4. The Queen of Hearts

Molly had stormed out of the room with the intention of getting a cab and going back to the hospital, but somewhere she took a wrong turn. She found herself walking down long zigzagging passageways moving toward she didn't know where. They went on and on. The one good thing about them is that they had windows which looked out onto the beautiful gardens, so for the most part she was content.

As she approached one turn in the corner she heard a noise that made her stop. There was a repetitive moaning sound, rising in pitch. She stepped back a few paces and looked out through the window into the passageway ahead. She saw the profile of a man. He wore a long white tunic covered with spades. He made one loud pipping sound, then there was silence.

Molly slowly approached the corner. She peered around it to see Anderson standing there."Hello!" Molly said and Anderson jumped turning away from her. She then saw that Donovan was on the floor beside him. She looked up at Molly, and then she looked back at the floor.

"No, I don't see any prints here," Donovan said seriously, staring at the clean checkerboard print floor.

"Well, keep looking," Anderson said trying to appear casual. He reached into his bag and pulled out a UV light. "Here, try this."

Donovan shone the light on the floor, hiding an embarrassed expression behind her tightly curled locks.

Molly walked toward them. "Pardon me," Molly said "can you please tell me how to find a way into the garden, and what exactly are you are doing with that lamp?"

Donovan stood up. She brushed down her short skirt, and shook out her hair. There were white marks on her knees. "We're looking for evidence," she said, "Someone has stolen some tarts. This light might help us see footprints so that we can find out who did it."

"So UV light shows footprints?" Molly asked.

"Yes, if the criminal walked through linseed oil."

"Did they walk through linseed oil?" Molly asked.

"Apparently not," Donovan said "but we've got to find some evidence or the Queen of Hearts will be really mad. They were HER tarts."

"Oh God! I think I hear her," Anderson said."Let's get out of here!" and the two of them ran off down the zigzagging hallway.

"You spilled some linseed oil on your shirt!" Molly yelled after them, but they were already gone. It was only now that Molly realized that this hallway had doors that led off into the gardens. She opened one and walked out into a field surrounded by beautiful roses and high hedges.

She walked down a gravel path which wound through a rose garden, passing under a trellis trained with red roses to find herself in a large open space. Lawn tennis courts stretched out before her, and a number of well dressed people were milling about.

The crowd parted and a woman came forward. She was wearing a very short white dress covered with red hearts and black pumps with impossibly high red heels. Although she had never met her in person, Molly knew who she was. She had seen her picture before. One magazine spread had showed her standing among very posh people wearing nothing but a knowing smile. Below it read the caption, Irene Adler, The Queen of Hearts.

Irene walked toward Molly. She had her arms around the waists of two impossibly tall and gorgeous women.

"Where did those detectives get to?" she yelled, "They were supposed to find my tarts! I can't have a party with only these two. She said pulling the two girls closer to her so that they tittered."

When she saw Molly, Irene Adler sauntered over to her and looked her up and down. "Hello cute little thing," she said," What's your name?"

"Molly," she replied thinking to herself, "My, my, these people are a pack of cards."

"Why, You must be here to play Lawn Tennis," Miss Adler said stroking the neck of one of her tarts.

"No, actually I came here by accident while trying to get away from Sherlock," Molly said.

"Sherlock!" Irene sighed standing up taller and rubbing her hands together. "Is he here? I want him on a leash. Ambassador!" She called and a short portly man came over. Irene bent over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Darling, do you think you could get dear Mycroft to have Sherlock come to the party? I can make it worth your while. I know what you like."

The ambassador appeared to be hyperventilating as she grabbed the hair on the back of his neck firmly. "I'll do what I can," he said, then she slapped his behind and he said, "I'll do it at once!" running off in search of Mycroft.

Irene came over and wrapped her arm around Molly. "Darling," Irene said, "Why don't you come along and watch the game?"

Irene and Molly sauntered through the rose garden toward the tennis courts. Just then a hedgehog ran across their path. Molly looked after it watching as it hobbled under a bush. "I swear that hedgehog looked just like John," she said before the queen pulled her along, her hands stroking Molly's waist.

When they got to the court, she found that instead of young women in white skirts with tennis rackets, there were old men sitting in large wicker chairs directing other men who walked forward and threw tennis balls across the net at each other.

Mycroft's chair was painted with the Union Jack. He pointed to an American who ran forward and pelted a stream of tennis balls at a man across the net until he collapsed to the ground.

"Forty, Love!" The referee called out from his chair as the man was dragged from the field and another man, much more scared, took his place.

The opponent. An older man with a pointy black beard gestured and his man started throwing balls at Mycroft's man, but he avoided them and pulled out a gun.

"That's not fair!" Mycroft's opponent yelled.

"All's fair in love and war," Mycroft said crossing his legs.

"Game and Match to Mycroft Holmes," the referee said.

"Nicely Played," Mycroft said, and then he rose to shake hands with the adoring crowd which included the portly ambassador.

Irene detached herself from Molly. "Now I'm off to have a chat with Mycroft. The Duchess will take you to see the mock detective."

Miss Adler strode off on her perfect long legs toward Mycroft. The crowd followed them leaving Molly alone.

Then a woman in a cerise dress came over. "Hello dear," Mrs Hudson said.

"Mrs Hudson!" Molly cried, "What are you doing here?"

"Well..." Mrs Hudson said, "You wouldn't know to see me, but in my day I was quite the looker. On a good day, I would bring in twice as much money as that Adler woman. Anyway, come this way. Sorry I can't walk too fast. It's my hip, dear."

"I've seen much worse, but then again, I do post-mortems," Molly said. Then, the two of them hobbled off in search of the Mock detective.