Dalgliesh (2021) s01e04 Episode Script

The Black Tower (Part 2)

Adam.
Mr Dalgliesh, wake up!
Sorry. There was no phone.
You need to come. It's Grace.
Victor, then Father Michael, now
- Shut up, will you?
- Don't you speak to me like that.
Maggie, go and wait
in the dining room!
Who found her?
- I did.
- Did you touch anything?
I checked for a pulse.
Is that all right with you?
There's no need to
complicate things.
We leave for Lourdes
the day after tomorrow.
That's not Eric's problem.
It could make things
a little easier.
I'm not here to make things easier.
Then what am I paying you for?
There are rules.
Laws.
If it's a matter of law,
shouldn't we defer to the expert?
Do you know the cause of death?
Well, obviously she had a serious,
progressive condition,
but I don't know why it should
have happened so suddenly.
There may be a secondary factor
that I've missed.
Then the law says you notify
the coroner.
Arrange a postmortem.
Well, if the law says.
I'd better go and tell the others.
I'll make that call.
Inspector.
I'm sorry to report that Grace
passed away last night.
Aside from the personal loss,
I know we all feel this sad news
also forces a moment
of decision on us.
I've decided it's time to invite
the Ridgewell Trust
to take over the running
of Toynton Grange.
The decision we have to make
together now as a family
is how we do this.
How much of what we have
do we want to keep hold of?
What might we have to lose?
What do you mean?
What would we lose?
There have been
difficult choices to make,
but every decision, however painful,
has been made out of love.
And if the discipline at times
seems hard,
remember we are a family.
And every loving family
is built on small sacrifices.
What do the Ridgewell Trust
have to do with it?
The trust have invited me to remain
at the Grange as spiritual adviser.
If I stayed, I'd be in a position
to protect what we have here,
- what we've built together.
If you stay?
Does that mean that you might not?
My role here has always
been based on my faith.
My faith, my mission
and your faith in me.
This transition is a chance
to renew that contract,
so there will be a vote
this afternoon at 5:00pm
with an hour's reflection before.
Everyone in the family
will have a voice.
If the majority reaffirm
their belief in me,
then I will stay and build
on what we've achieved.
And if they don't?
Well, that would be a sign
that I should
continue my ministry elsewhere.
And by family, of course,
I mean staff and residents.
And what am I?
Neither.
But I live here, too.
You did the right thing.
All Wilfred cares about
is this bloody pilgrimage.
Forget him.
He'll be gone soon.
Yeah.
Wilfred's called a vote on whether
you should stay or not.
What?
But I'm excluded.
He says I'm not staff or resident.
- Yeah, well, that's true.
- I live here!
- But it's up to him, really.
- Is that all you can say?!
- What do you want me to say?
- I'm your wife. I want you to support me!
- What do you think he's been doing?
- I know exactly what he's been doing.
What you've both been doing.
Do you think I'm blind?
You think you win just because
he's sleeping with you?
Or do you think he is ever
going to leave me for you?
Why wouldn't he?
- Because he is a spineless coward.
- That is enough.
I should know because that's
how he ended up marrying me.
- Maggie!
- You and that supercilious bitch!
You think you control me with your
bullying and your sleeping pills
but I am not a child any more.
I'm not the silly schoolgirl
you used to screw in your office!
God, I kept quiet for you
but I could destroy you.
In fact, I could destroy this
whole rotten place!
My room is next to Grace.
Her bed's just through the wall.
She used to keep me awake
with her snoring.
Then, last night,
I realised it had stopped
and I remember feeling grateful.
It seems she died quietly
in her sleep.
- Like Father Michael.
- It's just like Father Michael.
You seriously want me
to commit resources
on the basis of a crushed flower?
If the book fell to the floor,
someone else had to have put it
- back on the bedside table.
- What about the people who found her?
- They didn't touch anything.
- Look, if the postmortem suggests
anything other than natural causes,
we'll look into it, but
Anstey's still planning to
go to Lourdes on Wednesday.
- Can't you find some way to stop him?
- Not without some real evidence, no.
Then we need to get
the postmortem results tomorrow.
- We?
- Do your job, Inspector.
Yes, sir.
Of course, sir.
He's getting right on my wick.
Shall we begin?
I think we can keep this
very simple.
I want to ask you all honestly
do you continue to place
your trust in me?
Yes.
Of course.
Thank you.
Jenny?
Sure.
Why not?
I'm grateful.
I had hoped you'd come to
feel differently, Henry.
There are some things I'll never
feel differently about.
Ursula?
Trust me
and I promise I will never
abandon you.
Okay.
Eric?
It seems right that you should have
the chance to cast the key vote.
I placed my trust in you
when others doubted.
Will you do me the same honor?
Chief Inspector,
you missed the big vote.
- Go back and call the police.
- What's happened?
Maggie. She's dead.
Hanged at the Black Tower.
But she was at my place.
I left her there.
Go and make the call.
And you better tell Houston.
I'm going back to the tower.
Eric, wait.
Eric.
Eric!
Oh, my God.
Maggie's bag, she left it at
Marsh's.
Best dressed, painted nails,
lipstick.
It's like she was going away
for the weekend,
planning to kill herself.
She did leave a note.
Can't do this any more.
You can go on without me.
Enough to suggest intent.
That's my pen.
Are you sure?
A gift from my wife.
Maggie must have taken it.
Maybe she wanted a keepsake.
She just turned up at my door,
very upset.
Raging about Eric and Helen.
You heard the shouting this morning.
What did you do?
Told her everything was
going to be okay
Sorry.
She was such a
spark of light and life here, so
out of place.
A little girl, really.
Any death is a tragedy.
And I can't say I'm surprised.
Maggie was always volatile.
So how did you think she'd react
when you blocked her from voting?
I knew she'd be angry.
She really had no right to be.
This was her home.
Maggie had a choice.
She chose not to be part
of our project here.
Why should she expect to have
a say in its future?
Nothing to do with the fact
that she'd vote against you.
It was five to one in my favour.
It wouldn't have made any difference.
You didn't know that this morning.
Like I didn't know she was going
to go and hang herself.
Where were you before the vote?
I was in my room between
four and five, meditating.
Did anyone see you?
No.
I was alone.
That's the point of meditating.
She seemed calm when I left.
I wanted to come up to the
Grange before the vote.
I wouldn't have left her if I
What time was this?
About a quarter to four, I think.
Did anyone else from the Grange
know she was at yours?
Everyone, probably.
I told Wilfred, Dennis and Henry
when I saw them.
And I had to tell Eric.
Eric was with me.
We were together all afternoon.
- From when?
- From lunchtime, until the vote.
You were late for the vote.
We went for a walk.
Eric was still upset from
the scene this morning.
I thought some fresh air
might clear his head.
I lost track of time.
Were you near Julius' cottage?
No, I don't think so, why?
You might have been the last to
see Maggie before she died.
Like you were the last to see Grace.
And should have been the last
to see Father Michael.
What are you suggesting?
Just noting your proximity
to a number of sudden deaths.
I'm a nurse.
And how does sleeping with Dr Hewson
square with your
professional ethics?
Was your wife suffering from
depression?
No.
Was she taking any kind of
medication?
No.
What about sleeping pills?
She sometimes had trouble
switching off at night.
Why?
Was she worrying about something?
My relationship with Eric
is none of your business.
I think someone who's been hiding
an affair might have other things
- to hide.
- What other things?
Their connections to the
Ridgewell Trust, maybe.
What was the plan?
Drive Anstey out,
then you in Hewson run the place?
Maggie felt threatened by Helen.
She misinterpreted things.
So you weren't sleeping with her?
But the thing with Helen, it was
it was a mistake.
Julius Marsh told you that
Maggie was at his cottage.
Yeah, he came in looking
for Wilfred.
But you never left the workshop.
Not until five, for the vote.
Did you vote for Wilfred to stay?
Of course.
- Why?
- Don't want to lose my job, do I?
You can find another.
Maybe that position they
offered you at Meadowlands.
Meadowlands pays better,
and your mum's a resident there.
You must really like this place.
So? Not a crime, is it?
- That depends.
- On what?
On how you can
afford to keep your mum
in a place like that.
She gets her pension
and we have some savings.
Still, must be hard
to make ends meet.
I manage.
Maggie must have felt
so lost after Victor.
They seemed to sustain
each other somehow.
How close were they?
Thick as thieves.
Shut everyone else out.
She even went up to town with him
when he had a hospital appointment.
I think Maggie's mistake was just
falling in love with the wrong man.
But you never know, do you?
Not until it comes to the crunch
and they let you down.
But by then, it's too late.
Dis she ever talk about it?
The affair seemed common knowledge.
We never talk about anything here.
We all saw what she's going
through
but no-one ever steps in to help.
I loved her
I did
in my own way.
Imagine having it off while your
wife's hanging herself.
Eric Hewson's going to burn
in hell for sure.
Do you know anything about a spate
of poison pen letters at the Grange.
I don't know what you're
talking about.
I think you do.
- I just said
- I think you wrote those letters.
You think?
I can prove it.
How?
I can do a saliva test where you
lick the flaps on the envelopes.
There were no envelopes.
No, but how do you know that?
What now?
Are you going to arrest me?
What would be the point?
You don't know what it's like
I'm not interested
in your justifications.
You hurt people
for your own amusement.
You need to apologise to them
face-to-face.
How did you know about Jennie?
I didn't, but she said Hewson
would burn in hell.
Same phrase was in both
the letters I've seen.
I thought I'd test to see
if she'd anything slip.
I'm tired, Sergeant.
I've no time
for neurotic narcissists.
See you tomorrow,
Grace's postmortem.
Goodnight, sir.
This is ridiculous.
Grace Willison was 83 years old.
I don't appreciate being hurried.
They expedited the PM and now
you can't even wait for my report.
It's important.
You think she was murdered?
Was she?
There's no evidence of it here.
Well
there you go.
So what killed her?
Take your pick.
The advance disseminated sclerosis,
the heart condition,
or the undiagnosed neoplasm
in the upper stomach.
Neoplasm?
Tumor, cancer.
Her doctor missed it.
Easily done when the patient's
already as ill as she was.
Nothing else?
What more do you want?
The mystery isn't how she died,
but how she managed to live
as long as she did.
Still want me
to stop their Lourdes trip?
Lock the place down?
So where does that leave us?
It leaves us with four people dead
and nowhere to go.
I don't believe that Victor Holroyd
pushed himself off that cliff,
or that Maggie Hewson was suicidal.
I think Michael had a second visitor
the night he died and that someone
tied it up around Grace
after she was dead,
but it seems there's not a damn
thing I can do about it.
I'm sorry.
Miskin, let's go.
Thank you for your efforts,
Sergeant.
- Back to London?
- Tomorrow.
There's something
I need to do first.
As we remember those who've gone
remember, too, that God's love
burns in us.
And so when our flame
fades in this world,
we will shine brightly
in the beyond.
I'm going to miss Maggie.
She had a bit a life about her.
Do you ever think about doing
what she did?
Suicide?
No, I refused to.
I was the same.
But now
sometimes I catch myself.
Maybe it's just this place.
You won't be here forever,
once your husband finds the flat.
It doesn't take this long.
Not if he was really looking.
I know he's not coming for me.
Things will change.
Wilfred said they're thinking
of building a sun lounger out
on the cliff.
There you go,
a reason to go on living.
The Trust will bring
more residents in, I suppose.
But we three
should stick together.
It'll be good to have some new
faces.
But we're three of the originals.
We're the survivors.
We're family.
"I wanted to say goodbye.
"I've had enough of this place.
"I'm leaving for good.
"You know, it was me who set the
fire in the Black Tower,
"but it was
only meant to scare Wilfred.
"He's a bully and a fraud.
The doctor at St Saviour's told
Victor that he'd examined Wilfred
"and found nothing wrong with him.
"It was all in his head,
"but he needed people to believe
in his miracle.
"I love Eric.
"But he's weak and under the
spell of Helen Rainer.
"If I stay,
I think they'll destroy me.
"So this is my escape.
"I'll see you around.
"Maggie."
It must be here somewhere,
Grace was so organized.
She kept it in the drawer,
but it's not there.
I supposed to do
a mail out in two weeks.
How can we do that if we've lost
the names and addresses?
Someone must know where it is.
Chief Inspector, I thought
we'd seen the last of you.
Excuse me, I have a lot to do.
Come to finally say goodbye?
I actually wanted a word
with you.
- About what?
- Your illness.
The doctors at St Saviour's couldn't
find anything wrong with you.
I could barely walk.
They decided it was psychological.
They don't know
what they're talking about.
So any cure that happened
was what,
a delusion or just a lie?
Miracles are a matter of faith,
not medicine.
You can believe it or not.
What would happen if
the truth came out?
Do you think the Ridgewell Trust
would want
you as their spiritual adviser?
Are you threatening me?
No, but maybe someone else did.
What are you talking about?
Victor found out at his last
hospital appointment.
He told Maggie. It must have been
why he was so excited,
because he had something
to use against you.
He was against me?
You mean blackmail?
It never happened.
And even if it did,
shouldn't you be accusing Victor?
But he's dead.
You think I killed Victor?
What persuaded Dennis to do
it for you?
That's ridiculous.
If you did it, there will be
evidence and they'll find it,
I promise.
If you had any evidence,
you'd be arresting me.
What you have is gossip.
You got all this from Maggie,
didn't you?
Is that your source?
A spiteful girl with a grudge,
who was so unstable,
she finally took her own life.
If it was suicide.
What? You think
I murdered her, too?
What about Michael and Grace?
You were suspicious of them.
You think they were blackmailing me?
I mean, Grace.
Seriously?
Why would anyone kill Grace?
I pity you, Chief Inspector.
You see evil where there is none.
That's a cold world to live in.
Maybe you need your own miracle.
I'll pray for you when we get
to Lourdes.
Miskin!
Sir?
Message here for you..
From the Foreign Office.
This got something to do
with Dalgliesh?
Yes, sir.
Tell them we're done with
him wasting our time.
Then get on with some real work.
- Yes.
- PS Miskin?
Thank you so much for
getting back to me.
So were you able to find
anything interesting?
A known associate of who exactly?
And what are they involved in?
Come on.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Who's this?
This is PS Miskin, I'm trying
to get a hold of DCI Dalgliesh.
- Is he there?
- Afraid not.
The place is empty.
They've all left for Lourdes.
It's only me here to lock up.
Who's speaking, please?
Julius Marsh.
Any message?
I could pass it on if I see him.
No, no message,
just tell him I called.
I will, bye.
Miskin.
Miskin!
Chief Inspector, I saw the car
and wondered where you got to.
I heard a phone ring.
I expect it will ring back
if it's important.
- What are you doing here?
- Locking up.
I keep an eye on the place
while they're away.
You?
Saying my farewells, I suppose.
And trying to make sense
of some things.
Such as?
Why would anyone kill Grace?
The only thing she knew about was
the newsletter and the mailing list,
which she knew by heart.
Does that matter?
I suppose it depends
who's on the list.
Who does all the packing?
Mostly, Dennis, I think.
And they're made up twice a year?
A week after the Lourdes trips,
both times.
Why not space them out?
Wilfred isn't great at logistics.
The Lourdes trips in the mail-outs.
Two things he wants to protect.
They're part of his legacy,
I suppose.
And without him here, the Trust
would probably discontinue both.
Probably.
So if Victor was killed, maybe
it wasn't about protecting Wilfred.
Maybe it was about protecting this.
Holy water and mail order
face cream?
Sounds ridiculous.
Which makes it the perfect front.
For what?
"Sailors, gangsters and drug dealers."
Pardon?
Marseille, a major center for
drug smuggling, as you know.
What has Marseille
you got to do with it?
What better way to smuggle drugs
out of France than in a
busload of disabled pilgrims?
What?
Probably inside the wheelchairs.
Dennis takes such good care of them.
And then post supplies out
to customers in pots of face cream.
You think Dennis is smuggling drugs?
Not on his own?
Who else?
Someone with contacts in Marseilles.
Someone with money, but no job.
Someone who'd buy a new bus
just to make sure
the trips could continue.
I'm so sorry.
No, don't.
Put the phone down.
I hoped it wouldn't come to this.
When I saw your car headed
up the drive,
I hoped you were just going to say
goodbye.
Here we are.
It was a clever scheme.
Wasn't it? Worked like clockwork.
Until that doctor told Victor
that Wilfred was a fake.
How did you find out?
Maggie told me.
I worried if it came out
that Wilfred might just sell
up or hand over to the Trust
and leave.
No more Lourdes trips.
Exactly.
So you killed Victor?
No.
Dennis.
Victor started yelling about
exposing the Grange's dirty secret.
And Dennis thought he meant
our little import operation,
- he panicked and pushed him over.
- But not Maggie.
I convinced her if it came out
that Eric would be out of a job
God, she was stupidly loyal
to that clown.
until she snapped about the vote.
And came straight to you.
She turned up, all fired up,
planned to drop
her big bombshell as people
gathered to vote and then flounce
out and head back to London.
That's what she was dressed for.
I got her drunk,
persuaded her to write a note,
walk up to the tower with me
and I took a rope.
It broke my heart.
You saw that.
But what else could I do?
Oh, shit.
Keys, slowly.
What about Michael?
How could he have been a threat
to you?
Dennis felt guilty about Victor,
started asking Father Michael
about confession.
Michael began to suspect something.
He argued with Dennis,
told him to go to the police.
I couldn't take the risk.
I went to see him when he got back
from hospital,
told him I wanted to make a
confession.
He couldn't refuse,
could he? Unlock it.
Smothered him with a sheet of
plastic.
It was quick and no traces.
Same as Grace.
Get in. We're going for a drive.
Is it really necessary to kill
Grace?
That one's entirely on you,
Chief Inspector.
Me?
How?
You just wouldn't go away,
so I had to get rid of the list.
That meant getting rid of
Grace, too.
If you hadn't been so stubborn,
she'd still be alive.
Right, that's far enough.
Body off the cliff up here might not
wash up for days.
Weeks, even.
Buys me enough time to open
a few bank accounts and disappear.
I'm going to give you a chance.
I'll let you jump.
Who's going to believe that?
Come on.
Nobody would be surprised
if they found you on the rocks.
Your wife and baby died.
You stink of grief.
Marsh, stop!
It's over.
But it's not, is it?
There'll be questions,
trials, prison
Move away from the edge!
That's not the ending I choose,
chief inspector.
Jesus, no
Marsh, stop!
Now
it's over.
I've got you.
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