p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Once in the cab, Sherlock turned toward John./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Ask. You have questions, I can tell."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"John did in fact have quite a few, and a few things to correct. Like the fact he had a half-sister and was a werewolf, not a shifter. Werewolves mostly kept to themselves and avoided larger cities. John hadn't grown up around werewolves. After his father left when he was six, John hadn't met another werewolf until he was sixteen./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Where are we going?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Crime scene. Next question."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""What is it that you do? You left a strange text on my phone about arresting someone's brother."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""What do you think I do? "/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I'd say private detective." That didn't seem right, but Sherlock was being tight-lipped for some reason. Back at the flat he spoke readily about what he thought was correct./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""But?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"John really didn't wish to in lust his mate so early on in the developing relationship hell, they weren't even friends yet. However, it would make him open up a bit out of pride./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""The police don't hire amateurs. "/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Amateur!? " Sherlock sounded offended. John only smirked. "Let's start with the fact I knew about the fact you're an army doctor. Your haircut, the way you hold yourself, says military. But your conversation as you entered the room said trained at Bart's, so Army doctor – obvious. Your face is tanned, but no tan above the wrists. You've been abroad, but not sunbathing. You have a slight limp at times, and your shoulder which suggests you were wounded in action. That and combined with the tan, which leaves us with Afghanistan or Iraq."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"John was already impressed. The wolf preened in the knowledge that their mate was so smart. But it was clear Sherlock wasn't done yet, he had just briefly paused and had John's phone in his hands./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Now for your brother, your phone tells it all. It's expensive, e-mail enabled, MP3 player, but you're looking for a flatshare – you wouldn't waste money on this. Even if you knew how to use all of it. Clearly it's a gift. Scratches. Not one, many over time. It's been in the same pocket as keys and coins. The man sitting next to me wouldn't treat his one luxury item like this, so it's had a previous owner. Next bits easy. You know it already."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You're talking about the engraving on the back?" Carla loved to engrave and monogram things. She had engraved all of Harry's phones since they became a couple. Engraved on it was Harry Watson From Clara xxx./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Harry Watson: clearly a family member who's given you his old phone. Not your father; this is a young man's gadget. Could be a cousin, but you're a war hero who can't find a place to live. Unlikely you've got an extended family, certainly not one you're close to, so brother it is. Now, Clara. Who's Clara? Three kisses says it's a romantic attachment. The expense of the phone says wife, not girlfriend. She must have given it to him recently – this model's only six months old. Marriage in trouble then – six months on he's just given it away. If she'd left him, he'd have kept it. People do – sentiment. But no, he wanted to get rid of it. He left her. He gave the phone to you: that says he wants you to stay in touch. You're looking for cheap accommodation, but you're not going to your brother for help: that says you've got problems with him. Maybe you liked his wife; maybe you don't like his drinking. Either way you're here now."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""How can you possibly know about the drinking? Everything up to that point makes sense." John asked, amazed./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Shot in the dark. Good one, though. Power connection: tiny little scuff marks around the edge of it. Every night he goes to plug it in to charge but his hands are shaking. You rarely see those marks on a sober man's phone unless he has a condition that causes tremors, but you never see a drunk's without them."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Sherlock handed John his phone back with a smirk on his face. "Sherlock Holmes: consultant detective, only one in the world."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That was amazing, incredible even." Sherlock looked at him, shocked that smirk gone from his face./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""You really mean that?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Of course I do. I've never seen anything like it, I figured you were smart; didn't know you were a genius."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""That's not what most people say."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Why not? It's true. I guess they must be fools. What do they normally say?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Piss off, mostly."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Such a shame really."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"They arrived. Sherlock paid the cabbie and they climbed out ./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""So, anything I got wrong?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""A few things: Harry's my half-sister, short for Harriet. She lives above the bar she co-owns which is too small for me to stay. Clara and her are indeed separated."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""A sister! There's always something."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13.23px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""One more thing, I'm not a coyote-shifter I'm a-"/p

"Well look who it is, what are you doing here, freak?" A black woman interrupted John before he could tell Sherlock that he was a werewolf.

He really didn't like her calling Sherlock a freak, she smelled like a spring field underneath the male deodorant that was almost overwhelming. John recognized the scent of clovers and daisy's, she was a rabbit-shifter. They tended to be either sweet and kind people or abrasive and rude. John had a feeling she was the latter.

"I was invited by DI Lestrade. It's nice to see you too, Sergeant Donovan." Sherlock replied sarcastically. "Thought you'd be in a better mood today since you didn't make it home last night."

Her face flushed and she looked away. "I have no idea what you're talking about. " She turned to John. "Who's this?"

"Doctor John Watson. He's a colleague."

"You have a colleague? Did you have to pay him to follow you around?"

"Of course not."

"Would it be better if I just wait here?" John ignored the woman, not wanting to lose his temper. The wolf wanted to put the little rabbit in her place and teach her not to insult their mate.

"No." Sherlock lifted the yellow police tape for him to step under as Sergeant Donovan used her radio to let the others know they were coming.

"Freaks on his way."

John followed Sherlock, resisting the urge to snarl at her as they passed. Unfortunately, they ran into someone else, wearing an ungodly amount of cologne on top of everything else. John wanted to wrinkle his nose in disgust. But he could smell the hint of magic coming off him.

"Don't contaminate my crime scene, you hear me?"

"Ah, Anderson, how long is your wife gone for this time?" Sherlock asked with a sneer on his face.

"How could you possibly know that?!"

"Your deodorant, of course, it's for men."

"Yeah, so? I'm a man."

"But Sally's not and she's wearing the same kind." Sherlock said, the sneer still showing.

"Just what are you implying!?" Anderson spoke slightly panicked.

"Oh, nothing. I'm sure you just had her scrub your floors from the state on her knees." With that, Sherlock flounced off.

John snickered when Anderson was out of earshot. Sherlock's lip twitched up in a small smile.

"Who's he?" The grey-haired cat-shifter from earlier questioned. He smelled of pine and frost of cool winter nights in the woods blanked in snow. "What's he doing here? This is a crime scene, Sherlock."

"He's with me." Sherlock replied.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Doctor John Watson. Nice to meet you." John offered his hand, trying to seem harmless, but the hesitant look DI gave him made the wolf like him. He was clearly smart and recognized a superior predator.

"Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade "

"Yes, yes, there's a dead body waiting for us, so let's hurry this along."

"Upstairs."

The DI led them upstairs after John put on protective gear. He still had no idea why he was here.

"Sherlock, what am I doing here?"

"Assisting me." Sherlock said before running up the stairs.

John could hear the DI talking to Sherlock as he walked up the stairs.

"Her name's Jennifer Wilson according to her credit cards. We're running them now for contact details. Hasn't been here long. Some kids found her."

John watched Sherlock as he moved around the body with an easy grace. It was a shame he still had the coat on, John would have loved to look at his arse once again, but Sherlock was focused on the pink lady who smelled like flowers. John had a feeling if he got closer, he would smell the taint of a black witch. The flowers he was smelling were all poisonous: monkshood, foxglove, and Daphne were the ones he recognized. One his ex's was obsessed with deadly plants and flowers.

"Got anything?"

"Not much." Sherlock was on his phone searching for something.

"She's German. Rache means revenge. It might be a message." Anderson spoke, leaning against the door frame.

If he really was a wizard, he should be able to detect magic of all sorts, but Sherlock had mentioned his incompetence. While John had no doubt it was a message, revenge sounded ridiculous. He had held many a men as they died, not once did they say anything remotely close to that. His most certainly weren't.

"So she's German?" At least the DI sounded doubtful.

"Of course she's not. She's from out of town, though. Intended to stay in London for the night before returning home to Cardiff. It's quite obvious if you simply observe." Sherlock said smugly as he slammed the door in Anderson's face.

"Well, it's not obvious to me, so explain yourself. I know you're dying to show off as usual. "

Sherlock ignored him and turned to John. He could get lost in the pale kaleidoscope eyes of his eyes.

"John, take a look. I want your opinion on cause of death."

"Now hold up, there's plenty of medical examiners to do so. Sherlock." The DI tried to protest.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Fine. Ignore me, but you have two minutes before I come back, and he better be done, Sherlock." Lestrade left the room

John walked over to the woman and did a quick exam. He had been right- the closer he got, the more he could smell the taint of a black witch.

"Well?"

"Asphyxiation. Passed out, choked on her own vomit. Black witch involved somehow. I can smell a mix of monkshood, foxglove, and Daphne. But the witch wasn't with her when she died."

Sherlock smiled at him like he was some interesting bug under a microscope that he wanted to study. It shouldn't have please him so, but it did. What this man, this vampire, did to him in such a short amount of time was astounding.

"You can come back now, Lestrade."

The cat-shifter entered the room. "Well, what can you tell me about our victim?"

"Victim is in her late thirties. Professional person, going by her clothes; I'm guessing something in the media, going by the frankly alarming shade of pink. travelled from Cardiff today, intending to stay in London for one night. It's obvious from the fact that she was dragging a suitcase."

"Suitcase?" Lestrange asked

"Suitcase, yes. She's been married at least ten years, but not happily. She's had a string of lovers but none of them knew she was married."

Lestrade sighed. "You better not be making this up."

Sherlock glared at him but carried on. "Her wedding ring. Ten years old at least. The rest of her jewelry has been regularly cleaned, but not her wedding ring. State of her marriage right there. The inside of the ring is shinier than the outside – that means it's regularly removed. The only polishing it gets is when she works it off her finger. It's not for work; look at her nails. She doesn't work with her hands, so what- or rather- who does she remove her rings for? Clearly not one lover; she'd never sustain the fiction of being single over that amount of time, so more likely a string of them. Simple."

John was amazed and couldn't help but to praise his mate. "That's brilliant!"

Sherlock preened at the compliment.

"How in the world did you get Cardiff?" Lestrade questioned.

"It's quite obvious." Sherlock huffed.

"No, not really."

"Sorry, no." John apologized.

"Dear God, what is it like in your funny little brains? It must be so boring." Sherlock stared at them, shaking his head before going back to showing off. "Her coat: it's slightly damp. She's been in heavy rain in the last few hours. No rain anywhere in London in that time. Under her coat collar is damp, too. She's turned it up against the wind. She's got an umbrella in her left-hand pocket but it's dry and unused: not just wind, strong wind – too strong to use her umbrella. We know from her suitcase that she was intending to stay overnight, so she must have come a decent distance but she can't have travelled more than two or three hours because her coat still hasn't dried. So, where has there been heavy rain and strong wind within the radius of that travel time?" He showed them his phone. "Cardiff."

"Thats fantastic! " John exclaimed. Sherlock was a genius, plain and simple.

Sherlock looked at him for a moment with curious eyes. "You're aware you do that out loud right?"

"Of course I know. I intended to."