Silent Witness (1996) s08e04 Episode Script
Death by Water (2)
She was on her front, so there's congestion and cyanosis to the face.
But why d'you think it's suspicious? I couldn't see any signs of an injury.
Their first baby died, as wellat three months.
Well, cot deaths CAN run in the family.
Dr Gwilym says not.
CHILDREN COUGH COUGHING CONTINUES Would you run your microscope over Baby Ella's faeces? Oh! Sorry(!) I was gonna check Garner's garage.
Obsessing about Nick Garner is an excuse for seeing Sienna Ricci.
Can you blame me?! Yes! It's extremely unprofessional and we're under pressure.
YOU'RE under pressure.
Not late, am I? Bloody London drivers! Some idiot tried to overtake me in the inside lane.
Lucky WE'RE both not on the slab.
No.
I don't like this one.
Not one little bit.
But surely it can't classify as a cot death.
They reported an illness.
I was going to ask you if they reported an illness.
They took her to hospital three times! Did they indeed? Well, you know my general opinion on these things.
That ONE unexplained death in the family is normal, three is murder, two is I can't remember what two is.
Dodgy.
Very dodgy.
I think this is Munchausen's.
Munchausen's syndrome by proxy.
NICOLA SOBS Thank you.
.
.
In Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, the parent injures the child or constantly reports illness to seek attention.
The hospital visits might have been genuine.
I don't see any signs of illness.
The broken air sacs in the lungs might have been symptoms of an asthmatic attack, or something else.
The diarrhoea could've been a serious infection.
It could.
But you still need to find out about their behaviour at the hospital.
Ah! They were pretty dramatic.
This is consistent with attention-seeking.
LEO GASPS Why do they do this? I'm giving a lecture here if you're interested(!) They might've been genuinely scared.
At least hold off the diagnosis till we've tested the nappy for signs of disease.
Yes, of course, Leo(!) It's common to evacuate during asphyxiation.
Nothing untoward in the blood.
I've seen petechiae in a 12-year-old from the same area.
What do you mean? This is a baby.
We're investigating the possibility of something local - a toxin, an epidemic Without signs in the blood? It IS possible.
Something ingested? Maybe.
This is what you think?! Mmm?! Thank you.
What's the matter with Leo? He's being bloody difficult at the moment.
I've got a clear baby homicide and he's trying to run things by going on about toxins.
I think the possibility of replacing Sam may have freaked him out a little bit.
He's never really settled here, has he? Keep shtoom, but Leo may move on.
I assumed he was acertainty.
The only person who doesn't is Leo.
A pain in the arse.
Helen told me that Leo felt you weren't ready to step into his job if he got the professorship.
So, given Leo's insecurity .
.
I reckoned you must be good.
How ambitious are you? I am ready.
Son of Sam, wasn't it? So, if you're interested we maytalk again.
I'm confused.
Are we still saying this is suspicious? Yes.
I AM.
I'll have to pull rank on you, I'm afraid.
I AM the specialist.
I'd be happy to support a prosecution.
Sorry to keep you.
Nicola, would you mind coming with me? I want to stay with her.
We came here to see the baby.
I just want to speak to Nicola alone for five minutes.
It's all right, Daryl.
OK? Yeah.
Seven?! OK.
Thanks.
You and I need to have a word.
Before you start, seven of the kids in that class are back in hospital.
Three in intensive care.
All with acute asthmatical respiratory symptoms.
I think we can rule out mass hysteria(!) Marcus Gwilym thought it was spot-on.
Ah, did he? The most seriously ill is a little girl called Lanny Forbes.
I want to talk about the school incident.
We need to have a a proper meeting.
Do I smell or something? Leo, don't you think you're out of your depth? Cause of death or me getting the Chair? Both.
Why did she die? They said Amber was a cot death.
But this wasn't the same.
You took Ella to the hospital a lot, didn't you? I was worried sick.
She was ill.
She cried all the time.
They do, don't they? When you've lost ONE baby No! You don't think we killed her?! You don't think that?! I loved Ella.
I wanted her to live with every breath in my body.
I wanted her to live to be a 100.
I haven't said anything, Nicola.
Is that what you told them? You said it was suspicious.
No.
No, I didn't.
Sorry about this.
I swear we never harmed that baby.
She really WAS ill! She had diarrhoea.
Why do they think we did it? The autopsy was carried out What's going on? .
.
by a paediatric specialist.
I was observing.
Look.
Why don't you sit down? How much water did you give her? I never gave her water.
I breast-fed her the whole time.
What's the matter? Um, no.
It's good that you did that.
That'll help you.
Did she have any breathing difficulties? No.
Just diarrhoea.
And a nosebleed.
Are you disappointed?! It didn't fit in with your theory.
It doesn't matter.
Don't give up.
I'm still working on this.
I hope you realise I'm missing a nice lunch.
I just need to know where I stand, Gus.
What if the Planning Committee say no again? The Government said, "Think of the boats as refugees.
"Someone's got to take them.
" You're not doing it out of kindness.
You're getting an extra ã15 million in grants for your pains.
That's right.
That's why the committee will let the other ships dock.
Arms have been twisted.
If the committee disagree, what do I do with this one? Send it all the way back to Bombay? This wasn't going anywhere.
It's got engine trouble.
They understand.
When can I start breaking it? As soon as the Committee agree, you can move her.
There are two spring tides every lunar month.
If this isn't sorted by Tuesday, we're gonna have to wait another few weeks.
Time and tide, Gus.
Nick Garner has a fight with someone who apparently is trying to kill him.
He wins, and then he kills himself? He was in a garage full of carbon monoxide He'd taken TWO painkillers, Jim.
You don't do that if you know that soon you're going to be flatlining all the way to the Pearly Gates.
Some paint here.
See? Can you bring the door down? There's a dent.
Yeah.
The car had a front tow bar.
Can you throw the door up again? 'He rushes home, takes off his wet suit top to look at this knife wound 'He takes a couple of painkillers, then tries to drive to hospital.
'When he throws up the garage door, it doesn't quite catch.
'Now the garage door's falling back down again and he hits it.
'He's barely opened the car door and then he faints 'and the engine's still running.
' How terrible.
And he was unconscious all the while .
.
breathing the fumes in all the time? He He could have lived.
I-I don't believe that that that's the full story.
Wellit's true I don't know how hegot the knife wound.
Maybe when he was diving.
I'd like to go to the garage.
Where's Mickey? Mickey! Sorry about your boy.
Yeah.
Bad.
The Immigration people are still bothering me about Selic.
That story about the girl in London's a lie, isn't it? He jumped ship, boss.
We managed to let two of them home.
Four of these aren't too good.
The symptoms are like asthma, but the CT scan on the lungs looked like emphysema.
At this age In there.
Hello, Lanny.
Lanny's better today.
Where's Harry? Harry's busy, I'm afraid.
Shall I ask him to come and see you? CREAKING I was walking along the river and I found a couple of dead fish.
Nothing much, but it's unusual.
It's near the docks, but the water's supposed to be OK.
We argued about it.
He didn't think it was significant.
And I lost because he had the PhD.
Two dead fish? He was defensive.
Anything to do with dirty rivers implies dirty boats.
Implies Daddy.
LID OPENS This smells like sea water.
Look at the date.
The next time I found a dead fish, Nick said he'd test it for me to humour me.
Or maybe he thought we'd get back together or something.
All he said the next day was he didn't like what he found.
That's all he said.
And that's the night he had a row with his old man.
Was this taken on the night he died? T-R-I.
There's no infection in the nappy.
Well, I'm afraid that simplifies matters for me.
You're not going to arrest her, are you? .
.
I respect you.
I mean that.
But I have got to go with the specialist.
You haven't found any medical condition.
Breast-feeding isn't easy.
Even doing it for three months suggests commitment.
That's what Dr Gwilym thinks.
He thinks Daryl's the one with Munchausen's by proxy.
Oh Hold on, please! I'll send you a report.
MY version.
It's a bit risky.
Professionally.
For what it's worth, I think Marcus Gwilym talks out of his backside.
We're seeing a lot of you, Marcus.
I like it here.
Been reading the papers? Too busy.
Another murder conviction quashed.
Mother accused of killing her baby to seek attention.
Not one of my cases.
I hear the Solicitor General is looking into quite a few.
I want these people to stop killing.
Do you know how much courage it takes to hold to this? I've got families camping out in my hospital, threatening me You may be sincere, but you're wrong.
You're a good man, Leo.
Don't try and make a name for yourself.
There were no marks of violence on that baby.
You'll get nowhere with a toxic explanation because the liver and kidneys are completely undamaged.
I'll go against you in court.
You're not a specialist.
It's common sense! Not handing out many Chairs in that.
LEO GASPS So, you are telling me to withdraw my opinion in a possible murder enquiry? Marcus has been in to see me.
You know what he's like.
This is bullying, Helen.
It's in your interest.
Don't burn your bridges.
I was right about the water.
You were wrong to be involved in the first place.
And here you are again.
Think about this, Leo.
I have.
Back me or sack me.
What do you think of Marcus Gwilym for the Chair? Everybody knows who he is.
They can't give it to him.
He's an arsehole.
Well, what would you do if they did? I'll tell you what I'd do.
I'd move on so fast I'd singe the walls.
I knew he wanted it.
He's tapped you, hasn't he? I heard you thought I was too inexperienced for promotion.
Listen.
I wasn't suggesting that you aren't a first-class pathologist.
Why would you? Just a touch arrogant.
I back my own judgment.
If that is arrogant For example, leaping at a mass-hysteria diagnosis for something which has extremely serious repercussions.
Dr Dalton! Hello again.
Hi.
Hi.
I came with Lanny's parents.
Can I have a word with you? Umyeah.
Why not? They were collecting things from trees.
Lanny bent down to pick up a leaf and found she couldn't breathe.
She said her throat was stinging, and that she was crying.
LANNY GASPS The doctors got hold of that.
They said it was classic for asthma.
They said when some children get it, it can be life-threatening.
I feel guilty.
Well, what could you have done? Paid more attention.
I wasn't outside every second.
I was in the storeroom smoking a fag.
CHILDREN COUGH OK, that's it, guys.
Time's up.
We've got to get back inside now.
COUGHING CONTINUES Spasmodic constriction of the bronchial tubes led to suffocation.
Lung function impaired.
Clogged, with massive internal secretion.
Still no evidence of a virus in the blood test? .
.
No.
The doctors are still saying it's severe asthma.
It's our old friend.
It comes, it does its damage quietly .
.
you survive, or you go down.
The teacher wasn't affected.
And don't say "because he wasn't part of the group".
He was having a smoke.
We need to look at the cases where this happened.
We need to look at the conditions when the kids were outside.
It came through quickly on a cloud blown by the wind.
The teacher didn't breathe it in because he wasn't outside.
He was in the storeroom havinga fag.
Suppose there's a gas.
Airborne toxin.
Here's the school.
Where's baby Ella's house? Here.
It's not far.
No.
Baby Ella died here.
There were four deaths at an old people's home on the same day as the school incident, but that can happen.
Where's the home? Here.
Right in the area.
Scraping the barrel here, aren't we? People in homes DO die.
And get cremated before anyone looks at them.
I'm no funeral director.
Can we follow it up? Any other serious incidents not due to the drinking water? Remember, I went to a restaurant on the docks? Rat droppings and dodgy haddock? That's it.
Some people had to go to hospital for suspected food poisoning, but the kitchen and the food were fine Were they sitting outside? There's a terrace on the water.
Oh, great(!) And there was a couple or two at a cafe.
None of these could be related to the water.
Summer's almost with us, we have people booking up at B&Bs, and you invent another pollution crisis.
The local water was contaminated, wasn't it? Nobody'll come near this place.
I'm hanging on to my job by the skin of my teeth.
That makes two of us.
But what are old friends for?! Let's say it IS airborne.
We need to find out which way the wind was blowing to pinpoint the source.
What are you doing here? Found off Branxstowe.
And brought ashore on my patch.
Er, could be a gangland one, this.
Why d'you say that? He's missing his head.
Are you married? Er, WAS, yeah.
Widower.
The wind was very light northerly, blowing offshore at five knots.
There's some houses and a school on this part of the peninsula.
What's in line with the school? Umrestaurant and cafe.
What's there? Mmm It's Garner UK.
That's Lucas Garner's shipping yard.
Male.
25 to 35.
You go home and get some sleep.
I'll stay(!) OK? Part of a wet suit found on one leg.
.
.
Diving belt.
Rest dragged off his body maybe when his head came off.
Is it a gangland killing? See these jagged edges? It's something powerful and quick.
Looking at the wounds, I'd say this happened after death.
He WAS picked up near the shipping lanes.
Propeller.
Big boat.
Why didn't the belt come off? It's tough.
The wet suit was dragged through it.
Sheath for a knife.
Diver's knife.
Missing.
Tattoos.
Russian? Something like it.
It fits the sheath.
Does it fit the cut in Garner's wet suit? And does it match the wound? What's so important you couldn't tell me on the phone? We've picked up a body out at sea.
We haven't identified him yet.
But he was wearing a diver's suit with a knife.
Tests suggest he might've been the man who stabbed your son.
You've nothing to identify him at all? A tattoo.
Possibly a sailor.
What happened to Selic? Some people swimming near ship two, three nights.
You say keep away at all costs.
Selic - he a big guy.
Good diver What happened?! He go in.
He no come back.
Was he armed? No.
No.
Selic had a knife, didn't he? Yes.
It's the Galle.
It's Lucas Garner's ship.
It's part of the fleet that's still waiting for permission to dock.
I thought they weren't allowed in.
Well, that one got permission because of engine trouble.
Looks pretty bad, doesn't she? Mmm.
And that's the school.
It's my copy of the manifest.
Nick must have found something in here to get him thinking.
All the contaminants have to be declared.
The Galle's been working as a merchant marine supply vessel in India, Sri Lanka PCBs? Mm-hm.
They're on the list.
They're all fairly easy to dispose of.
Here's something Trinadyl-G? T-R-I? The bottle in Nick's garage.
That's what he wrote on the label.
Did you go in to her? Did you go in to her? Were you alone with her? Nicola said you went in to her at nine.
.
.
I was going to give her a bottle at nine before I went out, but she was asleep.
So you went in to her at nine.
How long for? Not long.
How long? One.
Two.
That all? No more than two.
I'm given to understand you were in there for about five minutes.
No.
She had diarrhoea.
She had a nosebleed.
When? Earlier in the morning.
It stopped.
Daryl.
You never smoked in her room or anything, did you? Or put extra blankets on her? No.
No! You think I did something to her? You think I did something to Amber, too? Is that it? Don't you?! All right.
I killed her.
That's what you want to hear.
I killed her.
But that's what bereaved mothers do.
They confess.
It's common.
It's guilt.
She's doing it for him.
Let me see her.
We've got him.
He says the baby had a nosebleed.
Gwilym says they don't at that age.
Don't?! That's what he said.
Uncommon.
Uncommon isn't never.
Give me 24 hours.
.
.
Leo, I have got to send the papers to the CPS.
It'll be on my conscience otherwise.
Did you? Did you take Ella shopping in her pram that morning? Daryl did all the shopping.
As long as I was breast-feeding, he said he'd do that.
But was she ever outside? I can't remember.
There was a couple of sunny days.
She was in her pram.
W-Where? On the seafront? Yeah.
I think she was.
W-Well, don't get your hopes up.
It's not evidenceyet.
Trinadyl-G is a pesticide.
And pesticides cause the symptoms we're talking about.
Hang on Where's the Butler house - from the school? Um Upwind from the boat.
Anything coming from the Galle will blow THAT way.
So, Ella Butler couldn't have been affected.
Damn! Damn! But the wind would blow anything from the boat THAT way, towards the school playground.
Anyway, hold on.
Trinadyl-G, isn't going to be right.
If it leaked into the estuary, it'd dissipate.
It isn't toxic enough, let alone airborne.
Are you sure? Certain.
LEO SIGHS I want you to test Ella Butler's nappy again.
Last resort - I want you to look for oocysts.
Only thing we haven't tried.
Spores? I don't know if I Oh, learn it.
Do it! Can't we send it out? OK.
Let's look at this.
We have got our wires crossed over the last few days, but I expect you to cover my arse in the same way I'd cover yours and right now my arse is over the circular saw.
There's a kind of hierarchy.
One of us has to say "DO" sometimes and one of us has toeffing well do it! I'm sorry.
I'm not very good at this .
.
responsibility bit yet.
I know.
The next time you want to humiliate me, do it in private.
Point taken.
I'm as disappointed as you are.
I thought we'd cracked it.
I'll have a look at those spores.
I'll find out how to do it.
Thanks.
I think I've got it.
Hello.
Hello.
It's Bhopal.
What are you talking about? Union Carbide.
It's not Trinadyl-G.
It's the stuff they use to make it.
Which is? Methyl isocyanate - the chemical intermediate used in pesticides.
Remember Bhopal in India? It killed thousands of people.
It can escape into the air due to a build-up of pressure.
The symptoms on the kids are right - eyes, lung damage, severe asthma.
It's deadly.
It reacts with water, but it needs a catalyst - iron.
Rust.
So, why are there so few casualties? A-And why aren't the crew affected? That's the one thing that doesn't make sense.
If the boat's still leaking, then the reaction's got to be going on all the time.
She's still aground.
But the water's high.
She must have floated easily to get in there.
So, Nick would've had to dive to get underneath her? Where can we find out about tides? I never harmed my baby.
We've got a medical report, Daryl.
Wh What's it say? It's crap.
I'm not I'm not mad! Daryl Butler, I am charging you with the murder of Ella Butler NO! NO! Results of the spores test on Ella Butler's nappy.
Daryl Butler is on bail awaiting trial.
I didn't invent Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, any more than I am Baron Munchausen.
Others, as it were, came before me.
Mothers cry whether they're guilty or not.
.
.
The trick is not to let sentiment get in the way of our scientific rigour, as it did in a recent case I worked on.
Research into cot deaths is still in its infancy.
Aren't we rushing to judgment? No.
I don't think so.
Someone invents Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Suddenly every dead child has died of mysterious natural causes.
Do you deny cot deaths happen? There is something called infanticide, too.
I don't dispute that.
It's about not being gullible.
But all these cases where there's no evidence but yours - that's not justice.
If parents with murder in their hearts now think twice, I haven't lived in vain.
What have you got against that? If expert witnesses aren't challenged properly because they're experts, then what jury's will disbelieve them? Nobody has the right to an open goal.
Yes, w APPLAUSE I came to give a lecture not take partin a debate.
This is a stunt.
Dr Dalton is canvassing for higher position.
I hope you all enjoyed my lecture.
SCATTERED APPLAUSE IS this a stunt? A stunt is just leaving.
And in the case of Ella Butler, whose father is currently on bail, you failed to wait for exhaustive tests to prove she died of natural causes.
Do you know exactly what she's been carrying? They sent me the manifest.
Did it include a list of the contaminants? The usual suspects.
PCBs, asbestosmostly.
What else? They said it was safe.
So, there IS something else.
Why didn't you say? I didn't want to risk you cancelling the contract.
That's why you locked Nick's office.
What did you find? I shredded everything.
Force of habit.
I didn't understand the science, but your son found Trinadyl-G.
It's just a pesticide.
He said it wasn't safe.
It must have been leaking.
How serious is it? It kills fish.
But I don't see the panic, unless there's something else I don't know about.
It IS the tides.
.
.
High tide is a different tide every day the moon waxes and wanes.
The ship came in on a full moon.
Very high tides.
For two nights she had water under her keel and she floated free at high tide when Nick was under her.
And when the methyl isocyanate escaped As the moon waned the tides got lower.
She didn't float.
Now the tides are rising again.
They've been rising a few inches every day.
And tomorrow she will float again.
And the chemical reaction will happen again.
SIRENS BLARE TALKING AND COMMOTION EVERYONE TALKS AT ONCE Let's get you to hospital.
This is all balls.
I'm getting your crew off.
I'd never carry isocyanate.
Nobody would carry it on a ship.
Lucas! I'm about to evacuate the area.
It's serious.
It's killed people.
The Government would never ask us to decontaminate that stuff here.
They'd send it to the Third World.
I'll prove it.
COMMOTION CONTINUES There's nothing to worry about.
You'd better take this.
Wear it.
I don't need to wear it.
There's nothing to be frightened of.
SHOUTING AND COMMOTION MAN SHOUTS: Get out! Get out! Everybody out! Stop! You mustn't go in there.
Everything's fine.
We're not dead, are we? Wait! Wait there! It's not safe.
THEY COUGH LUCAS COUGHS THEY COUGH AND SPLUTTER Come on! Stay out! It's called cryptosporidium.
We found the spores in Ella's nappy.
Why didn't you find it before? It'suncommon.
.
.
It can only be detected with a special test.
I knew she was ill.
You were right.
How did she get it? Did shego near a farm? No.
It might have got onto someone's hands.
He liked putting his finger in her mouth.
You know, playing.
Getting her to suck with her gums.
It could be exactly that.
Simple hygiene.
But you were unlucky.
The allotment! What? The allotment! Manure.
I-I I wi I wish I was de-e-ead! Get your job in Leeds? Yeah.
Er, turned it down.
Sorry.
Well, if you do have you any objections to me Yes, I do.
You're a pig-headed old fart.
Uh-h But you have your supporters.
Er "Leo will probably be a pain "to begin with, but believe me he will grow into it, just as I did.
"As I told Helen Wharton, if she lost the chance to appoint him, "he'll go and make a fool of her somewhere else.
"Yours ever, Sam.
" Fancy a pint .
.
PROFESSOR Dalton? Testator Silens Costestes e Spiritu-u Si-ilenciu-um.
But why d'you think it's suspicious? I couldn't see any signs of an injury.
Their first baby died, as wellat three months.
Well, cot deaths CAN run in the family.
Dr Gwilym says not.
CHILDREN COUGH COUGHING CONTINUES Would you run your microscope over Baby Ella's faeces? Oh! Sorry(!) I was gonna check Garner's garage.
Obsessing about Nick Garner is an excuse for seeing Sienna Ricci.
Can you blame me?! Yes! It's extremely unprofessional and we're under pressure.
YOU'RE under pressure.
Not late, am I? Bloody London drivers! Some idiot tried to overtake me in the inside lane.
Lucky WE'RE both not on the slab.
No.
I don't like this one.
Not one little bit.
But surely it can't classify as a cot death.
They reported an illness.
I was going to ask you if they reported an illness.
They took her to hospital three times! Did they indeed? Well, you know my general opinion on these things.
That ONE unexplained death in the family is normal, three is murder, two is I can't remember what two is.
Dodgy.
Very dodgy.
I think this is Munchausen's.
Munchausen's syndrome by proxy.
NICOLA SOBS Thank you.
.
.
In Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, the parent injures the child or constantly reports illness to seek attention.
The hospital visits might have been genuine.
I don't see any signs of illness.
The broken air sacs in the lungs might have been symptoms of an asthmatic attack, or something else.
The diarrhoea could've been a serious infection.
It could.
But you still need to find out about their behaviour at the hospital.
Ah! They were pretty dramatic.
This is consistent with attention-seeking.
LEO GASPS Why do they do this? I'm giving a lecture here if you're interested(!) They might've been genuinely scared.
At least hold off the diagnosis till we've tested the nappy for signs of disease.
Yes, of course, Leo(!) It's common to evacuate during asphyxiation.
Nothing untoward in the blood.
I've seen petechiae in a 12-year-old from the same area.
What do you mean? This is a baby.
We're investigating the possibility of something local - a toxin, an epidemic Without signs in the blood? It IS possible.
Something ingested? Maybe.
This is what you think?! Mmm?! Thank you.
What's the matter with Leo? He's being bloody difficult at the moment.
I've got a clear baby homicide and he's trying to run things by going on about toxins.
I think the possibility of replacing Sam may have freaked him out a little bit.
He's never really settled here, has he? Keep shtoom, but Leo may move on.
I assumed he was acertainty.
The only person who doesn't is Leo.
A pain in the arse.
Helen told me that Leo felt you weren't ready to step into his job if he got the professorship.
So, given Leo's insecurity .
.
I reckoned you must be good.
How ambitious are you? I am ready.
Son of Sam, wasn't it? So, if you're interested we maytalk again.
I'm confused.
Are we still saying this is suspicious? Yes.
I AM.
I'll have to pull rank on you, I'm afraid.
I AM the specialist.
I'd be happy to support a prosecution.
Sorry to keep you.
Nicola, would you mind coming with me? I want to stay with her.
We came here to see the baby.
I just want to speak to Nicola alone for five minutes.
It's all right, Daryl.
OK? Yeah.
Seven?! OK.
Thanks.
You and I need to have a word.
Before you start, seven of the kids in that class are back in hospital.
Three in intensive care.
All with acute asthmatical respiratory symptoms.
I think we can rule out mass hysteria(!) Marcus Gwilym thought it was spot-on.
Ah, did he? The most seriously ill is a little girl called Lanny Forbes.
I want to talk about the school incident.
We need to have a a proper meeting.
Do I smell or something? Leo, don't you think you're out of your depth? Cause of death or me getting the Chair? Both.
Why did she die? They said Amber was a cot death.
But this wasn't the same.
You took Ella to the hospital a lot, didn't you? I was worried sick.
She was ill.
She cried all the time.
They do, don't they? When you've lost ONE baby No! You don't think we killed her?! You don't think that?! I loved Ella.
I wanted her to live with every breath in my body.
I wanted her to live to be a 100.
I haven't said anything, Nicola.
Is that what you told them? You said it was suspicious.
No.
No, I didn't.
Sorry about this.
I swear we never harmed that baby.
She really WAS ill! She had diarrhoea.
Why do they think we did it? The autopsy was carried out What's going on? .
.
by a paediatric specialist.
I was observing.
Look.
Why don't you sit down? How much water did you give her? I never gave her water.
I breast-fed her the whole time.
What's the matter? Um, no.
It's good that you did that.
That'll help you.
Did she have any breathing difficulties? No.
Just diarrhoea.
And a nosebleed.
Are you disappointed?! It didn't fit in with your theory.
It doesn't matter.
Don't give up.
I'm still working on this.
I hope you realise I'm missing a nice lunch.
I just need to know where I stand, Gus.
What if the Planning Committee say no again? The Government said, "Think of the boats as refugees.
"Someone's got to take them.
" You're not doing it out of kindness.
You're getting an extra ã15 million in grants for your pains.
That's right.
That's why the committee will let the other ships dock.
Arms have been twisted.
If the committee disagree, what do I do with this one? Send it all the way back to Bombay? This wasn't going anywhere.
It's got engine trouble.
They understand.
When can I start breaking it? As soon as the Committee agree, you can move her.
There are two spring tides every lunar month.
If this isn't sorted by Tuesday, we're gonna have to wait another few weeks.
Time and tide, Gus.
Nick Garner has a fight with someone who apparently is trying to kill him.
He wins, and then he kills himself? He was in a garage full of carbon monoxide He'd taken TWO painkillers, Jim.
You don't do that if you know that soon you're going to be flatlining all the way to the Pearly Gates.
Some paint here.
See? Can you bring the door down? There's a dent.
Yeah.
The car had a front tow bar.
Can you throw the door up again? 'He rushes home, takes off his wet suit top to look at this knife wound 'He takes a couple of painkillers, then tries to drive to hospital.
'When he throws up the garage door, it doesn't quite catch.
'Now the garage door's falling back down again and he hits it.
'He's barely opened the car door and then he faints 'and the engine's still running.
' How terrible.
And he was unconscious all the while .
.
breathing the fumes in all the time? He He could have lived.
I-I don't believe that that that's the full story.
Wellit's true I don't know how hegot the knife wound.
Maybe when he was diving.
I'd like to go to the garage.
Where's Mickey? Mickey! Sorry about your boy.
Yeah.
Bad.
The Immigration people are still bothering me about Selic.
That story about the girl in London's a lie, isn't it? He jumped ship, boss.
We managed to let two of them home.
Four of these aren't too good.
The symptoms are like asthma, but the CT scan on the lungs looked like emphysema.
At this age In there.
Hello, Lanny.
Lanny's better today.
Where's Harry? Harry's busy, I'm afraid.
Shall I ask him to come and see you? CREAKING I was walking along the river and I found a couple of dead fish.
Nothing much, but it's unusual.
It's near the docks, but the water's supposed to be OK.
We argued about it.
He didn't think it was significant.
And I lost because he had the PhD.
Two dead fish? He was defensive.
Anything to do with dirty rivers implies dirty boats.
Implies Daddy.
LID OPENS This smells like sea water.
Look at the date.
The next time I found a dead fish, Nick said he'd test it for me to humour me.
Or maybe he thought we'd get back together or something.
All he said the next day was he didn't like what he found.
That's all he said.
And that's the night he had a row with his old man.
Was this taken on the night he died? T-R-I.
There's no infection in the nappy.
Well, I'm afraid that simplifies matters for me.
You're not going to arrest her, are you? .
.
I respect you.
I mean that.
But I have got to go with the specialist.
You haven't found any medical condition.
Breast-feeding isn't easy.
Even doing it for three months suggests commitment.
That's what Dr Gwilym thinks.
He thinks Daryl's the one with Munchausen's by proxy.
Oh Hold on, please! I'll send you a report.
MY version.
It's a bit risky.
Professionally.
For what it's worth, I think Marcus Gwilym talks out of his backside.
We're seeing a lot of you, Marcus.
I like it here.
Been reading the papers? Too busy.
Another murder conviction quashed.
Mother accused of killing her baby to seek attention.
Not one of my cases.
I hear the Solicitor General is looking into quite a few.
I want these people to stop killing.
Do you know how much courage it takes to hold to this? I've got families camping out in my hospital, threatening me You may be sincere, but you're wrong.
You're a good man, Leo.
Don't try and make a name for yourself.
There were no marks of violence on that baby.
You'll get nowhere with a toxic explanation because the liver and kidneys are completely undamaged.
I'll go against you in court.
You're not a specialist.
It's common sense! Not handing out many Chairs in that.
LEO GASPS So, you are telling me to withdraw my opinion in a possible murder enquiry? Marcus has been in to see me.
You know what he's like.
This is bullying, Helen.
It's in your interest.
Don't burn your bridges.
I was right about the water.
You were wrong to be involved in the first place.
And here you are again.
Think about this, Leo.
I have.
Back me or sack me.
What do you think of Marcus Gwilym for the Chair? Everybody knows who he is.
They can't give it to him.
He's an arsehole.
Well, what would you do if they did? I'll tell you what I'd do.
I'd move on so fast I'd singe the walls.
I knew he wanted it.
He's tapped you, hasn't he? I heard you thought I was too inexperienced for promotion.
Listen.
I wasn't suggesting that you aren't a first-class pathologist.
Why would you? Just a touch arrogant.
I back my own judgment.
If that is arrogant For example, leaping at a mass-hysteria diagnosis for something which has extremely serious repercussions.
Dr Dalton! Hello again.
Hi.
Hi.
I came with Lanny's parents.
Can I have a word with you? Umyeah.
Why not? They were collecting things from trees.
Lanny bent down to pick up a leaf and found she couldn't breathe.
She said her throat was stinging, and that she was crying.
LANNY GASPS The doctors got hold of that.
They said it was classic for asthma.
They said when some children get it, it can be life-threatening.
I feel guilty.
Well, what could you have done? Paid more attention.
I wasn't outside every second.
I was in the storeroom smoking a fag.
CHILDREN COUGH OK, that's it, guys.
Time's up.
We've got to get back inside now.
COUGHING CONTINUES Spasmodic constriction of the bronchial tubes led to suffocation.
Lung function impaired.
Clogged, with massive internal secretion.
Still no evidence of a virus in the blood test? .
.
No.
The doctors are still saying it's severe asthma.
It's our old friend.
It comes, it does its damage quietly .
.
you survive, or you go down.
The teacher wasn't affected.
And don't say "because he wasn't part of the group".
He was having a smoke.
We need to look at the cases where this happened.
We need to look at the conditions when the kids were outside.
It came through quickly on a cloud blown by the wind.
The teacher didn't breathe it in because he wasn't outside.
He was in the storeroom havinga fag.
Suppose there's a gas.
Airborne toxin.
Here's the school.
Where's baby Ella's house? Here.
It's not far.
No.
Baby Ella died here.
There were four deaths at an old people's home on the same day as the school incident, but that can happen.
Where's the home? Here.
Right in the area.
Scraping the barrel here, aren't we? People in homes DO die.
And get cremated before anyone looks at them.
I'm no funeral director.
Can we follow it up? Any other serious incidents not due to the drinking water? Remember, I went to a restaurant on the docks? Rat droppings and dodgy haddock? That's it.
Some people had to go to hospital for suspected food poisoning, but the kitchen and the food were fine Were they sitting outside? There's a terrace on the water.
Oh, great(!) And there was a couple or two at a cafe.
None of these could be related to the water.
Summer's almost with us, we have people booking up at B&Bs, and you invent another pollution crisis.
The local water was contaminated, wasn't it? Nobody'll come near this place.
I'm hanging on to my job by the skin of my teeth.
That makes two of us.
But what are old friends for?! Let's say it IS airborne.
We need to find out which way the wind was blowing to pinpoint the source.
What are you doing here? Found off Branxstowe.
And brought ashore on my patch.
Er, could be a gangland one, this.
Why d'you say that? He's missing his head.
Are you married? Er, WAS, yeah.
Widower.
The wind was very light northerly, blowing offshore at five knots.
There's some houses and a school on this part of the peninsula.
What's in line with the school? Umrestaurant and cafe.
What's there? Mmm It's Garner UK.
That's Lucas Garner's shipping yard.
Male.
25 to 35.
You go home and get some sleep.
I'll stay(!) OK? Part of a wet suit found on one leg.
.
.
Diving belt.
Rest dragged off his body maybe when his head came off.
Is it a gangland killing? See these jagged edges? It's something powerful and quick.
Looking at the wounds, I'd say this happened after death.
He WAS picked up near the shipping lanes.
Propeller.
Big boat.
Why didn't the belt come off? It's tough.
The wet suit was dragged through it.
Sheath for a knife.
Diver's knife.
Missing.
Tattoos.
Russian? Something like it.
It fits the sheath.
Does it fit the cut in Garner's wet suit? And does it match the wound? What's so important you couldn't tell me on the phone? We've picked up a body out at sea.
We haven't identified him yet.
But he was wearing a diver's suit with a knife.
Tests suggest he might've been the man who stabbed your son.
You've nothing to identify him at all? A tattoo.
Possibly a sailor.
What happened to Selic? Some people swimming near ship two, three nights.
You say keep away at all costs.
Selic - he a big guy.
Good diver What happened?! He go in.
He no come back.
Was he armed? No.
No.
Selic had a knife, didn't he? Yes.
It's the Galle.
It's Lucas Garner's ship.
It's part of the fleet that's still waiting for permission to dock.
I thought they weren't allowed in.
Well, that one got permission because of engine trouble.
Looks pretty bad, doesn't she? Mmm.
And that's the school.
It's my copy of the manifest.
Nick must have found something in here to get him thinking.
All the contaminants have to be declared.
The Galle's been working as a merchant marine supply vessel in India, Sri Lanka PCBs? Mm-hm.
They're on the list.
They're all fairly easy to dispose of.
Here's something Trinadyl-G? T-R-I? The bottle in Nick's garage.
That's what he wrote on the label.
Did you go in to her? Did you go in to her? Were you alone with her? Nicola said you went in to her at nine.
.
.
I was going to give her a bottle at nine before I went out, but she was asleep.
So you went in to her at nine.
How long for? Not long.
How long? One.
Two.
That all? No more than two.
I'm given to understand you were in there for about five minutes.
No.
She had diarrhoea.
She had a nosebleed.
When? Earlier in the morning.
It stopped.
Daryl.
You never smoked in her room or anything, did you? Or put extra blankets on her? No.
No! You think I did something to her? You think I did something to Amber, too? Is that it? Don't you?! All right.
I killed her.
That's what you want to hear.
I killed her.
But that's what bereaved mothers do.
They confess.
It's common.
It's guilt.
She's doing it for him.
Let me see her.
We've got him.
He says the baby had a nosebleed.
Gwilym says they don't at that age.
Don't?! That's what he said.
Uncommon.
Uncommon isn't never.
Give me 24 hours.
.
.
Leo, I have got to send the papers to the CPS.
It'll be on my conscience otherwise.
Did you? Did you take Ella shopping in her pram that morning? Daryl did all the shopping.
As long as I was breast-feeding, he said he'd do that.
But was she ever outside? I can't remember.
There was a couple of sunny days.
She was in her pram.
W-Where? On the seafront? Yeah.
I think she was.
W-Well, don't get your hopes up.
It's not evidenceyet.
Trinadyl-G is a pesticide.
And pesticides cause the symptoms we're talking about.
Hang on Where's the Butler house - from the school? Um Upwind from the boat.
Anything coming from the Galle will blow THAT way.
So, Ella Butler couldn't have been affected.
Damn! Damn! But the wind would blow anything from the boat THAT way, towards the school playground.
Anyway, hold on.
Trinadyl-G, isn't going to be right.
If it leaked into the estuary, it'd dissipate.
It isn't toxic enough, let alone airborne.
Are you sure? Certain.
LEO SIGHS I want you to test Ella Butler's nappy again.
Last resort - I want you to look for oocysts.
Only thing we haven't tried.
Spores? I don't know if I Oh, learn it.
Do it! Can't we send it out? OK.
Let's look at this.
We have got our wires crossed over the last few days, but I expect you to cover my arse in the same way I'd cover yours and right now my arse is over the circular saw.
There's a kind of hierarchy.
One of us has to say "DO" sometimes and one of us has toeffing well do it! I'm sorry.
I'm not very good at this .
.
responsibility bit yet.
I know.
The next time you want to humiliate me, do it in private.
Point taken.
I'm as disappointed as you are.
I thought we'd cracked it.
I'll have a look at those spores.
I'll find out how to do it.
Thanks.
I think I've got it.
Hello.
Hello.
It's Bhopal.
What are you talking about? Union Carbide.
It's not Trinadyl-G.
It's the stuff they use to make it.
Which is? Methyl isocyanate - the chemical intermediate used in pesticides.
Remember Bhopal in India? It killed thousands of people.
It can escape into the air due to a build-up of pressure.
The symptoms on the kids are right - eyes, lung damage, severe asthma.
It's deadly.
It reacts with water, but it needs a catalyst - iron.
Rust.
So, why are there so few casualties? A-And why aren't the crew affected? That's the one thing that doesn't make sense.
If the boat's still leaking, then the reaction's got to be going on all the time.
She's still aground.
But the water's high.
She must have floated easily to get in there.
So, Nick would've had to dive to get underneath her? Where can we find out about tides? I never harmed my baby.
We've got a medical report, Daryl.
Wh What's it say? It's crap.
I'm not I'm not mad! Daryl Butler, I am charging you with the murder of Ella Butler NO! NO! Results of the spores test on Ella Butler's nappy.
Daryl Butler is on bail awaiting trial.
I didn't invent Munchausen's syndrome by proxy, any more than I am Baron Munchausen.
Others, as it were, came before me.
Mothers cry whether they're guilty or not.
.
.
The trick is not to let sentiment get in the way of our scientific rigour, as it did in a recent case I worked on.
Research into cot deaths is still in its infancy.
Aren't we rushing to judgment? No.
I don't think so.
Someone invents Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Suddenly every dead child has died of mysterious natural causes.
Do you deny cot deaths happen? There is something called infanticide, too.
I don't dispute that.
It's about not being gullible.
But all these cases where there's no evidence but yours - that's not justice.
If parents with murder in their hearts now think twice, I haven't lived in vain.
What have you got against that? If expert witnesses aren't challenged properly because they're experts, then what jury's will disbelieve them? Nobody has the right to an open goal.
Yes, w APPLAUSE I came to give a lecture not take partin a debate.
This is a stunt.
Dr Dalton is canvassing for higher position.
I hope you all enjoyed my lecture.
SCATTERED APPLAUSE IS this a stunt? A stunt is just leaving.
And in the case of Ella Butler, whose father is currently on bail, you failed to wait for exhaustive tests to prove she died of natural causes.
Do you know exactly what she's been carrying? They sent me the manifest.
Did it include a list of the contaminants? The usual suspects.
PCBs, asbestosmostly.
What else? They said it was safe.
So, there IS something else.
Why didn't you say? I didn't want to risk you cancelling the contract.
That's why you locked Nick's office.
What did you find? I shredded everything.
Force of habit.
I didn't understand the science, but your son found Trinadyl-G.
It's just a pesticide.
He said it wasn't safe.
It must have been leaking.
How serious is it? It kills fish.
But I don't see the panic, unless there's something else I don't know about.
It IS the tides.
.
.
High tide is a different tide every day the moon waxes and wanes.
The ship came in on a full moon.
Very high tides.
For two nights she had water under her keel and she floated free at high tide when Nick was under her.
And when the methyl isocyanate escaped As the moon waned the tides got lower.
She didn't float.
Now the tides are rising again.
They've been rising a few inches every day.
And tomorrow she will float again.
And the chemical reaction will happen again.
SIRENS BLARE TALKING AND COMMOTION EVERYONE TALKS AT ONCE Let's get you to hospital.
This is all balls.
I'm getting your crew off.
I'd never carry isocyanate.
Nobody would carry it on a ship.
Lucas! I'm about to evacuate the area.
It's serious.
It's killed people.
The Government would never ask us to decontaminate that stuff here.
They'd send it to the Third World.
I'll prove it.
COMMOTION CONTINUES There's nothing to worry about.
You'd better take this.
Wear it.
I don't need to wear it.
There's nothing to be frightened of.
SHOUTING AND COMMOTION MAN SHOUTS: Get out! Get out! Everybody out! Stop! You mustn't go in there.
Everything's fine.
We're not dead, are we? Wait! Wait there! It's not safe.
THEY COUGH LUCAS COUGHS THEY COUGH AND SPLUTTER Come on! Stay out! It's called cryptosporidium.
We found the spores in Ella's nappy.
Why didn't you find it before? It'suncommon.
.
.
It can only be detected with a special test.
I knew she was ill.
You were right.
How did she get it? Did shego near a farm? No.
It might have got onto someone's hands.
He liked putting his finger in her mouth.
You know, playing.
Getting her to suck with her gums.
It could be exactly that.
Simple hygiene.
But you were unlucky.
The allotment! What? The allotment! Manure.
I-I I wi I wish I was de-e-ead! Get your job in Leeds? Yeah.
Er, turned it down.
Sorry.
Well, if you do have you any objections to me Yes, I do.
You're a pig-headed old fart.
Uh-h But you have your supporters.
Er "Leo will probably be a pain "to begin with, but believe me he will grow into it, just as I did.
"As I told Helen Wharton, if she lost the chance to appoint him, "he'll go and make a fool of her somewhere else.
"Yours ever, Sam.
" Fancy a pint .
.
PROFESSOR Dalton? Testator Silens Costestes e Spiritu-u Si-ilenciu-um.