Watson comes downstairs to discover Holmes tattooing himself. He claims he's just doing a quick touch-up, and that he did a lot of his own tattoos. He was able to do both arms because he's ambidextrous. He does not explain how he tattooed his own back, but I assume he had an elaborate system of levers and pulleys. Watson declines the opportunity to get her own tattoo and says Holmes is getting his one-year sobriety chip tomorrow. Holmes says he's not going to accept it, because it's an arbitrary measure. And she's not a sober companion anymore, so Holmes thinks she should shut up about harassing him. He's got Alfredo for that now.

Holmes answers the phone and it's Alfredo. He's not calling about the one-year chip, because we need to have a crime to solve at some point. So Alfredo's got a friend who could use Holmes's help.

It's raining when Holmes and Watson arrive at the home of Ken Whitman, Alfredo's friend. They're let in by his daughter Eva, whose cello is in the other room. The cello isn't all that important, but it comes up a couple of times.

Ken, it transpires, is Alfredo's sponsor. He explains that two years earlier, a man named Brent Garvey slipped something into Eva's drink and raped her. He was arrested and she identified him in a line-up. Two other victims came forward and he went to jail. Eva was deeply affected by the experience, as you can imagine. She stopped playing the cello and starting hurting herself. But she's been doing better and might even be ready for college next year. And a few months ago, Ken got a DVD in the mail of Garvey and Eva. That's gross. And there was a note, demanding ten thousand dollars or the video would be posted online and sent to the media. And there was a dire warning that if the police got involved or anything happened to the blackmailer, there was a secret accomplice that would post it. Ken paid the ten thousand without telling his wife. And a few weeks later, there was another demand for money, and again he paid. This seems like a story that isn't going to have a good ending. So a couple of days ago, he got a third demand and broke down. He almost relapsed and had to call someone. His own sponsor was out of town, so he called Alfredo. And Alfredo mentioned that he knew this guy with great deductive powers.

Holmes says he finds blackmailers odious. He promises to track down the blackmailer and the associate, then to destroy every trace of the recording.

The next scene has Holmes and Watson in a car. Holmes says the bank account numbers led to this man they're watching leave his house: Charles Augustus Milverton. Watson thinks it was surprisingly easy to find him, but Holmes thinks he was just overconfident. Milverton turns the corner, and Holmes breaks into his house.

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