Midsomer Murders

In the regrettable absence of my older brother Lucian,

it falls to me to say a few words

about our dear late father, Henry Ignatius Shirewell,

a man who will be much missed by those who knew him,

and whose last whose last...

whose last, difficult months were made comfortable

by the devoted care of my sister, Ursula.

Carry on.

United in... in heaven

for all eternity with our dear mother, Clarissa,

his one true love, lost too soon.

You were always such a brilliant liar, Francis.

Better late than never.

Make sure he's actually dead.

It's not too late to make your peace, Lucian.

May you rot in Hell!

Mummy's going to make me this. Is

Is she now?

What about you, Paddy?

Do you want a lovely costume, too?

Thanks a lot. Right, I think that's all I need.

You can go watch some TV before dinner.

What's all this in aid of?

Oh, Betty's class are having an Elizabethan day.

They've got to go in costume.

A serving girl's outfit might be more straightforward.

That's what I said,

but she's set her heart on Good Queen Bess.

It's all very admirable,

but I see one tiny flaw in your plan.

You can't sew.

Well, I've always liked a challenge.

That's why I marriedyou.

No, no, for God's sake, Ursula, have one.

It'll calm your nerves.

No!

This meeting is for family only.

We made that perfectly clear.

Um, she's not family.

As good as. Everything's ready.

Shall we?

After you, dear brother.

I do apologize for my family's appalling rudeness.

I can assure you, it will never happen again.

I'm going to enjoy living here.

You do know we still sleep together?

Lucian's a free spirit.

And you're just a fleeting amusement.

Well, circumstances alter cases, so...

Oh, no wine for me.

I suggest you go easy on the hard stuff.

Don't want to say anything else you'll regret.

You know regret, Frankie.

Don't call me that, and please sit down.

Well, I would, but you're in my place.

You've been all your life.

I think we should make a start.

Please.

Oh, thank you.

You should have been there, Gideon.

I've never been a hypocrite. I'm not going to start now.

Tenants of the estate are expected to pay their respects.

Got none to pay.

Do you think old man Shirewell would have come to my funeral?

Where's Caleb? We got fencing to do.

No idea. He wasn't at the funeral.

You all thought you could prevent me from inheriting,

but I'm afraid the little plan you cooked up with father

isn't legally binding.

Well, the trust was set up by you, Mr. Inkerman,

and it was agreed I would run the estate in perpetuity.

My father signed the document in front of you.

On the understanding that this was agreed by you all.

This letter of wishes confirms my right

to inherit the whole shebang unless I choose to decline,

which, of course, I won't.

In simple terms,

the traditional order of inheritance

cannot be altered without the consent of all trustees.

And now Stourwick is mine to do with as I see fit,

I've made a decision.

The Shirewells' tenure ends with me.

What does that mean exactly?

Well, it means the estate will become home

to a free-thinking artists' community.

Long Cross Farm will be converted into a solar park.

But the Blundells have farmed here for generations.

Oh, it's not just them, Ursula.

The dower house will be an artist's retreat and

the chapel will be converted into a gallery

and shrine for my work.

You can't do that. It's consecrated.

Well, I'll deconsecrate it.

Don't worry.

There's still a chapel in Toulouse.

That's where you'll be moving to, by the way.

And Francis and Davina,

you'll be moving to the flat in Marylebone.

And how am I to manage the estate from there?

Oh, sorry. Didn't I tell you?

You don't work here anymore,

so you won't be managing anything.

What's that?

Your eviction notice.

What?

So the yurt and totem poles

were just the start of his desecration.

What are you going to do about it?

It seems our hands are tied.

Your father wanted you to be the guardian of his legacy.

We have to find a way of making that happen.

Lucian?

Double espresso. You look like you could do with it.

Thank you, sir.

Phone's been ringing all morning.

Anything I should know about?

Ah, I've had a call about the late Henry Shirewell.

I read his obituary. Wasn't he buried yesterday?

Yeah, he was, but his family now suspect foul play.

A doctor must have signed the death certificate.

Yeah, he did.

His GP, and in it, he states he died of natural causes.

So what's this got to do with us?

Well, a document has since been discovered,

allegedly written by Henry Shirewell,

in which he claims that his life is in imminent danger.

This prompted his family to request further investigation,

which has now been authorized.

What do we know about them?

The Shirewells are a prominent local family.

They've lived on the Stourwick Estate

since the 16th century.

Henry Shirewell's wife, Clarissa,

had a history of mental instability and alcoholism

and died after a tragic fall.

When was this?

Nearly 40 years ago.

Well, what do we know about the Shirewell children?

Two sons and a daughter who both still live on the estate,

and the eldest son, Lucian Shirewell,

is an acclaimed ceramicist.

His work is controversial, but highly regarded.

Not exactly Clarice Cliff, is he?

No. No, I guess not.

Yeah, it's really important that we speak to him.

I appreciate that. Thanks.

Henry Shirewell's doctor is out at surgery at the moment,

but they're trying to track him down.

Good.

We need to know if he might have missed something.

Inspector Barnaby?

Ursula Shirewell.

Thank you so much for coming.

Please, follow me.

When did you find this

After the funeral.

It was the first time I was able to face going into his room.

Where was it?

Inside his bedside table.

How was your father's mental state

in the days before he died?

Better than it had been in ages.

He seemed to have more energy than usual.

We had hope he'd rally.

Which is why I allowed Lucian to see him.

Was that unusual?

Sadly, yes.

They'd been estranged for many years.

And Ursula was easily taken in.

I wanted to give them time alone

in the hope of some kind of reconciliation.

But when she went back to give him his medication,

Lucian is gone, our father is dead.

It's not rocket science.

So why wait until now to raise your concerns?

Because there was no evidence.

But the note changes everything.

Ah, DCI Barnaby, Causton police.

And you are?

Caleb Blundell. I help Lucian out sometimes.

And where might I find him?

Thank you.

DCI Barnaby, Causton Police.

Drink?

I'm guessing they told you I killed my father?

And did you?

Wanted him dead as long as I can remember...

but no, I did not have that pleasure.

Your sister has said that you and your father were estranged.

May I ask why?

He destroyed my mother's life and set out to destroy mine.

I had to cut him out in order to survive.

So what made you go and see him on the day he died?

I needed to tell him how much I despised him

before it was too late.

You seem very calm,

considering your siblings are accusing you of murder.

They conspired with our father

to deprive me of my birthright.

Accusing me of patricide is the logical next step.