Chapter 7
Like lightning we ran a ways down the road and like magic, Sherlock pulled us into a cab and we drove away. I sat in the cab trying to catch my breath and looked around in bewilderment. I faced Sherlock and he was watching me, I was in amazement. He was so calm. He had managed to catch his breath and was sitting in silence just staring at me. The adrenaline slowly began to leave my body and feeling started to return. I flexed my fingers and felt his hand still wrapped around mine. I pulled it back immediately.
"You ok?" he asked.
"uh… yeah…" I stuck my thumb out and pointed behind us. "What the hell just happened?" I tried to piece it together but only the wildest of ideas popped into my head. Either the vandal/murderer had found us and was chasing us down the alleyway with a deadly weapon, or Raz and Sherlock were in on some sort of drug ring and the gang was coming to collect. A few other ideas came into my head like sparks of insanity, all of which involved some sort of angry person chasing us down for the kill.
"It's alright" he started to get a silly grin on his face. He could obviously see the fear and more prominent confusion written all over my face. "A couple officers were rounding the corner. I'm a busy man Tabitha, I don't have time to go to court." You have got to be kidding me. We ran because he didn't want to get caught for vandalizing a public building.
"Seriously?" I asked. "My heart nearly pounded out of my chest." He smiled. "It was exciting." I admitted, starting to gather a smile on my face as well. To be honest, this was part of what I searched for in a case. It was exhilarating, and I loved it. The adrenaline rush and the chase were thrilling. I looked at Sherlock and slapped his shoulder. Asshole. I started to laugh uncontrollably. The both of us laughed in the back of that cab like a couple of school children. My sides started to ache. I put my hand on his shoulder and started to breathe again. I let out a long breath and wiped away the tears on my face from having laughed so hard.
"Mmm. Thanks." I said to him genuinely. We pulled up to 221B and we stepped out of the cab. "Do you think John caught another cab?" He obviously didn't catch a ride with us, but I didn't remember seeing or hearing him running behind Sherlock and I.
"Of course" Sherlock reassured me. He held the door open for me and I pounced up the steps to his flat.
I took my coat off and set my bag on the sofa. Sherlock made us some tea. I was surprised. I stepped over to him to grab the cup in his hand. He stood in front of the mantle studying the evidence we had collected. I sat down in the chair to his left. For a moment I decided not to think about the case. I was tired. The three of us had been running around London since the start. I hadn't eaten at all since two days ago. I started to think about it and could feel the emptiness in my stomach.
"You hungry? You want to grab something to eat?" I asked Sherlock, holding my empty stomach.
"I don't like to eat while I'm on the case." He said to me with his hand under his chin. He was thinking hard. The amount of concentration written on this mans face was infatuating. Do I look like that when I think? There were so many things I wanted to know about him. Sherlock was the one person who had ever had me stumped. He was the only person I really wanted to know about. I thought about how he would react to me after this case was closed, if he would allow me to hang around. I didn't want to leave his company so soon. I sipped my tea and ran my fingers through my long dark hair. I noticed Sherlock turn to look at me. He smiled, I returned it. He then looked to the doorway and I heard it open. John walked through, his body was rigid. Sherlock turned to study his photos again.
"You've been awhile" Sherlock said nonchalantly to John.
"Yeah, well, you know how it is" John replied to Sherlock annoyed. "Custody sergeants don't really like to be hurried, do they?"
"Oh jesus" I got up and stood next to him and placed my hand on his back. "They took you in?"
"Just the formalities—fingerprints, charge sheet, and I've got to be in magistrates court on Tuesday." I gave him an apologetic look. I didn't think he would actually get taken in. I guess I should have assumed as much when it took him so long to return home. I've been getting distracted. Sherlock, the distractor. I needed to focus. Come on Tabs, focus. I felt guilty for what happened to John.
"What?" said Sherlock not listening to John. Did he really not care at all?
"Me, Sherlock, in court on Tuesday they're giving me an ASBO."
"Good, fine." I looked at Sherlock incredulously, although he was unaware. He was still staring at his photos of the case.
"You wanna tell your little pal he's welcome to go and own up anytime." John was getting a temper now. I went to the kitchen to make him some tea. Trying to find anything to use in that disaster of a kitchen was quite a daunting task. I pulled my head out from under a cupboard and saw Sherlock ushering John out of the apartment. He needed John to go to the police station to look into Lukis' belongings.
"Wait!" I yelled from the kitchen. "I'll go with you!" I grabbed my coat and bag off the sofa and we were off once again.
I slid into the cab before John, and I watched as Sherlock caught another one behind us. He was probably off to get a hold of Van Coon's belongings. Van Coon was a businessman and if he didn't have a personal agenda, more than likely his personal assistant had kept track of his comings and goings.
"What was Lukis' profession?" I asked John
"Mm, journalism" he said. Journalism, ok, good. So Van Coon and Lukis had to be connected somehow. The answers will most likely be found in their agendas, diaries, however they kept track of their lives.
"Sherlock told me that you had caught a cab behind us." I said randomly to John thinking about his trip to Scotland Yard for vandalism he didn't do. "I'm sorry"
"Not your fault" he gave me a smile that said that he wasn't surprised that Sherlock had gotten him into that mess.
"Still, if there is anyway I can make it up…"
"Just let me know next time we're being chased" he said quickly with a chuckle.
"If I'm aware we are being chased." I raised my eyebrows and said honestly. "I'd say that's a fair enough request." John sighed as we pulled up to Scotland Yard. I had a feeling that being here twice in one day was a bit much for him.
