Murdoch Mysteries

Morning, Murdoch.

Standing room only, I'm afraid.

Must be a result of this new Immigration Act?

It's been a steady stream all morning.

Listen to that incessant chatter; it's worse than Italian.

Still, good to see British order being implemented.

This must be him.

James McBride. From the Ministry of the Interior.

He may be cleaning up the city,

- but he's a right royal pain in the... - Inspector.

We are running out of space.

- I'll need you to open up the back cells. - Bloody hell,

how many more are you anticipating?

We will be finished once every name is struck from this list.

Now, if you would.

Follow me.

What are they doing, sir?

And why are they all Greek?

Any immigrant charged with a crime is eligible for deportation.

I gather these men all have criminal records.

So what, they'll all get sent back to Greece?

I suppose so.

Although it is strange that they all seem to be

of the same nationality.

I'm afraid I can't give you an exact deportation date,

but we will work through it efficiently.

I trust I can expect your full cooperation.

- Of course. - So, sir.

What happens with them when they get back to Greece?

Oh, who bloody cares, Crabtree? They're criminals.

Our main concern is removing them from Canadian soil.

The government's responsibility ends there.

Now if you'll excuse me.

I should get back to it as well, sir.

Inspector!

Athos? What are you doing in here?

Please, I did nothing!

I'll take him, Constable. Come here.

- Were you charged with a crime? - Never.

You're the finest carpenter I've ever seen.

Margaret still talks about that bloody buffet that you built us.

Inspector, this is a mistake.

- Clear off and keep your head down. - Thank you.

Just because you're out of here, doesn't mean you're out of trouble.

Come on. I'll walk you out.

This way.

The night watchman startled somebody who ran off,

but he said he was pushing a wheelbarrow with something in it

that might have been a body.

What might have been a body?

He was too scared to check, sir.

Help me unroll it.

- My God. Isn't that... - Mr McBride.

The Immigration Officer.

Significant trauma to the front of the skull.

There appears to be some bruising under the right eye, as well.

It's the list of deportees.

The man kept impeccable notes.

There appear to be some additional defensive wounds.

I won't be certain until I can get him to the morgue.

So do you suppose he was being delivered or being taken away?

Perhaps Mr Copley can help answer that.

George, stay with Miss Hart until the morgue wagon arrives.

Sir.

Gentlemen, if you'd move along,

we'll need to talk to everybody shortly.

You say that he was rolled up in a rug?

Presumably to be transported in the wheelbarrow.

Barbaric.

One of those immigrants killed him, obviously.

What was your relationship to Mr McBride?

I knew of him,

but we hadn't actually met until Frank hired him.

- Frank? - Oliver.

- The Minister of the Interior? - Yes.

The architect of this Immigration Act.

Frank and I are old friends.

In fact, I'll be saying a few words after his speech on Saturday.

Bring the family, show your support.

_

Is it possible that Mr McBride came searching for deportees?

Do you know who I am?

Copley Construction built this city... by Canadians,

for Canadians.

I don't hire people that aren't part of the union.

Eliza,

what part of 'knock before entering' don't you understand?

Men are talking here.

Excuse me, Mr Copley.

- I thought you wanted me to empty the ashtrays. - Later.

Come back later.

When did you last see Mr McBride?

Quite a while.

But I do know that he went to see Andrew Palmer yesterday.

- And who is that? - He calls himself a construction man,

but he's a huckster.

- Couldn't build a dollhouse. - How do you know he went there?

My union representative, Paul Scotch, had a meeting.

He saw McBride.

What were you doing at Mr Palmer's office?

Trying to convince him to do the right thing,

hire some of my men for the Malvern Collegiate job.

He refused, of course.

Yes, I read about that.

It's quite the undertaking, from what I understand.

It'll be the largest school the city's seen.

Damn thing probably won't even stay upright, if he ever does finish it.

And you said he won't use union workers?

He's hiring immigrants.

It was the only way he could keep costs low enough

to scrape a bid together. The man is shameless.

No sense of brotherhood.

I see.

And would you happen to know what Mr McBride was doing there?

Looking for more people to toss out of the country, would be my guess.

He showed me a list of names.

Said he wanted the addresses of all my workers who were on it.

- And you gave them to him? - Names.

What was I supposed to do?

I can't fight the law.

Might this have been the list?

Yeah, this is it.

Three quarters of the names on here were my men.

Hmm.

And I take it construction was to commence shortly?

Two damn days.

Now I have to find enough labourers with the right skills

who are willing to work for less than union wages.

Why not simply go through the unions?

There are maybe three contractors in the city

who can afford to use unions.

The rest of us get the small time jobs, the crumbs.

I finally found a way to get the city's foot off my neck,

and this happens.

It seems to me you were looking to prove a point

- by securing this contract. - I was looking to level the playing field.

If I make a little money along the way, all the better.

Besides, these men get a chance to feed their families.

Is that so wrong?

Do you know where Mr McBride went after he left here?

Probably over to Carlton where the Greeks live.

He left with the addresses, like I said.

- And what did you do at that time? - Me?

I was right here,

trying to figure out a way to dig myself out of this mess.

Alright, next.

Next.

Retrace Mr McBride's steps after he left Mr Palmer's office.

There's a good chance he went to the Greek part of town

immediately afterwards.

- Sir. - If Palmer's telling the truth,

McBride was very much alive when he left his office.

Heading off to the land of fish and phyllo, are you?

You'll be able to practice more of that Greek

that you picked up yesterday. You almost had it.

I'll see if Miss Hart has completed her post-mortem.

I'll join you.

I believe it's filo, sir. Fish and filo.

Ah, Detective, I'm afraid I'll be needing that.

The philosopher's tongue.

Now, do you have a special interest in Hellenic

- or all Indo-European languages? - What?

No. Watts, have you not noticed our cells are full of Greek men?

Actually I was speaking to a few of them earlier

and they were quite distraught.

This whole concept of borders has always been puzzling to me.

Wait, you speak Greek?

- A few simple phrases. - Well, that's wonderful.

I have to go down to Greektown right now for the McBride case.

Maybe you'd come with me?

I suppose I could provide some assistance.

Have you eaten?

Eaten?

The blow crushed his skull, killing him instantly.

The fragmentation indicates a heavy object was used,

with at least two sharp corners.

And the bruising on his face?

Consistent with being punched.

So he most likely fought with his attacker.

The wounds on his hands would suggest a struggle,

but it is difficult to determine whether they were sustained

before or during the murder.

Must have been during.

He was fine when he came to the Station.

And the time of death?

Just a few hours before he was found,

at most. He hadn't been there very long.

So a rough timeline would have him leaving Palmer's,

going to Greektown, and then to wherever he was murdered.

- We'll know more once George gets back. - Why wait?

We can handle the Athenians ourselves.

- Come on. Miss Hart. - Miss Hart.

Are you eating again?

A minute ago you were face and eyes into a souvlaki.

Yes, but this is dessert. Baklava.

- Would you care for a nibble? - No.

We're supposed to be finding out where McBride went.

Nobody will talk to me.

Right. Well, he was here for a while

to make arrests but then left to go to the hospital.