Dalgliesh (2021) s02e02 Episode Script

Sorry, they just told me
you wanted someone else.
Message didn't reach me in time.
Nothing personal.
So you think this is connected
to Dr Lorrimer's death?
I know it is.
Oh, no.
That's Foley's friend.
Off the record, what would
your first impressions be?
Well, they'll be the same as yours,
I expect.
Dead for several hours
..no sign of manual throttling,
but it could be there
under the cord.
The stool is where
I expect it to be.
If it were murder,
someone would've come up behind her
and throttled her
into unconsciousness,
then strung her up.
I've never seen it before, but
if you asked me now,
I'd say suicide.
There's someone coming from Ipswich.
Won't be long. Thank you.
FOOTSTEPS APPROACH
Sir.
I thought it was gonna be Brenda.
They said she was missing.
She fainted after she discovered
the body last night.
Poor Ms Foley.
I-Is someone with her?
Yes, you didn't tell me
about this place.
Well, why would I have done?
It was pointed out to me
on my first tour of the grounds,
but no-one's used it in decades,
as far as I know.
But they have
haven't they, Miss Howarth?
Yes. This is where we used to meet.
The scientist and I.
Marginally more comfortable
than the back seat of a car.
And you used the hymn board
to arrange your assignations?
Assignations?
Yes.
17th February at 6:40.
Yes, I suppose that was
our last meeting.
It was his idea. I thought it was
a touch over the top at first,
but actually, it worked rather well.
I'd set the times and he'd always
be here waiting in the candlelight.
All intense,
like a biblical prophet.
Did anyone else know you came here?
No. And did you ever get
the sense of being seen? Or watched?
Well, I rather wish I had.
They've picked up DI Doyle, sir.
Asleep in his car, side of the road,
heading north. He's at the station.
Why was a car registered to
your wife parked under trees
outside Hoggarts Laboratory
on Tuesday night?
The night Edmund Lorrimer died?
Who says it was Tuesday night?
Could have been any time on Tuesday,
or Monday.
It didn't rain on Monday night.
We have a witness. What witness?
Were you behind the wheel,
or was your wife?
Or should I ask her?
I was. I'd been driving
the Cortina all day,
because the clutch has gone in mine.
I was with someone.
A woman.
It's not something I do very often.
The wife and I have been
going through a rough patch.
She's taken herself off
to her mother's in Yorkshire.
On Tuesday night, I couldn't bear
going home to an empty house, so
Jane Ashton, WPC Jane Ashton.
She works here in the office.
We drove to
the trees outside the lab,
it was the nearest sheltered spot.
Go easy on her, OK?
What time did you park
outside the lab? Around nine.
We were there for 20, 25 minutes.
I'm not as young as I used to be.
Were there any lights on inside?
No, I wouldn't have stayed
if there had been.
I actually remember thinking,
"Even that pedantic old bastard
Lorrimer's gone home."
Did you see anyone enter
or exit the lab? No-one.
But I was busy.
HE SIGHS
OK, look.
I know I should have told you this.
I'm sorry.
But look at it
from my point of view.
Some big shot gets sent over
from the Yard
and I have to tell him that I was
at a murder scene, getting my oats?
You KNOW I didn't kill Lorrimer.
I don't know that yet.
If I had've killed him,
I wouldn't have left
a mallet at the scene.
Which is what you would want
me to think. You have no evidence.
You have no motive.
You're one of the few people
Lorrimer would have admitted.
One of the few people
with the opportunity to replace
the keys in his pocket
on Wednesday morning. What?
Or you could have used the set
which is kept here at the station.
No, no, no.
Where were you last night
between the hours of six and nine?
Last night?
I-I was in the pub until late.
The Carpenter's.
We'd charged the husband
with the Clunch Pit Murders,
so we went for a few beers
to celebrate.
You can ask any of the lads.
What time did you arrive and leave?
I arrived around 5:30,
I left eight-ish,
I went straight home.
And at what time did you decide
to drive off on the road north
with a packed suitcase
in the boot of your car?
I was going to see my wife, OK?
Surprise her.
I got myself into a lather,
all right?
What can I tell you?
When I drink, I get sentimental.
I went home, I packed a bag,
I got in the car, I left at
8:30.
And I quickly realised
I was too pissed to drive, so
I pulled off the road.
Next thing I know,
Traffic are banging on the window.
Do you know someone
called Stella Mawson?
No, why?
Your clothes and car
are under forensic investigation.
I hope, for your sake,
you've told me the truth.
I'm two years away from my pension.
Don't make any more of this
than you have to, eh?
Mrs Pridmore?
Doctor's just left.
He says she's OK,
but don't stay long, please.
We won't.
Are you all right?
No, I'm not. It's a mess. Isn't it?
Two dead bodies, she's found out.
People round here,
they don't forget.
And they're apt to be superstitious.
She'll be labelled bad luck.
And then there's that money.
The money Dr Lorrimer left for her?
How do we explain that to folk
when they find out?
It's for the purposes
of her education.
There's no reason for people
to read something into that.
But they will.
I was sure there was
someone behind me, coming for me.
And I kept thinking about
Dr Lorrimer's face
on the floor of the lab,
and how that was going to be me.
But you didn't actually see anyone,
and no-one called out to you?
No, no. I could have been
imagining it, but
But then I thought about
my bike tyres
and how weird it was
that they were both punctured.
And I thought someone
must have done it on purpose,
to make me take the shortcut.
We looked into that.
A lorry full of grit shed its load
near the gates to the lab
early yesterday morning.
And both your tyres
have shards of grit in them.
Oh, right, sorry.
It was a clever thought.
Earlier, you told me
that you'd gone towards the chapel
because you saw some lights.
Yes. And the door was open.
Did you see anyone at all?
Near the chapel, or in the chapel?
No, there was no-one, sorry.
Did you recognise
the woman who was hanging?
Yes.
I'd seen her before,
a couple of months ago.
There was a concert in the village.
She was there.
She was called Sarah, I think.
Did she kill herself?
We don't know yet.
Brenda, we need to ask you
once again
about your relationship
with Dr Lorrimer.
Is this because of the money?
Yes.
Mum and Dad are furious about it.
They want me not to take it.
But he never did anything.
He didn't fancy me,
he wasn't like that.
He just liked me because
I was interested.
Other people didn't really get that.
I know he could be rude
to people sometimes, angry,
but it was only because
he was so busy and
and he cared so much about his work.
Are you thinking of
anyone in particular
when you say
he could be rude to people?
No.
No, I just I just mean
generally.
Mum and Dad don't want me
to go back to the lab.
They want me to leave.
Well, that's your choice.
You're 18,
you can do whatever you want.
No, I can't.
I wanted to go to college,
get some A-levels.
Maybe study forensics.
You're gonna catch him, are you?
Whoever's doing this?
Cos she won't get any peace
until you do.
I think Brenda will be fine,
Mrs Pridmore.
She's intelligent and brave.
In my experience,
people react differently
to the sort of thing
she's been through.
Some people become
excessively fearful,
and their world becomes small,
limited.
Some people
face up to their experiences,
find strengths
they didn't know they had.
Move forwards
..and embrace life.
I think that's what Brenda will do,
if she's given the chance.
Is that right?
Well, she's my daughter,
and you don't know her.
SHE SIGHS
We tried, sir.
I don't like potential
going to waste.
I grew up in this part of the world.
Did you?
I know how insular
some of the people can be.
Inevitable.
My father used to say
it was all down to geography.
It was easy for me.
My parents wanted
to make everything possible.
But I know how lucky I was.
You know, privileged.
What you said yesterday
about Angela Foley,
about no-one giving her a break,
I hope you know that I'll
always give you a break, Sergeant.
You already did.
But moving onwards, in your career.
If there's anything
you want to achieve.
If you want extra skills training,
or
..to be fast-tracked
into a particular unit.
Are you trying to get rid of me,
sir?
ENGINE STARTS
You're not going in there.
I need to look in there.
Stand aside. Why? Why?
It's part of the investigation.
But she wouldn't want you in there!
She'd never let anyone in there
apart from me.
They're trampling all over her!
It's all right, Angela.
SOBBING: It's not!
DS Miskin will make you
a cup of tea, Miss Foley.
I'm going to have a brief look
in there.
I won't touch anything
unless I have to.
What was the last thing
she said to you,
before she left the house
last night?
She said she was gonna
make everything all right.
And what did you take that to mean?
That she was gonna find a way to get
the money to help us by this place.
How?
I don't know.
Is it possible that Stella
was planning to blackmail someone?
No.
Sh-She would never
You don't understand
what she was like, how
how good she was,
how moral she was.
She hated injustice.
She hated what my family did to me,
just because I was
Because I didn't have a dad,
and she wanted to make it right.
Make me happy. And
..she wanted me to have a home.
So what did she intend to do?
I don't think
Stella took her own life.
I can't prove it yet,
but that's my instinct.
This is her life insurance policy.
It was in the desk.
You're the beneficiary,
but, like most policies,
it has an exemption
in the case of suicide.
Yeah, I don't care.
But Stella would've cared.
She would have known,
and she would have cared.
She would also have known that
she was the key to your happiness,
not bricks and mortar.
Nor do I believe that any novelist
in their right mind
would kill themselves
when they're just a chapter or two
from finishing a novel. What is it
that you're not telling us?
Nothing.
Is it possible that Stella knew,
or thought she knew,
who killed Dr Lorrimer?
Any way that
she could have found out?
Did she in fact go out on Tuesday
night, even for a short time?
No, I told you,
she was here with me.
Angela, when you arrived to look
after old Mr Lorrimer on Wednesday,
did Stella go into
Lorrimer's bedroom?
No.
Might she have seen something there
that could have suggested
who'd killed him?
No, she never went upstairs.
It is possible that she was
involved in Lorrimer's death?
A momentary fit of anger, perhaps?
No, she would never.
She would never harm anyone.
Why are you saying all this?
I I need to be on my own.
Please.
Let's say Stella did know
who killed Lorrimer.
She contacts the killer
and asks to meet them.
Would she be that foolish?
She was a confident woman.
She could have thought
she had things covered, proof,
stashed away somewhere.
Or
..she killed Lorrimer.
She saw him with Domenica
in the chapel.
And it was her that made
the whispered phone call
to Lorrimer's house.
And then Lorrimer
agrees to meet her. Go on.
So she comes to the lab
and tries to blackmail him,
and things get out of hand, and
she kills him.
Like you say, fit of rage.
And then she can't live with
what she's done.
We have no forensics
to place her at Lorrimer's murder.
Would she really think
to wear gloves?
And wipe the mallet for prints?
And why would she leave the weapon
at the scene?
Because
she heard Bradley
coming out of the toilets.
Panicked.
She hears Bradley and she hides.
Here.
And Bradley
comes out of the toilets,
sees the body
and runs straight downstairs.
Sees Doyle's car arriving
and takes his chance,
sneaks out the front door and away.
And Stella
..she's also seen
the car headlights
and thinks that someone's gonna
come into the lab.
And she searches the first floor
for a way out
..finds the window in the toilets
How does she reach it?
And how would she get down
the wall on the other side
without injuring herself?
It's a 20-foot drop.
OK, she doesn't use the window.
But she stays in the toilets,
cowering.
And it gives her time to think.
And things go quiet
and she hears the car drive off
..and then she comes back in here,
wipes the mallet
But doesn't take it?
..and then
she finds the keys
in Lorrimer's pocket.
She sets the alarm
..locks the door behind her.
And then she confesses to Angela,
gets her to get the keys back
into Lorrimer's pocket somehow,
make it look like an inside job.
I know, it's all conjecture.
They're all useful thoughts.
'OK, let's get back to the facts.'
Why would she go to the chapel
to end her life?
Someone with an existing connection
to that chapel must be involved.
Someone who knew
where to find a tie, or a rope.
DOOR CREAKS
Hello?
Miss Foley?
It's DI Doyle. You wanted to see me.
PHONE DINGS
Strange kind of welcome.
Why don't you put that down?
Do you want to tell me
what this is about?
You killed Stella. And now
Now I'm gonna kill you.
I haven't killed anyone, Angela.
Dalgliesh questioned me
first thing this morning.
He's released me
because he's got nothing on me.
I have alibis for both nights,
he's checked.
Here, you call him, if you want.
There's a note on that table.
VOICE TREMBLING:
Pick it up and read it out.
I've got a copy.
"You better check
the cannabis exhibits
"when DI Doyle is around.
"How do you think
he managed to afford his house?"
Where did you get this?
Stella had it.
It was sent to Lorrimer at the lab.
She must have found it in his house.
You killed her because she knew.
She knew your secret,
and she tried to blackmail you.
She arranged to meet you at
that chapel, and you strangled her.
Admit it!
I can tell you who wrote this.
It was my wife.
She wants me
to resign from the force,
she's sick to the back teeth
with it, the hours,
what it does to my head.
She thought,
what better than a bit of
official harassment
to push me into leaving?
No-one would've
taken this seriously, Angela.
She knows that,
and even if they did,
they wouldn't have found
any evidence.
But you WERE doing it.
You were taking the cannabis,
swapping it,
instead of destroying it.
I never said that.
And then they might have started
watching you, gathering evidence
Over a bit of cannabis going astray?
It's not "a bit"!
I've seen seizures
come into the lab.
You are way off.
Please, put that down.
No.
You think this is what
your friend would have wanted?
SHE SOBS
Rough justice?
I was really sorry
to hear that she died,
but I had nothing to do with it.
I swear to you.
SHE SOBS
SHE GASPS
SHE SIGHS
GENERAL CHATTER
Brenda.
Hello, Mr Howarth.
I wasn't expecting you to come in
today. How are you feeling?
Is Inspector Dalgliesh here?
Do you think
..she might have
found something else?
When she found this?
Some other info about someone?
I-I don't know.
She went out.
The night Lorrimer died,
she went for a walk.
She often does at night,
when she does her best thinking.
And she might have seen something,
something she shouldn't have seen.
And did you tell Dalgliesh?
I think you should tell him.
Thanks for trying with my mum.
I heard what you said,
and I hate it when she's like that,
it's mortifying.
She loves you,
and she's trying to protect you.
But it's not her life.
I don't want to be told what to do.
There's something
I haven't told you.
It's not a big thing, but I don't
feel right that I haven't said.
I saw Dr Lorrimer
having an argument with someone.
It was last week,
and I'm pretty sure it was Thursday.
You know Dr Rollinson, don't you?
Yes.
Well, he has two children.
Nell and William.
Yes.
Well, they came into the lab
last week,
looking for their dad,
and he was in a meeting.
But they said
that they wanted to wait,
so they stayed in the reception.
And Dr Lorrimer came down
the stairs, and he was
He was in a bad mood, I suppose.
He was busy.
And the little boy
was playing with his ball,
and it was going everywhere,
and Dr Lorrimer was shouting,
and he was saying,
"Children aren't allowed in
the lab."
And he told them to wait outside.
But Nell said that they wouldn't.
And she was getting very angry.
And he didn't
He didn't touch her, exactly,
but he sort of drove them outside,
and then he slammed the door
behind them.
And Nell was really, really upset.
And so was the little boy.
Did Dr Rollinson see any of this?
No, no-one else. Except for me.
SHE SIGHS
This morning, you mentioned
that you saw Stella Mawson
at a concert in the village.
Can you tell me more
about that evening?
Yes, it was a fundraising concert,
and Mr Howarth
was playing his violin.
Classical stuff.
I remember it was
the day after Valentine's Day.
And she was sitting with
Miss Foley and who else?
And Mr Howarth's sister,
who's the beautiful one,
I don't know if you've met her
..and Dr Rollinson.
The exhibits from the chapel,
they're for the Yard, yeah?
They're being picked up in about
five minutes, sir. Where are they?
Mr Bradley, I need you
to run a test for me.
KNOCK AT DOOR
MUSIC PLAYS
Really? Could we speak to
you inside, please, Miss Howarth?
Christ, please stop
with the "Miss Howarth".
Do I look like your maiden aunt?
I wrote your statement for you.
Max has got it.
It's not about last night.
Surely not about Lorrimer.
I've told you everything
there is to
It's not about
your relationship with Lorrimer.
It's about what happened next.
BRAKES SQUEAL
CHILD PANTS
Are you OK?
William!
He's OK, don't worry.
William! Get away from him.
Get away! Nell!
You could have killed him!
Calm down!
Why are you here?
Go away and leave us alone!
Nell! Stop that at once.
What are you thinking?
Where were you? You were
supposed to be watching him.
You useless, drunken old hag!
You're sacked!
Pack up your stinking things
and get out of our house
and never come back.
You don't tell me what to do,
you don't employ me.
Yes, I do. Your father does.
And we'll see what he has to say.
He'll sack you. He hates you, too.
We all hate you.
You nasty, horrible little girl.
Miss Willard I'll tell you
who your father hates.
It's you - you're the bane
of his existence.
This custody battle he's fighting,
do you think he's fighting it
for you?
He isn't. It's William he wants.
And only William.
Be quiet, Miss Willard.
You're lying. My dad loves me.
Oh, really?
He wants you to go to your mother.
I've heard him say it.
He hates you, like everyone else.
That's enough!
SHE SNIFFS
'Nell'
..you shouldn't take any notice
of what she said.
She was very angry,
and she wanted to hurt you.
I'm sure your dad
loves you very much.
I like your bedroom.
David Cassidy!
He's very good-looking, isn't he?
I don't like him any more.
He's embarrassing.
I had someone really embarrassing
on my wall
when I was about eight or nine.
Shall I tell you who it was?
Or do you want to guess?
Bay City Rollers?
Probably worse than that.
Cliff Richard.
I knew you were gonna say that.
Who do you like now?
10cc.
Mm. They're good.
FOOTSTEPS APPROACH
Do you consider that an appropriate
way to speak to a child,
a child in your care?
She's not a child, not really.
She's a child, Miss Willard.
She knows how to rile me.
Knows exactly what to say.
I meant it when I said she was
a nasty girl, because she is.
Has this sort of confrontation
happened before?
What you said about Dr Rollinson
only fighting for custody
of William, is that true?
It should be.
If he wasn't so kind-hearted,
he'd have sent that girl
to her mother and good riddance.
Where is their mother?
London, I believe.
Best place for her.
When did she leave?
January before last.
She's living over the broom
with that doctor
she met at the hospital.
She's not a nice woman.
And Nell is exactly the same.
Dr Rollinson is a lovely man,
a gentleman.
But he's too easily manipulated,
especially by women.
He needs protecting from himself.
Has he been seeing any other women
since his wife left?
I'm giving you a chance
to speak honestly to me.
I-If you don't,
we can go to the station
and I can do this more formally.
He's been seeing that hussy.
Domenica Howarth.
We heard about how mean Dr Lorrimer
was to you at the lab.
When you were looking for your dad.
I was really sorry
to hear about that.
I hate him.
I'm glad he's dead.
I'm glad I made him die.
What do you mean, Nell?
How did you make him die?
He'd started going out
in the evenings,
even when he wasn't called
by the police or the hospital.
And I could smell something
on his clothes, perfume.
So I looked in his room one day,
while he was out, for his own good.
And I found a letter from her.
It was disgusting.
Some people have no shame.
I worked out
where they were meeting -
that old chapel in the grounds
of Hoggarts Laboratory.
Can you imagine? A place of God.
Did you speak to Dr Rollinson
about what you'd learnt?
No, how could I have done?
Did you speak to anyone about it?
I told Dr Lorrimer
on one of our journeys to church.
I knew he'd share my opinion.
Dr Rollinson is still a married man.
I thought Dr Lorrimer could
speak to him, make him see sense.
I smashed his head in.
Then the witches made him die.
Does your father know about these?
WHISPERS: No-one knows.
Did you
mention to your dad about
Dr Lorrimer being mean to you
at the lab?
He said I should forget it.
He said I should be a bigger person.
You didn't go back to the lab,
did you, Nell?
You didn't try
I mean, actually try
to hurt Dr Lorrimer?
No. I
didn't need to.
Dr Lorrimer was very shocked.
So shocked, he pulled off the road.
He was reluctant to believe me,
so the next morning,
I got the bus into town,
and I walked to that chapel.
Well, I could tell
they'd been in there.
There were candles and matches.
Oh, and-and the hymn board,
she'd made a sort of a joke about it
in that letter.
And I looked at it
and I worked out
what they'd been doing.
They'd been using it to set
the times of their meetings.
Can you imagine?
And you told Dr Lorrimer this?
Yes, I telephoned him that evening.
Then, of course, I realised that
little madam was eavesdropping,
so I had to ring off.
You told me that Dr Rollinson
was at home on Tuesday night.
All evening, from when he arrived
home at 7:15. Was that true?
Yes.
FOOTSTEPS APPROACH
Sergeant, would you please
go and fetch a Bible
from Miss Willard's room? Yes, sir.
Don't!
He did go out. Briefly.
He had a meeting at the hospital.
What time was that?
After dinner, about 8:30, 8:45.
Do you know
where Dr Rollinson is now?
The police called for him
about an hour ago.
I don't know where he's gone.
Go and sit in the kitchen, please.
Stay there.
He wouldn't have done
anything untoward.
Go and sit in the kitchen.
He knew about
Lorrimer's argument with Nell.
Nell hates Lorrimer
with a vengeance.
Lorrimer knew that Rollinson
was seeing Domenica.
Telephone the station, please.
And let's find out where he is.
And get them to send uniform here.
I want this place searched.
And a WPC.
Sir.
He's at the clunch pit.
Girl who died there, looks like
her boyfriend killed himself.
DISTANT CHATTER
CHATTER CONTINUES
Sad case.
Just goes to show, doesn't it?
We've been calling him
her fancy man, her bit on the side.
Turns out, he really loved her.
Loved her so much he's done this.
"Boys throw stones at frogs
in sport.
"Frogs don't die in sport,
they die in earnest."
Shakespeare?
Plutarch.
Do you love her?
Er, who?
Domenica.
I met her at a concert
in the village.
So bloody beautiful.
There's this energy
that comes off her.
She said she had a thing
with Lorrimer.
Couldn't believe it.
But she said it was over, so
And then he started
to give me looks.
A couple of weeks ago,
glaring at me like he wanted to
And then he was vile to Nell
and to William,
and I realised that he must know.
Well, I thought they were past.
That he'd just get over it.
And then, Monday night,
when I came here,
he said he wanted to talk,
to sort it out.
Told me to go to the lab,
Tuesday night, nine o'clock.
I should never have gone.
But I thought it might help.
You can't go any further.
Stupid man. Don't talk.
Don't talk.
I never intended to harm him.
The things he said about
my children.
My work.
Domenica.
He'd got hold of my wife's address.
Traced her through
the doctor that she's living with.
Said he would write to her
and tell her about the affair.
So she could use it to win
the divorce and get the kids off me.
He'd written the letter already.
Said he'd post it the next day
if I didn't promise
to stop seeing Domenica.
And then he turned his back on me.
Dismissed me, like I was
..done with.
Lost control.
The mallet was there. I
I didn't mean to kill him.
Do you have kids?
No.
Well, then, you can't understand.
The love you feel,
the things that you'll do.
And Stella Mawson?
A completely calculated killing.
You even had the presence of mind
to adjust the month
on the hymn board.
I never set foot inside
that chapel until this morning.
I didn't even know it existed.
Unfortunately
I have forensic evidence
which proves otherwise.
Hairs. Two short, one long.
On a velvet cushion.
Preliminary tests
show that the short hairs
come from two different heads.
Lorrimer's, presumably, and yours.
I expect further tests to confirm.
Well, that doesn't prove anything.
I think a jury
will find it interesting.
Proof that you knew about
the chapel,
that you would think of it
as a place to lure Stella.
I didn't lure her anywhere.
She was blackmailing you,
wasn't she?
I take it she saw you
leaving the lab,
scaling down the wall,
from the window by the toilets.
Not that difficult
for an experienced climber.
Why did you do that? So that you
could lock the door from the inside?
Set the alarm,
make it look like an insider job?
A confession will count.
Help me to help you.
It wasn't blackmail.
Not really.
She only wanted to borrow money.
She said that she was sorry,
but she really needed it.
Said that she would pay it back
with interest.
She knew.
She knew that I
killed him.
That one word from her to anyone
and I would have lost
my children.
I would've lost everything.
I didn't know her.
I didn't know if I could trust her.
I couldn't just let her walk away,
I
I couldn't, I
I couldn't take that risk.
We're gonna need
a further statement from you,
so go back to your house
and stay there until we call.
You know, you should be careful
how you look at him.
Your Chief Inspector.
It's written all over your face.
Unless you want him to know.
What do you mean?
CAR DOOR SLAMS
Ten minutes.
Thank you.
THEY SOB
HE SOBS
Why are you upset?
SOBBING: I'm so sorry.
Daddy has to go away.
THEY SOB
You all right, sir?
Yeah.
Forgive me.
THEY SOB
SOBBING CONTINUES