I
We're going to gold.
I even write it.
Good evening.
Oh, you gave me a proper scare you didn't.
for a young lady to be out by herself, isn't it?
Oh, you mean the Thistle Killer?
One killing a night and the last five nights.
He made me out again tonight.
Oh, make you shiver.
I wouldn't talk to any strange gentleman, I wouldn't.
And if one spoke to me, I'd run or scream.
You're a sensible girl.
Would you like a sweet?
Oh, thank you.
The caramels are very good.
He's done it again.
Fast and jam, would you want some?
Oh, thank you.
Any interesting news in the times?
Um, it says here that some American claims to have found
a cure for the common cold.
That's nonsense, I don't believe it.
Thunderbolt won the Aspen all stakes.
Mmm, fixed a one.
Perhaps we can make a killing on that.
Oh, was there another one last night?
Eh?
The Thistle Killer.
Oh, yes, yes.
Yes, he strangled a girl last night at Ingram Square.
Left the usual sign, Thistles.
Ah, that's a maniac.
Perhaps he is once, but there may be a definite pattern
behind all these killings, you know.
Well, do you think so?
Look at that map, Wilkins.
From one end of London to the other.
He's got something on his mind, sir.
Oh, you rarely think so, Wilkins?
Of course he's got something on his mind, you idiot.
He's got killing on his mind.
It's going to finish.
Where's an organ end?
I've looked up the statistics, sir.
There are approximately 459,000 young women in London
between the ages of 16 and 25, sir.
That's a comforting thought, Wilkins.
Thank you.
I thought so.
From the superintendent.
You'll be interested in your optimistic statistics, Wilkins.
Come in.
You sent for me, sir?
Ah, Inspector Lestrade, yes, I sent for you.
Sit down, Inspector.
Thank you, sir.
Not working too hard these days, I hope?
Well, sir, I'm used to hard work.
Then give me a sample of it.
Stop these wholesale murders.
It's women Lestrade in six successive nights.
A man's making a charnel house out of London.
What's the yard doing about it?
Well, sir, we have men in duty all over London, you know.
Well, how does he slip by them? How does he get away?
Sir, it's almost impossible to cover a city the size of London.
He'll strike again tonight.
Sir, there are 459,000 young women in London
between the ages of 16 and 25.
But don't care if there are 459,000,000.
Stop him.
Portland Lane.
Harris Street.
Ovington Court.
Napier Street. Evans Lane.
And Ingram Square last night.
Where will it be tonight?
Sir, he's a whole of London to pick from.
It's almost impossible to anticipate him.
He doesn't choose his places.
The haphazard.
You know, there's nothing haphazard about this man, Watson.
He's choosing each locality with a plan.
What plan?
Well, that's our problem.
Jeremy Holmes, why does he drop fistles onto his victims?
And why three?
I think they're symbols, Watson.
Just as his killings are symbolic.
Mm-hmm.
Do you think he knew his victims?
I doubt it.
Now, there's another motive, a deeper plan behind it all.
I think we know all the facts.
We only have to read them properly.
Well, sir, he knew each of these girls.
That's the link. That's what I'm working on.
How do you know that, Lestrade?
We issued a warning to young girls not to speak to strangers.
To scream or to run as soon as they were casted.
Yet not one of them has done either.
In fact, in three of the killings,
footsteps showed that they walked beside him,
that they knew him, that they trusted him.
And the girl last night had accepted the caramel from him?
Yes, sir. And, of course, a young lady will never accept a sweet from a stranger.
Then find the man they all know in common.
Yes, sir.
Oh, by the way, Lestrade.
Yes, sir.
There's a chap named Sherlock Holmes ever run into him?
Holmes, sir? Sherlock Holmes?
Yes, yes, the name is familiar, sir.
Yes, yes, I have run into him on occasion.
He deduces things, they tell me.
Clever.
You might call him in.
Unofficially, of course.
He's an amateur, sir.
An amateur can't do worse than we're doing.
Yes, sir.
I simply can't understand it, Holmes.
Hm?
Don't understand what?
Why Inspector Lestrade hasn't called?
I've been expecting him all the morning.
Oh, well, he probably feels he can tackle it himself.
And perhaps he can.
Come in.
Good evening, Dr. Watson.
Yeah.
Holmes?
Good afternoon, Lestrade.
Dr. Watson's been expecting you.
Oh, he has, has he?
Well, you're here, aren't you?
Well, as a matter of fact, someone at the yard did suggest that I might, uh...
Well, as a matter of fact, uh...
Who?
The chupin tenant.
Holmes, this man's a ghost.
I've met him everywhere.
I've warned everybody.
He still kills and no one sees him.
Uh, the map of London, Lestrade.
Yes, I've marked out all the places where he's killed.
Oh, yeah. That's interesting.
Most interesting.
Ah, we're starting here with Portland Lane,
Harris Street,
Ovington Square,
Evans Lane,
Napier Street,
Ingram Square.
I take it this is the sequence of the killings, Lestrade.
Yes, I've tackled it from every angle.
Concentric circles,
triangles, squares, north, south, east and west.
There's just no pattern to these killing zones.
Oh, but there is Lestrade. There is.
But he's challenging Scotland Yard to catch him.
Challenges?
Yes, he's playing a game with you.
What do you mean, playing a game?
Acoustics. Look.
Now take the names in sequence,
beginning with the first letter of each neighborhood.
P for Portland Lane,
H for Harris Street.
P, H.
And so on. O, E, N, I.
And what's the last letter?
Y, the only one that fits, of course.
X. And so you have Phoenix.
Phoenix?
The legend revert the rose from its own ashes,
symbol of immortality.
Now, I know he's a maniac.
Hemeny's Thistles, all three of them.
Well, the Thistle's the national flower of Scotland astray.
You should know that.
And there are three feet in a yard.
Scotland Yard!
Well, it shouldn't be hard to deduce
where he plans to strike tonight.
The last letter is X.
Exenia Lane leading into Xerxes Park here.
Then we have them.
It would appear so, wouldn't it?
Xerxes Park, superintendent.
It must be Xerxes Park.
But there are other places that begin
with the letter X, Mr. Holmes.
Very few. And they're too frequented.
Xerxes Park is small, quiet,
and practically deserted at night.
That's just what he wants.
Xerxes Park, then.
This trade?
Yes, sir.
Plant men all around the park.
We'll cut off the entire area.
But keep the park entrances open, superintendent.
Invite him in, you mean?
But if you keep him out, you won't catch him.
Good thought, Mr. Holmes.
There are only two entrances to Xerxes Park.
A gate here and here.
We'll cover them both.
Get him coming or going, eh?
Either way.
No, coming, not going.
Oh, I see what you mean.
But supposing there is no young woman in Xerxes Park.
Oh, there will be. How do you know?
We'll put one there for him.
Decoyer.
But who?
It'll be risky.
Ever done any amateur theatricals, Mr. Strayed?
Hm?
What?
I think we'll need Inspector Strayed
at one end of the park, superintendent.
Hm.
Now, as for the woman...
Hm.
No.
One of our police matrons might volunteer.
But explain the risk fully to her, Mr. Strayed.
Well, all my two, sir. Just in case.
I'm not sure a gun will be enough, Mr. Strayed.
We could arrange a signal with her
so she could let us know the moment she's accosted.
Excellent, Watson. As soon as we get the signal,
we can close in on him.
All right, Mr. Strayed.
Pick the best men we have.
Yes, sir.
You want less Strayed at one end of Texas East Park,
but who'll be at the other end?
Why, Dr. Watson and I, of course.
That's a very good idea. Thank you very much.
I wish there wasn't this fog.
Hm.
I'm covered with this, Miss Collie,
but don't take any chances.
I'll be at that end of the park,
and Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson will be at that end.
Ah, Holmes. Dr. Watson.
This is our decoy, Miss Collie.
How do you do?
Really, Miss Collie.
Oh!
Well, what have we got here?
A sending key, eh, Mr. Strayed?
Yes, as the telegraph said, going to both entrances.
Quite ingenious, my dear fellow.
Tell me, what are your signals?
One short click of a man approaches Miss Collie.
If he speaks to her, she keeps her finger pressed on the key.
If he just passes on his way without speaking,
then two short clicks.
Sure, Mr. Holmes has done, Miss Collie.
Hm. That seems astrayed, yes.
Quite ingenious, really.
Now, if a young lady passes along
and wishes to go through the park,
then we'll have a policeman escort her.
Congratulations, Mr. Strayed. You've all remembered me.
Thank you, Dr. Watson.
Well, good luck, Miss Collie.
And the same to you, Inspector.
Nearly places, Clark.
Yes, what's more, I must confess to a certain uneasiness, my son.
Look!
What?
Official cure!
Oh, no, you don't.
You know what's this, take out me.
He's for-habit alone!
For-habit, Madam, this may be about to strangle you.
Your husband strangled me? You're crazy!
Your husband?
Of course he's my husband!
This killer, that's what he probably is.
Oh, my, my apologies, Madam, sir.
Come on, habit.
Some people don't know what privacy is.
Blaine's got a right to kiss again, isn't he?
Even if it is his own wife.
But what do you mean by that remark, Herbert Brown?
Well, you ain't exactly what you were five years ago, Maggie.
No! I never!
I say, old man, that was, uh, it's hard to think of the wife.
Put me big foot in again, I did.
I'm Maggie.
I'm Maggie.
Well, I mean, homes, the park.
After all, haven't they got a home to go to?
Sir, I must say, I can't blame you in the least once,
and shall we get on to our entrance?
Come on.
Chilly night, sir.
It'll warm up quite soon, Wilkins. May even get too warm for comfort.
Just take it the young lady through the park, sir.
Go ahead, Carlos.
This is nerve-racking homes.
But it may not belong now, Watson.
Here.
Good evening, sir. Good evening, capsule.
Miss Collie's a brave girl, sir.
She'll like my sister taking on the risks that she is.
Couldn't use you, sister Wilkins.
This is a job for professionals like us, not amateurs.
What are you worried about, Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson, sir?
I'm worried about Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson, sir.
Come on.
Eleven o'clock, Watson.
Now that all these bobbies hanging about,
he's probably got the wind up and gone out.
But if they're well hidden, as they should be.
Someone's approaching Miss Collie.
Shh.
Wait for the next signal.
Meet me, sir.
Oh, it's a brilliant capsule.
Water down.
I'm glad you're taking me through the park, Constable.
I'm only a visitor here, you know.
It's so scary.
Very sensible, miss.
Especially these nights.
That horrible vessel killer, Lewis.
Like it was.
Something's wrong.
Miss Collie gave the old care signal.
Where it was must have gone faster.
I missed it.
Many strange men talk to me.
I'd run or scream, just like the papers tell you to.
That's a sensible girl.
It's very foggy tonight.
Would you like a sweep?
Oh, thank you, Constable.
Enjoy one of the caribos.
Be good.
He slipped through a cordon of police before, you know, Watson.
And without anybody seeing him?
No, but they did see him.
Everyone saw him.
But surely, Watson,
who's the only stranger a woman would trust
in London these nights?
Why, uh, by liberty?
Wrong, Watson.
A policeman.
A policeman.
Come along, Watson.
Where is he, Constable? Which way did he go?
Look out, Watson. Get down.
You all right, sir?
I'm all right. See to the girl.
She's all right, sir.
Here, look after her, will you?
He's dead.
I know him, sir. He's John Phoenix.
He's a cabbie. He drives handsome.
Oh, yes, I remember him now.
He tried out for the force.
We'd dropped him in efficiency.
Well, there's your motive, Lestrade.
He simply wanted to prove that he could outwit Scotland Yard.
He must have carried his policeman's helmet
and his coat around with him in his cab.
Yes, and when he spotted the girl,
he put them on and became just another policeman.
How did you guess, Holmes?
Well, Lestrade, he was the only answer.
The only answer.
The only answer.
The only answer.
The only answer.
The only answer.
