Chapter 1: A new beginning

As they entered Madame Tussauds, agent Donovan was the first to meet them. "Never expected you back that early," she greeted Sherlock with a warm smile. After the last events, the female agent had changed her mind about the detective. She knew, how she had treated him and still felt sorry about it. Sherlock, still not totally recovered, gave her a slight smile. "I know. I didn't plan to go back to work that soon either, but a broken violin, combined with a corpse is something I can't ignore. Especially when this violin really is, what I think." Sally showed them the place, where the body was lying. Fascinated, Sherlock kneeled beside the dead body. "The victim is a young female, approximately around 30 years old. Someone removed her fingertips. Looks like a clean cut, so someone knew, what he was doing." He took his magnifying glass and searched for more details. "That's interesting. There is a fine line around her neck, so I guess she was strangled. I hope Molly can find out more. John? Would you please take a look at the corpse as well?" Watson crouched next to the detective and examined the hands. "You are right. Someone really knew, what he was doing. The cuts are clean and precisely." "You mean like the work of a surgeon," Sherlock stated. "Yeah, I would say so," the doctor confirmed. The detective stood up and walked around the body. The young woman was lying on her belly and her hair was a mess. "Someone dumped her. Guess the murderer was in a hurry. Maybe that's the reason the violin broke. Otherwise, I have to say that it's nearly impossible, that this violin is here in London. It just can't be." Greg looked puzzled. "How do you know?" Sherlock folded his hands. The violin made him nervous. "Because, and I am very sure about that, the violin here is a Stradivari Soil. There is only one known instrument left in the whole wide world and it belongs to Ibrahim Goldberg, who plays this instrument. It's definitely in private hands and therefore safe somewhere in New York," he explained the impressed inspector. Greg was pacing around. "So, we have a young corpse, one murderer and a broken Stradivari. Do you have any idea, where to start this investigation?" "First of all, we need pictures of the corpse. After you have finished here, let Molly do her job. I need to know, what the murderer used for her neck," Sherlock instructed and started to look around. The wax figures were standing in full light and soon the detective was searching them with his eyes. "What are you looking for Sherlock? Those are just famous people made of wax," Watson whispered. "O believe me John. There is more to it, than you can see," Sherlock responded and walked around a female wax figure. "Who is this?" he asked loud. "That's Madonna, Sherlock," the doctor answered with a disbelieving look on his face. The detective walked on and looked at the next woman. "Who is this one?" he wanted to know, pointing at a young woman with blond, curled hair and a big smile on her face. John had to think for a moment, but couldn't remember her name. "That's Britney Spears. She was a famous singer in the 2000s," Donovan explained. "She is missing an earring," the younger Holmes recognized and looked closer at the ear. "Take a sample from this ear, please and send it to Molly as well. I think we have a trace here." And with these words, the detective grabbed his side and steadied himself on the wall. John was immediately at his side. "You alright? You know you shouldn't be here right now, do you?" Sherlock just nodded. "I know. But this was too important. I needed to see this place," he hissed. After the pain had subsided, the detective asked Greg for the violin. "If it's okay for you, I would like to take a closer look at home." Lestrade knew, he could trust the detective, so he nodded in agreement. "Thank you. Let me know if Molly has something for us," Sherlock mumbled and left the museum.

Back at Bakerstreet, Sheila was already waiting with Rosie in the flat. She greeted Sherlock with a big smile and as John Watson finally entered, she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "You two were outside again? Didn't Steven told you to stay away from crimes a few more weeks?" she asked with a serious tone. The detective let himself sink in his armchair and sighed. "I know what he told me. But this was important Sheila," the young man tried to defend himself. "You're doing no good to yourself Sherlock. You have to be careful," she tried again. The detective just frowned. "I know my limits. Don't worry about me," he said and grabbed his painkillers, which were lying on the desk. Sheila and John looked at each other. Sherlock had been hurt seriously, but sadly it had not any effect on his stubbornness…

Later that day, when John and Sheila were having dinner in a restaurant and Sherlock was watching Rosie, the detective's mobile started to ring. "Molly, if you call that early, it must be news," the detective grinned. "You wanted me to examine the corpse and give you an update." "Thank you, Molly. Now let's hear what you have found." The detective could hear a little sigh. It sounded like someone was very happy to help out. "You were right. The woman was strangulated with horse hair." "Horse hair? That makes sense to me," the detective replied. "Do you think it was horse hair from a violin bow?" He could hear Molly grabbing her chart. "It says Mongolian. I don't know much about violins, so you have to tell me, if this information helps you or not," she said. Sherlock was already satisfied. Whoever killed this woman, must have been an expert. The detective was sure, that this person had killed before. Now it was his part to find out who his new enemy was. "Did you find anything on the ear of the wax figure?" he wanted to know. "I am still running tests, but I hope I have news tomorrow morning," Molly explained. "You already helped a lot Molly, thank you." He was just about to end the call, when Molly whispered "Please, be careful Sherlock, will you?" The detective stared at his mobile phone and then assured her "I will. Promise you."