...Molly was about to end a very strange day and get into bed when there was a knock at her door. She carefully opened the door and froze when she saw who was standing in front of her.
It was none other than Claire Fitzgerald.
"Good evening, Ms. Hooper. Sorry to disturb you so late. May I come in?" she then asked.
Molly stepped aside slightly and replied to her in such a way that she was allowed to enter.
"Mrs. Fitzgerald, may I offer you some tea?" Molly then asked out of courtesy. She hoped, however, that she would decline and her visit would not last too long. Somehow, this woman frightened her.
"No thanks. I won't be staying long," she replied. Then she eyed Molly's furniture with a slightly judgmental look.
"Nice place you have here" she then told her with a fake smile.
What did she want from her? And what was that?' Molly thought and watched her closely.
"Mrs. Fitzgerald? What can I do for you?' Molly asked afterwards.
"I wanted to apologise to you for my daughter's behaviour. Of course they have nothing to do with what happened. Bridget can be quite eccentric sometimes. I don't know what got into her today either. You know, she's been pretty down since her separation from Kilian. But that will soon change now..."
The last part, she said more to herself than to Molly.
'So it's true, Kilian and Bridget are no longer together. Maybe Kilian was right in his assumption that Claire was behind it, too?' Molly then asked herself in her thoughts.
When Mrs. Fitzgerald noticed Molly's questioning look, she continued.
"Anyway. I hope you accept my apology." It was not so much a question.
"And as a token of our goodwill, I would like to invite you to our party tomorrow."
"Party?" Molly then asked, slightly bemused.
"Right. Our family has been throwing these parties for years to celebrate the holiday of June 1st. So, the party starts at 7:00 pm. I would be delighted if you could come."
she replied and put on that smile again.
Molly did not really know what to say. Her mind told her to cancel but her physical reflexes were faster. And so she nodded.
"Very well. Then I'll see you tomorrow night. I wish you a pleasant evening. Goodbye, Ms. Hooper" replied Mrs. Fitzgerald and went right out the door.
Molly did not really know what had just happened here.
What was that? Why did she tell her about the separation? Was she trying to make her daughter feel sorry for her? And why did she invite her to the party?' she asked herself as she locked her door.
Molly had a bad feeling. Should she really go to the party? After all, they all thought she was a murderer. Was that really a good idea? But she couldn't cancel again either. She just wasn't the type.
Still quite confused from that day she finally went to bed. But Molly wasn't asleep. She was tossing and turning and couldn't think straight. Again and again she played today over and over in her head. First the meeting, then Sherlock, with his strangely sensitive manner. His hand resting gently on her cheek and with a look that made her heart flutter. And then the conversation with Claire Fitzgerald.
Molly sensed that something could be wrong. She was confirmed when she received a message on her phone a short time later. She did not recognise the number and there was no sender. There was only one message, but it only strengthened her doubts.
But what should she do now? She couldn't sleep any more anyway. Maybe she should just go and see Sherlock and tell him about tonight and the message. After all, she had seen often enough in recent years that Sherlock would not sleep during a case.
Then she thought about the fact that it was already the middle of the night and that a murderer was on the loose. Maybe the visit was not a good idea after all. Instead, she picked up her phone and typed a message.
Something happened. I have to speak to you urgently! Molly
Then she put her phone aside and stared at the ceiling. She just couldn't sleep a wink. A glance at her watch showed that it was now 2 o'clock in the morning. What should she do now?
After countless attempts to fall asleep, she finally decided to leave her bed and make herself comfortable on the couch with her favourite book.
Molly was just about to make herself comfortable on the couch with a nice cup of warm milk when suddenly there was another knock at her door.
With a fearful look she looked in the direction of her front door.
'Who could that be at this hour?' she thought. A slight fear took hold of her.
She had completely forgotten at that moment that she had written a message to Sherlock and hesitated slightly to open the door.
She just stood there staring at the door. Another knock. Her heart was gradually beating faster and her pulse was racing.
"Molly, open up! It's me" it now shouted behind the door.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the voice she trusted. It was Sherlock. Quickly Molly ran to the door and opened it.
"What's wrong?" he then asked and looked at her with concern.
Molly replied to him to enter. She led him into the living room and then sat down on her couch. Sherlock did the same to her. There was still concern in his eyes.
"So, you wanted to talk to me. What happened?" he then asked.
Molly took several deep breaths and then began to talk about Mrs Fitzgerald's visit. Sherlock listened attentively and nodded from time to time to let her know he understood. Then Molly took her phone off the table and held it up to his face.
Sherlock took her phone in his hands in a slight surprise and read the message that she had now opened.
Don't come to the party. It's a trap!
Sherlock stared at the message, then at the person sitting next to him. Molly sat there completely motionless and stared into space. She was as white as a sheet and trembling. Without thinking about it, he reached for the blanket behind her and then put it over her shoulders. Molly turned her head towards him and looked at him in surprise.
"Sherlock? Why are you like this?" she then asked and snuggled herself further into the blanket.
"What am I like?" he then asked. He was slightly irritated. Had he done something wrong?
"You are different somehow. So kind and somehow sensitive and caring. You have changed," she explained to him.
Sherlock breathed a slightly relieved sigh.
'Thank God, but I've done nothing wrong,' he thought to himself.
"I think John's presence has simply changed me. Well, and my sister will have played a part in that."
'Oh, yes, his sister,' she thought, 'I wonder what she's like, except she's obviously been using me for some experiment concerning Sherlock.'
But before she could say anything back, Sherlock went on.
"What are you going to do about this party, anyway?"
"I'm going to go. I promised. And maybe I can find out something more," she said then, yawning slightly. The fatigue seemed to be getting the better of her.
"Then I'll come with you," he replied curtly.
"How will you do that? You can't just turn up there and mingle with the guests without attracting attention," she then said and now supported herself with her elbow on the backrest to keep her head up. Slowly but surely she felt her limbs getting heavier.
"Not if I accompany you as your boyfriend"
NO! Never in life! Already forgotten, you left London for HIM!' it cried out in her head now. But Molly was far too tired to say anything about it. Instead, she just nodded slowly.
"Okay, watch this. I'll tell you how we're going to do this..." Sherlock then began to say. He paused as he suddenly heard calm and regular breathing next to him.
Molly had fallen asleep.
With a gentle smile he lifted her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom. Careful and always careful not to wake her, he laid her in her bed and then put the blanket over her.
"OK then tomorrow." he whispered softly, brushing some strands of hair from her face and giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead.