The Bruce-Partington Plans - Part One

Sherlock & Co.

The episode opens with a dramatic reenactment of the 'Aquarium Killer' case, where Sherlock Holmes reveals how Tabitha used pufferfish tetrod

Key takeaways

• Tabitha utilized tetrodotoxin extracted from pufferfish to poison her husband's birthday mojito.
• Mycroft Holmes used a disguise as 'Terrence' to observe Sherlock and Watson's deductive capabilities.

Main topics

• The Aquarium Killer case
• Mycroft's undercover disguise

Notable quotes

I can only hold down one woman at a time.

Conclusion

A high-stakes introduction to a new mystery that challenges the detect

Transcript preview

Speaker 4 (0:02) 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. Welcome to the adventure of the Bruce Partington plans. This is four blockbuster parts. This is classified, so don't tell anyone what you hear in this episode. Keep it between us, please. Thanks. Speaker 4 (0:37) Hold her, John. She's not going anywhere. Speaker 6 (0:40) You see, ladies and gentlemen, I presented to you this case. I said that its crux would come down to the vile. Get off Speaker 1 (0:49) me! Speaker 6 (0:49) Vile. You heard beastly, dark, insidious. That is what you heard me say. But words cloak themselves too, do they not, Tabitha? Speaker 4 (1:04) No, no. No, you bastard, you! Speaker 6 (1:06) Their guise may not be as charming and endearing as yours, but they can only shuffle their form and shape through letters and meaning. I was not speaking of the vile mind that burns behind this woman's eyes. Speaker 4 (1:20) No! I Speaker 6 (1:21) was speaking of this. A vile. V-I-A-L. A vile. Of... Poison. Speaker 2 (1:34) John? Goodness. The sister fainted. Speaker 4 (1:37) Yeah, well, I can only hold down one woman at a time. My dating history suggests even that is a big ask. Speaker 6 (1:43) What did it take, Tabitha? Can you Speaker 4 (1:46) believe it? Speaker 6 (1:47) To decide that your husband had to Speaker 1 (1:49) die? I have no evidence. No evidence. Lily. Morning, all. She's over there. Detain her. Speaker 5 (2:00) Lily, good to see you. Speaker 1 (2:01) Sherlock. Speaker 5 (2:02) Always Speaker 1 (2:03) a pleasure. No, Speaker 5 (2:05) no, get off me! Speaker 4 (2:07) Get off me! She's Speaker 1 (2:09) stronger Speaker 6 (2:10) than she looks. And more deceitful. Deceit, yes. A very familiar trait in your line of work, Tabitha. I Speaker 1 (2:18) work at Speaker 7 (2:19) London Aquarium, you fool! Speaker 6 (2:22) Yes. And you had us all believing it was at the till in the gift shop charging visitors for octopus squish mallows and flimsy felt-tip pens marked up to £5.50. How dare you? But you are an aquarist, are you not? So you should be, with your first class degree in aquatic science from the University of Gloucestershire. Speaker 4 (2:45) Get Speaker 1 (2:46) away from me! Speaker 6 (2:48) And that is where you looked for inspiration, Tabitha. You observed the attributes of the force cleaner fish that will mimic helpful sea creatures to their prey before killing them. The dusky dottyback that switches colour to match what it hunts. The anglerfish that present worm-like goods to their target before eating them alive. Speaker 4 (3:09) Please! Please! But Speaker 6 (3:12) none require a vial. No. The pufferfish, however... No! Speaker 4 (3:18) You Speaker 6 (3:19) extracted the lethal tetrodotoxin from the pufferfish into this vial, came home and snuck it into Anthony's birthday mojito. But why did he become your prey? His neglectful ways? Your love of Danny here? Speaker 2 (3:34) No, no, no, wait a second! Danny? Shh! Speaker 6 (3:36) You are even carrying his baby, are you not? Speaker 1 (3:41) Lads, you're police officers. Stop gasping. You Speaker 6 (3:44) were in a pinch, Tabitha. A bind, a squeeze, a rock and a hard place. No. That is what it took. That was the calculation you made. Speaker 1 (4:02) That Speaker 6 (4:03) you could murder your way out. Speaker 1 (4:06) Tabitha, you're Speaker 6 (4:07) coming with us. Thank you, DC Lestrade, and to Marianna here for her work spying at the London Aquarium. To John Watson who broke down this door and held our criminal in place. And to you, Tabitha, for taking our bait. Oh, Speaker 1 (4:21) come on. You bastard. You fucking... Speaker 6 (4:29) Soup. Off Speaker 4 (4:34) she goes. I don't believe this. I really loved her. Okay, Danny, it's alright. I really loved her, man. Jesus Christ. Speaker 6 (4:45) Oh, don't cry, Danny. There's plenty more fish in the sea. Speaker 4 (4:55) My name is Dr John Watson, once of the British Army Northumberland Fusilier Regiment, now a true crime podcaster 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. Speaker 2 (5:47) Tabitha always wanted to be a mermaid. Speaker 7 (5:52) Yeah, Speaker 4 (5:53) she was fun. Speaker 7 (5:54) How going? Until she wasn't. State your name for the camera. Speaker 4 (6:00) I'm Dr. John Watson. Speaker 5 (6:02) Woman reporting her husband is dead. Speaker 4 (6:03) I'm Speaker 5 (6:04) a Speaker 4 (6:04) private detective in London. Police are investigating her death. We were called into the case. She Speaker 2 (6:09) loved her work at the aquarium. Speaker 4 (6:11) And we got to work. Speaker 6 (6:15) And what did you think, John, about this death? Speaker 4 (6:19) I thought something smelled fishy. Speaker 5 (6:27) Marlapone Mermaid, the aquarium killer. Tonight at 9, only on True Crime Max. Speaker 4 (6:35) Ha ha ha ha! Yes! Speaker 2 (6:39) Wait, where is Sherlock? He's right there. Hello. No, no, in the trailer? I know I'm not in it because I was away when they did the interviews, but why isn't Sherlock in it? Well, Speaker 4 (6:51) they're narrative focused. They probably wanted a perspective that could really lift the story of the case, provide a sort of blockbuster tension. I refuse to participate. That too. Speaker 6 (7:02) You Speaker 2 (7:02) didn't want to be in it? Speaker 6 (7:03) No. Why not? Because I think it's irresponsible for a detective to reveal their methods. You're thinking of magicians? It is an extremely obvious logic. Why would I display it for you all to see? Speaker 4 (7:17) You do it every week. It's called the Sherlock and Co podcast, mate. It Speaker 2 (7:20) could have been a little helpful for business, though, Sherlock. Do you Speaker 4 (7:24) know, that is exactly what I Speaker 6 (7:24) said. And I refuted it then. And I will continue to do so now. This trailer is clearly offering you a form of almost entirely manufactured success that I fear you really are captured by. Manufactured success? We cracked the case, didn't we? The case was messy, disconnected and complex. This trailer offers a simple narrative and story that even now is dulling your mind. I'm Speaker 2 (7:48) not taking sides, but nobody paid us. We put hours and hours, days, in fact, into that case. It may not Speaker 6 (7:57) have been for payment, but it was for justice. Speaker 2 (8:00) Justice doesn't pay your Speaker 6 (8:02) rent, nor mine. Then we shall ask the Speaker 4 (8:05) police for money. Speaker 2 (8:06) That's not how it works. Speaker 4 (8:08) Sherlock, look, I know, OK? I know you think it's undignified, it's exposing us or whatever, but no bad will come from this, only good. Speaker 4 (8:19) Ha ha ha! See, what might that be? Would it perhaps be the game? Hmm? Old chum? Old Buddington pal? Stop, pardon me. I'll go, answered. Well, the game has doled herself up to the nines and called upon our house, dear fellow, has she not? Stop speaking like that. She doth require assistance, for she is afoot, and we, as dutiful gentlemen, shall partake in fulfilling