Spyship (1983) s01e03 Episode Script

Thinking about Dowdall l don't think we can let his report go before the Inquiry.
This Chairman is very thorough.
Don't want any repercussions.
Perhaps I should arrange a substitute.
Yes, I think so.
Something er innocuous.
Can't afford to screw it up at this stage.
Er this'll do here.
Just drop me off anywhere.
- Aren't you going to the club? - No.
(SIRENS) - I think there's somebody in there.
- There's somebody in? D'you know? Yes, I think there is.
There was a light on when I came.
Okay then.
Take cover out the way.
- Ah, Mr.
Taylor.
Are you alright? - Yes, yes.
I'm alright.
Thank you.
HOSKINS: Well, if you propose to continue using this address as if it were your own there is a doormat.
And you could try using it.
I seem to spend far too much of my time hoovering those stairs lately.
MARTIN: That's true.
HOSKINS: And another thing, those dog hairs! Now, Miss Summer-field clearly understoon there was to be no pets and no children! Philistine! - You feeling better? - Yeah.
He left you? Don't keep me in the dark, Martin.
I don't know any more than you do.
- She was killed, wasn't she? - Well it wasn't an accident! They found the gas cylinder.
What was left of it in the fireplace.
How do you accidentally drop a a gas cylinder into a fireplace?! I bet she couldn't even lift it! - Just because of the letter? - I don't know.
What the hell could Millar know that was so important?! Well, what do you think? Something about the Russians? That's what Silvers believed.
Look what happened to him.
I think I'll go down to London.
All her hair was burned off.
- Goodnight, sir.
- Goodnight, goodnight, Harry.
(TELEPHONE RINGS) Yes ? Yorkshire were two hundred for seven.
- The letter? - All taken care of.
- Was it an offending article? - E.
W.
No question.
- No problems? - Mrs.
M.
- What - she see you? - She took an early retirement.
Was that really necessary? I told you not to retire anyone without my sanction.
You're not readily available, sir.
I was protecting our interests.
I can only protect your interests if you follow my instructions! I've done what was required.
The work is extemporary as you pointed out.
Let's leave it at that, shall we? By the way, I'm moving to a new pavillion.
Got a biro? Zero, six, three, two Zero, six, three, two, six, one What's wrong with your present accommodation? It stinks! Be in touch.
Animals! TANNOY: The train standing in platform six is 8:05 Intercity to London Kings Cross calling at Doncaster, Bradford, Peterborough, Farnleigh, Kings Cross.
Heavy handed, Francis.
I presume it wasn't an accident! That's free enterprise, uncontrollable! Don't be such a bloody hypocrite.
Some of the venal enterprises you get up to.
You were more confident last time we met more courteous even.
It is your birthday, isn't it? It's all bribery, of course.
Really, most kind.
Don't wear it everyday, will you? - The letter um presumably was destroyed? - Yes.
This operative.
Did he kill the woman because he had to? Why else? Oh, you mean you've only his word?! Is he on the qui vive? - Let me buy you a drink.
- Certainly not.
It's my birthday, not yours.
Mmm? Thank you.
TRAVIS: I call Mrs.
Jean Williams.
- Mrs.
Jean Williams! - Yes.
Stand up - TRAVIS: Are you Jean Hilda Williams? - Yes, sir.
- And do you live at 27 Monkton Drive? - That's right.
- How old are you, Mrs.
Williams? - Thirty-six.
And are you related to one of the crew members of the Caistor? - He was a spare hand, yes.
- Who was, Mrs.
Williams? Artie, me husband.
Arthur Williams.
Now, Mrs.
Williams, by your behaviour yesterday you indicated that there was something that you wanted to say.
- You made that very clear.
Wouldn't you agree? - Yes, sir.
Well, go ahead.
Tell Mr.
Carpenter and the Inquiry precisely what evidence you have to offer.
Well, Mrs.
Williams? - Well, I've heard things, you know.
- What sort of things? - Like what happens when our lads go to sea.
- And what does happen? - Oh, all sorts of things.
Like on the Harper! - Well? Well, they all said she was carrying extra things, you know.
- What things, Mrs.
Williams? - I don't know.
Um Special naval equipment or something would that be it? - Well, you must answer that! - And she was carrying extra hands! - What hands? - Royal Naval fellas.
Officers.
Mrs.
Williams.
What would a naval officer be doing taking a voyage on a trawler? Well, I've already told you! To spy on the on the Russians! PURDY: No, Joss.
It's no good to me not without some visual stuff.
If you can lay your hands on some pictures of Lomov inside Science City we'd be there.
Yes, as I say, that would be different.
Look, you have a think about that and anything on particle weapons.
Yeah, let's hear from you Any time Take care.
- Wotcha, Purdy.
- Martin! Smashing! How you been? Alright, alright.
- MARTIN: So, particle weapons, eh? - Science fiction, a non starter.
Too difficult, too expensive.
It'll be chemicals anyway, if the big day comes cheap and effective.
I saw that about Caistor.
John Taylor was your dad? - Yeah.
- I thought that was him.
I'm sorry about that.
- Right we off to The Dragon? - No, I've got to go home.
Meet this heating bloke.
They put the central heating in, right? Get the floorboards down.
Leaks everywhere.
Cowboys! - And this is Clapham? - When did I last see you? I've been down the Whitechapel Road for three months.
- What, with Irene? - Oho! You're well out of date! - She ran off! Bloke with a mini-cab firm! - You're kidding! No, I'm not.
Here! Twenty-four hour service.
Not expensive.
C'mon.
(MARTIN LAUGHS) Mrs.
Williams.
What you have said at this enquiry is extremely serious and may have the gravest consequences.
Surely you can see that? Now, what you say has to be authenticated vouched for by witnesses.
If you cannot do that.
Your evidence becomes heresay, mere gossip.
- But I'm telling the truth! - It isn't a question of lying, Mrs.
Williams! We have to be sure, that's all.
Now, who told you that the Caistor was being used for spying? One name, Mrs.
Williams.
That's all we need.
I've forgotten.
TRAVIS: I have no further questions, sir.
CARPENTER: Thank you, Mr.
Travers.
Thank you very much indeed Mrs.
Williams.
If you'd like to sit down now.
- PURDY: Do you want some more? - MARTIN: No, I'm alright.
It's possible the Russians are in on it.
They're very strong in the Barents Sea.
- But why would they want to sink a trawler? - Mmm.
It's unlikely.
Get a boat up there, British.
They usually see it off.
It's their territory.
Well, that's not adhered to, is it? The Russian navy turns up everywhere.
The Russian navy is everywhere.
Not just the surface fleets they make submarines like they're Ford motors.
If Caistor was up there on a mission, though, and the Russians got wind of it they might do something.
Take it to one of their ports or sink it.
What kind of mission? You mean spying? Yes, we use trawlers like they do.
The Russians have got AGIs in the North Atlantic.
- And in the Baltic.
- Caistor was spying? Feasible.
But then if the Government knew they'd sunk Caistor they'd make an awful stink, whatever it was doing up there.
- Accident? - Collision? No, you'd have some trace.
But then you can't rule that out.
A while ago, a Danish frigate accidentally fired an American Harpoon missile destroyed a couple of houses just near Copenhagen.
It's a long shot, but something like that could have happened to Caistor, I suppose.
- God, spying! - Oh, it's big business.
Any boat in the Barents or the Baltic has to be suspect.
Here.
PURDY: If the Russians went to war, they'd be coming in that way they wouldn't risk their tanks in central Europe.
Not now, with the smaller neutron devices.
After the second war, the Russians virtually had no navy.
Now they have five fleets Caspian, Pacific, Black Sea, Baltic and the Northern.
And that's the important one.
They've got seventy-five percent of their strike capability up there.
- What? Nuclear? - Naturally.
They've also got sixteen all weather airfields.
Over three-hundred com bat air-craft two mechanised divisions, a brigade of marines, an airborne division all on permanent standby.
- Jesus! And their H.
Q is just seventy miles east of Norway which means the Barents Sea is full of Russian action NATO would love to know about.
NATO will spy up there, monitor the Russian strength.
You can do that from a trawler.
E.
W.
- Electronic Warfare, that's what they go for nowadays.
Cheers.
Listening for Soviet radiograms, defence radar, missile bleeps.
They'll gather all that up, these boats, then the boffins work out how they're going to screw it all up.
Mind! Turn their missiles back on themselves, intercept their messages, bugger up their radar What are you looking for? I thought I had some satellite pictures of Murmansk.
That stupid woman! She must've thrown them all away.
- Bugger up their radar.
- Hmm? Oh yeah, you've got electronic intercepts.
That's basic spying.
So the Russians, they use electronic counter measures, E.
C.
M.
- We use counter counter measures.
- C.
C.
M.
? (LAUGHS) Yeah, I like that! Haha! Signal imitation, deception, jamming.
You could fit an intercept receiver on practically any boat.
How could you tell if a boat was spying? Simple.
By the aerial.
That's what you'd need.
That aerial will be used to intercept signals of every frequency.
- Did you see Caistor before it left? - Yeah.
You can confuse that aerial with satellite navigation gear.
- I took a photograph.
- It can look pretty similar, but it's quite legit.
Here you are.
Straight forward receiver, transmitter, pulse analyser, and print out.
They put the info onto tape.
Put them all together like that and bingo! An intercept receiver.
Great.
That's great.
- Can I have these? - I'll Xerox them for you.
If you've got a story here, Martin, don't take it nowhere else, will you? It's my cup of tea.
Yeah, yeah.
- No, I'm just the love interest.
- (BOTH CHUCKLE) Hold on to those a moment.
- Oh, you daft thing! - Oh god, I know.
What a sight! - Hey, have you got any mascara? - In there, chuck.
Oh, ta.
- Ooh, that man! - He's a stuck up pig! He's a right smarmy bastard.
I mean, everyone knows it goes on.
No-one dared say nowt, did they? They let you stand there like a toadie.
I'd have come up there if I'd ha' knew any more than you.
I would, honest! Oh, I know you would, chuck.
Should have got Spalding up there.
He started it all.
He'd only have denied it.
Made me look a bigger fool.
- Hey, does it look as if I've been crying? - Yeah.
- Oh, God - Oh, come on Jean place gives me the willies.
- Wishful thinking! This is for you.
It's the best that money can buy at one o'clock in the morning.
Right look at this - Caistor.
Who printed them? - John Scott, at the Post.
Oh, I bet he loved you, waking him up in the middle of the night! Not half as much as you! Right, that's a photograph of Caistor on her maiden voyage.
SUZY: Mmm hmm? MARTIN: And this is the photograph I took just before her last trip.
And this is a blow up of the same photograph.
Now, what do you see? - Johnno.
Watching you.
- No.
It's the aerials.
- They're different.
Huh? - Oh, yes.
Right.
Now this is an aerial for an intercept receiver.
And if that isn't an aerial for an intercept receiver, my name's Lassie the Wonder Dog.
That's what Jean Williams said they had on board.
Yes, I know.
Scott told me.
She just couldn't think of anyone to back her up.
They were spying.
That's Harding.
That's why he's been acting so strangely.
- He must have been involved.
- Well, did the Russians sink her? Pfft.
I don't know.
Well, is this evidence? What about telling the Inquiry? Oh, I don't know if Caistor was spying, you can reckon the authorities are well in control up here.
SUZY: Mmm.
I feel uneasy, to be honest.
I don't feel I'm a party to all the facts.
You know all there is.
Just because the local MP.
- some labour man, stands up in the House and asks a question we don't have to regard what he says.
People have regarded it, and commented on it.
The Prime Minister was forced to reply without a prepared answer stating categorically that the Russians were not involved in the sinking of the Caistor.
- It's not technically incorrect.
- It must not be proven otherwise! Any repercussions will inevitably come down on you, as you must be aware.
Please don't smoke in here.
The question should never have been asked in the house! It's only the local press covering the Inquiry picking up the comments of the women who testified.
It's absurd.
She doesn't know anything.
She discredited herself, actually.
And the other story? In the Mail? Why did Mrs.
Millar burn to death twenty-four hours after her name was mentioned at the Inquiry? I hope you would tell me if we were responsible.
I wish to be prepared for anything that may occur.
Of course, I appreciate that.
Well, let's stay very close to the ground, shall we? I'm with Strang at 8:45.
I want him to tell the Cabinet that everything is sweet.
Thanks.
- I er I heard about the Inquiry.
- Yes, they made me look a right fool.
- Who? Travis? - They were all loving it! That, er equipment you said was aboard the Caistor, what was it called? - What? Interceptor receivers, you mean? - Intercept receivers, yes.
- Who told you about them? - Oh, don't you start! Please! I just want to talk to someone.
Anyone who might have been directly involved.
- Well, ask Harding.
- Who told you about intercept receivers? Look, I don't want to get him into no trouble.
And anyway, it wouldn't help, would it? Not now.
- This doesn't sound like you - No, well - Has Harding been in contact with you? - Look, he's all right, Harding.
I mean, he's looking after us.
He's trying to sort out our compensation.
He phoned you didn't he? He phoned you and said that if you kept your mouth shut he'd be able to "compensate" you that much more quickly.
Yes? Tell me where you heard it.
Sam Spalding.
He's got the odd job as a night- watchman down the docks.
He drinks in the Britannia.
Thank you.
MAIN: Good.
Excellent.
Thank you.
Send it along to the Clerk of the Court.
Right.
What have you done with Dowdall's version? Oh, that's it there.
Are you mad?! Get rid of it.
I'm sorry.
What's the matter with you? Are you frightened of the shredder? I'm sorry.
I thought you wanted to read it.
I know the gist.
Anyway, I don't understand all that stuff.
I had a classical education.
But it's full of latin, sir.
Just lose it.
SANDRA: appointment! - It's all right, Sandra.
I'll deal with this.
- Very well, Mr.
Harding.
- Now, Mr.
Taylor.
What can I do for you? - Caught you! - Taylor, don't bugger me about! - Caistor on her maiden voyage.
MARTIN: Caistor on her last trip.
Spot the difference and win a prize! What's your business, Harding? What's the going rate for your kind of work?! - Look, I don't - You can see the difference, can't you?!! Otherwise you'd wonder what the hell I was talking about! Yes, I do wonder! The Caistor wasn't my ship! It isn't my concern.
Now, if you'll excuse me Intercept receivers! You sent twenty-six men to their deaths, one of them my father because you had some little deal cooked up with the Admiralty! What was it? Money? Patriotism? You think you were doing right? Please tell me, because I really want to know.
Me and fifty dependents owe it all to you! There's a woman out there who's going off her head because she can't understand where her husband is And all you can say is "things are a little difficult at the moment.
" You can keep the snaps! I see Thank you Harding, um leave him alone for the moment will you? No, I'll speak to you anon.
AIRCALL: Bad light will end play at five o'clock this afternoon.
So if they're not bothered about us knowing, then we're laughing.
But if they are bothered, we're really in trouble.
Drink? Why not.
I'd gotten too old for working on the trawlers, and so I come down hereto work shifts as watchman on the dock gates.
And in October it was, about three in the morning a big black estate car came right on the quay, where it shouldn't have been, you know.
No lights.
Then a fella gets out, has a gander round, and he waves to the others and they're all out.
- How many were there? You know, they made straight for the King Harold as they knew exactly where they wanted to go.
So I gets on my coat, ready to go out and give them a right bollocking.
- Was the car marked in any way? - No, no.
So I waited, and here's a light comes on in the bridge.
So I goes up there and I looks through the bridge house windows and there they were unloading all this stuff! - What exactly did it look like? Oh, I've no idea because suddenly I was being whisked through the air like a being carried by a dirty big bugger! - Did you try and get away? Oh no, hen.
You know, there are times when your sixth sense tells you to play it a bit canny.
No, I gave him no trouble at all.
He carried me down to this cabin and I says I says "I've a right to be here, y'know", I says "I'm in charge of dock security!" I says "And you tell me what right you got to be here and if you don't, I'll call the police!" And he says, Mr.
Harding had hired this ship to experiment with a new kind of radar.
And he said I'd better believe that, or I could lose my job.
- Did you believe him? - About losing my job I did.
- And the rest? - Oh, no fear.
What would the Navy be doing fitting radar on a trawler? - Were they in uniform? - No, but I was in mine sweepers for six years.
I know the Royal Navy.
Ta.
Ta.
Mr.
Spalding, would you recognise the stuff you saw on the King Harold if you saw it again? Oh yes, love.
Certainly I would.
- Well, do you recognise any of - Cheers.
Cheers.
Do you recognise any of the equipment amongst this stuff? SPALDING: Uh huh That's it.
That's exactly what I seen in the wheelhouse of the King Harold.
Yes? This is foolish.
How the hell did you know where to find me? Finding you is no problem, sir.
It's my speciality It's OK, I'm in the pavillion I found them, yes.
But he's put it all together, makes very interesting reading You there, sir? - I'm thinking.
- I think we should progress.
- I'll contact you at the pavillion tomorrow.
- Too dangerous.
He could have us all over the desk by then.
I can't give you the sanction, I'll phone you tomorrow.
EVANS' VOICE: I was protecting our interests.
MAINS VOICE: I can only protect your interests if you follow my instructions.
EVANS' VOICE: The work is extemporary as you pointed out.
Let's leave it at that, shall we? Out.
EVANS' VOICE: Let's leave it at that, shall we? I do what I'm told, you know that.
But I have to consider number one.
I'm not on a pension.
I don't want my name to be given to some bloke in a phone box.
Now I suspect this Taylor character has enough to pull you down.
I don't want either of us to lose our rank.
Have I got your sanction? Sir? - Do a good job.
It's going to end here.
- I have your sanction? Yes.
Yes.
Good evening.
(TELEPHONE RINGS) Yes ? - They let you in all right, then? - I'm known here.
I don't want a scene.
Sit down, Main.
This man, Evans.
He killed the widow, I take it? - Yes.
- Why? The letter was potentially very embarrassing.
It could have turned up at the Inquiry.
- What did it say? - It mentioned electronic warfare, I believe.
You didn't see it?! You had a young woman murdered to destroy a letter which may have been incriminating?! Telephone booth contacts with Operatives I didn't know the existence of.
Cricket score call signs, you bloody idiot! Don't you realise the purchase these people have on us on all of us?! - They're all good men.
- You deceive yourself, which is even worse.
- How was this funded? - Through regional allowances.
And you think people attracted by that amount of money are to be trusted? - It's not just because of the money.
- Oh, you mean because they're soldiers! Indeed.
It won't do, Main.
You can either face a Board of Inquiry, or you can resign.
Is this up to date? Are there any more people embarrassing enough to warrant execution? No.
That's the end of it.
"Scientific examination of the lifebuoy was submitted on behalf of the Department of Trade Mr.
Marcus Carpenter said its conclusions provided no further evidence.
.
regarding the fate of the Caistor.
" That's bloody incredible! The one piece of evidence! SUZY: I suppose they think it doesn't tell them anything.
Well, course it does! Doesn't it tell you where Caistor sank?! If you if you know where the lifebuoy was found, when it was found and you calculate the wind movements, the tidal movements, all that sort of thing.
Then you trace it back to where the Caistor disappeared.
- Yes! - Let's have a look.
- Why can't they make this a bloody tabloid! - It reads like one! I mean, look at all that stuff at the beginning about the ship incredibly detailed, pedantic detail.
Nothing about the lifebuoy.
It's not jargon they're afraid of.
What did you say the name of that specialist was? I don't know.
- Be worth finding out.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
- Is it a comprehensive report? - Well, I couldn't say.
Is it a big document? Maps and so on? Well, I've never looked at the papers.
I should imagine they're in London.
Um the specialist, will he be here, then? There's no reason for Dr.
Dowdall to be here at all.
If you're a representative of University, I suggest you contact Plymouth directly.
- What, Plymouth University? - Well, I should imagine so.
- Right, thanks.
- S'alright.
Oh, the lifebelt itself, where is it kept? Oh, it's no longer here.
I should imagine it's in - What? Gone to London? - Well, yes.
- Thanks.
- Tarra, chuck.
Get your bowl, go on that's it, get the bowl.
Good lad.
Oh, you've dropped it.
Come on.
There, lovely grub! There you are come on.
That's the way.
RADIO VOICE: warnings of gales in Trafalgar and Finnestad.
The general synopsis (CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS) Listen, there might be some credit for you, if, before the Inquiry ends a statement, just a short statement could be made, regarding these rumours.
Are you serious! The press would eat us alive! A disclaimer for your lot would go off like a bomb.
We are not prepared to accept the blame.
Why the hell should any Inquiry of ours want to exonerate you? - Because it's not our fault.
- My dear Rokoff you must realise that people expect the Russians to be involved in every shady incident.
I shall miss our little meetings.
There! Coming? I'll see you in the car, I'm just going to make a phone call.
Okay.
Hello, Carrie? Could you give me the dialing code for Plymouth, please? Ta.
SUZY: Martin! Martin.
- I didn't hear you come in.
- Do you want some coffee? Yeah.
- Hello, Christy.
- Hello.
- Are we disturbing you? - Not the way I work.
I'll put the fire on.
Is she staying?! Oh, be nice to her.
She's been really good to me! - Hey, I went to the Inquiry.
- Oh yeah.
Any luck? - I spoke to the Clerk to the Court.
- Yeah? Apparently the report was done by Dr.
E Dowdall, Plymouth.
So I rang him up.
- You spoke to him? - Mmm.
He was charming.
I told him I was connected with the Oceanography Department which is not exactly untrue 'cos they are on the same floor.
- Yeah.
- And he's going to send me a copy.
Good! Excellent! Good! - Do you take milk? - Please.
- SUZY: Martin? - Yeah? - SUZY: Did you cut yourself? - When? SUZY: There's blood all over the floor! SUZY: Oh, my god! Get a towel! Are you all right, Joey? He's bleeding from his stomach.
CHRISTY: It could be an ulcer.
Something like that.
- Do you know a vet? - I do.
There's one in my road.
Bring him down, and go in my car.
- SUZY: Okay.
- MARTIN: Keep still, Joey! SUZY: Oh, Joey! Yeah, I'm okay.
I'm okay.
- SUZY: Can you get my bag? - CHRISTY: Yes.
- Um can you phone me from the vets? - SUZY: Are you not coming? No, there's blood all over the place.