Silent Witness (1996) s07e01 Episode Script

Answering Fire (1)

Bye, love.
Goodnight.
KEYPAD BEEPS Hey! PEOPLE ARE CHATTING IN ANOTHER ROOM BACKGROUND MUSIC DROWNS CONVERSATION 'Computer says he's checked out.
' Do you mind? 'Do you need a cab?' I can call you one.
Ice Queen.
Colin, I'm sorry.
You've been looking at me all night.
Stop it! Stop it! Stop! Get off me! Ah! PHONE RINGS IN DISTANCE Testator Sile-ens Costestes e Spiritu-um Si-ilentiu-um.
PHONE RINGS Hello.
Leo Dalton.
That's fine, sir.
Leo.
Is Sam here yet? Not yet.
She's on her way.
There you go, Doctor.
Hello! On your bike, love! Sam Ryan! Have you been out on the razz? Mary? Mary Carter, what are you doing here? There's a media frenzy, so I'm the unlucky person who's got to keep it under control.
Looks like a bomb.
There's a government minister.
He survived.
There's a chief super from the heavy mob here, so we'd better mind our Ps and Qs.
Hi, Sam.
Oh, where'd you get that? I slipped in the shower.
Detective Chief Superintendent Tom Leith, anti-terrorist squad.
SO13 to you.
Prof Sam Ryan, forensic pathologist.
Behind the tapes, madam.
I know, Tom, but I have a job to do, too.
The explosion seems to have been contained in this corner.
Most of the kitchen staff had gonegone home and mercifully the upper floors haven't pancaked down.
Architect deserves a medal.
A couple of bodies down here.
Three more upstairs, first and second floor.
This part's a bloody mess.
If you two could work your way upstairs? Access to the car park.
Hotel guests use it for free, members of the public have to pay.
DCI Gallacher.
Can the guests get into the hotel through the back way? They have to get the door code from Reception.
CCTV? Taped over.
That one's almost intact.
Otherwise, it's body parts.
His flies are open.
Might have been relieving himself.
Looks like a friction burn.
Photograph in there, please.
This one almost made it out.
A photograph, please - his hands.
Body parts.
No name, no nationality, person or persons.
It'll take time to know that.
Whoever it was must have been sitting right on top of the blast.
Holding the bomb? I don't know.
I'll have to wait for the DNA results.
Bloody things take for ever.
Still feel nothing? OK, you're going to have a little ride in a helicopter.
Did Peter get out? Room booked in the name of a Mr and Mrs Peter Croft.
She jumped.
Not in good shape.
Fell into the basement well at the back.
This could be him in here.
Peter Croft, we presume.
Looks as if he's trying to fight someone off.
Don't think so.
I wonder why he didn't jump.
Part of the lower jaw.
MOBILE RINGS, PLAYS "Molly Malone" Finished? Yes.
Want to take this one? Everything seems to have burned a lot slower here.
He still didn't get off the bed.
Didn't wake up, by the look of it.
Toxic gases while they were sleeping.
Possibly.
I'm just going to help Sam down below.
Mm, nice chess set.
Unusual.
MOBILE PLAYS "Molly Malone" No luck? I get the answering service.
You should hear Ayesha's message, Mohamed.
Such fantastic news! Probably got an early lecture.
Or sleeping off whatever she was doing last night.
SAME MOBILE RINGS AGAIN Where the hell is that coming from? Upstairs, I think.
Sure everyone's out? MOBILE RINGS AGAIN It's coming from the lift.
Leave it! There's someone in there.
Could be a booby trap.
Get some back-up power.
Everyone OUT! CLEAR! Hold it! Hold it! Honest, our firemen.
Mmm.
There's a lot of money here.
Come on, Doctor.
Nothing for you.
No bodies in here.
I'm sorry.
This is out of bounds.
It's the minister's room.
'Do you know which minister?' Bob Bowman.
Defence Procurement.
Tom, I'm not going to steal your thunder, but if you want to see my ID, it says I'm seconded to the Cabinet Office, as of this morning.
We're ready, sir.
You can leave the building, like everyone else.
"MOLLY MALONE" PLAYS AGAIN Concussed? No, I'm fine.
Didn't you get a check-up? I'll be all right, thanks.
How did it get in there? Someone got in to try and escape, then panicked, maybe.
Ayesha Khan.
Student at Brent University.
That the body? Sam? Killed by the roof fall? I don't think so.
No burns on her body.
Look in the pocket.
Give me that.
Get that translated.
Damage to the knuckles.
Could be fractured.
"MOLLY MALONE" RING TELEPHONE RINGS Ayesha? It's Dad.
Who is this? Yes.
Rusholme, Manchester.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Did you really do that in the shower? Yeah.
And I've got a lousy headache.
It's like saying, "I walked into a door.
" Police want someone at the press conference.
Can you do it? Sure.
'Sorry this is so late.
Just to say I got a first in prelims.
'So I'm not as thick as I thought.
'Maybe talk tomorrow.
Bye.
' Mohamed, please! That's where she was.
We don't know anything yet.
I know.
'A government minister may have been booked in' Can you confirm five dead? We have evidence of five bodies.
There may be more.
We're working on the assumption this was a terrorist attack.
Some of the bodies aren't identifiable? We may have to rely The bodies will all be identified.
Was there a warning about an Indonesian group? We have many of them.
What were the minister's security arrangements? We understand the minister was on a private visit to see friends.
Is there any truth in the rumour the terrorists tracked his mobile phone? The minister has good security.
Can you confirm the minister's private visit was to see the chairman of a firm called Avionics, which was involved in a bribery scandal? I suppose you have to have something to fill your paper.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
Excuse me! Colin Burwood.
I'm a friend of Sam's.
Leo Dalton.
I'm following this up for one of the Sundays.
I was right about Croft, wasn't I? Traced the wife to hospital.
What was all that about bribery? Boss of a hi-tech electronics firm that supplies the defence industry.
Made a pile in Malaysia selling arms, backhanders all over the shop.
Maybe you should talk to the firemen.
Really? Why? Did you see something? Not really, no.
That's me.
Thanks again.
Just there.
It's all right.
I'm the minister's wife.
Now you can see Daddy's all right.
Go and give him a kiss.
Are you all right? Honestly? Yes.
I've been smoking too much.
COUGHING FIT Wait outside a second.
They might have put you somewhere decent.
Politics.
They'd better put you in Cabinet for this.
If not for being a hero, then for risking the NHS.
I thought you'd be in South America for ever.
It was ten years, wasn't it? Bored me rigid.
I hope you don't mind me being here.
The Government wants to know things as soon as you find them.
Reaction time, that's the buzz word.
Ayesha Khan.
Peter Croft Looks like a fist to me.
All set? Not quite.
Give us a moment.
The bodies have all been swabbed for traces of explosive residue and X-rayed for evidence of shrapnel.
The body's of a young Asian female, aged between 17 and 25.
No significant burns.
Ayesha Khan.
Not a guest or an employee.
Some very faint numbers, possibly written in Biro, on her left hand.
Can you read them? Zero sevenseven something something nine something something, zero, zero, eight.
A photograph, please.
Check her mobile.
Severe damage to the knuckles on both hands as if they've been in impact with something hard.
Adult male, found in the bathroom.
ID? Almost certain now that this is Peter Croft, chairman of Avionics.
The man whose wife jumped.
Interesting man.
Give me that.
Was he fighting someone off? No, it's normal in extreme heat.
The muscles contract.
The flexors are stronger than the extensors, so the elbows bend and the hands form fists.
He may have backed into a corner as the flames advanced.
Death would have been from shock due to the heat.
Alistair.
It's Mary Carter.
Yes.
Look, listen, I thought I should forewarn you that Peter Croft was one of the victims.
The press are already making mischief.
Yeah.
I think it would help if we don't advertise the fact he was socialising with the minister.
Fine.
Well, I'll see what I can do.
Body of a white male, aged 30-35 years.
We think this is the assistant manager - William Mottram.
Extensive burns to the feet, legs, trunk, head, arms Injury to the hands.
That young lady's knife, perhaps.
Two floors between them, weren't there? When they died.
Maybe he challenged her and she got the knife out.
Bit ragged for knife wounds.
Is his blood on her knife? Horizontal contusion running across the trunk.
It's about an inch wide, extending just beyond the naval on the right side.
Photograph here, please.
Turn his head slightly.
And now a picture, please.
Particles of soot in the trachea.
Air passages are an unnatural cherry pink in colour.
Colour indicates a presence of carboxyhaemoglobin.
Mr and Mrs Khan? The redness and the soot indicate the presence of smoke while the victim was breathing.
The burns are pretty bad, but I would say that smoke inhalation may be the cause of Mr Mottram's death.
Cause of death smoke inhalation possibly.
Can I? Thank you.
Male, Afro-Caribbean.
About six foot.
Flesh incinerated.
The body on the bed.
Our mystery man.
Clothes have been almost completely burnt away, apart from a few scraps.
Looks like part of a dress shirt.
What was she doing in a big hotel? There's a bar there.
Quite popular at the weekends.
My husband's been working there for three years.
Assistant manager.
She doesn't drink.
'He's a big man.
' Even allowing for the degree of burning, the leg muscles look wasted.
What did the concierge say? Regular guest.
Always paid cash.
Booked in as Charles Griffiths.
False address, about 50, very good-looking.
And he's a serious chess player.
He should have checked out that morning.
The body is that of a male aged approximately 25-30.
Clothing indicates he might have worked in the kitchen.
His incisors are slightly dished.
Race? Southeast Asia.
The deputy head chef, Riccardo Jangao, is missing.
From the Philippines.
Apparently no relatives living here.
Isn't it slightly casual taking a piss while you're planting a bomb? Not if it went off at the wrong time.
He went to the Philippines for a holiday last month.
There's lots of shrapnel here.
And I think to myself What a wonderful world Right, Mr Elkins, are you ready for your pre-op? Oh, mother! Mr and Mrs Khan, I know you've spoken to one of my officers.
Do you mind answering one or two more questions? No.
Do you recognise any of these things? Can we see her now, please? I'm afraid your daughter's body is still being examined.
We'd like to bury her as soon as possible.
I fully understand your feelings.
We're not able to release the body while the investigation is going on.
We're Muslims.
This is English law.
Sorry I'm being very slow today.
Will you take a look at this? The toes on the right foot are broken.
Just like the hands.
Kicking against something hard? She had thin shoes on.
Or trying to escape? Where to? Ayesha's an only child? No, we have a son.
Mohamed.
He's 22.
What does he do? He works for a cultural centre in Rusholme.
"Cultural" meaning? Well, he works for the community.
For Muslims.
Just Muslims? Yes.
Have you ever seen anything like this before? What is it? It looks like Arabic.
I don't speak Arabic.
It's not very complimentary about the West and our values.
Calls us murderers and jackals.
I never heard Ayesha say anything like that.
She rang us yesterday and said she'd got a first in her examinations.
Mohamed the same? No, Mohamed's a bit of a hothead, but we don't take him seriously.
That's it.
Thank you.
I'm very sorry about your daughter.
Skull fractures and there's an extradural haematoma.
You get that when someone smashes someone's head in? And you get it in fire victims.
The blood boils out.
Why didn't Or check out at the right time? OK, that's enough for today.
He doesn't look burnt.
I thought he'd How did he die? He was probably unconscious very fast from the smoke.
(Thank you.
) Some some of the exit doors were locked.
That's what they're saying.
Is that true? I think so.
We've only been married a year.
He loved that job.
There'll be an inquest, won't there? Yeah.
I don't know who's responsible for this, whether it's terrorists or the hotel, but I swear somebody's gonna pay for this! They're Muslims, aren't they? Their daughter planted that bomb! We don't know what happened yet.
He's laughing at me! I'm not laughing at you.
Look at what I'm carrying.
He won't have a father now cos of your daughter! My daughter is not a terrorist! You're scum! Come on! Scum! Mr and Mrs Khan? I'm Sam Ryan, the pathologist assigned to this investigation.
They're not even allowing us to see our daughter.
The body can't be released, but the police can't prevent you from seeing her.
Has the postmortem finished? You can see your daughter tomorrow.
Dr Dalton! I contacted the firemen who rescued Bowman from his room, but no-one will talk to me.
Someone got to them.
You can't let them get away with this.
I've never betrayed a source.
No-one will know it was you.
OK, but off the record, yeah? I saw a lot of money on Bowman's bed.
How much? ã1,000, maybe.
At least, I think I did.
Unless I'm going mad.
That's a possibility.
What happened to it? Did anyone else see it? If you won't go on record, I need someone else that will.
The DCI was with me.
He made a joke about firemen being honest.
Now he doesn't remember seeing the money.
I'll bet he doesn't.
Harry? What are YOU doing in here? Sam, I don't know what happened.
What are you doing in this office? Get out! I've never done that before.
Get out of here! I took some pills Get out! And the booze Get him out of here! OK, OK.
Sam? He's not a boyfriend.
He's a journalist.
I should have gone to the police.
OK.
Well, if he's harassing you, get a court order.
I'll drive you home.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
DOOR OPENS Mrs Croft? I'm Mary Carter.
Peter I'm afraid he didn't get out.
I'm very, very sorry.
And if there's anything at all I can do Where did they find him? Still in the room.
We stayed in that room on our wedding night.
I'm sorry, I can't focus No, of course not.
Soit's just some daft things that people are saying.
Just plain fantasy.
But we may need to talk, just to establish what happened.
What about Bob Bowman? They got him out.
Your son's here.
MARY WHISPERS TO HIM There's just one who might interest you.
Barry Elkins.
How's he doing? It's not Barry.
It's Lily.
We can't call you Lily.
It's a man's ward.
Lily White.
And you put me down as C of E, and I'm a Buddhist.
I'm the only one in here who hasn't had a hernia.
I've seen you before.
I saw them bring you out.
I'm a pathologist.
I'm not dead.
Oh, my God, no wonder my arse hurts.
Luckily, the shrapnel was fairly small and didn't go in very far.
Have I been in the war? Why were you at the hotel? Just having a drink.
Do you know anybody missing? No.
Don't think so.
Where are the bits you took out? I'm sorry.
I knew this was going to happen.
We've got some trainees.
And you chucked them? LILY COUGHS The back of his leg's uncomfortable so there may be a piece we missed.
We can do it tomorrow.
I can't stay in here.
I have a show to do.
I'll take it out.
Eff off.
Well, I can't force you, but if you change your mind, that's where I am.
Thank you.
I don't think Ayesha Khan could've attacked the assistant manager.
His DNA isn't on the knife.
And the blood under the fingernails? Hers and somebody else's.
Not his.
HE SIGHS Why do you think she's a terrorist? We think she might have been checking if Bowman was in his room.
Do you have a problem with that? No.
There's a lot of makeup in her bag, not something I would normally associate with a fanatical Muslim.
I need to make a link between the ones closest to the blast and Ayesha Khan, and I can't do that until I know who they are.
There's something else.
There's no explosive residue on any of the bodies.
Where are you going with those? For Pathology, Miss.
Have you seen this? "The face of terror"? I'm sorry, Mr Khan, I can't talk to you now.
But do you really think she was involved in all this? I'm impartial.
It's best for everyone if I am.
I understand.
Thanks.
Are those connected to that? Can I give you dinner? We've got a lot of catching up to do.
All right, ladies and gentlemen, the indescribable Lily White! CHEERING MUSICAL INTRO Have you seen many of the old crowd? No.
Not really.
Have you? Emma Shipley.
God.
What's happened to her, stuck up old bag? She's inside.
Credit card fraud.
Oh! It's all right.
I'm really sorry.
Don't worry.
It's all right.
I'm sorry.
Now, are you going to tell me how you got that? Listen, listen, darlings I'm sorry, there's no jokes tonight.
No jokes.
I'm sorry.
No banter, nothing.
Just a song for a friend who can't be with us.
I would have given you all of my heart But there's someone who's torn it apart And he's taken just all that I have But if you want, I'll try to love again Yes, baby .
.
is the deepest Baby, I know The first cut is the deepest When it comes to being lucky you're cursed When it comes to lovin' me You're the worst They were trying to set him up with me, you know? I admire your strength.
Most of us would take to our beds for a week.
Thanks for your support.
I really needed it.
Have you got an address for him? Why? To see if he's got form.
You need a break, you know.
Why don't you take some leave? No, work's the best thing for me.
Oh, Sam! Let's not lose touch again, eh? You talk to a police, it's a big problem.
Don't worry, love.
Room 107, Harry's mystery man.
Good handful of Coproxamol plus alcohol.
He was probably dead before the explosion.
Suicide? The muscle wastage, we think he might have had MS.
I had a piece of paper on my desk with numbers on it.
Have you seen it? Numbers? Yes.
Telephone numbers.
Is this it? We need a reconstruction.
There are some things that don't make sense.
What? There's DNA evidence of another body at the scene, and Ayesha Khan.
I've a gut feeling she was there for some other reason altogether.
Do you want to share that with me? Will you back me? I know what the governor will say.
We've covered the ground several times.
Scared of the big bad wolf, Doug? Aren't YOU? Thank you.
What's that? Analysis of the metal we fished out of the chef.
Is he really a suspect? Well, this would explain why there's no explosive residue.
The shrapnel appears to be fragments from an exploded gas cylinder.
It can't still be terrorism.
Minister being there might just be coincidence.
And the only thing that connects the dead is just being in the same place.
Hello.
Thank you SO much.
I want to thank everyone.
I couldn't have been better looked after, as I'd expect from the best health service in the world.
Good.
Thank you.
Minister! Minister! Minister, please! Your sister What do you know about her? This isn't the way to behave.
Get off.
Don't touch me! Come and sit down.
Mohamed! On the floor! Get down! Get down! You - get down! On the floor! You - keep looking at me! I don't believe you're doing this! Keep looking at me! YOU - keep down! OK, come on! The rest of you, don't move! Did you not consider it might be a terror attack using explosive gas? Is that what you're saying? Yes.
These boys don't have those advantages, but they don't mind dying and they can walk into any hardware store in London and pick up a lethal weapon.
We have a dental picture of the body we've been piecing together.
What about bomber number two? Found any more of him yet? No.
I can't believe he just went up in smoke.
I'm still waiting for final tests on Ayesha Khan's clothes.
What are you looking for? Gas cylinder paint.
I want a reconstruction of the scene.
Fine by me.
The governor declined to join us.
Well, when you've arrested half of Manchester, there's no turning back.
Where are we gonna start? Second floor.
Wouldn't it be better to start down here? You do that.
Don't be a berk, Harry.
Don't worry.
This is science.
We have you at Brent University twice last month.
I went to see my sister, came down for a party.
You go to the mosque? I'm not a fanatic.
They're mates.
I grew up with them.
If this was a bomb, it's because you don't listen to what the world is saying to you.
So, what do you believe in, Mr Khan? Our missing body!
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