Silent Witness (1996) s20e06 Episode Script

1 You've found a body.
Lorna.
You've got no alibi but you've got a motive.
I wouldn't hurt her, OK? I never touched her! Ali, you should see this.
We've had a walk-in, a couple.
Their daughter went missing.
Ruth Tresize.
She was friends with Lorna Katz.
They were at school together.
My husband was physically abusing our daughter.
I slapped her.
Once.
So you said.
It's Kieran Vale again for DI Ashton.
I'm at a place where Lorna and Ruth and I used to hang out.
How did you find out where I live? I followed you from your office.
I didn't protect my daughter as I should.
Not even from my husband.
Aaron Logan's got an alibi for Ruth and Lorna.
Kieran Vale has, an' all.
Look, we're going to make this right, like we did before.
Come on.
And we're going to sort it now.
I need you to do something for me, yeah? Aaron Logan.
Is that who they're after? You didn't tell her, did you? No, but I didn't say that it wasn't him, either, so I'm worried that it's kind of like I've confirmed it, isn't it? Testator silens Costestes e spiritu Silentium.
We're going to need everything, I'm afraid.
She's not well enough to be interviewed.
Well, she's been seen by the psychs and they've OK'd it.
Well, that's absurd.
Is that a qualified opinion? After what's just happened? Well, someone told her that Aaron Logan was a suspect.
She'll have known that anyway, won't she? She's always known it.
What, for Lorna Katz and Kieran Vale? No.
There's no leak here, not with my team, so it has to be with yours.
He's a lucky boy.
Another inch and she'd have punctured his lung.
Something that doesn't make sense to me, for an innocent man, how come he was running? He wasn't running.
He had his passport with him! I'll tell you what's happened here.
You couldn't pin anything on him, so you tell a lot of shit to some - psycho bitch hoping that she'll take care of things! - Stop it, Ben! Innocent people don't run, Ben.
- What kind of world do you live in? - Ben No, he was being targeted again.
You people have never let him alone! You did this! Look at him! Go on, look at him! 'I don't want to fight this.
'You want to talk this through with me before you go on? 'No.
'I know what I did.
I was of sound mind when I did it, 'and I'd do it again.
'Did you know Aaron Logan was a suspect 'for Lorna and Kieran's deaths? 'Ali?' How did you know where he'd be? I knew where he worked.
He got a job there when he left school.
What, so you've stayed in touch, have you, over the years? Not since Ruth, no.
So, you went to the restaurant, what, more in hope than expectation? 'And he wasn't there.
'No, but his brother was.
'Someone told you Aaron was a suspect, didn't they? 'The pathologist.
'Dr Alexander? 'I called at her house and I asked her to confirm it 'and she met me a few days later and I asked her again.
'And did she? 'Did she confirm it? 'Not in words, no, but she told me in other ways.
- 'What do you mean? - Her reaction.
'I don't understand.
'I read her face.
' She didn't need to actually say anything.
And I read Aaron Logan, too, didn't I? Eventually.
Can I just check, you're not actually next of kin any more, are you, Mr Tresize? We're still married, legally.
Look, what she did is so out of character Well, there have been mental health issues in the past, I believe? Relatively minor issues, yes.
Depression, understandably.
What's going to happen to her? Will she be charged? Yeah.
And her state of mind, will that be taken into account? Well, that's for the courts and the DPP to decide.
Why don't you go home? I'm OK.
You, you shouldn't have to deal with all this stress.
I'm fine.
Hey, come on.
We let him down.
I don't mean now.
I mean, after your mum died.
He was just a kid.
There was never anybody more loyal than you.
Yeah, to you.
He should've come to live with us after he left the care home.
I was so stupid.
I wanted you without any baggage.
Don't do this.
Do you know what's worse? The more they went after him, the more I thought maybe he had done all this.
Loner, can't hold on to a woman or find anything in his life.
Well, it fits, doesn't it? Except except it doesn't.
Hey, hey.
Come on.
Sh, sh.
Allowing a victim's mother access into your home.
Was that ethical? I didn't let her in.
But you talked to her.
Look, she turned up on my doorstep, OK? We talked.
She was struggling.
All I did was empathise.
No, what you did was overstep your role.
Do you have any idea how it must feel to lose a child and have no closure? Do you? - No wonder the woman's falling apart.
- Nikki, leave it OK, yes, she put me on the spot, but she pretty much knew everything already -- or suspected it.
How? How should I know? No-one ever told her that Aaron Logan was a suspect, not now, not even Not even when Ruth disappeared.
So, how? It's a community.
The people know one another.
The kids went to the same school.
I mean, you honestly think that things stay secret? And you you mention ethics, you know.
What's unethical about trying to help someone with their loss? Yes, showing them their loved ones in the chapel of rest, THAT is what you're supposed to do -- not invite them into your home and let them cry into your gin.
I've told you, I didn't let her in! Look, mistakes may have been made on both sides here.
Oh, ever the diplomat, Thomas.
Kieran Vale's calls went unanswered, your officers didn't even notice Ben Logan leaving the restaurant.
Because they were looking for Aaron, not Ben.
Nonetheless, I suggest if we want to take out our frustrations on something, then let's take them out on finding the killer.
Hey hey! The police are watching me.
No, they're not, man.
They've got nothing on you.
You're the victim in all this.
Whatever, I'm out of here.
Hey, Aaron Can we rerun the fish debris? Only, this time, focus on Chris Tresize rather than Aaron Logan? Just because the debris doesn't match Logan's clothing doesn't make him innocent.
It simply means THAT evidence doesn't incriminate him.
I'm aware of that.
Erm, it'd be worth checking out Ben Logan, too, Aaron's brother.
He would've known the Tresizes a little.
They were living together, were they, the brothers? - No, Ben was living with Sarah, but - So there's no evidence against him? No, but belt and braces.
What else have we got? Anyway, this, er, this potential witness.
Have we managed to trace the call? Pre-pay mobile.
Shit.
It has to be her.
OK, so where's the camera? There.
Uh-huh.
OK .
.
she was standing somewhere around here.
This is the only place she could see the assault from.
OK.
Jack .
.
I just have to say that Nikki Alexander's really dropped me and my team in it.
No, I know you don't like me saying that.
I don't think it's Nikki that your bosses are going to be interested in.
Your boys staking out that restaurant were napping on the job.
Put me in my place.
She was eating something, wasn't she? Yeah.
Why don't you go get your head down for a bit? I've gotta go.
Where? Aaron? Aaron! 'A few moments after she left, 'I went out to look for her, 'but I didn't see which way she went.
' 'Chris went after her, 'but he couldn't find her '.
.
and he came back about half an hour later, 'soaking wet.
'It had started raining.
'And he came back about half an hour later, 'soaking wet.
'It had started raining.
' Ali, I want to ask you something about that New Year.
You said that Chris went out on his own soon after Ruth had gone.
He went looking for her.
Yeah.
You said in your statement that he came back around half an hour later and he was soaking wet.
And the forensic report says that his clothes were still damp the next morning.
Yeah.
It had started raining.
What if he wasn't wet from the rain? What if it was river water? He was angry with her.
He went after her Ali.
OK.
Ali, why are you running away? Are you hungry? Let's get inside and eat.
Come on, inside.
Come on, Josh.
Let's get you something to eat.
Go on, wash up.
And no TV, OK? - 'Hi.
' - Hi, I had a call from you? Yeah, we've processed the prints on the sandwich wrapper.
No match with anything on the PNC -- but we've got a hit with the Immigration database.
'A woman called Stella Tuffour, a Ghanaian.
' She's outstayed her visa, which is maybe why she didn't want to give her name.
'OK.
Have you got a current address for her?' Ms Tuffour? Stella? Police.
Police? Can we get Jack here? I've got a solicitor working on the case.
You need to speak to her.
This isn't an immigration matter.
Someone made a 999 call, and we believe it was you.
You have the wrong person.
Well, we have you on CCTV the day before yesterday, walking along the river, and, er, your fingerprints are on a sandwich wrapper we found there.
So? So, I walked there.
Doesn't mean I made any calls.
Did you witness something, Stella? See something you just felt you had to report? No.
'There was a man.
He had like a dark hoodie.
'He was hitting somebody.
Another man.
'He, he was dragging him down to the river.
' That's you.
No.
That's your voice, isn't it? No! Hi.
Hi, Jack.
So, what happened to your front door? The lock broke.
I haven't had time to fix it.
You got kids? A son.
He's at a neighbour's.
How come you're shaking, Stella? Has someone been here? Have they frightened you? No-one's been here.
Was it this man? Has he been to your flat? Or has he spoken to you? Did he threaten you? Did he threaten your son? He did, didn't he? What did he say? Did he say he was watching you? Did he tell you not to speak to us? Stella .
.
look, we can protect you, OK? No-one is going to get to you.
And, erm, we can help you with your immigration status, as well.
Or we can make things more difficult there.
We just need you to help us.
I've never seen this man before in my life.
Come through.
Any luck? No.
We'll let her stew on it.
If we have to, we'll get Immigration on to her.
She'll open up then.
Well, Jack's found something.
Boot print.
We can discount Aaron Logan, can't we? He's in hospital.
No, he just discharged himself a couple of hours ago.
Did he now? There you go.
OK, so let's say Aaron Logan discharges himself from hospital, he heads straight for Stella, because he knows she's seen him attacking Kieran.
But why not kill her, too? He found another way to shut her up? What about Chris Tresize? There's just no evidence there.
What have we got on Aaron that's concrete, though? Either way, people have been targeted because they knew something.
Except, maybe, Kieran Vale.
Well, surely, if he knew something, he would've told me.
He tried to.
He called you.
I know, I mean within the interview.
Maybe he was hiding what evidence he had for some reason.
Or he didn't realise that he had it then.
How would the killer know that Kieran was on to something, hm? Well, Kieran used to go out with Lorna, so maybe the killer thought that she'd told Kieran something.
What, so you think Lorna was on to him, got frightened and, what? Sent that through to Kieran, intending to meet him in the morning, tell him what was on her mind? Two witnesses, Aaron stops them both from talking.
So, where was this taken? Yeah, what the hell is it? Er, update on Ben Logan.
He had alibis for Ruth, Lorna and Kieran.
He was working at the bar on each occasion.
OK.
So, Aaron loses his mother.
He finds solace in Ruth Tresize.
Maybe she threatens to leave him.
Mmm Supposition.
Well, she was underage.
Maybe she threatened to go to the police about their relationship.
She spooked him, he snapped.
This is the partial print from Stella's door, and this is from Kieran's crime scene.
Different boots, but the same size range as Aaron Logan.
Didn't we look for a match before with Aaron's boots and there was nothing? So, he's got more than one pair of boots.
Aaron? Aaron! Aaron! Oh.
'You don't give a shit about us.
'All you care about is sticking that needle in your arm.
'Don't you?' Yeah, I like that.
Keep that on the menu.
Yeah, that's great.
All good.
Take over for us, will you? Er, the police have been round again looking for Aaron.
They're down at his boat as well.
He's not there.
Where is he? He's scared.
Every time he puts his head up they're after him.
What? What? Look, I know him, OK? And I know that You know what? Well, I don't know anything, actually! Neither of us do.
That's the problem.
Right, think about it.
He knew Ruth Tresize, he was sleeping with Lorna, and he must've met that guy, her friend.
- Maybe this is - No, absolutely not.
No way! He isn't capable of something like this.
He hasn't got it in him.
Me and Chris didn't have much of a marriage, and that was kind of in contrast to what was going on with Ruth.
How do you mean? We were dead from the waist down, but with Ruth Alison was saying to me previously that Ruth was becoming sexualised.
Oh.
And how were you with that? - Fine.
- And Chris? He found it difficult.
He thought she was sleeping around.
Hence his anger with her that night.
I've been thinking about Aaron.
Did I get that so wrong? I had a dream.
Chris's face that morning.
He had her scarf in his hands What, in the dream or in reality? Both.
He said he'd found it in the river and I believed him.
He, he was in the water with it.
But, none of us know for sure, do we? Not really.
He could've planted it.
Why would he do that? When he went to look for her, he was angry.
What if you're right .
.
and he caught her and .
.
she ended up in the river? OK.
Now listen, unless you have evidence or something concrete to back this up If you go to the house, he used to have all sorts of her stuff there.
You might find something.
Ah, maybe I'm wrong about everything I think and say, but .
.
but you're right, he had the opportunity to hurt her.
Yes.
What are you people on? She's had an idea out of nowhere and convinced herself it's the truth.
You really need to calm down.
Look, our lives ended the night Ruth walked out of here.
We're both of us stuck in our own private hell, but have you any idea how any? Boss? Got a sec? These, er, photographs on your wall.
This one, for instance.
What were you doing there? Looking for things you might have missed that would lead me to my daughter.
How would you know where to look? Why this sewer? Because it was online, everywhere.
Pictures of it and of police all over it.
It wasn't difficult to find.
- Where were you the night Lorna was murdered? - I've already told you.
Well, tell me again.
Whatever I say, you won't believe me, so no comment.
The maps in your study.
What were they for? You'd dropped the case.
In your eyes, in DCI Ross's eyes, she was just a missing person.
If I wanted to find out what happened, I've had to do my own digging.
So, you followed river courses? After Lorna, yes.
But wasn't that to do with trying to find Ruth? It was about trying to find evidence.
Any evidence of any kind.
After Lorna died, it was plain to me, even if it wasn't to you, that her murder may have been related to Ruth's disappearance.
And if you weren't going to take that seriously and act on it, then somebody else had to.
Did you kill Lorna? - For God's sake.
- Did you kill Ruth? Jesus Christ, are you seriously asking me that?! My own daughter! It is reasonable, isn't it, that he'd be searching for Ruth? What, by trawling rivers and sewers three years after she disappeared? Hi? 'Hello.
That photo' That photo? What photo? The one Lorna sent Kieran.
So, we've played with the image, got a 3-D version of it.
You can just about make out something.
Water and a gradient.
And something that looks like a steel rope.
'What kind of steel rope?' The kind you find in boatyards.
We found boatyards not far from where Kieran died.
We think the photo Lorna sent Kieran might have sent him there.
Maybe he recognised it or remembered where it was taken.
What, so you think he was there looking for something - to do with Ruth's death? - Yeah.
And he found it.
This is it.
This is the place.
Teenage hang-out? - Here.
- What are we looking at? This has got to be it.
Ruth? There was a body here.
Definitely? This discolouration here looks like tissue fat from decomposition.
Hair clip.
Here.
We've found what we believe to be a grave of sorts.
There's no body, but we think it may be where Ruth's body was stored until fairly recently.
Does Ali know? No, not yet.
Do you know this place? No.
Never been there? No.
Is this it? Yes.
Are you sure you've found the right place? Are you sure it's Ruth? We're confirming that right now.
Can I ask you about Aaron Logan and Ruth? Did they spend a lot of time together when they were kids? It was Ali's thing to have him at the house, not Ruth's.
He was in care, right? What was that? What, did she feel sorry for him? Yeah.
He visited occasionally, at weekends or whatever.
His brother used to drop him off and then Ali would take him back to the home.
Can I ask, isn't it possible you're barking up the wrong tree here with Aaron .
.
like you are with me? Nikki, that inspection pit, there's soil from another source in it.
We're doing a mineral analysis.
Great.
And the hair clip we found Do we know if Ruth was wearing one like that when she went missing? Yes, we do.
Think it wise to update Ashton? And don't forget to tell her we've got loads of prints -- fingers this time -- from the red sofa.
Remind her I'm running them.
I know.
You're letting him go? What can we hold him on, some photos and maps? Everything he said checks out.
These are the fingermarks from the red sofa at the boathouse.
I mean, there are loads over the years.
We've got old marks from Ruth and Kieran.
And she was there, too? And look who else.
Whoa.
What was she doing there? Hello? 'I've got nowhere to go, Ben.
' I can't talk right now.
Have you seen the papers? They've found a grave.
Hang on.
Where are you? OK.
All right, all right.
I don't know.
I don't know how it got there! You have clearly been to that boatyard.
No.
You've been on that sofa.
- No.
- So how did your fingerprint get there? I've done nothing wrong.
It's where your daughter's body was hidden.
No.
No.
What were you doing there, Ali? No! No! No! No! Get them out! Turn your phone off.
The police will trace it.
I've got another one.
What is this place? Sarah was going to buy it for us to do up.
Somewhere to live when the baby arrives.
You'll be OK here for a while.
Does Sarah know we're here? No! We we have to keep her away from all this.
It's too much for her.
Yeah.
Listen .
.
what if you went to the police, right now? You think I'm guilty? No, God no.
Course not.
But how long can this go on for? Sooner or later, they'll find you or you'll have to give yourself up.
- I've done nothing wrong.
- I know.
That's what I'm saying They'll never believe that, Ben.
They'll just keep coming for me! Look, I I've never really been there for you, have I? Not even when Mum died.
But we're going to put that right.
Now, OK? Come here.
Chris Tresize.
'Yeah, it's DI Ashton.
' I need you to come into the station.
I'm not coming anywhere.
Well, we have found Ali's fingerprint near where we think Ruth's body was buried.
What are you saying? What were Ali's fingerprints doing there? 'I'm hoping you can help me with that.
' I'm not here to hurt anybody.
You compromise me and I'll kill you.
I know you, Aaron.
You don't have it in you.
How did you know where I was? They've found where they think Ruth's body was kept.
Ali's fingerprints were there, too.
Her prints? Why? She had something to do with Ruth's death? No.
No way.
But you know something, right? - You must know.
- What are you talking about? I thought Ali might've been sleeping with other men, but I didn't know who or where she went to do that.
Here.
Look at that.
She was sleeping with your brother.
I think maybe I knew.
I just didn't want to believe it.
No.
We have a warrant to search the premises.
Where's Aaron? Hm? Hello.
I'm going to the police.
I can't run away from this for ever, can I? 'Will you meet me and come with me?' Yeah.
We don't need her.
We've found a place where we think Ruth Tresize's body's been kept.
So, I need to ask you, the alibi you gave Aaron for Ruth's murder, was it accurate? Cos you said that he was with you at that time.
Yes.
Likewise with Lorna Katz? On both occasions, he was with you? Yes.
I've said yes.
What more do you want me to say?! Clarissa, how long before we get the DNA on the grave site? Couple of days, if we're lucky.
These prints, I think there's more wear on the inner sole.
Can you see? Obviously, I have an unorthodox gait myself, so maybe I'm more sensitive to this, but I think this guy walks with a bias towards his inner foot.
So, you think the foot rolls in? Yeah.
Can we access some medical records? Can I have a word? I've just spoken with Thomas and Clarissa.
It looks like the killer had talipes.
These are the bootprints from the Lorna scene and Stella's, and this is them amalgamated.
They match up, pretty much, to make one print from one individual.
So, sorry, talipes? Club foot.
Surgery in children can pretty much correct it.
You wouldn't necessarily notice it in the way that somebody walked, but it would still leave a bias.
Which is what there is here.
The foot's turned inwards.
So, this is the killer's bootprint? You're sure of that? Two matching prints left at two scenes? They checked Aaron's medical records and it's not him.
He has no history of this.
So, who does? 'You think you're going to go, do you? 'Nobody ever leaves me.
' Sarah, those alibis you gave Aaron.
Was Ben with you then, too? Yes.
I already said this.
On both occasions? Sorry, what is this? When Lorna Katz died, was he with you all of the time? Er, he had to go out late that night to meet some people who wanted People from the brewery.
Why didn't you mention that before? Well, I didn't think it mattered.
Like, you know, you asked was I with Ben that night -- yes, I was.
What time did he get back? I'm sorry, why are you asking me questions about Ben? Please, it's important.
I don't know.
Er, I was asleep.
Late.
And what about the night when Ruth went missing? That was years ago.
It's in the file.
You were here watching New Year fireworks and Aaron was with you.
And was Ben there, too? Was he? Was he there all night? Sarah? And at the time of Kieran's death, was he here, like you said? Talipes.
You know what that is, don't you? The killer may have that condition.
They might have had an operation to put it right, but they probably still have aches and pains because of it.
Do you know anyone like that? Sarah? Hey.
You're making the right decision, giving yourself up.
What happened with you and Ali? Were you sleeping with her? Who told you this shit? Just tell me what happened, man! Did Ruth know about you and Ali? Did you kill Ruth? What did you do? - Ben's mobile? - Yes, we've still got a trace.
This way! You ruined my life, Aaron! You don't understand, Aaron.
Why did you do it? Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Ruth was going to tell Sarah, man.
All she had to do was to promise to say nothing.
What, Lorna and Kieran, you killed them, too? All this about protecting me was bullshit.
It's always been about you! I would have fixed this.
What, like you did with Mum? - She never cared about you, man.
- No.
- Mum was going to abandon us both, just like Sarah would've done.
- No.
Like Lorna did to you.
Take him.
Aaron, stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Stop.
Where is she? Where's Ruth? Where have you buried her? What I don't get is why he moved the body.
Well, the owners of the boatyard had sold the place.
Maybe he got spooked it would've been found.
What about Lorna? Did she find him in the act of moving the body? Ashton says Ben's not talking.
Guess we'll never know.
Remember me saying there were soil samples on the side of - the inspection pit that didn't originate from there? - Yeah.
So, what if he takes care of Lorna, then he goes, digs the new grave and comes back to the boatyard to get Ruth's body? But he uses the same tool, whatever it was, to lift the grill.
So the soil in the pit could've come from that tool, from where - the body's been moved to? - Yeah.
Is soil analysis back? Yeah.
And it's got diatoms in it, so it's from a flood plain.
There's fly ash in it, too, and other pollution hydrocarbons.
Which suggests what? That it's near a railway line and a road.
And pollen content Classic wet grass meadow.
So, where do we find an area near the River Lea that fits that profile? OK, OK.
How about this? Here's the road.
Here's the railway line.
- Isn't that where Chris Tresize lives? - Mm-hm.
Would he really be that perverse? Burying her there? Her father would look out on her, wouldn't he? Without even realising it.
Something here.
This has been recently dug over.
You've found her? Yeah.
Ah This geezer's right up my arse! Arrrrgh! So, you think this was a professional job? If it was, he was having a bad day.
Ricky's dead.
He was murdered this morning, and he's after me, too.
I think he's done what he said he was going to do, Paul.
And now it's all going to come out.
I need to speak to Becky and she's blocked me.
It's about her dad.
I know what I did was wrong.
I do.
But I don't deserve to die for it.
Becky, please.
Come on, wake up.
Becky, what have you done? Testator silens Costestes e spiritu Silentium.