The Iris Affair (2025) s01e02 Episode Script

1
Would you mind stepping back
from the edge, please?
What's that in your hand?
Give it to me, please.
-I'm Joy's tutor. Harriet Brook.
-It's Monica.
I don't know anything about you.
Well,
there's basically nothing to know.
Iris, is it? Just trying
to get you to come work with me.
Solving
an incredibly difficult puzzle.
Charlie Big Potatoes.
He's a Topological Quantum device.
-So what is wrong with it?
-He's asleep.
And I need you
to wake him up for me.
This is Charlie's creator.
-Jensen.
-What happened?
All we need to get the machine
up and running
is to enter an activation sequence.
It's been enciphered in this.
It's his diary.
Oi!
With the reward
at four million euros,
the real question is
who's gonna find her first.
Find Iris Nixon.
What we need you to do is find
a book she stole from us.
'Here Comes That Day
'Oh, here comes that day
'Oh, here comes the rain
on your parade
'There's a price to pay
'For a life of insincerity
'And you pretend
'That it doesn't matter
'And that you're not scared
'Oh, here comes that day
'Oh, here comes
that rain on your parade'
-Die Arbeit?
-Ja.
-I'll make you a coffee.
-Don't worry. Go back to sleep.
Why are you awake already?
Come here
OK.
I'll change your nappies
and you go back to sleep.
No!
What are you doing here?
You can't be here! This is my house!
Now I have to go to work.
If you'll excuse me, please.
I'm guessing you've been called out
to attend that burned-out wreck
on the beach near Alghero?
What do you know about that?
Well put it this way:
not as much as I need to.
I don't follow.
You're leading
the investigation, right?
And I mean,
it's in your jurisdiction.
So what?
Do you know something about this?
-Do you wanna make a report?
-No.
I need to know who these people are.
-Why?
-Because someone's looking for me.
It doesn't matter who but
he's offering a lot of money
to whoever finds me.
I mean a lot of money. Millions.
I need to know
how dangerous they are.
What are you talking about?
Put a name to these faces for me.
Where they come from,
where they're staying.
How many of them are there?
Do that for me and everything's
gonna be alright for you.
And if I don't somehow things
will not be alright for me?
-Come on. Don't be like this.
-No. No. No. I want you to say it.
If I don't, exactly how things
will not be alright for me?
So I feed you information
about a possible homicide,
or you tell my wife about us?
Is that it?
-Is that it?
-No No, that's not it at all.
Then I don't understand
what you're saying.
Well, alright then.
That for the last six months,
you and I have been plotting
to kill your wife.
Except that's not true.
Now you need to get out!
-Huh, get out!
-Of course not.
But I can make it true.
What do you mean? Are you insane?
Probably.
It's definitely been suggested.
But several times
over the last few months,
when you were sleeping
or showering or peeing,
I sent text messages
from your phone to mine.
And these messages make it very clear
that you want us
to kill your lovely wife.
-So we can be together.
-This is a joke, eh? You're joking.
-Hm?
-Try me and see.
Of course, the messages aren't
on your phone anymore.
I erased them as soon as I sent them.
But they're still on the server.
And I expect
any police officer can retrieve them
in a few minutes
with the relevant warrant.
What are you, Monica?
My name's not actually Monica.
Just do this one thing for me, Teo.
I promise that's all I want.
Just some names.
And I'm gone.
-Teo, all okay?
-Yes, yes. Just go back to bed.
Is this your husband?
Yes.
Miss. I'm warning you.
Who are you?
What are you doing at my house?
I had some of my items stolen
from the hotel.
And um your husband didn't
so much as take a fingerprint.
I want to lodge a personal complaint.
Miss, I insist you leave.
Well, I don't know how else
I'm supposed to get your attention.
OK.
Now I have more important places
to be. But yes.
During tourist season things can get
a little bit overwhelming.
But I will make sure the matter
is looked into. OK?
Are you sure, now? You promise?
He said he'd help.
Now you need to go, please.
Right now.
You need to leave my house.
I am so sorry to have woken you.
She's just
one of those weird tourists.
She won't come back. I promise.
Ispettore.
Prego.
-Buongiorno, Ispettore.
-Buongiorno.
What's up?
Take a look, it's pretty bad.
Looks as if the car was set alight,
then shoved over the edge.
How do you know?
There are footprints up there.
From a small man,
a young kid or a woman.
-A woman?
-Possibly.
Who are those two?
They look like trouble.
Commissario Krauss and
Vice Commissario Baptiste,
special branch.
Are you part of Bruni's section?
Mm-hm.
What are two hard hitters
like you doing here?
We're looking for him.
You know him?
But of course. He's one of us.
-A policeman?
-That's what he was.
Looks as if she found him first.
Sorry, who are we talking about?
Do you know this woman?
No, never seen her. Who is she?
Her name is Iris Nixon.
She's quite famous
on the net at least.
And what did she do?
Apart from killing a policeman?
Are you alright?
Yes, yes.
Just lack of sleep.
I have two little girls.
Can I see?
I know her.
From where?
There's an English family
at Villa Ferrante.
She looks like their nanny.
The hair is different,
but I'm sure it's her.
Brilliant.
Let's have a chat with them.
-Can you take me there?
-Of course, no problem.
Baptiste, you follow us.
Teo?
Everything is fine.
What?
No! No, no, no, no, no.
Shit!
Fuck 'em!
Fuck!
-Do you like it?
-The cartoon?
It's pretty good, I suppose.
Did you do it yourself?
I had creative oversight.
So that's a "no", then.
How's Sardinia?
Oh, my God, it's absolutely gorgeous.
You should keep it that way
and not come.
I have to say,
and I don't mean to be rude,
but it's a weird place
for a fugitive to hang out.
Such an intelligent one, anyway.
An island with limited points
of ingress and egress.
The point of a random choice
is its randomness.
Oh, that's right! You didn't want
to be predictably unpredictable.
-There you go.
-How predictable.
Well, we found you in the end.
So let's summarise.
You've got no money.
God knows you've got no friends.
You've got nowhere to run.
And, well, you're on an island.
So c'mon.
Play fair. Game over.
Give me back the diary you stole!
Mm
Yeah.
No. Sorry.
You'd rather
the money defenestrate me?
Dash my brains out against the wall?
Douse me in petrol
and burn me alive?
Well, I mean, I'm not saying
that I would prefer it.
But you know, it would
definitely make things simpler
from my perspective.
Hm so can I just play
devil's advocate for a second?
-Oh, be my absolute guest.
-In an infinite universe,
there are infinitely many versions
of you that just say fuck it.
Give him what he wants.
So why not be one of them?
Give me the activation sequence.
Let me wake Charlie up
and set him to work.
Make the money happy.
And then no-one needs
to set fire to anyone.
Or wrap them in razor wire
and drop them
out of a helicopter into a lake.
I can't, Cameron.
I need to know
why Jensen did what he did.
He killed five people,
and I need to find out why.
Wait! Wait! Wait!
Which means you haven't finished
decoding it yet?
The diary?! I'd like to see you try.
He changed the key every week.
One week,
it was the DNA of a bloody nematode.
Next week,
it was the 12,121,863rd digit of pi.
Alright. I have to ask.
I know you want me to.
Because the artist
Edvard Munch was born
on 12th December 1863.
Twelve, twelve, one eight, six three.
That's the one
who painted The Scream.
Yeah.
I'm aware of him, thank you, Iris.
Every week,
a new unbreakable head fuck.
So that's a "no", then.
As if.
You know I can't resist a puzzle.
It's a compulsion, evidently.
One more code to crack.
Five more pages to read.
What does he say?
He calls the machine
the lamentation of God.
The silence of the dead voices.
The abomination of desolation.
The Kali Yuga.
He wrote that?
Mm-hm. Yeah.
Then he's insane.
But what if he's not?
Because if he's not,
and Charlie frightened him that much,
then it should frighten us, too.
Either way,
we don't have the right to just
flick a switch and turn it back on.
Not until we know for sure.
They're gonna murder me, Iris.
No offence
but it might just be better
to let that happen.
No offence, but fuck off.
See you soon.
Thanks for the lift.
I wanted to talk to you in private.
Of course, no problem.
I wanted to tell you
that Nixon has this habit
how do I put it
to initiate relationships with
serving police officers
and to exploit
this situation when it suits her.
PRIVATE NUMBER
It would be ideal if you can
start discreet investigations.
Try and find out
whether she has managed
to infiltrate your police station.
Does anyone have a private problem?
Failing marriage,
problems with alcohol or pills
This job and relationship issues
go hand-in-hand.
Right. But still, do keep your eyes
and ears open
Teo, they found me.
I need to get off this island
or I'm dead.
I can't do it without you.
Where are you?
Shit!
Answer it.
Oh, that's not important.
Somebody urgently
wants to get in touch.
That's just my wife.
Just?
Yes, you're right.
I better answer it.
Go ahead, I'll join you.
Don't worry,
I'm enjoying the sunshine.
Answer it. I'll wait here.
Darling, I can't talk right now.
Is everything okay?
Why weren't you answering me?
I've just been to a crime scene.
Yeah. I need you
to do something for me right now.
Seriously, my darling I can't talk
right now.
The dead man was a policeman.
A what?
Yes, a policeman. I'll be very busy
until this case has been solved.
No No, that's not possible
That doesn't make any sense.
A police officer from where?
I haven't committed any crimes.
Well, none to speak of.
Well, not until last night.
OK. I need you to create
a suspect for me.
Um, tell them
that you have a description
of a man leaving the crime scene.
Any man. Doesn't matter.
Buy me a few hours.
That's not going to help, sweetheart.
They know exactly
what they're looking for.
-Did they use the name Iris?
-Yes, that's it.
They don't know where yet,
but it won't take long.
Teo, they're lying.
They might be police,
but they're not here as police.
They're here chasing money.
Don't trust them.
There's nothing I can do.
Just stay calm. I call you
as soon as I can, okay?
All good?
Yes, yes, all okay.
We have rats in the kitchen
and my wife hates rats.
Those bastards are everywhere.
I hate them.
Let's go.
Well, we know her
as Harriet Brook, obviously.
The hair's different,
the eyes are all wrong.
But that's definitely her.
I d I don't understand.
She was
Well, she came highly recommended.
I'm sure. But she's very clever.
And references can be faked.
Nobody here considers you
to be at fault.
Would you happen
to have her address?
Uh, of course. Yes! Um, hang on.
She's in town. Uh
She's in um
Apartment 7,
352 Piazza San Doriano.
Joy. Sit down, please.
I'm afraid to ask.
Are we safe here?
The assumption has to be no.
This is a very dangerous woman.
She might attempt to steal from you.
Joy.
I understand that you might feel
a tug of loyalty to this woman.
But however, you might feel,
it's important to remember -
the woman
you believe her to be isn't real.
Harriet Brooks is an invention,
invention of a very dangerous woman.
Hey.
We know where Iris Nixon lives.
Apartment 7,
352 Piazza San Doriano.
-On our way.
-Great.
Do you know what a psychopath is?
Oh, my God. Are you stupid?
-Joy! Please.
-Joy, show some respect.
-Remember who you're talking to.
-I'm so sorry, officer.
Commissario.
She's not a psychopath.
Interesting. What makes you say so?
-Psychopaths don't have empathy.
-Uh-huh.
But they fake it to get
what they want from people.
That's often the case, yes.
So if she were a psychopath,
she'd pretend to care about me
to get what she wanted.
And she doesn't do that? She doesn't
pretend to care about you?
-No. She doesn't.
-Mm-hm.
What does she do?
Pretend not to care?
Huh.
Forgive me, Joy. I'm confused.
What makes you think
she's pretending?
Fuck off.
-Joy!
-What? He can fuck off.
Right. OK, that's enough.
Go to your room.
You'll never catch her.
-She's much too clever.
-Joy. Room. Now!
I'm so sorry, Commissioner.
She's Behaviour is inexcusable.
She was raised to be better.
Teo.
Do you have
any idea what they'll do to me
if they find out
I'm helping a cop killer?
Get out of my life.
You fucking psychopath!
Leave me alone.
Leave everyone I know alone.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now listen.
The minute I'm arrested,
the first words that are coming
out of my mouth are your name.
Fuck You! Such bullshit!
Oh, well, why don't you
give it a whirl and see?
An assault team has been dispatched
to your apartment
on Piazza San Doriano.
Okay, off to Piazza San Doriano.
Teo, can I ride with you?
Baptiste follow us.
-Clear.
-Clear.
-Clear.
-Clear.
Clear.
All clear.
Locked, from the outside.
Checked everywhere?
Every room, every cupboard?
Roof, kitchen, cellar nothing.
OK.
Call headquarters.
We need a major search operation.
Issue a description.
Remember,
this woman killed a colleague.
Nobody goes home until we find her.
Understood?
Headquarter, come in
Iris Nixon.
Excuse me, miss?
Excuse me. Miss.
Still warm. She changed.
-Boss
-Yes.
All new stuff. Never worn.
She's wearing the new dress.
We have to find the ticket.
The ticket matches the dress she's
wearing. Search everywhere.
You killed a cop. Get up!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry
-Say it.
-Say what?
"I'm a cop killer."
What?! I don't know
what you're talking about!
"I. Am. A. Cop. Killer."
-Say it.
-I don't know who you think I am.
-Please.
-Look at my face and say it.
But I didn't hurt anyone, please!
I didn't hurt anyone.
Here, I found it.
-Get up and run, so I can shoot you!
-No!
No, please,
I don't know what you mean.
Get up and run!
I am the wrong person.
I didn't hurt anyone.
-Cop killer.
-No!
All units
The suspect is wearing
a white dress with blue dots.
Please, wait. Please, please, please.
a white dress with
It's not her.
-It's not her.
-Shit!
Shit!
We have to go! We have to go!!
If you say anything. To anyone.
I'll make sure you wish you hadn't.
You understand me?
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes, I do!
We need to go!
Come on!
Okay
How did you two meet?
What?
-Well, your wife, Carlotta, yes?
-Yes, Carlotta.
We met when we were little.
She was five, I was six.
Are you happy?
Yes.
Very.
And the twins? Nearly two?
It's the best thing.
-Do you have children?
-Three.
And I love all of them.
Every single one of them.
That's not to say
it has always been easy.
This business of fatherhood.
The lack of sex.
The urge to fuck.
Don't get me wrong, I love my wife,
but after the first one
her libido just disappeared.
The baby brought us together
we were
very loving to each other
but the urge to fuck
That's the worst in us.
It's such an innate need.
As if you're
chained to a starving dog.
When did you meet Iris Nixon?
I think you better pull over.
I can make all of this go away.
Whatever it is
that she holds against you.
Nobody will know.
Not your wife,
you colleagues, no-one.
-How?
-Wait until she calls you.
And she will,
because she needs your help.
When she calls,
you do as I tell you.
Two years ago, an enigmatic group
calling itself Nine Horses
began an online search
for highly intelligent individuals.
A growing collective
of puzzle solvers began co-operating
on chat rooms and message boards
across the world.
But then Nine Horses went quiet.
Deadly quiet.
Until 18 months ago,
it posted another mystery.
A different kind of mystery.
One that really set
the conspira-sphere alight.
Exactly who
and where is Iris Nixon?
And soon, Nine Horses was offering
a massive cash reward
for information leading
to the whereabouts of Iris Nixon.
Now to be sure,
many people believe the entire thing
to be some kind of online hoax.
But with the reward standing
at over four million euros
there are plenty of people
out there
who believe the search
for Iris Nixon
to be something, literally, worth
well, believing in.
-Yeah?
-Joy. It's Miss Brook.
No, it's not.
No. No, it's not.
I take it
the police have been round.
Just a bit, yeah.
-And what did you tell them?
-Nothing.
Good.
Thank you. Good.
Miss Brook, are you alright?
You sound
Is everything OK?
Oh, it's just, I mean
It's It's been
a bit of a rough old morning.
But um I'm fine.
Um, listen.
I don't wanna do this.
I really don't.
But um I'm in a bit of a
a bind and um there's literally
no one else I can trust.
The men who've come to find me are
very dangerous.
What men? You mean the police?
No.
Well, yes. But not primarily.
Miss Brook, is everything OK?
I need to hide something from them.
It's something that they want,
very badly,
and they mustn't be allowed to have,
not under any circumstances.
Something like what?
Like, evidence or something?
No. It's um It's a book.
Sort of a diary.
What's in it?
I'm still
trying to figure that out.
OK. Where is it?
At my house.
Right well, tell me where you live,
and I'll go there now and get it.
I'm so sorry, Joy.
I don't know what I was thinking.
I shouldn't have done this.
Come on! It's not like
it's drugs or anything.
I have to go.
Is it drugs or something?
Sadly not, no.
No. It really is just a book.
So let me help you.
I can't. Um, thank you.
Now, you look after yourself.
Don't lie to the police.
You tell them as much as you know.
And you do not try to protect me.
Honestly! I don't mind!
Miss Brook?
Miss Brook?
OK. Listen to me.
Use the front door.
That's the one facing sea.
It will be open.
Go to the cooker. Remove the handle.
Don't worry, it's magnetic.
The hatch you want is
beneath the rug, open it.
Now, listen carefully.
You need two combinations.
The first is 3-1-4-5-9. OK?
Now. Here's where you're gonna need
that magnetic handle.
Because there's a second safe
hidden under the first.
And the combination to that safe is
1-4-5-8-8-6-9.
There's a briefcase inside.
Please be very,
very careful with it.
There's something
very precious inside.
Now, mind the man traps.
They'll have your leg off. Seriously!
Find a hollow tree, about 200m north,
northwest, of the cottage.
Hide the briefcase in there.
Then go home.
Don't try to contact me.
I won't be using this phone.
And Joy. Joy, listen to me.
This is very, very important.
Under absolutely no circumstances,
and I say again,
under no circumstances whatsoever,
can you let anyone see you
or get their hands on that briefcase.
That absolutely cannot happen.
Do you understand me?'
Fuck!