Lewis (2007) s07e05 Episode Script

(CHOIR SINGING) Who can remember what we learnt last lesson about chain reactions? It's like dominoes, sir.
That's right.
It's like dominoes.
When just one molecule is activated, it can cause a reaction, which in turn releases unstable molecules.
They then trigger further reactions.
And so the chain gathers momentum.
See how it's branching and growing as it feeds itself.
L is the angular momentum quantum number.
(MUTTERS) L tells you the type and shape of Tells you the type of the orbitals.
L is the magnetic quantum number Quantum number .
.
tells you where the orbitals are along the X or Y Good luck, mate.
Home? Home.
Today, we're gonna take a look at the first chain reaction ever discovered.
Hydrogen and chlorine.
All you need to trigger this is UV light, which you get by burning magnesium.
But, once the chain is in motion it's unstoppable.
Chrome every time, sir.
James.
The erflat's looking a bit tired.
So this is what you're doing with your day off.
Sprucing up the bachelor pad.
I'm not sprucing.
'Marine Dream Blue'.
Nice.
Look, haven't you got somewhere else to be? I don't remember you booking the day off.
Community Partnership seminar, Enjoy.
(BIRDSONG) I wasn't sure what you'd want to do.
The garage said they could fix it - Just get rid of it.
The interview isn't that bad, as long as you know your chemistry.
Make sure you do some mock interviews with Mr Drew, if you do decide to apply.
They asked me all the same stuff.
Glad to be of service.
Anyone else? Is it loads more work than A-level? Well, it's a big step up, obviously.
But it's all rightmost of the time.
Good.
Well, I think we should give Adam a round of applause to say thank you for coming back to talk to us.
That was good.
Erin had this bean plant.
She was supposed to grow it over the holidays and measure it every day.
Mum carried on watering it for weeks afterwards, and I just kept thinking, 'How is this thing still alive?' 'How is it possible that this stupid little plant can keep on living and yet' We both realise how difficult this must be.
But do you feel able to let Richard respond? Rachel I need you to know that your sister, and what I did, will stay with me forever.
If I could do anything to change what happened All you had to do was think, 'I've had a nice boozy lunch.
Maybe I won't get in my car, this afternoon.
' How hard is that? I know I can't expect forgiveness but prison has strengthened my faith, and as part of my recovery - YOUR recovery! Of course.
That's what this is about.
Rachel, please.
Forget it.
Three years.
Out in one.
It's a joke.
You were right, OK? I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
I know you don't want to hear it, but I think that was brave.
It was selfish.
Things will get easier, I promise.
With God's help.
LEWIS: Yeah, I'm not sure that I've got it right.
HATHAWAY: No, that sounds fine.
As long as the juices run clear, you're OK.
Anything else? Yeah, then leave it on a hot dish for 20 minutes to relax.
Thanks.
Just as long as one of us is relaxed.
(DOORBELL) Ahwish me luck.
Good luck.
(ENGINE STARTS AND REVS) (CLATTERING) Beautiful place this, isn't it? What we got? - Deceased is a Professor Richard Seager, biochemist, fellow of Benison College.
He was released from prison yesterday after serving a year for death by dangerous driving.
No signs of a break-in.
Body was discovered by his wife, the Reverend Martha Seager, crushed under his own car.
Bloody hell.
I know.
You do read about these freak accidents, don't you? No, sir, this is not an accident.
The car must have accelerated pretty hard to churn up this much gravel.
I can't get to them properly, but the first thing I'm seeing is multiple flaying injuries, where the wheels have taken the skin away.
Suggests he was knocked down, then driven back over several times.
Yeah, all right, all right.
I can see it wasn't an accident.
Just giving humanity the benefit of the doubt for once.
She left here the first time at around eight, if that's any use.
Sorry, who left at eight? Rachel Cliff.
The girl who killed my husband.
Erin Cliff was the young girl involved in the fatal road accident with Professor Seager.
Rachel was Erin's sister.
And the Jag outside is the same car that killed Erin? Yes.
It was my fault.
Rachel and her mother were on their own and I thought I could help.
What do you mean? I persuaded her to meet Richard.
I thought it would be good, but she left here angrier than ever.
She must have taken the keys from the halland come back.
Can you take us through what happened in between Rachel leaving here and you finding Richard's body this morning? We had an early night.
He was exhausted.
Then, this morning, when I took him his tea in bed, he wasn't there.
I thought he must be pottering in the garden .
.
and then I found him.
How was your relationship with your husband? Good.
We were happy.
But you didn't realise he wasn't in bed until you took him his cup of tea.
So you weren't sleeping in the same room? Well, prison makes things difficult.
He needed some time to adjust, so he slept in the spare room.
And where did you sleep last night? The main bedroom.
The one in the front, with the window open? That's right.
And you didn't hear anything? No, not a thing.
Some people do sleep very deeply.
So deeply they miss a violent murder going on outside their window? How's it looking, Laura? Like a man under a car, at the moment.
I won't be able to judge lividity till we get him out from under there, but there's early rigor mortis in the neck and jaw.
So dead maybe five, six hours? There's something else, though.
Some small scratchings in the body work, with what seems to be the same colour paint at the end of his keys.
It's a number.
It looks like Seager wrote that, as he was dying.
Would that be possible? Depending on his injuries, it might have been possible.
Why 500? Look at all these search results for him.
He was quite famous, for a scientist.
What did he discover? It seems to be more about his promotion of the idea of Intelligent Design, that the complexity of the universe is due to an intelligent creator We know what it is, Sergeant.
Sorry.
Anyway, Seager was a leading proponent.
He ran a lecture course, arguing that God and science aren't mutually exclusive.
I'm sorry I missed it.
Still, it explains why he was married to a vicar.
She claims she slept through the whole thing.
You're not convinced? Not for a minute.
How could anybody sleep through that kind of racket? Well, if you find out, do let me know.
What's she mean by that? I think she's implying you're a snorer.
Val always said it was more of a snuffling.
Maybe she was being kind.
It's strange, you know? After all these years.
Good strange? Yeah.
Really good strange.
So you should've ended up with something that looks like this, with the intermolecular hydrogen bonding shown by the dashed lines.
Was everyone all right with that? Any problems at all? Adam, do you want to hang on for 10 minutes at the end? Right, let's move on to disulphide linkages and other covalent bonds.
There you go.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Rachel Cliff? Yeah? DI Lewis, DS Hathaway, Oxfordshire Police.
Could we have a word? What about? I'm her mother.
We understand you've had dealings with Professor Richard Seager.
'Dealings'? I've not heard it called that before.
He killed my daughter, if that's what you mean.
He was found murdered at home, this morning.
Oh, there you go.
Maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket later.
Mum.
Under the circumstances, we do need to ask you some questions.
Ask away.
In particular, Rachel, we need to speak to you about your contact with the professor last night.
I'm sorry.
You promised me.
You promised me you wouldn't go around there.
Adam said he wouldn't let you go.
Martha thought it might help.
Oh, well, if Martha thought Rachel, is there somewhere we can talk in private? You'd think it'd be enough, them taking my little girl.
But then they had to try and take Rachel too - phone calls and letters, and 'come to our church', 'come to our house' And now Now we've got the police round here, asking questions.
If you and your daughter would be willing to give us DNA samples and prints down at the station Fine.
Whatever.
Thanks.
It would also be helpful to know where you were in the small hours, this morning? I was reading Heat magazine in the waiting room of A&E.
I managed to twist this when I was putting the bins out.
(PHONE RINGS) Excuse me.
Lyn? Everything OK? When was this? It was weird.
It was like, she was his wife, so I hated her.
But it also felt like she understood.
Like I could say things to her that I couldn't say to my mum.
So tell me about last night.
I finally realised it was all an act.
She was just pretending to be nice so I'd forgive her husband.
She said that you were really upset when you left.
Where did you go after? Went back to my boyfriend's.
Got trashed.
Where were you during the night? Still in my boyfriend's room in town.
Adam Tibitt.
He's a first year at Benison College.
We went to school together.
Can anyone else confirm that you were there all night? Why? What's she been saying? We just need to establish your whereabouts.
She thinks I killed him, doesn't she? Well, you know what? I wish I had.
Hang on a minute.
Everything all right? I I just need a word.
Sounds ominous.
That's the sort of thing you say to your suspects.
Yeah, well, I don't usually offer these to my suspects.
Come on.
My old granny used to pay me in giant chocolate biscuits for mowing her lawn.
Sounds like an excellent trade-off.
It wasn't bad.
I stayed with her almost every year.
Little bungalow out at Whitley Bay.
Do you know when I last saw my grandson? Christmas.
For a day-and-a-half.
Took him a toy fire engine that he already had.
Take a week off.
Go up there.
Apparently he's been in hospital the last three days.
Lyn just phoned me a couple of minutes ago.
Is he all right? Well, not in hospital.
Back home, running riot, according to his mam.
The thing is she didn't even call me until the whole thing was sorted.
Didn't want to worry me.
I don't even feel part of my own family any more.
Anyway, that's it now.
I've been going on about retiring for ages.
Time I chucked it in.
Put my family first .
.
and Laura, if she'll let me.
I'm sure she will.
Thing is, when I go, there'll be a DI job come vacant.
You should apply for it.
Set up a meeting with Innocent, let her know you're interested.
Yeah, thanks.
I don't think I'm Oh, come on.
You're more than ready.
No, I don't mean that.
It just wouldn't feel right, if you went, for me to stay.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but you're too young to retire with me.
Much as I'd like us to have an allotment and a nice little sailing dinghy together.
Well, I've heard worse plans.
(CHUCKLES) Seriously, though, you're ready to go and do this on your own - so go and do it.
I'll think about it.
Think about it? Mm-hm.
Well, why don't you think about it on your way down to the prison? Find out if Seager had made any enemies while he was inside.
I'll see what I can dig up at his college.
I'm sorry, but the exams are two weeks away and you're still struggling with basic concepts.
But I'm working as hard as I can.
I mean I Why don't we see how these exams go and then talk again, OK? But it might be that you're better suited to another course .
.
at another university.
Thanks.
(TOOLS WHIRRING) Start the application straightaway.
Doctor Yardley? Detective Inspector Lewis.
I need to speak to you about Professor Seager.
Yes? I'm afraid I have some bad news.
He's dead.
I know.
What do you want from me? Well, I'm told you're the Master here, and I was hoping you could give me some information about his academic life, if it's not too much trouble.
Oh, no, not at all.
Forgive me, I'm a bit Do you know anything about Not my specialist subject, to be honest.
Nor mine.
Turns out they're expensive.
Apparently ours is on the verge of collapse.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Well, how can I help? Did Professor Seager have any enemies that you were aware of? The usual intellectual squabbles, but nothing serious that I can recall.
And what was the plan for after his release? Was he coming back to work? Well, that was a difficult one.
Richard had a brilliant scientific mind.
Truly brilliant.
But with fellowship comes moral responsibilities.
We held a ballot, and the majority vote was to revoke his fellowship and promote Stella to his Chair of the Chemistry role.
Stella? Doctor Stella Drew, Richard's protegee.
I think she's the best person you can speak to.
Knew him much better than I did.
Any idea where I might find her? You could try her rooms.
Old Quad, top of J Staircase.
Doctor Drew? DI Lewis, Oxfordshire Police.
Hello.
Stella's at work.
Is this about Richard? Yes.
Martha phoned us this morning.
Sorry.
You are? Carl Drew.
I'm Stella's husband.
That's the last time I let my Year Nines loose with the iodine.
Please come in.
So you knew Professor Seager? He taught me and Stella when we were undergrads here.
Stella decided to stay on and I was kind of stuck with him.
Not his biggest fan, then? Oh, he wasn't that bad.
Just a little bit, you know Oxford.
If you weren't ridiculously gifted like Stell, you basically were invisible to him.
How well did you know his wife? Far too well.
She's Stella's best friend.
One of mine, too.
We've been treated to the ongoing saga of their marriage for years.
The saga? It's been dragging on forever.
Richard filed for divorce a couple of years ago, Martha was fighting it and he never quite moved out.
I think she was almost glad when he was sent to prison.
At least it meant he wouldn't leave her.
Stella knows more about it.
Greenaway Labs, science park.
She'll be there till late.
James? See what you can find out about a Doctor Stella Drew of Benison College, then meet me in the science park in about an hour.
Can we make it more like three? I've got a bit sidetracked.
Oh? What by? Stapleton did some digging, came up with years of debate in the scientific press between Seager and the Master of Benison College - Graham Yardley.
I just met him.
A bit cagey.
Well, he's waged war on Seager since the '80s, arguing that his Christian teaching should be banned from universities.
Really.
I don't think he got around to telling me that.
How's that thinking going? Have you fixed up a meeting with Innocent yet? No.
But I managed to get in touch with Seager's prison officer.
Changing the subject.
OK.
Apparently Martha forgot to tell us that he was a raging alcoholic and had been for a decade.
He had a drink problem? Are they sure about that? Everyone in the prison says the same.
He spent his days praying, going to alcohol recovery meetings and talking about how to lead a better life when he got out.
Visitors? Only Martha the entire year - with the exception of one visit Rachel's boyfriend.
Interesting.
Now, where are we? Greenaway Labs I realised after you called, I've come across Stella Drew before.
I heard her interviewed on Woman's Hour a few months ago.
Woman's Hour? It's an excellent programme.
You should download the podcast.
And what did she have to say for herselfon Woman's Hour? She was quite impressive, actually.
She made a breakthrough in Alzheimer's research while she was a post-grad, became a Fellow in her early 20s, campaigns for more women in science Oh, God.
One of them.
What, feminist? No.
Over-achiever.
They make me uneasy.
He was my mentor for 15 years.
Everything we're doing here's down to him.
It's research into dementia - is that right? Into Alzheimer's, yes.
My particular research stems from my doctoral work on the Amyloid Hypothesis.
Whether amyloid fibril formation is a cause of neurodegeneration or if another protein such as I lost you at 'hypothesis', didn't I? You might have.
Never mind.
So let's get to the point.
Carl called.
He thinks he put his foot in it about Richard divorcing Martha, and now you want to know whether or not my friend killed her husband.
We wouldn't have put it quite like that.
Presumably it's one of your hypotheses? I can tell you that she isn't capable of it.
I've asked her to stay with us until she's ready to go back home.
I wouldn't have done that if I thought she was a risk to anyone.
Surely you should be speaking to the family of the little girl from the accident? We have to keep an open mind for the moment.
You run Professor Seager's research team now.
Is that right? Yes.
And you were promoted to his Chair of Chemistry.
And you think I stood to gain from his death? Just establishing the facts.
No, that's fair enough.
The facts are that I have taken over his positions, but that happened while he was in prison.
When there was controversy about if he should be allowed to stay on at the college, I voted in his favour.
Any way we can confirm that? The Master's secretary should be able to show you the ballots.
It wasn't anonymous.
Fine, thank you.
Does the number 500 mean anything to you? A measurement? A reference to a chemical? No, not particularly.
Why? Just part of our investigation.
Could you keep it in mind? Let us know if anything occurs to you? Course.
Surely if Seager wanted to point to somebody in the chemistry department he'd have written their name, not their extension number.
There could be a connection.
If all the phones begin with extension 500 there might be a voicemail on one of them.
I could ask the university to grant me access.
Are you proposing phone hacking, Sergeant? It's not phone hacking if you ask nicely.
From the degree of hypostasis and the decreased fluid pressure behind the eyes, I'd put time of death at What? Nothing.
Sorry, carry on.
The contusions, multiple fractures and tyre impression are all consistent with I'm sorry.
I'm not smiling at Oh, God, sorry.
It's all a bit odd now, isn't it? You and me and Well, I don't know.
Some of our best times together have involved a mangled corpse.
Yeah, that's just my point.
It's not normal, surely? We do have to work together, Robbie.
I hope this isn't going to be a problem.
Well, I have been having a think.
You know I'm always banging on about retiring? What would you say if I just did it? I'd say about bloody time.
Would you? Really, I mean, you'd be all right about being with a pensioner? Would that pensioner have my dinner on the table when I get home and rub my back for me till I can retire too? I'm sure he would.
Then I'd love it.
(DOOR OPENS) (ORGAN MUSIC) Reverend? Martha! Hello? Oh.
Could we have a chat? Is there any news? Why are you lying to us? I'm not sure I know what you mean.
Why didn't you tell us that your husband was an alcoholic? Because he was in recovery.
And that he'd asked you for a divorce? I didn't say anything because it was all in the past.
Richard filed the petition before he went to prison, but only because he wanted to protect me from his drinking.
He did it because he loved me.
Had he withdrawn the divorce petition? No.
But he would have done.
I'm certain.
If there's anything else you haven't told us, Martha, we really do need to know.
There's nothing.
It must have been difficult to stick by him through the alcoholism, through the accident, through prison.
And at the end of all that, to find that he's still filing for divorce.
What are you saying? Did he reject you? Did you snap? I went to his room and tried to comfort him.
He pushed me away.
He always said he was leaving because of the drink - no other reason.
So, when he was released, and he was doing so well, I thought I was getting my husband back .
.
but then, last night, he told me I wasn't.
He said the drinking wasn't just about work - it was about me.
I went upstairs and I lay in our bed, on my own, until I went to sleep.
I didn't hurt him.
I didn't expect to be saying this, but I think I believe her.
You're just a sucker for a dog collar.
It's true.
But if she did snap, why would she use the car? It's a bit elaborate.
Well, maybe she was driving away and he was trying to stop her? Look, I need to check on how they're getting on down at the station.
Why don't you try and track down this Adam Tibitt? See if he admits to visiting Seager in the prison.
(DRINK BEING STIRRED) Cheers.
Good little artist, wasn't she? Erin? Yeah, she was brilliant.
I gave her a paint set for her eighth birthday, and then the pictures just kept on coming.
So, tell me what you can about Professor Seager.
Did you know him before the accident? Well, I met him once, for my interview .
.
and the strange thing was - I actually liked him at the time.
Did you see him again after? Not at college, no, no, no.
He was in prison by the time I came up.
But thenthen he started writing these letters to Rachel and it was getting creepy - every week, wanting to meet up when he got out of prison.
So I went to see him, asked him to leave her alone.
And what did he say? Oh, he promised he'd stop.
But by this point it was too late.
Martha had already gotten into her head and persuaded her it was a good idea.
So did you go with Rachel when she went to see Seager last night? Yeah, I waited outside.
What did you do after? We came back here.
Hasn't Rachel told you this? I need to confirm it with you.
Where were you between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00am? Why are you asking me that? I'm not accusing you of anything.
Well, I was asleep, right there.
With Rachel.
Look, I've got my exams in less than two weeks, and I'm really behind with my revision so Mm.
Good luck with that.
I'll I'll try not to disturb you again.
(WHISPERED PRAYER) (SIZZLING) Robbie? What's this from HR about your pension forecast? Ah, I was going to talk to you about that, once I was certain.
You're going? Well, I'm giving it some serious thought.
Has something happened I should know about? Old age.
It happened when I wasn't looking.
Well, probably when I was sitting here, trying to figure out stuff like this.
Oh, don't be so bloody maudlin.
You love it really.
No, I love my kids.
I love my grandson.
I quite like Laura.
But it'd be nice to spend some time with them.
Then I'm glad you're thinking about it.
That's not the same as believing you'll go through with it.
It's reassuring to know that one of us looks forward to going home at night.
So how's the current puzzle looking? Well, house to house didn't come up with anything, andSeager's place is too remote for CCTV to be much use.
Well, maybe Hathaway's solved it and you can get off early? Alas not, Ma'am, but the phone company got back to me.
Seager took a 30-second call from a pay-as-you-go mobile at 2:20 this morning.
They can't trace the pay-as-you-go, but they say it was only used to make that one call.
So the killer called Seager to lure him onto the driveway.
And it was someone he'd agree to see in the middle of the night.
An affair? That's what I was thinking.
Then there's this.
Screen shot from the John Radcliffe.
It shows that Debbie was in A&E all night.
Well, that's good.
Just as useful to know who it isn't.
What about this '500' - the thing he scratched into the paintwork? Eight phones in the lab.
All have extensions beginning 500.
None of the messages left seemed significant.
Nothing more concrete? Not yet.
I've got two teams going through his papers, his computers, but so far nothing.
There must be something else.
Come on, Cambridge - your starter for 10.
Find out what it means.
Do you fancy a pint? Yeah.
Well, usually.
It's just Laura's No, don't worry about it.
We'll do it another night.
You know what, though? Ma'am? James wants a word, if you've got a minute? (KNOCKING) (HE SOBS) (TV IN BACKGROUND) Early start.
Someone's trying to impress.
Yeah, thanks for that, last night.
How'd it go? It didn't.
If it's all right with you, I'll decide when I go for promotion, if I go for promotion.
OK.
Message understood.
I got the results of the Fellows' ballot.
Stella was telling the truth.
She did vote for Seager to stay on.
Oh, right.
So she wasn't after his job.
But the weird thing is, Yardley also voted the same way.
If he objected to Seager's beliefs that much, you'd think he'd get rid of him.
Robbie? Hello.
Did I forget something? No, but the lab have just called.
They've got DNA results from the car.
Anything helpful? There are dozens of DNA profiles in there - his wife, his colleagues, and some that we can't identify.
One hair on the driver's headrest had some follicle matter attached, and the DNA from that follicle is an exact match for Rachel Cliff.
Morning.
Two full English.
Your pancakes are on their way.
Promise.
We were hoping for another chat with Rachel, if she's around.
Does it look like she's around? Any idea where we might find her? It's quite urgent.
She's 18.
I don't keep tabs on her.
Shall we try her boyfriend? Try wherever you like.
She's not going to say anything she hasn't already said.
OK.
Thank you.
(WORKMEN LAUGHING) Whoa.
This is important.
Are you sure you've never been inside Professor Seager's car? No, I told you.
Why would I want to go anywhere near that thing? In that case, we'd like you to come to the station with us and answer some questions on the tape.
What? Are you arresting her? You can't! You can't arrest her! Not arresting - no.
But we do need your help with our investigation.
I haven't done anything.
And it would be better for everybody if you'd do that voluntarily.
(KNOCKING) Are the police in there? There's no problem.
They needed to check something.
Sorry to interrupt, but the Master's asking if you can pop down to the main quad.
Thanks.
Tell him we'll be there in a few minutes.
He says it's urgent.
Don't go anywhere.
Call her, now.
It would appear we have asituation with our roof.
What kind of situation? I think it's best you take a look, but your discretion would be appreciated.
It's delicate.
This gentleman will show you.
This way, gents, if you would.
(CHOIR SINGING) THOMAS TALLIS: If Ye Love Me Keep my commandments And I will pray The Father It's up here, then.
(CLANKING) (FOOTSTEPS OVERHEAD) Just through here.
Mind your step.
(CHOIR IN BACKGROUND) Good God.
How long has this been up here? Sir? Hm? Maybe it wasn't a number that Seager was scratching into his car.
It was a name.
Multiple fractures, including the skull.
She was an exchange student from South Korea.
It's me.
Call me as soon as you get this.
Look, tell me what they said.
Are you saying Reverend Seager's been pulling your hair out? I don't wanna hear sob stories.
I wanna know what happened that night.
What has the fact I went out with Soo-Min got to do with Seager? I should never have left her in that house.
Seager's blood is on Soo-Min's suitcase.
Under the handle.
I knew there had to be a connection.