Silent Witness (1996) s13e01 Episode Script

Mrs Craven's body was identified by her husband.
The Swiss doctors attending the deceased recorded the cause of death as cancer.
There's a lot of moral I don't know, stigma that goes along with suicide and I know people - doctors, pathologists are reluctant to She had an inoperable cancerous brain tumour.
As her insurers we were aware she had cancer.
We were also aware that the cancer was so advanced and her quality of life so poor that it was, in itself, evidence of her motive to commit suicide.
I'm sorry.
Run that by me again.
The degree to which the disease has advanced can suggest motive? She died in Switzerland.
What? People don't die in Switzerland? It was only going to get worse, Nikki, we all knew that.
We speculate that she went there for an assisted suicide.
Let me guess, her insurers don't want to pay out on a life insurance policy and if it was suicide, assisted or otherwise they won't have to.
That's not material to our conversation.
I'm sorry.
How advanced was the tumour? It was advanced, very advanced.
Based on your experience as a forensic pathologist was it an assisted suicide? This is just a pre-inquest review, Dr Alexander.
It's not for the record.
Examination of the lungs showed pulmonary oedema - fluid on the lungs.
Yes, we know.
It's in your report.
Had she eaten before she died? Yes.
A very small amount.
Most of it was undigested.
Foie Gras? It was a favourite.
Does that sound like a snack or a last meal? Mr Byfield.
Ah, don't worry about answering, I wouldn't want you to speculate.
Morphine in her blood stream? Yes.
A large quantity? Relative to her body weight.
If she'd been using it for a while the body develops tolerance, more is required to relieve the pain.
More than enough to stop her heart? More than enough to kill a fit man five times her size? I've explained why there might be a large amount in her bloods.
Does it matter? You can't conflate amount with intent.
Can't you, Doctor? Was it, in your view, an assisted suicide? She ready for the seamstress? Do a good job, won't you, Charlie? Always do.
She's got young kids.
No worries.
Her impending death was inevitable.
Someone was trying to ease her pain.
She stopped breathing.
Ease her pain? Someone was trying to help her kill herself and they succeeded.
I can't tell you what the intent may have been.
Any pathologist that does is a liar.
PHONE RINGS Hello? Do I sound like Professor Dalton? Then it's a pretty good chance I'm not him.
Can I take a message? Who is it? Can I ask who's speaking? William Byfield again about the Stephen Connelly case.
William Byfield.
Who? I'll call back.
An open verdict on the Sally Craven case was the best you were going to do, William.
We both know what the truth was on that one.
Here you are.
Cheers, David.
Thanks for seeing me.
You obviously got my e-mail? Yes.
We've known each other a while David, out of respect I thought I better come speak to you.
I appreciate your courtesy.
I've got a difficult problem.
Every way I look at it, it comes back to the same thing.
The pathology report on Connelly doesn't make sense.
Ah! That's hot.
Like I said on the phone, I'm having trouble verifying the post mortem.
I can't let it go.
I don't think it's been recorded properly.
All a bit sloppy.
I just thought, since you were the Coroner's Officer on this one you might be able to put a rocket under them, straighten this thing out.
I think the milk's off, mate.
It's not soya or something foul is it? No, no.
Don't worry.
Look, it's not a problem.
Leave it with me.
I'll figure out what happened.
I'll get back to you by the end of the day? Cheers, mate.
William, are you OK? I'm fine, David.
GIRL: Oh, shit! SIRENS William Byfield, did you get that from the vehicle reg? Yup.
You're too late, mate.
We're all too late.
Right, I want confirmation of the deceased's identity as soon as you can.
Who are you? Dr Alexander, forensic pathologist.
Who are you? Detective Sergeant Rogerson.
I'm in charge.
I would never have guessed.
Where's the deceased? Suicide.
Don't move the body.
Don't contaminate the scene.
Don't leave without letting me know.
What? Well, you obviously want to hold my hand.
No? I'll get on with it then.
I know him.
Not well.
William Byfield.
He was the insurance investigator on the Sally Craven inquiry.
The assisted suicide? Yes.
Could be a long night.
Yeah, I'm sorry, I tried to get hold of Leo but he wasn't answering.
Surprise, surprise.
Byfield and I had a fairly public disagreement on Craven so I thought it was safer all around if you attended the scene in case there was any comeback.
Prudent.
Prudent? Yes, prudent.
I haven't heard that word in years! Does that tell us something about the word or you? Coroner's Officer.
Suicide.
Don't touch anything.
Yes, of course, I understand.
Mr Levin? Dr Alexander, Dr Cunningham.
Er, I don't know how well you knew him but, um the deceased is William Byfield.
William!? That's terrible.
William.
Dr Cunningham will handle the post-mortem to avoid any possible accusation of conflict of interest.
Yes, of course.
He came to see me today.
I mean II don't know him that well, but it's always a shock when someone you know dies.
You'd, um You'd think we'd be used to it, develop a sort of callus.
I suppose it reminds us, because we know them, they're not anonymous.
Hello.
Can I help you? I hope so, Dr Harry Cunningham to see Mr Levin.
Take a seat.
Thank you.
Harry Cunningham? Yeah.
Do I? Rebecca Connelly.
I work over at Riverside.
Rebecca.
That's right.
You asked me to speak to a couple.
I'm a grief counsellor there.
I'm sorry.
You probably don't remember me.
No, no, no.
No, I remember you.
I mean, I think I remember There was a fire in a building.
That's right.
Tragic for the family.
That's right.
Yes, I remember.
Of course I do.
How are you? Well.
I mean as well as one can be really.
Yeah.
Do you know what I remember about you? How kind you were.
I'm still kind.
I hope so.
Are you here to testify? Um, well, no.
The Coroner's Officer asked me over for a chat.
You? Oh.
I've been asked to answer some questions.
My husband died a few months ago.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Was there some issue? I'm sorry.
That's, er, none of my business.
I'd better go.
They'll be expecting me.
I used to think about you.
It's nice to see you again.
It's nice to see you too.
Dr Cunningham? Mr Levin, hi.
It was a difficult night.
Yes.
I do appreciate you and Dr Alexander being so understanding.
No, no, no problem.
I didn't realise that he was so despondent.
I feel I should have helped somehow.
Well Anyway, thank you for coming.
If it was suicide, I just want to handle this with sensitivity Yes, yes, of course.
Police think it was suicide.
Well, he generally looked after the no hopers.
Family complaints, cases that were closed.
A real terrier.
No-one liked seeing him on the other side of the table.
He was slowing down.
Health hadn't been good.
He was a character.
Did you know him? No.
Didn't try to grope you at the Christmas party? I feel slighted.
Yeah, the lads are stretched.
Just review and close up the files he had open, yeah? I had a look at his last summary report.
It didn't look like he had anything lively.
Oh, and go ahead and open up a file for him.
Once the Coroner's ruled it suicide we can close it.
Funny an insurance man committing suicide.
Funny? There's nothing funny about suicide.
Well, he knew his insurance wouldn't pay out.
SOBBING Rebecca? Are you all right? I'm fine.
Is therelike a smell in here or is it just me? It's just you.
Yep, well I kinda set myself up for that one, didn't I? I just thought bodies and chemicals and you know We don't keep dead bodies here.
Course not.
This is just the inquisition form.
I need a copy of the whole file, pathologist report, everything.
I don't mind waiting.
They'll shoot me if I don't get itback at the office, I mean, not here.
I don't think they'd shoot me here.
I might.
Can I help? Has something changed? What's she need? Why don't you ever ask me what I need, David? Full judgment on Stephen Connelly.
Are you an interested party? Very interested.
He IS a big boy.
Um, the Mortician wants me to attach the toupee, he had one fall off.
Very embarrassing, it's made him edgy.
Now, how would one attach a toupee? Glue? Turn the mic off.
Yes.
Glue, or a staple.
Staple! Perfect.
I'll just bang one into his skull.
Charlie, a little bit of respect, please.
What? Do you think he can hear me? No.
But I can.
Two blood samples - one for police toxicology and one for the in house tox screen.
Got it.
You can turn the mic on.
OK, let's have a look at this and then we're done.
Thanks.
Cherry pink blood.
Very pink.
Blood saturation of carbon monoxide, carboxyhaemoglobin.
Greater than 30% results in a visible change in the colour of the blood.
Right.
Right lung.
Did the exhaust fumes do that? Cigarettes.
Oh, shit.
Get those blood samples labelled up and ready to go will you? OK, let's have a look at the stomach.
OK, let's, er Let's have a look at this and then we're done.
OK, multiple spots of bleeding, erosions, ulcers to the stomach lining, lots of stress.
Ooh, too much stress.
Sorry, everyone.
No breakfast, low blood sugar.
Byfield had an enlarged heart, congestive heart failure, lung damage, ulcers Blood sample for the Coroner's Officer remember.
On it.
He'd been trying to kill himself for years really, just very slowly.
And yesterday he got in a hurry.
Yes, quite.
Based on the colour change to the blood and the circumstances in which he was found, I think it is fair to conclude that William Byfield died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, plus the undetectable contribution of carbon dioxide to be assessed on the tox screen.
Thank you.
Right well, suicide is not a police matter so in the absence of suspicious circumstances, I'll leave it with you.
I'll finish it up.
And Charlie will get you a blood sample for your tox lab.
Thank you.
OK.
Dr Cunningham.
Bye.
Calcification can be useful forensically in assessing the timing of fractures, whether it's an old fracture or a new fracture.
Really? Mm-hm.
And, look at this.
In the dermis, calcification of collagen.
This was an electrical injury.
You can just see the deposition of calcium salts beneath the area of an electrical cathode and this is how we proved that this man was a victim of torture, an electrical torture.
It's absolutely fascinating.
I never knew you could do stuff like that.
Hello, hello! Don't get any ideas.
What do you mean don't get any ideas? I was just passing by.
I saw the way you looked at her.
Well, just a little idea.
The world would be a very dull place without little ideas.
Can't help it.
Involuntary response.
Involuntary? All right, all right, maybe there is a degree of volition.
There is a strong, uncontrollable thing out there and if there wasn't, there wouldn't be any poetry.
No poetry? Yeah, love, poetry, art, bad song lyrics.
You walk by an open door, see a good looking girl, have a lascivious thought and somehow you've turned it into love, poetry and art? It's an extraordinary talent.
Is it a phase you're going through? No.
Do you remember Leo normally being so very interested in calcification? I don't think so.
She is good looking, hence the enthusiasm.
Don't matter how old the dog is What? He still wants his bone.
Do you know what happened to Lot's wife? Tell me.
Turned to salt.
Calcification? During the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
And we all know what went on there.
Was it? Yes, it was.
Ah, Nikki is full of useless information.
Sorry, this is Dr Alexander, Dr Cunningham.
Hello.
You look too young to be a doctor.
You're hired.
NIKKI LAUGHS What? It's a career with many challenges.
I've had some extraordinary cases over the years and yet a lot of medical students don't even consider it.
If I was a medical student I definitely would.
You're not a medical student? No, I didn't have the grades.
Not clever enough.
My technician said Hold on.
Charlie? Could you get hold of Charlie for me? Um, my technician said that you were a medical student about to start your foundation year.
I wish! So who are you then? I mean, why are you here? Well, I need your help and your advice.
I work for an insurance company and there was a case I wanted to discuss with you I'm going to have to ask you to leave.
It's about a chap called Stephen Connelly.
I don't know anybody called Stephen Connelly.
He's dead.
Right.
No surprises there.
I guess that's kind of normal for you.
Um, death at home.
Apparently, you did the post mortem.
I really don't know who you're talking about, is it an active case? A few months back.
There was no toxicology report in his Coroner's file.
Admittedly I'm no expert but that is unusual, yes? So I figured that you must have it because you did the post mortem.
Well, actually it wasn't me who thought that, it was my colleague and he called you and called you and you never took his call, which is either rude or suspicious.
Which are you? You wanted me, Professor? Hiya.
How's it going? Could you call security, please.
Not great, huh? Oh, no! Don't do that! Why would you do that? We were getting along so well.
I'm not able to discuss individual cases.
Apparently the deceased's sister is a real pain.
Everything is somebody else's fault.
I want you to leave now.
She hates her brother's wife.
She thinks she killed her husband.
Then she should tell the police.
Ah, no, she has.
I just thought that a simple, quick word with you, Professor, would just sort it.
I didn't think you'd have something to hide.
I haven't got anything to hide.
He got cremated.
Now the sister thinks cremation wouldn't be on the agenda.
I mean, he was religious.
Well, maybe his wife wasn't.
Maybe.
Jennifer, the sister, wasn't even invited to the cremation.
Maybe nobody likes her.
Maybe.
Actually, that explanation does make a lot of sense because I don't think anyone does.
Nonetheless, she is very suspicious.
Well, the police and the Coroner obviously weren't suspicious.
I'm sorry I cannot help you any more.
Could you escort Miss Ambler from the building please? I'll tell you what makes me suspicious, there was no record of a 999 call.
But, wife's the only witness.
Fit middle aged man apparently dies of a cerebral infarction and no-one tries to save him.
Seem suspicious to you? Harry? Byfield is a suicide, right? Mm-hm.
Carboxyhaemoglobin, right? Right.
Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Go to sleep never wake up, right? Right.
In house tox results.
Just got them.
I don't get it.
Have you done an exhaust pipe recently? No.
I don't think I have, not for a while.
Neither have I.
Tall buildings these days.
We have assumed that there was no foul play.
So have the police.
Hose pipe, exhaust, etcetera.
Suicide note? Not that anyone's found.
So obviously it's carbon monoxide poisoning but then these bloods have come back and the HbCO blood saturation was only 10%, not enough to kill him.
And that's normal resting concentration for a smoker.
But look at the blood, cherry red.
Carbon monoxide.
Well, that's most likely a false negative, have you got another sample you can run? No.
Coroner's Office, they've got another sample.
Good.
Check our their tox report, shouldn't be too difficult.
The results don't match the evidence so we need to establish whether or not we've got a false negative.
You took a second blood sample, separate to the one you delivered to the Coroner? It's normal practice.
We do an in house screen, speeds up results.
You think your sample was contaminated? Either that or there's a ghost in the machine.
It's It's nothing really, the blood sample you gave to me was damaged in transit, not a great situation.
No.
It's not the end of the world.
The Coroner should be satisfied for us to go on post mortem appearances and the scene examination for the cause of death.
But thanks for letting me know.
I'll speak to her and hopefully, it won't be a problem.
Thanks.
In transit? Yes.
That's unlucky.
Yea.
There's enough visual evidence to make a case for suicide.
I'm sure there is.
I just need to write it up.
What? PHONE RINGS No, nothing.
I'll leave you to it.
Harry Cunningham.
No, no, no, no.
No, please.
You have nothing to apologise Please.
You don't have to explain anything it's What time? William Byfield, such a tragedy.
I liked him.
I heard about it on the wireless.
What was it? Money troubles? Domestic problems? He seemed like a very balanced chap to me.
I didn't know him very well.
No.
It's very difficult to know a person's heart.
All the rest is gossip.
Yes.
Thank you.
Harry.
Hi.
You made it.
Not a problem.
Everybody needs someone in their life that turns up without a problem.
I love being near the water.
Always changing.
You never step in the same river twice.
Heraclitus - Greek philosopher who said that.
OK, know it all.
I like to think so.
He actually said "No man steps in the same river twice for it's not "the same river and he's not the same man.
Everything is change.
" Look.
Thanks for coming.
I felt that I owed you an explanation.
You don't owe me anything I was a bit melodramatic in the parking lot.
I just lost it.
It happens.
This was one of Stephen and my favourite walks.
How did he die, if you don't mind me asking? It was a massive cerebral infarction.
He didn't feel a thing.
His life just ended.
In many ways it's the best way a person could die.
There's no pain, no fear.
There's just life, then nothing.
You caught me at a low moment at the Coroner's office.
I didn't mean to be rude, they just keep asking me the same questions over and over again.
I've been answering them for months.
Has his death been signed off by the Coroner and registered? Of course.
And now the cause of death is being challenged.
That's unusual.
It was a sudden death and he hadn't seen a doctor for a while and suddenly there were Coroners and post mortems.
That's the 14 day rule.
If Stephen hasn't seen a doctor within 14 days it gets referred to a Coroner who decides whether there should be a post mortem.
Apparently, there's paperwork missing, it's always someone else's fault! I know.
They're always on holiday and it's a mess.
It's not easy.
I just have to deal with it.
It's OK, I'll survive.
Fate really, isn't it? What's that? I'm really glad that I we ran into each other again.
So am I.
You can't stop things from changing, it's a difficult lesson and I'm still learning it.
How well do you know Heraclitus? I think we may have exhausted my knowledge.
"A hidden connection is better than an obvious one," he said that.
Hi, Professor, am I disturbing you? Yes.
Did you have a chance to look up the Stephen Connelly file? No.
I haven't had a chance.
It's not high on my list.
Can I do anything to push it up the list? Cos it would really help me out if you would look into it.
I've got a busy afternoon ahead of me.
Yeah, me too.
OK.
Not really but I was just trying to show some empathy cos it said on my course that empathy was a good way to create a connection with the person you're Stalking? Stalking's a bit harsh! But I can see how you may have thought that I I need to get to work.
It's a lot easier to get in here dead than it is alive.
Thank you.
I can manage.
Need a tissue? I don't remember Stephen Connelly but I assure you that if there was anything unusual If there was anything unusual about the toxicology report then I would have described it in the post mortem, which you have seen.
I don't think I can add anything else.
Oh, come on, at least admit it's odd that the toxicology report isn't in the file.
I mean that is odd.
Just double check it.
Please.
It must be on the computer, somewhere.
It won't take too long to find.
That's all I'm asking.
I need to wash my hands.
You like me stalking you, don't you? You do! Not everybody's got one, you've got me.
Somebody who's always there for you.
I've seen a number of people, close friends of mine, who, you know a family member dies, and they just let greed tear their lives apart.
It's like some kind of sleeping disease.
No bloody cure.
Absolutely not.
I feel like this is the first time I can breathe in months, being here with you, do you know that? You're like medicine I need Prescription or just over the counter? Illicit.
Harry, I want to sleep with you.
It's been a while since I've been with a man and I'd like it to be with you.
I guess we've moved away a bit from philosophy then.
Now I've frightened you away.
No.
I'm so sorry.
No, no, no.
I'm not used to doing this.
Shh, don'tI'm sorry, nor am I, I didn't mean to make light of it.
Am I reading you right? Please just tell me that I'm reading you right.
I wish I could snap my fingers and make your troubles go away.
You're doing a lot already.
Charlie? Would you remind me to check on an old post mortem? It might be archived by now, the name is Stephen Connelly.
Am I reminding you or am I doing it? Well, would you mind? No.
Were there any gloves found at the scene? No.
Any dirt on Byfield's hands? Smudges? Carbon? From the exhaust pipe.
No.
He could have cleaned his hands.
That would be top of my list if I were about to kill myself, make sure my hands were clean(!) Not your knickers? THEY LAUGH New cars have catalytic converters, takes longer to kill yourself.
Any vomit at the scene? Small amount.
Did you run it? No not yet.
It was suicide, wasn't it? Blood test should have been enough.
When was the body discovered? what time he had lunch and who with? Can you add that to the list of questions to ask Rogerson? Oh, am I writing a list of questions? Help with the timeline.
From body temperature and rigor, I made time of death sometime mid-afternoon.
Body temperature's unreliable though, given the circumstances.
Closed interior pumped full of warm gas, it's going to delay the cooling.
If he didn't die from carbon monoxide poisoning, then how did he die? Was it even self-inflicted? Let's say it was.
He's building in a fail-safe, people do that, takes some pills, attaches the hose to the exhaust Cleans his hands but leaves no trace of how he cleaned them.
Vomits up the pills then doesn't breathe in enough carbon monoxide to kill himself.
William Byfield isn't dead.
Well, if I'm careful when I sew him up he might not notice.
I think we to look at the stomach contents again.
Clare? How's it going? Good.
Make sure you let me have the yellow top copy on the closed claim form.
That makes it easier when we archive the files.
No problem.
Don't waste any time on any of these.
They're pretty much no-hopers.
You haven't heard when William's funeral going to be, have you? No.
Not sure who to ask.
he hated his ex-wife.
Well, if you hear anything before I do let me know.
There's a bunch of us would like to go.
Course.
Oh, Professor? Stephen Connelly doesn't exist in your archives.
Have you tried different spellings? Yep.
Stephen with V and PH.
Connelly with O, A and E, two N's one L, one N two Lsnothing.
No wonder you don't remember him.
You never did a post mortem.
Doesn't make any sense.
I'll need to look at the Coroner's file and then work backwards.
We have to have a record somewhere.
Oh, um, that insurance girl's waiting for you in your office.
What! You let her in? Um, well she said she'd called and arranged to meet you at four.
Oh! I'm going to have to ask you to leave.
You know when I mentioned to you about a 999 call, or rather the lack of a 999 call? I want you to leave my office now.
I think you'll be interested in this.
I'm standing outside with you and I see the private ambulance and it makes me think, "How did Stephen Connelly's body get here?" I mean, there was no 999 call.
I can't find any trace of a call out to the Connelly's' residence.
So it must have been a private ambulance from a funeral director, but none of the local ones have any record of a Stephen Connelly.
So how did his body get here to do the post mortem? There's got to be a good explanation.
Well, I'm sure that there is.
Charlie? Can you get security, please? You really look guilty when you do that.
Charlie? They're on their way.
Charlie says you haven't found Stephen Connelly in your records.
Charlie needs to say less.
Don't blame her.
I squeezed it out of her.
Look, I'm sorry you think I'm such a nuisance.
I just need to be able to say I checked everything out.
I met with the doctor that did the post mortem, and he has the missing toxicology report that will prove that he wasn't poisoned.
He saw the body and and said there was nothing untoward about it, except that he was youngish and dead.
This is your signature, right? Not that anyone can actually read it.
Yes.
I brought you a copy of the Connelly file, in case you couldn't find yours.
You wouldn't cut any corners, would you, Professor? I mean, you're feeling a bit tired, the guy's dead anyway, just write any old report.
What!? Why no notes, Professor? I mean why no toxicology report? A clerical error Or maybe the body never got here and you got paid to make up a report? Charlie? I'll go find them.
I mean Stephen's depressed, takes too many pills, kills himself, suicide invalidates the life insurance.
What are you talking about? Just write he had a stroke and all those problems go away.
Get out! How does that work? Do you get your cut? He's insured for a million quid, so there'd be something in it for you.
Get out of my office! Or maybe his wife killed him and you're part of the cover-up.
Nice to see you again.
Charlie? Harry! Harry! Charlie? What happened? Can you smell that? What? Cyanide.
Shit, get her out.
Turn the extractor fans onto max! Can you tell me what happened? Um, yeah, I smelt something odd What kind of odd? Bitter? Yeah, um, almonds.
Hydrogen cyanide.
Dr Cunningham, you felt funny before, didn't you smell anything? Not everyone can smell cyanide, only half the population, it's genetically inherited.
Oh.
I'll call an ambulance.
Just in case.
Let's get you up.
Is Charlie OK? Yes.
She got out of A&E a little while ago.
Everything's fine.
I sent a sample off, not that there's much doubt what it was.
Nikki and I will go through it in the morning.
Let me know if you need me yeah? What are you doing? You know the case that girl Clare Ambler was asking about? You mean the one that Harry fancied? Did he? No, I didn't fancy her, no.
No.
I cannot find a record of it anywhere.
Charlie checked the computer records, I thought maybe it didn't get entered on the computer but can't find it.
I don't understand the problem.
Coroner's Office have got a copy of my post mortem report.
Ambler wanted my notes and the tox report but there's no copy of the post mortem here, not that I can find.
Presumably the body had to be here for you to do the post mortem, yes? NIKKI LAUGHS Yes.
And somebody has to sign for the body when it arrives here.
Yes.
So somewhere we will have a receipt of body on file, start with that, maybe the name or date was wrong.
You are brilliant.
Oh, don't say things like that.
They go straight to his head.
Ow! Got a date of death? I've got a copy of the form B from the Coroner's file.
It's a no brainer.
Name of deceased? Connelly.
Stephen.
What? Stephen Connelly.
That's very spooky.
Why? I know Rebecca, his widow.
She's been telling me about the problems she's been having sorting out her husband's estate.
I didn't realise you were involved.
There's luck.
Now you can add helping widows to your list of good deeds.
Night.
Don't look when you're crossing, will you? So all we need to do is find a record of when the body arrived.
What? The reason I can't remember it, is because the body never arrived.
Are you saying that someone has forged a post mortem report? That is our letterhead.
That is my signature.
Ambler was an investigator working for Connelly's insurance company, and she accused me of I don't know what she accused me of really, erconspiracy.
Conspiracy to commit what? Fraud? Fraud? Oh, dear, well yes, you know, something shifty about you, isn't there? Look, when was this? Three months ago? How long has Charlie been here? Er, about three months.
Exactly, and we had a temp around that time, Charlie didn't know the system, it's just a series of screw ups and you'll figure it out.
Leo, I really don't think you have to worry about it, unless you did it.
No, you're right.
Course I'm right.
Er, how well do you know Rebecca Connelly? Just friends.
You're quite confident that she couldn't be involved with any of this? Any of what? This giant fraud you're committing? Come on, Leo.
This is just the stupidity of the bureaucracy around death, the whole thing is driven by greed, wills, taxes, insurance, civilised version of eating the corpse.
Was the death was registered? Yeah, yeah.
The Coroner, Margaret Hudson, signed it off on a B form.
She must be in on it too(!) You better get Ambler to check her out.
If you keep frowning like that I'll have to get you Botox.
Morning! Morning.
A lot of people work here, don't they? Rebecca Connelly? Clare Ambler.
I'm from your deceased husband's insurance company.
They've sent someone new to harass me? Yeah, they have, the other one died.
I'll help you any way that I can.
Oh, that's great, cos actually I really need your help.
I saw from my colleague's file that you refused to release his medical records.
That's right.
Any good reason for that? The Coroner's office has all the information it needs from the post mortem.
I think people deserve a bit of privacy, even in death.
I think they deserve a bit of justice to go with that privacy.
How about you? How old are you? Does it make any difference? As I get older, I find I become more sensitive to other people's pain and their loss, but maybe for you it wouldn't make a difference.
Can I look at your husband's medical records? No.
It doesn't make you look innocent.
I'm not overly concerned with how I look since I already know that I am.
I tell you what, if I looked like you, I'd be guilty of all sorts of things.
I presume that's a compliment? Definitely a compliment.
The blood sample given to the Coroner's office was damaged in transit but we reached the conclusion it was suicide based on the visual evidence, Everything pointed to carbon monoxide poisoning, hose attached to the exhaust, cherry red blood, skin colour.
But that requires a 30% CO saturation and the blood sample came back showing only a 10% CO saturation.
Are you saying the carbon monoxide didn't kill him? Exactly, so, what accounts for the unusual skin and blood colour? Sodium cyanide salts, when consumed, are converted to hydrogen cyanide by stomach acid.
The colour of the skin and blood and the ulcerations to the stomach lining are consequences of cyanide.
So he killed himself with poison? Different route, same destination.
Why am I here? We think he was murdered.
Why? To attach the hose he would have had to touch the exhaust and there was no carbon on his hands and no gloves found.
And why bother when you've taken such a fast acting poison? We think he was murdered and whoever did it had a knowledge of forensics, which kind of limits the field.
Yes, it does.
Charlie, I need William Byfield's body and all exhibits.
Byfield? Yes.
William Byfield's checked out of this hotel.
What are you talking about? He was collected at 18.
25 last night.
Why did you release the body? What are you saying? The Coroner's office called, said it could be released.
The undertakers had all the right paperwork.
They signed for it.
Who signed for it? William Byfield.
Can I speak to David Levin, please.
B-Y-F-I-E-L-D.
When will he be back? His body was collected yesterday from the Lyell Centre.
Is the Coroner available? It's Professor Dalton.
Mortlake? The paperwork says it was coming back to you.
When will she be back? He was cremated 30 minutes ago.
Oh.
How does this kind of mistake happen? Dr Cunningham explained to Detective Rogerson and myself that he felt that William, Mr Byfield, had committed suicide.
Suicide is not a police matter.
Based on this information I presented the case to Coroner Hudson.
Dr Cunningham, did you inform Mr Levin that you'd changed your view? We had been working from a theory That's a yes or no, Dr Cunningham.
I hadn't had the opportunity, no.
Detective Rogerson? When you left the Lyell Centre after you had learned this potentially new evidence did you immediately contact Mr Levin? No, I didn't.
It wasn't clear to me that it wasn't suicide.
As far as I was concerned the method may have changed but not necessarily the intent.
Professor? You are in charge of the Lyell Centre.
You have let me down.
Your team reached a hasty conclusion.
That is unfair.
The information suggested that the most obvious conclusion was suicide.
Dr Cunningham reached that conclusion after careful consideration.
And now you're telling me he's wrong.
He's telling me he's wrong, made a mistake.
Missed it.
He couldn't have been that careful, or you couldn't have been.
It was my responsibility, not Professor Dalton's.
All right.
Let's look at this from a different angle and see how much damage has been done.
Dr Cunningham, can you tell me with absolute certainty that William Byfield did not kill himself? No.
Professor? It would be difficult to be absolutely certain.
So our ruling could have been correct? Ultimately, this is my responsibility.
I allowed the release of the body based on the information available.
I shall stand by that decision unless I have clear evidence to the contrary.
Professor, let's hope you didn't let Mr Byfield down.
Hi, Professor, how are you? What the hell are you doing here? This is my first real case as an investigator, and it's going pretty well except I can't claim credit for it.
Goodbye.
William Byfield, he did most of the work.
But then died which was very handy for you, wasn't it? I said goodbye.
Very convenient that he was cremated today, wasn't it? Solves a lot of problems.
Are you all right? Fine.
Did it go from fraud to murder? Shall I call the police? No.
Don't bother, I'll do it for you.
It's always the cover up that snags a bad man, isn't it? Any news? I haven't heard anything.
I'll speak to him later.
I can't believe William Byfield's dead.
Yes.
It's too good to be true.
I was just going to make myself some dinner.
Do you want something? No, thanks.
I'll have something when I get back home.
Are you sure? Yes.
Thank you.
I'm very fond of you Rebecca.
I'm fond of you too, David, you've helped me through so much, you really have.
You know, when I think about the future David, don't please.
You know that I can't think about that now.
You know that.
Of course.
It doesn't stop me thinking about it.
I know.
Let me know if he says anything.
Of course.
See you tomorrow? Morning.
Hello.
Professor Dalton.
How are you? Er, I'm fine.
Is this about William Byfield? Yes.
I think I better call Dr Alexander and Dr Cunningham.
No, no that won't be necessary.
I'm here to ask you to assist us with our enquiries.
Enquiries? Into what? Conspiracy to commit fraud.
Stephen Connelly.
You really think that I'm involved in some kind of a fraud? I try not to jump to conclusions.
Well, you may need to try a bit harder cos you're jumping to one now.
William Byfield was investigating the death of Stephen Connelly.
You don't think? Um Well, I need to speak to my solicitor.
Yeah, get yourself some legal representation, Professor, and make an appointment to come in and see me this week please.
Thank you.
Leo? He thinks that William Byfield's death might be related to Stephen Connelly, this whole thing is starting to spin out of control.
How long have you known Rebecca Connelly? So go on, what did they say? I told you not to come, police business.
The fact that they did the post mortem on Byfield is unacceptable and it has to be a conflict of interest.
Look, I'm not supposed to say this cos, frankly, suicide suits the firm and we don't have to pay out but I can't help but think there was foul play involved in Byfield's death.
You're not alone.
What? You think so too? I'm not sure I do.
Dr Cunningham, Dr Alexander think so.
They think the murderer, if there is one, had some knowledge of forensics.
Goodbye, Rebecca.
Bye.
Harry.
You wouldn't lie to me would you? No, of course not.
Leo is being investigated for fraud.
Harry, I'm so sorry.
I told him you are just a victim in all this and you didn't really understand what was happening.
It's true.
There's no record of your husband's body arriving at the Lyell Centre.
What has that got to do with me? So was it just a coincidence that you and I met? Stop talking like this, you're frightening me.
Just tell me what is happening.
I just want all this to be over! Did you kill your husband? No, of course not! Tell me that you don't believe that! You do.
That's what you think.
You're just like the others.
You know these people, they make mistakes.
They forget, they hide, and I'm the one who's accused.
I did not kill Stephen! No.
I don't think you did.
Don't you do that! I know you didn't, I know you didn't.
I really need you to believe in me, Harry.
I need you to believe in me.
So how good is your imagination? Are you sleeping with her? That is none of your business.
What's your problem? I don't have a problem.
I trust you, Harry.
Am I right to trust you? I'd do anything for you, Rebecca, you know that.
Is there something wrong? The woman is poison, Dr Cunningham, I hope you know that.
You don't think Harry is involved do you? They've found out about us.
Leo?