Author's note: I am indebted to Ariane Devere's Live Journal transcripts of the Study in Pink; obviously, the dialogue from the episode is the property of Moffat/Gatiss and Hartwood Films, as well as the BBC. I make no apology for including so much of the dailogue from the actual episode, as it is the backstory and the thinking from Lestrade's POV that I am trying to get at.


Chapter Twenty Eight- 2010 A Third Party (Part Two)


Nine o'clock came too quickly for Lestrade's taste. He was being pushed into doing the one thing he hated even more than telling relatives their loved ones had been murdered- a press conference, when there was nothing actually positive to relay to the press.

After all night on a crime scene and his fractious conversation with Sherlock, Greg was tired and cranky, so he let Donovan handle the preliminaries. Unlike him, she'd been off duty last night, and so was full of energy and enthusiasm. Unlike him, she loved press conferences as a chance to shine and draw attention to herself. Give her a break, she has to make the most of every chance she gets. He sighed, and tried to regain his sense of proportion. Over the years, he had worked hard to ensure she was given the opportunity when they came. And, to be honest, the media were generally nicer to a woman, and a black woman at that, so it wasn't exactly a hardship for him to let her share the limelight.

Camera's flashed as the two of them entered the conference room and sat down. Greg listened with one ear at what she was saying, whilst watching the assembled ranks of journalists in front of him. There was a live TV camera feed being taken at the back. He was uncomfortable at the thought.

But Donovan was in her element. "The body of Beth Davenport, Junior Minister for Transport, was found late last night on a building site in Greater London. Preliminary investigations suggest that this was suicide. We can confirm that this apparent suicide closely resembles those of Sir Jeffrey Patterson and James Phillimore. In the light of this, these incidents are now being treated as linked. The investigation is on-going but Detective Inspector Lestrade will take questions now."

Greg took a deep breath, as the first reporter called on asked how it was possible that suicides could actually be linked. He explained about the poison being the same in all three cases, and that the method was the same and that none of the people had given any prior indication of suicidal thoughts.

It didn't go down well with the reporter, who interrupted to ask how suicides could be linked. Greg just stuck to the line that he'd cleared with the Met's Head of Communications. A second reporter butted in to ask whether there was any link between the three people involved.

"There's no link been found yet, but we're looking for it. There has to be one."

Suddenly, mobile phones in the audience started going off like mad. For a split second, Lestrade wondered whether some catastrophe or disaster had occurred that meant every news desk wanted their journalists onto it. He thought of 9/11 and what might be happening right now in the real world outside.

But then he realised that Sally's and his phones had gone off, too, and she was showing him the single word text message:

"WRONG!"

Lestrade then wondered if somehow the person behind the suicides was taunting him. The same thought must have occurred to Sally, who said in a firm voice. "If you've all got texts, please ignore them."

One of the reporters looked puzzled and said out loud, "just says 'Wrong!'"

Donovan was determined to keep control of the situation, so she reiterated her point: "Yeah, well just ignore that. Okay, if there are no more questions for Detective Inspector Lestrade, I'm going to bring this session to an end." Greg agreed with that tactic; he'd been thrown a bit by the simultaneous text messages.

One of the reporters refused to be put off. "But, if they're suicides, what are you investigating?"

Worried about that question leading to the same sort of headline that the Standard had this morning, he tried to close this line of enquiry down. "As I say, these …these suicides are clearly linked. Um, it's an…it's an unusual situation." Then he decided to end it with the line that the Head of Communications pressed him to use. "We've got our best people investigating…"

But before he could finish the sentence, everyone's phone went off again. That same bloody reporter who had started the questioning now said it again. "Says 'Wrong!' again."

Greg looked despairingly at Donovan, who tried to reassert control again. "One more question."

A reporter who had not spoken yet asked, "Is there any chance that these are murders, and if they are, is this the work of a serial killer?"

Lestrade lost it a bit. "I know that you like writing about these, but these do appear to be suicides. We know the difference. The poison was clearly self-administered." Greg was determiined to squash this murder story, as the Medical examiner and the Forensic teams on all three murders were adamant about suicide.

The reporter wasn't satisfied, and before Sally could get a word in, he asked "Yes, but if they are murders, how do people keep themselves safe?"

That threw Lestrade; it wasn't a question they'd rehearsed, and the reporter was being a twit. He just answered honestly. "Well, don't commit suicide."

Sally murmured quietly "Daily Mail", as if warning him, be careful.

Lestrade tried to explain, so that his earlier remark wouldn't sound too glib. Be respectful, the Head of Communications had urged him. He imagined what Louise would be saying, as a PR professional. No doubt, he'd get a lecture from her tonight. So Greg tried, "Obviously, this is a frightening time for people, but all anybody has to do is exercise reasonable precautions. We are all as safe as we want to be."

Again, the phones went off, but this time the same message "Wrong!" wasn't appearing on his phone. A few seconds later, a text message comes into Greg's phone and he read it.

You know where to find me. SH

With an annoyed look, Greg stood up and said "Thank you" and walked out with Sally trailing behind. In the privacy of the corridor on the way to his office, she exploded.

"You've got to stop him doing that; he's making us look like idiots." She was livid, now that she knew it was Sherlock Holmes who had disrupted her moment on the public stage.

Greg gave her a resigned look. "Well, if you can tell me how he does it, I'll stop him."

By the time he got into his office and shut the door, he'd reassessed his initial exasperation. While personally embarrassing to him and Donovan, Sherlock's intervention would not have been missed by a certain British Government official. Ramping up the public pressure for a solution, and being clear that he would help if he could, was Sherlock's way of throwing a gauntlet down in front of his brother.

It just might work. Greg hoped so, because he was totally lost. Having declared to the world that the three cases must be linked, he had absolutely no idea of even where to begin trying to find that link.