The Brief (2004) s01e04 Episode Script

1
Acorn Media
[Moaning]
[Choking]
What have you done?
Trevor Booth,
the jury believes
that you did not intend to kill
Luanne Gardner.
Nevertheless, you will
go to prison for 10 years.
Peter Gerald McKee,
you are a wicked, controlling,
and calculating man.
You found Trevor Booth
and encouraged
your common-law wife
to indulge in violent
and dangerous sexual practices
with him.
You saw an opportunity
to cash in
on a valuable property she had
only recently made over to you.
You are sentenced
to life imprisonment.
I never wanted her dead.
I loved her.
Do you understand what love is?
Do you?
Abandon hope
all ye who enter here, Jimmy.
[Whining]
[Beeping]
Still find it incredible
he was convicted
on that evidence.
Mm, and Booth's been out
for three years.
Peter.
You should be out on parole
by now, Peter.
Yeah, easy.
Just say I did it.
Taken a degree, haven't you?
Two.
And don't patronize me, Jimmy.
What in?
Psychology.
And law.
Not made you a QC yet?
Last I heard,
they were going to be abolished.
Cleo Steyn first, I hope.
She tried hard
to get you acquitted.
Nine years ago,
you were spitting blood at her.
You're not going for this
without Cleo?
You forget.
I can spell jurisprudence.
If you want to prejudice
your appeal
Anything to do with her being
your Head of Chambers now?
HENRY:
Don't knock Cleo.
She ran a very spirited defense.
McKEE:
She never believed me.
I never heard her say that.
She thought
I was some sort of pervert.
She never believed that
I just wanted Lu to be happy.
I never encouraged Lu
into that rough stuff.
I could have appealed back then
if it hadn't been for Madam
Steyn spraying her advice around
like manna from heaven.
She's the one
who condemned me to this.
I bet you £1,000
she won't let go of this one.
We want you.
It looks like
I've gone behind her back
to steal a high-profile case.
[Chuckles]
She'd do it to you.
Look, the only reason
McKee didn't top himself
was that you and I
believed in him.
I got emotionally involved.
Yeah, well, I heard
you still do from time to time.
Look, tell Cleo to her face.
Mm?
Just spell it out for her.
"Cleo, the defendant
does not want you."
You tell her, Jimmy.
It's your job.
You're not scared of her,
are you?
[Tires screeching]
Hold on there,
and I'll ring if I need help.
Do you think you will?
It'll be fine.
I'll come and get the rest
of the stuff sometime.
I thought it was a good
arrangement, Polly
What we had.
Look, I can't talk about this
now.
The impression I got was,
actually,
you really didn't want to live
with Farmer.
In fact, not someone
you would actually
want to live with at all.
I want us to stay friends.
And you're wrong about him.
GERRY:
Oh, I'm wrong.
I've been getting it wrong
for some time, then.
Gerry, you're in remission.
Live your life
the way you want to.
Stop pretending.
Your political career isn't
worth you becoming a hypocrite.
Oh, good.
In remission.
Wife can check out now.
Can I help you carry your bags?
I stayed
because I cared about you
and because it was my duty.
GERRY:
Which?
Care or duty?
Which?
Both.
Do you think I'm going to
let you have a divorce?
Forget it.
You married a Catholic.
A left footer.
Aye, more ways than one.
Sorry. I'm sorry.
I didn't mean that.
I'm not gonna give you
a divorce.
[Beep]
[Cellphone rings]
And you are going to read
some shit about yourself
because I know a lot of journos
who are going to screw you
in print.
What, for being loyal to you
for all these years?
Well, you'd better watch out
for the journalists
who aren't your mates.
You knew what I was
when you married me.
- No!
- You wanted the life!
Oh, great.
What have you got to say?
Not much.
What about you?
Didn't know you bought
the tabloids.
For the horoscope, Mo.
Have you seen this?
Yeah.
Dangerous driving.
Ooh, big time.
Xansi Tucker.
Miss Tucker
is half of Lax 'n' Lazy.
Rap singer.
- Which one?
- Lax.
Yes!
Tell you how bad
the driving was
You're in the Crown Court.
[Chuckles]
When's Cleo back
from Switzerland?
I've just seen her.
BRACEWELL: I can't imagine you
as a hooligan, Ray.
I was 18 at the time.
Needed my head examining.
"Scanlon, once part of
a notorious group
of Chelsea supporters,
is now on his second Ferrari
and lives in a £1 million house
in Dorking."
All publicity's good publicity.
Mo, you've had 30 years
to organize this place,
and I still can't find anything.
What was that about publicity?
Did you have a nice time, miss?
Beckham.
We were talking about Beckham.
Ah, who?
She'll make a good judge.
Will you tell Henry
I need to talk to him?
What about, miss?
Peter McKee's appeal.
Will you be doing it, miss?
Of course.
Nasty cutthroat trial,
wasn't it?
Shall I try Mr. Farmer?
Better not.
Haven't heard officially.
There may be some
promising grounds for appeal.
Why did you never appeal
straight after, miss?
By the way, I've been meaning
to tell you for weeks.
The earring doesn't suit you.
Makes you look like
a football hooligan.
Your fashion sense
is always impeccable, miss.
Who took that?
Uh, well,
it could have been Booth.
That's where they met
The perimeter fence
at Lakenheath.
Very strange obsession,
plane spotting.
Oh, yes.
HENRY:
Where's Trevor Booth now?
COLLINA:
Oh, he's semi-respectable.
Um, works for a furniture
restorer in Crouch End.
So many questions
never answered.
Why didn't Luanne run off
with Booth?
Why didn't McKee do anything
about being impotent?
No Viagra then, Henry.
Why did he insist
that Luanne and Booth do it
at their home
if he didn't want to watch?
He's a control freak.
The judge called him
controlling.
Yeah, well, that had
a big effect on the jury.
And yet McKee insists
they were a happy couple
right to the end.
He never wanted to leave her.
She never wanted to leave him.
Yeah, well.
All we can do is put forward
the new evidence
and hope it makes a difference,
that's all.
I just feel it's all too late.
What about that friend
of Luanne's
who was going to give evidence
and then let us down?
Can we try and find her?
Barbara
Rolfe.
We haven't got legal aid yet.
HENRY:
Raid the coffee money.
I won't charge for the advice.
But I bet you Cleo gets back in.
It's a fiver, isn't it?
A thousand says
she talks your client round.
You can't talk McKee round
about anything.
Hi.
Here's one for you, Trevor.
Thanks.
Some bird keeps writing.
MAN:
There she is!
Good on ya!
Hooker.
[Wolf whistles]
Yeah, get out of it.
She's seen it.
I'm finished.
Nice one of you.
Jimmy Collina's on the phone
for you.
Jimmy Collina?
Isn't he Peter McKee's
solicitor?
Yeah, I'm doing a lot
with Jimmy at the moment.
Didn't you tell her?
[Clears throat]
Hey.
Oh.
Welcome to the rest
of your life.
About bloody time.
Soon as that thing is moved
without a key,
it should send a signal.
No signal.
Ray, can you get me
Jimmy Collina's mobile number?
Well, it's not in any car pound.
I mean, it'd send a signal
if the police moved it.
Ray.
Well, it just doesn't
make sense.
Well, it's brand-new!
Well, my insurance
are having kittens!
[Whining]
Hello.
Good morning, sir.
[Beeping]
Peter kept saying,
"Give her what she wants."
He said,
"She knows what she's doing,
and she'll be all right."
And you never realized
how dangerous it was?
No.
I mean, I wasn't the first one.
They were experienced.
They'd done it all before.
Go after Trevor Booth.
McKEE: No.
He was an innocent in all this.
He's done his time.
HENRY:
I don't believe this.
Are you trying to tell me
you've forgiven him now?
Aren't you being a bit Christian
about this, Peter?
You'd turn to God
if you'd spent nine years
in this sewer.
He lied about you
to get himself off.
McKEE:
Leave Trevor alone.
He panicked.
He thought he was going down
for murder.
Have you never considered
he might have
meant to kill Luanne
because he enjoyed it?
Or because he was angry
with her?
What could I do if I wanted
Luanne to stay with me?
She was my best friend
in the world.
I should have seen
how dangerous it was getting.
I'd gladly have done time
for that.
I didn't know
she was going that far.
And Trevor's a victim, too.
He had no control over himself.
Go after the judge.
If we use Grandage's summing up
as our main grounds for appeal,
they'll ask why we didn't appeal
within the time limit.
Because Cleo Steyn QC
told me not to.
Because Grandage
was in her chambers,
and she wanted
to suck up to him.
That's slander, Peter.
And what about me?
I was part of her team.
I went along with the original
decision not to appeal.
Yeah, and it stuck
in your throat.
So tell their lordships that
and maybe they'll understand
why we ditched her.
Did you choose me
for this appeal
because of my brains and talent
or because you thought I'd be
a pushover?
Misdirection by the judge
is the most effective way
to win this appeal.
What else have you got?
Oh, her solicitor found
a previous letter
saying she intended
leaving me the house
from five years before,
which she never acted on.
What about Luanne's friend
Barbara?
She was close to Luanne.
She knew
you were happy together.
McKEE:
Forget it.
She let me down.
I don't forgive.
Okay.
We'll see where a mail-order
degree in law gets us.
I'll send someone in
to take dictation from you,
and then we can all get down
on our knees and pray.
in the afternoon ♪
Gotta get your number,
wanna see you soon ♪
You've gotta get close to me ♪
Wanna tell you
how you gotta treat me right ♪
We can make it out
all through the night ♪
You've gotta get close to me ♪
Well, you seem to have hit
quite a few cars.
Anybody killed,
seriously injured?
Nope.
No booze, no drugs.
So what's your excuse?
Well, you've got the money,
let's put up a defense.
My learned friend
has made much of my client
being on the wrong side
of the motorway,
zigzagging across the road
from side to side,
but place yourself
in Miss Tucker's shoes
for a moment.
We have already established
that the sign-posting
of the diversion was confusing.
And you've seen
the photograph of the scene
All those traffic cones,
looking like an examination
for the Advanced Driving Test
on a particularly remote corner
of the moon!
[Chuckles]
Not happy?
Had enough.
Hoped it would be
the same when she took over,
but I'm not appreciated.
She's only one person.
She's the figurehead.
She sets the tone.
You can't go.
You're the only one who knows
what's going on in this place.
You're the heart and soul.
MAUREEN:
Not worth it if it isn't fun.
Early retirement for me.
Well, if you go, I'm off, too.
I can just about put up
with her when she's happy.
When she's in a mood,
it's like working
inside the fridge.
God help us when she finds out
about the McKee appeal.
There's something going on.
I came in here the other day,
and she was in a state
Red eyes, dabbing make-up on
to cover her tears.
What?
What?
Take a good look at my face ♪
You'll see my smile looks
out of place ♪
If you look closer,
it's easy to trace ♪
The tracks of my tears ♪
I need you ♪
I need you ♪
Need you ♪
Grandage.
Wasn't he the trial judge?
Remind me to tell you
about Saul Grandage one day.
Still around, isn't he?
Just about.
Paying for his sins, one hopes.
Should never have got away
with that summing up.
But the right result, I fear.
Bollocks.
The worst verdict I've seen.
Would you stand by
with tea and biscuits
while someone was trying to
choke your wife with her tights?
Didn't he make a packet
selling her house?
Why not?
They'd been together
long enough.
No.
They'll show you the door
on that one.
Thank you for the preview of
their lordships' mind-set, Dad.
I'll make a detailed note of it.
Come to the country
next weekend?
Dogs, clay pigeons, wax jackets.
Not my thing.
Huh, I imagine not.
So I'd have a lousy time.
Good food, wine, log fires.
Look, it's nice of you to ask.
I'm sure it's well meant.
Bring the adulteress.
She writes a city column,
doesn't she?
I hear she's quite bright.
Let's run the rule over her.
That's a no, then, is it,
for the weekend?
This is Luanne.
BRACEWELL:
Client?
No.
Broker?
Unh-unh.
Aromatherapist.
MAUREEN:
I don't think so.
Giving her one?
If he is, it isn't doing her
any good.
Oh, can you put the word out
on a stolen Ferrari for me?
Probably churning up the sand
in Abu Dhabi by now.
Have a look at that.
Nice motor.
You've never mentioned
your father before.
Frisky girl.
Mum was his secretary.
They divorced when I was 10.
He hasn't helped you
or anything?
HENRY:
He started a new family.
Almost forgot I existed
till recently.
Say yes.
I've never seen a judge
face-to-face.
[Laughing]
I got a letter from Zak.
From Australia.
Well, he likes you.
[Cellphone rings]
Let it ring.
Come on.
POLLY:
Hello?
Okay.
Okay.
[Beep]
HENRY:
What is it?
Gerry's collapsed in a Committee
at the House of Commons.
I'll ring you later.
You can't drive.
Well, you certainly can't.
Hey.
Phone a cab.
Okay, okay.
"Why can't you see
we can be good?
I can't be without you.
Please come away.
It's got to happen.
I must warn you, Luanne,
if you stay with Pete,
you will die a slow death."
Yeah, it's no more use to us now
than it was then.
Who else but Booth
could have written it?
Well, it says Luanne would die
a slow death with Peter.
That came true, didn't it?
It's a common expression, Jim.
No, I agreed with Cleo
at the time.
It could have gone against us.
I mean, look at the writing.
How can we prove
that he wrote it?
Do you remember we tried
a handwriting expert?
Find out if he did a literacy
course when he was in chokey.
Why?
If Booth was obsessionally
jealous as well as violent,
he had a much more pressing
motive for murder than McKee.
If I could just get him
in the box.
Yeah, but we can't call him.
And the prosecution
aren't going to, are they?
Why won't Jimmy Collina return
my calls?
Anybody any ideas?
Out of supplies?
No.
I think you'll find
everything you need.
CLEO:
What's this?
What is this?
It's a letter to the Registrar
of the Court of Appeal, miss.
For?
Detailing new evidence
in the McKee appeal.
Mr. Farmer was intending
to put it in front of you.
Where is Mr. Farmer?
I think I just saw him
going out.
How is one supposed
to negotiate this safely?
It's raining.
Parts of the road are lit
and parts are not.
Confused, my client takes
a wrong turn.
Suddenly, there are headlights
coming towards her.
I know what's going on.
Oh, I know exactly
what's going on.
Bye.
You prick!
You smarmy, conniving snake.
You're trying to steal
the McKee appeal from me.
No.
Oh, right.
It's my brief.
Is Collina mad?
HENRY:
No, McKee's mad.
He's found God and got an LLB
from the Open University
and doesn't want to take advice
from anybody.
I remember that trial.
You were a bloody nuisance
from beginning to end.
You don't need it.
McKee just wants someone there
as a doormat.
You were so green you thought
pro bono was a rock star.
McKee doesn't want you.
He thinks you screwed up.
What, and he wants you instead?
Oh, well, he has gone mad.
What advice have you given
so far?
I can't get a bloody word in
edgeways.
Find where Jimmy Collina is
and get me a car.
Don't do it.
It'll be very humiliating.
Don't underestimate me.
Hello, Barbara.
Remember me?
Vonni.
They don't convict wrongly
that often, do they?
More often than you'd think.
I didn't like him.
I was Luanne's friend, not his.
I didn't think
they'd convict him.
Well, they did,
and he's still inside.
And I think
you could have helped him.
Lu was my best friend.
If what they'd said
about Peter was true,
I'd never have forgiven myself.
We believe we can prove
that Lu always wanted Pete
to have that house.
Come on, Barbara.
It's a man's life.
HENRY:
All right, love.
Call me if you need me.
Okay.
GILLESPIE: I'll tell you now,
if you don't know already,
your Head of Chambers,
Cleo Steyn,
has her eye on the bench.
And I don't think it'll be
too long before she gets there.
Everything all right?
I've always had a soft spot
for Cleo.
She'll be a definite asset.
Razor sharp,
still looks like a girl.
Husband a billionaire.
How's that an asset?
What?
HENRY: How's her husband being
a billionaire
an asset to the bench?
It's not an asset to the bench.
I never said it was.
You said it just then.
Uh, she rang me to talk
about you, by the way.
What did she say?
She said she thought
you'd harm your career
if you took this appeal.
And what did you say to that?
I told her not to be such a cow.
If the client doesn't want her,
that's her bad luck.
I'm very worried about him.
He looks all right to me.
I think he's losing his mind.
Really?
His memory, short-term.
And he's so cut off these days.
Half the time he's here,
he sits in that dump of his
at the bottom of the garden.
What do your girls think?
They don't see it.
Unanimous.
Nothing wrong with him.
Henry, I've never said this.
He treated your mother
very badly.
You must feel bitter.
Not anymore, Faith.
All this contact's
a bit strange, though.
I think he feels guilty.
As charged.
He loves you.
COLLINA:
Thank you.
Now, Collina and Steyn
for McKee.
Okay?
Thank you.
Hi, Pete.
I hear you've just been
to Communion.
Well, I think Mr. Collina
has told you why I'm here.
You wanted a right of appeal.
I'm going to lead,
and with my advice,
we're going to win.
I'm still here
because of your advice.
No, Peter, you're still here
because you wanted to be
a martyr
and because Trevor Booth was
ruthless in the witness box
and you weren't.
Jimmy, I told you
this wouldn't work.
You need the weight
and reputation of a silk.
Now, I'm afraid these things
matter in the Court of Appeal.
Just tell me why you didn't
go after that judge.
If you appeal now,
on the basis of Sir
Saul Grandage's misdirection,
it will not be successful.
Any more than it would have been
last time.
You came all this way
to tell me that?
Grandage directed properly
on the basis of evidence
we can now see was incomplete.
The sale of
your wife's property,
her sexual activities.
I think we can bring
cogent new evidence
that if we'd been given
the full facts,
the jury couldn't properly
have convicted you.
But it's not the judge's fault.
Why risk putting
their lordships' backs up?
That's the last thing I want.
Good.
Well, that's a start.
What have you got to offer?
Real.
I know all three judges
who'll be hearing your appeal.
I know their strengths
and their weaknesses.
What was the result of your
meeting with Henry Farmer?
Well, we don't see eye to eye
on the approach.
But I've got a lot of time
for Mr. Farmer.
Well, much as you may be
seduced by his charm,
he has the reputation
of a maverick.
That may work in Snaresbrook,
but they won't feel comfortable
with him.
I don't think that's fair, Cleo.
I'm losing my mind in here.
I want to clear my name.
Well, you should know, Jimmy,
they'll surely ask
why I'm not heading this appeal,
and they may come
to the conclusion
that I think it's hopeless.
Or worse.
I've always believed
you were innocent, Peter.
Truly.
Thought you'd be the only one
I'd never forgive.
Are you sure about this, Peter?
I promise you won't regret it.
GRANDAGE:
You have heard from the police
that when he was arrested,
McKee showed
almost as much concern
for the man who had
just killed his partner
and who had betrayed him
endlessly in his own house
as he did for the dead woman.
What are we to make of that?
[Gunshots]
[Airplanes passing]
Look.
You're no fun.
Tell me about Judge Grandage
and Cleo Steyn.
Cleo Steyn?
I was gonna tell you
about Grandage and your mother.
BARBARA: It's hard
not to be influenced
by what the police say,
but I'm not sure.
And, yes, something
has been on my conscience.
Luanne and Trevor
used to meet together in pubs.
She didn't want Peter to know.
I saw them.
This is a letter I found.
She sent it when she was away
in Germany plane spotting.
"I've got carried away
with Trevor,
and I'm scared
of where that's going."
Why didn't you tell us?
When the police interviewed me,
they said they thought
maybe Peter had set Trevor up
because he was jealous.
A way of getting both of them.
And you believed that?
I didn't like Peter, did I?
Surely, the fact that
Miss Tucker managed to avoid
more than glancing blows
with the oncoming traffic
is actually a testimony
to her driving skill
rather than the reverse.
Jack, about this Ferrari.
Those villains
that your missus' nephew
used to knock about with?
That lot, total nutters.
I tell you, they had
so many motors away,
they were letting new BMWs go
for 800 quid.
Well, do you think these lads
might have nicked Ray's Ferrari?
JACK: Unless they thought
it was a Vauxhall.
Well, that's got four legs
on the badge, ain't it?
No, no, no, Henry.
They're safely tucked away.
One of them tried selling
a Lexus
to the DCI at West Ham nick.
Anyway, you've got
a good insurance broker
and he's put you
with a reputable underwriter.
Haven't you?
Well, naturally,
they're being a bit iffy
when you think of the price
of a new masterpiece
from the craftsmen at Maranello.
Parker Peabody.
Parker with a "P"?
Yeah.
Peabody the same?
Yeah.
Very good at offering
bargain rates on supercars,
but a trifle reluctant
when it comes to the matter
of paying out on claims.
You know a good brief, Ray?
And estimates of her speed
are quite subjective
on the part of other witnesses,
who were themselves,
let us be charitable, in shock.
A good brief?
BEN:
Because otherwise, surely,
the consequences
might indeed have been tragic.
Present company excepted.
He's in love with a client.
Thinks if he gets her off,
he'll score.
POLLY:
They think it's a stroke,
but they don't know
what's caused it.
You probably can't hear me,
Gerry,
and I never thought
I'd say this,
but I actually find myself
sitting here
hoping you'll get better.
Henry.
I couldn't stop her seeing him.
Spineless.
No.
Pragmatic.
I know it's irregular,
but I need your help on McKee.
I didn't think Cleo
would get round him.
Don't tell me,
she told him how much
she'd always believed
in his innocence.
You owe me a grand.
Do you know,
I think Barbara Rolfe
might do something for us.
I'm not instructed.
Rolfe saw Booth having a row
with Luanne
the week before she died.
And that's dynamite.
Dynamite if you're right
about the letter.
But McKee and Cleo
won't go for it.
I've got to talk them round.
I'm not instructed,
so my advice is not insured.
Right.
Well, this is a personal check.
I lost a bet.
A one and three noughts.
Come on, Peter.
You've got an appeal.
Peter?
CLEO:
I really am sorry.
I know you felt passionately
about this case.
Almost as passionately
as you want to be a judge.
But, sadly, without
my experience and reputation,
this appeal will fail.
If only there were a way
we could work together.
- It's never too late.
- Well, it is.
I've approached someone else,
actually.
Jimmy?
Do you want to sit down
for this?
Peter McKee got beaten up
last night.
He'll recover,
but according to the prison,
it was a lover's tiff.
And isn't he
supposed to be impotent?
That's not good for us
if that gets out.
Why are you looking shifty?
He's changed his mind again.
He still wants you
to lead the appeal,
but he wants Henry as well.
And I'm afraid
that's my decision, too.
Well, obviously, Henry knows
the case backwards.
The only way to win this
is to go after Booth.
But, unfortunately,
not forwards as well.
You wanted to know
if Booth did a literacy course.
The answer's no.
Is Barbara Rolfe sure
she saw Luanne and Booth rowing
the exact week
before the murder?
Oh, yes, absolutely.
I just looked
at the transcript of the trial.
She must have got
the dates wrong.
Well, she doesn't
have to be specific
about when it was.
She's certain she saw them.
I think it might be better
if she's specific.
Advise her to stick
to the week before.
Don't tell her she was mistaken.
But why?
The prosecution'll
challenge her.
That's good.
That's what we want.
Truth will out.
You've lost me.
I think we might be able to trap
them into calling Booth.
Can we bury the hatchet?
What hatchet?
Oh, just a bit
of creative tension.
Saul Grandage.
Just passing by or haunting us?
Mrs. Steyn.
I appear for the appellant,
Peter McKee,
with Mr. Farmer.
My learned friend Miss Cheeseman
with Miss Mandeer
appears for the Crown
as respondent.
My first ground for appeal,
if your lordship
should see fit to allow it,
concerns the motive
for the murder.
It was established at the trial
that the appellant, McKee,
tried to sell the property
belonging to the deceased,
his common-law wife
Luanne Gardner.
Now, she had inherited
the house from her mother
and had been living there
with Mr. McKee
for more than 10 years.
McKee insisted Gardner
had always wanted him
to have the house,
but the prosecution at the trial
made much of the fact
that Gardner made a will
leaving the house to McKee
only days before her death.
In fact, Gardner wrote a letter
to her solicitor
five years before,
which has only
just come to light.
We submit this makes
nonsense of the fact
that the house was transferred
under duress.
Miss Cheeseman?
My lord, we won't be challenging
that the document is genuine.
What we do challenge
is the assumption
that it represented
the deceased's wishes,
because as the solicitor
failed to act upon it,
we must surely assume
that the deceased changed
her mind,
which was why Peter McKee
needed that second will.
Now, whether it was
or was not made under duress,
he got it,
and then days later,
he was present at the house when
his common-law wife was killed.
I leave it to you, my lord,
to decide on the basis of
the documents we have presented.
Thank you.
Well, that's our first
Exocet shot away
with hardly a whimper.
Why make such a fuss
about doing it
and not put up a fight?
What's wrong with her?
Haunted, I'd say.
I shall probably take
the opportunity
to retire quite soon.
I'm sorry to hear that.
I see your husband's
in the news.
Yes.
The Baron's on a roll.
Deals left, right, and center.
MAUREEN: I don't know
why you bother to work.
You don't need to.
You could write brilliant books
or renovate a castle
or something.
I enjoy the law, Mo.
Mrs. Steyn, we will not
reach any final judgment
till you've concluded
your arguments,
but in order not to mislead,
our provisional view
of the letter is that,
though significant as evidence,
it would be most unlikely,
of itself,
to render this conviction
unsafe.
CLEO:
Uh[clears throat] my lord,
I would like to call
Barbara Rolfe.
Miss Rolfe was a friend
of Gardner's
Can you get the file on Rolfe?
CLEO: and was understandably
emotionally involved
for some time after her death
and did not feel able to appear
for the defense.
She feels now that she could be
of help to the court
in explaining the relationship
between Luanne Gardner
and Peter McKee.
As you're proposing to call
a new witness
who could not appear
at the trial,
as well as having to satisfy us
that you could not have called
the witness then,
and that the evidence
is credible,
you run the risk
of the prosecution
calling evidence in rebuttal.
We accept all this, my lord.
How close were you
and Luanne Gardner?
She was my best friend.
If Luanne did anything
or felt anything,
she always told me about it.
Did she ever say she was unhappy
with Peter McKee?
BARBARA: Luanne always said
they were happy,
apart from Peter's impotence.
They had a lot in common.
What, for example?
They had this obsession
with airplanes.
It was their life outside work.
And they were still doing this
right up until the time
of Luanne's death, were they?
Oh, yes.
They were fanatic about it.
What did Luanne tell you
about her sex life?
Luanne made Peter an ultimatum.
She said she wanted to
sleep with other men
if he wouldn't see a doctor.
But he still wouldn't,
and the rest just followed.
When I found out
what she was up to,
I was a bit shocked.
Picking up young blokes,
using them.
CLEO: Where was Peter McKee
on these occasions?
BARBARA: He was always there
in the house.
He didn't want her
going away from him.
Those were his terms.
And when did this escalate
into rougher sex?
Only a few months
before she died.
Luanne admitted she enjoyed it
to begin with.
She didn't tell me
the whole story,
but I'd say she was anxious
and a bit frightened.
Did Luanne ever tell you
it was Peter who got her
into heavy sex?
No.
I just knew it was happening.
You said that the appellant
always wanted to know
where the deceased was.
Would you say
that was controlling?
In a way, yes.
In the circumstances,
extraordinarily controlling,
wouldn't you say?
It's how Peter was, but
Why didn't you appear for the
defense at the original trial?
I was very confused, I suppose.
I put it to you that you
believed Peter McKee was guilty
and that's why you
didn't leap to his defense.
BARBARA:
I couldn't understand
how he could let Luanne
take those risks.
But when you were told
what he stood to gain,
you began to wonder.
Yes?
Well, I did at the time, yes,
but
I put it to you that you have
been under great pressure
to appear for the appellant.
I didn't know
about Luanne's first letter
leaving the house to Peter.
Now, you say that Luanne didn't
tell you the whole truth
about the rough sex.
Did she tell you
it was her idea?
Or Trevor Booth's idea?
I don't know who started it.
Did she tell you it definitely
was not the appellant,
Peter McKee?
I don't understand.
Did she categorically say
it was nothing to do with Peter?
No.
No, because Peter
was always there, wasn't he?
And if Peter had wanted
to stop it,
Peter could have stopped it.
But he never did, did he?
Did Luanne tell you
that he ever tried to stop it?
No.
Thank you.
We only have two more shots.
Appeal against Grandage
and introduce the Booth letter.
This is just a bloody rerun
of 10 years ago.
I can't work with you.
I know why you didn't appeal
Grandage before.
I know he was a bastard.
I know he seduced and abused
a lot of vulnerable young women
in this profession.
Oh, just stop this now.
Women who were frightened
of him,
women who were frightened
for their careers,
legal secretaries.
My mother, for example.
My dad caught her on the rebound
from that experience,
and there were more later.
Smart young barristers
on the way up.
You're mad.
Shut up.
I spoke to somebody who shared
a room with you years ago
in Jarrett Court.
And he wasn't the only person
who knew about you and Grandage.
Are you saying that you think
I would put something like that
before a man's life?
They were right.
It was neurological.
It was a tumor
caused the hemorrhage.
Any hope at all?
They're deciding
whether it's worth operating.
"my soul can reach,
when feeling out of sight
for the ends of being
and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level
of everyday's most quiet need
by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely
as men strive for right.
I love thee purely
as they turn from praise."
Who are you?
Simon.
Simon.
Hello, Simon.
HENRY: "Why can't you see
we can be good?
I can't be without you.
Please come away.
It's got to happen.
I must warn you, Luanne,
if you stay with Pete,
you will die a slow death."
[Tape rewinding]
"Why can't you see
we can be good?
I can't be without you.
Please come away.
It's got to happen."
[Click]
"must warn you, Luanne,
if you stay with Pete,
you will die a slow death."
[Click]
Hello.
It's today, isn't it?
Forgetting her celebrity
for a moment,
Miss Tucker is not
a dangerous driver,
but a victim
of our inefficient, outdated,
and just plain hazardous
transport system.
Fantastic.
But you can't sleep with her.
Why not?
Why not?
If your lordship pleases,
we would like you to admit
misdirection by the trial judge
in his summing up
as further ground for appeal.
My lord, if my learned friend
wishes to make
the judge's misdirection
grounds for appeal,
she knows perfectly well
she should have pleaded it
in writing.
We assume you considered
this course of action
and rejected it.
It was the subject
of profound debate
between my learned friend
Mr. Farmer and myself.
And it appears you prevailed.
It was while considering
the evidence
for the current appeal
that the judge's misdirection
seemed
more crucial.
Apart from the evidence
given by Trevor Booth,
there is no other evidence
that Peter McKee instigated
and encouraged his wife
to risk her life
in these practices.
The judge directed otherwise.
We'll retire to consider
whether we'll give you leave
to amend your grounds.
I heard Grandage's
seduction techniques
were technically rape.
Okay.
I convinced myself he'd done
a good job of summing up.
I hated him,
and I lied to myself
that I wasn't scared of him.
We've all done things
we're ashamed of.
But that's not all
that's bugging you.
You've lost your bounce.
Are they gossiping about me
in chambers?
Well, you know what
they're like.
Cleo's got a toy boy?
He's a private detective.
Why?
I thought the Baron was having
an affair.
It's cost a packet.
He's covered most of Europe
in the last month.
It's all right.
You don't have to tell
No. Who else
am I going to talk to?
Well, you can bloody well listen
now.
My lips are sealed.
I thought he was running around
after some six-foot super babe,
but it's not a mistress.
Prostitutes.
No, and not just the odd one.
Scores of them.
Almost every other night.
Dialed up like pizza.
I mean, he's nearly 60.
There you go.
I'd like to have a go
at Trevor Booth.
Last chance saloon.
Don't be silly.
They won't call him just
so we can re-examine him.
I know Sarah Cheeseman.
She won't resist one last chance
to rub our noses in it.
We have considered
your application
to amend your grounds of appeal
to raise alleged misdirections
by the trial judge.
Counsel, however senior,
cannot pick and choose
grounds of appeal
by testing the temperature
of the water in this court.
You thought nothing of the point
until you saw others fail.
Well, that worked wonders
for my career.
Now watch mine go up in smoke.
My lord, we would like
to introduce this letter
which did not come to light
at the original trial.
It is written by Luanne Gardner
to Barbara Rolfe
and concerns her relationship
with Trevor Booth.
Xansi Tucker's rung
about 50 times today.
I take it you got her off.
A triumph.
Wow!
MAUREEN: The clerk's room's
full of flowers as well.
Mr. Scanlon thinks you're having
an affair with Elton John.
You can't do this.
Oh, come on, Mo.
If you have carnal knowledge
of a client
and she goes off you
and tells nasty stories,
you'll have the Bar Council
after you.
So think about it
and keep it in your pants.
You can argue this letter,
Mr. Farmer,
because it was discovered later,
but you will need to persuade us
of its relevance.
My lord, it is relevant
to this appeal
that Peter McKee was not proven
to have encouraged
his common-law wife
into violent sex.
I'd therefore like to
re-call Barbara Rolfe.
My lords, I think we established
in cross-examination
that Mrs. Rolfe doesn't know
who encouraged the violence.
HENRY:
Luanne Gardner's own words
"I've got carried away
with Trevor,
and I'm scared
of where that's going."
CHEESEMAN: Can you get Douglas
on to that one?
Okay.
We will have to allow
the respondents
to cross-examine
Mrs. Rolfe again
and bring any relevant
new evidence they see fit.
We have no objection.
I went into The Black Horse
at about 5:00.
It's near where I work
in Creek Road.
And I saw Lu there
with Trevor Booth.
- Did you speak to them?
- BARBARA: No.
I was embarrassed.
I didn't want to disturb them.
TREVOR:
Luanne, you have got
HENRY:
And when did this meeting
between Luanne Gardner
and Trevor Booth take place?
BARBARA:
It was mid-week.
Luanne, listen to me.
The week before
Luanne Gardner died.
CHEESEMAN: And you say this was
the week before Luanne died?
The week of May the 18th?
Yes.
And was it a weekday?
The 19th, 20th, 21st?
It was a Thursday.
CHEESEMAN:
So, the 21st?
It must have been
because I'd just been paid.
No further questions.
If the whatchamacallit
on your Ferrari
only sends out signals when
it's moved without your key,
it must still be
where you left it.
Don't be funny.
I left it out there
behind that skip.
Well, you were under
a lot of pressure that day.
SCANLON:
I still am.
Cleo wants to turn me into
a glorified office boy,
and my insurance company
are dodgy.
That's 100 grand up in smoke!
You can now earn
some serious money, young man.
The police have charged
Miss Tucker with assault.
Good job you didn't sleep
with her.
Oh, God.
Is this a joke?
And I'm putting you
on a higher rate
now you're getting
above yourself.
You didn't take my advice,
did you?
Joke's on you.
She doesn't fancy me.
And she hasn't been arrested
neither.
If your lordship pleases, we
would like to call Trevor Booth.
Well done.
CHEESEMAN:
Now, you remember
the night of Monday,
May the 25th, don't you?
Yeah.
CHEESEMAN:
You won't forget it very easily.
No.
Do you remember exactly
what you were doing
the week before
that fateful day?
Yeah.
I was working up north.
CHEESEMAN:
That's right.
Now, I believe you brought
that up at the trial.
It was Newcastle, wasn't it?
TREVOR:
Mm-hmm.
CHEESEMAN:
Putting up scaffolding
outside the town hall?
Mm-hmm.
My lord, I don't remember
Mr. Booth being challenged
on that.
- Are you challenging him?
- Yes.
I would like to enter
the following documents.
They are the witness's
pay slips for that week,
and they contain
a specific travel allowance.
Then clearly my witness
was mistaken as to the date,
not that she saw them arguing
in the pub.
They could have been arguing
about airplanes.
[Laughter]
I take it you wish
to cross-examine, Mr. Farmer?
Oh, yes, my lord.
I'd also like to introduce
a letter found in a desk
in Luanne Gardner's house
as new evidence.
Would you look at this?
Well, let me see it first.
What is it?
Why didn't it feature
in the original trial?
My lord, there was too much
doubt about its provenance
at the time.
It is unsigned and printed
in capital letters.
What has changed exactly?
We now believe it was a love
letter written by Trevor Booth
to Luanne Gardner,
which gives a complete lie
to the assumption
that McKee manipulated Booth
as the prosecution claim.
In fact, it is
a desperate letter
written by someone
who is obsessively
and destructively in love.
Something already confirmed
by Luanne Gardner's own words
in the letter you admitted
as evidence.
CHEESEMAN: On the contrary,
this note warns Luanne Gardner
that her husband
wanted to kill her,
which I suspect
is the real reason
that it was not brought up
at the trial.
My lords, it does not say that.
CHEESEMAN:
If your lordship pleases,
we submitted this note
to a handwriting expert
at the time of the trial,
but because it was written
in capital letters,
they were not able to
categorically identify
who the writer was.
Therefore, it cannot be allowed.
We'll retire to deliberate.
The prosecution
seem to have caught up
with the gossip
on McKee's new sex life.
Yeah, they're claiming
he's had a number
of gay liaisons in prison.
I'm afraid they're gonna
challenge the fact
that he was ever impotent
if we don't close.
But if we close,
they'll leave it at that.
It's a deal, in fact.
That's not a deal.
What do we get?
They've just realized
they've been suckered.
No deal.
Henry, how are you going to get
Booth to admit
he wrote that letter?
He won't.
But if you're right that
he skipped literacy classes,
we've got a prayer.
[Sighs]
Will Dr. Jameson please report
to ITU?
Dr. Jameson to ITU.
Bosom buddies?
I thought he was your rival.
Don't.
Poor bloke.
Um
Gerry died an hour ago.
Hey, hey.
I feel so guilty.
Come back home.
Oh, I can't.
I've just I've got such
a lot of things to sort out,
- and my head's splitting.
- Come on.
No.
You're trying to win an appeal.
You can't help me.
Go on. Go on.
Go back.
Get some sleep.
Um, Simon'll look after me.
[Siren wailing]
SEAMAN:
Go ahead, Mr. Farmer.
I would like to know quickly
where this is going.
HENRY: "Please come away.
It's got to happen.
I must warn you, Luanne,
if you stay with Pete,
you will die a slow death."
- Do you recognize these words?
- No.
I really don't, sorry.
- Never heard them before?
- TREVOR: Never.
So you didn't write this note?
No.
I never wrote Luanne any notes.
You didn't have these
passionate, desperate feelings
about Luanne?
TREVOR:
No.
It wasn't like that.
Just cold, rough sex?
Just giving her what she wanted
and giving it hard.
CHEESEMAN:
I object.
The witness has served
his sentence.
He shouldn't have to be
on trial again.
Be quick, Mr. Farmer.
You're getting nowhere.
Do you agree that this is
the work of someone desperate,
- someone possessive?
- I don't know.
No.
HENRY: But if you had
written this note,
you agree that, given the
circumstances of Luanne's death,
with you stopping her breathing
to induce a prolonged orgasm,
it would shed a different light
on her killing?
CHEESEMAN:
I object.
My learned friend is accusing
the witness of murder.
My learned friend used the word.
I am saying that if the person
who wrote this note
also had his hands
on Luanne Gardner's neck,
it would make a nonsense
of the prosecution case
that Peter McKee egged him on
to get rid of his wife.
It would imply a very
different triangle altogether.
We'll adjourn.
Would that be a convenient
moment, Mr. Farmer?
McKEE:
I didn't want this.
Trevor didn't mean to kill her.
COLLINA:
The prison governor tells me
you've been writing
affectionate letters to Booth.
You found forgiveness.
Did he ever reply?
So I was fond of him.
I haven't exactly hidden it.
I cared about both of them.
It was a tragic accident.
Wake up and smell the coffee,
Peter.
The new evidence
suggests Trevor killed Luanne
because, for whatever reason,
lust or possessiveness,
he wanted to.
And you've been in denial
about it ever since it happened.
That's why you're in here.
I would like to ask Mr. Booth
to write down the words
of the note for me.
We'll allow this, and then,
I'm afraid, we must make an end.
Do you want to show him
the note?
No, I'll dictate it, if I may.
"Please come away.
It's got to happen."
Would you write "please"
in capitals,
if you don't mind?
"Come away.
It's got to happen."
Thank you.
Now
"I must warn you, Luanne,
if you stay with Pete,
you will die a slow death."
And would you write the names
"Luanne" and "Peter"
in capitals, please?
Isn't this rather pointless
if no handwriting expert
will rule on the handwriting?
Go ahead.
HENRY:
"I must warn you, Luanne"
"Luanne" in capitals.
"if you stay with Pete"
"Pete" in capitals.
"you will die a slow death."
May I see?
Thank you.
Your lordship, we'd like you
to compare the original note
with the copy just written
by the witness.
SEAMAN: Well, the original is
in capital letters, Mr. Farmer,
and this version is mostly not.
But in these three short
sentences, in both versions,
the words "happen" and "death"
are misspelled
in exactly the same way.
"Happen" with a single "P"
and "death" without an "A."
I submit it is
an unbelievable coincidence
that Luanne Gardner had
two lovers
who would both make
the same mistake.
[Murmuring]
I never knew
he was seeing her secretly.
They promised me they'd be open,
whatever they got up to.
We were family.
[Moaning]
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
[Choking]
Ray, how did you get a
resident's permit for your car?
You don't live round here.
What does that matter now, sir?
I hope nobody finds out
how you got it.
Ray, did you say you parked
your car behind a skip?
Yes.
Was it the one outside here
or the one in Doggett's Court?
Doggett's Court is miles away.
I'd only park there if
Apparently, there's a Ferrari
with an out-of-date
parking permit
just about to be towed away.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
You had a lot on your mind, Ray.
Yes!
I love this place.
Where else would I have
such a laugh?
What shall we do about Mo?
She doesn't seem happy.
Should we offer her
a bit more money?
And call her something nicer
than practice manager?
She doesn't want a title,
just a bit of appreciation.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, sorry.
Oi! Oi!
Oh, yes!
Oh, yes!
Oh!
Thought I'd lost it!
Ah!
Ah!
Peter Gerald McKee,
there are occasions
when this court has
a lurking doubt
about the safety of a verdict.
This is one of them.
Accordingly,
we quash your conviction.
We will hand down a judgment
at a later date.
You are free to go.
[Spectators murmuring]
You'll make the bench yet.
[Reporters shouting]
I have a statement to read here.
The statement reads,
"Peter McKee would like
to thank everyone
who has helped him with
his struggle for justice."
He asks everyone to allow him
some breathing space
at this time."
Thank you.
That's all we have to say.
[Shouting]
Well, he's out.
In more ways than one.
Ooh, your mitts are freezing.
So's me nose.
Oh, God.
I've got a bail application.
Snaresbrook.
Hello, Col.
How are you, mate?
What can you give me
on Puissant Pam?
Don't be daft.
What about Giggleswick?
It's a horse and a place.
Seven to two?
No, not for a place.
To win.
Half a "G."
On the nose.
Yes.
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