"It's not like I didn't love her. It's just I'd gotten used to her nor being in my life."
John looked up from his computer. Mary was sitting on the couch gauging his reaction.
"Who?" he asked.
"My mum," she stated like it should have been obvious, "From the age of six, I only saw her once a month, sometimes more. At ten, I started taking care of myself. I don't know. I guess I just feel I should be sadder."
John was grateful for the buzzing of his phone. What was he supposed to say to her?
"It's Lestrade. He had mentioned having me look at a serial killer case."
"Okay. I'll grab my bag."
oOoOoOoOoOo
"A backpack!"
"John just drop it. It's starting to get annoying."
"When you said you needed to grab a bag I thought you meant a purse."
"It's my first crime scene. I don't know what I'll need."
They reached the yellow tape. Donovan walked over.
"John," she said curtly, eyeing Mary, "and you are?"
"I'm Mary. It would be really nice to meet you under other circumstances."
"Other circumstances?" Donovan arched an eyebrow.
"There is a dead body."
John had to fake a coughing fit to cover up his snorts of laughter.
Donovan decided to let them under the tape and led them to the body. It was in the center of the park near some picnic tables. There was a bullet wound to the left temple and a gun in the man's right hand.
"Clearly, it is a botched fake suicide," said Lestrade, "Normally, we would treat it as any other murder case, but there have been a series of killings made to look like fake suicides over the past year all over the world. Mainly Europe, but some in Asia and America too."
Mary walked over to the Lestrade as John bent to look at the body.
"Definitely not shot by this gun. Wow this is terrible. It's like they were trying to be obvious about the fact that it was staged."
Mary giggled. John and Lestrade looked at her. She shook her head as gestured for John to continue.
"He was killed here. Probably from around here. Other than that. I can't see anything. He was killed here."
"He had a phone but it looks like it's been wiped," Lestrade added.
"Oh. I'll take that!" Mary exclaimed. She snatched the phone from Lestrade's hands. From her bag she produced a laptop, a mess of wires, and her phone. "I know you have WiFi, but I'd rather use my phone as a mobile hot spot. It scrambles the signal. Safer that way."
Before anyone could really process what she was doing, she plugged the phone into her computer and started typing furiously. "The phone was wiped remotely. From Belfast. Give it five minutes to chew through some numbers and I can give you precise coordinates."
"That's amazing," said John.
"Haven't heard you say that in a while," said Lestrade without thinking. John just nodded though.
Mary was looking closely at Lestrade. John recognized her deducing expression. She burst out into laughter.
"What?" asked Donovan, walking over to investigate the noise. She seemed unimpressed by Mary's laughter at a crime scene.
"Oh sorry. It's just…Your deodorant…"
"Mine?" asked Lestrade.
"Yes, it's not yours."
Lestrade went pink, "So?"
"I know whose it is," said Mary taking deep breaths to calm down. Then she turned and waved at the security camera on a near by lamppost. Donovan huffed and walked away.
"Well," Lestrade managed to grunt, "we'll have to go to Belfast. John, not to impose, but will you come too."
"I don't know Greg. Can Mary come?"
"I can't I just started an experiment, and I need to be there in two days or else it might spotantously combust. Don't worry. I'll be fine. I've been taking care of myself for six years," Mary correctly deduced the cause of John's apprehension.
It was decided that John and Lestrade would go to Belfast the next afternoon. John wondered aloud how they were going to get there.
Lestrade went crimson, "I…um…know of a…er…jet that we can use."
John had an idea of who the detective spent the night with, but when he asked (once they were back at 221B), Mary only said, "Not my place."