The Brokenwood Mysteries

Find the rider?

Down this way.

They were flung this far?

Yeah weird, right? That's why I called.

Safe to assume this isn't Debbie.

Well, maybe he crawled to the creek and fell in.

Why crawl to the creek?

Why not to the road to get help?

And if he crawled, where are the hand prints?

Those do look like his boot prints, though.

Yeah.

And, Gavin Murphy.

Local, 33 years old.

Okay.

- So he's getting married. - Yep.

In about 40 minutes.

Yeah no, I couldn't believe it

when I heard about your breakup.

Heart went out.

Thanks, Frodo.

I mean, went right out,

like out of my chest and hovered there

like a hovering heart-shaped hovercraft.

Beth seemed like the one, right?

She did.

Although, you obviously thought that before.

Yeah, that's true.

Easy mistake to make once, or even twice,

or I mean, three or four times in your case,

but you and me, it's quite incredible

when you think about it, you know?

How much we've got in common.

I've never really given it much thought.

Hey, and this is coming from the heart, but

now you're single again, if you wanted to get back on the horse,

get back out there, clubbing, you need a wingman,

you've got my number.

That's a very generous offer.

Sorry.

- Frodo, I need to take this. - Me too.

Kristin.

Yeah.

Male versus tree.

The cause of the accident is unclear,

but there is an awkward side to it.

I see, today?

Brokenwood Lodge.

No, I'm closer.

I'll take care of it, huh.

Is that him?

There's no time pressure in the house of the Lord.

Sure he'll be here soon.

The groom, that is. Not the Lord.

The Lord is always here.

Here, there, and everywhere.

Thank you, Reverend.

- Who's that? - Just call me, okay?

Everybody's freaking out

that you've got cold feet or something.

Sorry to interrupt.

I'm DSS Mike Sheperd from the Brokenwood CIB.

And what the hell do you want?

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

There was a motorcycle accident out near Bushwell's Rise.

The rider was found deceased,

and is understood to be Gavin Murphy.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

It's all right, Debbie, it's all right.

Come on, we've gotta sit down.

It's at least a 50 meter crawl, or fall, or walk.

You never flew that far off your bike.

Thankfully, no.

A man encased in black leather.

It often evokes strong feelings of-

The Village People?

Of invincibility, or intrigue.

And when they put their full face helmet on,

there is so much mystique.

Who knows what lies beneath?

Well, I guess you're about to find out.

While you're at it, it'd be good to know

how much mobility he'd have after the crash.

Sadly, though, when he's on a slab,

I will have to cut through this soft, expensive leather.

The suit will be ruined.

Well, needs must.

Perhaps if the family don't want it,

you can turn it into cushions for your new house.

- Like, leather cushions? - Yes.

Yeah, no that's a nice idea, Gina,

but I'm actually going for more of a corduroy look.

Corduroy?

I see, very safe.

Where is Mike?

He is actually at a wedding.

My god, he's back together with Beth?

No.

She broke his heart, then walks him down the aisle.

This is the behavior of a minx.

Not his wedding, a wedding, the victim's wedding.

Letting the guests know that he won't be attending.

That's a relief.

- Excuse me. - No.

- Andy. - Hey.

Serious crash guys said it was okay to move?

Yeah, go for it.

You want it down the station?

Yeah, around the back so the ESI guys can take a look.

Sure thing.

Bloody tragedy, this.

Breaks my heart.

Yeah, how so?

I worked for Gavin's older brother, Jason.

He'll be a mess, mate.

I was supposed to be at the wedding, but I still had to stay on call, and

now I'm here carting away his death trap.

Well, clearly he was a man in love.

Named his bike after his fiancee.

Yeah, nah.

That's not Gav's wife.

It's not?

I don't know about you, but I don't know any self-respecting bloke

that would call his bike Debbie, let alone pink lettering.

Dead stall.

Right, so this is Debbie's bike.

Yeah, man.

Must've taken it for a spin.

That's what I'm saying, it's bloody tragic.

Okay, so Gavin Murphy, local mechanic and bike enthusiast.

Loses control of his bike, and crashes.

Except it was his fiancee Debbie's bike.

Correct, and why he would lose control

on a straight road in good conditions is curious.

Mechanical failure?

Yeah, maybe.

But it's a modern bike.

At first glance, it was well looked after.

CS crash unit will take a few days to assess that.

Okay, well we do know a passing motorist

called the crash in.

Akin was first on the scene,

and discovered the body lying facedown in the stream.

There were drag marks between the crash site,

and the stream.

The imprints confirmed there were two sets of boot prints.

One was Akin's.

The other matches Gavin.

Yeah, we think someone found Gavin injured

and dragged him into the creek.

Without leaving prints?

Well, we have to consider the possibility.

Could this someone have been on the bike with him?

Well, it's hard to imagine anyone having the capacity

to drag anything after they'd been involved in that crash.

The passing motorist?

An elderly woman, never left her car.

Has Gina estimated a time of death?

Um, no, yep she did.

Could you hazard a guess on time of death?

Think about what you are saying.

Guessing is hazardous.

Right, but Mike would like to know

the time of death ASAP, so.

The rigor mortis has fully set in,

so between eight and 10 hours for this man.

But for Mike's relationship with Beth,

I would hazard a guess.

It was over before it began.

I think she's just upset for you.

As we all are, about recent events.

Yeah, we know things must be difficult,

so if you ever wanted to talk about it?

Eight to 10 hours means

that the victim died before midnight.

His fiancee, Debbie,

belongs to a hobby motorcycle gang called Mama's Angels,

along with her mother, Mama Sass, who leads them.

They arrived in Brokenwood the day before yesterday.

About now, they should have been celebrating

Gavin and Debbie's wedding.

Instead, they'll be drowning their sorrows

at the Snake and Tiger.

Well, the bride must have been devastated.

You'd think so.

Actually, that wasn't the impression I got.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

After the initial shock, the look on her face was-

Come on, we need to sit down.

Almost one of relief.

Debbie.

I don't know what to say, it's just too awful for words.

Thanks, Mrs. Baker.

I know that Gavin really appreciated all your hard work.

We'll talk soon about un-arranging the arrangements.

Now's not the time.

Well, this is a first.

I mean, I've had weddings canceled before,

but usually it's because of cold feet,

or grubby affairs, not dead grooms.

My god, I am so sorry.