Chapter 3: Results in Montague Street

Sherlock Holmes stared into the eyes of Alice, who just stared back into his. She knew she had surprised him, but now she had to await his response. Then he seemed to regain his senses and stood up straight.

'That is impossible.'

Alice still looked at him, not really sure what to think, she had just explained everything to him, in immaculate detail, how could he not see that she had been telling the truth?

'I can't possibly be your father.'

Alice didn't blink, and neither did Sherlock. Again they looked like statues, staring each other in the eye, both trying to read each other, trying to guess what the other is thinking, and both failing miserably. Then Sherlock turned up his nose and moved back to his initial position.

'I don't believe you, I don't even know your name.'

Alice turned as well, so they stood in their original positions, now she was getting annoyed. She was stubborn and stern, and she didn't like it now that she had realized who she had inherited it from.

'My name is Alice Scarlet Reynolds, my mother grew up near you and one day, when you were 17 years old, you seduced her into sleeping with you, as an experiment. You got her pregnant, and here I am.'

Sherlock didn't look at her, which annoyed Alice even more, why couldn't he just talk to her, just once, that would be enough. Suddenly, Sherlock turned up the collar of his coat and started to walk.

'I can't help you, goodbye Alice Reynolds.'

Alice was surprised by this sudden action and wanted to follow him, but didn't. Instead she balled her fists and yelled:

'Fine, don't help me. I never understood why I was the way I am, and now I do, and I am glad I am not a copy of the man I resemble. For that I am glad to have my mother, Mr Holmes. At least she keeps me grounded and tells me never to hide my emotions. Because all you are is a pirate who is scared to face the East Wind that is coming to get him and who tries to avoid Death who is waiting for him in Samara!'

Sherlock Holmes suddenly stopped in his tracks, he didn't move a muscle, and remained quiet for quite some time, only two metres away from Alice, since he didn't get very far.

'How do you know this?'

Alice grinmed, this was what she had wanted to achieve, this information had been her wild card. She had read her mother's diary from when she was pregnant with her a year ago. This was something her father had told her mother when they were younger. Obviously it was some sort of secret, never to be told to anyone. Maybe they were things her mother wasn't even supposed to have heard, but only overheard or saw when she was living so near to the Holmes family. Alice had not intended to use it so soon, but if it could make her father listen to her, she didn't see why she wouldn't.

'I read my mother's diary, she wrote a lot about you, she thought you were very interesting when she was younger. Now she's just to embittered by how you treated her.'

Alice remained where she was, staring at the back of Sherlock Holmes, who was still standing straight, she couldn't see his face, but she could predict that it was still stern, but with confused eyes, like when she had been deducing right in front of him that she was his daughter, only a few minutes earlier.

'Come with me.'

Alice's eyes grew wider when the words dawned on her, and then started moving. After a few steps she had caught up with Sherlock, who was in fact still staring ahead, his eyes flustered. When he saw Alice appear in the corner of his eye, he started walking and they moved towards the exit of Russell Square, turning towards Montague Street. Sherlock only looked ahead, no longer caring for the people around him. Alice had also stopped observing, she looked ahead as well, sometimes glancing up at her father. Years she had dreamed of this moment, and it was perfect, just because she was now aware of the fact that there was actually someone who was like her, even if he was as closed off from all people as her mother had told her. When they turned the corner into they Montague Street, Alice started to take in her surroundings again. It was not long though before Sherlock took a sudden turn left, almost hitting Alice off of her feet. She quickly regained her balance and followed Sherlock as he blindly crossed the street towards number 29. He quickly took out a key and rushed up the steps leading to the front door. He opened the door and went in, up the broad stairs with 2 steps at a time towards the flat that was clearly his domain. Alice followed in his tracks, but a bit slower, taking in the great hall of the house, with walls covered in wooden panels, dimly lit by a few ancient looking lights. When she entered the room she noticed all sorts of things. Piles and piles of papers, files and books. A bookcase with hardly any books in it, since they were all over the floor. It looked a lot like Alice's room at home, but then bigger and with more stuff all over the floor and odd things all around. One of which was a skull on the window sill, and next to it a little pile of papers, with a knife stabbed through it, both half hidden behind the curtains. Another thing that caught her eye was the skull of something that looked like a bull, with headphones on, which actually made her chuckle. The second desk in the room was filled with chemical constructions and things that looked like syringe's for cocaine and a Moroccan shoe filled with cigarettes placed in the middle of the table. Sherlock grabbed one of the cigarettes, apparently one of the good brand, and lit it, before pushing some stuff away, grabbing some other things and then putting the cigarette down again. He held out a small cotton bud to Alice, who was still admiring the organized mess.

'Swab some DNA...'

'From the inside of my cheek, sure.'

Alice grabbed the small bud and rubbed it against the inside of her cheek, then handing it back over to Sherlock, who had also swabbed his own DNA. Alice turned around to look around the room again when her eye were caught by something standing in a corner. A violin. She smiled and very slowly walked towards it, observing it from every possible angle. It was an expensive violin, the only thing Sherlock apparently really spend money on. It looked so much better than her own second-hand violin. I wonder if it plays better as well, she thought, while she touched the top of the instrument with a soft finger. She looked back at Sherlock, who was busy doing his research on the two swabs. She smirked and in one smooth move she picked up the violin, placed it on her shoulder and picked up the bow with her other hand. She looked out the window, but then closed her eyes and started to play. A soft tune, just to calm her down. Only now she became aware of how nervous she had been about this meeting, and this was her way of calming down. The music sounded so much better, and the violin was so easy to handle, that she enjoyed playing it even more. She didn't notice Sherlock, who suddenly looked up upon hearing someone playing the violin. When he sees Alice standing there, with her loose bun almost undone, showing her long, brown, curly hair, he had to take a second look, just to make sure it was actually her. Then his eyes went dark, he straightened his back and marched towards the girl, who was still playing with her eyes closed, her ears completely filled with music. She didn't hear Sherlock approaching and was therefore startled, when he suddenly whispered in her ear:

'Put that down...'

Alice looked over her shoulder, but didn't move another muscle. She wasn't scared, and now she could properly look Sherlock in the eye, up close. Eyes that suddenly shot fire. The first emotion he showed, and it was anger of all. He saw the calmness in her look, which made him even more furious.

'Now...'

Slowly the bow went down and Alice released her grip on the violin, put it down in it place and as if she was moving in slow motion and slowly traced her fingers along the instrument. Sherlock's eyes followed every move suspiciously. Suddenly, Alice turned around and looked Sherlock straight in the eye. Without saying a word, she walked passed him towards his laboratory table. There she looked the DNA samples and the corners of her mouth curled up into a sly smile. Sherlock stared at her, but when he saw her looking at the samples, he marched towards her.

'Would you please leave tha...'

He stopped. His attention was caught by the results from the samples. For a moment his eyes were completely blank. He looked at Alice, who looked back.

'You...'

'I didn't want to say I told you so, but...'

Sherlock turned up his nose in annoyance, Alice smiled at it.

'Hey I'm still 15 years old, I have the right to say things like this.'

Sherlock picked up his cigarette, which he had left on the desk, and inhaled deeply, as if it had to calm him down, which it did. Alice still looked at the results in front of her. They proved that her father was actually standing next to her. After a moment of silence a door slams shut downstairs. Sherlock was suddenly brought back to his senses. He quickly put away the cigarette and grabbed the test results, which he put away in a cabinet. Alice just looked at it. Sherlock turned to her, with his regular stern look.

'So, you've proven your point. Now what?'

Alice looked at him, completely stunned by the latest actions of het father.

'I-I-I don't know... I guess we... talk, see what we have in common.'

Sherlock turned up his nose. He really had to stop doing that, Alice thought, it made him look cocky.

'I don't "talk" and certainly not with children.'

Alice was again stunned by his reaction and she quickly dismissed her earlier thought. He didn't just look cocky, he was a cock. But not around her, she was his daughter for goodness sakes. She felt fury flare up inside her.

'You're my father, I came all this way to find you and this is how you treat me? Like I am one of your "clients"? I don't see any now, so I presume you haven't had any good crime to solve lately. That would clarify why you are as agitated as you are. Well, mr. Holmes, let me tell you this. I am not giving up without a fight. I came here to get to know you better and I am stubborn as hell, which, I can deduce, is genetic, so you know I am. But who am I? Just one of your stupid clients who are to boring for you? Well, NEWS FLASH, Mr. Holmes, I may be the one real interesting case in your life. Maybe one of two, if you can ever find it in that cold heart of yours to find someone you love or care for. But as long as that is not the case, I am the only one who can actually understand you and help you and who doesn't tease you and bully you like your brother does. He just entered the house, didn't he? Come and visit you, for whatever reason? Seems you want to hide some things from him. Think he can blackmail you with this information? Or bully you? Tell you yet again that he is "the smart one".'

Sherlock gritted his teeth.

'He does that quite often, doesn't he? Well, you know where to find me Mr. Holmes, if you ever want to have a real companion.'

Alice turned around and walked out the door, down the stairs, where she bumped into a static man in a full three piece suit. He looked a bit like Sherlock, so it had to be his brother. Political official, obviously, and no emotions whatsoever. Where Sherlock was maybe able to fake them or maybe actually feel them, this man was cold as ice. Alice passed by, looking him straight in the eye. The man looks back, but clearly had no idea who had just passed him. He had to have some deductive abilities and he also had to be smart, since he was related to Sherlock and they shared the same house. They had to he on the same thinking level to be able to do as little as cope with each other. But in Alice's opinion, he was just not smart enough, in the way her father was. Alice grinned, opened the front door and walked through it, yelling over her shoulder to the man in the room at the top of the stairs.

'Thank you Mr. Holmes.'