Moonflower Murders (2024) s01e05 Episode Script

I have got something
that may help you.
They're the notes Alan made
when he was writing
"Atticus Pünd Takes the Case."
I found all the interviews he
did when he visited the hotel.
Imagine that, you can actually
hear Alan's voice again.
Algernon Marsh had no decency
and no scruples.
How dare you search
through my desk.
£980,000.
You can talk to Samantha.
Persuade her to divide it
two ways.
And why in God's name
would I do that?
Because there are things
that Melissa told me about you,
Leonard.
PÜ
Were you aware that your wife
was having an affair?
Yes, I strangled her
in the bedroom!
I need to see Katie.
I'm worried about her--
there's something
she isn't telling me.
Yes.
Who's this?
CRAIG
Craig Andrews.
What are you doing?
She was here last night,
and she left her phone.
Good morning, Mr. Pünd.
Oh, Miss Cain.
Please, sit down.
Um, would you like
a cup of tea?
Well, I wouldn't say no,
thank you very much, Mr. Pünd.
I hope you have
recovered from the shock
of what occurred yesterday.
To be honest with you,
I haven't had a wink of sleep,
and the sooner we're out
of here, the happier I will be.
Mm-hmm.
I have been checking
the train times,
and there is a
00 from Barnstaple
that gets us into London
not too late.
I'm afraid I'm going to have
to disappoint you, Miss Cain.
My work here is not yet
complete.
But I, I don't understand.
John Spencer confessed
to the murder
of Melissa James,
then took his own life.
That was the opinion
of Detective Inspector Chubb.
He did not take his own life.
You mean he?
He was murdered.
Oh, gosh, I don't know
how much more
I can take of this, Mr. Pünd.
It is not my intention
to distress you further.
Mm.
Oh, if you prefer, um,
we, we can talk
of other things.
No, no, no,
I might as well know.
John Spencer went upstairs to
put on his coat and his shoes.
And when he returned,
he was indeed wearing
coat and shoes.
Mm-hmm.
Why?
If he was intending
to kill himself,
why would it matter
what he was wearing?
He was an English gentleman?
He'd want to look his best?
Perhaps so, but, um,
consider the position
of the dagger.
Hm? It was, uh, near to
the bottom of the stairs.
Are you suggesting to me
that John Spencer
took the knife with him
upstairs,
stabbed himself, and then
came back downstairs again?
I, I don't, I don't know.
And finally, to choose
such a method!
There were razors
in the bathroom.
He could've hanged himself
with a tie.
But to act like the Japanese and
inflict hara-kiri on himself
is not, I think, the practice
of an English gentleman.
So where does this take us,
Mr. Pünd?
Maybe we should find out
who was in the garden.
They caused a diversion.
They could've done it
deliberately!
I already know who looked
through the window, Miss Cain.
So, do you know
who killed John Spencer?
It's not just a question
of who murdered John Spencer.
We must ask ourselves
why.
Mm.
Good morning, Herr Pünd.
Miss Cain.
Oh, I'm glad I caught you.
I, uh, I just wanted
to say goodbye
before you went on your way.
I think you'd better sit down,
Detective Inspector.
Mr. Pünd has something
to tell you.
Oh.
Can, can you move?
All right?
God.
Come on!
What's your problem,
love?
All right, mate,
I'll see you down there, yeah?
In your own time.
Jack.
Hi.
Is your mum here?
I haven't seen her.
Right, good, well,
then maybe you can tell me
what's going on.
What do you mean?
Well, I drove past the house
this morning, your house,
and it's being sold.
Yeah.
Why hasn't your mother
mentioned it to me?
Why would she?
Because I'm her sister--
we talk all the time!
I don't know--
why don't you call her?
Well, as if my life
wasn't complicated enough
at the moment,
I've lost my phone.
I've left it in London--
so, please, please,
Jack, tell me
what's going on.
I can't talk about it.
What do you mean,
you can't talk about it?
I
Do you know
when she might be back?
She said00.
Okay, well, uh, can you do
me a favor, could you call her?
Tell her I was here,
and say that I'll look in
around00--
can you do that?
She might not answer.
Then leave a message.
Are you all right?
Yeah.
I'm fine.
These are nice.
They're for the church.
Third Sunday after Trinity.
Ah, of course.
You know, I've been, um
I've been thinking.
Mm? What about?
About the money.
I've been thinking
about nothing else.
You know, I wonder
if we should accept it.
There are others in
much greater need than us.
You know, I don't know anyone
in the world as good as you.
But actually,
I was having second thoughts
about what you said
when we got the news.
What was that?
About Algernon.
Maybe it is wrong of us
not to include him.
But I thought you said that's
what Aunt Clarissa wanted.
Well, yes, that is
what she wrote in her will.
But, well,
she's no longer with us.
And really, it's up to us
what we do with the money.
Uh, up to you, I mean.
But I, I thought we'd decided.
Hm
Well, he, he's your brother.
Perhaps if we give him
a share,
he might find himself.
What, what sort of share?
Uh, well, I mean,
that's not really for me to say.
Twenty percent?
Thirty?
I really don't know, Leonard.
I must say, I'm surprised.
What was it you said
just now?
"People in greater need
than ourselves."
Well, that wasn't what I meant.
I'm taking these to the church.
I haven't offended you, I hope.
Not at all,
you've just surprised me.
And maybe you're right.
I'll think about it.
You're absolutely sure,
Mr. Pünd?
I do not believe John Spencer
took his own life.
Well, if he didn't kill
Melissa James, then who did?
That is indeed the question,
Detective Inspector.
But there is perhaps
one person we've overlooked.
Well, who's that?
Miss James wrote a letter
of love, but she failed
to address it.
"My darling darling."
PÜ
Indeed so.
Do you know who she meant?
I have an idea.
"My darling
darling."
Yes.
Yes, she was going
to send this to me.
At least,
I assume she was.
You were more than
her financial adviser?
That what you're saying?
Well, one thing led to another,
I'm
Oh, don't look
so shocked, Leonard.
She was bored of John Spencer--
you must've known that.
Um,
what time did your relationship
with Miss James begin,
Mr. Marsh?
About six months ago,
I think?
Oh.
It's not against the law.
Maybe so.
But I'll tell you
what is against the law.
Is that your automobile
parked outside?
Uh, yes.
Can you explain the damage
to the front fender?
No, no, no, I, um
I hadn't noticed it.
On Wednesday of last week,
a man by the name
of Henry Dickson,
an opera singer, was hit
by a car as he was out walking.
The driver did not stop.
Mm-hmm, and what about it?
A car similar to yours
was seen by a witness.
There was damage to the fender
and evidence of a blood stain,
and
We have a cigarette found
at the scene of the crime.
Ooh!
The same brand
you're smoking now.
Oh, for heaven's sake, Algernon,
tell them it isn't true!
You win some,
you lose some, Leonard.
Tell me,
how is Mr. Dickson?
Well, you didn't kill him,
if that's what you mean.
Oh!
Oh, it's not too serious, then.
Uh, maybe a rap
on the knuckles?
Maybe a fine? I don't need
to worry about that,
do I, Leonard?
You'll take care of me.
Mr. Pünd!
Mrs. Collins, you
You will forgive me
for intruding.
No, not at all.
Everyone is welcome here.
But I'm afraid I bring
bad news.
Your brother, Algernon
What's he done this time?
He hit a man
in a traffic accident,
and failed to stop
or offer assistance.
Has he been arrested?
Inspector Chubb is with him now.
This is so typical
of Algernon.
I'm not gonna give him
anything!
I'm sorry?
I've inherited some money
from an aunt of mine.
Quite a lot of money.
I wanted to tell you
from the start,
but I wasn't sure
it was relevant.
Mm, and, and you were
considering
sharing it with your brother.
Well, my husband
was dead set against it
to start with,
but now he's saying we should.
I just don't understand him.
I'm not sure
I want to keep any of it.
There's something
I wished to ask you.
Were you aware that your brother
was involved in an affair
with Melissa James?
An affair?
An adulterous affair?
Oh, yes.
No, I had no idea!
Are you quite sure?
He has admitted to it.
It, it's such a wicked thing
to do, it
She is a married woman,
and to commit adultery
is unforgivable.
It's a crime against God.
Sometimes I feel like
St. Daniel,
cast into the lions' den.
Murder and wickedness--
it, it's all around me.
You blame Miss James.
For her weakness.
I blame both of them.
And at the same time,
I find it hard to believe.
Algernon and Melissa?
She was better than that.
How could she have
set her sights so low?
Mrs. Endicott,
my name is Susan Ryeland.
We met at Aiden's house.
Yes, I remember.
I wondered if I could
have a word with Derek.
Come in.
Thank you.
Derek? You have a visitor!
He's only just woken up.
Oh.
He was working last night.
He had his shift
at the hotel.
Can I get you some tea?
Uh, no, thank you.
Do you have the day off?
No, I only work part-time.
Oh.
Yeah, and Roxana's
at a play date right now.
I can't do more than that.
I had a heart attack
two years ago,
and the doctors told me
to take care.
Oh, I'm sorry.
No, I'm fine now--
got Derek here.
And Aiden and Cecily
look after me very well.
Mm.
So you enjoy working for them.
Oh, they're lovely people,
and they both live
for that child.
Oh, what Aiden must be
going through right now.
Mm.
Sorry.
Don't bear thinking about.
What do you think
might have happened to Cecily?
No, I don't know--
I try not to think about it.
Aiden says it's something
to do with that book of yours.
Atticus Pünd.
You met Alan Conway?
Yeah.
Yeah, he, he came here,
asking questions.
He talked to everyone.
He said it was
for research.
Who is it, Mum?
This is Susan Ryeland,
you know?
Oh, yeah.
She's helping the police
with their
Oh, hello.
finding Mrs. MacNeil.
Yeah, is there
any news?
Uh, no, I'm afraid not.
She were just asking
about Alan Conway.
The writer? Didn't like him.
Well, that's what I wanted
to ask you.
What actually happened
when he came here?
Alan recorded his conversations
with everyone else, except you.
Why was that?
Well, that's easy to explain--
I didn't let him.
Well, it's a, a lovely house--
have you been here long?
My husband and I first
lived here when we were married.
So, Derek, you have been here
your whole life.
Oh.
Excuse me, Mr. Conway,
what are you doing?
No, Alan, please.
I just thought
I'd record this.
Oh, no, I, I'd prefer
if you didn't.
Sorry?
I, I don't want to be recorded.
Well, it's just for me--
I have a terrible memory.
I don't really want to talk
about what happened at all,
if you want the honest truth.
And I, I don't think you should
be writing about it, either.
Seriously, Gwyneth?
I think you should go.
Well, that explains
why he put you in the book.
He did that to Aiden,
didn't he?
He did it to anyone
who annoyed him-- I'm sorry.
It's not your fault, dear.
Some people just
don't know how to behave.
There was one other thing
I wanted to ask you.
I wonder if you know
Martin and Joanne Webster.
They just live up the road.
Yeah, we know them all right--
the odd couple.
You can say that
again.
Been here 20 years,
never once invited us
into their house.
And you'd think they'd be
more hospitable.
He knows us well enough, he was
always in and out of the hotel.
I used to help unload
his vans.
I'm sorry, we're, we're
talking about Martin Webster?
Yeah, he's got a laundry
business in Woodbridge.
He used to do all the sheets
and towels at the hotel.
Used to?
Cecily fell out with him.
She stopped using them.
Let me get this straight.
Martin Webster was the
brother-in-law
of Frank Parris,
and he also knew
Cecily Treherne?
Mm, course he knew her, but
They definitely weren't friends.
Martin.
I thought we asked you
not to come back here.
You knew Cecily Treherne.
I met her a few times.
You do know she's disappeared.
Everyone knows that.
In fact, we're all getting
a bit fed up
with it, to be honest.
She used to use
your laundry service.
The two of you argued.
Yes.
Why?
I really don't think
that's any of your business.
And you and I
have spoken enough.
Why does she keep
coming here?
That's a good question.
I think she's becoming
a bit obsessed about it all.
What are we gonna do?
You want me to do
something about it?
No.
Look, don't worry
about it, dear.
She doesn't know anything
about us,
and she's not gonna find out
anything, either.
I'll make sure of that.
Susan.
I didn't realize you were back.
You made me jump.
I'm sorry.
After what happened,
this, uh, this whole corridor
can be a bit unnerving.
Do you want to look
at room 12?
Uh, no.
Nothing much in there.
How was London?
Uh, actually it was useful.
Uh, I got all of Alan's notes
and the interviews
that you did,
and everyone else.
And what are you doing here?
I'm trying to work
something out.
Derek Endicott was
on reception the night
that Frank Parris was killed.
He heard the dog bark
and he came up the stairs.
That was when he saw a figure
in the corridor,
someone he thought was Stefan.
That's what he told the police.
Yes, but it would've taken Derek
less than five seconds
to get from the dog basket
into the corridor,
and by that time,
Stefan had already disappeared.
Or he'd already gone into the
room, he had a key.
Yes.
Yes, Stefan had a key
for all the rooms.
Yeah, but what
happened after that?
I mean, what would
you do if a complete
stranger came
into your room?
I'd shout for help.
So why didn't Derek hear
anything?
Frank Parris
could've been asleep.
In which case, Stefan wouldn't
have needed to kill him.
He could've just taken the money
and left.
What are you saying?
Just that
whatever happened here,
it wasn't what we think.
And for that matter, why did
the dog bark in the first place?
I'm, I'm afraid
I can't help you.
Actually, maybe you can.
I listened to the recordings,
and there's something
that Cecily said.
He wasn't the only young
offender working in the hotel.
My father was running a program.
So, what other offenders
did you have working here?
I don't think I should
be sharing that information.
Lawrence, I'm trying
to help you find Cecily.
The only way I can do that
is to know what she knew.
So
Who was it?
That's it, keep that wrist
strong, squeeze.
Liam, I need to talk
to you.
I'm busy.
No, this won't wait.
It's gonna have to.
Okay.
I know you have
a criminal record.
You served six months
in Long Bay Prison in Sydney
for providing your clients
with steroids.
All right.
I'll talk to you, okay?
Just not here.
Testosterone, boldenone,
Anadrol-- it's no big deal.
I was getting it cheap from
Thailand, like everyone else.
But then the police
caught up with you.
Six months-- I did four.
And then you came
to London?
It was easier to get new clients
away from home.
What sort of clients,
Liam?
What exactly
were you doing?
I was a personal trainer.
What do you think
I was doing?
Did you come
from Melbourne?
No, Brisbane.
So why don't you tell me
the truth
about what was happening here
with Stefan?
I don't know what
you're talking about.
I think you do.
The last time
I spoke to you,
you said that you felt
"sorry for the poor bastard"
because of the way
they treated him here.
What did you mean
by that?
He was a skivvy.
He'd work a 12-hour shift.
Toilets, gutters, the roof,
the trash-- you name it.
You know how much
they were paying him?
They were trying to help him.
Come on, darling.
Their so-called youth offender
outreach program?
It's a rip-off--
it's a way to get cheap labor
to keep this stinking
hotel running.
You've stayed here
long enough.
Where else am I gonna go,
with my conviction?
Besides,
it's not the half of it.
So what's the other half?
Cecily Treherne was okay.
But her sister
Lisa's the devil.
She had her claws into
Stefan from the start.
In what way?
What way do you think?
Nice hunk of 22-year-old
Eastern European flesh?
She was in a relationship
with him?
Well, I wouldn't call it that.
But they were having sex,
if that's what you mean.
Poor sod couldn't say no to her.
After all,
she was running the hotel.
She had complete power
over him.
Did he tell you this?
No, he didn't talk
about that kind of stuff.
But he was miserable
whenever she was around.
You know,
I actually saw them once?
Tell me.
LIAM
I'd gone out for a run.
There's a circuit that
takes me through the woods.
And I'd just set out,
and that's when I saw her.
I mean, it was pretty obvious
what was going on.
I couldn't help
but wonder who it was,
and that's when I saw them.
Stefan and Lisa going at it,
hammer and tongs.
When was this?
A couple of weeks
before the murder.
And it was definitely
Stefan and Lisa?
That's a fair question,
Sue.
Susan.
Whatever.
It was night.
There was some distance
between us.
To be honest, my first thought
was that it was Aiden
having it away with Lisa,
which would've been a laugh.
Was Aiden like that,
promiscuous?
No way.
Cecily would've kicked him out
if he did.
And anyway, it wasn't him.
Aiden has a tattoo
on his shoulder,
it's like a big tadpole.
I could see quite
clearly, it wasn't there.
Could've snuck away right then,
but would you believe it?
I stepped on a branch.
Went off like a gunshot,
the guy turned around.
It was definitely Stefan.
Did he see you?
I don't think so.
Well, he never
mentioned anything.
So why did Lisa fire him?
Well, she accused him
of stealing.
But everyone knows
it was Natasha.
It wasn't him.
Maybe he'd given her
the old heave-ho
and she wanted
to get rid of him.
I know what I'm
talking about.
She's doing
the same thing to me.
Anytime she needs a root,
I'm her first port of call.
And do you?
Yeah, I don't mind--
keeps her sweet.
She pays a little extra
on the side.
Oh!
Was there anything else
you want to know?
Uh, no, no.
Definitely not.
Mmm, great.
Thank you.
KATIE
Hi, it's Katie, please leave
a message.
Katie, uh, I've managed
to lose my mobile,
but I've been trying
to get hold of you.
Jack says
you'll be home by00.
So, I'm gonna come over now.
Okay, bye.
Hi.
Did you get my message?
Yeah, sorry, um,
just having a bit of a day.
Can I come in?
Of course.
You didn't tell me!
And you asked me to go
to the garden center
so I wouldn't see
the sign outside.
You got a buyer, then?
We've just exchanged.
And you lied to me, Katie.
You told me that
you had decorators in.
I don't see any sign of
any decorators anywhere.
And Jack.
He's dropped out
of university.
He's a mess.
He looks
utterly miserable.
Has this got anything
to do with Gordon?
You never talk about him.
He's never here.
Why do you want to know?
Because I care
about you, Katie.
And we don't have any secrets
from each other.
Gordon's left me.
What?!
Oh, my
When?
Six months ago.
I didn't tell you
because I didn't want you
to be worrying about me.
You've got enough on
your plate, and anyway,
there's nothing
you could do.
I could've been there for you.
I didn't want you there.
I wanted you here.
I couldn't ask, and anyway,
I didn't want to.
Why not?
Because I felt so bloody stupid!
And I still do now.
He started working late,
in London.
First one night a week,
then it was two nights.
And then he
sweet-talked me
into renting a flat
near the bank
to save money.
Can you believe that?
Our money--
our joint account.
All to support
his sordid little love nest.
Do you know who it is?
Oh
It's his secretary.
And, and how pathetic
is that?
Her name's Naomi.
Mmm.
She's 20 years younger than him.
I mean, she's barely older
than his own daughter.
Oh, Katie.
No.
I'm so sorry.
Please, Susan, don't.
I don't want your pity.
It will only make
things worse.
You may as well
hear the rest of it.
He was lavishing money
on Naomi-- trips to Paris.
And at the same time, he was
maxing out on his credit card.
His company credit card.
So of course,
eventually, they found out.
And he lost his job.
He's lucky they didn't
decide to prosecute.
They're letting him
pay it back in installments.
Anyway, the upshot of it all
is that we couldn't
afford the house.
But you both own it.
Yeah, well,
it's a 50-50 split,
but it still means downsizing.
It's
It's a mess.
And as for Jack and Daisy
Daisy doesn't want to know.
She's furious.
She thinks he's having
some pathetic midlife crisis
that he's inflicting
on all of us.
And as for Jack
Well, you've seen.
He always was the
more sensitive one.
I've promised I won't cry,
and I'm not going to.
But I can tell you,
what's upset me the most
is that I feel so stupid.
Like I've been
somehow inadequate,
and I'm the one to blame.
But you know that's not true.
But course it's not.
It's all down to him, all of it.
But it's still how I feel.
And that's another reason
why I didn't want you to know.
Because I've always
been the sensible one,
haven't I?
Married with two children,
a nice house in Suffolk,
and a job in a garden
center, while you,
you've been gallivanting
around London,
and now Crete,
and where's it got me?
I'm not gallivanting
anymore.
You're thinking of
leaving Andreas.
I couldn't believe it
when you told me that.
You two are wonderful together.
He's a good man,
and he loves you to bits,
and you should be grabbing
onto him and holding him
with both hands.
You don't know
how lucky you are.
Katie, what can I do?
Oh
There's nothing you can do.
I'll be fine,
I'll get through it somehow.
All I'm saying is,
think again.
What?
What? Oh
What? Get, get out of the
Get out of the
What are you doing?!
Oh, my
What is it?
What?!
No!
The body of a young woman's
been found in Rendlesham Forest.
I'm very sorry to have
to tell you this, Mr. MacNeil,
but we have every reason
to believe that it's Cecily.
No.
Aiden.
There'll have to be a,
a formal identification,
but in the meantime, I
I wonder if you recognize this.
It's hers.
How did you find her?
Well, we hadn't stopped looking,
but in the end,
it was a dog walker.
Oh, God.
Oh, my God.
What happened?
I thought I told you
to leave.
Oh, God
We've found the body
of Cecily Treherne
in woodland
not far from here.
She'd been strangled,
just like the actress
in that book of yours.
Oh, I suppose
you're gonna try
and make something
out of that.
No.
Funny, innit?
How real murder
isn't quite as much fun
as those stories of yours.
They're not my stories.
We've got a husband in there
sobbing his heart out,
two parents who've just
lost a daughter,
and an eight-year-old girl
who's about to find out
she no longer has a mummy.
But I suppose,
to you, oh,
that's all
entertainment.
How can you be so cruel?
Because this is my life,
and you've got
no place in it!
Susan.
Oh, God.
I was hoping
to see you.
I've just heard the news--
I'm so sorry.
Sorry that my sister's
been found dead?
Or that your all-expenses paid
visit to the hotel is now over?
What?
Well, I don't think
there's any further reason
for you to stay here,
do you?
What is wrong with you?
The hotel is fully booked out
next week,
we need your room--
I'm just doing my job.
Does your father know
you're talking to me?
Well, actually, my father wanted
me to have this conversation.
We want to bring an end
to his arrangement with you,
and we think
you should leave.
When?
Tomorrow.
Checkout's at00.
Derek will help you
with your luggage.
Susan?
Andreas!
What are you doing here?
What is it,
what's wrong?
You tell me.
What?
Where were you last night?
Why are you even
asking me that?
'Cause I need to know
if you want to see me.
I want to see you
more than anyone.
PÜ
I have asked you
to return here today
because, well, it seems
that events at Clarence Keep
did not occur quite
as we believed.
Are you telling us that
the detective inspector
was wrong all along,
and it was not her husband
who killed Melissa?
Oh.
It is only thanks
to the detective inspector
that I was able
to solve the case.
It was he who made
the observation
that unlocked
everything.
Thank you, Mr. Pünd.
What observation was that?
You compared the murder
of Melissa James
to the death of Desdemona
in William Shakespeare's
"Tragedy of Othello."
"Beware the green-eyed monster."
Hmm.
Let us return
to the beginning.
We know
that Miss James was killed
very shortly after28
in the evening.
28, yes,
that's when she called me.
Mm.
Please, please,
please come round.
I don't know what to do.
I'm so frightened.
Please! He wants to kill me.
PÜ
"He wants to kill me."
But to whom was she referring?
It was her husband.
It, it had to be her husband.
That would indeed seem
to be the case, Miss Cain.
John Spencer was
not at the opera.
He lied to us.
I came to the house
that evening, as I told you.
I did not see him.
In the moments before he died,
Mr. Spencer was obliged
to explain to us
exactly what occurred.
You never left?
No, I left.
I drove as far as the village.
But I was in no mood
for the opera.
I came back.
PÜ
And you confronted
your wife?
We had a terrible row.
She told me she was leaving me.
That argument
must have taken place
after the Chandlers had left to
see their relatives in Bideford.
We, we never heard them
argue.
No, of course we didn't.
We kept our distance,
as was our place.
When did you leave the house?
At ten past six.
PÜ
So,
Mr. Berlin arrives, he leaves.
The Chandlers also depart.
And what
of Algernon Marsh?
I'm in the pub.
Lots of people saw me.
Several of them
saw you leave.
I'd had enough to drink.
I walked home.
So,
Mr. Berlin arrives,
he leaves.
The Chandlers also depart.
And that is when
John Spencer returns.
He was who she was scared
of when she called us.
Evidently, and yet
we have a problem.
All the evidence suggests
that the telephone call
was made from this room.
We found the tissues
with her tears
down here,
and the phone in her bedroom
was torn out of the wall.
And yet it is in the bedroom
that Dr. Collins
discovered the body.
That's right,
she was on the bed.
You see? It does not work.
"I'm so frightened.
He wants to kill me."
Where is Melissa when she
says this, and, and where
is her husband?
They were both in here.
If Melissa really believes
herself to be in danger,
why does she return
to the bedroom?
And where is John Spencer?
Why does he allow her to make
a telephone call for help?
Maybe they argued upstairs
after all.
PÜ
And what time is the telephone
cord pulled out of the wall?
Does Melissa come down
to the living room,
call for help, and then
return to the bedroom?
He's right,
it makes no sense.
All I can tell you is,
she was definitely dead,
she was definitely
on the bed,
and she had definitely
been strangled.
I, I saw the ligatures.
I, I'm so glad that you chose
to mention that, Dr Collins.
You see, it reminds me of a most
interesting piece of information
that was shared with me
by my good friend
Detective Inspector Chubb.
She must have put up
quite a fight.
The sheets were crumpled,
one of the lamps was broken,
and there was two sets of
abrasions around her neck.
Why two sets of abrasions?
Miss James was
only strangled once.
Well, she was struggling,
you know?
Maybe the cord slipped,
and the killer had
to apply it a second time.
That is exactly what I believed,
until the moment
that you referred to the drama
of "Othello."
I don't, I don't
understand.
What happens in that play?
Desdemona is strangled
by her jealous
husband, hmm?
And just like John Spencer,
he confesses to the crime.
"She is dead," he says.
"Still as the grave.
I have no wife."
But then she recovers.
She's not dead, after all.
Exactly.
Strangulation,
it kills by restricting the flow
of blood or oxygen to the brain.
This I've noted in
"The Landscape
of Criminal Investigation."
But although unconsciousness
will take seconds,
death may take several minutes.
So, John Spencer
didn't kill her?
He believed that he had, mm?
She had fallen,
struck her head.
There was blood.
She was not moving.
We can imagine his horror.
He believed that he had killed
the woman he most loved.
He ran out of the room,
out of the house,
leaving her behind.
But then she woke up.
She woke up.
The telephone cord had been
pulled from the wall,
so she had to make her way
downstairs to call for help,
and it was Dr. Collins
who answered.
And I, I said I'd be
around straight away.
PÜ
But in fact,
it took you ten minutes,
during which time
Miss James returned to her bed,
which is where you found her.
So, who killed her?
Dr. Collins, of course.
No.
No.
It, that's not possible.
Not Leonard.
Melissa James was a friend
of mine and a patient.
What possible reason
could I have to kill her?
"My darling darling.
"We must be brave
and tell the world
about the love we share."
This letter
was addressed to you.
Wait a minute.
Algernon Marsh told us
the letter was addressed to him!
He was lying.
Why would I do that?
PÜ
For one simple reason.
You did not wish us to discover
that the true lover of Miss
James was your brother-in-law,
Dr. Collins.
It was all about the money.
Exactly, Miss Cain,
the money.
Left to Mrs. Collins
by her aunt.
Her brother, ooh,
he wanted a share of it.
And he knew that he could
blackmail Dr. Collins
with his knowledge
of the affair.
But that meant shielding him,
pretending that it was he,
and not Dr. Collins,
who was the true lover
of Miss James.
This, this is,
is nonsense.
You have a wife
who is deeply religious,
who told me herself
she could never forgive
the sin of adultery.
Had she discovered
the truth about you,
she would've left you,
which is exactly
why you had
to kill Melissa James.
She was
threatening
to tell the world
about your affair.
They're already
seeing each other.
Then suddenly Mrs. Collins
gets the inheritance.
Exactly.
He will have control
of the money,
but only if she
remains as his wife.
£980,000.
How did you learn
of the affair, Mr. Marsh?
Melissa told me.
She couldn't stop herself.
She was besotted with him.
So, it's true.
Leonard?
PÜ
Her husband attacks her.
And Miss James,
she calls her lover for help.
In so doing, gave him
the perfect opportunity
to silence her,
knowing full well
that it would be John Spencer
that would take the blame.
You're a monster.
I can't bear it!
I'm sorry,
Samantha.
I really am.
But I mean, Melissa was a star.
She said she was going to
go back into the movies.
She talked about Hollywood.
And I thought she was
my ticket out of this,
this boring village,
my boring life.
But then, when you
got the money,
I realized what
a fool I'd been.
I've nothing
to say to you, Leonard.
I'll tell you what else is true.
He was
blackmailing me!
Swine.
You should
arrest him, too.
What?
Take them both away.
Go on, then.
Dr Collins.
I'd never have believed it.
Because he was
the least likely suspect?
Because he wasn't
a suspect at all.
But there's one thing
I don't get, Mr. Pünd.
If Dr. Collins
killed Melissa James,
who in the blazes
killed John Spencer?
Mmm, that is the second part of
the puzzle, Detective Inspector.
And I have a confession
to make.
The person who killed
John Spencer
was me.
I should not have
taken this case.
I started all this,
and now I'm gonna finish it.
Why won't you take
no for an answer?
Don't you want to know
who killed her?
I know who killed her.
He's hiding something.
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