Death of a Hollow Man
All right, Dave?
- Steady. - Sorry.
Down here.
You'll give yourself indigestion.
I don't want to be late.
No one turns up to rehearsals on time.
The costumes arrived yesterday.
They are so beautiful.
I don't know where Harold finds the money.
Well, the economy's booming.
No doubt Harold's exports and imports are booming too.
And there are dark rumours of a change in venue.
Apparently, the Corn Exchange is no longer good enough for him.
Was it ever?
You haven't finished your supper, Harold.
Dinner, woman. Dinner.
How many times do you have to be told?
I'm sorry, Harold, I'm sorry.
Did you get all the Amadeus publicity out?
Oh yes, Harold, yes.
That is, I haven't done the Ferndale Centre.
It's just a long way. There's no direct bus route.
I-I was wondering, would you mind taking...?
When you see Peter Hall running around sticking up posters,
let me know.
I shall be happy to join him.
Hello, Dierdre.
Oh!
How are things?
I'm running late.
Couldn't settle Daddy for ages.
Bad again, is he?
You could say that.
What can I do?
Shall I... shall I set up for you?
Oh, thank you, David!
I need that little pie-crust table with the cakes on.
And Salieri's wing chair.
Right.
Ooooo!
Does that look Viennese, that?
Very Blue Danube.
Every time I get roped into this,
I tell myself it'll be the last time.
Don't we all?
- Cully coming over this way, is she? - Oh yes!
Never misses if her mother's in it.
She um...
she brought any boys home yet?
Who, Joyce?
Yeah. One or two.
I wish David would...
He's not getting any younger.
I'd love to see him if not settled, at least going out with someone.
Well, he will.
Just hasn't met her yet.
Yeah.
Three copies of "Notes From A Small Island".
Two.
I knew that girl with the Mickey Mouse rucksack was up to no good.
Appassionata.
Two, four.
Now they're bringing them back.
You just don't mark stuff off!
Well I still think we should have done this on Sunday.
Ah, but then Harold won't be running round incandescent with rage
because we've missed rehearsal.
There's no fun if you can't see it.
Nicholas can act it out when he gets back.
He'll enjoy that.
I believe he's got a secret passion, our Nico.
Well, it's not for dusting.
I think he's having an affair.
- Hello, Rosa! - Ah, Nico!
The costumes come in?
Shall I hear your lines?
No, I'm all right. I think.
- Careful. - Is Joyce here?
Green room.
Oh, let's have a look.
Nico, don't start pulling them about.
Wow, is this one mine?
No, it's the Emperor Joseph's.
Careful, mind that wig!
I'd give anything to play Mercutio.
Get Amadeus out of your system first.
Salieri.
Kapellmeister.
Tutor.
Patron saint of mediocrities.
Murderer.
Don't be silly.
- He killed Mozart. - Never proved.
A life... for a life.
It's only a play.
Where is everyone?
Dierdre!
Don't mind, Dierdre.
Yes, Harold?
Where are my actors?
Well, I'm not um...
Oh, Rosa...
I know where Rosa is, you stupid girl.
What about lighting and design?
Oh, yes. Tim and Avery are stock taking.
But they'll be here on Thursday.
I need them here now!
Today. Not Thursday.
You should have told them.
It's not Dierdre's fault.
Anyway, I... I need her to help me with the interval tape.
All right?
Where is my star?
Here I am, maestro!
I'm not in a humorous vein today, Nicholas.
Where is Esslyn?
God, what am I doing here?
Casting pearls before uncultured swine.
I, who directed the number one tour of Spider's Web.
With the original West End cast.
Sold ... out.
That one critic said he'd never seen anything like it
in the whole of his theatrical life.
How often Johnny G would turn to me for advice.
Harold love, he would say,
"Dear boy, this speech of Prospero's..."
Where the hell have you been?
You do realize that the first night is barely a week away.
Better get on with it, then, hadn't we?
I'll go to England.
England loves music, that's the answer.
We were, yet again,
in the library of the Baroness Wald-...
Waldstaten.
I know, I know!
Waldstaten.
That room,
fated to be the scene of ghastly encounters between us.
Again, too, the compensating crema al mascarpone.
I was there when I was a boy.
They absolutely adored me.
I had more kisses than you've had cakes.
When I was young,
everyone loved me.
He's doing it again!
- Masking me at every turn. - No, I'm not.
Yes, you are. Horrid Nicholas.
I'll say whether he is or not, thank you.
Salieri is the lead in this play.
It is me the people come to see, over and over again.
Only because they couldn't believe their eyes the first time.
- How dare you! - Oh, don't be so pompous.
Everyone knows you're only an accountant.
Everyone knows your chances of ever getting into the professional theatre.
Kitty, could you just try this on?
Sorry.
I think Esslyn should be playing Leopold Mozart.
He's described as a jealous, dried-up old turd.
Leopold Mozart is not in the play.
- Are you sure? - What?
Page 49.
Well, I can't see it.
Only in spirit.
You mustn't allow Esslyn to do as he likes.
He'll unbalanced the whole play.
You must be firm with him.
You were firm with Sir John.
Oh, he was a joy to direct.
A true professional.
Then he acknowledged my talent.
Takes one to know one, Harold.
Another few weeks and I won't be needing padding at all.
- Ow! - Rosa?
Darling, have you pricked your finger?
Maybe she'll go to sleep for a hundred years.
Give us all a break.
Rosa...
Leave me alone.
Would you like a plaster for that?
No.
Twenty years we were married.
And he'd never gave me a child.
It was never the right time, you see.
We were too young.
We didn't have enough money.
The business wasn't established.
But then, when the business was thriving,
he'd give me all that moralistic claptrap.
About it being "No sort of world to bring a child into."
Then to get Kitty pregnant!
Sometimes I don't know which of them I hate the most.
What are we suppose to do with this work of art, Ben?
Avery wanted gold.
The curly bits picked out in scarlet.
He can do that himself.
What ever happened to that mud-coloured stuff we had for "Night Must Fall"?
It was ideal.
Subtle lighting.
Who'll spot the difference?
Barnaby.
- Evening, sir. - Hello, Troy.
What have you got?
Middle-aged woman.
In the water for some time.
- George. - Tom.
Straightforward, is it?
Hard to say at this stage.
Terrible bang on the side of the head.
Could have happened once she was in the water.
Do you know her, sir?
No.
But I know who she is.
Couldn't this have waited till morning?
We can't start a postmortem without identification, sir.
Yes.
That's my cousin.
Agnes Gray.
I knew we had a case as soon as I saw that terrific crack on her head.
Oh ya?
No water in the lungs, dead when he threw her in.
Stands to reason.
Sometimes I wonder why we bother going through all the usual procedures?
We could just come straight to you.
Tyre-lever, didn't they reckon, on the report?
Yeah. Or a crowbar.
I suppose you could almost say he'd done the poor woman a kindness.
Pardon?
She was suffering from cancer.
Quite advanced. And apparently never treated.
I didn't see that.
Nobody's perfect.
This is Agnes' place here, sir.
No, no.
Excuse me.
We're Causton CID.
Oh.
And you are...?
Jenny Evers. Something wrong?
I'm afraid Miss Gray has had an accident.
Oh.
Do you know her well?
Not very.
We chat about holidays sometimes.
She's always going away.
She went to Austria in the spring.
Actually I thought she'd gone off again when I saw the car had disappeared.
And when was that?
About a week ago.
How come you know of Agnes Gray?
She used to come to the plays Joyce's drama group put on.
Esslyn belongs to the same group.
He's a cold devil.
He looked down at her as if she was a lump of meat.
Mmh. Esslyn is not known for his affectionate nature.
Had your lunch?
Can't. I suppose to be buying a book for my mum's birthday.
Well, hello!
Good afternoon.
How can I help?
I'm looking for a book.
Books are what we do best.
For my mother.
Something light?
I've got a lovely new Trollope.
- Pardon?! - Or Catherine Cookson.
She goes down well in the home counties.
Is that a fact?
I think its the contrast to all these dark, satanic mills.
Actually , she's more into this heritage Edwardian lady stuff.
She's already got the tea towels,
the chopping board,
th-the oven mitt.
We're running out of ideas.
So, you thought you'd get the diary?
Oh I designed the set for that.
My partner did the lighting.
He has a way with a lamp you wouldn't believe.
Ah!
Avery! I'm in a hurry.
Now, what do you call this?
The third finger of your right hand.
You are suppose to dust this place thoroughly every morning
in exchange for that room upstairs.
I'm sorry, I overslept. I'll do it tomorrow.
And where you're going, anyway?
I'm... meeting someone.
All right?
Er, if you're in a hurry, mate, I should try Smiths.
Took you long enough.
He only tried to sell me a diary.
In the middle of October.
In the end, I got her a nice set of car vacuum set.
Your mother doesn't have a car.
No, but it'll do for cushions and stuff.
Is that the forensic on Agnes Gray?
Yeah, it is.
Leaf mould and pine needles on her clothes.
Nothing under her nails.
No skin flakes, no hair, no bits of cloth, no blood.
And we know from the PM...
...no scratches.
She didn't put up much of a fight, then.
Is this the key that was round her neck?
Yeah.
To a very large padlock?
Your appointment, Mr Carmichael.
Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.
Right.
Would you like to come through?
What is it now, Tom?
Thank you.
Agnes Gray.
Is her body released for burial?
You could have told me that over the phone.
Your cousin...
...was murdered, Esslyn.
Agnes?
Well, who would...
Well, I mean...
she's just not the sort.
Tell me about her.
Well, there's not much to tell.
She did the same job for 25 years.
Took early retirement.
What job was this, sir?
With the BBC World Service.
She spoke excellent French and Italian.
Although her degree was in Art History.
She always sent holiday postcards from the Uffizi or the Louvre
or some other dry as dust mausoleum.
What about men?
Was she ever engaged or married?
No.
Poor Agnes.
Plain little soul.
Friends, then.
She preferred animals, even as a child.
Drove her parents mad.
Was she a kind person, then, was she?
Agnes always identified with the...
weak and wounded.
To quite a morbid degree.
But I suppose she was rather...
a loser, herself.
Blimey!
Fancy having that as your only living relative!
No wonder she preferred to save the whales.
Tom!
Happy anniversary.
It's not our anniversary.
It is.
It is the anniversary of the day we met.
Everytime you say that, it's a different day.
Well it happened. That's what matters.
It's oxtail.
We saw pork and grapes.
It's Elizabeth's David.
What are we looking for, sir?
I don't know, Troy.
But I'm missing something...
I'll check out the bedroom.
Bastard even ripped her clothes.
Well, he certainly went to town on this place, didn't he?
No handbag.
I assume he took that when he killed her.
Mmm, probably.
A little bit of jewellery.
Pearl brooch, little gold ring.
One of those crosses on a bead necklace.
Rosary?
I don't get this place.
How do you mean?
Agnes Gray really appreciated beautiful things.
There's nothing here, apart from a few books, to reflect that.
Dreary furniture, dull clothes.
Perhaps she thought she didn't deserve beautiful things.
Doesn't sound as if she had much confidence.
Anything interesting?
Not really...
Mainly bills.
Aha!
A letter with a donkey on.
Oh, good God!
"Dear Miss Gray,
thank you from the bottom of our hearts
for another wonderful contribution towards the five acre meadow
and new stabling block.
The one hundred and fifty...
Hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
Let me see that.
Right, I want every bit of paper in this place bagged.
And find out the name of her bank while you're at it.
First, may I offer my condolences on your sad loss?
Thank you, Mr Makepeace.
I'm not sure if Miss Gray made you privy to the dispensation of her will.
Well as I only have two legs and no tail
I don't expect to benefit.
Quite.
It's quite straightforward.
All monies at the time of her death and the proceeds from the sale of her house
go to various charities.
They're carefully listed in some detail.
I don't think you'll find your duties as executor too onerous.
Good.
There is one more thing.
You can have the afternoon off, Mrs Maddox.
I've got all these...
Kitty?
I'm going to have to work late,
so you'd better go to rehearsals without me.
No. No, I won't overdo things.
I'm really very strong.
"Who's a silly kitten?!"
"Love you."
Love you too, baby.
Unbelievable.
Sixty-what-was-it?
£860,000 over seven years.
Maybe she won the lottery.
Not in 1991, she didn't.
And then to give it all to animals!
Everyone needs something to love, Troy.
And these animals love you back.
Not the same, though, is it?
I wouldn't fancy cuddling up at night to a cocker spaniel.
Oh don't you knock it before you try it.
"And so far over 700 people have signed the petition
prostesting against the reduction in library opening hours."
"Causton CID,
who are investigating the murder of Agnes Gray, from the Midsomer area,
would like to talk to anyone who knew her."
"They are also anxious to trace her car,
a Ford van, registration number B920 BOO."
I don't want money.
You know what I want.
Not such an ugly word as murder.
Oh, yes, I have proof, all right.
Monday night.
I'll give you till Monday.
Hello dad.
Cully!
This is a surprise.
I thought you're coming home tomorrow.
I caught a late train.
You must be starving.
Oh no, don't fuss. Sit down and talk to me.
So. Mom says this new murder is to do with the drama group.
Slightly.
That would be an advantage, wouldn't it?
Well, it doesn't seemed to be working out like that.
Does mom know her lines?
She hadn't got anything, got a non-speaking role.
Salieri's cook.
Salieri's what?
Now don't go saying that to your mom.
Been told off once already.
Kitty!
Up here, darling! In the bath.
Hello.
Rosa, what the hell do you want?
♪ La-da da-da ba-dum pom-pom
♪ L'amour est enfant de Boheme
♪ Qui n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi
♪ Si tu me n'aimes pas
Je t'aime.
♪ Et si je t'aime...
Prends garde a toi!
I think it's only fair to tell you...
Fair?!
You call this fair?
As soon as tonight's out of the way
I shall start divorce proceedings.
The child will be provided for.
You can provide for yourself.
Judging by the alacrity with which you jumped into my bed
you shouldn't find that difficult.
Esslyn!
Baby!
This is just a stupid misunderstanding!
I love you!
Ten hours to go.
person I still make me so nervous.
Oh!
At least...
...you can't forget your lines.
I can forget my lunes.
Barnaby.
Did she seem genuine, this Peggy Marshall?
I'd say so.
Can bring out a lot of wackos, public appeals.
Miss Marshall?
Yes.
I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. This is...
Detective Sergeant Troy.
I hope you don't mind our meeting here.
No, no. Of course not. It's very good of you to get in touch.
So, how did you know Agnes Gray?
I was assigned to take her under my wing
when she first accepted instruction in the faith.
Around six months ago.
That would be the Catholic church, would it?
There is only one faith, young man.
I discovered, almost at once, that Agnes was greatly troubled.
Did you know she had cancer?
Yes.
She had already decided not to have any form of treatment.
I felt a great...
loneliness in her, Inspector.
She didn't seem to have a single friend.
Did she ever tell you exactly what was troubling her?
No.
Just that she had done something very wrong
and wanted to put matters right before she died.
Did she indicate how?
It wasn't straightforward.
Apparently, another person was involved.
Bitch! Bitch!
I see you've been got at.
Avery's right. I have been slacking.
I've things on my mind.
Well...
interesting things?
Secret things.
Well you shouldn't mention it, then.
Teasing people is ill-mannered.
Suffice it to say that any day now,
my life may well be miraculously transformed.
You really are the most irritating boy.
Is that our lunch?
No, it's our lunch.
I just saw Esslyn, in a BMW.
Bit early for cheap thrills, isn't it?
He jumped a red light.
So, how do you feel?
Eurgh!
Nah. It'll run like a dream.
You're a brilliant stage manager.
I've got some brilliant help.
Is your... is your dad coming?
No. No, I've persuaded him to wait until the last night.
With a bit of luck, by then he will have forgotten all about it.
Ooh, personal props...
Go on. I'll do those.
You're very kind, David. Thank you.
Oh darling, how lovely to see you!
Completely sold out, as usual.
Sit where you like.
The press seats are reserved.
Ah, good evening, sir!
Sir John is devastated not to be here.
But the journey was just too much for him.
This is going to be the greatest disaster
since my Aunt Laetitia fell off the Matterhorn.
Uh-huh...
On the other hand,
a bad dress rehearsal does make a good first night.
I wonder what fatuous idiot first thought of that one?
I believe it was Abraham Lincoln.
My God!
It's actually filling up.
You'd think they'd know better by now.
So, there she was, snivelling in the prompt corner.
"What's the matter, Dierdre?" I said.
Apparently her senile old fool of a father had forgotten to take his tablets
and gone out directing traffic at Badger's Drift.
"How terrible", says I.
Yes, says Dierdre, "He doesn't know that area at all."
- Very funny. - Thank you.
You know your problem, Esslyn?
What might that be, Nicolarse?
"Too full of the milk of human kindness."
What?
You've quoted from the Scottish play.
What, Macbeth?
You have to go inside the dressing room,
turn round three times and come back in.
Don't be ridiculous.
Clockwise or anti-clockwise?
Oh, Daddy!
I just came to wish you good luck.
You're not supposed to be out by yourself.
I just came to wish you good luck.
Oh, er... thank you very much.
Come on, darling.
Let's go and find you a seat.
Bold effects are, as you know, my forte.
You can never have too much verismo.
What is verismo?
Hello, Doris. Nice to see you again.
Would you like a programme?
When if it's wishy-washy naturalism you're after,
we will stay home and watch television.
Hi Troy! You've made it in.
Troy, this is my daughter, Cully. Cully, Gavin Troy.
- Hi, Gavin. - Pleased to meet you.
..finest cast since Spider's Web.
That play is superb.
There's a full house out there and the atmosphere is electric!
Neck and leg break, Mum.
Good luck, everyone.
Especially you.
Sorry.
- You're okay? - Loved this.
Stayed behind to gloat, have you?
I beg your pardon?
Do you think I don't know who's responsible for this?
And for doing over my car.
You don't think that breaking us up is going to bring him back to you?
I'm sure I don't know what you mean.
Want to know how he described your sex life?
He said it was like humping a tranquillised cart-horse.
This is it
No turning back.
That... is for my set.
Assassin! Assassin!
Assassin! Salieri! Assassin!
Salieri! Salieri!
Assassin!
I know who started the tale.
The old man's valet.
The old man's cook.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!
Meow....!
- Squeak.....! - Meow. Meow, meow!
I'm going to pounce-bounce.
I'm going to scrunch-munch.
I'm going to chew-poo my little mouse-wouse.
I'm going to tear her to bits with my paws-claws.
No. Paws-claws! Paws-claws!
Argh...
These cakes are absolutely vile!
Hello, Mr Tibbs.
How are you enjoying it?
I-I just came to wish you good luck.
Do you want a cup of coffee?
- Ah... - No, no, no, don't get up.
I'll get you one from there.
I reckoned
The one playing Mozart, is he?
It's good, this.
Though, I've never been to the theatre before.
This isn't the theatre, Gavin.
Well I must say,
our little ensemble is excelling itself tonight.
Half the cast were making it up as they went along.
And the Emperor Joseph is walking as if he's got a
duck up his knickers.
The lighting was, as always,
magnificent.
Now, I can offer...
...anchovy and provolone on olive bread, or...
walnut and banana on fruit loaf, with brown sug-...
Where are you going?
A spot went on stage. I've got to fix it.
I didn't notice that.
Keep going! Keep going, keep going, keep going.
Yup!
Trouble?
Flickered a bit, then went out.
I didn't notice that happen.
Don't you start.
You okay, Tim?
I'm perfectly okay, as soon as people stop coming up to me every five minutes
wanting to know if I'm okay.
Okay?
Sorry, I'm a bit edgy.
I'll be glad when tonight's over.
Where's the three-minute buzzer?
It's only just...
How dare you answer me back?!
You're a brainless moronic cretin.
What are you?
If you like a sandwich now...
I've got some coffee. Fresh mocca.
Mmf? No that's...
This isn't like you, Tim.
How do you know, what's like me?
I don't even know myself sometimes.
Hey, what happened to you?
Walked into an accountant.
Oh, poor love.
Kiss it better.
I have been listening to the cats in the courtyard.
They are all singing Rossini.
Where do we go, then?
What?
Do we do it here?
Why not?
Well?
Let's get on with it.
There are your manuscripts.
Please take and go. Now! At once!
- You shit! - Via! Don't return.
You rotten shit!
Bloody hell!
What's going on down there?
If he lays another finger on me, I'll frigging kill him.
- Shhhh! - Let it be her trouble then...
Bastard.
- I dare say he can't tell them apart... - Bastard!
To be frank, no one can do much harm, musically, to the Princess Elizabeth.
Nico! You're on.
Mozart certainly did not suspect me.
The Emperor made his announcement in his usual way.
Well, there it is.
And I commiserated with the loser.
I think we should bring the curtain down.
Not before my death scene you don't.
Harold would only take it up again.
Well, that's true.
We don't know what Esslyn will do next.
I'm all right.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Wolfie?
Stanze?
Oh, Wolfie my love!
Little husband of my heart.
Oh, my dear one.
Come with me.
Come on now.
There, there.
Salieri.
Salieri has killed me.
Yes, my dear.
He asked..., he told me to.
Yes. Yes, I'm sure.
Now, I will go to become a ghost myself.
I will stand in the shadows
when you come here
to this earth in your turn.
And when you feel
the dreadful bite of your failures.
And hear the taunting of an unachievable, uncaring God.
- Joyce. - I will whisper my name to you.
Salieri,
patron saint of mediocrities.
Truth will out.
And, in the depths of your downcastness,
you can pray for me.
And I will forgive you.
Vi saluto!
Get the curtain down!
Get it down!
Washed in the blood of the lamb...
Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention, please.
There has been... an accident.
Would you all please stay in your seats for the next few minutes?
Thank you.
I'm absolutely certain, Tom.
The tape was on the blade when Dierdre checked the razor.
- I was here. - And when was that?
A few minutes before curtain up.
So, it just sits there until the end of the play.
Yes.
Anyone could have tampered with it.
Bit risky.
People are using the props table all the time.
But with the lights dimmed, actors milling about...
You can't just whip it off.
You'd need a knife.
Even then you'd have to be careful.
That thing was bloody sharp.
I can't believe it.
Who would do such a dreadful thing?
Everyone liked Esslyn.
Well obviously not quite everyone, darling.
Perhaps it was an accident.
But of course it was an accident!
The tape got torn or something.
It's outrageous, keeping us shut in here like naughty children.
Well, that's show business.
Start the evening with Mozart, end with Gotterdammerung.
How can you be so heartless?!
It's all that stupid girl's fault.
If she'd checked the thing properly...
Dierdre is not stupid.
And I doubt very much whether any of this will prove to be her fault.
Then why has she disappeared?
Her father ran off straight after it happened.
I heard Tom talking to David Smy about it.
David Smy?!
He's an assistant stage manager.
The lowest of the low.
As director, I should be seen first.
I'm in charge here.
The police are in charge here, sir.
Now, if you'll please, just...
Excuse me!
How is she?
Not good.
The paramedics gave her some stuff but it's made her pretty sleepy.
Is there anything I can do?
I don't think so, but thanks all the same.
Cully, I'm sorry, I should have got these to you before.
- Joyce? - Tom...
Darling, Cully's going to drive you home and I'll be with you as soon as possible, all right?
Why don't I drive? If that's all right.
That's very good of you, Nicholas.
But we do need to talk.
Can you come into the police station please tomorrow, two o'clock?
At last!
I'm sorry you've been kept hanging about.
It is getting rather late and if anyone wants to go...
Now he tells us!
My sergeant will be in touch tomorrow and arrange interview times.
I elect to be seen now.
What are you doing, Kitty?
You can't go back to White Lane by yourself tonight.
You come and have some supper with us.
We'll be cooking, won't we, Tim?
Oh, dear.
- Kitty, er... - Don't worry about me.
I'll book into the nearest Hilton.
I can tell you now, Tom,
that I felt a faintly sinister frisson to this production from the very beg...
What is the matter with you?!
All I did was ask the wretched girl back for a bit of supper.
When I sit down with someone
I like to be sure I'm going to get up again.
Oh, go on, you don't mean Kitty?
Yes!
God forgive me, yes, I do.
Dad?
Are you coming?
Dad?
- There she is! - Yeah, I see her.
- Are you Dierdre Tibbs? - Yes.
You're looking for your father?
I'm sure he's making for the day centre.
That will be two minutes in the car.
He feels safe there.
Come on, we'll get you there, love.
He wasn't a very nice man,
sometimes mean.
But... we were young together.
We were very happy for a while.
Can you think of anyone who'd want to kill him?
Kitty, of course!
He only married her because she was pregnant.
Now chances are it wasn't even his.
What makes you say that?
She's having an affair.
Esslyn was going to change his will and start divorce proceedings.
Do you have any idea who her lover was?
Or how... Esslyn found out?
Tom...
How was I to know what she'd do?
Oh God, I'd do anything, anything...
to take it back.
I don't know what you think you're playing at Tom,
constantly passing me over like the boot boy.
How am I supposed to retain the respect of my actors?
If there's one thing I cannot stand, its high-handedness.
- Harold, it's getting very late. - Whose fault is that?
And I'm on the verge of losing my temper.
Now, earlier on tonight, when you were backstage,
did you see anything out of the ordinary?
Anyone there who shouldn't have been there.
Someone handling the props who doesn't normally?
I was hardly backstage at all.
People expect to see me in front of house.
It's the only chance they get to mingle.
I went to wish the actors good luck.
Of course, you followed me down there, I believe, Tom.
The buzzer was late at the end of the interval,
so I popped round just for a second,
to chivvy that utterly clueless stage manager.
I thought the second part was...
much improved, didn't you?
Except for the er... utter shambles at the end.
Are you sure you know what's going on here, sir?
Certainly.
Someone has sabotaged Amadeus.
Did you have any reason to wish Esslyn dead?
Me?!
He was my leading man!
My star.
Now I've got to start all over again,
training Nicholas.
Ah Neil, will you take Mrs Winstanley home?
It's Martyr Warren.
Chief Inspector, I didn't mean to be any trouble.
He's really lost it, hasn't he, that bloke?
Huh, long time ago.
Just the type we're looking for.
Perfect. He couldn't possibly have done it.
He wasn't in the wings for more than three minutes altogether.
I don't understand why it was done this way.
So risky, so complicated?
Yeah.
All he had to do was wait for the next dark night and bash the bloke's head in.
But what if he couldn't wait?
What if tonight was his last chance?
I reckon that puts his wife in the frame.
She kills him at home, straight off it's a domestic.
This way it could have been anybody.
Good point.
- There he is! - Kev will be quicker, love.
Yes, but he's a stranger.
Daddy will be frightened.
It's all right, Daddy.
Mr Tibbs?
Come along now...
Time to go home.
Your daughter's waiting.
Washed in the blood of the lamb.
Streaming...
Streaming everywhere.
It's all over now.
Let me help you down.
I suppose there's no way he could be in the frame?
Old Mr Tibbs?
Oh, for God's sake, Troy!
He was backstage.
If that's all it takes, so was I.
Yeah, but you're not one sandwich short of a picnic, sir.
Oh Tom!
This is kind of you.
How is he?
Fractured ribs. A broken leg.
He'll get better, but it'll take a long time.
I'm really sorry.
He was so frightened.
Yeah, it was a bad business.
Detective Sergeant Troy.
We were hoping you might be able to help us.
Anything. Anything I can do.
I believed you checked the razor just minutes before the curtain went up.
That's right.
And the tape wasn't snagged or torn, as Harold has been suggesting.
It was in place.
No one is blaming you.
But it remains a fact that some time during the play,
someone removed the razor and took the tape off.
What about this chap who played the valet?
David?
Oh he handled the tray. Would he have had time?
David?!
Was there any point during the play
when the wings were completely empty?
I went to the loo once.
It was at the end of the interval.
It took all of two minutes.
When I got back, Harold was yelling at me about the buzzer being late.
Could you drop me at home please, Troy?
I want to see how Joyce is.
Righto, sir.
And while you're on the spot, there's a couple of outstanding interviews
at the bookshop.
Couldn't somebody else do those?
Oh, you'll be all right.
Just hang on to your credentials.
Well I know it irritates Tim, but...
I can't help it.
Every time he goes to the post or shopping or the library
I keep thinking...
Is that what he's really doing?
Or is he seeing someone?
I'm sure he's got more than enough on his plate coping with you.
But I don't understand what he sees in me, Nico?
I mean, he's so elegant and...
oh, handsome and austere.
You know, sort of spiritually opulent.
So what's brought all this on?
I think it's partly because
he hasn't always been gay.
Me, I was making sequined jockstraps for Paddington when I was three.
But Tim...
Well, he veered.
Hither and yon.
All the way through adolescence.
He even got engaged at one point.
I'm sure he's turned his back on all that now.
I suppose you think that's funny?
Yeah, I do, actually.
You're a cruel, heartless boy!
You wait till you fall in love.
I think I'm just about to.
So, when did you get this audition at Central?
The other week.
But don't tell anyone. It's secret.
I should get the results any day now.
I've had a few theatre jobs since I came down from Cambridge.
You're kidding?!
Third witch in Macbeth and a Polish tour of Much Ado.
Brilliant! How did it go?
I got mumps.
Our tents were washed away in a thunderstorm
and Claudia was had up for soliciting.
I can't wait to start!
So, what are you doing now?
Trudging round the agents.
I'm up for a voice-over next week, though.
So, um... will you get a grant?
I'll have to come and see you, then.
Stake you to a veggie burger.
David!
I er...
I just thought I'd come and see how things were going.
Thank you.
Ooh!
I must put them in the water straightaway.
They're not for your father, Dierdre.
- They're for you. - For me?
How are you, love?
I'm still a bit groggy.
I keep seeing him.
Over and over again.
Cully?
Nicholas.
Tom.
I came to see how Joyce was.
Well, you won't see how she is from here.
Try the sitting room.
Right.
Second door on the left.
Second on left.
Don't forget your interview.
Two o'clock sharp.
Oh, crikey!
Well, why don't you stay and have some soup.
Then you can go out with Dad.
Yes, that's right. The Corn Exchange, Causton at three o'clock.
Photographers will also be welcome to photograph the director,
Mr Winstanley, in person, at the scene of the crime.
The crime that was on the news this morning.
And oh, oh yes...
And our drama group production of Amadeus was in full flight when...
Hello?
Financial Times.
Hello, is that The Daily Telegraph?
Could you put me through to the theatre department, please?
Yes, yes, I will. Thank you.
Are they all coming?
They sounded very interested, Harold.
Who are you onto, now?
The Daily Telegraph. They asked me to hold.
Hold?
At daytime rates?
Did you talk to Michael Billington?
They said he wasn't there.
Of course he was there.
I'm sorry Harold.
- Would you... like... - That's impossible.
The director does not importune critic.
Why don't people put things back properly?
Look at this. ??? under interior decoration.
Well, hello again!
Afternoon.
Put the catch down on the door.
Turn the notice round to Closed.
We're having our lunch!
Detective Sergeant Troy, Causton CID.
It's regarding Mr Carmichael's death last night.
God, was it only last night?
I understand you were both there.
We were in the lighting box, yes.
At what point did you go backstage?
I didn't go backstage until after the final curtain.
But Tim... once.
In the interval. To change a light.
Colin Smy was with me all the time.
Did you see anything out of the ordinary when you were back there, sir?
In the wings?
No.
- A glass for you, Sergeant? - No. Thank you.
Can either of you think of anyone
who might have wanted to harm Mr Carmichael?
Well, you've got a wide field.
The man was a heartless shit.
Had personal experience of that, have you, sir?
Bottoms up.
Zilch at the bookshop.
The little fat one wasn't backstage at all.
The thin, sarky one, briefly, but he was with Colin Smy all the time.
I got nothing out of Nicholas, either,
though he did say that Esslyn attacked him.
Crushed his hand. He showed me.
Hell of a mess.
Why was that?
He says he has no idea.
Bollocks.
I bet he found out he was Kitty's fancyman.
He'd better not be.
Where's Colin Smy?
What the hell do you think you're playing at?
You were due at the station at three.
I did it, Tom.
I killed him.
Are you confessing to the murder of Esslyn Carmichael?
Why did you do it?
Why?
It's not an unreasonable question in the circumstance.
He was an awful man!
Sneering, laughing at everyone.
Cruel.
I decided he should be taught a lesson.
Bit of a savage one, wasn't it?
I didn't think he'd die.
Colin, what do you expect a man to do if he drag an open razor across his throat?
How did you get the tape off?
- With my Stanley knife. - And where's that now?
- Still in the scene dock. - When did you do it?
I don't... I don't remember exactly. It was on impulse.
What did you do with the tape?
Flushed it down the toilet.
No, you didn't. We tried that. It floats.
Where was David...
while all this was going on?
He was in the men's dressing room.
Anyone can vouch for him.
He be able to vouch for himself from the look of things.
Oh, no!
What are you doing here?
Getting the van.
I'm collecting a friend after work.
What's happening?
Your father has just confessed to the murder of Esslyn.
Don't be daft.
He thinks you did it.
Me?!
Why would I...
You saw me, didn't you?
What did he see, Mr Smy?
Esslyn was being particularly vicious about Dierdre's father.
I was so angry...
I shook Vim...
all over those little cakes he eats on stage.
You silly old sod!
Fancy a cup of tea, Tom?
No, I do not fancy a cup of tea.
You're lucky I don't charge you with wasting police time.
Thanks.
Don't do it again. All right?
I've asked Dierdre for supper tonight.
Really?
I didn't know you fancied her.
I don't fancy her.
I love her.
Mr Winstanley?
Yes! Who are you?
Vicki Smith. Causton Echo?
Come to take a pickie.
Doing the interview.
Where are the others?
Ah, they are covering the good stuff.
Beer festivals, horse shows.
You know Gibson.
Always get the short straw.
We'll come back another day?
You sure you're feeling up to this, Kitty?
I'll do my best.
It is for Esslyn, after all.
Quite.
Can you think of anyone...
anyone who might want to kill him?
Well...
Rosa is so full of bitterness.
She led him a terrible life.
So, you didn't take the tape off the razor yourself?
Tom!
You'd had a serious quarrel.
He was violent towards you.
He'd knocked you about on stage.
That was just part of the play.
And when you came off,
you were heard to say that if he touched you again, you'd kill him.
People say wild things when they're angry.
Sometimes they do them.
Can you imagine me doing anything like that?
He'd discovered that you were having an affair.
That's a lie.
He was planning to change his will, sue for divorce.
No.
Leaving you without the proverbial...
And what about the baby?
Poor, fatherless mite.
Is it his?
Course its his, you cheeky bugger!
A jury would be very sympathetic, Kitty.
Violent man, well-off.
Yet still prepared to consign his wife and child to poverty.
I didn't touch the razor!
What an utterly useless waste of a day.
I don't know sir.
We cleared quite a few people out of the way.
We cleared so many people out of the way, Troy
we got no suspects left!
DCI Barnaby.
Oh!
Where's this place again?
It's over there.
A cup of rosie lee.
Help yourself to sugar. That's a pound. Thank you.
Cheers.
- How's that bacon coming on? - Almost done.
Yes, gentlemen!
- Mr Green! - Yeah?
Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.
This is DS Troy.
It's good of you to get in touch, about the van.
Yeah well, I recognised it as soon as I saw it on television.
You see that alley-way over there?
I saw it several times, going in, coming out.
And always that poor lady driving.
- Agnes Gray? - Yeah.
Right, Troy.
I'd start at that end.
There you are.
What are you gonna do?
I'm going to sample Mr Green's bacon sandwiches.
Hello, sir!
Trying a spot of breaking and entering, are we?
I think we should discuss this down at the station, don't you?
Sorry, Sergeant.
Well, now you're here
you can make yourself useful.
All the rest of these garages need checking,
starting with this one.
Sir.
I'm sorry I had nothing ready, Harold.
It's not like you to be home at midday.
The life of the mind is what nourishes, Doris.
The creative tumult in which the genuine artist must sink...
or swim.
This is coarse clay by comparison.
Is there any pudding?
Oh yes, um... rhubarb cobbler, left over from Sunday.
I was wondering, Harold,
will you be going to the funeral?
What funeral?
- Es-Ess... - Oh, Esslyn. No, certainly not.
Casting Vanya is taking up all my spare time.
In fact, that's what I'm going to do right now.
Pardon?
I'm going to pay a call on Nicholas.
I have to get him into training.
One cannot start too soon.
He has an antic disposition, but er...
we'll soon stamp that out.
Yes Charlie, yes right.
Press conference six o'clock tomorrow.
The arts and antique mob from the Yard should have got in touch by then.
Pictures. Yes. Pictures.
No, an arrest is not imminent.
So, you reckon this is a work of art, then?
Good God, man, of course it is a work of art!
I thought it might have had something to do with religion.
Maybe it was once.
Once?
Oh, churches have been robbed for years.
Stuff like this ends up in museums or with private collectors.
A 17th-century St Jerome was found in a lake, on a plinth,
transformed into a fountain.
Nice one!
Yeah, but Agnes Gray was a Catholic.
Any likeness of the Madonna would be sacred.
Now I don't know how she came by it,
but I can't see her selling it on.
So, that's soap unscented, wholemeal loaf, tomatoes, a lemon and marmalade.
- Chunky. - Okay. Chunky.
You sure you're gonna be all right?
What?
Er...I'll be fine. I'll be fine.
It'll do you good to get out into the fresh air.
Okay, if you're sure.
I won't be long.
Thought I might pop in at the Blackbird.
Oh yes?
See you soon.
Congratulations, dear boy.
Nicholas.
Mmm... and remember,
it was us that believed in you first.
Now thanks for all the support and encouragement.
The room. Well, everything.
Hey, it was our pleasure.
I'll never forget you.
We shall expect front circle seats for all your opening nights.
Did your disappearances have anything to do with this audition?
Yes. Coaching. Voice lessons.
Blackbird Bookshop.
Sorry, wrong number.
We thought you were having an affair.
- What?! - With Kitty.
I couldn't make love to Kitty.
She can't act.
Is there any more champagne?
No! We've spoilt you quite enough already.
It's time we reopened the shop.
I feel...
I don't know.
As if I'm on the verge of something wonderful.
Oh, God, it's Dracula's mother.
Oh, you're not letting him in?!
He won't go away until we do.
Thank you.
I have the most thrilling news.
Oh, you've heard already.
Nico's won a place at drama school.
Tomorrow morning, I sign a ten year lease on a real theatre.
And I'm sure you'll be very proud to know, Nicholas,
that I have chosen you to be my new leading man.
- But Tim's just told you... - Lear looms, dear boy.
Oedipus, Hamlet.
There is no reason why you shouldn't play all the major roles,
under my expert guidance.
You don't listen, do you, Harold?
This is the realisation of a dream for me.
Oh, there were times when I thought it would never come to pass.
Oh, I had my dark nights of the soul.
And my enemies, as great men always do.
And they are vanquished!
As the enemies of great men always are.
Well, Avery,
I look forward to your designs on Uncle Vanya.
And your ideas on lighting, Tim.
Although nothing fancy. It is Russia, you know.
Best get on.
Dusters are under the sink, Nico.
- Nicholas? - What?
Oh yes. I will. I promise.
I have to go now.
But when I get back, okay?
Do you think he will remember us?
Course not!
He's on the verge of something wonderful.
It's from Agnes Gray's bank.
A weird-sounding lot paid into her account.
Alekbar Georgiades.
Count Gottfried von Schlo... Schell.
Wouldn't like the job of tracking this little lot down.
Should they prove to exist.
Sorry?
And probably false names, maybe covering a syndicate.
Iffy money, too.
Offshore accounts, Jersey.
DCI Barnaby.
Oh! Good afternoon, sir.
Yes, yeah. I thought it would be.
Yup, I'd appreciate that.
Yes, thank you, sir. Bye.
Do they know what it is?
A 16th-century religious figure, stolen from a country church near Innsbruck,
11th of March this year.
So, she's got this nice little number going.
Why share it?
Because she needed help.
I'd say she needed somebody in haulage.
Say that looks like pretty heavy freight.
Import export.
How could I have been so blind?
Harold?
But you said that Harold would definitely not have had the time.
That was before I realised there were two razors.
- Two razors? - Two razors.
The first one was already in the tray.
The second one, he took in with him.
Just listen, listen.
And I'll tell you exactly why and how he swapped them round.
We know that Harold went backstage twice during the evening.
Just before the show began
and at the end of the interval.
So he must have made the first switch moments before curtain up.
Swapping the original razor with his substitute one.
This way, a casual glance at the props tray would reveal nothing wrong.
Excuse me. Thank you.
He must have known it was going to be a fiddly job.
The interval gave him the perfect opportunity and ample time
to remove the tape from the actual razor.
- Trouble? - Flickered a bit, then went out.
I didn't notice anything.
Don't you start!
And then, just minutes before Act Two,
taking advantage of Dierdre's absence from the wings,
he swapped them back.
Where is the three-minute buzzer?
- It's only just... - How dare you answer me back.
Poor old Esslyn. Never had a chance.
So, we bring Harold in?
Yes. We do.
Blackbird Bookshop.
You mustn't ring here.
I shall do more than bloody ring there.
If you don't come and meet me right now
I shall be round to tell that poofy little tub of lard
just what the great love of his life does on his afternoons off.
Why are you being so spiteful?
Please!
- You'll set me off in a minute. - Don't!
Look, I don't love her.
I love you.
I wonder how they first got together, Harold and Agnes.
I doubt we'll ever know the exact circumstances.
But I think we know how it ended.
♪ Agnus dei
♪ Agnus dei, donna nobis pacem
♪ Pacem ♪
Vi saluto!
Doris?
- Martyr Warren? - Yes, that's it.
Harold, I won't say anything.
I'll go away...
Yes, I think that would be for the best, Doris.
I'm changing my life quite considerably.
There'll be no place for you here.
Oh, yes! Right... I'll go...
I'll go and pa-pa-pa-pack.
Pack. Yes.
My dear, I don't think that will be necessary.
Get an ambulance!
Tom! I didn't know you were here.
Harold.
Well, what a kerfuffle.
Still, it couldn't be helped.
They would try to stop me, you see.
Agnes Gray, Doris, Esslyn...
Two stupid women and a man with delusions of grandeur.
Well, all back to normal now.
- Who's this? - Oh, that's a friend.
And... we'd like you to come along with us.
- What, now? - Yes.
Oh, no, it's impossible.
I'm casting Vanya tonight.
Scofield will be along in a minute.
I've offered him Serebryakov.
But, Harold, the press are waiting.
Huh!? That moron on the Causton Echo?
No, no, no, the real press. The Times, Guardian...
Michael Billington.
Michael Bill-...
Tom, is this true?
Oh, yes!
I must have my hat.
Thank you.
I knew this would happen, Tom.
I knew they'd remember me.
- That was delicious, Joyce! - Cully helped.
I'm sure I could have helped you a bit more, Tom, with this awful business.
- Nico. - What?
Ah Joyce, I'm sorry. I didn't think.
No, it's all right, really. I'm fine.
In what way, Nicholas?
Well Esslyn was always boasting that he'd make a great director.
Harold never gave him a chance.
If you'd known...
It wouldn't have saved Esslyn's life.
Was that the blackmail deal, then?
Yes. Complete control of the new theatre and the company
or exposure of the business with Agnes Gray.
Do you actually have proof of that, Dad?
Ya! Kitty found Esslyn's disc.
It had details of all the transactions on it.
And... Harold confessed.
In the last of his lucid moments.
Last of...?
Well, he'll never come to trial.
Poor Harold.
Can you believe that anyone would commit murder
for the sake of the theatre?
- Dad! - Tom!
Right, the theatre it is.
ALL: The theatre!
ITFC Subtitles