A Study in Reason

Chapter 17

Her heart was still racing with the adrenaline of the chase. The killer was in custody - the right guy this time - and there had been no more deaths. The surviving girls would have months, possibly years of therapy to get over the past week but they would live. Clara was feeling very pleased with herself and the team working on the case. It was after the adrenaline started to wear off she started to get bored. Her thoughts started drifting to her project, her own private investigation. She looked at Sherlock who was in the taxi beside her and wondered what the truth would do to him. Unfortunately, he noticed her staring.

"What are you hiding, Clara?" he asked. Taken by surprise, she lied.

"Nothing," she said airily. Bad move.

"Shouldn't you have learned by now that I can tell when you're lying?" he pressed. "Who is following you?"

"Am I still being followed?" she asked, trying for a casual tone. It didn't work. She hadn't continued her investigation since her meeting with Mycroft. No doubt the elder Holmes brother would know that, so why was she still being followed?

"Don't insult my intelligence, Clara, it makes you look like an idiot."

"Haven't you figured it out yet?" She asked cryptically.

"So you do know," was all he said in reply. She said nothing. "I want to know why my brother has taken an interest in you," he continued, looking at her pointedly.

"Same reason you did, I suppose," she replied.

"But that's not true. It's something to do with the library visit you took on our first case. He thinks you're up to something."

"I was. I'm not anymore," she told him, noticing the cabbie's posture change from slouched to alert. She could almost see his ears straining to catch more of their conversation. Before Sherlock had a chance to question her further, she had told the cabbie to stop the car and gotten out. Sherlock and John followed wordlessly and the cabbie drove off.

"What's going on Clara?" John asked. "We're not even halfway back to Baker Street yet!"

"Sherlock forced my hand!" Clara complained. The detective said nothing.

"Sherlock, what did you do?" John asked. "Hey!" he yelled as Clara began walking away. "Clara, what's going on?"

"Just shut up! Shut up! Both of you! Turn around and walk away and don't ask me again!" Sherlock and John stared at her. She was now pacing, hands deep in her pockets to stop them from freezing. She kept glancing up at the traffic lights a short distance away and the security cameras on the buildings behind her. "Please," she begged. "I need him to see you walk away and go back to Baker Street without me. I'll explain to him what happened and we can go back to normal."

"Normal?!" John was seriously worried now. Sherlock, however started laughing.

"Mycroft!" he yelled to the security camera at the top of the building. "Stop harassing her!"

"Sherlock, don't!"

"What has he threatened you with?" Sherlock asked in a low voice, walking closer to Clara. "Exile? Imprisonment?" She shook her head. "What, then?" he demanded. She just stared up at him, eyes telling him all he needed to know.

"Oh, Clara. What have you gotten yourself into?" he breathed.

"What is it?" John asked. "What's wrong?"

"Please, just go," Clara begged.

"Clara, listen," Sherlock said, thinking quickly. "He can't actually do that without consequences. He's not God."