Chapter Two: Meeting Mr. Sherlock Holmes again


They went into a building, up stairs, then up more winding stairs, and onto the roof. I stupidly followed their example and vaulted over the metal fence to the roof below. A pain exploded sharply in my ankle and my foot crumbled beneath me for a second. I didn't turn my ankle fortunately, but the pain was sharp enough to bring me to my senses.

"Wait a minute." I gasped out. "What am I doing here?"

I limped around the corner and peered around it just in time to see John leap over the end of the roof. I shook my head in dismay as he took off. I stood there, coming to terms that my part of the chase was over. No matter how curious I was, I was not going to be jumping off of roofs to find out what was going on. I watched their retreating shadows before a violent coughing fit seized me. It was then I became aware of my pounding heart, icy cold throat and each breath was as if a knife embedded deep inside my lungs.

My mind screamed at me. Here I am, chasing after two men, chasing a man in a taxi. I don't know either man well enough to go chasing after them! And, I'm running after them in heels! It's a wonder I didn't break my neck or ankle. Not to mention, this could easily turn into a dangerous situation!

By now, I really couldn't breathe properly; I reached for my purse, to realize I'd left it on the floor in the restaurant. It had my inhaler and now I was forced to regain control over my breathing the hard way. I leaned against the brick wall, covered my mouth and tried to breathe deeply. I had the misfortune to be born with asthma and I was allergic to cold air. I kid you not; I am allergic to cold air.

So I concentrated on reciting the lyrics to 'Sunday in the park with George' in my head, focusing on Bernadette Peter's face in my mind instead of struggling to get my next breath. It took several long moments for me to begin breathing normally. I then moved slowly to get off the roof, carefully climbing down the stairs and making the trek back to the restaurant to get my purse, coughing all the way. It sounded like I was coughing to 'Jingle Bells' and I don't like that song!

Angelo was putting on his coat and he had John's cane in hand. "Oh, there you are Miss!" He said to me. "You left your purse and scarf here, I was going to give it them to Sherlock."

"I'm glad you didn't," my voice was raspy and I sounded as if I'd just escaped being strangled. "I don't know the man from Adam."

Angelo laughed. "You had dinner with him."

"He treated me to dinner because I solved a riddle for him," I coughed behind my hand. "and he didn't like it. Come to think of it...he didn't really like me and I didn't like him. I just had dinner to annoy him."

Angelo frowned. "Are you ok?"

I nodded and reached for my purse to find my inhaler. "I'm allergic to cold air." His brows rose in surprise as I inhaled deeply. "I'm afraid all that running didn't do any wonders for me."

"Can I get your anything?"

I shook my head. "No thank you. I'll just buy a cocoa or something warm and drink it once I'm home." I wrapped my scarf around my mouth. "I'll be fine, thank you."

"All right Missy." His phone sang out with Dean Martin's 'That's Amore', signaling that he'd gotten a text. "Got to go. Sherlock's getting a little antsy."

"Tell them that it was fun while it lasted. I sincerely doubt I'll be seeing either of them again."

He laughed. "You never know."

I merely smiled and exited behind him. Angelo took a taxi, but I decided to walk. It was a small walk back to Baker Street and I found myself casually looking around for Sherlock or John. My cough fortunately subsided when I entered pushed the door open to my new flat on Baker Street. As I took off my scarf, I heard a lot of noise and people loudly talking in the flat above. "Mrs. Hudson?" I called.

"Yes dear?" I turned to see her standing at the top of the stairs. She was such a sweet woman. The kind of landlady everyone wished they had, but couldn't find.

"What's going on?" I asked as I walked up the stairs towards her. "Is everything all right?"

"I don't know." She said with a shrug of her shoulder. "Sherlock's done something."

I paused, hoping against hope; it couldn't be the same man. "Sherlock?" my heart stopped. Sherlock wasn't a common name, in fact Sherlock Holmes, was the first man I'd heard with that name.

"Yes. He's a nice young man."

I exhaled in relief. "Couldn't be the same man then."

"Oh?" Mrs. Hudson said. "Did you meet someone then named Sherlock tonight?"

"Yes." I wrinkled my nose, coughing again. "He was a consulting detective, quite a show off. He had a friend, John Watson, he was very nice, made up for Sherlock's lack of manners."

"Oh then you met, Sherlock Holmes! He lives one flat below you."

My heart stopped in my chest. "No way." I groaned and shook my head. "I'll have to see it to believe it." Mrs. Hudson didn't follow me, because the front doorbell rang and she went to answer it. My heart pounded in her chest as I peered inside the door to find Sherlock, John and several police officers in the flat. I moaned and sank against the door in disbelief. "I can't believe it."

I coughed and everyone looked in my direction. Sherlock shot a dark scowl at me. "What are you doing here!?"

"Hoping that this is a bad dream that I'm about to wake up from." I coughed again. "Excuse me."

"Are you ok?" John asked, stepping towards me. "We did take off without a thought of consideration for you. And you're wearing heels!"

"Don't know why." Sherlock mumbled. "She's tall enough as is."

"They almost make me your level." I shot back at him. "And that's worth it."

"Whose this?" An older, kind faced man asked as he looked at me.

"Inspector Lestrade, this is Tammy Taylor." John stated. "She was the one who helped Sherlock realize that the murderer is a taxi driver."

Sherlock glowered and all eyes went to him. "She did?" A female officer laughed. She had an annoying accent and she sounded like she was talking through her nose. "What's this then? Sherlock got a girl no one knows about?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter Sally." Sherlock said. "I only met the girl once."

I focused on the Inspector. "I'm pleased to meet you." I shook his offered hand.

"Mutual." He cleared his throat. "Pardon our reactions, but Sherlock's just been surprising us today."

"That I believe." I said. "He's a royal pain then isn't he?"

"First, he shows up with Watson as his colleague and now you're on the scene."

"Well, I wouldn't have met him prior to this if he knew how to keep his voice down in public."

John spoke up. "Tammy, this is Sergeant Sally Donovan."

"And she solvin' cases with you? First you get a colleague, now, you got a girl with you!" Sally looked at him with disdain before turning towards me. "For your sake, I suggest you find someone else to date."

"Why don't you mind your own business?" I snapped at her. Now, ordinarily I wouldn't have said anything. But I was cold, my feet were killing me and I really didn't like the woman. "He's all ready stated that we only met once and the man's telling the truth." Everyone stared at me in surprise, well, everyone except Sherlock. He was 'reading' me again. "I for one find your condescending tone of voice towards someone you don't even know objectionable. Also, Mr. Holmes is in the room, and considering you're in his flat, you should keep your opinions to yourself until you're out of his territory. And since you're obviously still single, why should I turn to you for dating advice? You're not my mother! And anyway, we're not dating and the mere suggestion of us dating is a creepy thought!"

"Fascinating." My little rant set off a cough fit and I groaned in aggravation. "John, she needs something warm to drink." Sherlock's eyes narrowed. "You're allergic to cold air and stress aggravates the condition."

"I'm not going to ask how you knew that." I stated. "But you're still missing a huge part of my life and when you find out, you get to solve the case. If you can figure it out."

"Pink."

I flushed and scowled at him. "Not quite."

"Pink, with pink polka dots." Sherlock shoved his hands in his pockets and smirked at me. "You're not like most women, you don't color coordinate-

"When you're on a roll about something, you really don't know when to shut up, do you? In case you haven't gotten the thinly veiled hint Mr. Holmes...I'm telling you to shut up!"

He blinked and Inspector Leotard's mouth was open slightly. For a long moment we stood there, staring at each other. I was attempting to read him as he was reading me. John spoke up, attempting to interject some sound in the silent room. "Is there something here I'm missing?"

"No, John." Sherlock said. "Tammy appears to have a different side to her, that's all. And I shall enjoy, discovering it."

"If I didn't know any better," I said slowly. " I'd say you were flirting with me. But, since you and I have both sworn off relationships, It'll be fun to swap barbs with you…Mr. Darcy."

He frowned. "I sincerely doubt that things have taken that great a turn. Besides, Jane Austen's work, is highly insignificant in regards to relationships. I believe rather faulty as she died an old spinster alone."

Mrs. Hudson called up the stairs. "Tammy?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hudson?"

"It's men with a bunch of boxes for you."

I clapped my hands in delight. "Wonderful! The paint should be dry by now! Now I can go put all my books up in the bookshelves."

"Told you she was an avid reader."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm a collector. My father bought me many books when I turned fifteen. Several hundred are first editions and extremely rare. I've even got an autographed copy of 'A Christmas Carol.' You were close when you said avid reader Sherlock, but some books are best left behind enclosed glass. I do read….just not much."

Sherlock glowers at me. "Ten to one the book is a fake."

"You're never going to have the opportunity to look at it." I crossed my arms over my chest. "You even breathe on the book and I am going to kill you immediately and without hesitation. If you even look like you're going to touch that book, I'll break your head!"

This time, I got a reaction from Sherlock. He grinned and stared back at me. "I'm actually so looking forward to this."

"To what?"

"Figuring you out…Tammy Taylor."

I smile and wiggle my fingers at him. "The game is on Mr. Holmes. Don't be surprised if you loose."

He shook his head. "I've never lost a game yet."