Sherlock (2010–…): Season 1, Episode 2 - The Blind Banker - full transcript

Mysterious symbols and murders are showing up all over London, leading Sherlock and John to a secret Chinese crime syndicate called Black Lotus.


The great artisans say
the more the teapot is used

the more beautiful it becomes.

The pot is seasoned by repeatedly
pouring tea over the surface.

The deposit left on the clay creates
this beautiful patina over time.

Some pots, the clay has been
burnished by tea made
over 400 years ago.

This museum will be
closing in 10 minutes.

400 years old, they're letting you
use it to make yourself a brew.

Some things aren't supposed
to sit behind glass,

they're made to be touched.

To be handled.

These pots need attention.



The clay is cracking.

Well, I can't see how a tiny splash
of tea is going to help.

Sometimes
you have to look hard at something

to see its value.

See?

This one shines a little brighter.

I don't suppose...

Um, I mean...

I don't suppose
that you want to have a drink?

Not tea, obviously.
Um, in a pub, with me, tonight.

Um...?

You wouldn't like me all that much.

Can I maybe decide that for myself?

I can't.



I'm sorry.

Please stop asking.

THUD!

CLUNK!

LOCK CLICKS

Is that security?

Hello?

SIREN WAILS

BEEPS

PA SYSTEM: Can the till supervisor
please go to...?

COMPUTER-GENERATED MESSAGE:
Unexpected item in bagging area,

please try again.

GRUNTING AND GROANING

Argh!
THUD!

Item not scanned. Please try again.

Can you maybe keep your voice down?

Card not authorised.
Yes, all right! I've got it.

Please use an alternative method
of payment. Card not authorised.

Please use an alternative
method of payment.

Keep it. Keep that.

GRUNTS

SIGHS

MOTORCYCLE ENGINE REVS

CAR HORN BLARES

You took your time.
Yeah, I didn't get the shopping.

What? Why not?

Because I had a row in the shop
with a chip and PIN machine.

You...
You had a row with a machine?!

Sort of. It sat there and I
shouted abuse. Have you got cash?

Take my card.

You could always go yourself,
you know, you've been sitting there
all morning,

you've not even moved since I left.

GRUNTS AND GROANS

And what happened about that case
you were offered -

the Jaria diamond?
Not interested.

METALLIC CLANK

I sent them a message.
THUD!

WATSON SIGHS AND TUTS

Don't worry about me, I can manage.

Is that my computer?
Of course.

What?
Mine was in the bedroom.

What? And you couldn't
be bothered to get up?

It's password protected.

In a manner of speaking. Took me
less than a minute to guess yours,

not exactly Fort Knox.

Right. Thank you.

SIREN WAILS

Oh...

Need to get a job.
Oh, dull.

Listen, um...

..if you'd be able to lend me some...

Sherlock, are you listening?
I need to go to the bank.

Yes, when you said
we were going to the bank...

DOOR BEEPS

ELEVATOR PINGS

Sherlock Holmes.
PHONE RINGS

Sherlock Holmes.

Sebastian.
Hiya, buddy.

How long - eight years
since I last clapped eyes on you?

This is my friend, John Watson.
Friend? Colleague.

Right.

PHONE RINGING

Grab a pew.

Do you need anything, coffee, water?

No? We're all sorted here, thanks.

So you're doing well.
You've been abroad a lot.

Well, so?

Flying all the way
around the world twice in a month.

SCOFFS
Right. You're doing that thing.

We were at uni together, and this guy
here had a trick he used to do.

It's not a trick.

He could look at you
and tell you your whole life story.

Yes, I've seen him do it. Put the
wind up everybody, we hated him.

We'd come down to breakfast
in the formal hall

and this freak would know you'd been
shagging the previous night.

I simply observed.
Go on, enlighten me.

Two trips a month,
flying all the way around the world,
you're quite right.

How could you tell? Are you going
to tell me there's a stain on my tie

from some special kind of ketchup
you can only buy in Manhattan?

No, I...
Is it the mud on my shoes?

I was just chatting with
your secretary outside.

She told me.

LAUGHS

I'm glad you could make it over,
we've had a break-in.

Sir William's office -
the bank's former chairman.

The room's been left here
like a sort of memorial.

Someone broke in late last night.

What did they steal?
Nothing.

Just left a little message.
PHONE RINGING

ELECTRONIC BEEP

60 seconds apart.

KEYBOARD BEEPS

So, someone came up here
in the middle of the night,

splashed paint around
and left within a minute.

How many ways into that office?

Well, that's where this gets
really interesting.

Every door that opens in this bank,
it gets locked right here.

Every walk-in cupboard, every toilet.

That door didn't open last night?

There's a hole in our security.

Find it and we'll pay you -

five figures.

This is an advance.

Tell me how he got in.

There's a bigger one on its way.

I don't need an incentive,
Sebastian.

He's, er...
CLEARS THROAT
..he's kidding you, obviously.

Shall I look after that for him?

Thanks.

Two trips around the world
this month.

You didn't ask his secretary,
you said that just to irritate him.

How did you know?
Did you see his watch?

His watch?

The time was right,
but the date was wrong.

Said two days ago. Crossed the date
line twice and he didn't alter it.

Within a month?
How did you get that? New Breitling.

Only came out this February.

OK. So do you think we should
sniff around here for a bit longer?

Got everything I need
to know already, thanks.

That graffiti was a message.

Someone at the bank,
working on the trading floors.

We find the intended recipient
and...

They'll lead us to the person
who sent it?

Obvious.

Well, there's 300 people up there,
who was it meant for?

Pillars. What?

Pillars and the screens.

Very few places
you could see that graffiti from.

That narrows the field considerably.
And, of course, the message was left

at 11.34 last night.
That tells us a lot.

Does it?
Traders come to work at all hours.

Some trade with Hong Kong
in the middle of the night.

That message was intended for
somebody who came in at midnight.

Not many Van Coons
in the phone book.

Taxi!

BUZZES

So what do we do now? Sit here
and wait for him to come back?

Just moved in. What?

Floor above, new label.
Could have just replaced it.

BUZZES

No-one ever does that.
WOMAN: Hello?

Hi, um, I live in the flat just
below you. I don't think we've met.

No, well, er, I've just moved in.

Actually, I've just locked
my keys in my flat.

Do you want me to buzz you in?

Yeah. And can we use your balcony?

What?!

DOOR BUZZES

WATSON: Sherlock?

WATSON: Sherlock, are you OK?

Yeah, any time
you feel like letting me in(!)

Do you think he'd lost a lot of
money?

Suicide is pretty common
among City boys.

We don't know that it was suicide.
Come on.

The door was locked from the inside,
you had to climb down the balcony.

Been away three days
judging by the laundry.

Look at the case, there was
something tightly packed inside it.

Thanks. I'll take your word for it.
Problem?

Yeah, I'm not desperate to root
around some bloke's dirty underwear.

Those symbols at the bank, the
graffiti, why were they put there?

Some sort of code? Obviously.

Why were they painted? Want to
communicate, why not use e-mail?

Well, maybe he wasn't answering.

Oh, good, you follow.

No.

What kind of a message
would everyone try to avoid?

What about this morning?

Those letters you were looking at?
Bills?

Yes. He was being threatened.

MAN'S VOICE IN BACKGROUND

Not by the Gas Board.

DIMMOCK: ...see if we can get prints
off this glass.

Sergeant, we haven't met.

Yeah, I know who you are

and I would prefer it if you didn't
tamper with any of the evidence.

I phoned Lestrade. Is he on his way?
He's busy. I'm in charge.

And it's not Sergeant,
it's Detective Inspector Dimmock.

We're obviously looking at a suicide.

It does seem the only explanation
of all the facts.

Wrong, it's one possible explanation
of some of the facts.

You've got a solution that you like,
but you are choosing

to ignore anything you see
that doesn't comply with it.

Like? Wound's on the right side of
his head.

And? Van Coon was left-handed.

Requires quite a bit of contortion.

Left-handed? I'm amazed you
didn't notice. All you have to do
is look around this flat.

Coffee table on the left-hand side,

coffee mug handle
pointing to the left.

Power sockets, habitually used
the ones on the left. Pen and paper

on the left of the phone.
Picked up with his right,
took messages with his left.

D'you want me to go on?
No, I think you've covered it.

I might as well, I'm almost
at the bottom of the list.

There's a knife on the breadboard
with butter on the right side
of the blade

because he used it with his left.
It's highly unlikely

that a left-handed man would shoot
himself in the right of his head.

Conclusion, someone broke in here
and murdered him -

only explanation
of all of the facts.

But the gun?
He was waiting for the killer.

He'd been threatened. What?

Today at the bank, sort of a warning.

He fired a shot
when his attacker came in.

And the bullet?
Went through the open window.

Oh, come on(!)

What are the chances of that?!

Wait until you get the ballistics
report.

The bullet in his brain wasn't
fired from his gun, I guarantee it.

If his door was locked from the
inside, how did the killer get in?

Good, you're finally asking
the right questions.

He's left trying to sort of
cut his hair with a fork,

which of course can never be done.

It was a threat,
that's what the graffiti mean.

I'm kind of in a meeting.

Can you make an appointment
with my secretary?

I don't think this can wait.
Sorry, Sebastian.

One of your traders, someone who
worked in your office, was killed.

What? Van Coon.

The police are at his flat.

Killed?!
Sorry to interfere

with everyone's digestion.
Still want to make an appointment(?)

Would maybe nine o'clock
at Scotland Yard suit?

Harrow, Oxford...very bright guy.

Worked in Asia for a while, so...

You gave him the Hong Kong accounts?

Lost 5 million in a single morning,
made it all back a week later.

Nerves of steel, Eddie had.

Who'd want to kill him?
We all make enemies.

You don't all end up with a bullet
through your temple.

MOBILE RINGS
Not usually. Excuse me.

It's my chairman.

Police have been on to him.

Apparently they're telling him

it was a suicide.
Well, they've got it wrong,

Sebastian. He was murdered.

Well, I'm afraid
they don't see it like that.

So? And neither does my boss.

I hired you to do a job.
Don't get sidetracked.

FADING FOOTSTEPS

I thought bankers were all supposed
to be heartless bastards.

HORN BLARES

I need you to get over to Crispians.

Two Ming vases up for auction -
Chenghua.

Will you appraise them? Soo Lin
should go - she's the expert.

Soo Lin has resigned her job.
I need you.

PHONE RINGING

Just locum work.
No, that's fine.

You're, um...
Well, you're a bit over-qualified.

Er, I could always do
with the money.

Well, we've got two
away on holiday this week

and one's just left to have a baby.

It might be a bit mundane for you.

Er, no, mundane is good, sometimes.

Mundane works.

It says here you were a soldier.
And a doctor.

Anything else you can do?

I learned the clarinet at school.

Oh...
LAUGHS
..well, I'll look forward to it.

I said, could you pass me a pen?

What? When?
About an hour ago.

Didn't notice I'd gone out then?

I went to see about a job
at that surgery.

How was it?
Great. She's great.

Who?

The job.

She?!

It.

Yeah, have a look.

"The intruder
who can walk through walls."

It happened last night.

Journalist shot dead in his flat.

Doors locked,
windows bolted from the inside.

Exactly the same as Van Coon.

God! You think...?
He's killed another one.

Brian Lukis,
freelance journalist,

murdered in his flat.

Doors locked from the inside.

You've got to admit,
it's similar.

Both men killed by someone
who can walk through solid walls.

Inspector, do you seriously believe
that Eddie Van Coon was

just another city suicide?

SIGHS
You have seen
the ballistics report, I suppose?

And the shot that killed him.
Was it fired from his own gun?

No. No.
So this investigation might move

a bit quicker if you were
to take my word as gospel.

I've just handed you
a murder inquiry.

Five minutes in his flat.

Four floors up.

That's why they think they're safe.

Put a chain across the door,
bolt it shut, think they're
impregnable.

They don't reckon for one second
that there's another way in.

I don't understand. Dealing
with a killer who can climb.

What are you doing?
Clings to the walls like an insect.

CLUNK!
That's how he got in.

What?!

He climbed up the side of the walls,
ran along the roof,

dropped in through this skylight.

You're not serious?! Like Spider-Man?

He scaled six floors of a Docklands
apartment building,

jumped the balcony and killed
Van Coon. Oh, hold on(!)

That's how he got into the bank -
ran along the window ledge
onto the terrace.

I have to find out
what connects these two men.

Date stamped on the book
is the same day that he died.

Sherlock?

So, the killer goes to the bank,

leaves a threatening cipher
at the bank.

Van Coon panics, returns
to his apartment, locks himself in.

Hours later, he dies.

The killer finds Lukis at the
library, he writes the cipher

on the shelf where he knows
it'll be seen. Lukis goes home.

Late that night, he dies too.

Why did they die, Sherlock?

Only the cipher can tell us.

The world's run on
codes and ciphers, John.

From the million-pound
security system at the bank
to the PIN machine

you took exception to. Cryptography
in habits our every waking moment.

Yes, OK, but...

But it's all computer generated -

electronic codes,
electronic ciphering methods.

This is different.

It's an ancient device.

Modern code-breaking methods
won't unravel it.

Where are we headed?
I need to ask some advice.

What?! Sorry?

You heard me perfectly.
I'm not saying it again.

You need advice?
On painting.

Yes, I need to talk to an expert.

SIREN WAILS

Part of a new exhibition.

Interesting.
I call it...

Urban Bloodlust Frenzy.
CHUCKLES

Catchy(!)

I've got two minutes before
a Community Support Officer

comes around that corner.

Can we do this while I'm working?

Know the author?
I recognise the paint.

It's like Michigan...hard-core
propellant.

I'd say zinc.

And what about the symbols?
Do you recognise them?

I'm not even sure
it's a proper language.

Two men have been murdered, Raz.

Deciphering this is the key
to finding out who killed them.

And this is all you've
got to go on(?)

It's hardly much, is it?
Are you going to help us or not?

I'll ask around.

Somebody must know something
about it. Oi!

METALLIC CLATTERING

What the hell do you think you're
doing? This gallery is a listed
public building.

No, no. Wait, wait.
It's not me who painted that.

I was just holding this for...

Bit of an enthusiast, are we?

POLICE RADIO IN BACKGROUND

She was right in the middle of
an important piece of restoration.

Why would she suddenly resign?

Family problems.
She said so in her letter.

But she doesn't have a family.
She came to this country on her own.

Andy! Look, those teapots,
those ceramics.

They've become her obsession.

She's been working on restoring them
for weeks.

I can't believe
that she would just...abandon them.

Perhaps she was getting
a bit of unwanted attention?

DOOR SLAMS

You've been a while.

Yeah, well, you know how it is.

Custody sergeants don't really
like to be hurried, do they?

Just formalities. Fingerprints,

charge sheet, and I've got to be
in magistrates' court on Tuesday.

What? Me, Sherlock!
In court, on Tuesday!

They're giving me an ASBO!
Good, fine.

You want to tell your little pal
he's welcome to go and own up
any time.

This symbol, I still can't place it.

No, I need you to go
to the police station

and ask about the journalist.
The personal effects
will have been impounded.

Get hold of his diary, or something
that will tell us his movements.

Go and see Van Coon's PA.

If you retrace their steps,
somewhere they'll coincide.

SHUTTER CLICKS

Scotland Yard.

Flew back from Dalian Friday.

Looks like he had back-to-back
meetings with the sales team.

Can you print me up a copy?

Sure.
What about the day he died?

Can you tell me where he was?
Sorry, I've got a gap.

I have all his receipts.

Your friend...
Listen, whatever you say,

I'm behind you 100 per cent.

...he's an arrogant sod.

Well, that was mild.
People say a lot worse than that.

This is what you wanted, isn't it?
The journalist's diary?

What kind of a boss was he, Amanda?
Appreciative?

Um, no. That's not a word I'd use.

The only things Eddie appreciated
had a big price tag.

Like that hand cream.
He bought that for you, didn't he?

Look at this one.

Got a taxi from him
on the day he died, 18.50.

That would get him to the office.

Not rush hour. Check the time.
Mid-morning. 18 would get him

as far as... ..The West End.
I remember him saying.

Underground,
printed at one in Piccadilly.

So he got a Tube back to the office.

Why would he get a taxi into town,
and then the Tube back?

Because he was delivering
something heavy.

You wouldn't lug a package
up the escalator.

Delivering?!

To somewhere near
Piccadilly Station.

Dropped the package,
delivered it, and then...

Stopped on his way. He got peckish.

So you bought your lunch
from here and route to the station

but where were you headed from?

Where did the taxi drop you?

Oof! Right.

Eddie Van Coon brought a package
here the day he died.

Whatever was hidden inside
that case...

I've managed to piece
together a picture

using scraps of information -
credit card bills, receipts.
He flew back from China,

then he came here. Sherlock.

Somewhere in this street, somewhere
near. I don't know where, but...

That shop, over there.
How could you tell?

Lukis' diary. He was here too.

He wrote down the address. Oh.

SHOP BELL RINGS

Hello.

You want...lucky cat?

No, thanks, no.

10! 10!

I think your wife, she will like.

Um, thank you.

Sherlock...

The label there.
Yes, I see it.

It's exactly the same as the cipher.

WATSON CLEARS THROAT

It's an ancient number system -
Hang Zhou.

These days only street traders
use it.

Those were numbers written on the
wall at the bank and at the library.

Numbers written in
an ancient Chinese dialect.

It's a 15.

What we thought was the
artist's tag, it's a number 15.

And the blindfold, the horizontal
line. That was a number as well.

The Chinese number one, John.
We found it.

Two men travel back from China,

both head straight for
the Lucky Cat emporium.

What did they see?

It's not what they saw.

It's what they both brought back
in those suitcases.

And you don't mean duty free.

Thank you.

Think about what Sebastian told us.

About Van Coon, about
how he stayed afloat in the market.

Lost 5 million.
Made it back in a week.

That's how he made such easy money.

He was a smuggler. Mm.

Cover would have been perfect.

Businessman,
making frequent trips to Asia.

Lukis was the same,
a journalist writing about China.

Both of them smuggled stuff about.

The Lucky Cat was their drop-off.

But why did they die?

It doesn't make sense.
If they both turn up at the shop
and deliver the goods,

why would someone threaten them

and kill them after the event,
after they'd finished the job?

What if one of them
was light-fingered?

How do you mean? Stole something.

Something from the hoard.

The killer doesn't know
which of them took it

so threatens them both. Right.

Remind me.

When was the last time
that it rained?

It's been here since Monday.

HE RINGS DOORBELL

No-one's been in that flat
for at least three days.

Could have gone on holiday.

Do you leave your windows open
when you go on holiday?

METALLIC SCREECH

Sherlock!

GROANS
WATER DRIPS

Someone else has been here.

Somebody else broke into the flat
and knocked over the vase,
just like I did.

SNIFFS
DOORBELL RINGS

Do you think maybe
you could let me in this time?

Can you not keep doing this, please?

I'm not the first.

What?
Somebody's been in here before me.

What are you saying?

Size eight feet.

Small, but...athletic.

I'm wasting my breath.

DOORBELL RINGS

Small, strong hands.

Our acrobat.

Why didn't he close the window
when he lef...?

Oh, stupid, stupid!

Obvious.

He's still here.

CHOKES

Anytime you want to include me...

John...

John!

Oh, I'm Sherlock Holmes
and I always work alone

because no-one else can compete
with my massive intellect(!)

DOORBELL RINGS

SPLUTTERS AND COUGHS

GROANS

The milk's gone off
and the washing's started to smell.

Somebody left here in a hurry
three days ago. Somebody?

Soo Lin Yao. We have to find her.

How, exactly?

We could start with this.

You've gone all croaky.
Are you getting a cold?

COUGHS
I'm fine.

When was the last time
that you saw her?

ANDY: Three days ago.
Here at the museum.

This morning they told me
she'd resigned.

Just like that.
Left her work unfinished.

What was the last thing that she did
on her final afternoon?

She does this demonstration
for the tourists, a tea ceremony.

So she would have packed up her
things and just put them in here.

We have to get to Soo Lin Yao.

If she's still alive.
Sherlock!

Oh, look who it is.

Found something you'll like.

Tuesday morning,

all you've got to do is turn up
and say the bag was yours.

Forget about your court date.

GIRL: Dude, that was rad!

You want to hide a tree, then a
forest is the best place to do it,

wouldn't you say?

People would just walk
straight past, not knowing,

unable to decipher the message.

There. I spotted it earlier.

They've been here.
And that's the exact same paint?

Yeah.

John, if we're going to
decipher this code,

we need to look for more evidence.

Answer your phone.
I've been calling you.

PANTING
I found it.

It's been painted over.

I don't understand. It was...

here.

10 minutes ago. I saw it.

A whole load of graffiti.

Somebody doesn't want me to see it.

Sherlock, what are you doing...?
Ssh! John, concentrate.

I need you to concentrate.
Close your eyes.

What? Why? Why? What are you doing?

I need you to maximise
your visual memory.

Try to picture what you saw.

Can you picture it? Yeah.

Can you remember it?
Yes, definitely.

Can you remember the pattern?

Yes. How much can you remember it?

Look, don't worry.

Because the average human memory
on visual matters
is only 62% accurate.

Well, don't worry,
I remember all of it. Really?

At least I would, if I could get
to my pockets. I took a photograph.

MOBILE BEEPS

TRAIN RUMBLES

Always in pairs, John, look.

Numbers...

come with partners.

God, I need to sleep.

Why did he paint it
so near the tracks? No idea.

Thousands of people
pass by there every day.

Just 20 minutes...

Of course.

Of course, he wants information.
He's trying to communicate

with his people in the underworld.
Whatever was stolen,
he wants it back.

It's somewhere here, in a code.

We can't crack this
without Soo Lin Yao.

Oh, good.

Two men who travelled back
from China were murdered.

And their killer left them messages
in Hang Zhou numerals.

Soo Lin Yao is in danger.

That cipher, it was just
the same pattern as the others.

He means to kill her as well.

Look, I've tried everywhere -

friends, colleagues.
I don't know where she's gone.

I mean, she could be
a thousand miles away.

What are you looking at?
Tell me more about those teapots.

The pots were her obsession.
They need urgent work.

If they dry out,
then the clay can start to crumble.

Apparently, you have to just
keep making tea in them.

Yesterday, only one of those pots
was shining.

Now, there are two.

GRATING

Fancy a biscuit with that?

Centuries old.
Don't want to break that.

Hello.

You saw the cipher.

Then you know he is coming for me.

You've been clever
to avoid him so far.

I had to finish.

To finish this work.

It's only a matter of time.

I know he will find me.

Who is he?
Have you met him before?

When I was a girl, we met in China.

I recognised his...

signature.
The cipher?

Only he would do this. Zhi Zhu.

Zhi Zhu? The spider.

You know this mark?

Yes. It's the mark of a Tong.

Huh? Ancient crime syndicate,
based in China.

Every foot soldier bears the mark.

Everyone who hauls for them.

Hauls?

You mean you were a smuggler?

I was 15.

My parents were dead.

I had no livelihood.

No way of surviving, day-to-day,

except to work for the bosses.

Who are they?

They are called the Black Lotus.

By the time I was 16,

I was taking
thousands of pounds worth of drugs

across the border into Hong Kong.

I managed to leave
that life behind me.

I came to England.

They gave me a job, here.

Everything was good. New life.

And he came looking for you.

Yes.

I hoped, after five years...

maybe they would have forgotten me.

But they never really let you leave.

A small community like ours...

..they are never very far away.

He came to my flat.

He asked me to help him to track down
something that was stolen.

And you've no idea what it was?

I refused to help.

So, you knew him well
when you were living back in China?

Oh, yes.

He's my brother.

Two orphans.

We had no choice.

We could work for the Black Lotus,
or starve on the streets, like
beggars.

My brother has become their puppet.

In the power of the one
they call Shan.

The Black Lotus general.

I turned my brother away.

He said I had betrayed him.

Next day, I came to work

and the cipher was waiting.

Can you decipher these?

These are numbers. Yes, I know.

Here, the line across the man's
eyes, it's the Chinese number one.

And this one is 15.
But what's the code?

All the smugglers know it.

It's based upon a book...

DOOR THUDS

He's here.

Zhi Zhu has found me.

No, no, Sherlock.

Sherlock, wait!

Come here.

Get in. Get in!

GUNSHOT

SECOND GUNSHOT

MORE GUNSHOTS

I have to go and help him.
Bolt the door after me.

GUNSHOT

GUNSHOTS

Careful!
GUNSHOT

Some of those skulls are over
200,000 years old.
Have a bit of respect.

Thank you.

Liang.

SPEAKS CHINESE

SPEAKS CHINESE

GUNSHOT

Oh, my God.

GULPS

How many murders is it going to take

before you start believing
that this maniac's out there?

MUTTERS

A young girl was gunned down
tonight.

That's three victims in three days.
You're supposed to be finding him.

Brian Lukis and Eddie Van Coon

were working for a gang
of international smugglers.

A gang called the Black Lotus,
operating here in London

right under your nose.

Can you prove that?

What are you thinking?
Pork or pasta? Oh, it's you.

I suppose it's never going
to trouble Egon Ronay, is it?

I'd stick with the pasta.

Don't want to be doing roast pork,
not if you're slicing up cadavers.

What are you having?

I don't eat when I'm working.
Digesting slows me down.

So you're working here tonight?

Need to examine some bodies. Some?

Eddie Van Coon and Brian Lukis.

They're on my list.

Could you wheel them out again
for me?

Well...their paperwork's
already gone through.

You changed your hair. What?

The style.
It's usually parted in the middle.

Yes, well...

It's good.

It...suits you better this way.

We're just interested in the feet.

The feet? Yes.

Do you mind if we have
a look at them?

Now, Van Coon.

Oh! So...

So either these two men just
happened to visit the same
Chinese tattoo parlour,

or I'm telling the truth.
What do you want?

I want every book from Lukis'
apartment and Van Coon's.

Their books?

Not just a criminal organisation.
It's a cult.

Her brother was corrupted
by one of its leaders.

Soo Lin said the name.

Yes, Shan. General Shan.

We're still no closer to finding him.

Wrong! We've got almost
all we need to know.

She gave us most of
the missing pieces.

Why did he need to visit his sister?

Why did he need her expertise?
She worked at the museum.

Exactly. An expert in antiquities.

Of course, I see.
Valuable antiquities, John.

Ancient Chinese relics
purchased on the black market.

China's home to a thousand treasures
hidden after Mao's revolution.

The Black Lotus is selling them.

Check for the dates... Here,

John,
"arrived from China four days ago".

Anonymous.

The vendor doesn't give his name.

"Two undiscovered treasures
from the East."

One in Lukis' suitcase
and one in Van Coon's.

"Antiquities...

"sold at auction."

Look, here's another one.

Arrived from China a month ago,

Chinese ceramic statue sold for
400,000.

Look, a month before that,
Chinese painting, 500,000.

All of them
from an anonymous source.

They're stealing them back in China
and one by one feeding them
into Britain.

Every single auction coincides
with Lukis or Van Coon
travelling to China.

So what if one of them got greedy
when they were in China?

What if one of them stole something?

That's why Zhi Zhu's come.
KNOCK AT DOOR

Sorry, are we collecting
for charity, Sherlock?

What?

A young man's outside
with crates of books.

So the numbers are references.

To books.

To specific pages
and specific words on those pages.

Right, so...

15 and 1, that means?

Turn to page 15
and it's the first word you read.

OK, so what's the message?
Depends on the book.

That's the cunning of the book code.

It has to be one that they both own.

OK, fine. This shouldn't take
too long, should it(?)

We found these...at the museum.
Is this your writing?

Er, we hoped Soo Lin
could decipher it for us.

Ta.

Anything else I can do?

To assist you, I mean.

Some silence right now
would be marvellous.

Cigarette.

Imagine.

CLOCK TICKS

WATCH BLEEPS

Oh...

CHURCH BELLS RING

I'm sorry to keep you waiting,

but we haven't got anything now
until next Thursday.

WOMAN: This is taking ages.

Sorry.

WOMAN: What's the point of booking
an appointment if they
can't stick to it?

Um, what's going on?

That new doctor you hired, he
hasn't buzzed the intercom for ages.

Let me go and have a word.

Excuse me. Sorry.

KNOCKS ON DOOR
John?

John?

GENTLE SNORING

Looks like I'm done.
I thought I had some more to see.

Oh, I did one or two of yours.
One or two?

Well, maybe five or six.

I'm sorry,
that's not very professional.

No, not really.

I had...a bit of a late one.

Oh, right.

Anyway, see you.

So...what were you doing
to keep you up so late?

I was attending
a sort of book event.

Oh. Oh, she likes books,
does she, your girlfriend?

No, it wasn't a date.

Good. I mean, I'm...
And I don't have one tonight.

A book that everybody would own.

15, entry 1.

I need to get some air.
We're going out tonight.

Actually, I've got a date. What?

Where two people who like each other
go out and have fun?

That's what I was suggesting.

No, it wasn't. At least, I hope not.

Where are you taking her?

Er, cinema.

Dull, boring, predictable...

Why don't you try this?

In London for one night only.

LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

Thanks, but I don't come to you
for dating advice.

SARAH: It's years since anyone
took me to the circus.

Right, yes.

A friend recommended it to me
and I phoned up.

Oh! What are they,
a touring company or something?

I don't know much about it.

I think they're probably from China.

I think so, yes.
There's a coincidence(!)

That's wonderful,
thank you very much.

Hi, I have two tickets
reserved for tonight.

And what's the name? Holmes.

Actually, I have three in that name.

No, I don't think so,
we only booked two.

Then I phoned back
and got one for myself as well.

I'm Sherlock.

Hi. Hello.

You couldn't let me have
just one night off.

Yellow Dragon Circus,
in London for one day. It fits.

The Tong sent an assassin
to England...

Dressed as a tightrope walker.
Come on, Sherlock, behave!

We're looking for a killer who can
climb, who can shin up a rope.

Where else would you find
that level of dexterity?

Exit visas are scarce in China.

They need a good reason
to get out of that country.

All I need to do
is have a quick look around...

Fine. You do that,
I'll take Sarah for a pint.

I need your help.

I do have a couple of other things
on my mind this evening.

Like what?

You are kidding?
What's so important?

Sherlock,
I'm in the middle of a date.

You're going to chase some killer
while I'm trying to...

What?

While I'm trying to get off
with Sarah.

Hey... Ready?

Yeah.

MURMUR OF CONVERSATION

You said circus.
This is not a circus.

Look at the size of this crowd.

Sherlock, this is...art.

This is not their day job.

Sorry, I forgot, they're not
a circus, they're a gang
of international smugglers.

LOUDER DRUM BEAT

WHOOSH
AUDIENCE GASPS

APPLAUSE

Classic Chinese escapology act.

Hm?
The crossbow's on a delicate string.

The warrior has to escape his bonds
before it fires.

HE SHOUTS

DRUM BEAT QUICKENS

GONG
Oh!

THEY LAUGH

She splits the sandbag,
the sand pours out.

Gradually,
the weight lowers into the bowl.

ESCAPOLOGIST SHOUTS AND STRAINS

APPLAUSE

Thank God. My God!

APPLAUSE RESTARTS

Ladies and gentlemen.

From the distant moonlit shores
of the Yangtze River,

we present, for your pleasure,

the deadly Chinese bird spider.

APPLAUSE

Did you see that?

Well, well.

DOOR OPENS

COAT HANGERS RATTLE

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES

Found you.

Come on.
Come on. Let's go!

I sent a couple of cars.
The old hall is totally deserted.

Look, I saw the mark at the circus.
The tattoo that we saw

on the two bodies,
the mark of the Tong.

Lukis and Van Coon were part of
a smuggling operation.

One of them stole something
in China. Something valuable.

The circus performers
were gang members

sent here to get it back.
Get what back?

We don't know.

You don't know?

Mr Holmes,
I've done everything you asked.

Lestrade, he seems to think
your advice is worth something.

I gave the order for a raid.

Please tell me I'll have something
to show for it.

Other than a massive bill
for overtime.

They'll be back in China by tomorrow.

No, they won't leave
without what they came for.

We need to find a hideout.

A rendezvous.

Somewhere in this message
it must tell us.

Well, I think
perhaps I should leave you to it.

No, you don't have to go. Stay.
Yes, it'd be better if you left now.

He's kidding.
Please stay if you'd like.

Is it just me
or is anyone else starving?

Oh, God.

So this is what you do.

You and John,
you solve puzzles for a living.

Consulting detective.

Oh.

Oh!

What are these squiggles?

They're numbers.
An ancient Chinese dialect.

Oh, right. Well, of course
I should have known that.

(I've done punch
and a bowl of nibbles.)

Mrs Hudson, you are a saint.

If it was Monday,
I'd have been to the supermarket.

Thank you. Thank you.

SIRENS PASS BY

So these numbers, it's a cipher?
Exactly.

And each pair of numbers is a word?

How did you know that?

Well, two words
have already been translated. Here.

John. Mmm?

John, look at this.

Soo Lin at the museum, she started
to translate the code for us.

We didn't see it.

Nine mill.

Does that mean millions?

Nine million quid. For what?

We need to know
the end of this sentence.

Where are you going?

To the museum, to the restoration
room. We must have been
staring right at it. At what?

The book, John. The book.
The key to cracking the cipher.

Soo Lin used it to do this. Whilst
we were running around the gallery,

she started to translate the code.
It must be on her desk.

Taxi!

ANGRY VOICE

Entschuldigen Sie, bitte.

Ja, danke(!)

THEY MUTTER

INAUDIBLE

A book that everybody would own.

Please, wait!

Bitte!

Was wollt er?

Hey, du, was machst du?

Minute!
Gib mir doch mein Buch zuruck!

Yeah. No, absolutely.

I mean, a quiet night in
is just what the doctor ordered.

I mean, I love to go out of an
evening and wrestle a few Chinese
gangsters generally,

but a girl can get too much. OK.

Er, shall we get a takeaway?

Yeah.

Page 15, entry 1...

Page 15, entry 1.

Dead man.

You were threatening to kill them.

That's the first cipher.

9... 0... 15...

er, 15 and 36.

36, 39, 39...

39...

9...

"Nine", "mill", "for"...

KNOCK AT DOOR

Blimey, that was quick.
I'll just pop down.

Do you want me to lay the table?

Um...eat off trays? Yeah.

70...35...

Jade...

Jade.

Sorry to keep you.
How much do you want?

Do you have it? What?

Do you have the treasure?
I don't understand.

MUTTERS

"Nine mill for Jade pin.

"Dragon den, black...

"tramway."

DOOR SHUTS

HOLMES: John! John, I've got it.

The cipher, the book. It's the
London A-Z that they're us...

WOMAN: A book is like
a magic garden,

carried in your pocket.

Chinese proverb, Mr Holmes.
I'm...

I'm not Sherlock Holmes.

Forgive me
if I do not take your word for it.

Ow!

Debit card, name of...

S Holmes.

Take my card.

Yes, that's not actually mine.
He lent that to me.

And a cheque for 5,000 made out
in the name of Mr Sherlock Holmes.

Yeah, he gave me that to look after.

Tickets from the theatre
collected by you, name of Holmes.

Yes, OK.

What's the name?
Er, Holmes.

I realise what this looks like.

But I'm not him.

We heard it from your own mouth.
What?

"I am Sherlock Holmes
and I always work alone."

Because no-one else can compete with
my massive intellect.

Did I really say that?

I suppose there's no use me trying
to persuade you I was doing
an impression.

I am Shan.

You're... You're Shan?

Three times we tried to kill you
and your companion, Mr Holmes.

What does it tell you when an
assassin cannot shoot straight?

GUN COCKS

GUN CLICKS

It tells you
that they're not really trying.

Tramway.

There.

Not blank bullets now. OK.

If we wanted to kill you, Mr Holmes,
we would have done it by now.

We just wanted to
make you inquisitive.

Do you have it?
Do I have what?

The treasure. I don't know
what you're talking about.

I would prefer to make certain.

Everything in the West
has its price.

And the price for her life -
information.

SARAH GROANS

(I'm sorry. I'm sorry.)

Where's the hairpin? What?

The Empress pin
valued at 9 million sterling?

We already had a buyer in the West

and then one of our people
was greedy, he took it,

brought it back to London, and you,
Mr Holmes, have been searching.

Please, please. Listen to me.
I'm not...

I'm not Sherlock Holmes.
You have to believe me.

I haven't found whatever it is
you're looking for.

I need a volunteer from
the audience. No, please, please!

Ah, thank you, lady.

Yes, you'll do very nicely.

MUFFLED GROANS

Ladies and gentlemen, from the
distant, moonlit shores of NW1,

we present for your pleasure,

Sherlock Holmes' pretty companion
in a death-defying act. Please!

You've seen the act before.
How dull for you.

You know how it ends.

I'm not Sherlock Holmes!

I don't believe you.

You should, you know.

Sherlock Holmes
is nothing at all like him.

How would you describe me, John?

Resourceful? Dynamic? Enigmatic?
Late?

That's a semi-automatic.
If you fire it,

the bullet will travel at
over 1,000 metres per second.

Well?

Well...
THUMP

..the radius curvature of these
walls is nearly four metres.

If you miss,
the bullet will ricochet.

Could hit anyone.

Might even bounce off the tunnel
and hit you.

WHOOSH
THUMP

GROANS

FOOTSTEPS RECEDE

It's all right.

GRUNTS

You're going to be all right.
It's over now.

Don't worry.

Next date won't be like this.

We'll just slip off. No need
to mention us in your report.

Mr Holmes... I have high hopes
for you, Inspector.

A glittering career.

I go where you point me.

Exactly.

POURING LIQUID

WATSON: Ta.

So, nine million. Million.

Million, yes. Nine million for
Jade pin dragon den black tramway.

An instruction
to all their London operatives.

A message.
What they were trying to reclaim.

What, a jade pin?
Worth 9 million.

Bring it to the Tramway,
their London hideout.

Hang on. A hairpin worth million?

Apparently. Why so much?

Depends who owned it.

Two operatives based in London.

They travel over to Dalian
to smuggle those vases.

One of them helps himself
to something, a little hairpin.

Worth 9 million.
Eddie Van Coon was the thief,

he stole the treasure
when he was in China.

How do you know it was Van Coon,
not Lukis?

Even the killer didn't know that.
Because of the soap.

PHONE RINGS

Amanda?
HOLMES: He brought you a present.

Oh, hello.

A little gift
when he came back from China.

How do you know that?
You weren't just his PA, were you?

Someone's been gossiping.

No. Then I don't understand why...

Scented hand soap in his apartment.

300ml of it. Bottle almost finished.

Sorry...? I don't think Eddie
Van Coon was the type of chap
to buy himself hand soap,

not unless he had
a lady coming over.

And it's the same brand as that
hand cream there on your desk.

Look, it wasn't serious between us.

It was over in a flash,
it couldn't last. He was my boss.

What happened? Why did you end it?

I thought he didn't appreciate me.

Took me for granted.

Stood me up once too often.

We'd plan to go away for the weekend,
and then he'd just leave.

Fly off to China
at a moment's notice.

And he brought you a present
from abroad to say sorry.

Can I just have a look at it?

He really climbed up
onto the balcony?

Nail a plank across the window
and all your problems are over.

Thanks.

He said he bought it
in a street market.

Oh, I don't think that's true.
I think he pinched it.

Yeah, that's Eddie.

Didn't know its value,
just thought it would suit you.

Oh? What's it worth?

9 million.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God!

Nine million?!

Over 1,000 years old

and it's sitting on her bedside table
every night.

He didn't know its value. Didn't
know why they were chasing him.

Should've just got her a lucky cat.

You mind, don't you? What?

That she escaped. General Shan.

It's not enough
that we got her two henchmen.

Must be a vast network, John.

Thousands of operatives.

You and I,
we barely scratched the surface.

You cracked the code though,
Sherlock.

And maybe Dimmock can track down
all of them now he knows it.

No. No, I crack this code,

all the smugglers have to do
is pick up another book.

SIREN BLARES

Without you...

without your assistance,

we would not have found
passage into London.

You have my thanks.

We did not anticipate...

We did not know this man would come.

This Sherlock Holmes.

And now your safety is compromised.

I will not reveal your identity.

SubTitle By Tar698