At Sherlock's request they swung by Baker Street so Sherlock could pick up his laptop before they went to Hunter's house. When they arrived at the Hunter residence, Sam parked out in the street. Sherlock opened the laptop and began searching.
"What are you doing?" asked Sam.
"I am sniffing," said Sherlock cryptically.
"What?" said Sam, looking at John for an explanation.
"Sometimes people don't put a pass code on their Wifi connections," answered John. "If that's the case, Sherlock can access their home computers and see what web pages they have been browsing."
"With special software, of course," added Sherlock deviously.
"Looks promising," he continued. "Let's see…Network Names…2WIRE312 (How original)…HotMama51 (Doubtful)…404 NetworkUnavailable (Clever)…HunterFamily (Seriously?)…Unsecured Network." He typed furiously.
"People really are goldfish," he said to himself. He looked up to see Sam and John staring at him with appalled looks on their faces.
"Oh. Did I say that out loud?" he asked, knowing full well he had.
"Well, someone is logged in to a computer here," he continued. "Let's see what they've been up to, shall we?" He typed for awhile, and John became impatient.
"Well?" John prodded the detective for an update.
"Looks like several visits to the West London Composting site," he said with more animation. "Hunter owns horses but it seems a bit odd he should concern himself with such matters."
"Oh my God," said Sam softly, covering her mouth in horror. "You don't think he really…?"
"Yes, I think he really did," said Sherlock, becoming animated and almost gleeful.
"Sherlock, we need the police to come now, before Hunter bolts or erases the evidence!" said John, imploring Sherlock to remain in the car, but he already had his hand on the door handle.
Before anyone could react, a man exited the Hunter residence. It was Karl Hunter. John quickly called Lestrade, who would send police immediately while the two consulting detectives and their VeriCorp protege followed the man for as long as they could. Sam was driving the Audi, and it soon became apparent that they couldn't easily follow a man on foot in London.
"Park here," said Sherlock tersely and he jumped out of the car before Sam had even fully stopped. John jumped out after him, and Sam followed them both after locking her car. She hoped Lestrade would take car of a parking violation if she got one.
After a few minutes, Hunter became suspicious and turned to look at the three people behind him. They tried to look like they weren't interested in him, but he started walking faster. John had gotten a text from Lestrade. The police were closing in on their location, and they had to keep Hunter from getting on a train or into a cab.
Hunter raised his hand to hail a cab, and there was one ready to pull up to the curb. Without hesitation, Sam raced forward towards Hunter.
"Excuse me, sir," she said breathlessly, putting on her best American accent. "Excuse me," she said, now smiling sweetly. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but my friends and I are lost."
"It's our first trip to London, you see," she added, looking directly into his eyes. He was clearly taken aback, but Sam had succeeded in delaying him from getting in the cab at least for a few more seconds.
"What are you looking for?" asked Hunter, clearly wanting to hurry into the cab.
Before Sam could answer, several police vehicles rounded the corner, blocking the street. Hunter knew he had been stung, and made to get away on foot. John however was a trained soldier, and did not shy away from physical confrontation. He dived at Hunter, tackling him to the ground.
"Hey!" yelled Hunter. "This is police brutality!"
"I'm not the police," said John dryly, as the real police came forward and handcuffed him.
They had enough evidence with Sherlock's discovery of horse tranquilizers in Eve Hunter's blood to take him in for questioning. After telling Lestrade about Hunter's interest in the West London Composting website, it was clear that they might have a body within the next few hours.
"I want a full report on my desk first thing in the morning," said Lestrade. "Good job, you three," he said to John, Sam and Sherlock, who had stood by while Karl Hunter was hauled away in police custody.
"It was very brave of you to detain Hunter that way," said John to Sam admiringly. "And that smile of yours really comes in handy, doesn't it Sherlock?"
The detective merely nodded and looked away. He wasn't used to having company on cases, and he didn't like it at all. He preferred to work alone, or with John Watson.
Without warning, Sherlock hailed a cab instead of getting into Sam's car again. John was unsure of what to do. "I'll see you later," Sherlock said quietly.
"Sher…Sherlock," John called after the lanky detective. But Sherlock didn't even turn to answer him. The cab pulled away with Sherlock in the back seat, his face illuminated by the light of his cell phone. John went back to Sam.
"Yeah. Sorry about that," he said, trying to cover for Sherlock's abrupt departure. "It's just his way."
Sam smiled understandingly.
"He's a true genius," she said, watching the cab depart. "It was amazing that he noticed something as small as that lapel pin and followed up on the lead. Truly amazing!" she said graciously.
"He is," agreed John emphatically.
"You work quite well together, you two and Lestrade," noted Sam.
John smiled. "I think so," he answered. Sam could tell by his facial expression that the answer was a genuine one.
"Are you still up for that dinner you promised me?" asked Sam. "It's about 7:30 and I'm starving!" she added.
John thought he realized why Sherlock had taken off by himself…to give John the opportunity to keep his date with Sam. He smiled to himself. Sherlock Holmes. Just when you thought you had him figured out, he'd go and do something unexpected.
Sherlock was doing something unexpected. A bit of research on Sam Sloan.