Silent Witness

This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting

Boys' hands on the side. Girls' hands on the front.

Feet together. Rei.

OK. Well done. Thank you.

See you all next week.

Boys, come on, let's go. Shoes on.

Jason?

It's the Under-14 Championships next month.

I'm putting you forward. OK, cool.

You turned up without anything over your kit - that's not like you.

OK.

Here. Sorry about the colour.

Serves you right for being unprepared.

If you hang on a minute, I'll run you into town.

Come on, then. Get in the car.

We're going to go to your nan's this evening.

Bye, Jason.Bye. Bye, Jason.

Sorry, Jason.

What are you doing here?

Yeah.

When possible, make a U-turn.

When possible, make a U-turn.

Shall I turn around?

Turn left.

Right, left. Which? Left!

Police.

They don't look lost.

Where possible, make a U-turn.

That's how we should have arrived.

Nikki Alexander, pathologist.

Jack Hodgson, Forensics.

DCI Claire Ashby. DS John MacNeil.

All right? Did you find us OK?

Yeah, no problem.

Just got here ourselves.

We work for a London murder team. OK.

Got the call when Jason first went missing

because of our expertise in child abduction.

How did local CID take that? OK, most of the time.

And the rest of the time? We've had to bang a few heads.

Him, in particular.

We're over here.

In any other circumstances, I'd say welcome back.

We don't know it's Jason yet.

We sent a car round to Wildes.

He moved out.

Reading between the lines, he was forced out by the neighbours.

Well, where's he living now? With his father, Robert,

but he's not there either.

Find him, lean on Dad, do whatever it takes.

I want to question him as soon as ID is confirmed.

The body appears to be male, an indeterminate age.

There's some evidence of decomposition

and disturbance by animals.

Sock on the right foot.

The left is bare and partially skeletonised.

Fair few weeds growing from under the body.

What does that tell you?

Well, if all the growth is dead under the body,

it suggests he's been here some time.

Yeah, he's been here weeks, possibly months.

Months?

Why? What are you thinking?

If it is Jason, could he have been here since September?

Was the farm searched back then?

If it wasn't, I'm history.

One of Jason's identifying markers is a dental bridge.

Upper right lateral incisor, result of an injury sustained in judo.

Right.

His family are already being doorstepped.

I'd like to get them some kind of answer

ahead of the DNA confirmation.

I can't make a formal ID.

OK.

Understood.

Yes, he has a dental bridge filling his upper lateral incisor.

Sorry.

Have you located Wilde?

I tried his mobile, but just kept getting "number out of service".

I checked it against his locksmith website, but that's down too.

Since when? My colleague Clarissa might be able to help there.Please.

Nikki, would you be up for coming with me to notify the family

of the probable ID?

I'm not after moral support.

I just know from experience that Pete Forbes asks a lot

of questions and I want to make sure I can answer them.

OK.

Morning, Jack.

I've sent you a number and a website.

Anything and everything, please.

I had a great weekend, thanks. You?

Already feels like a century ago.

Where are you?

I'm in Hartford, Wessex.

Jason Forbes.

Wow, how did we get that case?

Good question. I'll get back to you in half an hour.

Give you 15 minutes.

Obviously there's a lot of work to do,

so the sooner we can start on it, the better.

Of course, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't reassured myself

that the Lyell is entirely blameless.

I appreciate that.

Happily, the accreditation service are of the same mind.

But there's exoneration and then there's reality, right?

It's... It's been a rough patch.

For some people, there's no smoke without fire.

You're really finding out who your friends are, eh?

That's one way of saying it.

Well, if this helps you to get back on track, we all win.

Right? Right.

Clarissa, I didn't know you worked here.

They like to keep me hidden away.

How are you, Clarissa?

I'm surviving.

No need to ask how you are. Yeah, well, I'm just waiting for the day

they tell me that I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

Sir?

Good to see you, Clarissa. You, too.

You know the Assistant Commissioner? Plain old DCI Holloway to me.

What was the case?

Oh, how long have you got?

You can't believe I know someone of such exalted rank?

No, no, no, no.

Is he here about Jason Forbes? Yeah, and to politely request

we don't speak to the media under pain of death.

Why'd he come to us?

Don't know.

And a high profile case might be just what we need.

Says who? Well, mud sticks, I'm afraid.

We were victims of sabotage, Thomas, everyone that matters knows it.

The drop off in our caseload says otherwise, quite loudly.

Six months ago, the eyes of the country

were turned on Hartford

after the disappearance of 13-year-old Jason Forbes,

a county judo champion.

Despite a massive police search and the arrest of a local man,

no trace of Jason was found and no charges were brought.

Well, earlier this morning, human remains believed to be those

of Jason were discovered just a mile from this quiet Wessex village

on what we've been told is an abandoned farm.

The circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body are unclear,

as is whether or not...

Hi, Jotie.Boss.

This is Dr Nikki Alexander.

Hi.

There are strong indicators

that the body discovered this morning is Jason. I'm so sorry.

What kind of indicators?

Um, the cagoule is a visual match. Oh, God!

It's a popular brand, you said so yourself. What else?

Approximate body measurements and hair colour are consistent

with the body being Jason's.

So is the dental bridge on his right upper incisor. No, no, no.

DNA will confirm.

I think you need to prepare for the worst.

I'm so, so sorry.

Did you miss him back in September?

What?

Was he lying there the whole time, rotting away?

I hope we'll have a clearer indication of time of death

after the postmortem.

But there are other methods that can yield answers to...

How did he die?

Again, I hope to have an answer to that after the postmortem.

Well, you always said the answer was close to home.

So when are you going to pick Malcolm Wilde up?

It's in hand.

Thank you.

You've grown close to them.

Yeah.

More than I normally would.

As we're being frank, I'd like you to hear something from me

cos you'll sure as shit hear it from the others.

Go for it.

I'm one of the youngest DCIs on the force.

Some say that's because of merit.

Most think it's because I'm the protege

of Assistant Commissioner Holloway.

Right. Maybe this case will settle it.

Merital nepotism.

First murder I ever worked was a child.

Guy?

Ta.

Yeah.

Laura Johnson was her name.

Wee thing.

Stuffed under a bath by her dad.

DI looked at me and he said,

"One day, son, this will all be water off a duck's back."

That day never came? No.

Never came.

I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse.

Body is that of a Caucasian male presumed to be Jason Forbes.

Multiple small larvae around the neck and shoulders.

Thank you.

They seem young, maybe first or second instar stage.

Development may have been delayed due to the cold weather.

What looks like dehydrated skin on his knuckles...

...and lower border of the mandible.