- When Joan revisits one of Sherlock's cold cases, she discovers an unsolved murder is connected to a rare prehistoric fossil. Meanwhile, Sherlock finds himself in uncharted territory when his duties as a sobriety sponsor cross his personal boundaries.—Anonymous
- "Elementary" -"Dead Clade Walking" - Jan. 30, 2014
Watson goes through some of Sherlock's cold case files and begins to work on one, the murder of Doug Newbergh. She discovers an old rock, out of place in Newbergh's backyard and she enlists the help of a geologist named Gay (who also, coincidentally is gay.)
They go to check out the rock and discover that inside is a perfectly formed skeleton of a dinosaur, something like a miniature T Rex according to an expert at the history museum. He says it's worth in the high 7 figures or low 8. Holmes and Watson figure the person who killed Newbergh was looking for this.
They determine that Newbergh himself was pretty dull but he did have a shady friend with a criminal record that may have been involved in smuggling by using a fleet of ice cream trucks as a cover. They bust the guy for smuggling Cubans. But when they bring him in he swears he didn't do it. He finally says that he did take the rock not knowing what it was. Someone came looking for it and he asked Doug to hold on to it for him. The next day Doug was killed and he figured it was connected but he didn't know how.
While they're talking to him, some fraudulent Feds show up and swindle the rock right out of their evidence room. The perpetrator must be someone who sells antiquities.
Sherlock meets with a friend he only knows as "C"-- with whom he exchanges erotic letters-- who is an exec at an auction house. She says their likely suspect is a man who operates on the antiquities black market who is known as "The Magpie."
So, Sherlock goes about "making" an antiquity to smoke out the Magpie in the form of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. On the internet he poses as someone who inherited it and is unaware of what it's worth.
They find a buyer who is likely the Magpie but when they go to meet him they find him not only dead but the rock smashed on the floor with the fossil completely destroyed.
After doing some research, Sherlock discovers that there are some new-generation paleontologists who are challenging the widely accepted theory that all dinosaurs were killed by a comet. They believe that if fossils are found above a layer that contains comet materials that they can prove this is true. Their theory is called "Dead Clade Walking" and the fossil could've proved their theory. So Sherlock and Watson and Gregson and the gang call together all of the old school paleontologists most vocally opposed to this "Dead Clade Walking" theory and ask for DNA swabs.
Although one man declines, another man's DNA is found at the scene. Except that scientist uses a wheelchair and it seems unlikely that he could commit this style of murder.
Sherlock makes a link between this scientist and the expert from the history museum-- with whom he authored a textbook and whose reputation would be ruined if "Dead Clade Walking" was proved correct. He confesses. Watson, who was a major help throughout the case, is given props by Sherlock.
While all of this is happening Sherlock is dealing with his sponsee Randy. Randy is feeling jittery and as if he's about to use. Sherlock goes to counsel him and Randy tells him that his former girlfriend with whom he abused drugs is back and saying she wants him to help her get clean. Randy knows it's a bad idea and Holmes concurs saying it is paramount to Randy's sobriety that he cut this woman out of his life.
He checks into Eve's past and discovers she has several open warrants for her arrest in Chicago. He knows he could tell the cops and is mad a perfectly good solution for solving Randy's problem has to be chucked on account of compassion. He knows Randy has to solve his own problem and he doesn't want to further victimize Eve. When Sherlock tries the tough love route with Randy, Randy leaves on him. Sherlock wonders to Watson how she ever worked with addicts. Once the case is solved, Randy comes to the brownstone and admits to Sherlock that he relapsed with Eve the previous evening. He kicked her out and cut her out of his life. Sherlock welcomes him back and they go to a meeting.
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