Chapter 20

Outmanned and Outgunned

Greg

Greg took a drag off of his cigarette releasing a stream of smoke with a sigh as the dial tone greeted him after Sherlock had unceremoniously hung up. Greg didn't quite no what to do at this point. Sherlock didn't want help and he and Molly were out manned and outgunned. This situation was quickly going from bad to worse. In fact, at this point Greg considered it to be a complete clusterfuck. Sherlock Holmes, it always came down to Sherlock. Greg could recall the night he had spoken the words to John. "Sherlock Holmes is a great man and one day he might even be a good one." That remained to be seen. Greg had thought that he had seen Sherlock at his lowest point. Now, however, he wasn't so sure. Sherlock had always been a bit broken, but after meeting John, Greg had caught a glimpse of the good man that he knew that he could be. But, now with
John missing, Greg doubted that Sherlock would ever be the same. There was only so much pain and guilt a man could take. Greg could remember the day that they had met. The man had been fresh out of University and high as a kite, although, at the time Greg had been none the wiser.

Greg Lestrade looked at the body with a sigh as the CSI crew finished up. They had no leads and Greg was at a loss. This was the second murder in 3 months that they had failed to solve. Greg hated it when they not only failed to make an arrest, but worse had absolutely no suspects. He had a stack of cold cases that had been growing taller every year, some of the cases dating back years before he had joined the force.

Greg's eyes snapped up as a young tall posh looking bloke approached the scene. "Stay back, this is an official investigation and you'll contaminant potential evidence." Greg called. The man looked at him with disdain and the look on his face clearly said that he thought that Greg was an idiot. Great; a pompous, posh git. Greg thought bitterly.

The man paid him no mind and continued to get closer craning his neck to more closely examine the scene but still standing just outside the crime scene barrier. His eyes moved rapidly around the area as he took everything seemingly at lightening speed. He then looked Greg in the eye confidently then spoke in a rich baritone that belied his youthful appearance. "Murderer was a right handed male between the height of 5'8-5'10, sloppy, likely a crime of passion and therefore he knew the victim. Begin with the lovers, close friends and family."

Greg raised a disbelieving eyebrow unsure of whether this bloke was putting him on. "How do you know that?" He demanded. The man smirked and answered coldly.

"Deduction, Sergeant. One can pick up all kinds of things if one simply observes closely. You, for example, good at your job, workaholic, married with one child and another on the way."

"How did you? Are you spying on me?" Greg snapped. Greg eyed the man suspiciously and upon closer inspection he noticed a few things. While the clothes were expensive and the public school accent screamed high class, the man's eyes were dilated and there was a slight tremor in his hands that he couldn't completely mask. Addict? Greg dismissed the thought at quickly as it had entered his mind. No addict riding a high could have just pulled that off.

"No need. I deduced all of that from your appearance and behavior." Sherlock said without further explanation. The man came closer and whispered in Greg's ear. "Give me the crime file and I'll solve it. The name is Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221B Baker's Street." He then turned on his heel and left as mysteriously as he came leaving Greg more than a bit confused and bewildered.

Greg's phone buzzed with a text pulling him from his memories. It was from Molly. Package has been delivered. We've done all we can. Greg sighed in relief, as much as he hated leaving things unfinished, the likelihood of them finding John was slim to none, especially with Sherlock so determined to work alone. Greg pushed the feeling of guilt away and reminded himself that Mycroft was on the case and the man had more resources than either of them could ever dream of. He, or his team, was much better suited to handle this. Greg was just grateful that Molly had finally come to the same realization before things had gone completely south. If they were lucky, they might get out of this place alive.