Thursday, September 28th, 2017
Sherlock breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the flat quietly at around two o'clock in the afternoon, knowing Molly would be asleep.
He'd spent a couple busy days investigating a murder in Boscombe Valley, Herefordshire. That had entailed more travel than he would have liked.
It was fortunate though that Molly was on night shift, he reflected. That had made spending the two nights away easier, knowing she would not have been in bed beside him at home, anyway.
Sherlock had seen the desperate email from young Alice Turner on Monday. Her email had said that a dear friend of hers was being accused of the murder of his father, and that she was certain he was innocent, and would Sherlock Holmes please come to Boscombe Valley in Herefordshire to find out the truth and exonerate her friend? Her desperation and the fact that Sherlock knew he had no pressing cases and would not be seeing very much of Molly over the next few days, made his decision easy, pending his wife's approval. Besides, murder cases were always the most interesting ones to tackle.
After discussing it with Molly and obtaining her opinion and consent for him to take the case, Sherlock had contacted John and arranged for him to come along. He had checked the train schedule and made plans to leave on Tuesday.
The case itself hadn't been particularly difficult. He had read the statement of James McCarthy and was certain the lad was telling the truth. Based on some clues which the young man provided, Sherlock was able to ascertain that the real culprit was the young woman, Alice's, father, John Turner.
Mr. Turner was suffering from diabetes and did not have long to live. Upon being confronted by Sherlock and John, he had explained that Mr. McCarthy had been blackmailing him for years over some things he had done in his youth in Australia when they both lived in Ballarat. Feeling pity for the dying man, Sherlock extracted a written confession but promised to not reveal it to authorities unless the young man was convicted of the crime. Sherlock provided some objections to the authorities which cast doubt on James McCarthy's guilt which included the fact that the killing blow from the rock had undoubtedly come from a left-handed man, and James was right-handed, and he was certain the youth would be exonerated. Revealing the confession of Alice Turner's father would most likely be unnecessary, and she would be spared the heartbreak of knowing what her father had done.
Sherlock and John had arrived back in London before lunchtime, and John had picked up Rosie. The three of them had gone out for lunch together and then parted ways. Sherlock had enjoyed the time with his friend and goddaughter as well.
All in all, it had been a nice diversion for a couple of days. At the same time, Sherlock had missed Molly terribly. It had been their first separation since their marriage, and he needed to go to her. Evening FaceTime conversations and texting, while better than nothing, were definitely no compensation for the real thing. He quietly walked into the bedroom and undressed, then slid into bed beside his wife.
Sensing his presence, most likely feeling the bed dip beneath his weight, Molly moved to turn and face him and opened her eyes. "You're home," she commented sleepily.
"I'm home," confirmed Sherlock, reaching a hand to touch the silken fabric of her chemise. Apparently she didn't like to sleep naked when she was alone. Well, she probably felt warmer when he wasn't beside her providing his own body heat.
She blinked, then focussed on him properly. "I missed you, you know," she remarked, moving a hand to touch his side.
Sherlock chuckled. "Indeed? And here I was, thinking you hadn't noticed my absence."
"Silly man." Molly moved closer to press her body against his. "So, now that you're home, what are you going to do about it?"
Sherlock feigned innocence. "Do about what?"
Molly's hand dipped lower, to a certain part of his anatomy which he could not control. He couldn't help his response. It had been days, after all. "That," she responded, leaving him in no doubt by her bold actions to what she referred.
Sherlock took possession of her mouth, kissing her possessively in a way he had been longing to do for days. His own hands pulled at the chemise then, tugging it upwards so he could feel Molly's chest against his. Oh yes, he'd definitely missed her sweet breasts as well, he thought, caressing one, then the other.
For some time they concentrated on their love for one another and making up for the lost days, emerging satisfyingly out of breath with perspiration-dampened skin.
Molly fell back asleep almost immediately, but Sherlock lay there for some time in satiated bliss with his arm around her shoulders as she nestled into him, thinking he'd have to go away for a couple days more often if the reunion was always this passionate.
The initial fatigue passed, and he decided to get up, sliding his arm carefully out from where he was holding Molly. She made a little sigh in her sleep but did not awaken.
Sherlock dressed again and headed into the sitting room, deciding he'd read some more of Molly's diary. He hadn't touched it since the previous Saturday. He was both interested and fearful to read about what he knew was coming - her thoughts on Mary's death.
Almost reluctantly, he picked up the diary and followed his usual routine of putting on his reading glasses, then began to read.
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March
Just a quick entry this time. Sherlock and John came back, and Mary was with them, thankfully. None of them offered an explanation as to where Mary had been and why, but that was okay. I enjoyed my time with darling little Rosie. She is so precious, even if she is not the best sleeper. I'm going to go take a nap now and catch up on some of the sleep I missed while babysitting!
As I explained in my comment on your previous entry, you now know where Mary was hiding, so I need not address this entry further. Not looking forward to what comes next. XOX
March
Oh, dear God. I don't know how to write this. So much has happened since I wrote the last entry earlier today. I feel like I'm in a nightmare.
Mary Watson is dead. Oh, I need another tissue.
Okay, back again. I'll try to put things down as I remember them and start from the beginning.
I was still napping when I heard my phone ring at about four-thirty. It was John, asking if I could babysit again because it was an emergency - Mrs. Hudson isn't getting back from her holiday in Corfu until tomorrow, which is why I was asked to look after Rosie when John and Sherlock left town. This time, apparently, Sherlock needed both John and Mary to go to the London Aquarium to meet him. John said that Sherlock was about to solve a big case. Anyway, of course I said I'd be right over.
When I got there, Mary was already gone, and John handed me the bottle he'd been feeding Rosie, saying they probably wouldn't be long. He said Sherlock most likely just wanted an audience for his latest brilliant deductions.
Anyway, I was quite surprised when time ticked by with no word from John or Mary. It was around eight o'clock when John came back without Mary.
That's when he told me that Mary was dead. He said she had been shot accidentally. But here's the worst of it. John told me that Sherlock was responsible for it, that he was the reason Mary was dead. I asked him what he meant by that, and he refused to explain, just said over and over that Sherlock had made a vow to protect Mary and that he had broken it and allowed her to die. I know John was grief stricken, but I am sure whatever happened was out of Sherlock's control. I offered to stay longer with Rosie, but John told me to go. I also told him if he needed my help with anything to just let me know. He seemed at least grateful for that. I think I need to text Sherlock and see if he'll tell me what happened.
I admit, I did want to show off a little. That was my first error that evening. I wanted Mary to see who was responsible for betraying her team, by having Vivian Norbury confess. To this day, I will regret my actions in asking Mary and John to come. I should have just let Lestrade handle the arrest and testified in court instead of trying to play the hero. Of course, hindsight is 20/20 as they say. XOX
March (next day)
I still feel like I'm in some kind of nightmare from which I can't wake up. To think of Mary being gone forever and poor motherless little Rosie, not to mention heartbroken John, just makes my heart ache.
But my heart aches also for Sherlock. I did text him and asked him what happened and why John was blaming him for Mary's death. All he texted back to me was that John was right, it was his fault. That's all. I asked if he would explain further, but he didn't answer my text.
I feel so helpless. I wish I could go to Baker Street and demand an explanation for what happened, but, even though I think by now Sherlock and I are quite good friends, I feel it would be over-stepping. So for now, I guess I will just stick to praying about the situation. I hope that John will get over his anger with Sherlock quickly, or it could make for an awkward time at the funeral. Heading over to John's in a little while to help with arrangements.
I'll write more later.
Oh, my darling, I know you understand now the guilt I felt over what happened, but it is more than that. I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid if I explained what happened, you would think less of me for acting so arrogant. I was ashamed by my actions. Also, knowing how well you can see me, the real me, if I had told you what happened, I undoubtedly would have felt obliged to explain the circumstances that led to me confronting Norbury in that place, and of course I didn't feel I could reveal Mary's secrets at that time about her past. John wasn't talking to me, so I could hardly ask his permission, and I certainly did not wish to make matters worse between him and myself. Not that they could've really been much worse than they actually were. XOX
(Same evening.)
Back home again. John has made a list with phone numbers of people to contact about Mary's death and inform them of the funeral details.
Mycroft, surprisingly, offered to take care of the details and has booked the same church in which Rosie was baptised a few weeks ago.
I called work and asked for the day of the funeral off and the day following as well. Mike was very accommodating, despite the short notice, thankfully. Of course, I do have many days of leave accumulated, but usually we have to apply for them well in advance to make sure they don't conflict with anyone else's leave requests.
I'm about to start calling people on the list John gave me to let them know about Mary and the funeral details. The official word is that Mary was involved in a fatal accident. Hopefully, people won't ask me to elaborate, but if they do, I will be able to truthfully say I don't know the details. Two things I've noticed. Sherlock's name is not on the list and sadly, I'm sure that's deliberate on John's part. Mrs. Hudson's name is there though, so I'll tell her and put in a quiet word that she should let Sherlock know. The other thing is Janine's name is on the list as well because she was one of Mary's friends. I don't look forward to talking with her. Every time I think of her, I feel jealous that she was with Sherlock romantically. I guess that is always going to hurt, even with him stating to me he was only with her because of a case. She was Magnussen's assistant, apparently. Oh - what if she was the one who shot Sherlock out of spite, in finding out he had ulterior motives for going out with her? No, I'm sure he would have told me if that had been the case. I'd better get on to getting things done now. Will try to write more later.
Ah, once again I am finding out something I was not aware of before. I did not know you were the one to make the phone calls to let people know about Mary. How kind of you it was to take that burden from John, although it does not surprise me in the least. I never even thought about Janine being invited to attend the funeral. I did not see her there, perhaps I just missed her in the crowd? I have to laugh about your theory that she might have been the one to shoot me. I suppose that is why you dreamed you had told people that in that friends with benefits one.
As for Mycroft, he did try to tell me what had happened was not my fault, before he sent me back to Baker Street in his limo. He was being kind to me, but I was not in the mood to be comforted. He also mentioned that he would take care of everything in regard to arranging things for a funeral service. Bearing that in mind, I later sent him some information on coffins that I had researched. As Mycroft took care of actually purchasing the coffin, this was something I never revealed to John. I just felt that I had to do something to help, even if John didn't know about it. In fact, it was that research which helped me to make deductions about the coffin that was meant for you at Sherrinford. Ironic, isn't it? XOX
(Later the same night)
Well, I managed to make my way through the list. When I called Greg, he informed me he had been at the aquarium when the incident happened. Unfortunately, he wouldn't tell me what happened either, so I just told him about the funeral details and left it at that. It's such a mystery, and one I suppose I'll have to resign myself to not knowing the details of. When I called Mrs. Hudson, she told me she already knew what had happened, that Sherlock had told her when she arrived home from her holiday with her sister in Corfu earlier in the day. I would have loved to ask her about her trip, but it wasn't the right time for that. I told her about the funeral details and asked her to tell Sherlock. Then I asked if she knew why John blamed Sherlock for Mary's death. She very kindly told me that she did, but it was not her place to explain the details. If Sherlock wanted me to know, he would tell me. I did feel hurt about that, not that Sherlock had told her, but because he felt he could tell her but not me. It makes me second guess our friendship and whether it is as close of one as I had thought.
Oh, and in my last entry, I was talking about having to ring Janine. Well, I did it and actually spoke with her. Unsurprisingly, she only vaguely remembered who I was from John's wedding when I explained I was in the dress with the floral yellow print. It wasn't like we had spoken before. Anyway, she was rather shocked to hear about Mary but said unfortunately she would be unable to attend the funeral. Apparently she bought a cottage in Sussex Downs and won't be able to make it back to London for the funeral. I must admit, I'm glad I won't have to see her at the funeral because I will just start making comparisons between her and myself, and I will undoubtedly feel inadequate.
Anyway, I've written enough for now. Time to head for the shower and bed. I hope I sleep better than I did last night.
Ah yes, Greg Lestrade was witness to my folly that night, although he has never in any way made me feel as if I was to blame. He really is a good man.
I had to tell Mrs. Hudson the whole story; you know what she is like. She too tried to tell me it wasn't my fault. Actually, come to think of it, the only person who did hold me responsible was John himself. But it was enough to make me hold myself responsible as well. I already explained why I couldn't tell you, and it was certainly not that you meant less to me than Mrs. Hudson. Far from it, you meant so much more.
Yet another tidbit of information I did not know before. So that is how you knew Janine had bought a cottage? I didn't really think about it at the time when I told you about seeing her in London a few weeks before we were married. I am so relieved I had the opportunity to apologise to her, and that she was not overly hurt by my actions.
I suppose I shall leave this for now. I feel I'd like to spend some more time with the real you mow, rather than your diary. Reading about the funeral, which I'm sure you will write about, can wait. XOX
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Sherlock closed the diary and put it away, along with his glasses, under the coffee table. He was getting better at remembering to do that, he reflected, rather proudly.
Idly he wondered how things might have been different if he had not called Mary and John to the London Aquarium for the "show". Would things have turned out differently? Then he had another, more sobering thought. What if he had decided to show off to Molly about things instead? If things had been different between them, if he had confided in her more regularly, would he have wanted her to witness his moment of triumph, to impress her?
The land of "what if" beckoned its siren call once more, as Sherlock returned to the bedroom to join Molly as he had done earlier.
He undressed again and slid under the covers to hold her close against him. A horrifying thought suddenly hit him. What if Molly had come to the aquarium and had been shot instead of Mary?
His hold on her tightened and she stirred, turned inwards, then opened her luminous brown eyes. "Honey? What has you so tense?"
"Molly, I was reading your diary. All the events surrounding Mary's death sent me into the land of 'what if', and I thought of how terrible it would have been if you had been there at the aquarium instead of Mary. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you." He squeezed his eyes shut briefly, feeling the sudden burn of tears behind his eyes and a lump in his throat.
Molly raised herself up on one elbow to look at him properly. "Sherlock, this is definitely not a productive 'what if', scenario. There is no point in thinking about what horrible things might have happened. Instead, think of the wonderful things God has given us, how He has protected and saved you time and time again. God has a plan for us. Look at all those validations we discovered for our love during our engagement. God made us for one another. He would not have taken me away from you when He invested so much time in keeping you safe over the years. Remember Jeremiah 29:11. It's probably one of my favourite Bible verses."
Sherlock raised his hand to stroke Molly's cheek gently. "You're right, sweetheart. God knows the plans he has for us, so I should not be always trying to discover them for myself and second-guessing things. I should probably let you go back to sleep."
Molly stretched a little, then said, "Actually, I have had enough sleep. I went to bed almost as soon as I got home from work this morning. I didn't want to spend all day sleeping when I knew you'd be coming home this afternoon, so I'm wide awake now. However," here she gave him a rather cheeky, dimpled grin, "if you would like to do a little more catching up on things before we get out of bed, I would have no objections."
Sherlock smiled. Molly knew him all too well, even though they hadn't yet been married for two months. He pulled her closer, wondering how long this "honeymoon" period was supposed to last. His desire for her seemed to be endless. His lips found hers, and he tasted the delights of her sweet nectar, exulting in the joy they provided for one another.
Later, as they ate dinner, Sherlock told Molly about the case he had just completed, and how he had decided not to reveal the man's guilt to the authorities. "Do you think it was wrong of me to do that?" he asked, suddenly wondering whether he had done the right thing. He was supposed to discover the truth and bring criminals to justice, after all, as a detective.
Molly pondered that for a moment. "That's such a tough one to answer from an ethical standpoint. Yes, the man did wrong, but the other man was a nasty piece of work. Mr. Turner is already dying, and you were trying to spare his daughter heartache, so revealing him as the killer wouldn't really accomplish a lot in the long run, if young McCarthy is absolved of the crime. Plus, you have a signed confession just in case that doesn't happen. Mr. Turner will soon be answerable to God anyway if he is dying." She reached over and took his hand. "Besides, you were given another chance to redeem yourself after what happened with Magnussen, who was another evil man. God uses all our experiences, good and bad, to work together for good, if we trust in Him."
Sherlock smiled. "As it happens, I did tell Mr. Turner that soon he would have to answer for his deeds to a higher court than this one. I think he understood."
Molly nodded. "Then you have also planted a seed that may lead him to repentance. Who knows? That's all we can do. Your mercy may end up being what leads him to seek God for himself before it is too late. There are a couple verses in Ephesians that are good to remember, to show love to one another, and I think showing mercy is a way of doing that. Let me see if I can recall the verses." She pondered for a moment, then exclaimed, "Oh, that's it. It's the first two verses in Ephesians Five. 'Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children, and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.'"
Sherlock squeezed her hand. "Thanks for your insight, sweetheart."
They spent the rest of the evening together, just enjoying being in one another's presence again. Together they had some fun, watching comedy clips on YouTube. Molly told Sherlock that her friend Kaitlyn had recommended looking at clips from an old American comedy called I Love Lucy, which was in black-and-white, especially one with a grape stomping scene. Both Sherlock and Molly found the clip to be highly amusing. There was another one with Lucy and her friend Ethel trying to wrap pieces of chocolate that were being sent along a conveyor belt to be boxed. Very soon, the women were unable to keep up with the chocolates being sent along the conveyor line. Having been told that if any unwrapped chocolates made it to the packing room they would be fired, the women found an inventive way of dealing with the excess chocolates, eating them, pulling them off the belt and then hiding the excess in their hats and blouses when their boss came back to inspect their work. Naturally, not seeing any chocolate still on the belt, she assumed they were doing a fine job and yelled at the people in the other room operating the conveyor belt to "speed it up" as Lucy and Ethel, mouths crammed full of chocolate looked at one another in despair.
Sherlock and Molly found themselves in gales of laughter over this, to the extent that Mrs. Hudson knocked on the front door and entered, asking what all the commotion was. When the couple explained things, the elderly woman invited herself to stay and enjoy herself as well for a short time before heading back downstairs at around ten o'clock, saying it was past her bedtime and could they please keep their laughter to a minimum from that point so she could sleep undisturbed?
So, Sherlock and Molly contented themselves instead with watching another episode of Downton Abbey, which they had begun watching during their engagement and had not watched since they had been married. There was definitely not much to laugh about in that show, although Molly continued to enthuse about Matthew and how good-looking he was, much to Sherlock's pique.
After another annoying comment by Molly, Sherlock pouted and said gruffly, "If he's so hot with that blonde hair, why did you marry me?"
Molly tugged at one of his curls playfully. "Oh, he doesn't have your lovely curls."
Sherlock rolled his eyes. He was about to threaten to cut his curls off, but Molly pulled him towards her and said silkily, "Besides, you are the total package, Sherlock Holmes, in so much more than the looks department, including your prowess in the bedroom." Then she placed her arms around him and kissed him in a way that reinforced her words. It was too bad, Sherlock reflected after the kiss, that Molly had to get ready for work, or he might have swept her off into the bedroom to show off that prowess for the third time that day which she claimed was part of the total package.
After Molly had left for work, Sherlock thought about the day that had just ended. It had been so full, and the afternoon and evening had been so enjoyable with Molly. His life held so much more meaning with her in it. Then his thoughts turned to those diary entries and his own sobering "what if" thoughts of earlier. His last thought before he drifted off was to think of how devastating it would have been for him if Molly had been shot at the hands of Vivian Norbury. Would events like that have caused him to realise his feelings for her sooner, if he was faced with losing her?
Those final thoughts led to a dream of what might have happened if that had been the case.
Author's note: Quite a busy chapter here! If you wish to read the ACD Boscombe Valley Mystery, you can find it online. The comment about Mr. Turner being answerable to a higher court than himself is ACD canon and one of the reasons I am certain classic Sherlock believed in God, and why it was not a stretch for me to bring modern Sherlock into line with that thinking, although of course I took it the next step to have him become a Christian believer.
What did you think of the diary events in this chapter - the revelation about Sherlock's coffin knowledge being because of Mary's death, leading to that "lonely night on Google" quip by John at Sherrinford? Did you enjoy the additional information about Molly notifying people, in particular, Janine? Did you agree with Molly's reassurance that Sherlock did the right thing in letting Turner go without punishment? It is consistent with canon, and classic Sherlock Holmes did that on several occasions when he felt a criminal's actions were justified.
Have you ever seen those I Love Lucy episodes? If you are spending a lot of time at home right now, as most of us are with the pandemic situation, you can find some I Love Lucy scenes on YouTube. We could all use more laughter in our lives right now.
I will publish the dream, Confronting Evil and the Truth, before the next diary chapter, but it may be a little while, as I am currently writing another dream story that happens as a result of my next COVID-19 installment. It will probably be a fairly short dream, but I need to keep writing it to discover its length.
For now though, keep well and safe, and don't forget to hit those follow, favourite buttons, and to bless me with your comments on this chapter. If you don't know what to say in a comment, you can always answer the questions I have posed. While we practice social distancing in real life, we can practice social community online, and get to know one another better.
