Clique of 221B

Chapter 37: The Coffin

Further along another narrow corridor a door slides open and you all walk through. You're in a small room with black walls and floor and no window and the room is only dimly lit. On one wall there is a screen and in the middle of the room there is a light brown wooden coffin with brass handles and no lid. A single light shines above you all. Sherlock looks down into the coffin, then raises his head to look for the light. You look up and see a narrow open chimney in the middle of the ceiling from which daylight is coming. You look at the end of the room and see the lid of the coffin is propped up, its underside facing the room, the speakers click and you hear Eurus' voice,
"One more minute on the phone." You then hear the phone connect and the girl speaks,
"Frightened. I'm really frightened." Sherlock closes his eyes,
"It's okay, don't worry. I don't have very long with you, so I just need you to tell me what you can see outside the plane."
"Just the sea. I can see the sea."
"Are there ships on it?"
"No ships. I can see lights in the distance."
"Is it a city?"
"I think so." Sherlock turns and looks at you and John from where you're standing beside him at the side of the coffin. Mycroft, speaks quietly from the other side of the room,
"She's about to fly over a city in a pilotless plane. We'll have to talk her through it."
"Through what?" John asks.
"Hello? Are you still there?"
"Still here. Just give us a minute."
"Getting the plane away from any mainland, any populated areas. It has to crash in the sea." John looks at him sharply,
"What about the girl?"
"And the entire plane of people?" You say.
"Well, obviously, Doctor Watson, she's the one who's going to crash it." He blanks you. He blanked me!
"No. We could help her land it."
"And if we fail, and she crashes into a city? How many will die then?"
"How are we gonna get her to do that?"
"I'm afraid we're going to have to give her hope." Sherlock calls out to the girl,
"Is there really no-one there that can help you? Have you really, really checked?"
"Everyone's asleep. Will you help me?"
"We're going to do everything that we can."
"I'm scared. I'm really scared."
"It's all right. I-" There's a click on the speakers. Eurus appears on the screen again.
"Now, back to the matter in hand. Coffin. Problem: someone is about to die. It will be – as I understand it – a tragedy." You look at her. She looks away with a dramatically sad expression, "So many days not lived, so many words unsaid. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera." She mocks.
"Yes, yes, yes, and this – I presume – will be their coffin." Sherlock interrupts.
"Whose coffin, Sherlock? Please, start your deductions. I will apply some context in a moment." Sherlock stops pacing and  turns towards the coffin again,
"Well, allowing for the entirely pointless courtesy of headroom, I'd say this coffin is intended for someone of about five foot four. Makes it more likely to be a woman."
"Not a child?"
"A child's coffin would be more expensive. This is in the lower price range, although still best available in that bracket."
"A lonely night on Google." John mutters quietly.
"This is a practical and informed choice. Balance of probability suggests that this is for an unmarried woman distant from her close relatives. That much is suggested by the economy of choice." You glance at Mycroft who is walking in the direction of the coffin lid propped up against the wall. He picks it up and turn it to look at the top of it. "Acquainted with the process of death but unsentimental about the necessity of disposal. Also, the lining of the coffin-"
"Yes, very good, Sherlock, or we could just look at the name on the lid." He turns it towards you all. You walk closer to look at it. Sherlock sighs and closes his eyes. "Only it isn't a name." Sherlock turns away. You read the engraving,
I LOVE YOU
"So, it's for somebody who loves somebody."
"It's for somebody who loves Sherlock." He nods towards Sherlock. "This is all about you. Everything here." Sherlock walks slowly back to the coffin and puts his hands on top of it. "So who loves you? I'm assuming it's not a long list." Sherlock gazes intensely into the coffin. John walks over to his side while Mycroft leans the lid against the wall.
"Irene Adler."
"Loves him, John." You remind him.
"Don't be ridiculous. Look at the coffin. Unmarried, practical about death, alone."
John's eyes widen,
"Molly."
"Molly Hooper."
"She's perfectly safe, for the moment." The screen switches to four images from camera footage of a house. In the top right-hand corner a countdown clock appears, fixed at 03:00. "Her flat is rigged to explode in approximately three minutes."
(Sherlock stares at the screen and walks towards it. Mycroft rolls his head back in frustration.)
"Unless I hear the release code from her lips. I'm calling her on your phone, Sherlock. Make her say it."
"Oh that's just-" You start, unable to find the words. She can't say that, it'll destroy her.
"Interesting." Eurus says, staring at you. "You can witness death and even cause it, but you think it's cruel for her to say three little words?" You shake your head,
"That's what you don't understand. They're not just three words, they mean so much more than that if they're true."
"Say what?" John asks. Sherlock presses his lips together and closes his eyes.
"Obvious, surely?" Eurus tells him.
"No." John says.
"Yes." Sherlock disagrees. He turns to look at the coffin lid, now leaning against the wall with the words facing you all. You follow his gaze. Sherlock turns back to Eurus, 
"Oh, one important restriction: you're not allowed to mention in any way at all that her life is in danger. You may not – at any point – suggest that there is any form of crisis. If you do, I will end this session and her life. Are we clear?" Sherlock nods and the you hear the sound of the phone ringing. At the same time the clock on the screen begins to countdown. Jim's voice comes from the speakers,
"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tick."