Traces (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript

I'm really sorry,

I hope you don't mind,

I need someone to talk to
and I thought of you.

- It's about my mum's murder.
- Oh.

I've heard things
that I think could be important,

and someone told me that
she was dismembered

and then I found a photograph

and I think it could have something
to do with her murder.

♪ Baby, do you understand me now?

♪ That sometimes you see
that I'm mad

♪ Don't you know that no-one alive
can always be an angel



♪ When everything goes wrong
I feel real bad

♪ Oh, I'm just a soul

♪ Whose intentions are good

♪ Oh Lord, please don't let me
be misunderstood. ♪

♪ Sipping tequila after dark

♪ Wasn't that gave us the head start

♪ The world is our playing park

♪ And I'm crossed arms
with my lucky charm... ♪

- I'm in Scotland.
- Great.

- I got on the motorway fine.
- Great.

- And I didn't miss the junction.
- Great.

Now, I've just stopped for a snack.

Well great,
but don't be late for your new job.

I won't.



♪ Running down the aisles
life sparkle bizarre

♪ Not a care for a while
no-one knows who we are... ♪

I reckon it'll be a jumper.

Sorry?

I just... Someone tried to
jump off the bridge.

God, that's terrible.

I know, I know...
We're all going to have to wait.

- Until he jumps?
- Hm.

I can see that it's a water problem

and not a road problem.

Welcome to Dundee.

Hiya.

- Don't put diesel in.
- OK.

- Are you there yet?
- No, nearly.

The house is so quiet without you,

I'm not sure I'll ever
get used to it...

Oh, he must have jumped. We're off.

- I've gotta go, I'll call you later.
- OK, love you.

- A Dundee man
and woman are missing, feared dead,

following a fire in the city
last night.

Police and Fire Services
were called out to

Secrets Nightclub
at half past ten...

Thermal decomposition is the action

of heat on a fuel

to vaporise it and produce a gas.

When this gas mixes with the right
amount of air and is ignited,

then you have flame and combustion,
or visible flame.

The fire then grows and develops,
as more fuels thermally decompose,

until eventually, a process
called flashover happens.

Flashover is when a fire in a room

becomes a room completely on fire,
everything burns, you have a huge

supply of combustible gases and the
fire becomes ventilation controlled.

Controlled by the amount
of air in the room.

The Procurator Fiscal's
on the phone to Kathy,

he'd like you to ring them
as soon as you can.

- I'll bring you a coffee.
- Champion.

Hey, what's the Fiscal saying?

There was a fatal fire in a
nightclub in Larky last night.

I heard it on the news.

Two sudden deaths,
he wants both of us to work on it.

And guess who the SIO is?

- Neil.
- How come?

All the major investigation
teams are tied up in Glasgow.

Good for Neil.

The new lab technician's arriving
sometime between two

and three - Emma Hedges.

Leave it with me,
I'll get her enrolled.

Tell her I'm sorry.

I really wanted to be
there to greet her.

Kathy, we could go together.

I'm not going to the strategy
meeting, I'm going

- straight to the scene.
- Oh, OK, I'll see you there.

Ah, you want to share this?

Yes...

- Bye.
- Bye-bye.

Kathy, you have post.

The fire scene is being
photographed this morning.

This wall here, everything behind
it, are staff quarters.

Kitchen.

- Sorry.
- Oh, hello, Sarah.

Professor Sarah Gordon from SIFA,
everyone.

Fire maestro,

but, erm, don't annoy her,
she's a tyrant...

Office - we have human remains here,

partly skeletonised,

so will be attended by a forensic
anthropologist, and a body here,

less badly burned, still fleshed, so
will be attended by a pathologist.

This body's thought to be male,

it's partly covered by debris.

Top priority, identify these two.

Secrets was hired to celebrate the
30th anniversary of a local couple,

Tommy and Jean Rattray.

We have a guest list of 84 people.

As far as we know, everyone on that
list is accounted for.

Two members of staff were not seen
leaving the building

and are still missing...

Shelley Nardoni and Bashir Kumar.

We've applied for their
dental records,

so, we'll see
if these are our bodies.

People became aware of smoke just
after half ten and these fire

doors, as well as the main entrance,

were opened quickly and efficiently.

The manager, Shuggie Brooke,
carried a couple of people out.

What's he saying?

Shuggie Brooke told us that he
was mostly out front.

He was making phone calls in his
office early on, but from nine

o'clock, he was working the floor
with the rest of the staff.

So, he didn't go back through this
pass door at all?

He said he may have done,
he was confused,

he seemed very distracted
and worried about his niece.

- His niece?
- Shelley Nardoni is his niece.

- And he thinks she died in the fire?
- Yeah.

It seems to me, the fire started
in the office,

that's the worst affected room,
part of the ceiling's down,

it wasn't even considered safe
to get in there initially.

Now, there's clearly been
some flashover,

there's a small window
about so wide,

so high, quite high up
on that wall.

Seemingly, staff stand on a chair

and smoke out of it.

Thanks, Andy.

Sarah, strategy?

Same as ever, really.

Preliminary outside examination.

Preliminary inside examination.

Detailed outside, detailed inside.

Recording and gathering anything
untoward outside,

cigarette ends, tool marks,

footwear marks, tyre tracks.

Same inside,
anything of possible relevance.

Looking at security systems, fuses,

good or bad housekeeping.

I'd also like to know
if any new electrical appliances

or processes were installed recently

and what's routinely left
plugged in and switched on,

and we will, of course,
be adhering to this.

It's all about the doors,
what was locked,

what was unlocked,

were there new codes, new locks?

Did CCTV footage survive?
What's it telling us?

Was there any trouble at the club,
or with the club?

How was Secrets doing financially?

What was the insurance on
that building?

Was the cover expanded,
or the policy changed,

what was there to gain?

However, I might write this
on my own forehead, actually...

Until we establish whether the fire

was accidental or wilful,

we go down both roads.

- DI McKinven.
- Sir.

- Jarvis.
- OK.

Thank you.

- All right.
- All right.

So, Sarah, nothing's been touched,

we've just secured the scene
and photographed everything.

Hm... Well, here's the first body.

Poor guy, he had no chance
of getting out.

These fire doors were chained shut.

Fire crew had to cut them open, eh?

No soot here,
so there was direct flame.

I think this is possibly a toaster.

You've already captured this?

- Yes.
- OK, if we can...

No thermal insul.

Could have been set on its side.

Could have fallen.

It could.

- Sarah, Neil,
I'm through here.

Some of these bone
fragments are very small

and they've been dispersed
by the water jets,

so no-one in here till
I've searched fully.

Right you are.

Professor Kathy Torrance.

Kathy, this is Andy Jarvis,

Fire Services Fire Investigator.

Mm-hm.

Over here, Sarah.

The smokers' window.

Yeah.

What are you thinking
about these doors?

Don't know yet. Could have gone to
flashover, even with them shut.

The process running up to flashovers
are mostly fuel controlled.

- These were boxes of crisps.
- Eh?

Oil, crisps and plastic
are a really good fuel source.

Well, you can see the fire travelled
out of here and into the kitchen.

Or into here from the kitchen.

Have you looked under
the body in the kitchen?

We're waiting for the pathologist.

Neil...

There's another body here.

So, three dead.

You'll have to do it without her.

OK, Mrs Muir. No problem.

Hiya.

Hello, Emma.

Hi. I'm a bit early.

Good. We've gone off piste today.

Professor Gordon's at a fire scene
and sends her apologies.

We're all at sixes and sevens,
because of the MOOC.

Oh, this is Louise,
the post op you'll be working with.

I'm a fool - she interviewed you.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Take Emma to HR, to get her own
e-mail and security lists

and all that jazz.

Did you do equality
and diversity training

and health and safety training?

Yeah, online.

Shouldn't take too long then.

I got this ready for you.

- Guard it with your life.
- I will. Thank you.

Come on.

What's the MOOC?

Massive Open Online Course.

Forensic Science course set up by
SIFA, launches at midnight tonight.

It's Professor Torrance's baby

and Professor Gordon's.

Well done for getting the job,
by the way.

Thanks.

There were a few good candidates,

but me and Professor Gordon decided
you'd be the most fun.

Welcome to your world.

It's gorgeous.

So, what Professor Gordon
suggests is we clean

and check the GCMS before we set
up a sample run.

We have dedicated use of this
one for the project,

so that's great - it's called Bobby.

Bobby, this is Emma.

Hi, Bobby.

You went straight into a lab
after uni, right?

Yeah, in Manchester,

near where I live.

Testing soil samples
for chemical contamination.

You OK being away from home?

I was born here,

so it's kind of home.

Cool.

- Emma.
- Professor Gordon.

This is Professor Torrance. This is
Emma Hedges, my new lab technician.

- Hi.
- Pleased to meet you.

I'm so sorry I couldn't greet you
today, are you all set up?

Yeah, all good.

Great stuff. We'll kick off in
earnest when the samples arrive.

- Great.
- I hope you'll be doing the MOOC.

Definitely. Looking forward to it.

I'm Sarah Gordon.

I'm a professor of forensic
chemistry and the Director

of SIFA, the Scottish Institute

of Forensic Science and Anatomy.

Over the next six weeks,
you'll be studying a fictional case,

designed by us, to teach you
the principles of forensic science.

You'll be learning about and tested

on different aspects of the work.

The course will culminate
in the identification of our body

from its remains.

Welcome to the MOOC.

In the early hours of this morning,

a dog walker discovered human
remains, here on Dundee Law,

buried in a shallow
grave in the woods.

Emma, Emma, love, what is it?

The online course I'm doing
is using her story.

What?

A body buried in a shallow
grave on Law Hill.

You're kidding!

Discovered by a dog walker...

- No.
- Yeah.

Listen, there's only so many places

you can bury a body in Dundee.

Are you OK?

My heart is pounding.

Emma,

stop doing it,

shut your laptop up, try and sleep.

OK. Night.

- The primary forms
of identity can be established

by studying bones.

The super orbital eminences

are heavier in the male.

The frontal nasal angle

is more acute in the male.

The angle of the mandible
is ordinarily less

than 125 degrees in the male,

while the opposite is true
in the female.

Study the skull from the human
remains that were recovered

from the shallow grave on Law Hill.

Male or female?

It is her, they've got her skull.

It can't be, it can't be her skull.

I'm telling you, this woman
stood there, holding her skull.

Professor Gordon...

You're bright and early. Are you OK?

The body in the MOOC's my mum.

The fact is, Emma,

we invented a crime to illustrate
the lessons we wanted to teach.

There are trends in murder cases,

archetypal features that
frequently occur.

It's really common for a dog
to unearth human remains

because their sense of smell
is superb.

There are very few ways
to dispose of a body,

and burial is one of them.

We needed a burial,

because soil analysis is a key
area of forensic science.

There aren't many places
you can dig a grave in Dundee

and it's 50-50
whether it's male or female

and it's just horribly bad
luck for you we chose female.

That must have been really
upsetting for you.

I'm really sorry it brought
it all back up.

Whose skull is it, then?

It's a medical specimen,

part of the university collection,

donated in the 1940s.

That's my mum,

a month before we lost her.

She looks lovely.

Have you heard of her? Marie Monroe?

Yes, because I've
lived in Dundee for years.

- Here you go.
- Thanks, Janine.

- Is this Greg's?
- Uh-huh.

As in, Greg the person.

Greg is our DNA maestro

and this is first foray into baking.

Cake is pivotal here.

Greg has wisely kicked off
with a banana loaf.

Not bad.

I'm truly sorry you've had
such a shock, Emma,

but your mother is not
the body in the MOOC.

A button...

I did know about her mother's case.

What are you saying?

That, that I... I must have been
aware of similarities.

What do you mean, must have been?

Were you aware
when we devised the MOOC?

No, not consciously.

It was my idea, the woman
buried on Law Hill, but Sarah,

I was on the other side of the world
in 2001, so it's you who was here

who needed to point out
to those of us who weren't

- that we should avoid it.
- I know.

I feel awful. I don't know how
I failed to connect it.

You didn't work on it, did you?

No, I... I followed it at the time.

The investigation seemed
inept to me.

What did you say to Emma?

I said it wasn't Marie Monroe,
which it isn't.

Did she accept that?

I think so. Mostly...

Wouldn't it really suck if we ended
up at court or had to pull

the whole MOOC
because we used a real person?

We need to check the rest of the
MOOC for any other similarities

with the Marie Monroe case and take
every last trace of them out.

Emma?

Oh, my God, you look
so like your mum!

- It's so good to see you.
- You, too!

I've been able to get some blood out
of a protected artery in her neck,

so we can check toxicology
as well as DNA.

Good. We'll check her
against Shelley Nardoni.

We won't get a full DNA
profile from these.

We'll need to get his dentition
chartered by the odontologist.

He's on his way. Bashir Kumar's
dental records are waiting for him.

We get two matches,

then we know which one of these
is the odd one out.

Badly need an ID
for the unreported person.

Can't really know what happened
until we know who it happened to.

Neil, do you remember a murder case

of a woman called Marie Monroe?

Aye, I do.

She went missing at a festival
by the docks. The Tall Ships.

Assumption was she drowned,

but no body.

Three months' later, she was dug up.

Never got any one for it.

- I've got a job.
- As a what?

A lab technician, working on a study

to develop new tools and research

around the analysis of new and
emerging street drugs in Scotland.

I do that every weekend!

You sound English.

How'd you lose your accent?

It just happened,
cos I moved away.

- You staying with Jimmy?
- No way.

I've got a place, it's...

I'm going to find somewhere else.

Stay with me.

Skye, you've not seen me in years,
you can't just...

We know each other. I'm serious.

I'm staying at my mum's on my own.
I'd love the company.

Where's your mum?

Oh, Emma, she's... She's bad.

Her lungs are terrible.

I think she's dying.

What?

- She'd love to see you.
- I'd love to see her.

We'll go. Have you seen your dad?

No, not yet.

I spoke to him a few weeks ago,

but I think he's still travelling.

Is he what? He's on half
the posters on the Perth Road!

Go see him.

Come and have a look.

These were found wedged in the
toaster where the bread goes -

- cardboard.
- So it was primed with fuel?

It's had cardboard jammed in it,

for some reason yet to be
established, you can see,

when it's opened out...

A barcode.

Printed on a sticky label.

You know how a label's
glossy and smooth?

Uh-huh.

The little spaces between the paper
fibres are filled with Kaolin -

clay, so it burns more slowly.

Hm... Pleased with that,
aren't you?

Yes, I am, Neil.

People think everything gets
destroyed by fire,

almost everything leaves traces.

If that's a delivery barcode,
you could get an address from it.

You could. The other thing that
could be recoverable from inside

folded cardboard, even as burnt
as this, is fingerprints.

Well, that would be a dream.

We'll get cracking with that.

Right. You know how you can't get
this to stay clicked down,

if your toaster's
switched off at the wall?

I do.

That's cos it's needs the flow
of electricity to activate

the electromagnet,
that's what keeps it clicked down.

When the electricity stops, after
however long it takes to toast

your toast, it's not magnetised

any more and the tray lift pops up.

- Was this rigged?
- Here, look...

A twist tie has been wrapped
around it...

...so the tray lift couldn't
disconnect from the electromagnet.

Huh... So why didn't
the thermal protection device

kick in and break the circuit?

It couldn't.

A paper clip's been put across it
to hold it together,

so the electricity
kept flowing through.

The toaster kept heating up?

Exactly.

Emma, come and watch.

Emma biked into town to buy it after
we deciphered the make and model.

So, we've set up the toaster in
exactly the same way

as we think it was done.

Off we go.

So, this is surely
the source of the fire.

I think we're looking at
wilful fire-raising

and murder.

You won't be drawn, will you?

I'll have to wait for your report.

Yes, you will.

Can I ring you later?
I need to ask you a favour.

Yeah.

♪ I can't see much of a future

♪ Unless we find out what's to blame

♪ What a shame

♪ And we won't be together
much longer

♪ Unless we realise
that we are the same

♪ Ever fallen in love with someone

♪ Ever fallen in love

♪ In love with someone

♪ Ever fallen in love

♪ In love with someone

♪ You shouldn't have fallen
in love with. ♪

Oh, God!

Emma, darling!

Aw. Hello, gorgeous!

Hi, Dad.

Whooooo!

Oh, God, no...
I would have thought the same.

It wasn't a rational reaction.

This is your mother's murder
we're talking about here.

How's that ever going to be
rational?

Well, and then I get told
that my mother's murder's just a

bog-standard stereotypical one.

Not even a special one.
I mean, please, leave me something.

Ah, you look so like her.

What happened to her?

Who killed her?

I wish I knew.

I think I've got to an age
where I need to know.

I think maybe that's why
I've come back.

Well, you can be defined

by what happened to your mum,

or you can choose to refuse that.

I know.

And I will always be here for you.

I saw Skye today,
for the first time since 2002.

- Was that sweet?
- Really sweet.

But Izzy might be dying.

Her lungs are packing up.

Jeez, oh...

Poor Izzy.

Where will you sleep?

Sofa.

Goodnight, darling.

Goodnight, dad.

Thanks.

Dad?

Hello?

- Is Drew there?
- No.

He's got some stuff for me,
can I come in?

- No.
- I need my stuff.

I know where it is,
just let me in!

No.

Thanks for nothing!

Tell Drew I'll be coming back.

Shit, shit, shit... What the fuck?

Thanks, Dad...

- You're through to Drew,
you know what to do.

Leave a message,
I'll get straight back to you.

Fuck! Where does he keep it?

Fucking hell.

- Sarah.
- Hey.

You played a blinder.

The barcode on the cardboard,

it led us to a woman at an address
in Hilltown.

She remembers putting that
packaging in the recycling bin

shared by the whole block of flats.

Shuggie Brooke lives at number 12.

- The manager?
- The manager of Secrets, aye.

And naturally,
we want to go down and ask Mr Brooke

if he'd fished the cardboard
out of the bin,

jammed it in a toaster
that he'd rigged

and set his nightclub on fire,

- but, we can't.
- Why?

Cos Shuggie Brooke jumped off the
Tay Bridge the day before yesterday.

- Oh, God.
- I know.

Listen, Sarah, I'm sorry I couldn't
help you with that favour.

Oh, don't be daft, Neil, I get it.

- Have a nice day.
- You, too.

Oh, thank you.

What about the MOOC then?

23,000 people.

I know, it's amazing.

So, everyone's raving
about your banana loaf.

Ha... Beginner's luck.

Greg, um...

A person has sex with a person

while working out of town.

Months later, the person gets
a postcard from the person

saying they're coming to visit.

The person can't get in touch with
the person to ask for more details,

because they never
exchanged numbers.

How did the person know
the person's address?

They know where the person works.

Was the sex good?

I believe so...

OK.

Well, I think...

Lucky person?

I'll pass it along, thanks.

The remains in the office are the
two members of staff reported

missing, Shelley and Bashir,

DNA and dentition matched.

And the fleshed
remains in the kitchen?

There's no match for his DNA
on the database - they're stuck.

He could be the one who set
the place on fire.

Shuggie Brooke's prints
on the cardboard doesn't prove

he started the fire.

Three people died
and then he jumped off a bridge.

That says to me he felt responsible.

Well, he had boxes of crisps
piled high in his office,

that probably drove it to flashover.

Corridor to office, corridor
to kitchen, kitchen to office.

All three locked.

I've identified the manufacturer
of these doors.

We've sent what's left of them
to be tested in Edinburgh.

Where are we at with Marie Monroe?

The rest of module one was fine,

age, height and ethnicity of our
body all differ from Marie Monroe.

There are five more modules.

I know, I asked Neil to crosscheck
it, but he needs a bona fide

policing purpose to access
the Marie Monroe files.

So, we apply for the whole
Data Protection thing

and hope it doesn't take forever.

Sarah, can I say something annoying?

Always.

It's very rare for you to make
a mistake, but when you do,

you dwell on it and while you're
dwelling on it, you make another.

Don't beat yourself up,
it won't fix it.

Thank you.

- Leave a message,
I'll get straight back to you.

Dad, how many times do I have to
ring you before you ring me back?

Bye.

Hiya.

Let me look at you.

You are the spit of her.

Isn't she?

Aren't you? Oh...

- Hello, Emma.
- Hello, Izzy.

Give her her face back, Mum!

Oh, one wee minute more!

There, I've let her go,

but leave your hand.

Do you smoke?

- Yeah.
- Well, don't.

Don't be like me, that's what
I say to you, isn't it?

Aye, as you offer me a light!

She's terrible!

Look at you.

We had fun, didn't we?

Our wee after school club, remember?

I used to love playing
at your house.

Oh, Marie, Marie, Marie...

I still dream about her.

Do you?

You see, in my mind...

...she never died.

- Here we go. Mum...
- No, let me say.

In my mind, she stepped onto

one of those beautiful ships...

...on the arm of a handsome stranger,

and sailed away to a better place.

I know they found her remains,
I know they identified her,

but I just don't accept it.

I just won't have it
that my sweet Marie ended up

dumped in the ground
with her bones cut up.

Hello, love.

Why has no-one ever told me
my mother was dismembered?

Say again. Was, what?

She was what?

Dismembered, cut up.

Who told you she was? She wasn't.

Izzy Alessi.

That's not true, OK. I never heard
anybody saying anything like that.

Are you sure?

Yes.

Look, I think I would remember if my
sister's body had been dismembered.

I mean, and I don't think
Izzy Alessi can be relied on.

I don't think you can be relied on.

I beg your pardon?

You controlled everything that
I was told, you withheld things.

No, Emma, you were seven, OK.

I can't talk to you right now,
sorry.

No, Emma, Emma!

- And it's these facts
that can lead us to answer

the questions, who was this person?

What happened to them?

There are many forms of identity,

physical, digital, social...

- Jimmy, hi.
- Hi.

- Coffee?
- I'm all right, thanks.

I can't believe you're working
in Dundee and didn't tell me.

Well, I've told you now.

I hope next time you'll
come to the house.

Olga and the twins
would love to see you.

Your brother would love to see you.

Half-brother...

Don't be like that.

You're better than that.

Thank you for coming out.

I need to ask you
something difficult,

that's why I didn't come to the
house, but I will come soon.

Good.

You can ask me anything.

Jimmy, when they found
Mum's remains,

was her body dismembered?

Was her body dismembered?

Yeah.

Why are you asking me that?

Because Izzy Alessi told me she was.

- Don't listen to Izzy Alessi.
- Why?

Because she's a druggy.

You and Julie kept things from me.

Yes, we did,

to protect you.

I'm old enough to know.

I can't honour what Mum suffered
if I don't know what she suffered.

Do you remember the police
questioning you?

Yeah.

"What did Jimmy do
after he took you home?

"Did Jimmy go out?

"Did Jimmy ever hurt Mummy?

"Was mummy scared of Jimmy?

"Is Jimmy a nice stepdad?"

I remember.

They suspected me.

They never said as much,
but they did.

They told me nothing..

...and then they failed us.

Mum was scared of you.

I was. too.

Not you - your temper.

I do have a temper.

I hate it about myself,

but no-one needs to be scared of me.

Emma...

I swear I never heard
a word about...

...dismemberment.

When was it mum cut her hair off?

I was trying to remember.

Er...

Must have been when you
were about six,

not long before we lost her.

- Hey.
- I'm really sorry, I hope you don't mind,

I need someone to talk to
and I thought of you.

Come in. Come in, talk to me.

It's about my mum's murder...

Oh...

Emma, no, I'm sorry, I'm not the
right person to talk to about that.

I've heard things that I think
could be important.

Someone told me that she was
dismembered and then I found..

Emma, stop.

I would love to be able to help,
but this is not for my ears,

- you need to talk to the police.
- This is my mum and dad.

Except at the time
the photo was taken,

my mum wasn't with my dad -
she was with my stepdad.

I think it could have something
to do with her murder.

- Ring me if you ever, um...
- What?

Want to ring me.

I was stupid,

doing things which maybe made a fire
turn into a really bad fire.

She knows something that was
never disclosed.

I think we need to look out for her.

When I drove over that bridge,
I had to wait for a guy to jump off.

He started the fire.

I think you need to stop sleuthing.

You don't know what you're
getting into.