Page 135 - SHERLOCK transcripts

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SHERLOCK: What?
JOHN: How long have you known?
SHERLOCK: Well, this one was quite simple, actually, and like I said, the bomber repeated
himself. That was a mistake.
(He tries to walk towards Lestrade’s office but again John stops him.)
JOHN: No, but Sherl... The hostage... the old woman. She’s been there all this time.
SHERLOCK (leaning closer and looking at him intensely): I knew I could save her. I also knew
that the bomber had given us twelve hours. I solved the case quickly; that gave me time to get
on with other things. Don’t you see? We’re one up on him!
(He heads into Lestrade’s office. John purses his lips in frustration, then follows.)

Shortly afterwards, Sherlock is sitting at Lestrade’s desk where a laptop has been opened to
The Science of Deduction website. John and Lestrade are standing either side of him. Sherlock
types into the message box:

Raoul de Santos, the house-boy, botox.

(He sends the message and the pink phone on the desk beside the computer rings almost
instantly. He picks it up and holds the phone to his ear.)
SHERLOCK: Hello?
OLD WOMAN (in an anguished voice): Help me.
SHERLOCK (clearly): Tell us where you are. Address.
OLD WOMAN: He was so ... His voice ...
SHERLOCK (urgently): No, no, no, no. Tell me nothing about him. Nothing.
OLD WOMAN: He sounded so ... soft.
(The laser point from the sniper’s rifle moves onto the bomb. A single shot fires and the phone
instantly goes dead.)
SHERLOCK (into phone): Hello?
LESTRADE (seeing his expression): Sherlock?
JOHN: What’s happened?
(Slowly, staring ahead of himself, Sherlock lowers the phone from his ear. He bites his lip as
Lestrade – realising that something bad must have happened – straightens up and sighs. John
braces a hand on the back of Sherlock’s chair.)

MORNING. 221B. Sherlock and John are sitting in their armchairs watching the news on the TV.
Sherlock has the pink phone on the left arm of his chair. The windows are still broken and
boarded up and the traffic is loud outside. On the TV, the picture shows a high-rise block of flats
and the headline at the bottom of the screen reads, “12 dead in gas explosion.” The picture
moves to a close-up, showing a corner of the building many floors up which has been torn open
and exposed to the air.
NEWS READER: The explosion, which ripped through several floors, killing twelve people ...
JOHN (briefly glancing over his shoulder to Sherlock): Old block of flats.
NEWS READER: ... is said to have been caused by a faulty gas main. A spokesman from the
utilities company ...
JOHN: He certainly gets about.
SHERLOCK: Well, obviously I lost that round – although technically I did solve the case.
(He picks up the remote control and mutes the volume. Lowering his hand again he looks
thoughtfully into the distance.)
SHERLOCK: He killed the old lady because she started to describe him.
(He raises a finger on his other hand.)
SHERLOCK: Just once, he put himself in the firing line.
JOHN: What d’you mean?
SHERLOCK: Well, usually, he must stay above it all. He organises these things but no-one ever
has direct contact.
JOHN: What ... like the Connie Prince murder – he-he arranged that? So people come to him
wanting their crimes fixed up, like booking a holiday?
SHERLOCK (softly, his face full of admiration): Novel.
(John looks at him in disbelief, then turns and looks at the TV screen again, which has moved
on to a new story.)
JOHN: Huh.

Transcripts by Ariane DeVere (arianedevere@livejournal.com)