Act 1 - "The Adventure of the Seized Niece"
Opening scene: Shot of the outside of 221B. Outside it is late autumn.
Cut to the interior of the upstairs flat shared by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson.
(Sherlock is lying on the couch reading a scientific periodical. He looks to be about 27, although he may be deceptively youthful. In appearance he is rather over six feet, but so lean he seems attenuated – all neck, legs and arms, long feet, big hands. He has an unruly mop of wavy black hair, a long, blade-shaped, ascetic face, full lips and highly modeled cheekbones. His luminescent pale gray crescent-shaped eyes quickly scan the pages of the magazine.
(John is updating his blog at a table at the other end of the room. He is a small, compact man in his late thirties, probably stronger than he looks. His dark blonde hair is close-cropped and his weathered face looks as if it has seen much sun and hardship, although the tan has faded. His face is kind and thoughtful as he composes on his blog.)
(They hear the ringing of the landline phone downstairs. A few moments later, it rings again.)
Sherlock: (Sounding annoyed) Yesterday it rang 22 times.
John: (Chuckling) Our landlady's niece has come to live with her, Sherlock. She is seventeen. Teens use the phone almost as much as you do.
Sherlock: (Grunts irritably).
John: She does articles for the Weekly Messenger. That's probably a source for many of the calls. Have you met her?
Sherlock: Briefly when I stopped down to pay the rent.
(John gestures at a camera, with a telephoto lens, that is set up by one of their casement windows.)
John: Have you taken up photography, or are you just getting your jollies spying on the neighbors?
(Before Sherlock can answer, they hear Mrs. Hudson coming up the stairs carrying a small sack of groceries. She knocks twice on the open door.)
Mrs. Hudson: Hoo-hoo!
John: Good evening, Mrs. Hudson.
Mrs. Hudson: Good evening you two! I stopped off and bought the beans and milk.
(John looks at his flat mate in exasperation.)
John: Sherlock, you were supposed to buy the beans and milk.
Sherlock: (From behind his magazine) Mrs. Hudson was out anyway, so I texted her.
(John looks disgusted as Mrs. Hudson enters the kitchen, places the milk in the fridge and the bag containing beans on the table, which otherwise is overflowing with odiferous chemicals and lab equipment.)
John: Well, thank you, Mrs. Hudson.
Mrs. Hudson: Oh, you are very welcome, John.
(The landline rings again downstairs.)
John: How is your niece?
Mrs. H: Adjusting, I'd say. She's had such a rough go, poor girl, with her mum in drug rehab and her dad a fugitive of the law. He's wanted for embezzlement, you know. He's fled the country and they don't even know where he is. Laura believes he is totally innocent. They wanted to put her into foster care, but I took her in instead. Oh, and she's such a help to me with the cooking and cleaning! In fact it is on her behalf I hoped to speak to you two. You know, she's receiving absolutely no financial help from her mum. She's applying for university scholarships and has this part-time job, but it's so difficult for her to buy even basic necessities with so little coming in. Now you two so often need looking after and I'm not always available. After all, I'm NOT your housekeeper…
(She glances at Sherlock, who shifts and hides behind his magazine.)
I thought perhaps, if you would be willing to pay her a bit, Laura could come up and straighten the flat when you're away and prepare a meal or two?
(Both John and Mrs. Hudson look at Sherlock, who continues to completely ignore them. John sighs.)
John.: I haven't met Laura yet. Would now be a good time?
Mrs. Hudson: Yes! I'm on my way next door to Mrs. Turner's, but Laura is downstairs.
(After casting another exasperated look at Sherlock, John follows Mrs. Hudson down the stairs. Mrs. Hudson leaves by the front door. John knocks on the door of 221A. Laura opens it. She is a slender girl with very dark eyes and very long, thick, straight black hair braided in a single plait down her back.)
Laura: Dr. Watson?
John: Yes and please call me John.
Laura: (Smiling) Please come in.
(John enters the flat and the door closes.)
Scene 2: Back in the upstairs flat. After John heads downstairs, Sherlock peers from behind his magazine. He checks his watch and when he hears the two doors downstairs close, he rises and walks over the coffee table to the window, carefully parting a curtain.
It is darkening and we see a subtle look of expectation confirmed on Sherlock's face as he watches a car below cruise very slowly past 221 Baker Street. He can see the driver's eyes casing their building. Sherlock quickly aims the camera on the tripod with the telephoto lens at the car and snaps a series of photos, including one of the vehicle's license plate.
Cut to the rear of the car continuing up the street and turning at the corner.
Cut back to Sherlock, still gazing out the window. He turns and folds into a chair, grabs his laptop and opens it. He downloads the photos from the camera then starts Googling. On the screen is seen what he is typing: Corporate mercenaries.
Scene 3: John returns. It appears as if Sherlock has not moved. John is carrying a plate of food, which he places on the coffee table.
John: There - a sample of Laura's culinary finesse. You should chat with her, she's quite extraordinary. She's qualifying for chemistry and anthropology. Eat before it's cold.
(Sherlock slaps the magazine down and picks up the plate.)
John: She has a dream of developing a device to help find human remains buried in disasters to supplement the work of search and rescue dogs. It would locate the remains by digitally measuring gases released by bodies in various stages of decomposition. You could even help her with that, if you weren't so intractable.
Sherlock: Helping teen-aged girls with their science projects. Not my area.
John: Right. People aren't your area. You might at least let her borrow some of your lab equipment - you've got enough of it. How is it?
Sherlock: Adequate.
John: You seem to be enjoying it. ( John returns to his laptop. Sherlock consults his laptop again too, then rises, rummages through a drawer, plugs in a memory stick, removes it again.)
Sherlock: John (John looks at him and Sherlock tosses the memory stick at him.) Give her that. It's a volatile gas calibration program.
John: (Sits back and looks very surprised) So! You can show a spark of kindness when the mood strikes you.
(Sherlock just types, ignoring him. John rises and heads down the stairs.
Sherlock: (Shouting after him) And tell her she's hired!
Scene 4: Sherlock is still on his laptop when his cell beeps. He pulls it out. A message appears on the screen: Thank you, Mr. Holmes! He smirks.
Scene 5: Laura is seen loading the calibration program onto her aunt's computer. She thinks a moment, then types "Sherlock Holmes" onto her computer screen. His website "The Science of Deduction" pops up.