cover of episode The Sign of Four - Part Seven

The Sign of Four - Part Seven

2024/11/19
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Sherlock & Co.

Key Insights

Why did Tonga scratch the floorboards as he was dragged away?

Tonga scratched the floorboards as he was dragged towards the doorway, likely as a desperate attempt to leave a trace or signal for help.

Why did Agent Athelney Jones disappear during the investigation?

Agent Athelney Jones disappeared when a man he had been hunting for most of his career was poisoned, and he failed to chase down the killer.

What was the breakthrough in the investigation that involved Mahinda Singh's house?

The breakthrough involved discovering a bedroom where Tonga was being held, along with signs of a struggle and Tonga's possessions.

What did Tonga mouth to the security camera before being taken away?

Tonga mouthed the word 'Aurora' to the security camera before being put into a car.

Why did Sherlock call a meeting with the irregulars?

Sherlock called a meeting with the irregulars to gather information and data relevant to Tonga's case, utilizing their extensive surveillance network.

What significant item did the irregulars discover in Tonga's room?

The irregulars discovered a music box in Tonga's room, which turned out to be Mary's, containing the Surakula diamond.

How did Toby help in the investigation?

Toby, a search dog, helped by sniffing Tonga's hat and tracking his scent to the last known location of the car wreckage.

Chapters

The team struggles to decipher the meaning of 'Aurora' as Tonga mouths the word to a security camera. They seek help from Jonathan Small, who suggests it could be related to the Aurora Borealis seen in India.
  • Tonga mouths 'Aurora' to a security camera.
  • Jonathan Small suggests 'Aurora' could be related to the Aurora Borealis seen in India.
  • The team is stumped and seeks more information.

Shownotes Transcript

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Previously on Sherlock & Co. What is your name? Toby. He's a specialist. Search dog. Retired. That's right. The sign of four went to the temple to find it. It wasn't there. Then they came for Sholto. Only a handful of people knew that Sholto and Mary were me. Indeed. And according to Sholto, our killer is white. Exactly. I remember what happened in there. Agent Jones, a white guy, stood up.

and left and we haven't seen him since Tonga's friends reported it and they said Mohinder didn't go to the school correct but this incomplete assumption has skewered this entire investigation the boy was telling the truth once a week he'd park his bike outside collect a local magazine and distribute it to the residents who were paid subscribers and Mr. M Singh 34 Heathdale Avenue what do you think

is under here. What the hell? Lift it! Tonga's bike. He's gone. But he was here. They had somebody here. Against their will. Do you know what this is? It's a Chelsea hat. Tonga is a Chelsea fan. He scratched the floorboards as he was dragged towards the doorway. Where did they drag him to?

Watson. They're ready for us.

Okie dokie, yeah, sure. Listening to anything interesting? Uh, no, just music. Yeah, a bit of music. Lovely. Very nice. Hiya, lads. Hey, Tom. D.I. Gregson, how are you? I'm alright. You two okay? We're fine. Yeah? John? Yeah, you know...

Slogging through it. When we're done, you're sending him home. What do you mean? You know what I mean. He's knackered. Not everyone can go full tilt like you. Why not? Shh, this way. I want you to meet someone who's been instrumental in the case so far and managed to orchestrate an operation against one of the four. He'll tell you. Okay, John, Sherlock, this is Agent Athelney Jones from Interpol. Hello again, gents.

So, tough to obviously verbalise, given the circumstances, that's the word. We found his bike buried in the back garden first, then as you've seen from the crime scene, Tonga was being held. Yeah, it's rough, I know, alright, but we're at a tipping point.

Things are turning around now. On the sign of four. Are they? 100%. I don't know about that. Yeah, don't, um, not really in the mood for law enforcement PR bollocks, to be honest. Everyone understands, okay? We're all working this thing from every possible angle. Yeah, yeah, just, it's a lot. I think the boy would have benefited from a much more thorough investigation into Mohinder Singh and the part-time job, though.

Wouldn't you agree, Gregson? Like I said, we're working on a number of angles. Maybe you should hurry things along and close a few of those angles off. Which we are. Good to know. Sing being an elderly gentleman seemed improbable. Yes, well, as I always say, when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Do you say that, do you? Yes. Oh.

Sometimes. Yeah? Great. Look, we've come a long way, alright? I'm just trying to boost morale. And it's quite the adventure you've been on, eh? Yep. You call it an adventure. I call it being thorough. Travel expenses for this one must be through the roof. You met with Sholto then? Well, they were in Amritsar with me when he was murdered. Correction. You weren't actually there when he died, were you, Athelni? Okay. Right.

What else did you get up to? Well, we took a 49-hour train journey into rural India to trek through the wilderness and unearth an ancient hidden temple where we navigated booby traps and logical puzzles until reaching an inner sanctum in the hope of finding a missing diamond but in fact discovered dead bodies that had been tortured and mutilated. And we saw some tigers too. Yes, yeah, we did, yeah. Busy then? Yeah. So, Agent Jones and I have some questions for you. Actually, we've got some questions for him.

Why am I getting a torn here? Because you disappeared, Athelney. You disappeared when a man you'd been hunting for most of your career was poisoned. Poisoned by an individual he claimed was a white man. You think I killed Charlton? Well, you didn't stop it. You didn't chase the killer down.

That silence right there, that is damning, mate. The fact that you can't even explain yourself. John. You can't even offer any kind of reasoning as to why all of a sudden you abandoned your duties and went AWOL. John, that's enough. Our white-faced killer certainly knew the streets of Amritsar very well, didn't he, Watson? Yes, he did. Yeah, made it very difficult for us to keep up with him, to be honest. How long have you been based out there again, Athelney? OK, fine.

Right. You killed Sholto and you know where Tonga is. You're the fourth member of the sign of four and there is no point in trying to wriggle out of it, mate, OK? End of. You tell us where he is and then you tell us where your co-conspirators are, you bastard. My co-conspirators? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah! Abdullah Khan, Mohinder Singh, Dost Akbar...

Anthony's team just captured Dost Akbar at Dubai International Airport. He? It's one of the reasons we called you in here to cross-reference with him. The team he leads at Interpol, they... well, just a few hours ago... Gregson, mate. Heard what you said.

No, no, wait. Just wait a second. Look, I'm sorry, boys, but I'm here to lobby for a joint investigation with Interpol, the Met Police and MI6 to hold Dostakba for a maximum 96 hours before we attempt to charge him to the ICC. International Cricket Court. International Criminal Court. No, sorry, in my head. I told myself not to say the cricket one and to say the criminal court one. Why did you say the cricket one? Because I'm tired, OK? I'm really bloody tired. I just...

I'm jet-lagged and I've just found a room where a 14-year-old boy was being held hostage. Let's take a breath, shall we? You two had a breakthrough last night, right? Mahinda Singh's house. That's massive. That's the biggest moment we've had on the case so far. And Athelney here's got one of the members in custody. These are big strides in the right direction, yeah? Yes?

I suppose. But what I can't have is you directing your investigation towards an Interpol agent that is trying to conduct high-level cross-body talks with some of the most powerful law enforcement units in the country. In Europe, maybe. I mean, it was Watson, mostly. I just... Enough. We're going to take these Windsors wins and we're going to go again. Do I make myself clear? Yes. Yeah.

Sherlock, if I don't get a yes, then Gwen is coming down here to talk to you. Yes, all right. Fine. Fine. Right, come with me. I want to show you something. What are we looking at here?

As we know, Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes uncovered the address of Mahinda Singh. A few hours ago, they discovered a bedroom where Tonga was being held. A couple of the boys' possessions confirms this, of course, along with signs of a struggle, signs of containment, and a few leftover meals in the room.

Who's that?

The man in the coat with the hood up we believe to be Mohinder Singh. The smaller figure next to him... Tonga. Jesus, have you tracked that vehicle? We have. It's been destroyed. It was found burnt out and submerged in the river crane in Twickenham. So, nothing more than a 20 minute drive from the house of Mohinder Singh? Correct. And there are no witnesses that saw the vehicle being... We're working on that. But the vehicle isn't the most significant thing here.

What is? Watch this footage. Hey, hey, what's that? What's going on there? Tonga is mouthing something to the security camera. Holy shit, he is. Something aura. Our team say, and we've had this confirmed by three independent experts tonight, Aurora. Aurora. Aurora.

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Aurora. Aurora. What do you think Jonathan? Goodness. Aurora. I'm leaning on our resident expert here. Don't lean on a man with one leg. Well, now you've put me on the spot. Aurora. Is this the boy who's saying that Aurora has the diamond? He's... like... he sort of looks towards a security camera above a shop before he gets put in the car and mouths Aurora.

So... Ah, could mean anything. Yeah. Off the top of my head, I'm completely stumped. I say that it... The aurora, the lights... Aurora Borealis was seen in India this year. They haven't been seen in India for a very, very long time. Exceptionally rare event. He could be alluding to something that happened in that time, perhaps.

the location of that

And that is why you're the expert. Leave it with me. I can research this. I refuse to be useless. Jonathan, honestly. No, this is it. When you're disabled, you work your arse off to prove your worth, and I will bloody well prove it. Besides, I'm a lonely old man. I could do with the work. Aurora. Aurora. Fascinating stuff. Leave it with me. And I shall leave this with you. Oh, your book.

Heirloom by Jonathan Small. Amazing, mate. Thank you. Don't you dare go promoting that on your terribly successful podcast. Don't you dare. Eight pounds on Amazon. Yeah, all right. I'll give it a mention. Trust me, if anyone is going to figure it out. It'll be him. Yeah. If in doubt, call a nerd. It's a great philosophy, I find. But I mean, and just check in here, but Aurora doesn't.

Doesn't ring any bells. At all. No characters in your bedtime stories. Your dad didn't spell it out in your breakfast beans. No. Not that I remember. Damn. Aurora. Yeah, no, that doesn't mean anything to me. I don't think. Yeah, I'm just... I didn't think it would. In truth. I thought I'd check. This case is weirdly... I don't know. People seem connected by such thin, invisible threads. I just... I can't understand it.

What do you mean? Well, you. You're connected to it, but... And I mean this in a nice way.

You don't know anything. I know, right? Like, nothing. Oh, yeah, I'm the worst victim ever. Oh, terrible. I've been listening to your other ones and people are like, oh, this happened and then this happened and my partner thinks that and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I'm there like, help me, I don't know, diamonds or something. Yeah, so, yeah, that's what I mean. There's all these little loose connections and we just need something that makes them all click together. Yeah.

Archie, your slobber is dangling. Oh, OK, fine. Why aren't you trying to help me? Hey, you don't know. The gals might like a little bit of slobber. It's possible. Well, if Archie does find a gal that's into slobber, that'll be his first ever girlfriend, I believe. Oh, really? Yep. First girlfriend, big deal. Oh, huge. Huge. I remember my first boif. First boif. Yeah, God. I was...

Man, did I fall. Big time. Oh, God. I just thought... I mean, he fell for me too. It wasn't a one-way street, but... Yeah, that was... Mushy, mushy stuff. Like you wouldn't believe. We used to hold hands in class, right, and do Morse code messages. Morse code messages? With, like, little taps on each other's hands. No. Yes. No. Yes. Here, look, I'll show you. Your hands are cold. Shh, concentrate. S-O-

S. What? I was starting you off with an easy one. Oh, okay. What else you got? I? Are you concentrating? I am. I'm just trying to remember the bloody letters. You're army, you big doof. Doof? That's not a word. Nobody's ever said doof. Really? Okay, okay. Tap away. I like you. I like you. Just an example of what would message each other.

Sure, yeah. Just going to keep my head here, because yours are warm. I can talk about work stuff if you want to keep it professional. Yeah, sure. So, what happened to your Interpol guy? He, yeah, he's got one of them, one of the four. But he's not cooperating, was the last thing I heard. Dost Akbar. Dost, wow. A storytime baddie. Yeah. Exactly. Wash off the old slobber, Archie boy.

It's quite the umbrella there. Do you want to get under it or not? Because you'll be staying out in the rain with that attitude. Fine. It's beautiful. I love it. All right, in you come. I have to tell you something. What? I don't know if it's going to be easy to hear. Or maybe a relief? Closure? I'm not sure. At the sign of four, we know of three members. Dostakbahar.

Mohinder Singh and Abdullah Khan. Abdullah Khan? Yeah. That's who they spoke about in the cave when I was... Yeah, I know. They kidnapped me. It looks like that was the case, yeah. This wasn't a military thing? It was... It was then a sign of war? It was, Mary, yeah. So...

She died because of me, basically. That is not the way you should think about this. Then how should I think about it? We've got it in our power to stop it, to avenge it. A couple of weeks ago, you were a million miles away from tracking down the Abdu'l-Akkad of this world. I wasn't seeking them out. You said you're looking for something to change everything. Well, maybe this is it. You know, I was looking for something after trauma and...

And my life changed. I wasn't looking for that, John. Jeez. And it all came about because I went on the offensive. I'd been on the defensive for so long. John, listen. And overcoming this could be like... John? Conquering Everest or something. You know, when we get these guys, you won't look back. I was looking for you, all right? Or, I don't know, someone like you. Someone that made me feel... Made me... Made me feel like me. And you do that, okay? You do that. You're one of those people that you meet in life that make it... It...

Oh, this is stupid. I'm going to go ballsy without you and you don't even feel anything anyway. Mary, Mary, hey. I'm serious, John. You're so happy and I'm so not happy. And this is just, it's not healthy. It's not for you. Mary, look, just, it's, oh, it's properly pissing it down. Mm, I noticed. Do you want to come back to the flat? Oh, absolutely drenched. This umbrella sucks. Yeah, I know. Right, let's go.

Right. We go. John, I just want to say that I don't want to hurt you. I don't want your amazing life to be derailed or... You're not derailing anything. You're right here. You're riding along with me. Now, do we open this door or not? I think we do.

What is that? Ah, Watson, we're here. Where the hell are you, mate? Who are all these people? Hello there. Hi. Hi. I have called a meeting, you see. Yes, I see. I see. I hear. I kind of smell it, to be honest. The irregulars have come forth. Information is flowing. Data and gossip is being collated. Some damage is being done, but otherwise...

It's proving very productive. Where the hell are you? Hey, Dan. Hey, Wiggins. What, man? That is my top. No, it's not. It's not.

That is a Swindon town home, sir. Yeah, we love Swindon town. You're from Dublin? Yeah, so, we love Swindon over there. Get it off. Hey, sweetheart, you okay? Hi. Wiggins, this is Mary. Mary, this is Wiggins. Good to meet you. Diamond in the rough, huh? I say that because it's one boy playing. Man, I spent a good month there myself. Sorry, can we just, can we get through this door? Come on, Archie boy, let's go, mate.

Where is... Excuse me. Ow! Sorry, hey, feet off the table, please. Excuse me, sorry. Ah, there. Hello, Watson. Hello, Mary. How was your stroll? Been at your chewing gum, have you, Watson? I, er, yeah, maybe. Lovely mental breeze. Not like you to chew on Mike. Yes, thank you. Sure, look. Does Jonathan have anything for us on Aurora? Not yet. Got his book here, though. Ah, excellent work.

Yes, Watson. What the hell is going on? Like I said, I'm triangulating the data obtained by the irregulars and applying any relevance I can to Tonga. Yeah, right, OK, but I feel like we should be dealing with Scotland Yard. And dip our rods into a vast ocean of bureaucracy and process? No, no, we need something bigger. A vast net to plunge into the deep sea.

And I'll tell you something, Watson. Scotland Yard would give anything for a net of this size. Look at them. Yeah, I see them. Who are they? He calls them irregulars. Irregulars? What don't you see, Mary? What sticks out to you? I see a lot of beards. Yes, beards. You're manic. Have you had a proper sleep yet? And can you please change out of your clothes too? Apologies, Watson. I haven't quite got round to it. Well...

I see a lot of chatting. I asked what you don't see. Oh, um, not really sure. Phones. Oh, right, yeah. Not a smartphone in sight. No tablets, no headphones, no circling back to emails or spreadsheets, no chasing down clients or nudging supervisors, no CCs or BCCs or TBCs. Nope, none of that. Eyes and ears always open.

This is the most powerful surveillance network in the Western world. Hey, that's my wine. I was saving that for a special occasion. Why was it out on the side with candles there? Shh. Shh. What? Hey. What? You're in a bit of a trance there, Mary. Hello. Hello. It's his music box. It's Tonga's. Where did you get that? This? Yeah. It was in Tonga's room.

He had it hidden away. Mary, what is it? Do you recognise this music box? I thought I lost it. This is mine. It was hers. Correct. How did the boy get it? Our friends slash spies, the irregulars, they discovered that the sign of four...

have spies of their own, believe it or not. Also young kids. Tonga was one of them. So he broke in. That seems the most likely scenario. Her father left this behind for her. Pride of place in his storage unit, according to Mary. Locked or unlocked? Unlocked. Tonga added the lock as the passcode was personal to him. How come Mary didn't open it then? Well, she collected a lot of stuff from his storage and just stashed it at home. I mean, she wasn't to know what was inside.

Wasn't to know what was inside. No. Yeah. Not the fuck. We believe Mary, unbeknownst to her, had the Surakula all this time. God help me. I've been in India for the past six years after the people trying to track that thing down and it was in bloody wood green. Well, technically turnpike lane. Tonga took it then. Indeed. He's in big trouble.

They've hunted this thing for generations. Yes. Which is why I need to borrow something. What's that then? Ah, just the man.

Tommy! Don't call me that. I'm not here. Yes, you are. No, I'm not. I can assure you, you are D.I. Gregson. I'm not. I'm extremely busy. I've got everyone right on my arse about this Aurora business. Just to check in this scenario, are we all so up your arse? What do you want? Tonga's hat. Excuse me? Please.

Is he serious? He seems to be the more serious one up to the two of you. Hey. The boy's hat. The football team. Chelsea. Yes, that one. I want it. Why? Because I need it. What for? Oh, er, Sherlock. John? Yeah, Forrester. Good to see you. Yeah, you too. How's everything going in- Terrible. The boy has been tied up as a hostage. Is Toby in? Is Toby in? Yes.

He is, yeah. Could I see him please? He's a dog, Sherlock? Yes. Right. Toby! Someone at the door for you. Oh, jeez. Hello mate. Yeah, I always go for my balls. Oh, alright, okay. Thank you, that's very kind. Hello Toby. Can he come out with us? Sorry, am I missing something here? Yeah, we, um... We need Toby's help in Twickenham. Help with a case.

Oh. Here we go. Last known location of Tonga. The car wreckage was right here. And now we bring the boy's hat to the nose of Toby. There you go, Toby. What do you think, mate? He's sniffing. Yeah, still sniffing. He's stopped. Yeah. Well, maybe it's like wine tasting. You know when people do that stupid little sniff and then swirl it around? Maybe it just needs to sit for a minute.

What are you talking about? I'm just... I'm trying to understand what he's doing. Toby. Hey, Toby, are you listening? Just give him a second. OK, he's coming back to the hat. Come on, boy. Come on. Right, right, he looks like you. Whoa! Ah!

Yes, Toby! He found the scent. Off we go, Watson. Follow that dog. I don't really have much of a choice, do I? Oh, all right, Toby, yes. Hey, Watson. Yeah, I know what you're going to say. You do? Yeah. The game is afoot. Go, Toby, go! Go!

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