Sherlock knew that he couldn't do anything more today, so he decided to make up for the missed sleep of the last few days. It wasn't long before he fell into a deep sleep.
He dreamed of Molly. Of her encounters and her touch. He dreamed of that night of the wedding and felt strangely content. Then, quite suddenly, the dream changed and he found himself in the lab with Molly. Molly was standing next to Sherlock, looking exhausted. Her face was ashen and her eyes were empty. Her smile had disappeared. She leaned toward Sherlock, tears and fear filling her eyes. Over and over she repeated just one sentence:
"Wake up, Sherlock. You have to wake up!"
Sherlock didn't know what Molly meant and kept asking. But Molly just kept asking him to wake up. Then slowly she moved away from him. It seemed as if she was dissolving. And before she disappeared completely, she yelled to him one more time, "You have to wake up!"
Then everything was dark and Sherlock found himself alone surrounded by an eerie blackness.
This was the moment that startled Sherlock out of his sleep. Slightly alarmed, he rubbed his hands over his face. Then his eyes fell on the phone on his nightstand and he noticed a voicemail message that had come in.
He opened the message and could immediately see that Lestrade had been trying to reach him. A glance at the time showed that the message had arrived just under half an hour ago.
"Sherlock? Lestrade here. There's been a body and I think you should see that. Meet me at Bart's."
Slightly puzzled by the DI's voicemail and why he hadn't heard it, Sherlock finally got out of bed, threw on his clothes, and made his way in short order to the place where the DI would be waiting for him.
He had trouble arriving quickly at said place. It was Friday night and most people were on their way home from a night of partying. So it was all the more difficult for Sherlock to make his way back by cab.
After another half hour, he finally arrived and immediately made his way to the morgue.
Lestrade was already waiting impatiently for the consulting detective.
As soon as Sherlock approached him, he immediately began to narrate.
"It was a group of young women and men. They were partying in this club when suddenly one of them collapsed. The other guests said he had suddenly complained of severe drowsiness and exhaustion. There was also talk of nausea. Molly was conducting the final stages of the post-mortem. She said that there were remains of vomit in the throat "
"Probably alcohol poisoning, overdose or death by asphyxiation" Sherlock replied emotionlessly.
Then he turned to the DI, annoyed.
"Lestrade, why are you calling me out in the middle of the night for a body that was obviously just over the limit for alcohol consumption? Is Scotland Yard really that stupid already now that - "
Greg sighed heavily at the CD's words and immediately interrupted him.
"It's Carter. Molly's colleague."
Eyes wide, Sherlock now stared at the DI, and then it occurred to him. Carter had been murdered. He was going to tell Sherlock the name of his client and the client knew about it. Had he perhaps even been watching them? So Carter had to be taken out of the way before he could make another mistake.
"So it was murder," he said tersely.
"That's what I'm assuming, and Sherlock, I know you talked to him at some length last night. And I wonder why?"
"What, are you now suspecting me of having something to do with the murder?" hissed Sherlock, meanwhile pulling on his disposable gloves.
Greg raised his hands placatingly.
"Look, I don't have that much time right now. I need to get back to the Yard but I think there's more to this and you know something"
Sherlock twitched the corners of his mouth slightly. He was surprised Greg could make a connection so quickly.
"Goodbye Detective Inspector" was all he said and before Greg could say anything he was already swinging open the door to the morgue and stepping inside.
Molly was finishing the last cut and didn't see him. At the sight of her, pale and exhausted, he immediately thought back to his dream. Carefully, he approached the table and could now see that her face was shining. Tears shimmered in her eyes. Sherlock knew that he would have to be gentle somehow. After all, Molly had just performed an autopsy on one of her colleagues and presumably friend.
"Hello, Molly."
He felt her tense under his words. She raised her head, put on a feigned smile, and then explained to him individual findings of the autopsy.
As it turned out, Carter died of multiple organ failure. Death by asphyxiation could thus be ruled out, since this occurred postmortem, after the fall on the hard floor. She further explained that the blood and stomach samples taken were already being examined in the laboratory and the results would be known in the next few minutes.
Sherlock nodded only briefly and then turned his gaze to the dead body beneath him. He was also pale, almost like Molly. His face, as well as body, was severely sunken. He looked like a very different person from the night before when Sherlock met him. So it must have happened in the following hours and that confirmed his hypothesis that they had been watched.
Still he wondered who was behind it all and what Carter had to do with it.
A ringing from Molly's phone startled him out of his thoughts.
Curious, he looked up, waiting to see what results they had come to.
"The results are in. I'm going to go get them for a minute. I'll be right back" she said and made her way out.
Sherlock waited anxiously for Molly to return with the results. Perhaps the way he was killed would shed light on the person who was supposed to be behind it all?
Restlessly, he shifted back and forth on his feet. But when Molly still didn't return after 20 minutes, he also set out to look for her.
Sherlock didn't have to look long and found Molly lying motionless on the floor a few yards from the morgue.
He quickly rushed to her body, embraced her face, gently shook her shoulders, and kept asking her to wake up. He checked her breathing and felt her chest rise and fall slightly. Relief spread through her. Again he tried to shake her awake.
But nothing happened.
