Des (2020) s01e02 Episode Script

1
FIRE CRACKLES
PETER NO)". Mr Nilsen has confessed
to killing 15 men
mostly homeless and vulnerable,
over a period of five years.
We're now in the process
of confirming that number.
MAN:
Here, take a look at that.
CAMERA CLICKS
— We're also aware that
there are up to seven attempted murders.
So, we ask anybody who may have visited
195 Melrose Avenue
from December 1978 to 1981
or 23 Cranley Gardens from 1981
to February this year,
to please call Hornsey Police Station
on the number behind me.
If you know of anybody that's gone missing
SONS
brothers, fathers
uncles, nephews, cousins
friends
please contact us
because we need your help.
CAVENDISH:
OK, questions please. Yes, Tim.
How many of the victims
have you identified so far?
Well, other than Stephen Sinclair,
we won't be naming any more of the victims
until official charges have been brought
against Mr Nilsen.
PRESS CLAMOUR
— Charlotte.
How likely is it that you'll identify
all 15 of his victims?
Well, we're still in the process
of assessing and analysing
the evidence from Melrose Avenue
— SOUND MUTES
INDISTINCT CHATTER
STEVE:
Yes, yes, I understand.
We are absolutely certain he killed only men.
PETER: His father recognised the knives
on the television.
Gave them to him as a gift
for starting chef school.
But according to him, his son never turned up
on the first day of class
and he hasn't seen him since May, 1980
which would match Nilsen's dates
for his third victim.
Next step?
Well, Nilsen's requested a visit,
so, uh, I'll take the photo with me
and get him to confirm.
Requested a visit?
Yeah. I'm hoping he's remembered
some more names.
How are you coping?
Oh, good.
We're trying to get through
the 8,000 missing person's reports.
No, I'm good, thanks.
We need more manpower,
but you know that.
I'm still trying.
What's going on with "John the Guardsman"?
Uh, Healey's checking
all the guardsmen called John.
He's been on that for a few weeks.
There's 256 of 'em.
Gonna take some time, but
he'll find him.
Speaking of which, um
we think we, uh, might have another lead.
Lodge found three dental plates
in the dig at Melrose.
One of them is only made in Germany.
So, he thinks if he can go over there
To Germany?
— he can narrow it down
and probably come up
with another name.
Guv, look
I know it's along shot, but
if we get another name,
it's gotta be worth it. Right?
There's talk from the Yard.
As far as they're concerned,
they already have him
on three counts of murder.
We told the press last week
we think it's 15!
Why do you think we're still active?
I'm just warning you.
You need to start closing the leads
we already have, not opening new ones
especially in different countries.
They're nervous about how much
this is costing already.
Oh, so this is about money?
Everything is always about money, Peter.
We've just got to be smart.
GATE CLANGS
— PETER: Thank you.
DES: No wonder that half of Category A
is on hunger strike
I might well join 'em,
just to break the monotony.
No.
Ah, let me tell ya
it's perfectly feasible
to be on normal rations in here
and still effectively remain
on hunger strike.
I don't even know why I'm Category A
in the first place.
I'm hardly going to escape
or commit suicide.
Des--
- The help I'm giving the police
should be rewarded, not punished.
Let me see what we can do.
You've said that before.
Martyn Duffey.
Is he one of them?
Yeah, of course Martyn.
Yeah, he was number three.
The one I told you about
that I met at Euston Station.
Have you anymore?
— Hopefully soon.
You said that you had
some more information for me
or was that just so you could talk
about your living situation?
No. I'd never do that.
Any news about Bleep?
It's just I've heard nothing about her
since I got in here.
I'll call the dog's home.
See what I can find out.
I also have another name for you.
Uh
yeah, one of the young men
at Melrose Avenue.
I just woke up, his name was just there.
Kenneth Ockenden.
Ockenden?
Mmm.
What, you're 100% sure?
Kenneth Ockenden.
Yeah. The Canadian lad that was
all over the news when he went missing.
Did you hold his name back from us'?
No, why would you say that?
I want these people identified
and laid to rest
just as much as you do, Mr Jay.
I'm simply trying to tell the truth.
STEVE:
But he can't have.
PETER:
Why not?
Because Ockenden was investigated
for three years.
Right? They found nothing.
STEVE SIGHS
What are you thinking?
Well, we're gonna request the files
and treat it as a murder investigation.
What's the problem?
— I know some of the guys, Peter.
Ockenden was a difficult case for them.
And the press weren't exactly kind
when they couldn't find him.
Right, Steve, request the files.
Can I tell Martyn Duffey's dad?
| - | made him certain promises
when he first came forward.
Yeah, course.
Sorry, boss, you might both want
to hear this.
Someone's just called saying
he's Nilsen's biographer.
Eh?
- Yeah.
He asked if we could tell him anything
about the investigation or the arrest.
No, look, that's just a rag trying
to get a quote.
If they call back, tell 'em to piss off.
Gladly.
Steve?
Let me know when you get the files.
HE SIGHS
Kenneth Ockenden, Canadian tourist
left his hotel
in Kings Cross on December 3rd.
He was meant to meet his uncle
on the fifth, to collect some money
for a plane home for Christmas.
He was never seen again.
What, and Nilsen's
only just remembered this?
Nilsen says he met him in a West End pub.
They talked about his camera.
They spent the day sightseeing.
That night, he strangled him
with a headphone cord
as Ockenden listened to music
in Melrose Avenue.
He disposed of his body in the garden,
as per, so we are currently looking
for any signs of him in the dig.
Now, look, we all hope that we find
something at Melrose, but until we do
these files are our
they're our best shot.
Now look, I know you all think
you might know about this case
because of the media coverage,
but we can't half-arse this.
Nilsen is in there.
Somewhere.
CHAMBERS:
Have you finished?
I tell you explicitly not to open
any more leads
and you open Kenneth bloody Ockenden!
Ockenden's mother had links
to the Canadian Parliament.
His disappearance became political.
So, you can imagine the Yard's reaction
to you making it a murder inquiry
with a serial killer as the suspect.
Nilsen says he killed him, Guv.
Of course he did!
He'll say anything to stay in the papers.
Ockenden doesn't fit
the victim profile, Peter.
He wasn't homeless or an addict.
He wasn't even gay.
He had a girlfriend back in Canada.
Oh, that doesn't mean anything.
— Then why did he go home with him?
What evidence have you found?
You want us to tell his family
that a boy the police couldn't find
for three years
was actually killed by a former copper
and you don't have any physical evidence?
When's he ever lied to us before?
I have been trying to help you.
Get you the money and support you need
to close this case.
But you went behind my back
and made us look like a bunch of amateurs.
You better be right about this.
NEWS REPORTER 1 (VO): The gruesome search continues
at 195 Melrose Avenue,
for what police now believe
are dismembered remains
that have been buried in the garden
for three years or more.
NEWS REPORTER '2 NO)". Al! day,
detectives and forensic science experts
have been taking the bones for examination
in a laboratory.
POLICE SPOKESMAN (VO): We found a small piece of jaw
and some teeth attached to it
in the rear garden, and this morning
they found a significant amount
of human bones.
CAMERA CLICKS
CAMERA CLICKS
PROF BOWEN:
Of what we brought in
a big percentage of them
turned out to be animal bones.
But, of those that are definitely human
we estimate we have between
eight and twenty different victims.
Are any of them from Ockenden?
No.
But, a lot of them we couldn't analyse
due to fire damage.
Did we manage to identify anyone from them?
Yeah, I'm afraid not.
There must be some more tests we can do?
Look, I know it's not the news we hoped for
but it was always gonna be a long shot,
considering the amount of time passed
and the, uh, astute method of disposal.
Look“.
I'd say we were fortunate
to get Martyn Duffey.
But, you said there could be
as many as 20'?
Well, as I say, it's an estimate,
but it's certainly a possibility.
I'll give you gentlemen a minute.
Thank you.
DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES
We need to re-test the headphones
found at Cranley Gardens.
No, Peter, all Ockenden is doing
is sending us up a bunch of blind alleys.
We may need to move on from him.
You heard what he said.
Possibly 20 victims.
— PETER SIGHS
Which means Nilsen may have
been lying to us from the very start.
I'll call it in.
DOOR SLAMS
DOOR CLOSES
— I made something for you.
It's all jumbled and in no special order
but, I figured, you're the artist.
Only you know what's important
and how to select it.
What made you draw these?
Nostalgia, I suppose.
| - | thought you told the police
that you didn't remember your victims?
No. Their names, no.
But that doesn't mean
I don't remember
our time together.
I took him up on maybe four occasions,
in the following two weeks.
And what did you do when you, um
"brought him up"?
Well, his naked body fascinated me.
I'd roll him onto his stomach,
roll him onto his back, touching him.
Stroking him. I was thrilled
that I had full control
ownership over this beautiful body.
So, control was the, um
motivation?
Well, nothing is ever about one thing, Brian.
Sometimes I'd, um, put them
in the other armchair next to mine
while I watched an evening's television.
I'd look over and imagine
what we'd be talking about
if he could speak.
Then, at other times, you know,
I couldn't actually believe
this was happening,
that this was my life, but
death gives no refunds.
We spend so much time talking about me,
I don't I feel I
hardly know anything about you.
I don't even know if you're married.
Ah, no, no
but I do have
my emotional attachments, um
OK, um
maybe a more simpler question.
Do you remember, um,
when you first become aware of death?
I grew up in a fishing village, Brian, so
death surrounds you when the sea's involved.
That and the poverty, you know?
I saw my grandfather's corpse
when I was six years old.
How did he die'?
At sea. He was a fisherman.
And they brought his coffin back
to the house.
It was normal back then.
And my mother, um
woke me up and said,
"Do you want to see your grandad?"
I went into the living room
he was there, in a box.
How did they explain that?
Well, they didn't.
You didn't know that he was dead?
No. They just said he was sleeping.
After he left, the mystery of death,
it always fascinated me.
Sometimes I'd put talc on my face
paint my lips blue, and, um
and poke my eyes 'til they were bloodshot
and just look in the mirror.
To make yourself seem dead?
DES:
Aye.
And, this Was this by yourself, or
with somebody else there?
Both.
What would you do then?
Well, I would just sit and stare.
Imagining the abyss as I touched him
and myself, in my own dead image.
So, this is about sex.
No. You keep looking
for these simple answers
but you debase it to make it
purely about that.
Well, I'm not trying to simplify anything
but you did have sex with these young men
after they had died.
No, I did not!
Did I enjoy them? Yes.
Did I
gain some satisfaction
from looking at their naked bodies
next to mine in the mirror.
But I didn't penetrate them.
Look, look, the wicked thing
that I did was to squeeze the life
out of a human being.
That was wrong.
That was unforgivable.
I will be properly punished for it
but what I did to a corpse
is neither here nor there.
Brian, if you are more disgusted
by what I did to a corpse
than what I did to a living man,
then your moral system is upside-down
and needs overhauling.
You're right.
Um
I didn't intend to judge you.
Let's go back to your childhood.
Did you have many
many, friends at school?
I'm glad we're doing this, Brian.
HE SIGHS
Me too.
DES:
It's nice to be listened to.
It makes me feel human again.
All these, treating me like a criminal.
Do you not consider yourself
to be a criminal?
How I consider myself is obsolete.
I deserve the right to be treated
as innocent until proven guilty
not have to wear the clothes
of a convicted felon
whilst I wait for my day in court.
Surely you can see that?
CAVENDISH:
We're sorry about the result of the dig.
We all share your disappointment.
Thank you, um
it was a blow, but we have other points
of enquiry we are now investigating.
There's been a development.
Turns out that Nilsen has been getting
regular visits from a biographer.
Apparently, his letter got through
the prison censors
and they've been meeting
for a number of weeks.
Our fear, here, is that it's only
a matter of time
before the victims' identities
and especially one as well known
as Ockenden
become public knowledge.
Therefore, we feel we need
to inform his family.
We're still looking for confirmation
on Ockenden, sir.
The only reason we've been patient
up until now
was the hope that the dig
would give us something
to tie Ockenden to Melrose.
But, it's been a month--
— I'm aware of that
but if we had more men
and the word processor
I've requested again and again--
— CAVENDISH: Peter
there is nothing I would like more
than to find Ken
and to bring anyone
who harmed him to justice
but if we don't have any evidence by now--
— We'll find the evidence.
I admire your confidence
but this investigation is beginning to harm
the reputation of the Metropolitan Police.
HE SCOFFS
— We've only just repaired the damage
done by the riots.
How are we damaging its reputation?
Because people are starting to ask
why this is all taking so long.
Do you know how an investigation works?
— Peter.
Wait for me outside.
DOOR SLAMS
What the hell was that?
Top brass care more about their reputation
than finding these men.
Oh, grow up.
You're not the only one who cares
about this case.
Let me give you some advice, Peter.
Toe the fucking line.
HEALEY:
Yeah, that's fine.
No, I don't mind holding while you find out.
What's going on?
Healey thinks he's got "John".
Now, don't bloody jinx it, Steve.
A | | the guardsmen were accounted for
so, we were screwed, basically.
It was back to square one.
I went to see the West End Branch
asked them if they knew any Johns
from High Wycombe that frequented Soho.
After giving me a load of grief
about the Ockenden case
they threw me a name.
John Howlett.
A ne'er do well,
in and out of different homes, as a kid
well-known on the streets of Soho.
Sound familiar?
Yeah.
Now we're just checking the blood type
from the remains in Cranley.
OK.
Yeah, I think we deserve a bit of luck,
don't you?
Hello, sir?
— Yes
Yep
OK. Thanks.
We got a match!
PETER CHUCKLES
Great work, Chris!
Why do you think Nilsen said
he was a guardsman?
I got no idea.
STEVE:
Right, first round's on me!
You coming?
Oh, I'll be there in a bit.
Just gotta finish up here, first.
LODGE:
I thought you were all down the pub?
Are you, uh
looking for anything in particular?
Kenneth Ockenden.
Ah, well, you're not gonna find him in there.
That's the Cranley Gardens log.
Did we fingerprint the camera?
We did.
What about the books we found?
Yep, all the covers.
But not the pages?
How do you touch the pages
and not the covers?
There's just a few books
that might give us something.
The photography book, the London guide,
things like that. The A to Z.
Guv. Is this a good use of time?
I'll see what I can do.
STEVE:
Can he harm us'?
PETER:
I don't see how.
What do you think they talk about?
I don't even wanna know.
HEALEY:
Keep her there. Guv!
Woman at the front desk.
Thinks her ex-partner might be
a possible victim.
Cheers, Chris.
HEALEY:
Yeah, he's on his way down.
Great.
— PHONE HANDSET CLATTERS
He went missing about a year ago.
Last time I saw him, he came to the house.
We'd been separated a few months
said he wanted to spend more time with Shane.
But I knew he was just there
for the money
so he could go down
to Soho and score.
We
we had an argument that day and he left
and I haven't seen him since.
A week after that, he had a court date,
which he missed.
And he always attended court,
no matter what.
So, I went down to the job centre.
They told me he hadn't signed on
so, then I rang his solicitor,
and they told me to wait a while
and that he'd show up.
But I knew.
And then I saw you on the news
and even though I know Graham wasn't bent,
just something
kept turning in my gut.
Not all of his victims were gay.
Some just needed a bed or some food.
Do you have a photo?
Yeah.
So, he had criminal record?
Of course.
He almost wore it as a badge of honour,
y'know, him against the system.
I just need to know what happened.
I know he's been a bit of a shit, but
he's Shane's dad.
DCI Peter Jay to see Dennis Nilsen.
DOOR SLAMS
DOOR CREAKS AND SLAMS
I need you to identify some photos.
How's Bleep?
Well, you made it pretty busy for me
the last time I was here, Des.
I haven't had chance
to find out about your dog.
Graham Allen and John Howlett,
AKA "John the Guardsman".
Although, he wasn't a guardsman, was he?
He was just another young man,
finding his way on the streets of Soho.
I am sick of helping people
who take advantage of my good nature.
I am deserving of some more balance.
What, like with your biographer?
Did you kill these men?
How many people did you kill
in Melrose Avenue?
Did you kill Kenneth Ockenden?
If I hadn't wanted you to,
you wouldn't have found me.
So, why would I lie to you now?
Look at the photos.
— I've been convicted of no crimes
as of yet, therefore I am innocent
until proven guilty!
Where is this coming from?
In Category A like some kind
of dangerous criminal.
Look at the photos
— What am I gonna do?
and teii me if you killed these men.
— Escape? intimidate a witness?
Des!
— I'm your only witness!
This man has a seven-year-old son.
Do the right thing,
and look at the fucking photos.
Did you kill this man?
No comment.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter Jay.
Brian Masters.
— Drink?
Uh, no, thank you.
PETER CLEARS HIS THROA
You found it alright, then?
Oh, yes, no trouble at all.
Good.
So, uh
how long have you been writing?
About 15 years. You?
I mean how long
have you been a policeman?
Nearly 23 years.
How many books have you written
about people like Nilsen?
Well, this is my first.
Then“.
let me give you some advice, hm?
Walk away.
Well, with all due respect, Mr Jay, I'm
I didn't approach this naively.
Well, why approach it at all?
You think you can understand
these things he did?
I'm not sure that "understanding"
is useful here.
The term is emotional,
and more often than not
it leads us to answers
that are more indicative
of our own prejudices.
It's not about understanding,
it's about comprehending.
Isn't that the same thing?
HE CHUCKLES
Humans kill.
It's in our nature
out of fits of rage or jealousy,
or self-defence.
But, to kill so many men
without any real reason
I think it's important we try
to comprehend why this happened
and how this person came to pass.
I need you to tell us everything
that Nilsen's told you
about the identities of his victims.
Well, I don't have any more information
than you already have.
Well, you've been talking for months.
We talk about other things.
Such as?
His childhood. His time in the army.
Ah, was he killing in the army?
No.
How often have you been visiting him?
Once or twice a week.
When's the last time you saw him?
— Four days ago.
And, he wrote to you?
No, I wrote to him!
HE SCOFFS
I'm not really sure why we're here.
Nilsen is no longer helping us
with our investigation.
Since when?
What, he didn't tell you?
Has he ever mentioned Kenneth Ockenden?
Did he kill Kenneth Ockenden?
— I didn't say that.
If he mentions any names,
you have a duty to report them to us.
HE CHUCKLES
Oh, it's not as simple as that.
Perverting the course of justice
is very simple.
If you are suggesting that I had anything
to do with retracting his cooperation
then you are gravely mistaken, Mr Jay.
HE SCOFFS
And if you wish to take this
conversation any further
then maybe I should telephone my solicitor.
If you wanted to write a book about Nilsen,
you should have come to us first.
We'd have given you the real story.
But you're so fucking fascinated
by him, aren't you?
Afternoon.
— Good afternoon.
DES:
Ever since I've come to this hell on Earth
I have been disrespected, abused, humiliated.
I have done nothing but help
an investigation
for which I've not yet been convicted.
Nobody cares about my years
of public service.
My work with the unions,
that goes unnoticed.
Why didn't you mention
Kenneth Ockenden?
You've spoken to Mr Jay, I see.
Yes, he contacted me.
Yeah.
I didn't mention Ken
because he's the one I regret.
The day we spent together
was so happy.
The happiest I'd been all year.
Unlike the others,
his death was a kinda
cruel and horrid parody
of what could've been.
Well, do you not feel any guilt or remorse?
Why?
They live with me in my cell, Brian.
A | | of them.
How can I feel remorse
when I've taken those pains into myself?
That's obscene.
Look, I'd give anything
for any one of them to walk in here
right now and shoot me dead.
But, the sad fact, is they had to die
to get attention for their plights
because the public pious aftercare
comes too late
and when this is all over,
the Des Nilsens, and the Stephen Sinclairs
and Martyn Duffeys of this world,
will still stagger along
unnoticed and alone,
because society is more interested
in death than it is in life.
But these people that you mention,
they weren't Kenneth Ockenden.
You say so yourself.
So, what was it that made you kill
Kenneth Ockenden?
He was
They were all my type.
As simple as that?
Uh, I once strangled and drowned
a young man
and then when he was on the bed,
I noticed Bleep licking his face.
He was still alive.
So, I resuscitated him
and he was very confused when he came to.
He didn't know what had happened.
And he was there for days,
me taking care of him.
And then, uh,
when he was well enough to leave
I took him up to Highgate Station
and we arranged to meet again,
the week after.
Well, the week after came and went,
he never came back.
Perhaps he should've stayed in my flat.
The thought of them leaving,
triggered the impulse?
Everybody leaves.
Friends, colleagues, boyfriends,
they all disappear eventually.
My grandfather,
my great hero and protector
was the only person that I ever loved.
Seeing my grandfather in that box
all my troubles started there.
See, it blighted my personality, permanently.
That's why I did all these things.
That and the booze and the music.
It whipped me up in a sort of
frenzied fantasy, that brought the devil
and the darkness
but without that, I'm harmless.
No, Des, no.
No, it is not your place
to make
objective reasons why you did these things
especially with this spurious logic.
Whose place is it then? Is it yours?
No. This book cannot be
a subjective look at your
your-your life and
and your your actions.
We, both of us, we must remain objective.
And if there are any lessons
to be learned, it is up to the reader
to decide, not us.
A | | these ruminations and hypothesis
may be very helpful to you
but, you know
it can't be the end of the road.
That's not what I'm here for.
Uh, Brian, would you do me a kindness?
I need to find out about my dog.
Could you do that for me?
Yes I'll see what I can do.
STEVE:
Peter
you gotta come and see this.
Bf tan?
— Guv
We got a partial print
off the A-Z, which ain't Nilsen's.
Looks like Ockenden's.
You sure?
HE SIGHS
STEVE:
Hell of a hunch, Guv.
Ah thank you.
Peter, this is Commander Lockwood.
You know Russell.
Good to meet you, sir.
Peter, I'd like to congratulate you.
Although we were all understandably
sceptical at first
Ockenden is a huge weight off this Force.
Thank you, sir.
It wasn't the easiest one for us
but it shows we are getting through it.
Well, obviously these things
can't last forever
and upstairs feel that
confirming Ockenden
is a natural place to wrap things up.
Therefore, a decision has been made.
We're going to charge him with six murders
and bring the investigation to a close.
Sir
if I may, I think this is a mistake.
We have leads which I'm sure
will bring us more names.
A woman called Lesley Mead
has come forward.
We suspect her ex-partner
might be a victim--
Detective. We have spent
a fortune on your team's overtime alone.
Six murders. He never gets out.
Charging him with six is a joke.
Peter.
— No, but, Guv--
The decision has been made.
Please, sir, if I may.
There are at least nine families
who will never get closure if we stop now.
We just need more time
and we'll find all 15, I'm sure of it.
But we're not even sure he killed 15, are we?
And now that he's stopped talking to us,
perhaps we'll never know.
No. It's time for you and your team
to move on, Peter.
Hm.
I'm sure your families will be
very happy to see you.
PETER:
Can I, um
can I have everybody's attention?
Scotland Yard have just given the order
to shut us down
and to charge him with the six we've got.
I can't tell you how proud I am
of this team
and of the work that we've done together
over the past four months.
The six we found
well, that's the kind of police work
you can't just do from behind a desk.
You're a credit to yourselves
and each other.
Thank you.
Nilsen, a 37-year-old civil servant
was arrested and charged
after human remains were discovered
at two properties in North London.
He has now been committed to trial
for six charges of murder
and two attempted murders.
The former police officer is due to appear
in court later this week
where he is expected
to plead guilty on all charges.
MAN'S VOICE ECHOES
DOOR SLAMS
DOORBELL RINGS
DOOR OPENS
— INDISTINCT CHATTER
DOOR CLOSES
LINDA:
Peter
Steve!
Can I get you anything?
STEVE:
No, I'm fine. Thank you.
LINDA:
I'll leave you to it.
Thanks, love.
How have you been?
Yeah, not bad.
What have you got?
It's about the Nilsen case.
Of the remains found in Cranley Gardens
one of the jaw bones had scars
on both sides of the jaw due to a fracture.
Take a seat, mate.
Graham Allen had his jaw broke
in a fight. It's in his record.
Well
that doesn't necessarily mean
it's Allen.
So, Bowen goes to Allen's odontologist
finds a denture that he had made
but never picked up.
It fit the jaw.
Graham Allen is the third victim
of Cranley Gardens.
When he came round
to the house that day
the last thing that I said to him was
" | hope that you never come back".
He'd have known you didn't mean that.
Would he?
Sorry.
SHE SOBS
Would he have
felt any pain?
I don't think so.
OK
Lesley, um
you know we have already charged Nilsen?
That indictment has already been
written up and processed.
What are you saying?
We can't add Graham's name
to the list of Nilsen's victims.
SHE SCOFFS
Well
But you just said that he killed him.
— He did.
But the court has a time limit
to add names
and that passed a few days ago.
SHE SCOFFS
SHE SOBS
So, Graham doesn't get any justice?
I'm afraid not.
DOOR SLAMS
The Guv called me
when I was on leave.
He said that our squad was being
"seriously considered" for a commendation.
I think he thought it would
make me feel better
but all it did was make me more angry.
You've got, uh, two kids, right?
Sorry, Steve, I should know that.
Four.
Two boys, two girls.
Linda wants another.
Well, I mean our first, another for me.
You not so much'?
Well, I'd like to.
But I've already fucked it up four times.
STEVE:
This job does that.
How are the boys'?
I haven't seen them for a while.
I'm sorry to hear that, Peter.
We should have stopped him, Steve.
We caught him first chance we could.
We should have known.
Ah, sometimes it's just not possible.
I mean, he-he had a
a normal life, a normal job
You going to the committal hearing?
Yeah. You?
Aye.
I can't wait for it all to be over.
Do you know that he was the one that wrote
the letters about the blocked drains?
Told his landlord he wouldn't pay rent
until they were cleaned.
I mean, this whole thing,
it's always been to Nilsen's script.
HE SIGHS
DOOR CLOSES
KEYBOARD CLATTERS
JUAN:
Bf tan?
BRIAN:
Ah, hello?
JUAN:
A dog's home called for you.
They said further to your enquiry,
Nilsen's dog has been put down.
He asked me to find out about his dog,
that's all.
I need to get him to trust me
otherwise all this is for nothing.
So, what, now you're doing errands for him?
Oh, come on.
Someone who knows our world,
our community needs to write this
otherwise they'll get it wrong.
I mean, they'll fuck it up.
They already are.
Please please try and understand.
Just make sure
it's not him who's writing it.
GATE CLATTERS
PRESS CLAMOUR
REPORTER: Inspector, having spent so much
time with Nilsen
can you tell us, what is he really like?
Unremarkable.
— REPORTER: What makes you say that?
REPORTER 2: Just six positive IDs, Detective,
how does that make you feel?
It's a wee surprise, Brian.
Hello there, Des, uh
how are you doing?
Ah, can't complain.
If I did, who'd listen?
Des um
Bleep was put down
by the dog's home.
She became ill not soon after
you'd been arrested, and
they thought that it would be
kinder that way.
She forgave me everything
and never let me down.
And then in the moment
of her greatest crisis
I wasn't even there for her.
How's the book progressing?
Oh, it's coming along very well,
thank you, um
I'm currently writing about
your experiences in Arden.
Well another place the British Army
should have never been.
When they came to get me,
I thought you were my solicitor.
Oh, sorry? Solicitor?
I thought you'd dispensed
with your legal aid?
"Change is the only constant in life".
Who said that?
Heraclitus.
Yeah.
No, well, this solicitor
This one has a tax-deductible heart,
but needs must, y'know?
Right, well, I'll, um
I'll see you up there.
I do want to thank you, Brian.
For what?
Your company.
DOOR CLUNKS SHU
INDISTINCT CHATTER
DOOR SQUEAKS OPEN
CLERK OF THE COURT:
All rise.
DOOR OPENS
CLERK:
Dennis Andrew Nilsen
on count one of this indictment
you are charged with the murder
of Stephen Sinclair.
How say you?
Are you guilty or not guilty?
Not guilty.
CROWD MURMURS
— CLERK: On count two
you are charged
with the murder of Kenneth Ockenden.
How say you, guilty or not guilty?
Not guilty.
CLERK:
On count three, you are charged
with the murder of John Howlett.
How say you, guilty or not guilty?
Not guilty.