Midsomer Murders

Shh, it's OK, it's all right.

Nothing to be scared of. Easy does it.

Mind your heads here.

Libs, come on, take it seriously.

Follow me.

Come on. We can't.

Conor, where are you taking me?

Trust me.

Spread out and use your equipment.

We're looking for orbs, cold spots, knockings.

And if we're lucky, the ghost of the blacksmith's daughter will appear.

It's the ghost! I'm scared!

The temperature's just plummeted.

Where are Conor and Felicity?

Conor...

Come on.

Who is it?

Who's there?

Aaargh!

No, no, get off.

Syksie, leave it.

You expecting something? No.

You?

Morning, bump.

There's a card here addressed to Sykes.

Sykes is doing very well this year. He's got more presents than me.

I can't think why.

It's our last Christmas as a trio. Soon, there's not gonna be as much lying around, scratching bellies,

nibbling treats and falling asleep on the sofa, is there?

Things might have to change for Sykes too.

Odd that we haven't heard from Jones.

Not really, he'll be busy.

Brighton's a hectic place and he's a DI now, thanks to you.

I know. I just didn't expect him to move on and forget us so quickly.

You're missing him.

No, I'm not.

Barnaby. Sir.

Ah, Nelson.

I'll see you there. Look forward to meeting you.

Something's come up.

So is that Nelson as in Horatio Nelson or Nelson as in Nelson Mandela?

Only you've told me nothing about him yet.

Charlie Nelson.

Ooh, good name.

Well, be nice to him.

Not everyone's Jones.

Mm-hm.

..no one goes in or out.

Detective Sergeant Nelson, I presume?

Sir.

Pleased to meet you.

Congratulations. Your first day as a DS and in at the deep end. Welcome to Midsomer.

Mm?

Erm...

the victim is Conor... Conor Bridgeman.

Male, IC-1, mid 30s, bespoke furniture maker.

He was killed in the middle of the night,

run through twice by a sword.

His wife lives across the village, she's been informed.

Why was the victim here in the middle of the night?

Fright Night. It's a paranormal investigation,

something to do with the ghost of a blacksmith's daughter.

Does that happen a lot round here?

Not as far as I know.

I take it you've confiscated any recordings?

I'm assuming a paranormal investigation uses some kind of recording equipment.

I'm onto that, guv.

I'm sure this is the start of a successful working relationship, DS Nelson.

But it'll go a lot more smoothly if you don't call me "guv".

Sir.

Right, shall we?

Morning, sir.

Do you have to?

Yes, I bloody well do.

Tabby...

Thanks for coming round, Val.

It's all right, Tabby. Are you OK? Not really, no.

You can't ring me here.

Right, everybody quiet!

Listen up.

Sir.

I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

Thank you for waiting, I appreciate you must be tired.

Just to say that my officers will finish taking statements and then everyone can go home.

After that, we'll be in touch as necessary.

Oh, erm...excuse me.

Brendan Pearce, local historian.

You know who did it, don't you?

Little Rose Wilton.

Her father was ill, so Rose carried a yule log here to the manor house as a seasonal offering.

Sorry, sir, when was this?

She was thrown out of here on Christmas Eve, 127 years ago.

The poor wretch got caught in a snowstorm and crawled to her tragic death.

This is her revenge.

Well, that's that, then. Open-and-shut case.

Hey, it's not a joke, you know.

It most certainly isn't. And I can assure you we will consider every possibility.

Thank you.

Easy, Nelson. A little tact can go a long way round here.

Sir.

Dr Kate Wilding, Detective Sergeant Nelson. Detective Sergeant Nelson...

We've already met. DS Nelson was first on the scene.

Oh, OK.

What can you tell us about Mr Bridgeman?

Time of death around 3am, give or take.

One antique silver sword thrust into the costal cartilage,

and another thrust straight into the heart.

Done with conviction if nothing else.

No fingerprints.

Where did the sword come from? Just through there.

Can you find the owner? We'll need a tour.

Yes, sir.

He seems keen. Do you think so? I hadn't noticed.

Are you missing Jones?

Not in the slightest.

You might be interested in this.

It was in his pocket.

"Stop the Fright Nights.

Do not meddle with forces beyond your control...

..or vengeance will strike."

Sir?

Thank you.

Mr Fergus-Johnson.

Simon, please.

Can I just say that we are all totally devastated?

Con was such a great bloke.

Clearly not everyone agreed.

Pippa?

It's all right, love, I'm here.

Felicity?

No.

Tea? Oh, no, thank you.

Before he was killed, did you hear anything?

I thought I heard a rhythmic knocking, did you?

I heard something.

Come on, Libs, this is good for the village!

Don't be silly. It is, it's exciting.

I'm exhausted.

So whose idea was the Fright Night?

My daughter Pippa's. Her and her friend, Des... Dev... I really don't know what he's called.

They're into all that.

It's all part of a campaign of events to reclaim the village's long-lost title.

"Most haunted village in England." That's the one.

Everyone's obsessed with this ghost story.

It's not exactly Fort Knox, is it?

Do you have any security cameras?

There's one out front, should be working.

We'll need to see copies of the recordings.

How many of you live here?

Just me, my daughter Pippa, my wife Tabby, though she'd already gone to bed.

My older sister Valerie has keys.

But she doesn't live here? Not any more.

She looked after Dad and moved out when he died. She lives in the village now.

Thank you. That'll be all for now. Good.

Check out the rest of the house,

talk to the girl Felicity.

Start making your way through the recordings.

Where are you going, guv...sir?

To talk to the victim's wife.

Was he with a woman?

Yes.

I see.

He never could keep it in his trousers.

Who was it this time?

Felicity Hearn.

You know her?

She's my singing teacher.

Have you any idea who might have wanted to kill your husband?

Apart from me? No.

Where were you last night?

Here.

What about other people? Anyone he'd fallen out with recently, business troubles?

Business was good, take a look.

Ross Clymer owed him money.

I know he was chasing that.

The landlord of the Blacksmiths Arms. Conor did some work for him way back.

Simon Fergus-Johnson's crossed off this list.

Any idea why?

Simon approached Conor about refurbishing the manor house and turning it into a hotel.

But?

Simon may have inherited a pile, but he hasn't got two pennies to rub together.

We have some family money, so Conor offered to buy the manor house off him instead.

And was Mr Fergus-Johnson considering selling?

Negotiations were ongoing...

and increasingly fractious.

Two stags rutting.

Miss Hearn. DS Nelson.

Can we talk?

They're all gonna hate me, aren't they?

How did you meet Conor?

I'm his wife's singing teacher.

I accompanied her at a recital and Conor was there.

Things...developed.

But I haven't been here long.

I'm still trying to make friends. This is really gonna help, isn't it?

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to come to a Fright Night with someone else's husband.

Well, I didn't know he was coming.

I told him I was and he just turned up.

We're not open yet.

You'll be able to answer some questions, then.