cover of episode 21 - The Solitary Cyclist - Part One

21 - The Solitary Cyclist - Part One

2024/2/20
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夏洛克·福尔摩斯
扎克·伍德利
玛丽安娜
约翰·华生
薇奥莱特·卡鲁瑟斯
鲍比·卡鲁瑟斯
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约翰·华生:作为一名真罪播客主持人,我记录了我和夏洛克·福尔摩斯调查薇奥莱特·卡鲁瑟斯案件的经过。这个案件始于一张情人节卡片,卡片上请求我们的帮助,并提到了一个跟踪狂'孤独的骑车人'。在调查过程中,我们发现薇奥莱特·卡鲁瑟斯在网上遭到网络私刑,她的个人信息被泄露,她受到了严重的在线骚扰和威胁。我们前往萨里郡的Charlington村,找到了薇奥莱特,并了解到她被跟踪、性侵犯以及遭受了持续的网络骚扰。 玛丽安娜:我收到了薇奥莱特寄来的情人节卡片,卡片上请求我们的帮助。我将卡片交给夏洛克,他通过分析卡片和信封上的信息,推断出寄信人的身份和位置。 夏洛克·福尔摩斯:我通过分析情人节卡片和信封上的细节,包括邮戳、邮编、价格标签等信息,迅速锁定了寄信人的身份和位置——萨里郡Charlington村的薇奥莱特·卡鲁瑟斯。之后,我通过TikTok找到了薇奥莱特,并发现她正在遭受网络私刑和跟踪。我推断出薇奥莱特从事成人内容创作,并因此受到了大量男性关注,最终导致她被网络私刑。在Charlington村,我找到了薇奥莱特的住处,并与她的未婚夫扎克和家人进行了交谈,最终揭露了案件的真相。 扎克·伍德利:我是薇奥莱特的未婚夫,我帮助她处理了网络骚扰和跟踪事件。我找到了那些骚扰者在网上建立的论坛,并向警方报案。 鲍比·卡鲁瑟斯:我是薇奥莱特的弟弟,我伪造了那张情人节卡片,因为我想帮助我的姐姐。我为我的行为感到后悔,并希望能够弥补我的过错。我威胁要杀死那些骚扰我姐姐的人,因为我无法忍受他们对她的伤害。 薇奥莱特·卡鲁瑟斯:我是一名成人内容创作者,因为我想要退出这个行业,我发布了告别视频。然而,我的举动激怒了我的粉丝,他们开始对我进行网络私刑,泄露我的个人信息,并对我进行跟踪和骚扰。我被跟踪狂'孤独的骑车人'跟踪,还遭受了性侵犯。我非常感谢约翰和夏洛克的帮助,他们帮助我找到了真相,并让我摆脱了困境。

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With an hour before boarding, there's only one place to go, the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. There, you can recharge before the big adventure or enjoy a locally inspired dish. You can recline in a comfy chair to catch up on your favorite show or order a craft cocktail at the bar.

Whatever you're in the mood for, find the detail that moves you with curated touches at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. Chase, make more of what's yours. Learn more at chase.com slash sapphirereserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. This episode is brought to you by Tinder. Meet cutes happen every day on Tinder, just not like they do in the movies. Hey, nice motorcycle. Do you have room for a plus one?

I thought you'd never ask. No matter how your journey starts, if you take a chance on romance, you may join the millions of relationships that started thanks to Tinder. Like the one you just heard. Explore all the possibilities for yourself. Tinder. It starts with a swipe. Download Tinder today. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables?

It's hard to make time for the things that keep you healthy, but being consistent with self-care is like working a muscle. And when life gets crazy, that muscle keeps you strong. Therapy is the ultimate self-care, and BetterHelp makes it easy to get started with affordable online sessions you can do from anywhere. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com to learn more. That's BetterHelp.com.

Go to patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and Co. For bonus material, early access to episodes, ad-free listening, transcripts, and much more. That's patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and Co. Okay. John, I did it. Do I just hit stop or...

Warning! This episode contains shenanigans. So, you know, watch out. You better turn off if you're a shenaniganophobe or whatever. I don't know. Hi, welcome. This episode, or whole adventure, actually, contains, yes, the usual stuff. A bit of swearing and so on. But I should flag it...

It contains themes of sexual nature, coercion, intimidation and the depths of human depravity. So, yeah, lovely uplifting tale on its way to you. Sue, if you're still listening, thanks. Good luck. And yeah, have a good one. Howdy, colleagues. There you go, buddy. Is he dirty? Archie?

Yeah, well, I'll let him answer that when I mention a little cockapoo named Doris. Hmm? What happened there, mate? You want to tell the room? Are you ashamed of yourself? Humping again? Well, look, you know, you spent some time with her first. There were jokes, there was flirting. People don't like that, John. He can't just hump every dog in the park. Oh, I know that. I'm just saying, he humped Doris after Doris definitely gave some signals that...

You know, she was into it. Oh, and how did Doris's owner feel about this? Doris is a grown-up. She's six. Yeah, that means she's 42, so she can make her own decisions. Seriously? They picked her up and gave me a lecture about humping random strangers in the park. You've been doing what in the park? Ha ha ha, very funny. No, it's Archie. Oh, look, the punk rock violinist cut his finger. What a surprise.

Have you put a Thomas the Tank Engine plaster over that? I have, yes. Alright. Fair enough, I suppose. Why exactly is Archie humping? He's been neutered. Yeah, it's a dominance or excited thing. Or she was in heat. I don't know. Strange fellow.

Perhaps he's perverted. He's not perverted. He's just a dog. Wanted a bit of action. You have to be careful. Some dog owners are weird-ass people. Yes, I know they're weird-ass people. I just spent ten minutes being lectured by them. But he's been done. He's taking precautions. She's not. Yes, yes. But they don't know that at first, do they?

Maybe you should put him on a lead at all times? Look, he's covered for birth control. He's got no balls. Well, he learns from his master, yeah. Not the balls thing, the birth control thing. Hence my lucky condom in my wallet. John, are you serious? What? My lucky condom? Of course I'm serious. I had it since 2019. Pre-pandemic condom. It's a condom in your wallet that you haven't needed to use since 2019.

Uh, yep. Guess. I guess so. So, how is it lucky? It seems like it's actually an unlucky condom. It's a cursed condom.

Yeah, whatever. My dog is not a pervert. Yeah? End of discussion. He's our dog. He's right. We're all responsible for that pervert. Overweight pervert. Right, that's enough. Archie is a romantic, alright? Is that really that bad? He's not growling and trying to bite dogs' faces off or sniffing and judging other dogs' values from the sidelines. He just wants to show his love to others.

I'm sorry if that's unacceptable these days. Sorry if affection and intimacy are offensive or problematic or beneath people now, but he... He's humping my boots. Oh, Archie, come on. Sorry. I mean, they are nice boots, to be fair. My name is Dr John Watson, once of the British Army Northumberland Fusilier Regiment, now a true crime podcaster based in central London.

I don't have much experience in criminology, so this is mostly a record of how I met possibly the most brilliant and bizarre person I have ever and will ever know. Join me as I document the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Okay, okay. I'm gearing myself up.

Gearing yourself up for a chamomile tea. A little bit dramatic, Mariana? No, no, no. The tea is helping me in my gearing up process. Understood. What are you doing, then? Tax stuff? Or HMRC going to send a SWAT team in? No, not tax stuff. That. That stuff. Not the post. Oh, yeah.

The post. Mount Mail. Mount Mail. Just leave it. Or better yet, chuck it in the bin. This could have some important correspondence in this. This could have cases. Mariana, look. Look at this stuff. Right.

Dear Mr Whitson, regarding your energy provider. This one. To our favourite customer. To junk what's junk again. And this. To Dr and Mrs Holmes. What? Have you considered life insurance? Please.

Dear Miss Maruna Amachazunkar, I mean, come on. It's better than Mrs Hudson. This is a giant waste of time and energy. Just bin it. I mean, there's nothing here of any value. Oh my God, I've been sent a Valentine's card. What? Here, look, from last week. Ah, I must have missed it. Oh my God, this...

Wow, I haven't received a Valentine's card since… I was about twelve. Who is it from? Oh, my mum would put it on the breakfast table before school. Why are you smiling? I meant this one. Ah, right. OK, well, let's open it, shall we? Roses are red. My name is Violet. I've loved the show since the pilot. This is good, isn't it? Now I must ask for one little thing to rid me of these men that cling.

I demand my attention, my love for a tryst, the one I fear most, the solitary cyclist. I'll go get Sherlock. Yeah. I, um... Yeah. Received? Last week. Opened? Just now. With? My hands. Envelope? Uh, here...

Hmm. A false Valentine's card. I mean, it's a Valentine's card I received. It just also happens to ask for our help. She likes the show. I don't think she likes you that way. Mariana, the card says, I'm your biggest flan. And then there's a picture of a cartoon flan. Exactly. Fun of the show. The flan has hearts for eyes. So? So that's...

Come on! She just wants help. She doesn't want... you. Sorry. Look, we'll never know, okay? You know, we'll just agree to disagree on that, so... Can we help her? Or not? This probably isn't enough to go on, is it? From GU9-7LQ. Farnham. Farnham Sorting Office. So this letter is from Sari. Heavy press in the handwriting. Weighted. Left-handed. Probably not written by a woman.

Card was £1.50. Unbranded sticker with price written in pen, so most likely just a local shop. Mrs Hudson, search this barcode on code finder 88575-4667622. Flecks of mud on the envelope, but no rain in Surrey last week. So posted in the afternoon after frost thawed. Most likely works from home. Home and heart greetings cards.

Valentine's flan style number 331. Hmm. They're out of business, so definitely a local shop then. Not a chain with a card partnership or provider. So a shop that holds stock of greeting cards that are over five years old.

Quiet village, then. If sorted on the Wednesday with a first-class stamp, it was posted on the Tuesday afternoon before 3pm. Small villages, within 30 miles of Farnham, but no further east than Aldershot, judging by sorting office jurisdictions. No hamlets, of course, or settlements with under 100 houses, but enough homes to warrant a shop.

particularly one that can operate independently. Most likely an AONB region whose parish and local authority councils have rejected major stores, so no recognised brands like Co-op, Premier, Best One or Budgins. Village shop, AONB region, within the specified range of the sorting office. Ah, here. Charlington. Charlington, Surrey.

Okay then, I stand corrected. Yes, you often do. Mm-hmm, thank you for that. Come on then, man with the lucky condom. Let's go visit your girlfriend. Can we stop mentioning the lucky condom? Please? Makes it very difficult to edit out of the episode. For God's sake. With an hour before boarding, there's only one place to go. The Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. There, you can recharge before the big adventure.

or enjoy a locally inspired dish. You could recline in a comfy chair to catch up on your favorite show or order a craft cocktail at the bar. Whatever you're in the mood for, find the detail that moves you with curated touches at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club. Chase, make more of what's yours. Learn more at chase.com slash sapphirereserve. Cards issued by JPMorgan Chase Bank and a member FDIC. Subject to credit approval. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables?

This episode is brought to you by Amazon.

We're leaving. Leaving on a midday train to Surrey.

It's not quite the same ring to it as Midnight Train to Georgia. Well, you know, Surrey is a nice place. Midnight Train to Georgia was actually originally called Midnight Plane to Houston. True. Again, doesn't have the same ring to it. Although, you know, much more accurate in terms of practical modes of transport, obviously. Because the guy in the song is coming from L.A. You'd fly to Houston from L.A., yeah?

Would it be at midnight? Unlikely. Unlikely. There's noise pollution laws against that sort of thing, but train to Georgia.

No chance. Bloody miles away. Americans hate trains. Plus, we're in Georgia. That's a state. Doesn't work, does it? But better title. Can I make a suggestion? Mm-hmm. What's that? I think you should stop talking about planes, trains, the state of Georgia, Houston and Los Angeles, and direct more time to the case. Ah, yep. Yes, thank you. So, yeah, Surrey.

Off to Surrey. It's a county on London's south-west doorstep, very much a notch in the London commuter belt. Yeah, off to try and track down the secret admirer. Or, yeah, just a potential client, really, I suppose. Not entirely sure how we're going to do that.

You know, it's not like we can just wander around the village asking who sent the card. We don't need to. We don't? We don't. She's easy to track down. For you, she's easy to track down. For me, not so much. For a number of people.

Unfortunately for her... And why... Charlington flooded in January. Great. Yeah, hi, I'm not actually inside your brain, so you're going to need to explain what's going on in there. OK, so if you go on TikTok... Which I haven't ever, but go on. Search for Charlington...

You'll see the only post, ever actually, that references the village is a post of the flooding in January. Charlington is a sleepy village, close enough to London where its youth will drain away by the age of 20, if they haven't sooner. So you wouldn't expect many TikTok users, certainly not ones that actively post. It's from late January, so the younger former residents had returned from visiting family over Christmas, so this must be a permanent resident. Here's the post.

We have a look at this girl and we see a familiar name, Watson. Violet. Violet Carruthers. Your no longer secret admirer. Wow, that's good work. Would you like a high five? Yeah, sure. Well, I mean...

You discovered her. Doesn't mean anyone else is capable of... Well, that is where I think you're wrong. Well, enlighten me. Also, take your feet off the seat. There's no one sitting there. Yeah, but there might be. On a train to Surrey at midday on a Friday? I don't think so, Watson. Yeah, all right, but, you know, it looks bad, OK? To whom? To... Just, please, feet off the seats. Fine. Fine.

Here, look at her feed. Observe. Deduce. Okie dokie. Let's give this a whirl. Here we go. Hey, wow. What? She's quite... She's really tasty. Don't email me. I already regret using the word tasty. So she does just general posting on here. Some Gaza stuff here. Some MCU...

Something on makeup routine. I don't really get what I'm looking for. Her surroundings. Her bedroom. Correct. Ah, OK. So the bedroom changes in the last two videos. Her final videos in late January change. Her appearance seems to also, if I was being particularly picky... Oh, yeah. She's changed her recording position. The window is no longer in shot. The calendar is no longer in shot. She looks kind of...

knackered in these ones too, not as chirpy. No, I suspect not. Now bring these observations to our poem. Roses are red, my name is Violet, I've loved the show since the pilot. Now I must ask for one little thing to rid me of these men that cling, they demand my attention, my love. And stop there. A lot of male attention. What kind? Do you think the village locals? No, online. Yes?

And why? Because she... Ah, she's been doxxed. Correct, Watson. I can indulge another high five if you wish. Yeah, fine. For those that don't know, doxxed or doxxing is when online, often large groups or a community actually find someone's offline self, your real self. They'll...

delve into all your posts and find clues to your real existence and track you down, expose you. A little bit like Sherlock has done, to be honest. Violet here in these last two videos has removed all clues. The window that sort of geolocates her, the calendar that probably mentions some local engagements. Yeah, she's been found.

And now she's being hounded, I guess. Violet Carruthers will have a well-known avatar, I suspect. An online identi... Oh, oh, this is our stop. Hmm, pretty. Violet or the village. Oh, ha, ha, ha, very funny. I wonder where Archie gets it from. Goodness sake. You know, they do say dogs resemble their owners. Oh, look, Watson, there's a bakery over there. He's not fat, and I'm not... Look, Sherlock... Here we go.

Well, there's some houses that have been renovated into flats. I would say hers is top right. Wouldn't you? How the bloody hell do you know that? The window in the video looks out to the eastern side of the village green with the pond. The pond that she filmed and documented in the January flooding. Chop, chop. Another one of those ring doorbells. Smart doorbells, I should say. Ring is the brand name, isn't it?

Could do with one of those, couldn't we? I suppose. Be able to see if it's a pizza delivery or just some door-to-door salesman. You never know until you open the door. Well, if you've ordered a pizza, you usually have some indication, don't you? Hello. Hi. We are looking for Violet Carruthers. I'm Dr Watson, this is Mr Holmes. Yeah, hi. She's actually at her dad's. Ah, OK. OK.

Is that in the village? Yeah. If you go out, walk across the green back towards the station, go past the roundabout, then they're at the end of that street in the big one. Ah, OK. Cracking. Great. Thank you. Mr...? Woodley. Zach Woodley. She's my fiancée. Violet is. Ah, right. Congrats.

When's the big day? Tomorrow. Oh, wow. Nervous times. Well, we won't take up your time. Go get some rest. Blimey. Yes, we best pop to it. Hop to it. Good to meet you, Zach. You too, Sherlock. And you, mate. Cheers.

It's pop out, pop in, pop over there, but it's not pop to it, really. It's hop to it. I don't like him. Who? Him. Who, Zach? Correct. You don't know him? Yes, but he knows us. Here we go.

Violet's dad's house. Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on. Just, can you brief me on what you're going to say? I'll just let it come to me. No, I'd rather you didn't. I'd much rather you ran it by me. I get it. It's hop to it. Fine, whatever. No, not that. She lives with her parents, mate. They probably don't want to...

be privy to what she does with her life. What are you hiding? I'm not hiding anything. You're withholding knowledge on the subject. No, I'm not. Watson. Look, I... I'm not hiding anything from you. I'm just withholding on my absolute judgement until I know all the facts. What on earth are you talking about? Right, OK. I'm, er, full disclosure... If you could, yes. She's gorgeous.

Yeah, and has, we expect, a successful online venture that has attracted a swarm of men. So I believe she probably does types of videos online that get a lot of male attention. Probably has an OnlyFans or something. She's a cam girl, I think. I... Before you start, I wasn't withholding that from you or from our investigation.

I was withholding it from the listeners because I didn't want them to think I was a guy that sees an attractive woman with a successful online business and immediately assumes that it's related to P-O-R-N. Why are you spelling out porn? Because I don't want to say it. We have a lot of young listeners. I think our young listeners can spell, Watson. OK, just let me take the lead, please. Fine. Parents love me, anyway. I don't get what it is. I think I just have a very trusting face, very...

Very sexually non-threatening sort of vibe. Piss off, you bloody pervert! Leave her alone! Go on, get lost! I will shoot you like a dog, lad, all right? No, please, no, listen... We're here to answer Violet's request for help. Don't even bloody start with me. I am Britain's leading consulting detective. My name is Sherlock Holmes. If you wish to hear more of my credentials... Listen to Sherlock and... Call Scotland Yard... Oh...

They will have many testimonials regarding my talents. Their number is 0207 230... Dad, just... I want to help. I'll go get her. It's a lovely village. I'm actually from Wiltshire. Lots of nice villages and stuff there. And there's not just Wiltshire. Actually, we've got... Berkshire isn't far. You've got Hampshire to the south, so...

Yep, Oxfordshire to the north. Will she be much longer? A big couple of days. She's got a lot on. She's getting married tomorrow, you see. At Charlington House. No, yeah, we saw Zach. Yep, great stuff. Great. Big turnout expected. Yeah, actually. Probably a hundred on the nose. Oh, fantastic. Fantastic, yeah. Big old do. You nervous? A little bit. Walking down the aisle. Christ.

daunting isn't it? Oh course yeah. All this stuff though what a distraction eh Bobby? More than a distraction Dad. No I know that I mean it's very very tough she moved in here after well I'll let her say awful stuff. Zach's been amazing but we had to get her away from you know the crazies change her address for a bit here she comes now got your coffee Violet lovely

Hi. Hi, Violet. I'm Dr John Watson. This is Sherlock Holmes. We received, well, it was addressed to me, so I received your card. So, yep. What card? The Valentine. The roses are red. My name, Sherlock, get the card. She didn't write it, Watson. Oh. What's going on?

Oh yeah, right. That's where I come in. Violet, you've been doxxed, correct? I have, yeah. These gentlemen that found you online... Gentlemen? Are you serious? Yes, actually.

May I continue? Are we going to get to the bottom of what's actually going on, or...? I'll tell you what's going on. Bobby, is it? You sent my colleague a Valentine's card pretending to be your sister. You asked for help, and now you're getting it. I didn't. I didn't do anything like that, you... What? What is wrong with you? Can I just get a quick update on what's happening here? Goodness sake. Your daughter... Your daughter... Your daughter is popular online, Mr Carruthers. Um...

with lots of men who have lost a sense of reality when it comes to staring at a screen and connecting with the person behind it. They've overstepped the line. They've made your daughter extremely uncomfortable, and now they will pay the price. Sherlock and I are investigators from London. We're here because your son forged a Valentine's card in her name. I didn't! Because that's your handwriting, not hers. It ain't. It is.

You're left-handed, she's right-handed. Left-handed writers are far more likely to make cross-strokes from right to left than left to right. And similarly, left-handed writers write circular letters and numbers with clockwise strokes rather than anti-clockwise. Oh, this is absolute total bollocks. Bobby! Well, piss off, the period. Bobby Carruthers, that is enough.

Enough. What are you doing? Looking after you. That's what I'm doing. Yeah, so am I. So is the police, so are these two, so is Dad and so is Zach. But none of them are getting worked up like you, shouting and screaming all the time. I'll be in the kitchen and have a waste of time. God's sake. The ring...

Is it in the post? Oh, um... He's proposed, but I'm picking out the ring. Ah, that's nice. Yeah, you can't be disappointed then, can you? That's what I said. Great minds. Picking out or purchasing? Huh? Are you just picking it out, or are you paying for it as well? Sherlock. Paying for it for now, yeah. You've made some good money from your videos. Yeah.

Seems silly to bankrupt him for something I can pay for, so... Indeed. But, yeah, after the wedding tomorrow, we're going to do all of that stuff. Getting the ring and that on the honeymoon. Where are you going? Maldives. Oh, wow, that's a holiday of a lifetime. We love it there. They've gone a couple of times. Oh, right, blimey.

Well, good for you. And you're trying for a baby, of course. Maldives will help with that. Stress causes terrible difficulties when conceiving. Sherlock. How do you know that? Nicotine patch, decaf coffee, folic acid. I don't have folic acid here. In the background of the videos on TikTok. Sherlock, don't touch her. Having regular blood tests, are we, I see. Violet's had a bit of a... rather traumatic... Dad...

The poem your brother wrote speaks of the solitary cyclist. Would you care to divulge on that matter? We can always shoot off. Plenty of other cases to be working on. Violet, darling, I think there's no harm in having more people help out. You know, the more the merrier. Mm-hm. Um, I don't love talking about it, to be honest. It's OK. Take your time. So...

Yeah, I do some stuff online for paid subscribers. I don't want to say too much because, Dad... I can leave the room. No, no, it's okay. We understand. Say no more in that department. I didn't want to do it anymore. Made plenty of money from it. Hence Maldives. Didn't love doing it. And, yeah, did a new video and I said I was going to quit because we're trying.

For kids. Zach and I. And I don't know how I'll feel about this when I'm a mum. So, like, yeah, final video. Said my thanks and my goodbyes. Calling it a day, blah, blah, blah, sort of thing. And I don't know what exactly I expected, to be honest, but, like, it was... It was like I'd personally insulted every single one of them. They were... Like, the outrage was like nothing you've seen. The comments just...

Oh, sick. Inhuman. Totally just off the rails insane. And I could see them like, geeing each other up. Whipping themselves into a frenzy. So I shut the page down. Closed my account, you know. And I later discovered they had moved their chat into a forum. Which I kept trying to get shut down, but it wasn't like...

The company wouldn't respond to my emails. How did you discover the forum? Zach found it. Yeah, so just horrible little troll forum. And they started this game too, like to get to me first, who can track me down? And I don't want to say what they said they were going to do when they found me, but yeah, they threatened that.

Not even threatened actually, because they're all saying it to each other that they're going to do it. Unless I start making videos again. Because that's not completely fucking mental, is it? Sorry, Dad. Yeah, and then bang, they found my TikTok, which is just me, not like my online persona. And from that, they found where I live. And I guess right now, at this moment in time, they're spying on me.

I've seen videos they've posted of me through this window, down the shops in the village. Yeah, never caught any of them, never seen any of them, apart from one. A solitary cyclist? Yeah. Who is he? I don't know. So, sorry, rewind a bit. I do mountain biking. I want to kind of, like, get into posting about that.

Because that's actually something I've always really loved. Jogging bores the hell out of me. And I got into biking instead. And there's plenty of forests and stuff around. So I do that. That's cool. Yeah, I love it. Yeah, love it, love it. It's great. Extreme sports. I did a bit of skateboarding back in the day. Ollies, grinding, front slides. Tony Hawk, pro swim. Yeah, sorry, carry on. Yeah, it...

So, around two weeks ago, at the edge of Hyde Forest, which has most of the cross-country tracks, you come to Charlington Heath, and there's a road there. Like, proper road. Paved road. The B299. Oh, man knows his roads. Dad. I'm just helping out, love. So that road. Across the Heath. And, yeah, about halfway between Chiltern Grange and Crooksbury Hill, which is where I get on the main road to come home. I looked over my shoulder, and there's, like...

200 yards or so, I guess, there's this bloke on a bike. Okay. This is like, you don't see people on this road, hardly ever. The heath isn't, like, walkable. It's all gorse. Then it's farms. One of Dad's fields is up there, so I always feel sort of safe. Bobby works around that area too. You're a farmer, Mr Carruthers? Farm manager, yeah. Yeah.

Bobby does a lot of the work these days, to be honest with you. But anyway, I get to the main road and he's gone. He's not behind me anymore. I wasn't going fast or anything. So I think, whatever, fine. Couple days later, different time of day, I'm on the empty road. I see him again. He stays behind me, then disappears as I reach... Civilisation. The main road. Yeah, exactly. Anyway, he's there.

Every time I have gone there, he will appear. Every. Single. Time. Always following. Always keeping his distance so I can't make out his face. Can't make out his clothes. I took Bobby with me once and the solitary cyclist was... Well, he wasn't there. But I'm there by myself and he appears. I know it's one of them.

Absolutely guarantee is one of them. Most intriguing. Yesterday, actually. I haven't told anybody about that yet. What happened yesterday, darling? He appeared again. In the middle of nowhere. Hundreds of yards behind me. So I slowed down. Then he slowed down. I stopped. He stopped. Just staring at me.

So I cycled like nothing else and pulled off where the road bends. I pulled off into a field, chucked my bike over the fence and waited. Because he would go right past me, right? If he was cycling along the road, he'd go past. But nothing. He never came? Never. I went back onto the road after like ten minutes and he was gone. There's nowhere to go. There's...

He couldn't have turned down anywhere. Down any lane or anything. This case certainly presents some features of its own. Stop smiling. Stop rubbing your hands together. Sorry. Point here, on my phone. The exact road. There? Yes. Very remote. Nowhere to hide. So where is our solitary cyclist basing himself? Did you get a look at him? Yeah. Yesterday. But not much.

He sort of hunches over the handlebars. Here, let me... Can I use this pen? Sure. I'll just... I'll do a drawing. I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. You lie down there. Not on that. No, I'm not going to draw you. You describe the cyclist. Sort of medium body shape.

Not fat, not thin or anything. Mm-hmm, yep. Dark hair, but sort of hidden. And a big, but very dark beard. Right, gotcha. Mm-hmm. And do a bit of shading here. There we go. Okay, is this your man? Mm-hmm.

Not really. Watson, that's a stick man with a beard. This is a first draft. I'll flesh it out later. Yes. Perhaps we should make some copies. Have you seen this stick man? Never mind the cyclist. We're just casually skipping over the date rape, are we? Bobby! Sorry, what? They're here to help, aren't they? Detectives. Give them all the clues. God's sake! Enough people have delved into my private life these last couple months. I'm sick of it!

No more! Done! I'm done! Her drink got spiked. In the local pub. Oh what? You're talking for me now! Yeah, I am! Bobby! Spiked with what? Well, after one gin and tonic she could barely walk. She was in hospital. They pumped her stomach. That's why she moved here. No, I moved here because Zach's parents are here for the wedding. Oh what? For two weeks? You moved because they know where you live and... Yes, well, you posted a picture of the flooding from your bedroom in this house...

So maybe we stay off TikTok for a while. What is wrong with you? Bobby, shut up! What's it got to do with you? Christ, you're so dumb! You're gonna... Gonna what? You know what. No, I don't. Read the messages. Read the comments. Read the emails. I don't want to read them! She's under a lot of stress. The hospital. Did they do a toxicology report? Yeah, we... They... Well, they sent her bloods. Bobby, could you grab the NHS letter from the side in the kitchen? Yeah.

Is she okay? I know that sounds like a stupid question. It's tough. She hasn't seen any of these supposed, you know, trolls or whatever you call them, but they post pictures of her, of the village, so we know they're out there. She's seen the cyclist? Oh, yes, him, yeah. But he's the only one. Two samples taken and you've got a third here from four months ago. Yes, they took some the day of when it happened, the date rape. That was the initial toxicology.

than they did one a couple of days ago. And she'd been living here in that intervening time? Correct, yeah. Came straight out the hospital to here. Didn't go back to the flat. Lots of stress. Weddings, eh? Just easier. Unbelievable. Bobby! The wedding is the least of our worries. Just going to photograph these if... Yeah, if it helps, yeah. Right, well, I think we've got all the info we need. Yes, quite. We'll take on the case...

You'll hear from us in due course. High five? Um, yeah, sure. Right-o. Let's hop to it, Watson. Give me your phone. Ow, okay. Good to meet you both. Mm-hmm. Yeah, cheers, mate. You too. Cheers, Bobby. I'll come see you out. What are you doing with the high fives? People like high fives. Yeah, just, you can't start doing them out of nowhere. Why not? I can't. I'll explain later. Thanks for coming, fellas. Heading back to London? Yep. Yep.

Probably jump on the 316 train. Austin 316. Stunner. Bosh. What? Stone Cold Steve Austin? No? No. Okie dokie. There. Rehypnol. There's the active drug. An enormous cocktail here, though. On the toxicology report? Yes. Peculiar. Thanks, guys. Yeah, no worries. See you, Bobby. Cheerio.

Oh, Bobby, where do you keep your bike? That's Violet's. Yes. Where's yours? I don't have one. I see. Okay, bye, Bobby. We'll be in... I'm going to kill them. Yeah, no, of course. I appreciate that this is a huge strain on not just Violet, but the whole... Listen to me. I am going to commit a murder. You understand? I am literally going to take one of their lives. Dad's gun, bullet in the heart. I don't care which one.

I don't care if it's some 15-year-old kid who thinks it's all a laugh. Dead. End of. Okay. Murder. On your podcast. On your hands, Dr John. Unless you and him can stop him. Bit of jeopardy for you, yeah? Keep you invested. Yeah. Yeah. To binge this adventure in full and without ads, go to patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and Co.

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