Sherlock burst through the door of 221b and strode across the room grabbing Molly's laptop off the coffee table as he went. Molly followed, watching him apprehensively as he sat down in his armchair.
"You're on to something Sherlock, something that you're not telling me" She said, taking off her coat. Sherlock was silent, staring at the screen, completely absorbed in what he was reading. He wore a determined expression with a hint of a smile on his lips.
Molly sighed loudly before turning into the kitchen, she had missed breakfast that morning and was absolutely famished. She opened the fridge and searched around for anything edible. Toby jumped onto the counter beside her, staring at her expectantly with his big brown eyes. She smiled at him and petted his back, making him purr loudly. Molly glanced back at Sherlock who was still on the laptop, still staring down at it with his piercing eyes. 'He must be hungry' Molly thought to herself. 'He hasn't eaten for a day now' She watched him in worry before pulling out some sausages from the back of the fridge, they were in date, just about. She took out a clean pan from the cupboard and put it on the stove.
Sherlock rustled a bit in his armchair, his eyes darting from side to side, reading. Molly watched him as the sausages cooked, the aroma filling the kitchen. Toby watched the sausages playfully as they sizzled on the pan, his eyes full of desire. Molly giggled to herself before giving in and pulling out his cat food. She petted him gently as she prepared his meal.
A few minutes later, Molly placed a plate with two crispy brown sausages in front of Sherlock who glanced up briefly before looking back down at the laptop.
"You have to eat something Sherlock." She said, sounding more maternal than she had hoped. He looked up at her, a hint of amusement in his blue eyes before turning the laptop around to face her. Four words glared her as she stared down at the webpage.
The Bright Chapel Theory
"The Bright Chapel Theory?" Molly asked.
As she leaned in closer to read the smaller font, Sherlock snapped the laptop closed and looked up at her knowingly.
"Some kind of pun?" Molly said. "Brighton Barge...White Chapel?"
Sherlock nodded and made a gesture for her to go on.
"You know" She said sarcastically "You could just let me finish reading it..."
Sherlock sighed and smiled weakly at her.
"Are they related somehow?" Molly asked. "The murders?"
"Quite essentially" Sherlock replied.
"Fill me in please" Molly demanded "Bright Chapel?"
"It's the name of a theory produced back in the eighteen hundreds" He said, Molly watched him, still perplexed. "As Jack the Ripper was never found, people began to suppose he was still out there..hiding in the shadows, lurking undercover right under their noses" He stood up so he was face to face with Molly before continuing. "About three months after The White Chapel Murders, a disused barge floated down the Thames filled with mutilated bodies and what do you think the people assumed?" Sherlock said "That it was Jack making one more foul attack on the people of London! But it wasn't Jack the Ripper after all, the barge murder was committed by another man, Gibs. Now in the eyes of the terrified civilians, there were two deadly psychopaths waiting to strike! So a theory was produced, not a theory really..more like the product of gossip. It stated that Jack the Ripper and Gibs were associates.."
"But how does this have anything to do with Moriarty?" Molly interrupted, confusion written all over her face.
"Gibs's real name was Stephen Gibley" Sherlock said, slowly and simply.
"Moran?" Molly muttered, wondering why Moran would want to steal the identity of a 17th century murderer.
Before Molly could question him, Sherlock began rummaging through his coat pockets hurriedly. Finding nothing, he proceeded to throw off his coat and began searching around the flat impatiently.
"Where's my phone?" He said, as he rummaged through the sheets and books on the table.
"Sherlock?" Molly said, watching him with bewilderment, he wasn't listening. "Sherlock!" She yelled, more stubbornly. Sherlock suddenly turned and strode towards her.
"I know what he's planning!" He exclaimed.
"Mind filling me in?" Molly muttered sarcastically, now it was Sherlock's turn to look confused."Why did Moran take Gibley's identity...? Why are they replicating these murders..? I know you know why Sherlock ...please explain!" She said, panic filling her voice. "Please.." She begged. Sherlock walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders as she began to cry "Why are they doing this?" She squeaked.
"I'm sorry Molly" He said, realizing his fatuity. Molly sat down on his armchair, her exhaustion suddenly hitting her as she seeped down into the warm leather. Sherlock knelt down beside her before continuing.
"Years passed and the people of London began to become restless, with those two psychopaths still running loose, hiding and planning. Rumors started floating around the city that they were planning an attack, a deadly, despicable attack..." He stopped, a moment passed before he continued "An attack on London's homeless men, women and children" Molly looked at him, realization looming on her face.
"But it was just a theory, a theory produced by people scared out of their wits more than a hundred years ago!" Molly said in disbelief.
"Yes it was just a theory Molly" Sherlock said. "Until now"
"So this is what they're planning" She said in shock. Sherlock nodded grimly.
"I knew it the moment I saw the bodies in White Chapel" He said, standing up and continuing to search for his phone, if his homeless network were in danger he needed to warn them "I need to text Bill" He said, half to himself. He hadn't heard from Bill for two days now, suddenly a painful dread began to grow in his stomach.
'Oh very clever Moriarty...' Sherlock thought, pure hatred filling his body 'He's planning to dismantle my network..like I dismantled his'
"I thought you didn't care.." Molly said suddenly, Sherlock looked back at her, a look of bewilderment on his face "At the crime scene, you sounded so..unsympathetic, so inhumane.." She looked up at him in pure relief, tears spilling down her cheeks. Sherlock walked back over and knelt down beside her, he placed his two hands on Molly's cheeks and looked into her eyes, his expression was so loving, his eyes full of trust. She smiled warmly as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It was like you were gone" She said weakly.
"Well I'm here now Molly Hooper..I'm back with you now" He whispered lovingly. Kissing her lightly on the lips. "We know what they're planning now, we might be able to save them Molly" He said, with a wave of hope in his voice which made Molly smile.
He stood up, remembering that he had left his phone on the coffee table. He found it a few seconds later buried underneath some unopened post. He then grabbed his coat and threw it back on, smiling to himself determinedly as he paced out the door because for the first time since Moriarty's return, he felt one step ahead.
((I'm really, really sorry if this chapter is kind of confusing or hard to read ! I found it really difficult to write ! :))
((THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WONDERFUL REVIEWS SO FAR !)) Xxoxox