Work Text:
The Investigator Closes the Case
by Irena Adler
"It's not crashing," Don assured Nena. "The rocket has done its job and is coming back. So we can reuse it."
"But it'll crash!"
"No, I'm sure there's …" Don eyed the falling rocket. Surely Ray-Ray wouldn't let his `beauty' crash land?
"Look!" Don said. "A parachute!"
"Oh!" Nena clapped as the white cloth billowed out and caught air. The rocket's descent slowed abruptly.
Don said, "Stay here. There might be falling parts."
Ignoring Nena's protest as well as Ray-Ray's indignant response that there wouldn't be anything `falling' from his rocket, Don ran in the direction he thought the rocket would land. He needed to get to the doll's body and hide it, so that Nena could believe that Bonnie's body had joined her head in space. Don knew he was skating close to that line between letting Nena use her imagination and actually lying to her, but he couldn't forget the adoration on her face when she'd thought he'd launched Bonnie's head into space. If this didn't work, Don didn't think that even Larry had enough friends at NASA to get that doll aboard the shuttle.
Don ran across the airfield and was able to easily spot where the rocket came down. He got to the rocket and pulled the chute aside, to see that the plastic bag had ripped open. Don quickly looked around. The foil-wrapped doll body had to be easy to spot in this short grass.
When Ray-Ray arrived to claim and coo over his rocket, Don was still looking. The rest of the group came too and soon joined the search, Charlie and Larry debating trajectories and impact patterns.
Yet ... it was nowhere to be found.
Nena cheered in triumph.
Don sat back on his heels and looked thoughtfully up at the sky.
end