Against the Odds

Chapter 15: Betrayal

Sherlock P.O.V.

Over the next six months, the camera phone and, unbeknownst to anyone, Rose became Sherlock's obsession. He worked on the camera phone, trying to solve the riddle Adler had left him with. And when no one was looking, he tried to solve the mystery that was Rosanne Jones. Since their kiss, she had kept a distance and he had kept his, because there was an unspoken challenge.

It had never occurred to him that he knew next to nothing about the woman he had called a friend for over a year now. And to claim to love someone when such was the case was unacceptable to the two genii.

Sherlock soon found all the facts that Mycroft's men had uncovered, but something was beginning to bother him. He even hacked into her phone on one occasion but the only thing wrong with it was that it was now missing the texts from her ex-boyfriend. It could be nothing... but he doubted it. Rose was clever, and she would know he would check her phone. If she had deleted the messages, it meant something. He just had to figure out what.

He began to watch her intently, and soon realized that the more he watched, the more she gave away to him. He knew she was aware of each time he watched her, now with new eyes, and he knew she didn't flatter herself.

The first time he'd tried and she'd caught him, instead of shutting him out her eyes had narrowed just slightly and she'd let go of the veil surrounding her for just a moment And so it went every time- he'd bide his time to spy on her actions covertly, and she'd reveal something if no one else was looking. And the more he found, the more he wondered: Who was Rosanne Jones?

Paired with the puzzle that was the camera phone, Sherlock's mind was fully captivated. And while it made him alert, he was also becoming increasingly frustrated.

One particular day, he was x-raying the phone at Bart's. Between the scans and the knowledge that Rose was at work down the corridor, Sherlock's brain was working at full capacity. At around lunch time, the door opened and he glanced up, almost hoping it was Rose, but he was disappointed as Molly Hooper walked in.

He turned back to the computer, reading the scans as the woman came up and looked at what he was working on. "Is that a phone?" She asked and Sherlock corrected without looking at her: "It's a camera phone." She looked confused and she asked after a pause: "And you're x-raying it?"

"Yes, I am." Sherlock replied as he watched the scans. Molly asked lightly: "Whose phone is it?" "A woman's." He replied flatly. He was so focused he didn't see Molly' face fall a little, but he was surprised regardless as she asked: "Your girlfriend?"

He asked in disbelief: "You think she's my girlfriend because I'm x-raying her possessions?" Molly shrugged as she said laughingly: "Well, we all do silly things!" And something clicked in Sherlock's mind. He paused and he murmured: "Yes. They do, don't they?" He looked at Molly briefly. "Very silly."

He stood sharply, reaching for the camera phone inside the x-ray machine. He murmured as he turned the phone on: "She sent this to my address, and she loves to play games." He typed in 221B into the passcode message that read: 'I am _ _ _ _ Locked' while Molly asked, hurt: "She does?"

But Sherlock didn't hear as the phone beeped: 'Wrong Passcode. 2 attempts remaining'. Irritated, he put the phone down and began to try something else while Molly looked hurt as she walked out quickly.

*********

Sherlock returned to his flat but paused as he stepped into the landing. There was a faint smell that was foreign to their usual flat. He sniffed, and then walked into the kitchen slowly. He sniffed again, the smell a little stronger. He paused when he saw the kitchen window slightly open. He walked to it, touching it as he sniffed again.