Inspector George Gently (2007) s07e02 Episode Script
Breathe In the Air
1 Ah! Ooh! Have I got time for a shower? All the time in the world, guv.
I've been asked to see the ACC this afternoon.
To discuss you.
Me?! What now? I haven't done anything.
You must've done something, John.
They're making you up to Inspector.
Eh? Give over! Whoo! Hm.
This is exactly how you found her, is it? ~ You haven't moved anything? ~ No, sir.
Thanks.
How did you find her? We stopped to look at the Hillman parked at a funny angle.
Somebody's given her a whack.
Unless she took a tumble.
Car keys.
Let's take a look.
The locals could have done this, you know.
I was fast asleep.
She's topped herself.
What are we supposed to do about it? Big bruise on the side of her face, John.
Keys.
She's a GP.
Dr Valerie Cullen.
And the address of her surgery.
Is there a note? Nah, there's nothing.
Let's leave it for Forensics.
Dr Cullen isn't here.
I can put you on Dr Plant's list.
I don't want Plant, I want her! Well, you cannot have her because we don't know where she is.
~ Excuse me? ~ Well, I'll come back when you find out.
~ Yes? ~ We'd like to talk to somebody about Dr Cullen, please.
Give me strength! ~ Her surgery's cancelled.
We don't know where she is.
~ We do.
What a terrible waste.
You don't seem that surprised, Dr Plant.
Valerie suffered terribly from depression.
Awful mood swings.
We just couldn't find a way to control it medically, so she lived with it, I thought, successfully.
But Er I know she did find it oppressive thinking about what the future held.
I'm sorry? About 18 months ago, we found that she had an extremely nasty condition called motor neurone disease.
Is that where you go all jerky, like a spastic? No, you're probably confusing it with multiple sclerosis.
Right.
Was she married, Dr Plant? Yes.
Andrew Cullen.
~ Also a doctor.
~ Here? No.
No, Andrew works for the Factories Safety Board.
~ I'll get you his address.
~ Thank you.
I should perhaps tell you that he and Valerie have been living separately for over a year now.
Nobody here knows that, except me.
Did she mention suicide? No.
I mean, did she EVER mention suicide to you, Dr Plant? Yes, once.
After she was diagnosed? No, it was after that.
When her marriage broke down.
Why did it break down? I think you should ask her husband that question.
You all right, guv? Yeah.
Yeah, I'm just thinking about Valerie Cullen.
You can understand why she did it.
Husband might be relieved.
Who knows? I hate this part of the job, me.
Oh, yeah, me, too.
They're saying Dr Cullen's not here, ring in and make an appointment.
It's the police, Vera.
She's looking in his diary.
Have there been any calls for Dr Cullen today? One from his wife's surgery about two hours ago.
~ Did he take that call? ~ Aye, when I told him it wasn't his wife.
~ We always had to tell her he was out.
~ What's he like? If he was made out of chocolate, he'd eat himself.
Right.
Found him for you.
Here's a surprise.
Somebody telephones you to say that your suicidal wife didn't turn up for work, so you take yourself out for lunch.
I bet that ruined his spaghetti.
~ Dr Cullen? ~ What's happened? I'm afraid it's your wife.
Very sorry to have to tell you she's been found dead.
Yes.
That's Valerie.
There's no toxicology report as yet.
But there are traces of barbiturate in the syringe that we found next to her.
Plus she's got this large bruise on the side of her face and two loose teeth on the same side.
Do you know anything about that? No.
I haven't spoken to her for weeks.
Did she leave a note? No.
Not on her.
You were separated? She left me over a year ago.
Where was she living? I-I never went.
I didn't ask you that.
She was renting a little two up, two down.
Place called Easterhope.
What made her do it, do you think? Sergeant, I have been expecting this since the first day I met Valerie.
She just couldn't cope with life.
Why did she leave you? The marriage was a failure.
We'd let it drag on.
Dr Cullen, do you mind if I ask who your lunch companion was? Anna Zweig.
She's a work colleague, nothing more, nothing less.
Zweig.
Local lass, is she(?) Swiss.
Can I please get out of here? Would you just write down your wife's address, please? Guv, are you seriously looking at something apart from suicide? Well, two loose teeth in her mouth.
How do we know that somebody didn't thump her unconscious and then inject her afterwards? ~ A lot of doctors in this story, John.
~ Yeah, but Look, she had a failed marriage, right.
She had this toffee-nosed git for a husband, she was depressed and she had this motor-racing disease thing.
Being told that you're ill doesn't necessarily mean you want to kill yourself.
And she couldn't cope with life to start with.
~ He says.
~ Yeah, all right, he said.
But who knows what was going on inside her head? Well, I'd like to know.
All right.
All right, I'll look into it.
~ You asked for me, sir? ~ Rachel.
I'm buying John a drink this evening to celebrate his promotion to Inspector.
~ Oh, congratulations, Sarge.
~ Thank you very much.
Inspector.
Not before time.
So, join us.
~ Oh, well, I think I'm ~ Oh, no.
She wouldn't want to.
Of course she would.
So, Rachel, this means I'll be needing a new sergeant.
She's not a sergeant.
Ever hear of sergeants' exams, John? You're taking your exam? Next month.
Mr Gently suggested it.
We don't need a uniformed sergeant in here.
No, but we will be needing a detective sergeant to replace you, won't we? So, Rachel, how do you feel about joining us in CID? Guv, what is the point in training them up, right? They just go off and have bairns.
What's? That's why we don't have any female detectives! Well, then, maybe it's time that we did, eh? ~ Anyway, think about it, Rachel.
~ No! Y-Y-Yes! It's a yes.
Sorry, I-I-I'm saying yes.
Excellent! Well, it's a double celebration, then.
~ 7:30, Town Arms.
~ Great(!) Meanwhile, here's Valerie Cullen's keys, here's her address.
See if you can find out why she killed herself.
Guv, you asked me to do that.
Perfect.
Well, you can do it together, then, can't you? Easterhope.
My friend used to live there when we were growing up.
Really? You had friends? Well, one less now, yeah, because she died when we were 15.
Right.
We're off.
Come on.
(Thank you.
) Assistant Chief Constable's office again, sir.
Bananas are being gone.
"Where's Gently? Why are they still sitting here waiting?" ~ They? ~ They.
Inspector Nunn acknowledges his mistakes in his handling of rape complaints.
They weren't mistakes.
He deliberately ignored evidence.
Bear with me.
And he'll be leaving the constabulary forthwith.
What, sacked on full pension? He should be prosecuted.
I've got a transfer.
I'm joining the Met.
Vice Squad.
So an officer with a proven record of violence to women goes to join the Vice Squad.
Which brings me to the problem of your sergeant.
What problem's that, sir? Any way you look at it, George, there was a vendetta against Inspector Nunn conducted from your office.
But why would you look at it that way, sir? Are you saying it was just a coincidence that these charges were brought against Walter at a time when your sergeant was trying to steal his wife? They're completely separate issues.
Concerted action to discredit a fellow officer, George.
I can't allow Bacchus' promotion to go forward under these circumstances.
John has been held back far too long already.
He makes too many mistakes.
Look at his file.
~ I won't accept it.
~ A bloke shags me wife and you make him Inspector? Where would the justice be in that, sir? Don't you talk to me about justice! You're a borderline criminal yourself! ~ George! ~ I mean it, sir.
This is a resignation issue for me.
Bacchus' promotion goes forward.
Now, let's draw a line under this.
Dennigs has shut down.
I didn't know that.
It's quiet, isn't it? ~ Esther's dad used to work there.
~ Who? ~ Me friend.
~ Oh, yeah.
What'd she die of, again? Cancer.
Gently? Tell Inspector Bacchus if his shadow ever falls across me again, I'll break his back.
I'm not your messenger boy.
There's one from Gemma.
She says goodbye.
She's coming with me to London.
I've forgiven her.
What we looking for? Suicide note would be favourite.
Then I might be able to get George to accept the obvious.
Wait.
Rachel, wait, wait.
Now, this isn't her mess, is it? The place has been turned over.
~ Shall we look for forced entry? ~ Yeah.
Where's the dog? Oh! ~ Have you got a bag? ~ (Yeah.
) "Control to 724.
Are you receiving?" Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.
Excuse me.
John Bacchus' private line, John Bacchus speaking personally.
"Forensics will be there in about ten minutes.
"Stay in the area, let them in, then come back to HQ.
" Right.
It is mine.
It belongs to the constabulary, actually.
~ It's in my car.
~ Were you an only child, by any chance? Where are you going? Oi! Boo! What are you doing in here? Esther's dad used to come and do the maintenance here on a weekend.
He used to let us come and play.
Bet it was a bit like Disneyland, wasn't it, when you were a little lass? Sort of.
Do you miss her? Yeah.
Come on.
No sign of forced entry.
Somebody's got a key.
Or maybe she did it herself, actually.
Searching for something in a hurry before she left.
Any other prints in her car? No, just hers.
There you go.
Lovely.
Cheers! ~ Cheers.
~ Congratulations, Inspector Bacchus.
Thank you very much.
Inspector Bacchus.
Thank you.
Cheers.
Go on, then.
What did Davenport say about us? I thought he hated me.
Nothing much.
Sang your praises.
~ Like what? ~ Tell you later.
Do you want me to come back in a bit, or? No.
No, nothing.
Look, we're not here to talk about work.
This is a celebration.
Cheers! ~ Cheers.
~ Cheers! Hm! We should search her office, though, at the surgery.
And question her husband, who you both think is dodgy, yeah? He's one of those blokes, isn't he? Can't walk past a mirror without having a little look.
Bit like you.
Huh! So, why are you so sure that she killed herself? Think about it, Rachel, will you? She's got this motor neurone disease, right.
This time next year, she'll be sat in a wheelchair with breakfast dribbling down her chin.
What would you do? I know what I'd do.
Guv, can I just say something? Get used to it, John.
~ What? ~ Working with Rachel.
Right.
Fine.
John? Shut the door.
Just so you know, Walter Nunn got off scot-free.
No reprimand, no charge, no nothing.
He's transferring to London.
Dirty squad.
Yeah.
It's the job you've always wanted, I know.
But he got it and you didn't and it's just something else that you're going to have to get used to.
And there's something else.
Just in case you were getting your hopes up .
.
the marriage is patched up and she's going to London with him.
Goodnight.
Goodnight, John.
Do you want to take a seat? Hello again, Mr Gently.
Morning.
We'd like access to Dr Cullen's surgery, please.
~ First on the left at the end.
It's open.
~ Thank you.
Dr Cullen's already in there.
Hey! Are you looking for summat? Well, um anything that might shed a light on this awful business.
~ Such as? ~ This is our job, actually.
Come on.
~ Did you find anything? ~ No.
~ Do you want me to search him, guv? ~ Are you calling me a liar, Sergeant? Yeah, I am.
I think you're also lying about the Swiss maid you were having lunch with.
Just a colleague! Seemed pretty close to me.
Close? What does that mean? Well, it means she won't need to yodel when she needs you.
Dr Cullen, we think someone paid a visit to your wife's house searching for something.
Any idea who that might've been? ~ Valerie's house? ~ Yeah.
Yeah.
The one you said you'd never been to.
How would I know? ~ Mr Gently, Dr Plant needs to speak urgently.
~ Thank you.
She writes from Easterhope.
Dated two nights ago at 9:00pm.
"Dear Michael.
" Um "You will know by now that I took the coward's way out after all" 'Others will ask, I know, why not a bottle of pills, 'and not this ghastly syringe.
'But you more than anyone know how my illness has already affected' ".
.
My ability to swallow.
"So I've made my choice, even though I hate and fear needles.
"Some doctor I made, eh?" She was actually a wonderful, um She was.
She she had an extraordinary rapport with patients.
Everybody loved her.
Take your time, Dr Plant.
"You know, too, that there were two loves in my life.
" 'Medicine was one.
'Being a doctor was the greatest privilege.
'Serving the poor was the thing that rescued me from a life 'I might otherwise have spent in the selfish pursuit of my own appetites.
'The second great love' " Was Andrew, of course.
"When we met, it was love at first sight for me.
"A genuine coup de foudre.
"He was the light in my world.
"And though we had our differences, "he remains, deep down, a good man, Michael.
"Please believe that.
"For my sake, be a friend to him ".
.
in the days, months and years ahead.
"With gratitude for having known you "and in admiration of you ".
.
I I take my leave.
"Your friend and colleague, Valerie Cullen.
" ~ I think that letter really belongs to me.
~ No.
When I'm sure of the reasons for your wife's suicide, then I'll return this letter to Dr Plant.
It's addressed to him.
Until then, it's evidence in an unexplained death and belongs to the coroner.
Thank you.
Dr Cullen, I'm going to have to trouble you to come in and let us take your fingerprints.
Aye, he really wanted to burn this letter, didn't he? What did she see in a bloke like him? Sometimes people fall for the wrong person, don't they? Right, well, we've got a suicide note.
Are we done? Why? Why did she end her life? I don't know how many more reasons you need, guv.
I honestly don't.
Heidi the Goat Girl.
Yeah, maybe.
Did you see that look in Plant's eyes? Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
If looks could kill, Cullen would be dog meat, wouldn't he? Yeah, no, Plant hates him.
So do I, actually, and I've only just met him.
I think he has that effect on people.
There's more to this.
Her letter was clearly asking Plant to forgive Cullen for something.
I've got some tasty stuff on Dr Andrew Cullen if you want it.
~ Such as? ~ Such as, sir, he's barely a doctor at all.
You wouldn't trust this bloke to take your pulse without breaking your wrist.
Anyway, he was born to dirt-poor parents in Blackpool, unlike his wife Valerie, who, sorry was, an honourable.
~ A what? ~ Well, it means that she's was the daughter of a baronet.
You know, a silver spoon to eat your cornflakes with and all of that.
Private schools, but she turns her back on it all to train as a GP and come and work in the industrial north.
Anyway, they met at medical school, but where Where's all this coming from? Mainly that gobby woman who answers the phone at the Safety Board.
Anyway, he's worked in the same practice as his wife three times.
And the same thing happens every time.
He gets sacked and then she leaves with him out of loyalty.
So eventually, he can't get a job anywhere as a GP, so he ends up as a factory doctor, which is where you end up when you're useless, apparently.
Right.
Well, see, I don't know where any of this gets us.
Deep down.
She said, "Deep down, he's a good man.
" Which implies that he's done something bad.
And don't say, "Heidi the Goat Girl," I'm sick of hearing it.
What's in Easterhope? Why Easterhope? What is in Easterhope for Valerie Cullen? Well, it was nowhere near her practice, so her patients didn't live there.
Show me Easterhope.
Actually, Rachel knows the place much better than I do.
I've got a mountain of paperwork I need to do.
Right.
Let's go.
~ Mr Gently, can I just say something? ~ Get used to it.
~ What? ~ Working with John.
Gently.
"Andrew Cullen's prints, sir.
"Apparently, they're all over the place in his wife's house.
" Thank you.
The whole place depended on the factory that closed.
Do you know them? Yeah.
It's, er ~ It's me best friend's mum and dad.
~ Oh.
I haven't seen them for years.
Do you want to say hello? Yeah.
Yeah.
I've come to say goodbye, John.
Hello, Mrs Carlin.
Rachel? Eeeee! Hey, man! Rachel! Hiya! If you'd have give us half an hour, I would've done the twist with you.
But I'm jiggered after me game of tennis, you know.
Why've you gone in the police? Could you not get a proper job?! Eh, Rachel, he never changes.
This is Chief Inspector George.
He's her boss, so no showing her up.
Mr George.
Pleasure to meet you, Mr Carlin.
What I've got, George, is emphysemia.
Me lungs are shot.
Norman, man, it's not called emphysemia.
It's called emphysema.
Won't matter how they spell it when they put us in the box, Bridgie.
We shouldn't tire him out.
Rachel, this has done more for him than a million doctors.
He gets no company, pet.
Valerie's been good, though.
Who's that? Oh, Valerie.
He likes his Valerie.
She's not his proper doctor, she just calls round.
Ah, like her, me.
She's got a a lovely smile.
She brings that little dog she's got sometimes, doesn't she, Bridgie? Greedy little thing for biscuits.
Ah, George, she says that, but she spoils him rotten every time.
That dog gets more to eat than I do! Suffering hell! That was not the plan.
Yeah, it was.
You've got your lacy knickers on, Gem.
Detectives! Next time, wear your grandma's apple-catchers, then I'll know it's goodbye.
There isn't going to be a next time, John.
I can't do this any more.
Walter's asked me for promises and I've made them.
Well, you've made promises before, Gem.
On the altar.
Hm.
Thanks.
Anyway, you know, he's he's changed.
He's a different man.
Never works nights any more.
Yeah? Says it's time for him to stay home and spend time with me and the kids.
Any plans? Plans? No.
Same.
Same life.
Except I can't, John.
I can't.
I can't live in the dark.
I want to live in the light.
Live with me in the light.
Why did Valerie call round, Norman? Did she examine you? Examine us? No.
Take any blood samples? Why, no.
Million questions, mind.
"What've the doctors told you about your chest? "When did the coughing start?" I says to her, "Valerie, it's not the cough that carries you off, "it's the coffin they carry you off in!" She laughed her head off, didn't she, Bridgie? You would think they were courting, the way he goes on.
"Oh, Dr Tambling's coming this afternoon.
Give me hair a brush!" It's her maiden name, Tambling.
Aye, she's married?! Don't break me heart! Well, I could've told you that, Norman.
She had a wedding ring on, man! Did she Has she never spoken to you about her husband, Norman? Never mentioned him once.
You know why? She didn't want to scare us off! Married women! Man, George, they're the worst! Gem, you wouldn't just go, would you? You wouldn't disappear without saying nowt? ~ Go where? ~ I don't know.
Say if Walter got a job somewhere.
He's got a job.
Yeah, I know, but say if he got another job somewhere else.
Move away, you mean? Yeah.
No.
Why you asking that? Ah, it's no reason, just Gem, don't go, please! I've got to, John.
This was a mistake.
And it's my fault.
I'm going that way, you're going that way.
Don't look back.
What other questions did she ask, Norman? "How long have you lived here? "How long did you work in Owens?" Owen Linings.
It changed its name to Dennigs when it got took over.
Aye, I meant, Dennigs.
Sorry.
Valerie can answer all of this better than us because she wrote everything down.
She only lives 200 yards away.
Bridgie? Norman? I hate to tell you this, but, er Valerie killed herself two nights ago.
Valerie did? Why?! Why do you think she was asking all of those questions? More to the point, what did she do with the answers? She wrote everything down, Bridget said.
So, who might not want those answers made public? Who benefits by her death? Who? ~ Valerie Cullen.
~ Oh.
Him, I suppose.
There's a lot of it, the Tambling inheritance.
Who? Sir Edward Tambling, her father.
Made a lot of money making shoes.
Gave a lot of it to the Conservative Party, naturally.
Knighted in 1958, died in 1959.
Left half-a-million quid to each of his three daughters.
Well, that's a motive for murder, guv.
We've got a suicide note.
I know.
And I can't explain that.
Is there something getting you down? You know what's getting me down.
~ John, stay out of it.
~ No, I can't stay out of it.
Let them sort their marriage.
He hasn't even told her that he's going to London.
Do you know that? He hasn't even told her! She's blind to him.
She thinks, right, that the reason that he's home every night is because he wants to be with the kids all of a sudden.
That's none of your business.
~ I'm going home.
~ No, come on.
Don't be like that.
Here, have another one.
~ You all right? ~ Yeah.
~ It's all right, I can manage.
~ I've got it.
I don't need help! Right.
How much do Safety Board officers pull in these days? I don't think this came out of his wages, do you? Rattle his cage for me, John, will you? Aye, all right.
Hiya! Hey! Have you ever heard of the law of trespass?! Pfft! What? Well, have you? Trespass? Yeah.
Yeah, it's an offence, isn't it? Involving unjustifiable interference.
Is that what you mean? Miss Zweig, we didn't meet properly last time.
I'm Detective Sergeant Bacchus, soon to be Inspector.
This is my governor, Detective Chief Inspector Gently.
Yes, I remember.
Inspector.
Well, Andrew, I can see you're busy, so I'll No please, Miss Zweig, stay.
I can't offer you any tea, I'm afraid.
I have no help today.
Doesn't matter.
We won't be here very long.
Help? Did they not teach you to boil a kettle in Blackpool, eh? Did you meet the other Dr Cullen, Miss Zweig? Er no.
Ah.
I'd show you a picture, but there doesn't seem to be any.
There's one in the drawing room, if you need it.
No, I'm all right, thanks.
And I don't need a photograph to remind me of Valerie.
~ There's a big one of you in Easterhope.
~ I don't rememb I thought you said you'd never been there.
So, how come your prints are all over the place? Yes, I made a mistake when I said that.
I forgot.
~ I-I've been there once.
~ When? Three nights ago.
She rang me, she sounded very depressed.
So I drove over there to try and calm her down.
Did she seem suicidal? Well, was suicide mentioned? I can't remember.
Oh.
I see.
So, then you just forgot about that visit altogether? Do you know of a factory in Easterhope called Dennigs? Yes, I do.
Did you ever visit there as part of your duties ~ for the Factories Safety Board? ~ Several times.
~ Why? ~ Part of my job is to check on the health of the workforce.
~ On behalf of the owners? ~ No, no, for the Safety Board.
~ I'm totally independent of the owners.
~ Oh.
But it's closed now, anyway.
It closed some time ago.
When was that? Four or five years ago.
It closed on December 20, 1965.
Three and a half years ago.
You're very well informed, Miss Zweig.
Inspector, you are a very intelligent man, unlike your sergeant, who only thinks he is, and I think you already asked yourself, "She is Swiss, Dennigs is Swiss, "Oh, my golly, is there a connection?" Is there? I'm on the board of Dennigs' parent company, Silvexpo.
We're a Geneva-based multinational that deals in synthetic fibres.
I see.
And you consider yourself to be completely independent ~ of the owners of Dennigs Linings? ~ Totally.
And you're a chemist, Miss Zweig.
Oh, yes, but I haven't been in a laboratory for years.
I'm Head of Business Affairs these days.
I now dream of extended lunches, instead of extruded plastics.
~ Is that how you met? ~ It's how we met again.
We first met at Badminton Horse Trials.
We have a shared passion.
And how long have you been having an affair with Dr Cullen, Anna? Ah, you see, clever.
~ And when did you stop beating your wife? ~ Hm.
So, then, Dr Cullen, why did your wife go to live in Easterhope, of all places? I've really no idea.
Just a strange coincidence, was it? All right, well Just one more question and then I'll leave you to your, er shared passion.
What were these linings in Easterhope made of? Asbestos.
White asbestos.
Hm.
Till now, the asbestos industry has been regulated by a statute of 1931 which forbade asbestos dust from escaping into the air.
So the workers had to have proper overalls and masks and the place had to had to be properly vent (Bloody hellfire!) Are you all right? Yeah, sorry.
Carry on.
Right.
So, well, the act stated that the place had to be kept clear of Ow! Massive spelk.
Look at that.
It's like a bloody telegraph pole.
Well, have you not got any tweezers? Yeah, they're in me handbag for when I do me eyebrows(!) ~ Right, shall I just come back later, when? ~ No, no.
Just ignore him.
~ Huh! ~ So, these new regulations that are coming in next year will change the rules for places like Dennigs, yes? Well, no.
No, that's the point.
The new regulations are for factories that actually use asbestos.
The 1931 regulations are for factories that actually made asbestos.
Bloody hellfire! I can't get it.
Oh, for God's sake, man! Where is it? Hm? Ready? One, two, three.
Hey, look at that.
She got it! So, Owen Linings, later Dennigs, always did manufacture the stuff, rather than just use it, so they've always been covered by the regulations.
They just chose to ignore them.
So the law was clear.
There should have been strict controls over the amount of asbestos in the air, and there wasn't.
~ Yes.
~ And men like Norman are dying.
So, what's the Factory Safety Board been doing? Well, exactly.
Let's find out.
Guv? I think Rachel should be along.
Yeah, yeah.
Good idea.
Go on, then.
Won't kill you.
Thanks.
~ Hello.
~ Hello.
We'd like to speak to Mr and Mrs Carlin, please.
Mr Carlin's very poorly, I'm afraid, and Mrs Carlin's gone out.
She has a night out once a week.
It is important.
She always writes it down, where she's going.
~ Does she do this every week, does she? ~ Aye.
And every few months, she goes away altogether for a proper rest.
~ The company sends a car for her.
~ Company? Silvexpo, they're called.
They pay for me, as well.
Anyway, you'll find her there today.
She loves her housey, does Bridgie.
~ Thanks a lot.
~ Thank you.
~ 'Bye.
Seven and four, 74.
~ Two fat ladies, 88.
~ House! House called.
It's a new card and a new game.
Eyes down for your first number.
And it is on its own, number six.
Four and seven, 47.
Five and three, 53.
I thought for a minute you'd come to tell us he was dead.
A bit of us will be glad.
You must think I've got a heart of stone.
No, Bridgie.
I had three year of it when Esther got her cancer.
Now I've had two and a half year with Norman.
What kind of cancer did your daughter have, Bridget? It was called, um It's a long word.
Um I have to say it in bits, like a bairn.
Meso-thelioma.
It's a death you wouldn't put on your worst enemy.
Bridget, how come Silvexpo gave you days out and holidays? Well, they come offering money, but I couldn't take the money, it felt wrong.
They said, "We want to help you.
" What'd she call it? It was in Latin.
~ Ex gratia payment? ~ Yeah.
And she saw there was nothing they could do for Norman, but she could see I was tired out, so she suggested holidays now and then.
Who's the she? Foreign lass.
Um ~ Anna Zweig? ~ (Aye.
) Did she ask you to sign something first? Saying that you would never claim against them for Norman's emphysema? No.
No, not that.
Because the Factory Board doctor had already had a look at Norman and says the emphysema's got nothing to do with the dust.
And then he comes back with a letter for me to read saying Norman had smoked tabs for 30 year, which was the truth, and that's what's knackered his lungs.
And you accepted that? He's a doctor.
He's supposed to know.
He's, like, more high up than your own doctor.
Very well spoken.
Lovely-looking man.
~ Dr Cullen? ~ Aye, that's him.
Was it him that offered the money, the, er ex gratia payment? No, no, that come after from the Swiss lass.
~ She offered money if we signed about Esther.
~ Esther? What did you have to sign about Esther for? Well, it was to say she'd never worked in Dennigs and I kept me house clean and cleaned me windows and always washed Norman's overalls, and all that malarkey.
Course, I never knew then what Valerie told us later.
You can only get Esther's cancer off asbestos.
No other way.
Esther died when she was 15.
She couldn't possibly have worked for Dennigs.
No, no, no.
She, er she played there.
She played in the factory? A lot of bairns did.
She lived all her life over the road from it.
It was in the air, wasn't it, Rachel? Er They used to just dump piles of the stuff all over the place.
Me and Esther, we used to play this game called Snow White.
And whenever we came across a pile of the stuff .
.
we used to rub it into each other's faces.
You know, to make us white.
She was, though .
.
the fairest of them all.
Eee! The lads were mad for her.
She was so bonny! But she got the cancer and you didn't, Rachel.
~ I'm sorry, pet.
~ It's all right, Bridgie.
Did Valerie say how she knew this about asbestos, Bridget? She never said.
But she was positive, she said.
When did she first tell you this? Just a couple of weeks ago.
She wanted to have a meeting for the whole town.
She called it and then she cancelled it again.
When was this? Two days before she died.
She said Dr Cullen would be there.
She probably shouldn't be on this now, guv.
I'm not going to take her off it, not unless she asks.
Do you think she will? Huh! Not a chance.
What made Valerie Cullen so sure of the link between asbestos and mesothelioma? Worked it out from the questions she was asking in Easterhope? Maybe.
She wasn't taking any tissue samples, so Do you think that's why she called the meeting? To let people know what she'd found out? Why would she want Cullen there? All he'd say is, "You shouldn't smoke tabs.
" She calls a meeting.
Cullen says that he went to see her because she was distressed.
She cancels the meeting, again.
36 hours later, she's dead.
I don't believe him when he says that he went there to calm her down.
What was he looking for in her surgery? And why was her house searched? Do you need me any more today, guv? No.
But thank you.
You did very well today, Rachel.
Thank you.
I'll, um I'll see you tomorrow, then.
If you'd like me help on this case, I'd Well, I'd like to give it.
Thank you.
Well, I think I might push off home meself.
She hasn't gone home, John.
She's headed straight for the library.
~ Why? ~ Because it's what I would've done if I was her.
I would want to find out everything there was to know about mesothelioma.
Wouldn't you? See you tomorrow.
About time.
Come on.
Hey! Whoa, whoa! Shit! The moon's still a virgin.
Do you want to see it, Mr? Yeah.
Malcolm, where's your manners? There's a guest.
Hello.
Late night, John? Guv, you've got me up and working at six o'clock in the morning, I'm allowed to yawn.
Onto that and over there? Yeah, not bad.
Whatever it is, it isn't here, or it was and they found it.
I met a family here last night, John.
Another kid with mesothelioma.
Do you know, Silvexpo offered them 500 quid to waive all rights to complain? They're getting away with murder here, John.
Guv, why don't we bring them in and shout at them for a bit? She's as hard as nails but he's not.
~ He's not that clever either.
~ Doesn't have to be.
We'll have him in for questioning, he'll bring a lawyer Well, then, we'll just have to be cleverer than them.
Trust me, guv, I'm an Inspector.
Not yet you're not.
Silvexpo has no responsibility for Dennigs! Look, no parent company has any responsibility for the actions of the firms it takes over.
~ Huh! ~ Look, I'm sorry you don't like that but that is the law.
Andrew, please wait for the lawyers.
Where are they? And in any event, Dennigs itself was not responsible for these illnesses.
You can't be responsible legally for that which you are unaware of.
Again, that is the law, as I keep telling you! When did you start dishing out free legal advice, instead of syringing people's ears? You sound like somebody who works for Silvexpo rather than somebody who's paid to look after the health of the workers.
What would your wife think about that, I wonder? Please say no more, Andrew.
Where are our lawyers? We asked for our lawyers to be here, where are they? Somebody told them that we were in Newcastle so I think they're on the train now.
Yes, an administrative error, they'll be here any minute.
You brought us here under false pretences.
You said it was to investigate the death of Valerie but all you talk about is Silvexpo.
There is no connection.
Why are we here all these hours? Valerie Cullen had something that you needed.
Now, I think that she believed that Silvexpo and Dennigs knew a lot more about the deadly effects of asbestos.
She called a meeting, you were expected to attend, Dr Cullen.
She told people that you had more to say about that - what was it? My wife's state of mind was confused.
I had nothing new to say.
I know nothing about any meeting.
Then why did she kill herself the following night? Why? What passed between you when you went to her house? I told you, I simply went to calm her down.
~ And was she calm when you left? ~ Perfectly.
Did she have a bruise on her face? Not that I recall.
I think you're both liars.
And that Miss Zweig is why you've been here "all these hours".
Hey, hey! Johnit's all right.
I represent Silvexpo and its employees.
Miss Zweig and Dr Cullen are leaving with us now or you'll be facing a charge of false imprisonment.
Surely Dr Cullen isn't an employee of Silvexpo? No.
I represent Dr Cullen as a private individual in this matter Of course you do.
.
.
he comes with us too.
I don't know how you do things north of Watford but you're about to be reminded that the writ of English law runs all the way to Hadrian's Wall and beyond.
Miss Zweig.
Doctor.
He was posh, wasn't he? Yeah, posher than the Queen.
Posh enough to lose us our jobs, John.
Ah well, I wasn't cut out to be Inspector.
I've come up against corporate crime before, John, in London.
It's like taking on the government - you probably lose.
In fact, you do lose.
These are the worst bastards you'll ever come across in your life! So what does that mean? Well for me, it means it's worth the risk.
I can go today on two thirds of my salary.
But for you it means No no, I want to find out who is responsible for giving Esther Carlin a cancer that gave her a vile death.
And I want to find out why Valerie Cullen killed herself.
If we can't ask those questions, then what's the bloody point in being a policeman? It's a pleasure to serve with you, John.
~ Guv.
~ What? You're not going anywhere, are you, guv? Tomorrow or any other day? Me? I'm not going anywhere.
I wouldn't bank on that, after today's antics.
This woman, Valerie Cullen, are you satisfied it was suicide? No, I'm not.
I think it's possible that she was murdered to cover up the fact that an entire community was poisoned by fat cat businessmen who think that their workers and their workers' children are disposable items to be entered into the column marked "Dead Loss" and I'm not having it! ~ Can you prove any of that? ~ No.
~ Case closed.
I will need to speak to Andrew Cullen again.
He's hiding something that he can't live with.
You'll never get him in a room again without ten lawyers round him.
And can I just make one more point, George? Those lawyers are cleverer than me, they're miles cleverer than him and they might even be cleverer than you.
Case closed! The Coroner's ready to release the woman's body.
They want her buried and frankly, so do I.
Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice.
Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, would mark iniquities.
Lord, who shall endure it? Ah, well, at least he turned up just.
~ Up all night packing, I expect.
~ What's that? He's been made senior medical officer for Silvexpo.
He's moving to Switzerland.
Struth! For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him plentiful redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.
Is that it? Does the truth get buried down there with her? We've missed something here, John.
I'm going to start again.
Let's start with Valerie's office.
Love, love, love! Don't you think this is a bit pointless? I agree with you but nobody's told me to stop cleaning her room.
Come back later, go on.
You're all right.
It's not as pointless as this, mind If you wanted to hide something from your husband, ~ where would you put it? ~ Haven't got a husband.
Well, think like a woman, then.
Guv, I haven't had time to have a cup of tea this morning, let alone have a sex change operation.
~ Under his nose John! ~ What? ~ Under his nose.
February 1962, signed by G Inler, Chief Medical Officer, Northern Region, Factory Safety Board.
Subject "Asbestos and Mesothelioma".
1962, they knew it was killing people, you just had to breathe in the air.
Kids like Esther.
Valerie confronted Cullen with it and he told his friend Anna.
~ Nice.
~ I thought they were all supposed to be safety checks? The funeral's jiggered him.
We won't stay long, Bridget, I promise.
Norman, Norman, you've got company.
How, George, what fettle? Canny fettle, Norman, no bother.
Listen to him, we'll get you talking Pitmatic before were finished.
Are you all right, bonny lad? Ah, yeah, fit as a lop there, Mr Carlin.
Norman, we wanted to talk to you about the Factories Safety Board.
~ Those sods? ~ What happened when there was an inspection? They were surprise visits, weren't they? The only surprise was they bothered to come at all.
No, they were never a surprise.
The machines were turned off two hours before they come.
We cleaned the place.
The inspector comes in, has a look, puts his meter in the middle of the floor to measure the dust in the air.
Then he's took off to Durham for a slap-up dinner while I put a big polythene bag over his meter.
~ You did? ~ George, it was my job .
.
and we didn't know what was in the air.
All we knew was bloody health and safety bloody nuisances! If his meter said "shut the line down," they'd shut the line down and we'd get no bonus that week because we won't hit our targets.
The bonus is half your pay packet.
Then what? Ten minutes before he gets back we have another sweep up and I take the bag off his meter.
In he comes, drunk as a monkey, "Oh, everything's hunky dory here, "it's a pass, see you next time.
" And off he goes home with his little kickback in his pocket.
And we get on with it, breathing in the air.
You think they knew it caused Esther's cancer, George? Yes, they knew three or four years before it was closed down.
They were told and they ignored it.
That's the time Esther died.
But, George, Esther's the only one I know of that got that cancer.
Was it not just bad luck? No, it wasn't bad luck, Bridget and she wasn't the only one either.
It can take 50 years for it to reveal itself.
And I know of at least one other and there will be more as the years go by.
And that is what Silvexpo is so keen to keep a lid on.
George, tell us, what's the working man worth to these people? They only need us when there's a war on - you know that, George.
It's the same old racket everywhere you look.
That's what the lass Valerie found out in the end.
She was a lovely lass, but she was naive and that's what's put her in the ground today .
.
naivety! You can not beat these people, man, George.
I can try, Norman.
George, don't let them put you in the ground.
Thank you very much.
Mr Inler? Mr Inler I'm DCI Gently, this is DS Bacchus.
It's about a letter that you wrote to the owners of Dennigs Linings, seven years ago.
I've nothing to say.
We've got the letter, Mr Inler, so there's no use denying it.
Ernie, would you get the drinks in, please? Thank you.
I'm not denying it, though, am I? It's just not my problem any more - I told Valerie that.
She's passed this to you, did she? Listen, it is your problem if you're a bloke lying on your back coughing your guts up every night.
And it's your problem if you've already lost a daughter to mesothelioma.
You let these people down, Mr Inler.
Gentlemen, writing that letter cost me my career, a career in protecting the safety of others.
A career I loved, of which I was proud.
Now, I would just like to hang onto my pension, if it's all the same to you? Your letter refers to "copious data" supporting your allegations.
What happened to that data after you were sacked? I left it with the Board, of course.
What did they do with it? Passed it over to the Swiss, I imagine, because nothing has ever been made public.
Did you keep a copy? Did you keep a copy? Until my severance and pension arrangements were agreed, yes.
Do I look like a complete fool? Then what? And then I signed a confidentiality agreement with Silvexpo and then I burned the files in my garden.
Valerie Cullen came to you asking for help, didn't she? Yes, I gave her a copy of my letter to Silvexpo.
~ Then, no doubt, you were visited by Silvexpo's lawyers.
~ Yes.
Did they threaten you? Oh, yes but I can stick up for myself.
Valerie Cullen couldn't, I'm afraid.
She killed herself.
I warned her.
I told her the persecution would never stop.
~ Persecution? ~ You didn't know? They were trying to have her struck off, "unfit to practise medicine" and she had nobody in her corner.
~ Oh ~ Would you like one? ~ No.
Come on, if you're going to join CID.
~ Cheers.
~ Cheers.
~ Oh, I better not.
I'll get the whirling pits.
~ Eh? You know, when you feel like you're falling backwards through the floor and the ceiling spins round.
Yeah, I may be about to experience the career equivalent, actually.
I've got Andrew Cullen and half a dozen fancy lawyers, most of them Swiss, coming to town tomorrow - at my own insistence and against all sensible advice and I haven't got anything new to say to any of them.
Why are you doing it? Because why am I a policeman, Rachel? ~ Can you win? ~ Probably not.
Unless I can get Andrew Cullen to crack, they'll wipe the floor with me.
I haven't got the proof I need.
This, to my mind, is evidence of malpractice but it doesn't actually prove anything.
Geoffrey Inler says he burned the proof seven years ago.
Do you believe him? No, I don't.
It's his pension protection plan but if he handed it over to us, Silvexpo would sue him to death in a Swiss court.
What did you decide, Rachel? You don't miss much, Sir.
There is a way of finding out if you've got it, a lung biopsy.
There's no cure for it, anyway, so what's the point in knowing? Are you afraid? Petrified.
I'm not sure whether I can live with the uncertainty.
Something inside me that, one day, might just kill me.
You'll find a way, believe me.
MUSIC: "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield There's something happening here What it is ain't exactly clear There's a man with a gun over there Telling me I've got to beware I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down There's battle lines being drawn Nobody's right if everybody's wrong Young people speaking their mind You all right? You sure about this? Yeah, positive.
I think it's time we stop Hey, what's that sound Everybody look what's going down.
Now then, Dr Cullen, your wife injected herself with a lethal dose of barbiturates on the evening of July the 18th.
Now, I'm trying to find out what part in her suicide might have been played by yourself and by Silvexpo Holdings.
Sir, we need to firmly establish that Excuse me, excuse me.
Now, the Assistant Chief Constable is here to represent the constabulary, he's not a judge, this is not a trial, it's an interview and I'm conducting it.
Your wife called a public meeting in Easterhope to discuss the source of various illnesses.
Some of the people who said they intended to go were told that you were expected to attend, in your capacity as Medical Officer for the Factory Safety Board.
No, I've already told you, I know nothing about that.
Why would your wife lie to them? She told them that you had something "new" to say about Silvexpo.
I'm sorry, am I not supposed to say the word "Silvexpo"? Silvexpo are extremely litigious when it comes to protecting its reputation.
Neither your job nor your rank offers you any special protection at all from the laws of libel.
Have you ever heard the name Geoffrey Inler? ~ No.
~ No? Then you won't have seen the letter that he wrote to the board of Silvexpo? In this letter, dated the 11th of February 1962, Geoffrey Inler, in his capacity as the Chief Regional Medical Officer for the Factory Safety Board, outlines his argument for a causal link between asbestos and mesothelioma.
~ May we have a minute to study this? ~ Please.
It seems Mr Inler lost his job because of these unfounded allegations.
He never produced any data to back up his claims.
~ Do I look like a saint to you, Constable? ~ No.
I was expecting to hate you but you look like a decent human being.
Decent human beings get trampled on in this world.
If they're lucky, some of them die horrible deaths.
In her final letter to Dr Plant, your wife begged him to think well of you because you were, quote, "deep down a good man".
~ What did she mean? ~ No idea.
~ Well, why write that to Dr Plant? ~ No idea.
I mean, why would she write that at all to Dr Plant? Why not a letter to you? I suppose, she had nothing to say to me.
Well, she had plenty to say about you, though, didn't she, hmm? I mean, for instance, how you were the light of her world.
She wanted Dr Plant to forgive you.
What had you done? This is my friend, Esther Carlin and her friend on their first holy communion.
She can't be here to speak for herself, cos she died, when she was 15, of mesothelioma.
I'm here to speak for her.
See, you've got a new job, Doctor.
Highly salaried Chief Medical Officer for a company whose name I'm not allowed to mention because they're highly litigious.
Is that what your wife wanted you to be forgiven for? Because you sided with your new employer against the people whose health you were paid to protect? And when you're in Switzerland with your new job and your new wife, breathing in the Alpine air, you can forget all about the people of Easterhope, riddled with disease, and the dead woman who just wanted to turn you back into a decent human being.
The woman that you denounced as "being unfit to practise medicine!" Have you any idea how bloody tedious it is to be married to a saint? Andrew.
Can you guess where Esther lived? Can you guess who her friend is? That's me we breathed the air together.
Did you hate your wife, Dr Cullen? For being a better doctor than you, for being a better human being? For being rich?! Or was it just that she still believed in the things that you used to believe in? Like, erm, healing the sick helping the poor? Will you help me? ~ Did you ever tell her that you hated her? ~ Yes.
Just before the night of the proposed meeting, perhaps? The night you went to "calm her down".
The meeting that you had no intention of going to.
You had to go, didn't you? And it wasn't to help your distressed wife.
You went because she told you about the Inler letter.
You told Miss Zweig and Miss Zweig told you to go and get it at all costs! This has absolutely If you don't like it, you don't have to be here.
Where is it where is it?! Andrew .
.
you're you're better than those people.
You don't have to do what they want you to do.
You don't need their jobs in Switzerland.
Why, because I've got your money!? I don't want your money, I don't want to waste my life the way that you've wasted yours .
.
and I don't want you! I know that, Andrew.
I accepted that a while ago.
I just want you to remember who you used to be.
There's always hope.
Hope, you stupid woman?! You'll be dead in two years! What have you got to live for? Nothing! What are you doing, waiting for your wheelchair to arrive? She was wrong about me Inspector Gently.
From start to finish.
I'm not a good man, never was.
Not deep down, nor anywhere else.
But not being a good man isn't a crime, as far as I'm aware, so have you finished with me? Was there anything more? Yes, one moment.
This is Malcolm, from Easterhope.
We watched the moon landing together, didn't we, Malcolm? Malcolm has mesothelioma, which, as you well know, you can only get from inhaling asbestos, which is what he did every day of his life until Dennigs Linings closed down.
I can't prove this, of course, but I just wanted you to see what you've done.
Well, may we go, Inspector? Yes.
My name is Geoffrey Inler.
I have some information for you.
I've been asked to see the ACC this afternoon.
To discuss you.
Me?! What now? I haven't done anything.
You must've done something, John.
They're making you up to Inspector.
Eh? Give over! Whoo! Hm.
This is exactly how you found her, is it? ~ You haven't moved anything? ~ No, sir.
Thanks.
How did you find her? We stopped to look at the Hillman parked at a funny angle.
Somebody's given her a whack.
Unless she took a tumble.
Car keys.
Let's take a look.
The locals could have done this, you know.
I was fast asleep.
She's topped herself.
What are we supposed to do about it? Big bruise on the side of her face, John.
Keys.
She's a GP.
Dr Valerie Cullen.
And the address of her surgery.
Is there a note? Nah, there's nothing.
Let's leave it for Forensics.
Dr Cullen isn't here.
I can put you on Dr Plant's list.
I don't want Plant, I want her! Well, you cannot have her because we don't know where she is.
~ Excuse me? ~ Well, I'll come back when you find out.
~ Yes? ~ We'd like to talk to somebody about Dr Cullen, please.
Give me strength! ~ Her surgery's cancelled.
We don't know where she is.
~ We do.
What a terrible waste.
You don't seem that surprised, Dr Plant.
Valerie suffered terribly from depression.
Awful mood swings.
We just couldn't find a way to control it medically, so she lived with it, I thought, successfully.
But Er I know she did find it oppressive thinking about what the future held.
I'm sorry? About 18 months ago, we found that she had an extremely nasty condition called motor neurone disease.
Is that where you go all jerky, like a spastic? No, you're probably confusing it with multiple sclerosis.
Right.
Was she married, Dr Plant? Yes.
Andrew Cullen.
~ Also a doctor.
~ Here? No.
No, Andrew works for the Factories Safety Board.
~ I'll get you his address.
~ Thank you.
I should perhaps tell you that he and Valerie have been living separately for over a year now.
Nobody here knows that, except me.
Did she mention suicide? No.
I mean, did she EVER mention suicide to you, Dr Plant? Yes, once.
After she was diagnosed? No, it was after that.
When her marriage broke down.
Why did it break down? I think you should ask her husband that question.
You all right, guv? Yeah.
Yeah, I'm just thinking about Valerie Cullen.
You can understand why she did it.
Husband might be relieved.
Who knows? I hate this part of the job, me.
Oh, yeah, me, too.
They're saying Dr Cullen's not here, ring in and make an appointment.
It's the police, Vera.
She's looking in his diary.
Have there been any calls for Dr Cullen today? One from his wife's surgery about two hours ago.
~ Did he take that call? ~ Aye, when I told him it wasn't his wife.
~ We always had to tell her he was out.
~ What's he like? If he was made out of chocolate, he'd eat himself.
Right.
Found him for you.
Here's a surprise.
Somebody telephones you to say that your suicidal wife didn't turn up for work, so you take yourself out for lunch.
I bet that ruined his spaghetti.
~ Dr Cullen? ~ What's happened? I'm afraid it's your wife.
Very sorry to have to tell you she's been found dead.
Yes.
That's Valerie.
There's no toxicology report as yet.
But there are traces of barbiturate in the syringe that we found next to her.
Plus she's got this large bruise on the side of her face and two loose teeth on the same side.
Do you know anything about that? No.
I haven't spoken to her for weeks.
Did she leave a note? No.
Not on her.
You were separated? She left me over a year ago.
Where was she living? I-I never went.
I didn't ask you that.
She was renting a little two up, two down.
Place called Easterhope.
What made her do it, do you think? Sergeant, I have been expecting this since the first day I met Valerie.
She just couldn't cope with life.
Why did she leave you? The marriage was a failure.
We'd let it drag on.
Dr Cullen, do you mind if I ask who your lunch companion was? Anna Zweig.
She's a work colleague, nothing more, nothing less.
Zweig.
Local lass, is she(?) Swiss.
Can I please get out of here? Would you just write down your wife's address, please? Guv, are you seriously looking at something apart from suicide? Well, two loose teeth in her mouth.
How do we know that somebody didn't thump her unconscious and then inject her afterwards? ~ A lot of doctors in this story, John.
~ Yeah, but Look, she had a failed marriage, right.
She had this toffee-nosed git for a husband, she was depressed and she had this motor-racing disease thing.
Being told that you're ill doesn't necessarily mean you want to kill yourself.
And she couldn't cope with life to start with.
~ He says.
~ Yeah, all right, he said.
But who knows what was going on inside her head? Well, I'd like to know.
All right.
All right, I'll look into it.
~ You asked for me, sir? ~ Rachel.
I'm buying John a drink this evening to celebrate his promotion to Inspector.
~ Oh, congratulations, Sarge.
~ Thank you very much.
Inspector.
Not before time.
So, join us.
~ Oh, well, I think I'm ~ Oh, no.
She wouldn't want to.
Of course she would.
So, Rachel, this means I'll be needing a new sergeant.
She's not a sergeant.
Ever hear of sergeants' exams, John? You're taking your exam? Next month.
Mr Gently suggested it.
We don't need a uniformed sergeant in here.
No, but we will be needing a detective sergeant to replace you, won't we? So, Rachel, how do you feel about joining us in CID? Guv, what is the point in training them up, right? They just go off and have bairns.
What's? That's why we don't have any female detectives! Well, then, maybe it's time that we did, eh? ~ Anyway, think about it, Rachel.
~ No! Y-Y-Yes! It's a yes.
Sorry, I-I-I'm saying yes.
Excellent! Well, it's a double celebration, then.
~ 7:30, Town Arms.
~ Great(!) Meanwhile, here's Valerie Cullen's keys, here's her address.
See if you can find out why she killed herself.
Guv, you asked me to do that.
Perfect.
Well, you can do it together, then, can't you? Easterhope.
My friend used to live there when we were growing up.
Really? You had friends? Well, one less now, yeah, because she died when we were 15.
Right.
We're off.
Come on.
(Thank you.
) Assistant Chief Constable's office again, sir.
Bananas are being gone.
"Where's Gently? Why are they still sitting here waiting?" ~ They? ~ They.
Inspector Nunn acknowledges his mistakes in his handling of rape complaints.
They weren't mistakes.
He deliberately ignored evidence.
Bear with me.
And he'll be leaving the constabulary forthwith.
What, sacked on full pension? He should be prosecuted.
I've got a transfer.
I'm joining the Met.
Vice Squad.
So an officer with a proven record of violence to women goes to join the Vice Squad.
Which brings me to the problem of your sergeant.
What problem's that, sir? Any way you look at it, George, there was a vendetta against Inspector Nunn conducted from your office.
But why would you look at it that way, sir? Are you saying it was just a coincidence that these charges were brought against Walter at a time when your sergeant was trying to steal his wife? They're completely separate issues.
Concerted action to discredit a fellow officer, George.
I can't allow Bacchus' promotion to go forward under these circumstances.
John has been held back far too long already.
He makes too many mistakes.
Look at his file.
~ I won't accept it.
~ A bloke shags me wife and you make him Inspector? Where would the justice be in that, sir? Don't you talk to me about justice! You're a borderline criminal yourself! ~ George! ~ I mean it, sir.
This is a resignation issue for me.
Bacchus' promotion goes forward.
Now, let's draw a line under this.
Dennigs has shut down.
I didn't know that.
It's quiet, isn't it? ~ Esther's dad used to work there.
~ Who? ~ Me friend.
~ Oh, yeah.
What'd she die of, again? Cancer.
Gently? Tell Inspector Bacchus if his shadow ever falls across me again, I'll break his back.
I'm not your messenger boy.
There's one from Gemma.
She says goodbye.
She's coming with me to London.
I've forgiven her.
What we looking for? Suicide note would be favourite.
Then I might be able to get George to accept the obvious.
Wait.
Rachel, wait, wait.
Now, this isn't her mess, is it? The place has been turned over.
~ Shall we look for forced entry? ~ Yeah.
Where's the dog? Oh! ~ Have you got a bag? ~ (Yeah.
) "Control to 724.
Are you receiving?" Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah.
Excuse me.
John Bacchus' private line, John Bacchus speaking personally.
"Forensics will be there in about ten minutes.
"Stay in the area, let them in, then come back to HQ.
" Right.
It is mine.
It belongs to the constabulary, actually.
~ It's in my car.
~ Were you an only child, by any chance? Where are you going? Oi! Boo! What are you doing in here? Esther's dad used to come and do the maintenance here on a weekend.
He used to let us come and play.
Bet it was a bit like Disneyland, wasn't it, when you were a little lass? Sort of.
Do you miss her? Yeah.
Come on.
No sign of forced entry.
Somebody's got a key.
Or maybe she did it herself, actually.
Searching for something in a hurry before she left.
Any other prints in her car? No, just hers.
There you go.
Lovely.
Cheers! ~ Cheers.
~ Congratulations, Inspector Bacchus.
Thank you very much.
Inspector Bacchus.
Thank you.
Cheers.
Go on, then.
What did Davenport say about us? I thought he hated me.
Nothing much.
Sang your praises.
~ Like what? ~ Tell you later.
Do you want me to come back in a bit, or? No.
No, nothing.
Look, we're not here to talk about work.
This is a celebration.
Cheers! ~ Cheers.
~ Cheers! Hm! We should search her office, though, at the surgery.
And question her husband, who you both think is dodgy, yeah? He's one of those blokes, isn't he? Can't walk past a mirror without having a little look.
Bit like you.
Huh! So, why are you so sure that she killed herself? Think about it, Rachel, will you? She's got this motor neurone disease, right.
This time next year, she'll be sat in a wheelchair with breakfast dribbling down her chin.
What would you do? I know what I'd do.
Guv, can I just say something? Get used to it, John.
~ What? ~ Working with Rachel.
Right.
Fine.
John? Shut the door.
Just so you know, Walter Nunn got off scot-free.
No reprimand, no charge, no nothing.
He's transferring to London.
Dirty squad.
Yeah.
It's the job you've always wanted, I know.
But he got it and you didn't and it's just something else that you're going to have to get used to.
And there's something else.
Just in case you were getting your hopes up .
.
the marriage is patched up and she's going to London with him.
Goodnight.
Goodnight, John.
Do you want to take a seat? Hello again, Mr Gently.
Morning.
We'd like access to Dr Cullen's surgery, please.
~ First on the left at the end.
It's open.
~ Thank you.
Dr Cullen's already in there.
Hey! Are you looking for summat? Well, um anything that might shed a light on this awful business.
~ Such as? ~ This is our job, actually.
Come on.
~ Did you find anything? ~ No.
~ Do you want me to search him, guv? ~ Are you calling me a liar, Sergeant? Yeah, I am.
I think you're also lying about the Swiss maid you were having lunch with.
Just a colleague! Seemed pretty close to me.
Close? What does that mean? Well, it means she won't need to yodel when she needs you.
Dr Cullen, we think someone paid a visit to your wife's house searching for something.
Any idea who that might've been? ~ Valerie's house? ~ Yeah.
Yeah.
The one you said you'd never been to.
How would I know? ~ Mr Gently, Dr Plant needs to speak urgently.
~ Thank you.
She writes from Easterhope.
Dated two nights ago at 9:00pm.
"Dear Michael.
" Um "You will know by now that I took the coward's way out after all" 'Others will ask, I know, why not a bottle of pills, 'and not this ghastly syringe.
'But you more than anyone know how my illness has already affected' ".
.
My ability to swallow.
"So I've made my choice, even though I hate and fear needles.
"Some doctor I made, eh?" She was actually a wonderful, um She was.
She she had an extraordinary rapport with patients.
Everybody loved her.
Take your time, Dr Plant.
"You know, too, that there were two loves in my life.
" 'Medicine was one.
'Being a doctor was the greatest privilege.
'Serving the poor was the thing that rescued me from a life 'I might otherwise have spent in the selfish pursuit of my own appetites.
'The second great love' " Was Andrew, of course.
"When we met, it was love at first sight for me.
"A genuine coup de foudre.
"He was the light in my world.
"And though we had our differences, "he remains, deep down, a good man, Michael.
"Please believe that.
"For my sake, be a friend to him ".
.
in the days, months and years ahead.
"With gratitude for having known you "and in admiration of you ".
.
I I take my leave.
"Your friend and colleague, Valerie Cullen.
" ~ I think that letter really belongs to me.
~ No.
When I'm sure of the reasons for your wife's suicide, then I'll return this letter to Dr Plant.
It's addressed to him.
Until then, it's evidence in an unexplained death and belongs to the coroner.
Thank you.
Dr Cullen, I'm going to have to trouble you to come in and let us take your fingerprints.
Aye, he really wanted to burn this letter, didn't he? What did she see in a bloke like him? Sometimes people fall for the wrong person, don't they? Right, well, we've got a suicide note.
Are we done? Why? Why did she end her life? I don't know how many more reasons you need, guv.
I honestly don't.
Heidi the Goat Girl.
Yeah, maybe.
Did you see that look in Plant's eyes? Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
If looks could kill, Cullen would be dog meat, wouldn't he? Yeah, no, Plant hates him.
So do I, actually, and I've only just met him.
I think he has that effect on people.
There's more to this.
Her letter was clearly asking Plant to forgive Cullen for something.
I've got some tasty stuff on Dr Andrew Cullen if you want it.
~ Such as? ~ Such as, sir, he's barely a doctor at all.
You wouldn't trust this bloke to take your pulse without breaking your wrist.
Anyway, he was born to dirt-poor parents in Blackpool, unlike his wife Valerie, who, sorry was, an honourable.
~ A what? ~ Well, it means that she's was the daughter of a baronet.
You know, a silver spoon to eat your cornflakes with and all of that.
Private schools, but she turns her back on it all to train as a GP and come and work in the industrial north.
Anyway, they met at medical school, but where Where's all this coming from? Mainly that gobby woman who answers the phone at the Safety Board.
Anyway, he's worked in the same practice as his wife three times.
And the same thing happens every time.
He gets sacked and then she leaves with him out of loyalty.
So eventually, he can't get a job anywhere as a GP, so he ends up as a factory doctor, which is where you end up when you're useless, apparently.
Right.
Well, see, I don't know where any of this gets us.
Deep down.
She said, "Deep down, he's a good man.
" Which implies that he's done something bad.
And don't say, "Heidi the Goat Girl," I'm sick of hearing it.
What's in Easterhope? Why Easterhope? What is in Easterhope for Valerie Cullen? Well, it was nowhere near her practice, so her patients didn't live there.
Show me Easterhope.
Actually, Rachel knows the place much better than I do.
I've got a mountain of paperwork I need to do.
Right.
Let's go.
~ Mr Gently, can I just say something? ~ Get used to it.
~ What? ~ Working with John.
Gently.
"Andrew Cullen's prints, sir.
"Apparently, they're all over the place in his wife's house.
" Thank you.
The whole place depended on the factory that closed.
Do you know them? Yeah.
It's, er ~ It's me best friend's mum and dad.
~ Oh.
I haven't seen them for years.
Do you want to say hello? Yeah.
Yeah.
I've come to say goodbye, John.
Hello, Mrs Carlin.
Rachel? Eeeee! Hey, man! Rachel! Hiya! If you'd have give us half an hour, I would've done the twist with you.
But I'm jiggered after me game of tennis, you know.
Why've you gone in the police? Could you not get a proper job?! Eh, Rachel, he never changes.
This is Chief Inspector George.
He's her boss, so no showing her up.
Mr George.
Pleasure to meet you, Mr Carlin.
What I've got, George, is emphysemia.
Me lungs are shot.
Norman, man, it's not called emphysemia.
It's called emphysema.
Won't matter how they spell it when they put us in the box, Bridgie.
We shouldn't tire him out.
Rachel, this has done more for him than a million doctors.
He gets no company, pet.
Valerie's been good, though.
Who's that? Oh, Valerie.
He likes his Valerie.
She's not his proper doctor, she just calls round.
Ah, like her, me.
She's got a a lovely smile.
She brings that little dog she's got sometimes, doesn't she, Bridgie? Greedy little thing for biscuits.
Ah, George, she says that, but she spoils him rotten every time.
That dog gets more to eat than I do! Suffering hell! That was not the plan.
Yeah, it was.
You've got your lacy knickers on, Gem.
Detectives! Next time, wear your grandma's apple-catchers, then I'll know it's goodbye.
There isn't going to be a next time, John.
I can't do this any more.
Walter's asked me for promises and I've made them.
Well, you've made promises before, Gem.
On the altar.
Hm.
Thanks.
Anyway, you know, he's he's changed.
He's a different man.
Never works nights any more.
Yeah? Says it's time for him to stay home and spend time with me and the kids.
Any plans? Plans? No.
Same.
Same life.
Except I can't, John.
I can't.
I can't live in the dark.
I want to live in the light.
Live with me in the light.
Why did Valerie call round, Norman? Did she examine you? Examine us? No.
Take any blood samples? Why, no.
Million questions, mind.
"What've the doctors told you about your chest? "When did the coughing start?" I says to her, "Valerie, it's not the cough that carries you off, "it's the coffin they carry you off in!" She laughed her head off, didn't she, Bridgie? You would think they were courting, the way he goes on.
"Oh, Dr Tambling's coming this afternoon.
Give me hair a brush!" It's her maiden name, Tambling.
Aye, she's married?! Don't break me heart! Well, I could've told you that, Norman.
She had a wedding ring on, man! Did she Has she never spoken to you about her husband, Norman? Never mentioned him once.
You know why? She didn't want to scare us off! Married women! Man, George, they're the worst! Gem, you wouldn't just go, would you? You wouldn't disappear without saying nowt? ~ Go where? ~ I don't know.
Say if Walter got a job somewhere.
He's got a job.
Yeah, I know, but say if he got another job somewhere else.
Move away, you mean? Yeah.
No.
Why you asking that? Ah, it's no reason, just Gem, don't go, please! I've got to, John.
This was a mistake.
And it's my fault.
I'm going that way, you're going that way.
Don't look back.
What other questions did she ask, Norman? "How long have you lived here? "How long did you work in Owens?" Owen Linings.
It changed its name to Dennigs when it got took over.
Aye, I meant, Dennigs.
Sorry.
Valerie can answer all of this better than us because she wrote everything down.
She only lives 200 yards away.
Bridgie? Norman? I hate to tell you this, but, er Valerie killed herself two nights ago.
Valerie did? Why?! Why do you think she was asking all of those questions? More to the point, what did she do with the answers? She wrote everything down, Bridget said.
So, who might not want those answers made public? Who benefits by her death? Who? ~ Valerie Cullen.
~ Oh.
Him, I suppose.
There's a lot of it, the Tambling inheritance.
Who? Sir Edward Tambling, her father.
Made a lot of money making shoes.
Gave a lot of it to the Conservative Party, naturally.
Knighted in 1958, died in 1959.
Left half-a-million quid to each of his three daughters.
Well, that's a motive for murder, guv.
We've got a suicide note.
I know.
And I can't explain that.
Is there something getting you down? You know what's getting me down.
~ John, stay out of it.
~ No, I can't stay out of it.
Let them sort their marriage.
He hasn't even told her that he's going to London.
Do you know that? He hasn't even told her! She's blind to him.
She thinks, right, that the reason that he's home every night is because he wants to be with the kids all of a sudden.
That's none of your business.
~ I'm going home.
~ No, come on.
Don't be like that.
Here, have another one.
~ You all right? ~ Yeah.
~ It's all right, I can manage.
~ I've got it.
I don't need help! Right.
How much do Safety Board officers pull in these days? I don't think this came out of his wages, do you? Rattle his cage for me, John, will you? Aye, all right.
Hiya! Hey! Have you ever heard of the law of trespass?! Pfft! What? Well, have you? Trespass? Yeah.
Yeah, it's an offence, isn't it? Involving unjustifiable interference.
Is that what you mean? Miss Zweig, we didn't meet properly last time.
I'm Detective Sergeant Bacchus, soon to be Inspector.
This is my governor, Detective Chief Inspector Gently.
Yes, I remember.
Inspector.
Well, Andrew, I can see you're busy, so I'll No please, Miss Zweig, stay.
I can't offer you any tea, I'm afraid.
I have no help today.
Doesn't matter.
We won't be here very long.
Help? Did they not teach you to boil a kettle in Blackpool, eh? Did you meet the other Dr Cullen, Miss Zweig? Er no.
Ah.
I'd show you a picture, but there doesn't seem to be any.
There's one in the drawing room, if you need it.
No, I'm all right, thanks.
And I don't need a photograph to remind me of Valerie.
~ There's a big one of you in Easterhope.
~ I don't rememb I thought you said you'd never been there.
So, how come your prints are all over the place? Yes, I made a mistake when I said that.
I forgot.
~ I-I've been there once.
~ When? Three nights ago.
She rang me, she sounded very depressed.
So I drove over there to try and calm her down.
Did she seem suicidal? Well, was suicide mentioned? I can't remember.
Oh.
I see.
So, then you just forgot about that visit altogether? Do you know of a factory in Easterhope called Dennigs? Yes, I do.
Did you ever visit there as part of your duties ~ for the Factories Safety Board? ~ Several times.
~ Why? ~ Part of my job is to check on the health of the workforce.
~ On behalf of the owners? ~ No, no, for the Safety Board.
~ I'm totally independent of the owners.
~ Oh.
But it's closed now, anyway.
It closed some time ago.
When was that? Four or five years ago.
It closed on December 20, 1965.
Three and a half years ago.
You're very well informed, Miss Zweig.
Inspector, you are a very intelligent man, unlike your sergeant, who only thinks he is, and I think you already asked yourself, "She is Swiss, Dennigs is Swiss, "Oh, my golly, is there a connection?" Is there? I'm on the board of Dennigs' parent company, Silvexpo.
We're a Geneva-based multinational that deals in synthetic fibres.
I see.
And you consider yourself to be completely independent ~ of the owners of Dennigs Linings? ~ Totally.
And you're a chemist, Miss Zweig.
Oh, yes, but I haven't been in a laboratory for years.
I'm Head of Business Affairs these days.
I now dream of extended lunches, instead of extruded plastics.
~ Is that how you met? ~ It's how we met again.
We first met at Badminton Horse Trials.
We have a shared passion.
And how long have you been having an affair with Dr Cullen, Anna? Ah, you see, clever.
~ And when did you stop beating your wife? ~ Hm.
So, then, Dr Cullen, why did your wife go to live in Easterhope, of all places? I've really no idea.
Just a strange coincidence, was it? All right, well Just one more question and then I'll leave you to your, er shared passion.
What were these linings in Easterhope made of? Asbestos.
White asbestos.
Hm.
Till now, the asbestos industry has been regulated by a statute of 1931 which forbade asbestos dust from escaping into the air.
So the workers had to have proper overalls and masks and the place had to had to be properly vent (Bloody hellfire!) Are you all right? Yeah, sorry.
Carry on.
Right.
So, well, the act stated that the place had to be kept clear of Ow! Massive spelk.
Look at that.
It's like a bloody telegraph pole.
Well, have you not got any tweezers? Yeah, they're in me handbag for when I do me eyebrows(!) ~ Right, shall I just come back later, when? ~ No, no.
Just ignore him.
~ Huh! ~ So, these new regulations that are coming in next year will change the rules for places like Dennigs, yes? Well, no.
No, that's the point.
The new regulations are for factories that actually use asbestos.
The 1931 regulations are for factories that actually made asbestos.
Bloody hellfire! I can't get it.
Oh, for God's sake, man! Where is it? Hm? Ready? One, two, three.
Hey, look at that.
She got it! So, Owen Linings, later Dennigs, always did manufacture the stuff, rather than just use it, so they've always been covered by the regulations.
They just chose to ignore them.
So the law was clear.
There should have been strict controls over the amount of asbestos in the air, and there wasn't.
~ Yes.
~ And men like Norman are dying.
So, what's the Factory Safety Board been doing? Well, exactly.
Let's find out.
Guv? I think Rachel should be along.
Yeah, yeah.
Good idea.
Go on, then.
Won't kill you.
Thanks.
~ Hello.
~ Hello.
We'd like to speak to Mr and Mrs Carlin, please.
Mr Carlin's very poorly, I'm afraid, and Mrs Carlin's gone out.
She has a night out once a week.
It is important.
She always writes it down, where she's going.
~ Does she do this every week, does she? ~ Aye.
And every few months, she goes away altogether for a proper rest.
~ The company sends a car for her.
~ Company? Silvexpo, they're called.
They pay for me, as well.
Anyway, you'll find her there today.
She loves her housey, does Bridgie.
~ Thanks a lot.
~ Thank you.
~ 'Bye.
Seven and four, 74.
~ Two fat ladies, 88.
~ House! House called.
It's a new card and a new game.
Eyes down for your first number.
And it is on its own, number six.
Four and seven, 47.
Five and three, 53.
I thought for a minute you'd come to tell us he was dead.
A bit of us will be glad.
You must think I've got a heart of stone.
No, Bridgie.
I had three year of it when Esther got her cancer.
Now I've had two and a half year with Norman.
What kind of cancer did your daughter have, Bridget? It was called, um It's a long word.
Um I have to say it in bits, like a bairn.
Meso-thelioma.
It's a death you wouldn't put on your worst enemy.
Bridget, how come Silvexpo gave you days out and holidays? Well, they come offering money, but I couldn't take the money, it felt wrong.
They said, "We want to help you.
" What'd she call it? It was in Latin.
~ Ex gratia payment? ~ Yeah.
And she saw there was nothing they could do for Norman, but she could see I was tired out, so she suggested holidays now and then.
Who's the she? Foreign lass.
Um ~ Anna Zweig? ~ (Aye.
) Did she ask you to sign something first? Saying that you would never claim against them for Norman's emphysema? No.
No, not that.
Because the Factory Board doctor had already had a look at Norman and says the emphysema's got nothing to do with the dust.
And then he comes back with a letter for me to read saying Norman had smoked tabs for 30 year, which was the truth, and that's what's knackered his lungs.
And you accepted that? He's a doctor.
He's supposed to know.
He's, like, more high up than your own doctor.
Very well spoken.
Lovely-looking man.
~ Dr Cullen? ~ Aye, that's him.
Was it him that offered the money, the, er ex gratia payment? No, no, that come after from the Swiss lass.
~ She offered money if we signed about Esther.
~ Esther? What did you have to sign about Esther for? Well, it was to say she'd never worked in Dennigs and I kept me house clean and cleaned me windows and always washed Norman's overalls, and all that malarkey.
Course, I never knew then what Valerie told us later.
You can only get Esther's cancer off asbestos.
No other way.
Esther died when she was 15.
She couldn't possibly have worked for Dennigs.
No, no, no.
She, er she played there.
She played in the factory? A lot of bairns did.
She lived all her life over the road from it.
It was in the air, wasn't it, Rachel? Er They used to just dump piles of the stuff all over the place.
Me and Esther, we used to play this game called Snow White.
And whenever we came across a pile of the stuff .
.
we used to rub it into each other's faces.
You know, to make us white.
She was, though .
.
the fairest of them all.
Eee! The lads were mad for her.
She was so bonny! But she got the cancer and you didn't, Rachel.
~ I'm sorry, pet.
~ It's all right, Bridgie.
Did Valerie say how she knew this about asbestos, Bridget? She never said.
But she was positive, she said.
When did she first tell you this? Just a couple of weeks ago.
She wanted to have a meeting for the whole town.
She called it and then she cancelled it again.
When was this? Two days before she died.
She said Dr Cullen would be there.
She probably shouldn't be on this now, guv.
I'm not going to take her off it, not unless she asks.
Do you think she will? Huh! Not a chance.
What made Valerie Cullen so sure of the link between asbestos and mesothelioma? Worked it out from the questions she was asking in Easterhope? Maybe.
She wasn't taking any tissue samples, so Do you think that's why she called the meeting? To let people know what she'd found out? Why would she want Cullen there? All he'd say is, "You shouldn't smoke tabs.
" She calls a meeting.
Cullen says that he went to see her because she was distressed.
She cancels the meeting, again.
36 hours later, she's dead.
I don't believe him when he says that he went there to calm her down.
What was he looking for in her surgery? And why was her house searched? Do you need me any more today, guv? No.
But thank you.
You did very well today, Rachel.
Thank you.
I'll, um I'll see you tomorrow, then.
If you'd like me help on this case, I'd Well, I'd like to give it.
Thank you.
Well, I think I might push off home meself.
She hasn't gone home, John.
She's headed straight for the library.
~ Why? ~ Because it's what I would've done if I was her.
I would want to find out everything there was to know about mesothelioma.
Wouldn't you? See you tomorrow.
About time.
Come on.
Hey! Whoa, whoa! Shit! The moon's still a virgin.
Do you want to see it, Mr? Yeah.
Malcolm, where's your manners? There's a guest.
Hello.
Late night, John? Guv, you've got me up and working at six o'clock in the morning, I'm allowed to yawn.
Onto that and over there? Yeah, not bad.
Whatever it is, it isn't here, or it was and they found it.
I met a family here last night, John.
Another kid with mesothelioma.
Do you know, Silvexpo offered them 500 quid to waive all rights to complain? They're getting away with murder here, John.
Guv, why don't we bring them in and shout at them for a bit? She's as hard as nails but he's not.
~ He's not that clever either.
~ Doesn't have to be.
We'll have him in for questioning, he'll bring a lawyer Well, then, we'll just have to be cleverer than them.
Trust me, guv, I'm an Inspector.
Not yet you're not.
Silvexpo has no responsibility for Dennigs! Look, no parent company has any responsibility for the actions of the firms it takes over.
~ Huh! ~ Look, I'm sorry you don't like that but that is the law.
Andrew, please wait for the lawyers.
Where are they? And in any event, Dennigs itself was not responsible for these illnesses.
You can't be responsible legally for that which you are unaware of.
Again, that is the law, as I keep telling you! When did you start dishing out free legal advice, instead of syringing people's ears? You sound like somebody who works for Silvexpo rather than somebody who's paid to look after the health of the workers.
What would your wife think about that, I wonder? Please say no more, Andrew.
Where are our lawyers? We asked for our lawyers to be here, where are they? Somebody told them that we were in Newcastle so I think they're on the train now.
Yes, an administrative error, they'll be here any minute.
You brought us here under false pretences.
You said it was to investigate the death of Valerie but all you talk about is Silvexpo.
There is no connection.
Why are we here all these hours? Valerie Cullen had something that you needed.
Now, I think that she believed that Silvexpo and Dennigs knew a lot more about the deadly effects of asbestos.
She called a meeting, you were expected to attend, Dr Cullen.
She told people that you had more to say about that - what was it? My wife's state of mind was confused.
I had nothing new to say.
I know nothing about any meeting.
Then why did she kill herself the following night? Why? What passed between you when you went to her house? I told you, I simply went to calm her down.
~ And was she calm when you left? ~ Perfectly.
Did she have a bruise on her face? Not that I recall.
I think you're both liars.
And that Miss Zweig is why you've been here "all these hours".
Hey, hey! Johnit's all right.
I represent Silvexpo and its employees.
Miss Zweig and Dr Cullen are leaving with us now or you'll be facing a charge of false imprisonment.
Surely Dr Cullen isn't an employee of Silvexpo? No.
I represent Dr Cullen as a private individual in this matter Of course you do.
.
.
he comes with us too.
I don't know how you do things north of Watford but you're about to be reminded that the writ of English law runs all the way to Hadrian's Wall and beyond.
Miss Zweig.
Doctor.
He was posh, wasn't he? Yeah, posher than the Queen.
Posh enough to lose us our jobs, John.
Ah well, I wasn't cut out to be Inspector.
I've come up against corporate crime before, John, in London.
It's like taking on the government - you probably lose.
In fact, you do lose.
These are the worst bastards you'll ever come across in your life! So what does that mean? Well for me, it means it's worth the risk.
I can go today on two thirds of my salary.
But for you it means No no, I want to find out who is responsible for giving Esther Carlin a cancer that gave her a vile death.
And I want to find out why Valerie Cullen killed herself.
If we can't ask those questions, then what's the bloody point in being a policeman? It's a pleasure to serve with you, John.
~ Guv.
~ What? You're not going anywhere, are you, guv? Tomorrow or any other day? Me? I'm not going anywhere.
I wouldn't bank on that, after today's antics.
This woman, Valerie Cullen, are you satisfied it was suicide? No, I'm not.
I think it's possible that she was murdered to cover up the fact that an entire community was poisoned by fat cat businessmen who think that their workers and their workers' children are disposable items to be entered into the column marked "Dead Loss" and I'm not having it! ~ Can you prove any of that? ~ No.
~ Case closed.
I will need to speak to Andrew Cullen again.
He's hiding something that he can't live with.
You'll never get him in a room again without ten lawyers round him.
And can I just make one more point, George? Those lawyers are cleverer than me, they're miles cleverer than him and they might even be cleverer than you.
Case closed! The Coroner's ready to release the woman's body.
They want her buried and frankly, so do I.
Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice.
Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, would mark iniquities.
Lord, who shall endure it? Ah, well, at least he turned up just.
~ Up all night packing, I expect.
~ What's that? He's been made senior medical officer for Silvexpo.
He's moving to Switzerland.
Struth! For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him plentiful redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May they rest in peace.
Amen.
Is that it? Does the truth get buried down there with her? We've missed something here, John.
I'm going to start again.
Let's start with Valerie's office.
Love, love, love! Don't you think this is a bit pointless? I agree with you but nobody's told me to stop cleaning her room.
Come back later, go on.
You're all right.
It's not as pointless as this, mind If you wanted to hide something from your husband, ~ where would you put it? ~ Haven't got a husband.
Well, think like a woman, then.
Guv, I haven't had time to have a cup of tea this morning, let alone have a sex change operation.
~ Under his nose John! ~ What? ~ Under his nose.
February 1962, signed by G Inler, Chief Medical Officer, Northern Region, Factory Safety Board.
Subject "Asbestos and Mesothelioma".
1962, they knew it was killing people, you just had to breathe in the air.
Kids like Esther.
Valerie confronted Cullen with it and he told his friend Anna.
~ Nice.
~ I thought they were all supposed to be safety checks? The funeral's jiggered him.
We won't stay long, Bridget, I promise.
Norman, Norman, you've got company.
How, George, what fettle? Canny fettle, Norman, no bother.
Listen to him, we'll get you talking Pitmatic before were finished.
Are you all right, bonny lad? Ah, yeah, fit as a lop there, Mr Carlin.
Norman, we wanted to talk to you about the Factories Safety Board.
~ Those sods? ~ What happened when there was an inspection? They were surprise visits, weren't they? The only surprise was they bothered to come at all.
No, they were never a surprise.
The machines were turned off two hours before they come.
We cleaned the place.
The inspector comes in, has a look, puts his meter in the middle of the floor to measure the dust in the air.
Then he's took off to Durham for a slap-up dinner while I put a big polythene bag over his meter.
~ You did? ~ George, it was my job .
.
and we didn't know what was in the air.
All we knew was bloody health and safety bloody nuisances! If his meter said "shut the line down," they'd shut the line down and we'd get no bonus that week because we won't hit our targets.
The bonus is half your pay packet.
Then what? Ten minutes before he gets back we have another sweep up and I take the bag off his meter.
In he comes, drunk as a monkey, "Oh, everything's hunky dory here, "it's a pass, see you next time.
" And off he goes home with his little kickback in his pocket.
And we get on with it, breathing in the air.
You think they knew it caused Esther's cancer, George? Yes, they knew three or four years before it was closed down.
They were told and they ignored it.
That's the time Esther died.
But, George, Esther's the only one I know of that got that cancer.
Was it not just bad luck? No, it wasn't bad luck, Bridget and she wasn't the only one either.
It can take 50 years for it to reveal itself.
And I know of at least one other and there will be more as the years go by.
And that is what Silvexpo is so keen to keep a lid on.
George, tell us, what's the working man worth to these people? They only need us when there's a war on - you know that, George.
It's the same old racket everywhere you look.
That's what the lass Valerie found out in the end.
She was a lovely lass, but she was naive and that's what's put her in the ground today .
.
naivety! You can not beat these people, man, George.
I can try, Norman.
George, don't let them put you in the ground.
Thank you very much.
Mr Inler? Mr Inler I'm DCI Gently, this is DS Bacchus.
It's about a letter that you wrote to the owners of Dennigs Linings, seven years ago.
I've nothing to say.
We've got the letter, Mr Inler, so there's no use denying it.
Ernie, would you get the drinks in, please? Thank you.
I'm not denying it, though, am I? It's just not my problem any more - I told Valerie that.
She's passed this to you, did she? Listen, it is your problem if you're a bloke lying on your back coughing your guts up every night.
And it's your problem if you've already lost a daughter to mesothelioma.
You let these people down, Mr Inler.
Gentlemen, writing that letter cost me my career, a career in protecting the safety of others.
A career I loved, of which I was proud.
Now, I would just like to hang onto my pension, if it's all the same to you? Your letter refers to "copious data" supporting your allegations.
What happened to that data after you were sacked? I left it with the Board, of course.
What did they do with it? Passed it over to the Swiss, I imagine, because nothing has ever been made public.
Did you keep a copy? Did you keep a copy? Until my severance and pension arrangements were agreed, yes.
Do I look like a complete fool? Then what? And then I signed a confidentiality agreement with Silvexpo and then I burned the files in my garden.
Valerie Cullen came to you asking for help, didn't she? Yes, I gave her a copy of my letter to Silvexpo.
~ Then, no doubt, you were visited by Silvexpo's lawyers.
~ Yes.
Did they threaten you? Oh, yes but I can stick up for myself.
Valerie Cullen couldn't, I'm afraid.
She killed herself.
I warned her.
I told her the persecution would never stop.
~ Persecution? ~ You didn't know? They were trying to have her struck off, "unfit to practise medicine" and she had nobody in her corner.
~ Oh ~ Would you like one? ~ No.
Come on, if you're going to join CID.
~ Cheers.
~ Cheers.
~ Oh, I better not.
I'll get the whirling pits.
~ Eh? You know, when you feel like you're falling backwards through the floor and the ceiling spins round.
Yeah, I may be about to experience the career equivalent, actually.
I've got Andrew Cullen and half a dozen fancy lawyers, most of them Swiss, coming to town tomorrow - at my own insistence and against all sensible advice and I haven't got anything new to say to any of them.
Why are you doing it? Because why am I a policeman, Rachel? ~ Can you win? ~ Probably not.
Unless I can get Andrew Cullen to crack, they'll wipe the floor with me.
I haven't got the proof I need.
This, to my mind, is evidence of malpractice but it doesn't actually prove anything.
Geoffrey Inler says he burned the proof seven years ago.
Do you believe him? No, I don't.
It's his pension protection plan but if he handed it over to us, Silvexpo would sue him to death in a Swiss court.
What did you decide, Rachel? You don't miss much, Sir.
There is a way of finding out if you've got it, a lung biopsy.
There's no cure for it, anyway, so what's the point in knowing? Are you afraid? Petrified.
I'm not sure whether I can live with the uncertainty.
Something inside me that, one day, might just kill me.
You'll find a way, believe me.
MUSIC: "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield There's something happening here What it is ain't exactly clear There's a man with a gun over there Telling me I've got to beware I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound? Everybody look what's going down There's battle lines being drawn Nobody's right if everybody's wrong Young people speaking their mind You all right? You sure about this? Yeah, positive.
I think it's time we stop Hey, what's that sound Everybody look what's going down.
Now then, Dr Cullen, your wife injected herself with a lethal dose of barbiturates on the evening of July the 18th.
Now, I'm trying to find out what part in her suicide might have been played by yourself and by Silvexpo Holdings.
Sir, we need to firmly establish that Excuse me, excuse me.
Now, the Assistant Chief Constable is here to represent the constabulary, he's not a judge, this is not a trial, it's an interview and I'm conducting it.
Your wife called a public meeting in Easterhope to discuss the source of various illnesses.
Some of the people who said they intended to go were told that you were expected to attend, in your capacity as Medical Officer for the Factory Safety Board.
No, I've already told you, I know nothing about that.
Why would your wife lie to them? She told them that you had something "new" to say about Silvexpo.
I'm sorry, am I not supposed to say the word "Silvexpo"? Silvexpo are extremely litigious when it comes to protecting its reputation.
Neither your job nor your rank offers you any special protection at all from the laws of libel.
Have you ever heard the name Geoffrey Inler? ~ No.
~ No? Then you won't have seen the letter that he wrote to the board of Silvexpo? In this letter, dated the 11th of February 1962, Geoffrey Inler, in his capacity as the Chief Regional Medical Officer for the Factory Safety Board, outlines his argument for a causal link between asbestos and mesothelioma.
~ May we have a minute to study this? ~ Please.
It seems Mr Inler lost his job because of these unfounded allegations.
He never produced any data to back up his claims.
~ Do I look like a saint to you, Constable? ~ No.
I was expecting to hate you but you look like a decent human being.
Decent human beings get trampled on in this world.
If they're lucky, some of them die horrible deaths.
In her final letter to Dr Plant, your wife begged him to think well of you because you were, quote, "deep down a good man".
~ What did she mean? ~ No idea.
~ Well, why write that to Dr Plant? ~ No idea.
I mean, why would she write that at all to Dr Plant? Why not a letter to you? I suppose, she had nothing to say to me.
Well, she had plenty to say about you, though, didn't she, hmm? I mean, for instance, how you were the light of her world.
She wanted Dr Plant to forgive you.
What had you done? This is my friend, Esther Carlin and her friend on their first holy communion.
She can't be here to speak for herself, cos she died, when she was 15, of mesothelioma.
I'm here to speak for her.
See, you've got a new job, Doctor.
Highly salaried Chief Medical Officer for a company whose name I'm not allowed to mention because they're highly litigious.
Is that what your wife wanted you to be forgiven for? Because you sided with your new employer against the people whose health you were paid to protect? And when you're in Switzerland with your new job and your new wife, breathing in the Alpine air, you can forget all about the people of Easterhope, riddled with disease, and the dead woman who just wanted to turn you back into a decent human being.
The woman that you denounced as "being unfit to practise medicine!" Have you any idea how bloody tedious it is to be married to a saint? Andrew.
Can you guess where Esther lived? Can you guess who her friend is? That's me we breathed the air together.
Did you hate your wife, Dr Cullen? For being a better doctor than you, for being a better human being? For being rich?! Or was it just that she still believed in the things that you used to believe in? Like, erm, healing the sick helping the poor? Will you help me? ~ Did you ever tell her that you hated her? ~ Yes.
Just before the night of the proposed meeting, perhaps? The night you went to "calm her down".
The meeting that you had no intention of going to.
You had to go, didn't you? And it wasn't to help your distressed wife.
You went because she told you about the Inler letter.
You told Miss Zweig and Miss Zweig told you to go and get it at all costs! This has absolutely If you don't like it, you don't have to be here.
Where is it where is it?! Andrew .
.
you're you're better than those people.
You don't have to do what they want you to do.
You don't need their jobs in Switzerland.
Why, because I've got your money!? I don't want your money, I don't want to waste my life the way that you've wasted yours .
.
and I don't want you! I know that, Andrew.
I accepted that a while ago.
I just want you to remember who you used to be.
There's always hope.
Hope, you stupid woman?! You'll be dead in two years! What have you got to live for? Nothing! What are you doing, waiting for your wheelchair to arrive? She was wrong about me Inspector Gently.
From start to finish.
I'm not a good man, never was.
Not deep down, nor anywhere else.
But not being a good man isn't a crime, as far as I'm aware, so have you finished with me? Was there anything more? Yes, one moment.
This is Malcolm, from Easterhope.
We watched the moon landing together, didn't we, Malcolm? Malcolm has mesothelioma, which, as you well know, you can only get from inhaling asbestos, which is what he did every day of his life until Dennigs Linings closed down.
I can't prove this, of course, but I just wanted you to see what you've done.
Well, may we go, Inspector? Yes.
My name is Geoffrey Inler.
I have some information for you.