Midsomer Murders

We could take friends out for dinner.

Bad idea.

- Then we'll have them here. - Even worse.

Fine. No friends.

We could go to Brighton for the weekend, just the three of us.

Sorry, four of us.

Sounds like driving to me.

John, you have to do something.

A bottle of wine and an old film

is a feeble way to celebrate your birthday.

It's my way.

- You sure you need me there? - Of course.

You can pour the wine.

DCI Barnaby's phone.

They're ufologists.

Is that a real word?

It seems the area around these woods is a UFO hotspot.

This lot started turning up because of the sightings.

What sightings?

Past week has seen reports of strange lights in the sky.

The locals are claiming the aliens are invading.

The station took six calls about it last night alone.

- So what have we got? - Missing person.

Erm... Felicity Ford.

31-year-old forest ranger.

Last seen yesterday around 1pm.

This is her van.

Patrol car found it at six this morning.

No sign of Felicity.

The doors were open

and the engine was still running.

Personal belongings?

There was a bag containing keys and a purse on the front seat.

Uniform are still searching the area,

but it's not the kind of terrain to tackle minus a boot.

Who reported her missing?

Her mum. Veronica Ford.

Ahh...

Battery's dead.

Charge it and find out who she was in contact with.

Sir!

Just found it, sir.

What on earth is that?

Nothing very pleasant.

Give me a knife.

Urgh.

Get Kam up here.

Morning.

Mum's looking for you.

More weirdos booking in.

- Don't say that. - It's what they are.

If it weren't for the... tin foil hat brigade,

this place would be sunk.

Orla.

Delivered this morning.

Aren't you going to open it?

- I'll do it later. - Why can't you open it now?

I need to get to work.

Orla!

And where have you been?

Where does it look like I've been?

You were gone for three hours.

Did a couple of circuits round the wood.

- Shall we ask in here? - Oh! Good morning.

Come on!

Hurry up, we're going to be late!

When you're ready, Nathan.

It's no use. The van's dead, Mum.

Don't say that. She'll hear you.

She won't, cos she's dead.

Orla, you need to do your thing.

It's no use.

Try it now.

Yay!

- The girl's got magic fingers. - You're right there.

Thanks, Orla.

She's up to four tours a day.

Still fleecing the alien chasers.

Yeah.

Are you saying she was murdered?

We can't confirm the cause of death.

But that's what you suspect?

My beautiful little... girl. Ohh...

Sorry.

Nelson...

When did you last see Felicity?

Er...

Yesterday.

Before she left for work.

And how was she?

Fine. I think.

We didn't talk a great deal.

I was in bed on account of a cold.

Veronica.

I've just heard. I can't believe it.

You worked with Felicity?

Brogan Steele. I was her fiance.

They're saying she was murdered.

Just a few questions.

When did you see Felicity yesterday?

In the morning.

She went off to deal with a camper.

There's a campsite in the woods?

No, but... a UFO chaser has set up his caravan illegally.

The village has been overrun with that lot.

- Since the lights started up. - The so-called UFO.

- A lot of nonsense. - Try telling Faulkner that.

Faulkner is the owner of the caravan?

He's some sort of UFO expert.

Flick's been trying to move him on for weeks.

Mrs Ford. Felicity made a call on her mobile last night

around nine o'clock.

We traced the number to a nearby MoD facility,

the RAF base at Cooper Hill.

Can you think why she called there?

Her father? He's the base commander.

Felicity would never have called him.

Why not?

She hated the man.

Chief Inspector Barnaby?

Sergeant Ali. Welcome to Cooper Hill.

Group Captain Ford is expecting you.

I was expecting jets.

There hasn't been a squadron based here for a good ten years.

So nothing flies out of this base?

Not any more.

Then how do you fill your time?

We're a storage facility

as well as one of the main radar stations.

You must be busy these days, then?

UFO sightings.

Cooper Hill seems to be a hot destination for aliens.

Not according to our radar.

How was my daughter killed?

We're not in a position to say.

I'm not her mother. I don't require careful handling.

It's not about handling.

But until we have a pathology report...

Do you at least have a suspect?

It's early days.

Right now our focus is on building a picture of Felicity.

Well, I can't help you there.

Felicity and I hadn't spoken in some time.

Her phone records show

that she called the base around nine o'clock last night.

Sergeant, you were here last night.

Did you receive a call from my daughter?

No, sir. I mean, there was a call,

but I didn't know it was from your daughter.

- What exactly did she say? - She asked for you.

I told her you were in your quarters, then she hung up.

Why do you think she called you?

Given your strained relationship,

it's fair to assume it was important.

I'd say so.

Why wasn't the call transferred?

What?

Isn't there a phone in your quarters?

- I'd asked not to be disturbed. - So you were alone all night?

I need to establish your whereabouts.

Yes. I was alone all night.

I'm not leaving until you come out.

- Got no right to move us on. - That's not why I'm here.

I'm looking for Carter Faulkner.

He's out. Won't be back till later.

- And you are? - Dillon. His son.

- Do you know this woman? - Yeah, she's a pest.

She was found dead this morning, in the woods,

about a mile from here.

Don't know anything about that.

You and your dad are UFO experts?

Dad's the expert. Not me.

Was he in the woods last night?

Stayed home.

And were you in the woods?

Not just me. Place was crawling with people looking for the UFO.

Did you see anything unusual?

I'll be back to talk to your dad.

I can't confirm until I get her on the table.

But I'm guessing asphyxiation.

- Strangled or smothered? - Drowned.

It looks like she was immersed in this stuff

when it was in liquid form.

- It's not a nice way to go. - What is this stuff?

It's fascinating, isn't it? It's a synthetic resin,

probably a polymer, but with unusual properties.

It has a low melting point. Which explains...

What is it, Kam?

I have absolutely no idea.

- It must come from somewhere. - Yes. I just don't know where.

So you're saying this stuff's alien?

I'm saying it's alien to me.

Uploaded videos of our strange lights.

Eight in total. All shot around Cooper Hill in the past week.

This one is from last night.

A farmer on the north side of the village.

These pins represent all the recent sightings.

What do you notice?

All within a mile of the village?

Which begs the question: why would an alien cross a galaxy