Mr. Holmes Page #2

Mr Holmes, my Ann has changed.

And it isn't just the lessons

or her obsession with the instrument.

One day I was outside the room

and suddenly her playing stopped.

And I heard her saying, quite clearly...

Grace? James?

Those were to be

the names of your children?

When I confronted Ann, she denied it.

So I forbad her playing the armonica

and I forbad her taking the lessons.

The woman who teaches them,

Madame Schirmer,

is a person of dangerous beliefs.

The dangerous beliefs

of a music teacher?

She's put a spell on Ann,

preying upon her weak frame of mind,

for what reason I cannot say.

Have you proof of this?

Following my instructions, she stopped

seeing Madame Schirmer.

I received in the post...

Three receipts from the woman.

Each for the payment

of one armonica lesson.

Again Ann denied it.

Consequently, my wife is no longer

permitted to withdraw money from the bank.

Then yesterday, I followed Ann to the

place where the woman gives her lessons.

Even on the pavement below

I could hear her playing.

Naturally, I went inside,

but the Schirmer woman said,

"Your wife is not here."

Last night, I questioned Ann.

And she said that she hadn't been

to Madame Schirmer's rooms.

Not for weeks.

Do you have a portrait of your wife?

I shall take your case

if you answer just one last question.

Certainly.

What perfume does your wife wear?

Roger?

It's late.

Lights out like it's the Blitz.

Look at you.

Do you remember your dad?

I remember him holding my hand

and taking me to the sea.

You're not remembering.

That's the picture.

What about the invisible stories?

Some nights at bedtime,

your dad would make up stories.

He'd... He'd say,

"Give me three things."

And you'd say,

"A ball, a cat and Roger."

So then he'd...

He'd make up some tale about

a ball that had a pet cat named Roger.

Always a something

and something and Roger.

You don't remember

any of the invisible stories?

No. Do you?

I was never any good at stories.

Sleep well.

The first thing to know

is there's no danger.

Bees aren't interested in harming you.

Their only concern is self-preservation.

- From people?

- They're much too clever for people.

Their enemies are the weather,

disease and predators.

The wasp is their particular antagonist.

Did you know that one wasp can kill

40 honey bees in under a minute?

In consequence, we do not like wasps.

- Yes, sir. We do not like wasps.

- Ah.

The queen runs the colony.

The drones service the queen.

Hands up.

Workers do the work. As it should be.

Of concern is the latest decrease

in the bee population.

We've identified the problem,

and now we must solve it.

Right. There you are. Off you go.

- Have you ever been bitten by a bee?

- Stung.

Bees don't have teeth. Yes, I have.

Well, not often, though.

7,816 times.

I keep a record.

You're not entirely dreadful.

You ever been bit?

No. I have never been bit.

Well, people work with bees

all the time, don't they?

What is Royal Jelly?

It's a special secretion

of the worker bees.

- And it's royal because?

- It feeds the queen.

Bravo.

It was the jelly's curative powers

that prompted my monograph,

The Value of Royal Jelly

with Further Comments on the

Potential Health Benefits of Prickly Ash.

- What's that?

- Prickly Ash, hm?

Well, in Japanese, Hire Sansho is the

common word for Zanthoxylum piperitum.

It's used to treat

various degenerative diseases.

Anaemia, circulatory conditions...

Arthritis and...

Hm. What's it called?

Oh. Senility.

That was a witticism.

The newest research suggests that Prickly

Ash has far more promise than Royal Jelly.

Henceforth, Prickly Ash

is all that we should use.

Have you written more

about the man and his wife?

- All in good time.

- Is it real?

Of course. Fiction is worthless!

The place you stopped. Why do you want

to know the wife's perfume?

- Cameo Rose, is it?

- Yes, sir.

Always leaves a trace.

Madame Schirmer.

Madame Schirmer,

this is Thomas Kelmot. Let me in.

Madame Schirmer!

Herr Kelmot, I did warn!

You come, I call the Metropolitan Police!

Madame, my friend's emotional state

is such that, if denied entry,

he might not be able

to restrain his passions.

Allow us both in,

and I will take full responsibility.

- Thank you so much.

- Who is this?

- This gentleman is a detective.

- Ja? His badge, please?

His name is Mr Sherlock Holmes.

You don't mind if I close this, do you?

Such a draught.

No. I have seen Sherlock Holmes

in the magazines.

With the hat and the pipe.

It was never this person.

Madame Schirmer, I saw Ann enter

this place, I demand you produce her.

Your wife is not here.

- You said that last time.

- You question my truth?

Oswald, my dear, it is a wish

to know if you are this man's wife.

- No.

- You could be in disguise.

- I don't think so.

- Voila!

It is, I believe,

what the English call a water closet.

She was here! I saw her!

Mr Kelmot,

if you insist on following your wife

when you have employed me

to do the same,

one or the other of us

will find himself made redundant.

- He is distraught.

- He is a fool.

The armonica used to be thought of

as an instrument of the black arts,

said to be used to call for the dead.

Something to do with

the nature of the glasses.

You don't believe that, surely?

What I believe

plays no part in this matter.

When was Mrs Kelmot last here?

Weeks now.

Then the receipts you posted to her

address were for Oswald's lessons.

Mrs Kelmot is paying for them.

Frau Kelmot is passionate,

but an amateur.

She knew it was Oswald who has the gift.

- You knew she was not here.

- Of course.

Oswald doesn't wear her scent.

You are still not Sherlock Holmes!

How considerate.

You waited for me.

What are you doing?

Trying to see

if I can tell where I've been.

Don't you know?

Mr Holmes can tell things like that

just from looking at a person.

- Where are you off to?

- See to the bees!

You'll eat your breakfast first!

Got a letter from your aunt

the other day.

She says there's a couple in Portsmouth

opening a hotel there.

- Need a housekeeper.

- Why would we want to live in Portsmouth?

- Can't stay here forever.

- Why not?

- Because we can't.

- What's in Portsmouth?

- This couple are opening a hotel there...

- You said that.

You'll leave the table when

you're finished and not before.

I'm not finished.

You don't eat that Japanese muck.

It's Hire Sansho.

- I know you like working with the hive...

- It's an apiary.

And you like being given responsibility,

but I shouldn't get too close.

- Bees don't bite.

- I don't mean the bees.

Mr Holmes won't be here forever.

Your aunt says

this hotel might even take you on.

- They got porters and...

- Have porters.

Finished.

Chemist delivered your things.

Shall I have Roger open the crate?

No. I'll see to it when I'm finished.

Yes, sir.

Sir?

I know Roger's been a help to you.

He's a good boy.

He's always been clever.

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