The Three Gables - Part Three
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We just had another Sherlock & Co. event for our members, which was amazing. And yeah, we'd love to welcome you to the team. Sign up now at patreon.com slash Sherlock & Co. Previously on Sherlock & Co. Langdale, this could be serious. Oh, without doubt. Gossip is serious business, detective. Why can't you tell us? He's too good. Who is? The master detective here.

I wouldn't want to spoil his Christmas and give the whole thing away now, would I? It's about information. Isn't it always? Barney was wrong. It wasn't a hit job. Mm-hmm. Something needs to be destroyed. Something at the Three Gables. Mm-hmm. The key is the East Wing.

Right, well, you must know the buyer wants everything. Everything? Everything. Every item in the property. Nothing owned by the hospital trust, obviously, but in the East Wing there's belongings, personal effects and the like of the Mableys. Happens all the time. Goodness. Can't she just enter and remove the belongings? The buyer will flat out will not allow it. I tried taking it out of the contract, actually, but they won't have it. The legal agreement that they've drawn up prohibits anybody from removing...

anything at all from the property. Come, down this hallway. We'll eventually reach the... There are we. Third floor entrance to the Elm Ward. Lovely. You know, their staff won't let us just walk in? If they wish to chaperone, that is fine. I just need a good look at the rooms in that east wing. Holy shit, the lights have gone. They're the hallway lights, Sherlock. Yes, I know. They should be motion sensor.

I don't understand. Let's just go back. Wait. Shh. What is that? What is that? Can't see. In the darkness. Shit. Someone is coming down the hallway, Sherlock. What do we do? Sherlock, what do we do? I knew it. John, is that you? I can't see you. What the hell do you think you're doing? Watson, this is serious. This...

This is not the event space. This is a children's hospital. There's eight signs that say staff only. Yes, I observed them. Thank you, Doctor. Oh, and what did you deduce, Detective? John, please, just look.

We're about to go into the children's hospital. You what? Where's the light switch? The children's hospital is why are you a tree? To cheer up the children. What the hell are you? I'm an elf. I knew this would happen. You knew I'd dress as a Christmas tree to get into a children's ward. No, a case.

I knew you two would try and work a case. Cases must be solved, Watson. You can come along if you want. Oh, right. Yeah, sure. Oh, hey, look, kids. It's the Christmas tree and her elf friend. And there's their smart casual mate with a gin and tonic. We have a Santa costume.

God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay. Remember Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas Day to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray. O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy. O tidings of comfort and joy.

That was so good. Oh, lovely.

I love it. Yes, they are presents. See? If you take them into Ash Ward, Liz. Yeah, OK. They'll be awake. It'll be lovely. Older kids, right? Yeah, you won't get much on this ward at this time. Ash Ward. Remind me, last time we did this. East Wing, through the double doors, down the hallway, all right? East Wing. Excellent. But they're individual rooms. You might have your work cut out. Oh, great.

Oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him, oh come let us adore him, Christ the Lord. Anything? Nothing taking my attention. Next room. Merry Christmas, bye bye! Why are you a bush? I'm a tree.

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. Well? Nope. Little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thy light.

Next. Merry Christmas. Wow. This one actually fell asleep. Good. Because this room...

This room is different to the others. Sorry, what? It's... look at it. Our other rooms. Equilateral. With right angles. Functional commercial spaces. But this... Uneven. Yes. And plenty of plasterboard. That means most repaired. Therefore, most damaged. And thus, the heart of the blaze from all those years ago.

Look at that boxing around the coving along the ceiling. Uh-huh. Sorry, what is going on? A man called Benny Maberly died mysteriously in Rome a few years ago. He was dating a young woman called Georgia Klein. She now works for her mother. Isadora Klein? Yes. I know, I've seen the documentary.

Unfortunately. You have? Yeah. Yeah, it was crap. But I've watched nearly everything on Netflix, to be honest. I think we should try out Apple. Did you glean anything? No, I did not glean anything. Nothing? Apart from the fact that she's a self-important fashion mogul wanker. Oh, sorry. Go back to sleep. Sleep in heavenly peace.

John, after Benny's death, she tried to get this place burned down. Ah, yeah, the fire. Now she's trying to purchase the freehold. Throwing everything at the purchase. Even though it's protected by the local authority because of its current leaseholder, the hospital trust. And Marie Mabley's poor health. And right, get this.

When I posted that we were coming to the Three Gables, somebody tried to attack Sherlock. Then the cab driver tried to take us elsewhere. Then, uh, a prawn. A prawn? Right, and, uh, what did the prawn do? Did it mug you? Call your names? Do you need me to go and speak to the prawn's parents? It was expired. Or...

Contaminated? Or... whatever. Look, something is in this building still from when Marie Maberly lived here, John. And the client... want it. They want it bad. It's really difficult to take you seriously when you're dressed as a tree. Yeah, okay, Santa. Langdale said it was information. She's not buying a freehold. She's buying a scandal. What are you doing? This was once a members' club. Then it was a townhouse. Blueprints of both are still visible.

The garish lobby from its first form. Then this tight room. Living quarters bricked off from one another to conserve heat. Think about the rooms we've been in. They all had steel beams inserted to create new walls for its new purpose as a hospital. This room does not. You just said it was all plaster. The shape. I come back to the shape. This here. This wall. That's...

Yes. There's a chimney breast under there. This room would have held a log fire, but there's books in pipes. So... possibly bathroom? We need a room with no sign of pipework. It will feed off this chimney cavity. What do you mean? Come! It's quite hard to walk as Santa, mate. There's this big podgy belly for a start. I'm a tree. Imagine how I feel. Yeah, I sympathise with you. At least he's a bloody elf. I've never known him to be so light-footed.

It'll be down here. Sherlock, just... Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. These stupid feet. Stupid itchy beard. This room. It's a staff only. Well, if it was that important, they'd lock it. Come, come. Go, go. I said I didn't want any cases. Fine, stay out here. Oh, I want to come.

Yes, here we have it. A storage room. No pipes. Original ceiling height. And I'd say floorboards too. What's the deal with the pipes? Why do you care so much? What room wouldn't need them, Watson? A lounge sitting room type thing? Back then, the upper classes liked them tight. Like snugs. This room is too tall to contain the heat.

Why would it be tall? To, uh, to hold something. Like what? Uh, books? Shelving for books? A study. Ah, of course. Right, why do we care about a study, exactly? Scandals, impropriety and shame often live on the page, and the actions of our perpetrators are very...

Offline. Wouldn't you agree? I guess. Important documents in studies. Where would one place them? And more significantly for us and for the Kleins, where would they still be intact and secure? A safe. A safe indeed. Oh, that's great work, mate. Thank you. But I don't see a safe in here. No, you wouldn't because it's under here.

The soft spongy spots on this floorboard denote that it is rotting, and the screws galvanic corrosion. Something, I'd say a thick exposed metal in the area, is rusting, but for now the floorboards are weakened and therefore it comes up rather easy and reveals a s- Oh. What? There's no

Erm... Let me get my phone light. Yes, there's no... safe. This board here is kind of weak too. Let me try and... Oh, John, hold my bag. Yeah, I'll do that. You two keep ripping up floorboards in a children's hospital. Well, you know, I haven't boxed up the fireplace in this room. It's just behind those storage boxes. Quite nice, really. I suppose I don't really need to box it up in here. No need for the old health and safety because it's not housing any youngsters. Yeah.

In this storage room? Yeah, let me take a look at this thing. Maybe someone left some scandalous documents in the fireplace years ago. No, of course not. Of course they didn't. This whole thing is bloody stupid. Hey, hey, hey. The ones going to the fireplace are loose too. Lift. Yeah, and it... Hey, that floorboard is dry. Lift.

Fuckity fuck, I fell down the chimney! Oh my god, John, are you okay? You wankers, you absolute wankers! God, I'm so sorry. John, climb back up the chimney. It should be narrow. Oh, piss off. I hate you and I hate this Christmas. Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle fucking pissing arsing bells. What of a Christmas? I... er...

Ho, ho, ho, ho. Oh, king, oh, that's a lot of soot. You're early. I'm what? Sorry? It's not Christmas yet. Ah, yes. So just doing a little recce to sort of get my bearings and just report back to the elves. And yeah, this room looks...

Easy enough. I'll sign this one off. Tick. Anyway, better shoot off. Don't want my sleigh to get a parking fine. Don't think I'm EULES compliant. Get down here and pull me up. Just wedge your feet and climb upwards. Is that your sack? Oh, no, this is my...

Handbag. Oh. Will you come back? On Christmas? Oh, absolutely. With what I wished for? In the letter? Oh, yes. Of course. That thing, yes. Do you remember what it was? I... Um...

Quite a lot on my plate this time of year. Oh, come on, Nick, think now. It was the switch. The switch, of course. Ho, ho, ho. Right, see ya. And both jackets. The one with sequins and the denim one. Of course, yep. The guitar, the drone. Guitar, drone, yep, sure. And the really cool beanie with the wig. The beanie with the wig. Ho, ho, ho.

This wig is a donated one, and it's so itchy, and it leaves blotchy bits on my head. Look! Right. Oh, yes. The elves are making your wig right now. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for being so brave. It's just the inspiration I need to deliver everything this year. You'd better go. Yes, yeah, may I?

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Here, take my hand. Wait, wait. I see something. I think I see a safe. The 2024 F-150 Lightning Truck gets dirty and runs clean.

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But what do we do with it? Oh, excuse me, sorry. We expose her. Yeah, but... Ow! Sorry. Yeah, but can I just... Ow! Sherlock. We'll go to the press. They're just going to reach out to her for a response and then she'll get her super lawyers to shut it down. What makes you so sure? Because this is how these people operate. Exactly, right? There's a part in the documentary. Here, on my phone... Is it about... Here she is there. ...control...

It is always about control. That is a door. Be present, be there. Then we can get on with things right away. Well, we've had plenty of karaoke from some of our favourites, Rory and Alistair. Fantastic. But I've just spotted certain podcasters trying to get out before they get called up.

You know I'm talking about you lot, Sherlock and Co. I see you. Christmas karaoke. Come on, get up here. It's for a good cause. This is like my worst nightmare. Oh, just stay perfectly still. Maybe they'll focus on something else. Go on, guys. Go sing. Shut up, Richard. Come on, up to the stage. All three of you, come on. Come and pick your song. Oh, God. Yes, I would usually recoil myself, but...

This may be rather helpful. Sherlock, no, wait! No, wait! Sherlock! Look, we can't do the carol singing act up here, mate. They want the big ones. They want Mariah Carey. They want Slade and Wizard. I mean, I could maybe, maybe do the Pogues if Mariana did the Kirsty McCott. Sherlock! Sherlock! Please, Sherlock, please get off the stage. Come on. Oh, boy. Here they are, everyone. Sherlock and Go! Give them a round of applause! Hello. Hi. Hi. Merry Christmas. Hiya. Um...

Right, show of hands, who wants the Pogues and who wants East 17? Because I'm a little torn. Good evening everyone. I apologise that we have missed a lot of the party, the dinner and I believe the majority of the karaoke, but we've been working a case. And if you don't mind, I'd very much like to wrap it up. Oh.

Okay, well, if you have to go, Sherlock Holmes, everyone! No, no, don't worry. After a little revelation from my doctor friend here just moments ago, I believe I can wrap it up. Right now. You can? I can. Okay, everyone. A little festive fun. Can you see what this is? It's a safe! It is a safe indeed.

It belonged to a Benny Maverly, whose mother, Marie Maverly, owns the freehold on this building. Her family lived in this property when it was a residence. Sadly, Marie is now in a home and I'm fairly confident given her degenerating mental faculties she wouldn't be all that helpful in opening up this safe. Now, it would be fair to ask the question: why? Why would we want to open this safe? Well...

Six years ago, Marie Mabely's son and the owner of this safe, Benny, died in an apparent suicide in Rome. He fell in front of a moving subway train. He was there with his girlfriend, Georgia. Georgia Klein, daughter of Isadora Klein. Hands up, who knows who? Oh, okay, right. The whole room. I noticed one hand down. We'll come to you at the end.

Don't look their way. Look at me, please. Thank you. Shortly after Benny's death, a young criminal by the name of Barney Stockdale was tasked with burning this place to the ground. The results of his blaze were inconclusive and he was arrested. Believing her belongings to be destroyed and with mental and physical decline on the way, Marie Maberly donated the property with a 400-year lease to the Three Gables Hospital Trust.

Yes, a good act and a good thing we are doing here tonight. And we can give the hospital their best financial gift yet if we can get this safe open. So who would like to play? Well, let's get to it. Marie Mabely was in part correct. All her belongings were destroyed. But her sons on the other hand, not quite.

His safe remained wedged where he had left it, in the nook of a chimney cavity. You see, Barney Stopdale was a bad arsonist and an even worse gossip. Knowing that his fire had been cut short, he spoke of nothing else while behind bars. Word spread, and his client was once again left flailing in desperation to destroy whatever this safe possesses.

And sadly, ladies and gentlemen, I have to say they are very close. Very close indeed. A signing of a legal agreement away, in fact. Of getting this safe in their own hands. Christmas has interrupted them, like it does so many professional commitments. It has hit a festive hiatus. And now we find ourselves with the opportunity to make our big donation. So how do we open Benny Mabley's safe?

The dial here, I'm afraid it's six digits, not four. Don't worry, I'll make sure I prod us along nicely. What do we think? What about a birthday? Benny Mabley's birthday. He was born on the 18th of March. 1, 8, 0, 3. He was 25 when he died in 2018, so born in 93. 9, 3.

Ooh, nothing I'm afraid. I can tell you I've tried it and that's a no as well. No birthdays. I thought for a moment it could be addresses. I researched hastily upstairs for the Grand London Homes of the Mableys.

14 Avenue Road in St. John's Wood, 21 Ashburton Place in Mayfair, and of course, here, the Three Gables, which building number for postal reasons is 73. So 14, 21, 73. His addresses through his life, no. So, no birthdays, no house numbers. Quite tricky indeed. I would like all the millennials to put their hands up. Let me see some millennials.

Yes, there you all are. Look, cash poor, tired. The ones with young children, anyway. And now I see some hair is going and metabolisms are slowing down. That's life, I'm afraid. Millennials have an intimate relationship with technology, particularly one aspect of it.

Advancement. Change. Most of them in this room could tell you their best friend's phone number from 20 years ago because they had to type it out on a landline. They could tell you what computer viruses were like, how AOL would greet them, and nearly all of them, much to their dismay, could sing you the hamster dance song. Please don't. These things mattered then. They don't now. But that's not how our brains work.

Yes, they're brilliant thinking machines and factories of concepts, but they have their flaws. For Marie Maberly, her brain leaks memories and thoughts by the day. For us, we wish more than anything that some recollections, memories of embarrassment, of pain, would leak out much the same and wash away for good. But things stay. Things that matter. Things that don't.

I recall when I first typed on a computer keyboard, every word I heard in conversation I would type it out in my head. Musical notes, I would see the violin strings in my head. These cognitive compulsions eventually become useless and annoying. Much like the knowledge of how to type on a T9 numerical keyboard, to even do it without looking. "Mariana, your phone please. The dumb phone."

Uh, there. Yes, thank you. To convey a message of text on these clicky little buttons on a 3x4 grid. T9. Text 9. Texting on 9 keys. Words become numbers. Held in muscle memory. Benny's name, I forgot to note, is not B-E-N-N-Y. But B-E-N-N-I-E. Six letters. So...

Three six, six four, three. Correct. The man with the foggy glasses and greying hair has it. No letters on number one, of course. So B equals two, E equals three, N equals six, N equals six, I equals four, E equals three. Ladies and gentlemen, our safe is unlocked. And what do we have inside?

Stay where you are! Who are you talking to, mate? Our big fan, apparently. What? Who? A woman that greeted us with nauseating enthusiasm as we entered this evening. A fan of the show. I'm sure you all have them with your own particular productions. But this fan didn't seem quite right. No make-up? Fine, I suppose, in isolation, but not in further context.

tattoos covered, thick glasses with a price sticker hastily ripped off, hair tucked away under a hat. Yet the nails, the jewellery, the shoes all of exceptional value, the very essence of glamour, quite the clash. We have a woman worth nearly 300 million in our midst, everyone, masquerading as an over-eager podcast fan, all to try and remain in control.

Because that's how you built your empire, is it not, Isadora? Control. Intensive observation. Perfectionism. You couldn't stand the idea of me not being deterred tonight. You had to ensure it yourself. To micromanage. Well, I don't blame you. Steve Dixie, a dodgy cab driver, Barney Stockdale, and, of course, a prawn. They did rather let you down.

Back to our safe. Inside we have... No! It's an open mic. If you could wait your turn. Don't do it! Don't worry, he won't sing. Will you, John? Put it down! I usually don't encourage this sort of thing, but if as many people as possible could record Isadora Klein's reaction on their phones, it will very much come in handy for the police. Please! A letter, right here, from the office of Isadora Klein.

To Master Maybelline. It's false! It is fake! My daughter's adoration, but my boy prince, my lover. No! Stop! Whenever you read this letter, I want you to feel my presence in your heart. Feel my eyes burning into yours. Feel my hands gripping your... Oh, skip that bit.

Ooh, and that bit. Throbbing. Nope. This is none of your business! There's pictures as well. I'll keep those in this little envelope. So we were in love, so what? Yes. Seems rather cruel of me, doesn't it? Well, it did. Until I read more about the night of Benny's demise. And the background of your disgusting daughter.

Why is it, Isadora, that when Benny, while stood next to his girlfriend at a platform, somehow ended up under a train and subsequently died? Why is it you did not attend his funeral? Your boy prince, your lover. Fine, you don't have to attend as a bit on the side, but not even to support your daughter. Shut up! In fact, you weren't pictured with your daughter for months after.

Quite the fallout. At a time when we need our loved ones most. Why the fallout? Could it be that witnesses from that night in Rome were correct? That there was a quarrel? A quarrel as a young girl discovered her boyfriend's lover was her own mother. Your legal prowess is quite something, Isadora. It's why I ask everyone document this as thoroughly as possible. You know how to get your way in the courts.

She wasn't arrested for an eco protest, was she Isadora? Your daughter assaulted an apparent friend of hers and left her with 17 stitches across her face. Leave her alone! From the sounds of her, I absolutely will, Miss Klein. But I don't think the police will. No! Not to spoil the reveal, but she'll be down for murder and you'll get accessory, possibly, and obstruction of justice, definitely.

You might see some time for that arson as well. It's rather cold out, Isadora. You may want to grab a... She's gone. Quiet now. Shh! Please! You're podcasters, right? No one to shut up. Thank you. Thank you kindly. Our final donation of this evening. We have a hard drive. Labelled, Should Anything Happen To Me. Seems that Benny was aware of the Klein rage.

This, everyone, is what is known as a cold storage drive for a rather healthy amount of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency that Benny would like to see given to a deserving cause. And I can't think of one more deserving than this wonderful place. Thank you for listening. Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night. Cheers, you two. Cheers. Cheers. To those brave kids. Absolutely.

And to Benny and Marie Maberly. Good people. Cheers to that. And to Mary Morstan. Bravery and goodness personified. To Mary Morstan. To Mary. Well done, guys. Really, really well done. Thank you. You found the safe. Yeah, by accident, but thanks. Yeah, I will take that.

Quite the donation. How many bitcoins or whatever was on the drive? Around 1,500. Ooh, nice. Ah, cool, cool. What's a bitcoin worth? Like 100 quid or something? Let me Google it. How much is a bitcoin? Watson, you've gone rather pale. He said to a deserving cause. You can't be mad. I'm a deserving cause too. Oh, for fu... Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. You look like you're going to be sick. No...

Wait, that's £150 million at current value. I just gave that away, did I? Benny Maberly did, really. For God's sake, I'm not even going to get a plaque, am I? Stop laughing. Sorry, I can't help it. It's not funny. Stop. Merry Christmas, you guys. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Ooh, I'm going to get a picture of us. Here is it, where... Hey. What? What?

What is that in your bag? Oh, it... You. Now, listen. Sherlock. Sherlock said I should bring the mic. Sherlock, you hate bringing the mic. Yes, but I said it was for you. Oh, for me. For the guy who said he didn't want an adventurer. He was looking after the future you. Who would look back on this? The future me? What are you looking after him for? I feel like I'm getting a lot of the blame here. Well, you did say... Hold on, wait. What? Richard Osman is coming. Where? Oh, crap. Go, go, go, go, go. This way. Jingle bells. Jingle bells. Jingle bells.

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We'd love to hear from you. That was so good, Sherlock. Was it? Mm-hmm. Perfect. Perfect. Uh, what? You said it was going to be crap. What? You said you'd do the intro, you'd try your best, but it wouldn't be as good as my ones. Is everything okay, John? No. Why are you too good at this? This is my thing. But you said you're not doing this adventure. I'm not, but we'd love to hear from you. What was all that about?

We would. Oh, piss off. Shall we do that again? Nah, we nailed it. It was perfect. MUSIC

Oh, my God.