The Inspector Lynley Mysteries (2001) s04e01 Episode Script
In Divine Proportion
Got good news.
Why are there carrot-crunchers stomping all over my scene? Another footprint.
The best yet.
Cast it.
Check it with the other.
Shouldn't we get the body to Pathology? Where's the fire, Dawkins? She's going nowhere.
Nothing leaves the scene until Lynley sees it.
Helen, uh, it's me, erm Inspector! I was just going to say, well I know you need time, but I really would like to talk to you.
Inspector Lynley? I'm out in Suffolk at the moment but I'm on my mobile so if you want to talk, and I hope you do, give me a call.
Paula, good to see you again, what've we got? Bits and pieces.
They dragged you here because they thought this was the same as the Tottenham case? Yeah.
They're not even barking up the wrong tree, they're in the wrong forest.
It's a shotgun and she's blonde.
But the way the body has been moved, it doesn't feel the same.
You got here very quickly.
I was up when the call came through.
Burning the candle at both ends? Something like that.
Windy Miller! Can I have everyone OFF the crime scene? OK, love, that's me on my way.
What did he call me? Not that way, this way, back the way we've come.
Come on, constable.
He was the first on the scene.
Garrett.
One of Suffolk's finest.
Probably parked his bicycle round there.
Constable? Sir? See anything unusual? This whole thing's unusual for round here, sir.
We've got traces of blood in the grass leading from the house up to here.
We've also a few boot-prints in some spilled sand up by the house.
They're fresh, size ten.
Can we tell if the wearer was carrying anything? The prints are deeper than we'd expect, there's a good chance.
And she weighsnine stone? Thereabouts.
If she was carried from the house, there might be some fibres on her clothes.
So I put the egg in my mouth and I just suck? Sorry, Paula.
You're welcome back in London.
Thank you.
You've no idea how much I miss digging bullet fragments out of crack-house walls.
There's another blast from the past.
I heard about the shooting.
Is she OK? Yes, she'sshe's fine.
Hello, Barbara.
How are you? Hi, Paula.
Sir.
Havers.
I'm fine, thanks.
You? One minute I'm giving a nice gentle lecture on the limited uses of Vacuum Metal Deposition, the next I'm watching sheep-worriers contaminate my crime scene.
Same as ever then.
Solving murders would be an awful lot easier without the police.
Let me know when we're ready to move into the house.
Havers.
Havers.
Sorry.
The victim is Samantha Walthew, born Samantha Morgan.
Age 34, married to James Walthew, who is on his way up from London as we speak.
He's a property developer, she was an interior designer.
They bought this place six months ago to turn it into a hotel.
When was the body found? Er, just before seven o'clock this morning.
Shot in the kitchen, her body was dumped out there.
The murder weapon was a shotgun but they haven't recovered it yet.
Who found the body? A poacher, by the name of Bob Harris.
A what? A poacher, Havers.
That still goes on, does it? I'm afraid so, Havers, yes.
These are pheasant breeding grounds, the shooting season starts soon.
Rich pickings.
Charming.
The killer didn't try to conceal the body? No.
Either he or she was disturbed while moving it, or didn't care if it was found.
The poacher? That's where we're going now.
You fighting fit? Now that it's official, do you feel comfortable being back? I'm fine.
I'm sure you're fine.
You got shot.
It's a big deal.
Big enough to get compensation.
Really? You didn't tell me you'd applied.
Well, I didn't know I had.
They had me filling out so many forms.
But I got the letter yesterday and apparently it's coming through.
Good for you.
Can I ask how? Sorry, it's none of my business.
Ten grand.
£10,000! That's fantastic.
What are you going to spend it on? I haven't given it much thought.
I'll probably put it into savings.
Not what I call the most exciting option.
I mean, it's a windfall.
It's free money, Havers, you should splash out on yourself.
Erm, maybe a cruise.
Yeah.
Bingo, ballroom dancing with people twice your age? Maybe.
It's my money.
Sorry, yes.
Look, if you want a financial advisor, I can put you in touch with one.
There are some very good ways to invest, you know.
Course I know who she was.
Doing up the old priory so smart London-types can spend the weekend gawping at locals, kidding themselves they're getting back to nature.
What time was this, Mr Harris? Seven.
Thereabouts.
What were you doing there? Walking him.
There a law against that? There's a law against trespassing.
There's a public footpath.
Half a mile from where the body was found.
I got lost.
I told this to the young lad took my statement.
Now you're going over it again with us.
Seem to be.
Are you a poacher, Mr Harris? No.
What do you do for a living? This and that.
You can be more specific.
I sign on.
I do odd jobs.
You can check with the social.
Do you own a shotgun? Yes, I do.
And it's licensed.
I've nothing to hide.
Good.
Then I'll get someone to examine it.
I'd better get it back.
Did you ever meet Samantha Walthew? No.
No interest in meeting her.
I know the sort already.
London-type, weren't she? Thinks the countryside is some quaint tourist attraction.
They come up here, before you know it the local boozer's become a non-smoking wine bar.
Where were you last night? Queen's Head till closing.
I come home, watched telly, went to bed.
Can anyone corroborate that? He can.
If you've got anyone speaks dog.
I'm investigating a murder, Mr Harris, I don't appreciate sarcasm.
I don't appreciate being called names like "poacher" or having my private life poked around in.
We may need to talk to you again.
Are you going to be in the area for the next few days? No, I'm going to New York tomorrow, on business.
Mr Walthew? I'm Detective Inspector Lynley.
This is Detective Sergeant Havers.
We'd like to offer our condolences.
Thank you.
However, we do have questions to ask.
This was going to be the restaurant, she had big plans for it.
She said it was going to be the best restaurant in East Anglia.
Did she suffer? No.
I'm sure it was very quick, sir.
Er, do you know of anyone who might have had a reason? She was my wife.
I thought she was part of my future.
Everything is uncertain.
You never really know anything.
But I thought she would be there.
I understand that your wife grew up in the area.
Yes, she did.
She lived here until Until she went to university.
That's where we met.
Did she maintain any ties here? No.
No, she didn't.
Her parents emigrated to Australia when Sam left for uni.
And yet you bought this house? As a business concern, yes.
But it wasn't just a coincidence it was here? It didn't hurt that Sam knew the area, but it wasn't wasn't a major factor.
Are you going to find who did this? We are obviously pursuing all avenues of enquiry.
Where were you last night? Am I an "avenue of enquiry"? I'm sorry but I do need to ask these questions.
I, erI worked late.
At my office.
I must've got home about ten.
I went to bed around midnight.
You were alone at home? Yes.
Did you talk to your wife last night? We speak We spokeseveral times a day.
Yes, she called me last night.
What time? Ten thirty, quarter to eleven.
How did she seem, sir? Stressed.
That wasn't unusual for Sam.
A project like this, and she was managing it on her own, throws up all kinds of problems with builders and decorators and so on.
She was camping out here to stay on top of everything.
And that's what she was stressed about? Yes.
I think so.
She .
.
she'd been quite distant the last few days.
-Distant? Why? -I have no idea.
But, er, if something was bothering her you'd be able to tell from her demeanour but you'd never know what it was until she was ready to tell you.
She was preoccupied with something more than work, I think.
Thank you, sir.
Ah, Inspector! We've just received something rather curious via e-mail.
Sent anonymously to the local station.
It seems to have been taken in the grounds.
Can you trace the sender? It was sent from an Internet cafe at the town.
Uniform are there checking to see if anyone remembers anything, or if the sender was caught on CCTV.
You can get the date and time the image was taken from the file attachment.
3.
07 yesterday afternoon.
Now if we found either the camera it was taken with or the computer it was originally saved on, we could match them up conclusively.
Can I keep this? Of course.
Circulate copies, let's find out who that man is.
I see you've met my new geek.
Tech specialist.
It's OK, Simon.
Some of my best friends are geeks.
Can we do the walk-through, Paula? Family snaps, by the look of it.
This room is a gold mine.
Where was the husband last night? He says he was in London.
OK, good.
Why? Without getting lurid, there is a wealth of DNA on these sheets.
And someone left the toilet seat up in the bathroom.
Your victim was having an affair, Inspector.
Either that or the husband was lying and he WAS here.
We're still lifting prints, we'll let you know of any match.
In the meantime Dog hairs? Very good.
Dog hairs.
Not enough for there to have been a dog in here, enough to have come from the clothes of an owner or someone recently in contact with one.
We're looking for a dog owner in the countryside? OK.
So Samantha Walthew and her mystery man finish doing their business on the bed.
What happens next? Do we know what happened to him? Not yet.
Samantha's footprints are all through here, she's dodging these stepladders and the various bits and pieces strewn about.
There's no electricity on this floor, not even lights.
It would have been dark.
Any other footprints? Lots.
Builders have been coming in and out.
Hers are easy because she's barefoot.
We're trying to match prints with the workmen but it's a mess.
Doors? Windows? Nothing's been forced or broken.
So then she comes into the kitchen, which is also dark.
Mmm.
And she moves across to here.
There was a three-quarter moon last night, waning, if anyone cares, so there would have been light coming through here, enough to see by.
This whole area here is peppered with shot, so presumably the shooter was at this sort of angle andwhat? Two, three metres away? We found a broken glass tumbler in the sink.
We're lifting prints from the fragments.
I'd be surprised if they weren't hers.
So she's facing the window and gets shot in the back.
Why not just leave her here? Why bother to take her outside if you're not going to conceal the body? You've been in the wars.
I overheard the message you left for Helen this morning.
Yeah, we're not together at the moment.
You don't want to talk about it.
She was in a car accident.
We lost our baby.
I heard.
I'm sorry.
She's, erm she's having a hard time coping with it and, erm, thinks she needs some time on her own.
Maybe she's right.
It's temporary.
I'm just giving her some space.
And you? How are you coping? With the separation? With the loss.
It was your baby too.
I cope.
Sir, er, we've identified the man in the photograph.
His name is Philip Turner and he used to own the priory.
All right, yeah.
I'll pass it on, thanks.
We're going to contact the Morgans, Samantha's parents, and tell them what happened.
Oh, and the photo by the bedside, it's Kate Morgan, Samantha's sister.
She's three years younger.
So where is she? Well, we're trying to trace her.
Er, don't you think it's odd that James Walthew never mentioned her sister? Well, perhaps they were estranged.
Yeah, butyou'd still want her to know though, wouldn't you? Pull! He's harmless, aren't you, Bismarck? Come here, boy.
Nice car.
-Philip Turner? Yeah.
I'm Detective Inspector Lynley.
This is Detective Sergeant Havers.
I don't suppose this could wait until later? No, I'm afraid not.
I understand you used to own Grant Priory.
Yeah, yeah, the place had been in my family for three hundred-odd years.
And you recently sold it.
I'm bankrupt, Inspector.
The trustees sold the house to pay off some of my debts.
What kind of debts? Gambling debts.
I'm in recovery.
And the Walthews bought this house at auction? That's right.
Not the most popular outcome as far as some of the locals were concerned.
Lot of people worried about the gentrification of the countryside around here.
I think they thought that the Walthews were going to turn it into a theme park.
How well did you know Samantha? We knew each other growing up.
There was a group of us, village kids, you know.
We were inseparable for a time.
Are the others still around? Oh, yeah.
Amanda Gibson lives here.
She was Sam's best friend then.
David and Liz Hughes run the Queen's Head.
She never stayed in touch with anyone? Sam always used to say that the best thing about a place like this was seeing it disappear in the rear-view mirror.
And yet she did come back.
And you became close again? We saw each other around the place.
Sir! Mr Turner, are you going to make me waste my forensics team's time matching the hairs from this dog to those in Samantha's bedroom? We'd been seeing each other for a few weeks, whenever she came up.
It's an affair.
You're supposed to lie about it.
Not during a murder investigation.
You saw her last night? I did.
I went round there about eleven.
She was very much alive when I left.
Which was when? Just before one.
And you saw her yesterday afternoon? Not that I recall, no.
Why didn't you stay last night? I never stayed.
Not my choice.
Sam didn't believe sex with someone constituted infidelity, if you can understand that.
She drew a line between sex and intimacy.
She'd sleep with you, but didn't want to wake up with you.
Pull! Did her husband know about the affair? I don't think so.
I'll have someone take a statement from you.
And, er, we have to take your gun for forensic examination.
Look, I realise I must be a suspect.
But I think there was someone else there last night.
That must be the most predictable thing I could say.
I'm listening.
I didn't see anyone.
But when I left, getting into my car, I heard something.
In the undergrowth, I don't think that it could have been an animal.
Whereabouts? Off to my right, in the grounds.
But you didn't see anyone? No.
OK.
Mr Turner.
Did you love her? No.
This is my world, Inspector.
In the last year, I've lost everything and I realise I never really had anything to lose.
It's a strange feeling.
To spend your life desperately clinging onto things that you don't really want.
Probably I should be up a mountain somewhere, chanting, but I'm not, I'm here.
Thirty-six fairly pointless years on Earth, I aspire to nothing in my future and I may not even be halfway through my life.
I didn't love her, no.
But I will miss her.
Sorry.
We'll talk again, I'm sure.
OK, so we get sent this photograph of Samantha Walthew and Phillip Turner arguing and yet he denies he even saw her yesterday afternoon.
He does admit though to having an affair with her and claims that he was with her last night leaving her around one o'clock.
Now we're pretty sure that she was killed within an hour of that, right? So he MUST be the last person to see her alive.
Did you believe him when he said that he didn't love her? The speech? Nihilism in a Barbour and green wellies? Did you buy it? No, not really.
So Turner said he thought he saw someone standing over here.
If there was, then well, that person would have seen Turner leave and Samantha come into the kitchen and go to the sink.
James Walthew? We can't corroborate his alibi.
He may have known about the affair, despite what Turner said.
Either that, or Turner is deliberately pointing us in the wrong direction.
A prowler in the undergrowth that's convenient, isn't it? He did say it sounded predictable.
A double-bluff? He's a gambler.
Very calm with us.
Maybe he just showed us his poker face.
It's quiet, isn't it? Yeah, peaceful.
I wonder how Samantha felt moving back here.
I prefer London, knowing that there's people around.
Sir, is Paula's team still here? No, no.
They've gone for the day.
There's someone inside.
I'll go down.
Havers! Havers, he's up here! Did you get a look at him? -No.
What's this? M-O-K-I-T-A It's not in the dictionary.
I don't think it's English.
It's probably not English.
Well, do an Internet search or whatever.
First the photograph and now this.
I think someone's trying to tell us something, Havers.
Well, I mean, it's not just stock market.
There's art, for instance.
Property.
Not that you'd get much for £10,000, but When you get back to London, you really should look into it.
You don't want to leave your money sitting in a building society.
OK! Well, what would YOU recommend, sir? Wines, Havers.
Certain wines increase enormously in value, you get a great return on your investment.
Sir, I think if I was going to spend £10,000 on booze, I'd want to drink it.
Typical Verger.
Always where you're not wanted.
Calm down, Bob.
What, me? What about him? He's vermin, just like his dad.
Calm down! Give me that, give me that! Come on then! Come on! Havers, outside.
What the hell's going on? David Hughes? Aye.
I'm Detective Inspector Lynley.
I need to talk to you but I want to clear this up.
Where's Liz? Outside with that little spunce.
What's going on here then? Don't look at me! Poaching, trespassing, now brawling If I was brawling, he'd be in hospital.
You are just one badly-chosen word away from spending the night in the cells.
What's your name? He's Billy Verger.
Why are you protecting him? Nobody else will.
Yeah.
Quite right too.
You two, inside.
This is my pub.
OUR pub.
I'll get to you.
Let me talk to this one on his own.
I want her to stay.
He's a good lad.
He's far from that.
Please, sir, both of you, go inside.
Well? I'm fine.
I didn't ask you how you were.
I'm not saying anything.
It was nothing.
It's between me and him.
It's nothing to do with what you're here for.
I'm investigating a murder, Mr Harris.
If one of my suspects Don't look so surprised.
.
.
if one of my suspects causes an affray right under my nose, I'm going to make it my business.
Is that understood? They've just had too many.
I'll take care of it for you.
Our paths had better not cross paths again, Mr Harris.
I'll leave it in your hands, Constable.
Everything all right? Sorry you got dragged into that.
It's all been taken care of now, Mr Hughes.
I understand that Samantha was a friend of yours.
A very long time ago, yeah.
We were an item, actually.
It sort of petered out, you know, when she went off to university.
These long-distance things don't stand much of a chance, do they? But presumably you were re-acquainted when she and her husband bought the Grant Priory.
I saw her around but we didn't really talk.
Is that a bit strange? If you were so close before? You didn't know Sam.
Never known anyone who could slam the door on the past like her.
This Sam, is it? Yeah, I was just saying, she were like a shark, weren't she? How they have to keep moving forward else they'll die.
Yeah, she was that.
All that time away, not a letter, not a card, nothing.
Except to Manda.
Amanda Gibson.
I think they had some contact because of James.
James Walthew? Mmm.
James and Amanda's family were friends before they were born.
It was through Amanda knowing Sam that James met her at university.
Is Billy all right? Here's hoping.
Um, what were, er, Bob Harris and Billy Verger fighting about? Well, they don't like Billy.
Who doesn't? This place, the village.
D'you blame them? Like father, like son, that's why.
What does that mean? Just a figure of speech.
No, no.
It was quite specific.
Well, it's Ron Verger, Inspector.
He was the scourge of this place.
Billy looks to be following him.
That's not fair, he's cut from different cloth that one.
He's a clever lad.
Where's Ron Verger now? As far away from here as possible, I hope.
Upped and left, walked out on Billy and his mum what, 15 years ago? About that.
Last I heard, he was up north, and that's not nearly far enough.
Let's get back to the hotel.
Tomorrow I want to look up Ron Verger, find out where he is.
Sir? I'll wait in the car.
Billy.
Was the fight in there about your dad? Do you want to talk about him? No.
How old were you when he left? Ten? Eleven? Nine.
You never heard from him? My dad's not around any more.
D'you wanna form a support group? Ron, wasn't it? He sounds like quite a character.
In a horror film, yeah.
That bad? I don't want to talk to you.
Then why wait for us? I think you do want to talk to us, Billy.
Billy! It's down here somewhere.
Right.
Here we are.
Sorry.
You coped really well today.
Thanks.
Not very grand, is it? I know you've come into money but we can't always stay at the Ritz.
That's very funny, sir.
Oh Have a good night.
Good night, sir.
Oh, good.
There you are.
Here we are.
"Mokita - that which everybody knows, but nobody speaks of.
" Apparently it originates from a tribe in New Guinea.
What is it that everybody knows? I've got news on Samantha's sister, Kate Morgan, sir.
Oh, good.
Where is she? Here.
Here? Erm, buried in the village churchyard.
The coroner's report lists it as suicide.
She took an overdose in 1989.
And nobody thought to mention this? Well, that's not all.
The coroner's report also mentions broken fingernails and a bruise to the cheek that might be consistent with an assault or fight.
This happened about three months before Samantha went off to university and the parents emigrated to Australia.
Good work, Havers.
We need to find out more about Ron Verger.
We've listed 31 Ron Vergers living in the UK, we're checking them all.
Excellent.
I want to talk again with James Walthew.
When's Samantha's post-mortem? Erm, they're doing it this morning.
Arrange for him to come in and identify the body.
We'll ask him about Kate then.
That's Yes.
That's her.
Samantha.
All right, thank you.
Can I get you a glass of water or something? I'm fine, thank you.
There's something I think I should tell you, Inspector.
My wife she was having an affair.
Yes, we know.
I found these two weeks ago.
I was going to ask Sam about them.
I suppose you'd call them love letters.
From David Hughes, the landlord at the Queen's Head.
Why didn't you mention these before? The first one is dated a couple of months ago.
Just a few weeks after we bought the priory.
Mr Walthew, would you say that your marriage was a happy one? I loved my wife and she loved me.
But sometimes Sam found it necessary to satisfy her needs elsewhere.
It's not easy to live like that.
Sam was able to make the distinction between love and sex, so I learned to do the same.
David Hughes must have got back in touch at the right time.
Actually, sir, to our knowledge, she wasn't having an affair with David Hughes.
Then who? Philip Turner.
Another notch on Turner's bedpost.
I'm not sure that's how she'd want to be remembered.
Did he kill her? Do you think it a possibility? I really don't know.
Another thing you failed to mention when we last spoke was Samantha's sister, Kate Morgan.
Kate was never spoken about.
Sheshe killed herself.
The memory was terribly painful for Sam.
She kept it locked up.
She talked to me about it once, when we first met, but she never spoke about it again.
I really don't see how that's relevant now.
Why did she commit suicide? I'm afraid I have no idea.
Did you have any other questions for me? No.
Thank you.
If you'll excuse me, I have funeral arrangements to make.
When she went away to university, I was devastated.
Eighteen-years-old, you're gutted when any relationship breaks down, but this was more than that.
Why? Just was.
You know the idea that your perfect match is out there somewhere? Well, that was Sam, as far as I was concerned.
Sam? Not your wife? When Sam left, I tried to push her out of my head and move on.
Married Liz.
And I do love Liz.
We were happy all that time.
Until Sam came back.
But she didn't come back for you though, did she? No.
So did you feel that was some sort of sign that you should be together? What, like fate, you mean? No, I'm not into any of that.
It's just that Sam was the only one of us that had the guts to get out of this place.
Did you envy her for that? It made her irresistible.
The people I know are the people I grew up with.
Out in the world, you can choose your friends.
In a place like this, you're stuck with whoever's about.
What did you hope to achieve writing these letters? I justI just wanted her to know how I felt.
I wanted to know if she could feel the same way about me.
Instead, you found she wanted someone more like Philip Turner.
You know, I saw them together.
Drove past them on the road late one night on my way back from snooker.
And they were kissing.
Did that make you angry? I was disappointed.
I mean, why would she go out with him? You've met him.
He tramples on everything, he doesn't care.
Born into all that wealth and what does he do? He squanders it.
How could she be so stupid? Do you have an alibi for the night that Samantha died? I was with Liz all night and I don't want her to know about this.
She wouldn't understand.
I'm not going to keep your secrets for you.
She'll find out soon enough.
I love my wife, Inspector.
This is my life now.
And I've just got to get on with it the best I can.
Have you heard? We can prove Bob Harris's shotgun was fired in the last few days and it matches cartridges found at the estate.
Right, I think we'll have to pay Mr Harris another visit.
Oh Ron Verger.
When did he disappear? Er, about 15 years ago.
We don't have an exact date.
But Susan Verger started claiming benefits as a single mother in August 1989.
That's three months after Kate committed suicide.
We need to clarify where he went.
What about David Hughes? He's obsessed with Samantha.
Says his wife knows nothing about it.
And there's no love lost between him and Philip Turner, who I think knows more than he's telling us.
Are either of you two armed? I want to shoot somebody.
What's happened? That useless yokel plod who was stomping about the crime scene? Garrett? I've just had a call from the lab.
Our size ten suspect? Oh, no That is the bootprint of a man who's been in the police force for God knows how long and still hasn't grasped crime scene protocol! He was first there, was he? Bob Harris called him when he discovered the body.
I don't believe it! Havers, have someone find Garrett and tell him to report to us immediately.
Have you spoken to Helen? I'm worried about Havers, that's all.
DOG BARKS Mr Harris.
Make yourselves at home.
We have interesting news concerning your gun.
Solved the Kennedy assassination? We've had some forensic tests done on your gun.
We've found some unhardened residue on the barrel, indicating it had been fired in the last few days.
The miracles of science! What you trying to prove? It HASN'T been fired in the last few days? I shot some rabbits playing havoc in my vegetable patch.
So where are they? We ate 'em.
We? Me and him.
The cartridge that killed Samantha Walthew will match whatever gun it was fired from.
You know that, don't you? Not my gun.
We've found some cartridges elsewhere on the priory estate that DO match your gun.
Now you said yesterday that you're NOT a poacher.
Is that right? You two've got me down as a villain! You're hardly a pillar of the community.
Is that how you do your detective work, Inspector? Judge a man on his appearances? I'm not a conventional sort of a bloke.
Doesn't mean I'll decide to sneak around in the middle of the night, killing some girl.
Do you resent people with conventional lives? I chose this life.
And how I feel about people in the village is my business.
This is a picture of you not seeing Samantha on Tuesday afternoon.
Where did this come from? What were you arguing about? I honestly don't remember.
It was two days ago.
Must have been something trivial or I'd recall.
Any idea who took the photograph? How should I know? Would you describe yourself, Mr Turner, as a possessive man? I wouldn't say so, no.
You're having an affair with a beautiful woman.
She won't let you stay, she won't leave her husband I never asked her to.
And what? I killed Samantha because I couldn't have her for myself? It's happened before.
What makes you think I wanted her? I told you I aspire to nothing.
Some would say that Samantha Walthew was something to aspire to.
Who else knew about you two? I don't think anyone else knew.
Tell me about Ron Verger.
Did you know him? Yeah, I did.
Not personally, I knew who he was.
What he was.
Ron Verger's ancient history.
Where did he go? I don't know.
Abroad, I heard.
We understood he went north.
What about his son? Billy? He's trouble.
That's as much as I know about him.
What kind of trouble? Vandalism, burglary, arson.
The usual stuff.
He's not a master criminal.
He hasn't got a record.
Doesn't mean he's not a criminal.
Just that he doesn't get caught.
Ron Verger disappeared around the same time that Kate Morgan committed suicide.
Am I supposed to see a connection? Is there one? You're the detective.
Why did you lie to us about not seeing Samantha on the afternoon of her death? I told you.
I didn't lie, I forgot.
Is THAT a lie? That you forgot? Is there a point to this? You're provoking me into a confession.
We're trying to establish who killed Samantha Walthew.
I don't know.
I'm getting tired of this.
I suggest, Mr Turner, instead of aspiring to nothing, you decide to tell us the truth and help us eliminate you from our enquiries.
Let's see the photograph again.
Do you know exactly where it was taken? No.
We should find out though.
There's something here we're missing.
Sir, who's she? I don't know.
That's James Walthew, isn't it? Yeah.
It might be Amanda Gibson.
Amanda Gibson? I'm Detective Inspector Lynley, this is Detective Sergeant Havers.
Mr Walthew.
These were her favourite.
Would you like me to leave? No.
We do have questions for the both of you.
James has answered enough questions.
It's OK, Manda.
We're old friends, Inspector.
Amanda is protective of me.
We're interested in why Samantha's sister, Kate, committed suicide.
Well, erm, sorry, I don't know that.
We thought that Miss Gibson, knowing Samantha at the time, might The coroner's report suggests that there were signs of an assault, that she'd been in a fight.
I wouldn't know about that.
Surely you would.
You were her sister's best friend.
Kate committed suicide after an incident of some kind.
You must tell us everything you know, Miss Gibson.
Manda? Kate was raped.
A 15-year-old girl and he raped her.
Oh, God Who raped her? Ron Verger.
Billy's dad.
She was walking home one night from a friend's house, it must have been ten or eleven o'clock at night.
And he jumped out at her on the side of the road and dragged her into the woods on the edge of the priory.
She said it was Ron Verger? She saw him? Yes.
Kate didn't want anybody to know about it, she was embarrassed, ashamed.
She wanted to keep quiet, but Samantha wasn't about to let it lie.
She was absolutely determined to persuade Kate to go to the police to make a statement.
Two days later, Kate killed herself.
Sam always said she blamed Ron Verger for it but I think she secretly blamed herself.
She felt if she hadn't pushed Kate quite so hard to go to the police, maybe Kate would still be alive.
Why couldn't she tell me? James She was my wife.
She didn't want you to know how responsible she felt.
I'm sorry.
And were the police ever informed? Yes.
Sam and I told the police after Kate's death.
But Ron Verger denied everything and, without Kate, there was no evidence.
So nothing happened.
How soon after this did Ron Verger leave the area? Erma few days.
Perhaps less.
Did anyone else know that this had happened? I imagine Samantha told David Hughes.
They were seeing each other at the time and she was so upset by it.
And then Samantha left.
I think everything about this place reminded her of what had happened.
Her parents were destroyed by it.
They didn't know the full story, but their daughter committing suicide They emigrated to Australia.
Sam stayed over here and went to university.
I think she wanted a clean slate.
That's why she never told you.
She wanted to forget about it.
They're going to bury Sam just over there.
This was our favourite place, the three of us.
We used to play here when we were kids.
What was Samantha like? She was just like the rest of us I suppose.
Curious Excitable She was very protective of Kate.
When we were at primary school, Kate had bunches in her hair and the boys used to like to pull them to tease her.
Sam was always straight in there, fists flying.
Fearless if she thought Kate was being hurt.
And when Kate died? She was lonely.
They were always inseparable as children.
I think when Kate passed on, Sam was The way she threw herself into university, and then her career .
.
the affairs she had.
I mean, I'm not a psychologist, but it seems to me they were all in some way a way to escape the loneliness.
Everything she did, everything she devoted her life to, was in some way, a replacement for Kate.
And now they're together again.
I believe that.
Well, that's some comfort.
No, Sergeant Havers.
I really don't think there's any comfort to be had here.
Constable! Nice motor, sir.
She's a Bristol, ain't she? You're a size ten shoe, aren't you? That's right, how did you know? We've wasted resources identifying a bootprint that we thought was a vital part of a murder enquiry, until we discovered it belonged to you! I was the first on the scene, sir.
Bob Harris called me.
If I stepped on anything I'm sorry.
So you So you damn well should be! Please be careful over your tone, sir.
"My tone"? I don't look in the mirror and see a failure, I see a man who has worked hard to gain the respect and trust of the community.
Now I realise you outrank me, but I think I'm owed some respect nonetheless, sir.
Sergeant.
Hello.
I'm very sorry if I've caused you any trouble.
Everyone here's more than keen that you two find whoever did this to that poor woman.
If that's all, I'll get out of your road and be on my way.
Ron Verger.
What can you tell us about him? Ron Verger? That's a while ago.
What about him? I understand from Amanda Gibson that he raped Kate Morgan.
Well, supposedly he did, yeah.
But Kate, God rest her soul, went and did that silly thing before we could press charges.
Verger disappeared anyway.
Yeah, he did, yeah.
He walked out on his wife and his kid.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.
Did you question him at the time? Unofficially, I had a quiet word, ma'am, yes.
I told him to go.
Did I do the wrong thing? He raped and caused the death of a fifteen-year-old-girl and got away with it.
Would you have been able to tip your hat to him in the street? That's a terrible story, what happened to Kate.
So it's no surprise they're all glad to see the back of Ron Verger.
And no luck yet trying to trace him.
You know, I think Billy knows more than he's choosing to tell us.
Good view of the priory.
When was this taken? Few weeks ago.
How well did you know Samantha? Not that well.
What are the lines for? It's the Divine Proportion, Havers.
Excuse me? There's a theory that our notion of beauty is all based around the presence of certain shapes.
A perfectly beautiful face, for example, you'd have the eyes, mouth, cheekbones all arranged in a sort of patchwork of rectangles.
How well does Samantha score on that? Not bad.
Someone knows their stuff.
Clearly it isn't me.
It's not just faces, though, is it? You've used the same composition in a lot of these? Most people don't spot it.
I believe the same maths governs sunflower petals and the like.
And fir cones.
What do you do as an encore? I investigate murders.
And how's that working out for you? Are you sending us photographs, Billy? Now why would I do that? You tell me.
When did you last see your father? When I was nine years old, so not recently.
And after that it was just you and your mum, yeah? Until the cancer.
Now it's just me.
Did she never tell you where he went? She never knew.
If she did, she never told me.
Just took off, apparently.
Letters? Birthday cards? No.
What about when your mum was ill? Nothing.
Where were you on Tuesday night? Here.
All night? Yeah.
Can you prove that? No.
D'you think you're the first cops that've tried to intimidate me? You haven't even told me my dad was a rapist yet.
You're not even trying.
How do you feel about that? Obviously, I'm incredibly proud of the old man.
We just want the truth, Billy.
Really? That's not what brought you here though, is it? Meaning? Meaning someone gets killed and the whole village starts pointing the finger in my direction.
What a coincidence.
The same kind of coincidence has my dad disappear into thin air a few days after some girl gets raped.
If you don't believe it, then tell us what happened.
No-one wants to know what I think.
Mokita? What's that? If you know anything relevant to our investigation and you withhold information It's an obstruction of justice.
And we wouldn't want to obstruct justice.
Want to know what I think? I'm on the edge of my seat.
You're leaving us a trail of breadcrumbs to follow because you're just not brave enough to tell us what you know.
That's very deep.
Is it? A picture of the murder victim's on your wall.
The camera's set up to photograph the house she used to live in.
We've recently received a photograph, anonymously, with the victim apparently arguing with a man.
Then someone breaks in to her house and paints a word on the wall, a word that seems to suggest the burglar has some information on this case.
I think there's something you're not telling us.
I haven't got the patience for your childish games.
Is that the time? I really must be getting on.
We'll be talking again.
You can trust us, Billy.
What's the rush all of a sudden? Let me show you.
Something's troubled me about this since the first time I saw it, and I haven't been able to put my finger on what until I saw Billy's photographs in there.
It's actually a cleverly taken photograph because it's in the Divine Proportion.
OK, you're going to have to take me through this slowly, sir.
All right.
About 700 years ago, there was an Italian chap named Leonardo Fibonacci.
Now he came up with a sequence of numbers that appears to define perfection in nature.
So, erm, that's the most pleasing shape to the eye? Exactly! Well, in theory.
You see, if I draw a line here and make a square here, what's left is the same ratio as that with which we started.
So I draw another square there, and another, and so on and so on.
OK, I get it.
So what? Well, then we draw a line connecting the corners of the squares until it becomes a spiral.
Yeah The centre of the spiral is what Billy is leading us to.
This, not this, not Samantha and Turner arguing, but this, a fir tree.
We need to know what Billy's trying to tell us.
Let's go and talk to him again.
I think you're too late.
Yeah, ambulance.
If this really is a suicide attempt, it's a very public one.
I'd like to go with him.
When he comes round, he might talk.
Dawkins! Good.
Come inside, there's a computer inside I need you to see.
No, you see, the thing's passworded.
I've got some software back at the office that should be able to bypass it, but Try Fibonacci.
Right, F-I-B-O N-A-C-C-I.
No.
Mokita.
Try mokita.
M-O-K-I T-A.
Right, bingo.
It's just photographs, by the look of it.
Loads of them.
Go through all of them, yeah? What for? Not entirely sure yet, but, er, anything unusual.
If you spot anything, I'll be on my mobile.
Okey-doke.
This is what Billy wants us to see.
But why? Why this tree? There are no other coniferous trees around.
Uh? You're absolutely right, Paula.
So why is it here? Why has he brought us here? You'll notice how the roots have grown up right through him.
Why wasn't the body discovered before? Gun dogs ran all over this area for years.
We found a layer of what I think will turn out to be ash.
Someone built a bonfire over the grave.
Ash masks the scent of the body.
Hopefully, he can be identified from dental records.
Could you tell how he died? His neck's broken.
By the look of it, he could've been hanged.
How long before we can confirm all that? We've got to preserve evidence in the grave, so it'll take us the best part of a day to get him out.
After that, depending on pathology, another few hours to confirm ID and cause of death.
MOBILE RINGS Lynley.
'It's Dawkins, sir.
' I've got something you need to see.
Welcome back to the land of the living.
Wasn't the idea.
Billy.
They found the body under the tree.
Who is it, Billy? Is it your dad, Billy? So most of it is arty Photoshop stuff and I was ready to write it all off, until I found this folder.
That's Samantha in the kitchen.
When were they taken? Twelve minutes past one, two days ago.
That's moments before she was shot.
Can you enhance it? I'll give it a go.
I was nine years old.
And someone came to the house looking for Dad.
He wouldn't let me go with him.
He took his coat.
We'd been collecting fir cones and I'd put one in his pocket.
And then I followed him into the woods.
I was scared.
Voices People coming near I hid, thought I'd get into trouble I saw him Who did you see, Billy? Billy, who did you see? Dad I saw Dad With people With people shouting She told me not to tell anyone.
Who said that? She said I imagined it.
She said that he'd gone away.
She said that it was a bad dream.
Who said that, Billy? Liz Liz? Liz Hughes? She said Not to tell anyone about the dream And I haven't said a word.
Until now.
Who have you told, Billy? Samantha I told Samantha.
Yeah, it's Ron Verger.
Liz Hughes told him to forget all about it.
Do you believe him? Right, go and talk to Liz Hughes.
Find out what she knows.
Something's coming through.
I'll call you back.
There's someone there.
It's the killer.
Billy's caught the killer on camera.
You must be able to enhance this, Dawkins.
It's gonna be tricky.
I've come to talk to you about Billy Verger.
Oh, what about him? Well, I'm afraid to say he's taken an overdose.
Oh, no Well, is he? He's going to be OK.
But I need to ask you a few questions.
You see, Billy's been talking about the death of his dad.
And we've found the remains of a body up at the Priory.
MOBILE RINGS Havers.
I'm at the pub.
Who's there with you? I want you to get out of there as quickly and as quietly as you can.
I don't understand, sir.
Well, how did he? He's here.
Havers? HavBarbara? Call the Armed Response Unit, get them to the Queen's Head as quickly as possible.
You've been on the wrong end of one of these recently, so you'll know not to do anything silly.
Pat, what are you doing? Why don't you come over and join everyone, Liz? Unless anyone needs a drink? No? Come on.
And you.
They know about you.
He's a clever man, your boss, isn't he? Put the phone down, please.
Pat, what's going on? The game's up, ladies and gentlemen.
Our old friend Ron Verger appears to have risen from the grave, so to speak.
Then it's over.
Well, we'll see about that.
No, it's OVER.
What will you achieve by locking us up? Just doing my job.
Your job? Protecting this village.
No, Pat.
Not any more.
What's this, a mutiny? It's sense.
It's sense, is it? Was it sense to come to me, you two, in the middle of the night, demanding justice? Let's not forget who started this.
You should have seen them, the blood-lust they had for Verger for what he did to that girl.
Wasn't much sense going on that night, was there? Eh? And now he hangs his head.
They all hang their heads.
Not the night you all stood by and watched me string him up.
So it was you.
You killed him.
No.
We all killed him.
I put the noose around his neck.
I hauled him up.
But they were there, they all complied.
And I stand by what we did.
This uniform would make no difference to that man's fate.
Not after what that poor girl did to herself.
He'd still be walking around today, with how many more ruined lives in his wake? Hmm? You know what? I've heard every argument there is for vigilantism and none of them hold any water.
And even if it did, it wouldn't excuse you of killing Samantha Walthew.
Samantha? They don't know? Right little fox in the hen house, aren't you? She'd found out what happened.
That Billy Verger told her.
Turns out he saw the whole thing, nine-year-old kid hiding in the bushes, watching his dad receiving justice.
She knows about Billy, don't you, Liz? She even feels sorry for him.
Nobody should have to see that.
He tried to kill himself.
Only tried? Shame.
you killed Sam? He knew.
She was going to go to the police.
She was going to tell them.
You were going to talk to her.
Did I say that? Or did I say I'd take care of it? Grown man come to me to sort out his mess.
You killed her! To protect you all! What? From Sam? From my best friend? A woman who'd spent fifteen years of her life grieving for her dead sister and you murder her? She wasn't going to listen to reason.
She didn't know about it at the time.
Why would she condone what we did? Why should anyone? We were just teenagers.
I've lived with the image of him hanging there, dead, for half my life.
I regret it every day.
We did it for Kate, to finish things.
Not for Samantha to die! Oh, really? Who's all nice and cosy with the bereaved husband, eh? Didn't take you very long, did it? Get your hands off! You're as guilty as him.
You think I wanted her dead? I told him to persuade her not to say anything.
Not this.
The footprints.
Hmm? Your footprint contaminated the crime scene.
But you did it deliberately, so that we would eliminate you.
Not just a pretty face, are you? That's why you left the body there.
You knew the only person to find it would be Bob Harris because he was poaching the area.
You knew he'd find the body and call you first.
And I turn up with my big size tens.
Oh, here come the cavalry.
Inspector Lynley? There's a policeman in there, likely armed.
He's taken hostages, including my sergeant.
Is he armed? She.
No.
Sir? Stay in position.
That's your way out.
I don't think so.
Come on.
Come on, Havers.
Pick up.
Where are you going? This is over.
What the hell were we thinking? This is over.
Not yet it's not.
Sit down! Do you know what's happening out there? I can imagine.
A firearms team will be preparing to come in here.
Not if they're sensible.
You know what you're up against! Trust me, ma'am.
They're not taking any of us alive.
I'd sit down if I were you! No! I'm serious, Philip.
So am I.
SCREAMS Get down! MOBILE RINGS Let me answer it.
No! If I answer, you can negotiate a way out of here.
They want me, they come in and get me.
That goes for all of us.
You've lost your mind.
I'll ignore that! None of us want this.
You want to be careful what you wish for, boy.
He's still alive.
Amanda, put some pressure on the wound, try and stem the bleeding.
Yes.
Let them go, keep me.
Don't be stupid! I've got to go in.
No.
We have shots fired now.
I'm the ranking officer.
Not once guns are involved you're not.
If anyone goes in, it's us.
Sergeant Havers? I wasn't there the night this happened.
I don't know anything about it.
You knew about it after, Liz.
Billy told you.
You're an accessory after the fact.
What could I do? This whole village knew.
A man disappears in the middle of the night, a man like that? This whole place knew what had happened to him, but no-one asked.
No-one said.
And do you know why? Because they were relieved.
That man was a disease, he was a blight on this place.
Was it my idea to go down this road, mmm? No.
You two, you come to me and ask for help.
So I helped you.
I helped you find justice and protect this community from people like Ron Verger.
And when Samantha decided she was too weak to stomach the vengeance taken in her dead sister's name, I protected you again! ConstableConstable! You have to give yourself up.
Oh, really? And are you going to make me, Sergeant Havers? Are you so very brave looking down the barrel of a gun all of a sudden? I'd keep quiet if I were you.
You might have got lucky before, but if I shoot you, you won't be lucky twice.
This is gratitude? You want to walk away? You want to hold up your hands and tell them what you did was wrong? HE SHOUTS It wasn't wrong! And I won't let you do that! We're shoulder-to-shoulder here.
BLAM! Get in there.
Help her! Go, go, go! Stay down! Easy, easy.
It's OK! Come on.
It's OK.
Shhit's OK.
And we now commit her body to the ground.
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
In sure and certain hope that the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our frail bodies that they may be conformed to His glorious body, who died, was buried, and rose again for us.
To Him be glory forever.
Amen.
I'm not sure how such a small village recovers from something like this.
Maybe it doesn't.
I feel terrible you had to go through all that again.
It wasn't your fault, sir.
You know, all these months, you never talked to me about the shooting.
How you felt about it.
You didn't have to throw yourself on Garrett to prove that you're not afraid.
I know you can do the job, Barbara.
I woke up in the hospital and I didn't remember it.
And then it slowly came back to me and I realised that it happened.
That I'd actually been shot and all I could think about is what if it had been an inch to the left, or an inch higher You were lucky.
Yes, I was.
But Samantha wasn't.
I'm here and she's not.
You know, for a while I thought, "There's been a mistake, I'm not meant to be here.
" And then in the pub when Garrett put that gun in my face I thought, "This is it.
" And then I decided, I don't know why, I just thought, "I'm not going to accept that.
" I was angry.
So angry.
You certainly were.
And I was frightened.
But, you know, something's shifted.
Yeah.
You seem different.
Do I? Definitely.
You seem stronger.
Yeah.
I am.
So have you booked your cruise yet? Yeah, somehow bingo and ballroom dancing doesn't seem exciting.
I'm not going to stand in your way if you've decided to be sensible with the money.
And if I haven't? You HAVE decided what you're going to spend it on! What? You'll have to wait and see.
BBC Broadcast 2005
Why are there carrot-crunchers stomping all over my scene? Another footprint.
The best yet.
Cast it.
Check it with the other.
Shouldn't we get the body to Pathology? Where's the fire, Dawkins? She's going nowhere.
Nothing leaves the scene until Lynley sees it.
Helen, uh, it's me, erm Inspector! I was just going to say, well I know you need time, but I really would like to talk to you.
Inspector Lynley? I'm out in Suffolk at the moment but I'm on my mobile so if you want to talk, and I hope you do, give me a call.
Paula, good to see you again, what've we got? Bits and pieces.
They dragged you here because they thought this was the same as the Tottenham case? Yeah.
They're not even barking up the wrong tree, they're in the wrong forest.
It's a shotgun and she's blonde.
But the way the body has been moved, it doesn't feel the same.
You got here very quickly.
I was up when the call came through.
Burning the candle at both ends? Something like that.
Windy Miller! Can I have everyone OFF the crime scene? OK, love, that's me on my way.
What did he call me? Not that way, this way, back the way we've come.
Come on, constable.
He was the first on the scene.
Garrett.
One of Suffolk's finest.
Probably parked his bicycle round there.
Constable? Sir? See anything unusual? This whole thing's unusual for round here, sir.
We've got traces of blood in the grass leading from the house up to here.
We've also a few boot-prints in some spilled sand up by the house.
They're fresh, size ten.
Can we tell if the wearer was carrying anything? The prints are deeper than we'd expect, there's a good chance.
And she weighsnine stone? Thereabouts.
If she was carried from the house, there might be some fibres on her clothes.
So I put the egg in my mouth and I just suck? Sorry, Paula.
You're welcome back in London.
Thank you.
You've no idea how much I miss digging bullet fragments out of crack-house walls.
There's another blast from the past.
I heard about the shooting.
Is she OK? Yes, she'sshe's fine.
Hello, Barbara.
How are you? Hi, Paula.
Sir.
Havers.
I'm fine, thanks.
You? One minute I'm giving a nice gentle lecture on the limited uses of Vacuum Metal Deposition, the next I'm watching sheep-worriers contaminate my crime scene.
Same as ever then.
Solving murders would be an awful lot easier without the police.
Let me know when we're ready to move into the house.
Havers.
Havers.
Sorry.
The victim is Samantha Walthew, born Samantha Morgan.
Age 34, married to James Walthew, who is on his way up from London as we speak.
He's a property developer, she was an interior designer.
They bought this place six months ago to turn it into a hotel.
When was the body found? Er, just before seven o'clock this morning.
Shot in the kitchen, her body was dumped out there.
The murder weapon was a shotgun but they haven't recovered it yet.
Who found the body? A poacher, by the name of Bob Harris.
A what? A poacher, Havers.
That still goes on, does it? I'm afraid so, Havers, yes.
These are pheasant breeding grounds, the shooting season starts soon.
Rich pickings.
Charming.
The killer didn't try to conceal the body? No.
Either he or she was disturbed while moving it, or didn't care if it was found.
The poacher? That's where we're going now.
You fighting fit? Now that it's official, do you feel comfortable being back? I'm fine.
I'm sure you're fine.
You got shot.
It's a big deal.
Big enough to get compensation.
Really? You didn't tell me you'd applied.
Well, I didn't know I had.
They had me filling out so many forms.
But I got the letter yesterday and apparently it's coming through.
Good for you.
Can I ask how? Sorry, it's none of my business.
Ten grand.
£10,000! That's fantastic.
What are you going to spend it on? I haven't given it much thought.
I'll probably put it into savings.
Not what I call the most exciting option.
I mean, it's a windfall.
It's free money, Havers, you should splash out on yourself.
Erm, maybe a cruise.
Yeah.
Bingo, ballroom dancing with people twice your age? Maybe.
It's my money.
Sorry, yes.
Look, if you want a financial advisor, I can put you in touch with one.
There are some very good ways to invest, you know.
Course I know who she was.
Doing up the old priory so smart London-types can spend the weekend gawping at locals, kidding themselves they're getting back to nature.
What time was this, Mr Harris? Seven.
Thereabouts.
What were you doing there? Walking him.
There a law against that? There's a law against trespassing.
There's a public footpath.
Half a mile from where the body was found.
I got lost.
I told this to the young lad took my statement.
Now you're going over it again with us.
Seem to be.
Are you a poacher, Mr Harris? No.
What do you do for a living? This and that.
You can be more specific.
I sign on.
I do odd jobs.
You can check with the social.
Do you own a shotgun? Yes, I do.
And it's licensed.
I've nothing to hide.
Good.
Then I'll get someone to examine it.
I'd better get it back.
Did you ever meet Samantha Walthew? No.
No interest in meeting her.
I know the sort already.
London-type, weren't she? Thinks the countryside is some quaint tourist attraction.
They come up here, before you know it the local boozer's become a non-smoking wine bar.
Where were you last night? Queen's Head till closing.
I come home, watched telly, went to bed.
Can anyone corroborate that? He can.
If you've got anyone speaks dog.
I'm investigating a murder, Mr Harris, I don't appreciate sarcasm.
I don't appreciate being called names like "poacher" or having my private life poked around in.
We may need to talk to you again.
Are you going to be in the area for the next few days? No, I'm going to New York tomorrow, on business.
Mr Walthew? I'm Detective Inspector Lynley.
This is Detective Sergeant Havers.
We'd like to offer our condolences.
Thank you.
However, we do have questions to ask.
This was going to be the restaurant, she had big plans for it.
She said it was going to be the best restaurant in East Anglia.
Did she suffer? No.
I'm sure it was very quick, sir.
Er, do you know of anyone who might have had a reason? She was my wife.
I thought she was part of my future.
Everything is uncertain.
You never really know anything.
But I thought she would be there.
I understand that your wife grew up in the area.
Yes, she did.
She lived here until Until she went to university.
That's where we met.
Did she maintain any ties here? No.
No, she didn't.
Her parents emigrated to Australia when Sam left for uni.
And yet you bought this house? As a business concern, yes.
But it wasn't just a coincidence it was here? It didn't hurt that Sam knew the area, but it wasn't wasn't a major factor.
Are you going to find who did this? We are obviously pursuing all avenues of enquiry.
Where were you last night? Am I an "avenue of enquiry"? I'm sorry but I do need to ask these questions.
I, erI worked late.
At my office.
I must've got home about ten.
I went to bed around midnight.
You were alone at home? Yes.
Did you talk to your wife last night? We speak We spokeseveral times a day.
Yes, she called me last night.
What time? Ten thirty, quarter to eleven.
How did she seem, sir? Stressed.
That wasn't unusual for Sam.
A project like this, and she was managing it on her own, throws up all kinds of problems with builders and decorators and so on.
She was camping out here to stay on top of everything.
And that's what she was stressed about? Yes.
I think so.
She .
.
she'd been quite distant the last few days.
-Distant? Why? -I have no idea.
But, er, if something was bothering her you'd be able to tell from her demeanour but you'd never know what it was until she was ready to tell you.
She was preoccupied with something more than work, I think.
Thank you, sir.
Ah, Inspector! We've just received something rather curious via e-mail.
Sent anonymously to the local station.
It seems to have been taken in the grounds.
Can you trace the sender? It was sent from an Internet cafe at the town.
Uniform are there checking to see if anyone remembers anything, or if the sender was caught on CCTV.
You can get the date and time the image was taken from the file attachment.
3.
07 yesterday afternoon.
Now if we found either the camera it was taken with or the computer it was originally saved on, we could match them up conclusively.
Can I keep this? Of course.
Circulate copies, let's find out who that man is.
I see you've met my new geek.
Tech specialist.
It's OK, Simon.
Some of my best friends are geeks.
Can we do the walk-through, Paula? Family snaps, by the look of it.
This room is a gold mine.
Where was the husband last night? He says he was in London.
OK, good.
Why? Without getting lurid, there is a wealth of DNA on these sheets.
And someone left the toilet seat up in the bathroom.
Your victim was having an affair, Inspector.
Either that or the husband was lying and he WAS here.
We're still lifting prints, we'll let you know of any match.
In the meantime Dog hairs? Very good.
Dog hairs.
Not enough for there to have been a dog in here, enough to have come from the clothes of an owner or someone recently in contact with one.
We're looking for a dog owner in the countryside? OK.
So Samantha Walthew and her mystery man finish doing their business on the bed.
What happens next? Do we know what happened to him? Not yet.
Samantha's footprints are all through here, she's dodging these stepladders and the various bits and pieces strewn about.
There's no electricity on this floor, not even lights.
It would have been dark.
Any other footprints? Lots.
Builders have been coming in and out.
Hers are easy because she's barefoot.
We're trying to match prints with the workmen but it's a mess.
Doors? Windows? Nothing's been forced or broken.
So then she comes into the kitchen, which is also dark.
Mmm.
And she moves across to here.
There was a three-quarter moon last night, waning, if anyone cares, so there would have been light coming through here, enough to see by.
This whole area here is peppered with shot, so presumably the shooter was at this sort of angle andwhat? Two, three metres away? We found a broken glass tumbler in the sink.
We're lifting prints from the fragments.
I'd be surprised if they weren't hers.
So she's facing the window and gets shot in the back.
Why not just leave her here? Why bother to take her outside if you're not going to conceal the body? You've been in the wars.
I overheard the message you left for Helen this morning.
Yeah, we're not together at the moment.
You don't want to talk about it.
She was in a car accident.
We lost our baby.
I heard.
I'm sorry.
She's, erm she's having a hard time coping with it and, erm, thinks she needs some time on her own.
Maybe she's right.
It's temporary.
I'm just giving her some space.
And you? How are you coping? With the separation? With the loss.
It was your baby too.
I cope.
Sir, er, we've identified the man in the photograph.
His name is Philip Turner and he used to own the priory.
All right, yeah.
I'll pass it on, thanks.
We're going to contact the Morgans, Samantha's parents, and tell them what happened.
Oh, and the photo by the bedside, it's Kate Morgan, Samantha's sister.
She's three years younger.
So where is she? Well, we're trying to trace her.
Er, don't you think it's odd that James Walthew never mentioned her sister? Well, perhaps they were estranged.
Yeah, butyou'd still want her to know though, wouldn't you? Pull! He's harmless, aren't you, Bismarck? Come here, boy.
Nice car.
-Philip Turner? Yeah.
I'm Detective Inspector Lynley.
This is Detective Sergeant Havers.
I don't suppose this could wait until later? No, I'm afraid not.
I understand you used to own Grant Priory.
Yeah, yeah, the place had been in my family for three hundred-odd years.
And you recently sold it.
I'm bankrupt, Inspector.
The trustees sold the house to pay off some of my debts.
What kind of debts? Gambling debts.
I'm in recovery.
And the Walthews bought this house at auction? That's right.
Not the most popular outcome as far as some of the locals were concerned.
Lot of people worried about the gentrification of the countryside around here.
I think they thought that the Walthews were going to turn it into a theme park.
How well did you know Samantha? We knew each other growing up.
There was a group of us, village kids, you know.
We were inseparable for a time.
Are the others still around? Oh, yeah.
Amanda Gibson lives here.
She was Sam's best friend then.
David and Liz Hughes run the Queen's Head.
She never stayed in touch with anyone? Sam always used to say that the best thing about a place like this was seeing it disappear in the rear-view mirror.
And yet she did come back.
And you became close again? We saw each other around the place.
Sir! Mr Turner, are you going to make me waste my forensics team's time matching the hairs from this dog to those in Samantha's bedroom? We'd been seeing each other for a few weeks, whenever she came up.
It's an affair.
You're supposed to lie about it.
Not during a murder investigation.
You saw her last night? I did.
I went round there about eleven.
She was very much alive when I left.
Which was when? Just before one.
And you saw her yesterday afternoon? Not that I recall, no.
Why didn't you stay last night? I never stayed.
Not my choice.
Sam didn't believe sex with someone constituted infidelity, if you can understand that.
She drew a line between sex and intimacy.
She'd sleep with you, but didn't want to wake up with you.
Pull! Did her husband know about the affair? I don't think so.
I'll have someone take a statement from you.
And, er, we have to take your gun for forensic examination.
Look, I realise I must be a suspect.
But I think there was someone else there last night.
That must be the most predictable thing I could say.
I'm listening.
I didn't see anyone.
But when I left, getting into my car, I heard something.
In the undergrowth, I don't think that it could have been an animal.
Whereabouts? Off to my right, in the grounds.
But you didn't see anyone? No.
OK.
Mr Turner.
Did you love her? No.
This is my world, Inspector.
In the last year, I've lost everything and I realise I never really had anything to lose.
It's a strange feeling.
To spend your life desperately clinging onto things that you don't really want.
Probably I should be up a mountain somewhere, chanting, but I'm not, I'm here.
Thirty-six fairly pointless years on Earth, I aspire to nothing in my future and I may not even be halfway through my life.
I didn't love her, no.
But I will miss her.
Sorry.
We'll talk again, I'm sure.
OK, so we get sent this photograph of Samantha Walthew and Phillip Turner arguing and yet he denies he even saw her yesterday afternoon.
He does admit though to having an affair with her and claims that he was with her last night leaving her around one o'clock.
Now we're pretty sure that she was killed within an hour of that, right? So he MUST be the last person to see her alive.
Did you believe him when he said that he didn't love her? The speech? Nihilism in a Barbour and green wellies? Did you buy it? No, not really.
So Turner said he thought he saw someone standing over here.
If there was, then well, that person would have seen Turner leave and Samantha come into the kitchen and go to the sink.
James Walthew? We can't corroborate his alibi.
He may have known about the affair, despite what Turner said.
Either that, or Turner is deliberately pointing us in the wrong direction.
A prowler in the undergrowth that's convenient, isn't it? He did say it sounded predictable.
A double-bluff? He's a gambler.
Very calm with us.
Maybe he just showed us his poker face.
It's quiet, isn't it? Yeah, peaceful.
I wonder how Samantha felt moving back here.
I prefer London, knowing that there's people around.
Sir, is Paula's team still here? No, no.
They've gone for the day.
There's someone inside.
I'll go down.
Havers! Havers, he's up here! Did you get a look at him? -No.
What's this? M-O-K-I-T-A It's not in the dictionary.
I don't think it's English.
It's probably not English.
Well, do an Internet search or whatever.
First the photograph and now this.
I think someone's trying to tell us something, Havers.
Well, I mean, it's not just stock market.
There's art, for instance.
Property.
Not that you'd get much for £10,000, but When you get back to London, you really should look into it.
You don't want to leave your money sitting in a building society.
OK! Well, what would YOU recommend, sir? Wines, Havers.
Certain wines increase enormously in value, you get a great return on your investment.
Sir, I think if I was going to spend £10,000 on booze, I'd want to drink it.
Typical Verger.
Always where you're not wanted.
Calm down, Bob.
What, me? What about him? He's vermin, just like his dad.
Calm down! Give me that, give me that! Come on then! Come on! Havers, outside.
What the hell's going on? David Hughes? Aye.
I'm Detective Inspector Lynley.
I need to talk to you but I want to clear this up.
Where's Liz? Outside with that little spunce.
What's going on here then? Don't look at me! Poaching, trespassing, now brawling If I was brawling, he'd be in hospital.
You are just one badly-chosen word away from spending the night in the cells.
What's your name? He's Billy Verger.
Why are you protecting him? Nobody else will.
Yeah.
Quite right too.
You two, inside.
This is my pub.
OUR pub.
I'll get to you.
Let me talk to this one on his own.
I want her to stay.
He's a good lad.
He's far from that.
Please, sir, both of you, go inside.
Well? I'm fine.
I didn't ask you how you were.
I'm not saying anything.
It was nothing.
It's between me and him.
It's nothing to do with what you're here for.
I'm investigating a murder, Mr Harris.
If one of my suspects Don't look so surprised.
.
.
if one of my suspects causes an affray right under my nose, I'm going to make it my business.
Is that understood? They've just had too many.
I'll take care of it for you.
Our paths had better not cross paths again, Mr Harris.
I'll leave it in your hands, Constable.
Everything all right? Sorry you got dragged into that.
It's all been taken care of now, Mr Hughes.
I understand that Samantha was a friend of yours.
A very long time ago, yeah.
We were an item, actually.
It sort of petered out, you know, when she went off to university.
These long-distance things don't stand much of a chance, do they? But presumably you were re-acquainted when she and her husband bought the Grant Priory.
I saw her around but we didn't really talk.
Is that a bit strange? If you were so close before? You didn't know Sam.
Never known anyone who could slam the door on the past like her.
This Sam, is it? Yeah, I was just saying, she were like a shark, weren't she? How they have to keep moving forward else they'll die.
Yeah, she was that.
All that time away, not a letter, not a card, nothing.
Except to Manda.
Amanda Gibson.
I think they had some contact because of James.
James Walthew? Mmm.
James and Amanda's family were friends before they were born.
It was through Amanda knowing Sam that James met her at university.
Is Billy all right? Here's hoping.
Um, what were, er, Bob Harris and Billy Verger fighting about? Well, they don't like Billy.
Who doesn't? This place, the village.
D'you blame them? Like father, like son, that's why.
What does that mean? Just a figure of speech.
No, no.
It was quite specific.
Well, it's Ron Verger, Inspector.
He was the scourge of this place.
Billy looks to be following him.
That's not fair, he's cut from different cloth that one.
He's a clever lad.
Where's Ron Verger now? As far away from here as possible, I hope.
Upped and left, walked out on Billy and his mum what, 15 years ago? About that.
Last I heard, he was up north, and that's not nearly far enough.
Let's get back to the hotel.
Tomorrow I want to look up Ron Verger, find out where he is.
Sir? I'll wait in the car.
Billy.
Was the fight in there about your dad? Do you want to talk about him? No.
How old were you when he left? Ten? Eleven? Nine.
You never heard from him? My dad's not around any more.
D'you wanna form a support group? Ron, wasn't it? He sounds like quite a character.
In a horror film, yeah.
That bad? I don't want to talk to you.
Then why wait for us? I think you do want to talk to us, Billy.
Billy! It's down here somewhere.
Right.
Here we are.
Sorry.
You coped really well today.
Thanks.
Not very grand, is it? I know you've come into money but we can't always stay at the Ritz.
That's very funny, sir.
Oh Have a good night.
Good night, sir.
Oh, good.
There you are.
Here we are.
"Mokita - that which everybody knows, but nobody speaks of.
" Apparently it originates from a tribe in New Guinea.
What is it that everybody knows? I've got news on Samantha's sister, Kate Morgan, sir.
Oh, good.
Where is she? Here.
Here? Erm, buried in the village churchyard.
The coroner's report lists it as suicide.
She took an overdose in 1989.
And nobody thought to mention this? Well, that's not all.
The coroner's report also mentions broken fingernails and a bruise to the cheek that might be consistent with an assault or fight.
This happened about three months before Samantha went off to university and the parents emigrated to Australia.
Good work, Havers.
We need to find out more about Ron Verger.
We've listed 31 Ron Vergers living in the UK, we're checking them all.
Excellent.
I want to talk again with James Walthew.
When's Samantha's post-mortem? Erm, they're doing it this morning.
Arrange for him to come in and identify the body.
We'll ask him about Kate then.
That's Yes.
That's her.
Samantha.
All right, thank you.
Can I get you a glass of water or something? I'm fine, thank you.
There's something I think I should tell you, Inspector.
My wife she was having an affair.
Yes, we know.
I found these two weeks ago.
I was going to ask Sam about them.
I suppose you'd call them love letters.
From David Hughes, the landlord at the Queen's Head.
Why didn't you mention these before? The first one is dated a couple of months ago.
Just a few weeks after we bought the priory.
Mr Walthew, would you say that your marriage was a happy one? I loved my wife and she loved me.
But sometimes Sam found it necessary to satisfy her needs elsewhere.
It's not easy to live like that.
Sam was able to make the distinction between love and sex, so I learned to do the same.
David Hughes must have got back in touch at the right time.
Actually, sir, to our knowledge, she wasn't having an affair with David Hughes.
Then who? Philip Turner.
Another notch on Turner's bedpost.
I'm not sure that's how she'd want to be remembered.
Did he kill her? Do you think it a possibility? I really don't know.
Another thing you failed to mention when we last spoke was Samantha's sister, Kate Morgan.
Kate was never spoken about.
Sheshe killed herself.
The memory was terribly painful for Sam.
She kept it locked up.
She talked to me about it once, when we first met, but she never spoke about it again.
I really don't see how that's relevant now.
Why did she commit suicide? I'm afraid I have no idea.
Did you have any other questions for me? No.
Thank you.
If you'll excuse me, I have funeral arrangements to make.
When she went away to university, I was devastated.
Eighteen-years-old, you're gutted when any relationship breaks down, but this was more than that.
Why? Just was.
You know the idea that your perfect match is out there somewhere? Well, that was Sam, as far as I was concerned.
Sam? Not your wife? When Sam left, I tried to push her out of my head and move on.
Married Liz.
And I do love Liz.
We were happy all that time.
Until Sam came back.
But she didn't come back for you though, did she? No.
So did you feel that was some sort of sign that you should be together? What, like fate, you mean? No, I'm not into any of that.
It's just that Sam was the only one of us that had the guts to get out of this place.
Did you envy her for that? It made her irresistible.
The people I know are the people I grew up with.
Out in the world, you can choose your friends.
In a place like this, you're stuck with whoever's about.
What did you hope to achieve writing these letters? I justI just wanted her to know how I felt.
I wanted to know if she could feel the same way about me.
Instead, you found she wanted someone more like Philip Turner.
You know, I saw them together.
Drove past them on the road late one night on my way back from snooker.
And they were kissing.
Did that make you angry? I was disappointed.
I mean, why would she go out with him? You've met him.
He tramples on everything, he doesn't care.
Born into all that wealth and what does he do? He squanders it.
How could she be so stupid? Do you have an alibi for the night that Samantha died? I was with Liz all night and I don't want her to know about this.
She wouldn't understand.
I'm not going to keep your secrets for you.
She'll find out soon enough.
I love my wife, Inspector.
This is my life now.
And I've just got to get on with it the best I can.
Have you heard? We can prove Bob Harris's shotgun was fired in the last few days and it matches cartridges found at the estate.
Right, I think we'll have to pay Mr Harris another visit.
Oh Ron Verger.
When did he disappear? Er, about 15 years ago.
We don't have an exact date.
But Susan Verger started claiming benefits as a single mother in August 1989.
That's three months after Kate committed suicide.
We need to clarify where he went.
What about David Hughes? He's obsessed with Samantha.
Says his wife knows nothing about it.
And there's no love lost between him and Philip Turner, who I think knows more than he's telling us.
Are either of you two armed? I want to shoot somebody.
What's happened? That useless yokel plod who was stomping about the crime scene? Garrett? I've just had a call from the lab.
Our size ten suspect? Oh, no That is the bootprint of a man who's been in the police force for God knows how long and still hasn't grasped crime scene protocol! He was first there, was he? Bob Harris called him when he discovered the body.
I don't believe it! Havers, have someone find Garrett and tell him to report to us immediately.
Have you spoken to Helen? I'm worried about Havers, that's all.
DOG BARKS Mr Harris.
Make yourselves at home.
We have interesting news concerning your gun.
Solved the Kennedy assassination? We've had some forensic tests done on your gun.
We've found some unhardened residue on the barrel, indicating it had been fired in the last few days.
The miracles of science! What you trying to prove? It HASN'T been fired in the last few days? I shot some rabbits playing havoc in my vegetable patch.
So where are they? We ate 'em.
We? Me and him.
The cartridge that killed Samantha Walthew will match whatever gun it was fired from.
You know that, don't you? Not my gun.
We've found some cartridges elsewhere on the priory estate that DO match your gun.
Now you said yesterday that you're NOT a poacher.
Is that right? You two've got me down as a villain! You're hardly a pillar of the community.
Is that how you do your detective work, Inspector? Judge a man on his appearances? I'm not a conventional sort of a bloke.
Doesn't mean I'll decide to sneak around in the middle of the night, killing some girl.
Do you resent people with conventional lives? I chose this life.
And how I feel about people in the village is my business.
This is a picture of you not seeing Samantha on Tuesday afternoon.
Where did this come from? What were you arguing about? I honestly don't remember.
It was two days ago.
Must have been something trivial or I'd recall.
Any idea who took the photograph? How should I know? Would you describe yourself, Mr Turner, as a possessive man? I wouldn't say so, no.
You're having an affair with a beautiful woman.
She won't let you stay, she won't leave her husband I never asked her to.
And what? I killed Samantha because I couldn't have her for myself? It's happened before.
What makes you think I wanted her? I told you I aspire to nothing.
Some would say that Samantha Walthew was something to aspire to.
Who else knew about you two? I don't think anyone else knew.
Tell me about Ron Verger.
Did you know him? Yeah, I did.
Not personally, I knew who he was.
What he was.
Ron Verger's ancient history.
Where did he go? I don't know.
Abroad, I heard.
We understood he went north.
What about his son? Billy? He's trouble.
That's as much as I know about him.
What kind of trouble? Vandalism, burglary, arson.
The usual stuff.
He's not a master criminal.
He hasn't got a record.
Doesn't mean he's not a criminal.
Just that he doesn't get caught.
Ron Verger disappeared around the same time that Kate Morgan committed suicide.
Am I supposed to see a connection? Is there one? You're the detective.
Why did you lie to us about not seeing Samantha on the afternoon of her death? I told you.
I didn't lie, I forgot.
Is THAT a lie? That you forgot? Is there a point to this? You're provoking me into a confession.
We're trying to establish who killed Samantha Walthew.
I don't know.
I'm getting tired of this.
I suggest, Mr Turner, instead of aspiring to nothing, you decide to tell us the truth and help us eliminate you from our enquiries.
Let's see the photograph again.
Do you know exactly where it was taken? No.
We should find out though.
There's something here we're missing.
Sir, who's she? I don't know.
That's James Walthew, isn't it? Yeah.
It might be Amanda Gibson.
Amanda Gibson? I'm Detective Inspector Lynley, this is Detective Sergeant Havers.
Mr Walthew.
These were her favourite.
Would you like me to leave? No.
We do have questions for the both of you.
James has answered enough questions.
It's OK, Manda.
We're old friends, Inspector.
Amanda is protective of me.
We're interested in why Samantha's sister, Kate, committed suicide.
Well, erm, sorry, I don't know that.
We thought that Miss Gibson, knowing Samantha at the time, might The coroner's report suggests that there were signs of an assault, that she'd been in a fight.
I wouldn't know about that.
Surely you would.
You were her sister's best friend.
Kate committed suicide after an incident of some kind.
You must tell us everything you know, Miss Gibson.
Manda? Kate was raped.
A 15-year-old girl and he raped her.
Oh, God Who raped her? Ron Verger.
Billy's dad.
She was walking home one night from a friend's house, it must have been ten or eleven o'clock at night.
And he jumped out at her on the side of the road and dragged her into the woods on the edge of the priory.
She said it was Ron Verger? She saw him? Yes.
Kate didn't want anybody to know about it, she was embarrassed, ashamed.
She wanted to keep quiet, but Samantha wasn't about to let it lie.
She was absolutely determined to persuade Kate to go to the police to make a statement.
Two days later, Kate killed herself.
Sam always said she blamed Ron Verger for it but I think she secretly blamed herself.
She felt if she hadn't pushed Kate quite so hard to go to the police, maybe Kate would still be alive.
Why couldn't she tell me? James She was my wife.
She didn't want you to know how responsible she felt.
I'm sorry.
And were the police ever informed? Yes.
Sam and I told the police after Kate's death.
But Ron Verger denied everything and, without Kate, there was no evidence.
So nothing happened.
How soon after this did Ron Verger leave the area? Erma few days.
Perhaps less.
Did anyone else know that this had happened? I imagine Samantha told David Hughes.
They were seeing each other at the time and she was so upset by it.
And then Samantha left.
I think everything about this place reminded her of what had happened.
Her parents were destroyed by it.
They didn't know the full story, but their daughter committing suicide They emigrated to Australia.
Sam stayed over here and went to university.
I think she wanted a clean slate.
That's why she never told you.
She wanted to forget about it.
They're going to bury Sam just over there.
This was our favourite place, the three of us.
We used to play here when we were kids.
What was Samantha like? She was just like the rest of us I suppose.
Curious Excitable She was very protective of Kate.
When we were at primary school, Kate had bunches in her hair and the boys used to like to pull them to tease her.
Sam was always straight in there, fists flying.
Fearless if she thought Kate was being hurt.
And when Kate died? She was lonely.
They were always inseparable as children.
I think when Kate passed on, Sam was The way she threw herself into university, and then her career .
.
the affairs she had.
I mean, I'm not a psychologist, but it seems to me they were all in some way a way to escape the loneliness.
Everything she did, everything she devoted her life to, was in some way, a replacement for Kate.
And now they're together again.
I believe that.
Well, that's some comfort.
No, Sergeant Havers.
I really don't think there's any comfort to be had here.
Constable! Nice motor, sir.
She's a Bristol, ain't she? You're a size ten shoe, aren't you? That's right, how did you know? We've wasted resources identifying a bootprint that we thought was a vital part of a murder enquiry, until we discovered it belonged to you! I was the first on the scene, sir.
Bob Harris called me.
If I stepped on anything I'm sorry.
So you So you damn well should be! Please be careful over your tone, sir.
"My tone"? I don't look in the mirror and see a failure, I see a man who has worked hard to gain the respect and trust of the community.
Now I realise you outrank me, but I think I'm owed some respect nonetheless, sir.
Sergeant.
Hello.
I'm very sorry if I've caused you any trouble.
Everyone here's more than keen that you two find whoever did this to that poor woman.
If that's all, I'll get out of your road and be on my way.
Ron Verger.
What can you tell us about him? Ron Verger? That's a while ago.
What about him? I understand from Amanda Gibson that he raped Kate Morgan.
Well, supposedly he did, yeah.
But Kate, God rest her soul, went and did that silly thing before we could press charges.
Verger disappeared anyway.
Yeah, he did, yeah.
He walked out on his wife and his kid.
Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.
Did you question him at the time? Unofficially, I had a quiet word, ma'am, yes.
I told him to go.
Did I do the wrong thing? He raped and caused the death of a fifteen-year-old-girl and got away with it.
Would you have been able to tip your hat to him in the street? That's a terrible story, what happened to Kate.
So it's no surprise they're all glad to see the back of Ron Verger.
And no luck yet trying to trace him.
You know, I think Billy knows more than he's choosing to tell us.
Good view of the priory.
When was this taken? Few weeks ago.
How well did you know Samantha? Not that well.
What are the lines for? It's the Divine Proportion, Havers.
Excuse me? There's a theory that our notion of beauty is all based around the presence of certain shapes.
A perfectly beautiful face, for example, you'd have the eyes, mouth, cheekbones all arranged in a sort of patchwork of rectangles.
How well does Samantha score on that? Not bad.
Someone knows their stuff.
Clearly it isn't me.
It's not just faces, though, is it? You've used the same composition in a lot of these? Most people don't spot it.
I believe the same maths governs sunflower petals and the like.
And fir cones.
What do you do as an encore? I investigate murders.
And how's that working out for you? Are you sending us photographs, Billy? Now why would I do that? You tell me.
When did you last see your father? When I was nine years old, so not recently.
And after that it was just you and your mum, yeah? Until the cancer.
Now it's just me.
Did she never tell you where he went? She never knew.
If she did, she never told me.
Just took off, apparently.
Letters? Birthday cards? No.
What about when your mum was ill? Nothing.
Where were you on Tuesday night? Here.
All night? Yeah.
Can you prove that? No.
D'you think you're the first cops that've tried to intimidate me? You haven't even told me my dad was a rapist yet.
You're not even trying.
How do you feel about that? Obviously, I'm incredibly proud of the old man.
We just want the truth, Billy.
Really? That's not what brought you here though, is it? Meaning? Meaning someone gets killed and the whole village starts pointing the finger in my direction.
What a coincidence.
The same kind of coincidence has my dad disappear into thin air a few days after some girl gets raped.
If you don't believe it, then tell us what happened.
No-one wants to know what I think.
Mokita? What's that? If you know anything relevant to our investigation and you withhold information It's an obstruction of justice.
And we wouldn't want to obstruct justice.
Want to know what I think? I'm on the edge of my seat.
You're leaving us a trail of breadcrumbs to follow because you're just not brave enough to tell us what you know.
That's very deep.
Is it? A picture of the murder victim's on your wall.
The camera's set up to photograph the house she used to live in.
We've recently received a photograph, anonymously, with the victim apparently arguing with a man.
Then someone breaks in to her house and paints a word on the wall, a word that seems to suggest the burglar has some information on this case.
I think there's something you're not telling us.
I haven't got the patience for your childish games.
Is that the time? I really must be getting on.
We'll be talking again.
You can trust us, Billy.
What's the rush all of a sudden? Let me show you.
Something's troubled me about this since the first time I saw it, and I haven't been able to put my finger on what until I saw Billy's photographs in there.
It's actually a cleverly taken photograph because it's in the Divine Proportion.
OK, you're going to have to take me through this slowly, sir.
All right.
About 700 years ago, there was an Italian chap named Leonardo Fibonacci.
Now he came up with a sequence of numbers that appears to define perfection in nature.
So, erm, that's the most pleasing shape to the eye? Exactly! Well, in theory.
You see, if I draw a line here and make a square here, what's left is the same ratio as that with which we started.
So I draw another square there, and another, and so on and so on.
OK, I get it.
So what? Well, then we draw a line connecting the corners of the squares until it becomes a spiral.
Yeah The centre of the spiral is what Billy is leading us to.
This, not this, not Samantha and Turner arguing, but this, a fir tree.
We need to know what Billy's trying to tell us.
Let's go and talk to him again.
I think you're too late.
Yeah, ambulance.
If this really is a suicide attempt, it's a very public one.
I'd like to go with him.
When he comes round, he might talk.
Dawkins! Good.
Come inside, there's a computer inside I need you to see.
No, you see, the thing's passworded.
I've got some software back at the office that should be able to bypass it, but Try Fibonacci.
Right, F-I-B-O N-A-C-C-I.
No.
Mokita.
Try mokita.
M-O-K-I T-A.
Right, bingo.
It's just photographs, by the look of it.
Loads of them.
Go through all of them, yeah? What for? Not entirely sure yet, but, er, anything unusual.
If you spot anything, I'll be on my mobile.
Okey-doke.
This is what Billy wants us to see.
But why? Why this tree? There are no other coniferous trees around.
Uh? You're absolutely right, Paula.
So why is it here? Why has he brought us here? You'll notice how the roots have grown up right through him.
Why wasn't the body discovered before? Gun dogs ran all over this area for years.
We found a layer of what I think will turn out to be ash.
Someone built a bonfire over the grave.
Ash masks the scent of the body.
Hopefully, he can be identified from dental records.
Could you tell how he died? His neck's broken.
By the look of it, he could've been hanged.
How long before we can confirm all that? We've got to preserve evidence in the grave, so it'll take us the best part of a day to get him out.
After that, depending on pathology, another few hours to confirm ID and cause of death.
MOBILE RINGS Lynley.
'It's Dawkins, sir.
' I've got something you need to see.
Welcome back to the land of the living.
Wasn't the idea.
Billy.
They found the body under the tree.
Who is it, Billy? Is it your dad, Billy? So most of it is arty Photoshop stuff and I was ready to write it all off, until I found this folder.
That's Samantha in the kitchen.
When were they taken? Twelve minutes past one, two days ago.
That's moments before she was shot.
Can you enhance it? I'll give it a go.
I was nine years old.
And someone came to the house looking for Dad.
He wouldn't let me go with him.
He took his coat.
We'd been collecting fir cones and I'd put one in his pocket.
And then I followed him into the woods.
I was scared.
Voices People coming near I hid, thought I'd get into trouble I saw him Who did you see, Billy? Billy, who did you see? Dad I saw Dad With people With people shouting She told me not to tell anyone.
Who said that? She said I imagined it.
She said that he'd gone away.
She said that it was a bad dream.
Who said that, Billy? Liz Liz? Liz Hughes? She said Not to tell anyone about the dream And I haven't said a word.
Until now.
Who have you told, Billy? Samantha I told Samantha.
Yeah, it's Ron Verger.
Liz Hughes told him to forget all about it.
Do you believe him? Right, go and talk to Liz Hughes.
Find out what she knows.
Something's coming through.
I'll call you back.
There's someone there.
It's the killer.
Billy's caught the killer on camera.
You must be able to enhance this, Dawkins.
It's gonna be tricky.
I've come to talk to you about Billy Verger.
Oh, what about him? Well, I'm afraid to say he's taken an overdose.
Oh, no Well, is he? He's going to be OK.
But I need to ask you a few questions.
You see, Billy's been talking about the death of his dad.
And we've found the remains of a body up at the Priory.
MOBILE RINGS Havers.
I'm at the pub.
Who's there with you? I want you to get out of there as quickly and as quietly as you can.
I don't understand, sir.
Well, how did he? He's here.
Havers? HavBarbara? Call the Armed Response Unit, get them to the Queen's Head as quickly as possible.
You've been on the wrong end of one of these recently, so you'll know not to do anything silly.
Pat, what are you doing? Why don't you come over and join everyone, Liz? Unless anyone needs a drink? No? Come on.
And you.
They know about you.
He's a clever man, your boss, isn't he? Put the phone down, please.
Pat, what's going on? The game's up, ladies and gentlemen.
Our old friend Ron Verger appears to have risen from the grave, so to speak.
Then it's over.
Well, we'll see about that.
No, it's OVER.
What will you achieve by locking us up? Just doing my job.
Your job? Protecting this village.
No, Pat.
Not any more.
What's this, a mutiny? It's sense.
It's sense, is it? Was it sense to come to me, you two, in the middle of the night, demanding justice? Let's not forget who started this.
You should have seen them, the blood-lust they had for Verger for what he did to that girl.
Wasn't much sense going on that night, was there? Eh? And now he hangs his head.
They all hang their heads.
Not the night you all stood by and watched me string him up.
So it was you.
You killed him.
No.
We all killed him.
I put the noose around his neck.
I hauled him up.
But they were there, they all complied.
And I stand by what we did.
This uniform would make no difference to that man's fate.
Not after what that poor girl did to herself.
He'd still be walking around today, with how many more ruined lives in his wake? Hmm? You know what? I've heard every argument there is for vigilantism and none of them hold any water.
And even if it did, it wouldn't excuse you of killing Samantha Walthew.
Samantha? They don't know? Right little fox in the hen house, aren't you? She'd found out what happened.
That Billy Verger told her.
Turns out he saw the whole thing, nine-year-old kid hiding in the bushes, watching his dad receiving justice.
She knows about Billy, don't you, Liz? She even feels sorry for him.
Nobody should have to see that.
He tried to kill himself.
Only tried? Shame.
you killed Sam? He knew.
She was going to go to the police.
She was going to tell them.
You were going to talk to her.
Did I say that? Or did I say I'd take care of it? Grown man come to me to sort out his mess.
You killed her! To protect you all! What? From Sam? From my best friend? A woman who'd spent fifteen years of her life grieving for her dead sister and you murder her? She wasn't going to listen to reason.
She didn't know about it at the time.
Why would she condone what we did? Why should anyone? We were just teenagers.
I've lived with the image of him hanging there, dead, for half my life.
I regret it every day.
We did it for Kate, to finish things.
Not for Samantha to die! Oh, really? Who's all nice and cosy with the bereaved husband, eh? Didn't take you very long, did it? Get your hands off! You're as guilty as him.
You think I wanted her dead? I told him to persuade her not to say anything.
Not this.
The footprints.
Hmm? Your footprint contaminated the crime scene.
But you did it deliberately, so that we would eliminate you.
Not just a pretty face, are you? That's why you left the body there.
You knew the only person to find it would be Bob Harris because he was poaching the area.
You knew he'd find the body and call you first.
And I turn up with my big size tens.
Oh, here come the cavalry.
Inspector Lynley? There's a policeman in there, likely armed.
He's taken hostages, including my sergeant.
Is he armed? She.
No.
Sir? Stay in position.
That's your way out.
I don't think so.
Come on.
Come on, Havers.
Pick up.
Where are you going? This is over.
What the hell were we thinking? This is over.
Not yet it's not.
Sit down! Do you know what's happening out there? I can imagine.
A firearms team will be preparing to come in here.
Not if they're sensible.
You know what you're up against! Trust me, ma'am.
They're not taking any of us alive.
I'd sit down if I were you! No! I'm serious, Philip.
So am I.
SCREAMS Get down! MOBILE RINGS Let me answer it.
No! If I answer, you can negotiate a way out of here.
They want me, they come in and get me.
That goes for all of us.
You've lost your mind.
I'll ignore that! None of us want this.
You want to be careful what you wish for, boy.
He's still alive.
Amanda, put some pressure on the wound, try and stem the bleeding.
Yes.
Let them go, keep me.
Don't be stupid! I've got to go in.
No.
We have shots fired now.
I'm the ranking officer.
Not once guns are involved you're not.
If anyone goes in, it's us.
Sergeant Havers? I wasn't there the night this happened.
I don't know anything about it.
You knew about it after, Liz.
Billy told you.
You're an accessory after the fact.
What could I do? This whole village knew.
A man disappears in the middle of the night, a man like that? This whole place knew what had happened to him, but no-one asked.
No-one said.
And do you know why? Because they were relieved.
That man was a disease, he was a blight on this place.
Was it my idea to go down this road, mmm? No.
You two, you come to me and ask for help.
So I helped you.
I helped you find justice and protect this community from people like Ron Verger.
And when Samantha decided she was too weak to stomach the vengeance taken in her dead sister's name, I protected you again! ConstableConstable! You have to give yourself up.
Oh, really? And are you going to make me, Sergeant Havers? Are you so very brave looking down the barrel of a gun all of a sudden? I'd keep quiet if I were you.
You might have got lucky before, but if I shoot you, you won't be lucky twice.
This is gratitude? You want to walk away? You want to hold up your hands and tell them what you did was wrong? HE SHOUTS It wasn't wrong! And I won't let you do that! We're shoulder-to-shoulder here.
BLAM! Get in there.
Help her! Go, go, go! Stay down! Easy, easy.
It's OK! Come on.
It's OK.
Shhit's OK.
And we now commit her body to the ground.
Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
In sure and certain hope that the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our frail bodies that they may be conformed to His glorious body, who died, was buried, and rose again for us.
To Him be glory forever.
Amen.
I'm not sure how such a small village recovers from something like this.
Maybe it doesn't.
I feel terrible you had to go through all that again.
It wasn't your fault, sir.
You know, all these months, you never talked to me about the shooting.
How you felt about it.
You didn't have to throw yourself on Garrett to prove that you're not afraid.
I know you can do the job, Barbara.
I woke up in the hospital and I didn't remember it.
And then it slowly came back to me and I realised that it happened.
That I'd actually been shot and all I could think about is what if it had been an inch to the left, or an inch higher You were lucky.
Yes, I was.
But Samantha wasn't.
I'm here and she's not.
You know, for a while I thought, "There's been a mistake, I'm not meant to be here.
" And then in the pub when Garrett put that gun in my face I thought, "This is it.
" And then I decided, I don't know why, I just thought, "I'm not going to accept that.
" I was angry.
So angry.
You certainly were.
And I was frightened.
But, you know, something's shifted.
Yeah.
You seem different.
Do I? Definitely.
You seem stronger.
Yeah.
I am.
So have you booked your cruise yet? Yeah, somehow bingo and ballroom dancing doesn't seem exciting.
I'm not going to stand in your way if you've decided to be sensible with the money.
And if I haven't? You HAVE decided what you're going to spend it on! What? You'll have to wait and see.
BBC Broadcast 2005