Need More Thumbs (A Sherlock & Molly Adventure)

Sherlock Holmes had been sat up all night working on an experiment. He'd drank too much coffee and was now jittery and unable to sleep. He checked the fridge and made a list of new items he needed for his work then decided to get a cab down to St Bart's. He knew Molly Hooper was working nights that week and would be able to get him what he needed, just as soon as he'd used some of the old SH charm...

Half an hour later and he was jogging down the steps to the morgue, his shoes echoing along the polished corridor floor. He peered in through the window just in time to see Molly zip up the bag on one of the corpses and make a few notes on her board. Sherlock opened the door and walked in.

"Good evening Molly," he said with a brief smile and handed her the list of items. "Wondered if you could help me out..."

Molly looked up to see Sherlock. She gave a smile and tilted her head.

"What do you need?" She saw him quicker to his step. She was curious but didn't act on her questioning. She had just finished 'bagging up' two subjects and was actually in a good mood considering she had to work late shift. Not a bother at all for her sense she has been sleeping in lately anyways.

Sherlock smiled as he ran through the list with her.

"I need a new bag of thumbs, two bags of blood samples, a severed head, hydrochloric acid and iodine. Think you can manage it?" he asked with a grin.

He saw Molly looking a little doubtful as if she was about to open her mouth to protest. Sherlock spoke quickly before she could get a word in.

"Did you erm...did you get a new eye shadow? It looks...good."

Molly pulled her head back in shock and looked down. She questioned whether to keep eye contact or not but decided to look up at him.. well not at his eyes anyways. She grinned and slightly blushed.

"Yeah, just got it last night. It was on sale." She beamed. Finally, he hasn't complimented me all week!

Sherlock beamed. "Yes, it rather suits you. I recommend you stick to that shade."

His eyes glanced down impatiently at his list, wondering whether to mention it again so soon or whether he should throw in another compliment first. He shrugged and casually waved the piece of paper.

"So err...think you could have a look for me?" he asked rather politely with a sweet smile.

Molly shook her head to clear her mind.

"Oh yes of course." She glided her way to the door as she grinned slightly. She hoped that maybe, just maybe, Sherlock saw. She turned around quickly to make sure she had everything she needed. She pulled out a pen and wrote a note to herself.

"You said you wanted a new bag of thumbs, two bags of blood samples and a severed head?" She was going to ask why but new better. Don't bother asking why. It won't make a difference

"What am I missing?" She continued. She was slightly disappointed in herself for forgetting. She knows he talks so quickly and should be able to get what he says by now. Note to self, carry notepad everywhere I go with Sherlock She unknowingly grinned.

"Hydrochloric acid and iodine," Sherlock snapped, a little too impatient that she had forgotten the list already. Why don't people actually listen? he wondered angrily to himself.

Then he remembered to soften his voice slightly and suggested with a small smile, "We might need to go up to the lab to get those."

"Yes, well" She started. We.. we might need to go up to the lab to get those She repeated the sentence to her self in her head. She slowly walked out the door keeping her eye on Sherlock hoping to see him follow. However she wasn't quite paying attention and almost walked into the door frame. She quickly regained her self and quickly ran off to get the items that Sherlock wished.

"I'll be right back with those" She said hesitantly hoping Sherlock heard.

"Idiot... Idiot.. Idiot.." She whispered to herself.

Sherlock smirked at Molly's clumsy behaviour and watched her vanish down the corridor, hurrying towards the laboratory. He was tempted to follow her but his eye got distracted by the bagged up corpse that lay on the slab in front of him.

He decided to play a fun little game to pass the time, and unzipped the bag. He took out his magnifier and began inspecting the corpse, deducing little details about the man and how he died. It was quite a fascinating affair. He clearly had a blow to the back of his head but there were also marks and abbrasions on his hands and wrists which indicated a face to face struggle. Two assailants then perhaps? He made a mental note to ask Molly about the identity of the victim when she returned.

Molly was indeed distracted still as she headed to the laboratory. She could get the hydrochloric acid and iodine there but would need to go to the other end of the hall before getting the wanted body parts. She quickly grabbed the bottles of hydrochloric acid and iodine and headed back to the room where Sherlock waited.

She walked back into the room watching Sherlock observe the body. She stared at him. He was like a kid in a candy store.

"Sherlock, do you want these in the lab upstairs? or do you want me to set them here. I have to head to the other end of the hall to get your requested .... items." She stood for a second thinking and debating on asking him. He doesn't have it figured out by now... Does he? She opened her mouth to speak...

Sherlock was quite distracted by inspecting the body and didn't notice that Molly had returned. He didn't even hear her voice talking to him, he was in his own world entirely. He lifted up the dead man's lip and peered inside his mouth at his teeth, squinting through the magnifier.

"Smoker of menthol cigarettes..." he muttered under his breath.

(replying with my phone so apologies now)

Molly looked at him. Surprised but not at the same time.
"Ah." She replied and checked her board. The persons records were right on top. She stuck the bottles in her pocket so she can get a better grip.
"Yes, he indeed was a smoker. 33 year old male, single. I take it you know how he died?"
She braced herself. She was excited to hear his reply.

(Is this prior to Reichenbach Fall?)

(( Yeah, I guess we could even go prior to Great Game...so Sherlock doesn't even know who Moriarty is...he's just a name without a face ))


Sherlock looked up with a small start, suddenly realising Molly was there. He ignored her and went back to look at the corpse. A smile flickered across his lips when he heard his deductions about the smoking were quite correct.

"Blow to the back of the head with a blunt instrument," he replied flatly when she asked him how he died. He couldn't believe she'd just asked that. Surely it should be obvious even to an idiot like Molly. Unless...unless....He stopped and stared at her, excitement dancing in his eyes.

"Wait...there's something else...isn't there?"

She looked at the records to refresh her memory. She looked up at him and gave a small grin.
"Well, that did happen... but it wasn't the killing blow.... surprisingly." She gave a blank face and thought about it for a moment. That is quite surprising that the blunt blow didn't kill the man.

The body showed no blood of any kind. Plus there was not penetration with an object. The head was swollen though no blood just bruising.

"We thought it was the blow to the head as well. But it may have been a secondary action? Double tap if you will. What actually killed him was...." She paused on purpose waiting for an answer. She always got excited to see him come to such a conclusion. There wasn't a way, or so she thought, for him to conclude really anything. Then again, it's Sherlock what else was there to expect.

((Have fun with this one...
and are we gonna ask around for more people to join? ))

Again Sherlock bent over the corpse and studied with interest the marks and abbrasions on the man's hands. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and saw the crime played out in his mind like a movie scene. When he opened his eyes again he had a smile on his face.

"The murderer comes up behind him, hits him over the back of the head. He falls. But he's not dead and he turns round. That explains why the blood on his head is smudged. I bet there was a nasty smear of it left on the carpet too. The murderer sees he's still alive, grabs a cushion off the sofa...holds it over his face. He struggles and fights, which explain the small wounds on his hands. Cause of death - asphyxiation. Am I right?"



(( Yeah, we want a Jim and John at some point right? ))

(( Right.. Do you want me to advertise on the forums?))

No words were said. Just a big smile across her face. She nodded excitedly.

"Well I'll grab the rest of your stuff you needed." She turned around and headed to the hall and went the opposite direction as before. "Fingers, Blood and a Head?" She said to herself. I really don't want to know.

(I should have made her say no just to screw with Sherlock XD )

(( yeah, go ahead! ))


Sherlock couldn't resist a small smile. He just loved being right. As Molly left to collect his remaining items, he turned to the body and zipped up the bag again. Then he turned up the collar of his coat and followed Molly out the door.

At the other end of the corridor, he entered a large room where Molly was already preparing the items on the table for him in a cardboard box. He went over to give her a hand.

"Thank you Molly," he nodded. "These will be a great help."

(gonna post a want ad... John and Moriarty? Or pretty much anyone?)
"Oh not at all. My pleasure. Umm what exactly do you need these for?" asked Molly. She put everything in the box including the two bottles in her pocket and held up a roll of tape as if to ask if he needed the box taped shut. She had some random body parts from bodies that were going to be exposed or thrown out. Sherlock has asked for body parts before and kept a small stock when she saw the part was in good shape and possibly not needed other wise.

(( Yeah, John & Moriarty...then we'll discuss storylines with them ))



"Experiments." Sherlock answered simply, and held the box down for Molly to tape up. Once that was done, he picked up the box and cradled it in his arms.

"Thanks for your help," he said and walked towards the exit.

(Posted)

"OK.. I guess. You never say why just 'Molly can you grab this and Molly can you grab that' blah blah blah." She gave a moment of pause hoping for a reaction and really got nothing. She scurried ahead of Sherlock and pushed the door open for him.

"There you go."

Sherlock nodded silently and pushed past her out onto the corridor. As
he walked off he called back without looking over his shoulder, "Let me
know if you hear of anything interesting going on..."

Then he headed outside and jumped in a taxi to take him back to 221B. He arrived home around 5am, just as it was starting to get light. Putting the severed head, thumbs and blood bags in the fridge, he turned his attention to his experiment which he had to abandon earlier due to lack of hydrochloric acid.

A couple of hours later and Sherlock was still sat at the kitchen table when he heard the sound of John pottering around, getting up to get ready for work. Great, he thought. Now he could finally get a cup of tea.



(( OK, I'll bring John in now, and then maybe Jim could write things at the same time about meeting up with or kidnapping Molly, whichever he decides is the best course of action. John and I will just hang out for a bit until something exciting happens your end and we get called in to help... ))

John was pottering in the shower getting ready for work, he enjoyed working with Sarah - it gave him a bit of normality and the money was not too bad.

He then walked into the kitchen and seeing a bright eyed Sherlock; he rubbed his eyes in fatigue - yet another nightmare. They were getting fewer in between.

"Morning. Tea?"

"John!" Sherlock exclaimed with rather a big smile on his face but without looking up from his microscope. "Yes. Most definitely. Tea. Only your tea John. Your tea is the best."

Sherlock had no idea why he was so cheerful and bright despite having stayed up all night and having no cases to work on. It could have something to do with the copious amounts of coffee he had consumed but more likely it was the fact that he had a good feeling about today. He got them occasionally. Good feelings. He just knew something exciting was going to happen soon. It was bound to. The criminal classes couldn't just stay home forever. Sooner or later one of them would get bored and Sherlock would be there waiting.

"Have you got the papers yet?" he asked, knowing full well that John had only just got out of the shower and hadn't had chance to go out.

Sherlock seemed exceptionally cheery especially for the morning - Sherlock was known not to be of a happy disposition in the morning, so John nodded and then went to make the tea for them both - he then stuck some toast on.

"What's got you so happy?" John passed the freshly brewed tea over to his flatmate. "No I haven't picked up the papers yet, I am working today so I will get Mrs Hudson to bring them up."

John then sat there buttering his toast, with lashings of jam.

Sherlock looked up finally from his microscope and noticed the tea resting on the side. He picked it up and had a sip, sighing gratefully. Then he moved his experiment to one side and watched John lathering up his toast with an excessive amount of jam.

"It's been quiet for too long John..." he said eventually. "Something's bound to come up soon. I can feel it."

Sherlock sighed when he heard John would be rushing off to work. "Do you have to go? Can't you just...hang around here?"