Winter (2026) s01e04 Episode Script

1
MUSIC: 'Parklife' by Blur
Oi! ♪
GULLS SQUAWK, MAN SHOUTS
MAN: Tell her to shut up.
ON RADIO:
Confidence is a preference
For the habitual voyeur ♪
Of what is known as ♪
Parklife ♪
And morning soup
Can be avoided ♪
Ah.
If you take a route Straight
through what is known as ♪
Parklife ♪
John's got brewer's droop ♪
He gets intimidated
By the dirty pigeons ♪
MUSIC FADES
Yikes. Is this all we have?
So far.
Local fisherman found him floating.
No clothes, no ID.
If you're wondering
about time of death
I can't tell you yet.
However
submersion
does slow putrefaction.
The fact that the gases from it
made the body parts float
suggests they've been in the water
for maybe 36 hours.
What about cause of death?
Apart from dismemberment,
we will attempt a postmortem.
Right. White male.
Brown eyes.
Gold crowns
on both upper-back wisdom teeth.
This arm, it's overdeveloped.
Some serious gym work in that.
This is unusual.
Osteophytes.
It's indicative of arthritis
which means the owner of this
is considerably older
than the owner of this.
I don't think we're looking
at one victim.
I think we're looking at two.
What do you think you're doing?
I'm gonna get in there
and find the rest of the body parts.
And you just happen to have all
of that in the back of your car?
"Chance favours the brave mind."
Louis Pasteur. Great man.
Plus, I called the dive team.
They're on another job.
They'll be hours.
You can't just jump in.
I am fully qualified,
if that's what's bothering you.
That is not the issue.
You are way over the line.
I would have expected
those body parts
to show signs of abrasions,
but they were clean,
which means
they haven't floated far,
and they are still in this area.
Longer we wait, the further
they'll drift downstream,
the more difficult
they'll be to find,
the worse condition they'll be in,
the harder your job will be.
Winter! What?!
I'm just a private individual
with a weird hobby.
What is he doing?
Whatever the hell he likes,
apparently.
Right. Well, I got a misper
from the area.
Called in day before yesterday.
Craig Foster, IC1, 42,
dark hair, two gold teeth.
Who reported it?
His son, Leo, 17.
Foster's a widower.
Lost his wife five years ago.
Got 'em!
BELL RINGS
I'm actually Leo's form teacher,
so if there's any way I can help
What's he like as a student?
Conscientious, reserved,
but he has friends.
He's one of the good ones.
He's just round here.
He's waiting for us.
LIGHTS THUD
BUTTON CLICKS,
CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS
'Leo?'
I'm DI Bell. Is it true?
Is it Dad?
We haven't made
a formal identification yet,
but I'm afraid he does fit
your father's description.
I'm so sorry, Leo.
So if that's Craig Foster
who on earth are you?
Hmm.
Appearance was important to you.
But you aren't what you used to be.
Your hair wasn't the only thing
that needed rejuvenation.
I bet that was a blow to your pride.
But then medical science
offered you a solution.
A whole new lease of life.
At least, that's what you'd hoped.
BIRDS CAW
Nice pad, innit?
If you like this kind of thing.
Leo's upstairs
with his girlfriend, Zoe.
Looks like he needs the support,
poor lad.
Hi. You must be Zoe. I'm DI Bell.
This is Detective Sergeant Daldry.
How are you doing, Leo?
Do you mind if I ask
what your dad did for a living?
He had his own business,
digital sales and marketing.
And when did you notice
that he was missing?
Three days ago.
Erm, he's away a lot on business,
but he usually calls each night
to check if I'm OK.
When he didn't, I got worried.
Had your dad mentioned any arguments
or disputes with anyone?
No enemies? No. Not that I know.
Ma'am? Ma'am! Can I help you?
My name is Diane Short.
I'm a neighbour,
and I know both Craig and Leo.
OK, well,
if you just leave your details
I'm also a criminal defence
solicitor.
Excuse me.
Leo, I'm so, so sorry
about your dad.
You know I'm a solicitor?
The police aren't supposed
to question you
without an appropriate adult present.
Would you like me to act
on your behalf?
Yeah.
I suggest that if you wish
to continue this interview,
you do so at the station,
at a time convenient to Leo.
As you can see,
he's under considerable stress.
Come on.
Thank you.
Been no trace of Craig Foster
since Saturday.
He just disappeared.
I'll make coffee.
What have you got?
What do we have
for the good inspector?
So, there's a greasy residue
like this
both on Foster
and the unidentified victim.
Red diesel used by barges
and fishing boats.
These are the sacks
that I pulled out of the river.
They're commercial fishing net.
If you look at this end here,
it's been cut or frayed,
which makes me think
that the sacks were tied to a boat,
probably close to the engine outlet.
Mm-hm.
Hence the diesel residue.
The killer was hoping the boat
would carry them out to sea.
Maybe, but then it got caught
on some underwater obstacle.
But we do have traces of wood
and blue paint.
You all right there, Ellis? Peckish?
Yeah, I didn't have breakfast.
What is it?
The unidentified victim's knee.
Ugh.
We're removing the flesh
so we can see the serial number
on the replacement joint. You see?
BUBBLING
Here. Oh.
No, look, look. DALDRY GAGS
Oh, stay there. CAMERA CLICKS
Sexy. DALDRY COUGHS
Do not post that online.
OK, so, both bodies were dismembered
with a power saw.
No signs of bruising
or blood build-up,
so the cuts were made postmortem.
False start curves suggest that
Sorry, what?
Oh, come.
Here.
Incomplete or aborted saw cuts.
Notice the striation
and also the chipping.
Took them a while to get comfortable
with that saw.
They're not easy to handle.
What about cause of death?
A single nail through the back
of each skull.
Can you narrow down time of death?
Best I can say now
is minimum of three days
but not more than a week.
He was gone two days before Leo
even reported him missing.
That's a window
of three or four days.
EDDIE: Damian Pearce.
He got his new knee three years ago.
Found you.
That's all the information
we've got right now.
Can we talk? If you've come
to have another go at me, then no.
Everything you did
more than crossed the line, Winter.
I know. I
I am sorry, truly.
I had a look at that suicide case
you mentioned,
Rosemary Lockheart, the woman with
the triangle etched into her thumb.
Close the door.
It raises questions.
Information about the same
triangle mark on Simone's thumb
was never released to the press.
Only her killer could have known
about it.
This is Simone's case file.
It contains confidential information
that you wouldn't have been able
to access.
If Rosemary Lockheart was murdered,
then it is somehow connected
to Simone's death.
I can't do this alone.
If you find something you think
warrants further investigation,
I will do what I can to help,
within the law.
Thank you.
There's anything more
you think you can do,
don't do it
till you clear it with me.
SIMONE: If you want
my professional opinion,
that is not at all well-framed.
I don't.
What?
There's nothing here.
Well, nothing new, anyway.
What about the suicide victim?
How did Rosemary Lockheart
get a triangle carved on her thumb
that happened to be
exactly like mine?
Yes, I know.
You think she did it herself?
DI Bell's back on your side, right?
Why don't you ask her?
Because I need to keep that
relationship strictly professional.
Do you, though?
Yes.
No, it's not like that.
THEY CHUCKLE
Maybe it should be.
I've been dead for ten years.
Don't bury yourself along with me.
PHONE RINGS
What is it? DALDRY: 'Boss.
'Damian Pearce, the second victim,
I've been digging into his past,
'and Rohan's been looking
at his social media.
'He's had a very successful career
in education.
'Turned around a failing school.
'Married twice, divorced twice,
'lived alone,
and proud owner of a nice new car.
'Have a look at this. I'll, er
'I'll send the link. Oh
'Er'
OK, hold on.
PHONE BUZZES Got it.
Wow, that's his?
The head of my school
had a 25-year-old Volvo.
'And get this -
Pearce is the registered owner,
'but the car was bought
by Craig Foster, Leo Foster's dad.'
EDDIE: You called?
This is a map of the river.
The body parts were tied to a boat
that was travelling along
this stretch
at some point in the last week.
Your mission, should you choose
to accept it
Accepted! Accepted.
Oh, Jamila.
Your mission
is to identify that boat.
MAN ON VIDEO: 'Cheers!
'Three, two, one, go!'
BELL: Look at this.
It's Foster's socials.
Is that Damian Pearce?
Yes, it is.
And they seem
to get along very well.
So, there are CCTV cameras
here and here,
and if we're lucky, there should
be another one round about here. OK.
So all I have to do is look
for blue boats with wooden poles.
Still pleased you beat me to it?
It appears Leo moved schools
last year,
only joining his current school,
Elcot Green,
halfway through Year 11.
And guess who the headteacher is?
Damian Pearce.
And Foster bought Pearce the car
shortly after.
Why? A thank-you perhaps?
Well, that must have been
a bloody big favour.
A car like that costs a bomb.
Check out Leo's educational records.
I want to know why he moved schools.
WATER POURS
This isn't a formal interview.
You're not in any trouble, OK?
OK. Yeah.
Why did you switch schools
to Elcot Green?
We had to move for Dad's work.
So you weren't excluded?
It may be 200 miles away,
but the head of your previous school
was very helpful.
How is this relevant?
I'm just familiarising myself
with the context.
You were excluded
for circulating indecent images
of a girl in your year,
is that correct?
Yes, but I didn't do it.
One of my friends got hold
of my phone
Why did your dad buy Damian Pearce
a brand-new Porsche?
This is more than just context,
Inspector.
Him and Mr Pearce were friendly, but
I did not know he bought him a car.
Were your dad
and Mr Pearce close friends?
I think that's enough for today.
It wasn't Leo, it was his mate.
Oh, there's a surprise (!)
I've cracked the father's laptop.
OK, his finances look legit, but he
has a private social media account
that he shares
with a few select male friends.
Like father, like son.
Clearly not consensual.
Here, have a look at this list
of mates he shared it with.
Ah.
PHONE RINGS
We've just found something
very interesting.
WINTER:
'I bet mine's better than yours.'
GULLS SQUAWK
Jamila tracked two boats
heading downriver.
Both of them were moored here,
but this is the only
unsecured building in the area.
Not bad.
Is that oil? No, blood.
There's enough to make me confident
that this is where the bodies
were dismembered.
Does that help us
with time of death?
Outside temperature over the last
few days has been fairly constant,
which means the ambient temperature
in here would've been stable.
Going by the blood spread
and the coagulation rate,
I would say
they were killed four days ago,
so Friday the 14th.
How sure are you?
I'd put money on it.
Look.
These drag marks.
Killer must have moved the body
on a tarp or plastic sheet.
These whitish marks are unusual.
Wonder what made these.
No idea yet.
Do me a favour. Huh?
Just go outside and come back in.
What?
Humour me.
I do more than enough of that.
BANG
Jesus!
Nail gun. Back of the head.
Look, blood spots.
The killer shot them
as they came in.
It's DI Bell. Yeah, I'm at
the warehouses on River Approach,
possible murder scene.
Significant blood loss,
possible dismemberment.
I'm requesting SOCO immediately.
What have you got?
Dismemberment might be a way
to dispose of a body,
but it is a truly gruesome act.
Nauseating, even.
You think it's the killer's?
Can't be sure.
Good news if they're
on the DNA database. If.
Now, if the killer
did drag those bodies,
it's still a combined weight
of around 180 kilos.
You think more than one person
might be involved?
I think it's more than likely.
It's a very elaborate plan,
dismembering body parts.
Why didn't they clear the puke up?
Why didn't they clear up the blood?
Mm.
Have you identified any of the women
from the explicit photos
of Foster's?
DALDRY:
'No, but you know Diane Short?'
Y Er, Leo's solicitor?
'Her daughter, Alice, went to
Elcot Green, Leo's current school.'
"Went"?
'Yeah, she left six months ago.'
Well, why?
'Hmm, the school were cagey
about it.'
OK, thanks.
Hm. Wonder why she didn't think
that was worth mentioning.
Leo's not in a position to
participate in a further interview.
I'll need to take instruction
before considering whether or not
that might be appropriate.
That's not why I'm here.
I'd like to ask you a few questions.
I'd be prepared to cooperate,
of course.
Within my legal rights.
Of course.
Do you mind? No.
Did your daughter
go to Elcot Green Sixth Form?
Yes.
Did she know Leo Foster?
They didn't have classes or friends
in common, as far as I'm aware.
Levetiracetam.
Is this for Alice?
Yes.
I'm so sorry.
Would you mind if we saw her?
May I?
Mm.
Hello, Alice.
I'm Dr Winter.
I'd like to ask you a few questions,
if I may.
She can't answer.
She's in
a minimally conscious state.
What happened? She fell.
She jumped off a car park roof.
Why?
I don't think
I'll ever know the answer to that.
Would you allow me to examine her?
If you must.
There are other ways to communicate.
Alice
HEARTBEAT THUDS
I'm gonna ask you something
that might make you feel
a little bit uncomfortable.
But I want you to know
that you are completely safe.
No-one can harm you here.
HEARTBEAT CONTINUES
This is Leo Foster.
What are you doing?
Do you know him?
HEARTBEAT QUICKENS
Did he cause you harm? Stop.
Stop it.
RAPID HEARTBEATS
Her heart rate, it's 140bpm.
That's a powerful
emotional response.
She's terrified of him.
What were you doing last Friday?
Friday? I was in court.
GULLS SQUAWK
LEO: Sorry, I thought
you couldn't speak to me
without there being
an adult present.
I'm not here to interview you.
I just want to talk.
OK. Do you know Alice Short?
Yeah, yeah, I
I know what happened to her.
Do you, though, really?
Here, look.
That's where Alice lives now,
inside her own body.
Did you share photos of her? No.
Alice was one of the
the "populars" at Elcot Green.
But she was really nice to me.
Why take pictures of her?
No. Listen, please.
When I first went to Elcot
you know,
she even came round the house.
But Dad was there,
just being Dad.
And she called him out
for the alpha-male thing.
And he didn't like that. He, er
took photos of her
without her knowing.
Faked nudes, posted them online.
It It really destroyed her,
and that's why she tried
to take her own life.
I think I would've done the same
as Alice
BELL RINGS
if it wasn't for Zoe.
Zoe, did you ever meet Leo's father,
Craig Foster?
Yes. I hated him.
The way he looked at me.
I'd go round there to see Leo,
and he'd strut around in a towel,
saying he'd just got out the shower.
I got the feeling that
he was showing off somehow,
trying to impress me.
Do you know that Leo was excluded
from his first secondary school?
Yes, I did.
Do you know the reason why?
I do, actually.
It's a horrible, disgusting thing
to do, but it wasn't Leo.
BELL SCOFFS
What, it was his friend?
No, it was his dad.
Leo got dumped, right, by this girl,
and then his dad got into his phone,
faked a load of nudes
and posted them on socials.
He told Leo it was the only way
to show them what she's worth.
One last question.
Do you know a girl
called Alice Short?
Er, don't think so.
Leo never mentioned her?
No.
I'm walking on the roof ♪
I'm feeling my hair blowing
In the wind. ♪
Thank you.
Oh. Erm
Hello. SHE LAUGHS
The photo exhibition. Yes.
Rubbish wine.
Very rubbish. My name's Maya.
Ethan.
What'd you get, Ethan?
Rib eye from a farm that breeds
Devon-Wagyu crossbreeds.
Crossbreeds fed
on rich Somerset pastures.
Oh, you know it.
My dad keeps banging on about it.
I'm here to buy for him. I'm veggie.
And I'm a foodie prat.
Well, at least you know it.
Probably won't see you in here
again, then, will I?
Ah-ha. Got a pen?
Thanks.
DI BELL: OK, Rohan,
what have we got?
I have been trawling
Alice Short's socials.
She was popular, but it is who she's
popular with that really sticks out.
Here, have a look at this.
RAP MUSIC PLAYS ON VIDEO
Is that? Yeah.
4K phone cameras
have made my job so much easier.
That's Zoe.
Zoe Evans. Leo Foster's girlfriend.
So she did know Alice.
But why would she lie
about something like that?
So, we've got two victims,
two suspects.
How does that all fit together?
OK, let me see if I got this.
Leo Foster leaves his first school
because dad, Craig Foster,
fakes explicit photos of a pupil.
Leo Foster meets Alice Short here,
Elcot Green,
Damian Pearce's school.
Then, Leo's dad, Craig,
fakes explicit photos of her,
causing Alice Short,
daughter of Diane and friend
of Zoe Evans, to attempt suicide.
So you're saying that Craig Foster
did the same thing at Elcot Green
as he did at Leo's first school?
Leading Alice to jump off a roof?
And bought his good friend
Damian Pearce a car
for covering it up.
Yeah, that's Alice.
You told me you didn't know her.
Not that well, not really.
Where was this? My house.
So, well enough to invite her round.
So then you must also know
her mother, Diane Short.
No.
'No, I mean, I might have seen her
drop Alice off or something,
'but I don't know her.
'I don't even think
I would recognise her.'
On the evening of Friday the 14th,
I was on a very long video call
with the instructing solicitor.
Difficult case.
During the day, as
I previously stated, I was in court.
SOFTLY: So she has an alibi.
Look, Inspector,
if Craig Foster persecuted Alice,
as you claim
he got what he deserved.
But I didn't kill him,
and you're wasting my time.
Zoe, where were you
on Friday the 14th?
'I went on a college trip
to a dance show.'
DALDRY SIGHS
Diane's colleagues confirmed
the video call,
and Zoe Evans was at the dance show
that night of the 14th.
Of course she was.
So that leaves us
with zero suspects.
But they must have done it
on the 14th.
Yes, I know, thank you.
And that means
we have to start all over again.
You can take that lot down.
DISHES CLATTER Hi.
Sorry, work meet turned sociable.
Did it?
You didn't think it was worth
texting me to mention that?
No, I Yeah, of course.
So boring, I didn't even, er
I needed a drink
just to get through it.
Where's the car?
What? What do you mean?
Well, you said you had a drink.
Then what? You drove home?
Where from? No, I was
We went to The Star.
I had a a beer.
It was low ABV.
Yeah, the car's in the drive.
"We"? Me and a few colleagues.
Mum, where's my footy kit?
I looked in the airing cupboard.
I'll check again.
I'm gonna have a shower.
DISHWASHER CLATTERS Fine.
BEEP
SIZZLING
"I probably won't see you here
again."
Stop! SHE LAUGHS
You were flirting, weren't you?
Trying to, anyway.
Don't be ridiculous.
Talking to a memory is ridiculous.
Not to me, it isn't.
She liked my exhibition.
Of course she did.
Everybody liked your exhibition.
DI Bell. I'm investigating
a series of car robberies.
We've tracked a suspect vehicle
to your car park,
so I'm gonna need to see
your CCTV footage.
You know,
I've always wondered if
your murder wasn't somehow
connected to your documentary work.
So do something about it.
It's not that simple.
I do have other things
to think about, you know?
I was wrong.
Call the cops. That's a first.
About what? The timeline.
They weren't killed on the 14th.
What? When were they killed?
They used this. Look.
They took power from over there.
It's still live.
So, the wheels line up
with the marks in the blood? Yep.
They used the radiator
to heat the metal floor,
which sped up the blood flow
and the coagulation rate.
That's why they didn't clean up.
They were trying to make it look
like it happened a day earlier.
They didn't kill them on the 14th.
They killed them on the 15th.
And their alibis are for the 14th.
Exactly.
Hm.
You OK?
I'm fine. Good work.
I'll bring Diane and Zoe back in.
See if they have alibis
for the 15th.
Why am I being arrested?
What is the nature
of the allegation against me?
What were you doing
on Saturday the 15th?
I wish to exercise my right
to legal representation.
Take her to interview.
Not without legal representation.
You're a suspect, not a solicitor.
Sit down.
We believe that you conspired
with Diane Short
to murder Craig Foster
and Damian Pearce. What?
It was for Alice, wasn't it?
No. Where were you on the 15th?
VOICE BREAKING:
She's my best friend.
'Diane made me do it.
'She said it was important
for Alice's recovery.
'She said it would help.
'You know, when you see
your best friend like that'
She said Leo and his dad
were responsible
for the pictures of Alice.
The-The nudes, you know?
After Alice did what she did,
Mr Pearce helped cover it all up.
Diane said we should
teach them a lesson and
show them what it feels like.
We catfished Craig Foster
and Damian Pearce
with fake profiles
and set up a meeting at
the warehouse for, you know sex.
'Then I said I wanted to stop,
but she can be scary.
'I just wanted to go home.
'I I didn't wanna stay,
but Diane made me stay.
'So I just hid when they came.'
I couldn't stay.
I just wanted to go home.
I I didn't do anything at all.
ZOE BREATHES SHAKILY
Zoe told us everything.
Of course she did, she's only 17.
Part of me understands
why you did it.
The despair, the fury.
Those two men
might as well have thrown Alice
off that car park roof, right?
But understanding
why you might do it
and then setting aside
the ice-cold brutality it took
to kill them
and cut them into pieces
The thing that really gets me
is how you exploited Zoe.
She loves Alice.
She's vulnerable.
But instead of supporting her,
you used her vulnerability.
You groomed her.
You preyed on Zoe
the same way Craig Foster
and Damian Pearce preyed
on those schoolgirls
on your daughter, Alice.
That's a lie!
Sit down! That is a lie!
Sit down. Diane! Sit down!
Come on.
What about Zoe?
She said she wasn't present
when they were killed.
And you believe her?
What if the vomit was hers?
Those body parts were heavy.
She's only 17,
and Diane has corroborated
Zoe's version of events.
A good barrister might get Zoe
a reduced sentence.
A very good one
might get her acquitted.
And Alice?
She faces a life sentence
without her mum,
to be cared for by strangers.
That doesn't feel
like natural justice.
It's legal justice.
Do the wrong thing for the right
reasons, it's still the wrong thing.
Yes, Ma'am.
Sleep well. Yeah.
How long?
How long?
Before Christmas. Since then.
Do you work together? Yeah.
Is he the first?
First man?
All of this,
it's never happened before.
It's not something that I wanted
or expected to do.
How long
have you been attracted to men?
This isn't an interview.
I'm not a case you have to solve.
Oh, no, I'm not trying
to interview you. I'm just
Why?
I don't know.
But I can s I
I can feel how much I've hurt you
because I know you, and I love you.
You know I do.
But it's like
Look, I don't know
if I've always felt this way.
But I know that I do feel it now,
with this other person
this man.
What man?
What are you talking about?
Oh, God. I
We'll explain later.
No, explain now cos you're
obviously splitting up. Please.
I'll talk to him.
We're not finished.
SHE YELLS
PHONE VIBRATES, SHE SNIFFLES
BEEP
Hi. New case? 'An old one.'
Philip Jenson, 2015.
The murderer made a mark
on Jenson's finger.
'A triangle.' Like Simone.
'It happened
in another part of the country,
'so no-one was looking for a link.'
At the time of Jenson's murder,
Robert Parker was on remand
for a drugs offence,
so we should work off the assumption
that he's innocent.
Philip Jenson, Simone,
Rosemary Lockheart.
If they're linked, then
We could be looking
at a serial killer.