Wycliffe (1994–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - Four and Twenty Black Birds - full transcript

[theme music]

[radio playing]

What the hell?

[swerving]

Are you all right?

Where are you?

You there?

Can you get an ambulance?

I've just hit someone.

Whereabouts?

About half a mile back.



Bloke just ran out in front of me.

Well, there's a big fire up there, you see.

I've just called the fire brigade.

Oh, is that where he came from?

OK, you go back out there, see if there's

anything you can do to help, and I'll call an ambulance.

Well, go on.

Hello?

Anyone at home?

Hello?

We searched the road where you say the accident took place,

and all we found was an item of footwear.

Thank God for that.

I thought maybe he was lying out there dead.



However, when the officer examined the shoe,

he found there to be some evidence of blood.

Will you come with me, Mr. Rowland?

As a matter of routine, we're going

to ask you if you wouldn't mind taking a breath test.

Open to the four winds up here, isn't it, sir?

Yeah, it's a bit bleak.

You ought to be here in winter, sir.

Do you know the farmer?

Oh, everyone knows old Totts.

He keeps himself to himself.

No time for no one, except his dog.

A dying breed.

Looks fresh.

Yeah, the glass was found on the inside.

Do we know what caused it?

The SOCO guy's not sure yet, but it could be a bullet.

[shutter clicking]

WYCLIFFE: He's not married, then?

[shutter clicking]

No, sir.

There's blood bloodstains here.

And a palm print.

WYCLIFFE: Human blood?

I don't know.

Could be the dog's, but there's drips leading to the back door.

And if he was shot, he was shot from the outside,

through the glass.

And he fell there.

And then he might have managed to get up and make

his get-away at the back door.

Either that, or it's a very clever set-up.

Hm.

[shutter clicking]

Anything?

Not so far.

Apart from the blood over there, where the shoe was found.

I checked with the hospitals, ma'am.

They've had nothing turn up that'd match

this kind of accident.

But then, if it was an assailant fleeing the scene,

he's hardly like to pitch up a casualty, is he?

We don't know if there is an assailant, Potter.

The driver said the person was carrying a stick.

that might have been a gun.

Maybe.

POTTER: You get hit by a car, you don't exactly get up

and run away, do you?

Not unless you're in some kind of trouble.

It would be nice to know how he got away.

Ah, there you are, sir.

The old blokes not been seen since yesterday afternoon.

But there's nothing to indicate that he

planned on going away anywhere.

Does he employ anyone on the farm?

Apparently, he sometimes uses a local lad, Rob Mills,

to give him an hand.

Has anyone seen him?

I don't know.

Not as yet.

You're convinced what we have here requires our involvement,

are you?

Well, our fear has to be that Mr. Totts has been murdered.

Hm.

The only trouble with that theory

is, we don't as yet have a body.

The driver arrived and saw a man on the telephone box.

Told him to ring for an ambulance.

According to the driver's statement,

the man pointed to the fire at Leap Hill

and said he already called the fire brigade.

I checked with the operator, but they only

received one call, asking for the ambulance

and the fire service.

Have you tried to trace this man?

He gave the operator a false name and address.

It looks as if he was aware of the fire

but did nothing about it till the driver arrived.

But he was already on the phone when the driver arrived.

Who was he talking to?

I've asked.

And there's no way we can trace that.

Good.

Well, let's get a description of the man in the phone box

from the driver.

Look, Lucy, I'd better go now.

We'll talk this afternoon, OK?

Bye.

The scene of the crime chap reckons

the fire was set deliberately.

There's evidence an accelerant was used.

Probably trying to destroy evidence.

All that's left is the remains of a group

of sheep in the corner.

That ugly thing is his dog.

Poor animal obviously couldn't get out.

You know, judging by the extent of damage in this area,

I'd say this was the seat of the fire, wouldn't you?

The dog wouldn't have stayed here.

It must have been dead before the fire began.

That's a small mercy.

Do you think the sheep were alive?

Yeah.

Yeah, they've gone back to that corner,

trying to get away from the fire, haven't they?

Perhaps the dog was trying to defend Mr. Totts.

That's why he was killed.

It's how the dog was killed that may be of interest.

What's that?

It was on the dog's neck.

What is it, a pellet?

Looks to me like it's homemade.

Ever seen one of these before?

No, sir.

Are you Rob?

I'm supposed to be working, all right.

Oi.

Oi!

Hang on a minute.

Do you know anything about what happened here?

No.

Were you up here yesterday?

Yeah.

I went home at lunch time.

And I were at my cousin's all last night.

Oh, well, you obviously weren't involved, then, eh?

No.

Mr. Totts have anyone else help out?

Not since I've been coming up.

What about family?

I didn't think he had any.

Friends?

Must be joking.

Only his dog puts up with him.

Sounds to me like you don't like him very much.

I always got on with me job.

He pay all right?

What do you mean?

Well, there's not much money around in this kind

of farming anymore, is there?

- I-- I always got me money. - OK, thank you.

All right.

You finish up here.

I'll go check out the neighboring farms.

I don't think we can just hope for Totts to turn up.

[gunshot]

You've not found him, then?

Not yet.

So you know why we're here?

Word gets around.

I'm Superintendent Wycliffe.

Superintendent?

I bet old George is gonna be in some trouble

when you do find him.

Why is that?

Putting you to all this fuss?

He probably had one too many, rolled down the hill

and is lying there blind drunk.

You want to find something, you can go after that fox

that's been after my farrows.

How will did you get on with him?

He's all right.

Will the community gather around, help him tend his farm?

Rob will probably sort most things out, won't he?

You don't know much about farming, do you, Mr. Wycliffe?

What?

I got cattle and pigs.

I've nothing to do with sheep.

We need to trace this man you spoke to in phone box.

Yeah, well, I wish I'd never spoken to him.

I wish I'd just driven off. - No, no, no.

when you did the right thing, Mr. Rowland.

And I'm gonna lose my license for it.

Yeah, sorry about that.

I didn't cause the accident.

Do you remember what this man in the phone box looked like?

No.

I had other things on my mind.

I was too busy trying to get an ambulance.

Was he tall?

Average.

I think he had short, fair hair.

And don't ask me what he was wearing.

He said he'd seen the fire, right?

You'd have thought he might have come up to the farm,

see if he could help?

Yeah, well, maybe he'd had a few drinks as well,

and he was a bit smarter than me.

Now, if you don't mind.

Just one more question, Mr. Rowland.

Was he in a car?

No.

[baaing]

I think it might be a good idea if you

had a word with the local vet.

Apart from anything else, someone's gonna have

to look after these animals.

Yeah, they don't look too clever, do they?

And ask him about poachers.

Why?

What do the other farmers say? - It's nothing.

It's just that one of them was out shooting.

Yeah, I heard the gunfire.

And he set me thinking.

You see, the problem with a 12 gauge shotgun

is that it does tend to wake the neighbors.

Hm.

The advantage of an air gun, on the other hand,

is that it's almost silent.

And coupled with a lethal bullet,

it's an almost perfect weapon for poaching.

Yeah, but that pellet wouldn't fit a standard air gun,

would it?

No, but my guess is, we're looking for something homemade.

Well, do you reckon Totts disturbed a poacher?

[barking]

Hello.

Hello.

Are you the vet?

No, my husband is.

But he's out on a call at the moment.

Well, I'm DI Kersey.

Maybe I could ask you a few questions instead.

Well, here he is now.

Oh.

Alan, it's the police.

Oh, I was just about to pop up to Leap Hill.

Someone's gotta make some provisions for those animals.

Well, do you think that's gonna be necessary?

Well, unless you found him.

No.

No, we haven't.

You must know everybody around here.

Have you heard anything on the grapevine?

Well, the talk in the village is suicide.

Had he been depressed?

George is not a well man.

He's had farmer's lung for years.

It would have got most people down, living up there.

No family, no money, always in debt.

So he had financial problems as well, did he?

He's too old to work the farm.

The grazing's not good.

Her cropper lands were low.

He couldn't afford new breeding.

To be fair, George Totts was hit by a rumor of tuberculosis,

and that cost him.

Why do you say it was a rumor?

Well, because he rang me, and I checked them myself.

They were fine.

So where do you think this rumor started?

Oh, people see the flocks dwindling,

they look around for reasons.

And some people prefer malicious ones.

Oh.

God knows who starts these things.

Sir, forensics have confirmed that the blood

found on the farm is definitely human.

Right.

What about the bullet found in the dog?

More than likely from a low velocity weapon.

Tests are still being done to see if it also

caused the hole in the door.

Thanks, Andy.

Sir.

Sir?

This is the shoe found at the accident.

OK, I want to blood on that compared with the blood

found up at the farm.

Yeah, I was about to send it to the lab, sir,

but I was looking at it.

It's a size seven.

Yes?

Well, when I was up at Totts' farm,

I noticed how small his shoes were.

Well, let's see if the pattern of wear on this

matches up with those.

I've checked, sir.

It does.

Looks like it was Totts who was hit by the car.

[phone ringing]

Hello?

Alan Dutton.

MAN (ON PHONE): There's a lamb lying in the road.

I'm sorry, can you speak up?

MAN (ON PHONE): It's at the bottom of Leap Hill Farm.

It's been run over.

Uh, look, do you think you could bring it in?

[hangs up]

[barking]

The local police should have called us down here last night.

I mean, this has been forced.

I just thank God I had a fire extinguisher in the car.

Yeah.

Well, some kind of flammable liquid's been used here.

There's no other heat source.

You mean it was started deliberately?

Why?

I was hoping you were gonna tell me.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Fire brigade.

MAN (ON TAPE): I wanna report a fire.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, can you give me the location

of the fire, sir, please?

MAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, it's at Leap Hill Farm.

Knows the name of the farm.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Sorry, sir, what's the address?

MAN (ON TAPE): It's up Trevern Road.

It's about two and half miles up from Trevern.

He's local, all right.

MAN (ON TAPE): You can't miss it.

You can see the fire from the road.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, what's on fire, sir?

MAN (ON TAPE): The whole building's gone up.

It's like a furnace. It's spreading toward the house.

Is that the tap from the phone box?

Yeah.

How'd you get on at the vet's?

Well, it might be worthwhile playing that tape to him.

He was called out on a wild lamb chase last night.

And while he was out, somebody set light to his surgery.

And what's the like with Totts?

Well, arson.

I mean, if our three nines caller and his hoax caller

are the same person. he's gonna recognize the voice, isn't he?

Eh?

What the hell are we doing here, anyway?

Divisional command is in there.

He's a bit out of his way, isn't he?

Got a conference this week in Torquay.

Lodge meeting, is it?

Well, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Dixon, eh?

Looks like we're being pulled off.

Sorry?

You heard.

What's the boss say?

He's still saying it.

It's where the resources are coming from for all this.

That's what concerns me, Charles.

We could scale things down, sir.

Or we could leave it to the local station.

I mean, the former does sound like a missing person.

A farmer doesn't just walk out, leaving his farm

looking like the Mary Celeste!

My belief is that someone has been seriously injured

at this farm, possibly killed.

Look, how about suspending the uniformed search,

and we just keep going until we've satisfied our inquiries?

I think if we can ask the locals to help,

ask people to search their barns--

Oh, yeah, I know.

"Do it yourself policing."

Maybe the killer will hand himself in.

Why don't you set up a radio appeal?

I might do that.

Come through.

How long has Rob been working for you?

A few months.

Doesn't Totts mind?

No.

How does he go on with Totts?

Oh, all right, as far as I know.

Did you recognize the person that phoned you last night?

Well, to be honest, I couldn't really hear him.

Yeah, well he was probably trying to disguise

his voice, wasn't he?

Yeah, maybe.

Could it be somebody you know?

I mean, could it be Rob?

No.

No.

No, it wasn't him.

Right.

I'd like you to listen to this and see if you

think this is the same voice.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Fire brigade.

MAN (ON TAPE): Hello, I wanna report a fire.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, can you tell me where the fire is, sir?

MAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, it's--

it's at Leap Hill Farm.

Leap Hill Farm.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Sorry, sir, what is the address?

MAN (ON TAPE): Leap Hill Farm.

It's up Trevern Road.

It's about two and a half miles up from Trevern.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, can you--

Anne?

They-- they want to know if we can identify this voice.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, can you spell Trevern, sir?

MAN (ON TAPE): No, Trevern Road. You'll find it.

You can't miss it.

You'll be able to see it from the road.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Trevern Road? What's on fire?

MAN (ON TAPE): Uh, well, the whole building.

It's gone up like a furnace.

It's spreading towards the house now.

WOMAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, hello, sir.

Is there anything in the building?

MAN (ON TAPE): You-- you'll see it there.

You'll see it there. WOMAN (ON TAPE): Yeah, hello?

Hello?

I don't know.

Is it the same man?

I understand your reluctance, but whatever your concerns are,

they're not gonna go away if this man is still out there.

Well, I don't know if it was him on the phone last night,

but that's Stephen, my son.

By his first wife.

[barking]

Hello, Stephen.

These gentlemen are police officers.

How are you, Mary?

Fine.

What do they want?

We'd like a word with Stephen about a 999 call he made.

I don't need you here.

I'll wait in the car.

No work today?

Or tomorrow.

Unemployed?

There's nothing about, is there?

Well, it'll be shearing time soon.

Oh, yeah.

Right.

Why did you give a false name when you

rang the fire brigade, Stephen?

Who says it were me?

Come on, Stephen.

We've got your call on tape.

We've played it to your father.

Yeah, well, I--

I can't remember why.

I'd been drinking.

So why didn't you go up the house to see

if you could do something, eh?

Same reason.

Do you know a lad called Rob Mills?

What if I do?

By not helping us, you're making yourself look guilty.

You know that, don't you?

Look, I don't have to talk to you, do I?

No.

But we find that innocent people usually do.

Let's keep an eye on him.

Everything all right?

Yes, yes, yes.

How often do you see your son these days?

ALAN: I don't.

It's difficult.

I understand.

Thanks a lot, Mr. Dutton.

KERSEY: Stephen knows a lot more than he's saying?

WYCLIFFE: So why's he not talking?

KERSEY: Well, either he's involved,

or he knows who he is, and he's covering up for him.

We need to know if there's any connection

between him and Totts.

I want evidence that either links him to the farm

or to the fire at his dad's.

That way, we can bring him for questioning.

Right.

I'll see what SOCO have recovered from the vet's, OK?

Thanks for the lift.

I've just had your boys look around here.

I know, Mrs. Prentice.

I need to talk to you about Stephen Ling.

What about him?

Um, do you know how he got on with George Totts?

No one gets on with George.

Why?

Not all.

But most people don't understand him.

And you do?

I've known him since he was a young man.

Been different if he'd married.

But we all knew.

Wages he's on wouldn't hardly keep a dog, let alone a wife.

And that's not good for no one, Mr. Wycliffe.

Least I've got Jenny.

Is that your daughter?

Granddaughter.

Her mother couldn't cope on our own.

Left me to it.

She's all I've got left now.

[phone ringing]

Incident Room.

DI Lane speaking.

Oh, right.

Right.

No, no, no.

That's very helpful.

[chuckling]

Yes.

Yes, I owe you a drink.

Thank you.

Forensics, sir.

Really?

I thought for a minute there you'd

patched things up with Simon.

The blood on the shoe matches the stuff we found at the farm.

It'd be helpful if someone could tell me whether or not

the blood belongs to Totts.

[rapping]

What did you find out at the market?

Not a great deal.

I'd got eyed up like a prize ewe, and that was about it.

I only found one person who'd had any dealings with Totts.

Mr. Williams.

And that was over a year ago.

After that, Totts started dealing

with people out of the area, probably because of the rumors

going around.

Well, SOCO was no good.

Didn't get any clear prints from the surgery

or from that bottle.

Yeah, I reckon it's the container

used to start the fire.

I found on a room near the surgery.

Hm, flame wash.

Probably pulled out it out of the petrol

and thought it was empty.

Lit the fire with it still in his hand,

not realizing there'd still be flammable vapor on the inside.

Well, a moment and his hand was flame fried.

Let's go take a look at Stephen's hand.

That's right.

He kept one hand in his pocket all the time, didn't he?

What, you reckon he'd fireball his own dad's place?

Have you got something, sir?

Maybe.

I'm sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Dutton.

Ling. I use my maiden name now.

Well, we need to talk to your son again, Mrs. Ling.

It's the police for you.

Stephen.

I know he hasn't gone out.

Stephen!

Would it be all right if we came in?

Does he have a gun?

No, never.

I've never allowed one.

Not even an air gun?

No.

[growling]

Why didn't you answer your mum?

Dunno.

Must have had my headphones on.

What have you done to your hand, Stephen?

I fell over.

I see.

We'd like to ask you some questions about the fire

at your dad's last night.

Oh, yeah?

It'll mean coming to the station.

Fine.

The doctor's going to examine your hand,

to see if it's the result of a fall, as you claim.

All right.

DOCTOR: Would you move your chair over here, please?

I'll give you a proper dressing for this as well.

When did this happen?

The other night.

After I left the phone box.

I'd had a few to drink.

With who?

By myself.

Where?

There's no pub out there.

All right.

You want me to tell you the truth?

Well, what have you been telling me so far?

I smoked a bit of dope, OK?

I got a bit paranoid.

That's why I didn't wanna give the operator

my name and address.

I didn't want your boys turning up and finding me like that.

When I saw the fire, that's who I was on the phone to,

some bloke I know who deals a bit.

Well, I didn't wanna say nothing earlier.

I'm not gonna get in any trouble, am I?

Have a look at the hairs on these fingers.

An absence of hair on the index finger.

On his little finger, it's been singed to a stubble.

It's a burn, all right.

I'm still waiting for you to tell us the truth.

Well, Stephen's mother said she washed

the boy's clothes this morning.

There was blood on his jeans.

He told her it was from where he cut his hand.

DIXON: Probably from the farm.

The lab may still be able to do something with the clothes.

And he might have got blood on his shoes,

so check them out as well.

What else did his mum say?

Well, she couldn't think of anything

that linked him to Totts, or why he would wanna

set fire to his father's place.

She gave us this.

It was in his jeans this morning.

A chisel.

I was gonna get SOCO to see if it matched the--

you know, the window frame in the surgery.

Yes, but why go to all the trouble of forcing the window?

It would be much easier, surely, just to break the glass

and pour in the petrol.

Well, maybe the motive wasn't arson.

Is it unusual to put a bandage on a small burn?

Yes. Yes, I suppose it is.

The dressing and tape are more for surgical use.

Have you an evidence bag, please?

Right, then, now, we'll him in two weeks time

for the booster injections.

I'm sorry, Mr. Dutton, can we have a word, please?

Yes, sure.

Thank you.

Can you identify this?

Is this sort of dressing used at the surgery?

Yes.

Why?

It was on your son's hand when we interviewed him earlier.

Have you at any time provided him with any sort of bandaging?

Well, no.

Could he ever have taken any when he was visiting you?

Well, he doesn't come here.

As you know, we don't really get on.

Then I think the reason for last night's fire

may well be to cover up the theft of medical equipment.

Oh, you think Stephen started the fire?

Mr. Dutton, could you check to see

if anything has been stolen?

Well, there's nothing here. I would have noticed.

I mean, there's a storeroom, but I keep it locked.

Would you check it, please?

Yes.

Well, you're right.

Someone has been here.

Your son must have burnt himself starting the blaze,

and then later set up a plaster.

He used some of the stolen bandages.

Well, why did he take it in the first place?

I don't think he was trying to get you, Mr. Dutton.

He needed the bandages for some other reason.

And since there's no doctor's surgery or chemist

in the village, he probably couldn't

think where else to get them.

Totts or someone was injured at the farm.

My guess is that Stephen knows where he is,

and he's helping to look after him.

Judging by the amount of dressings taken,

I'd say that he was in serious need of medical attention.

Radio Kersey.

We need to find out what Stephen knows.

How would Stephen know about the storeroom?

So I burnt my hand.

That don't mean nothing. - No?

But where you got that bandage from does, doesn't it?

Could have got that from hundreds of places.

Detective superintendent Wycliffe

enters the room at 1532.

So tell us, where could you have got the bandages from, Stephen?

Well, you tell me what that's got to do with the farm, then?

Two cares of arson in two days.

Someone gets injured at the farm.

Farmer goes missing.

A whole lot of medical equipment also goes missing.

So?

Instead of taking Totts to a hospital,

you've been trying to look after him yourself, haven't you?

No.

Come on, Stephen!

He needs treatment!

Well, good thing is that he's still alive.

He is still alive, isn't he?

Obviously, something happened at the farm.

Accident, probably?

Yeah?

Naturally, you didn't wanna get into trouble.

Thought maybe you could sort it all out.

Maybe you got someone to help you.

That's why you made the call from the phone box.

Is that right?

No.

OK, so why don't you tell us your side of the story?

I'm not saying nothing.

We can't afford to stretch things out, Stephen!

All right.

What's happened so far may well be an accident.

But if Totts doesn't get treatment and dies,

you know what that would mean.

It would mean murder, Stephen.

No.

Look, what if Totts died because he got

knocked over by that car?

Then that'd be the driver's fault, right?

Don't forget you're recording the radio appeal in 10 minutes.

Oh, yeah, thank you.

Well, we're certain Totts is the injured man.

He said that?

Ah, well, Stephan asked what would

happen if Totts was found to have

died from the car accident.

And that's implicit, isn't it?

Unfortunately, then he clammed up.

So we definitely know that it was

Totts who got hit by the car.

Or I reckon maybe he was trying to flag it down.

Except, according to the driver,

Totts appears to have run across the road,

disappeared, and then jumped back out onto the road

in front of the car.

Yes, but who says it was just Totts running across the road?

What if somebody was chasing after him?

Well, it wasn't Stephen.

Two minutes later, he was seen half a mile

down the road in the phone box.

He didn't appear to be out of breath.

So there's another person involved.

And whoever that person is, is holding Mr. Totts.

We need to know where Stephen Ling's been keeping Totts.

It's nothing to do with me.

What business would he have coming up here?

None.

We've evidence that he broke into the surgery,

that he took bandages from the storeroom!

How would he know about the storeroom?

I don't know.

Is he a mate of yours?

No.

So who are his friends?

Well, there's only one person for Stephen.

And that's himself.

Seems to me like you know him rather well.

Look, Mr. Wycliffe, I started early so I could finish early.

Then just tell me who he hangs around with!

No one I know.

Where could he be keeping Mr. Totts?

I don't know.

What about friends?

MRS. LING: Well, he don't bring them back here.

He does talk about them?

MRS. LING: Oh, I've given up up trying.

Hoped he'd be more like his dad, at least get a career.

But I dunno what he wants.

I don't think he cares.

Can I take this away with me?

The lab have found traces of blood on Stephen's shoes.

Matches the blood we found here.

Doug's questioned him again, but he's still not talking.

This lad's playing silent as well,

And he's certainly not telling us the truth about Stephen.

Found this on Stephen's bedroom wall.

Looks to me as though they're friends.

If Rob was involved, they wouldn't have

needed to break into the vet's.

He works there.

Maybe that's why they did break in.

Rob?

Who is it you're protecting?

Look, I know you think you're doing the right thing,

but if George Totts dies, this person is

gonna be in a lot of trouble.

You don't think he's dead already?

Hope not.

But sooner we can get to him, the more chance

there is of finding him alive.

You may be able to save your friend from going to prison.

There's probably a dead animal thereafter.

I put some traps down to keep out the foxes.

No one's necessarily gonna find out that you told us.

I can't.

Rob, I don't wanna have to charge you

with obstructing the police!

Let me try talking to him.

Rob, listen.

We don't think this person's a criminal.

And we think some sort of accident occurred.

WYCLIFFE: Lucy.

This is what was attracting the birds.

What is it?

Ever find anything like this before?

It's a pig's tail.

It's not fresh.

Maggot infestation, bits of earth.

Looks like it's been buried. - Where did it come from?

Is this Jenny?

Mrs. Prentice the pig farmer, I met her here.

She was shooting foxes.

Said they'd been after her farrows.

So the fox got one.

Yes, but I've got a feeling it got this one out of the ground.

Sir, over here!

You're right.

This earth's been dug.

Get a stick.

Well, this isn't where we're gonna find Totts.

Look.

This is where the pig's tail's come from.

Some of the animal's been bitten away.

I'm not sure, but I think this is a pig as well.

Why are they buried here?

Disease.

Stop.

These are the farrows that Mrs. Prentice was trying to protect.

That's why she was trying to shoot

the foxes, because you knew they'd started digging them up.

What if she shot Totts?

Blamed him for the spread of the disease?

He could be buried here.

Yeah, but we can't excavate until the ministry's

been down there.

They'll need to quarantine the area.

Mrs. Prentice?

Police.

Anybody home?

Looks like she's gone missing.

Search the house?

Yeah.

I'll do the buildings.

Oh, and be careful.

Mrs. Prentice?

[squealing]

The size of these pigs.

How do you reckon she got 'em to the woods?

I think they were taken there alive.

Probably at night, to stop them being seen.

And then killed with a weapon that doesn't make much noise.

The weapon the dog was killed with.

Yeah.

Out.

Come on.

It has nothing to do with me.

I just came to warn the family that you'd found out.

Why didn't you tell us they were involved?

'Cause I-- I was going out with Jenny first, see?

So what's happened to Mr. Totts?

All they said was, it was an accident.

Who are they?

Jenny and Stephen.

They asked me to get 'em some bandages from the surgery.

Did you?

Well, if I'd have taken them, Mr. Dutton would have known

it was me.

I did the phone call.

I-- I told him when Mrs. Dutton wouldn't

be there and-- and where the bandages were and that.

I didn't know they were gonna set fire to the place.

And where are the Prentices now?

I don't know.

Where have they been keeping George Totts?

I-- I can't think where else they'd have him.

Bandages.

[car rolling up]

That's them.

I'm going.

What do you want?

George Totts, what's happened to him?

I told you, I ain't seen him.

We found the pigs you buried at Leap Hill.

What pigs?

They could be anybody's.

Then you won't mind if we have the vet come down

and examine your animals for notifiable diseases.

My animals are my business.

Not when they threaten the livelihood

of every farmer in the area.

Gran.

I've worked here since I was born.

And when I die, this farm will be for Jenny and her children.

No one is trying to take your farm

away from you, Mrs. Prentice.

Did you shoot Totts because he found out about your farrows?

I shot him.

Is that the gun?

Poacher's arm.

I'm not gonna let you take her away as well.

She didn't mean it.

It was Mr. Totts' fault.

He came nosing around.

he caught us burying up in the words.

He threatened to report us.

We got in an argument.

So you and Stephen followed him back to the farm

and the argument continued.

Mr. Totts wouldn't listen.

He set his dog on us, so I shot it.

He came at me, shouting, crying.

I panicked.

Give me the gun, Mrs. Prentice.

You think you can shoot me and cover that up as well?

How do you think you're gonna get away with it?

Gran.

It's gonna be all right, Gran.

We didn't mean for this to happen.

When Stephen rang me, said that Totts had been shot,

we just thought we could bring Mr. Totts

back here and patch things up.

But he got away, didn't he?

Tried to flag down a car and got himself run over.

Is he still alive, Mrs. Prentice?

He was.

He was getting bad.

He needed treatment.

But we couldn't get him a doctor.

You've taken him to the vet's, haven't you?

They brought him here about half an hour ago.

I've rung for ambulance, but it's too late.

He's dead.

Where is he?

Upstairs.

Look, it wasn't Stephen's fault.

I know, I know.

They didn't know how bad he was.

Sure, sure.

Look, once his farm went downhill,

he lost the will to live.

Will Stephen be prosecuted?

I expect so.

He's prevented us from getting to Totts in time,

and he's also committed arson, Mr. Dutton.

[siren wailing]

Now, Charles, don't be too hard on yourself.

If a man's next door neighbors had him stashed underground,

well, the entire constabulary would have been

hard pushed to recover him.

Yeah.

So what are you charging them with?

Manslaughter?

We don't know if he died from the bullet wound or the car

yet, sir.

No, of course not.

Right.

Well, then, I'd better be off.

Yeah, and goodbye, sir.

And thanks for your support.

[car starts up]

Make a great golf course, wouldn't it, eh?

[theme music]