Midsomer Murders (1997–…): Season 5, Episode 2 - A Worm in the Bud - full transcript
A woman is found dead in Setwale Wood, an apparent suicide, except that her suicide note is emailed after her body has already been sighted.
CHILD: The children
walked through the woods
for hours and hours.
The trees got bigger and bigger
and it was getting dark.
There was lots of thunder
and animals made horrid
rustling noises in the night -
foxes and wolves
and a huge big bear.
There's no bears.
There was then,
with fangs to eat you.
Can we go back, Julie?
The bear's coming. Run, Sean.
Julie.
Julie! Come back.
Bear's got me.
Julie. Where are you?
I'll tell.
Aaaaaargh.
Stay there.
I understand the feelings
of the Midsomer Worthy community.
Setwale Wood has been a place
of recreation for generations.
Children play there,
people walk their dogs, picnic,
and I'm sure all sorts of things.
But none of that alters the fact
that the land belongs
to Mr Harrington.
As for this long list
of objections,
nothing warrants an injunction
to prevent Mr Harrington
selling his wood, or Whitley Estates
felling it.
With all due respect, your honour.
Ms Sullivan.
Whenever a barrister addresses
the bench with those words
it is because he, or she, is about
to show no respect at all.
Please, don't.
CLERK: All rise.
TROY: Where do they get
these judges?
The man burgled his way through
every village in the county.
We catch the criminals,
we offer up the evidence.
Not everyone likes what happens
in court.
Maybe the judge is right -
give the boy one more chance.
Oh, look! A squadron of pigs
over Causton?
It's not finished.
They move in next week.
Setwale Wood will be flattened
in a fortnight.
Over my dead body.
Suits me.
Not the way, Simon.
There are those who prefer your body
alive and kicking.
Right, Ms Sullivan?
I'm a police officer and I want you
two to walk away from each other
in opposite directions. Now.
Or I'll arrest you both.
Nice day for it, Rector.
OK, off you go. I've got to talk
to Mummy.
I've already heard.
You should have seen the look
on Simon's face.
He really thought that bitch
of a barrister would beat me.
Anyway, the whole thing'll be done
in a couple of weeks
and the money in the bank.
You'll be relieved.
Come on, Caroline.
We can put the separation
behind us.
The boys'll have a proper home
again.
The way it was.
The way it was is what worries me.
What do you mean?
Susan Bartlett.
How do I trust you again
if you're screwing her?
I'm not.
I'm not, Caroline.
Susan Bartlett stood between us
through six years of marriage.
If she's still there, forget it all.
You can sell your precious farm
and pay me what you owe.
No point going through it all again.
I'm not losing because
some old judge
can't see past the end of his nose.
Setwale Wood belongs to James.
Whatever we say about the
environment or the local community
it means sod all.
One of the intriguing things about
English Common Law is it's a mess.
The further back you go,
the bigger the mess.
I don't think a history lesson's
going to solve things.
We don't need a solution.
Just the mess.
500 years ago Abbey Farm
was part of Midsomer Abbey.
It was sold off
after the dissolution.
According to these half of any
profit made from Setwale Wood,
cash or kind, can be claimed
by the abbot's successor.
That's the rector.
This wouldn't stand up
for five minutes.
This is ammunition for months
of legal wrangling.
Harrington will be bankrupt before
a chain-saw starts buzzing.
Why keep it back till now?
Pointless telling the rector
he might have a financial interest
in the wood, if you were getting
Abbey Farm anyway.
This is about saving Setwale Wood,
Bernadette,
not forcing James out.
So you buy Abbey Farm and
save the environment.
A perfect end.
I've got to go.
Cows don't care what time
you get home, Simon,
either the ones
in the milking parlour
or the one in the house.
Sorry, Victoria.
Didn't see you. My fault.
Not nice when neighbours drag you
into a courtroom.
So you'll understand
I'm a bit preoccupied.
I do, James, perfectly.
As your mother might put it -
preoccupied as a newt.
HORN BLARES
We ran all the way to the road,
all the way home.
They'd never have caught us.
Hi. Hi.
It's filthy out there.
(BOTH) Hello, Dad.
Hello.
James Harrington
has just missed me.
He was on the wrong side
of the road, not even looking.
What happened in court?
He can cut the wood.
I wish he'd lost, but at least it
might put a stop to it all.
We nearly found the robbers' hideout
in the wood, Dad.
There was a lady they knocked out.
Their dog came after us.
Julie! there's no robbers
in Setwale Wood.
Don't go on about it.
She must have seen them hiding.
Then they hit her
so they could escape.
That's enough.
You frightened the life
out of your brother.
I don't want to hear any more
of your stories.
Come on, both of you upstairs.
It's not my bedtime.
It is tonight.
Go on, off you go.
CHILDREN LAUGH AND SING
THUNDER PEELS
HORN BEEPS
What the hell are you doing?
There's a footpath there,
not a car park.
You'll know what trespass is.
Mr Harrington, you'd be very unwise
to allow them
to start felling trees.
Just a bit of preliminary work.
They move in next week.
But that hasn't got anything
to do with you or anybody.
We will be going back to court.
You've fired all your guns.
Oh, no.
And you don't know how much the next
salvo's going to cost you.
WOMAN: Hello, Julie.
What are you up to?
She's doing it again.
Hmm? Victoria Bartlett,
garden inspection.
Every time she tells me
how well it's doing
she means 'must try harder'.
She does it to everybody.
Not everyone lives opposite her.
Julie's still sulking.
She normally forgets these stories
after five minutes.
I've got to exercise
the hounds so she can come with me.
I'll go up where they were playing,
have a look.
It's only encouraging her, Sam.
No, cold light of day.
It'll put an end to it all.
We done? I could do with a drink.
Ah, marvellous, ladies. Delightful.
Hannah, I do think a gun
in church...
Oh! Well, I could hardly
leave it outside.
That would be terribly
irresponsible of me.
I must go.
I think we can expect news
of Setwale Wood.
Bernadette - um, Ms Sullivan -
feels there are legal avenues
still to explore.
Ms Sullivan only bought a house here
a year ago.
Mostly she's in London.
She means to help.
Hannah's family has been here for
hundreds of years, like mine.
I love the wood as much as anyone,
but I don't see things
the way my son does.
And if there's no other way
for James to save his farm,
I can't blame him.
He's got forestry people up there
already. We'll have to move quickly.
Oh, dear.
Hello, Victoria.
Bernadette.
I didn't mean to interrupt.
Oh, it's alright.
I'm just clearing up.
I'll leave you two
to conspire alone.
Yes, the documents
are in the vestry.
I did see the lady.
Julie, stories aren't lies,
but they're not the truth either.
It's not a story.
Come back.
Chaser. Pharaoh. Come here.
Come here.
Rufus, come here! Come here, boy.
I want you to go straight home
and tell your mother to phone
the police and an ambulance.
What's wrong?
Tell her to phone the kennels too.
We'll need the lorry
to take the hounds back.
But we were going to walk.
Just go and do it, Julie.
Troy.
Sir! Over here.
Do we know who she is?
Susan Bartlett. Local farmer's wife.
Same one.
We met him yesterday, throwing
a punch outside court.
It's a positive ID, is it?
Yes. Mr Fielding knows her.
He found the body?
His dogs did.
He was exercising
the Midsomer Hunt pack.
He's the kennel master.
Mr Fielding.
I'm Detective
Chief Inspector Barnaby.
I pulled her out.
I couldn't leave her in there.
I knew there was nothing
I could do for her.
She must have been dead since
yesterday afternoon.
How do you mean,
since yesterday afternoon?
My daughter saw the body.
We didn't believe her.
Your daughter saw the body dead?
Yeah.
But not in the pond.
Somewhere in the bushes.
I just thought it was
one of her stories.
Sorry.
I'm really sorry.
Just tell me where the bitch is?
Really, Mr Harrington,
I won't have that kind...
..Leave the sanctimonious clap trap.
The police have cordoned off
the wood.
They won't let me on my own land,
they won't say why.
Where's the Sullivan woman?
I...I think she's gone.
Gone...to London.
I'll have her.
Simon. All of you.
We're a heifer short
in the top field.
In the barn. Looked a bit lame.
You couldn't tell me that, Jonah?
Weren't here for me to tell.
I'll print out a list of cows
ready for AI.
Can you check it before they go out?
Now, Jonah.
Should be an e-mail to confirm
the bulls.
I don't need guff to tell me
a cow's bulling.
It's never right that thing.
Cows know when they're for serving.
That's the Lord's work,
that is.
"There shall not be male or female
barren among you,
or any of your cattle."
Have you seen Susan this morning?
Is she still in bed?
I just came to leave her eggs.
She comes and goes
when she comes and goes.
About as predictable as you
in that department.
Susan?
Where are you?
Susan?
HORN BLARES
Move it. Move it now, you idiots.
Get out of my way.
Mr Bartlett!
Move it now or I do it myself.
Mr Bartlett, you may remember me.
We met yesterday.
I'm Detective Chief
Inspector Barnaby.
This is Detective Sergeant Troy.
And I need to talk to you.
Where would your wife have sent this
from, Mr Bartlett?
She had a laptop in the house.
She had her own e-mail address,
did she?
Where was she? I mean what...
The body was found in Setwale Wood
this morning.
It appears she drowned.
We'll know more
after the post-mortem.
I will have to ask you to confirm
her identity, sir.
Poor Susan.
I just never thought...
Shall we...
..Shall we go up to the house, sir?
Obviously there are
questions I need to ask you.
Yeah.
See what else you can get here.
TROY: Mr Bloxham?
You don't live on the farm?
When was the last time you saw
Mrs Bartlett?
Yesterday.
What time was that?
After morning milking.
10:00, maybe.
You didn't see her after that?
Not here I didn't.
I saw her yesterday. Early.
That was the last time.
I was going out,
she was coming downstairs.
She wasn't in when you got back
from the court?
I don't know. I assumed she was.
I went straight to bed myself.
The court case had been
a bit of a shock.
We needed to take stock,
so we'd been talking till late.
And you were where?
At Bernadette Sullivan's - she's
the barrister for the campaign.
What time did you get home?
10:30, a little later.
You had separate bedrooms?
Dairy farmers work unsociable hours.
It was better for Susan.
Who else was at this meeting?
It wasn't a meeting exactly,
it was more of a debriefing.
Bernadette and me.
What was this 'truth' that's being
referred to in the e-mail?
"I must face up to the truth now.
No more pretending."
What was that?
Susan and I had been trying to start
a family for the last eight years,
ever since we were married.
Didn't happen.
And you think that's what she means?
I knew the truth a long time ago
but for Susan there was always
another consultant, another drug,
some high-tech science mumbo jumbo.
There was never going to be a baby.
She wouldn't accept it.
I didn't know how bad
her depression had got.
He last saw his wife
8 o'clock yesterday morning.
What about Bloxham,
was he here all day?
On and off. Last saw Mrs Bartlett
at 12:00 on his way to the village.
She was leaving
the Harrington farm.
Bartlett was just about to go into
court with this man Harrington.
Not the best time to drop in
for a cup of coffee, was it?
Susan Bartlett only went to Abbey
Farm when her husband wasn't around.
Do I detect a euphemism?
Bloxham reckons they were at it.
That's better, Troy.
Don't start discussing matters
of the flesh
with delicacy and discretion,
I'll never know
what you're talking about.
PHONE RINGS
Oh, hello, Simon.
What is!?
Alright. What's happened?
Just tell me.
You sure about all this?
Oh, yes. I saw her. In the bushes.
What were her clothes like?
I couldn't see exactly
and then we were frightened
and we ran.
I saw a shoe.
Thank you, Sean.
And you couldn't see
who this person was?
A lady.
Do you think she'd been hurt?
She could have been knocked out.
Like by a robber.
But later I thought it was -
like she was asleep, you know.
The dog was a Jack Russell.
I didn't know him
but I would remember.
If you got all the Jack Russells
together,
I could pick him out.
We'll think about the dog later.
Now, for the moment I don't want you
to say anything to anyone.
No one at all.
It has to be a secret.
Can you do that for me?
We could help. We could find things.
You've been a great help already.
Thank you, Julie.
You two go upstairs and play.
Inspector Barnaby's got a lot to do.
Come on, Sean. Goodbye.
Bye, Julie. Bye, Sean.
I don't know what to say.
She's been telling so many tales
lately, making things up,
all about the woods.
If only we'd listened,
if we'd just...
PHONE RINGS
MACHINE: Hi, there. I can't
get to the phone just now.
Please leave a message.
BARTLETT: Bernadette, I need to talk
to you, something terrible...
Susan...
I was trying to get hold
of Bernadette, to tell her that...
Don't you have more important things
to see to?
I...I don't know...
Susan's dead.
If there's anything you can do
to stop people believing her suicide
was your fault, you should do it.
I know you didn't have much time
for her in life lately,
but I'd like to think that in death
you can do something more decent
than rush off into the arms
of your mistress.
Oh, it's you.
Chief Inspector Barnaby, right?
You've got a bloody cheek.
Don't think you're
going to get away with it.
My woods, my timber -
that's what the judge said.
Shall we start again,
Mr Harrington?
We don't seem
to be on the same track.
I need to ask you some questions.
You won't let me into Setwale Wood.
I'm the one with the questions.
There is a police investigation
going on in Setwale Wood.
Nobody is allowed in until
I'm satisfied
the scene has been preserved
and the evidence is safe.
Evidence of what?
Do you know Mrs Susan Bartlett?
What kind of a question is that?
I haven't got time to waste.
Can you say when you last saw
Mrs Susan Bartlett, please?
I wouldn't know.
I pass her in the street.
I don't talk to the woman.
Mrs Bartlett's body was found in
a pond in Setwale Wood this morning.
She was dead.
The wood belongs to you.
Shall we come inside
then you can tell me what
the Susan Bartlett you don't talk to
was doing here yesterday morning.
She was here.
What time?
11-ish.
She didn't stay.
I had to be in court.
She popped in, that's all.
Did she make a habit of popping in?
Of course she didn't.
So why yesterday?
The row over Setwale Wood.
She thought there could be
a last ditch compromise
between Simon and me.
A waste of time.
You saw that yourself.
Let me make something clear to you.
I'm investigating
a suspicious death.
At the moment
you're one of the last people
to have seen Susan Bartlett
alive.
You think somebody killed her?
Did anyone have a reason to?
For God's sake, I didn't.
Then the truth shouldn't be
a problem, should it?
Simon and I grew up together.
We weren't always
at each other's throats.
We were friends.
Susan and I were an item
in our teens.
Then I was away,
agricultural college.
Next thing she's marrying Simon.
A whirlwind romance. Like hell.
He was at her behind my back
all the time.
A long time ago.
I was still in love with her.
My wife, Caroline, knew eventually.
Didn't make for much of a marriage.
Mrs Bartlett.
Can we get up to date?
Susan was...
Yes?
She made a play for me.
All these years later.
So it happened.
I needed to find out how I felt.
And I did.
I realised I'd stopped loving her
a long time ago.
I knew what was really important -
Caroline, the boys.
So I ended it.
Yet she was here
on the day she died.
I'd told her it was over.
She didn't get the message.
I told her again.
Where were you last night?
I was in the pub.
Couple of pubs.
I came home. Had another drink.
Went to bed.
Can anyone confirm that?
Not once I left the last pub.
You're wasting your time here.
Don't husbands usually top the list
of suspects?
There's no one on the top of any
list as yet, Mr Harrington.
Doesn't mean to say there won't be.
I may not know a lot about farming,
but I'm very used to separating
the sheep from the goats.
There's no doubt about the cause
of death, is there? Or the time?
Right, I'll pick the report up
tomorrow morning.
Post mortem?
Yes. Susan Bartlett
definitely drowned.
And she drowned some time
between 10pm and 2am.
No sign of any kind of a struggle.
The suicide note was e-mailed
at 9:48.
So the suicide theory
fits perfectly.
Except for the fact that Julie
Fielding saw Susan Bartlett's body
lying in Setwale Wood
earlier that afternoon.
If Julie did see the body,
it was at least six hours
before Mrs Bartlett died.
Well, that gives us something
to go on, doesn't it?
What?
It doesn't make any sense
at all, does it?
"As I was walking up the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
"He wasn't there again today.
I wish, I wish he'd stay away."
I spent the night at my flat
in London. I've just walked in.
Was it an accident?
Not an accident, no. The general
opinion in the village is suicide.
But that's not your opinion?
Other people's assumptions are
interesting. I've made none myself.
You're a barrister. You understand
about suspicious death.
Mr Bartlett says
he spent the evening of the Setwale
Wood court case here. Is that right?
Yes.
When did he leave?
I'm not sure exactly.
10:00, half-past.
And you were with him
all that day since...
..Since the night before.
There was a case to prepare.
It was late. He stayed the night.
Silence signifies you'd like to
know the nature of our relationship.
It would save time.
I didn't make up the spare bed.
Mr Bartlett chose not to tell me
that he spent the previous night
here with you.
Discretion.
The Bartletts have an image
in the community.
Did Mrs Bartlett know
about the relationship?
Maybe.
I never got the impression she was
very concerned what Simon got up to.
She had other things on her mind.
But then you'll know about that.
No. Like what?
Depression. It was hardly a secret.
Look, I'm sorry about Susan,
of course.
But I barely knew the woman.
If she did commit suicide, I don't
suppose it's much of a surprise.
But the short version is -
Simon was with me
from 9:00 in the morning
till 10:30 the following night.
He didn't go home at all?
Briefly. To talk to Bloxham.
There's more to say about cows
than I've fathomed.
How long was he there?
An hour and a bit.
You're surely not suggesting
Simon had something to do with his
wife's death? That's absurd.
No, I'm sure you're right.
Well, thank you.
Thank you for your help,
Ms Sullivan.
Morning.
What's happened?
Who is...
PHONE RINGS
Bernadette, why the hell didn't you
tell me you were going away?
I was trying to get hold of...
..What did he want?
I'll need to take these back,
Mr Bartlett.
I'll give you a receipt.
Who the hell do you think it was?
Yes!?
I'll talk to you later.
Ms Sullivan?
Any reason why not?
Look, am I going to get
an explanation for all this?
Why is my house being searched?
Why are Susan's things being taken?
The laptop that Sergeant Troy
has just removed.
Anyone, apart from you and
your wife, have access to that?
It was hers. I didn't use it.
Never?
Never.
The problem is, the computer was used
to send the e-mail,
the suicide note.
It was sent when your wife's body
had been lying in Setwale Wood
for at least six hours,
probably longer.
So whoever e-mailed it to you,
it wasn't her.
Your wife did drown, sir, but
I don't think she killed herself.
I think she was murdered.
Morning, Sergeant.
I need to have a look around
the farm, Mr Harrington.
I haven't got a search warrant
Help yourself, old son.
Inside, outside.
There are no bodies that I can call
to mind, but you never know.
Just one thing. You won't leave
a mess, will you?
Mrs Bartlett had a computer,
a laptop.
You weren't aware of it?
I can't say that I was.
She did bang on about the web.
Gynaecological advice on the web,
Tarot card readings.
Not my sort of thing.
There's enough bullshit
in Midsomer Worthy
without scouring the planet
for the stuff.
You didn't have access
to this computer?
PHONE RINGS
Never even seen it.
I haven't been inside Grange Farm
for 10 years.
Hello.
Oh, hello, Mother.
Yes, there is a policeman here
as it happens.
Are they putting up a schedule
in the post office?
By all means.
It's my mother.
She's in urgent need
of a policeman for some reason.
I'm in need of a drink.
Sergeant Troy.
Don't pull those up, Sean.
There's no flowers on them, Mum.
There would have been.
Can we go for a walk?
I'm weeding.
No! No! No! Not those.
Can we?
Just once around the village,
alright?
Hi.
Morning.
Has something happened
to Mrs Bartlett's garden, Julie?
I didn't want to bother you,
but Hannah thought, well,
I don't know what Hannah thought.
However horrid, I can't see
it has to do with poor Susan.
Really, all I want is to sweep the
flowers away and forget about it.
Please leave them for the moment,
Mrs Bartlett.
My boss will want to take a look.
Well, do what you must.
As far as I'm concerned
there's only one way to deal with
other people's unpleasantness.
Plenty of hot tea.
That would be very welcome.
Why are you drawing Bosco?
It's elimination.
You can take the sausages.
SHOP DOORBELL RINGS
I'm sorry about Susan.
Are you?
Come on, Simon, of course I am.
She didn't care about you.
She didn't give a stuff.
You never could take that.
What are you talking about?
You were trying to get her back
and she wouldn't listen.
She still thought you were the same
loser you always were.
You're out of your mind.
Is that why you killed her?
Because you begged her
and she still wouldn't.
You're a maniac, Bartlett.
You're an animal! Get lost.
I loved her. Do you even know
what that means?
You will get what's coming to you.
If the police don't get you,
I will.
Come on.
Hello, Sean. Hello, Julie.
Have you caught anyone?
We have to find out
what happened first, don't we?
What about the dog?
Sergeant Troy is hot on the trail
of every Jack Russell for miles.
But he won't even know
what it looks like.
He is a bit short
on local knowledge.
Come on.
Mrs Bartlett. Mrs Harrington.
I'm sorry about this, Mr Barnaby.
It's somebody's foul idea of a joke.
I know you've more important things
and the flowers will grow again.
I'm not saying there is a link
with your daughter-in-law's death,
Mrs Bartlett,
but I'd like to know
why anyone would think of
doing something so odd.
Is there anyone you would regard
as being your enemy
or someone your son would?
People often fall out
with each other.
Your garden's never been vandalised
before, has it?
No.
And I don't believe anyone we know
would respond to such a...
Susan's suicide.
..by doing such a thing.
I wish it were as simple as
it appeared yesterday, Mrs Bartlett,
but it isn't.
This is now a murder investigation.
Everyone thinks Susan's death
makes it bad manners to stop him
destroying the wood.
I've come up with something
that could bankrupt the man.
Get on with it, if you want.
What I want!
We've been fighting this
for the last nine months, Simon.
I don't give a damn about the
dissolution of the monasteries.
Well, you should.
It's you that gets Abbey Farm
when this is all over.
Look, ever since we met
you've banged on about
what you could do with more land.
I can make that happen.
I can make sure that when we
do get together
you'll have everything
you've ever wanted.
Come back with me.
You don't want to be here.
It's miserable. I understand that.
Can't you wait till she's buried?
What is the period for
abstaining from carnal knowledge
of your mistress
when your wife dies?
If she'd walked out you'd have
thrown a party. It's the same woman.
It's not that simple.
Why not?
Unless you killed her.
Of course I didn't kill her.
You're a bit weak
in the alibi department, darling.
Hope you can convince Barnaby.
I don't want anything more
to do with James or Setwale Wood.
Or me?
I didn't say that.
I could drop you off if you'd like,
Mrs Bartlett.
No, I'd rather walk.
I have to go to the rectory.
There's Susan's funeral.
Bye, Mr Barnaby.
You've known Mrs Bartlett
a long time?
Forever.
When we were kids there was hardly
a day we didn't meet,
usually in the wood.
There's the ruins
of a cottage there.
We didn't think anyone else knew it.
Of course everybody did.
It's even marked on the map.
This thing with the flowers,
Victoria Bartlett's garden,
you believe it was a lot more than
just a tasteless joke, don't you?
They were burning witches here
up until the 17th century.
One of the things the witches
were accused of
was putting the evil eye on people.
It wasn't the evil eye
which killed Susan.
I only mean it makes a statement,
a warning if you like.
Mr Barnaby, I'm not easily
frightened.
But when I saw those flowers laid
out in the shape of a dead body,
another dead body,
it made my blood run cold.
Can we go home?
I don't expect Mr Barnaby just goes
home before he's finished detecting.
I bet he does.
He's a chief inspector.
There's another one.
DOG BARKS
Sausages, Sean.
This is the one from the wood.
It is. I'm going to investigate.
I don't like it here, Julie.
DOG BARKS
He's eaten them all, Julie.
No one comes here.
No one.
I know who you are.
You come again and
I'll have you.
You will know the winepress
of the wrath of God.
We can establish the e-mail was sent
using the phone line
at Grange Farm.
But that doesn't get us very far.
There was no password.
Anyone who knew about PCs,
even at a basic level,
could have got in.
But you'd need to know it was there.
And you'd need to get into the house
If you weren't there already.
The house was empty.
If Simon Bartlett left Bernadette
Sullivan's when he said he did.
She's not likely to lie
she's a barrister, isn't she?
I can see, Troy, that despite your
experiences at Causton Crown Court,
you still have a touching faith
in the legal profession.
You think she is lying?
I think all sorts of people
are lying, Troy.
Susan Bartlett's phone calls?
Pretty well all to the gynaecologist
at St Thomas's in London.
She phoned Harrington a lot.
The calls only last a few seconds.
There's one very odd call she
received the day before the murder.
We traced it to Mrs
Caroline Harrington in Causton.
I wouldn't have thought they had
much to chat about.
You didn't take a pound of sausages
this morning did you, Sam?
Course I did.
I always take a pound of raw
sausages to work, everybody does.
I don't want to be
the odd one out, do I?
I must have used them. Come on kids.
Tea.
Come on.
Looks interesting.
It's just dogs.
It's all the Jack Russells
we followed to find the lady.
When did you do this, Julie?
Today.
You followed people?
We did find the dog. I'm sure. In
an old house that's falling down
That's it.
No more! From now on you don't leave
the house or the garden on your own.
You go to school
and then you come home.
But Mr Barnaby said...
You don't understand these things.
It's not a game.
Now go and sit up.
Playing detective.
It's got to stop.
Sam, we've got to find a better way
of stopping it than shouting.
I don't want them out on their own.
What's the matter?
Susan Bartlett didn't kill herself.
Someone murdered her.
Julie and Sean are out there
following...
Hi, how's it going?
Shut up.
I'll tell you when I see you.
Don't keep me waiting.
Any trouble and you know
what's going to happen.
James!
If you're in there...
HORN BLASTS
..I want to talk to you.
James.
I've got the card.
Chief Inspector Barnaby
lives in Causton.
We've got to tell him
about Mr Bloxham's Jack Russell.
We're not allowed.
It'll just have to be a secret,
like he said.
There's things we need to talk
about, James.
What?
It's not a conversation
to have here.
I don't care.
We're celebrating.
There's money in the bank
from now on.
And every time I draw some, it's
going to make me feel so very good.
Shut up.
Let's have another drink?
No more.
I'll take you home.
We'll have one at the farm.
You do what you like.
Night, mother.
Bad manners to leave a wake early,
I know,
but you can put a long face
on with the best of them.
Can't you keep him under control?
No, Hannah. That's why I left him.
James.
Hmm?
There's something
I need to tell you.
Come in and have a drink then.
I don't want one.
Well, I do.
Oh! Sod off then!
DOOR LATCH OPENS, DOOR CREAKS
Come on.
Two halves to Causton, please.
No school today?
We're doing something important.
Better not hang about then.
There you go.
Yes, that's James,
my son.
You won't need a doctor
to pronounce him dead.
I have to ask you more questions.
I'll be in the yard.
George is still alive. At least
we might be able to save him.
George?
It's the dog.
Number seven.
I'm starving.
Hello.
Hello. I'm Julie Fielding
and this is my brother, Sean.
Is this where Chief Inspector
Barnaby lives?
Yes it is, but I'm afraid
he's at work at the moment.
We've come a long way on the bus
about clues and everything.
Well, you'd better come in. I'm
sure I can get hold of him for you.
Are you Mrs Inspector Barnaby?
Yes, I suppose I am.
I'm ever so hungry.
He'll need to be kept warm.
Don't feed him today.
Something in the morning
and if he's sick again, stop.
I'll bring him through.
Mr Fielding.
Oh, I couldn't get hold of
a damned vet.
Anyway, Sam's forgotten more
about dogs
than they've ever known
in that practice.
What happened to the dog?
Something knocked him out.
Whatever it was, it was strong.
He's sicked up most of it.
It's all round him.
Poison?
No symptoms that I recognise.
It just knocked him out cold.
Nothing to tell you what it was?
An odd smell on his breath.
It reminded me of something but...
..nah, it's gone now.
Sir, have you got a minute?
We found his car,
still outside the pub.
His mother said he was in there
with his wife - ex-wife.
I'm not sure what
we're supposed to call her.
Whatever she was yesterday,
'ex' covers it today.
So, Caroline Harrington gave him
a lift home, did she?
Yeah. That means she was
the last person to see him alive.
So far anyway.
Right. I'll talk to her in Causton.
In the meantime, there's a lot of
dog vomit in there.
Mr Fielding will show you
where it is.
Dog vomit?
Yes, could you collect it up?
Much as you can.
His mobile's off. The station says
he's gone out to Midsomer Worthy.
I didn't want to tell him there.
It's got to be a secret, you see.
Can I have some more cake?
I'm glad you like it.
I could eat loads.
Sean, it's rude to just ask
for more.
I'll take it as a compliment.
Thank you.
Your parents do know you're here?
They found his body. Like Susan.
Drowned. Everyone knows.
If you need a lawyer,
I'm not cheap.
Look, I am sorry about yesterday.
You don't get told
your wife's been murdered.
For God's sake, how am I supposed
to handle something like that?
The police are going to think
it was me with everything that...
They can't prove anything.
What aren't you telling me?
I went to Abbey Farm last night.
That's clever.
I didn't know someone was going
to kill James. He wasn't even there.
I'm frightened, Bernadette.
I went to the farm. I went home.
I was on my own.
He could have been there dead
when I was.
Did anyone see you at Abbey Farm?
No.
Then you weren't there.
And you weren't on your own,
you spent the night with me.
An alibi from an eminent barrister
should even shut Barnaby up.
Forget it all. Problem solved.
I called at the house and
there was no one there.
You just missed Mr Fielding.
He was here.
Look, you go on home.
I'll take these two over to him
at the kennels. Harry.
May we see some detecting?
Please.
Come on. In the car.
Can we put the siren on?
No, you may not.
See you later, Joyce.
It was Mr Bloxham's Jack Russell,
honestly.
In.
PHONE RINGS
MACHINE: Hi. We can't come
to the phone right now.
Leave a message and
we'll get back to you.
Come and eat this evening.
You won't feel much like cooking.
Call me.
I panicked.
I thought the police would come
to me. They'd think I did it.
That's ridiculous, Simon.
Then I realised it was stupid.
Setting up a false alibi
with Bernadette. Stupid!
I went home and for the first time
I saw things clearly.
I do know, Simon.
It's no different for anyone.
When your father died...
..If we'd been happy.
If the last few years
hadn't been such a...
..It was me. I shut her out.
Maybe you should go away for a bit.
Jonah can run the farm.
If I cleared out her things...
..No! I don't want that.
Alright.
When someone dies,
you don't want to let go.
But you will have to.
I do have to let go.
I don't know why Susan died,
why James did.
But there is a poison
that's going to stay with me
for the rest of my life,
unless I do something about it.
Is that what Bernadette wants?
Bernadette?
I can't say I like the woman,
but clearly when this is over,
you and she...
..No!
Oh! I thought...
I think I've just discovered
I don't like her very much either.
In fact, there's something
about her that...
..I'm selling the farm.
What?
As soon as Susan's funeral's over,
Grange Farm goes on the market.
Simon, you can't throw away
a lifetime's work.
And what about
all the other lifetimes?
Your father's, your grandfather's,
down the generations.
We are a part of Midsomer Worthy.
We matter here.
It's madness. No. The answer is no.
I can buy another farm.
I can't buy my way out
of what's going on in here.
Denise will go ballistic.
Anything could have happened.
Why didn't the school...
They're safe now.
So there's somebody out there
who's killed two people.
That's what you think?
We don't know.
Julie and Sean have seen things,
they are witnesses, aren't they?
Nobody knows that.
Look, I'll make sure the house
is patrolled, OK?
This dog business.
I don't hold out much hope there.
Julie's very sure, though,
isn't she?
Julie. Julie.
Tell Mr Barnaby all the names
of the hounds you know. Go on.
That's Barnard, that's Chaser,
that's Sable - he's got more black.
There's Pharaoh, Tess,
Floppy - with the funny ears.
Brandy - she had pups at Christmas.
That's Kestrel, and ET.
You want something?
You've got a Jack Russell terrier?
What if I have?
Can we go inside?
I still need to find anyone
who was in Setwale Wood
on the day Susan Bartlett died.
People see things.
On their own they don't mean much
but the smallest thing can help.
And now there may have been
another murder.
I wasn't there.
Your dog was seen in the wood
in the afternoon
at a time when we know Mrs
Bartlett's body was already there.
Plenty of Jack Russells round here.
There's a good chance
this was yours.
He goes where he wants.
Anywhere there's vermin.
Plenty in Setwale Wood.
And you weren't with him?
No.
We haven't found anyone
who saw Mrs Bartlett after you did,
Mr Bloxham,
when she drove out of Abbey Farm.
Next one'd be him who killed her.
DOG BARKS
This your dog?
Here, boy.
DOG SNARLS, BARNABY WINCES
Charlie don't like people very much.
Here.
Tablespoon, twice a day.
See off any infection, that will.
What is that?
Herbs. Nature's remedies.
Thank you.
If you do happen to remember
anything, Mr Bloxham.
"O, God, who knowest us
to be set in the midst
"of so many and great dangers,
"that by reason of the frailty
of our nature
"we are not always able
to stand upright.
Grant to us such strength,
as may support us in danger."
The cause of death is clear.
Asphyxia.
The direct result of liquid
animal waste entering
the breathing passages.
He had consumed a great deal
of alcohol and valerian.
The root of valeriana officinalis.
It's a sedative used
for nervous conditions.
A popular cure for insomnia.
It's in any chemist.
It's not dangerous?
Normally, no.
But 'normal' isn't the word for
what's in Mr Harrington's system,
or what the dog threw up.
But it looks to be a very
concentrated form of valerian.
And Susan Bartlett?
I've been back. The same.
Enough to kill?
Not in a healthy adult. We're
talking paralysis, unconsciousness.
"Out of the mouth of babes
and sucklings."
JULIE: She could have been
knocked out. Like by a robber.
But later I thought
it was, like she was asleep.
Julie Fielding said she was asleep.
I thought she said that because
she didn't really understand
what 'dead' meant but she was
telling us exactly what she saw.
Tom, I know you're not a great
believer in coincidences,
but I was struck by
where Mrs Bartlett was found.
Setwale Wood?
Valerian has had various names
in its long and ancient history
but in the Middle Ages
it was called setwale.
Harrington was drunk
when he got home.
He wouldn't have noticed if
his whiskey tasted a bit strange.
And Susan Bartlett was taking
pills and potions
like there was no tomorrow,
some with valerian in.
Small doses,
but it wouldn't have been hard to
substitute the concentrated stuff.
That puts it pretty close to home.
Doesn't it?
What's Simon Bartlett's alibi
for last night?
Ms Sullivan confirms
he was with her.
(WINCES)
Jonah Bloxham's dog.
Anything else from Abbey Farm?
I found these.
Harrington's life was insured
for 400,000 pounds.
Two policies.
The premiums on these
must have been a bit hefty.
Are they still active?
The insurance company say yes.
He wasn't paying for them,
his wife was.
She has been since the separation.
You'd been separated from James
for one, nearly two years now,
yet you still kept up the payments
on his life insurance.
That seems unusual.
It's just something I did.
And he had no contact
with the insurance companies.
All the correspondence came
straight to you.
Did you discuss it with him?
There was no point
talking to James about money.
It only meant a row.
As for correspondence,
he ignored every envelope
that came through the door.
It still seems a lot of insurance
for a man so very close
to bankruptcy.
We were trying to sort things out,
to get back together.
I really didn't kill him
for this money, Mr Barnaby.
I have to ask these questions
Mrs Harrington.
To make sense of things.
You find people's lives make sense,
do you?
It would be very nice if they did.
It's not my experience.
Sergeant Troy spoke to you
after the death of Susan Bartlett
to confirm the time you met your
husband after the court case.
Yes.
You did not tell him that you'd made
a phone call to Susan Bartlett
on the previous day.
No.
Well, was there a reason
for the call?
I heard that James was seeing her.
I wanted to know the truth.
What did she say?
She laughed.
That all?
I slammed the phone down.
I decided I didn't want
to know after all.
In the end it didn't matter
whether anything had happened,
only that it wouldn't happen again.
That's what I wanted
to say to him last night,
but he was too drunk to listen.
If I had any inclination
to kill Susan
I would have done it years ago.
I won't say
it didn't cross my mind.
Then.
MUFFLED: ...went to Harrington's
farm and killed him.
He done Susan Bartlett, too.
He took her body to the woods
in his ATV.
Search the farm.
The call was logged
at 1 o'clock this morning.
It was made from the phone box
in Midsomer Worthy.
Nothing on identity?
Anonymous male, that's all.
The man was on for less than
a minute. He didn't say very much.
Simon Bartlett went to Harrington's
farm and killed him.
He also killed Susan Bartlett
and he used the ATV to get her body
into Setwale Wood.
Makes sense.
And the motive?
Jealousy.
A crime of passion.
He kills his wife,
then he kills her lover.
Sounds very Mediterranean, Troy.
I just drove up there.
James wasn't there.
I turned round and came home.
I knew that I was under suspicion
for Susan's death.
I was afraid if
I said I'd been at Abbey Farm,
you'd think...
..Why? Why did you go there?
I wanted to talk to him.
"If the police don't get you,
I will."
You do remember saying that,
don't you?
That was...I didn't know what
I was saying. I didn't mean it.
Alright. So you came home.
You were never at Ms Sullivan's
at all?
No.
Why would she lie about it?
I thought - I believed! -
it was to protect me.
Now I'm not so sure.
What do you mean?
Well, she wasn't just giving me
an alibi.
She was giving herself one.
What is it, boy?
Skipper!
There behind the bale.
The whiskey is spiked with valerian.
Stronger than anything
the lab's seen.
What about the rest?
The hair on the ATV is human.
They'll be able to match it to
samples of Susan Bartlett's hair.
So whoever made that call was right.
That's how he moved her.
We're up against a top barrister
here, sir.
We'll have to tread carefully.
So will she. She's up against me.
Simon Bartlett is my client.
I'd like to know precisely
why he's been arrested.
You're under a misapprehension
as to why you're here.
You provided Simon Bartlett
with a false alibi
for the night of James Harrington's
death.
You won't need legal advice
from me
to understand the implications
of that.
You do admit he wasn't there?
I made a mistake.
Not something a distinguished lawyer
should make a mistake about.
Oh, my mistake's much dumber
than that.
I believed a weak man
was something else.
I believed he wasn't in love with
the dull, stupid woman he married.
When he told me he'd been
at Harrington's I saw the fear.
I lied for him.
It seemed more reliable
than a marriage licence.
Knowing he could have murdered
James Harrington
and his own wife?
Simon couldn't kill anyone.
We have evidence that says he did.
Then look at it again.
Charges against you don't stop
with wasting police time
and conspiracy to pervert
the course of justice.
If Mr Bartlett is a suspect,
then so are you.
I'm not some criminal you've pulled
in off the street, Chief Inspector.
I find criminals in very unexpected
places, Ms Sullivan.
It may even be if Mr Bartlett
isn't a suspect, you still are.
He seems to think that you
could have killed his wife
and his neighbour.
Setwale Wood.
You know a lot about that.
I've wasted enough time on it.
You know what 'setwale' means?
It's a plant. Valerian.
Somewhere, it's referred to
as 'the devil's herb'.
Is that the same plant?
What's this all about?
In 1652, a woman was burned
as a witch,
apparently because she tried
to kill her neighbour
with 'the devil's herb'.
Witchcraft didn't kill Susan
Bartlett or James Harrington. No.
But both bodies contained large
amounts of valerian.
You were trying to stop
Harrington felling the wood,
using some old feudal laws,
whatever.
Why did you need to know anything
about herbs and potions?
It interested me.
Where did you get the information?
Church records, the library.
A local historian wrote a piece
about the Bloxham family
back in the '50s.
As in Jonah Bloxham?
He's a descendant.
The woman they burnt as a witch
was called Mary Bloxham.
Even after the War the villagers
went to his grandfather
for remedies.
Old people trusted him more than
the doctor.
The ATV.
There couldn't have been
any forensic just sitting there
on Bartlett's ATV.
Bloxham spent a morning cleaning it.
"Like
"as the arrows
"in the land of the giant...
CHILDREN LAUGH
"..even so
"are the young children."
You bring the car round, Troy.
There's something I'd better leave
the lab to look at.
What is it?
Nature's remedy, Troy.
It's from Bloxham, for the dog bite.
You didn't take it?
I'm afraid I did.
We got here early enough
to save the house
but Mr Bloxham's touch and go.
Where is he?
In here.
He's not badly burnt but
he's taken in a lot of smoke.
He's unconscious. He's got
a nasty crack on his head.
He's fine. Like nothing's happened.
You know, I think I know
what knocked him out.
I recognise the smell.
It's Valerian.
I remember it from when I was a kid.
My dad used to say
the gypsies used it
to deal with unfriendly dogs.
It doesn't stay in the system
or leave any after effects
but he must have taken
a hell of a lot to do that.
You think that started it?
It's old enough to be lethal.
The way the fire spread, there must
have been something on the carpet.
They thought the paraffin heater
started it
but the thing hadn't been used
for years.
This has been stripped.
There were lots of pictures,
old black-and-white photographs.
It didn't register at the time,
but he didn't want me to see.
And he wasn't the only one.
MRS HARRINGTON: When we were kids
there was hardly a day
we didn't meet.
I'm letting the garden
get out of hand.
Time I did some clearing up.
Me too, Victoria.
High time.
What is it?
What's the matter?
You'll be cross.
Of course I won't.
You were before.
What is it, Julie?
Look inside, Troy.
I'll try the garden.
No one here, sir.
All the doors are open.
Mr Barnaby!
I saw your car.
This doesn't make any sense.
But, well, I had to say something.
Julie was looking out of her bedroom
well, she's very sure...
..Best in her own words,
Mrs Fielding.
Julie?
Mrs Harrington took her away.
And she had her shotgun
pushing in her back.
Out. Out!
Hannah, this is madness.
Causton's right. The main road.
No. Not the main road
Where do you think she's going?
There's the ruin of a cottage there.
It's even marked on the map.
Left. Setwale Wood. Left. Go on.
That's it.
GUNSHOT
No further to run, Victoria.
You frightened me, Hannah.
You murdered my son.
You killed Susan, too. I knew as
soon as I heard the word valerian.
Remember how you'd pick the plants
with Jonah?
You'd catch rabbits and squirrels,
see how long they stayed
unconscious.
Mostly they died.
Not a very nice hobby for the
prettiest girl in Midsomer Worthy.
Your parents were relieved
when you discovered boys.
Poor Susan.
Wasn't there an easier way
to get rid of her?
No. Despite everything,
he wouldn't leave her.
And finally you knew
there'd never be a Bartlett heir.
My God, is that it?
He didn't have the guts
to kick her out.
So you did it for him.
I put my son first.
I looked at James, a drunk,
who couldn't keep his life together
because of her. She was dangerous.
But if she'd delivered
grandchildren?
The Bartletts have farmed here
for 500 years.
You don't let that disappear.
There's a debt to the future.
For God's sake, Hannah,
even your waster of a son
could produce children.
Is that why you killed him?
I didn't want to.
He saw my car here.
He was blundering about
in the wood, drunk, I suppose.
I don't know what he was doing.
But he knew, once the police came.
He phoned me.
He wanted money from me.
He wanted me to pay him
to keep quiet.
That way.
That's not all he wanted.
He wanted to rub our noses
in the dirt.
To destroy us.
It would be a good idea if you put
the gun down, Mrs Harrington.
I'd like to go home now,
Mr Barnaby.
We're really not friends any more.
We've been friends all our lives,
Mr Barnaby.
I wouldn't even let a dog of mine
suffer more than it had to.
Susan Bartlett had to be replaced.
By Bernadette Sullivan?
Any woman who could provide
a grandchild.
But Harrington worked it out.
He put the flowers
in Victoria's garden.
Not to say, "You're next."
Just, "I know you did it."
But why would Bloxham
frame Simon Bartlett?
He found out what she'd done,
but he wasn't part of it.
Yes, she learned all about valerian
from him some 40 years before.
But Bloxham was trying
to incriminate Simon
because Simon was about to break
his mother's heart.
By selling the farm?
Yes, the farm was everything
to Bloxham, too. He grew up there.
And Victoria, she was five years
younger than him,
but she was like a kid sister.
Hannah said she idolised him.
And he loved her.
But they couldn't stay kids forever.
So he turned the only time he was
happy into a private world.
He had to protect it.
Even Simon was expendable.
Victoria didn't see it like that.
Thank you for waiting for me,
Mr Barnaby.
(WINCES)
Bloxham's damned dog.
Closed Captions by CSI
walked through the woods
for hours and hours.
The trees got bigger and bigger
and it was getting dark.
There was lots of thunder
and animals made horrid
rustling noises in the night -
foxes and wolves
and a huge big bear.
There's no bears.
There was then,
with fangs to eat you.
Can we go back, Julie?
The bear's coming. Run, Sean.
Julie.
Julie! Come back.
Bear's got me.
Julie. Where are you?
I'll tell.
Aaaaaargh.
Stay there.
I understand the feelings
of the Midsomer Worthy community.
Setwale Wood has been a place
of recreation for generations.
Children play there,
people walk their dogs, picnic,
and I'm sure all sorts of things.
But none of that alters the fact
that the land belongs
to Mr Harrington.
As for this long list
of objections,
nothing warrants an injunction
to prevent Mr Harrington
selling his wood, or Whitley Estates
felling it.
With all due respect, your honour.
Ms Sullivan.
Whenever a barrister addresses
the bench with those words
it is because he, or she, is about
to show no respect at all.
Please, don't.
CLERK: All rise.
TROY: Where do they get
these judges?
The man burgled his way through
every village in the county.
We catch the criminals,
we offer up the evidence.
Not everyone likes what happens
in court.
Maybe the judge is right -
give the boy one more chance.
Oh, look! A squadron of pigs
over Causton?
It's not finished.
They move in next week.
Setwale Wood will be flattened
in a fortnight.
Over my dead body.
Suits me.
Not the way, Simon.
There are those who prefer your body
alive and kicking.
Right, Ms Sullivan?
I'm a police officer and I want you
two to walk away from each other
in opposite directions. Now.
Or I'll arrest you both.
Nice day for it, Rector.
OK, off you go. I've got to talk
to Mummy.
I've already heard.
You should have seen the look
on Simon's face.
He really thought that bitch
of a barrister would beat me.
Anyway, the whole thing'll be done
in a couple of weeks
and the money in the bank.
You'll be relieved.
Come on, Caroline.
We can put the separation
behind us.
The boys'll have a proper home
again.
The way it was.
The way it was is what worries me.
What do you mean?
Susan Bartlett.
How do I trust you again
if you're screwing her?
I'm not.
I'm not, Caroline.
Susan Bartlett stood between us
through six years of marriage.
If she's still there, forget it all.
You can sell your precious farm
and pay me what you owe.
No point going through it all again.
I'm not losing because
some old judge
can't see past the end of his nose.
Setwale Wood belongs to James.
Whatever we say about the
environment or the local community
it means sod all.
One of the intriguing things about
English Common Law is it's a mess.
The further back you go,
the bigger the mess.
I don't think a history lesson's
going to solve things.
We don't need a solution.
Just the mess.
500 years ago Abbey Farm
was part of Midsomer Abbey.
It was sold off
after the dissolution.
According to these half of any
profit made from Setwale Wood,
cash or kind, can be claimed
by the abbot's successor.
That's the rector.
This wouldn't stand up
for five minutes.
This is ammunition for months
of legal wrangling.
Harrington will be bankrupt before
a chain-saw starts buzzing.
Why keep it back till now?
Pointless telling the rector
he might have a financial interest
in the wood, if you were getting
Abbey Farm anyway.
This is about saving Setwale Wood,
Bernadette,
not forcing James out.
So you buy Abbey Farm and
save the environment.
A perfect end.
I've got to go.
Cows don't care what time
you get home, Simon,
either the ones
in the milking parlour
or the one in the house.
Sorry, Victoria.
Didn't see you. My fault.
Not nice when neighbours drag you
into a courtroom.
So you'll understand
I'm a bit preoccupied.
I do, James, perfectly.
As your mother might put it -
preoccupied as a newt.
HORN BLARES
We ran all the way to the road,
all the way home.
They'd never have caught us.
Hi. Hi.
It's filthy out there.
(BOTH) Hello, Dad.
Hello.
James Harrington
has just missed me.
He was on the wrong side
of the road, not even looking.
What happened in court?
He can cut the wood.
I wish he'd lost, but at least it
might put a stop to it all.
We nearly found the robbers' hideout
in the wood, Dad.
There was a lady they knocked out.
Their dog came after us.
Julie! there's no robbers
in Setwale Wood.
Don't go on about it.
She must have seen them hiding.
Then they hit her
so they could escape.
That's enough.
You frightened the life
out of your brother.
I don't want to hear any more
of your stories.
Come on, both of you upstairs.
It's not my bedtime.
It is tonight.
Go on, off you go.
CHILDREN LAUGH AND SING
THUNDER PEELS
HORN BEEPS
What the hell are you doing?
There's a footpath there,
not a car park.
You'll know what trespass is.
Mr Harrington, you'd be very unwise
to allow them
to start felling trees.
Just a bit of preliminary work.
They move in next week.
But that hasn't got anything
to do with you or anybody.
We will be going back to court.
You've fired all your guns.
Oh, no.
And you don't know how much the next
salvo's going to cost you.
WOMAN: Hello, Julie.
What are you up to?
She's doing it again.
Hmm? Victoria Bartlett,
garden inspection.
Every time she tells me
how well it's doing
she means 'must try harder'.
She does it to everybody.
Not everyone lives opposite her.
Julie's still sulking.
She normally forgets these stories
after five minutes.
I've got to exercise
the hounds so she can come with me.
I'll go up where they were playing,
have a look.
It's only encouraging her, Sam.
No, cold light of day.
It'll put an end to it all.
We done? I could do with a drink.
Ah, marvellous, ladies. Delightful.
Hannah, I do think a gun
in church...
Oh! Well, I could hardly
leave it outside.
That would be terribly
irresponsible of me.
I must go.
I think we can expect news
of Setwale Wood.
Bernadette - um, Ms Sullivan -
feels there are legal avenues
still to explore.
Ms Sullivan only bought a house here
a year ago.
Mostly she's in London.
She means to help.
Hannah's family has been here for
hundreds of years, like mine.
I love the wood as much as anyone,
but I don't see things
the way my son does.
And if there's no other way
for James to save his farm,
I can't blame him.
He's got forestry people up there
already. We'll have to move quickly.
Oh, dear.
Hello, Victoria.
Bernadette.
I didn't mean to interrupt.
Oh, it's alright.
I'm just clearing up.
I'll leave you two
to conspire alone.
Yes, the documents
are in the vestry.
I did see the lady.
Julie, stories aren't lies,
but they're not the truth either.
It's not a story.
Come back.
Chaser. Pharaoh. Come here.
Come here.
Rufus, come here! Come here, boy.
I want you to go straight home
and tell your mother to phone
the police and an ambulance.
What's wrong?
Tell her to phone the kennels too.
We'll need the lorry
to take the hounds back.
But we were going to walk.
Just go and do it, Julie.
Troy.
Sir! Over here.
Do we know who she is?
Susan Bartlett. Local farmer's wife.
Same one.
We met him yesterday, throwing
a punch outside court.
It's a positive ID, is it?
Yes. Mr Fielding knows her.
He found the body?
His dogs did.
He was exercising
the Midsomer Hunt pack.
He's the kennel master.
Mr Fielding.
I'm Detective
Chief Inspector Barnaby.
I pulled her out.
I couldn't leave her in there.
I knew there was nothing
I could do for her.
She must have been dead since
yesterday afternoon.
How do you mean,
since yesterday afternoon?
My daughter saw the body.
We didn't believe her.
Your daughter saw the body dead?
Yeah.
But not in the pond.
Somewhere in the bushes.
I just thought it was
one of her stories.
Sorry.
I'm really sorry.
Just tell me where the bitch is?
Really, Mr Harrington,
I won't have that kind...
..Leave the sanctimonious clap trap.
The police have cordoned off
the wood.
They won't let me on my own land,
they won't say why.
Where's the Sullivan woman?
I...I think she's gone.
Gone...to London.
I'll have her.
Simon. All of you.
We're a heifer short
in the top field.
In the barn. Looked a bit lame.
You couldn't tell me that, Jonah?
Weren't here for me to tell.
I'll print out a list of cows
ready for AI.
Can you check it before they go out?
Now, Jonah.
Should be an e-mail to confirm
the bulls.
I don't need guff to tell me
a cow's bulling.
It's never right that thing.
Cows know when they're for serving.
That's the Lord's work,
that is.
"There shall not be male or female
barren among you,
or any of your cattle."
Have you seen Susan this morning?
Is she still in bed?
I just came to leave her eggs.
She comes and goes
when she comes and goes.
About as predictable as you
in that department.
Susan?
Where are you?
Susan?
HORN BLARES
Move it. Move it now, you idiots.
Get out of my way.
Mr Bartlett!
Move it now or I do it myself.
Mr Bartlett, you may remember me.
We met yesterday.
I'm Detective Chief
Inspector Barnaby.
This is Detective Sergeant Troy.
And I need to talk to you.
Where would your wife have sent this
from, Mr Bartlett?
She had a laptop in the house.
She had her own e-mail address,
did she?
Where was she? I mean what...
The body was found in Setwale Wood
this morning.
It appears she drowned.
We'll know more
after the post-mortem.
I will have to ask you to confirm
her identity, sir.
Poor Susan.
I just never thought...
Shall we...
..Shall we go up to the house, sir?
Obviously there are
questions I need to ask you.
Yeah.
See what else you can get here.
TROY: Mr Bloxham?
You don't live on the farm?
When was the last time you saw
Mrs Bartlett?
Yesterday.
What time was that?
After morning milking.
10:00, maybe.
You didn't see her after that?
Not here I didn't.
I saw her yesterday. Early.
That was the last time.
I was going out,
she was coming downstairs.
She wasn't in when you got back
from the court?
I don't know. I assumed she was.
I went straight to bed myself.
The court case had been
a bit of a shock.
We needed to take stock,
so we'd been talking till late.
And you were where?
At Bernadette Sullivan's - she's
the barrister for the campaign.
What time did you get home?
10:30, a little later.
You had separate bedrooms?
Dairy farmers work unsociable hours.
It was better for Susan.
Who else was at this meeting?
It wasn't a meeting exactly,
it was more of a debriefing.
Bernadette and me.
What was this 'truth' that's being
referred to in the e-mail?
"I must face up to the truth now.
No more pretending."
What was that?
Susan and I had been trying to start
a family for the last eight years,
ever since we were married.
Didn't happen.
And you think that's what she means?
I knew the truth a long time ago
but for Susan there was always
another consultant, another drug,
some high-tech science mumbo jumbo.
There was never going to be a baby.
She wouldn't accept it.
I didn't know how bad
her depression had got.
He last saw his wife
8 o'clock yesterday morning.
What about Bloxham,
was he here all day?
On and off. Last saw Mrs Bartlett
at 12:00 on his way to the village.
She was leaving
the Harrington farm.
Bartlett was just about to go into
court with this man Harrington.
Not the best time to drop in
for a cup of coffee, was it?
Susan Bartlett only went to Abbey
Farm when her husband wasn't around.
Do I detect a euphemism?
Bloxham reckons they were at it.
That's better, Troy.
Don't start discussing matters
of the flesh
with delicacy and discretion,
I'll never know
what you're talking about.
PHONE RINGS
Oh, hello, Simon.
What is!?
Alright. What's happened?
Just tell me.
You sure about all this?
Oh, yes. I saw her. In the bushes.
What were her clothes like?
I couldn't see exactly
and then we were frightened
and we ran.
I saw a shoe.
Thank you, Sean.
And you couldn't see
who this person was?
A lady.
Do you think she'd been hurt?
She could have been knocked out.
Like by a robber.
But later I thought it was -
like she was asleep, you know.
The dog was a Jack Russell.
I didn't know him
but I would remember.
If you got all the Jack Russells
together,
I could pick him out.
We'll think about the dog later.
Now, for the moment I don't want you
to say anything to anyone.
No one at all.
It has to be a secret.
Can you do that for me?
We could help. We could find things.
You've been a great help already.
Thank you, Julie.
You two go upstairs and play.
Inspector Barnaby's got a lot to do.
Come on, Sean. Goodbye.
Bye, Julie. Bye, Sean.
I don't know what to say.
She's been telling so many tales
lately, making things up,
all about the woods.
If only we'd listened,
if we'd just...
PHONE RINGS
MACHINE: Hi, there. I can't
get to the phone just now.
Please leave a message.
BARTLETT: Bernadette, I need to talk
to you, something terrible...
Susan...
I was trying to get hold
of Bernadette, to tell her that...
Don't you have more important things
to see to?
I...I don't know...
Susan's dead.
If there's anything you can do
to stop people believing her suicide
was your fault, you should do it.
I know you didn't have much time
for her in life lately,
but I'd like to think that in death
you can do something more decent
than rush off into the arms
of your mistress.
Oh, it's you.
Chief Inspector Barnaby, right?
You've got a bloody cheek.
Don't think you're
going to get away with it.
My woods, my timber -
that's what the judge said.
Shall we start again,
Mr Harrington?
We don't seem
to be on the same track.
I need to ask you some questions.
You won't let me into Setwale Wood.
I'm the one with the questions.
There is a police investigation
going on in Setwale Wood.
Nobody is allowed in until
I'm satisfied
the scene has been preserved
and the evidence is safe.
Evidence of what?
Do you know Mrs Susan Bartlett?
What kind of a question is that?
I haven't got time to waste.
Can you say when you last saw
Mrs Susan Bartlett, please?
I wouldn't know.
I pass her in the street.
I don't talk to the woman.
Mrs Bartlett's body was found in
a pond in Setwale Wood this morning.
She was dead.
The wood belongs to you.
Shall we come inside
then you can tell me what
the Susan Bartlett you don't talk to
was doing here yesterday morning.
She was here.
What time?
11-ish.
She didn't stay.
I had to be in court.
She popped in, that's all.
Did she make a habit of popping in?
Of course she didn't.
So why yesterday?
The row over Setwale Wood.
She thought there could be
a last ditch compromise
between Simon and me.
A waste of time.
You saw that yourself.
Let me make something clear to you.
I'm investigating
a suspicious death.
At the moment
you're one of the last people
to have seen Susan Bartlett
alive.
You think somebody killed her?
Did anyone have a reason to?
For God's sake, I didn't.
Then the truth shouldn't be
a problem, should it?
Simon and I grew up together.
We weren't always
at each other's throats.
We were friends.
Susan and I were an item
in our teens.
Then I was away,
agricultural college.
Next thing she's marrying Simon.
A whirlwind romance. Like hell.
He was at her behind my back
all the time.
A long time ago.
I was still in love with her.
My wife, Caroline, knew eventually.
Didn't make for much of a marriage.
Mrs Bartlett.
Can we get up to date?
Susan was...
Yes?
She made a play for me.
All these years later.
So it happened.
I needed to find out how I felt.
And I did.
I realised I'd stopped loving her
a long time ago.
I knew what was really important -
Caroline, the boys.
So I ended it.
Yet she was here
on the day she died.
I'd told her it was over.
She didn't get the message.
I told her again.
Where were you last night?
I was in the pub.
Couple of pubs.
I came home. Had another drink.
Went to bed.
Can anyone confirm that?
Not once I left the last pub.
You're wasting your time here.
Don't husbands usually top the list
of suspects?
There's no one on the top of any
list as yet, Mr Harrington.
Doesn't mean to say there won't be.
I may not know a lot about farming,
but I'm very used to separating
the sheep from the goats.
There's no doubt about the cause
of death, is there? Or the time?
Right, I'll pick the report up
tomorrow morning.
Post mortem?
Yes. Susan Bartlett
definitely drowned.
And she drowned some time
between 10pm and 2am.
No sign of any kind of a struggle.
The suicide note was e-mailed
at 9:48.
So the suicide theory
fits perfectly.
Except for the fact that Julie
Fielding saw Susan Bartlett's body
lying in Setwale Wood
earlier that afternoon.
If Julie did see the body,
it was at least six hours
before Mrs Bartlett died.
Well, that gives us something
to go on, doesn't it?
What?
It doesn't make any sense
at all, does it?
"As I was walking up the stair
I met a man who wasn't there.
"He wasn't there again today.
I wish, I wish he'd stay away."
I spent the night at my flat
in London. I've just walked in.
Was it an accident?
Not an accident, no. The general
opinion in the village is suicide.
But that's not your opinion?
Other people's assumptions are
interesting. I've made none myself.
You're a barrister. You understand
about suspicious death.
Mr Bartlett says
he spent the evening of the Setwale
Wood court case here. Is that right?
Yes.
When did he leave?
I'm not sure exactly.
10:00, half-past.
And you were with him
all that day since...
..Since the night before.
There was a case to prepare.
It was late. He stayed the night.
Silence signifies you'd like to
know the nature of our relationship.
It would save time.
I didn't make up the spare bed.
Mr Bartlett chose not to tell me
that he spent the previous night
here with you.
Discretion.
The Bartletts have an image
in the community.
Did Mrs Bartlett know
about the relationship?
Maybe.
I never got the impression she was
very concerned what Simon got up to.
She had other things on her mind.
But then you'll know about that.
No. Like what?
Depression. It was hardly a secret.
Look, I'm sorry about Susan,
of course.
But I barely knew the woman.
If she did commit suicide, I don't
suppose it's much of a surprise.
But the short version is -
Simon was with me
from 9:00 in the morning
till 10:30 the following night.
He didn't go home at all?
Briefly. To talk to Bloxham.
There's more to say about cows
than I've fathomed.
How long was he there?
An hour and a bit.
You're surely not suggesting
Simon had something to do with his
wife's death? That's absurd.
No, I'm sure you're right.
Well, thank you.
Thank you for your help,
Ms Sullivan.
Morning.
What's happened?
Who is...
PHONE RINGS
Bernadette, why the hell didn't you
tell me you were going away?
I was trying to get hold of...
..What did he want?
I'll need to take these back,
Mr Bartlett.
I'll give you a receipt.
Who the hell do you think it was?
Yes!?
I'll talk to you later.
Ms Sullivan?
Any reason why not?
Look, am I going to get
an explanation for all this?
Why is my house being searched?
Why are Susan's things being taken?
The laptop that Sergeant Troy
has just removed.
Anyone, apart from you and
your wife, have access to that?
It was hers. I didn't use it.
Never?
Never.
The problem is, the computer was used
to send the e-mail,
the suicide note.
It was sent when your wife's body
had been lying in Setwale Wood
for at least six hours,
probably longer.
So whoever e-mailed it to you,
it wasn't her.
Your wife did drown, sir, but
I don't think she killed herself.
I think she was murdered.
Morning, Sergeant.
I need to have a look around
the farm, Mr Harrington.
I haven't got a search warrant
Help yourself, old son.
Inside, outside.
There are no bodies that I can call
to mind, but you never know.
Just one thing. You won't leave
a mess, will you?
Mrs Bartlett had a computer,
a laptop.
You weren't aware of it?
I can't say that I was.
She did bang on about the web.
Gynaecological advice on the web,
Tarot card readings.
Not my sort of thing.
There's enough bullshit
in Midsomer Worthy
without scouring the planet
for the stuff.
You didn't have access
to this computer?
PHONE RINGS
Never even seen it.
I haven't been inside Grange Farm
for 10 years.
Hello.
Oh, hello, Mother.
Yes, there is a policeman here
as it happens.
Are they putting up a schedule
in the post office?
By all means.
It's my mother.
She's in urgent need
of a policeman for some reason.
I'm in need of a drink.
Sergeant Troy.
Don't pull those up, Sean.
There's no flowers on them, Mum.
There would have been.
Can we go for a walk?
I'm weeding.
No! No! No! Not those.
Can we?
Just once around the village,
alright?
Hi.
Morning.
Has something happened
to Mrs Bartlett's garden, Julie?
I didn't want to bother you,
but Hannah thought, well,
I don't know what Hannah thought.
However horrid, I can't see
it has to do with poor Susan.
Really, all I want is to sweep the
flowers away and forget about it.
Please leave them for the moment,
Mrs Bartlett.
My boss will want to take a look.
Well, do what you must.
As far as I'm concerned
there's only one way to deal with
other people's unpleasantness.
Plenty of hot tea.
That would be very welcome.
Why are you drawing Bosco?
It's elimination.
You can take the sausages.
SHOP DOORBELL RINGS
I'm sorry about Susan.
Are you?
Come on, Simon, of course I am.
She didn't care about you.
She didn't give a stuff.
You never could take that.
What are you talking about?
You were trying to get her back
and she wouldn't listen.
She still thought you were the same
loser you always were.
You're out of your mind.
Is that why you killed her?
Because you begged her
and she still wouldn't.
You're a maniac, Bartlett.
You're an animal! Get lost.
I loved her. Do you even know
what that means?
You will get what's coming to you.
If the police don't get you,
I will.
Come on.
Hello, Sean. Hello, Julie.
Have you caught anyone?
We have to find out
what happened first, don't we?
What about the dog?
Sergeant Troy is hot on the trail
of every Jack Russell for miles.
But he won't even know
what it looks like.
He is a bit short
on local knowledge.
Come on.
Mrs Bartlett. Mrs Harrington.
I'm sorry about this, Mr Barnaby.
It's somebody's foul idea of a joke.
I know you've more important things
and the flowers will grow again.
I'm not saying there is a link
with your daughter-in-law's death,
Mrs Bartlett,
but I'd like to know
why anyone would think of
doing something so odd.
Is there anyone you would regard
as being your enemy
or someone your son would?
People often fall out
with each other.
Your garden's never been vandalised
before, has it?
No.
And I don't believe anyone we know
would respond to such a...
Susan's suicide.
..by doing such a thing.
I wish it were as simple as
it appeared yesterday, Mrs Bartlett,
but it isn't.
This is now a murder investigation.
Everyone thinks Susan's death
makes it bad manners to stop him
destroying the wood.
I've come up with something
that could bankrupt the man.
Get on with it, if you want.
What I want!
We've been fighting this
for the last nine months, Simon.
I don't give a damn about the
dissolution of the monasteries.
Well, you should.
It's you that gets Abbey Farm
when this is all over.
Look, ever since we met
you've banged on about
what you could do with more land.
I can make that happen.
I can make sure that when we
do get together
you'll have everything
you've ever wanted.
Come back with me.
You don't want to be here.
It's miserable. I understand that.
Can't you wait till she's buried?
What is the period for
abstaining from carnal knowledge
of your mistress
when your wife dies?
If she'd walked out you'd have
thrown a party. It's the same woman.
It's not that simple.
Why not?
Unless you killed her.
Of course I didn't kill her.
You're a bit weak
in the alibi department, darling.
Hope you can convince Barnaby.
I don't want anything more
to do with James or Setwale Wood.
Or me?
I didn't say that.
I could drop you off if you'd like,
Mrs Bartlett.
No, I'd rather walk.
I have to go to the rectory.
There's Susan's funeral.
Bye, Mr Barnaby.
You've known Mrs Bartlett
a long time?
Forever.
When we were kids there was hardly
a day we didn't meet,
usually in the wood.
There's the ruins
of a cottage there.
We didn't think anyone else knew it.
Of course everybody did.
It's even marked on the map.
This thing with the flowers,
Victoria Bartlett's garden,
you believe it was a lot more than
just a tasteless joke, don't you?
They were burning witches here
up until the 17th century.
One of the things the witches
were accused of
was putting the evil eye on people.
It wasn't the evil eye
which killed Susan.
I only mean it makes a statement,
a warning if you like.
Mr Barnaby, I'm not easily
frightened.
But when I saw those flowers laid
out in the shape of a dead body,
another dead body,
it made my blood run cold.
Can we go home?
I don't expect Mr Barnaby just goes
home before he's finished detecting.
I bet he does.
He's a chief inspector.
There's another one.
DOG BARKS
Sausages, Sean.
This is the one from the wood.
It is. I'm going to investigate.
I don't like it here, Julie.
DOG BARKS
He's eaten them all, Julie.
No one comes here.
No one.
I know who you are.
You come again and
I'll have you.
You will know the winepress
of the wrath of God.
We can establish the e-mail was sent
using the phone line
at Grange Farm.
But that doesn't get us very far.
There was no password.
Anyone who knew about PCs,
even at a basic level,
could have got in.
But you'd need to know it was there.
And you'd need to get into the house
If you weren't there already.
The house was empty.
If Simon Bartlett left Bernadette
Sullivan's when he said he did.
She's not likely to lie
she's a barrister, isn't she?
I can see, Troy, that despite your
experiences at Causton Crown Court,
you still have a touching faith
in the legal profession.
You think she is lying?
I think all sorts of people
are lying, Troy.
Susan Bartlett's phone calls?
Pretty well all to the gynaecologist
at St Thomas's in London.
She phoned Harrington a lot.
The calls only last a few seconds.
There's one very odd call she
received the day before the murder.
We traced it to Mrs
Caroline Harrington in Causton.
I wouldn't have thought they had
much to chat about.
You didn't take a pound of sausages
this morning did you, Sam?
Course I did.
I always take a pound of raw
sausages to work, everybody does.
I don't want to be
the odd one out, do I?
I must have used them. Come on kids.
Tea.
Come on.
Looks interesting.
It's just dogs.
It's all the Jack Russells
we followed to find the lady.
When did you do this, Julie?
Today.
You followed people?
We did find the dog. I'm sure. In
an old house that's falling down
That's it.
No more! From now on you don't leave
the house or the garden on your own.
You go to school
and then you come home.
But Mr Barnaby said...
You don't understand these things.
It's not a game.
Now go and sit up.
Playing detective.
It's got to stop.
Sam, we've got to find a better way
of stopping it than shouting.
I don't want them out on their own.
What's the matter?
Susan Bartlett didn't kill herself.
Someone murdered her.
Julie and Sean are out there
following...
Hi, how's it going?
Shut up.
I'll tell you when I see you.
Don't keep me waiting.
Any trouble and you know
what's going to happen.
James!
If you're in there...
HORN BLASTS
..I want to talk to you.
James.
I've got the card.
Chief Inspector Barnaby
lives in Causton.
We've got to tell him
about Mr Bloxham's Jack Russell.
We're not allowed.
It'll just have to be a secret,
like he said.
There's things we need to talk
about, James.
What?
It's not a conversation
to have here.
I don't care.
We're celebrating.
There's money in the bank
from now on.
And every time I draw some, it's
going to make me feel so very good.
Shut up.
Let's have another drink?
No more.
I'll take you home.
We'll have one at the farm.
You do what you like.
Night, mother.
Bad manners to leave a wake early,
I know,
but you can put a long face
on with the best of them.
Can't you keep him under control?
No, Hannah. That's why I left him.
James.
Hmm?
There's something
I need to tell you.
Come in and have a drink then.
I don't want one.
Well, I do.
Oh! Sod off then!
DOOR LATCH OPENS, DOOR CREAKS
Come on.
Two halves to Causton, please.
No school today?
We're doing something important.
Better not hang about then.
There you go.
Yes, that's James,
my son.
You won't need a doctor
to pronounce him dead.
I have to ask you more questions.
I'll be in the yard.
George is still alive. At least
we might be able to save him.
George?
It's the dog.
Number seven.
I'm starving.
Hello.
Hello. I'm Julie Fielding
and this is my brother, Sean.
Is this where Chief Inspector
Barnaby lives?
Yes it is, but I'm afraid
he's at work at the moment.
We've come a long way on the bus
about clues and everything.
Well, you'd better come in. I'm
sure I can get hold of him for you.
Are you Mrs Inspector Barnaby?
Yes, I suppose I am.
I'm ever so hungry.
He'll need to be kept warm.
Don't feed him today.
Something in the morning
and if he's sick again, stop.
I'll bring him through.
Mr Fielding.
Oh, I couldn't get hold of
a damned vet.
Anyway, Sam's forgotten more
about dogs
than they've ever known
in that practice.
What happened to the dog?
Something knocked him out.
Whatever it was, it was strong.
He's sicked up most of it.
It's all round him.
Poison?
No symptoms that I recognise.
It just knocked him out cold.
Nothing to tell you what it was?
An odd smell on his breath.
It reminded me of something but...
..nah, it's gone now.
Sir, have you got a minute?
We found his car,
still outside the pub.
His mother said he was in there
with his wife - ex-wife.
I'm not sure what
we're supposed to call her.
Whatever she was yesterday,
'ex' covers it today.
So, Caroline Harrington gave him
a lift home, did she?
Yeah. That means she was
the last person to see him alive.
So far anyway.
Right. I'll talk to her in Causton.
In the meantime, there's a lot of
dog vomit in there.
Mr Fielding will show you
where it is.
Dog vomit?
Yes, could you collect it up?
Much as you can.
His mobile's off. The station says
he's gone out to Midsomer Worthy.
I didn't want to tell him there.
It's got to be a secret, you see.
Can I have some more cake?
I'm glad you like it.
I could eat loads.
Sean, it's rude to just ask
for more.
I'll take it as a compliment.
Thank you.
Your parents do know you're here?
They found his body. Like Susan.
Drowned. Everyone knows.
If you need a lawyer,
I'm not cheap.
Look, I am sorry about yesterday.
You don't get told
your wife's been murdered.
For God's sake, how am I supposed
to handle something like that?
The police are going to think
it was me with everything that...
They can't prove anything.
What aren't you telling me?
I went to Abbey Farm last night.
That's clever.
I didn't know someone was going
to kill James. He wasn't even there.
I'm frightened, Bernadette.
I went to the farm. I went home.
I was on my own.
He could have been there dead
when I was.
Did anyone see you at Abbey Farm?
No.
Then you weren't there.
And you weren't on your own,
you spent the night with me.
An alibi from an eminent barrister
should even shut Barnaby up.
Forget it all. Problem solved.
I called at the house and
there was no one there.
You just missed Mr Fielding.
He was here.
Look, you go on home.
I'll take these two over to him
at the kennels. Harry.
May we see some detecting?
Please.
Come on. In the car.
Can we put the siren on?
No, you may not.
See you later, Joyce.
It was Mr Bloxham's Jack Russell,
honestly.
In.
PHONE RINGS
MACHINE: Hi. We can't come
to the phone right now.
Leave a message and
we'll get back to you.
Come and eat this evening.
You won't feel much like cooking.
Call me.
I panicked.
I thought the police would come
to me. They'd think I did it.
That's ridiculous, Simon.
Then I realised it was stupid.
Setting up a false alibi
with Bernadette. Stupid!
I went home and for the first time
I saw things clearly.
I do know, Simon.
It's no different for anyone.
When your father died...
..If we'd been happy.
If the last few years
hadn't been such a...
..It was me. I shut her out.
Maybe you should go away for a bit.
Jonah can run the farm.
If I cleared out her things...
..No! I don't want that.
Alright.
When someone dies,
you don't want to let go.
But you will have to.
I do have to let go.
I don't know why Susan died,
why James did.
But there is a poison
that's going to stay with me
for the rest of my life,
unless I do something about it.
Is that what Bernadette wants?
Bernadette?
I can't say I like the woman,
but clearly when this is over,
you and she...
..No!
Oh! I thought...
I think I've just discovered
I don't like her very much either.
In fact, there's something
about her that...
..I'm selling the farm.
What?
As soon as Susan's funeral's over,
Grange Farm goes on the market.
Simon, you can't throw away
a lifetime's work.
And what about
all the other lifetimes?
Your father's, your grandfather's,
down the generations.
We are a part of Midsomer Worthy.
We matter here.
It's madness. No. The answer is no.
I can buy another farm.
I can't buy my way out
of what's going on in here.
Denise will go ballistic.
Anything could have happened.
Why didn't the school...
They're safe now.
So there's somebody out there
who's killed two people.
That's what you think?
We don't know.
Julie and Sean have seen things,
they are witnesses, aren't they?
Nobody knows that.
Look, I'll make sure the house
is patrolled, OK?
This dog business.
I don't hold out much hope there.
Julie's very sure, though,
isn't she?
Julie. Julie.
Tell Mr Barnaby all the names
of the hounds you know. Go on.
That's Barnard, that's Chaser,
that's Sable - he's got more black.
There's Pharaoh, Tess,
Floppy - with the funny ears.
Brandy - she had pups at Christmas.
That's Kestrel, and ET.
You want something?
You've got a Jack Russell terrier?
What if I have?
Can we go inside?
I still need to find anyone
who was in Setwale Wood
on the day Susan Bartlett died.
People see things.
On their own they don't mean much
but the smallest thing can help.
And now there may have been
another murder.
I wasn't there.
Your dog was seen in the wood
in the afternoon
at a time when we know Mrs
Bartlett's body was already there.
Plenty of Jack Russells round here.
There's a good chance
this was yours.
He goes where he wants.
Anywhere there's vermin.
Plenty in Setwale Wood.
And you weren't with him?
No.
We haven't found anyone
who saw Mrs Bartlett after you did,
Mr Bloxham,
when she drove out of Abbey Farm.
Next one'd be him who killed her.
DOG BARKS
This your dog?
Here, boy.
DOG SNARLS, BARNABY WINCES
Charlie don't like people very much.
Here.
Tablespoon, twice a day.
See off any infection, that will.
What is that?
Herbs. Nature's remedies.
Thank you.
If you do happen to remember
anything, Mr Bloxham.
"O, God, who knowest us
to be set in the midst
"of so many and great dangers,
"that by reason of the frailty
of our nature
"we are not always able
to stand upright.
Grant to us such strength,
as may support us in danger."
The cause of death is clear.
Asphyxia.
The direct result of liquid
animal waste entering
the breathing passages.
He had consumed a great deal
of alcohol and valerian.
The root of valeriana officinalis.
It's a sedative used
for nervous conditions.
A popular cure for insomnia.
It's in any chemist.
It's not dangerous?
Normally, no.
But 'normal' isn't the word for
what's in Mr Harrington's system,
or what the dog threw up.
But it looks to be a very
concentrated form of valerian.
And Susan Bartlett?
I've been back. The same.
Enough to kill?
Not in a healthy adult. We're
talking paralysis, unconsciousness.
"Out of the mouth of babes
and sucklings."
JULIE: She could have been
knocked out. Like by a robber.
But later I thought
it was, like she was asleep.
Julie Fielding said she was asleep.
I thought she said that because
she didn't really understand
what 'dead' meant but she was
telling us exactly what she saw.
Tom, I know you're not a great
believer in coincidences,
but I was struck by
where Mrs Bartlett was found.
Setwale Wood?
Valerian has had various names
in its long and ancient history
but in the Middle Ages
it was called setwale.
Harrington was drunk
when he got home.
He wouldn't have noticed if
his whiskey tasted a bit strange.
And Susan Bartlett was taking
pills and potions
like there was no tomorrow,
some with valerian in.
Small doses,
but it wouldn't have been hard to
substitute the concentrated stuff.
That puts it pretty close to home.
Doesn't it?
What's Simon Bartlett's alibi
for last night?
Ms Sullivan confirms
he was with her.
(WINCES)
Jonah Bloxham's dog.
Anything else from Abbey Farm?
I found these.
Harrington's life was insured
for 400,000 pounds.
Two policies.
The premiums on these
must have been a bit hefty.
Are they still active?
The insurance company say yes.
He wasn't paying for them,
his wife was.
She has been since the separation.
You'd been separated from James
for one, nearly two years now,
yet you still kept up the payments
on his life insurance.
That seems unusual.
It's just something I did.
And he had no contact
with the insurance companies.
All the correspondence came
straight to you.
Did you discuss it with him?
There was no point
talking to James about money.
It only meant a row.
As for correspondence,
he ignored every envelope
that came through the door.
It still seems a lot of insurance
for a man so very close
to bankruptcy.
We were trying to sort things out,
to get back together.
I really didn't kill him
for this money, Mr Barnaby.
I have to ask these questions
Mrs Harrington.
To make sense of things.
You find people's lives make sense,
do you?
It would be very nice if they did.
It's not my experience.
Sergeant Troy spoke to you
after the death of Susan Bartlett
to confirm the time you met your
husband after the court case.
Yes.
You did not tell him that you'd made
a phone call to Susan Bartlett
on the previous day.
No.
Well, was there a reason
for the call?
I heard that James was seeing her.
I wanted to know the truth.
What did she say?
She laughed.
That all?
I slammed the phone down.
I decided I didn't want
to know after all.
In the end it didn't matter
whether anything had happened,
only that it wouldn't happen again.
That's what I wanted
to say to him last night,
but he was too drunk to listen.
If I had any inclination
to kill Susan
I would have done it years ago.
I won't say
it didn't cross my mind.
Then.
MUFFLED: ...went to Harrington's
farm and killed him.
He done Susan Bartlett, too.
He took her body to the woods
in his ATV.
Search the farm.
The call was logged
at 1 o'clock this morning.
It was made from the phone box
in Midsomer Worthy.
Nothing on identity?
Anonymous male, that's all.
The man was on for less than
a minute. He didn't say very much.
Simon Bartlett went to Harrington's
farm and killed him.
He also killed Susan Bartlett
and he used the ATV to get her body
into Setwale Wood.
Makes sense.
And the motive?
Jealousy.
A crime of passion.
He kills his wife,
then he kills her lover.
Sounds very Mediterranean, Troy.
I just drove up there.
James wasn't there.
I turned round and came home.
I knew that I was under suspicion
for Susan's death.
I was afraid if
I said I'd been at Abbey Farm,
you'd think...
..Why? Why did you go there?
I wanted to talk to him.
"If the police don't get you,
I will."
You do remember saying that,
don't you?
That was...I didn't know what
I was saying. I didn't mean it.
Alright. So you came home.
You were never at Ms Sullivan's
at all?
No.
Why would she lie about it?
I thought - I believed! -
it was to protect me.
Now I'm not so sure.
What do you mean?
Well, she wasn't just giving me
an alibi.
She was giving herself one.
What is it, boy?
Skipper!
There behind the bale.
The whiskey is spiked with valerian.
Stronger than anything
the lab's seen.
What about the rest?
The hair on the ATV is human.
They'll be able to match it to
samples of Susan Bartlett's hair.
So whoever made that call was right.
That's how he moved her.
We're up against a top barrister
here, sir.
We'll have to tread carefully.
So will she. She's up against me.
Simon Bartlett is my client.
I'd like to know precisely
why he's been arrested.
You're under a misapprehension
as to why you're here.
You provided Simon Bartlett
with a false alibi
for the night of James Harrington's
death.
You won't need legal advice
from me
to understand the implications
of that.
You do admit he wasn't there?
I made a mistake.
Not something a distinguished lawyer
should make a mistake about.
Oh, my mistake's much dumber
than that.
I believed a weak man
was something else.
I believed he wasn't in love with
the dull, stupid woman he married.
When he told me he'd been
at Harrington's I saw the fear.
I lied for him.
It seemed more reliable
than a marriage licence.
Knowing he could have murdered
James Harrington
and his own wife?
Simon couldn't kill anyone.
We have evidence that says he did.
Then look at it again.
Charges against you don't stop
with wasting police time
and conspiracy to pervert
the course of justice.
If Mr Bartlett is a suspect,
then so are you.
I'm not some criminal you've pulled
in off the street, Chief Inspector.
I find criminals in very unexpected
places, Ms Sullivan.
It may even be if Mr Bartlett
isn't a suspect, you still are.
He seems to think that you
could have killed his wife
and his neighbour.
Setwale Wood.
You know a lot about that.
I've wasted enough time on it.
You know what 'setwale' means?
It's a plant. Valerian.
Somewhere, it's referred to
as 'the devil's herb'.
Is that the same plant?
What's this all about?
In 1652, a woman was burned
as a witch,
apparently because she tried
to kill her neighbour
with 'the devil's herb'.
Witchcraft didn't kill Susan
Bartlett or James Harrington. No.
But both bodies contained large
amounts of valerian.
You were trying to stop
Harrington felling the wood,
using some old feudal laws,
whatever.
Why did you need to know anything
about herbs and potions?
It interested me.
Where did you get the information?
Church records, the library.
A local historian wrote a piece
about the Bloxham family
back in the '50s.
As in Jonah Bloxham?
He's a descendant.
The woman they burnt as a witch
was called Mary Bloxham.
Even after the War the villagers
went to his grandfather
for remedies.
Old people trusted him more than
the doctor.
The ATV.
There couldn't have been
any forensic just sitting there
on Bartlett's ATV.
Bloxham spent a morning cleaning it.
"Like
"as the arrows
"in the land of the giant...
CHILDREN LAUGH
"..even so
"are the young children."
You bring the car round, Troy.
There's something I'd better leave
the lab to look at.
What is it?
Nature's remedy, Troy.
It's from Bloxham, for the dog bite.
You didn't take it?
I'm afraid I did.
We got here early enough
to save the house
but Mr Bloxham's touch and go.
Where is he?
In here.
He's not badly burnt but
he's taken in a lot of smoke.
He's unconscious. He's got
a nasty crack on his head.
He's fine. Like nothing's happened.
You know, I think I know
what knocked him out.
I recognise the smell.
It's Valerian.
I remember it from when I was a kid.
My dad used to say
the gypsies used it
to deal with unfriendly dogs.
It doesn't stay in the system
or leave any after effects
but he must have taken
a hell of a lot to do that.
You think that started it?
It's old enough to be lethal.
The way the fire spread, there must
have been something on the carpet.
They thought the paraffin heater
started it
but the thing hadn't been used
for years.
This has been stripped.
There were lots of pictures,
old black-and-white photographs.
It didn't register at the time,
but he didn't want me to see.
And he wasn't the only one.
MRS HARRINGTON: When we were kids
there was hardly a day
we didn't meet.
I'm letting the garden
get out of hand.
Time I did some clearing up.
Me too, Victoria.
High time.
What is it?
What's the matter?
You'll be cross.
Of course I won't.
You were before.
What is it, Julie?
Look inside, Troy.
I'll try the garden.
No one here, sir.
All the doors are open.
Mr Barnaby!
I saw your car.
This doesn't make any sense.
But, well, I had to say something.
Julie was looking out of her bedroom
well, she's very sure...
..Best in her own words,
Mrs Fielding.
Julie?
Mrs Harrington took her away.
And she had her shotgun
pushing in her back.
Out. Out!
Hannah, this is madness.
Causton's right. The main road.
No. Not the main road
Where do you think she's going?
There's the ruin of a cottage there.
It's even marked on the map.
Left. Setwale Wood. Left. Go on.
That's it.
GUNSHOT
No further to run, Victoria.
You frightened me, Hannah.
You murdered my son.
You killed Susan, too. I knew as
soon as I heard the word valerian.
Remember how you'd pick the plants
with Jonah?
You'd catch rabbits and squirrels,
see how long they stayed
unconscious.
Mostly they died.
Not a very nice hobby for the
prettiest girl in Midsomer Worthy.
Your parents were relieved
when you discovered boys.
Poor Susan.
Wasn't there an easier way
to get rid of her?
No. Despite everything,
he wouldn't leave her.
And finally you knew
there'd never be a Bartlett heir.
My God, is that it?
He didn't have the guts
to kick her out.
So you did it for him.
I put my son first.
I looked at James, a drunk,
who couldn't keep his life together
because of her. She was dangerous.
But if she'd delivered
grandchildren?
The Bartletts have farmed here
for 500 years.
You don't let that disappear.
There's a debt to the future.
For God's sake, Hannah,
even your waster of a son
could produce children.
Is that why you killed him?
I didn't want to.
He saw my car here.
He was blundering about
in the wood, drunk, I suppose.
I don't know what he was doing.
But he knew, once the police came.
He phoned me.
He wanted money from me.
He wanted me to pay him
to keep quiet.
That way.
That's not all he wanted.
He wanted to rub our noses
in the dirt.
To destroy us.
It would be a good idea if you put
the gun down, Mrs Harrington.
I'd like to go home now,
Mr Barnaby.
We're really not friends any more.
We've been friends all our lives,
Mr Barnaby.
I wouldn't even let a dog of mine
suffer more than it had to.
Susan Bartlett had to be replaced.
By Bernadette Sullivan?
Any woman who could provide
a grandchild.
But Harrington worked it out.
He put the flowers
in Victoria's garden.
Not to say, "You're next."
Just, "I know you did it."
But why would Bloxham
frame Simon Bartlett?
He found out what she'd done,
but he wasn't part of it.
Yes, she learned all about valerian
from him some 40 years before.
But Bloxham was trying
to incriminate Simon
because Simon was about to break
his mother's heart.
By selling the farm?
Yes, the farm was everything
to Bloxham, too. He grew up there.
And Victoria, she was five years
younger than him,
but she was like a kid sister.
Hannah said she idolised him.
And he loved her.
But they couldn't stay kids forever.
So he turned the only time he was
happy into a private world.
He had to protect it.
Even Simon was expendable.
Victoria didn't see it like that.
Thank you for waiting for me,
Mr Barnaby.
(WINCES)
Bloxham's damned dog.
Closed Captions by CSI