New Tricks s01e06 Episode Script

Talking to the Dead

I'm sensing a passing over in tragic circumstances.
Can you accept this? - Yes.
- There's a connection, but it's not by blood.
Will you accept this? Yes, it could be my wife.
Just a minute.
(CLEARS THROAT) Yeah.
Who are you, please? Is it Mary? Is your name Mary? No.
It's not Mary, it's a girl.
- A girl? - The girl's .
.
a young woman.
She's standing behind you.
CCarol.
Carolyn.
Carina Stoll.
These might not make much sense now, but they might do later.
Note them down.
I don't know anyone of that name.
Forget her.
Concentrate on Mary.
I told you, it's not Mary.
She's telling me she was very thin by the end, like a skeleton.
Who is she? What does she want with me? She wants me to tell you that she passed before her time and Yeah.
Yeah, I know, I know, love.
And that she's so very sorry.
Sorry for what? She's saying to me .
.
for everything.
T's all rIGHT, IT's OK DOesN'T really maTTer If yOu're Old aNd grey T's all rIGHT, say, IT's OK LIsTeN TO wHaT say T's all rIGHT, dOINg fINe DOesN'T really maTTer If THe suN dON'T sHINe T's all rIGHT, say, IT's OK We're geTTINg TO THe eNd Of THe day,,, A 17-year-old girl from a well-to-do family disappears.
Three months later, she turns up emaciated and dead in a transport container.
No suspects, no motives, nothing.
Can you imagine starving to death in one of these? Your cries aren't heard, you're pummelling on the doors Jack, how much sleep have you had? - Never mind.
Did you read the case notes? - I did.
- And? Interesting? - Yes, I think it's interesting.
- So we'll investigate? - Jack, where did you get this case? That's not important.
The important thing is It is important - if we're gonna run with it, I need to know.
- If I told you, you wouldn't believe me.
- Try me.
I went to see a clairvoyant.
What? I was hoping to contact Mary.
And this young fella started to talk to someone, a girl.
She gave him a list of names and I wrote them down.
I tried to put it out of my mind but my curiosity gets the better of me.
I went into the office after hours and typed the names into the unsolved crimes database.
Time after time, the computer told me there was no match for any of the names.
Then I asked it to tell me the nearest match to each name.
And every single time it came up the same.
- Caroline Stillman.
- I type in Caroline Stillman .
.
and here we are.
There.
That should do it.
- Oh, bloody hell.
- It's brass monkeys in here.
I've called Maintenance three times.
They just say they're looking into it.
No, I'm looking into it, Clarky.
All they're doing is looking into looking into it.
- This is a new case? - A memo from Human Resources.
Come on, Brian.
It can be done.
Here, here, listen to this.
''All the constituents of UCOS over the age of 50 ''are requested to undergo routine physical and psychological evaluation ''on the 15th of the month ''to ensure compliance and capability ''to operate within the parameters of their defining role.
'' - They're taking the piss.
- Not yet, but they certainly will be.
Cor blimey.
How else do we find our cases? A scrap of evidence comes to light, someone steps out of the shadows - it's all the past somehow drawing attention to an injustice.
Somehow, Jack, you were given this case by a clairvoyant.
What do I say to Brian and Gerry? ''Good morning, Brian, good morning, Gerry, here's the next case, gather round.
'' You said yourself it was interesting.
We've got the girl's clothes to test for DNA.
Why don't we just start and see where it leads? Caroline Stillman, 17-year-old daughter of a family of jewellers with premises in Hatton Garden.
She disappeared in February 1982.
The first idea was that she'd just run away, then they thought it might be a kidnapping.
What do all these blacked-out passages in the notes indicate? - We'll be working on that.
- Obviously done after the event by someone who didn't want certain aspects of the case to come to light.
- Could be classified.
- Or someone wanted to protect a source, though you'd only have to black out the source's name.
This is far more extensive.
When, after two weeks, no ransom demand was received, the original team decided it was an abduction.
But, despite numerous appeals, the police received nothing.
The body was found by chance three months later in a shipping yard, locked in a container.
Talk about reopening a case with one hand tied behind your back.
Erwhy are we reopening the case anyway? Jack? Well, Division was having an archive review and this cropped up.
The girl's clothes could be tested for DNA.
- DNA will be our biggest lead.
Questions? - Yeah.
- This evaluation on the 15th - Is compulsory and completely routine.
There's nothing completely routine about it.
''All constituents of UCOS over 50.
'' Someone thinks we're surplus to requirements.
I meant, any other questions for this case? No? OK.
Brian, Jack, go and see Caroline's sister.
Gerry, I'd like you to find members of the original team still Please don't say ''alive''.
It's so depressing when you say ''alive''.
Still around.
(BRIAN) She's not exactly keen to say hello.
(JACK) I expect she's got her reasons.
Hey up.
Visors down, truncheons at the ready.
(JACK) Leave her to me.
- Miss Stillman.
- I'm sorry, gentlemen, you wish to discuss a chapter in my life which is closed.
Even if it means finding your sister's killer? - Will it bring her back? - Well, no, but Or my father? He had a stroke two years after Caroline was found.
- Look, Miss Stillman - Or my mother, who passed away last year, heartbroken for two decades.
The last thing we want to do is to upset you.
You should have thought about that before you came barging in here.
Miss Stillman, I know what it's like to lose someone in violent circumstances, but no matter how painful, we have a duty to the truth.
I'm sorry.
How dare you appear from nowhere and proceed to lecture me? No one's lecturing you, Miss Stillman.
My life has moved on.
Please, don't come here again.
I said leave her to me.
You're the maintenance man, aren't you? Yes.
Well, some promise of maintenance, however slight, is really a minimum requirement of your job, wouldn't you say? - (PHONE CRASHES DOWN) - Well done, Clarky.
- Everything OK, Gerry? - Yeah, yeah.
I'm just thinking.
Always encouraging.
I've got a daughter the same age as Caroline was when she died.
And I can't imagine what I'd be like if anything happened to her.
You see, with kidsor grandchildren! Huh! You welcome them into the world as best you can and all you can do is cross your fingers and hope they get a lucky ticket on the way in.
Yeah.
OK.
Catch you later.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know there's no guarantees I'll make contact? I don't control who comes through.
I've had clients who've become angry when they've not got what they wanted.
It's unfortunate, but that's why I've had to adopt a policy of payment in advance.
- 50? - Mm.
You're paying for my time, though my gift, such as it is, is free of charge.
Well, I appreciate your honesty, so let me be straight with you.
My sister died 20 years ago in horrible circumstances.
- OK.
Don't feel obliged to give me her name.
- No, I want to make it easier for you.
Her name was Caroline.
Caroline Stillman.
All right.
Well, let's see who's about.
- Do I have to close my eyes? - No.
- Odd.
- What? I'm not getting anything.
She was abducted and left to die in a horrible way.
And the person who did it was never caught.
Please help me.
(SIGHS) Sometimes the channel gets blocked.
I'm sorry.
Call me if you want to try again.
Just let yourself out when you're ready.
Thank you.
Cheers.
So this erm this physical and psychological evaluation my boys are undertaking the day after tomorrow.
- Yes, what about it? - Well, they suspect that it might be someone trying to get at UCOS, perhaps even close it down completely.
Your clear-up rate is embarrassing some people, Sandra.
Your success now questions their competence then.
I mean, to review some of the cases you've cracked, you've put Special Branch's nose out of joint by revealing they had a mole inside New Labour, you exposed police racism, very nearly destroyed a prestigious golf club, ruining the reputation of a war hero into the bargain.
Some Establishment toes are feeling distinctly stepped upon.
Not my problem.
You never were very good at the politics, Sandra.
With all due respect, that's like criticising someone for not being a very good arsehole.
These tests are entirely routine.
What I want you to focus on is that, while UCOS has caused concern in some quarters, for you, personally, it's done no harm in others.
Sir? The consensus is that you should be back in the premiership where you belong.
They want you in Undercover Operations.
SO10.
Mary, have you any idea how frustrating it is having these endless conversations with myself? Is it too much to ask for you to give me a sign to say that you'd actually heard me? A light bulb flickering when I look at your photo, a rap on your side of the table when I sit down to eat.
It's not like I'm asking for ornaments flying across the room.
I just cannot understand how someone I've never met contacts me and you can't.
If you could find something - some thing - that only I would know came from you.
Or some hint of a name of whoever it was did this thing - I could work it out.
I am, after all, a detective.
Was.
That looks interesting.
Forensics recovered the blacked-out material.
Oh! Let me warm up first, Clarky.
Tell you what would help.
Nice cuppa, two sugars.
- But, sir - As a one-off, a favour to an ageing colleague whose old arthritic bones, dilapidated constitution - and shrinking muscles - All right, sir.
A one-off cup of tea.
Thank you.
Oh, and a biscuit.
Anything chocolate.
Yes, sir.
- Jack.
- Morning.
I checked out your clairvoyant yesterday.
Christopher Wells.
- And? - I posed as Caroline's sister and kept dropping her name to see if he knew anything - not a flicker.
Even gave me my money back.
- I gather it didn't go too well with the sister.
- She's put it all behind her, moved on.
- Maybe it's the best way to go.
- Best for who? The only chocolate-related biscuits I could find were Bourbons.
Hang on! I thought we had an understanding, not using Clarky as a tea boy.
- It's just a one-off.
- Make it a two-off, I'm parched.
Make it a three-off.
Coffee, please.
Whoa! Chocolate biscuits.
Here, get us a cup of tea, son.
(LAMP BUZZING) (BRIAN) It's freezing in here.
- So, Sarah Stillman doesn't want - (BANGING) - Do you mind? - Sorry.
Sarah Stillman doesn't want to cooperate.
Well, that's her prerogative.
We have to respect that for the time being.
Anyway.
Clarky? In the early '80s, case reports were still typed up on typewriters, with each key leaving a physical imprint on the paper, along with the ink.
When these passages were blacked out, you couldn't read the printed words, but modern scanning techniques are able to read the pressure indents - and have recreated the text in the originals.
- So what was blacked out, then? All reference to the involvement in the original investigation of a young medium.
- You're kidding? - He's now an internet clairvoyant.
Log on, download tarot readings, horoscope texts sent directly to your mobile, that sort of thing.
Why was he involved in the investigation? We all know what happens when children go missing, Sandra.
Shoals of weirdy-beardies come out of the woodwork and clog up everything.
The original team dismissed all the oddballs who came forward, except for Lombard.
- Why not him? - According to the notes, he volunteered information about Caroline he couldn't possibly have known.
A birthmark on her scalp, beyond the hairline.
- He might have seen it sometime before.
- Or during the abduction itself.
Or, as he claimed, he could've got the information through genuine clairvoyance.
- There's no such thing! - (LIGHT BUZZES) Lombard, naturally, fell under suspicion.
He maintained that he received the information as Mr Halford suggested.
- No one could prove otherwise.
- He was young at the time.
How young? OK.
So while we wait for the DNA results on Caroline's clothes, why don't you two go and visit Mr Lombard? - Somebody's making money out of the web.
- Maybe he's earned it.
You don't seriously entertain the possibility that this Lombard's genuinely psychic, do you? Who knows everything, Brian? You? (OPERA PLAYING) Copy of the original death mask of the great Russian writer Turgenev.
Look at the serenity with which he faced eternity.
It's possibly my favourite piece.
- Martin Lombard.
- Ex-Detective Inspector Brian Lane.
And this is my colleague.
Ex-Detective Chief Superintendent Jack Halford.
- Ex? - Post retirement.
We were drafted back to a special unit investigating unsolved cases.
That must've taken some squaring with your wife.
- My wife? - Mm.
Now she thinks she's got you to herself and has handed you a list of jobs, off you go back to work.
She's no longer with us.
My condolences.
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude.
You haven't.
I see a great deal of anger at her passing, much of it unresolved.
This is all very interesting, but we didn't drive out to the Home Counties - to discuss my colleague's situation.
- My apologies.
So you have an unsolved crime that you'd like me to help you with.
Tell me, how did you find me? Was it my website? We found you on the files of the Caroline Stillman case.
Caroline Stillman.
Let me turn this off.
- (MUSIC STOPS) - This is a fabulous house, Mr Lombard.
- All through clairvoyance? - Yes, well, people need to be in touch with their spiritual side and I step into the void once filled by religion and help them express that need.
At a nominal cost, of course.
If you need to speak to your dead, I, too, have to live.
Can I ask you why you've reopened this case? We're not at liberty to say.
You gained credibility with the original investigation by claiming to know about a birthmark on Caroline's head.
Yes.
Yes, well, I felt the need to come forward because I had information which I thought might lead to Caroline being found.
When I mentioned a birthmark, it seemed to give me the necessary credibility.
Can I ask you how you came by that information, Mr Lombard? As I said to the detectives at the time, how else but by clairvoyance? How else indeed? He's our man, Jack.
- Fraudulence rises off him like fumes.
- How come he knew about Mary? - Jack! - The unresolved nature of her death.
Because he read you like a book, man.
Didn't you see his eyes hoovering up the evidence? Your wedding ring, your body language, the little looks between us.
To the trained eye, it was a bloody road map.
Why are you so threatened by the possibility that he can do as he claims? He knew about Caroline's birthmark because he somehow saw it or heard about it.
And how do I know? The same way I know that Santa Claus was me dad in a bad suit and the tooth fairy, me mother in her dressing gown and slippers.
If there's DNA on Caroline's clothes that isn't hers, I know where I'm putting my money.
Thank you for responding so swiftly to our inquiry, sir.
I was intrigued to receive your email.
In the original case notes, - why were all the? - References to Martin Lombard crossed out? Because I crossed them out.
Allowing a clairvoyant to be involved was something I was never happy with.
My guv'nor at the time was a religious man who believed Lombard could help us.
- You didn't? - And if you look at his contribution, you'll see I was proved right.
The longer the case went on, the more convinced most of us became that Martin Lombard was involved in Caroline's abduction.
By the time we voiced these suspicions, my boss had allowed him too much access to the investigation.
We knew we wouldn't have been able to prove a thing.
I couldn't remove myself from the record of what I thought was a catastrophic cock-up, but I could remove Lombard.
Of course, all of this was before DNA technique had evolved.
- Caroline's clothes are with Forensics now.
- Rest assured, Bob, Detective Superintendent Pullman is not in the business of embarrassing senior officers.
I hear you're being linked to the SO10 job.
An officer at that level will be expected to demonstrate a firm grasp of the politics involved in such a senior position.
SO10 is a completely different world to UCOS.
The villains are still out there, just waiting to be caught.
Including Martin Lombard.
If you're right.
If we couldn't break him back then with a crack squad, I fail to see how you will now with Dad's Army.
- We're setting great store on the DNA.
- Of course you are.
Now, you'll have to excuse me, I'm afraid.
My car's downstairs.
Lunch with the Home Secretary.
It's a pain but it's got to be done.
Good to meet the woman behind the name.
I look forward to following the resurrection of your career with great interest.
- Thank you, Donald.
- Thank you, sir.
- Where did you find this case? - Well, I Wherever you found it, I suggest you put it straight back.
I've worked bloody hard to get you a chance to put UCOS behind you and move on.
For both our sakes, don't screw it up.
- You are kidding me.
- Just came in ten minutes ago.
- Nothing? - It's why the lab took so long.
They checked everything twice.
Shit! What a bloody cock-up.
So we've got no further than the original team.
It's like one of them pointless remakes of an old classic.
It doesn't exactly help to be warned off by the Assistant Deputy Commissioner, does it? All right.
Let's have a show of hands.
Based on what we know so far, who believes that Lombard is our man? But if he is, why isn't his DNA on Caroline's clothes? No evidence, no support from the family - what are we gonna do? I know.
Get a round in.
Should you be drinking so much, with your evaluation tomorrow? - Oh, bugger the evaluation.
- Yeah, sideways.
- Same again? - Ersparkling.
If this evaluation is someone trying to close down the unit, then not taking it seriously is doing it for them.
- You said the tests were routine.
- They are.
If the evaluation isn't about closing the unit, how can not taking them seriously be doing it for them? Listen to yourselves! These are routine tests, there is no conspiracy.
Well, I'm going home.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Just ermdo your best, that's all anyone expects.
- Good luck! Goodnight.
- Goodnight.
Dodgy case, doctored evidence, quiet words from on high, surprise evaluations.
Broken air conditioning making the office an impossible place to work.
If this isn't a conspiracy to close us, JFK was killed in the conservatory by Colonel Mustard with a length of bloody lead pipe.
(MELLOW MUSIC) Now, when you said you were gonna do dinner, I didn't realise you were just gonna order in a couple of pizzas.
Anyone can order pizza.
Choosing the right pizza, now, that takes a lot of thought.
Anchovies with ham, pineapple, spicy chicken, tuna, mushrooms - I think that anyone less generous than me would say that you hadn't got a clue what I liked and just panicked.
Yeah.
And someone more generous might say I just wanted to give you everything I could.
- You always say all the things I want to hear.
- Mm.
Do you want me to say that you should take this SO10 job? Wellit would put me back on track, career-wise.
- Mm.
True.
- And let's face it, the time I'm spending with the not-so-golden oldies is becoming increasingly bizarre.
- Also true.
- I mean, Christ, Greg, I'm working on a case that Jack brought us from a clairvoyant.
And against the express wishes of a senior officer.
If I continue, it's tantamount to professional suicide.
If I don't, Caroline's murderer could walk free.
So what happens if you give up UCOS? Well, I suppose the new job would inevitably put me under a lot more pressure and ermtake up more of my time.
Not to mention taking over your life.
What are you saying? Just that every inch up the slippery pole comes with a price and the question is, is it a price you still want to pay? Do you want coffee? - Are you making it yourself? - I thought I'd have a stab.
- Blimey, I'm impressed.
- You haven't tasted it yet.
Is that it? I don't want to confuse them into thinking Carl Lewis has just walked in.
Taking the piss won't make it go away.
At least I'll retain my dignity.
I wish you'd stop doing that.
You're making me seasick.
- Where's Gerry? - I haven't the faintest idea.
- What's yours? - Beta blockers.
Amphetamines.
Down the hatch.
Mm.
Oh! Look at you.
The first male child in the family.
Ah! He's absolutely gorgeous.
- He's definitely got your ears.
- Ah! Do you think so? - Don't they go well together? - He's not a clutch bag.
- You know what I mean! - Yeah.
Can I? - So what are you gonna call him? - Hello, mate.
Hello.
You know, when Paula first told me she was pregnant, I was er.
well, I was a bit negative about it, really, wasn't I, love? But I've seen a lot of bad things happening to nice people and well, it taints the way you look at the world, but Oh, blimey.
(LAUGHS) I mean, holding this beautiful little bloke and all of you around, it's Well, suddenly, I can only think of the best things in the world.
And whatever you call him, it's gonna be spot on.
Thanks, Dad.
- Can I have Gerry back now? - Yeah, all right.
There you go - What did you just say? - You heard.
Oh! Gerry! - Little Gerry.
- Oh, Gerry.
Come on, you Blues! Hi.
Physical this morning, psychometric this afternoon.
- But just for now, urine? - I'd prefer tea, if you've got it.
Camomile, no sugar.
Right, gentlemen.
Treadmill or rowing machine? - That's good.
Keep it steady.
- I can go faster.
- This speed is fine.
- Let me go faster.
- Don't overdo it.
- No, I'm fine.
Great.
I feel fantastic.
Put that down on your clipboard.
''Says he feels fantastic while rowing faster than a man half his age.
'' Hey-hey! One.
(BLEEPING) Oh! Bloody hell! (JACK GROANING) - Ow! - (GROANS) - Ershould Mr Halford be making that noise? - He's fine.
He's in a state of shock, that's all.
The most exercise he gets is bending over to tie his shoelace.
- More.
- (GERRY SINGING) Oh, Gerry boy, oh, Gerry boy I love you so - It's a boy! - (CHEERING) Seven pounds, four and a half ounces of solid grandson - and she's naming it after me.
- Oh, congratulations, mate.
Fantastic.
- Congratulations, sir.
- Clarky.
How was the test? He was taken by surprise by the rowing machine, not to mention the treadmill.
I hope they've got a machine for measuring walking on air, 'cause I don't plan coming down any time soon.
- There you go, mate.
Clarky! - Whoo-hoo! - Cheers.
- Jackie.
Ugh.
A psychometric questionnaire is a series of multiple-choice questions to which there's no correct answer.
- As such.
- I'm sorry? Well, there's no correct answer to any individual question, but a whole series of answers reveals personality and attitude, which may or may not be what the force requires of its personnel.
One hour, no conferring.
(BRAN) ''QuesTION 1, YOu cOme acrOss L100 IN THe sTreeT, ''DO yOu (A) HaNd IT IN TO yOur lOcal pOlIce sTaTION, ''(B) leave a NOTe Nearby wITH yOur Name aNd Number, ''(C) pOckeT THe mONey aNd speNd IT ''Or (D ) speNd IT ON a guN aNd use THaT TO HOld up a peTrOl sTaTION ''fOr a HuNdred TImes THe sum yOu've fOuNd?'' NTeresTINg eTHIcal dIlemma, THe ObvIOus aNswer IsN'T NecessarIly THe aNswer yOu waNT TO gIve, THe besT sTraTegy Is TO wOrk OuT THe aNswer THey're lOOkINg fOr aNd puT THaT, SO,,,leT's Take THIs NIce aNd meTHOdIcally, (JCK) ''YOu cOme acrOss L100 IN THe sTreeT, DO yOu (A),,,?'' Jesus, sOd THIs fOr a game Of sOldIers, A, B, C, D, D, C, B, A, (JCK) D, C, B, A,,, (GERRY) WHere dOes all THe TIme gO, eH? meaN, ONe mINuTe, yOu're THe sexIesT THINg IN lOON paNTs, THe NexT, yOu're sOme perfecT lITTle persON's graNddad HuH GraNdpa Gerry, Well, wHO'd Have THOugHT yOu'd ever make IT THIs far, eH? - Finished! See you down the pub.
- Blimey! - I made myself clear to your colleagues.
- Yeah, you did, Miss Stillman.
I outrank my colleagues and I do need to talk to you about your sister.
- Why? Has someone come forward? - In a manner of speaking, yes.
- What did you know about the investigation? - I was 19.
The house was full of police, if something happened we knew about it.
Were you aware that a psychic was involved? A what? His name was Martin Lombard and somehow he inveigled his way into the investigation - and later became a suspect.
- Are you serious? Yeah, unfortunately.
But that Why weren't we told? There were some people who didn't want you to know about it.
Oh, my God.
They asked me at the time.
The police asked me if I knew of any odd people Caroline hung around with.
It never occurred to me to say Say what? Well She was into everything a typically confused teenage girl was into.
Weird bands I'd never heard of, every religion on the planet.
And the paranormal.
Paranormal? ESP, clairvoyancy One of her friends had a Ouija board.
Everything Goth.
And she went to psychic fairs all the time.
And you didn't mention this? I thought the police meant her close friends.
I spent a long time going through the police notes.
Ermseems to me that your family was quite a battleground.
Maybe you held back about the psychic fairs because you didn't want your sister found.
Now listen to me very carefully.
My sister was not the daughter my parents wanted.
I fitted the mould perfectly.
Hammering her into the same one was never going to work.
She was always too much of her own person and they never backed off.
You're right - it was a battleground.
Absolutely.
Some nights I thought of putting a pillow over Caroline's head just for some peace and quiet.
And when she went missing Well I have to live with that.
So if Sarah had known about a psychic helping the police, she'd have spoken out about Caroline's fascination with all things weird? That's the impression I got, yeah.
She was in quite a state when I left.
So what are we saying? Caroline gets pally with Lombard at one of these psychic fairs.
He singles her out and nabs her.
For what? She was 17, he was in his early 20s.
Wouldn't the bleeding obvious cover it? Yeah, yeah, but the post-mortem stated that, although Caroline wasn't a virgin, there was no evidence of sexual abuse of any kind.
So he was saving her for later, got spooked, left her for dead.
Then offers to help them find her.
- That's not unusual, is it? - No.
The point is, there's no physical evidence linking Lombard and Stillman.
So, after all this hurly-burly, we're no closer to nailing him.
You're being a bit quiet tonight, Jack.
Any thoughts? - I don't know what I think any more.
- (SANDRA) Jack? I should never have got you involved.
I'm sorry.
What's he mean, he should never have got us involved? ErmJack went to see a clairvoyant about Mary, only he didn't get Mary, - he got - You are bloody joking! Oh, bloody hell! I think that we all need to decide how to respond to this, as a unit.
- I really don't like this.
- Yeah, I know.
But I like Lombard walking away second time even less.
I think we should nail him.
Question is, how? It's only fair to let you know that, as far as we're concerned, the jury's out on genuine psychic ability.
For a number of reasons, including having met the man, we think it's pretty safe to assume that Lombard's a con artist.
You see, our theory is that having snatched the girl, his plan was to come forward later and claim the glory for finding her.
His way of spectacularly launching himself.
Big story on the telly, newspapers - corner the market in talking to the dead, same way Uri Geller has with bending cutlery.
But without evidence, we have to go for a full confession.
We need to gain a point of entry into his way of thinking - hence you.
- Set a thief to catch a thief.
- In a nutshell.
Wrong answer.
- Thanks for the tea.
- Christopher If you can't respect what I do, find some other mug to help you.
This isn't about what you can do, Christopher.
It's about what Martin Lombard has done.
Please.
The key comes in the first few days of the investigation.
He hits a bull's-eye with the birthmark but establishes a quality of information he never replicates.
It all becomes very vague.
''It's pitch black, a door that only opens from the outside.
'' And here.
''I hear water.
'' The information's next to useless.
And then he seems to drop out completely.
- You're looking confused.
- He was born like that.
Go on.
Well, I agree that he's a fake, but the thing with the fakes is that they usually keep fishing until they get lucky.
Seems that Lombard lost his appetite for this before he struck anything.
Well, that fits.
Lombard's a greedy con merchant.
Finds himself in the middle of a full-blown abduction inquiry, gets a whiff he's under suspicion, starts to panic, clams up, drops out before it's too late.
As you say, lost his appetite.
Or his nerve.
Well, I think we just found our way in.
Thanks, Christopher.
Jack, Clarky.
Something came in the post for you this morning, Mr Standing.
It's on your desk.
Thanks.
Oh! Oh, you little beauty.
Marvellous! Oh, that's Here, Clarky, come and have a look at this.
- Ain't he gorgeous? - Very.
Look at him! But should the Met's photographic lab really be used to run off private prints? They've been doing my holiday snaps for 20 years.
Jack, come and have a look.
Jack? Er, Clarky, take a walk, mate.
- But I was - No.
Go.
All right.
You sent Mary's clothes for forensic analysis? Christ almighty, Jack, that's instant dismissal.
They've been at the back of the wardrobe for years.
I know she'll never come back, Gerry.
I saw her put into the ground.
But that funeral isn't the end, not while that bastard's still out there.
Nothing.
Didn't really expect them to find anything, did you? He might have got out of his car to see what he'd done and dropped something on her clothing - a hair, a fleck of skin, something, anything! I'll get you a cup of tea, mate.
I was going to your house but it occurred to me you wouldn't be there.
Knowing how people's minds work, that's what makes a good detective.
- I'm not accepting this, Jack.
- You don't have any choice.
You need UCOS.
Without it there's just ''Countdown'' and ''Richard And Judy''.
Gerry needs the money and as for Brian, he'd be propping up their patio in a week.
Even if the evaluation is purely routine, I'm finished, Sandra.
We're going for a confession from Martin Lombard.
In your prime, you were the best in the business.
You haven't got the forensic to back it up.
Everything else is circumstantial.
And my prime was a long, long time ago.
I'm sorry.
You might not get justice for Mary, Jack, but there's an outside chance you could for Caroline Stillman.
My rules.
After the evaluation, I'm probably finished anyway.
If anyone gets wind of your involvement I'm a big girl now, Jack, I make my own choices.
But thanks for your concern.
Ah! Ex-Detective Halford, what a pleasant surprise.
And you've brought a new colleague to meet me.
So, are you an ex-police person or a real one? Oh, very real.
- And how can I help you? - It's rather embarrassing.
- We need your help.
- Right.
What sort of help? We're very close to cracking the Stillman case, Mr Lombard, and we feel your special talent will give us the final push we need.
They just pulled in.
Over.
This isn't the police station.
We thought we'd bring you the scenic route.
Tell me, did they show the pictures of Caroline's body when they found it? - No.
- I, personally, wept, Mr Lombard.
Left to starve in a metal freight container in the middle of winter.
What some people are capable of is beyond belief.
- Don't you think? - (BEEP) (BEEPING) - My God.
- This is where we need your help.
We've hit a brick wall, so we thought as a last desperate measure we'd bring you to where Caroline died to see if you could make contact.
If she can't tell us here who killed her, where else? - Are you feeling anything? - Let him soak up the atmosphere, Jack.
Yes, I'm sorry.
The coroner's report was a harrowing read, Mr Lombard.
The bite marks on both arms.
Not rats - her own.
Are you feeling anything? No? Well, perhaps this will help.
They estimated she lasted 42 days.
Feeling anything now? - Please.
- I think he's getting something.
Perhaps he needs fewer distractions, all this light, these people This way, Mr Lombard.
I don't know about you, but walking towards this container makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck.
Though I imagine what you're feeling will be something a little more profound.
- No, I'm sorry, I'm not getting anything.
- Shall we step inside? - No, I don't think that would do any good.
- It's worth a try, surely? - (SCRAPING) - (LOMBARD ) What's that noise? Probably the last sound Caroline ever made, as she clawed the doors with what little strength she had left.
They found remarkably deep scratch marks in the metal.
She must have wanted to live very badly.
- Feel anything yet? - Let me out! You're not giving yourself a chance.
- Let me out! - They can't hear you, Mr Lombard.
You could scream your head off in here for, oh, 42 days and it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.
So tell me now.
What are you feeling? CarOlINe aNd meT wHeN 'd jusT sTarted OuT ON THe cIrcuIT, SHe gave me cONfIdeNce IN my abIlITIes aNd gave Her THe emOTIONal suppOrt sHe was mIssINg aT HOme, SHe Talked abOuT TakINg Her lIfe sO Her pareNTs wOuld feel sOrry fOr HOw THey'd TreaTed Her, THey were very judgmeNTal, always dIsapprOved Of everyTHINg sHe dId, That's true.
They were.
- SOrry, caN we,,,? - Do you recognise him? - No.
- So she planned this we planned this crazy mock abduction.
She stayed with me in secret for the first couple of weeks and then we went down to the container yard at night, selected a container.
She went in and I locked her in from the outside.
THe Idea was THaT sHe'd lIve fOr a few days lIke a geNuINe abducTee aNd THeN wHeN sHe was fOuNd, sHe'd,,,really lOOk THe part, - You'd already been to the police by then? - How else were they going to find her? I came up with a few insights as to her whereabouts and then I would lead the police to her.
(SANDRA) BuTyOu dIdN'T, I went back to the container yard one night to tell her that everything was OK, everything was going according to plan, and to my absolute horror .
.
I found that the container had gone.
THese THINgs gO all Over THe cOuNTry, abrOad - sHe cOuld've beeN aNywHere, And you didn't think at that point to come clean? Of course butbut then I thought that the container was going to be used and Caroline would be found, not exactly as planned but still with the full effect she wanted, perhaps even more.
When she was undiscovered for a long time, I began to realise what a disaster it was.
(BRAN) SO yOu meT CarOlINe aT ONe Of THe psycHIc faIrs, (SANDRA) Was sHe THe fIrsT ONe wHO TOOk THe baIT? Before you came into my office, my enduring memory of Caroline was of her smile.
For the rest of my life, it'll be all this.
(INTERVIEW CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY OVER CCTV) The police officers were thinking of me as a suspect, so I ran out of insights and withdrew as best I could.
- COme ON, Mr LOmbard, - (GERRY) No, this is too easy.
I'd turn on the radio hoping that I'd hear that Caroline had been found alive.
- I finally heard the news - Turn off that tape! - This stops right here! - Sir? I said turn off that tape.
Am I the only one here who knows how a police officer is meant to behave? Good God, this is not the 1970s! It's not even the 1980s.
You can't verbal a suspect like you used to! With all due respect, Don, it was working.
With no due respect, it wasn't.
After you went round to his house the first time, Lombard was on high alert.
He knew you were in the dark and before opening the door to you this evening, he phoned his solicitor on his mobile.
He left the line open for an hour and a half.
His solicitor recorded the whole thing and he's itching to use it against you for unlawful arrest, harassment, you name it.
- LeT me OuT - THey caN'T Hear yOu, Mr LOmbard, YOu cOuld scream yOur Head Off IN Here fOr, OH, 42 days, You thought the evaluation was a way of closing down the unit, but it wasn't.
The evaluation was a routine assessment of your current status and you passed! Just! Now, if someone's looking for a reason to close down UCOS, they've got it.
And as for SO10, I think we can safely kiss that one goodbye.
- Sir.
- SO10? I told you to drop this case.
It went against all my instincts as a police officer.
Your instincts have made you look very foolish and I look like an idiot for backing you as far as I have.
You were getting promoted to SO10? Now I'm going to spend the rest of tonight working out a way to persuade Lombard's solicitor to forget this and all tomorrow deciding what to do with you lot.
Now, get out! - Don - No, Jack, not now.
I'm not in the mood.
Oh, look at that.
- So that's why he owned up.
- Yeah.
Nice trick.
Here's a confession.
Now you see it, now you don't.
The one that got away.
He didn't get away.
We never got near him.
Sorry, guys.
I should've told you about my promotion.
- None of our business.
- Mm.
Evaluation report.
Blimey.
These results are surprisingly good.
The urine is very interesting.
I suppose you're the pregnant woman who's about to drop, are you? You weren't really going to take that promotion, were you? You know what? I need a really stiff drink.
What a good idea.
Clarky, I'll buy you a shandy.
I'll catch you up in minute.
Well, she wouldn't, would she? What's SO10 got that UCOS hasn't? Well, not us, for a start.
No, she wouldn't.
T's all rIGHT, IT's OK DOesN'T really maTTer If yOu're Old aNd grey T's all rIGHT, say, IT's OK LIsTeN TO wHaT say T's all rIGHT, dOINg fINe DOesN'T really maTTer If THe suN dON'T sHINe T's all rIGHT, say, IT's OK We're geTTINg TO THe eNd Of THe day HIGH TecH, lOw TecH, Take yOur pIck 'Cause yOu caN'T TeacH aN Old dOg a braNd-New TrIck dON'T care wHaT aNybOdy says AT THe eNd Of THe day THere's a place THaT caN fINd A drINk Or TwO TO ease my mINd GOldeN days,,,
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