The Sign of Four - Part Ten

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Previously on Sherlock and Co.

Mohinder's car, in the tread of the tires, I found this piece of 10mm polar white shingle. So this gravel is from a place he went in his car? This is a place he would visit frequently.

I've seen it before, in fact. We've been to a house very recently with this exact stone shingle.

When I finished reading a, quite frankly, deranged book that documents the propriety rights of all the valuable stones of India.

What triggered a moment of recognition was when I realised I was honoured with a signed copy. Lucky me.

Heirlooms by Jonathan Small.

The S, there. Around Around one in a hundred people, I believe, write an S from bottom to top.
I had seen it somewhere else. On this, the note that killed Mary's poor old father.
Look now, I.

Mariana, you opened your case at long last.

Yes, because you locked it. Could you pass me what I placed inside? Dr.
Watson, could you tell me and the table what this is? Oh. Oh my gosh.

Okay, yes, that is a um acidia shinbo.

And now, Mr. Jonathan Small has stood up, I can show another curiosity.

Archie, over here, this way, mate. Corduroy is made up of vertical ridges or whales, which create little gaps that trap a lot of dust and fur and

hair.

Hair, in this instance, of a half-spaniel, half-lurcher.

Wait a second now, named Toby. You don't! It's ours! It's ours, you fuck.
You're being reckless. I'm entering the property.
Get back to Gregson now. No! Toby! Hey, Toby! Hey, boy! Get the boy.
Go!

Tonga! Watson!

Oh, bloody hell!

Get back, Rohinda.

He's safe.

He is.

He's safe now.

Crazy view, isn't it?

For a hospital. I mean, you're right on the Thames, you can see the houses of Parliament.
Crazy.

I can see Mary and Mariana heading off to the Spanish ship. It's such a crazy view.
Sorry, why is this crazy?

I just, you know, I'm half tempted to chuck myself down the stairs and get a room with a view here.

It's amazing. I think I'd get more sense talking to the half-conscious boy.

Look at all his get well soon cards, by the way. Flowers here and chocolate.
Oh,

look at this. God, one from Chelsea Football Club.
Bore off.

Seems very generous. Yeah, yeah, whatever.
I bet they tweeted that they were doing that. Yeah, oh, look at us.
We sent him a card. Oh, blimey and a season ticket here.
Look.

Virtue signaling, that, mate. That's what that is.

Did you get him anything? No, but

that

we saved his life.

You don't think we're expected to get him a card as well?

You're shrugging. Why are you shrugging?

No, I'm not gonna do it. I think, you know,

we've given him the best gift.

Life. Yeah, you know, what's better than that? What can possibly top that? There's a gift shop in the lobby.

Okay, so I got this card which says you're one tough cookie and it's a picture of a cookie with a plaster on his head. Thoughts?

It's not really his head, is it? What? The entire cookie is just a face.

You know what I mean. Anyway, on the inside, I've put get well soon, blah blah blah, Then lots of love from John, Sherlock, Mariana, and Archie.

Then a couple of kisses, which, yes, is embarrassing for a teenage boy, but does make us look nice and sweet to the parents. Happy?

I really don't care. Great, thanks.
Just gonna move these cards out of the way and put ours at the front. Let's put that Chelsea one back there, and these can get lost as well.

There we go.

Any news

on us being able to visit him, have a chat, and work out what Aurora means. Not yet.
Right.

Right.

Do the parents and the medical staff realize that a priceless diamond is at stake? Mm-hmm.

A priceless diamond that is still being hunted by the final member of a ruthless gang who have committed assassinations and atrocities across India and the UK?

I believe we have imparted all this information, yes. Great, great.
So, if if they beat us to the diamond, can I blame the NHS? Or

we're needed elsewhere for now, anyway.

What? We are message from Athelney. We've been invited to speak with Jonathan Small at Scotland Yard.

Wow.

Let's do it. Indeed.

Stop rearranging the cards.

Watson.

Here he comes.

Hello again.

Hi, Jonathan. Mr.
Jonathan Small. As you know, my name is Agent Athene Jones.
I work for Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organisation. Present with me is Dr.

John Watson and Sherlock Holtz.

We have been allocated this appointment with yourself due to the nature of our co-investigation with Scotland Yard. Our presence does not constitute any legal authority.

You have agreed to the chat out of goodwill, which we appreciate. I am obviously obligated to inform you this is being recorded.

Does that all sound

hunky-dory?

Oh, hunky-dory indeed.

Why did you do it?

Oh, okay.

Into the deep end. Goodness me.

Splash.

Read his book. It's all in there.
I'm not reading his bloody book. I can't even read books I actually want to read.
What makes you say that? Well, just like concentration spans.

I'm talking to him. Oh.
You say it's in my book. How so? I never claimed to desire any diamonds.
I merely charted their lineage. Yes.

And it's in that obsessive charting that you reveal an unhealthy attachment to

the very nature of ownership.

I think we can get bogged down in semantics, but the author has a duty to make the reader care. Can we get to the fucking point, please? Do you have the Suda Cooler? I do not.
Mr. Small, I do not.

He's telling the truth. Well, I would like to hear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so bloody help me, God.
It's a right of war.

Do you understand?

The conquered have a responsibility, a duty to be punished for defeat. That diamond, that.

That.

It is a right of war. The British Empire doesn't have any rights in 2024 to go take it.
It was a company.

wasn't it? A corporation won that war. Free enterprise won that war.
Not a country.

But look who took the spoils.

It is a right

of war.

Countries, borders, waterways, trade routes, ports, artillery, forts, castles, a multitude of other belongings to a warring party, they are are subject to the contract of the conflict.

You lose, you hand it over.

The Surakula is no different.

It is not a cultural artifact. It is not some

wishy-washy signifier of a people or a society. It is a commodity.

A lot of people would disagree. Yes, well, a lot of people are poor.

And they will remain so, so long as they blue-pill themselves with

intangible constructs of meaning and culture.

Follow the distribution of assets of the East India Company, huh? Follow the chain of ownership from 1600 to 1874. They didn't just vanish into dust.
Where are her diamonds? Mary Morstan.

What does it matter?

She sold them, I bought them. A deal's a deal.
Is that how you met her? By purchasing the diamonds? Or did you know her before? What do you think, Mr. Holmes? I think a lot of things, Mr.
Small.

Hmm, so I've noticed. Hmm.
Trouble is,

you lack nuance. I assure you, I don't.
Oh, but you do.

Don't you see it yet? Arthur Morstan is just like me. You think he's some noble defender of sacred relics.
Oh, do please. Piss off, honestly.
He kept the Syriacula from you. She wanted it for himself.

You want to know how I lost my leg? He took the stone. He betrayed me.
And his expedition team. Khan, Sing, Akbar, he left all of us behind.

He and Shoto watched that door seal shut on me.

Watched it crush and splinter my leg into pieces.

Watched me beg for my life and they did nothing

Well, let me tell you something.

You can praise him all you want, and you can try and denigrate me and my friends. But the fact of the matter is, who poured whiskey down my throat to numb the pain? Sing did.

Who severed my leg to save my life? Akbar did.

And who sealed the wound as my blood pooled into the hollows of that temple? Khan did.

Where was Shoto?

Where was Morstom?

Hmm?

I'm glad they're dead.

I'm downright feverish with fucking glee that Sholto gargled his last breath in agony as Acid tore open his throat.

I have been thrilled since Arthur Morstan had his lungs eaten up by my anthrax ten years ago.

Coughing his way to a sad, lonely, pitiful death.

Sorry, not sorry.

Not much nuance there.

Quite the use of histrionics in your book. On claims to the East India Company and its assets, you did rather bore on about that point for some time.
Well, thank you very much.

Always nice to get a little critical feedback. Pleasure.
I made the mistake of sharing that information with Morstan and his family's claim, didn't I? It was absorbed by the Crown.

Absorbed by the Crown? Well, how very convenient for the Crown.

They got their gemstone, I see.

Hmm. Where's mine?

What do the smalls get?

Heck, what do the bastard Morstens get when that company gets picked apart by the vultures of state power? Hmm? Land, I would expect. Slaves, power, influence.
Where is it now, then? Look, Jonathan.

I wouldn't try and reason with him whatsoever. I realize he hurt you, but Arthur Morstan.
And Sholto, they didn't sell it in exchange for power, did they? They tried to return it to Pondicherry.

They realized their mistake. They didn't just steal it away.
Oh, but they did steal it away.

The company assigned that jewel to a shareholder. By the name of Small.

It is mine.

It is mine.

I don't care what a nation decides to absorb.

Property means something.

Ownership means something.

Does it not?

Everything was stolen away. And the sign of four don't forget.

Heirlooms come in all forms, you know.

Silver,

gold,

blood,

words,

anger,

revenge.

We don't forget, Dr. Watson.

Well, that's good. It'll give you something to think about as you rot away in prison, Jonathan.

Maybe you could write another one of your cracking books. We will find the meaning of Aurora, and Abdullah Khan will secure the Subrakula for the Sign of Four.

A brotherhood that was forged in blood and grief in the frenzy of betrayal. We will never forget.

Khan will secure it. There is no doubt in my mind.

Highly unlikely, but he's more than welcome to give it a shot. Oh, he will, and then watch.
Watch nations and people bargain for our release just to get access to God's heart.

Watch Jonathan Small walk free and Dost Akbar and Mahinda sing.

Just watch and see how the feeble minds melt away in pathetic worship at the artifact of their culture.

A rather challenging request seeing as Mohinder Singh was burnt alive under the weight of your Versailles chantelier.

What? Once in the Hall of Mirrors, that thing, Watson. Did you know that? Must have cost a few bobs.
Yes, I thought the same. Shut up.

Ever so fitting that a sparkly souvenir from the palace of Versailles would crush a man that casually disregarded the true value of humanity in pursuit of a shiny commodity.

Eh, Jonathan. Very fitting.
Would that be irony, Watson? It would indeed. Me.
Lovely. I did detect a hint.
Just watch, Sherlock.

Just watch. Mr.
Small,

we need to know what Aurora is. I know you spoke about the potential of a time frame.

The northern lights seen in India. Come on.
What? He doesn't know any of that nonsense. He was waiting for us to crack it and then beat us to the diamond.
Are we sure sure about that? Oh, we're sure.

Pst.

Jonathan.

I know you think that smile on your face exudes power or control, but it doesn't.

It reeks of weakness and defeat.

Just a little critical feedback.

Abdullah Khan will take the stone.

You don't know what you're up against. Three down, one to go, Mr.
Small.

You are forgetting, of course, that we have Tonga, and only he knows the meaning of Aurora. So, give Mr.
Khan my best regards, but I do rather feel we have a head start,

don't you?

You're talking to a man that cut his own leg off with a lot of condescension, Sherlock.

Don't underestimate me,

don't underestimate the sign of four

just a little critical feedback.

Well, gotta be honest. He's bloody potty, isn't he? Yeah, he's.
he's lost it. As many do when they fixate on their darker motivations.
Yeah, well, he can be as dark as he wants.

He ain't going nowhere. He'll see out his life behind bars, which, my lovely new pals, means job done.
Athelny, thank you so much for everything. Hey, no, thank you too.

Best dinner party I've ever been to.

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, cheers, mate.

Oh, and you, Sherlock. Nice one.
What of the Surakula? Ah, Scotland Yard giving the nod for full takeover. So

I just get to watch from the sidelines now, boy. We'll speak to Tonga.
We'll find the meaning of Aurora. You do that.
Hey, and take a bloody selfie or something next to that thing for me, please.

Will do. Bye, mate.
Bye. Oh,

yeah, Tom. What's going on? Actually, I believe the line is: hello, hello, hello, what's going on here then?

What are you okay?

You're.

Aren't you supposed to be with Tonga? We're going to see him now. What are you talking about? At the hospital.

Do you need to give us permission or something stupid like that?

I already have. Tom, what's wrong? I had a call from the hospital that you were already there.
No. Go now.
Go.

No, no. No, no, no.

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Small tricked us.

He knew we wouldn't be able to resist hearing his account.

And he did it

while the boy was still vulnerable. We're fools, Watson.
Just calm down, eh? We don't know yet.

Yes, hello. Tonga Bajois.
We're here to see Tonga Bajois.

Holmes and Watson. Uh, visiting hours have concluded, I'm afraid.
You should be afraid. And I should be able to see that boy right now.
Listen, please, we're part of an investigation.

Remember, we came here last night with Inspector Gregson. We brought the boy in.
If we could just... I'm going to have to speak to the family.
Yes, yes, okay, good. Where are they?

They're bringing him some things from home. Okay, cool.
We don't have time for this. Sherlock, they're not going to let us see him until they speak to his pair.

Well, can they hurry up and answer the bloody phone? Sherlock, mate, for God's sake, they're cards and flowers for Tonga. Put them back.
Tonga. Sherlock.
Tonga. If you could, unlock the door.

So sorry. Sherlock, get a grip, mate.
We can't lose this, Watson. Not now.
May I remind you, Tonga is what mattered here. This is what we got in it for.
Not some diamond. He's safe.

He's just told them what Aurora means, okay?

I know.

I know.

No answer, but I can try again. I'm just gonna ask that you calm down.

I'm very sorry. If you could clean that up? Absolutely.
Of course. forgive me.

Next time we're angry, we take it out on something else, okay? Not cards and flowers from the people he loves.

Stop. Oh, yeah, and wealthy London football clubs, of course, then.
Stop, stop! What is it?

It was

the very first deduction I made.

I.

I solved the bloody thing in a few seconds. What are you talking about? We've been working this case for ages.
The moment I entered his room, Watson, I saw it then. And it's...

I.

It must be here somewhere. She would have sent something.

Not making things any clearer here, mate. I've got his parents on the phone now.
Oh, I don't need that anymore. Thank you.
What are you talking about? Love, Watson. I'm talking about love.

Where is it?

Where is it?

Hey, don't open his card.

And there it is.

A card from

the girlfriend.

Sherlock, where are you going?

My tongue, I was so scared. Cannot wait to see you again.
I'll never let you go. All the love in the world.

Aurora.

Oh my god, he gave her the diamond. He gave her the bloody diamond.

From where school, how can I help? In year nine, you have a student named Aurora. She must remain at the school.
I am contacting the local police, but if anybody attempts to...

What? No.

It's a field trip day. God help me.
Where? Where is the bloody field trip? Uh, the Andalus Sigurd. They're visiting the Andalus Siget.
Just do I need to let the staff? The Andaluthia.

A replica Spanish galleon from the 16th century. It's here in London.
I know what it bloody is. You do? Yes, but where? Where is it? St.
Catherine's Dock. Okay.

Uh, where's that? Tower Bridge. Okay, I'll call.
Um.

no wait, Sherlock, stop. Excuse me.

Sherlock, out of the way. Don't do what I think you're gonna do.

What do you think I'm going to do?

You are not pirates, Sherlock. I'm not gonna sail down the Thames to commenteer a Spanish galleon.

Excuse me, sir.

Need something with a bit of oat. Chop, chop, Watson.

Oh, God.

This has to be illegal. Oh, absolutely.
There's a speed limit of 12 knots from Wandsworth Bridge all the way to London City Airport. Okay, how fast are we going?

40 knots. Oh, wait, 42 knots.
I hate you. Wave at the tourists, Watson.
Hello. Stop waving and keep your eyes on the river.
Gladly.

Mariana, hi. Yeah, it's me.
Are you okay? Yeah,

I'm good, thanks. What are you doing? I'm on a speedboat going down the Thames.
It's technically not a speedboat. Sorry, what? Where are you? Are you at the Andalusia yet?

I can't hear you very well, but I'm with Mary. We're gonna check out the.
Don't say Andalusia. Yeah.
Keep Mary away from there.

What? Why? Because Abdullah Khan is there. He's trying to take the Surapula.
From who? From Aurora, who's Tonga's girlfriend all this time. Is she gonna be okay?

We don't know, but as you can hear, we're on our way. Oh, God.

What?

There's a chance. There's a chance Mary heard you.
Mary, no, wait, wait.

Oh, crap. Stop her, Mariana.

Mariana!

Your prevention phone call didn't go as well as you'd hoped then. No, it bloody didn't.
In fact, it had the opposite effect. Yes, I know.

This is what happens when those tourist attractions do limited exhibitions. Everyone flocks to it.
Once we go under Blackfriars Bridge, we should be able to see Tower Bridge. Good work, mate.

Thank you.

Up here, come on.

There isn't time for that. Excuse me, out of the way.

There, Watson. On your left.
Oh, for goodness sake, look at the size of that cube. Mary! Mary!

Okay, well, that is a lot of women called Mary.

Mary Morstan!

Aurora!

I can't see her. Never mind her.
The school. You're looking for the school field trip.
Mary!

This way! Just wait a second. We cannot afford to.
We must board the ship. Oh, well, we really are gonna do the whole pirate.
Excuse me, coming through.

What are you doing? What are you doing? The entrance is over there. Yes.

The time is of the essence, Watson.

Here.

That's rope.

It's one of the mooring lines to the stern. And it's attached to the ship.
All we have to do is scale the rope and we're onto the deck. Easy peasy.

Off we go. Oh, wait.
Okay, okay, right.

That's deep, dark water there. Thames as well.
So probably full of oil and

is.

This is called the S-rope technique. You allow the rope to pass around your right leg

and then you wrap around the outside of your right foot and under the arch. Pinch the rope together between your feet.
And now you see.

Stand on the rope with minimal hand grip. Ingenious.

Get a bloody move on. I'm just offering a comfortable technique.

Well, I'm not looking to be comfortable. I'm looking to be aboard that ship.
Go, go, go.

We go.

People are staring.

Well, we are climbing the mooring of a docked 17th century Spanish galleon replica.

Yeah, I noticed that, Sherlock. Thank you, mate.

Okay, I can climb onto the stern here.

You on?

I'm on. Here.
Give me your hand.

On we come. Ah, there we go.

I see the school. Where? Right at the front.
It's called the bow. Shush.
Let's go.

Aurora!

Aurora! Aurora! Just wait there!

Everybody, stay exactly where they are, please. The police are on their way, I hope.
But it is of the utmost importance that we all remain where we are. Aurora, who's Aurora? You're not in trouble.

I just need to know who Aurora is.

She's not here.

No, that's...

She has to be. Uh, she could be downstairs.
We were taking pictures in the gun deck. Gun deck.
Go. Down the steps.
It'll be this way.

Aurora!

Stop, Watson. What? Oh, there.

You were very close, gentlemen. Very close.
But not close enough. Help me! Shh, no,

Aurora. It's okay.
Everything is alright. Yes, everything is alright.
Because now I have this.

And if everyone behaves themselves, we can all get what we want out of this. Let go of the girl.

Ah,

you read my mind.

Very good. Yes, I have a knack for that.
I'm going to hand over the girl, and you will let me walk away with the stone.

Do we think that is fair?

It may be fair, but it's far from ideal. Sherlock.
Or maybe if we don't see eye to eye,

things will get complicated.

Maybe she will get hurt. No, no, no, no, no, no one is going to get hurt.
Oh, but they might.

You see, pain and suffering has been a bit one-sided.

And I think maybe, just maybe,

a little blood needs to be spilled. A little squealing from the other side for once.
I don't doubt that you've suffered.

I don't doubt that, but you.

You said it yourself. You know, we all have a favored outcome here.
We want Aurora. You want the Suracula.
Okay? You want to come with us? Right, Aurora? To see Tonga, to see your family.

Yeah. See?

It's a win-win, eh, Abdullah? Not quite.

Those tourists up there, they have gone ever so quiet, don't you think? Um,

can't really tell.

Either they left, or perhaps they were moved out. Would that be because the police have arrived?

No. So, in case it wasn't clear,

this is the hostage. I'm the hostage taker.
I'm the person that gets listened to.

See?

Don't do that. It's just a drop of blood.
Put the knife talking, and I'll spill a bucket of it

right out of her neck. Is that clear?

All right, all right.

If we're going to get what we want,

we're all going to work together.

Do we understand that, gentlemen?

We do.

Yeah.

Indeed.

You're going to wait, stood in that exact spot, on your best behavior, right?

Right.

You.

You will call your police friends, and you will put Jonathan on the line. Of course, do it now.

Your girlfriend is talking to you. I don't have a girlfriend.
Listen, you fool. Do we have a problem? They're taking the time to answer the call, Mr.
Khan. Apologies.

Can you hear it?

I can.

Captain?

She's just said Captain. Ah, it's my reception down here.
It must be. Mr.
Kahn, may I make a suggestion? You may not. Oh, I really don't care for any fun in the games.

I'm a very pragmatic person to a fault. Isn't that right, Watson? Um.

Yeah.

And like you, I generally prefer it when the police aren't involved. You'll see down there that doorway.
Hmm. That's the officer's quarters.
The room farthest back will be the captain's cabin.

There will be a window near a mooring line. It's where my colleague and I climbed aboard.
At the end of the mooring line, there will be our boat, which you are welcome to take.

When you do so, the girl, Watson, and I will emerge on the deck of the ship to the police and a grateful watching audience to ensure all eyes are on us.

Securing your escape.

That door down there. Correct.

I can lead the way if you wish.

Please do.

Hey!

What is that? A bomb? A what?

Oh, no, it's a microphone. For a podcast.

Give it to her. Give it to her.
To the girl. Why? Because if it's an explosive, then I don't have a problem, do I?

She might.

It's just a microphone. Give her the device.
Okay, okay. Um, this this

fine, this this is fine. Um, there you go, Aurora.

I'd hold it myself, but hands are full. I noticed

to the captain's cabin now,

not you. What you stay here.
Sorry, why? I don't want to be outnumbered.

Fair enough, I suppose. We'll be one moment, Watson.
Yeah, okay.

Okay.

And here we have the officer's quarters. Rather cozy, as you can see.
But if we head through this way, the captain's cabin is just this door here.

After you, Mr. Khan.
No, I'd rather you go first.

Right, yes, no problem.

Ah, yes. Much nicer.
Come through.

As you can see, bigger. Much bigger.

Fits all five of us.

Five?

Let go of the knife, Abdullah.

Let go of the bloody knife.

Let go.

Mary!

Oh, no!

Hold them! No! Hold them! Still! No!

I can't!

I can't! Shit!

Whoa, whoa! I'm Tom Gregson. You okay? You're Aurora, yeah? Are you Aurora, love? Yes or no? Yeah.

Yeah, I am. Aurora! Aurora, where is he? Where's Sherlock?

He's.

They're fighting in the cabin. The two women were there, and they.

He dropped the knife. John, wait!

Get off her! John!

Drop the fucking knife!

You bastard!

Drop it!

That's it. I told you this was a microphone, not a weapon, but you bloody made it one, buddy.

All right.

It's over, okay? It's over, Abdullah. Just stop.

You! Don't move! Do not move! Hope you get John. Getting up, yeah?

I'm getting up. Hands on your head.

Is everyone okay? Hands on your head right now. You are thieves.
You are.

I told you not to move, mate. No one touch him until you get the clear from our team.

Yeah,

sure.

I wasn't planning on it.

Sure. Okay, okay.

I am.

She's not.

What?

Hey, John. Mary.
Mary, where are you hurt? Show me. I uh.

I don't know.

I don't know if it feels, um.

I can't feel it.

Take my hand. Where is it? Okay, where?

Okay, okay, there it is. Right.

Ambulance on the way, right? Tom? On its way. And I'm just...
I'm applying a tiny bit of pressure, okay?

I know, I know, I know, it's okay. It's okay.
Let's get those legs a bit higher, please, Mariana. I got you, Mary.
There you go. Thanks, Mariana.

And I'm sorry, I've got to do just a bit more pressure there. It's just.
I know, I know. Yeah, oh.
Just in a very awkward spot.

I think it's gone into your stomach, which.

Hey, that's okay.

Oh, that's okay, is it? Yeah.

Yeah, that's actually not a disaster.

What would be a disaster?

Uh, heart. Oh, yeah.
Yeah, heart would suck.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, face is obviously crap, too.
Oh, yeah, no thanks.

Imagine, like, in the eye. Yeah, you'd have to wear an eye patch

and live out my days on my Spanish galleon. There you go.
There you go.

You need to work on your bedside, mana.

I thought I was doing a pretty good job.

You are, but um.

your eyes give away a lot.

Do they now?

You're scared.

I am scared, yes.

Stupid eyes. Oh, you should get an eye patch.
We could be eye-patch twins. Yeah, we

could be eye-patch twins.

Did you see it?

Did I see what? The surcula.

I did.

What's it like? It's

yeah.

It's good.

it's huge

huge

here

oh wow

there it is

yes

your old friend

apparently so

my old shiny friend

yeah it's big and we have it

thanks to you

Tamifa

Hey, hey, hey, hey, you stay with me.

Just stay awake for a little bit longer.

I feel quite sick.

Yeah, you will. You've got a hole in your stomach.

Dead?

Sorry?

I got it back.

You got it back.

I did it.

You did it.

I did.

By the time you finish this, we will be ready for Christmas. If you're a Patreon member, you will receive volume one of this adventure right now.
That's the first half, five parts.

And you'll get the second volume a month later.

In between episodes, there'll be plenty of additional material for you members, including all new case book episodes and mailbags and interviews and all the

yeah, look, you know the drill. I won't be doing intros for every part.
That'll that'll get tiring for all of us.

So I will

see you at the end.

But right now,

it's time for the beginning.

Welcome to the sign of four.

Um

God.

I feel like

I feel like I'm being disingenuous with all that, and that's

not cool. Um

sort of promised myself I'd always be honest with you, lot.

So,

yeah, um

Mary died

and um

yeah it uh

it's not how you'd think either she she was um

she was in hospital for a week

She was awake at points and and talking and laughing and um

I've even got a few scenes in this edit where she's even in the thing, and it just doesn't feel right now. So, I think they're gonna

be on the cutting room floor,

as they say.

I'm really sorry.

I didn't really think the show was going.

People always email and say that we cheer them up and that we take their mind off the bad stuff and now this has happened. This is.

I'm really, really sorry.

Um

yes

she was improving. Um

Then there were some complications

Mary was

stabbed in the stomach

She was recovering from that um

what wasn't obvious at first though was

that her abdominal aorta had got a little nick.

That's the the main blood vessel that powers all the

all the big stuff in there, the big the big guns. And um

yeah, she

she went into an ICU with some internal bleeding and just

started to um

shut down, I guess.

It's funny, I can I carry my mic around for everything to catch

every moment, every little

I don't know, the second that

things went south, I just

switched it off.

I just

I knew mate,

mate, who's mate

sorry, not had much sleep here, as you can imagine. Um

I don't know what to do with this bloody adventure now.

You know, I know there's a lot of people that listen that want the laughter and the lightness, and I don't, um

yeah, I don't have it.

I don't have it

this all happened a while ago, so

it'll be November or

December for you guys. Um

still October here

Maybe I'll um

oh what will I do? Uh

maybe I'll put in one of the

hospital scenes again, you know.

You can you can hear Mary yourselves and

say goodbye

and uh

yeah, you you

you deserve that, so

this is

this is that

you you are engaged?

What? Yeah, I'm engaged. Oh my wow, wow.
Oh my wow.

Oh Stamford, congratulations, congratulations. And of course, congrats to Nadia.

Oh, man, can you both sing at your own wedding? Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way. How'd you tell it? Was it corny? It wasn't bloody corny.
Who says corny? But what's corny about me? I'm me.

Oh, what? Come on. I got you that fancy pillow and changed your drip this morning.

You tried. They nearly threw you in the Thames.
Yeah, well, it's been a few years, hasn't it?

Oh, here he is. John, did you know Stanford is engaged? I know.
Have you seen the ring she's got? No. It got a picture.
Look. Oh, what? Oh,

what?

Hmm. Hold on.
Don't even get me started.

Is that Tonga's Diamond? Tonga's Diamond that started this whole stupid thing. Yep.
Ugh, you idiots. Good observation, Mariana.
Thank you. I learned from the best, apparently.

No, look, I was gonna propose, right? And I told John, and he said he knew of a diamond going spare. Yes, then he tried to take a cut.
Oh, right. Now, rewind.
Hold on. I did not try and take a cut.

You wanted to charge him a thousand pounds. That is not what I said.
You are so bloody tight, you. Oi, I just gave you a free diamond.
I said.

All I said was to contribute towards our expenses because of that stupid diamond.

Yeah, not sure about that. Oh, you're not so sure.
How convenient for you. Okay, you lot.
I've got a dressing change coming up, so unless you want to see blood and goop and stitches.

Ah, nah, not for me. Sounds like a work day.
I'm gonna go find some new clients before we go bankrupt. Not without my approval.
Wait, approval of what? The bankruptcy order.

Well, uh, I'm gonna

go edit Britain's favourite true crime podcast. Oh, you have a podcast? You never mentioned it.
Oh, did I not? No.

Well, I will, uh, I'll tell you about it sometime.

Please don't.

Goodbye, Miss Mustin. Goodbye, Dr.
Watson.

And Mary,

the princess of Pondicherry,

took the diamond back home

into its temple

where it would shine and sparkle forever

and ever.

I did it.

You did it

night, night,

my Mary

Night bed.

No sequence

navidades because

everything

that McDonald's trajectories of regrets the magic, and that is only

limited. And if

you sandwiched, it's only cubierto dun intensified barbecue. It's sufficiente para la legar me las fiestas.
And the unicorn that receives a year, because also can

refresh a

mixture of macripor solo sentences.

But

participation can bear no puede combinars with a trover, like it.