Sherlock Holmes Page #15

Judging by the estate, Blackwood comes from old money,

and lots of it. We FOLLOW the carriage hurrying Holmes

and Watson forward.

42 EXT. THE BLACKWOOD BURIAL PLOT - DAY 42

Generations of wealth buried in moss-covered marble

memorials. Not a place for a picnic, not even on a

bright sunny day -- and it's starting to rain.

A COP stops the carriage, opens the door. Holmes and

Watson exit, Watson carries a black leather FORENSICS

KIT.

They walk up the pathway towards the Blackwood Family

Crypt. Watson barely lifts his head, scanning the ground

while Holmes appears to have taken an interest in a clump

of trees in the distance.

WATSON:

Look at this mess. Nothing but

standard-issue police bootprints.

Any possible evidence there might

have been has been trampled.

(CONTINUED)

38A.

42 CONTINUED:
42

HOLMES:

Scotland Yard at their finest,

once again.

Police lamps light one large marble CRYPT. The cops are

in tight clusters, whispering to themselves, spooked.

They'd rather be anywhere but here.

As Holmes and Watson approach, they see the marble doors

of the crypt have been BLASTED OPEN FROM THE INSIDE.

Holmes and Watson share a quick glance -- this is

interesting.

Lestrade emerges from the crypt. He is sweating, shaken.

(CONTINUED)

39.

42 CONTINUED:
(2) 42

Holmes offers Lestrade his handkerchief, Lestrade waves

it off.

LESTRADE:

Look at those slabs of marble --

they're half a ton each if they're

a pound -- smashed outward like

they were nothing.

On second thought, Lestrade does take Holmes'

handkerchief.

LESTRADE:

Explain it if you can, Holmes.

Holmes inspects the door, checking the hinges. He

notices the Blackwood CREST, and the image of a SPHINX.

HOLMES:

And the coffin?

LESTRADE:

We're digging it up now. The

witness is over there. You can

question him if you like -- but

you won't get much.

The old GROUNDSKEEPER, pale and terrified, stands out of

the rain under an ancient cypress tree.

Watson heads for him. Holmes disappears in the opposite

direction.

As soon as their backs are turned, Lestrade marches over

to a nervous knot of cops, grabs a fistful of blue in

each hand, drags his boys in close. He doesn't want

Holmes or Watson to hear this.

LESTRADE:

(low, angry)

If you lot don't stop behaving

like a bunch of superstitious milk

maids, you're on double-time!

You're an embarrassment! Also,

you're forbidden to talk about

this to anyone, not a word. Are

we bloody clear on that?

The cops nod, duly chastened.

CUT TO:

(CONTINUED)

40.

42 CONTINUED:
(3) 42

THE GROUNDSKEEPER

mumbles the Lord's Prayer under his breath. Watson

immediately goes into doctor mode checking his pulse,

looking in his eyes.

The Groundskeeper just keeps praying. Watson takes a

boiled sweet from his pocket, pops it in the man's mouth

and gently sits him down.

Holmes walks over holding a small branch from a tree.

WATSON:

He's in shock. We should give him

a few moments.

Lestrade stomps up.

LESTRADE:

The witness stated that he saw

Lord Blackwood rise from the

grave.

(at Watson,

accusingly)

Well? You pronounced the man

dead.

WATSON:

(stung)

He had no pulse.

HOLMES:

Inspector, do you know if this is

a spruce or a sycamore?

Lestrade shakes his head. It hasn't been a good day for

him, or the Yard.

There's a clunk. They all turn to see the coffin has

been extracted from the crypt.

Four beefy, soil-stained cops emerge lugging the coffin.

They place it on the ground, step back, crossing

themselves, murmuring, plainly terrified. Holmes

chuckles.

LESTRADE:

OPEN IT!!

(CONTINUED)

41.

42 CONTINUED:
(4) 42

But no one moves. The cops pass a CROWBAR around as if

it were red-hot. Watson's had enough. He marches

forward --

-- snatches the crowbar away, jams it under the lid and

levers it off with a slow, eerie groan.

Holmes and Lestrade move forward, the cops move backward.

The coffin is filled with EARTH, overflowing. They brush

away a layer of dirt, to reveal... A DEAD BODY in the

coffin. The body is a much smaller man than Blackwood,

in everyday clothes, with red hair.

LESTRADE:

That's not Blackwood.

HOLMES:

Now that we have a firm grasp of

the obvious...

Watson opens his forensic kit, disturbed. Vials, silver

tools. He takes a CALIPER, begins examining the body.

WATSON:

Lividity is late stage. Diptera

deposits are approximately --

(measuring)

-- three quarters of an inch,

putting the time of death at ten

to twelve hours ago.

HOLMES:

Inspector, may I see your pen?

Lestrade hands over a nice fountain pen, still stunned.

Holmes takes the pen and pries open the corpse's mouth,

revealing:
two missing teeth in the man's jaw.

WATSON:

Missing two incisors in the upper

jaw...

(a look at Holmes)

Adler's midget.

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