Silent Witness (1996) s11e06 Episode Script
Hippocratic Oath (2)
Nikki? HEAVY BREATHING Nikki! Oh, Christ! Nikki! Nikki! Oh, please God, no, please God, no.
This is Nikki Alexander, late 20s, early 30s, blunt trauma to the head.
Airway intubate 92% unresponsive throughout.
No other injuries? No other injuries.
What's her name again? Nikki Alexander.
OK.
Pupils equal and reactive.
Right then, let's take a look, be very gentle with her.
How's it looking? Bloody.
Leo Dalton.
Let's seal all entrances and exits.
I don't want anyone through here who doesn't have to be here.
Why are there no lights? Apparently, ma'am, they don't work down here.
What we got? It seems this was where she was attacked.
Blow to the head.
What was she doing down here? I have absolutely no idea whatsoever.
Harry.
Yeah? How is she? They're checking her now.
Didn't you check her? Yeah, the pupils were equal, no deformity of the skull and there was no discharge from the ears.
She's having a CT scan.
What did the police have to say? Nothing as yet.
I want to speak to them.
I know she was going to meet that nurse Claire.
What, about Alice Huston? Probably.
Why in the basement? MOBILE Maybe she didn't want to be seen talking to Nikki.
Harry Cunningham.
We could use you down here.
They want me, in the basement.
That's all right, you go, I'll wait here.
Yep.
She said there was Claire Kowalski's bag.
Yeah.
On the floor.
with the contents spilled out.
Has anyone found a bag, a woman's bag? Your friend could have come either left or right.
Probably from the left, that's where the main entrance is.
What's down there? Do you think? It's possible.
Nikki? Uhhh.
It's all right.
It's OK.
Everything is fine.
What's happened? You had a bump on the head.
You were attacked.
Attacked? By who? We were rather hoping you could tell us that.
It's OK, it's OK.
It's all right.
Do you want a sip of water? You were meeting Claire Kowalski.
Do you remember? Alice Huston's nurse.
It's OK, it's all right, it doesn't matter, It doesn't matter, it's OK.
BEEPING I'm afraid I've got to go.
OK.
Stay with her, will you? Yep.
Tell someone she's woken up.
I'll be back soon as I can, all right? It's a toothbrush and a hairbrush, both came from her flat.
You should be able to match the DNA.
Oh, thanks.
Assuming this is her, any idea how she died yet? I've got a pretty good idea.
Tell me she was dead before she went in the incinerator.
Definitely.
There's severe damage between the 5th and the 6th vertebrae.
Couldn't that have happened when they were removing the bones from the incinerator? No.
These fractured surfaces are not clean, they are charred.
So whoever put her in the incinerator must have broken her neck first.
You got a minute? Well? Is there any news about Claire? I can see what's going on.
You've found her, haven't you? I can't tell you.
Come on.
It's an ongoing police investigation.
You people.
Shut up! Was there something else? Something about Jamie Fetherton's death? No.
It has to do with Alice Huston.
Your colleague's going after the wrong person.
My colleague is not going after anyone.
That's not what it seems like.
She has concerns about Miss Huston's methods.
If you're looking to blame someone, I can point you in the right direction.
There was an operation on a baby.
Yes? His name was Sam Reed.
OK.
The operation was performed by Imogen Westerlake.
She's a registrar.
Is that it? That's all you need to know.
Well, how does that? Just look at the operation! MONITOR BEEPS Did you want to talk to me? I did, yeah, but it can wait.
I'm sorry to hear about your colleague, Dr Alexander.
Nikki, yeah.
Is she going to be all right? We hope so.
She's, um she's woken up, so Good.
Have you eaten? So, how does it feel to be called the most innovative surgeon for the last 25 years? Why do you say that? That's what the BMJ called you last month.
Did they? Didn't you read it? I never read anything that's written about me.
Do you? Well, no-one's ever thought that anything I've done is worth writing about, so Are you interested in surgery? Yes, very.
My father was a surgeon.
Part of a medical dynasty.
Well, you know, a dynasty of two.
Hmm, I love basil.
Are you thinking of making a pass at me? What?! Are you thinking of making a pass at me? No, were you thinking of making a pass at me? No! OK.
Here, taste this.
Mm, it's good.
It's horrible, isn't it? It is pretty horrible, yeah.
MAN SHOUTS Bloody hell, Dad! I'm sorry.
I just had a little.
I'm sorry.
Come on, come on.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Like hell you are.
Come on.
He didn't want to know.
Who didn't? The lawyer, Paterson, he didn't want to know.
I told you to forget about it.
But I had the photographs of Ashley Harris.
Dad! I told you not to interfere.
I'm just doing what I can.
They're gunning for my daughter.
Did you know that? They're after her.
She's quite brilliant, you know.
Yes, I do.
But that's what this country's like.
If you're good at anything, they just want to knock you down.
I can manage now, thanks.
I'll be down in a minute.
Just didn't want to know.
Bastard! Why has he got these pictures of Ashley Harris? He and Sam Reed's parents are both bringing law suits against us.
It's my father's naive idea to capture them up to no good, and then use that to persuade them to drop their lawsuits.
Crazy.
But it wasn't even you who performed that operation, it was, um, your registrar.
Imogen Westerlake.
They're suing the Trust, but it was my department that was involved and there was a second operation on Sam Reed, which I did perform.
Unfortunately it's the world we live in.
I blame the Americans.
Do you want to eat? How are you feeling? I've got a cracking headache.
You're looking better anyway.
You've been with corpses all day.
Any news? I'm afraid so, yeah.
They've found Claire? Where? In the basement.
Do you think it was my fault? Nikki, Nikki, it was not your fault, all right? Are you looking for me? I was just checking to see how Nikki was.
I'm not going to die.
Glad to hear it.
One of my officers will be in in the morning.
Take a statement.
It won't be much of a statement.
You probably know more about it than I do.
Everything OK? Fine.
See you.
Are you all right? I don't suppose you can remember anything? Not really.
Not to worry.
I remember seeing a coat.
A coat? What kind? A man's coat? A woman's coat? I don't know, er, It was just the arm of a coat.
What was wrong with Sam Reed? He had infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.
Right.
And Imogen performed the initial operation? Yep, there were complications.
Complications? Burst abdomen.
And you performed the second operation because the situation had become more complex? That.
And Imogen had been called away, her sister was taken ill.
She's epileptic.
Ah, right.
I was at a charity bash with my dad at the time when the call came.
Wasn't there any consultant cover? Yeah.
But he was tied up with another case.
So down to me.
You just got there too late? He died of shock and septicaemia on my table.
Twelve minutes past midnight.
I have some posh ice cream in the freezer.
I'm sorry that's all I can offer you for afters.
Well? This is definitely Claire Kowalski.
Really? Surprise, surprise.
Thanks.
Does the name Sam Reed mean anything to you? Sam Reed.
He was a two-month-old child.
We didn't do the post-mortem on him, did we? I think I'd remember.
He had infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.
He didn't die of that, did he? No, that's why they were operating.
Alice Huston said he died on the table of shock and septicaemia.
Mmmm.
What does that mean? Complications post-operatively are pretty rare.
Normally the child would go on to live a normal life.
Really? How rare? Five per cent.
Five per cent? I'm going to go to the hospital.
Look in on Nikki, will you? Yeah.
You wanted to see me? Yeah, if that's OK.
It's about a baby who died that you operated on.
Two operations, in fact, I've just been reading the report on his death.
His name wasSam Reed.
Do you remember anything about him? Not much.
I was only involved in the first operation.
Yeah, why not the second? I had to go home.
My sister was ill.
The child was in a serious condition, wasn't he? Yes.
I didn't realise how serious at the time, or I wouldn't have gone, would I? She must have been very ill.
Yes.
What was wrong with her? She's epileptic.
Oh, she was having a fit? Yeah.
How did you know? What do you mean? How did you know she was having a fit? A neighbour rang me.
How near are you? Just a couple of miles from here.
So did your team call you? Call me? To ask you to come back in to do the second operation.
They probably did but I had to take my sister to hospital.
Oh, you took her to hospital? Yeah.
Which hospital? Does it matter? If it doesn't matter, why not tell me? Middlesex.
The Middlesex.
Not your own hospital.
No.
Still no-one rang? Again, they might have.
I left my mobile at home.
I wasn't thinking.
No.
And how often does your sister have these convulsions? It's hard to say.
Not hard to say.
Are they frequent or infrequent? Look, what is this about? Is it frequent or infrequent? Frequent.
OK, thanks.
How're you doing? I'm all right.
What's wrong? I'm scared.
Why? I can't remember simple things like the name of the street where I live and and really stupid things like I can't remember which side my fridge door opens on.
Well, I c No, I can't remember that myself.
It's just temporary retrograde amnesia, and all this stuff will just come back.
Including how much money you owe me.
And what happens if I can't remember things for work? Like what? Medical things.
Shall I test you? What should you do if someone has an epileptic seizure? You'd loosen their clothing, put them in the recovery position, let them regain consciousness and rest.
And if this were a regular occurrence would you call an ambulance? No point.
I'd look at their medication.
There you go, that's exactly what I said.
What do you mean? When I was asking myself why Imogen Westerlake took her sister to hospital.
Why did she? She didn't.
There's no record of any epileptic being admitted to the Middlesex the night Sam Reed died.
See you later.
Leaving? Just sorting out my locker.
Why not stayand face the music? It was you? You bastard! Do you think I wanted to do this? Is that what you think? It was just necessary.
Sam Reed - that was your fault.
I was nowhere near him when he died.
You did the first op.
It was text book.
No, it wasn't.
I may only be only a junior doctor but even I know the incision should be transverse, not vertical.
Different technique, that's all.
Look, the firm's under pressure.
They want to find fault.
They want to get to Alice.
I'm offering them you instead.
Got home all right? Yeah, yeah.
How do you select your team? I put names in a hat and pick one out.
Isn't that how everybody does it? The normal interview process - how do you think? So you choose them, they are not attached to you by the hospital? No.
Why? Your registrar Imogen Westerlake is not who she said she is.
What? The real Doctor Imogen Westerlake died in Hong Kong six years ago.
I don't believe it.
It's beyond doubt.
'Do you promise me you didn't know any of this? Of course I didn't.
'And her story about her sister having a fit on the night of Sam Reed's death is also untrue.
'Did you know that? No.
' And you said you performed the second operation on Sam Reed because there were complications.
Did Imogen's first operation contribute to his death? No.
ALARM BELL Shit.
This is all we need.
Ruth, can you get some porters up here? Melanie, start getting the babies out.
Don't run, don't panic.
Sorry.
She'll have to come into the main body of the building.
She can't get through this way.
Take the stairs, please, take the stairs.
Don't use the lift.
SIRENS APPROACH Do you know what her relationship was like with Claire and her boyfriend? No.
Sorry.
Could she and James Fetherton have been having a fling? Imogen spent all her time on the ward with the kids.
I I wouldn't know when she even had time to see him.
I don't suppose you've seen DI Lawlor? No.
I'm starting to think she must have a man in her life.
Alice, what's happening with Imogen? Apparently, she's not who she says she is.
What? I don't understand.
Neither do I.
Helen, sorry Yes? Could you just take me in there for a moment? Thanks.
Hi, didn't you just evacuate for the fire alarm? No.
Too much trouble.
What if there'd been a fire? There wasn't.
Is she a friend? She's my mother.
It's all right, that's everyone's reaction.
I was adopted.
Before the PC brigade stopped all that.
What's wrong with her? She had a heart attack and then a number of strokes.
This is the downward slope.
I I want to be with her, you know.
Yeah, sure.
I'd prefer it if you didn't say anything about this.
If I was a man, they'd say what a good son I was, caring so much for his old mum.
But being a woman, you're letting your domestics get in the way.
This won't isn't affecting the investigation.
Of course.
Do you want to tell us your real name? Maggie Leung Chiu-Wai.
Why were you posing as a doctor? It doesn't really matter any more.
We know you trained in Hong Kong before failing your finals.
Failing? Is that what you were told? I was thrown out for cheating.
I could have sailed them.
But I panicked.
I panicked for no reason whatsoever and I made some notes, like some school kid.
Had them written on my arm.
How stupid is that? And you were caught? Everything I wanted to do, everything I'd dreamed of, gone in one idiotic moment.
And Imogen Westerlake? She was in my year.
I liked her.
We were good friends.
I'd flown to England, anything to get away.
And I heard she'd had a car accident.
She died.
So you became her.
I used her name to get my first job.
I had to be a doctor.
And the panic.
It never came back? What's going to happen to me? That depends.
On what? Whether you killed Claire Kowalski or James Fetherton.
Oh, no, Harry.
Believe me, it is the last thing I would want to do but Exhuming the body of a six-week-old baby who has been buried, what? A month.
A month.
And who is going to tell Mr and Mrs Reed, you or me? They are suing Alice Huston's department, it goes with the territory.
I don't think you would talk quite so carelessly if you had children yourself.
I'm sorry but it is true, it there has been any negligence they all want to know as much as us, no? And I just don't think we have any choice.
Look at Sam's PM notes.
No mistakes appear to have been made.
Exactly, so why did Peters imply to me that Imogen was responsible? Why did Imogen leave after the first operation and lie about her reasons for leaving? I assume she's said nothing.
She's admitted it's not her real name and her brief has told her to say nothing else.
It's not just the malpractice.
Claire Kowalski and her boyfriend are dead, within weeks of that operation.
Now we know he was getting money from somewhere.
Perhaps he was blackmailing Imogen about some mistake she made in that operation which Claire told him about.
This morning they're exhuming the body of Sam Reed.
An enormous amount has happened over the past week.
Claire, of course.
Imogen.
A lot of things have emerged which I feel very bad.
I think I have been so absorbed in the work we do that I haven't given enough attention to you, the people who do it.
So, with all the trouble there has been and with what may be to come, I'll understand if you wish to distance yourself from me.
Whatever questions you feel you have to answer, I don't want anyone to feel they have betrayed me.
Whatever happens, I will always think of you as loyal and dedicated.
I won't say anything.
Nor me.
Me neither.
Nor me.
Is this really necessary? I think it is, yes.
Why? Because I believe that this is connected to the murders which have been occurring at your hospital.
But you don't know that.
No, I don't know.
Can't you just leave it alone? Please? What do you mean by that? It's going to be open season at St Matthew's.
Exhuming a body will mean to everyone that we've done something wrong.
Have you thought about that? I haven't thought about much else for the past 12 hours.
Could, on the other hand, prove to everyone that you did nothing wrong.
You didn't tell me Claire had been found in the incinerator.
Would it have helped? OK, let's go through it once again.
Sure.
So Claire phoned you? Yeah.
And then what happened? 'I remember going down to the basement.
'It was dark.
'There was a bag on the floor.
' Claire? 'Her handbag.
' Claire?! I went towards it.
Some of the things had spilled out.
There was a photo of .
.
of Claire, it must have been her driving licence or something.
And is that when you called Harry? That's when I called Harry! I saw Claire, lying on the ground.
I suddenly smelt something.
I don't know what it was, a strong smell.
There was a noise behind me, I turned.
That's all I can remember.
A coat, you said you saw part of a coat.
Yeah.
That's when I saw it.
Someone behind me was wearing .
.
a leather coat.
That's it, sorry.
Don't worry, we're getting there.
I thought DI Lawlor was going to be here.
So did I.
Right, um, I think I should clarify something before we start.
The first postmortem stated that Sam Reed died from shock and septicaemia following a ruptured abdomen, and concentrated on the second operation performed by Alice Huston.
Today I shall be looking in more detail at the first operation performed by Imogen Westerlake to establish whether that could have been a contributing factor.
That was a Ramstedt's pyloromyotomy to deal with infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.
Er, which means? A muscle mass at the base of the stomach is preventing food from passing to the lower intestine.
Are you ready? Yes.
I shall begin.
She opened the abdomen with a vertical incision which isunusual.
Once into the stomach, she would, er, she would have cut into the muscle mass to open up the gastric outlet.
Ah.
It looks like she's pierced the stomach lining.
Is that a problem? It doesn't have to be.
You'd just stitch it up again, but, er, I can't see any suture to repair the perforation.
They dissolve, don't they? Not this fast.
Unless she used the wrong kind of suture.
Is something wrong? No, um, HE CLEARS THROAT I'm going to have to look at it under a microscope.
But, er, I think Imogen Westerlake used the wrong kind of suture and this, unfortunately, did start a chain of events which lead to septicaemia.
So it was Imogen's mistake, not the ruptured abdomen that led to Sam Reed's death? I think it started the process, yes.
I'd better let the boss know.
And? Nothing.
Nothing? Nothing that affects me.
He picked up that the duodenal mucosa had been perforated and that Imogen had used the wrong suture.
But that's nothing to do with you.
I didn't perform that operation.
Thankfully, I can't be blamed for it.
My daughter's the best surgeon in the world.
How could you ever be blamed for anything? We have got two baby units.
We'll see one of them later but at the moment they're being cleaned.
And this is Jordan, who's been really poorly but we are kind of doing lots of tests to make sure you get better.
You doing your jigsaw.
Yeah.
Ah, good boy.
Let me take you through to see Katie, she's just over here.
Sorry.
Bye, Mr Huston.
It's definitely a vicryl repeat.
It should have been plain vicryl with an omental patch, no wonder the bowel leaked.
Bad news for Imogen, I'm afraid, clear cause of death.
But not the exact cause of death.
That was peritonitis ensuing from the leaking bowel leading to septicaemia.
In the end, yes, of course.
So why did Alice miss it? Alice? Alice performed the second operation and she missed the peritonitis.
If she had seen it, he would have lived.
Did you mention that at the PM? No.
Why not? Because if I am right, then she is finished.
So, Leo, please help me think of some valid reason why a surgeon as good as this would miss peritonitis.
Well, she was called out to treat a burst abdomen.
A leaking bowel didn't cause that, so it wouldn't have been obvious if there hadn't been any time for the fluid to collect.
But the bowel would have been inflamed.
It could have been anyway, from being messed around with.
And she wasn't looking for it.
But she should have known what Imogen had done, she should have checked her work as a matter of course, surely.
Could she have been in a rush? Well, it was an emergency operation but still.
She'd been at a charity party, perhaps she was The lorry driver's changed his plea.
Did you hear? No.
He heard about the drink.
Why can't he just accept responsibility? He killed someone.
My dad's dead.
Why does he want to hurt him now? Do you mind if I dress him here? Oh, please do.
I'm not taking him to the funeral parlour.
I'm going to have him in the living room.
I can't take him to work - he hated it.
His army uniform.
Army.
Which regiment? Did your father have a ring with this insignia on it? Not to my knowledge.
Come on, come on.
Nikki, what are you doing here? I was just on my way to see you.
What do we know about Martin Huston? Have you been discharged? He was the person who attacked me! What? I-I-I sort of bumped into him in the hospital and you know that smell, the smell I couldn't remember.
Yeah, yeah.
It was alcohol.
I could smell it on his breath again.
There are plenty of people who smell of alcohol.
And his coat, it was exactly the same coat! Are you sure? Yeah, I am positive.
Have you told anyone? Not yet.
Stephen Arney was a member of the whose insignia matches the mark on Jamie Fetherton's cheek.
You think Stephen killed Jamie? Well, I did until you appeared.
Are you all right? Yeah, I'm fine.
You're not all right, are you? I'm not imagining things.
You should be in hospital.
I discharged myself.
Nikki you should be in bed.
If Martin Huston attacked me, he almost certainly killed Claire, and if he killed Claire, it's more than probable that he killed Jamie Fetherton, assuming there aren't two killers running around at the same time.
Could he and Stephen Arney be in this together? It's possible.
God knows why.
They're both alcoholics.
They might have met at AA.
Or school.
College even, they're about the same age.
The Army! They were both in the Army.
There's a website, isn't there, like, um, Friends Reunited? Only for members of the Armed Forces.
Lost Army Mates.
Martin Huston.
Here we go.
Martin Huston received the Queen's Gallantry Medal for an act of bravery in Northern Ireland.
War hero, what else? Martin Huston.
Years of service, 1968 to 1974.
Martin Huston was met by the Queen yesterday and honoured for his courageous rescuing of fellow soldier Stephen Arney.
It WAS Martin.
He called in the favour.
After all, he'd saved his life.
When did you give up drinking? Was it the day after Sam Reed died? Did he die because you were drunk? I wasn't drunk exactly.
I I never drank much anyway but I was at this charity evening, getting an award.
I had to make a speech, I was nervous.
So you had a few? And then you were called back to do the emergency operation? Because Imogen had left, there was no-one else.
Did the team know? Yes, yes, they knew.
I thought I'd be fine.
THEY thought I'd be fine.
'And so you missed the peritonitis.
' I assumed the inflammation was due to the first operation.
I failed to check Imogen's suturing and I I didn't see the bowel was leaking.
So Sam died.
What are you going to do? I just wish you had admitted to all this at the time.
Surely they would have understood.
You were the only surgeon available and he would have died if you had done nothing.
You'd have relied on that, would you? On the understanding of the hospital board, of the GMC, of the press, of the families who are already suing me? Even if they hadn't struck me off, this ward would have closed within a week.
You said as much yourself.
And I was ashamed.
I couldn't look his mum and dad in the eye and tell them what I'd done.
MOBILE RINGS Leo.
Yeah.
Er, yeah, I'm with her now.
Right.
Are you sure? No, no, I'llI'll call them.
Bye.
Alice, wait, where are you going? I'm going to see him.
Don't.
Don't, don't, don't, don't.
Just wait.
We should call the police first.
OK? Look, you do what you have to.
I need to see him, I need to ask him what he's done.
I'm going to drive you.
Mr Huston, we think that we know everything that happened.
Yes, I'd guessed that.
I couldn't let them bring you down, love.
No-one was going to bring me down.
Jamie Fetherton was going to.
He was making silly demands.
Thousands and thousands.
ButI didn't mean for him to die.
I was just trying to scare him.
Dad.
It was for you.
And Claire? She was speaking to your colleague.
I knew she was desperate.
The police were accusing her of killing Jamie.
I knew she was going to tell her everything about the death of the child.
OK.
Will you, um Will you confess everything you've just told me to the police? Yes butI'll tell them I was seeing Claire behind Jamie's back.
What? HeHe found out, we argued.
That's how he died.
Nothing to do with any operation.
Whatever happens, we can't bring the kid back.
He's dead.
And I'll say Claire knew that I was responsible, so she had to go too.
I'm sorry but this has to end now, I'm going to call the police.
No! They can't find out what happened.
It would be wrong to stop her work.
Peters, Fox, Linda, all of 'em, they'll back my version of events.
No! I know they will! Alice, I know there must have been times when you hated me.
No.
ButI did try.
No, I never, I never hated you.
You know, I did try to make it up to you.
There's nothing to make up.
I just want you to know that I love you.
I am going to call the police now.
Harry! Harry, wait, please.
No.
No more.
Please.
Don't.
Your father has just confessed to two murders which I am meant to be trying to help the police to solve.
I'm not asking you to cover up for what I did, or to back up his stupid story, I just Please, Harry, I just want some time to say goodbye to my dad.
GUNSHOT
This is Nikki Alexander, late 20s, early 30s, blunt trauma to the head.
Airway intubate 92% unresponsive throughout.
No other injuries? No other injuries.
What's her name again? Nikki Alexander.
OK.
Pupils equal and reactive.
Right then, let's take a look, be very gentle with her.
How's it looking? Bloody.
Leo Dalton.
Let's seal all entrances and exits.
I don't want anyone through here who doesn't have to be here.
Why are there no lights? Apparently, ma'am, they don't work down here.
What we got? It seems this was where she was attacked.
Blow to the head.
What was she doing down here? I have absolutely no idea whatsoever.
Harry.
Yeah? How is she? They're checking her now.
Didn't you check her? Yeah, the pupils were equal, no deformity of the skull and there was no discharge from the ears.
She's having a CT scan.
What did the police have to say? Nothing as yet.
I want to speak to them.
I know she was going to meet that nurse Claire.
What, about Alice Huston? Probably.
Why in the basement? MOBILE Maybe she didn't want to be seen talking to Nikki.
Harry Cunningham.
We could use you down here.
They want me, in the basement.
That's all right, you go, I'll wait here.
Yep.
She said there was Claire Kowalski's bag.
Yeah.
On the floor.
with the contents spilled out.
Has anyone found a bag, a woman's bag? Your friend could have come either left or right.
Probably from the left, that's where the main entrance is.
What's down there? Do you think? It's possible.
Nikki? Uhhh.
It's all right.
It's OK.
Everything is fine.
What's happened? You had a bump on the head.
You were attacked.
Attacked? By who? We were rather hoping you could tell us that.
It's OK, it's OK.
It's all right.
Do you want a sip of water? You were meeting Claire Kowalski.
Do you remember? Alice Huston's nurse.
It's OK, it's all right, it doesn't matter, It doesn't matter, it's OK.
BEEPING I'm afraid I've got to go.
OK.
Stay with her, will you? Yep.
Tell someone she's woken up.
I'll be back soon as I can, all right? It's a toothbrush and a hairbrush, both came from her flat.
You should be able to match the DNA.
Oh, thanks.
Assuming this is her, any idea how she died yet? I've got a pretty good idea.
Tell me she was dead before she went in the incinerator.
Definitely.
There's severe damage between the 5th and the 6th vertebrae.
Couldn't that have happened when they were removing the bones from the incinerator? No.
These fractured surfaces are not clean, they are charred.
So whoever put her in the incinerator must have broken her neck first.
You got a minute? Well? Is there any news about Claire? I can see what's going on.
You've found her, haven't you? I can't tell you.
Come on.
It's an ongoing police investigation.
You people.
Shut up! Was there something else? Something about Jamie Fetherton's death? No.
It has to do with Alice Huston.
Your colleague's going after the wrong person.
My colleague is not going after anyone.
That's not what it seems like.
She has concerns about Miss Huston's methods.
If you're looking to blame someone, I can point you in the right direction.
There was an operation on a baby.
Yes? His name was Sam Reed.
OK.
The operation was performed by Imogen Westerlake.
She's a registrar.
Is that it? That's all you need to know.
Well, how does that? Just look at the operation! MONITOR BEEPS Did you want to talk to me? I did, yeah, but it can wait.
I'm sorry to hear about your colleague, Dr Alexander.
Nikki, yeah.
Is she going to be all right? We hope so.
She's, um she's woken up, so Good.
Have you eaten? So, how does it feel to be called the most innovative surgeon for the last 25 years? Why do you say that? That's what the BMJ called you last month.
Did they? Didn't you read it? I never read anything that's written about me.
Do you? Well, no-one's ever thought that anything I've done is worth writing about, so Are you interested in surgery? Yes, very.
My father was a surgeon.
Part of a medical dynasty.
Well, you know, a dynasty of two.
Hmm, I love basil.
Are you thinking of making a pass at me? What?! Are you thinking of making a pass at me? No, were you thinking of making a pass at me? No! OK.
Here, taste this.
Mm, it's good.
It's horrible, isn't it? It is pretty horrible, yeah.
MAN SHOUTS Bloody hell, Dad! I'm sorry.
I just had a little.
I'm sorry.
Come on, come on.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Like hell you are.
Come on.
He didn't want to know.
Who didn't? The lawyer, Paterson, he didn't want to know.
I told you to forget about it.
But I had the photographs of Ashley Harris.
Dad! I told you not to interfere.
I'm just doing what I can.
They're gunning for my daughter.
Did you know that? They're after her.
She's quite brilliant, you know.
Yes, I do.
But that's what this country's like.
If you're good at anything, they just want to knock you down.
I can manage now, thanks.
I'll be down in a minute.
Just didn't want to know.
Bastard! Why has he got these pictures of Ashley Harris? He and Sam Reed's parents are both bringing law suits against us.
It's my father's naive idea to capture them up to no good, and then use that to persuade them to drop their lawsuits.
Crazy.
But it wasn't even you who performed that operation, it was, um, your registrar.
Imogen Westerlake.
They're suing the Trust, but it was my department that was involved and there was a second operation on Sam Reed, which I did perform.
Unfortunately it's the world we live in.
I blame the Americans.
Do you want to eat? How are you feeling? I've got a cracking headache.
You're looking better anyway.
You've been with corpses all day.
Any news? I'm afraid so, yeah.
They've found Claire? Where? In the basement.
Do you think it was my fault? Nikki, Nikki, it was not your fault, all right? Are you looking for me? I was just checking to see how Nikki was.
I'm not going to die.
Glad to hear it.
One of my officers will be in in the morning.
Take a statement.
It won't be much of a statement.
You probably know more about it than I do.
Everything OK? Fine.
See you.
Are you all right? I don't suppose you can remember anything? Not really.
Not to worry.
I remember seeing a coat.
A coat? What kind? A man's coat? A woman's coat? I don't know, er, It was just the arm of a coat.
What was wrong with Sam Reed? He had infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.
Right.
And Imogen performed the initial operation? Yep, there were complications.
Complications? Burst abdomen.
And you performed the second operation because the situation had become more complex? That.
And Imogen had been called away, her sister was taken ill.
She's epileptic.
Ah, right.
I was at a charity bash with my dad at the time when the call came.
Wasn't there any consultant cover? Yeah.
But he was tied up with another case.
So down to me.
You just got there too late? He died of shock and septicaemia on my table.
Twelve minutes past midnight.
I have some posh ice cream in the freezer.
I'm sorry that's all I can offer you for afters.
Well? This is definitely Claire Kowalski.
Really? Surprise, surprise.
Thanks.
Does the name Sam Reed mean anything to you? Sam Reed.
He was a two-month-old child.
We didn't do the post-mortem on him, did we? I think I'd remember.
He had infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.
He didn't die of that, did he? No, that's why they were operating.
Alice Huston said he died on the table of shock and septicaemia.
Mmmm.
What does that mean? Complications post-operatively are pretty rare.
Normally the child would go on to live a normal life.
Really? How rare? Five per cent.
Five per cent? I'm going to go to the hospital.
Look in on Nikki, will you? Yeah.
You wanted to see me? Yeah, if that's OK.
It's about a baby who died that you operated on.
Two operations, in fact, I've just been reading the report on his death.
His name wasSam Reed.
Do you remember anything about him? Not much.
I was only involved in the first operation.
Yeah, why not the second? I had to go home.
My sister was ill.
The child was in a serious condition, wasn't he? Yes.
I didn't realise how serious at the time, or I wouldn't have gone, would I? She must have been very ill.
Yes.
What was wrong with her? She's epileptic.
Oh, she was having a fit? Yeah.
How did you know? What do you mean? How did you know she was having a fit? A neighbour rang me.
How near are you? Just a couple of miles from here.
So did your team call you? Call me? To ask you to come back in to do the second operation.
They probably did but I had to take my sister to hospital.
Oh, you took her to hospital? Yeah.
Which hospital? Does it matter? If it doesn't matter, why not tell me? Middlesex.
The Middlesex.
Not your own hospital.
No.
Still no-one rang? Again, they might have.
I left my mobile at home.
I wasn't thinking.
No.
And how often does your sister have these convulsions? It's hard to say.
Not hard to say.
Are they frequent or infrequent? Look, what is this about? Is it frequent or infrequent? Frequent.
OK, thanks.
How're you doing? I'm all right.
What's wrong? I'm scared.
Why? I can't remember simple things like the name of the street where I live and and really stupid things like I can't remember which side my fridge door opens on.
Well, I c No, I can't remember that myself.
It's just temporary retrograde amnesia, and all this stuff will just come back.
Including how much money you owe me.
And what happens if I can't remember things for work? Like what? Medical things.
Shall I test you? What should you do if someone has an epileptic seizure? You'd loosen their clothing, put them in the recovery position, let them regain consciousness and rest.
And if this were a regular occurrence would you call an ambulance? No point.
I'd look at their medication.
There you go, that's exactly what I said.
What do you mean? When I was asking myself why Imogen Westerlake took her sister to hospital.
Why did she? She didn't.
There's no record of any epileptic being admitted to the Middlesex the night Sam Reed died.
See you later.
Leaving? Just sorting out my locker.
Why not stayand face the music? It was you? You bastard! Do you think I wanted to do this? Is that what you think? It was just necessary.
Sam Reed - that was your fault.
I was nowhere near him when he died.
You did the first op.
It was text book.
No, it wasn't.
I may only be only a junior doctor but even I know the incision should be transverse, not vertical.
Different technique, that's all.
Look, the firm's under pressure.
They want to find fault.
They want to get to Alice.
I'm offering them you instead.
Got home all right? Yeah, yeah.
How do you select your team? I put names in a hat and pick one out.
Isn't that how everybody does it? The normal interview process - how do you think? So you choose them, they are not attached to you by the hospital? No.
Why? Your registrar Imogen Westerlake is not who she said she is.
What? The real Doctor Imogen Westerlake died in Hong Kong six years ago.
I don't believe it.
It's beyond doubt.
'Do you promise me you didn't know any of this? Of course I didn't.
'And her story about her sister having a fit on the night of Sam Reed's death is also untrue.
'Did you know that? No.
' And you said you performed the second operation on Sam Reed because there were complications.
Did Imogen's first operation contribute to his death? No.
ALARM BELL Shit.
This is all we need.
Ruth, can you get some porters up here? Melanie, start getting the babies out.
Don't run, don't panic.
Sorry.
She'll have to come into the main body of the building.
She can't get through this way.
Take the stairs, please, take the stairs.
Don't use the lift.
SIRENS APPROACH Do you know what her relationship was like with Claire and her boyfriend? No.
Sorry.
Could she and James Fetherton have been having a fling? Imogen spent all her time on the ward with the kids.
I I wouldn't know when she even had time to see him.
I don't suppose you've seen DI Lawlor? No.
I'm starting to think she must have a man in her life.
Alice, what's happening with Imogen? Apparently, she's not who she says she is.
What? I don't understand.
Neither do I.
Helen, sorry Yes? Could you just take me in there for a moment? Thanks.
Hi, didn't you just evacuate for the fire alarm? No.
Too much trouble.
What if there'd been a fire? There wasn't.
Is she a friend? She's my mother.
It's all right, that's everyone's reaction.
I was adopted.
Before the PC brigade stopped all that.
What's wrong with her? She had a heart attack and then a number of strokes.
This is the downward slope.
I I want to be with her, you know.
Yeah, sure.
I'd prefer it if you didn't say anything about this.
If I was a man, they'd say what a good son I was, caring so much for his old mum.
But being a woman, you're letting your domestics get in the way.
This won't isn't affecting the investigation.
Of course.
Do you want to tell us your real name? Maggie Leung Chiu-Wai.
Why were you posing as a doctor? It doesn't really matter any more.
We know you trained in Hong Kong before failing your finals.
Failing? Is that what you were told? I was thrown out for cheating.
I could have sailed them.
But I panicked.
I panicked for no reason whatsoever and I made some notes, like some school kid.
Had them written on my arm.
How stupid is that? And you were caught? Everything I wanted to do, everything I'd dreamed of, gone in one idiotic moment.
And Imogen Westerlake? She was in my year.
I liked her.
We were good friends.
I'd flown to England, anything to get away.
And I heard she'd had a car accident.
She died.
So you became her.
I used her name to get my first job.
I had to be a doctor.
And the panic.
It never came back? What's going to happen to me? That depends.
On what? Whether you killed Claire Kowalski or James Fetherton.
Oh, no, Harry.
Believe me, it is the last thing I would want to do but Exhuming the body of a six-week-old baby who has been buried, what? A month.
A month.
And who is going to tell Mr and Mrs Reed, you or me? They are suing Alice Huston's department, it goes with the territory.
I don't think you would talk quite so carelessly if you had children yourself.
I'm sorry but it is true, it there has been any negligence they all want to know as much as us, no? And I just don't think we have any choice.
Look at Sam's PM notes.
No mistakes appear to have been made.
Exactly, so why did Peters imply to me that Imogen was responsible? Why did Imogen leave after the first operation and lie about her reasons for leaving? I assume she's said nothing.
She's admitted it's not her real name and her brief has told her to say nothing else.
It's not just the malpractice.
Claire Kowalski and her boyfriend are dead, within weeks of that operation.
Now we know he was getting money from somewhere.
Perhaps he was blackmailing Imogen about some mistake she made in that operation which Claire told him about.
This morning they're exhuming the body of Sam Reed.
An enormous amount has happened over the past week.
Claire, of course.
Imogen.
A lot of things have emerged which I feel very bad.
I think I have been so absorbed in the work we do that I haven't given enough attention to you, the people who do it.
So, with all the trouble there has been and with what may be to come, I'll understand if you wish to distance yourself from me.
Whatever questions you feel you have to answer, I don't want anyone to feel they have betrayed me.
Whatever happens, I will always think of you as loyal and dedicated.
I won't say anything.
Nor me.
Me neither.
Nor me.
Is this really necessary? I think it is, yes.
Why? Because I believe that this is connected to the murders which have been occurring at your hospital.
But you don't know that.
No, I don't know.
Can't you just leave it alone? Please? What do you mean by that? It's going to be open season at St Matthew's.
Exhuming a body will mean to everyone that we've done something wrong.
Have you thought about that? I haven't thought about much else for the past 12 hours.
Could, on the other hand, prove to everyone that you did nothing wrong.
You didn't tell me Claire had been found in the incinerator.
Would it have helped? OK, let's go through it once again.
Sure.
So Claire phoned you? Yeah.
And then what happened? 'I remember going down to the basement.
'It was dark.
'There was a bag on the floor.
' Claire? 'Her handbag.
' Claire?! I went towards it.
Some of the things had spilled out.
There was a photo of .
.
of Claire, it must have been her driving licence or something.
And is that when you called Harry? That's when I called Harry! I saw Claire, lying on the ground.
I suddenly smelt something.
I don't know what it was, a strong smell.
There was a noise behind me, I turned.
That's all I can remember.
A coat, you said you saw part of a coat.
Yeah.
That's when I saw it.
Someone behind me was wearing .
.
a leather coat.
That's it, sorry.
Don't worry, we're getting there.
I thought DI Lawlor was going to be here.
So did I.
Right, um, I think I should clarify something before we start.
The first postmortem stated that Sam Reed died from shock and septicaemia following a ruptured abdomen, and concentrated on the second operation performed by Alice Huston.
Today I shall be looking in more detail at the first operation performed by Imogen Westerlake to establish whether that could have been a contributing factor.
That was a Ramstedt's pyloromyotomy to deal with infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis.
Er, which means? A muscle mass at the base of the stomach is preventing food from passing to the lower intestine.
Are you ready? Yes.
I shall begin.
She opened the abdomen with a vertical incision which isunusual.
Once into the stomach, she would, er, she would have cut into the muscle mass to open up the gastric outlet.
Ah.
It looks like she's pierced the stomach lining.
Is that a problem? It doesn't have to be.
You'd just stitch it up again, but, er, I can't see any suture to repair the perforation.
They dissolve, don't they? Not this fast.
Unless she used the wrong kind of suture.
Is something wrong? No, um, HE CLEARS THROAT I'm going to have to look at it under a microscope.
But, er, I think Imogen Westerlake used the wrong kind of suture and this, unfortunately, did start a chain of events which lead to septicaemia.
So it was Imogen's mistake, not the ruptured abdomen that led to Sam Reed's death? I think it started the process, yes.
I'd better let the boss know.
And? Nothing.
Nothing? Nothing that affects me.
He picked up that the duodenal mucosa had been perforated and that Imogen had used the wrong suture.
But that's nothing to do with you.
I didn't perform that operation.
Thankfully, I can't be blamed for it.
My daughter's the best surgeon in the world.
How could you ever be blamed for anything? We have got two baby units.
We'll see one of them later but at the moment they're being cleaned.
And this is Jordan, who's been really poorly but we are kind of doing lots of tests to make sure you get better.
You doing your jigsaw.
Yeah.
Ah, good boy.
Let me take you through to see Katie, she's just over here.
Sorry.
Bye, Mr Huston.
It's definitely a vicryl repeat.
It should have been plain vicryl with an omental patch, no wonder the bowel leaked.
Bad news for Imogen, I'm afraid, clear cause of death.
But not the exact cause of death.
That was peritonitis ensuing from the leaking bowel leading to septicaemia.
In the end, yes, of course.
So why did Alice miss it? Alice? Alice performed the second operation and she missed the peritonitis.
If she had seen it, he would have lived.
Did you mention that at the PM? No.
Why not? Because if I am right, then she is finished.
So, Leo, please help me think of some valid reason why a surgeon as good as this would miss peritonitis.
Well, she was called out to treat a burst abdomen.
A leaking bowel didn't cause that, so it wouldn't have been obvious if there hadn't been any time for the fluid to collect.
But the bowel would have been inflamed.
It could have been anyway, from being messed around with.
And she wasn't looking for it.
But she should have known what Imogen had done, she should have checked her work as a matter of course, surely.
Could she have been in a rush? Well, it was an emergency operation but still.
She'd been at a charity party, perhaps she was The lorry driver's changed his plea.
Did you hear? No.
He heard about the drink.
Why can't he just accept responsibility? He killed someone.
My dad's dead.
Why does he want to hurt him now? Do you mind if I dress him here? Oh, please do.
I'm not taking him to the funeral parlour.
I'm going to have him in the living room.
I can't take him to work - he hated it.
His army uniform.
Army.
Which regiment? Did your father have a ring with this insignia on it? Not to my knowledge.
Come on, come on.
Nikki, what are you doing here? I was just on my way to see you.
What do we know about Martin Huston? Have you been discharged? He was the person who attacked me! What? I-I-I sort of bumped into him in the hospital and you know that smell, the smell I couldn't remember.
Yeah, yeah.
It was alcohol.
I could smell it on his breath again.
There are plenty of people who smell of alcohol.
And his coat, it was exactly the same coat! Are you sure? Yeah, I am positive.
Have you told anyone? Not yet.
Stephen Arney was a member of the whose insignia matches the mark on Jamie Fetherton's cheek.
You think Stephen killed Jamie? Well, I did until you appeared.
Are you all right? Yeah, I'm fine.
You're not all right, are you? I'm not imagining things.
You should be in hospital.
I discharged myself.
Nikki you should be in bed.
If Martin Huston attacked me, he almost certainly killed Claire, and if he killed Claire, it's more than probable that he killed Jamie Fetherton, assuming there aren't two killers running around at the same time.
Could he and Stephen Arney be in this together? It's possible.
God knows why.
They're both alcoholics.
They might have met at AA.
Or school.
College even, they're about the same age.
The Army! They were both in the Army.
There's a website, isn't there, like, um, Friends Reunited? Only for members of the Armed Forces.
Lost Army Mates.
Martin Huston.
Here we go.
Martin Huston received the Queen's Gallantry Medal for an act of bravery in Northern Ireland.
War hero, what else? Martin Huston.
Years of service, 1968 to 1974.
Martin Huston was met by the Queen yesterday and honoured for his courageous rescuing of fellow soldier Stephen Arney.
It WAS Martin.
He called in the favour.
After all, he'd saved his life.
When did you give up drinking? Was it the day after Sam Reed died? Did he die because you were drunk? I wasn't drunk exactly.
I I never drank much anyway but I was at this charity evening, getting an award.
I had to make a speech, I was nervous.
So you had a few? And then you were called back to do the emergency operation? Because Imogen had left, there was no-one else.
Did the team know? Yes, yes, they knew.
I thought I'd be fine.
THEY thought I'd be fine.
'And so you missed the peritonitis.
' I assumed the inflammation was due to the first operation.
I failed to check Imogen's suturing and I I didn't see the bowel was leaking.
So Sam died.
What are you going to do? I just wish you had admitted to all this at the time.
Surely they would have understood.
You were the only surgeon available and he would have died if you had done nothing.
You'd have relied on that, would you? On the understanding of the hospital board, of the GMC, of the press, of the families who are already suing me? Even if they hadn't struck me off, this ward would have closed within a week.
You said as much yourself.
And I was ashamed.
I couldn't look his mum and dad in the eye and tell them what I'd done.
MOBILE RINGS Leo.
Yeah.
Er, yeah, I'm with her now.
Right.
Are you sure? No, no, I'llI'll call them.
Bye.
Alice, wait, where are you going? I'm going to see him.
Don't.
Don't, don't, don't, don't.
Just wait.
We should call the police first.
OK? Look, you do what you have to.
I need to see him, I need to ask him what he's done.
I'm going to drive you.
Mr Huston, we think that we know everything that happened.
Yes, I'd guessed that.
I couldn't let them bring you down, love.
No-one was going to bring me down.
Jamie Fetherton was going to.
He was making silly demands.
Thousands and thousands.
ButI didn't mean for him to die.
I was just trying to scare him.
Dad.
It was for you.
And Claire? She was speaking to your colleague.
I knew she was desperate.
The police were accusing her of killing Jamie.
I knew she was going to tell her everything about the death of the child.
OK.
Will you, um Will you confess everything you've just told me to the police? Yes butI'll tell them I was seeing Claire behind Jamie's back.
What? HeHe found out, we argued.
That's how he died.
Nothing to do with any operation.
Whatever happens, we can't bring the kid back.
He's dead.
And I'll say Claire knew that I was responsible, so she had to go too.
I'm sorry but this has to end now, I'm going to call the police.
No! They can't find out what happened.
It would be wrong to stop her work.
Peters, Fox, Linda, all of 'em, they'll back my version of events.
No! I know they will! Alice, I know there must have been times when you hated me.
No.
ButI did try.
No, I never, I never hated you.
You know, I did try to make it up to you.
There's nothing to make up.
I just want you to know that I love you.
I am going to call the police now.
Harry! Harry, wait, please.
No.
No more.
Please.
Don't.
Your father has just confessed to two murders which I am meant to be trying to help the police to solve.
I'm not asking you to cover up for what I did, or to back up his stupid story, I just Please, Harry, I just want some time to say goodbye to my dad.
GUNSHOT