City Homicide (2007) s01e08 Episode Script

Victims Of Crime

Cindy, we've been out here for hours.
Come on.
If you're going to go, go.
So I can get you home to your mother.
What's wrong now? Cindy! Cindy! You little mongrel.
Cindy! Cindy! I haven't got any money.
I'm just walking my wife's dog.
Look, I'm not even wearing a watch! Arggh! While you burn, think about what you did.
Homicide.
Detective Mapplethorpe.
Oh, me.
Listen, I'm going to be in late.
Can you please let Wolfie know? Oh, no, he's here.
You can tell him yourself.
I thought he was in a meeting.
It's cancelled.
I'll put you through.
No, no, no, it's OK.
It's OK.
Just tell him Can you tell him that I still have that thing to deal with and I won't be in until midday? Thanks, Jen.
See you.
Ah, Simon.
Sarge.
This address.
Suspicious death.
Matt's already on the way over there.
Thank you.
Sarge, Duncan just called.
He's still tied up with that thing.
He said he won't be in until lunch.
Where is he? Well, he didn't say.
I'll bet he didn't.
Ah, um Simon Do you reckon Duncan's in strife? Wolfie had him in his office yesterday - blinds were closed.
Where is he? Word is Claire's back.
They kissed and made up, I bet you.
And why would Wolfie have a problem with him getting back with Claire? Maybe thinks he's making up for lost time on the domestic front.
In fact, they're probably cosied up in the sack right now.
Bosh, bosh, bosh.
Oh, spare me the visual, Simon.
Cavalry.
No bugle? Oh, I left it in the car.
It's not required anyway.
Sorry but local D's can handle this one.
Natural causes.
Check it out.
Yeah, the evisceration was post-mortem, Detectives.
Heart attack.
From his muscle bulk, I wouldn't rule out steroids as a likely cause.
I'll let you know.
He was probably carving the chicken at the time, heart pops, falls on the electric carving knife, carving knife keeps right on carving all night, electronic harakiri.
Nasty.
Says something for being a vegetarian.
Detectives, you might want to see this.
So what's that? It's a funeral urn.
We found it on the shelf.
It's got ashes in it.
So he loved his mum and he couldn't bear to be parted from her.
He loved his whole family then.
Oh.
He has no family here.
He's a naturalised Australian.
No criminal record, a couple of minor driving offences.
His name is Dag Sigmundsen.
Dag? That's Swedish.
Right.
He's divorced.
How many times? He's got six urns.
Maybe he's sentimental.
Too sentimental - six is weird.
Where'd he get them? Well, could be easier than you think.
Guess where he works.
A crematorium.
That's terrible.
Dag has been with us for nearly four years.
He's reliable, hard-working.
No problems with him? No, none at all.
He was very quiet.
His main interest was the gym, I think.
You know, you'd catch yourself looking at the muscles.
He had access to this area? Ah, well, Dag was basically a cleaner, so he had access to the whole building.
The work areas, the chapel.
So it's possible he could've stolen ashes and taken them home.
Why would he want to do that? No remains have gone missing? No.
What's this all about? Well, to be honest with you, we're not really sure ourselves.
So, where do the caskets come in from? Ah, well, it gets put on a trolley, from the rear of the chapel over there, and then put onto the charge bier and sent into the furnace.
So the sinking coffin, the disappearance through the curtains that's just for show? It's a dignified exit.
We treat all our clients with respect here.
I wonder if "respect' includes stealing ashes and stashing them in your wardrobe.
Well, unless we can identify who's in those urns, there's nothing much we can do.
It's more like some bizarre sort of fetish, rather than murder.
Sarge? Oh, OK, well, that's good.
So we'll just come straight back.
OK.
We don't have to go looking for the ex-Mrs Sigmundsen.
Simon's interviewing her now.
An electric carving knife? Yeah.
Yeah, and a and a heart attack.
I'm sorry.
Sounds like Dag.
Loves his gadgets.
He was always accident prone.
We met at the gym.
I bench 70 k.
Really? I'm more into push-ups.
Tell me, did Dag have any dead rellies that he was particularly fond of? Not that I know of.
No odd behaviour? Yeah.
After he got beaten up, he got really weird.
That's why we divorced.
He got beaten up? Yeah.
He was moonlighting as a bouncer and three guys decided to see how tough he was.
He ended up in hospital for two months, nearly died.
Were they ever caught? Cops didn't have a clue.
No offence.
None taken.
He was never the same.
The fact that they were never punished really pissed him off.
Revenge.
There's a motive.
Slice them, dice them, roast them.
When you say She said three guys.
There are six urns.
He joined this victims-of-crime group over the Internet.
That's when he got really bad.
Started raving on about how the justice system had let him down and victims had no rights.
In the end it got way over the top.
Can you tell me the name of this victims-of-crime group? Not off-hand.
It'd still be on the Net, though, I guess.
Sigmundsen has a PC in his apartment.
I'll get the computer guys to pick it up.
So you've benched 70 k? Hang on, this just got interesting.
Where's Dunnie got to? Ah, Claire's back.
You were supposed to be here two hours ago.
I'm sorry, we don't work to your timetable, Freeman.
Too metrosexual for my liking, Jumbo.
You reckon? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on duty.
Checked, did you? Yeah.
One call to Wolfe, you're out of here, Freeman.
That happens, all bets are off.
We'll take our chances in court.
Is that right, Claire? You willing to cop it on the chin in court? You really want to go to jail? Superintendent, do you think riding her like this will help her do a better job? As long as she does as she's told, she'll be fine.
She'd better be, because if anything happens to her, I'm holding you responsible.
Oh, we estimate the operation will last between one and three days from when Zabor leaves the airport, so if you could pick out enough things for that time.
Can you do that? Sure.
What we'll do is we'll fit wireless transmitters to whatever outfit you pick out.
Tomorrow, we'll come here and we'll put bugs in the rest of this joint.
So that way you won't have to wear a body wire.
It'll be safer.
I still don't understand what it is that I'm expected to do.
Nothing.
That's the beauty of it.
You've just got to be yourself - act normal.
But if you're right about Zabor and if he's arranging to hand over drugs to someone, how am I supposed to know? I mean, I don't even know who it is that you're talking about.
The scumbag's name is Tony Keane.
Zabor's bringing the drugs in for him? Bulk fabric consignments.
Only thing we can't work out is exactly how they make the exchange.
Every time he gets back from one of his shopping trips OS, he meets up with Keane.
A month later, streets are flooded with crystal meth.
Zabor always has a party when he gets home and Keane always attends.
The only time they ever meet.
He always has the party at his house.
Now he's well, he's living here With Claire.
Look, you don't have to do anything.
You've just got to, you know, act normal.
Act natural, like Jumbo says, alright? Whatever Zabor wants, whatever he expects, you oblige, OK? So did Duncan turn up at all? Ah, no.
Not so far, Sarge.
Not so far.
The day is done.
What's happening with this character? Who is he? What is he? Freak.
There's no argument there.
But why was he collecting ashes? He was beaten up a few years ago.
Three attackers.
He nearly died.
They were never caught.
So what are you saying, that he identified them and now they occupy three of the urns? It was the theory.
I'm going through the old investigation notes now.
Checking out the possibilities on Sigmundsen's computer.
Apparently he was connected to some victims-of-crime mob on the Internet.
Well, when you find out who they are, talk to them.
I really need to understand why someone would keep charred human remains in his wardrobe.
Claire, since when did you start locking the bathroom door? Um, I'm I'm going to have a shower.
Listen, I've been thinking about what we should do.
Maybe we should just tell Jarvis to get stuffed.
I mean, you don't have to wear the wire.
We'll get a good enough lawyer who'll get you off on a suspended sentence.
I mean, this is your first offence, Claire.
You need character references for a first offence.
I can't do it.
Claire No.
I'm not going to let my parents stand and vouch for me in court or anyone else who knows them.
Come on, your folks love you, Claire.
They'll stand by you.
You're their daughter.
Duncan, it'll all come out.
The ice, the coke and everything.
I mean, you said you said yourself that there are no secrets.
And the press Come on, Claire.
Just open the door, please? My parents are so proud of me.
Their beautiful daughter.
This is about us.
It's about what happens from this point forward.
We can never get back to where we were.
Now, if I thought that, do you think I'd be here right now? Do you mean that? Don't shut me out.
Come on, Claire.
Open the door, please? I love you.
It's an outfit called Vigilance.
Spent half the night going through the site.
It's restricted access unless you're a subscriber.
But they do seem to be at what you might call the more vocal end of the self-help scale.
Ah.
He's dead? Well, that is the morgue photograph.
Dag Sigmundsen.
Swedish.
Did you ever meet him? No.
He used to be a member.
Used to be? He's on our blacklist.
A victims-of-crime organisation has a blacklist? You have a charter, you often end up with a blacklist.
Dag was too radical, too outspoken.
He advocated direct action, you know, make you guys in the government sit up and take notice.
Eventually, we had to block him from our chat room.
So you don't advocate revenge, retaliation? We advocate keeping one eye on the criminal and another eye out for each other.
Vigilance, not vigilantes, Detective.
Can you tell us anything about Sigmundsen? He posted these on the site.
We don't encourage it.
What do you encourage? Mutual support.
We talk on the Net.
About what? What's happened to us.
How we've been failed.
It's salt in the wounds for people to constantly see the justice system giving preferential treatment to the criminals.
Light sentences, sometimes no sentence at all.
Tell us about it.
It helps to know there are people out there who understand, who can sympathise with what you're going through.
Sigmundsen was beaten.
Did he He wasn't beaten up.
He was almost killed.
His life was never the same.
Did he ever find out who was responsible? How? You guys never did.
According to Dag, you decided he was probably some kind of Muscle Mary and deserved it.
We're going to need names and addresses of all your members, Ms Johnson.
That's confidential.
Oh, we can get a warrant.
Get one.
We'll fight it in the courts and in the media.
Victims of crime are just another minority group in society.
No rights.
That's what this group is about.
We lobby to change that.
So the last thing I'm going to let you do is come in here and disrupt our lives any more than they already have been.
Was there anything else? Things got complicated.
Sorry.
Look, I'm due for some rec leave, take it out of that.
Yeah, I will, but what I won't do, Duncan, is tell you again, leave Claire's mess to the drug squad.
Is that what got complicated yesterday? Jarvis and one of his DS's came to Claire's place to brief her about the operation.
I couldn't just leave her there to deal with all of that by herself.
Alright.
You've got Claire through this far.
Good.
Now you're here, do your job unless you want another flag on your file.
Yeah? Sorry, the report on the urns just came through.
One of them contained canine remains as well as human.
I checked with Missing Persons.
A man named Leon Bernstein disappeared three months ago walking his wife's dog.
You called the police at four o'clock in the morning, Mrs Bernstein.
Five hours after your husband didn't come home from walking the dog.
If I could walk the dog, I'd walk the dog.
You should see my bone scans.
So, he doesn't come back, I'm lying there awake all night.
Where is she? She? Cindy, my Maltese terrier.
So you called the police because you were worried about your dog? She's a Maltese - clever, almost human.
What about your husband? Leon? He's too clever for his own good.
No, I mean, you weren't worried about your husband? Of course I was worried about him.
What do you think happened to your husband, Mrs Bernstein? I mean, could he be living somewhere else or? Dead? Maybe.
Maybe he just took her to spite me.
Whatever the case, I'm glad he's gone.
Any particular reason for that? When I was young, my parents always said to me, "Rebecca," they said to me, "if you are guilty, you must face the music.
" When Leon couldn't do that, I lost all respect for him.
In what way was he guilty, Mrs Bernstein? Look in your files, or whatever you call them.
Years ago, late one night, a young couple, Leon knocks them down while driving home drunk.
So no big surprise, Leon was always driving home drunk.
A hit-and-run? Exactly.
Everyone knew he was responsible.
But he was a lawyer.
He knew how to manipulate the system.
He didn't even go to prison.
Guess what.
The Dunnie's working again.
Getting up to speed on things.
Just give me a couple of minutes.
The hit-and-run that Leon Bernstein was involved in four years ago, general consensus was a guilty man walked.
Who were the victims? James and Wendy Bradwell.
She died at the scene, but he survived with severe injuries.
Bradwell.
I guess we should speak to him.
See if he's into Vigilance too.
Sit.
Otherwise I get a stiff neck.
So, Leon Bernstein is dead? Can't say I'm upset.
Well, that's understandable, Mr Bradwell.
That's why we need to know where you were on July 18.
Why? It's when Leon Bernstein disappeared.
And you think I'm responsible? Hotwheels.
Because of the chair, yeah? Obviously.
Yeah, please don't touch.
Sorry.
Look, I don't know how I can help you.
It was a hit-and-run accident.
My wife is luckier than I was - she was killed.
End of story.
You ever heard of an organisation called Vigilance, Mr Bradwell? Vigilance? No, I can't say I have.
When was the last time you saw Leon Bernstein? In the courtroom when he won the case.
Smug beyond belief.
I wanted to kill him but I didn't.
This came through from Missing Persons.
It might be something, it might be nothing.
Two nights ago, a character by the name of Malcolm Street disappeared.
And what's that got to do with us? Well, interestingly enough, a few years back, Street and a mate named Gary Kovacevic were arrested for rape.
Charges were dismissed in court unproved.
Apparently, it was their word against the victim's.
One Michelle Johnson.
Michelle Johnson? The girl from Vigilance.
They never went to prison? Just like Leon Bernstein never did time for his hit-and-run on James Bradwell and his wife.
OK, but the mix of canine ashes makes it pretty clear that Dag Sigmundsen killed Leon Bernstein.
Now Sigmundsen's on a slab in the morgue.
He can't be responsible for this Malcolm Street character.
Well, maybe Sigmundsen had a partner who is still out there.
I haven't seen Malcolm Street in yonks.
After what happened, I couldn't get away fast enough.
So the rape was all Malcolm, was it? You were just an innocent bystander? Yes.
Malcolm's a lunatic.
If he lives till he's 30, I'll be surprised.
And the charges were dismissed.
There was there was no rape.
Well, we think there was.
We also think the disappearance of your mate had something to do with it.
Have you had anyone following you around lately? Any sense that maybe you're being watched? What, do you mean like I'm being stalked or something? Something like that.
Why would anyone want to give me trouble? That court case was years ago.
We were kids.
And it wasn't me, it was him.
I I stay away from people like Malcolm now.
Freeman.
I've turned my life around, haven't I? Is that right? Bet Michelle Johnson would love to be able to do that too.
'Bye.
Let's go.
Two nights ago I was working.
Why? Can anyone verify that? No.
We can't afford that many staff.
I was on my own.
Why? Do you know a James Bradwell? I don't think so.
Could he be a member of your organisation? I can look it up for you.
Thanks.
What about the name Malcolm Street? Yes, I know that name.
He raped me.
Him and Gary Kovacevic.
Not that anyone believed me.
In court, I was the one treated like a criminal - I must've led them on.
The "uncovered meat' theory.
Street has disappeared.
We have reason to believe he may have been murdered.
You people are unbelievable.
It took me nearly 18 months to even get a court hearing on my rape, and two days after that slime disappears, you're on the case? Un-bloody-believable! Why are the criminals always being looked out for? What about the victims? Ms Johnson, we're If you're telling me that Malcolm Street is dead, then I will be honest with you, I could not be more delighted.
He was an animal.
They both were.
And if you're asking me if I killed him, I didn't.
But I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, I wish I had.
I wish I had.
This Sigmundsen investigation, has it got legs or are we better putting our resources into something else? Given that our main suspect's already dead, Sarge, I don't see where's left to go with it.
What about Malcolm Street's disappearance? Takes us nowhere.
Malcolm Street's been in trouble since he could crawl.
Lots of juvie offences, then after the rape, he picked up pace - assault, possession with intent.
He's currently out on bail - firearms charges.
He's due in court next week.
So, what, do you think he's absconded? It's a big possibility considering his form, he's looking at prison time.
OK.
So we've identified the dog walker.
What about Sigmundsen's other five urns - who were they? Can't see how we're ever going to find that out, Sarge.
Write up what we've got.
I will show it to the Superintendent.
She can make the final call.
Duncan, you're with me.
Have you heard from Superintendent Jarvis? Got a call earlier.
The operation kicks off tomorrow.
Zabor gets back into the country mid-morning.
What about Claire? How's she holding up? She'll do what she has to.
You're you're going to need some personal time.
I'm taking Claire into the drug squad, first thing.
Take all the time you need.
But leave the operation to them.
Yes, Sarge.
Do the others know about this? No.
Maybe you should tell them.
You might find it helps.
How long's this been going on? A few days.
This is the first time you mention it? What difference does it make? I just don't see why you feel you have to carry it all by yourself, mate.
Simon, give him a break.
Bloody Jarvis, eh? I wouldn't trust him as far as I could spit a rat.
Gee, that's helpful.
Claire doesn't have a record, does she? Of course not.
So it's her first offence.
How much was she carrying? Enough for a trafficking charge.
Still, it's a first offence.
Simon said that she's got wealthy parents.
They only own half of Perth.
If the right people stand up for her in court, she'll be fine.
That's not an option.
She's right, man.
Why not? She can afford the best.
Because she doesn't want it all coming out.
To embarrass them.
Look, I tried talking to her.
She won't listen.
What are you going to do? That bitch.
What? She roots around on him and digs herself into a hole, then she expects him to come and dig her out.
If I were him, I'd tell her to take a hike.
The high moral ground.
That's a bit rich for someone who spent several months shagging his colleague's wife.
Who told you that? Didn't need telling.
Everybody knew.
You look like you could use a drink.
Ah, excuse me Oh, stuff it.
What's this? Oh, it's takeaway, but I set the table.
I just I want to make the most of tonight.
Claire No, I know, it's gonna be fine.
I just I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it.
Just not tonight.
Yep, and there, darl, there.
Covering your arse, Jarvis? The department's arse, Freeman.
Great.
Boss, we better go.
Zabor's plane is getting in early.
Oh, bugger.
Alright.
That's it.
Say your goodbyes.
Hey, hang on! Hang on! We've really got to go.
Claire's got to be with Zabor from the moment he arrives.
Remember what we said last night? Yeah.
Our future.
Think about it all the time.
Stay strong.
Now, now, now, now! I'm sorry.
Couldn't help noticing, darling when you were signing the old indemnity form You've got to come across calm, love.
Blind eye, eh? Whatever it takes.
Come on.
Present for you.
I put in some overtime on the Sigmundsen thing.
Mostly code busting.
Wow.
I ran into some pretty interesting email files on the big guy's computer.
This really deserves a drink.
Possibly dinner.
Actually, um Matt's handling the paperwork on this one.
Sarge, has the Dag Sigmundsen report gone up to the superintendent yet? No, not as yet.
Why? Something's come up.
Sigmundsen was in regular contact with James Bradwell.
The guy in the wheelchair.
In contact, how? Our computer bloke managed to get into some cached email files.
Check it out.
It's all there.
Bradwell is a zealot.
Hotwheels - vigilante in a wheelchair.
He meets Dag Sigmundsen through Vigilance, sucks him into his own personal plans, I mean, not hard - Sigmundsen's got an axe to grind too.
He becomes the muscle, Bradwell was the brains.
So Dag Sigmundsen killed the dog walker for James Bradwell? He sits there in his chair, cruising the Internet for desperate victims of crime, then sends his man out to bring justice to the people.
It's all there.
It was in code, apparently.
Mmm.
All that's missing are the skull rings.
They've killed Bernstein and at least five more.
If Sigmundsen hadn't had a heart attack, they'd probably still be at it.
Maybe they are.
A new partner? Maybe.
Maybe James Bradwell can tell us not only who occupies the other five urns, but where Malcolm Street is and who put him there.
Pick him up and his computer.
I'll organise a warrant.
Any word from Duncan? Nothing yet, Sarge.
Thank you.
I'll get that.
Thank you.
Why aren't I surprised? What'd you expect me to do? Sit on the sidelines? Yeah, that's exactly what we expect you to do.
You're not part of this operation.
Mate, is she really worth your job? Yes.
So you can go and tell Jarvis I don't give a shit! Right answer.
Which is why I won't call him.
But he's going to be here soon, so you better get lost.
Here My personal mobile.
You can check in for updates.
Thanks.
I appreciate that.
Don't worry.
I'll look after her.
Now, disappear.
That's Gary Kovacevic's van, Bradwell's next target.
Open up! Police! Down here! Hey! Two more minutes.
You better buy yourself a lottery ticket, mate.
Be the luckiest day of your life.
Does the name Dag Sigmundsen mean anything to you? Dag.
I'd say he got to me.
What did he do? He was collecting the ashes in the urns.
You mean he jeopardised this whole thing for trophies? Idiot.
We'd only just started.
Do you know how many others there are still out there? Like Gary Kovacevic? Now, you were trying to murder him, right? Execute.
It was an execution.
Yes.
But how did you jump him? Because I didn't think you could get out of that chair.
I still have some movement.
I wish I'd had more.
Did you kill this man too? Yes, I did.
His name's Malcolm Street.
OK.
Duncan.
So Malcolm Street's dead.
And he was guilty of what? What's going on? He and Kovacevic raped a young woman named Michelle Johnson.
They got off.
Maybe because they were innocent.
They were guilty! I know.
Just like I knew Leon Bernstein killed my wife and crippled me.
You should've let me drown him.
Now Sigmundsen's dead, you don't have access to the furnace.
So if you did kill Street, what did you do with his body? That's for you to find out, Detective.
And the other five urns, who's in those? More of the same.
People that didn't deserve to be walking the streets.
Names? You'll find them on my computer.
I'm sure the families of their victims will be pleased to know they're dead.
In the end it's what we all want, isn't it? Revenge? Retribution? I see a psychiatric evaluation coming up.
He seems scarily sane to me.
Stanley I need to see you in my office.
And Detective Freeman too.
We're not absolutely sure what happened at this stage.
There was supposed to be a party.
A Detective Jumbo Jumbo Watson.
He's a Detective Sergeant.
Yes, that's right, Detective Sergeant Watson was on surveillance.
The target, Tony Keane, arrived early with muscle.
Watson thought something was wrong, he went in.
He was also killed.
And Claire? How? I believe it was Keane who shot Claire.
I'm so sorry, Detective Freeman.
She died on the way to hospital.
ESD are already looking into it and there'll be an external inquiry too, of course.
Where's Tony Keane? Injured in custody.
I want to see Claire.
I'll come with you.
No.
I've got friends.
One of them can take me.
Thanks, ma'am.
You didn't tell me they were coming.
Hey, settle down, OK, Freeman? We both What are you doing, mate? Get back.
You just stuffed your whole world, son! Superintendent, it's been a very emotional day.
Maybe you should Shut up, Detective.
I'll have you.
I'll have you! Alright, Mattie.
I'm going inside.
By myself.
? Dear long-forgotten friend ? The time that we spent together ? I know it had to end ? But we could have ended it better ? I hope you found the place where dreams get built ? Only you know what it cost and what it was all for ? I saw our love turn into pain and guilt ? Dead flowers on the floor ? Love went away so soon ? I saw we could all be hateful ? Howling at the moon ? But somehow I still feel grateful ? I hope you found the place where dreams get built ? Only you know what it cost and what it was all for ? I saw our love turn into pain and guilt ? Dead flowers on the floor ? Dead flowers on the floor.
?
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