Vera (2011–…): Season 7, Episode 2 - Dark Angel - full transcript
The body of a young man is discovered face down in a river by Thrunton Woods. But tracing the victim's identity proves difficult for Vera and her team.
Hail Mary, full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death
Hey! Here, boy.
Unidentified male. Dog
walker found him in the water.
- Is that him?
- Yeah.
SOCOs hauled the body out.
- So what can you tell us, Tony?
- Late 20s.
Emaciated.
Signs of possible malnutrition.
How long's he been dead?
There's some post-mortem staining,
so, a few hours, I'd say.
So, some time last night. Drowned?
Unlikely. We've got a blunt trauma
wound to the back of the head.
A shiner, a cut lip.
What are those marks on his
arms? Are they needle tracks?
We found this in his trouser pocket.
Heroin wrap with a dealer's stamp.
What's that say? "Dark Angel."
Dealers like to stamp their gear.
Users know they're
getting quality product.
Well, if it's quality heroin,
that makes it OK, does it?
Put a call in to Vice,
see what they can tell us.
What's on the end of that chain?
That's a mourning ring.
Worn to remember the dead.
Right, well, I want a sweep
of this whole riverbank --
footprints, drag marks, the lot.
I'm gonna talk to that
fella who found him.
Can you give us a hand up, love?
I'm DCI Stanhope, I'm
heading the investigation.
Oh, I've already given
your copper a statement.
I won't keep you long, love.
You were out with your dog
when you found the lad?
Yeah, floating face down in the burn.
Have you seen him before?
Doubt he was local. He
doesn't look the type.
Did you see anyone else
on the path, in the woods?
No one about, not at that hour.
Ma'am.
So, can you give your address
to one of my officers?
And they'll make sure you get home.
I'd rather walk, clear my head.
Aye, I know how you feel.
I've got intel on the heroin wrap.
It's a brand that's been flooding
the streets in Gateshead.
Pretty potent stuff, by all accounts.
Oh, he's a city lad?
What's he doing all the way out here?
There's a needle exchange
on Altworth Road.
We should check it out,
see if someone knows him.
Yes, I do know him.
There you go.
His name's Nathan. He
came in twice a week.
- How well do you know him?
- He's a troubled soul.
Troubled? How?
Well, he had a rough time of things.
A lot of these kids, well, they
struggle just to stay on their feet.
We found his body in a
woodland up in Alnwick.
I don't know why he'd be up there.
Nathan was a creature of habit,
never strayed far from
his patch, you know.
Do you think he was homeless?
I'd set him up the odd night in a hostel,
but they shelter you
long-term if you're clean.
- When did you last see him?
- He came in two days ago.
Was he registered with
the exchange programme?
We don't ask for personal details. I
couldn't even tell you his surname.
What about his friends?
No one I can think of.
- Well, someone must be missing him.
- Oh, hang on, hang on.
There was a girl he sometimes
knocked around with.
I think she called herself Kelly.
Kelly? Another user?
I'm pretty sure she enrolled
on the methadone programme.
- Pharmacy would need an address.
- I'll talk to them.
If you do manage to track
down his next of kin,
perhaps I could pay them a visit?
You know, some small solace.
I'll keep you informed.
Thanks for your time, Father.
Excuse me, love.
So, he definitely died
from the blow to the head.
Fractured skull.
Internal bleeding.
Yeah, he was hit from
behind with some force.
Blood tests?
There were traces of opiates
in his blood and urine.
IV injection.
So, yes, he had been using last night.
- I've taken swabs for a DNA profile.
- Anything I can work with meantime?
The bruising to his ribs
and this shiner on his eye,
both consistent with some kind of assault.
Does suggest he might
have known his killer.
I'm gonna leave that little
puzzle for you to solve.
Violent struggle, puts up a fight...
.. comes off second best.
We're here about a friend of yours.
A regular down at the needle exchange.
We know his name is Nathan.
I've seen him around.
Wouldn't say we were friends.
Has something happened?
I'm afraid he was found
murdered last night, love.
Poor fella.
So when did you last run into Nathan?
Must have been a few days ago.
Didn't see him on Tuesday, when
you picked up your methadone?
I didn't get to the
centre at all this week.
Picked it up from a chemist in town.
We found this in Nathan's pocket.
Do you know who he might
have scored that off?
Could be any of the dealers in Newcastle.
Now, Father O'Brien, he
told us Nathan was homeless.
Well, if that's what he told you.
What about his family?
He never mention anyone?
We just need to give them the news, pet.
I think his surname was Weaver.
I know he didn't get on with his mam.
Grew up in one of those mining towns,
somewhere like Ellington.
Right, well, that's something
to be going on with.
Well, if there's nothing else...
Are you expecting company?
- What if I am?
- Nothing, no.
This your own place, is it?
- That's right.
- Nice view!
Where were you last evening?
- I was here all night.
- Verify that, can you?
Well, short of phoning up a client
for a character reference...
Look, I'm sorry he's dead.
Really, I am.
But there's nothing I can tell you.
Right, well, we'll leave
you to it. Thanks.
If anything does spring
to mind, ask for CID.
Business must be good,
plush pad on the river.
The place doesn't look lived in.
You reckon she's hiding something?
She was frightened, I know that much.
I tell you what, let's apply
for a surveillance order.
And get on to the Land Registry,
find out who really owns that flat.
Nathan Weaver.
Late 20s, victim of a violent assault.
His body was found by a dog walker,
Jeb Branning, in Brunhill Woods.
He's thought to have been
dead about six hours,
so killed late last night,
early hours of this morning.
Heroin addict, possibly homeless.
He was seen by a witness two days ago.
Needle exchange, Gateshead.
- A Father O'Brien.
- Who told us the lad was troubled.
I've got a witness statement here
from a regular at the exchange.
She claims that Nathan Weaver was dealing.
Well, the chances are,
this is drug related.
So, who was he working for
and who might he have crossed?
Kenny, have you got anything on
the stamp on this heroin wrap?
No one seems to recognise it.
But they're hardly gonna
shop their suppliers.
- Aye. - We've ran checks on his prints.
No record.
- Missing Persons?
- Nothing on the database.
We could issue a public appeal.
It might throw something up.
Aye. There's nothing to be
gained by keeping this quiet.
And what about this
ring, what have we got?
Antique. 18-carat gold.
-- Worth a bit, then.
There's an inscription.
"Veritas me dirigit".
Latin, that is, Kenny.
"Let the truth guide me".
Ooh!
Stone me!
Why hadn't he sold it?
He had a habit to finance.
Ah, now, that's my thinking exactly.
So run a check on the NMPR,
any recent burglaries, pilfered jewellery.
And what do we know about
this friend, Kelly Horton?
She has an online profile
with an escort agency.
It's how every self-respecting
client books a girl these days.
Well, I'll take your word for that, Kenny.
- Available for in-calls
only, ma'am. - Right.
Have you got any plans
for tonight, Hicham?
Football practice, pizza
and a pint with the lads.
Nah. Well, get yourself a takeaway, love,
because I want a watch on that flat.
Got you.
Have you got a licence for that?
Mrs Weaver?
- Oh! - We're here
about your son, Nathan.
What's he done?
You might wanna sit down, love.
God!
When did you last see Nathan?
He came round about three weeks ago.
First time I'd clapped
eyes on him in months.
How long has he been...?
What, an addict?
Since he was 17.
Around the time his dad walked out on us.
Well, that must have been hard
to deal with, all on your own.
It was!
Especially when he
started stealing from me.
Strange thing was that the last
time I saw him, he looked better.
He even talked about applying for a job.
Did he tell you where?
Somewhere in town.
On the factory floor.
And then he asked for a loan.
Didn't say what the money was for?
He said he owed some people.
Same old story.
Did this belong to you, love?
I've never seen it before.
Nathan was wearing it when we found him.
Probably nicked it off someone.
DS Healy.
This photo, love, can we borrow it?
"No one can help me, Mam."
That's what he said.
Maybe if I'd have let him come home.
It's not your fault, love.
The driver that picked up Kelly
last night, Hicham ran his plates.
And? Get that circulated.
It's registered to an Adam Gascoigne.
Just finished a five-year stretch.
Drug offences and violent
affray. Here he is.
Well, that might explain why
none of the users are talking.
He runs a salvage yard over in Blaydon.
Right, let's pay him a little visit.
Are you sure you wanna park there?
Very funny!
Adam Gascoigne?
DCI Vera Stanhope,
Northumberland and City Police.
We're investigating a homicide.
- What's that got to do with us?
- Didn't say it had, love.
Do you recognise this man?
- Should I?
- Name of Nathan Weaver.
Victim of a violent assault.
I'm six months into a Prevention Order.
Do you think I'd get mixed
up in something like that?
- We know he was dealing drugs.
- Asking for trouble, then, wasn't he?
We also know you've got previous,
possession with intent to supply.
I've put all that behind me.
You picked up a woman in this vehicle
last night, didn't you? Kelly Horton.
- She needed a lift.
- To one of your clients?
That's my business.
Where were you Wednesday evening?
Billiards club on the Durham Road.
Amateur tournament, came third.
- Didn't get home till 4:00am.
- Well, we can check.
You do that. Save you wasting my time.
We're done here.
Get Hicham down to that billiards
club, see if his alibi holds up.
We've got nothing to pin
him to Nathan Weaver.
He's a violent thug with form for
drugs, that'll do for starters.
That flat on the river...
is owned by a lettings company,
Mayfield Residential and Commercial.
So Kelly was lying.
Landlord's name's Stuart Mayfield.
But he's not at work till Monday.
Well, let's go and see him at home.
Biscuit would have been nice.
We had a couple of complaints
from one of the neighbours.
Noisy visitors late at night.
Aside from that, she's
never been any trouble.
- She always pays the rent on time.
- How does she pay you?
Direct debit, I think. 1st of every month.
Ever see this man at the flat?
I don't get over that way too often.
Haven't been round there in months.
- Stuart?
- I'll be right over, love.
Oh, it's a bit of a turnout.
Just a few of the neighbours.
If I'd known she was working from home...
Maybe we can keep this between us. It
wouldn't look too good for business.
Oh, I can't guarantee
that, sir, I'm afraid.
I'll make sure I take care of things.
We've just gone and got her evicted.
Yeah, well, I had to tell him something.
All he cares about is his reputation.
And do a run on his plates. Might
as well cover all our bases.
Mark.
I've pulled out Nathan
Weaver's bank statements.
- Not quite down and out.
- His current account was barely used,
but there is a recent deposit,
dated five days before he died.
Bennick's Convenience Food.
It's a factory over in Pelaw.
Thanks, Mark.
What did his mam say? Went for
a job on the factory floor?
We've reason to believe Nathan
Weaver had been working here.
Aye, we took him on. We
were looking for packers.
- He barely lasted a week.
- Why was that?
The foreman gave him his marching
orders. You'll need to talk to him.
Oi, Joe, a minute.
Nathan Weaver, that lad
you got shot of last week.
Ah, yeah. He'd had a few
warnings for turning up late,
I didn't need the aggravation.
We've got standards here at
Bennick's. Quality product.
Oh, aye!
Gave him plenty of chances
to sort himself out.
Even paid him up to the end of the week.
But between you and me, I
think he was on something.
He looked like he needed a good wash.
Did he make friends with
any of the other packers?
Nah. Nah, he wasn't here long enough.
What's he supposed to have done?
I'm afraid he's been murdered, love.
Sorry to hear that.
Is it all right if my
sergeant has an ask around?
Be my guest.
- And you must have some details.
- We should have his home address.
- Joe.
- Aye, it'll be in the office.
Just come round.
So much for being homeless.
For a job, might have put
down any old address.
A bit out of the way, though.
He's keeping his head down,
if someone's out to get him.
There's someone in there.
Police. Open up, please!
I let him stay here sometimes.
He had nowhere else to go.
So why lie to us?
I open the door to a couple of coppers,
you tell me Nathan's been murdered,
I wasn't thinking straight.
Well, now you've had a bit of time,
perhaps you'd like to think about
giving us some straight answers.
Mam!
It's all right, sweetheart.
We're just talking.
Nathan's stuff's in the bedroom upstairs.
How long have the two
of you been together?
We weren't. Not really.
We met at the centre.
It must have been five years ago.
Fell in with each other.
Suppose it was easier
than being on my own.
So, the bairn... Nathan's?
I'm still trying to take it all in.
The meth, it numbs you, shuts you down.
- None of this seems real.
- What's the lad's name?
Kyle.
So who looks after Kyle
when you're working?
Child minder. Lives round the corner.
I'm a good mum.
And I'm trying to find
out who killed his dad.
So if there's anything you can tell me
that might shed some light on that, pet...
He tapped me for some cash, said
he was going into town to score.
- When was this?
- Over a week ago.
Well, weren't you worried
when he didn't come home?
He used to take off sometimes.
Disappeared for days.
- Do you know where he went?
- Nathan did as he pleased.
He hated being tied down.
He could never go far from the
smack, though. Always pulled him back.
Well, we know he was dealing
to pay for his habit.
Who told you that?
He was selling drugs down
at the needle exchange.
So, I'll ask you again, where's
he getting this heroin from?
- I don't know.
- Not Adam Gascoigne, then?
We know he picked you up from
that swanky flat last night.
You've been keeping tabs on me?
Well, if you'd been honest
with us from the start...
- If he knew I'd been talking...
- What, he'd come after you?
Oh, that's why you were hiding
with the curtains drawn?
Look, love, if someone's threatening
you, we can offer you protection.
I'm doing fine on my own.
Under the thumb of a drug-dealing thug?
You don't get it, do you?
This has always been somewhere safe,
somewhere away from the girl in that flat,
and now you've brought it all here.
I don't know what happened to Nathan,
and I'd rather it stayed that way,
so, please, just leave us alone.
Kyle!
Ma'am.
Anything?
A few clothes, sleeping bag.
I found this in his pocket.
- Father O'Brien?
- Chances are he did a runner.
Nah. Abandon his son?
- The lad's his?
- Mm.
- Probably for the best, then.
- Hark at you!
Dad six months, suddenly
you're Father of the Year.
I was just saying, we could be
looking at a Child Protection issue.
- And Max will be one next week.
- Who?
Oh, right.
Is he?
Yeah, we're having a
few drinks and a cake.
- Oh. - So, you know, if you're free...
Well, I'll tell you what, I'll
drop you back at the station,
you can do a routine enquiry
with social services.
Yeah. It's better to be safe than sorry.
We managed to locate
Nathan's mam, a Diane Weaver.
Ah, you could have left her address
at the centre, saved yourself a trip.
I wanted to talk to you about Nathan.
See, you told me he was troubled.
Well, that was the impression I got.
Yeah, well, I think you knew
him a bit better than that.
You gave him a character reference
for that job at Bennick's.
Well, I was just trying to
get him back on his feet.
And I found this in one of his
pockets, The Sacrament of Confession.
Uh-huh.
Well, he must have picked
it up from the centre.
Well, anything he confided in you
could help shed light on how he died.
You know I can't break the
seal of the confessional.
So he did confess to something, then?
Ma'am, a lorry driver's come in.
Says he gave Nathan a
lift on the night he died.
- I've put him in the interview room.
- Right. Mark, give us that.
Make him another one.
Yeah, that's him.
He was hitching by the
Blue House roundabout.
- What time was this?
- Around nine o'clock Wednesday evening.
So where did you drop him?
Hedgeley Services.
I stopped off to get some
fuel, went in to pay,
realised I'd left my wallet in the cab,
and the thieving toe-rag had nicked
it, ran off across the fields.
Oh. Thanks.
Salmon and cucumber?
I got you the healthy option.
Meaning?
What have you got?
Cheese and pickle. Do you wanna swap?
Go on, then.
What did the cashier have to say?
- Well, she was definitely
working that night. - And?
- Doesn't remember seeing Nathan.
- CCTV?
No, nothing we can work with.
He left Gateshead under his own steam,
on edge, in a hurry, thumbs a lift.
And then does a bunk.
Steals a wallet, so he'll
wanna keep away from the road.
And it's what... It's gone
10:00, it's dark, cold.
He'd be looking for somewhere to kip.
Nearest village is a couple of miles away.
Where's the river from here?
His body was found a mile from here.
So where do you think he was heading, hm?
Check out those outbuildings.
Ma'am!
Have a look at this.
Get on to the station, find
out what happened here.
Looks like Nathan made himself at home.
Right, then, Nathan Weaver.
Possibly killed here.
Or at the house.
Dumped in the river, floats
downstream to where we found him.
That would explain why
the riverbank was clean.
What's the story with this
farmhouse? Any intel yet?
Scene of a homicide.
Domestic: Farmer shot his wife.
That's gotta be over ten years ago.
So Nathan comes across
an old murder scene,
ends up dead himself.
Well, that puts a new slant
on things, doesn't it?
Right, Nathan Weaver
broke into a farmhouse
and it looks like that's
where he's been dossing.
But it also happens to be the
scene of a previous homicide.
China Farm Murder?
Poultry farmer, Edward Thurston,
convicted for killing his wife.
Currently serving life in Dursdale nick.
The farm was on the market for a
few years, couldn't get a buyer.
He's always protested his innocence.
Claimed to have run into intruders.
Thurston shot her. He made up
a story to cover his tracks.
- How do you know that?
- I worked on the case.
Oh, well, perhaps you can fill
us in with the facts, Kenny.
His wife was playing away, Laura Thurston.
She'd packed her bags on
the night she was killed.
So he shot her in cold blood?
Eddie Thurston's a piece of work.
Was there anyone else in
the frame for the murder?
It was 13 years ago... I'll
have to look up the file.
One of the neighbours was
questioned as a suspect.
He'd had a previous altercation
with Eddie Thurston.
A dog walker who was
trespassing on his land.
A dog walker?
This fella got a name?
Well, well, well!
Mr Branning?
Hello?
Mr Branning?
DCI Stanhope.
Mr Branning.
Mr Branning?
- Aiden!
- No one's going anywhere.
Calm down! Just calm down!
If you're gonna lamp me with
that, you better get on with it.
Look, we just need to
talk to you, that's all.
Am I... under arrest?
No, but you will be if you
don't put that thing down.
Come on.
Sorry to keep you, Mr Branning.
Now, according to your statement,
you found Nathan Weaver's body
about 7:00am Thursday morning.
- I was walking the dog.
- Mm.
But let's go back to the night before.
You went for a walk in the fields.
Other side of the woods.
Did you walk across Eddie Thurston's land?
Well, let's see if this helps.
Now, if you walked from
your house to the fields,
you'd have gone right through his farm.
I set a few snares, that's all.
Laura Thurston's murder.
You were questioned as a
possible suspect, weren't you?
What's Laura got to do with all this?
Well, now we've got a second murder
and we're talking to you
as a person of interest.
Now, that's either
rotten luck on your part,
or a bit of a coincidence,
wouldn't you say?
Didn't care for Eddie
Thurston much, did you?
- No one did.
- Ah, but you argued with him.
- A violent altercation according to this.
- He came at me pointing a shotgun.
Told me to get off his land.
Ah, he said you'd been harassing his wife.
I ran into her sometimes, that's all.
She used to go for walks
to get away from him.
Jealous sort, was he?
Hm! Loose with his fists
and tight with his money.
Kept it all under the mattress.
And how do you know that little nugget?
People talk.
Now, I think you'd been
watching that farmhouse
and you knew Nathan had broken in.
No.
Did you see him up there
the night he was killed?
I told you, I found him in the river.
Well, I've got a forensics
team up at the farmhouse.
We'll soon know if you're
telling us the truth.
Ma'am, we can definitely place
Nathan in the farmhouse.
DNA and fibre matches. His
prints are all over the scene.
- It's Jeb Branning we need to pin down!
- We found footprints in the farmyard
that don't match the victim's,
more near the bridge.
Forensics are checking
Jeb's shoes and clothes.
There's some tyre treads
in the mud on the lane.
- Does Jeb Branning own a vehicle?
- We've checked, he doesn't drive.
Right, I want the search moved up
to the house from the riverbank.
We're looking for a murder weapon.
All right to go in?
Oh, SOCOs have set up
in the kitchen, ma'am.
Must be giving you the chills,
Kenny, back to the scene of a murder.
Well, I never expected to set
foot in this place again.
I tell you what, get yourself
over to Jeb Branning's.
I want a detective over there.
I thought you needed help with a sweep?
Oh, Hicham can cover
it, fresh pair of eyes.
Go on, we can manage.
Ma'am.
Nathan's prints are all over this room.
Probably looking for stuff to nick.
So, what do we think?
Jeb Branning knows the
lad's been snooping.
Is he afraid he's gonna find something?
Something to tie him to
Laura Thurston's death.
What, then kills him to silence him?
- Nah. Don't think he's got it in him.
- He did wave a big bloody stick at us.
Two murders, one crime scene.
This old case. Abusive relationship.
She calls it quits.
All set to leave him.
According to Kenny, she was playing away.
- But Thurston always denied that.
- Well, it gave him a motive to kill her.
Hm.
Look.
He comes home, finds his
wife with her bags packed.
He gets a shotgun from this cupboard.
Forensics found the slug
cases in the hallway.
And her body was found?
- Bottom of the stairs.
- Right.
So, he comes through this
door with a shotgun, right?
Now, she's coming down the stairs.
Right, here she comes.
I'll be Laura, you be
Eddie. Get over there.
Right, now, come on, shoot me.
- Bang.
- Yeah, twice.
- Bang. - She falls
down, fatally injured.
There's blood on the walls and the
skirting according to the crime report.
One shot to the stomach, one to the chest.
A farmer, used to handling guns...
.. he has to take two shots to
kill her, point blank range?
Cold-blooded killer, profile fits.
Unless Eddie Thurston's telling the truth,
and there were intruders
in the house that night.
Mr Thurston.
You've consented to a voluntary interview.
I'd like to ask you a few questions
about an ongoing investigation.
This fella was found dead near
your farm a couple of days ago,
and we've reason to believe
he'd broken into your farmhouse.
Do you recognise him?
Never seen him before.
Can I take you back to the
night your wife was shot?
Now, you claimed there were intruders
in the house the night your wife died.
Burglary.
It's all in my statement.
Well, I'd like to hear
your version of events.
Why? So you can twist my
words, like they did last time?
Make me into a liar?
Well, if you don't want to
talk, that's your prerogative.
Completely understand.
Put this down to a wasted journey.
I come back late.
The front door was wide open.
She was upstairs.
I could hear her screaming.
Laura was upstairs?
I fetched a shotgun.
I didn't have time to think.
One of them had a...
.. knife to her throat...
.. and...
Just take your time.
Another fella jumped me
from behind, grabbed the gun.
What happened then was...
Well, Laura, she's lying
on the floor, and she's...
.. bleeding.
Did you see their faces, the lads?
No, they were wearing scarves.
Hoods over their heads.
Could Jeb Branning have been one of them?
He knew the farm well enough.
Now, you say these intruders
made off with certain items.
Do you recognise this?
- It might be Laura's.
- Can you be certain?
It's been 13 years.
Right, we're done here.
They refused my parole, do you hear?
But I didn't kill anyone.
They stitched me up.
Refuses parole, his one chance of freedom.
After 13 years banged up,
you'd just say you did it.
You think he could be innocent?
Let's say he's telling the truth,
the killer could still be out there.
Puts Jeb Branning in the frame.
So who was the other intruder, hm?
Nah, Jeb Branning's a
loner, one man and his dog.
And that ring, if that was your wife's,
you'd recognise it, wouldn't you?
After 13 years?
Well, those are the sort of things
you hang on to, things you remember.
Get Mark on the case.
Jewellers, pawn shops.
I mean, if Nathan really
was fleecing that farmhouse,
stealing Laura's stuff to sell on...
- Someone must have
been buying it. - Right!
Ma'am!
- You went to see
Thurston in prison? - Aye.
Needed to ask him some questions.
I should have been there with you.
You put the man away, Kenny, no
telling how he would have reacted.
Thurston plays people. He
gets his kicks out of it.
Oh. Think he got the
measure of me, do you?
No.
What makes you so sure he's guilty?
That feeling you get
after years at the job.
I know he did it.
Gut instinct's all very well, Kenny, as
long as it's backed up with hard evidence.
- It was. - Well, there's
nothing to worry about, then.
Ma'am, there's a
pawnbrokers over in Blaydon,
it's a couple of streets
from the needle exchange.
It's where all the
addicts pawn their stuff.
Run by a woman known as Auntie Val.
Right, come on, let's go see Auntie.
How can I help?
We're trying to trace the
movements of this man.
We think he might have
been one of your customers.
- Doesn't ring any bells.
- No?
He was caught on a surveillance
camera entering and leaving your shop.
Now, I think on, he was in
here some time last week.
Hm. Name of Nathan Weaver.
Junkie, was he?
What makes you say that?
We get them in here all the time.
They'd sell you their
shoes if it paid for a fix.
Ah, well, we think he was trying
to hock some stuff in a hurry.
Most of my customers are.
No. Nothing on "loans outstanding".
DS Healey, I reckon most
of this stuff's knocked off.
- How long to come back with a warrant?
- 20 minutes.
Yeah, we'll tear the place apart.
He'd turn up every few weeks or so.
Pocket full of jewellery.
Where's he getting it from?
- I just buy it and sell it.
- No questions asked?
Look, if any of that stuff was nicked,
obviously I wouldn't have touched it.
Did he ever try to flog you this?
Oh, now...
.. that he wouldn't part with.
Sentimental value, he said. They'll
do anything to put the price up.
He'll be back on the make
when the money runs out.
And if he shows his face,
I'll give you a call.
Ah, a bit late for that, love.
He's been murdered.
Surveillance camera?
Well, it did the trick, got her talking.
And do a background check on Auntie Val.
She's as bent as a dog's hind leg.
Ma'am, I'm at Jeb Branning's place.
Looks like we've found something.
We found a steel wrench
hidden in your bathroom.
Traces of Nathan Weaver's blood.
We found your footprints
up near the farmhouse,
which proves you've been lying to us.
I've got enough evidence to
charge you with his murder.
I found it!
Up near the bridge in the long grass.
- I took it home.
- Now, why on earth would you do that?
I just pick things up.
I can't help myself sometimes.
So what were you doing
up at the farmhouse?
I knew he'd broken in, the dead lad.
I was gonna confront him, warn him off.
That was when the other
fella drove up from the lane.
Well, what did this other fella look like?
It was pitch black!
Headlights were blinding!
So, this vehicle pulls
up to the farmhouse?
The lad came out to meet him.
Nathan.
- And then what?
- They started shouting.
Sounded like a fight. The lad
took off towards the bridge.
It all went quiet for a while.
The next thing I know, he
drives off like the clappers.
Nearly ran me off the lane!
So what happened to Nathan?
I went up to the bridge.
There was no sign of anyone.
That was when I found it, the wrench.
And you wait until the following
morning to ring the police?
I wasn't supposed to be there.
Friction from the plastic bags
wiped off any of the prints.
Well, anyone could have
had their hands on it!
Yeah, I'll run some tests for DNA,
but I'm not holding out much hope.
What about the crime scene, anything?
Tyre treads back up his statement.
Large vehicle, something substantial.
The footprints on the bridge,
they don't match either Jeb's or
the trainers worn by the victim.
- So someone else was up there.
- Mm-hm.
First thing tomorrow morning, I
want you back up at that farm.
There's not a lot more we can get.
No, I want a fresh forensic sweep
of the Laura Thurston murder scene.
Seriously?
A 13-year-old homicide?
Unless you don't think
you're up for the challenge?
No, no. Challenge duly noted. Count me in.
Thanks, Tony.
All right.
Hold off charging Jeb Branning for now.
Sorry? Ma'am?
But we found the murder
weapon hidden in his house.
We've got him bang to rights.
Well, he maintains there was
someone else up at that farm,
and forensic evidence backs that up.
Well, he's been in custody 24 hours,
we either charge him, or we let him go.
Well, charge him with
obstructing a murder enquiry.
And in the meantime, let's have a
look at Eddie Thurston's conviction,
because I think there's a
connection to Nathan Weaver.
I told you, we are wasting
our time with Eddie Thurston!
Well, you're just gonna
have to indulge me, Kenny.
Fine!
Well, Eddie Thurston said
he disturbed a robbery.
Right, we all know he was a tightwad,
kept his hard-earned under the mattress.
- Who else might have known about that?
- I've been looking into Thurston's finances.
The farm was in trouble.
Well, draw up a list of all
his business associates --
suppliers, customers, the lot.
What about his wife, this
affair she was having?
Well, we know her bags were
packed, but where was she heading?
I'll have to inform the CPS
if we're reopening the case.
We're reviewing the case, because it's
relevant to the current investigation!
Now, can we please just concentrate
on our number one priority,
and that's finding Nathan Weaver's killer.
Yes, ma'am.
Sorry to disturb you so late, ma'am.
I...
Better come in.
So, what couldn't wait?
It's hardly a social call, Kenny.
The China Farm murder case.
Ah, wanna get something off your chest?
I was the first officer on the scene.
Aye, I know you were. It's all in the log.
But I must confess to being a tad puzzled.
Now, here, look at this.
Here's the initial photos
taken at the scene here.
The sitting room.
The windowsill is completely clear, right?
But in the official CSI
photos, two hours later...
.. look at this.
Same windowsill.
There's a bloody great vase on it!
We were working with a new police
surgeon. First day on the job.
Well, I could see he was
a bit nervous, covering.
He knocked the vase onto the floor.
So I picked it up, put it back
and told him not to worry.
It was only later, I realised...
You should have put it
back on the bookcase.
Right? But you put it on the windowsill.
So when CSIs processed the scene,
they didn't consider this particular
window as a possible point of entry
for those intruders Thurston
was banging on about.
- It was an honest mistake.
- Aye, but you covered it up!
We were all under pressure
to get a conviction.
It would compromise the crime scene.
Yeah, well, now you've compromised
my investigation, Kenny!
That's why we're talking.
If we had found some evidence that
gave weight to this burglary...
.. then Eddie Thurston's
testimony might have stacked up.
Get yourself home, Kenny, we'll
talk about this in the morning.
Goodnight, ma'am.
Ma'am...
Kelly?
Come on.
Nearly there.
Come on.
Good, good. You've got one more.
Just in there.
Ma'am. I've been trying to call you. I've
got news on the China Farm murder case.
Yeah, well, I'm here
now, what's so important?
- You told us to look at Thurston's
business accounts. - Have you done it?
He'd lost a contract with his biggest
customer, Bennick's Convenience Foods.
What?
Of course, Thurston was a poultry farmer.
It's the factory where Nathan was sacked.
The contract was terminated six weeks
before Laura Thurston was murdered.
Was it, indeed?
If Brian Bennick was doing
business with Eddie Thurston...
He'd have been at that
farm on a regular basis.
- So where does Nathan fit in to all this?
- Disgruntled ex-employee,
holding a grudge, finds out
the dirt on Brian and Eddie.
- So what did they fall out about?
- It's usually money.
Oh, no.
I think it was something more than that.
Aiden, with me.
Is the gaffer about?
We're a bit pushed this
morning. Maybe I can help?
I'll deal with this, Joe.
Ah, Mr Bennick, I've just got a
couple more questions for you.
We can talk inside.
Everything OK?
I need a list of all the vehicles
registered to your company.
- What's all this about?
- Just following procedure.
Aye, we had a contract
with Eddie Thurston.
Most of our suppliers
have always been local.
But the contract was
cancelled. Why was that?
Difficult man to do business with. He
didn't leave us with a lot of choice.
Did you ever have any
dealings with Thurston's wife,
the woman who was murdered?
- Laura had nothing to do with the business.
- First names, then?
I might have met her once or twice.
I think Eddie Thurston
cancelled that contract
because he found out his
missus had been playing away.
Now have a little peek at these.
Purchase orders signed by you and
countersigned by Laura Thurston.
She was your first port
of call up at the farm.
That when it started, hm?
The affair.
- Well, I'll take that as a yes.
- He used to knock her about.
I'd see her in the office,
trying to hide the bruises.
I suppose I felt sorry for her.
So you went to the farm
that night to pick her up?
- No.
- Eddie comes home early,
finds the pair of you doing a flit.
- That not how it happened!
- We've found a connection
between you and Nathan Weaver,
that lad who was murdered,
and not just to do with working here.
He's been staying up at China Farm.
- What?
- Mm!
You send him packing
with a flea in his ear.
Did he find something to tie
you to Laura Thurston's murder?
I had nothing to do with her murder.
And can you see why I
find that hard to believe?
All right!
Yeah, we made plans.
It was too fast.
We didn't think it through.
She was waiting for me up at the farm...
.. but I couldn't go through with it.
I could've stopped it, if only
I'd had the balls to go up there.
But I didn't.
I just drove away.
Next day, it was all over the news.
No mention of you, luckily!
Lucky?
I live with it, for 13
years, what he did to her.
Eddie Thurston killed his wife.
Everyone knows it.
Ma'am. I ran those checks
on Stuart Mayfield's plates.
And?
We got this from a surveillance
camera by the needle exchange.
Tuesday night, 10:15.
That's the night before Nathan was killed.
Is that Stuart Mayfield
driving? I can't see his face.
Oh, here comes Kelly.
And here's Nathan, our dead man walking.
And there he is, Stuart Mayfield.
No wonder he wanted this buried!
The pair of them are lying
through their teeth.
Right, now, here we are.
Now, you told me you hadn't seen
Kelly for a couple of months.
That's right.
But the pair of you were caught
on CCTV threatening Nathan Weaver,
who you said you didn't know,
the day before he disappeared.
He'd been hassling Kelly.
She called me, asked me to pick her up.
You were a client.
It wasn't just a paid-for thing.
Now, what goes on between consenting
adults, that's none of my business.
But it does make me wonder
what else you're hiding.
I don't know what you mean.
For example, Adam Gascoigne, what did
he think of your little arrangement?
And don't try telling me
you don't know him either,
because you called each
other on a regular basis.
He knew I'd been seeing Kelly.
Found out I was in property.
Offered me a deal.
- What sort of deal?
- I agreed to let her use the flat.
Gave Adam the keys to some
other empty properties.
Places his girls could entertain in.
- Ooh! Get a cut of the profits? - No.
So what was in it for you?
I play ball, I get to keep seeing Kelly.
If I don't... the wife gets to
hear about what we've been up to.
OK.
So let's go back to Tuesday.
What were you arguing about?
Nathan started mouthing off. I'd
already warned him to watch his step.
Oh... homeless junkie
dragging Kelly into the gutter?
He didn't deserve her. I told him as much.
So you saw Nathan Weaver as a
threat to your relationship.
I didn't mean...
You warned him off, which makes me
think you had unfinished business.
That was the last time I saw him.
Ma'am, a word.
I'll be back.
A neighbour of Kelly's just
called in a disturbance.
Paramedics found her beaten up.
- Where is she?
- They've taken her to AAU.
Get your coat.
You need to be brave for me.
Just until I'm better.
This lady is gonna look after you.
Right, you talk to the social
worker, I'll go see Kelly.
Your son's in safe hands.
That's supposed to put my mind at rest?
Just give me a name, love,
the man who did this to you.
I got this for talking to you!
He said next time it'd be Kyle.
There won't be a next time, not
if I have anything to do with it.
I'll tell you what I know if you
put in a word with social services.
Ah, that's out of my hands, love.
But if you cooperate, I'll make sure
you're presented in a favourable light.
Now, you told me you hadn't
seen Nathan for over a week.
I'd thrown him out. I had to.
But you saw him the night
before he left town.
You called Stuart Mayfield
to come and warn him off.
Stuart can be overprotective.
They pay for your time,
they think they own you.
You were playing your landlord like
a fiddle, you and Adam Gascoigne.
Now, I think you owe me the truth,
love. You certainly owe it to Nathan.
Nathan turned up at the centre.
He was rattling, he needed a fix. He
said he wanted to see his son before...
Before what?
He said he was leaving. He was scared.
- Well, who was he running from?
- I don't know.
- Adam Gascoigne?
- I don't know!
I meant what I said about protection.
- A copper outside the front door?
- If that's what it takes, yes, love!
Kelly, you've got to trust me.
Nathan was buying his gear from him.
Adam gave him a loan
whenever he was short.
At first he'd just front him for a
bag or two, let him build up a debt.
But made sure Nathan owed him.
It all got out of hand
when Nathan couldn't pay.
He started using the stuff
instead of selling it on.
It was like he didn't care any more.
So how much did he owe?
A couple of thousand.
That's hardly enough to get him killed.
You don't know Adam,
the people he works for.
Do you think Adam Gascoigne killed Nathan?
He told me Nathan had got
what was coming to him.
The debt was still outstanding.
File an assault charge, love.
Just make a statement. I'll
make sure he's locked up.
All right, everyone,
show's over. As you were.
I have a warrant to search these premises.
Phone records, emails, business contacts,
anything that ties him to Nathan Weaver.
Phone log of calls made and received by
Nathan Weaver the week before he died.
You called Nathan twice
the day he was murdered.
Doesn't prove anything.
It proves you've been lying to us.
Kelly told us the toe-rag
had been giving her trouble.
I rang to warn him off.
No, no, no. Stuart Mayfield
had already done that.
And we know about that
little set up an' all.
Business acquaintance.
Who told you where Nathan was hiding?
You went to see him up
at that farm near Alnwick.
What farm? I've never been near any farm.
You sure about that?
Aye, crystal.
Well, we'll come back to that.
In the meantime, you're looking
at a stretch for assault,
bearing in mind your Prevention Order,
cos Kelly Horton has
decided to press charges.
- She'll never testify.
- What, you'll see to that, will you?
No one's gonna believe that lying cow.
Nah.
I grew up around fellas like you.
You don't frighten me, love.
Read him his rights.
- I've told you everything I know.
- Here's the thing, I don't think you have.
Now, I've been going through your property
portfolio, residential and commercial.
Oh, it's pretty impressive!
And I'd wager good money that one of
these lock-ups you've got on your books
is where Adam Gascoigne stores his heroin.
I don't know what he's
been storing in there.
Turn a blind eye, do you?
Look, he said if I wanted
to keep seeing Kelly that...
Oh, look, there's no easy
way to tell you this, love,
they've been giving you the runaround.
And I've got a team of detectives
right now over at your office
confiscating your assets.
- You can't do that!
- Save it for a detective from Vice, love.
Because if I'm proved right, that
little dalliance you had with Kelly,
oh, that's the least of your worries!
- Ma'am, have you got a second?
- Yes, Kenny.
I've pulled out a couple of unsolved
burglaries in the Alnmouth area,
the months leading up to
the China Farm murder.
That pawnbroker was
questioned over one of them.
- Handling stolen goods.
- Auntie Val?
Yeah. A minor was also arrested.
He was released without
charge. The record was wiped.
But his name's still on the rap sheet.
Nathan Weaver.
But there's still nothing
to tie them to China Farm.
Yeah, well, you just
hold that thought, Kenny.
Have a look at that and
tell me what you see.
Laura Thurston.
Have a look at her hand
and tell me what you see.
She's wearing the mourning ring!
- You coming or what?
- Ma'am!
You've known Nathan
Weaver for over 13 years.
Yeah, I knew him.
Him and every chancer that
ever walked through that door.
The pair of you were questioned
over a series of burglaries.
That was years ago. A misunderstanding.
Does the name Laura Thurston
mean anything to you?
- I can't say it does.
- Well, she was murdered.
Just around the same
time as those burglaries.
Oh, farmer's wife. He put
a bullet in her, didn't he?
Oh, it's all coming
back to you now, is it?
Nathan broke into that
farmhouse 13 years ago
to steal jewellery for you to sell on.
No.
Well, you've already identified the
mourning ring, pet, Laura Thurston's ring,
and that's evidence enough
to tie you to the murder.
I didn't see any of it!
He told me he'd just
dumped it all in the river.
Ma'am.
That inscription on that mourning
ring, "Let the truth guide me".
Sorry, you've lost me, ma'am.
What if it was Nathan who
killed that farmer's wife?
Couldn't live with what he'd done.
Kept that ring with him all
this time, cos he was grieving.
Anything?
We re-examined the area where
they found Laura's body.
I ran some tests on that
window at the side of the house.
There were some skin cells
snagged on the catch.
Was it Nathan Weaver's?
That's still inconclusive.
The sample shared a significant
number of genetic markers.
Yeah, well, it's gotta be him, hasn't it?
Well, we could only
manage a partial profile.
It could be Nathan's DNA, or just
somebody closely related to him.
Well, there's only him and his mam,
and I couldn't see her
shinning up any drainpipes!
Unless there's more to
Dad than she's letting on.
Just a couple more questions, Mrs Weaver.
Nathan's dad, you said he took off.
Something like that, yeah.
- Nathan keep in touch with him?
- His dad didn't want to know.
- Have you got an address?
- Maybe. Somewhere.
But what's he got to do with all this?
Why did he leave, if you
don't mind me asking?
Another woman.
He started seeing her
just after we got married.
He even had a son with her.
Clearly preferred him to Nathan.
Nathan had a brother?
Half-brother.
- How can I get in touch
with him, love? - Joe?
What do you want him for?
Oh, just routine.
So it's Joe Weaver, is it?
No, he took his mam's name.
- Connell.
- Thanks, love.
I've answered all your questions.
It's your foreman we're
after, Joe Connell.
He's had the afternoon off. Said
he was going to the hospital.
All units to Meldon Park Hospital.
Let me get that.
Get an ANPR on Joe's van.
Look, I've gotta get you
away from Adam Gascoigne.
I can't just take off. Not without Kyle.
We'll come back for
Kyle once you're sorted.
And how's it going to look,
me running out on him?
You grassed, Kelly. You think
you're ever gonna be safe here?
Go on.
She checked herself out ten minutes ago.
Well, she can't have gone far.
We're looking for a Transit.
- She said she'd protect me, that copper.
- You've got me to protect you.
- It's what Nate would have wanted.
- Why would you care? You left him to rot.
You and Kyle are all I've
got left of my brother.
- Where are we going to go?
- Somewhere safe. Lie low for a bit.
- Get in the van.
- This doesn't feel right.
- Just do as you're told.
- I'm not going anywhere.
- Get in the bloody van, Kelly!
- It's you they're after.
- What have you done?
- Shut up.
What did you do to him?
- What did you do to him?
- Shut up!
Hey! Joe! Hey!
Joe Connell, I'm arresting you
for the murder of Nathan Weaver.
Hey, it's all right, love.
It's all right, it's finished.
When did you find out
your brother was dead?
The day you turned up at the factory.
It must have been a shock.
You didn't bat an eyelid.
Nathan was bad news.
So why did you wangle him a job at
the factory, if he was such bad news?
He said he was desperate,
he needed the work.
And all said and done,
he's still my brother.
How long have you been
working at that factory?
About 15 years.
I started off as a driver.
Did you ever pick up
supplies from China Farm?
Eddie Thurston's place.
I might have been there a few
times back in the day, I think.
I think you went up there last week.
Why would I do that?
We found tyre tracks that
match your delivery van.
Nah.
Any one of the drivers could
have borrowed it, so...
And Nathan called you
the night he was killed.
Look, that's your number, isn't it?
I haven't seen my brother
since he walked off the job.
And we've got a witness,
heard you both arguing.
We've got your shoeprints up on the bridge,
along with traces of Nathan's blood,
and we've got your fingerprints
right along the safety rail.
That doesn't mean I killed him.
Ah, you admit you were there, then?
And then you went after Kelly
to shut her up, didn't you?
Because you were worried how
much Nathan might have told her.
- About what?
- The China Farm murder.
- I don't have to look at this.
- You cased that farmhouse, didn't you,
while you were picking up
supplies for the factory?
And then you went back later with
your brother to rob the place.
You had a nice little scam going
on, targeting Bennick's suppliers.
- Found yourself a fence.
- Ah, yeah.
Auntie Val, she's confirmed it all.
Oh...
- If that's what she told you, she's lying.
- Oh, you know who she is, then?
Then Eddie Thurston came home,
caught you threatening his wife,
- and he came at you with a gun...
- I wasn't there!
Oh, I think you were, love, because
we've got the DNA to prove it.
And then Nathan grabs hold of the gun,
and, in the scuffle, shoots Laura
Thurston where she's standing.
- Thurston killed his wife!
- Except he didn't, did he, pet?
Your brother shot her.
And it haunted him, what he'd done.
And when he finds out Eddie
Thurston's been refused parole,
after all that time in prison,
well, that sends him over the edge.
It was the drugs. It was the
drugs that messed him up.
- It just dragged us all down with him.
- Ah, well, at least he had a conscience.
Nathan was a bloody liability!
It was me that looked out for him!
It was always me! Thurston
would have killed him!
It was you who grabbed
that gun, wasn't it?
Not Nathan.
Oh...
It...
It...
It went off in my hand.
And Laura Thurston took the bullet
that was meant for your brother.
- I didn't mean to kill her.
- But you left her there.
You legged it, the pair of you, and
let Eddie Thurston take the rap.
Thurston was a bastard!
He deserved locking up,
that was the end of it!
It might have been the end of it
for you, but not your brother.
He said he kept hearing
that gunshot in his head.
It was an accident.
So why did you shoot her twice?
I didn't.
It was just the once, like I told you.
And then last week, on Wednesday
night, you went back up to that farm.
Why did you do that?
Right, Nathan called...
.. he wasn't making any sense.
God, he was off his
face on God knows what,
and he said he'd spoken to a priest,
needed to do the right thing.
- What, threatened to turn himself in?
- He had nothing to lose!
So you picked up that
wrench and went after him.
Murdered your brother
to save your own skin.
But then how were you to know that that
shot you put into Laura Thurston...
that didn't actually kill her?
Mr Thurston.
We're here to inform you
that a Mr Joe Connell has testified
to accidentally shooting your wife.
Claimed it happened during an
attempted burglary at your farm.
And we need you to
corroborate his statement.
Intruders.
- Didn't I tell you?
- Aye!
So what's the going rate
for wrongful conviction?
You claim the gun was fired twice, but Mr
Connell claims the gun was fired only once,
hitting your wife in the stomach.
Well, clearly he was lying.
We've spoken to Brian Bennick, the man
your wife was having an affair with,
and his testimony backs up the
original prosecution's case.
She was planning to leave you.
Do you wanna know the truth
of what happened that night?
Joe Connell didn't kill your wife.
Although he spent 13
years thinking he had.
She was wounded, but not fatally.
And if they hadn't scarpered,
they'd have realised that.
You could have saved her, if
you'd called an ambulance.
- I did call an ambulance.
- Aye.
But not before finishing
her cheating for good
and emptying the second
barrel into her chest.
What is this, another fit up?
Your wife wasn't bleeding when you made
that call and neither was she breathing.
She was already dead.
Guilty as charged.
You might wanna call that solicitor.
I hear you've arrested Nathan's killer.
Oh, aye. His brother, Joe Connell.
He's up in court in the morning.
His brother?
How much did Nathan tell you?
Enough.
I absolved him, told him he
had to be true to himself.
Oh, if only I....
Hey, the burden of guilt, eh?
Weighs heavily.
Easier not to dwell on things.
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God
Pray for us sinners
Now and at the hour of our death
Hey! Here, boy.
Unidentified male. Dog
walker found him in the water.
- Is that him?
- Yeah.
SOCOs hauled the body out.
- So what can you tell us, Tony?
- Late 20s.
Emaciated.
Signs of possible malnutrition.
How long's he been dead?
There's some post-mortem staining,
so, a few hours, I'd say.
So, some time last night. Drowned?
Unlikely. We've got a blunt trauma
wound to the back of the head.
A shiner, a cut lip.
What are those marks on his
arms? Are they needle tracks?
We found this in his trouser pocket.
Heroin wrap with a dealer's stamp.
What's that say? "Dark Angel."
Dealers like to stamp their gear.
Users know they're
getting quality product.
Well, if it's quality heroin,
that makes it OK, does it?
Put a call in to Vice,
see what they can tell us.
What's on the end of that chain?
That's a mourning ring.
Worn to remember the dead.
Right, well, I want a sweep
of this whole riverbank --
footprints, drag marks, the lot.
I'm gonna talk to that
fella who found him.
Can you give us a hand up, love?
I'm DCI Stanhope, I'm
heading the investigation.
Oh, I've already given
your copper a statement.
I won't keep you long, love.
You were out with your dog
when you found the lad?
Yeah, floating face down in the burn.
Have you seen him before?
Doubt he was local. He
doesn't look the type.
Did you see anyone else
on the path, in the woods?
No one about, not at that hour.
Ma'am.
So, can you give your address
to one of my officers?
And they'll make sure you get home.
I'd rather walk, clear my head.
Aye, I know how you feel.
I've got intel on the heroin wrap.
It's a brand that's been flooding
the streets in Gateshead.
Pretty potent stuff, by all accounts.
Oh, he's a city lad?
What's he doing all the way out here?
There's a needle exchange
on Altworth Road.
We should check it out,
see if someone knows him.
Yes, I do know him.
There you go.
His name's Nathan. He
came in twice a week.
- How well do you know him?
- He's a troubled soul.
Troubled? How?
Well, he had a rough time of things.
A lot of these kids, well, they
struggle just to stay on their feet.
We found his body in a
woodland up in Alnwick.
I don't know why he'd be up there.
Nathan was a creature of habit,
never strayed far from
his patch, you know.
Do you think he was homeless?
I'd set him up the odd night in a hostel,
but they shelter you
long-term if you're clean.
- When did you last see him?
- He came in two days ago.
Was he registered with
the exchange programme?
We don't ask for personal details. I
couldn't even tell you his surname.
What about his friends?
No one I can think of.
- Well, someone must be missing him.
- Oh, hang on, hang on.
There was a girl he sometimes
knocked around with.
I think she called herself Kelly.
Kelly? Another user?
I'm pretty sure she enrolled
on the methadone programme.
- Pharmacy would need an address.
- I'll talk to them.
If you do manage to track
down his next of kin,
perhaps I could pay them a visit?
You know, some small solace.
I'll keep you informed.
Thanks for your time, Father.
Excuse me, love.
So, he definitely died
from the blow to the head.
Fractured skull.
Internal bleeding.
Yeah, he was hit from
behind with some force.
Blood tests?
There were traces of opiates
in his blood and urine.
IV injection.
So, yes, he had been using last night.
- I've taken swabs for a DNA profile.
- Anything I can work with meantime?
The bruising to his ribs
and this shiner on his eye,
both consistent with some kind of assault.
Does suggest he might
have known his killer.
I'm gonna leave that little
puzzle for you to solve.
Violent struggle, puts up a fight...
.. comes off second best.
We're here about a friend of yours.
A regular down at the needle exchange.
We know his name is Nathan.
I've seen him around.
Wouldn't say we were friends.
Has something happened?
I'm afraid he was found
murdered last night, love.
Poor fella.
So when did you last run into Nathan?
Must have been a few days ago.
Didn't see him on Tuesday, when
you picked up your methadone?
I didn't get to the
centre at all this week.
Picked it up from a chemist in town.
We found this in Nathan's pocket.
Do you know who he might
have scored that off?
Could be any of the dealers in Newcastle.
Now, Father O'Brien, he
told us Nathan was homeless.
Well, if that's what he told you.
What about his family?
He never mention anyone?
We just need to give them the news, pet.
I think his surname was Weaver.
I know he didn't get on with his mam.
Grew up in one of those mining towns,
somewhere like Ellington.
Right, well, that's something
to be going on with.
Well, if there's nothing else...
Are you expecting company?
- What if I am?
- Nothing, no.
This your own place, is it?
- That's right.
- Nice view!
Where were you last evening?
- I was here all night.
- Verify that, can you?
Well, short of phoning up a client
for a character reference...
Look, I'm sorry he's dead.
Really, I am.
But there's nothing I can tell you.
Right, well, we'll leave
you to it. Thanks.
If anything does spring
to mind, ask for CID.
Business must be good,
plush pad on the river.
The place doesn't look lived in.
You reckon she's hiding something?
She was frightened, I know that much.
I tell you what, let's apply
for a surveillance order.
And get on to the Land Registry,
find out who really owns that flat.
Nathan Weaver.
Late 20s, victim of a violent assault.
His body was found by a dog walker,
Jeb Branning, in Brunhill Woods.
He's thought to have been
dead about six hours,
so killed late last night,
early hours of this morning.
Heroin addict, possibly homeless.
He was seen by a witness two days ago.
Needle exchange, Gateshead.
- A Father O'Brien.
- Who told us the lad was troubled.
I've got a witness statement here
from a regular at the exchange.
She claims that Nathan Weaver was dealing.
Well, the chances are,
this is drug related.
So, who was he working for
and who might he have crossed?
Kenny, have you got anything on
the stamp on this heroin wrap?
No one seems to recognise it.
But they're hardly gonna
shop their suppliers.
- Aye. - We've ran checks on his prints.
No record.
- Missing Persons?
- Nothing on the database.
We could issue a public appeal.
It might throw something up.
Aye. There's nothing to be
gained by keeping this quiet.
And what about this
ring, what have we got?
Antique. 18-carat gold.
-- Worth a bit, then.
There's an inscription.
"Veritas me dirigit".
Latin, that is, Kenny.
"Let the truth guide me".
Ooh!
Stone me!
Why hadn't he sold it?
He had a habit to finance.
Ah, now, that's my thinking exactly.
So run a check on the NMPR,
any recent burglaries, pilfered jewellery.
And what do we know about
this friend, Kelly Horton?
She has an online profile
with an escort agency.
It's how every self-respecting
client books a girl these days.
Well, I'll take your word for that, Kenny.
- Available for in-calls
only, ma'am. - Right.
Have you got any plans
for tonight, Hicham?
Football practice, pizza
and a pint with the lads.
Nah. Well, get yourself a takeaway, love,
because I want a watch on that flat.
Got you.
Have you got a licence for that?
Mrs Weaver?
- Oh! - We're here
about your son, Nathan.
What's he done?
You might wanna sit down, love.
God!
When did you last see Nathan?
He came round about three weeks ago.
First time I'd clapped
eyes on him in months.
How long has he been...?
What, an addict?
Since he was 17.
Around the time his dad walked out on us.
Well, that must have been hard
to deal with, all on your own.
It was!
Especially when he
started stealing from me.
Strange thing was that the last
time I saw him, he looked better.
He even talked about applying for a job.
Did he tell you where?
Somewhere in town.
On the factory floor.
And then he asked for a loan.
Didn't say what the money was for?
He said he owed some people.
Same old story.
Did this belong to you, love?
I've never seen it before.
Nathan was wearing it when we found him.
Probably nicked it off someone.
DS Healy.
This photo, love, can we borrow it?
"No one can help me, Mam."
That's what he said.
Maybe if I'd have let him come home.
It's not your fault, love.
The driver that picked up Kelly
last night, Hicham ran his plates.
And? Get that circulated.
It's registered to an Adam Gascoigne.
Just finished a five-year stretch.
Drug offences and violent
affray. Here he is.
Well, that might explain why
none of the users are talking.
He runs a salvage yard over in Blaydon.
Right, let's pay him a little visit.
Are you sure you wanna park there?
Very funny!
Adam Gascoigne?
DCI Vera Stanhope,
Northumberland and City Police.
We're investigating a homicide.
- What's that got to do with us?
- Didn't say it had, love.
Do you recognise this man?
- Should I?
- Name of Nathan Weaver.
Victim of a violent assault.
I'm six months into a Prevention Order.
Do you think I'd get mixed
up in something like that?
- We know he was dealing drugs.
- Asking for trouble, then, wasn't he?
We also know you've got previous,
possession with intent to supply.
I've put all that behind me.
You picked up a woman in this vehicle
last night, didn't you? Kelly Horton.
- She needed a lift.
- To one of your clients?
That's my business.
Where were you Wednesday evening?
Billiards club on the Durham Road.
Amateur tournament, came third.
- Didn't get home till 4:00am.
- Well, we can check.
You do that. Save you wasting my time.
We're done here.
Get Hicham down to that billiards
club, see if his alibi holds up.
We've got nothing to pin
him to Nathan Weaver.
He's a violent thug with form for
drugs, that'll do for starters.
That flat on the river...
is owned by a lettings company,
Mayfield Residential and Commercial.
So Kelly was lying.
Landlord's name's Stuart Mayfield.
But he's not at work till Monday.
Well, let's go and see him at home.
Biscuit would have been nice.
We had a couple of complaints
from one of the neighbours.
Noisy visitors late at night.
Aside from that, she's
never been any trouble.
- She always pays the rent on time.
- How does she pay you?
Direct debit, I think. 1st of every month.
Ever see this man at the flat?
I don't get over that way too often.
Haven't been round there in months.
- Stuart?
- I'll be right over, love.
Oh, it's a bit of a turnout.
Just a few of the neighbours.
If I'd known she was working from home...
Maybe we can keep this between us. It
wouldn't look too good for business.
Oh, I can't guarantee
that, sir, I'm afraid.
I'll make sure I take care of things.
We've just gone and got her evicted.
Yeah, well, I had to tell him something.
All he cares about is his reputation.
And do a run on his plates. Might
as well cover all our bases.
Mark.
I've pulled out Nathan
Weaver's bank statements.
- Not quite down and out.
- His current account was barely used,
but there is a recent deposit,
dated five days before he died.
Bennick's Convenience Food.
It's a factory over in Pelaw.
Thanks, Mark.
What did his mam say? Went for
a job on the factory floor?
We've reason to believe Nathan
Weaver had been working here.
Aye, we took him on. We
were looking for packers.
- He barely lasted a week.
- Why was that?
The foreman gave him his marching
orders. You'll need to talk to him.
Oi, Joe, a minute.
Nathan Weaver, that lad
you got shot of last week.
Ah, yeah. He'd had a few
warnings for turning up late,
I didn't need the aggravation.
We've got standards here at
Bennick's. Quality product.
Oh, aye!
Gave him plenty of chances
to sort himself out.
Even paid him up to the end of the week.
But between you and me, I
think he was on something.
He looked like he needed a good wash.
Did he make friends with
any of the other packers?
Nah. Nah, he wasn't here long enough.
What's he supposed to have done?
I'm afraid he's been murdered, love.
Sorry to hear that.
Is it all right if my
sergeant has an ask around?
Be my guest.
- And you must have some details.
- We should have his home address.
- Joe.
- Aye, it'll be in the office.
Just come round.
So much for being homeless.
For a job, might have put
down any old address.
A bit out of the way, though.
He's keeping his head down,
if someone's out to get him.
There's someone in there.
Police. Open up, please!
I let him stay here sometimes.
He had nowhere else to go.
So why lie to us?
I open the door to a couple of coppers,
you tell me Nathan's been murdered,
I wasn't thinking straight.
Well, now you've had a bit of time,
perhaps you'd like to think about
giving us some straight answers.
Mam!
It's all right, sweetheart.
We're just talking.
Nathan's stuff's in the bedroom upstairs.
How long have the two
of you been together?
We weren't. Not really.
We met at the centre.
It must have been five years ago.
Fell in with each other.
Suppose it was easier
than being on my own.
So, the bairn... Nathan's?
I'm still trying to take it all in.
The meth, it numbs you, shuts you down.
- None of this seems real.
- What's the lad's name?
Kyle.
So who looks after Kyle
when you're working?
Child minder. Lives round the corner.
I'm a good mum.
And I'm trying to find
out who killed his dad.
So if there's anything you can tell me
that might shed some light on that, pet...
He tapped me for some cash, said
he was going into town to score.
- When was this?
- Over a week ago.
Well, weren't you worried
when he didn't come home?
He used to take off sometimes.
Disappeared for days.
- Do you know where he went?
- Nathan did as he pleased.
He hated being tied down.
He could never go far from the
smack, though. Always pulled him back.
Well, we know he was dealing
to pay for his habit.
Who told you that?
He was selling drugs down
at the needle exchange.
So, I'll ask you again, where's
he getting this heroin from?
- I don't know.
- Not Adam Gascoigne, then?
We know he picked you up from
that swanky flat last night.
You've been keeping tabs on me?
Well, if you'd been honest
with us from the start...
- If he knew I'd been talking...
- What, he'd come after you?
Oh, that's why you were hiding
with the curtains drawn?
Look, love, if someone's threatening
you, we can offer you protection.
I'm doing fine on my own.
Under the thumb of a drug-dealing thug?
You don't get it, do you?
This has always been somewhere safe,
somewhere away from the girl in that flat,
and now you've brought it all here.
I don't know what happened to Nathan,
and I'd rather it stayed that way,
so, please, just leave us alone.
Kyle!
Ma'am.
Anything?
A few clothes, sleeping bag.
I found this in his pocket.
- Father O'Brien?
- Chances are he did a runner.
Nah. Abandon his son?
- The lad's his?
- Mm.
- Probably for the best, then.
- Hark at you!
Dad six months, suddenly
you're Father of the Year.
I was just saying, we could be
looking at a Child Protection issue.
- And Max will be one next week.
- Who?
Oh, right.
Is he?
Yeah, we're having a
few drinks and a cake.
- Oh. - So, you know, if you're free...
Well, I'll tell you what, I'll
drop you back at the station,
you can do a routine enquiry
with social services.
Yeah. It's better to be safe than sorry.
We managed to locate
Nathan's mam, a Diane Weaver.
Ah, you could have left her address
at the centre, saved yourself a trip.
I wanted to talk to you about Nathan.
See, you told me he was troubled.
Well, that was the impression I got.
Yeah, well, I think you knew
him a bit better than that.
You gave him a character reference
for that job at Bennick's.
Well, I was just trying to
get him back on his feet.
And I found this in one of his
pockets, The Sacrament of Confession.
Uh-huh.
Well, he must have picked
it up from the centre.
Well, anything he confided in you
could help shed light on how he died.
You know I can't break the
seal of the confessional.
So he did confess to something, then?
Ma'am, a lorry driver's come in.
Says he gave Nathan a
lift on the night he died.
- I've put him in the interview room.
- Right. Mark, give us that.
Make him another one.
Yeah, that's him.
He was hitching by the
Blue House roundabout.
- What time was this?
- Around nine o'clock Wednesday evening.
So where did you drop him?
Hedgeley Services.
I stopped off to get some
fuel, went in to pay,
realised I'd left my wallet in the cab,
and the thieving toe-rag had nicked
it, ran off across the fields.
Oh. Thanks.
Salmon and cucumber?
I got you the healthy option.
Meaning?
What have you got?
Cheese and pickle. Do you wanna swap?
Go on, then.
What did the cashier have to say?
- Well, she was definitely
working that night. - And?
- Doesn't remember seeing Nathan.
- CCTV?
No, nothing we can work with.
He left Gateshead under his own steam,
on edge, in a hurry, thumbs a lift.
And then does a bunk.
Steals a wallet, so he'll
wanna keep away from the road.
And it's what... It's gone
10:00, it's dark, cold.
He'd be looking for somewhere to kip.
Nearest village is a couple of miles away.
Where's the river from here?
His body was found a mile from here.
So where do you think he was heading, hm?
Check out those outbuildings.
Ma'am!
Have a look at this.
Get on to the station, find
out what happened here.
Looks like Nathan made himself at home.
Right, then, Nathan Weaver.
Possibly killed here.
Or at the house.
Dumped in the river, floats
downstream to where we found him.
That would explain why
the riverbank was clean.
What's the story with this
farmhouse? Any intel yet?
Scene of a homicide.
Domestic: Farmer shot his wife.
That's gotta be over ten years ago.
So Nathan comes across
an old murder scene,
ends up dead himself.
Well, that puts a new slant
on things, doesn't it?
Right, Nathan Weaver
broke into a farmhouse
and it looks like that's
where he's been dossing.
But it also happens to be the
scene of a previous homicide.
China Farm Murder?
Poultry farmer, Edward Thurston,
convicted for killing his wife.
Currently serving life in Dursdale nick.
The farm was on the market for a
few years, couldn't get a buyer.
He's always protested his innocence.
Claimed to have run into intruders.
Thurston shot her. He made up
a story to cover his tracks.
- How do you know that?
- I worked on the case.
Oh, well, perhaps you can fill
us in with the facts, Kenny.
His wife was playing away, Laura Thurston.
She'd packed her bags on
the night she was killed.
So he shot her in cold blood?
Eddie Thurston's a piece of work.
Was there anyone else in
the frame for the murder?
It was 13 years ago... I'll
have to look up the file.
One of the neighbours was
questioned as a suspect.
He'd had a previous altercation
with Eddie Thurston.
A dog walker who was
trespassing on his land.
A dog walker?
This fella got a name?
Well, well, well!
Mr Branning?
Hello?
Mr Branning?
DCI Stanhope.
Mr Branning.
Mr Branning?
- Aiden!
- No one's going anywhere.
Calm down! Just calm down!
If you're gonna lamp me with
that, you better get on with it.
Look, we just need to
talk to you, that's all.
Am I... under arrest?
No, but you will be if you
don't put that thing down.
Come on.
Sorry to keep you, Mr Branning.
Now, according to your statement,
you found Nathan Weaver's body
about 7:00am Thursday morning.
- I was walking the dog.
- Mm.
But let's go back to the night before.
You went for a walk in the fields.
Other side of the woods.
Did you walk across Eddie Thurston's land?
Well, let's see if this helps.
Now, if you walked from
your house to the fields,
you'd have gone right through his farm.
I set a few snares, that's all.
Laura Thurston's murder.
You were questioned as a
possible suspect, weren't you?
What's Laura got to do with all this?
Well, now we've got a second murder
and we're talking to you
as a person of interest.
Now, that's either
rotten luck on your part,
or a bit of a coincidence,
wouldn't you say?
Didn't care for Eddie
Thurston much, did you?
- No one did.
- Ah, but you argued with him.
- A violent altercation according to this.
- He came at me pointing a shotgun.
Told me to get off his land.
Ah, he said you'd been harassing his wife.
I ran into her sometimes, that's all.
She used to go for walks
to get away from him.
Jealous sort, was he?
Hm! Loose with his fists
and tight with his money.
Kept it all under the mattress.
And how do you know that little nugget?
People talk.
Now, I think you'd been
watching that farmhouse
and you knew Nathan had broken in.
No.
Did you see him up there
the night he was killed?
I told you, I found him in the river.
Well, I've got a forensics
team up at the farmhouse.
We'll soon know if you're
telling us the truth.
Ma'am, we can definitely place
Nathan in the farmhouse.
DNA and fibre matches. His
prints are all over the scene.
- It's Jeb Branning we need to pin down!
- We found footprints in the farmyard
that don't match the victim's,
more near the bridge.
Forensics are checking
Jeb's shoes and clothes.
There's some tyre treads
in the mud on the lane.
- Does Jeb Branning own a vehicle?
- We've checked, he doesn't drive.
Right, I want the search moved up
to the house from the riverbank.
We're looking for a murder weapon.
All right to go in?
Oh, SOCOs have set up
in the kitchen, ma'am.
Must be giving you the chills,
Kenny, back to the scene of a murder.
Well, I never expected to set
foot in this place again.
I tell you what, get yourself
over to Jeb Branning's.
I want a detective over there.
I thought you needed help with a sweep?
Oh, Hicham can cover
it, fresh pair of eyes.
Go on, we can manage.
Ma'am.
Nathan's prints are all over this room.
Probably looking for stuff to nick.
So, what do we think?
Jeb Branning knows the
lad's been snooping.
Is he afraid he's gonna find something?
Something to tie him to
Laura Thurston's death.
What, then kills him to silence him?
- Nah. Don't think he's got it in him.
- He did wave a big bloody stick at us.
Two murders, one crime scene.
This old case. Abusive relationship.
She calls it quits.
All set to leave him.
According to Kenny, she was playing away.
- But Thurston always denied that.
- Well, it gave him a motive to kill her.
Hm.
Look.
He comes home, finds his
wife with her bags packed.
He gets a shotgun from this cupboard.
Forensics found the slug
cases in the hallway.
And her body was found?
- Bottom of the stairs.
- Right.
So, he comes through this
door with a shotgun, right?
Now, she's coming down the stairs.
Right, here she comes.
I'll be Laura, you be
Eddie. Get over there.
Right, now, come on, shoot me.
- Bang.
- Yeah, twice.
- Bang. - She falls
down, fatally injured.
There's blood on the walls and the
skirting according to the crime report.
One shot to the stomach, one to the chest.
A farmer, used to handling guns...
.. he has to take two shots to
kill her, point blank range?
Cold-blooded killer, profile fits.
Unless Eddie Thurston's telling the truth,
and there were intruders
in the house that night.
Mr Thurston.
You've consented to a voluntary interview.
I'd like to ask you a few questions
about an ongoing investigation.
This fella was found dead near
your farm a couple of days ago,
and we've reason to believe
he'd broken into your farmhouse.
Do you recognise him?
Never seen him before.
Can I take you back to the
night your wife was shot?
Now, you claimed there were intruders
in the house the night your wife died.
Burglary.
It's all in my statement.
Well, I'd like to hear
your version of events.
Why? So you can twist my
words, like they did last time?
Make me into a liar?
Well, if you don't want to
talk, that's your prerogative.
Completely understand.
Put this down to a wasted journey.
I come back late.
The front door was wide open.
She was upstairs.
I could hear her screaming.
Laura was upstairs?
I fetched a shotgun.
I didn't have time to think.
One of them had a...
.. knife to her throat...
.. and...
Just take your time.
Another fella jumped me
from behind, grabbed the gun.
What happened then was...
Well, Laura, she's lying
on the floor, and she's...
.. bleeding.
Did you see their faces, the lads?
No, they were wearing scarves.
Hoods over their heads.
Could Jeb Branning have been one of them?
He knew the farm well enough.
Now, you say these intruders
made off with certain items.
Do you recognise this?
- It might be Laura's.
- Can you be certain?
It's been 13 years.
Right, we're done here.
They refused my parole, do you hear?
But I didn't kill anyone.
They stitched me up.
Refuses parole, his one chance of freedom.
After 13 years banged up,
you'd just say you did it.
You think he could be innocent?
Let's say he's telling the truth,
the killer could still be out there.
Puts Jeb Branning in the frame.
So who was the other intruder, hm?
Nah, Jeb Branning's a
loner, one man and his dog.
And that ring, if that was your wife's,
you'd recognise it, wouldn't you?
After 13 years?
Well, those are the sort of things
you hang on to, things you remember.
Get Mark on the case.
Jewellers, pawn shops.
I mean, if Nathan really
was fleecing that farmhouse,
stealing Laura's stuff to sell on...
- Someone must have
been buying it. - Right!
Ma'am!
- You went to see
Thurston in prison? - Aye.
Needed to ask him some questions.
I should have been there with you.
You put the man away, Kenny, no
telling how he would have reacted.
Thurston plays people. He
gets his kicks out of it.
Oh. Think he got the
measure of me, do you?
No.
What makes you so sure he's guilty?
That feeling you get
after years at the job.
I know he did it.
Gut instinct's all very well, Kenny, as
long as it's backed up with hard evidence.
- It was. - Well, there's
nothing to worry about, then.
Ma'am, there's a
pawnbrokers over in Blaydon,
it's a couple of streets
from the needle exchange.
It's where all the
addicts pawn their stuff.
Run by a woman known as Auntie Val.
Right, come on, let's go see Auntie.
How can I help?
We're trying to trace the
movements of this man.
We think he might have
been one of your customers.
- Doesn't ring any bells.
- No?
He was caught on a surveillance
camera entering and leaving your shop.
Now, I think on, he was in
here some time last week.
Hm. Name of Nathan Weaver.
Junkie, was he?
What makes you say that?
We get them in here all the time.
They'd sell you their
shoes if it paid for a fix.
Ah, well, we think he was trying
to hock some stuff in a hurry.
Most of my customers are.
No. Nothing on "loans outstanding".
DS Healey, I reckon most
of this stuff's knocked off.
- How long to come back with a warrant?
- 20 minutes.
Yeah, we'll tear the place apart.
He'd turn up every few weeks or so.
Pocket full of jewellery.
Where's he getting it from?
- I just buy it and sell it.
- No questions asked?
Look, if any of that stuff was nicked,
obviously I wouldn't have touched it.
Did he ever try to flog you this?
Oh, now...
.. that he wouldn't part with.
Sentimental value, he said. They'll
do anything to put the price up.
He'll be back on the make
when the money runs out.
And if he shows his face,
I'll give you a call.
Ah, a bit late for that, love.
He's been murdered.
Surveillance camera?
Well, it did the trick, got her talking.
And do a background check on Auntie Val.
She's as bent as a dog's hind leg.
Ma'am, I'm at Jeb Branning's place.
Looks like we've found something.
We found a steel wrench
hidden in your bathroom.
Traces of Nathan Weaver's blood.
We found your footprints
up near the farmhouse,
which proves you've been lying to us.
I've got enough evidence to
charge you with his murder.
I found it!
Up near the bridge in the long grass.
- I took it home.
- Now, why on earth would you do that?
I just pick things up.
I can't help myself sometimes.
So what were you doing
up at the farmhouse?
I knew he'd broken in, the dead lad.
I was gonna confront him, warn him off.
That was when the other
fella drove up from the lane.
Well, what did this other fella look like?
It was pitch black!
Headlights were blinding!
So, this vehicle pulls
up to the farmhouse?
The lad came out to meet him.
Nathan.
- And then what?
- They started shouting.
Sounded like a fight. The lad
took off towards the bridge.
It all went quiet for a while.
The next thing I know, he
drives off like the clappers.
Nearly ran me off the lane!
So what happened to Nathan?
I went up to the bridge.
There was no sign of anyone.
That was when I found it, the wrench.
And you wait until the following
morning to ring the police?
I wasn't supposed to be there.
Friction from the plastic bags
wiped off any of the prints.
Well, anyone could have
had their hands on it!
Yeah, I'll run some tests for DNA,
but I'm not holding out much hope.
What about the crime scene, anything?
Tyre treads back up his statement.
Large vehicle, something substantial.
The footprints on the bridge,
they don't match either Jeb's or
the trainers worn by the victim.
- So someone else was up there.
- Mm-hm.
First thing tomorrow morning, I
want you back up at that farm.
There's not a lot more we can get.
No, I want a fresh forensic sweep
of the Laura Thurston murder scene.
Seriously?
A 13-year-old homicide?
Unless you don't think
you're up for the challenge?
No, no. Challenge duly noted. Count me in.
Thanks, Tony.
All right.
Hold off charging Jeb Branning for now.
Sorry? Ma'am?
But we found the murder
weapon hidden in his house.
We've got him bang to rights.
Well, he maintains there was
someone else up at that farm,
and forensic evidence backs that up.
Well, he's been in custody 24 hours,
we either charge him, or we let him go.
Well, charge him with
obstructing a murder enquiry.
And in the meantime, let's have a
look at Eddie Thurston's conviction,
because I think there's a
connection to Nathan Weaver.
I told you, we are wasting
our time with Eddie Thurston!
Well, you're just gonna
have to indulge me, Kenny.
Fine!
Well, Eddie Thurston said
he disturbed a robbery.
Right, we all know he was a tightwad,
kept his hard-earned under the mattress.
- Who else might have known about that?
- I've been looking into Thurston's finances.
The farm was in trouble.
Well, draw up a list of all
his business associates --
suppliers, customers, the lot.
What about his wife, this
affair she was having?
Well, we know her bags were
packed, but where was she heading?
I'll have to inform the CPS
if we're reopening the case.
We're reviewing the case, because it's
relevant to the current investigation!
Now, can we please just concentrate
on our number one priority,
and that's finding Nathan Weaver's killer.
Yes, ma'am.
Sorry to disturb you so late, ma'am.
I...
Better come in.
So, what couldn't wait?
It's hardly a social call, Kenny.
The China Farm murder case.
Ah, wanna get something off your chest?
I was the first officer on the scene.
Aye, I know you were. It's all in the log.
But I must confess to being a tad puzzled.
Now, here, look at this.
Here's the initial photos
taken at the scene here.
The sitting room.
The windowsill is completely clear, right?
But in the official CSI
photos, two hours later...
.. look at this.
Same windowsill.
There's a bloody great vase on it!
We were working with a new police
surgeon. First day on the job.
Well, I could see he was
a bit nervous, covering.
He knocked the vase onto the floor.
So I picked it up, put it back
and told him not to worry.
It was only later, I realised...
You should have put it
back on the bookcase.
Right? But you put it on the windowsill.
So when CSIs processed the scene,
they didn't consider this particular
window as a possible point of entry
for those intruders Thurston
was banging on about.
- It was an honest mistake.
- Aye, but you covered it up!
We were all under pressure
to get a conviction.
It would compromise the crime scene.
Yeah, well, now you've compromised
my investigation, Kenny!
That's why we're talking.
If we had found some evidence that
gave weight to this burglary...
.. then Eddie Thurston's
testimony might have stacked up.
Get yourself home, Kenny, we'll
talk about this in the morning.
Goodnight, ma'am.
Ma'am...
Kelly?
Come on.
Nearly there.
Come on.
Good, good. You've got one more.
Just in there.
Ma'am. I've been trying to call you. I've
got news on the China Farm murder case.
Yeah, well, I'm here
now, what's so important?
- You told us to look at Thurston's
business accounts. - Have you done it?
He'd lost a contract with his biggest
customer, Bennick's Convenience Foods.
What?
Of course, Thurston was a poultry farmer.
It's the factory where Nathan was sacked.
The contract was terminated six weeks
before Laura Thurston was murdered.
Was it, indeed?
If Brian Bennick was doing
business with Eddie Thurston...
He'd have been at that
farm on a regular basis.
- So where does Nathan fit in to all this?
- Disgruntled ex-employee,
holding a grudge, finds out
the dirt on Brian and Eddie.
- So what did they fall out about?
- It's usually money.
Oh, no.
I think it was something more than that.
Aiden, with me.
Is the gaffer about?
We're a bit pushed this
morning. Maybe I can help?
I'll deal with this, Joe.
Ah, Mr Bennick, I've just got a
couple more questions for you.
We can talk inside.
Everything OK?
I need a list of all the vehicles
registered to your company.
- What's all this about?
- Just following procedure.
Aye, we had a contract
with Eddie Thurston.
Most of our suppliers
have always been local.
But the contract was
cancelled. Why was that?
Difficult man to do business with. He
didn't leave us with a lot of choice.
Did you ever have any
dealings with Thurston's wife,
the woman who was murdered?
- Laura had nothing to do with the business.
- First names, then?
I might have met her once or twice.
I think Eddie Thurston
cancelled that contract
because he found out his
missus had been playing away.
Now have a little peek at these.
Purchase orders signed by you and
countersigned by Laura Thurston.
She was your first port
of call up at the farm.
That when it started, hm?
The affair.
- Well, I'll take that as a yes.
- He used to knock her about.
I'd see her in the office,
trying to hide the bruises.
I suppose I felt sorry for her.
So you went to the farm
that night to pick her up?
- No.
- Eddie comes home early,
finds the pair of you doing a flit.
- That not how it happened!
- We've found a connection
between you and Nathan Weaver,
that lad who was murdered,
and not just to do with working here.
He's been staying up at China Farm.
- What?
- Mm!
You send him packing
with a flea in his ear.
Did he find something to tie
you to Laura Thurston's murder?
I had nothing to do with her murder.
And can you see why I
find that hard to believe?
All right!
Yeah, we made plans.
It was too fast.
We didn't think it through.
She was waiting for me up at the farm...
.. but I couldn't go through with it.
I could've stopped it, if only
I'd had the balls to go up there.
But I didn't.
I just drove away.
Next day, it was all over the news.
No mention of you, luckily!
Lucky?
I live with it, for 13
years, what he did to her.
Eddie Thurston killed his wife.
Everyone knows it.
Ma'am. I ran those checks
on Stuart Mayfield's plates.
And?
We got this from a surveillance
camera by the needle exchange.
Tuesday night, 10:15.
That's the night before Nathan was killed.
Is that Stuart Mayfield
driving? I can't see his face.
Oh, here comes Kelly.
And here's Nathan, our dead man walking.
And there he is, Stuart Mayfield.
No wonder he wanted this buried!
The pair of them are lying
through their teeth.
Right, now, here we are.
Now, you told me you hadn't seen
Kelly for a couple of months.
That's right.
But the pair of you were caught
on CCTV threatening Nathan Weaver,
who you said you didn't know,
the day before he disappeared.
He'd been hassling Kelly.
She called me, asked me to pick her up.
You were a client.
It wasn't just a paid-for thing.
Now, what goes on between consenting
adults, that's none of my business.
But it does make me wonder
what else you're hiding.
I don't know what you mean.
For example, Adam Gascoigne, what did
he think of your little arrangement?
And don't try telling me
you don't know him either,
because you called each
other on a regular basis.
He knew I'd been seeing Kelly.
Found out I was in property.
Offered me a deal.
- What sort of deal?
- I agreed to let her use the flat.
Gave Adam the keys to some
other empty properties.
Places his girls could entertain in.
- Ooh! Get a cut of the profits? - No.
So what was in it for you?
I play ball, I get to keep seeing Kelly.
If I don't... the wife gets to
hear about what we've been up to.
OK.
So let's go back to Tuesday.
What were you arguing about?
Nathan started mouthing off. I'd
already warned him to watch his step.
Oh... homeless junkie
dragging Kelly into the gutter?
He didn't deserve her. I told him as much.
So you saw Nathan Weaver as a
threat to your relationship.
I didn't mean...
You warned him off, which makes me
think you had unfinished business.
That was the last time I saw him.
Ma'am, a word.
I'll be back.
A neighbour of Kelly's just
called in a disturbance.
Paramedics found her beaten up.
- Where is she?
- They've taken her to AAU.
Get your coat.
You need to be brave for me.
Just until I'm better.
This lady is gonna look after you.
Right, you talk to the social
worker, I'll go see Kelly.
Your son's in safe hands.
That's supposed to put my mind at rest?
Just give me a name, love,
the man who did this to you.
I got this for talking to you!
He said next time it'd be Kyle.
There won't be a next time, not
if I have anything to do with it.
I'll tell you what I know if you
put in a word with social services.
Ah, that's out of my hands, love.
But if you cooperate, I'll make sure
you're presented in a favourable light.
Now, you told me you hadn't
seen Nathan for over a week.
I'd thrown him out. I had to.
But you saw him the night
before he left town.
You called Stuart Mayfield
to come and warn him off.
Stuart can be overprotective.
They pay for your time,
they think they own you.
You were playing your landlord like
a fiddle, you and Adam Gascoigne.
Now, I think you owe me the truth,
love. You certainly owe it to Nathan.
Nathan turned up at the centre.
He was rattling, he needed a fix. He
said he wanted to see his son before...
Before what?
He said he was leaving. He was scared.
- Well, who was he running from?
- I don't know.
- Adam Gascoigne?
- I don't know!
I meant what I said about protection.
- A copper outside the front door?
- If that's what it takes, yes, love!
Kelly, you've got to trust me.
Nathan was buying his gear from him.
Adam gave him a loan
whenever he was short.
At first he'd just front him for a
bag or two, let him build up a debt.
But made sure Nathan owed him.
It all got out of hand
when Nathan couldn't pay.
He started using the stuff
instead of selling it on.
It was like he didn't care any more.
So how much did he owe?
A couple of thousand.
That's hardly enough to get him killed.
You don't know Adam,
the people he works for.
Do you think Adam Gascoigne killed Nathan?
He told me Nathan had got
what was coming to him.
The debt was still outstanding.
File an assault charge, love.
Just make a statement. I'll
make sure he's locked up.
All right, everyone,
show's over. As you were.
I have a warrant to search these premises.
Phone records, emails, business contacts,
anything that ties him to Nathan Weaver.
Phone log of calls made and received by
Nathan Weaver the week before he died.
You called Nathan twice
the day he was murdered.
Doesn't prove anything.
It proves you've been lying to us.
Kelly told us the toe-rag
had been giving her trouble.
I rang to warn him off.
No, no, no. Stuart Mayfield
had already done that.
And we know about that
little set up an' all.
Business acquaintance.
Who told you where Nathan was hiding?
You went to see him up
at that farm near Alnwick.
What farm? I've never been near any farm.
You sure about that?
Aye, crystal.
Well, we'll come back to that.
In the meantime, you're looking
at a stretch for assault,
bearing in mind your Prevention Order,
cos Kelly Horton has
decided to press charges.
- She'll never testify.
- What, you'll see to that, will you?
No one's gonna believe that lying cow.
Nah.
I grew up around fellas like you.
You don't frighten me, love.
Read him his rights.
- I've told you everything I know.
- Here's the thing, I don't think you have.
Now, I've been going through your property
portfolio, residential and commercial.
Oh, it's pretty impressive!
And I'd wager good money that one of
these lock-ups you've got on your books
is where Adam Gascoigne stores his heroin.
I don't know what he's
been storing in there.
Turn a blind eye, do you?
Look, he said if I wanted
to keep seeing Kelly that...
Oh, look, there's no easy
way to tell you this, love,
they've been giving you the runaround.
And I've got a team of detectives
right now over at your office
confiscating your assets.
- You can't do that!
- Save it for a detective from Vice, love.
Because if I'm proved right, that
little dalliance you had with Kelly,
oh, that's the least of your worries!
- Ma'am, have you got a second?
- Yes, Kenny.
I've pulled out a couple of unsolved
burglaries in the Alnmouth area,
the months leading up to
the China Farm murder.
That pawnbroker was
questioned over one of them.
- Handling stolen goods.
- Auntie Val?
Yeah. A minor was also arrested.
He was released without
charge. The record was wiped.
But his name's still on the rap sheet.
Nathan Weaver.
But there's still nothing
to tie them to China Farm.
Yeah, well, you just
hold that thought, Kenny.
Have a look at that and
tell me what you see.
Laura Thurston.
Have a look at her hand
and tell me what you see.
She's wearing the mourning ring!
- You coming or what?
- Ma'am!
You've known Nathan
Weaver for over 13 years.
Yeah, I knew him.
Him and every chancer that
ever walked through that door.
The pair of you were questioned
over a series of burglaries.
That was years ago. A misunderstanding.
Does the name Laura Thurston
mean anything to you?
- I can't say it does.
- Well, she was murdered.
Just around the same
time as those burglaries.
Oh, farmer's wife. He put
a bullet in her, didn't he?
Oh, it's all coming
back to you now, is it?
Nathan broke into that
farmhouse 13 years ago
to steal jewellery for you to sell on.
No.
Well, you've already identified the
mourning ring, pet, Laura Thurston's ring,
and that's evidence enough
to tie you to the murder.
I didn't see any of it!
He told me he'd just
dumped it all in the river.
Ma'am.
That inscription on that mourning
ring, "Let the truth guide me".
Sorry, you've lost me, ma'am.
What if it was Nathan who
killed that farmer's wife?
Couldn't live with what he'd done.
Kept that ring with him all
this time, cos he was grieving.
Anything?
We re-examined the area where
they found Laura's body.
I ran some tests on that
window at the side of the house.
There were some skin cells
snagged on the catch.
Was it Nathan Weaver's?
That's still inconclusive.
The sample shared a significant
number of genetic markers.
Yeah, well, it's gotta be him, hasn't it?
Well, we could only
manage a partial profile.
It could be Nathan's DNA, or just
somebody closely related to him.
Well, there's only him and his mam,
and I couldn't see her
shinning up any drainpipes!
Unless there's more to
Dad than she's letting on.
Just a couple more questions, Mrs Weaver.
Nathan's dad, you said he took off.
Something like that, yeah.
- Nathan keep in touch with him?
- His dad didn't want to know.
- Have you got an address?
- Maybe. Somewhere.
But what's he got to do with all this?
Why did he leave, if you
don't mind me asking?
Another woman.
He started seeing her
just after we got married.
He even had a son with her.
Clearly preferred him to Nathan.
Nathan had a brother?
Half-brother.
- How can I get in touch
with him, love? - Joe?
What do you want him for?
Oh, just routine.
So it's Joe Weaver, is it?
No, he took his mam's name.
- Connell.
- Thanks, love.
I've answered all your questions.
It's your foreman we're
after, Joe Connell.
He's had the afternoon off. Said
he was going to the hospital.
All units to Meldon Park Hospital.
Let me get that.
Get an ANPR on Joe's van.
Look, I've gotta get you
away from Adam Gascoigne.
I can't just take off. Not without Kyle.
We'll come back for
Kyle once you're sorted.
And how's it going to look,
me running out on him?
You grassed, Kelly. You think
you're ever gonna be safe here?
Go on.
She checked herself out ten minutes ago.
Well, she can't have gone far.
We're looking for a Transit.
- She said she'd protect me, that copper.
- You've got me to protect you.
- It's what Nate would have wanted.
- Why would you care? You left him to rot.
You and Kyle are all I've
got left of my brother.
- Where are we going to go?
- Somewhere safe. Lie low for a bit.
- Get in the van.
- This doesn't feel right.
- Just do as you're told.
- I'm not going anywhere.
- Get in the bloody van, Kelly!
- It's you they're after.
- What have you done?
- Shut up.
What did you do to him?
- What did you do to him?
- Shut up!
Hey! Joe! Hey!
Joe Connell, I'm arresting you
for the murder of Nathan Weaver.
Hey, it's all right, love.
It's all right, it's finished.
When did you find out
your brother was dead?
The day you turned up at the factory.
It must have been a shock.
You didn't bat an eyelid.
Nathan was bad news.
So why did you wangle him a job at
the factory, if he was such bad news?
He said he was desperate,
he needed the work.
And all said and done,
he's still my brother.
How long have you been
working at that factory?
About 15 years.
I started off as a driver.
Did you ever pick up
supplies from China Farm?
Eddie Thurston's place.
I might have been there a few
times back in the day, I think.
I think you went up there last week.
Why would I do that?
We found tyre tracks that
match your delivery van.
Nah.
Any one of the drivers could
have borrowed it, so...
And Nathan called you
the night he was killed.
Look, that's your number, isn't it?
I haven't seen my brother
since he walked off the job.
And we've got a witness,
heard you both arguing.
We've got your shoeprints up on the bridge,
along with traces of Nathan's blood,
and we've got your fingerprints
right along the safety rail.
That doesn't mean I killed him.
Ah, you admit you were there, then?
And then you went after Kelly
to shut her up, didn't you?
Because you were worried how
much Nathan might have told her.
- About what?
- The China Farm murder.
- I don't have to look at this.
- You cased that farmhouse, didn't you,
while you were picking up
supplies for the factory?
And then you went back later with
your brother to rob the place.
You had a nice little scam going
on, targeting Bennick's suppliers.
- Found yourself a fence.
- Ah, yeah.
Auntie Val, she's confirmed it all.
Oh...
- If that's what she told you, she's lying.
- Oh, you know who she is, then?
Then Eddie Thurston came home,
caught you threatening his wife,
- and he came at you with a gun...
- I wasn't there!
Oh, I think you were, love, because
we've got the DNA to prove it.
And then Nathan grabs hold of the gun,
and, in the scuffle, shoots Laura
Thurston where she's standing.
- Thurston killed his wife!
- Except he didn't, did he, pet?
Your brother shot her.
And it haunted him, what he'd done.
And when he finds out Eddie
Thurston's been refused parole,
after all that time in prison,
well, that sends him over the edge.
It was the drugs. It was the
drugs that messed him up.
- It just dragged us all down with him.
- Ah, well, at least he had a conscience.
Nathan was a bloody liability!
It was me that looked out for him!
It was always me! Thurston
would have killed him!
It was you who grabbed
that gun, wasn't it?
Not Nathan.
Oh...
It...
It...
It went off in my hand.
And Laura Thurston took the bullet
that was meant for your brother.
- I didn't mean to kill her.
- But you left her there.
You legged it, the pair of you, and
let Eddie Thurston take the rap.
Thurston was a bastard!
He deserved locking up,
that was the end of it!
It might have been the end of it
for you, but not your brother.
He said he kept hearing
that gunshot in his head.
It was an accident.
So why did you shoot her twice?
I didn't.
It was just the once, like I told you.
And then last week, on Wednesday
night, you went back up to that farm.
Why did you do that?
Right, Nathan called...
.. he wasn't making any sense.
God, he was off his
face on God knows what,
and he said he'd spoken to a priest,
needed to do the right thing.
- What, threatened to turn himself in?
- He had nothing to lose!
So you picked up that
wrench and went after him.
Murdered your brother
to save your own skin.
But then how were you to know that that
shot you put into Laura Thurston...
that didn't actually kill her?
Mr Thurston.
We're here to inform you
that a Mr Joe Connell has testified
to accidentally shooting your wife.
Claimed it happened during an
attempted burglary at your farm.
And we need you to
corroborate his statement.
Intruders.
- Didn't I tell you?
- Aye!
So what's the going rate
for wrongful conviction?
You claim the gun was fired twice, but Mr
Connell claims the gun was fired only once,
hitting your wife in the stomach.
Well, clearly he was lying.
We've spoken to Brian Bennick, the man
your wife was having an affair with,
and his testimony backs up the
original prosecution's case.
She was planning to leave you.
Do you wanna know the truth
of what happened that night?
Joe Connell didn't kill your wife.
Although he spent 13
years thinking he had.
She was wounded, but not fatally.
And if they hadn't scarpered,
they'd have realised that.
You could have saved her, if
you'd called an ambulance.
- I did call an ambulance.
- Aye.
But not before finishing
her cheating for good
and emptying the second
barrel into her chest.
What is this, another fit up?
Your wife wasn't bleeding when you made
that call and neither was she breathing.
She was already dead.
Guilty as charged.
You might wanna call that solicitor.
I hear you've arrested Nathan's killer.
Oh, aye. His brother, Joe Connell.
He's up in court in the morning.
His brother?
How much did Nathan tell you?
Enough.
I absolved him, told him he
had to be true to himself.
Oh, if only I....
Hey, the burden of guilt, eh?
Weighs heavily.
Easier not to dwell on things.