© BF-WATCH TV 2021
Mr.!
Well, isn't it rather late for a young lady to be on her way to the hospital?
You live here?
No.
Then you must be visiting here, are you?
My name is Frances Elizabeth Wright.
I live at 67 Tifley Road.
I'm lost.
Oh, you're lost?
Could you take me home, please?
I'm afraid.
I should say I will.
Come on, baby.
That's the way it began.
Nothing extraordinary.
I'm afraid.
It's horrible.
It's terrible!
Now I've started to want to trim a bit.
What doesn't he want to lose?
Losing that rope we wear to the nursery.
Putting us on some paper-thin internal-wear historian of the New York Times called Rasköffенное
Beast— her name is Rasköffenne.
Rasköffenne!
Rasköffene!
Rasköffenne!
Rasköffentlichene!
Rasköffenee!
I know this man isn't going to do us any good.
But what's the use of talking to you?
You're just as stubborn as your mother.
I suspect we're having visitors.
Oh, really?
Hmm.
23 and 23.
Come along, Neb, you could nuzzle.
I don't think you're quite dressed to receive attractive young ladies.
There.
In you go.
Won't you come in?
Mr. Holmes, Sherlock Holmes.
At your service, sir.
Uh, Martini.
George Martini is my name.
This is my daughter, Margaret, who is of the stubborn opinion that you can help her.
It will be a privilege, sir.
Oh, may I introduce my very good friend, Dr. Watson?
How do you do?
How do you do, sir?
Oh, yes.
Won't you sit down?
Oh, yes.
I'm so sorry.
How can I be of any assistance to you?
This is rather a confidential matter.
Oh, yes.
Yes.
Uh, Dr. Watson is both the soul of discretion and my invaluable colleague in all my cases,
especially the, uh, more delicate ones.
I see.
Well, there's this fellow, Richard Trevor is his name, who's been courting Margaret here.
A sly one, if I ever saw one.
I could tell by the shape of his ears and the fact that he belonged to that upstart
Shield and Castle Club.
There was nothing wrong with his ears.
They were beautiful, both of them.
Nevertheless, he gave her the impression that he was going to see me last night and ask
for her hand in marriage.
Instead, the scoundrel sent me some fantastic note about being detained and then never appeared
at all.
I want you to find out what happened to him.
What did Mr. Trevor say in his note?
That he would be detained because he had run into a little girl who was lost and was taking
her home.
Have you made any inquiries at his home?
Yes, with father, of course.
I don't think it's gentile to go to a man's rooms, even if he is your fiancé.
Quite right.
There was no sign of him, but his clothes were all there.
He wouldn't run off without his clothes, would he?
No, no, hardly.
The cure, I guess.
A deduction.
Just as I deduced that you have a scar on the left side of your head, which you received
in a naval battle.
I'll be bound.
How did you know that?
Well a right-handed man normally parts his hair on the left.
Your parting is on the right, thereby indicating that you've changed it at some time or another
to hide a mark.
As to how you got it, that's obvious to me by the fact that you carry on your watch chain
the insignia of his majesty's ship Assault, which everyone remembers distinguished herself
heroically off the coast of Africa.
Well done, Holmes, I declare well done.
Will you investigate Mr. Holmes?
We'll look into the case immediately, Miss Martini, and as soon as we have any information
for you, we'll let you know.
I shall be forever in your debt.
Or I will be after I see his bill.
Here's our address.
That won't be necessary, sir.
I saw it marked on your hatband when you came in.
If you'll forgive me, sir, a rather extraordinary precaution against the loss of a bowler only
worth two guineas.
Come dear.
Not long after moving in with Sherlock Holmes, I had come to the conclusion that his mind
was as organized as his housekeeping was not.
He was without a doubt the most perfect reasoning observing machine I had ever encountered.
And just watching him think had become sheer fascination.
I tried to put myself into his brain now and deduce what had happened to the missing Mr.
Trevor.
Did it occur to you he might have had an accident and even now be lying in a hospital at this
very moment?
You being a doctor would think of that.
But if that was the case, surely the hospital would have informed someone by now.
Maybe he skipped off and left with them.
There's no guarantee he won't come back for his clothes or have them sent on to him.
I'd grant that if he hadn't sent that note.
A man deserting a girl isn't likely to send a note at all.
And if he did, he couldn't conceive, as Mr. Martini put it, of such a fantastic one.
The case is more than complex, Watson.
And when we solve it, we shall also know what became of the others.
What others?
Oh, Watson, would you pass me my tobacco pouch?
Hm?
Where is it?
It's in the toe of the Persian slipper, under your chair.
All right.
Here you are.
Oh.
Thank you, Watson.
Now, what others?
Well, it's come to my attention during the past two weeks that seven men have disappeared,
totally evaporated from the face of London.
They had no reason to run away, every reason to stay.
Trevor fits perfectly into this fabric.
You mean then that there's more in this than just the disappearance of that young lady's
fiancé?
Unless you accept eight consecutive coincidences.
Could you accompany me this afternoon?
Hm, where?
To the last place where Trevor must have been before he met the little girl.
But you don't even know where that was.
I'd say it was the upstart Shielden Castle Club.
Why there?
Well, if you were about to confront a man like Mr. Martini to ask for the hand of his
daughter in marriage, what would you do first?
I'd probably have a couple of stiff drinks first.
And if you were a member at the Shielden Castle Club, eh?
I'd jove, Holmes, of course.
That's just what I would do.
You see, Watson, you've been of invaluable assistance to me already.
But you must tell us if he was here last night.
He's missing.
We're trying to find him.
It's no use, sir.
You'll have to do without my help.
This is a gentleman's club.
What has that got to do with it?
He may not want to be found, if you know what I mean, sir.
Now look here.
That's the way it is, sir.
I'm sworn to preserve the privacy of our members.
And having two little tops to feed, I'm not one to invite getting the sack.
I say, where have you been?
This is meant to be your case, you know, and I've been doing all the investigating.
Do you know that Trevor was here last night?
How do you know?
Well, to my utter amazement, one of my keys fitted the door to the office.
I went through all the chips and found one signed by him.
It's just as you thought.
He boasted his courage with the aid of stimulants from the bar.
Do you mean you've broken into the office?
Do you want to have us arrested?
Us?
Yes, by keeping the barman occupied, you were served as my accomplice.
Now, really, Holmes, you've gone too far.
Now, the thing to do is to find the carriage that both Trevor and the little girl took.
How do you know they didn't walk?
Well, if she lived near enough to walk home, is it likely that Trevor would have sent a
message saying he was going to be detained?
What extraordinary reasoning.
Not extraordinary at all, my dear fellow.
Really quite ordinary.
Oh, what on earth do you think you're doing?
Finding the cabbie who picked up Trevor and the little girl was a matter of stationing
ourselves at the hack stand outside the Shield and Castle Club and doggedly questioning every
driver who stopped there.
One finally remembered the pair, but owing to brisk business that night, could not be
at all sure where he set them down.
The address he brought us to was a guess, and from the looks of it, a very bad one.
Well, I think we're on a wild goose chase.
Doesn't look as if anyone's lived here for a long time.
Do you realize these papers are at least a week old?
Well, then the cabbie made a mistake.
He's brought it to the wrong address.
You know, without very much difficulty, I think I might be able to...
Holmes, Holmes, please, not again.
Hey, good fellow, keep a good lookout, will you?
Look, Holmes, this is housebreaking.
We can go to prison for years for this.
You can't just go opening doors all over London just because...
Holmes, Holmes, look, there's somebody coming.
You'll just stand in front of me and behave quite normally.
That's the normal behavior for housebreaking.
You coming?
Look here, Holmes, a doctor doesn't do this sort of thing.
I'm sure it's unethical.
You can't expect me to...
Holmes!
What are we looking for?
I'm not quite sure yet.
If you won't find anything here, you said yourself the house has been unoccupied for
the last week.
Thieves in the night, that's what we are.
A child's been here recently.
Oh, what makes you think that?
Do you remember as a youngster, Watson, penciling in mustaches on the faces of the advertisements?
I suppose so.
But what's that got to do with it?
When I looked at those newspapers outside, I noticed that someone had penciled in a handlebar
mustache on a woman advertising headache powder.
I'd assume that a child did it.
More than that, since the papers were only a day old, I'd also assume that a child has
been here very recently.
Why should the child bring Trevor here to an unoccupied house?
That, Watson, is the core of our problem.
Excuse me a minute.
Oh, oh.
Good heavens.
Trevor?
It's only a safe assumption, Watson.
Yes.
And from the pallor of his skin, I'd say he'd recently been given an overdose of strychnine.
I'd also deduce that he's the eighth victim of a very strange murderer.
Dash the tea, Holmes.
I'm waiting for some word from you.
About what?
Well, about the murder.
Ever since we got back here, you've behaved as if nothing had occurred.
And yet I'd wager anything that you've...
You're hot with some theory as to who's done it and why.
I'm afraid we've run out of Indian.
I think we've got some China, if I can find it.
My guess is it's a cream passionel.
Are you ruling out the robbery motive?
Trevor was left without a shilling.
Oh, that's just some sort of a smoke screen.
After all, she...
Good heavens, Holmes, what on earth do you think you're doing?
Look, snake poison.
Oh, no, no, be city, Watson.
That's, uh...
It's China tea.
Disregard the labels.
I ran out of tin.
Here, are you sure?
Yes, I'll stake my reputation on it.
I'll get you, that is, rather late for a caller.
Good evening, Dr. Watson.
Hi, Zarkin.
Ah, hello, Wilkins.
Good evening, Mr. Holmes, sir.
I've got a message for you, sir, from Inspector Lestrange.
A welcome addition to the day.
A message from the good inspector.
We've found another corpse, sir.
It was in an empty house in Ammersmith this time.
The facts are still the same, robbery and strychnine poisoning.
Oh, is he one of the seven who disappeared lately?
Yes, sir.
How did you know?
Well, I suspect that the other six will end up in unoccupied houses before very long.
I think you'd better carry out a search in every unoccupied house in London.
But this is July, sir, and everybody's away on holiday.
The number of empty houses must be hundreds.
Well, it's that or wait until September when everyone comes back and finds his own corpse.
It's a very unfortunate situation for the good inspector.
To say the least, sir.
I'd better give the inspector your advice, sir.
Yes, you must let us know what he says.
That might be rather embarrassing.
Good night, Mr. Holmes.
Good night, Doctor.
Good night.
You know, Holmes, you were right.
Trevor's disappearance was linked with the other seven.
But what kind of fiend can be at the bottom of it?
Well, we'll know more about it when we return from Brighton.
Brighton?
Yes, unless you'd rather not pursue this any further.
There's a 6.10 train leaving in the morning.
6.08.
Why Brighton?
Because that's where R.J. Cookson lives.
What place is R.J. Cookson?
He's the man who owns the house in which Trevor was killed.
How on earth did you find that out?
Oh, no, no, no, never mind.
It is tea, isn't it?
Yes.
Oh, I thought it was.
Have you ever heard anything so incredible?
A corpse in my fireplace.
Said a stranger, a thug.
Rather inconsiderate of someone, I must say.
Why?
Why, when the police brought the news last night,
I thought someone was pulling my leg.
My fireplace.
Really, I ask you.
I'd say because the murderer knew you'd be away,
knew that the house would be unoccupied,
and that you wouldn't come back at an embarrassing moment.
You're right, Mr. Holmes.
Absolutely right.
The culprit was acquainted with all my plans,
and not wanting the corpse to be found in his own fireplace,
chose mine.
Precisely.
But who could that be?
I vouched that a full regiment of people knew of my plans to leave London.
Then our task is to narrow down that regiment.
But how?
You have me breathless.
First of all, has anyone else the key to your house?
No, not that I know of.
Yes, I once gave my key to the greengrocer to deliver a parcel.
Ah-ha.
But he gave it back.
Oh.
But bosh and bother, supposing a key wasn't used at all.
Whoever did it could have used a tool or something
and jimmied his way into my house.
I've heard of those things being done.
Mm-hmm.
Oh, really?
We found all the windows and doors locked.
I'm afraid you've escaped me.
Now again, Mr. Cookson, are you quite sure that no one else has a key to your house?
Well, now, really, after all, I don't hand them out like calling cards to every...
Wait.
There's this charwoman who comes to my house once a week to clean up.
But, oh, no, she couldn't hurt a fly.
Well, what's her name?
Mrs. Ainott.
But, but really, she couldn't be less harmless.
She's 60 years old if she's a day.
You take her for your own grandmother.
Yes, yes, but you know if she has a daughter.
A daughter?
Well, now, really, a woman of 60 isn't bound to have a little girl.
Well, what about a niece or a granddaughter?
Granddaughter?
Now that I think of it, she does have one.
About seven years old.
She recently came to live with her.
Where does Mrs. Ainott live?
I have her address.
If you please, sir.
Right here in my trousers.
Do you really think it could be the old woman?
Well, a charwoman has the ability to go anywhere in London.
Ah, yes, yes, yes.
Wait, wait, wait.
322 Radcliffe Way.
To look at her, you'd never think she could hurt a fly.
You take her for your own grandmother.
Poison murders?
No, impossible, Mr. Holmes, impossible.
Grandma, must we play the game tonight?
Of course.
Don't you like playing it?
I don't like staying on the street alone.
It'll only be for a little while.
You'll find someone to bring you back.
And Grandma will have company again.
What happened to the last company we had?
Oh, he went home after a while.
But come on, let's say it.
Where do you live?
At 67 Tivoli Road.
No, that was the last place.
Your address is now 120 Claridge Street.
I forgot.
All right. Now, come on, let's say it again.
Where do you live?
At 120 Claridge Street.
And again.
120 Claridge Street.
What do you think, Holmes?
Well, we'll know definitely in an hour's time.
Come on.
Mr.! Mr.!
Oh, hello.
Well, well, well, it's very late for a little girl like you to be out and about.
What's your name?
My name is Franz Elizabeth Wright.
I see. And where do you live?
I live at 120 Claridge Street.
I'm lost.
Oh, dear, dear, dear, that would mistake you.
Holmes, come along, will you?
You must come in and try some of my divinity fudge.
It's the least I can offer you for your kindness in bringing Frances home.
Well, that's very kind of you, but really I ought to be getting along.
It's just been made. Delicious.
You'll make an old woman very happy if you'll try the first slice.
Oh, very well, then. I am rather partial to divinity fudge.
Oh, Frances.
Take it.
Now come and sit right here at the table.
Now say good night to the kind gentleman, then off to bed.
Grandma, you never let me stay up with a company.
That's because little girls must have their sleep.
But now we've met the gentleman, perhaps he'll come again in the daytime.
Will you?
I should love to.
Good night.
Good night, birdies.
Isn't she a lovely girl?
And she'll grow up into a beautiful woman and have a life of ease.
Yes, that's the important thing.
A life of ease.
Time to enjoy the world and...
Here, you're waiting for some fudge and I'm prattling away.
Here it is.
And a glass of cold milk to go with it.
Won't you join me?
Oh no, my doctor would never permit it.
I only prepare this sort of thing for people who drop in, like you.
I see.
Smells very good.
If I have one speciality, it's divinity fudge.
You'll find it heavenly.
What's the matter?
Nothing, I just wanted to give the birds a bit of fudge.
Don't! Birds don't eat fudge.
Oh yes, they do, they love it.
Come on, old chap, have a little.
No, you can't!
Who are you?
I'll take that, Mrs. Enid.
Thank you.
I needed money for the child, that's why I did it.
I didn't want her to grow up into a tired rag of a charwoman.
I wanted her to have a life of ease, and the things I've seen other people have.
You understand?
Yes.
Will she be taken care of?
You needn't worry, Mrs. Enid.
I wish now I hadn't tried to poison you.
You might have visited us again, as you promised.
And we'd have been such good friends.
THE END
© BF-WATCH TV 2021