Silent Witness (1996) s15e01 Episode Script
Death Has No Dominion (1)
OK.
We have a deceased, as yet unidentified female through there.
Looks like she's been stabbed to death.
Now, we've secured this floor but not the next.
So confine your work to down here only.
A-a-agh! A-a-a-a-a-agh! A-agh! A-agh! A-a-agh! A-a-a-agh! "And death shall have no dominion "Dead men naked they shall be one "With the man in the wind and the west moon "When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone "They shall have stars at elbow and foot "Though they go mad they shall be sane "Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again "Though lovers be lost love shall not "And death shall have no dominion.
" - Right, it's time to go, girls.
- Coming, Dad! Right, we're off, Lizzie.
Back in about an hour or so, yeah? Bye, Mum.
"And death shall have no dominion "Under the windings of the sea "They lying long shall not die windily "Twisting on racks when sinews give way "Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break" See you.
"Faith in their hands shall snap in two "And the unicorn evils run them through" "Split all ends up "they shan't crack "And death shall have no dominion.
" "And death shall have no dominion "No more may gulls cry at their ears "Or waves break loud on the seashores "Where blew a flower may a flower no more "lift its head to the blows of the rain "Though they be mad and dead as nails "Heads of the characters hammer through daisies "Break in the sun till the sun breaks down "And death shall have no dominion.
" Do it.
Do it.
It's lovely to see you, Derek.
Funny Leo didn't turn up.
Actually it's not.
He texted me.
Texted you? Yeah.
Uh, Lizzie Fraser committed suicide this afternoon.
The police are going to pay for this.
I mean it.
Work.
Things were OK with your father, weren't they? Last couple of years.
They were OK.
DS Charlie Winter.
Detective Inspector Connie James.
Nice to meet you, Charlie.
So you're heading this one up, are you? No, I just happened to be passing by a major crime scene.
Thought I'd look in.
I'm up here, by the way.
Lead on, DS Winter, please.
Oh, thanks.
DI Connie James.
I'm Harry Cunningham, pathologist.
This is Professor Leo Dalton.
Hi.
His bus pass and Game loyalty card identify him as Luke Francis.
Who would do this? Who would do this? For what it's worth the till's empty, as is the safe below the counter, apart from a few deposit slips.
Don't tell me in all this he didn't leave his DNA.
Those wounds to his chest.
They're too shallow to have left all this blood.
Is that a question? He was found with a bag over his head and there were signs of petechial haemorrhaging in his eyes.
So COD was asphyxia? If we establish cause of death, it'll be at the postmortem.
In the mortuary.
So where'd all this blood come from? There was another body recovered in the house with substantial injuries.
Mick Francis, the homeowner.
Looks like he was handcuffed to that pipe but managed to break free.
And the missing piece? There.
How'd it get all the way over there? You can see all these circular lacerations on the wrist.
And these paint chips round the cuffs look like they're the same colour as the pipe from the shop.
So he managed to free himself, then? Maybe.
Temporarily.
Is that the emblem of the SAS? I believe it is.
Doesn't really go with the earring and the Easy Rider poster, does it? So where'd the fire start? Up here.
Do we have an ID? Jessie Francis, apparently.
Daughter of Mick Francis, the guy on the stairs and, er, mother of Luke, the boy.
Christ.
She was raped, wasn't she? She was partially clothed when she was set on fire but sexual assault may be hard to prove.
Thank you.
Sorry, just need some air.
I almost envy her.
The baby? Her shock.
Oh.
Ever since Dad, I feel I don't even want to say it.
Numb.
How we handle pain, I suppose.
What if we never get it back again? He was your dad.
Perhaps the death of strangers just won't register for a while.
Frightening thought.
Perhaps I'm not meant to do this job forever.
All right? Yeah.
Sort of.
It is a bad one.
And they've entrusted it to a humble DI who's six months along.
Do you want to do it? That's irrelevant.
Is it? Yeah.
By chucking out time, I'll have been bumped for some ambitious Chief Super.
But do you want to do it? Yeah, I do.
All right.
All right, guys.
We're almost certainly looking for someone with previous for sex crimes, even if it's just window peeping.
Jessie Francis was the target here, her father and her son were collateral damage.
Jessie had a travel pass but no driving licence so it looked like she and her son came by bus.
Which bus? Where from? Any witnesses see them get off? Anybody get off at the same time? Erm Check with the bus company right now.
They might be scrubbing the CCTV footage as we speak.
We need to go and speak to Jessie's mum.
I'm so sorry about the memorial service.
Don't be silly.
Harry told me about Lizzie Fraser.
Yeah.
So sad.
It's more than sad, it's an outrage.
Poor kids.
Did she leave a note or anything? Didn't have to.
Buckinghamshire Police wrote it for her.
Every bloody word.
DI James wanted to know if we could do the three postmortems consecutively first thing? I'd be surprised if DI James wasn't bumped before tomorrow.
Exactly what she said, funnily enough.
Obviously, she knows she's out of her depth.
I thought she did OK.
Out of her depth how? Pressing me for cause of death in the middle of a crime scene? She wanted to get a handle on the situation Which we weren't in a position to tell her in what was a cluster bomb of a scene.
All right, girls.
It's been a long day.
I know, I'm sorry to hear about that.
You're right.
It's, er, it's three crime scenes in one.
We'll do the postmortems as a team.
Make sure we get the whole picture.
'12 years ago, my sister Mary, a forensic scientist, 'was murdered by a crack addict at a crime scene 'the police were supposed to have secured.
'Now, I did not sue for dismissals, I did not seek to apportion blame.
'And I urged my colleagues at the Forensic Science Service 'to pull together with the police to ensure her killer was convicted.
'Sadly, that spirit of collaboration 'between the police and the FSS is long gone.
'If something goes right, the police take the credit.
'And if something goes wrong, we get the blame.
'The collapse of the case against the so-called Mosque Bomber 'was due to a number of factors, the forensics being just one.
'The evidence that I gave in' Have they given you any idea how long this review will last? No, but the good news is they're starting on Monday.
So, well, it goes without saying, we've nothing to hide so, erm well, we're hoping a fortnight, or a month tops.
Right, Lizzie? Right.
Erm, and in the interim you want us to take on Chesham's pathology work? Well, in a word, yes.
Erm yes, we can do that.
That's fine.
That is bloody great of you.
I don't know what to say.
The way the Buckinghamshire Police scapegoated Lizzie is appalling.
You're a true friend, Leo.
Especially now we're in competition.
Obviously, we'll contribute stocks and supplies and other resources.
Thanks.
No.
Thank you, Leo.
We'll be in touch, yes? Erm, right, well, I'll call you, Lizzie.
You look as if you could do with a drink.
Ursula, if you want to do this later, absolutely we can.
Jessie took after her dad.
Inherited his wild streak.
I was always the odd one out.
The boring one.
How old was Jessie when you and Mick separated? 16.
When she was 15, she got pregnant after a one-night-stand at a party.
And I wanted her to stop the pregnancy but she refused.
And her dad stood by her.
She had the baby? And that was Luke? Yes.
OK.
More recently, were there any men in Jessie's life? Ex-boyfriends or unwanted suitors? Guys who wouldn't take no for an answer, maybe? No.
You seem very sure.
Jessie wasn't into boys.
She was gay.
She was always a daddy's girl.
We'd grown closer recently.
She'd calmed down a bit and got a job as a teaching assistant.
Would you would you like to see some video I took the last time they came over? Actually Yes, I'd like that very much.
Erm Mick had a winged dagger tattoo.
Was he a fan of the SAS? Mick was in the SAS.
I know it doesn't go with the earring and the ponytail, does it? But that was Mick.
A walking contradiction.
Mick worshipped Jessie.
He would have done everything to save her.
He did.
He did.
The body is that of a well-nourished adult male appearing approximately the recorded age of 58.
There are no decomposition changes noted.
The deceased is in good general condition.
There are multiple stab wounds to the upper chest and throat.
And to the abdomen.
There are defensive wounds of a similar shape to the left hand But not to the right? No.
He was right-handed.
Why wouldn't he defend himself with his right hand? I don't know.
Perhaps he damaged his right hand when he was freeing himself from the pipe? Did he break any bones? No.
Then that doesn't add up for me.
You're right.
Let's come back to it.
A single right boot print on the victim's back.
And extensive bruising suggesting that he was stamped on whilst he was still alive.
A-a-a-a-agh! There's what appears to be a stun gun burn in the middle of the upper back.
And there are also brush abrasions studded with grit, suggesting the body's been dragged for some distance.
Fire-damaged clothes recovered at the scene belong to the victim, so she was partially undressed shortly before or after her death.
Burn patterns and coloration suggest that she was splashed with petrol over her genital area.
That's where he left his DNA? Very possibly.
He raped her? Or he didn't.
As yet there's no forensic evidence of rape.
You'll swab for semen, though, right? Of course, but given the fire damage, I don't hold out much hope.
The, erm, the light stab wounds across the chest of the boy.
What's that all about? They could be hesitation marks.
That's a forensic hallmark indicating an inability to wield the knife.
So he suffocates him instead.
He's altogether easier.
And the bag would spare him the sight of his face.
His eyes.
He falters.
He's not a seasoned cold-blooded killer.
Or killers.
Could be more than one.
They had absolutely no hesitation at all about wielding the knife against Mick Francis.
That allows room for a whole other interpretation of Luke's wounds, that they are evidence of piquerism.
Piquerism? A paraphilia in which sexual gratification is found through the penetration of the skin, typically by stabbing or cutting.
What's your point? I'll tell you what it isn't.
It's not that I think piquerism is more likely than hesitation marks.
But there are at least two, probably more valid, different interpretations to be had.
Right, well, now we've cleared that up, let's move on.
Let's.
Is there some kind of new rule prohibiting interpretations that might be remotely useful? No, but there's a very old one that says the evidence should speak for itself.
Spoken like a politician.
Well, I am a politician, Harry.
I have to be.
You don't.
Lizzie's death is tragic, but it has no bearing in there.
Apart from the fact that she was scapegoated by the police? Come on, Leo, there's no conspiracy here.
We are not going to get closed down for doing our job.
Well, actually, we might, if you tell them that the shallow stab wounds prove a fledgling, guilt-ridden killer and he turns out to be nothing of the sort.
I didn't say that.
Well, you were well on your way.
I understand it.
It's a vile case.
DI James is in over her head.
You want to help.
But if you think she won't turn on you the second that you lead her down a blind alley, then you are deluded.
The police have been the fall guys for years and now they've learned how to pass the buck to us.
And if that sounds like paranoia, let me introduce you to Lizzie Fraser's husband and two children.
Why didn't Mick Francis defend himself with his right hand? If we're not here to answer that question, what are we doing? I got that list of serious sex offenders in a ten mile radius.
How many? 157.
I don't have the manpower to interview half of that! You'll have to find other criteria, get the list down.
Criteria? Factors.
Hello! DI James! Connie! Hi.
Hi, sorry.
Look, I couldn't help overhearing what you were just talking about in the foyer and I really don't think you should be wasting your time looking for a serial sex offender.
Really? No.
I think it was a robbery gone wrong.
The till was empty, yes? Bonus prize.
Well, except for the fact there was no trace of any blood inside the till or inside the safe.
So what? So if the killer just grabbed the cash on his way out as a kind of afterthought we'd have transfer.
Wouldn't we? I mean, his hands or his gloves, at least, would've been covered with blood by then.
Look, I mean, it's human, I know, to see the Devil's work and expect, or hope maybe, that a devil is responsible.
But, in my experience at least, what you actually find behind the curtain is often pitifully small.
Disappointing even.
OK.
What else makes you think it was a robbery? It'd be easier just to show you.
Mm-hm.
Yeah? All the evidence points to a lone killer, doesn't it? It would appear so, but you never know.
OK OK, so the killer arrives here at the shop just before it closes.
Maybe he makes a show of buying something to distract Mick or to make him turn around Makes sense.
I've tilled up.
Ah, never mind.
What can I get you? The stun gun burn was right in the centre of Mick's back, wasn't it? Yeah.
A-a-a-agh! My guess is that that's when he stamped on his back.
Triumphant, like a hunter standing over his kill.
Yea-a-a-ah! But why cuff him? Why not just take the money and run? Mick was a big guy.
The stun gun will only incapacitate him for a short period.
Yeah.
He needs time to get the keys off Mick to unlock the safe Which would take, what, a minute? Couple of minutes, tops? And Mick will cooperate cos he wants this guy gone before Jessie and Luke arrive.
The killer's first instinct would be to incapacitate Jessie and Luke.
He can't have them raising the alarm.
Mm-hm, so he brings them in here.
Yeah.
But now he's thinking on his feet.
He only brought one set of handcuffs.
Maybe he, I don't know, threatened Luke with the knife to get Mick to give him the key to the bike lock.
Yeah, and even if Mick resists, Jessie will insist he complies.
I mean, she'll do anything to protect her son.
Don't you dare say anything, you hear me? And then somewhere around here he notices how beautiful Jessie is.
The kind of girl he'd never get near in the real world.
Sorry.
Yeah.
'You've reached Dr Harry Cunningham's phone.
'I can't take your call' Oh, Leo.
I've identified the model of the stun gun.
It's German.
Like the police issue handcuffs and the Kevlar mine boots it's top-of-the-range stuff.
Not much change from a grand.
Stun guns are illegal in the UK.
And Europe but not the States.
We should be looking at mail order survivalist websites.
Where's Harry? I don't know.
OK, a question.
Why does he risk taking Jessie all the way over to the house? Move.
It's going to be OK, Luke.
Leave her alone, you bastard! Why not? I mean, Mick and Luke are safely subdued.
He can't have the kid screaming, plus Jessie is compliance itself by now.
What? "If I give him what he wants, then he'll let my son live"? Do it.
Do it! We don't need to linger on what happened inside the house.
He's destroyed the evidence anyway.
But he is now a murderer.
So all he's focused on is getting away with it.
He comes back here to finish off Mick and Luke.
Kills Mick.
And that left Luke.
God, how scared must he have been? The killer must have been pretty jumpy too.
Hang on a second, look at this.
Look at this.
You all right, Luke? I think he got a nasty surprise from Mick.
There was a fight.
Leave him alone! Grandad Yes, that's why the pipe was all the way over here.
I knew he had to have a reason for dragging Mick over there.
He's trying to burn the body.
Yeah, but not Luke.
Why drag Mick? Well, he's not worried about us finding transfer on Luke.
Exactly.
He must have lost some blood.
So if the pipe made contact with the killer, there's a chance of DNA? A fighting chance.
'Dr Alexander?' Speaking.
'This is St Clare's Church.
' Oh, hi.
'I hope your father's memorial 'went off to your satisfaction?' Yes.
Thanks.
'Good, well, listen, I'm just calling because we had rather a lot 'of unused service sheets left over.
' Oh, right, erm yes, that's my fault, I printed too many.
'Well, do you want to come and pick them up or shall we, erm, 'shall we dispose of them?' 'Dr Alexander?' You can dispose of them, thanks.
'Thank you.
' We have blood spatter.
Could be Mick's? Trying to free himself? Nope, the pattern looks like a single sharp impact.
Good news? If the killer's DNA is on the database, very good news.
Harry? Actually, I just need to make some phone calls.
Have you been back to the crime scene? Hmm.
Trying to figure out a chronology.
Were you going to mention it? No need.
Just a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Honestly.
And? And I didn't want Leo throwing a spanner in the works.
Harry We can't just stop working because a friend of Leo's has been unfairly treated, IF that is what happened.
For all we know she was guilty of misleading Buckinghamshire Police.
Just because Leo's been affected, that's no reason to think Come on, there's every reason! You saw him in that postmortem.
He was so censoring! He didn't allow anything for this investigation to work on.
We're a team.
No, we're not a team.
We're part of a team.
And the other part is the police.
And if we just stop engaging with them then the only winners are the bad guys.
Tom Byrne.
Thank you.
Where? A farm off the M25.
Three people are dead.
One of them a child.
We sure it's her? DNA says so.
I want to speak to the senior forensics, the pathologist and the DI who was in charge until 30 seconds ago.
Yes, sir.
And Ginny? I want them to come here.
They need to see what they're a part of.
'If something goes right, the police take the credit, 'and if something goes wrong, we get the blame.
' There was one batch of toxicology which showed traces of hydroquinone peroxide under his fingernails.
So not the bog-standard peroxide that he might have come into contact with at his work? Right, and the police got very excited when I said that hydroquinone might be a potentially explosive catalyst.
But you re-tested? Of course.
No hydroquinone.
How did the police take that? Badly.
By that time they'd made up their mind.
Deepak Khan had been making bombs.
They'd had him on their watch list for years and they wanted their day in court.
So how do you account for that first test? Cross-contamination.
A misreading.
Or Khan really had got trace amounts of the chemical on him.
Three possibilities.
None very satisfactory? No.
Don't don't take this the wrong way but is there any way you might have misled the police? In court, under huge pressure, I may have changed one "probable" in my police report to a "possible" but that's it.
It never crossed my mind they were pinning their entire case against Khan on my interpretation.
No, of course not.
When my sister died I nearly stopped.
Not because I was afraid or angry or because I thought it would happen to me but because What? It's crazy.
Lizzie.
You can tell me.
I felt as though Mary was telling me to stop.
Warning me.
There.
Told you it was crazy.
Hey, hey, come on.
I've been wanting to do that for 20 years.
Goodbye, Leo.
I've caused you enough trouble already.
Leo! I was worried.
The office said you left two hours ago.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I've just been driving around, you know.
I understand, I just wanted Hello, Simon.
Leo.
I'm arranging Lizzie's funeral.
Greg's not up to it, I'm afraid.
He's, erm, he's in a dreadful state.
Oh.
Well, that's very good of you.
He wanted me to pass on a message, though.
OK? He's very much hoping that you would read at the service.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah, of course.
I'd be glad to.
Leo.
Hon Simon said you saw Lizzie last week? Week before last, actually.
You didn't mention it.
Didn't I? No.
I told you I'd agreed to help out with their workload.
They came to see me about that.
It's not the kind of thing you sort out on the phone.
No, of course.
How did she seem? Fine, well, upset.
Understandably so.
But relieved you were stepping into the breach? Yeah.
Yeah, of course.
What? Just seems a bit odd you didn't mention it.
I mean, not at the time but afterwards.
I'm sorry.
Hello? This is this is the Wraith inquiry.
It is indeed.
First she was the Ghost.
Then a Scottish crime correspondent christened her the Wraith.
And what has it got to do with our case? Let me offer some background.
Since 2000, the DNA of an unidentified female perpetrator, the Wraith, has been found at a huge array of crime scenes across Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, most notably the murder of PC Maalik Amar in Marlow on Christmas Eve 2010.
But that was not the Wraith's first murder.
She killed Meg Stiles in November 2000, apparently for the meagre contents of a jewellery box.
Now it seems her DNA has been found at the Ashtree Farm crime scene.
Inside a pipe, I believe.
Sorry, sir.
The recovered DNA is female? One set is female, one set is male.
But there was only one set of shoe prints sir.
I have some questions of my own if that's all right? No I mean, yes.
Of course.
Thank you.
Now I understand this was a messy, complicated scene with a high volume of trace evidence.
That's correct.
Is there a specific reason why you chose to swab inside the pipe? Well, when I when we reconstructed the scene, it became clear that Mick Francis had used the pipe as an improvised weapon.
What led you to that conclusion? There was an outstanding question from the postmortem as to why Francis had defensive injuries on his left hand, not his right when he was right-handed.
Attack is the best form of defence.
We also found crescent-shaped indentations on a wooden doorframe, which matched the circumference of the pipe.
Any splinters of wood inside the pipe? Yeah, some.
Sounds like your theory panned out, then? Not quite, sir.
We felt sure the perpetrator was male.
Acting alone.
It's entirely possible, in fact probable, that a male was present.
Ginny, can we have a look at the Amar footage? Now this is CCTV footage depicting the murder of PC Maalik Amar on Christmas Eve 2010.
Is it the slighter figure that you think is The Wraith? Aye.
We recovered DNA on the far side of the back seat the CCTV showed her climbing in.
The dynamic between the shooter and the Wraith gels with our profile.
That she's an addictive personality who lives for kicks, whether it's drugs or giving the finger to the police or turning lowlife losers into killers.
And rapists? So it would seem.
Are you surprised she'd be involved in a sexual assault on another woman? Nothing would surprise me at this point in time.
The sexual element, together with the murder of a child, are new.
But as you've seen, cold-blooded murder and male accomplices are not.
Over the years, DNA evidence suggests she likes working with men.
And those identified have proven to be drug addicts and lowlife criminals - weak people she can manipulate.
Has she ever worked with the same man twice? Once.
And the lucky guy hanged himself in his cell while we were questioning him about her.
That's the level of fear she instils.
But he did furnish us with an E-FIT before he killed himself.
I've taken over many cases from other officers during the course of this inquiry.
And I've benefited greatly from a full and comprehensive debrief in each case.
But you should be under no illusions.
The Ashtree Farm murderers will be subsumed into my inquiry.
DI James? Yes, sir.
Of course.
Harry? When exactly did you and DI James "reconstruct the scene" together? I had a specific and I hope valuable reading of the scene I wanted her to hear.
I'd like to hear it too if that's all right with you.
OK.
Erm essentially that it was a robbery gone bad.
That sounds more like a reading of a criminal than a crime scene.
Never been a problem in the past.
Well, it is now.
Leo, I work with you, not for you.
Not even with me so far on this showing! Moving forward, it makes sense if I deal with one pathologist rather than three.
Would that be you, Professor Dalton? No, it will be Dr Alexander.
This is a triple murder linked to one of the worst serial offenders in recent memory.
I'm aware of that.
And you're just too busy, are you? Something better to be doing? My administrative duties stack up at this time of year and your case requires 100%.
And on top of those duties, you're shouldering the workload of the Chesham lab? That's right.
No doubt you're acquainted with the pathologist who committed suicide.
Professor Fraser.
I imagine among the Forensic Pathology community there's a sense that Buckinghamshire Police are to blame.
That they made her a scapegoat for their big case crashing and burning.
Is that why you don't want to work with me? I was more than acquainted with Professor Lizzie Fraser.
She was a good friend of mine.
And actually it's not the only reason.
I'm intrigued.
It was my partner Janet who did the profile for you.
So being involved so closely feels inappropriate.
Janet.
A small world.
How is she? Oh, she's fine.
She did a great job for us.
A light in the darkness.
You be sure to give her my best.
Sir, there's a call.
Excuse me.
Surely what happened at Ashtree Farm is an atrocity that requires the combined efforts of all three of us? Number one, there was nothing "combined" about you and DI James going off to reconstruct the crime scene.
And number two, you're not off the case.
You're working to Nikki.
Do you have a problem with that? Of course not.
What I have a problem with is why I am working to her on this case.
And I cannot believe that if Lizzie Fraser was here Never mind.
What? If Lizzie Fraser was here what? Never mind.
Come on, Harry! Courage and conviction! I cannot believe that if Lizzie Fraser was here she would want this dead young woman and her son short-changed so that you can prove a point! Leo! Nikki? In the morning I'd like you to walk me through the scene at Ashtree Farm.
Meantime Connie.
I'll get you the postmortem reports of our other victims to bring you up to speed.
I think we need to document everything we found at Ashtree Farm.
Now.
Today.
Why? I don't know.
Two people? Really? Maybe we just missed something.
Going around a Detective Super.
It's a bad idea.
Who said anything about going around anyone? I'm off the case.
You heard him.
I also heard him say he values "a full and comprehensive debrief".
You should've been a bloody lawyer.
Come on, let's get it all down.
We'll get a take-away, my treat.
Rash words.
I'm eating for two.
Really? I thought you were just fat.
Could you clear Dr Alexander a desk, Ginny? And dig out the path reports for the three murders.
Sure.
Listen up, people! Go home.
Get some sleep.
I sense tomorrow will be a long day.
This triple murder feels disorganised and reckless.
She'll be vulnerable, on edge and God willing she might even make a mistake.
The morning briefing is here at 5am.
Off you go.
You too, Ginny.
Shouldn't there be a preliminary? I need you on your game tomorrow.
Yes, sir.
Make yourself at home.
All right? You're all over the news, man.
You killed a kid.
Collateral damage.
Bit of mission creep bit of course-correction required.
Yeah, but what's your plan? What's your exit strategy? What're you talking about? "Exit strategy!" You're a moron, you know that? At least I'm not The Most Wanted Man In England.
Give it a week.
They'll find something else to worry about.
Iraq, Afghanistan, the stock market.
Hey, get your trainers off the covers.
My mum's just washed them.
Just tell me again.
What happened? From the beginning.
Will you shut up? You're putting me off! Don't know why I bother coming round.
Yeah, me neither.
Meg was a schoolteacher, a First Aid volunteer, a fund-raiser for a Cancer Research, and the mother of five boys.
Murdered in her home for loose change and a couple of silver-plated rings worth 50 quid.
Where was the DNA found? On the scarf and a teacup.
Are you one sugar? Yes, one please.
And Ray Carpenter? Antique dealer in Windsor, low end of the market.
He was shutting up shop on a Friday night when she attacked.
What does that say to you? Listen, I'm not a profiler Come on, Nikki.
None of us work in isolation.
Off the record? Overkill like that typically suggests a very personal motive, or the aggressor's suffering from some form of psychosis.
Janet's profile suggests a long-term but high-functioning drug addict.
Right.
Based on what? Based on the fact that two days after she murdered Ray Carpenter, a syringe of her blood was found in a school playground.
There was heroin residue mixed in with the blood.
What about her other crimes? DNA links her to 16 break-ins, three street robberies, and a dozen or so car thefts.
Her DNA was also found on a bullet recovered from the brain of a nightclub bouncer.
Now we don't think she was present at the scene.
More likely she sold the gun to the killer.
The three street robberies, what kinds of descriptions did they give? Vague.
She's always hooded or masked and nearly all her crimes were committed at night.
The guy was ex-SAS.
Ex-SAS! No shit, Sherlock.
Dark, man.
You are dark.
I knew you were bad but this? This is Was there a woman? Was there anybody up there with you at the farm? What?! Again.
Just, did anyone, you know, talk you into it? What the hell would you say a stupid thing like that for? Eh? The Devil.
The Devil was up there with me.
She's a thrill seeker of the most dangerous kind.
And the biggest kick of all is embroiling the weak and the needy in her crimes.
Killing by remote control.
Come on, Lee.
Now it's time to clean up.
You think she went into the house with the killer and Jessie? You think she witnessed the rape? At the killing of PC Amar she got into the car with the gunman.
Sir, it's me.
I don't know what kind of face Dr Alexander's putting on for you but it's not her real one.
And DI James is still very much on the team.
You disobeyed a direct order from a senior officer and you're obstructing a live inquiry.
Bullshit.
Harry, don't.
I'd be careful.
Why's that? Detective Superintendent Byrne is very possessive of this case.
And his bite is considerably worse than his bark.
waiting for this! She's killed a cop.
So what's left? Have you all come here to question Janet's findings? They're more afraid of her than they are of me.
I'm not a cold-blooded killer.
We have a deceased, as yet unidentified female through there.
Looks like she's been stabbed to death.
Now, we've secured this floor but not the next.
So confine your work to down here only.
A-a-agh! A-a-a-a-a-agh! A-agh! A-agh! A-a-agh! A-a-a-agh! "And death shall have no dominion "Dead men naked they shall be one "With the man in the wind and the west moon "When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone "They shall have stars at elbow and foot "Though they go mad they shall be sane "Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again "Though lovers be lost love shall not "And death shall have no dominion.
" - Right, it's time to go, girls.
- Coming, Dad! Right, we're off, Lizzie.
Back in about an hour or so, yeah? Bye, Mum.
"And death shall have no dominion "Under the windings of the sea "They lying long shall not die windily "Twisting on racks when sinews give way "Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break" See you.
"Faith in their hands shall snap in two "And the unicorn evils run them through" "Split all ends up "they shan't crack "And death shall have no dominion.
" "And death shall have no dominion "No more may gulls cry at their ears "Or waves break loud on the seashores "Where blew a flower may a flower no more "lift its head to the blows of the rain "Though they be mad and dead as nails "Heads of the characters hammer through daisies "Break in the sun till the sun breaks down "And death shall have no dominion.
" Do it.
Do it.
It's lovely to see you, Derek.
Funny Leo didn't turn up.
Actually it's not.
He texted me.
Texted you? Yeah.
Uh, Lizzie Fraser committed suicide this afternoon.
The police are going to pay for this.
I mean it.
Work.
Things were OK with your father, weren't they? Last couple of years.
They were OK.
DS Charlie Winter.
Detective Inspector Connie James.
Nice to meet you, Charlie.
So you're heading this one up, are you? No, I just happened to be passing by a major crime scene.
Thought I'd look in.
I'm up here, by the way.
Lead on, DS Winter, please.
Oh, thanks.
DI Connie James.
I'm Harry Cunningham, pathologist.
This is Professor Leo Dalton.
Hi.
His bus pass and Game loyalty card identify him as Luke Francis.
Who would do this? Who would do this? For what it's worth the till's empty, as is the safe below the counter, apart from a few deposit slips.
Don't tell me in all this he didn't leave his DNA.
Those wounds to his chest.
They're too shallow to have left all this blood.
Is that a question? He was found with a bag over his head and there were signs of petechial haemorrhaging in his eyes.
So COD was asphyxia? If we establish cause of death, it'll be at the postmortem.
In the mortuary.
So where'd all this blood come from? There was another body recovered in the house with substantial injuries.
Mick Francis, the homeowner.
Looks like he was handcuffed to that pipe but managed to break free.
And the missing piece? There.
How'd it get all the way over there? You can see all these circular lacerations on the wrist.
And these paint chips round the cuffs look like they're the same colour as the pipe from the shop.
So he managed to free himself, then? Maybe.
Temporarily.
Is that the emblem of the SAS? I believe it is.
Doesn't really go with the earring and the Easy Rider poster, does it? So where'd the fire start? Up here.
Do we have an ID? Jessie Francis, apparently.
Daughter of Mick Francis, the guy on the stairs and, er, mother of Luke, the boy.
Christ.
She was raped, wasn't she? She was partially clothed when she was set on fire but sexual assault may be hard to prove.
Thank you.
Sorry, just need some air.
I almost envy her.
The baby? Her shock.
Oh.
Ever since Dad, I feel I don't even want to say it.
Numb.
How we handle pain, I suppose.
What if we never get it back again? He was your dad.
Perhaps the death of strangers just won't register for a while.
Frightening thought.
Perhaps I'm not meant to do this job forever.
All right? Yeah.
Sort of.
It is a bad one.
And they've entrusted it to a humble DI who's six months along.
Do you want to do it? That's irrelevant.
Is it? Yeah.
By chucking out time, I'll have been bumped for some ambitious Chief Super.
But do you want to do it? Yeah, I do.
All right.
All right, guys.
We're almost certainly looking for someone with previous for sex crimes, even if it's just window peeping.
Jessie Francis was the target here, her father and her son were collateral damage.
Jessie had a travel pass but no driving licence so it looked like she and her son came by bus.
Which bus? Where from? Any witnesses see them get off? Anybody get off at the same time? Erm Check with the bus company right now.
They might be scrubbing the CCTV footage as we speak.
We need to go and speak to Jessie's mum.
I'm so sorry about the memorial service.
Don't be silly.
Harry told me about Lizzie Fraser.
Yeah.
So sad.
It's more than sad, it's an outrage.
Poor kids.
Did she leave a note or anything? Didn't have to.
Buckinghamshire Police wrote it for her.
Every bloody word.
DI James wanted to know if we could do the three postmortems consecutively first thing? I'd be surprised if DI James wasn't bumped before tomorrow.
Exactly what she said, funnily enough.
Obviously, she knows she's out of her depth.
I thought she did OK.
Out of her depth how? Pressing me for cause of death in the middle of a crime scene? She wanted to get a handle on the situation Which we weren't in a position to tell her in what was a cluster bomb of a scene.
All right, girls.
It's been a long day.
I know, I'm sorry to hear about that.
You're right.
It's, er, it's three crime scenes in one.
We'll do the postmortems as a team.
Make sure we get the whole picture.
'12 years ago, my sister Mary, a forensic scientist, 'was murdered by a crack addict at a crime scene 'the police were supposed to have secured.
'Now, I did not sue for dismissals, I did not seek to apportion blame.
'And I urged my colleagues at the Forensic Science Service 'to pull together with the police to ensure her killer was convicted.
'Sadly, that spirit of collaboration 'between the police and the FSS is long gone.
'If something goes right, the police take the credit.
'And if something goes wrong, we get the blame.
'The collapse of the case against the so-called Mosque Bomber 'was due to a number of factors, the forensics being just one.
'The evidence that I gave in' Have they given you any idea how long this review will last? No, but the good news is they're starting on Monday.
So, well, it goes without saying, we've nothing to hide so, erm well, we're hoping a fortnight, or a month tops.
Right, Lizzie? Right.
Erm, and in the interim you want us to take on Chesham's pathology work? Well, in a word, yes.
Erm yes, we can do that.
That's fine.
That is bloody great of you.
I don't know what to say.
The way the Buckinghamshire Police scapegoated Lizzie is appalling.
You're a true friend, Leo.
Especially now we're in competition.
Obviously, we'll contribute stocks and supplies and other resources.
Thanks.
No.
Thank you, Leo.
We'll be in touch, yes? Erm, right, well, I'll call you, Lizzie.
You look as if you could do with a drink.
Ursula, if you want to do this later, absolutely we can.
Jessie took after her dad.
Inherited his wild streak.
I was always the odd one out.
The boring one.
How old was Jessie when you and Mick separated? 16.
When she was 15, she got pregnant after a one-night-stand at a party.
And I wanted her to stop the pregnancy but she refused.
And her dad stood by her.
She had the baby? And that was Luke? Yes.
OK.
More recently, were there any men in Jessie's life? Ex-boyfriends or unwanted suitors? Guys who wouldn't take no for an answer, maybe? No.
You seem very sure.
Jessie wasn't into boys.
She was gay.
She was always a daddy's girl.
We'd grown closer recently.
She'd calmed down a bit and got a job as a teaching assistant.
Would you would you like to see some video I took the last time they came over? Actually Yes, I'd like that very much.
Erm Mick had a winged dagger tattoo.
Was he a fan of the SAS? Mick was in the SAS.
I know it doesn't go with the earring and the ponytail, does it? But that was Mick.
A walking contradiction.
Mick worshipped Jessie.
He would have done everything to save her.
He did.
He did.
The body is that of a well-nourished adult male appearing approximately the recorded age of 58.
There are no decomposition changes noted.
The deceased is in good general condition.
There are multiple stab wounds to the upper chest and throat.
And to the abdomen.
There are defensive wounds of a similar shape to the left hand But not to the right? No.
He was right-handed.
Why wouldn't he defend himself with his right hand? I don't know.
Perhaps he damaged his right hand when he was freeing himself from the pipe? Did he break any bones? No.
Then that doesn't add up for me.
You're right.
Let's come back to it.
A single right boot print on the victim's back.
And extensive bruising suggesting that he was stamped on whilst he was still alive.
A-a-a-a-agh! There's what appears to be a stun gun burn in the middle of the upper back.
And there are also brush abrasions studded with grit, suggesting the body's been dragged for some distance.
Fire-damaged clothes recovered at the scene belong to the victim, so she was partially undressed shortly before or after her death.
Burn patterns and coloration suggest that she was splashed with petrol over her genital area.
That's where he left his DNA? Very possibly.
He raped her? Or he didn't.
As yet there's no forensic evidence of rape.
You'll swab for semen, though, right? Of course, but given the fire damage, I don't hold out much hope.
The, erm, the light stab wounds across the chest of the boy.
What's that all about? They could be hesitation marks.
That's a forensic hallmark indicating an inability to wield the knife.
So he suffocates him instead.
He's altogether easier.
And the bag would spare him the sight of his face.
His eyes.
He falters.
He's not a seasoned cold-blooded killer.
Or killers.
Could be more than one.
They had absolutely no hesitation at all about wielding the knife against Mick Francis.
That allows room for a whole other interpretation of Luke's wounds, that they are evidence of piquerism.
Piquerism? A paraphilia in which sexual gratification is found through the penetration of the skin, typically by stabbing or cutting.
What's your point? I'll tell you what it isn't.
It's not that I think piquerism is more likely than hesitation marks.
But there are at least two, probably more valid, different interpretations to be had.
Right, well, now we've cleared that up, let's move on.
Let's.
Is there some kind of new rule prohibiting interpretations that might be remotely useful? No, but there's a very old one that says the evidence should speak for itself.
Spoken like a politician.
Well, I am a politician, Harry.
I have to be.
You don't.
Lizzie's death is tragic, but it has no bearing in there.
Apart from the fact that she was scapegoated by the police? Come on, Leo, there's no conspiracy here.
We are not going to get closed down for doing our job.
Well, actually, we might, if you tell them that the shallow stab wounds prove a fledgling, guilt-ridden killer and he turns out to be nothing of the sort.
I didn't say that.
Well, you were well on your way.
I understand it.
It's a vile case.
DI James is in over her head.
You want to help.
But if you think she won't turn on you the second that you lead her down a blind alley, then you are deluded.
The police have been the fall guys for years and now they've learned how to pass the buck to us.
And if that sounds like paranoia, let me introduce you to Lizzie Fraser's husband and two children.
Why didn't Mick Francis defend himself with his right hand? If we're not here to answer that question, what are we doing? I got that list of serious sex offenders in a ten mile radius.
How many? 157.
I don't have the manpower to interview half of that! You'll have to find other criteria, get the list down.
Criteria? Factors.
Hello! DI James! Connie! Hi.
Hi, sorry.
Look, I couldn't help overhearing what you were just talking about in the foyer and I really don't think you should be wasting your time looking for a serial sex offender.
Really? No.
I think it was a robbery gone wrong.
The till was empty, yes? Bonus prize.
Well, except for the fact there was no trace of any blood inside the till or inside the safe.
So what? So if the killer just grabbed the cash on his way out as a kind of afterthought we'd have transfer.
Wouldn't we? I mean, his hands or his gloves, at least, would've been covered with blood by then.
Look, I mean, it's human, I know, to see the Devil's work and expect, or hope maybe, that a devil is responsible.
But, in my experience at least, what you actually find behind the curtain is often pitifully small.
Disappointing even.
OK.
What else makes you think it was a robbery? It'd be easier just to show you.
Mm-hm.
Yeah? All the evidence points to a lone killer, doesn't it? It would appear so, but you never know.
OK OK, so the killer arrives here at the shop just before it closes.
Maybe he makes a show of buying something to distract Mick or to make him turn around Makes sense.
I've tilled up.
Ah, never mind.
What can I get you? The stun gun burn was right in the centre of Mick's back, wasn't it? Yeah.
A-a-a-agh! My guess is that that's when he stamped on his back.
Triumphant, like a hunter standing over his kill.
Yea-a-a-ah! But why cuff him? Why not just take the money and run? Mick was a big guy.
The stun gun will only incapacitate him for a short period.
Yeah.
He needs time to get the keys off Mick to unlock the safe Which would take, what, a minute? Couple of minutes, tops? And Mick will cooperate cos he wants this guy gone before Jessie and Luke arrive.
The killer's first instinct would be to incapacitate Jessie and Luke.
He can't have them raising the alarm.
Mm-hm, so he brings them in here.
Yeah.
But now he's thinking on his feet.
He only brought one set of handcuffs.
Maybe he, I don't know, threatened Luke with the knife to get Mick to give him the key to the bike lock.
Yeah, and even if Mick resists, Jessie will insist he complies.
I mean, she'll do anything to protect her son.
Don't you dare say anything, you hear me? And then somewhere around here he notices how beautiful Jessie is.
The kind of girl he'd never get near in the real world.
Sorry.
Yeah.
'You've reached Dr Harry Cunningham's phone.
'I can't take your call' Oh, Leo.
I've identified the model of the stun gun.
It's German.
Like the police issue handcuffs and the Kevlar mine boots it's top-of-the-range stuff.
Not much change from a grand.
Stun guns are illegal in the UK.
And Europe but not the States.
We should be looking at mail order survivalist websites.
Where's Harry? I don't know.
OK, a question.
Why does he risk taking Jessie all the way over to the house? Move.
It's going to be OK, Luke.
Leave her alone, you bastard! Why not? I mean, Mick and Luke are safely subdued.
He can't have the kid screaming, plus Jessie is compliance itself by now.
What? "If I give him what he wants, then he'll let my son live"? Do it.
Do it! We don't need to linger on what happened inside the house.
He's destroyed the evidence anyway.
But he is now a murderer.
So all he's focused on is getting away with it.
He comes back here to finish off Mick and Luke.
Kills Mick.
And that left Luke.
God, how scared must he have been? The killer must have been pretty jumpy too.
Hang on a second, look at this.
Look at this.
You all right, Luke? I think he got a nasty surprise from Mick.
There was a fight.
Leave him alone! Grandad Yes, that's why the pipe was all the way over here.
I knew he had to have a reason for dragging Mick over there.
He's trying to burn the body.
Yeah, but not Luke.
Why drag Mick? Well, he's not worried about us finding transfer on Luke.
Exactly.
He must have lost some blood.
So if the pipe made contact with the killer, there's a chance of DNA? A fighting chance.
'Dr Alexander?' Speaking.
'This is St Clare's Church.
' Oh, hi.
'I hope your father's memorial 'went off to your satisfaction?' Yes.
Thanks.
'Good, well, listen, I'm just calling because we had rather a lot 'of unused service sheets left over.
' Oh, right, erm yes, that's my fault, I printed too many.
'Well, do you want to come and pick them up or shall we, erm, 'shall we dispose of them?' 'Dr Alexander?' You can dispose of them, thanks.
'Thank you.
' We have blood spatter.
Could be Mick's? Trying to free himself? Nope, the pattern looks like a single sharp impact.
Good news? If the killer's DNA is on the database, very good news.
Harry? Actually, I just need to make some phone calls.
Have you been back to the crime scene? Hmm.
Trying to figure out a chronology.
Were you going to mention it? No need.
Just a spur-of-the-moment thing.
Honestly.
And? And I didn't want Leo throwing a spanner in the works.
Harry We can't just stop working because a friend of Leo's has been unfairly treated, IF that is what happened.
For all we know she was guilty of misleading Buckinghamshire Police.
Just because Leo's been affected, that's no reason to think Come on, there's every reason! You saw him in that postmortem.
He was so censoring! He didn't allow anything for this investigation to work on.
We're a team.
No, we're not a team.
We're part of a team.
And the other part is the police.
And if we just stop engaging with them then the only winners are the bad guys.
Tom Byrne.
Thank you.
Where? A farm off the M25.
Three people are dead.
One of them a child.
We sure it's her? DNA says so.
I want to speak to the senior forensics, the pathologist and the DI who was in charge until 30 seconds ago.
Yes, sir.
And Ginny? I want them to come here.
They need to see what they're a part of.
'If something goes right, the police take the credit, 'and if something goes wrong, we get the blame.
' There was one batch of toxicology which showed traces of hydroquinone peroxide under his fingernails.
So not the bog-standard peroxide that he might have come into contact with at his work? Right, and the police got very excited when I said that hydroquinone might be a potentially explosive catalyst.
But you re-tested? Of course.
No hydroquinone.
How did the police take that? Badly.
By that time they'd made up their mind.
Deepak Khan had been making bombs.
They'd had him on their watch list for years and they wanted their day in court.
So how do you account for that first test? Cross-contamination.
A misreading.
Or Khan really had got trace amounts of the chemical on him.
Three possibilities.
None very satisfactory? No.
Don't don't take this the wrong way but is there any way you might have misled the police? In court, under huge pressure, I may have changed one "probable" in my police report to a "possible" but that's it.
It never crossed my mind they were pinning their entire case against Khan on my interpretation.
No, of course not.
When my sister died I nearly stopped.
Not because I was afraid or angry or because I thought it would happen to me but because What? It's crazy.
Lizzie.
You can tell me.
I felt as though Mary was telling me to stop.
Warning me.
There.
Told you it was crazy.
Hey, hey, come on.
I've been wanting to do that for 20 years.
Goodbye, Leo.
I've caused you enough trouble already.
Leo! I was worried.
The office said you left two hours ago.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I've just been driving around, you know.
I understand, I just wanted Hello, Simon.
Leo.
I'm arranging Lizzie's funeral.
Greg's not up to it, I'm afraid.
He's, erm, he's in a dreadful state.
Oh.
Well, that's very good of you.
He wanted me to pass on a message, though.
OK? He's very much hoping that you would read at the service.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah, of course.
I'd be glad to.
Leo.
Hon Simon said you saw Lizzie last week? Week before last, actually.
You didn't mention it.
Didn't I? No.
I told you I'd agreed to help out with their workload.
They came to see me about that.
It's not the kind of thing you sort out on the phone.
No, of course.
How did she seem? Fine, well, upset.
Understandably so.
But relieved you were stepping into the breach? Yeah.
Yeah, of course.
What? Just seems a bit odd you didn't mention it.
I mean, not at the time but afterwards.
I'm sorry.
Hello? This is this is the Wraith inquiry.
It is indeed.
First she was the Ghost.
Then a Scottish crime correspondent christened her the Wraith.
And what has it got to do with our case? Let me offer some background.
Since 2000, the DNA of an unidentified female perpetrator, the Wraith, has been found at a huge array of crime scenes across Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, most notably the murder of PC Maalik Amar in Marlow on Christmas Eve 2010.
But that was not the Wraith's first murder.
She killed Meg Stiles in November 2000, apparently for the meagre contents of a jewellery box.
Now it seems her DNA has been found at the Ashtree Farm crime scene.
Inside a pipe, I believe.
Sorry, sir.
The recovered DNA is female? One set is female, one set is male.
But there was only one set of shoe prints sir.
I have some questions of my own if that's all right? No I mean, yes.
Of course.
Thank you.
Now I understand this was a messy, complicated scene with a high volume of trace evidence.
That's correct.
Is there a specific reason why you chose to swab inside the pipe? Well, when I when we reconstructed the scene, it became clear that Mick Francis had used the pipe as an improvised weapon.
What led you to that conclusion? There was an outstanding question from the postmortem as to why Francis had defensive injuries on his left hand, not his right when he was right-handed.
Attack is the best form of defence.
We also found crescent-shaped indentations on a wooden doorframe, which matched the circumference of the pipe.
Any splinters of wood inside the pipe? Yeah, some.
Sounds like your theory panned out, then? Not quite, sir.
We felt sure the perpetrator was male.
Acting alone.
It's entirely possible, in fact probable, that a male was present.
Ginny, can we have a look at the Amar footage? Now this is CCTV footage depicting the murder of PC Maalik Amar on Christmas Eve 2010.
Is it the slighter figure that you think is The Wraith? Aye.
We recovered DNA on the far side of the back seat the CCTV showed her climbing in.
The dynamic between the shooter and the Wraith gels with our profile.
That she's an addictive personality who lives for kicks, whether it's drugs or giving the finger to the police or turning lowlife losers into killers.
And rapists? So it would seem.
Are you surprised she'd be involved in a sexual assault on another woman? Nothing would surprise me at this point in time.
The sexual element, together with the murder of a child, are new.
But as you've seen, cold-blooded murder and male accomplices are not.
Over the years, DNA evidence suggests she likes working with men.
And those identified have proven to be drug addicts and lowlife criminals - weak people she can manipulate.
Has she ever worked with the same man twice? Once.
And the lucky guy hanged himself in his cell while we were questioning him about her.
That's the level of fear she instils.
But he did furnish us with an E-FIT before he killed himself.
I've taken over many cases from other officers during the course of this inquiry.
And I've benefited greatly from a full and comprehensive debrief in each case.
But you should be under no illusions.
The Ashtree Farm murderers will be subsumed into my inquiry.
DI James? Yes, sir.
Of course.
Harry? When exactly did you and DI James "reconstruct the scene" together? I had a specific and I hope valuable reading of the scene I wanted her to hear.
I'd like to hear it too if that's all right with you.
OK.
Erm essentially that it was a robbery gone bad.
That sounds more like a reading of a criminal than a crime scene.
Never been a problem in the past.
Well, it is now.
Leo, I work with you, not for you.
Not even with me so far on this showing! Moving forward, it makes sense if I deal with one pathologist rather than three.
Would that be you, Professor Dalton? No, it will be Dr Alexander.
This is a triple murder linked to one of the worst serial offenders in recent memory.
I'm aware of that.
And you're just too busy, are you? Something better to be doing? My administrative duties stack up at this time of year and your case requires 100%.
And on top of those duties, you're shouldering the workload of the Chesham lab? That's right.
No doubt you're acquainted with the pathologist who committed suicide.
Professor Fraser.
I imagine among the Forensic Pathology community there's a sense that Buckinghamshire Police are to blame.
That they made her a scapegoat for their big case crashing and burning.
Is that why you don't want to work with me? I was more than acquainted with Professor Lizzie Fraser.
She was a good friend of mine.
And actually it's not the only reason.
I'm intrigued.
It was my partner Janet who did the profile for you.
So being involved so closely feels inappropriate.
Janet.
A small world.
How is she? Oh, she's fine.
She did a great job for us.
A light in the darkness.
You be sure to give her my best.
Sir, there's a call.
Excuse me.
Surely what happened at Ashtree Farm is an atrocity that requires the combined efforts of all three of us? Number one, there was nothing "combined" about you and DI James going off to reconstruct the crime scene.
And number two, you're not off the case.
You're working to Nikki.
Do you have a problem with that? Of course not.
What I have a problem with is why I am working to her on this case.
And I cannot believe that if Lizzie Fraser was here Never mind.
What? If Lizzie Fraser was here what? Never mind.
Come on, Harry! Courage and conviction! I cannot believe that if Lizzie Fraser was here she would want this dead young woman and her son short-changed so that you can prove a point! Leo! Nikki? In the morning I'd like you to walk me through the scene at Ashtree Farm.
Meantime Connie.
I'll get you the postmortem reports of our other victims to bring you up to speed.
I think we need to document everything we found at Ashtree Farm.
Now.
Today.
Why? I don't know.
Two people? Really? Maybe we just missed something.
Going around a Detective Super.
It's a bad idea.
Who said anything about going around anyone? I'm off the case.
You heard him.
I also heard him say he values "a full and comprehensive debrief".
You should've been a bloody lawyer.
Come on, let's get it all down.
We'll get a take-away, my treat.
Rash words.
I'm eating for two.
Really? I thought you were just fat.
Could you clear Dr Alexander a desk, Ginny? And dig out the path reports for the three murders.
Sure.
Listen up, people! Go home.
Get some sleep.
I sense tomorrow will be a long day.
This triple murder feels disorganised and reckless.
She'll be vulnerable, on edge and God willing she might even make a mistake.
The morning briefing is here at 5am.
Off you go.
You too, Ginny.
Shouldn't there be a preliminary? I need you on your game tomorrow.
Yes, sir.
Make yourself at home.
All right? You're all over the news, man.
You killed a kid.
Collateral damage.
Bit of mission creep bit of course-correction required.
Yeah, but what's your plan? What's your exit strategy? What're you talking about? "Exit strategy!" You're a moron, you know that? At least I'm not The Most Wanted Man In England.
Give it a week.
They'll find something else to worry about.
Iraq, Afghanistan, the stock market.
Hey, get your trainers off the covers.
My mum's just washed them.
Just tell me again.
What happened? From the beginning.
Will you shut up? You're putting me off! Don't know why I bother coming round.
Yeah, me neither.
Meg was a schoolteacher, a First Aid volunteer, a fund-raiser for a Cancer Research, and the mother of five boys.
Murdered in her home for loose change and a couple of silver-plated rings worth 50 quid.
Where was the DNA found? On the scarf and a teacup.
Are you one sugar? Yes, one please.
And Ray Carpenter? Antique dealer in Windsor, low end of the market.
He was shutting up shop on a Friday night when she attacked.
What does that say to you? Listen, I'm not a profiler Come on, Nikki.
None of us work in isolation.
Off the record? Overkill like that typically suggests a very personal motive, or the aggressor's suffering from some form of psychosis.
Janet's profile suggests a long-term but high-functioning drug addict.
Right.
Based on what? Based on the fact that two days after she murdered Ray Carpenter, a syringe of her blood was found in a school playground.
There was heroin residue mixed in with the blood.
What about her other crimes? DNA links her to 16 break-ins, three street robberies, and a dozen or so car thefts.
Her DNA was also found on a bullet recovered from the brain of a nightclub bouncer.
Now we don't think she was present at the scene.
More likely she sold the gun to the killer.
The three street robberies, what kinds of descriptions did they give? Vague.
She's always hooded or masked and nearly all her crimes were committed at night.
The guy was ex-SAS.
Ex-SAS! No shit, Sherlock.
Dark, man.
You are dark.
I knew you were bad but this? This is Was there a woman? Was there anybody up there with you at the farm? What?! Again.
Just, did anyone, you know, talk you into it? What the hell would you say a stupid thing like that for? Eh? The Devil.
The Devil was up there with me.
She's a thrill seeker of the most dangerous kind.
And the biggest kick of all is embroiling the weak and the needy in her crimes.
Killing by remote control.
Come on, Lee.
Now it's time to clean up.
You think she went into the house with the killer and Jessie? You think she witnessed the rape? At the killing of PC Amar she got into the car with the gunman.
Sir, it's me.
I don't know what kind of face Dr Alexander's putting on for you but it's not her real one.
And DI James is still very much on the team.
You disobeyed a direct order from a senior officer and you're obstructing a live inquiry.
Bullshit.
Harry, don't.
I'd be careful.
Why's that? Detective Superintendent Byrne is very possessive of this case.
And his bite is considerably worse than his bark.
waiting for this! She's killed a cop.
So what's left? Have you all come here to question Janet's findings? They're more afraid of her than they are of me.
I'm not a cold-blooded killer.