A Study in Pink (Sherlock x Female!Reader)

Chapter 3: Pink!

The three of you sit in silence inside of the taxi for a long time. Sherlock is sitting by the window, on the passenger side, eyes fixed on his smartphone. You, sitting next to him, leaned your head against the headrest of the seat, eyes closed as you think about this case. John, who's sitting next to you, keeps stealing nervous glances at you and Sherlock.

Finally, Sherlock lowers his phone. "Okay, you've got questions." He said.

"Yeah, where are we going?" John asked.

"Crime scene. Next?" You said, eyes still closed.

"Who are you two?" Then he turns to Sherlock and asked "And what do you do?"

"What do you think?" Sherlock asked him.

"I'd say private detective...." John said, hesitantly.

"But?" You asked, eyes opened and you turned your head to face John.

"But the police don't go to private detectives. Or even work with them." He said to you.

"I'm a consulting detective. Only one in the world. I invented the job." Sherlock answered.

"What does that mean?" John asked.

"It means when the police are out of their depth, which I hate to say is always, they consult him." You replied.

"But the police don't consult amateurs." John stated.

Sherlock throws him a look and then said "When I met you for the first time, yesterday, I said 'Afghanistan or Iraq?' You seemed surprised."

"Yes, how did you know?" John asked.

"I didn't know, I saw. 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 wrist. You've been abroad, but not sunbathing. Your limp's really bad when you walk but you don't ask for a chair when you stand, like you've forgotten about it, so it's at least partly psychosomatic. That says the original circumstances of the injury were traumatic. Wounded in action, then. Wounded in action, suntan--Afghanistan or Iraq." deduced Sherlock.

"You said I had a therapist." John said.

"You've got a psychosomatic limp--of course you've got a therapist." Sherlock said, then he looked at you. You look back at him and he nods at you, like he was giving you a signal for something.
You turn back to John and said. "Then there's your brother." John looks at you confused. "May I?" You asked, holding out your hand. John gives you his phone and you turn it over and look at it before speaking again.

"Your phone. It's expensive, e-mail enabled, MP3 player, but you're looking for flatshare- you wouldn't waste money on this. It's a gift then. 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 bit's easy. You know it already." You deduced to John, who looks shocked.
"The engraving." John mumbled as you flipped the phone over and sees the engraving on the phone:

Harry Watson

From Clara

xxx

"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." You said. Sherlock smiles at you and hold his hand out to you.

You turn, smile, and hand him the phone as he looks over the phone before he finished what you started. "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 would have kept it. People do--sentiment. But no, he wanted 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." Sherlock stated.