They finally get to the crime scene, or as close as they can get with the police tape, Sherlock paying for the cab before he gets out and looks around, adjusting his jacket and making sure his collar is flipped up against the cold in the air, walking confidently toward the police tape where there's a female police officer standing on the other side, arms crossed over her beige jacket, her hair held back in a ponytail away from her face, even if her breath creates puffs of fog in the air from the cold.
"Figured Lestrade would think this was right up your alley, Freak." The officer says with a sneer as she looks at Sherlock, then she glances at John, holding up her hand. "This isn't for tourists. Who's this?" She demands as she looks at him.
Already not impressed with the behavior of the woman, John straightens a little bit more as he comes to stand beside Sherlock. "Captain John Watson, M.D., RAMC." he says as he pulls out his military ID.
Smirking a little at how the blonde reacts to the vile woman, Sherlock doesn't seem bothered. "John, this is Sergeant Sally Donovan, one of Lestrade's more idiotic lackies. Why don't you scuttle along and bring us to Lestrade?" he asks in a bored tone, lifting the police tape for John and then ducking under himself.
Sally examines the ID carefully, far more carefully than most people would since she probably thinks it's a fake, finally handing it back to John. "Just because he's from the army doesn't mean he can enter this crime scene, without Lestrade's approval." She says, holding her hands up to try and stop them.
"Just keep walking." Sherlock mutters in an aside to John. "Well, we'll just go find him, then. Although you may want John to look at your mouth, Sergeant. Looks like you're getting a rather nasty cold sore, which you're trying to cover with makeup, but that will only make it worse. I hope your current lover is aware, wouldn't want to pass anything on." He says casually as he slips his hands into the pockets of his jacket and just keeps walking toward the building.
It's all the doctor can do not to start laughing there, but he manages to hold it together as he looks over at Donovan for a few moments, identifying the signs of what Sherlock picked up so easily. "Right." he says with a small nod of his head, following the ridiculous man. John does allow himself a slight smirk of satisfaction though as he sees the look of fury on Donovan's face.
If looks could kill, Sherlock would have been turned to dust long ago, if the look Donovan gives him is any indication. Though to her credit she doesn't put her hands to her mouth like someone with less self control might. She does pick up her walkie though and clicks it on. "Freak is coming in, and he brought a guard dog." She says with a cold sneer toward John, who apparently is deserving of her wrath merely by his association with Sherlock, or the fact that the soldier didn't stick up for her.
Because of that, Lestrade is waiting for the two by the door. "Thank you, Donovan, we won't be needing you." he says before he looks at the two men before him. "They've got everything they need, but it's baffling our techs." he hesitates. "Sherlock, you can't just drag your friends to crime scenes, it's bad enough that I let you in, I can't just let anyone in." he notes as he looks at John.
"I need him." Sherlock says as he straightens a little. "The others won't work for me and his medical opinion could be very valuable, in this case especially." He says casually as he looks at Lestrade, looking for all the world as if this is not the first time he's been kept away from a crime scene, but at the same time he's twitching, wanting to go in and solve the puzzle.
For the moment John decides to remain silent, looking between the two men, watching the showdown, though even he can tell that Lestrade is going to give in, and that there is a sort of awkward affection between the two. Sherlock's insults and way of talking are not quite as cold or sharp toward the Detective Inspector as they might be toward Donovan.
After staring at the slightly taller man for what seems like several minutes, Lestrade looks at John and then he sighs. "Fine, alright. But you're not bringing anyone else by." He says in a firm tone before he turns away from the two, heading inside and holding out two pairs of shoe covers. "Put these on, don't want you contaminating the crime scene." he says as he puts on a pair himself, waiting until the others have done the same before he leads the way down the hall of the museum and into the crime scene.
Inside the room, the velvet ropes keeping people out of the exhibit have been moved, lights carefully set up, and the body sitting in one of the pirate exhibits. Male, dressed in what appears to be a period appropriate costume, perhaps one that the costume even owned since it doesn't exactly look new. But compared to the other mannequins it's quite apparent that the body is different. For a moment, John stops and looks at the body before he enters the room carefully, since it feels a bit eerie to him.
Sherlock, however, seems to come alive, his eyes moving everywhere, taking in every single little detail as he moves around the room slowly, taking out a pocket magnifying glass and starting to examine a few things, especially on the body. Finally, he straightens and glances around until he finds John. "John. Care to give me your medical opinion?" He asks as he motions to the body.
With a glance at Lestrade to make sure it's ok, John picks up a pair of gloves out of a box he sees and puts them on carefully before he moves over to the body, examining it for a few moments and frowning as he pulls aside the collar to the man's shirt. "Well, there's a bit of a problem." he says as he looks up at Sherlock. "White male, probably around 25-30 in age. He's been dead for a bit, but he's not starting to smell that much yet. Given the very edge of bruising I can see here around his temple, I would guess at a glance that he was killed by blunt force trauma.." he says as he glances at Sherlock, then adds, "But.. that will already be on file."
"On file? What do you mean, on file?" Lestrade asks as he moves forward, figuring that he should ask the obvious question because Sherlock may or may not explain further.
Clearing his throat a little, John waits before he pulls aside the collar a bit. "This lad's already had an autopsy." He explains as he shows the very edge of the stitching that he can see on one side, before he looks back at Lestrade.
"Precisely. Very good, John." Sherlock says, then adds, "You've missed all the important details though." He says casually as he looks between the two men, waiting until he has their undivided attention before he removes his gloves and puts them in his pocket so he can point things out better. "Blunt force trauma played a role certainly, as John said the bruising is oblivious, but if you look more closely, you can see that the cause of death is actually suffocation. Drowning if the smell is any indication, but likely in a small body of water, the edge of a beach or maybe even a puddle. Landed face first. Definitely murder. You don't exactly hit yourself on the side of the head hard enough to knock yourself out, and there are easier ways to commit suicide. Not much of a smell of decomposition so all his fluids have been drained. Full autopsy, preparation for the funeral home." he says as he motions to the corpse, then adds, "Now, the clothes. Museum quality but too new. Granted, they were probably made about fifteen years ago, but they are modern recreations. Either used a great deal or in poor storage, meaning that they appear to be more like the real thing because of the wear patterns and the general musty smell about them. Not to mention, the waistcoat and shirt are the wrong century." He says as he motions to the garments. "I believe we have two crimes here, Lestrade. One who moved the body from the morgue, dressed it and staged it, and the original killer. Oh, this one will be interesting." he says excitedly, pressing his hands together in front of his face as he examines the scene. "We need to ID the man and I need the original autopsy report. Should have another one done just in case, make sure nothing was put inside him, that would be a rather morbid twist." He muses with a slight smirk as he looks over everything, then up at the two men.
"Fantastic. That. That was.. Amazing." John says in surprised and shock as he stares at the younger man for a few moments, though he is clearly impressed. He can tell that Lestrade is used to this sort of rapid fire deduction though by the way that he's taking a few notes and just looking at Sherlock as if expecting something more out of him.
Startled by the compliment, Sherlock looks over at John curiously for a few moments, then he looks back at Lestrade. "Let me know when the autopsy is complete." he says casually before he turns, "Big crime scene.. you'll need a list of anyone who has access to the building, or has had access in the last six months." He says as he wanders over to look at something on a side board.
Lestrade sighs a little since even he can figure that out, leaving Sherlock to his examination before he walks over to John. "If you don't mind me asking, how long have you known Sherlock?" he asks as he looks at the soldier.
"A year and a half. Though, this is the first time we've met in person." John chuckles as he sees the look of confusion on Lestrade's face. "He was forced to participate in a program where you write a letter to a lonely solider." He explains with a touch of sarcasm when speaking about the 'lonely soldier' part. "The letter found me. I wrote back, and we've been writing ever since. This is the first time I've had leave around Christmas in a long time, never had a reason to come home, but I had to meet Sherlock for myself. That's why I'm staying at his flat. Was a bit surprised he offered, to be honest." he says thoughtfully as he watches the graceful, yet slightly manic way the detective moves around the room, like a dancer, he is aware of the placement of everything around him and dodges it with ease.
"Yeah, I can understand that." Lestrade decides with a little laugh. "You must have caught his attention though, I can't imagine him putting up with writing letters if you weren't interesting. Still, be careful. The minute you don't interest him anymore, he'll just disappear, and you seem like a decent bloke, I don't want to see you destroyed by him." He cautions as he looks at the blonde.
With a little nod, John smiles slightly as he looks at Lestrade. "I know. It's like being next to a hurricane, right? But it's worth it. I would rather ride this wave while I can, have a chance to be near someone as brilliant and fascinating as him. At least if he does get bored with me, I won't have any regrets, and I will have some bloody brilliant memories." he decides with a small nod of his head.
"Come along, John!" Sherlock yells as he strides for the door, apparently done with everything that he had to do in the crime scene and is off to who knows where.
"Nice meeting you, Detective Inspector." John states again with a nod before he turns and follows after the detective. Perhaps he is like a puppy, coming when beckoned, but when one is in the gravitational field of Sherlock Holmes, one does little more than follow that brilliant sun and try to absorb some of its rays.
Ok, first time I'm really putting detail into writing my crime case, so I hope it's ok. I know Sherlock's deductions could have been a lot better, but, Gatiss and Moffat I am not. :) Hope you all enjoy it in any case!
Comments/Reviews welcome!