Sherlock & Co. - 24 - The Creeping Man - Part Two

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

 LIVE AT THE APOLLO - always thought I'd go to The Hammersmith Apollo one day. Didn't think it would be in this capacity. The quest to uncover more about Professor Orson Presbury and 9 Palace Garden Terrace was taking many twists and turns - and it was in seeing him live where the case began to take shape. For ad-free, early access to adventures in full go to www.patreon.com/sherlockandco Follow me @DocJWatsonMD or get in touch via email [e-mail] Listener discretion is advised. This podcast is property of Goalhanger Podcasts. Copyright 2024. ------- SHERLOCK AND CO. Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Paul Waggott as Dr. John Watson Harry Attwell as Sherlock Holmes Marta da Silva as Mariana Ametxazurra   Rayner Bourton as Professor Orson Presbury Darcey Ferguson as Edith Bennett-Presbury Sam Stones as Tom Bennett-Presbury Additional voices : Nalan Burgess Joel Emery Adam Jarrell  Written by Joel Emery Directed by Adam Jarrell Editing and Sound Design by Holy Smokes Audio Produced by Neil Fearn and Jon Gill Executive Producer Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previously on Sherlock & Co. Hold on, where... where are we? Palace Garden Terrace. Why? Because we're confronting the white rat killer up there. First things first. The house belongs to Professor Arson Presley. Really?

Yeah. The self-help guru? Self-help? Certainly good at helping himself to a load of cash, that's for sure. He's everything, everywhere, all the time. What are you watching? Live stream of our friend Professor Presbury. I wish I was friends with Orson Presbury, blimey.

Why is that? Well, I could find out his secret. What secret does he have? Oh, come on. 76 years old, that guy. Look at him. I mean, he looks like Brad Pitt's sexy uncle. Anyways, I followed the eyes of this kid.

See what he's staring at, Lee? And I see... I look up to the top floor of your house, Lee. Number nine. Palace Garden Terrace. What did you see? The Creeping Man. Palace Garden Terrace. What did you see? The Creeping Man.

Welcome back to the adventure of The Creeping Man. Warning, as usual, this episode contains breaking and entering. It's not cool, kids. Don't do it. Don't try it at home. Well, no, actually, you know, if Don't do it. Don't try it at home. Well, no, actually, you know, if you are going to try it, try it at home, because that technically wouldn't be breaking and entering. Swearing ahoy.

Bye-bye. That is... That is terrifying. So the top floor there, the room with the closed curtains, the whole floor has lights on. In the next room, there is a man, I think. He's shuffling, almost floating. Jesus, he's exactly like Wiggins said.

Jesus, he's exactly like Wiggins said. He's skeletal, hunched over, moving... moving like a zombie. I... I don't know what else to say. Who is that? The Creeping Man. What's he doing? Who's he talking to?

It's not quite clear. Let's go and speak to him. Sorry, no, no, stop. Close the door. What is it? I am not going to converse with a spooky figure haunting the top floor of Nine Palace Garden Terrace. Why not? Because he... Look at him. Where's, um...

Where's he gone? I can't see him! Oh... where's, um... where's he gone? I can't see... Oh, fuck! Oh, what the hell! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Can we turn around and get a look at him? No, we cannot! Jeez, this baby really flies. morning everyone um currently at get ready for this the police station yeah uh return the car to the car hire people and they tell us the police are seeking the driver of the vehicle

from last night. That's me. So, yeah, here we are. Professor Presbury's video was a live feed. Hmm? The awesome Presbury show we were watching in the car last night. It was a live feed. I paid for it to be streamed

live. Right, okay. What's your point? The Creeping Man was in his house when Presbury was not. Yeah, so? Why is an esteemed professor and global superstar harbouring a... Ghouls? Not ghouls, Watson. A scraggy old man. Hello! Right, this way please, gents.

Ah, finally. OK, so the vehicle in question, you hired it for a 24-hour period. Is that correct? That is correct, yes. And for what purpose? Work. And what is it you do, Mr Watson? He's a doctor. Understood. OK. Forgive my ignorance here.

Why would a doctor need a smart car for 24 hours? Sorry, just a quick bio on yours truly. Was a doctor. RMO for Northumberland Fusiliers. Then he was a frontline medic in Ukraine. Sure. Right, OK. And you are aware that's against the law?

Yeah, yeah. No, he's lying. Ignore him. So now I actually work with sherlock holmes here we operate a detective agency off baker street okay and last night we were monitoring a property near kensington gardens and there was um a skeletal entity roaming around the top floor? Right. And are the skeletal entities in the room with us now? No.

It was probably an elderly gentleman who looked very unwell. I've got to provide you with this pamphlet, Mr Watson. Yes, doctor. Of course you're a doctor. Of course you are. There's just some helpful advice and phone numbers here. I don't need psychiatric help. Well, not for this. Anyway, for some other things, yeah, that'd be great. Can I have the pamphlet?

What were you doing at Nine Palace Garden Terrace, gents? As John Watson here has said, we were there for work. For a client, on behalf of your agency. Actually, this case has materialised due to our own intrigue and observations. OK, James, look. That is the home of a very prominent academic. All right? A very well-known media figure.

And I think we all know that here, don't we? Yes. Look, we all like a selfie with a celeb, don't we? Eh? We can all get carried away. I got a photo with Piers Morgan just the other week. Sorry to hear that. But I know to keep my distance.

OK? And any sort of delusional fantasies you may have about your relationship with Professor Presbury, I realise they will be very strong and personal to you, but they are not grounded in reality. Yeah? Do you understand that? Who alerted you to our vehicle?

Concerned relatives. Of Professor Presbury? That's correct. So they're monitoring the security cameras for the house? I would imagine, Mr Holmes, that they're concerned about the tenacity of his fans and took these measures, yes, right? Things can feel very threatening when loved ones are involved.

Excellent. Well, my questioning is complete. You've been very helpful. Sorry? Watson, chop, chop. No, no, no, no. Excuse me, can you sit down for a second? That's not how this works.

Come, Watson. Our stalking must continue. Excuse me? Next target, Presbury's loved ones. Your stalking must continue. Excuse me? Next target, Presbury's loved ones. Okay, and just sign here?

Just there. Thanks again, Marianne. I meant stalking in a non-threatening sense. And they're no longer detained? No, that's it. We may reach out for more questions as and when. Great. Thank you, officer. Have a nice day. When did you buy a smart car? I didn't buy it. I rented it.

Why? Because we were doing a stakeout. A stakehouse? A stakeout. Like, a stakeout. It doesn't matter. We were monitoring a house for a case. We don't have an active case right now. Actually, we do.

No, we don't. We do, yeah. Sorry, meant to say... Who's the client? There isn't one. So, what are we doing? Scratching a particular Sherlock itch. Which is? We have observed a creeping man in the home of Professor Orson Presbury.

OK. The elderly man is being mistreated possibly, certainly neglected, as is his cat. Well that sounds fun. Um, you're checking your WhatsApp messages, yeah? I put two murder cases in the group. No, I know, it's... look, I agree with Sherlock. This case did have an initial... I don't know, attraction to it, but now we know it's Orson Presbury

and, you know, his family. I just don't think we can pursue this any further. What on earth are you talking about? This is serious stuff, Sherlock. This is a major figure who is emphatically telling us to back off. His family, are you mean? Yeah, because they probably work for his organisation.

They're looking out for him. Wait, wait. What? What is it? Wait for the green man. Oh. Look at you, you're on edge. Why is this such a compelling case? He may just have an elderly relative he's caring for. He doesn't.

The man is 76. His father died in 2009. His mother in 2012. Brother? Only child. In-laws? Both deceased, and he's long divorced anyway. Besides, what's going on on that top floor is not care.

It's far from it. Can you slow down, please? Can't, I'm afraid. Why? Because we're going to be late. Late for what? The matinee. Where's he going?

Oh, business account. £120 spent on ticket shop. Ticket shop? Any chimps in the house? Yes. Oh my God, you're a chimp. Yeah, I am. I'm neurotic, conscientious.

Tick, tick. Agreeable. Yeah, I mean, of course. Will you two our chimp descendants is where our personalities bond so bonobo incubating

refining over millions of years those of you who are chimpanzees put people first you put community first you know and understand

the value of teamwork you respect hierarchies but you don't analyse your position within it. Remember, Chimp Supplements. There's a subscription for that now, with a price reduction. Don't wait around. So, chimps, personality first. Like the gorillas. How many gorillas we got here?

Yes! first. Like the gorillas. How many gorillas we got here? Now, people are always surprised to hear this. I'm a gorilla. I take the silverback supplement. Gorillas

are often seen as pure brute strength, but they're not. They're thinkers. He's good, mate. He is good. How have you got your phone? They took phones off us. How have you got your mic? I hid it. And I did the same.

Okay, uh, here's your phone, John. Um, Sherlock, they didn't have yours. It's because I didn't give it to them. Why not? Because I don't agree with the policy of taking it in the first place. Mrs Hudson, hold this ice cream cart and stand in front of this stairway. Sherlock, what are you...

Don't let anyone through. Watson, come. What is going on? Just go. You can't just stand here and serve ice cream. Go. Right, right, what are we doing? Can I get an ice cream, please? Okay, yeah, ice cream.

I have chocolate, I think, and a strawberry. Mate, this is... We're going to get a restraining order if we're not careful. I'm being careful. Hmm, dressing rooms. Dressing rooms. Down that way. Ah, yes.

Just so I know, what's the plan here to meet professor orson presbury okay then what ask him why he's got a weird old bloke in his house words to that effect oh christ hi can i help ah tom edith hi really is bloody lovely to see you both again. Sorry I missed a wedding, was biking through Cambodia. This is my head of security, Joe Wilson. Joe, this is Edith and Tom Bennett-Presbury. Edith is Professor Presbury's daughter. Wow, okay, cool. Nice to meet you both.

Your father is a fascinating man. Me and Sherman were just saying... Sherman, of course. Remind me again how we know each other. Bump into so many people at these things, it's like, oh, God. So sorry, of course. I work for a global media company who will remain nameless. Yeah, one of the big streamers.

Oh, okay. We're interested in putting a series together on Orson. Huge budget. Haven't spoken to him for a while about it, actually. Oh, wow. That's excellent. Well, we run his whole thing. His empire.

Yes, quite. We're his management team, essentially, these days. So absolutely get back in touch with us about that. Here's our card. Ah, thank you ever so much. I actually... We had a pop at Everest together back in the day and I was very much hoping to see him face to face.

Ooh. Probably doing his post-show... Cool down, yeah. Sorry, it's a bit above my payroll as security, but you've got that meeting with the Disney team about the thing? Oh, of course, yes, the thing. Such a shame to Miss Orson. Oh, no, no, no. Let me grab him. It's no problem, honestly.

He'll have his mask on, though, won't he, Tom? Yeah, his face mask. Two secs. I'll just let him know you're coming in. Won't be long. Ah, goodness. Look at you, Orson. Sherman! Forgive the mask. This is very much part of the... The cool down. Cool down, yes. Athletes have ice baths, I have ice masks. All that jabbering on.

Hi, Joe. Awesome. Oh, that's the handshake of a silverback. You better believe it. You've met Edith and Tom? Yes, yeah, yeah. Terrific. What are we looking at here? What's the pitch? Documentary? Miniseries? Series? Feature? Um... I think you said series earlier. I did, didn't I? Yes, that's the early rumblings.

Good! That's good! We've been looking for something like that, haven't we, Edith? Yeah, I think it's always good to reach as many people as possible, really. Help as much as we can, you know. Help people achieve, to understand themselves. Of course, yeah. And I would be front and centre in the documentary? That's correct. We'd like our production team to put it together. You have a production team?

We do, yeah. So we'll work out a fee and, yeah, we'll let you guys know what we reckon it'll cost. Excellent. That's what we like to hear. Well, we better... Yes. Yes, we better. Thank you ever so much. Great to see you again, Orson.

Last time I saw you, you had ice in your face then as well. Only we were 45,000 feet up Everest. I remember it well, unfortunately. Oh goodness. Nice to meet you all. Take care. You too. Much appreciated, guys. Next time, we're doing this at your Bikini Atoll Resort. I'll see what I can do. Please do. You'll see why they named the bikini after that incredible island, Joe. Right. Sign me up.

See you later, guys. Yep. See you. Speak soon. Bye-bye. Right. What the hell is going on? That's not Professor Orson Presbury.

That's what the hell is going on. What do you mean it's not him? It's him. It isn't. But how do you know? Because I know. Sherlock, sometimes people will be polite, right? They'll pretend they know somebody just to spare hurting their feelings. Yes, that may be. But why does he think Everest is 45,000 feet

and why does he think he has a resort in Bikini Atoll? What are you talking about? Everest is not 45,000 feet, but he didn't correct me. Despite climbing it himself in 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002... Yeah, I get it. I get it. And Bikini Atoll?

Come on. What? What's Bikini Atoll? Come on. Stop saying that. It's an idyllic island in the Pacific Ocean. He could own a resort there. I mean, he's a very wealthy man. Yes, he could.

Wouldn't be much point to it, though. Why? It was a US test site for nuclear bombs. It's been uninhabitable since the 50s. Yeah, that's a good reason. You know what? What? He's dragged me back in. Yeah, I'm kind of

into. What's the plan? Mrs Hudson, speak to some of his fans that were here today. Get as much information as you can out of them. What they know about Presbury, where they followed him on his tours, what interactions they've had. On it. Watson, head to Imperial College. Okay,

sure. Why? Locate the office of Professor Presbury. I'll let them know you're coming. Oh, and what, they'll let me in? Probably. Great, great. What are you going to do? Stake out. Ah, yeah, they'll let you in Watson, I'm Sherlock Holmes after all. Ah Jesus, for God's sake.

Currently climbing through the window of what I hope are the men's toilets of... Oh Jesus! ...of Imperial College London. Oh bloody hell. Ranked 10th in the world. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. Got my fly stuck on the latch bit. Yeah, ranked 10th behind the usual mob.

You know, your Oxfords, your Harvards, MITs. Oh, bloody hell. Oh, God. Well, I'm in. Right. Presbury's office is, in theory theory in this wing, on this floor down this hallway and then

on the left or right walk with me people let's go snoop Snoopcast with Dr Watson brought to you by NordVPN oh no, wait, nobody bothers to sponsor this show. Okay, Prof. Presbury. Let me take a look through here. Quite dark in here. I think it's like a lecture theatre, but I can't really see. Oh god!

I um... Hi sorry uh god right um microphone on the lectern there. Hello. Hello. So, yes, just looking at my notes here on... Psychological Differentials in Sympatric Speciations and Arithmetic Assessment in Animals. Snappy. Snappy title, yeah. First off, thanks for coming.

My name is, as you can see here, Professor Mikhailo Mukinyukasisek Mikhailovich. You can call me Mick. Prof. Mick. Right, yeah. The old lecture. Let's get cracking. If you want to turn to page...

Oh, you don't have the textbooks. Well, just give me two seconds and I'll go and grab them. So be right back. Oh hell I left the mic! Hi, hello. I left this... this thing. Yeah, I'm going to go get those textbooks. So you guys sit tight

and keep doing what you're doing. An idiot. I look like a complete idiot. It's not funny, Mariana. That is... That is like... I mean, do you have any idea how a guy who scrapes through medical school

feels in that scenario? That is like an anxiety dream. That is a nightmare. An actual nightmare. I nearly peed myself on stage. I felt myself physically have to keep the pee inside my knob. You did that. Your fault. I don't think your imposter syndrome and self-doubt are necessarily my fault. You're still laughing. Oh, no, no, no. No, no. I was laughing at something else.

Oh, something, no, no. No, no. I was laughing at something else. Oh, something else, yeah? Mm-hmm. Something. Yeah, something Sherlock said. Mm-hmm. Sure. Ow, ow, Archie. Ow, ow, ow. He's sitting on my boob. Ow. Yeah, fart in her face, please, mate. Yeah, good dog. Good boy, Archie. Good boy. Right. Anyway, there was an upside to the trip. Which is? I found this.

A face mask? A metal face mask? Covers the mouth. Looks like a sort of scuba mouthpiece for oxygen. Uh-huh, yeah. Listen to this. Archie, fart in Mariana's face, please, mate. What? Oh, you've stopped laughing now, haven't you? Sake.

Good God. That is insane. It's all right, Archie, all right. Well done, mate, well done. This is what the ice mask could have been hiding. Another one of these. Not something he uses for the live shows. They're all identical, pre-written.

But for one-off meetings, improvisations. What are you getting at, exactly? Not sure right now, but we're close. Yep, thanks to me. Aren't you going to ask me how my stakeout went? Stakeout. Oh, right, yes. Yeah, of course. How did it go? What did you find at his house? I didn't go to his house. Oh.

You weren't listening. I waited and watched, Watson, prowling in the darkness of Hammersmith. It was a matinee performance. It was broad daylight. Shh. OK. And would you like to know what I saw of Professor Presbury? Yep. Nothing.

Great. Wow. Well, next week on Sherlock and Co., Mariana prepares self-assessment forms. You're being silly. Self-assessment was in January? Watson, he didn't leave. What? He didn't leave the theatre.

Yeah, he's there again tonight, mate. That's kind of normal. Yes, but when I set off the fire alarm... Jesus. He didn't appear. What about Thingy, the daughter and son-in-law? Edith and Tom. They left.

With this man. Oh, you took a picture! You'd make a good paparazzi, you, if you knew what a celebrity was, of course. Who is this guy? Look at his attire. That's... The same outfit Presbury was wearing when we met him. It is not him, John. It is not Orson Presbury. Just, okay, let's hold our horses. It could still be him.

Anything could have happened to his face, to his voice. We saw him on stage. There was no ice mask then. We saw him. We sort of did. What do you mean? We sat in the Hammersmith Apollo and watched him for an hour. Somebody was on stage. Right, listen, Columbo, could you just tone down the theatrics and translate exactly what was going on in your head? Presbury, or so he presented himself,

performed his talk on stage, below a rather large screen. Yeah, so people at the back can see. And most people were at the back, were they not? Er, yeah, I suppose. They blocked out the front few rows. Around a second and a half delay on that screen. Rather lengthy, isn't it? Shouldn't be much lag if you're just feeding from camera to output.

Yeah, all right, Steven Spielberg. Stop naming famous people. You're confusing him. There was an extra component in the chain. Camera feed into a computer, then into the screen. Right. With enough delay factored in to provide the rendering rendering of what of the ai face his voice he he wasn't wearing this thing mrs hudson yes i i was re-watching the stream that sherlock bought of presbury show at the apollo last night

show at the Apollo last night? Watch this. And what we find when we really drill down into our DNA is we find transposable elements or jumping genes. As we know from McClintock's revolutionary work on these, we find that... Hmm. You're looking at me like I meant to know what to do or say. Hmm. You're looking at me like I'm meant to know what to do or say. This is now a clip from today's stream. You bought it again. We saw it live. What? And what we find when we really drill down into our DNA is we find transposable elements or jumping genes. As we know from McClintock's revolutionary work on these, we find that... Can I have a look at that? Sure. As we know from McClintock's revolutionary

work on... Revolutionary work... Let me check something on my SD card a sec. As we know from McClintock's revolutionary work on these... What the hell? The AI revolution. Although does struggle a little with the word revolutionary. Eh, Watson? That, my dear companion, is what you call sarcasm? Nope. Satire?

Irony. It's irony. That's what I meant. So it's all fake? Something I noticed from the live stream of today's performance. What's that? Here. I can tell you categorically they are absolutely not the product of their time. AI audience members.

No one wants to see empty seats. Not good for the brand. No phones were allowed in. Indeed. The dots on his face. Then I guess they don't re-engineer muscles as part of groundbreaking facial orthopaedics. They're reflective markers for the software to reinterpret. Jesus.

So, where is he? Where's Professor Presbury, the real one? I think we both know the answer to that. Professor Presbury! Hello? Hello? Can we break in now? Not everything is about breaking in, alright? What about now? Not everything is about breaking in, alright? What about now? Can you please just... Right, okay, I'm not breaking in.

I'm just going to have a peek. A teeny weeny peek through the cat flap. God. Here we go. Oh, that's tight. Ow! Cat hairs. Let me just put the mic in. There we go.

What can you see? I can see a hallway, stairs, lots of posts, unopened. Oh, hello. Nice to meet you. Uh, Mercer. That's a nice name. Yeah, I'm not a cat, actually. I'm just using your door. Sorry. This is probably how disabled people feel when they catch people using their toilets, isn't it? Um, uh, yes. Okay. Hello. Yeah, you're very nice. Right, I'm just going to... Oh, God. What is it? I think...

I think I might be a tiny bit stuck, actually. Oh, what a shame. We'll have to break in. For God's sake, I have climbed through toilet windows and a cat flap in the same day. Let's break in. I'll help you out. We're not breaking in. Lovely house, isn't it? Yeah, lovely. Very nice. A few more shards.

There. Yep. Shall we? Shall we... what? Explore. Sure. So, we're in Presbury's house. So, we're in Presbury's house. Yes, we broke in. I mean,

the cat wanted me in. I don't know if that counts. There's a kitchen on this floor. Well, kitchen lounge. They've knocked through, as you would. Really opens up the space. Probably gone through a supporting wall there and had a beam put in.

Can we get on with it? Yes, yeah, right. We'll start at the bottom. This is the bottom. No, it isn't. Ah, basement. Lovely. Are you all right?

Oh, yeah, yeah, of course, of course. You're breathing heavily. Just, yeah, you know, you know. Yes. Exciting, isn't it? Well, I was going for nerve-wracking, actually, but, you know, whatever. Whoa. Our subterranean freshwater swimming pool. Good God, we can't even get a bath in the flat. Look at this.

I don't think this floor is much help to us. What are you thinking? Wait here, I'll check the spa rooms. Sure, yeah. So, in a basement. Pitch black, but for some dim pool light. And I can see Sherlock's phone, the light heading down towards what I think is a sauna, spa, bathroom kind of space. Yeah, pool looks pretty deep.

Actually got a bit of a whiff. I'm guessing the fresh water aspect needs a bit of a clean because they don't use chloro... chlorine in... Sherlock? Is that you? Sherlock? Hello? Get out! Lovvig! Lovvig! Lovvig! Lovvig!

Lovvig! Lovvig! Lovvig! МУЗЫКАЛЬНАЯ ЗАСТАВКА Thank you.