, I really have, but they all think we're all lying to protect one of the others. We're too damned smart for our own good. Mr. Holmes, if I intended to go to prison to save my friends, I wouldn't come to the best detective around."
"You think you're smart, so maybe you think you're smart enough to fool me."
"I've only got an IQ of 180, and yours is likely a lot higher. No, Mr. Holmes, I come to you because I can't tell the police this:
"If you cannot find the murderer, I will take the blame."