Silent Witness (1996) s25e02 Episode Script

GUNSHO and the powerful enemies that go with that.
GUNSHO GUNSHO PHONE RINGS Nikki Alexander.
It's Professor Sam Ryan, Nikki.
I need your help.
Oscar Harris.
Number 10 special adviser.
You come highly recommended by Sam Ryan.
- You know her? - From her UN days.
- Are we being handled? - By Sam? There's a woman walking behind you who throws herself on the ground before anyone else.
That's Rosa.
My PA.
MUFFLED GUNSHO Christ.
We have the contents of Rosa Hernandez's phone.
SIMONE: That looks like the British paratroop insignia.
It's not proving that he served with them.
But if he did Could help with an ID.
It was a man and a woman.
Sounded American.
JACK: Good enough to run through the Vigil network? DS CHALAL: May be too grainy for a precise match.
But you should get some candidates, sure.
Vigil finds the link you didn't know was there.
Striation marks on the bullets show Rosa Hernandez and the Health Secretary were killed by the same rifle.
It's always shit timing with us.
- It is, isn't it? - Yeah.
Why is that? I hear you've got prints and DNA.
No matches on the database.
A second postmortem was carried out by the UN.
- Sam Ryan? - Mm.
Tom Faulkner was there.
Unofficially.
Who's that? Someone we both used to know.
Nikki.
Do you want to know who killed the Health Secretary? - What are you doing here, Tom? - Giving you fair warning.
Sam Ryan you can't trust her.
What, you came all the way to Liverpool to tell me that? I was here anyway.
Trying to get my old job back.
I'd have thought the UN was a job for life.
Oh.
Keeping tabs on me? Following my illustrious career? - Not exactly.
- Come on.
Don't spoil it.
I'm all ears, Tom.
Sam's bringing you onto this to control the Reynolds inquiry.
You're a means to that end.
She's trying to control me? Why? Because Sam and Jomo had her killed.
We found a cartridge case in the sniper's hide.
Careless.
Not a pro, then.
I pulled DNA and a partial fingerprint.
Both are a match to you.
My DNA? That's impossible.
I'm being set up.
I've told no-one.
I've sat on it.
So I really need to know.
Did you kill Alice Reynolds? You know I didn't do this, or I'd be in custody.
I just need you to keep the faith a little longer.
A day, 24 hours.
That's all I'm asking.
All you're asking? This isn't just the end of my career.
It's prison.
I'd say you owe me that much, Nikki.
I don't wear it every day.
I'm not deranged.
I'm not morbid, I just I wear it when it feels right.
Do you ever wear yours? - We haven't got time for this.
- PHONE PINGS - What is it? - I've got to go.
To exonerate you, we need to find out who did kill Alice Reynolds and why.
- I really have to go.
- How do I contact you, Tom? - It's better if - How do I contact you? These people are serious.
Dangerous.
Don't tell anyone.
And don't call from any number that can be traced to you.
Sam's gone up to bed.
What was Harris after? - Full update.
- Mm-hm.
TAP RUNS You OK? Yeah, fine.
Seen something? Oh nothing useful.
You know that thing they say about Vegas, what happens there stays there? Well, if you decided that, er that applied here, you know, to us, then you know, that's that's fair enough.
Where did that come from? I don't know, really.
I was hoping you might tell me.
HE CHUCKLES Get some sleep.
OK? What was it you couldn't tell me over the phone? Did the police ask you about our meeting with the Health Department? - No.
- Well, they will.
So I'd say we need to get our accounts in alignment.
- Listen, Sam - No.
You listen.
This is the Health Secretary we're talking about.
And if you think they're not going to comb through her diary and chase down every last lead, you need to get a train back to reality.
What are you worried about? Specifically.
DOOR OPENS - Hey.
- Hey.
Come in.
Everything all right? CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS Three shots were fired but only one cartridge case was left on the roof.
Yeah? Well, if you're collecting cases, you're collecting all cases.
Unless you can't get to it.
- We got to it.
- Yeah, eventually.
I mean Both sweeps completely missed it.
Yeah, they did.
So why touch it with bare hands? Er, you're wearing fingerless shooting gloves, you handled the casing post-firing.
- Are you retesting? - Yeah.
Just want to make sure that I didn't mess up first time around.
Right tell me to bugger off, but by retesting, you're depleting the original material.
You know, DNA's not your thing.
I only asked you to do it because I was busy.
You asked me to do it, so what's your point, Jack? Retesting's a bad idea unless you have reason to question the result.
Do you? - I just want to be thorough.
- Sure, sure.
The sample's of sufficient size, so I'm not worried about depletion.
You want to preserve as much as possible, in the event - of a case review.
- Thank you, Jack.
No match after all that? No match.
Just ID'd our paratrooper.
- Daniel Clemence.
- How? SIMONE: That odd yellow dust we found on the Health Secretary's shoes led me to sandstone buildings undergoing biomineralization treatments.
The bacteria they used formed a protective calcium carbonate layer on the sandstone.
St Mary's Hall, University of Merseyside was one of them where I found in the bin empty cans of cider and a receipt.
These gave us Dan Clemence's DNA, and this led us to CCTV from an off-licence.
So, here we have Clemence and Reynolds.
If you notice, there's a hand on the back here.
Just a touch but an intimate one.
Very different to their mood on the bench an hour later.
NIKKI: Who is Daniel Clemence? He's a London-based journalist who also studied in Liverpool in his youth.
Where he met Reynolds? After that, Sandhurst, then 12 years as an officer in the Paras.
Why's his DNA on file? Drink-driving times two.
Resisting arrest.
I'll check his DNA against the foetus.
Something else you should know.
Clemence recently posted a ton of articles online questioning the legitimacy of Unitas.
- Specifically? - Its funding, and, by extension, its suitability to run the health passporting scheme.
Clemence's main source is a Tom Faulkner, who worked with Sam and Jomo at the UN.
And Clemence and Faulkner travelled to London together this morning.
Faulkner also served in the Paras, which is probably where they met.
PHONE RINGS - Hello? - Nikki.
You know Faulkner, right? Yes.
In what context? Nikki? In the context of him being my ex-husband.
EXHALES SHARPLY I was 20, 21.
We were together less than a year.
When did you last see him? 20 years ago.
I need some air.
LINE RINGS PHONE RINGS - Hello.
- Tom, it's me, Nikki.
Don't call this number again.
It's a burner phone - and now it's burnt.
- Then give me a new number.
Or I share the DNA match - with the police.
- You don't trust me? Of course I don't trust you.
I don't know you.
You didn't tell me about your friend Dan Clemence.
Or that he studied at University of Merseyside with Reynolds.
Or that they shared a trip down memory lane on the day that she was assassinated! For your sake, tell me what you know about Clemence.
- PIPS BEEP - Oh, shit.
KNOCKING ON GLASS Did you get some air? My phone ran out of battery.
Mm-hm.
Dan Clemence is the father of Reynolds' unborn child.
DNA confirms it.
Then we need to make sure that stays What's going on, Nikki? Who is Tom Faulkner to you? Apart from your ex-husband? I found DNA and a fingerprint on the cartridge case.
Both are a match to Tom.
I don't want to make this about me, I really don't, but Why didn't I tell you about him before? Yeah.
And the small matter of you being married.
I don't know.
Not good enough.
Come on, Nikki.
Maybe I was ashamed.
Because it didn't work out? We were having a baby and I lost it.
- Stillbirth at eight months.
- Oh.
It was devastating.
I spent my 21st birthday in hospital.
When I got out, I knew it was over with Tom.
I just wanted to be on my own and start again.
Wipe the slate.
- He didn't feel the same? - No.
He lost his child.
.
and then he lost me.
And I barely looked round to see if he was still standing.
HE SIGHS I'm sorry.
I still don't understand why I mean I shared those things with you about my brother.
Shameful things.
But that's what friends are for, aren't they? You tell them everything and they still love you.
That's the glue.
- Not for me.
- Why? I wall things off.
- Always have.
- Why? I guess I'm selfish.
You're the least selfish person I've ever met.
You're just afraid.
Come here.
But you won't let me in.
Even now.
Tell me you're not covering for Tom because of your guilt? Tell me that.
Oh, God.
What grounds do you have to think he was framed? He's a good man.
Dare I say it? People change.
Sam said as much.
She's hardly impartial in this.
DNA's pretty impartial.
DNA was left in sweat.
How would someone steal his sweat, Nikki? Hmm? - He's asked for one day.
- Hmm? I owe him that.
He's asked you for a day? And I need you to trust me.
HE GROANS Though God knows, I've no right to ask.
HE EXHALES SHARPLY Why didn't you tell us about the allegations levelled at you by Daniel Clemence and your ex-colleague Tom Faulkner? Because they're as offensive as they are baseless.
They're certainly serious.
They claim that That Unitas won't declare its seed money because it comes from corrupt regimes where Jomo did election work.
No.
Because Tom Faulkner said that you and Jomo lined up a string of investors whilst still at the UN.
That's not true.
It's all slurs.
Then why haven't you sued? Because life's too short.
Clemence is more tinfoil hat than journalist, and Tom, he has an axe to grind.
He thinks Jomo got him fired from the UN.
Did he? No.
He got himself fired - Abusing Russian soldiers, breaking UN guidelines.
And then he turned round and expected Jomo to back him? But Tom always did go too far, always had something to prove.
So he's just making stuff up? Lying to get back at you? And he's prepared to sabotage Unitas because of a grudge? Yes, and it's very hurtful, especially for Jomo.
All those years of working together.
But Tom's not the forgive-and-forget type.
That can't come as a surprise to you, Nikki? Slurs or not, they were enough for Clemence to get Reynolds' ear, the Health Secretary, no less, one of the few people who could press pause on your passport contract.
And now she's dead at the hands of professional assassins.
We know that you were summoned to the Department of Health two weeks ago.
Was it to discuss these allegations about your funding? Yes.
And we assured Alice that every penny would be accounted for and made public in due course.
That sounds like playing for time.
Some of our donors want to preserve their anonymity.
But you're confident Reynolds was reassured? Absolutely.
She wouldn't have attended our launch otherwise.
Well, according to her daughter, she didn't want to.
It was "the last thing she wanted to do".
And you're sure that the Health Secretary wasn't about to stop your health passport project? I'm sure.
Some of your questioning goes way beyond your remit, never mind, expertise.
Hang on a second.
You approached us in the first instance.
We've every right to ask our questions.
DOOR OPENS The Guardian want to do their piece on you.
Thanks, David.
DOOR CLOSES PHONE RINGS Hello.
DS CHALAL: Local CID just went to check on Daniel Clemence.
Found him in his London flat, bludgeoned to death.
That's my scene.
No-one touches anything.
CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS Local CID can't locate Tom Faulkner, but they do know he and Clemence shared a cab from Euston and stopped off at Tom's place for half an hour, kept the meter running, then got here at 2pm yesterday.
Evidence of multiple blows to the head.
Probably a heavy blunt object.
Looks like we're missing an ashtray of significant size.
CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS SIMONE: Yeah.
We are missing an ashtray.
That's Tom on his left? Yes.
Could be our murder weapon.
Spontaneous weapon suggests a spontaneous crime, right? Looks messy, certainly.
Quite a fight.
The killer's bound to have corresponding scratch marks, right? That should give us DNA.
POLICE OFFICER: Sarge.
Got a watch.
Got a long strand of grey hair caught in the clasp.
Smear of blood on the crown.
Maybe he was trying to get out.
Killer stops him.
Watch comes loose.
And then he's subdued with the ashtray.
But you'd expect to see blood spatter near the door, not over here.
Bloke in the flat below heard raised voices yesterday two men arguing.
One was definitely Clemence, the other unknown, but sounded like someone Clemence knew well.
I need an all-points for Tom Faulkner, Home Counties as well as Greater London.
Ports and airports, please.
There's a possibility Faulkner may be armed, so approach with caution.
So, if the fight started there, maybe it finished here.
Obviously, it's not the victim's it's too big and the wrong tread.
But I'm thinking shoe covering? Maybe it slipped off for a moment, leaving a partial imprint.
Explains why there's no other shoe prints.
Mm-hm.
Some mud here.
Could be from the sole of the boot.
So anything to report? No, nothing.
Don't tell me you've messed it up already.
Get to it.
Nice one.
DEVICE WHIRS DEVICE BEEPS LAPTOP BEEPS LAPTOP PINGS Oh, shit.
Tom? Something's very wrong here, Jack.
I just need more time.
- Is it Tom's blood? - Yes.
And skin.
Christ.
In the Paras he was assigned to covert operations.
Of course he was.
In and out without a trace.
On what planet does he leave this much evidence behind? You're asking the wrong questions and you bloody know it.
They're faking his blood now? Not just prints and DNA.
Blood.
Two murders, Nikki.
- The assassination of the Health - DOOR CLOSES - Morning.
- Morning.
HARRIS: So, you found Dan Clemence, then? The presence of bilateral periorbital haematomas and a fractured nose indicate a heavy, blunt-force assault.
The CT scan indicates a skull fracture involving the frontal bone on the left side which continues to the skull base, and there's intracranial haemorrhage associated with this.
I suspect this will prove to be the cause of death, unless anything else appears during the postmortem.
Bruising and swelling on the knuckle joint of the right little finger, possible offensive wound with what appears to be a split in the overlying skin.
And what looks like a splinter of glass in it.
Didn't see any broken glass at the scene.
There's discoid bruises on the shoulders, suggesting restraint marks.
He was held down, possibly while being bludgeoned.
How do you work that out? Matching clear spots in evenly distributed blood spray.
So, two assailants.
One pins him down, one wields the ashtray? Maybe trying to stage a spontaneous crime.
Using the ashtray played into that.
What about the blood under the fingernails? Running the prelim DNA stuff now.
- OK.
- Soon as we get the full profile, we'll spin it through the database.
FOOTSTEPS Hey.
Can I grab you for a sec? I ran the mud from this tread from Dan Clemence's flat through a mass spec.
There are high levels of tetraethyl lead, with is associated with avgas fuelling points.
Airports? Yeah.
Heathrow and City are the obvious candidates, and my money is on the former.
- Why? - Presence of copper beeches, bark and leaf fragments, in the mud.
Here are ten avgas fuelling points.
Three are abut a nature reserve, a common and a tract of woodland.
I also found traces of paint that is used to line football pitches, which pushes the common to the top of the pile.
Even if the killer did visit the common - and that's a big if, based on some what? Mud -then why does that help? - No reason to think they'll go back again.
- I want to check it out just to be thorough.
Take some samples.
Might find other evidence.
Big place.
I'll come along.
Divide and rule.
Got a DNA match.
The blood on the watch and the hair follicle snagged in its clasp.
Same female DNA.
Scored a match on the Elimination Database.
It's a retired Border Force officer called Mary Butcher.
She she now works as a security guard for a law firm off the Strand.
Our blonde-haired assassin with a dye job? No.
So where does she fit in? If we get a wriggle on, we can ask her.
Bloke was harassing one of our lawyers.
Making a scene.
So I showed him the door.
You're being a bit modest there, Mary.
OK.
Minor struggle.
Then he came to his senses.
- Struggle? - I grabbed him.
He lashed out, nicked me with his watch.
Which particular lawyer was he bothering? Sonia Karpov.
Did Dan Clemence do this? When Mary threw him out, he smashed it with his fist.
What did Clemence want, Ms Karpov? To talk about a man named Tom Faulkner and his relationship with my brother.
Go on.
He knew I'd bought multiple lawsuits against Faulkner and wanted to know why.
You're Andrei Karpov's sister? Sorry, who is Andrei Karpov? He led a Russian contingent who interfered in Ukrainian elections.
Allegedly! Faulkner led the UN detail who intercepted them.
But he overstepped the mark.
Faulkner assaulted my brother while he was in UN custody.
Andrei was a proud man.
He cared about reputation.
Maybe too much.
If Faulkner had just arrested him But beating him in front of his men, the humiliation When he got back to Moscow, he thought everyone was laughing at him and he started drinking.
He WAS a proud man? He took his own life last summer.
But he died the day Faulkner Tell us about your lawsuits against Tom Faulkner.
The UN offered me a deal.
They fired Faulkner and | settled for an apology from his boss, Jomo Mashaba.
My brother pinned everything on those suits.
He never forgave me for giving up and said as much in his suicide note.
Did you share this with Clemence? All of it, but he seemed disappointed.
In what way? I think he was hoping for something more incriminating.
Clemence had obviously fallen out with Faulkner and was looking for dirt.
When I said I couldn't help, he flipped.
Said Faulkner had got to me.
Crazy stuff.
And that's when I called security.
So, this pitch over here's the only one that's been painted recently.
- How recently? - Day before yesterday.
Must be weird, your ex cropping up in our case.
If weird's all it turns out to be, I'll take it.
Voila.
Copper beeches! Lots of shoe prints, none very distinct.
Yeah.
Not holding my breath for a match.
What would the assassins have been doing here? Nikki! Is that Tom? I'm going to catch him up.
You want to speak to him alone? I can get the truth out of him.
Please, Simone.
Thanks.
Tom? How did you find me? Dan Clemence is dead.
Take your shirt off.
Pathology evidence suggests that Dan's killer will bear significant scratches.
I'm not taking my fucking You did the postmortem.
I found your blood under his fingernails.
My blood? Thank you.
Were you followed here? Come on.
DOOR OPENS Go through.
- Do you want some water? - Thanks.
TAP RUNS Spaghetti hoops.
You craved spaghetti hoops.
Had me out looking for them at all hours.
I thought it was baked beans.
No.
Definitely spaghetti hoops.
Sam said something that you've always got something to prove.
Is that my fault? Was that my legacy to you? I'm sorry.
You don't want to listen to Sam Ryan.
I've had to share this with someone.
A colleague.
Jack.
For fuck's sake.
Nikki, can you trust him? Yes.
I can trust him to do what's right.
Take the DNA match to the police first thing.
Wait a minute, what about the 24 hours? We have to try to figure this out right now.
I will not drag Jack any deeper into this shit and I will not compromise him.
- I see.
- He's a good man.
God save us from good men.
He's more than a colleague.
That's none of your business, Tom.
Two ways out of this.
We prove who set you up, or we prove how they set you up.
I'm a scientist.
- Have you given blood lately? - No.
Have you been injured? Is there any way that someone could have come by stocks of your blood? - No.
- That's a bad start.
What about DNA? What if someone got hold of, I don't know, some saliva or hair? I ran genetic sequencing on the original sample.
I's a complete DNA sample, not a PCR copy.
- What does that mean? - There's no margin for error.
Shit.
The science is telling me you're guilty, in stereo.
How is this helping? Because if we can discount a processing error, - what's left? - Don't know.
Some kind of fabrication.
Someone faked my DNA? Let's just say, for the sake of argument, they have.
Who? How? - I don't know.
- Think.
- I don't know! - Who would want to set you up? Who has the motive and resources to do this? Dan and I we'd pretty much convinced Reynolds to press pause on Unitas getting on the contract.
No, I need facts, Tom.
Cold, provable facts.
- I'm giving you facts! - Not theories and grudges.
You don't think Unitas have motive and resources? They have both.
I know Jomo's dirty secrets.
I saw him securing financing months before he left the UN from the same regimes he was publicly decrying.
Can you prove any of this? - No.
- Cos it's not like you don't - have an axe to grind here.
- It's not about that.
And you said that Jomo threw you under the bus.
Well, he fucking did! And that's not the reason you're so down on Unitas? I'm down on them because health passporting is dangerous - and Orwellian.
- Albeit potentially life-saving.
And frankly, it stinks that they won't come clean about their funding.
When we dug around, Jomo shut us down with big shot lawyers.
Talk about a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
And who do you think was paying their fees? I don't know, Tom, and by the sounds of it, neither do you.
Can I see the photos from Dan's flat? - The crime scene photos? - I spent a lot of time there.
Maybe I'll notice if something's amiss.
We're both compromised now, Nikki.
What have we got to lose? I warned you.
You said he was pinned in the chair.
Blood evidence was pretty clear.
There was a final scuffle down here.
Killer left a boot-print on the wall.
So he somehow got out of the chair mid-beating? But why run into the corner, away from the exit? Someone with his training? - Jack? - Yeah.
Er, sounds like Clemence was having major doubts about Faulkner.
Yeah, I just saw him on Hounslow Heath.
He's with Nikki.
- Oh, hi.
- Hi.
Can I help you? Yes, I'm Nikki Alexander.
I'm the pathologist on this case.
This has just become an active scene again, so you can leave, and we'll let you know when you can get back in again.
- OK.
- Thanks.
She'll have a plan, Nikki.
She probably thought approaching him one-to-one - was a smart move.
- PHONE RINGS Right.
Yeah.
She said that.
Jack Hodgson.
DS CHALAL: It's Chalal.
Have you got any idea why Nikki went back to the Clemence scene and turfed out the clean-up crew? Dan was grabbed and assaulted in the chair.
He made it out, and things finished up down here.
I found carpet fibres under his nails.
And the boot-print on the wall is over there.
What were you up to, Dan? That lamp - was it there when you arrived on the scene? Yes, as far as I remember.
It's not where it usually is.
There's blood on the switch.
DOOR CLOSES - Jack! - Don't mind me.
Now, can we just be on our way? Or would you rather be found with the prime suspect? Do you hear me? Come on.
Now.
This is why he got out of the chair.
He was reaching for the light.
He did reach it.
So, Dan clawing at the carpet wasn't just a reflex action.
It was deliberate.
Nikki! Why did he want the light on? - Come on! - Camera.
I told Chalal DNA found is a match to you, which it is.
Jack! I asked you for a day.
You've had a day.
Thanks for the heads-up.
I said the kit we had in Liverpool was problematic, compatibility issues, so I retested.
I don't know if she believed me.
Nikki! I'm not bluffing.
It's a micro SD card.
There's the missing ashtray.
They've got to be Reynold's assassins.
Dan did reach the light switch.
She's planting evidence under his nails.
Where are you going? Tom, don't run.
This exonerates you.
But not for the shootings.
DNA doesn't lie, does it? Clearly, it does.
Good luck proving it.
No-one's going to want to believe the biggest gun in the forensic arsenal We can tie them to all three murders Reynolds, Hernandez, Clemence.
Great.
Except that could be me.
And even if I somehow prove it isn't, so what? - My fake DNA will bury me.
- He's right.
Go.
While you still can.
You were right about him.
DOOR CLOSES - What are you doing? - Sending this to Chalal.
We need to make this right.
Yeah.
OK, cool.
Chalal got a hit through Vigil for our woman.
She was at Euston yesterday.
Same credit card she used to tap into the tube was used to make a hotel reservation at Swiss Cottage.
- That's just around the corner.
- Yeah.
CAR ENGINE RUNS CAR ENGINE STOPS We were nearby, so we thought we'd hold the fort.
DS CHALAL: OK, good.
I'm just on my way and I'm calling for backup now.
What about Faulkner? Any luck? No sign of him.
SHE MOUTHS Martine, we've got eyes.
Are you sure it's them? Positive.
Looks like they're heading towards the tube.
What do you want us to do? Follow them.
They're heading southbound.
TYRES SCREECH We've got it.
Tracked your phones.
Thank God it was the Jubilee line.
- Where's the armed backup? - En route.
Stay here for your own safety.
That's Sonia Karpov.
OK.
The transfer has gone through to your account.
- Armed police! - Show your hands! Hands in the air! Now! Show your hands! Keep your hands high! CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS Interesting stuff on the assassins' camera.
What we looking at? An attempt at some kind of blood fabrication, I would say.
How do you fabricate blood? Definitely need to get back to you on that.
PHONE RINGS Sorry.
DS Chalal.
They were following Tom.
He was next.
The fall guy can't defend himself if he's dead.
They'll send someone else.
We need to warn him.
In the wrong light, that could look like perverting the course of justice.
JACK EXHALES SHARPLY In any light.
So how did you fake Tom Faulkner's DNA, Sonia? No comment.
You told us that Tom Faulkner humiliated your brother.
Andrei lost everything reputation, rank, dignity.
And after years of drinking, he put a gun in his mouth after saying some pretty nasty things about you in his suicide note.
I have a theory.
You wanted Faulkner dead.
But he had to suffer first.
That same slow-motion car crash, the same loss of reputation and self-worth.
All you needed was a plausible target.
To avenge your brother's death, you set up Tom Faulkner for the murder of the man who fired him Jomo Mashaba.
But Reynolds took the bullet meant for him.
You killed the Health Secretary by mistake.
No comment.
We've found the wire payment from you to the assassins.
You tried to bounce it through a few shell companies, of course, but not enough.
Early cooperation is the smart move here.
You found his DNA, Detective? Case closed.
Right? Sam thanks for coming at such short notice.
It's much appreciated.
No worries.
What's up? A complication.
An unexpected complication.
DNA was recovered from a cartridge left by the assassin.
That DNA belongs to Tom Faulkner.
No, that's not possible.
I'm sorry, Sam but there is another aspect to this.
Nikki Alexander? This makes her role in the case untenable.
She's a first-class scientist and, as I understand it, they've had no contact in years.
Sure.
Sure.
But the fact remains that Faulkner is still her ex-husband.
I brought her onto this, Oscar.
And I trust her.
And from a continuity-of-evidence angle, changing over a pathologist is a nightmare.
I hear you.
But Faulkner's connection to you and Jomo is also not without issue.
In what sense? The PM wants to press pause on the health passporting programme.
How long for exactly? Well, not until Faulkner's in custody at the earliest.
How sure are you about Faulkner? Unless someone's figured out how to fake DNA, we're very sure.
DNA doesn't lie.
Right? Right.
Hi.
Come in.
Is it strange being back here? SHE LAUGHS It was murder putting this place together.
Going out with the begging bowl, fighting for grants.
But | pushed on, saw it through.
Then you gave it all up.
My son needed me.
It was no contest.
What's up? I wanted to ask what you thought of the possibility of DNA fabrication.
Why would you ask me that? We found these in the killers' hotel room.
I think they're blood samples that were being manipulated to plant as evidence.
Let me show you the images we took when we were there.
What do you think? If DNA can be fabricated it's the end of forensic science as we know it.
I'm sorry, I can't help you.
The corporations you beat to win the passporting contract did they actually threaten you? They certainly let their feelings be known.
Why? If it's not them is it your backers, Sam? They're demanding their pound of flesh? You've been talking to Tom, haven't you? It was you who told me they turned Rosa.
Turned her and silenced her.
Sam? We'll speak again, Nikki.
Soon.
I've just been to the Lyell.
We need to meet.