The Brokenwood Mysteries

Hello?

What the hell?

Is there anybody here?

Jesus wept.

Trude. Trudy.

What the hell?

Ray.

Is she?

Are you...

Did you?

- Ow! - Oh.

You're okay, Trudes. You're okay.

Oh!

I'm not going back.

Ray, there's no way in hell I'm going back.

Oh, God, help me!

In conclusion, nothing out of the ordinary.

The craniectomy showed clear indication

of a traumatic aneurysm.

Thanks, Gina.

Uh, forward it on to me, and I'll pass it on to the coroner.

Tell me, Mike, what is your favorite Italian dish?

Uh...

I love spaghetti alla puttanesca.

Olives, capers, anchovies, garlic.

A bit salty.

- I am partial to a lasagna, - Of course.

A traditional working man's meal

After a hard day's work in the field,

you call into your local trattoria

and replenish your weary bones with hearty food and a candy.

Well, there you go.

So I've been thinking perhaps you'd like to join me

for dinner tonight at the Porky Piccione.

Ray Neilson's new place.

As part of the Broken Top Italian Restaurant Competition,

he has been running two for one special this week.

So it's my shout, not because I'm cheap,

but I like to support local business.

- Of course. - You will?

- What? - You will join me?

Uh, well...

- Uh, excuse me. - Of course.

Kristin.

Mike, we have a suspected homicide at Romano Ray's.

All right. Uh, I'm on my way.

Uh, Gina, let's go to the Porky Piccione.

- Oh, Mike. - Now, if you don't mind.

Now? They don't do breakfast. It won't be open.

And you're going to need your kit.

Uh, just wait here a moment, Ray.

- Hi. - It's not pretty in there.

Uh, stand by, Gina.

Stabbed?

No sign of an obvious murder weapon.

Do we know who she is?

Driver's license has her as a Betty Reynolds.

Known to Ray?

No.

Well, I wouldn't say I knew her...

- But, she was familiar to you. - In passing, perhaps.

Was she dining here last night?

No.

So, any idea how she ended up in your restaurant?

Trattoria. And no.

I simply walked in there,

and there she was.

And then I contacted you lot, immediately.

And then you put on your porky pigeon suit?

Yes.

Why would you do that?

Shock.

It can make a man feel the cold.

There's a tear here.

A knife, maybe?

Get Gina.

Gina.

Hello, Betty.

Whatever happened here suggests that there was a tussle,

or a Tarantella, or both.

Regardless, it seems that you came off second best.

We'll get you out of here as soon as we can.

Make you more comfortable.

Mike. Good news.

They have spaghetti alla puttanesca on the menu.

And lasagna.

The... The victim is yours.

There's a trail that goes from the kitchen to this booth here.

And then out to the front door.

It's another trail that starts here

and goes to where the victim is.

Okay. That's her shoe print.

There are other prints, and someone's tried to clean up.

Hmm.

Ray, uh, quite a start to your day.

I've had better.

Would you mind taking off your shoe?

Why?

Uh, so I can match the tread to some prints in there.

It's just a loafer. Dime a dozen.

All the same.

When you got here this morning, were you on your own?

I arrived by myself.

There seems to have been a lot of activity in there.

Well, I guess you get that

when someone tries to knife somebody.

Probably teenagers looking for cash.

Clearly, one of those shoe prints will be mine.

I didn't know what I'd walked into until it was too late.

Another will be the dead woman's

and another the person that topped her, right?

Except there were four.

Excuse me.

- Chalmers. - Mike.

Trudy Neilson's been found unconscious

with a possible stab wound. Waterford Road.

Okay. Copy that. Thanks.

Ray, your sister Trudy has been found

in the middle of Waterford Road with a suspected stab wound.

She's been stabbed?

Less than 400 yards from here.

Ray.

I found this in your rubbish bin.

- Does it look familiar to you? - I'd say it was a pizza cutter.

Covered in what I first thought was pizza sauce,

but it's not, is it?

I need to see Trudy.

What the hell is going on, Ray?

Where is she? I need to see her.

Where is she?

- Uh, you are? - Her mother.

I'm Trudy Neilson's mother.

Mrs. Neilson...

Spencer, my name is Eileen Spencer,

and I want to see my daughter.

Mrs. Spencer, she is still in surgery.

Oh, my God.

Please take a seat,

and I will update you as soon as I have some news.

Yes, yes, yes. Of course. A seat. Yes. Thank you.

Uh, Mrs. Spencer, D.C. Chalmers.

Why are you here?

We believe that Trudy was a victim of a stabbing.

And we need to talk to her as soon as she's able.

Why would anyone want to stab my Trudy?

That's what we need to talk to her about.

She needs to talk to her mother first.

- Yes, of course, but right now... - No. Absolutely not.

Imagine coming out of surgery

and being grilled by a detective.

No. She needs to heal first.

Not a word.

You understand? I need to be by her side.

Okay.

Kristin.

It's her mother, Eileen Spencer's just turned up.

Yeah. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, be a sweetheart. Get me a tea, white, no sugar.

- I want to see my sister. - She's still in surgery, Ray.

Well, I should be there for when she comes out.

Your mother is with her.

I'm sure that'll be of great comfort to Trudy.

- Meaning? - Nothing.

- So, do you know what happened? - Not yet.

We'll have to wait to hear from her.

- Do you? - Me? No.

We need a statement from you, then we'll let you go.

Do you want to take your pigeon suit off, Ray? It looks hot.

I'm fine. Let's get on with it.

Uh, the victim, Betty Reynolds.

Any idea how she ended up in your restaurant?

Trattoria. And, no.

Did you attempt to clean up the crime scene?

Well, I didn't know it was a crime scene.

There was a dead woman in one of your booths.

Well, maybe I didn't realize it was a crime scene

until after I saw her.

Maybe.

I walked in. I saw blood.

I have a C-plus food hygiene rating.

The last thing I need is blood on the floor of my trattoria.

Especially when it's Restaurant Awards Week.

At first,

I thought that maybe someone had stubbed their toe or...

Suffered an amputation.

Luigi had spilled some pizza sauce.

- Luigi is? - Was my chef. I fired him.

- Why? - For not doing his job.

Are you sure you're all right there, Ray?

I'm fine.

Do you need a glass of water?

Yeah. Okay, that'd be good.

- Well, he's hiding something. - That's for sure.