Inspector Lewis (2006–2015): Season 9, Episode 5 - What Lies Tangled: Part 1 - full transcript

(BELLS CHIME)

(READS) 'I may not even answer at my trial

and it seems to me that there is
so much of this strength in me now

that I shall vanquish everything,
all of the suffering,

only so that I may keep saying
to myself constantly, "I am!"

I may endure a thousand
torments, yet I am.

I may writhe under torture, but I am.'

I may sit in a tower, but I exist.

I can see the sun,

but even if I cannot see the
sun, I know that it exists.

And to know that the sun is there...



.. that is living.

15.

It must be my lucky night.

My eyes are tired.

Maybe I should get an audio
book. They don't complain.

They don't get your medication either.

Or post your letters. Or see
that you do your exercises.

You do bang on, don't you?

- Thanks for the lift.
- It's not like it's out of my way.

Still, it's a bit early for
you to go in, isn't it?

I like to pull my weight now and then.

This is how the last one began.

Call me, will you? I left early
this morning. You were still asleep.

- Just let me know you're OK.
- Frank!



- Pick-up in Wantage.
- Again?

Ladies.

- Morning. Any mail for me?
- Yes, Professor Capstone.

- That's great.
- There you are.

- You've had your hair done?
- Yes.

- Very chic.
- Thank you!

Bomb disposal have given us the all clear.

Major blast trauma to the head and torso.

Severe lacerations from the shrapnel.

Designed to kill, then, not just maim.

Adam Capstone. 34.

Currently Bridson-Whitereid
Professor of Geometric Topology.

Pure maths, rather than applied. And
not to be confused with topography.

As if.

The secretary confirmed the parcel
arrived in the post this morning.

- Find out next of kin and get
Family Liaison on to them. - OK.

See if anyone was seen hanging
around prior to the explosion.

- Whoever did this might have stayed
to admire their handiwork. - Sir.

Excuse me. You have to let me --

Detective Inspector Lewis. Can I help?

I work here. They said
there was an accident.

Would you like to move back, Mr...?

Capstone. David Capstone.

Are you related to Adam Capstone?

He's my brother.

Would you like to come with me, sir?

How long have you and
your brother worked here?

Erm... we never really left.

I got my double first at 17.

Stayed on to do an MSc.

And then I joined the staff.

Adam was the same.

Only he got his double first at 16.

Two geniuses in one family.

That's an over-used word but erm...

We specialise in knot theory.

Knots have their own theory?

Yeah, there's some of them.

But it's the ones in DNA that
we're particularly interested in.

If the human nucleus was
the size of a basketball,

do you know how long
the DNA inside would be?

150 miles.

Sorry. It's what Adam tells his students.

Erm... TOLD his students.

Er... for the last few years, we've erm...

If you can figure out how DNA
coils up, how it's packed,

then you can unpack it.

Modify it. Repair it. That's
what we've been trying to do.

A team.

Any idea who would want
to attack you like this?

Er... our research? If what
we've discovered is correct,

then we're talking about new ways
to fight genetic diseases. Cancer.

New hope. New life.

Why would anyone want to stop that?

Maybe it was more personal.

Erm...

.. these came.

Adam wanted to get rid of
them. Said it was a crank.

That if we ignored them, they'd go away.

Any idea who sent them?

Mr Capstone?

Erm...

Well, there's someone. But I-I
can't believe that she'd...

Kate McMurdoch.

And she is?

She was one of our students.

Got it in her head that she'd
made some major discovery.

Accused us of stealing her research.

- And had you?
- No. God, no.

It's an inflated sense of her
own importance, I'm afraid.

We had to let her go and...

she wasn't happy.

Open day at the allotments.
Said I'd help on the cake stall.

- You haven't got time.
- I'll make time.

And the hospice? The day centre?

Checking up on me?

Find out if any groups have got
it in for this kind of research.

- Yeah, James is doing that --
- Individuals too. Blogs.

- Videos where they rant
in their bedrooms. - Sir.

- And check for any disgruntled
ex-employees. - Doing that too.

Right. So where are we
with this Kate McMurdoch?

Well, she's not at home, so Sergeant
Maddox is trying to track her down.

Maybe she's done a runner.

Maybe it's a bit early to tell.

(SIGHS) Imagine devoting your entire life

to working out how to unravel knots.

Imagine.

Kate McMurdoch is currently on
her way to the Cheddar Gorge.

Mountaineering Club.
They left this morning.

- How long for?
- Just for the day.

I'll be waiting for her
when she gets back.

'An explosion ripped through the
prestigious mathematics department

at Oxford University earlier today.

Police and treating it as
suspicious and believe it to be...'

- It's up.
- Hardly surprising, is it?

'.. one fatality confirmed, though a
dozen students and staff treated...'

Wallet, watch and wedding ring.

You should be able to get
a positive ID from those.

Yeah, we'll get them round to his wife.

At least her last memory
of him won't be... that.

- Thanks, love.
- Have you got it?

- Present, for the baby?
- No... not yet.

- Well, you suggested it.
- Yeah, well, I've been a bit distracted

with the bomb going
off. You know how it is.

All that way.

We don't want to turn
up empty-handed, do we?

No, I'll get onto it. I promise.

Exciting, isn't it?

Yes. That's his.

It has 'always' engraved
on the inside, see?

'Occasionally' would've
been more accurate.

I want to see him.

That's not a good idea.

We can arrange for someone
to visit you if you'd like.

No need.

- And we're going to need access
to some of his things. - Of course.

His computer. His phone
records, bank accounts.

Help yourself. You won't find anything.

Oh, were you going to
give one of these lectures?

We all were.

David, me... Adam.

- You're a mathematician too?
- No, I'm a chemist.

We do the lectures every year.

Mine are usually demonstrations,

chemical reactions, that sort of thing.

Adam's were always more flashy.

'Maths and the calculus
of coitus' was a good one.

Who knew maths could be such fun, right?

And what is the Lockston Foundation?

Donald. My father. He bankrolled
Adam and David's research.

Adam got to do whatever he liked
and Dad picked up the bill.

Oh, can we continue this outside?

I have a lecture to give.

Surely, in the circumstances --

I prefer it.

Keep busy. Better than being alone.

Not good at that.

Five years, we were married. I
should've left him long ago.

- God knows he gave me enough reason.
- He cheated on you?

Forgive me, but...

was your husband seeing
anybody at the moment?

I don't think so.

I was surprised when he went
into work early this morning.

I thought maybe... another student.

I tried leaving him three years ago.

February 7th, my birthday.

He'd gone to Toronto for a
symposium and I packed my bags.

You waited till he was out of the country?

I've never been very
good at confrontation.

But even then, I still took him back.

Hopeless.

I tried hating him, especially after
Paula, but that didn't work either.

Hopeless case, really, so...

- Who's Paula?
- Paula Guitteau.

She was one of his students
and they had a thing.

- Had? - They never
last long, Inspector.

The last time they met, Adam
said he wanted to end it.

Two days later, she started yelling rape.

- And did your husband rape her?
- No, of course he didn't.

I mean, he never denied having sex
with her, but it was consensual.

For old times' sake.

And you believed him?

The girl had... issues.
She was unreliable.

So the charges didn't stick
and the case was dropped.

Where can we find this Paula Guitteau?

You can't.

She committed suicide.

Mrs Guitteau?

I'm Detective Inspector
Lewis. This is DI Hathaway.

We'd like to talk to you about Paula.

Paula loved the garden.

She and Frank used to do it together.

Before Paula died, she went into
the garden to pick some flowers.

Peonies and forget-me-nots.

And she put them in a vase
and she left them here for us.

And she went upstairs.

This was after the rape
charges were dropped?

I found her.

She'd used a belt and a
hook on the back of the door.

It was her word against his, you see.

She didn't stand a chance.

Not against the maths superstar.

But they'd had a relationship?

Is that what you'd call it?

We're not exciting, Inspector, you know?

We're just ordinary.

To Paula, someone like Adam
Capstone must have seemed...

- She was flattered?
- No, she was just a child.

All he had to do was click his fingers...

It left her feeling... dirty.

She told him that she
wanted to end it so he er...

Afterwards, she felt so ashamed.

It took me two days to
convince her to tell someone.

"Trust me," I said.

"Tell the truth and
everything will be OK."

So it wasn't Adam Capstone who
wanted to end the relationship?

Nah. No, it was Paula.

She stood up to him and
he wouldn't accept it.

So he made her pay.

How did that make you feel?

How do you think?

I wish only bad things for Adam Capstone.

What?

Adam Capstone died this
morning, Mrs Guitteau.

Somebody sent him a bomb in the post.

My God...

Also a number of threatening letters.

Not from me.

What about your husband?

Frank gardens, Inspector.

Did Paula have other boyfriends?

She never mentioned any.

Well... might have been someone.

(READS) Always remember 060302.

Do those numbers mean anything to you?

What, like a date or something?

- 6th March, 2002.
- Or the 3rd of June if you're American

but that'd still make
her only about seven.

Sorry. No.

Do you mind if...?

Kate McMurdoch?

DS Maddox. Have you got a few minutes?

- Thanks, Mrs Guitteau.
- Right, thanks.

That was forensics.

The bomb was made out of fulminated
mercury packed into a small pipe.

You open the box and...

- Boom.
- Mmm.

Mercury's not easy stuff to get your
hands on, especially not nowadays.

OK, why don't we check if there
have been any break-ins recently

in warehouses, merchants, labs?

Oh, listen. I need to
make a little detour.

I promised to buy a present for the baby.

- Apparently we're not allowed to turn
up emptyhanded. - No, it's bad form.

- So, any ideas?
- What, me?

Something that says
'Oxford'. Metaphorically.

Pair of handcuffs?

You know Frank Guitteau's job
is collecting office waste?

Picking up electrical goods for
recycling, that sort of thing.

- So? - There's mercury in
fluorescent light bulbs.

So, do you want to go back to the station

and take a closer look at Frank Guitteau?

- What about the present?
- Nah, later.

Two years I was on the team.

David invited me to
join after I graduated.

To study knots?

It sounds mad, doesn't it?

- But our research --
- OUR research?

I still feel a part of it.

And yet you walked away.

Yeah, a couple of months ago.

Adam and David were heading down
a dead end. I steered them away.

And more than that, it was that
study of spiral knot determinants

that led to everything else.

There wouldn't have been a breakthrough

if it hadn't have been for me.

Afterwards, when Adam and David
presented their findings...

I wasn't even mentioned.

It was like they'd done
all the work themselves.

I'd been photoshopped out.

I went to them. I told them
I thought it was unfair.

And Adam said all I'd
done was the grunt work.

I hadn't made the final connection,

even though it was right
there in front of me.

"Grunt work".

Must have made you very angry.

I yelled a bit, yeah.

Eyewitness said you went...

"batshit in the atrium".

Maybe a little.

Somebody sent David and Adam
Capstone threatening letters.

Not me.

OK. We're done.

As you can see, I still
have some movement.

I've got the full Stephen
Hawking to look forward to.

It's genetic, no known cure.

Is that why you agreed
to fund the Capstones?

To find a cure?

I'm beyond all help.

But if their research can make
a difference after I'm gone,

and I make it possible...

- that's got to be worth
something, hasn't it? - A legacy.

Better than a blue plaque.

Did you know Adam Capstone?

No. Not very well.

He used to come sometimes with
Elizabeth, Donald's daughter,

but we didn't speak much.

Were either of you aware of the
allegations made by Paula Guitteau?

Well, the... The girl was troubled.

What she did was terrible,
but that was her choice.

Adam was entirely blameless,
is that what you think?

I think it's none of our business.

I suppose you're right.

I should go. Grace'll be hungry.

- Grace?
- My three-year-old.

She's with the childminder. She
doesn't like to be kept waiting.

Especially when food's involved, I bet.

- You've got kids?
- One of each.

A long time since they were three, mind.

I'll check in later. We can
do some neck stretches.

Gentlemen.

Sarah. She lives in.

Easier to torture me.

I don't know what I'd do
without her. Wither, I suppose.

Would you excuse me for a minute?

Ms Alderwood?

- Adam Capstone...
- What about him?

You didn't like him very much, did you?

Adam was a shit, frankly.

Which is how he treated Elizabeth.

How did Donald feel about that?

Donald spends 90% of his day
just trying to get through it.

A large part of my job
is to help him do that.

Now, if that means avoiding
ways of upsetting him, then fine.

So we pussyfoot around the subject,
pretend that everything's OK.

Can't been easy.

I'd do anything for Donald.

Even if I could, I wouldn't get
involved. It's not my place.

Besides, Elizabeth is
tougher than she thinks.

All that self-doubt and no
confidence on the outside,

but on the inside...

just like her mother.

Pure tungsten.

No break-ins here, I'm happy to say.

Everything's kept under
strict lock and key.

So who normally has access
to all of the chemicals?

Students and members of staff.

We er... We each have a key card

and everything has to be accounted for.

- How hard is it to fulminate
mercury? - It's not.

You just mix mercury with
concentrated nitric acid

and add the resulting aqueous
mercury nitrate to ethanol. Simple.

- So anyone could do it?
- If they have the chemicals.

Ah, Professor Dimmock. You're busy.

That's all right. I'm being grilled
by the police. It's very exciting.

DS Maddox. And you are?

Djimon Adomakoh.

Mr Adomakoh is one of our brightest
stars, all the way from New York.

A postgraduate research
fellowship beckons.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

Were you looking for me?

Er... yes, but it can wait. Sorry.

I'm going to need a list
of all students and staff.

- Anyone who has access.
- Of course.

You take security seriously here?

Students with unlimited
access to chemicals

and the knowledge to turn
them into something illegal --

asking for trouble, don't you think?

(PANTS)

ELIZABETH: 'Mercury's a real pain.

Especially if you spill
it. So, you know, don't.'

MADDOX: She's got loads of videos
online. Lectures, demos. All sorts.

She wouldn't have any problem
getting hold of mercury.

And she'd know what to do with it.

Plus she said she hates confrontation.

What, you're saying it's easier to
send a bomb than just have a row?

Well, we know she
resented Adam's behaviour

but couldn't bring herself to leave him.

Which would make her resent him even more.

And I've seen a lot of grieving
widows, but never one like her.

Right, I'm gone.

I've got to skype Tony. They've
just offered him another year.

- Have you said yes?
- We are thinking about it.

Well that's... great, isn't it?

Er... yeah.

Yes.

Better prospects. Better
money. Better pension.

We're dead happy. See you in a bit.

Right, I'm going to scoot too.

What, is it something I said?

No. I'm just going to go and sit with Dad.

He seems to like it this
time of day. Toodle pip!

My wife's thinking of getting
a new car. Hatchback.

Card.

I think a bike's better.

Stand.

ANSWERPHONE: 'Hi, it's Adam. I'm
obviously being a genius somewhere,

or, more likely, I've forgotten my phone,

so leave me a message and
I promise I'll get back

just as soon as I stop being a genius

or find my phone, whichever comes first.'

ELIZABETH: '.. it's useful to
have a mercury spillage kit,

which contains sulphur and lime...'

Brushing up on your chemistry?

She's good, in a Royal Institute
Christmas Lecture-type way.

And I bet you watched every one of them.

Highlight of my holidays.

Adam Capstone certainly
seems to be enjoying it.

And so does Paula Guitteau.

I've also been checking up
on Adam Capstone's emails.

I don't suppose his passcode's 060302?

- Not that simple, sadly.
- Never is.

Oh, hang on.

These, he's deleted off the computer
but they've stayed on the server.

- They're emails from his brother.
- So why delete them?

(READS) Think of someone
else for a change.

Carry on, and I'll kill you.

I'm guessing that's why.

Yes, we argued.

"Carry on, and I'll kill you"?

I was angry. I said some terrible
things and I wish that erm...

You argued about who would
benefit from your discovery?

Yes. Adam was all, it
belongs to the world.

And you disagree?

Why shouldn't we make some
money? We've worked hard enough.

So you agreed to sell
to AKGC Pharmaceutical?

Who have the wherewithal
to develop a product

that will change the world.

What we've discovered is the first
step. The toolbox, if you like.

There's still a long way before
there's a drug on the market.

And if they want to pay us
for that, where's the harm?

Adam didn't seem to think
that money was the issue.

You never do when you have it.

Do you need money, Mr Capstone?

No, as it happens.

Besides, Adam was being
a bit disingenuous.

There's still money to be had.

Recognition. Tenure at a nice,
rich college in the States.

Did like your brother, Mr Capstone?

How can you even ask that?

Yes, we rowed.

Yes, I disagreed with
some of the things he did.

But... Adam knew me better than anyone,

and I him.

My whole life, there hasn't been
a day that he wasn't a part of.

He was my brother, so never
make the mistake, Inspector,

of thinking that I didn't love him.

How well did you know Paula Guitteau?

I didn't. I never taught
her. Adam looked after her.

You stood by your brother even after
she accused him of raping her.

Yes.

And after she... did what she did.

Which sort of answers your
earlier question, doesn't it?

Sort of.

Look, I know the emails look bad.

It's the last thing I said to my brother

and I never got the
chance to put it right.

The deal still going through with AKGC?

Yes. It always was.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I
have a fundraiser to attend.

It's not that I really feel like
it but, you know, duty calls.

Ah, Inspector. I didn't
see you on the guest list.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I realise
this isn't very convenient,

but I do have a couple of questions
I need to ask you if that's OK?

Perfectly. Professor Dimmock here
was just about to leave anyway.

Let's go and find somewhere a bit quieter.

Give my smile muscles a bit of a rest.

About the only ones I've got left.

Come this way.

Did you know that David was
hoping to sell their research

to AKGC Pharmaceutical?

Yes.

And Adam disagreed?

It was his right.

It wasn't meant to be
about getting rich quick.

So you didn't approve?

Well, the money didn't come
with any strings, Inspector,

but, no, I didn't like it.

And now there's nothing
stopping it from happening.

David had it hard growing up.

In what way?

Whatever David did, Adam
did quicker. And younger.

A levels. Oxbridge entry.

David is brilliant, but Adam
was the truly gifted one.

He could see connections.
Make leaps that others...

.. that David couldn't.

On the other hand, David
could do all the groundwork.

Put in the hours, build the foundations.

And then Adam would come along...

.. and steal all the glory?

Well, make all the difference.

And was David jealous?

He understood.

They complemented each other.

Singly, they were remarkable
mathematicians, but flawed.

Together, they were extraordinary.

(SIGHS) David loved his
brother, Inspector.

He'd never harm him.

Not David.

Would you like me to...?

Yes, Thank you.

- Came for a top-up.
- Help yourself.

This not your thing?

Rubbish at all the glad-handing.

Besides, she likes my full
attention when she's eating.

That's the thing about three-year-olds.

So set in their ways.

Oh, I've always wanted to go there.

I saw those when I was in Toronto.

It was winter. They were frozen solid.

Amazing.

Oh, try to keep hold of it, munchkin.

Always more useful that way.

- When did you say that was?
- What?

- That you were in Canada.
- Three years ago.

February, was it?

The same time that Adam
Capstone was there.

How old did you say she is?

It began soon after I started here.

I was vulnerable and Adam
sensed it. Easy pickings.

- Vulnerable?
- I was lonely.

I'd lost my job at the hospital and
I was going through a rough patch.

My husband divorced me. I was a mess.

But coming here was the first step back.

Adam was funny and attentive...

and I...

I adored him.

Or at least I thought I did.

So, what happened when you
found out you were pregnant?

I told him I was going to keep her.

And he made me promise not to
tell anyone who the father was.

Promise? In return for what?

- Money?
- For a while.

Then Elizabeth found
out about the payments.

Adam fessed up. That was that.

So Elizabeth knew?

Where are we with the grieving dad?

- Frank Guitteau? Still digging.
- You think he could make a bomb?

Fulminating mercury is not that
hard if you've got the right kit.

Even so, it's a bit specialised, isn't it?

It's hardly your basic weapon of choice.

Then there's the hate mail.

- That's a major line of enquiry.
- So it is.

Professor Dimmock from the chemistry lab

has given me a list of those
who have access to the supplies.

Start with them.

Maybe one has links to the maths
department we don't know about.

(MOBILE PHONE RINGS)

(SIGHS)

(TUTS)

'This is a message for Mr Djimon Adomakoh

to call Sergeant Maddox at
Oxford Police. Thank you.'

Police want to see me.

- It's not enough.
- It's what we agreed.

- I need more.
- That's all there is.

- You owe me.
- I owe you what's in there.

- I'm calling it a day.
- What?

- It's too dangerous.
- We're not doing anything illegal.

Tell that to the pit boss.

Please, David.

A few more games. Don't I deserve that?

No, we quit while we're ahead.

And you just get to decide?

That's right.

- They'll find out.
- You don't know that.

If the police are asking
questions, they will find out.

It's gonna be OK. We just wait it out.

What else can we do?

Come on.

- So the wife knew about the baby?
- According to Sarah Alderwood, yeah.

Plus, money from the pharmaceutical
deal her husband opposed.

With him out the way,
it's sure to go through.

And as his widow, she
stands to benefit bigtime.

So that's two motives and
unlimited access to mercury, right?

I think I've got something.

We know that the letters
sent to Adam Capstone

were processed through
these sorting offices --

Wallingford... Thame...

and Kidlington.

And this is a copy of Frank
Guitteau's pick-up itinerary

for the whole of the last month.

On the day the letters were sent,

he had pick-ups in Thame, Kidlington...

Wallingford.

It's a coincidence, that's all!

Yes, I was in those places.

So what? So were a lot of
people. Hey, it's my job.

Do you handle a lot of
fluorescent bulbs here?

A fair amount.

- Do you know how to extract mercury from them?
- Of course I don't. Why?

The bomb that killed Adam
Capstone was made from mercury.

And you hold Adam Capstone responsible

- for the death of your daughter.
- He was responsible.

You wanted to make him
pay for what he'd done?

I wanted him to be scared.
I didn't want to kill him.

Look...

They were just letters.

OK? Nothing else.

He'd got off scot-free. Like nothing
had ever happened. Whereas we...

Do you know my wife
spends her waking hours

volunteering for every bloody
charity you can think of?

She's more interested in
strangers than she is me.

We just live in this... fog.

I couldn't save my girl and
now I can't save my wife.

I wanted to make him hurt a little.

I could do that, at least.

I'm sorry, Frank, we're going to
have to take you down the station.

16.

Card.

Too many.

Is this necessary?

Your husband didn't say anything
to you about what he was doing?

- No!
- You had no idea?

Since Paula died, we don't say
much to each other about anything.

David Capstone said he didn't know Paula.

He obviously gave her tutorials too.

Look, he marked some of her papers.

Yes, Mr Capstone, it's DI Hathaway.

Erm... I need to ask you
a few more questions.

Clarify a few things.

Yeah, see you in half an hour.

David.

We've been through this.

After everything I've done for you?

Go home, Andrew.

What did you get in the end?

- Sorry?
- For the baby.

Nothing. Yet.

I haven't found the right thing.

Go on.

You should probably tell Laura, you know.

- What?
- That you don't want to go.

Look, I just haven't got around
to buying anything, that's all.

Right.

I forgot.

And that's not symbolic.

- (CLASSICAL MUSIC BLASTS)
- Mr Capstone!

(RINGS DOORBELL)

David Capstone!

Help me!

- David!
- In here.

Shut that row off, will you?

(SWITCHES MUSIC OFF)

- What do I do?
- Just put it down very carefully.

Give me bomb disposal. 119 Oldfield Road.

I can't. It'll go off.

Nice and gentle.

David, look at me.

Just put it down very slowly.

You can do this.

I don't wanna die.

Nobody's gonna die.

Sir? It's Lewis and Hathaway.
There's been another explosion.