Wycliffe (1994–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - The Last Rites - full transcript

When the Rev. Jordan finds the corpse of his church cleaner in front of the altar, the police surgeon thinks it posed. Village women despise her sexual immorality, but Wycliffe investigates other more practical motives for murder.

[theme music]

[sirens]

Excuse me.

Kersey.

Cheers.

Thank you.

Ah, yes, Dr. Franks.

Yes.

Yes, I understand that, but if you don't come down,

then we're going to have to go to,

you know, Exeter or Bristol even.



Yeah.

Look, um, Mr. Wycliffe's here.

Do you want a word with him?

Oh, I see.

OK.

What did Franks say?

He's really enjoying his weekend in St. Mawes.

- And? - He'll be here in an hour.

Good.

And Lucy's on her way, as well, sir.

OK.

Get these cars moved.

It's like a circus.

Nasty, eh?



I wonder why they moved her.

Yeah.

[chatter]

Sir?

Sir, Rev. Jordan.

Superintendent Wycliffe.

Well, reverend, tell me what you know.

Her name is Jessica Doble.

She cleans for us.

On a regular basis?

Yes, between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 on Saturday evenings,

or any other evening before there's a service--

weddings, funerals.

Lately we've taken--

So she was cleaning a church last night.

Yes.

Next of kin?

A sister, Catherine Geach, married to Abe Geach.

They live in the, uh, old vicarage next to the church.

Um, that's where Jessica Doble lives--

lived. DET.

SUPT. WYCLIFFE: Alone?

REV. JORDAN: No, she has tenants.

The Vinters.

There's a lot of land, and they help on the farm

in exchange for lodging.

I understand that is the arrangement.

I see.

Now, did she clean for you in a--

in a voluntary sense?

No, no.

Jessica was not a keen supporter of the church.

She needed the money.

I believe she had a hard time making ends meet.

Chocolate biscuit?

No, thank you.

My sister, Celia.

Uh, Celia, this is Superintendent Wycliffe.

I'm very pleased to meet you.

Well, see the first service this morning was 8:15.

Why were you at the church at 7:00?

I, um--

I came to collect my sheet music.

I'd left it after Giles's lesson.

He's the sound of Jessica's tenants, the Vinters.

He's a bit of a music scholar, and, uh, I give him lessons.

I see.

What sort of a woman was Jessica Doble?

Well, she was strong, independent.

Her life had not been easy, and she

faced adversity with courage.

And?

Well, you will hear rumors, but I would ask you to approach

Jessica without prejudice.

A certain laxness in sexual matters

doesn't necessarily mean that someone

isn't, at heart, a good person.

Thank you.

REV. JORDAN: Methodists.

Uh, we will be having a makeshift service

at the vicarage at half past.

If anyone would care to--

No, I-- I think we'll be too busy, thank you.

That's all for now.

DI KERSEY: Well?

He's got more to tell us.

So who's next then, sir?

I should like to see Jessica Doble's house

and meet the Vinter family.

What about her sister, Katherine?

No.

We should leave the Geaches with their grief for a while.

ABE GEACH: I understand.

We'll let you know.

Stephanie Vinter?

She wanted to know when we would be kicking them out

of the farm.

She didn't waste much time, did she?

I suppose you can't blame her, Kath.

I can blame her for not letting anyone know Jessica

didn't come home last night.

Are you gonna tell me what happened between you and Jess?

No.

Kath, I think you should.

Can you imagine how little I care for what you think?

And hills upon whose sides the clinging farms

hold Bible Christians.

Betjeman.

It was.

Suppose I should read some of his stuff.

No, it's too nostalgic for you.

You from the police?

Detective Superintendent Wycliffe.

Inspector Lane.

I'm Lawrence Vinter, Ms. Doble's tenant.

It's, uh-- it's the police, dear.

Put the kettle on.

[music playing]

She ate dinner with us and then went to the church.

DI LANE: At 7:30?

Yes.

And she didn't come back?

No.

Weren't you alarmed?

No.

It was not unheard of for Ms. Doble to be away all night.

Without warning you?

Absolutely.

She didn't give a fig about us.

Was the feeling mutual?

Well--

Yes, entirely.

How'd you come to be working for her?

Lecturing at, uh, Bristol University.

I had a-- well, I had a--

I had a breakdown.

And then, well, through an advertisement in a local paper,

we--

we stumbled on this.

We lost our house.

I see.

Do you have any income?

Lawrence earns a little from translation work.

Would it be all right with you if my colleague

had a look around?

Yes, I suppose so.

Thanks.

I'm going back to the church.

I'll show you her room.

This is Giles. - Hi.

Oh, nice computer.

STEPHANIE VINTER: Lawrence scraped the money

together by doing laboring work for Abe

Geach's building company.

Oh, Mrs. Vinter I wasn't--

Cash in hand.

Will you arrest him now? - Would you like me to?

Can I see Ms. Doble's bedroom, please?

FRANKS: Sharp blow to the head.

Hammer or something similar.

Left parietal near sagittal suture.

That probably is sustained sometime last night.

A body removed post-mortem [inaudible] no sexual assault.

Would the blow have required much strength?

No.

I-- I've no scientific basis for this, but--

But what?

There's something odd about the undressing of the body.

It looked so, um--

so posed.

It doesn't seem to me like the work of a man.

DI LANE: Do you know who will inherit the farm?

Her sister, Katherine.

They were left it jointly when their parents died.

Will she let you stay?

No.

She'll boot us out as soon as she can.

Bang goes our motive.

DI LANE: Did any of you go at last night?

STEPHANIE VINTER: I didn't.

I had a migraine.

Went to bed straight after dinner.

Giles stayed in when he came back from his organ lesson.

And your husband?

He always walks around the farm after dinner.

In the dark?

He has a thing about bats.

Bats?

Bats.

DI LANE: Do you know anything about these?

STEPHANIE VINTER: I knew she'd had one.

She opened it one day at breakfast.

She showed it to me.

Was she upset?

She laughed and said, silly cow.

So you got the impression she knew who'd sent them?

STEPHANIE VINTER: Yes.

I did get that impression.

DI KERSEY: Mrs. Geach to see you, sir.

DET. SUPT.

WYCLIFFE: Show her in.

Hello.

I'm Jessica Doble's sister.

I know.

I thought you would've been to see me.

Well, uh, you've come to see me.

Sit down.

Yes.

The Vinters-- Jessica came to see me last night.

She was considering chucking the Vinters out.

They were upset, angry.

When did you see her?

On her way to the church--

uh, about 8 o'clock.

And that was the last time that you saw her?

No.

I went to the church a bit later.

See, we'd had a bit of a run in, and I

wanted to sort things out.

I see.

And this would have been at what time?

A quarter past 8:00, something like that.

What was she doing?

Hoovering.

[shouting]

What was your row about?

ABE GEACH: Get off me!

What's happening?

What's going on here?

Calm down.

You'll be Mr. Geach, I presume.

Yes, but what's she doing here.

Don't just barge into my office!

I want to know what she's doing here!

Oh, be quiet!

You wife came to talk to me.

I saw Jessica alive after Katherine left the church.

You told me you stayed in the house.

Well, I didn't. I came and looked for you.

Heaven's sake, be quiet, the pair of you.

We'll call round tomorrow morning

and take a formal statement from you both.

Yeah, but I got buzzers tomorrow.

Be there!

Good night!

Yeah, I felt sorry for Jess.

That's 4.95, thanks.

She had a tough time, and not just financially.

DI LANE: Because of the locals?

They're a pretty tight assed lot mostly.

Thanks.

They didn't approve of her.

I liked her.

She was fun.

What was it they didn't approve of?

Her free spirit.

She didn't have much time for their piety.

She'd laugh at it.

They thought she was a Muslim fundamentalist.

Seriously?

No.

But they didn't like the fact that she

didn't believe in their God, or that she wasn't married.

Was she promiscuous?

Healthy, attractive.

One lover a decade would have been enough to set

the witches clucking.

Did she have lovers?

One or two.

DI LANE: Did Jess come in last night?

BARTENDER: No.

She rarely came in here.

Katherine came in, though, for an hour or so.

DI LANE: With her husband?

No, alone.

Was that usual?

To be honest, she'd had words with Jess.

She wanted a drink, and she wanted to talk to me.

What did she want to talk about?

Jess.

She wanted to know who'd been sleeping with her.

Did you tell her?

No.

Did you know?

Her husband, Abe?

Lucy?

Shouldn't I call the police officers to get to bed?

This was a murder inquiry, not a wedding reception.

Sleep well?

KATHERINE GEACH: No.

What is it, Kath?

We must be sure and tell them.

Jessa told the Vinters she was kicking them out.

KATHERINE GEACH: I already did.

Good.

And we can tell them Lawrence Vinter

had been sleeping with her.

What?

Oh, yeah.

[scoffing]

Don't be ridiculous.

With Vinter?

How do you know?

How do you know Lawrence Vinter was sleeping with Jessica?

Well, I--

Get out!

Get out!

She was my sister, you bastard!

[crying]

Sir.

Doug.

Forensic rang.

The boot mark in the mud was male, size 10 or 11.

They reckon they'll be able to identify the--

the actual boot.

Well, that's good.

Doug?

Sir?

But what are the motives, do you think?

Well, there'll be two motives, I think.

One, the farm, which puts the Geaches

and the Vinters in the frame.

And two, the victim's promiscuity, which puts,

um, most of the male population of West Cornwall, I'm afraid.

Not to mention the wives and girlfriends

of half the male population of West Cornwall.

Where did she have her assignations

with her many lovers, and who were they?

DI LANE: Abe Geach, Lawrence Vinter.

Reverend Jordan?

My guess is he swings the other way.

If he swings at all.

DI KERSEY: Gonna be busy?

DI LANE: Yeah, I'll be reading about us in the papers.

Had an interesting chat with a woman at the shop.

With the amount of information she has to dispense,

I'm surprised anyone bothers to buy newspaper.

She said Jess was deeply disliked

by the Christian Women's Union.

President Celia Jordan.

Secretary Stephanie Vinter, who is a sanctimonious and snotty

cow who has married beneath her and isn't

taken down and dusted enough.

The Vinter's son, Giles, is an obnoxious,

big headed mother's boy who needs a good walloping.

Excuse me a minute.

Reverend Jordan?

Ah, good morning, superintendent.

Sorry, it's just a quick question.

By all means.

The sheet music--

you came to collect it.

Yes.

But what you found was the body of Jessica Doble.

Yes.

And then you went straight to the phone and called us.

What then?

I went back to the church, and, um, I waited.

You never collected the music?

No, I suppose I didn't.

It isn't there.

Is it not?

No.

Do you have any idea who might have taken it?

No.

All right, that's all.

Thank you.

Lucy, I want you to go and talk to Celia

Jordan with particular reference to the letters.

Do you think they might have some bearing?

Don't you?

Well, they seem unpleasant, but they're

not exactly threatening.

What, a village full of twitching curtains

and Christian zealots?

A harlot is a deep pit.

She lies in wait like a robber.

The harlot may be hired for a loaf of bread.

What's going on in this place?

Do you want me to go and talk to Abe Geach, sir?

DET. SUPT.

WYCLIFFE: Yes.

Lucy is there any word through from Franks on the post-mortem.

Oh, talk of the devil.

Charming.

Well?

Well, with regard the cause of death, et cetera,

all is as per my earlier predications.

DET. SUPT.

WYCLIFFE: But? - Two buts.

The woman was a few weeks pregnant.

Would she have known?

I would say so.

And?

And there are fingerprints-- careful--

on those.

And there was a fourth letter in the back pocket of her skirt.

It was unopened.

There were no fingerprints on the note on the inside.

Thee shall hate the whore.

Thee shall make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh,

and burn her up like fire.

CELIA JORDAN: I'm afraid my brother's not here.

DI LANE: Oh, that's all right, Ms. Jordan.

It's you I came to see, actually.

I hope it's not inconvenient.

CELIA JORDAN: Um, well.

Fire away.

Did you know Jessica Doble?

What an extraordinary question.

Of course I did.

What did you think of her?

That's another extraordinary question.

I thought she was unpleasant and inherently bad.

I didn't like her.

Do you have any idea who sent her these?

This wasn't sent by the same person that sent those three.

What makes you say that?

Because I sent those three.

I see.

Why did you send them?

I sent them because I was offended by her conduct.

Well, that's not very Christian of you.

Young woman, your jurisdiction is exclusively legal.

Your opinion on matters of moral or theological

is of absolutely no interest to me.

Have you any more questions?

Yes.

Do you care that Jessica Doble was murdered?

As you sow, so shall you reap.

[whistling]

[doorbell]

DI KERSEY: So the last time you saw Jessica Doble was when

she left here at 8 o'clock.

No.

Katherine went to speak to her at the church.

And when she didn't come back, I went to look for her.

Did you talk to Ms. Doble, sir?

No.

I, uh-- I looked in at the church door.

I-- I saw Katherine wasn't there, and then I went home.

Did you actually go into the church?

No.

DI KERSEY: What time was this then, sir?

Maybe, uh, 9 o'clock.

What was she doing?

I-- I think she was polishing the altar rail or something,

singing to herself.

I couldn't help noticing your, uh, motor caravan.

It's very nice.

What do you use it for?

Well, as a site office and somewhere

to stay in when the contracts are a long way from home.

Must be handy for entertaining, isn't it?

What do you mean?

You know, uh, nights of passion.

Who the hell do you think you are?

I am a police officer investigating a brutal murder.

Unfortunately, this can lead to a lot

of dirty linen being dragged out of the clothes basket.

That's why I assumed you chose to be interviewed alone, yes?

Sorry.

DI KERSEY: Now, you're going to tell me.

Did you entertain Ms. Doble in your caravan?

It would be a simple matter for our forensic boys

to check that the lady had been in your caravan, sir.

Spent some nights in there, sure.

Does your wife know?

No.

DI KERSEY: Did you know Ms. Doble was pregnant?

No.

No, it isn't mine.

No, I'm 100% certain of that.

Who might the father be then?

Lawrence Vinter.

[phone ringing]

Sir?

CRO.

Lawrence Vinter didn't lose his lectureship

because of a nervous breakdown.

He was sacked.

Some sort of impropriety with a female student.

Right.

Go over to the Vinters and get his boots.

Right.

And the boy's.

OK.

Talk of the devil.

DET. SUPT.

WYCLIFFE: Come in.

Giles Vinter.

Let's talk through here.

Well, this must be your old school.

No, I went to a private school in Bude.

Oh, Lawrence didn't pay.

I got a scholarship.

My mother's parents made up the difference.

I see.

Why did you come here?

GILES: I wanted to tell you something.

My parents had a big row before dinner the night

Jessica was killed.

Lawrence didn't come back all night.

Why are you telling me this?

I thought you'd want to know.

Oh, I do.

Just tell me.

You left the church when?

Just before 8:00.

Did you bump into Jessica?

No.

Anything else you want to tell me?

I don't think so.

Oh, Giles?

Did you take the music with you after your organ lesson?

What do you mean? DET.

SUPT.

WYCLIFFE: You were playing some Bach apparently.

Did you take the sheet music?

No, why would I?

It was Michael's.

Michael?

- Michael Jordan, the vicar. - That's all.

Thank you.

Are we allowed back in the church?

I need to practice.

[laughter]

Mrs. Geach?

I'm sorry.

I didn't mean to startle you.

Is this a bad time?

No, no.

I suppose I'm just--

Death is a hard thing to deal with,

and, uh, murder is close to impossible.

But Mrs. Geach, if you could just help us

with a couple of details, we can leave

the third degree until later.

Thank you.

The night your sister died you had a row.

What was it about?

We do know she was pregnant.

Did you think it might be your husband's?

My, you certainly have learned a lot in a short time.

DET. SUPT.

WYCLIFFE: Did she suggest that he might

leave you and move in with her?

No.

And you followed her to the church?

Yes.

Straight after she left here.

Yeah, well, as soon as I could get my shoes on.

Was she alone when you got to the church?

No.

She was talking to the vicar.

I waited for her to finish and then went over to speak to her.

I had to know who the father was.

DET.

SUPT.

WYCLIFFE: Did she tell you?

No.

Did she say what she intended doing with the child?

Yeah.

She was going to chuck the Vinters out,

rent out the field, bring up the child on her own at the farm.

Had she told the Vinters?

I believe so.

Did you have any sort of physical fight with her?

Lord, no.

I was angry, but she was my sister.

I loved her.

[crying]

It's all so confusing.

[organ playing]

Giles?

[organ playing]

Hello, Mr. Vinter.

I was hoping we might bump into you.

I was wondering if you might come

in tomorrow morning to see us.

A few points need clarifying.

Certainly.

Let's get some air.

[church bell ringing]

Why have we come here?

There's only two things I hate, Lucy.

One is irrational phobias, and the other--

Bats.

Bats, yeah.

It's like a little chapel.

Yeah.

Lawrence Vinters' home from home.

That's strange.

You think so?

If it was a choice between this and the village,

I'd take this any day.

Life can be quite the struggle to some people.

Why wouldn't they draw in their tentacles and retreat?

[knocking]

Well?

Well, the Geaches are nicely in the frame, sir.

How come?

Well, I've just spoken to the solicitor,

and, uh, the Geaches inherit the farm.

So?

Well, it's a motive, isn't it?

I mean, Geach is a builder.

120 acres-- a few houses, nice golf course.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Maybe I should arrest them all.

They all have a motive, and they all appear to be equally

inadequate and unpleasant.

But the noose is tightening, and whoever is the murderer

will be feeling the pressure.

Let's let him stew a little.

Him?

All right, religious threats, sheet music.

There's something there.

Has to be.

I think I've had enough for one day.

I'm going home.

Good night.

[laughter]

[knocking]

DI LANE: Sir?

[knocking]

Sir?

Hm?

All right, all right.

Sorry, sir.

Lawrence Vinter's disappeared.

Doug's gone over to the farm.

He was out bat watching or whatever last night.

When I woke up, I realized he hadn't come back.

What was he wearing?

Overalls.

Did he take any other clothes with him?

Not as far as I can see, but he has taken

all the money from my purse.

She wanted to know who had sent the letters to Jessica.

And was it you?

And did you tell her?

Of course.

My conscience is clear.

Oh, Celia.

I do hope we don't have to move again.

I really have felt recently that I've

begun to do God's work here.

If you think doing God's work is allowing everyone

to do as they wish, if you think doing God's work is

having no moral standard--

Celia!

Enough.

I'm terribly sorry.

That's all right.

Might I have a word?

Of course.

Were you going to the church?

Uh, yes.

Well, let's walk together.

Right.

Something you want to tell me?

The night she was killed, Giles was very upset.

There had been rows and ructions at his home

between the parents, and some mention of them leaving,

and of a relationship between his father and Jessica.

Giles was trying to work, but all this was

distressing him beyond belief.

He was crying.

And?

And I comforted him.

I see.

And Jessica arrived as you were comforting him.

Yes.

I had my arms around him, and, uh, sadly it was a moment

inviting misconstruction.

Jessica seemed delighted.

She laughed, made some joke.

Giles was distraught.

I sent him home and then spoke to Jessica.

What did you say?

I said it was innocent and that she should keep what she'd

seen to herself, as the pain it would

cost to Giles if she spread this story around would be--

would be quite unbearable.

What did she say?

She said she wouldn't tell anyone.

Did you believe her?

I don't know.

Hm.

All right.

Thank you.

Oh, any idea who might have taken the organ music?

No.

None, I'm afraid.

[phone ringing]

Still nothing?

No, sir.

Um, is there anything we don't know about, sir?

Like what?

Well, I don't know, sir.

Should we be talking to some of the other suspects?

Well, I don't think there's much point, really, Lucy.

No.

It's a strange jigsaw.

All the pieces fit, but they don't seem

to make any sort of picture.

Right, I'll toodle off again.

I've got my telephone, so if anything important turns up,

just give me a ring.

If he's up to something, it's bloody awful not to tell us,

you know?

Weird.

Sorry, I just put it out.

Calm down. Calm.

Calm down. Come on, take it easy.

Take it easy.

It's all right.

It's all right.

Give me the bag.

Tell you what.

Let's drink the whiskey and forget about the aspirin.

What do you say?

All right.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Where have you hidden the things?

The hammer?

Thank you.

You didn't really want to kill yourself, did you?

Well, I decided to.

That doesn't answer my question.

Oh.

I could cope with prison, I suppose.

Peace.

Books.

Food.

No pressures.

No Stephanie.

- No Stephanie. - Why did you kill her?

You're not under caution.

Anger.

Was it to help Giles?

Or Stephanie?

In case they did something stupid?

I mean, they're very religious, aren't they?

Where does all this wild fundamentalism

come from, Reverend Jordan?

More his sister, Celia.

And you thought Stephanie might do something rash?

Yes.

Jessica had become an easy target for all of them--

a focus for their frustrations.

Where's the sheet music?

[music playing]

MAN (ON RADIO): Radio Cornwall news at 8 o'clock.

Truro police have said that the man handed himself

into their custody this morning and is

now helping with inquiries.

They refuse to confirm that he's Lawrence Vinter, whose

description was circulated yesterday as a man being sought

by police for questioning.

They did confirm, however, that the man's at present

helping them with their inquiries

into the murder of Jessica Doble.

That's good news.

Yeah.

DI KERSEY: Better get over to Truro then, sir?

Let's take a walk first.

[organ playing]

Ah, Giles, the very man.

Just a couple of questions.

Well?

Your father's in custody.

Do you care?

Do you care that a woman was brutally murdered?

If you've got Lawrence, why are you still asking questions?

A policeman's work, Giles, is never done.

I've just been reading this.

Break their teeth, oh God, in their mouths.

Smite the jawbones of the ungodly.

The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance.

He shall wash his feet--

In the blood of the ungoldy.

Truly, there is a god that judgeth.

Tell me about Jessica.

What about her?

The things you hated.

She was bad--

evil!

Didn't believe in God and mocked me because I did.

Do.

She was a--

she was a harlot.

Oh, yes.

- And did your father succumb? - He's a fool.

That may very well be your opinion,

and no doubt it's your mother's, but,

uh, he has other qualities.

Generosity of spirit.

Loyalty.

You're a bright young lad, Giles.

Tell me this.

He hid the hammer, the murder weapon,

but he also took the music.

Why would he do that?

I don't know.

I'll tell you.

He thought it might incriminate someone, someone he loves,

someone he saw in the church standing

over the body of Jessica Doble, a body that had been dragged

right the way up to the altar and then very

carefully placed on the steps.

He told you to go, didn't he?

And then he attempted to clear up after you,

but he made a mistake.

He thought the music was yours when it actually belonged

to the Reverend Jordan.

Covered up for you.

And when the chase got close, he was

willing to take the rap for a spoiled child that hates him.

Generosity of spirit.

I told you.

He's a fool.

He's a good man!

And you-- you're under arrest.

Doug, take him to Truro.

What are you doing?

What are you doing?

Giles!

What's happening?

Where are you taking him?

Giles!

It's a job for you, I'm afraid.