[ Door opens ]
OFFICER: Jeanie?
Jeanie, hospital visit.
[ Indistinct conversations in distance ]
OFFICER: Hey!
Long, get back here now!
[ Panting ]
[ Metal scraping ]
MICHAEL: Jeanie?
JEANIE: [ Panting ] Nice place.
Me mum said it was nice.
So, you gonna invite us in?
I've come all this way.
[ Panting ]
Oh, come on. Let us in, will you?
I'm gonna count to 10.
Then I'm gonna call the prison.
-Oh, come on. -Go on. Scram!
Back to your hole!
Look at me.
You're so bloody brave, aren't you?
Why can't you look at me?
I never did anything wrong.
I said look at me!
You never once came to see me!
You --
I hate you! I hate you!
You never --
[ Groans, whimpers ]
Oh, God...
Do you not love me?
MICHAEL: No. Never.
You made my life a nightmare.
You can wake up now.
[ Tires screech, crash ]
[ Sea gull calling ]
[ Paper thuds ]
BOY: Come on!
[ Cellphone ringing in distance ]
[ Ringing continues ]
[ Police radio chatter ]
Not like you to stoop to a spot of roadkill, Vera.
VERA: Oh. Better class of roadkill, this one, Billy.
D.C.C. wants a report on what the victim was doing here,
-before he goes to the press. -Yeah, I'll bet he does.
Still, seeing as we're here...
Traffic accident?
Yes. And no.
Billy...
Well, the collision might have killed her.
But I'm guessing it didn't do this.
VERA: You sure?
Mr. Long?
D.C.I. Vera Stanhope. D.S. Joe Ashworth.
MICHAEL: What were you thinking of?
Letting her out in the first place?
She was bound to come after me. Like an animal, she was.
Your hand okay?
MICHAEL: Thanks. It's all right. Better than my head. Why?
We'll get someone to take a look at it.
-No need to fuss. -It's just for evidence.
So, you struck first?
What do you think happened here?!
She was your daughter, Mr. Long.
No. She gave that up a long time ago.
Ah, you play yourself, do you?
-Hmm? -VERA: Piano?
Oh, it's Theresa's thing.
The late wife, and Jeanie. She had a knack for it.
[ Note plays ]
Why hang onto it if she was never coming home?
Well, she's not coming home now.
No, she's not.
She went for me!
On me own doorstep an' --
And what?
[ Sighs ] I don't know.
You don't know or you can't remember?
Uh, I was trying to defend myself.
She kept clawing at me.
I was trying to get back into the house.
I looked up...
and all of a sudden, she stepped back.
Just stepped back off the curb?
Onto the road.
Aye.
VERA: An accident?
On purpose.
She saw that bus coming.
She walked right into it.
She say anything before she, um...
No.
Okay.
Right.
Not much to be scared of, is she?
Not anymore.
The bairns keeping you up?
What is that supposed to mean?
Nah.
Just an observation.
And what is this?
VERA: [ Chuckles ]
It was me dad's.
Well, it was either me or the scrap heap.
Oh, it was a devil to get her started.
[ Engine turns over ]
JOE: It's a she, is it?
[ Sea gulls calling ]
MAN ON TV: Jeanie Long,
11 years into a life sentence for murder,
died instantly following the collision.
It is thought she escaped while being transferred
from Ebmore Prison to hospital for routine surgery.
Long was convicted for the brutal murder
of her lover's daughter, schoolgirl Abigail Mantel,
more than a decade ago.
A police spokesperson said
the incident is not being treated... -[ Telephone ringing ] -...as suspicious
but has appealed to any eye witnesses to come forward.
EMMA: Hello?
CHRIS: Hey, sis.
It's me.
EMMA: Chris? Where are you?
Home.
-EMMA: Oh. -What? No, no.
Home home.
Right here, right now.
Can I come and stay for a bit?
EMMA: Do you even know the way after all these years?
Right, okay.
[ Beep ]
MAN ON TV: ...as soon as he's available for comment,
although its understood
that a full investigation into prisoner transportation
has already begun.
Jeanie Long was convicted of the brutal murder
of her lover's daughter, schoolgirl Abigail Mantel,
in a case that electrified the Tynemouth region.
Jeanie Long.
11 years into a life sentence.
She was a star turn.
D.I. Fletcher's last collar before I showed up.
Greatly missed, I'm sure.
Anyone here work the case?
Last man standing.
Well, go on, then, blossom. Stand up.
Let's hear it for Kenny!
[ Applause ]
That's it. Come on. Mind over matter.
Okay, uh...
Jeanie. Pretty lass. 22 years old at the time.
Living with her rich boyfriend out in Tynemouth, Keith...
Mantel.
Wife passed away. Had an only daughter named...
Uh, Abigail. But everybody called her...
-Abby. -KENNY: ...Abby.
She's, uh, 14 or something.
15. She was 15.
Uh, two pretty lasses under the one roof,
fighting over the big man.
Until Keith's had enough.
He throws Jeanie out the house.
Jeanie is so angry, she follows Abby out of town.
Comes back, hours later, scratches down her face,
Abby's fibers all over her clothes.
Jeanie strangled her out near Hebden Wood.
-Clothing, wasn't it? -KENNY: Aye, uh...
some sort of close weave.
Tie, scarf, shirt-sleeve.
We reckoned she threw it away.
Well, if I could just haul us back to this morning?
Uh, the bus driver confirms the father's account.
Jeanie stepped back into the road.
It was suicide?
Basically.
Plus, five more eye witnesses say the same thing.
Well, that's Dad in the clear.
JOE: Hey, he still hit her.
Self-defense.
You love your kids no matter what.
Oh, bless him. In his own little world.
HOLLY: I mean, what was she thinking, though,
running off to her dad's?
I mean, they would have sent her straight back to Category A.
Ah, had enough, I suppose. Wanted to go home.
I don't know.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
MAN: Take care, okay? See you soon.
[ Engine revs ]
JAMES: Wind slightly off the berth.
Steering her back to 2-5-0.
Tea, sir?
JAMES: Thank you very much.
[ Russian accent ] James, what are you going to call your son?
JAMES: [ Speaking Russian ] Matthew.
MAN: Excellent, James.
You are very, very fast learner.
[ James chuckles ]
For special occasions.
[ Speaking Russian ]
-Oh, ho ho. -Na zdorovje.
Matthew.
[ Speaking Russian ]
-Matthew. -Matthew.
Na zdorovje.
Hang on.
[ Keyboard clacks ]
[ Telephone ringing ]
[ Knock on door ]
Boss?
What?
Can I have a word a moment, please?
What?
Dennis Firle called the station overnight.
I-I recognized his name.
VERA: Who?
Well, I just got off the phone to him.
He saw her.
What?! Who saw who?
Dennis Firle saw Jeanie Long.
11 years ago.
The same day, same time as Abby's murder.
King's Cross Station.
What?
HOLLY: Mr. Firle -- He knew Jeanie from home.
And he said he would have stopped to talk to her,
but he and his wife were moving to the States,
and they were running late for their flight
to Phoenix, Arizona.
Well, why didn't he say so at the time?
HOLLY: No, he did. He did.
He heard Jeanie was in trouble, and he called from the States.
It's all there in the original action list. Look.
They squared the case off so fast
that nobody called him back.
He's willing to fly over to testify.
He read about Jeanie online last night.
He was totally distraught. [ Sighs ]
Jeanie had an alibi all along, and she never knew.
So, come on, since you're on a roll,
if she didn't kill Abigail Mantel, who did?
[ Shovel digging ]
[ Birds chirping ]
JOE: Mr. Mantel?
Mr. Mantel?
Sorry. I'm not with it today.
We're here to advise you that...
Jeanie Long may not have been responsible
for your daughter's death.
Right, right.
We'll obviously want to reopen the investigation,
which is going to mean questions.
Sure.
Understood.
She sounded like a lovely girl, your daughter.
Aye, she was.
WOMAN: Mr. Mantel...
Guests on their way, would you believe?
Fundraiser for the Lifeboats. Half the village turning out.
VERA: Might it be an idea to put them off?
-[ Doorbell rings ] -It's too late now.
That'll be the caterers.
Let's get this party started.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
He never visited her in prison -- not once --
Jeanie's dad.
Hey. Not our place to judge.
You do it all the time.
It's a job, not a crusade.
She was in year ten.
Mr. Raworth's class.
Abigail? You were at school
-with Abigail Mantel? -Aye.
Do you know her?
She was in the year below. You know what it's like.
You don't talk to anyone outside your year.
I remember, though, they had this memorial for her
in assembly.
Her face up on the overhead projector in the gym.
And I also remember everyone was weeping for her --
like they all knew her, like she was some sort of special person.
Well, maybe she was.
My sister got so sick of it
she did her hair up like Jeanie Long.
Ha. Bet your mam loved that.
Nah, not really. She went after her with a pair of scissors.
She looked like Joan of Arc.
It was a mad summer.
-Best summer of me life. -VERA: Why's that?
When I met me missus.
JAMES: Emma...
Emma...
Emma.
Sleepyhead.
Ah, James. [ Breathes deeply ]
How long have I --
Oh, hours.
Here, drink up.
Oh, cripes -- the party.
-Dad's gonna scalp me. -It's all right. It's okay.
Don't worry. I gave him a call, said we're gonna be late.
Okay.
Listen, if you feel you're not up to it, I can always cancel.
No, it's what I need.
Get out of me own head for a bit.
[ Breathes deeply ]
She was the best friend I ever had.
Eh, not quite the best.
[ Chuckles softly ]
I feel old.
I do, though.
Chris is back.
Oh, where is he?
Hey. He's me brother.
-I didn't pick him. -All right.
CHRIS: I didn't pick you, either.
I'd better get Matthew ready.
Coward.
[ Footsteps ]
Why don't you give your mum and dad a call, eh?
Leave it out, man.
Just 'cause you've got no family of your own.
[ Door opens ]
-Chris? -[ Door closes ]
Will we see you at the party?
I hope not.
So, go on. Ask me. I know you're dying to.
Okay.
What have you come back for this time, Chris?
It's been three years.
Am I skint, you mean?
No.
No, you keep your hands in your pockets.
I'm not skint, Jim.
As a matter of fact, I had to.
No choice.
Not this time.
All right.
Tell her I said I'm sorry, will you?
[ Door closes ]
[ Footsteps ]
[ Knocking ]
MAN: See you tomorrow.
Robert Winter?
D.C.I. Vera Stanhope.
Yes, I thought you'd be along.
Listen, I wanted a word.
Uh, you see, you were Jeanie's last recorded visitor.
Look, sorry, uh, we could make an appointment.
Not only am I running late, but it's my turn to wash up.
I could dry if you like.
-[ Chuckles ] -[ Sighs ]
No. Nobody to talk to, not since her mother died.
-The father -- -Yeah, we know about.
Of course.
Jeanie had no friends inside?
No. Well, s-she was so adamant that she was innocent --
that tends to grate on the rest of the wing.
She convince you at all?
As her probation officer, I was duty bound to block my ears,
whether I wanted to or not.
Yeah, 'course you were.
Face your demons in the end, if you can.
That's the message.
One moment of madness, et cetera.
I did what I could for her "within my remit."
She ever talk about the day of Abigail's murder?
Mr. Winter?
If they knew that I'd played any part in this,
they would have my job.
In what?
ROBERT: Jeanie kept begging me
to look into a possible appeal on her behalf.
In the end, I said,
"Make an account of everything that happened --
your story, how you remember it."
She sent me all this.
Craziness, so it seemed.
Anyway...
...the last time we met, I told her.
No appeal.
I gave her hope.
Weak, cruel of me.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
[ Upbeat instrumental music plays ]
Sorry I'm late, love. Sorry.
Oh, it's quite a turnout, eh?
Are you surprised?
That dead girl. I can't believe he just went ahead with it.
He seems all right -- considering.
MARY: He's probably loving it.
Center of attention.
You know what he's like.
We'll just show our faces.
Half an hour.
I feel sick just being here.
Of course you do. We all do.
Oh, look at that poor girl. She's dead on her feet.
-Mum! -Leave her be.
[ Sighs ] It's so embarrassing.
[ Tapping ]
[ Conversations subside ]
Thank you all for trooping out tonight.
I would have canceled.
You all know why.
She killed my little girl.
11 years trying to say those words.
Now they've got hold of some alibi.
Jeanie didn't do it. Someone else did.
And all that hate gone to the wrong address.
You see?
So...
it's like we've buried not one but two little girls.
Two daughters.
Some of you may remember,
she was a talented musician, Jeanie was.
So I'd like us all to hear this, please.
[ Click, classical piano music plays ]
JEANIE: Me and Keith --
Well, he -- Well, he was the love of me life.
He had a daughter. But we didn't get on.
I don't know why. She was...
-[ Telephone ringing ] -...always so...mad jealous.
Anyway...
-[ Click ] -ANSWERING MACHINE: Hello.
Your call cannot be taken at the moment,
so please leave your message after the tone.
[ Beep ]
JEANIE: She would have scratched me face off
if I hadn't got out the house, you know.
I just ran for it.
'Cause once Abby got wound up, nothing would have stopped her.
I went to London for the day, like I said.
When I got back that night, there was this policewoman.
I over-- I over-reacted.
I see that now.
I was --
I was just trying to defend meself.
I'm sorry.
I'm dying in here.
[ Sighs ] Will somebody please, please help me?
Please?
[ Beep ]
[ Laughter, indistinct conversations ]
[ Upbeat pop music plays ]
Aah!
[ Inhales sharply ]
[ Indistinct singing ]
KEITH: That's the trouble with this town.
Everyone loves the old days.
[ Horn honking ]
Oh, what is that?
[ Cup thuds ]
-[ Honking continues ] -MARY: [ Crying ]
-[ Footsteps ] -EMMA: Mum?
Mum? Mum?
Mum!
-ROBERT: Mary. -Mum!
Mary! Mary?
-It's all right, love. -JAMES: What's going on?
ROBERT: It's all right. Come on, darling.
-EMMA: Oh. Oh, God! -It's all right.
-Chris! -Stay there. Stay there.
-EMMA: Chris! Please, no. -JAMES: It's okay.
-No, Chris, please! Please! -MARY: [ Crying ]
-JAMES: It's all right. -EMMA: No! Chris!
Christopher Winter.
He'd only been back in the country two days.
His family haven't seen him in years.
VERA: Billy?
Well, I think we can rule out traffic accident.
Head wound. This, uh, rivet near the crown.
Time of death?
Murder weapon?
-JOE: Nah, no sign. -Well, the night is young.
Car?
JOE: Belonged to his sister.
The boot was found like this?
JOE: What?
It's warped, twisted.
Victim leans in to get something out of the back.
Down comes the boot, strikes him hard, back of the head.
-The boot? -Aye, it's possible.
No great blood loss, but, uh, possible brain hemorrhage,
depending on the force of the blow.
Yeah, that would do it. Can we go home now?
Witnesses?
Well, it's early days, but no one's come forward.
The ticket-takers had all gone in.
VERA: So, uh...
The front-door was closed, hmm?
So very likely...
the killer came from the road.
Aye, it's a fair walk. No one heard any cars.
Besides, look, the lights in the garden are that low.
Theoretically, anyone could have got in and out.
No one would have seen.
VERA: We could be looking at any one of the guests.
EMMA: Its all right, Mum. It's okay.
VERA: Is this the mother?
How we doing?
We wanted to call, but you don't want to make a fuss.
Shall I have a word with the medic?
Get something for you wife, help her sleep?
EMMA: Mum's on these horse tranquilizers as it is.
ROBERT: You're a light sleeper, aren't you, love?
I have been. Matthew?
Oh, fine. He's asleep. In his buggy.
Get these people home, if forensics are happy.
And as for the rest, names and addresses.
Send them home.
CAROLINE: Vera.
[ Gasps ] Caroline.
I didn't know you were local.
I'm not.
Well, North Shields.
Well, it's only over the river. [ Chuckles softly ]
Well...
See you.
Ah.
Caroline Fletcher.
D.I. Fletcher, as was.
-Who investigated... -Abigail's murder.
Nice ankles, don't you think?
JOE: Not so you'd notice.
What? You after a raise?
What is she doing here, anyway?
All right! Don't take your coats off!
Holly, victim.
HOLLY: Christopher Winter, aged 24.
He's been overseas on and off
since he left school after his GCSEs.
Doing what? Drugs?
[ Chuckles ] No.
Uh, traveling, bar work.
He hasn't been home since the Christmas before last,
and he kipped over at his sister's on Sunday night.
-Then -- -Murdered in the driveway
while Keith Mantel's holding a fundraiser
for our brave lads on the boats.
Taylor, I want details of his every moment
since he set foot back in the country.
From where?
Amsterdam. Ferry.
So, where he went, who he met, talked to,
-phone calls, right? -Mm.
Now, Keith Mantel. Joe.
Family were a big noise on the docks,
made a fortune out of shipbuilding.
When times were tough, sold to a Danish company.
You can leave the Danes out of it.
So Keith Mantel put all his capital into property,
Mantel's estate agents.
They must have a dozen offices.
When did you say he sold up family business?
12 years. Maybe four months before Abby's death.
So first Abigail. Now Chris Winter.
Right.
Copies of the old Abigail Mantel file.
Such as it is.
-You think same killer? -That's a starting point.
KENNY: Shall I have a word with D.I. Fletcher?
Oh, I can do that, pet.
Who got any sleep last night?
Well, don't go making up for it now.
No more leave without my say-so.
And, Holly, leave the boyfriend at home.
I don't have a boyfriend.
Right, you lot.
I want witness statements from all the guests
by closing time tonight.
Joe, with me. Holly, you can drive us.
Well, last night, you said killed by a blow to the head,
-from the edge of the boot -Yeah, I seem to recall
-that was your theory. -Well, you're the expert, pet.
[ Exhales sharply ] Thank you, pet.
Now look.
Victim struck once on the back of the head,
edge of the boot. This rivet.
It's enough to stun him, but then comes blow number two.
The death blow.
Cracked skull, internal hemorrhage.
-So, what hit him? -Flat surface.
I mean, bloody hard, right. Metal, I'm guessing.
And look, traces of earth, mud in his hair.
Holly, tell the crime-scene mob we're minus a murder weapon.
-Priority. -Will do.
Time of death?
I'd say 15, 20 minutes before your witness found him.
Right.
You're welcome.
Oh, Billy, that autopsy report I sent you.
Abigail Mantel?
The same. Now, you know what I'm asking.
Two murders, decade apart, different M.O.
Was it the same killer? No.
No evidence of it, anyway.
Two killers.
Billy, love, I think you're meant to swallow those whole.
I like to know what I'm eating.
-VERA: Everything all right? -Mm.
Tummy trouble.
Oh. Something you ate?
Manner of speaking.
Oh, Billy.
Yeah, oh, Vera, right. Not a word to your "team," eh?
Your young man, he's running for pope, is he not?
Oh, God help the Vatican.
BILLY: Anyway, seven-day course. Soon be back in business.
What is it they say, eh?
"You're as old as who you feel." [ Chuckles ]
Mm. And who did you feel?
It was dark. [ Chuckles ]
The beer flowed like wine.
It's all a bit of a blank, to be honest.
Still. She left you something to remember her by, eh?
[ Chuckles ]
[ Laughs ]
Taylor's been going through
Christopher Winter's last-known calls.
Two hours before he died,
he made a call on his mobile phone to your direct line.
What? How did he get hold of that?
HOLLY: Are you sure you never met him?
VERA: No!
Oh, hold on.
Joe, check my answer phone.
CHRIS: Listen. You won't remember me.
I want you to know, whatever happens,
I'm not here to judge you.
I don't care about that.
I'm just saying somebody's got to make a stand,
'cause that woman, Jeanie Long.
Her blood is on your hands, on all our hands.
Time to stop running.
Set us all free.
Our son.
Famous last words.
Who was he calling?
The message appears to have been left for me.
Oh.
You two...
No, never met, no.
I thought you might be able to explain.
[ Voice breaking ] Oh, don't ask us.
Mrs. Winter?
Last night, if you're feeling up to it.
I-I cut me hand.
So silly.
I went back to the car.
I thought I might have some plasters in the first-aid box.
Well, I don't know if I did or not.
[ Sobs ]
ROBERT: And Chris.
He was lying there.
Well, then I was so frightened,
I don't know what happened next.
Well, did you see anybody? Hear anything?
No.
Christopher, on the phone.
Could I possibly hear it one more time?
Mary.
I don't care about the words.
It's just his voice, you see.
Yeah, 'course you can.
[ Click, beep ]
Listen. You won't remember me. [ Crying ]
I want you to know, whatever happens,
I'm not here to judge you.
I don't care about that.
I'm just saying somebody's got to make a stand.
Christopher's room?
Once upon a time.
We use it for ironing, mostly, now.
You know what it's like.
Kids grow up, move out.
You don't know what to do with the space.
He could have called.
You don't have to be strong.
Yes, I do. I do.
They look to you, do they? The family?
My fault.
I encourage it.
And out there, where your daughter found Abigail.
Past the trees. That's it.
[ Sighs ]
Did you not think about moving?
Sure.
We talked about it.
Mary has her own ideas.
Fear.
Trauma.
I said to her, "It takes more than a change of scenery."
You have to face your demons, like I said to Jeanie.
Oh, I meant to ask.
You'd have thought, Abigail's friendship with your daughter...
Yes. Yes, I-I did point out the conflict.
The prison service,
they felt that the common grounds
would actually do her good.
Mm.
The, uh, DVD?
-Was that of any use? -[ Cellphone rings ]
-Oh, sorry. -[ Beep ]
Excuse me.
Joe?
JOE: CSI found...this
in Christopher Winter's rucksack.
-VERA: Oh, very nice. -No, inside.
VERA: Abigail Mantel.
"Looking's free!"
JOE: Aye, and that's not all.
D.I. Fletcher?
Joe, have a word with the sister.
How well did Chris Winter know Abigail Mantel?
And, uh, where are you off to?
Bit of lippy and a hard hat.
I'm going into battle.
[ Dialing ]
I am honored.
I expected uniform or a phone call.
VERA: Hmm. You're no ordinary witness, are you?
Besides, I could use your help.
Oh. Okay.
Last night, I see your lot coming up the drive,
I'm like straight into automatic.
"Time of death? Where's my crime scene?"
Oh, don't tell me you miss it.
Oh, you know, never when sober.
[ Vera chuckles ]
No ring?
Not the one that counts.
You?
VERA: Oh...
"Small yet clumsy," me dad used to say.
[ Chuckles ]
Ah, it's a pity, though, with your looks.
Plus, now you're out of the force.
What's that got to do with it?
Oh, you and, uh, Keith Mantel.
The other night at the party,
in the garden, under the gibbous moon.
I tell you, my radar's slow as it comes.
But even I thought, "Hello!"
History?
Sorry. Lost me.
Oh, rich, good-looking man in bits over his dead lass.
Enter D.I. Fletcher, hormones raging.
You kissed it all away, didn't you? All that pain.
Detective at 34, the darling of the A.C.C.
I wondered why you walked away from the job.
You broke the golden rule.
Never get involved with a witness.
I never touched him.
Not during.
After.
After you charged the wrong woman with murder.
You see that lass he was with at the party?
What is she, a model or what?
Why are you choosing to make this personal?
-What did I ever do to you? -Not me.
Her.
The girlfriend he couldn't quite get rid of.
What? I fitted up Jeanie Long now, did I?
You were in too much of a hurry.
CAROLINE: Oh, you and your precious alibi.
You would have done the same yourself.
I mean, we had time-wasters calling up
every minute of the day.
You can't act on every call. You can't --
No, I was thinking more of Abigail.
Sexually active, according to the autopsy.
Who with?
Not relevant.
So, why didn't you take a statement from Chris Winter?
He was 14 years old.
Despite the fact he was only 400 yards from
-where Abigail was murdered. -He was up in his room.
He could have climbed out the window.
-The family wouldn't have seen. -You don't know that.
Oh.
Look...what we found...
in Chris' wallet.
My old business card. So what?
He hung on to it all these years.
Look. Direct line.
That's my number now, of course.
And you know what else? He left a message.
Now, I thought it was for me, but it wasn't. It was for you.
-Do you want to hear it? -[ Beep ]
CHRIS: Listen. You won't remember me.
I want you to know, whatever happens,
I'm not here to judge you.
I don't care about that.
I'm just saying somebody's got to make a stand,
'cause that woman, Jeanie Long.
Her blood is on your hands, on all our hands.
Time to stop running.
Set us all free.
[ Click, beep ]
JOE: Your brother and Abby, were they an item?
Mrs. Bennett?
Sorry.
I keep thinking I know your face.
-I can't -- -St. Joseph's.
I was a year above.
Right.
Did I -- Did we know each other?
I-I don't think so.
No.
Still, I can't think there was anything to it.
She was probably just flattered.
Though with Abby, you never knew what was coming.
It's why I liked her.
She was fond of you?
I was starry-eyed, captive audience.
We'd sit on the beach with a couple of Dad's ciggies
and watch the sun go down behind St. George's.
[ Sighs ] Abby loved an audience.
[ Chuckles softly ]
I was going to the shops to get I don't know what.
Eggs.
And I saw this bright blue in the corn.
I thought, I know that coat anywhere, and...
I'm glad.
I'm glad you were there.
You know what it was like, that summer.
Yeah, I do.
You know, sometimes,
it's like I'm still there, in that field.
Like it was me who died
and all this just something somebody made up in their head.
Mrs. Bennett.
Sorry.
[ Exhales sharply ] I don't know where I am today.
It's all right.
James will be home any minute, and I'll be fine.
[ Matthew crying ]
Oh, there he goes. Like clockwork.
VERA: Okay.
Hypothesis.
Christopher Winter murders Abigail Mantel.
HOLLY: Why?
Well, he's nuts about her.
She's egging him on, and he sees her from his bedroom window
out in the field by the house,
and he climbs out of the window to meet her, and...
He makes a move. She laughs in his face.
Right.
And he -- Well, he -- He just loses it, kills her.
Strangles her, no less.
And then back up the drainpipe.
Enter D.I. Fletcher.
Doesn't even interview him.
Sends Jeanie down for murder inside what, Kenny?
14 hours?
Christopher Winter takes off first chance he gets.
Travels the world.
Suitcase full of snow globes.
Spool on 10 years. Come on. Somebody, help me.
Um, he reads about Jeanie's death?
He feels ashamed?
"You can't run forever. Nobody can."
He comes back home, to confess at the party, maybe?
At the party.
With the whole community in view.
But somebody gets to him first.
Somebody stops him from speaking out.
Who?
'Cause once Abby got wound up, nothing would have stopped her.
She would have scratched --
Don't you need to get off?
Nah, I'll finish up here first.
Oh, right. Wait till the bairns are tucked up?
No, it's not like that.
Don't worry, pet. You won't be the first.
You've cheered up, haven't you?
Have I?
JOE: Mm.
Old case in ribbons.
Caroline Fletcher, egg on her face.
Oh, it's got nothing to do with Caroline Fletcher.
They're all saying it's a personal vendetta.
-You know, a female thing. -Who?
Everyone.
Her face.
They did that to her.
Caroline Fletcher and Keith Mantel.
It's like a witch-hunt.
Her own father.
VERA: Oh, back onto him again, are we?
Well, he gave up on her.
Want to see something funny?
The old bugger.
Me dad. Gets more post than I do.
This came for him. North Berwick.
JOE: Very nice.
He always hated going out of his way.
Unless it was for a Lesser Spotted Canary or...
Here, go on.
[ Sighs ]
"Dear Hector."
"I don't know if this is your address.
Some months since you last joined
our Friday afternoon game.
Please come again. You're always very welcome.
Wishing all good health to you, your daughter,
and your grandsons, Alan and Kevin.
Best wishes, your friends here on the Clifford Green."
I looked it up.
[ Chuckling ] It's a bowling green.
He's never bowled a ball in his life.
[ Snickers ]
Well, or so I thought.
He must have gone up there every Friday,
told the old buggers some pack of lies
about his perfect family.
No wonder he was such a grumpy old sod.
All he ever wanted, all these years, is...grandsons.
Well, least it clears one thing up, eh?
"Alan." "Kevin."
He was a Toon Fan, was he, your dad?
[ Snickers ]
It's not funny.
[ Chuckles ]
All right, I'm sorry.
Hey, I'm sorry. You know, I crossed the line.
Safe to go home now, I should think.
[ Drawer slams, clatter ]
[ Paper rustles ]
Okay.
[ Sighs heavily ]
[ Exhales sharply ]
[ Thump ]
[ Floorboards creak ]
Who's that?
Hello?
VERA: Hair color? Clothing? Anything at all?
I told you. I didn't get a look at him.
VERA: Well, any idea what he was after?
Crack some heads, run off with the booty, I imagine.
1:00 in the morning. Why weren't you tucked up in bed?
I seem to sleep better in the chair.
Saves me the trouble of changing the sheets.
Yeah, I know what you mean.
Well, forensics are taking a look.
Let's see what turns up.
Oh, I've been meaning to ask.
Your witness statement.
Aren't you off-duty?
You say you "went to the cellar for more wine."
See, nobody saw you leave or come back.
Did you see Chris Winter?
No.
Don't even know what he looks like.
I'll tell you who I did see hanging around.
Jeanie's father, Michael.
Michael Long.
Wasted journey, pet. Families only.
[ Indistinct talking ]
Murder weapon.
A match for the blow to Chris Winter's skull.
Where was it?
Washed up on the banks of the Wansbeck,
downriver from Mantel's place.
Now, that missing afternoon. He was digging.
Digging for...something.
Slings whatever it is in the car, plus the shovel.
Goes to the party.
"Look," he says. "Look what I dug up."
Pops the boot, leans in to fetch it,
killer stuns him, grabs the shovel.
"Santa Eulalia."
From church.
Or a boat.
Well, James Bennett works as a launch pilot.
Let's have a background check on him.
-Will do. -Holly.
Oh.
Well, go on. Go fetch.
Well, I-I thought you needed help with Michael Long.
Mnh-mnh. Hol can sit in.
Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure.
Well, go on. Move.
Why didn't you tell us you were at the party, Mr. Long?
Nobody asked.
You weren't on the guest list.
Did you see Chris Winter on your travels?
On my way out.
He talk to you?
He said, "You're Jeanie's dad, aren't you?"
I said, "Who are you?"
He said...
Go on.
"Sorry."
"Sorry"? Sorry for what?
I don't know. I went home, didn't I?
Sorry for what, Mr. Long?
-For killing Abby Mantel? -Eh?
Well, someone had to pay.
Me.
I paid.
The trial.
TV, newspapers.
Neighbors don't want to know you.
My wife, buried at 43!
I heard this doctor say, "She looks like an old woman."
She did and all, like a withered old woman!
Jeanie did that! Our Jeanie!
But she didn't.
[ Door closes ]
Next time, um -- if there's a next time --
you sit, you make your little notes,
and you keep your mouth shut!
Okay?!
[ Door opens ]
Look, this is not about you.
[ Voice breaking ] No. You're right.
I just work so hard.
-VERA: I know you do! -I just -- I don't know --
-I just want you to... -VERA: What?!
...to say, "Well done."
[ Sniffles ]
Well, I'll just, uh...
...let you...
[ Sniffles ]
[ Breathes deeply ]
Go give her nose a wipe, will you?
KENNY: Ma'am, there's a call for you.
-All right. -Uh, D.I. Fletcher.
Where's Joe?
No idea.
Yes, it was a -- It was a keepsake.
It's mine, all right. Chris must have borrowed it, I suppose.
Oh, you didn't know he had it?
No, no. Not his style to ask.
That's a bit selfish?
Well, we never really got on much, so...
-But he was close to your wife. -JAMES: Oh, yeah.
Emma romanticized him. The great wanderer.
She always wanted to travel herself, so...
Can I have it back?
Well, once the trial's over, yeah.
Oh, right, right. Of course.
How did he seem, Chris, when he was staying here?
Um...
He was...
Oh, he did say sorry before he left.
That was a first.
"Sorry"?
Yeah. "Tell her I'm sorry."
Meaning your wife?
I don't know.
[ Breathes deeply ]
[ Telephone ringing ]
Hello?
KEITH: Does your wife know your little secret?
Who or what is James Bennett, anyway?
What if she were to find out?
[ Beep ]
[ Breathes deeply ]
Emma.
It's just Caroline was asking to see the room, weren't you?
That's right.
Well, here we are, then.
Now, I may have been a lousy cop, but I do know about people.
-[ Insects buzzing ] -You hear that?
Wasps' nests. They come back every year, don't they, Mary?
MARY: Oh, they love our tiles. Right under the eaves.
Okay.
Well, I was asking, wasn't I, about...
The summer we had the business with Abigail.
Christopher was so afraid of them getting in, the wasps,
it was like a phobia.
And God forbid anybody should open the window.
It was so hot, I could hardly bear to come up here.
The windows were rusted shut in the end.
So Christopher was hardly gonna go climbing out the window,
-was he? -No.
No, he wasn't.
So he couldn't possibly have killed Abigail, could he?
So, okay, no murder. No guilty secret.
No big public confession planned for Keith's party.
Oops.
How'd you hear all that?
Kenny.
It's called loyalty. Look it up.
What was that she said about Christopher?
Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, pet.
[ Birds chirping ]
[ Panting ] Mrs. Winter?
-Oh. -Mrs. Winter.
I was sound asleep.
I'm sorry to barge in again, but your husband said something
about you wanting a change of scenery.
Now, those leylandii you have in the garden.
-Oh, yes. -I was just wondering --
Robert was dead against planting them.
He said, "Can't we get new curtains?"
I said, "I can't live in the dark."
Still, they've shot up. Weeds, really.
But they block out the view.
The view.
Of where she died.
So you had a clear view of the fields, did you, from the house?
Not from down here, no.
Ah, but from upstairs?
From the bedroom?
Where's Joe?!
He's out and about talking to --
VERA: I was wrong.
Chris Winter didn't kill Abigail.
-Sorry. What? -He was a witness.
There were no trees back then.
He was up in his room, and he saw what happened.
He saw who did it.
And would somebody mind telling Kenny to go home?
Why?
He's been on to Caroline Fletcher
-about my investigation. -[ Cellphone rings ]
Transfer or suspension. His choice.
Tell him.
What?
I'm on me way.
JOE: It wasn't that hard, in the end.
I just looked at the lab report for the mud
on the shoes and shovel.
"Unusual sandy texture."
Plus, there was plenty of diverse pollen.
Pine pollen, especially.
So I'm thinking, "Where was Chris digging?"
Pine forest.
Second one I tried.
Got lucky, really.
No such thing.
JOE: They're just up here.
VERA: Oh, I see.
So...
...Chris Winter witnesses Abigail's murder,
buries something here, down one of these holes.
Then 11 years later, Jeanie's death all over the news,
back he comes, attack of conscience,
says sorry to everyone he meets,
and digs it back up again.
As proof, almost.
The murder weapon that strangled Abby --
They never found it, did they?
You know, what if Chris took it, all those years ago,
buried it before the police arrived
to protect whoever murdered Abby?
You know? Or some sort of token or souvenir?
I mean, he fancied her, didn't he?
You think that's possible?
Yeah, I do.
You already worked it out, didn't you?
Mm, not necessarily.
[ Chuckles ]
JOE: About last night...
...I'm not meself.
I don't know whether it's Franny or the new baby, you know?
Oh, yeah. I know.
Our third time round, you'd think we'd have it licked.
I don't know why it just seems so hard this time.
[ Sighs heavily ]
It was so easy when we first met.
Just worn out, the pair of you.
What you need is a break.
Hey, I am interested, pet. Honest.
[ Sighs ] It's a job, not a crusade.
What's that from? Fortune cookie?
You. It's from you.
Is it? Well, it sounds like crap when you say it.
Oh, is that right?
Wisdom is all about the execution.
[ Cellphone rings ]
Holly. Yes?
I ran James Bennett through the PNC like you said.
And get this. He's down as having an alias.
An alias?
HOLLY: That's right.
James Arthur Bennett, formerly known as James Arthur Shaw.
"Shaw"?
Yep. Changed his name by deed poll.
August 2000.
2000. Same year Abby died.
Good work.
Thanks, ma'am.
[ Pounding ]
Mr. Bennett?!
[ Panting ]
Mr. Bennett!
VERA: Emma!
Get out an A.P.W. Ports, airports, railways.
Somebody call the harbor master.
Did James Bennett clock in for work?
I already asked. There was no sign.
Boss, um, Kenny's got the reports from the lab
about the intruder at Mantel's property.
VERA: And what are you? The human shield?
-Kenny, out! -I want to help.
Well, try the voluntary sector. Meals-on-wheels.
27 years I've put in.
-Is he still here?! -KENNY: I'm not goin' anywhere.
Just get out!
You're not welcome here!
And?
Report?
Aye. Um...
Yeah, prints, fibers galore. You name it.
Get up.
What guests? From the party?
Yeah, correct.
Well, what about broken glass. Anything? Blood spatters?
The only blood was Mantel's.
"James Shaw" to "James Bennett."
Why?
What did the in-laws say?
It was news to them.
James' family was a bit of a no-fly zone.
His mum raised him up in Leven.
When she died, he went off and joined the Merchant Navy.
Raised by his mam?
-Where's Dad? -James never knew him.
-[ Telephone rings ] -That's what they said.
What?
Well, guess who was the last person
to ring James Bennett's house before he went walkabout.
You think it was James broke into your house?
-Maybe. -What was he looking for?
Sorry. I've nothing for you here.
Listen.
We need your help.
James Shaw. Anything you can tell us at all.
Well, if not him, his family.
His father?
[ Sighs ]
Marty Shaw. On the left.
This you, is it?
And he used to work for you?
Aye, and my dad before me.
Years ago, for, you know, the business.
Till I sold up.
And what happened then?
He was let go, along with all the other lads.
So you think the son's coming after you?
Broke into the house to hurt you?
I didn't see him.
VERA: Ah, but you think so?
And last night you called to make a few choice threats?
I hope you don't mind me asking.
You've had the house to yourself have you, since Jeanie?
I'm better off on me own.
Oh, Abigail make life difficult for you, did she?
You and Jeanie?
[ Sighs ] Not worth living.
I was everything to that child.
No mam.
I was all the family she had, God help her.
When she turned 15 --
"all grown up," so she kept telling me -- I thought...
[Breathes deeply]
...get my life back now, my turn.
Jeanie can move in. Why not?
Abby -- She'll take it in her stride.
[ Chuckles softly ]
"Get that bitch out the house."
Or what?
She didn't run to specifics.
Ah, teenager, surely?
Amateur dramatics?
Not Abby.
She could be quite grown up when she needed to be.
She was...
...hard work.
Listen, why don't I get the crime-scene boys in again,
have another go?
What for?
Well, if it was James who attacked you,
they'll know what they're looking for this time.
[ Sighs ]
If it helps.
What are you sending them back in for?
You're not gonna get any fingerprints now.
VERA: I'm not looking for prints.
Oh, and do me a favor.
Give it till lunchtime, then call him back in.
Call who?
Kenny. We don't want him choking on a sausage.
[ Sighs ]
I've left a thousand messages.
They probably just wanted to get away from it all.
-No word? -No.
Ma'am, take a look at this. It's just come through.
May 2000. Marty Shaw. James' father.
An accident.
-They know about this? -No.
[ Cellphone rings ]
MARY: Oh? Hello? Love?
What's going on?
JAMES: Everything's fine. We're doin' fine.
We're just -- We're just away for a bit, okay?
VERA: Where are you, love?
Mary?
[ Air horn blows ]
[ Air horn continues ]
The boat.
They're on the boat.
Holly!
[ Siren wailing ]
JOE: Hey! Hold it!
They were bound for Bremen. Germany.
What they going there for?
We don't know yet. We don't know.
PRIEST: Okay, let's pray.
Keep us informed.
Yeah, of course.
MARY: Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
[ Door hinges creak ]
[ Door clangs ]
HOLLY: Where is he?!
[ Sighs ]
[ Matthew crying ]
Wait. Shh, shh, Joe.
Over there.
Joe!
[ Crying continues ]
It's all right, James.
I've done nothing wrong.
I'm just taking my wife and my son away for a wee while.
EMMA: James, don't --
Emma, I'm sorry!
Emma!
JOE: We know about your dad, James.
Ship-builder.
Laid off after 25 years.
Job prospects zero.
10 pints of Stella.
Breaks into his old workplace.
Goes joyriding on a fork-lift truck.
Three dead.
My father...
...and some lass helping her sleeping child out the car.
So you changed your name? It's a bit extreme.
Look, I was 18 years old, all right?
I hated him.
And then Keith calls up,
making all these, uh, all these threats.
Saying he's going to come round and tell Emma everything.
I just thought, get her away.
You know, find some space to breathe and make her understand.
Look, I swear I was gonna bring them straight back home.
JEANIE: Me and Keith -- we --
Well, he -- Well, he was the love of me life.
He had a daughter. But we didn't get on.
[ Audio rewinding ]
He had a daughter. But we didn't get on.
I don't know why she was...
[ Audio rewinding ]
He had a daughter. But we didn't get on.
I don't know why. She was...
...always so...mad jealous.
She would have scratched me face off
if I hadn't stopped her.
[ Audio rewinding ]
...mad jealous.
She would have scratched me face off
if I hadn't stopped her.
[ Cellphone rings ]
Joe.
Charge him with the abduction.
No. James Bennett is not the killer.
They're fine.
Oh. And Matthew?
And Matthew.
Thank you.
Oh. Oh.
That's quite a confession.
You put this together?
Edited Jeanie's own words?
Yes.
VERA: To make her sound guilty?
Why?
[ Breathes deeply ]
I used to do the school run.
She and Emma.
I'd catch her, in the mirror.
Her eyes, color rising in her neck.
One day, she called me.
One Saturday in June.
"Robert," she said, like that, like we were friends.
"Robert, I've no money for the metro. Give us a ride home."
And how long?
You two?
The first time...
...I thought she's using me for some sort of game.
Some private agenda.
I felt so ashamed.
And the second time, I thought, "No. No, she wants this."
"Her needs."
Third time, I thought...
..."Well..."
"...you're into the unknown."
Can you not say her name even now?
Abby.
[ Breathes deeply ]
Abby.
And the day of the murder?
She called the house.
I met her over in the field.
[ Scoffs ]
It all came out.
She said, "I'm going to tell my dad."
-Oh? -"I've got to."
You see, I was right.
It was all a set-up, a ploy.
She didn't want me.
She wanted to get back at her dad for bedding Jeanie Long.
Ah, and so...
...hmm?
So I killed her.
[ Notes play ]
[ Click ]
OFFICER: Mr. Mantel.
How?
What?
How'd you kill her?
Oh, with, uh, with string.
You know, garden string.
-What'd you do with it? -Burned it.
[ Cellphone rings ]
Yes?
Bring it over straight away.
[ Beep ] Mrs. Winter?
Yes?
ROBERT: Mary, stay in the sitting room.
We wait for the solicitor.
In here, please, Mrs. Winter, sit, if you wouldn't mind?
What's going on?
Let's just give them a minute.
So, tell us about Abby's death,
what you remember.
Oh...not much, really.
I slept through most of it.
When I woke up, I got such a fright.
I locked myself in the car.
[ Clicks tongue ]
No, love, that was this time 'round.
With Chris.
Oh.
Was it?
I'm sorry. I can't really remember.
It's all...
It's a blank.
Shock. That's normal.
-[ Knock on door ] -Come in.
Ma'am.
Thank you, Kenny.
Now, let's have a look.
I'm sorry about these, love.
Now, then...
Now, let's just see...
...if this might jog your memory.
Now, when you broke into Keith Mantel's house
the other night, Robert, struck him with the bottle,
is this what you were after?
In the piano.
Yeah, you must have been in a right panic,
to have left it there.
She called our house.
Abby.
Mary.
She called the house.
I says...
"I've got a scarf just like that one."
She said, "This is your scarf."
"He gave it to me.
He took it."
[ Breathes deeply ]
VERA: Mary, why did your son take this scarf
and bury it in the woods?
What was it he saw from his bedroom window?
I strangled her...
...with my scarf.
He is such a good man.
She was gonna tear his good name apart.
Some silly little girl?
My fault.
Ah, but you made up for it, pet. In your own way.
Twisting Jeanie's words.
Turning her innocence into some cooked-up confession to murder.
Just so you could bring it home, play it to the wife,
and put that big, bad dream of hers back in its box.
Ah...
but then Jeanie died.
Back comes Chris.
Enough. Enough.
Your son, forced finally to saying it out loud.
-She can't hear this. -The truth.
And you saw him at the party, didn't you,
-standing by the garden gate. -No!
VERA: He had the scarf in the boot of his car.
He wanted to tell the truth, set us all free.
So you killed him.
Keep that secret buried.
Our lad?
I had to protect you.
Sweetheart. Sweetheart, Mary.
Oh.
-[ Grunts ] -Sweetheart.
[ Screams ]
ROBERT: Please!
Get off!
KENNY: Joe!
Joe, calm her down. Calm her down.
-Shh, shh! -[ Crying ]
Sorry!
Emma.
[ Sobbing ]
[ Waves crashing ]
[ Thump ]
Come on, missus! Kick it back! Come on!