Hooked (teenlock)

Chapter Eleven

John and I took a cab to Lilly's house this time, despite having more than enough time to walk. We had to save our energy for the approaching interrogation. This time, John had called Lilly to let her know of our forthcoming visit.

When we knocked on the tasteful front door, thankfully, it wasn't the brat Harrison who stood before us. Lilly was wearing a casual outfit, but kept the same habits with her makeup. Why so much? It was obvious that she'd been lying on the couch for the past hour (Creases in shirt indicate being in a relaxed position for a long time. Crisp crumbs on thigh.), and yet, her makeup was heavy. Certainly it wasn't just a habit to wear so much... Right?

"Hello, boys! Are you ready to check out a corpse?" Lilly spoke with false enthusiasm, but her smile seemed sincere, as far as I could tell.

"Yeah, um... Where are your kids?" asked John.

She seemed to be constantly beaming (she was in a better mood than I'd ever seen anyone experience, I believe), but spoke confidently, honestly. "Daycare. I'm honestly not sure what I'd do without it."

I raised an eyebrow, cautious. "Right. So, Molly?"

Lilly smiled. "Of course. I can give you boys a ride to the hospital, if you like."

I exchanged a look with John. On one hand, riding in a car with a potential murderer was suicide. On the other, we couldn't let Lilly know that we were at all suspicious of her. "Yes, that would be... Convenient. Right, John?"

He looked at me like I was completely insane. "Well, uh..."

I cut him off, giving Lilly a massive grin. "Yes. Please."

She laughed lightly and led us down her driveway, to her car. "You kids are weird these days. Hop in."

The interior of the car was completely normal for a family with kids. Crisp wrappers on the floor, probably from the kids. Van seats eight, definitely a family car. Not cheap, not expensive. Known to be especially safe, which means Lilly cares an awful lot for her children. Hasn't been washed for many months. Low priority?  

John leaned into me and began to whisper once Lilly had started to drive. "Sherlock? Are you trying to get us killed?"

I pursed my lips. "I know this isn't the greatest situation to be in, but we can't seem suspicious."

"You're telling me to stop acting suspicious, and you're over there deducing the car!"

"What? How did you know that I was doing that?"

"You aren't exactly subtle, Sherlock. You always zone out and when you look around, your neck goes every which way like you're about to break it."

"Is that really abnormal?"

"Actually, yeah. We aren't owls."

Lilly adjusted her rearview mirror and looked back at us. "How are you two doing back there?"

"Brilliantly, thank you," John said quickly.

She raised her eyebrows and focused back on the road. "Well, alrighty then. We're almost there."

After just a few more minutes of (silent) driving, we arrived in front of St. Bart's Hospital. Lilly parked, and the three of us hopped out into the chilly afternoon air.

Molly's corpse was being kept on one of the lower levels of the hospital. Lilly led us down winding hall after winding hall, until, finally, we reached a large open room with what seemed to be many rows of file cabinets covering the walls. Other than that, it was bare but for a large metal table.