My Life Is Murder (2019) s05e06 Episode Script

1
(UPBEAT, FUNKY MUSIC)
Excuse me. Hello?
Hi.
- A bit tied up there, mate?
- Yeah. Last night was my stag do.
- Looks like it was a good time.
- I mean, the golf was fun.
OK.
Let's see.
All right, this, uh
this is gonna hurt a little bit.
I'll be fine.
(YELLS, STAMMERS) Actually, I think I'll
stay right here.
It's quite a nice view.
You know, this works great
for my beauty therapist.
You're just gonna have to handle it.
(SCREAMS)
(SCREAM ECHOES)
- Kia ora!
- Hey.
- Sorry, a bit of a hairy situation.
- Oh, speaking of.
Margo Booth,
promising young scientist;
was the recipient of a
prestigious research scholarship;
on the way to the top of her field.
Six weeks ago, she died in
the campus chemical science lab.
What a waste. What happened?
Margo was working
alone on a Saturday morning
and accidentally started a fire
with an unattended Bunsen burner.
She was getting dry ice from
the store room at the time.
The sprinklers went off,
water plus dry ice equals deadly.
Margo died from asphyxiation,
excessive inhalation of carbon dioxide.
Well, that is really awful
but seems like an accident.
Yeah, the WorkSafe investigation
ruled that too.
But Margo's best friend,
Keri-Anne Harker,
is convinced something
isn't quite right.
You don't usually reopen cases
based on the word of a best friend.
True. Margo's brilliant, apparently.
How does someone like her
make a mistake like that?
So what do you think happened?
I can't really have an opinion.
Can't have an opinion
or don't have an opinion?
Margo's supervisors are
Professor Duncan Lovell
and
- Professor Virginia Henare.
- Uh-huh.
Sister?
No, cousin. No, c, second cousin.
Cousin-in-law!
Actually, Virginia is
my wife.
(SNORTS)
No.
- Stop. Since when were you married?
- It's a long story.
Well, I have quite a lot of
questions, actually, Harry,
and only one or two of
them are about the case,
but let's just start
with why are we here?
Do you want me to prove
that Mrs Henare didn't do it?
She definitely didn't do it.
- She said that?
- I don't know.
I haven't spoken to her,
not for a few years.
Access card to the chemistry
building. Just take a look for me?
A once-over to make sure
that nothing nuts is going on
before I send a team bowling in?
- Sure.
- Really?
What are friends for, Harry?
And you can answer
all my other questions
later.
Harry has a wife?! Who is she?
How did they meet? When did they meet?
How long have they been married?
What is she like?
Can you just calm the farm
so we can find out?
Here, Margo Booth,
brilliant PhD student.
But what has this got to do
with Harry's missus?
OK, OK, farm calmed.
So, one morning,
Margo's working with carbon dioxide.
She leaves a Bunsen burner unattended.
Before you know it, whoosh,
fire, sprinklers, dry ice
A fatal combination. Poor Margo.
Good morning, lab rats.
I've been using gas chromatography
mass spectrometry
to precisely identify and quantify
compounds within the sample.
CHUCKLES: GC-MS is amazing.
It's so specific. It can identify
contaminants
like toxins and additives.
But right now, you might be going,
'Margo,
what on earth are you talking about?'
- Yeah, a little bit, yeah.
- I'm thinking food.
Oh, I'm OK. I just ate.
- It's all about what we eat.
- (TAPS SPACE-BAR) Oh, right.
- (TAPS SPACE-BAR)
- And what we don't want to eat,
like microplastics. Ew, gross.
And in here, I have 20 everyday
foods I've examined using GC-MS.
I mean, clearly a bright kid, right?
Yeah, too bright to leave
a fire unattended in a lab.
Exactly.
OK, I feel that I've been
very patient, Alexa.
Are we at the bit about
Harry's surprise wife yet?
Almost.
Here, Professor Virginia Henare.
(GASPS SOFTLY) Whoa.
- Wait, she was Margo's supervisor?
- Yeah, one of them.
You're thinking Margo wasn't alone
in the lab that morning.
And I'm not the only one.
Come along.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC)
Oh, amazing. You absolutely
look like private detectives.
We're not exactly that.
I'm Madison, and this is Alexa.
Keri-Anne, Margo's best friend.
Please, come in.
I'm so glad the police took me seriously
because Margo didn't make mistakes.
I mean,
how could a person with such an OCD
room ignore protocol she'd
followed hundreds of times?
Oh, this is where Margo
did her science videos.
That's right.
I was so stressed about her death.
- Stressed or sad?
- Sad.
It was Margo who was stressed.
All she did the month before
she died was work, work, work.
That Professor Virginia
really cracked the whip.
Are you saying Margo was unhappy
about it?
I thought she loved her work.
Unless it was an act in the videos?
No. She was a very genuine person.
Losing her has impacted
my studies so much.
Thankfully,
I have my creative writing as an outlet.
I'm an English PhD student,
'Head Over Gothic Heels:
An Examination of the Interplay
Between Fashion Choice
and Emotional Despair
'in Gothic Romantic Literature
1800 to 1850.'
Sounds very specific.
Um, tell me more about it.
Well, goth subcultures are
born from feelings of otherness.
It's all about diversity,
open-mindedness, freedom of expression.
Now, as much as we'd love to hear more,
we've got a case to investigate.
And I am so grateful.
Not knowing what really happened to
my best friend is so disruptive.
You know?
Someone is not sold on Keri-Anne.
Well,
if Harry asked us to look into things
just because Keri-Anne thinks we should,
then we wouldn't be looking into them.
But you want to meet Mrs Henare.
- Can I come too?
- No. I got another job for you.
Keri-Anne reckons that the professor
worked Margo too hard.
I want you to find out if
that was a common experience.
Fine. But I want every detail, OK?
Every detail.
(LAID-BACK, FUNKY MUSIC)
(ENTRY PAD BLEEPS)
I love a woman who can handle fire.
Professor Henare, I'm Alexa Crowe.
- I'm a friend of Harry's.
- Oh.
Well, that's a name from the past.
Well, sort of.
I mean, you do still have a surname.
This is true. So what can I do
for you, friend of Harry's?
Well, I'm looking into the recent
death of your student, Margo Booth.
Harry sent you to ask about Margo.
Why didn't he just pick up the phone?
Uh, conflict of interest.
Margo didn't follow safety procedures.
Well, you must have wondered about that.
I mean,
Margo was a diligent student,
a star in the making, by all accounts.
Which is why it's a tragedy.
Where is that boy with my sushi?
Is he catching the tuna himself?
Oh, hello. I'm Professor Lovell.
And you are?
- Alexa Crowe. How do you do?
- She's a police detective, Duncan.
Oh, I didn't say that.
I'm just a friend of the police.
Apparently, poor Margo's accident
is no longer an accident.
Oh gosh. WorkSafe already
did a thorough investigation.
Yes, I'm aware of that.
I mean, we had questions ourselves.
Why would someone like Margo
break crucial safety rules?
Well, I put it down
to unbridled enthusiasm.
Margo threw herself into her research,
which was to be admired, of course.
But she could be impatient, coming
in here on a Saturday morning alone.
So it's as if she was
on the verge of a breakthrough
and could not wait for a safety buddy.
A breakthrough? Well,
we'll never know, will we?
Look,
I'm in the middle of something now,
but we will help you
in any way that we can.
Of course we will. You just give
us some notice, and we're all yours.
Oh.
And please pass on my regards to Harry.
(CHUCKLES)
(UPBEAT, FUNKY MUSIC)
Riding solo today, huh?
Yeah,
Alexa's catching up with Harry's wife.
- Wait. His what?
- So you didn't know this either?
- No!
- Oh!
Uh,
why weren't we invited to his wedding?
No, this isn't recent.
He's had a wife this whole time.
- Nah.
- Yeah!
- (CELL PHONE CHIMES)
- Oh, I got to take this.
Madison speaking.
Thank you so much for calling back.
When was Professor Henare
your supervisor?
I wonder how fast a dry ice cloud
will grow when water is at it.
I'm pretty sure you can find
that info online.
Oh, yes, yes, I know,
but I want to
see how quickly things happen in the lab
and why Margo didn't
have time to escape.
Remember all of those dry ice
deaths we found online,
including the man who
used it to store ice cream?
It leaked into his kitchen,
and see you later.
Hello, that's why I'm outside.
Alexa!
Oops.
- So, the answer is real quick.
- (CHOWDER MIAOWS)
You could just believe what people say
rather than proving everything yourself.
We'd never solve anything if
we just believe what people say.
So, what's the goss on the wife?
What was she like?
Fine.
What do her former students say?
That she's brilliant but a little cold.
They all really love the other
supervisor, Duncan, though.
He's the friendly, fun,
if a bit absent-minded professor.
So is that code for
'not very good at his job'?
- Kia ora.
- Hey.
Hello.
Are we going inside?
Oh, it'll be clear in about 45 minutes.
Which should be enough time to get
the full story on your love life.
Have you received the access card
records from campus security?
- Did you email them to me?
- Uh-huh.
So you just came around to tell
Madison that you'd sent an email.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC)
Come on, Harry.
You can run, but you can't hide.
- (MUMBLES)
- Yeah, OK
She wants to know why
you didn't call her yourself.
Because it's awkward.
10 or 12 years go by, and I just pick up
the phone and
ask her about a dead student?
Virginia is not just some
ex-girlfriend that you lost touch with.
Evidently, at some point,
you married her.
(CLEARS THROAT)
All right, well, she and her colleague
are on the same page about Margo,
an accident.
Her colleague, Duncan Lovell.
- Yeah, that's Professor to you.
- Ugh, you sound just like him.
Am I detecting a sort of
love triangle here?
He was Ginny's supervisor,
mentor back in the day.
And now they're both
Margo's supervisors, or were.
You want me to focus on Duncan.
I can't let my opinion
cloud my judgement.
- Gotcha. You think Duncan did it.
- I want it to be Duncan.
(UPBEAT, FUNKY MUSIC)
Access cards for the lab are
encoded with a unique digital ID,
so every entry and exit is logged.
With names?
It's numbers currently,
but I'm working on it.
- Who is that?
- Oh, this is Professor Duncan Lovell.
Quite the rock star scientist
back in the day.
Back when he was Virginia Henare's
supervisor, you mean.
Do you think the handsome
professor swept her off her feet
and away from Harry?
I think that we shouldn't
gossip about our friends.
Boring.
Hey.
Make sure you know the
location of safety showers,
eyewash stations, fire extinguishers,
and today, I've got my safety buddy here
cos we're dealing with carbon dioxide.
Say hi, safety buddy.
I'm getting teacher's pet vibes here.
Which teacher are you thinking, though,
Professor Henare or
the science rock star?
Why not both?
(CURIOUS MUSIC)
Hello.
I hope this is a better time to talk.
I have five minutes before
the Chem 303 students show up.
Where were you the
morning that Margo died?
Gosh, that's a bit on the nose.
Well, neither of us have
time for me to cushion it.
Fair point.
I was at home when I got
the call about the fire.
- Anyone there with you?
- My cat.
Did you make any calls, send
any emails or receive any deliveries?
I'm not sure.
But what I do know is I wasn't here
watching my best student
die of carbon dioxide poisoning.
(CHUCKLES) On the nose.
So, friend of Harry's,
is that all that you are?
Oh, sure.
Yes, well, we are close.
- What's he told you about me?
- Not very much.
But I do get the feeling
that he's not much of a fan
of Professor Duncan Lovell.
Oh, grow up, Harry.
Sensing a story there.
- Not really.
- Oh well. I won't ask.
Not you anyway.
- Where can I find Professor Lovell?
- In his happy place.
(SOOTHING MUSIC)
- Gidday, professor.
- Alexa.
Hello again.
I just wanted to have another little
chat
about Margo Booth, if that's OK.
- And you came all the way out here?
- Oh, why not? It's beautiful.
It is.
Do you get out here much?
- A few times a week.
- Oh, lucky you can manage it.
(GRUNTS) Well, it's why I have minions.
Oh, you mean research students?
Yes. Sorry, I shouldn't
say things like that, should I?
Margo was working alone at the lab
that morning while I was
- You were?
- Oh, out here, probably.
- Just probably?
- No, definitely.
Because when I got back to the car,
there were the messages letting me know.
Were you surfing with anyone that day?
Oh, there's bound to be some others.
No one I can call to verify,
if that's what you'reafter.
It is.
I tend to be in the zone.
I can relate to that.
Tell me about Margo.
She was a very promising young lady,
meticulous attention to detail,
the best
work ethic I've observed in a student.
It's one of the reasons she won
the doctoral fellowship.
- Were there other applicants?
- Of course.
Are they still around?
Yes. Caleb Moore, he lost out to Margo,
but we managed to find him
a part-time role.
So when she died, the fellowship
transferred to this Caleb Moore?
Look, he's been working really
hard to make up for all the time
we lost after the accident.
- Uh-huh.
- He didn't benefit from Margo dying,
if that's what you're suggesting.
Apart from receiving
the prestigious fellowship he wanted.
Meet Caleb Moore,
research assistant, PhD student.
Oh, he's got a weekly slot on
student radio talking everyday science.
He's also got Margo's fellowship.
But is that a strong enough motive
for murder?
If you're ambitious or jealous
or you just need the money.
Isn't he in one of Margo's videos?
Say hi, safety buddy.
Oh, the safety buddy
who wasn't very buddy-like.
And Margo's loss is
definitely Caleb's gain.
Our research could change the game
for plastic pollution.
- Well, that sounds really exciting.
- It is.
Especially for you, right?
Now that you're the new Margo Booth.
You took over a role,
no longer the bridesmaid.
I see what you're saying.
So, for a start, I'm a scientist,
not a kids entertainer.
Oh, you're referring
to Margo's educational videos?
The life of a PhD student
in the chemistry faculty.
Well, I think they're great,
aspirational.
I've got a slot in student radio,
Everyday Science with Caleb.
All the shows are available online
if you're interested.
What interests me
is why you mock Margo's content
creation but it's OK for you to do it.
Margo was a great girl.
- Woman.
- Woman.
But she ignored the buddy system,
and
it nearly lost us all of our research.
It could've been a complete disaster.
A brilliant woman with a
big future lost her life, Caleb.
There's no 'could've been' about it.
- I liked Margo.
- Not getting that from you.
Because we are working on a project
that could
literally change the world.
And you, you're chasing a silly
theory about an accidental death.
(INHALES DEEPLY)
Well, I best leave you to it, then.
That security log, have you turned
numbers into names yet?
I have, but there's no one of
interest going in with Margo.
Margo arrived at 8, never left.
Take a look at the day before.
OK, so going all the way back
to the Friday morning
our research students arrive,
professors
arrive all around the same time.
And when do they all leave?
Virginia was out of there
later that night; Duncan too.
And Caleb
Let me hazard a guess.
- Wow.
- He didn't leave on Friday, did he?
- Hi. - How did you get my address?
- I'm a police consultant, Caleb.
And your supervisors are very keen
to help me out.
Wait, Virginia and Duncan
know you're speaking to me?
Can I come in?
- I already answered your questions.
- Oh, but I've got more,
about you swiping into
the lab that Friday morning,
the day before Margo died,
and never swiping out.
I did so. I left on Friday afternoon.
Without using your card?
I always use my card, you know,
in case they're logging out hours.
Caleb, there's no record
of you ever leaving that day.
You think I stayed the night in the lab?
And waited for Margo to arrive the next
morning? Yeah,
that's exactly what I think.
No. No. Uh
um what if, what if my, um,
card is defective?
Let's say that it is.
Where were you that Saturday morning?
Here. I was, I was right here.
Alone?
Do you want me to prove it?
Is that what you're saying?
Well, I mean, that'd be handy,
especially for you.
OK, just stay here. Don't go
anywhere. I'll be right back.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC)
(GASPS) Oh God.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
- And that's for you.
- Thank you.
My childhood dream,
never-ending supply of ice cream
and kids who want to be my friend.
I'm lactose intolerant,
and kids are messy and emotional.
I've got goals outside of ice cream.
Did you know one of the fastest
selling paperbacks of all time
was developed from fan fiction?
I just need to finish my PhD,
then land a full-time academic job.
Then I can use some of my research
hours to write and get paid for it.
Did Margo ever mention
her colleague Caleb?
Caleb Moore? As in,
could you be 'Moore' creepy?
The last time I saw him, we were at this
party together.
He wouldn't leave her alone.
Like a stalker?
And then there was that
phone call about two days before.
- Yes?
- I overheard her. She was upset.
He was trying to take credit
for her work or something.
She said she was gonna report him.
- Did she?
- Mm-hm. I heard her raise her voice.
She said, 'This isn't fair.
I'm going to report you.'
Morena.
- Alexa Crowe, would you like a muffin?
- Oh.
- One of my students made them for me.
- Greaser.
She's worried that I'm too busy to eat,
but, yes, probably
not that I'm complaining.
So, this, uh, Caleb Moore,
he's is odd one, huh?
- Why, are you still interested in him?
- Yes, very.
Especially since
I visited him at his house.
Plus, he had an argument with
Margo in the days before she died.
She was gonna report him for something.
- I don't know anything about that.
- Mm.
- Oh.
- Hello.
- Hello, Professor Lovell.
- Caleb, are you all right?
Yes. Yes, very, very good.
Miss Crowe, Detective Crowe,
what do I call you?
Alexa's fine.
- Can we please have a chat?
- Yeah, yeah, 'course.
Would you like me to come with you,
Caleb?
No. No, no, no.
I'm just, um, helping Alexa
to understand our safety protocols.
- Good man.
- Yeah.
I'm not entirely sure why you left.
- I looked in your fridge.
- OK, yeah, that makes sense.
- Why would you look in my fridge?
- Blood on the door.
I can There's a reason,
for the treasure trove of body parts?
You're make me sound like a freak.
Now, Caleb, I'm not a newbie.
I know those are animal parts
and not human,
but I also know that your kitchen
has almost no cooking equipment,
and even if it did, hearts and
eyeballs don't make the best cuts.
Oh, jeez.
So tell me, what's the reason
for the home horror fest?
Here we go.
Let's do it.
Let's do
(KNIFE CLATTERS)
There's more.
You've got this, Caleb. You can do it.
Yeah, I do.
Yeah, I can. (EXHALES)
So, what is it,
haemophobia? Ommetaphobia?
All of the above.
Vasovagal response 100% of the time.
I only made it through my undergrad
studies with hypnotherapy.
Virginia would laugh me
out the door if she found out.
Even Duncan, I mean,
I don't think he'd be impressed.
What kind of scientist
can't dissect a
cow's spleen to identify contamination?
So what is this, exposure therapy?
What's Margo doing there?
It was her suggestion.
She wanted to help.
You confided in her?
Well, she guessed.
- So do you believe me now?
- Believe you what?
That you wouldn't do anything
to hurt the woman
who discovered your humiliating,
career-threatening secret?
Apparently, you phoned Margo
the Thursday before she died.
- She was upset.
- No. No, I didn't.
According to Margo's best friend,
you did,
something about wanting
to take credit for her work.
She threatened to report you.
Hold on, what best friend?
You mean the flatmate?
Keri-Anne thinks
you were bothering Margo.
Then why would she come to my place
to help me?
That was her idea, not mine.
And Keri-Anne is the weirdo, OK?
She's scary.
They weren't friends. Margo,
she was obsessed with her research.
Her friends were here
in the science faculty.
Her friends were
me.
(CELL PHONE CHIMES)
I'm in ice cream heaven.
You're still with Keri-Anne Harker?
I've been trying to get info out of her,
but she's a surprisingly
popular ice cream girl.
Keep smiling.
She was never besties with Margo.
PHONE: According to Caleb,
she's playing up their friendship.
So it's a he said, she said?
Yes, it is. Keri-Anne is
a weirdo, he says. (CHUCKLES)
And if the guy with
a freezer full of hearts says,
Sorry, what? I'm going with 'she said'.
Keri-Anne's got dry ice here.
OK, keep calm and step away
from the murder cart.
- Alexa.
- Oh, Duncan. Hello again.
- Is Caleb all right?
- Yeah. Actually, he was quite helpful.
Look, I'm just a little uncomfortable
with you pressuring
my students like this.
It just seems a bit off.
I'm not pressuring anyone.
I'm just asking a few questions.
Still, it's a bit confronting for them.
Caleb wants to find out what really
happened to Margo as much as I do.
What really happened?
We've lost a divine young woman.
And that is hard enough without you
suggesting someone wanted her gone.
It's disgraceful, actually.
(INTRIGUING, UPBEAT MUSIC)
(LAID-BACK, FUNKY MUSIC)
Professor Lovell was
not so friendly today.
Oh, here we go,
academic transcripts and records.
- Do not ask how I got in here.
- Never.
- Margo's?
- Keri-Anne's.
- Mm-hm?
- Hmm.
She has had several extensions
to her PhD deadline.
The latest one, guess when.
She was supposed to submit her
thesis a few weeks after Margo died.
But now it's not due
for another six months.
She applied for an
extension after Margo's death?
The day after.
And what she officially applied for
was bereavement leave.
Without it, she would have had
to submit by the original date,
and if she didn't, she was gonna be
dropped from the PhD programme.
Now, is that enough motive for murder?
When you've put that many years of
your life into the project,
I'd say so.
A+ for you, Madison.
(LAID-BACK MUSIC PLAYS)
And though he broke my heart ♪
WHISPERS: Looks like
we gate-crashed the party.
Or a funeral.
Welcome all to my reading.
- I think she saw us.
- Yeah. It's hard to miss us.
READS: As I crossed the threshold
from student to lover,
'I've never felt so alive
'even though you
'were so very dead.'
(SNORTS, COUGHS)
'You already taught me so much
as my professor.
'But now, in this new role,
my body shivered.
'And not because your body was cold,
but because of the hundreds of years'
(CURIOUS MUSIC)
(CLATTERING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(GASPS)
- My pleasure.
- Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for coming to
my reading. What a nice surprise.
Keri-Anne, where were you the morning
that Margo died in the science lab?
Why are you questioning me?
Because you overstated your friendship.
Perhaps to get a bereavement
extension on your PhD
which you did in fact do.
Oh my goddess. Getting an
extension was the last thing on my mind
when I heard what had happened
to poor Margo.
BS. You applied the next morning.
If I'm guilty,
why did I go to the police?
So you can apply for a further
extension due to the stress
of the ongoing investigation.
Look, I loved Margo.
- What was her star sign?
- Sorry?
What's your bestie's star sign?
She gives Virgo energy.
- Is Virgo late December?
- Alexa.
Margo was a Capricorn.
So I'm gonna ask you again.
Where were
you the morning of Margo's accident?
I hosted a paranormal romance write-in.
There was at least a hundred attendees.
I got a whole novella completed.
- Where was this write-in?
- Online.
- Was it recorded?
- No.
But I can give you the novella.
Oh. (CHOWDER PURRS)
Chowder, hide your eyes.
- It's pretty racy, huh?
- (EXHALES, CHUCKLES)
Madison, you have to stop me
reading this.
MARGO ON COMPUTER:
This is super quick just to say hi,
and shout out to Archimedes
and another one to Marie Curie.
That's all. Stay tuned, lab rats.
Play that again.
This is super quick just to say hi,
and shout out to Archimedes
and another one to Marie Curie.
That's all. Stay tuned, lab rats.
And that was that. She went in
the next morning, never came back.
Eureka.
What, you solved it? What am I missing?
The Archimedes principle,
he was in the bath one morning
when he discovered this
amazing theory about water and,
and volume and measurement.
But then he ran through the town
shouting, 'Eureka!'
So you think that Margo
discovered something?
Well, whatever it was,
I think it's in those notebooks.
Which we can't find.
Well, she went to the lab the next
morning. Maybe she took them.
(UPBEAT, FUNKY MUSIC)
So,
what we have is a swipe card situation,
a phone call and some missing notebooks.
- Tea and a long black.
- Thanks, bro.
So, does your wife know about this?
No? Not funny at all?
- They have an open relationship.
- Different strokes and all that.
So, do you?
Did you have an open relationship?
No kind of relationship.
All right, I get that.
But why the big secret?
You know, Ginny always said back
then the hardest part of what she did
was securing the funding.
So she married young Harry for
his money? I find that hard to believe.
Well, you're half right.
We were best mates since high school.
Never any romance between us.
OK, so how did I know that you'd
be a best girl-mate kind of guy,
even in your youth?
Anyway,
Ginny was always focused on her study,
her future career,
but it was a struggle,
textbooks, course fees, rent a
decent student allowance
wasn't a thing.
Unless
- you were married.
- Harry, you didn't.
She was in need. And I knew even
back then that I was probably gonna be
a commitment-phobe
for the rest of my life.
So you married your best friend
for a student allowance?
I mean, I married my best friend too,
but I was in love with him.
You know, it wasn't like that for me.
It did not stop me
getting pissed off when
Professor Duncan turned up on the scene.
All of a sudden, we couldn't have a
conversation
without his name coming up.
One day, I pointed out that she
was always fetching coffee for him,
running around, doing his chores.
- Like a minion.
- Ginny got defensive, we argued
and then we just never made up.
- A best friend break-up.
- Yep.
- That's rough.
- Yeah.
So rough that
I am not going to tease you
about marrying for a student
allowance, though it is illegal.
That thing you said about
securing funding, though.
Yeah, what about it?
It's probably the same issue today
no matter how successful you are.
Where are you going with this, Alexa?
Towards a motive for murder.
(UNEASY MUSIC)
(ENTRY PAD BLEEPS)
(INTRIGUING MUSIC)
Should I be flattered that
you're stalking me out here?
I'm just impressed that you manage
to spend so much time on the ocean
instead of working on that
multi-million-dollar research project.
Work-life balance is important, Alexa.
- Do you mind?
- Sure.
I suppose that eureka moment might
come to you
when you're catching a wave.
(EXHALES) Exactly.
Except that you already said you
get in the zone when you're surfing.
What's this about? Do you have
any actual questions for me?
Oh, yes, yes. It's about
your minions, as you call them.
I've noticed that you have co-authored a
lot of research papers
during your career.
- Of course.
- And a lot of those are collaborations
with your PhD students
going all the way back
to Virginia Henare.
So forgive me if I'm a little blunt,
Professor Lovell.
Please, please don't stop now.
But are they riding on your coattails,
or is it the other way round?
What are you accusing me of?
Well,
it's obvious that you whack your name
on your students' research papers,
and your academic output is massive.
It's not uncommon.
To the extent you do it?
You must be so busy, it's amazing
that you find time to get out here.
Do you have any idea
at all how a faculty works?
I am trying to, professor.
- That's why I've come to you.
- If you'll excuse me.
(EXHALES)
(LIGHT, CURIOUS MUSIC)
Eureka.
Nice work, Madison, very nice.
Hmm.
- We might need a translator.
- Luckily, I know just the person.
Caleb, my friend.
I need your big science-y brain.
- Wait, those are Margo's.
- Full marks!
I think these show what
she was working on at the lab.
Look here. Now, the dates in
the columns coincide with weekends,
but there's a lot of question marks,
so whatever she was trying to
figure out was really challenging.
- Do you think you're up to the task?
- Of course.
This might take a bit of time.
Oh, that's fine. I've got something
really important to do while I wait.
(EXHALES, CHUCKLES)
(EXHALES)
Margo, she did it.
She worked it out.
- Oh, a eureka moment?
- God, she was so good.
I mean, how can she suddenly just go,
- 'Why not rumen?'
- Rumen?
You know,
the largest part of a cow's stomach.
- Oh.
- Think, like, a 55-gallon rubbish bin.
And cattle already have
these natural plant polyesters
in their diet, so if you think
about it, it makes sense.
And, hey, we're in New Zealand.
We're not short of a cow
so upscaling would be so easy.
- (EXHALES)
- What's the matter?
She never got to do anything about
it. She never got to tell anyone.
Actually, Caleb
I think maybe she did.
(UPBEAT, FUNKY MUSIC)
Morning, lab rats!
Have you met Madison? She's my
- Wait, what are you?
- Well, you're my mentor.
And that's kind of what you two
were to Margo, right?
Alexa, I normally admire a tenacious
woman,
but this is too much. Back off.
Hello, you must be Harry's wife.
I've heard next to nothing about you.
Virginia's right, Alexa.
You're pushing this too far.
She keeps coming out to the surf beach.
Now, I'm glad you mentioned that
cos that's where you said you were
the Saturday morning
that Margo died, surfing.
- I believe so.
- I don't.
Alexa's been listening to Caleb
Moore's slots on student radio,
and she noticed that the show he's
on also does a daily surf report.
So just out of interest,
I went back to that Saturday
and listened to the podcast,
and guess what I'm gonna say, Duncan.
Can you guess?
Call security, will you, Virginia?
Get these bloody women out of here.
What she was gonna say is
there was no surf that day.
Student FM's surf girl gave
the West Coast a zero out of 10.
So somebody's telling fibs.
Uh, so you're suggesting that
Duncan was here with Margo?
You really are clutching at straws.
Except that I'm not,
cos you were here, right, Duncan?
Now, hear me out.
No one could understand
why swotty Margo would break the rules
to work alone without a safety buddy,
so that's what we focused on.
And then Madison figured out
that someone in this faculty
swiped in on the Friday morning
but didn't leave that night.
(SCOFFS)
Why are you both looking at me?
As if Duncan would allow
a student to come to harm.
- He elevates people. He doesn't,
- I'm gonna have to stop you there.
You see, two days before Margo died,
she discovered something,
and she brought it to her professor,
her mentor,
who she looked up to,
who she was expecting to impress.
But you weren't impressed.
You were pissed off
because this baby scientist
was gonna be a star.
She was gonna take all the glory,
all the money.
- What did Margo discover, Duncan?
- (SCOFFS)
Well, whatever it was,
she'd written it
all down in her little pink notebooks,
which, unfortunately,
are missing from her house.
And we thought if we located those
notebooks,
things might become clearer.
So Madison came here yesterday,
and she took a little look around.
- Sorry, what?
- Oh, we have an access card.
Speaking of cards,
that was brilliant
how you swapped yours out for Caleb's,
cos it looked like you left
when you didn't.
He swiped out on your card on the Friday
night
while you stayed in and got comfy.
Well, Madison could not find
the notebooks in your office,
but she found something else.
- Your sleeping bag.
- And then so did I.
(INTRIGUING MUSIC)
Margo's notebooks.
What, What did Margo discover, Duncan?
(CHUCKLES)
No idea. Nothing. Those notebooks
that you're so interested in, Alexa,
they're just full
of undergraduate musings.
Well, that's not what
Caleb Moore thinks.
He's taken copies, and he's
writing up Margo's work as we speak.
What's the matter, prof? You've
already written it up, haven't you?
Because that's the other thing
that Madison found in your office
on your computer.
You're about to publish Margo's work,
but you forgot to put her name on it.
Duncan
what did you do?
You said that you'd go to the next stage
but with you at the helm,
controlling the work, the money.
But Margo wasn't gonna have that.
No, she's from this new generation
that's not gonna let any man
take credit for her work.
So when you put the pressure on,
she threatened to go public.
She was gonna tell everybody that you've
been exploiting students,
accepting gifts,
and that you're hardly ever here
except
to put your name on someone else's work.
And if all that came out in this day
and age, you'd be cancelled, mate.
CHUCKLES: Oh, for pity's sake.
So you talked Margo down,
said you'd meet her, test her theory,
run some experiments.
You asked her not to tell anyone,
and she didn't because she believed you.
And that was Margo's fatal mistake.
Because you already knew
what you were going to do.
You weren't going to let Margo
run off with your retirement plan.
(TENSE MUSIC)
So you decided that this
brilliant student and her discovery
needed to go away.
Oh my God.
The work always comes first,
Virginia. You know that.
Yeah, whose work?
You would've been happy with
that child running the next stage?
(LAUGHS) You and I, working under her?
- Because that's what would've happened.
- Oh.
- That's what she wanted.
- Oh God, that poor
- Ginny, wait, please, don't hate me.
- My God.
I could've lost everything.
(UPBEAT, FUNKY MUSIC)
(PENSIVE MUSIC)
Thank you, friend of Harry's.
You're welcome.
- Divorce papers.
- Oh, eh?
Is she keeping her name?
Actually, no.
Ginny thinks it's time to be herself.
You know what she is doing?
READS: The Margo Booth scholarship?
Financial support for young women
starting
out in the study of chemical science.
So they don't have to
marry young men like you.
(CHUCKLES)
Seriously,
that's a really nice tribute to Margo.
Yeah.
she must be a good woman,
your ex-wife/best friend.
- She's OK.
- But you like your new bestie best.
Sure do.
Cos what's not to love?
(LAUGHS)
(UPBEAT, FUNKY MUSIC)
- Alexa is taking a vacation.
- LAUGHS: Yeah, right.
She's in Fiji.
50 bucks says she's working
on more than just her suntan.
It's like the universe just
put us together at the same time,
so justice can finally be served.
The universe didn't put me here.
You did.
What on earth are you doing here,
Alexa Crowe?
I go after creeps like you for fun.
You having fun yet?
Who was that?
Do you have a bloke with you?
I just have a thing for
unavailable women.
Make up your mind, Alexa.
Can't just take a vacation, can you?