The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Beyond the Pale (Beyond the Pale)

Goodbye. Thank you.

St John's Wood.

Come on, now.

Charles, is that you?

Come and see what the boys have made.

Katherine?

Katherine?

Charles! Katherine?

Charles! Charles!

Katherine!

Katherine! Charles, the window.

It just came through the window.

Has he gone, Charles?

Papa's here. Are you OK, James? Let me check your hands.

His hand's bleeding, Charles. William's cut.

He's cut his hand, Charles. Papa's here now.

Ssh, ssh, ssh...

Mr Whicher?

Mrs Piper. Good evening.

You weren't at the service. No, no.

Are you walking back to the house? Yes, I am.

I hope you're finding your room suitable? I am. Thank you.

I hope you're not er... disturbed by my coming and going.

Oh, not at all.

Well, you warned me that you keep irregular hours.

I'm sure it must be unavoidable in your line of work.

Would you like a cup of tea? Um...

No, thank you.

Do come in.

There's still quite a chill in the air, isn't there?

Spring is taking her time this year.

Yes.

Though I did see some flowers coming up in the garden.

Lilac.

Be nice to see what else is out there.

It's a wonder anything survived. It's so overgrown.

You haven't been here long then? No. About six months.

I inherited the house from my brother.

When my husband was alive, we rented a house in Bow.

Do you know it? I do, yes.

After he died I went abroad for a while.

This place was in quite a state when I took it on.

Well, you've done a good job with it. Thank you.

Only the garden to tackle now.

Do you take sugar, Mr Whicher? Yes. Thank you.

I could help you, if you like.

With the garden.

I enjoy it. My father used to be a gardener.

Well, that's very kind of you. Only if you have time.

Shall I? Yes. Thank you.

Good evening, Mr Whicher. Good evening.

I wonder if I might have a word?

Come in, sir.

Who is it?

Ah, an old acquaintance, ma'am. This is Mrs Piper. She's my landlady.

Good evening to you, ma'am. Good evening.

Use the sitting room if you wish, Mr Whicher. Thank you.

After you, sir. I'm afraid the fire isn't lit.

No matter.

Please, sit down. Thank you.

You recognise me then? Yes, sir.

We met a couple of years ago at the Home Office. A lunch.

Yes. You regaled us with tales of keeping the peace on the London streets.

What can I do for you, Sir Edward?

I have a private family difficulty.

My son - my only son - Charles.

He has spent some years in India and he's recently returned.

He has reason to believe that there is a person at large who is a danger to him,

and to his family.

I want that person found.

With all due respect, sir, that sounds like a police matter.

This isn't something I can take to Scotland Yard.

You're probably aware that my party is no longer in office.

Yes.

But in the meantime, I remain a Member of Parliament.

I can't stress too strongly the need for absolute secrecy regarding this situation.

That goes without saying. Good.

I must say, sir, I'm...surprised that you've come to me.

I have a letter upstairs dismissing me from the Force.

It has your name at the bottom of that letter.

Yes. That was an extremely difficult business.

I'm sure you appreciate that as a minister, I had to rely upon the advice...

Commissioner Mayne.

I was going to say the medical officers.

That was a long time ago.

I'm here, Mr Whicher.

That must tell you something about my opinion of your abilities.

Thank you.

So, will you take the case?

I'm not asking you to become involved in something underhand.

I'm quite sure, sir.

But...I have to know more.

Thank you. Thank you, guv'nor.

You say this happened on Friday, Captain Shore?

Yes, in broad daylight.

And this man, Jabour...? Asim Jabour.

What is it he wants with you?

I was in India for 12 years. It's a very long time.

I went out with the Army, but after a few years I resigned my commission and moved into trade.

Some months ago, I committed an indiscretion.

What sort of indiscretion?

Does that matter? Yes.

Let's just say it's not the sort of thing I would have wanted my wife to hear about.

I'm sure you can imagine.

Now, Jabour came to me demanding money. I gave him some, not much.

A little while later, he came back asking for more.

Gave me two weeks to come up with it. By this time I'd already decided to leave India.

I'd made my fortune, so to speak, and I wanted my sons to be educated here.

By the time I left, I thought that would be the end of it.

You say he was working as a sailor when he approached you.

Lascars, isn't that what they're called? Er, yes.

Was he dressed as a lascar when he followed you?

Look...all we want you to do is to find him.

I'd do it myself, but I don't want to leave my family alone.

And if I do find him? What then?

Katherine, not now.

Forgive me. Take them upstairs. I won't be long.

Allow me to say good night. Say good night to Grandpa.

Good night, Grandpapa. Good night, James.

Good night. Good night, William.

You bearing up? Brave little soldier.

It's not knowing when he's going to come back.

That's what they do - let you know they're out there and make you wait.

Katherine. I'll see you upstairs. Sorry.

Good night. Come on.

Good night. Off to bed now.

Katherine can get er... rather anxious.

She came through the mutiny with me.

You say that you were leaving your bank

when you first became aware that you were being followed?

Ah, yes.

Is it possible that Jabour could have known the address of the bank?

Ah, yes, um...because of the payment I made.

Perhaps you should get somebody else to help you watch the house?

No, I can defend the house.

Would you require money in advance, Mr Whicher?

That won't be necessary, sir, no. If you do find him, send word to me at once.

My home address. Never go through Westminster.

Write me nightly reports. Yes, sir.

Charles is a fine man. He spent five years serving Queen and country.

I don't judge.

None of us are free from weakness, sir.

..get off his backside and give us a hand over here.

One, two, three. Lift!

Is the boatswain about?

I'm told you started out from Calcutta. That's right.

And you docked on Wednesday? Is this insurance?

Because if it is... No, it's not, no.

I'm a private inquiry agent.

I'm looking for a sailor, a lascar by the name of Asim Jabour.

I was hoping I might be able to have a look at your crew list.

Huh. Well, you can.

I doubt it'll do you much good. None of them can write.

We ask them their names and write down what we hear,

and half of them don't give their real names. The man I'm looking for is unusual.

He's tall for an Indian, very pale-skinned. Oh, him.

Hm. You know the man?

We certainly had one like that. He was trouble.

Gave him the lash more than once. What did he call himself?

Karim, that's him.

Abdul Karim.

Where is he now? No idea.

He made off, as soon as we docked. There's always a few.

They think the streets are made of gold.

They end up begging for soup down at the Strangers' Home.

Can I speak to some of the others? You can try.

Judd.

So what's he done? I can't say.

I hope it's a hanging offence.

Does anybody speak English?

You're wasting your time.

Abdul Karim. I'm looking for a man named Abdul Karim.

I know he was on this ship with you. (SPEAKS AN INDIAN LANGUAGE)

He's gone.

Does anyone know where?

He's not in trouble. I'm trying to stop him from getting into trouble.

He said they will...leave the ship in London.

Who's they? Was he with someone?

His brother. A boy. Sssh...

Pratihinsa! Ah, Pratihinsa!

What does that mean?

Right.

There's a pub just along the quay. The Hope and Anchor.

I'll be in there tonight.

If anyone has any information they can come and find me.

There'll be a reward. Money.

Your man...

I remember something. I caught him in the passengers' quarters.

Twice. Talking to someone.

They're not allowed near the passengers.

Who was he talking to?

Thanks. Good day.

Hah! Walk on.