[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Door closes ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Rita O'Keefe, sir.
53, unemployed,
lives with her nephew, Garry Ashe.
He found her when he got back from a night out at 1:15.
Nephew says she drinks,
often brings men back here.
For money?
Sometimes.
Well, that's what he implied.
Pathologist's on his way.
But there's at least six stab wounds, maybe more.
Nothing on the hands. No sign of a struggle.
It's horrific.
Sir, a neighbor, Dorothy Scully,
said she saw the nephew leaving just after midnight.
He said he got back at 1:15.
Well, she says she definitely saw him,
and he was carrying a blue plastic bag.
And we just turned up this.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Mr. Ashe, I'm Chief Inspector Dalgliesh.
I'm leading the investigation into your aunt's death.
I'm sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
MISKIN: Remind me what time you arrived home tonight.
It's in my statement.
Which you took.
Is it possible you could have arrived home
earlier than you suggested?
"I was out riding my motorbike until 1:15."
Anyone see you?
I wear a helmet,
and I don't stop to take people's names as I pass.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
I need you to come to Scotland Yard with me, Mr. Ashe.
Not convenient. Tomorrow.
Garry Ashe, I'm arresting you on the suspicion
of murder of Rita O'Keefe.
Oh, you don't want to do this.
You do not have to say anything unless you wish to do so,
but whatever you do say may be taken down in evidence.
Disappointing scent, DS Miskin.
What's the word?
Vulgar.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Theme music plays ]
VENETIA: We've already heard from the landlord
of the Royal Oak
that Mrs. O'Keefe was one of his regulars.
She'd been in the pub drinking heavily
until 11:00 on the night in question.
Let's turn to the murder weapon.
Can you remind the court where it was found?
It was found in a blue plastic bag
hidden underneath a privet hedge eight doors down from --
VENETIA: Where prints found on the knife?
No, it had been wiped clean.
VENETIA: So you're asking us to believe
that Mr. Ashe brutally murdered his beloved aunt
who provided a roof over his head
after a lifetime in care
and that he wiped the knife clean
and decided to dispose of it, not somewhere else,
somewhere in the vast realms of the metropolis,
but in a neighbor's hedge eight doors down.
Perhaps he wasn't thinking clearly.
Or perhaps it was just... arrogance.
VENETIA: Dorothy, I know you are an honest woman,
and I know you're going to tell the truth in court.
Yes, I am.
VENETIA: And I think you understand that the case
for the prosecution rests almost entirely,
it appears, on your identification of the man
you saw coming out of Mrs. O'Keefe's house
at midnight the night she died.
It was him. Her nephew.
You're looking very smart today, Dorothy.
Is that a new jacket?
Bought it for the court.
VENETIA: And your glasses look very smart, too.
They're also new.
Yes. In fact, I paid a visit to your optician.
He tells me he had need to increase your prescription
three weeks ago.
He was also able to supply me with a pair of glasses
made to the prescription you were using
on the night Mrs. O'Keefe was murdered.
Quickly, please.
Mr. Ulrick, my highly efficient pupil,
will hand them to you.
Can you put them on, please?
Are you approximately the same distance from Mr. Ulrick
as you were from the man you saw
leaving Mrs. O'Keefe's house that night?
I would say so, yes.
Can you tell me how many fingers he's holding up?
Um...
Two?
[ Spectators murmuring ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
CLERK: Do you find the defendant, Garry Ashe,
guilty or not guilty of murder?
Not guilty.
[ Spectators murmuring ]
Pleasure. Well done.
Venetia.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Gavel bangs ]
[ Gunshots ]
[ Buzzer ]
Not bad.
It's only my second session. So yes, it wasn't.
Daniel Tarrant.
- Kate Miskin. - Yes, I know.
You were with Dalgliesh on the Garry Ashe case.
That must have been gutting.
It was,
knowing a dangerous man's been freed
to walk the streets.
She's quite something, I hear -- that barrister.
Apparently she runs rings around everyone.
[ Buzzer ]
Maybe see you around.
What are you talking about?
You can't stop us. I'm 18.
No, no, no.
Aren't you supposed to congratulate me?
Look at me, Octavia.
He's making a fool of you.
- He wants you for your money. - Right.
Yeah, that's what he said you'd say.
You're not to see him anymore.
But he loves me.
He doesn't love anyone.
Just because you don't love me,
it doesn't mean no one else ever will.
Just because no one's ever loved you.
Sorry.
[ Somber music plays ]
I'm sorry.
Mr. Ulrick.
Have you done the prep for Colchester yet?
Not quite, but I'm nearly there with it.
Well, get there.
I want it on my desk before you leave.
Um, the partners' meeting, Miss Aldridge --
they've just started.
Have they now.
[ Telephone rings ]
[ Laughs ]
Gentlemen, what have I missed?
Apologies, Miss Aldridge.
We weren't sure you'd be attending.
I can't think why.
I've never missed a single partners' meeting.
You are 20 minutes late.
Well, some of us have cases to argue, Hubert.
We can't all stand around looking out of the window
trying to remember what day of the week it is.
Um, we were just discussing Valerie Caldwell.
We're all agreed that we should make her contract --
I think she should go.
She's just about competent, but she's inexperienced,
and no other respectable chambers
has a -- a dollybird for a clerk.
- Ye gods. - Miss Caldwell is
proving herself a very efficient
and organized clerk.
You want to get your hand up her skirt.
It's what everyone's whispering. It's embarrassing.
- You're making a fool of us. - Madam. Madam.
Too far.
We should appoint people on merit,
not because of their sex
or how they look or who they're related to.
Oh, which is aimed at me, I assume.
Well, Mr. Ulrick,
your son's hardly shaping up well, is he?
When I become Head of Chambers,
I will systematically deconstruct the old boys' club.
Have you set a date for your retirement yet,
or is that something else you're discussing behind my back?
You said you weren't interested in Head of Chambers.
I've changed my mind.
Everyone else will have to wait their turn.
The only -- The only thing embarrassing this chambers
- is you. - Really? Why would that be?
The cases you choose to take on.
- You mean the unwinnable ones... - IRA terrorists, pedophiles --
...which I then proceed to win?
Everyone deserves legal representation.
Garry Ashe.
We're still suffering the fallout from that.
- What's next? Beelzebub. - Perhaps we could --
Can I speak to you outside, please?
Drysdale, now, please.
Because I'm asking you to.
I've done enough for you.
LAUD: Venetia, all I'm saying --
VENETIA: Just bloody do it.
[ Bell tolls ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Telephone rings ]
Venetia speaking.
MRS. BUCKLEY: What do I do, Miss Aldridge?
She's with him now.
He won't leave.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Telephone rings ]
Good morning. Pawlett Court Chambers.
This is Mrs. Buckley. Is Miss Aldridge there?
- I don't think so, Mrs. Buckley. - Miss Caldwell.
MRS. BUCKLEY: You see, her bed hasn't been slept in...
The florist at Holborn Station has lovely flowers.
As far as I'm aware, I'm first in.
I thought these might brighten up your corner.
Thank you, Mr. Langton, but you really shouldn't have.
MRS. BUCKLEY: I'm worried. It's most unlike her.
[ Knock on door ]
CALDWELL: Miss Aldridge.
Miss Aldridge, I --
[ Breathes shakily ]
[ Indistinct conversations ]
OFFICER: You step aside now.
[ Somber music plays ]
...would be useful.
Yes, ma'am.
DS Miskin, this is DS Donald Tarrant.
- He's joining the team. - Pleased to meet you.
Hi. It's her, sir.
The barrister who defended Garry Ashe.
The clerk, Valerie Caldwell, found the body
when she opened up this morning.
Miss Aldridge's housekeeper called to say
her bed hadn't been slept in.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Gags ]
Start taking names and addresses, please.
Yes, sir.
KYNASTON: Not a sight we're likely to forget.
Designed to shock.
Well, the blood's certainly been staged.
It's not hers.
Rigor, temperature, smell
all says she's been dead between 12 and 14 hours.
So either the blood contained an anticoagulant
or it was poured later.
And this looks like our fatal wound.
A narrow slit about an inch long.
Dagger. Something sharp on both sides.
- MISKIN: You can't go in there. - TARRANT: Stop there, please.
We have a right to know what's happening.
Oh, my God.
Chief Inspector Dalgliesh. I'm from Scotland Yard.
Hubert St. John Langton. I'm Head of Chambers.
This is Desmond Ulrick.
This is unspeakable.
My, uh -- My blood's missing.
What do you mean, Mr. Ulrick?
My son has anemia. He needs regular transfusions.
I had some taken the day before yesterday.
It was in my fridge.
Matthew had a bad reaction to some foreign muck
he was given last year, so he only uses mine.
I have it taken from a clinic nearby.
Why store it here?
Because he's a pupil here.
It's easier for him to collect it
and take it to Guy's Hospital.
When did you last see the blood?
Around 5:30 yesterday evening, I should say.
DALGLIESH: Is that when you left for the night?
No, I left at 7:15. I was the last to leave.
Uh, except Venetia.
So you were the last to see her alive?
I don't know.
Probably not.
Mrs. Carpenter, the cleaning lady,
comes in later in the evening.
Where did you go after you left, Mr. Ulrick?
I went straight to supper with Matthew.
He was --
Look, I'm -- I'm going to say this
because you will hear it soon enough.
None of us liked her.
She wasn't a nice woman, but..
No, even she -- Even she didn't deserve this.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
You saw the wig which Miss Aldridge was wearing?
Is that one which belongs to her?
It looks more like a judge's wig than...
It's my grandfather's.
It should be in its wig box in my room.
I must check to see if Miss Caldwell is all right.
Mr. Langton.
Did Miss Aldridge own a paper knife?
Well, I don't think so.
I don't know.
You presented her with one, Hubert,
after 20 years of partnership.
Oh, yes.
It was a miniature Sword of Justice.
Where's DS Tarrant transferred from?
Vice.
Are you okay with it?
Sure.
The Standardalways has a pink financial section, doesn't it?
Yes, I think so.
It's not here.
So if the paper knife is our weapon, which is looking likely,
maybe the killer used the newspaper
to wipe it or conceal it.
Venetia admits her killer.
The killer moves over to the desk.
Venetia stays by the door.
It's someone she's hoping to get rid of quickly.
The killer picks up the paper knife,
comes back over,
stabs her through the heart,
and is then dragged back over towards the chair.
And then the killer goes and gets the blood and the wig,
both of which they must have known about.
Except there's a time lapse.
Miles thinks the blood was poured later.
OFFICER: No. I'm sorry.
TARRANT: Excuse me. Sorry.
- Excuse me. - TARRANT: What is it?
I need to speak to Detective Chief Inspector Dalgliesh
- as soon as possible. - Not possible, I'm afraid.
Not possible.
I think that I and I alone
can unlock the identity of Venetia Aldridge's murderer.
Good for you. You can contact Scotland Yard.
Please.
My mother always said sweet tea is best for shock.
Thank you.
DALGLIESH: How long have you been cleaning here,
Mrs. Carpenter?
About a year.
And what time did you begin work yesterday evening?
8:00.
I like to be punctual.
I always hear the clock
on the Temple Church as I unlock the door.
DALGLIESH: So the door to Chambers was definitely locked?
Oh, yes. Yes.
I cleaned reception first and then the lawyers' rooms.
I did see Miss Aldridge's light was on,
but I never disturb her when she's working.
Did you hear any noise coming from her room?
No.
In Mr. Ulrick's room,
did you notice whether the blood in his fridge was missing?
No, because he doesn't like me to clean his fridge.
He's very particular.
[ Knock on door ]
Sir.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
It looks like it's been wiped.
I didn't know it was in there.
No one ever goes in there.
It must have been very shocking for you --
discovering Miss Aldridge's body.
When did you last see Miss Aldridge?
When she came out of the partners' meeting
yesterday afternoon around 4:00.
She went straight to her rooms.
I leave work at 6:00.
I knew she was still here.
And Mr. Ulrick was still here.
The Evening Standard.
Does Chambers have it delivered?
[ Bicycle bell dings ]
[ Praying in Latin ]
Sorry.
I was told I'd find you here.
My sanctuary.
Beautiful.
These angels and saints guard the law from corruption.
Was Venetia Aldridge corrupt?
Is that why her murderer mocked her profession
in the way they did?
No.
She was honest.
Difficult, argumentative.
But she believed in the law as firmly as I do.
When you took her the Evening Standardyesterday,
did it contain the pink financial pages?
Well, I didn't take her a newspaper.
Your clerk said it was a peace offering.
There had been an argument at the partners' --
I didn't take her the paper.
When you left Chambers yesterday,
did you go straight home?
I was at home at the usual t-- Yes.
What time would you have arrived?
7:30.
I'm sure my housekeeper could confirm that.
- Why do you -- - Thank you.
What was the argument about?
At the partners' meeting?
Venetia and Drysdale Laud.
They both want to succeed me as Head of Chambers.
Venetia is next in line,
but Drysdale sees it as a stepping stone
to becoming a QC.
So, how long have you worked with the boss?
Nearly 18 months.
How long have you been on the force?
Six months.
They're trying this new graduate fast track idea.
LAUD: I honestly can't believe it.
Where was she found?
Behind her desk.
I'm told you argued with her at the meeting yesterday.
Well, no, we were all arguing.
It's par for the course.
Did you argue about who would succeed as Head of Chambers?
No, and let me save you a lot of time and effort.
Rivalries over Head of Chambers,
arguments over which cases to take on --
They happen in every Chambers up and down the land.
Day in, day out.
And they do not constitute reasons to commit murder.
So what was the argument about?
It was a private matter.
Oh, God.
She wanted me to speak to her daughter, Octavia.
I know the girl a little.
Venetia and I have been friends for a long time.
But yesterday, Venetia told me
that Octavia started seeing someone.
Saying she was engaged.
Venetia wanted me to intervene to try to stop it.
Why? Did she not approve of the boy?
MISKIN: The daughter is called Octavia.
[ Doorbell rings ]
I'll lead.
No, she didn't.
Because it's Garry Ashe.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
I think it would be better if we spoke alone.
Why?
Ashe is my fiancé.
What is this, anyway?
We have some very bad news, Octavia.
I'm afraid your mother was found dead this morning.
She's not dead.
I saw her yesterday. She was fine.
It wasn't a natural death.
Murder.
MISKIN: I'm very, very sorry.
It happened sometime yesterday evening.
We'll know more after the postmortem.
We had nothing to do with it, okay?
So don't start that.
- I wasn't -- - You can't pin this on Ash.
He was here, and the Buckley was here, too,
cooking us supper. You can ask her.
The three of us were here all evening and all night.
Mrs. Buckley says she'll come up and sit with you.
I don't want her.
I don't need anyone.
I've got Ashe.
Our boss will want to see you both.
Inspector Dalgliesh?
Chief Inspector, yes.
We very much look forward to seeing him,
Kate.
Are you okay?
It's him. I know it's him.
The housekeeper seems sure
he didn't leave here yesterday evening.
Maybe he got someone to do it for him.
It's not his style. He's a loner.
Most psychopaths are.
Did you do this?
Ashe knows about birds.
We're doing it together.
I didn't know you were an ornithologist, Garry.
You don't know anything about me, Mr. Dalgliesh.
Would you wait outside, please?
I want to speak to Octavia alone.
He's told me all about you
and you,
about how you tried to stitch him up
after his auntie died.
We were doing our job. There was evidence.
Yeah, which you planted.
How did you meet?
At a club.
We started dancing. He bought me a drink.
He didn't even know who I was.
Octavia, your mother is dead.
And it wasn't a random killing.
It was almost certainly someone who knew her.
Are you absolutely certain that Ashe didn't leave
this flat yesterday evening, even for a short time?
Certain.
It's bad luck.
DALGLIESH: He has a solid alibi.
It's too much of a coincidence.
The girl, yeah, she could easily be covering for him.
Not the housekeeper. No way.
He could have found a way to sneak out the house.
He may be a psychopath, but he's not supernatural.
We now know from Mrs. Buckley that she spoke to Venetia
just after 7:30 on the telephone.
So with Kynaston's confirmed estimate,
we now have a window for time of death --
7:45 to 9:00.
How are we doing with other alibis?
Laud and his wife definitely picked up their theater tickets.
The box office manager remembers Laud.
Ulrick and his son --
I called the restaurant
where they had a reservation for dinner.
They confirmed they were there,
but the reservation wasn't until 8:00, so...
Carpenter --
ample opportunity,
no clear alibi,
but no motive.
Which leaves us with Langton.
TARRANT: Yes. Now we're talking.
Langton's housekeeper says
he wasn't home yesterday till after 9:00.
An hour and a half after he claims.
But his memory seems poor.
He's certainly got something troubling him.
I found him praying for forgiveness.
Look, I'm not ruling Ashe out altogether,
but we can't make him a priority.
He has an alibi, and he has no access to Chambers.
He could have talked his way in.
Can we at least put a tail on him?
No, I can't justify it.
Kate.
Hi.
I was a little dismissive earlier.
I shouldn't have been. I apologize.
It's me.
My cardinal sin, rushing to judgment.
I know this is going to be difficult for you.
It's fine.
It was never going to be just the two of us forever.
I meant about Ashe.
I know you felt responsible when we failed to get a conviction,
but you weren't. I was.
I failed to properly test the evidence.
Look, if you want to step back from this case --
I don't want you to,
but I would completely understand.
I don't want to step back.
Okay.
Night, sir.
Night, Kate.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
What was Mr. Langton's relationship
with Miss Aldridge like?
I don't think Mr. Langton's very well.
He can't remember things.
He gets scared, angry.
I have to say, I think he actually hated Venetia.
I've heard him calling her all sorts of things
under his breath.
Was this because of the sort of cases she was bringing in?
Partly that.
Partly that she's a woman,
and women are everywhere now.
Maybe even in Number 10 soon.
He's got a thing about me.
He finds any excuse he can to touch me.
Put his arm around my waist,
accidentally brush against me.
He follows me sometimes,
turns up where I am.
He comes and watches me sing in the choir at Temple Church.
Stares at me like he's...
Have you spoken to him about it?
No.
And in a way, it's easy to deal with.
He's just an old man who's going senile.
But...
There's a look in his eye like...
it's not just harmless flirtation.
Look into Hubert Langton's past marriages, relationships.
Any complaints made against him,
- especially by women. - Sir.
See if there's a pattern of behavior.
This is so important.
Detective Chief Inspector.
May I have a word with you, please?
Just, look -- Just -- Just a moment, please.
- Sorry. Sorry. - Who's that?
Edgar Froggart.
He was outside Chambers yesterday,
claiming he has the key to Aldridge's murder.
I've spoken to him.
All he's got are a load of old scrapbooks.
I'll talk to him.
He's just a crank who hangs around murder trials, sir.
I was very close to Venetia when she was growing up.
Very close indeed.
I was her mentor in many ways.
The man who introduced her to the law.
Were you her teacher?
FROGGART: Strictly speaking, no.
I was a teacher at her father's preparatory school for boys.
And ever since, I have followed her career closely,
attending many of her trials,
recording the brilliance of her arguments.
What has this to do with her death, Mr. Froggart?
I have a detailed chronicle of her professional life,
Detective Chief Inspector.
And it occurs to me that her murderer
may lurk within these pages.
A disappointed client, an ex-prisoner with a grievance.
This is a loan of my precious resource, Chief Inspector.
I know it will be of use. Good day.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Janet Carpenter walked into Pawlett Court Chambers
18 months ago and asked for a cleaning job.
She was directed to the agency, and they gave her a job
in a different chambers, but she badgered them constantly
until she was transferred to Pawlett Court.
She moved to London from a village
near Winchester 18 months ago
and gave character references from the local solicitor
and the vicar's wife.
And she's been attending all of Venetia's trials.
She knew about the wig and the blood,
and she probably knew about the paper knife.
And she was in Chambers when Venetia died.
Can we bring her in?
Not yet. We need more. I want you to follow her.
I want you to see where she's going, who she's talking to.
We'll look into her past.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Margaret Jackson?
Yes?
Detective Sergeant Kate Miskin.
This is Detective Chief Inspector Dalgliesh
from Scotland Yard.
Oh, right.
May we ask you some questions about Janet Carpenter?
We believe you provided a job reference for her.
Janet. Is she still alive?
[ Police radio chatter ]
MARGARET: Janet had a daughter, Dawn,
and Dawn's marriage broke down,
and she and Janet's granddaughter
came to live with her.
Daisy.
She was a lovely little girl.
She sang in our choir.
She went out riding her bike one afternoon and didn't come back.
There was a police search.
We all joined in.
She was found in the woods about three miles away.
She'd been assaulted
and murdered.
This was Anthony Beale.
That's right. You remember?
Janet was remarkable, really.
She went to the trial every day.
She saw him put away for life.
But Dawn, she couldn't go on.
She took her own life.
In the woods where Daisy was found.
We lost Janet after that, really.
I tried to talk her out of going to London.
I knew she didn't know anyone there,
but she said she wanted a new start.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
DISPATCH: Control to Sierra 15.
Sierra 15 to Control. Receiving.
DISPATCH: We need you to return to base.
[ Telephone rings ]
- Dalgliesh. - TARRANT: It wasn't Venetia.
According to Beale's file, his defense was a guy
called Curtis, local, based in Winchester.
Beale was a repeat offender, wasn't he?
Yes. Southampton, 1971.
Summer, I think.
TARRANT: Just a sec.
It was a similar case. A young girl on a bike.
Here we are. "Southampton. Not guilty."
He was represented by Venetia Aldridge.
Shit.
She got him off and he killed again.
Okay, get over to Carpenter's now and bring her in.
- We'll be back by 5:00. - TARRANT: Yes, sir.
[ Dramatic music plays ]
[ Indistinct conversation ]
[ Doorbell ringing ]
[ Dramatic music plays ]
Ohh.
[ Theme music plays ]