Inspector George Gently

Have you ever seen anything like this before?

Her teeth are loose.

Somebody's hit her hard, just...

And something sharp has been driven right through her skull.

You searched the pockets? Yeah.

A train ticket to London with tomorrow's date on it. Who found her?

The lady over there, sir.

I come in to do the flowers for the early mass, pet,

and there she was, laid out like Sleeping Beauty.

What'll her mam say? It'll kill her.Do you know her?

Little Audrey Chadwick, aye.

Eeeh, she was a bonny lass.

Her mother comes to the mass.

Will she be outside now?

No, flower, she comes to the nine o'clock.

Her man never comes, he's a heathen.

You cannot miss either of them.

He's got a Fu Manchu

and she's hoyed a leg ever since she was a bairn, poor lamb.

Father's got a moustache, mother walks with a limp. Right.

Well, she could've been there all night, sir.

Confessions finish about eight.

Doors are never locked.

Did Audrey live here?

No, she...

She had her own place.

Well, we'll need her address.

What did she do for a living?

She's a nurse.

And do you have any idea why she would be going to London?

She got a new job.

Teaching hospital.

New start.

She said she'd be back for Christmas.

Dear God, this cannot have happened.

Worst part of the job, Sergeant.

You're very quiet.

She wasn't a nurse, sir.

At least not when I met her.

♪ And I'm so sad and lonely

♪ Won't somebody come and take a chance with me? ♪

Hi, handsome, how we doing here?

First time in Rakes, is it?

Er, yeah.

No, it's fine, I can do that.

Nobody looking after you? I'm fine.

Well, how about I sit here and talk to you a minute?

I'm Blaise.

Blaise?

And you're...?

I'm John.

And what do you do for a living,I'm a plumber.

Does this cost extra, does it?

No. I was just being friendly.

And what is it you do for a living then, Blaise?

I'm a Fox, John. I'm a cocktail waitress.

Really?

What were you doing at Rakes Club in the first place?

I was...curious.

Curious?

Lonely.

Well, that's because you went without me.

We'll pay them a visit tonight.

Right. Pathologist's first estimate, she died between two and ten.

Time to start filling this in.

What was this place?

Used to be a warehouse.

Wait till you see it inside, though, sir.

Good evening, gentlemen.

How come you've got a membership card?

You get a 30-day trial.

How many times you been here?

You know, just, maybe... erm...

Hey, John.

Hey! How's the U-bends going?

I didn't realise you worked on Sunday.

I don't usually.

I'm Fawn. George.

What's your poison, George?

Oh, I'll have what John has. Champagne, then? Really?

Fawn, I understand the owner lives over the shop?

Penthouse apartment.

Tell him I'd like to see him.

George, Mr Donovan's a very busy man.

Tell him Chief Inspector George Gently would really like to see him.

And forget the champagne.

Police?

Are you in trouble, John?

Little bit.

U-bends?

I wasn't going to tell her I was a copper, was I? No, course not.

How could a police sergeant with a wife and kid to support afford champagne?

Whereas a plumber...Yeah, all right.

Exactly how many timesFour.

And how can you afford champagne?

I can't.

Was the dead woman always here?

Well, I just met her that first time. I never saw her after that.

Press P for Penthouse. He'll meet you up there.

Wow!

Gentlemen. Patrick Donovan.

My wife Helen.

Gentlemen. What this time?

Not enough fire hoses? You know, in the States we have a word for this harassment.

I've come to talk to you about Audrey Chadwick.

Audrey? Blaise?

What about her?I'm afraid she's been murdered.

She was probably the most natural of any of the girls.

Apart from anything else she was the perfect Fox.

So what makes the perfect Fox, Mr Donovan?

Well, let's be frank,

number one, the body.

The rear view is important in a Fox I expect.

What else do you expect, Audrey?

Call us Blaise. Just Blaise.

Why just Blaise?

Because there's no modesty, Mrs Donovan.

That's probably all you need to know about me.

And what do you know about us, my lovely?

I know in America, the average Fox works for two years then marries a millionaire.

Or so I read in The Mirror. It worked out that way for me.

But my wife was no average Fox.

Nor will I be.

You know what Rakes does?

You understand what it is? And what it isn't.

I understand, Mr Donovan.

I've understood since I was 15 years old what men want from me.

As long as it's me who decides what they get and what they don't get, I'll be happy.

We'll train you, we'll polish you.

But we expect total dedication to the Rakes brand.

You'll get it.

What do you think, Helen?Oh, I think she's hired, Patrick.

Well, that all sounds very sophisticated. Of course, there are those that think

you're just a posh knocking shop selling overpriced booze.

The people who think that will be outside right now.

Who?

Come see.

The God Squad. Every Sunday night.

What is it they say in Europe about you?

On the Continent we have sex lives,

in England they have hot water bottles.

I have a mission in life.

I'd like to change all that for you guys.

When did you last see Audrey?

When she left, three weeks ago.

Why did she leave? Pastures new, I didn't ask.

What, you didn't bother to ask her?

Even though she was the "perfect Fox"?

No. I didn't ask.

How many...hostesses are there working here at any one time?

15. Do you transport them home after they finish?

No. Start doing so.

I'll put a uniformed officer outside your door at all times.

That won't be good for business.I don't care about your business.

I care about the safety of these young women.

Do you have any idea who might've done this, Chief Inspector?

Her parents believe that she was working as a nurse.

Do you know why she told them that?

Mr Gently, what the girls do or say outside these four walls is not my concern.

Outside is what is laughingly known as real life.

We don't do real life in here.

Uh-huh. Who knew her best?

Audrey was a loner.

I shall need to speak to all the women who work here.

Maybe I should talk to them first, prepare them...

You will talk to nobody.

Did she share a dressing room with anyone?

Fawn.

Then we'll start with Fawn.

I trust that bloke about as far as I can throw him. Really?

Don't take up poker, Sergeant.

Exactly how well do you know this woman, Sergeant?

We had farewell drinks in here on Saturday afternoon.

What time was this?

After we closed, about three.

She left at about half past four.

Do you know where she went?

She said she were going back to her flat to pack.

Why was she leaving, Fawn?

Don't know.

Her dad didn't like her working here, so...

Her dad knew she was working here, then?

He came in one night with Frank Allingham.

Someone had told them that she'd give up nursing to work here.

He thought she was throwing her lifeWho's Frank Allingham?

Her ex-boyfriend.

He's a footballer. Least he thinks he's a footballer.

He's a sad case, like most of the blokes round here.

Did they cause any trouble?

Frank picked a fight but the police were called.

Fight with who?

Mr Donovan.

Why Mr Donovan?

He's the boss, I suppose.

Frank's such an idiot.

He made the same assumptions that most blokes make about what we do.

It's surprising how many take their wedding rings off at the door, Mr Gently.

And what assumption was that then, Fawn?

What's your real name, by the way?Fawn.

Fawn Granger.