Roadkill (2020) s01e02 Episode Script

1
DUNCAN: Minister is ready to say
a few words.
- CROWD CLAMOURS
- CAMERAS CLICK
Morning.
Most of you will know that I've only just
been made Minister of Justice
but I wanted to come down to Shephill
as soon as possible
because I know how important this is.
First, I want unequivocally to thank
the emergency services
for their brilliant handling
of the situation.
Things were bad, but they might have been
a great deal worse.
I mean no disrespect
to any of my predecessors
but the time has come
for a totally new approach.
We are the European champions
at locking people up.
- We lock up more than anyone else.
- Don't you believe in locking people up?
Someone should be asking the question
why are we wasting so much public money
on a policy that's not working?
And putting so many people in prison.
In particular, so many women in prison.
Looks like you're saying this violence
is gonna be rewarded?
No, I'm saying that I am a new minister
and I will be looking at all the department's
policies with an objective eye.
I have come to Justice.
Let there be no mistake
I am going to shake things up.
Justice deserves that.
Alright, er, thank you, everybody.
Thank you so much, thank you, thank you
CROWD CLAMOURS
Dietl.
WOMAN:
Well
are you gonna tell us how this happened?
- Who planned it?
- Nobody planned it.
- WOMAN: That isn't true.
- WOMAN 2: You talk to Andrea every day.
I talk to a lot of women.
There's strength in solidarity.
"Solidarity?" Wake up, Rose!
You're not in a trade union here.
It's not a protest movement, it's a prison.
But we still enjoy basic human rights.
You're the smartest prisoner in Shephill.
I refuse to believe anything significant
happens here without your participation.
Well, it doesn't matter what you believe.
It matters what you can prove.
WOMAN 2:
We've been through the video.
Then you know I didn't take any part.
You threw a sweatshirt over a camera.
We've got a screen-grab.
I find it hard to believe that you would've
done that if you weren't a ring-leader.
I wasn't a ring-leader.
The final bill for the damage could be
hundreds of thousands of pounds!
I'm sure Parallax can take it. Did you see
the dividend they just paid shareholders?
It was in the Financial Times.
It was on Tuesday, I think.
You've made the point. You're clever.
Yeah, I'm a good deal cleverer
than Parallax.
They just told the government
they could run their prisons at half-price.
This prison is run efficiently.
ROSE:
You must be worried about your own job.
Do you have anything else to fall back on?
Anything else in the skillset?
The director wants you to confirm
who was behind the riot.
I'll only testify to a public inquiry.
Judge-led.
That isn't going to happen.
That's not what the Justice Minister said.
An internal inquiry, that's it.
Inquiring into your own failings?
- Nah, you won't get away with that.
- WOMAN: You are smart.
And your friend, Steff
isn't so smart.
Please sit down.
Steff. You did violence to a guard
who had to receive hospital treatment.
No, that was just an accident.
She's ready to bring criminal charges.
That'll see you back in crown court.
You could be in this prison
for a very long time.
WOMAN 2:
We want to ask you, Steff.
You had a visitor last week.
I don't want to talk about it. It's private.
WOMAN:
You're looking at an extra 200 days.
If you wanna help your case,
then you can help us.
What was Peter Laurence doing at Shephill?
And why was he talking to you?
- MAN: Morning, Minister.
- WOMAN: Morning, Minister.
There's only one word for this,
it's scandalous.
Good morning, Minister.
No, it's not a good morning
cos I've been reading that!
I assume this is the Shephill visit.
PETER:
Yes, it is, Dame Vanessa.
The Prime Minister's office has been on.
- I'm sure they have.
- They saw the interview.
That's the briefing paper.
I'm Permanent Under-Secretary.
If there was an official briefing paper,
I should have seen it.
It's something I ran up.
The minister wanted some bullet points.
Do you know how many people
have killed themselves in British prisons
in the last 20 years?
I don't have that figure to hand.
- It's 2,000.
- I'd need to see the data.
No, you wouldn't because
I've just given it to you, it's 2,000.
That's 100 a year.
That's two prisoners per week.
And no one is doing a blind thing about it?
Don't you think your first priority,
Minister, is to restore order?
No. I think my first priority
is to restore sense.
Joy, diary!
The Prison Service
has a chief psychiatric officer.
I can give you his survey
on self-harm in prisons.
Self-harm? They're killing themselves!
With respect, Minister,
this isn't an authorised paper.
It came from your special advisor.
So, you're saying the figure's wrong?
Once you get into the granular
in this area of policy
things aren't as simple as they seem.
Dead's pretty simple. And the annual cost
of keeping an inmate in prison?
The figures are soft.
PETER:
Yeah. Big and soft.
Depending on the category
Alright, it's 40,000 a year.
For a young offender, 60,000.
May as well send them to Eton!
At first appearance, it might
You know what it costs, maintaining
the entire estate? Do you know what that is?
New ministers on arrival at Justice
may be slightly misled.
Prisons are costing us £4.3 billion a year.
And that is why we've been trying to bring
down costs through privatisation.
I've nothing against privatisation
as long as it works
- but I do have a simpler suggestion.
- I think I may have heard it before.
Why don't we stop locking people up?
Well, as you are aware,
that is a political question.
That's not something I can decide.
This ministry is drifting.
It's time to set a new course.
Joy!
The minister's ready to look at his diary.
Thank you.
And are you the mysterious Margaret?
Good guess. Hmm.
Are you gonna have a proper drink?
I'm gonna have a large vodka,
just so you know.
You don't remember me, do you?
Should I?
You were leaving court
after the Peter Laurence case.
I overheard you talking to that little boy
who always follows you around.
Luke.
What did I say?
You said you loved
getting the guilty ones off.
I didn't say "guilty".
I said "suspect are guilty".
- Thank you.
- You should learn to keep your voice down.
Whatever that is, I don't want it.
That's your choice.
But hang onto it, it won't do you any harm.
Are you gonna tell me who you are?
I assume you're some kind of nutcase
or maybe someone who's nursing a grudge?
- Neither.
- What then?
Someone who cares about the truth.
Unlikely.
If you cared about the truth, you would've
given the paper's team this dossier
- or whatever it is, weeks ago.
- It wasn't possible.
Why not?
How well did you get to know Laurence?
Well enough.
How did you find him? To deal with?
Refreshing.
There's something about Laurence's
recklessness that adds up to integrity.
He takes up genuine positions.
The papers are going nuts over his views
over prisons and he doesn't give a damn.
That's class.
Sounds as if you agree with him.
You asked for my opinion.
Look, I've put the case behind me.
People don't hire me to investigate,
they hire me to win.
And that's what I did.
You're going to take that file home
and throw it aside.
And then one night, you're going to get up
because you can't resist reading it.
And maybe if you're not interested,
the little dude will be.
Thanks for your time.
SCANNERS BEEP
You alright?
You know someone in there?
Yeah. Loosely.
Look, you don't have to tell me anything
if you don't want to.
I don't.
SCANNER BEEPS
ROSE:
Come on, Steff.
At least talk to me.
- Please?
- I ain't got nothing to say.
They put me in here cos I'm useless.
Steff, we're gonna get out.
We're gonna walk out of here
with our heads held high.
We're not gonna let them win.
Rose
I'm gonna get 200 more days.
KNOCK ON DOOR
- Come in.
DOOR OPENS
I'm afraid there's a message
from the Prime Minister.
Can you go in straight away?
Why do you say you're "afraid"?
You know something I don't?
Of course not. I just meant perhaps
you're going to be late for the Law Society.
Yeah. Of course that's what you meant.
Minister.
DOOR SHUTS
CROWD CLAMOURS
- CAMERAS CLICK
MAN:
You gonna set all the prisoners free, Peter?
Prime Minister.
Oh, I'm glad you have time in your rich
and interesting life to come and see me.
Rich, but not interesting.
I'm meant to be at the Law Society.
I don't know if you remember
what political party you belong to, Peter?
Why do you ask that?
Because sometimes its founding principles
seem to slip your mind.
As you know, Dawn, I believe in pushing back
the boundaries of the state.
- Oh, is that what you believe?
- Yes.
I'm a libertarian. I care less about
the party than I do about freedom.
And how do you feel about the state
protecting its citizens
from those who wish to do them harm?
I would never knowingly put anyone
in danger.
But you're going to open all the prison doors
and let everyone out!
That's not what I said,
And you know it's not what I meant.
Don't get smart with me.
I saw you outside Shephill.
And?
And you were sent to Justice after a period
of riotous over-exposure.
You were meant to administer the department,
not to overturn it.
Well, maybe you should've checked my views
before you sent me there.
I don't give a fuck about your views!
What do you think this is? Question Time?
What is it about you, Peter? A death wish?
Every time you start becoming acceptable,
you start making trouble again.
Prime Minister, everyone knows that
the prison system is grossly inefficient.
Let's strike out, for God's sake.
Let's take a risk!
Oh, but I thought that you believed
that politics was about identity
as well as economics.
I do believe that, yes.
So let me tell you something
about the British identity.
We lock people up.
We're famous for it.
We do it in the interests of public safety.
And to punish.
Oh, yes. We like locking people up.
It's in our character, so if you start
bringing in fancy new policies
you destroy that essential bond
between our party and our public.
And that is a bond of trust, Peter.
Now, our party owns law and order
and I am not willing to surrender
that electoral ground to anyone.
I thought we owned efficiency too.
Identity trumps efficiency.
If you don't know that,
you shouldn't be in politics.
I'm not completely sure what
you're trying to tell me, Prime Minister.
The rules apply to you as much as to anyone.
You are already beginning to lose
the loyalty of your own office.
- Who do you have in mind?
- Dame Vanessa Pollard.
Page one for government ministers.
Life gets hard when you lose the staff.
- Is this meeting over?
- No.
I know you, Peter.
You think you're too popular to be sacked.
But if the moment comes
I shall be happy to prove you wrong.
Now it's over.
Prime Minister.
- Peter.
- DOOR OPENS
Thank you so much for coming in.
We need to discuss the proposals
for the inquiry
into the violence at Shephill.
Yes.
There is one thing I should mention
before we do.
Please.
Perhaps you already know,
the day before the riot
Peter Laurence visited the prison.
You mean a few days after?
No, I mean the day before.
I didn't know that, no.
He visited someone he said
was his constituent.
"Said"?
We've identified her as one
of the ring-leaders of the disturbances.
I thought I should mention it
before you plump for a formal inquiry.
Yes.
Tell me more.
VACUUM CLEANER ROARS
PHONE BUZZES
PHONE CONTINUES BUZZING
- Yeah?
- DUNCAN: Bad news.
You need to look at your phone.
You are not going to like it. Take a look.
PHONE BUZZES
Jesus Christ.
HE SIGHS
- Did you know about this?
- No.
Well, we thought it was a battle,
now it's a war.
Do you want to call Lily?
We should warn her.
No, I'll speak to her later.
Jesus, how could she have been so stupid?
Alright.
Oh, my God!
They're hydra-headed, aren't they?
- Who?
- The press.
Cut their head off one day
and they come right back the next.
I drove a stake right through their heart
and because they can't get me,
they come after Lily.
What will you do?
I'm gonna fight.
I'm gonna say this is a sign that
we need to be re-examining the drug laws.
I'd rather be a villain than a hypocrite.
You're already saying
you want to overturn prison policy.
Now you want to take on drug law as well?
And all because your own daughter
likes a toot?
You won't come well out of that.
Alright, it's a private matter.
My family's out of bounds.
I brought them up to be independent.
I don't interfere,
they make their own decisions.
How does that sound?
Are you going to call her?
No. She can call me.
Good morning, Prime Minister.
I thought you should see this.
Is this your doing?
As it happens, not.
Still.
Can't help but feel sorry for the poor girl.
- Charlotte.
- Lily, what's going on?
- They've got photos.
- Who?
The newspaper. They've published photos
of me snorting at the party and falling over.
I don't believe it.
I'm worried my dad's gonna be furious.
Have you spoken to him? Did you ring?
No. That's not gonna work.
FAINT MUSIC PLAYS ON HEADPHONES
We haven't met.
I work for the minister.
I'm Vanessa Pollard.
- I'm his daughter.
- Yes. I recognised you.
PETER:
Lily!
What a nice surprise. Come on in.
DOOR SHUTS
- You haven't even rung me.
No. I didn't ring you
because I was too angry.
You were angry?
It didn't happen to you. It happened to me.
But it wasn't me putting coke up my nose.
Come here.
No.
- Come here.
- No!
Lily, come on, just give me a hug.
I was joking.
You don't get out of it that easily!
Get out of what?
What am I supposed to have done?
Lily, this is your mess.
I've spent my whole life
trying to teach you to accept responsibility.
Haven't you learnt that?
I-I-I don't mean to be harsh,
I really don't.
Don't you have any sympathy for me, Dad?
Of course I do! I just want you to accept
when something's your fault.
Fuck you!
Fuck you, Dad! I came down here
to say sorry to you, but fuck it!
Why should I? I'm not saying sorry to you.
PETER:
Goodnight.
I shan't need you anymore, Sydney.
Thanks, have a good night.
SYDNEY:
Night, sir.
PETER:
Let's walk, it'll do us good.
Well, Mick, as you know,
I was not lucky enough to go to university
but my understanding is
that having fun is part of university life.
Oh, right.
So you think that taking drugs
is just having fun?
No, that's not what I said.
- You're a government minister, Peter.
- That's right!
I'm a government minister and my daughter
isn't. There's a big difference.
This is so bloody typical.
You pose as a man of the people
I don't pose as anything, Mick
When it comes down to it, Peter,
there's one rule for you
and another rule for the rest of us.
Anyone else would've been arrested by now.
You're the Minister for Justice
and your own family's breaking the law.
How much longer can you last in thatjob?
A lot of people, you know,
think you're taking the piss.
In what way?
Because everybody in Britain agrees with me.
You lock criminals up
and you throw away the key.
But you, for some reason, seem to want 'em
wandering around on the streets out there.
I absolutely do not want that.
Why the hell would you make
all this trouble for yourself, Peter
when you just don't need to?
Well, Mick, this may come
as a bit of a shock to you
but I happen to be one of those politicians
who believes in leading
rather than following.
- I don't care if people agree
- PHONE BUZZES
- but I do care about what's right.
- What's happened?
She doesn't usually let you go this early.
PETER: Throw away the key? By the way,
anybody listening to this
Well, it would be a shame to waste it.
Yeah, no, he won't mind. He's flying.
What's the advantage of throwing away a key?
- MICK: As a policy.
- OK.
PETER:
And I care very deeply about prison reform.
- T h at i s
- Oh
- That is something I want very badly.
- I don't doubt that you want prison reform.
I'm not so sure your Prime Minister does.
And she's got 99% of the country
on her side with that one.
Well, Mick, maybe you know her thoughts
better than I do.
DOOR OPENS
Marylebone, please.
- Here you go, Phil.
- Lovely. Thank you.
- Pochettino is not the answer.
- PHIL LAUGHS
THEY GROAN
MAN LAUGHS
- WOMAN SIGHS
MAN SIGHS
- MAN: Oh, my goodness.
- WOMAN: I know.
It feels like forever.
It isn't.
I don't want to upset you, but
I did want to ask you a question.
Go on then.
It's just
Peter was a bit spooked.
One day, a prisoner comes forward
to say he has a daughter
and then the next day,
he's made Minister of Justice.
Oh, I see.
- Are you asking
- HE SIGHS
I suppose I'm asking whether she knew.
Well, of course she knew. I told her.
But didn't I specifically
What?
Look.
You and I, we tell each other stuff
but we also ring-fence stuff, don't we?
And this whole thing
with the illegitimate daughter
I actually I remember ring-fencing.
I'm sure I did.
I don't remember that.
I'm wondering what this relationship
means to you.
Are you saying you don't want
to see me anymore?
No.
- No, I'm not saying that.
- OK, then.
- But can I just ask
- Ask anything.
Is she out to destroy his career?
Dawn doesn't have to.
Isn't he doing that for himself?
SOFT JAZZ PLAYS
Do you know what I'd like?
Once in our lives,
we could meet outside this apartment?
Yeah, well, that's not gonna happen.
Now you're at Justice,
it's a whole new level of scrutiny.
Can you still get away with bunking off
to Baker Street at night?
I always have.
Always?
Did you always have girlfriends?
Really! I'm interested.
You know, I was in my early 20s
when I moved to Notting Hill.
Long way from Croydon.
Yeah.
I was suddenly in a different world.
Notting Hill was packed with kids
in big houses pretending to be bohemians.
Lots of sex, lots of drugs.
Lots of men talking about
Gurdjieff and pilates
CND, feminism
and it was one massive fake,
all on private incomes.
"Talk left, live right".
And because I talked slightly less bollocks
than the other men
I was clear-eyed, I saw it for what it was.
So
Yeah, I was popular.
I was a popular companion.
And were you married at the time?
As a matter of fact, I was, yeah.
Peter, I've changed my plans.
I'm not going to Texas.
- I thought you got the job?
- I did.
And when I told you, maybe I was hurt
you didn't seem more upset.
I was upset!
We're good together and we're happy.
Much happier than you are with your family.
So, why exactly were you letting me go?
Because I don't own you.
It's convenient.
Alright.
But I'm free too.
I'm free to stay here,
and fight for our relationship.
Good.
That is your right.
And it's worth saying, my family is fine.
One daughter all over the papers
and one ran away.
We get along fine. It's a good home.
CHOIR SINGS "HALLELUJAH CHORUS"
Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah! ♪
Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah! ♪
For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ♪
Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
For the Lord God omnipotent ♪
Wow!
Shaping up.
- Are you happy?
- Very.
You must have had a very difficult time.
I saw all that stuff about Lily
in the paper.
It was awful, wasn't it?
Is she alright?
- Well, I've spoken to her on the phone.
- Good.
She's shaken, but who wouldn't be?
It's so unfair.
I need to get going.
Oh, I'll walk with you.
Didn't you go up to London?
Weren't you with Peter, for his court case?
Just to testify.
How much of him do you see?
Oh, quite a lot,
when I'm not making music.
He's always down here at the weekend.
Remember, it's his constituency.
He knows I'm not keen on dinners
and parties and things in London.
Do you ever go?
Oh, you know, if it's the Queen.
Lily?
I've been at the house all night.
There is one jar of olives,
the hot water has been turned off
and there is no sign of my dad,
so where do you take him?
Lily, you know I can't tell you that.
What, he has another life?
You know I can't.
Always loyal to the boss, is that it?
She's called Madeleine.
There's a fresh development.
Concerning what?
I'm about to tell you.
Not if you're gonna eat while you talk.
- I'm not.
- You know how I feel about that.
Here.
She's sending her DNA.
She She what?
She wants a DNA test.
Oh, Duncan!
Duncan, come on!
Just when we're back in front.
We don't even know who this supposed daughter
is meant to be. Is she telling us?
No.
Right, so even if the DNA's a match,
this Frost woman could have got it anywhere.
She's in prison!
Well, how's she planning to send it?
On a comb in the post.
Do we have any way of establishing
who the comb belongs to?
Duncan, we
Can we just think about this?
I make a discreet prison visit.
24 hours later, there's a riot.
And you're now seriously proposing
that the Minister of Justice
investigates whether or not
he has a daughter in Shephill?
Something tells me I'm taking this
more seriously than you are.
I'm not giving this woman
the steam off my piss.
You must have been thinking about it.
Well, I haven't!
We need to deal with this
before it gets out of hand.
We are dealing with it, in different ways.
My way is better than yours.
I wouldn't even have gone there
if you hadn't caught me off-guard.
HE SIGHS
Minister.
Have you read any classic literature?
Don't you know there's something called
justice and it always wins in the end?
Justice is not a notion, Duncan,
it's a department of state
and a badly run one, at that.
What's the one thing that you and I
have learnt?
You can get away with anything
if you just brazen it out.
RADIO JINGLE PLAYS
ANNOUNCER: Traffic flowing freely
down Route 395 this evening
all the way from Junction 1 to Capitol Hill.
JINGLE PLAYS
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Cheers, thanks.
CLUB MUSIC BLARES
- INDISTINCT CHATTER
I couldn't help noticing.
Noticing what?
You've been looking at me.
- Have I?
- And you've been here for some time.
Well, if you know that,
then you've been looking at me.
Is that gin?
No, it's not gin. I just have tonic.
Odd to drink tonic in a bar.
You part of this whole Republican thing?
Not that I know about. Should I be?
No, it's just it's a Republican bar.
I like this bar.
It's comforting.
Why are you drinking alone?
SHE LAUGHS
I'm Irish.
We're not frightened to be alone.
And I'd much rather be among people
than in a hotel room.
What are you doing in town?
It's my sister's birthday.
Barry Errera.
Stella Jones.
Stella? I've never met a Stella before.
I'm sorry, but you're not my first Barry.
I know another bar.
It's quieter.
Yeah, OK.
So what do you do for a living, Stella?
Oh, sort of, um
public relations, you know.
What about you?
I work in a gas factory.
Washington's full of 'em.
I don't know what that is.
It's a lobby group dressed up
as a think tank.
- Is that legal?
- It's not illegal.
I'll tell you how it works.
Say, for instance, you sell tobacco.
What do you do?
You can't just say tobacco is good
cos obviously it's not.
- No.
- So, you dream up a philosophy.
You say smoking's an issue
of individual freedom.
Like, every human being has the right
to pollute their own lungs?
- You have the right to your own cancer.
- Sure.
So you get a gang of academics:
they're cheap, they'll say anything
and you form a think tank.
Open up an office, give it a brass plate
and suddenly you're talking to senators.
Not as a salesman, oh no, you're the
President of the American Forum for Freedom.
And what do you call this group?
It's called British-American
Development Forum. Heard of it?
No.
Wish I could persuade you.
Er, you can't persuade me. Not tonight.
Another night?
Another night, maybe, yeah. Yeah.
Er, that's my car.
Goodnight.
Thank you.
SEABIRDS CRY
PUNK MUSIC PLAYS
MUSIC: "Hallelujah Chorus"
from Handel's Messiah
DOOR SHUTS
- Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah ♪
PUNK MUSIC PLAYS FAINTLY
- Hallelujah ♪
Hallelujah ♪
- Hallelujah, Hallelujah ♪
- Mum.
Goodness! Lily.
MUSIC STOPS
- What on Earth are you doing here?
That's not very welcoming.
Just I had no idea you were coming.
It's a surprise.
Of course I'm pleased.
Surely it's still term-time, isn't it?
I've lost track of everything.
Yeah, it's still term-time.
I'm making tea.
I thought I might hide for a few days.
It's that time of the year, the Hastings
Music Festival. You know how it is.
As always, we're short of men.
Too many women, which doesn't suit Handel.
The balance is wrong.
Have you spoken to Dad?
Why? Did you tell him
you were coming down here?
No.
How long are you staying?
Erm, sorry, erm
Do you know I'm even forgetting
how you take your tea?
Of course you are.
No reason you should know,
but I've started taking sugar.
So that's sugar and milk.
Both.
DISTANT TRAFFIC BLARES
- SIREN WAILS
DOORBELL BUZZES
BOLT SLIDES
- Yeah?
- You're Zoe Downs.
People say you know more
about the Development Forum
than anyone in the United States?
So, you must be the fool
who went up against them.
You used to cover the same turf as me.
I blogged for a while and then I stopped.
Why was that?
I recognise you from the trial.
Well, I'm back on the story.
I've actually just been talking to someone
from British-American.
I know them all. Give me a name.
Barry Errera.
You're kidding!
Well, he seemed easy, very amiable.
Christ!
You're a terrible judge of character.
Look, if you helped me,
nobody would know about us.
Come on.
CHARMIAN:
Thank you.
Studying British-American
was my whole life for eight months.
So, what happened?
Well, I got scared.
You know,
investigative journalism sounds so great
when you work at the Washington Post.
When you're a 20-something woman
living alone, well, it's not so funny.
What do you do now?
Travel. "Ten best hotels in Cancun".
ZOE CLEARS THROA
That's the list.
Those were the staff
who took non-disclosure agreements.
A lot of people got rich.
DOOR OPENS
CHARMIAN:
You mean no chance they'll talk to me?
Are you really going through with this?
I was humiliated.
I was humiliated in court
when I couldn't tell what I knew.
Can you imagine what that's like?
You're a journalist and you're branded
as malicious and incompetent.
Eat.
CHARMIAN:
Can I ask you one question?
Did anyone not sign an NDA?
SHE KNOCKS
This has come through the scanner.
It's addressed to Peter. It seems very odd.
What's in it?
A comb.
Why on Earth would anyone
send Peter a comb? Is this a joke?
His hair's always perfect,
he makes a special point of it.
- I think I better take that.
- Do you know what it is?
Just let me take it!
What on Earth are you doing?
In the minister's office?
You're not telling me
he's sent for his comb?
HE SCOFFS
No.
Then why are you lifting it like that?
Because
Look, it's complicated.
Am I butting into something non-governmental?
Is that what you're saying?
No. Not at all.
I know he trusts you.
Yeah.
Then carry on.
OK, there's something called Central Biolabs.
It's in Ealing.
It's accredited by the ministry to carry out
tests on behalf of the civil courts.
What do you want to find out?
I want to know if these two people
are related.
Is this the comb that came through the post?
HE SIGHS
Look, Joy
you have three children and you're the family
breadwinner because your husband
is on a charge of selling cigarettes
illegally outside a pub in Bromley.
Am I right?
And we both know how you testified
in Peter's court case.
So I think, at this moment,
I can rely on you to be discreet.
Yes, you can.
Not a word at the lab when you're there
and not a word to Vanessa when you get back.
Agreed.
They can do it in 90 minutes.
Get up from your desk.
Here's 50 quid for your cabs.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Sorry about the wait!
How do you like British-American?
Pretty impressive, huh?
Very.
We're giving you the whole treatment.
DOOR OPENS
BARRY:
Great you could make dinner.
Thanks.
No, I I wanted to.
I thought this place would make you laugh.
- Crazy, isn't it?
- SHE CHUCKLES
Crazy.
A lot of people who take themselves
too seriously.
Still, no reason why we can't relax.
- So
- GLASSES CLINK
how do you like Washington?
Yeah, erm
- I went shopping with my sister today.
- Where?
Oh, Bendel's at Dupont Circle.
Do you know it?
I'm not good on handbags.
Oh, what's this?
It's just grapefruit juice.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Thanks.
PHONE BUZZES
Hello?
Yeah, yeah, it's me.
Oh, my God, that's great.
Yeah, yeah, send it on
I'll be with you as soon as I can.
Thank you.
You OK?
CHARMIAN:
Sure.
I didn't tell you, but I think
I have to go back to London tomorrow.
When was her birthday? Your sister?
It was last night.
Shame, I was hoping you'd stay longer.
I poured you a brandy.
Thanks.
I should go.
I'll get you a cab.
Actually, I need to walk.
If you're ever back in Washington,
be sure to look me up.
Sure.
I'll wait for it.
Thanks for dinner.
THUNDER RUMBLES
DOORBELL BUZZES
DISTANT SIRENS WAIL
Nadia?
- Charmain?
- "Charmian", yeah.
Thank you so much for calling. I, er
I appreciate it, I really do.
- Come in.
- Thank you.
This is really kind of you.
And you're sure
you don't mind going on record?
Why wouldn't I? What have I got to lose?
Mum?
- Charmian.
- Hi.
WOMAN:
Hi.
Erm
BOTTLE CAP POPS
Old school.
Er believe it or not,
they're actually safer.
I didn't like British-American.
It was all meant to be so grand and important
and such a high-flown place
but it wasn't.
The other girls, they paid off.
But me, they didn't, because they didn't
think I was worth anything.
Can you tell me about Peter Laurence?
This was an international event,
meant to be about Western values.
Meant to be?
Really it was a chance for interested parties
to meet in discreet surroundings.
So what went wrong?
I'd seen Laurence once or twice before.
Actually, I really liked him.
He treats everyone the same,
however lowly you are.
So what happened?
He wasn't officially there.
He wasn't on the schedule.
But he did have meetings
to discuss deregulation.
In this case, pharmaceuticals.
He was very passionate.
In what way?
He said it was impossible for a public health
service to function properly
in the best interests of all the people.
And what did he mean by that?
He said what Britain needed
was what he called discreet privatisation.
He gave advice on how to get American
practices and drugs
into the British healthcare system.
Nadia, you're saying he was present.
Can you confirm he was paid for this advice?
Depends on what you call "paid".
Officially, he was paid to give a speech.
How much?
NADIA:
Half a million dollars.
That's a hell of a price
for giving a speech.
NADIA: Lots of expensive speeches
at British-American. Go figure.
Can you remember how he got the money?
He got paid through a shell company.
Was it Stanfield Titles?
Yeah.
You don't know how long I've been searching
for someone willing to go on the record.
Now you've found her.
Just, thank you, and thanks for the drink.
PHONE BUZZES
- Hey.
- Hey, you're still up?
I wanted to be sure you were OK.
Luke, I just had the most fantastic meeting.
I finally found someone
who's gonna go on record
and say that Peter Laurence
was in Washington on that day.
You're sounding a little blurry, Charmian.
MAN:
Hey!
L-Luke, can I call you back in like
20 minutes? Will you still be up?
OK.
MAN:
Where you going?
DISTANT SIREN WAILS
MAN:
I just wanna talk to you!
DISTANT DOG BARKS
Lady, come on!
You don't even know where you're going!
ENGINE ROARS
CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS
I wanted to make something special
to celebrate
but I didn't have enough time to shop.
Celebrate what?
Your being home.
Have you spoken to your father
about the pictures?
I went to London to tell him.
I have a feeling this family needs to kick up
to a whole new level of honesty.
Do you know that Dad has a girlfriend
or do you simply not ask?
No, Lily, I don't know that.
I'm not quite sure how you do.
Can you turn from the table
and look at me please?
Thank you.
I'm also not quite sure
why you want to tell me.
When he's in London,
he stays the night with a librarian.
Not the kind who stamps books,
the kind who handles manuscripts.
Did you know that?
Did you?
I did and I didn't.
Erm
Can you call Dad, please?
I think we need to get the family together.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Sir, it's your wife on line one.
Well, I'm working. I'll call her back.
She says it's the only time she's ever
insisted you pick up the phone. Right away.
DOOR SHUTS
- One second.
Yeah?
Hold on.
Would you mind?
DOOR OPENS
DOOR SHUTS
Yeah.
DUNCAN:
Well?
I've got a problem.
Lily turned up in Hastings
and told her mother
that I have a girlfriend in Marylebone.
I always assumed Helen knew. Didn't she?
Yeah, er thanks, Sydney.
I think we're we're done for the night.
Goodnight, sir.
- Keys.
- Thanks.
ENGINE STARTS
MUSIC: "Casta Diva" from Norma, by Bellini
- PHONE BUZZES
PHONE BUZZES
VOICEMAIL:
This is Peter Laurence, leave a message.
PHONE BUZZES
Yeah?
Peter, I've got some news.
I did the DNA test with the comb
that she sent me.
What
What on Earth were you doing?
I told you not to do that.
Why did you do that?
What was I supposed to do?
I thought it was important.
What matters
is that it's positive.
Peter, you have a daughter.
We don't know who she is,
but we know that she exists.
What do you want me to do?
BRAKES SCREECH