The Reichenbach Fall 16 page

FLASHBACK. 221B LIVING ROOM.
SHERLOCK: Major James Sholto. Who he?
MARY: I don’t think he’s coming.
JOHN: He’ll be there.

FLASHBACK. EARLIER AT THE RECEPTION.
JOHN: Where are you living these days?
SHOLTO: Oh, way out in the middle of nowhere.

FLASHBACK. ON THE PARK BENCH OUTSIDE THE BARRACKS.
JOHN (to Sherlock): The press and the families gave him hell. He gets more death threats than you.

At the reception, everyone is back in the room. Sherlock tries to act nonchalantly as he walks over to a nearby table and picks up one of the name cards on it while pulling a pen on a chain from his waistcoat.
SHERLOCK: Ooh! A recluse, small household staff.

FLASHBACK TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
SHERLOCK: Job.
GAIL: Gardener.
CHARLOTTE: Cook.
TESSA: Private nurse.
VICKY: Maid.

SHERLOCK (writing on the name card in the reception room): High turnover for additional security.

FLASHBACK TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
ROBYN: I do security work.

SHERLOCK (walking over to Sholto’s table and casually dropping the name card down in front of him before walking away): Probably all signed confidentiality agreements.

FLASHBACK TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBER.
SHERLOCK: Do you have a secret you’ve never told anyone?
ALL THE WOMEN (simultaneously): No.

SHERLOCK (at the reception): There is another question that remains, however – a big one, a huge one: how would you do it? How would you kill someone in public?
(Sholto picks up the name card and looks at the writing on it. It reads:

IT’S YOU

SHERLOCK: There has to be a way. This has been planned.
ARCHIE (excitedly jumping up from his chair): Mr Holmes! Mr Holmes!
SHERLOCK (stopping and turning to him): Oh, hello again, Archie. (He bends forward to get more down to Archie’s level.) What’s your theory? Get this right and there’s a headless nun in it for you.
ARCHIE: The invisible man could do it.
SHERLOCK (very quick fire): The who, the what, the why, the when, the where?
ARCHIE: The invisible man with the invisible knife. The one who tried to kill the Guardsman.
(Sherlock gasps and straightens up, his eyes wide. In his mind he’s standing in front of his information wall at 221B, looking at all the wedding plans stuck up behind the sofa. He zooms in on a wedding invitation pinned to the wall, announcing the wedding at St Mary’s Church, Sutton Mallet on Saturday 18th May at 12 o’clock and after.
He moves to look at his list of things to do and focuses on the word “Venue.” There’s a brief shot of the outside of the reception room. He looks at the word “Venue” again and this time sees an image of the barracks and soldiers parading outside.
He shifts his focus to the word “Plan” and then sees a close-up of Private Bainbridge standing on guard outside the barracks, his gaze fixed on the three tourists over the road as they walk away and reveal the stalker.
Sherlock moves his eyes to look at the word “Rehearsal.” In flashback, the Duty Sergeant walks into the shower room and raps on the cubicle door, calling Bainbridge’s name before he sees the slumped body and bloodstained water.
Sherlock zooms in on the word “Rehearsal” and grimaces.)
(In the reception room Major Sholto gets to his feet, picks up his ceremonial sword propped against a nearby window and turns to walk towards the door. Sherlock turns his head away, closing his eyes for a moment. Then he opens them again.)
SHERLOCK (softly): Oh, not just planned. Planned and rehearsed.
(He turns and watches as Sholto reaches the door and starts to open it. Sherlock turns back and heads quickly towards the top table, swiping someone’s champagne glass from a table as he goes.)
SHERLOCK: Ladies and gentlemen, there will now be a short interlude.
(He skids to a halt in front of the top table and turns and holds up his glass.)
SHERLOCK: The bride and groom!
(A little uncertainly this time, the guests stand up and raise their glasses.)
GUESTS: The bride and groom.
(Instantly Sherlock turns back and bends down to John.)
SHERLOCK: Major Sholto’s going to be murdered. I don’t know how or by whom, but it’s going to happen.
(He turns and starts making his way through the guests who are now blocking the aisle.)
SHERLOCK: ’Scuse me, coming through!
(John quickly turns and takes Mary’s head in one hand and kisses her.)
SHERLOCK (pushing through the crowd): Consulting!
JOHN (to Mary): Stay here.
MARY: Please be careful.
(John gets up and starts making his own way through the guests.)
JOHN: ’Scuse me. Coming through! ’Scuse me.
(Mary hesitates for only a few seconds, then jumps up and follows him.)
MARY (to the guests): Sorry, one more. Whoops! So sorry! Thank you!
(The guests murmur and chatter to each other in confusion.)

Downstairs, on a half-landing partway up the staircase, Sherlock stands with the tips of his fingers against his temples and his eyes screwed closed. John paces impatiently beside him.
JOHN: How can you not remember which room? You remember everything.
SHERLOCK (irritably): I have to delete something!
(Mary runs around the corner and pelts up the stairs in between them, holding up her skirt with one hand to stop herself tripping over it.)
MARY: Two oh seven.
(The boys chase after her and Sherlock quickly overtakes her. She takes John’s hand and they hurry after him. Reaching the second floor, Sherlock knocks on the door of Room 207 and tries the handle.)
SHERLOCK (rattling the door handle): Major Sholto? Major Sholto!
(He slams the flat of his right hand repeatedly against the door.)
SHERLOCK: Major Sholto!
SHOLTO (sitting on a chair beside the bed and speaking loudly enough to be heard through the door): If someone’s about to make an attempt on my life, it won’t be the first time. I’m ready.
(John walks towards the door. Sherlock steps back, shaking out his right hand and flexing the fingers.)
JOHN: Major, let us in.
MARY: Kick the door down.
SHOLTO: I really wouldn’t. I have a gun in my hand and a lifetime of unfortunate reflexes.
SHERLOCK (walking closer to the door again): You’re not safe in there. Whoever’s after you, we know that a locked room doesn’t stop him.
SHOLTO: “The invisible man with the invisible knife.”
SHERLOCK: I don’t know how he does it, so I can’t stop him, and that means he’ll do it again.
SHOLTO (sternly): Solve it, then.
SHERLOCK: I – I’m sorry?
SHOLTO: You’re the famous Mr Holmes. Solve the case. On you go.
(Sherlock straightens up, his eyes rapidly flickering from side to side.)
SHOLTO: Tell me how he did it and I’ll open the door.
(John steps forward again.)
JOHN: Please, this is no time for games. Just let us in! You’re in danger!
SHOLTO: So are you, so long as you’re here.
(Mary watches Sherlock as he paces back and forth across the landing.)
SHOLTO: Please, leave me. Despite my reputation, I really don’t approve of collateral damage.
MARY (to Sherlock): Solve it.
(He stops and looks at her.)
SHERLOCK: Sorry?
MARY: Solve it, and he’ll open the door, like he said.
SHERLOCK: If I couldn’t solve it before, how can I solve it now?
MARY: Because it matters now.
SHERLOCK: What are you talking about? (He looks at John.) What’s she talking about? Get your wife under control.
JOHN: She’s right.
SHERLOCK: Oh, you’ve changed!
JOHN: No, she is. (He turns and points at him.) Shut up. You are not a puzzle-solver – you never have been. You’re a drama queen.
(Sherlock’s mouth drops open and he stares at him.)
JOHN (louder): Now, there is a man in there about to die. (Sarcastically) “The game is on.” (Angrily, pointing at the door.) Solve it!
(Sherlock bares his teeth at him, then his eyes suddenly snap upwards. He can see Private Bainbridge in full uniform standing at attention against a white background. Bainbridge rotates as if standing on a turntable, and Sherlock’s vision zooms in to the man’s white webbing belt.
The image changes to Major Sholto in his dress uniform rotating on the invisible turntable, and again the view zooms in on his white webbing belt.
Sherlock then recalls the waiter in the kitchen downstairs reaching down to take hold of the skewer pushed through the middle of the joint of beef.
In the shower room at the barracks, Bainbridge unclips his belt.
The waiter slowly begins to pull the skewer out of the joint.
Bainbridge unwraps his belt from around his waist.
The skewer comes free of the joint, and blood and juice stream out of the hole.
Bainbridge stumbles slightly, looking uncomfortable.
Blood continues to pour from the hole in the beef joint.
The duty sergeant knocks on the door of the shower cubicle, calling Bainbridge’s name. Bainbridge is slumped on the floor inside and bloodstained water pours out under the door.)
(Outside Sholto’s bedroom Sherlock – who had closed his eyes during the memories – opens them again. He steps over to Mary, takes hold of her head in both hands and kisses her forehead.)
SHERLOCK (releasing her, then pointing towards John): Though, in fairness, he’s a drama queen too.
MARY: Yeah, I know.
(John frowns. Sherlock goes over to the door and speaks loudly.)
SHERLOCK: Major Sholto, no-one’s coming to kill you. I’m afraid you’ve already been killed several hours ago.
SHOLTO: What did you say?
SHERLOCK: Don’t take off your belt.
SHOLTO: My belt?
SHERLOCK (turning around and talking to the other two): His belt, yes. Bainbridge was stabbed hours before we even saw him, but it was through his belt.
(Brief flashback of Sholto clipping his belt together when he got dressed for the wedding.)
SHERLOCK: Tight belt, worn high on the waist. Very easy to push a small blade through the fabric and you wouldn’t even feel it.
(John is nodding his understanding.)
JOHN: The-the belt would bind the flesh together when it was tied tight ...
SHERLOCK: Exactly.
JOHN: ... and when you took it off ...
SHERLOCK: Delayed action stabbing. All the time in the world to create an alibi.
(He shakes the door handle.)
SHERLOCK: Major Sholto?
SHOLTO: So – I was to be killed by my uniform. How appropriate.
(He stands up and looks at himself in the mirror on the wall.)
MARY: He solved the case, Major. You’re supposed to open the door now. A deal is a deal.
SHOLTO: I’m not even supposed to have this any more. They gave me special dispensation to keep it. I couldn’t imagine life out of this uniform. I suppose – given the circumstances – I don’t have to.
(He carefully tosses the pistol onto the bed and then looks into the mirror again.)
SHOLTO: When so many want you dead, it hardly seems good manners to argue.
(He puts his right hand to the belt fastener and tightens his fingers ready to unclip it.)
JOHN: Whatever you’re doing in there, James, stop it, right now. I will kick this door down.
SHOLTO: Mr Holmes, you and I are similar, I think.
(John turns away from the door and Sherlock walks closer.)
SHERLOCK: Yes, I think we are.
SHOLTO: There’s a proper time to die, isn’t there?
SHERLOCK: Of course there is.
SHOLTO: And one should embrace it when it comes – like a soldier.
SHERLOCK (firmly): Of course one should, but not at John’s wedding. We wouldn’t do that, would we – you and me? We would never do that to John Watson.
(Sholto closes his eyes. Outside, Sherlock steps away from the door and John walks closer, leaning towards the door and listening for any sound from the room. He straightens up and takes off his jacket.)
JOHN: I’m gonna break it down.
MARY: No, wait, wait, you won’t have to.
JOHN: Hmm?
(The door opens. Sholto glances briefly at Sherlock, then lowers his eyes before looking at John.)
SHOLTO: I believe I am in need of medical attention.
JOHN: I believe I am your doctor.
(He follows Sholto as he turns and goes back into the room. Giving Sherlock a quick smile, Mary follows him. Sherlock closes his eyes for a moment, then follows them.)

EVENING. An orchestral rendition of the waltz “On The Beautiful Blue Danube” by Johann Strauss II can be heard. In the foyer of the wedding venue, Sherlock and Janine are waltzing alone. Sherlock is counting time.
SHERLOCK: One, two, three; der, der, der ... Ahh, pretty good.
JANINE: Ooh!
(They stop dancing.)
SHERLOCK (releasing her): Just ... hold your nerve on your turning.
JANINE (adjusting the top of her strapless bridesmaid’s dress): Why do we have to rehearse?
SHERLOCK (leaning in and speaking confidentially): Because we are about to dance together in public, and your skills are appalling!
(He smiles at her and she laughs.)
JANINE: Well, you’re a good teacher.
SHERLOCK: Mmm.
JANINE: And you’re a brilliant dancer.
SHERLOCK (quietly, leaning towards her again): I’ll let you in on something, Janine.
JANINE (in a whisper): Go on, then.
SHERLOCK: I love dancing. I’ve always loved it.
JANINE: Seriously?
SHERLOCK (quietly): Watch out.
(Looking around to make sure that nobody else can see him, he swings both of his arms to the left, takes a sharp breath, rises onto his left foot and does a full-circle pirouette.)
JANINE: Ooh! Woah!
SHERLOCK (clearing his throat): Never really comes up in crime work but, um, you know, I live in hope of the right case.
JANINE (sighing wistfully): I wish you weren’t ...
(He turns and looks at her.)
JANINE: ... whatever it is you are.
SHERLOCK: I know.
(John has just walked into view and has spotted them. He walks over.)
JOHN: Well, glad to see you’ve pulled, Sherlock, what with murderers running riot at my wedding.
(He claps his hand on Sherlock’s back.)
SHERLOCK: One murder... – one nearly murderer. (To Janine) Loves to exaggerate. You should try living with him.
(The entrance door opens and Greg comes in.)
LESTRADE: Sherlock? (He points back out the door.) Got him for you.
SHERLOCK (clapping his hands together as the wedding photographer walks in): Ah, the photographer. Excellent! (To Greg) Thank you.
(He walks over to the photographer and points at the camera he’s holding.)
SHERLOCK: Er, may I have a look at your camera?
PHOTOGRAPHER: Er ... (he pulls his camera back nervously but then holds it out to him) ... what’s this about? I was halfway home!
SHERLOCK (taking the camera): You should have driven faster.
(He looks at the screen on the back of the camera and starts flicking through the pictures.)
SHERLOCK: Ah, yes. Yes, very good. There, you see? (He smiles.) Perfect.
LESTRADE: What is? You gonna tell us?
SHERLOCK (handing the camera to Greg): Try looking yourself.
JOHN (walking to Greg’s side): Um, look for what?
(Janine also walks over. Sherlock strolls closer to the photographer.)
JOHN (pointing at the camera): Is the murderer in these photographs?
SHERLOCK: It’s not what’s in the photographs; it’s what’s not in them – not in any of them.
JOHN: Sherlock? The showing-off thing: we’ve discussed it before.
SHERLOCK: There is always a man at a wedding who is not in any photograph but can go anywhere, and even carry an equipment bag around with him if he likes, and you never even see his face. (He walks closer to the photographer and looks down towards his hand.) You only ever see ...
(Brief montage of the wedding pictures, and then the photographer going round the reception taking photos.)
(Back in the present, Sherlock rapidly slaps one cuff of a pair of handcuffs around the photographer’s wrist and the other cuff around the frame of a nearby birdcage luggage trolley [Arthur Shappey would be so excited].)
SHERLOCK: ... the camera.
PHOTOGRAPHER: What are you doing? What is this?
SHERLOCK (holding up his phone to show the screen to the others): Jonathan Small, today’s substitute wedding photographer – known to us as the Mayfly Man. His brother was one of the raw recruits killed in that incursion. Jonny sought revenge on Sholto, worked his way through Sholto’s staff, found what he needed ...
(Cutaway shot of Small arranging a group of five wedding guests – one of whom is Sholto – for a formal photograph. He is moving the people around so that they can all be seen by the camera which is on a tripod in front of them.)
SHERLOCK: ... an invitation to a wedding – the one time Sholto would have to be out in public. So, he made his plan ...
(Cutaway shot of Small, wearing casual clothes and a cap, outside the gates of the barracks. He moves to stand beside Bainbridge and then holds up a smartphone as if he’s about to take a selfie of himself with the Guardsman.)
SHERLOCK: ... and rehearsed the murder ...
(Cutaway shot of Small with the wedding group, moving to take Sholto by the shoulders to move him into position.)
SHERLOCK: ... making sure of every last detail.
(Standing behind Sholto, Small holds his shoulder with one hand and puts his other hand down to the back of his belt. We can’t see what he’s holding but we hear a sharp noise as the slender blade punches through the belt and into Sholto’s back.
Outside the barracks, still holding his phone up with one hand, Small stands slightly behind Bainbridge and we hear the sharp noise of the blade stabbing through the Guardsman’s belt. Bainbridge jolts slightly and blinks.
At the photoshoot, Sholto sways slightly and looks a little uncomfortable. Small glares murderously at him from behind, withdraws his hand and then puts it into his jacket’s inside breast pocket, tucking the blade out of sight.
At the barracks, Small walks away from Bainbridge.
At the photoshoot, Small gives Sholto one last glare from behind, then walks forward to his camera.)
(Back in the reception foyer, Small looks calmly at Sherlock.)
SHERLOCK: Brilliant, ruthless, almost certainly a monomaniac – though, in fairness, his photographs are actually quite good.
(He tosses his phone to Greg.)
SHERLOCK: Everything you need’s on that. You probably ought to ... arrest him or something.
(Nearby, Mary comes into view, apparently looking for John. She spots him, smiles and hurries towards him. Janine, standing beside Sherlock, leans closer and speaks quietly without looking at him.)
JANINE: Do you always carry handcuffs?
SHERLOCK: Down, girl.
MARY (holding out her hand to John): Come on, quick!
(She reaches his side and John puts his arm around her as she turns and sees Small nearby. He is looking at Sherlock fixedly.)
SMALL: It’s not me you should be arresting, Mr Holmes.
SHERLOCK: Oh, I don’t do the arresting. (He nods towards Greg.) I just farm that out.
SMALL: Sholto – he’s the killer, not me. I should have killed him quicker.
(He grins manically, then his smile fades and he shakes his head.)
SMALL: I shouldn’t have tried to be clever.
SHERLOCK (softly): You should have driven faster.
(He takes his hands from behind his back and crooks one arm to Janine. She takes it and they walk away. John and Mary follow them. Greg looks down at Sherlock’s phone, then looks at Small.)
LESTRADE: Right ...

In the reception room, the tables have been cleared away. Looking into each other’s eyes, Mary and John are dancing a slow waltz in the middle of the room to the sound of a single violin while all the guests stand around the edge of the room and watch them. On a low stage at the end of the room Sherlock is playing his violin. The tune is the same one we heard at the beginning of the episode. He sways gently while he plays, his eyes fixed on the newlyweds. As the tune draws to an end, John shifts one hand to Mary’s back, holds her by the waist with the other and starts to dip her backwards. Mary gasps.
MARY: Really?!
(Chuckling, he bends her backwards as she giggles. He kisses her as the tune ends. The guests break into applause and some of them cheer. Everyone is looking at the happy couple except Janine who directs her applause towards Sherlock. She whoops at him.)
JANINE: Yeah!
(Sherlock looks at her for a moment, then turns to the music stand in front of him. He had taken off his buttonhole flower and put it on the stand so that it wouldn’t get in the way while he was playing and now he picks it up, shows her what he’s holding and then tosses it across the room towards her. She catches it. John – who has pulled Mary upright again and is laughing happily – waves his thanks to Sherlock, then kisses Mary again as Sherlock steps to the nearby microphone.)
SHERLOCK: Ladies and gentlemen, just, er, one last thing before the evening begins properly. Apologies for earlier. A crisis arose and was dealt with.
(He draws in a breath.)
SHERLOCK: More importantly, however, today we saw two people make vows. I’ve never made a vow in my life, and after tonight I never will again. So, here in front of you all, my first and last vow. Mary and John: whatever it takes, whatever happens, from now on I swear I will always be there, always, for all three of you.
(He hesitates momentarily, then stutters.)
SHERLOCK: Er, I’m sorry, I mean, I mean two of you. All two of you. Both of you, in fact. I’ve just miscounted.
(He takes a sharp breath. John and Mary exchange a slightly worried look.)
SHERLOCK: Anyway, it’s time for dancing. (Over his shoulder to the DJ on the stage) Play the music again, please, thank you.
(Disco lights begin to flash and Sherlock gestures grandly to the guests as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons’ song “December, 1963 (Oh What A Night)” starts to play.)
SHERLOCK: Okay, everybody, just dance. Don’t be shy!
(He walks down off the stage, still gesturing to the crowd.)
SHERLOCK: Dancing, please!
(The guests start to move onto the floor and begin to dance.)
SHERLOCK: Very good!
(He walks over to Mary and John who look quizzically at him.)
SHERLOCK: Sorry, that was one more deduction than I was really expecting.
MARY: “Deduction”?
SHERLOCK (looking intensely at her): Increased appetite ...
(Flashback to Mary taking one of the canapés from the waiter’s tray.)
MARY (in flashback): Starving.
SHERLOCK: ... change of taste perception ...
(Flashback to Mary grimacing at her wine glass.)
MARY (in flashback): Urgh. I chose this wine. It’s bloody awful.
SHERLOCK: ... and you were sick this morning. You assumed it was just wedding nerves. You got angry with me when I mentioned it to you. All the signs are there.
MARY: “The signs”?
(Sherlock glances across to John, then turns his eyes back to her.)
SHERLOCK: The signs of three.
(His gaze drops to her abdomen.)
MARY: What?!
SHERLOCK: Mary, I think you should do a pregnancy test.
(John sighs and drops his head, almost bending over double. Mary grins delightedly at Sherlock.)
SHERLOCK: W... th... the statistics for the first trimester are ...
JOHN (straightening up): Shut up.
(Sherlock freezes in the middle of forming his next word. He looks at John as if waiting for permission to continue.)
JOHN: Just ... shut up.
SHERLOCK: Sorry.
(John turns to Mary.)
JOHN (looking annoyed with himself): How did he notice before me? I’m a bloody doctor.
SHERLOCK: It’s your day off.
JOHN: It’s your day off!
SHERLOCK: Stop-stop panicking.
JOHN: I’m not panicking.
MARY: I’m pregnant – I’m panicking.
SHERLOCK: Don’t panic. None of you panic.
(The Watsons both look down, their faces full of concern.)
SHERLOCK: Absolutely no reason to panic.
JOHN: Oh, and you’d know, of course?
SHERLOCK: Yes, I would. You’re already the best parents in the world. Look at all the practice you’ve had!
JOHN: What practice?
SHERLOCK: Well, you’re hardly gonna need me around now that you’ve got a real baby on the way.
(John stares, then Sherlock smiles happily at him. John laughs and reaches out to cup the back of his neck. Laughing even more, he turns to his wife and puts his other hand on her shoulder as she begins to smile with delight. Sherlock turns his smile towards Mary, but after a moment the smile begins to fade a little.)
JOHN (to Mary): You all right?
MARY (a little breathlessly): Yeah.
(John turns back to Sherlock, smiling joyfully. They look at each other for a long moment, then John breaks the eye contact and they both look a bit awkward. There’s a slightly embarrassed pause for a couple of seconds.)
SHERLOCK (abruptly): Dance.
JOHN: Mm?
SHERLOCK: Both of you, now, go dance. We can’t just stand here. People will wonder what we’re talking about.
JOHN: Right.
(Mary reaches out to touch Sherlock’s arm, her voice tearful.)
MARY: And what about you?
JOHN: Well, we can’t all three dance. There are limits!
SHERLOCK: Yes, there are.
(John clears his throat. Still looking tearful, Mary turns to John.)
MARY: Come on, husband. Let’s go.
JOHN (pointing over his shoulder): This isn’t a waltz, is it?
(She laughs.)
SHERLOCK: Don’t worry, Mary, I have been tutoring him.
JOHN: He did, you know. Baker Street, behind closed curtains.
(Turning to face her, he takes her right hand with his left and puts his other hand on her waist.)
JOHN: Mrs Hudson came in one time. Don’t know how those rumours started!
(He sniggers. Giggling, she puts her left hand on his shoulder and they dance off into the crowd. Looking over John’s shoulder, Mary smiles at Sherlock and mouths what may be a ‘thank you.’ He smiles, then nods to her. As his friends dance away, he lowers his eyes, then slowly turns and looks at everybody dancing all around him, keeping his head lowered as if trying not to meet anyone’s eyes. He looks very lost and alone in the middle of the crowd. After a few moments, however, he seems to have a thought and lifts his head, still looking around but now with more intent. Eventually he sees Janine dancing some distance away. She is wearing his buttonhole flower pinned to the top of her dress. She looks across the room and smiles at him. Returning her smile he starts to walk towards her and she lifts her hand and points to her right with her thumb up, grinning happily. Sherlock stops when he realises that she’s dancing with the ‘comics and sci-fi geek’ he had recommended to her earlier. She turns away and continues to dance with her new friend. Sherlock looks reflective for a few seconds, then turns towards the stage.
On the music stand is the hand-written music he played for the newlyweds. In the top right-hand corner is written:

Waltz,
for Mary & John
by
Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock picks up the music and folds it into an envelope, which he puts onto the stand. Written on the envelope is:

Dr. and Mrs Watson

Leaving the stage he walks slowly through the guests. Molly, dancing with Tom and Mrs Hudson, looks across the room and watches him for a few seconds, then turns back to the others.)

In the garden outside the reception room, while the revellers dance on, Sherlock puts his coat on and, with the collar turned up to the max, slowly walks away.

His Last Vow

The scene opens on a pair of thin rimmed spectacles lying on top of a table.
LADY SMALLWOOD (offscreen): Mr Magnussen, please state your full name for the record.
MAGNUSSEN (in a heavy Danish accent): Charles Augustus Magnussen.
(We see Lady Smallwood from Magnussen’s viewpoint. She is a woman in her early sixties. She is sitting at another table some distance away, facing him. With his glasses off, his view of the woman is blurred.)
LADY SMALLWOOD: Mr Magnussen, how would you describe your influence over the Prime Minister?
MAGNUSSEN: The British Prime Minister?
LADY SMALLWOOD: Any of the British Prime Ministers you have known.
(We now see the layout of the room. Magnussen sits alone at a table in a large room. The wall to his left is floor-to-ceiling glass. He is facing three more tables which are laid out in a U-shape. There are eleven people sitting at these tables. Each person has a microphone on a stand in front of them, and the session is being filmed and projected onto a screen behind Lady Smallwood. She sits at the centre of the table facing Magnussen. She is clearly the chairperson of what must be the parliamentary commission to which a rolling news headline referred in “The Empty Hearse” at the same time that the TV news announced that Sherlock was alive. There is a glassed-off viewing gallery at the rear of the room where observers – perhaps mostly journalists – are sitting and watching the proceedings with headphones on their ears. Magnussen answers all his questions in a flat tone, showing no emotion.)
MAGNUSSEN: I never had the slightest influence over any of them. Why would I?
LADY SMALLWOOD (looking through a report on the table in front of her): I notice you’ve had ... seven meetings at Downing Street this year. (She looks up at him.) Why?
MAGNUSSEN: Because I was invited.
LADY SMALLWOOD: Can you recall the subjects under discussion?
MAGNUSSEN: Not without being more indiscreet than I believe is appropriate.
(A man to the right of Lady Smallwood leans forward to his microphone.)
GARVIE: Do you think it right that a newspaper proprietor, a private individual and, in fact, a foreign national should have such regular access to our Prime Minister?
(While he has been speaking, Magnussen has picked up his glasses and put them on. As soon as Garvie comes into focus, information appears in front of Magnussen’s eyes in a white font:

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 554