Queens Of Mystery (2019) s01e05 Episode Script
Smoke and Mirrors Part 1
NARRATOR: A car can reflect many things about its owner.
A sense of playfulness.
An extension of one's personality.
A simple need to transport oneself as quickly and conveniently as possible.
For Eleanor Stone, mother of Matilda Stone, registration LGH 202D reflected a sense of freedom and independence that was so missing from other areas of her life.
So it was unfortunate, then, with Eleanor's mysterious disappearance, that LGH 202D came to reflect the painful reminder of a loved one lost.
Three, two, one Unable to part with their sister's beloved chariot, Beth, Cat, and Jane Stone made the decision to reunite LGH 202D with Eleanor's daughter, Matilda [LAUGHS.]
on her 17th birthday.
And so, despite reflecting many things about the Stone sisters over the years [SQUEALS.]
[LAUGHS.]
[HORN HONKING.]
[LAUGHTER.]
to Matilda Stone, LGH 202D has always reflected onething.
[ENGINE STARTS.]
[BELL TOLLING.]
Nearing his 67th year, renowned thespian Sir Lawrence Shaw was certain he was just 48 hours away from a triumphant opening night of a play he had not only adapted, but in which he'd also modestly cast himself in the leading role.
iDetective Inspector Henry Lambert for Dr.
Tyrell.
Can I ask what it's regarding? We have received report of an escaped inmate.
But watching the latest dress rehearsal At the Macbeth Institute, we prefer to call them patients.
crime writer Jane Stone - [BULBS POPPING.]
- Aah! had yet to be convinced.
[GLASS TINKLING.]
What the hell was that?! Almost gave me a bleeding heart attack! Must you overreact every time something unexpected happens, you stupid girl? [SIGHS.]
- House lights! - Yeah.
[SIGHS.]
URSULA: Okay, everybody, take a tight five.
Uh, Fiona, can we take another look at those electrics? That's the third blowout this week.
Yeah, no problem, boss.
It's not going well, is it? BETH: Technical gremlins.
All shows get them before opening night.
You don't think it's because of the Scottish play.
Oh, come on, Jane.
You of all people can't believe all that "Don't say 'Macbeth, ' otherwise it will bring bad luck" mumbo jumbo.
But we do seem to have had more than our fair share.
Poor Kenneth.
He must be regretting backing a show with Mac the Scottish play in the title.
It's Ken's theater.
He knows what he's doing.
Anyway, the council are funding it, not him.
SIR LAWRENCE: [SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Maybe I shouldn't have sold Sir Lawrence the stage rights to my book.
I mean, look who is writing an article all about it.
SIR LAWRENCE: remember her damn words.
Quentin Glover.
SIR LAWRENCE: How long have you had to learn this? He's never once written a kind word about my books.
No, nor mine.
Look, everything's going to be fine.
You've still got a couple of days before you open.
Plenty of time to iron out any more technical issues.
SIR LAWRENCE: You have no dedication to the craft.
AMY: I'm sorry.
I'm trying my best.
SIR LAWRENCE: Trying and succeeding, dear lady, are two very different things.
And I'll be in my dressing room.
- But we haven't finished - Amateurs, the lot of you! Sir Lawrence is not the most generous of actors, is he? Right.
Blanche, take a break.
I'll play Lambert.
Ian, Amy, we'll take it from the top of page 30.
Didn't you used to have a thing about him when we were kids? What was that poster you had? Was it "Richard III"? - "King Lear.
" - That was it.
Hey, look, you're single, he's single.
Why don't you ask him out on a date? Maybe you should mind your own business.
Excuse me.
What's got her knickers in a bunch? It's coming up to the third anniversary.
Of Robert's death.
Oh.
TERRY: [EXHALES SHARPLY.]
Archiving, Stone.
I need you to archive our old files, cross-referencing them with the police database.
Don't just stand there, Foster.
Bring in the rest.
There's more? Yes, Stone.
I don't mean to bore you, but 90% of policing is admin.
What Inspector Thorne wanted to say next was I was like you once.
Young, brave, fearless.
But this job, holding back the darkness so others can live in the light, takes its toll.
Makes you less than you thought you were.
But what he chose to say was I'm golfing with the A.
C.
today, so no disturbances unless absolutely necessary.
- Do I make myself clear? - Sir.
Thanks.
Ugh.
[SIGHS.]
It's an interesting piece.
Quite Best limit yourself to 200 milligrams a day.
Pardon? Maximum daily intake recommended caffeine during your first trimester.
You're mistaken.
I'm not pregnant.
A midwife for 25 years and widow of the late Dr.
Robert Doyle, Beth Stone was rarely wrong when it came to matters of childbirth.
Trust me.
I know what I'm talking about.
Excuse me.
[SIGHS.]
Sorry about the whole date thing.
Oh, forget it.
I'm sorry I was short.
I'm just worried about Jane's play.
Oh, don't tell me you believe all this "curse of Macbeth" nonsense as well? Of course not.
It's just it seems so beset with problems.
It's this place.
It's been underfunded for years.
No wonder it's falling apart.
I've just had some great news.
We're moving theaters? Kenneth Ridley says advance sales are much greater than expected.
He said it's to do with Sir Lawrence persuading you-know-who to come out of retirement.
Even after all these years, people still want to see Sir Lawrence and Dame Blanche on stage together.
I saw their "Antony and Cleopatra" in '86.
The chemistry was undeniable.
Was that after their first or second divorce? Oh! I've got to call my agent.
She will be delighted.
You do realize Jane's gonna be crushed if that little toad's article isn't positive.
Quite honestly, my dear, they were appalling.
Did you see the show? I'd love to know what he's writing about.
Wouldn't you? Well, he doesn't appear to have his famous purple notebook on him, so, um You keep him distracted.
I'll meet you in the pub in 15 minutes.
DAME BLANCHE: Darling, as soon as Larry sent me the script, I knew I had to do the play.
[CHUCKLES.]
CAT: Quentin Glover.
How's my least-favorite arts correspondent? Aren't you going to introduce me? Blanche, this is Cat Stone.
Lovely to meet you.
It's great to meet you too.
She writes.
Cartoons, isn't it? Graphic novels.
So What's the gossip? Half a shandy please, Erica, and a bourbon, straight.
Bit early for that.
Dutch courage for when we tell Jane about Quentin Glover's article.
No need.
His notes were positive.
Oh.
In which case, Kenneth Ridley is wasting his money.
There's only two things that come in brown envelopes.
Bills and bribes.
So Kenneth Ridley's bribing Quentin Glover to write a positive article about the play? What else can it be? A sort of, uh, dystopian steampunk.
Oh.
The man with him I recognize him from somewhere.
- Cheers.
- Thank you.
Ah! What? [SNIFFLES, SOBS.]
I just don't know what to think anymore.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Ursula, Sir Lawrence is asking for you.
I'm sorry, Zoe.
Zoe, please.
Zoe, come back.
[DOOR OPENS.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
I'm sorry.
He, um He said it was urgent.
When isn't it? There are moments in a person's life where, however virtuous they may be, a temptation presents itself that is too great to resist.
And opening her mother's missing persons file was one such temptation.
[SIGHS.]
[LINE RINGS.]
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Mm.
Hello, Mattie.
Do you remember the name of the officer in charge of Mum's case? Yes.
Chief Inspector Bryant.
But he died years ago.
Why? No reason.
I'll see you tonight.
- Oh - [DIAL TONE.]
[SIGHS.]
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
SIR LAWRENCE: surrounded with idiots.
I cannot URSULA: I will kill you! How dare you?! She's 18 years old! How could you do that to her? And this is how you repay! You have no morals at all, you disgusting old man! I've given you five years of my life! What's going on? - Shh! - Shh! Ursula and Sir Lawrence are having a set-to.
- [SHOUTING CONTINUES.]
- Oh, what about? No one can make it out.
But it sounds like she's finally giving the old goat what for.
She's coming out.
She's coming out.
AMY: Go, go, go.
Quick.
Aah! [WATER RUNNING, PILLS CLATTERING.]
[SIGHS.]
Everything okay, Fiona? [DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS.]
Inspector.
We weren't expecting you back so soon.
Any luck finding our missing patient? Oh, we found him, all right.
But he's dead.
And now you're supposed to say, "Dead? How?" And then I reply, "Old age," which would be fine, except I've discovered he was only 25.
It's one of my character's biggest moments.
I'm sorry.
I-I thought you still had another line.
Honestly, you really are the worst actor I've ever had the misfortune to share a stage with.
Yeah.
Well, if I'm so bad, why did you cast me in the first place? Because your uncle only agreed to back my play if I gave you the part.
However cruel, Sir Lawrence's remark about Amy's Uncle Kenneth, owner of the Corn Exchange Theatre, had an uncomfortable ring truth to it.
Was that really necessary? If you're not happy here, dear boy, I wish you every success in finding gainful employment elsewhere.
Amy.
Amy, wait up.
Okay.
Everyone take a loose ten.
Was it something I said? Why did you tell the kid about Inspector Bryant? - [DOOR CLOSES.]
- FIONA: Excuse me.
Herbal tea? Uh, Fiona darling, could we talk about my lighting for the fourth scene? Mm, yep.
Okay.
Right Well? I know.
I'm sorry.
She caught me off guard.
But Bryant's been dead for years.
What harm can it do? Although she had never seen them herself, Matilda was aware of three pieces of evidence connected to her mother's mysterious disappearance a hastily scribbled haiku, a Bulgarian cigarette, and a solitary black feather.
Matilda hoped that by locating and examining the items personally, they might offer up some small clue as to what happened to her mother on that sunny July afternoon 24 years ago.
For the second time that day, Matilda would find herself disappointed.
But only temporarily.
A solitary black feather.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS.]
What is this abomination? Roy, is that you? Gilda.
I'm afraid D.
S.
Roy is a little indisposed.
You? I'm sorry it had to be like this, Inspector.
[COUGHS.]
I was starting to like you.
[COUGHING.]
Should there be so much smoke? After years of research [COUGHS.]
we've finally discovered a way [COUGHING.]
to reverse the aging proc I'm sorry! It's all this smoke.
Fiona.
[COUGHS.]
Cut the smoke.
- AMY: [COUGHS.]
- Fiona? Oh! Keep going! [COUGHS.]
Uh [COUGHS.]
But first, to restore someone Oh, stupid girl, get out of the way.
But to restore someone's youth, years must first be stolen from another.
He's stealing Amy's lines.
Some call it a sixth sense.
Others, intuition.
But Beth Stone had an uneasy feeling that Sir Lawrence's performance was to be his last.
The Macbeth Institute is a front for an age-rendering facility.
A fountain of youth for those with deep pockets and shallow morals.
Now he's ad-libbing.
The opportunity to live as a god.
Light without darkness.
Birth without conception.
Existence without fear.
Life without death.
Look out! Aah! [GASPS.]
[CAWS.]
[CAWS.]
[TELEPHONE RINGS.]
- [DOOR OPENS.]
- TERRY: Matilda.
Your Aunt Jane's on the phone.
There's been an accident.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
Although murder was never pleasant, Matilda was at least able to find comfort in the knowledge that it brought her into contact with Wildemarsh's resident G.
P.
and pathologist - THORNE: Sergeant? - Dr.
Daniel Lynch.
Sergeant.
Witnesses? Sorry, um, just my aunts.
Your aunts have a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Without wanting to state the obvious, death was most likely the result of a heavy object falling from a great height, namely this sandbag.
Accidental? I had a chance to examine the sandbag before Dan Dr.
Lynch arrived.
- It's been cut.
- Yes, sir.
This wasn't an accident.
It was murder.
Murder? But we open in two days.
You can have your stage back when we're done with it.
I want no stone unturned, Stone.
I want whatever severed that rope found, and witness interviews conducted with everyone who was in the vicinity at the time of Sir Lawrence's death.
And, yes, that does include your aunts.
But that is to be absolutely their last involvement with this case.
Sir.
I'll need somewhere private to conduct the interviews.
No one leaves until I've seen them.
Okay.
If you could state your name and connection to the theater.
Dame Blanche Chastain.
I play Dr.
Tyrell.
Yeah, Kenneth Ridley.
Theater owner and the show's producer.
Quentin Glover.
Arts correspondent for the Wildemarsh Watchman.
Amy Austen, leading lady.
Fiona Hutton, stage manager.
Ian Winterfield.
I play Detective Sergeant Roy, and I'm or at least I was Sir Lawrence's understudy.
And where were you when Sir Lawrence was killed? Where was I? Resting in my dressing room.
Here, working in me office.
Answering a call of nature.
AMY: Onstage.
Not that anyone could see me with all that smoke.
Uh, backstage.
Having a secret ciggie out the back.
Were you alone? Yes, quite alone.
No, no, just just me.
Of course! What are you insinuating? Yes.
I always work alone.
What was your relationship with the deceased? DAME BLANCHE: Our relationship? I'd like to think that he still loved me in some small way.
Uh, purely business.
His name on the playbill sold a lot of tickets.
[LAUGHS.]
We were friends for more than 40 years, and I never heard a bad word said against him.
The man was a pig.
I hated him.
I didn't really know him.
I try and keep away from the actors if I can.
- Odd sort.
- IAN: He was my mentor.
Taught me everything I know.
What does Sir Lawrence's death mean to you? In an odd way, it's as if a part of me died with him on that stage.
His death could seriously affect ticket sales.
It's an incalculable loss to the industry.
Hopefully I'll get to play opposite someone nice now.
The show will still go on.
The theater's future depends on it.
Sleepless nights is what it means.
I'm now lumbered with opening the play as iD.
I.
Lambert, and I hardly know any of my lines.
Did Sir Lawrence have any enemies you can think of? I couldn't help but overhear someone shouting at him through my dressing-room wall earlier today.
I did hear a rumor he had blazing row with someone after lunch.
QUENTIN: A little bird did tell me that he and a certain someone crossed swords today.
I'm glad she stood up to him.
If you're asking me for a name Yeah, I have a pretty good idea who did it.
- Who? - Who? - Ursula Pittman.
- Ursula Pittman.
Ursula Pittman.
- Ursula Pittman.
- Ursula Pittman.
Ursula Pittman.
[WHISPERING.]
He's still looking for whatever cut the rope.
I don't think we should be doing this.
- Mattie wouldn't like it.
- We're only trying to help.
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Mum? Yes, I've got my thermals on.
No, the ones Aunt Edith bought me.
I don't have the ones you knitted.
I told you, they itch.
Hang on, Mum.
I've got bad reception in here.
I'll go outside.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
She's doing her "What would I do if I were the killer?" thing again.
I know where it is.
You directed all of his plays? Sir Lawrence insisted on it.
I was the only one who would put up with his tantrums.
Yet you and Sir Lawrence were heard arguing earlier.
Care to tell me what it was about? Now he's gone, I suppose there's no harm in showing you.
Follow me.
Sir Lawrence refused to admit it, but he was getting old.
And that caused a problem? He couldn't see or hear what was going on half the time.
He'd be out of place or miss his cues, and then he'd blame whoever was nearest.
And your argument? I told him it was time he started wearing his glasses and hearing aid onstage.
Matilda? We found this backstage.
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Oh.
- Sir? - [DOOR OPENS.]
THORNE: Stone, what's happened with the knife? - The knife? - Yes, Stone.
- Yeah, I sent to forensics.
- Your aunts again.
- They found it by accident.
- Interfering as usual.
- Thorne.
- No, they know better than that.
- THORNE: It's a crime scene.
- They weren't looking for it.
- THORNE: I'm golfing today.
- You're playing golf? - Again? - Yes, Stone.
- Don't disturb me.
- Yes, sir, I understand.
Only if strictly necessary.
Sir.
Do you want a lift to rehearsals? Oh, yes, please.
Are you two joining us? - No, I'm gonna be writing.
- Mm, yeah, me too.
You're aware I promised Inspector Thorne you wouldn't get involved in this one? And we won't.
Swear.
Okay.
Bye.
Mm.
Didn't want to say anything in front of Jane but have you seen this? It's Quentin Glover's review of the play.
BETH: Ouch.
[SOBS.]
Oh.
What's happened now? [CRYING.]
He said I have the stage presence of a cricket bat.
- Who? - Quentin bleeding Glover! Oh, but that's just rude.
It was meant to be a soft feature piece.
You know, to drum up interest.
Now people are asking for refunds.
- Oh.
- Amy okay? KENNETH: He mentions you by name.
Oh, yeah? "We can only be grateful the part of D.
S.
Roy was mute, as the quality of Ian Winterfield's body language was so poor, one could only imagine what he would do to the English language.
" The little weasel.
To hell with Quentin Glover.
Mm? You're the leading man now, Ian.
You can save this show.
I know you can! Huh? Where are you? He must have written that before Sir Lawrence was killed.
But Glover's notes were positive.
And he accepted a bribe off Kenneth Ridley, little creep.
Maybe Glover was double-crossing him.
I think we ought to take a closer look at Quentin.
Glover's car is still in the drive, so he can't have left for work yet.
And what's the plan when he does? Telling Matilda about the bribe won't be enough.
She'll want proof that Glover was planning on writing a positive article about the play.
CAT: Mm.
Which means getting hold of that precious purple notebook of his.
You mean steal it? No.
It's only stealing if we don't intend to give it back.
Do we intend to give it back? I haven't decided yet.
[CRYING SOFTLY.]
One thing that was decided was that the world would never again witness the famed onstage chemistry between Sir Lawrence Shaw and his former wife and longtime co-star, - Dame Blanche Chastain.
- [KNOCK ON DOOR.]
Come.
Dame Blanche? Oh.
Sergeant.
Oh, uh, come in.
Come, please.
Ah.
Oh, you must forgive me, Sergeant.
It's poor darling Larry.
Oh! I still can't believe he's gone.
Your last divorce to Sir Lawrence, was it acrimonious? [EXHALES SHARPLY.]
I didn't kill him, if that's what you're thinking.
Oh, we might have wished each other dead at times, but we never stopped loving each other.
He wouldn't have offered me this part otherwise.
This is your first stage role in a while, isn't it? In over a decade.
Good parts are hard to find.
If you'll excuse me, Sergeant, what with everything that's happened, I'm terribly behind with my correspondence.
I'm still getting fan mail every day.
I owe it to my public to reply.
Despite the different handwriting, Matilda noticed that the letters all bore the same postal mark.
The decision whether or not to point this out to Dame Blanche was taken out of Matilda's hands when [CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Excuse me.
Aunt Beth.
BETH: Mattie, we're at Quentin Glover's.
- [GLASS SHATTERS.]
- AMY: Aaah! I think you need to get down here.
What are you doing?! See what happens when you make a cricket bat angry?! Aaah! My car! MATILDA: You'd better be gone by the time I get there.
Oh.
Ecch.
QUENTIN: Yes.
Yes, I'll hold.
It's a free press, and I will not be intimidated.
If we can go inside, I can take a formal statement.
I do not have time for this.
I'm late for an appointment as it is.
Hello.
Y-Yes.
I need a recovery vehicle.
Immediately.
Meanwhile, Jane Stone was pleased that, during her great declutter of 2011, she decided not to throw away the chemistry set her parents bought her for her seventh birthday.
[SIGHS.]
Your uncle's on his way.
I'm sorry about the car.
I promise I'll pay for the damage somehow.
Even so, Mr.
Glover may still want to press charges.
I don't know what came over me.
I was just so angry.
You're thinking, if I can get this angry over a bit of bad press, maybe I'm capable of killing Sir Lawrence.
Are you? Sir Lawrence was a pig.
But starring opposite him in this play was gonna put me on the map.
Why would I jeopardize that? [CELLPHONE CHIMES.]
Excuse me.
Aunt Jane, you'd better not be getting involved in this case as well.
I found this in the bin in the theater's canteen.
Fiona Hutton.
The stage manager? I saw her flushing something down the sink the day of Sir Lawrence's murder.
And then this morning I spotted a tablet on the floor beside the sink.
Put these on.
Go on.
And stand well back.
The red flame proves that that tablet contained lithium.
It's what they use in fireworks to make them red.
It's a mood stabilizer, isn't it? Mm.
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Terry? So forensics have found a set of prints on the knife they found at the theater, of someone on the police database.
Who? TERRY: Fiona Hutton.
She was arrested 20 years ago for GBH.
MATILDA: Interview between D.
S.
Matilda Stone and Fiona Hutton.
P.
C.
Terry Foster is also present.
I used to have these manic bouts as a teenager.
Drinking made it worse.
And the GBH charge? On one occasion I hit someone.
It's what led me to being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
I stopped drinking immediately.
The doctors prescribed me lithium as a mood stabilizer.
Since then it's kept my condition under control.
So why stop taking your lithium? You need to tell me the truth, Fiona.
I can't help you otherwise.
It all started with your Aunt Beth.
Best limit yourself to 200 milligrams a day.
Why? Maximum daily intake of caffeine recommended during your first trimester.
First chance I had, I bought a pregnancy test.
I told the father.
He wanted nothing to do with me or the baby.
Said he didn't want the publicity of becoming a father at his age.
And that I should get rid of it.
Sir Lawrence.
For all his faults, Larry could be quite charming when he wanted to be.
I know I don't seem the maternal type, but I've always wanted to have kids.
It just never happened.
Till now.
There's no way I'd ever get rid of it.
And your bipolar medication isn't compatible with pregnancy.
FIONA: I flushed the lot, just to be safe.
Then coming off my meds so abruptly must have messed me up.
I blacked out.
I found myself coming 'round backstage.
I heard all this commotion going on.
I saw my utility knife and the cut rope and I panicked.
I hid the knife, hoping to come back for it later except My aunts found it first.
I didn't cut the rope, I swear.
- So why hide the knife? - You don't understand.
I thought if I told the truth about my illness, about me blacking out, that people would jump to the conclusion that I did it.
I couldn't take that risk.
I couldn't face having my baby in prison.
Before you blacked out, what's the last thing you remember? Um getting myself a herbal tea from the canteen.
Why? Righty ho.
Here's the receipt.
Okay.
There's the car keys.
Does he have his notebook with him? [INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
BETH: Doesn't look like it.
MAN: Taxi for the theater, sir? QUENTIN: Yes.
[WHISPERING.]
Hurry up! NARRATOR: Despite the heroine of her Iris Freeman novels picking locks on a regular basis, Beth Stone had never actually picked one herself.
Where's Jane when you need her? Oh, hello.
Brace yourself.
It stinks of lavender.
MATILDA: I don't believe she's the murderer, sir.
Fiona Hutton had the means, motive, and the opportunity.
But the only evidence we have are fingerprints on a knife which she readily admits she owns.
And her claiming to have blacked out backstage.
I've asked Dr.
Lynch to run a toxicology test on her blood.
Occam's razor, Sergeant.
The simplest solution tends to be the right one.
- Think on it.
- Sir.
Beth.
[DIALING.]
[LINE RINGS.]
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Not now.
I'm busy.
You're gonna want to see this, kid.
[BIRD CAWS.]
You'd better have a good reason for being in here.
We saw Quentin Glover taking an envelope of what looked like cash from Kenneth Ridley the day Sir Lawrence died.
But Glover's article slated the play.
CAT: Exactly.
Which is why we let ourselves in.
But that's not why we called.
Look at this.
It's a shrine to Dame Blanche.
He's clearly obsessed with her.
Well, obsessed or not, it won't stop Inspector Thorne throwing the book at us if he finds out we've been in here without a warrant.
- We won't tell if you don't.
- And I found these.
Dozens of fan letters to Dame Blanche made out in different handwriting.
Explains why all her fan mail had the same postmark.
And it gets weirder.
Quentin Glover and Dame Blanche were married? I think I need a word with Mr.
Glover.
Unfortunately for Quentin Glover, someone else also wanted a word.
And that word was "murder.
" Hello? Sure this is where you want to meet? Agh! [GROANING.]
Help me! You have [GROANING.]
Line! Line.
"You have to set me free before she comes back.
" IAN: Sorry, sorry.
You have to set me free before she comes back! [GROANING.]
Before she comes back! Amy? Amy! Are you planning on making an entrance anytime soon? I can't see her.
URSULA: Right.
You check the canteen.
I'll look in her dressing room.
I'm looking for Quentin Glover.
[CREAKING.]
The Wildemarsh Watchman's waspish arts correspondent, Quentin Glover Quentin? always believed the pen was mightier than the sword.
But little did he ever consider the former being successfully used as the latter.
A sense of playfulness.
An extension of one's personality.
A simple need to transport oneself as quickly and conveniently as possible.
For Eleanor Stone, mother of Matilda Stone, registration LGH 202D reflected a sense of freedom and independence that was so missing from other areas of her life.
So it was unfortunate, then, with Eleanor's mysterious disappearance, that LGH 202D came to reflect the painful reminder of a loved one lost.
Three, two, one Unable to part with their sister's beloved chariot, Beth, Cat, and Jane Stone made the decision to reunite LGH 202D with Eleanor's daughter, Matilda [LAUGHS.]
on her 17th birthday.
And so, despite reflecting many things about the Stone sisters over the years [SQUEALS.]
[LAUGHS.]
[HORN HONKING.]
[LAUGHTER.]
to Matilda Stone, LGH 202D has always reflected onething.
[ENGINE STARTS.]
[BELL TOLLING.]
Nearing his 67th year, renowned thespian Sir Lawrence Shaw was certain he was just 48 hours away from a triumphant opening night of a play he had not only adapted, but in which he'd also modestly cast himself in the leading role.
iDetective Inspector Henry Lambert for Dr.
Tyrell.
Can I ask what it's regarding? We have received report of an escaped inmate.
But watching the latest dress rehearsal At the Macbeth Institute, we prefer to call them patients.
crime writer Jane Stone - [BULBS POPPING.]
- Aah! had yet to be convinced.
[GLASS TINKLING.]
What the hell was that?! Almost gave me a bleeding heart attack! Must you overreact every time something unexpected happens, you stupid girl? [SIGHS.]
- House lights! - Yeah.
[SIGHS.]
URSULA: Okay, everybody, take a tight five.
Uh, Fiona, can we take another look at those electrics? That's the third blowout this week.
Yeah, no problem, boss.
It's not going well, is it? BETH: Technical gremlins.
All shows get them before opening night.
You don't think it's because of the Scottish play.
Oh, come on, Jane.
You of all people can't believe all that "Don't say 'Macbeth, ' otherwise it will bring bad luck" mumbo jumbo.
But we do seem to have had more than our fair share.
Poor Kenneth.
He must be regretting backing a show with Mac the Scottish play in the title.
It's Ken's theater.
He knows what he's doing.
Anyway, the council are funding it, not him.
SIR LAWRENCE: [SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY.]
Maybe I shouldn't have sold Sir Lawrence the stage rights to my book.
I mean, look who is writing an article all about it.
SIR LAWRENCE: remember her damn words.
Quentin Glover.
SIR LAWRENCE: How long have you had to learn this? He's never once written a kind word about my books.
No, nor mine.
Look, everything's going to be fine.
You've still got a couple of days before you open.
Plenty of time to iron out any more technical issues.
SIR LAWRENCE: You have no dedication to the craft.
AMY: I'm sorry.
I'm trying my best.
SIR LAWRENCE: Trying and succeeding, dear lady, are two very different things.
And I'll be in my dressing room.
- But we haven't finished - Amateurs, the lot of you! Sir Lawrence is not the most generous of actors, is he? Right.
Blanche, take a break.
I'll play Lambert.
Ian, Amy, we'll take it from the top of page 30.
Didn't you used to have a thing about him when we were kids? What was that poster you had? Was it "Richard III"? - "King Lear.
" - That was it.
Hey, look, you're single, he's single.
Why don't you ask him out on a date? Maybe you should mind your own business.
Excuse me.
What's got her knickers in a bunch? It's coming up to the third anniversary.
Of Robert's death.
Oh.
TERRY: [EXHALES SHARPLY.]
Archiving, Stone.
I need you to archive our old files, cross-referencing them with the police database.
Don't just stand there, Foster.
Bring in the rest.
There's more? Yes, Stone.
I don't mean to bore you, but 90% of policing is admin.
What Inspector Thorne wanted to say next was I was like you once.
Young, brave, fearless.
But this job, holding back the darkness so others can live in the light, takes its toll.
Makes you less than you thought you were.
But what he chose to say was I'm golfing with the A.
C.
today, so no disturbances unless absolutely necessary.
- Do I make myself clear? - Sir.
Thanks.
Ugh.
[SIGHS.]
It's an interesting piece.
Quite Best limit yourself to 200 milligrams a day.
Pardon? Maximum daily intake recommended caffeine during your first trimester.
You're mistaken.
I'm not pregnant.
A midwife for 25 years and widow of the late Dr.
Robert Doyle, Beth Stone was rarely wrong when it came to matters of childbirth.
Trust me.
I know what I'm talking about.
Excuse me.
[SIGHS.]
Sorry about the whole date thing.
Oh, forget it.
I'm sorry I was short.
I'm just worried about Jane's play.
Oh, don't tell me you believe all this "curse of Macbeth" nonsense as well? Of course not.
It's just it seems so beset with problems.
It's this place.
It's been underfunded for years.
No wonder it's falling apart.
I've just had some great news.
We're moving theaters? Kenneth Ridley says advance sales are much greater than expected.
He said it's to do with Sir Lawrence persuading you-know-who to come out of retirement.
Even after all these years, people still want to see Sir Lawrence and Dame Blanche on stage together.
I saw their "Antony and Cleopatra" in '86.
The chemistry was undeniable.
Was that after their first or second divorce? Oh! I've got to call my agent.
She will be delighted.
You do realize Jane's gonna be crushed if that little toad's article isn't positive.
Quite honestly, my dear, they were appalling.
Did you see the show? I'd love to know what he's writing about.
Wouldn't you? Well, he doesn't appear to have his famous purple notebook on him, so, um You keep him distracted.
I'll meet you in the pub in 15 minutes.
DAME BLANCHE: Darling, as soon as Larry sent me the script, I knew I had to do the play.
[CHUCKLES.]
CAT: Quentin Glover.
How's my least-favorite arts correspondent? Aren't you going to introduce me? Blanche, this is Cat Stone.
Lovely to meet you.
It's great to meet you too.
She writes.
Cartoons, isn't it? Graphic novels.
So What's the gossip? Half a shandy please, Erica, and a bourbon, straight.
Bit early for that.
Dutch courage for when we tell Jane about Quentin Glover's article.
No need.
His notes were positive.
Oh.
In which case, Kenneth Ridley is wasting his money.
There's only two things that come in brown envelopes.
Bills and bribes.
So Kenneth Ridley's bribing Quentin Glover to write a positive article about the play? What else can it be? A sort of, uh, dystopian steampunk.
Oh.
The man with him I recognize him from somewhere.
- Cheers.
- Thank you.
Ah! What? [SNIFFLES, SOBS.]
I just don't know what to think anymore.
[DOOR OPENS.]
Ursula, Sir Lawrence is asking for you.
I'm sorry, Zoe.
Zoe, please.
Zoe, come back.
[DOOR OPENS.]
[DOOR CLOSES.]
I'm sorry.
He, um He said it was urgent.
When isn't it? There are moments in a person's life where, however virtuous they may be, a temptation presents itself that is too great to resist.
And opening her mother's missing persons file was one such temptation.
[SIGHS.]
[LINE RINGS.]
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Mm.
Hello, Mattie.
Do you remember the name of the officer in charge of Mum's case? Yes.
Chief Inspector Bryant.
But he died years ago.
Why? No reason.
I'll see you tonight.
- Oh - [DIAL TONE.]
[SIGHS.]
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING.]
SIR LAWRENCE: surrounded with idiots.
I cannot URSULA: I will kill you! How dare you?! She's 18 years old! How could you do that to her? And this is how you repay! You have no morals at all, you disgusting old man! I've given you five years of my life! What's going on? - Shh! - Shh! Ursula and Sir Lawrence are having a set-to.
- [SHOUTING CONTINUES.]
- Oh, what about? No one can make it out.
But it sounds like she's finally giving the old goat what for.
She's coming out.
She's coming out.
AMY: Go, go, go.
Quick.
Aah! [WATER RUNNING, PILLS CLATTERING.]
[SIGHS.]
Everything okay, Fiona? [DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS.]
Inspector.
We weren't expecting you back so soon.
Any luck finding our missing patient? Oh, we found him, all right.
But he's dead.
And now you're supposed to say, "Dead? How?" And then I reply, "Old age," which would be fine, except I've discovered he was only 25.
It's one of my character's biggest moments.
I'm sorry.
I-I thought you still had another line.
Honestly, you really are the worst actor I've ever had the misfortune to share a stage with.
Yeah.
Well, if I'm so bad, why did you cast me in the first place? Because your uncle only agreed to back my play if I gave you the part.
However cruel, Sir Lawrence's remark about Amy's Uncle Kenneth, owner of the Corn Exchange Theatre, had an uncomfortable ring truth to it.
Was that really necessary? If you're not happy here, dear boy, I wish you every success in finding gainful employment elsewhere.
Amy.
Amy, wait up.
Okay.
Everyone take a loose ten.
Was it something I said? Why did you tell the kid about Inspector Bryant? - [DOOR CLOSES.]
- FIONA: Excuse me.
Herbal tea? Uh, Fiona darling, could we talk about my lighting for the fourth scene? Mm, yep.
Okay.
Right Well? I know.
I'm sorry.
She caught me off guard.
But Bryant's been dead for years.
What harm can it do? Although she had never seen them herself, Matilda was aware of three pieces of evidence connected to her mother's mysterious disappearance a hastily scribbled haiku, a Bulgarian cigarette, and a solitary black feather.
Matilda hoped that by locating and examining the items personally, they might offer up some small clue as to what happened to her mother on that sunny July afternoon 24 years ago.
For the second time that day, Matilda would find herself disappointed.
But only temporarily.
A solitary black feather.
[DOWN-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS.]
What is this abomination? Roy, is that you? Gilda.
I'm afraid D.
S.
Roy is a little indisposed.
You? I'm sorry it had to be like this, Inspector.
[COUGHS.]
I was starting to like you.
[COUGHING.]
Should there be so much smoke? After years of research [COUGHS.]
we've finally discovered a way [COUGHING.]
to reverse the aging proc I'm sorry! It's all this smoke.
Fiona.
[COUGHS.]
Cut the smoke.
- AMY: [COUGHS.]
- Fiona? Oh! Keep going! [COUGHS.]
Uh [COUGHS.]
But first, to restore someone Oh, stupid girl, get out of the way.
But to restore someone's youth, years must first be stolen from another.
He's stealing Amy's lines.
Some call it a sixth sense.
Others, intuition.
But Beth Stone had an uneasy feeling that Sir Lawrence's performance was to be his last.
The Macbeth Institute is a front for an age-rendering facility.
A fountain of youth for those with deep pockets and shallow morals.
Now he's ad-libbing.
The opportunity to live as a god.
Light without darkness.
Birth without conception.
Existence without fear.
Life without death.
Look out! Aah! [GASPS.]
[CAWS.]
[CAWS.]
[TELEPHONE RINGS.]
- [DOOR OPENS.]
- TERRY: Matilda.
Your Aunt Jane's on the phone.
There's been an accident.
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
Although murder was never pleasant, Matilda was at least able to find comfort in the knowledge that it brought her into contact with Wildemarsh's resident G.
P.
and pathologist - THORNE: Sergeant? - Dr.
Daniel Lynch.
Sergeant.
Witnesses? Sorry, um, just my aunts.
Your aunts have a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Without wanting to state the obvious, death was most likely the result of a heavy object falling from a great height, namely this sandbag.
Accidental? I had a chance to examine the sandbag before Dan Dr.
Lynch arrived.
- It's been cut.
- Yes, sir.
This wasn't an accident.
It was murder.
Murder? But we open in two days.
You can have your stage back when we're done with it.
I want no stone unturned, Stone.
I want whatever severed that rope found, and witness interviews conducted with everyone who was in the vicinity at the time of Sir Lawrence's death.
And, yes, that does include your aunts.
But that is to be absolutely their last involvement with this case.
Sir.
I'll need somewhere private to conduct the interviews.
No one leaves until I've seen them.
Okay.
If you could state your name and connection to the theater.
Dame Blanche Chastain.
I play Dr.
Tyrell.
Yeah, Kenneth Ridley.
Theater owner and the show's producer.
Quentin Glover.
Arts correspondent for the Wildemarsh Watchman.
Amy Austen, leading lady.
Fiona Hutton, stage manager.
Ian Winterfield.
I play Detective Sergeant Roy, and I'm or at least I was Sir Lawrence's understudy.
And where were you when Sir Lawrence was killed? Where was I? Resting in my dressing room.
Here, working in me office.
Answering a call of nature.
AMY: Onstage.
Not that anyone could see me with all that smoke.
Uh, backstage.
Having a secret ciggie out the back.
Were you alone? Yes, quite alone.
No, no, just just me.
Of course! What are you insinuating? Yes.
I always work alone.
What was your relationship with the deceased? DAME BLANCHE: Our relationship? I'd like to think that he still loved me in some small way.
Uh, purely business.
His name on the playbill sold a lot of tickets.
[LAUGHS.]
We were friends for more than 40 years, and I never heard a bad word said against him.
The man was a pig.
I hated him.
I didn't really know him.
I try and keep away from the actors if I can.
- Odd sort.
- IAN: He was my mentor.
Taught me everything I know.
What does Sir Lawrence's death mean to you? In an odd way, it's as if a part of me died with him on that stage.
His death could seriously affect ticket sales.
It's an incalculable loss to the industry.
Hopefully I'll get to play opposite someone nice now.
The show will still go on.
The theater's future depends on it.
Sleepless nights is what it means.
I'm now lumbered with opening the play as iD.
I.
Lambert, and I hardly know any of my lines.
Did Sir Lawrence have any enemies you can think of? I couldn't help but overhear someone shouting at him through my dressing-room wall earlier today.
I did hear a rumor he had blazing row with someone after lunch.
QUENTIN: A little bird did tell me that he and a certain someone crossed swords today.
I'm glad she stood up to him.
If you're asking me for a name Yeah, I have a pretty good idea who did it.
- Who? - Who? - Ursula Pittman.
- Ursula Pittman.
Ursula Pittman.
- Ursula Pittman.
- Ursula Pittman.
Ursula Pittman.
[WHISPERING.]
He's still looking for whatever cut the rope.
I don't think we should be doing this.
- Mattie wouldn't like it.
- We're only trying to help.
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Mum? Yes, I've got my thermals on.
No, the ones Aunt Edith bought me.
I don't have the ones you knitted.
I told you, they itch.
Hang on, Mum.
I've got bad reception in here.
I'll go outside.
[DOOR OPENS, CLOSES.]
She's doing her "What would I do if I were the killer?" thing again.
I know where it is.
You directed all of his plays? Sir Lawrence insisted on it.
I was the only one who would put up with his tantrums.
Yet you and Sir Lawrence were heard arguing earlier.
Care to tell me what it was about? Now he's gone, I suppose there's no harm in showing you.
Follow me.
Sir Lawrence refused to admit it, but he was getting old.
And that caused a problem? He couldn't see or hear what was going on half the time.
He'd be out of place or miss his cues, and then he'd blame whoever was nearest.
And your argument? I told him it was time he started wearing his glasses and hearing aid onstage.
Matilda? We found this backstage.
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Oh.
- Sir? - [DOOR OPENS.]
THORNE: Stone, what's happened with the knife? - The knife? - Yes, Stone.
- Yeah, I sent to forensics.
- Your aunts again.
- They found it by accident.
- Interfering as usual.
- Thorne.
- No, they know better than that.
- THORNE: It's a crime scene.
- They weren't looking for it.
- THORNE: I'm golfing today.
- You're playing golf? - Again? - Yes, Stone.
- Don't disturb me.
- Yes, sir, I understand.
Only if strictly necessary.
Sir.
Do you want a lift to rehearsals? Oh, yes, please.
Are you two joining us? - No, I'm gonna be writing.
- Mm, yeah, me too.
You're aware I promised Inspector Thorne you wouldn't get involved in this one? And we won't.
Swear.
Okay.
Bye.
Mm.
Didn't want to say anything in front of Jane but have you seen this? It's Quentin Glover's review of the play.
BETH: Ouch.
[SOBS.]
Oh.
What's happened now? [CRYING.]
He said I have the stage presence of a cricket bat.
- Who? - Quentin bleeding Glover! Oh, but that's just rude.
It was meant to be a soft feature piece.
You know, to drum up interest.
Now people are asking for refunds.
- Oh.
- Amy okay? KENNETH: He mentions you by name.
Oh, yeah? "We can only be grateful the part of D.
S.
Roy was mute, as the quality of Ian Winterfield's body language was so poor, one could only imagine what he would do to the English language.
" The little weasel.
To hell with Quentin Glover.
Mm? You're the leading man now, Ian.
You can save this show.
I know you can! Huh? Where are you? He must have written that before Sir Lawrence was killed.
But Glover's notes were positive.
And he accepted a bribe off Kenneth Ridley, little creep.
Maybe Glover was double-crossing him.
I think we ought to take a closer look at Quentin.
Glover's car is still in the drive, so he can't have left for work yet.
And what's the plan when he does? Telling Matilda about the bribe won't be enough.
She'll want proof that Glover was planning on writing a positive article about the play.
CAT: Mm.
Which means getting hold of that precious purple notebook of his.
You mean steal it? No.
It's only stealing if we don't intend to give it back.
Do we intend to give it back? I haven't decided yet.
[CRYING SOFTLY.]
One thing that was decided was that the world would never again witness the famed onstage chemistry between Sir Lawrence Shaw and his former wife and longtime co-star, - Dame Blanche Chastain.
- [KNOCK ON DOOR.]
Come.
Dame Blanche? Oh.
Sergeant.
Oh, uh, come in.
Come, please.
Ah.
Oh, you must forgive me, Sergeant.
It's poor darling Larry.
Oh! I still can't believe he's gone.
Your last divorce to Sir Lawrence, was it acrimonious? [EXHALES SHARPLY.]
I didn't kill him, if that's what you're thinking.
Oh, we might have wished each other dead at times, but we never stopped loving each other.
He wouldn't have offered me this part otherwise.
This is your first stage role in a while, isn't it? In over a decade.
Good parts are hard to find.
If you'll excuse me, Sergeant, what with everything that's happened, I'm terribly behind with my correspondence.
I'm still getting fan mail every day.
I owe it to my public to reply.
Despite the different handwriting, Matilda noticed that the letters all bore the same postal mark.
The decision whether or not to point this out to Dame Blanche was taken out of Matilda's hands when [CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Excuse me.
Aunt Beth.
BETH: Mattie, we're at Quentin Glover's.
- [GLASS SHATTERS.]
- AMY: Aaah! I think you need to get down here.
What are you doing?! See what happens when you make a cricket bat angry?! Aaah! My car! MATILDA: You'd better be gone by the time I get there.
Oh.
Ecch.
QUENTIN: Yes.
Yes, I'll hold.
It's a free press, and I will not be intimidated.
If we can go inside, I can take a formal statement.
I do not have time for this.
I'm late for an appointment as it is.
Hello.
Y-Yes.
I need a recovery vehicle.
Immediately.
Meanwhile, Jane Stone was pleased that, during her great declutter of 2011, she decided not to throw away the chemistry set her parents bought her for her seventh birthday.
[SIGHS.]
Your uncle's on his way.
I'm sorry about the car.
I promise I'll pay for the damage somehow.
Even so, Mr.
Glover may still want to press charges.
I don't know what came over me.
I was just so angry.
You're thinking, if I can get this angry over a bit of bad press, maybe I'm capable of killing Sir Lawrence.
Are you? Sir Lawrence was a pig.
But starring opposite him in this play was gonna put me on the map.
Why would I jeopardize that? [CELLPHONE CHIMES.]
Excuse me.
Aunt Jane, you'd better not be getting involved in this case as well.
I found this in the bin in the theater's canteen.
Fiona Hutton.
The stage manager? I saw her flushing something down the sink the day of Sir Lawrence's murder.
And then this morning I spotted a tablet on the floor beside the sink.
Put these on.
Go on.
And stand well back.
The red flame proves that that tablet contained lithium.
It's what they use in fireworks to make them red.
It's a mood stabilizer, isn't it? Mm.
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Terry? So forensics have found a set of prints on the knife they found at the theater, of someone on the police database.
Who? TERRY: Fiona Hutton.
She was arrested 20 years ago for GBH.
MATILDA: Interview between D.
S.
Matilda Stone and Fiona Hutton.
P.
C.
Terry Foster is also present.
I used to have these manic bouts as a teenager.
Drinking made it worse.
And the GBH charge? On one occasion I hit someone.
It's what led me to being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
I stopped drinking immediately.
The doctors prescribed me lithium as a mood stabilizer.
Since then it's kept my condition under control.
So why stop taking your lithium? You need to tell me the truth, Fiona.
I can't help you otherwise.
It all started with your Aunt Beth.
Best limit yourself to 200 milligrams a day.
Why? Maximum daily intake of caffeine recommended during your first trimester.
First chance I had, I bought a pregnancy test.
I told the father.
He wanted nothing to do with me or the baby.
Said he didn't want the publicity of becoming a father at his age.
And that I should get rid of it.
Sir Lawrence.
For all his faults, Larry could be quite charming when he wanted to be.
I know I don't seem the maternal type, but I've always wanted to have kids.
It just never happened.
Till now.
There's no way I'd ever get rid of it.
And your bipolar medication isn't compatible with pregnancy.
FIONA: I flushed the lot, just to be safe.
Then coming off my meds so abruptly must have messed me up.
I blacked out.
I found myself coming 'round backstage.
I heard all this commotion going on.
I saw my utility knife and the cut rope and I panicked.
I hid the knife, hoping to come back for it later except My aunts found it first.
I didn't cut the rope, I swear.
- So why hide the knife? - You don't understand.
I thought if I told the truth about my illness, about me blacking out, that people would jump to the conclusion that I did it.
I couldn't take that risk.
I couldn't face having my baby in prison.
Before you blacked out, what's the last thing you remember? Um getting myself a herbal tea from the canteen.
Why? Righty ho.
Here's the receipt.
Okay.
There's the car keys.
Does he have his notebook with him? [INDISTINCT CONVERSATION.]
BETH: Doesn't look like it.
MAN: Taxi for the theater, sir? QUENTIN: Yes.
[WHISPERING.]
Hurry up! NARRATOR: Despite the heroine of her Iris Freeman novels picking locks on a regular basis, Beth Stone had never actually picked one herself.
Where's Jane when you need her? Oh, hello.
Brace yourself.
It stinks of lavender.
MATILDA: I don't believe she's the murderer, sir.
Fiona Hutton had the means, motive, and the opportunity.
But the only evidence we have are fingerprints on a knife which she readily admits she owns.
And her claiming to have blacked out backstage.
I've asked Dr.
Lynch to run a toxicology test on her blood.
Occam's razor, Sergeant.
The simplest solution tends to be the right one.
- Think on it.
- Sir.
Beth.
[DIALING.]
[LINE RINGS.]
[CELLPHONE RINGS.]
Not now.
I'm busy.
You're gonna want to see this, kid.
[BIRD CAWS.]
You'd better have a good reason for being in here.
We saw Quentin Glover taking an envelope of what looked like cash from Kenneth Ridley the day Sir Lawrence died.
But Glover's article slated the play.
CAT: Exactly.
Which is why we let ourselves in.
But that's not why we called.
Look at this.
It's a shrine to Dame Blanche.
He's clearly obsessed with her.
Well, obsessed or not, it won't stop Inspector Thorne throwing the book at us if he finds out we've been in here without a warrant.
- We won't tell if you don't.
- And I found these.
Dozens of fan letters to Dame Blanche made out in different handwriting.
Explains why all her fan mail had the same postmark.
And it gets weirder.
Quentin Glover and Dame Blanche were married? I think I need a word with Mr.
Glover.
Unfortunately for Quentin Glover, someone else also wanted a word.
And that word was "murder.
" Hello? Sure this is where you want to meet? Agh! [GROANING.]
Help me! You have [GROANING.]
Line! Line.
"You have to set me free before she comes back.
" IAN: Sorry, sorry.
You have to set me free before she comes back! [GROANING.]
Before she comes back! Amy? Amy! Are you planning on making an entrance anytime soon? I can't see her.
URSULA: Right.
You check the canteen.
I'll look in her dressing room.
I'm looking for Quentin Glover.
[CREAKING.]
The Wildemarsh Watchman's waspish arts correspondent, Quentin Glover Quentin? always believed the pen was mightier than the sword.
But little did he ever consider the former being successfully used as the latter.