1 away from 160 follows! woooooo! :D Thank you so much for reading this. I enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it. :)
"So why are we here exactly?" Lestrade asked as he stopped the car at St Bart's. The cab driver, John and Sherlock had all squeezed into the back after Mary and Sherlock had had a debate over who should ride in front. After Mary played the 'pregnant' card, Sherlock didn't really have a leg to stand on. He had insisted however that John sit in the middle causing John to breath a huge sigh of relief as they opened the doors and got out. The cab driver wasn't exactly the smallest man in the universe and Sherlock didn't seem too keen on squeezing up any further to make more room.
"What question does Moriarty want us to ask more than any other?" Sherlock responded and it was Mary who answered.
"How he survived. He probably wants an excuse to gloat."
"Moriarty needs no excuse to gloat but that is the question that he wants us to ask, yes. But why?" He wondered, his brow creasing in concentration.
"Why?" The cab driver asked after a brief pause and Sherlock looked at him with a baffled expression.
"Sorry, did that sound like an open question? I don't know, that's what we're here to find out." He replied with an irritated tone and the man looked utterly bewildered as they all went into the hospital.
"Don't worry, it takes him a while to warm up to new people." John muttered to the man as they walked but even he could tell from his body language just how out of place he felt.
Sherlock came to an abrupt stop as the corridor they were walking down split into two ways. He turned to face Lestrade who managed to stop himself from walking into him.
"You need to find Molly's co-workers, ask them anything that they know about her, favourite places to eat, to shop, where she gets her hair cut, boring things like that." He said and Lestrade frowned.
"Hang on, where are you going?" He asked.
"To try and look at Moriarty's autopsy report." He replied with a glint in his eye but Lestrade crossed his arms in defiance.
"Sherlock. They're not just going to let you look at that, it's evidence now, you'll need a warrant. I should come with you." He argued but Sherlock shook his head.
"No, I need you to find out about Molly and take... erm -." Sherlock waved his hand at the cab driver.
"Dale." He said when he realised what Sherlock was after.
"Right. Take Dale with you."
"But, why do we need to ask about Molly?" Lestrade asked, obviously confused. John and Sherlock exchanged a glance as they both realised that neither of them had explained the full situation to him.
"Moriarty has Molly, Greg." John replied and the Detective's reaction was instant.
"What?" He yelled. "Why the bloody hell did you not tell me that?" He rounded on Sherlock who began to look a little uncomfortable.
"It must have slipped my mind." He mumbled and Lestrade pointed his finger at him.
"Is this your fault?" He hissed and Sherlock raised his hands and eyebrows simultaneously.
"No! No, I tried to get her to stay in a safe place but Moriarty was one step ahead of me. He picked her up in a cab." He explained, his eyes flicking over to Dale who was preoccupied watching a nurse walk down the corridor, obviously oblivious to their conversation. Lestrade looked at him too, putting two and two together and John was sure that he went a little pink with anger.
"You better make sure she's okay Sherlock or I swear to God -." He began quietly but Sherlock stopped him by stepping closer to him.
"Greg, I won't rest until I find her. I promise you." He said, the seriousness of his tone and expression, and possibly the fact that Sherlock used his real name, silencing Lestrade. There was a pause as they looked at each other wordlessly, Greg probably deciding if he was happy how much Sherlock meant his words before he nodded once.
"Okay then. Now I really have to come with you to help you get that report." Lestrade said but Sherlock shook his head.
"No. You have to interview her co-workers. Find out about what they know about her."
"But -." Lestrade tried but Sherlock had already turned away from him and was walking the opposite way.
"Use those brilliant detective skills of yours. Impress me." He called as he walked away and Lestrade muttered something in annoyance under his breath that sounded quite a lot like the word 'prick' to John.
They walked into the lab quickly, their strides long and fast, Sherlock leading in front with Mary and John close behind. Sherlock threw open the doors and they came to a stop in the room, all of them noticing the absense of Molly buzzing around the tables and peering at the various pieces of equipment. It felt strange without her there and it only solidified her situation in John's mind. He felt Mary grab his hand for a brief moment and he was sure it was a gesture of comfort for him and probably for herself too. He looked at her and smiled sadly.
"We'll find her." He whispered and Mary nodded confidently before they both turned to look at a different woman who had been in the room when they had arrived.
Her eyes were wide in alarm and she had probably been shocked by their sudden, unannounced entrance. That was something Molly had seemed to have gotten used to over the years.
"Can... Can I help you?" She stammered and Sherlock smiled warmly, causing John to raise his eyebrow and smile slightly in amusement as he realised that Sherlock was going to try the soft approach.
"I really hope you can." Sherlock replied, his voice gentle as he moved a bit closer to her. "Jenna, is it?" He asked, reading her identity card. She nodded quickly, her eyes still doe-like and John was suddenly reminded of the Molly he had first met four years ago, completely intimidated by Sherlock. "Jenna, I was wondering if we could possibly take a look at Jim Moriarty's autopsy report. I know I shouldn't be asking but it would be such a help to us." He continued in the most polite voice he could manage. Jenna opened her mouth in realisation, letting out a little 'oh'.
"You're Sherlock Holmes." She said and he smiled again.
"That's me." He raised his eyebrows and laughed, a sound that sounded completely out of place to John. "Can we just have a quick look at it?" He asked again and she bit her lip in uncertainty.
"Well... I don't know. It's evidence so I should really have a warrant before showing you." She replied hesitantly and John rolled his eyes as he thought about what Lestrade had said only moments ago.
"Oh come on... I won't tell anyone and it really would be a big help." He tried but Jenna still didn't seem quite ready to give in. John watched Sherlock transform his face effortlessly into a mask of hurt and he couldn't even try and pretend that he wasn't impressed (and also a little concerned) at how believable he was.
"You see, it's... it's Molly." He began, his voice heavier as if he were trying to hold back emotion. "She's in danger and I think I can figure out a way to find her if I see that report. I don't have time to get a warrant and I'm worried that it will be too late soon." John could tell that the woman was breaking but she still managed to stand her ground, trying to back away from him as if that would help her.
"I don't know... I really want to help you and Molly, she's always really nice to me, but -." She tried to argue but Sherlock took a small step closer to her, his eyes now glistening with tears that he had managed to create.
"I never got to tell her... How I... How I really feel. That will haunt me for the rest of my life if I don't find her. Please Jenna. Help me find my Molly." He finished and John suddenly realised that he was staring with raised eyebrows and his mouth open, totally astounded by what Sherlock was doing. He would never cease to be amazed and also utterly shocked by Sherlock Holmes.
"Alright." Jenna gave in and John could swear that she had tears in her eyes. "But you can't tell anyone."
"I promise. Thank you Jenna." Sherlock replied gratefully but as she turned away to walk to her laptop, John caught Sherlock glance over at him and Mary to give them a wink causing Mary to let out a hushed astounded laugh.
John closed his mouth but shook his head as the three of them walked over to where Jenna was standing, all of them waiting in anticipation for her to open the file. When it popped up, Sherlock looked at it in excitement before turning to Jenna again.
"Would you mind if we had a few moments?" He asked kindly and Jenna shook her head.
"Not at all." She replied quietly before walking out of the lab, a sound of her sniffing echoing around the room before she left. When the door closed, John looked at Sherlock with his eyes wide.
"That was..." He began, not being able to find the right word.
"Brilliant." Mary finished and John was shocked to see that she looked impressed.
"No. Brilliant, no. Downright lying and quite mean actually, yes." He disagreed and Sherlock sighed.
"My little performance got us the report didn't it?" He replied.
"You made her cry."
"I gave her a good romantic story to restore her faith in love and men. She'll be fine." He answered before moving his finger to scroll down the screen on the laptop. "Now, what can you tell us?" He asked to the computer and John and Mary squinted down at the writing on the document, picking up words like 'suicide' and 'exit wound'. It was all fairly generic and nothing much seemed to stand out to John, especially nothing that could tell them how he managed to fake his death. He assumed that Sherlock's faked autopsy report was similar. That's when an idea hit him.
"Sherlock."
"Yes." Sherlock replied, drawing out the word, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
"Molly helped you fix the autopsy report didn't she? Your report." He answered and Sherlock looked up at him. "That's how she helped you."
"That is partly how she helped me yes but not everything that she did." He responded before turning back to the laptop.
"But if you had Molly to help you fake the report then Moriarty must have had someone. He would have needed a Molly too." John continued and Sherlock smiled, not shifting his gaze.
"Good John. You're learning." He replied and John frowned at his condescending tone but before he could retort, Sherlock had began to speak again.
"Olivia Hurst." He said, hovering the cursor over the name at the bottom of the report. "Text that name to Lestrade. Tell him to try and get her to one side."
John took his phone out and tapped the message quickly, hitting send when he had finished and returning it back to his pocket, wondering what Sherlock was still looking for on the report. He was about to ask when the door that Jenna had left through opened again.
"I'm sorry but I can't let you stay any longer. If my boss finds out..." Jenna said, walking towards them and Sherlock snapped the lid closed on the laptop, standing up and not bothering to resume his façade from earlier.
"Nevermind, I have what I need anyway. Thank you." He said with less feeling than before and she looked quite confused when they turned from her and walked out of the room briskly.
Sherlock and his manipulation... damn him and his lovable face... Let me know what you think! :D
