The Sound of Deduction

by SweetLoveWriter

Alice Reynolds moves to London with one question. She wants to know who she really is. Why she is so different from all the other people she knows. How she can read them in mere seconds. How she can skim through books and know every word by heart. How she becomes fluent in languages within hours and why she loves being alone.

20. Mirror Image

Chapter 20: Mirror Image

Come to St Barts

If convenient

SH

It didn't take Alice long to pick up her phone, headphone and a small bag with her Oyster card and wallet. She pressed play and a random playlist started. She walked out through Speedy's, not paying attention to the man sitting in a corner of the sandwichbar with only a cup of coffee in front of him and a paper in front of his face. He followed the girl with his eyes, before shifting his attention to a small notebook placed in front of him on the table, twirling a black Parker Pen once and then writing down what he had just observed. Alice in the meantime had exited the cafe and was looking at her phone, she pressed reply and returned a message

If Inconvenient

I'll come anyway

ASH

Exactly 21 minutes were spent on an underground to Barking and walking towards the hospital, a time in which Alice looked at all the people surrounding her, going through their Sunday as they normally would. She turned the corner to St Bartholomew's Hospital. She looked up the height of the building, but quickly turned her eyes back to the street. Around the other corner she saw a tall man in a long black coat and with dark curls coming her way. The black and beige coats met in front of the door and the beige one was led in first, quickly followed by the gleaming shoes underneath the black one. Without saying a word, the two of them walked through the hospital, with Sherlock leading the way. They entered an elevator and Sherlock pressed the button to the cellar, the morgue. As the elevator doors closed, the two of them were locked in the space together for a while. Alice glanced up at her father, who was still a little taller than she was. He looked down as well. Then he smiled. Alice looked back and Sherlock followed her example. The elevator doors opened and Sherlock and Alice both resumed their pace at the same time. As one person they made their way to the room where Sherlock knew he would find a very particular person. Someone who would never refuse him anything. Alice also had an inkling as to where they were going, though she didn't know for sure why. Sherlock pushed the door open and marched in, Alice caught the door and closed it behind her, while her father had already caught up with the woman standing in front of the desk. Upon hearing someone entering, the woman had turned around and Alice could see the quick smile appear, which the woman quickly checked, trying to smoothen out her face.

'Sherlock. What are you doing here?'

Sherlock looked at the body on the slab where he was standing next to, without looking at Molly he started to talk.

'This woman is of importance, she is on your list isn't she?'

Molly looked at her files and then looked up again, clutching the papers to her chest again, trying desperately not to blush in the cold room which was clearly becoming to warm for her. Alice watched it all unfold and had to check herself and not burst into laughter at her father's ignorance.

'Yes she is. It was quite the sight if you believe the police report...'

Sherlock held up his hand.

'Don't say anything.'

He glanced from the corners of his eyes at Alice, who was standing a little further in the back, still observing the scene. Molly followed Sherlock's look and she quickly went a little paler.

'Alice.'

Alice came forward and stopped next to the corpse on the slab. Sherlock looked intently at her, Molly was staring at her in agony.

'Consider this a test without grade.'

The two Holmes's both smirked, Alice nodded and grabbed the cloth that covered the body. She pulled it back a little and folded it neatly. The woman on the slab was pale, but it was still clear that she was asian. Her hair in a short bob and she looked to Alice like a woman of about 50. The one thing that was obvious enough was the cause of death, a single gunshot through the head. Alice looked for a moment, then looked up at her father, who looked back expectantly. She walked towards him, but turned away quickly and back to the corpse, where she lifted the sheet covering the feet, uncovering a black lotus tattoo on the sole of the woman's feet, with a golden rim around the flower. She looked back at the head of the woman.

'Female. Early 50s. Cause of death, single gun shot through the head from a distance of 100 feet. Time of death, somewhere between 1.30 and 2.30 last night. No previous addictions, broken collar bone 3 years ago and a couple of cuts on her hands and lower arms from a slightly sharpened knife blade, probably those of knife throwing in a circus.'

She turned around to her father and looked him straight in the eye.

'She was the leader of the black lotus gang, the golden rim around the lotus indicates that. She was most likely killed by someone of higher power. Possibly someone who employed her, who gave her the information she needed. Probably someone who didn't want her to talk.'

She leant in closer, Sherlock followed suit.

'If we want to make it more broad and personal, I'd say this is someone very high up the food chain, the highest on the food chain to be exact.'

Their eyes met, the green-blue ones with the blue-grey ones. They had both made the same connections, this was maybe a coincidence, but Alice doubted it, and clearly so did Sherlock, because she could read in his eyes that they were thinking of the same name. Moriarty. Molly softly coughed, and Alice leaned back. Sherlock looked up as well, mildly disturbed by the interfering of the morgue attendant. Alice smiled.

'Molly, I'm sorry.'

Sherlock looked at Alice, he saw the smile, but he also saw the eyes that were not smiling with it, though it seemed genuine enough when Alice walked to Molly.

'It has been a while I believe.'

Molly, stunned by the sudden attention she received could only nod and stammer:

'Ye-Yeah I believe so.'

Alice turned around, so she and Molly were standing next to each other, both facing Sherlock, who was now himself observing the corpse for any missing clues his daughter might not have picked up on, listening in on the two women in the mean time.

'Listen Molly. I have been brought into contact with Sherlock through my mother, they knew each other when they were younger and because I am, like Sherlock, highly intelligent, she send me to him in order for me to learn more than just what my high school teachers could teach me.'

Molly looked at Alice from the corners of her eye, and noticed Alice looked back in the same way.

'I started my study medicine last month, which is why Sherlock wanted to test me, see if I'm good enough.'

She looked back at Sherlock.

'Well? Am I?'

Sherlock, who was now hunched over the neck of the corpse of the Black Lotus leader, looked up.

'I can't find anything else remarkable that you might have missed, some minor things maybe.'

But then he stood up straight and Alice could see that he was lying, then he turned to Molly.

'Alice might pop in once or twice to pick something up for me.'

His eyes wandered to Alice.

'Or for herself.'

They shot back to Molly.

'Whatever she needs for her own research.'

Alice turned her head to Molly.

'What he means to say is that, should I need anything for personal research, I will come to you first for the supplies and that if you can miss them, I would be glad to have them.'

Molly smiled shyly and nodded.

'Yeah, of course.'

Then Alice turned back to Sherlock.

'So, why were we here again?'

Sherlock thrust his hands in the pockets of his coat and walked to the foot of the slab.

'I just wanted you to help identify this person. She was known as general Lee, the leader of the gang that I rolled up over the past week. She was killed last night like you said and found early this morning in her flat in China Town. Her body gave us more clues as to who has done it and what the implications of that might be.'

He turned around again and started to make his way out of the room. Molly was left speechless. She clearly loved Sherlock, but he was blind and didn't see her at all. Didn't even seem to appreciate her, even though she should be smart, being a morgue attendant took some brains, Alice knew that was obvious. She followed her father towards the door as well, but turned around halfway through.

'Thank you Molly.'

Molly smiled meekly, Alice returned with a genuine smile, took a few steps and then turned around again.

'He does appreciate you you know? He just doesn't say it with that many words.'

Molly nodded.

'I know.'

Alice smiled again, then she turned back and walked further to the door, her smile quickly fading and blending into a smooth and stern face. When she wanted to push the door towards the hall open, it was opened for her by a young man in a white shirt and jeans. His hair was black and styled in detail, even his eyebrows were plucked and every hair was in place, even tinted. Taurine cream around his hairline. His eyes suggested he hadn't had much sleep in the past couple of days, either tiresome and time-consuming job or hobby, or just a clubber who lost track of both time and date. She scanned him further down and smirked as the door fell shut behind him. Obviously gay. Alice met Sherlock outside the elevator, which just arrived as she stopped next to him. They got in and they rose to the ground floor again. As they made their way back to Baker Street by foot, with their hands thrust deep into their pockets, Sherlock kept on glancing at Alice, who noticed it rather quickly.

'What is it Sherlock?'

Sherlock looked back in front of him, he felt busted in his own thought processes and at first didn't even want to answer Alice. But he could feel her eyes piercing into his skin and he opened his mouth.

'What you did with Molly, I could see that was not really you, yet still you behaved like...'

'Like a normal human.'

Sherlock didn't respond, but Alice knew that she had been right.

'I have lived around normal humans for 15 years, I know how they think and how they want you to behave. I am a mirror to those people, showing them exactly what they want to see. To please them.'

Sherlock looked down slightly.

'And how do I know you are not being my mirror at this moment.'

Alice sniggers.

'Simply because you would be able to tell when I am faking. But normal people don't see it when I am giving them a different personality of myself to accommodate their needs.'

Sherlock smirked as they made their way back to Baker Street, though he couldn't stop thinking about the times where she had used his own manipulation game against him. She did make her face telling from time to time, act a part, like he would do from time to time, but not to this large extent and especially not when there was no useful information to be gained by the performance. When they entered the street, Sherlock didn't stop in front of his door, he stopped right in front of the window of Speedy's. Alice looked past him and now she noticed the man she had so quickly passed when she went out. The two of them immediately entered the sandwich bar and Sherlock made his way straight to the man behind the table.

'Brother dear.'

The man with his newspaper apparently had eyes in the back of his head, since he had not seen his little brother when he made the remark. He put his newspaper down as Sherlock sat down opposite him.

'Listen Mycroft, I don't need you looking over my shoulder all the time.'

Mycroft scoffed.

'Oh brother, not everything is about you. I am here for this charming young lady.'

His eyes turned to Alice, who was standing at the head of the table, observing the Holmes brothers like a tennis referee, with her eyes now resting on the government official, with the hobby to act like solo secret service.

'You know all you need to know about me Mr. Holmes.'

Mycroft laughed, but it was a stifled laugh from a man without humor.

'I decide when I know enough miss, that is not up to you.'

Sherlock leaned in closer.

'It is brother dear. You know all you need to know.'

Mycroft's face shot to Sherlock.

'Are you hiding something from me brother dear?'

Alice, at hearing those words, had difficulty hiding her anger as well as her worry. If this man would search long and thorough enough, he would eventually get to the bottom of the relationship between Sherlock and her, something her father wanted to avoid at all cost. Sherlock remained in the same position.

'Stop prying brother dear, I don't need you to watch me.'

With those words Sherlock rose from his chair and Alice and he walked out of the cafe, leaving Mycroft with his newspaper, his coffee and his notebook. He watched them go, both with dark, curled hair, black trousers and long coats. As they turned the corner towards 221b, Mycroft kept a close eye on them, comparing the bone structure of both their faces. But then he shook his head. Tunnel vision, Holmes, don't fall for it. What you are thinking is impossible, you know that just as well as anyone else. Besides, on the balance of probability it would prove even more unlikely. There are many other possibilities, so don't shoot all your arrows when you are not sure you will hit the bulls eye.