Silent Witness (1996) s23e03 Episode Script

1 Boys' hands on the side.
Girls' hands on the front.
Feet together.
Rei.
OK.
Well done.
Thank you.
See you all next week.
Boys, come on, let's go.
Shoes on.
Jason? It's the Under-14 Championships next month.
- I'm putting you forward.
- OK, cool.
You turned up without anything over your kit - that's not like you.
OK.
Here.
Sorry about the colour.
Serves you right for being unprepared.
If you hang on a minute, I'll run you into town.
Come on, then.
Get in the car.
We're going to go to your nan's this evening.
- Bye, Jason.
- Bye.
- Bye, Jason.
Sorry, Jason.
CAR HORN BEEPS What are you doing here? - Yeah.
- CAR DOOR SHUTS Testator silens Costestes e spiritu Silentium Testator silens.
SAT NAV: When possible, make a U-turn.
When possible, make a U-turn.
Shall I turn around? Turn left.
- Right, left.
- Which? - Left! HELICOPTER BLADES WHIR Police.
They don't look lost.
Where possible, make a U-turn.
- That's how we should have arrived.
- SHE CHUCKLES Nikki Alexander, pathologist.
Jack Hodgson, Forensics.
DCI Claire Ashby.
DS John MacNeil.
- All right? - Did you find us OK? Yeah, no problem.
Just got here ourselves.
- We work for a London murder team.
- OK.
Got the call when Jason first went missing because of our expertise in child abduction.
- How did local CID take that? - OK, most of the time.
- And the rest of the time? - We've had to bang a few heads.
Him, in particular.
We're over here.
In any other circumstances, I'd say welcome back.
We don't know it's Jason yet.
We sent a car round to Wildes.
He moved out.
Reading between the lines, he was forced out by the neighbours.
- Well, where's he living now? - With his father, Robert, but he's not there either.
Find him, lean on Dad, do whatever it takes.
I want to question him as soon as ID is confirmed.
CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS The body appears to be male, an indeterminate age.
There's some evidence of decomposition and disturbance by animals.
Sock on the right foot.
The left is bare and partially skeletonised.
Fair few weeds growing from under the body.
What does that tell you? Well, if all the growth is dead under the body, it suggests he's been here some time.
Yeah, he's been here weeks, possibly months.
Months? Why? What are you thinking? If it is Jason, could he have been here since September? Was the farm searched back then? If it wasn't, I'm history.
One of Jason's identifying markers is a dental bridge.
Upper right lateral incisor, result of an injury sustained in judo.
Right.
His family are already being doorstepped.
I'd like to get them some kind of answer ahead of the DNA confirmation.
I can't make a formal ID.
OK.
Understood.
Yes, he has a dental bridge filling his upper lateral incisor.
Sorry.
Have you located Wilde? I tried his mobile, but just kept getting "number out of service".
I checked it against his locksmith website, but that's down too.
- Since when? - My colleague Clarissa might be able to help there.
Please.
Nikki, would you be up for coming with me to notify the family of the probable ID? I'm not after moral support.
I just know from experience that Pete Forbes asks a lot of questions and I want to make sure I can answer them.
OK.
Morning, Jack.
I've sent you a number and a website.
Anything and everything, please.
I had a great weekend, thanks.
You? Already feels like a century ago.
Where are you? I'm in Hartford, Wessex.
Jason Forbes.
Wow, how did we get that case? Good question.
I'll get back to you in half an hour.
- Give you 15 minutes.
- SHE CHUCKLES Obviously there's a lot of work to do, so the sooner we can start on it, the better.
Of course, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't reassured myself that the Lyell is entirely blameless.
I appreciate that.
Happily, the accreditation service are of the same mind.
But there's exoneration and then there's reality, right? It's It's been a rough patch.
For some people, there's no smoke without fire.
You're really finding out who your friends are, eh? That's one way of saying it.
Well, if this helps you to get back on track, we all win.
- Right? - Right.
Clarissa, I didn't know you worked here.
They like to keep me hidden away.
How are you, Clarissa? I'm surviving.
- No need to ask how you are.
- Yeah, well, I'm just waiting for the day they tell me that I don't know what the hell I'm doing.
Sir? - Good to see you, Clarissa.
- You, too.
- You know the Assistant Commissioner? - Plain old DCI Holloway to me.
What was the case? Oh, how long have you got? You can't believe I know someone of such exalted rank? No, no, no, no.
- Is he here about Jason Forbes? - Yeah, and to politely request we don't speak to the media under pain of death.
Why'd he come to us? Don't know.
And a high profile case might be just what we need.
- Says who? - Well, mud sticks, I'm afraid.
We were victims of sabotage, Thomas, everyone that matters knows it.
The drop off in our caseload says otherwise, quite loudly.
PHONE RINGS NEWS REPORT: Six months ago, the eyes of the country were turned on Hartford after the disappearance of 13-year-old Jason Forbes, a county judo champion.
Despite a massive police search and the arrest of a local man, no trace of Jason was found and no charges were brought.
Well, earlier this morning, human remains believed to be those of Jason were discovered just a mile from this quiet Wessex village on what we've been told is an abandoned farm.
The circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body are unclear, as is whether or not HELICOPTER BLADES WHIR - Hi, Jotie.
- Boss.
This is Dr Nikki Alexander.
Hi.
There are strong indicators that the body discovered this morning is Jason.
I'm so sorry.
What kind of indicators? - Um, the cagoule is a visual match.
- Oh, God! SHE CRIES It's a popular brand, you said so yourself.
What else? Approximate body measurements and hair colour are consistent with the body being Jason's.
So is the dental bridge on his right upper incisor.
No, no, no.
DNA will confirm.
I think you need to prepare for the worst.
I'm so, so sorry.
Did you miss him back in September? What? Was he lying there the whole time, rotting away? I hope we'll have a clearer indication of time of death after the postmortem.
But there are other methods that can yield answers to How did he die? Again, I hope to have an answer to that after the postmortem.
Well, you always said the answer was close to home.
So when are you going to pick Malcolm Wilde up? It's in hand.
CHILDREN SHOU SHE EXHALES Thank you.
You've grown close to them.
Yeah.
More than I normally would.
As we're being frank, I'd like you to hear something from me cos you'll sure as shit hear it from the others.
Go for it.
I'm one of the youngest DCIs on the force.
Some say that's because of merit.
Most think it's because I'm the protege of Assistant Commissioner Holloway.
Right.
Maybe this case will settle it.
Merital nepotism.
THUNDER RUMBLES First murder I ever worked was a child.
Guy? Ta.
Yeah.
Laura Johnson was her name.
Wee thing.
Stuffed under a bath by her dad.
DI looked at me and he said, "One day, son, this will all be water off a duck's back.
" That day never came? No.
Never came.
I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse.
Body is that of a Caucasian male presumed to be Jason Forbes.
Multiple small larvae around the neck and shoulders.
Thank you.
They seem young, maybe first or second instar stage.
Development may have been delayed due to the cold weather.
What looks like dehydrated skin on his knuckles and lower border of the mandible.
Any idea what caused it? Sorry.
Decomposition's too advanced.
Body decomposition's progressing at different rates.
Some marbling.
Skin slippage.
The cagoule served as a windshield.
The covered skin hasn't dried out - it was kept moist by the fabric.
Does that help us with time of death? Given decompositional changes, weather conditions and surrounding plant growth, I can tell you now that the body wasn't lying there for months, more like four to six weeks.
Bottom line is, you didn't miss him back in September.
He wasn't there.
SHE EXHALES So five months elapsed between Jason's abduction and death.
Dead or alive, it's likely he was brought here by a vehicle.
Agree? Agreed.
Even if he was carried to the ditch.
Any idea which direction? Yeah.
Maybe he's carrying Jason toward the ditch, loses balance, they both go over.
Could explain the broken reeds.
Now, assuming he kept on the same trajectory, it's likely he was coming from the barn.
Wire's been cut.
Might get a tool mark.
Strip of fabric.
There are two gunshot wounds to the back.
Note the circular entry wound with an abrasion collar and there are punctate tattooing marks.
Now, looking at the leg wound this is a larger irregular defect.
No searing soot deposition or tattooing, suggesting that this was fired at distance, whereas those wounds were fired at close range.
Based on the wounds, I'd say a rifle or a handgun was most likely.
Maybe Jason was running away.
- Bullet to the leg brought him down.
- Possible.
Any evidence of sexual assault? No, but, given the state of decomposition, I wouldn't expect to find any.
What we can say is that a bleach-based agent was deployed around the groin area.
You can see the discoloration on the boxer shorts.
I've swabbed for DNA.
We'll see what comes back.
Are you OK? Do you want to sit down? I just want to nail this bastard.
Makes sense that he'd park up in here, screened from the road.
This broad track seems to be the dominant one.
Nikki, I've got a briefing back in Hartford later - be great if you could come.
- Sure.
This is where it happened.
You all right? Claire? That takes you to the judo club.
A witness, Hannah Divine, was picking up her daughter.
She was the last person to see Jason alive.
Well, last but one.
You said you thought Jason was taken by someone he knew.
He was a smart lad wouldn't have just gotten into a stranger's car.
What about forcible abduction? It's a quiet road.
No, I don't buy it.
We would have found some trace evidence.
No way he just took off? Nah.
We looked into it.
Stable family life, popular at school.
No reason to run and no phone activity after he vanished.
Hannah did provide another bit of testimony that we never squared away.
She saw a pick-up parked right there.
She thought that someone was behind the wheel.
Just to be clear, everything pertaining to pathology and forensics goes through Nikki and Jack, respectively.
We've now established that Jason was killed four to six weeks ago and was placed in the ditch at Mayhew Farm.
Obviously, that leaves five months unaccounted for between his abduction and his murder.
He was shot in the back twice and once in the leg.
We're checking ballistics, looking like either a rifle or a handgun at this stage.
I know I sound like a stuck record, Aidan, but where are we with Wilde? His dad says he's on a job in London.
Sometimes he stays over, but he has no way of contacting him because he ditched his mobile.
Anything on the farm, John? Yeah, we might have some tyre treads.
Yeah, we think the killer arrived in a vehicle, parked up here, at the barn, and carried Jason across here, through the bushes, to a ditch.
- What have we got on the farm itself? - Owned by a Leah Mayhew.
Had a stroke six months ago.
The farm's up for sale and has no link with Malcolm Wilde.
Hello, sir.
Go on, Claire, don't mind me.
What made you suspect Wilde in the first place? Weak alibi.
Home alone with a cold.
Plus, he knew the victim and Jason's dad got him fired from working with the Scouts.
We also found Jason's prints on an Evian bottle in Wilde's van.
Day after Jason were missing, we found shoeprints matching Wilde's trainers in the Forbes' Garden.
It gelled with our thinking that the killer had studied Jason and studied his routine.
He knew he did judo on Thursdays and he knew he walked home alone.
Right, but, in the words of the CPS, a size nine isn't a fingerprint wasn't enough.
That's all about to change.
I've never had any doubt that we're after a local.
When a kid's abducted, despite what people want to believe, the person responsible is unlikely to be an outsider, a depraved stranger invading the homestead.
- Nine times out of ten - PHONE RINGS it's someone closer to home.
- Friend, neighbour - Clarissa? member of the family hidden in plain sight.
Clarissa's got something.
Best if you hear from herself.
OK, you're good.
Wilde took his locksmith site down this morning, roughly an hour after Jason's body was discovered.
- What a coincidence.
- Right.
So I dug deeper, specifically the domain provider's web cache, - which allowed me to restore most of the site.
- Nice work.
I think I know why he took it down.
Have a look at the testimonial page.
Wilde's on the left.
The other man is Liam Mayhew.
- When was it taken? - 2015.
Wilde fitted locks on a barn and a cow shed.
So he knew his way around Mayhew Farm.
It's not a stretch he knew about Mayhew's stroke.
No stretch at all.
Get his picture up, but low-key, just someone we want to talk to.
OK.
Thanks, everyone.
- Tim Holloway.
- Nikki Alexander.
- This is Jack Hodgson.
- Hi.
So pleased to have the Lyell on this.
Have you got a minute, Claire? Sure.
Spoke to CPS, bagged us a new appointment, Jane Keller.
Won't be a pushover, but she won't give us the crap - we got last time we tried to get Wilde over the line.
- Great news.
I'd like to keep an open mind, just so his defence can't peg us as tunnel-visioned.
Open mind about what? Other lines of inquiry the pick-up, the guy that checked into the Roebuck.
What's the biggest bear trap SIOs fall into? - Um, split focus.
- Split focus.
Wilde is your suspect, Claire.
You found him, you led the team up the mountain after him.
Keep him tied to the body, the dump site, you won't even need a confession.
Yes, sir.
We always believed the perpetrator to be from the local community and this morning's tragic discovery appears to bear that out.
Is it Jason? I'm sorry to have to tell you that the body recovered from the farm is that of Jason Forbes, yes.
Is Malcolm Wilde still a suspect? He's a person of interest and we'd very much like him to contact us, either directly or via his solicitor.
Jack, you said Malcolm Wilde didn't have any registered firearms, right? He doesn't.
I thought I'd run his dad's name up the flagpole, seeing as they're co-habiting.
Robert Wilde has two registered firearms.
We searched his place in October, no guns that I recall.
That's because he only registered them in January.
That's a warrant.
What do you want? Hello, Robert.
Still no word from Malcolm? A warrant to search your house.
And collect and test fire your guns.
Why is your son in London? Gets no work around here, thanks to you.
And you've really no way of reaching him? He ditched his mobile cos of the obscene calls.
The guns are new purchases, right? Needed to let off a bit of steam, you know, so I joined a gun club.
Nothing to see here.
We're good.
- Thanks.
- Don't hurt yourself.
I'll be grand.
- Does Malcolm know the combination? - No.
Do you ever leave it unlocked? - What a stupid question.
- Well, we all make mistakes.
HE SCOFFS PHONE RINGS Excuse me.
- Clarissa.
- Hi, Jack, you're on speakerphone.
All right.
I isolated the tyre marks from Mayhew Farm.
Most prominent tread is a Realto Performo, not many circulating in the UK since they were bought out by Goodyear in 2015.
All right, great stuff.
Any chance you can fire me over the isolated tread? I already have.
And the green fabric from the fence 65% poly, 35% cotton mix with a distinctive anti-static grid weave.
Distinctive enough to source? My money's on heavy-duty overalls, but no joy on a make, not so the stain.
It's a graphite lubricant, specifically designed for locks.
Apparently superior to wet oils and WD40, - the brand name is Bixley.
- Bixley.
Got it.
Realto Performo - all of them.
Yeah.
- Too narrow for our tyre mark.
- Yeah.
Ours was more like that.
Nice rig.
Did Malcolm ever take it out? - No.
- Yeah, didn't think so.
That's a lot of tyres.
Realto went under.
- The distributor's down the road there.
- Going cheap? Yeah.
Where does Malcolm do his off-site locksmithing since he moved in? - Do you want to see down here or what? - Yeah.
The green fabric you found is likely from a boiler suit the oil staining it is Bixley's lubricant.
Can't see any tear.
- Could have a couple spare.
- Maybe.
- And - Why not new phone? Hard to do his job without one.
Was Wilde placed under surveillance? Yeah.
- When? - Two weeks, mid-October.
Why? Just wondering how he kept Jason hidden away when he was the subject of so much attention.
PHONE RINGS Hi.
I can't talk at the moment.
Can it wait until tonight? Martin.
OK.
Come on up.
Sorry, Nikki.
Is there an office that I can borrow? My husband is here.
Sure.
- Hi, darling.
- Hi.
This is Dr Alexander.
- Oh.
- Hi.
Look, I told you, that's his old charger.
He doesn't have a phone.
Yeah, I thought you'd say that.
I get it, Robert.
You're trying to protect your son.
I'd do the same if I was in your shoes.
But, by him running away, he's just digging his hole deeper.
How did you come by those scratches on your neck? Some moron kicked off about his MOT bill.
Right.
It's just scratches like those suggest you were the aggressor.
Called me a prick.
I lamped him.
So it wasn't any adjustment issues with Malcolm moving back home? We just want to talk to him, Robert.
The sooner that happens, the better, especially for him.
This village it's his whole world.
Mine, too.
And we're finished here.
Finished.
Last number dialled.
Are you OK? I just need to get some air.
He was asking me to step down as SIO.
Wow.
Maybe this is selfish, but I have given everything to this case.
I've lived and breathed it since September.
And I promised Tina and Pete that I would get them justice.
We can't give up, not now.
Congratulations, by the way.
Thanks.
We're very fortunate.
We don't exactly rely on my salary for our next meal, so - the way my husband sees it - There's no need for you to work.
Not now.
Do you have children? No.
No, I don't.
Is there a Mr Nikki? Er yeah.
Took way too long to answer that.
Are you ready to tell me the real reason why you ditched the local lab? The decision was taken over my head, Nikki.
MESSAGE ALER Got a current mobile for Malcolm.
It's just pinging off one mast.
The M4.
It's a rural area.
He's static.
- He's not on the motorway.
- Which basically leaves one location.
RINGING TONE - Boss? - Where are you? - En route to Lyell.
We think he's at Dinton Services.
Five minutes away, give or take.
- Hear that? - Yeah.
Can you get there if I organise backup? - I don't want to miss him.
- Will do.
- No heroics.
That's his van.
Borrows his dad's tyres, why not his truck? Mm-hm.
I'll go find him.
I'll be the welcome party, then.
Malcolm.
Malcolm! Ugh! Watch out! Hey, you, get out of there! INDISTINCT SHOUTING SHOUTING Hey! Where are you going? Stay down.
Fresh marks.
Malcolm Wilde, I'm arresting you on suspicion of murder.
I'm so sorry, Pete.
I saw you at the press conference.
This is not a good idea.
You should be with Tina.
PHONE RINGS It's Tina.
Take it.
Yeah, sweetheart? The police have been in touch.
They've arrested Malcolm Wilde.
- Jack? - Yeah.
Results are back on Jason's histology section.
Any surprises? On decomposition, the body generates gases which create bubbles in the tissue like so.
- So far, so normal? - Yeah, and to look at these slit-like marks are similar.
They're consistent with something more unusual freezing.
- Jason's body was frozen.
- Correct.
So the ballpark that he died four to six weeks ago needs to be adjusted.
Could have died months ago.
You two have just been to Wilde senior's residence, right? Yeah, we've had that pleasure.
You see a freezer big enough to store a body? You'd better get back out there then.
And your top, please.
Nasty bruises.
I was fitting an alarm box and I fell off my ladder.
Onto what? Railings.
OK.
I'm done.
MacNeil! Down here! Downstairs.
We'll get this freighted to the Lyell tonight.
Clothing, trace, tyre treads, location all pointing at you, Malcolm.
Someone set me up it's the only explanation.
- Saw my name in the paper.
- Your name was never in the paper - we made sure of that.
- Online then, Twitter.
You did nothing about that, did you? Come on, Malcolm.
We both know you're guilty.
- So does your dad.
- No.
No.
My dad believes me, he's the only one that does.
Let's take a break.
- OK.
Is that it? - Yeah.
Thanks, Nikki.
- I've just got a couple of questions.
- That's OK.
Can you go into a bit more detail about Malcolm's injuries, please? Er, sure.
I've seen that exact bruising only twice before both times in a military context.
So, in your expert opinion, Malcolm's lying? About falling onto railings? Yes.
Tell me again how you think the bruising was caused.
Well, I'm almost certain it's the result of a blanket party, where, typically, the victim is held down and beaten with something like a sock filled with one or more bars of soap.
Hurts like hell, but the bruising fades fast.
Yeah, still traumatic to be on the receiving end not to mention humiliating.
- SLAMS TABLE - Bullshit! Total bullshit! Hey, you! Looks like that rang a bell.
It wasn't my dad.
What did you do to make him lose his temper so badly? I told you, I fell on a railing.
KNOCK AT DOOR Can I speak to you? I think his dad beat the truth out of him.
- What the hell was that? - What? Why didn't you just ask me to say that to his face? - Because I knew you'd say no.
- I'm not your puppet! It's not my fault you're desperate and he's not cracking.
- Look at the forensics.
- Asking me to Jason's parents' I thought was unorthodox, but well-meant.
Tricking me into menacing a suspect, - that is something else entirely! - He did it, Nikki, and I will do whatever it takes to get it over the line with the CPS.
- "Whatever it takes"? - It's either that or he walks free again.
If I get adversarial, I'm compromised.
Perspective and integrity go out of the window and then I'm no good to anyone.
Long day.
SHE SCOFFS Apology accepted.
I want to make a statement.
Yeah, we were just leaving.
Will do.
Hey.
That beating you gave Malcolm, we have no time for denials, but we will assume the worst.
In here.
That's why I went for him.
Parcel came in the post addressed to Mr Wilde.
Thought it was for me.
What are those pills? Oh, some long name.
They were to stop sexual urges.
Suppress them or something.
I don't know.
When I confronted Malcolm, he was mortified.
He finally admitted to you know he liked kids.
He said he wanted to stop it.
He was ashamed.
Seemed to think that would reassure me.
He was wrong about that? How to kill a beast, eh? I lost it.
I had to find out what he'd done! If you lot are right about Jason And you knew how to make him talk.
I'll never forgive myself for the rest of my life.
I'll never get his screams out of my head.
What did Malcolm say? Nothing.
He stuck to his story.
He was innocent.
By the time I finished I believed him.
I've had urges my whole life.
I'm not proud of it, but I've I won't say made my peace with it.
There is no peace.
It's something that I've learned to manage control even.
At the same time, I've learned that fighting the urges doesn't work.
I need help, therapy, drugs.
You can't do it alone.
And working for the Scouts, being surrounded by young boys, that was tempting fate, surely? I was testing that control and I passed whatever lies Peter Forbes fed you.
- It wasn't just Peter that had concerns.
- Jason Forbes Jason knew the truth.
Told me he was sorry about what his dad had done.
He was no bloody pillar of the community! - He was shagging Jason's judo teacher, for one! - Bullshit! They got together every Tuesday, when his mum worked the late shift at the hospital.
And I thought "I can use that.
"I can turn his life to shit, like he has mine.
" You went round there? When? Two days before Jason went missing.
Hi.
I'm outside.
KEYPAD TONE TWIG SNAPS ENGINE STARTS ENGINE REVS You're sure it was a pick-up? Ford Super Duty maybe? My dad's a mechanic.
I know cars.
One moment, please.
DOOR CLOSES We never went public about the pick-up that Hannah Devine saw from the trees.
He must have heard her testimony somehow.
Or he's telling the truth and he did see a pick-up outside the Forbes' house.
KIDS CHATTER NEARBY SHUTTER SLAMS Hello? HE SHIVERS Hello?! I want to see my dad.
HE WHIMPERS HE BANGS ON DOOR I want to see my dad! Testator silens Costestes e spiritu Silentium.