LOUD DANCE PLAYS
MAN: You all right, love?
PHONE RINGS
Hey... Hey! Come here.
Look at this!
MAN: Ma'am.
Ma'am, this way.
The builders found a body.
What? The builders, they found the body.
Buried inside this old drainage tunnel.
Been there a while, by the look of things.
Here you are.
Well, I want this whole area cordoned off.
And no-one leaves without my say-so.
Oh, you're going to need this.
Health and safety.
Right.
Malcolm? Coming!
Malcolm! I'm coming.
I wondered when you'd join us.
Yeah, get your foot on the bottom of that ladder. I'm coming down.
Careful.
I don't know exactly what this tunnel's in aid of.
Yeah, well...
..they were built to drain water from the mines.
There's plenty of them hidden away. Ah.
Well, it can't have been used for a while, then.
Oh, you're blinding me.
Sorry.
The body's over here.
What's left of him.
So what can you tell us? Well, not much, really.
Erm, he's male.
Five foot ten. His boots are still fairly intact.
How long's he been down here? Well, ten years at least.
He's got quite a distinctive belt buckle.
Do you see?
What is that, an anchor? Mm.
A sailor. Merchant Navy perhaps.
Or somebody who worked down at the shipyard.
Oh, he's missing two fingers of his left hand.
That's probably the local vermin having a nibble.
Yeah, well, the rats aside, what was it that killed him?
A blunt trauma injury. He took a real bash to the back of the skull.
So he's assaulted and his body dumped.
How'd he get down here?
Well, there must be another access point here somewhere.
Well, get the rest of this culvert excavated.
Oh, well, you know I love a challenge. Aye, well...
I'll get the scene locked down.
You'll have the site to yourselves.
Bliss.
Any idea who it is, then? Not yet, love.
This is what happens when you start cutting corners.
Oh, so you've worked on the site for a while, then?
Oh, yeah. The gaffer made a point of hiring us personally.
A safe pair of hands.
Well, we'll need you to give us a statement.
You can talk to one of my officers.
The site contractor's arrived.
He wants to speak to whoever's in charge.
Yeah, well, that makes two of us.
DCI Vera Stanhope.
I take it this is your build.
The foreman called the office, said they'd found a body.
That tunnel never showed up on the survey.
Is this any relation to Leonard Sidden?
That'll be me dad. He used to run a club on this site.
Well, he's been retired a while now. Ill health.
He became Whitley Bay's Mr Big back in the day.
You seem to know him pretty well. Oh, aye.
We all did. Made it our business to.
Yeah, the family might've have had a bad rep.
We've put all that behind us.
I'm just trying to make an honest living.
Well, I'm glad to hear the Siddens have cleaned up their act.
I can't pay these lads to stand idle.
Well, I can't help that, love.
You'll be digging no more holes until Forensics have finished.
I better go and break the bad news. Aye, you do that.
Aye, this takes you back, eh, Kenny?
Ha! Had you spent many a night in there?
The Seagull? Mm.
HE CHUCKLES Not really my scene, ma'am.
Get on to George down in Mispers.
Get him to pull out the file on Robbie Marshburn.
Now, there's a ghost from the past. Aye.
Well, I'm afraid he might have come back to haunt us.
Ma'am.
INAUDIBLE
Robbie Marshburn. Went missing June 1995.
Aw, look at him.
Butter wouldn't melt. A bit of a thug, by all accounts.
Oh, there'll have been plenty of people
glad to see the back of him, George.
And if this is Marshburn,
it makes me wonder what else we're going to dig up.
Last seen alive in a nightclub. Mm, The Seagull.
Plush club in Whitley Bay. I've never been one for dancing.
Two left feet.
And not 100 yards from where we found him.
We've got prints up on the PNC.
Ah, not much left of his fingers, George.
His mam reported him missing.
If she's kept hold of any of his personal effects,
we could send them off for DNA testing.
Is she still with us?
Eleanor Marshburn.
Lives in the same house.
Address in Wallsend.
DOOR CLOSES
I never get round to throwing them out.
You thought he might have been coming home.
Oh, I always knew Robbie was dead.
He'd never have left me here on me own.
Taken off with no warning!
Now, we found a buckle, love,
quite near to where, erm...
Can I ask you to have a look at it?
Oh...
I bought him that belt for his 21st birthday.
Well, we knew he worked at the shipyard.
Burton-Morgan. Like his dad before him.
The river was in his blood.
Now, can I take you back to the night he went missing?
Oh, they were...
..they were throwing a party.
Leonard Sidden's birthday.
Must have been his 50th, I suppose.
And our Robbie had to do all the arrangements.
Important people to impress. Everything had to be just right.
Well, we know your son spent some time in a Young Offenders.
Robbie wasn't a bad boy, not the person they made him out to be.
Well...
..at least now I can mourn him.
Male adult.
His remains were found this morning on the links at Whitley Bay.
The victim of a violent assault
and we're working on the hunch
that this is a fella called Robbie Marshburn.
Reported missing 25th June, 1995.
Say we assume he was murdered around about the time he disappeared.
By my reckoning, that's 23 years.
The last known sighting was at a club called The Seagull.
And what's left of it stands on the site where these remains were found.
Yeah, I remember Robbie Marshburn
from my days on the beat in Wallsend.
Must be going back a bit, Kenny. He was an old-school union man.
Robbie and his heavies virtually ran the port.
Oh, he was running a racket.
Which brings me to Leonard Sidden.
Now, he owned this club back in its glory days.
Sidden fancied himself as a bit of a gangster.
Got chased out of the East End of London and set up here.
And he used this club as a front for all kinds of shenanigans.
But nothing ever stuck.
Always came up squeaky clean.
So Robbie and Sidden were working together?
Now, Robbie was Sidden's fixer.
He used his contacts on the river to make them both money.
This is the club that caught fire, then? Aye, completely gutted.
Suspected arson.
I mean, it had to be an insurance job.
What makes you so sure? Well, Leonard Sidden, that's what.
He's a devious piece of work.
The old man must be getting on now, eh?
It's the son running things now, isn't it?
Aye. Sidden Holdings.
And they've diversified into property.
I mean, there's developments down on the seafront.
I've been looking through the builders' statements
from the site, ma'am. Nothing we can work with.
Although, according to the log sheet,
one of them left without giving our officers a formal statement.
Scott Keane. Right.
Well, one of you follow that up.
Jac...
You're opening up a cold case,
after 23 years?
Yes, you're dead right I am!
Marshburn might've been a reprobate,
but I'm still going to find out who killed him.
And my money is on the Siddens.
DOOR CLOSES
Mr Keane?
The front door was open. I should have called for backup.
Yeah, well, you weren't to know you were going to find this.
He was there yesterday asking questions.
Said he was mates with the gaffer.
Well, someone hit him with that doorstop. It's been wiped clean.
This wasn't premeditated.
Grabbed whatever was close at hand.
He might have disturbed a burglar.
Well, there's no sign of a forced entry.
Anyway, his wallet's still here.
And his laptop.
Let's get that checked out.
What about his mobile? We still haven't found one.
Well, pull out his phone records.
Let's see if that can tell us anything.
None of the neighbours saw anything unusual.
What about CCTV? There's a couple of cameras on the railway.
We'll need to go through those tapes.
He'd only been here a few weeks.
Kept himself to himself, by all accounts.
Well, he's wearing a wedding ring.
So there's gotta be a wife somewhere.
A couple of kids as well.
SHE SIGHS HEAVILY
I take it you and your husband were separated.
We'd been living apart for a while.
If you don't mind me asking, love,
did your husband walk out or did you send him packing?
It was my decision.
Any reasons we should know about?
Scott had a bit of a drink problem.
It got him sacked from his last job.
He'd barely worked since.
Er...
So, how was he spending his spare time?
Down the pub?
He'd fallen in with a few local radgies.
Pubs and clubs on the Farrow Road.
Look, you know what it's like. Oh, aye.
Well, maybe one of these radgies had it in for him.
No.
Scott was harmless.
A bit of a chancer, that's all.
SHE SOBS
Well...
..he got himself a job in the end, though, didn't he?
This contract down at the building site.
No, that was down to me.
I knew the Siddens were hiring.
So I got in touch.
You know the Siddens, then?
Aye. Plenty of people do. TODDLER BABBLES
In a minute, love.
Mammy's talking.
Hey, you shouldn't be on your own, love.
Not at a time like this. I'll be fine.
We can get Victim Support to send someone over.
I don't need them sticking their noses in! Yeah, OK.
All right.
Well, what about family? Your mam, your dad?
Mam's dead. Dad's not around much.
Well, could you not call him?
He's in prison.
And what's he in for, if you don't mind me asking?
I thought you would have known.
Corruption. He's one of your lot.
He used to be a copper. John Brace.
METAL DOOR CLANGS OPEN
Vera Stanhope.
I think we should keep things formal, don't you?
It's DCI Stanhope now.
And this is my colleague, DS Healy.
Detective Inspector John Brace, as we're keeping things formal.
Ex.
I don't get many visitors.
People give bent coppers a wide berth in here.
We've found a body.
Site of the old Seagull nightclub.
And we've ID'd it as Robbie Marshburn.
You remember him, don't you, John?
Must be more than 20 years since he disappeared.
Mm.
I always assumed he'd done a runner.
He was last seen alive at that club.
One of your favourite haunts.
I showed my face there on occasion.
Mm. Did you show your face in there the night of Sidden's 50th?
I was out with my wife that night.
Police Federation dinner.
All those years ago
and he still remembers a clash in his diary.
Our department had solved a big case.
My DCI was there to receive a commendation.
I know they took photographs.
Got 'em pinned up on your cell wall, have you?
Recognise that fella?
Aye. What about him? He was murdered last night.
I need to talk to my daughter.
Yeah, well, that can be arranged.
As soon as we've finished talking to you.
Now, this fella was working on the site
where we found this fella's body.
Hm.
What are the chances, eh?
Patty asked us to put a word in. Said he needed the work.
Ah, called in a favour with Sidden, did you?
Your old mate. I've never been there for her.
I was trying to make amends. That's all.
Ah, you've kept her under wraps.
It was never mentioned at your trial that you had a daughter.
Did you even tell your missus? Aye, she knew.
The baby was given up for adoption. So who was the bairn's mam?
That's none of your business.
Well, we think these two murders are connected.
And now that we've finally found Robbie Marshburn...
..I'm going to find out who it was that killed him.
We're done here.
I'm sorry I missed the funeral.
I hear there was quite a turnout.
That funeral that he mentioned.
Who did he mean? Oh...
Oh, that's nothing need concern you.
Are you getting in? SHE STARTS THE ENGINE
KNOCKS ON DOOR
Let's keep this brief, shall we?
My husband gets easily tired.
Scott Keane was found murdered in his flat in Bebington last night.
A gofer down at the site.
Alec told us this morning. Mm.
And we know it was John Brace asked you to give Keane that job.
Yeah, he got in touch.
First time in years.
Old boys' network's still alive and kicking, then.
Hm? Call in a favour, did he?
I don't owe Brace anything. Oh?
Well, in that case, it must be down to your guilty conscience.
He's banged up for his retirement.
And here's you free as a bird,
sitting enjoying the view.
The body we found on your building site
has been confirmed as Robbie Marshburn.
Last seen leaving your club the night of your birthday bash.
He worked at The Seagull for a couple of years.
Security. No, no, no, no.
No, he was more than that.
We know you two were thick as thieves.
He was your Mr Fix-It for the Sidden syndicate.
Do you think I'd let 'em renovate that site
if I'd known he was buried there?
Well, the site's been idle for years.
Maybe you thought it was worth the risk.
You've been listening to too many rumours.
Now, here's the thing that's been worrying me.
You're connected to both of these murders.
Robbie Marshburn might be history,
but the past has a way of catching up with us.
23 years.
That's a long time to live with a guilty conscience.
Hm?
It's time for your pills, Len.
We'll see ourselves out.
SHE SIGHS
Still thinks he's untouchable, after all these years.
What, you think the Siddens are up to their old tricks?
Using Scott Keane as their eyes and ears? Well, why not?
Keane was a bit of a loner. Estranged from his wife and kids.
It was Brace who got him that job.
Mm.
Maybe she knew he was up to no good.
Maybe that's why Patty threw him out.
Well, that would explain the crust on her.
Pretending to be on top of things.
Er, ma'am...
Scott Keane made two phone calls on the evening he died.
One was to Patty. The other was to a pay-as-you-go.
The number's untraceable.
What about that CCTV, anything?
Nothing out of the ordinary.
We've had a crime scene report from Scott Keane's flat, ma'am.
No prints on the murder weapon. Oh...
Ma'am, I've just pulled out Scott Keane's bank statements.
And he's used his debit card in quite a few places.
He certainly got about.
If he's doing jobs for the site, it might be work-related.
Mm. Let's run a check on his plates.
Build up a timeline, see where he's been.
And meanwhile, we've paid a visit to his father-in-law.
Ex-Detective Inspector John Brace,
who was also a regular down at The Seagull,
and is currently serving ten years in Cosway
for perverting the course of justice.
Bribery. Misconduct in a public office.
I mean, the list is as long as your arm.
Didn't you help put him away, ma'am? Aye.
But truth be told, we should have acted sooner.
I mean, we all heard the rumours.
And Brace was in the frame for Marshburn's disappearance.
And Scott Keane just happens to be married to his daughter.
Now, that can't be just a coincidence.
We know that Brace wangled Keane a job with the Siddens.
Yeah. Now, that makes me think he's still working for 'em.
Or else he's got something on them.
Er, ma'am, I've been looking into
Sidden Holdings' planning applications.
I spoke to a guy called Ewan Ackley.
He's been quiet vocal in his objections to the build.
He claims he was threatened by Alec Sidden.
Well, it seems to be a family trait.
Right, I want that witness brought in for questioning
first thing tomorrow morning.
I'm telling you, the Siddens are behind all of this.
We've got nothing to tie them to Scott Keane's murder.
Well, you'd better knuckle down and find me something, then!
HE SIGHS HEAVILY
SHE SIGHS
Boss!
Mind where you put your feet, the floorboards are rotten.
This building's been condemned.
Well, that's why I'm telling you.
So, what are we doing here anyway?
I'm just getting a feel for the place.
Cos this is where Robbie was last seen alive.
Hm...
Now, the file says a fella who was working that night
saw Marshburn leave with a girl.
You've only got his word for that.
Well, what if he's telling the truth?
She could be the lead we've been searching for.
23 years ago.
Now all we've got to do is find her.
Well, someone else might have seen them leave.
Maybe even followed them out.
There's a fire escape down here.
A handy exit.
Aye, very handy.
Where are you going?
HEALY SIGHS
Maybe they left the club via that fire escape.
Well, come on!
So, what if someone followed them out, killed Robbie out here?
Hm?
Now, look...
That must lead to the culvert.
See if you can get that shifted.
Well, not without a crowbar in my pocket.
Well, have a go.
HE SIGHS
This has got to be how they dumped the body.
This has not been opened in years.
Now, what if Scott Keane found out that Robbie was buried there?
Maybe he overheard something the Siddens had said.
No-one even knew those tunnels were there. I knew they were there.
Now, what if he was in on this
and he was supposed to shift that body
before the contractors moved in?
If there's any evidence in there, that's a job for Forensics.
Well, get them down here!
Well, come on, then. Are you going to tell me or what?
What?
Well, something is clearly niggling you about the case.
Fine.
Keep it to yourself, as usual!
That funeral Brace mentioned.
It was Hector's.
It was me dad's.
They were mates...
..me dad, Brace and Robbie Marshburn.
That's him in the photo.
Taken at The Seagull.
Look at them, as thick as thieves.
SHE SIGHS
Morning, Glen.
It's been a while.
I wondered when you'd show up.
You must have heard we found a body over at The Seagull.
Aye, word gets round soon enough on the doors.
Oh, still moonlighting, then?
I get work at the clubs when I can.
I'm too old to be grafting down here. Mm.
Well, we've ID'd this body as Robbie Marshburn.
That fella who beat you up.
Couldn't tell you who that was. Hm.
We could've banged him up, if you'd testified against him.
Sidden, too, for that matter. I shouldn't be talking.
Ah, it's all right, love, just catching up.
I remember where it got me last time. A stay in hospital.
Marked as a snitch by Robbie.
They still think it was us
that brought John Brace down all them years later.
Hm. Well, you answer my questions, I'll get out of your hair.
Now, I need you to think back.
When was the last time you saw Robbie Marshburn?
It must have been the night he went missing.
I was working down the club.
You were at The Seagull?
Sidden's birthday party?
Robbie got work on the door for a few of the dockers.
SHE SCOFFS He'd just had you beaten up.
That was his way of keeping you in line.
Well, then, you must have seen all the comings and goings.
You must have seen all the names on his guest list.
Sidden kept them entertained in a VIP area.
What's this, bigwigs with deep pockets?
Not to mention a few bent coppers.
What, coppers like John Brace? Oh, aye.
He was there.
So, did anything happen that I should know about?
Right, come on, Glen, it's here or at the station.
I know that Robbie and Sidden had words out on the terrace.
Elaine broke it up and sent 'em back inside.
Did she?
So this kick-off,
is that when Robbie left?
I think he left later with one of his girls.
Now...
Was this the lass?
I couldn't tell you. Well, just look.
No, there were dozens of 'em worked there off and on.
At...
At least he got what was due to him, eh?
Seagull regulars back in the day, caught on camera.
We've got Robbie Marshburn, missing and found dead.
We've got John Brace, now banged up for corruption.
There's a fella with glasses.
And the other fella...
Well, that's me dad.
Well, what does Hector have to do with all of this?
Nothing! But he's sat there in the photo,
so I'm putting it out there.
We think that the woman in the photograph
was one of Robbie Marshburn's girls.
Yeah, we've had a witness come forward.
Said he saw Marshburn leave with a woman that night.
Glen Polson.
Who also said he saw Brace there. So that's his alibi kaput.
Yeah, Polson blew the whistle on Robbie, and his ties with Sidden.
Yeah, he retracted his statement
as soon as someone put him in hospital.
Now, here's a man who knows first-hand
what it's like to cross the Siddens.
Ma'am... What?!
I've just taken a statement from Ewan Ackley.
Who?
That fella that objected to the seafront development.
He was down at the site protesting
and got into bother with Scott Keane.
Keane must have told Alec Sidden because, the next minute,
a couple of heavies turned up at Ackley's doorstep.
Did they indeed?
Well, look who it isn't.
Oh, just passing, are we?
A mother can't visit her own son?
Ah, well, since I've caught you...
..I've got a few more questions for you.
How well did you know Robbie Marshburn?
He worked at the club, that's all.
Well, we know Robbie and your husband argued
on the night he disappeared.
If they did, I don't remember. No?
It was you who got between them.
I don't know anything about that.
What exactly was the nature of Scott Keane's employment at the site?
Errands, mainly.
Pick-ups, deliveries, general supplies.
Didn't rate him, then? He was lazy.
Work-shy. I'd have never taken him on.
Except your dad insisted that you hired him.
Which makes you wonder who's really in charge here, doesn't it?
He said he was doing an old mate a favour.
I didn't see the harm.
Did Scott tell you about his run-in with Ewan Ackley?
He might have mentioned it, aye.
He said he'd been a nuisance down at the site.
Well, Ewan claims he was threatened a couple of days later.
Some thugs turned up at his house.
That was nothing to do with me.
Hm.
I've already told you.
That's not how I do things.
This business is legit.
All right.
DOOR CLOSES
The fella with the glasses. Any ideas?
The one standing next to your dad?
That's Michael Claythorpe.
Did the books part-time at the club.
Is he local?
He used to be. I couldn't tell you where he is now.
Yeah, we'll check him out - Michael Claythorpe.
What about the woman?
I think she called herself Mary-Frances.
Junkie. I think she took off after Robbie disappeared.
Ended up back on the streets, I expect.
Alec Sidden claims he barely knew Scott.
Just did a few odd jobs for him.
Well, he would say that, wouldn't he?
What if his old man's still running things,
using Alec as a respectable front, with Elaine acting as go-between?
Like father, like son, if I know the Siddens.
An apple never falls too far from the tree.
I'm telling you, if we uncover what happened to Robbie,
we'll find out who killed Scott.
Oh, ma'am.
I got in touch with a contact at Companies House.
They tracked down a copy of The Seagull's old business register.
People with significant control.
Brace's ex-wife owned a stake in the club.
25%.
Justine Brace...
Now, what would she want with shares in the club?
She also chairs this private investment initiative.
They manage the waterfront redevelopment.
Now, what did I tell you?
Hm?
Long arms.
John asked me to purchase the shares in my name.
He said it was a good investment.
Ah, put your wife's name on the company register.
That's a clever way to hide your assets.
I sold my stake in the business when I filed for divorce.
It's been years since we've had any contact.
Ah, but you still have plenty of dealings
with the Siddens, don't you, Justine?
That seafront development.
Sounds like a conflict of interests to me.
Alec Sidden is a respectable businessman.
He's nothing like his father. Are you sure about that?
Only, one of his employees was murdered two days ago.
Scott Keane.
I've never heard of Scott Keane.
As for my dealings with the Siddens...
..it's all perfectly transparent and on public record.
Ah, well, I'm pleased to hear it.
I mean, it wouldn't look good, would it,
what with you being a magistrate an' all?
Did you know we found Robbie Marshburn's body?
His name came up at John's trial.
He'd been missing ten years by then.
If that was all, I've a bail hearing pending.
Did you know about your husband's affair?
That fling that landed him with a daughter.
It wasn't an affair.
She was one of those sluts from the club.
John tried to persuade her to get rid of it, but...
..the girl was determined to have the child.
She was after money, of course.
So, what, he paid her off?
He told me he had dealt with it.
Said she'd left town.
We went to visit your dad.
Aye, he rang us this morning.
He asked us to look out for you.
I told you. I don't need looking after.
It must have been hard for you on your own.
Your mam and dad not around.
I didn't meet my dad until I was a teenager.
Just before he went to prison.
So, how did the pair of you link up?
I think he contacted my adoptive parents.
I only wish they were still around now.
Against the rules, that, isn't it?
He might have pulled a few strings.
So, all these visits you've made to the prison,
you must have talked about his trial.
The corruption charges.
Aye.
He said he'd been stitched up. Aye.
Of course he did. Look, I know he's not perfect.
I just wanted someone there, I suppose.
Someone I could call family.
Do you ever talk about your mam?
Your real mam?
No, not really.
But he must have told you her name.
I couldn't bear to know. Why would I? She didn't want me.
She gave us up for adoption a few days after I was born.
How did she die?
Cancer.
Mary-Frances Lascola. That's the name on the birth certificate.
That's the woman in your photograph.
"Father unknown."
There's a court order.
1994.
The child was removed due to concerns for her welfare.
Well, it say's here her mam was a heroin addict.
Looks like she was trying to get her life back on track.
Why do you say that?
A few years before that, she'd spent some time in a refuge.
Any idea where? I'm afraid it doesn't say.
There's an address in North Shields. Curlew Street.
The clinic made a note of it when they took down her blood type.
Er, any chance I can hang on to this?
I'll need that as well.
Thanks, pet.
I don't think Patty's mam wanted to give her up.
Well, didn't have a choice, by the sound of it.
No, it was Brace who sold his daughter the story
her mam didn't want her.
Playing her for sympathy.
Yeah, but what was he trying to hide?
Hm?
Apart from the obvious.
Mary-Frances Lascola.
Now, this is her in the photo, standing next to Brace.
And she's the mother of his child.
Now, we think she was a sex worker to feed a heroin habit.
I ran a search. No record of any death certificate.
Could be a work name.
No, that's the name on Patty's adoption papers.
We could talk to Brace again.
He's got to know more than he's letting on.
No, not without any hard evidence.
He'll just run rings around us.
Get on to Cosway nick.
Let's find out if Brace has had any other visitors.
I'll pull out any cases that might fit this profile.
Mm.
George, we know she was in a refuge before she got pregnant.
That was what, 1992.
So, we'll check out the refuges and charities in the area, Jac.
Yep.
Ma'am.
I have some intel on, er, the mystery man in the photo.
Elaine Sidden was right - Michael Claythorpe.
Good.
Well, let's go have a talk with him.
See if he can add to any of this.
There's something else, Kenny?
Erm...
Those bank statements of your dad's you asked me to go through.
I found a standing order...
..for £1,000 a month going into his account.
The payments were made by Leonard Sidden.
Can we just keep this between ourselves for the minute, Kenny?
Just for the minute.
Mum's the word, ma'am.
All right?
Yeah.
MAN: I looked after Sidden's accounts for several years.
I moved on a few months before the fire. Mm.
Consorting with gangsters.
You don't look the type, Mr Claythorpe.
Might have been the reason Sidden hired us.
My clients are mainly small-time businesses.
Nothing that attracts too much attention.
But you must have known Sidden was involved in criminal activity.
I just did the maths.
Now, this is all off the record, love.
I just want to solve these murders.
There were plenty of people taking bribes.
They were tempted by the offer of easy cash.
Once they'd bitten, Sidden owned them.
Well, it looks like you've been bought in this photo, love.
Hm.
He always looked after his friends.
Anything you wanted was there for the taking.
What about this lass, Mary-Frances?
Worked in the club. I didn't have much to do with all that.
Off the books, were they?
Put down as expenses.
What about this fella, ever come across him?
Scott Keane.
Now, he worked for Sidden's son, Alec.
And we think they were up to their old tricks.
I haven't had anything to do with the Siddens in years.
Sorry, I can't help.
Look, jump in.
Er, there's another fella in the photograph.
Here, look.
Hector Stanhope.
What about him?
He was on some sort of retainer.
Regular payments from Sidden.
You're Hector's daughter.
I should have made the connection.
Ah, well, he's been dead a few years now.
It was your dad's job to keep the Siddens entertained.
We called him the R & R man.
Rest and recuperation.
I even came up to the house once with Brace.
Your dad drove us over to Alnham Manor for a shoot.
He slipped the gamekeeper a backhander.
Oh, well, that sounds like me dad.
SHE CHUCKLES
So, erm...
Those payments...
..were nothing to worry about.
Hm.
Right.
What's going on, boss? Nothing.
Another conversation that I'm not party to.
Look, what is this? Are you keeping tabs on us, or what?
Well, someone's got to!
Look...
..it looks like I was right to be concerned.
Sidden had been giving me dad money. Regular payments.
So, if this was a cover-up...
..maybe they were paying him to keep silent.
Did Hector ever mention Robbie Marshburn after he disappeared?
Not once. Which tells you he had something to hide.
Oh, come on, what have you always told me
about not jumping to conclusions?
Look, when Brace was arrested, my dad was there in court,
sat in that gallery every day.
He must have known what Brace had been up to.
Covering for Sidden.
In his last year's, you know, he...
..he couldn't even...
It creeps up on you, something like that.
I'd have been inclined to forgive him anything.
PHONE RINGS
Jac?
I've had a breakthrough with a charity, ma'am.
The women's refuge in Whitburn.
One of the counsellors here remembers Mary-Frances.
Well, text us the address, we'll meet you there.
You told my officer you remembered her.
We got friendly when I was staying here.
So you weren't always a counsellor, then?
I'd been in an abusive relationship.
This place got me back on track.
I decided to train up and give something back.
I've been a counsellor ten years now.
Hm.
So what do you remember about Mary-Frances?
She'd had a rough life.
It left her distrustful of people.
Always looked out for the other girls, though.
Hm. Even let one girl move in with her.
Now, we know she was an addict.
But you need to be clean to get a bed here, don't you?
She didn't use while she was staying at the refuge.
I know she stayed off the drugs for a while.
Got herself a bit of waitressing work.
Then her pimp tracked her down with a fix.
She ended up back at the club.
This pimp, is that Robbie Marshburn?
He decided who she went with.
Who she mixed with.
Even broke two of her ribs.
Did you know she got pregnant?
The baby was taken into care.
So, did she tell you who the father of the baby was?
Was it a copper, name of John Brace?
Aye.
All the girls knew Brace.
But Mary-Frances was his favourite.
Keep going.
Stop. Stop it there.
DCI Stanhope!
It looks like that hunch of yours was right.
There is someone else buried down there.
Right, well, these are definitely the bones of a young female.
I'd put her age at late teens.
Early twenties, possibly.
Well, Mary-Frances was no older than that when she disappeared.
The wisdom teeth are just beginning to erupt.
You see these sutures here in the skull, just beginning to fuse.
Any startling insights as to cause of death?
Strangulation.
Drowning. Positional asphyxia.
I ran a GCSA tissue analysis and she did test positive for heroin.
Oh, she must have started using again when she gave up her bairn.
Oh, that's right, she had a daughter.
A daughter, two grandkids.
Oh, well, I can run a DNA test.
We could find out for certain if they're related.
Every cloud...
Well, I'll go talk to Patty.
Right.
STANHOPE: I don't know how to break this to you, love.
So I'm just going to come out with it.
We've found another body down at the building site.
Right. So why are you telling me?
Cos there's a chance it might be your mam.
And I need to do a swab test...
..to get your DNA profile, to see if there's a familial match.
And what if I didn't want to know?
Well, that is your choice, love, obviously.
But it would help us to find out who she is.
All right. OK. Right.
That's it.
Now, then, on these times when you visit your dad...
..does he ever talk about a fella called Robbie Marshburn?
You're asking me that now?
I know. It is important, love.
Sometimes, aye.
He said it was Robbie's fault he ended up inside.
Rued the day he ever got mixed up with him.
And did you share that with your husband?
I suppose I must have done.
He always wanted to know how the visits went.
Right. Thanks, love.
He lied to us.
Didn't he, me dad?
She didn't die of cancer.
Her name was Mary-Frances.
Oh, don't.
It must've been very hard for her to give up her bairn.
Cos I think she wanted to keep you.
SHE SOBS
She left us a... locket.
Hm?
Like a keepsake, sort of thing. I'll show you.
I kept it safe under the bed.
It's not here.
Scott was the only other person that knew it was there.
I want someone back over at Scott Keane's flat.
He's been digging around asking questions.
I want to know if he found anything.
Right, and while you're at it, Jac,
see if you can find a locket.
It belonged to Mary-Frances.
Now, I've got a treat for you.
I need you to get over to your old patch, those clubs in Wallsend.
I mean, Scott Keane was a regular feature.
Find out who he's been talking to.
I checked in with Cosway nick.
Brace's recent visitors. No contact with the Siddens.
They wouldn't be that daft, would they?
But his ex-wife, she paid him a visit two days ago.
Did she?
Didn't she say that she'd not seen him in years?
Aye, she did.
So, that wouldn't have been a social call.
Get your coat.
So why the sudden need to pay him a visit?
You came to the office asking questions.
He almost ruined both of us.
Still, you're doing very well for yourself these days, aren't you?
All this.
Investment initiative.
Aye, you've got a lot to lose,
if this all goes pear-shaped.
We're investigating allegations
of threats and bribes by Sidden Holdings
and any associates that are implicated.
That includes you, pet.
Now, you must have known what your husband was up to all those years.
I knew about...
..the bribes, the backhanders...
..the other women.
But to father a child with a prostitute was too much.
I couldn't let that get out.
It...
But it was you, wasn't it?
You shopped your husband.
He still has no idea.
We've found a second body buried with Marshburn.
It's a woman. Matches the description of Mary-Frances.
It can't be.
What were your movements on Monday evening?
I was chairing a meeting, the...
..the investment initiative.
Was Alec Sidden with you? As a matter of fact, he was.
When did this meeting finish? It must have been around ten.
Why do you ask? Oh, just checking, love.
It happens to be the evening Scott Keane was murdered.
Do you want my advice, love?
Get yourself a solicitor.
She knows exactly what she's doing.
She hasn't severed ties with Brace at all.
I am going to go and rattle his cage.
CAR ENGINE STARTS
We've found another body buried next to the club
and we've reason to suspect it's Mary-Frances.
Well, at least have the decency to acknowledge that you knew her,
seeing as she's the mother of your daughter.
Well, you arrested her for soliciting
back in 1989.
She was subsequently released without charge.
So, what, did you come to some sort of arrangement, did you?
She gets protection in return for sexual favours.
Robbie allowed that, did he?
Well, the pair of them went missing round about the same time.
But you told your missus Mary-Frances had left town.
So, what, did Marshburn help you to kill her...
..or did he just get in the way?
I never laid a finger on either of 'em.
And then, all these years later,
you set your son-in-law up with a job with the Siddens.
Got a bit close to them, didn't he, hm?
Maybe he found out what had happened to Marshburn.
Well, you couldn't have him walking round
with that knowledge, could you?
Patty might find out what you'd done.
How could I have killed him, locked up in here?
Well, even if you didn't, you know who did.
You'd love to solve this one, wouldn't you, pet?
Prove your dad wrong when he said he didn't rate you.
You think he didn't know what was going on?
Hector was up to his neck in it.
PHONE RINGS
Malcolm?
The second body, we don't know who it is yet.
But I can tell you that it's not Mary-Frances.
SHE SIGHS
So we got some DNA out of the marrow from one of these long bones here.
I ran it against the swab that we took from Patty
and the sample was only a partial profile.
So not enough to be certain.
Oh, enough to rule out a familial match.
On top of that...
..we got hold of Mary-Frances' medical records.
Now, it appears, back in March '92, Mary was admitted into hospital
with fractures to her third and fourth intercostal ribs.
Oh...
That does tally with what the woman at the refuge told us.
Well, I double checked. I took some X-rays...
..and these ribs are clean.
So, if it's not Mary-Frances...
..who the hell is it?
Oh, come on, George...
We're looking for a runaway.
How hard can it be?
I've extended the date and search areas.
These cases are still unresolved.
The woman at the refuge said there was a lass stayed with Mary-Frances
in North Shields, from about '95.
But we don't know where she was from. Could have been from anywhere.
There's, er... a Hexham one.
Have a look at this.
A lass from Hexham.
First reported missing March 1995.
Now, well, that could be her.
Er... Rebecca Murray.
17.
Her dad filed a report at Hexham nick.
Said he'd rowed with his daughter and she'd walked out.
The parents made several attempts to get her back.
Eventually, she disappeared.
Last known address...
..North Shields.
Curlew Street.
George, I could hug you.
Aw, just look at her...
17.
She's been buried longer than that.
Dental records have now confirmed the ID of our second body
as Rebecca Murray, aged 17.
Now, this could mean Mary-Frances is still alive
and might even know what happened to her.
Mark, go through Scott Keane's phone records again.
Go back a couple of months.
Check his e-mails, social media, everything.
We checked out his flat. No sign of any locket.
Nothing's been signed in as evidence.
Yeah, we did get a fresh statement from one of the neighbours.
She had a run-in with a guy
when she was trying to park on Crossfield Street.
Crossfield Street... Well, that's a main road, isn't it?
Yeah. So there'll be cameras.
Check it out!
Ma'am, I spoke to the landlord of the social club.
He knew Scott Keane well enough.
He'd been in the club, shooting his mouth off
about his contacts with the Siddens.
One of the doormen had to have words with him.
Which doorman was this?
HEALY: DCI Stanhope has entered the room.
Right. Now, then, Glen.
You've been working the doors at the social club
down on the Farrow Road.
Hm?
Like I told you, I get it where I can.
Yeah, so you must have crossed paths with this fella.
HEALY: Scott Keane.
We know he worked for the Siddens.
Got a bit of a mouth on him, by all accounts.
He started asking questions about the old days.
When Robbie Marshburn ran things down at the port.
Ah, so you set him straight, did you?
Talk like that can still get you into trouble.
Oh, ain't that the truth.
Cos he was murdered a few days later.
Now, this is Rebecca Murray.
A lass who worked at The Seagull.
Now, her body was found next to Robbie's.
17 years old when she died.
Just about the same age as your youngest.
Yeah, well, a nice kid.
Was she one of Robbie's girls? No.
She worked shifts as a barmaid.
Kept us topped up with drinks.
Now, was she the lass who left the club with Robbie that night?
I don't know that. It was busy.
Now, I'm not sure I buy that, love.
Now, you were obviously fond of the girl.
Would you let her leave on the arm of a violent pimp,
one who'd already beaten you up?
I would've stopped him. Well, maybe you went after him.
You seriously think that I killed Robbie!
Well, did you?
If you want to point the finger, talk to Leonard Sidden.
She was serving him drinks that night.
Dolled up to the nines in his private bar.
LEONARD SIDDEN: You're disturbing a family get-together.
Well, we can talk here or down at the station.
Your choice.
Rebecca Murray.
Never seen her before. No?
Barmaid. You'd have hired her.
I found out she was under age. I had to let her go.
You weren't concerned when she disappeared?
Barmaids come and go. I got better things to do than look for runaways.
Well, her body was found yesterday,
dumped in the same place as Robbie Marshburn.
And you thought you'd try and pin this on me?
Now, if you'll excuse me,
I've got guests.
Aye, you get back to your guests.
Enjoy it, while it lasts.
Why can't you leave things alone, instead of dragging it all back up?
Careful, Vera, you might not like what you find.
That contract audit you asked for, ma'am, the waterfront redevelopment.
It threw up some interesting reading.
Anything that implicates the Siddens?
Erm, a payment made to Haletons for £50,000
two weeks before they pulled out of the bidding.
Get Alec Sidden in here for questioning.
He's in this up to his eyeballs!
Ma'am, I've been going through Scott's phone logs again.
Er, that pay-as-you-go number he called the evening he was killed.
Yeah, untraceable, wasn't it?
Yeah, well, he called the same number two months beforehand.
The same day he used his debit card.
It was in a cafe up in Morna.
Morna?
That's up in the Borders, isn't it?
A bit out of the way for a delivery.
Has anyone checked this?
Yeah, well, I just presumed he was off on one of his errands.
Well, that's the trouble with presuming, DC Edwards.
Sometimes you miss things.
Aiden, get off home.
We've got an early start.
We're going to Scotland.
Bye.
I'm afraid we've just closed. We won't be open again until six.
Well, then, we've got time for a chat.
Mary-Frances, isn't it?
STANHOPE: So how did Scott Keane track you down?
I found Patty's profile on Facebook.
Some photos. Her kids.
I just wanted to put myself out there.
What, you sent her a message, then? I didn't have the guts.
I saw on her home page she was married to... Scott.
Seemed easier to message him.
So, when was this?
Must be over a year ago.
He messaged us back.
Told us Patty wasn't interested.
I don't think she knew about that, love.
Well, I thought that was that.
I told myself it was all for the best.
So, what changed?
He called us a few weeks ago,
asked if we could meet.
And that's when he came up here?
I wasn't even sure if he was genuine.
Did he show you a locket that you'd given to Patty?
How did you know?
Well, we think he took it.
He said they'd been having some problems.
Wanted to make things up to her.
And he thought, if he could tell Patty he'd tracked down her mam...
Yeah, he'd be in with a chance of patching things up.
Now, we think his death is connected to two other murders...
..and one of them being Robbie Marshburn.
We found his body a few days ago.
Buried a couple of yards away from The Seagull.
I'm sorry.
It's...
..been a while since I heard his name.
Now, that's OK, love.
But we do need to ask you some questions
about that night he went missing.
Now, were you at the club that night?
I only stayed for a couple of hours.
I knew Brace was going to ask us to sit with him.
I couldn't bear to even look at him by then.
So what about this lass...
..name of Rebecca Murray?
We believe she may have stayed with you for a while.
Only for a few weeks, that's all.
She'd just started working at the club.
She called herself Bex.
Well, we think she was murdered round about the same time as Robbie.
Her body was found in the same place as his.
And we were hoping...
..you might be able to tell us what had happened to her.
Bex...
..had seen how much money the other girls were making.
She was young.
Just a kid.
No idea what the job entailed.
I warned Robbie to leave her be. But Sidden had other ideas.
SHE SIGHS
Maybe if I'd stayed and looked after her,
instead of leaving her there on her own...
Now, don't dwell on ifs and buts, love. That won't change anything.
So, was that when you came up here?
Well, Robbie had gone missing, so...
..I thought I'd take my chances.
A clean break.
Well, he can't hurt you now, love.
And neither can Brace.
I thought about Patty every day.
Even after everything he'd done to us.
She was still my little girl.
Good afternoon, Mr Sidden.
You'd better have a good reason for bringing me in.
Oh, aye.
Your signature on several incriminating documents.
Transfers of large sums of money to business associates.
I've already told you, that's not the way I operate.
Well, something stinks.
And I think Scott Keane was on to you.
Hm?
He was more than just a gofer, wasn't he?
Scott Keane was no-one. That's why you couldn't sack him.
Because he knew too much about the Sidden operation.
Ended up dead.
He was asking the wrong people questions. That's all I know.
Well, I saw you having words.
Threaten him, did you?
The same as you threatened Ewan Ackley when he got in your way.
You're not going to pin this on me. Why not?
You're a Sidden. You always will be.
Cut from the same cloth as your dad.
I'm a better man than he will ever be!
Well, you can just sit there and take a hit for him.
Or...
..you can tell me what you know about his hand in all of this.
He must have forged those signatures.
He's done worse.
He promised me, when I took over the business,
he said he'd let me do things my way.
Ah, now, here's the thing about Leonard Sidden, love.
His word never did count for much.
Look, if you're protecting him,
that makes you an accessory,
and I don't think you'd want to live with that.
Not if you are a better man than he is.
HEALY: DCI Stanhope has entered the room.
Now, we have a statement from your son, Alec Sidden...
..implicating you in the murder of Rebecca Murray.
Oh, yeah?
A confession you made to him 23 years ago.
HE SCOFFS
This is all a pack of lies.
Kids, eh? No respect these days.
If you had any yourself, you'd understand.
Mm.
We also have a statement from Mary-Frances Lascola.
A former hostess at your nightclub.
Now, she maintains that Robbie Marshburn
procured Rebecca Murray at your request.
That bent copper's bit on the side. She's as big a liar as he is.
Mm.
But that's not all she told us, love.
Oh, it's not looking good for you, pet.
I think Rebecca Murray was murdered in your club.
I think it was you who killed her and you covered it up.
So what did you do?
Ply the lass with drink and drugs
and then pass her round your punters?
She was already dead when we found her.
She'd taken a hit of something.
Passed out on the bathroom floor.
Choked on her own vomit.
We tried to bring her round. I don't know what happened!
We?
What? You said, "We...
"..tried to bring her round."
So who was with you? Robbie Marshburn?
Did you ask him to deal with it? That row out on the terrace.
I swear I didn't kill her. I just needed her out of the club.
OK, so, he got her out of there.
He carried her out that fire exit.
Got her onto the beach. And then what?
You killed him too, to keep him quiet.
Dumped the pair of them in that tunnel.
I've no idea what happened to Robbie.
I thought he was keeping his head down cos it was him that killed her.
That talk on the terrace was the last time I saw him.
Do you know what, why would Sidden kill Marshburn?
There's no way he'd have gone to the police.
Well, if he suspected Robbie had killed Rebecca.
Hm.
He remembered Mary-Frances well enough.
Aye.
Her reaction...
..when we said we'd found Rebecca's body.
What about it?
She didn't seem very surprised, did she?
Do you think she already knew?
Now, if they really did find Rebecca dead on the bathroom floor...
She can't have been the woman who left the club with Robbie.
Get hold of Mary-Frances in Morna.
I'm telling you, Morna is the key.
Where are you going?
Fishing.
PHONE RINGS
Come on...
Aiden...
..that CCTV coverage came through from Crossfield Street.
I think that could be the fella who argued with Scott Keane.
Can't see his face. Hm.
Can you freeze-frame the plate? Yeah.
I'll pull it up on the PNC.
PHONE RINGS
Aiden.
I know who killed Scott Keane.
Michael Claythorpe. We are on our way to his now.
You might want to send backup.
He's there! He's at her house!
TYRES SQUEAL
SIRENS BLARE
KNOCKING ON FRONT DOOR
KNOCKING CONTINUES
SHE EXHALES HEAVILY
Apologies, Vera.
Are you not going to invite me in?
HE CHUCKLES
You've not done the place up, then.
Oh, it suits me the way it is.
So...
..you found Mary-Frances.
Oh, aye.
SHE CHUCKLES
I've got to hand it to you, though.
You hid her well enough.
I didn't want Robbie to find her.
But you knew Robbie was already dead.
It was you what dumped him in that tunnel.
Left him to rot.
I'd seen the way he treated her.
She was too good for that place.
PHONE RINGS
PHONE CONTINUES TO RING
Confided in you, did she?
A lot of people did, Vera.
Not least... your father.
Ah.
SHE CHUCKLES
That's why you're here, is it?
To enlighten me.
She rang us from a phone box that night.
Mary-Frances.
Hysterical.
Said she'd found Bex on the bathroom floor.
Robbie said it was an overdose.
I got in my car...
..drove over there.
I found them on the beach...
..with the body.
She was crying.
Screaming.
I'd never seen anyone...
..in such a state.
I had to stop him.
You can see that, can't you?
Or else he would have killed her, too.
So instead, you caved his head in.
Dumped his body with Rebecca, in that tunnel.
And then, as cool as you like...
..you drove Mary-Frances up to Morna.
I'm right, aren't I?
I set her up somewhere safe, where no-one could find her.
Nah.
Or you could have just called the police, love,
as soon as she rang you.
HE CHUCKLES
The Siddens would have killed both of us.
23 years you got away with it.
Case closed.
The pair of them forgotten.
And then Scott Keane shows his face.
Aye, that was unfortunate.
Yeah.
He would probably have agreed with you, love.
I only went round there to warn him off.
I don't believe you.
You went round there to shut him up for good.
He was after money. Nah.
He'd said he was going to tell Patty the truth about her mother's past.
Now, you left him for dead while you went looking for that locket...
..the one thing that linked Mary-Frances to her past,
to all of this.
Did she tell you he'd been in touch, hm?
Confide in you?
And you were scared he was on to you.
I wanted to protect her.
I couldn't let him hurt her.
Don't you see?
It's you who doesn't see, pet.
Scott was asking all those questions about her past...
..because he needed to be sure
that Mary-Frances was who she claimed to be.
Patty's mam.
He just wanted his life back with his wife and bairns.
That was it.
He didn't need to die.
Did Mary-Frances have any part
in the death of Robbie Marshburn...
..or Rebecca Murray?
No.
She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hasn't she suffered enough?
APPROACHING POLICE SIRENS
CARS PULL UP OUTSIDE
Aiden, will you give us a minute?
Come on...
Listen, I need you to tell me.
How much did my dad really know?
He had his suspicions about Robbie being a wrong 'un.
And the girl - Rebecca?
He'd have never kept quiet about that.
But Sidden paid him off. Blood money.
Aye, he took the money.
Your dad knew how dangerous Sidden was.
It was his way of protecting you.
HEALY: Mr Claythorpe, this way...
I thought you were going to be next.
Nah.
No, it was more a sort of a confessional.
Brace's trial.
All those hours my dad spent in court.
He wasn't there looking out for a mate.
He was there to see justice done.
Huh!
The day that bastard was sent down, my dad cut him dead.
Where are you going? Cup of tea.
Go on, get a wiggle on. The tide's coming in!
Go on.
CHURCH BELL TOLLS
Patty...
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