Mummy pulls a hankie from her sleeve and wipes her face. “Do you think I could have a drink, dear?” She asks Kate.
“Of course. What would you like Mummy?”
“I think something stronger than tea, dear…vodka. neat. shots. If you want the tale, I think you should probably join me…” She downs a shot and begins.
“My poor boys, they were so upset at the funeral.”
“How long ago did he pass away?”
Answers without pausing - “Twelve years, six months, and fourteen days. It is an easy date to recall, not just for what happened, but because it was the start of a new millennium, dear. One without him” Drinks another shot.
“The funeral was the start of the -er hostility between Mycroft and me, you see, dear. The boys were adults - but Sherlock was at University, and Mycroft was working for the Government, so, he had more information about it than Sherlock - and there is nothing as dangerous as a little information, darling!”
Mummy pushes the empty shot glass towards Kate who pours her another, finishing her own. and refilling it. Kate gets the feeling she’ll need it. “But he doesn’t have the whole story, I take it?”
“I would hope not, dear. I went to great pains to ensure he didn’t. He idolised his father, and you don’t remove a boy’s heroes, even when the boy becomes a man who should know better.”
Mummy sighs and swigs another shot. “I’ve told you dear, I was a little wild.” She chuckles. “I ran hot, indeed, and well, I was considered to be fair of face and figure.” A faint tinge of pink rises on her cheeks. “It’s amazing what a daring beautiful young woman can achieve” she says as she gazes at Kate, a little tipsy, maybe.
“I wanted back into my Government job, once Sherlock was sent off to school. A Mummy is a very good cover, dear. I moved in the right social circles, was always attending all manner of events, doing favours, sending parcels to people. They should have said no.” She shakes her head sadly. “So many years out of the field, but I was persuasive.”
Mummy looks up at Kate curious to see if there is any reaction. She really doesn’t want to get to the bad memories. But they are lurking, right there, the flood gates have opened. She reaches for the bottle.
Mummy sighs and swigs another shot. “I’ve told you dear, I was a little wild.” She chuckles. “I ran hot, indeed, and well, I was considered to be fair of face and figure.” A faint tinge of pink rises on her cheeks. “It’s amazing what a daring beautiful young woman can achieve” she says as she gazes at Kate, a little tipsy, maybe.
“I wanted back into my Government job, once Sherlock was sent off to school. A Mummy is a very good cover, dear. I moved in the right social circles, was always attending all manner of events, doing favours, sending parcels to people. They should have said no.” She shakes her head sadly. “So many years out of the field, but I was persuasive.”
Mummy looks up at Kate curious to see if there is any reaction. She really doesn’t want to get to the bad memories. But they are lurking, right there, the flood gates have opened. She reaches for the bottle.
Kate’s eyes were kind as she gazed at Mummy. She knew the worst was yet to come, and downed a shot to prepare for it. “I can tell you were a beautiful woman - you still are. I didn’t know you had worked for the government.”
“The files were destroyed to protect the family, but I’ve seen my dossier on Mycroft’s desk, I think he’s piecing together some of it.” She frowns as she downs another vodka shot, a little slower this time.
“And then, dear, I met him. When Sherlock went up to Uni. He worked there, so it was a good cover. It was an assignment, at first. But I was bored, and he was charming. If only I’d known his end-game.” She sags a little. “I was played, I think, no I was - but maybe…” She frowns through her muddled thoughts and more muddled feelings. “Even to this day, that charm derails and confounds me. Maybe he found me an interesting… toy?” Mummy shrugs. “But it turned out it wasn’t me he was interested in, it was my boys…”
Kates hands started shaking. She had a horrible feeling. She downed her own shot, her weakened state causing the alcohol to hit her a little harder than normal. “Him…. Professor Moriarty?”
Mummy looks despondent. “I see you’ve heard of him - well, with Mycroft, of course, it was bound to come up, I suppose… Yes, he was very interested in knowing all he could about the boys, especially Sherlock.” She takes another drink. “Anyway, dear, in the end, the assignment was clearly compromised, in finding out all we could about the Professor, he likewise found out about the Holmes’s.
“What’s worse, my husband got suspicious and followed me.” Her bottom lip starts to tremble. “I will spare you the sordid scene that ensued - but the Professor did meet with him afterwards, I believe, in one of my husband’s clubs. Fortunately one that forbids duelling.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes, then gets serious again. “Apparently he hinted that he had known me for decades, that he was interested only in the welfare of the boys…”
Mummy takes a deep breath knowing the heartache she is about to revisit. “He convinced him… of my unworthiness, and treachery, to the marriage, to him, to my boys. I denied it to his face, but it only made him angrier and more convinced that Moriarty was truly their father.”
Mummy finishes her shot. “And that’s when he played his trump card, dear.” She pushes the glass toward Kate yet again. “Me.”
“What’s worse, my husband got suspicious and followed me.” Her bottom lip starts to tremble. “I will spare you the sordid scene that ensued - but the Professor did meet with him afterwards, I believe, in one of my husband’s clubs. Fortunately one that forbids duelling.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes, then gets serious again. “Apparently he hinted that he had known me for decades, that he was interested only in the welfare of the boys…”
Mummy takes a deep breath knowing the heartache she is about to revisit. “He convinced him… of my unworthiness, and treachery, to the marriage, to him, to my boys. I denied it to his face, but it only made him angrier and more convinced that Moriarty was truly their father.”
Mummy finishes her shot. “And that’s when he played his trump card, dear.” She pushes the glass toward Kate yet again. “Me.”
Kate frowns. “But it’s not true, is it? He’s not their father?”
“Of course not, dear. But having my husband find me with the Professor as he did, made it hard to deny.”
“You were found-” ‘Oh my God’ she thinks as she takes a shot and downs it “-in a delicate situation?”
Mummy hangs her head. “The most shameful day of my life, dear. I’m sure Mycroft knows about that part” She sighs and pours another shot.
Kate lays a hand over Mummy’s “Was it only for your job? Or did you have feelings for him?”
“It was initially a game, fun and exciting. Cat and mouse.” She hesitates “Yes, I was in love… with the game.” She can’t bring herself to admit to anything more. There is no love in her heart, not anymore.
Kate shivers at the word ‘game’. “The Professor is all about the game. What happened next?”
Mummy pours herself another drink. How many was that now? She wasn’t sure, but her head was starting to get fuzzy.
“Well, dear, the marriage was in shambles. My husband had of course found me in my shame - and for my part, I couldn’t tell him it was just work. He didn’t know I was anything more than a wife and mother. That I served my Queen and country. And in truth, this work was… pleasurable.
“The seed was sown in his mind about the boys, just a tiny hint of doubt. The boys may not be his… Yes, the Professor was clever. No proof, from history, just a convincing man and the present doubt about the fidelity of your wife. Mix the ingredients, and let it brew. If the wife is foolish enough to protest her innocence, then that too adds extra spice to his cunning game.
“Then comes the checkmate move. Mycroft, Sherlock, and my husband, going about their everyday lives with no idea that death is following them, has them in the sights of a sniper’s rifle. My ultimatum is delivered romantically in a bouquet of pale pink roses. Publicly claim the boys are Moriarty’s.
“My disgrace, I could probably bear, but humiliate my husband and leave my boys open to his advances - no, I refused to be his pawn. I knew he wouldn’t touch Sherlock, and possibly not Mycroft. But I had to protect my husband as best I could. He was the priority. I decided the best way to do this was to fake his death - but it went wrong” Her voice breaks. “Horribly wrong.” She quietly starts to cry again.
“Well, dear, the marriage was in shambles. My husband had of course found me in my shame - and for my part, I couldn’t tell him it was just work. He didn’t know I was anything more than a wife and mother. That I served my Queen and country. And in truth, this work was… pleasurable.
“The seed was sown in his mind about the boys, just a tiny hint of doubt. The boys may not be his… Yes, the Professor was clever. No proof, from history, just a convincing man and the present doubt about the fidelity of your wife. Mix the ingredients, and let it brew. If the wife is foolish enough to protest her innocence, then that too adds extra spice to his cunning game.
“Then comes the checkmate move. Mycroft, Sherlock, and my husband, going about their everyday lives with no idea that death is following them, has them in the sights of a sniper’s rifle. My ultimatum is delivered romantically in a bouquet of pale pink roses. Publicly claim the boys are Moriarty’s.
“My disgrace, I could probably bear, but humiliate my husband and leave my boys open to his advances - no, I refused to be his pawn. I knew he wouldn’t touch Sherlock, and possibly not Mycroft. But I had to protect my husband as best I could. He was the priority. I decided the best way to do this was to fake his death - but it went wrong” Her voice breaks. “Horribly wrong.” She quietly starts to cry again.
Tears fill Kate’s eyes as she listens to the story. She couldn’t help but think there wasn’t enough vodka in the world… “Was your husband agreeable to having his death faked?”
Mummy empties the vodka shot, pours another and looks at it, turning the glass in her fingers.
“Of course, he wouldn’t talk to me at first - certainly not about anything related to the Professor. Thank goodness, my contacts in the Government were able to convince him of the danger to the boys, so that I was able eventually to talk to him about my plan. I felt hope, that we could beat this and repair what we had. Win back some of his trust. I convinced him that to fake his death would buy their protection until the Professor was caught.
“Of course, he wouldn’t talk to me at first - certainly not about anything related to the Professor. Thank goodness, my contacts in the Government were able to convince him of the danger to the boys, so that I was able eventually to talk to him about my plan. I felt hope, that we could beat this and repair what we had. Win back some of his trust. I convinced him that to fake his death would buy their protection until the Professor was caught.
“He agreed to the ruse - it needed to look like a natural death, somewhere public with witnesses, an ambulance ride to hospital and there I would arrange his revival and temporary disappearance. For security, I was the only one who knew the death was fake.
“The irony of the poison’s name was not lost on me - “Heart’s Ease”. A toxic mix of pufferfish and toad venom that creates paralysis, drops body temperature, and induces a coma - simulating death, although the victim remains lucid throughout. There is no antidote for TTX, the crucial fulcrum upon which survival rests is the size of the dose, very small, and preferably administered through the skin for a higher survival rate. The victim has 4-6 hours of these symptoms, and then without massive amounts of electric shock, near death would become death.
“Everything was in place for it to happen at his London club. It would look like a heart attack, certainly not the first in the place. The first part went smoothly. Mycroft and Sherlock received the surprising news and rushed to St Bart’s to be by his side as he supposedly died. I was at home when I got the call, but as I went to leave - he appeared.
“The irony of the poison’s name was not lost on me - “Heart’s Ease”. A toxic mix of pufferfish and toad venom that creates paralysis, drops body temperature, and induces a coma - simulating death, although the victim remains lucid throughout. There is no antidote for TTX, the crucial fulcrum upon which survival rests is the size of the dose, very small, and preferably administered through the skin for a higher survival rate. The victim has 4-6 hours of these symptoms, and then without massive amounts of electric shock, near death would become death.
“Everything was in place for it to happen at his London club. It would look like a heart attack, certainly not the first in the place. The first part went smoothly. Mycroft and Sherlock received the surprising news and rushed to St Bart’s to be by his side as he supposedly died. I was at home when I got the call, but as I went to leave - he appeared.
“The Professor had come to press his point with me, I thought, and that is how he played it. But, it soon became clear he was detaining me on purpose; the longer it took, the more anxious I became for my husband’s survival.
“I realised he knew of the plan, somehow - I don’t know, maybe the house was bugged, maybe he got to my husband.” She sighs heavily. “To this day, I still don’t know. I tried to make a run for it, but he had another man outside who tied me up and they left me.
“I realised he knew of the plan, somehow - I don’t know, maybe the house was bugged, maybe he got to my husband.” She sighs heavily. “To this day, I still don’t know. I tried to make a run for it, but he had another man outside who tied me up and they left me.
“It took me hours to free myself, too many hours. I knew I was too late.” She pauses. Turns the glass in her hands. “I- I didn’t even bother to go to the hospital. You can imagine what Sherlock and Mycroft thought of me.
“But all I could focus on was the thought that he was lucid throughout it all - until his lungs eventually failed as the toxin finally shut them down. He would hear and comprehend everything - the doctors proclaiming him dead, his sons grieving for him, and knowing I wasn’t there, that I didn’t show. His last act of trust was in me, and I let him down.” She pauses a long time, letting the weight of silence cover the room. “I killed him.”
She finally downs the shot. Stands a little unsteadily. Looks again at the shot glass, then violently throws the glass against the wall smashing it to pieces.
“But all I could focus on was the thought that he was lucid throughout it all - until his lungs eventually failed as the toxin finally shut them down. He would hear and comprehend everything - the doctors proclaiming him dead, his sons grieving for him, and knowing I wasn’t there, that I didn’t show. His last act of trust was in me, and I let him down.” She pauses a long time, letting the weight of silence cover the room. “I killed him.”
She finally downs the shot. Stands a little unsteadily. Looks again at the shot glass, then violently throws the glass against the wall smashing it to pieces.
———————————————————
RP’ed on Twitter 15-17 July, 2012 by
Mummy Holmes (@Its_MummyHolmes)
Kate Carlisle (@Chef4WhipHand)
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