Silent Witness

Suspect fleeing the scene. Tony Hamilton. All points to suicide.

Down to the turned-over photographs downstairs.

If that's his thing, faking suicides,

there could be other killings we haven't linked yet.

Do this again?

It's her birthday tomorrow. Would've been her birthday.

Irene Dawes. A retired nurse.

My findings at the inquest argued for suicide.

Father Dawes, is there somewhere we can talk?

If it turns out you got it wrong, you missed a murder.

I can't believe I'm hearing this.

We'll test for the anaesthetic spray we found on Walsh.

You just made an innocent mistake, yeah?

God knows, we all do from time to time... Someone's been in my flat, I'm sure of it.

In prison I was a target. Carmichael protected me.

Don't you feel angry about it? About any of it?

I recovered a thumbprint. Belinda Roach.

Just let me speak to her. I need you to trust me.

Guilty men walking the streets. That is on you!

I'm here to give you a chance to explain it!

Belinda?

Nikki?

So?

Evidence of blunt force trauma to the head.

Wounds are crescent-shaped.

Was she killed here? Signs of a struggle?

Blood spatter on the tree. Lower than I'd expect.

So she trips and falls? Killer strikes while she's down?

Possible.

Can you show DI Rankin the torch you recovered?

At a glance,

would you say the curved wounds

match the lens hood's shape and size?

At a glance, yes, I would.

I'd also point out that Nikki Alexander

drew our attention to the torch.

Well, how helpful of her. Did she say anything else?

I said I own a torch just like it.

I need you to take a step back, Dr Alexander.

Where is your torch?

In my case in the boot of my car.

Have you checked it's there?

No. Why not?

Well, why do you think?

Because if it's not, it's been stolen,

and we'll need to process my car for trace.

No gloves.

Well, if it was me, I'd have checked.

I understand Roach is a former Home Office pathologist.

Did you know her?

She taught me at the Institute of Pathologists.

So, what were you doing here? Social call?

What brought you here tonight, Dr Alexander?

Last night someone broke into my flat.

A thumbprint belonging to Professor Roach

was recovered from my kitchen clock.

It was stopped at the same time

as the watches from the Dawes and Walsh case.

Were you aware of this development, DS Jones?

As of an hour ago.

Well, how did you have the time to act on this evidence

when the police weren't even aware of it?

Who recovered the print, Dr Alexander?

Who recovered the print?!

Clarissa Mullery.

I asked her...

..told her to sit on it and wait until I decided how to proceed.

Why would you want to keep such crucial evidence to yourself?

Why would you choose to confront Roach alone and not involve us?

I wanted to give her the chance to explain herself.

And did she?

Show me your case.

Will you do the honours, please, Jack?

It's missing.

It's been taken.

Someone's trying to frame me, it's obvious!

You know her well, right?

Nikki.

Walking out of the PM like that, it was a bit weird.

It's pretty out of character, I imagine?

You want to know something, DS Jones, come out and ask it.

What about Father Dawes?

He's got an alibi for the window when Walsh was killed.

All four hours?

Afraid so. All-night soup kitchen in Newham.

When you arrived at Professor Roach's,

was she expecting you?

No.

We found two used wine glasses.

One of them was smashed.

Belinda broke her glass.

How? She lost her temper.

Let's talk about the murder weapon. The torch.

It's mine.

It was stolen from my case. We established that.

Oh, I don't think we established anything of the kind.

I don't wish to insult your intelligence,

but there's a scenario arising from this evidence

that plays out like this.

You confronted Roach.

Accused her of killing Dawes and Walsh

as part of a plot to force you into a professional error.

She humoured you, then threw you out.

Enraged, you grab a torch from the boot of your car,

chase her into the garden and beat her to death.

You say your torch was stolen from the boot,

but when we checked your car it was locked with no sign of forced entry.

All I can think is that this was planned way ahead.

You mean someone removed the torch at an earlier opportunity?

Yes.

When did you last use it?

The night before last.

I came home and the fuse had tripped in my flat.

Can you think of anyone who's had access to your flat since then?

I was in the neighbourhood. Wasn't sure what you were cooking so, um...

Dr Alexander?

Look, I'm a forensic pathologist.

Why would I be stupid enough to bludgeon someone

with my own torch, and then leave it at the scene?!

Well, ordinarily you wouldn't.

But ordinarily, I daresay, you wouldn't scream at your boss

just because he disagreed with you.

Or go and harass Father Dawes, not once but twice!

I didn't harass him. That's ridiculous!

Or walk out in the middle of an autopsy.

Or pressure Clarissa Mullery into suppressing evidence.

But the last 48 hours have been anything but ordinary.

From the minute that you realised you'd missed a murder,

you went into a very public spiral

that ended tonight when you lost it completely.

Look, you don't actually believe that I killed her?

You're not serious?

Yes, I was angry and, no, I shouldn't have gone there alone,

but the idea that... Anger's a very natural reaction to what she did.

Killing two strangers just to make you look shit.

I am far from sure that Roach killed Dawes and Walsh.

I mean, she could've been set up,

and used as bait to lure me to her house. By who?

By whoever killed her! Who do you think?!

Nikki.

You said you're not sure Roach is behind this.

Why not? Sounds like she had motive.

Whatever our disagreements, Belinda was a good person.

So she swapped sides. Bitterness and old age will do that.

Well, why would she wait until now to even the score?

We found the same anaesthetic spray

used on Dawes and Walsh in Roach's fridge.

Test results on the torch are back.

Hair and blood transfer match Roach's.

The fingerprints recovered from the stem are yours,

and yours alone.

Look...

the common link between myself and Professor Roach

is the Hamilton trial.

And I found out tonight that the DI on that case, Murray Porter,

died last year in a drowning accident

that you should take a closer look at, given the circumstances of this.

Dr Alexander, I am arresting you

on the suspicion of the murder of Belinda Roach.

You do not have to say anything,

but it may harm your defence if you fail to mention when questioned

something you later rely on in court.

All right. All right, thank you.

She's been arrested. She's in custody.

Huh. You are joking?

No. Right.

I'm going down there.

How's that going to help?

What, so we just abandon her? Is that it?

Screw that. Jack!

Jack! We keep our heads, we do our jobs,

we find out what really happened and we get her out. In that order.

Clarissa?

I'm worried about her. The way she was with me tonight...

You're worried about her welfare, or what she might've done?

Jack... Now, which is it? Come on.

Both.

Great.

Fantastic.

Hello? Scott...

Oh, sorry, my phone died, I left the charger at my dad's.

Where did you go last night, after you left the Lyell?

What...? Tell me the truth.

Did you follow me?

If I ever meant anything to you, just tell me the truth.

Did I follow you?

It's not a complicated question.

Someone was following me, tailgating me. Was it you?

No, of course not!

Excuse me?

Excuse me. Do you have any change?

What?

Shit.

There are contusions to the top of the skull.

Blows were of sufficient force to damage the parietal bones.

Location of the wounds on the crown...

suggest the victim was lying prone,

or was on her knees, when the blows were inflicted.

Hmm. What?

There's no bruises to her arms or hands.