After The Reichenbach Fall

CHAPTER 30

PRESENT TIME

"Private Bainbridge had just come off guard duty. He’d stood there for hours, plenty of people watching, nothing apparently wrong. He came off duty and within minutes was nearly dead from a wound in his stomach, but there was no weapon. Where did it go? Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you to consider this: a murderer who can walk through walls, a weapon that can vanish – but in all of this there is only one element which can be said to be truly remarkable. Would anyone like to make a guess?" Sherlock asked the guests and they fidget and look at each other. "Come on, come on, there is actually an element of Q and A to all of this." He clears his throat but the guests still remain silent. "Scotland Yard." He called. "Have you got a theory?" He asked, but Lestrade stares at him blankly. "Yeah, you. You’re a detective – broadly speaking. Got a theory?"

"Er, um, if the, uh, if the, if-if-if, if the blade was, er, propelled through the, um...grating in the air vent ... maybe a-a ballista or a – or a – or a catapult. Erm, somebody tiny could-could crawl in there. So, yeah, we’re loo... we’re looking for a-a-a-a dwarf." Lestrade stuttered but managed to say.

You rolled your eyes in his opinion. Really? A dwarf?

"Brilliant." Sherlock said sarcastically but it doesn't sound sarcasm.

"Really?" Greg thought he's right.

"No." You said sharply.

Greg sighs and lowers his head.

"Next!" Sherlocm said, looking round the place again.

"He stabbed himself." you heard Tom whispering to Molly, so you decided to.. "Sherlock, I think you should ask Molly's fiancé." you said, smirking to Molly who's glaring daggers on you. Tom looks round, wide-eyed.

"Tom." Sherlock called. Grimacing, Tom slowly stands up. "Got a theory?" Sherlock asked.

Tom sways nervously from foot to foot for a moment. "Um ... attempted suicide, with a blade made of compacted blood and bone; broke after piercing his abdomen ... like a meat ... dagger."

A couple of the guests snigger. You can see in Molly’s face is a picture of disbelief. She may be reconsidering her marriage options and you can't stop chuckling.

"A meat dagger." Sherlock said sharply.

"Yes." Tom answered awkwardly.

Whispering through gritted teeth, Molly said, "Sit. Down."

Sherlock said No and Tom slowly sits.

Sherlock continues, "There was one feature, and only one feature, of interest in the whole of this baffling case, and quite frankly it was the usual. John Watson – who, while me and (y/n) were trying to solve the murder, instead saved a life. There are mysteries worth solving and stories worth telling." He looks down at John. "The best and bravest man we know – and on top of that he actually knows how to do stuff." John lowers his head and chuckles with embarrassment. "... except wedding planning and serviettes – he’s rubbish at those."

"True!" John said and the guests laugh.

"The case itself remains the most ingenious and brilliantly-planned murder – or attempted murder – We’ve ever had the pleasure to encounter; the most perfect locked-room mystery of which we were aware. However, I’m not just here to praise John – I’m also here to embarrass him, so let’s move on to some ..."

"No-no, wait, so how was it ... how was it done?" Lestrade interrupted.

"How was what done?"

"The stabbing."