"thank god!" Jim rolled his eyes to show who Stupid he thought Sherlock was, "I didn't think you would get that. basically, I have taken someone. your job is to find who, how and why, simple really." again, he rolled his eyes, as if just explaining took up a lot of his strength.
It's possibly John, but that would be obvious. Mrs. Hudson? Lestrade? Some random stranger? Sherlock smiled. "Interesting." "I suppose you are trying to guess who I've taken but I don't have a lot of time so I'll tell you, after I hear you guess."
"Guess? I don't guess. I make a calculated suggestion." Sherlock laid his violin over his knees, picking at the strings as he thought. "The most likely answer is John."
"really? even I'm not that predictable Sherly." Jim tutted mockingly.
"Exactly. It would be boring for both of us." Sherlock gratefully dismissed the thought with a blink.
"then why mention it?"
"Because it was a likely answer. John is my closest friend - my only friend. His absence would affect me more than anyone else."
"I suppose," Jim shrugged, slightly annoyed Sherlock had mentioned this; it was supposed to be a surprise. "and I have taken John , but he isn't who your looking for, well, not yet anyway." he waved his hand dismissively, "I just took him to amuse me." Jim grinned at Sherlock, winking.
"And to distract me, too, I assume. I will be concerned for his welfare, so it will stop me from working at my maximum potential, even if it's slightly. Clever."
"I did not think he had such sentimental value, but you are right, I won't guarantee his safety and probably won't give him back in the exact same state, but that's also just to occupy myself." The words 'not in the same state' made Sherlock's hands slip on the violin, so instead of producing a lovely note, it squeaked instead. He was glaring at the offending string when he answered Moriarty.
"Is the person you have taken - aside from John - someone I am relatively close to?" "oh, Sherlock, this surprises even me! you need a clue already? you are sooo normal." Jim looked at him, disgusted.
"I told you already, my concern for John's safety is making it difficult to think very clearly." Sherlock delicately altered the tuning of the violin.
"oh he really has mellowed you! hmmm, maybe a little time apart would be good for you Sherly, I might have him for a while..." Jim chuckled deeply and gulped his coffee in one then rolled the cup across the floor so it landed at Sherlock's feet.
"Mellowed? No... I haven't changed." Sherlock considered playing the violin badly on purpose, just to be spiteful, but he refrained. Sherlock glanced up at Moriarty, his eyes like ice. "I do hope you'll respect what is mine."
"respect what's yours? what a primitive concept! we know each other better than-wait- John's yours? oh Sherly, I didn't know you too were..." Sherlock turned his glare on Moriarty, who was now texting on his mobile, a little flushed.
"Oh, for God's sake. You're reading into that too?"
"calm down Sherly, your secret isn't safe with me, in fact if you must know I've told several people, but that isn't the matter at hand. who have I taken?"
"It couldn't be anyone. Mrs. Hudson, Lestrade... Anderson," Sherlock made a face,"molly?"
"no, someone far better"
"Someone far better..." Sherlock repeated in a whisper, frowning. "Hmm. This is a rather enjoyable puzzle, I'll admit..."
"well enjoy it faster or I'll keep John." Moriarty was impatient, and stood to look out the window again.
"Oh, no, no, no. I'll finish this, and get John back." Someone far better...
"do you need a clue?" Sherlock wanted to snap at him with 'No, I don't, now goodbye!' but... John. John was probably in danger, and the likelihood of him being injured became more apparent the longer Sherlock took. So he simply stayed silent, unable to admit it, but unable to say no.
"I thought so. well ,the most best way of telling you is that we've both looked at who you think is him during this conversation."
"Helpful," Sherlock commented dryly. He cast his gaze around the room, plucking at the strings of the violin again. He froze when it rested on the skull, his fingers stilling and halting the music. Chuckling, Moriarty walked over to the skull and picked it up, idly tossing it from hand to hand,
"I thought you might have noticed. still, you got there eventually" he crushed the skull in his hand, splinters and dust falling to the carpet.
"So, you took the skull. I need to work out how and why? Interesting." Sherlock raised the violin to his chin and picked up the bow, preparing to actually play it properly. "I expect John to be in perfect condition when he is returned."
"well, lets just say you slip up, I slip up. oh, by the way, I'm not going to just leave you alone, I'm going to watch you dance." Moriarty grinned at Sherlock, winking mischievously.
"Then I hope you enjoy the music of the violin. It helps me to think." Sherlock placed the bow on the strings and began to play the piece he wrote when Irene 'died'. Why would he be interested in the skull...? He's Moriarty. He has no problems with death. Moriarty smiled and hummed the tune a few bars before Sherlock played them, the look on his face like he was remembering a fond trip to the orchestra. Sherlock narrowed his eyes but said nothing. He simply continued to play. The how is simple. He could easily have done it while I was out on a case. Moriarty half sang again, "Sherlock." Sherlock ended a note squeakily on purpose.
"What." He made it sound like a statement instead of a question.
"well, as you are taking sooo long, I thought I would remind you of something."
"Then do so, and then be quiet so I can think again. If you're going to be present, you may as well be useful or silent."
"oh, I wouldn't say useful," he tilted his head "no, that would be far too easy, but I will say this: I didn't take the skull from your flat, or steal it at any other time."
"Then somebody else did it for you. John or Mrs. Hudson would be less conspicuous than anyone else."
"no,no,no, why on earth would I do that? so...pitiful." Moriarty's face contorted in mock disgust.
"Hmph." Sherlock began to play again, his brow furrowing in thought. Chuckling, Moriarty stood and walked towards Sherlock's bedroom. Sherlock's eyes widened, then he scowled.
"What are you doing?"
"bored." Moriarty replied simply and walked in. Frowning, Sherlock stood and followed him, still playing the violin. Perhaps this was one of Moriarty's ways of giving him another subtle clue.
"When you said someone more... More intelligent? Considered to be higher? Hmm..." Sherlock was thinking aloud, really.
"sometimes you need to look back Sherly, not forward." Moriarty was out of sight. At this, Sherlock placed his violin and bow on his bed and closed his eyes. It was time to pay a visit to his Mind Palace. Jim's head popped out from under the bed to study Sherlock quickly before resuming its position. Sherlock thought back over the most recent important cases. The cabbie. The Chinese antique fakers. Moriarty himself - but he'd already denied that, so... Irene. Baskerville. And Moriarty again.
Bored looking at Sherlock's discarded clothes under the bed, Moriarty slid out silently and lay across the mattress, studying Sherlock, who's eyes suddenly snapped open. While his Mind Palace hadn't given him any answers on the why, it had told him something.
"The skull was a fake from the beginning."
Moriarty laughed and rolled onto his back across Sherlock's pillows,
"huh, half way on that one Sherly, but how?"
"How was it a fake, how did I know, or how did you do it?" Sherlock replied, answering Moriarty's question with several of his own. He picked up his violin and bow again, placing it against his shoulder and resting the bow over the strings. Moriarty chuckled softly, "the first and third. how you worked it out is by no means infeasible" he rolled his eyes deeply at this point, laughing at Sherlock's stupidity "even our pet John could do that." Sherlock's lips twitched into a half smile. "You mean my John. He's not yours." He sighed and played a new tune, improvising as he went along, so a few notes were a bit off. Moriarty's chuckle grew into a laugh,
"no Sherly, if anything, he's mine. I am the one who has him, after all."
"But he is still mine. I don't remember him ever being loyal to you." He paused. "The skull was a fake... I know the skull. It's a friend. The marks on it weren't the same, if I recall. I would prove it to you, but you broke it."
"oh Sherly, you really need practice. it still was a "friend", just a different one."
"Did you kill someone, perhaps, and remove their skull, then switch it with my one?" Moriarty grimaced,
"oh, how very droll Sherly, no, that would be far to laborious."
"Worth a try." The nickname 'Sherly' began to grate on his nerves, but he didn't mention it. Moriarty would only find it more entertaining if he brought it up.
"Stolen, then."
"wrong."
"Someone gave it to you."
"nope."
Sherlock made a particularly harsh sound with the violin, the shriek showing his irritation. "Not stolen, not a gift, not taken from a body..."
