They burst into the rooms to see Lestrade is sitting in Sherlock's chair, examining the pink case. The flat was full of policemen searching the flat - a proper full-on search, rubber gloves, crime scene gear.
"What are you doing?" Sherlock demanded.
"Well I knew you'd find the case, I'm not stupid." Lestrade scoffed, looking at Sherlock.
"You can't just break into my flat!"
"You can't withhold evidence, and I didn't break into your flat."
"Well what do you call this?"
"A drugs bust." Lestrade didn't sound proud to be doing this, but he knew it would get quick results.
Melody looked up at Sherlock, who had paled significantly. This was not good.
John began laughing, not realizing how serious the situation was. "Oh, come on, seriously? This guy, a junkie? Have you met him?"
"John ..." Mel warned quietly.
"Pretty sure, you could search this flat all day, you wouldn't find anything you could call recreational – "
"John, you probably want to shut up now..." the Consulting Detective snapped.
"Yeah, but come on – "He looked at Sherlock and Mel- who both had a warning look on their faces. Sherlock gave a tiny shake of his head. "No!" John gasped.
"What?" Sherlock questioned.
"You?"
Sherlock looked almost affronted. "Shut up!" He turned on his heel to face Lestrade. "I'm not your sniffer dog."
"No! Anderson's my sniffer dog." Greg smirked. Sherlock spun to face the kitchen. To his dismay, Anderson leaned into view, and gave Sherlock a little wave.
"What's he doing here? On a drugs bust?" Sherlock sneered.
"I volunteered." Anderson said smugly.
"They all did. They're not strictly speaking on the drugs squad, but they're very keen. " Lestrade explained.
Sally Donovan turned and walked into view, holding a beaker. "Are these human eyes?"
Melody nearly snapped seeing the woman in the flat. "Put them back."
"They were in the microwave."
"It's an experiment." Sherlock sighed.
Lestrade called out, causing everyone to resume their search. "Keep looking, guys." He looked to Sherlock. "Or you could start helping me properly, and I'll stand them down."
"This is childish."
"I'm dealing with a child. Sherlock, this is our case! I'm letting you in, but you don't go off on your own - clear?"
"What, so you set up a pretend drugs bust, to bully me?"
"Stops being pretend if they find anything."
"Sherlock, please." Melody said, quietly as she looked up at him" Just tell them what you know." She didn't want to see him go to jail just because he was too stubborn to cooperate. He looked down at her and frowned slightly.
"I'm clean." He assured both his friend and the Detective Inspector.
"Is your flat? All of it?" Greg pressed.
"I don't even smoke!" He argued, pulling up his sleeve, showing his patches.
Lestrade did the same to reveal that he also wore a patch. "Neither do I! So let's work together. We've found Rachel."
Sherlock sighed deeply and turned away from the man. "... Who is she?" he finally asked,
"Jennifer Wilson's only daughter."
"Her daughter. Why would she write her daughter's name, why?"
"Never mind that, we found the case." Anderson's piercing voice echoed through the room. "According to someone the murderer has the case - and here it is, in the hands of our favourite psychopath."
Sherlock spun around, his face darkening and his voice sharp as he spoke. "I'm not a psychopath, Anderson - I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research!"
Melody stood in shock, slowly retreating to John's side. She had never had to see Sherlock so… violent. John noticed how pale and uncomfortable she suddenly looked, and placed a gentle arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
Sherlock seemed oblivious as he turned to Lestrade. "You need to bring Rachel in, you need to question her. I need to question her."
"She's dead." Lestrade informed.
"Excellent! How? When? Is there a connection? There has to be!"
"I doubt it, since she's been dead for fourteen years. Technically she was never alive. Rachel was Jennifer Wilson's still born daughter fourteen years ago."
Sherlock was properly winded by this. "No. No, that's not right. Why would she do that?"
"Why would she think of her daughter in her last moments. Yeah, sociopath, seeing it now." Anderson said.
"She didn't think about her daughter, she scratched her name on the floor. She was dying, it took effort, it would've hurt - she was trying to tell us something!" Sherlock retorted.
"The victims all took the poison themselves. Somehow, he makes them take it. Maybe he ... I dunno, talks to them. Maybe he used the death of her daughter somehow..." Melody said, going to take a seat in John's chair.
"Oh, but that was ages ago - why would she still be upset?"
John cringed at him as the room was enveloped in awkward silence.
"Not good?" Sherlock whispered.
"Bit not good, yeah." John agreed.
Sherlock nodded and began pacing frantically. "Yes, but listen! If you were dying, if you'd been murdered, in your very last seconds, what would you say?"
"Please God let me live."
"Oh, use your imagination!"
"I don't have to."
"Yes, but if you were clever, if you were very clever... Jennifer Wilson, running all those lovers. She was clever, and she's telling us something!"
Mrs. Hudson is entered the flat, looking around in confusion. "Isn't the doorbell working? Your taxi's here, Sherlock."
"I didn't order a taxi, go away."
"Sherlock." Melody warned him, standing up.
Mrs. Hudson looked around, distressed at the state of the flat. "Oh dear, they're making such a mess. What are they looking for?"
"It's a drugs bust, Mrs. Hudson." John informed her.
"Oh, but they're just for my hip. They're herbal soothers."
Mel walked to her mum and put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, mum, they aren't here for you." She assured the woman.
By now Sherlock was pacing like a whirlwind, alive, and energized. "Shut up! Everybody shut up, I'm thinking, don't move, don't breathe, Anderson, face the other way, you're putting me off!"
The policemen look at him, confused - but Lestrade knew the signs. He nearly had the answer.
Anderson looked on in confusion. "What, my face is?"
"Everybody quiet and still. Anderson, turn your back." Lestrade commanded.
"For God's sake- "
"Your back, now, please!"
Anderson turned his back, furious and embarrassed. Sherlock began pacing faster and faster, thinking, thinking, clutching his head. "Come on, come on!"
"What about your taxi?" Mrs. Hudson insisted.
"Mrs. Hudson!" Sherlock roared.
"Sherlock!" Melody yelled, her face stoic and her heart beating fast as she stepped in front of her mother. Melody would allow a lot of things, but shouting at or harming her mother was not one of those things. She tensed up out of reflex, ready to be punished for challenging him, tears forming in her eyes.
Sherlocks face softened and he took a step back, causing her to relax a bit. He knew he had made a mistake. He had never seen her look so defensive in all the time that he had known her. "It's alright, Melody. I'm sorry." He said, trying to reassure her. She looked as though she might break at any moment. He held a hand out, motioning for her to come close to him.
She nodded silently and grasped his hand tightly. She knew Sherlock wouldn't hurt her. He had promised her that much- to never hurt her. She wrapped her arms around him, and he embraced her in a gentle hug. Everyone else looked on in slight surprise as he placed a small kiss on the top of her head. "I'm so sorry." He apologized.
"It's alright. I'll be alright." She said quietly. "Just solve this bloody case so we can be done with it." She said pulling away to look up at him.
Sherlocks eyes grew wide as a realization hit him. "Oh, she was clever. Clever, yes, I love her! She's cleverer than you lot dead! Do you see? Do you get it? She didn't lose her phone, she never lost it. She planted in on him. When she got out that car, she knew she was going to her death - she left the phone to lead us to her killer!" he remarked. He let go of Melody and walked over to his desk.
"But how?" Lestrade asked.
"What do you mean, how? Rachel, don't you see? Rachel! Oh, look at you lot, you're all so vacant! What's it like, not being me, it must be so relaxing." Sherlock said in awe.
"Rachel is not a name." Melody realized, coming up beside Sherlock.
"Then what is it?" John asked.
Sherlock grabbed his tablet and opened his browser. "John, the luggage label, it had an email address on it."
" Jenny. pink. @mephone .uk." John read from the tag.
"I've been too slow, she didn't have a laptop, which means did her business on her phone. So, it's a smartphone, it's email enabled. So, there's a website for her account. The user name will be the email address." Sherlock typed furiously. "And all together now, the password is ...?"
"Rachel."
A.N- Hello, my loves! as you can tell, I have returned! I want to say thank you for all of the favorites and follows my story has received! If you guys are enjoying it, please let me know by leaving a comment! Thanks so much- xxx Tiff