New Tricks s05e07 Episode Script
Communal Living
ALARM RINGS Yeah, but I just don't see why it's suddenly landed in my lap.
Good morning.
I'm on my way now, sir.
Move, Gerry! Good morning.
Is it? Third time lucky.
Good morning, Brian.
Ah, sod the lot of you! # It's all right, it's OK # Doesn't really matter if you're old and grey # It's all right, it's OK # Listen to what I say # It's all right, doing fine # Doesn't really matter if the sun don't shine # It's all right, it's OK # We're getting to the end of the day! # We have a bit of development in one of our mothball cases.
Which one? The Justin King murder.
Justin King? Doesn't ring a bell.
It wouldn't, we haven't had movement on it since it came in.
Nope.
That's the 18-year-old lad, who'd been missing for two months on waste ground in North London.
Yeah, but the ME ascertained he'd only been dead a week.
From what? Blunt trauma to the head, but there were multiple injuries, sustained by severe beatings over a couple of days.
Theory was he'd been held somewhere and tortured.
Been covered in paint and generally put through it.
Why would you torture an 18-year-old? Yeah, an 18-year-old straight A, IT student who'd never been in trouble in his life.
How far did the original investigation get? Couldn't even work out where he'd been for his two months missing.
But now it looks like we have a witness who might fill in the gaps.
What, someone's come forward? Someone was dragged forward.
What's that mean? Diane King, Justin's mother, was handing out leaflets outside Justin's old university, when someone recognised Justin's picture And? Mrs King tried to physically drag her here until a beat copper intervened and brought them both in.
You mean they're both here, now? Yes, so Gerry and I will talk to Mrs King.
You can take the new witness.
She didn't just recognise the picture.
She said she knew him! I appreciate that, Mrs King, but you can't go around assaulting and kidnapping people.
I was just I was a bit excited.
I have been handing out leaflets at the university every Tuesday for the last two years.
And this is the first time anyone has even shown a spark of recognition.
Every Tuesday? Well, what was I supposed to do? You closed the incident room, wound up the investigation.
No new leads, I was told.
Well, how could there be any when you weren't even looking? Mrs King, we realise how frustrating And then they told me that they've handed the case over to UCOS, whatever that is.
But do I hear anything? Not a word.
Unfortunately we have a large caseload Well, I'm given you a head start on this one.
I have found you a witness, now all you have to do is find out what she knows about how my Justin ended up like he did But you can't do that sat in here with me, can you? No, our colleagues are questioning her as we speak.
We just don't want you to get your hopes too high.
She knew him! She spent time with him.
I think she's the reason he went missing.
Two months without a word.
I mean, your lot said I was being over-protective.
That he'd probably gone off with friends travelling.
Only the next time I saw him, I was identifying his body.
I'm so sorry.
Don't be sorry.
Everyone's been sorry.
You just find out who did this to my son.
Oh, good morning, My name is Jack Halford.
This is my colleague Brian Lane.
Hi, there.
I'm Heidi.
Well, Heidi, why don't you come and sit down? And we'll have a little chat? OK.
So, you've, er, you've had a bit of a morning.
Yeah, the lady with the leaflets Oh, Mrs King.
Justin's mother.
That was really She was really upset.
I couldn't understand why at first.
But you do now? She said Justin died So, it is true, then? You didn't know? So, how well did you know Justin? He lived with us.
Us? Me and my family.
And where do you and family live? It's near Waltham Forest.
It's really nice.
I'm sure it is.
Justin liked it.
That's why he stayed.
For long? Oh, a while.
A week? Two? Longer than that.
The last time his mother spoke to him was in April.
Was that when he arrived? Well, it was cold in the mornings when he came.
So, it was spring.
OK, um, so when did you last see him? The day after my How old are you now? 18.
And the day of your birthday is? Yeah, he was found on the 8th.
So, er, what happened next? Did he just leave? He just decided to go? Not for good.
Oh, he was coming back? Didn't you wonder why he never got in touch again? Yeah, but I didn't think he was dead.
Well, Heidi, it is possible that you and your family were the last people to see Justin alive.
So, er, we'd like a chat with them.
All of them? I don't think you've got enough room.
You OK to get home? I'll phone you.
Ah, Mr King? What are you doing here? I got a call Your, um, your husband's number was in the file.
Melvin and I are no longer together.
We're separated.
I'm sorry, we didn't know that.
That's all right.
I'm glad they called.
They've found a witness, haven't they? No, I found her.
The leaflets, Melvin, they worked.
Oh, well done.
That's great, love.
Yeah, not such a waste of time after all, was it? She's had a bit of a rough morning.
She wasn't always like this, but when they found Justin Well, you never know, this new witness might be the breakthrough she's been looking for.
Yeah.
Cheers.
Then when we finally got some sense out of her, it turns out she doesn't come from an ordinary family.
She lives in a commune.
Commune? I thought they went out with flared trousers and the Common Market.
They call it The Community.
It was founded in the '70s by a Lord Lyle, on his estate.
And that's where Justin was, all the time he was missing? And according to her dates, he must have died soon after he left there.
Course we're meant to believe that he left there completely unharmed? Not a scratch on him.
Question, what was he doing on a hippy commune in the first place? How about sex, drugs and naked yoga? Silly season story from the Daily Star in 2005.
A couple of hacks went in undercover to expose free love and psychedelia in Waltham Forest.
Well, that explains it, dunnit? If I'd seen that story when I was 18 You'd have been digging out your bell bottoms and love bead thingies? And you wouldn't have told your mother where you were going.
You don't think it through at that age, do you? You think you're invincible.
You do what you like.
It didn't cross your mind what your parents are going through.
All the worry, the sleepless nights.
And all for the sake of a phone call.
All right, we'll start with the commune, and see if we can find out why he never made that call.
You're with me, Gerry and Brian.
Jack Oops, sorry.
I'd like you to re-interview Justin's roommates.
See if he ever mentioned the commune and if anybody at the university gotten involved in it.
Get off! Fine, do it yourself.
If you think wading into this commune mob-handed is the best approach? We're not wading in.
I just don't think any group of people who have made a conscious decision to opt out of modern life are going to be happy to see the Old Bill on the doorstep.
No-one ever is! But why should they get the kid glove treatment? You can't just reject society.
We've all got responsibilities Oh, yeah, and what are you responsible for? Paying my taxes.
Making sure my kids are brought up right and generally just getting up every morning and making a contribution.
You're not happy about it though, are you? You had a face like a slapped arse this morning.
I just think we got a perfect opportunity to win their trust first off.
Which is? Give Heidi a lift home.
Fine.
Have a lovely time.
You grew up here? Yeah, I was only little when me and Dad moved here.
Oh, you're so lucky.
I think so too.
You're being evicted.
What? Why? The new Lord doesn't want us on his land any more.
Where are you supposed to go? There's a new Lord Lyle, is there? Yeah the old one, Arthur, died.
We all loved him.
But no-one likes Sebastian.
Right, shall we go in? Bring on the free love! It might be better if you went and talked to some of the locals.
Eh? Meet us back here at three.
Close the gate, will you? Hi, guys, did you miss me? Dad, where is everyone? called another bloody tree meeting about the eviction.
Hello, love.
Oh, who's this lot, now? Detective Superintendent Pullman, this is my colleague Brian Lane.
Whoa, come on! You only put the damn sign up last week.
We've got days left.
No, no, we're here to investigate the murder of Justin King.
You what? Right, well, you'd better come and see Beatrice.
Come on, sweetheart.
This is our home! The land isn't, not any more, that's the problem.
We could at least put up some sort of resistance.
There are things we can do.
Listen, I don't think we should be talking about this right now.
Why not? Who are you? Detective Superintendent Pullman, Brian Lane.
Police! What the hell are you doing here? We need to talk to all of you about the murder of Justin King.
What can we do to help? Well, we could start with a few names.
Well, um, I'm Beatrice.
You've met Ash and Heidi.
This is Dogger.
No, er, full names, please.
We'll do our best.
We need to speak to everyone who knew Justin.
And we'll need a list of anyone who visited the commune whilst Justin was here.
Of course.
And any commune members who have moved on within the last couple of years.
Perhaps we should just give you our membership files? Well, yeah, that would be extremely helpful.
No, we work on an ad-hoc basis here.
You'll have to be patient with us.
Brian! ^ WINDOW OPENS What? Steven Pearson? No.
Carl Draper? Maybe, what do you want? I'd like to speak to Carl Draper.
Yeah? What about? Justin King.
Who are you, then? KEYS JANGLE First floor.
Thank you.
DISTANT DANCE MUSIC PLAYS Oh, I'm looking for Carl Draper.
Yeah, he's in there.
I'm Steve.
My names Halford, Jack Halford.
Nice to meet you.
Follow me.
My apologies, Mr Halford.
Carl doesn't like to be more than two metres away from the TV if he can help it.
VIDEO GAME PLAYS Take a seat.
Oh, thank you.
Would you like a cup of tea? Thank you very much.
Two player? What? We'd like you to break bread with us.
As a sign of friendship and trust.
Thank you, but we ate on the way.
Perhaps we could do the interviews whilst you're all eating? No, I don't think so.
At the Community, mealtimes are when we come together and regroup.
Yeah, but I think it What we'd really like is for our visitors to join us at the table and partake in the rituals of eating.
Thank you, but as I've already said Oh, my God.
Sandra, you gotta taste this.
Fine.
Let's do lunch.
No! Did he just beat you? Shut it, Steve.
Beginner's luck.
We were on level five.
Police training, probably.
Yeah, that'll be it.
Any sugar? No, no, that's fine, thank you.
I'll have four in mine.
Now, about Justin King and the time he was missing.
It looks like he might have been in a commune.
You know, a place where people go to drop out? What? Crusties? Dog on a string, and all that? Oh, yeah, that makes sense, actually.
How so? Just the way he was going.
Not when we first moved in together.
He was pretty normal then.
Depends on your idea of normal.
He never missed a lecture.
Handed all his essays in on time He was just a nice lad, all right? It didn't last, though.
By the end of term he was involved in things at the union.
The societies.
What societies? Oh.
Ban the whale, save the bomb, trees are people too - all that kind of thing.
And he started reading.
Well, he was a student, he was supposed to be reading.
But books are soanalogue.
It was more of what he was reading.
His mum left them behind when she cleared his stuff.
I don't think she approved.
Of his reading? Of him having a life.
That's not fair, Carl.
She was a nice lady.
She was on the phone every five minutes.
Was he warm enough? Was he eating right? What's wrong with that? Justin was lucky.
A mum that cared about him and a holiday job with his dad's gardening firm.
And that's what kicked off the trouble.
What trouble? Well, they had this row because Justin didn't want to spend his Easter mowing lawns.
Had some eco green thing to go to instead.
It was an ecological music festival in Amsterdam.
But he knew his mother was going to be hacked off about it.
So, he rang his dad and told him.
She still found out, though.
That's when she came round here, kicking off, saying he couldn't let his dad down during his busiest time.
So, Justin just let her have it.
It was brilliant.
It was out of order.
He was really bloody rude to her.
When was that? Just be before he slung his hook.
Packed his bags and he left the next day.
Missed the last week of lectures.
We just thought he'd had enough and decided to take a bit of time off.
But he didn't come back after the holidays.
That's when his mum come back again.
When she cleared out his stuff, she realised he left his passport, bank card and mobile behind.
That's when she finally got the police interested.
But he didn't say anything before he left? Didn't mention where he might be going? Well, I think that's everything.
Thanks, lads.
I'll leave you to your studies.
That's Philip.
He stopped wearing clothes four years ago.
Doesn't he get cold? It looks like it sometimes.
Everybody is welcome at this table.
So I see.
How do they come to hear about this place? Word of mouth.
Grapevine.
On the road.
The hippy trail? Is that how Justin came to be here? I suppose so.
You know, his mother reported him missing.
He walked out of his university, his flat Any idea why? No, and I wouldn't have asked.
He was only 18.
So? He was old enough to take responsibility for whatever he left behind.
We work on trust here.
Not always the best policy though, is it? I read the tabloid story.
Oh, well, the journalists saw what they wanted to see and the rest they made up.
So, Justin wasn't involved in anything he might not have been able to handle? Not unless he found getting up to milk the goats more than he could handle.
Is that all you do here? Raise livestock and grow things? Yes.
So, what attracted Justin to this place? I don't know.
I only know why I'm here.
OK, go on.
I wanted freedom, a chance to be self-sufficient.
And to rely only on people who shared my beliefs.
But surely you're reliant on the owner of this land? Would Sebastian Lyle be about to evict you if he shared those values? My son has other priorities.
Your son? So you're Lady Lyle? Arthur and I never married.
And I wouldn't have taken the title even if we had.
I put you a few extra chips on.
Oh, cheers.
Want some sauce? No, thanks, no, I tell you what I would like though, is a little chat.
Well, it's lunchtime and I'm busy.
Only five minutes.
So, what do you want to chat about? Well, what do you know about this hippy place up the road? The commune? Yeah.
I mean do any of them ever come in here? On the odd occasion, yeah.
And I mean odd.
Yeah? Well, you know what goes on up there, don't you? The drugs and all that.
So, it's all true then? What else do you think they're growing up there? Organic vegetables? I'm sure they manage the odd courgette, but I wouldn't like to think what they use them for.
Oh, dear! That's right, the orgies.
These are regular, are they? Every other Friday.
That's when you like to pop up there, ain't it, Bill? If I'd have known you were a journalist, I'd never have given you the extra chips.
Eat up and bugger off.
No, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong.
This is so good.
Everything tastes likewell, like it's supposed to.
That's because most of it was in the ground this morning.
And we don't use any chemicals or stuff, do we? No, we don't.
You really have got the good life here.
Yeah, well, we like to think so, don't we? What about Justin? Didn't he think so too? I mean, why did he leave? Cos he was just like all the other eco-wannabes we get here.
They think this place is some sort of rural holiday camp.
Then they realise they might have to do some work.
Justin worked! For a couple of months.
Look, living here, it's a way of life, a commitment.
Obviously, Justin couldn't handle that.
That's not true.
He loved it here.
And he was coming back.
It's all right, Heidi.
No-one matches your level of commitment to the cause, Dogger.
Or your ability to bang on about it.
So how about you get on with tasting the fruits of your labour now, eh? You wouldn't think his father's an investment banker, would you? Raspberry and elderflower.
We make it ourselves.
Can I tempt you? Not for me.
Come on, just a glass? There's no such thing as just one glass with me.
Yep, that's what they said to me.
You see, my problem wasn't the drink.
It was what the drink brought out in me.
But since coming here and facing my demons, well, put it this way, I can trust myself now.
Look, I'm not a journalist.
And I don't go home smelling of bacon.
I work for the police.
Oh, well, that makes it so much better.
I'm sorry, I don't know what the problem is.
The problem is that no-one wants to live and let live these days.
Beatrice and the others, they're not hurting anyone.
That story in the papers about the sex and the drugs, it was rubbish.
What, all of it? Look, I'm not saying that they've never smoked funny cigarettes or they're all celibate - they're not junkie sex addicts either.
Oh, I get the picture.
Still doesn't stop some idiot coming in here every other week, asking for directions to the free love.
Hmm, the world is full of weirdos, innit? Well, if they're expecting anything other than free-range eggs, they'll be disappointed.
But you can spot the genuine ones.
Wide-eyed, looking for something.
Yeah, look, did anyone come in looking for this kid? Justin.
That's right.
Yeah, he brought my egg delivery for a few weeks.
There was someone - big bloke, funny accent.
Foreign.
Russian or Polish or something.
Looked a bit shifty, so I played dumb.
He might have had luck elsewhere though.
Justin spent a lot of his time in here when he wasn't in the chicken shed.
Not growing anything here I shouldn't be seeing, are you? Not any more.
Oh, yes.
He was a very welcome addition to the place.
Welcome? He was well liked then? Absolutely.
Got on with everybody? Yes.
He wasn't involved in disputes or arguments? Oh, no.
And even if he had been, we don't solve our disputes with violence in this place.
So, what was Dogger suggesting at the tree meeting? Doggertalks a good fight.
And he does tend to be rather aggressive, but Justin wasn't, he loved this place.
Then why did he leave so suddenly? Oh, well, he got itchy feet.
It's nice and warm in here.
Yeah.
Cos of the chickens.
Hmm.
Justin and I used to come here all the time.
You really miss him, don't you? Yeah, there's not many people my age here.
And he definitely said he was coming back? Yeah.
Did you know that there are chickens that lay purple eggs? Not dark purple, more a lavender colour.
I don't think they taste purple though.
I suppose not.
Was he coming back for you? Yes.
I wasn't old enough to go with him.
So, we were going to wait until I thought I was still waiting.
So, he was your boyfriend? No.
He was my lover.
Did your father know about this? Yeah, he was fine about it.
Really? Everybody was.
Everybody? Or they would have said something in the meeting.
That's what the community meetings are.
They're an open forum.
Very democratic.
You took a vote as to whether to encourage a underage girl to have sex with a boy she barely knew.
We didn't encourage it.
We just accepted the reality of the situation.
Which was? That from the moment Heidi saw Justin, there was only one place they were ever gonna end up.
You've gotta understand Heidi, she's been brought up amongst adults.
That doesn't make her an adult! Is this what you wanted? No, it's not big enough.
What do you even want it for anyway? Look, we're busy.
Can we talk about this later? No, you're just wasting time.
I asked you to do one thing for me.
If you could do it silently, we'd be eternally grateful.
You were saying? I just want to know why you didn't tell Justin to keep away from Heidi.
You don't know much about teenagers, then, do you? The word "no" is the greatest aphrodisiac you can say to anybody under the age of 20.
Fine, so you just had a meeting and gave them the all clear, eh? No! We talked about love and respect and, above all, how to keep Did you discuss the fact that once Justin got what he wanted, he might pack his bags and leave? It was just the right time for Justin to move on.
Are you sure you didn't tell him it was the time to move on? Away from your daughter? No.
Because that I'd understand - to let him sleep with her and allow him to bugger off! It's just bad parenting.
You've got no idea.
I've done everything for my girl! Brian I'm not buying any of this.
He didn't just wake up one morning and decide to leave.
No, well, why would he? I mean, look at this place.
Brian, I'm asking you what you think.
You're supposed to have been questioning people.
Yes, of course.
And I agree.
Something's happened here that needs further investigation.
And the best way for us to do that is for me to stay the night.
What? No, I really think it would help.
Let's just say I've got one of me feelings.
Er, how would you feel about me staying the night? I've still got one or two questions I'd like to ask.
You want to spy on us, you mean? Yeah, I don't bloody think so.
Tell 'em, Bea.
They're not welcome.
Well, if you've got nothing to hide, then I can't see the problem.
My sentiments exactly.
That's not what it's about.
This is about basic human rights.
I'll make up a bed for you.
I don't care what he said to the collective, you do not just give the all clear to a horny student to have it away with your 15 year-old daughter.
I think that after the meeting, Ash took him outside and threatened to kick his head in.
Unfortunately, Justin didn't take the threat seriously and a couple weeks later that's exactly what happened to him.
So the next day, he has to tell everybody that Justin decided to leave, then wait until he could move the body.
Something like that, yeah.
He told Brian that he'd been in trouble before he and Heidi got to the commune.
Let's see what we can dig up on that.
His real name is Gary Ashford.
Oh, and run a check on this Dogger character while you're at it.
Let's see if that mouth of his has got him into trouble.
What's his real name? Digby Dyson-Jones, would you believe? Real salt of the earth.
Any others? Well, Sally did say there were people there with a past.
They have an aversion to surnames at the commune, but we'll try.
Hopefully Brian will bring back some details.
Er, what about this foreign bloke that Sally mentioned? We can't pull in every bloke with an Eastern European accent in London.
No, the Olympic Stadium would never get finished.
It's just a thought, but we're assuming that Justin was running to the commune.
What if, in fact, he was running away from something? Meaning? Well, as far as I can gather, his relationship with his mother wasn't as warm and cosy as she would have us believe.
Yeah, it's interesting she never mentioned that they had a blazing row just before he disappeared.
Why don't you two find out about that - I'm going home.
Oh! Cheers.
Oh, er, there is just one more thing.
Yeah? I don't think it was a good idea leaving Brian down there.
Why? I think he may be back at AA? Well, that could be a good thing.
We both know it's not.
He'll be OK, Jack.
Maybe, but you know Brian.
Once he goes looking for help He has a tendency to look in all the wrong places.
Exactly.
Well, I'd better go and see Esther, hadn't I? Might be a good idea.
It wasn't an argument.
It was just It got a bit heated.
More like red-hot, according to Steve and Carl.
But you never mentioned this in any of your statements or missing persons reports.
Didn't you think it was relevant? No! It, it was over something nothing.
I can't even remember what Mrs King, this was the last conversation you ever had with your son.
And you don't remember what it was about? Why were you so angry? He only wanted to go away with friends for a while.
It wasn't about that! Not really.
Then what was it about? He'd done it again.
Done what? Called Melvin instead of me! I hated it when Justin did that and he knew it.
Is that why he did it? No, Justin wouldn't do that.
He Oh, the truth was Melvin was always such a soft touch.
It was always me had to say no, never him.
It was the same when Justin was little.
I'd be at home with him all day, I'd have to tell him about every little thing.
I'd get all the tears, and then Melvin would walk in after work And Justin would be all smiles for Daddy.
You don't understand.
It wasn't fair.
Well, whoever said being a parent was fair? It wasn't fair because Melvin wasn't even his real dad! And you told Justin that, did you? Just, I wanted him to understand how important it was to come to me about things.
I was his mum.
Excuse me.
No wonder the kid did a runner.
Oh, Melvin.
I just wanted to make sure you were OK.
You look upset.
You've been crying! Melvin, you've got to stop doing this.
Finding excuses to come round.
It's too hard.
I know.
I'm sorry.
Excuse me.
Mr King? Can you hang on a second? Look, I'm sorry, but we heard all that.
Look, I'm not stalking her or anything.
Yeah, of course, course, but, er Mrs King was just telling us about what happened between her and Justin at the flat.
God, that? I'm surprised he never guessed.
What does that mean? He might have called me Dad, but I was never allowed to be it.
Justin was Diane's son.
That was clear from the off.
She did everything for him.
That's why she deserved better.
What, from Justin? From me as well.
I was no great catch when we met, but she sorted me out.
Got me back on my feet.
I wanted to be able to return the favour when he died.
I just I couldn't make her feel better.
Nobody could have done that.
If anything I've made things worse.
She doesn't want me around.
Well, not at the moment maybe, but you never know there might come a time when she needs you.
And until then? Just be there, I suppose.
HE RINGS DOORBELL Em.
Emily, it's me.
I know you're in there.
Emily, I know you're in.
Look, all I wanted to say was Happy Birthday.
No, actually, that's that's not all I want to say.
Look, I'm not going anywhere, OK? I know you expected me just to walk away, butI'm not going to.
I'll just be here, I'll be here for when you're ready, OK? Bye-bye.
You don't have to if you don't want to.
No, go on, I'll try a glass.
What do you think? It's nice.
How do you feel? Fine.
That's what AA does to you.
You keep telling yourself you can't be trusted around the booze, and you start to believe it.
Yeah.
I'm beginning to see that.
Oh, thank you.
I can't tell you how long it's been since I've had a home-cooked meal.
You're welcome.
It was going to waste anyway.
I'm sorry about that.
I should have brought Brian back with me.
No, it's OK.
If he fancies a night away from me No, I don't think he wanted to be away from you.
Esther, did you know that Brian had gone back to AA? When? I'm not sure.
He hasn't needed to go to a meeting for years.
I didn't realise things had got so bad.
No, neither did I.
Oh, Esther Look, I was thinking about giving him a break.
Oh, no! God, no.
But if he's feeling the strain That's nothing to the strain he'd feel if he were sitting around here all day.
That mind of his.
Yeah, that's true.
All right, look, we'll just keep an eye on him, all of us.
At least we know he's safe tonight.
Taxpayers are getting their money's worth out of him tonight.
I'll put him to bed.
You'll need a hand.
No, Dogger, I'll help him.
Not now, Esther.
I'll walk home in the morning.
Come on.
Come on, Brian.
Off you go to bed.
Esther I'll get the door.
TINKLING TINKLING CHATTERING One, two, three Who is it? No idea.
And they're not talking.
I knew this place was too bloody good to be true.
Yeah, I suppose it was.
What the hell's been going on? It's all over! You've ruined everything, you stupid old bitch! That's enough! You touch her again, you've no idea what she's done for us! Dad! Heidi, don't worry about a thing right, just be quiet.
The ME has given the body a quick once over and all she can confirm at the moment is that it's male.
And that's it, officially, until the DNA results come back in.
Unofficially? They found a wallet in his back pocket belonging to a Nicholai Chenko.
He wasn't in possession of a "foreign accent", was he? Russian moved to London in '99.
Never been reported missing, but Vice have been looking for him since June 2006.
Same time Justin died.
Yeah, he failed to appear in court on a domestic violence charge and he's been off the grid ever since.
Domestic? What's that got to do with Vice? According to this, four different girls have made complaints against him.
And they'd all been living in the same flat in Haringey.
Pimp.
Which flat in Haringey? I'm on my way.
Dead? Like properly dead? He said they dug him up! Of course, he's properly dead.
I was just making sure.
Ah, that's a relief.
Really? Why, what sort of a bloke was he? We thought he was pretty cool at first.
What with him having different birds downstairs every week and that.
Until we realised he was pimping 'em out.
Nik'd bring his clients round and we'd hear Well, you know.
Sometimes he got a bit rough with the girls.
Knock them about a bit, did he? Yeah, we were pretty shocked.
What about Justin? Well, he was horrified.
Especially with him being in his peace and love phase.
We told him not to get involved.
Problem was he had no common sense.
No idea how things really were.
Because of his mother! If she hadn't had babied him He's right.
What exactly happened? Well, one night, Nik was smacking one of his girls around.
I don't know what she'd done, but he was really going for it.
Justin wanted to go down.
But we told him not to, and he phoned the police.
I went mental.
Bloody idiot.
Well, Justin was just doing the right thing, surely.
But that didn't help us when Nik came back from being charged and found his girl gone.
It was all right for Justin, he was at one of his meetings.
It was us that got the kicking on his behalf.
It was Nik's way of leaving him a message.
And what did Justin do when he got the message? A disappearing act.
Oh.
So, he left you in the lurch, did he? Yeah! And that wasn't the end of it.
Oh? Nik kept on popping round, looking for him.
You must have been terrified.
Wouldn't you have been? We had to do what we did.
And what did you do exactly? We told Nik where to find him.
Oh, so you did know about the commune, then? Justin kept on going on about this self-sufficient place.
We just wanted Nik to leave us alone.
We never knew he would kill him.
Just do him over, like he done us.
I mean you understand, don't you? We had no choice.
Oh, yes, I understand completely.
But do you understand that you can both be arrested now for withholding vital information from the police? That's quite a temper you have.
It's got you into trouble before, hasn't it? The Cardiff boys sent us your records.
ABH, affray, assaulting a police officer I put all that behind me 15 years ago.
Really? Yes, when Heidi's mother died.
I had to sort out my head.
If we'd have stayed in Wales, things would have gone from bad to worse.
Very admirable.
Doing it for your daughter.
It's what you're supposed to do.
Still, it must be hard when you see her making mistakes.
Well, that's how she learns.
So what was she learning from Justin? Cos you can't have been happy about that.
I told you, I was fine with it.
I don't buy that.
He was sleeping with your underage daughter.
Sure, but she was safe and she was happy.
He was a nice lad, what more could I have hoped for? That's why we came to the commune.
To find your daughter a boyfriend? No! To make sure she didn't find one just like me.
Well, they always say that girls end up with blokes just like their dads, don't they? At the commune she'd have no chance of meeting anyone bad for her.
Except for Nikolai Chenko.
How did he end up at the commune? I don't know.
OK, different question, how did he die? I killed him.
I killed him.
Really? And why was that? Because he was stealing from us.
And what was he stealing? Potatoes? Goat's milk? It's not often I find myself in this position.
Two confessions and I don't believe a word of either of them.
KNOCK AT DOOR Guv'nor, I think you better hear this.
Interview suspended at 11.
46.
What? I killed him.
Justin and me were in the hen house.
That's where we used to go to when we wanted to It's OK, we know all about that.
That was the night he said it.
Said what? That he loved me.
That he wanted us to go away together when I was old enough.
And then we fell asleep.
Well, he did and I didn't want to wake him.
Didn't want to ruin things.
What happened next? Then that man, he had me by the hair, pulling me up and shouting at Justin.
He said he was going to take me as a replacement for something.
And he meant it.
He really did! No, it's all right.
We believe you.
He wasn't a nice man.
No, he wasn't.
Justin was fighting him, but he was getting hurt, really hurt.
And that's when I saw the knife, the one we use for cutting the string on the bales of hay.
You have to understand, I thought he was going to kill Justin.
So, I It's OK, Heidi.
And we were going to help him.
But when dad and Beatrice got there he was alreadydead.
When Justin told me who Nikolai was I realised that he wasn't the sort of person who would be missed and I didn't want Heidi's life ruined because of that man.
We buried Nikolai near the tree, and then we made up some mumbo jumbo to keep people away.
We called it the spirit tree, and then my son, Sebastian, started the court proceedings and I realised we'd have to move the body before the diggers moved in.
And then you decided to stay.
I'm sorry we had to drug you.
You drugged me? Weren't you surprised you got drunk so quickly? What happened after that? You know the rest.
so that when the bailiffs came, we could just tow it away.
Good plan, but then it's not like you haven't moved a body before.
I'm sorry? What was it? Justin was a stranger, so he couldn't be trusted with your secret? We didn't kill Justin.
We just asked him to leave.
I told him to pack his bags.
Make things right with my girl and get the hell out.
So, where did he go? Travelling.
That bit was the truth.
He said he couldn't go back to his old life, not after living with us.
He just wanted to see India.
He never made it, Ash.
I had nothing to do with that.
I promise you.
OK, I'll leave it there for the minute.
Interview suspended at 4.
20.
Brian? Did Beatrice tell you? Yeah.
I'm sorry.
Ash was the last person to see Justin alive.
He's still my prime suspect.
What if he was telling the truth? Then where the hell did Justin go after he was kicked out of the commune? Well, it certainly wasn't India.
His mum had his passport.
He wouldn't have gone to her.
No.
Have you got some news for me? We think we might have a suspect.
Well, that's great.
Yeah, it is.
So, do you know what happened? We need to fill in a few gaps, but we think that Justin might have been planning to go abroad, India.
So, he would have needed his passport.
But I had it.
I still do.
Yeah that's right, but we think he tried to get his hands on it.
Melvin? Yeah, I suppose he would have had to.
So, he didn't come to you, then? You're thinking of the time he wanted to go to Amsterdam for the weekend.
Oh, yeah, that was the time when you were planning just to hand it over? Well, yeah.
It would have made sense to come to you for the second time.
Oh, he only wanted to go to Amsterdam for the weekend, not India for six months.
How do you know he was planning to go for six months? Melvin, you better tell her what happened.
Melvin? It was you who said she deserved better.
OK, fine, let's see if I've got this right.
Now, Justin went missing for two months.
That's two months of worry and stress for you and Diane, then he turns up large as life in your lock-up asking for his passport again.
You know he's only come to you cos he doesn't want to deal with his mother.
So there is no way you're gonna let him just swan off before making things right with Diane because while things weren't right between Justin and Diane, they were never gonna be right between you and Diane.
Melvin? But, no, he said sod the lot of you, I'm gonna leave anyway and that's when you lost it.
So what did you do? Push him around a bit? Or did you lock him in the lock-up? Give him time to think what he was doing.
What? Yeah, maybe he went a little crazy? Smashed the place up, threw paint all over it, and that's when you lost it.
This is a place where you work to pay for his way.
I can't believe you meant to kill him.
What happened? Did he fall? Bang his head? Come on, Melvin.
Speak to me.
I don't know what you're talking about.
No It never happened, love.
Diane? You killed him! You killed my son! That's enough! It's all right.
It's OK.
It's all right.
SOBBING It's all right.
I need a drink.
Who's with me? Well, if you're buying.
Not me.
I better get home to Esther.
She gets worried when I'm away from her at night.
Yeah, she does.
Shall I give you a lift? No.
There's no need.
No, I want to.
Right, thanks.
Goodnight.
I'll be in, in a minute, I'm gonna finish this.
Right.
Filthy habit.
Yeah, yeah What are you doing here? Thought I'd save you another phone call.
Yeah, that, yeah Unusual way to say Happy Birthday Thanks for not giving up.
What could I do? I missed you.
Yeah, me too.
Well, don't sound so surprised.
Well, I am.
I didn't realise I'd let myself get so used to the idea of having a dad.
And then I buggered it up.
It was a relief to find out it was all a lie.
I thought, "Fair enough, can't miss what you never had.
" Except it's not that easy.
No, it isn't.
I just needed a bit of time to be angry, before I realised that you did what you thought was best.
Well, I'm just glad you had time to work it out.
Daddy Yeah? Are you going to buy me a drink or what? Come on, you! I know you're struggling, Brian, but you need to know that you're not alone and I just want you to bear that in mind.
Brian? Yeah.
Cheers.
I thought you said Jack was in here.
He is.
Have a look at this.
VIDEO GAME PLAYS He's obsessed with the bloody thing!
Good morning.
I'm on my way now, sir.
Move, Gerry! Good morning.
Is it? Third time lucky.
Good morning, Brian.
Ah, sod the lot of you! # It's all right, it's OK # Doesn't really matter if you're old and grey # It's all right, it's OK # Listen to what I say # It's all right, doing fine # Doesn't really matter if the sun don't shine # It's all right, it's OK # We're getting to the end of the day! # We have a bit of development in one of our mothball cases.
Which one? The Justin King murder.
Justin King? Doesn't ring a bell.
It wouldn't, we haven't had movement on it since it came in.
Nope.
That's the 18-year-old lad, who'd been missing for two months on waste ground in North London.
Yeah, but the ME ascertained he'd only been dead a week.
From what? Blunt trauma to the head, but there were multiple injuries, sustained by severe beatings over a couple of days.
Theory was he'd been held somewhere and tortured.
Been covered in paint and generally put through it.
Why would you torture an 18-year-old? Yeah, an 18-year-old straight A, IT student who'd never been in trouble in his life.
How far did the original investigation get? Couldn't even work out where he'd been for his two months missing.
But now it looks like we have a witness who might fill in the gaps.
What, someone's come forward? Someone was dragged forward.
What's that mean? Diane King, Justin's mother, was handing out leaflets outside Justin's old university, when someone recognised Justin's picture And? Mrs King tried to physically drag her here until a beat copper intervened and brought them both in.
You mean they're both here, now? Yes, so Gerry and I will talk to Mrs King.
You can take the new witness.
She didn't just recognise the picture.
She said she knew him! I appreciate that, Mrs King, but you can't go around assaulting and kidnapping people.
I was just I was a bit excited.
I have been handing out leaflets at the university every Tuesday for the last two years.
And this is the first time anyone has even shown a spark of recognition.
Every Tuesday? Well, what was I supposed to do? You closed the incident room, wound up the investigation.
No new leads, I was told.
Well, how could there be any when you weren't even looking? Mrs King, we realise how frustrating And then they told me that they've handed the case over to UCOS, whatever that is.
But do I hear anything? Not a word.
Unfortunately we have a large caseload Well, I'm given you a head start on this one.
I have found you a witness, now all you have to do is find out what she knows about how my Justin ended up like he did But you can't do that sat in here with me, can you? No, our colleagues are questioning her as we speak.
We just don't want you to get your hopes too high.
She knew him! She spent time with him.
I think she's the reason he went missing.
Two months without a word.
I mean, your lot said I was being over-protective.
That he'd probably gone off with friends travelling.
Only the next time I saw him, I was identifying his body.
I'm so sorry.
Don't be sorry.
Everyone's been sorry.
You just find out who did this to my son.
Oh, good morning, My name is Jack Halford.
This is my colleague Brian Lane.
Hi, there.
I'm Heidi.
Well, Heidi, why don't you come and sit down? And we'll have a little chat? OK.
So, you've, er, you've had a bit of a morning.
Yeah, the lady with the leaflets Oh, Mrs King.
Justin's mother.
That was really She was really upset.
I couldn't understand why at first.
But you do now? She said Justin died So, it is true, then? You didn't know? So, how well did you know Justin? He lived with us.
Us? Me and my family.
And where do you and family live? It's near Waltham Forest.
It's really nice.
I'm sure it is.
Justin liked it.
That's why he stayed.
For long? Oh, a while.
A week? Two? Longer than that.
The last time his mother spoke to him was in April.
Was that when he arrived? Well, it was cold in the mornings when he came.
So, it was spring.
OK, um, so when did you last see him? The day after my How old are you now? 18.
And the day of your birthday is? Yeah, he was found on the 8th.
So, er, what happened next? Did he just leave? He just decided to go? Not for good.
Oh, he was coming back? Didn't you wonder why he never got in touch again? Yeah, but I didn't think he was dead.
Well, Heidi, it is possible that you and your family were the last people to see Justin alive.
So, er, we'd like a chat with them.
All of them? I don't think you've got enough room.
You OK to get home? I'll phone you.
Ah, Mr King? What are you doing here? I got a call Your, um, your husband's number was in the file.
Melvin and I are no longer together.
We're separated.
I'm sorry, we didn't know that.
That's all right.
I'm glad they called.
They've found a witness, haven't they? No, I found her.
The leaflets, Melvin, they worked.
Oh, well done.
That's great, love.
Yeah, not such a waste of time after all, was it? She's had a bit of a rough morning.
She wasn't always like this, but when they found Justin Well, you never know, this new witness might be the breakthrough she's been looking for.
Yeah.
Cheers.
Then when we finally got some sense out of her, it turns out she doesn't come from an ordinary family.
She lives in a commune.
Commune? I thought they went out with flared trousers and the Common Market.
They call it The Community.
It was founded in the '70s by a Lord Lyle, on his estate.
And that's where Justin was, all the time he was missing? And according to her dates, he must have died soon after he left there.
Course we're meant to believe that he left there completely unharmed? Not a scratch on him.
Question, what was he doing on a hippy commune in the first place? How about sex, drugs and naked yoga? Silly season story from the Daily Star in 2005.
A couple of hacks went in undercover to expose free love and psychedelia in Waltham Forest.
Well, that explains it, dunnit? If I'd seen that story when I was 18 You'd have been digging out your bell bottoms and love bead thingies? And you wouldn't have told your mother where you were going.
You don't think it through at that age, do you? You think you're invincible.
You do what you like.
It didn't cross your mind what your parents are going through.
All the worry, the sleepless nights.
And all for the sake of a phone call.
All right, we'll start with the commune, and see if we can find out why he never made that call.
You're with me, Gerry and Brian.
Jack Oops, sorry.
I'd like you to re-interview Justin's roommates.
See if he ever mentioned the commune and if anybody at the university gotten involved in it.
Get off! Fine, do it yourself.
If you think wading into this commune mob-handed is the best approach? We're not wading in.
I just don't think any group of people who have made a conscious decision to opt out of modern life are going to be happy to see the Old Bill on the doorstep.
No-one ever is! But why should they get the kid glove treatment? You can't just reject society.
We've all got responsibilities Oh, yeah, and what are you responsible for? Paying my taxes.
Making sure my kids are brought up right and generally just getting up every morning and making a contribution.
You're not happy about it though, are you? You had a face like a slapped arse this morning.
I just think we got a perfect opportunity to win their trust first off.
Which is? Give Heidi a lift home.
Fine.
Have a lovely time.
You grew up here? Yeah, I was only little when me and Dad moved here.
Oh, you're so lucky.
I think so too.
You're being evicted.
What? Why? The new Lord doesn't want us on his land any more.
Where are you supposed to go? There's a new Lord Lyle, is there? Yeah the old one, Arthur, died.
We all loved him.
But no-one likes Sebastian.
Right, shall we go in? Bring on the free love! It might be better if you went and talked to some of the locals.
Eh? Meet us back here at three.
Close the gate, will you? Hi, guys, did you miss me? Dad, where is everyone? called another bloody tree meeting about the eviction.
Hello, love.
Oh, who's this lot, now? Detective Superintendent Pullman, this is my colleague Brian Lane.
Whoa, come on! You only put the damn sign up last week.
We've got days left.
No, no, we're here to investigate the murder of Justin King.
You what? Right, well, you'd better come and see Beatrice.
Come on, sweetheart.
This is our home! The land isn't, not any more, that's the problem.
We could at least put up some sort of resistance.
There are things we can do.
Listen, I don't think we should be talking about this right now.
Why not? Who are you? Detective Superintendent Pullman, Brian Lane.
Police! What the hell are you doing here? We need to talk to all of you about the murder of Justin King.
What can we do to help? Well, we could start with a few names.
Well, um, I'm Beatrice.
You've met Ash and Heidi.
This is Dogger.
No, er, full names, please.
We'll do our best.
We need to speak to everyone who knew Justin.
And we'll need a list of anyone who visited the commune whilst Justin was here.
Of course.
And any commune members who have moved on within the last couple of years.
Perhaps we should just give you our membership files? Well, yeah, that would be extremely helpful.
No, we work on an ad-hoc basis here.
You'll have to be patient with us.
Brian! ^ WINDOW OPENS What? Steven Pearson? No.
Carl Draper? Maybe, what do you want? I'd like to speak to Carl Draper.
Yeah? What about? Justin King.
Who are you, then? KEYS JANGLE First floor.
Thank you.
DISTANT DANCE MUSIC PLAYS Oh, I'm looking for Carl Draper.
Yeah, he's in there.
I'm Steve.
My names Halford, Jack Halford.
Nice to meet you.
Follow me.
My apologies, Mr Halford.
Carl doesn't like to be more than two metres away from the TV if he can help it.
VIDEO GAME PLAYS Take a seat.
Oh, thank you.
Would you like a cup of tea? Thank you very much.
Two player? What? We'd like you to break bread with us.
As a sign of friendship and trust.
Thank you, but we ate on the way.
Perhaps we could do the interviews whilst you're all eating? No, I don't think so.
At the Community, mealtimes are when we come together and regroup.
Yeah, but I think it What we'd really like is for our visitors to join us at the table and partake in the rituals of eating.
Thank you, but as I've already said Oh, my God.
Sandra, you gotta taste this.
Fine.
Let's do lunch.
No! Did he just beat you? Shut it, Steve.
Beginner's luck.
We were on level five.
Police training, probably.
Yeah, that'll be it.
Any sugar? No, no, that's fine, thank you.
I'll have four in mine.
Now, about Justin King and the time he was missing.
It looks like he might have been in a commune.
You know, a place where people go to drop out? What? Crusties? Dog on a string, and all that? Oh, yeah, that makes sense, actually.
How so? Just the way he was going.
Not when we first moved in together.
He was pretty normal then.
Depends on your idea of normal.
He never missed a lecture.
Handed all his essays in on time He was just a nice lad, all right? It didn't last, though.
By the end of term he was involved in things at the union.
The societies.
What societies? Oh.
Ban the whale, save the bomb, trees are people too - all that kind of thing.
And he started reading.
Well, he was a student, he was supposed to be reading.
But books are soanalogue.
It was more of what he was reading.
His mum left them behind when she cleared his stuff.
I don't think she approved.
Of his reading? Of him having a life.
That's not fair, Carl.
She was a nice lady.
She was on the phone every five minutes.
Was he warm enough? Was he eating right? What's wrong with that? Justin was lucky.
A mum that cared about him and a holiday job with his dad's gardening firm.
And that's what kicked off the trouble.
What trouble? Well, they had this row because Justin didn't want to spend his Easter mowing lawns.
Had some eco green thing to go to instead.
It was an ecological music festival in Amsterdam.
But he knew his mother was going to be hacked off about it.
So, he rang his dad and told him.
She still found out, though.
That's when she came round here, kicking off, saying he couldn't let his dad down during his busiest time.
So, Justin just let her have it.
It was brilliant.
It was out of order.
He was really bloody rude to her.
When was that? Just be before he slung his hook.
Packed his bags and he left the next day.
Missed the last week of lectures.
We just thought he'd had enough and decided to take a bit of time off.
But he didn't come back after the holidays.
That's when his mum come back again.
When she cleared out his stuff, she realised he left his passport, bank card and mobile behind.
That's when she finally got the police interested.
But he didn't say anything before he left? Didn't mention where he might be going? Well, I think that's everything.
Thanks, lads.
I'll leave you to your studies.
That's Philip.
He stopped wearing clothes four years ago.
Doesn't he get cold? It looks like it sometimes.
Everybody is welcome at this table.
So I see.
How do they come to hear about this place? Word of mouth.
Grapevine.
On the road.
The hippy trail? Is that how Justin came to be here? I suppose so.
You know, his mother reported him missing.
He walked out of his university, his flat Any idea why? No, and I wouldn't have asked.
He was only 18.
So? He was old enough to take responsibility for whatever he left behind.
We work on trust here.
Not always the best policy though, is it? I read the tabloid story.
Oh, well, the journalists saw what they wanted to see and the rest they made up.
So, Justin wasn't involved in anything he might not have been able to handle? Not unless he found getting up to milk the goats more than he could handle.
Is that all you do here? Raise livestock and grow things? Yes.
So, what attracted Justin to this place? I don't know.
I only know why I'm here.
OK, go on.
I wanted freedom, a chance to be self-sufficient.
And to rely only on people who shared my beliefs.
But surely you're reliant on the owner of this land? Would Sebastian Lyle be about to evict you if he shared those values? My son has other priorities.
Your son? So you're Lady Lyle? Arthur and I never married.
And I wouldn't have taken the title even if we had.
I put you a few extra chips on.
Oh, cheers.
Want some sauce? No, thanks, no, I tell you what I would like though, is a little chat.
Well, it's lunchtime and I'm busy.
Only five minutes.
So, what do you want to chat about? Well, what do you know about this hippy place up the road? The commune? Yeah.
I mean do any of them ever come in here? On the odd occasion, yeah.
And I mean odd.
Yeah? Well, you know what goes on up there, don't you? The drugs and all that.
So, it's all true then? What else do you think they're growing up there? Organic vegetables? I'm sure they manage the odd courgette, but I wouldn't like to think what they use them for.
Oh, dear! That's right, the orgies.
These are regular, are they? Every other Friday.
That's when you like to pop up there, ain't it, Bill? If I'd have known you were a journalist, I'd never have given you the extra chips.
Eat up and bugger off.
No, no, no, no, you've got it all wrong.
This is so good.
Everything tastes likewell, like it's supposed to.
That's because most of it was in the ground this morning.
And we don't use any chemicals or stuff, do we? No, we don't.
You really have got the good life here.
Yeah, well, we like to think so, don't we? What about Justin? Didn't he think so too? I mean, why did he leave? Cos he was just like all the other eco-wannabes we get here.
They think this place is some sort of rural holiday camp.
Then they realise they might have to do some work.
Justin worked! For a couple of months.
Look, living here, it's a way of life, a commitment.
Obviously, Justin couldn't handle that.
That's not true.
He loved it here.
And he was coming back.
It's all right, Heidi.
No-one matches your level of commitment to the cause, Dogger.
Or your ability to bang on about it.
So how about you get on with tasting the fruits of your labour now, eh? You wouldn't think his father's an investment banker, would you? Raspberry and elderflower.
We make it ourselves.
Can I tempt you? Not for me.
Come on, just a glass? There's no such thing as just one glass with me.
Yep, that's what they said to me.
You see, my problem wasn't the drink.
It was what the drink brought out in me.
But since coming here and facing my demons, well, put it this way, I can trust myself now.
Look, I'm not a journalist.
And I don't go home smelling of bacon.
I work for the police.
Oh, well, that makes it so much better.
I'm sorry, I don't know what the problem is.
The problem is that no-one wants to live and let live these days.
Beatrice and the others, they're not hurting anyone.
That story in the papers about the sex and the drugs, it was rubbish.
What, all of it? Look, I'm not saying that they've never smoked funny cigarettes or they're all celibate - they're not junkie sex addicts either.
Oh, I get the picture.
Still doesn't stop some idiot coming in here every other week, asking for directions to the free love.
Hmm, the world is full of weirdos, innit? Well, if they're expecting anything other than free-range eggs, they'll be disappointed.
But you can spot the genuine ones.
Wide-eyed, looking for something.
Yeah, look, did anyone come in looking for this kid? Justin.
That's right.
Yeah, he brought my egg delivery for a few weeks.
There was someone - big bloke, funny accent.
Foreign.
Russian or Polish or something.
Looked a bit shifty, so I played dumb.
He might have had luck elsewhere though.
Justin spent a lot of his time in here when he wasn't in the chicken shed.
Not growing anything here I shouldn't be seeing, are you? Not any more.
Oh, yes.
He was a very welcome addition to the place.
Welcome? He was well liked then? Absolutely.
Got on with everybody? Yes.
He wasn't involved in disputes or arguments? Oh, no.
And even if he had been, we don't solve our disputes with violence in this place.
So, what was Dogger suggesting at the tree meeting? Doggertalks a good fight.
And he does tend to be rather aggressive, but Justin wasn't, he loved this place.
Then why did he leave so suddenly? Oh, well, he got itchy feet.
It's nice and warm in here.
Yeah.
Cos of the chickens.
Hmm.
Justin and I used to come here all the time.
You really miss him, don't you? Yeah, there's not many people my age here.
And he definitely said he was coming back? Yeah.
Did you know that there are chickens that lay purple eggs? Not dark purple, more a lavender colour.
I don't think they taste purple though.
I suppose not.
Was he coming back for you? Yes.
I wasn't old enough to go with him.
So, we were going to wait until I thought I was still waiting.
So, he was your boyfriend? No.
He was my lover.
Did your father know about this? Yeah, he was fine about it.
Really? Everybody was.
Everybody? Or they would have said something in the meeting.
That's what the community meetings are.
They're an open forum.
Very democratic.
You took a vote as to whether to encourage a underage girl to have sex with a boy she barely knew.
We didn't encourage it.
We just accepted the reality of the situation.
Which was? That from the moment Heidi saw Justin, there was only one place they were ever gonna end up.
You've gotta understand Heidi, she's been brought up amongst adults.
That doesn't make her an adult! Is this what you wanted? No, it's not big enough.
What do you even want it for anyway? Look, we're busy.
Can we talk about this later? No, you're just wasting time.
I asked you to do one thing for me.
If you could do it silently, we'd be eternally grateful.
You were saying? I just want to know why you didn't tell Justin to keep away from Heidi.
You don't know much about teenagers, then, do you? The word "no" is the greatest aphrodisiac you can say to anybody under the age of 20.
Fine, so you just had a meeting and gave them the all clear, eh? No! We talked about love and respect and, above all, how to keep Did you discuss the fact that once Justin got what he wanted, he might pack his bags and leave? It was just the right time for Justin to move on.
Are you sure you didn't tell him it was the time to move on? Away from your daughter? No.
Because that I'd understand - to let him sleep with her and allow him to bugger off! It's just bad parenting.
You've got no idea.
I've done everything for my girl! Brian I'm not buying any of this.
He didn't just wake up one morning and decide to leave.
No, well, why would he? I mean, look at this place.
Brian, I'm asking you what you think.
You're supposed to have been questioning people.
Yes, of course.
And I agree.
Something's happened here that needs further investigation.
And the best way for us to do that is for me to stay the night.
What? No, I really think it would help.
Let's just say I've got one of me feelings.
Er, how would you feel about me staying the night? I've still got one or two questions I'd like to ask.
You want to spy on us, you mean? Yeah, I don't bloody think so.
Tell 'em, Bea.
They're not welcome.
Well, if you've got nothing to hide, then I can't see the problem.
My sentiments exactly.
That's not what it's about.
This is about basic human rights.
I'll make up a bed for you.
I don't care what he said to the collective, you do not just give the all clear to a horny student to have it away with your 15 year-old daughter.
I think that after the meeting, Ash took him outside and threatened to kick his head in.
Unfortunately, Justin didn't take the threat seriously and a couple weeks later that's exactly what happened to him.
So the next day, he has to tell everybody that Justin decided to leave, then wait until he could move the body.
Something like that, yeah.
He told Brian that he'd been in trouble before he and Heidi got to the commune.
Let's see what we can dig up on that.
His real name is Gary Ashford.
Oh, and run a check on this Dogger character while you're at it.
Let's see if that mouth of his has got him into trouble.
What's his real name? Digby Dyson-Jones, would you believe? Real salt of the earth.
Any others? Well, Sally did say there were people there with a past.
They have an aversion to surnames at the commune, but we'll try.
Hopefully Brian will bring back some details.
Er, what about this foreign bloke that Sally mentioned? We can't pull in every bloke with an Eastern European accent in London.
No, the Olympic Stadium would never get finished.
It's just a thought, but we're assuming that Justin was running to the commune.
What if, in fact, he was running away from something? Meaning? Well, as far as I can gather, his relationship with his mother wasn't as warm and cosy as she would have us believe.
Yeah, it's interesting she never mentioned that they had a blazing row just before he disappeared.
Why don't you two find out about that - I'm going home.
Oh! Cheers.
Oh, er, there is just one more thing.
Yeah? I don't think it was a good idea leaving Brian down there.
Why? I think he may be back at AA? Well, that could be a good thing.
We both know it's not.
He'll be OK, Jack.
Maybe, but you know Brian.
Once he goes looking for help He has a tendency to look in all the wrong places.
Exactly.
Well, I'd better go and see Esther, hadn't I? Might be a good idea.
It wasn't an argument.
It was just It got a bit heated.
More like red-hot, according to Steve and Carl.
But you never mentioned this in any of your statements or missing persons reports.
Didn't you think it was relevant? No! It, it was over something nothing.
I can't even remember what Mrs King, this was the last conversation you ever had with your son.
And you don't remember what it was about? Why were you so angry? He only wanted to go away with friends for a while.
It wasn't about that! Not really.
Then what was it about? He'd done it again.
Done what? Called Melvin instead of me! I hated it when Justin did that and he knew it.
Is that why he did it? No, Justin wouldn't do that.
He Oh, the truth was Melvin was always such a soft touch.
It was always me had to say no, never him.
It was the same when Justin was little.
I'd be at home with him all day, I'd have to tell him about every little thing.
I'd get all the tears, and then Melvin would walk in after work And Justin would be all smiles for Daddy.
You don't understand.
It wasn't fair.
Well, whoever said being a parent was fair? It wasn't fair because Melvin wasn't even his real dad! And you told Justin that, did you? Just, I wanted him to understand how important it was to come to me about things.
I was his mum.
Excuse me.
No wonder the kid did a runner.
Oh, Melvin.
I just wanted to make sure you were OK.
You look upset.
You've been crying! Melvin, you've got to stop doing this.
Finding excuses to come round.
It's too hard.
I know.
I'm sorry.
Excuse me.
Mr King? Can you hang on a second? Look, I'm sorry, but we heard all that.
Look, I'm not stalking her or anything.
Yeah, of course, course, but, er Mrs King was just telling us about what happened between her and Justin at the flat.
God, that? I'm surprised he never guessed.
What does that mean? He might have called me Dad, but I was never allowed to be it.
Justin was Diane's son.
That was clear from the off.
She did everything for him.
That's why she deserved better.
What, from Justin? From me as well.
I was no great catch when we met, but she sorted me out.
Got me back on my feet.
I wanted to be able to return the favour when he died.
I just I couldn't make her feel better.
Nobody could have done that.
If anything I've made things worse.
She doesn't want me around.
Well, not at the moment maybe, but you never know there might come a time when she needs you.
And until then? Just be there, I suppose.
HE RINGS DOORBELL Em.
Emily, it's me.
I know you're in there.
Emily, I know you're in.
Look, all I wanted to say was Happy Birthday.
No, actually, that's that's not all I want to say.
Look, I'm not going anywhere, OK? I know you expected me just to walk away, butI'm not going to.
I'll just be here, I'll be here for when you're ready, OK? Bye-bye.
You don't have to if you don't want to.
No, go on, I'll try a glass.
What do you think? It's nice.
How do you feel? Fine.
That's what AA does to you.
You keep telling yourself you can't be trusted around the booze, and you start to believe it.
Yeah.
I'm beginning to see that.
Oh, thank you.
I can't tell you how long it's been since I've had a home-cooked meal.
You're welcome.
It was going to waste anyway.
I'm sorry about that.
I should have brought Brian back with me.
No, it's OK.
If he fancies a night away from me No, I don't think he wanted to be away from you.
Esther, did you know that Brian had gone back to AA? When? I'm not sure.
He hasn't needed to go to a meeting for years.
I didn't realise things had got so bad.
No, neither did I.
Oh, Esther Look, I was thinking about giving him a break.
Oh, no! God, no.
But if he's feeling the strain That's nothing to the strain he'd feel if he were sitting around here all day.
That mind of his.
Yeah, that's true.
All right, look, we'll just keep an eye on him, all of us.
At least we know he's safe tonight.
Taxpayers are getting their money's worth out of him tonight.
I'll put him to bed.
You'll need a hand.
No, Dogger, I'll help him.
Not now, Esther.
I'll walk home in the morning.
Come on.
Come on, Brian.
Off you go to bed.
Esther I'll get the door.
TINKLING TINKLING CHATTERING One, two, three Who is it? No idea.
And they're not talking.
I knew this place was too bloody good to be true.
Yeah, I suppose it was.
What the hell's been going on? It's all over! You've ruined everything, you stupid old bitch! That's enough! You touch her again, you've no idea what she's done for us! Dad! Heidi, don't worry about a thing right, just be quiet.
The ME has given the body a quick once over and all she can confirm at the moment is that it's male.
And that's it, officially, until the DNA results come back in.
Unofficially? They found a wallet in his back pocket belonging to a Nicholai Chenko.
He wasn't in possession of a "foreign accent", was he? Russian moved to London in '99.
Never been reported missing, but Vice have been looking for him since June 2006.
Same time Justin died.
Yeah, he failed to appear in court on a domestic violence charge and he's been off the grid ever since.
Domestic? What's that got to do with Vice? According to this, four different girls have made complaints against him.
And they'd all been living in the same flat in Haringey.
Pimp.
Which flat in Haringey? I'm on my way.
Dead? Like properly dead? He said they dug him up! Of course, he's properly dead.
I was just making sure.
Ah, that's a relief.
Really? Why, what sort of a bloke was he? We thought he was pretty cool at first.
What with him having different birds downstairs every week and that.
Until we realised he was pimping 'em out.
Nik'd bring his clients round and we'd hear Well, you know.
Sometimes he got a bit rough with the girls.
Knock them about a bit, did he? Yeah, we were pretty shocked.
What about Justin? Well, he was horrified.
Especially with him being in his peace and love phase.
We told him not to get involved.
Problem was he had no common sense.
No idea how things really were.
Because of his mother! If she hadn't had babied him He's right.
What exactly happened? Well, one night, Nik was smacking one of his girls around.
I don't know what she'd done, but he was really going for it.
Justin wanted to go down.
But we told him not to, and he phoned the police.
I went mental.
Bloody idiot.
Well, Justin was just doing the right thing, surely.
But that didn't help us when Nik came back from being charged and found his girl gone.
It was all right for Justin, he was at one of his meetings.
It was us that got the kicking on his behalf.
It was Nik's way of leaving him a message.
And what did Justin do when he got the message? A disappearing act.
Oh.
So, he left you in the lurch, did he? Yeah! And that wasn't the end of it.
Oh? Nik kept on popping round, looking for him.
You must have been terrified.
Wouldn't you have been? We had to do what we did.
And what did you do exactly? We told Nik where to find him.
Oh, so you did know about the commune, then? Justin kept on going on about this self-sufficient place.
We just wanted Nik to leave us alone.
We never knew he would kill him.
Just do him over, like he done us.
I mean you understand, don't you? We had no choice.
Oh, yes, I understand completely.
But do you understand that you can both be arrested now for withholding vital information from the police? That's quite a temper you have.
It's got you into trouble before, hasn't it? The Cardiff boys sent us your records.
ABH, affray, assaulting a police officer I put all that behind me 15 years ago.
Really? Yes, when Heidi's mother died.
I had to sort out my head.
If we'd have stayed in Wales, things would have gone from bad to worse.
Very admirable.
Doing it for your daughter.
It's what you're supposed to do.
Still, it must be hard when you see her making mistakes.
Well, that's how she learns.
So what was she learning from Justin? Cos you can't have been happy about that.
I told you, I was fine with it.
I don't buy that.
He was sleeping with your underage daughter.
Sure, but she was safe and she was happy.
He was a nice lad, what more could I have hoped for? That's why we came to the commune.
To find your daughter a boyfriend? No! To make sure she didn't find one just like me.
Well, they always say that girls end up with blokes just like their dads, don't they? At the commune she'd have no chance of meeting anyone bad for her.
Except for Nikolai Chenko.
How did he end up at the commune? I don't know.
OK, different question, how did he die? I killed him.
I killed him.
Really? And why was that? Because he was stealing from us.
And what was he stealing? Potatoes? Goat's milk? It's not often I find myself in this position.
Two confessions and I don't believe a word of either of them.
KNOCK AT DOOR Guv'nor, I think you better hear this.
Interview suspended at 11.
46.
What? I killed him.
Justin and me were in the hen house.
That's where we used to go to when we wanted to It's OK, we know all about that.
That was the night he said it.
Said what? That he loved me.
That he wanted us to go away together when I was old enough.
And then we fell asleep.
Well, he did and I didn't want to wake him.
Didn't want to ruin things.
What happened next? Then that man, he had me by the hair, pulling me up and shouting at Justin.
He said he was going to take me as a replacement for something.
And he meant it.
He really did! No, it's all right.
We believe you.
He wasn't a nice man.
No, he wasn't.
Justin was fighting him, but he was getting hurt, really hurt.
And that's when I saw the knife, the one we use for cutting the string on the bales of hay.
You have to understand, I thought he was going to kill Justin.
So, I It's OK, Heidi.
And we were going to help him.
But when dad and Beatrice got there he was alreadydead.
When Justin told me who Nikolai was I realised that he wasn't the sort of person who would be missed and I didn't want Heidi's life ruined because of that man.
We buried Nikolai near the tree, and then we made up some mumbo jumbo to keep people away.
We called it the spirit tree, and then my son, Sebastian, started the court proceedings and I realised we'd have to move the body before the diggers moved in.
And then you decided to stay.
I'm sorry we had to drug you.
You drugged me? Weren't you surprised you got drunk so quickly? What happened after that? You know the rest.
so that when the bailiffs came, we could just tow it away.
Good plan, but then it's not like you haven't moved a body before.
I'm sorry? What was it? Justin was a stranger, so he couldn't be trusted with your secret? We didn't kill Justin.
We just asked him to leave.
I told him to pack his bags.
Make things right with my girl and get the hell out.
So, where did he go? Travelling.
That bit was the truth.
He said he couldn't go back to his old life, not after living with us.
He just wanted to see India.
He never made it, Ash.
I had nothing to do with that.
I promise you.
OK, I'll leave it there for the minute.
Interview suspended at 4.
20.
Brian? Did Beatrice tell you? Yeah.
I'm sorry.
Ash was the last person to see Justin alive.
He's still my prime suspect.
What if he was telling the truth? Then where the hell did Justin go after he was kicked out of the commune? Well, it certainly wasn't India.
His mum had his passport.
He wouldn't have gone to her.
No.
Have you got some news for me? We think we might have a suspect.
Well, that's great.
Yeah, it is.
So, do you know what happened? We need to fill in a few gaps, but we think that Justin might have been planning to go abroad, India.
So, he would have needed his passport.
But I had it.
I still do.
Yeah that's right, but we think he tried to get his hands on it.
Melvin? Yeah, I suppose he would have had to.
So, he didn't come to you, then? You're thinking of the time he wanted to go to Amsterdam for the weekend.
Oh, yeah, that was the time when you were planning just to hand it over? Well, yeah.
It would have made sense to come to you for the second time.
Oh, he only wanted to go to Amsterdam for the weekend, not India for six months.
How do you know he was planning to go for six months? Melvin, you better tell her what happened.
Melvin? It was you who said she deserved better.
OK, fine, let's see if I've got this right.
Now, Justin went missing for two months.
That's two months of worry and stress for you and Diane, then he turns up large as life in your lock-up asking for his passport again.
You know he's only come to you cos he doesn't want to deal with his mother.
So there is no way you're gonna let him just swan off before making things right with Diane because while things weren't right between Justin and Diane, they were never gonna be right between you and Diane.
Melvin? But, no, he said sod the lot of you, I'm gonna leave anyway and that's when you lost it.
So what did you do? Push him around a bit? Or did you lock him in the lock-up? Give him time to think what he was doing.
What? Yeah, maybe he went a little crazy? Smashed the place up, threw paint all over it, and that's when you lost it.
This is a place where you work to pay for his way.
I can't believe you meant to kill him.
What happened? Did he fall? Bang his head? Come on, Melvin.
Speak to me.
I don't know what you're talking about.
No It never happened, love.
Diane? You killed him! You killed my son! That's enough! It's all right.
It's OK.
It's all right.
SOBBING It's all right.
I need a drink.
Who's with me? Well, if you're buying.
Not me.
I better get home to Esther.
She gets worried when I'm away from her at night.
Yeah, she does.
Shall I give you a lift? No.
There's no need.
No, I want to.
Right, thanks.
Goodnight.
I'll be in, in a minute, I'm gonna finish this.
Right.
Filthy habit.
Yeah, yeah What are you doing here? Thought I'd save you another phone call.
Yeah, that, yeah Unusual way to say Happy Birthday Thanks for not giving up.
What could I do? I missed you.
Yeah, me too.
Well, don't sound so surprised.
Well, I am.
I didn't realise I'd let myself get so used to the idea of having a dad.
And then I buggered it up.
It was a relief to find out it was all a lie.
I thought, "Fair enough, can't miss what you never had.
" Except it's not that easy.
No, it isn't.
I just needed a bit of time to be angry, before I realised that you did what you thought was best.
Well, I'm just glad you had time to work it out.
Daddy Yeah? Are you going to buy me a drink or what? Come on, you! I know you're struggling, Brian, but you need to know that you're not alone and I just want you to bear that in mind.
Brian? Yeah.
Cheers.
I thought you said Jack was in here.
He is.
Have a look at this.
VIDEO GAME PLAYS He's obsessed with the bloody thing!