"Mr. Lestrade to see you Sherlock…" She exclaimed. Sherlock looked up and nodded.
"Yes, thank you Mrs. Hudson I do see that." Sherlock added smartly, which earned him a 'tut tut' and sharp glare from her.
"I also wanted to ask if there was anything wrong with the heating up here; it seems to be malfunctioning downstairs. You know I'm not your housekeeper." She said with a raised brow. Watson looked to her after giving Sherlock the 'stop being an ass' glare.
"We know Mrs. Hudson, and the heating is just fine, thank you." Watson said sweetly. Mrs. Hudson smiled and left the three men to talk of things she'd rather not be involved in.
"I got a call from your brother, Sherlock." Lestrade admitted as he sat in a chair by Watson. "He said he wanted to talk, but you never pick up your phone." Sherlock drew his robe tighter around him and cocooned himself into the couch again, turning his back to Lestrade.
"I don't talk to insufferable prats." He mumbled so low that Lestrade had to strain to hear him. Watson took a sip from his tea and then grimaced as he realized that it was now cold, he left to reheat it and offered some to the Inspector who turned it down politely.
"He wanted you to call him back as soon as you can, but that's not why I'm here." Lestrade continued, "Scotland Yard has been receiving reports on multiple murders all centered around the Hyde Park area, yesterday we found the body of a German diplomat, beaten up very badly and stabbed multiple times along his spinal column. The only link to all of these murders is that the victims are exclusively politicians." Lestrade paused and placed a folder on the table in front of an alert Sherlock. He picked it up and perused the pages like a ravenous hound, leaping at the chance to glean information on a new case. After spending five minutes in silence, Sherlock flung the folder on the table, stood up and started to pace the floor of the flat.
"Sherlock, did you find something?" Watson asked him. Sherlock waved his hand dismissively and continued pacing. Another long length of silence where Lestrade and Watson watched him, waiting for the indication of conclusion from Sherlock's features.
"We shall need to examine the body of the German diplomat, inspector." Holmes finally ceased his pacing and faced the two men still sitting. Lestrade nodded and picked up the folder, "the body's at St. Bart's," he told Sherlock. After Sherlock changed into proper trousers, the men all took a car to St. Bartholomew's morgue. They found Miss Molly Hooper hovering over a corpse with multiple gashes, she didn't hear them walk in and jumped causing a tray of various surgical instruments flying.
"OH! Oh dear, s- sorry, I didn't hear you." Molly smiled shyly and bent down to pick up the mess; Watson helped her as he saw that Sherlock wasn't going to.
"We're here to see the body of Gustav Hamburg Molly, if you please." Lestrade requested, he put his hands in his trench coat pockets and watched Holmes out of the corner of his eye. "Of course, he's just over here," she indicated to one of the many body drawers and led them there. "His examination was interesting to say the least." She pulled out one of the drawers and lifted the sheet off of a very stout, bearded man.
"Why was it interesting Molly?" Lestrade asked; his brow furrowed.
"For one thing, he had multiple bone fractures, but the weird thing about it is that they are identical to each of the other Hyde Park victims." Molly said. Sherlock was looking closely at Hamburg's body, paying special attention to his neck and collar bone area; John was standing directly behind him trying to peer over his shoulder. "But they all had different ways of dying?" John spoke up. Molly nodded and pointed to the deep purple bruises around his neck.
"Mr. Hamburg was strangled, but there's been poison, forced hanging, slit throats… oh yes and of course the always popular gunshot victim."
Sherlock asked to see the slit on the man's back. It wasn't a large cut, about two inches long and perpendicular to his lower spine. This made only a slight visible impression on Sherlock, "ah, yes of course." He sighed. Lestrade sent a questioning look to Watson.
"What do you notice Sherlock?" John asked him, but he knew by the way Sherlock's brows creased that they would get no answer from his companion. Holmes left the morgue abruptly only yielding to give an appreciative nod in the general direction of Molly. Watson tried to keep up to the fleeing detective; he would have to start getting fit again if Sherlock kept running about like this. Watson followed him to where he stopped by the waiting car, and noticed how his face took an appearance of examination; as if Holmes was waiting for something to happen.