Silent Witness (1996) s20e05 Episode Script

1 This programme contains some violent scenes and some scenes of a sexual nature Testator silens Costestes e spiritu Silentium.
Did you find anything keeping her down? No, we didn't see anything.
DI Ashton.
Nikki Alexander.
What we got? Think this is her - Lorna Katz.
How long's she been in there? Well, there's no major skin slippage.
When was she reported missing? Two days ago.
By her ex.
Was she not weighted down? Your diver said not.
There's a significant head injury to the frontal region.
Could've happened pre or post being in the water.
I won't be able to tell you much until the post Postmortem.
Thanks.
Hello.
Hi.
There's no current here.
Where'd you think she went in? Could've been the Thames locally or the Lea or the Fleet.
There's dozens of rivers and waterways that flow through here.
Great(!) Sorry.
Just saying it as it is.
If you want more than a pass then you need to be using the history clinics, OK? BELL RINGS Hey, and essays on my desk by Monday.
Thank you.
Hiya.
Hello, Jean.
Excuse me! I saw Chris last night.
And why would I want to know that? He said he's been trying to get in touch with you.
He looked haunted, actually.
You didn't give him my address? No.
No, of course not.
She got family? A father.
Lives abroad.
He's been informed.
When was she last seen alive? Coming out of the Star and Garter on Grafton Street about 12.
30am Tuesday night.
We have the remains of binding.
Heavy-duty tape.
And bites.
Scalloping and yellowing.
Rat bites.
Lividity? Well, the blood's collected here, can you see? So she must've been lying on this bit of her back for at least a couple of hours after death.
There's some kind of patterning on the edge of it.
What would've caused that? Maybe she was lying against panelling or grating.
Are those numbers? It looks like an indentation of an H.
When did she die? Have you got a time for me? I can't say for sure.
She went missing Tuesday night? Probably no more than a couple of hours after she was last seen alive.
OK, we've got her mobile number off her father.
The service provider's come up with a list of calls she made.
The last one was to a Kieran Vale.
I called her around midnight.
S she left a voicemail first.
RECORDING: 'Kieran, it's Lorna.
Call me back.
I'm.
Just call me back.
' The time of that call? 23.
46.
Er, can I ask you, how long you and Lorna were a couple? Three years, just over.
We go way back, though.
Knew each other at school.
When did you split up? Couple of months ago.
Her decision.
But she still kept in touch? Yeah.
Did she meet somebody else? She said she didn't, but I got all the usual bollocks about how she loved me but not in that way.
You must've been pretty pissed off.
After three years.
All I had to do was wait.
She would've come back.
Where were you when you returned her call? At home.
Can anyone confirm that? No.
I wouldn't hurt her, OK? I never touched her! What did you do after calling her? I went to bed.
Then about an hour later Yeah, here, look.
Erm 1.
23.
She sent me a text saying how sorry she was and how she'd made a mistake about us and could we meet up.
What's this? It was with the message.
I dunno.
I don't know why she sent it.
So what next? Did you text her, ring her back, go meet her? No.
Really, no? Come on, what happened? What? Wasn't she as sorry as you wanted her to be? What you getting at? Did she get down on her knees and beg you to come back? You're sick in the bloody head! Am I really? You've got no alibi but you've got a motive.
You don't believe me? She dumped you! Whoa.
Check out my phone.
You can tell where I was from that, can't you? I was home.
I never went anywhere.
This is the Royal Albert Dock, where Lorna's body was found, and this is where she was last seen alive.
Looking at tidal patterns over the last few days, we think that she was carried down the River Lea last night by a flood peak.
So she drowned? Yep, she had plant debris in her lungs and bacterioplankton matching the River Lea in her organs.
But after she drowned, her body was lying somewhere for some time, hence the lividity, before being released into the river.
Where would that be? Well, most likely somewhere between where she was last seen and where the body washed up.
There were also traces of a weedkiller called Glyphosate in her body.
They use that around rivers, don't they? Yeah, but you need permission from the Environment Agency.
It's sprayed on things like Japanese knotweed.
So we've marked on here areas where knotweed's been reported.
Where do you want to start? If she was dumped in the river here, the tide would had to have been high enough at the time.
If it's low tide, you'd have mud banks on either side.
PHONE RINGS OK.
Hi.
Where are you? Good question.
Er, TQ391 816.
Oh my favourite place.
Glad you like it.
I've got an update from the Environment Agency.
Check out TQ386 818.
That was only sprayed four days ago.
All right, will do.
Cheers.
Bye.
Ah, here we go.
Japanese knotweed.
Hey, what's that? It's an old sewer outflow.
Sewer? PHONE RINGS Jack? Yeah, er, that lettering in the lividity.
Could it have something to do with drainage and sewers? Give me a second.
Maybe something.
Yeah, here we go.
"H" could be Hollis and Sons.
An ironworks.
OK, brilliant.
Thanks.
Bye.
You ready to get smelly? Are we going in? Oh, yeah.
You OK? Yeah.
Er, how are we with tides, Jack? Plenty of time.
Here it is.
Huh? Is that what made the lividity marks? Yes, this is it.
Her body was here.
The floodwaters, they've raised the body, moving her against the pipe, rising and falling And cutting through the tape.
Yeah.
CAMERA CLICKS CHILDREN LAUGH AND SHOU BELL RINGS Right, break's over.
Everyone head in.
Ali? What are you doing here? Do you want me to call the police? You should see this.
You've found a body.
Lorna.
You knew her, did you? Three years ago, or thereabouts.
She was a friend of my daughter, who died then.
Not died.
Disappeared.
Her body hasn't been found, but She was a missing person.
Right.
I'm sorry.
Your daughter's name? Ruth Tresize.
She was murdered, was she? Lorna? We're still trying to establish what happened Because there's no way that's a coincidence, is it? Two young women, two friends.
It has to be the same killer.
Can I ask exactly where your daughter went missing? The banks of the River Lea.
'It was New Year's Eve.
'We were having a party.
'Ruth and I argued.
'She ran off.
' I phoned around her friends - not everybody answered.
I tried again in the morning but nobody'd seen her.
So you think she disappeared rather than? I think she ran off.
I think she's living her life somewhere else.
Because? Did she get in contact? No, just If she was no longer alive, I think I'd know that.
Was there ever a suspect or someone involved in Ruth's disappearance? Me.
My husband was physically abusing our daughter I slapped her.
Once.
So you said.
Why have I let you drag me here? Right, I'm going to look into this.
Are you OK to wait here? RECORDING: 'You're hurting me, Lorna! You're torturing me.
' Was this left on Lorna's voicemail? Yeah.
What, the night she died? Mm-hmm.
'Do you want me to come and find you? 'You want that, do you?! You want me to come find you, you bitch?! 'You know what'll happen if I do.
' It goes on like that, escalating.
Angrier and angrier.
Half a dozen messages.
From .
.
this guy - Aaron Logan.
PHONE RINGS Hi.
We've had a walk-in.
A couple, kind of.
'Their daughter went missing.
Might be a connection.
'I've e-mailed the file through.
' Got an e-mail from us? Uh Yeah, it's on screen.
'Right, the photo you're looking at 'is of a 15-year-old girl called Ruth Tresize.
' She went missing on New Year's Eve three years ago.
Her last known location was on the banks of the River Lea in Clapton.
And? 'And she was friends with Lorna Katz.
'They were at school together.
' So, what are you saying? That we're looking at a second victim? 'There was no body with Ruth.
The investigation was inconclusive.
' Hang on.
Erm Who was questioned? Her father, for one.
His wife accused him of physically abusing their daughter.
He was hounded out of his job as a teacher because of it.
Anybody else? 'Yeah.
' Names - Lee Rundle, Michael Kempson, Toby Daniels, Aaron Logan.
Stop.
Erm, that last name again, please? 'Aaron Logan.
' Here you go, ladies.
PHONE RINGS All right, mate? Yeah, I need you.
I've got police here.
Aaron Logan? Yeah, that's me.
Detective Inspector Ashton.
I'm afraid I have some bad news.
Can we go come onboard? You want her to have been murdered, don't you? I want to know the truth.
No, you want to be right.
Hi, I'm here to see DI Ashton.
Nikki Alexander, pathologist.
Jack Hodgson, forensics.
Can I ask what it's concerning? The Lorna Katz case.
Can you sign there, please? I can take them, Sarge.
If you'd like to follow me, please.
Thanks.
Open your mouth.
RECORDING: 'You're hurting me, Lorna! You're torturing me.
'Do you want me to come and find you? 'You want that, do you?! You want me to come find you, you bitch?! 'You know what'll happen if I do.
' What did happen when you found her? I didn't find her.
Why were you so desperate to? Because we'd argued and I wanted to put it right.
Argued about what? She was asking about my mum and my brother.
Stuff I didn't want to go into so she got pissed off and walked.
What time was this? Midnight, something like that.
And you followed her, yeah? HE SLAMS DESK I didn't follow her! I went to my brother's.
Until when? All night.
I slept there.
What was your relationship with her? Were you friends? Were you boyfriend and girlfriend? We had sex sometimes.
How long you been living on your houseboat, Mr Logan? OK.
We have you at that address more than three years ago.
Straight after Ruth Tresize went missing, you moved up to Edinburgh.
Ruth Tresize? Mr Logan was questioned at the time in connection with her disappearance.
So why's he being questioned now about Lorna Katz? The victims knew one another and they both knew Mr Logan.
So how did you meet them? Was it at school? Ruth's mother was my teacher.
She invited me round sometimes after my mum died.
She took her own life, your mother, didn't she? Right, I'm calling a halt on this.
Mr Logan is here voluntarily.
He tried that too.
Who tried what? Your predecessor - Chief Inspector Ross.
Cos I found my mum dead, it warped my head or some shit, turned me into a psycho? You got no more idea than him.
Kieran Vale's story holds up.
The calls between him and Lorna Katz, we traced them.
He was at home when he made them, like he said.
Have you let him go? Yeah.
Sh, sh That is Aaron Logan's brother and his sister-in-law.
She's confirmed his alibi.
Apparently he was with them when Lorna was killed.
So we've got two suspects and they've both got alibis.
So we got nothing.
Wait, stop! Are you all right? Sorry.
Sorry.
I overheard.
You're you're a pathologist, right? On the Lorna Katz case? I'm Ali Tresize.
My daughter's name is Ruth? Right.
I'm really sorry, but I'm not at liberty to How did Lorna die? I need to know if she was murdered.
I'm so sorry.
This is completely inappropriate of me, isn't it, to ambush you like this? You need to refer any questions to the police, I'm afraid.
Yeah, yeah, I get that.
Yeah.
Yeah, sorry.
Bye-bye.
Poor woman.
What? Not knowing.
MUSIC PLAYS Hey.
Hey.
Yes, yes, yes.
You all right? Look, we're celebrating, man.
Sarah don't want anyone to know until the first scan but we finally did it, man, she's pregnant.
Oh, I'm really happy for you, man.
Come here, bro.
Jesus, you wuss! I'm being silly, man.
Don't be stupid.
Do you want a drink? Ah, here he is, here's the fella! He's told you, hasn't he? Told me what? IVF.
Um Don't lie to me.
Come here.
I'm made up for you.
Hey, thank you for today.
Oh, you're welcome.
Hi, Sarah.
Oh, my God! Hi.
How are you? Yeah, good.
HE SNORTS If you don't speak to me, I can't help you.
Oh, Jesus, don't do that shit in here.
I don't need it.
I don't need none of this counselling speak.
I'm fine.
OK.
So she was just a shag, was she? You'd have liked to have found out, wouldn't you? Oh, absolutely.
Just a bit of pussy That's better! Some reaction.
You think you know everything, don't you?! Come on, then.
Think you're the man? Go on.
Come at me.
Go on.
Lorna.
They showed me pictures of her.
Come here, bro.
Come on.
It's OK.
It's OK, bro.
DANCE MUSIC BLARES Mind your head.
THEY GIGGLE Jesus! You are a slut.
Look at this place.
THEY GIGGLE Is that your brother? He's a good laugh.
Fancy him, do you? No! He's taken anyway.
You got yourself the runt of the family.
I like runts if you're a runt.
I don't know him.
I know Sarah a bit.
They seem really close.
He worships her.
She wanted kids, he shot blanks, she stood by him anyway.
So he worships the ground she walks on.
Is that how you get to be worshipped? Stand by a man whatever.
I'm OK, thanks.
You are too.
Easy.
Easy.
Here.
Let me.
Come on, what's the matter with you? No.
You know what happened to me today.
What? You know.
You've heard all about it.
What are you talking about? You did.
You heard the rumours.
I know what you're thinking.
What you doing? I'm not thinking anything! Get off! Get off me! Get off me! Get your stuff.
Go on.
Go.
Go on! She's gone, Aaron.
It's just you and me now.
Have we managed to identify what that is and where it was taken? Not yet, no.
OK, so I've been looking back over the Ruth Tresize case.
Now, we know Lorna Katz and Kieran Vale were a couple and that Ruth used to hang out with them when they were kids.
Aaron Logan lived near where Ruth disappeared and they all knew him too.
So you see, it just keeps on coming back to him, doesn't it? And then there's the psychology of it.
The psychology? He lost his mum when he was 14.
Suicide.
He went into care.
So maybe this triggered abandonment issues.
Maybe Lorna Katz threatened to leave him too.
Didn't Aaron say it was just sex? He did, yeah.
And Ruth? What about the other people who were questioned about her? Her father? I know it's an obvious thing to say but nine times out of ten with these things, it's close to home.
No smoke without fire.
Yeah.
Aaron Logan's got an alibi for Ruth and Lorna.
Kieran Vale has as well.
So where was Chris Tresize? I came to you! Mr Tresize I gave information freely.
I don't expect to be accused in my own home No-one's accusing you.
Are they not? Are you not thinking allegations were made against him by his own wife? And, wow, he knew Lorna Katz too! Well, that makes him a suspect, doesn't it? Or at the very least, someone worth making enquiries of.
Can I show you something? What is it? I was hoping you could tell me that.
Do you recognise that at all? Could it be anything here, something on this property or something? Oh.
All right, let's do this your way.
Where were you the night Lorna Katz was killed? Here.
I was here.
Alone? Yes.
So you don't have an alibi? Why would I need one? Because of the allegations made against you.
Why would Ali make them without any justification? Because Not that it's any of your business, but she needed someone to blame.
Can you imagine? Do you have an imagination? One night, your daughter just ups and disappears.
No rhyme nor reason to it.
What would you want, hmm, more than anything? Answers.
Yes.
And when there are none, what does your mind do? It creates incidents and memories.
It takes what's there .
.
little events and moments, and it expands on them.
That night, Ruth and I had a falling-out about who she was hanging around with - underage sex and drugs She was? You knew that, did you? No.
In truth, I didn't.
But I was the one who was trying to keep tabs on her.
Ali just let her run.
That night, I had things to say about the people she was keeping company with.
A guy we knew who lived on the river.
So yes, OK .
.
I lost my temper with Ruth.
'I slapped her.
' So was it my fault she left the house? Yes.
Was Ali right to blame me? Yes.
'It was my fault.
' I think it might be worth turning the place over.
Nah, never get a warrant.
No, we need something concrete.
Yeah.
My name's Kieran Vale.
Can I speak to DI Ashton? OK.
Can you get her to call me back, please? Yeah, right away.
Thanks.
KNOCK AT DOOR Hi.
Hi.
Hi, sorry.
I wanted to talk to you.
How did you find out where I live? I followed you from your office.
No, please! Just five minutes.
The police won't tell me so I need to ask you .
.
was Lorna's death an accident or not? The police have released a statement this evening.
It'll be in the papers tomorrow.
She was She was murdered? So do I have to accept that m .
.
my daughter is dead? There's no evidence of that.
What do you think? No-one knows.
Why are you here? Why come to me? It was the way you looked at me in the car.
Like you understood how it feels.
Understood what? Well, that, that something like this can't happen without there being responsibility or fault or what, whatever you want to call it.
That I didn't protect my daughter as I should.
Not even from my husband.
The police, they suspect him, do they, for Lorna? There's no evidence against him, not that I'm aware of.
So have they got a suspect? SOBBING: Sorry.
Sorry, do you have a tissue? Sure.
Wait here.
Can you give me a name? I'm sorry.
I think you know I'm not allowed to say that.
Of course you're not.
Cos whoever they are, they can destroy people's lives but they're protected, aren't they? DOOR BANGS Yeah, it's Kieran Vale again for DI Ashton.
No, I can't wait.
Can you tell her, please, I'm at a place where Lorna and Ruth and I used to hang out? OK, OK, I'll wait.
Get off! FAINT PANICKED BREATHING Hi.
Hi.
I didn't get the message in time.
I didn't call him back in time.
No body? No.
But come on, it's this guy's MO, isn't it, using the river, killing here? A woman called, says she she witnessed an attack, erm She called it in anonymously.
The killer left some blood and a boot print.
Have we got a time for this? 75 minutes ago.
If he's in the river, he could be anywhere in this current.
But this flotation dummy could help us locate him.
The tide's receded a little since Kieran went in.
Could have snagged on something.
There.
Significant head injuries.
Lacerations and bruising.
Made by? Well looks like wood splinters here.
Some kind of heavy object.
Just thinking about the press and media.
What about them? Ali and Chris Tresize.
When this gets out, you know, how this will affect them.
We're not going to get a news blackout on this.
You OK? I should've taken that call.
You weren't to know, were you? What about other friends from the past? Should they be contacted? I've got someone on to that.
So did they know what happened to Ruth? Lorna and Kieran? Did they know? Is that why they were targeted.
That heel print from the scene - it'd be worth checking out footwear.
Aaron Logan and Chris Tresize.
OK.
Police! Aaron Logan! Go on, Carl.
Aaron Logan! Well, he's obviously not here.
Do you want me to get a car sent round to his place of work? Yep.
And, Carl, grab some of his clothing.
Ah! Hello.
Come in.
This way? Yeah.
Hi.
So, what we got? Aaron Logan's clothing from the houseboat.
The boots don't match with the heel print.
Different soles.
And these belong to Chris Tresize.
Likewise, no match.
Oh, great.
So what's this? That is fish debris lifted off the heel print on the river bank where the body went in.
And these were in Aaron Logan's jeans pockets.
Visually, they're the same, similar size, shape and texture, so, I'm thinking that Stand back.
Ha-ha! .
.
if we can confirm that the debris on Aaron Logan's clothing is the same as the ones in the heel print then we can place him at the scene.
Hmm.
So these were all on Kieran's iPad as well as his phone.
This is what he was last looking at As well as this, again.
What was he doing at the river? Oh, we don't know that yet.
What about the witness? The person who called it in? Well, we're looking for her now.
She did give a description - someone in a dark hoodie.
That it? 'Fraid so.
Oh, now, this was taken around the time that we got that call, from a camera partially overlooking the other side of the river from where Kieran was attacked.
What, and you're saying that's our caller? What do you think? 'Hello.
'Hello?' Who is this, please? 'Ali.
' I need to see you.
Where are you? PHONE VIBRATES Where are you? The police are after me.
They've been searching my boat again.
Look, I can't stay on the phone.
'Don't hang up on me.
' I don't want them tracing the call, all right? Aaron, listen, if you run, it's going to make you look guilty.
You've done nothing wrong.
Hey, look, we're going to make this right, like we did before.
Come on, 'we sorted it then and we're going to sort it now.
' I need you to do something for me, yeah? Ali! I don't want to live like this.
I will do everything I can to find her.
I promise.
Who killed them? We don't know.
You must have names.
It's somebody they both knew, isn't it? Somebody we all knew.
What do you mean? There was a kid they interviewed after Ruth went missing.
I knew him from school.
His mother had died.
I let him come to our house sometimes.
OK.
Come on.
Come away.
Ruth was young and and she was experimenting, you know, and I I thought that was all right, but But what if she got in too deep with him? Aaron Logan.
Is that who they're after? Is that what this is all about? Trying to get me to confirm a name for you? You don't have to say a thing.
I can see it in your face.
It is him, isn't it? Yeah.
That's not our man.
PHONE RINGS Shit.
What's up? I think I might have, erm What? Ali Tresize called me in a state.
And I went to meet her and She wanted me to confirm who the main suspect is.
Aaron Logan.
Who did? Ali Tresize.
What, she knows him? Yes, apparently.
But you didn't tell her, did you? No, but I didn't say that it wasn't him either.
So I'm worried that it's kind of like I've confirmed it, isn't it? By omission.
PHONE RINGS Hi.
Ali, it's Nikki.
Where are you? 'I'm watching him.
' Who? Aaron? (Ashton.
) 'He was a grown man.
' She was 15, she was a child.
You don't know this 'Oh, I know it.
' I brought him into our lives and he got away with it then and he's getting away with it now.
Ali, I can hear station announcements.
Which one are you at? 'Service to Folkestone' Folkestone? That's Charing Cross, right? (Call her.
) Ali, the police are searching for him now.
If you know where he is, they can pick him up.
How many chances do they need? Please, Ali, leave it to the police.
LINE DISCONNECTS Tickets, please.
Can you hurry up, please? Hello.
We know what's going on.
DS Pope is searching down there.
Let's check it out over here.
Have you seen? Have you seen this man in the station? Are you sure? Went through the barriers.
Come on.
Aaron? What you doing here? I need you to tell me where my daughter is.
Tell me! Ali! Something that doesn't make sense to me - that for an innocent man, how come he was running? I'm going to the police.
I can't run away from this forever, can I? Someone made a 999 call, and we believe it was you.
You have the wrong person.
Will she be charged? Yeah.
You compromise me and I'll kill you.
He had the opportunity to hurt her.
For God's sake.
Did you kill Ruth? Jesus Christ, are you seriously asking me that?! My own daughter! Testator silens Costestes e spiritu Silentium.