Episode 2 of "Sherlock & Daughter" unfolds with Sherlock imparting a seemingly mundane yet profoundly significant lesson to Amelia: the art of boiling an egg. Though her aspirations lie in mastering the intricacies of investigation, Sherlock insists that this humble task serves as her foundational lesson.
The scene shifts as the American ambassador enters with a grave announcement, revealing that he has entrusted Inspector Bullivant with the case concerning his daughter. Upon his departure, Sherlock cunningly tasks Amelia with returning to the house undetected, her mission to surreptitiously document the crime scene.
Draped in the disguise of a maid ostensibly acting on the ambassador's behalf, Amelia deftly lifts plaster impressions of the footprints at the scene. She then blends seamlessly into the household, joining the cook who unwittingly reveals that Marjorie Anderson's precious jewel box has vanished. The cook also recounts how Charlie, a suspect in the case, had courted Marjorie, albeit she remains unconvinced of his guilt in the theft.
While delving deeper into Clara's bedroom, Amelia's clandestine endeavors are abruptly halted by Inspector Bullivant. Narrowly escaping arrest thanks to the timely intervention of Marjorie and Paul, Amelia races back to Sherlock, presenting him with the intriguing set of footprints trailing in and out of the house.
Sherlock strategically assigns Amelia to track down the horses that Charlie had fled with, while he embarks on a personal quest to uncover the remnants of the carriage. Amelia tirelessly scours Sherlock's meticulously compiled list of stable yards, parallel to his visit to a carriage broker who attempts to deceive him. However, Holmes' sharp intellect pierces through the broker's fabrications, uncovering the ambassador's carriage concealed behind a clandestine doorway. Similarly, Amelia's perseverance leads her to the very horses they sought.
Sherlock uncovers a damning secret: the carriage was implicated in a kidnapping, a revelation potent enough to coerce the broker into spilling his guts. He confesses to encountering Charlie at the Seven Bells pub, a name that Cassie had already brought to light. Charlie had also attempted to peddle jewels to him. During his inspection of the carriage, Sherlock discovers a golden screw, an unexpected clue.
Amelia leads the horses to the address Sherlock provided, where a young man directs her into a building to consult a fortune teller. Inside, she encounters a shadowy figure with unkempt hair, only to realize with astonishment that it is Sherlock himself in disguise. He recounts his covert visits to pawn shops, cloaked in anonymity.
The gravity of the situation deepens as Sherlock reveals that Watson and Mrs. Hudson have fallen prey to the kidnappers. The fate of his maid, who met an untimely end after he, in a moment of misplaced concern, pursued her kidnappers, haunts him. Consequently, bound by the kidnappers' edict, he must refrain from investigating any cases involving a red thread.
Sherlock tasks Amelia with infiltrating the Seven Bells as a barmaid, charging her with gathering intelligence on Charlie and the enigmatic golden screw. Amelia rises to the challenge, uncovering Charlie's illicit affair with a wealthy, elderly woman.
Her investigation leads her to various carpenter workshops, where one skilled craftsman identifies the screw as originating from the Withersea Coffin Factory. Amelia stakes out the factory, her patience rewarded when she spots Charlie himself entering its hallowed halls. However, her vigil is interrupted by a police officer who accuses her of loitering. She swiftly informs him of the suspected kidnapper within, prompting him to vow to return with reinforcements and instructing her to remain until first light.
As dawn approached, Amelia's absence still lingered, sparking Sherlock's anxiety. He scoured her chamber, his eyes catching a glimpse of a crimson thread dangling amidst her investigative papers like a cryptic clue.
Inside the eerie coffin factory, Charlie's confederate received an ominous update: the police were en route. In a hush, he urged Charlie to whisk Clara away and torch the premises, while he fled in another direction with Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson. Armed with "the keys" bestowed by the ambassador, he instructed Charlie to deposit Clara safely at her home.
Unbeknownst to them, Amelia, astride her steed, had her eyes set on Charlie's departing figure. At the precise moment Charlie was extracting Clara from her makeshift prison, Amelia galloped in, colliding with him and dashing off with Clara in her arms. Sherlock, hot on their trail, intercepted them and whisked them away in his carriage, deducing that their intended destination was the sole vessel bound for America—hence Charlie's desperation to convert the jewels into dollars, not pounds.
He unveiled the tale of Clara's undying affection for Charlie, their conjugal dreams fueling their theft of her mother's jewels. Clara confessed that her parents' disapproval of their relationship necessitated their secretive escape. Charlie's haste, she explained, stemmed from his own perilous circumstances.
Sherlock granted Clara safe passage home, pledging secrecy regarding her role in the theft. He cautioned her that Charlie's accomplices might soon attempt to extort her, advising her to reach out to him should they make their move. Once Clara had departed, Sherlock scolded Amelia for alerting the authorities, thereby enabling Watson and Mrs. Hudson's captors to slip through their fingers.
As Episode 2 of Sherlock & Daughter drew to a close, Sherlock held up the crimson thread he'd discovered, pondering whether Amelia had been sent to sabotage his efforts all along. Amelia protested her innocence, yet time was not on her side; the officers who witnessed her dashing off with Clara now approached to apprehend her.
