Line of Duty

If you want to talk, call me into AC-12.

Why go to all that bother when I'm only after a minor detail?

The reason you took over a hit and run.

Gates was with a woman in a cafe. You think she's his girlfriend?

Well she doesn't appear in his statement.

She came to the station. They talked. Something felt odd.

Inspector Tony Gates, do you know him?

I met him briefly at the police station.

That's the extent of your relationship?

The coroner's set the date to reopen the inquest in the Karim Ali shooting.

You're going to be asked to testify.

The fire arms officers are saying you sent them to the wrong flat.

I am the senior investigating officer on a double murder.

That is proper policing son!

Tony gave me back the motivation.

He's a good man. You remember that.

Arnott's on to you! I don't know how?

The hairdressers. You might as well have hung up a sign saying,

"Launder your drug money here!"

No, please don't do this.

Hey! This is happening Jackie.

Think Dot and Morton are covering for Gates.

He's got to be at Jackie Laverty's right now! On my way.

I'm a police... Huh. No!

Gotcha.

All right son, calm down.

What's going on?

I've checked all of the ground floor.

I got here a few minutes ago to arrest her.

Front door was open and there's blood everywhere.

We should look upstairs.

What are you waiting for, Arnott?

She's not up here, there'd be a blood trail.

My team.

Well? What?

Did you want to check the bedrooms or not?

Yeah.

You should check the rest of these,

I'm going to have a look around the back.

Everything OK, Sarg?

Yeah. Round the back, quick as you can, see if you can find her.

Right, boss.

Gates?

Where is she?

I know as much as you do.

This was a kidnapping or a robbery, a meeting, whatever.

It went tits up.

We're gonna start the door-to-door and get the dogs out.

No. You don't get to lead this investigation.

You don't tell me what I can and I can't investigate, all right, son.

No sign of her outside, Tone.

All right, get door-stepping, Dot.

Nige, lock off the house and set up a cordon.

DS Cottan. No, where are you?

No, you're breaking up.

Can I help you, DS Arnott?

I think I can manage, thank you, DC Fleming.

Do this now, please. Dabs and DNA.

Yes, sir.

Oi, this is my crime scene, not yours.

Log him out, Deepak, and don't let him back in.

Please.

Sorry, sir. So tell us, Steve, what have you got?

Jackie Laverty went missing this morning. Missing?

She was attacked in her home and now there's no sign of her.

She wasn't just hiding a hit-and-run.

I've believe she was involved in money laundering.

What and you think you can connect Gates with all this?

Call him in for interview, sir.

Before he has time to work out his story. I need one hour.

Good morning, Rita.

Morning.

I need to talk to you about a hit-and-run investigation

that was taken over by DCI Gates.

You're AC-12, aren't you?

Yeah.

See, erm...

My union protects civilian support staff from talking to you

in case it causes undue stress and anxiety.

Sorry.

I could always arrest you for perverting the course of justice.

Take a seat.

When exactly did DCI Gates take over the case?

When the information came through from County CID.

What information?

From Missing Persons, about Mr Patel.

The victim?

When DCI Gates heard that Mr Patel had been Jackie Laverty's accountant,

that's when he took over the...

case.

AC-12 interview.

Present Superintendent Hastings, DS Arnott, DCI Gates,

the Police Federation representative DCI Alice Prior.

May I, sir? Perhaps we could postpone this interview?

DCI Gates has only just learned that a personal acquaintance

is missing, presumed dead.

He's calling her an acquaintance now?

Let's do this.

As it happens, DS Arnott's point was a good place to start.

DCI Gates, how would you describe your relationship

with Jacqueline Laverty?

Jackie and I knew each other 20 years ago.

She was Jackie O'Connor back then and we were engaged

but she broke it off to marry a businessman called Andrew Laverty

and we lost touch.

We were reacquainted some five months ago.

She told me about her property business

and that she was after a head of security.

She wondered if I might recommend some recently retired officers.

And I made the mistake of giving her my card.

Mistake?

Yeah, she called me the next day. And the day after.

And the day after and the day after.

She wasn't interested in ex-officers.

Jackie was recently divorced from Andrew Laverty

and she made no bones about

wanting to pursue a sexual relationship with me.

And how did you respond?

I told her that I was now a happily married man

with two young daughters.

She wouldn't take no for an answer.

And over the course of the next few months,

Jackie Laverty became my stalker.

And did you report this?

No, sir.

Why not, DCI Gates?

Because she's a good-looking woman, sir. And we had a past.

And there's no smoke without fire. Is there?

So can you tell me how you became involved in the hit-and-run

incident that Ms Laverty reported?

Well, actually, sir, initially it was reported as a stolen vehicle.

It was only afterwards that the vehicle was linked

to the hit-and-run.

Are you aware the victim of the hit-and-run was

Jackie Laverty's accountant?

DCI Gates is entitled to be questioned by an officer

at least one rank superior.

Are you aware that the victim of the hit-and-run was

Jackie Laverty's accountant?

Yes, sir. When did you act on it?

And when did you act on it?

What is this? Keith Harris and Orville?

It's all right, Alice. Let them fire away.

As soon as I became aware of that information, I acted on it.

So straight away?

Not straight away?

I was concerned about Jackie's manipulative behaviour.

But once I set that aside, I acted properly,

by attempting to arrest her for manslaughter.

She had a large house, luxury cars, expensive offices.

Didn't you ever wonder where the money was coming from?

She appeared to be a successful businesswoman.

And she received a substantial settlement in her divorce.

You had no idea at all there might be some financial irregularity?

Absolutely none at all, sir.

DCI Gates, how did you come by the information

that Jackie had killed her accountant.

This is the critical piece of evidence against your stalker.

Surely you remember exactly how you found out.

DCI Gates was not prepared for this line of questions.

I request them in writing with the statutory ten days to respond.

Rita Bennett informed me, the civvie support.

I took a statement from Rita Bennett prior to this interview.

I wonder if her recollection matches yours?

DCI Gates?

The information came in from County CID

regarding the identity of the victim.

That was three days after Ms Laverty informed me about her stolen car.

You should have a copy of that statement.

Yeah, I'll see to that, Alice, yeah.

The information you've just given, why isn't it in the computer file?

Why... Your answers match what Rita said

and what she claims she entered in the file but it's not there.

Why not?

She must be mistaken.

You deleted it.

Stop right there. We're all aware of IT problems as a day-to-day reality.

Have you any proof that this file was deleted?

We could impound the hard drive.

The database can be accessed by any computer from the mainframe.

Do you intend to impound them all, DS Arnott?

Send the whole station back to bikes and whistles?

DCI Gates's relationship with Jackie Laverty clearly affected

his handling of the hit-and-run.

It's inappropriate for him to remain SO on her disappearance.

I was not the problem, she was. I went to arrest her.

It's something that you should put to Tony's superior officer.

Well, I certainly will, Alice, if he'll deign to respond.

Can we go, please?

DCI Gates.

I have mobile phone records relating to your account

and Jackie Laverty's account.

Sit down, please, DCI Gates, sit down.

These came over this morning, Alice.

You'll see last week's authority for the release of phone data.

The most recent records are consistent with your testimony.

Calls and texts from Ms Laverty directed to your phone.

None of the calls answered by you. One-way traffic.

Go back a little further, and you're calling her. Texting her.

Would you like me to read an example of one of the text messages