Inspector Lewis (2006) s01e03 Episode Script

Daddy says there isn't Special K
and there IS because we got some.
Tell Daddy I'm on my way.
Don't touch the plug,
or Daddy will go BZZZZZZZ!
Daddy's going BZZZZZ as it is.
I'm gone. Sorry.
I know you're trying
to finish Thingy's curtains.
No, Thingy's coming tonight.
She can have it then.
God, I'd completely forgotten.
What, dinner?
I know.
Tonight?
Yes, and it's all
completely under control.
Come on, girls.
That's amazing, actually picking up
our children on time.
Hello, boys.
Hi.
Morning.
Any chance of an unscheduled swapsy?
Sorry. Typical bloody story.
Her Maj has got to get to Mayfair
all of a sudden. Usual bollocks.
Dad!
I can say bollocks. You can't.
You're on book three?
Yeah. Michael's on book three.
He's been moved up a set.
You clever boy. OK, troops.
Everyone in the car.
I might do a shop on the way back.
Rachel, you are a goddess.
And I am a pain in the arse,
who cannot be relied upon
to wipe his own nose.
We hold these truths
to be self-evident.
Amen.
I've found you a Jack Yeats.
Aren't I just?
They're emailing the catalogue print
to you as we speak.
Yes, well,
I have been busy.
Is she all right about that?
Rachel's fine about everything
on principle.
Did you offer Hugh a lift?
"I like my bike. "
Peasant gentleman in a hat, yeah.
Three mill, on the nose.
Won't go higher.
Sterling.
Well, I am glad, because I'm on my
way to Bond Street to buy it
Bye, Mummy.
As Bertrand Russell observes,
absolutism has always been
accompanied by some form of slavery.
Serfdom.
Title page.
"In Praise of Idleness.
For Edward le P.
Keep pecker firmly in the vertical.
Bertie. "
Keep it. I've finished with it.
Hello?
Hello.
Jane Templeton.
Hello. Am I expecting you?
You've been expecting me
since you were nine years old.
Bastard!
Morning, sir.
What's the matter with you?
Been crying?
I always cry when I know I'm going
to spend the day with you, sir.
Hmmm.
I have to make a speech.
Mm? To the press.
Puffing the police.
Who does?
You?
You're joking!
Priceless.
To your advantage is the fact
that you get to choose the venue.
Which gives you the opportunity
for an introductory witticism.
So speaking, for instance,
to Fulham Football Club,
you could say, it's lovely
to be here at Stamford Bridge.
That's the the Chelsea ground.
Yes.
That's the joke.
Yes.
Speaking in public, Lewis, is a duty a
senior officer is expected to discharge
.. without fuss.
Hathaway, find me some dead people.
Sir?
Crime. Now.
Or I shall discharge,
and it won't be a pretty sight.
Sir.
Just relax.
Well done.
Good.
That's all right.
You have what we optometrists call
"pointy eyeballs".
Perfectly all right.
Rather distinguished.
It means conventional, mass-produced
lenses tend not to fit.
You're going to sell me
something expensive.
You're not a detective
for nothing, Mr Hathaway.
Uh-uh.
I hope that was painless.
Thanks for squeezing me in.
Our pleasure. Now, the lovely Bella
here will look after you,
ie, take money off you.
So, good. Welcome aboard.
Mr Mallory. Excuse me. I did try
and stop Mr Hayward just now.
It is his turn.
No, that's all right.
There's a lady waiting.
Miss Templeton.
(I told her you'd gone beyond
the last session of the day,
but she was determined to see you.)
(Looks like one of Rachel's.)
My wife's a saint. In her spare time
she's a collector of lost souls.
Please, take a seat.
Right What can we do for you?
You know, don't you?
You know.
Do I?
That's handy. What do I know?
-Oh, you're good.
-Please.
Hi, Stephanie.
Hi, Hugh.
How are you?
Fine.
Daniel's driving me to the brink
of a psychotic episode.
Pretty standard afternoon.
Has Rachel given you
those curtains yet? Nope.
Come on. Come on in and get them.
Mm. God, garlic!
Your curtains
are supposed to be in a box here.
They're not here.
OK, let's consult
the authorities.
Oh, for God's sake. What's
the point of having a mobile?
Bloody women.
Mmm, this is delicious!
I'll bet they're upstairs, just
sitting there. Come and identify.
Bit of a coincidence, this.
I met him a couple of hours ago.
Sorted out my eyes for me.
How was he?
Charming.
Where's he been all day?
Work.
Let's check.
You poor girl.
Female suicides.
What's the first thing you look at?
Depends on the cause of death.
It doesn't. Think.
Psychology. The drama of the moment.
Left hand.
Married women throw away the ring.
Last thing they do.
She didn't.
She did not.
That's the first thing
that doesn't smell right.
No note.
And that's the second.
She'd just hoovered the stairs.
I want Hobson all over this.
It's not Hobson.
What?
She's on holiday. Some locum.
New guy. Cook.
Cast of characters.
Hugh Mallory.
His business partner David Hayward.
And his wife Louise.
Stephanie Fielding,
next-door neighbour, divorced.
And her son who's off school today,
sick.
Come and say goodbye to Daddy.
Bye, girls.
Granny?
Hugh's mother.
She's come to take the kids.
Why is there an ambulance, Daddy?
Because Mummy's had an accident.
She's
Come on, darling.
Call me old-fashioned,
but isn't it a bit strange?
Uncle David, is it? Sitting
in the back, cuddling the kids,
while Auntie drives the car?
You are old-fashioned, sir,
but no, it is strange.
NOOOO!
When my wife died, I drank a bottle
of brandy every day for a year.
And then I considered
my situation like an adult.
And the following year
I drank two bottles.
And the year after that?
I had a headache.
Inspector?
Nathan Cook. Depping for Hobson.
Where's the dead woman?
Right, um
Sometime this afternoon.
Until I get her on the slab -
Cause of death, what is it?
Well, she was um She was hanging
from the banisters, so
Did she die as a result of asphyxia
inflicted by herself,
or by someone else?
Oh, um herself.
The lesions on her throat and neck
are congruous with suicide,
by hanging, so it's
I'm sorry if you find
my diagnosis disappointing.
You haven't converted to Islam
on the sly?
Not hungry.
I never see you eat.
How dreary life must be without
the spectacle of me masticating.
If you're going to be disagreeable,
I shall read the local newspaper.
Aloud.
No
Ah. This'll amuse you.
Summertown woman found "hung".
"Hung"! One despairs.
Is there a name?
What, the author?
The woman.
The print's rather
Mrs Rachel Mallory, mother of two.
Eleanor.
Um How is he? Is he?
He's asleep.
Good I suppose.
Yes, that's good.
And er how are the children?
They're all right.
Really?
They're all right,
because they don't understand.
When they do understand,
they will not be all right.
Eleanor
I think now might be a good time
to
close the door
on certain aspects of the past.
In what respect, David, the past?
I never sought to make an enemy
out of you, Eleanor. No.
I was a by-product.
If you do want to speak to Hugh,
come back another time.
It just goes to show you,
doesn't it?
What exactly?
How you think you know people,
and you don't know them at all.
Mrs Mallory wasn't one
to get depressed?
No. She used to say to me, "Bella,
I'd dearly love to be depressed.
I just don't have the time. "
Mr Mallory?
A lovely man. Lovely man. Always
hurrying home to be with her.
Did he hurry home yesterday
during the day?
What are you suggesting?
I'm professionally obliged
to ask the question.
There's one way in and out
of this building. I sit by it.
Mr M arrived at nine o'clock
and left at six.
Oh. That's that, then. Thank you.
Who's trying to contact me now?
Dr Edward Le Plassiter.
Regius Professor of Jurisprudence.
Do you know what that means?
The moral integrity of the law,
whether or not it has any.
It means he's
a stonking great cheese.
But what he wants with me
all of a sudden I've no idea.
Professor.
Who's the boy?
Detective Sergeant Hathaway.
Why are you here?
Oh, don't tell me.
Lewis is afraid I might use words
of more than two syllables.
Aye, you've already said syllable.
I might have to lie down.
It is the question of Stoker.
Stoker came up in 1989.
A grammar school boy.
Very serious, quite brilliant
and absolutely without side.
No money, no strings to pull.
Well, of course, in this college
he was conspicuous.
One night, some of his coevals
managed to get him drunk.
He became joyously noisy,
declaimed a lot of poetry
from the top of the college tower
in the middle of the night. The
occasion was essentially harmless.
However
.. the eyes of the Senior Common Room
were upon me.
So, I wrote Stoker a note, inviting
him to take sherry with me.
It was a formula.
It meant a wigging and a small fine.
Embarrassing for both parties,
but it had to be done.
We talked in a general way.
It was uncomfortable, but bearable.
And then at last I said, "Mr Stoker,
we really must address
this other business.
He nodded and I kissed him.
He thanked me for the interview
politely and left.
It was as if the incident
had never taken place.
But it had
I found that I couldn't bear
to see him around the college.
In the end, I said,
"Oh, bugger this.
I didn't break the law.
Why should my life
be compromised by him?"
So you had him sent down?
What colour is his hair?
Hathaway, he's a blond.
I had him quietly removed.
It wasn't hard. He never contested
it, just packed his bags and went.
I ruined Stoker's time at Oxford,
and quite possibly his whole life.
I want you to find him for me.
What are you thinking, Hathaway?
I'm thinking you should address
yourself to a private agency, sir.
Oh, absolutely.
But I have other affairs to put in
order, and they concern the police.
No, I've decided that I can't talk
with the blond boy in the room.
Oh, bugger. Sod it.
Bollocks!
Unusual words of condolence, Lou.
I was not going to cry.
Well, never mind.
I brought some food. Are you eating?
I bet you're not eating.
I've got food.
David's got the bags. David?
I was not going to bloody cry.
It's not helpful.
It's for her benefit.
No-one knows what to do.
No. It's tricky.
Anything you think you should have
told me, David, in Madagascar?
I don't understand. Like what?
I don't know, that's why I'm asking.
It'll be all right, Hugh.
Whatever it takes,
I'll make it all right.
I promise.
Are you sulking about that?
Or can I tell you what he said?
Both.
He says Rachel Mallory was murdered,
but the punch lines are:
1) it's not suicide;
2) Le Plassiter can point us
to the killer.
But the price for his cooperation
is us finding and bringing him
this Stoker bloke.
What do you say to that?
What should I say? Arrest him for
withholding information.
Interrogate him gently. Ask him
to sit on a chair that's not there,
that sort of thing.
He's days from death.
Says who?
Says the Radcliffe Infirmary.
There's a letter sitting on his desk.
Treatment discontinued.
He's living on morphine.
There's no time for anything
like official procedure.
Taking Le Plassiter off the premises
would probably kill him.
So it's his rules, or we're
not even in the game.
But how do we know it's not
some deviant, opportunistic scam?
That he hears about Rachel,
uses her to get the thicky coppers
to find his boyfriend?
You're not telling me you trust him?
Morse really rated Le Plassiter,
like he was the real thing.
Say it.
The psychology of this
is all wrong, sir.
I know, but it's all we've got.
In the meantime,
I want a word with Uncle David.
Did you ever study law, sir?
Law? No.
Eyes, medicine, not law.
So you never came across
a Dr Le Plassiter?
I am finding this conversation
a bit confusing.
Ah, darling, help us out.
This is Lewis.
How can we help you, Inspector?
Give me a reason
why Rachel Mallory should take
her own life?
God knows.
Rachel's life was so good.
Hugh loved her to pieces,
she had two wonderful children,
good friends at every turn.
We all adored her.
Why did she kill herself?
I don't know.
I don't know.
Hey, ssh-ssh-ssh.
Darling Hey?
I do hope that's been useful,
Inspector.
Right. How can I help?
A word with Duncan, please?
Duncan's the ex-husband.
He's in New York.
The child is Daniel.
Daniel. I'm so sorry.
It's been a long day.
I've opened a bottle of wine.
For God's sake, please have a glass.
Otherwise I'll drink the whole
bottle, and it'll be your fault.
Quick word with him first?
My nephew has this stuff.
Daniel, can you answer Mr Lewis,
please?
He's only asking because you were
actually here when it happened.
I didn't see anything, OK?
I don't spend all day, like,
looking out of the window.
I'm sure if Daniel remembered
seeing anything
the police ought to know about,
he'd speak up.
Lewis is where?
Interviewing a neighbour
of Rachel Mallory's, ma'am.
And you are doing what?
Getting a bit
of essential background on her.
Well, trying to, but every time -
So you're both occupied
investigating a death
medically confirmed as suicide?
You and I need to have
a little chat.
Anyway, Dunc buggered off.
Left me
with this life I didn't choose,
in a place I didn't particularly
like.
Too much information.
You can never give a cop too much.
It's a close-knit old bunch
up here in Summertown.
Who's the king and queen?
Oh, Hugh and Rachel. Hands down.
Close-knit in the sense?
No.
No!
Hey, these couples don't swing.
They just form
very intense alliances
.. not necessarily with me.
Stephanie, what is it
that everybody's NOT telling me?
If you're forcing me to say
I'm not forcing you to do anything.
I'm sitting in your front room,
having a nice glass of wine.
Then no. Sorry.
I suffer, you see, from loyalty
to my friends.
An old-fashioned virtue.
I'm an old-fashioned girl.
On the other hand,
you could speak to Hugh's mother.
That's all I can tell you.
I've just received a rather bracing
lecture from our superintendent.
I'm sure you're a better person
for it.
I'm not to discuss it with you.
Quite right. What did she say?
In short, you've been told,
you're not to commit overburdened
resources - that's me -
to the investigation of this case, and
that it's not a case, it's just a statistic.
I'm sorry,
but she made me bloody mad,
and I didn't stick up for you
and I just feel ashamed.
She's got a point.
No, she doesn't.
Yeah. She doesn't. We got information
from a legitimate source.
Oh, Le Plassiter hasn't given us
damn all!
But he will. I found Stoker.
He's in Oxford.
Look, we've both been warned
off this case.
Now, I'm old and bloody-minded enough
to not do as what I'm told,
but you're clever.
You should know better.
I do, and I've decided
the best course of action is
to continue investigating the case
with you, unofficially,
against the rules.
Well, if that's the case,
get your finger out.
Fix me a rogues' gallery
of all the faces in the case.
But put it somewhere
where Innocent's not going to see it,
if she pokes her head in
to have a moan.
I didn't say that,
so you can't quote me.
I'm off to see the granny.
Can I tell you what I think?
I think there's something wrong here.
Isn't there?
You know what it is. I don't.
But I assure you, I'll find out.
And the sooner I do,
the sooner we get to know
what happened
to your daughter-in-law.
So any thoughts?
In the first instance, Rachel was
not my daughter-in-law.
If we're going to be technical about
it, my daughter-in-law is Louise Hayward.
Hugh was married to Louise?
But he talks about Rachel
as his wife.
Yes, that's tiresome,
but it's it's what they agreed.
Ten years ago, Hugh married Louise.
It was a good match,
as far as one could tell.
David, Hugh's best friend
and business partner
married Rachel.
The four of them went away
on holiday together,
to Madagascar,
left the babies at home.
Whilst they were there,
Hugh supposedly declared
his hidden passion for Rachel.
David and Louise turned
to each other for consolation.
So, by the time
they came back to England,
there was a new configuration.
So what,
the two couples just exchanged
partners?
It was decided that the mothers
should keep their own children
and the fathers renounce theirs.
Take what you want, as they say,
and pay for it.
In the space of three weeks,
marriages thrown away
like clothes gone out of fashion.
"Supposedly" declared his love?
You don't believe that it was Hugh,
that initiated all that?
He always said he did.
And he never lies, never.
But it's strange.
Why?
Because when David's around,
Hugh rarely initiates anything.
Where David goes, Hugh follows.
It was the same when they were
friends at school.
Maybe it was the one time in his life
Hugh needed to impose his will
on the relationship.
That's exactly what Hugh said.
And I don't believe him.
No.
That's what Granny says.
Is Granny to be believed?
I've seen the wedding photos.
You see, they each chose
the wrong person to marry.
So they rectified that
with a formal redistribution.
They were happy with it.
So happy Rachel killed herself.
She didn't kill herself.
I would stake the crumbling remains
of my career on it.
That girl was murdered.
Mr Stoker.
I'd like to talk to you
about Dr Le Plassiter.
Is this a good time?
Tea break's in 15 minutes.
Thank you.
Is he dead?
No.
Would you like him to be?
I thought he went to live
in America.
He did. He went to teach at Harvard
for a while,
but now he's back in Oxford.
Well I never.
The professor's very sick,
Mr Stoker, with cancer.
He's going to die soon.
He asked us to track you down.
He wants to speak to you urgently.
How would you feel about that?
Mr Stoker?
I used to take a lot of pills.
I've stopped now.
Sometimes I find it difficult
to think clearly.
To concentrate.
I do hope this won't take long.
Me, too.
We have no idea
when Hugh will be returning to work
and um Well, life goes on.
Except for Rachel.
Well, no. Good grief.
I'm asking you in confidence,
Mr Hayward,
is there anything we should know
about Rachel's mental health?
Like what?
Like had she had enough of a marriage
based on musical chairs?
It's in your mandate to sneer
at the emotional lives
of private citizens, is it?
It's in my mandate
to ask obvious questions
based on the information
I've discovered.
Why did Rachel kill herself?
OK.
I shall answer that.
I was always taught that being
polite to policemen
is the only way
to make them go away.
Worth a try.
Louise thinks Rachel ultimately
couldn't bear the disparity.
To you, no doubt,
we all appear rich.
Louise and I are rich.
Rachel and Hugh are not.
But Louise is not very bright.
And there are some things
she does not know.
Rachel Mallory aged ten.
Parents go for a drive one afternoon.
Beachy Head.
They fall,
both holding onto each other,
apparently
.. face to face.
No note. No nothing.
If that sounds familiar,
it's because it's meant to be.
Hayward's selling me suicide
as some bad family habit.
Well, it often is.
Not this family.
Tell me something encouraging.
Stoker has agreed
to see Le Plassiter.
Oh, good.
Oh, no, but, sir, he's fragile.
God knows what's going to happen.
Look, can I say this now?
I think we're staking a hell of a lot
on a conversation between a dying man
and a terminally damaged one.
Yup.
"Yup".
At Cambridge,
this is called a "court".
On my first day the porter said
to me, "Mr Hathaway, kindly -
I er
I have to go to the bathroom.
OK.
Please sit down, Mr Stoker.
As you wish.
The quality of your silence suggests
you're not going to talk.
That, of course,
is your prerogative.
I'm very much afraid, Mr Stoker,
that I have spoiled your life.
A small indiscretion blossomed
hideously
into an act of great unkindness at a
time when you were very vulnerable.
I believe you thought the world
had turned its face against you
and that you would never have
success in it.
That is my fault.
I wish I had my eyes back,
so I could see you.
I am so very sorry.
Could you leave us, please?
Go. What's he going to do, kill me?
If that's what he's after,
he's going to have to hurry.
When you give me something, I'll go.
Until then, I stay.
Jane Templeton.
Would you like
to step into my office?
This is your office?
Quickly.
I thought nurses weren't allowed
to smoke in here.
I'm not a nurse. You will observe
this cigarette is unlit.
Have you ever seen me smoke before?
No.
It's merely an indicator of stress.
If I light the cigarette,
you know I'm about to scream.
In my absence, you've had dealings
with Dr Cook, yes?
How can I put this
with professional integrity?
The man's a ninny
and outstandingly crap at his job.
Sometimes I worry that we're not
on the same wavelength
.. but on this occasion
I'm like you, Lewis.
I can't delegate. If I have
to delegate, I have to check.
Don't tell me my suicide
wasn't a suicide.
Not unless she managed to strangle
herself with her own hands
and string herself up
half an hour later.
Dr Le Plassiter
.. the indiscretion committed
in the Michaelmas term of 1989,
my first term,
altered the course of my life.
When you had me sent down
.. I did not return home
to my parents.
I went to live in London
in a hostel.
There I I became ill.
I became dependent
on anti-depressant drugs.
You are right to judge
that you are to blame for all this.
However
.. it has not escaped my notice
that you are now a blind person.
You were not a blind person
when you taught me.
You may believe your going blind
was some kind of punishment.
It might be, it might be.
Dr Le Plassiter,
please listen very carefully.
I have suffered since you did
what you did.
But so have you.
My life has gone all wrong.
But so has yours.
I don't believe it's possible
to put mine right,
but yours, it seems,
can be repaired by forgiveness.
It is in my power to make life
better for one of us.
My power.
I forgive you, Dr Le Plassiter.
Completely and unconditionally.
It's unnecessary for you
to think of the matter ever again.
The incident is closed.
And you had a knife.
I needed to concentrate.
Yeah?
He gave me a name.
Jane Templeton.
The fuzz.
Oh, God, sorry.
Go on.
I've found her. 64 Hinksey Rise.
I'll meet you there.
Sorry, I've got to go.
You haven't arrived yet.
That's modern policing.
Was it something we could discuss
over dinner?
Yeah. Eight o'clock?
I'll tell you where to meet me.
All he gave you was the name?
Yeah.
I want some old-fashioned, boring
police work done on this case.
I want to know the whereabouts
of all those Summertown jokers
at the time of Rachel's death.
I want the alibis checked.
We're sliding around
all over this case.
It's time we got our hooks in.
What the hell's that?
Is that text speak?
It's a restaurant
on the Banbury Road.
There's an engine running in here.
Ambulance.
Oh, God, you're dead, aren't you,
you stupid cow!
Do it, Hathaway.
I recognise her.
What?
I've seen her somewhere before.
Ambulance. 64 Hinksey Rise.
You didn't want to gas yourself
in your car, Jane, eh?
Some bugger made you.
Hugh? Can I say something
without you taking it the wrong way?
I'm just there, OK?
20 feet away.
You're with a client, you get
a wobble, you just come and get me.
Thanks. Anything else
that I might take the wrong way?
I need time.
Louise says any time you want
to bring the kids around,
just, you know bring them.
Louise says that, does she?
God, you're so hostile.
Yes, I'm generally hostile when the
woman I love has hanged herself.
I'll bear it in mind.
You might let me start speaking,
before you express boredom.
I've never been so excited
in my life.
Just keep it simple.
These bony protuberances
we doctors call shoulder blades.
Above the shoulder blades, you
will see two areas of contusion.
Here and here.
May I?
Mm-hm.
And that is how you grab
somebody unawares,
and force their head
into a pillow until they die.
Then put them in a car
with the engine on
and a pipe through the window.
So it's no longer murder,
it's suicide.
And what is emblematic of death
by exhaust fumes,
when the subject is sitting,
is blood in the knees and the ankles
the colour of bubblegum.
This she does not have.
She was already dead.
What she does have, deep
in her nasal cavity, is this.
A filament of goose down.
Doctor, you bring me all this
because you secretly love me?
If I bring you anything at all,
Lewis,
you cocky sod,
it's because I secretly love
Hathaway.
If you don't mind me saying so,
this is becoming bloody intrusive.
Absolutely your prerogative to ask
us to leave, sir.
Just say what you came to say.
All right.
It's been established that Rachel's
death was not suicide.
I'll be wanting to speak to you all
formally later.
I'm telling you this out of courtesy in case
there's anything you'd like to say informally.
Are you all right, Daddy?
You should also know that we are
investigating a second murder
which we believe is connected to this
case.
We'll let ourselves out.
There's nothing to worry about,
darling. Isn't the fire lovely?
Do you think it needs another log?
Family life, eh, sir?
Yeah, I miss it.
I was being ironic.
Even an ironic family life, I'd
settle for that.
Damn!
I'm so sorry.
I forgot.
OK.
Am I refreshed by your honesty,
or just pissed off?
A bit of both, I should think.
Care for a drink, sir?
Yeah.
Thank you, sir.
Is it expensive?
Alternatively, I could buy you
a small car.
So
So.
It's my way of distracting you,
throwing open the conversation.
So
Is that the small talk done?
God, I hope so.
Can we cut straight to the reason
that you came to see me earlier?
Yeah. I came to tell you
This is going to change the whole
character of the evening a bit.
Or a lot.
Not necessarily for the better.
Rachel Mallory was murdered.
Are you all right, Stephanie?
I'm sorry, but there's no doubt.
And I thought this date got off
to a rocky start!
I could not have told you,
but that would have been dishonest.
Sitting here talking to you and
thinking about that.
Yes, I appreciate that.
Would you mind very much
.. if I went home now?
I had a lovely evening.
For about 20 seconds.
Listen, Louise has
this appalling idea
that she should give a drinks thing.
To cheer up Hugh.
I think it's a crazy idea.
Especially now.
Will you go?
If you take me.
Who else is going?
Is that what you usually ask a girl
when she invites you out?
Stephanie, it's a murder enquiry.
The flashing blue light makes it
quite difficult for me to go
somewhere, I don't know, the other
guests might be suspects.
Who cares about you?
I'm fed up with going places on my
own.
Will you come with me?
I take that feeble grin as a yes.
Jane Templeton. Discuss.
Unmarried. Only child,
no immediate family.
Civil servant of some description
but I'm working on that.
No clubs, no hobbies.
No friends.
Bloody bleak, frankly.
What about Le Plassiter?
He conked out soon after I left
and he's still unconscious.
Is he in the Radcliffe?
No, he's left specific instructions
he's never to be taken to hospital again.
He wishes to die in college.
Fine by me.
But not till he's talked to us.
Explain this.
Psychology.
I knew you were going to say that.
What's the true common denominator
between Rachel's friends?
Wife-swapping. I don't know.
Where they went to school?
No. Where their children went to
school and they all go here.
Malcolm Croft, headmaster.
Now look, the first thing I want you
to be absolutely clear about
is that here at Park Town we are a
very broad church. Glad to hear it.
We have 14 Muslims in the school and
32 children of mixed parentage.
I do feel it's important to
foreground this. Quite.
I'm confident of the pastoral care
your child would receive here.
Daddy, I think you should explain.
Yes, terrible business.
I can't honestly see the children
returning this term.
My wife thinks something
could be done.
Luckily, the parents are insured
to the hilt.
You checked that?! The bursar
informed me when we heard the news.
Your wife, sir?
She's a psychiatrist.
Head of Pastoral Care.
She's arranged with Mr Mallory
to counsel Izzie and Anna.
We know the Mallorys socially,
of course.
It might be useful for us to pop
back for a bit of a rummage, sir.
Rummage? Through the paperwork.
With your permission, of course.
I'm not altogether sure permission
is mine to give.
Is Doctor Croft about the place?
Yes, I'm sure she's here somewhere.
I can't talk about the children.
Client confidentiality.
The parents, on the other hand.
Open season.
Yeah, good therapy for a therapist to
indulge in some serious indiscretion.
God, that was frivolous!
How successful was the exchange,
do you think?
Surely David was furious
that Hugh had nicked his wife?
No, I don't believe so.
They seem to have come to some kind
of arrangement.
David sees the children
whenever he wants.
They don't know that he's their
father, but it works somehow.
And even if it didn't, are you
seriously asking me
if I think
David is capable of murder?
Yes.
Well, he isn't.
I mean, David's soft.
I've worked with murderers. They all
have this extra bit of wiring
that can make them kill and David
doesn't have that.
Who does, amongst her circle,
would you say?
Nobody!
And her circle, as you put it,
is far wider than you can possibly
imagine.
Her husband was as jumpy as a rabbit
about us looking through his stuff.
What? Jane Templeton. I remember
where I saw her.
Mr Mallory.
Did Rachel talk about her work?
In as much as there was anything to
talk about.
Rachel just loved sewing.
Liked to mend things. Join things
back together.
Have you seen her?
Yes, I have. So have you.
She came to the practice.
One of Rachel's lost souls.
They turn up there now and again. They get the idea
she works there. They're disappointed to get me.
Rachel She couldn't
buy a pound of sausages without soliciting
a full marital history from the butcher.
I used to say to her,
"Sometimes, darling, I worry that
you don't appreciate
the consequences of your actions. "
So, what? You thought that her
sympathy for strangers
could trigger something
uncontrollable?
It's not being the recipient of a confession
that puts one in a position of authority.
It's the person who does the
confessing who has the power.
Who has the claim on one. Somehow.
No, in the scheme of Rachel's
general acquaintance,
this person was nothing out of the
ordinary.
Not worth telling us about, on the
day that Rachel was discovered dead?
Rachel's life was overflowing with
curious people for whom she cared.
This Templeton woman was entirely
unexceptional.
It didn't seem important then,
it doesn't seem so now.
How did you know her name
was Templeton?
I've endured your insinuations since
you arrived, but I've had enough.
She told me! Saying, "My name's
Templeton" gave me a clue!
We're just trying to catch
a murderer, Mr Mallory.
Yes, I'm sorry.
Look, obviously, I'll help.
Do you want me to talk to her?
I'll talk to her.
That won't be necessary, sir.
Recycling, sir?
What?
Actually, Inspector, I am in rather
a hurry. That's apparent.
Would you like to open the boot
again?
I've got a great deal to do today.
Just open the boot, please, sir.
I'd prefer not to.
Unless there are body parts in the
bag, Mr Croft,
I really recommend that you do.
Confiscated. All this filth.
I can't even put it in the bins.
God knows how the boys manage
to get hold of it.
You should have a word with the
newsagents, you know, because it's not on.
There's nothing illegal here, nothing
whatsoever to do with children.
Just er
Just consenting adults, nothing to
be ashamed of.
Please don't tell my wife.
I'm afraid I'm going to have to, sir.
Well, let's think about this, shall
we?
Malcolm, you're not eating my
nibbles. I'm offended.
Caroline, is your husband pregnant
or something?
Probably, knowing him. No thank you.
Darling, you're a bully.
Hi, Inspector, honey.
This surprises me.
It makes you ill at ease.
I'm surprised.
It just seems a bit disrespectful.
That's the way it's done round here.
It's bad enough having to entertain
her
her oik of a son without the
laughing bloody policeman.
Look, I'd just like to say
something.
Er
We are not addressing something that
should be addressed.
Er, dear Rachel has started her new
life.
But it's a new beginning, too, for
Hugh and for the children.
From this point in their lives,
everything will be different.
I think they need us to know that we
support them,
we appreciate them,
and we love them.
Hear, hear!
Does that sound pompous?
Only from you, Headmaster.
LAUGHTER
Well done, Malcolm, that was
lovely.
Hugh, darling, let me get you
something.
I can't believe this is happening.
I've met stranger people in stranger
places.
Is this both the children?
Yes.
And this concludes our transaction,
is that clear? Don't push your luck!
Danny, the very man.
Now listen, something happened
the morning that Rachel was killed
and you saw it.
What was it?
Come on, Danny, you see everything.
I see you and my mother.
Not everything's
what it seems, Danny.
The files on the kids.
How the hell did you get these?
Age and guile.
She's very thorough, Caroline Croft.
No emotional stone unturned.
But do you know what's underneath all
those stones?
Nothing.
The kids are happy. Izzie and Anna,
never smacked, never shouted at.
Never bored.
Just loved around the clock.
Mummy likes to
Mummy likes to see paintings and
stuff
and sometimes she takes us and it's
actually really fun.
The Mallorys, perfect parents.
The Haywoods, ditto.
Can you smell that
.. smell?
It's time Doctor Le Plassiter
woke up.
Jane Templeton has been murdered.
The killer tried to dress her death
up as suicide,
just like they did for Rachel.
Who's doing this?
Professor, unless you talk to me,
I shall stay right here asking you
questions
while you're trying to die elegantly.
The public makes a very great error
.. in supposing that violent
criminals, on their release from prison
are merely tossed back into society.
They are watched, very closely,
very secretly
and for a very long time
.. by a special unit of undercover
social security officers.
Colloquially known to themselves
as manwatchers.
I now draw your attention to the
case of Alison Bright.
I was, at the time,
the Home Secretary's special advisor
in these matters.
When she was very young, Alison,
whom her parents judged to be
a mature and responsible little
girl,
was left in charge of her infant
brother for half an hour.
But the baby kept scratching at his
face, making it sore.
Mittens wouldn't stay on.
So Alison cut off his hands with the
kitchen scissors.
When the parents returned, they
found Alison in the bathroom
with her mother's sewing kit
God
.. doing her best to reattach
the parts she had removed.
Alison Bright grew up to be
Rachel Mallory.
It was Rachel who was being watched.
By Jane Templeton.
The Templeton woman watched Rachel
for 20 years.
Watched the reconstructed
child-killer blossom.
Her own life on the other hand,
no loving husband, no delightful
children.
Nothing but a characterless bungalow
in a God-forsaken suburb.
Templeton was on the down escalator
and Rachel was on the up
.. and the gap was getting wider.
It was not to be borne.
She told you this?
It was "unfair".
Her word.
She told you she was going to blow
the whistle on Rachel, sir?
Sir?
No, he's gone again.
Professor, wake up!
He won't.
He's in a narcoleptic coma.
It could be days before we get him
back.
If he doesn't die in his sleep.
Don't say anything.
You're always telling me not to
speak. You're always apologizing.
It's not a good look, especially on
you.
I know I didn't distinguish myself
yesterday. Oh, but you did!
You hid in the bog and interrogated
Malcolm Croft.
You interrogated my son.
I thought you quite wanted to be
with me, but you were working.
My God, you actually jumped when I
held your hand.
Here we are breaking up when we haven't
even got together yet. That's a first.
I came to tell you something, and it
wasn't an apology, it's a warning.
You have my attention, Inspector.
A woman connected with Rachel
has been murdered.
Connected?
How?
I can't tell you that.
Just keep your eyes open.
If anything gives you any anxiety
at all, call me.
If you're frightened I can put an
officer right outside your door.
No, no.
I'm not frightened.
I'm sorry.
Don't.
It's not a good look on you, either.
This is an amazing house.
Oh God! I haven't got the patience
for this.
Why don't I just answer your questions before
you grind your way around to asking them?
I make good money.
David has a lot of money of his own.
Why does he bother selling people
spectacles?
Out of loyalty to his old friend
Hugh.
Besides, it gets him out from under
my feet. Anything else?
Did you dislike Rachel very much?
I found her unnerving.
Why? What was it about her?
Her goodness.
She took your husband from you.
Hugh took himself to her.
Laid himself down like an offering.
I genuinely think she accepted him
out of good manners.
Besides, I got David.
So I won.
I don't think you believe that for a
minute, do you? I beg your pardon?
All this.
It's meaningless, isn't it?
The wine cellar, the gym,
hot and cold running housemaids.
Who's the person everyone adores?
It's not you.
It's Rachel.
How dare you!
Human relationships. The lifestyle
accessory you just can't buy.
I dare because I'm trying to catch a
killer who may very well kill again.
Nothing else matters. Not your pretty
little toes being trampled on. Nothing!
I hated Rachel when she was alive.
And now she's dead I hate her even
more.
Because now she's perfect.
But I never harmed the woman.
I never harmed her.
Of the known inhabitants of
Rachel world
Hugh Mallory.
He knew about her past or didn't.
Either way, he loved her, and he was
at work all day.
He's acting like he's got nothing to
hide.
David Hayward. Now there really is
something stinky about him.
All that strutting around, beating
his chest.
And he was married to the woman,
for God's sake.
And he's alibi'd to the hilt.
Louise? She's always falling over
herself
to say how wonderful life was with
David
and his fine collection of modern
money. Not her.
Stephanie Fielding?
Well, opportunity, yeah.
At home all day, movement only
corroborated by her son.
Motive?
Motive? Jealousy of a happy
marriage. It's possible.
Le Plassiter?
Well, yeah, wouldn't that be good!
How would that work?
Waging some Hannibal Lecter-ish war
of attrition, on the phone.
Moving his pawns about.
Stoker?
Not a pawn.
No, but he's a lost soul.
MOBILE PHONE BEEPS
Hathaway, that damn telephone!
It's yours, sir.
Oh, perfect!
The insolence I have endured.
The self-regarding eccentricity of
your methods,
your colleagues have endured.
But this, Lewis, was a perfectly
calculated
subversion of lawful procedure
and I will not permit it.
What in God's name were you thinking
of?
A cocktail party with the prime
suspects in a double murder case?
Who told you, out of interest?
The headmaster of Park Town Prep.
He thought your presence at the
party was irregular
and he was spot on, wasn't he?
More balls than I thought.
What?
I said the ball's in your court,
ma'am.
I'm sorry.
It was the right thing to do at the
time. Get this sorted, Lewis.
You and Boy-bloody-Wonder.
You do it right now and without the
slightest trace of impropriety,
or I will have you back in a tall
hat pedalling a pushbike
before you can say, "Where's my
pension?" Got that?
The gist, ma'am. Absolutely.
Here I am, sir. As promised.
Ruining the moment.
And don't pretend to be dead, it's
bad manners and it won't work.
My God, you're a frightful little
man.
Why should I tell you anything?
You can't go to your death
unshriven.
Your soul must be clean.
Do I detect the whiff of Papism at
my bedside? How delightful!
You must tell us what we need to
know to catch this killer.
That is your true act of contrition.
The visits of Rachel Mallory.
The terms of the order were very
clear.
Nobody was permitted to know whom
Alison Bright had become.
Not even me. I couldn't have found
her if I'd wanted to.
But of course she knew how to find
me.
She called me on the telephone.
She had invented some incredible
charade
about writing a paper on the subject
and needing to talk to me about it.
I knew it was her.
She pretty soon realized that I knew
who she was.
But neither of us ever admitted it.
I told her about Stoker.
It was her moral example
that made me seek propitiation for
that sin.
I asked her to seek him out for me.
I think she tried.
What did Rachel tell you?
Oh, my God!
Cancer's a bore.
Tell us what she told you.
Don't take it with you.
This is it, sir. He's going.
Edward! Try.
Aah!
The head shrink!
Aargh!
Who?
Who's the head shrink?
Go out of the room.
I want to die alone.
Look, Rachel was not my patient.
Not officially but, I mean,
of course she was.
How could I be privy to the most
appalling secret
and not try to help her?
For two years I subjected her to the
most comprehensive
therapeutic trawl through her
unconscious.
I hypnotized her.
Uncovering what?
Nothing. That's the point.
There was no lurking trauma
pre-dating the killing of the baby.
She was never abused, physically or
mentally.
For what she did there was no
objective excuse.
The evil had come from within.
She was trying to stop the boy from
hurting himself.
That wasn't evil.
It was a terrible mistake, but it
was borne of kindness.
Would you believe that if you made
your baby brother bleed to death?
Her whole life was a relentless
struggle
to surround herself with goodness.
To be loved, to be needed.
And to be reminded, constantly, that
people were not dolls
to be torn apart and stitched back
together again.
Did David know about Alison?
Yes.
And what about Hugh?
Well, she wanted to tell him,
desperately, but
she never did because she thought it
might drive him away.
Suppose Hugh found out about it,
how would he cope?
He'd have managed. Somehow.
Excuse me, excuse me!
When did Rachel tell you the truth
about herself?
It's my guess she wanted to tell you
when you proposed to her,
but she just couldn't do it.
Had to have that ring on her finger
first, yeah?
Whenever.
That was when you decided to palm
her off onto Hugh.
Not unreasonable.
Who wants to be married to a psycho?
Don't take that tone of
blokey sympathy with me.
It demeans us both.
She told me everything on our
honeymoon.
I went for a long walk.
I came back and told her it was
it was OK.
I could live with it.
But when the children were born -
You found yourself hiding the
scissors.
Worse.
She found me hiding them.
She was hysterical.
She told me she would do anything to
make it right.
I just
I just looked at her and I knew that
that was that.
There is some knowledge that's so
terrible it crushes all trust.
All hope.
So you steered her towards Hugh.
Listen
Hugh wasn't right with Louise.
He always joked that he only got
married because I did.
Louise is erm
.. is a sexual animal.
Hugh found that alarming.
Right.
So, all your spadework's done
before you even go to Madagascar.
Hugh's intimidated by Louise.
Rachel's making eyes at Hugh like
some frightened rabbit.
Louise is looking for something a bit
more vigorous
and you've told Louise "Keep the
motor running",
you'll be right with her.
Louise had no idea at the time.
And Hugh thinks he's made all this
happen.
Hugh's never achieved a damn
thing in his life.
I wanted him to have this.
Oh, so it was act of charity?
You didn't tell Hugh about Rachel's
secret, did you?
No.
You sold him a house with an
unexploded bomb in the cellar.
Caveat emptor, Lewis.
I am not my brother's keeper.
No, sir.
No-one could ever accuse you of
that.
Hathaway!
'Sir?'
I tell you what I think.
I think Hugh Mallory's dirty.
Loulou, I'm numb.
There isn't anything you can possibly can
tell me that'll shock me, or even upset me.
David wants his children back.
I'm sure of it.
He doesn't care about me.
Or our children.
He never did.
He certainly doesn't care about you.
What David wants are his girls.
And whatever David wants, he gets.
Always.
I can't remember if you take sugar.
No, most unlikely, you're a woman.
What I'm saying, Hugh, is watch out.
You're under attack.
Madagascar.
It didn't happen the way you
thought.
It didn't happen the way any of us
thought.
The only person who really knew what
was happening was David.
Did you set much store by Rachel's
opinion?
Yes, of course.
Yes.
She always said you were a terrible
liar.
Amusingly, I only found out the
truth about Madagascar quite recently.
But I'm afraid I can't accept the
suggestion
that David kept you in the dark
about it.
Or about anything else, for that
matter.
No, you knew everything.
Everybody knew everything.
But now, hey!
Poor old Hughie-come-lately
.. he knows it too.
He's gone! Hugh's gone!
Lunchtime, the day Rachel died, did
you see Hugh Mallory come back?
Tell me the truth, Daniel, or you
will regret it!
Yes.
Say it again!
I saw him come back.
He was there for half an hour.
That's what you saw?
Yes.
Good lad.
Get out of my house, Lewis.
Get out!
Bastard hit her with a kettle.
Where's he gone?
To pick up the kids?
Then we have a problem
because Mallory is the killer
and he hasn't finished killing yet.
Get to them, before he does.
I'll see you later.
Where will you be, sir?
Intimidating his receptionist.
I've no time for games!
Tell me why you lied!
I did it because he asked me to.
Because I love him.
I love Hugh Mallory, I -
He killed Rachel.
That cow? That holier-than-thou bloody cow,
queening it over everyone like Mrs Muck.
The alibi you gave Hugh enabled him
to kill another woman.
I don't care!
If it was useful to him, I'm glad.
Tell me.
'Not good.
Mallory arrived ten minutes ago to
take the kids for a surprise. '
Where's he taking them?
Well, I don't know
or it wouldn't be a surprise, sir,
would it?
Sir he's going to kill the kids
and then he's going to kill himself.
No, he's not, Hathaway,
I won't allow it.
Get me Tech!
Yes, sir.
Is this the surprise?
Yes.
Are they real?
Completely real.
Cool.
I wanted you to see them because
they're so special to Mummy.
Did she like them?
Not exactly, no.
She thought they looked like she
felt. Inside.
But Mummy's pretty.
But Mummy didn't feel pretty inside.
Somebody told her about these guys,
so she used to come here,
apparently quite a lot,
so she could look at them and think
"Yes, that is exactly how I am.
Squashed. Deformed. Grotesque".
Daddy?
Yes, darling.
You're hurting my shoulder.
Oh sorry, sweetheart.
Missing Mummy a bit.
Right, who wants a dinosaur?
Well, I do!
Izzie, hold Daddy's jacket. I'm
going to that lady with the shop.
You stay right here, OK?
I don't like the little faces.
Mummy?
Hein, c'est mignon.
C'est degueulasse!
Not allowed to use these in here,
darling.
Not a great deal to go on.
Right, dinosaurs! Come on!
Mummy?
C'est mignon.
They're still in the city.
They're indoors. Somewhere big,
with an echo.
A church?
Not a church.
It's too busy.
A library?
The sound is a woman laughing.
'Mummy?
C'est mignon. '
You wouldn't laugh like that in a
library.
Gulass? Gulass?
I think that's French.
Uh Degueulasse - makes you puke.
It's amused disgust.
Where would Hugh take the kids to
look at something
a tourist finds repulsive and yet
still funny?
"Mummy likes looking at pictures and
stuff. "
What stuff?
Where did she go on her own to look
at stuff?
I need to ask you something,
Mr Stoker.
You didn't ever meet, by any
beautiful chance, Rachel Mallory?
Rachel Mallory. Rachel. No?
Thank you.
Alison.
What? Yes, Alison!
I carry her groceries to the car.
She lends me books.
She told me her secret name was
Alison.
Did she tell you any other secrets?
Did she tell you about the head shrink?
I'm the one who told her.
I know where they are.
So do I.
I'm looking for a guy with two
little blonde-haired girls.
Sorry, mate. Haven't seen them.
Quick, quick, quick!
One last surprise!
Sod it!
Sir!
They're here, up top!
Through here!
But where are we going, Daddy?
Come on, Anna.
You run like an old woman!
But why are we -?
Go!
Go! Go, go, go!
Daddy, it's dark in here.
Open the door, Hugh!
Here we are!
Hugh!
Hugh!
Here we are!
Come on, girls.
Hugh!
Careful.
Magdalen College. That's where they
sing on May morning.
Hugh.
It might be a good idea,
you know, Health & Safety, if the
children came over my way a bit.
Ouch! Daddy, you're hurting me!
Come on, kids.
Stay where you are!
It's all right.
I want to get up!
OK, look
I'm going to count to three.
No!
I'm going to count to three. One
Hugh -
I can still see you.
Look at the kids!
Two!
Hugh, look at them!
Three!
Aargh!
Argh!
SIRENS WAIL
Stay there for me, OK?
Right there.
Better for all the children
if you're alive.
Even in prison.
Oh, will you give it a rest?
What do you know about it?
I mean, your wife died.
Boo-bloody-hoo. My wife wasn't even
my wife, she was someone else's.
Ssh!
She belonged to everyone except me.
Tell me, cos I need to know if I've
got this right.
Templeton confronted Rachel.
Rachel called you, said,
"Come home now".
And out it all came.
Alison Bright, everything.
She told me about it and I still
loved her.
I said, "We're stronger than this.
Our love could burn down a city".
But she couldn't stop.
Daddy. Daddy!
Ssh! She had to tell you about
Madagascar.
Everything built on a lie?
Your love, everything.
Meaningless.
So you strangled her.
The silly thing is, the person you
really wanted to hurt was David.
God, I'm tired.
Daddy!
Aargh! Ouf!
Argh!
Daddy!
You're holding onto my arm, Hugh.
It's cos you want to live.
Say it!
Say it!
Aargh!
Say it!
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Daddy!
Daddy!
Because of you I have a migraine.
Because and only because of the
migraine,
I'm not going to raise my voice at
you.
Thank you, ma'am. That's a relief.
Intimidating witnesses, Lewis,
one of whom was a child -
For heaven's sake, I just pulled a
face at Daniel to stop him lying.
I never raised a finger -
You may have to prove that,
because the mother's taken advice.
But you
You take the cake.
I'd like to explain, ma'am.
I bet you would! If I want your
opinion, Hathaway, I'll ask for it.
The incident was witnessed by the
public,
by children, by the press!
If Mallory had let go, you wouldn't
be looking so smug, would you?
I'm not smug, ma'am, it's just
the unfortunate shape of my face.
I'm sorry,
it just seemed like the right -
Apologies are not enough!
The right psychology, ma'am.
This is demotion to the ranks.
Right psychology, my royal English
arse.
If you put Hathaway in uniform,
ma'am, I go with him.
Calling my bluff, are you, Lewis?
Do you really think that's wise?
If it gets me out of giving this
bloody speech
Oh, it's just bloody spiteful,
making me do this.
It's better than walking the High
Street, telling tourists the time.
Sir?
What?
Thank you.
Ah, give over.
Well, I just wanted you to know
how grateful I am
before I get drunk,
so that you know I mean it.
Oh, for God's sake, just write this
thing for me, will you, Jim?
I might have to get this eye seen
to.
Do you know anyone?