Title: The Well-Known Novelist
Fandom: Sherlock (BBC)
Rating: G
Length: 480
Summary: Why is Sherlock watching a chat show?

" Good evening, our first guest tonight is the well-known author Cordelia Wainwright, whose latest novel Visions of Vienna has just been published and is, I understand, flying off the shelves.”

“Sherlock, why are you watching a chat show?  You hate them,” John Watson demanded.

“Quiet, John, I need to pay attention,” Sherlock replied.  He waved his hand to emphasise the point.

“Really?”

“Yes, just sit down and watch and tell me afterwards if you notice anything strange, although I doubt you will.”

John sat next to Sherlock and started to watch.  He wasn’t even sure he’d ever heard of Cordelia Wainwright and certainly found nothing interesting in the plot of her book, which sounded to him like any other romance novel.

As soon as Cordelia Wainwright left the studio, to be replaced by a popular sportsman, Sherlock switched the television off and began typing furiously on his laptop.  “Well, did you notice anything?” he asked.

“No, other than there was no mention at all of Vienna.”

“That wasn’t relevant.”

“Oh!”  John didn’t have time to say anything more as Sherlock’s mobile rang and he started an animated conversation with what sounded to John like Mycroft.

The phone call finished, and Sherlock instantly began playing another clip on his laptop.

“That’s that woman again,” John said.

“Your perspicacity astounds me,” Sherlock said drily.

“But why?”

“Try listening and you may find out.”

John did his best, but it seemed as if Cordelia Wainwright simply repeated what she’d said in the other programme.  He was even more surprised when Sherlock watched yet another interview.  He was forced to conclude that Sherlock heard something which escaped him, because at the conclusion he rattled off another email, presumably also to Mycroft, and then shut his laptop with an air of triumph.

“I’ve done all I can,” Sherlock said.  “Now it’s up to brother Mycroft.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You’re probably not aware that the famous author Cordelia Wainwright is married to the Secretary of State for Defence.  Few people are, although it is publicly available should anyone be interested.  However, what isn’t publicly known, and mustn’t be” – John nodded in understanding – “is that following her first two guest appearances on television chat shows, information has been passed to a rival power.  Mycroft had a theory and asked me to watch.  I spotted an anomaly which he agreed with and comparing with the two previous interviews I was able to support our initial findings.”

“So what happens now?”

“Mycroft will intercept the latest information transfer and arrest the guilty parties.  And no-one is any the wiser.”

“Does this mean there will be no more Cordelia Wainwright novels?”

“Given that the novels themselves were innocent of this particular crime, and that there will be nothing to prevent her from writing while in prison, not necessarily.  It does however mean Wainwright will be making no more guest appearances.”