C.B. Strike (2017–…): Season 3, Episode 3 - Lethal White: Part 3 - full transcript
The blackmail case turns into the investigation of a suspicious death.
The girl I saw killed...
She's in the dell
behind my dad's cottage.
There should still be people here.
For a buried child,
you'd dig up half the wood.
Chiswell couldn't have just
sent them away, though.
Jimmy, we want the same thing.
Aamir's taking care of it.
This programme
contains strong language.
What are you doing in here?
How was lovely Henry Drummond?
Oh, shut up, Izzy, for God's sake!
I'm not really in the mood.
Ooh!
Murderer!
What did that girl just say?
Why don't you shut up,
you stupid bitch?
You've been taking money
out of your own charity, Geraint.
That'll ruin you, if it gets out.
You and Della both.
Come and see me
at Ebury Street tomorrow, 10am.
I think I might have
another job for you.
If Chiswell finds me, he'll kill me.
Billy!
I need an ambulance.
MUSIC: I Walk Beside You
by Beth Rowley
# You and me
# Me and you
# Somehow we made it through
# I may be gone
# I may be far away
# But I walk beside you
# Every step of the way
# When you're used
# Bruised
# Black and blue
# Don't think about it
# Never doubt it
# I'll walk beside you. #
DOORBELL RINGS
It's open.
Are you OK? Er...yeah.
Where's Chiswell? He's, um...
How'd you get in?
The door wasn't shut properly.
Have you called the police?
Not yet.
He doesn't have a pulse, though,
I checked.
Got a spare pair of gloves?
Uh, yeah.
I'm going to have a quick
look around
in case anyone is still here.
Police, please.
My name's Cormoran Strike.
I've come to meet a government
minister and I've found him dead.
Can I give you the address?
231 Ebury Street, SW1...
"You've been stressed
and unpleasant for a long time,
"and I've tried to help you,
but tonight was the final straw.
"How stupid do you think I am,
"putting that girl from your office
right under my nose?
"I've had enough.
I've gone back to Oxfordshire.
"Once I've made arrangements for the
horses, I'll clear out for good."
The place is empty.
I think he's drunk something.
There's residue in the glass.
There's some crushed pills
in the kitchen.
Do you think he left the door open
so we'd find him?
He seemed happy last night.
We'd solved his biggest problem.
SIRENS APPROACH
I feel bad that Izzy's paying
our bill out of her own pocket.
It won't be for nothing.
She'll want to know what
the police are thinking.
Did you ask Wardle?
DCI McMurran called him.
He's not allowed to talk to me.
She's done the same with every
Met detective I've worked with.
I suppose a dead government minister
isn't a case you want to mess up.
PHONE DINGS
Billy's been moved
out of critical care.
Oh, good. Can we see him?
We can try.
We'll head there
when we're finished here.
Thanks.
That's Papa's last invoice,
paid in full.
It's appreciated. Thanks, Izzy.
The police still think
it might be suicide.
It's not true.
You see, Papa would never have
killed himself.
He always said
it was the coward's way out.
Kinvara murdered him.
Have you any evidence for that?
I just know she did!
I want to hire you to prove it.
We can't take a case on those terms.
Either you want the truth,
however it turns out,
or you look for a different agency.
SHE SCOFFS
I'm just trying to save you time,
seeing as I'll be
paying for your time. But...
Let me ask you a question, then.
OK. We heard the police were digging
on your family's estate.
Oh, my God, that.
That was so bizarre.
Yeah, they just swooped in
and dug up one of our old pets.
What kind of pet?
Oh, it was, like, erm...
..a miniature pony we had.
It was buried
behind the handyman's cottage.
The police wrote to Papa
and apologised.
How did the pony die? Do you know?
Erm, it was an accident.
What kind of accident?
SHE SIGHS
Freddie was doing target practice
with his rifle and...
Well...
Papa wasn't very happy, even if
he didn't mean to hit her.
You don't do that to an animal,
do you?
Look, will you help me?
Please?
Horse bones!
I suppose you might bury a pet
in the middle of the night
if you're in a hurry
to get rid of it.
Yeah, because you've used it
as target practice
when you've run out of women
to humiliate.
And his father protected him.
We don't know that.
Yeah, well, you didn't hear the way
that Chiswell talked to
Izzy and Kinvara.
They're not men,
so they just didn't matter to him.
Billy still saw a girl strangled,
though, didn't he?
I mean, if he was close enough
to see her wet herself,
he can't have been wrong about that.
Yeah, I still believe him.
So Billy's attacked,
Chiswell is dead,
and our new client pins it
all on the wicked stepmother.
I suppose this whole estate
belongs to Kinvara now.
Everyone, um, this is
Cormoran Strike.
I'm pleased to say that he's
agreed to look into Papa's death.
Erm, this is my sister Fizzy
and her husband Torquil.
Please. Hi, Raff.
Robin, is it? Do I have that right?
Izzy said you used to see
Charlotte Campbell, is that right?
Lucky man.
If we could start with a few
general questions...
I have to say,
with apologies to the girls,
but it's completely bloody obvious
the old man felt
he just couldn't go on.
Blackmailed by this
Jimmy Knight chap.
All got too much for him.
Oh, well you didn't
help in that regard.
Jasper took investment advice
from Torquil.
Almost ruined us.
Kinvara, we've been through that!
He wanted high returns and that
always comes with a risk.
And now it's your child
who'll inherit what's left!
Well, not until I'm dead.
I have the right to stay.
Jasper promised me.
Beyond Papa's personal effects,
you have no claim whatsoever.
The estate goes to the
next male in line.
No bastards allowed.
You'd need an income for the upkeep.
How would you even pay the bills?
Everyone, please...
Yes, let's focus on the real issues
while we have guests,
namely what a shit our dad could be.
You are only here by invitation.
Go on, get your notebook out.
We'll start listing the shittiest
things that Dad did...
That's enough, boy.
Don't call me boy.
Oh, little Raffy's upset cos
he got written out of the will.
I already knew that
you'd taken care of that.
Oh, Jasper needed no persuasion
from me. Trust me.
Please, can everyone...?
Welcome to the family.
SHE LAUGHS
This isn't a family... Keys!
How many keys are there
to the house on Ebury Street?
There were three.
Mine, Jasper's,
and the cleaner had one.
Jasper let her go
when we were tightening our belts.
She forgot to give it back.
When was that? Oh, I don't know.
A few weeks before he died.
What was her name?
I don't know.
I never met her. She was Polish,
I know that.
Jasper wrote her a note and she had
one of those surnames
where there are Cs and Zs
all over the place.
You don't know her first name?
Town was Jasper's concern.
I was hardly ever there.
Any copies of the keys? Nope.
And you can't copy them.
They're restricted.
On some kind of central register.
When was the last time
you spoke to your husband?
Uh, I went back to Ebury Street
after that thingy with
the disabled athletes.
And I....
Well, I... I left a note for him
and then I came back here.
Got the train from Paddington.
Look, he treated me horribly.
I am not to blame
for his...doing that.
It's all right, Kinvara.
I don't believe for a second
Papa would have killed himself
over you leaving him.
Can't you just borrow the police's
notes? We've done this.
Just answer his questions.
You treat me like a guest
in my own home!
Well, no! You're the guests.
I'm going for a ride and when I get
back, I want all of you gone.
You're no longer welcome here.
I'm sure our charming hostess means
to offer you tea at some point.
We're going to have to sue to get
her out of here, if it comes to it.
Please... Thank you for your time,
everyone.
We'll follow up with each of you
individually.
Sorry for your loss.
So long, Venetia. Bye, Raff.
Lovely bunch, aren't they?
I'm thinking it might have been
suicide after all.
He couldn't face another
family gathering.
SHE LAUGHS
Bloody hell, Cormoran,
that's a bit dark!
Do you want me
to drop you off at the office?
No, let's try and see Billy.
Whatever this is, it began with
the girl he saw strangled.
Billy can't have visitors.
Not until we're confident
that he's in recovery.
And are you sure that
all his wounds are self-inflicted?
No, but they're not typical
of an assault.
They're more like, well...
I don't know quite
how to describe it.
Is it something like, erm...?
Like that?
How did you...? Billy asked us
to remember this shape
when he first came to see us.
It's a prehistoric chalk horse.
There's one on the hillside
near where he grew up.
What does it mean to him?
That's what I'd like to ask him.
Could we just have five minutes?
We'll leave if he gets upset.
Sorry. We really can't.
He doesn't have the capacity
to approve visitors.
It wouldn't be ethical.
Is the ward secure? Well, he's not
going to run away again
if that's what you're worried about.
I was thinking about
people trying to get in.
He witnessed a crime.
We'll keep him safe.
Thank you.
SHE SIGHS
Our one lead can't talk to us.
The police won't let us
near the evidence.
Not sure where that leaves us.
I could talk to Vanessa Ekwensi.
She won't be on McMurran's radar
in the same way your contacts are.
It'd be a big ask, though.
She's a detective sergeant now,
isn't she? Mm.
Maybe ask her
if she's angling for a promotion.
Can we offer her that?
I think maybe we can.
Ian Nash. Really?
Who is he?
He's a people-smuggler.
We've been after him for ages.
That's the detail
on how he launders his money.
Names and addresses, the lot.
Who's your source?
Someone I've known
since I was a kid.
He knows what he's talking about.
And I paid him...a lot.
OK.
Chiswell's cause of death.
Antidepressants, crushed up
and dissolved in orange juice.
That affected his heart,
but it's the bag over his head
that killed him.
Fingerprints?
His fingerprints were on the glass
and on the carton,
but the rest of the carton tested
negative for the drugs,
which points to him
mixing up the powder in the glass.
Time of death?
Pathology gives it
a window of 6am to 8am,
but he missed two calls
around seven.
I have phone records for you.
Are the pills easy
to get hold of?
Well, they're ones his wife uses.
She had a prescription for them.
Is she missing any?
Well, she said
she had packets everywhere
and wouldn't notice
if some were missing.
Our client thinks it's murder.
What do you think?
Well, to get the bag over his head,
I think you'd at least have needed
to drug him first.
Poison the carton in the night
and then replace it with a fresh
one in the morning after he's dead.
Hm, he's a proper creature of habit.
Got up the same time every morning
and always had a glass
of orange juice to kick off.
Do the antidepressants taste
of anything? They're bitter.
Yeah, but Chiswell's taste buds
didn't work.
I saw him turn down mustard
cos he wouldn't be able to taste it.
That's two things
you'd have to know about him -
that he always drank
a glass of juice,
and that he wouldn't be able to
taste the pills.
That's someone close to him.
Family or close friend.
Kinvara - especially seeing as
they're her pills.
Yeah, but her alibi's watertight.
It's all on CCTV.
She took the train home to
Oxfordshire
and her stable-girl stays over to
help the farrier first thing.
Her name's Tegan Barlow.
Apparently the floorboards creak,
and Tegan would have definitely
heard if Kinvara moved about.
It's a solid alibi.
Izzy's not going to like that.
What about the alibis of those names
I gave you?
Well, Jimmy Knight got cautioned
after he hit you.
He said he went back
to his girlfriend's.
And Geraint Winn was home
with his wife
and an employee of theirs
called Aamir Mallik.
They had dinner and he stayed over.
He does that a lot, apparently.
Della Winn confirmed all that.
And the rest of the Chiswell family?
All checked out,
or they're home asleep alone.
Kinvara called them to break
the news when the police arrived,
and they were all home
when she rang.
Again, the mast records check out.
What time was that? 10.30.
And she had her key on her? Yep.
Did you find that Polish
cleaner of theirs?
She's vanished.
Guys, that's everything I've got.
You've rinsed me.
Thanks, Vanessa.
Yeah, thank you, Vanessa. We really
appreciate it. I'll see myself out.
See you soon.
She's great, isn't she? Hm.
Just looking at these 7am calls.
Henry Drummond.
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns.
Drummond's the one organising
the sale of their paintings.
Chiswell came back from his place
just before we went to that
athletics thing.
They must have had
an argument or something,
he came back in a horrible mood.
We'll talk to him. Hm.
So let's assume somebody
poisoned the carton.
Chiswell gets up and pours himself
a glass, like he always does.
Now, to make that
look like a suicide,
someone's got to get in afterward,
set up the crushed-up pills,
replace the drugged carton
with a fresh one,
do the fingerprints
and the rest of it.
Now, that's all easy
after he's dead.
You just need access.
But Kinvara's got her key on her
when the police come to
Chiswell House,
and the second one's
found on the minister.
The cleaner's got the
only other key.
This might be a long shot.
I heard Jimmy's girlfriend
speaking Polish.
And she was complaining that Jimmy
was making her scrub toilets.
Maybe she could use a friend
to talk to.
What do you think?
MUSIC: Palaces Of Montezuma
by Grinderman
# Psychedelic invocations
# Of Mata Hari at the station
# I give to you
# A Java princess of Hindu birth
# A woman of flesh
# A child of the Earth
# I give to you
# Well, I hang on to Babylon
# Miles Davis, the black unicorn
# I give to you... #
MUSIC CONTINUES IN SHOP
All right? I'm Becca.
At least you're on time.
My other girl,
every day she's got some new excuse.
I just don't need it!
Well, thanks for giving me a go.
What time is this? Tube was delayed.
Of course it was.
Er, no, there were some delays,
actually.
I tried to get here proper early.
I got stuck as well.
This is Bibi. Becca.
She's doing a trial day for me,
so show her how everything works.
Right, two things - shoplifters,
you go for them, no messing about.
Lunch is 20 minutes each,
and you take it separately.
Why do you want to work here?
Went round all the shops.
She said yes, so that were it.
I need work. I got sacked last week.
Don't tell her that.
Who by? Amazon. What happened?
Didn't make my daily rate.
You get targets for packing
and scanning.
You get behind,
they're straight onto you.
My dad would have been like,
"Well, what'd you expect?"
I dunno. Not a nightmare, is it?
I'll show you how the till works.
Thanks.
If Jimmy doesn't have a legal
responsibility for his brother,
I just don't see how...
Yeah. No, I understand.
Send Billy my best.
FOOTSTEPS APPROACH
Don't. No, it's good.
Who are you? Becca.
Needed a job.
Workers' rights activism
runs in the family.
Favourite band? The Cure,
but nothing after 1989.
Favourite album?
Head On The Door.
Favourite track on that album?
Push. Hands down, mate.
No contest.
And if someone puts it on,
I can sing along word for word.
You win.
Does Sam know that he might
bump into me got up like this?
I've put him on Dodgy Doc.
If we didn't have someone on that
case, we'd have lost the client.
How's your day been?
Just spoke to Billy's doctors.
Jimmy's invoked next-of-kin stuff
to make sure we can't see him.
And I called Izzy's sister
for a follow-up.
Raff's been in touch.
We're going to
go for dinner in a few days.
You're liking Raff, then?
What's all this?
I've put up
some time and date stuff,
mainly from Geraint
and Jimmy's file.
You know that text message on
Aamir's phone? In Geraint's office?
He was meeting someone on the 13th.
I think it was at 8pm.
He wasn't with Della and Geraint?
Oh... Who was he with?
I don't know,
I didn't see the number.
But they signed off CBB.
People who called Chiswell
the morning he died.
There's a CBB.
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns.
Who is he?
I'll start to find out.
Huh.
What are you doing this evening?
Ha! Revising, I suppose.
One band isn't really enough, is it?
It just makes me look obsessive
when I'm aiming for harmless
and not that smart.
SHE SIGHS
SHE SIGHS
Hello, stranger. Morning.
Have you got five minutes?
Stupid question, really.
I know you haven't,
but...all the same...
I'm sorry for saying I love you.
Christ, you don't have to apologise.
No, listen.
I wish I could take it back, but...
Well, these things happen.
Can we just go back to
how things were?
Hanging out, having fun.
I'm sorry.
This case has been...
I was going to call you.
Anyway. Yes, let's have dinner.
Tomorrow night?
OK.
Great.
Cheers!
That was easy.
HE LAUGHS SOFTLY
How's your day looking?
Got to go round someone's house
and call them a liar.
You?
Trying to sell more dresses.
You all right? Me? Yeah, why?
You just seem proper quiet.
I'm cool.
My boyfriend's being...
Oh, say no more, mate.
Were you thinking of dumping him?
No.
Jimmy and me,
our life is my whole life.
No, it's just that...
We've been through
some mental stuff.
We've been trying to prove that the
people who make our laws
are the ones doing the illegal shit,
but...
I think maybe it's having
a lawyer as a mum
that makes you super aware
of how things can go.
What's Jimmy got you doing?
I'm fine.
Don't worry about me. If Jimmy tries
to make trouble for me,
he'll find out I own my own shit.
God, I wish I had your balls.
I just get...freaked out
by everything.
I mean London's just proper hard,
though, isn't it?
Nobody talks to you.
Do you want to come out tomorrow?
I'm having a party.
Oh, I don't... No, you'll love it.
My mates are amazing.
Don't want to make a tit of myself.
You're cool.
I'll look after you.
Cool. Yeah.
SHOP BELL TINKLES
DOORBELL RINGS
Mr Mallik.
What do you want?
I'm Cormoran Strike.
I'm an investigator.
Jasper Chiswell's family hired me.
Can I come in?
I'm, um... I won't take up
much time.
It'd mean a lot to his family.
OK.
Don't let me
keep you from your lunch.
It can wait.
What's really good with cheese
and pickle
is those crunchy fried onions
things.
You can get them in tubs.
It was your partner who pretended to
be Chiswell's intern, wasn't it?
Spot on.
Could I have a glass of water,
please?
Mind if I take some notes?
I've not got anything to say.
Easier if I have it to hand
in case that changes.
So you think I had something to do
with Chiswell's death?
If you want to blurt out
a confession, feel free.
You'll save me a lot of work.
I'll tell you something I know and
maybe we can start from there.
You were helping Geraint Winn
blackmail Jasper Chiswell.
I wasn't.
So you never met up with
Jimmy Knight...for example?
Who's Jimmy Knight?
He's the brother of the man
you had staying here.
Billy?
Has a thing about horses?
It's a big place for one guy.
How much do the Winns help you out?
London's expensive, so...
Who's Mrs Collier?
That was Della's mum.
She died recently, so it was empty.
It's all legal.
This photo used to be
on the Foreign Office website.
They took you on as part
of a diversity scheme.
There you are with a man
they assigned your mentor.
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns -
CBB, as his friends call him.
Where were you at 6am on the 14th?
At the Winns' place. I stayed there.
With Geraint? And Della, yeah.
So you were all each other's alibi?
Well, if you want to call it that.
What made you leave
the Foreign Office, Aamir?
You keep going back and forth.
It's just...
I didn't enjoy it.
How did you meet the Winns?
I've had enough of this.
Your family disowned you
round about the time you left
the Foreign Office.
Isn't that right?
That was when the Winns found you.
Here you are graduating from LSE.
Your whole family there.
That was before they started with
the homophobic comments.
Out! Why are you lying to me
about where you were at 6am
on the 14th? Get out now.
You'd stayed the night with
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns.
HE GRUNTS
Don't.
Enough!
Are you going to butter me?
HE WHIMPERS
You try and hurt me again,
I'll snap it.
Stay down.
HE BREATHES HEAVILY
And when he came in,
guess who was sat on the sofa?
No! Yeah. No way! Oh, my Lord!
SHOP BELL TINKLES
What are you doing here?
I need to talk to you.
Can you mind the shop for a bit?
Uh, you know Caroline's hanging out
across the road?
Is she? Shit.
Well, I mean, I can be out front
if you want the stockroom.
I can say you're stock-taking
or something.
Who's this? My mate Becca.
Her dad's a trade unionist.
Well, he was a rep.
Right, come on, then.
Er, one second.
Can I just get a till roll?
And then it's all yours.
All yours.
You're a bad liar, Aamir, and you're
going to get sent to prison
if you don't start telling
the truth.
And you won't get to share a cell
with Della and Geraint either.
Leave her out of it. Please.
Della had nothing to do
with anything.
Don't you know what happens when an
MP gets caught lying to the police?
It's over for them.
HE SOBS
So one last time before I make
these calls and ruin her.
What were you doing
at 6am on the 14th?
At his flat. Whose? You know!
Say it.
Christopher's. Why where you there?
I was trying to get
something off his computer.
Some stuff Geraint wanted.
I swear Della had nothing
to do with it.
Where was Geraint? I don't know.
I met him later.
And Della lied to the police.
Yeah, but she only did that for me.
Please don't get her in trouble.
Why was Billy Knight staying here?
Jimmy needed somewhere to put him
where you wouldn't find him.
But he was fucking nuts.
We made Jimmy take him back.
Did you get the files
Geraint wanted?
Christopher caught me.
What were these files?
HE EXHALES
I was told to search
for the keyword "Murape".
I didn't get any further
than doing that.
Did Geraint ever tell you why
he was blackmailing Chiswell?
He blames the Chiswells
for his daughter's death.
He told you that?
Did you believe him?
I don't know why he'd lie.
They don't ever talk about her.
All right, Aamir.
Finish your sandwich.
I'll see you around.
Is the lavender oil cold pressed?
Very cold.
That's, er, 15 quid, please.
MUFFLED SHOUTING
We've run out of CBD oil.
Everyone's getting right shirty.
Thanks.
SHE SCOFFS
What's he done to you?
It's what I'm going to do to him
if he keeps on like this.
I can have him fucking put away,
and he knows it!
I'm fine.
SHE SNIFFLES
Hey. That's an interesting
new look.
Oh. It's work.
What's this?
Erm...
I tried to get a replacement,
but they're sold out.
So I just had that one
mended as best I could.
I'm sorry.
Thanks.
Nice of you to try.
I don't want you
sleeping in the spare room.
Will you come back?
I feel like your trying to punish me
for something.
That's not true!
Why do you want to be with me,
Matt?
Because you're my girl.
PHONE RINGS
Go on.
FLICK: Don't go through my bag!
I checked it.
JIMMY: I had it in my wallet.
So you dropped it somewhere.
Yeah, or someone took it.
Why would I take it?
Insurance policy?
Oh, my fucking God. What?!
I was only there because of you!
You've dropped it somewhere.
Go through your other wallet!
Get this through your head!
That note proves we had access.
It's got Billy's fucking name on it!
Someone just needs to see
Ebury Street on it
and remember that from the news
and then we're fucked!
Jimmy, I haven't got it!
So there's a note.
If he thinks she's hiding something
that would incriminate him,
maybe he's right.
Maybe she did take it.
I could see if I could find it.
She's invited me
to a party at her place.
You're going to search during
the party? I'd be subtle.
Jimmy doesn't think much of women.
He won't see me coming.
Be careful,
and let Vanessa Ekwenski
know what you're planning.
HE GROANS
I'm sorry. I'll call you tomorrow
and we'll get dinner organised
somewhere.
Well, if you're too
all over the place for dinner,
you could always come here.
We could have breakfast
in the morning.
Everyone loves breakfast.
Sounds good. I'll call you.
It's Cormoran Strike.
We spoke on the phone earlier.
Yes. Come in, then.
Mind if I turn a light on?
Just remember to turn them off
on your way out.
No sense in burning the planet
needlessly.
We have a Chateauneuf-du-Pape
2010 open.
Would you pour me a glass of that?
And pour one for yourself.
Thank you. Very kind.
Are you from the West Country?
I spent a lot of time in Cornwall.
I can hear it in your vowels.
No Geraint?
No. He's moved out.
We're getting divorced.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Thank you.
It'll be in the papers next week.
Do you know where he's gone?
No.
I know you lied to the police,
Mrs Winn.
Aamir wasn't here
the morning of Chiswell's death...
..he wasn't here having dinner
the previous evening
and he didn't stay the night.
I've spoken to Aamir. He admits it.
He was at pains to let me know
you hadn't done anything wrong,
apart from lying
about his alibi to the police.
Why did Geraint send Aamir to
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns?
To steal information.
I don't know what.
Does the word "Murape"
mean anything to you?
No.
Given it's the Foreign Office,
I thought it might be Samuel Murape.
He was a British teenager.
He went missing on his gap year
in Zimbabwe.
Ring any bells? No. Sorry.
Not my department.
Aamir could go to prison for this!
All because Geraint needs
someone to blame.
Blame for what?
We had a daughter. Rhiannon. Mm.
Geraint, he wanted her to make
friends with a wider circle.
He thought that way she'd mix with
people with connections.
He pushed her into things.
She wanted a pony, but we couldn't
afford it,
and so fencing, well,
that was his idea.
She was unhappy...
..but he promised her they'd come
to like her.
Only in the end...
Well, she killed herself.
Geraint, well, he's always blamed
the Chiswell family.
It's easier than blaming himself.
Aamir, well,
he's been like a son to us.
And Geraint, well,
he would have sacrificed him.
I won't ever forgive him.
ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
Hiya.
Hiya. Becca! You all right?
Yeah!
And I brought this.
Oh, you're so sweet.
Let's get you a drink.
Hope you're ready to get mushered!
Brooke! Yeah.
SHE LAUGHS
Hayley, what do you reckon
about my mate Becca
getting Laura's half of the room
once she...?
Ah, Shanice asked already.
She didn't ask me!
Do you want to tell her no?
Mate, I'm sorry.
It's all right. It's all right.
Jimmy's arrived.
In a bit.
MUSIC: Know Me
by Headie One, Fred Again
KNOCK ON DOOR
Oi, hurry up!
Becca, was it?
Yeah. What were your name again?
Jimmy.
Nice to meet you, Jimmy.
Sorry I'm a bit pissed.
What's your last name?
You what? Your last name.
Cunliffe.
Like, do you want to look at
my birth certificate?
I'm old enough to drink
if that's what you're worried about,
losing your licence.
Nah, it's cool.
We've had some problems with
the security service recently.
So we check the newbies out.
Oh, right.
It was nice meet you, Becca.
You too.
KNOCK ON DOOR
There's lots of hits for Cunliffe
and Yorkshire.
What's Becca short for?
Are you fucking kidding?
All right.
Let's assume Rebecca.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Oh, one second.
Won't be a minute!
The wedding of Miss Robin Ellacott
to Mr Matthew Cunliffe,
both from Masham.
Mr Cunliffe is a qualified
accountant.
Miss Ellacott has a somewhat
unorthodox employment,
being a partner at...
Jimmy, she's a fucking spy.
Hey. Don't be greedy!
Who the fuck is she, Flick?
What?
Hashtag Robin Ellacott,
Hashtag Robin Cunliffe.
Works for Strike!
What the fuck have you done?
Where the fuck is she?
Where's Becca?
I think she's in the loo.
Hey, what's up?
Open the fucking door!
Come on!
Move!
This is some deep-state shit.
Shut up, Digby.
What you going to do
when we find her, though, Jimmy?
I'll fucking kill her!
VANESSA: We've got two units on
their way to you now.
OK, great. Thanks, Vanessa.
Thanks. Bye.
Bitch!
You OK?
I'm Robin Ellacott.
Keep still, sir.
I called Vanessa Ekwensi.
He's Jimmy Knight.
We've arrived at the scene.
She's with us now.
Just lie still in case
you've injured your neck.
OK, we've got a male,
he's breathing and conscious.
Can we get LAS on scene?
Police! Coming through!
PEOPLE SHOUT
Police! Out of the way,
out of the way!
Hey.
You all right?
Uh, yeah. I'm fine.
How did you guess
where she'd hid it?
Just a hunch.
DCI McMurran rang this morning.
Have they been charged him?
Still being questioned.
They'll get an extension
to 36 hours.
She was really just ringing
to say thank you
in a roundabout way.
I said I'd pass it on.
It's definitely Chiswell's
handwriting.
Jimmy Knight's got an old Suzuki.
I've got a photo of him
driving Aamir.
I'm assuming Bill is Billy?
Jimmy obviously thinks it is.
Or Bill could be a bill.
What's "Blanc de Blanc"?
White from white?
Blanc de Blancs is a champagne
made from 100% Chardonnay grapes.
Something you learn at Oxford.
No, wait.
I've seen "Blanc de Blanc" before.
What are we looking at?
Matt's Instagram.
Where we went on our anniversary,
it's only an hour
from Chiswell House.
I'm sure I remember there being a...
FOOTSTEPS APPROACH
Nobody buzzed.
Hey! Someone let me in.
I thought it was my best chance
of actually seeing you.
Do you want to go through?
Here's fine.
I've called, I've texted.
You stood me up.
Are you sure we can't...?
You know, if you want a hot meal
and a shag with no human emotions
involved,
there are restaurants and brothels.
If you're not prepared to pay
for it, at least have the decency
to treat that person with
the minimum of respect.
A phone call to say
you won't be calling again.
Breaking up with someone
by telling them, not just hiding.
This is how it's done,
you fucking coward.
Face to face.
Yeah, Blanc de Blanc is
a room at that hotel.
That was a bit awkward.
SHE CLEARS HER THROAT
Well, she should really have
buzzed up first.
Not fair to take
someone by surprise like that.
I suppose living above your office,
though,
it's that work-life balance
people talk about, isn't it?
Ms Chiswell's happy for us
to share the records.
We have to keep it all in case
there are insurance claims.
So you have the room,
one registered guest,
Kinvara Chiswell.
Dinner for two and afternoon tea
taken in her room.
How about cars? Uh, yes. Um...
She registered a Mercedes
with reception.
Is that a list of all
the cars that day? Hmm.
Jimmy Knight's Suzuki.
I overheard Chiswell
on the phone to a hotel
asking for details about the bill.
Sounds like he thought
she was having an affair.
Wrote down everything he could piece
together about where she'd been.
That's the note that Flick
stole from Ebury Street.
Do you think Jimmy and Kinvara
are sleeping together?
Kinvara poisons the carton of juice
then heads back to Oxfordshire.
Jimmy lets himself in
using Flick's key
and stages a suicide after
Chiswell's dead.
It works, doesn't it?
I'll call DCI McMurran.
After we tell her what we've found,
she'll owe us a favour.
Yeah, so it's just a work thing.
So I'm going to be late.
All right, OK.
Well, will you want dinner?
No, no, no,
I'll get something with Tom.
We're going to be a while sorting
this shit-storm out.
Well, I'm back now, so I'll
probably just get an early night.
I'm completely done.
All right, well, I'll try not to
wake you when I come in.
OK.
Ow!
SHE GASPS
Hey. I thought you'd be asleep.
No. I'm awake.
Right.
Well, do you want a cup of tea
or...?
Are we going on a mini-break or...?
I'm leaving you.
Sorry? You heard me.
You want to leave me?
No, I AM leaving you.
Why?
Because you're sleeping with Sarah.
Robin, I... Oh, don't bother.
You're no good at it.
Let's just... Let's just sort out
some practical things,
and then I'm going. Whoa, Robin.
Hang on.
Are you being serious about this?
She's not stupid.
She pointed these out to me
at the party,
and then magically one
appears by the side of my bed.
I suppose you promised her
you'd tell me eventually?
Well, she got bored waiting.
Good for her.
Have you... Have you spoken to Tom?
Oh, Matt, are you anxious
about your prospects for promotion?
No, this is nothing to do with work!
I have, actually.
I have spoken to Tom.
You said you were eating with him
tonight.
Or have you forgotten what lies
you've told?
He said he wasn't with you.
Had no plans to see you.
HE SIGHS
I've just been ending it with Sarah.
That's where I've been.
SHE SCOFFS
PHONE RINGS
Don't answer it!
Hi, Cormoran.
Hey, DCI McMurran want to see us
at 9am, she thinks we're right.
Now's not the fucking time,
all right?
Sorry about that.
Is everything all right?
Yeah, it's fine.
I'll meet you there in the morning.
Just text me the address.
CALL ENDS
We're trying to save our marriage
and you're taking calls from him?
I'm not trying to save our marriage.
Well, I am! You know that everything
that happened with Sarah is...
Matthew! The problem is that I don't
care that you're cheating again.
I don't want to be with you
any more.
We should have split up
on honeymoon.
I mean, we shouldn't have
even got married.
I thought I owed you this
face to face.
How do you think your life
looks to other people?
You bailed out on uni,
now you're bailing out on us?
You're a flake.
You're a Peeping Tom for a living,
and you managed to get
sacked from that!
You know he's only taken you back
because you're cheap.
Thank you.
You've just made this really easy.
CAR HORN BEEPS
Let me past. No.
Matthew, get out of the way.
I'm not going to let you!
That is not your decision to make
and I'm not that person any more!
You're my wife!
I have a right to fight for this!
Listen, I'm not going to
let you fail!
Not with this one! We're going to
work it out together.
Will you please just sit down?
Robin, look at you. You're a mess.
You're shaking, you don't
want to be on your own. Trust me.
I have a taxi outside.
I'm leaving now.
You'll have to hurt me
to make me stay,
and then I'll get you done
for assault and you'll be ruined.
Robin, you won't do that.
WHISPERS: You won't do that.
I was falling out of love with you
at uni.
We'd have broken up then...
..but then I got attacked
and I just needed to feel safe...
..and you gave me that.
But it's not enough.
I don't love you.
The truth is, I'd have never married
you if I hadn't had been raped.
All set?
I'm...sorry.
I just...
I just left my husband.
Yeah?
I've left two.
Gets easier with practice.
She's in the dell
behind my dad's cottage.
There should still be people here.
For a buried child,
you'd dig up half the wood.
Chiswell couldn't have just
sent them away, though.
Jimmy, we want the same thing.
Aamir's taking care of it.
This programme
contains strong language.
What are you doing in here?
How was lovely Henry Drummond?
Oh, shut up, Izzy, for God's sake!
I'm not really in the mood.
Ooh!
Murderer!
What did that girl just say?
Why don't you shut up,
you stupid bitch?
You've been taking money
out of your own charity, Geraint.
That'll ruin you, if it gets out.
You and Della both.
Come and see me
at Ebury Street tomorrow, 10am.
I think I might have
another job for you.
If Chiswell finds me, he'll kill me.
Billy!
I need an ambulance.
MUSIC: I Walk Beside You
by Beth Rowley
# You and me
# Me and you
# Somehow we made it through
# I may be gone
# I may be far away
# But I walk beside you
# Every step of the way
# When you're used
# Bruised
# Black and blue
# Don't think about it
# Never doubt it
# I'll walk beside you. #
DOORBELL RINGS
It's open.
Are you OK? Er...yeah.
Where's Chiswell? He's, um...
How'd you get in?
The door wasn't shut properly.
Have you called the police?
Not yet.
He doesn't have a pulse, though,
I checked.
Got a spare pair of gloves?
Uh, yeah.
I'm going to have a quick
look around
in case anyone is still here.
Police, please.
My name's Cormoran Strike.
I've come to meet a government
minister and I've found him dead.
Can I give you the address?
231 Ebury Street, SW1...
"You've been stressed
and unpleasant for a long time,
"and I've tried to help you,
but tonight was the final straw.
"How stupid do you think I am,
"putting that girl from your office
right under my nose?
"I've had enough.
I've gone back to Oxfordshire.
"Once I've made arrangements for the
horses, I'll clear out for good."
The place is empty.
I think he's drunk something.
There's residue in the glass.
There's some crushed pills
in the kitchen.
Do you think he left the door open
so we'd find him?
He seemed happy last night.
We'd solved his biggest problem.
SIRENS APPROACH
I feel bad that Izzy's paying
our bill out of her own pocket.
It won't be for nothing.
She'll want to know what
the police are thinking.
Did you ask Wardle?
DCI McMurran called him.
He's not allowed to talk to me.
She's done the same with every
Met detective I've worked with.
I suppose a dead government minister
isn't a case you want to mess up.
PHONE DINGS
Billy's been moved
out of critical care.
Oh, good. Can we see him?
We can try.
We'll head there
when we're finished here.
Thanks.
That's Papa's last invoice,
paid in full.
It's appreciated. Thanks, Izzy.
The police still think
it might be suicide.
It's not true.
You see, Papa would never have
killed himself.
He always said
it was the coward's way out.
Kinvara murdered him.
Have you any evidence for that?
I just know she did!
I want to hire you to prove it.
We can't take a case on those terms.
Either you want the truth,
however it turns out,
or you look for a different agency.
SHE SCOFFS
I'm just trying to save you time,
seeing as I'll be
paying for your time. But...
Let me ask you a question, then.
OK. We heard the police were digging
on your family's estate.
Oh, my God, that.
That was so bizarre.
Yeah, they just swooped in
and dug up one of our old pets.
What kind of pet?
Oh, it was, like, erm...
..a miniature pony we had.
It was buried
behind the handyman's cottage.
The police wrote to Papa
and apologised.
How did the pony die? Do you know?
Erm, it was an accident.
What kind of accident?
SHE SIGHS
Freddie was doing target practice
with his rifle and...
Well...
Papa wasn't very happy, even if
he didn't mean to hit her.
You don't do that to an animal,
do you?
Look, will you help me?
Please?
Horse bones!
I suppose you might bury a pet
in the middle of the night
if you're in a hurry
to get rid of it.
Yeah, because you've used it
as target practice
when you've run out of women
to humiliate.
And his father protected him.
We don't know that.
Yeah, well, you didn't hear the way
that Chiswell talked to
Izzy and Kinvara.
They're not men,
so they just didn't matter to him.
Billy still saw a girl strangled,
though, didn't he?
I mean, if he was close enough
to see her wet herself,
he can't have been wrong about that.
Yeah, I still believe him.
So Billy's attacked,
Chiswell is dead,
and our new client pins it
all on the wicked stepmother.
I suppose this whole estate
belongs to Kinvara now.
Everyone, um, this is
Cormoran Strike.
I'm pleased to say that he's
agreed to look into Papa's death.
Erm, this is my sister Fizzy
and her husband Torquil.
Please. Hi, Raff.
Robin, is it? Do I have that right?
Izzy said you used to see
Charlotte Campbell, is that right?
Lucky man.
If we could start with a few
general questions...
I have to say,
with apologies to the girls,
but it's completely bloody obvious
the old man felt
he just couldn't go on.
Blackmailed by this
Jimmy Knight chap.
All got too much for him.
Oh, well you didn't
help in that regard.
Jasper took investment advice
from Torquil.
Almost ruined us.
Kinvara, we've been through that!
He wanted high returns and that
always comes with a risk.
And now it's your child
who'll inherit what's left!
Well, not until I'm dead.
I have the right to stay.
Jasper promised me.
Beyond Papa's personal effects,
you have no claim whatsoever.
The estate goes to the
next male in line.
No bastards allowed.
You'd need an income for the upkeep.
How would you even pay the bills?
Everyone, please...
Yes, let's focus on the real issues
while we have guests,
namely what a shit our dad could be.
You are only here by invitation.
Go on, get your notebook out.
We'll start listing the shittiest
things that Dad did...
That's enough, boy.
Don't call me boy.
Oh, little Raffy's upset cos
he got written out of the will.
I already knew that
you'd taken care of that.
Oh, Jasper needed no persuasion
from me. Trust me.
Please, can everyone...?
Welcome to the family.
SHE LAUGHS
This isn't a family... Keys!
How many keys are there
to the house on Ebury Street?
There were three.
Mine, Jasper's,
and the cleaner had one.
Jasper let her go
when we were tightening our belts.
She forgot to give it back.
When was that? Oh, I don't know.
A few weeks before he died.
What was her name?
I don't know.
I never met her. She was Polish,
I know that.
Jasper wrote her a note and she had
one of those surnames
where there are Cs and Zs
all over the place.
You don't know her first name?
Town was Jasper's concern.
I was hardly ever there.
Any copies of the keys? Nope.
And you can't copy them.
They're restricted.
On some kind of central register.
When was the last time
you spoke to your husband?
Uh, I went back to Ebury Street
after that thingy with
the disabled athletes.
And I....
Well, I... I left a note for him
and then I came back here.
Got the train from Paddington.
Look, he treated me horribly.
I am not to blame
for his...doing that.
It's all right, Kinvara.
I don't believe for a second
Papa would have killed himself
over you leaving him.
Can't you just borrow the police's
notes? We've done this.
Just answer his questions.
You treat me like a guest
in my own home!
Well, no! You're the guests.
I'm going for a ride and when I get
back, I want all of you gone.
You're no longer welcome here.
I'm sure our charming hostess means
to offer you tea at some point.
We're going to have to sue to get
her out of here, if it comes to it.
Please... Thank you for your time,
everyone.
We'll follow up with each of you
individually.
Sorry for your loss.
So long, Venetia. Bye, Raff.
Lovely bunch, aren't they?
I'm thinking it might have been
suicide after all.
He couldn't face another
family gathering.
SHE LAUGHS
Bloody hell, Cormoran,
that's a bit dark!
Do you want me
to drop you off at the office?
No, let's try and see Billy.
Whatever this is, it began with
the girl he saw strangled.
Billy can't have visitors.
Not until we're confident
that he's in recovery.
And are you sure that
all his wounds are self-inflicted?
No, but they're not typical
of an assault.
They're more like, well...
I don't know quite
how to describe it.
Is it something like, erm...?
Like that?
How did you...? Billy asked us
to remember this shape
when he first came to see us.
It's a prehistoric chalk horse.
There's one on the hillside
near where he grew up.
What does it mean to him?
That's what I'd like to ask him.
Could we just have five minutes?
We'll leave if he gets upset.
Sorry. We really can't.
He doesn't have the capacity
to approve visitors.
It wouldn't be ethical.
Is the ward secure? Well, he's not
going to run away again
if that's what you're worried about.
I was thinking about
people trying to get in.
He witnessed a crime.
We'll keep him safe.
Thank you.
SHE SIGHS
Our one lead can't talk to us.
The police won't let us
near the evidence.
Not sure where that leaves us.
I could talk to Vanessa Ekwensi.
She won't be on McMurran's radar
in the same way your contacts are.
It'd be a big ask, though.
She's a detective sergeant now,
isn't she? Mm.
Maybe ask her
if she's angling for a promotion.
Can we offer her that?
I think maybe we can.
Ian Nash. Really?
Who is he?
He's a people-smuggler.
We've been after him for ages.
That's the detail
on how he launders his money.
Names and addresses, the lot.
Who's your source?
Someone I've known
since I was a kid.
He knows what he's talking about.
And I paid him...a lot.
OK.
Chiswell's cause of death.
Antidepressants, crushed up
and dissolved in orange juice.
That affected his heart,
but it's the bag over his head
that killed him.
Fingerprints?
His fingerprints were on the glass
and on the carton,
but the rest of the carton tested
negative for the drugs,
which points to him
mixing up the powder in the glass.
Time of death?
Pathology gives it
a window of 6am to 8am,
but he missed two calls
around seven.
I have phone records for you.
Are the pills easy
to get hold of?
Well, they're ones his wife uses.
She had a prescription for them.
Is she missing any?
Well, she said
she had packets everywhere
and wouldn't notice
if some were missing.
Our client thinks it's murder.
What do you think?
Well, to get the bag over his head,
I think you'd at least have needed
to drug him first.
Poison the carton in the night
and then replace it with a fresh
one in the morning after he's dead.
Hm, he's a proper creature of habit.
Got up the same time every morning
and always had a glass
of orange juice to kick off.
Do the antidepressants taste
of anything? They're bitter.
Yeah, but Chiswell's taste buds
didn't work.
I saw him turn down mustard
cos he wouldn't be able to taste it.
That's two things
you'd have to know about him -
that he always drank
a glass of juice,
and that he wouldn't be able to
taste the pills.
That's someone close to him.
Family or close friend.
Kinvara - especially seeing as
they're her pills.
Yeah, but her alibi's watertight.
It's all on CCTV.
She took the train home to
Oxfordshire
and her stable-girl stays over to
help the farrier first thing.
Her name's Tegan Barlow.
Apparently the floorboards creak,
and Tegan would have definitely
heard if Kinvara moved about.
It's a solid alibi.
Izzy's not going to like that.
What about the alibis of those names
I gave you?
Well, Jimmy Knight got cautioned
after he hit you.
He said he went back
to his girlfriend's.
And Geraint Winn was home
with his wife
and an employee of theirs
called Aamir Mallik.
They had dinner and he stayed over.
He does that a lot, apparently.
Della Winn confirmed all that.
And the rest of the Chiswell family?
All checked out,
or they're home asleep alone.
Kinvara called them to break
the news when the police arrived,
and they were all home
when she rang.
Again, the mast records check out.
What time was that? 10.30.
And she had her key on her? Yep.
Did you find that Polish
cleaner of theirs?
She's vanished.
Guys, that's everything I've got.
You've rinsed me.
Thanks, Vanessa.
Yeah, thank you, Vanessa. We really
appreciate it. I'll see myself out.
See you soon.
She's great, isn't she? Hm.
Just looking at these 7am calls.
Henry Drummond.
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns.
Drummond's the one organising
the sale of their paintings.
Chiswell came back from his place
just before we went to that
athletics thing.
They must have had
an argument or something,
he came back in a horrible mood.
We'll talk to him. Hm.
So let's assume somebody
poisoned the carton.
Chiswell gets up and pours himself
a glass, like he always does.
Now, to make that
look like a suicide,
someone's got to get in afterward,
set up the crushed-up pills,
replace the drugged carton
with a fresh one,
do the fingerprints
and the rest of it.
Now, that's all easy
after he's dead.
You just need access.
But Kinvara's got her key on her
when the police come to
Chiswell House,
and the second one's
found on the minister.
The cleaner's got the
only other key.
This might be a long shot.
I heard Jimmy's girlfriend
speaking Polish.
And she was complaining that Jimmy
was making her scrub toilets.
Maybe she could use a friend
to talk to.
What do you think?
MUSIC: Palaces Of Montezuma
by Grinderman
# Psychedelic invocations
# Of Mata Hari at the station
# I give to you
# A Java princess of Hindu birth
# A woman of flesh
# A child of the Earth
# I give to you
# Well, I hang on to Babylon
# Miles Davis, the black unicorn
# I give to you... #
MUSIC CONTINUES IN SHOP
All right? I'm Becca.
At least you're on time.
My other girl,
every day she's got some new excuse.
I just don't need it!
Well, thanks for giving me a go.
What time is this? Tube was delayed.
Of course it was.
Er, no, there were some delays,
actually.
I tried to get here proper early.
I got stuck as well.
This is Bibi. Becca.
She's doing a trial day for me,
so show her how everything works.
Right, two things - shoplifters,
you go for them, no messing about.
Lunch is 20 minutes each,
and you take it separately.
Why do you want to work here?
Went round all the shops.
She said yes, so that were it.
I need work. I got sacked last week.
Don't tell her that.
Who by? Amazon. What happened?
Didn't make my daily rate.
You get targets for packing
and scanning.
You get behind,
they're straight onto you.
My dad would have been like,
"Well, what'd you expect?"
I dunno. Not a nightmare, is it?
I'll show you how the till works.
Thanks.
If Jimmy doesn't have a legal
responsibility for his brother,
I just don't see how...
Yeah. No, I understand.
Send Billy my best.
FOOTSTEPS APPROACH
Don't. No, it's good.
Who are you? Becca.
Needed a job.
Workers' rights activism
runs in the family.
Favourite band? The Cure,
but nothing after 1989.
Favourite album?
Head On The Door.
Favourite track on that album?
Push. Hands down, mate.
No contest.
And if someone puts it on,
I can sing along word for word.
You win.
Does Sam know that he might
bump into me got up like this?
I've put him on Dodgy Doc.
If we didn't have someone on that
case, we'd have lost the client.
How's your day been?
Just spoke to Billy's doctors.
Jimmy's invoked next-of-kin stuff
to make sure we can't see him.
And I called Izzy's sister
for a follow-up.
Raff's been in touch.
We're going to
go for dinner in a few days.
You're liking Raff, then?
What's all this?
I've put up
some time and date stuff,
mainly from Geraint
and Jimmy's file.
You know that text message on
Aamir's phone? In Geraint's office?
He was meeting someone on the 13th.
I think it was at 8pm.
He wasn't with Della and Geraint?
Oh... Who was he with?
I don't know,
I didn't see the number.
But they signed off CBB.
People who called Chiswell
the morning he died.
There's a CBB.
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns.
Who is he?
I'll start to find out.
Huh.
What are you doing this evening?
Ha! Revising, I suppose.
One band isn't really enough, is it?
It just makes me look obsessive
when I'm aiming for harmless
and not that smart.
SHE SIGHS
SHE SIGHS
Hello, stranger. Morning.
Have you got five minutes?
Stupid question, really.
I know you haven't,
but...all the same...
I'm sorry for saying I love you.
Christ, you don't have to apologise.
No, listen.
I wish I could take it back, but...
Well, these things happen.
Can we just go back to
how things were?
Hanging out, having fun.
I'm sorry.
This case has been...
I was going to call you.
Anyway. Yes, let's have dinner.
Tomorrow night?
OK.
Great.
Cheers!
That was easy.
HE LAUGHS SOFTLY
How's your day looking?
Got to go round someone's house
and call them a liar.
You?
Trying to sell more dresses.
You all right? Me? Yeah, why?
You just seem proper quiet.
I'm cool.
My boyfriend's being...
Oh, say no more, mate.
Were you thinking of dumping him?
No.
Jimmy and me,
our life is my whole life.
No, it's just that...
We've been through
some mental stuff.
We've been trying to prove that the
people who make our laws
are the ones doing the illegal shit,
but...
I think maybe it's having
a lawyer as a mum
that makes you super aware
of how things can go.
What's Jimmy got you doing?
I'm fine.
Don't worry about me. If Jimmy tries
to make trouble for me,
he'll find out I own my own shit.
God, I wish I had your balls.
I just get...freaked out
by everything.
I mean London's just proper hard,
though, isn't it?
Nobody talks to you.
Do you want to come out tomorrow?
I'm having a party.
Oh, I don't... No, you'll love it.
My mates are amazing.
Don't want to make a tit of myself.
You're cool.
I'll look after you.
Cool. Yeah.
SHOP BELL TINKLES
DOORBELL RINGS
Mr Mallik.
What do you want?
I'm Cormoran Strike.
I'm an investigator.
Jasper Chiswell's family hired me.
Can I come in?
I'm, um... I won't take up
much time.
It'd mean a lot to his family.
OK.
Don't let me
keep you from your lunch.
It can wait.
What's really good with cheese
and pickle
is those crunchy fried onions
things.
You can get them in tubs.
It was your partner who pretended to
be Chiswell's intern, wasn't it?
Spot on.
Could I have a glass of water,
please?
Mind if I take some notes?
I've not got anything to say.
Easier if I have it to hand
in case that changes.
So you think I had something to do
with Chiswell's death?
If you want to blurt out
a confession, feel free.
You'll save me a lot of work.
I'll tell you something I know and
maybe we can start from there.
You were helping Geraint Winn
blackmail Jasper Chiswell.
I wasn't.
So you never met up with
Jimmy Knight...for example?
Who's Jimmy Knight?
He's the brother of the man
you had staying here.
Billy?
Has a thing about horses?
It's a big place for one guy.
How much do the Winns help you out?
London's expensive, so...
Who's Mrs Collier?
That was Della's mum.
She died recently, so it was empty.
It's all legal.
This photo used to be
on the Foreign Office website.
They took you on as part
of a diversity scheme.
There you are with a man
they assigned your mentor.
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns -
CBB, as his friends call him.
Where were you at 6am on the 14th?
At the Winns' place. I stayed there.
With Geraint? And Della, yeah.
So you were all each other's alibi?
Well, if you want to call it that.
What made you leave
the Foreign Office, Aamir?
You keep going back and forth.
It's just...
I didn't enjoy it.
How did you meet the Winns?
I've had enough of this.
Your family disowned you
round about the time you left
the Foreign Office.
Isn't that right?
That was when the Winns found you.
Here you are graduating from LSE.
Your whole family there.
That was before they started with
the homophobic comments.
Out! Why are you lying to me
about where you were at 6am
on the 14th? Get out now.
You'd stayed the night with
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns.
HE GRUNTS
Don't.
Enough!
Are you going to butter me?
HE WHIMPERS
You try and hurt me again,
I'll snap it.
Stay down.
HE BREATHES HEAVILY
And when he came in,
guess who was sat on the sofa?
No! Yeah. No way! Oh, my Lord!
SHOP BELL TINKLES
What are you doing here?
I need to talk to you.
Can you mind the shop for a bit?
Uh, you know Caroline's hanging out
across the road?
Is she? Shit.
Well, I mean, I can be out front
if you want the stockroom.
I can say you're stock-taking
or something.
Who's this? My mate Becca.
Her dad's a trade unionist.
Well, he was a rep.
Right, come on, then.
Er, one second.
Can I just get a till roll?
And then it's all yours.
All yours.
You're a bad liar, Aamir, and you're
going to get sent to prison
if you don't start telling
the truth.
And you won't get to share a cell
with Della and Geraint either.
Leave her out of it. Please.
Della had nothing to do
with anything.
Don't you know what happens when an
MP gets caught lying to the police?
It's over for them.
HE SOBS
So one last time before I make
these calls and ruin her.
What were you doing
at 6am on the 14th?
At his flat. Whose? You know!
Say it.
Christopher's. Why where you there?
I was trying to get
something off his computer.
Some stuff Geraint wanted.
I swear Della had nothing
to do with it.
Where was Geraint? I don't know.
I met him later.
And Della lied to the police.
Yeah, but she only did that for me.
Please don't get her in trouble.
Why was Billy Knight staying here?
Jimmy needed somewhere to put him
where you wouldn't find him.
But he was fucking nuts.
We made Jimmy take him back.
Did you get the files
Geraint wanted?
Christopher caught me.
What were these files?
HE EXHALES
I was told to search
for the keyword "Murape".
I didn't get any further
than doing that.
Did Geraint ever tell you why
he was blackmailing Chiswell?
He blames the Chiswells
for his daughter's death.
He told you that?
Did you believe him?
I don't know why he'd lie.
They don't ever talk about her.
All right, Aamir.
Finish your sandwich.
I'll see you around.
Is the lavender oil cold pressed?
Very cold.
That's, er, 15 quid, please.
MUFFLED SHOUTING
We've run out of CBD oil.
Everyone's getting right shirty.
Thanks.
SHE SCOFFS
What's he done to you?
It's what I'm going to do to him
if he keeps on like this.
I can have him fucking put away,
and he knows it!
I'm fine.
SHE SNIFFLES
Hey. That's an interesting
new look.
Oh. It's work.
What's this?
Erm...
I tried to get a replacement,
but they're sold out.
So I just had that one
mended as best I could.
I'm sorry.
Thanks.
Nice of you to try.
I don't want you
sleeping in the spare room.
Will you come back?
I feel like your trying to punish me
for something.
That's not true!
Why do you want to be with me,
Matt?
Because you're my girl.
PHONE RINGS
Go on.
FLICK: Don't go through my bag!
I checked it.
JIMMY: I had it in my wallet.
So you dropped it somewhere.
Yeah, or someone took it.
Why would I take it?
Insurance policy?
Oh, my fucking God. What?!
I was only there because of you!
You've dropped it somewhere.
Go through your other wallet!
Get this through your head!
That note proves we had access.
It's got Billy's fucking name on it!
Someone just needs to see
Ebury Street on it
and remember that from the news
and then we're fucked!
Jimmy, I haven't got it!
So there's a note.
If he thinks she's hiding something
that would incriminate him,
maybe he's right.
Maybe she did take it.
I could see if I could find it.
She's invited me
to a party at her place.
You're going to search during
the party? I'd be subtle.
Jimmy doesn't think much of women.
He won't see me coming.
Be careful,
and let Vanessa Ekwenski
know what you're planning.
HE GROANS
I'm sorry. I'll call you tomorrow
and we'll get dinner organised
somewhere.
Well, if you're too
all over the place for dinner,
you could always come here.
We could have breakfast
in the morning.
Everyone loves breakfast.
Sounds good. I'll call you.
It's Cormoran Strike.
We spoke on the phone earlier.
Yes. Come in, then.
Mind if I turn a light on?
Just remember to turn them off
on your way out.
No sense in burning the planet
needlessly.
We have a Chateauneuf-du-Pape
2010 open.
Would you pour me a glass of that?
And pour one for yourself.
Thank you. Very kind.
Are you from the West Country?
I spent a lot of time in Cornwall.
I can hear it in your vowels.
No Geraint?
No. He's moved out.
We're getting divorced.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Thank you.
It'll be in the papers next week.
Do you know where he's gone?
No.
I know you lied to the police,
Mrs Winn.
Aamir wasn't here
the morning of Chiswell's death...
..he wasn't here having dinner
the previous evening
and he didn't stay the night.
I've spoken to Aamir. He admits it.
He was at pains to let me know
you hadn't done anything wrong,
apart from lying
about his alibi to the police.
Why did Geraint send Aamir to
Christopher Barrowclough-Burns?
To steal information.
I don't know what.
Does the word "Murape"
mean anything to you?
No.
Given it's the Foreign Office,
I thought it might be Samuel Murape.
He was a British teenager.
He went missing on his gap year
in Zimbabwe.
Ring any bells? No. Sorry.
Not my department.
Aamir could go to prison for this!
All because Geraint needs
someone to blame.
Blame for what?
We had a daughter. Rhiannon. Mm.
Geraint, he wanted her to make
friends with a wider circle.
He thought that way she'd mix with
people with connections.
He pushed her into things.
She wanted a pony, but we couldn't
afford it,
and so fencing, well,
that was his idea.
She was unhappy...
..but he promised her they'd come
to like her.
Only in the end...
Well, she killed herself.
Geraint, well, he's always blamed
the Chiswell family.
It's easier than blaming himself.
Aamir, well,
he's been like a son to us.
And Geraint, well,
he would have sacrificed him.
I won't ever forgive him.
ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
Hiya.
Hiya. Becca! You all right?
Yeah!
And I brought this.
Oh, you're so sweet.
Let's get you a drink.
Hope you're ready to get mushered!
Brooke! Yeah.
SHE LAUGHS
Hayley, what do you reckon
about my mate Becca
getting Laura's half of the room
once she...?
Ah, Shanice asked already.
She didn't ask me!
Do you want to tell her no?
Mate, I'm sorry.
It's all right. It's all right.
Jimmy's arrived.
In a bit.
MUSIC: Know Me
by Headie One, Fred Again
KNOCK ON DOOR
Oi, hurry up!
Becca, was it?
Yeah. What were your name again?
Jimmy.
Nice to meet you, Jimmy.
Sorry I'm a bit pissed.
What's your last name?
You what? Your last name.
Cunliffe.
Like, do you want to look at
my birth certificate?
I'm old enough to drink
if that's what you're worried about,
losing your licence.
Nah, it's cool.
We've had some problems with
the security service recently.
So we check the newbies out.
Oh, right.
It was nice meet you, Becca.
You too.
KNOCK ON DOOR
There's lots of hits for Cunliffe
and Yorkshire.
What's Becca short for?
Are you fucking kidding?
All right.
Let's assume Rebecca.
KNOCK ON DOOR
Oh, one second.
Won't be a minute!
The wedding of Miss Robin Ellacott
to Mr Matthew Cunliffe,
both from Masham.
Mr Cunliffe is a qualified
accountant.
Miss Ellacott has a somewhat
unorthodox employment,
being a partner at...
Jimmy, she's a fucking spy.
Hey. Don't be greedy!
Who the fuck is she, Flick?
What?
Hashtag Robin Ellacott,
Hashtag Robin Cunliffe.
Works for Strike!
What the fuck have you done?
Where the fuck is she?
Where's Becca?
I think she's in the loo.
Hey, what's up?
Open the fucking door!
Come on!
Move!
This is some deep-state shit.
Shut up, Digby.
What you going to do
when we find her, though, Jimmy?
I'll fucking kill her!
VANESSA: We've got two units on
their way to you now.
OK, great. Thanks, Vanessa.
Thanks. Bye.
Bitch!
You OK?
I'm Robin Ellacott.
Keep still, sir.
I called Vanessa Ekwensi.
He's Jimmy Knight.
We've arrived at the scene.
She's with us now.
Just lie still in case
you've injured your neck.
OK, we've got a male,
he's breathing and conscious.
Can we get LAS on scene?
Police! Coming through!
PEOPLE SHOUT
Police! Out of the way,
out of the way!
Hey.
You all right?
Uh, yeah. I'm fine.
How did you guess
where she'd hid it?
Just a hunch.
DCI McMurran rang this morning.
Have they been charged him?
Still being questioned.
They'll get an extension
to 36 hours.
She was really just ringing
to say thank you
in a roundabout way.
I said I'd pass it on.
It's definitely Chiswell's
handwriting.
Jimmy Knight's got an old Suzuki.
I've got a photo of him
driving Aamir.
I'm assuming Bill is Billy?
Jimmy obviously thinks it is.
Or Bill could be a bill.
What's "Blanc de Blanc"?
White from white?
Blanc de Blancs is a champagne
made from 100% Chardonnay grapes.
Something you learn at Oxford.
No, wait.
I've seen "Blanc de Blanc" before.
What are we looking at?
Matt's Instagram.
Where we went on our anniversary,
it's only an hour
from Chiswell House.
I'm sure I remember there being a...
FOOTSTEPS APPROACH
Nobody buzzed.
Hey! Someone let me in.
I thought it was my best chance
of actually seeing you.
Do you want to go through?
Here's fine.
I've called, I've texted.
You stood me up.
Are you sure we can't...?
You know, if you want a hot meal
and a shag with no human emotions
involved,
there are restaurants and brothels.
If you're not prepared to pay
for it, at least have the decency
to treat that person with
the minimum of respect.
A phone call to say
you won't be calling again.
Breaking up with someone
by telling them, not just hiding.
This is how it's done,
you fucking coward.
Face to face.
Yeah, Blanc de Blanc is
a room at that hotel.
That was a bit awkward.
SHE CLEARS HER THROAT
Well, she should really have
buzzed up first.
Not fair to take
someone by surprise like that.
I suppose living above your office,
though,
it's that work-life balance
people talk about, isn't it?
Ms Chiswell's happy for us
to share the records.
We have to keep it all in case
there are insurance claims.
So you have the room,
one registered guest,
Kinvara Chiswell.
Dinner for two and afternoon tea
taken in her room.
How about cars? Uh, yes. Um...
She registered a Mercedes
with reception.
Is that a list of all
the cars that day? Hmm.
Jimmy Knight's Suzuki.
I overheard Chiswell
on the phone to a hotel
asking for details about the bill.
Sounds like he thought
she was having an affair.
Wrote down everything he could piece
together about where she'd been.
That's the note that Flick
stole from Ebury Street.
Do you think Jimmy and Kinvara
are sleeping together?
Kinvara poisons the carton of juice
then heads back to Oxfordshire.
Jimmy lets himself in
using Flick's key
and stages a suicide after
Chiswell's dead.
It works, doesn't it?
I'll call DCI McMurran.
After we tell her what we've found,
she'll owe us a favour.
Yeah, so it's just a work thing.
So I'm going to be late.
All right, OK.
Well, will you want dinner?
No, no, no,
I'll get something with Tom.
We're going to be a while sorting
this shit-storm out.
Well, I'm back now, so I'll
probably just get an early night.
I'm completely done.
All right, well, I'll try not to
wake you when I come in.
OK.
Ow!
SHE GASPS
Hey. I thought you'd be asleep.
No. I'm awake.
Right.
Well, do you want a cup of tea
or...?
Are we going on a mini-break or...?
I'm leaving you.
Sorry? You heard me.
You want to leave me?
No, I AM leaving you.
Why?
Because you're sleeping with Sarah.
Robin, I... Oh, don't bother.
You're no good at it.
Let's just... Let's just sort out
some practical things,
and then I'm going. Whoa, Robin.
Hang on.
Are you being serious about this?
She's not stupid.
She pointed these out to me
at the party,
and then magically one
appears by the side of my bed.
I suppose you promised her
you'd tell me eventually?
Well, she got bored waiting.
Good for her.
Have you... Have you spoken to Tom?
Oh, Matt, are you anxious
about your prospects for promotion?
No, this is nothing to do with work!
I have, actually.
I have spoken to Tom.
You said you were eating with him
tonight.
Or have you forgotten what lies
you've told?
He said he wasn't with you.
Had no plans to see you.
HE SIGHS
I've just been ending it with Sarah.
That's where I've been.
SHE SCOFFS
PHONE RINGS
Don't answer it!
Hi, Cormoran.
Hey, DCI McMurran want to see us
at 9am, she thinks we're right.
Now's not the fucking time,
all right?
Sorry about that.
Is everything all right?
Yeah, it's fine.
I'll meet you there in the morning.
Just text me the address.
CALL ENDS
We're trying to save our marriage
and you're taking calls from him?
I'm not trying to save our marriage.
Well, I am! You know that everything
that happened with Sarah is...
Matthew! The problem is that I don't
care that you're cheating again.
I don't want to be with you
any more.
We should have split up
on honeymoon.
I mean, we shouldn't have
even got married.
I thought I owed you this
face to face.
How do you think your life
looks to other people?
You bailed out on uni,
now you're bailing out on us?
You're a flake.
You're a Peeping Tom for a living,
and you managed to get
sacked from that!
You know he's only taken you back
because you're cheap.
Thank you.
You've just made this really easy.
CAR HORN BEEPS
Let me past. No.
Matthew, get out of the way.
I'm not going to let you!
That is not your decision to make
and I'm not that person any more!
You're my wife!
I have a right to fight for this!
Listen, I'm not going to
let you fail!
Not with this one! We're going to
work it out together.
Will you please just sit down?
Robin, look at you. You're a mess.
You're shaking, you don't
want to be on your own. Trust me.
I have a taxi outside.
I'm leaving now.
You'll have to hurt me
to make me stay,
and then I'll get you done
for assault and you'll be ruined.
Robin, you won't do that.
WHISPERS: You won't do that.
I was falling out of love with you
at uni.
We'd have broken up then...
..but then I got attacked
and I just needed to feel safe...
..and you gave me that.
But it's not enough.
I don't love you.
The truth is, I'd have never married
you if I hadn't had been raped.
All set?
I'm...sorry.
I just...
I just left my husband.
Yeah?
I've left two.
Gets easier with practice.