Sherlock was bent over a microscope in the kitchen. I was sat beside him, scrolling through my phone, looking at news articles about the death of Carl Powers. Beside Sherlock were at least three cups of cold tea. I had finished my first one not that long after receiving it from Mrs Hudson.

Speaking of Mrs Hudson, she had just wandered back into the kitchen with a tray of fresh tea.  "Don't know why I bother." She muttered to herself, obviously not impressed by the mess surrounding us. "I'm not you housekeeper." She told Sherlock, who still hadn't acknowledged the woman.

Suddenly, Sherlock sat back with a glint of triumph in his eyes. "Poison." He declared. I looked up from my phone, curious as to what he was referring to.

"I know. It's the caffeine. How about Chamomile?" Mrs Hudson suggested, thinking that Sherlock was referring to the tea.

"Clever. Clever." Sherlock mused, confusing me slightly.

"What are you on about?" Mrs Hudson asked, realising that Sherlock was not, in fact, talking about tea. At that moment, John came back in to the flat. Sherlock seemed to find John's reappearance exciting.

"Clostridium botulinum. One of the deadliest poisons on earth!" He exclaims, almost jumping with joy at his discovery.

"How about you, love? Do you want his tea?" Mrs Hudson offered to John, after handing me a cup of my own. Sherlock looked at Mrs Hudson, seemingly only noticing her now.

"Out! Out! Out!" Sherlock exclaimed, shooing her from the room. I rolled my eyes at his behaviour, biting my tongue, knowing now wasn't the time to scold him for his rudeness.

My cousin also decided to ignore it and to concentrate on the pressing matter at hand. "What? Carl Powers was murdered?" I almost spit out my tea, ending up choking slightly and coughing to try and regain my breath.

Sherlock went to his laptop and opened up his website, while John patted my back. "Remember the shoe-laces? The boy suffered from eczema. It would have been the easiest thing in the world to introduce the poison into his medication. A few hours later he came up to London for the swimming competition, the poison took effect, paralysed the muscles and he drowned." Sherlock explained, still loading up things on the laptop.

My mouth dropped open, shocked and impressed by the genius that is my boyfriend. "How come the autopsy didn't-?" John began to ask, also dumbfounded by the new realisation.

"Virtually undetectable. And no-one would've been looking for it. But here were tiny traces still inside the trainers. From where he'd rubbed the cream into his feet. That's why they had to go." Sherlock concluded, excited by his solve.

"So how do we let the bomber know that you've solved their puzzle?" I asked, standing up and walking towards my boyfriend, wrapping my  arms around his shoulders and leaning over him to read what was written on the laptop.

"FOUND. Pair of trainers belonging to Carl Powers (1978-1989). Botulinum toxin still present. Apply 221b Baker St."

"Stop the clock." Sherlock announced.

"The killer's kept the shoes? All these years?" John questioned  out loud.

"Yes. Meaning-" Sherlock began for John.

"He's our bomber."

There was a beat of silence, while we took in the information, before the pink phone began to ring. We all exchanged a glance before Sherlock answered, putting the phone on speaker.

"Well...done you. Come...and get me." She began, before becoming more desperate, obviously finishing reading from the pager. "Help me! For God's sake, please help me!" She cried.

"Where are you? Tell us where you are!" Sherlock exclaimed to the woman. I looked at John, my features filling with fear once again for the woman.

Luckily, the woman was able to describe to us where she was, information which John passed onto Lestrade who he had called. Lestrade reassured us that the bomb squad and other officers were being sent to the location as we spoke before hanging up.

John decided to head to his room while Sherlock and I went through to the living room. There was nothing we could do until the morning, when we heard back from Lestrade. I sat down on the sofa, Sherlock coming and joining me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side.

I sighed, resting my head in the crook of his neck, finally relieved that it was all over, the puzzle was solved. I heard Sherlock say something, but I didn't hear. I raised my head, looking at him. "What did you say?" I asked him.

"I'm glad you're here." He smiled, before planting a kiss on my forehead.

"I'm glad I'm here too." I smiled back, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "Can I stay on your couch tonight? I don't really feel like going home." I asked, noticing how late it had gotten.

"Of course you can stay here, but you wont be staying on the couch." He laughed slightly, shaking his head, "You take my bed, I'll sleep on the couch." He offered. I quickly began to refuse his offer but he insisted, saying he probably wouldn't be sleeping much anyway.

"Okay, I guess, if you're sure." I told him, looking in his eyes for any sign of disagreement. "I'm not super tired yet though, I'll stay out here with you for a bit." I smiled, receiving a smile in return.

The world seemed to freeze as I met his eyes. They darted down to my lips quickly, before returning my gaze. I began to lean in, my eyes fluttering shut before my lips met his.

I pulled away from the sweet kiss, smiling at my boyfriend before snuggling back in to his warm embrace. He placed a kiss on my head, before leaning back on the sofa, me lying beside him. I sighed in content, my eyes shutting and the sound of Sherlock's heartbeat lulling me to sleep.

Something shifted beneath me, followed by muffled talking. I began to stir, my eyes opening slightly, before shutting again, trying to adjust to the light. "Morning." I heard someone say from above me. I opened my eyes again and looked up, seeing the smiling face of my boyfriend looking down at me.

"Morning." I repeated, before noticing that we were both lying on the sofa. "Hey, why didn't you go to bed and leave me out here when I fell asleep?" I asked, still smiling up at him, but slightly less so.

"You looked very comfortable and I didn't want to disturb you so I just stayed here. But it's okay, I got some sleep, probably some of the best sleep I've had in a while." Sherlock hugged me closer to him.

"Okay, thank you." I sighed, "Who were you talking to before I woke up?" I asked, noticing John wasn't in the room.

"Lestrade. He phoned to let me know they found the woman and have taken her to a secure location. He wants us to head down to the station as soon as we can." He explained, as we sat up.

I nodded, before getting up from the sofa. "Well, I'll head home and get changed now and meet you at Scotland Yard once I'm ready." I told him as he followed me into the centre of the living room. He nodded, to let me know he agreed with the plan before giving me a quick kiss and heading to his bedroom.

I stood for a moment, smiling like an idiot, before snapping back into reality and leaving the apartment.

Hey guys, I just wanted to say
thank you so much for all the
support on this book.
Please comment any thoughts
or ideas you have because I
would love to hear them.  Xx