Sherlock & Co. - The Empty House - Part Two

Episode Date: May 5, 2026

THE MAN IN THE MIRROR - We knew that Moran was a beast... but we had no idea he was capable of such slaughter. The body was left as a message to the others who dare to betray the spider. For Sherlock and me... he left something else. Part 2 of 3 This episode contains swearing, violence, gore, blood, dread, references to explosivesListener discretion is advised. 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 Ant McGinley as DI Tom Gregson 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

Audio books, advery early access adventures, mailbag episodes, case file episodes, AMAs, behind the scenes, microadventures, 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. Previously on Sherlock and Co. Sherlock will visit again. I know he will. He's just... This is all a lot. As you can see by my creepy buffy eyes.

Yeah. He's regulating in his own way. Bye, John. Sleep well. I mean, you've been asleep for a week, but yeah. You know what I mean. We miss you a lot. Jeez, that hair smells fantastic.

Damn it. Camden House. Wait, you mean the house across the street? Two-four-two Baker Street? Indeed. Otherwise known as Camden House. It's empty. So what? The empty house has a visitor. So it would appear, Mariana, that somebody inadvertently disturbed the dust and webs that clung to that light shade. Somebody taller than six foot six.

Somebody that could be... Six foot seven. Six foot seven. Moran. He wishes to eliminate me, but his attention has been taken elsewhere. Do you know where? We begin in the dark tunnel where we found John. All I hear is rushing water.

Traffic noise dulled some time ago. Because we are under Hyde Park, we'll cross this basin, and there'll be a culvert for the Westbourne. That will take us in. to the park itself and here. And we will see where. Ah. A footprint.

Where Mr. Moran went. But we know that already, don't we? Where did he go? Home. Mariana. He went home. Number one, Hyde Park. The apartment block, where the police first got him.

It's home. Let me see now. Oh, took the binoculars with you. Good call. It wasn't a trip home. No. It was a job. A job? What do you mean?

Top floor. Fourth window from the left. Uh-huh, okay. Um, oh, oh. Is that what I think it is? All over the window. Blood. Lots and lots.

of blood. No sign of entry, nothing on cameras at reception, or front door. Hmm. Still struggling to get an idea on the body as well. Weird. Really bloody weird. Certainly bloody. Not sure I agree with the weird observation. No. There's a dead man in there, Sherlock. He's lost litres and litres of blood.

He's been in there for days. And there's no indication of how this even happened. I'm just observing that is weird. There's blood on the door handle here. Yeah, but from the inside. You think you let the killer in? It's possible. While he was dying.

What? The blood is on the interior handle, Gregson, meaning the killer had already struck and the victim here attempted to leave. Let me see. Something else on the handle, right? Yes. Match is what is on his right hand.

Which is what? A foam. Got anything for us at all, eh? Any indication of the first strike? Because there's blood everywhere, Sherlock. Like everywhere. We need to determine the origin of the attack. What are you doing?

Let us look at this wound here. Jugular, that's your val for all this blood. We reckon he got it sliced. Yes, well, we don't. Don't we? No, and we would appreciate it if we could exactly. in the body that we discovered. We shouldn't even be here,

but we get a lot of good grace. We are the ones with good grace. All right, that's enough. That's enough. Okay? Okay. Let us see now. No, don't touch him.

Oh, for fuck. Ah. Oh, my... That's... See? Struggling to ID him. Yes, that is rather bad, isn't it? Did he, like, get a shotgun to the face or something?

This is what you would call him. being beaten to a pulp. See? All his teeth are here on the floor. Ugh. This is a nose bone here too. Nasal cavity is completely exposed. Sockets all fractured. Skull is... Don't do that. Very fluid. But it doesn't quite explain the blood. Jugular mate. Told you, didn't I?

Really? Look at his face. Well, he doesn't really have a face. Exactly. Gregson is right, jugular. See? But he is also wrong. Not a knife. If we turn him back over...

What is it? Such curious little things, aren't they? What are... Is that a blood clot? What is that? Certainly not. It's a projectile. A bullet.

Identical to the one. taken from John's spine. Let me see. Oh, wow. You think it's from Moran? Moran is operating a very bespoke rifle with improvised rounds like these. Take this to your team downstairs, Gregson. Ta, you're coming, yeah?

Because I've got to send, you know, the professionals in. Rude. We are professionals. Gregson, bullet downstairs. Now, please. All right, you've got ten more minutes. Tops. Anyone want a tea? Out!

First, Moran can shoot John in pitch darkness right in the middle of the chest. Then he can shoot a man with a tiny bullet directly into an artery that would have him bleed out in no time. And the piers de resistance? No signs of entry. Nothing. Gregson said nothing was on the cameras at the front desk or front door. Then, how? Not quite how, but where?

What are you looking for? A window. There's two right there. They're intact. Uh, yeah, so? The bullet, look, these came off it. Tiny shards of glass. Indeed.

Windows look intact to me. That's the bathroom. Yes. Blood seems to be under the doorframe here, too. Our clue. Maybe in here. Sherlock! Don't move!

What are you doing? Get off the ground. Leave now. What are you holding? It is a trip fire. I have to keep it at this tension. The bathroom door was there. Shit, holy shit, holy shit.

Okay, okay. What can I do? Get out! No. Mariana, leave this. Hold building. right now. I'm not leaving you.

I can't hold this. I can't. Tell me what to do. There is nothing to do. It is a metal string attached to a bloody bomb. You always tell me what to do, and now I would really, really, really

like to be told what to do. Leave! No! We have no time, Mariana. This is attached to an explosive device. I don't know what to... At the moment my strength gives out, which is bloody close, it's over.

Oh, it's over. I don't know what to do. Take Graham from my pocket. Look after him. Please, please. Tell John, I'm sorry. Tell him I love him. And if that two doesn't make it, I will tell him my heart.

Please please. Please. No. And you, Mariana, you live on. You're a great detective and you can still... What on earth are you doing? You're right. I am a great detective.

Don't touch that. So I will detect my way out of this stupid mess from the stupid evil giant guy who I hate. Mariana, it... Okay, okay. Where is attention pulling? Think. I'm holding a wire that is an explosive trigger. Of course, I'm thinking it, the tension goes that way, I think.

That way? Yes, you're sure? Yes, the device is most likely in that direction. Follow the wire. Oh, it's going into the toilet. Uh, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let me try something. Please, please, please just get to safety for this sake.

Ha, clue number one. What? He turned the water off. Check the system. Uh, okay, okay, okay. Oh, it's a sealed unit. There'll be a point on the unit. I know how they work.

Thank you. Okay, I did. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. The, the bomb. The bomb is in. The cistern of the toilet. Oh my God.

Oh, my God. Water. What? Find the... The water? The water. We turn the water back on and we flat the device. Yes.

What are you doing? Find the stopcock. It'll be under the sink. No, it won't. Back in a bit. Mariana, for God's sake. I swear to God. If you blow yourself up, I'll tell John.

Hurry up! Mutistory residential block. Stop valves have to be in a sales service unit for each floor. It must be housed in a shared area. Cannot be locked. Cannot be accessible only by two minutes. We need a door. Service door.

Where are you? Where are you? Electric's? No? Gas line? No. Water! Water! Ah! Okay!

Coming, Sherlock! I'm coming! I'm coming! I can hear it! It's filling up. Yes! Oh God! Go look!

Shit, it's coming right back out into the toilet pole. No! The tamper seal is up. It's in flush mode. What are you doing? Do not touch it. We blow up together or not at all. Mariana, please. Do I look like I'm going to abandon you? Do I... Come on. Make your observation.

I have made it. And you deduce what? We blow up together or not... Not at all. Thank you. I'm going to push the tamper seal down, okay? When the seal closes the water will feel and hopefully kill this bomb. But if the temper is connected...

I'm actually fully aware of the process required. If you could, please... Just... Okay, okay, pushing it down. Pushing it down. We're alive. Ah, that's a good start. And it's feeling... feeling fast.

Once the device is flooded in... Theory that water will render the firing circuit useless. The charge itself may remain intact, but once the casing fills with water. The charge has nowhere to go? Correct. How are we doing? Nearly at the top. It won't destroy the explosive, but it will drown the battery.

Ruin the primer compound, seize the trigger and spoil the detonator. You sure? Well, no. No, but as long as one of those things happens, we're safe, aren't we? It's done. It's full. Fully submerged. Yeah.

Yeah. Just in time. What? My arms giving out. Let go. Arianna. Let go. Thank you.

You're trembling. Also, um, crushing Graham. Oh, whoops. Oops. Sorry, sorry, Graham. Together or not at all. Together or not at all? Oh, that was bloody close. I tripped up the stairs.

Very, very, very nearly spilt my tea. But, averted disaster. Just about what? So, he's not Moran. Yet he does find himself in what was once Moran's abode. And now he finds himself dead and covered in blood. So, hold on, run this by me. There was a bomb in the bog.

For goodness sake. Don't goodness sake me. There's reports that need to be filled out for this kind of thing. Look, I went into the bathroom. Use the losing reception. It's a fucking crime scene. I wasn't going to the toilet, you oaf. I was going to look in the mirror.

Oh, that's better, is it? Yes. Why? Because on the bullet I handed to you, I found tiny shards of glass. So... So... What are you doing? Looking.

At what? You want to know who killed this man. The answer is right here. The murderer was... The man in the mirror. I thought you just did this vague performance for stuff to show after John. But it's clearly just how you talk. Yes, it is.

But if you want to know how a man got shot up close, right in the jugular, in a sealed of... by himself, then you look right here. The foam. He was shaving. Good, Mariana. The mirror? It's cracked. It's been shot her?

No. It's been shot through. Wait here. Yes. Wait, right there. This way. Mm-hmm. Why did the blood reach the door? The victim.

Went to the door. He opened it. Correct. Shot in the neck. Low impact, high precision. He makes his way immediately to the exit after being shot in the neck. That's crazy. Exactly. Likely a criminal then. Because he didn't call 999. Correct.

And our shooter, Moran, was able to move from his firing spot behind the mirror. The mirror attached to the wall, Sherlock. I'm aware of how stupid I sound. Hence this little field trip. Okay, okay, just saying. Unfortunately, Gregson was slightly right. Yes, the victim let the killer in, but after the first strike. And not intentionally, the man with the hole in his neck opens the door. Moran charges it and finishes the job.

Well, and plants a bomb for us, of course. What floor? This one. What? Then why are we in... What are you doing? Moran can't access a building he no longer. lives in. He also can't really be seen swanning around downstairs as the most wanted man in

London. So what does he do? He enters the underground parking structure, nicks a lift keycard from one of his old cars still parked there, into the lift he goes, climbs out through this panel on his old floor. An elevator ceiling panel. No, no, no, no, sorry, sorry, sorry. This is not mission impossible? The police need to use this elevator right now. impossible. Certainly not for a man of six-foot-seven. Not too difficult for me either. John would struggle. And me? Yes, but I can explain. Go back to Gregson and back to the mirror. Aye. He's where? Come on. Okay. Coming to the mirror right now. Wow. This has done nothing for the whole exhausted look I'm rocking right now. Oh. Hello. Oh, what the

Bloody hell is going on. How ingenious. Are you in the mirror? Our killer sat in this cubby off the lift walls, scraped the line of sight through the insulation and plaster, and having been the former resident, knew exactly where to place his bespoke miniature rifle and where to fire his bespoke and miniature bullet.

Just as our victim was gazing at his own reflection, a bullet shot through and punctured him right in the neck. Why the NERC? So he would still try and escape. And why would Moran want that? So he could enter. Exactly. Enter, finish off our victim, and rig it to explode upon our investigation.

And by illustrating that kill order, he revealed... Sorry, can you just leave the other side of the mirror and come tell me in person? Ah, yes. Apologies. Our victim is this man. Ronald Adair. Ronald Adair. 44. Australian National.

Born in Maynooth, New South Wales. Faster? He came to the UK when he was 24. He found working... Faster, Gregson. The fintech industries that support global financial trades with applications.

Right, that's enough. Bye-bye. This is what we do. Sherlock, sit down. We give you this background. You're all watching far too many crime dramas and not nearly enough policing is being done in this bloody place.

Fine. Fine. Adair worked with... With Moran. They seemed to be close for many years. Adair was one of the Mawson and Williams lot. Like Killian Evans? Not quite. Adair was more on the inside. Like I say, tech, finance, all this kind of thing. Not someone to get his hands dirty. Until he reached for the crown.

So it would seem. Yes. Hence the kill. Sorry, what? The vacuum of power. The depressurisation of this dark structure. It allows those with ambitions to make their moves. Moran remains loyal to his master still. The spider. The spider indeed. Consolidating power once more.

Adair thought he could take it. He even accessed the company property at one Hyde Park. Such was the conviction of his play for the top. You're right about Moran. Hiding, yes, but not. quiet, not at all. He got John. He got a dare. Who knows

who's next? Well, people that can think know who's next, Gregson. Sorry, what is that supposed to mean? I'm next, you fool. Clearly think a lot of yourself, don't you? Isn't it obvious that I'm the next target? I could be next. You don't know.

Why would he go for you? Because. I'm an integral inspector at one of the most powerful police forces on the planet. Why are you smiling. I'm not smiling. Yeah, you are. It's not funny. Moran acted on Adair because he had to. The level of threat was urgent.

Now he can return to his final target. Sherlock Holmes. He didn't need to enter the Ronald Adair property, did he? No, he did not. The hawk struck from his nest. And he wishes to do the same

with me. The empty house. The empty house, indeed. What's the empty house? Opposite our flat? It's a... Well, we think Moran may have been in there

trying to get a shot. We were supposed to be next, but he skipped us. Why would he do that? Because we were never there in the flat. We were with John in hospital. Now Adair is ticked off the list. He will return to Camden House

to shoot through the glass across the street right into my flesh. You're under arrest. Sorry, what? Tom, Tom. You're under arrest. I'm serious. For what? For what?

Come off it. For about 30 things. And that's just in the last hour. Tom! Come on! Wait, wait, wait, Tom! What are you doing? I don't have the time, the patience,

or the energy to talk him into witness protection. So, he's going behind bars, where he's safe. You can't do this. For 24 hours I can. Yeah. Stop. By which time, we can build a case to go after Moran. Please, Gregson.

I know it doesn't seem like him here, but I am rather fond. Stop at you. And I want you to stick around. Not just for Professor... Tom, Tom, come on. You stand still, for God's sake. What about the oath comment? Because I withdraw it, I withdraw it entirely.

Gregson! Gregson!