Vera

BARKING

INDISTINCT CONVERSATION

'There's now two minutes to the off.

'And away they go.'

INDISTINCT COMMENTARY AND YELLING

Yes!

Thanks for coming.

Hey, Alun. Really appreciate it.

Excuse me.

Alun, go home. To your family.

I'll see you bright and early tomorrow.

Send me that agenda.

Congratulations.

Where's the safe?

THEY WHIMPER

SHE CRIES OUT

We've gotta warn him.

Please!

Please, please!

Louise?

Louise?

Just let her go.

SHE CRIES

GRUNTING, GUNSHOT

Dad? Dad? CRYING

Call an ambulance!

Morning Ma'am.

Middle-aged man, Alun Wilmott.

Was murdered last night as he confronted a couple of intruders.

One of them was armed. Apparently, the gun went off in a struggle.

This Alun Wilmott, the betting magnate?

Yeah, his wife and daughter were in the house, Louise and Jess Wilmott.

So where are they now?

Erm, over at the neighbours. I've got Jac to keep an eye on 'em.

Right.

24/7 security? Lot of good that did.

Ma'am. Thanks.

Now, I'm gonna need a word with the hired muscle.

And put out a press statement, so get in touch with the Press Office.

Papers'll be all over this.

Malcolm?

Watch where you're putting your feet, please.

Oh, I'll come in again through the back door, shall I (?)

Well, the scene's already been compromised.

There's boot treads all over the hallway.

So, what can you tell us?

Single bullet wound to the chest.

He was dead by the time the paramedics arrived.

Now, there's some tattooing on his shirt around the bullet hole.

Hot discharge residue.

No sign of an exit wound.

If we find the bullet intact, might well help us trace the weapon.

Mm...

Fancy place.

Well, it's just lost a chunk of its real estate value.

SHE TUTS

We'll start a sweep of the downstairs

as soon as we get him bagged and tagged.

Well, let us know if you find anything.

Watch where you put your feet. I heard you the first time, Malcolm.

Ma'am.

Safe's been cleaned out.

It's a combination lock...

so, someone must have opened it for 'em.

I've got the inventory of the contents that were taken.

There's passports, jewellery... couple of watches.

Expensive watches.

20 grand in cash!

20 grand.

That's just pin money to a fella like Wilmott.

Wife and daughter were home alone when they broke in.

So where was he?

He was in town at a charity race night.

That dog track he owned in the city.

Moorden Fields?

So it would've been common knowledge, then,

that he was at the track.

Maybe someone thought they'd be an easy target.

So why bring a firearm?

Hmm?

That's just asking for trouble.

They came in over the garden fence at the back.

Smashed the patio doors.

I'd say this was a botched burglary.

Husband came home, disturbed them in the act.

No, they knew there was a safe in the house.

But 20 grand in cash?

Either it was their lucky day, or someone gave 'em the heads-up.

What do you reckon? By the front gate.

Ma'am!

This is Ciaran Duggan.

He's the head of the neighbourhood security.

Right, DCI Stanhope. I'm running this investigation.

Right, any way we can help?

Well, you can start by telling us who was on patrol last night.

That would've been Ryan. Ryan?

Get over here.

Right, the, er... your gaffer says you were working the evening shift.

Aye, that's right.

I did a drive past the Wilmotts' at...

20:55.

You see anything out of the ordinary?

It was pretty quiet, like.

Usually is around here.

So when did you hear about the break-in?

I got a call from the control room,

someone in the house had pressed a panic button.

Yeah, what time was that? Just after 9pm.

The police were informed at the time.

We'll look into it. Well, I drove here as soon as I heard.

You weren't on duty yourself, then?

No, I was, er, working back at the office.

Right.

Now, did either of you enter the property?

Well, er, a man had just been shot.

Aye, trampled all over the crime scene.

Given the circumstances, I think we acted appropriately.

Now, can you take your boots off, give 'em to DC Lockhart.

Need to rule them out as evidence.

Well, come on, we haven't got all day!

And the same goes for you. Get 'em off!

So, how long have you had this security company?

We won the tender.... six months ago.

Four-man team.

Roving patrols and alarmed response.

Ah, all right, if you can afford it.

We're a visible deterrent.

Oh, that's obvious, all that bling you're wearing.

Right. Logs, CCTV, body cams, dashcams, the lot.

See if we can find anything Ryan might have missed.

I found some more tyre tracks further down the lane.

Hmm?

They took off on a getaway bike, out of sight of any cameras.

This must've taken some planning.

Chances are they'd been watching the place.

Well, then they'd have known about the security patrols, wouldn't they?

Get the CSI team down here. Cordon off the whole lane.

Now, we know your husband had been at the race track last night.

Charity event.

He'd messaged me to say he was on his way home.

Right.

I heard talking downstairs. I thought it must be Alun.

Then I heard Jess scream.

So you were the first one to see these intruders?

No, I didn't see their faces. They were both wearing masks.

So, what about their voices?

They sounded local. I think one of them was older.

Oh, what makes you say that, love?

Just the way he talked.

Clearly he was the one calling the shots.

Right.

Did you tell him there was a safe in the house?

We didn't tell him anything... until we saw the gun.

What about this other fella, hmm?

Anything stand out?

He was wearing trainers... like, flash stripes.

It just stayed in my head, you know?

Look, I know this is hard, love...

..but if there's anything at all you can tell us...

that might help us to catch 'em.

There was a struggle out in the hall.

The gun went off.

Next thing I knew, he was lying there, bleeding.

Now, did either of you notice anything suspicious,

weeks leading up to this?

We have been getting nuisance phone calls.

Landline. We hardly use it.

But the caller always hung up when I answered.

Mm.

Right, so, er...

Now, is there somewhere else you can stay,

other than here with your neighbours?

My mum's. She's over in South Shields.

We'll need to get some swabs and prints. No rush.

Yeah, we'll get someone to drive you over.

I'll need to fetch a few things... from the house.

Right. Well, that can be arranged...

after forensics have finished.

Maybe tomorrow.

Ma'am, these are the owners of the house, Gayle and Iain Beecher.

Right.

Right, you wanted to see me?

You should know there's been a recent spike in crime. Huh?

Thefts from cars. Kids hanging around on the streets.

It's the reason we hired the security patrols.

Now, who pays for these patrols?

The residents, we all chip in.

I'm away a fair bit with work. I suppose it puts my mind at rest.

So, you would've known Alun Wilmott well enough?

The Wilmotts kept themselves to themselves.

I'd stop for a chat with Louise every time I ran into her,

but I wouldn't say we were friends.

I know Jess was close to her dad.

She'd rather spend all his money than go out and earn it.

Spoiled rotten, that one.

BIKE CLATTERS

KNOCK ON DOOR

Can I come in?

Wow!

Constellations.