Chemistry of Death (2023) s01e03 Episode Script

This body's been here
twelve months at least.
Care to hazard a cause of death?
Blunt force cranial damage.
- Someone smashed her head in?
- Not her.
We've got a DNA match
for the lad in the woods.
The same DNA as Sally Palmer?
Alan Ratcliffe, a close blood relative.
Ah, yes. I remember Alan.
I treated him for Lyme disease.
That's Dr Maitland, Henry.
Has he always been in a chair?
Road accident. He lost
his wife in the accident.
No, no, you're wet.
Your clothes are all wet.
Whose clothes are these?
How's Granddad?
In the bedroom, sleeping.
I'm at George Mason's caravan,
top end of Farnham Woods.
I've just found him dead.
Decorated like the others.
I think it's all Dan.
You shouldn't be here, Dr Hunter.
You can't be here!
I've got her, I've got
Jenny. She's gone into hypo.
Henry! Check her pulse.
Ambulance are on the
way. How's she doing?
- Hmm, what?
- I'm sorry, David.
How about Belize?
There's a giant marine
sinkhole just off the coast
called the Great Blue Hole.
Jacques Cousteau said it was
one of the best diving sites.
Midnight parrot fish,
turtles,
Caribbean reef sharks.
It's 150 metres deep.
They'd never find us down there.
Amongst the sharks.
Safer than here.
And we get to be together.
Don't you want to swim with a turtle?
What?
What the fuck?
Please, Henry.
Get in the car.
Now.
Please!
You have done this!
Hello, Dr Maitland.
Dan.
Is he hurt?
Yes.
Like a bird who's lost his wing, yeah?
Yeah.
Mr Anders says when animals are hurt,
you have to give them
back to nature, yeah?
That's right.
And we don't want any of God's
creatures suffering, do we?
No.
If you want, Dr Maitland,
I can take it from here.
I know what he needs.
Thank you, Dan.
That's very kind of you.
Maybe we shouldn't
tell anyone about this.
We don't want them to be sad.
Yeah, no.
Perhaps you could swing
by the surgery tomorrow?
You want me to cut the grass?
Yes, Dan
I do.
Okay.
I love you, you know that?
We'll work it out, I promise.
Things will be better than ever.
David.
David.
You need to focus.
David!
Just a small dose of
ketamine. You'll be fine.
This syringe
contains 125 milligrams of morphine.
If any police enter the building, David,
nothing they do will save
your lady friend here.
- David?
- I warned you!
Get out! Get out.
- Leave, get out.
- Get off my property!
- Get back, get back, get back!
- Now!
Okay.
- You don't
- Have to do this.
No, she
She's done nothing to you.
There you go again with
your reason and logic.
You're not well.
Do you really think patronising me
is a good way to go right now?
You don't
You don't want to kill her.
The colour of her lips
suggests her fate may already be sealed.
You can make this all right.
We can save her.
You, you can save her.
Oh, fuck off, you
tiresome fucking prick!
Please.
Please, please, please, please.
You are still the same snivelling,
whining, naval-gazing wretch
that showed up on my doorstep.
You haven't even asked me what I want.
It doesn't matter.
Not even a little curious?
To live with with
so little imagination,
are are you sure your wife
didn't drown herself on purpose?
Ah, there he is, he lives.
What do you want?
I want you to suffer.
Why?
For ruining me.
After everything I have done for you.
A home, a job.
Endless nights listening
to your pitiful whining.
I gave you back your life
and this is how you repay me?
- Helping the police?
- Traitor!
So, now I shall simply restore you
to the state in which I found you.
Snivelling over yet another
woman you have failed to save.
Betrayal.
She died, what
four or five years ago.
Same time as Sally's brother.
A coincidence.
That's it.
They were lovers, weren't they?
A dalliance, nothing more.
But maybe it was for her.
Maybe she was dreaming of escaping you
while she was fucking a younger man.
Do not talk about my wife!
I'm going to fucking kill you!
Come here!
Get in now! Get in here now!
Move! Move!
Come on! Hurry up!
She's gonna be okay.
Dr Maitland made a full confession.
It all started when he
caught Sally's brother
having an affair with his wife.
So, Sally came to town,
looking for her brother.
And found out about the affair.
What about Dan?
Dr Maitland somehow found a
way of getting inside his head.
So, it was him that was
disposing of the bodies?
Yeah, I'm not entirely sure he even knew
that what he was doing was wrong.
Will he stand trial?
He'll need a full psych evaluation.
What what about Linda?
Maitland again.
Covering his tracks.
When you mentioned the letter,
he couldn't be sure what else
Sally might have told her.
Hey, don't even go there.
It's not your fault, David.
I wish that were true.
I don't understand why
people do what they do.
My job is simply to determine the facts.
But I do know when someone's got a gift.
And something tells me
you need to use yours.
You need to get me another job.
Er, you do know it's
four in the morning?
You got me back into this. You owe me.
Have they, er
Have they said anything more?
Hmm, they said I can leave
tomorrow or the day after.
Good.
Yeah.
I really want to go back to school soon.
- You sure?
- Yeah.
I need things to feel ordinary.
But I'm not sure you're ready for that.
You know my favourite part of sailing?
The moment where
the boat's just drifting.
Then suddenly
the sail fills
and you're moving.
Sometimes you just need to
go where the wind takes you.
Then that's what I'll do.
Why don't you take some time?
What have you got?
Okay, a favour for a friend of mine
is all I've got to offer you,
if, erm confirmation
of an accidental death
isn't beneath your pay grade?
I don't have a pay grade.
All right, DCI Wallace
based out of Glasgow,
but he also covers the Western Isles.
Body found on the island of
Runa a couple of days ago.
But his team are busy
with a train crash.
He needs someone ASAP.
Okay.
Okay, I'll see myself out.
Best to look at the horizon.
It's to do with your inner ear
and your eyes seeing different things.
Yeah, thank you. Thank you, I know.
Course, sorry. I
I haven't had the chance to
work with forensics before, so
Hiya, Mary love, it's me.
Tickets?
Erm, listen, I'll see you tonight.
I'm on my way, okay? Love you.
Nearly went without
you back there, Maggie.
No, you wouldn't. My
gran would kill you.
Here, who's that that came
on the boat with the police?
Don't know.
Hello, are you the pathologist?
Er, you are?
Detective Andrew Brody. Retired.
David Hunter, forensic anthropologist.
You found the body and
contacted DCI Wallace?
Aye, I wanted my information acted on.
A small island like ours
tends to get pushed to the
back of the queue, otherwise.
Oh, I'm sure.
You two thinking of walking there?
Best not keep Sergeant Fraser waiting.
In you go, girl, up you go, come on.
- Thank you.
- Come on, girl.
On you come, girl.
Good. There we go.
Oh, whose is the camper van?
Oh, it's mine.
I've been using it to
keep an eye on things
since I found the body.
But as far as I can tell,
nobody's been up here.
- Right.
- But look,
if you want me to leave it behind,
if you think you can use it?
Ah, there you go, home sweet home.
What?
- Right, we'll be off.
- Okay.
If you need me, you know where I am.
Thank you.
Okay.
Jesus fuck.
Oh, my God.
Are you okay?
Yeah, yeah, I'll be all right.
Have you ever seen anything like this?
No, it's a highly unusual burn.
Wallace would have been better off
getting Mulder and Scully.
Windows are sealed, no
sign of water ingress.
Modest risk of contamination,
otherwise site integrity remains sound.
- What does that mean?
- We work here.
Duncan has ambitions for CID.
- Mm-hmm.
- Well, if you can,
it's always best to
study a body in situ.
Context is everything.
Yeah, well, context is saying
that some druggie just passed
out on his fucking candle.
Right, let's get working lights set up,
er, outer and inner perimeter.
No, it's clearly an accident.
I mean, look at the place.
Well, presumption
doesn't dictate process.
And you can lose these.
The DNA will have been
destroyed in the fire.
- Sure.
- Okay.
Thank you.
Given the right temperature,
everything burns.
Wood, clothing, people.
At 250 degrees Celsius,
flesh will ignite,
skin blacken and muscle contract.
Of the soft tissue, the organs
are always the last to go.
Cocooned in moistness,
they will hold out till the bitter end.
But bone is different.
It resists the hottest of fires,
often retaining its ghostly shape
even when all the carbon
has been burned from it.
A final bastion stubbornly
clinging to the memories
of a life once lived.
No, I have to make the bed.
I'll help.
You're not the kind of help I need.
I'm good with beds.
Fire was highly localised
and must have been intensely
hot to reduce the body to ash.
Radiant heat has scorched
surrounding objects,
but nearby mattress remains untouched.
Hip bones too wide for a man,
head of the humerus too narrow.
It's cumulative. Either
one could be marginal.
But together, they suggest a female.
All right. How many fire
sources are you seeing?
Okay, so we have the one in the hearth
and that smaller one,
but aren't they too far from
the body to be the cause?
Not so simple.
No one stays still when they catch fire,
even if they're unconscious.
The body's instinct is
always to save itself.
Of course. Erm, well, could
an accelerant have been used?
That's a good question.
Erm, haven't smelt any residual benzine
and accelerants like petrol
don't burn hot enough.
Plus
The fire would have spread
and the whole cottage gone up.
But it's rare, surely,
I mean, no, no fire
damage to the building?
- It's certainly a first for me.
- Marvellous.
Let's call it a day for now,
start again in the morning.
If you could start sealing
the building up, please?
Yeah, sure.
Come on, he'll be here soon.
Get a wriggle on, then.
I need five more minutes.
Oh, come on.
- Oi.
- Oh.
No
Nice to have money to burn.
- Who lives there?
- Strachans.
Came to Runa from God knows where.
Started chucking money around,
fixed roads, school, medical clinic.
Isn't that good?
Well, makes them think
that they own the place.
Officials have confirmed
that the derailment
of a passenger train was
caused by a terrorist attack.
- The train, which was
- Hello?
- hundreds of passengers
- Hi, Josie.
- Hey, lovely, how are you doing?
- Good.
- Oh, I need a drink.
- Coming up.
Ta, and I've been calling Mary
all day to tell her I'm coming.
And no answer, I guess?
Don't suppose you've
managed to hold her down?
- You'll find her in the kitchen.
- Ah.
She's been better, but she's doing okay.
She's looking forward to that holiday.
That makes two of us.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Oh, sorry, er, Dr Hunter.
"Ellen" is what she forgot to say.
I wasn't sure what
time you'd be arriving,
but your room's ready,
if you want to follow me.
Thank you, I'll be down.
Aye.
Alice.
Oh, her name's Anna,
and I've told her it's past bedtime.
I can't sleep. The sea's too loud.
Oh, funny how it didn't bother
you last week. Bed, young lady.
I'll come to you once I've
shown Dr Hunter his room.
Talking of, room's not
very grand, I'm afraid.
Oh, I'm sure it's fine.
Oh, always the way, oh, hey.
Er, there's no Wi-Fi, so you
can plug into the phone line.
There's no taxis on the island,
so guests borrow my car when needed.
She's not a Porsche but she's tough.
I'm-I'm sorry about
the muddle with Anna.
She's used to all kinds, living here.
The Met Office
has issued a severe weather
warning for Storm Marnie,
which is due to hit the
west coast of Scotland
later this evening.
Severe flooding is expected,
and high winds are anticipated
across most of Scotland
and northwest England.
That's considerably
further north than before.
They're the coordinates.
Four?
Six.
That's not what we agreed.
Now, I told you from the
start, four per trip, max.
So, say no.
48-hour turnaround, no
different any other times.
It's too big a risk.
I want 30 percent.
See, that is what I admire, Ian.
A man who's not afraid
to speak his mind.
How's that son of yours?
Capable lad, I hear.
If he ever fancies
broadening his horizons,
be sure to let me know.
Hey.
- Hello.
- Where are you?
Erm the Outer Hebrides.
Oh.
An island called Runa.
Okay.
I thought you were kidding.
No.
What are you doing, David?
Er
I'm not sure.
A job.
Sounds like a long way to go for a job.
I think the wind blew me here.
You don't mind me calling?
No, I like hearing your voice.
Stay safe, David.
And you.
Made yourself at home, Sergeant Fraser?
Hey, aye, er, well, my daughter,
she works here at the hotel
and Ellen's an old friend.
You know, you may be
right, from what I
From what I can tell, er,
the heat fractures on the
skull aren't in a grid,
which means they occurred
before decomposition.
If I can confirm that it's natural,
then we should be able to
Whoa, whoa, whoa, erm, up here, Doc,
when we're finished working
for the day, we're done.
Okay.
I'll start early tomorrow,
but I can make my own way up.
Yeah, knock yourself out.
- This is Duncan's.
- Oh, great, thanks, Ellen.
Making the lad cook in the
camper van's a bit harsh.
Even for me.
Hello.
How did it go?
Oh, sorry, you're not meant
to tell me what you've found.
It's early days.
Er, we don't run to a menu, so
I hope mutton stew's all right.
I've left yours at your table, Andrew.
Thanks, Ellen.
Would you care to join me?
It's comfier than eating at the bar.
Sure.
Hi, lads.
- I'll get your
- Aye, well, there you go.
We don't go up by the cottage much.
Bess, she chooses her
own routes these days.
She must have caught a scent.
I'm sure she did.
Well, it's a beautiful place to live.
Oh, these islands are
pretty enough indeed,
but don't be fooled.
We've had a long-standing problem
of empty properties
being used as drug dens.
- Really?
- Hmm.
Come over from the
mainland on the ferry.
And as we've no police here,
we're as near as we get to lawless.
Far from being the
hard and brittle forms
that museums might invoke,
skeletons are a living tissue,
malleable, responsive.
Forever shaping, changing, remoulding,
according to the patterns of or lives.
35.4.
Bone records all.
An archive of human history,
a map of the lived experience.
Ah, shit.
Tibia and fibula charred
as far as the shins.
Signs of decomposition
on remaining soft tissue.
Does that mean that you
can tell when she died?
Well, it's tricky with very
limited insect activity,
but given the conditions,
that's what I'd expect.
Surely you have some idea, gents?
Mr Brody.
You can't be in here.
The site is closed to the public.
Oh.
I didn't realise it was
an official crime scene.
You are retired, remember.
Come on, Bess.
Is this far enough?
Well
You know, I could always
stick my fingers in my ears.
Feel free to stick
them wherever you want.
Fireplace, one-three-two.
One-three-two.
- Let's do the stairs.
- Yep.
Er, 27.5.
So, we know it's a woman,
but do we have anything more on her?
Like how long she's been dead?
Well, er
Assuming she's been here all this time,
and looking at the way the
stone's scorched underneath,
I would say we're looking at
around four to five weeks.
Commitment's an issue
with you, isn't it?
She's 30.
Erm, a couple of years younger, perhaps.
How can you tell that?
The female pubic bone flattens with age,
and this one's eroded,
but not badly damaged.
Wait a sec.
What is that?
Body fat.
- Sorry.
- That's it.
That's it.
There's two ways you can
reduce a human body to ash.
You incinerate it at a
very high temperature,
which we know didn't happen
because the cottage didn't burn down.
Or you burn it at a lower temperature,
but for much longer.
This was a low-intensity fire.
It's called the wick effect.
The what?
She didn't roll onto a
candle. She was the candle.
Body fat the wax, clothing the wick.
Less fat towards the extremities
means the fire goes out.
How the fuck is she on the ceiling?!
Fat liquifies.
Gets carried up in the smoke.
Like a chip pan fire without the chips.
Sorry.
So, erm
Are we any closer to figuring
out if this is a crime scene?
No.
So, we do this right and there's more,
all proceeds to be
split between ourselves,
everything free and fair.
Anyone having a good
enough year to say no?
So, you inviting us in to keep us quiet?
Is that it, Ian?
Aye, aye.
What time is it?
6.30.
You were already here when I
got up at 6.00 this morning.
Was I?
It looks like her head just exploded.
I mean, was that the heat or ?
That's what they used to think.
Cranial blowout.
But it was nonsense.
Want to feel?
- Yeah.
- Careful.
Heat induces fractures.
Each has a different
texture, a different feel.
Give it here.
Shit.
I can feel a depression.
What is it?
Concentric circular fractures
caused by an impact to the skull.
In this case consistent
with interpersonal violence.
So, unlawful killing?
Er, in all likelihood, yes.
Okay, yeah, I will call Wallace
and get the CSIs over here.
You can get the fuck out of here.
Any idea who it is?
Are there any suspicious circumstances?
- Leave.
- I'm just doing my job.
People have a right to know.
Look, no, you little shit!
Can't blame a girl for trying.
Lying, conniving bitch.
Oh.
See ya. Bye.
Heavy rains overnight
and winds in excess of 80 miles per hour
are expected across much of Scotland,
with the northwest and coastal locations
experiencing the brunt of the storm.
It's expected that there
will be serious consequences
for travel across the country,
with road, rail, air and ferry services
all likely to be severely affected.
Fuck.
Helen!
Alice.
Wait, Alice!
Alice.
Alice!
Stay, Alice!
Alice!
Ah!
Alice!