Silent Witness

Nice kid.

You gonna kill him, too?

Take your time.

The body's going nowhere.

Look first,

act when you and your colleagues are ready,

and act together.

Because the scene,

be it a living room or street corner,

begins to deteriorate the moment the first person finds the body.

They say a victim dies only once,

but a scene can be murdered a thousand times.

Thank you.

It seems the university has made the right appointment for once.

- What's her deal with you? - Equal partnership.

- Worth leaving Guy's for? - I think so.

We have some very interesting bodies in Cambridge.

Well, I do hope you'll stay.

Not here.

Now.

- Someone's gonna see. - No.

Oh, God.

Oh, gentle!

Not so quick.

- Wait. - I can't.

- Gary... - Mum!

- Mum! - It's the kids!

- Help! - It's nothing.

- Forget it. Dean is there. - Sarah!

Help!

- Sarah! - Mum! Mum!

Help! Mum! Mum!

Oh, God.

Come here. Come here. It's all right. It's all right. It's all right.

Jesus. Dean!

Go on, pull her.

Pull her up. Jesus!

I'm okay.

Are you sure you're okay?

- You stupid little bitch! - Stop it!

You were supposed to look after her. Where were you?

I was over there. Where were you?

I'll deal with it. Come here. Come here, Sarah. Come here.

You ruin everything! You bloody ruin everything!

Come on! Get up!

Spending my time in here, I can't help wondering what prison is for.

Repentance? I doubt it.

Punishment? Definitely, but punishment isn't enough.

Not even when you are inflicting it on yourself.

What God wants from you, Marion, is repentance.

What you offer him is pain.

Three and a half years of silent, self-inflicted pain.

- I confessed. - Only to the police. Not to God.

- Nothing changes, Trevor. - Certainly the food hasn't changed.

Excuse me.

Just a moment. I'm serving a customer.

The service hasn't changed, either. Ah, there's my wife.

Don't mention the baby. She's a bit sensitive. It's her first.

Our first, my third. I know, it's hard to keep up.

Jenny, this is Sam.

- Hello. - There's no air in here and I feel sick.

Jenny?

- Are you all right? - This is a horrible place to meet.

I'm sorry. Police.

- Well, you're gonna have to take me home first. - I'll take it.

- Would you? - Sure.

Do you want me to come along to introduce you?

I think I can manage.

Hold it, hold it. Excuse me.

I'm sorry.

If you could go through the gate about 100 yards down there,

then you'll see the rest of them.

- Dr Ryan? - Yes.

I'm the forensic scientist, Marcia Evans.

Sam Ryan.

Are you keeping an eye on the SOCOs?

You get bored out of your box stuck in a lab all day.

- What have we got? - Possible drowning.

Why didn't the police surgeon certify it?

He wasn't happy. It's not straightforward.

- Are you the pathologist? - Yes. Sam Ryan.

Inspector Adams.

- When was she found? - About an hour ago.

The old guy over there pulled her out of the river.

I'll need to take some temperatures right away. Has anyone else touched the body?

Just the police surgeon and the officer who took the call,

to see if she was alive.

I imagine you're waiting to assemble the team before we start.

Relax, I've done the course.

Super's arrived, sir.

Am I gonna be embarrassed?

I don't think so.

Good. Show her where to walk, then.

There's also a guy from the news.

Tell him to piss off.

The fisherman found her very close to where she went in.

The body snagged on a branch over there.

She must have swung right out.

Body temperature 32 Celsius. Water 12.

Air 20.

That's a big difference. And there's no trace of froth at the mouth.

That's what the police surgeon said. Is there any rigor?

That wouldn't tell us much.

The water would keep her floppy, and she hasn't been out of it long.

Cutis anserina and maceration.

She had been in the water for a long time.

- Have the SOCOs got all your samples? - Yes.

It's a cold spot.

Virtually permanent shade in the summer months.

Can you ask the man if he covered her with his coat as soon as he found her?

He's in shock.

Yeah, I need to know.

Well, there's no more I can do here.

Let's get her back to the mortuary.

It's a big setup, Tom. You've got half the force here.

- This is the pathologist. - Trevor's new partner?

Yes.

- Dr Ryan, Superintendent Farmer. - How do you do?

How long has she been dead?

Anywhere between three and 12 hours.

- And no one's reported her missing? - Not yet, no.

- Was she sexually assaulted? - Doesn't look like it.

How old was she?

Six, maybe seven years old.

- Looks a lot younger. - They always do.

Well, if she's from round here, the schools will recognise the description.

I'm onto that. I've got one of the local guys over to take a look.

Sir.

Can you put her down? Here will do fine.

Do you know her?

Yeah.

She's from round here, then?

Fen Reach. Couple of miles away.

- Can you get to it across the fields? - Could do.

- Do you want me to tell them, Peter? - No, mate, I'll do it.

- Did you get the work? - No, time-waster.

Where's Sarah?

- She wasn't at school? - No.

She hadn't been there all day. I asked her teacher.

- She can walk to school on her own. - You shouldn't have let her.

Well, it's only a little way.

Well, she's obviously gone off. You know what she's like.

Mrs Crew?

I've got some bad news, I'm afraid.

This is Gary's mum.

Right.

It's her.

I'm so sorry.

Mr Phillips, you're not Sarah's father?

What do you mean?

How long have you known Sarah?

Four... Four years.

Then we're going to need a blood relative for the formal identification.

The coroner will insist.

No.

I know it's difficult, but sometimes it really is the best thing.

No, I don't want to.

If it was my little girl, I'd have looked.

- Helps you believe, doesn't it? - If you need help.

# I am just a lonesome cowboy

# And I'm travelling all alone

# I ain't even got a nickel

Fred, can't you think of something more lively?

# To call my baby on the phone #

We have a long cotton dress. It's still quite wet.

I've already got a sample.

Dirt marks on the skirt

and some little tears on the front.

The initial examination is now complete.

I'm starting to examine the body itself.

Two centimetre abrasion on the right forehead. Can you give me a photograph here, please?

Consistent with a face down position.

Some sand in the mouth.

Rigor beginning to develop in the neck,

the fingers and the limbs in general.

There's some bruising on the shoulder here.

I'd like that photograph taken with a colour comparison card.

Fairly severe rope burns.

Right. Let's take a look at these abrasions on her legs.

They're consistent with dragging the body along a rough surface.

- When he pulled her out of the water? - Excuse me?

The man who found her dragged her up a bank, a gravel bank.

Yeah.

There's something in these abrasions.

It could be gravel. I need to take a sample, please.

Thank you.

Would you photograph this as well, please?

- There's some marking evident here. - Well?

Nothing unexpected.

I don't like the look of this.

How's your boy these days?

Boys. I have two.

I hardly ever see them.

They're living in with their mother in Manchester.

I hope.

There seems to be some skin discolouration on the inner left calf.

Scar tissue. Could be old cigarette burns.

There are two old fractures on the left side of the chest,

which aren't mentioned in the medical records.

Anyone see the girl on her way to school?