Jennifer Wilson

"Shut up" Elaina and the tall man chorused at Lestrade.

"I didn't say anything." Lastrade said indignant.

"You were thinking." The tall man explained

"It's annoying" Elaina chimed in.

"Oh God, there're two of them!" Lestrade muttered under his breath. This mumbling didn't go unnoticed by the tall man and Elaina as they shot the graying detective identical death glares.

The man dressed in the Belstaff coat crouched next to the body. Elaina finally took the opportunity to look at the dead women. Her jewelry was all clean except a 10-year-old wedding ring and her blond hair was in a state of disarray. Her clothes screamed reporter. The rather alarming shade of pink confirmed it. Elaina knelt next to the women. She was a serial adultery. The shade of lipstick shrieked alluring. Elaina felt Jennifer Wilson's coat and her fingers came off damp. Under her collar was damp as well although Elaina was at a loss as to why her coat was wet but not her umbrella. The word "Rache" was scratched into the floor with her left hand. The thought of how much pain the woman must have been in as she scratched her final words into the wood turned Elaina's stomach. She stood to announce her findings before she had to bolt from the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her.

"What do we have?" Lestrade questioned.

The door creaked open, revealing a slightly disheveled Anderson. He chimed in his input. "She German."

"Yes thank you for your input." The baritone man acknowledged. Elaina stared at him in shock. It seemed obvious that Jennifer Wilson wasn't German. Elaina shifted through letters to finish the word as the tall man shut the door in Anderson's face (Something Elaina had wanted to do for a long time).

"So she's German?" Lestrade asked and Elaina rolled her eyes at his obliviousness

"Of course not. Intended to stay in London for one night before returning home to Cardiff - so far, so obvious." The man said in a matter-of-fact voice

"Sorry, obvious?" Lestrade said in a bewildered tone. He turned Elaina as she nodded in agreement with the curly haired man.

"What about the message, though? Dr. Watson, what do you think?" The tall man asked

"Of the message?"

"Of the body. You're a medical man."
" We have a whole team outside." Lestrade argued

"They won't work with me." The man replied. Elaina might have imagined it but a sad look overtook his usual arrogance for a second.
"I'm breaking every rule letting you in here" Lestrade's voice rose a bit and it seemed he was near

shouting. Elaina backed up half a step in fear.

"Yes, because you need me." The unknown man pointed out.

"Yes, I do. God help me." Lestrade answered, anger defused by the man's calming nature.

Elaina found his nonchalance at the sight of the body a bit unnerving.

"Dr. Watson!" The man summoned his companion forward.

"Hm? Oh, do as he says. Help yourself." Lestrade said in a defeated tone. "Anderson, keep everyone

out for a couple of minutes"

Elaina followed the detective inspector out of the room. As soon as she exited she dropped into a nearby chair and took deep, shuddering breaths as she lowered her head to rest in her lap. So far she had been able to keep her cool in the presence of the handsome man, not for his appearance but because his ability to analyze weaknesses. Detective Inspector Lestrade turned around at the wheezing breaths that he heard behind him. Noticing his collapsed colleague, he dropped to his knees besides her. She looked up and gave him a small smile before ducking her head again. She felt a steady hand on her trembling shoulder. Slowly she began to calm down.

"S-sorry" Elaina croaked out.

"You're fine. It takes a bit of time to get used to it. The dead bodies." Lestrade reassured her.

Having lost her father at a young age, Lestrade had become a fatherly figure. She nodded in agreement. Helping her stand he led her back into the room. Now she was ready for the body it didn't shock her as much as the first time. The tall man explained his reasoning and observation but Elaina tuned him out since he was repeating thing she already knew. She stared to pay attention as the man explained why her coat was wet but not her umbrella since it was the only thing she couldn't figure out.

"Her coat - it's slightly damp, she's been in heavy rain in the last few hours - no rain anywhere in London in that time. Under her coat collar is damp too. She's turned it up against the wind. She's got an umbrella in her pocket, but it's dry and unused. Not just wind, strong wind - too strong to use her umbrella. We know from her suitcase that she was intending to stay overnight, but she can't have traveled more than two or three hours, because her coat still hasn't dried. So, where has there been heavy rain and strong wind within the radius of that travel time? Cardiff." The man said, displaying his phone.

"Fantastic." Watson confirmed.

"Do you know you do that?" Belstaff coat asked.

"Sorry. I'll shut up." Elaina giggled at their exchange.

"Why do you keep saying suitcase?" Lestrade inquired.

"Yes where is? She must have had a phone or organizer."

"Find out who Rachel is." The man yelled in sudden understanding.

"She was writing Rachel?"

" No, she was leaving an angry note in German! Of course she was writing Rachel, no other word it can be. But why did she wait until she was dying to write it?"

"How do you know she had a suitcase?"

"Tiny splash marks on her right heel and calf not present on the left." Elaina jumped in. "She was dragging a wheeled suitcase behind her with her right hand. Don't get that splash pattern any other way. Smallish case, going by the spread. Case that size, woman this clothes-conscious - could only be an overnight bag so we know she was staying one night."

"Where is it? What have you done with it?" Sherlock asked, frantic light dancing in his eyes.

"There wasn't a case." Lestrade answered.
"Say that again."
"There wasn't a case."
"There was never any suitcase."
The man darted out of the room and began yelling down the stairs. "Suitcase! Did anyone find a

suitcase? Was there a suitcase in this house?"

"Sherlock, there was no case!" Elaina filed away that the man's name was Sherlock

"They take the poison themselves, they swallow the pills. There are clear signs, even you lot

couldn't miss them."

"Right, thanks. And?"

"It's murder, all of them. I don't know how. But they're not suicides, they're serial killings. We've got a serial killer. Love those. There's always something to look forward to. Someone else was here and they took her case. So the killer must have driven here. Forgot the case was in the car.
"She could have checked into a hotel, left it there." Watson chimed in
"No, she never got to the hotel. Look at her hair. She colour-coordinates her lipstick and shoes.
She'd never have left any hotel with her hair still looking…Oh Oh!" He jumped back as though he had a realization.

"Sherlock? What is it, what?"

"Serial killers, always hard." Elaina giggled at his enthusiasm then stopped as her coworkers sent her strange looks. She watched as Sherlock ran out of the building and Elaina made a split second decision. Jumping down stairs two at a time, she followed Sherlock into the night. She caught up to him as he was hailing a cab.

"An ex-assassin?" Sherlock questioned.

Elaina nodded and he beckoned her into the cab and pulled her down into the seat and shut the door.