The Great Game (Sherlock x Female!Reader)

Chapter 3: Carl Powers and Janus Cars

You and the boys were in a taxi, heading back home, when Sherlock was explaining the Carl Powers case. "1989, a young kid-champion swimmer- came up from Bighton for a school sports tournament; drowned in the pool. Tragic accident. You wouldn't remember it. Why should you?" Sherlock said to John as he showed him the front page of the news on his phone.

"But you two remember." John said.

"Yes." You and Sherlock said.

"Something fishy about it?" asked John.

"Nobody thought so-nobody except me. I was only a kid myself. I read about it in the papers." Sherlock replied.

"I just remember hearing my parents and their friends talk about it when I was young as well. I thought it was rather strange." You said.

"The boy, Carl Powers, had some kind of fit in the water, but by the time they got him out it was too late. But there was something wrong; something I couldn't get out of my head." Sherlock said.

"What?" John asked.

"His shoes." Sherlock remarked.

"What about them?" John asked.

"They weren't there. I made a fuss; I tried to get the police interested, but nobody seemed to think it was important. He'd left all the rest of his clothes in his locker, but there was no sign of his shoes..." Sherlock said. You lean down and pick up the bag containing the trainers. "Until now." You said.

SIX HOURS TO GO

​​​​​​​Sherlock shut himself in the kitchen and is sitting at the table with the trainers nearby while looking through photographs and printouts of newspaper reports of Carl Powers death from 1989.

Unfortunately, you couldn't help since you had to go and take care of some boring burglary case and you were stuck there for three hours. While you were gone, Sherlock told John to go and deal with the case Mycroft wanted solved while Sherlock went to run some more test.

​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​THREE HOURS TO GO

​​​​​​​You walked into the kitchen as Sherlock looks up from the microscope.

"Poison." He said.

"I'm sorry?" You asked. Sherlock slams his hand down on the table.

"Clostridium botulinum!" He exclaimed.

"That's one of the deadliest poisons in the world....you're saying he was murdered." You said.

Sherlock stands up and walks over to where he has hung up the laces from the shoes. "Remember the shoelaces?" He asked you.

"Yes, the boy suffered from eczema." You said as John walks into the kitchen.

"It'd be the easiest thing in the world to introduce the poison into his medication. Two hours later he comes up to London, the poison takes effect, paralyses the muscles and he drowns." Sherlock said.

"What--how-how come the autopsy didn't pick it up?" John asked.

"It's virtually undetectable. Nobody would have been looking for it." You replied as Sherlock walks to the table where his laptop is lying. The page is open at the Forum of his website and he begins to type into the message box:

​​​​​​​FOUND. Pair of trainers belonging to Carl Powers (1978-1989)

Botulinum toxin present. Apply 221b Baker St.