Vera s03e02 Episode Script
Poster Child
That's it.
Go look at the back and get his paperwork.
OK.
Whoa! All right, mate? Got your papers? Thanks.
All right, when you're ready, mate.
Girls? Mira? Dan! Dan! Girls? Karen? Mira? Girls? Karen! Mira! Some party.
Ballistics are ten minutes away.
Right.
Local search? We're speaking to the neighbours such as they are.
How did the intruder get in? The front door was open.
Bullets? There's one in the beam up there, love, one through the cranium, exit wound back of his skull.
Into the wall.
Time of death, does he know? 1700 hours.
Yeah, I'm right here, no need for an interpreter.
Hour and a half gone, Billy.
Checkpoints? All the way from Rothbury up to Alnwick.
He could be anywhere.
I know.
Guns stored in the house? No, nothing under licence.
Somebody turn that thing off.
Right.
First impressions.
Billy? He's gearing up for a night in with the footie.
She's got her heart set on one of them interior lifestyle shows on digital.
I'll wait for your report.
I'm just getting revved up here.
Ma'am? Casts of the intruder's boot print.
Right.
One's bigger than the other.
Aye, left foot's a seven, right foot's a nine.
That's a mistake.
CSI pulled off five sets of footprints, same story every time size seven, size nine.
OK, so the killer's wearing odd-sized boots.
Maybe there were two of them, two intruders.
Yeah, possible, of course.
Two one-legged intruders.
They won't have got far.
Prints leading where? To the vehicle.
He They took the two daughters round the back.
And then drove off with them.
What is that? Oi! I was in the garden.
The girls were having a sort of dress rehearsal for my husband's retirement do, the day after tomorrow.
We saw the balloons on the gate.
Good job, we'd have driven straight past.
Dan was dreading it, to be honest.
30 years a surgeon, it's all he ever knew.
Here we are.
What's this? Is that the girls? When did this Just now.
By courier.
Are these your daughters? Yeah.
That's Karen and that's Mira.
So Mira is she the adopted one? That's right, yeah.
Ee, they're bonny lasses.
Was there a note? No.
And who would have sent this, do you think? I've never seen it before.
God, she's gonna hate that one.
Anything that passes for a fringe you know how fussy they get.
Courier? He's outside, giving a statement.
Right, Laura.
What time did you last see your daughters? Oh about ten to five.
I called up to them before I went out into the garden.
Peas or beans? You know, for their tea.
And they called back? Mira, peas.
Beans for madam.
I went with peas.
Dan grows them from seed, it's his pride and joy.
Mira always says, 'I like your garden peas, Dad.
They're better than the real ones.
' And that's when you heard the gunshot? You were out in the garden? Look I have to look for them.
Mira's expecting her jab before morning.
It's seven o'clock now.
Her what? Her jab, her insulin shot.
Well, then, we're gonna have to get her back double quick, then, won't we? Laura, did they have boyfriends, either of them? Of course.
Karen, she's got a lad, Kyle, from school.
Do you know where he lives? It's er this one or I should know, shouldn't I? Sorry.
Not to worry, love.
Joe, which house? Mrs Marsden? Kyle, DCI Vera Stanhope.
Are Karen and Mira with you? What? Mind if I take a look? Go for it.
They're not here.
I was just on my way to pick them up.
From where? Home.
When did you last speak to Karen? Er Geography, the day before yesterday.
What's going on? Did you send a package to the house, a photo? What? No.
Why would I do that? Kyle, we're trying to trace the girls.
If you can think where they might be.
Forget your stupid bloody phone! No.
Look.
It's Karen.
Hey, shut that music off, will you? Kyle? Karen, it's the police.
Where are you, love? Help me, please.
Help us.
We're in a van.
This guy he's just gone mad.
Is your sister with you? Yeah.
Can I talk to her? Karen, can you tell us who took you from the house? Hey, get off! Hey, get off! And you are? DC Kelman, ma'am.
I got drafted in two hours ago.
See if you can get a trace on this call, DC Kelman.
Got it.
One guy, singular.
One intruder.
OK.
With wrong-sized feet.
Christ! What did she say? Laura, I need your permission to keep track of all your phone calls, mobile and land line, just in case one of your daughters or whoever's holding them tries to make contact.
Typical.
Of all the people in the world, what did she have to go and call him for? Now, listen.
I'm going to do all I humanly can to get your girls back home again.
Hm? What I need you to do is to sit down with one of my officers, Joe, if you like Yeah.
I need a list of anyone acquainted with your husband.
Rivalries, grudges, however old or daft.
Now, is there someone you can be with? What? Er Robin, Karen's godfather.
Well, you give Joe the number and he'll get in touch.
OK? We're just a normal family.
Come on, look on the bright side.
We're all on overtime.
Can't you get a track on that call? No joy, I'm afraid.
Any contact with the man? Nothing yet.
Five hours gone.
Well, if it's not a ransom he's after Two pretty lasses.
What, prostitution? What do we know about the boyfriend? Kyle? Couple of kid brothers, Mum's out more than she's in.
I asked a neighbour.
Hm, initiative.
I expect some of you know DC Kelman, on loan for a week only.
Hi, Barry.
City Hospital.
Talk to the murder victim's colleagues.
Let's see what we're dealing with.
Come on, let's earn our keep, some of you at least.
Publicity, again.
Well, tell them I'll call them back again.
We'll get back to you.
Thank you.
Kenny, the lasses.
Friends, any fallings out? Oh, Kelman, before you go, phone records, social network sites.
Yes, ma'am.
What have we got? Abductor with wrong-sized feet.
Enters the house, front door open.
Interrupted by Dad.
Dirty great scuffle, two shots fired, one wild, one through the skull.
Grabs the girls and takes off.
It's not exactly well planned, is it? Any update on the courier, who sent the photo? The delivery company goes by the name of PLH Express.
Nothing from their head office.
The bike was paid for in cash.
No name or address.
A list of local photographers on my desk first thing.
Joe, what have we got from Laura? Just a few names friends, family, colleagues.
Nothing stands out, but there is this.
What is this? Baghdad.
That face.
It's her.
What's this? Mira.
So this much we know.
Amira Saleh.
Born and raised in Akashat in Iraq.
5,000.
Think Newbiggin with pomegranates.
Dad's a baker, clearly gets on with his wife, seven kids.
Drops dead of a heart attack.
Very sad.
Family up-sticks to Baghdad, looking for an honest trade.
Whereupon Boom! One stray bomb.
Some American pilot can't tell a chicken farm from a munitions factory.
Whole family dead.
All except one little bairn.
Six and three-quarters, mammy's little helper.
Ruptured pancreas, kidney failure, extensive burns.
Multiple fractures.
Aye, little Amira.
Ah, now you remember, Kenny! That photo.
It was hard to miss it.
Those big eyes practically sank the war effort.
Plus, a national press photo award for the lucky snapper.
This little lass became the nation's sweetheart, didn't she? PR machine went into overdrive.
Joe.
Messages of support poured in from around the world as brave Amira was flown by RAF Chinook yesterday to Manchester Children's Hospital, where doctors worked through the night to save the life of a little girl of unbelievable courage.
We're at the beginning of a long road with Amira.
But she's stable, she's sleeping.
We've done all we can.
What she needs now is all the luck in the world.
Daniel Marsden.
Senior consultant at the hospital.
Our murder victim.
What about the lass? He adopted her.
Amira? Amira became Mira Marsden.
And our killer shoots the dad, runs off with the girls.
So, what do you think? Just a heads up, Kenny, it might not be relevant.
So what I need is a motive.
Oh, Kelman, what did you get from the hospital? Oh, they all spoke really highly of him.
He's dead.
They would.
Right, er well he was a workaholic private, people looked up to him.
Much like yourself, ma'am.
Well, thanks very much, Kenny.
You can stick that on my gravestone.
Looking forward to it.
Is she always like that? Cheer up, mate.
You're in what they call the honeymoon phase.
It's probably nothing but I found these in Mira's bedroom.
Strewth! Get Anti-Terrorism on the line.
Very funny.
They were stuffed in a rucksack in the back of her wardrobe.
No harm in asking.
We think these are yours.
This er this young woman.
She borrowed these.
Her and her sister have been abducted.
Their poor mother.
We were wondering if you'd had any contact.
This young woman is she at school or? Newton College.
I think I can explain.
We visited the school for an assembly.
This was in September.
She er She came by the next week, wanting to know more.
We lent her some books.
We? From the library.
It was on the news.
Aye.
Excuse me.
Yeah? OK.
Thanks.
Possible sighting.
Well, if you think of anything else Sure.
She'll be OK.
Thanks for your time.
Tyre tracks are a positive match for the ones on the Marsdens' drive.
Footprints? Same deal as before.
Left foot's a seven.
Right a nine.
OK, well it's him.
Who wears different-sized boots? Do they dress in the dark or what? Hey.
Here comes our star witness.
Are you here to see DCI Stanhope? Good grief! Tell me it's not the bairn.
Right, OK, Meg, and this was when? Hm? Just gone 11 last night.
Well, you seem very sure.
Ah, we were walking Gran here home, were we? Aye, home from the pub.
She likes to keep us company.
Yeah, I bet she does.
Come on, then, love, tell us what you saw.
Come on.
It was a man, right? Aye, a fella and two women.
This fella, can you remember what he looked like? Just take your time.
His hair was black.
Are you sure? It was very dark.
I don't suppose you saw any of this? I cannae say I did.
No.
And the two women? That was them.
And how did they seem? OK? One of them was drunk.
Drunk? She kept falling over.
Mira? The man was yelling at her.
He got really mad.
What did he say? 'Wake up, it's me.
' 'Wake up.
' Like they were half asleep or drugged? Or 'Wake up, snap out of it.
It's me.
' Like he knew her.
He kidnaps the girls at 5pm.
He's still here six hours later, still knocking about the Northeast.
Well, maybe he's local.
It's Kenny.
He's got an address for that lass's photographer.
Family portrait, passport photo? Mother and son? No, no, I'm the landlady.
Good for you.
Your secret's safe with me.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Thanks.
Jonah Regan? Yeah.
DCI Vera Stanhope, Northumberland and City Police.
Oh, yes, the phone call.
Right.
Did you take this? Yeah.
Right, what we need from you Of course.
Who commissioned the photos.
That's right.
The girls.
Erm Marianne, was it, and? Karen.
Correct.
And did they say why they were having their photos taken? Birthday pressie, Dad or Poor sod, eh? I saw him on the news, it's I just said I'd package up the photos and send them to the house.
Thanks very much.
That war photo of Amira in Baghdad.
What was the name of the photographer? Why? Didn't you see it? Pride of place, National Photojournalism Award.
Come on, hurry up, things to do.
Can't hang around here all day, waiting for Google.
Jonah Regan.
Never write off the landlady.
Oh, here he is.
Him and his size nines.
Search warrant for the flat, Mr Regan.
You might need a solicitor.
I've already told you.
I had a night in, I woke up with a hangover.
Nobody saw you.
I know.
If you are withholding something from my investigation, that is a criminal offence, Mr Regan.
Now, then, Belfast Sarajevo Libya Somalia? Rwanda.
It does something to your head, does it, in the end? If you tell me what you're looking for, maybe I can help.
Three months divorced not even.
Your ex-wife Jennifer, is it? And your ex-son, Liam, aged 12 Mr Regan's family history's not under review here.
You relocate 80 miles up the coast, just a ten-minute drive from that man.
I'm sorry, you've lost me.
What are you talking about? One photo.
Now, we've done a little bit of checking up.
How long was it you spent trying to adopt that same little girl? Eight months? Now, what was it the adoption service said? Here we are.
'Applicant required to travel for work.
' I swore I'd pack all that in.
'Episodes of manic depression.
Domestic situation considered' Unstable.
Yeah.
Bet you know it off by heart, do you? Whereas Dr Daniel Marsden ticked every box known to man.
He beat you to it.
He got the girl little Mira.
Amira.
Yeah, something like that.
Hard to let go of.
Hm.
Spent ten years festering, hm? Jonah, tell me how did you convince Mira and her kid sister to pose for those photos? I met them on the way to the bus stop.
I told them I was new to the area, drumming up trade.
'You put out a bit of word of mouth and I'll do the job for free.
' Why? To see her.
To see what she'd become.
That's it.
The two girls are taken, their father murdered.
An hour later, your photos of the girls turn up at the house.
What's that all about, then? A little tap dance? A declaration of war? What? Crap timing, that's all.
Still, it's quite ironic, isn't it? Oh, is it? Well, I mean if you think back to Baghdad, house flattened the whole of her family in bits, and I mean in bits because I was the one that was actually there, remember? And now it's like It's all come full circle, hasn't it? Marsden couldn't be any more screwed if they put an exocet through his front window.
You can crow all you like, Mr Regan.
But spare the girls.
I wish I could.
Where are they? I've got to get back to work.
Unless you have any evidence with which to charge my client All right.
Interview terminated, 14:27.
Want a lift? No chance.
Ballistics report, second page, third para.
Passport.
We're gonna need his passport.
Joe! Your wee lass from Hexham last night.
What time did she see the girls? 11 o'clock, closing time.
Why? What's that? Check it out.
Check if it was Regan.
Somebody open this door! Is this your shop? Aye.
Do you work here? Aye.
Do you recognise this man? 'I've told you, I haven't got them.
' We found traces of sand residue on the shells of the bullets fired at Dr Marsden.
And our ballistics lab reckons that this and other factors points to an origin in Iraq or Syria.
Iraq? Know what this is? A 9mm semi.
Half the male population of Baghdad have got one of them.
You were there yourself in October last year, doing what? For work.
I've still got contacts.
A bloke at Magnum likes what I do.
It's a photo agency.
Bring one home with you? No! Why are you doing all this? It's the dream, is it, your line of work? One shot that changed the world.
And what did I change? You saved her life.
I found her, that's all.
I took her hand, and they said, 'Don't, for Christ's sake.
You pull her, you'll break her.
' And I couldn't do that.
I'd kill any man that did.
These are the last Baghdad trip? Yes.
What's this? Amira's street, once upon a time.
Well, what were you doing there? Just trying to join things up, I guess.
Cheery lot.
That was Amira's house.
Nowadays just full of dental students.
Hm.
Car mechanic.
He took a pounding in the Occupation.
Six broken ribs.
Half his foot blown off, burns to his face and arms.
He remembered her, though, Amira.
From the old days.
Kenny? Off licence till receipt, just gone 11 o'clock last night.
The shop owner remembers Regan coming in.
That puts him 20 miles from the sighting in Hexham.
He can't be in two places at once now, can he? You were saying? His injuries, how did he come by them? Missile attack, I think.
And his leg, his foot? Yeah, toes blown off.
What, both feet? No, just one.
Left foot? Yeah.
Right's a nine, the left's a seven.
Now, he remembered Amira? Right? Yeah.
He was asking about her.
What did he want to know? What had happened to her, her name What, her new name? Mira Marsden? And you told him, Mr Regan? You told him? Yeah.
Please I don't know what you're talking about.
Just let us go home.
Oh, no.
Hello.
Malik, no surname.
Lived in the same neighbourhood in Baghdad.
The left foot, size seven, the right, size nine.
Where are you? Oh, God in heaven! Next time, take off your shoes.
one man working alone.
But he knew her as a child in Baghdad.
And she's spirited over here.
Years go by, now he wants to find her again.
Hey, it's a long shot.
I mean, why? That's some bairn he met years back.
I don't know, but park the 'why'.
Think 'how'.
I mean, I'm sorry to piss on your chips, yeah, but some guy, some mechanic from Iraq, how do we know he's here? How does he even get here? They sometimes come over in lorries on the ferry from Holland.
This Malik, is it? They could have smuggled him overland across Europe.
Since when did you become the big expert? I've got a mate in SOCA Well, more of an ex, actually.
Do you keep in touch with your ex? Yeah, you know.
Keep your enemies close, keep your exes closer.
Right, Joe? Don't ask him.
He's been hitched since he was at primary school.
One-woman guy, is it? I like it.
Oh, hypocrite! Shall I give her a buzz? Yeah, use my office, if you like.
Very resourceful.
Aye, they said he was cocky.
A friend of mine did firearms training with him last year.
They used to call him Dirty Barry.
I think he wants a pen, pet.
Would you mind? Kelman, you can wait in reception.
Gary Webb.
Customs official taking bribes on the docks.
We've had him under surveillance since February.
We hoped he'd take us to the Albanians working this stretch of the coast.
Still you're the priority.
You made the national news.
So you think this customs official might have let our suspect into the country? Amongst others.
Well, let's go pick him up.
Time's up, sweetheart.
OK, go.
On you go, Luke.
OK, there you go.
Get those muscles working! You can do it! Yeah! Well done.
That's it, a bit further.
Gary.
So hypothetically you looked into the back of the freight, yes? What did you see? Oh, please, help me out here for Christ's sakes.
Hypothetically.
I er I didn't see much.
This man, hm? I mean, faces, it could have been him.
Mr Webb, this man's not here for a spot of bar work.
A man is dead and his two daughters are missing.
One of them's diabetic.
His daughters? Mm.
Two nights in the back of a van.
God knows what he wants with them.
Eyes down.
Yeah.
He was there.
He had bad skin, burns on his face.
OK, so where is he now? We have confirmation on a face.
A photograph.
Malik.
He was smuggled into the country last weekend.
Now, we're still light years away from a motive.
But what drives a man to travel halfway round the world to go ballistic? What would be enough? Ma'am.
Thanks, love.
Where is she? She's upstairs.
No, don't panic, love.
There's no news.
I just wanted to ask you a little favour.
Oh, OK.
Oh, erm Sorry, this is DCI Stanhope.
Robin Creavey.
That's Karen's Godfather.
Dan's oldest friend.
I should drop by the house, check the lights still work.
Don't go.
You must be jetlagged.
Sure.
If I could just borrow her for five minutes.
I remember we were in France one time.
We packed in a hurry, no insulin.
It was a bank holiday, everything was shut.
She went two days without her insulin.
Her legs just went from under her.
I thought we were Keep drinking, plenty of fluids, that's what Dan always Listen, her sister's with her.
I know it's nuts, I feel glad it's two of them.
At least they're together.
At least she's got Karen to look after her.
She'll know what to do, Karen.
Oh, there I go.
Dan was always ticking me off.
Said I put too much on her.
And what do you say? I don't know.
I wish I had a fraction of her strength.
Anything we do still have would be up here in storage.
We kept it safe.
You know, in case she needed to go into all that.
Not that she did, she's very comfortable in her own skin.
Actually, it's It's not locked.
Oh.
This is what they found her in.
It's hard to believe something so small could have so much pain.
Here, drink this.
You'll be all right.
Right, there's some old photos here somewhere.
And this is it? This is all there is of Amira's old life? Mira.
We dropped the A.
Mira, sorry.
It's hard to credit now the publicity around that child, TV, book deals.
'No, thanks, ' Dan said.
New life, new start, new name.
Laura I think this man was looking for your daughter.
He knows her new name, Mira Marsden, and he arrived in Tyneside the night before the attack on your family.
It's him? I think so, yes.
Who is he? I was hoping you could help us with that.
Me? Mm.
Oh, if I had those photos They must be here somewhere.
Laura, I'm gonna have to ask, has anyone from Mira's old life ever made contact? What? Her what? Iraq, Baghdad.
If not with yourself, with your husband.
No.
How could they? I mean, how could they? Look, I'm not judging anybody.
They're saying it's a man from Iraq.
Iraq? How can that be? That's what I said.
We don't know yet.
Come on, let's get you inside.
Any use? No, not a lot of stuff left behind.
Malik.
If we just had a surname, we could contact the Foreign Office.
Here's Robin Creavey, the godfather.
I meant to ask, did you give any thought to your dad's little surprise? Eh? Your kid sister.
You kept these quiet! Yeah, well, I missed my breakfast.
It's gone lunch! Go on, help yourself.
Mm.
She's just some stranger with a life of her own.
This whole thing we've got something in common.
She might have looked me up, I'm in the phone book.
No, you're not.
If she needed to find me, she knows where I am, doesn't she? Does she have a name, at least? Name? Who? Your sister! Oh! How should I know? Just answer the phone normally.
Hello? Mum? Is that you? Triangulate the phone now.
Are you there, Mum? Ma'am, there's a call.
Karen? Sweetheart Oh, Mum! Oh, thank God! What's happening to us? Just tell me where you are, love.
It's some kind of giant greenhouse.
There's plants everywhere.
Is your sister with you? Put Mira on.
I'm really scared.
Karen? Phone battery must have died.
But we can get a fix.
Let me come.
No, you stay here.
Joe, Kelman, you stay with her.
You follow me.
OK, Kenny, where is she? Head west out of Ammington.
Ammington? Correct.
But it's on our doorstep! Plants, plants Kenny, any garden centres, market gardens, anything? Aye, there's polytunnels.
Plastic City.
Where's Armed Response? 15 minutes away.
What are we supposed to do, sit and wait? We'll just start.
Spread out.
Yeah.
I just want to hear your voice.
And the little 'uns.
Yeah, I'll have to call you back.
Laura? Mrs Marsden? Kelman, come in.
I need back-up now at the house.
I think he's inside.
Officer on the scene.
White Ford van, registration R430 UOC.
Joe, there's no key.
He's upstairs! Have a look upstairs.
Police officer.
Put down your weapon! Help! Help! Help me! It's all right, love.
Where is he, Karen? He's gone.
And where's your sister? Where's Mira? My mum Paramedic! Barry, hold on.
Laura Laura, come here.
Look at me.
Stay with me, Laura.
Look at me.
Stay with me, Laura.
Stay with me.
Stay with me! Kenny, come on.
Did Kelman get a shot off? Aye.
He must have clipped the intruder.
The blood spatter starts in the house, all the way down here, over to the vehicle.
Get ANPR on the number plates.
Ma'am.
Would you like me to tell his wife? He had a wife? No, she already knows.
Right.
Listen, I want to ring round the hospitals.
If Malik's wounded maybe he checked into A&E, right? I'll drop you off.
How's Mam? They don't know.
Still in theatre? OK.
Listen, love did he keep you anywhere else? In a barn.
In a barn.
Anything you can remember, sounds? No.
Hey, how are you holding up? Me dad, you know, and now this and It's all my fault.
No.
I didn't mean it.
Mira was getting dead poorly and I told the man, 'She needs her shot, the proper dose.
' What, are you saying he went back to the house to get your sister's insulin? Yeah.
Wait here, pet.
Progress? Because I can always have a word with the Assistant Commissioner.
Oh, he's in your circle, is he? Civil servants, we get around.
So if it's extra support you want, I can call him right now.
Sir we lost a man today.
So if you'd just like to take care of Karen and leave the rest to me.
What about this Iraqi? What's he doing this for? Jonah Regan.
Goes to Amira's old street in Baghdad.
Meets a stranger, takes his photo.
Gives him a tip-off Mira Marsden.
And Malik tracks her all the way back here to Tyneside.
Now, what's he doing here? Is that a revenge thing or what? Uniform took one of Mira's district nurse team back to the house.
She confirms that the insulin was stored in her mum and dad's bathroom.
He took it, he took the medicine? Aye, all of it, a month's supply.
A month? Well, he's in for the long haul.
God, that was one hell of a risk going back there.
Well, at least the lassie's OK.
Mm.
Anything from Ballistics? Ah, right.
The intruder fired first.
The bullet struck Barry, went straight through his chest.
Caught lower in the abdomen.
Barry would have died a few minutes after that, before the paramedics got there.
So Laura was caught in the crossfire? Aye, looks like it.
And then the intruder went up to Laura's bedroom.
Joe, how long before DC Kelman got to the house? Joe? Well, we can't tell, can we? Cos we don't know what Malik wants or why he's here.
Ma'am, it's Anthea.
DS Kelman's widow.
Take her into my office, Kenny, settle her down.
I'll be right there.
Joe? You OK? Look at us, there's not a scratch on us.
I let the man bleed to death.
You saved a woman's life.
I'm sorry, you train to be a firearms officer, we all know the risks.
A fat lot of good it did her.
She's just about ready to drop.
I mean, some dad he's gonna be.
He's a hero.
He's a photo on the wall.
Oh, look.
What have we here? Did you call them? Of course I did! What did you do that for? Go home, will you? Get lost.
Hey.
Come on, you two.
All OK? Yes.
Her boyfriend's here.
We're doing normal, or trying to.
Hey.
Hm.
Karen? Karen? So who wants to order? Dad, we ordered ages ago.
Let him be.
He's had a tough day, haven't you? Aye, a bit of a day.
Can I have a blue one, Dad? Tomboy.
Can I, Dad? Hey, surprise! Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
We got you a little The first thing I heard was the gunshot.
We were upstairs.
Trying on the frocks for the party.
And you heard your dad.
He was shouting.
He never shouts.
There was a fight, a table going over.
Mira runs down, there's Dad.
'Get back upstairs.
' And it goes off.
You saw the gun go off? That man, he stood there like he didn't know what just happened.
Like somebody just put that gun in his hand.
'Amira, ' he says.
Amira, like that.
I was screaming, we both were.
He starts trying to drag her out the house.
I was on the stairs, grabbed hold of her.
He goes mental, starts waving the gun around.
He's screaming at both of us, 'Get in the van, get in the van!' Did he threaten you, hurt you? No.
But he knew Amira's name? Hm? It seemed that way.
Did he say how he knew her He knew her what his plans were, where he was heading, what he wants? We just He had all Dad's blood on his jacket.
He kept saying, 'You did this.
You did this.
' 'You, ' meaning? Mira.
I could see him yelling.
I said to Mira, 'What's he want, what's he on about?' She was like, 'Don't talk to him, don't look him in the eye, he's nuts, that man.
' Right.
Then I woke up in that greenhouse place with the phone.
Well, your sister got her medicine thanks to you.
What about me mam? She'll be proud of you, helping your sister.
Yeah.
Well, that's the main thing.
What does that mean? Mira's her life.
I don't mind, it's just how it is.
'Ee, I'm sure you both are.
Is that what you're like with your kids? I don't have kids.
Well, when you were growing up, then? Well, it was er just me and my dad.
But he was more into his hobbies.
Such as? He stuffed birds.
Creepy.
Aye, yeah, it was.
Well, how did you cope? How did I cope? Well, you just grow up.
I thought, 'One day, I'll wake up and the whole world won't revolve around me trying to please him.
' Yeah.
Well, come on, young man.
That's enough social work for one evening.
Thanks for dropping him.
On my way.
You and Karen been together long? Long enough.
And Mira? What about her? Do you think she'll be OK? I don't know.
She barely ever talks to me.
Well, she missed a treat there, pet.
What are you doing? Chatting.
Is that what you call it? Not to you, to my mates.
Hm.
Be my guest! Hi, Margaret.
Joe? What are you doing? So I'm sitting in this pizzeria.
And I can't help thinking, 'What about the balloons?' The what, love? The balloons, hanging on the front door.
The same day that fella broke in and shot Dr Marsden.
Who put balloons out? The party was two days off.
A bit of festive cheer.
Or maybe it was a signal.
Maybe it was a sign.
So that he knew exactly which house to come to.
Go home, Joe.
Kiss the wife.
What if Mira knew he was coming? What if she was waiting for him? Malik dumps the sister he doesn't need, risks everything to go back to the house for Mira's insulin.
She's what he came for.
So if Mira and Malik planned this, how did they communicate? You've checked the phone records for the whole family.
Of course.
There's no calls to or from Iraq.
We'd have noticed.
Right.
And you've checked the social network sites.
What? Kelman was gonna do that.
But it wasn't top of his list.
Look, Mira was a victim.
She wasn't part of it.
Stop! Go back.
There.
Mira M.
There's Karen Kyle.
And that's him.
Look, he's listed as one of her friends.
Baghdad.
It's him.
They were in contact.
Did they talk, chat? You'd need a password.
We'd need a search warrant.
Get one.
They planned it together.
Hold on, we don't know that.
So these books you lent Mira.
Can you remember why she was so interested, what it was she was looking to find out? I don't know.
I've been going out my skull, to be honest.
Mira looking for her past.
She was what, your project? It's not like that.
Girlfriend? Please, I don't want it getting about.
Come on, lad, you fell for her.
It's not the end of the world.
I can't have people knowing.
People? At the mosque? My family.
She just wanted someone she could talk to.
She's not a kid, she's a young woman.
She's curious about where she comes from.
She could talk to her parents.
Maybe she didn't feel comfortable asking her parents the questions.
She didn't want to upset anyone, particularly her mum.
Well, what sort of questions? She wanted me to keep them safe.
Was this her old family? Aye.
Laura said she had some photos.
She must have taken these from the trunk in the house.
From the back of the shed, she said.
Is this the old family? Aye.
This is her brother? Yeah, I think so, yeah.
It's him.
The same fella.
Eh? No, he died.
They all died in some bomb.
They've been in contact on a social network site.
No.
Don't you lie to me.
I'm not.
She'd have told me.
She'd have told me.
Brother and sister.
He came for her.
Get Kenny on to the Foreign Office.
Anything on file, anything they can dredge up on Malik Saleh.
We can't just stick around.
They must know as long as he's here, we're gonna come looking for them.
So how do they get out? My client wants to help with your investigation.
But asks that this be taken into account in the event of his own trial.
This man.
Have you any idea how he's planning to get out of the country, Mr Webb? Mr Webb? Anything you've seen or heard? Only if you swear to protect my family.
Swear it.
Kenny, we've got him.
Great.
The last time the Albanians spoke to Gary Webb it was to offer him a job.
He had to be at the docks Thursday, today.
The second shift and wait for orders.
So what? I spoke to the harbour master.
There aren't any boats due in second shift today.
But there is one boat leaving.
Tramp ship, bound for Hamburg, leaves the south quay six o'clock tonight.
So what if he's smuggling people out of the country and not in? Malik.
We seize the boat, sit tight and we wait.
Joe, is there anything from the tech team on the social network? Mira and Saleh exchanged messages.
They were deleted at least a week ago.
Can we get 'em back? It'll be tough but they're on it.
They were covering their tracks.
Thank you.
Let's go.
Oh, ma'am.
From the Foreign Office.
Thanks, I'll read it on the way over.
Yeah? OK, cheers.
The hospital.
Laura's awake.
What are we gonna tell her? Her own daughter? Mum? Mira, where is she? She's going to be fine.
Everybody's talking in riddles today.
Somebody, please tell me where my daughter is.
She's right here, Mum.
Karen, I didn't Call her back, I didn't mean to sound like that.
Mr Creavey, take care of her, love.
Sure.
Here if you need me.
It's OK.
You remember Joe? Meet the man who saved your life.
Now, Laura, the man who broke into your house Who shot me.
.
.
he came for Mira's insulin.
Yes.
I told him where it was.
Then he spoke to you? It could make all the difference.
He looked me in the eyes, said, 'I didn't mean to hurt anybody.
' So says the man with a gun.
He came up with some cock and bull, I couldn't make head or tail of it, to be honest.
Said he was Mira's brother.
They're all dead.
We all know that.
Laura, I have here visa applications and various petitions to the British Embassy in Baghdad, all written by the man who shot you, and who's now holding your eldest daughter.
I can't focus.
You read them.
August 2002.
'My name is Malik Saleh.
I am the eldest of seven children.
' Then there's a whole list of them.
'The youngest is Amira, whom my father would call his dear heart, his palash' whatever that is.
It's a kind of blossom.
OK.
'After my father died, I raised my brothers and sisters as my own children.
' You need to go to hospital.
Hang on.
Let me just call you an ambulance.
No! Please.
August 21st, 2002.
'An American cruise missile fell on our house.
Fortunately, Mira was found and taken to England where she was given every attention.
Days later, I was found by looters in the rubble.
A local doctor worked, without anaesthetic, to repair my injuries.
' 'I swear this is the truth, I enclose sworn affidavits as a list of people confirming the same.
I only want to be reunited with my sister.
' Wait, wait.
Here.
Thank you.
And there's eight more of these, all along the same lines.
What did they do at the embassy? All applications denied.
Kept on file.
Well, there was a war on.
A case like this, bound to be swept under the carpet.
Can I have a look, please? Oh, no.
Civil servant, Foreign Office.
You were in Baghdad.
Right.
First Secretary, 2002-7.
Rough old time.
You signed every one of these.
Jeremy Robin Creavey.
They crossed my desk.
Even after you left Baghdad, you made sure you got hold of them.
You locked that man out.
From what? His right? His sister.
Dan he was my best friend.
The thought of him losing his child.
You know? And I could help.
What good would come of dragging her back there? I mean, fractured spine, diabetes that's nothing to the nightmares every night.
My God, I heard her once screaming.
She fell down the stairs.
Her mother scooped her up and For the record, I'd do the same thing again.
Did Laura have any inkling about you, this? No.
Dan said, 'Keep her out of it.
' The skipper says we're wasting our time.
The plan, as was, was to pick Malik up out at sea.
After they'd got shot of the harbour pilot.
We believe that? With Webb in custody, they'd have a hard time smuggling him out the docks.
They'll need a boat, won't they? If they're heading out to sea, they're gonna need a boat.
Please.
Brother and sister.
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
You said to come.
You asked me to come.
I came all this way.
And you just screamed.
I came all this way and you screamed.
Romeo 430.
Come.
Come.
Hey.
Come on, get up.
Come on.
Let's go.
Forgive me.
I never wished to hurt.
Our father, he made me swear I know.
To protect you when he's gone.
What was he like? Always in his house.
Always for his people.
Go.
Where are we? Home.
We're going home.
Armed police! Sorry.
Take a look.
I like Mira in this photo.
Don't you? It's all right.
Not sure your sister would agree.
Your mam said, the fringe thingy.
A bit of a flashpoint, apparently.
Did you know that? No.
So if Mira doesn't like this photo what's it doing on her profile? Unless Mira didn't set this up.
Unless someone else set it up pretending to be Mira.
You want to be like her, is that it? No.
It was the way he looked at her this one time.
I just thought, 'Here we go again.
' He? Who's he? Kyle.
Ah, your boyfriend? Oh.
A bit too fond of Mira, was he? Yeah.
So what? You thought, 'I know, I'll set up a profile, I'll pretend to be my sis, see what he's up to'? Yeah.
So you and Kyle became, what is it? Online buddies.
Yeah, buddies, you pretending to be Mira.
And? Straightaway, he was, like, 'Oh, you're dead mysterious.
Maybe I picked the wrong sister.
' What did Karen think about that? I'm used to it.
People ever since I can remember, just crawling over me to get to Mira.
You know.
It's that way she has, so it's all, like, totally blameless.
I know she's been bad with him, going missing after school.
No, it wasn't Kyle she was with, love.
It was another lad.
What? No, you're wrong.
Trust me.
So, go on.
One day, Mira gets this new friend request, does she? From Malik? Yeah.
You asked him to come, didn't you? I just thought 'Let someone else love her for a change if she's so loveable.
' I didn't think he'd show up.
You set out balloons so he'd know the house.
I didn't mean it.
He came all that way.
He expected her to be waiting, a big smile and her bags all packed.
I know.
It was just It was just what, love? It was just a game.
I think you're wrong.
Your sister, she was never the favourite.
She just needed that little bit more help.
Funny, that's what my dad used to say.
Well, go on, then.
What do I tell them? The truth.
While you still can.
It's better coming from you.
Go on.
Go on.
Mum? Hey.
Oh, Karen, come here.
You all right? Yeah.
Cara.
Oh, that politely bewildered look of yours.
Don't know what I'd do without it.
Who or what is Cara? My sister, long-lost since you asked.
Well, that means that I know what it means.
Are you gonna track her down, then, or what? I don't know.
I don't know what I'd get out of it.
How many times are we gonna have this conversation over and over until you finally pluck up the courage? No, no.
It's just Well, there's family, right? And then there's people you get to know.
And people around you, people you can trust.
And maybe that's enough, maybe that's all you need.
Aye, of course.
Hello, what's this, a deposition? Well, I thought maybe I'd take that leave now, if it's all right.
Yeah, of course, that's a good idea.
You and the family.
You all set? Hello, love.
Do you want to come back for a bite? Oh, paella.
Oh, that's tempting.
No, I'm a bit done in, to be honest, love.
Hello.
Well, if you're sure.
Come on.
Come on, you two.
Come here.
Go look at the back and get his paperwork.
OK.
Whoa! All right, mate? Got your papers? Thanks.
All right, when you're ready, mate.
Girls? Mira? Dan! Dan! Girls? Karen? Mira? Girls? Karen! Mira! Some party.
Ballistics are ten minutes away.
Right.
Local search? We're speaking to the neighbours such as they are.
How did the intruder get in? The front door was open.
Bullets? There's one in the beam up there, love, one through the cranium, exit wound back of his skull.
Into the wall.
Time of death, does he know? 1700 hours.
Yeah, I'm right here, no need for an interpreter.
Hour and a half gone, Billy.
Checkpoints? All the way from Rothbury up to Alnwick.
He could be anywhere.
I know.
Guns stored in the house? No, nothing under licence.
Somebody turn that thing off.
Right.
First impressions.
Billy? He's gearing up for a night in with the footie.
She's got her heart set on one of them interior lifestyle shows on digital.
I'll wait for your report.
I'm just getting revved up here.
Ma'am? Casts of the intruder's boot print.
Right.
One's bigger than the other.
Aye, left foot's a seven, right foot's a nine.
That's a mistake.
CSI pulled off five sets of footprints, same story every time size seven, size nine.
OK, so the killer's wearing odd-sized boots.
Maybe there were two of them, two intruders.
Yeah, possible, of course.
Two one-legged intruders.
They won't have got far.
Prints leading where? To the vehicle.
He They took the two daughters round the back.
And then drove off with them.
What is that? Oi! I was in the garden.
The girls were having a sort of dress rehearsal for my husband's retirement do, the day after tomorrow.
We saw the balloons on the gate.
Good job, we'd have driven straight past.
Dan was dreading it, to be honest.
30 years a surgeon, it's all he ever knew.
Here we are.
What's this? Is that the girls? When did this Just now.
By courier.
Are these your daughters? Yeah.
That's Karen and that's Mira.
So Mira is she the adopted one? That's right, yeah.
Ee, they're bonny lasses.
Was there a note? No.
And who would have sent this, do you think? I've never seen it before.
God, she's gonna hate that one.
Anything that passes for a fringe you know how fussy they get.
Courier? He's outside, giving a statement.
Right, Laura.
What time did you last see your daughters? Oh about ten to five.
I called up to them before I went out into the garden.
Peas or beans? You know, for their tea.
And they called back? Mira, peas.
Beans for madam.
I went with peas.
Dan grows them from seed, it's his pride and joy.
Mira always says, 'I like your garden peas, Dad.
They're better than the real ones.
' And that's when you heard the gunshot? You were out in the garden? Look I have to look for them.
Mira's expecting her jab before morning.
It's seven o'clock now.
Her what? Her jab, her insulin shot.
Well, then, we're gonna have to get her back double quick, then, won't we? Laura, did they have boyfriends, either of them? Of course.
Karen, she's got a lad, Kyle, from school.
Do you know where he lives? It's er this one or I should know, shouldn't I? Sorry.
Not to worry, love.
Joe, which house? Mrs Marsden? Kyle, DCI Vera Stanhope.
Are Karen and Mira with you? What? Mind if I take a look? Go for it.
They're not here.
I was just on my way to pick them up.
From where? Home.
When did you last speak to Karen? Er Geography, the day before yesterday.
What's going on? Did you send a package to the house, a photo? What? No.
Why would I do that? Kyle, we're trying to trace the girls.
If you can think where they might be.
Forget your stupid bloody phone! No.
Look.
It's Karen.
Hey, shut that music off, will you? Kyle? Karen, it's the police.
Where are you, love? Help me, please.
Help us.
We're in a van.
This guy he's just gone mad.
Is your sister with you? Yeah.
Can I talk to her? Karen, can you tell us who took you from the house? Hey, get off! Hey, get off! And you are? DC Kelman, ma'am.
I got drafted in two hours ago.
See if you can get a trace on this call, DC Kelman.
Got it.
One guy, singular.
One intruder.
OK.
With wrong-sized feet.
Christ! What did she say? Laura, I need your permission to keep track of all your phone calls, mobile and land line, just in case one of your daughters or whoever's holding them tries to make contact.
Typical.
Of all the people in the world, what did she have to go and call him for? Now, listen.
I'm going to do all I humanly can to get your girls back home again.
Hm? What I need you to do is to sit down with one of my officers, Joe, if you like Yeah.
I need a list of anyone acquainted with your husband.
Rivalries, grudges, however old or daft.
Now, is there someone you can be with? What? Er Robin, Karen's godfather.
Well, you give Joe the number and he'll get in touch.
OK? We're just a normal family.
Come on, look on the bright side.
We're all on overtime.
Can't you get a track on that call? No joy, I'm afraid.
Any contact with the man? Nothing yet.
Five hours gone.
Well, if it's not a ransom he's after Two pretty lasses.
What, prostitution? What do we know about the boyfriend? Kyle? Couple of kid brothers, Mum's out more than she's in.
I asked a neighbour.
Hm, initiative.
I expect some of you know DC Kelman, on loan for a week only.
Hi, Barry.
City Hospital.
Talk to the murder victim's colleagues.
Let's see what we're dealing with.
Come on, let's earn our keep, some of you at least.
Publicity, again.
Well, tell them I'll call them back again.
We'll get back to you.
Thank you.
Kenny, the lasses.
Friends, any fallings out? Oh, Kelman, before you go, phone records, social network sites.
Yes, ma'am.
What have we got? Abductor with wrong-sized feet.
Enters the house, front door open.
Interrupted by Dad.
Dirty great scuffle, two shots fired, one wild, one through the skull.
Grabs the girls and takes off.
It's not exactly well planned, is it? Any update on the courier, who sent the photo? The delivery company goes by the name of PLH Express.
Nothing from their head office.
The bike was paid for in cash.
No name or address.
A list of local photographers on my desk first thing.
Joe, what have we got from Laura? Just a few names friends, family, colleagues.
Nothing stands out, but there is this.
What is this? Baghdad.
That face.
It's her.
What's this? Mira.
So this much we know.
Amira Saleh.
Born and raised in Akashat in Iraq.
5,000.
Think Newbiggin with pomegranates.
Dad's a baker, clearly gets on with his wife, seven kids.
Drops dead of a heart attack.
Very sad.
Family up-sticks to Baghdad, looking for an honest trade.
Whereupon Boom! One stray bomb.
Some American pilot can't tell a chicken farm from a munitions factory.
Whole family dead.
All except one little bairn.
Six and three-quarters, mammy's little helper.
Ruptured pancreas, kidney failure, extensive burns.
Multiple fractures.
Aye, little Amira.
Ah, now you remember, Kenny! That photo.
It was hard to miss it.
Those big eyes practically sank the war effort.
Plus, a national press photo award for the lucky snapper.
This little lass became the nation's sweetheart, didn't she? PR machine went into overdrive.
Joe.
Messages of support poured in from around the world as brave Amira was flown by RAF Chinook yesterday to Manchester Children's Hospital, where doctors worked through the night to save the life of a little girl of unbelievable courage.
We're at the beginning of a long road with Amira.
But she's stable, she's sleeping.
We've done all we can.
What she needs now is all the luck in the world.
Daniel Marsden.
Senior consultant at the hospital.
Our murder victim.
What about the lass? He adopted her.
Amira? Amira became Mira Marsden.
And our killer shoots the dad, runs off with the girls.
So, what do you think? Just a heads up, Kenny, it might not be relevant.
So what I need is a motive.
Oh, Kelman, what did you get from the hospital? Oh, they all spoke really highly of him.
He's dead.
They would.
Right, er well he was a workaholic private, people looked up to him.
Much like yourself, ma'am.
Well, thanks very much, Kenny.
You can stick that on my gravestone.
Looking forward to it.
Is she always like that? Cheer up, mate.
You're in what they call the honeymoon phase.
It's probably nothing but I found these in Mira's bedroom.
Strewth! Get Anti-Terrorism on the line.
Very funny.
They were stuffed in a rucksack in the back of her wardrobe.
No harm in asking.
We think these are yours.
This er this young woman.
She borrowed these.
Her and her sister have been abducted.
Their poor mother.
We were wondering if you'd had any contact.
This young woman is she at school or? Newton College.
I think I can explain.
We visited the school for an assembly.
This was in September.
She er She came by the next week, wanting to know more.
We lent her some books.
We? From the library.
It was on the news.
Aye.
Excuse me.
Yeah? OK.
Thanks.
Possible sighting.
Well, if you think of anything else Sure.
She'll be OK.
Thanks for your time.
Tyre tracks are a positive match for the ones on the Marsdens' drive.
Footprints? Same deal as before.
Left foot's a seven.
Right a nine.
OK, well it's him.
Who wears different-sized boots? Do they dress in the dark or what? Hey.
Here comes our star witness.
Are you here to see DCI Stanhope? Good grief! Tell me it's not the bairn.
Right, OK, Meg, and this was when? Hm? Just gone 11 last night.
Well, you seem very sure.
Ah, we were walking Gran here home, were we? Aye, home from the pub.
She likes to keep us company.
Yeah, I bet she does.
Come on, then, love, tell us what you saw.
Come on.
It was a man, right? Aye, a fella and two women.
This fella, can you remember what he looked like? Just take your time.
His hair was black.
Are you sure? It was very dark.
I don't suppose you saw any of this? I cannae say I did.
No.
And the two women? That was them.
And how did they seem? OK? One of them was drunk.
Drunk? She kept falling over.
Mira? The man was yelling at her.
He got really mad.
What did he say? 'Wake up, it's me.
' 'Wake up.
' Like they were half asleep or drugged? Or 'Wake up, snap out of it.
It's me.
' Like he knew her.
He kidnaps the girls at 5pm.
He's still here six hours later, still knocking about the Northeast.
Well, maybe he's local.
It's Kenny.
He's got an address for that lass's photographer.
Family portrait, passport photo? Mother and son? No, no, I'm the landlady.
Good for you.
Your secret's safe with me.
Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Thanks.
Jonah Regan? Yeah.
DCI Vera Stanhope, Northumberland and City Police.
Oh, yes, the phone call.
Right.
Did you take this? Yeah.
Right, what we need from you Of course.
Who commissioned the photos.
That's right.
The girls.
Erm Marianne, was it, and? Karen.
Correct.
And did they say why they were having their photos taken? Birthday pressie, Dad or Poor sod, eh? I saw him on the news, it's I just said I'd package up the photos and send them to the house.
Thanks very much.
That war photo of Amira in Baghdad.
What was the name of the photographer? Why? Didn't you see it? Pride of place, National Photojournalism Award.
Come on, hurry up, things to do.
Can't hang around here all day, waiting for Google.
Jonah Regan.
Never write off the landlady.
Oh, here he is.
Him and his size nines.
Search warrant for the flat, Mr Regan.
You might need a solicitor.
I've already told you.
I had a night in, I woke up with a hangover.
Nobody saw you.
I know.
If you are withholding something from my investigation, that is a criminal offence, Mr Regan.
Now, then, Belfast Sarajevo Libya Somalia? Rwanda.
It does something to your head, does it, in the end? If you tell me what you're looking for, maybe I can help.
Three months divorced not even.
Your ex-wife Jennifer, is it? And your ex-son, Liam, aged 12 Mr Regan's family history's not under review here.
You relocate 80 miles up the coast, just a ten-minute drive from that man.
I'm sorry, you've lost me.
What are you talking about? One photo.
Now, we've done a little bit of checking up.
How long was it you spent trying to adopt that same little girl? Eight months? Now, what was it the adoption service said? Here we are.
'Applicant required to travel for work.
' I swore I'd pack all that in.
'Episodes of manic depression.
Domestic situation considered' Unstable.
Yeah.
Bet you know it off by heart, do you? Whereas Dr Daniel Marsden ticked every box known to man.
He beat you to it.
He got the girl little Mira.
Amira.
Yeah, something like that.
Hard to let go of.
Hm.
Spent ten years festering, hm? Jonah, tell me how did you convince Mira and her kid sister to pose for those photos? I met them on the way to the bus stop.
I told them I was new to the area, drumming up trade.
'You put out a bit of word of mouth and I'll do the job for free.
' Why? To see her.
To see what she'd become.
That's it.
The two girls are taken, their father murdered.
An hour later, your photos of the girls turn up at the house.
What's that all about, then? A little tap dance? A declaration of war? What? Crap timing, that's all.
Still, it's quite ironic, isn't it? Oh, is it? Well, I mean if you think back to Baghdad, house flattened the whole of her family in bits, and I mean in bits because I was the one that was actually there, remember? And now it's like It's all come full circle, hasn't it? Marsden couldn't be any more screwed if they put an exocet through his front window.
You can crow all you like, Mr Regan.
But spare the girls.
I wish I could.
Where are they? I've got to get back to work.
Unless you have any evidence with which to charge my client All right.
Interview terminated, 14:27.
Want a lift? No chance.
Ballistics report, second page, third para.
Passport.
We're gonna need his passport.
Joe! Your wee lass from Hexham last night.
What time did she see the girls? 11 o'clock, closing time.
Why? What's that? Check it out.
Check if it was Regan.
Somebody open this door! Is this your shop? Aye.
Do you work here? Aye.
Do you recognise this man? 'I've told you, I haven't got them.
' We found traces of sand residue on the shells of the bullets fired at Dr Marsden.
And our ballistics lab reckons that this and other factors points to an origin in Iraq or Syria.
Iraq? Know what this is? A 9mm semi.
Half the male population of Baghdad have got one of them.
You were there yourself in October last year, doing what? For work.
I've still got contacts.
A bloke at Magnum likes what I do.
It's a photo agency.
Bring one home with you? No! Why are you doing all this? It's the dream, is it, your line of work? One shot that changed the world.
And what did I change? You saved her life.
I found her, that's all.
I took her hand, and they said, 'Don't, for Christ's sake.
You pull her, you'll break her.
' And I couldn't do that.
I'd kill any man that did.
These are the last Baghdad trip? Yes.
What's this? Amira's street, once upon a time.
Well, what were you doing there? Just trying to join things up, I guess.
Cheery lot.
That was Amira's house.
Nowadays just full of dental students.
Hm.
Car mechanic.
He took a pounding in the Occupation.
Six broken ribs.
Half his foot blown off, burns to his face and arms.
He remembered her, though, Amira.
From the old days.
Kenny? Off licence till receipt, just gone 11 o'clock last night.
The shop owner remembers Regan coming in.
That puts him 20 miles from the sighting in Hexham.
He can't be in two places at once now, can he? You were saying? His injuries, how did he come by them? Missile attack, I think.
And his leg, his foot? Yeah, toes blown off.
What, both feet? No, just one.
Left foot? Yeah.
Right's a nine, the left's a seven.
Now, he remembered Amira? Right? Yeah.
He was asking about her.
What did he want to know? What had happened to her, her name What, her new name? Mira Marsden? And you told him, Mr Regan? You told him? Yeah.
Please I don't know what you're talking about.
Just let us go home.
Oh, no.
Hello.
Malik, no surname.
Lived in the same neighbourhood in Baghdad.
The left foot, size seven, the right, size nine.
Where are you? Oh, God in heaven! Next time, take off your shoes.
one man working alone.
But he knew her as a child in Baghdad.
And she's spirited over here.
Years go by, now he wants to find her again.
Hey, it's a long shot.
I mean, why? That's some bairn he met years back.
I don't know, but park the 'why'.
Think 'how'.
I mean, I'm sorry to piss on your chips, yeah, but some guy, some mechanic from Iraq, how do we know he's here? How does he even get here? They sometimes come over in lorries on the ferry from Holland.
This Malik, is it? They could have smuggled him overland across Europe.
Since when did you become the big expert? I've got a mate in SOCA Well, more of an ex, actually.
Do you keep in touch with your ex? Yeah, you know.
Keep your enemies close, keep your exes closer.
Right, Joe? Don't ask him.
He's been hitched since he was at primary school.
One-woman guy, is it? I like it.
Oh, hypocrite! Shall I give her a buzz? Yeah, use my office, if you like.
Very resourceful.
Aye, they said he was cocky.
A friend of mine did firearms training with him last year.
They used to call him Dirty Barry.
I think he wants a pen, pet.
Would you mind? Kelman, you can wait in reception.
Gary Webb.
Customs official taking bribes on the docks.
We've had him under surveillance since February.
We hoped he'd take us to the Albanians working this stretch of the coast.
Still you're the priority.
You made the national news.
So you think this customs official might have let our suspect into the country? Amongst others.
Well, let's go pick him up.
Time's up, sweetheart.
OK, go.
On you go, Luke.
OK, there you go.
Get those muscles working! You can do it! Yeah! Well done.
That's it, a bit further.
Gary.
So hypothetically you looked into the back of the freight, yes? What did you see? Oh, please, help me out here for Christ's sakes.
Hypothetically.
I er I didn't see much.
This man, hm? I mean, faces, it could have been him.
Mr Webb, this man's not here for a spot of bar work.
A man is dead and his two daughters are missing.
One of them's diabetic.
His daughters? Mm.
Two nights in the back of a van.
God knows what he wants with them.
Eyes down.
Yeah.
He was there.
He had bad skin, burns on his face.
OK, so where is he now? We have confirmation on a face.
A photograph.
Malik.
He was smuggled into the country last weekend.
Now, we're still light years away from a motive.
But what drives a man to travel halfway round the world to go ballistic? What would be enough? Ma'am.
Thanks, love.
Where is she? She's upstairs.
No, don't panic, love.
There's no news.
I just wanted to ask you a little favour.
Oh, OK.
Oh, erm Sorry, this is DCI Stanhope.
Robin Creavey.
That's Karen's Godfather.
Dan's oldest friend.
I should drop by the house, check the lights still work.
Don't go.
You must be jetlagged.
Sure.
If I could just borrow her for five minutes.
I remember we were in France one time.
We packed in a hurry, no insulin.
It was a bank holiday, everything was shut.
She went two days without her insulin.
Her legs just went from under her.
I thought we were Keep drinking, plenty of fluids, that's what Dan always Listen, her sister's with her.
I know it's nuts, I feel glad it's two of them.
At least they're together.
At least she's got Karen to look after her.
She'll know what to do, Karen.
Oh, there I go.
Dan was always ticking me off.
Said I put too much on her.
And what do you say? I don't know.
I wish I had a fraction of her strength.
Anything we do still have would be up here in storage.
We kept it safe.
You know, in case she needed to go into all that.
Not that she did, she's very comfortable in her own skin.
Actually, it's It's not locked.
Oh.
This is what they found her in.
It's hard to believe something so small could have so much pain.
Here, drink this.
You'll be all right.
Right, there's some old photos here somewhere.
And this is it? This is all there is of Amira's old life? Mira.
We dropped the A.
Mira, sorry.
It's hard to credit now the publicity around that child, TV, book deals.
'No, thanks, ' Dan said.
New life, new start, new name.
Laura I think this man was looking for your daughter.
He knows her new name, Mira Marsden, and he arrived in Tyneside the night before the attack on your family.
It's him? I think so, yes.
Who is he? I was hoping you could help us with that.
Me? Mm.
Oh, if I had those photos They must be here somewhere.
Laura, I'm gonna have to ask, has anyone from Mira's old life ever made contact? What? Her what? Iraq, Baghdad.
If not with yourself, with your husband.
No.
How could they? I mean, how could they? Look, I'm not judging anybody.
They're saying it's a man from Iraq.
Iraq? How can that be? That's what I said.
We don't know yet.
Come on, let's get you inside.
Any use? No, not a lot of stuff left behind.
Malik.
If we just had a surname, we could contact the Foreign Office.
Here's Robin Creavey, the godfather.
I meant to ask, did you give any thought to your dad's little surprise? Eh? Your kid sister.
You kept these quiet! Yeah, well, I missed my breakfast.
It's gone lunch! Go on, help yourself.
Mm.
She's just some stranger with a life of her own.
This whole thing we've got something in common.
She might have looked me up, I'm in the phone book.
No, you're not.
If she needed to find me, she knows where I am, doesn't she? Does she have a name, at least? Name? Who? Your sister! Oh! How should I know? Just answer the phone normally.
Hello? Mum? Is that you? Triangulate the phone now.
Are you there, Mum? Ma'am, there's a call.
Karen? Sweetheart Oh, Mum! Oh, thank God! What's happening to us? Just tell me where you are, love.
It's some kind of giant greenhouse.
There's plants everywhere.
Is your sister with you? Put Mira on.
I'm really scared.
Karen? Phone battery must have died.
But we can get a fix.
Let me come.
No, you stay here.
Joe, Kelman, you stay with her.
You follow me.
OK, Kenny, where is she? Head west out of Ammington.
Ammington? Correct.
But it's on our doorstep! Plants, plants Kenny, any garden centres, market gardens, anything? Aye, there's polytunnels.
Plastic City.
Where's Armed Response? 15 minutes away.
What are we supposed to do, sit and wait? We'll just start.
Spread out.
Yeah.
I just want to hear your voice.
And the little 'uns.
Yeah, I'll have to call you back.
Laura? Mrs Marsden? Kelman, come in.
I need back-up now at the house.
I think he's inside.
Officer on the scene.
White Ford van, registration R430 UOC.
Joe, there's no key.
He's upstairs! Have a look upstairs.
Police officer.
Put down your weapon! Help! Help! Help me! It's all right, love.
Where is he, Karen? He's gone.
And where's your sister? Where's Mira? My mum Paramedic! Barry, hold on.
Laura Laura, come here.
Look at me.
Stay with me, Laura.
Look at me.
Stay with me, Laura.
Stay with me.
Stay with me! Kenny, come on.
Did Kelman get a shot off? Aye.
He must have clipped the intruder.
The blood spatter starts in the house, all the way down here, over to the vehicle.
Get ANPR on the number plates.
Ma'am.
Would you like me to tell his wife? He had a wife? No, she already knows.
Right.
Listen, I want to ring round the hospitals.
If Malik's wounded maybe he checked into A&E, right? I'll drop you off.
How's Mam? They don't know.
Still in theatre? OK.
Listen, love did he keep you anywhere else? In a barn.
In a barn.
Anything you can remember, sounds? No.
Hey, how are you holding up? Me dad, you know, and now this and It's all my fault.
No.
I didn't mean it.
Mira was getting dead poorly and I told the man, 'She needs her shot, the proper dose.
' What, are you saying he went back to the house to get your sister's insulin? Yeah.
Wait here, pet.
Progress? Because I can always have a word with the Assistant Commissioner.
Oh, he's in your circle, is he? Civil servants, we get around.
So if it's extra support you want, I can call him right now.
Sir we lost a man today.
So if you'd just like to take care of Karen and leave the rest to me.
What about this Iraqi? What's he doing this for? Jonah Regan.
Goes to Amira's old street in Baghdad.
Meets a stranger, takes his photo.
Gives him a tip-off Mira Marsden.
And Malik tracks her all the way back here to Tyneside.
Now, what's he doing here? Is that a revenge thing or what? Uniform took one of Mira's district nurse team back to the house.
She confirms that the insulin was stored in her mum and dad's bathroom.
He took it, he took the medicine? Aye, all of it, a month's supply.
A month? Well, he's in for the long haul.
God, that was one hell of a risk going back there.
Well, at least the lassie's OK.
Mm.
Anything from Ballistics? Ah, right.
The intruder fired first.
The bullet struck Barry, went straight through his chest.
Caught lower in the abdomen.
Barry would have died a few minutes after that, before the paramedics got there.
So Laura was caught in the crossfire? Aye, looks like it.
And then the intruder went up to Laura's bedroom.
Joe, how long before DC Kelman got to the house? Joe? Well, we can't tell, can we? Cos we don't know what Malik wants or why he's here.
Ma'am, it's Anthea.
DS Kelman's widow.
Take her into my office, Kenny, settle her down.
I'll be right there.
Joe? You OK? Look at us, there's not a scratch on us.
I let the man bleed to death.
You saved a woman's life.
I'm sorry, you train to be a firearms officer, we all know the risks.
A fat lot of good it did her.
She's just about ready to drop.
I mean, some dad he's gonna be.
He's a hero.
He's a photo on the wall.
Oh, look.
What have we here? Did you call them? Of course I did! What did you do that for? Go home, will you? Get lost.
Hey.
Come on, you two.
All OK? Yes.
Her boyfriend's here.
We're doing normal, or trying to.
Hey.
Hm.
Karen? Karen? So who wants to order? Dad, we ordered ages ago.
Let him be.
He's had a tough day, haven't you? Aye, a bit of a day.
Can I have a blue one, Dad? Tomboy.
Can I, Dad? Hey, surprise! Happy birthday.
Happy birthday.
We got you a little The first thing I heard was the gunshot.
We were upstairs.
Trying on the frocks for the party.
And you heard your dad.
He was shouting.
He never shouts.
There was a fight, a table going over.
Mira runs down, there's Dad.
'Get back upstairs.
' And it goes off.
You saw the gun go off? That man, he stood there like he didn't know what just happened.
Like somebody just put that gun in his hand.
'Amira, ' he says.
Amira, like that.
I was screaming, we both were.
He starts trying to drag her out the house.
I was on the stairs, grabbed hold of her.
He goes mental, starts waving the gun around.
He's screaming at both of us, 'Get in the van, get in the van!' Did he threaten you, hurt you? No.
But he knew Amira's name? Hm? It seemed that way.
Did he say how he knew her He knew her what his plans were, where he was heading, what he wants? We just He had all Dad's blood on his jacket.
He kept saying, 'You did this.
You did this.
' 'You, ' meaning? Mira.
I could see him yelling.
I said to Mira, 'What's he want, what's he on about?' She was like, 'Don't talk to him, don't look him in the eye, he's nuts, that man.
' Right.
Then I woke up in that greenhouse place with the phone.
Well, your sister got her medicine thanks to you.
What about me mam? She'll be proud of you, helping your sister.
Yeah.
Well, that's the main thing.
What does that mean? Mira's her life.
I don't mind, it's just how it is.
'Ee, I'm sure you both are.
Is that what you're like with your kids? I don't have kids.
Well, when you were growing up, then? Well, it was er just me and my dad.
But he was more into his hobbies.
Such as? He stuffed birds.
Creepy.
Aye, yeah, it was.
Well, how did you cope? How did I cope? Well, you just grow up.
I thought, 'One day, I'll wake up and the whole world won't revolve around me trying to please him.
' Yeah.
Well, come on, young man.
That's enough social work for one evening.
Thanks for dropping him.
On my way.
You and Karen been together long? Long enough.
And Mira? What about her? Do you think she'll be OK? I don't know.
She barely ever talks to me.
Well, she missed a treat there, pet.
What are you doing? Chatting.
Is that what you call it? Not to you, to my mates.
Hm.
Be my guest! Hi, Margaret.
Joe? What are you doing? So I'm sitting in this pizzeria.
And I can't help thinking, 'What about the balloons?' The what, love? The balloons, hanging on the front door.
The same day that fella broke in and shot Dr Marsden.
Who put balloons out? The party was two days off.
A bit of festive cheer.
Or maybe it was a signal.
Maybe it was a sign.
So that he knew exactly which house to come to.
Go home, Joe.
Kiss the wife.
What if Mira knew he was coming? What if she was waiting for him? Malik dumps the sister he doesn't need, risks everything to go back to the house for Mira's insulin.
She's what he came for.
So if Mira and Malik planned this, how did they communicate? You've checked the phone records for the whole family.
Of course.
There's no calls to or from Iraq.
We'd have noticed.
Right.
And you've checked the social network sites.
What? Kelman was gonna do that.
But it wasn't top of his list.
Look, Mira was a victim.
She wasn't part of it.
Stop! Go back.
There.
Mira M.
There's Karen Kyle.
And that's him.
Look, he's listed as one of her friends.
Baghdad.
It's him.
They were in contact.
Did they talk, chat? You'd need a password.
We'd need a search warrant.
Get one.
They planned it together.
Hold on, we don't know that.
So these books you lent Mira.
Can you remember why she was so interested, what it was she was looking to find out? I don't know.
I've been going out my skull, to be honest.
Mira looking for her past.
She was what, your project? It's not like that.
Girlfriend? Please, I don't want it getting about.
Come on, lad, you fell for her.
It's not the end of the world.
I can't have people knowing.
People? At the mosque? My family.
She just wanted someone she could talk to.
She's not a kid, she's a young woman.
She's curious about where she comes from.
She could talk to her parents.
Maybe she didn't feel comfortable asking her parents the questions.
She didn't want to upset anyone, particularly her mum.
Well, what sort of questions? She wanted me to keep them safe.
Was this her old family? Aye.
Laura said she had some photos.
She must have taken these from the trunk in the house.
From the back of the shed, she said.
Is this the old family? Aye.
This is her brother? Yeah, I think so, yeah.
It's him.
The same fella.
Eh? No, he died.
They all died in some bomb.
They've been in contact on a social network site.
No.
Don't you lie to me.
I'm not.
She'd have told me.
She'd have told me.
Brother and sister.
He came for her.
Get Kenny on to the Foreign Office.
Anything on file, anything they can dredge up on Malik Saleh.
We can't just stick around.
They must know as long as he's here, we're gonna come looking for them.
So how do they get out? My client wants to help with your investigation.
But asks that this be taken into account in the event of his own trial.
This man.
Have you any idea how he's planning to get out of the country, Mr Webb? Mr Webb? Anything you've seen or heard? Only if you swear to protect my family.
Swear it.
Kenny, we've got him.
Great.
The last time the Albanians spoke to Gary Webb it was to offer him a job.
He had to be at the docks Thursday, today.
The second shift and wait for orders.
So what? I spoke to the harbour master.
There aren't any boats due in second shift today.
But there is one boat leaving.
Tramp ship, bound for Hamburg, leaves the south quay six o'clock tonight.
So what if he's smuggling people out of the country and not in? Malik.
We seize the boat, sit tight and we wait.
Joe, is there anything from the tech team on the social network? Mira and Saleh exchanged messages.
They were deleted at least a week ago.
Can we get 'em back? It'll be tough but they're on it.
They were covering their tracks.
Thank you.
Let's go.
Oh, ma'am.
From the Foreign Office.
Thanks, I'll read it on the way over.
Yeah? OK, cheers.
The hospital.
Laura's awake.
What are we gonna tell her? Her own daughter? Mum? Mira, where is she? She's going to be fine.
Everybody's talking in riddles today.
Somebody, please tell me where my daughter is.
She's right here, Mum.
Karen, I didn't Call her back, I didn't mean to sound like that.
Mr Creavey, take care of her, love.
Sure.
Here if you need me.
It's OK.
You remember Joe? Meet the man who saved your life.
Now, Laura, the man who broke into your house Who shot me.
.
.
he came for Mira's insulin.
Yes.
I told him where it was.
Then he spoke to you? It could make all the difference.
He looked me in the eyes, said, 'I didn't mean to hurt anybody.
' So says the man with a gun.
He came up with some cock and bull, I couldn't make head or tail of it, to be honest.
Said he was Mira's brother.
They're all dead.
We all know that.
Laura, I have here visa applications and various petitions to the British Embassy in Baghdad, all written by the man who shot you, and who's now holding your eldest daughter.
I can't focus.
You read them.
August 2002.
'My name is Malik Saleh.
I am the eldest of seven children.
' Then there's a whole list of them.
'The youngest is Amira, whom my father would call his dear heart, his palash' whatever that is.
It's a kind of blossom.
OK.
'After my father died, I raised my brothers and sisters as my own children.
' You need to go to hospital.
Hang on.
Let me just call you an ambulance.
No! Please.
August 21st, 2002.
'An American cruise missile fell on our house.
Fortunately, Mira was found and taken to England where she was given every attention.
Days later, I was found by looters in the rubble.
A local doctor worked, without anaesthetic, to repair my injuries.
' 'I swear this is the truth, I enclose sworn affidavits as a list of people confirming the same.
I only want to be reunited with my sister.
' Wait, wait.
Here.
Thank you.
And there's eight more of these, all along the same lines.
What did they do at the embassy? All applications denied.
Kept on file.
Well, there was a war on.
A case like this, bound to be swept under the carpet.
Can I have a look, please? Oh, no.
Civil servant, Foreign Office.
You were in Baghdad.
Right.
First Secretary, 2002-7.
Rough old time.
You signed every one of these.
Jeremy Robin Creavey.
They crossed my desk.
Even after you left Baghdad, you made sure you got hold of them.
You locked that man out.
From what? His right? His sister.
Dan he was my best friend.
The thought of him losing his child.
You know? And I could help.
What good would come of dragging her back there? I mean, fractured spine, diabetes that's nothing to the nightmares every night.
My God, I heard her once screaming.
She fell down the stairs.
Her mother scooped her up and For the record, I'd do the same thing again.
Did Laura have any inkling about you, this? No.
Dan said, 'Keep her out of it.
' The skipper says we're wasting our time.
The plan, as was, was to pick Malik up out at sea.
After they'd got shot of the harbour pilot.
We believe that? With Webb in custody, they'd have a hard time smuggling him out the docks.
They'll need a boat, won't they? If they're heading out to sea, they're gonna need a boat.
Please.
Brother and sister.
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
You said to come.
You asked me to come.
I came all this way.
And you just screamed.
I came all this way and you screamed.
Romeo 430.
Come.
Come.
Hey.
Come on, get up.
Come on.
Let's go.
Forgive me.
I never wished to hurt.
Our father, he made me swear I know.
To protect you when he's gone.
What was he like? Always in his house.
Always for his people.
Go.
Where are we? Home.
We're going home.
Armed police! Sorry.
Take a look.
I like Mira in this photo.
Don't you? It's all right.
Not sure your sister would agree.
Your mam said, the fringe thingy.
A bit of a flashpoint, apparently.
Did you know that? No.
So if Mira doesn't like this photo what's it doing on her profile? Unless Mira didn't set this up.
Unless someone else set it up pretending to be Mira.
You want to be like her, is that it? No.
It was the way he looked at her this one time.
I just thought, 'Here we go again.
' He? Who's he? Kyle.
Ah, your boyfriend? Oh.
A bit too fond of Mira, was he? Yeah.
So what? You thought, 'I know, I'll set up a profile, I'll pretend to be my sis, see what he's up to'? Yeah.
So you and Kyle became, what is it? Online buddies.
Yeah, buddies, you pretending to be Mira.
And? Straightaway, he was, like, 'Oh, you're dead mysterious.
Maybe I picked the wrong sister.
' What did Karen think about that? I'm used to it.
People ever since I can remember, just crawling over me to get to Mira.
You know.
It's that way she has, so it's all, like, totally blameless.
I know she's been bad with him, going missing after school.
No, it wasn't Kyle she was with, love.
It was another lad.
What? No, you're wrong.
Trust me.
So, go on.
One day, Mira gets this new friend request, does she? From Malik? Yeah.
You asked him to come, didn't you? I just thought 'Let someone else love her for a change if she's so loveable.
' I didn't think he'd show up.
You set out balloons so he'd know the house.
I didn't mean it.
He came all that way.
He expected her to be waiting, a big smile and her bags all packed.
I know.
It was just It was just what, love? It was just a game.
I think you're wrong.
Your sister, she was never the favourite.
She just needed that little bit more help.
Funny, that's what my dad used to say.
Well, go on, then.
What do I tell them? The truth.
While you still can.
It's better coming from you.
Go on.
Go on.
Mum? Hey.
Oh, Karen, come here.
You all right? Yeah.
Cara.
Oh, that politely bewildered look of yours.
Don't know what I'd do without it.
Who or what is Cara? My sister, long-lost since you asked.
Well, that means that I know what it means.
Are you gonna track her down, then, or what? I don't know.
I don't know what I'd get out of it.
How many times are we gonna have this conversation over and over until you finally pluck up the courage? No, no.
It's just Well, there's family, right? And then there's people you get to know.
And people around you, people you can trust.
And maybe that's enough, maybe that's all you need.
Aye, of course.
Hello, what's this, a deposition? Well, I thought maybe I'd take that leave now, if it's all right.
Yeah, of course, that's a good idea.
You and the family.
You all set? Hello, love.
Do you want to come back for a bite? Oh, paella.
Oh, that's tempting.
No, I'm a bit done in, to be honest, love.
Hello.
Well, if you're sure.
Come on.
Come on, you two.
Come here.