Chemistry of Death (2023) s01e06 Episode Script

1
Come on, son, here we go!
- You all right? Come on.
- (SHOUTING)
Whoever left the body in the cottage
hasn't left the island.
Duncan! Duncan!
No, no! Fuck!
FRASER: Duncan recognised
Kelly-Anne. That's motive.
DAVID: So who else knew
his connection to her?
Have you ever come across
the name Kelly-Anne?
Aye. On the ferry.
Not long now, OK?
We'll get you some help.
- I've got something to tell you.
- I know.
Grace told you.
- MICHAEL: Grace is missing.
- DAVID: Are you hurt?
GRACE: Whatever he told you is true.
That's how it is with Michael.
I came across this unsolved
case, a Siobhan Williams?
Who's Siobhan Williams?
An ex of Michael's. She went missing
and I think he might have
had something to do with it.
- We've got to move them!
- I did already.
No, from there!
Police! Police!
- His fever's getting worse.
- (COUGHING)
We need to go, now.
Maggie?
- (SCREAMING)
- Maggie!
- No!
- (EXPLOSION)
Afraid of my light now ♪
Got no time for the dark in me ♪
Now I breathe ♪
Now I breathe ♪
I'm calm but I talk like a waterfall ♪
Taking more and more until I burst ♪
And then I can't live
with the aftermath ♪
I'm cursed ♪
And then I can't live
with the aftermath ♪
I'm cursed ♪
(ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC)
RADIO: Communities throughout Scotland
are counting the cost of the worst storm
to have hit the country in years.
Three fatalities and
over a dozen injuries
have been confirmed as a result.
An eight-year-old boy and his father
became the first known victims
when they were both
crushed by a falling tree.
And a 62-year-old woman
(BANGING)
MAN: When did you last see them?
- The afternoon.
- What time?
I don't know. The last time I fed 'em.
Fed who?
GUNTHER: They're gone.
- The migrants.
- Oh, fuck's sake!
Well, they won't have got far.
They need shelter.
Yeah.
And food.
Some bastard's helping them.
I hope you're not
accusing one of us, Ian.
Well, right now I'm not accusing you.
But seeing as there's been another fire,
neither am I trusting any of you.
What are you talking about?
That wee journalist lassie, Maggie.
She's dead.
Jesus fuck.
Maggie?
You think that was one of us?
Well
I think Craig Robertson's
tidying up loose ends.
We were all here.
Yeah. That's right.
Not all of us.
(TENSE MUSIC)
In less than 24 hours,
this place will be crawling with police.
And if they find these
migrants before we do
then the killer's
gonna be the last thing
that we're worrying about.
So, like it or not, right now
we are all in this together.
What do we do?
We search all the
outbuildings on the island.
Every home, if we have to.
Which means we have to
keep everybody indoors.
We need a a curfew.
Can the police do that?
No.
But we can.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(SNIFFING)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
What the hell are you doing now?
I presume you're looking for
a link to the other fires.
If the same accelerant
was used on your campervan,
that would give us one.
But isn't the fact
that they're using fire
to destroy evidence connection enough?
Speculation.
Well?
Two sets of aromatic compounds.
Maggie's car was diesel, but
what I'm getting at
ground level is petrol.
Burn at different temperatures.
You smelt all that?
The broken jerry can
lid smelt of petrol.
I need to go back to the campervan
to check the ground to confirm.
OK. I'll stick around
here and have a look.
I'll go with you.
(EERIE MUSIC)
(LOCK CLICKS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(COUGHING)
You need to speak to my mum.
No, I can't do that. Not to my dad.
He's getting worse!
(COUGHING)
Kevin!
There's medicine at the hotel, yeah?
Yeah.
(COUGHING)
We need to get it before
they do the curfew,
then we'll figure out what next.
- OK?
- Yeah.
(COUGHING)
(COUGHING)
Accelerant used was petrol.
Not convinced it's the
same as Maggie's car.
Different accents detected.
Floor is charred.
Suggests
(SINISTER MUSIC)
DAVID: You know I found an
earring in Kelly-Anne's remains?
FRASER: So?
I just found the other one.
It was in the van.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
No, no, no.
No way, I'm not listening to that.
How else did it get in there?
I don't know. Any number of ways.
She could've lost it up
here, Duncan found it.
It was at the back, under the flooring.
And that's proof?
I think you're reaching.
You're reaching for an explanation,
'cos you're desperate.
(CHAT IN PUB)
All right, listen up!
I know we're all scared.
These are dark times.
Maybe the darkest
this isle's ever known.
Truth is, there's a
devil here amongst us.
A devil with a taste for blood.
And as for the police, well,
the fact is, things have just
got worse since they turned up.
So the time has come to take matters
into our own hands,
to look after our own.
So, we're going to impose a curfew,
with immediate effect.
(MURMURING)
If you've got vulnerable
neighbours, take them in.
But no one is to leave
their homes for any reason.
Who's going to enforce this curfew?
We are.
Me and the other skippers
will patrol the island.
How can we know it's not one of you?
You can't.
So I suggest everyone
keeps their doors locked.
The patrol will start straight away.
So, all of you, go back to your homes
and don't open your
doors until we say so.
(MURMURING)
(TENSE MUSIC)
(GLASS CLINKS)
(DOOR SLAMS)
(EERIE MUSIC)
- Where are you going?
- Going for a walk.
I need to get some air.
(DOOR SHUTS)
(CAR DOOR SHUTS)
(CAR ENGINE STARTS)
(CAR DRIVES OFF)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(BACKGROUND TV)
You just sit here, OK? There we go.
- You speak to Seema.
- (KNOCKING ON DOOR)
We're closed.
No one's allowed in.
FRASER: What are you talking
about? It's me, Josie.
Ellen?
Kinross has told
everyone to stay indoors.
He's imposed a curfew.
- What the fuck?
- They've taken over.
Everyone's scared after
what's happened to Maggie.
I I need to speak to Mary.
- She's not here.
- What?
She wasn't at the meeting either.
Well, when did you see her last?
I haven't seen her today.
- I'm sure she's fine
- No, no, no, wait, wait.
OK?
(TENSE MUSIC)
OK, baby?
What's Seema been saying, hey?
(GASPING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(CHAIR SCRAPES FLOOR)
- (COUGHING)
- What the fuck?
You've gotta go. This is all my fault.
You've gotta go.
No, what will he do?
Go. Go out the back! Just go!
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Oh, fuck!
(MUSIC BUILDS)
Mum! Mum!
Mary! Mary, I told you to stay
- You need to come with me!
- What?
Kevin, he's in trouble. Just hurry!
(SHOUTING)
Get off him!
Get off
I didn't do anything!
Think I've heard that before.
(CLICK OF HANDCUFFS)
Here we go.
Do you want brown or white bread?
White.
(KNOCKING ON WINDOW)
It's OK.
I'll go. Can you watch her?
Yeah.
I'm so scared.
It's too much.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
I know, I know.
Every time I close my eyes, I see her.
Who?
Maggie.
The journalist?
Last night there was another fire.
What?
Kinross and the other
skippers ordered a curfew.
The whole island is on lockdown.
Michael
- Hey!
- Look
Ellen
Listen.
- Oh, God, no.
- Listen.
- Not now!
- I'm sorry.
You know how I feel about
you. Nothing's changed.
- Everything's changed!
- It's just
It's for the best, I promise.
Grace
I can't do this right now.
So go.
- Come on.
- Go.
Go!
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
Here we are.
There you go.
You put tomatoes in.
You don't like them?
No, I like tomatoes.
I don't like cucumber.
- Ah. Neither did Alice.
- Who's Alice?
My little girl.
Does she like tomatoes?
- Loves them.
- Good.
FRASER: So, who are this lot?
KEVIN: They're fishermen.
They work the Scottish trawlers.
Except when they're done
with their contracts
some of them don't fancy heading home.
How's your dad involved?
He picks them up.
He hides them on Runa till
the paperwork's sorted.
So what are they doing here?
Well, one of them was sick.
They weren't looking after them.
Our radios should be back up soon,
so we'll get them medical
help as soon as we can.
Tell me about Kelly-Anne.
You've got to, Kev. It's the only way.
She brought over paperwork
and false passports
when they were done.
Who supplied them?
Craig Robertson.
Why am I not surprised?
But he didn't kill her. My da.
Are you saying that because you know,
or because he's your da?
He's not a killer!
(WIND BLOWS)
(SINISTER MUSIC)
(DOOR OPENS)
What's happening here?
Everything OK?
Are you all right?
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
What am I doing, bringing
another life into this world?
Don't think like that.
I try my best to hide it,
but I'm just so scared.
Our daughter was ten weeks premature.
She was tiny.
And I was terrified
she wouldn't make it.
But the second she was born,
her mum just had this strength.
This certainty.
Beyond me.
You remind me of her.
How old is she? Your daughter?
Same age as Anna.
(URGENT KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Stay here.
(HEAVY KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(TENSE MUSIC)
(HEAVY KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Who is it?
It's me, Brody. Let me in.
I found a new set of tracks.
Now, clearly that's a
heavier vehicle than Maggie's,
and those are offroad tyres.
Well-defined tracks, so they're new.
What does Kinross drive?
An old pick-up. Same
as all the skippers.
Michael's got that Defender, yeah?
- Aye.
- Offroad tyres, brand-new.
Grace is there. I'll get Ellen's keys.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(MUMBLING)
(MUMBLING)
Grace?
Grace, hello?
Hello, can you hear me? It's David.
- Mm.
- Can you open your eyes?
Is there anyone else in the house?
- I'll go check.
- Yeah.
Something for her head.
A compress, please.
Can you wiggle your fingers for me?
That's really good.
OK, now we'll try and sit you up.
No-one else here.
No-one here, OK.
Up, one, two, three.
- There we go. Brilliant.
- Thank you.
Right, I'm just gonna hold
this on your head. There we go.
Now, can you remember
what happened, Grace?
Erm Michael.
Michael? Michael did this?
Mm.
He came home. I challenged
him about the affair.
(GRACE SIGHS)
I've never seen him in such a rage.
It was like something
had switched in his head.
(THUD OF BLOW)
I thought he was gonna kill me.
(THUDDING BLOW)
Did Michael leave the house last night?
Yeah.
Do you know where he is now?
No.
Grace, you're not safe here.
Can we take you somewhere, please?
Maybe the hotel?
Yeah. Good idea.
We're gonna get you there.
On three. One, two, three.
There we go. Brilliant.
OK. Take it easy.
- (CRACKING OF GLASS ON FLOOR)
- OK.
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
(DOOR SHUTS)
(RUMMAGING IN DRAWER)
- Da
- Where the hell have you been?
Grab what you need. We've gotta go.
Why?
Gunther's been arrested.
That bloody daughter of Fraser's
has had the migrants in her cottage.
The police will be here any minute!
Can't you just tell them?
Oh, dear God, you are.
You're as stupid as your mum.
It's the killer they're
after, not the migrants.
Unfortunately, Craig's
priorities are not the same.
Right, I've got provisions in the boat.
And we should make it
to Faroe in the morning.
Come on, let's go.
I'm not coming.
(TENSE MUSIC)
How is it you know what
the police are thinking?
He was sick, Da.
I'm sorry.
Even as a bairn, I knew you were weak.
Tell me you didn't kill her, Da.
Kelly-Anne.
Promise me.
If you have to ask such a thing
I've no business being your father.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
RADIO: Services to and from the Hebrides
are due to resume later today
Yeah?
It's David.
Cool.
- Watch the steps.
- Jesus
OK.
Ellen? Ellen.
- Grace
- Can you get an antiseptic?
Sit down here, Grace, OK?
Just take it easy. There you go.
What happened?
Put some pressure on there, OK?
Maybe Kelly-Anne knew too much.
She's a druggie, she can't be trusted.
I mean, I know Craig Robertson,
and there's nothing
that bastard wouldn't do
to protect his business.
He'd get Kinross to do
his dirty work for him.
- Am I wrong?
- No.
Doesn't explain Maggie. It
doesn't explain the tracks.
We have no scientific evidence
that says this is the same person.
So, where is Strachan?
She hasn't seen him since it happened.
Yeah.
I've got an idea.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
FRASER: David, wait!
Christ almighty
- Wait, David!
- Come on!
Michael.
What are you doing here?
You need to come with me.
We've spoken to Grace.
I've seen her.
Look, it's in your best interests
if you speak to Sergeant Fraser.
We know about Siobhan.
We know she died.
I need to talk to Grace.
- (GROANING)
- Shh
GRACE: Thank you.
- Don't be silly.
- You're being so kind.
I'm so very sorry, Grace.
What about?
Well
what happened to you.
Are you?
Of course.
Would you have thought him
capable of such violence?
Who?
Michael.
Michael?
Who else?
I don't blame you.
(SINISTER MUSIC)
We all do such terrible things for love.
- Grace, I'm
- What would you do
to protect your child?
Anything.
That's what I thought.
So, tell me
Are you planning to keep my baby?
David, my radio's back working.
Good.
We should have support
in a couple of hours.
Thank God.
Jesus.
Where's Grace?
- She's safe.
- I need to talk to her.
Oh, you're not going anywhere near her.
This was not me.
We know about the affair.
We know Grace challenged you
on it and you got violent.
I've never laid a finger on her.
Her face says otherwise.
We found your car tracks
near where Maggie was killed.
Are you suggesting I killed her?
No. The evidence suggests it.
No, the evidence suggests
my car was there, not me.
Are you saying it was stolen?
Just tell me where she is.
She's at the hotel.
What? We need to go!
- Ah, ah! No, you don't, no!
- Please! Ellen is in danger!
You don't know what Grace is capable of!
Ellen
It's It's your baby.
Please. You don't understand.
Explain it.
What is it you're not
telling us, Michael?
What happened to your ex, Michael?
How did Siobhan Williams die?
You want us to listen,
you need to talk now.
How did she die, Michael?
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Grace killed her.
She found out that me and
Siobhan were having an affair
and she lost it and she killed her.
So who did all this?
- She did it to herself.
- Really?
Look, whose idea was
it to go to the hotel?
Fuck!
- Have you seen her?
- No, no.
(SHOUTING IN KITCHEN)
Ellen!
Grace, Grace, stop!
Please don't do this.
Stay back!
Stay back! I swear to God.
Grace, they know.
Please, I beg you, I beg you!
They know about Maggie and
they know about Siobhan.
Don't come any closer.
Please, just put the
knife down, love. Please.
- (GAS HISSING)
- Love?
How dare you use that word?
Say another and God help
me, I will end it all.
Gas
She must've cut the pipe.
I'll check the cylinders.
Grace. Look at me.
Look at me. Look at me.
Everything's gonna be OK.
Grace, please!
Just put the knife down, OK?
- ELLEN: No!
- No
ELLEN: No
Since she's taken my baby,
why shouldn't I take hers?
(SOBS)
Seems only fair.
ELLEN: No, Grace.
She's a child.
You don't have to do this.
You don't want to do this.
You know more than I do.
It's something that you
can't come back from.
DAVID: It's OK, Anna. It's OK.
Let her go.
I can't.
I can't carry it alone. It's too much.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
Then I'll share it.
(MUSIC SLOWS)
If taking a life will help
take mine.
Just let her go.
- What are you doing?
- You don't need her.
You don't need her.
- GRACE: Don't make me do this.
- You can have me.
Don't make me do this.
It's OK.
I will do this.
You don't want me to do this.
It's OK.
(MUSICAL CRESCENDO)
- I will do this.
- Take me.
I will do this!
Take me.
- It's OK.
- (GRACE SOBS)
- It's OK.
- (GRACE SOBS)
- Oh!
- Oh!
(KNIFE SLASHES THROUGH FLESH)
Go! Let's go!
(GASPS)
- No!
- (MICHAEL GASPS)
I'm so sorry
- Don't let him die!
- Michael, try not to move.
Keep pressure on the wound, OK?
I'm so sorry!
It's locked.
Ellen, where are the keys?
The keys, where are the keys?
Look, look at me, look
at me. You must know.
- In the kitchen.
- Kitchen?
Kitchen. Get behind the car.
OK. Keep some pressure on the wound.
- Help me please! Help me!
- Cylinders are locked up.
I need to find the keys.
We need to get out of here.
No, I can't move him.
Michael! Stay with us, Michael.
Michael! I'm so sorry.
It's not your fault. It
was me who started all this.
Don't speak, Michael.
I need to slow the bleeding
before we get him out.
None of you will be getting out
- unless I can turn off that gas.
- Please don't die!
- Don't let him die!
- Just don't move, Michael, OK?
(MICHAEL GROANS)
I could use some help here!
David, I I think you should go.
Try not to talk, Michael, OK?
- Got them!
- No, no, no, no, no, no.
No, no, I need I need you to go.
FRASER: Oh, Jesus!
We need to get out of here.
MICHAEL: Do what she says!
I wanna be with Grace.
I wanna be alone with my sister.
FRASER: Jesus Christ.
I love you, I always have.
- But
- Michael!
Look what I've done to you. Forgive me.
I'm so sorry!
I'm so sorry, Michael!
Don't leave me, Michael!
Don't leave me!
FRASER: Go! Quick! Get behind the car!
- OK?
- Did you get the keys?
Come on.
- (KEYS JANGLE)
- Come on.
Heads down. Heads down.
Heads down.
Come on!
Fuck!
Shit!
Ah! Got you.
She's got it.
(MUSIC CRESCENDO)
Ah
Ah!
Ha!
(MUSIC FADES)
Thank you.
(POIGNANT MUSIC)
Ah Fuck.
(GULLS CRYING)
MAN: The coastguard
is sweeping the area.
- She can't have gotten far.
- Yes, Inspector Wallace.
Sir, any news?
No sign of the sister on the island,
but their yacht has slipped its mooring.
We're waiting on the
coastguard to get a chopper up.
What about Siobhan Williams?
Shropshire Police are reopening
the inquiry into her death.
OK, and who the hell are the Strachans?
Their real passports,
found in the house.
Sally and John Taylor.
(CALM MUSIC)
Well, if you're gonna disappear
Yeah, I know, this is the place.
(PHONE NOTIFICATION)
DUNCAN: Hi, er
I guess the phones are down as well.
Look, I'll tell you
when I see you, David,
but I remember her.
She was a couple of
years above me at school,
only her name wasn't Kelly-Anne.
It was Becky. I didn't know
her well, but I remember.
Look, let's speak. Call me back.
OK, bye.
(SINISTER MUSIC)
BRODY: The old man of
Runa. That'll be me.
(LAUGHS)
When the people of this island
got their living from
fetching eggs from the cliffs,
the most common cause of death
was slipping down into the sea.
The islanders wrote "gone
over" on the gravestone.
(SEAGULLS CRYING)
DAVID: Coastguard's looking for Grace.
She had a motive for killing Maggie.
Not for Kelly-Anne.
Not for Duncan.
I'd let it be, David.
These islands have always
been a magnet for lost souls.
Some questions don't have answers.
Maybe.
I thought all the evidence was burned.
The evidence we moved from the
cottage to the clinic, yeah.
This was her other earring.
Where did you find it?
In your van.
Duncan made the connection.
Remembered your daughter from school.
Becky.
The things she could've been.
She blamed me for it all, or my job.
Why not?
It makes monsters of us all.
But Becky came one too
many times for drug money.
I would've forgiven her.
But we were both as proud
and soft as each other.
I didn't hit her.
I want you to know that.
I just wanted to shake
some sense into her.
But you killed her.
By accident.
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
And, er
And Duncan?
You're still young.
When you get to an age without family,
your legacy is all you have.
And I was a damn good policeman.
I couldn't let Duncan take that away.
Destroy everything I've ever lived for.
I mean, we couldn't
let him away with that,
could we, Bess?
Good girl.
No!
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(DAVID GASPS)
Oi!
(FRASER PANTS)
Were you just sneaking off
without saying anything?
I didn't know what to say.
"Goodbye" is a start.
Yeah. Sorry.
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
Look, all the time he
He was just
I thought I knew folk and he just
What will you do now?
Have a bloody holiday.
I've already re-booked the
tickets for three of us.
Young Kevin.
The lad needs a break.
That's nice.
You?
Don't know. I'll, erm
I'll see where the wind blows me.
Good luck, then.
Yeah. And you.
(SOFT PIANO MUSIC)
Well, go on, bugger off.
(HUM OF BOAT MOTOR)
(SOMBRE MUSIC)
JENNY: I'll have the burnt one.
DAVID: Burnt?
JENNY: What do you call it
when it's black like that?
Charred.
OK, so a charred burger.
- There you are.
- Thank you.
And one of these burnt sausages, please.
One burnt sausage, coming up.
JENNY: So, I'm actually
a little bit confused.
Are you a doctor now, or not?
Well, technically yes, but
I'm thinking about going back
to the work I was doing before.
Before?
Erm The work that
OK.
- Erm
- (KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Was that the door?
One sec.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
DAVID: Yep?
Hello?
Hi. Can I help you?
Actually, I'm here to help you.
- (DRAMATIC MUSIC)
- David.
Grace. (GRUNTS)
I thought you might
want to see them again.
Your family?
(BLADE SLASHING)
They're waiting.
(KNIFE DROPS TO GROUND)
(GASPS)
(GRUNTS)
(CRESCENDO OF TENSE MUSIC)