Vera s09e01 Episode Script

1 There she is.
Ma'am.
Welcome to Denford Hill.
I know, the stench is something else.
It's this way.
It's the methane.
Aye.
Me and Kenny reckon this must be the biggest landfill in the North.
No, second biggest.
Brigwell Quarry's got a good 50 acres on this.
Right.
Take me through it.
Unidentified female.
Mid- to late-20s.
Multiple stab wounds.
Who found her? Excavation driver.
He turned up for a six o'clock shift, then he saw her body in the pit.
This is their first day back.
Back from where? Refuse workers were on a 48-hour strike, ma'am.
Lucky for us.
Otherwise she'd be under ten feet of rubbish by now.
Right.
Kenny.
That pathologist.
Tell me it's not who I think it is.
Yes, Malcolm Donahue.
He transferred back here last week.
It's all I need.
OK.
DCI Stanhope.
I hope you weren't thinking of coming any closer.
Oh, I wouldn't dare, pet.
I know how prickly you get about boundaries.
I know how prickly you get Well, they're there for a reason.
And it's good to see you too, Malcolm.
I count five, maybe six puncture wounds to her abdomen and chest.
Any idea about weapon? Something sharp, I would imagine.
And no ID on her? Nothing.
Well, we did find this .
.
in her pocket.
It looks like a receipt.
Other than that, there's nothing to tell us who this girl is right now.
Well, this should help.
What about time of death? Erm Recent.
I'd say the last 12 hours.
Right.
Not much sign of blood splatter.
Look, I'm just saying.
Probably killed somewhere else.
The body was brought here post-mortem.
Try and do this quick, Malcolm.
I don't want her lying there any longer than she has to.
Kenny.
Till receipt, 69.
99.
Couple of days old.
Find the shop.
Yes, ma'am.
Now, Malcolm reckons she was brought here sometime last night.
Now, if there was a strike, she didn't come in a bin lorry.
Then, her killer brought her.
Oh, you're on fire this morning, Aiden.
What's his name? Peter Lyle, ma'am.
Mr Lyle? You all right? Yeah.
I'm DCI Vera Stanhope.
That girl.
Was she really murdered? Ah, we don't know yet, love.
But I do need to ask you about access to the site.
Why, there's only one way in, through the main gates.
Ah, but if there was a strike, the gates would be locked, hmm? I suppose.
So, if someone wanted to sneak in, how'd they go about that? The old access road for the steel-works.
Fly-tippers use it sometimes.
And that from the road to here, that's what? 200 yards? Maybe less.
Thanks, love.
Kenny, receipt? It was issued by Nazeem Fones.
It's a place in Whitley Bay, ma'am.
OK, Jac, I want you to stay here until Forensics are finished and get someone to take care of Mr Lyle.
Now, Kenny, there's an old access road down here.
Get some uniforms and check it out.
Will do.
Right.
Come on.
Let's find out who our victim is.
Yeah, I remember her now.
She was here a couple of days ago.
Did she give her name? No, just bought a phone.
Did she use a card? It's cash, according to the receipt.
Where's she going? Oh, right, yeah.
She didn't have enough.
Went to get more money.
How long was she gone? Not long.
So, where's the nearest cash point? Just round the corner, two minutes.
Thanks, love.
ATM provider says, at the time the phone was bought, there was only one withdrawal.
The card was registered to a Joanne Caswell, 26 years old.
Did you get an address? A house in Jesmond.
Belongs to her parents, Graham and Ava Caswell.
God's sake! We have to go through this every time I come round! Nobody asked you to be here! I want you to go! Oh, here we go again! Here we Go! Get out! Get out! Do you know, this is my house too! Mrs Caswell? Yes? DCI Vera Stanhope.
This is DS Healy.
Can we come in, love? This is a mistake.
It can't be Joanne.
Yeah, of course it's a mistake.
It's some other poor girl.
So, when did you last speak to her? I called her last night.
I mean, I left a message.
She didn't pick up.
Ma'am Mrs Caswell, is this your daughter, Joanne? Yes.
I am so very sorry, love.
Oh my God.
Oh, my God.
When did you last see her, hmm? I had dinner with her on Sunday.
You hadn't seen her since Sunday? No.
During the week, Joanne stays in the city with her girlfriend.
What's her girlfriend's name? Melanie Kirk.
Her flat's closer to Joanne's work.
It's an easier commute.
That's where you need to start looking.
That bloody job of hers.
What is her job? She's a forensic psychologist.
A trainee with the prison service.
Right, so, you saw her on Sunday.
And how did she seem? Was she all right? She seemed fine.
Actually, I'm not sure if she was fine or not.
Graham and I separated recently.
He moved out of the house last month.
What's that got to do with anything? Just trying to explain that I wasn't paying attention to Joanne lately.
SHE SOBS And when did you last see your daughter, Mr Caswell? Well, it wouldn't have been on Sunday, if you've moved out.
No, it wasn't.
I saw her yesterday, as it happens.
We had lunch together.
And where was that? At The Lorsica.
In town.
What time was that? We finished up around .
.
three o'clock.
Joanne had to get back to work.
And how did she seem? She seemed fine.
Just Just normal Joanne.
HE SOBS And how was her relationship with her dad? All right, was it? Lately, not great.
Graham has found himself a new girlfriend and Younger, is she? Well, he didn't choose those trainers himself, pet.
Still Things can't have been so bad if they were meeting for lunch.
Joanne Caswell.
Aged 26.
She's a trainee criminal psychologist with Her Majesty's Prison Service.
Now, there's no obvious motive here.
A young woman, good job, girlfriend.
Parents are separating but, apart from that, home life is stable.
So how does a lass like that end up dead and dumped in a landfill, hmm? So, background.
Mark, emails, phone records, social media, the whole shebang.
Now, the last known sighting Shouldn't we be looking into the prison connection? Well, she'll have worked with some violent offenders.
Oh, well, thanks for keeping me on my toes, Mark.
I'll be talking to her boss just as soon as I've finished here.
Is that all right? Now, the last known sighting was yesterday afternoon at three.
She was having lunch with her father, Graham Caswell, at The Lorsica Cafe in the city.
Jac, check with The Lorsica.
Confirm she was there and what time did she leave.
Yes, ma'am.
Mark.
I wanna know where she went after The Lorsica and start setting up a timeline.
Kenny, where are we with the access road at the landfill? I've sent the Forensics team up there, ma'am.
Right.
Well, let me know as soon as.
Now, finally .
.
we think she was moved to the landfill post-mortem, which means we still need to find the original murder site.
So, come on, start looking! Ma'am.
Uniform, they didn't get an answer from the girlfriend's flat.
The neighbour seems to think she's in London all week.
Well, they need to find her.
Otherwise, the first she's gonna hear of this is when she opens tomorrow's paper! Come on, we're going to jail.
Mr Wells is just over there.
We're looking for Matthew Wells.
You're here about Joanne? Oh, sorry.
Erm, Sandra Madani, I'm the office coordinator.
I'll get Matthew.
Matthew, the police are here.
Matthew Wells.
Senior Psychologist.
DCI Vera Stanhope.
This is DS Healy.
Erm, is there somewhere we can talk? Joanne was a third year trainee .
.
and one of the best we've ever had.
And such a lovely girl.
So, she was popular? Very.
Everyone liked her.
Was she close with anyone in particular? No-one special, if that's what you mean.
She was all about her work.
And was she in work yesterday? She was here until lunchtime, then she left.
But she didn't come back.
Was that unusual, her not coming back? Not really.
The office is really just a base.
People come and go.
What sort of work did she do? Everything from prisoner risk assessments to preparing reports for hearings.
So, she did work with prisoners? Mostly lifers.
Did any of them have an issue with her? Threaten her? Well .
.
working with prisoners is always challenging.
Not all of them appreciate we're trying to help.
Sometimes they can be hostile.
What about Paul Eastman? That was a one-off event.
What was? Do you wanna tell us about that? Eastman is a former prisoner.
He had a run-in with Joanne during his parole assessment last year.
Well, what sort of run-in? Eastman got violent.
You said "former prisoner".
He was released four weeks ago.
Well, we're going to need his address.
Paul Eastman.
36 years of age.
He's been arrested for everything from possession to GBH.
Bit of an all rounder, then.
Morning.
How long has he been staying here? About three weeks.
He give you any trouble? He's got a mouth on him.
Here you are.
Who are you? Paul Eastman? Oi! Shift it, man! Police! Paul! I haven't done any I haven't done anything.
Yeah? Then, why you running? Look, you're hurting me.
You can't just swan into my room and start going through all my stuff.
Where were you last night? I was out.
We're gonna need more than that, mate.
At a party.
Wear your white shirt, did you? Ma'am? The manager confirms that Eastman left the hostel yesterday at 2pm and didn't get back till 4am.
Sounds like quite a party.
I've sent the shirt off for testing.
Let's see what comes back from the lab.
Right.
Oh, here you are.
What's this? Incident report on Eastman's attack on Joanne at Scanton Prison.
Do you mind telling me what this is all about? Certainly, if you'd like to sit down, sir.
Not until you tell me what this is all about.
Sit down! Now, then.
I need you to tell me when you last saw Joanne Caswell.
Wait.
What's happened? Is she all right? No, not really, love.
We found her body this morning.
Oh Is there something you want to tell us, Paul? Is there something We know you attacked her at your parole assessment at Scanton last year.
No.
No.
I didn't attack her.
Well, I've got an incident report here says you did.
What happened? I didn't attack Joanne.
She just got in the way, that's all.
It was him I was going for.
Her boss.
Who, Matthew Wells? Yeah, Matthew Wells.
He was supposed to be supervising, but he just couldn't resist showing off.
Wells made sure that I got another three month on top of my sentence because of that session.
Joanne came to see me two weeks ago.
She came to see you? What, at the hostel? Just turned up.
She said Wells was out of order.
I didn't get a fair deal.
She asked me how she could help.
So I told her about my lad, Alfie.
I've been trying to see him, but my ex wasn't having it.
She persuaded Alfie's mum to invite me to his birthday.
She even got me a present to give to him.
And that's where I was last night.
You were at your son's birthday party till four in the morning? I was there until it kicked off between me and Jane's new bloke.
Got kicked out about ten.
I went to the pub.
It's all a bit of a blur after that.
So, how did you get blood on your shirt? It's his blood on the shirt.
Oh, yeah, and you expect me to believe that? Call Jane.
She'll be too glad to tell you how I ruined the night.
Oh, we'll be calling her, love.
So, what did she get? What? You said she got your lad a present.
What was it? I asked her to get him a new mobile.
Eastman's ex-wife just confirmed that he was at the party until they threw him out.
And she said Joanne was the one who persuaded her to invite him.
So he's telling the truth.
Let's see what the lab comes back with on the shirt.
Nah.
Let him go.
We know where to find him if we need him.
But what's our Joanne playing at, hmm? Tracking him down to make amends? Maybe she really did think Wells gave Eastman a raw deal.
Well, our Wells does sound like a piece of work.
But she was going above and beyond.
I mean, would you buy a lad you've never met before a £70 phone? Erm, ma'am.
Melanie Kirk's been in contact.
She's back at her flat.
Family Liaison have been round.
All right.
Thanks, Mark.
Come on, we better go and see this girlfriend.
I don't understand.
I mean When did this happen? Well, sometime last night, we think.
We tried contacting you earlier, love, but you weren't answering your phone.
Stupid thing died.
What if she was trying to call me? What if I could've stopped this? It's best not to dwell on what-ifs, pet.
Now, your neighbour said you were in London.
Yeah.
That's right.
I'm opening a gallery in Selburn.
I was down visiting some artists' studios.
So, you last saw Joanne? Monday morning, so three days ago.
She saw me off at the station.
And how was she? Fine, I think.
I was running late.
I was worried I'd miss my train.
I'd neglected her recently.
Ah, no.
No, I've seen her phone records.
You called her five times yesterday.
That doesn't sound like neglect.
Just checking in, I suppose.
What about the last couple of weeks? How did she seem? A little withdrawn, maybe.
Any reason for that? I think work was getting to her.
Now, according to the girlfriend, Joanne was worried about work.
Now, we know she had a run-in with one prisoner, Prince Charming here, so maybe someone else had issues with her.
Where are we with her case files, Mark? Her office just sent them over.
I'm about to start going through them.
Right, well, focus on those prisoners most recently released.
And do a background on the girlfriend while you're at it.
Ma'am.
Now, where are we with Forensics at the landfill, Kenny? They found tyre tracks at the access point and they've taken some casts.
Ma'am? Just spoken with the manager at the Lorsica Cafe.
She remembers the Caswells coming in for lunch, said they had a row and Joanne Caswell stormed out.
Did she say what the row was about? She couldn't say, but she said Joanne was furious with her dad.
Was she? Hmm.
If you're looking for Ava, they took her to identify Joanne's body.
Ah, no, it's you we're looking for, Mr Caswell.
Graham, as far as we know, you're the last person to be seen with Joanne alive, so whatever it was about, we need to know.
My partner, Janet.
She's pregnant.
And Joanne was upset because you're starting a new family? No, not exactly.
She's pretty far gone.
The baby's due next month.
I'd let Joanne believe that .
.
I didn't meet Janet until after I left her mother.
Ah, so, she realised you'd been lying to her and her mum.
Yeah, but that's .
.
that's not why she walked out.
So, why did she? I asked her out to lunch to .
.
to help me convince Ava to sell the house.
I don't have a choice.
I've got a baby coming.
Janet's got two of her own.
We need a bigger place.
I'm 59 years old.
Who's gonna give me a mortgage? I don't know, love.
A right charmer, him.
Stripping his old family to pay for his new one.
He's a man with problems, all right.
Sounds like you feel sorry for him.
Well, he's pushing 60, girlfriend half his age and a new bairn on the way.
I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Right, I'm going to see Malcolm.
Come on, I'll drop you at the station.
So, there were six wounds in all.
Four to the abdomen, two to the upper chest.
The fatal wound broke through her ribcage and pierced her heart.
Any update on the weapon? A five- or six-inch blade.
My guess, it's domestic.
Kitchen knife.
Oh, and there are defence wounds.
Here, right arm, right hand.
Oh, so, she put up a fight.
Mm.
For all the good it did her.
Any sign of sexual assault? None that I could see.
Ah, small mercies.
What about forensics? Well, you are aware that the body was found on an industrial-sized landfill site? Come on, Malcolm, you must have found something.
Yes, there's plenty of material, but, unfortunately, it's all compromised.
Well, can I see it? Paint traces.
Yellow.
On her hair and on the back of her coat.
So, where's this paint from? Well, there's no way of telling.
It could easily have transferred at the landfill.
Or it could come from the original murder site.
I've missed your optimism.
Ah, I didn't know she was still here.
Ah, well, it's all right.
Off you go.
Are you all right, love? I remember the first time I came here.
Horrible place to be.
This isn't my first time here.
At the end of last year .
.
my dad, he had a heart attack in the supermarket.
This is where they brought him.
Dad was different, mind.
He was old.
He looked like he belonged here.
But not your daughter eh? Like she was sleeping.
I wanted to wake her up and take her home.
SHE SOBS Who did this to my girl? We don't know, love.
Yet.
Right now, we're just trying to get a sense of what was going on in her life.
What do you want to know? Well, Melanie seems to think Joanne seemed a little withdrawn lately.
Maybe something to do with work.
Did she mention anything to you? She was a little distracted .
.
but I don't think that was about work.
There was a text.
A text? A few weeks ago.
Joanne was upstairs.
She left her phone in the lounge.
It just popped up on the screen and I read it.
It just popped up on the screen So, what did it say? "I need to see you tonight.
" And who was it from? Some girl called Ashleigh.
But when I asked who Ashleigh was .
.
Joanne got very defensive.
She didn't want me to know anything about her.
Mark, I'm on my way back.
Now, listen, it could be Joanne was seeing someone other than Melanie Kirk.
Her mam thinks the girl's name is Ashleigh.
Sent her a text.
Now, I need you to find her, pronto.
What have you got, Mark? Her phone records show she called an Ashleigh Beck four times last week, so I did a bit of digging.
It turns out she's Simon Beck's sister.
Who's he when he's at home? He's a lifer at Scanton.
I've got him here, ma'am.
Good work, Mark.
Joanne was assessing him for parole.
Four weeks ago, he took his own life.
He was a taxi driver from Crowley.
He confessed to the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Payne in 2003.
This lad's body was found in the woods, just outside Crowley.
The case rings a bell.
According to this, Beck strangled Jordan after a training session.
What sort of training session? Football.
Beck also coached Jordan's team.
Crowley Wood Football Club.
Now, where have I seen? Aiden, with me.
This Ashleigh She can only have been a lass when her brother was convicted.
That can't have been easy.
I think it's weird she was going out with the woman who was assessing her brother for parole.
Oh, been in this job so long, nothing seems weird any more.
But I do wanna know why she returned to Crowley last year.
Well, 15 years after her brother's conviction.
Maybe she thought everyone had forgotten.
Places like Crowley? Nah, people never forget.
Ashleigh Beck? What do you want? You been getting some trouble? They don't scare me.
Well, even so.
There must be easier places for you to live than Crowley.
What was it you wanted? We're here about Joanne Caswell.
Why? What's the problem? I'm afraid she's dead, love.
Murdered.
Two nights ago.
You didn't know? When did you last speak to her? I dunno.
Sometime last week.
What was your relationship to Joanne? I suppose we were mates.
And nothing more than that? What? It was nothing like that.
She was helping me with the case.
Case? What case? I've been trying to prove my brother's innocent I've been trying to prove my since he went inside.
The conviction was a joke.
It broke my mum and dad.
I want justice for them.
But your brother, he confessed.
A load of crap.
That confession was either forced or they made it up.
So, what made Joanne decide to get involved? Joanne met Simon in prison.
She got to know him.
Soon realised he wasn't a murderer.
Oh, aye? And how did she know that, then, love? Simon told her.
He told her he was innocent? Yeah.
Then, why did he take his own life? They denied his parole.
He thought he was coming home.
I guess, he couldn't face any more time.
After he died, Joanne found me.
She understood.
She was the only person who offered to help me.
So, how did she help? She looked into the original case.
Trying to find new evidence.
Did she find any? Well, if she did, she didn't tell me.
But it is out there.
It has to be.
Simon wasn't a killer.
Here you are.
Get it while it's hot.
If Joanne was looking into the Beck case .
.
maybe she found something.
What, something that got her killed? Mm.
If she was looking into it.
But why would she help out Ashleigh? Why did she help Paul Eastman? The girl was out to make amends.
Hmm? You think she was trying to make amends for Beck's suicide? She was young.
New to the job.
And something like that's bound to make an impression on her.
You coming? Simon Beck was a hard one to take.
His suicide was unexpected.
He was one of Joanne's cases? She evaluated him for parole.
How did Joanne take his suicide? It's hard when someone you've been working with decides there's no hope left.
Did she talk to you about it, tell you how she's feeling? We spoke after the fact, but to be honest, she seemed to be coping.
Matthew, you need to sign off on the McKinley evaluation.
Yes, excuse me.
Did you know she was looking into Beck's conviction? What do you mean, "looking into it"? She was trying to overturn it.
Working with his sister.
She was working with Ashleigh Beck? You know Ashleigh? I know she's been trying to get her brother's case reopened for years.
Now, we've been led to believe that Beck told Joanne he was innocent.
But she never told you that either? No.
She didn't.
I'm sorry, but I had no idea about any of this.
You think that was the reason Joanne was killed? The Beck case? It's one line of inquiry.
Simon Beck.
37 years old.
Serving a life sentence for murder at HMP Scanton.
Now, we know Joanne was assessing Beck for parole, and when that parole was denied, he took his own life.
Now, that was four weeks ago and it looks like Joanne was upset by his death and maybe even felt partly responsible because we know she started looking into his case.
Now, Archive have sent up Beck's files.
I want you to go through them and see if you can identify anyone she might have spoken to.
Because, according to his sister, Joanne was looking for new evidence regarding the Jordan Payne case and maybe that is what got her killed.
So, come on.
Ma'am, you might want to talk to a woman called Natalie Webb.
Who? Joanne had sent Natalie a number of emails from a personal account.
What were the emails about? Asking to get her husband to go on record.
And who's her husband? Kieran Webb.
He was a team-mate of Jordan's around the time he died.
My, news travels fast.
I can't believe she's dead.
It's awful.
Did you know Joanne well? No.
Apart from the emails, we only spoke the once, when she come round the flat looking for Kieran.
He wasn't in so she started asking us questions about that Jordan Payne lad.
So, what did you tell her? Nothing, really.
I wasn't here when it happened.
I grew up in Jarrow.
Anyway, she was dead keen to talk to Kieran about it.
That's when she started emailing, trying to get me to persuade him to talk with her.
And did Kieran talk with her? Yeah.
Yeah, last week.
I don't think he told her anything she didn't already know.
He probably didn't tell her anything, knowing Kieran.
Daddy's the strong, silent type, isn't he, Ryan? Daddy's the strong, silent type, He doesn't say much.
So, where can we find Kieran? Well, that's him over there.
The coach.
Yeah, go and have a chat with him.
Yeah, I spoke to her.
About Jordan Payne's murder? She wanted to know what I remembered.
And what do you remember? Nothing much.
It was a long time ago.
It seems, before she died, she was looking for new evidence.
She didn't get any from me.
Then, what did she get? Hmm? Oh, look, come on, Kieran.
We don't wanna have to do this down at the station.
The day that Jordan was murdered, I saw Frank Payne going into Crowley Wood.
As in Jordan's dad? Yeah.
I was on my way home when I saw him going in, but .
.
he looked pretty angry.
You didn't report this at the time? Course I did.
I told one of your lot when they came to interview me.
Did they follow it up? I guess there was no need to.
Two days later, I came home from school to find out that Beck had confessed.
Did you tell Joanne this? Yeah.
How did she react? She must have thought it was something.
I mean, she marched straight round the corner to Frank's house.
She confronted Frank Payne? Yeah, managed to get him all riled up.
Thanks, Kieran.
Mr Payne? Is your wife not about, Mr Payne? She passed.
Two years now.
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
You want to tell me what this is all about? Joanne Caswell.
Did you know her? I heard she's dead.
We understand, before she died, she was looking into your son's murder.
She was meddling.
Bloody do-gooders.
You don't like people who do good? Not when they're trying to clear the name of my son's murderer.
So, you did have contact with her, then? She came around.
And did she ask you what you were doing on the day Jordan died? Now, look here.
The girl's dead and I feel sorry for her parents cos I know what it feels like to lose a kid.
But she was trying to slur my name.
Important to you, is it, that? Your name? It's all I've got left, son.
So, what did you tell her? You wanna know what I told her? Mm.
I told her about how I came home from work to find my son missing.
I told her I went out to look for him.
Three full hours, I searched.
The whole bloody estate.
Then I told her how I came back to find some copper sitting there, telling my wife they'd found his body in the woods.
I didn't kill my son.
I loved him.
Where were you two nights ago? I was here, all night.
On your own, Frank? What do you think? He's bitter.
I suppose he's got a good reason to be.
Aye, well, getting drunk at ten o'clock in the morning's not gonna help.
Hey? Well, what do you think was in that mug? Here you go.
I think we should look at Frank Payne, especially if he was in the woods the night his son was killed.
They would've checked Frank out.
Aye, you'd have thought.
In fact, Kenny, who was the lead investigator on the Beck case? Er, Jim Paisley.
He's retired now, though.
Ah, well, I wanna speak to him.
OK.
Ma'am.
I've been going over Melanie Kirk's statement.
I just wanted to check something.
What? Well, she says she's been in London since Monday, right? Came back yesterday afternoon.
Yeah, well, how did she do that? Train! Well, there was a points failure at Darlington yesterday.
The East Coast Line was out of action.
Earliest she could have got back was around nine last night.
What about other routes? Yeah, well, I checked the airports.
She didn't get on any flights.
There was one other route on the West Coast.
But even then, the timings don't work.
So, what are you saying, she wasn't in London? No, I'm saying she wasn't in London yesterday morning.
Well, well, well Dad, please No.
There's no need.
Because I don't want to! Dad, I have to go.
Sorry.
Is everything OK? So, why didn't you tell us? I didn't think it was important.
You didn't think it was important to tell us where you were? Well, I was actually in London.
I just came back a day early, that's all.
Which means you were in Newcastle at the time that Joanne was murdered.
So, why did you come back early? Joanne had called the night before.
She left a message.
She said she didn't want us to be together any more.
She broke up with you? I couldn't understand it.
We were so good together.
At least, I thought we were.
So, these calls you made, you weren't just checking up on her.
I needed to talk to her, find out why, what I did wrong.
She wouldn't even discuss it.
So, you came back home.
Then what? I couldn't find Joanne, so I went to the flat and waited.
But she never showed up.
After a few hours, I needed to get out, so I came here, drank two bottles of wine and fell asleep.
You stayed here at the gallery overnight? Crashed out drunk.
Woke up.
Charged my phone.
Seen I had about 20 messages from you lot.
Then I called you back.
I'm sorry.
I should've said.
Such a shock, I didn't think.
Can anyone vouch for you? The joiner worked late.
He was here till about ten, sorting out some snags.
What about after that? It was just me.
Joiner confirms, Melanie was at the gallery when he left at ten.
Did he say anything else? Well, he said she seemed upset, which chimed with her story.
I wanna know why she lied.
Well, she didn't exactly lie.
She just didn't tell us everything.
She'd lost her girlfriend.
She was in shock.
Well, she had every opportunity to tell us the truth and she chose not to.
Mark, did you find anything on the girlfriend's background? Nothing that stood out.
She's got money.
Well, at least her family has.
They put up the cash for the art gallery.
Right, so she's well off.
Anything else? Bit of trouble in university.
What? Seems she had to leave under a cloud.
What sort of cloud? I don't know the details.
Well, you let me know the second you do, Jac.
Keep looking.
Kenny, tell me you've got something on those tyre tracks.
Good news and bad news, boss.
the good news is we've identified the brand.
Oh, don't tell me.
Common brand, right? Yeah, half the cars in the car park will be sporting the same tyres.
But I did manage to track down Jim Paisley.
And? And he's happy to talk.
Address.
It was the wife's idea.
Legacy wall, she calls it.
Well, you've had quite the career.
Thanks.
Had its moment, I suppose.
So, how can I help you? Oh, it's, er, an old case of yours, Jim.
This fella.
Simon Beck.
It's come up as part of an investigation we're working on.
The Caswell girl.
Very sad.
Did you know her, then? About two weeks ago, she turned up at the door.
And, like you, she was looking for background on the case.
So, what you tell her? As much as I could.
The case itself was straightforward.
We had a witness who saw Beck near the crime scene.
We brought him in for questioning and he confessed.
Did he say why he killed him? Apparently, Beck had dropped Jordan from the team, the lad didn't take it too well.
They argued after a training session and Beck flipped.
Well, didn't that strike you as odd? I mean, Beck had no history of violence.
It did bother me, yeah.
But, then, as you know, sometimes people snap.
Did you ever look at anyone else? You mean like Frank Payne? Well, now, we have a witness, Kieran Webb.
Said he saw Frank Payne going into Crowley Woods around the time of the murder.
We followed that up.
Frank said he was out looking for Jordan.
What, and that was good enough for you, was it? What, and that was good enough Normally, no.
But by that time, Beck had confessed to the murder.
Well, apparently, Beck told Joanne he was innocent.
Did you know that? She mentioned it.
What do you think about that? To be honest, I were disappointed.
The thing I remember about Beck is he had the courage to own up to his crime.
I respected him for that.
I never thought he'd be the type to start pretending he was innocent.
A young lad being killed like that.
You never get use to them.
Ah, well, it can't have been easy.
A case like that.
A lad murdered not a mile from his home.
That's a lot of pressure.
I'm first to admit I got lucky.
Now, Jim Paisley, he's worried about something.
Like what? I don't know.
But I want us to take a look at Beck's interview tape.
Can you get hold of it? Yeah, I'll do my best.
Do you think there's something dodgy about the confession? Oh, Paisley's holding something back.
And he certainly doesn't want us looking into this case, worried about his bloody legacy wall.
'It'll be a lot easier if you just come clean, Simon.
'We know you were with Jordan.
'We know you argued I'm responsible.
'What was that, Simon? 'I said, I'm responsible.
'Are you saying you killed Jordan? 'Well, Simon, this is your chance.
Tell us what happened.
'Give your side.
'I did it.
'I'm not saying any more.
I don't wanna talk any more.
' Well, Paisley's not subtle, but he's got the confession.
'Interview suspended at 14.
22.
' Did he? The interview lasted 20 minutes.
Beck couldn't wait to confess.
He said he was responsible.
OK, fine, but why would Beck admit to murder if he didn't do it? I don't know.
But if he was innocent, and Paisley did get it wrong, then, Jordan's killer is still out there.
Mark, where are we on Joanne's movements? We've got her leaving the Lorsica at 15:10 and then nothing after that.
Yeah, but uniform did just send this over.
Incident report from the night of the murder.
Uniform were called out at 9:48pm to a shout on Orr Drive.
Orr Drive? That's the Caswell's address.
Yeah, some drunk bloke hanging around acting suspicious.
They cautioned him and moved him on.
I hope they got a name.
Aye, they did.
Frank Payne.
You've got no right coming round here and harassing me like this.
We're just asking you a question.
What were you doing outside the Caswell home? I wasn't.
I told you.
I was here.
DS Healy, call the officer who spoke to him and get him over here now! He'll soon confirm it.
All right.
All right.
HE HANGS UP I just wanted her to stop.
Stop what? That girl was out to ruin my life.
Talking about going to the police and the papers.
Telling them I was a suspect in my own son's murder.
So, you went to her house.
Now, what was your plan, Frank? Nothing.
There was no plan.
I'd had a skinful.
I don't even remember.
Did you confront her? No.
She never showed up.
Ah, now, how do you know that, Frank, if you don't remember, hmm? SLOWLY: Did you see her that night? The truth is .
.
I don't know.
Where are you going? Come on.
Everywhere we turn, we run into the Jordan Payne case.
I wanna get a sense of the lad, starting with where he died.
Frank may have had a motive to kill Joanne, but is he really capable? Oh, he's angry.
You heard what he said.
She was a threat to him, implicating him in the murder of his own son.
She had a sighting of him near the crime scene, hardly a smoking gun.
Yeah, well, who's to say that's all she had? Maybe she found something else.
Nah, I can't see him killing her.
No matter how angry he gets.
Boss? Call Forensics.
I want a team here within the hour.
This is where Joanne Caswell was killed.
This is just what we need, thank you.
It was just there.
Great.
Here's the lanyard.
Let me know if you find anything else.
All right.
Thanks.
So, they're taking samples of the paint from the trees and they found this by the outcrop.
Joanne Caswell's work ID.
Did they find anything else? Nothing we can use.
They'll keep looking, but the crime scene's four days old.
Aye, and it was raining last night.
It cannot be a coincidence.
Her dying in the same place as that lad.
Now, then, Joanne Casswell was murdered in Crowley Woods.
So, from now on, we concentrate our attention on this area.
Now, Mark, timeline.
The last known sighting of Joanne was leaving the Lorsica, in the city.
So, how did she get to Crowley Woods? Did she get there under her own steam or did someone take her? And how did her killer get her from those woods to this landfill site? Now, the more observant amongst you will have noticed that Joanne was killed not 50 yards from where Jordan died.
So, what's the connection between these two deaths? And now, the good news.
I want you to go through those files again.
We need to know every detail of that original Beck case.
Now, I'm going to see Paisley.
Ma'am, before you go I found out why Melanie Kirk left university.
Why? Well, it turns out she had some trouble with a tutor.
A Laura Powell.
What sort of trouble? Oh, Melanie developed a bit of a crush on Laura in her first year.
Harmless at first, but then things escalated.
Melanie soon became a problem.
Calls, text messages, she even broke into Laura's flat one night.
Did she ever get violent? No, but she did threaten Laura.
Do you want me to bring Melanie in? No, not yet.
Check out the CCTV at the gallery.
Make sure she was there the night she said she was.
Oh, and, Jac get Kenny to go through her bank records and mark any payments from her parents.
Right.
How'd you find me? Ah, your missus told me where you were and she says you're not to be late for your dinner.
Joanne was killed not 50 yards from where Jordan died.
So, you think there's a connection? Well, wouldn't you? A girl looking into an old murder ends up killed herself in the same place as the first victim.
The same killer? That your theory? No, I'm not saying that.
But you think I got the wrong man.
No, I just want to know what makes you so sure it was Beck who killed him.
I told you.
The confession.
Now, I've watched that confession, Jim.
And I'm not convinced by it.
Yeah? Well, the jury was.
And then there's Beck's motive.
Hmm? Snapping over a row about dropping Jordan from the team? He'd been coaching them for years.
He was used to those lads moaning all the time.
So, what made Jordan Payne so different? Oh, you're looking for holes now.
Aye.
Didn't you look for holes? Look, Jim, I'm just I'm just trying to understand.
Because there's something about this I mean, it just doesn't sit right.
He was abusing the lad! What? You're right.
The motive was weak.
It was nothing to do with football.
Where's this come from? There were rumours in Crowley.
Did you follow them up? And why's none of this in the files? I only found out after the fact.
How'd you find out? One of my squad must've picked it up from one of their informants And so, did you check it out? The Payne family had been through enough.
They didn't need to know This is nothing to do with the Payne family.
I stand by my decision.
Yeah, well, it wasn't your decision to make! I'll go through the files again, but I'm certain there was no mention of abuse.
OK, while you do that, I'm going to find out if there's any truth to these rumours.
Oh.
Well, look, could I have a quick word, Mr Webb? Kieran.
We're just about to go to my mum's.
Oh, it won't take long, Natalie.
You're kidding? Jordan was an absolute lad.
Yeah, well, that doesn't mean anything.
Even so.
There's no way.
Are you sure Jordan never mentioned him? Never even talked about Beck? the thing about Jordan .
.
is, when he died, people had him down as this angel.
And that wasn't the case? He wasn't bad, but .
.
he was streetwise.
Beck would have had to have been stupid to try it on with him.
What was your impression of Beck? He seemed all right.
He was a half-decent coach.
When it happened, we were shocked.
All of us.
The team, it folded after that.
Hmm It's revived now, that's good.
It keeps me fit.
Gets me a break from Natalie.
Ma'am.
Hang on, Kenny.
Kieran Webb said he never heard anything about Beck and Jordan Payne.
Yeah, well, Trevor Dyer heard about it.
Who? The other detective in the Beck interview.
He heard it from Paisley a week ago.
What? Yeah, he says that Paisley took him out for some drinks.
Then, out of nowhere, dropped it in the conversation.
What's Paisley playing at? Ma'am Trevor, he reckons that he's scared, worried they're gonna reopen the case.
What, and he's making sure we're all singing from the same hymn sheet.
Did this fella say who had told Paisley? Paisley didn't say.
Melanie Kirk, ma'am.
I've just being going through her bank record.
She did use her debit card.
And it was, er, at 10:49 that night.
Are you saying she left the gallery? She bought a train ticket from a self-service machine at Selburn Station.
Did you catch her on CCTV? Well, never mind all that.
Where was she travelling to? Well, we don't know.
She just bought a ticket for £5.
80.
Yeah, well, how much is a ticket from Selburn to Crowley? Erm £5.
80.
The first time, when you didn't tell us you came back from London early, I gave you the benefit of the doubt.
But not this time, Melanie.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
I know you left the gallery the night Joanne was killed.
There's a reason I didn't tell you.
Because it didn't matter.
It didn't matter? You gave us a false alibi, Melanie.
You lied to us.
OK.
I went out.
But I didn't see Joanne.
And I'd never hurt her.
In fact, I'd never hurt anyone.
No.
What about Laura Powell? I didn't hurt Laura either.
No, but you threatened to.
You broke into her flat.
I made a mistake.
I was feeling things too intensely back then.
Look, I got help.
I realised I fixated on Laura and didn't cope when she rejected me.
So, what about Joanne? She rejected you, just like Laura.
That's not the same.
Joanne and I were in a relationship.
Which she ended the day she died.
Coincidence or what? So, where'd you go? Nowhere.
Hmm? We know you took a train.
I didn't take a train.
So, why buy a ticket? To get through the barrier.
Yes.
I was devastated when Joanne ended our relationship.
I still am.
And, yes, I rushed back here to try and change her mind.
I would have said or done anything to keep her.
The last call I made that night .
.
I was going to threaten to do something stupid if she didn't come to me.
So, I went to the station .
.
and I stood on the platform, and I wondered what would happen if .
.
if I just stepped out.
But I couldn't do it in the end.
Why didn't you tell us this before? Isn't it obvious? I was ashamed.
No.
That's not the reason, is it? Hmm? You didn't tell us cos you didn't want your mum and dad to know what you'd been planning.
I mean, all this.
The gallery.
Your nice flat.
That's all your mum and dad, isn't it? So, what would have happened if they knew about how low you were feeling? Coming here was an experiment.
A chance for me to prove to them that I can live my own life.
So, yes.
If they knew, all this would be gone.
And they'd assume that I'd failed.
Please, don't tell them.
I checked with Selburn Station.
CCTV confirms that Melanie was on the platform till around midnight.
Right.
Get someone from Family Liaison over to talk to her.
MOBILE PHONE RINGS And I want someone with her in that flat overnight.
Jac? I think I've found one.
Found what? A witness.
Found what? We're at Pizza Cortona, ma'am.
Right, you stay there.
We're on our way.
What? Jac's found a witness.
His name's Tarek Hamawi.
He's a delivery driver for this place.
So, what's he witnessed? Says he saw a woman matching Joanne's description running from a car on the night of the murder.
Can he give us a description of the driver? He doesn't have to.
He's got a dash cam.
Here we go.
Well, there's our girl.
What's she doing? And there's Matthew Wells.
Is he in his office? He's not here.
Where is he? Is he in his office? He's in court all day.
You told me you had no idea Joanne was looking into Beck's conviction.
And we didn't.
Ah, now, you see that little hesitation there, that tells me she's lying.
So, I'll ask you again.
Did you know she was looking into it? You have to understand, Matthew's been under a lot of pressure lately.
This job, it's not easy.
Beck's suicide wasn't unexpected.
Joanne considered him high-risk.
So, why wasn't the man given help? Because Matthew thought he was bluffing, trying to manipulate Joanne.
And when he died? Joanne demanded Matthew take full responsibility, which he couldn't do.
Why not? Beck wasn't the first one Matthew missed.
There was another suicide two months ago, one of the prisoner's Matthew was working with.
He could be struck off! So, when Joanne demanded he accept culpability for Beck's suicide, what happened? Matthew threatened her.
Ah, Mr Wells.
Hello.
Excuse me, what are you doing? No, no.
This is a mistake.
This is really a mistake.
Please! OK, listen up, everyone.
We now have Matthew Wells with Joanne on the night that she was killed.
Kenny, I need Forensics to go over his car so his tyres match those treads up at the landfill.
And, Jac, I wanna know where he was before he got to Crowley.
I can tell you where he wasn't.
Where? The hearing Wells was supposed to be giving evidence at was postponed.
So, where was he? was postponed.
Well, according to ANPR, his car was in the city centre at 2:30pm.
Fulton Street.
Fulton Street? That's just round the corner from The Lorsica, isn't it? Yeah.
He was following her.
I didn't kill her.
No? No, you were with her on the night she died.
She was in your car.
That is the last I saw of her.
Why would I murder Joanne? Well, for a start, she was writing up a report saying that you dismissed her concerns about Beck.
That was a bad call.
And how about threatening to damage her career? Is that a bad call, too? I shouldn't have done that.
But there was no way I was actually going to do it.
But there was no way Joanne was upset about Beck.
And I understood that, but I was trying to teach her that, in this job, you can't take things personally.
You weren't teaching her anything, Mr Wells.
You were scared.
You'd already lost one prisoner to suicide.
Beck would've made it two! And if that came out, you would have been finished.
That's not true.
Were you following Joanne? It's just that we have your car near the Lorsica Cafe on the day that she murdered.
There you are, just round the corner.
No.
I intercepted her.
That's a funny word for abduction.
I didn't abduct Joanne.
She got into the car voluntarily.
OK.
I was worried.
Joanne told me she was handing in the report.
So, you were following her.
I just wanted to talk to her, persuade her to change her mind.
She was obsessed with Beck, saw him as some big miscarriage of justice.
Why'd you take her to Crowley? She asked me to take her there.
And on the way, I tried to tell her a few home truths about Simon Beck.
You told her about Beck and Jordan.
Did Paisley put you up to that? Paisley came to me, after Joanne spoke to him.
He was worried that she'd find some flaw in the conviction.
So, you lied to her, filled her head with this abuse story.
I can prove he was guilty.
Beck admitted it.
I went back over everything we had on him.
15 years of sessions and evaluations.
And eventually, I found it.
Found what? Notes on a therapy session.
The therapist pushes him on why he killed Jordan.
Beck eventually admits he was in love with him and Jordan was going to expose him.
The notes are back in the office.
Get them, if you don't believe me.
So, how did she react when you told her about Beck and Jordan? You can see for yourself.
She got angry and jumped out of the car.
So, I went back to the office and drafted my resignation.
Well, whatever way you look at it, you can't deny Wells has got motive.
Kenny, have you got anything back from Forensics? They're still processing the car.
Nothing yet.
Oh, and the tyres don't match the tracks up at Denford Hill.
So, it wasn't his car at the landfill.
No.
His car was being snapped by a traffic camera, close to where he works.
Clocked at 10:20.
Well, that'll be him going back to write his resignation letter.
OK.
So, let's say he's telling the truth and she just ran from the car.
Where's she gonna run to? Maybe she was heading home.
The station's the other side of Crowley Woods.
Nah.
She's not gonna go home.
I mean, what do we know about Joanne Caswell? Well, she's likes to make amends.
Exactly.
She wanted to prove Beck innocent.
And she's no slouch.
She's goes round talking to everyone, trying to find out the truth.
And then, along comes Wells, and says, "Oh, Simon Beck, he's not so innocent after all.
" So, what's gonna be our girl's next move? She'd want to know if it's true.
And where's she gonna find that out? Come on.
Even if Joanne had come round that night, she wouldn't have found me.
Why not? I was working.
The supermarket at the retail park.
I'm on nights.
Did you know Jordan Payne? Not really.
I used to go to matches with Simon.
I met him a few times.
I can't say I took to him, though.
How did your brother get on with him? Well, he had to.
He was on Simon's team.
No, I mean, outside of football.
I mean, were they close? Did you ever see them together? What are you saying? Look, I'm just asking.
Is it possible that Simon had feelings for Jordan? Feelings he might have acted on? No.
Never.
Not Simon.
No, look, Ashleigh, I know you loved your brother.
But I do need you to think back to that time No.
.
.
because if that is true, it would have given Simon, perhaps, a reason to kill Jordan.
Hmm? Makes sense, doesn't it? You're wrong.
Simon wouldn't have gone anywhere near Jordan Payne.
He was a horrible lad.
That's why Simon dropped him.
All the other lads were glad.
They couldn't stand him! I want you out.
SHE SOBS Talk about being in denial.
Poor girl has spent half her life believing her brother's a saint.
Can't be easy learning the truth.
Are you all right? Something I need to check.
And it's that file that Wells found.
What's this about? I'll tell you inside, love.
What is it we're looking for? What if she's right - Ashleigh? And Simon wasn't interested in Jordan? But he said that he loved him.
Did he? Thanks, love.
Look at that.
Beck admits it.
Psych asks for a name.
Beck says, "Jordan Payne.
" Yeah, but look how he describes Jordan.
"Quiet.
Sensitive.
Thoughtful.
" Aye.
That's not Jordan Payne.
Beck was lying.
And he was lying to protect the lad he was really in love with.
Hey, I'm sorry, Natalie, but we need to talk to Kieran.
He's not here.
Where is he? He's out.
He said he wanted a walk.
Now, on the night that Joanne Caswell was killed, where were you? Me and Ryan were at my mum's.
Was Kieran with you? Where was he, Natalie? He was here, at the flat.
And was anyone else with him? No, of course not.
Please can you tell me what this is about? Excuse me.
You look that way.
So, did you love him? No? What was it, then? Hmm? And how did Jordan fit into this? We got careless.
Jordan clocked us coming out of Simon's house.
He wasn't stupid.
He knew he had us.
Blackmail.
He was an evil little bastard, you know? Still no reason for Simon to kill him.
Right, the day Jordan died .
.
you saw Frank going into the woods.
Is that right? Mm.
Now, I reckon you saw him because you were coming out of the woods.
Simon was a mess.
He was worried that, no matter how much he paid Jordan, he wouldn't keep quiet.
So, I caught up with Jordan in the woods after training.
I wanted to talk to him.
It was no use.
He kept laughing.
Calling me and Simon perverts.
He said they'd string us up if they found out.
Look, I don't know who started it.
But it was probably me.
And before I knew it .
.
I was on top of him.
I had my hands around his neck.
And then, that was it.
Then I came back here and I told Simon and I was panicking, I was crying.
And I asked him what I should do and he said that he would sort it.
So I went home and I waited.
And I figured that you lot would come for me.
And then, two days later, I found out that Simon had confessed.
So, I guess that he must have loved me, to take the blame like he did.
Ah, the things we do for love, eh? Nah.
You were only 15, love.
What happened between you and Beck was abuse and he knew it.
It didn't feel like abuse at the time.
Now, the day Joanne died, did she come to see you at your flat? She was upset.
She'd heard some things about Simon, things that she didn't want to believe.
So, what did you tell her? I put her straight.
I told her the truth.
What, about you and Beck? About everything.
Anyway, she said that I could hand myself in, which was nice of her.
But you weren't gonna do that, were you, pet? I mean, I've got a family a wife.
Ryan.
I couldn't have her out in the world .
.
knowing what she knew.
So, I let her leave the flat and then I caught up with her in the woods.
I killed her, right there and then.
I'm sorry.
I've really I'm I am so sorry.
Ma'am? Come on, son.
Are you all right? Two murders.
Almost 15 years apart.
Same killer.
Same location.
And practically the same motive.
And they say that lightning doesn't strike twice.
It doesn't.
Jac? 'Yes, ma'am?' I need you to do something for me.
Can I come in, love? Natalie I need you to help me with something.
Where's Kieran? He's down at the station, love.
Why? What's happened? Now, one of my officers went through Kieran's phone records on the night that Joanne died and it seems you called Kieran just after 11 that night.
Can you remember what that was about? Erm Oh, cos you were here, at your mum's.
Probably to say goodnight.
You see, he just told us that he killed Joanne.
Now, are you sure you were here when you made that call, Natalie? Or were you somewhere else? Were you in Crowley Woods, Natalie? SHE WHIMPERS So, what happened? Hmm? What happened, Natalie? I forgot Ryan's bunny.
He can't sleep without it, so I left him here at my mum's, and I went back to the flat to get it.
I was on my way up when I saw her on the stairs.
She looked frightened.
I asked her what she was doing there and she said I should just go up and speak to Kieran.
When I walked in, he was on the floor, balling his eyes out.
Like a kid.
Then it all came out.
All the stuff about Jordan .
.
and Beck.
And he's talking about forgiveness and .
.
guilt and .
.
and me and Ryan.
I remember thinking to myself, "This is bad.
"Natalie, you're gonna have to handle this.
"You're gonna have to be strong.
" So, you went after her.
Is that right? Just to talk with her.
To make sure she wasn't gonna go to you lot.
You took a knife, Natalie.
I wanted her to know I wasn't some daft lass.
I was a wife and a mother and I was to be taken seriously.
I went out and I couldn't find her anywhere.
I thought I'd lost her and then I I remember .
.
she'd be going to the station.
And I found her near the clearing.
She said she wasn't gonna say anything.
That she'd decided to let it all be.
That she'd decided And I wanted to believe her.
I really did.
Six times, Natalie.
You stabbed that poor lass six times.
I know.
I couldn't look at her afterward.
She was on the ground and I was just standing there, shaking and crying at her.
I didn't know what to do.
So, you called Kieran.
The look on his face when he saw her.
So, did he deal with the body? He brought the car to the woods.
Then I helped him put her in the boot.
Then he told me to go back to Ryan.
And that's what I did.
Natalie Webb, I'm arresting you for the murder of Joanne Caswell.
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you fail to answer, when questioned, something you later rely on in court.
It doesn't feel like a win, does it? It never does.
I mean, obviously, they did it, but I can't help but feel for them.
But what about Joanne? Or Jordan Payne? Young Ryan.
Don't you feel for them, too? Yeah, I suppose.
Right.
Come on.
Where are we going? Well, you're going home.
Spend some time with that bairn of yours you hardly ever see.
Yeah, I meant to tell you.
He's starting reading, you know.
Full sentences and everything.
Oh? Proper little Einstein.
Go on, say it.
Takes after his mam.