Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (1996–1998): Season 1, Episode 1 - The Bearded Lady - full transcript
Sextegenarian Hetty Wainthropp lives alone with her husband Robert but is frustrated that she is three years short of a pension for herself. When she catches Geoffrey, a young teenage runaway shoplifting, she tries to rehabilitate him by making him her assistant in her fledgling detective agency, a role she feels she was born to play. She suspects a young homeless couple have been cashing the pension checks of an elderly woman whom they say is too ill to do it herself. Armed with her first case, she enlists Geoff's help in discovering the woman is dead from a fractured skull inside her apartment... locked from the outside. When an inquest rules it an accident the detective duo pursue the matter despite interference from a mysterious outside source.
[Footsteps]
Who are you?
WOMAN: "Welcome
to the club."
Violets
and a poodle.
What am I meant
to be joining?
Crafts?
"From one seasoned
senior citizen
"to a new arrival.
Esther Chadwick."
I'll kill her.
You've still one left.
Oh.
[Chuckles]
Can I read it to you?
"We've been together,
my dear wife,
"through all the pains
and strains of life.
"And still together,
we will ride
serene into the eventide."
"With love from Robert."
[Sniffles]
Hang on.
I knew it was soppy,
but I didn't expect
the full waterworks.
I can't bear all this.
I'm not a 60,
and I never will be.
I'm not
a senior citizen,
and I'm not joining
any club.
No.
No, you're right.
Never.
If I'm an old-age
pensioner,
where's my pension?
Married women don't get one.
I get one for us both
when I'm 65.
I worked
before we were married.
8 years I paid National
Insurance stamps.
It doesn't count.
8 years isn't enough.
You have to do 10
for a pension of your own.
If I'd known that then,
I'd have kept you
waiting two more.
So...it doesn't count.
Well, let me tell you,
Robert,
from this day forth,
it is going to count.
I, Hetty Wainthropp,
am going to count.
If you like.
I may start
by getting a job.
10p change.
Thank you.
MAN: You're ignorant!
SECOND MAN: Please,
politeness costs nothing!
Do you think you can
get away with it?
I gave you bloody money
for 20.
You gave me a packet of 10!
Understand? Savvy?
Please! Please!
Speak the bloody
English?
My wife is
in delicate condition!
Just a minute.
Just a minute.
Here. They don't take
pesetas in this shop.
Now, out.
[Door opens, then closes]
I rang earlier.
You need help.
Oh, yes, of course.
I can do 3 afternoons
a week to start with.
[Woman groans]
[Man speaking
softly]
I'm not too happy
about this signature.
She's an old lady.
She's ill, ain't she?
Problem with her legs.
She lives above us.
We collect her pension.
Then we do her shopping.
HETTY: She ought to
get out more.
She'll lose the use
of those legs.
She can't get out.
We're in every week.
We've never had any trouble.
I'll be with you
in a moment.
No hurry.
Have you
any identification?
You're not living in
the modern world.
Folk like us don't have
identification.
Driving license?
MAN: I must have left it
in the glove compartment
of the Mercedes.
Birth certificate?
You were both born,
I take it.
Hey, you!
I'll come back
when you're less busy.
Back in a minute.
Gotcha!
What are you doing?
Making a citizen's arrest.
Look at that.
Children in need.
How could you?
I'm a child.
I'm in need.
I was just speeding up
the procedure.
What's your name?
Mickey Mouse.
Don't be cheeky.
Where do you live? Oh!
10 Downing Street!
Come back here!
[Indistinct]
[Scanner beeping]
Pen, please.
And paper.
"Checkout number 2...
3:30 p.m., Thursday."
I'm on my way home
at the moment.
I'll talk to the police
in the morning.
Now, put those through,
and I'll pay for them.
I need this job.
Sorry.
Something's come up.
Excuse me, Father.
I'll bring it back.
Hello.
All right now, is he?
[Indistinct]
ROBERT: There's a lad
outside hovering.
Hovering?
Is he up to no good,
do you reckon?
Should I call
the police--
neighborhood watch
kind of thing?
The twitchy velour curtains
across the road
have probably
done that already.
He's come by bike.
Could be for charity--
sponsored hovering.
Just let him hover, Robert.
He's still there.
Hmm?
He's just a lad--waiflike.
I'd better have a word
with him.
[Door opens]
Hey! Come here.
Now, what are you up to?
I just want to know why,
for something as daft
as what I did,
you'd get me
a police record
and add me to the
millions of unemployed.
Stealing is wrong.
What would happen
if everybody went around
grabbing what they wanted?
Some don't need to,
do they?
Not when they're retired
and on a pension.
Sorry.
I am not on a pension.
You're comfortable,
though, aren't you?
Not at this minute, I'm not.
Come on in.
Parents?
Divorced.
I live on my own.
ROBERT: YMCA sort of thing?
Church army?
Bed-sit, and lucky
to get it.
Communal toilet
and a dodgy electric kettle.
It's a bit of a dump,
but I don't grumble.
Your mother
threw you out?
I left. My choice, OK?
You'd better sleep in
the spare room tonight.
Eh?
I've got something
I want to talk to him
about in the morning.
Are we sure?
I better get back,
thank you.
I might run off
in the middle of the night
with all your savings.
What's that, then,
Mrs. Wainthropp?
I think there's a fraud
going on at our post office.
Unemployed couple--
man and wife.
They cash their Social
Security checks with us,
but lately
they've come in
with an old lady's
pension book,
and they've been
cashing that as well.
Who's the old lady?
Someone local?
Never seen her.
Has your boss seen her?
He says we all
look alike to him.
He's not bothered.
But I'm bothered.
I don't like mysteries.
I think you do.
Cheeky monkey.
They say the old lady
lives above them.
Now, I want to know
where that is.
What do you want me
to do?
You followed me.
You can follow them.
They're in again
next Tuesday afternoon.
Can you get time off?
What option have I got?
I'm not blackmailing you,
Geoffrey.
Do it for the interest.
Next Tuesday, then?
And, Geoffrey,
that cycle's to go back
where it came from.
There's not so many
churches in town
you can't find a vicar
that's lost his transport.
He'll not be pleased.
Makes no odds.
He's bound to forgive.
It's in the job
description.
They left something behind.
[Door closes]
[Crunching sound]
[Door closes]
[Grunting]
There's no need
to be frightened.
No, no. I wouldn't bother
with parcel post.
Send it first class
and hang the expense.
4 pounds 70.
You get what you pay for
in this world.
Thank you, Geoffrey.
See you at 6:30.
She put that on herself,
did she?
From the inside?
Open the door.
WOMAN: You're not going
any further.
That smell's unhealthy.
Did you kill her?
Don't be stupid.
I asked a question.
We did not.
We found the old woman
dead on the steps.
We put her inside
where she lived
and used her pension book.
Well, what's
the harm in that?
People like us
have to do what we can
to make a living.
[Siren]
You didn't have to
call the police.
I didn't.
They've just arrived.
There's nothing for them
to find but the body.
Yeah.
I'll watch
and brief, sir.
Wilco.
Must have been
that man
that stopped me
in the alley.
Who called the police?
Right.
Are you sure that
all you told him
was that you were working for
the lady in the post office?
And that you were
suspicious
of a pension fraud,
and I was just
checking out
where they lived.
He must have come
and looked for himself.
I find that interesting,
Geoffrey, don't you?
I do if you do,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
That poor woman.
She wasn't much older
than me.
HETTY: I'm disappointed
in the photo.
It's not my best angle.
You'd think
they'd take more trouble.
Though it's made a very
favorable impression around us.
ROBERT: Aye.
A man came from Dorset
to shake her hand.
Brought his own
video camera.
Nobody took my photo.
You weren't there.
You should have
asked for time off.
We'll take this.
You've got 4
at home already.
We'll send them
to Australia
to Derek
and the children.
Let that wife of his see
what kind of mettle
her mother-in-law's made of.
Oh, I'll have
some of those bananas.
They'll be fresher than
the ones on display.
You know, there were
aspects of that inquest
I didn't care for
at all.
Oh, you mean the coroner
cut you off a bit short?
There was
no interest shown
in how that
old lady died.
Doctor gave evidence.
Cranial something.
She fell on the stairs
and died of her injuries.
But did she fall,
or was she pushed?
Oh, kiwifruit.
There was a recipe
on TV.
[Sigh]
What about that man
that grabbed Geoffrey?
If it was him
phoned the police,
why wasn't he called
to give evidence?
There's something here
that doesn't add up.
Hetty likes things
to add up.
I better get on.
I really enjoyed
working with you.
If anything similar
comes up,
I'd like to help.
Could be sooner
than you think.
Would you mind?
Oh!
[Sigh]
Robert.
Robert.
Huh? Uh...
I've been lying here
thinking.
It's all been going round
and round in my head.
It's not 6:00 yet.
Listen, and you may
learn something.
I have natural
aptitudes, Robert.
Can we go back
to sleep now for a bit?
I'm wasted
in that post office.
Oh, you're giving it up?
I'm glad. You're right.
You're...
you're totally wasted
in such a trivial
occupation.
A woman's place
is in the home.
You said yourself
I like making things add up;
never satisfied
until I reach the truth.
Those were your very words.
I'm not always right,
by no means.
I mean, what does
that coroner know?
I was the one
who discovered the fraud.
I'm a natural
detective, Robert.
Meant to be,
just as you said.
I did not.
I did not.
You must do
what you're called
to do in this life.
If you don't follow
your star,
you'll never hit
the jackpot.
Post office work
does not extend me.
You're a valued member
of staff.
They rely on you.
I was meant for better.
I've found
my calling, Robert...
Hetty Wainthropp,
private eye.
There's 50% off
on the small ads
in the Record this week.
I could put one in
while they still
remember who I am.
My wife.
That's your calling.
I shall rely on you for
advice and encouragement.
Hmm.
And I'd better get
one of those books
out of the library,
see how the
professionals do it.
And I shall need
a devoted sidekick.
They all have them.
He'll have to do.
I've nobody else.
Geoffrey?
I need an assistant.
Sexton Blake
had his Tinker Bell,
and so shall I.
Tinker Bell was a fairy.
Be that as it may,
you're elected.
How do I get paid?
Same way as me:
out of the profits.
What profits?
There'll be plenty
of pickings
when we get
our first clients.
I'm having cards
printed.
In the meantime,
we'd best get
our hand in
by clearing up this
bag lady business.
Dinnertime,
we'll start
in the market.
Of course I knew her.
We all knew her.
How long had she been
coming here?
6 weeks; longer.
She'd bring her little
bits and pieces
and sit in that doorway
and watch the people.
Kids used to mock her,
shout after her, like.
Why?
She was a bit hairy--
no more than some
I've seen.
And you didn't
know her name?
Nobody knew her name.
I did.
Mary Nabley.
Does that mean
anything to you?
Nothing.
And these bits and pieces--
what were they?
Carrier bags.
All her worldly goods.
Like a snail,
she carried them with her.
So why should anyone
want to kill her?
From what I've heard,
she fell.
It's more
than we need,
but if you want
information,
you must expect
to pay.
What have you
found out?
Not a lot.
They all remember her.
They know nowt about her.
Same with me.
Interesting.
Glad you think so.
Was it worth the price
of the fish?
To know that others
do not know, Geoffrey,
is already to know
more than they know.
Just a minute.
I've had an idea.
Where do you folks
sleep at night?
Doesn't
Mr. Wainthropp's bike
have a lock and chain
of its own?
There's no occasion.
These days,
with his hemorrhoids,
he hardly uses it.
The detectives
I've heard of
drive powerful cars
up and down the freeway.
When we're in profit,
I'll take lessons.
Now...
Here.
[Snoring]
[Coughing]
I'm sorry
to disturb you.
Haven't you done enough?
You knew
you'd be found out.
Why? Nobody ever
came there.
That old lady's pension
made the world
of difference
to Wayne and me.
We'd never have
robbed her,
but we couldn't
let it go to waste.
What was in
her carrier bags?
Nothing. Anything.
Just stuff
she'd collected.
There's people
like that.
Crazy people.
They get attached
to things.
Was she crazy?
I don't know.
We hardly spoke.
She was a bit...
superior.
One of them posh voices.
Quite nice, though.
Wayne used to see her
down at
the reference library.
She wasn't there just
to get out of the cold
like some of them--
not her.
She was actually
studying.
What else did you
find in the bags?
Nothing valuable.
I don't believe that.
There must have been
letters, photos, mementos.
There was a photo...
of a young lad
in a silver frame.
We threw the photo away
and sold the frame.
HETTY: Oh.
One more.
Thank you.
Oh, yes.
"Of no fixed abode,"
they said.
She had an accommodation
address,
but where did she
really come from?
She may have had children,
grandchildren.
They'd want to know
what happened to her.
I have a public duty--
ROBERT: Coffee's up.
Thank you, Robert.
Maybe some of
your readers
can assist me
with my inquiries.
MAN: We can't have this.
No, sir.
What exactly do you
want me to do, sir?
Use your initiative, Brown.
Play it by ear.
Yes, sir.
All I'm asking for
is information.
We do the asking,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
I need information.
That's my speciality.
Sign here, please.
What is it?
Business cards.
Bill's in the box.
You were at the inquest,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
She slipped on
the stone stairs
and hit her head.
Who was she?
A bag lady.
That's not an answer.
Mary Nabley of
number 19, High--
I've been there.
It's a mucky
magazine shop,
not a home.
Of course it is.
If she'd had a home,
she'd have been living in it.
Can homeless people
usually afford
to pay for
accommodation addresses?
She was a homeless person
in receipt of a pension,
Mrs. Wainthropp,
to draw which
she required an address.
A shop like that
would charge her
about a pound a week--
well worth the expense
for the old lady to draw
60-odd pound in pension.
Have you an idea
how our society works?
Mollusks. There's nothing
specialized here--
just the Encyclopaedia
Britannica
and a field guide or two.
She soon got through those,
so we used to get her books
from the city library,
let her take them
into the reading room.
She could have taken
them back to her place.
She said she had too much
respect for books
to take them to the dump
where she lived.
What are mollusks,
exactly?
Mollusks? Oh, whelks,
cockles, mussels.
There's lots.
I'd like to see
the officer in charge
of the case.
There is no case,
Mrs. Wainthropp,
because no crime
has been committed
except the crime of
pension fraud,
which is being dealt with
through the usual channels.
I'll see you out.
ROBERT: How many?
HETTY: 500.
500?
It was cheaper if you had
a lot done at once.
But who's to pay
for them?
And then
there's Geoffrey.
He's deferring his wages
until we're in profit.
Oh, and they'll defer
the rent on his room,
will they?
They'll defer payment
where he buys
his groceries, will they?
Or have you sent him off
thieving chocolates again?
Let the dead past
bury the dead, Robert.
How much have you
been giving him?
A little.
Nowt to speak of.
Expenses.
And where
did you get it?
My God, you've been
dipping into
the building
society money.
It is a joint account,
Robert.
Only so as you
wouldn't be stranded
if I dropped down dead.
We'll be paupers!
We'll be living off of
Social Security,
and everyone will know!
Don't you raise
your voice to me!
It's my redundancy
money, is that, Hetty,
and you know it.
We swore
we'd never touch it,
that we'd live on
the interest
till the old-age pension
came due.
Now no holidays,
we sold the car,
yet the interest
got less and less.
Now you'll squander
that money
on some teenage
assistant!
I stood in
that supermarket,
and I watched him
shelf-stacking,
and I thought,
"You're better than this."
And since we've begun
asking questions,
investigating...
it's like
a flower opening.
He takes your meaning
so quick.
Wh-what are you saying?
There's the spare room,
not used.
If he moved in with us,
he'd save on his rent
and his food.
We know nowt about him!
You don't take strangers
into your house
these days,
and certainly not kids.
He could be on drugs!
[Telephone ringing]
I won't have it!
I live here, too, you know!
[Telephone ringing]
Oh. Oh, yes!
This is the Wainthropp
Detective Agency.
Please describe
the nature of your problem
in your own words.
Now, take your time
and speak slowly.
Our first client.
I knew that piece in the paper
would attract attention.
Someone going to pay you
for detection?
A Mr. Harkness.
I'm to meet him
tomorrow morning
in Jubilee Park.
He'll wear
a white carnation.
"Delicate and personal,"
he said.
I told him
we didn't do divorce,
but it's nothing
of that nature.
I'm on my way.
Not in that cardigan,
you're not.
HETTY: Mr. Harkness?
Yes. Are you sure
you weren't followed?
Who'd be following?
Well, nobody, I hope.
I've taken
every precaution.
Look, I'm sorry,
but I'm extremely upset.
They threatened to kill her
if I go to the police.
You're sure
you've told nobody?
There's nobody to tell.
Who have they
threatened to kill?
It's my daughter Tracy.
And who are "they"?
I don't know.
I mean,
they could be anyone.
We'd better keep on the move
to avoid notice.
They won't talk
on the phone.
They expect phone taps.
They insist on
a meeting.
Do you want me
to go with you?
No. You'll have to go
alone, I'm afraid.
I can't go myself.
I have a heart condition.
You find out what they want
and come back and tell me.
What about your wife?
Oh, she doesn't know.
No, they phoned me
at the office.
I was at my wit's end,
and then I looked at
your photo in the paper,
and I thought,
"She's the one."
Where does your wife
think Tracy is?
Uh, staying with friends.
She was at this party,
you see--a rave-up.
That's when
they grabbed her.
Look, you've got to explain
to them, Mrs. Wainthropp,
they've made a mistake.
I mean,
I'm not a rich man.
They must have
got me confused
with someone else
of the same name.
I think
we're being watched.
Pretend to admire
the fountain.
Are you sure it's a real
kidnap, Mr. Harkness?
Couldn't it just be
Tracy and her friends
making
the whole thing up
to get money out of you?
That is a despicable
suggestion.
Of course, I'm not sure.
That's one of the things
I want you to find out.
150 in notes,
with the directions
how to get there.
There'll be another 150
when you come back.
How do I get in touch
with you?
You don't.
I'll phone you
from a public box.
Safer.
Now, remember,
they'll be expecting you,
and there'll be
nobody else there.
You'll be in no danger
if you don't start anything.
I shan't start anything.
How are you going to
get there?
It's a long way out.
Please don't concern
yourself, Mr. Harkness.
I have my own transport.
[Engine sputtering]
What about
the old bag lady?
First things first.
What we're doing tonight,
there's real money involved.
We'll have to put
Mary Nabley
on a back burner
for a bit.
Geoffrey,
can you assure me
that you have not
stolen this vehicle?
Borrowed it
from a friend.
And you're licensed
to drive?
You keep forgetting,
Mrs. Wainthropp, I'm 17.
I used to deliver
pizzas for a chain,
but it broke.
Ha ha!
Dead end.
This'll be it.
I think we'd better
walk from here.
GEOFFREY:
There's a light.
I'm expected.
I'll go on in.
Hide our transport
in the bushes,
then follow me.
I want you
to keep me
under constant
observation.
What happens if they
kidnap you as well?
Start a diversion.
[Knocking on door]
HETTY: Anybody home?
It's Mrs. Wainthropp.
I've come on behalf of
my client Mr. Harkness.
[Soft crying]
Hello?
Hello!
Is there anybody up there?
Tracy, is that you?
[Soft crying]
Don't be worried.
I'm a friend.
[Creaking]
Aah!
Geoffrey!
Geoffrey!
Mrs. Wainthropp!
Mrs. Wainthropp,
where are you?
I'm up here! Help!
Mrs. Wainthropp!
I'll drop the torch.
Hang on.
All right.
I'm coming up.
Mind how you go.
This place is
booby-trapped.
Stay still,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
It's not safe.
Who's that crying?
Tape recorder.
The bleating of the goat
excites the tiger.
Oh, aye?
Come on, Geoffrey,
do something.
Wouldn't it be better
if you just dropped?
If I drop,
you're fired.
[Gunshot on TV]
Huh?
There'll be
somebody along soon.
They won't leave
this tape recorder
for the police to find.
Blow the candle out,
Geoffrey.
That'll confuse them.
There's somebody along now.
Quick, out the back way.
The candle's gone out.
Right.
[Tape stops]
That was the man
who grabbed me at the mill.
That's interesting.
He was also
Mr. Harkness.
Now, where's
that scooter?
Over there.
Well, I don't know
where she is.
She didn't say.
She'll be home sometime,
I suppose.
Who shall I say called?
[Caller hangs up]
Cheers. Lovely.
We may be out of
our depth, Geoffrey.
Made 150 quid out of it,
though, didn't we?
There's more to life
than money.
Like staying alive.
We've got to get out of
this bag lady case--
drop it and find a way of
letting them know,
whoever "they" are.
We're not quitters,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
Yes, we are.
I have a responsibility
to your mother.
Oh, she's not
too bothered anyway.
There'll be other cases.
"Never close a file,"
you said.
I'm closing this one.
We have to, Geoffrey.
We've blundered
into something.
I don't know what,
but whatever it is...
they tried to
kill me tonight.
If you hadn't been there--
But I was.
We'll speak to the police.
Attempted murder.
They'll have to
investigate.
This is as far as
I am prepared to go.
She's been in
before, sir.
Eccentric.
There was a piece
in the Record.
Hmm. Did you look
at her arms?
Sir?
If she fell
through the ceiling,
she'd be marked.
I could have been
killed!
Oh, I don't think so.
A broken ankle
would have been more likely.
Allow me to
introduce myself--
Detective
Chief Inspector Adams.
ADAMS: And this
Mr. Harkness
gave you 150 pounds
in used notes
and a bit of torn
wrapping paper
with directions
written out
in capital letters?
HETTY: That's right.
We were there. It happened
to us. We're witnesses.
A teenager and a pensioner?
Excuse me.
They'd make mincemeat
of both of you in court.
Not that it could
ever come to that,
with no suspects
and no proof of crime.
There's proof of one thing.
Somebody's
trying to get me
to back away from
the bag lady case.
If you don't believe us,
why did you come?
Old buildings interest me.
Oh, aye?
Did you suffer
any bruising?
Bruising? Here.
Thank you, Mrs. Wainthropp.
Shall we go?
People think the police
can investigate anything.
We're a public service,
chronically short of cash.
Broadly speaking,
we investigate only
two sorts of crime:
what we can't avoid
and what we think
we can clear up.
Are you with me?
I'm ahead of you.
You tell me people are
trying to kill you
because you've been
poking your nose into
the old lady's death.
It's unprovable,
a waste of public money
to give you more than
a few soothing words.
But suppose you suffered
an unfortunate accident
after making
this complaint?
We'd have to
take it seriously.
Are you still
ahead of me?
Catching up.
I don't think
you'll be bothered again
unless you turn up something
really important--
in which case,
I want to know.
Agreed.
If it was me dabbling in
such an unlikely affair,
I'd start by
trying to find out
who Mary Nabley was
and where she came from.
She must have
a family somewhere.
I hope you're insured
and licensed
to drive that vehicle,
young man.
WOMAN: There was a photo
of a young lad
in a silver frame.
We threw the photo away
and sold the frame.
[Knock on door]
Oh, hello, Geoffrey.
I wish she wouldn't call
these breakfast meetings.
If David Frost can do it,
Hetty can do it.
Now, we have to know
where we are
before we can go
where we're going, right?
If you say so,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
First, we know
there's a cover-up.
It's in high places,
and it goes deep.
Can it do both of those
simultaneously, like?
They tried to kill me,
Robert.
Just remember that.
It'll keep you serious.
Second, we've two clues.
One is mollusks.
You what?
Cockles, uh,
whelks, and such.
There's all sorts.
What was it about whelks...
that made Mary Nabley
take off like that
and leave her home?
She found something out,
and that information
was dangerous.
People don't care
about whelks.
Not all that keen
on them myself.
Whatever it was,
my theory is that she lived
where they abound.
So first,
the mollusk connection.
And second...
this photo,
found in
Mary Nabley's belongings.
And what does the trained eye
immediately notice?
Can you be
going to tell us?
Study the suit, Robert.
Your brother Frank
had a suit like that.
Right. He did.
Demob suit.
Good cloth is that.
He wore it
to funerals.
Late 1940s, then.
I never got one.
Did my national
service,
but you had to be
in the war.
Somebody in his early 20s
in the late forties,
now in his 60s--her age.
I wonder what
that bit of fur means.
You miss a lot
by not being educated.
Robert and me
never had the chance.
And you haven't taken
advantage of
your opportunities,
Geoffrey.
What opportunities?
But as my Auntie Bea
used to say,
"If you don't know,
there's others do."
Excuse me.
Do you mind telling me
where the shellfish come from?
A wholesaler.
No, before that.
Oh, I get your drift.
The sea.
And rocks and sand.
They hide in sand
until harvested.
No. What I mean...
B.A., Oxford.
Good.
Are we gonna eat
all these?
Not the ones
from Taiwan.
Wayne's done a runner.
I've just seen Sandy.
Here. Pay for these,
Robert.
I told you,
she had nothing--
no clue
to who she was.
Did you never
talk to her?
Hardly.
You said she had
a posh voice.
You must have
spoken sometimes.
SANDY: Well, her and me,
we'd meet in the--
There was a toilet
in the mill.
No running water,
but it was somewhere to sit.
We'd meet there sometimes,
pass the time of day.
She kept a little pile
of newspapers cut into squares,
and we'd collect water from
the canal to flush the bowl.
Show me this toilet.
You what?
Some of those bits
of newspaper
could have been local...
where she came from.
Nothing local.
"Times" and "Telegraph,"
mostly.
Are we done in here now?
Educated, posh voice,
laid down the law
in the reference library,
had class.
Must have had valuables.
No.
I don't mean
that bit of unspent money
from her pension.
You'd have taken that.
But the things middle-class
folk can't live without--
checkbook, credit cards.
Must have brought those.
I told you,
she had nothing.
Do you think
Wayne and me
would have wasted
a credit card?
She'd nowhere
to hide it,
but she must have
hidden it anyway.
Where?
No running water,
you said?
Geoffrey,
look in the cistern.
Bingo!
We'll look at it later.
No offense intended.
[Clacking sound]
What's that?
Starting at shadows.
Gets to you, this job.
Keswick.
Nowhere near the sea.
What's in
that packet?
A computer disk.
Not much good to us.
We haven't got
a computer.
We wouldn't know
how to use it if we had.
Don't be daft.
They have them
in primary schools these days.
Little children
play with them.
Not where I went
to school.
Nobody was computer-literate
or in any way.
The spelling of 4-letter words
gave us trouble.
That'll do.
Better keep it safe
till we find someone
who knows how to use it.
Well, at least we know
where she had her bank account.
That's somewhere to start.
MAN: I want
a word with you.
Right. They let me look
in the phone book.
Mary Nabley lived
in a village
at the end of the dale.
Bus service only runs
twice a week.
Ah.
How's your thumb,
Geoffrey?
Seems all right
to me.
Are you sure
this is the right one?
Lilac Cottage.
It's that other one looks
as though the owner's
done a runner.
HETTY: Oh.
Is Mary Nabley at home?
No, she's out.
Who wants her?
Mrs. Wainthropp...
and associate.
When will she be back?
I'm not quite sure.
Who am I speaking to?
And what business
is that of yours?
I'll ask the questions.
Who am I speaking to?
I'm her nephew.
I'm looking after her cottage
while she's away.
If you have any information
about where she is,
I'd be glad to know it.
Mary Nabley died in
suspicious circumstances
a month ago.
My colleague and I
are detectives
investigating the case.
Well, you'd better come in.
Who used to live in
that house over there?
MAN: Piddock Holme?
The, um, whole building
went up in flames,
and somehow Professor Fisher
was trapped inside.
It was at night.
He was burned to death
without anyone realizing
what was happening.
Somehow?
Sorry?
Could somebody
have locked him in?
I--I don't see
why anyone should.
There was
an open verdict
at the inquest.
What do the neighbors say?
My aunt was his
nearest neighbor.
And she's dead, too.
In suspicious
circumstances,
you said?
She fell and hit her head.
Well, that's
hardly suspicious.
It is when you don't know
how it happened.
This open verdict
on the professor--
could have been an accident,
might have been suicide,
even murder.
There's no reason
why anyone
should want to murder
Professor Fisher
and none why he should
take his own life.
You know that, do you?
Well...
Your aunt must have
had something to say
at that inquest.
She must have
heard something,
seen something,
a fire like that.
She wasn't at
the inquest.
She went away.
It...
The police were
rather annoyed.
We thought
it was because...
well, she was rather
fond of him, you see.
Then why didn't she stay
and help the coroner
find out how he died?
Well, surely that's not
hard to understand.
If one's
emotionally involved,
standing up there
in public,
answering questions--
she was a shy,
sensitive woman.
So shy and sensitive
that she ran away,
lived rough,
and got herself killed
just to avoid an inquest?
I find that
very hard to believe.
Mrs. Wainthropp,
I was totally unaware of
my aunt's death
until you told me
just now.
Now, I'm extremely
grateful to you
for letting
the family know,
but it's hardly
my business
or yours
to investigate.
What was Mr. Fisher
a professor of?
He was retired--
a retired professor.
And before he retired?
Some sort of biologist,
I think.
Good-bye,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
Well, we know
where to find you.
It's obvious
she knows nothing.
We'll still have to keep her
under observation, though.
What's to observe?
I hate
these messy cases.
"Piddock Holme."
There's 3 kinds of
piddock altogether.
They burrow into rock.
Mollusks?
What she was studying
in the reference library.
Burned to death
in his own shed?
That was never
an accident, Geoffrey.
And then she ran off
soon after
and took that computer
thing with her.
Bit fishy,
eh, Mrs. Wainthropp?
Now, then.
We'd better ask about.
There's a pub
on the main street.
There's better sources
of reliable information
in a village
than a lot of old men
sipping beer in a pub.
Anyway, we have to find
somewhere to spend the night.
WOMAN: Well, he was a funny man,
the professor.
He took against that
biochemicals place
that they built on
Melon Hill
and whipped up
the village people.
Did they go along
with him?
Not the old families, no.
We need the jobs.
It was newcomers, mostly.
"Doomsday scenario,"
he said--
pollution of the water,
no telling
where it would lead.
There was talk of
going to the law,
but it came to nothing.
He went a bit funny after.
How funny?
Well, there's a place
just below Melon Hill
where the outflow from
the factory comes into the lake.
He'd go there every day
come rain or shine,
and he'd bring back
freshwater shrimps
and mussels and such.
Mollusks?
Like a child with
[indistinct].
He wanted them for his
experiments, I suppose,
but it looked odd.
And then, I mean,
he wasn't a man for pets,
but he got himself
a couple of dogs--
couple of beagles,
a dog and a bitch.
Don't know if he was
going to breed them.
Ducks--although he'd
no experience with poultry--
and a couple of goats
to keep the grass down.
Mary Nabley.
Oh, she helped him.
What happened to
the dogs?
Couple of RSPCA
took them away in a van
after the accident.
If it was
an accident.
You don't think it was?
Animal Liberation Front.
Everybody knew that,
but nobody could
prove it.
How do you know
they were the RSPCA?
Well, they said they were.
A funny thing:
Lily Pirrin down the road
wanted to take the goats,
and they wouldn't allow it.
This place he used to go to,
where the outflow is--
can you tell us
how to get there?
Oh, I'll show you.
Gerry, get the map.
You can borrow
a couple of bikes,
and I'll put you up
a nice packed lunch.
What happened
to the ducks?
Oh, better
not to ask.
He'd come out here
with his net,
pick up a load of
freshwater shrimps,
and take them back
to his laboratory.
Suddenly, one night,
they all go up
in flames. Why?
You heard Gerry.
The village thinks
it was Animal
Liberation Front.
Someone has been feeding
the village false information.
This biochemicals place
is up the hill, she said.
Oh!
It's not what you
could call welcoming.
Yeah. We'd better
go back.
I've not climbed
all this way
to give up the moment
I get to the top.
Hello?
Excuse me!
Can I have a word?
Do you mind?
What goes on
in here, exactly?
If you were an authorized
person, madam,
you wouldn't need to ask.
Now, on your way,
both of you.
Politeness costs nothing.
We're not doing any harm.
Tell me,
was Professor Fisher
an authorized person?
Security gate to base.
I think we'd best
be off now,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
Animal Liberation Front.
Some folk would
believe anything.
Why should animal
liberators bother with
a few shrimps in a shed
at the bottom of a garden?
You can never tell.
There was a girl at
our school joined them,
and she went round
releasing bait from
fishing tackle shops.
Something from that place
was affecting those mollusks.
That's what the professor
was studying,
and that's what's on
the computer disk.
Something in the water?
Has to be.
There's things you read about
in the papers--
kiddies born with no eyes,
leukemia and such.
I don't read them bits.
You have to sometimes,
Geoffrey.
We'll have to look at
what's on that disk.
Robert could ask
at the school again.
We can look at it
in the village.
Gerry at the B and B--
she'll know someone.
We can't read it.
Why not?
It's a computer.
I haven't got
the software.
Frogspawn--I've never
even heard of it.
You see, a computer's just a
machine, Mrs. Wainthropp.
You have to give it
instructions
before it'll work.
That's called
the software.
Comes on a disk
like this one.
The professor was
a marine biologist.
He'd have had
specialist software.
Could the police
find it?
Probably,
but if he didn't want
anyone to read the file,
he'd have encrypted it.
You still couldn't get in
without a password.
Scientists.
They've
no consideration.
There isn't
a "For Sale" sign
outside
Piddock Holme,
and yet nobody
lives there.
Oh, some company
from London bought it.
I wonder
how they knew.
What, about him dying?
It was in the papers.
Well, if I'd read
in the paper
about a professor
burning to death,
I wouldn't put in
an offer
for his house
straight off.
Had he any family?
Oh, yeah.
Down south somewhere.
So have they moved
all his things
out of
the house, then?
No.
How do you know?
GERRY: It's this way.
That's interesting.
GEOFFREY: Must be
that nephew.
GERRY: He's gone
back to town.
There's nobody
in the house.
You could have
fooled me.
OK, it's open.
Quick as you can.
I wish I knew what
I was looking for.
Gerry?
Just 3 10-pound
notes so far.
He's used them
to mark his place
and then forgot.
I found the study,
but all the computer disks
are gone and all the papers.
There's summat
funny here.
All his music--
tapes and CDs--
it's classical,
Beethoven and stuff,
apart from this one--
"The Very Best Of
the Bee Gees."
Ugh.
Let's hear it.
? I'm going back
to Massachusetts ?
You have to admit
it's got a certain
old-fashioned charm.
That's music.
That's real music.
[Music stops]
MAN: You've asked me,
"What is the safety level
on the presence of these
hormones in the food chain?"
and I must tell you that
there is no safety level,
no matter what
the experts say,
because we simply
do not know.
Rehearsing a speech.
And we cannot know
until the damage has
already been done,
unless we begin now
to conduct the most
stringent tests
on a wide variety
of animal species,
including our own.
[Music resumes]
[Tape stops]
Then he did find
something then,
with those
experiments.
And then someone
found him.
I've been thinking,
Geoffrey,
about that light we saw
on the way in.
Remember
what I said to you
when they set
that trap for me--
the kidnapped girl
in the cottage?
The bleating
of the goat...
Excites the tiger.
Right.
And the flicker
of the candle flame
attracts the moth.
What do we do?
Wait for moths.
Come on.
You'll see.
Hey! Get off me!
[Indistinct shouting]
Now, let's take
a good look at you.
Geoffrey?
That'll teach you.
You stupid woman.
You've got some
explaining to do.
"Use your initiative."
They never say
what they really mean.
You have to work it out
for yourself.
"Take care of her."
How?
Oh, it's up to me,
the man on the ground.
That's what
they pay for.
They don't want
to be bothered.
Don't want to know
my troubles.
And now?
He won't be pleased.
You're not working for
the government, then?
I have worked for
the security services.
There's so much
privatization
these days,
you'd be surprised
what I get asked to do.
But not this time?
No, not as far
as I know.
I think I'd better make
an appointment
to see this boss of yours.
Mrs. Wainthropp,
Mr. Shawcross,
how very good
of you to come.
Sir Peter will see you
at once, Mrs. Wainthropp.
I'll try to make Mr. Shawcross
comfortable in here.
Mrs. Wainthropp
has arrived, Sir Peter.
SIR PETER:
Thank you, Caroline.
Do come with me.
SIR PETER:
Well, Mrs. Wainthropp,
you've been putting the cat
among the pigeons, I hear.
Do sit down,
Mr. Shawcross.
Thanks.
There was nothing
in the water--
nothing to worry anyone.
It worried
the professor.
He was a crank.
Before any wastewater
leaves our plant,
it's tested for everything
you can think of.
It's always well below
EEC safety levels.
So there wasn't
a cover-up
about the water.
There wasn't a cover-up
about anything.
Oh, yes, there was.
Mrs. Wainthropp,
I don't know where
your vivid imagination
has been leading you.
Did you really believe that
sinister secret agents
set fire to the professor's
laboratory
and murdered an old lady
who knew too much?
It's a possibility.
Well, it didn't happen
in this case.
What did happen...
to Mary Nabley?
She fell on the steps
and hit her head.
They got it right
at the inquest.
She wasn't pushed.
She fell.
Shall we make ourselves
more comfortable?
Tell me if I'm right,
Sir Peter.
The professor believed
that nobody can say
for sure what's safe
until the damage
has been done.
He collected
shrimps and such
from the outflow
to your plant
and ground them up
into a sort of paste.
He bought a couple
of beagles--
a dog and a bitch--
and fed it to them.
Two goats,
a billy and a nanny--
goats will eat
anything--
and ducks, and he
took some himself.
And he gave some
to Mary Nabley.
Probably told her
they were vitamins.
Mr. Brown seems to have been
remarkably indiscreet.
Oh, I didn't get
all this from Mr. Brown.
I worked some of it out
for myself.
Mollusks.
They change sex if
they're interfered with.
We got all that
from the encyclopedia.
They say in the market
that Mary Nabley
had facial hair.
Old women often do.
When she found out what
he was doing to her,
she killed him.
She locked him in that
shed with his shrimps
and set fire to it.
She may not have known
that he was in there.
She may have just wanted
to burn the shed.
And then she ran away,
taking a few personal
belongings with her--
including this.
May I?
She was my sister.
Mary Nabley?
Yes.
So that was
the cover-up.
Protecting yourself
from what your sister
had done.
Might have done.
But the press would
have had a field day.
It could have ruined
this company,
done quite a bit of harm
to the country generally--
jobs lost, exports lost.
Just a minute.
You tried to
have me killed.
Are you saying
that was to save jobs?
I fear Mr. Brown exceeded
his instructions.
He certainly did.
The inconvenience
will be reflected
in the size of your fee.
Excuse me.
Caroline?
His sister.
Well, there you are,
Geoffrey--
families.
Who are you?
WOMAN: "Welcome
to the club."
Violets
and a poodle.
What am I meant
to be joining?
Crafts?
"From one seasoned
senior citizen
"to a new arrival.
Esther Chadwick."
I'll kill her.
You've still one left.
Oh.
[Chuckles]
Can I read it to you?
"We've been together,
my dear wife,
"through all the pains
and strains of life.
"And still together,
we will ride
serene into the eventide."
"With love from Robert."
[Sniffles]
Hang on.
I knew it was soppy,
but I didn't expect
the full waterworks.
I can't bear all this.
I'm not a 60,
and I never will be.
I'm not
a senior citizen,
and I'm not joining
any club.
No.
No, you're right.
Never.
If I'm an old-age
pensioner,
where's my pension?
Married women don't get one.
I get one for us both
when I'm 65.
I worked
before we were married.
8 years I paid National
Insurance stamps.
It doesn't count.
8 years isn't enough.
You have to do 10
for a pension of your own.
If I'd known that then,
I'd have kept you
waiting two more.
So...it doesn't count.
Well, let me tell you,
Robert,
from this day forth,
it is going to count.
I, Hetty Wainthropp,
am going to count.
If you like.
I may start
by getting a job.
10p change.
Thank you.
MAN: You're ignorant!
SECOND MAN: Please,
politeness costs nothing!
Do you think you can
get away with it?
I gave you bloody money
for 20.
You gave me a packet of 10!
Understand? Savvy?
Please! Please!
Speak the bloody
English?
My wife is
in delicate condition!
Just a minute.
Just a minute.
Here. They don't take
pesetas in this shop.
Now, out.
[Door opens, then closes]
I rang earlier.
You need help.
Oh, yes, of course.
I can do 3 afternoons
a week to start with.
[Woman groans]
[Man speaking
softly]
I'm not too happy
about this signature.
She's an old lady.
She's ill, ain't she?
Problem with her legs.
She lives above us.
We collect her pension.
Then we do her shopping.
HETTY: She ought to
get out more.
She'll lose the use
of those legs.
She can't get out.
We're in every week.
We've never had any trouble.
I'll be with you
in a moment.
No hurry.
Have you
any identification?
You're not living in
the modern world.
Folk like us don't have
identification.
Driving license?
MAN: I must have left it
in the glove compartment
of the Mercedes.
Birth certificate?
You were both born,
I take it.
Hey, you!
I'll come back
when you're less busy.
Back in a minute.
Gotcha!
What are you doing?
Making a citizen's arrest.
Look at that.
Children in need.
How could you?
I'm a child.
I'm in need.
I was just speeding up
the procedure.
What's your name?
Mickey Mouse.
Don't be cheeky.
Where do you live? Oh!
10 Downing Street!
Come back here!
[Indistinct]
[Scanner beeping]
Pen, please.
And paper.
"Checkout number 2...
3:30 p.m., Thursday."
I'm on my way home
at the moment.
I'll talk to the police
in the morning.
Now, put those through,
and I'll pay for them.
I need this job.
Sorry.
Something's come up.
Excuse me, Father.
I'll bring it back.
Hello.
All right now, is he?
[Indistinct]
ROBERT: There's a lad
outside hovering.
Hovering?
Is he up to no good,
do you reckon?
Should I call
the police--
neighborhood watch
kind of thing?
The twitchy velour curtains
across the road
have probably
done that already.
He's come by bike.
Could be for charity--
sponsored hovering.
Just let him hover, Robert.
He's still there.
Hmm?
He's just a lad--waiflike.
I'd better have a word
with him.
[Door opens]
Hey! Come here.
Now, what are you up to?
I just want to know why,
for something as daft
as what I did,
you'd get me
a police record
and add me to the
millions of unemployed.
Stealing is wrong.
What would happen
if everybody went around
grabbing what they wanted?
Some don't need to,
do they?
Not when they're retired
and on a pension.
Sorry.
I am not on a pension.
You're comfortable,
though, aren't you?
Not at this minute, I'm not.
Come on in.
Parents?
Divorced.
I live on my own.
ROBERT: YMCA sort of thing?
Church army?
Bed-sit, and lucky
to get it.
Communal toilet
and a dodgy electric kettle.
It's a bit of a dump,
but I don't grumble.
Your mother
threw you out?
I left. My choice, OK?
You'd better sleep in
the spare room tonight.
Eh?
I've got something
I want to talk to him
about in the morning.
Are we sure?
I better get back,
thank you.
I might run off
in the middle of the night
with all your savings.
What's that, then,
Mrs. Wainthropp?
I think there's a fraud
going on at our post office.
Unemployed couple--
man and wife.
They cash their Social
Security checks with us,
but lately
they've come in
with an old lady's
pension book,
and they've been
cashing that as well.
Who's the old lady?
Someone local?
Never seen her.
Has your boss seen her?
He says we all
look alike to him.
He's not bothered.
But I'm bothered.
I don't like mysteries.
I think you do.
Cheeky monkey.
They say the old lady
lives above them.
Now, I want to know
where that is.
What do you want me
to do?
You followed me.
You can follow them.
They're in again
next Tuesday afternoon.
Can you get time off?
What option have I got?
I'm not blackmailing you,
Geoffrey.
Do it for the interest.
Next Tuesday, then?
And, Geoffrey,
that cycle's to go back
where it came from.
There's not so many
churches in town
you can't find a vicar
that's lost his transport.
He'll not be pleased.
Makes no odds.
He's bound to forgive.
It's in the job
description.
They left something behind.
[Door closes]
[Crunching sound]
[Door closes]
[Grunting]
There's no need
to be frightened.
No, no. I wouldn't bother
with parcel post.
Send it first class
and hang the expense.
4 pounds 70.
You get what you pay for
in this world.
Thank you, Geoffrey.
See you at 6:30.
She put that on herself,
did she?
From the inside?
Open the door.
WOMAN: You're not going
any further.
That smell's unhealthy.
Did you kill her?
Don't be stupid.
I asked a question.
We did not.
We found the old woman
dead on the steps.
We put her inside
where she lived
and used her pension book.
Well, what's
the harm in that?
People like us
have to do what we can
to make a living.
[Siren]
You didn't have to
call the police.
I didn't.
They've just arrived.
There's nothing for them
to find but the body.
Yeah.
I'll watch
and brief, sir.
Wilco.
Must have been
that man
that stopped me
in the alley.
Who called the police?
Right.
Are you sure that
all you told him
was that you were working for
the lady in the post office?
And that you were
suspicious
of a pension fraud,
and I was just
checking out
where they lived.
He must have come
and looked for himself.
I find that interesting,
Geoffrey, don't you?
I do if you do,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
That poor woman.
She wasn't much older
than me.
HETTY: I'm disappointed
in the photo.
It's not my best angle.
You'd think
they'd take more trouble.
Though it's made a very
favorable impression around us.
ROBERT: Aye.
A man came from Dorset
to shake her hand.
Brought his own
video camera.
Nobody took my photo.
You weren't there.
You should have
asked for time off.
We'll take this.
You've got 4
at home already.
We'll send them
to Australia
to Derek
and the children.
Let that wife of his see
what kind of mettle
her mother-in-law's made of.
Oh, I'll have
some of those bananas.
They'll be fresher than
the ones on display.
You know, there were
aspects of that inquest
I didn't care for
at all.
Oh, you mean the coroner
cut you off a bit short?
There was
no interest shown
in how that
old lady died.
Doctor gave evidence.
Cranial something.
She fell on the stairs
and died of her injuries.
But did she fall,
or was she pushed?
Oh, kiwifruit.
There was a recipe
on TV.
[Sigh]
What about that man
that grabbed Geoffrey?
If it was him
phoned the police,
why wasn't he called
to give evidence?
There's something here
that doesn't add up.
Hetty likes things
to add up.
I better get on.
I really enjoyed
working with you.
If anything similar
comes up,
I'd like to help.
Could be sooner
than you think.
Would you mind?
Oh!
[Sigh]
Robert.
Robert.
Huh? Uh...
I've been lying here
thinking.
It's all been going round
and round in my head.
It's not 6:00 yet.
Listen, and you may
learn something.
I have natural
aptitudes, Robert.
Can we go back
to sleep now for a bit?
I'm wasted
in that post office.
Oh, you're giving it up?
I'm glad. You're right.
You're...
you're totally wasted
in such a trivial
occupation.
A woman's place
is in the home.
You said yourself
I like making things add up;
never satisfied
until I reach the truth.
Those were your very words.
I'm not always right,
by no means.
I mean, what does
that coroner know?
I was the one
who discovered the fraud.
I'm a natural
detective, Robert.
Meant to be,
just as you said.
I did not.
I did not.
You must do
what you're called
to do in this life.
If you don't follow
your star,
you'll never hit
the jackpot.
Post office work
does not extend me.
You're a valued member
of staff.
They rely on you.
I was meant for better.
I've found
my calling, Robert...
Hetty Wainthropp,
private eye.
There's 50% off
on the small ads
in the Record this week.
I could put one in
while they still
remember who I am.
My wife.
That's your calling.
I shall rely on you for
advice and encouragement.
Hmm.
And I'd better get
one of those books
out of the library,
see how the
professionals do it.
And I shall need
a devoted sidekick.
They all have them.
He'll have to do.
I've nobody else.
Geoffrey?
I need an assistant.
Sexton Blake
had his Tinker Bell,
and so shall I.
Tinker Bell was a fairy.
Be that as it may,
you're elected.
How do I get paid?
Same way as me:
out of the profits.
What profits?
There'll be plenty
of pickings
when we get
our first clients.
I'm having cards
printed.
In the meantime,
we'd best get
our hand in
by clearing up this
bag lady business.
Dinnertime,
we'll start
in the market.
Of course I knew her.
We all knew her.
How long had she been
coming here?
6 weeks; longer.
She'd bring her little
bits and pieces
and sit in that doorway
and watch the people.
Kids used to mock her,
shout after her, like.
Why?
She was a bit hairy--
no more than some
I've seen.
And you didn't
know her name?
Nobody knew her name.
I did.
Mary Nabley.
Does that mean
anything to you?
Nothing.
And these bits and pieces--
what were they?
Carrier bags.
All her worldly goods.
Like a snail,
she carried them with her.
So why should anyone
want to kill her?
From what I've heard,
she fell.
It's more
than we need,
but if you want
information,
you must expect
to pay.
What have you
found out?
Not a lot.
They all remember her.
They know nowt about her.
Same with me.
Interesting.
Glad you think so.
Was it worth the price
of the fish?
To know that others
do not know, Geoffrey,
is already to know
more than they know.
Just a minute.
I've had an idea.
Where do you folks
sleep at night?
Doesn't
Mr. Wainthropp's bike
have a lock and chain
of its own?
There's no occasion.
These days,
with his hemorrhoids,
he hardly uses it.
The detectives
I've heard of
drive powerful cars
up and down the freeway.
When we're in profit,
I'll take lessons.
Now...
Here.
[Snoring]
[Coughing]
I'm sorry
to disturb you.
Haven't you done enough?
You knew
you'd be found out.
Why? Nobody ever
came there.
That old lady's pension
made the world
of difference
to Wayne and me.
We'd never have
robbed her,
but we couldn't
let it go to waste.
What was in
her carrier bags?
Nothing. Anything.
Just stuff
she'd collected.
There's people
like that.
Crazy people.
They get attached
to things.
Was she crazy?
I don't know.
We hardly spoke.
She was a bit...
superior.
One of them posh voices.
Quite nice, though.
Wayne used to see her
down at
the reference library.
She wasn't there just
to get out of the cold
like some of them--
not her.
She was actually
studying.
What else did you
find in the bags?
Nothing valuable.
I don't believe that.
There must have been
letters, photos, mementos.
There was a photo...
of a young lad
in a silver frame.
We threw the photo away
and sold the frame.
HETTY: Oh.
One more.
Thank you.
Oh, yes.
"Of no fixed abode,"
they said.
She had an accommodation
address,
but where did she
really come from?
She may have had children,
grandchildren.
They'd want to know
what happened to her.
I have a public duty--
ROBERT: Coffee's up.
Thank you, Robert.
Maybe some of
your readers
can assist me
with my inquiries.
MAN: We can't have this.
No, sir.
What exactly do you
want me to do, sir?
Use your initiative, Brown.
Play it by ear.
Yes, sir.
All I'm asking for
is information.
We do the asking,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
I need information.
That's my speciality.
Sign here, please.
What is it?
Business cards.
Bill's in the box.
You were at the inquest,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
She slipped on
the stone stairs
and hit her head.
Who was she?
A bag lady.
That's not an answer.
Mary Nabley of
number 19, High--
I've been there.
It's a mucky
magazine shop,
not a home.
Of course it is.
If she'd had a home,
she'd have been living in it.
Can homeless people
usually afford
to pay for
accommodation addresses?
She was a homeless person
in receipt of a pension,
Mrs. Wainthropp,
to draw which
she required an address.
A shop like that
would charge her
about a pound a week--
well worth the expense
for the old lady to draw
60-odd pound in pension.
Have you an idea
how our society works?
Mollusks. There's nothing
specialized here--
just the Encyclopaedia
Britannica
and a field guide or two.
She soon got through those,
so we used to get her books
from the city library,
let her take them
into the reading room.
She could have taken
them back to her place.
She said she had too much
respect for books
to take them to the dump
where she lived.
What are mollusks,
exactly?
Mollusks? Oh, whelks,
cockles, mussels.
There's lots.
I'd like to see
the officer in charge
of the case.
There is no case,
Mrs. Wainthropp,
because no crime
has been committed
except the crime of
pension fraud,
which is being dealt with
through the usual channels.
I'll see you out.
ROBERT: How many?
HETTY: 500.
500?
It was cheaper if you had
a lot done at once.
But who's to pay
for them?
And then
there's Geoffrey.
He's deferring his wages
until we're in profit.
Oh, and they'll defer
the rent on his room,
will they?
They'll defer payment
where he buys
his groceries, will they?
Or have you sent him off
thieving chocolates again?
Let the dead past
bury the dead, Robert.
How much have you
been giving him?
A little.
Nowt to speak of.
Expenses.
And where
did you get it?
My God, you've been
dipping into
the building
society money.
It is a joint account,
Robert.
Only so as you
wouldn't be stranded
if I dropped down dead.
We'll be paupers!
We'll be living off of
Social Security,
and everyone will know!
Don't you raise
your voice to me!
It's my redundancy
money, is that, Hetty,
and you know it.
We swore
we'd never touch it,
that we'd live on
the interest
till the old-age pension
came due.
Now no holidays,
we sold the car,
yet the interest
got less and less.
Now you'll squander
that money
on some teenage
assistant!
I stood in
that supermarket,
and I watched him
shelf-stacking,
and I thought,
"You're better than this."
And since we've begun
asking questions,
investigating...
it's like
a flower opening.
He takes your meaning
so quick.
Wh-what are you saying?
There's the spare room,
not used.
If he moved in with us,
he'd save on his rent
and his food.
We know nowt about him!
You don't take strangers
into your house
these days,
and certainly not kids.
He could be on drugs!
[Telephone ringing]
I won't have it!
I live here, too, you know!
[Telephone ringing]
Oh. Oh, yes!
This is the Wainthropp
Detective Agency.
Please describe
the nature of your problem
in your own words.
Now, take your time
and speak slowly.
Our first client.
I knew that piece in the paper
would attract attention.
Someone going to pay you
for detection?
A Mr. Harkness.
I'm to meet him
tomorrow morning
in Jubilee Park.
He'll wear
a white carnation.
"Delicate and personal,"
he said.
I told him
we didn't do divorce,
but it's nothing
of that nature.
I'm on my way.
Not in that cardigan,
you're not.
HETTY: Mr. Harkness?
Yes. Are you sure
you weren't followed?
Who'd be following?
Well, nobody, I hope.
I've taken
every precaution.
Look, I'm sorry,
but I'm extremely upset.
They threatened to kill her
if I go to the police.
You're sure
you've told nobody?
There's nobody to tell.
Who have they
threatened to kill?
It's my daughter Tracy.
And who are "they"?
I don't know.
I mean,
they could be anyone.
We'd better keep on the move
to avoid notice.
They won't talk
on the phone.
They expect phone taps.
They insist on
a meeting.
Do you want me
to go with you?
No. You'll have to go
alone, I'm afraid.
I can't go myself.
I have a heart condition.
You find out what they want
and come back and tell me.
What about your wife?
Oh, she doesn't know.
No, they phoned me
at the office.
I was at my wit's end,
and then I looked at
your photo in the paper,
and I thought,
"She's the one."
Where does your wife
think Tracy is?
Uh, staying with friends.
She was at this party,
you see--a rave-up.
That's when
they grabbed her.
Look, you've got to explain
to them, Mrs. Wainthropp,
they've made a mistake.
I mean,
I'm not a rich man.
They must have
got me confused
with someone else
of the same name.
I think
we're being watched.
Pretend to admire
the fountain.
Are you sure it's a real
kidnap, Mr. Harkness?
Couldn't it just be
Tracy and her friends
making
the whole thing up
to get money out of you?
That is a despicable
suggestion.
Of course, I'm not sure.
That's one of the things
I want you to find out.
150 in notes,
with the directions
how to get there.
There'll be another 150
when you come back.
How do I get in touch
with you?
You don't.
I'll phone you
from a public box.
Safer.
Now, remember,
they'll be expecting you,
and there'll be
nobody else there.
You'll be in no danger
if you don't start anything.
I shan't start anything.
How are you going to
get there?
It's a long way out.
Please don't concern
yourself, Mr. Harkness.
I have my own transport.
[Engine sputtering]
What about
the old bag lady?
First things first.
What we're doing tonight,
there's real money involved.
We'll have to put
Mary Nabley
on a back burner
for a bit.
Geoffrey,
can you assure me
that you have not
stolen this vehicle?
Borrowed it
from a friend.
And you're licensed
to drive?
You keep forgetting,
Mrs. Wainthropp, I'm 17.
I used to deliver
pizzas for a chain,
but it broke.
Ha ha!
Dead end.
This'll be it.
I think we'd better
walk from here.
GEOFFREY:
There's a light.
I'm expected.
I'll go on in.
Hide our transport
in the bushes,
then follow me.
I want you
to keep me
under constant
observation.
What happens if they
kidnap you as well?
Start a diversion.
[Knocking on door]
HETTY: Anybody home?
It's Mrs. Wainthropp.
I've come on behalf of
my client Mr. Harkness.
[Soft crying]
Hello?
Hello!
Is there anybody up there?
Tracy, is that you?
[Soft crying]
Don't be worried.
I'm a friend.
[Creaking]
Aah!
Geoffrey!
Geoffrey!
Mrs. Wainthropp!
Mrs. Wainthropp,
where are you?
I'm up here! Help!
Mrs. Wainthropp!
I'll drop the torch.
Hang on.
All right.
I'm coming up.
Mind how you go.
This place is
booby-trapped.
Stay still,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
It's not safe.
Who's that crying?
Tape recorder.
The bleating of the goat
excites the tiger.
Oh, aye?
Come on, Geoffrey,
do something.
Wouldn't it be better
if you just dropped?
If I drop,
you're fired.
[Gunshot on TV]
Huh?
There'll be
somebody along soon.
They won't leave
this tape recorder
for the police to find.
Blow the candle out,
Geoffrey.
That'll confuse them.
There's somebody along now.
Quick, out the back way.
The candle's gone out.
Right.
[Tape stops]
That was the man
who grabbed me at the mill.
That's interesting.
He was also
Mr. Harkness.
Now, where's
that scooter?
Over there.
Well, I don't know
where she is.
She didn't say.
She'll be home sometime,
I suppose.
Who shall I say called?
[Caller hangs up]
Cheers. Lovely.
We may be out of
our depth, Geoffrey.
Made 150 quid out of it,
though, didn't we?
There's more to life
than money.
Like staying alive.
We've got to get out of
this bag lady case--
drop it and find a way of
letting them know,
whoever "they" are.
We're not quitters,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
Yes, we are.
I have a responsibility
to your mother.
Oh, she's not
too bothered anyway.
There'll be other cases.
"Never close a file,"
you said.
I'm closing this one.
We have to, Geoffrey.
We've blundered
into something.
I don't know what,
but whatever it is...
they tried to
kill me tonight.
If you hadn't been there--
But I was.
We'll speak to the police.
Attempted murder.
They'll have to
investigate.
This is as far as
I am prepared to go.
She's been in
before, sir.
Eccentric.
There was a piece
in the Record.
Hmm. Did you look
at her arms?
Sir?
If she fell
through the ceiling,
she'd be marked.
I could have been
killed!
Oh, I don't think so.
A broken ankle
would have been more likely.
Allow me to
introduce myself--
Detective
Chief Inspector Adams.
ADAMS: And this
Mr. Harkness
gave you 150 pounds
in used notes
and a bit of torn
wrapping paper
with directions
written out
in capital letters?
HETTY: That's right.
We were there. It happened
to us. We're witnesses.
A teenager and a pensioner?
Excuse me.
They'd make mincemeat
of both of you in court.
Not that it could
ever come to that,
with no suspects
and no proof of crime.
There's proof of one thing.
Somebody's
trying to get me
to back away from
the bag lady case.
If you don't believe us,
why did you come?
Old buildings interest me.
Oh, aye?
Did you suffer
any bruising?
Bruising? Here.
Thank you, Mrs. Wainthropp.
Shall we go?
People think the police
can investigate anything.
We're a public service,
chronically short of cash.
Broadly speaking,
we investigate only
two sorts of crime:
what we can't avoid
and what we think
we can clear up.
Are you with me?
I'm ahead of you.
You tell me people are
trying to kill you
because you've been
poking your nose into
the old lady's death.
It's unprovable,
a waste of public money
to give you more than
a few soothing words.
But suppose you suffered
an unfortunate accident
after making
this complaint?
We'd have to
take it seriously.
Are you still
ahead of me?
Catching up.
I don't think
you'll be bothered again
unless you turn up something
really important--
in which case,
I want to know.
Agreed.
If it was me dabbling in
such an unlikely affair,
I'd start by
trying to find out
who Mary Nabley was
and where she came from.
She must have
a family somewhere.
I hope you're insured
and licensed
to drive that vehicle,
young man.
WOMAN: There was a photo
of a young lad
in a silver frame.
We threw the photo away
and sold the frame.
[Knock on door]
Oh, hello, Geoffrey.
I wish she wouldn't call
these breakfast meetings.
If David Frost can do it,
Hetty can do it.
Now, we have to know
where we are
before we can go
where we're going, right?
If you say so,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
First, we know
there's a cover-up.
It's in high places,
and it goes deep.
Can it do both of those
simultaneously, like?
They tried to kill me,
Robert.
Just remember that.
It'll keep you serious.
Second, we've two clues.
One is mollusks.
You what?
Cockles, uh,
whelks, and such.
There's all sorts.
What was it about whelks...
that made Mary Nabley
take off like that
and leave her home?
She found something out,
and that information
was dangerous.
People don't care
about whelks.
Not all that keen
on them myself.
Whatever it was,
my theory is that she lived
where they abound.
So first,
the mollusk connection.
And second...
this photo,
found in
Mary Nabley's belongings.
And what does the trained eye
immediately notice?
Can you be
going to tell us?
Study the suit, Robert.
Your brother Frank
had a suit like that.
Right. He did.
Demob suit.
Good cloth is that.
He wore it
to funerals.
Late 1940s, then.
I never got one.
Did my national
service,
but you had to be
in the war.
Somebody in his early 20s
in the late forties,
now in his 60s--her age.
I wonder what
that bit of fur means.
You miss a lot
by not being educated.
Robert and me
never had the chance.
And you haven't taken
advantage of
your opportunities,
Geoffrey.
What opportunities?
But as my Auntie Bea
used to say,
"If you don't know,
there's others do."
Excuse me.
Do you mind telling me
where the shellfish come from?
A wholesaler.
No, before that.
Oh, I get your drift.
The sea.
And rocks and sand.
They hide in sand
until harvested.
No. What I mean...
B.A., Oxford.
Good.
Are we gonna eat
all these?
Not the ones
from Taiwan.
Wayne's done a runner.
I've just seen Sandy.
Here. Pay for these,
Robert.
I told you,
she had nothing--
no clue
to who she was.
Did you never
talk to her?
Hardly.
You said she had
a posh voice.
You must have
spoken sometimes.
SANDY: Well, her and me,
we'd meet in the--
There was a toilet
in the mill.
No running water,
but it was somewhere to sit.
We'd meet there sometimes,
pass the time of day.
She kept a little pile
of newspapers cut into squares,
and we'd collect water from
the canal to flush the bowl.
Show me this toilet.
You what?
Some of those bits
of newspaper
could have been local...
where she came from.
Nothing local.
"Times" and "Telegraph,"
mostly.
Are we done in here now?
Educated, posh voice,
laid down the law
in the reference library,
had class.
Must have had valuables.
No.
I don't mean
that bit of unspent money
from her pension.
You'd have taken that.
But the things middle-class
folk can't live without--
checkbook, credit cards.
Must have brought those.
I told you,
she had nothing.
Do you think
Wayne and me
would have wasted
a credit card?
She'd nowhere
to hide it,
but she must have
hidden it anyway.
Where?
No running water,
you said?
Geoffrey,
look in the cistern.
Bingo!
We'll look at it later.
No offense intended.
[Clacking sound]
What's that?
Starting at shadows.
Gets to you, this job.
Keswick.
Nowhere near the sea.
What's in
that packet?
A computer disk.
Not much good to us.
We haven't got
a computer.
We wouldn't know
how to use it if we had.
Don't be daft.
They have them
in primary schools these days.
Little children
play with them.
Not where I went
to school.
Nobody was computer-literate
or in any way.
The spelling of 4-letter words
gave us trouble.
That'll do.
Better keep it safe
till we find someone
who knows how to use it.
Well, at least we know
where she had her bank account.
That's somewhere to start.
MAN: I want
a word with you.
Right. They let me look
in the phone book.
Mary Nabley lived
in a village
at the end of the dale.
Bus service only runs
twice a week.
Ah.
How's your thumb,
Geoffrey?
Seems all right
to me.
Are you sure
this is the right one?
Lilac Cottage.
It's that other one looks
as though the owner's
done a runner.
HETTY: Oh.
Is Mary Nabley at home?
No, she's out.
Who wants her?
Mrs. Wainthropp...
and associate.
When will she be back?
I'm not quite sure.
Who am I speaking to?
And what business
is that of yours?
I'll ask the questions.
Who am I speaking to?
I'm her nephew.
I'm looking after her cottage
while she's away.
If you have any information
about where she is,
I'd be glad to know it.
Mary Nabley died in
suspicious circumstances
a month ago.
My colleague and I
are detectives
investigating the case.
Well, you'd better come in.
Who used to live in
that house over there?
MAN: Piddock Holme?
The, um, whole building
went up in flames,
and somehow Professor Fisher
was trapped inside.
It was at night.
He was burned to death
without anyone realizing
what was happening.
Somehow?
Sorry?
Could somebody
have locked him in?
I--I don't see
why anyone should.
There was
an open verdict
at the inquest.
What do the neighbors say?
My aunt was his
nearest neighbor.
And she's dead, too.
In suspicious
circumstances,
you said?
She fell and hit her head.
Well, that's
hardly suspicious.
It is when you don't know
how it happened.
This open verdict
on the professor--
could have been an accident,
might have been suicide,
even murder.
There's no reason
why anyone
should want to murder
Professor Fisher
and none why he should
take his own life.
You know that, do you?
Well...
Your aunt must have
had something to say
at that inquest.
She must have
heard something,
seen something,
a fire like that.
She wasn't at
the inquest.
She went away.
It...
The police were
rather annoyed.
We thought
it was because...
well, she was rather
fond of him, you see.
Then why didn't she stay
and help the coroner
find out how he died?
Well, surely that's not
hard to understand.
If one's
emotionally involved,
standing up there
in public,
answering questions--
she was a shy,
sensitive woman.
So shy and sensitive
that she ran away,
lived rough,
and got herself killed
just to avoid an inquest?
I find that
very hard to believe.
Mrs. Wainthropp,
I was totally unaware of
my aunt's death
until you told me
just now.
Now, I'm extremely
grateful to you
for letting
the family know,
but it's hardly
my business
or yours
to investigate.
What was Mr. Fisher
a professor of?
He was retired--
a retired professor.
And before he retired?
Some sort of biologist,
I think.
Good-bye,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
Well, we know
where to find you.
It's obvious
she knows nothing.
We'll still have to keep her
under observation, though.
What's to observe?
I hate
these messy cases.
"Piddock Holme."
There's 3 kinds of
piddock altogether.
They burrow into rock.
Mollusks?
What she was studying
in the reference library.
Burned to death
in his own shed?
That was never
an accident, Geoffrey.
And then she ran off
soon after
and took that computer
thing with her.
Bit fishy,
eh, Mrs. Wainthropp?
Now, then.
We'd better ask about.
There's a pub
on the main street.
There's better sources
of reliable information
in a village
than a lot of old men
sipping beer in a pub.
Anyway, we have to find
somewhere to spend the night.
WOMAN: Well, he was a funny man,
the professor.
He took against that
biochemicals place
that they built on
Melon Hill
and whipped up
the village people.
Did they go along
with him?
Not the old families, no.
We need the jobs.
It was newcomers, mostly.
"Doomsday scenario,"
he said--
pollution of the water,
no telling
where it would lead.
There was talk of
going to the law,
but it came to nothing.
He went a bit funny after.
How funny?
Well, there's a place
just below Melon Hill
where the outflow from
the factory comes into the lake.
He'd go there every day
come rain or shine,
and he'd bring back
freshwater shrimps
and mussels and such.
Mollusks?
Like a child with
[indistinct].
He wanted them for his
experiments, I suppose,
but it looked odd.
And then, I mean,
he wasn't a man for pets,
but he got himself
a couple of dogs--
couple of beagles,
a dog and a bitch.
Don't know if he was
going to breed them.
Ducks--although he'd
no experience with poultry--
and a couple of goats
to keep the grass down.
Mary Nabley.
Oh, she helped him.
What happened to
the dogs?
Couple of RSPCA
took them away in a van
after the accident.
If it was
an accident.
You don't think it was?
Animal Liberation Front.
Everybody knew that,
but nobody could
prove it.
How do you know
they were the RSPCA?
Well, they said they were.
A funny thing:
Lily Pirrin down the road
wanted to take the goats,
and they wouldn't allow it.
This place he used to go to,
where the outflow is--
can you tell us
how to get there?
Oh, I'll show you.
Gerry, get the map.
You can borrow
a couple of bikes,
and I'll put you up
a nice packed lunch.
What happened
to the ducks?
Oh, better
not to ask.
He'd come out here
with his net,
pick up a load of
freshwater shrimps,
and take them back
to his laboratory.
Suddenly, one night,
they all go up
in flames. Why?
You heard Gerry.
The village thinks
it was Animal
Liberation Front.
Someone has been feeding
the village false information.
This biochemicals place
is up the hill, she said.
Oh!
It's not what you
could call welcoming.
Yeah. We'd better
go back.
I've not climbed
all this way
to give up the moment
I get to the top.
Hello?
Excuse me!
Can I have a word?
Do you mind?
What goes on
in here, exactly?
If you were an authorized
person, madam,
you wouldn't need to ask.
Now, on your way,
both of you.
Politeness costs nothing.
We're not doing any harm.
Tell me,
was Professor Fisher
an authorized person?
Security gate to base.
I think we'd best
be off now,
Mrs. Wainthropp.
Animal Liberation Front.
Some folk would
believe anything.
Why should animal
liberators bother with
a few shrimps in a shed
at the bottom of a garden?
You can never tell.
There was a girl at
our school joined them,
and she went round
releasing bait from
fishing tackle shops.
Something from that place
was affecting those mollusks.
That's what the professor
was studying,
and that's what's on
the computer disk.
Something in the water?
Has to be.
There's things you read about
in the papers--
kiddies born with no eyes,
leukemia and such.
I don't read them bits.
You have to sometimes,
Geoffrey.
We'll have to look at
what's on that disk.
Robert could ask
at the school again.
We can look at it
in the village.
Gerry at the B and B--
she'll know someone.
We can't read it.
Why not?
It's a computer.
I haven't got
the software.
Frogspawn--I've never
even heard of it.
You see, a computer's just a
machine, Mrs. Wainthropp.
You have to give it
instructions
before it'll work.
That's called
the software.
Comes on a disk
like this one.
The professor was
a marine biologist.
He'd have had
specialist software.
Could the police
find it?
Probably,
but if he didn't want
anyone to read the file,
he'd have encrypted it.
You still couldn't get in
without a password.
Scientists.
They've
no consideration.
There isn't
a "For Sale" sign
outside
Piddock Holme,
and yet nobody
lives there.
Oh, some company
from London bought it.
I wonder
how they knew.
What, about him dying?
It was in the papers.
Well, if I'd read
in the paper
about a professor
burning to death,
I wouldn't put in
an offer
for his house
straight off.
Had he any family?
Oh, yeah.
Down south somewhere.
So have they moved
all his things
out of
the house, then?
No.
How do you know?
GERRY: It's this way.
That's interesting.
GEOFFREY: Must be
that nephew.
GERRY: He's gone
back to town.
There's nobody
in the house.
You could have
fooled me.
OK, it's open.
Quick as you can.
I wish I knew what
I was looking for.
Gerry?
Just 3 10-pound
notes so far.
He's used them
to mark his place
and then forgot.
I found the study,
but all the computer disks
are gone and all the papers.
There's summat
funny here.
All his music--
tapes and CDs--
it's classical,
Beethoven and stuff,
apart from this one--
"The Very Best Of
the Bee Gees."
Ugh.
Let's hear it.
? I'm going back
to Massachusetts ?
You have to admit
it's got a certain
old-fashioned charm.
That's music.
That's real music.
[Music stops]
MAN: You've asked me,
"What is the safety level
on the presence of these
hormones in the food chain?"
and I must tell you that
there is no safety level,
no matter what
the experts say,
because we simply
do not know.
Rehearsing a speech.
And we cannot know
until the damage has
already been done,
unless we begin now
to conduct the most
stringent tests
on a wide variety
of animal species,
including our own.
[Music resumes]
[Tape stops]
Then he did find
something then,
with those
experiments.
And then someone
found him.
I've been thinking,
Geoffrey,
about that light we saw
on the way in.
Remember
what I said to you
when they set
that trap for me--
the kidnapped girl
in the cottage?
The bleating
of the goat...
Excites the tiger.
Right.
And the flicker
of the candle flame
attracts the moth.
What do we do?
Wait for moths.
Come on.
You'll see.
Hey! Get off me!
[Indistinct shouting]
Now, let's take
a good look at you.
Geoffrey?
That'll teach you.
You stupid woman.
You've got some
explaining to do.
"Use your initiative."
They never say
what they really mean.
You have to work it out
for yourself.
"Take care of her."
How?
Oh, it's up to me,
the man on the ground.
That's what
they pay for.
They don't want
to be bothered.
Don't want to know
my troubles.
And now?
He won't be pleased.
You're not working for
the government, then?
I have worked for
the security services.
There's so much
privatization
these days,
you'd be surprised
what I get asked to do.
But not this time?
No, not as far
as I know.
I think I'd better make
an appointment
to see this boss of yours.
Mrs. Wainthropp,
Mr. Shawcross,
how very good
of you to come.
Sir Peter will see you
at once, Mrs. Wainthropp.
I'll try to make Mr. Shawcross
comfortable in here.
Mrs. Wainthropp
has arrived, Sir Peter.
SIR PETER:
Thank you, Caroline.
Do come with me.
SIR PETER:
Well, Mrs. Wainthropp,
you've been putting the cat
among the pigeons, I hear.
Do sit down,
Mr. Shawcross.
Thanks.
There was nothing
in the water--
nothing to worry anyone.
It worried
the professor.
He was a crank.
Before any wastewater
leaves our plant,
it's tested for everything
you can think of.
It's always well below
EEC safety levels.
So there wasn't
a cover-up
about the water.
There wasn't a cover-up
about anything.
Oh, yes, there was.
Mrs. Wainthropp,
I don't know where
your vivid imagination
has been leading you.
Did you really believe that
sinister secret agents
set fire to the professor's
laboratory
and murdered an old lady
who knew too much?
It's a possibility.
Well, it didn't happen
in this case.
What did happen...
to Mary Nabley?
She fell on the steps
and hit her head.
They got it right
at the inquest.
She wasn't pushed.
She fell.
Shall we make ourselves
more comfortable?
Tell me if I'm right,
Sir Peter.
The professor believed
that nobody can say
for sure what's safe
until the damage
has been done.
He collected
shrimps and such
from the outflow
to your plant
and ground them up
into a sort of paste.
He bought a couple
of beagles--
a dog and a bitch--
and fed it to them.
Two goats,
a billy and a nanny--
goats will eat
anything--
and ducks, and he
took some himself.
And he gave some
to Mary Nabley.
Probably told her
they were vitamins.
Mr. Brown seems to have been
remarkably indiscreet.
Oh, I didn't get
all this from Mr. Brown.
I worked some of it out
for myself.
Mollusks.
They change sex if
they're interfered with.
We got all that
from the encyclopedia.
They say in the market
that Mary Nabley
had facial hair.
Old women often do.
When she found out what
he was doing to her,
she killed him.
She locked him in that
shed with his shrimps
and set fire to it.
She may not have known
that he was in there.
She may have just wanted
to burn the shed.
And then she ran away,
taking a few personal
belongings with her--
including this.
May I?
She was my sister.
Mary Nabley?
Yes.
So that was
the cover-up.
Protecting yourself
from what your sister
had done.
Might have done.
But the press would
have had a field day.
It could have ruined
this company,
done quite a bit of harm
to the country generally--
jobs lost, exports lost.
Just a minute.
You tried to
have me killed.
Are you saying
that was to save jobs?
I fear Mr. Brown exceeded
his instructions.
He certainly did.
The inconvenience
will be reflected
in the size of your fee.
Excuse me.
Caroline?
His sister.
Well, there you are,
Geoffrey--
families.