Elementary

Close your mouth, Watson. You'll catch a fly.

I didn't you had one of those machines.

Only needle these arms see anymore.

I keep it for the occasional touch-up.

Well, wouldn't it be easier if someone else did it,

like an actual tattoo artist?

I am an actual tattoo artist.

I did a lot of these myself.

How'd you...? Ambidextrous.

Of course you are.

Can I interest you in some ink of your own?

Syringe with a line through it, perhaps,

in honor of your former career as a sober companion?

I think I'm good, thanks.

I wanted to plan something for your anniversary.

You're gonna be one-year sober in a few days.

They're gonna give you your one-year chip at your next meeting.

It's a big deal, Sherlock. You should be proud.

You've been talking to Alfredo. He's been hounding me

about my soberversary for weeks now.

Of course he has. He's your sponsor.

Which is why I have not had

the heart to tell him I've absolutely no intention

of accepting that chip. And why wouldn't you accept it?

It is absurd to measure sobriety in units of time.

It is a state of being. One is either in it or out of it.

In my case, I am in it

permanently.

Amassing a collection of cheap plastic discs seems infantile.

Unless, of course, I could trade them in for a prize.

A brood of sea monkeys, perhaps.

Sherlock...

You're a ex-sober companion.

It is no longer your calling

to nag me, police me or reproach me.

If I require your opinion with regards to my sobriety,

I will ask for it.

You are right.

Ha.

Alfredo, your ears must have been burning.

Hope I'm not calling too early. I'm with a friend.

I think he could use your help.

Sherlock Holmes and Joan Watson. We're here to see Ken Whitman.

Uh, my dad. He said someone was coming by.

Come in.

You're quite good.

Eva. Thanks.

Uh, Dad's in the den, just... down the hall.

I told you when I met you that I had a great sponsor.

This is him.

The only one in the group willing to take a chance

on a half-reformed ex-car thief.

Alfredo said you were in trouble.

Two years ago, Eva used a fake I.D.

to get into a club in the city.

A man named Brent Garvey slipped something into her drink.

He took her

to his apartment and...

The next morning

she told me and her mom everything.

We took her to the police and they found Garvey.

She picked him out of a lineup.

Brave girl. After Garvey

was charged, two other victims came forward.

He ended up cutting a deal.

Pled guilty for a reduced sentence.

Technically, it was over.

But not for you and your family.

For Eva, it was hard.

She cut off contact with her friends.

Stopped playing.

Even tried to hurt herself.

We found her a therapist.

Things... got better.

She said she might even be ready for college next year.

And then

a few months ago, I got this in the mail.

It's a-a video of Eva

with Brent Garvey.

The night he...

"Mr. Whitman,

you will transfer $10,000 to the following account

"or this video will be posted online

"and released to the media.

"Your daughter will be a star.

"Do not go to the police,

"do not attempt to identify me.

"If I'm arrested or physically harmed in any way,

"I have a fail-safe in place,

an associate who will release the video for me""

Eva had come such a long way.

I didn't want to see her get hurt again.

So you paid the $10,000.

I didn't even tell my wife.

I just did it.

But then... a few weeks later...

They asked for more money.

I paid again.

The third demand came a few days ago.

I finally lost it.

Came close to falling off the wagon.

My sponsor was out of town, so I-I reached out to Alfredo.

I-I just needed to talk to someone.

But then he told me about you.

H-He said you might be able to help?

I have a particular disdain for blackmailers.

They are...

in some respects...

more despicable to me than even murderers.

Ms. Watson and I will find the person who's been targeting you.

We will also find their associate. Then...

we will destroy every trace of this vile recording.

You think he's the blackmailer.

My tech expert in London traced the account number

on the note to that man and this address.

Charles Augustus Milverton.

He certainly looks the part.

I'm just surprised how easy it was to find him.

Well, he's obviously confident in the protection

that his fail-safe affords him.

I'll assess the threat he poses,

and attempt to divine the identity of his accomplice.

Once both individuals are known to us,

we will destroy their blackmail troves simultaneously.

Another reason to dislike Milverton...

he keeps cats.

Well, he should get himself a real pet,

like a beehive.

You see anything?

Laptop.

He could have used it to burn the DVD

that he sent.

What's happening?

Ken Whitman said the man who assaulted his daughter

took two other teenaged victims, as well--

Tracy Bender and Karen Pistone.

There are videos of them here, as well.

You think he's blackmailing their parents?

Them. Others.

"Others"?

It would seem Mr. Milverton

is a professional blackmailer.

I'd estimate that his victims number in the dozens.

He's back.

He must have just gone to get some groceries.

He's heading for the door.

You could have specified back door, Watson.

What're you talking about? He's coming through the front.

Please...

== sync, corrected by elderman ==

Holmes.

What're you doing here?

I'd like you to take a look at something.

Then I'd like you to join me in the conference room.

You want to tell me

why you asked me to look at

what appears to be the brutal rape of a teenage girl?

I thought it was important

you understand what was at stake.

The man in that video

is Brent Garvey.

He was arrested in New Jersey several years ago

and convicted of sexually assaulting three young women:

Eva Whitman, Tracy Bender,

Karen Pistone.

Eva Whitman's father received that DVD in the mail,

along with a note which demanded that he pay $10,000

or see it released on the Internet.

Now, I identified the blackmailer

earlier this evening.

I went to his home

and I realized that he had sent similar threats

to the parents of Ms. Bender and Ms. Pistone.

So you're here to turn over the evidence.

Well...

It's possible...

that I am here to report

a murder.

Or perhaps I'm just here to...

seek the counsel of an investigator

that I respect and admire.

Hypothetically,

the blackmailer was killed in his home tonight.

Hypothetically...

I saw it happen.

Holmes...

if you know anything about a murder,

you gotta report it.

There would be consequences.

The hypothetical blackmailer had a hypothetical accomplice.

That accomplice, upon learning of

his partner's death, would release

that video-- and others-- into the world.

That is, of course,

if the accomplice learns of

his partner's death.

So you want to keep it a secret.

It would give a motivated investigator

enough time to identify the accomplice,

prevent him from enacting any offending fail-safes.