Thirteen interruptions and six cups of tea later, Lestrade was finally satisfied with Sherlock's explanation of his absence and was retrieving some case files for him. "Here's a new one – probably a serial killer. Monday, first day of the week, one person killed. Tuesday, two people dropped dead at the same time. Wednesday, three people and so on. He also appears to follow the order of the periodic table, using elements to kill his victims. No idea where he gets all the chemicals, and we've got to find him before he carries this into next week."
Sherlock closed the file with a snap and bolted upright. "Interesting case, this one, but easy." He strode out the door, John quickly followed and grinned to himself. The world's only consulting detective was back.
A day later, the murderer was caught and Lestrade had officially landed Sherlock back in business. Sherlock and John were in 221B when the news caught John's eye. The headlines screamed: DEAD DETECTIVE WALKING! SHERLOCK HOLMES ALIVE!
John grinned as he read the continuous stream of praise for Sherlock. As he turned the page, another headline caught his eye. PERIODIC PERPETRATOR CAUGHT! John snorted and sniggered at the nickname the press assigned to the killer. Periodic Perpetrator? John would have to add that to his blog.