Sherlock & Co. - A Scandal in Bohemia - Part Five

Episode Date: June 10, 2025

THE GREAT GAME - we had everything set for the seizing of that drive, the chastening of Irene Adler and - most importantly - a victory for Sherlock Holmes against his latest opponent. The fire would reveal all, we would be able to see deep into her person, into her desires and schemes and that would lead us to the treasure. The curtain was ready to fall on this final act of this particular Opera.  Part 5 of 5 This episode contains swearing. Listener discretion is advised. For merchandise and transcripts go to: www.sherlockandco.co.uk For ad-free, early access to adventures in full go to www.patreon.com/sherlockandco To get in touch via email: [e-mail] Follow me @DocJWatsonMD on twitter and BlueSky, or sherlockandcopod on TikTok, instagram and YouTube.  This podcast is property of Goalhanger Podcasts. Copyright 2025. 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 Chloe Zeitounian as Irene Adler Ant McGinley as DI Tom Gregson Lauren Hall as Daisy Norton Karim Kronfli as William Ormstein Written by Joel Emery Directed by Adam Jarrell Editing and Sound Design by Holy Smokes AudioProduced by Neil Fearn and Jon Gill Executive Producer Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For just £6 a month, binge ad-free adventures in full and have access to so much more over at patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and co. Previously on Sherlock and co. His ancestry. You have seen the picture. I have. The Queen and her beautiful John. is ancestry. You have seen the picture. I have. The queen and her beautiful John.

A blind baby sent away. How did you get past Norbertin's password? Cerberus. God of the underworld is Cerberus. Do you wish this boy to be paraded on the front of every pooper as you throw the British crown into chaos? Fire reveals everything.

Even God. Even God. The burning bush, of course. Check out Rabbi Sherlock. Ta-da! Hey, mini-mite! So we can record separate places. At the same time.

Rare. I get fooled like that. You've got the Mazetta costume. Ha! Half of it. Yeah. I'm Daisy Norton. First cover Mazetta. Ah, right. Rather striking resemblance. And singing voice. But Irene's got a little more razzle dazzle. Right. We'll read the flat. I can't get within an inch of this one. What makes you think you can? The fire will reveal all. Burn a flat down? No, but we can have her think that. You think if she fills with panics she will do what I did? I went back for Mary's music box.

I will see where she keeps the drive by a glance of her head, by a flick of her eyes, a quiver of her body language. Tonight there will be a police presence in the wings, along with our colleague Mariana Ametrizzola. You cannot! We won't. Not until the performance reaches its end. What are you going to do? I'm going to win, Mr. Ormstein. I'm going to win. This is the final part of A Scandal in Bohemia.

Thank you for joining us on this adventure. It has been a privilege to bring it to your ears. Good luck on this final hurdle. Trigger warnings can be found in the description. I, erm... Yeah, this is the final round of the great game between Mr Holmes and Miss Adler. Enjoy! Did you record that? Recording devices are prohibited in the auditorium, mate. Not that I, obviously, adhere to that rule, but... Video recording's a bit more obvious, isn't it?

Okay, so we're just gonna watch her over and over and over again. That's fun. And what, we're gonna go round her flat and put on a show ourselves? Yeah, okay. How does she sing in a mask? Well, half mask, isn't it? It's a masquerade ball type number. You, you, uh, you talked about winning. Do you... Do you think she's playing some sort of game against you? Is that what this is about? Is that why you're obsessing over it? Because you...

Hey, are you even listening to me? Okay, well, I am ready when you are, mate. Let the games begin. It's a lovely flat. Thank you, Doctor. Where is our infamous young prince? With his childminder. Quite the responsibility. She's unaware of his lineage. Put it that way.

I see. Hard at work in there, huh? In where, exactly? Your mind. I can hear it creaking from here. Ah, yes. Just... Looking around for a hard drive? Just lying around, right? Maybe it's down between my couch cushions.

Who is he? Who is who? The killer. I don't quite follow. Oh, you follow. You've done more than enough following these past few days. His name is James M. James M?

Huh. Do you know him, Irene? No. He came in right after you, seemed to have something to do with your beef with Milverton. I said no, doctor. A remarkable coincidence. You punched him in the face 24 hours before he died.

Yeah, but- Remarkable coincidence. Okay, okay, okay. You stabbed him. We have evidence, and then some guy comes in. Oh, okay. So you're telling me that I left, and then someone went in and killed Britain's most hated man. Color me shocked. Irene, do you expect us to believe it? I expect very little from both of you at this point, Dr. Watson.

Okay, I get it. Let's... let's cut the crap. Let's be serious. You, you know, you have leverage, right? You have all the power you could want. John, I see this whole shtick, and I can understand how that might work out for you, but frankly, I've been singing in a corset for three hours every night for a month, and this moment, this thing, whatever it is you're doing, is the most discomfort I have

had in a while. I— No. Shush. I know what you're gonna ask. You still think I want leverage. You think I want something in exchange. Maybe there's some revenge plan I'm unfolding.

I'm not. Okay? It's done. Ormstein is finished. And if you think I'm gonna go trading that little hard drive for some magic beans or some shit, then you're dumber, then you look, sound, and behave. So listen, lover boys. Lover boys? I have no interest in being your problem. As long as you don't become mine. Why do you still want to be my lover?

I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not.

I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. Lover boys? I have no interest in being your problem. As long as you don't become mine. Why do you still not know what I want? I do know what you want.

You... do? Yes. A cup of tea. If you wouldn't mind, John. Oh, with pleasure. You read my mind. Irene? I haven't succumbed to the whole tea thing yet. Black coffee? There's some in the pot. Lovely. Okay. Um...

Okay. Uh, yes, we have a sensor up here. Okay, gonna... God's sake, gonna need to stand on the chair. Alright. God's sake. Need to stand on the table. Okay. Come on.

Come on. Shit. Shit, it's not working. It's actually not working what's a sensor are you I need something what do I need apart from a miracle cooking spray cooking spray cooking spray because why not I've already lost my mind right here we go okay here we go here we go, flamethrower, what could possibly go wrong? Oh, alright. Oh, shitey shitey, that's mental. Ah, sprinklers.

Okay, here we go. Performance of a lifetime. And Oscar goes too. Oh, what the hell did you do? I didn't do anything. There is a fucking massive fire. Oh, please Watson. No, no, no, no, no. Don't oh please me. First we have to follow her, then we have to pretend to be Dan and... Jack.

And Jack. Then we've got to harassasser and a bloody synagogue. Now this. What exactly is this, Watson? I have done nothing. Yeah, well, tell me after the ceiling is caved in because there's black smoke coming from everywhere. Where? Everywhere. Out, out, out, now.

Fire brigade are coming. I'm not leaving. Are you insane? I sing in a language I don't understand every night in front of 2,000 people, John. Of course I'm insane. Fine, fine, I'll see you later. I'll let the orphanage know your son's on the way, idiot. Watson!

What? I'm coming with you. Ah, finally, some sense. I've seen enough. I know when I'm beaten. You...what? Beaten, yes. What do you mean?

You know what he means. Okay. Right. Fine. Come on then. It's been fun! Yeah. What a hoot. Bye bye Irene. Right, come on. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go! What the hell? Is she a mind reader? Or something?

Is she just... She didn't do anything, she didn't even flinch. She just stood there throughout what I thought was a bloody good performance, to be honest. She just stood there? Yeah, like a statue. In the meantime, you and I are flailing about all over the place and nothing, nothing. I mean maybe I hammed it up a little, just a smidge, but sprinklers were going off alarms, you know? She just... stood there.

Yep. She just... stood... there. Sorry, everything alright? You stuck on a loop? Is this a new stim I need to warn the neighborhood about? Right, actually calling Tom Gregson, telling him it didn't work. She didn't move. Yes, Sherlock, we've established that.

Come on, done with this. So, so, so done with this whole nonsense. Hi, Tom. John, what's up? I know where it is. Bye Tom. What? You... what, the drive?

Cerberus at the gate. She... guarding. She was guarding. She didn't move. Sorry, what have I just witnessed? Stagecraft, Watson. Stagecraft. Where are you going?

To get some rest. We have a big night ahead of us. Wonderful, bloody wonderful. Has anyone got a towel? Any of you firemen? No? No towels? Great, lovely soaking wet bus journey it is. Faaaaantastic. novelist. Together we're the co-hosts of another Goalhanger show called The Rest is Classified, where we bring you the best stories from the world of secrets and sparrings. We have just released a series on the decades-long battle between the CIA and Osama bin Laden and this week we are stepping into the devastation of the 9-11 terror attacks to understand how Osama bin Laden was able to carry out such a plot right under the nose of the CIA. It was a moment that changed global politics forever, shifting the focus of spy agencies

away from nation states towards hunting for terrorists and understanding the extremist ideology that drove them. We will then go into the decade-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden, which culminated in a dramatic raid at his compound in Pakistan in 2011 which killed the world's most wanted terrorist. So if all of this sounds good, we've got a clip waiting for you at the end of the episode. Ah, here he is. Hey. Hey, Tom.

John, how are we looking? He knows. He knows what? Where it is. Where what is? The way to Amarillo. What do you think? Do you want to get arrested again?

There's no need for that. You hurt my arm and I know it was you. There's no need for the sarcasm. Oh, alright, the drive. He knows where the drive is. It's in her flat. I know exactly where in her flat as well. Sorry, where are you Sherlock?

I'm illustrating a point. Okay, what point is that? That your hard work or? Knock knock. He is under the floor. I am indeed. Mind out the way. Hello. Well it's nice to see you're enjoying yourself. Ah, William Ormstein! Holmes! Has our prima donna arrived? She has. Wonderful! The Royal Opera House is kindly cooperating with us. In what sense? If...

we cooperate with them, the performance will be shown in full. Sorry, what? It's a full house, D.I. Gregson. Don't D.I DI Gregson me! Once the curtain falls, the arrest may take place. She'll just leg it! She's here! You'll have officers backstage and in the wings.

What if she jumps through your little trapdoor there? Then by all means, put some officers down there too. Hmm... When's her character done? Is she on at the end? We don't have a chance to grab her earlier. No, her character nurtures Mimi as she does. Yeah, what? Irene plays Musetta.

The final scene is just as important to Musetta as it is to Mimi. She's no longer the comic relief, or just some flirtatious, dramatic, emotionally manipulative character in a sparkly masquerade mask. She sacrifices her glamour, she sells her earrings to buy Mimi food and and she's by her side right at the end when she takes off her mask and she kisses... sorry. Yeah, sorry, she does this.

I have no idea if that answers my question or not. She will be on stage until the very end. Where will you be? Her boy prince is at the childminder. Irene is here on stage until the very end. Where will you be? Her boy Prince is at the childminder. Irene is here on stage. So the flat's empty? That flat is empty. Do you need any assistance getting in?

Do you want the police to be responsible for breaking into the home of a single mother? Nope. Thought so. Leave us to it. Will do. Yeah, yeah. Let us absorb the heat for that one.

Great. Cheers. Exactly. let us absorb the heat for that one. Great, cheers. Ha, exactly. There will be no heat. Not when I win and she loses. The game is nearing its end. Victory is close. We win.

Right, yes, we win. Off we go, Watson. Time for the final act. Right yeah cool cool. Uh Mariana have you got the extra mic? I've got it. An extra mic? What for?

Well I've got to be with Sherlock for the drive but I don't want to miss her getting apprehended. Is this for your bloody podcast? Yeah yeah. See you later Tom. You lot are a total nightmare. A complete and total nightmare. We're recording? Mariana, come on.

I really don't like the sound of my voice on these things. Oh, you've listened to the show? Yeah. Unfortunately. Oh, which one? I don't know. The adventure of some bloody nonsense. Come on, this way. Come, Watson. This way. All right, all right alright, alright. Slow down, slow down.

I can't. I cannot. What, because you're too excited? Well, yes, but remember, we are not the only one that seek this prize. There is another. Of course, Mr. M. Indeed. Yeah, and about 200 celebrities and corporate folk, I bet. Here we go. Okay.

What have you got planned this time? You gonna put some nanobot device through the letterbox that opens the door? Gonna laser cut the window so we can... Or yeah, just smash the door open. Sure. How long have we got left to this thing? Like, 30 minutes or so. And that's her in the eye mask, yeah?

Yep, that's her. Right. I want eyes on all exits. How many we got backstage? Five of us, Gregson. One of you, go in a dressing room. Now. Roger that. Ugh, getting tense now.

It certainly is. Move that table out the way. I'll pull the rug. Roger that. Oh, come on. Done. Let's get this rug out the way. Right, it's not a trap door in sight, mate. Why would it be a trap door? You said it would be a trap door. Nobody said trap door. I said it was under where she was stood. Yeah? The floorboards. Oh. Trap door, honestly.

Do you need a crowbar? No. This has been removed recently a number of times, as we know. Screwdriver. Right, here. She's out there, treading the boards all the while we're ripping up hers. Any activity out there?

Err, let me check. Sir, not really mate. There's a couple of neighbours looking out their windows, but to be fair you did just smash a door down. Good. You nearly done? Ever so nearly, my dear companion. Ever so nearly, my dear companion. Ever so nearly. Ok, that's it. That's the end of the show.

Finally! Wait, wait. They'll do their bows and then the curtain will come down. Oh, you need to stand back. Okay, he's giving us a signal, that stage guy. Yes, he's bringing the curtain down. Great. Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. What? Mariana? At the end, when Mimi dies, she is supposed to remove her mask.

Argh! Up you come! Oh my god, you were right. You seem underwhelmed. It is what it is. I don't know, I thought maybe it'd be bigger, heavier. History never does weigh much, until you try to carry it. This, this is the weight of nations, Watson. The truth, like a drop of Jupiter, is both minuscule and massive.

Hey. Yes? Laptop. Of course. course get off the fucking stage now rugby tackle it for a like hey get Irene Adler off that stage right now hey show's over. The show is literally over. It's not doing anything. It's simply, we cannot do anything. Right? I do not for this. Come back here.

You should type in carefully. Our password. Cerberus? Yes. Did... did it work? It worked. Okay, let me see. I... why can't I... what's on there? It's a video. I thought... I thought...

Just shush. I thought this was supposed to be a trove of data. It's just a video. Enough, Watson. Let's play it. Come here, love. Enough's enough. Come on! Just... Okay, okay, it's okay, Irene, just cooperate. We're not gonna force you to do anything you don't want to. What? What?

Play it then. My dear Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I hope your friends enjoyed Daisy's performance. She's so talented. Get off me! Mary! Just calm down! The show is over, and so is our little game. I nearly blew it there at the death, right?

I just froze, guarding my goods, huh? That's not her. That's... That's Daisy. As you can see, the drive has been wiped and reformatted. starting my goods, huh? That's not her. That's... That's Daisy. As you can see, the drive has been wiped and reformatted. A clean slate.

A fresh start. Daisy Norton! Wha-what? First cover, Mizzetta! Oh God. I-I need to call John. And my boy will not be used by your media, hunted by your establishment.

He won't be tortured by a life he could have had. He will be a normal boy, with a normal life and a normal mom. And there will be no Milverton or Ormstein, or even Holmes, to jeopardize that. You or anybody else affected on that drive needn't fear me. I'm happy.

I love. And am loved. Feel free to release your episode, Doctor. I look forward to hearing it. Lots of love from me, the woman who, up until this afternoon, Used to be called... Irene. She won. Oh Oh The The I'm Gordon Carrera and I'm David McCloskey together with the co-host of another Goal Hanger show called The Rest is Classified. Here's that clip we mentioned earlier on.

When I look back on it now, you still see that, you know, there's plans, there's memoranda, there's notifications, there's all these things, but they're never actually executed. They never actually kind of pull the trigger on anything, do they? I'm a little bit of two minds on this because I agree with you that the theme of this episode really is a series of missed opportunities to get Osama bin Laden prior to 9-11. Yeah. But we should also note that once Tenet and the CIA understand that Osama bin Laden is understand that Osama Bin Laden is coming for us in particular after the East Africa bombings. There is a push to improve our collection and our understanding of Al-Qaeda pretty significantly. I mean, there's a bunch of human sources who get recruited in this period. There's a lot more

technical collection. Alex Station is beefed up to more than 40 people. There's a bunch of connections with foreign partners on Al-Qaeda that hadn't existed before. I mean, interestingly, there's a PDB, President's Daily Brief, in December, December the 4th of 1998, which is titled, quote, Bin Laden preparing to hijack US aircraft and other attacks. And so there's a lot of strategic warning, I think you could say, about what Al-Qaeda is up to. And so there's a lot of strategic warning, I think you could say, about what Al-Qaeda is up to. And yet there's an inability, I think, to translate that into practical efforts and

operations to stop these attacks and just stop Al-Qaeda from ultimately carrying out 9-11. If you want to hear the full episode, listen to the rest is classified wherever you get your podcasts.