Can you see me? Are we starting?
Your camera's off.
I'm just letting people in as they arrive.
Any chance of actually starting this thing on time?
Yeah. It's only just quarter to, Moira.
- I can't see you. - Hi, there.
- Hi, Moira. - I said I can't see you.
Oh, really? Um...
Not you. Estelle.
Hi. Yes, I just need to...
- Hi there. - Hi. - Hello.
- Okay. - Hi there.
Welcome, everyone, to this slightly unusual meeting
of Causton Grammar Parent-Teacher Association.
Due to the unfortunate way things ended last time,
the decision was taken to move online.
My hope is that we can communicate
more constructively this time.
Constructive criticism surely involves listening,
not canceling events unilaterally
with no consultation, no real evidence.
The issue which you're referring to is on the agenda,
Moira, thank you.
But first, I'm going to hand over to our deputy head,
Mr. Crawford, for some housekeeping.
Hi there, everyone.
My connection's a bit dodgy,
but hopefully we're going to be okay.
So the minutes from our last meeting
have been reviewed and, um...
Well... - Yeah. Whatever. Get on with it.
Sorry. Really sorry.
No, no, I'm not sitting through all of this.
We need to talk about Holly.
Well, we've got a meeting that's in the diary
next week to discuss Holly.
Every day she's excluded
is another day she's missing her education.
All her training for the athletic trials.
It's just not fair.
It's not lawful.
I understand you're upset,
but this isn't the appropriate forum.
Appropriate forum?
Waste of time!
Um, perhaps we should move on
to item one on the agenda.
Um, cancelation of PTA fundraising event,
a Q and A with Piers Mayhew.
- Ugh! - Any thoughts?
Oh, here we go. Do we have to?
Well, if you could please keep yourself on mute
unless you have something constructive.
I'm sure you would love to mute me, Mr. Crawford,
but as chairwoman of the PTA, I am entitled to have my say.
Go for it, Moira.
Canceling an event at such short notice
is an insult to the work of this committee.
Do you have any idea
how difficult it is to secure a speaker like Piers Mayhew?
He is your brother.
Meaning?
Was it that difficult to book him?
He is the region's best-selling children's author.
Given his recent outbursts on social media,
I simply don't see how we can go ahead.
Oh, that's not what you were saying until Kara got involved.
Where is she, anyway? - She's off sick.
She'll be in tomorrow.
How convenient.
I cannot allow you
to keep derailing these meetings, Moira.
If this continues, you will be ejected from this committee.
Reeling.
I stayed on as PTA head as an act of goodwill
because nobody else would do it.
And we appreciate it.
Item two of the agenda.
Uh, second-hand uniform sale.
And as a PTA head,
I am entitled to call an emergency meeting.
It says so in the constitution.
Second-hand uniform sale.
Have you read the PTA rules? Because they--
Okay. Uh, I have muted you, Moira.
I'm so sorry.
Uh, there can be no further--
- Estelle? - Call an ambulance.
- Happy? - Yeah.
It looks brilliant.
Mm. That smells incredible.
We've got butter chicken, lamb skewers, and daal.
Ooh! Oh.
And you think you're getting some, do you?
Well, you're out of luck
because nobody wants to deal with the aftermath of that.
You're just setting Paddy up to take the blame for you.
That's an outrageous accusation.
I don't know what you're talking about.
See? He is home on time.
What's that?
Mum said you're unreliable.
Hold on. I didn't say Dad was unreliable.
I said sometimes his job--
Winter?
Right.
Okay. See you there.
You're kidding.
Dad, if I ever get married,
it will not be to a policeman.
Estelle Hallis, 52, head teacher.
She was running a PTA meeting online when she was killed.
- She was killed on camera? - In front of a dozen people.
No one saw anything, though.
The killer must have stayed low and out of shot.
That looks like a javelin.
It is.
The angle suggests
it was an upward stabbing motion from low down.
You won't need my help with time of death.
It's on camera. At 5:48, precisely.
After school clubs finish at 5 p.m.
and the school is locked, and only the staff have the code.
Have next of kin been notified?
Yeah. We're trying.
There's a husband, Blake Anderson.
He runs the bike shop in town,
but he's not picking up his phone.
And then there's a daughter, Kara.
She's an art teacher here, but also uncontactable.
Apparently, she's off sick today.
I assume curry night's canceled.
No, no. Please go. They've gone to so much effort.
You could get them to save some for me.
Lamb skewers or something?
Lamb skewers?
Maybe just a naan.
The javelin was kept here, sir.
This must have been planned.
They knew she'd be on that call,
and knew she'd be wearing headphones
and wouldn't hear them coming.
Hmm. There's something else.
This classroom belongs to the victim's daughter, Kara.
It's an interesting message, right?
"Always behind you."
Not fully dry.
This is recent.
Who was first on the scene?
Tim Crawford, deputy head.
DCI Barnaby. Were you on the video call?
I did it from my classroom just down the corridor.
- Did you see anybody? - No.
I ran over straight away, but by the time I got...
I'm sorry. Is there somewhere we can talk?
Our staff room's just here.
Oh, uh, sorry. Uh--
End of year prank, I guess.
Is this graffiti new?
What's that? Oh, yes.
Uh, Hilary? Yeah.
Yeah, the kids love it when they find out my middle name.
What kind of head teacher was Estelle?
She's ambitious, which is not a bad thing,
but I'll put it this way--
She expelled more pupils in two years
than the last head did in 12.
Anyone recently?
Holly Randell last week.
Her parents are appealing it.
There was a Paul and Josephine Randell
on the video call list you gave me.
Yeah. That's them. Paul, he stormed out at the beginning.
But Josie, she was on for the whole call.
How far away do they live?
Just over the road.
What was Holly expelled for?
- Um, she-- - Tim.
Are you okay? - Yeah, yeah.
Um, where are the girls?
Oh, they're in the car. We were at their ballet lesson.
Oh, sorry. Um, I'm Felicity. I'm the school receptionist.
Um, they were just asking about Holly Randell.
Oh, surely no one's blaming her for this.
I mean, well, she's made some silly mistakes, but--
What kind of mistakes?
She stole a brand new tablet from the ICT class,
then sold it online.
She was trying to get money
to go on the year 12 residential,
which is way too expensive now.
Yeah, well, we can't use that place in the Lake District anymore, can we?
Health and safety nightmare.
Have you told them about the situation with Piers?
Piers? No.
Piers Mayhew.
Um, he's the brother of our PTA chairwoman, Moira.
He was meant to do a fundraiser for us, but...
Well, he--
He got a bit provocative on social media.
He's a misogynist and a troll.
Unfortunately for him, one of the women he targeted
was Estelle's daughter, Kara.
She persuaded her mother to cancel his event,
and he wasn't very happy about it.
Neither was Moira.
She threw a chair at him when she found out last Friday.
That's why we moved the meeting online today.
Have you managed to contact Kara?
I've left messages.
She was on a yoga retreat in Snowdonia over the weekend,
and she did text Estelle to say that she was sick,
so she might not have traveled back yet.
She was going on about some kind of digital detox.
Very into that sort of thing. - Thank you.
We'll be in touch about opening the school tomorrow.
Certain areas obviously will remain off limits.
Yeah, yeah. Of course.
Um, DCI Barnaby, I don't know if this is important,
but, um, when I was leaving today,
Moira's grandson, Dominic,
was hanging around outside Estelle's office.
Well, he was giving a talk to the sixth form
about starting university.
Well, yes, but that was finished by 3:30, though.
I saw him at four.
Look, I don't want to cause any problems.
He's a great kid, but, um, it's just
he looked pretty upset.
Thank you.
What do you mean he was upset?
Well, like I said.
We used to live next door.
And when my daughter died,
when I was going through all the guardianship stuff for Dominic,
she held me together.
This must be very difficult.
I was shouting at her when it happened.
About stupid things. Things that don't even matter.
Gran, it's okay.
We heard about an incident in a meeting
last Friday with a chair.
Who told you that?
I'd had enough, that's all.
Kara and her woke pontificating.
The chair was in my way, so I moved it...
a bit too hard.
Sorry.
I don't see how all this is relevant.
I mean, surely you're not accusing me.
I was on the video call.
You visited the school earlier.
Is that right? - I did a talk. Yeah.
How to succeed at university.
Dominic was headboy.
He's now in a very competitive course.
Did you see Estelle Hallis?
- No. - Are you sure?
A witness saw you outside her office at around 4 p.m.
Well, Gran wanted me to nag her
about this book event with Piers.
I knocked and she didn't answer, so I left.
The witness said that you looked upset.
I wasn't.
Hiya!
I thought you weren't in till tomorrow.
I thought you weren't in.
All right, Moira. Have you seen it out there?
There's, like, 20 police cars at the school.
These gentlemen are the police.
Oh, right. Uh, Reese Chapman.
She's the dusty old books, I'm the fabulous textiles.
Estelle Hallis has been murdered.
What? Seriously?
Seriously. Stabbed to death with a javelin.
That's not how you tell people.
Well, that's how you told me.
Does Kara know?
We're trying to get hold of her.
Yeah, she's not been picking up all weekend.
She's my housemate.
We were told she was on a yoga retreat in Wales.
Yeah, but she should be back.
This is gonna destroy her.
They were really close.
I'm sorry. Do you mind?
Did Estelle ever talk about her marriage?
She seemed happy enough.
You don't like Blake?
Don't trust him.
I don't know, there's just something.
Holly says he's all right.
My girlfriend, she works a Saturday job at his bike shop.
- Is that Holly Randell? - Yeah.
So she works with Estelle's husband.
Okay, well, I've left my number.
Do call if Kara gets in touch.
Hmm.
That's unusual.
It's all my own work.
We run knitting sessions on Thursdays.
Everyone's welcome. - Oh, no. My--
My gran taught me to knit in the school holidays, but,
oh, I couldn't do it now. - Well, you never lose it.
It's like riding a big wooly bike.
Thanks.
Oh.
Please don't be shy, Winter.
I'd love a nice scarf.
Yeah. Hello?
Okay. Tell him to stay put.
I'll get DS Winter over there now.
Thanks. - Who was that?
Uh, they've located Estelle's husband at the bike shop.
You go over there and see what you make of him
while I talk to the girl who was expelled.
Only, um, try not to needle him.
What?
You see, you've got to unravel the whole case
before you can knit it back together.
But don't let him pull the wool over your eyes.
Lunch box is on the table
and PE kit's in the wash.
Please, please!
Lucy seemed freaked out by all the police.
Wasn't sure what to say.
Oh, come on!
Again?
You promised that you would check next time
before donating things like my stuff from the attic.
Your old awards from school.
Are you still going on about that?
A tidy house helps me cope.
What's this?
And these?
You know what they are.
What are you doing?
He said he waited. You didn't turn up.
There was a bit of a problem.
I didn't want to worry you about it.
What sort of problem? Reese.
Okay, look, don't freak out.
But Kara is not on a yoga retreat in Wales.
I keep my phone off on the bike.
So when I turn it back on, all the missed calls--
I knew it was bad.
I-I think I--
Can I see her?
Because I think I need to
for it to feel real.
We can arrange that. Of course.
Were you cycling with anyone today?
Uh, I was on my own up in the Chilterns.
How long had you been married?
Um, eight years next month.
Second time. Lucky for both of us.
What's the situation with Estelle's first husband.
Left when Kara was a baby.
How did you meet?
Online.
She was teaching in Nottingham,
but she always wanted to move back to Midsomer.
So, um, when she got the headmistress job,
we came down here.
We were told that she expelled a lot of students.
Did that make her any enemies?
No.
It's not like she ever abandoned the kids.
She'd go out of her way to find them places at another school,
somewhere they could start again.
She was friends with Moira Mayhew.
Is that right?
Was. Yeah.
She phoned on Saturday going ballistic about this book event.
Estelle put her on speaker, and the language coming out.
Seriously.
She might be getting on,
but she scares the hell out of me.
So, Josie, you were on the call right until the end.
But, Paul, you left a couple of minutes in.
I'd had enough.
I took myself outside to calm down.
Hmm.
Are the fields behind this house the school playing fields?
I wasn't running across them to murder the headmistress,
if that's where you're going.
Hmm.
I was in the garden.
She could see me.
Mm. And what were you doing, Holly?
Wasting my life in the park.
I'm sorry. She's having a tricky time.
I heard about the expulsion. You stole computer equipment.
It was stupid. I said I was sorry.
Someone told her form teacher, Kara Hallis.
We thought she'd help sort it out,
but Kara told Estelle. - No discussion.
Just out for a kid who's never been any trouble before.
I mean, we know what it's really about.
Holly's very sporty.
She was training for the school's national championships,
but she's not academic as such.
- I'm really thick. - Ah.
That's not what she's saying.
It's just Estelle was precious about those exam results.
So the decision was taken by the headmistress?
I don't know why Miss Hallis even thought she could tell her.
I thought she was all right,
but she was so fake.
"I've got you, Holly. I'm always behind you."
"Always behind you"?
Are you sure you haven't been to the school today?
Yeah.
Because there's graffiti on the wall of Kara Hallis's art room
with that exact phrase.
- Not in green paint. - Yes.
You were washing green paint off your hands
when you got home.
She told me it was off a fence in the park.
It was just a joke.
I was there, okay?
But I didn't touch Estelle Hallis.
Ask Dominic.
Dominic was with you at the school?
I went to see him after his talk.
We were messing around in the staff room,
but then we heard the police cars turn up.
We made it out across the fields.
- Causton Grammar. - Oh, yeah.
I'm a teaching assistant.
Wow. How do you find it there?
Oh, um, I used to like it.
Well, since Estelle started,
uh, there's a lot more politics now.
What sort of thing?
Everyone assumed Tim Crawford
would be the next head.
He applied for it,
and, uh, his wife still isn't over it.
Was there tension between Felicity and Estelle?
She thought Estelle was trying to push Tim out.
I just put it down to sour grapes.
But then Felicity found an email chain with the governors, and...
Did she confront Estelle?
It was weird. She was going to.
She was all riled up and then changed her tune,
said it was all a misunderstanding
and refused to speak about it ever since.
Okay, well thank you.
If Kara Hallis does get in contact with anyone
at the school, make sure she calls me straight away.
Does Kara not know yet? Surely Tim called her.
Everyone's calling her. No reply.
Well, if she was going to pick up to anyone, it would be Tim.
Why do you say that?
Well, he was her mentor in her NQT year.
Just stuff from gossip, probably.
Well, that was interesting.
Follow up on Felicity Crawford's movements,
because there was much more tension
between Felicity and Estelle than she let on.
She said that she was at ballet with her kids.
I'll check.
Also, I've got an address for Piers Mayhew.
His sister, Moira definitely downplayed
how hostile things were.
Deception runs in the family then,
because if Holly's telling the truth,
Dominic Mayhew is lying through his teeth.
What about?
He told us he left the school at four.
Holly says he was still there when Estelle was murdered.
We were a kids TV presenter?
Yeah. Guilty. And what were you a fan of?
"Crazy Carousel" or "Ghost Town"?
Oh, no. I just saw the photos.
Oh, well, before your time. Obviously.
I was glad to leave it all behind, to be honest.
You're a children's author now?
Yes, a bit of a pivot,
but I had this idea about a boy
who can turn himself into sea creatures.
And it, well, it--
it sold rather well.
We're here to talk about Estelle Hallis.
I believe Moira has told you what happened.
Indeed.
And I'm suspect numero uno, am I?
Well, we have some questions.
Estelle was weak.
She caved in to pressure from the snowflake mob.
But as her daughter, Kara, I have the real problem with.
She was the one leading said mob.
And you had an argument with Kara online.
There was a debate about sensitivity,
rewrites in children's books,
expunging references to characters being fat.
Censorship, essentially.
And I felt very strongly about it.
And yes, a few glasses of New World Riesling
had been consumed, and possibly I did overstep the mark,
but nothing to justify my wholesale cancelation.
Where were you this afternoon?
Around 5:45?
Oh, I was at the Kingston Arms from 5:00.
The landlord, Pete, can vouch for me.
This looks amazing. Sorry we're so late.
- Oh. don't worry. - Oh.
How cross is Betty with me, on a scale of one to teenager?
She'll get over it.
But listen, is it really Estelle Hallis?
- I didn't clap. I promise. - She didn't have to.
It's all over the teacher message groups.
Well, I would never contradict a group of educators.
Oh, well, I remember her from that conference
in Birmingham last year.
She's a fellow historian.
She writes about female spies in World War II.
It's fascinating.
I'll put it on my reading list.
I tell you what, I did not enjoy being back
in the Headteacher's office again today.
Traumatic memories. - Oh, I loved school.
But we know you did, headgirl.
We're an elite breed.
I thought you'd be much more likely to get expelled.
How dare you? I was an excellent headgirl.
I liked the power.
Ah, yes. I can totally see it now.
It was him over there getting himself expelled.
I was not expelled, I was suspended.
What did you do?
Oh, just stupid 14 year old stuff.
Such as?
Come on.
We will get it out of you.
I can assure you, you won't.
Hi.
Um, it's not a good time, Holly.
I just wanted to say I'm sorry about your wife.
I know, me and her--
She was trying to help you, Holly.
She liked you, Holly. - She expelled me.
Because you stole from the school!
How nice. Where'd you steal these from, eh?
I'm sorry. I just--
Her last days were filled with nothing but stress
because of you.
Now get out! - Blake?
Don't come back.
There's no job for you here anymore.
All right, guys, last up.
Have a good one.
The last one, shut the door, please.
Thank you. - Wait, wait, wait.
- Oh. Thanks, sir. - Oh.
Yeah. I thought I'd get back into it.
It's meant to be good for relaxation.
Oh, you don't have to justify it to me.
I would just question whether green is your color.
I'm told that it brings out my eyes.
Oh, so it does. I stand corrected.
Shall we watch some footage of a murder again, then?
That's what we get paid for.
I hope there'd be some kind of reflection or something,
but there's nothing.
Well, they've been very careful.
Then, at precisely 5:48--
Call an ambulance.
- Anything else to see? - No.
They have cameras at key locations.
But not everywhere.
Okay.
Oh, um, Dominic admitted to lying.
He was worried about getting in trouble
for the graffiti, apparently.
And he thought that was worth lying for
in a murder investigation.
What did you make of Estelle's husband?
His grief seemed genuine enough.
And there's no financial motive. - Well, she's well off.
And five rental properties between here and the Midlands.
Yeah, but it all goes to Kara though.
The solicitor sent the will through this morning.
I assume Kara hasn't made contact overnight.
No. There's a text from her on Estelle's phone, though.
Sent Sunday night.
Said that she had food poisoning and couldn't drive back.
But I have contacted every yoga center in Snowdonia,
not one of them has a record of her booking.
Tracking her down needs to be a priority.
I'm meant to be in a meeting upstairs.
Just quickly. Traumatic aortic rupture.
One clean stab.
No hesitation. - Thank you.
It's my pleasure.
Any developments on our other case?
What? What other case? I need you full-time on this.
The case of the delinquent DCI.
We're brainstorming reasons you got suspended from school.
And what do you have so far?
Setting off a fire extinguisher.
Starting a food fight?
Something involving nudity.
Miles off.
Miles and miles.
Okay!
Mr. Crawford? Tim!
Oh. Hi, Moira.
Dominic has something to say.
Yeah. Hi.
Sorry for the damage to the staff room yesterday.
It was me and Holly.
Holly's the one who did the graffiti.
He just didn't stop her.
Sounds like we need to have a little chat.
Right. Yes.
It really wasn't his fault.
- I'm sorry. - What were you thinking?
How does that possibly help your case?
I know I made it all worse. You can still help me.
I don't think I can.
Not now.
Please.
Any idea where in Snowdonia it was?
No.
Or if she was going with anyone?
She didn't tell me anything about it.
She didn't take any of her yoga stuff.
Well, she said they provided mats and everything.
I thought you said she didn't tell you
any details about the trip.
Oh, well, yeah. No, she didn't.
Just that.
Just that one very specific thing.
I can't do this.
I'm feeling sick all the time.
Look, there is no yoga retreat.
She was supposed to fly to Boston Friday night,
but she's disappeared. - Why was she going to Boston?
She was delivering a rare book to some American guy.
Signed first edition. All that. Except it was fake.
Rare books. Is Moira Mayhew involved in this?
I don't want to get her in trouble.
She's just trying to put Dominic through Uni,
and I've got a slight tax issue.
So you're selling fake books to collectors?
It was just this one.
The guy paid 70 grand, so he wanted it hand-delivered.
She asked me to do it. - How did Kara get involved?
I didn't think about it till I agreed, but I,
uh, I got arrested at a climate change protest last year.
I can't get the paperwork to enter the US.
So you asked Kara to go instead?
She was meant to be on the 9 p.m. flight.
I've been calling and calling.
It's like she's vanished off the face of the planet.
Winter. Sorry I couldn't pick up.
I had a feeling that Reese Chapman was about to crack,
and he did.
Kara was never going on that yoga retreat.
She was flying to Boston.
Well, she didn't make it, sir.
The school caretaker found her body half an hour ago.
Thank you.
It's definitely her?
Driving license.
No sign of her phone, though.
This is all due to be collected today.
Well?
We've got a huge depressed skull fracture.
Rigor has completely dissipated.
I'd say she's been dead for 3 or 4 days.
Friday or Saturday.
So she'd already been dead for days by the time
her mother was killed.
So the message about food poisoning is from the killer.
Just playing for time.
These were in her jacket.
The most commonly prescribed for anxiety and panic attacks.
I can't see properly,
but I think there's discoloration on the back
of the calves and thighs where the blood circled.
That tells us she wasn't always in this position.
She was in a seated position
somewhere for at least 12 hours after death,
then moved to the locker.
We're missing a crime scene.
Given where she's been found,
let's focus on the school.
Contaminated by hundreds of kids.
We'll just have to do what we can.
That's us in Barcelona.
We traveled around Europe
together last summer on a grand tour.
I always thought boyfriends come and go and whatever,
but me and Kara, I, um...
I thought she'd always be in my life.
It's a huge loss.
I'm sorry. - Yeah.
Well, the main thing now
is that he doesn't get away with it.
Who?
This guy, Piers Mayhew.
I know who he is.
Kara got into an argument with him online.
Yeah, but you know about the other account?
Our friend from art school,
his auntie used to work with Piers in TV,
and she told Kara all these stories about him drunk on set,
abusive to runners, massive creep.
And Kara set up an anonymous account to share the stories.
Did Piers know it was Kara?
He found out last week
and he came to the house looking for her.
He only left when I threatened to call the police.
Here, hold on.
Yeah.
This, uh, this last post on Thursday.
"Stay tuned. More to come." Any idea what that was?
No, but he was freaking out about the press.
Like anyone remembers who he is.
Were you aware that Kara was taking medication
for panic attacks? - No.
She did get a prescription last year.
She, uh, she saw an accident on a school trip.
One of the instructors.
I was worried about her popping pills, though.
I thought she decided not to.
I can't believe she didn't tell me that.
She was my best friend.
Winter.
Oh, sir, someone's given the art room
a thorough bleaching,
but there's some blood showing up by the door.
They're testing the store cupboard now, and it's--
it's lighting up like a Christmas tree.
So we know where her body was kept.
Good work. - Oh, one more thing, sir.
She emailed Paul Randell on Wednesday,
saying that she would contact the driving agency
if he didn't do it himself.
Paul then asked for a meeting with her.
Do we know if that meeting took place?
No, he's not on the visitor's log.
But Reese Chapman is.
He's down as visiting Kara at 1:15 on Friday.
It's the only entry I can find for him.
Interesting. He didn't mention that.
Well, let's pay the Randells a visit.
But first we need to talk to Piers Mayhew.
It turns out that Kara was getting ready
to destroy his reputation.
People spread rumors online all the time.
Nobody's going to pay attention to Kara.
You seem very sure about that.
Look, I wish I could help,
but I was sitting in that chair most of the weekend
working on the next novel.
Yes, okay, I did run a few errands,
so if you can give me a more specific time.
So you can ask someone to lie for you
like you did when Estelle was killed.
I don't know what you mean.
We spoke to the landlord of the Kynaston Arms
on our way over here.
Your friend Pete.
Except he says he's not our friend.
And he was only too happy to report
that you were not at his pub from 5 p.m. yesterday.
You got there over an hour later at 6:15 and had one drink,
and then phoned him and asked him to lie.
Okay, okay, you got me.
I've been extremely foolish.
I listen to Moira, and that was a mistake.
What's Moira got to do with this?
Well, she was afraid I'd be a suspect.
and with good reason, as it turns out.
Anyway, her panic was infectious
and she persuaded me to get myself an alibi
in a populated place as soon as possible.
So where were you, really, when Estelle was killed?
Well, unhelpfully, for all of us.
I was sitting at that computer, writing.
A task I must get back to.
If there's nothing else?
Nothing for now.
You're probably safe to take Pete
off your Christmas card list, though.
My grandmother had it, and she lived right into her 80s.
So we know it's not a death sentence.
But still. Gonna miss.
There's no way you want to hear.
Of course.
And you drive for a living?
I was planning to declare it.
And I do get it. I'm driving kids around.
But what if I need a test to keep my license?
I wanted other work lined up first.
He's been keeping the driving to a minimum,
but then another bill comes in.
We overstretched on this place. It's got quite tight.
You don't have to pretend.
I know we're losing the house.
And it's my fault Kara knew.
I told her about Dad's diagnosis back
when I thought I could trust her.
Before I killed her. Obviously.
- Holly. - That's a sick joke to make.
Why would you say that?
Why else are they here, though?
They don't care about your health or my education
or how you pay your bills.
They think one of us did it.
That's the only reason they're talking to us.
- I really do apologize. - It's okay.
We're here to ask difficult questions.
And yes, it would be helpful if you could tell us
where you were from Friday afternoon to Saturday night.
Friday we were all here,
and Saturday Paul was at the shops and me and Holly
were doing the garden.
It's Blake Anderson. You should be talking to Into.
His wife and stepdaughter are both dead,
and he's super aggressive.
Your boyfriend said that you liked working with Blake.
That was before he lost it with me.
Like, I honestly thought he was going to hit me.
I was just trying to give him some flowers.
When was this?
Last night.
So instead of harassing my disabled dad,
perhaps you could ask Blake why he has anger issues.
And then you could leave us alone.
Holl?
What are you looking at?
Holly!
Oh.
There's more in the dish, if you'd like some.
Oh, is that Estelle's academic work?
No photos from her phone.
Just checking I'm not missing anything.
It looks like she did a knitting course at Top Yarns.
I thought maybe it was her research because she's
marked up the stitches with letters.
But Estelle was a historian.
What would that have to do with knitting?
Remember I said
that she'd written about female spies in World War II?
I remember everything you say.
Well, sometimes they use knitting to hide messages
so that they'd do sequences of smooth stitches
and then raise stitches like that.
And it would spell out words in Morse code.
One of the spies was called Phyllis Latour.
Phyllis Latour.
This artwork is called Oh La La Tour.
Unless it's called Ooh la Latour,
in which case she wasn't learning to knit.
She was deciphering a code.
Can you read this?
I could give it a go, but you probably need a knitter really.
And I know just the man.
Is everything okay with Holly?
Mm-hmm, she's fine.
I wanted to speak to you.
Look, I'm her mother, aren't I?
So I love her no matter what.
Okay. And you love her, too.
Enough to want to protect her.
I think you know what I'm asking you.
Dominic, I need you to tell me the truth.
Ah. That's great. What does it say?
You're kidding, right? This is going to take me ages.
I have the utmost faith in you.
Anything more overnight?
Oh, yes.
Digital flagged something weird in Karas--
Sorry. Kara's search history.
She kept searching for a Terrence McGregor maths.
It seems that he was a professor of applied mathematics
and lived in Badger's Drift, died five years ago, aged 87.
And no obvious connection to Kara?
Not that I can find.
Well, keep digging.
Okay, mother and daughter both killed on school grounds.
Kara was killed first,
so presumably it all starts with her.
Last sighting of coral is 4:50 p.m.
on Friday, when the in-person PTA meeting disbanded.
When Moira threw a chair at her.
Moira could have followed her into the classroom
after the argument.
What if Kara revealed that she knew about the book fraud?
Or, um...
Holly has to be high on our list.
Well, she's impulsive.
She felt betrayed by both Kara and Estelle.
Hmm. Yeah.
Oh, we need to speak to Felicity Crawford again.
I just heard back from the ballet studio
that her kids go to, and they missed their lesson on Monday.
So I called their primary school
and she booked them in to stay late.
So Felicity lied about where she was when Estelle was killed.
I'd like to talk to her about that
and about the staff room gossip surrounding
her husband and Kara.
What's going on here? Come on.
I did sort of twig that Kara had a crush on me.
Did I do enough to discourage it?
Probably not.
It's nice to have the attention.
You know, what it's like.
She was like a lovesick puppy.
Tim had to have a word with her.
It was reassuring, in a way.
Wrong classroom.
- Sorry, miss. - Thank you.
Reassuring that Kara had a crush on your husband.
Well, know that she made it so obvious.
I mean, something had been going on,
and she would have been more careful, wouldn't she?
No lines were crossed, not even slightly.
Do you have any idea
why your wife lied about taking your daughters
to ballet on Monday?
What?
Where were they then?
I went to see a psychotherapist.
That's not what you said before.
I lied because Tim was there.
And it wasn't something that I wanted to discuss
in front of my husband.
I think there must be some crossed wires.
Felicity and I, we don't have secrets.
That is one complicated marriage.
See if the therapist backs her up.
Sir, there's been a new voicemail left
on Estelle's mobile.
It's from Dominic's university tutor.
Apparently got himself kicked out.
Estelle was trying to help.
Oh, Sarah.
Mm. Why is she calling you?
Oh!
I'll speak to Dominic. Hi, Sarah.
Yeah, he's just realized.
Non-attendance at lectures, failure to submit essays.
After everything I did to help you get in there!
The coaching, the extra tutorials!
Maybe that was the problem.
When I had to do it for myself, I couldn't cope, could I?
You never let me learn to cope.
I spoke to your tutor, Dominic.
He said that Estelle called him at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
That's about an hour before she was killed.
Saying that you had just left her office
in a highly emotional state.
She called them for me?
She said she couldn't.
And Mr. Crawford had already tried.
Tim Crawford knew about this?
- He was trying to help. - Just to be clear, Dominic,
you're admitting that you met Estelle shortly
before she was murdered,
that you were in her office and that you were upset?
Well, I talked to her, but I didn't do anything.
You told us that you just knocked on the office door,
that you didn't go in.
This is the third version of events you've given us.
You've made everything so much harder for yourself.
Why did you lie?
Because I mess things up.
It's what I do because I'm stupid.
I need a minute. - No, Dom.
I have a few questions for you, Moira, as well.
About your book fraud.
What?
Fake first editions, forged signatures.
Reese told my colleague everything.
It's not my usual way of doing things, I can assure you.
It's more Kara's involvement that we're focusing on now.
She knew about the scam. Did she threaten to reveal it?
I didn't know she was involved
until Reese told me on Monday.
I'm telling you the truth.
I'd make a joke about forgetfulness,
but I can't remember how it goes. - Well, come in.
Because you know what occurred to me this morning?
You remember my old head of science who moved to Nottingham?
Well, he ended up at the school that Estelle used to teach at.
So I gave him a ring this morning.
And Estelle's husband, Blake Anderson--
Not Blake Anderson at all. - What do you mean?
Well, his real name is Benjamin Ashton.
He went to prison for conning three separate women
out of their life savings.
They met when she was volunteering
as a prison educator.
So his whole marriage to Estelle.
Well, that could be another romance scam.
You should come and interview him with me.
You're great at this.
It's not difficult.
I don't know why you always make it such a song
and dance about it.
It took me a long time to believe that she liked me,
because obviously she knew my past.
It was all out there on the table.
But she believed in new starts.
She was willing to back me.
And that made me think I can back myself, you know?
What about Kara? Did she know?
We told her we met online.
You should have been up front with us from the beginning.
I was going to tell you, but I couldn't.
So it's all at the bottom of the lake now.
What is my old life. What was left of it.
Mementos and photos of my parents.
I threw them away.
I was afraid you were going to search my shop.
Where were you over the weekend?
Uh... At home with Estelle.
But I can only give you my word for that.
And I know that's not worth much.
In light of Kara's death,
your wife's estate is all yours. Her pension, her property.
It is. Yeah.
I think it's worth quite a lot.
But Estelle is the one person who knew every last bit of me
and said yes to it all.
So I profit from this. Yeah, I know I do.
But all I can think about is what I've lost.
Oh.
You're, um, Dominic's girlfriend, aren't you?
Yeah.
And what do you want?
Money.
Thank you.
Oh. - Get peckish?
No, it's for the for the guys at the station.
I mean, helping me with this knitted artwork,
and well...
the stitches in the speech bubble are indeed Morse code.
And it's all about Kara.
It's basically Reese declaring his love for her.
Oh, I assumed he was--
No, ignore me and never assume.
So Estelle understood the reference to Phyllis Latour
and cracked the code,
only to discover it was about her own daughter.
If Estelle told Kara,
then that would make sense of the message
that she sent her mother on Friday morning.
Here. "I'm worried it's obvious.
I know I'll need to have the talk."
So you think Kara was planning to confront Reese?
Well, it could be why he visited the school on Friday.
And she asked him to talk. and then she rejected him,
and he snapped.
People have killed for less.
- Sir. - There.
Both computers are still here.
All my first editions are accounted for.
I don't understand it.
Well, he must have been looking for something.
- I've no idea what. - They've left my stuff alone.
I, uh, don't think there's much of a market
in stolen knitting needles.
I'm sure you're right.
Can I have a word with you in private?
Uh, yeah, if you need to.
I've got things to do upstairs.
Thank you. Shall we go through there?
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
It's about your relationship with Kara.
Is it purely platonic?
- Of course. Yeah. - On both sides?
I'm not sure what you're getting at.
The message in the speech bubble.
Do you want me to spell it out for you?
That's art. It doesn't literally mean.
I think it does.
You're in love with Kara.
You couldn't tell her, so you poured it into your art.
But Estelle spotted the Latour reference, didn't she?
It all came out last week.
Because I've been dating men for so long,
Kara forgot that Bi does actually mean Bi.
She was acting like I tricked her or something.
So she rejected you.
The rejection, I could handle it.
It was the awkwardness.
It was like she was wary around me.
It was awful.
Is that why you visited Kara at school on Friday?
I just needed to make things right
before she got on the plane.
And she said we were good, but we weren't.
I could feel it.
And after that conversation, what did you do?
I went straight back home.
Look, it's obvious where you're taking this.
And you're so wrong.
I could never, ever hurt Kara.
One more thing for now.
Um, does the name Terrence McGregor mean anything to you?
I've never heard of him.
He was a maths professor.
Kara seemed to be researching him.
I know who he is!
I couldn't help overhearing.
I bought some crates of books from his estate when he died.
Turned out to include some highly sought after Tolkiens.
But I don't know why on earth Kara was interested.
Rotten fish in the oven?
What?
50 chickens in the staff room.
A truckload of horse manure in the car park.
Are you really so desperate to know what got me suspended?
I most certainly am.
Well, Dr. Perkins, I will tell you on one condition.
Name it.
Under no circumstances does this get back to winter.
It was, um, weedkiller on the school sports field.
Applied to burn the grass in a...
in a certain shape.
A shape a teenage boy might find amusing.
The very one.
Lucky to get away with just a suspension.
Oh, I got a lot more than that.
My parents persuaded a police officer friend
to turn up on our doorstep in uniform.
He said he had some questions.
He frightened the hell out of me.
Stellar parenting.
But then these questions were all about why I'd done it.
He was genuinely curious about why I was acting out,
you know,
and he he showed me that you could make a mistake
and he could be okay, you could come back from it.
I sometimes wonder if that conversation was the reason
I became a police officer.
That's actually really nice.
I became a pathologist because I like knives.
And on the subject of pathology.
Ah, yes.
Cause of death was the depressed skull fracture.
She was hit once, very hard with a pointed object.
This was on display in the art room.
Traces of blood and bleach.
I sent it to the lab for DNA.
Sorry I'm late. Felicity's therapist called.
She was with him when Estelle was killed.
That's Tim and Felicity both accounted for, though.
Yeah.
What?
No. It's just-- It's not impossible
they're working with a third party, is it?
It's just something the therapist said.
He assumed that I was calling
because Estelle had followed through on a threat
that she made to Felicity about going to the police.
What about?
Well, he wouldn't say.
Client confidentiality,
but I looked it up online, and he's an addiction specialist.
This is humiliating.
We're not here to embarrass you.
We just need the facts.
Felicity gets quite anxious.
Ever since the girls were born, really.
And we all deal with stress in different ways, don't we?
And for Felicity, she...
Well, she takes things without paying.
Shoplifting.
It just happens and things get on top of me.
It's not even stuff that she wants.
Most of it ends up in the bin.
Did Estelle know about this?
No.
Yes.
Well she did.
I mean, when I tried to talk to her about the way
she was treating you,
she said that--
she said that she'd noticed me taking things.
Christmas fairs, summer fetes.
I mean, she framed it as concern, you know.
"How can I help?"
But the message was clear.
She had something over you.
Well, that doesn't mean anything, does it?
You know that Felicity didn't kill Estelle.
She can't be in two places at the same time.
What's this?
A music festival in Croatia.
I need you to give these to Dominic.
Help him get over this university business.
Since when did you take the slightest interest in Dominic?
Since he and his girlfriend took an interest in me.
Really good. Well done. Really good.
Dominic.
I've got a surprise for you from your uncle.
Dominic?
Dom!
Oh!
No!
Dominic!
Oh! Oh!
Dominic!
There's nothing obviously missing,
as far as Moira can tell,
but she can barely speak.
The knitting needle hit the carotid artery.
Massive blood loss triggering brain hypoxia.
Moira said that the shop was closed.
This has got to be linked to the break in, surely.
No sign of forced entry this time.
And no obvious struggle.
Dominic led them in. He trusted them.
- They had their own keys. - Besides Dominic and Moira,
that leaves Reese and Piers.
What's Holly said so far?
She claims she was here all morning.
Left at 12:30.
She sent me these, which were taken around midday.
Hmm, that globe has been moved.
Is it still somewhere in the flat?
I'm not sure. Do you think it's valuable?
It looks old. Let's check it's still here.
- Yes, sir. - I'm going to talk to Holly.
He was fine when I left him.
I swear. - Nobody's accusing you, Holly.
Just tell him what you told us about Piers.
Piers doesn't write his own books.
He stole them.
Me and Dominic started blackmailing him about it.
What do you mean, he stole them?
It was years ago.
Dominic came across these old notebooks
in the bottom of a box in the shop.
They belonged to some lecturer who died?
A maths lecturer. Terence McGregor.
Yeah. That's it.
Um, they were full of these handwritten stories.
Dominic got really into them.
Piers had a look and wanted to borrow them.
Who else knew about this?
Piers gave Dominic £500 to keep quiet.
Then Dominic told me.
And when Kara got into the whole thing
with Piers online, I told her.
Was Kara threatening to go public?
She said she needed to check it was true first.
But I went to see him yesterday.
You went to blackmail him?
He agreed to pay for a few things as long as we kept quiet.
So excited to tell him.
But now what if I've got him killed?
The only person responsible for Dominic's death
is the person who killed him.
No sign of that globe.
Moira said that she was collecting things
at the shop for the PTA jumble sale.
That came in as a donation.
Kara saw it, said that she liked it,
and asked Moira to put it aside for her.
Wait a minute.
So Kara showed an interest in this globe,
and then Dominic had it in his possession
until it vanished around the time he was killed.
You're thinking whoever killed Dominic
took the globe from the flat, why?
Logically, there would be two options.
They wanted it themselves,
or they wanted to stop someone else getting hold of it.
In which case, what have they done with it?
Hidden it? Disposed of it?
Well, get uniform to have a look around.
Just in the immediate area
in case they dumped it straight away.
In the meantime,
I have some questions for Piers Mayhew,
Midsomer's premier plagiarist, apparently.
What globe?
I've been sitting here the whole time writing.
It's what I do.
Mm. The new novel. How's that going?
Slowly.
I'd like you to read this, please.
I know what it says.
These stories, none of them are yours.
You stole them.
I used the material as a springboard,
that's all. - It's plagiarism.
But as you like stories.
Once upon a time,
Dominic told Holly that you stole your novels.
Holly told Kara and she was going to tell the world only
before she had a chance, she was killed.
This is absurd. I did not do this.
Plot twist.
Kara told her mother, Estelle, and she was killed too.
If you have evidence to arrest me, go ahead.
Otherwise, this little storytelling session is over.
Piers has to be top of our list.
Estelle, Kara, and Dominic
were blowing his world apart between them.
I don't suppose that globe's turned up?
No, uniform checked the wheelie bins,
the public litter bins, the park.
What?
I walked past that fencing a few hours ago.
It wasn't pulled open like that.
Are you serious?
He's serious.
Okay, can't find them.
I really should stop buying new suits.
With respect, sir, this is a complete waste of time.
Hold on.
You were saying?
That your hunches are always right, sir.
"Prize for Academic Excellence
presented to Timothy Hillary Crawford,
year eight by Mr. Vincent Bell, headmaster."
Oh. This is Tim Crawford's globe.
Tim's? From when he was at school?
Okay, but if this was in the PTA donations,
then why did Kara ask Moira to put it aside for her?
I think I might know. Vincent Bell.
Here, look.
"Vincent Bell, 72, fell to his death
while facilitating a residential trip for a group
of year 12 students from Causton Grammar."
That's the school trip Tim organized in the Lake District.
And the man who died was his old headmaster.
Kara witnessed the accident on that school trip too.
Reese said that's what started her panic attacks.
Was she aware that the man she saw die
was Tim's headmaster?
Or was it only seeing this globe that told her that?
Come on.
He was just a random old guy helping out at the center.
Kara saw his body hit the ground
and that's why she couldn't sleep for ages.
Did she mention that Tim knew him from when he was at school?
What? No.
And she definitely would have mentioned that as far
as she was concerned, he was a stranger to both of them.
What did Kara say
when she asks you to keep the globe for her?
Just to make sure it didn't end up
with the jumble sale stuff.
She said she needed to show it to someone.
Thank you.
Take good care of each other.
So Tim never let on that he knew Vincent Bell.
And then Kara saw the globe,
saw the names and made the connection.
Exactly.
And there's one obvious reason why Tim would cover up
his connection to Vincent Bell, isn't there?
It wasn't an accident.
Well, but it can't be Tim, though, can it?
We have him on video when Estelle was murdered,
and even if he was working with his wife or something,
we know that she was with his therapist.
I know, but what if there was a way
to be in two places at once?
There. Slow that down.
It actually cuts out for a split second.
5:46 precisely. Two minutes before Estelle is killed.
You could run from Tim's classroom to Estelle's office in that time.
Tim said he was having technical issues.
It's possible that all the footage
we're seeing after it cuts out was pre-filmed.
Go to the bit with the javelin.
Look at the timestamp. It's not 5:48 in a few seconds.
It's 5:48 on the absolute dot.
He timed the javelin to coordinate
with his faked reaction on the pre-filmed footage.
There you go! On my whistle!
Mr. Crawford.
We haven't informed the students yet.
It doesn't feel real, does it?
I mean, who would want to hurt Dominic?
Who, indeed?
I believe this belongs to you.
Why don't you tell us about Vincent Bell or Mr. Bell,
as I suppose he was to you, being your headmaster.
I don't want to talk about him.
Not here.
We know what you did.
We have a good idea how you did it.
I'd just like to know why.
Why?!
Because he was a monster!
He was a bully. He belittled us. Terrified us day and night.
- Was this a boarding school? - Yes! There's no escape.
I know for a fact there are men out there,
middle-aged men, they're suffering from depression,
unable to form relationships
because of the damage that he did.
You tried to be a good student.
You know, the day that I won that
he said it made me conceited.
He made me take off my socks and shoes
and run 20 laps around the school.
And when he saw that my feet were bleeding,
do you know what he did, DCI Barnaby?
He smiled.
That man was a sadist!
Then all those years later at the outdoor center...
There he was.
It was recorded as an abseiling accident.
Yeah. He was--
He was setting up a line, so he was close to the edge.
Excuse me.
Can I--
Hello, Timothy.
I thought I recognized the name.
I was back there.
13-year-old little boy.
I was humiliated, frightened.
But there was this anger inside me.
I was so incredibly angry.
And I knew, I knew in that moment.
It was so clear.
Ahh!
The only way for a man like Vincent Bell
to face consequences was for a man like me to make him.
But Kara saw it.
Kara.
She saw something.
I never knew exactly how much, but...
She trusted me.
And you used that.
You made her believe your lies
over the evidence of her own eyes until...
That was hidden in the back of an attic,
I'd forgotten it existed.
Oh, and then, when Felicity had given it to a jumble sale,
it was like this--
this grenade was out there waiting to go off.
I couldn't track it down.
Kara spotted it in the donations at the shop,
and she saw your name and his name engraved side by side.
Not difficult for her to make the connection.
I saw you.
You had your hands on him.
I was trying to grab him.
You knew him!
There's only one reason you'd lie about that.
I'm sorry.
Where are you going? Kara, please.
She was going to the police.
You hid her body in a cupboard.
You moved it to the locker at the weekend.
You knew they were going to the tip.
But what if she had confided in someone else?
I read her messages and that there was one to Estelle.
Something like, um, "I'm worried.
He knows that I know."
We believe that message referred to something else.
It was about her friend Reese.
It had nothing to do with you.
How did you fake the video call footage?
Um...
I filmed myself over the weekend,
and I switched the feeds.
Canceling an event at such short notice
is an insult to the work of this committee.
Do you have any idea
how difficult it is to secure a speaker like Piers Mayhew?
He is your brother.
Was it that difficult to book him?
He is the region's best-selling children's author.
Given his recent outbursts on social media,
I simply don't see how we appreciate it.
Item two on the agenda. Second-hand uniform sale.
So you ran over there?
There were too busy shouting at each other
to pay any attention to me.
I knew there would be.
And as a PTA head, I am entitled to call an emergency--
- Estelle? - Call an ambulance!
But the incriminating globe was still out there.
That was you. The break in at Moira's shop,
trying to get it back.
Kara said it was there,
but when I broke it and I couldn't find it,
you know, I knew that Dominic had seen it, though,
that graffiti in the staff room.
I never told them my middle name.
You were afraid that he'd work it out.
He knew about the incident on the school trip.
Everyone did.
- There you go. - Oh, thanks.
Oh.
"Presented to Timothy Hilary Crawford.
Year eight by Mr. Vincent Bell, headmaster."
Imagine going through school with a middle name, Hilary.
Vincent Bell.
I knew I heard that name.
That old guy who died on the year 12 trip, was it?
I can't remember now.
Yeah, it definitely was.
Bell is a pretty common name.
But the Vincent Bell who died was a retired teacher.
It said so in the papers.
Sir, why would you say you didn't know him?
You killed him. 19 years old.
I didn't want to.
I just thought if I could get the globe back--
You murdered Kara, Estelle, and Dominic
to cover up the truth about Vincent Bell's death.
Where was this going to end?
Holly Randell saw that globe, too.
Was she next?
A week ago, that was me, a good teacher.
A good man.
That's the one thing Vincent Bell did for me.
He made me want to be a teacher, too, so that I could do better.
And I did do better.
I don't understand how I let this happen.
Sir.
Almost left this in the office.
Oh. Thank you. That's great.
Oh! It's brilliant.
Rebel.
You don't know the half.
I'm going to join you for the second round actually,
there's-- there's something I need to do first.
It's okay.
I haven't come to interrogate you.
I just thought you might be feeling like you've messed up
and that there's no way to come back from it.
So I just wanted to tell you about something.
What is it?
Something incredibly stupid that I did
when I was around your age.
Involving a sports field and a bottle of weedkiller.
Well, I don't get it.
What was it?
Well, it turned out it was the making of me.
All right, come on in.
- Just once around the block. - Yeah.
As long as he gets a decent walk at lunchtime, he'll be fine.
What do you look like, eh? I'm sorry about that.
I'll get the next round in.
There's no need. It's on Jamie.
Ah.
Who will also be dog sitting next weekend.
Uh, jet washing the patio, and helping you trim that hedge.
Because?
We brokered a deal.
Everything tells me this is bad.
So I finally went through the boxes in the shed,
and it turns out your mother kept it.
The local paper with a full page spread
detailing your little teenage incident
that led to your suspension.
Oh!
Nobody breathes a word of this to Betty, okay?
Because I am supposed to set an example.
I'm a figure of authority and sound judgment.
Oh, for goodness sake, it's not that funny!
It is. I mean, the sheer-- The sheer scale of this artwork.
- Anatomically correct. - Yes.
I mean, you could see it from space.
It did take me quite a while.
Oh! This is amazing.
This might be the greatest day of my life.
Cheers.