Vera

Best avocados! Six for a fiver! Ripe and ready to eat...

Alright Annie, you have a good day, alright?

- Morning, Ian. - Milan. You alright?

Oh, yeah. Very good.

Fresh avocados! Best in the North!

- Just those, please. - Coming right up, darling.

There you go, love.

Tell you what, I'll, uh, throw in another one for free, yeah?

As long as I see you back here tomorrow.

- What time do you call this? - Bus was late.

Well, I'll be docking your wages, Leanne.

One more late start, and I'll be letting you go.

Couldn't break a $20 for us, could you, Carol?

Oh, you're that cheeky.

Last time today, alright?

Cheers, Carol.

So, Ian, how's the new pitch working out for you?

Well, it's looking great out here.

The usual, mate.

Alright, there you go.

Cheers, Danny.

I notice your takings are up, then.

- Alright, Tony. - Onions, man. Let's get this load out while it's fresh.

Won't sell itself. Will it, son?

Ohh!

All done, Leanne. Sorted.

Come on, girls, let's be having you!

Hi, Onions, get another round in.

Mine's a pint. Let's keep these beers flowing.

- Get a move on, we're going to lose our table. - Coming, coming.

Nice shirt, Danny!

Fresh and sharp or what? Hey!

Alright, boys! Where were we?

Danny, don't you think you've had enough?

A word.

In private.

Son, don't you walk away from me!

Danny!

Danny!

Danny, man, will you wait?

- There you go. - Cheers, love.

Bye, girls, see youse tomorrow.

Bye!

- Thanks, love. - Ma'am.

Check in with her and make sure she's alright, yeah?

Morning, Ma'am.

Mark.

Morning, Ma'am. Uh, male fatality.

Early 20s.

- Hit and run they said. - Yeah.

Jogger found him first thing this morning.

Deceased got a name?

Yeah. Danny Meddon.

We found some business cards in his wallet.

- Oh, so he wasn't robbed, then? - No, it doesn't look like it.

I mean, all the money's still there.

Uh, no sign of a phone, though.

Let's see that card.

Meddon's Fruit & Veg, Bentham Market.

Oh, I know 'em. They've been there for years.

It wouldn't hurt to give that number a ring.

Ma'am.

Hold up.

Watch where you're stepping.

First impressions.

Focuses the mind.

We sharing these first impressions?

Injuries suggest he was hit by a moving vehicle.

Well, I could've told you that.

Multiple fractures to the left femur and pelvis.

Likely sustained at the moment of impact.

Query internal bleeding. PM will tell us more.

Time of death? Any ideas?

Rigor mortis in the hands and upper limbs.

Still some give in the legs.

Suggests he's been dead for around six to eight hours.

So sometime late last night.

We've got fragments of a broken headlight.

Might help us narrow down the vehicle in question.

Well, that's something at least we can work with.

Thanks, Paula.

- Where's Aiden today? - Uh...

Aiden? Perth.

Perth? What's he doing in Scotland?

- Try Perth, Australia. - What?!

You're shocked? Could've knocked me for six when I found out.

It was his missus sent in the application.

Reckoned his prospects would be better down under.

Plus, her sister lives there.

Kenny gives him six months.

Ma'am?

We've found the phone.

Right, so there's the point of impact.

His phone goes flying.

And he ends up here.

Absence of any skid marks

suggests the vehicle was going at speed.

No attempt to brake and avoid a collision.

Yeah, might not have been time to stop.

Random driver run him down accidently, fled the scene?

Evidence might suggest otherwise.

There are some tracks further down that we're investigating.

So could the driver have stopped eventually?

- Check if he's still alive? - Aye.

Or to make sure he was dead.

Yeah. Cheers. Will do.

Uh, we've pulled up a home address, in East Bentham.

Uniform are there now, but there's nobody home.

Shirt sleeves. Plenty of money.

Sounds like a night on the town.

So, what's he doing out here, middle of nowhere?

Well, that's the thousand- dollar question, Kenny.

Girlfriend?

Whoever she is, she'll need telling.

No, no, no. You can't park there, I'm afraid.

Uh, who's in charge here, love?

That'd be me, market inspector.

- Uh, mister...? - Shah. Milan Shah.

Ah. DCI Stanhope.

And I'm here about Danny Meddon.

What's he done now?

Ah, now, his fruit and veg stall, is that a family concern?

Yeah, Danny's dad owns the license.

Tony Meddon. - Yeah.

And that's who I need to talk to, love.

He hasn't shown his face here this morning.

Left Onions to mind the shop, as usual.

Onions? Right.

Keep an eye on me motor, love.

Uh, I need a word, pet, somewhere quiet.

I just can't believe it.

Now, have you any idea where I'd find his mum and dad?

It's best they hear about this from us.

His mum died a while back,

and I think his dad was headed to the wholesalers.

Right.

Now, where both you and Danny working on the stall yesterday?

Aye. And then we went for drinks in the tavern after work.

Most of stall holders end there after close.

Yeah. Anything happen in the pub I should know about?

Danny and his dad had a bit of a kick-off.

So what was this kick-off about?

Tony told Danny he was thinking of selling up.

Danny was livid. Saw it as some kind of betrayal.

So how did it resolve itself?

I got between them. Danny stormed out of there.

And what time was this?

Uh, must've been around 9:00.

When did his mum die?

It's getting on six months now.

Tony's been letting things slide with the business since.

Me and Danny have been picking up the slack for him.

What about a girlfriend? Good-looking lad.

He liked to play the field.

Do you recognise this face?

No. No, I can't say I do.

Sorry.

Now, I am gonna have to ask you this, love.

Can you think of anyone who might've had it in for Danny?

Maybe.

You might wanna talk to Ian Headley.

He's one of the other traders.

Wanna tell me why?

A few months ago, Tony falls behind on his subs.

Comes into work one day, and he finds out that the gaffer's

handed Headley his pitch.

The gaffer? You mean Mr. Shah?

Aye. Tony... he goes after Headley,

throws a punch, lands him an assault charge.

He's been at odds with the Meddons ever since.

Oh, thanks love.

Uh, look, I can't keep calling you Onions.

What does your mum call you?

Owen. It's Owen Duggan.

Ah, well, thanks, Owen.

Uh, we may need to talk again.

Tony Meddon?

Who's asking?

I'm afraid I have some bad news, for you, sir.

Where'd you find him?

Couple of miles outside town.

- Bentham Bridge. - What was he doing there?

Well, I was hoping you'd know the answer to that.

He was in the pub, last time I saw him.

Yeah. Were the pair of you had a kick-off.

We've been losing money hand over fist.

Ever since Gaynor died.

Aye. I heard your wife had passed.

I'm sorry, love.

I told him I was done with it.

Yeah, the stall, the grafting, early starts.

None of it mattered anymore.

And what did he say to that?

Some guff about the stall being his mum's legacy.

Weren't you worried when he didn't come home last night?

Nah. He'd been dossing down at Onions' place.

Is that right?

Now, I noticed you've got a broken headlight on your vehicle, sir.

- You know that's against the law. - Aye.

That be a fine, points on your license.