Inspector Lewis

It's disgusting!

The police are on their way.

The Victorians, as we know, were obsessed with death

and this obsession shaped their attitude to nature.

By preserving nature through the art of taxidermy

they were able to create the illusion of immortality

to convince themselves they could ward off change.

Are you all right there, Philip?

It's this damn thing, it's always sticking.

Your room is down here, isn't it?

Shall we have a look?

I'll do you a deal.

You get dressed...

and I'll make you a cuppa.

Hm?

But what really captured the Victorian imagination

was the grotesque,

the malformed being, the freak of nature.

Scientists were fascinated by teratology,

literally the study of monsters.

Talika, sorry to chase,

but we're just doing the lighting, so we need that last piece.

It's looking amazing though.

It's properly good.

OK, give me a call. Bye, bye.

Yeah, I know.

Every culture has its monsters...

its freaks, its deviations from the norm.

Perhaps we need them

because without these deviations, how would we define ourselves?

Did you make a wish?

I did.

It involved gin and a slice of lemon, but instead...

Maddox says it was a bunch of archaeology students found it.

Weighted down and wrapped in these bags.

Not quite the Viking remains they were looking for.

- How recent is it? - Not sure yet,

but I think we can assume it's all from the same body.

- Adult male. - Any idea how he died?

We've got a depressed skull fracture with no callus formation

and several broken bones.

A beating then?

Not necessarily, injuries could have been inflicted post-mortem

when they threw the body down the well, in which case,

you're looking for anything that leaves no skeletal evidence.

And you've really no idea how long he's been down the well?

Robbie, I got here 20 minutes before you did.

I'm a pathologist, not a clairvoyant.

Sir, I've spoken to the council.

The recycling sacks were issued in May 2012,

which means if the body was wrapped in them,

- it's been here three years max. - There you go.

Always said pathology was overrated.

Should I give DI Hathaway a call?

Nah, let him have his week off.

He'll be doing...

whatever it is James does.

Raving it up in Magaluf, I imagine (!)

Sorry I took so long, I...

.. got some of these enlarged.

It's...

Ooh! Well, this is very nice of you.

I'm Philip, by the way.

Philip Hathaway.

It's me, Dad. James.

Oh, yes, of course it is.

Oh, dear me.

I hope your mother's seen that hair. She hates it short.

Mum died 12 years ago, Dad.

I want him out.

- Get him out of here! - Philip... are you OK?

Can I have your attention, please, ladies and gentlemen?

Thank you. My name is Sean Wilkinson,

and it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the artist.

Now, let me just say

I am extremely excited to be working with such an original talent...

Talika Desai.

Thanks, everyone.

Well, this is the main piece.

Er... it's taxidermy meets video art

and it's called One For Sorrow.

Hope you like it.

Erm... curtains, please.

Ollie...

selfie time!

Smile!

Let's have a look.

Oh, my God.

Tal, this is Ollie,

he studies law at Hamilton College.

- Ollie, my sister. - It's good to meet you.

- You know Sean? - Hm.

This is all erm... interesting.

Different.

Oh...! Give us your autograph now you're famous.

- You know this is lame, right? - It's for my vlog.

You are not putting this online.

I'm gonna have to go soon, Dad.

But Nell is coming tomorrow, so you won't be, you know...

'98? No, no, not '98.

April 2000. 34lb, that salmon. Do you remember?

Yes, I do.

- I thought you had the whole week off! - No, just a few days.

We need to widen the appeal for information.

Focus on groups who might use the area -- cyclists, students,

joggers, that sort of thing.

Shall I get uniform to follow up that thing at The Ark?

No, you'd better do it. The owner won't let uniform through the door.

- Is that that taxidermy place again? - Fourth complaint this year,

- CS Moody wants it followed up today. - How is our new leader?

- I've been summoned to meet him at 10:00. - He's all right.

Seems like a decent enough bloke.

I hear Innocent's leaving do was eventful.

Urgh... I can still see her doing the ABBA karaoke.

I can still hear her!

Suffolk Constabulary won't know what's hit it.

From my predecessor.

I'd take it as a vote of confidence.

You're the only one she trusts to keep it alive.

She was obviously trying to tell me something, Sir.

Don't bother with the 'Sir' thing, it's Joe.

Look, I realise you're busy.

This is just to let you know

that you're free to run investigations your way.

I remember what it's like,

people breathing down your neck.

You were with the Met, were you... Joe?

South London. It was pretty full-on.

Although Oxford has its own... challenges, obviously.

Obviously.

I wanted to ask you...

.. this guy they dragged back from retirement,

Robert Lewis...

.. what d'you make of him?

Oh, the loggerhead turtle, now an endangered species.

But this one, as you can see,

was preserved in the 1930s

and is therefore a legally-tradeable item of vintage taxidermy.

OK, well, it's just the workshop and then we're done.

Well, that won't be necessary,

it's been converted into a private residence now.

My assistant lives there.

I'll just pop my head in.

No. I'm sorry, it's too much.

You come in here without a warrant --

Oh, Sean. Thank goodness.

- Everything all right? - She's a police officer.

Well, nobody's perfect.

Sean Wilkinson, I manage the place.

Has my uncle been able to help?

She's demanding access to the flat.

Spot checks again.

Fair enough.

But I knocked earlier...

.. she's asleep!

I'm not surprised, the amount she was putting away last night.

Sean...

- Talika! Talika... - Shh!

Sorry about this, we need in, babe.

Oh, my God.

Talika...

She... She's cold!

I'm gonna have to ask you to stand back.

Talika...

Talika Desai, 23, heroin overdose.

Hobson thinks she's been dead for 12 hours.

Give or take.

Oh, hello. You're back early.

- Pining for Robbie? - Always. What do we have?

No obvious signs of trauma.

We've got old injection scars on her arms,

but they're very faint.

She'd been clean for a while.

- 23 years old... - I know. She was still clutching the needle.

All the old scars are on her right arm...

- .. and this new one's on her left. - Yes, I was coming to that. They --

What's this?

This is ink, is it? So it's a writing smudge.

If she's left-handed, why didn't she use her dominant arm?

You're saying this could be staged?

Someone could have forced the drugs into her?

We can't rule it out, can we?

The owner really didn't want to let me in.

- And he's done time, hasn't he? - Years ago.

For faking import licences, not quite the same.

She's been in recovery now for 18 months,

I just don't understand it.

You were her employers, is that right?

Well, I'd like to think we were more than that.

We were... well, maybe not friends precisely,

- but on friendly terms. - She worked here.

- I was her agent. - Her agent?

For her art stuff.

She was my first client.

- Only client. - Yeah, so far.

Jasper taught her a bit of taxidermy and she put her own spin on it.

That's one of hers behind you.

- Is there a big market for this sort of thing? - You'd be surprised.

Three grand I sold the last one for, gastropub in Brighton.

Can either of you think of anyone who might want to harm Talika?