"Mr. and Mrs. Hooper, I presume, come in, please," the host, Ethan Murray's father, told them. Molly stifled the smirk at the name he had given. "May I take your coat?" This was aimed at her and she nodded briefly, allowing him to take it and hang it up.
"Thank you," she smiled. Sherlock slid his arm around her waist as they ventured into the crowd of people.
"Keep an eye out for anything suspicious; people, things," Sherlock whispered in her ear. He then pressed a kiss in her hair seamlessly having others think he had just spoken sweet nothings to her. They mingled with the other guests hoping someone would mention the recently deceased.
Sherlock had pulled her in for a dance as they scanned the room. Molly started to bring her fingers up to rest in his hair until she remembered he had slicked back his curls for the night. She thought he looked very distinguished and could easily picture him in the Victorian era, deciding it suited him.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, his voice low.
"Immensely," Molly answered. Sherlock spun her around and brought her back in. They glided gracefully to the other side of the room, searching for new people to talk with. Their dance ended when he dipped her and lowered his lips to the side of her neck before pulling her back up. A few people clapped at the display.
"You two move so well together," a woman remarked. "Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Eileen Murray."
"William Hooper," Sherlock replied. "And this is my lovely wife, Margaret."
"Hello," Molly smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"Likewise," Eileen replied. "I must say I've never seen two people more in love than the two of you. It's refreshing. How did you meet?"
"Uni, my first year, his second," Molly answered.
"Yes, we were both chemistry majors," Sherlock continued. "The first time I saw her in the lab, I was taken by her beauty and intelligence." It took all of Molly's will to not act surprised. Sherlock had told her before they arrived that the best cover stories involve a slightly twisted truth. Did he really think that the day they met?
"How wonderful," Eileen beamed but it did not reach her eyes. "Ethan and his wife, Sarah, were very much in love."
"My condolences," Molly said, nodding at the jar of ashes labeled 'Ethan' with the date it was delivered to them; just a week before the fundraiser.
"Oh, thank you," Eileen responded. "It's been difficult but I insisted on still holding the fundraiser; you know, throw myself into something to distract myself."
"A tragedy; I am sorry for your loss Mrs. Murray," Sherlock told her.
"Well, I better go check on the food," she returned.
"Shall we have another dance, darling?" he asked Molly. She nodded and allowed him to sweep her up in his arms. Molly raised her eyebrows in question as if to ask if he had any ideas and his own eyes answered with a maybe. They were always in tune with one another that way; no words had to be spoken for them to talk.
They danced for a while longer out of enjoyment before Molly decided to go off and try to find the bathroom to conveniently 'get lost.' She found the bedroom of Ethan's parents and scanned the room for any sign of the note that they had received from the killer. She quietly checked drawers and beneath the bed before searching the closet but there was nothing. Successfully making her way out of the bedroom without being caught, Molly checked all of the doors upstairs to try and find the actual bathroom.
She found Ethan's old bedroom first and decided to snoop around. Molly almost lost her balance on a loose floor board. Pressing down on it harder, she slowly lifted the end of it to find thousands, maybe millions, of pounds hidden in the darkness. She quickly put the board back in place before exiting the room and finding the bathroom. As her hand made contact with the door, a voice sounded.
"Can I help you?" Mr. Murray's voice almost gave her a shock.
"I was just looking for the bathroom," Molly told him.
"You've got the right door on your first try," he smiled. She smiled back and quickly enclosed herself within the room. The first thing she did was check the medicine cabinet for any unusual medications, just to see what she was dealing with. There was nothing out of the ordinary; aspirin, a small first aid kit, Nyquil and sinus pills. Sherlock would be more interested in the stacks of money she had found, anyhow. Molly had a feeling someone killed him for the life insurance; quite possibly Ethan's wife or even one of his parents. Her bet was on the father.
As they ate dinner, she and Sherlock spoke to each other through glances unless it was a conversation to keep up the married charade. It wasn't difficult at all considering most people assumed they were married with the way they playfully bickered.
"How did he propose?" one woman had asked. Sherlock awaited Molly's answer with an amused smirk.
"It was all very unplanned," Molly laughed. "We were having a lovely night in together, dancing to Billie Holiday when he just blurted it out."
"It's true," Sherlock chuckled. "I was so nervous about planning it perfectly, it just sort of happened." He threw a wink at her then. A rumble of thunder sounded outside when the lights went out. A few people gasped and Molly felt Sherlock take her hand across the table. The sound of dishes clattering filled the room and they all sat in darkness for a brief moment before the lights came back on. A woman screamed at the sight before them. Ethan's widowed wife, Sarah, was dead.
Author's Note: I'm totally going whodunit on y'all lol!