Silent Witness (1996) s14e05 Episode Script
First Casualty (1)
'Amber Two Zero Alpha, contact wait, out.
Come on! Contact! GUNFIRE Enemy! Middle distance! Danny, get up! Danny! Ferris! Ferris! Move it, come on! HE WINCES Foxtrot one zero nine three five.
Ferris.
Not breathing, circulation normal but dropping away.
Come on, what are you waiting for? Blakefield, let the doctors do their job, come on.
His girlfriend's having a baby.
Out everyone! Sergeant Mac? What happened? Croft? He got hit, that's what happened.
You've got to save him.
There is nothing I can do.
Lieutenant Lockford.
Cat? I've brought you this.
What's that for? Paying me off? Are you OK? I just want to know the truth.
Cat, I can't.
You can! No, stop it! Please stop it! Look, I want to tell you the truth, but I can't.
SHE SCREAMS Dr Cunningham.
Yes? DI Harte.
Michael Thomas case.
Yes.
I remember.
You do know he did it again? Exactly the same.
I know, I read about it.
How does that make you feel? Because as far as I'm concerned, we had him until you changed your mind on time of death.
OK, I did not change my mind.
It swung the whole case.
As I explained at the time "Time of death is notoriously difficult.
" Yes, and there is a window Michael Thomas murdered that woman and when he was wrongly acquitted he raped and murdered another woman in exactly the same way.
Do you think that has not occurred to me? I'm deeply sorry about it but Are you going to tell that to the woman's parents or shall I? Michael Thomas should never have been acquitted.
I'm late, I have to go.
There's going to be a police review.
You know that? Thanks.
Third one this year.
There's a bridge upstream.
Apparently some poet jumped off it The Samaritans put a phone on it.
The last one was a prostitute, drug taker.
Took an overdose and went for a swim.
What do you think? Any idea how long she's been in there? Hard to be precise, but she looks fairly recent.
No bloating, no skin slippage no wrinkling on the hands.
It's not a way I'd want to go.
Drowning.
What do you make of this? Michael Thomas.
I heard.
Yes, I had the delight of bumping into DI Harte this morning.
There's going to be a police review.
Yes, I was told all about it.
She's blaming me for changing my mind about time of death.
Harte claims you altered your position in court.
I did not, I was asked by the defence brief whether time of death could be extended an hour or two either way.
And you said yes.
Given the circumstances in which she was found, the conditions, her clothes, of course I said yes, what would you have said? Exactly the same.
I'm not doubting you, Harry.
Anyway, the defence found a new alibi.
There was reasonable doubt so Thomas was acquitted.
And everybody thought he probably was guilty, but that's the British justice system for better or for worse.
And now the police are looking for a scapegoat.
That's all this is about.
Well, we'd better make sure it's not you.
The last thing we need is you being referred to The Home Office.
Hmm.
What does "hmm" mean? The lungs aren't heavy or waterlogged and there was no foam in the airways.
Drowning doesn't always leave obvious signs, but we'll check for tiny organisms from the river water that could have been inhaled.
Meaning? Normally when someone falls into water they try and breathe, whether they want to or not, their lungs pull in water.
Sometimes we can find these river organisms in the liver or bone marrow, but I think it's unlikely here.
So you are thinking she was already dead and then dumped in the river? It's possible.
Dr Alexander.
What do you make of that? Let's get the head open.
BONE SAW BUZZES Intracranial bleeding.
Caused how? It's subdural.
She may have been thrown or fell against something hard.
Before she went in the river? I would think so.
It's possible that the cold of the water stopped her heart as she went in.
It's known as dry drowning.
That would explain why we found so little water in the lungs.
We'll search along the river path and see if we can find any traces of an attack.
There are no other injuries to suggest a struggle.
What about the barcode? Home-made, I would say.
By her or someone else? I don't know, but given the scarring I'd say it was done in the last year.
Any evidence of alcohol or drugs? I've taken samples.
They have gone to toxicology.
Any recent sexual activity? No obvious indication of semen present but we'll do further tests.
We have something of an overtime issue.
We're talking about a potential murder enquiry.
I'll see what I can do but my DI is going to some need persuading to break the bank on this one.
But I thought you dealt with these types of cases on an equal footing.
Of course we do, but some cases are We know she's given birth.
Given the woman's age, I'd say the child has to be under five years old.
I'll see if we've had any calls from child minders or baby-sitters waiting for Mum to come home.
She could also have taken the child with her.
Another sweep of the river? You said the bridge was a known hotspot for suicides.
It won't be the first time a young woman has decided to end it all for herself and her child.
'MUEZZIN CALLS' RADIO: 'To clarify, amber two zero alpha proceed when ready.
Confirm.
Out.
' Amber two zero alpha.
Roger.
OK, as per the brief, we're going to move to compound orange, secure the location.
Blakefield, Ryland, Axel, with me.
Sir.
Sergeant Mac? Boss? Move out.
Prepare to move.
Blakefield? Yes, sir? Let's move.
I'm going to have a quick look under there, is that all right? Stand back.
I'm not interested in your carpet, all right? HUBBUB OF VOICES Let's start wrapping it up at Carpet World.
Thank you for co-operating.
All clear, boss.
Moving round.
Coming through.
Nice and slow.
Come on.
That's it.
That's it, come through.
Ryland.
Axel.
Blakefield.
Moving through.
CYCLE BELL Down! Down! Switched on? Boss.
Give me back my orange! In position, ready.
Moving out.
Alpha two zero alpha contact.
Out.
Ready, Ferris? Always ready, boss.
Go, go, go.
Get up, Danny! Ferris! Coming through, boss.
Coming through! Danny! Danny! Stop shooting me, boss! It's blue on blue! Danny, get up! Get up! Stop shooting me! Blue on blue! What are you doing, boss? Danny! Boss! Stop! Stop! Stop! Blakefield, what the hell are you doing? He was shooting at me, Sarge.
It's all right, Sergeant.
With all due respect, boss, it is not all right.
Right, listen up.
That was an absolute pile of bollocks.
We are back here tonight at 1800 hours.
It's our last night off, Sarge.
And now it's not.
Come on, Sarge, he was shooting at me.
Blakefield.
Go! You heard the sergeant.
Go shower and change.
Back at 1800.
On the double! You all right? Yeah.
You want to report it? No.
If there's an issue with Blakefield, I need to know about it.
There is not an issue, OK? I'll speak to Major Rutherford.
I think you should, sir.
For the good of the platoon.
Do you want to help me with this case? Not particularly, no.
Found in the river, probably didn't drown.
Subdural haemorrhage, no signs of a struggle.
Not particularly, no.
I was thinking perhaps you could help me calculate time of death.
Oh, good, it's there.
Just checking I hadn't actually laughed my head off.
You're not really worried, are you? No, I don't think so.
How did it go last night? It was OK.
What happened last night? Harry went on a blind date.
There's a joke there somewhere.
It wasn't exactly a blind date.
It was a friend of a friend of a friend.
Did you tell her? No.
Not exactly.
Tell her what? Harry always gets nervous about telling them he's a pathologist.
It's a mood killer.
The champagne is bubbling, the lights are low, and suddenly I hear myself burbling about posthumous rectal temperatures.
PHONE RINGS Speak of the devil.
Hello, Charlotte.
Yeah, that might be possible.
Lieutenant Lockford.
Stephen.
Sir.
Why was stop, stop, stop called? Stupid, really.
After all that training, one of my lads decided to run out in front of me.
It just got a bit heated.
And who was that? Blakefield.
Blakefield? Isn't he lined up to be an NCO? I know.
But no-one got hurt or lost control.
To make sure we are 100% ready we are going to repeat the exercise again later on this evening.
I'm sure it'll all be fine.
Better go and tell the missus I'll be late for tea.
How is Claire? We've not seen her in the mess recently.
She's fine, sir, thanks for asking.
And you, Stephen, are you all right? I'm good, sir, yeah.
I just can't wait to get back out there.
We've been given a tough job.
Thank you, sir.
What was that all about? Didn't you see him shooting at me? What did you say to him? Nothing he was shouting at me, thought I was Danny! Bollocks.
He did, all right? Yeah, right, you are just pissed off cos Lockford's shagging Cats.
He ain't shagging her.
Cats is still recovering after Danny's death.
Nah, Crofty said he was always going to see her.
Yeah, I heard that.
Lockford was giving her a right good shafting.
Up there now.
You got a problem, soldier? Problem? No, Sergeant.
You? You got a problem, soldier? No problem, Sarge.
Anyone? No, Sarge.
If you ever touch an officer again, an officer like Lieutenant Lockford, you'll be joining Crofty out on civvy street selling the Big Issue, right? Right? Yes, Sergeant.
I know it's hard.
It's the British Army, man, that's how it's supposed to be.
It's not going to be as hard as it is out there.
That's where the fight is, not in here.
But I will say this.
I am not going to lose any more of you.
Is that understood? Sarge.
You're going to make me choke up in a minute, Sarge.
You aren't half a cheeky bastard.
A proper cheeky bastard.
HE WHISTLES CHEERILY A second date, is it? I thought you said there were no sign of an attack on this girl.
Stop changing the subject.
I thought you might be interested in this bruise on her arm.
What? It's on both arms.
Please! Stop it, please! They weren't there earlier.
She's been in water at least 12 hours.
Some marks and bruising take time to appear.
I know.
I want to tell you the truth, but I can't.
'Amber two zero alpha.
Contact out!' 'DISTORTED SOUNDS' BUZZER Catherine! PHONE RINGS 'Hi, it's Cats.
I can't get to the phone, please leave a message.
' 'Catherine, it's Martin.
I was a bit worried about you last night.
' Look, I'm outside your place now.
I'm going to grab a coffee and come back later.
Yes, Andy.
Over to me.
Andy, Andy, pass! Come on! 'EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE' BOYS GIGGLE Claire? I'm sorry, Stephen.
I did something bad.
I accessed your mobile phone account.
You really should think about changing your password.
Anybody could get in.
What have you done? Who's Cats? I saw the number and the times you rang You rang her? She didn't answer.
Just her voicemail.
She sounds very young, Stephen.
Look, I really don't mind what's been happening.
I really don't mind what's been happening.
I've been married to you for seven years.
Loved you for longer.
What do you think you're doing, spying on me? I thought we were saving for a house.
Why are you doing this? You took ã2,000 out of the bank yesterday.
That's my money.
Money I earn.
Money I risk my life for.
I think I have a right to spend it how I wish! I thought we agreed.
No more shouting.
Just be nice.
I'll be gone soon enough.
Four more days and counting.
Yeah, I know you'll soon be gone, Stephen.
I'm just not sure I'm going to be here when you get back.
Stephen.
KNOCKING ON DOOR Please talk to me.
I'm sorry.
'MACHINE GUNFIRE' Stephen, please just open the door and talk to me, please.
'EXPLOSION, MACHINE GUNFIRE' Mark? Look who it is.
You seen Blakefield? Nah, you were kicked out, Croft.
Mark? You shouldn't be on the base.
What's going on? I've just got to talk to him, that's all.
How'd you get in? You got that money you owe me? I told you next payday.
Post-dated cheque will be all right.
Croft.
Leave him alone.
Y'all right? Yeah.
Listen.
Have you spoken to Cats? No.
What's happened? Can I have a beer, please? Thanks.
Thanks.
Harry? Charlotte, how are you doing? I'm good.
Thank you.
What are you having? What was it, a white Dry.
Dry white wine.
Thank you.
So how are you? You found it? Yeah, well, considering I'm the one that suggested it.
Did you? Yes, you did! Sorry, I'm a bitgrrr.
I've had a very, very bad day at work, as you can see.
Really, why? What happened, did someone die on you? No, no, not exactly.
Why is that funny? You said you were a doctor, right? I am, no, you are right but specifically I'm a pathologist.
That's why I laughed.
I'm a forensic pathologist, so all the time, I'm cutting up corpses.
Oh, like dead people? Exactly.
Thanks.
I'm sorry for my reaction, that was really childish, I'm very squeamish.
No, it's completely understandable.
It's why I often don't mention it at first.
A bit weird.
It's not like I didn't know you were a doctor, and I did Google you after we had dinner.
Did you? I didn't feel a thing.
I found a Dr Harry Cunningham giving a lecture and then I kind of lost interest.
Right.
I'm sorry.
So is that what you've been doing today, cutting up dead bodies? Yep, twice today.
Then how can you have a bad day, though? I mean it's not like if the knife slips there's a problem.
No.
No, you're right.
It was You don't want to know.
No, look I feel bad.
I do, I'd like to know.
A while ago I did a case, high profile case, which involved the murder of a young woman, and I had to give quite crucial evidence in court, and I was forced to admit that the period of time in which the woman died could have been quite large.
And the guy got off because the police couldn't pin him down for the whole of that time so the police are now very angry with me and they want to put me in front of a kind of tribunal thing.
Is it always that inexact, your work? It can be, yeah.
Yes.
My two colleagues, for example, are both brilliant but we all disagree all the time.
It's just how it is.
So it was the police's fault? No.
I think maybe they could have got a bit more evidence together in the first place but, no, I suppose they did what they could.
The terrible thing is that he did it again.
Killed someone? That's just awful.
This isn't the Michael Thomas case, is it? I really can't tell you, I'd have to kill you, then kill myself.
You, I'd miss.
PHONE RINGS Sorry Sorry, I have to Leo.
Harry, hi.
There's been a call, a body at Hillston Barracks.
Isn't Nikki on call tonight? 'She was, but she can't do it.
' I can do it, but I've got this 'I'll do it.
' Are you sure? 'It's fine.
' Text me the directions.
'That's great.
' OK, thanks.
I'm really sorry.
You have to work? I do.
I've got to do my thing.
Can we do this again? I'd really like that.
I'll call youI will.
OK.
Sorry, bye.
No, no, really, go.
Dr Cunningham, forensic pathologist.
Just pull round behind that truck, please.
DOORBELL RINGS Good evening.
Are you Mrs Claire Lockford? No No, no, no! SHE SOBS Dr Harry Cunningham.
I'm the pathologist.
DI Harte.
Major Rutherford, Dr Harry Cunningham.
I'll show you what we've got.
OK.
Lieutenant Stephen Lockford.
Found inside the Land Rover after 6:00pm by three of his men.
Close contact gunshot wound Exit wound, top of the head Shot through the roof of the mouth.
There you go.
Thank you.
This is my fault.
Stephen, he wasvery ill, I shouldn't have shouted at him.
How was he ill? Couldn't you see? Or did he just save all that up for when he got home? Stephen was a brilliant officer.
Jason was always saying how much the men looked up to him.
Yeah, he was a great officer.
He was a great officer.
Till that first tour of Helmand, then when he came home it were just like I want to go there.
No The base is in lockdown, Claire.
We'll just have to wait.
Come on, just sit down.
CLAIRE SIGHS Why was the body taken out of the vehicle? They were meant to be doing a training exercise.
Lieutenant Lockford didn't show.
The men sent ahead, found him and acted on instinct.
You think he would have been dead? The moment the gun was fired.
Maybe the soldiers didn't know that.
Maybe they looked inside and instinctively opened the door to try to help him.
That's correct.
The gun was found there? Yes.
So as the body was pulled out The gun fell to the ground.
That's the story.
What make is it? Makarov.
What's that, Russian? According to the major.
Smuggled out of Afghanistan.
The Afghan army and police force use them apparently.
A souvenir? The regiment were out there They're about to go back again.
No bullet? Still searching.
Major, when can I speak with the men who found the body? They're all confined to barracks, standing by.
Is there any indication how long the base will be in lockdown? Let me speak with the men and find out what they saw, and then, all being well, you can lift it.
Thank you.
Can I just say, Lieutenant Lockford was one of our finest officers.
I spoke to him this afternoon.
He seemed in good spirits.
Well, until I know otherwise, Major, I'm going to treat this as a suspicious death.
It looks like a suicide and it may well be a suicide - but for the moment You have a job to do, I understand.
Of course.
And you need to do YOUR job, Doctor.
Yep.
All working together.
When can you finish the postmortem? I'll start tomorrow.
I only mention it because if this IS a murder all my potential suspects are flying off for Queen and country at the end of the week.
Major - was Lieutenant Lockford married? Yes.
Her name's Claire.
I accused him of having an affair.
Stephen? I shouted at him.
The last thing he was thinking was that I didn't love him.
No.
Yeah.
I accused him of lying and cheating and You loved him, Claire, and he loved you.
DOORBELL RINGS Who is that?! I don't want to see anybody.
Just tell them to go away.
MAJOR RUTHERFORD: Joanne, is Claire in? It's Major Rutherford.
Oh Hello.
Hello, Claire.
I've brought with me Detective Inspector Harte.
Yeah, I want to speak to him.
It's a her, actually And the pathologist.
Mrs Lockford.
Deepest condolences.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming to see me.
Come on in.
Thank you, Major.
When he came back from Helmand, he said he didn't like the way I did his washing.
The way it smelled, the way it was ironed So he wanted me to buy a cement mixer - because out in Helmand that's what he'd used, a cement mixer.
Put in the water, soaplet it spin for 20 minutes, hang it out to dry.
It'd worked perfectly well out there so that's what he wanted ME to get.
When did he get back from Afghanistan? You said that when he left this evening, he was in something of an emotional state.
Yeah.
Was that unusual? Well, not Not in the last six months.
He er must have somehow held it all together when he got to the base.
Is there a possibility that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress? I mean, for example had he been showing signs of short-term memory loss or erhypervigilance - I mean erm irrational fears? Er Had he been drinking more? Yeah, he I tried to tell myself that it was the drink that was doing it.
Well, you know better than me that Afghanistan is a traumatic place to be.
Erm And PTSD - if that's what it was - can build up over a period of time, but very often there was a single original trigger event.
Do you know of anything like that? He lost a man.
Danny Ferris.
They ran into an ambush.
They were two days away from coming home.
He was haunted by it.
It wasn't just because he he was wounded himself, he .
.
he'd erm .
.
wake up every night in .
.
cold sweats, shouting out and saying his name.
I wanted to help him, I .
.
I didn't tell anybody.
You weren't to blame, Claire.
Sorry OK.
Can I can I ask you erm .
.
where did he shoot himself? Was it in the head? Yeah.
He erm SHE SIGHS DEEPLY .
.
he'd often say that he wanted to erturn his brain off.
Turn his brain off - get rid of the pictures and the noises.
Did he keep a gun in the house? Yeah Before he moved into his own room, he .
.
he used to keep it under the pillow.
CLAIRE SIGHS You know a lot about PTSD.
Well, I'm a doctor, and I read The Lancet and that kind of stuff.
And? You want to know more? Sorry, I thought you were being polite.
Well, it's estimated that three to four per cent of the armed forces suffer from PTSD - or HAVE suffered from it.
Doesn't sound very much.
Less than America, but it's still thousands of people.
Lockford wasn't even diagnosed.
No.
So, it's looking like a suicide.
Subject to the postmortem - as always.
Do me a favour let someone else do time of death.
Kids in bed? Darren is, but Gemma's on the computer.
So? So yeah, they asked us a lot of questions.
They wanted to know where we were, where he was, stuff like that.
How do you feel? How do I feel? We lost a good man.
Mm.
How much did you know? About his condition? I knew some.
Not all.
And have you ever felt like that? No.
You promise me? Yes.
I really don't want you to go.
We're going to be fine.
Yeah? Zip that We're going to be fine.
OK? Have you still got that cross I bought you? It's just thatClaire said that Stephen had lost all his faith.
Soon as I get on the plane on it goes.
Promise.
Yeah? I don't want to mess about with God, man.
Come here.
I love you, Jason So much.
Dr Cunningham! Yeah? The police are denying that they're to blame.
What are you talking about? The Michael Thomas case? If they're not to blame, who is? No comment.
Are YOU to blame, Dr Cunningham? No comment I know what the headline says but if you read the whole article, then He shouldn't have been speaking to the reporter in the first place, I agree.
Yeah, I will speak to him as soon as he arrives.
OK, thank you.
Do you really think he said all this? No, it's just typical tabloid rubbish.
Some reporter trying to cash in on the Michael Thomas case.
You've read it, then.
You HAVE been misquoted, yes? Of course.
What were you doing having a drink with a reporter? I didn't know she WAS a reporter.
Ah, the blind date! Yes.
I cannot believe she has done this.
You've spoken to Charlotte Jenkins? I've left a few thoughts on her voice mail, yeah.
So, the fact that we disagree all the time I just said it was part of the job that we have different opinions.
Oh, I disagree.
What? I think we DO disagree.
Anyway, I'm very sorry, I should have been much more careful.
Yes.
You should have been.
I don't mind you and me sharing an honest opinion between ourselves - but to go to the press I didn't go to the press.
"Pathologist Blames Cops In Thomas Case"?! You blamed me.
No, I don't blame you, and I didn't say it.
He didn't know who the woman was.
Well, that didn't stop him blabbing his big mouth off.
I spoke in abstractions about pathologists, the police and a judicial service which I'm sure YOU will agree we all find very frustrating from time to time.
She was the one who made the connection with Michael Thomas.
Did she specifically ask you about the case? Yes - I told her I couldn't talk about it and left soon afterwards.
If you're looking for press help before the police review You seriously think that this is going to help me(?) We found the bullet.
From the gun at the scene? Mm-hm.
Good.
When are you starting the PM? Er, half an hour.
I'm going to Hillston Barracks.
Are you not going to watch the PM? I think I can trust you to get it right this time.
All ready when you are.
Unbelievable, isn't it? What - a journalist meets someone who has the inside track on a great story and then sells it? How could she(?) Are we ready? Yes, we're ready.
Dr Alexander.
We think - hope - this might be the woman's jacket found upstream from her body.
Looks like blood.
Well, the bruising on her arms suggested that someone was pretty rough with her.
This blood could belong to that person.
If I send this away it could take weeks to come back.
Do you think you might have some time? I'll see what I can do.
I'll show you where else we think we've found some blood.
Did you find any ID in the jacket? A set of keys, a bus ticket and ã2,000 in cash.
ã2,000? If she was a prostitute .
.
what was she doing for ã2,000? Did you find any alcohol or drugs in her system? No alcohol, but there was evidence that she'd taken a type of alpha-blocker.
ã2,000 It's possible someone was trying to rob her, and she fell or jumped in the river trying to escape.
Hang on - but we know she died from an internal wound in her head, that was caused BEFORE she hit the water.
Here you go So What do you think, she was attacked here and killed - her jacket came off in the struggle She ended up in the water - floated downstream to where we found her? Well, if this IS the attacker's blood, then it certainly wasn't very well thought through There's evidence everywhere.
Any news on the possibility of a child? Not yet.
If this is her jacket, then the bus ticket has told us where she got on.
We're doing a door to door in that area.
What does she want to see US again for? DI Harte needs to clarify what happened when you found the body.
I told her what happened.
The police need to put it together.
It's a formality.
I heard they were treating it as suspicious.
Normal procedure - but they now know it WAS suicide.
Do they know why? Well, according to his wife, the boss was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
They think it started after Danny got killed.
That's why he was shouting Danny's name at me.
Well, whatever happened over the last couple of days, that was one of the breaking points.
I didn't know what was going on It's not YOUR fault Hey! You weren't to know.
It wasn't your fault, OK? What if the coppers ask about the PTSD, Sarge? Then you tell 'em the truth.
I had no idea he WAS.
Then tell 'em that.
No-one knew what the boss was really going through.
Obviously his wife did, because that's where he took it.
Didn't you see it, Sarge? Look.
We all were affected by Danny's death.
The boss was no different.
You know, we all got to talk about it and deal with it in our own way.
I assumed the boss was doing the same.
Post-traumatic stress, it's like a sniper, man.
It'll creep up on you.
And just when you think you're safe Come on.
Let's go.
Just tell me again what happened when you found the body.
I thought we'd done all that? We were due to repeat the assault exercise at 1800 hours.
Come on! Get down.
'We assembled outside the armoury at 1745.
'We waited for the boss, but he didn't show up.
' What were you doing before you assembled? We had downtime, so I went for a run.
Alone? Yeah.
'OK.
So you assembled outside the armoury.
Then what? 'Myself, Axel and Ryland were sent ahead to sort out comms, and talk to the DS.
' Who sent you ahead? Sergeant McDermott.
And when you got to the Afghan village that's when you saw the Land Rover? Yeah, about five minutes later.
Guys, wait here for the Sarge 'I thought I saw blood on the windscreen.
' Boss! Get over here! Move it! Boss? Get the Sarge! What's happened? What does it bloody well look like?! Mark, he's dead Mark, he's dead! Mark, listen, mate Mark, what are you doing? He's dead! Get off me! Go get the Sarge! I can save him Come on, boss! Stand back Stand back! Reid, get the LC! 'Lieutenant Lockford was a fine officer.
'He looked out for us and that, and' .
.
he wasn't too poncey or up his own arse.
I must admit, the last couple of months, the bosswasn't himself.
DI HARTE: 'In what way? 'Wellwe had conversations.
'About? 'Well, he used to get these headaches.
'I thought he just had a hangover, but 'Did you ever suspect that he might be suffering from PTSD? 'No.
'I did suggest he talk to someone, 'get help' Did he? Get help? 'Truth is, I don't know what officer WOULD say he was having problems.
'I don't think I would have done in his position.
' Helmand WAS pretty full on, yeah.
But we hadn't lost anyone up until that point.
I don't know how it happened, but 'one minute we were approaching a suspect poppy field 'Croft was on point.
'The boss had given us the brief, we knew what to do.
'He had Private Ferris as his signaller.
'I was tucked in behind Croft.
' I reckon we must have walked into something, cos the insurgents saw us and it all just kicked off.
Contact! We all got in the dirt SHOUTING Amber Two Zero Alpha! Contact made.
At 1330 en route to target location.
Contact made at 1330 en route to target location! It was Lockford who decided to have a go at 'em.
Croft, Blakefield! To me.
Sergeant Mac, I will take two section right flanking.
Lay down fire support on my shout.
Sir! Ryland, Cooper on the right - you two, me and Ferris.
Ready, Ferris? Always ready, boss! Ready, Ferris? Always ready, boss.
Now! Go! Go! SHOUTING You go first, we'll provide cover.
'And then we were ambushed.
'They were up on the ridge and to the left of us' And then Danny got shot.
I didn't see it happen.
Man down! Man down! 'I heard Blakefield shout' Ryland, to me! 'You knew we had to get them out of there.
'We were caught in the open.
' Contact! Danny! Get up, Danny! Ferris! Ferris! Me and the lieutenant dragged him out.
Boss! You and me get Danny.
Let's move! Contact! Pull back! Pull back 'We did what we could for him on the ground, but we had to get him back to the FOB.
' ON RADIO: Amber Zero Two Alpha.
Casualty coming in, priority four.
Gunshot wounds to the legs, arm and severe neck wound.
Vital stats, non-responsive We got him to the hospital tent.
One zero nine three, Private Ferris URGENT SHOUTING Airway blocked, breathing and circulation Come on, what are you waiting for? Blakefield, let the doctor do his job! Come on, get round there.
You've been hit, sir.
Shrapnel, I'm fine.
Sort Ferris.
What happened? Croft? He got hit, that's what happened.
Sergeant Mac.
Yes, sir! Get his Osprey off.
We've got to save him! Get that body armour off! Everyone.
Move it! Get a line in Get a line in! Let the doctor do his job.
Come on, Croft! You're doing well, Ferris.
Keep in there.
We're going to get you home.
I'm sorry.
There's nothing I can do.
We've got to get him home! He got shot, sir.
It's a war, it's what happens.
We were all We were all really gutted.
Did you find anything interesting? Oh, a bunch of stuff.
Bags, wallets, keys, a load of mobile phones.
When the police come down here the prostitutes and dealers tend to throw their pay as you go's over the side.
We'll check if anything's relevant.
MOBILE RINGS Stern MOBILE RINGS Hello? Hello? Is this Cats? Ercan you hold on for a minute? 'Who are you? And how do you know my husband?' My husband has been found dead, and I would like to know what you've been doing with him.
What have you been doing with him?! You know when you get that feeling when something feels all wrong? Yeah I do.
You'd better call Harte.
What, now? Yep.
We're going to make her day.
Is that what you want me to tell her? HARRY LAUGHS No, just tell her it now DOES look like a murder.
Dennis Croft was on the base the day the Lieutenant was shot.
Look who signed him in.
Mark Blakefield He lost the plot, I'd no choice but to take him out.
Lockford told her he was responsible for what happened to Daniel.
As they pulled the gun out, they fired a second shot.
You pulled him out the Land Rover, covering yourself in his blood destroying evidence I tried to save him! A double suicide.
A double murder.
Blackmail, and then a murder, then a suicide Why did Mr and Mrs Ferris want an enquiry? They were told there was some sort of cover-up.
You really are quite something, aren't you? Mm.
Hang on a second
Come on! Contact! GUNFIRE Enemy! Middle distance! Danny, get up! Danny! Ferris! Ferris! Move it, come on! HE WINCES Foxtrot one zero nine three five.
Ferris.
Not breathing, circulation normal but dropping away.
Come on, what are you waiting for? Blakefield, let the doctors do their job, come on.
His girlfriend's having a baby.
Out everyone! Sergeant Mac? What happened? Croft? He got hit, that's what happened.
You've got to save him.
There is nothing I can do.
Lieutenant Lockford.
Cat? I've brought you this.
What's that for? Paying me off? Are you OK? I just want to know the truth.
Cat, I can't.
You can! No, stop it! Please stop it! Look, I want to tell you the truth, but I can't.
SHE SCREAMS Dr Cunningham.
Yes? DI Harte.
Michael Thomas case.
Yes.
I remember.
You do know he did it again? Exactly the same.
I know, I read about it.
How does that make you feel? Because as far as I'm concerned, we had him until you changed your mind on time of death.
OK, I did not change my mind.
It swung the whole case.
As I explained at the time "Time of death is notoriously difficult.
" Yes, and there is a window Michael Thomas murdered that woman and when he was wrongly acquitted he raped and murdered another woman in exactly the same way.
Do you think that has not occurred to me? I'm deeply sorry about it but Are you going to tell that to the woman's parents or shall I? Michael Thomas should never have been acquitted.
I'm late, I have to go.
There's going to be a police review.
You know that? Thanks.
Third one this year.
There's a bridge upstream.
Apparently some poet jumped off it The Samaritans put a phone on it.
The last one was a prostitute, drug taker.
Took an overdose and went for a swim.
What do you think? Any idea how long she's been in there? Hard to be precise, but she looks fairly recent.
No bloating, no skin slippage no wrinkling on the hands.
It's not a way I'd want to go.
Drowning.
What do you make of this? Michael Thomas.
I heard.
Yes, I had the delight of bumping into DI Harte this morning.
There's going to be a police review.
Yes, I was told all about it.
She's blaming me for changing my mind about time of death.
Harte claims you altered your position in court.
I did not, I was asked by the defence brief whether time of death could be extended an hour or two either way.
And you said yes.
Given the circumstances in which she was found, the conditions, her clothes, of course I said yes, what would you have said? Exactly the same.
I'm not doubting you, Harry.
Anyway, the defence found a new alibi.
There was reasonable doubt so Thomas was acquitted.
And everybody thought he probably was guilty, but that's the British justice system for better or for worse.
And now the police are looking for a scapegoat.
That's all this is about.
Well, we'd better make sure it's not you.
The last thing we need is you being referred to The Home Office.
Hmm.
What does "hmm" mean? The lungs aren't heavy or waterlogged and there was no foam in the airways.
Drowning doesn't always leave obvious signs, but we'll check for tiny organisms from the river water that could have been inhaled.
Meaning? Normally when someone falls into water they try and breathe, whether they want to or not, their lungs pull in water.
Sometimes we can find these river organisms in the liver or bone marrow, but I think it's unlikely here.
So you are thinking she was already dead and then dumped in the river? It's possible.
Dr Alexander.
What do you make of that? Let's get the head open.
BONE SAW BUZZES Intracranial bleeding.
Caused how? It's subdural.
She may have been thrown or fell against something hard.
Before she went in the river? I would think so.
It's possible that the cold of the water stopped her heart as she went in.
It's known as dry drowning.
That would explain why we found so little water in the lungs.
We'll search along the river path and see if we can find any traces of an attack.
There are no other injuries to suggest a struggle.
What about the barcode? Home-made, I would say.
By her or someone else? I don't know, but given the scarring I'd say it was done in the last year.
Any evidence of alcohol or drugs? I've taken samples.
They have gone to toxicology.
Any recent sexual activity? No obvious indication of semen present but we'll do further tests.
We have something of an overtime issue.
We're talking about a potential murder enquiry.
I'll see what I can do but my DI is going to some need persuading to break the bank on this one.
But I thought you dealt with these types of cases on an equal footing.
Of course we do, but some cases are We know she's given birth.
Given the woman's age, I'd say the child has to be under five years old.
I'll see if we've had any calls from child minders or baby-sitters waiting for Mum to come home.
She could also have taken the child with her.
Another sweep of the river? You said the bridge was a known hotspot for suicides.
It won't be the first time a young woman has decided to end it all for herself and her child.
'MUEZZIN CALLS' RADIO: 'To clarify, amber two zero alpha proceed when ready.
Confirm.
Out.
' Amber two zero alpha.
Roger.
OK, as per the brief, we're going to move to compound orange, secure the location.
Blakefield, Ryland, Axel, with me.
Sir.
Sergeant Mac? Boss? Move out.
Prepare to move.
Blakefield? Yes, sir? Let's move.
I'm going to have a quick look under there, is that all right? Stand back.
I'm not interested in your carpet, all right? HUBBUB OF VOICES Let's start wrapping it up at Carpet World.
Thank you for co-operating.
All clear, boss.
Moving round.
Coming through.
Nice and slow.
Come on.
That's it.
That's it, come through.
Ryland.
Axel.
Blakefield.
Moving through.
CYCLE BELL Down! Down! Switched on? Boss.
Give me back my orange! In position, ready.
Moving out.
Alpha two zero alpha contact.
Out.
Ready, Ferris? Always ready, boss.
Go, go, go.
Get up, Danny! Ferris! Coming through, boss.
Coming through! Danny! Danny! Stop shooting me, boss! It's blue on blue! Danny, get up! Get up! Stop shooting me! Blue on blue! What are you doing, boss? Danny! Boss! Stop! Stop! Stop! Blakefield, what the hell are you doing? He was shooting at me, Sarge.
It's all right, Sergeant.
With all due respect, boss, it is not all right.
Right, listen up.
That was an absolute pile of bollocks.
We are back here tonight at 1800 hours.
It's our last night off, Sarge.
And now it's not.
Come on, Sarge, he was shooting at me.
Blakefield.
Go! You heard the sergeant.
Go shower and change.
Back at 1800.
On the double! You all right? Yeah.
You want to report it? No.
If there's an issue with Blakefield, I need to know about it.
There is not an issue, OK? I'll speak to Major Rutherford.
I think you should, sir.
For the good of the platoon.
Do you want to help me with this case? Not particularly, no.
Found in the river, probably didn't drown.
Subdural haemorrhage, no signs of a struggle.
Not particularly, no.
I was thinking perhaps you could help me calculate time of death.
Oh, good, it's there.
Just checking I hadn't actually laughed my head off.
You're not really worried, are you? No, I don't think so.
How did it go last night? It was OK.
What happened last night? Harry went on a blind date.
There's a joke there somewhere.
It wasn't exactly a blind date.
It was a friend of a friend of a friend.
Did you tell her? No.
Not exactly.
Tell her what? Harry always gets nervous about telling them he's a pathologist.
It's a mood killer.
The champagne is bubbling, the lights are low, and suddenly I hear myself burbling about posthumous rectal temperatures.
PHONE RINGS Speak of the devil.
Hello, Charlotte.
Yeah, that might be possible.
Lieutenant Lockford.
Stephen.
Sir.
Why was stop, stop, stop called? Stupid, really.
After all that training, one of my lads decided to run out in front of me.
It just got a bit heated.
And who was that? Blakefield.
Blakefield? Isn't he lined up to be an NCO? I know.
But no-one got hurt or lost control.
To make sure we are 100% ready we are going to repeat the exercise again later on this evening.
I'm sure it'll all be fine.
Better go and tell the missus I'll be late for tea.
How is Claire? We've not seen her in the mess recently.
She's fine, sir, thanks for asking.
And you, Stephen, are you all right? I'm good, sir, yeah.
I just can't wait to get back out there.
We've been given a tough job.
Thank you, sir.
What was that all about? Didn't you see him shooting at me? What did you say to him? Nothing he was shouting at me, thought I was Danny! Bollocks.
He did, all right? Yeah, right, you are just pissed off cos Lockford's shagging Cats.
He ain't shagging her.
Cats is still recovering after Danny's death.
Nah, Crofty said he was always going to see her.
Yeah, I heard that.
Lockford was giving her a right good shafting.
Up there now.
You got a problem, soldier? Problem? No, Sergeant.
You? You got a problem, soldier? No problem, Sarge.
Anyone? No, Sarge.
If you ever touch an officer again, an officer like Lieutenant Lockford, you'll be joining Crofty out on civvy street selling the Big Issue, right? Right? Yes, Sergeant.
I know it's hard.
It's the British Army, man, that's how it's supposed to be.
It's not going to be as hard as it is out there.
That's where the fight is, not in here.
But I will say this.
I am not going to lose any more of you.
Is that understood? Sarge.
You're going to make me choke up in a minute, Sarge.
You aren't half a cheeky bastard.
A proper cheeky bastard.
HE WHISTLES CHEERILY A second date, is it? I thought you said there were no sign of an attack on this girl.
Stop changing the subject.
I thought you might be interested in this bruise on her arm.
What? It's on both arms.
Please! Stop it, please! They weren't there earlier.
She's been in water at least 12 hours.
Some marks and bruising take time to appear.
I know.
I want to tell you the truth, but I can't.
'Amber two zero alpha.
Contact out!' 'DISTORTED SOUNDS' BUZZER Catherine! PHONE RINGS 'Hi, it's Cats.
I can't get to the phone, please leave a message.
' 'Catherine, it's Martin.
I was a bit worried about you last night.
' Look, I'm outside your place now.
I'm going to grab a coffee and come back later.
Yes, Andy.
Over to me.
Andy, Andy, pass! Come on! 'EXPLOSIONS, GUNFIRE' BOYS GIGGLE Claire? I'm sorry, Stephen.
I did something bad.
I accessed your mobile phone account.
You really should think about changing your password.
Anybody could get in.
What have you done? Who's Cats? I saw the number and the times you rang You rang her? She didn't answer.
Just her voicemail.
She sounds very young, Stephen.
Look, I really don't mind what's been happening.
I really don't mind what's been happening.
I've been married to you for seven years.
Loved you for longer.
What do you think you're doing, spying on me? I thought we were saving for a house.
Why are you doing this? You took ã2,000 out of the bank yesterday.
That's my money.
Money I earn.
Money I risk my life for.
I think I have a right to spend it how I wish! I thought we agreed.
No more shouting.
Just be nice.
I'll be gone soon enough.
Four more days and counting.
Yeah, I know you'll soon be gone, Stephen.
I'm just not sure I'm going to be here when you get back.
Stephen.
KNOCKING ON DOOR Please talk to me.
I'm sorry.
'MACHINE GUNFIRE' Stephen, please just open the door and talk to me, please.
'EXPLOSION, MACHINE GUNFIRE' Mark? Look who it is.
You seen Blakefield? Nah, you were kicked out, Croft.
Mark? You shouldn't be on the base.
What's going on? I've just got to talk to him, that's all.
How'd you get in? You got that money you owe me? I told you next payday.
Post-dated cheque will be all right.
Croft.
Leave him alone.
Y'all right? Yeah.
Listen.
Have you spoken to Cats? No.
What's happened? Can I have a beer, please? Thanks.
Thanks.
Harry? Charlotte, how are you doing? I'm good.
Thank you.
What are you having? What was it, a white Dry.
Dry white wine.
Thank you.
So how are you? You found it? Yeah, well, considering I'm the one that suggested it.
Did you? Yes, you did! Sorry, I'm a bitgrrr.
I've had a very, very bad day at work, as you can see.
Really, why? What happened, did someone die on you? No, no, not exactly.
Why is that funny? You said you were a doctor, right? I am, no, you are right but specifically I'm a pathologist.
That's why I laughed.
I'm a forensic pathologist, so all the time, I'm cutting up corpses.
Oh, like dead people? Exactly.
Thanks.
I'm sorry for my reaction, that was really childish, I'm very squeamish.
No, it's completely understandable.
It's why I often don't mention it at first.
A bit weird.
It's not like I didn't know you were a doctor, and I did Google you after we had dinner.
Did you? I didn't feel a thing.
I found a Dr Harry Cunningham giving a lecture and then I kind of lost interest.
Right.
I'm sorry.
So is that what you've been doing today, cutting up dead bodies? Yep, twice today.
Then how can you have a bad day, though? I mean it's not like if the knife slips there's a problem.
No.
No, you're right.
It was You don't want to know.
No, look I feel bad.
I do, I'd like to know.
A while ago I did a case, high profile case, which involved the murder of a young woman, and I had to give quite crucial evidence in court, and I was forced to admit that the period of time in which the woman died could have been quite large.
And the guy got off because the police couldn't pin him down for the whole of that time so the police are now very angry with me and they want to put me in front of a kind of tribunal thing.
Is it always that inexact, your work? It can be, yeah.
Yes.
My two colleagues, for example, are both brilliant but we all disagree all the time.
It's just how it is.
So it was the police's fault? No.
I think maybe they could have got a bit more evidence together in the first place but, no, I suppose they did what they could.
The terrible thing is that he did it again.
Killed someone? That's just awful.
This isn't the Michael Thomas case, is it? I really can't tell you, I'd have to kill you, then kill myself.
You, I'd miss.
PHONE RINGS Sorry Sorry, I have to Leo.
Harry, hi.
There's been a call, a body at Hillston Barracks.
Isn't Nikki on call tonight? 'She was, but she can't do it.
' I can do it, but I've got this 'I'll do it.
' Are you sure? 'It's fine.
' Text me the directions.
'That's great.
' OK, thanks.
I'm really sorry.
You have to work? I do.
I've got to do my thing.
Can we do this again? I'd really like that.
I'll call youI will.
OK.
Sorry, bye.
No, no, really, go.
Dr Cunningham, forensic pathologist.
Just pull round behind that truck, please.
DOORBELL RINGS Good evening.
Are you Mrs Claire Lockford? No No, no, no! SHE SOBS Dr Harry Cunningham.
I'm the pathologist.
DI Harte.
Major Rutherford, Dr Harry Cunningham.
I'll show you what we've got.
OK.
Lieutenant Stephen Lockford.
Found inside the Land Rover after 6:00pm by three of his men.
Close contact gunshot wound Exit wound, top of the head Shot through the roof of the mouth.
There you go.
Thank you.
This is my fault.
Stephen, he wasvery ill, I shouldn't have shouted at him.
How was he ill? Couldn't you see? Or did he just save all that up for when he got home? Stephen was a brilliant officer.
Jason was always saying how much the men looked up to him.
Yeah, he was a great officer.
He was a great officer.
Till that first tour of Helmand, then when he came home it were just like I want to go there.
No The base is in lockdown, Claire.
We'll just have to wait.
Come on, just sit down.
CLAIRE SIGHS Why was the body taken out of the vehicle? They were meant to be doing a training exercise.
Lieutenant Lockford didn't show.
The men sent ahead, found him and acted on instinct.
You think he would have been dead? The moment the gun was fired.
Maybe the soldiers didn't know that.
Maybe they looked inside and instinctively opened the door to try to help him.
That's correct.
The gun was found there? Yes.
So as the body was pulled out The gun fell to the ground.
That's the story.
What make is it? Makarov.
What's that, Russian? According to the major.
Smuggled out of Afghanistan.
The Afghan army and police force use them apparently.
A souvenir? The regiment were out there They're about to go back again.
No bullet? Still searching.
Major, when can I speak with the men who found the body? They're all confined to barracks, standing by.
Is there any indication how long the base will be in lockdown? Let me speak with the men and find out what they saw, and then, all being well, you can lift it.
Thank you.
Can I just say, Lieutenant Lockford was one of our finest officers.
I spoke to him this afternoon.
He seemed in good spirits.
Well, until I know otherwise, Major, I'm going to treat this as a suspicious death.
It looks like a suicide and it may well be a suicide - but for the moment You have a job to do, I understand.
Of course.
And you need to do YOUR job, Doctor.
Yep.
All working together.
When can you finish the postmortem? I'll start tomorrow.
I only mention it because if this IS a murder all my potential suspects are flying off for Queen and country at the end of the week.
Major - was Lieutenant Lockford married? Yes.
Her name's Claire.
I accused him of having an affair.
Stephen? I shouted at him.
The last thing he was thinking was that I didn't love him.
No.
Yeah.
I accused him of lying and cheating and You loved him, Claire, and he loved you.
DOORBELL RINGS Who is that?! I don't want to see anybody.
Just tell them to go away.
MAJOR RUTHERFORD: Joanne, is Claire in? It's Major Rutherford.
Oh Hello.
Hello, Claire.
I've brought with me Detective Inspector Harte.
Yeah, I want to speak to him.
It's a her, actually And the pathologist.
Mrs Lockford.
Deepest condolences.
Thank you.
Thank you for coming to see me.
Come on in.
Thank you, Major.
When he came back from Helmand, he said he didn't like the way I did his washing.
The way it smelled, the way it was ironed So he wanted me to buy a cement mixer - because out in Helmand that's what he'd used, a cement mixer.
Put in the water, soaplet it spin for 20 minutes, hang it out to dry.
It'd worked perfectly well out there so that's what he wanted ME to get.
When did he get back from Afghanistan? You said that when he left this evening, he was in something of an emotional state.
Yeah.
Was that unusual? Well, not Not in the last six months.
He er must have somehow held it all together when he got to the base.
Is there a possibility that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress? I mean, for example had he been showing signs of short-term memory loss or erhypervigilance - I mean erm irrational fears? Er Had he been drinking more? Yeah, he I tried to tell myself that it was the drink that was doing it.
Well, you know better than me that Afghanistan is a traumatic place to be.
Erm And PTSD - if that's what it was - can build up over a period of time, but very often there was a single original trigger event.
Do you know of anything like that? He lost a man.
Danny Ferris.
They ran into an ambush.
They were two days away from coming home.
He was haunted by it.
It wasn't just because he he was wounded himself, he .
.
he'd erm .
.
wake up every night in .
.
cold sweats, shouting out and saying his name.
I wanted to help him, I .
.
I didn't tell anybody.
You weren't to blame, Claire.
Sorry OK.
Can I can I ask you erm .
.
where did he shoot himself? Was it in the head? Yeah.
He erm SHE SIGHS DEEPLY .
.
he'd often say that he wanted to erturn his brain off.
Turn his brain off - get rid of the pictures and the noises.
Did he keep a gun in the house? Yeah Before he moved into his own room, he .
.
he used to keep it under the pillow.
CLAIRE SIGHS You know a lot about PTSD.
Well, I'm a doctor, and I read The Lancet and that kind of stuff.
And? You want to know more? Sorry, I thought you were being polite.
Well, it's estimated that three to four per cent of the armed forces suffer from PTSD - or HAVE suffered from it.
Doesn't sound very much.
Less than America, but it's still thousands of people.
Lockford wasn't even diagnosed.
No.
So, it's looking like a suicide.
Subject to the postmortem - as always.
Do me a favour let someone else do time of death.
Kids in bed? Darren is, but Gemma's on the computer.
So? So yeah, they asked us a lot of questions.
They wanted to know where we were, where he was, stuff like that.
How do you feel? How do I feel? We lost a good man.
Mm.
How much did you know? About his condition? I knew some.
Not all.
And have you ever felt like that? No.
You promise me? Yes.
I really don't want you to go.
We're going to be fine.
Yeah? Zip that We're going to be fine.
OK? Have you still got that cross I bought you? It's just thatClaire said that Stephen had lost all his faith.
Soon as I get on the plane on it goes.
Promise.
Yeah? I don't want to mess about with God, man.
Come here.
I love you, Jason So much.
Dr Cunningham! Yeah? The police are denying that they're to blame.
What are you talking about? The Michael Thomas case? If they're not to blame, who is? No comment.
Are YOU to blame, Dr Cunningham? No comment I know what the headline says but if you read the whole article, then He shouldn't have been speaking to the reporter in the first place, I agree.
Yeah, I will speak to him as soon as he arrives.
OK, thank you.
Do you really think he said all this? No, it's just typical tabloid rubbish.
Some reporter trying to cash in on the Michael Thomas case.
You've read it, then.
You HAVE been misquoted, yes? Of course.
What were you doing having a drink with a reporter? I didn't know she WAS a reporter.
Ah, the blind date! Yes.
I cannot believe she has done this.
You've spoken to Charlotte Jenkins? I've left a few thoughts on her voice mail, yeah.
So, the fact that we disagree all the time I just said it was part of the job that we have different opinions.
Oh, I disagree.
What? I think we DO disagree.
Anyway, I'm very sorry, I should have been much more careful.
Yes.
You should have been.
I don't mind you and me sharing an honest opinion between ourselves - but to go to the press I didn't go to the press.
"Pathologist Blames Cops In Thomas Case"?! You blamed me.
No, I don't blame you, and I didn't say it.
He didn't know who the woman was.
Well, that didn't stop him blabbing his big mouth off.
I spoke in abstractions about pathologists, the police and a judicial service which I'm sure YOU will agree we all find very frustrating from time to time.
She was the one who made the connection with Michael Thomas.
Did she specifically ask you about the case? Yes - I told her I couldn't talk about it and left soon afterwards.
If you're looking for press help before the police review You seriously think that this is going to help me(?) We found the bullet.
From the gun at the scene? Mm-hm.
Good.
When are you starting the PM? Er, half an hour.
I'm going to Hillston Barracks.
Are you not going to watch the PM? I think I can trust you to get it right this time.
All ready when you are.
Unbelievable, isn't it? What - a journalist meets someone who has the inside track on a great story and then sells it? How could she(?) Are we ready? Yes, we're ready.
Dr Alexander.
We think - hope - this might be the woman's jacket found upstream from her body.
Looks like blood.
Well, the bruising on her arms suggested that someone was pretty rough with her.
This blood could belong to that person.
If I send this away it could take weeks to come back.
Do you think you might have some time? I'll see what I can do.
I'll show you where else we think we've found some blood.
Did you find any ID in the jacket? A set of keys, a bus ticket and ã2,000 in cash.
ã2,000? If she was a prostitute .
.
what was she doing for ã2,000? Did you find any alcohol or drugs in her system? No alcohol, but there was evidence that she'd taken a type of alpha-blocker.
ã2,000 It's possible someone was trying to rob her, and she fell or jumped in the river trying to escape.
Hang on - but we know she died from an internal wound in her head, that was caused BEFORE she hit the water.
Here you go So What do you think, she was attacked here and killed - her jacket came off in the struggle She ended up in the water - floated downstream to where we found her? Well, if this IS the attacker's blood, then it certainly wasn't very well thought through There's evidence everywhere.
Any news on the possibility of a child? Not yet.
If this is her jacket, then the bus ticket has told us where she got on.
We're doing a door to door in that area.
What does she want to see US again for? DI Harte needs to clarify what happened when you found the body.
I told her what happened.
The police need to put it together.
It's a formality.
I heard they were treating it as suspicious.
Normal procedure - but they now know it WAS suicide.
Do they know why? Well, according to his wife, the boss was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
They think it started after Danny got killed.
That's why he was shouting Danny's name at me.
Well, whatever happened over the last couple of days, that was one of the breaking points.
I didn't know what was going on It's not YOUR fault Hey! You weren't to know.
It wasn't your fault, OK? What if the coppers ask about the PTSD, Sarge? Then you tell 'em the truth.
I had no idea he WAS.
Then tell 'em that.
No-one knew what the boss was really going through.
Obviously his wife did, because that's where he took it.
Didn't you see it, Sarge? Look.
We all were affected by Danny's death.
The boss was no different.
You know, we all got to talk about it and deal with it in our own way.
I assumed the boss was doing the same.
Post-traumatic stress, it's like a sniper, man.
It'll creep up on you.
And just when you think you're safe Come on.
Let's go.
Just tell me again what happened when you found the body.
I thought we'd done all that? We were due to repeat the assault exercise at 1800 hours.
Come on! Get down.
'We assembled outside the armoury at 1745.
'We waited for the boss, but he didn't show up.
' What were you doing before you assembled? We had downtime, so I went for a run.
Alone? Yeah.
'OK.
So you assembled outside the armoury.
Then what? 'Myself, Axel and Ryland were sent ahead to sort out comms, and talk to the DS.
' Who sent you ahead? Sergeant McDermott.
And when you got to the Afghan village that's when you saw the Land Rover? Yeah, about five minutes later.
Guys, wait here for the Sarge 'I thought I saw blood on the windscreen.
' Boss! Get over here! Move it! Boss? Get the Sarge! What's happened? What does it bloody well look like?! Mark, he's dead Mark, he's dead! Mark, listen, mate Mark, what are you doing? He's dead! Get off me! Go get the Sarge! I can save him Come on, boss! Stand back Stand back! Reid, get the LC! 'Lieutenant Lockford was a fine officer.
'He looked out for us and that, and' .
.
he wasn't too poncey or up his own arse.
I must admit, the last couple of months, the bosswasn't himself.
DI HARTE: 'In what way? 'Wellwe had conversations.
'About? 'Well, he used to get these headaches.
'I thought he just had a hangover, but 'Did you ever suspect that he might be suffering from PTSD? 'No.
'I did suggest he talk to someone, 'get help' Did he? Get help? 'Truth is, I don't know what officer WOULD say he was having problems.
'I don't think I would have done in his position.
' Helmand WAS pretty full on, yeah.
But we hadn't lost anyone up until that point.
I don't know how it happened, but 'one minute we were approaching a suspect poppy field 'Croft was on point.
'The boss had given us the brief, we knew what to do.
'He had Private Ferris as his signaller.
'I was tucked in behind Croft.
' I reckon we must have walked into something, cos the insurgents saw us and it all just kicked off.
Contact! We all got in the dirt SHOUTING Amber Two Zero Alpha! Contact made.
At 1330 en route to target location.
Contact made at 1330 en route to target location! It was Lockford who decided to have a go at 'em.
Croft, Blakefield! To me.
Sergeant Mac, I will take two section right flanking.
Lay down fire support on my shout.
Sir! Ryland, Cooper on the right - you two, me and Ferris.
Ready, Ferris? Always ready, boss! Ready, Ferris? Always ready, boss.
Now! Go! Go! SHOUTING You go first, we'll provide cover.
'And then we were ambushed.
'They were up on the ridge and to the left of us' And then Danny got shot.
I didn't see it happen.
Man down! Man down! 'I heard Blakefield shout' Ryland, to me! 'You knew we had to get them out of there.
'We were caught in the open.
' Contact! Danny! Get up, Danny! Ferris! Ferris! Me and the lieutenant dragged him out.
Boss! You and me get Danny.
Let's move! Contact! Pull back! Pull back 'We did what we could for him on the ground, but we had to get him back to the FOB.
' ON RADIO: Amber Zero Two Alpha.
Casualty coming in, priority four.
Gunshot wounds to the legs, arm and severe neck wound.
Vital stats, non-responsive We got him to the hospital tent.
One zero nine three, Private Ferris URGENT SHOUTING Airway blocked, breathing and circulation Come on, what are you waiting for? Blakefield, let the doctor do his job! Come on, get round there.
You've been hit, sir.
Shrapnel, I'm fine.
Sort Ferris.
What happened? Croft? He got hit, that's what happened.
Sergeant Mac.
Yes, sir! Get his Osprey off.
We've got to save him! Get that body armour off! Everyone.
Move it! Get a line in Get a line in! Let the doctor do his job.
Come on, Croft! You're doing well, Ferris.
Keep in there.
We're going to get you home.
I'm sorry.
There's nothing I can do.
We've got to get him home! He got shot, sir.
It's a war, it's what happens.
We were all We were all really gutted.
Did you find anything interesting? Oh, a bunch of stuff.
Bags, wallets, keys, a load of mobile phones.
When the police come down here the prostitutes and dealers tend to throw their pay as you go's over the side.
We'll check if anything's relevant.
MOBILE RINGS Stern MOBILE RINGS Hello? Hello? Is this Cats? Ercan you hold on for a minute? 'Who are you? And how do you know my husband?' My husband has been found dead, and I would like to know what you've been doing with him.
What have you been doing with him?! You know when you get that feeling when something feels all wrong? Yeah I do.
You'd better call Harte.
What, now? Yep.
We're going to make her day.
Is that what you want me to tell her? HARRY LAUGHS No, just tell her it now DOES look like a murder.
Dennis Croft was on the base the day the Lieutenant was shot.
Look who signed him in.
Mark Blakefield He lost the plot, I'd no choice but to take him out.
Lockford told her he was responsible for what happened to Daniel.
As they pulled the gun out, they fired a second shot.
You pulled him out the Land Rover, covering yourself in his blood destroying evidence I tried to save him! A double suicide.
A double murder.
Blackmail, and then a murder, then a suicide Why did Mr and Mrs Ferris want an enquiry? They were told there was some sort of cover-up.
You really are quite something, aren't you? Mm.
Hang on a second