Silent Witness (1996–…): Season 25, Episode 1 - Episode #25.1 - full transcript

[BEEP]

[UNZIPPING]

I can do that.

Have you picked up
your freshers' pack?

Yes.

Fussing, aren't I? Just a bit.

I don't want to mess up your
schedule. Make you late.

Trust me,

I'd rather hit the campus bar
than go to my next thing.

You OK?

Going to miss you, that's all.



Good luck.

Thanks, Jeff.

As Health Secretary,

it's my job to ensure
the best medical care

is delivered to all of us
as quickly as possible.

The sooner doctors and nurses
know everything

about our individual
medical histories,

the better they can tailor
our treatment.

And the reason we're here today
is that the first Europe-wide

health passporting program me

will soon be rolled out
by Unitas Health,

promising your health data,
instantly available,

totally secure.

And now I'd like to hand over
to Unitas Health's co-founders,



Jomo Mashaba and Professor Sam Ryan.

[APPLAUSE]

Thank you, thank you very much.

I'm really very humbled

that in awarding us this contract

and entrusting us with
the health data of millions,

that the independence of Unitas
Health is being recognised.

I'm big on independence.

Now, as a nonprofit organisation,

we answer to no-one
but the people that we serve.

Our independence,

our integrity,
is in-built and hard-wired,

and that will never change.

At least not while I'm around.

[APPLAUSE]

[APPLAUSE CONTINUES]

- Minister?
- Alice!

- Alice!
- Do you have any comment

about the privacy...?

- This way!
- Not now, Jomo.

Alice...

- [GUNSHOT]
- [HE GRUNTS]

[HUBBUB]

[GUNSHOT]

[SCREAMING]

- [SHOUTING]
- Get on the floor, now!

Fiona, come here!

- Come here!
- [GUNSHOTS]

[BACKGROUND HUBBUB]

[SIREN]

No, no, no, no, no...

We've had no flashes,
no muzzle smoke.

Stay with us. Stay with us!

[SIRENS]

[GASPING]

[PHONE RINGS]

Nikki Alexander.

Sorry, it's a bad line.

Can you say that again?

It's Professor Sam Ryan, Nikki.

I need your help.

♪ Testator silens

♪ Costestes e spiritu

♪ Silencium. ♪

Oscar Harris,
Number 10 Special Adviser.

Nikki Alexander. Pathologist.

So sorry for the loss
of Alice Reynolds.

Thank you. You come highly
recommended by Sam Ryan.

You know her?
From her UN days.

Good to finally meet you, Nikki.

You've done extraordinary work
at the Lyell. That's very kind,

but we just built on
your foundations.

This is Jack Hodgson, Simone Tyler.

The Health Secretary
died in the ambulance.

My husband Jomo
was shot in the arm.

Is he all right?

He'll say he was bloody lucky,
and he was.

The threat level has been
raised to critical nationwide,

the Cabinet are sequestered
in COBRA,

and the Home Office have
invoked a Status 2 Protocol.

The PM has requested hourly updates.

Whilst keeping
the City of Liverpool Police

and the coroner apprised,
we've asked Sam

to advise and bring in her own lab.

Well, that was a shortlist of one.

Thank you.

Now, the media are over this like
a rash, so do not engage, please.

Of course.
And Number 10

have asked for you all to sign
the Official Secrets Act.

There's no conflict of interest,

given your presence at the scene?

Chain of evidence concerns?

No to the former, yes to the latter.

So you will carry out the PM.

My role will remain supervisory.

Understood. We've swept

all these buildings. The firing
point has not been located.

[PHONE RINGS]

Well, I'm going to leave you
in the capable hands

of Superintendent Boyle.
ON PHONE: Hi, I'm still

at the crime scene. Ronnie Boyle,

DC Martine Chalal.

DS Martine Chalal, sir.

Has anyone claimed responsibility?

No doubt the usual
fruitcakes and loons

are penning their confessions
as we speak.

But we have no idea about motive?

Give us a chance, will you?
MAN: Sir!

Excuse me.

Cheers.

So what's the deal with Sam?

Never met her.

Always felt like I had -

her imprint was everywhere
when I joined the Lyell.

Ah! So it's her baby?

So why'd she abandon it?

Right.

First CCTV footage of the shooting.

There's more to follow.

- Jomo Mashaba?
- Yeah.

Right next to the Health Secretary.

Looks like she knows
what she's doing.

Can you send that to all...?
I just did.

Alice Reynolds' phone
and laptop have been seized -

should clarify her recent
movements and her activity.

As per Professor Ryan's
instructions,

no-one's touched anything.

- Can I?
- Yeah.

You know, we do have
our own forensics up here,

believe it or not.

Right.

So Reynolds was shot around here?

Give or take?

Give or take.

No wonder they can't locate
the firing point.

Bullet trajectory
would narrow it down.

What's Status Protocol?

Number 10 calls the shots

and the City of Liverpool
Police can go hang.

Ideally, we'll have our own

evidence supplies,
not just access to yours.

We'll duplicate
and label accordingly.

Thanks.

Chalal!

Thanks.

Sense some history there.

Yeah. And not necessarily
a good one.

OK.

Do you see that building

right over there
with the blue panelling?

What about it?

You need to check it out.

We used this new Vigil network

to put this whole area
under a microscope.

It gave us ten
persons of interest,

grading their likely involvement.

All from a database?

A database that only works

if you're asking
the right questions.

But Vigil finds the link you
didn't know was there. Yeah?

CCTV, face mapping,

phone activity, financial activity.

Yeah, we know what it does.

They're trialling it
in London right now.

Well, Downing Street
have authorised it for this,

and Vigil pinpointed
the prime suspects.

Top of the list was a Kevin Wang.

Does he have form?
He's a Chinese billionaire

with a history of backing
state operations,

but also the proud owner

of the Beckett Tower.
The top floor's

been vacant for nine months.

Hell of a long way.

Vigil knows that. We just
need you to find the forensics.

Counter Terrorism
are preparing to sweep.

- [CRASH]
- Armed police!

Nobody move!

First room clear. Kitchen clear.

Dog's moving in. Bedroom clear.

Sniffer coming through.

- Clear!
- Bathroom clear.

Clear.
- All sections clear.

How's it all going?

Nikki stayed at yours last night.

- On the sofa.
- On the sofa? That's pretty good.

- Baby steps.
- How do you know this?

Apart from the fact that

she never wears the
same outfit twice?

Yeah, apart from that.

Here's an idea.

Maybe you should keep
your forensic eye on the job

and not your colleagues.

So what's next? A date?

You just answered a question
with a question.

Yeah. Like Jesus.

Just like him.

Let's divide and rule.

SAM: It's a while
since I've been here.

Shouldn't you be with Jomo?

He and Alice were close.

He'd much rather I was out,

helping catch the bastards
that did this.

Switch panel's over here.
Don't ask me why.

Do you want the full works or
the down light over the table?

The downlight's fine. Thank you.

When were you last here?

God! Ten years ago?

It was one of my first PMs
for the UN.

A Kilhad Jitkah.

A prominent Iraqi businessman
who'd died in police custody.

And how does that work?
I mean, who approached you?

The Iraqi government
approached the UN

because they deemed the first PM

to be too favourable to
the City of Liverpool Police.

They wanted a second opinion -

exactly what we could offer.

International impartiality.

I set up the UN pathology arm
in January 2011,

and I didn't have a customer
until the July.

And then things picked up?

Mm. By the time I left,

I had ten full-time pathologists

working across the globe.
Good for you.

Well...

...the UN name, brand,
goes a long way.

Simone?

Coming.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

Yeah?

Nicks himself on the handrail?

What, and misses a spot
while clearing up?

Possible. He's in a hurry.

Tall order, hitting
the target from here.

Yeah, but they didn't all
hit it, did they?

Plus we searched all
the surrounding buildings.

Well, nice work, Jack.

If this guy's
in the DNA database,

we've got him.

Did you find any shell casings?

Nope.

And then they go and leave
their own blood?

I know. Convenient.

Well, let's see what comes back.

Are you OK?

Something smells off.
Are we being handled?

By Sam?

Ah, I'm probably wrong.

No... I know what you mean.

The body is that of
a 47-year-old female

identified as Alice Reynolds.

The Health Secretary.

There are traces
of fine dust or powder,

yellow in colour,

underneath the deceased's
fingernails on her right hand.

I'll sample shortly.

There's a visually identical powder

embedded in the heel
of her right shoe.

Tests will confirm if

it's the same substance.
I can do that.

Take samples of both,
try to identify.

Thanks, Simone.

There's similar yellow dust
in her hair.

And a faint abrasion.

So she hit her head?

Maybe. Or scraped it.

There's a vital reaction,

some inflammatory reddening
around it.

I'd say this abrasion happened
some hours before she was shot.

There's a bullet wound
on the right costal margin

at the midclavicular line.

It has a narrow abrasion ring,

confirming it's an entry wound.

No powder tattooing, smoke soiling

or burns, which ties in
with a longer range

rather than close contact.

There is undercutting
of the wound edges,

suggesting an angled entry

with a downward
and medial trajectory.

I'll be able to follow the track

more closely when I've examined
the internal organs themselves.

The stomach is undamaged,

and gastric contents are minimal,

consisting of
some amber-coloured liquid.

Toxicology will confirm,
but there is a slight

but distinctive odour of alcohol.

Possibly cider?

The residual gastric fluid also
contains some solid deposits

which appear to be partially
digested nuts and pulses.

Possibly a mix of some kind.

I'm now going back to look
at the posterior aspect

of the abdominal cavity
to finish tracking the bullet.

The bullet entered the abdomen,

travelling downwards and backwards

through the liver,
towards the mid line,

before going straight through
the abdominal aorta

and lodging next to the spine.

The torrential aortic haemorrhage

would have been rapid
and fatal, and it would...

Quite a clumsy injury for
a sniper, in my experience.

Clumsy?

They usually aim for
the head, or the heart.

Maybe they did.

Target was way off -

- right, Jack?
- Right.

So that's the cause of death?

The, er, the wound? Yes.

Most certainly.

I think it's possible
that the deceased

was in the early stages
of pregnancy.

How early?

Not more than seven or eight weeks.

And it didn't show up
on any of the scans?

To be fair to Nikki, there was
no foetal skeleton on the scan.

And her history of fibroids

could explain her enlarged uterus.

Is this all of a surprise to you?

Well, her husband died
two years ago of cancer,

and her private secretary

told me she'd been single
ever since,

so, yes, it is a surprise to me.

What about the sex?

DNA will tell us.

It might also shed light
on the father.

I'll take further samples now.

Thanks, Nikki.

There's supervising,
and there's taking over.

Please accept my apology.

I'd prefer an explanation.

I still think it's odd,
not to say questionable,

that you have any kind
of procedural role.

Your husband's a secondary
victim and you were present

- at the scene.
- Number 10...

Sees no conflict of interest,
you said.

But pathology's not their area
of expertise, it's mine.

Ours.

As a witness, you could be
called to give evidence

at the inquest,
but you'll be compromised

just by dint of knowing
the findings of the PM.

All of which I know you know.

- [FOOTSTEPS]
- Jack.

Good to see there's still
a Norn Iron hand on the tiller.

What?

Jack and I were talking
before the postmortem.

As Jomo was shot first
and after Reynolds was shot,

a second attempt
was made on his life.

There's no proof of that.
I'm sorry, Sam.

But the third bullet impacted
inches from his head.

Do you have any reason to believe

he could've been the real target?

Sam?

When we won the contract,
we gained a data gold mine.

And the powerful enemies
that go with that.

What kind of enemies?

Rival bidders, who were
disappointed, to say the least.

Big Pharma?

Big Tech - it's all about data.

The functionality of the passports

is a technical challenge,
not a medical one.

OK, but it's the private nature
of medical data

that makes it so divisive.

Yes, it is.

But, look...

...if you fly to LA,
you need a passport.

You don't expect them
to take your word

you are who you say you are.

Why should they take your word
you don't have Ebola or TB

or a new strain of COVID?

These powerful enemies.

Shooting Jomo was, what? Revenge?

Because you won the contract?

At the last minute,

the Commission snuck in
a new clause.

If, for any reason,
Jomo and I left Unitas Health,

the contract would be null and void.

For any reason?

Death's a pretty good reason.

If you accept the premise

that they'd kill
over a lost contract.

It's a pretty big contract.

Bullet is a 5.56mm.

5.56s can be fired from
any range up to 1,000m,

but its effective range is 200-400m.

Not the sniper's calibre of choice?

That would be a 7.62 or a .50 cal.

Run the clip, please.

So, at the moment of impact,

Alice Reynolds is facing due north,

perpendicular to James Street.

The wound track indicates an angle

in the region of 30 degrees,

giving us parameters
for a firing point that...

...also fits with footage of
Jomo Mashaba being shot.

Parameters?

But we've found the firing point.

What are those parameters?

They're expressed as
a cone of tolerance,

essentially a broad vector.

Bordered by Dale Street
in the north,

Castle Street in the east,

and Thomas Steers Way in the south.

And this vector
includes Beckett Tower?

Barely.

Jack?

Given what ballistics indicate,
I think Beckett is unlikely.

- What?
- Too far away.

And only falls in the vector
if you allow for UoM.

UoM?

Uncertainty of Measurement,

which adds minimum 2-5 degrees.

Oh, come on, Jack!

The blood, the perfect line.

You can't be dismissing this.
I'm not dismissing...

We're not dismissing anything,

we're interpreting new evidence.

What new evidence?

For one, the 5.56... Yeah,

which you just said can fire
up to 1,000m range.

With respect, until we know for sure

what kind of rifle
or ammunition was used,

we can't jump to conclusions.

We're also waiting for
important meteorological data.

Wind speed direction,
moisture content.

None of which are likely
to prove decisive.

You're saying that we should
suspend judgment?

I'm saying inferences
about firing points

- are pure guesses.
- [BOYLE SCOFFS]

So we can't rule out

the shooter fired
from Beckett Tower!

DS CHALAL: Dr Alexander?

We can't rule it out.

But if ballistics
and the investigation

prove that a mid-range rifle
was used...

Then it's a different
story altogether.

How are you feeling?

I'm fine, I'm fine,
but they won't tell me

when I'm getting discharged.

What's Scouse for "no time soon"?

Not working, are you? Of course!

We launch in ten days and we're
still riddled with bugs.

I'm sure if you ask them nicely

they'll allow you to announce
that over the Tannoy.

People keep asking me,

"Do we really need
health passports?

"Does their use outweigh
all the privacy crap?"

Bloody good question.

When our app was opened,

the doctors knew everything,

from my blood category
to my full medical history.

The fact that I have
a rare opiate intolerance

which makes a fentanyl patch
a sentence of death.

How did you become involved
in health passporting?

We'd only been together a few months

when I suffered a heart attack.

Severe dilated cardiomyopathy.

His only chance was a transplant,

but finding a donor
was nigh impossible.

So we took a chance on a very risky,

- untried procedure.
- [JOMO CHUCKLES]

But it worked.

Just.

We didn't want anyone else to
go through the same nightmare.

So we quit the UN

and threw everything into building

the first centralised organ list,

matching donors and recipients
across the world.

And Unitas Health was born?

Pretty much,

but first we had to invest in
a pair of garden shears

to hack our way through
all the red tape.

Red tape devised
to safeguard our privacy.

Delivering a health passport
worthy of the name,

some liberties may have to be...

...moderately impinged upon.

What liberties?

Isn't your app
a glorified donor card?

Pretty much all the data
that is required

is freely divulged to social media

by millions of us every day.

In all fairness, we do ask
for a little more.

For Unitas to fully function,

we track you 24/7, 365 days a year,

to safeguard you from infection
or harmful contact.

Our charge is to hold
that data responsibly.

Ah, well. Sure hope so.

Cos, if I'd had a mental breakdown

at 25, say, I wouldn't
want that to jeopardise

my job prospects because someone

sells my records
for the price of a pizza.

[HE CLEARS THROAT]

Are you up for walking us through

the moments
right before the shooting?

Sure.

I'm going to show you
some footage, that OK?

Of course.

There's a woman walking behind
you who throws herself on the ground

before anyone else.

Strikes me she either has
exceptional reflexes

or some sense
of what's about to happen?

Reflexes.

But you can ask her yourself
if you want.

That's Rosa, my PA.

She's on the way over
with my laptop.

No exaggeration to say that...

...we trust her with our lives.

Absolutely.

Do you have a problem
if I talk to Rosa directly?

None whatsoever.

- [DOOR OPENS]
- DOCTOR: I need you all

to step outside of here
for a second, please.

Do you know
if they would have suffered?

The baby?

No.

Was it a boy or a girl?
We don't know yet,

but DNA will be able to tell us.

I always wanted a sister.

Me too.

Jo, did you have any
inkling of this?

I mean, she seemed happier.

Younger, even.

She was going out buying
all sorts of new clothes and...

But I don't know who the father is.

Mum could be very secretive,

even from me.

But she had to be.

Jo, if you don't mind,

there are a few things,
small details,

that might help us find
the people who did this.

What?

There's evidence that your mum
had a few drinks

before she died. Cider, to be exact.

But in your statement
you mentioned that she...

...had mineral water with her dinner.

She did.

OK. Well, maybe she had
something from the minibar

when you got up to the room, or...?

Jo?

I woke up in the night.
About midnight.

And Mum wasn't in bed,

and I just, I thought she was
in the bathroom.

So I went back to sleep.

The only reason she agreed to
speak at the Unitas thing was

cos I was going to uni here.
You can't beat yourself up

for that.

You can't.

From what I've heard about your mum,

she was strong-willed.

Stubborn, even.

That's what I don't understand.
She didn't even want to go.

To the Unitas Health launch?

I got the feeling...

I don't know. That somebody
was twisting her arm.

So where did she go
in the early hours?

And was she drinking alone?

Let's start with the hotel.

Room card data and CCTV
should help, right?

Sure.

[INAUDIBLE]

- Here.
- Thank you.

Sam?

Oh, thank you.

- You OK?
- Yeah.

Just a bit of delayed reaction,
I think.

How close he came. Sure.

I always feared
it was too good to be true.

- You and Jomo?
- Mm.

People said we were mad,
getting married so quickly.

But...

...when you know, you know, right?

Right.

What's the point
in hanging around, eh?

[SAM LAUGHS]

The doctor's in with your dad,
and he's doing really well.

Oh, this is Nikki

and Jack. They're part
of the investigation.

My stepson David and his wife Fiona.

It was Fiona's research that fixed

Jomo's heart. Wow.

How is he now, though?
Is he really OK?

He's driving the doctors mad,
but apart from that he's fine.

Sounds like Dad.

I've got Jomo's laptop in here.

Oh, I thought Rosa
was bringing that in.

We said we were coming,

so she told us to bring it.
What's the problem?

Oh, he wanted to go through
his diary with her, that's all.

Did she say why she wasn't coming?
She said she wasn't feeling well.

She's not answering.

Maybe her phone's turned off?

She never turns her phone off.

Something's wrong.

Why is Rosa
not answering a big deal?

She missed the briefing last night.

We need to get him out of here now.

- Hold that.
- Jack?

MAN: Of course, yes. Of course.

JACK: We're just pulling up.
See you in a minute.

No sign of Rosa Hernandez.

Chalal's got a warrant
to search her room.

So Rosa asked you to take your
dad's laptop to the hospital?

Y-Yes.

Why?

Because she's missing,
and we need to find her.

Where did that conversation
take place?

Right here.

In her room.

And she gave you the impression
she was going to bed?

Well, yeah. She said
she didn't feel great -

I just assumed
she was going to bed.

OK. Thanks.

Yellow powder.
It's similar to what we found

on Reynolds' shoe. In here a sec.

Possible evidence of a fight.

Some blood on the follicles
and the root is intact,

suggesting it was pulled out
rather than shed naturally.

I'll speak to hotel security.

Can I help you?

Rosa Hernandez?

Who the hell are you?

DS Martine Chalal.

We're part of the Health
Secretary investigation.

- OK.
- What are you doing

- in my room?
- Why don't you sit down

for a second?

Where have you been,
if you don't mind me asking?

I do mind you asking.

I went to buy some painkillers.

Painkillers? What kind? Aspirin.

There's a full pack right here.

I found some hair
in the bathroom sink

consistent with yours
in length and colour.

There's blood on it,

suggesting it was pulled
rather than fell out.

So what happened there?

When the shooting started,

I hit the ground,
like everyone else.

I must've cut my head, or grazed it.

I didn't even realise
until I got back here.

See?

When I brushed my hair,
a few strands came out.

So what?

You actually hit the deck
before everyone else.

Sorry?

The shooting was caught
by multiple cameras.

You reacted a good second
or two before anyone else did.

I grew up in Guadalajara

and did five years as a cop
in Mexico City.

Gunfire was an everyday occurrence,

- and you knew what to do.
- [PHONE RINGS]

Sorry. Simone, where are you?

Yeah, I'm almost with you.
Thank you.

I've ID'd the yellow substance

on Reynolds' treads as sandstone,

which is not exactly rare
in Liverpool,

but the particles are coated in

a substance I've never seen before.

It looks natural,

- but it's odd.
- Sandstone?

Yeah. Ringing any bells? Maybe.

You know, on second thoughts,
I think a lawyer

and a visit to the police station

- sounds like a good...
- [GLASS SMASHES]

SIMONE: What was that?

Christ!

JACK: Get down!

Chalal, get down!

Oh, my God!

SIMONE: Jack?

Jack?

DS CHALAL: What do I do?

Put your hands on here
and keep the pressure on.

[ENGINE REVS]

[SHE YELLS]

[STEADY BREATHS OUT]

[BREATHS STOP]

Yeah. I just wish
I'd got a look at them.

Don't beat yourself up about that.

A cartridge case is pretty good.

You OK, Nikki?

How are you, more to the point?

We're all very impressed

with Simone's quick thinking
and guts.

We've got the van's plates
from the CCTV

so every cop in Liverpool
is looking for it.

[SIREN]

Found these in Rosa's bag.

Four day passes to the
Department of Health

in Whitehall.
Jomo, David, Sam, Rosa herself.

Two weeks ago.

Seems a likely supposition they
were visiting Alice Reynolds.

Maybe a catch-up before
the main event in Liverpool?

You remember what Jo Reynolds said?

Yeah. Her mum didn't
want to attend this morning.

She felt like she'd had her armed twisted.
So maybe the catch-up didn't go so well?

Trying to remember
when we last did CPR training.

Epsom. Last Christmas.

Christmas before last, I think.

[HE SNORES]

Oh, I blacked out. What happened?

[THEY LAUGH]

I've got a splitting headache.
Don't know why I'm drinking.

Maybe you haven't drunk enough.

Maybe.

Haven't had whisky in years.

I usually have a glass before bed.

- Really?
- Yeah. A wee dram,

- you know?
- Every day?

Well, every night.

I never knew that.

Why would you?

[PHONE ALERT]

Ah. The blood on the glass,
Beckett Tower.

[HE COOS]

Dove?

Close. Pigeon.

One more?

Why not?

- Thanks.
- You're welcome.

- This is me.
- Yep. This is me.

Do you want some painkillers?

No, no. The Jack Daniels
took care of that.

OK.

[BEEP]

Night, then.

Night.

It feels about a million years
ago now, but the taxi...

The taxi?

I mean what happened in the taxi.

- Ah.
- After the flood.

Right.

You'd forgotten?

No!

- No.
- Good.

I was worried that...

I mean, did I overstep the mark?

Only cos...

...I kissed you
and then you had to go and...

Yeah. It was shit timing.

Yeah. Sorry.

It's always shit timing with us.

It is, isn't it? Yeah.

Why is that?

Morning.

Good morning.

- I'm coming.
- Mm.

Those painkillers still on offer?

Might have to fight me for them.

- Mm.
- [PHONE ALERT]

- scar Harris.
- Mm-hm.

The PM leant on the police

to keep this strictly
on a need-to-know basis,

but we have the contents
of Rosa Hernandez's phone.

Given that Rosa worked with Jomo,

I haven't shared this
with Sam Ryan yet.

Alice Reynolds, with...

Could that be the man that we
thought was looking for Jomo

in the hospital?

Yeah, that's him.

DS CHALAL: Looks like things
got pretty heated.

Rosa took these at 1am

the night before the Health
Secretary was killed.

And, no, we have no idea

how she gave her security the slip.

Now we know
when she drank the cider.

Is there any news on
the sandstone in the shoe?

Yeah. Getting there, slowly.

I looked into the weird
sandstone as...

Sorry. Can you just
pause it there?

Zoom in on the arm.

That looks like
the British paratroop insignia.

It's not proving that he served
with them, but if he did...

It could help with an ID?

I was going to say, he would know

how to handle a rifle.
Yeah, he would.

Not to tell you your job,
Superintendent...

- Finding this man's a priority.
- THE priority.

He hasn't come forward yet, has he?

We haven't identified the
father of Reynolds' child yet.

Maybe it was him.

Well, if Rosa Hernandez
took this photo,

then maybe they're in it together.

Blackmail angle, maybe.

I'll have a friendly chat
with Sam Ryan.

See what she knows.

Perhaps you could help
with this, Nikki?

Needs a gentle tread.

Jomo's beside himself.

They were close? Mm.

How about you?

Me?

When Rosa didn't show up
at the hospital yesterday,

you were very quick
to assume the worst.

That was my sense, anyway.

Rosa has a son back in Mexico,
raised by her parents.

The boy has a rare form
of spin a bifida.

Rare, and expensive to treat?

Making her... susceptible?

Maybe. I just can't see it.

But you could yesterday.
So what's changed?

What are you driving at, Nikki?

I'll tell you.

I'm worried that I don't know
all there is to know.

About what?

Everything. Rosa, Unitas, all of it.

And I can't dismiss
the thought that you've...

...hand-picked us,

in the hope that you
could influence us

in some way, if needs be.

Not true. You can trust me, Nikki.

Was it in Alice Reynolds'
authority to stop you securing

the health passporting contract?

Our lawyers are still
sorting so much stuff out,

theoretically
anyone could scupper it.

That's not much of an answer.

What's your link between Rosa
and Alice Reynolds?

You mean apart from the fact
that they're both dead?

Yes. Apart from that.

Because Rosa was out
taking surreptitious,

possibly compromising photos
of Reynolds

in the early hours of yesterday.

Is that news to you?

[PHONE RINGS]

Hello?

Got a lead on the ballistics
from the Hernandez scene.

The cartridge case is
missing its head stamp,

as in someone's taken the time
to grind it off.

Well, that's seriously risky, right?

Bloody dangerous.

Clearly they thought the chance
of someone tracing the bullet

was more worrisome
than a breech explosion.

Meaning it's probably stolen? Mm.

Thing is, the deeper you grind,

the more likely the bullet is
to cause that breech explosion.

So our thief's only removed
the top layer.

With acid etching,

I was able to recover the
indentations of the stamp.

So a complete waste
of time on their part, right?

All risk and no reward.

So the head stamp tells us
this cartridge case

was produced by Radway Green, 2015.

According to the MOD,
there are 32 army bases

issued with rounds bearing
this head stamp, but only one

- in 50 miles from here.
- [PHONE VIBRATES]

Martine, you're on speakerphone.

I'm at Maghull Barracks.

I'm still checking the inventory,

but a case of 5.56 cartridges
was signed out ten days ago

and went missing in transit.

The private on duty
at the time, Charlie Black,

is on leave,
but CID just paid him a visit.

Is he cooperating?
He's no-commenting,

but they found keys to a lock-up.

Can you meet me there?

Sure thing.

[CRASH]

Armed police!

Clear!

Clear!

Clear!

DS CHALAL: What's
in the container, Charlie?

Your catch
you gut the fish.

- Team effort.
- If it wasn't for DS Chalal...

Just open the door, will you?

All right?

You've been at this a while,
Charlie.

Piecemeal, is that how
you did it? Little and often?

Enough here to send you down
for life and then some,

so I'd say early cooperation is
the only card you have to play.

Striation marks on the bullets show

Rosa Hernandez
and the Health Secretary

were killed by the same rifle.

So it's highly likely
they were killed by

the same assassin you supplied.

Time to play that card, Charlie.

There were two.

Man and a woman.

I supplied a box of rounds
and an SA80.

Woman came in. Sounded American.

The man stayed outside by
the car. I never saw his face.

Did she touch anything?
She wore gloves.

Knocked back my offer
of tea or coffee, too.

But I got a camera hidden up there.

Show you, if you give me
my phone back.

[BOYLE CHUCKLES]

My God. We're actually
getting somewhere.

What do we think?

Good enough to run through
Vigil network?

May be too grainy
for a precise match,

but you should get
some candidates, sure.

SIMONE: FTIR results are back on the
round that entered the motorcade.

Turns out there's a white residue

on the bullet underneath
the black paint from the car.

Took a while.
Labs dragging their heels?

Kinder explanation
is the substance itself.

It's unusual.

There's a combination
of etching primer,

oil-based components,
some traces of

anodised aluminium.
Evidence suggests that

it's a different kind
of paint to the car.

What's it used for?
Mainly flagpoles.

Now, there's a fair few flagpoles.

But, based on distance
and trajectory,

this one's the favourite.

If we reverse the trajectory,

can we track back to
the sniper's location?

Possible location.

We know the bullet hit the
flagpole, but not the angle.

- Right.
- I'll take possible today.

Port of Liverpool Building.

Top five floors have been
renovated into residential,

so I'm guessing the best bet
is the roof.

Yeah, it's a perfect sight line.

You can even see where the
bullet chipped the flagpole.

This is the firing point,
no question.

We checked this site. Twice.

Third time's a charm.

[METAL SCREECHES]

Jack?

Oh!

[HE CHUCKLES]

Oh!

5.56.

How do you think they missed it?

Spread too thin?

Under pressure to get
a result? Doesn't matter -

we found it.

I hear you got prints and DNA.

Nikki?

Sorry, it's just really slow.

No matches on the database.

Bloody hell.

This number is no
longer in service.

Spun our female assassin
through Vigil.

Didn't hold out much hope,
given the grainy image.

Plus, it looks like she
might have had a nose job

in the last three years.
Have you got an ID?

Just a close match to a woman
fleeing a shooting in 2018.

Where?
- Stockholm.

Who's the victim? Morten Sondberg.

Politician.

Made his name campaigning
against the nastier end

of the anti-immigration lobby.

Any sign of the bloke she's paired
with now? Yeah, there is, actually.

Vigil gave us this.

Oh, he is camera-shy!

Isn't he just?

The senior partner,
I'd say. Anything else?

Yeah. A second postmortem
was carried out by the UN.

- Sam Ryan?
- Mm.

You can run it up the flagpole,

but it sounds like
a coincidence to me.

Credit where credit's due.
Hats off to Vigil.

[RINGING]

Hi, this is Tom Faulkner.
Leave a message.

Tom, it's Dan. Listen.

Rosa Hernandez was following me.

And she thought
she was being subtle...

...but she wasn't.

Now she's dead.

And you know who's next.

SAM: I'm not sure how
much I can help you.

I flew to Stockholm
to do the Sondberg PM.

It was pretty uneventful,
as far as I can recall.

But it was some years ago.

Two suspects that were never
traced. A man and a woman.

So what do you make of that?

What do I make of what?

Same two people are
suspected of killing Reynolds.

You said on the phone.
Has something changed?

Nothing else stands out?

Sam?

Tom Faulkner was there in Stockholm.

Unofficially.

Who's that?

Someone we both used to know.

Have you seen him lately?

After he left the army,
he went to work for the UN.

Doing security.

You said he was there unofficially.

There were threats
from far-right groups

to a UN presence.

They weren't deemed serious
enough to send security.

Tom disagreed

and gave up a week's leave
to accompany me.

Right.

It was Tom at his best.

He's changed a bit since then.

A lot.

[PHONE RINGS]

Sorry.

Hello?

It's me. Someone needs an update,

and you're stepping out
for a second.

It's Harris.

Sorry.
Just going to take it outside.

I'm outside.

I can't see you.

Tom?

Nikki.

Do you want to know who
killed the Health Secretary?

♪ Testator silens

♪ Costestes e spiritu

♪ Silencium. ♪