The Suspect

All fear can be overcome, rational and irrational.

And sometimes we need help in doing that.

That's why I'm here.

You'd be held.

Buoyant.

You'll be safe.

It works best if you do the buckle.

Oh. Yep, yeah.

I feel silly.

Put yourself there. Mm.

Step onto the bridge.

Calm, deep breaths.

Oh, no, I can't, I can't do this.

Because?

Because the bridge will fall down, and I'll go in the water with it.

SIREN IN DISTANCE

Why would the bridge fall down?

It just will.

What is the bridge made of? Yep.

So it's steel...

rivets...

and concrete.

SIREN BLARES

Dr O'Loughlin, you have to come now!

Find out the owner of that vehicle.

Hi.

Dr O'Loughlin? Yeah.

DS Amanda Fisher, thank you for coming.

As you can see, we've got a situation.

There's a young boy on the ledge. We think he's going to jump.

Our negotiator's on the way, but he's stuck in traffic.

He'll be here soon,

but the situation requires an intervention now.

What do you mean?

'Dramatic scenes from the City of Westminster Hospital.

'A young patient is standing on a ledge

'on the seventh floor of the main building.'

Right, Joe? All right. Yeah.

Don't worry, this is the harness for the kid.

Make sure you stay focused on me.

Your harness is tethered to the building

and is gonna be strapped around you.

Make sure you get his legs in first. Put the harness on the top.

OK, your radio is contacted up to the police, open mic,

OK, so if you need anything, just let them know.

We have visual. Civilian negotiator on the ledge. Seventh floor. Over.

'Joe, this is DS Fisher.'

He's called Malcolm. He's 17.

He's left a note to his parents. Just two words - "I'm sorry".

Whew!

Some view, huh?

It's Malcolm, isn't it?

Malcolm, I'm Joe.

Don't come near me! Stay away! All right.

No, don't come near! I'm gonna take one more step...

Stay away! Stay away! I'm gonna...

I'll-I'll stay away. I'm gonna take one more step.

That's us.

There we are.

Joe, you should also know he's got a tumour next to his brain stem,

he's two weeks into a second course of chemotherapy.

His prognosis is terminal.

You know the way people always say, "It'll be fine.

"Everything'll be OK"?

I don't buy it.

I think people just say that.

Because they can't think of anything else.

Get him talking. Keep him talking. He's smart.

His parents say he's been accepted at Oxford.

Keep the conversation away from his illness. Just...

I don't want any more chemo. I've had enough.

I keep telling them. I'm not scared of dying.

I'm not.

I think you're old enough to make these decisions yourself, Malcom.

Try telling them that.

I think people think it's easy to be cynical and pessimistic,

but... it's actually really hard work.

I think it's much easier to be hopeful, to be honest,

and optimistic.

Optimistic!? It's a brain tumour!

They can't operate!

Yeah, I know.

I get it.

And it's probably gonna kill you, Malcolm.

That's the truth of it.

Oh, God. No, no, no, no, he shouldn't, um...

He... What?

He can't be out there. Why?

Ah, he is a patient of mine,

and he... Well, he's just been diagnosed with Parkinson's,

so, um...

Why should I go back inside? Cos it's fucking freezing, Malcolm.

And I've seen what happens to people

when they fall from buildings this high, and it's not good.

You don't wanna do that.

Why would you come out here? I'm all right, I'm fine.

I know you're all right.

But if you're gonna jump...

..I think you need to say goodbye to your mum and dad first.

Even if you can't find the words.

Let them hold you.

All that love they have for you, Malcolm...

..give them that.

And it's still really cold and I think we should go back inside.

I'm gonna reach down and get this harness.

You're gonna take this,

I'm gonna show you how to put it on, all right? Oh!

THEY GASP

Oh!

Dropped the harness. Over.

PANTING

All right. You're good.

Stay calm.

All good.

Plan B.

I'm gonna take this off, all right,

and I'm gonna put it on you.

Yeah? OK.

Stay where you are.

Er, why's he... That doesn't, er, that doesn't look like a good idea.

Please, Joe. Please! Stay still, Malcolm!

Stay calm! Look at me!

Joe, please. Look at me, that's good.

Argh!

Argh, argh, I'm slipping!

You're not gonna fall, Malcolm, I have you.

SHOUTING

Steel, rivets...

Fire crew to the floor below. Repeat, to the floor below.

Hold tight, Malcolm. I'm-I'm slipping!

Joe!

I'm gonna throw you a line! You're not gonna fall!

Listen to me. You're gonna have to swing into us.

I'm gonna fall! Grab hold of the line.

You've got to swing! We're gonna pull you in now!

GRUNTING

One more time, here we go!

PANTING

My boy! Where is he?

Son! Are you OK?

APPLAUSE

Sorry, we do need to get him out into the...

Stupid! I know, I know, I know.

Stupid, macho, alpha... I know.

..idiot! All right, I just... It's...

I haven't adjusted to it yet.

Oh, you forgot you had Parkinson's!?

Well, for a minute I wanted to, yeah!

Come here. I get that.

Come here. I get it, but...

I'm sorry.

You go and you do the most stupid suicidal thing without...

..without even a thought for Charlie or me?

Hey!

What's all this about?

Now I can talk about you at school.

Oh, you couldn't before?

Mum said your work was getting inside people's heads,

that would just creep everyone out. Yeah.

I suppose when you put it like that...

Hey! Charlie.

You're a hero, Dad. You're everywhere.

'..Westminster hospital.

'A young patient is standing on a ledge...' Oh, dear.

'..on the seventh floor of the main building.'

OK. Have you had your bath? There's no hot water.

HE SIGHS This doesn't make any sense.

That's cos you don't speak boiler.

How did it go with the life jacket?

Yeah, good. She made it halfway across the bridge,

she's never got that far before.

Wow! Then we got... interrupted.

Hey...

..you were right, it was stupid. Hm. Yeah.

I was stupid.

Sorry.

I don't expect you to give in to it,

but you can't fight Parkinson's like that.

And you're the worst plumber I ever slept with.

How-How many plumbers have you actually slept with?

Enough.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. SHE LAUGHS

Arrrrgh! Oh! Quickly.

Stop it! Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh! Oh!

Oh, my God!

You need to get upstairs immediately and take your clothes off, go!

Oh, you planned that! Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SHE LAUGHS

Oh, you!

BIRDSONG

QUIET RADIO TRANSMISSION

Nice to meet you, sir.

DS Devi.

Female, no ID as yet, called in by a dog walker.

I don't like bodies being dumped in graveyards,

that's a crime twice over.

The dog walker didn't give a name.

So how long has she been here? Can't be more than a few days.

A groundsman saw something and started to uncover her.