Dalgliesh

Sorry, they just told me you wanted someone else.

Message didn't reach me in time.

Nothing personal.

So you think this is connected to Dr Lorrimer's death?

I know it is.

No.

That's Foley's friend.

Off the record, what would your first impressions be?

Well, they'll be the same as yours, I expect.

Dead for several hours...

...no sign of manual throttling,

but it could be there under the cord.

The stool is where I expect it to be.

If it were murder, someone would've come up behind her

and throttled her into unconsciousness,

then strung her up.

I've never seen it before, but...

if you asked me now, I'd say suicide.

There's someone coming from Ipswich. Won't be long. Thank you.

Sir.

I thought it was gonna be Brenda.

They said she was missing.

She fainted after she discovered the body last night.

Poor Ms Foley.

I-Is someone with her?

Yes, you didn't tell me about this place.

Well, why would I have done?

It was pointed out to me on my first tour of the grounds,

but... no-one's used it in decades, as far as I know.

But they have...

haven't they, Miss Howarth?

Yes. This is where we used to meet.

The scientist and I.

Marginally more comfortable than the back seat of a car.

And you used the hymn board to arrange your assignations?

Assignations?

Yes.

17th February at 6:40.

Yes, I suppose that was our last meeting.

It was his idea. I thought it was a touch over the top at first,

but actually, it worked rather well.

I'd set the times and he'd always be here waiting in the candlelight.

All intense, like a biblical prophet.

Did anyone else know you came here?

No. And did you ever get the sense of being seen? Or watched?

Well, I rather wish I had.

They've picked up DI Doyle, sir.

Asleep in his car, side of the road, heading north. He's at the station.

Why was a car registered to your wife parked under trees

outside Hoggarts Laboratory on Tuesday night?

The night Edmund Lorrimer died?

Who says it was Tuesday night?

Could have been any time on Tuesday, or Monday.

It didn't rain on Monday night. We have a witness. What witness?

Were you behind the wheel, or was your wife?

Or should I ask her?

I was. I'd been driving the Cortina all day,

because the clutch has gone in mine.

I was with someone.

A woman.

It's not something I do very often.

The wife and I have been going through a rough patch.

She's taken herself off to her mother's in Yorkshire.

On Tuesday night, I couldn't bear going home to an empty house, so...

Jane Ashton, WPC Jane Ashton. She works here in the office.

We drove to the trees outside the lab,

it was the nearest sheltered spot.

Go easy on her, OK?

What time did you park outside the lab? Around nine.

We were there for 20, 25 minutes.

I'm not as young as I used to be.

Were there any lights on inside?

No, I wouldn't have stayed if there had been.

I actually remember thinking,

"Even that pedantic old bastard Lorrimer's gone home."

Did you see anyone enter or exit the lab? No-one.

But I was busy.

OK, look.

I know I should have told you this. I'm sorry.

But look at it from my point of view.

Some big shot gets sent over from the Yard

and I have to tell him that I was at a murder scene, getting my oats?

You KNOW I didn't kill Lorrimer.

I don't know that yet. If I had've killed him,

I wouldn't have left a mallet at the scene.

Which is what you would want me to think. You have no evidence.

You have no motive.

You're one of the few people Lorrimer would have admitted.

One of the few people with the opportunity to replace

the keys in his pocket on Wednesday morning. What?

Or you could have used the set which is kept here at the station.

No, no, no.

Where were you last night between the hours of six and nine?

Last night?

I-I was in the pub until late. The Carpenter's.

We'd charged the husband with the Clunch Pit Murders,

so we went for a few beers to celebrate.

You can ask any of the lads. What time did you arrive and leave?

I arrived around 5:30,

I left eight-ish, I went straight home.

And at what time did you decide to drive off on the road north

with a packed suitcase in the boot of your car?

I was going to see my wife, OK?

Surprise her.

I got myself into a lather, all right?

What can I tell you? When I drink, I get sentimental.

I went home, I packed a bag, I got in the car, I left at...

8:30.

And I quickly realised I was too pissed to drive, so...

I pulled off the road.

Next thing I know, Traffic are banging on the window.

Do you know someone called Stella Mawson?

No, why?

Your clothes and car are under forensic investigation.

I hope, for your sake, you've told me the truth.

I'm two years away from my pension.

Don't make any more of this than you have to?

Mrs Pridmore?

Doctor's just left.

He says she's OK, but don't stay long, please.

We won't.

Are you all right?

No, I'm not. It's a mess. Isn't it?

Two dead bodies, she's found out.

People round here, they don't forget.

And they're apt to be superstitious.

She'll be labelled bad luck.

And then there's that money.

The money Dr Lorrimer left for her?

How do we explain that to folk when they find out?

It's for the purposes of her education.

There's no reason for people to read something into that.

But they will.

I was sure there was someone behind me, coming for me.

And I kept thinking about Dr Lorrimer's face

on the floor of the lab, and how that was going to be me.

But you didn't actually see anyone, and no-one called out to you?

No, no. I could have been imagining it, but...

But then I thought about my bike tyres

and how weird it was that they were both punctured.

And I thought someone must have done it on purpose,

to make me take the shortcut. We looked into that.

A lorry full of grit shed its load

near the gates to the lab early yesterday morning.

And both your tyres have shards of grit in them.

Right, sorry.

It was a clever thought.

Earlier, you told me that you'd gone towards the chapel

because you saw some lights. Yes. And the door was open.

Did you... see anyone at all?

Near the chapel, or in the chapel?

No, there was no-one, sorry.

Did you recognise the woman who was hanging?

Yes.

I'd seen her before, a couple of months ago.

There was a concert in the village. She was there.

She was called Sarah, I think.

Did she kill herself?

We don't know yet.

Brenda, we need to ask you once again

about your relationship with Dr Lorrimer.

Is this because of the money?

Yes. Mum and Dad are furious about it.

They want me not to take it. But he never did anything.

He didn't fancy me, he wasn't like that.

He just liked me because... I was interested.

Other people didn't really get that.

I know he could be rude to people sometimes, angry,

but it was only because he was so busy and...

and he cared so much about his work.

Are you thinking of anyone in particular

when you say he could be rude to people?

No.

No, I just... I just mean... generally.

Mum and Dad don't want me to go back to the lab.

They want me to leave. Well, that's your choice.

You're 18, you can do whatever you want.

No, I can't.

I wanted to go to college, get some A-levels.

Maybe study forensics.

You're gonna catch him, are you? Whoever's doing this?

Cos she won't get any peace until you do.

I think Brenda will be fine, Mrs Pridmore.

She's intelligent and brave.

In my experience, people react differently

to the sort of thing she's been through.

Some people become excessively fearful,

and their world becomes small, limited.

Some people face up to their experiences,

find strengths they didn't know they had.

Move forwards...

...and embrace life.

I think that's what Brenda will do, if she's given the chance.

Is that right?

Well, she's my daughter, and you don't know her.

We tried, sir.

I don't like potential going to waste.

I grew up in this part of the world. Did you?

I know how insular some of the people can be.

Inevitable.