Midsomer Murders (1997) s13e06 Episode Script
The Noble Art
COMMENTARY: What a terrific fight this is shaping up to be.
Madison Square Garden in New York is absolutely packed for this one.
What a story it could be if John Kinsella, from Midsomer Morchard, were to win this world middleweight title fight.
Can he somehow find a way to get the better of the Argentinean Garcia Latosa? Defending his title for the fifth time.
Kinsella in the blue shorts, remember.
He is still right in this fight.
All those weeks of preparation.
Good left hand from Kinsella in there again.
Latosa keeps on marching forward.
This Argentinean is so strong.
No, no, no! Good body shots.
Kinsella will be feeling those.
Every one that pounds into his midriff.
But Kinsella still looking fresh.
Yes! The Argentinean with the left hand.
(BELL) The bell to end the eighth round.
The referee has to split them.
Can I top you up? Thank goodness for that! I could do with a breather myself.
It's the excitement.
It's the sleep deprivation.
I didn't realise they'd be fighting at four in the morning.
They're not.
They're five hours behind us.
And I thought it'd be outside.
Why? Well, aren't they in some sort of garden? Ohh Madison Square Garden! So I'm right.
A world famous sporting arena.
Not bloody Kew! My wife's not known for her intellect.
Whereas my son is renowned for his charm.
Ignore him.
Let's hear from Teddy Molloy, his trainer.
Let's see what he's saying to John.
Keep him safe, Teddy.
Keep him safe.
TEDDY: Get him.
Right uppercut.
You heard the instructions from Teddy Malloy.
TEDDY: Box behind him! Telling him to work behind that left-hand lead.
I'm not much of a boxing fan! You're not alone there.
Not by a long chalk.
I'm surprised that Grace Bishop hasn't got more of a stomach for this kind of thing.
TV: Frank Bishop, Kinsella's promoter and manager at ringside.
Don King's there as well.
I wonder if he'll want a piece of young John Kinsella if he can come through this.
Into the ninth round of this 12-rounder.
The world middleweight title.
Latosa is a favourite for this one.
Good body shots.
Kinsella really teeing off with that left hand.
Precisely what Teddy Molloy said.
Come on, John! Good left hand again.
Rattling that jab into the face of Latosa.
Good shot! Left hook! Kinsella has put Latosa down! Yeah! Working off that right-hand lead.
And a left hook has put Latosa on the canvas.
The gumshield is out.
No coming back from that! Dead to the world.
TV: He's going to win the title! The referee's stopping it! John Kinsella, from Midsomer Morchard! (CHEERING) TV: And the celebrations begin! What a performance, John Kinsella! Taken in as a young boy, as an orphan, by Frank Bishop.
He's there in the ring with him now, sharing the moment of glory.
He's now champion of the world.
Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses to the champion of Midsomer Morchard.
Now champion of the world! John Kinsella! (CHEERING) I still can't believe that you've taken time off to go to a garden party.
It's not just a garden party, Joyce.
A very grand occasion.
You never were much of a boxing fan before.
In Midsomer Morchard, at this moment, it is hard not to be.
That's where the statue of Tom Sayers is going to stand.
See what I mean? Tom! Joyce! Good of you to come.
Looks like we're the last to arrive.
I'm afraid not.
The man of the moment has been stranded in New York.
John Kinsella? Flight's delayed.
Security alert.
Or, as Frank Bishop said, 'Yanks! One glimpse of a burka and everyone freaks out!' Nothing too serious though? No, they should be back tonight.
But there's no reason why we can't toast the champion in his absence.
A glass of something sparkly? TANNOY: All flights from Newark are being delayed.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
You useless piece of - Go somewhere else for a signal.
Thank you.
With the press waiting to pounce? Bloody animals.
Since when have you shied away from publicity? This is a top of the range phone.
Just goes to show.
Show what? Money can't buy you everything.
Don't get too clever, John.
Don't embarrass yourself.
And don't think I can't see you smirking, Malloy.
You shouldn't wind him up.
Be all right as long as I'm worth money to him.
You won't always be world champion.
When that day comes and he's wrung me for every penny, he'll drop me like a stone.
Just like every other fighter he's managed.
So what are you going to do about it, Teddy? Grace is working on it.
Let's just hope she's had some luck.
Sorry for squeezing your hand like that.
During the fight the other night.
You must think I'm awful.
How perceptive.
Is that a smile? Or just your lips sliding off your teeth? Gerald is very strongly identified with Midsomer Morchard, isn't he? He's the lord of the manor.
Not quite.
He lives in the manor house.
He's the current occupant.
And it is very kind of him, is it not, to open up the place for the celebration? He's a sporting man with a strong sense of occasion.
And you, are you a boxing fan? Not really.
But I did have an interest in this fight.
Because of the local interest? Oh, yes.
And your wife? Iris? She's not my wife.
She's my assistant.
You're not working this afternoon?! No.
Iris just likes to keep an eye on me, you know.
Excuse me.
See you again soon.
Bye.
Oh, I feel for that Giles! Having her around him all the time, must be like working with a stalker! Don't let her get to you.
Snooty cow! Fur coat and no knickers.
I bet she doesn't even have the fur coat.
Holding Iris Holman's hand.
I wish I'd seen that! I was in pieces till that fight was over.
Grace, you are married to a boxing promoter.
How many contests have you seen? I've lost count.
And it's different when you're watching one of your own.
Libby! Tom, Joyce, Libby Morris, sculptor extraordinaire! You're making the statue of Tom Sayers.
I certainly am.
That must be a bit hard, mustn't it? Trying to make the likeness of a man who died 150 years ago.
It is.
But fortunately, there's some photographs of him.
And you had a live fighter to pose for you.
John Kinsella.
Before he went off to the States.
Gerald here thinks I developed a bit of a crush on him.
Mm.
Is it finished? The statue.
Very nearly.
Why don't you drop by when you're passing? I'd value your opinion.
You ought to.
In fact, I'll be there tomorrow.
She did fancy my John.
But then, they all do.
Grace is very protective about young Mr Kinsella.
She treats him like a son.
He lives with her and Frank.
Might have been better for everyone if they'd left him in the gutter.
Which is obviously where you've left your manners.
I do apologise.
Can I have a chat with you? Ha! I finally have your attention! Gerald! Good of you to come.
See you later.
Have you no idea how to behave?! Look who I've had as a role model.
How dare you say that! I would never be so crass to guests in my own house.
How about somebody else's house? Don't be facetious! I'm being entirely serious.
And you know it.
Oh, everyone loves Gerald Farquaharson.
So charming.
A proper gentleman.
Not like that son of his.
Well, I might be crass.
But it's your louche behaviour which has brought us to losing this house and the entire estate! So what are you going to do about it?! You must be the only shopfront in Causton without a message of congratulations for John Kinsella.
I'm doing my bit for Kinsella.
Really.
Really.
Every time some part-time punter like you comes in, they collect the winnings from his fight.
Come on! Win some, lose some.
That's not how this business works.
Don't suppose you'd like to reinvest any of this? Nope.
Didn't think so.
My family thinks gambling is like giving money to the devil.
No offence.
None taken.
They'd be upset if they knew I was in here.
Hm, not nearly as much as I am! Thank you.
Oh, good idea.
Strong and black, please.
Certainly, madam.
There you are.
Thank you.
Are you all right? I feel a bit sick.
Coffee doesn't usually affect me like this.
Shall I get Sebastian? No! I'm fine, really.
For god's sake, Iris.
I'm driving.
Have a proper drink.
Might loosen you up a bit.
To do what? Enjoy yourself? Fine.
I'll get blotto and lead everyone in the hokey-cokey.
Now that would be worth staying for.
But you're not, are you? Staying.
I'll get the coats.
I'm so proud of him.
Are you sure he's not hurt? Are you all right? I worry about you.
I miss you when you're gone.
Husband.
More privacy in here.
Are you still there? So when are you back? No, I'll be up.
(CLINKING) Tom! You're not leaving? It's just getting lively out there.
Indeed it is.
Time for a good copper to be leaving.
Quick brandy? Oh, would I could! I'm driving.
Keep me company while I have one? All right.
Good man.
Sure I can't tempt you to a small one? Oh, get thee behind me, Satan! It's here if you change your mind.
Oh, look.
Knuckledusters.
Certainly are.
As used by some of the more unscrupulous prize-fighters of the 19th century.
Hello.
One of them is missing.
Oh.
Is this case locked? Used to be, while I was still married.
Wouldn't want the ex-wife getting hold of one of those.
She was effective enough with her bare hands! Oh, that is annoying.
Who would want to steal something like that? It's not as if it has any real value, even to a collector like myself.
I've been looking everywhere for you! Not now, Sebastian.
We're leaving.
I don't think so.
Ronnie! Glad to see you've still got a shirt on your back.
Local bookmaker.
Good sport, actually turning up.
He took a hell of a pounding on the Kinsella win.
Did you collect your winnings from him? No.
I had a substantial wager elsewhere.
On your way home, Iris? We were.
Until your son demanded a meeting with Mr Braithwaite.
What, now? I'll find them.
No, please, don't disturb him.
You'll be waiting for ages.
Get yourself home.
Shall I get you a taxi? No, don't do that.
We'll give you a lift home.
Gerald.
It's a straightforward question, Giles.
Can I get power of attorney? What grounds do you have to justify taking the estate away from your father? Incompetence! He's sending us to rack and ruin.
I've a suspicion that Camilla may be pregnant.
On what evidence? Coffee.
The smell makes her feel nauseous.
Is that reliable medical proof? Ask any woman.
She'll make a lovely mum.
Not so sure about Sebastian as a father though.
He is such a joyless individual.
He certainly hasn't got his father's good nature, that is true.
Oh, do you know his father? Yes.
Gerald? Of course.
Then you have the advantage over Sebastian.
He has no idea who his biological father is.
It certainly isn't Gerald Farquaharson.
Iris Holman.
A strange lady.
She's not easy.
Giles Braithwaite, he's just her boss, isn't he? So why did she come on as though he were two-timing her? Ha! What have I said? Iris Holman is in love with Giles Braithwaite.
How do you know that? You'd have to be blind not to see it.
Or a man.
Come on.
Come on! We're late! Yes, yes.
Morning, ladies! The nerve centre buzzing with activity, is it? Not exactly.
Is there a problem? Camilla thinks I'm taking on too much.
Grace is already helping with publicity and the hiring of costumes.
But on top of that, she's insisting on handling the charity donations on her own.
Can you think of anyone better to deal with my husband's tight-fistedness? Now this whole event was Frank's idea.
That might be.
But I'm telling you, it's going to take an expert to get him to part with the money we raise.
Call from New York.
Frank Bishop.
Mr Bishop, you must be very happy with the way things have worked out.
Which is why we need to meet as soon as I get back.
Call round as soon as it suits you.
I intend to.
We've finally got a flight.
The plane gets in at midnight.
I should be with you about two o'clock in the morning.
In the morning?! Hardly worth you going to bed really.
I'll see you at the office.
Make sure you're there.
Two AM.
I'll be here.
Morning, Joyce! Morning.
Grace and Camilla are already here.
I told you we were late! Oh, dear.
Have I dropped you in it with the memsahib? Yes, you have.
You naughty japer, you.
Glad to hear it.
Have you got five minutes? Come with me.
What do you think? Magnificent brutes, aren't they? Joyce! You're right.
That'd definitely persuade me to go to the fight.
Oh, no.
No, it wouldn't.
They didn't have posters in 1860.
All the arrangements had to be hush-hush in case the police found out and stopped it.
That was 150 years ago.
This time round, we need all the publicity we can get.
I was only trying to show that I'd done my research.
Hey, you don't have to justify yourself to me.
I'm not that husband of yours.
We're very happy to have you in charge.
Definitely.
And just to prove it, I'm going to leave early.
Sorry, girls.
I have business that just won't wait.
It's very pretty.
It's more like the setting for a village fete than a bare-knuckle fight.
Not any bare-knuckle fight.
The very first world championship fight.
Great Britain versus one of her upstart colonies.
That would explain the surrounding razzamatazz.
We've had to raise a bit of money for charity.
There'd have been none of this when Sayers fought Heenan back in 1860.
Why not? Prize-fighting was illegal.
The venue was kept secret till the last possible minute.
But everyone knew a fight was going to take place.
Absolutely.
Queen Victoria herself took a very keen interest.
Was she in the crowd? No.
But Dickens and Thackeray were.
Along with several members of the aristocracy.
Any of your ancestors there? Of course! That's where the fight was staged! In this very field? Right in our backyard! Oh, I'll do that! It's not heavy.
Even so, you shouldn't be lifting things.
Do I look that frail? No, but when you're pregnant What made you say that? Coffee.
The smell of it always made me feel sick when I was carrying Cully.
I could tell that you knew.
Congratulations! You don't seem very happy about it.
Oh, I am.
But it's Sebastian.
So it was unplanned.
Oh, yes.
He'll come round.
Just give him some time to accept it.
I don't think there is that much time.
You know, Tom, standing here, I almost feel as if I was born out of my time.
And I belong back at that Sayers-Heenan fight with all the other idlers who called themselves nobility.
Come on.
You're being a bit hard on yourself.
I don't think so.
The aristocracy were never the backbone of this country.
The devil of it is is that I am not idle.
Just never really seen the point in most things.
What, nothing at all? No.
Of course, I was steered along the usual route.
Eton, Oxford.
But I spent more time studying the turf than I did my books.
Ever the athlete, eh? Afraid so.
And I'm a lousy gambler.
The thrill of the chase appeals more than the winning.
The bookies must love you! They send me Valentines! No, seriously, what do I do that could be remotely regarded as useful? You're a damn good JP, for a start.
Oh, bless you for saying that.
I almost feel good about myself now.
(PHONE) Mrs Bishop? Why didn't you call me on the office phone? Too public.
I need to speak to you urgently.
I don't have anything till tomorrow.
That won't do.
Frank will be back from America by then.
Come to the house this afternoon.
Sounds as though it can't wait.
No, it can't.
Believe me, this is something Frank Bishop's had coming to him for a long time.
Why are we here? We are here, Jones, to look at a work of art.
Mr Ken Tuohy? Looking for Libby Morris.
That way? Thank you.
Ah, Tom.
Ken told you where to find us, did he? Not in so many words.
That's Ken.
Expresses himself through his hands.
As does his fiancee.
Oh, you came.
What do you think? I think that's very impressive.
Tom Sayers, in all his glory.
I wish.
It's only just back from the foundry.
Needs a bit of work before it's ready for the village square.
Up against the clock to get this ready in time for the reconstruction of the Sayers-Heenan fight.
What's that in his left hand? The charter granting him the freedom of Midsomer Morchard.
I'd never heard of that.
Because it didn't happen.
But we must allow the artist a certain amount of license.
More like the artist working to a commission.
The charter was Frank Bishop's idea.
And he who pays the piper Frank Bishop paid for this? As a tribute to Sayers' links to the area.
Frank Bishop? I thought he was surgically attached to his money.
I know folk regard him as a Johnny come lately and a bit rough round the edges, but he's a sporting man.
And that must count in his favour.
Sergeant, are you a sporting man? I did a bit of boxing actually.
Back in Wales, at a local club.
Oh, good man! The noble art, eh? Well, I'm not quite old enough to remember this chap, but it's been many, many years since I won a boxing blue at Oxford.
Wow.
Fighting days well behind you though, eh? Afraid so.
But there's one thing we will always have.
What's that? We may be creaking with ring-rust, but the last thing to go on any boxer is his punch! No, leave the lights off.
I've got someone coming round later.
If he finds you in here, it will set tongues wagging all round the village.
OK.
Mr Braithwaite is out of the office.
Can I help? No.
It was him we came to see.
Do you have an appointment? We were rather hoping that he would see us on the off-chance.
Will he be long? I really can't say.
Are you sure there's nothing I can do? How well do you know the law, Miss Holman? Appalling woman! Why does Giles put up with her?! Because she runs the office like clockwork.
She gives me the creeps, wanting to know my business.
We came to see a solicitor, not his assistant! Well, she's a little self-important, but don't worry.
Giles is a professional.
Anything you tell him, he will take to the grave.
Sorry for dragging you out here.
I didn't want word getting round that I'd been to your office.
You make it sound as though the place is under surveillance.
It's a small village.
Besides, there's that assistant of yours.
Now you're being paranoid.
(PUNCHBAG) Is someone punching the bag in there? No.
I'm sure I heard somebody moving around.
Now who's imagining things.
Thanks for seeing me before Frank gets back.
It's as well I did.
He's calling by my office on his way back from the airport.
That will be the early hours of the morning.
Certainly will.
Must be important if it can't wait till tomorrow.
It is.
Very.
And that's all I'm saying.
Client confidentiality works both ways.
Johnny, give us a smile, champ! Johnny! Get out of the way, please.
Give us a break.
Johnny! He's had a world title fight.
You'll get used to this, son.
You're big-time now.
Big time? I'm still lugging my own bag.
Where's the limo, Frank? Don't be silly.
Limos cost money.
They do, Teddy.
And we'll leave it at that, eh? First port of call, nice hot bath.
Then bed.
First port of call, bed.
Although we might soak one another down in the bath afterwards! You ever think of anything else? You had me living like a monk in the build-up to that fight.
Thinking about it is all I could do.
Training's over.
She's waited long enough! She might have to wait a bit longer.
The first port of call is Braithwaite's.
The solicitor's? At this time in the morning? I got business that can't wait.
Don't wait up for me! You keep pushing your luck.
Someone will put you on your back.
In about five minutes from now with any luck! And I won't be there to pick you up.
(KNOCKING) Come in.
(MIAOW) Bloody cat! I just trod on him! (LAUGHS) Don't laugh.
Ssh! No, seriously.
Don't.
I think there's someone downstairs! (LAUGHS) There's someone downstairs.
(DOOR CREAKS) Get up! (DOG BARKS) Here you are.
I don't know how long I'm going to be with Braithwaite.
What are you telling me for? You're out here waiting for me.
Forget that! I'm your trainer, not your chauffeur! Get Braithwaite to give you a lift home.
Don't get lairy, Teddy.
I might stand a bit of lip from John.
Because he's still useful to me.
You, I keep on out of pity.
(BANGING) Who's there? What's happened? I nearly got caught trying to take something that wasn't mine! Champion of the world and arriving back like a thief in the night.
Did anyone see you? I don't think so.
All the same, you need to watch your back.
No, I don't.
You always do that for me.
Looks like he suffocated.
It's strange, isn't it, George? The whole place has been turned upside down and he looks Tranquil.
Almost composed.
Any defensive wounds, signs of struggle? None.
But look at this.
He's been struck with something heavy.
So he could have been unconscious before he was killed.
Possibly.
Sir.
Your friend has arrived.
Would you look at that! Tom, awful business.
I came as soon as I heard.
And how did you hear? Bush telegraph.
Place like this, word gets round like wildfire.
You know where to find me if you need me.
Mr Bishop, tell me, please, what was so urgent about your meeting with Braithwaite last night it couldn't wait until later in the day? I like to get things done, Chief Inspector.
And Miss Holman? She was at any meeting I had with him.
Did she need to be there? Not really.
Stay where you are.
(TAPS) Anything? She's a hard one.
I need more time with her.
I think a more robust approach is required.
Miss Holman, what were you doing here last night? Mr Braithwaite always insisted that I attend every important meeting.
What was the meeting about? How would I know? It never took place.
Mr Braithwaite was dead by the time you got here? Of course he was.
I didn't murder him.
Why didn't you contact the police? Do you think I was in any state to do that? Miss Holman, would you get me Mr Braithwaite's appointments diary, please? When you've had your moment.
Mr Bishop.
Mr Bishop, how upset was Miss Holman when you met up with her last night? Practically hysterical.
Mr Malloy.
Is that true? What he just said about Miss Holman.
I was sat in the car.
It was a good while before Frank called me inside.
How come? He talked to her for a few minutes.
I could see them through the window.
Was he just talking to her or comforting her? How can I tell? Did he have an arm around her? I don't think she's the sort of woman you put your arms round under any circumstances.
Going out.
And there was me thinking you'd come to take an interest in what I'm doing.
How many more times do you want me to look at it? Jealous of my other man? That's not funny.
He's made of bronze! I don't think so.
Frank's in bed.
Jet lag.
And he's been up all night.
Is it true he found the body? It's true he found Mr Braithwaite.
Whether Mr Braithwaite was alive or dead at the time, we're still looking at that.
What do you mean? Why did you ask Giles Braithwaite to come here yesterday afternoon? That's between me and him.
As he's now dead, you're the only one who can tell us.
And, Mrs Bishop, since this is a murder investigation, we do have every right to know.
I wanted to ask about getting a divorce.
On what grounds? How long have you got? Why the secrecy? Your husband has got to know some time.
The longer I can keep it from him, the better.
Where Frank and money is concerned, you need to get the jump on him to stand any chance of getting what you're due.
Teddy Malloy? What about him? Where can we find him? Oh.
Come with me.
(DOOR) Good.
Grace? We're working.
They wanted to see you.
I thought you were on your own.
Mr Malloy, thank you.
John Kinsella.
Uggghh! He was with you and Mr Bishop when you travelled back on the plane from New York.
You know he was.
Why wasn't he with you in the car when you went round to Braithwaite's office? He was with me.
I asked Teddy to drive him straight back here from the airport.
Sounds as though you've got him under some sort of curfew.
You don't know about his reputation with women.
If you let him off the leash straight after a fight, there's no holding him back as far as women are concerned.
Lock up your daughters? And your wives.
Mothers.
Girlfriends.
I saw Teddy Malloy fight.
Did you? That must have been some time ago.
My grandad took me to see this Welsh boxer that was fighting on the undercard.
A Frank Bishop promotion.
Malloy was top of the bill.
Fighting for the British title.
Youngest-ever challenger.
Why didn't you mention that to him? He lost.
Badly? He never fought again.
I know! Not interrupting anything, are we? Just checking to see that my Tom Sayers is fit enough to toe the line against John Heenan.
Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Is that tender? Yeah, just a bit.
You need witch-hazel on it.
I don't do voodoo remedies.
Honestly, Chief Inspector, he's such a baby! Two fights in three days and I'm a baby? Oh, pooh! This one will be more like playing pattacake.
It's only pretend.
Make sure your husband knows that.
He's a pussycat.
Now we all know that's not true.
Can I get something clear? You are playing Tom Sayers.
And Sebastian Farquaharson, he's doing John Heenan? Mm-hm.
Bit of a mismatch.
No.
Tom Sayers was a middleweight and Heenan was a heavyweight.
No, no.
I mean him being a world champion.
Oh, I see! Well, Seb is a second-row forward for the Midsomer County rugby team.
So he's no stranger to a brawl.
Besides, he and John are only going through the motions.
They're not really fighting, are they? Mrs Farquaharson, Mrs Farquaharson, you wanted to see Giles Braithwaite yesterday, yes? What about? That's a personal matter.
You're going to have to tell them, Millie.
I can give you any answers you need.
I was with Camilla yesterday.
Thanks, Tom.
Camilla's been a bit emotional of late.
She would be, wouldn't she? The pregnancy.
You know about that.
It's exactly why it's not the right time to be thinking about a divorce.
Another one.
Is that why she went to see Braithwaite? Yes.
And you were quite prepared to support her in this? You saw the way Sebastian treated her the other night.
It's not an isolated incident.
I'm ashamed to say my son is a bully.
Iris Holman says that Sebastian is not your son.
(PHONE) Oh, that woman really has become very bitter.
Is it true? He was fathered by another man before my wife walked out on me and Sebastian.
Is Sebastian in touch with his natural father? Not unless he goes to seances.
The man was a playboy.
Drank himself to death.
So you raised another man's child.
I raised my son.
Which is why I feel responsible for the way he's treating that poor girl.
Can we get this over with quickly? Busy man, Mr Farquaharson? If you must know, I find it all rather upsetting.
Oh, really.
How many times have I told you it's got to look better than that? Come on! Pull your finger out! Giles was a friend of the family.
Was it family business that you wanted to see him about so urgently? As a matter of fact, it was.
Sebastian, shouldn't you be talking to your father about that, rather than to a solicitor? I've given up with him.
The sooner the estate is made over to my name, the sooner we can stop him haemorrhaging money from it.
What do you mean by that? Everyone knows about his gambling.
The son stabbing his father in the back.
Not a good way to uphold the family name.
You're wrong.
It's precisely the way to do it.
Lock up the lunatics, keep the incompetents away from the finances, and leave the running of things to those who know what they're doing.
Oh, survival of the fittest.
What a wonderful philosophy to pass on to your child.
I don't have a child.
You soon will have.
You say that as though it's something to do with me.
Well, isn't it? I'm not sure who the father is.
But the child is not mine.
I'm absolutely certain of that.
Jab, jab, jab! Jab, jab, jab.
Frank! Didn't expect you up yet.
I bet you didn't.
Ken Tuohy.
What was he doing here? Usual story.
He told me he'd done a bit of boxing and wanted me to have a look at him.
And? Nothing special.
Just a one-off, then? Absolutely.
That's all right, then.
Because if I thought he'd been here more than once, I'd have to start wondering what you're up to.
You and thisloving wife of mine.
Gerald He deserves a better son than Sebastian.
Gerald's no saint, sir.
You know about his gambling habits.
That's not it, Jones.
Gerald is a JP.
He's a pillar of society.
He's one of us.
This challenge for the estate is all to do with Sebastian not being a biological heir.
He seems convinced the child's not his.
That's what I'm talking about.
It's all about inheritance.
Do you think Frank believes you about Tuohy? If he didn't, he wouldn't have left it at that.
You know what he's like.
I can show you the scars.
I've already seen them.
You don't think Frank killed that solicitor, do you? You know the temper on him.
He had no reason to lose it with Braithwaite.
Unless Frank found out that he'd been to the house.
And what we were really talking about.
How could he know? Iris Holman.
She's got her nose in everything at that office.
That's not healthy for us.
Or for her.
Just imagine, 150 years ago, men were driving ring-posts into the ground in exactly that spot.
Maybe not exactly that spot.
Two men fight in the street, we arrest them.
Put them in a ring, we pay to watch it.
That's because we know how lonely the ring can be.
A dark and brutal place.
Takes a special kind of courage for someone to get in there and keep going back again and again.
Something you would know about.
Me? Never wore a pair of boxing gloves in my life.
I mean as a police officer.
You need that sort of courage to face the darkness and brutality that the public need to be shielded from.
(WHISTLING) Oh.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
With any luck, they've struck oil.
Us being like boxers? An interesting comparison.
Oh, a very perceptive one, Jones.
Ta.
A little different from the usual village issues we find ourselves dealing with.
Iris! Sebastian.
Can I help? Or have you come to see my father? I've come to ask you if you killed Giles.
Funny, that.
I've been wanting to ask you the same question.
Pass it up.
You were up at Oxford at the same time as Giles Braithwaite.
Were you friends? Not close.
I knew him well enough.
Well enough to know if he werecapable of blackmailing any of his clients? Giles? A blackmailer? That's absolutely out of the question.
That's one theory you can discount.
That is pretty emphatic.
Seriously, Tom.
I'd stake everything I have on that.
Shame he's such a lousy gambler.
What do you want, Bishop? Not you.
I've come to see the man of the house.
You've a damn nerve coming here at all! Are you going to set the dogs on me? Why give them all the pleasure? Sebastian! Inside the house! Now! This is not finished.
Sorry about that, Frank.
What was that about? No idea.
All a bit mad, aren't they, the aristocracy? All that inbreeding.
You just have to accept it.
Even though it means a wasted journey? What makes you say that? You came here to see someone.
Gerald.
But it can wait.
Wouldn't want to get in the way of some father and son bonding.
Happy families, eh? Mr Bishop.
Did you know that your wife is planning to divorce you? She's been planning that for years, Chief Inspector.
It's what gets her out of bed in the mornings.
Frank Bishop? Here? It's never going to happen.
I won't let it.
There's nothing we can do about it.
It's out of our hands.
We'll see about that.
A word! So you were talking to Braithwaite about a divorce.
Are you surprised? Yes.
Surprised you didn't insult anyone's intelligence with a story like that.
I don't know why you went.
But Malloy and Kinsella are bound to be mixed up in whatever it is.
Why is it so impossible to believe that I just want a divorce? Because divorce wouldn't be enough for you.
That's very splendid.
You must be very proud of your fiancee.
Apparently not.
Not a match made in heaven, Chief Inspector.
No celestial choirs singing when you met, then.
Afraid not.
But when I first laid eyes on the studio space at the back of his forge Is that how you two first got together? You bet.
And you've seen those muscles.
I was happy enough to engage him at close quarters.
(LAUGHS) But that's not the same thing as being properly engaged.
True.
But Ken couldn't quite make the distinction.
So I've had to be his fiancee until I finish the statue.
And then what? And then I'm off to the US of A on a single ticket.
As in you're not coming back.
As in I'm going on my own.
I thought there'd be a lot of work for blacksmiths in America.
In Moose Jaw, Wyoming, maybe.
But I'm going to Chicago.
Does Ken know this? Of course.
What do you take me for? Don't answer that, sir.
Oi! This local horse-shoer or whatever he is.
Ken Tuohy? He's got about as much chance of making it as a fighter as you have as a manager.
Who says I want to be a manager? Look, if it had just been Tuohy, I would have done what I've always done.
Laugh at you.
But when you get ideas about managing Kinsella, I started to get annoyed.
Maybe we're prepared to risk it.
One word - contract.
Kinsella is tied to me.
He's going nowhere.
But you are.
I'm sick of you.
I want you to clear your stuff out of the gym.
And be gone by the time the fight's over this afternoon.
All right? (CHATTING) (LAUGHS) This makes a change.
You helping him into his clothes rather than out of them.
I'm glad he sacked me.
I'm finally free of him.
We can be together now.
You know I can't leave John.
He's like a son to me.
And me! He'll come with us.
That was always the plan.
Teddy, the plan was to get him out of his contract.
And unless that happens, we're going nowhere.
Not while Frank's still around.
He only went to get his costume on! Grace, Frank should be here by now.
Relax.
He's never missed a photo opportunity yet.
Could you see what's holding him up? Frank! Frank? Joyce, do you think Frank Bishop would mind if someone else did the unveiling? The whole event was his idea.
And his money paid for the statue.
I suppose he would be put out if somebody else took the limelight.
Just a bit.
All the same, if Grace can't find him, will you do the honours? Me?! In your capacity as Queen Victoria.
Get ready.
You're on! My lords, ladies and gentlemen! I bring you a contest which pits the old world against the new.
One, a misguided son of Yankee-shire! (BOOING) We'll learn that the hand of the foreigner, when raised against the son of Britannia (CHEERING) .
.
must be aided not only by the strength of a lion, but by the heart too.
(CHEERING) They didn't go much for impartiality in those days.
I doubt very much whether our gentleman from the colonies will be roaring when he's had the shine taken off him by our own Tom Sayer! (CHEERING) And now I will ask you all to join me in showing an invader (BOOING) .
.
how he is welcomed to the shores of Great Britain.
Mr John Heenan! (BOOING) Last-minute switch.
They're only pretending! Your Ken will be all right.
It's not Ken that I'm worried about.
It's John.
My John is champion of the world, love.
He knows how to take care of himself.
You don't know what Ken's capable of.
He's got the strength of a bull when he's angry.
And he's way beyond angry.
You and my John have been And your fiance has found out? Right now, all he wants to do is rip John's head off his shoulders.
(CHEERING) Gentlemen, please come up to scratch! You will continue fighting until one of you is in no fit state to continue.
A round will end when one of you is knocked to the ground.
Remember the significance and dignity of this historic occasion.
Biting and gouging in moderation only, gentlemen.
Please go to your corners.
And come out fighting! (BELL) (CHEERING) Ken! Fight! Go down! I'll stop the round! Fight! For god's sake, fight! (BELL) Yeeaghhh! So, what was that supposed to achieve? You say I never take an interest in you.
And I know how you like fighters.
You're pathetic.
What do you want? Not two cavemen brawling over me as though I was some sort of trophy! I had no idea that was going to happen.
Can I have a word, please? Is that why you didn't fight back? Inspector, I'm a professional.
World champion.
He's a big boy, but I could have killed him.
I mean it, killed him.
Wasn't entirely unexpected though, was it? Him attacking you like that.
Sir! There's a problem.
You stay here, Mr Malloy.
George, can we come in? Over here, Tom.
Same again, really.
Death caused by suffocation.
But the cut on the left cheek would indicate a heavy blow.
So he could have been knocked unconscious before he was killed.
If he was, a matching blood sample was found on a cushion in his living room.
Which would suggest it happened there.
That would mean the killer having to carry the body all the way from the living room to here.
Dead weight.
Literally.
Possible with a fireman's lift.
Hell of a schlep from the house to the gym.
Frank Bishop is a big fellow.
Who'd be strong enough to carry the body that far? Sebastian Farquaharson.
He changed places with Tuohy for the Sayers-Heenan fight.
And he's gone missing.
Which makes him an obvious choice.
Not the only one.
Teddy Malloy.
He wasn't involved in the fight reconstruction.
An ex-boxer.
Fit.
And he found the body.
But would he have raised the alarm? Double bluff.
And then there's Grace Bishop.
No-one was with her when she came back to find her husband.
She and Malloy might have done it between them.
I've been told I can't touch anything in my own living room.
Not until Forensics have finished in there.
More mess.
I know it makes me sound cold, but I'm not one for tears.
I'm not the emotional type.
Oh? I remember you being very emotional.
Hit him.
Right uppercut, left hook.
Keep him safe, Teddy.
Keep him safe! That was different.
I remember something else too.
I worry about you too.
I miss you when you're gone.
Husband.
More privacy in here.
You were talking to Teddy Malloy.
Was I? Mm.
You and Teddy Malloy, you love one another.
And Teddy Malloy is a real father figure to John Kinsella.
My husband didn't know what love meant.
All he was interested in was owning people.
Is that why you met up with Giles Braithwaite? John wanted Teddy to manage him.
And he wanted to know if there was any way out of his contract with Frank.
And now that is no longer a problem.
Come on, I'll take you home.
Has Kinsella got two women on the go at the same time? Camilla Farquaharson? Yes.
Is he the father of her child? We need to talk to Sebastian Farquaharson.
I wonder if Iris Holman knows where he is.
Tom.
Gerald.
Just taking Millie home.
She's in a bit of a state.
Understandable really, given what happened.
It can't help, her husband going missing.
Quite.
Do you need us for anything? No, not at the moment.
I'll get her back, then.
Oh, Gerald.
There is something.
My wife is convinced that Iris Holman was in love with Braithwaite.
She's bang on the money but that was never going to happen.
We can all sympathise with Braithwaite on that one.
Why did he never get married? Why would he do a thing like that? Giles Braithwaite was a homosexual.
Why should I know where Sebastian Farquaharson is? He is a man I try very hard to have nothing to do with.
Oh? You were talking to him yesterday at Morchard Manor.
That was work.
Unavoidable.
How professional that is of you, Miss Holman.
Your boss was murdered a couple of days ago.
And here you are, trying to carry on the business as normal.
I do hope Mr Braithwaite appreciated how loyal and hardworking you are.
I like to think he saw me as more than that.
Some kind of fondness between the two of you? You make it sound as though we had feelings for one another.
I think you imagined that to be the case.
Must have been very hard on you, Miss Holman, when you found out he was homosexual.
No, he isn't! He wasn't.
Yes, he was.
It wasn't him.
It was Sebastian.
The whole thing was disgusting.
Tell me more.
How did you find out? I'd left a folder in the office.
I went back after work to collect it.
How long did it continue between them? Continue? They were not a couple! Once I had caught them, it never happened again.
You made very sure of that, didn't you? Kept a very close eye on Mr Braithwaite.
That was for his own good.
He wasn't like that.
He wasn't.
Camilla! Open the door! (BANGING) I promise, I only want to talk.
Camilla! (BANGING) Police, please.
Mr Farquaharson, why did you go missing? I didn't go missing.
I just wasn't in Midsomer Morchard.
Is that a crime now? No, it's not.
But murder is.
And we're very anxious to know where you were when it happened.
Not again.
I've told you all I can about Giles Braithwaite.
I'm not talking about Braithwaite.
I'm talking about Frank Bishop.
Bishop? He's been murdered? Oh, you didn't know? How could I? I'd gone missing.
And why was that? I wanted to get away from this inbred little scandal-hole where everyone knows everyone else.
Or think they do.
I've had enough of it.
There's a surprise.
I thought you wanted more.
Or have you given up trying to get your hands on your father's estate? Couldn't care less.
None of that matters any more.
Not since Giles was murdered.
Mr Farquaharson, Sebastian.
Hasall thisto do with your sexual orientation? Iris Holman, she Bitch! I paid her to keep quiet and she still can't keep her mouth shut.
It was only a fling.
At least, that's what I thought.
I had no intention of coming back here.
Then why did you? I had to see Camilla.
Say sorry to her.
It's not much.
But it's the least she deserves.
And Iris Holman, you said that you were paying her to keep quiet.
Blackmail? Did he actually use that word? Yes.
He said that he gave you money in return for your silence about his homosexuality.
Not quite the same, is it? Blackmail is when someone demands payment for NOT revealing information.
But that is what you are doing! No.
He begged me not to tell anyone about his sordid little secret.
I didn't want his money.
But I did want to see him squirm for what he tried to do to Mr Braithwaite.
All right.
You may or may not be a blackmailer in the eyes of the law.
But you and I both know that that is exactly what you are.
Can I give you a bit of advice? There have been two murders in Midsomer Morchard.
And if you are trying to blackmail anyone else .
.
you are playing a very dangerous game.
That woman is in such denial about him.
Why did you let her go? I hope she'll drop her guard.
Remember Frank Bishop saying she was present at every meeting he had with Braithwaite? Yeah.
And she had access to the details of all his clients.
I think she knows why Bishop and Braithwaite were killed.
So if she's not the murderer, she knows who is.
I believe that Iris Holman is a very nervous lady right about now.
Chief Inspector Barnaby, please.
Iris Holman.
Hello, Chief Inspector.
My flat's been broken into.
No, I am not staying here.
Meet me at the statue of Tom Sayers.
There's something I want to show you.
(DOOR) Hello? Hello! She should be here by now.
Her apartment? Yeah.
(KNOCKING) I think you should apply more force.
I'm knocking as hard as I can, sir.
Kick the door down.
Oh.
Cause of death, suffocation.
Same as Bishop and Braithwaite? Yes.
But she wasn't knocked unconscious beforehand.
No need.
She's not as strong as them.
Wouldn't have put up as much of a fight.
Or maybe our killer was someone who would never hit a lady.
Joyce.
Mm? I am not a man to have his head easily turned, am I? It took me long enough to catch your eye.
No, it didn't.
Just nervous about getting it right with you.
I was reasonably circumspect.
No, seriously.
Do you think I am open to flattery? Show me a man who isn't.
I'm not talking about man-woman stuff.
It's when that sort of thing clouds your professional judgement.
John, what are you talking about? There is one person in this investigation I have consistently overlooked as a suspect.
Wilfully overlooked.
Gerald.
Tom! Come on in.
Thank you.
Oh She's just staying here.
For the moment.
Till You know.
Sebastian.
She doesn't want to be on her own.
It's about Sebastian we came to see you.
We're happy to release him.
But he's asking for you to stand surety for his bail.
Can you do that? Of course, yes.
Yes, any amount.
So he's off the hook, then? No, not entirely.
But he was under lock and key when Iris Holman was killed.
Awful business, awful.
Especially when you consider that we might have prevented it.
How's that? She phoned us just before she was killed.
Said she had something important to show us.
What was it? She didn't say.
If we'd gone straight to her flat, we might just have saved her.
But she was insistent that we meet her at the statue of Tom Sayers.
Why would she do that? (TAPS) Oh, hello, Chief Inspector.
I'm afraid Gerry isn't here.
Are you expecting him back soon? Not till late.
I do get nervous on my own in a house this size.
Yes, I bet you do.
Still, must be very comforting to have a father-in-law like that to turn to.
Oh, it is.
And you do turn to him, don't you? Every time you feel vulnerable.
Not every time.
No.
Then there's the way he's prepared to support your child when it's born.
He is an exceptionally decent man.
That's exactly what I thought.
But that was before I realised the child is his.
Millie! Millie! In here, Gerald! Hello? Tom! What are you doing here? Where's Camilla? Camilla is talking to Detective Sergeant Jones.
What about? I didn't get a chance to take a proper look at these when I was last in this room.
You scarcely had time.
It was only a quick drink.
In fact, as I recall, you didn't have a drink.
And yet you were so insistent, weren't you, on pouring me one.
And you placed the glass just there.
That was how you first made me aware that one of these was missing.
And that, Gerald, that's a double bluff.
What's this about? Braithwaite and Bishop were both knocked unconscious.
Either by a heavy object or by a heavy punch.
Aided by something very like a knuckleduster.
Would take a stronger and younger man than me to do that, if that's what you're implying.
What, an old Oxford boxing blue like you? And the last thing to go on any boxer is his punch.
You told me that.
I say a lot of things.
I'm often not as knowledgeable as I sound.
Oh, but you are, aren't you, when it comes to the delights of the sporting arena? The thrilling surge of adrenaline when you back your own hunch against all the odds and it comes home a winner.
Graphically put.
One could almost believe you were a gambling man yourself.
Not I, Gerald.
Not I.
But you, you're completely hooked, aren't you? 'I had made a substantial bet elsewhere', you said on the night of the title fight of John Kinsella.
And you had, Gerald, you had.
A very substantial bet.
But Frank Bishop had agreed to loan you your stake money.
With this house as collateral.
Only trouble is, you backed the wrong man.
So when the fight was over, this house, your estate, everything, belonged to Frank Bishop.
Now how could you possibly know a thing like that? Because it's all written down.
Legally binding.
And witnessed by Iris Holman and Giles Braithwaite.
That document you've got there in your hand.
That's what you were so anxious to find when you searched through Iris Holman's flat and Giles Braithwaite's office.
What you've got there, that's a copy.
We have the original.
Tom Barnaby, I do believe you've set me up.
Can I see Millie before you slap on the cuffs? Bishop and I struck a wager, fair and square.
Except that it wasn't fair.
Had it been, I would have honoured it.
But it was your choice to bet against John Kinsella.
What's unfair about that? The fact that Bishop advised me to do just that.
Kinsella's late nights and womanising have caught up with him.
He's got no chance of winning this fight.
But he's red-hot favourite.
Which is why I've placed a considerable amount of money on his opponent.
Not in my name obviously.
I'm telling you this in the strictest confidence.
You're a gambling man.
I thought you might like a taster.
Not that there's much of a gamble.
Bishop was very keen to loan me the stake money.
A big win would have gone a long way to easing my financial worries.
Caused by gambling in the first place.
Quite.
As soon as Kinsella came off his stool in the opening round, I could see the shape he was in.
I knew that I'd been conned.
There's no coming back from that! Dead to the world.
Ladies and gentlemen So you went to Braithwaite in the hope that because Bishop had lied to you, this would somehow nullify the legal document giving your estate to him? Bishop's coming here straight from the airport.
All I can suggest is that you turn up and .
.
appeal to his better nature.
He was on the take from Bishop.
I knew I had to get hold of that document before Bishop got back.
And because Braithwaite was batting on Bishop's side, you had no option but to kill him.
Oh, that wasn't the plan.
But I was up against time.
I implored Bishop to delay any announcement of the estate now being his.
He agreed.
But only till after the Sayers-Heenan fight.
As soon as it was over, he intended to pronounce himself lord of the manor.
His phrase.
And you couldn't have that.
I took Bishop to be a sporting man, but I was wrong.
I couldn't have someone who would behave in such a fashion inheriting the Farquaharson estate! Noblesse oblige.
Absolutely.
Couldn't have the people of Midsomer Morchard left in the hands of a man who was little more than an asset-stripper.
Not to mention protecting the family inheritance.
Especially now.
When you're expecting a child who actually is your bloodline.
Sebastian is my son.
And always will be.
I had no idea he was gay until Millie came to me for help.
She was so in need of looking after.
Bad form, the father-in-law and all that.
But I don't regret it.
And I don't think Millie does either.
Iris Holman was blackmailing you, wasn't she? Oh, yes.
She held the document that legalised the wager.
She was asking for money.
But what she really wanted was revenge.
On Sebastian? On the world.
You know it doesn't matter that Frank Bishop is dead.
The manor still goes into his estate.
That is (LAUGHS) That is the irony of it.
You see, Frank Bishop was so determined that his man would win that he did a bit of pre-fight tampering.
Kinsella didn't know.
But he was told this morning he had failed a drugs test.
He'll be stripped of the title.
And the wager is void and the estate is still mine.
So no need for all those murders.
None at all, Sergeant.
What a waste.
What a pitiful waste.
Although, when you think of it, Braithwaite, a two-timing lawyer, Frank Bishop, a ruthless main chancer, Iris Holman, an embittered blackmailer.
And what am I? Other than a gentrified waster? None of us will be much of a loss to society.
He got his son's wife pregnant, he gambled away his family fortune, and people like him.
I certainly did.
Yeah.
He stitched you up, didn't he, sir? Yes.
Killed three people.
Carried out those murders meticulously, clinically.
Right under my nose.
What kind of a man does that? A JP! A pillar of the community.
And certainly not one of us at all.
Madison Square Garden in New York is absolutely packed for this one.
What a story it could be if John Kinsella, from Midsomer Morchard, were to win this world middleweight title fight.
Can he somehow find a way to get the better of the Argentinean Garcia Latosa? Defending his title for the fifth time.
Kinsella in the blue shorts, remember.
He is still right in this fight.
All those weeks of preparation.
Good left hand from Kinsella in there again.
Latosa keeps on marching forward.
This Argentinean is so strong.
No, no, no! Good body shots.
Kinsella will be feeling those.
Every one that pounds into his midriff.
But Kinsella still looking fresh.
Yes! The Argentinean with the left hand.
(BELL) The bell to end the eighth round.
The referee has to split them.
Can I top you up? Thank goodness for that! I could do with a breather myself.
It's the excitement.
It's the sleep deprivation.
I didn't realise they'd be fighting at four in the morning.
They're not.
They're five hours behind us.
And I thought it'd be outside.
Why? Well, aren't they in some sort of garden? Ohh Madison Square Garden! So I'm right.
A world famous sporting arena.
Not bloody Kew! My wife's not known for her intellect.
Whereas my son is renowned for his charm.
Ignore him.
Let's hear from Teddy Molloy, his trainer.
Let's see what he's saying to John.
Keep him safe, Teddy.
Keep him safe.
TEDDY: Get him.
Right uppercut.
You heard the instructions from Teddy Malloy.
TEDDY: Box behind him! Telling him to work behind that left-hand lead.
I'm not much of a boxing fan! You're not alone there.
Not by a long chalk.
I'm surprised that Grace Bishop hasn't got more of a stomach for this kind of thing.
TV: Frank Bishop, Kinsella's promoter and manager at ringside.
Don King's there as well.
I wonder if he'll want a piece of young John Kinsella if he can come through this.
Into the ninth round of this 12-rounder.
The world middleweight title.
Latosa is a favourite for this one.
Good body shots.
Kinsella really teeing off with that left hand.
Precisely what Teddy Molloy said.
Come on, John! Good left hand again.
Rattling that jab into the face of Latosa.
Good shot! Left hook! Kinsella has put Latosa down! Yeah! Working off that right-hand lead.
And a left hook has put Latosa on the canvas.
The gumshield is out.
No coming back from that! Dead to the world.
TV: He's going to win the title! The referee's stopping it! John Kinsella, from Midsomer Morchard! (CHEERING) TV: And the celebrations begin! What a performance, John Kinsella! Taken in as a young boy, as an orphan, by Frank Bishop.
He's there in the ring with him now, sharing the moment of glory.
He's now champion of the world.
Ladies and gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses to the champion of Midsomer Morchard.
Now champion of the world! John Kinsella! (CHEERING) I still can't believe that you've taken time off to go to a garden party.
It's not just a garden party, Joyce.
A very grand occasion.
You never were much of a boxing fan before.
In Midsomer Morchard, at this moment, it is hard not to be.
That's where the statue of Tom Sayers is going to stand.
See what I mean? Tom! Joyce! Good of you to come.
Looks like we're the last to arrive.
I'm afraid not.
The man of the moment has been stranded in New York.
John Kinsella? Flight's delayed.
Security alert.
Or, as Frank Bishop said, 'Yanks! One glimpse of a burka and everyone freaks out!' Nothing too serious though? No, they should be back tonight.
But there's no reason why we can't toast the champion in his absence.
A glass of something sparkly? TANNOY: All flights from Newark are being delayed.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
You useless piece of - Go somewhere else for a signal.
Thank you.
With the press waiting to pounce? Bloody animals.
Since when have you shied away from publicity? This is a top of the range phone.
Just goes to show.
Show what? Money can't buy you everything.
Don't get too clever, John.
Don't embarrass yourself.
And don't think I can't see you smirking, Malloy.
You shouldn't wind him up.
Be all right as long as I'm worth money to him.
You won't always be world champion.
When that day comes and he's wrung me for every penny, he'll drop me like a stone.
Just like every other fighter he's managed.
So what are you going to do about it, Teddy? Grace is working on it.
Let's just hope she's had some luck.
Sorry for squeezing your hand like that.
During the fight the other night.
You must think I'm awful.
How perceptive.
Is that a smile? Or just your lips sliding off your teeth? Gerald is very strongly identified with Midsomer Morchard, isn't he? He's the lord of the manor.
Not quite.
He lives in the manor house.
He's the current occupant.
And it is very kind of him, is it not, to open up the place for the celebration? He's a sporting man with a strong sense of occasion.
And you, are you a boxing fan? Not really.
But I did have an interest in this fight.
Because of the local interest? Oh, yes.
And your wife? Iris? She's not my wife.
She's my assistant.
You're not working this afternoon?! No.
Iris just likes to keep an eye on me, you know.
Excuse me.
See you again soon.
Bye.
Oh, I feel for that Giles! Having her around him all the time, must be like working with a stalker! Don't let her get to you.
Snooty cow! Fur coat and no knickers.
I bet she doesn't even have the fur coat.
Holding Iris Holman's hand.
I wish I'd seen that! I was in pieces till that fight was over.
Grace, you are married to a boxing promoter.
How many contests have you seen? I've lost count.
And it's different when you're watching one of your own.
Libby! Tom, Joyce, Libby Morris, sculptor extraordinaire! You're making the statue of Tom Sayers.
I certainly am.
That must be a bit hard, mustn't it? Trying to make the likeness of a man who died 150 years ago.
It is.
But fortunately, there's some photographs of him.
And you had a live fighter to pose for you.
John Kinsella.
Before he went off to the States.
Gerald here thinks I developed a bit of a crush on him.
Mm.
Is it finished? The statue.
Very nearly.
Why don't you drop by when you're passing? I'd value your opinion.
You ought to.
In fact, I'll be there tomorrow.
She did fancy my John.
But then, they all do.
Grace is very protective about young Mr Kinsella.
She treats him like a son.
He lives with her and Frank.
Might have been better for everyone if they'd left him in the gutter.
Which is obviously where you've left your manners.
I do apologise.
Can I have a chat with you? Ha! I finally have your attention! Gerald! Good of you to come.
See you later.
Have you no idea how to behave?! Look who I've had as a role model.
How dare you say that! I would never be so crass to guests in my own house.
How about somebody else's house? Don't be facetious! I'm being entirely serious.
And you know it.
Oh, everyone loves Gerald Farquaharson.
So charming.
A proper gentleman.
Not like that son of his.
Well, I might be crass.
But it's your louche behaviour which has brought us to losing this house and the entire estate! So what are you going to do about it?! You must be the only shopfront in Causton without a message of congratulations for John Kinsella.
I'm doing my bit for Kinsella.
Really.
Really.
Every time some part-time punter like you comes in, they collect the winnings from his fight.
Come on! Win some, lose some.
That's not how this business works.
Don't suppose you'd like to reinvest any of this? Nope.
Didn't think so.
My family thinks gambling is like giving money to the devil.
No offence.
None taken.
They'd be upset if they knew I was in here.
Hm, not nearly as much as I am! Thank you.
Oh, good idea.
Strong and black, please.
Certainly, madam.
There you are.
Thank you.
Are you all right? I feel a bit sick.
Coffee doesn't usually affect me like this.
Shall I get Sebastian? No! I'm fine, really.
For god's sake, Iris.
I'm driving.
Have a proper drink.
Might loosen you up a bit.
To do what? Enjoy yourself? Fine.
I'll get blotto and lead everyone in the hokey-cokey.
Now that would be worth staying for.
But you're not, are you? Staying.
I'll get the coats.
I'm so proud of him.
Are you sure he's not hurt? Are you all right? I worry about you.
I miss you when you're gone.
Husband.
More privacy in here.
Are you still there? So when are you back? No, I'll be up.
(CLINKING) Tom! You're not leaving? It's just getting lively out there.
Indeed it is.
Time for a good copper to be leaving.
Quick brandy? Oh, would I could! I'm driving.
Keep me company while I have one? All right.
Good man.
Sure I can't tempt you to a small one? Oh, get thee behind me, Satan! It's here if you change your mind.
Oh, look.
Knuckledusters.
Certainly are.
As used by some of the more unscrupulous prize-fighters of the 19th century.
Hello.
One of them is missing.
Oh.
Is this case locked? Used to be, while I was still married.
Wouldn't want the ex-wife getting hold of one of those.
She was effective enough with her bare hands! Oh, that is annoying.
Who would want to steal something like that? It's not as if it has any real value, even to a collector like myself.
I've been looking everywhere for you! Not now, Sebastian.
We're leaving.
I don't think so.
Ronnie! Glad to see you've still got a shirt on your back.
Local bookmaker.
Good sport, actually turning up.
He took a hell of a pounding on the Kinsella win.
Did you collect your winnings from him? No.
I had a substantial wager elsewhere.
On your way home, Iris? We were.
Until your son demanded a meeting with Mr Braithwaite.
What, now? I'll find them.
No, please, don't disturb him.
You'll be waiting for ages.
Get yourself home.
Shall I get you a taxi? No, don't do that.
We'll give you a lift home.
Gerald.
It's a straightforward question, Giles.
Can I get power of attorney? What grounds do you have to justify taking the estate away from your father? Incompetence! He's sending us to rack and ruin.
I've a suspicion that Camilla may be pregnant.
On what evidence? Coffee.
The smell makes her feel nauseous.
Is that reliable medical proof? Ask any woman.
She'll make a lovely mum.
Not so sure about Sebastian as a father though.
He is such a joyless individual.
He certainly hasn't got his father's good nature, that is true.
Oh, do you know his father? Yes.
Gerald? Of course.
Then you have the advantage over Sebastian.
He has no idea who his biological father is.
It certainly isn't Gerald Farquaharson.
Iris Holman.
A strange lady.
She's not easy.
Giles Braithwaite, he's just her boss, isn't he? So why did she come on as though he were two-timing her? Ha! What have I said? Iris Holman is in love with Giles Braithwaite.
How do you know that? You'd have to be blind not to see it.
Or a man.
Come on.
Come on! We're late! Yes, yes.
Morning, ladies! The nerve centre buzzing with activity, is it? Not exactly.
Is there a problem? Camilla thinks I'm taking on too much.
Grace is already helping with publicity and the hiring of costumes.
But on top of that, she's insisting on handling the charity donations on her own.
Can you think of anyone better to deal with my husband's tight-fistedness? Now this whole event was Frank's idea.
That might be.
But I'm telling you, it's going to take an expert to get him to part with the money we raise.
Call from New York.
Frank Bishop.
Mr Bishop, you must be very happy with the way things have worked out.
Which is why we need to meet as soon as I get back.
Call round as soon as it suits you.
I intend to.
We've finally got a flight.
The plane gets in at midnight.
I should be with you about two o'clock in the morning.
In the morning?! Hardly worth you going to bed really.
I'll see you at the office.
Make sure you're there.
Two AM.
I'll be here.
Morning, Joyce! Morning.
Grace and Camilla are already here.
I told you we were late! Oh, dear.
Have I dropped you in it with the memsahib? Yes, you have.
You naughty japer, you.
Glad to hear it.
Have you got five minutes? Come with me.
What do you think? Magnificent brutes, aren't they? Joyce! You're right.
That'd definitely persuade me to go to the fight.
Oh, no.
No, it wouldn't.
They didn't have posters in 1860.
All the arrangements had to be hush-hush in case the police found out and stopped it.
That was 150 years ago.
This time round, we need all the publicity we can get.
I was only trying to show that I'd done my research.
Hey, you don't have to justify yourself to me.
I'm not that husband of yours.
We're very happy to have you in charge.
Definitely.
And just to prove it, I'm going to leave early.
Sorry, girls.
I have business that just won't wait.
It's very pretty.
It's more like the setting for a village fete than a bare-knuckle fight.
Not any bare-knuckle fight.
The very first world championship fight.
Great Britain versus one of her upstart colonies.
That would explain the surrounding razzamatazz.
We've had to raise a bit of money for charity.
There'd have been none of this when Sayers fought Heenan back in 1860.
Why not? Prize-fighting was illegal.
The venue was kept secret till the last possible minute.
But everyone knew a fight was going to take place.
Absolutely.
Queen Victoria herself took a very keen interest.
Was she in the crowd? No.
But Dickens and Thackeray were.
Along with several members of the aristocracy.
Any of your ancestors there? Of course! That's where the fight was staged! In this very field? Right in our backyard! Oh, I'll do that! It's not heavy.
Even so, you shouldn't be lifting things.
Do I look that frail? No, but when you're pregnant What made you say that? Coffee.
The smell of it always made me feel sick when I was carrying Cully.
I could tell that you knew.
Congratulations! You don't seem very happy about it.
Oh, I am.
But it's Sebastian.
So it was unplanned.
Oh, yes.
He'll come round.
Just give him some time to accept it.
I don't think there is that much time.
You know, Tom, standing here, I almost feel as if I was born out of my time.
And I belong back at that Sayers-Heenan fight with all the other idlers who called themselves nobility.
Come on.
You're being a bit hard on yourself.
I don't think so.
The aristocracy were never the backbone of this country.
The devil of it is is that I am not idle.
Just never really seen the point in most things.
What, nothing at all? No.
Of course, I was steered along the usual route.
Eton, Oxford.
But I spent more time studying the turf than I did my books.
Ever the athlete, eh? Afraid so.
And I'm a lousy gambler.
The thrill of the chase appeals more than the winning.
The bookies must love you! They send me Valentines! No, seriously, what do I do that could be remotely regarded as useful? You're a damn good JP, for a start.
Oh, bless you for saying that.
I almost feel good about myself now.
(PHONE) Mrs Bishop? Why didn't you call me on the office phone? Too public.
I need to speak to you urgently.
I don't have anything till tomorrow.
That won't do.
Frank will be back from America by then.
Come to the house this afternoon.
Sounds as though it can't wait.
No, it can't.
Believe me, this is something Frank Bishop's had coming to him for a long time.
Why are we here? We are here, Jones, to look at a work of art.
Mr Ken Tuohy? Looking for Libby Morris.
That way? Thank you.
Ah, Tom.
Ken told you where to find us, did he? Not in so many words.
That's Ken.
Expresses himself through his hands.
As does his fiancee.
Oh, you came.
What do you think? I think that's very impressive.
Tom Sayers, in all his glory.
I wish.
It's only just back from the foundry.
Needs a bit of work before it's ready for the village square.
Up against the clock to get this ready in time for the reconstruction of the Sayers-Heenan fight.
What's that in his left hand? The charter granting him the freedom of Midsomer Morchard.
I'd never heard of that.
Because it didn't happen.
But we must allow the artist a certain amount of license.
More like the artist working to a commission.
The charter was Frank Bishop's idea.
And he who pays the piper Frank Bishop paid for this? As a tribute to Sayers' links to the area.
Frank Bishop? I thought he was surgically attached to his money.
I know folk regard him as a Johnny come lately and a bit rough round the edges, but he's a sporting man.
And that must count in his favour.
Sergeant, are you a sporting man? I did a bit of boxing actually.
Back in Wales, at a local club.
Oh, good man! The noble art, eh? Well, I'm not quite old enough to remember this chap, but it's been many, many years since I won a boxing blue at Oxford.
Wow.
Fighting days well behind you though, eh? Afraid so.
But there's one thing we will always have.
What's that? We may be creaking with ring-rust, but the last thing to go on any boxer is his punch! No, leave the lights off.
I've got someone coming round later.
If he finds you in here, it will set tongues wagging all round the village.
OK.
Mr Braithwaite is out of the office.
Can I help? No.
It was him we came to see.
Do you have an appointment? We were rather hoping that he would see us on the off-chance.
Will he be long? I really can't say.
Are you sure there's nothing I can do? How well do you know the law, Miss Holman? Appalling woman! Why does Giles put up with her?! Because she runs the office like clockwork.
She gives me the creeps, wanting to know my business.
We came to see a solicitor, not his assistant! Well, she's a little self-important, but don't worry.
Giles is a professional.
Anything you tell him, he will take to the grave.
Sorry for dragging you out here.
I didn't want word getting round that I'd been to your office.
You make it sound as though the place is under surveillance.
It's a small village.
Besides, there's that assistant of yours.
Now you're being paranoid.
(PUNCHBAG) Is someone punching the bag in there? No.
I'm sure I heard somebody moving around.
Now who's imagining things.
Thanks for seeing me before Frank gets back.
It's as well I did.
He's calling by my office on his way back from the airport.
That will be the early hours of the morning.
Certainly will.
Must be important if it can't wait till tomorrow.
It is.
Very.
And that's all I'm saying.
Client confidentiality works both ways.
Johnny, give us a smile, champ! Johnny! Get out of the way, please.
Give us a break.
Johnny! He's had a world title fight.
You'll get used to this, son.
You're big-time now.
Big time? I'm still lugging my own bag.
Where's the limo, Frank? Don't be silly.
Limos cost money.
They do, Teddy.
And we'll leave it at that, eh? First port of call, nice hot bath.
Then bed.
First port of call, bed.
Although we might soak one another down in the bath afterwards! You ever think of anything else? You had me living like a monk in the build-up to that fight.
Thinking about it is all I could do.
Training's over.
She's waited long enough! She might have to wait a bit longer.
The first port of call is Braithwaite's.
The solicitor's? At this time in the morning? I got business that can't wait.
Don't wait up for me! You keep pushing your luck.
Someone will put you on your back.
In about five minutes from now with any luck! And I won't be there to pick you up.
(KNOCKING) Come in.
(MIAOW) Bloody cat! I just trod on him! (LAUGHS) Don't laugh.
Ssh! No, seriously.
Don't.
I think there's someone downstairs! (LAUGHS) There's someone downstairs.
(DOOR CREAKS) Get up! (DOG BARKS) Here you are.
I don't know how long I'm going to be with Braithwaite.
What are you telling me for? You're out here waiting for me.
Forget that! I'm your trainer, not your chauffeur! Get Braithwaite to give you a lift home.
Don't get lairy, Teddy.
I might stand a bit of lip from John.
Because he's still useful to me.
You, I keep on out of pity.
(BANGING) Who's there? What's happened? I nearly got caught trying to take something that wasn't mine! Champion of the world and arriving back like a thief in the night.
Did anyone see you? I don't think so.
All the same, you need to watch your back.
No, I don't.
You always do that for me.
Looks like he suffocated.
It's strange, isn't it, George? The whole place has been turned upside down and he looks Tranquil.
Almost composed.
Any defensive wounds, signs of struggle? None.
But look at this.
He's been struck with something heavy.
So he could have been unconscious before he was killed.
Possibly.
Sir.
Your friend has arrived.
Would you look at that! Tom, awful business.
I came as soon as I heard.
And how did you hear? Bush telegraph.
Place like this, word gets round like wildfire.
You know where to find me if you need me.
Mr Bishop, tell me, please, what was so urgent about your meeting with Braithwaite last night it couldn't wait until later in the day? I like to get things done, Chief Inspector.
And Miss Holman? She was at any meeting I had with him.
Did she need to be there? Not really.
Stay where you are.
(TAPS) Anything? She's a hard one.
I need more time with her.
I think a more robust approach is required.
Miss Holman, what were you doing here last night? Mr Braithwaite always insisted that I attend every important meeting.
What was the meeting about? How would I know? It never took place.
Mr Braithwaite was dead by the time you got here? Of course he was.
I didn't murder him.
Why didn't you contact the police? Do you think I was in any state to do that? Miss Holman, would you get me Mr Braithwaite's appointments diary, please? When you've had your moment.
Mr Bishop.
Mr Bishop, how upset was Miss Holman when you met up with her last night? Practically hysterical.
Mr Malloy.
Is that true? What he just said about Miss Holman.
I was sat in the car.
It was a good while before Frank called me inside.
How come? He talked to her for a few minutes.
I could see them through the window.
Was he just talking to her or comforting her? How can I tell? Did he have an arm around her? I don't think she's the sort of woman you put your arms round under any circumstances.
Going out.
And there was me thinking you'd come to take an interest in what I'm doing.
How many more times do you want me to look at it? Jealous of my other man? That's not funny.
He's made of bronze! I don't think so.
Frank's in bed.
Jet lag.
And he's been up all night.
Is it true he found the body? It's true he found Mr Braithwaite.
Whether Mr Braithwaite was alive or dead at the time, we're still looking at that.
What do you mean? Why did you ask Giles Braithwaite to come here yesterday afternoon? That's between me and him.
As he's now dead, you're the only one who can tell us.
And, Mrs Bishop, since this is a murder investigation, we do have every right to know.
I wanted to ask about getting a divorce.
On what grounds? How long have you got? Why the secrecy? Your husband has got to know some time.
The longer I can keep it from him, the better.
Where Frank and money is concerned, you need to get the jump on him to stand any chance of getting what you're due.
Teddy Malloy? What about him? Where can we find him? Oh.
Come with me.
(DOOR) Good.
Grace? We're working.
They wanted to see you.
I thought you were on your own.
Mr Malloy, thank you.
John Kinsella.
Uggghh! He was with you and Mr Bishop when you travelled back on the plane from New York.
You know he was.
Why wasn't he with you in the car when you went round to Braithwaite's office? He was with me.
I asked Teddy to drive him straight back here from the airport.
Sounds as though you've got him under some sort of curfew.
You don't know about his reputation with women.
If you let him off the leash straight after a fight, there's no holding him back as far as women are concerned.
Lock up your daughters? And your wives.
Mothers.
Girlfriends.
I saw Teddy Malloy fight.
Did you? That must have been some time ago.
My grandad took me to see this Welsh boxer that was fighting on the undercard.
A Frank Bishop promotion.
Malloy was top of the bill.
Fighting for the British title.
Youngest-ever challenger.
Why didn't you mention that to him? He lost.
Badly? He never fought again.
I know! Not interrupting anything, are we? Just checking to see that my Tom Sayers is fit enough to toe the line against John Heenan.
Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Is that tender? Yeah, just a bit.
You need witch-hazel on it.
I don't do voodoo remedies.
Honestly, Chief Inspector, he's such a baby! Two fights in three days and I'm a baby? Oh, pooh! This one will be more like playing pattacake.
It's only pretend.
Make sure your husband knows that.
He's a pussycat.
Now we all know that's not true.
Can I get something clear? You are playing Tom Sayers.
And Sebastian Farquaharson, he's doing John Heenan? Mm-hm.
Bit of a mismatch.
No.
Tom Sayers was a middleweight and Heenan was a heavyweight.
No, no.
I mean him being a world champion.
Oh, I see! Well, Seb is a second-row forward for the Midsomer County rugby team.
So he's no stranger to a brawl.
Besides, he and John are only going through the motions.
They're not really fighting, are they? Mrs Farquaharson, Mrs Farquaharson, you wanted to see Giles Braithwaite yesterday, yes? What about? That's a personal matter.
You're going to have to tell them, Millie.
I can give you any answers you need.
I was with Camilla yesterday.
Thanks, Tom.
Camilla's been a bit emotional of late.
She would be, wouldn't she? The pregnancy.
You know about that.
It's exactly why it's not the right time to be thinking about a divorce.
Another one.
Is that why she went to see Braithwaite? Yes.
And you were quite prepared to support her in this? You saw the way Sebastian treated her the other night.
It's not an isolated incident.
I'm ashamed to say my son is a bully.
Iris Holman says that Sebastian is not your son.
(PHONE) Oh, that woman really has become very bitter.
Is it true? He was fathered by another man before my wife walked out on me and Sebastian.
Is Sebastian in touch with his natural father? Not unless he goes to seances.
The man was a playboy.
Drank himself to death.
So you raised another man's child.
I raised my son.
Which is why I feel responsible for the way he's treating that poor girl.
Can we get this over with quickly? Busy man, Mr Farquaharson? If you must know, I find it all rather upsetting.
Oh, really.
How many times have I told you it's got to look better than that? Come on! Pull your finger out! Giles was a friend of the family.
Was it family business that you wanted to see him about so urgently? As a matter of fact, it was.
Sebastian, shouldn't you be talking to your father about that, rather than to a solicitor? I've given up with him.
The sooner the estate is made over to my name, the sooner we can stop him haemorrhaging money from it.
What do you mean by that? Everyone knows about his gambling.
The son stabbing his father in the back.
Not a good way to uphold the family name.
You're wrong.
It's precisely the way to do it.
Lock up the lunatics, keep the incompetents away from the finances, and leave the running of things to those who know what they're doing.
Oh, survival of the fittest.
What a wonderful philosophy to pass on to your child.
I don't have a child.
You soon will have.
You say that as though it's something to do with me.
Well, isn't it? I'm not sure who the father is.
But the child is not mine.
I'm absolutely certain of that.
Jab, jab, jab! Jab, jab, jab.
Frank! Didn't expect you up yet.
I bet you didn't.
Ken Tuohy.
What was he doing here? Usual story.
He told me he'd done a bit of boxing and wanted me to have a look at him.
And? Nothing special.
Just a one-off, then? Absolutely.
That's all right, then.
Because if I thought he'd been here more than once, I'd have to start wondering what you're up to.
You and thisloving wife of mine.
Gerald He deserves a better son than Sebastian.
Gerald's no saint, sir.
You know about his gambling habits.
That's not it, Jones.
Gerald is a JP.
He's a pillar of society.
He's one of us.
This challenge for the estate is all to do with Sebastian not being a biological heir.
He seems convinced the child's not his.
That's what I'm talking about.
It's all about inheritance.
Do you think Frank believes you about Tuohy? If he didn't, he wouldn't have left it at that.
You know what he's like.
I can show you the scars.
I've already seen them.
You don't think Frank killed that solicitor, do you? You know the temper on him.
He had no reason to lose it with Braithwaite.
Unless Frank found out that he'd been to the house.
And what we were really talking about.
How could he know? Iris Holman.
She's got her nose in everything at that office.
That's not healthy for us.
Or for her.
Just imagine, 150 years ago, men were driving ring-posts into the ground in exactly that spot.
Maybe not exactly that spot.
Two men fight in the street, we arrest them.
Put them in a ring, we pay to watch it.
That's because we know how lonely the ring can be.
A dark and brutal place.
Takes a special kind of courage for someone to get in there and keep going back again and again.
Something you would know about.
Me? Never wore a pair of boxing gloves in my life.
I mean as a police officer.
You need that sort of courage to face the darkness and brutality that the public need to be shielded from.
(WHISTLING) Oh.
Excuse me, gentlemen.
With any luck, they've struck oil.
Us being like boxers? An interesting comparison.
Oh, a very perceptive one, Jones.
Ta.
A little different from the usual village issues we find ourselves dealing with.
Iris! Sebastian.
Can I help? Or have you come to see my father? I've come to ask you if you killed Giles.
Funny, that.
I've been wanting to ask you the same question.
Pass it up.
You were up at Oxford at the same time as Giles Braithwaite.
Were you friends? Not close.
I knew him well enough.
Well enough to know if he werecapable of blackmailing any of his clients? Giles? A blackmailer? That's absolutely out of the question.
That's one theory you can discount.
That is pretty emphatic.
Seriously, Tom.
I'd stake everything I have on that.
Shame he's such a lousy gambler.
What do you want, Bishop? Not you.
I've come to see the man of the house.
You've a damn nerve coming here at all! Are you going to set the dogs on me? Why give them all the pleasure? Sebastian! Inside the house! Now! This is not finished.
Sorry about that, Frank.
What was that about? No idea.
All a bit mad, aren't they, the aristocracy? All that inbreeding.
You just have to accept it.
Even though it means a wasted journey? What makes you say that? You came here to see someone.
Gerald.
But it can wait.
Wouldn't want to get in the way of some father and son bonding.
Happy families, eh? Mr Bishop.
Did you know that your wife is planning to divorce you? She's been planning that for years, Chief Inspector.
It's what gets her out of bed in the mornings.
Frank Bishop? Here? It's never going to happen.
I won't let it.
There's nothing we can do about it.
It's out of our hands.
We'll see about that.
A word! So you were talking to Braithwaite about a divorce.
Are you surprised? Yes.
Surprised you didn't insult anyone's intelligence with a story like that.
I don't know why you went.
But Malloy and Kinsella are bound to be mixed up in whatever it is.
Why is it so impossible to believe that I just want a divorce? Because divorce wouldn't be enough for you.
That's very splendid.
You must be very proud of your fiancee.
Apparently not.
Not a match made in heaven, Chief Inspector.
No celestial choirs singing when you met, then.
Afraid not.
But when I first laid eyes on the studio space at the back of his forge Is that how you two first got together? You bet.
And you've seen those muscles.
I was happy enough to engage him at close quarters.
(LAUGHS) But that's not the same thing as being properly engaged.
True.
But Ken couldn't quite make the distinction.
So I've had to be his fiancee until I finish the statue.
And then what? And then I'm off to the US of A on a single ticket.
As in you're not coming back.
As in I'm going on my own.
I thought there'd be a lot of work for blacksmiths in America.
In Moose Jaw, Wyoming, maybe.
But I'm going to Chicago.
Does Ken know this? Of course.
What do you take me for? Don't answer that, sir.
Oi! This local horse-shoer or whatever he is.
Ken Tuohy? He's got about as much chance of making it as a fighter as you have as a manager.
Who says I want to be a manager? Look, if it had just been Tuohy, I would have done what I've always done.
Laugh at you.
But when you get ideas about managing Kinsella, I started to get annoyed.
Maybe we're prepared to risk it.
One word - contract.
Kinsella is tied to me.
He's going nowhere.
But you are.
I'm sick of you.
I want you to clear your stuff out of the gym.
And be gone by the time the fight's over this afternoon.
All right? (CHATTING) (LAUGHS) This makes a change.
You helping him into his clothes rather than out of them.
I'm glad he sacked me.
I'm finally free of him.
We can be together now.
You know I can't leave John.
He's like a son to me.
And me! He'll come with us.
That was always the plan.
Teddy, the plan was to get him out of his contract.
And unless that happens, we're going nowhere.
Not while Frank's still around.
He only went to get his costume on! Grace, Frank should be here by now.
Relax.
He's never missed a photo opportunity yet.
Could you see what's holding him up? Frank! Frank? Joyce, do you think Frank Bishop would mind if someone else did the unveiling? The whole event was his idea.
And his money paid for the statue.
I suppose he would be put out if somebody else took the limelight.
Just a bit.
All the same, if Grace can't find him, will you do the honours? Me?! In your capacity as Queen Victoria.
Get ready.
You're on! My lords, ladies and gentlemen! I bring you a contest which pits the old world against the new.
One, a misguided son of Yankee-shire! (BOOING) We'll learn that the hand of the foreigner, when raised against the son of Britannia (CHEERING) .
.
must be aided not only by the strength of a lion, but by the heart too.
(CHEERING) They didn't go much for impartiality in those days.
I doubt very much whether our gentleman from the colonies will be roaring when he's had the shine taken off him by our own Tom Sayer! (CHEERING) And now I will ask you all to join me in showing an invader (BOOING) .
.
how he is welcomed to the shores of Great Britain.
Mr John Heenan! (BOOING) Last-minute switch.
They're only pretending! Your Ken will be all right.
It's not Ken that I'm worried about.
It's John.
My John is champion of the world, love.
He knows how to take care of himself.
You don't know what Ken's capable of.
He's got the strength of a bull when he's angry.
And he's way beyond angry.
You and my John have been And your fiance has found out? Right now, all he wants to do is rip John's head off his shoulders.
(CHEERING) Gentlemen, please come up to scratch! You will continue fighting until one of you is in no fit state to continue.
A round will end when one of you is knocked to the ground.
Remember the significance and dignity of this historic occasion.
Biting and gouging in moderation only, gentlemen.
Please go to your corners.
And come out fighting! (BELL) (CHEERING) Ken! Fight! Go down! I'll stop the round! Fight! For god's sake, fight! (BELL) Yeeaghhh! So, what was that supposed to achieve? You say I never take an interest in you.
And I know how you like fighters.
You're pathetic.
What do you want? Not two cavemen brawling over me as though I was some sort of trophy! I had no idea that was going to happen.
Can I have a word, please? Is that why you didn't fight back? Inspector, I'm a professional.
World champion.
He's a big boy, but I could have killed him.
I mean it, killed him.
Wasn't entirely unexpected though, was it? Him attacking you like that.
Sir! There's a problem.
You stay here, Mr Malloy.
George, can we come in? Over here, Tom.
Same again, really.
Death caused by suffocation.
But the cut on the left cheek would indicate a heavy blow.
So he could have been knocked unconscious before he was killed.
If he was, a matching blood sample was found on a cushion in his living room.
Which would suggest it happened there.
That would mean the killer having to carry the body all the way from the living room to here.
Dead weight.
Literally.
Possible with a fireman's lift.
Hell of a schlep from the house to the gym.
Frank Bishop is a big fellow.
Who'd be strong enough to carry the body that far? Sebastian Farquaharson.
He changed places with Tuohy for the Sayers-Heenan fight.
And he's gone missing.
Which makes him an obvious choice.
Not the only one.
Teddy Malloy.
He wasn't involved in the fight reconstruction.
An ex-boxer.
Fit.
And he found the body.
But would he have raised the alarm? Double bluff.
And then there's Grace Bishop.
No-one was with her when she came back to find her husband.
She and Malloy might have done it between them.
I've been told I can't touch anything in my own living room.
Not until Forensics have finished in there.
More mess.
I know it makes me sound cold, but I'm not one for tears.
I'm not the emotional type.
Oh? I remember you being very emotional.
Hit him.
Right uppercut, left hook.
Keep him safe, Teddy.
Keep him safe! That was different.
I remember something else too.
I worry about you too.
I miss you when you're gone.
Husband.
More privacy in here.
You were talking to Teddy Malloy.
Was I? Mm.
You and Teddy Malloy, you love one another.
And Teddy Malloy is a real father figure to John Kinsella.
My husband didn't know what love meant.
All he was interested in was owning people.
Is that why you met up with Giles Braithwaite? John wanted Teddy to manage him.
And he wanted to know if there was any way out of his contract with Frank.
And now that is no longer a problem.
Come on, I'll take you home.
Has Kinsella got two women on the go at the same time? Camilla Farquaharson? Yes.
Is he the father of her child? We need to talk to Sebastian Farquaharson.
I wonder if Iris Holman knows where he is.
Tom.
Gerald.
Just taking Millie home.
She's in a bit of a state.
Understandable really, given what happened.
It can't help, her husband going missing.
Quite.
Do you need us for anything? No, not at the moment.
I'll get her back, then.
Oh, Gerald.
There is something.
My wife is convinced that Iris Holman was in love with Braithwaite.
She's bang on the money but that was never going to happen.
We can all sympathise with Braithwaite on that one.
Why did he never get married? Why would he do a thing like that? Giles Braithwaite was a homosexual.
Why should I know where Sebastian Farquaharson is? He is a man I try very hard to have nothing to do with.
Oh? You were talking to him yesterday at Morchard Manor.
That was work.
Unavoidable.
How professional that is of you, Miss Holman.
Your boss was murdered a couple of days ago.
And here you are, trying to carry on the business as normal.
I do hope Mr Braithwaite appreciated how loyal and hardworking you are.
I like to think he saw me as more than that.
Some kind of fondness between the two of you? You make it sound as though we had feelings for one another.
I think you imagined that to be the case.
Must have been very hard on you, Miss Holman, when you found out he was homosexual.
No, he isn't! He wasn't.
Yes, he was.
It wasn't him.
It was Sebastian.
The whole thing was disgusting.
Tell me more.
How did you find out? I'd left a folder in the office.
I went back after work to collect it.
How long did it continue between them? Continue? They were not a couple! Once I had caught them, it never happened again.
You made very sure of that, didn't you? Kept a very close eye on Mr Braithwaite.
That was for his own good.
He wasn't like that.
He wasn't.
Camilla! Open the door! (BANGING) I promise, I only want to talk.
Camilla! (BANGING) Police, please.
Mr Farquaharson, why did you go missing? I didn't go missing.
I just wasn't in Midsomer Morchard.
Is that a crime now? No, it's not.
But murder is.
And we're very anxious to know where you were when it happened.
Not again.
I've told you all I can about Giles Braithwaite.
I'm not talking about Braithwaite.
I'm talking about Frank Bishop.
Bishop? He's been murdered? Oh, you didn't know? How could I? I'd gone missing.
And why was that? I wanted to get away from this inbred little scandal-hole where everyone knows everyone else.
Or think they do.
I've had enough of it.
There's a surprise.
I thought you wanted more.
Or have you given up trying to get your hands on your father's estate? Couldn't care less.
None of that matters any more.
Not since Giles was murdered.
Mr Farquaharson, Sebastian.
Hasall thisto do with your sexual orientation? Iris Holman, she Bitch! I paid her to keep quiet and she still can't keep her mouth shut.
It was only a fling.
At least, that's what I thought.
I had no intention of coming back here.
Then why did you? I had to see Camilla.
Say sorry to her.
It's not much.
But it's the least she deserves.
And Iris Holman, you said that you were paying her to keep quiet.
Blackmail? Did he actually use that word? Yes.
He said that he gave you money in return for your silence about his homosexuality.
Not quite the same, is it? Blackmail is when someone demands payment for NOT revealing information.
But that is what you are doing! No.
He begged me not to tell anyone about his sordid little secret.
I didn't want his money.
But I did want to see him squirm for what he tried to do to Mr Braithwaite.
All right.
You may or may not be a blackmailer in the eyes of the law.
But you and I both know that that is exactly what you are.
Can I give you a bit of advice? There have been two murders in Midsomer Morchard.
And if you are trying to blackmail anyone else .
.
you are playing a very dangerous game.
That woman is in such denial about him.
Why did you let her go? I hope she'll drop her guard.
Remember Frank Bishop saying she was present at every meeting he had with Braithwaite? Yeah.
And she had access to the details of all his clients.
I think she knows why Bishop and Braithwaite were killed.
So if she's not the murderer, she knows who is.
I believe that Iris Holman is a very nervous lady right about now.
Chief Inspector Barnaby, please.
Iris Holman.
Hello, Chief Inspector.
My flat's been broken into.
No, I am not staying here.
Meet me at the statue of Tom Sayers.
There's something I want to show you.
(DOOR) Hello? Hello! She should be here by now.
Her apartment? Yeah.
(KNOCKING) I think you should apply more force.
I'm knocking as hard as I can, sir.
Kick the door down.
Oh.
Cause of death, suffocation.
Same as Bishop and Braithwaite? Yes.
But she wasn't knocked unconscious beforehand.
No need.
She's not as strong as them.
Wouldn't have put up as much of a fight.
Or maybe our killer was someone who would never hit a lady.
Joyce.
Mm? I am not a man to have his head easily turned, am I? It took me long enough to catch your eye.
No, it didn't.
Just nervous about getting it right with you.
I was reasonably circumspect.
No, seriously.
Do you think I am open to flattery? Show me a man who isn't.
I'm not talking about man-woman stuff.
It's when that sort of thing clouds your professional judgement.
John, what are you talking about? There is one person in this investigation I have consistently overlooked as a suspect.
Wilfully overlooked.
Gerald.
Tom! Come on in.
Thank you.
Oh She's just staying here.
For the moment.
Till You know.
Sebastian.
She doesn't want to be on her own.
It's about Sebastian we came to see you.
We're happy to release him.
But he's asking for you to stand surety for his bail.
Can you do that? Of course, yes.
Yes, any amount.
So he's off the hook, then? No, not entirely.
But he was under lock and key when Iris Holman was killed.
Awful business, awful.
Especially when you consider that we might have prevented it.
How's that? She phoned us just before she was killed.
Said she had something important to show us.
What was it? She didn't say.
If we'd gone straight to her flat, we might just have saved her.
But she was insistent that we meet her at the statue of Tom Sayers.
Why would she do that? (TAPS) Oh, hello, Chief Inspector.
I'm afraid Gerry isn't here.
Are you expecting him back soon? Not till late.
I do get nervous on my own in a house this size.
Yes, I bet you do.
Still, must be very comforting to have a father-in-law like that to turn to.
Oh, it is.
And you do turn to him, don't you? Every time you feel vulnerable.
Not every time.
No.
Then there's the way he's prepared to support your child when it's born.
He is an exceptionally decent man.
That's exactly what I thought.
But that was before I realised the child is his.
Millie! Millie! In here, Gerald! Hello? Tom! What are you doing here? Where's Camilla? Camilla is talking to Detective Sergeant Jones.
What about? I didn't get a chance to take a proper look at these when I was last in this room.
You scarcely had time.
It was only a quick drink.
In fact, as I recall, you didn't have a drink.
And yet you were so insistent, weren't you, on pouring me one.
And you placed the glass just there.
That was how you first made me aware that one of these was missing.
And that, Gerald, that's a double bluff.
What's this about? Braithwaite and Bishop were both knocked unconscious.
Either by a heavy object or by a heavy punch.
Aided by something very like a knuckleduster.
Would take a stronger and younger man than me to do that, if that's what you're implying.
What, an old Oxford boxing blue like you? And the last thing to go on any boxer is his punch.
You told me that.
I say a lot of things.
I'm often not as knowledgeable as I sound.
Oh, but you are, aren't you, when it comes to the delights of the sporting arena? The thrilling surge of adrenaline when you back your own hunch against all the odds and it comes home a winner.
Graphically put.
One could almost believe you were a gambling man yourself.
Not I, Gerald.
Not I.
But you, you're completely hooked, aren't you? 'I had made a substantial bet elsewhere', you said on the night of the title fight of John Kinsella.
And you had, Gerald, you had.
A very substantial bet.
But Frank Bishop had agreed to loan you your stake money.
With this house as collateral.
Only trouble is, you backed the wrong man.
So when the fight was over, this house, your estate, everything, belonged to Frank Bishop.
Now how could you possibly know a thing like that? Because it's all written down.
Legally binding.
And witnessed by Iris Holman and Giles Braithwaite.
That document you've got there in your hand.
That's what you were so anxious to find when you searched through Iris Holman's flat and Giles Braithwaite's office.
What you've got there, that's a copy.
We have the original.
Tom Barnaby, I do believe you've set me up.
Can I see Millie before you slap on the cuffs? Bishop and I struck a wager, fair and square.
Except that it wasn't fair.
Had it been, I would have honoured it.
But it was your choice to bet against John Kinsella.
What's unfair about that? The fact that Bishop advised me to do just that.
Kinsella's late nights and womanising have caught up with him.
He's got no chance of winning this fight.
But he's red-hot favourite.
Which is why I've placed a considerable amount of money on his opponent.
Not in my name obviously.
I'm telling you this in the strictest confidence.
You're a gambling man.
I thought you might like a taster.
Not that there's much of a gamble.
Bishop was very keen to loan me the stake money.
A big win would have gone a long way to easing my financial worries.
Caused by gambling in the first place.
Quite.
As soon as Kinsella came off his stool in the opening round, I could see the shape he was in.
I knew that I'd been conned.
There's no coming back from that! Dead to the world.
Ladies and gentlemen So you went to Braithwaite in the hope that because Bishop had lied to you, this would somehow nullify the legal document giving your estate to him? Bishop's coming here straight from the airport.
All I can suggest is that you turn up and .
.
appeal to his better nature.
He was on the take from Bishop.
I knew I had to get hold of that document before Bishop got back.
And because Braithwaite was batting on Bishop's side, you had no option but to kill him.
Oh, that wasn't the plan.
But I was up against time.
I implored Bishop to delay any announcement of the estate now being his.
He agreed.
But only till after the Sayers-Heenan fight.
As soon as it was over, he intended to pronounce himself lord of the manor.
His phrase.
And you couldn't have that.
I took Bishop to be a sporting man, but I was wrong.
I couldn't have someone who would behave in such a fashion inheriting the Farquaharson estate! Noblesse oblige.
Absolutely.
Couldn't have the people of Midsomer Morchard left in the hands of a man who was little more than an asset-stripper.
Not to mention protecting the family inheritance.
Especially now.
When you're expecting a child who actually is your bloodline.
Sebastian is my son.
And always will be.
I had no idea he was gay until Millie came to me for help.
She was so in need of looking after.
Bad form, the father-in-law and all that.
But I don't regret it.
And I don't think Millie does either.
Iris Holman was blackmailing you, wasn't she? Oh, yes.
She held the document that legalised the wager.
She was asking for money.
But what she really wanted was revenge.
On Sebastian? On the world.
You know it doesn't matter that Frank Bishop is dead.
The manor still goes into his estate.
That is (LAUGHS) That is the irony of it.
You see, Frank Bishop was so determined that his man would win that he did a bit of pre-fight tampering.
Kinsella didn't know.
But he was told this morning he had failed a drugs test.
He'll be stripped of the title.
And the wager is void and the estate is still mine.
So no need for all those murders.
None at all, Sergeant.
What a waste.
What a pitiful waste.
Although, when you think of it, Braithwaite, a two-timing lawyer, Frank Bishop, a ruthless main chancer, Iris Holman, an embittered blackmailer.
And what am I? Other than a gentrified waster? None of us will be much of a loss to society.
He got his son's wife pregnant, he gambled away his family fortune, and people like him.
I certainly did.
Yeah.
He stitched you up, didn't he, sir? Yes.
Killed three people.
Carried out those murders meticulously, clinically.
Right under my nose.
What kind of a man does that? A JP! A pillar of the community.
And certainly not one of us at all.