31. Trust issues

                                    

                                          
When the police officers leave and drive Giulia away, the room falls into an odd, muffled silence. John and Sherlock are unable to move, speak or react. They have turned into pillars of salt about to collapse.
After several seconds of stillness and shock, John shakes his head and mutters, "What just happened?"
Sherlock keeps staring blankly into the void and murmurs, "Giulia got arrested."
John blinks, still trying to grasp the meaning of that scene. "Yeah, I saw that. But why?"
"Manslaughter. Possibly intentional," Holmes replies in a seemingly indifferent tone.
"That's crazy."
"These are the accusations they are going to charge her with. Those police officers had an arrest warrant, which means they have incriminating evidence against her. It is a very serious matter," Sherlock rebuts plainly; there is no trace of any emotion in his voice.
John takes a deep breath to clear his mind and asks hesitantly, "How do we work it out?"
The detective snaps his head up and frowns.
"Work what out, precisely? You want to fix the fact that our flatmate is a murderer?"
"You've got to be kidding me. You can't believe it," John protests, searching for his eyes.
Sherlock averts his gaze and replies bluntly, "I know it's difficult to accept, but we have to stick to the facts."
"I couldn't agree more. The facts, Sherlock, not some crazy fantasy," Watson hisses, clenching his fists.
"She has always acted suspiciously, and this is not a figment of my imagination. You, too, doubted Giulia and made me follow her throughout the city during her first week in Baker Street, remember?"
"Yes. We followed her and didn't find the slightest hint that she could be dangerous," John remarks.
"But she almost immediately noticed that we were tailing her so that stalking chase didn't prove anything in the end. She might have changed her plans that day. She told us she deliberately walked for miles on end to get revenge for our mistrust," Sherlock recalls. That was the first time she proved to possess uncommon and intriguing skills, he reflects. Not everyone has such acute situational awareness.
"I would've done the same, honestly. Also, we're talking about an event that happened over two months ago. We've been living with her for weeks; we share a flat, and we spend several hours with her every single day. Do you honestly think that we wouldn't notice if she were a killer? Don't you trust your deduction skills anymore?" John teases him, hoping for a reaction.
Sherlock glares at him. "I do. And my skills are telling me that her behaviour was always strange. She practically solved the twins' case before me. She deciphered the code hidden in the crossword puzzle and understood the intentions of the terrorists. You witnessed it all. She has peculiar capabilities and is very smart."
"So now, just because she has proved to be smart, you think you have every right to believe that she committed murder, right?"
"What's wrong with that? People do it all the time with me"
John nods and exhibits his disappointed, tight-lipped smile.
"You're right. People do it, and they usually assume you are the murderer. But I never did, not even when I found you with Jennifer Wilson's suitcase, during our first case, and I had known you for less than a day, back then. Since I trusted you at that time, now you'll do me the favour of considering the possibility that Giulia might have been framed."
Sherlock holds his gaze for some seconds, then sighs.
"I can give her the benefit of the doubt, but I want the truth, and I need evidence."
"Very well. Find it, then."

New Scotland Yard
In the meantime, Lestrade escorts Giulia into the police headquarters. When they enter the building, they bump into an officer in her thirties.
"Is she the killer?" The policewoman asks, scrutinising her from head to toe.
"Alleged killer," Giulia underscores, twitching her lips.
"This is Sergeant Sally Donovan," Lestrade introduces her briefly, then adds, "Donovan, could you search her and confiscate every item in her possession?"
"Don't bother. I have only my phone." She pulls it out of her pocket and hands it to Donovan, who takes it warily.
"You didn't give me time to collect much else when we left Baker Street," Giulia comments sarcastically, simpering at Lestrade.
"Did you say Baker Street? You live with Sherlock Holmes?" Donovan asks, stunned. "How appropriate. A psychopath has a killer for a flatmate; it sounds like a joke," she jests.
"Sherlock is not a psychopath. And I most definitely am not a killer," Giulia spits out angrily.
"Okay, that's enough," Greg intervenes, gesturing her toward the holding room.
"Just a moment." She stops in the middle of the hall. "Do I have the right to make a call?"
"Yes, you do. But make it quick." He passes a hand through his greying hair, pointing at a phone on the opposite wall.
"If I were you, I'd contact the best attorney in England," Donovan sneers.
Giulia flashes her a cunning smile. "I have something better in mind."
Baker Street
Sherlock's phone suddenly starts ringing. He frowns at the screen and picks up. He doesn't need to say anything; the caller talks quickly on the device without giving him time to reply.
John cannot catch a single word or the context of the conversation. He only hears Sherlock answer rather enthusiastically, "Of course. I'm on my way." Then he hangs up and runs to the other side of the living room to take his coat and scarf from the coat rack.
"Who was that?" Watson inquires, confused.
Holmes beams at him. "Scotland Yard. I'm heading there right now."
John's face radiates hope as he asks, "Why?"
The detective flips his collar up and shrugs as if he was talking about casual tea with friends.
"I'm going to question the prime suspect in the murder investigation."