The Dark

HEAVY BREATHING

WHIRRING

Mummy?

Mummy? Mummy? Mummy? Mummy?

Yeah, darling, I'm here. What's wrong?

Monsters in this?

Oh, no. There's no monsters in this, I promise.

Shall I tell you a secret?

Monsters are scared of me.

So you, my love, never, ever have to worry about them.

What about me? Will you protect me as well?

What do you reckon? Do we protect Granny as well?

Oh, charming!

I'm just gonna have some of that popcorn I bought you.

Salty. Disgusting. CHILD GIGGLES

CHATTER IN FILM

I need the toilet. You all right with Granny?

Oh, she'll be fine.

EXHALES

DOOR CLOSES

Hello, Detective.

What are you doing here?

Is this your girl?

Would you like a sweet? She wouldn't.

Sugar rots your teeth.

Darling, I'm feeling poorly.

I'm sorry, but we're gonna have to leave.

But I wanna stay to watch the film.

We can come back another time, darling. Let's go.

They took my girl away, Monica.

She's got her daddy's eyes.

Monica, don't.

Take Lucy to the car. Lock her inside.

Come on, Lucy. It's OK.

He doesn't know she exists... does he?

CAR BLIPS

Nothing can hurt a mother more than their child been taken.

You're wrong, because, see, I'll take you,

and I'll bury you somewhere you'll never be found.

And your daughter?

She'll spend her whole life wondering why you -

her mother - never came looking for her.

WOMAN SOBS

BREATHES SHAKILY

Has Lucy said anything about last night?

No. Just been happily eating her carrots.

That woman, she was from the cult, wasn't she?

I mean, could she hurt us? Stay out of that cesspit.

I'm just trying to help.

Look, I can protect all of us. Don't worry.

PHONE RINGS I'll ask Hately to do some digging.

Yep? 'A body's been found at Cairnluing.'

Where's that? 'A good hour away.'

CAR HORN HONKS

I'll be one minute.

So that's Crawford, is it?

It's about time you had a partner.

For too long, you've been a lone wolf.

Well, he's easy on the eye.

Stop that. GIGGLES

So, what is it that takes you away? Mum.

I know, I know, you can't say. God loves a trier, though.

Bye, my love.

Mwah.

Bye.

I'd love to cook you my bolognese.

Oregano. That's my secret ingredient.

You've got my mouth watering. ANGELA LAUGHS

I would absolutely love that, Angela.

Uh-oh! That's me busted.

She's a firecracker, eh?

That woman you were pawing, Sophie Carr?

I've arrested her many times.

Her record's as big as your ego.

If I was to stop stepping out with the lassies you'd arrested,

I'd be a lonely man in this town.

Last thing you want - a case as far away from home as possible.

What does that mean? Just being a mum away from her girl.

We don't have to do chit-chat.

Just use this time to clear your head. Prepare.

Dear God.

Why the hell here?

This is where people come to bury bodies, not display them.

Carol, first on the scene.

Used to love sleep, Monica. Hog for it.

This fucking job.

Only me and the engineer who found him have been out there.

No point in others losing sleep, right?

He's, er, he's in his late teens.

How far are we from the road? 80m, give or take.

There's no tread marks...

..any signs of his body being dragged.

I mean, there is no dirt on his body, horror aside.

Pristine. So, what?

He was cleaned and killed elsewhere and then carried here?

Could you carry a dead weight that distance?

Aye, but I'm a gym fiend, aren't I?

So the killer's strong, that's what you see.

Yes, he is. He?

Yes, he.

The care that's been taken here.

The victim's hands, they're praying.

And why here?

He's so young.

'Gonna ask Tammy out, then?'

CHUCKLES

All righty.

Didn't dry your paws again, did he? DOG GROWLS SOFTLY

SCOFFS Great. At least he took you out.

SCOFFS

Right, I'm... I'm off.

It would be great to spend a bit of time together.

You'll come straight home?

Yeah.

The line was cut.

Fault was recorded just after ten last night.

The killer wanted the body found. Yeah.

He would have had to have climbed that mast in the dark.

One determined sicko.

Oh, here he is. DC Ewan Dhillon. Morning.

You have a lovely, leisurely journey?

Nice bit of Drive FM playing on the way here, Dhillon?

Shut up, Connor. I don't know these roads.

The satnav took me up some farm tracks.

Er, what can I do?

Invest in an A-Z.

At around 10pm, the killer cut the power.

Any vehicles in the area at that time will stand out.

So scour for CCTV, knock on doors.

DHILLON MUMBLES

OK. Yes, ma'am.

This won't stay quiet for long.

Should get moving before any ghouls descend.

He'll do it again, won't he?

Shit. Do you know him?

Yes, I know him.

Is that with milk?

Mm-hm.

And then food?

KEYPAD BEEPS

Robert.

Late!

Yeah. Er, sorry. Sorry, Mr Maitland.

"Sorry," he says, and still, he stands there like a shite statue.

Right, yeah, erm...

Yeah. Sorry.

Look. Americans.

Yeah. They go nuts for the accent.

I'm like, "Oh, aye, I've seen Nessie."

SHE LAUGHS

BELL DINGS

Erm, that'll be more for my big tippers. Enjoy.

Everything all right here?

PHONE CHIMES Lovely. Thank you so much.

PHONE CHIMES

The victim's name is Jason Morgan.

Are you sure? Should we not wait for confirmation?

No, it's him.

Five years ago, his brother Nichol went missing.

I investigated it.

Jesus. Two boys from the one family.

You never found him?

Next right.

MOOS

There was gossip at the time

about his stepfather, Barclay, that he might have killed him,

but everything pointed to Nichol running away.

Should we call for back-up? Are you scared of a house?

CHAINSAW WHIRRING

Hello?

WHIRRING CONTINUES

Hello!

Hello, Barclay.

Nichol's finally crawled out his hole, has he?

I'm not here about Nichol. This is about Jason.

Jason's a good boy. He's not like his brother.

There's no need for you to be calling round here about him.

When did you last see Jason?

Why is she asking these questions? Shh.

You were pregnant last time you came here.

Did it arrive safely?

We've found a young man's body.

Well, it's not Jason. You sure?

Positive. I think it is.

He was discovered near Cairnluing. That's not possible.

Sorry, when was the last time that you saw Jason?

Who are you?

Detective Constable Connor Crawford.

We're not here as enemies. We can't leave until you answer.

Yesterday. Jason stayed with a friend last night.

He should be back by now.

And have you spoken to him since?

Specialist colleagues are on their way.

We'd like you to go with them to identify the body.

It's not Jason.

Barclay, wait. He's inside.

Shit. Until we confirm the identity...

No, Mrs Morgan, please. Hold on a sec.

..that we will need to preserve.

Please, try to remain calm. Stay there.