Chapter 21
"I sent this through forensics...," Lestrade told John, holding up Sherlock's phone. "…myself…"
"And?" John asked anxiously.
"Well, it's definitely Sherlock's. It has an untraceable number…and frankly, that's about it."
John's spirits overtly diminished. He was expecting the phone to lead to Moran somehow.
"But it's not the inner workings of the phone that are of any interest to us," Lestrade continued, a grin beginning to appear on his face. "Some of the conversations on here are…well…you'll see."
John smiled. Without hesitation, he asked Lestrade to let him listen to them. The first was dated two months ago. The first voice they heard from the recording was Sherlock's:
"Holmes."
"Mr. Holmes…I don't believe we've met."
"No, but your counterpart has told me enough about you."
"Now…let's not start off on the wrong note. I want to meet you in person."
"Why?"
"I want to discuss this agreement you have with Moriarty."
"There isn't anything to discuss. It was a simple concurrence."
"That doesn't mean that I should be kept in the dark. Ten o'clock, Racine…I believe you know where it is."
"Yes."
"Good. Until then, Mr. Holmes."
"Until then…Moran."
A beep indicated that the call ended. John looked up at Lestrade, his eyes widened. "Well then…"
"There's more," Lestrade scrolled through the list of calls, "Listen…"
Once again, the first voice was Sherlock's. It was dated the day before the Fall:
"Yes?"
"Sherlock! Have you solved it yet? Hmm?"
"Well…I have a theory. However, I don't think that this is necessary. Aren't tests of intellect mere child's play?"
"When it comes to something as important as this, I need to take some extra precautions. By the way, I loved our little tea party today."
Sherlock sighed irritably. "Is the deal still on?"
"Of course."
"Then I want to speak to you again, face to face. Not today…I'm not sure when, yet."
"Any time, Sherlock, any time. Why don't you let me know when you want to meet…then we'll talk."
"Agreed."
"See you when I see you."
The call ended. John immediately recognized the other voice as Moriarty. But before he could tell Lestrade, he started to play another conversation, this one dated the day of the Fall:
"I'm on my way now. Are you still in the morgue?"
"Yes…I got everyone to leave, like you said."
John flinched when he heard Molly's voice.
"Right. Everything is prepared?"
"Everything. Ready when you are."
"Molly…I—"
"It's okay. You don't have to say—"
"Thank you."
"…"
"I'm leaving."
"Okay…Just—just be careful. And good luck, I suppose."
"I'll try. Goodbye Molly."
"Bye."
John stared at Lestrade with a shocked expression.
"I know…I thought the same thing," Lestrade said, turning off the phone. "The last call he made was the one to you…and I'm sure you already—"
Lestrade didn't feel the need to complete his statement.
"This is incredible…" John mused.
"But you know, I didn't go through the text messages yet…"
John perked up. Lestrade gave him the phone to let him search through his texts. He scrolled through all of the recent ones, and none of them were too conclusive. He stopped at the most recent text, which was a conversation between him and Moran. He read aloud to Lestrade:
Where are we meeting? – SH
Abandoned church. Sidcup. Can't miss it. – SM
What about the conference? – SH
I can't tell you its location until the day of. – SM
I'm considering leaving the country for further investigation. I need to where it is beforehand. – SH
Very well. November 10th, 9:00 PM. Same church. –SM
Thank you. –SH
Delete these messages. –SM
Of course. –SH
"November 10th…that's tomorrow," Lestrade thought aloud. "Do you know what this conference thing is?"
"I dunno. But it sounds important."
"What are we gonna do? This doesn't sound like a party that's easy to crash."
"Who says we're gonna go?"
"Well, I just assumed…"