Sherlock & Co. - A Study in Scarlet - Part One

Episode Date: October 6, 2026

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - Welcome to a Study in Scarlet. This is 10 parts. I know. What Sherlock long-thought to be a settled case.. has turned into tracking a killer halfway across the world. I wanted to give you a celebratory 3-year anniversary episode. I'm afraid to say there's not a great deal to celebrate. Part 1 of 10 This episode contains swearing, references to violence, references to psychological distress. A new clothing store has opened: www.sherlockwear.com 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 2026. 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 Kelly Burke as Detective LauristonAdam Jarrell as StamfordThomas Mitchells as Enoch DrebberAdditonal Voices:Lauren IngramDarcey FergusonVanessa EmeryJoel EmeryAdam Jarrell Written by Joel Emery Directed by Adam Jarrell Editing and Sound Design by Adam Jarrell Produced by Neil Fearn and Jon Gill Executive Producer Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audio books, ad-free early access adventures, mailbag episodes, casefire episodes, AMAs, behind-the-scenes, micro-adventures, authored by Watson himself, a Discord channel with nearly 2,000 chatter little members, merchandise discounts, exclusive events, and, yes, done. Yeah, it's the most important bit, mate. Oh, Patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and co. Thanks. Hello, everyone.

I am not in my bedroom. Well, you know, it's a room with a bed and. that is mine because I pay for it on a night-by-night basis. Yeah, we are away on a work trip for this exact case. And, yeah, I thought I would use a moment of jet lag to do this intro. If we ever get to the end of this thing, the season is upon us. This is a ten parter. That's right, ten.

Ten. Patreon members, you have the first five. episodes right now if you want to get those and lots lots lots more sign up now for six pounds hmm okay everyone I am going to watch TV in a strange foreign land until I fall back to sleep and good luck this adventure is a tough one warnings in the description 9-1-1 what is the address of your emergency 2205 Federal Heights Drive Scarlett can you tell me exactly what's going on yeah my name Enoch Drebber, I live in Scarlet, and there is an intruder on my property.

Is the intruder in your home? I don't know. Can you see the intruder? I can't. I cannot. Does the home have a firearm? It does not. Do you have cameras or a security light, sir? I do not.

Can you tell me why you believe there's an intruder in your home? Because I, uh, they're hunting me. Do you understand? Sir, why do you believe that? Do you understand that? Sir, can you not raise your voice? They're here. They're here sending somebody right now.

You got to... Please. No, no, no, no, no, no. Sir, can you tell me what you see? The board just let the side. The board. I decide. Can you stay on the line?

I decide. No. Hello? Hello, sir, hello. He's Dr. John Watson. Once of the British Army Northumberland Fusoleer Regiment. Now, a true. crime podcast that are based in central London. I don't have much experience in criminology,

so this is mostly a record of how I met possibly the most brilliant and bizarre person I have ever and will ever know. Join me as I document the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Hi, guys, um, just setting up this account for a new podcast. I'm doing. actually for veterans. As you can see, I'm... This is Florida. It's actually a tiny hospital room, but out there is Florida.

It's part of my rehab. Rehab to get me back on my... Sergeant Pym, it's Captain John Watson here. I just wondered if you... Well, I'm starting this podcast that... Well, it's for veterans and it's... Physiotherapy, rehab. I should say.

I'm not glamorous enough for some kind of post-drug addiction five-star treatment. No. No, this is for the old leg here. And hip. Simo, it's Watson, mate. I hope you well. Now, I know we talked about going over the Kabul evacuation. Well, I've got this podcast now.

It's a real deep dive. It's a real study in life, a study in soldiery. It's probably going to really... And I know I don't have any followers right now, but this is obviously the... It's a journey. It's the start of a journey, isn't it? And they begin in unusual places, like Florida.

But yeah, now the goodwill has come to an end, so I need to think about home. Lucas, matey mate. Hey, thanks again for getting back to me. Listen, just in terms of like really briefly staying on your couch, Um, how sort of soon could that happen? Because, um, yeah, I'm outside your house now, actually, mate. At a bit of a loose end, to be honest.

My first guest is Dr John Watson of the Northumberland Fusiliers. And my question to you, John, is, What are you doing with your life, mate? What are you doing? John Watson, John Watson, Sherlock Holmes. She's a nurse, you're a doctor, she's a... ...you're a doctor, she's a... ...andum...

Listen, listen. I don't want the criterion app. No, but... Remember... You are asking that I recall something. Episode 1... ...of the podcast. I am not as familiar with it as you clearly are.

Well, then you're not celebrating our anniversary correctly, are you? You should have brushed up on your John Watson and Sherlock Holmes knowledge. I will give you a tour. Okay? Ready? Yes. Ready? You just asked that. A Sherlock and Co heritage tour.

This is the criterion, obviously. Then over here, this way. This, um... Yeah, this is the one. Uh, that's the table where I sat and planned to meet Mary. Funny how... When you look back at something, how different it feels. How so?

Just... I know I wasn't a scared little... child three years ago, but this place felt big and loud and I felt small. There's that way you interpret everybody, everything, you know?

I do. Just all in my head. They're having a great time. That bloke there thinks I'm a dick. She thinks I look stupid, all that kind. Well, like childhood misinterpretation, what you are doing now is re-contextualising. A different John Watt?

Watson looks on to the one before. You are reaching, John, as best you might, into the past, to comfort that young man. Young man. Early, middle-aged man. Life took a different path. Yes, it did. Then what happened?

Have you not listened to the episode? I may have done. It likely failed to interest me somewhat, and perhaps I just listened along out of some empathetic response to you. You see without intrigue or real tangible engagement recollection can be rather tricky. Great. Well, you know, I've got a review on Apple Podcasts from you that says five stars a great listen, so that's what matters. Why do you have that? Mariana did it when you left your laptop in 221A once.

You tell me you are no longer a child, yet you fib, John Watson. Ow, you flicked me! What? She did. You know what she's like? She's Spanish. They help themselves do everything. This is just pitiful. It's true. Well, the world, people's possessions, it's just tap ass to them, isn't it? Ooh, I'll take that. I'll have that too, please.

A bit of this, a poikito of that, you know? You lie. How very poor of you. On our anniversary as well. Sherlock, mate, I'm telling you... I may not remember your episode, but I would recall if I had observed signs of Mariana using my laptop. No such occasion comes to mind.

I do, however, remember, on the 12th of February, 2024, I returned from a call with the... to discover signs of your usage to which you replied that you had used it to check football scores because your phone was upstairs. I believed you, and I was wrong to, clearly. All right, fine, it wasn't Mariana, it was me. A sinner seeking redemption generally must confess before being exposed. Yes, thank you, Father Holmes. To answer your earlier question, what happened next was a woman who I just assumed was Mary.

It doesn't seem very well thought out this date. No, her WhatsApp profile picture was like a sunset or something. We'd just hit it off and I didn't want to, you know, ask her pics or whatever. Yeah, I just thought it was her and it wasn't. And she wanted the seat and I just gave the table up, no sign of my date. You didn't do this. Do, air quotes. Yes, for when you said date.

Because I don't want to. It was a date. My day date. Is that okay? My day date didn't materialise. so I, in an act of gallant chivalry, gave my seat and table to... Attractive woman. Yes, and went to the bar over here. And got a bottle of Pilsner.

Then we shall partake in another to celebrate John Watson. Good idea, Sherlock Holmes. Two waiting? Ah, yes, thank you. Two Pilsners, please. Cheers. Three, three, please. Ah, finally.

Sorry. Sorry. Did I miss our anniversary celebrations? Nah, you're all right. Happy anniversary, John Watson. Happy anniversary, Mariana. I'm a... Shut up. Sherlock, keep in here.

Happy anniversary, Sherlock. To you both as well. Oh, beers are ready. Cheers, everybody. Cheers. Cheers. That is the bloody stuff. Cleansing, I would imagine.

What do you mean? To return three years later and order three of these rather than a single one. Alone. Burdened with trauma. Suffocated by loneliness. Yeah. Yeah, you're right.

Drowning in the expanse of life with no signs of rescue. Yep. Choking alone in the smog of isolation. Okay, all right, let's not drag me back there, please. Hey, look, at least you weren't letting out damp teeny-pitty flats to nice, overworked people or giant glitzy homes to awful people,

or going through the... Every day, just the... The... These nameas interminables stupid as interminables to the clients. One and other, and other, and other and other...

Whoa, now. Slipping into a bit of angry Spanish there. I'm sorry. Sorry. It's just... That's job. Under minimum wage, overpay hours. And then they pull the promise of visa sponsorship.

Impresentables. Pedasos de Mierda. Well, I was rather happy back then. You were happy. Oh, yes. Pissing around in a lab? Oh, absolutely. Very nice. With nowhere to live?

Yes, that was rather troublesome. Where did you stay? With Wiggins. With Wiggins? Yes. Well, he doesn't have a place to live, Sherlock. That's why you needed a flat. Quite.

But rather the flat mate was the more pressing concern. Without company one can live solely with one's bad habits. And to inhabit alongside your habits is a cohabitation that inhabits a habit of, its own. Sorry, what? It can decay the mind over time. That is what I found at my previous residence. So, you sat in your own filth and drove yourself mad, basically. Correct. Well, I'm happy to help. Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. And how did you know Stanford? He was the one that permitted me access to the labs here. Well, one lab, and only when he allowed it. Yeah, but how did you know him? I taught him how to do his job.

Uh, I heard that. I know you bloody didn't. Yes, I bloody did. How? Charles Harper. I knew you were going to give me this nonsense. Who's Charles Harper? Uh, he said...

He was a rather elderly CEO of a trucking company. He was found dead in his potting shed. The police wanted a picture of his life leading up to his death. One of the things I noted on the corpse of Mr. Harper was this man's shoddy craftsmanship on the victim's neck. All right, hold on a minute. Ah, ha, ha. Ah, what a pleasant anniversary.

Well, that's not what happened. That is absolutely what happened. No, no, no, you, you came here. I came into this lab because I noticed Harper had had a chin tuck. There was thermal damage on his scarring. Right, right, first off, Mr. Precise, it's not a chin tuck, it's a neck lift. And secondly, I helped you. You didn't help me. Let me hear the story.

Thank you. Of Stamford's dodgy work. Oh, for fuck. On the neck was thermal damage from the surgery. Stamford here was having a little too much fun with the wood. wound. In the man's kitchen I could see the booking for his cosmetic surgery from a month earlier.

So, I went to see the butcher of St. Bart's. Shut up. God. And I informed him of better practices, and then we became friends. Right. Can I tell the story now? No. Well, I'm going to. All right. He came in

with that thermal damage nonsense. I told him that Mr. Harper presented us with false medical reports. That casually ignored a condition that would make surgery very, very dangerous. That's right. And it's Sherlock? Something like that. That is right. And actually, that went a bloody long way in solving who killed him, didn't it? Remember? Mm-hmm. His kids put him forward for it. They pissed us about with some phony documents. Turns out they hated his guts and wanted his dosh. So, tried to make sure he died on my table.

I saved him with a number of procedures that stemmed excessive blood flow, including his quarterizing, that he thought made his neck look a bit messy and I thought saved his life. What did he have? Liver disease or... Platelet disorder? No, no, no, no, Von Villabrand disease. Ah. It's inherited. One of the kids had it too, so...

They knew what would finish him off. A little bastard. I mean, they were full-grown adults by this point. Well, a rather astute detective managed to get them locked up. Yes, he did. And then we hung out during the court case, didn't we? We did indeed. I was the medical expert and sort of witness, in a way.

And he was the crime scene expert. And yeah, then you just started popping round here, didn't you? Well, you were very generous with the equipment. And then, lo and behold, I find this fella. Get off. You're on Lucas's couch. Sorry, who is Lucas? Oh, Uni mate of art, honey.

Yeah, but I was overstaying my welcome. Ah, sorry, you out, though, eh? Actually, I did. No, because I moved my stuff in the morning. after? Yes, because you got the key from me. Did I? Of course you did. We got your proof of earnings and stuff and then you had to come back to Hudson's

to get the key and I met you there. I remember it differently. You remember the key magically appearing in the door as you arrived so you could go right in. Yeah, good point. But how was your stuff all already here, Sherlock? The irregulars for the most part. I was on a case at the time. I sort of remember you playing a violin, firing a gun and shouting.

Yes. Right, of course. And then the security personnel of a previous client subdued your attempt to collect unsolicited intelligence. Yeah, Barack Obama. I think that was the gentleman's name, yes. I'd have to check my notes. God's sake, I was attempting to shut you up and get some sleep. They didn't see it that way. No, you're right, they didn't.

Then I messaged you again, didn't I? You did. Please help me find somewhere else. Ah yes, you got cold feet You fired a gun in the middle of the night That's not cold feet That's rational decision making And yeah We had our big row at the table

And I stayed Well, the police officer took you over to Brickston Brickston, yeah And you did a case without me And that is the very last case You have done without me Roughly speaking, yes

What a beautiful story It was a cab driver Wasn't it? Is that what you said? Hmm? The cab driver. You came in before we had the illustrious client case and you said it was a cab driver. In Brixton, yes. Murder. Right.

It became clear in my mind at that point that you had a bigger purpose in my life than just... Laundry? Hmm. Oh, sir? Your trauma. It stuck with me like a scab. I couldn't stop picking. I kept thinking about it and it was only when stewing on yours did I think to look into his.

The taxi guy? Yes. A troubled past. Very troubled. And it was then I realized his victim was most likely part of that. Revenge killing? Yes. How?

Knife. Rage. Fear. The killer had the fear. Yes. They often do. Who is that? It's an American number.

Are you going to... Answer it? Um... Hello. Hello? Hello? That was... Weird.

Yeah. Holding the Russians accountable is World War III. They took down a British passenger jet containing 350 people. Man in the Kremlin is playing, Alex. Got to ask yourself, you want to play or not? You're the Prime Minister. You've done nothing! We'd need to understand the policy context.

All the relevant context will be structured as a framework today and disseminated into an operation order, or Fragor. A Fragor that says to kill the president of Russia. Yes. New from Goldhanger. Who is going to be able to pull this off? An audio drama journey like no other. Men like Duffy, they are our most valuable weapons.

Devised as a technically rigorous geopolitical action. We have two-tenthly key. where Britain plays its strongest harm. He's the best. Against its strongest foe. Available now, wherever you get your podcasts. Well, shout out to Anna, about to graduate with their criminal justice degree, with a concentration in forensics.

Well done, you, Anna. And they end up working with you one day. Who knows? What else? Shout out to Neville Kennedy in Australia. Shout out to Alana in Lebanon. Two years of listening to the show. Well done, Alana.

Happy related birthday to you. Shout out to Ruby in England. Thank you, Ruby, for the artwork. I absolutely love it. Shout out to Rohan. Shout out to Abia and Amelia from Abu Dhabi. Amelia, it is your 14th birthday. Well, I'm late. But happy birthday, all the same. Again, great fan art. Love it. But what I don't love is that rain. Oh, God. Church! Church! Save me! I mean, not in the spiritual sense, but you know, from the rain. Welcome to, what does it say here?

The Church of Annunciation, Marmalage. A couple of minutes off Oxford Street, that's pretty central for those of you who are not versed in London Geographic. It's very nice in here. I mean, they all are, aren't they? Religious buildings. Tend to be very inviting. Not a great idea to put people off.

as they come in. Annunciation is the message of God. Okay, so this is the church of God's message, which I feel, if ye of little faith is allowed to feel such things, I feel like he just got me soaking wet during shoutouts. So maybe that's a little bit of listener feedback. Get on with the adventure, John, says, says God. Email, apologies.

I should probably go. flight mode whilst I'm in here. Maybe turn you off too. We'll catch up later, listeners, and I'll um, yeah, I don't know, maybe we'll find a case and get cracking. Oh gee, aye, hey, hey, hey, it's fine, mate. It's all right, it's okay.

It's just a bit of a storm, that's all, that's what it is. Oh, what is it? Like if it's late night toilet time, you know that's Sherlock's job. so. Bullocks. Right. You as well take the mic.

Come on then. Get under the umbrella arch and do your thing, mate. Oh, okay, do it in the rain. But that does mean you sleep in your own bed, not mine, because I'm not spooning wet dog. What's that? You hear like a old bone. Poor notch,

pretty crazy, says the man walking in the rain in the middle of the night in his pajamas. But that is bloody hell, I'm right. It's a pay phone. I suppose I should just... Hello? Hello? 3019 tells us about life.

And to consciously choose obedience. God's. Spreading the word of God through AI cold calls. And I think that was in the Bible. Oh, Archie, no, no, not in the phone box with me. Yeah, hi. I'm looking for... John Watson.

Yeah, hi, that's me. You read my email? I did. I'm Laurie. Hi, Lori. And that's... Oh, Detective Chelsea Lorister. But everyone calls you Laurie.

Yeah, that's the part I missed out. People call me Lori. I just wanted to check if everything was... Obviously, I don't know what the rules are with investigations in London, half the time, let alone... Utah, is it? Utah, that's right. Scarlet County, Utah.

What happened? You said it's a murder? That's correct. We... So we got an emergency call from Enoch Drebber. Uh-huh. He's pretty distressed on the call. He talks about an intruder in his property, and upon arriving at the scene,

we discover Drebber to be deceased. Right. Murdered. Yeah, uh-huh. How? I'm sorry, you had to see that. Yeah, it... Scarlet County's...

pretty quiet counting. Scarlett, the town? It's even quieter. Drebber was a local guy. Been here a few years. Janitor at the local high school. Not a great deal of friends and admirers. But I can't... He just doesn't have any relationships that are intense enough to have something like this happen. But he could have been robbery or something. Robbery gone wrong. a break-in? No. No? No.

No. There was a message. At the scene? Carved. Into his chest. Rache. That's German. Exactly that.

Yes. Revenge? Very good. Don't tell me you speak German as well. I can a bit of German as well. Is that... Saying we're best friends or something. I speak pretty good German too, thank you very much.

Sure, that's exactly what I said. Your Utah detective. Laurie. You said she referenced my Brixton case. Yep, that's why she reached out. It looks like someone is celebrating an anniversary of their own. That's exactly what I said to her. So, there's a link between the cases.

The floor is yours, big guy. More than a link. A family tie. Our Utah victim is Enoch Drebber. My Brixton victim was his brother, Redmond Drebber. How fascinating. I shall think about it over Tchaikovsky's concerto and D major. Excuse me.

Yes? Maybe we skipped the Tchaikovsky, and you explain about your little case that you kept to yourself all this time. You know, this one? You found the body of an American male in an abandoned house in Brickston. Yes, thank you. I don't require any assistance in recalling the... the crime. Then why is your taxi driver killing again? My taxi driver was an extremely

disturbed man. Then we speak to him and work out what this message means. Fine, fine. We shall go over all my brilliant work from that case and waste our time speaking to a patient. That's right. Patient in a psychiatric care facility. High security, by the way. Maybe he'll have answers. He didn't have answers in court. He certainly won't have them now. I'm dialing. Happy now. You're wrong. He will not. something. I am right. I am always right. Modern psychiatric care unit. Yes, hello. I'm the leading detective in the United Kingdom.

You're one of our patients? No, I'm not one of your patients. I'm a very highly regarded investigator. I've cracked murders. I've resolved national security threats. I've taken down a demonic hound. I've foiled a high-profile robbery with just a gemstone from a goose's asshole. Are you looking for voluntary psychiatric admission? Because we will need a doctor. Yes, I'm a doctor, I authorise it. Shut.

Just listen to me very clear. I would like to subject myself to a meeting alongside the relevant mental health professionals, of course, with a patient of yours by the name of Davis Carmichael, please. Thank you kindly. Oh, afraid that Davis is no longer with us. He was unresponsive yesterday morning. I'm so sorry. Did you know him? Not quite.

No. Can I put you through to the caseworker on this? I, um, she, she'd like to hear from you just because the nature of your inquiry. What? What is it? I, um, I'm afraid I'm right again. He doesn't have the answers. You sure? You can't just have a quick chat with us? No.

Why not? Our safety? His well-being? Neither. Then what is it? He's dead. I know, I know, I know, I know, I'm getting him away. I can't even see the man's room. I am the reason he was here. What do you think this is, sir? Huh? This is a highly secure psychiatric care facility.

I am a detective. Get away from the door. Get away from the door. Hey, hey, hey, what on earth are you doing? We are removing them. We're removing them. Don't know. Fabis car, Michael. Why wasn't he extradited to the United States?

Excuse me? I worked with the arresting officers. I worked with Dame Gwen Lestrade on the case. He wasn't extraded because he was mentally unwell. We did it for his protection. And where is he now? What sort of protection was that? Sorry, who are you?

Sherlock, come on, let's go. Seriously, who the hell are you? I am a man that solved a murder. And now I wish to solve the case. Here, I will remind you again. No, I know, completely agree. It's not a crime scene. It's a man's room that he spent his final hours in.

Okay? Of course, course. How was he? What? How was Davis in the days leading up to his death? Quiet. Not the man I remember. Me neither.

Um, so, what do you want to... Examine for now? The room? Yes. This room has been cleaned, hasn't it? The bed would have been. The room will be clean tonight. Cardiac arrest, you said.

Mm-hmm. Did he talk about any weakness, dizziness, chest pains in the buildup? No. Those kinds of... That's not what Davis was capable of in his condition. Why? The medication? Yes. And his psychosis was quite pronounced. The meds they were given to him in these tablet containers?

Yes. No, no. What? Where was that? Where did you find that? Just on the side? Why? The cleaners must have found it in his bed. Yeah, I mean, probably... That's not one of ours. Sorry, the pillbox and... what, this pill...

You shake your head, doctor, but your complexion tells us much more. This box, this pill, they are not from this unit. Not from this facility, no. John. Yes, mate. Call our detective in Scarlet, Utah. Okay, yep. What do you want me to say?

Tell her what we have found. Detective Lorriston. Lorry, it's John Watson. Hi, John. I'm guessing you got my message regarding Davis Car, Michael. We found an empty pillbox that, you know, for medication and a pill here, that Sherlock is put into his mouth. You stop that, please.

Shut, Sherlock, stop it. Um, sorry, we suspect it was on his person or in his bed. Shit. What? What is it? We have that here too. At the crime scene. That's right.

Small red plastic box, right? Yeah, that's right. Okay. Sherlock, what do we do? What do we do now? We go to Scarlet County, Utah. To hear right up to the end of Part 5, go to patreon.com forward slash Sherlock and Cullough.