Murdoch Mysteries (2008–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - Dinosaur Fever - full transcript

A most wonderful evening, William.

Yes, the dance lessons
were worth every penny

- of the eight dollars.
- It's true!

But I was actually referring
to the event itself.

- Ah yes, of course.
- I wonder what marvel

Mr. Blake has brought
back from the bone fields?

We shall soon see. I believe
the man himself has arrived.

Who knew dinosaur hunters
would become such celebrities?

Perhaps someday everyone
will be as fascinated with

pathologists and police detectives.

Rudolph.



I'm surprised to see you here.

I wouldn't miss this evening, Barkeley.

You must be a glutton for punishment.

Mr. Premier!

Uh... Wait. Wait. I'd like a sandwich.

I heard this afternoon of a new light

that can actually see
through solid objects?

Oh yes, I've heard of this
as well. Roentgen's rays.

Or, as he prefers to call them, X-rays.

Yes! There's actually a working prototype

of this very machine, the
radiograph, at the hospital.

Oh...

Ladies and gentlemen,
distinguished guests...

members of the National Geographic Society.



My name is Mary Ann McConnell.

And for the last six years,

it has been my distinct privilege

to work alongside one
of the world's foremost

paleontologists and bone
hunters, Barkeley Blake.

Foremost...

As you are all aware, eight years ago,

it was Barkeley's remarkable discovery

- of an almost intact therapod...
- Remarkably lucky.

- ... that turned Canadian paleontology on its head.
- I'm sorry.

Well, tonight, good people...

Mr. Blake will reveal a find
that exceeds even that success.

I give you, Barkeley Blake.

Publicity seeker.

Really, Sir, I must ask you to be quiet.

- Of course.
- Thank you, Miss McConnell.

Thank you all for coming.

The Alberta Badlands...

Millions of years ago,
it was a vast inland sea,

its shores as lush as any
jungle you could imagine.

Today, hot and barren.

Nothing I'd ever found in all my years

had prepared me for what
awaited me in a nearby coul?e.

What nature had entombed
for millions of years

took me mere days to unearth.

And when I did,

I changed the face of
paleontology yet again.

Ladies and gentlemen... I give you...

Terror... saurus!

Blasphemers! All of you!

Praise be to God!

Wait!

Stop!

William! He's dead.

Oh my...

His name was Lukas DeWitt.
He was a field assistant

on Mr. Blake's expedition.

Clearly, he was placed there
after the dinosaur was erected.

Do we know who had access to the room?

Constable Crabtree is
ascertaining that as we speak.

some religious zealot, I take it?

Dinosaurs and evolution

are prickly subjects with the church, Sir.

- Enough to kill over?
- Possibly.

However, he seemed intent
on vandalizing that bone.

And he also seemed just as surprised

by the murder as everyone else.

Still, we'll need to have a chat with him.

Yes, the men are searching for him now.

And have them check the local churches.

Especially the ones with ministers who
are preaching the ol' fire and brimstone.

Of course.

I should take a moment
with the Chief Constable.

Doctor, is our victim telling us anything?

It appears he was shot.

The bullet penetrated the skull here.

- Any gunshot residue?
- No.

Suggesting the killer stood some
distance away from the victim.

Any estimates on the time of death?

The rigor is odd...

The best estimate I can give you
is twenty-four to forty-eight hours.

May I take the body?

Yes, of course.

We never got to try out our two-step!

I hope to have another opportunity.

As do I.

Good night.

George.

Any luck with the interviews?

The hall was a veritable
hive of activity, Sir.

Dozens of people preparing
the exhibit for the party.

Any one of them could
come and go as they wished.

We'll have to ascertain the whereabouts

- of each and every one.
- Sir.

What a bizarre thing to do...

to make such a spectacle of the victim.

Yes.

I believe he was making an example of him.

What could he have done to deserve that?

A very good question, George.

For six months, Lukas was by my side...

Working, eating, digging, drinking...

He knew his strata like
no one I've ever met.

Did he have any enemies?

None that I know of, but bone hunting

can be a dangerous business.

Two men guard the perimeter of
my camp at night, you realize?

Oh? Why?

The bones are priceless.

There's constant danger from raiders.

Ah. And these raiders, who might they be?

Sometimes they're just hired thugs,

out to steal the bones and
sell them to private collectors.

And... other times?

Rival dinosaur hunters.

No doubt you know of Othniel
Marsh and Edward Cope?

The Bone Wars. Yes, I've heard stories.

They're all true, I assure you.

That pair was notorious for

trying to destroy one another's digs, for

stealing one another's fossils.

Their animosity towards each
other was also their downfall.

In the end, yes.

What about this young man with the hammer?

In some ways, those religious sorts

frighten me the most.
They're completely irrational.

Ah.

- Had you ever seen him before?
- Never.

And Mr. DeWitt? When did you last see him?

Well, that's the shocking part, Detective.

The last I saw him, he was in Alberta.

- Alberta?
- Yes. He'd stayed behind

to supervise the packing up of he camp.

Do you have any idea why he
would come here to Toronto?

It's completely beyond me.

One final question:

who would have the logistical
know-how to pull this off?

I'm not entirely sure. With my schedule,

I really don't have time to
supervise day-to-day affairs.

I see. Then who does?

I, uh, personally shrouded
the femur and the dinosaur.

Barkeley wanted secrecy

so he could dramatically reveal the fossil.

Were you the last person in the hall?

I think so...

It was so late... I wanted
everything to be perfect.

Could someone have
stayed behind unseen or...

- slipped in later?
- I suppose it's possible.

And when did you last see Mr. DeWitt?

Uh, the night before we left our camp.

We worked together so closely.

I would have thought he'd
tell me if he was coming.

I can't stop working, it seems.

I'm afraid if I do, I...

Miss McConnell... May I?

It's an ungula, yes?

Most people would call it a claw.

From the Albertosaur, I believe.

You've... studied paleontology?

Well, it's been an obsession
of mine since childhood.

For me too.

It still is, obviously.

Miss McConnell, I understand that

Mr. Blake has... enemies, rivals.

Are you suggesting that they may have
done this to get back at Barkeley?

It's a possibility that I must explore.

Is there anyone in
particular that comes to mind?

There is one person.

Barkeley Blake is a gaseous,

bloated mental midget who
just happened to pull the wool

over the scientific world's eyes.

Clearly, Pr. Sutton, you
do not care for Mr. Blake.

No... I adore the way people confuse

scientific rigor with nice teeth.

Perhaps you disliked him so
much that you took action.

You're talking about Lukas DeWitt?

My God, man, if I... if I
had gone to those lengths,

it would have been Barkeley
caught in those teeth.

Professor, I don't understand
your dislike of Mr. Blake.

Five years ago, Barkeley
Blake was simply a geologist

mapping coal deposits. He
happened to stumble upon

a dinosaur skull and
now, he passes himself off

as a paleontologist
and everyone laps it up.

But you can't deny that Mr. Blake

has now made two stunning discoveries.

That is not paleontology.

That is carnival showmanship.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah...

Here, look. Now take that.

That is paleontology. That is what matters.

It's a fossilized plant.

More than that, Detective.
That is the basis of life.

That is paleontology.
That... This is what matters.

This is the slow, methodical exploration

of a world that no
longer exists. Please... !

My collection is very
specifically organized.

Thank you. It's not...

the hunt for fame and fortune.

Professor, you are obviously
very passionate about this.

My understanding is, so much so that

you'd be willing to
sabotage Mr. Blake's efforts.

Oh...

Barkeley's portraying
himself as the victim, I see.

Yes, yes, that's not surprising.

Do you deny this?

Shipments of my fossils have been hijacked.

An entire rock face that I
was excavating was dynamited.

Please answer my question, Sir.

If there's a war, I didn't start it.

I'll need to make an account of your
whereabouts over the past few days.

I was... I was here. I was cataloguing.

- Alone, I take it?
- Well...

Well, I don't have dozens of
students to do my work for me

while I gallivant with the rich and famous.

What became of them, Sir?

George. What became of whom?

The dinosaurs.

Their extinction remains one
of the world's great mysteries.

You know, I heard tales
that they still exist,

that they're hidden in
the unexplored head waters

of the Congo and the Amazon!

That's bollocks! If they're anywhere,

they're probably in the
highlands of Scotland.

Possibly in Loch Ness.

Yes, Loch Ness!

The Loch Ness dinosaur.

That's got a bit of a ring to it.

I put a request into the
Northwest Mounted Police.

Someone's going to ride
out to Blake's dig site

and see if anyone left there can
tell us what DeWitt was up to.

That could take some time.

George, what do you have for me?

Well, I looked into Mr.
DeWitt's personal life.

Apparently, he was quite
liked by all his chums.

He also told them that
he recently became sweet

on somebody but he hadn't said who.

We'll need to have a word with her.

I'll track her down.

We're also looking into all the alibis

of anybody who had access to the
exhibit, but it's a long list...

What about the young man with the hammer?

We've checked with various church
groups and... nothing so far.

Mr. DeWitt arrived by train. Have
we checked with Union Station?

We have and there's no record of a
Lukas DeWitt traveling by sleeper class.

He could have traveled coach.

Bugger that.

No Dewitt is going to travel coach.

- What makes you so sure?
- The family stinks of money.

They're American, from Philadelphia.

Made their fortune in
bedsprings, I believe.

Oh... Those DeWitts.

Ah, the Bedspring
DeWitts of Philadelphia...

Well, perhaps money is the motive?

Yes, perhaps.

George, see if Mr. DeWitt's
accounts have been touched.

In the meantime, I believe Dr.
Ogden has post mortem results for me.

Yes, Murdoch, uh... about that...

I can't open the body and there's
absolutely nothing I can do about it.

It's signed by the Chief Coroner.

The DeWitts are sending
an American pathologist?

Apparently I'm not qualified enough.

The audacity...

This is preposterous!

We need those results to
conduct our investigation.

Fortunately, nothing precluded me from...

studying the body...

Plaster.

Yes. I found traces of it as
well as these brownish fibers

all over his clothes and exposed skin.

The fossils from Mr.
Blake's dig were wrapped

in burlap and plaster for shipping.

Are you suggesting his

body was preserved like a fossil?

Perhaps, a form of
short-term mummification.

The lack of oxygen would have impeded

the natural decay of the body
explaining why I have been

having trouble pinpointing
the time of death.

But more importantly, it would
suggest that he was killed

where the fossils were
prepared for shipment.

Mr. Blake's camp in Alberta.

I believe we need to rethink
this entire investigation.

You're suggesting that
someone shot DeWitt in Alberta,

plastered his body in Alberta,

transported it on a train from Alberta,

and placed it in a
dinosaur's jaws in Toronto.

Yes, Sir.

Excellent theory, Murdoch.

Sounds entirely plausible to me.

Sir, it would explain why we have
no record of him arriving in Toronto.

Hmm.

I did hear back from the
Northwest Mounted Police.

And apparently DeWitt vanished from the
camp the day that the bones were shipped.

Someone wants us to think
that he was murdered here.

... not in Alberta.

So who would have the means
to do something like this?

Anyone who prepared fossils
for shipment in Alberta

would have both the knowledge
and access to necessary equipment.

Exactly.

Then we're looking for someone
from Blake's camp, aren't we?

George...

I'd like you to find Mr.
DeWitt's field journals.

- Of course.
- Please review them and tell me precisely

what Mr. DeWitt was working on at the dig.

He was killed for a reason and
perhaps they can tell us what it is.

Right away, Sir.

He was packed with the fossils?

- How monstrous...
- Indeed.

But what I find perplexing

is that a bone that
large went by unnoticed.

It must have been at
least six feet in length...

Well, as you can see, we... we
do have many specimens. And we

ship many larger pieces.

I'll speak with my assistants
and see if they saw anything.

I would appreciate that.

I see you're packing
the Terrorsaurus femur.

Have you another exhibition?

No. Actually, it's been sold to the
American Museum of Natural History.

Oh? Not a Canadian institution?

I find that surprising.

Well, only the Americans
could afford the expense.

And the size. Fortunately.

Fortunately?

Otherwise, it would end up in private
hands and I believe that would be a shame.

Ah, I agree.

However, you seem to have
procured a fossil for yourself.

An ammonite, I believe.

Yes...

Well, they are plentiful and... uh...

it has significance.

Lukas DeWitt had a sweetheart.

It was you, wasn't it?

Yes.

He gave it to me,

that last night at the camp,

to help remember him while we were apart.

Why didn't you tell me
of your relationship?

I suppose...

I didn't want to be
perceived as anyone's gal.

Miss McConnell, that hardly seems
a viable reason not to tell me.

Detective, it's very difficult
to be a female paleontologist

and one who does fieldwork is unheard of.

God, it's no use. You'd never understand.

I think I do.

You wanted to be respected.

Just to be taken seriously
for my abilities...

But I would never...

never harm Lukas. He gave me that respect.

Unlike some others.

Others?

Barkeley.

A serious misstep in my personal history.

And did Mr. Blake know of
your involvement with Lukas?

He did.

It made things terribly awkward.

- How so?
- As you no doubt can imagine,

Barkeley doesn't like to
finish second to anyone.

The ramblings of a bitter woman.

You deny you were jealous?

Lukas and I had words,

but only because I could see the
scope of things and he couldn't.

The scope?

When you've examined life on
a scale of millions of years,

as I have, you realize that we are...

but a brief moment in time.

A woman won or lost... doesn't matter.

Apparently, Mr. DeWitt
considered Miss McConnell

more than a... moment in time.

Mary Ann is an excellent assistant.

But her dreams exceed her grasp.

To make a truly remarkable discovery,

you need an instinct and an almost...

pretty unnatural affinity
for the world around you.

I see. And Miss McConnell lacks instinct?

She does. However, her clerical and
organizational skills are excellent.

Nevertheless, you admit to
having words with the victim.

Yes.

Do you own a gun?

Of course. There are many
dangers out in the Badlands.

So you won't object to me examining it?

Of course not, but you
will be wasting your time.

Mr. Blake, you do know how to
prepare fossils for transport.

Really, Detective...

Of course I know how to,

and yes, I could have done that to Lukas.

But so could anyone at that
camp, or, for that matter,

- Sutton's.
- Rudolph Sutton?

- He was there?
- He was always digging near my expeditions.

I'm sure in part to provoke me,

but really it's because he's
totally lacking in imagination.

And where was his camp exactly?

A few miles from us in
the Red Deer River valley.

He was digging up... Magnoliopsidas.

Idiot!

The man is an idiot. Magnoliopsida?

No, no, no... It's...

Nilssonia.

From the order Cycadales,
not Magnoliopsida.

This is... you see, this is it. It's
just further proof of his incompetence.

Pr. Sutton, why are you so adamant

that Mr. Blake is undeserving of respect?

Nothing larger than a guinea
pig has ever been found

at the Edmonton Formation
where he was digging. Did his...

Terrorsaurus burrow through two
hundred feet of cretaceous sediment

before conveniently expiring for posterity?

And what were you hoping to find there?

I... I was nowhere near
the Edmonton Formation.

No?

Mr. Blake said that you were no
more than two miles away from him.

Two... two miles, yes. Two miles,
but millions of years, Detective.

I was working the Scollard Formation.
It's as different as night from day.

What does this have to do with anything?

Professor, we know that Lukas
DeWitt was killed in Alberta.

He was shot in the head, his
body was encased like a fossil,

he was shipped back here to Toronto,

and then his body was put on
display in the dinosaur's jaws.

Right.

Oh, you think that I could
do something so monstrous?

- Well, I'm a man of science.
- Do you own a gun, Sir?

Yes.

It's for fending off thieves and coyotes.

I'll need to perform tests on it.

- You're serious?
- Most.

Bloody hell, Murdoch!

How many times have I told you about
firing off a gun inside the station?

Just testing out a new design, Sir.

However, I had hoped the blast
would be somewhat more muffled.

- What's inside the box?
- Cotton, Sir, and straw.

What for?

In the past, I've used water to slow
the bullet's impact when collecting them.

Yes, yes, the rain barrels.

In actual fact, water is very dense

and the lead slugs were
being damaged by hitting it.

- The cotton's softer.
- Precisely.

I'm hoping to preserve as much
evidentiary value as possible.

Ah!

Here it is. Ah...

Perfect condition. Now,
for Mr. Sutton's gun...

Murdoch, you can fire as
many pistols as you like,

- but they won't do you any good now, will they?
- Why is that?

Because you don't have a
bullet to compare them to.

Haven't I?

There were strict orders
prohibiting that body being touched.

- And it wasn't.
- Stop talking in riddles.

Sir, Mr. DeWitt's body
has not been touched.

However, I do have the
means to examine that bullet.

And how do you plan on
doing that, me old mucker?

- Radiography?
- That's it, Sir.

And this enables you to see through things?

- Yes. Amazing, isn't it?
- How is that possible?

- X-rays.
- X-rays?

So named by their discoverer Dr. Roentgen,

who didn't know what they were "x-actly".

In actual fact, they are like light rays,

only made of magnetic energy.

And these rays are able to penetrate

and pass through matter,
allowing them to be captured

on this photographic plate. Now, since
all objects have different densities...

Murdoch, I'll take your word for it.

Where did you happen to
find this contraption?

Oh. Well, I may have...

borrowed it from the hospital.

I like your initiative, Doctor.

- Can you hold this, Inspector?
- Of course.

- Like this?
- Yes.

Now the gun is in position.

- You may fire when ready. Fire? Fire what?
- Is this thing safe?

Oh my!

- Well, did it work?
- See for yourself, Sir.

Bloody hell. It's the man's skull.

- It's miraculous, isn't it?
- And the bullet entered here?

- Yes.
- And metal is revealed by this?

Exactly.

Then unless I'm not even more
confused than I think I am,

shouldn't I be seeing a bullet?

What?

Seems our bullet has vanished.

A bullet doesn't simply disappear
from inside of a man's skull.

Are you sure this X-ray
contraption really works, Doctor?

I'm certain of it. I
tested it several times.

Then where did the bullet go?

It was never there.

Then how did the bullet hole get there?

Something penetrated his
skull, but it wasn't a bullet.

It simply created an entrance wound
similar to what a bullet would have.

So what kind of weapon are we looking for?

May I see the radiograph again?

Whatever it was, it must
have been fairly sharp.

- To puncture the skull.
- Yet not shatter it completely.

Precisely. I wonder what this area is.

Some brain tissue? A tumor, perhaps?

- Fragments of the skull?
- No, I see those.

Could it be debris left behind
by whatever penetrated the skull?

That's what I'm wondering.

I could possibly retrieve
a sample through the wound.

That wouldn't really constitute
opening up the body now, would it?

I wouldn't think so, no.

What have we here?

It's clumped, but it seems granular.

Could it be more plaster from
when the body was wrapped?

No, it's too coarse for plaster.

I believe it's soil of some sort...

I suppose it could have engendered
the wound when our victim fell.

William?

A pick.

Could it have been a geologist's pick?

I suppose...

That would have made a hole the
size and shape of his wound...

And it would account for the debris.

A geology pick... !

Always struck me as such an
innocent, hopeful little tool.

Everyone at that site would
have had access to one.

Yes, of course. Most unfortunate
for your investigation.

Do you have any idea
what kind of soil this is?

I don't know, limestone perhaps?

What are you thinking?

Blake and Sutton were working
in different sedimentary layers.

Each layer with its own unique composition.

So if you could determine which

layer this soil came from,
you'd have your killer.

At the very least, I'd know
which camp he came from.

I have an associate in the Geology
Department at the university.

I could have a sample sent over.

- Sir?
- Yes, George, come in.

What are you looking at, Sir?

It's a geological map
of the Alberta Badlands.

Mr. Blake was working here...

in the Edmonton Formation.

Mr. Sutton in the Scollard
Formation, right here,

- further down by the river.
- Sir, what exactly do they mean by "formation"?

Well, they're layers of rock created

by sediment deposited over
millions and millions of years.

Millions of years ago...

Boggles the mind just to think
about it, doesn't it, Sir?

- Certainly does.
- I mean, my aunt believes

that the Earth is 6000 years old,
based on the Bible, of course.

Well, she would be a literalist.

Much like the young man with
the hammer, I would suspect.

Their views bring them into direct conflict

with men like Sutton and Blake who believe
in the evolutionary development of the world.

Hmm.

She believes that the
world was made in six days

and that's an end on it.
Myself, I take a bit more of a...

- scientific perspective.
- Oh?

I do, but I don't think the two
schools of thought need be exclusive.

I mean, what if, in the
distant, distant past...

each rotation of the Earth
took millions of years.

- Well...
- Or, from a biblical viewpoint,

what if God paused for millions
of years between each day?

I mean, Genesis doesn't say
anything about consecutive days.

- George...
- Or better yet,

what if one day in Heaven is a few
millions of years here on Earth?

Maybe that's why God hasn't made
Himself apparent to us in so long.

It's still the seventh
day; he's still resting.

But maybe tomorrow the
eighth day will begin

and he'll create something entirely new.

Something just as
important as land or water.

Such as?

A horse that could run backwards.

I mean, think about it.

You would never need to turn around.

George, do you have any pertinent
information about this case?

Uh, yes, three things.

First off, I spoke with Mr. DeWitt's

banker and there's nothing
fishy going on with his accounts.

- Secondly?
- Uh, secondly,

we haven't been able to find anything about
this young chap who had a go at the fossil.

We've been to every church downtown.
Nobody seems to know who he is.

- That's odd.
- I thought so as well.

I am confident, however,
that we'll find him.

Thirdly, I went through Mr.
DeWitt's journal, as you asked.

I took the liberty of copying it out.

Cursive script was not
one of his strong suits.

George, did you find anything
relevant to this investigation?

Mr. DeWitt did seem to have somewhat of
an obsession with one particular area.

He made note of it many times.

- What area is that?
- Well, actually,

I recognize it on your map, here...

It's right there.

As the study of paleontology has taught me,

time marches forward.

We are but a small part
of an ever-changing,

ever-evolving world.

And the time has come for
me to march forward as well.

So it is with pleasure,

and admittedly some sadness

I turn over this expedition and project
to my worthy and capable colleague,

Mary Ann McConnell.

Thank you, Mr. Blake,

for your confidence in me and my abilities.

The expedition won't
be the same without you.

Nor will it be the same
without Lukas DeWitt,

whose death has cast such a pall on what
was supposed to be a happy occasion...

I hope I can make you both proud.

Now... Any questions for me?

- Oh, Mr. Blake.
- Detective.

I'm somewhat surprised by
this sudden turn of events.

Why? Miss McConnell is an industrious
woman and a fine bone hunter.

She convinced me she
deserved the opportunity.

It seems to contradict your earlier
assessment of Miss McConnell's abilities.

I'm a proud man, Detective.

I don't like to lose, including at love.

I said some things about Miss
McConnell to you that I regret.

But in the sober light of second thought,

I know this is the right thing to do.

Of course. And what of you?

I'll take some time
before making a decision,

but I assure you, whatever I do next

will make my last adventure
pale in comparison.

Now... Is there

- some way I can help you, Detective?
- Yes, there is.

I was wondering if you could tell me

- what was at that location.
- Yes, of course.

That's where I discovered
the femur. Why do you ask?

It's just that Mr. DeWitt noted the
location several times in his journals.

As well he should. It's a
very important discovery.

Indeed it is.

Thank you very much for
your time, Mr. Blake.

- Ah, Detective!
- Miss McConnell...

- Have you good news?
- I hope to soon.

But in the meantime, it seems
congratulations are in order.

Thank you. It's been a long time coming.

Indeed it has. Good day.

William!

I believe I have something
that might interest you.

The results came back on the soil
we found in our victim's skull.

Oh, good. Were they able to determine
which formation it came from?

No.

No? So another dead end?

Well, they couldn't because
it wasn't soil at all.

- What was it?
- Pulverized concrete.

Concrete... ?

There was plaster at the
site, but no concrete.

Perhaps they were building something?

Hmm... Maybe they were.

What is the meaning of this?
That bone should be on its way

to the train station by now. Who
gave you permission to examine it?

This court order should
be permission enough.

Really, Detective, what is this all about?

Mr. Blake, I need to take
a very special photograph

of your spectacular find.

Allow me to introduce Inspector Brackenreid,
Dr. Ogden. They'll be assisting me.

- Mr. Blake.
- Doctor...

Very well. Shall I pose with it?

I should think the bone
will be all that's needed.

Would you once again

- hold the photographic plate, Inspector?
- Certainly.

- You are sure this is safe?
- Of course!

- Everything is ready, Detective.
- Very good...

Are you sure it worked, Detective?
I didn't see any flash powder go off.

It worked perfectly.

Mr. Blake,

your prized fossil seems to have and
iron rod running through the middle of it.

I don't believe it. Fake?

Who would perpetrate such a hoax?

Let me think.

Perhaps someone who hasn't made a
significant find in eight years...

Someone who has been sustaining his career

through a combination of luck,

exploitation of his workers,

and an unnerving drive for centre stage.

Do you truly think me that stupid?

I think you're that desperate.

And I think Mr. DeWitt had
discovered what you had done.

He'd been making a
careful study of the area,

keeping meticulous records.

In one of his field journal entries,

he noted that you found the
femur beneath Cenozoic detritus.

There were no dinosaurs
in the Cenozoic era.

That doesn't make sense.

I agree. And I suspect it didn't
make sense to DeWitt either.

You said yourself he "knew his strata."

So when he came to you for an explanation,

you realized he could expose your fraud

and killed him.

And then packed up his body,
transported it to Toronto,

and stuffed him in a dinosaur's
mouth in order to ruin

the most triumphant moment of my life?

You had everything to lose, Mr. Blake.

And I was very nearly destroyed.

I'm the victim here,
Detective. Can't you see that?

Someone is clearly out to destroy me.

Am I free to go?

For now.

But I'm nowhere near finished
with you yet, Mr. Blake.

Rest assured of that.

You've found the young man with the hammer?

Actually, Sir, it was
Higgins who found him.

I recognized him from this photo
taken a the dinosaur ball, Sir,

but he's no more a
church-goer than Satan himself.

- Oh?
- No, he's a panhandler on my beat, Sir.

Goes by Clyde Dunbar. He'd even
sell his own mother for a dime.

- And where is he now?
- He's cooling his heels in one of the cells.

Mr. Dunbar!

Who's asking?

I'm Detective William Murdoch.

Is that supposed to mean something?

- Perhaps.
- Such as?

Such as whether you hang or not.

Wait a minute, what are you talking about?

Mr. Dunbar, the last time I saw you,

you had a hammer in your
hand and you were attacking

a fossil in the name of the Lord.

You're mistaking me for some other lad.

Moments later a man was found murdered,
and I think you had something to do with it.

Now hold on there. Look,
you got it all wrong.

I didn't have nothing
to do with any murder.

I'm not even a religious man.

Then what was all that yelling
about hellfire and blasphemy?

It's what he told me to say.

Who? It's what who told you to say?

I don't know. A man.

Came up to me on the street,
said he'd give me a fiver

if I smashed that bone with a hammer. So...

I got on as a waiter at the hall and...

Well, you were there.

This man, can you describe him?

He was old, about your age.

I see...

Was he balding? Thick
glasses? Close-cropped beard?

Yeah, that's him.

And if you see him,

tell him he still owes me the money.

A fa... a fake, you say.
Are you absolutely certain?

I am. I was able to examine
it using a radiograph.

That is something I never considered

when I devised my plan.

You admit to building the bone then?

Proudly.

The truth finally comes out. I, uh...

I'm only sorry that I

failed to publicly expose
Blake for the fool that he is.

I don't think you quite
realize the seriousness

of the situation you're in, Professor.

Oh, I understand. I understand
all too well. I was so close!

So close! It was going to
be Barkeley's utter ruin.

And in front of the National
Geographic Society, no less.

But unfortunately, Lukas
DeWitt had to get in the way.

He suspected the bone was a
fake and confronted you about it.

He did no such thing.

But your need to destroy
Blake was so great,

you killed DeWitt to keep
him from exposing your plan.

No, I only wanted revenge on Barkeley.

I had no differences with Lukas.

Detective, you may think
me a small and petty man,

but I'm no murderer.

Was it worth it, Professor?

To reveal Barkeley as a fraud? Yes.

You will forever be remembered as the man

who perpetrated this hoax.

The hoax may be remembered. May not.

And... and as for me,

I... I have always been a forgettable man.

For future generations, my contribution
to this discipline will never be forgotten.

And... and that, Detective,
is as it should be.

I take it you received permission
to conduct the postmortem?

Under the supervision of the tiresome

Dr. Hitchcock of Philadelphia.

Fortunately, he was more
interested in a side trip

to Niagara Falls than
the postmortem itself.

I hope you have some good news for me.

Is the case frustrating you?

I have two suspects. Mr. Blake, Pr. Sutton.

Both with means, motive and opportunity.

Unfortunately, I haven't a shred of
evidence to tie either to the murder.

I'm afraid I'm not going
to be much help to you.

My original supposition was correct.

Lukas DeWitt died as the
result of trauma to the head.

However, the postmortem
wasn't without its...

interesting revelations.

I discovered some fascinating
things about mummification.

Such as?

Well, the process can
actually start as quickly as

within three days of death. So Mr.
DeWitt's skin had already begun to harden.

- Interesting.
- Isn't it?

What's fascinating is it had actually
begun to meld around his clothing.

In fact, I found tiny marks
where the weight of the plaster

had pressed his shirt
buttons against his skin.

I could even see that he wore some
sort of medallion or... or pendant.

That's odd.

Nothing like that was found on his body.

Well, it was on his person
when he was wrapped in plaster.

You can see the mark for yourself.

It's hard to detect, but if
you find the correct angle,

you'll note it has a
very distinctive pattern.

Dr. Ogden, have you a candle?

You recognize this?

It's a replica of an ammonite.

What of it?

It's a cast of an imprint

we found on Lukas DeWitt's body.

It was caused by a fossil-shaped pendant

that was on his body when
he was wrapped and plastered.

However,

the pendant wasn't there
when we found his body.

Must have been lost, then.

May I see yours?

There's no need.

It will match.

I know you killed him.

You wrapped and plastered his body

and shipped it here like another rock.

- You don't know anything.
- And then, you left

his body for the world to discover.

What I can't understand is

- why?
- Because...

I wanted Barkeley to pay.

He took everything from me. Everything!

He took credit for my work. He
denied me my proper due at every turn.

He took the life of the man...

... who loved me.

What happened?

I...

... had forgotten

to put my pick away, so...

I walked back to the tent to get it.

And that's when I saw them.

Arguing.

Barkeley grabbed my pick
and... hit Lukas with it.

It was an accident.

People are rarely hit
in the back of the head

with a pick by accident, Mr. Blake.

I mean, I was not in control
of myself at the time.

Lukas confronted you
about the bone, didn't he?

He did. He couldn't
understand how I had found it.

He accused me of having faked it.

When he showed me it was concrete,

I realized I'd been had.

But what neither of you realized

was that Sutton put it
there for you to find.

I have to hand it to Rudolph!

It was a brilliant plan and I fell for it.

But by then, you had already contacted

the National Geographic Society
about your extraordinary find.

Eight years ago, I was
just another geologist,

and then I stumbled on
something that made me special.

I knew that until I repeated that success,

I would still be a fraud in my own mind.

And if news got out, you
would have been ruined.

So you panicked.

I wanted so badly for
that bone to be real...

But it didn't end there, did it?

There was some excavation
going on in the area,

new expeditions coming in... I
couldn't risk the body being found.

The inevitable questions
would lead right back to me.

So I prepared his body like...

the other fossils...

I planned to dispose of him
later, after the exhibition.

And what about the Terrorsaurus bone?

You couldn't risk it being discovered
as a fake at some later date.

I'd arranged for it to be stolen

in transit to the American
Museum of Natural History.

Leaving Pr. Sutton to have to come up
with some other scheme to discredit you.

I suppose so, yes...

Detective...

I spent so much time amongst the dead...

Yet it never prepared me for this...

No.

I suppose it didn't.

So Miss McConnell was
blackmailing Mr. Blake?

She happened upon the murder
as it was being committed.

And she chose not to go to the police?

Yes. She chose instead to
use the murder against him.

- Against him? To what end?
- Further her career.

But Barkeley refused to give
in to her demands, initially.

So to prove she was serious, she put

the body on display for the world to see.

Yes.

She took Lukas's body
when it first arrived here,

before Blake could retrieve it.

And, in doing so, became an
accessory after the fact to murder.

Amongst a number of other
charges, I should think.

Precisely.

You seem to be quite
affected by this, William.

The world of the dinosaur hunter
has fascinated me since childhood...

And when I finally venture there,

I find it's a haven for ruthless
ambition and petty jealousy.

For years, I've dreamt of
visiting the Alberta Badlands...

exploring them myself.

- But now...
- William,

you can't let this brief
moment in history change things.

McConnell, Blake, Sutton...

They're just blinks in time.

And as for Alberta, I'm sure
that when you do get there,

it'll be everything you always dreamed of.

It says here that this
is where Barnum Brown

- discovered his Albertosaurus skeleton!
- Really?

Charlie Sternberg had a camp near here too.

I suppose Blake and Sutton must have
worked around here somewhere also.

Who?

Barkeley Blake and Rudolph Sutton.

They were involved in a case
I worked on, a long time ago.

Slow down!

We have to wait for your mother!