The Crow Girl (2025) s01e04 Episode Script

The Dirt She Can't Bury

[Jeanette] Three bodies
in three days
at various locations
across the city.
I'm starting
to see a pattern.
Kids going missing,
refugee kids.
[Lou] Lowry,
he's in ICU.
It looks like
he's been poisoned.
And do you think Angela's evil
or her actions are evil?
Margaret!
You get back.
You got a man
in your life?
His name is Lance.
He's married
and that suits me fine.
[Jeanette] Sometimes, I think,
if me and Alex opened things up,
we might be a bit happier.
I'm calling to let you know
about another body
in Ferret's Wood.
-[Jeanette] What's your name?
-Madeleine.
My name's Victoria.
And crash.
Oh, no, my car.
[Victoria chuckling]
Come on, Mr. Mud Pie.
Dad's running your bath.
Aw, but I'm playing
with Victoria.
Inside, Martin.
Come on. Can't have your tea
like that.
[Martin] Bye.
Want to stay
for dinner, sweetheart?
Quiche Lorraine?
[child squealing and laughing]
[child giggling]
[water splashing]
[Martin yelping
and giggling]
[ominous music]
[Barbara] Victoria.
Victoria, wait.
[gate latch rattling]
You're fast.
What's wrong, sweetheart?
How come you left?
You sure
everything's okay?
You know, you've really made
Martin's holiday.
He loves playing with you.
Talks about you
when you're not even here.
Listen, sweetheart,
you don't have to stay
if you don't want to.
You're welcome anytime.
I've gotta go.
I've left the oven on.
But I mean it.
Anytime you like.
[ghostly enchanting music]
[Victoria] The world isn't built
for people like me.
That's my fault.
And I have to accept this hasn't
happened to anyone else.
Only me.
Rock-a-bye baby
on the treetop ♪
When the wind blows
the cradle will rock ♪
When the bow breaks
the cradle will fall ♪
Down will come baby
cradle and all ♪
Hush, little baby ♪
Don't you leave ♪
[drones humming]
[Officer] Come on.
Get it.
Uniforms on the ground
looking for a bag.
Drones assisting overhead.
And the call
to my mobile?
Unregistered phone,
pinged two local cell towers
last night.
Nothing before or since.
So it's been used and dumped.
Shit.
Well, it's not all shit.
Lovely wee memento
for your scrapbook.
Did you not see
your close-up this morning?
Oh, God, you're joking?
Never occurred to you
this might be a wind-up?
But it's not.
Why would it be?
Well, you're a celebrity.
You know how it is.
It's not a wind-up.
[Man] Stop.
Okay, carry on.
Why did you ask Ursula Wilson
not to press charges?
What do you mean?
Well, when I went 'round there,
she said the officer
she spoke to advised her
not to pursue her claim.
Is this what you've been
stewing on?
Lowry used Lidocaine on her.
That would've been useful
information to have, yeah?
You said no one
would believe her
because she's a sex worker.
Where's the lie, Jeanette?
We'd never have gone to trial.
You know how grim
these rape kits are.
Sod's law they would have
lost it.
The freezer would've broken
or some shite.
You know how the justice system
fails people like her
again and again and again.
I know, I know, I know
the system. We're it.
I know.
It's just not our job
to influence
the victim's decision, is it?
[Lou] Do you think
I persuaded her?
Her mind was already made up.
And she was never
the same afterwards,
even though
she never went through with it.
Okay.
How do you know that?
Because I checked on her
to make sure
she was okay.
Okay?
Okay. Gotta ask.
[unsettling music]
[line ringing]
Oh, hello.
Um, I'm looking for Margaret.
Sophia Craven.
Uh, Margaret's my patient.
I
Uh, and how did it happen?
I
I'm so sorry.
She was
[call end tone]
They think they found something
in the clearing up there.
It's, uh, not a bag.
It's underground.
The drones spotted
a disturbance in the earth.
Disturbance?
[Lou] Well, once the soil
has been turned,
it never looks the same.
Okay, uh, who owns
this land?
The farm down the road.
Okay, cheers.
Get them digging.
[pigs squealing]
Can I help you?
Detective Chief Inspector
Jeanette Kilburn.
You're the owner
of this farm?
Yeah.
We've been alerted
to some criminal activity
in the nearby wood.
Right?
Have you noticed
any suspicious activity
on the farm
or in the nearby wood?
-No.
-No?
And who else works here?
[Vincent]
Farmhands. Butchers.
Short-term contractors.
Any of them
got criminal records?
[scoffs]
I expect the tax man would like
word or two with them.
How long
have you owned this farm?
Ten years.
And you live
in the farmhouse, yeah?
I just own the farm.
Original owners kept the house.
And their names?
Ben and Mary.
No surnames?
Burkeman.
And your name?
Vincent.
Dwyer.
[cellphone ringing]
Sorry.
Yeah.
[Lou] They found something.
Get back here.
[Jeanette] Okay.
That'd be all for now,
Mr. Dwyer.
Thank you. Um.
If I need anything else,
I'll be in touch.
[Vincent] Mm.
[Jeanette] Oh, there is
one more thing.
Do you know a man
called Carl Lowry?
Yeah.
Only by reputation.
I hear he's a nasty piece
of work.
[dramatic music]
Hiya, how can I help you out?
Hi. I'm DC Mike Dilliston.
I'm with
Bristol Metropolitan Police.
What can I do for you,
DC Mike Dilliston?
I need to identify
some young males
who may potentially be
residents here.
High turnover, mind.
[Mike] I'm afraid
these young men have died.
This is a murder inquiry.
Do you know
any of these boys.
Could you check them again?
I'm sorry.
Most of them only stay here
for a couple of weeks
and then they get moved on
or sent back.
So is there anyone else
staying here
that you haven't seen
in a while?
I've been here
four years now.
The time I've been here,
we've had
a fair amount of them abscond.
How many?
[Deborah] Well, in total,
the whole time I've been here,
I don't know,
probably about 80.
We keep a list.
If you could give me a copy?
Cheers. Here's my email.
It's probably easier.
Yeah. Course.
[door banging]
Hey, you must know Lou Stanley.
Yeah, I do.
You one of his boys?
-"His boys"?
-From the gym.
He runs
that little boxing club.
No. No, I'm not one
of his boys.
[music intensifies]
He's a good bloke.
Tell him I said hi.
Thanks for your help.
Hi.
Do you speak English?
Yes.
I'm DC Mike Dilliston.
I'm with the police.
We're conducting
a murder inquiry.
Do you know
any of these guys?
What's your name?
Amar.
What happened?
I fell.
Come find me.
Come speak to me at the station
if you wanna talk
about anything, any time.
Oh, my God.
The hat.
The hat.
It's Martin Ryan.
What now?
The farmhouse.
[doorbell dinging]
Hi there.
Go back in the kitchen.
[Lou] Mr. Ben Burkeman?
What can I do for you?
[Jeanette] I'm Detective Chief
Inspector Jeanette Kilburn.
This is Detective Inspector
Lou Stanley.
We'd like to speak to you
in connection to an inquiry.
Can we get you some tea or
-No, I'm fine, thank you.
-Ah, please.
How do you take it?
Builders. Strong.
And what can we help you
with today?
We've had a tip-off about
some criminal activity
and we're currently conducting
a search of the local area.
We've spoken to Vincent Dwyer
over at the farm.
You know him?
Of course. We sold him the farm.
[bones crunching]
You mentioned a search.
What are you looking for?
We found a body.
We've believe it's been there
for quite some time.
How awful.
The remains were found
in woodland
adjacent to this house,
woodland that we believe
belong to you
at the time this person
went missing.
Madeleine, please go
to your room.
Have you ever seen
anything strange?
If she has, she's never
mentioned it, have you?
I haven't seen anything.
-Are you sure?
-She said she hasn't.
Room, Madeleine, now.
Do you know who it is?
We're still waiting
for a formal identification.
We have an idea.
A missing boy.
Martin Ryan,
eight years old.
Disappeared from the area
25 years ago.
[Mary gasps]
How terribly sad.
You knew him?
He and his family
holidayed here a few times
in the nearby cottages.
So he visited the farm?
From time to time.
His mother would buy eggs
for Martin and Victoria
to have with their tea.
Sorry, who's Victoria?
-Our daughter.
-Our other daughter.
[Ben] Martin and Victoria
used to play together,
then, one day,
Martin wandered off
and never
came back.
It was deeply upsetting
for the community.
Is it possible
to speak with Victoria?
She's dead.
And I'm very sorry
for your loss.
Can I ask
what happened?
I don't think we can be
of any more help.
We don't know who killed
that poor boy
or who would leave
his body in the woods.
Now, if you'll excuse us.
You've upset my wife.
I'm sorry.
Before we leave,
do you have a photo
of Victoria?
Just for our files.
No.
None at all?
Mr. Burkeman.
Do you know a man
called Carl Lowry?
No, I can't say
that I do.
Thank you for your time.
Do you go to Beecham College,
Madeleine?
[Ben] Please go.
[Sophia] I should've
seen it coming.
I've been preoccupied.
Yeah, I wasn't giving her
100% of my focus.
I've gotta admit that
to myself.
What is it that you feel
has preoccupied you?
I didn't give her the tools
she needed
to stay in control.
Now, if I
were wired differently,
if I'd been able to shelve
this obsessional thinking,
then
Then what?
Then I might not
be here now.
Where is that?
[Sophia] This is failure.
Yeah. Failure's all I can see.
Are you talking
about Margaret?
Or Victoria?
Maybe it's time
to let Victoria go.
Failure is not
a concrete thing.
Nor is closure.
Seems to me that you feel
you failed yourself.
Mm. Yeah.
Should've been there for her.
[message notification beeping]
Ah, search complete.
No body in a bag
anywhere in the woods.
Shit.
He was here
the whole time
and they knew
or someone knew.
They've waited. Fuck! Why?
Why?
[cellphone ringing]
-Oh, news travels fast.
-Is that your dad?
Yeah, I can't talk to him now.
Someone gives me a heads up
that there's a body
in the woods,
but it's a child who's been
missing for over two decades,
a child whose disappearance
that my dad couldn't solve.
[Lou] Well, his identity
is still pending.
That little hat, Lou.
You think Martin's connected
to our three bodies in bags?
Don't know.
But let's just say
it is Martin Ryan,
Martin makes friends
with Victoria Burkeman
and now she's dead.
The Burkemans, they say
they don't have
a single photograph
of their daughter
and now their second daughter
goes to Beecham College
where the third body was dumped.
It's too much
of a coincidence.
Bloody Ryan's no longer
a missing child.
It's a homicide.
We need to find out what
happened to Victoria Burkeman.
Fuck!
-I'm late.
-For what?
I've got a date.
[David] Hey.
Sorry, I
David, what are you doing here?
I need to see you.
Are you Have you
been following me?
I really need
to see you, please.
It's very urgent.
David, this is a real invasion
of my privacy.
It's, it's not going
to be possible
for me to see you again.
Now, I, I can recommend
another therapist.
No, no, that isn't
gonna work for me.
That isn't gonna work
for me.
Now, I wanna play
the shopping game.
I bought a silencer, yeah.
I bought a silencer
and you, you bought
-a tea set. Yes.
-A tea set.
Why do you always say that?
[David grunts loudly]
No!
No!
[somber music]
Oh, fuck.
[car alarm blaring]
I'm sorry. I'm late.
I'm sorry.
It was just, uh
Time just got away from me
and, um
Sorry. Anyway.
Um.
Okay. Ooh, fun. New?
No.
I've already ordered
for you.
Biriyani.
You always get biriyani.
Biriyani is fine.
Okay.
To finally achieving
your dreams.
[Alex] Thanks.
It's just the beginning.
The gallery wants more pieces.
Wow.
Oh, I just hope you
remember me and Joe,
you know, during
the cocaine years.
[Alex] Very funny.
Your dad called earlier.
[Jeanette] Oh,
Jesus Christ.
I can't speak to him today.
We've just found
Martin Ryan.
That poor kid.
He was under our noses
the entire time,
just waiting to be found.
Alex, it's just
I mean, it's a bit
of closure for his parents,
but it's bloody devastating.
It's devastating.
He was just
Sorry.
Hey, I'm sorry.
Thank you.
You have no idea how to switch
off from this job, do you?
That's not true, it's just been
a really tough
You're never normally this bad.
Can't you just be here?
I am here.
I'm here now, aren't I?
-[Alex] Yeah, but you not
-I know what you meant, okay?
I know what you meant,
and just don't say
wanky shit like that to me.
If I'm here, I'm here.
Can you not just sit with me
and be here?
-I'm sorry.
-[Alex] It's fine.
Alex, I have supported you
the entire time.
I have never complained.
I have never asked you
to change your job. I
I've had to work
to make that happen
and sometimes that means
long hours, okay?
And you think
I haven't supported you?
Hm?
All the evenings
you haven't been home.
All the parent-teacher meetings
you haven't attended,
all Joe's football matches
you've missed.
I've supported
your absence.
What about all the times
you disappear into your studio
and we don't see you for days?
What about that?
This isn't the grief Olympics,
Jeanette.
We're both consumed
by our jobs,
but I haven't forgotten
that we're also married.
That's really unfair.
Before you know it,
Joe will be all grown up
and we'll be in the house
on our own
and we'll have nothing
to talk about.
Stop.
I'm sorry.
Sure.
Your painting.
-My painting.
-Yeah, your painting.
Tell me about it.
What's it about?
It's about loss.
You've seen it?
-Sorry?
-The painting.
-Have you seen it?
-Yes, I've seen it.
It's the one
[scoffs] Yeah.
[melancholy music]
[background chatter]
[pool balls clacking]
My friend.
It's a gift.
From me to you, yeah?
[suspenseful music]
[Alex] Mojo Joe-Joe!
[Joe] Hey, Dad.
How was the food?
[Alex] Let's put this up.
[Alex and Joe
chatting indistinctly]
[cellphone vibrating]
[ethereal music]
[cellphone vibrating]
[murmurs gleefully]
Gotta go out.
It's work.
Bye, Joe-Joe.
[Joe] Bye, Mum.
[Sophia] Come in.
Well [chuckles]
This is, um, this is
bloody delightful, isn't it?
Huh?
You have surfaces.
My surfaces
have never seen daylight.
You have impeccable taste.
Thank you.
Like I know
what I'm talking about.
[both chuckling]
[Sophia] Thanks for coming over.
I didn't realize how much
I needed company
until I sent that text.
Are you okay?
A dear client, we've worked
together for several years,
she died. Suicide.
I'm sorry.
I've been signed off from work
which is standard practice.
So I've spent
the entire day,
just going over my case notes,
trying to see
if I missed something,
trying to find out
where I went wrong
Okay. Okay, stop.
You can't do that.
Okay, I'm sure that you did
everything in your power
to help your client,
but people have autonomy.
They're in charge
of their own choices, all right?
You have to give yourself
a little bit of grace,
even when
you don't feel like it.
Especially then.
Thank you for saying that.
Well, there's, uh
Have a lot of, uh,
grown-up shit.
What do you mean?
[Jeanette]
Just really nice stuff.
God, wouldn't last
a second in my house.
Yeah, it could.
You should just
[door opening]
Hey.
Uh, Jeanette,
this is Lance.
-Uh, Lance, Jeanette.
-Hi.
[Sophia] She's my friend.
She's with the police.
[Lance] Ooh.
What have you been up to,
then, hey? [chuckles]
I should go.
No. No, no, no, don't go.
I wanted
to give you these.
One for every week
I've known you.
Wow.
[Sighs]
[Eva] We just got
the dental records back.
It is Martin Ryan.
This case nearly killed
my dad.
Dominated our lives
for over a decade
until it went cold and then
Well, you just forget that
at the center of it all is
Once we've done everything
our end,
he can go home.
[cellphone ringing]
-Sorry.
-No.
Hey, Lou.
I've got the Ryans' statement
in front of me.
The day that Martin disappeared,
he went to play in Ferret's Wood
with Victoria Burkeman.
It's a whopper of a detail
for the Burkemans to forget.
And the rest.
Uh, I'm heading
to the Ryans now.
Okay, I'll carry on.
Okay, bye-bye.
How was the party?
Exceptional.
Never mind,
there's always next year.
When's your actual birthday?
Today.
Happy birthday, mate.
Mm.
Cheers for this.
Harry put this
on his TikTok.
Absolute snake.
I look like a gerbil.
For real, though,
when Mr. Drake comes back,
I'm gonna report him
for bullying.
Heads up.
Jacob told me.
What are you talking about?
You don't
have to be embarrassed.
Remember when Harriet
pissed herself
on the trip
to the Somme?
It's fine.
Just put me in an awks position
when Jacob came to talk to me.
Like, was the bed
actually wet?
Are you sure
it wasn't you? You know?
Do you wanna fuck Jacob,
Charlie?
'Cause you seem to have
a real interest in my sex life.
What sex life?
Whatever Jacob said,
it's not true, okay?
Okay.
[Margaret] I never knew
how much she hated me
until the first time
she tried.
[Sophia] Why do you think
she hates you, Margaret?
[Margaret]
'Cause I have a normal life.
She wanted to punish me
for achieving something
she never can.
[Sophia] This is not
my experience
of talking to Angela.
She is
[Margaret] She won't
be happy until I'm dead.
Oh. Thanks.
I've run the bath.
Okay.
[Lance] You can come
and join me if you like.
Our sex
is notoriously shit.
I have to go
to the police station
to give a statement
about my client,
so even if it weren't shit,
I'd have to pass.
[Lance] Well, just come
and keep me company then.
-[Sophia] Mm-hmm.
-Mm.
Because no one can change it.
You can't just dig inside
and make it untrue.
[eerie music]
[Victoria] What happens
to me now?
What happens now?
How do you mean, Victoria?
The world isn't built
for people like me.
Everything's destroyed.
It's my fault.
It's my fault.
[Sophia] It's not your fault,
Victoria.
It's my fault.
There's no way
to sit with it.
Hm-hmm.
The longer I live,
the longer I have to accept
that this hasn't happened
to anyone else.
Only me.
I'm tainted.
There's one way out.
Victoria.
Do you feel motivated
to act on these feelings?
Because, because I have to
tell you that you matter.
You do matter to people.
No! No!
[Victoria grunts]
[Lance] Darling?
[Sophia] Yeah?
[Lance] Come and talk to me.
Yeah.
[obscure music]
Good grief.
Mm, sit with me.
I'm worried, baba.
I'm no one's baba.
You can talk to me
about it all, you know?
It's confidential,
I'm afraid.
Of course.
I can still help you relax.
Mm.
[spurting and coughing]
What the fuck
did you do that for?
Uh. I don't know
I was just being playful.
Fuck's sake.
Maddie. Maddie.
You all right?
Listen, I only told Charlie
because I know she's your friend
and I was worried about you.
Look, I promise you.
I didn't tell anyone else.
I didn't even mean
to tell her, all right,
but she saw us leaving
the party together
and wanted to know
what happened.
Nothing happened.
Okay, I was just
worried about you.
Are you, uh
Am I what?
Are you all right?
[sighs]
Maddie
[Richard] My goodness.
Stone's throw from home.
[Jeanette] So this
was your holiday home?
Yes.
When Martin went missing,
we stayed.
I think the idea of him
coming back here and finding
the house empty haunted us,
particularly Barbara.
And your wife,
is she
Unfortunately, she died,
three weeks ago.
It's all right.
I think, to be honest,
the truth would've killed her.
Tell me about that holiday
and Victoria Burkeman.
They went out
into the woods to play.
Same as they always did.
And then
An hour, few hours later,
she came to the door, frantic,
saying that she'd lost him.
She'd made a nest, she said.
She went to go
and get some more twigs.
When she came back,
he was gone.
Do you think
Victoria may have heard Martin?
I don't think so.
I really don't think so.
She was in
an awful, awful state.
Barbara went 'round
the next day
to try and reassure her,
tell her it wasn't her fault.
But Ben said
that she was taking it badly,
give her some space.
I haven't really talked
to Ben and Mary since then.
I heard that they went
to Barbara's funeral, though.
You heard?
You didn't attend yourself?
I couldn't.
I couldn't.
If you become the parent
of a missing
or a murdered child,
your life suddenly becomes
about managing
other people's feelings.
And people watch you.
When you have a child,
the volume of your life
gets turned up.
And when that child disappears,
it doesn't go back
to the same volume
as it was before.
It gets much, much quieter.
Much quieter.
[Jeanette] Richard.
I'm sorry that I've had
to bring you such terrible news.
Oh, thank you
for telling me.
Martin used to love
that picture.
Victoria used to play at it
with him.
He would be Jesus.
And she would be
Mary Magdalene.
[Lou] Just in time.
-What is it?
-How's this for you?
No death record
for Victoria Burkeman.
If she's dead,
her parents never told anyone.
The fuck?
Never reported missing,
no tax payments, nothing.
Then the Burkemans
are lying about her being dead.
I found an ID
for the first body.
I think his name
might be Daniel Rexha.
How'd you get that?
[Mike] I went
to the hostel in town.
The Royal Hotel.
The manager provided me
a list of people
that have absconded
over the last four years.
Absconded,
what does that mean?
Well, his asylum claim
is still active.
His case worker said
Daniel missed the last fortnight
in meeting with her.
Which is, which is
not unusual.
It's not suspicious
until a claimant
misses two meetings.
So if they disappear
after only skipping one
It could be weeks before
anyone starts looking for them.
She says hi, by the way.
Hi.
She's good people.
That's good work,
good work, Mike.
Okay, let's go over this again.
We've got three bodies
dumped over three days
all in public places.
Fourth body, Martin Ryan,
different MO.
But the tip-off
to his whereabouts
was phoned in to me directly,
which is more
than a little significant.
Martin Ryan's body
was found on land
connected to the Burkemans.
Victoria Burkeman
was friends with Martin Ryan.
She was with him on the day
he went missing.
But her parents claim
that she's dead.
But there's no official record.
Victoria Burkeman.
[message alert notification]
Fuck, that's Verity.
Okay, Lou, find out everything
you can on Victoria Burkeman.
We need to know
what's happened to her.
And, um, Mike.
Start contacting
local hostels in the area
and gather a list.
Get me anyone who's missed
a case worker's appointment.
Anyone who can't be traced.
Be back now.
I wanted to let you know
that I've spoken to your father.
As he called the station
a number of times.
Now I understand
that's a conversation
you may have wished
to have had yourself.
But I saw fit to inform him
of our findings.
It's the right thing
to do to let him know.
The Ryan case dominated
his professional career.
I'm well aware.
Anything else?
Only please tread carefully,
Jeanette.
We don't have
unlimited resources,
and we need to think about what
we can solve and how.
If we botch this,
it's a poorly produced
documentary
on police failures
waiting to happen.
Understood.
[Verity] Carl Lowry.
-What about him?
-[Verity] He's conscious.
He'll need
medical sign-off,
but he might be willing
to make a deal,
now he knows someone
is trying to kill him.
I'll let you know.
Thank you, ma'am.
[unsettling music]
I'm here to see
DC Mike Dilliston, please.
[Woman] Okay,
hang on a sec.
He'll be right down.
Amar.
Can we talk, please?
Yeah. Yeah, sure, let me just
find an empty room, yeah?
Come.
[Amar breathing heavily]
You okay?
I can't do this.
Sorry.
[Mike] What's wrong?
Hmm.
-Hi.
-Hi.
Hi.
Wow, uh, thank you.
What brings you here?
Uh, I had to come in anyway
to give
a psychiatric statement
about my client, Margaret.
Yeah.
So I just figured that you could
use some sugar and caffeine
if not for some moral support.
That's very kind of you.
Thank you.
Victoria Burkeman.
You know her?
Yes.
We're looking for her.
[Sophia] So am I.
She's the one
I told you about, the
She vanished.
Is she dangerous?
To herself, certainly.
And to others?
[music intensifies]
[heartrate monitor beating]
[door locks]
Goodness.
You're brave.
[tensed breathing]
Nothing to say to me?
Now that's disappointing.
And there was me, thinking
you really started
to enjoy yourself.
Oh, you smell the same.
[light chuckle]
[heartrate monitor beeping
rapidly]
Where you're going,
there is only pain.
Rock-a-bye baby
on the treetop ♪
[indistinct]
the cradle will fall ♪
When the bow breaks,
the cradle will fall ♪
And down will come baby
cradle and all ♪
[groans weakly]
[heavy music]
[music]
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