Murdoch Mysteries (2008–…): Season 3, Episode 7 - Blood and Circuses - full transcript

When a traveling circus comes to town a series of murders starting with the beautiful tiger trainer take center ring with Murdoch and Brackenreid.

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PHONE RINGS
Police station four.

I'm sorry, madam, you will have to
slow down, I can't understand you.

Am I hearing you correctly? A what?

Detective?

Detective, you've got to...

PHONE RINGS

Police station four... Yes, madam,
we are aware of the situation.

What situation?

..George, Henry,
what on earth has happened?

We were walking down
Sumat Street when we heard screams.

Coming from the direction of
the circus.



People were running, screaming...
A tiger got out of its cage, sir.

A huge Bengal brute.
Higgins tackled it.

It was going after an old man.

I hit it with my truncheon,
it barely noticed.

That's when a circus hand shot it.
My goodness!

Was anyone seriously hurt?
The tiger's tamer, sir.

A Miss Kitty Walker. She was killed.

I ordered her remains to the morgue,
and the tiger. Good thinking.

Come with me.

Let's pay a visit to this circus.

I don't understand.

Where are they?
It was right here.

Tents and all.

They've obviously packed up
and left in a hurry.



But if it was just a terrible
accident, why flee the scene?

Why, indeed?
Find them, George, and arrest them.

All of them.

Any messages?

Murdoch!

I had no choice, sir. None of them
have fixed addresses and they've
all demonstrated a tendency to flee.

So you've arrested them all
because a lion tamer got careless?

I haven't charged anyone yet.

But we need them in custody,
so I can determine what happened.

Can't they be kept in the cells?
It hardly seems fair
to incarcerate them.

Most of them are upstairs
in the lunch room.

Just keep them away
from me, Murdoch.

Who's in charge of this rabble
anyway?

It was horrible.
I went backstage to fetch Kitty,

her act was up next,

and that's how I found her.

Half eaten.

What was she doing
inside the tiger's cage?

She used to sit with
Saber before each show.

It was a ritual the two of them had.

She said it calmed him.

But this time,
the animal attacked her.

I did what I could.

I opened the cage door and tried
to force Saber back with a broom.

That's when the tiger escaped?

You know the rest.

What I know is that
you tried to flee town while
one of your performers lay dead.

And I feel awful about that.

But I've learned that locals
can react rather unfairly
when things go amiss.

This type of occurrence happens often
in Barnett's Royal Travelling Circus?

Not at all!

There was an unfortunate incident
with a dancing bear, and we had

some bad luck with a fire breather,
but everyone got out in time.

It's not as though these
things are the end of the world.
No. But it was for Miss Walker.

It had begun to devour parts of
her neck and abdomen as well.

Perhaps she had mistreated it?

Someone did. I checked the tiger's
digestive tract and except
for the stomach, which was...

rather full of course,
it was entirely empty.

The tiger had been starved?
For several days at least.

Which makes me wonder whether
this was a random animal attack.

Or if it was engineered?

George?

Where is the tiger's cage?

We brought it in to
the police stables.

Good thinking.
Find out who was responsible for
feeding the tiger and meet me there.

Yes, sir.

Who fed the tiger?

Saber ate three times a day.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And you kept to this schedule?

Of course. It's my job. Why?

Mr Selby,
the tiger had been starved.

For several days or more.

That's impossible.
He ate everything I gave him.

Can you show me
how the tiger was fed?

I open this door at the bottom...

..and slide in a plate of meat -

usually chicken, beef, bones -

like so.

Did you watch the tiger eat his food?

Well, no, I had other animals
to feed. But the plate was always
empty when I came back.

So someone could have taken the food
away? I don't see how, Detective.

If a hand came between Saber and his
food, guaranteed that hand would
be a goner. How remarkable, sir.

A cat so large it needs
a heavy-link chain as a leash.

You don't want the tiger off
its leash when you open that door.

And yet Saber ran off.

Sir, look.

If the chain was
cinched with this shackle...

..there'd be no way...
For the tiger to reach its food.
You're right, George.

That choker's supposed to reach
all the way to the end.

So someone could have pulled the
chain through the bars, like so,

and installed this shackle
every day before feeding time,

then returned to remove the shackle
before Miss Walker came to collect
Saber for the performances.

Even so, sir, how would the
tiger have got free of the choker?

Miss Walker must have done that.

She would have been just as surprised
to find it shortened as we are.

Who had access to this cage?

Anyone who wanted it, I suppose.

Gentlemen, down the hatch.

He's not going to swallow that!

Starved!

Yes, the cinching of the chain made
it impossible for the animal to eat.

So maybe someone didn't like
the tiger, it's not necessarily
a deliberate act of murder.

But we can't ignore that possibility.

Bloody hell, Murdoch. Here it comes!

Excuse me.

Enough! This is a police
station, not a bloody circus.

Mitchell, who's minding the desk
while you're stood there catching
flies? Back to work, the lot of you!

You've got 24 hours.
That may not be enough.

Habeas Corpus. I don't want
these people around longer than
what's permitted by law. Yes, sir.

George...

..I'd like you and Higgins
to interview... Someone get this
bloody monkey out of my office!

Interview all of these circus folk.
See if you can get a sense of who
may have had issues with Miss Walker.

What do you mean...
Kitty may have been murdered?

Let's not play games, Mr Barnett.

There was a reason you packed up
the circus and left town.
But I already told you...

How was your relationship
with Miss Walker?

Very friendly. She was
a lovely girl. Always smiling.

Yet you left her body behind.

I had no choice.

Didn't you think
to make arrangements?

Contact her family?

It takes a very cold man to do that.

So cold, it makes me suspect you had
something to do with her death.

Now, wait just a minute here!

If you think I'd harm her,
you've got this all wrong.

For a normal,
Kitty was a star attraction.

For a normal?

Like you and me.
As opposed to a freak.

Freaks bring in more money, usually.

Who, then, may have wanted her dead?

Mr Barnett, none of you are leaving
here until I get some answers.

Ask Ivy. She was Kitty's
best friend. If anyone knows
anything, it would be her.

You are staring, Detective.

Miss... Ivy.

Just Ivy.

Very well, Miss Ivy...

You can stare, if you want.

I don't mind.
It's how I make my living.

It grows all over my body.
Had it since I was born.

Payment for my mama's sins.

How do you mean? Let's just
say she ate supper before
she said grace.

You were conceived out of wedlock?

In a patch of poison ivy
in Ivy Point, Georgia.

Mama says the poison must have
seeped into her womb.

I see, Miss Ivy. I'm less interested
in your skin condition

than I am with your friendship
with Miss Walker.

I'm told the two of you
were close friends.

It's a circus, Detective Murdoch.

The friendships are
fleeting and eternal.

But yes, I was closest with Kitty.

Perhaps you can tell me why
someone would want to kill her.
Kill her?

Nobody wanted to kill Kitty.
Saber just went wild.

We have reason to believe otherwise.

Miss Ivy?

I'm not saying he did it, but she
had frequent words with her fiance.

I was concerned for her.

And his name? Count Leoline.

Of course we fought.

We fought like we loved, Detective.

With passion. With intensity.

With ardour.

Your ardour is your business.

What concerns me,
Mr Leoline, is your anger.

Please address me by my title.

I am a Count. Oh.

Well, Count,

your tempestuous
relationship leads me to suspect
you plotted to kill your fiance.

On my word, sir,

I may look like a beast,
but I am a gentleman.

I've lost my love
to a terrible tragedy.

Can you not see that I am grieving?

That doesn't change the fact
that someone starved that tiger with
the intention of killing Miss Walker.

I don't believe it.
Everyone loved Kitty.

My God,

if she was murdered,
it was an attack on me.

You? People are jealous of me. Of
my noble birth. My superior bearing.

Especially Jake the Magician.

Why is that? Before I won her heart,

Jake and Kitty were lovers.

We fought over her
affections, literally.

I defeated him easily, of course.

He always hated me for that.

Higgins and I once competed
in a three-legged race,
so I think we have a good idea ...

Sir, we've almost
finished our interviews.

Yes, I can see that.

Any hint of a motive
for killing Miss Walker?

No, sir. Not really.

Any luck with you? Each seems to
be pointing the finger at the other.

Speaking of which, I'll need to
talk to Jake the Magician.

He's in the booking
area with Sergeant Burke.

Smile upon these... Seems to be
quite the life, doesn't it, sir?

Behold your card! Did you ever dream
about joining the circus as a boy?

No, I didn't, George. I did.

It's because
I'm an adventure-seeker, which is
why I became a cop, apparently.

At least, that's what
Lady Minerva said. Lady Minerva?

She's the Gypsy fortune-teller.

I highly doubt she's
a true fortune-teller, George.

She knew I was a foundling.
She wasn't guessing.
It was on the cards.

Did she have anything
relevant to say about the case?

She believes the tiger was innocent.

All animals are innocent, George.

Humans excepted...

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

It was the last thing I expected.
But as I was examining

the bite wound on Miss Walker's
neck, I found remnants of
an incision.

An incision? On a very shallow
angle right through to the spine.

Have a look.

A small section of the fourth
vertebra has been chipped off.

Perhaps by the tiger's claws,
or teeth?

No. The cut was linear and thin.
I'm certain it was made by a knife.

You were right, William.

Kitty Walker was murdered.

And by someone who was well aware
that in the moments following,
Miss Walker would be...devoured.

She was stabbed? In the throat?
Yes, sir.

The tiger's bites on Kitty Walker's
neck would have erased any
sign of the original wound.

That's why the tiger attacked.

Miss Walker was dead and bleeding
and the tiger was starving.
Yes, sir. In you get, George.

It's a clever way to kill someone.
To have the knife wound
obscured by the tiger bite.

Yes, and if not for
Dr Ogden's persistence,
it would have been the perfect crime.

Miss Walker would have
likely been sitting down
here with the tiger, George.

Given the location of the wound,
the killer struck from behind.
Like this.

This changes everything, Murdoch.

You have a place and a time now.

Yes, which means the killer must
have been backstage shortly before
Mr Barnett happened upon the scene.

I want to know where they all
were when she was killed. Yes, sir.

George, please get started on that.
Yes, sir. And you, Murdoch?

I'm going to find out how a Gypsy
fortune-teller came to know the
tiger didn't kill Miss Walker.

I only know what the cards tell me.

Begging your pardon,
but cards don't speak.

They're made in a printing shop.

Do you believe in God, Detective?

Of course. God spoke to Moses
through a burning bush, did he not?

What of it?

If God spoke to Moses through a
burning bush, why shouldn't
He speak through cards?

Are you so arrogant as to
assume you know the ways of God?

No. I just don't think
God speaks through you.

But I believe that you know
something about what happened.

You have a great deal of knowledge.

This is a source of pride to you.

You take comfort in logic...

..except when it conflicts with
your religious beliefs.

I'm familiar with this parlour game.

Speak in flattering
generalities, avoid specifics.

You love a woman.

She's your match in every way.

And...oh, dear...

she doesn't appear
to be in your future.

I'm not here to have my
fortune told, Lady Minerva.

I want to know what happened today.

I only know what the cards tells me.

Then perhaps the cards
can answer a question?

Of course.

Who was responsible for
Kitty Walker's death?

Turn it over.

Kitty Walker was murdered.

So I hear.

Doesn't that bother you, Jake?

Weren't you and Kitty lovers?

Used to be. What of it?

You were jilted.

Defeated in a physical contest
for her affections, were you not?

Did Leo tell you that?

I was drunk, and it wasn't
a contest over her affections.

I told him he treated Kitty badly.

So you weren't the least bit
angry that she chose
Count Leoline over you?

I was wounded, I don't deny it.

Discarded in favour of that
freak of nature.

But that was six months ago.

I learned to accept it.

Where were you when Kitty was killed?

I was with Ivy. What were you doing?

Let's just say we were intertwined.

Gentlemen. Sir, Mr Barnett was
explaining the layout of the circus.

We have a central ring here
in the big tent.

All acts in waiting must be in
the backstage tent a quarter hour
before their performance.

Who was backstage with Miss Walker?

No-one. She was the final
performer of the night. Who was
the last person to see her alive?

We believe that was
Bob Selby, the animal feeder.

I heard Leo arguing with Kitty
and I had Selby poke his head in
to see if she was all right.

But Leo had already left.

And she was still alive?

She was just climbing
into Saber's cage.

How long after that
did you discover her dead?

Maybe five minutes.

Where were you during this period?

I've told your constables twice,
I was sidestage the whole time.

Very well.

Thank you. That will be all,
Mr Barnett.

George, were you able to
determine everyone's
whereabouts during this time?

Not quite, sir.

Oh. What of Count Leoline?
Interesting you should ask, sir.

He claims that he was with
Miss Ivy, but she confirms she
was with Jake the Magician.

George, I'd like you and
Higgins to dig up everything
you can on this alleged Count. Sir.

I never said I was with her,
I said she was my alibi.

And the distinction would be?

Kitty and I had just had a terrible
fight. I'd gone for a walk.

As I passed by Ivy's caravan,
she was standing on the steps
smoking a cigarette.

We shared a look.

She watched me as I went
down the path to the river.

How do you know Ivy watched you?

I could feel her eyes on me.

It's true, I do enjoy an occasional
cigarette, but everyone knows that.

Leo, however, did not pass by,
as he claims.

You're certain? I could hear them
arguing. It was hard to ignore.

By the time they stopped,
I'd gone back inside.

For a romantic interlude with
Jake the Magician?

Did Jake tell you that?

The man has no discretion.

Yes, I was with Jake.

You were Miss Walker's friend.
Was there something in particular

that she and Count Leoline
were fighting about?

Lately? It was her money.

Her money?

Her wealthy uncle
died a few months back.

There was a sizable inheritance
coming to Kitty as soon as the
lawyers finalised the papers.

Leo had grand plans for it.

I see.

Leo never came by that day.

He's lyin'.

She's lying! Why would she lie?
I don't know.

Perhaps she's jealous.

Is everyone jealous of you?

She once tried to seduce me.
Really? When was that?

Six months ago.

I made it clear I wasn't interested.

Maybe SHE killed Kitty.

You're saying that Ivy was so wounded
by your rejection

that she befriended your fiancee
for the next six months,

all in an attempt to kill her
and frame you for the murder?

You may find this hard
to believe, Detective,

but women find me irresistible.

My savage exterior, I suppose.

At my last circus,
a woman even tried to kill herself
because I refused her.

See? She just waved at you.

Higgins,
they're conjoined twins, man.

So? I think Daisy's sweet on me.

And I'm left-handed.

I don't see a future in it,
Higgins. ..Sir!

What have you learned, George?

Sir, Count Leoline is indeed a
Count, but these days, that doesn't
count for much, it would seem.

His family lost their holdings
in the Franco-Prussian war.

As a result, they're left with
title, but no wealth
worth speaking of.

Mr Barnett tells me Leo's mother
placed him in the circus
to make ends meet.

I hope you hang!

You are a shameful man!

How dare you touch me, woman!

So if he had no money and
Miss Kitty had the money, then why
kill her before they're married?

He didn't. Count Leoline and
Kitty Walker were married
two weeks ago in Niagara Falls.

I found that in his caravan.

Yes, we were married.

What of it? Why keep it a secret?

It was what Kitty wanted.

She had told her family about me,
but they didn't know who,
or...what I was.

So the fact that Kitty
was set to inherit... The money?

You think I killed her
for the money?
I'd accept any alternate reason.

That money was for us. We were going
to start our own circus.

Take the best of Barnett's with us.

Normals and freaks alike.

Did she share your vision?

Or is that why you fought?

Is that why you plotted to kill her?

I've endured enough from you!
To stand accused like this
is simply unbearable.

I would have given my life for hers!

Well, Count, you may yet
get that chance.

KNOCK ON DOOR

Sir, I hate to bother you,
but Lady Minerva is making
some startling predictions.

I'm not interested
in the prognostications
of some Gypsy fortune-teller.

Sir, I think you'll want to
hear these prognostications.

I've never seen anything like it.

Such ominous cards.

Yes, I'm sure they're
extremely ominous.

The Devil Card...destroyer of peace.

The Judgement Card...disappointment,
fear, failure.

The Death Card...unexpected
destruction and change.

Is there something
specific you want to tell me?

Someone is going to die tonight.

Someone at this station.

You don't believe her, do you?
I don't believe in tarot cards, but I
do think this woman knows something.

In this instance, she may be aware
of a plot, but doesn't want
to be implicated.

And this is her way of warning us?

Right. Crabtree. Sir. I want all
these people checked for weapons.

Keep them in the cells overnight.

Keep them under surveillance
until we figure this out.

Oh, George,
sequester Leoline in his own cell.

Sir. So, Count Hairy Gob's
your suspect, then?

He had motive and gave a false alibi.
Good. I'll be glad to see the
back of this lot. "Royal" circus.

Sir...

you have a monkey on your desk.

She's called Athena.

She's a cheeky monkey, but she seems
to have taken a shine to me.

Huh. Athena!

Leoline!
LADIES GASP

Sir, we've left the scene
exactly as we found it.

It appears he was stabbed, William.

But he was isolated in a locked
cell all night. It's impossible.

Nevertheless, approximately two
hours ago, the impossible happened.

The guard didn't fall asleep?
Not even once?

He swears on his job he didn't. Even
if he took a privy break, I don't
understand it. The cell was locked.

How could this happen? I don't know,
sir. I'll have the results of
Dr Ogden's post-mortem soon,

but I'm fairly certain
he died of the knife wound.

Where did the killer get the knife?
Where is it now?

We're searching the cells
and all the circus members.
I've relocated them to the stables.

Under guard, of course. I want
the search done properly. Bring
a matron in for the women. Right.

Nobody commits in murder in my
jail cells and gets away with it.

Understand?

Count Leoline was definitely
stabbed with a knife.

Once. Through the
larynx and carotid artery.

Death was instant?
Within seconds, I should think.

With the larynx pierced, he wouldn't
have been able to cry out.

That explains why the constable
on duty never heard a thing.

A fascinating condition, isn't it?
Hypertrichosis, I believe.

Yes, that's right. Imagine

having your life defined by
a random genetic mutation.

It certainly didn't impede his
ability to attract a beautiful
woman like Kitty Walker.

Oh, I can understand that.

He's very handsome. In spite of, or
perhaps because of his condition.

Yes, well... Is there
anything else you can tell me?

Just one more thing.

The knife went in
at an unusual angle.

Very shallow, almost
parallel to the ground.

Sir, we've checked every mattress.

Every nook and cranny. The drains?

Checked with a mirror.
There's no knife to be found.

Then it must be hidden on one of the
prisoners. How did it happen, George?

How did a man locked alone in
a cell get stabbed to death?

Suppose the killer was in
one of the adjoining cells.

It's much too far to reach.

I suppose if Count Leoline was
unsuspecting of his attacker, he
could have been lured to the bars.

In that scenario, the knife
angle could have been correct.

So, that's it then.
I don't think so, George.

You've just been stabbed
in the carotid artery.

You have seconds to live.
What do you do?

Bleed. Panic.

Flail around a bit, I suppose
There's no blood
on the bars, George.

And are you going to take the
time to return to your bunk
and tuck yourself in?

No, I suppose not.

No. He was definitely lying here
when he was killed.

So, someone must have broken in.
How?

It would have taken
far too long. And the constable
on duty never left his post.

What are you thinking, sir?

George, I'm going to need
a length of string.

You're sure somebody threw the
knife? That's right, George.

Lower the string a bit.

But, sir, that means he would
have had to aim the knife
through all these cell bars.

Yes, even lower still.

Sir, the accuracy required to make
that throw is... That's perfect.
Hold the string there.

So, someone could have thrown the
knife from within that cell,
or perhaps the one where you are.

It would explain the angle of entry.
Yes.

But it would be a one-chance throw.
And who among our guests has
the skill to pull that off?

And how would they
retrieve the knife?

Sir, in the first cell, we had Jake
the Magician, Bob Selby, the Giant,
the Juggler and a contortionist.

In the second cell,
Count Leoline, sequestered.

In the third cell, the clown,
the cowboy, Pierre Barnett
and another circus hand.

In the corner cell, we had
Miss Ivy, Lady Minerva, the twins,

the Romanovs,
the midget and the Indian girl.

KNOCK ON DOOR

We've searched every prisoner.

No knife. Right.

Gentlemen, find out if anyone
had a grudge against Count Leoline.

Yes, sir. Sir.

You are aware that
no knife was found?

And yet a knife was used.

Then where is it? And how,
if a person threw the knife,

could they retrieve it
from a locked cell?

I believe a string was tied to
the knife. Bloody hell! String.

Did we even find any string?

No.

So what's next?

Well, in the absence of
a murder weapon, we'll have to rely
strongly on motive.

So the person who killed Kitty
could also have murdered Count Leo?

Possibly. But if Count Leoline was
the chief suspect in Kitty's murder,

perhaps his murder was the result of
revenge on Miss Walker's behalf.

Who wanted revenge?

I have a theory on that.
I was hoping you would.

How are you at throwing knives,
Miss Ivy?

Me? Oh, Detective. Really?

Kitty Walker was your closest friend.

Count Leoline was the chief suspect.

And if he'd done it, he would have
hung for it. Not necessarily.

The evidence was circumstantial.

I saw you strike
Count Leoline yesterday.

I thought he'd killed my friend.

You're telling me you had
no desire to seek revenge for
your best friend's murder?

No. That would be a lie.

But the truth is, I've never thrown
a knife in my whole life.

You believe her?

For now. But I can't think of
anyone else who would have wanted
revenge for Kitty Walker's murder.

Then perhaps this has nothing
to do with Kitty's revenge.

Which puts us back to one killer.

Who would want them both dead?

You think I killed them?
Sit down, Mr Barnett.

Did you know that Leoline
and Miss Walker were planning

to leave your circus and take
the best performers with them?

Yes. I heard the rumours.

They were deluding themselves.

Oh? How so?

There are a half-dozen travelling
circuses on the Great Lakes circuit.

This is a very tough business.

They wouldn't have stood a chance.

They could have tried. They did try.

Nobody would go with them.

They didn't mind Kitty, but Leo...

The freaks resented his
pretensions, and the normals...

Let's just say the normals wouldn't
like working for any freak,
let alone Leo.

Why is that? They resent them.

The freaks make more money
and they have no talent.

Normals feel superior to the freaks
and Leo felt superior to everybody.

They had to fire him from his
last circus because their best
performers would not work with him.

Imagine how they'd feel
about working FOR him.

What have you, George?

We interviewed the prisoners again,
and while everybody seemed
to dislike Count Leoline,

nobody confessed a grudge
strong enough to kill him.

Most just found him annoying.

Did anyone have any
insight into his murder?

Lady Minerva seemed to think it
had something to do with love.

Did she now? It wasn't love.

The Lovers card was reversed.

What happened here
grew from the dark side of love.

What else do the cards tell you,
Lady Minerva?

How strange.

These are the same
cards I drew last night.

It's happening again.

Is that the best you can do? Agh!

That's enough! Come on!

What's going on? He made a joke about
Kitty! Not yet in her grave!

Sir!

BRACKENREID: What's going on?

He's dead, sir.
GASPING

It was just a gut punch. I swear.

Jake The Magician
was stabbed to death.

I beg your pardon?
There wasn't a scratch on him.

That's because he was
stabbed from the inside.

I found this
switchblade in his stomach.

The punch must have
triggered the spring.

Jake had it in his stomach
the whole time? I believe Jake
regurgitated the knife,

it was used to kill Leoline
and then he swallowed it again.

So, that's the killer then?

I don't think so. How's that?

Jake was in the cell
to the left of Count Leoline.

He couldn't have thrown the knife. I
believe a second party was involved.

The knife thrower. And you're hoping
to find that person's fingermarks?

Hoping. If the stomach acids
didn't degrade them completely.

Have a look, sir.

It's a fingermark.

On the part of the blade
that folds into the casing.

The stomach acids must
not have reached it.

It's a very small fingermark. Yes.

Bloody hell,
don't tell me the midget did it!

Sir, I don't think this
fingermark is human.

Oh, no!

Well?

It's a match, sir.

Of course it's a match.
Who else could it belong to?

Did the monkey do it then?
I don't believe so.

The thumb print is on
the hilt of the blade,
as if the monkey was pulling it out.

Yes. That makes sense.

I believe Jake regurgitated
the knife, handed it to Athena,
who then brought it to someone else.

And that person threw it, killing
Count Leo. Athena then
retrieved the knife,

brought it back to Jake,
who folded it and swallowed it anew.
Bloody genius!

Were it not for an unfortunate punch,
we may have never learned the truth.
We still don't have the whole story.

Who actually threw the knife?
KNOCK ON DOOR

Ah, Doctor. What have you?

I've compared Miss Walker's
wound with Count Leoline's.

I'm certain the same knife
was used in both crimes.

I expected as much.

So, Jake killed Kitty? Possibly.

Although he did have an alibi.

Miss Ivy claims he was
with her at the time.

No, I said he was with me
when Saber escaped.

So you think Jake had time to
kill Miss Walker? Indeed, I do.

Why not simply tell me this before?

I suppose I was resistant
to the notion that my lover
could be a murderer.

Well, you'll be relieved to
know that there is no way Jake
could have killed Count Leoline.

But I thought...

You said Jake was carrying
a knife in his gullet.

Yes, but the knife was thrown
from one of the cells the
other side of Count Leoline.

Perhaps the cell you were in.

So now you think I killed my
best friend and her fiance?

Count Leoline told me he had rejected
you in favour of Miss Walker.

My God, that man thought
highly of himself!

I attempted once to seduce him.
I'd just arrived in the circus.

I didn't even know he was engaged.

At my last circus,

a woman even tried to kill herself
because I refused her.

Where did you get these scars?
None of your business.

Miss Ivy, what circus
were you at prior to this one?

I believe I am done talking, sir.

I'm afraid I can't tell you
very much about Ivy.

She just showed up one day,

told me the story of her momma
and the poison ivy.

She's a beguiling one.
I hired her on the spot.

How did she get those scars?

I would guess she had someone
do them for her.

It would have been painful.

Every vein of every leaf would
have to be cut in with a razor.

What about the scars on her wrists?

I don't know how she got those.
She never told me.

I don't believe she
ever told anyone.

You mentioned before that
Count Leoline was fired
from his last circus.

Do you recall which one that was?
The Ringling Brothers, I believe.
Why?

Sir... The Ringling Brothers
have never had any performer
by Ivy's name or description.

What about Count Leoline? Yes.
He worked with them until last year.

He was fired for being difficult,
apparently. No surprise there.

The Ringling Brothers circus
came through town a couple of
years ago, did it not?

Yes, sir. I took my aunt.
It was a splendid show.

Although the elephant did choose
a rather unfortunate time to...
Thank you, George.

Contact the Toronto Telegraph
and see if they have any Ringling
Brothers photographs on file.

Yes, sir...

Have you saved
the best for last again?

They also had in their employ
a Gypsy fortune-teller
by the name of Lady Minerva.

Very good, George.

Forget the cards, Lady Minerva.
I'm not interested in my future.

What I want to know about
is your past.

I'm afraid
my memory isn't very good.

Does it extend as far back as the
Ringling Brothers circus, by chance?

I have some hazy recollections.

Was Count Leoline there?
Why ask what you already know?

Was Ivy there?

Ivy wasn't. Who was there then?

Pick one.

Queen of Swords.

What does this mean? Nothing.

Unless you look past
what your eyes can see.

KNOCK ON DOOR
Sir, a package from the Telegraph.

Archived photographs of
the Ringling Brothers.

Thank you, George. Sir, I've
spoke with a tarot card reader.

Apparently, the Queen of Swords is
from the Minor Arcana and represents

the masculine and the feminine
at conflict.

Or some such thing,
I didn't entirely understand.

I don't think Lady Minerva meant for
us to understand the card, George.

How's that, sir?

She meant for us
to take it literally.

Where did you get this?

It was taken the last time
the Ringling Brothers
circus came through town.

I remember.

I'd just met Leo.

I look happy, don't I?
I was a pretty girl.

Just Liz, from Calgary, back then.

You were in love with him,
weren't you?

He was magnificent. Such...

confidence and power.

I melted in his arms.

Melted away.

I would have given my life to him...

..but he wouldn't have me.

He said...

he was a freak and I was a normal.

I felt like I...

..died right then.

I couldn't throw anymore.
My hands shook.

Is that when you decided
to take your own life?

When my wrists healed,
they left scars.

That gave me my idea.

To scar yourself as Ivy?

If I made myself into a freak,
then we could be together.

So I cut my beauty away.

And you joined Barnett's Circus,
so you could be with Leoline?

I tried to seduce him.

Do you know,
he didn't even recognise me?

And when I found out
he was engaged to a normal...

That's when you decided
to kill them both?

That's when I decided to kill HER.

Then what was Jake's part?

He swallowed the knife,
gave me an alibi.

He loved me.

But you wanted Leoline.

I offered myself
to him again yesterday.

I told him I'd tell the truth,
that I saw him pass by my caravan,
if he would have me.

He said he'd rather hang.

That's when I decided to kill him.

Was it worth it,

to give up everything for this man?

Your beauty. Your identity.

Your life.

I had to try.

Wouldn't you give up everything for
the love of your life, Detective?

Cheer up, Murdoch.
You've solved your murder.

The rules of Habeas Corpus remain
unbreached and we finally get to
kick this lot out

before we have to feed them supper.

I understand, sir.

But two people are dead and one
will likely hang because of...love.

It's not all sunshine
and roses, is it?

Inspector...

I'm sorry to tell you that
Athena will be coming with us.

You finally get to flee,
do you, Barnett?

They say the show must go on,

but after what's happened,
I don't know how it can.

I'm sure you'll find a way.

And you, Athena, be a good girl
and none of this abetting
in a murder business.

What will happen to her?
What if the circus shuts?
Do you want me to send you

a telegram when we know either way?

Don't be silly.

Perhaps a postcard.

Au revoir.

What are you smiling at, George?

Just something Lady Minerva told me
about my future.

Oh? Do tell. I couldn't possibly,
sir.

If I told you, I would curse it,
and if I did that... Detective,
would you like another reading?

Oh, I don't think so, Lady Minerva.

Your last one predicted
a lovelorn future.

The future is never fixed.

Come, have a seat.

So, what would you like to know?

Well, I suppose if the woman
I love will be in my future.

Yes.

The woman you love
will be in your future.

But you will have to make
a very great sacrifice.

What kind of sacrifice?
I don't know,

but you will...

..when the time comes.