The Murdoch Mysteries (2004) s09e04 Episode Script

Barenaked Ladies

Tommy! Tommy? Tommy Baker, have you not heard me calling you? We're already late getting back Oh, for the love of God.
You're going to get it when you get home.
People, I need to you stay back and stay calm.
There's really nothing to nothing to see here.
Just stay back.
Where did the statue come from? No one knows.
It certainly wasn't commissioned.
A nude not commissioned by our city fathers Why am I not surprised? I must say it's very good.
She looks almost real.
Yes, well, perhaps she should be in a gallery where the craftsmanship can be more fully appreciated.
Craftsmanship William, say what you really mean.
She's bare-naked in a city park.
It's a civil outrage.
Which you seem to be thoroughly enjoying.
I certainly am.
A stir is clearly what the artist intended.
Sir! Sir, get back here! This vulgar display is an affront to decency! Sir! Sir! Give me that! Oh, my God.
Sir.
Doctor.
What is it, George? I believe this is no ordinary work of art.
No wonder she was so lifelike.
Electroplated? So she was covered in metal like a trophy? - Yes, sir.
- That's a new one.
It certainly is.
There must be a logical explanation.
I don't think you'll find much logic in this business, Murdoch.
I am rather pleased my first case back in the morgue is something so unique.
Crikey.
It's extraordinary.
She's been perfectly preserved.
- Why cover her in wax? - It likely has to do with the electroplating process.
I did read about a patent for electroplating corpses issued in France some years ago.
We'd all be better off if they stuck to wine, cheese and bloody frog's legs.
The waxy substance likely contains pulverized nitrate of silver.
The body is then immersed in copper sulphate and the electrical current is applied.
The result is a metallic mummy, as it were.
Well, sirs, perhaps this is some sort of publicity stunt.
An advertisement, as it were, to promote a novel, new way to remember your loved ones.
Cast them in metal; preserve them for all of eternity.
Perhaps put some clothes on them Crabtree, stop being such a happy dafty.
So this is no amateur job, Murdoch.
No, it's not.
George, were you able to find any information - on electroplating facilities? - Yes, sir.
There's only one electroplating factory in Toronto.
We actually had cause to visit there on another case some years ago.
You may recall the name of the factory owner was James Kirkham.
Right, Doctor, we'll leave you to figure out how the girl died.
- It could be natural causes, Inspector.
- I know.
It's never murder until it's murder.
Gentlemen.
As you can see, this process can't be done on organic material, certainly not on a human body.
My detective thinks otherwise, Mr.
Kirkham.
Well, think all you want.
I'm telling you it can't be done.
Perhaps you would care to see what's in our morgue.
What if the body was coated in silver nitrate? That would interact with the ions in the copper bath, - chemically speaking.
- Then the copper would adhere to the silver.
- Yes.
- So it is possible.
I've just said it's chemically possible.
I remind you this is a police investigation, Mr.
Kirkham.
Who has access to this plant? That would be the men who work here.
- Do you employ a night watchman? - No, none of this equipment is easy to pilfer.
I'd prefer the Constabulary not suggest anything untoward happened here.
I don't want my business jeopardized.
Good day, gentlemen.
The body had to be electroplated here.
It's the only factory in town.
Unless someone had a private facility.
That seems unlikely.
See what you can find out about the victim.
Sir.
She was stabbed.
A single thrust to the heart.
The wound was very clean, suggesting the knife was pushed in and withdrawn at the same angle.
Which led you to believe that she was incapacitated when she was killed? Yes.
I analyzed her stomach contents.
She had drunk and eaten shortly before she died.
I found significant amounts of the sedative sulfonal.
He wanted her unconscious.
She died approximately eighteen hours ago.
The killer waited until rigor had set in.
Then once rigor was fully in evidence and the body was fixed in the pose, he set about the task of electroplating.
It's quite the operation.
She sat down to share a meal with her killer.
It might have been someone she knew.
Someone she trusted.
- Who is she, William? - George is looking into the missing persons.
Someone has to have reported her disappearance.
Sir? Do you think there is a real body inside this one? - Most likely, George.
- Strange and unsettling, isn't it, sir? Indeed it is.
Did the man who found it move it in any way? No sir, he was so shaken by the sight of the thing he has sworn himself off drink.
And he has no idea how it came to be here? He says when he fell asleep he had the bench to himself.
It wasn't until first light when he awoke and he realized he had company.
Sir Please move along, sir.
The murder of the second victim was a match to the first.
Sedated and killed by a single stab wound to the heart.
- Quite possibly the same weapon.
- I see.
Anything else? I believe they may have been murdered within minutes of each other.
So both alive at the same time and with the killer.
Yes.
It seems they may have eaten together.
I found the same stomach contents, including sulfonal.
But they weren't electroplated at the same time.
Lividity suggests the second woman was electroplated some twelve hours after she died.
So one killer could have worked alone.
It's quite possible.
Have you identified them yet? No.
None of the missing persons match either of their descriptions.
They were both young women, aged by hard living.
They could have been prostitutes.
I see.
I'll have the constables canvass St.
John's Ward.
Oy, you there.
Have you seen either of these women? Have you seen either of these women? - No.
- Are you sure? Take your time.
- Bloody rozzers.
- Hey, you two - Move it, Cora! - George come back here! Keep your hands off us.
Men usually pay good money for that.
- Who are they? - Sir, this couple of "ladies" tried to evade us.
- We figured they might know something.
- I have to warn you, sir, they're not inclined to cooperate.
Ladies, I'm Detective Murdoch, and I'd like to ask you Save your breath.
We don't talk to coppers.
We are trying to identify these two women.
- Can you help us? - Who's asking? Doctor Julia Ogden.
- And you are? - Ginny.
Just Ginny.
And this is Cora.
These two women are lying in the city morgue.
- They've been murdered.
- We keep to ourselves, missus.
Is that why you ran when the constables approached you? We don't get involved in what don't concern us, do we, Ginny? Well, perhaps you don't, but I won't allow these women to go to their graves nameless.
I think they deserve better.
We open our mouths; the killer comes after us next.
Telling me what you know may help us catch a murderer.
- Don't you want that? - Sorry to interrupt, Doctor.
You're needed.
Excuse me.
It's the park behind the Normal School this time.
A third victim, Julia.
It would appear we have a sequential killer on our hands.
Look how the body has been posed.
He's arranging each of his victims in a different way.
- He's sending us a message.
- The question is: what? I'm almost finished here, William.
Sorry, ma'am.
I can come back later.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I thought you were my husband.
We haven't met yet.
- Doctor Julia Ogden.
- Rebecca James.
I clean at nights.
You the new coroner? In a manner of speaking, yes.
Oh, no, not another one of those statue murders! You've been following the news? I'm no sensationalist, Doctor.
But the notion of encasing corpses That would preserve every small detail.
I would think it would make your job a bit easier.
Indeed it does.
That's very well-observed, Miss James.
I'll let you get back to your work.
Thank you, Doctor.
As if we haven't got enough to deal with, these naked statues are causing havoc across the city.
You've got whatever you need to get it sorted, and that's orders from above.
So nothing on who these women are yet? No sir, though it seems possible that they were all prostitutes.
So we've got a Ripper type on our hands.
Sir, do you recall a case a few years ago, - in Hamilton, I believe - Yes, there was a fellow going around killing doxies.
They caught him, had plenty of evidence to convict, but the bastard got off on a technicality.
Uh Dray.
Arthur, Albert, Alfred, something like that.
Yes, sir.
Perhaps Mr.
Dray is up to his old tricks.
No.
It couldn't be him, Murdoch.
He was killed shortly after he got out.
For you, William.
- Good morning, Inspector.
- Thank you.
- Good morning, Doctor.
Late night, I gather.
- Indeed.
The killing of the third victim follows the pattern.
Same stomach contents, same sedative.
And the stab wound with the same weapon.
So he drugged, then killed them all together.
These sequential killers are bloody devils.
Sir, I don't believe we're dealing with a sequential killer.
He gathered them all in the same place and killed them at the same time.
There's no development or progression to his actions.
Unless these are only the first of his victims.
- Well, that's a cheering thought, Doctor.
- Though he doesn't follow a sequential pattern, turning his victims into statues suggests a pathology even more curious.
Sounds to me like he's taunting us.
Doesn't this kind of killer often want to be caught? But he leaves nothing to point to himself.
Instead, he shines a lantern on his victims by displaying them publicly.
He wants the women to be looked at.
- But only after they're killed.
- Is he honouring them in some strange way? Or humiliating them? Well, that would certainly fit with the nakedness.
Or is he just killing for the fun of it and then boasting - about it afterwards? - Yes, William.
Look at the pattern in the wax coating? Is it some kind of hieroglyph? - What is it? - Sir, I believe we need to pay Mr.
Kirkham another visit.
- The same pattern.
- Mr.
Kirkham, I'm going to need a list of all your employees as well as anyone who may have had access to this facility.
Well, that will take some time to compile.
Then you'd better get started.
Lack of cooperation and no expression of concern for the dead women.
- He's our man, Murdoch.
- What would his motive be? Killing for the sheer pleasure, like the doctor said, or any other bloody thing.
I don't know.
The women were put in his copper bath and - that puts him top of the list.
- Sirs, I just spoke to a workman who saw one of our dead women enter the building across the way three nights ago.
Apparently it's a place ladies of the night take their escorts.
You look into that, Murdoch.
I'll ride roughshod over our friend Kirkham.
Looks like somebody took a meal here, sir.
It certainly does.
Bread and wine.
Grease from meat.
Blood, George.
The women were killed here.
He then prepared their bodies, transported them across the street for electroplating, - each one in turn.
- Sir, whoever did this put a great deal of thought into it.
There must be a very specific reason to go to such lengths.
Indeed.
And that reason will be the key to solving these murders, George.
They said at the station house I'd find you here.
I should've spoken up earlier, but I didn't know if I could trust you Y'know, to find the killer.
Well you've come to the right place.
I'll do everything in my power to see that he is caught.
You have my word.
I saw what happened.
- I saw the statue in the park.
It was terrible.
- You were there? I know who she is.
I know who they all are.
Do you have their names? Doreen Booth was the first.
Then Fern Mason.
Elsie Black was the last one.
We worked on the streets together.
- Dr.
Julia Ogden.
It's alright! - I should go.
I shouldn't have come here in the first place.
William, I'll be there as soon as possible.
- No, please don't go, Ginny.
- No, let me go, missus.
I've said enough.
Julia.
Number four.
Another park, another pose.
This one has no facial features.
What are you thinking? There's something oddly familiar about the way this one is posed.
I can't quite It looks familiar.
The way her arms are outstretched, - like a gesture of giving? - Yes.
But how does it relate to the others? Detective Murdoch.
The fourth statue, William.
No corpse.
Just a mannequin with no facial features.
Clearly intentional on the part of the killer.
What does it represent? And how does it fit - with the other murdered women? - Perhaps the blank face - suggests someone who is absent or missing.
- Or next.
What if the mannequin is the focus of this whole thing? Maybe The killer is recreating The Last Supper.
Very clever, but by my count, there are thirteen at The Last Supper.
You're not suggesting that we could be expecting nine more corpses? If the killer intends to replicate the entire painting, there may be.
So the mannequin represents Jesus.
Yes.
And the three electroplated corpses represent Peter, Judas and Thomas, all three apostles who betrayed their Lord.
Could that be the killer's message? He was betrayed.
Interestingly, Da Vinci placed all three very close to Jesus.
- So who's this? - That would be John, the apostle Jesus favoured most.
You think the electroplater was betrayed by the three women - and killing them is his revenge? - Or he killed them to send a message to whomever actually betrayed him.
Y'mean some maniac is killing women he didn't know just to send a message? It's possible.
They were prostitutes - and expendable in the eyes of most.
- Ginny and Cora may have seen something.
Perhaps they'll confide in you, Julia.
- Thank you, missus.
- You're welcome.
So what do you want? Your help.
Just leave us alone.
We have to trust her, Cora.
What other choice do we have? Did you see Doreen, or Fern, or Elsie with anyone - in particular three nights ago? - No.
Anyone could've picked them up.
They worked for themselves, like us.
So they weren't part of a brothel? Not anymore.
They moved to Toronto once their house in Hamilton closed.
- And when was that? - Two years ago.
After the owner, Sally Brown, was hanged.
- Hanged? - She killed that monster, Albert Dray.
- She did the right thing, too.
- He murdered her girls and she loved her girls, didn't she, Ginny? We were like family.
So you were part of the same house? Yeah, we were.
And then we all came to Toronto.
There's not many of us left.
Sally protected us back then.
Nobody's protecting us now.
So you have no idea who could be doing this? No.
The victims were all prostitutes from the same Hamilton household.
And the owner of the brothel was hanged - for killing Albert Dray.
- If the killer chose his victims from the same house, why? Someone mimicking Albert Dray? How does a copycat fit with message of The Last Supper? We need the files from the Dray case.
It seems clear that Sally Brown murdered Albert Dray.
The murder weapon was found in her room and she offered no defense.
What does the Dray case got to do with our friend Mr.
Kirkham? - Sir? - Well, the dead girls were electroplated in his factory.
We should be taking that place apart.
Establishing motive may be the most efficient approach - to solving this case, sir.
- The method of murder suggests a very disturbed psyche.
Right.
You've one more day on the psychological mumbo jumbo road, and then we're tearing that factory apart.
Got it? "The mumbo jumbo road"? If I didn't know the Inspector better, I would say that that was a challenge.
Well then, let's take it.
There's mention of a priest here, Father Raymond.
He was a character witness in Sally Brown's trial.
Yes, I knew Sally Brown.
I visited her many times after she converted to Catholicism.
She became devout.
Yes, a true believer.
I think it gave her comfort to know she was joining her Lord and Saviour in the afterlife.
Did she ever speak of Albert Dray? Only to say that he deserved to die.
She never denied she was guilty of the crime, although I suspected there was a lot more to the sordid business.
In what way? I believe she went to the gallows protecting someone.
I begged her to talk to me about it, but she refused all my efforts.
It's your belief that she didn't kill Albert Dray? I strongly suspect that she did not, Detective.
But since she refused to speak, I could do nothing about it.
But, mark my words, whoever did this cannot hide from the eyes of God.
They will be punished, - in this world or the next.
- Harsh words from the mouth of a priest, Father.
I think Our Lord will grant me a less than charitable response to those that deserve it.
Doctor Ogden.
Oh, hello again, Miss James.
I'm very sorry.
I will change my hours to better fit your work.
I don't recall the previous coroner - working quite so late.
- No, don't let me disturb you.
I'm just here to collect some papers.
I see Shelley is particularly dusty this evening.
I'm sorry? The previous coroner named him Shelley.
I see.
I couldn't help noticing that this bone is at an odd angle.
Yes, it seems the poor fellow had a fracture - that didn't heal properly.
- So the clavicle doesn't lay horizontally.
- You know anatomy.
- A little.
Bones are endlessly intriguing.
- But I should let you go.
- Yes.
My husband will be waiting.
Then I wish you good night.
Thank you.
Although I have a feeling my day's work is far from over.
Albert Dray was killed on March 29th, on Hamilton Harbour.
According to the Hamilton coroner, Mr.
Dray died from multiple stab wounds.
And listen to this, William.
They found laudanum in his stomach.
He was also sedated.
- Like our victims.
- Sedated and stabbed.
Coincidence? I think not.
What else? He sustained five stab wounds.
Look at this photo.
According to the report, this is the fatal wound.
The knife entered at an oblique angle.
So it would be impossible to determine with absolute accuracy the dimensions of the weapon? I ask because this is the knife that was found in Sally Brown's room.
It could be the murder weapon.
And what of these wounds? I'll need to study them.
Right.
I'll order some supper.
Thank you.
William.
Look at these two cuts to the upper abdomen.
Based on the different points of entry, one was a right-handed blow, the other left-handed.
Two killers.
These wounds on his torso are so distinct I believe they were inflicted by five different weapons.
Multiple killers.
The Hamilton police should have seen this.
Yes, well, this does suggest a less than thorough investigation.
Once the knife was found in Sally Brown's room, the detective on the case focused all of his attention on her.
She was arrested and charged within hours.
- Did she speak in her own defense? - Oh, yes.
"The monster is in hell where he belongs.
For that I am well pleased.
" So Sally Brown signed her own death warrant.
Right.
Let's go over this again, Julia.
Five stab wounds inflicted by five different weapons.
So likely five different killers.
The properties of the wounds suggest they were inflicted - at the same time.
- Five killers were working together.
Mr.
Dray's victims all came from the same brothel.
And when Mr.
Dray was released without being charged Sally Brown and four others sought justice and killed him, - a group acting as one.
- But what about the copper statues and The Last Supper? - We're missing something here.
- Yes, but it's late, William.
I have to go to bed.
I'm exhausted.
You coming? I'll be along shortly.
Julia.
Julia.
- Julia.
Wake up! - William.
What time is it? It's I don't know, I don't know.
Listen to me, Julia.
Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and in doing so, sent him to his death.
- What are you talking about? - It all fits.
Peter denied knowing His Lord.
- Thomas doubted the resurrection.
- William, slow down.
- I'm completely lost.
- A constable interviewed three women at the Hamilton brothel the night that Albert Dray was murdered.
They were Doreen Booth, Fern Mason and Elsie Black.
- Our three victims.
- Yes.
The constable spoke with Doreen first.
According to his notes, she told him that Sally was with Albert Dray - at the time of the murder.
- Doreen was the first statue.
Judas, right? Judas the Betrayer.
And that's not all.
Fern - The Peter statue.
- Yes.
Apparently, Sally told the constable that she was with Fern that night.
- But Fern - Let me guess: denied that.
Exactly.
She was asked a number of times and in each instance she said that she was not - with Sally that night.
- And what about Elsie? Elsie was asked to corroborate the events of that evening.
But she said she doubted her memory because she had drank too much.
She couldn't be sure of anything.
Elsie was the third statue Doubting Thomas.
So with everything pointing in one direction, Sally is charged - with the murder.
- Despite compelling forensic evidence suggesting multiple killers.
And Sally goes to her grave without breathing a word.
William.
What if Sally, Doreen, Fern, and Elsie made a pact to kill Dray? They agreed to stick to the same story if they were questioned.
Then under pressure three of them crumbled and the blame went to Sally.
Someone is exacting revenge on those who got away - with Mr.
Dray's murder.
- Julia, there are five killers.
Counting Sally Brown, four of them are dead.
That means one of them is still out there.
If we are right, there is still one more statue the killer must cast.
Sir, we've ascertained the motive for the electroplates murders.
It dates back to the Albert Dray murder.
Five people killed him but only one was hanged.
- Sally Brown.
- Yes, sir.
What if someone is seeking revenge because only Sally was punished? - He's killed three already.
- And the remaining murderer - is likely the next victim.
- Which would explain the Last Supper tableau.
Sally being the central figure, the faceless mannequin.
And the others, her apostles, were the accomplices.
- That may be and it's a very nice story.
- Story? Consider this, Doctor.
Albert Dray was nothing more than a low life thug.
Sally Brown was a prostitute.
You're saying that someone in their circle - is an aficionado of Leonardo Da Vinci? - It's possible.
And when that someone is not busy appreciating the world of fine art, he's learning how to electroplate a human body? You two are ignoring the obvious.
The killer is James Kirkham, the man who owns the bloody factory where the bodies were turned into statues.
He must have known Albert Dray and is avenging his murder.
Excuse me for a moment.
He hates it when I'm right.
We'll see.
Detective Murdoch, I know you're busy but I thought of something else, a small detail.
I'm not sure it has anything to do with your investigation, - but nevertheless - Please.
Go on, Father.
When I went to hear Sally Brown's final confession, she asked me to give her Bible to a friend of hers.
- Who was this? - One of her girls, I believe.
- Ginny Beasley.
- Oh.
Ginny.
- You know her? - We've spoken with her.
Well, Sally asked me to write an inscription in the Bible.
I remember it quite clearly "To my faithful friend.
In my hour of darkness - you were always at my side.
" - Have you ever met Ginny? Once, at the prison.
Ginny was Sally's only visitor.
Sally refused to talk to anyone but she may have confided in Ginny.
She might be our last victim.
If she isn't already.
George, Henry.
- We need to find Ginny straight away.
- Sir.
Higgins.
There.
Miss! Wait! Stop! What do you want now? You need to come down to the station, miss.
- And where's your friend Cora? - I don't know.
Have a look for her, Higgins.
You come with me.
Why am I here? What do you know about the plan to kill Albert Dray? I don't know anything.
You were close to Sally Brown.
She must have said something.
We now believe Doreen, Fern, and Elsie murdered Albert Dray along with Sally.
And that's why they were killed.
Who else was involved? Were you one of them? We need your help to catch whoever's bent on revenge.
Albert Dray was a vile creature.
- What he did to our friends - Were you the fifth murderer? - No.
- But you knew of the plan to murder him.
Only what Sally told me after.
She was the one who lured him into the house and drugged him.
Then they all took him to the harbour and stabbed him.
What happened after that? Well, they were supposed to say they were nowhere near Dray, but that copper, he got hold of Doreen.
Said if she didn't tell him what she knew, he was going to throw her in prison.
He would have done it, too.
I saw him with her.
She was crying.
That's when I guessed what they'd all done.
- So Doreen gave up Sally.
- Yeah.
She said Sally was with Dray that night.
Then the others caved in when he started bullying them.
They searched Sally's room, found the knife She was hanged while the others went free.
And now someone is murdering them.
Who? - I don't know.
- Have you ever heard the name James Kirkham? Kirkham? Yeah, there was a Mr.
Kirkham that used to come around the house.
- Really? - Yeah.
He was one of Sally's.
He came regular to see her.
Anything else? Well, he was very upset when she was arrested.
Said the law had it all wrong, that killing Dray was doing the world a favour.
Let's go, Murdoch.
Until the murderer is apprehended, this is the safest place.
Dr.
Ogden will stay with you.
It would appear your initial instincts were correct.
- Kirkham is our killer.
- Basic police logic.
One thing puzzles, sir.
If Kirkham said that killing Dray was doing the world a favour, then why murder the women who killed him? You've been spending too much time with Dr.
Ogden.
Anyway.
What more do you need? The fellow is mad.
Mad as a March hare.
Sally never said a word about the others.
- She was a good woman.
- You were close? She took me in when I was alone on the streets.
She didn't have to do that.
You felt safe under her roof? I did.
I didn't set out for this life, missus, but once it happened, there was no turning back.
I was what I was, still a doxy entertaining men every night, but she looked after me.
No one ever did that for me before.
She counted you as a friend right 'til the end.
- Well, I wasn't.
- She thought you were.
That's why she wanted you to have her Bible.
You can take comfort in that, Ginny.
Well, how can I? I did nothing to help her.
- Why am I here, may I ask? - We can prove that the bodies were electroplated at your factory.
- That may be but I didn't do it.
- Were you a friend of Albert Dray? - Certainly not.
I never met the man.
- We now know that you were one of Miss Brown's regulars at her Hamilton brothel.
That's absurd.
Do I look like the kind of man who visits prostitutes? Listen, I know the kind of thrall that a woman of her talents can have on a man.
You were upset when you lost her.
You knew that she didn't kill Dray on her own, so you decided to punish the other women yourself Electroplating them into naked statues to humiliate them.
I don't know what you are talking about.
- I never went near Hamilton.
- Mr.
Kirkham, I have my constables checking hansom cabs for regular fares between the Hamilton railway station and Miss Brown's former address.
Now, are you telling me that you won't be recognized as a frequent visitor? - Of course I won't.
- In my experience, cab drivers have got very good memories, sir.
I might have gone to Hamilton on business.
By way of a brothel? Alright, alright, I'll admit I was at Miss Brown's establishment on more than one occasion.
I was assured discretion was utmost at her house.
- Right.
You're under arrest.
- That's absurd.
I don't know Albert Dray from a hole in the wall.
Why should I go after the women who killed him? You wouldn't.
But you would go after the women who betrayed Sally Brown.
Who let her hang for their crimes.
Why should I give - a damn about Sally Brown? - She was the woman you were seeing.
- I was not.
- You were at the brothel.
I was, but not to see Sally Brown.
I was the customer of - a younger lady.
- Who? Pretty English girl.
- Ginny is her name.
- Ginny Beasley? We weren't on last name terms, Detective.
Mr.
Kirkham, does Ginny know that you have an electroplating factory? Yes, she does.
After the Hamilton house closed, we would rendezvous at my office - after business hours.
- So she would know her way around the facility? She took quite an interest in the place, actually How it all works, that sort of thing.
- Quite unusual for a girl of - Excuse me.
- Where is she? - She asked for a cup of tea.
I went to fix it.
Julia.
Ginny is the murderer.
- Ginny? Why? - The three women weren't murdered to avenge Albert Dray.
Ginny murdered them to avenge Sally Brown.
She was in front of us the whole time? Doreen, Fern, and Elsie betrayed Sally Brown.
That's the meaning of The Last Supper.
Sally is Jesus.
She wanted us to figure this out.
Remember the inscription in the Bible that Sally gave to her? "To my faithful friend " John was the faithful friend to Jesus.
That's it.
Ginny must see herself as John, avenging Sally by punishing all of those who betrayed her.
But who is the final victim? She intends to complete the tableau.
Ginny! Ginny?! Oh, Ginny.
Sally's Bible.
The inscription's been crossed out.
Sally was offering forgiveness but Ginny couldn't bring herself to accept it.
Ginny never saw herself as blameless.
But in her view of justice, they should have gotten away with killing Albert Dray.
And they would have, had they all had stuck together.
Yes, they would.
But after Sally was hanged, Ginny's guilt turned into hatred and then everyone had to be punished.
Ginny always intended to kill herself as well.
I believe so, but she had to get her message out first.
Dray escaping justice set into motion a tragic sequence of events.
Yes.
Although I think the tragedy began with whatever warped Dray's psyche in the first place, compelling him to murder.
Ever the psychiatrist, even as you are again our coroner.
- You must be tired.
- I'm thoroughly exhausted.
Well, then, I propose a light supper, an early night and no files.
No files? How refreshing.
Although I have to say nothing is more exciting than working with you again.
Well, maybe one thing.
Shall we, then? Dear Miss James, may I suggest you look at Chapter Two on Osteology.
I think you may find it enlightening.
Sincerely, Julia Ogden.

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