Ten minutes of fevered rushing, and the doctor finally caught up with the detective.
"Look, Sherlock, I'm sorry about that, in there-"
Sherlock stopped short, spinning around to face the doctor, he looked distressed, his eyes searching and his brow furrowed.
"Why are you apologizing? You were absolutely correct."
John was taken aback, he opened his mouth-and then closed it-before trying again. "It's your thing. You know, reading a crime scene. I just got a bit carried away is all."
Sherlock's gaze softened and his lips parted slightly, before he composed himself once more. "I'm not upset that you deduced the crime scene John."
The doctor nodded. "Good."
They stood there for a moment, trying to organize themselves, before John's phone rang.
"Watson."
Sherlock looked at him inquisitively, a silent question being put to the doctor. John mouthed, 'Mrs. Hudson' before turning his attention back to the phone.
"John dear, a package arrived at the door for you. Were you expecting one?"
The doctor squinted at Sherlock. "No, I didn't does it have a return address?"
There was a sound of rustling as the woman flipped the cube around in her hands. "No, I don't see one. It just has 'John Watson 221B Baker Street' scrawled across the front. It's pretty handwriting too. Very feminine."
John froze, and glanced at Sherlock, inexplicably guilty. "Just set it on our table. Thank you for telling me."
Sherlock had started walking again, and John hurried to follow the long legged detective as Mrs. Hudson's voice continued in his ear.
"No problem dear. Just don't get used to it. After all, I'm not your house keeper."
John chuckled softly, and closed his phone. Sherlock had made it a good twenty paces in front of him now, and the shorter man was forced into a run. He came up beside the detective, huffing for breath.
"Geeze, Sherlock, could you slow down a bit? Not all of us were graced with the legs of a bloody giraffe."
Sherlock slowed, but not without a derisive snort.
"I hardly have the legs of a giraffe, John. Besides, it's not my fault that you're built to resemble a hedgehog." The doctor's mouth fell open, and he crossed his arms over his chest defensively.
"I do not resemble a hedgehog." He paused, looking around himself. "Where are we going?"
The detective turned into another ally, this one dark and damp despite the noonday sun. "We are going behind the warehouse to search for anything that the police would have missed."
John nodded, and watched as Sherlock fluidly pulled himself up onto the lid of a dumpster.
"Aren't you coming?" Sherlock said, peeling off his coat and scarf before tossing them to John. The doctor glanced around, and then shook his head.
"I think I'll be of better use down here, holding your coat." He held the bundle up as if on display, giving Sherlock yet another pause. He decided against saying anything, instead opting to lower himself into the bin. He rummaged around, searching and digging for what he knew had to be there. John had been right, of course, and because of that there had to be a
"Eureka!" Sherlock shouted, throwing a fist into the air. John looked up and couldn't help but crack a smile.
"Find what you're looking for then?" Sherlock nodded, pocketing his prize before effortlessly swinging himself down.
"You were right when you said that these were college kids. Look at this." The detective pulled a plastic ID badge from his pocket.
"Karen Gillan, age 21. She was in the circle, wasn't she?" Sherlock nodded, and the doctor took a closer look at the badge. "This is dated just last month, but she looks nothing in this picture like she did in there."
Sherlock nodded again. "Whoever organized all this is a genius in marketing."
John eyed the detective warily. "You already have a suspect in mind, don't you?"
The detective grinned. "Three."
The doctor simply rolled his eyes, before tossing the coat and scarf back to the detective. "So what's next? We interview your suspects, we interview those who knew the victims, or we go grab a bite since it's 2 in the evening and you made me skip breakfast."
Sherlock glanced back at the doctor, but said nothing. He simply walked back to the street and hailed another cab.