Watson's Woes July 2016

by Pompey

It's that time of year again when we torture our favorite doctor on a daily basis! Answering the July daily challenges from the LJ Community Watson's Woes. (These stories will be of varying lengths, varying universes/fandoms, varying tones, and varying ratings. Rating this whole thing as "T" for safety.)

12. July 12 - The 6 Cream Napoleons

Title: The Six Cream Napoleons

Author: Pompey

Universe: Elementary

Rating: G

Warnings: slight crackiness

Word count: 325

Summary: Dupin and Sherlock know the best place to hide something is in plain sight. I didn't exactly follow the picture prompt, just what the picture inspired me to think of.

Prompt: July 12 – picture prompt (poodle with the matching poodle cupcakes)

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Sherlock swung his arm theatrically at the display case. "What do you see?"

Gregson raised his eyebrows. "Ummm . . . desserts?"

"Napoleons?" Joan hazarded.

Sherlock huffed. "Yes, napoleons, or 'mille-feuilles' as the French call them. But what do you notice about them?"

"They're ungodly expensive?"

Before Sherlock could show his exasperation again, Joan squinted at the six squares of sugariness in front of them. "That one has dark chocolate chevrons on it. The others have a lighter chocolate."

"Well done, Joan. Odd, wouldn't you say, that such a high-end pastry shop shows such a lack of uniformity?"

Gregson shrugged. "So one's got dark chocolate and the others don't. Maybe they're selling a couple different kinds of napoleon."

"No," Joan said, really more thinking out loud than anything else. "If they were, they would be advertising the different kinds, like they're doing for the chocolate chip cookies. And that dark chocolate one is in the back. You wouldn't notice it's different unless you were really looking for it."

"Or if you were trying to hide something without losing sight of it yourself." Sherlock darted behind the counter, seized the oddball napoleon, and snapped it in half. Everyone stared expectantly at the mixture of crumbled puff pastry, cream, and chocolate in his hands. Then, slowly, as he pulled the pieces apart, very thin and flat sheets that were definitely not part of the dessert came to light. Sherlock pulled one of the things between his fingers to remove the filling and reveal –

"That's a hundred dollar bill!" Gregson exclaimed. "How many more are in that thing?"

"There's at least four more in this napoleon alone. I daresay we'll find the rest of the bills hidden in that rack of napoleons. I give the chef full marks for creativity and practicality. What could be a better blind for smuggling their stolen money out of the store than a customer coming in to buy a couple of treats?"