The Murdoch Mysteries (2004) s14e07 Episode Script

Ah-ha! Julia! A decrepit factory? You sound surprised.
Last time we did this, you took me to Chez Pierre.
Julia, it was your riddle that brought me here.
This is the riddle you sent to me.
I sent no such thing.
Likewise.
It would appear someone is playing a prank.
And how would they know about our game? Hello? Hello? Where is everybody, Higgins? Detective Murdoch said he was out on a personal matter and Detective Watts went to investigate a corpse found in a sewer off Queen Street.
What about Crabtree? Ah.
He got a telephone call from Detective Murdoch and then left.
- Higgins-Newsome.
- Watts, please.
I'm sorry, sir.
Detective Watts is at the scene of a crime.
Who is it? Ah, it's Detective Murdoch.
He wants Watts.
I'll take it.
- Murdoch? - Meet me at Kirkham's factory in ten minutes.
Do not tell anyone where you're going.
What's this all about? Ten minutes.
William? Ow.
William? William? Julia! Hello? Sir? Hello? Hello? Is anybody here? Julia! Are you all right? No.
I hit my arm.
Where are we? We must be on the plating floor.
I I can hear the dynamo running.
- Dynamo? - This was an electroplating facility.
It would have required high voltage direct current.
Why would it be running? I thought this building was being demolished.
Hm.
"Jail under God.
" What? It's a message on the wall surrounded by switches.
I have the same, only mine says "I can wholly murder him.
" Oh.
Anagrams do you think? Jail under God is an anagram for Dr.
Julia Ogden.
Mine must be your name.
William Henry Murdoch.
Inspector! Ah! Bloody hell.
Are you all right? - Where's Murdoch? - Sir.
- My murder.
- Hornets.
So what now? - Hello? - Hello? To leave your room you must first solve a riddle.
- Do you understand? - Who is this? Yes, we understand.
What is this all about? With every clue, the voltage doubles.
With every guess, the voltage doubles.
With every quarter hour that passes Yes! Yes! The voltage doubles.
Clue number one: Without you, it's as if I'm covered in gold.
What am I? This is the worst prank ever! Did Detective Murdoch call you also? He telephoned for Watts, but I took the call.
What the bloody hell's he playing at? Murdoch? To leave your room, you must first solve a riddle.
Do you understand? - No.
- With every clue, - the rotation doubles.
- What? With every guess, the rotation doubles.
With every quarter-hour that passes What are you on about? Who is this? What bloody rotation? Clue number one: Without you, it's as if I'm covered in gold.
- What am I? - What are you? What ? I'm buggered if I know.
Sir? Covered in gold.
Gilded? I am gilded? Could it be that simple? I don't think so.
Who is "you"? And why the qualifier "it's as if"? Gilded-ish? Ow! Ah! What happened? I got a shock from the table.
That must be what he meant by voltage.
The table is acting as a charged capacitor.
Just stay away from the table and you should be fine.
We're going to need another clue.
I know.
So it's hanging by a thread attached to something rotating in the ceiling.
- A trophy.
- What? That's what's covered in gold.
Is this about me fumbling the ball at last year's police games? Sir, they said "you".
There's two of us.
"You" could be me.
I suppose it could mean the letter "U.
" There's no "U" in trophy, Crabtree.
It's trophy! Sir wait! The answer is trophy.
Incorrect.
Would you like another clue? Like another clue? - Go on.
- Clue number two: Mixed up without it, I become ugly.
Mixed up without "it.
" What's "it?" Bloody Watts.
Why couldn't he have taken Murdoch's call? No offense, Crabtree.
None taken, sir.
Seems to be a male.
Dead about a year, based on the decomposition.
We found this in the skeleton.
Who found him? Miss Cherry.
Do you normally take strolls abandoned back alleys? I was investigating an unrelated matter.
How do you know it's unrelated? I received a tip that a restaurant was serving dog meat and disposing of the bones into the storm drains.
- Woof.
- Detective found this in his wallet.
Promissory note.
Hm.
Mixed up without it, I become ugly.
What am I? Are we looking for an object? - A person? - Is it even a noun? The first clue would suggest that it's an adjective.
Ow! I wasn't even touching it.
It must have arced.
Are you all right? Whoever's behind this, I want them charged with assault.
You hear that? With assault! - It was a different table.
- Oh! The current must be shifting from table to table.
There are eight tables in all.
Correct? Not counting the middle, yes.
All right.
One wire for two tables.
I have an idea.
Keep still.
"Mixed up without it I become ugly?" It makes no bloody sense! Sir, I think our efforts would be best spent dealing with the hornets directly.
You think we should negotiate with them? Sir, whoever set all of this up was expecting Detective Watts.
Oh, I see.
You think that I'm too dimwitted to solve the riddle.
Sir, we are both too dim-witted.
- So, what's your plan? - Well, sir, you are a substantial sort.
Substantial? Be careful what you say next, Crabtree.
Sir stout.
Well-built.
And you wear an undershirt, do you not? - What of it? - Sir, I'm thinking If we took your undershirt, tied off the ends, I think there would be room enough to hold the hornet's nest, if we could chop it down and catch it.
Every telephone has two magnets inside: one in the receiver and one in the earpiece.
How are magnets going to help us? An electrical wire creates a magnetic field proportional to its current.
Now, the magnet's deflection will tell us which of the tables is being charged.
Ah move to the west side of the room.
Ow! Julia, you're north.
I told you to go west! How am I supposed to know which way is west? Well, now you know.
The voltage is going to double any moment! I know.
We're going to need another clue.
Clue three.
Clue number three: Paul said you were me before you were born.
For Pete's sake! Who's Paul? Ah move north.
There are still gaps.
Well, we'll just have to move quickly.
Oh, this is going to be impossible! Sir, no you stay in one place.
I'll try to land it.
- Not bloody likely.
- Well, you have a better idea? No I don't! - Julia! - I'm all right.
It discharged through the centre table.
Julia, for it to arc that distance would require a million volts.
If it hits you it could kill you.
Oi! Are you ready? Do it! Got it! Well, that was good.
- Ow! - Oh, sir.
It was about to sting you.
Right, then.
So how do we get out of here, then, bugalugs? Clues, sir.
We need more clues.
"You were me before you were born.
" What does that mean? Perhaps it's biblical.
Move north! Biblical? As in as in Paul the apostle? Possibly.
Move east.
Paul.
Did he say, "You were me before you were born"? Not directly.
Perhaps it's to do with original sin? After all, it's the state we were in before we were born.
- Ah, move west.
- Ah! Sin.
Guilt.
Guilty! William that's it.
It fits all of the clues.
Guilty! I am guilty! Very good, Julia.
Dear God! Paul said, "You were me before you were born".
Who's Paul? I don't know any Pauls.
Next! Clue number four: I exist whenever one pleads that I do not.
What am I? - Next.
- Clue number 5: No one can see that you are me.
But soon they will.
Just wait and see.
At least that one rhymes.
Next.
Clue number 6: When the tea was gone you left.
So, gee, I left as well.
Why 'n 'ell are the others remaining? How would we bloody know? No, sir.
Wait! Those words are letters.
Ah! You're doing riddles now.
Ah, what did they say? Ah when When the "T" was gone, "U" left.
So "G", "I" did, too.
Y and L are the others remaining.
It's not a question.
It's a statement.
"Y" and "L".
So these letters spell a word? Sir, "Mixed up without I-T, I'm U-G-L-Y.
Without "it.
" We must be on the right track.
Guilty.
It's guilty.
Guilty.
The answer is I am guilty.
Who needs Watts, Crabtree? Dear, Lord! What is this room? I don't think we should stay in he Murdoch? Doctor Ogden! Sir.
George.
George! George! What are you two doing here? You told us to come.
I did not.
I talked to you.
On the phone.
You called me, as well, sir.
What exactly did he say? You told me to come to the Kirkham factory and not to tell anybody where I was going.
It must have been an edited recording of my voice.
We were tricked into coming here, as well.
By whom? I don't know, but whoever it is has clearly targeted the police.
What about Dr.
Ogden? Well, perhaps it's to do with a case you helped solve? Maybe it's someone we know personally.
Our captor certainly has very personal information.
Has James Pendrick invented a potion that turned him evil? Sirs, I think it's quite obvious who's behind this.
Who? James Gillies.
- George, James Gillies is dead.
- Is he? His brain is in a jar on my desk.
Yes, exactly! In formaldehyde, perfectly preserved.
What if somebody in the future takes that brain and transplants it into another living being? That person would then ipso facto be James Gillies.
And wouldn't it be just like him to invent a time machine and come back to this moment to torment us further? Do you ever have a day off, Crabtree? All right.
Well, if we make it out of here, at the very least we're getting rid of that brain! Can I have my notebook back, please? Ah, sir: I spoke with Frank Hoover.
He's on his way in.
He remembers writing the IOU.
Who did he write it to? Yes.
A man named Phineas Smith from Weston.
Phineas Smith.
I know that name.
He was a witness in the Osbourne Robbery case.
The Osbourne Robbery case? Wasn't that I was interviewing an eyewitness in the Osbourne robbery case.
I left here at 1:30.
It was an hour ride to his home.
We spoke for twenty minutes.
An hour ride back and spent the rest of the day here at the station house.
Mm.
Our victim was Detective Murdoch's alibi in the murder of Raymond Huckabee? Ralph Fellows is currently on trial for that murder.
My goodness.
I didn't know that.
Yes? Can we help you? I'm Frank Hoover.
This bloody door's not budging.
We're definitely locked in.
The drain has been cemented shut.
Look, William! It's your camera! How did they get that here? He's watching us.
Why are all these holes in the wall? I don't know, but these walls have been recently constructed.
Especially for us? - This bugger's gone all out.
- Indeed.
But for what purpose? Perhaps they wants us to solve a case? This screwdriver has blood on it.
Maybe it's about revenge? He thinks we've bollocksed a case.
But which case? Sir, look at this.
How curious.
It's a silhouette of something.
Or someone? Well, I gave this to Phineas the last time I ever saw him.
Where was that? At the Queen's Hotel.
That's where he was staying.
He normally lives in, ah Weston.
Why was he staying there? I don't know.
It had to do with something with him keeping out of his house for a period? He was getting paid for it and that's why I was there.
I needed the money.
Who paid him? I don't know.
I didn't get a chance to speak with him.
He was having dinner with someone.
Is this the man you saw him with? No.
No, it was a woman.
Attractive.
I remember because he wasn't much to look at.
Uh That's her.
Mm-hm.
Thumbmark.
Reverse whorl number five.
It's mine.
"I am guilty.
" Of course.
Our captor doesn't want us to solve a crime.
He wants us to confront our own guilt.
Guilt? For what? We haven't killed anybody.
That's not what she thinks.
She? Julia, have a look at the silhouette again.
It's our Pelican.
The one that Goldie Huckabee stole.
Ah! Somehow it ended up in our house.
I imagine Raymond must have taken it.
He was funny that way.
If he liked something, he just took it.
It's Goldie! This is revenge for her husband's murder! You're telling me your bloody neighbour's trying to kill us? Show yourself, Goldie! I suppose congratulations are in order.
You've made it this far regrettably unscathed.
Why are you doing this? Because I hate you and want you to suffer.
We've done nothing to you.
You killed my husband then tried to set me up for the crime.
- We have explained - Did you think me so stupid? I think yes.
You did.
You may be reassessing that now.
Is there a way out of here? Alive? Of course! But you'll have to be very clever! Or very lucky.
I expect you'll fall short on both counts.
Why not just torture and kill us? - Why? - Challenge you? Because I want to see you struggle.
I want to see your hope flicker before it dies.
All right.
Fine.
What is it you want from us? On the door, you see two panels.
Embedded in each is a puzzle.
The puzzles represent the two stages of my husband's death.
The pain he felt as he was stabbed to death and the disintegration of his body as it rotted.
Neither of those sound very good.
Upon completion of the puzzles, the door will open and you'll be free to leave.
I would advise you to work quickly.
The punishments increase with time.
What punishments? September 19th was the day that Raymond Huckabee was murdered.
Mrs.
Huckabee claimed to be at her mother's in Unionville.
Well, that was clearly a lie.
What? You didn't check her alibi? Oh, no! That's right.
Ralph Fellows was your only suspect.
He did commit the murder, Miss Cherry.
Did he? He confessed.
And then later plead not guilty.
We did check her alibi.
Her mother must have lied.
Has Mrs.
Huckabee been located? Not yet, sir.
But constables are searching her house as we speak.
So we just need to put the tiles in the correct order.
Yes.
But what's the correct order? This is an image of some kind.
William, does that look like the tip of a ski pole? A ski pole.
Yes, Julia.
That's right.
This is a schematic drawing of the machine that killed Raymond Huckabee.
- What was that? - What was what, sir? That popping sound? Yes, I heard that, as well.
I'm trying to concentrate here.
I thought you'd solved it.
Well, sir, I still have to put the tiles in the correct order.
There it is again.
I think it's coming from the holes in the walls.
- William? - I see something in there.
Move your head! Sirs! Everybody take cover! She said that each puzzle would represent a stage in her husband's death.
The first stage was the pain from being stabbed.
Sir! - Bloody hell! - Inspector! Stay still.
Margaret bought me that for my birthday.
Almost got it.
No! William! Go back.
- The lawnmower blade was on the left side.
- Yes! Of course.
Sir, I think those darts are firing at random.
Really, Crabtree? That's it! Oh, for Heaven's sake! It appears Raymond Huckabee was incurring debts.
This is the fifth request for payment.
He was a gambler.
And a lousy one at that.
How can you be sure? Private detective report.
She hired a snoop to find out how bad it was.
Number one reason to never get married.
Gambling? Gambling, divorce, precipitous health decline.
Nothing wipes out one's savings faster than a bad marriage.
Were you not yourself considering marriage a short while back? Case in point.
He turned out to be a murderer.
If we were married, the legal bills would have ruined me.
Ah ha.
So, no marriage for you, then.
Consider me a confirmed bachelorette.
Well, consider me your counterpart.
You're a confirmed bachelor? Ah You seem surprised.
Ooh You just haven't been in love.
Oh, you're very wrong about that.
What was her name? Jacqueline.
Well, if you were so in love with Jacqueline, why didn't you marry her? Because someone else will be assuming that honour shortly.
Oh.
- Sorry.
- Yes.
Me, too.
- Wha Is this? - What? What does this look like to you? Looks like an early sketch of the device that killed Raymond Huckabee.
Why would it be in Goldie Huckabee's personal papers? Sir, this was found in her attic underneath some junk.
Uh-huh.
Clearly she didn't want it to be found.
Well I can see why.
Thank you, Constable.
- She was having an affair.
- Well, how do you know? There's a whole stack of love letters from some besotted sap.
It's enough to make Keats blush.
You think you had it bad? - Oh my Lord! - What? Look who they're from.
Hm.
Ralph.
Ralph Fellows.
They were having an affair? The handwriting is a match.
They were written by Ralph Fellows.
And Goldie Huckabee? We found these in her house along with hard evidence she murdered Phineas Smith.
- Detective Murdoch's alibi.
- Mm.
There's also evidence she may have been responsible for the murder of her husband.
You may have the wrong person on trial.
Terrific.
Just terrific.
Two years ago you charged Ralph Fellow's sister - with four counts of murder.
- Uh I obtained a conviction.
That conviction was overturned because your detective insisted that it was Ralph Fellows.
Then Raymond Huckabee is killed and Murdoch insists Fellows did that, too.
So I prosecute.
Quite effectively, I may add.
And now you tell me that Goldie Huckabee was the one that committed that crime.
Well, where is she? We can't find her.
- No clue.
- No.
Why am I here? Well, we found this in Goldie Huckabee's house.
Will your perfidy never end? - Perfidy? - Was my confession not enough to keep you jackals off her? Mr.
Fellows You and I both know Detective Murdoch killed that poor woman's husband.
All of the evidence pointed to it.
Instead of getting justice done, you manufactured evidence against her.
Surely, you are not pursuing a theory that Mrs.
Huckabee murdered her husband with a custom-made murder machine - and then framed Detective Murdoch? - As you know, the spouse is often to blame in these cases.
Oh, no.
No, no, no.
That was done to trap you.
You didn't trap me.
Ah! - Well, Mr.
Fellows.
- I watched you plant those springs so I could find them.
You think I'm not up to your tricks? Where is he, by the way? Why am I talking to a second-rate detective? The one responsible is the one that should be hearing this.
Did you kill Raymond Huckabee? You know very well I didn't.
Then why confess to a crime you didn't commit? To stop you and the corrupt machinery of the law from railroading the only woman I ever loved.
Goldie Huckabee.
Tell the truth, do you think your great detective would have been accepting of anything less than my limp body hanging from the scaffold? Huh? William M is smart, but Another anagram you think? I believe so.
What does the final challenge represent? His disintegrating corpse, if I remember correctly.
This building is slated for demolition.
Perhaps she means for us to be buried alive? Well, if that's the case she'll be disappointed.
They always send a man beforehand to check for drunks and squatters.
Or maybe Perhaps she means for us to be drowned? Perhaps that's why the drain is blocked? Ow! Ah! That's not water.
It's burned.
It must be some kind of acid.
Sulfuric acid.
It's one of the electrolytes used in tin plating.
There would be plenty on hand.
I believe I understand the meaning of the final challenge.
It isn't about being interred.
It means our bodies dissolving.
Ooh! Just an hour ago I was summarizing my closing arguments.
Apologies, but it felt like relevant information.
Of course it's relevant.
But until we interview Goldie Huckabee, we have no way of establishing the veracity of any of this.
Unfortunately it seems that Mrs.
Huckabee has fled.
Then I will ask to stay the proceedings until we can locate her.
As his lawyer, I will oppose that motion.
You've used every trick to delay this trial to this point.
The trial must go ahead.
I will introduce this new evidence as is.
Hm.
Lunch? Why not? So, have we just saved an innocent man from the noose, - or allowed a killer to walk free? - He's not free yet.
Oh, no.
They won't convict now.
If nothing else, the evidence against Mrs.
Huckabee allows for reasonable doubt.
Maybe that was the plan? You think he planned this? Ralph Fellows may not be the world's smartest man, but he is perhaps the most relentless.
You do realize none of this would have happened if you hadn't stumbled across Phineas Smith's skeleton? Yes, I was in the sewer looking for dog bones.
- Who gave you the tip? - A woman.
She didn't leave her name.
But I did take down her number.
Let's go.
Uh I can't go down this street.
Why? It's the shortest route to the police station.
Can we just please go a different way? There's a police call box one street over.
Fine.
Inspector, are you all right? Tickety-boo.
No need to worry about me, bugalugs.
Smart.
William M is smart, but Whoever that is smarter? RALPH.
RALPH F.
Ralph Fellows.
Of course he's a part of this.
I knew Goldie wasn't this smart.
So, that's it.
You've solved it.
All we have to do is put the tiles in the right order - and we're out of here.
- Indeed, George, - but I'm afraid you'll find it's impossible.
- How's that? These last two letters are reversed.
So? Mathematicians have discovered that a 15-tile puzzle is impossible to solve when the last two letters are reversed.
Bastard! So this is Mr.
Fellows' parting joke? He intends for us to die.
Sir! Doctor! I think you should get up on the table! Well? Goldie Huckabee.
Your tipster was Goldie Huckabee? Why would she want you to find the body of the man she killed? I don't know.
It doesn't make any sense.
Maybe they were in cahoots? She tips you off and disappears; Fellows follows after he's acquitted.
No.
She would have sold her house first consolidated her assets.
It's like she didn't plan any of this at all.
Maybe she didn't.
Maybe No.
No.
Oh.
Yes! No.
- It can't be.
- What? What if this is all Ralph Fellows' doing? No, you're right.
That's impossible.
You yourself said he was relentless.
All right.
Explain.
Ralph Fellows killed Raymond Huckabee with the intention of setting up Detective Murdoch.
- Just as he confessed.
- That was his primary plan.
Call it "Plan A.
" But, just in case it didn't work out, - he had a secondary plan.
- Plan B.
To set up Goldie Huckabee for both murders.
Huh.
So she didn't kill her husband.
No.
She didn't kill anybody.
Ralph Fellows did it all and planted evidence pointing to her.
And he did this all a year ago, before he was jailed.
He convinced her Detective Murdoch killed her husband and tried to set her up.
And then he valiantly fell on the sword for her to protect her from malicious prosecution.
He then manipulated her into tipping you off to something she knew nothing about.
No.
The plan only works if Goldie disappears forever.
How'd he arrange that? And what about the due diligence on the part of the police? He'd have to get rid of you, Detective Murdoch anyone who would suspect his hand in this.
Hm.
Where is Detective Murdoch? Yes, it was Ralph who designed this.
He told me how you tried to set me up for the murder you committed.
He was in prison.
They intercept all correspondence.
How did he communicate his plan to you? Well, he encoded instruction in the letters he wrote from prison.
Hm.
Why did he choose to kill us in this manner? Because he hates you as much as I do.
Well, yes, but he could have killed us a thousand different ways.
Why make us disappear completely? Why not? Because if there's anything I know about Ralph Fellows, he has a reason for everything he does.
Everything has a purpose Including you being here.
I wanted to be here.
Of course you did.
And he counted on that.
Tell me Can you leave? - Of course.
- Oh! Then try.
Damn! Good Lord! Well, it would seem every part of Ralph Fellows' plan is falling into place.
Ow! What in the world? Some kind of erotic poem, it looks like? It makes no sense to me.
This was on the postcard from Dr.
Ogden? Yes.
He came in here and wrote this all out and then left.
- And he didn't say where he was going? - None of them did.
Oh, it it's a riddle.
The beginning letters of each word have to be transposed to other words to create, uh Go to 36 - Tate.
- Tate? Uh - find me in the - Back - over - Back over the plating floor.
Be here, uh - by - Eight please.
- Please do not - Be late! Ha.
Some sort of an invitation.
Is this their idea of fun? Well, it truly doesn't surprise me.
I'm not sure if it's annoyingly romantic, or just plain annoying.
Sir? 36 Tate Street That's Kirkham's Electroplating Factory.
I thought that was being demolished.
- It won't budge.
- Be careful, William.
How do you access the lock mechanism? - I don't know.
- You transcribed the instructions! I didn't understand them.
- Ah.
- William, sulfuric acid carbonizes wood.
I'm not sure how long the table's going to support us.
Sir, this might be a good time to tell you: - it's been an honour serving under you.
- Ow! - Just shut up, will you, Crabtree? - William? I'm not giving up.
So help me God: if we get out of here alive, I will ring your tiny neck like a chicken.
- Shush! - Detective? - Detective! - There's somebody up there.
Hello! There you are.
Would now be a good time to ask for a raise? The jury deliberated all of ten minutes.
Apparently, there wasn't a dry eye in the courtroom.
What have you, George? Sir, no sign of him.
He seems to have left the courthouse and disappeared.
Of course he did.
That was the plan.
I don't think he'd planned on living his life on the run, Inspector.
Not with Detective Murdoch on his trail.
What's become of Mrs.
Huckabee? Well, given she tried stinging, stabbing, shocking, suffocating us and nearly searing us in a vat of sulfuric acid, I believe she'll be going to jail for a very long time.
Well, at least our pelican is safe.
- - Jurors openly wept at the anguish Mr.
Fellows expressed over the duplicity of the woman he loved for whom he intended to sacrifice himself.
Well, it's all your fault, Miss Cherry.
- My fault? - It was you who found the body.
I believe that's a burden we both share, Detective Watts.
- No regrets? - No.
- I acted with integrity at every point.
- Oh! You always do.
That's not a common opinion.
Oh, I don't have common opinions.
Ah.
I'm sorry.
Uh, ah It's my fault.
I, uh, - misread your intentions.
- No! I'm just not, uh ready.
I'm still In love with her.
Yes.
Something like that.
Ah Apologies.
Thank you.
Where in the world is your friend Ralph Fellows.