Episode 3

[somber piano music] Hello, I need an ambulance, please.

There's a woman, and I think she's dead.

32 Tulser Road.

They need to come right now.

[door thudding] [dramatic music] [train rattling] [Greg] Leave a message for Ellie or Greg.

[phone beeping] Leave a message for Ellie or Greg.

[phone beeping] Leave a message for Ellie or Greg.

I need you.

[doorbell rings] Frances is dead.

I know.

My name's Ellie Manning.

I was with Greg for 12 years.

And one day he left the house and he never came back.

He was found dead in a car with Milena.

Gwen's the name of my best friend and I pretended to be her so I could get a job in the office because I needed to find out why they were together in the car.

I think the person that planted this, they wanted me to think that Greg was involved with Milena.

And whoever that person is, they murdered my husband.

Say something.

-Frances is dead.

-I know.

Frances is dead and you've discovered a menu card.

A woman is dead and you've got a little piece of paper that proves nothing.

Jesus Christ, we slept together, Gwen, Ellie, whatever the fuck your name is.

I walked straight into your little honey trap, didn't I?

No, I promise it wasn't like that.

-It was-- -Oh, come on.

You pretended to be somebody else.

You lied to all of us.

You flirted with me.

I know I did, and I didn't mean it like that.

I was prepared for this to go somewhere.

How do you think your boy would feel, huh, about you shagging me?

I don't think you'd be best pleased, do you?

It's not all right to have sex with someone to see if they're a murder suspect.

-It wasn't like that.

-Stop lying to me!

For all you know I could be a murderer.

No, I don't think you are.

Frances was my friend.

She was a good person.

She never would've done any harm to anyone.

She was kind, she was sensitive, a little too bloody open for her own good, and now she's dead.

And you know the way I see it, if you hadn't have come knocking on her door, she'd still be alive.

[slow dramatic music] Are you going to go to the police?

No, I'll tell you what I'm going to do.

I'm going to give you a head start.

[door thudding] So this proves it, it proves Milena Livingstone and my husband never even met.

I want you to reopen the inquiry into the deaths.

You're a primary school teacher.

Yeah.

Yeah, well, this is all well and good this little craft project.

But none of it amounts to hard evidence, does it?

And in the meantime, I have the small matter of a murder to attend to, Mrs. Frances Shaw.

Yeah.

And here you are, a primary school teacher with a talent for art, and well, also a talent for role play it would seem, impersonating a stranger, winning the confidence of Mrs. Shaw, working for her under an assumed name.

Then coupled with that, on the day she dies you arrange to meet Mrs. Shaw after hours.

You find the body, excuse quotation marks.

Just don't want to make any assumptions.

You tamper with the body.

[slow dramatic music] -[Ellie groaning] -Then odder still, -you abandoned the crime scene.

-No, I called for an ambulance.

Yeah, we found your mobile phone discarded nearby, by the way.

Again, odd.

You go home, you shower, you wash the clothes you were wearing at the scene.

Thereby destroying any evidence.

Well, if I were looking for a prime suspect, I think I might think I just hit the jackpot.

What are you saying?

You need to speak to her husband.

Frances had just told him that she was having an affair, and he was furious.

You need to speak to David Shaw.

That's who you need to speak to.

You fancy yourself as a little bit of a Miss Marple, don't you?

My husband and Milena Livingstone died in a car crash under circumstances that have not yet been explained.

They have been explained.

P.C.

Wootten furnished me with the coroner's report.

And then Milena's business partner was murdered.

Can you not see there's a connection?

Surely you must see that.

Look, I know that what I've... what I've done seems a little bit odd-- Odd, yes.

Unstable, even.

I have heard enough of this.

I want you to investigate it.

Investigate, right.

Is that what you've been doing?

You know, I could charge you with wasting police time, obstructing an investigation, tampering with criminal evidence.

You could get six months right now for dicking us around, you know that?

Am I under arrest?

Luckily for you, I have a soft spot for primary school teachers.

Miss Jenkins.

I was seven years old, and she smelt like strawberries.

Can I go then?

I've told you the truth.

I've told you everything I know.

I just want to go.

All right, thank you, Mrs. Manning.

We'll be in touch, yeah?

Barnaby?

Barnaby, boy?

[clatters cans] Where are you?

Barnaby?

Barnaby?

-I want to talk to you.

-[gasps] [dogs barking] It's me, Ellie.

God, you scared the life out of me.

Gwen's here.

She's had the police around her house grilling her about her involvement in a company called Simply Milena.

I looked like a bloody idiot.

I'm sorry.

I've been your best friend for 15 years.

I tell you everything that's going on in my life.

I just don't get it.

We're all here for you.

We have been from day one.

We'd do anything for you.

I know.

I know you're upset.

I know how hard this is for you.

But what you've been doing is insane.

And where's it got you?

Nowhere.

Greg's still dead.

And now someone else, this woman's dead.

You didn't have anything to do with this woman dying, did you, Ellie?

I don't know.

I mean, I don't know if what I did made someone...

I don't know.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.

I'm so very tired.

I don't care if you're tired.

You've got to drop this right now, do you hear me?

You'll drive yourself mad, and all the rest of us too.

Look what you're doing to yourself.

You're falling apart.

All right, Joe.

We miss Greg.

But we miss you even more, the old Ellie.

We want her back.

I don't know who she is anymore.

Oh, yes, you do.

You do.

I've spoken to the school.

You're going back to school on Monday.

You need to start living a normal life, routine.

It's the only thing that can move you forward now.

We've had enough of this, okay?

You've got to pull yourself together.

Okay.

Good girl.

You're not giving up on me, are you?

You are, aren't you?

So G can have two sounds.

It can be a soft sound, "juh" for "giant" or "gymnastics."

Juh-juh-juh-juh-juh.

Say that.

[children] Juh-juh-juh-juh-juh.

And it can also have a harder sound, "guh" for "going."

Guh-guh-guh-guh-guh-guh.

Going, going, gone.

[door thudding] Life's pretty simple when you're five, isn't it?

Mum, dad, house, cat.

My mum's dead, my dad's dead, my husband is dead, and now my cat's missing.

I don't think my picture would fit on that wall somehow.

I don't know.

Schools are very inclusive these days.

I've been, uh, looking into your husband's death.

You have?

Oh, thank you.

That's... thank you.

Did you have an argument with him on the day of his death?

No.

We have records of a text he sent to you that day.

Um, "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.

I'm a stupid fool."

Fergus Connor, a computer programmer, he was at your husband's accountancy firm that day.

You've spoken to Fergus?

Yeah, he was ironing out some problems with the software on your husband's computer.

He confirmed that he heard the argument.

And how does he know Greg was speaking to me?

Your husband told him as much.

They were good friends, were they not?

Fergus is wrong.

We didn't argue.

He'd promised he'd come home early, because I was cooking a special meal, and, um, then he called to say that he was gonna be late.

[Greg] Something's come up and I've got to deal with it today.

I shouted at him.

Oh, no, Greg, please don't say that.

You promised.

And you told him not to bother coming home.

Mrs. Manning, did you tell him not to bother coming home?

Yes, but I didn't mean it like that.

I mean, don't you think I tortured myself about that?

I should have said, "Come home immediately."

I should have said, "You come home now."

But we didn't argue.

I can't believe Fergus would say that.

So, what time did you finish school that day, the day your husband died?

3:15, same as always.

And then I got home 4:30, 5:00.

And your husband died at approximately 7:35 p.m. What were you doing at that time?

Um, like I said, I was cooking a meal.

Well, can anyone verify that?

And did you speak to anyone during that time?

No.

So you've never been to Portend Way, the scene of the crash?

No.

Actually, yeah.

I went there the day before Greg's funeral.

I wanted to see where he'd died.

Actually I wanted to see the last place he was alive.

-Did you go on your own?

-Yeah.

And what time of day was that?

Three, four in the morning.

So you went out on your own in the middle of the night to Portend Way?

Yeah, it was the night before my husband was cremated.

I wasn't thinking straight.

Mm.

Oh, my God, you think I had something to do with my husband's death?

Then there's Mrs. Shaw's death.

We found prints on the handle to the bathroom where Mrs. Shaw's body was found.

And there were people in and out all afternoon.

I wasn't even there in the afternoon.

The only prints on that handle are yours.

I didn't kill Frances.

What if your husband was sleeping with Mrs. Shaw too?

This is ridiculous.

Why would I ask you to reopen the inquiry if I'd-- If I'd-- If I'd killed them?

Well, that would depend on your mental state.

[indistinct chattering] Sorry, I couldn't face the tram.

I think he's trying to intimidate you.

This is out-and-out bullying.

-I'll contact my lawyer.

-No.

I mean, of course you're gonna want to visit the place your husband died.

It's completely natural.

What the hell are the police playing at?

I don't blame him.

Maybe I deserved it.

You and Gwen were right.

I don't know who I am without Greg.

I'm sorry.

It's just so unfair.

Greg was such a-- Such a prince.

I'm sorry.

Just hits you sometimes, doesn't it?

It's all right.

Come on, get you home.

-She smells so new.

-[baby cooing] Your Uncle Greg would have loved you.

So can we have a message for Ruby from her godmother?

[camera beeping] Never regret loving someone, Ruby.

Even if it ends badly.

Loving someone with all your heart can only be a good thing.

[camera beeping] There we go.

[baby vocalizing] [slow music] [Gwen] You okay, love?

Barnaby hasn't come home for five days.

[Gwen] Oh, cats are like that.

He'll show up.

We could put posters up if you're worried.

I think the police are gonna arrest me.

For what?

Murder.

What are you talking about?

Why don't you tell her, Fergus?

He told the police that me and Greg were arguing the day he died.

What?

You've turned me into a suspect.

-Fergus.

-No.

No, I told them that I heard Greg arguing.

I assumed it was with you.

I've got to tell them the truth.

You didn't even tell me that you saw him that day.

I'm sure I did.

No, you didn't.

Well, I... Look, I popped in for, to sort his computer for about half an hour, and then-- Fergus, you should have told us.

Don't you think I'd have wanted to know everything about that day?

His mood, the last thing he said?

You were the last person to see him alive.

Look, there is absolutely nothing sinister about this.

It was just a normal day.

I mean, I was at work.

And so was he.

He told me that he'd given up drinking bottled water and was only drinking water from the tap, and we had a laugh, because it tasted like shit.

I fixed his computer, I heard him arg-- Talk to you, and then we arranged to go running the next morning.

That was it.

Honestly, Ellie, look, I'm not trying to shaft you.

I'm not exactly on top of things at the moment.

I've become a dad at the same time as me best friend has died.

I mean, me head's all over the place.

She's almost asleep, Fergus.

I'm gonna try and put her down.

All right, well, yeah.

Come on, I'll help you.

[Ellie] I don't know who to trust anymore.

You can trust me.

Ellie.

Ellie, look at me.

You know, if I was found dead, it would look like I'd killed myself, wouldn't it?

No, don't, don't talk like this.

It would though, wouldn't it?

The police would think I was guilty, and they'd be able to close all three cases at the same time.

You just remember that I said that.

If anything happens to me, you remember that I said that.

[dogs barking] [slow dramatic music] [screams] I never wished anyone dead my whole life.

What do you want?

I want my wife back.

I've made a lot of money in my life.

But none of it was anything compared to her.

I didn't care about the kids thing.

I only wanted her to be happy.

Why did you sleep with Milena then?

I slept with Milena because Frances didn't love me anymore.

Because my Frances stopped loving me.

I slept with Milena because life is disappointing and nothing ever ends up the way you plan it, however hard you try.

And you know, Milena, she didn't give a shit about me.

She was doing it to get back at Frances.

And now Frances is dead.

They're both dead.

I'm sorry.

I liked Frances very much.

You're sorry?

You stupid little bitch.

My instincts were right about you.

I should have thrown you out of that office the minute I saw you.

Six hours they questioned me, the police.

Because of you and your pointing finger.

Six hours when I should have been with my poor dead wife asking her for forgiveness.

I don't know who your husband was, but I pity him, poor bugger, being married to you.

I want you to go now.

I didn't kill my wife, do you hear me?

Do you hear me?

You have to go now, or I'll call the police.

[laughs] Call them.

The police are my friends.

Call Ramsay.

He released me without charge.

The night my wife died, you see, I went to the dogs.

I was at the greyhound track, and there's CCTV footage to prove it.

I went to the fucking dogs.

So the only person that leaves is you.

And they're coming for you.

Believe me.

They're coming for you.

[Ellie] Barnaby.

-Barnaby.

-[doorbell ringing] -[door knocking] -[doorbell ringing] We've, uh, got a search warrant.

What are you doing with that?

Please don't take that.

I need that.

It's just procedure.

It's a child's toy.

What do you think I did, clubbed him to death with a rocking horse?

We, um, spoke to Mrs. Marian Styles, your counselor.

How did you know I was seeing her?

She said you described having episodes in which you still saw your dead husband.

Is that true?

That is supposed to be confidential.

Do you still see your dead husband?

[slow music] And you said to Mrs. Styles that your dead husband was urging you to put yourself in dangerous situations, to act on his behalf even.

She was very struck by that.

You see how hard it is for me right now?

-[dogs barking] -[birds chirping] Talk to me.

Ellie.

They killed you.

And I think they killed my cat.

I'm going to prison.

I don't think I killed you, but maybe I've forgotten.

Ellie.

I'm doing the recycling like you told me to.

I want to die.

I want to be with you.

Come with me.

Shh.

Just need to sleep, yeah?

Be better after some sleep.

[doorbell ringing] No, please, please.

I have something for you.

"Dear Mr. Manning, "You don't know me, but I need to talk to you "as a matter of urgency about some irregularities "in the account of Mrs. Marjorie Sutton.

Yours, Milena Livingstone."

You're not the only one to play detective.

It was among her emails at home.

The only place I found your husband, in fact.

And I looked, believe me.

Milena sent it to Greg at 7:15 in the morning on the day they both died.

That's why they met.

Why would you do this for me?

David told me you were under a lot of pressure.

Actually, you've always struck me as a good person.

Besides, I owe it to my wife.

Thank you.

-How you doing?

-I'm doing much better, thanks.

Um, I'm writing thank you cards to everyone who came to the funeral.

Can you give me Marjorie Sutton's address?

Sure.

Well, I'm actually pretty busy, Ellie.

Please.

I thought you'd given me up for Lent.

Well, I tried my best to get some new friends, but...

I bet none of them would hold your hair out your face while you were sick down the toilet from too many rum and Cokes.

Lightweights.

I'm going away for a few days.

I think I need to.

Oh, that's a great idea.

Do you want some company?

No, I'm gonna go see my cousin.

Good idea.

Yeah, well, I'm up to my eyes at the moment anyway, so... Can I borrow your car?

Knew there'd be a catch.

Thank you.

-[car engine rumbling] -[bird squawking] It's ridiculously big for me, of course.

But I have help.

And the fact is I'm very sentimentally attached to it.

It's the home I shared with my husband.

You know, I feel him here still, his energy.

I stand on the landing sometimes and suddenly all the hairs on my arm stand up.

I hear him, shouting up at me, "I'm home, darling."

Is that a mad thing to say?

No, I know exactly what you mean.

I can't think what this would mean.

I don't know this woman.

I've never heard of her.

Have you had any problems with your accounts?

Well, no.

I mean, I have various savings accounts.

I'm really not sure I should be divulging all this information.

I should speak to my accountant.

But Greg was your accountant.

Well, Gregory used to deal with me sometimes.

What, he wasn't your principal accountant?

No.

My husband always dealt with Mr. Lipton.

Joe?

I am so sorry.

Joe looked after you?

There's nothing wrong with my accounts.

Nothing whatsoever.

No, I'm sure there's not.

Mr. Lipton is the senior partner.

He's been handling our affairs for the past 15 years.

My husband chose him.

I trust him implicitly.

Besides, we're in the middle of a recession.

Of course there's been a fluctuation in our stocks and shares.

Mr. Lipton told you that?

He said there was nothing to worry about, and things would right themselves eventually.

I get very tired, you know?

I'm on pills.

When's the last time you talked to Mr. Lipton?

You have no right to ask me these things.

I have angina, and I shouldn't be upset like this.

I'm going to have to ask you to leave now.

I'm sorry, I really did not, I didn't mean to worry you.

If there was anything wrong, Mr. Lipton would have told me.

Joseph would have told me.

[Joe] Go on, jab.

Go on, jab.

Hit him!

Ow!

Don't you start as well.

[boy] Smash it!

Ellie, Ellie, help me.

I'm on the ropes here.

[boy] Smash it!

Alison said I could come through.

-Hi, Ellie.

-Hiya.

Yeah, of course.

I need to go to the police again.

It's becoming a habit with you.

I was wondering if you could come with me.

Okey-doke, I'll get me coat.

Mummy will give you your tea, boys.

I would have driven.

-Is this Gwen's car?

-Yeah.

Mine got totaled, remember?

You got to learn to laugh about it, haven't you, Joe?

Yeah.

This isn't the way.

Bear with me.

Okay.

Okay, Ellie.

You know I'm your friend, but I've got to be straight with you now.

You've stopped making sense.

I had a client on the phone half an hour ago, a nice old lady with a weak heart saying you harassed her.

What's happened to you?

It's not right, sweetheart, and I'm not the only one who thinks it.

Gwen's talking about putting you on antidepressant drugs, and Fergus thinks you're crazy.

But not me.

I'm the one who's kept the faith with you all this time.

Me.

I've been your strongest ally.

I've stood up for you.

Don't you realize how hard that's been for me?

But you're pushing it now, Ellie.

I'm under a lot of pressure here, and you're at me all the time, driving me nuts.

I love you, sweetheart, but I can't keep faith with you any longer.

Do you understand?

Do I have to spell it out for you?

Greg is dead.

It was an accident.

It's over.

You got to try and get ahold of this now.

It was just an accident.

Even if it were true, no one's interested.

No one's listening to you.

They all think you're mad.

Even if what were true, Joe?

Portend Way.

[Joe] Why have you brought me here?

Do you know this place, Joe?

What is this?

What are you doing?

How does it make you feel to be here?

[birds squawking] You were like a brother to him.

It was always, "Joe this, Joe that, "Joe makes me laugh, Joe watches my back."

He loved you.

My life's over.

I should have died in that car with Greg.

You can section me.

You can do what you want, because I don't care.

Got no fight left in me.

But I want the truth.

Did you love Milena?

There was a wildness in her that I recognized.

It was some restaurant opening in town.

That's where we met.

It was like there was no one else there, just me and her.

You can spare me the love story.

Oh, it wasn't love.

I know that.

Milena lost her charm very quickly.

So I ended it.

At least I tried to.

She was very hard to shake off.

So you took up with Frances.

Frances was full of light.

She listened to me.

I felt calm when I was with her.

I felt loved.

She loved you too.

She told me that.

I could have loved her too, in different circumstances.

If you didn't have a wife and two children?

Alison can be very unforgiving.

Life is black and white to her.

But I love my kids.

I could never lose my kids.

I don't know.

I really thought I could make it work.

I thought I could hold all the different balls in the air.

I was trying so hard.

But everything was falling apart.

Ellie, I couldn't stop it.

Problem was I told her too much.

Milena.

I'd confided in her.

About the business, about Alison.

She was gonna bring me down.

Don't you know we're the same, you and me?

I stood to lose everything.

My kids, my home, my business.

I've told your colleague.

He knows what you've been doing.

And more than that, I was gonna lose myself, the person I'd become.

All the years of grafting, of pulling myself up, pretending it didn't matter where I came from.

Alison and the kids.

Do you want me to get to the kids as well?

You're a bastard, Joe!

All I had was my bare hands.

Her screaming face and my bare hands.

Get off me!

Get off!

You don't frighten me!

[hand slapping] The first hit felt so good, knocking the words out of her mouth.

-[fist thudding] -[Milena yelping] What about Greg?

Did killing him feel good?

How can you say that?

I loved Greg, you know that.

I want to know how.

I want to know every detail, the look on his face, the last thing he said.

I want to know everything.

He didn't suffer.

How do you know?

How can you say that?

It was over in an instant.

He called.

He wanted to meet me.

What did he say?

He asked me who Milena was.

He asked about Mrs. Sutton's account.

I've sorted it.

There's paperwork in the back.

Grab it for us, will you?

That was it, I'm afraid.

No sentimental last words.

Joe.

-Did he struggle?

-No.

No, my aim was good.

He was strong and fit.

He could have outrun you in a heartbeat.

He didn't struggle.

He didn't run.

Because he didn't see it coming.

[Ellie] Did he know?

-Hey, it's okay.

-[Joe] Did he know what?

That he was gonna die?

And it was all over for him and for me and our hopes of a future and children and our life together?

Was he scared?

Did he beg you to stop, did he?

Tell me!

Did he know?

Did he even have an instant of knowing?

Hey, hey, it's okay.

It's okay.

We can sort this out.

Joe.

I'm sorry, mate.

[dramatic music] He had no idea.

His back was turned to me.

I promise you.

Don't you touch me!

Don't you touch me!

I didn't want to kill him.

You didn't want to get caught.

Don't pretend you cared.

You didn't, you didn't care all this time.

You've been pretending.

And what about that email?

When did you delete that?

Was that before or was it after you offered to call his parents to tell them that their son was dead?

Leave it, Ellie.

And what about the menu card?

That drove me mad.

What did you do?

Did you plant that there, and was I just too stupid not to find it?

And Frances.

She didn't need to die.

If you hadn't pushed it, she'd still be alive.

Three murders, just like that.

And it's me next, isn't it?

No, I understand.

But I'm not scared.

And I wouldn't give you the satisfaction.

Ellie.

[tires squealing] [glass smashing] [inaudible] [monitors beeping] Ellie.

Ellie.

Ellie.

It's okay, love, it's okay.

You're in hospital.

There was a car crash.

But you're okay.

Joe?

Now, go on, you need to rest.

Close your eyes, close your eyes.

It must be hard for you as a teacher, eh?

Having to learn everything all over again.

Well, you know me, Inspector.

I'm a very determined person.

Tell me something I didn't know.

Thank you.

Have you managed to piece it all together yet?

Now, if I was your teacher and you were me, would you put up with that sort of cheek?

Now, we've spoken to Hugo Livingstone and Mrs. Sutton.

You won't be surprised to hear she's not the only client of Lipton and Co. with financial worries at the moment.

Administrators are sorting through the mess.

And rest assured the files on all three murders have been well and truly opened.

All we need from you now is a statement about the crash in which Mr. Lipton died.

-Right, well-- -Ah, ah, ah.

It will go something like this.

You had your suspicions of Mr. Lipton, there was some sort of struggle at the wheel.

He may even have reached his foot over, slammed it on the accelerator, and you crashed accidentally.

I really don't have time for another murder inquiry, you see?

The thing is, Inspector, the, um, accident...

I don't remember any of it.

That'll do.

Well, go on.

Keep going.

No slacking, Mrs. Manning.

Those poor little children are depending on you.

Right.

One, two, three.

[phone beeping] [Greg] Hiya, sorry we're not in.

Leave a message for Ellie or Greg, and we'll call you back as soon as we can.

-[phone beeping] -Hiya, sorry we're not in.

Leave a message for Ellie or Greg, and we'll call you back as soon as we can.

-[phone beeping] -Hiya, sorry we're not in.

Leave a message for Ellie or Greg, and we'll call you back as soon as we can.

I'll always love you, Greg.

[phone beeping] [Woman] Your greeting has been deleted.

[sobbing] [floor rattling] You're back.

[cat meowing] You dirty stop-out cat.

Shall we get you some dinner, hmm?

Here.

You sure?

Do you want to say something?

I don't have to say anything.

He knows.

[sighs] Big Nutbrown Hare settled Little Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves.

He leaned over and kissed him good night.

Then he lay down close by and he whispered with a smile, "I love you right up to the moon and back."

[somber violin music]