Murder on the Home Front (2013) s01e02 Episode Script

1 Dr Collins! DI Freddy Wilkins, I've been calling.
We've got a murder.
Bloody Nora! Most girls would have passed out.
You didn't bat an eyelid.
A cross resembling a swastika carved with the left hand.
And you are? Dr Collins's new assistant.
There are three that cannot prove their whereabouts for the time Mary Williams was murdered.
Danny Hastings.
He owns the place.
Pawel Rosanski, now works in a munitions factory.
That's Wilfred Ziegler, who found the body.
Are these yours? I collect them.
This is Mr Carver of Home Intelligence.
We'd like to make sure this case doesn't get too much publicity and comes to a conclusion as quickly as possible.
Inspector Wilkins thinks he's got his man.
Half-German, probably Nazi.
That could belong to our killer.
Hopefully we'll find saliva on it.
If it matches Ziegler's, that'll be the nail in his coffin.
Looters.
Gas mask at the department store.
I was with a regular.
He says a man came out of the dark with blood on his hands.
What's his name? Ronald Terry.
Well, if he's acting now, he's bloody good! Leave it.
I need that towel.
Slight swelling to the right side of the head.
Traces of stage make-up on the right ear lobe and the upper right neck.
Wounds to the left and right wrists, severing the arteries.
But there don't look to be any hesitation marks.
Hm, note that the front of the victim's shoes are scuffed.
A man like Terry would never go out with scuffed shoes.
And er Pall Mall.
Could be useful.
Thank you, Miss Cooper.
Well, dust the knife for prints.
You may be looking at murder.
You're not serious? There's very little blood around the sink.
If that's where he cut his wrists, there should be.
Somebody knocked him out, dragged him into that room, and cut his wrists.
Who and why? The Nazi strangler.
Because Terry could identify him.
He is in a cell under arrest! Wilfred Ziegler is not the only suspect.
Hastings and Rosanski do not have proper alibis.
Dr Collins, this is pure speculation.
Terry killed himself.
I'm telling you we've got our man.
He was wonderful in London Cavalcade, wasn't he? My good lady wife always wanted his autograph.
Could be tricky.
What was that one with Flora Robson called again? That gas mask hasn't turned up, has it? No, that wasn't it.
Good Queen Bess! Marvellous, that was.
I'm talking about the gas mask they found near Wilma Grey.
The girl found at the department store.
Oh, that.
No, definitely gone, Miss Molly.
Blood patterns depend on numerous factors.
The size of the knife, force used.
I'm aware of that.
But those aren't the only signs of a suspicious death.
Because his shoes were scuffed?! Morning! Morning, Professor.
I see nothing to suggest he died anywhere but the theatre by his own hand.
Save your skills for a more deserving victim.
I don't understand.
The man was a pervert.
As far as I'm concerned, he got his just desserts.
What if this is linked to the Ziegler case? Terry was a suspect.
Or a witness.
He could have been killed to stop him giving evidence.
Look, our department has bomb blast victims piling up in the corridors.
Now you do your job! You deal with them! As I thought.
Mr Terry couldn't have done it.
Arthritis of the hands.
Limited use of the fingers.
Couldn't have strangled a kitten.
Hastings smokes Pall Mall.
He gave me one in the Metropol.
You're very sure it's him.
Aren't you? And Rosanski? Hastings knows the girls at the club.
They trust him.
Dr Collins, Miss Er Er My office.
Now, please.
Not you, darling.
You can stay put.
It was only a matter of time before the story leaked.
Was it? Why? These women have family and friends.
And your secretary was, until recently, a journalist.
You still have friends in the press, Miss Cooper? I do, but I haven't spoken to them about this.
The last thing the Home Secretary wants to do is gag the press.
But it may well come to that.
I'm sure Miss Cooper wouldn't do anything to damage the investigation.
Perhaps it would be better if Miss Cooper were to find employment elsewhere.
Absolutely not.
I couldn't hope to find anyone as good as her.
I'll decide who works in my department.
If she goes, so do I.
It's not my intention to have anyone sacked.
I simply want to know how this got into the press and to make sure that any further details do not.
Are you ready to confess, Mr Ziegler? Confess? I didn't kill anyone.
We have evidence that says you did.
One of those postcards you like to collect was found near the second victim and the third.
And to be honest, the judge isn't going to like that German name of yours one little bit.
He's going to hang you.
But if you save us the bother of a trial, that will go in your favour.
You'll get a nice cosy cell for the rest of your life.
Plenty of room for postcards.
Life or death.
You choose.
Ziegler just confessed.
If they go ahead with this, I'll have to provide reasonable doubt for the defence.
What defence? He's admitted it.
I'd have sworn it was Hastings.
Ha! Doctor, how can I help you? Mr Hastings.
Ronald Terry, the actor, he's been found dead in suspicious circumstances.
And what's that old pansy's death got to do with me? You knew him well, then? Hm, you'd be surprised what you learn about the great and the good in my business.
He could have identified the man who killed those women.
Are you trying to say I killed those girls as well? No.
But just to eliminate you from the investigation .
.
I would like to take a sample from underneath your fingernails.
You keep this up and you're liable to upset me.
Never mind.
This will do.
You really are a tonic, Dr Collins.
Thanks.
As much as I've enjoyed our chat, I think you should stop making these accusations about me.
More for your sake than mine.
People might think you're a bit crackers.
Is that your father? Mm-hm.
The lady with him? She looks Asian.
Yeah.
That's my mother.
She's very beautiful.
Skin deep, as they say.
My mother was the same.
Didn't spare the rod either.
Leaves a great deal of anger, doesn't it? I'm not sure what you're talking about.
Ernie will show you out.
Hello.
Can I help? Oi! You there! Stay where you are! Bloody hell! What happened?! Did a house fall on you? Bruising of the lower abdomen and ribcage.
Left side of the jaw swollen, loose tooth.
I hope, for your sake, we don't have an air raid right now.
Ah, just in time.
I want something taken down.
I have traces of skin and hair from the fingernails from one of the attackers.
A blue substance on the nose.
Chalk.
And one piece of lining from an overcoat.
Silk.
Orangey, bluey-brown.
Don't know what colour that is.
Manufacturer should be traced.
I've seen some of the corpses looking better than you.
Have these.
You can't go home like that.
They belonged to the gent in fridge three.
Hit by a tram.
Just a bit of blood on the collar, that's all.
Where were you when all this happened anyway? I made a visit to Hastings.
Without me? I thought I'd ask him a few questions.
Put him on the spot, see how he'd react.
That was a bit irresponsible and dangerous.
Well done.
Considering he was playing billiards at the time and the powder on my face is cue chalk, I'd say I touched a nerve.
Oh, better be off.
See you tomorrow.
Cafe de Paris again? Er No.
Issy is taking me to a new club.
Don't worry.
I'll be tucked up in bed by ten.
Night! Mind that picture of misery! There'll be another frame up tomorrow.
Sounds like a carve-up.
It's time some of them are hung up.
I can name three for a start.
Sit down and take the load off.
Ha! Now who will be the next victim? You look like you need a drink.
Issy gave me the recipe for a homemade dry martini.
And Issy would know.
To be honest, it's not strictly a dry martini.
It's absinthe, rum, and paregoric.
It does the job.
I bet it does.
All work and no play.
It's not good for you.
Chin chin.
I saw a file on your desk about people that have been hanged.
Do you know any of them? No.
That's a relief.
I thought your old man was Crippen or something like that.
I'm studying cases in which there was reasonable doubt and they still hanged.
I imagine what I'd do differently.
Was all the evidence tested? Anything missed? If we have the science, the knowledge, to eliminate mistakes, there's no excuse not to.
The guilty don't have to escape and the innocent don't have to die in their place.
I'll drink to that.
All staff and patients make their way to the shelter in the basement.
Hurry up! Ugh! Where does Hastings get the nerve to beat up a Home Office pathologist? Technically, it could have been one of his minions.
Either way, he thinks he's above the law.
There are villains in the East End who never get collared.
You know why? Because they're informants.
That was close.
Whether or not he's an informant is something I doubt we'll ever know.
My mate Billy dabbles in the black market.
He'll know what the talk is.
Really? Dabbles? Well, he's more sort of up to his eyes in it, to be honest.
Danny Hastings? You got to watch yourself, Molly.
You don't want to get involved with him.
I just want to know what you've heard.
Nothing good.
He keeps the coppers off his back by dropping everyone else in it.
Do you mind?! He's not averse to slipping them a few bob when he has to.
The man has not go a single scruple to his name.
Watch out! Watch it, Stan! Those ciggies managed to fall off the back of that lorry without breaking! If Hastings wasn't friends with Jack Spot, he'd be dead by now.
Jack Spot the gangster? Thick as thieves, they are.
They got carte blanche in the East End.
That's French, by the way, for doing whatever you want.
Violent? He can be when he needs to.
What about a girlfriend? Not that I've heard.
He's not the pipe and slippers type.
I'd stay well clear of Danny Hastings.
He's a dangerous man.
Careful.
She looks like she was in the water for quite some time.
Give me a hand.
Thank you.
There's no swastika cut in the tongue.
She was probably drunk and fell in.
Hm.
Let's get her back to the morgue and find out, shall we? She was at the Metropol, Inspector Wilkins.
Photograph the hand stamp, please.
The Commissioner gave me a right earful this morning.
He wants the Ziegler case closed, now.
What's the big rush? I suppose you know Danny Hastings has coppers on his payroll.
That's a very serious allegation.
I'd be careful what you say.
Somebody could be protecting him.
We don't protect killers simply because they give us information.
Just promise me you'll look into it.
What a bleedin' cheek! The bruising on the neck is exactly the same as the other killing.
Looks like a strangling.
I'll know more when I get the voicebox out.
No swastika? No.
That could be deliberate.
So we think it's a different killer and Ziegler takes the blame for the first three murders.
What is this? Tongue.
If we eliminate Rosanski as a suspect, and you make a strong case that this is the same killer, the police will have no choice but to look at Hastings.
Maybe even release Ziegler.
You've got a devious streak, Miss Cooper.
I like that in a woman.
There's nobody in there.
What are you doing? How did you do that?! Tricks of the trade.
What trade is that exactly? It's a big place for somebody who works in a munitions factory.
Looks like Mr Rosanski can't afford the furniture.
Can we go? I'm not cut out to be a house-breaker! What do you make of this? Some sort of sequence.
A code maybe.
What's a clerk at a munitions factory doing studying code? Do you think he's a spy? Far from it.
The truth is, he's a brilliant young mathematician.
One of the few from the Biuro Szyfrow in Poland to survive.
He has the potential to crack the German military codes.
If we do that, we can stop the invasion.
This information, of course, is classified.
We're protecting him from the Germans.
If they find him, they'll kill him.
We've had a breach of security, which is why he's based at his flat and not Station X.
I hoped he wouldn't get dragged in, but he appears to be a fan of Snakehips Johnson.
I understand now why you didn't want the story leaked to the press.
But he's still a suspect.
He's watched night and day.
Rest assured, Collins, he hasn't killed anyone.
He's not your man.
Polski? Me? No.
I'm just .
.
looking something up for a friend.
I come to read the old Polish magazines.
It reminds me of home.
Um Would you like if I bought you a drink? No, thanks.
I have money.
I can spend it on you.
If I want a drink, I'll buy it myself, thanks.
Perhaps I'll see you here again, yes? I went to check the international papers.
To see if Rosanski's name cropped up in any cases back home.
It didn't, but there he was.
Doey-eyed, pining for the old country.
Rosanski is being watched by Home Intelligence.
We have a bigger problem.
I thought there might be some truth in what you said about Hastings.
I raised it with my superiors.
He's been taken off the case.
DS Brady is in charge.
I don't know what's going on.
I couldn't get the men I needed to find that gas mask.
Then I was given a backlog of old cases.
I get the feeling they don't want me looking into this matter too closely.
Hang on.
If Terry slit his own wrists, the wounds would be left to right and right to left.
Mm.
They're not.
The change and depth of the incision tells us which way the blade travelled.
They're both right to left.
Somebody else did it.
Miss Jenkins.
Can I help you? We're investigating the death of Mr Terry.
Can we have a quick word? You were here on Tuesday evening.
I work late mending the costumes.
Anything strange? Did anyone visit Mr Terry in his dressing room? I worked with Mr Terry for 15 years.
He was a lovely man.
He had nothing to be ashamed about.
Nothing.
I agree with you.
We both do.
Tell us, what happened that night? What did you see? He drank, you see.
I think it gave him confidence.
That night, he'd had more than usual to drink.
He couldn't stand up.
Two men had to help him back to his dressing room.
What time was this exactly? Just after midnight, I'd say.
I should have checked on him! But I thought I'd leave him to sleep it off.
Two men, Brady.
The strangler was right-handed.
But whoever carved those swastikas was left-handed.
We're not looking at an ambidextrous killer.
Two men working together.
The same men that killed Terry killed those girls.
Can't rule it out.
You should know Ziegler is going to be charged under the new Treachery Act.
Giving assistance to the enemy.
He'll hang in a matter of days.
Keep us posted, will you? I'll try, but treachery cases are held in camera.
No press.
Better go.
See you tomorrow, guv.
Everything pointed to Ziegler.
No, it didn't.
You should have listened to me.
When I was a reporter, I had to cover some awful stories.
A bus full of children being evacuated was hit.
An entire street of kids gone.
The whole area knew what had happened, but it never made the paper.
The government covered it up.
And? I'm just saying you can't always trust them.
I'm going this way.
Got your torch? It will be dark soon.
Yeah.
I'll see you tomorrow, then.
And Change your suit.
Poor bloke needs to get buried in that.
Charlie, get me the towel from Terry's dressing room.
I don't know why I didn't think of this before.
If there are traces of Terry's blood on that towel, maybe the killer used it after he slit Terry's wrists to wipe his hands.
Terry certainly didn't.
If we can find fibres of that towel on Hastings' clothes, we can prove he was in that dressing room.
Then we may have enough for a conviction and save Ziegler from the noose.
Anything? Blood.
I'll bet you a shilling it's Terry's.
We need to get into the Metropol and find something Hastings might have been wearing.
Like his coat.
Do I have to remind you he's already had you beaten up?! Next time, he might just kill you! Which would be a shame, because I'm getting to quite like the pair of you.
Can I do you now, sir? Go away, Mrs Mop.
Can't you see I'm busy? Come back when I'm not.
Can't I darn your dickie, sir? What on earth Wait! Hello? Hello? Boss! Out here.
Sorry.
Any luck? No, no luck.
No saliva traces.
Nothing.
You'd better have a look at this.
Good evening.
I really hope you get Pierrepoint.
He'll hang you nice and quick.
Some of them, they get the weights wrong.
And rip your head right off.
Are you ready for your last supper? No! That's not right! I I You're lying! They said they wouldn't hang me! They promised! Oh, pipe down.
I didn't do anything! Wait.
We do have something on the strap though.
A tiny trace of earwax.
Oh? Pure gold.
I didn't know earwax was that valuable.
Grey wax and your man has Asian blood like Hastings.
Amber and he's African or Caucasian like Ziegler.
Helps pinpoint our killer, Charlie.
Who'd have thought it? Amber.
Definitely African or Caucasian.
Oh, blimey.
Here we go again.
There's something else in it.
Molly! Sounds like a heavy one tonight.
We should get down the shelter.
An innocent man may hang, Charlie.
I need to get this wax tested now.
You man the fort.
Hello? Detective Freddie Wilkins! Detective who? Wilkins! Sir.
Hello.
Freddy! Molly, where are you? The Metropol.
I think he's after me, Freddy! Who is? I can't hear you.
Who? Molly? Get yourself somewhere safe! Now! Do you hear me? Now! Fancy a drink? I need you to take a look at some earwax.
An emergency.
You're not serious? Very serious.
I know a basement joint round here that stays open during the raids.
The Metropol.
Have you heard of it? Walls are three feet thick.
It's safer than a shelter.
Oi! Mind if I have my coat back? I don't usually like girls who steal from me.
I'll let you off this time.
Truth is, Molly, I've taken a shine to you.
Come on.
I'd rather die with a drink in my hand.
Wouldn't you? Molly! Molly, wait! Well? The usual traces of dead skin.
But I'll need to do some further tests to confirm the particles you found.
Go on, then.
Quick as you like.
Oh! Molly! Wait! Molly! Molly! Molly! Go straight down to the platforms! Quickly! Quickly! Quickly! Come on! Everybody! Straight down to the platforms! Tests confirm high levels of potassium nitrate.
Which is a major component of gunpowder.
It would seem that the earwax belonged to a man - Who worked in a munitions factory.
Rosanski.
Quickly! Plenty of room for everyone! Hello again.
Hello.
Inspector Wilkins called.
Wanted to know if Molly had turned up.
She called from outside the Metropol.
Said something about being followed.
Thanks, Charlie.
Get down the shelter now! I'm staying here, if you don't mind, in case they call back! She's got to be round here somewhere.
Search the whole place! This will be apt to suffocation.
Follow me, I know a place.
We'll be safer there.
JAZZ Keep looking.
This way.
We're nearly there.
I am glad I had the chance to speak with you again.
After what happened at the library, I thought you didn't like me.
I haven't given it much thought, to be honest.
No? But you work for the Home Office pathologist, don't you? How do you know what I do? You! Where is Molly Cooper? Never heard of her.
You know! Where is she? Wilkins, leave him.
It's Rosanski! The Pole? He was going down the tube station after your girl! Come on, let's go! In some ways, I admire them.
The Nazis.
They believe that human sympathy perpetuates only the mediocre.
Makes them strong, capable of anything.
I respect their ability to rise above ordinary morality.
People who can do that are inherently superior.
You see, we only pretend to care about others because we are told that is the human condition.
But it's not.
We take pleasure in pain.
I'm not sure I follow, Mr Rosanski.
Well, I think I'll go back.
I'm not sure I like the company here.
No.
Aaagh! Miss Cooper! Red jacket! Has anybody seen her? Can anyone help? Over there! Molly! Help! Can anyone hear me?! Miss Cooper! Miss Cooper! Molly! Molly! Help! Molly! Aagh! I am sorry.
I am sorry, Molly.
Aagh! I thought you were supposed to be saving me! We'll need your statements as soon as possible.
And Ziegler? The charges will be dropped when they see your evidence.
Rosanski didn't act alone, did he? Somebody else carved the swastika.
We're taking Rosanski into custody by order of the Home Secretary.
This is now a matter for military intelligence.
I don't think you understand, Mr Carver.
Rosanski is the killer.
Ziegler killed those women.
And he's going to hang for it.
Do as they ask.
You knew.
You've been protecting him all along.
Without him, we may lose the war in the air.
If that happens, invasion is imminent.
But why didn't you stop him? We tried.
Put him under house arrest, but he kept on slipping through the net.
We gave you another chance! Do you realise what you've done? What is wrong with you, man?! Left hand.
The swastika.
You.
I did what I had to do.
And what about those women? Don't their lives count for anything? Miss Cooper, this man could save thousands of lives.
Including yours.
It's all in there.
And your proof is a trace of earwax found in a gas mask belonging to who exactly? An innocent man is going to hang.
A German who collects dirty postcards.
Better men than him are being sacrificed every day.
I'll go to the press.
This is the BBC Home Service.
Here is the news.
Wilfred Ziegler, the man responsible for the murders of three women, is to be hanged at eight o'clock this morning in Pentonville prison.
Time to go.
You made a mistake! Mr Ziegler.
It appears to be your lucky day.
I see.
Ziegler? He's to be interned on the Isle of Man for the duration of the war.
Beyond that, they won't say.
You saved his life.
Have you been to the Isle of Man? We should go to the Cafe de Paris tonight and celebrate.
Two left feet, remember? Let's put that to rights.
Step.
Slow.
Slide, turn.
Quick, quick, slow.
Oops.
It's all right.
Can't be good at everything.