My Life Is Murder

Deep breath.

Has this happened before?

I think I would have mentioned it.

- How are you feeling now? - Same.

Dizzy. My heart's thrashing around like a fish.

- Hmm. - You're frowning.

Are you frowning? Hard to tell with you sometimes.

Listen, don't take it the wrong way, but this is all your fault.

Oh, I'll try to take it the right way.

"Exercise," you said.

- "It'll make you feel better." - Your heart's in atrial fibrillation.

What does that mean?

It means we need to get it fixed immediately.

How?

Stand away from the bed, please.

50 joules.

Clear.

Hey, hey.

- Ah, here's the patient! - (CHUCKLES)

How are you feeling?

Disconcertingly normal.

Well, you're only 15 minutes late. That's better than normal.

Well, I've been advised to saunter casually

and not to worry about being punctual.

Never stopped you before.

I've also been told to avoid anxious situations.

- You're lucky I'm here at all. - I should buy a lottery ticket.

- Me too. - (CHUCKLES)

That a case?

A real friend would have bought flowers or a card or...

You want to sit down?

No, saunter casually with me. I've got to make a delivery.

- So, it went OK? - Oh, it's not for the faint-hearted.

Or, actually, yeah, it's totally for the faint-hearted!

- Hey. - Hello, hello.

- There you go, George. - Ah, brilliant.

Would have been even fresher, but I was waylaid.

I'll trade you bread for coffee.

Yeah, done. And one for my occasional mate.

- Is that a good idea? - Why wouldn't it be?

Yeah, Dad?

Coffee? Heart?

Don't pretend you know anything about atrial fibrillation.

Sorry, what?

She's had a near-death experience.

Looking good, considering...

Thank you, George. Yes. And that means I can have a double.

Same, thanks. Cheers.

So, the guy in here has had an actual death experience.

- I win. - Mm. Patrick Mandel.

A 44-year-old financial adviser.

His body was found in a grave at Oak Hill Cemetery,

only this grave was already occupied.

Mr and Mrs Kovacs wanted to be buried in the same grave,

only when they reopened the grave to drop the missus in,

- they found Patrick in there... - Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hang on.

...or what was left of him.

- Definitely murdered, huh? - Well, his head was stoved in.

- Yeah, that'd do it. - Mm-hm.

Nice shoes.

Yeah, he was a gambler.

We know he pawned a bit of stuff in the weeks before he died.

- He owed a lot of cash. - To whom?

Tomoslav Rifkin.

Yeah, doesn't seem like Tommy's thing.

He has people shot.

- Mm-hm. - What else have you got?

The victim owned a financial advice business...

...till his gambling ruined it.

He was dead about five months and three days,

give or take a few hours.

That is a very precise approximation, Inspector.

Well, there's a time line.

Patrick Mandel left a voicemail for his girlfriend

on the night of 19 December.

That's the last time he can be confirmed alive.

Next morning, his landlady saw that his place had been cleaned out.

And the grave that he was dropped into

was only dug for the first time on 22 December, three days later.

Found this in his pocket, along with his empty wallet.

- A tie clip? - Mm-hm.

- But no tie. - (LOUD WHIRRING)

Oh, God!

So, he was killed on the 19th,

but didn't go into the grave till the 22nd.

Or thereabouts.

So, where does a dead guy go for three days?

- Not Bali. - So, his place was cleaned out

to make it look like he'd done a runner.

- We never found his stuff. - Why?!

- Because... we don't know where it is. - No, why this guy?

God, hasn't he ever heard of a broom?

Jesus, mate!

Whoa! He's had a bad day, hasn't he?

What's she doing?

Oh, creating an anxious situation she's supposed to avoid.

- Has she always been like this? - Oh, no, no.

She's much more mellow these days.

Perfect, George.

What did you say?

Oh, you're the police commissioner, if anybody asks.

So, his girlfriend was the last person to hear from him?

- Last we know of. - And who is she when she's at home?

Well, when she's at work, she's a funeral director.

- Katrina Logan? - Yes.

Hi. I'm Alexa Crowe.

I'm helping the police investigate the death of Patrick Mandel.

Oh, have the police found something new?

No, nothing yet. I'm just following up.

What does 'following up' mean?

I'm a fresh pair of eyes.

I'd like to know how long

you and Patrick were seeing one another.

Um, about 2.5 years.

What's happening with the man that Patrick owed money to?

Well, right now, I'm more interested in

how much Patrick had to do with the funeral business.

Look, I've been over and over this,

and I have a family coming for a viewing in about 10 minutes.

How much more of this random interrogation

do I have to put up with?

Well, it's not random.

Your boyfriend was found in a grave and you run a funeral home.

Is that a coincidence?

Yes. Maybe. I don't know.

Do you think I killed him? Is that why you're here?

I'm just looking for the truth.

I can give you five minutes.

How long have you been running this place?

Well, it's been a family business for nearly 100 years.

I took over after my husband died.

That's where we store the decedents after cremation.

So many.

Well, we have to keep them for two years,

and some have been there a lot longer than that.

Unclaimed?

I understand you also kept the last voice message

that Patrick left on your phone.

(ON VOICEMAIL) Hey there. It's me.

Just letting you know the car's all fixed.

I picked it up this arvo. Hope you're having a good time.

Call me back. I'll be at home.

Did you talk to him right after this?

Half an hour later I was at a conference.

OK, no hint that he was worried about anything or...?

No, the opposite.

The last thing he said to me was that he loved me...

...and that I made him realise how beautiful and sweet life can be.

He... he was a gentleman. He was kind and he was loving.

And what happened to Patrick was horrible,

a person just tossed away.

And when you got back from the conference,

your car was...?

It was parked outside his place and the keys were inside,

and everything he owned was gone,

including his mother's beautiful old china teapot.

Well, he had gambling debts. You don't think he sold it?

No, he would never have done that. It was all he had left of her.

Did he ever talk to you about his gambling?

- Never. - Ask you for money?

Never.

When the police mentioned it, it was the first I'd heard of it.

Well, maybe you didn't know him quite as well as you thought.

Well, we're all ashamed of something.

What are you ashamed of, Katrina?

I thought he'd left me.

Then, when the police found him, I was relieved.

Mum, the Spencers are here for the viewing.

Oh, we can talk about this some other time.

Gabby, this is, um... Alexa.

- Hi. - Pleased to meet you.

Look, I've got work to do, but you're welcome to ask me questions.

Just shut the door behind you.

So, are you some sort of rent-a-sleuth?

Well, yes, minus the rent.

So, Patrick was a bit of a shape-shifter, huh?

I thought he was a pretty great guy.

Mum's second chance at happiness after Dad.

But, I'm not too keen on what's come out about his gambling.

Yeah, your mother may have dodged a bullet there.

Don't say that to her. She won't hear it.

So this grave that he was buried in...

We didn't handle any of those burials.

But can you think of anyone else who would have known

when it was first dug?

Whoever was at the cemetery and saw it.

Loads of people.

But not us. We didn't bury anyone at Oak Hill that day.

It's all in the statement I gave the cops.

That's Mrs Pang.

Heart attack.