Original subtitles

"It's Nan's 75th next week," so I tried it.

That's the code.

She's always calling this woman, Claire S.

Hello. This is Detective Sergeant Annie Cassidy.

Can you ring me back as soon as you get this, please?

Our best chance to go invictus, and my best player is sabotaging it.

REPORTER: 'Police are treating this as a murder inquiry.'

Off she goes. Another murder she ain't never gonna solve.

The situation has changed. But your questions haven't.

'Therefore, my answers remain the same.'

Annie Cassidy.

MAN: 'You asked me to call you back.'

Here's a different question for you, then.

A question we've not asked you yet.

Did you kill your wife, Michael?

CLOCK TICKING

No, I did not.

And I'll tell you something else.

The longer this goes on, whether that be here with you

or with those two women you've installed in my house,

the less confident I am that I'm dealing with anyone capable

of finding out who did. KNOCKING ON DOOR

Not now. Can I have a word?

Annie!

Just putting that into the satnav now, Stephen.

It is Stephen, yeah?

Yeah, I've got the address.

But, um, I need you to understand something.

If I meet you there and it turns out not to be a public place,

it's not happening.

Is that clear? Not without uniformed back-up.

Yeah.

So he knew the victim, this guy?

Yeah, he was calling her non-stop in the weeks before she died.

Except we thought he was a she

because she'd put his number under a woman's name.

HE SCOFFS That old chestnut.

Oh, you know that one, do you, Andy?

Right, keep calling Ivan. If you can't get Ivan, get Becky.

I'm coming with you. I said I wouldn't bring back-up.

Annie, it's a murder inquiry.

Yeah, and if he thinks we're doing it his way,

he's more likely to talk, in't he?

'I'm not stupid. I...'

I know you'll have looked through her phone records

and seen how much we spoke.

We, um...

We became extremely close.

You were having an affair? No, no.

It's important to clarify this.

We wanted to, but we stopped ourselves.

For the sake of our marriages.

If Claire, my wife, if she'd ever found out, well...

HE CHUCKLES

...it would've destroyed her.

A marriage ending for a woman her age.

Where do you go after that?

Well, there's nowhere to go, is there?

And he would have erupted. Who?

Really made her suffer. You mean Michael?

Why else do you think we started talking in the first place?

She was this special person stuck in this...

...nothing marriage.

That was why I called you.

Cos even though I am freaking out about this, about how this looks,

you need to understand who she was and what she was dealing with.

Thank you, Stephen. It's on me to help.

Thank you.

But let's get it straight...

you only called me after I called you.

In fact, you only called after it was announced as a murder,

so... you're not telling me this to be helpful,

you're doing it because you've got no choice.

No, I, um... I cared about Sarah.

Did you? More than I should admit.

How many times did you call her after she disappeared?

After you knew she was missing?

Tell me.

How many times in those long, agonising days she was gone

did you just... check she was OK?

HE EXHALES Really?

As many as that?

How did it start, this... "affair you weren't having"?

Where were you on Monday the 23rd?

KNOCKING, DOOR OPENS

Sorry. Er, you've got someone downstairs.

Answer the question. I'll show you out.

Must have a lot on, Stephen. In the office on a Saturday.

I'll talk to my DI. He'll want to interview you properly.

Hi.

BIRDS TWEETING, CAWING

Stay with us. Just for tonight.

No. No, I need to be here for Dad.

Hi.

I'm just getting some stuff.

Alana, I am so sorry.

I-I spoke to Mr Halliday last night

about maybe doing a recital of all her favourite music?

Ah, all way too early. I apologise.

I don't know if you're aware of this, Michael,

but in cases of female murder,

the perpetrator is most likely to be a partner, ex-partner,

or a male well-known to the victim.

Oddly enough, I was not aware of that, no.

Making it crucial we eliminate you from our inquiries

so you can be left to your grief

and we can get on with doing our jobs,

which is what we want us to focus on now.

Now, on the afternoon Sarah disappeared,

you were... watching a rugby match.

Coaching a rugby match, yes.

And that match finished...? At 4:15, yes.

Then my daughter and I, along with a boy called Pa...

I told you all this already.

We got home about 4:30.

At which point, you realised Sarah was missing.

Alana did, yes.

She looked in the room where she teaches,

then went upstairs, looked outside,

and then finally came to me to ask me if I knew where she was.

Which I didn't.

I would also add that everything I did up until that rugby match

can be accounted for.

If I wasn't in a lesson,

I was either supervising an event or in a meeting,

all of which is documented.

That's the upside of having a rigid timetable.

'His alibi's tight.

'Sarah's at the school till lunchtime.'

Several people confirmed that.

So either she left of her own accord,

or she was taken against her will.

And if she was taken...

Then it wasn't by Michael Polly.

The Pollys all had family location tracking on their phones,

but Sarah barely ever took hers anywhere.

So, what now? We let him go?

No. I'll let the search finish first.

We can't force him to stay.

No, but he's not going anywhere, is he?

Guilty or not, he needs to be seen to be cooperating.

KNOCKING ON DOOR

Annie. Can I have a word, please?

You went where?! Well, I tried telling you, but...

But I was in an interview. Yeah.

I was unavailable because I was conducting an important interview.

Yeah. Yeah. So you wait.

I didn't even realise you'd called him in the first place.

This is the first I'm hearing about any of this.

You're the Family Liaison Officer.

He was having an affair with Sarah.

Right, so you come to me, and you tell me that,

and I decide what we do about it. Sorry.

I'm sorry it's come about like this. If I've over-reached...

"If"? This is strong, Ivan.

He's already pointing a finger at Michael,

and I like the idea it's Michael, me more than anyone,

but let's be honest...

Michael's alibied.

DOOR OPENS

His name is Stephen Sedgwick. He's a dad at the school.

His son is the best player on the rugby team.

On the day of the match, his son's big day,

he is nowhere to be seen.

And nor is Sarah Polly.

Maybe that's it.

Why hide the phone under the bed?

Not cos she left in a rush or she was being kidnapped...

Because she didn't want Michael knowing where she was going.

Yes. Or who she was meeting.

HE INHALES

BELLS CHIME

I couldn't face doing it last night, so...

We'll do it later.

Together.

CLOCK TICKING

Yeah.

Mmm.

I told Cindy in the bakery to put that aside.

It's Annie's favourite.

She comes on a Sunday, and we both have a slice.

Well, you should tell Cindy at the bakery

that I come on a Sunday so that you can have a slice.

CAROL LAUGHS

Mmm. Fair.

Mmm, nice.

This, um...

This case you're working on at the school... Mm?

...it does still mean you'll be working on Tina?

What did I promise you in 2004...

you and Ron,

when I was still in uniform?

That you'd find the bastard who did it.

What did I promise you in 2017, as soon as I became a DC?

That you'd find the bastard who did it.

And what do I say every Sunday when we sit down to have a slice of cake?

That you'll find the bastard who did it.

And I will find the bastard who did it.

Not a doubt in my mind. I mean it.

It's only...

...you've been saying that for a while now, haven't you?

Carol... It's all right, love.

You've got a lot on your mind.

MUSIC: 'Beati Quorum Via' by Choir Of New College, Oxford

Michael.

It's in the best interests of the school.

You can see that.

How many years have we worked together, the three of us?

Well, that's why we wanted to do it in person.

You forget how much I supported you? When you needed all that time off?

Parents complaining.

Well, that has nothing to do with... They were queuing up out there.

And you. All that crap before COVID.

That doesn't just disappear on its own, you know.

SHE INHALES DEEPLY

The governors are all agreed.

This is in your interests. Oh, don't patronise me.

Mike... Don't call me Mike.

He calls you Mike. I am not talking to him.

OK. OK. All of us, let's try and keep it civil.

A suspension is a pause.

There needn't be any negative connotation to that word. I agree.

Oh, you agree?

We have end-of-term exams, we have open day,

and not just that, but the 1st XV have this vital game.

And we must protect those things.

She's right. We're a business. MICHAEL GROANS

The parents are clients, and they'll expect certain things.

They'll expect you to step back.

Simone!

I'd like you to draft an email to the parents and staff.

I want this laid out properly,

and that it's temporary, a fortnight,

and it's being done at my suggestion.

Michael, we've written it.

Well, then, I'd like to read that before it goes out.

I want everyone to understand that this is not about me.

It's not a judgement on my character or my ability.

Michael, it went out this morning.

NIRA: These are from June. A sports match.

Parents, staff.

There's Michael there, look.

These were all on a laptop we found in the house.

Sarah again.

She's made an effort, and here's why.

Go forward, please.

Is he looking at her there or at Polly?

We can do better than that.

Look, we've got a live photo.

MOUSE CLICKS, CHEERING ON COMPUTER

They start the affair, they speak every day,

yet the day she goes missing, before anybody knows she's gone,

the calls stop.

So we're saying it's him? No.

We're saying he's interesting.

High on our list.

Your list. I'm just the FLO.

Speaking of which...

No mentioning this to the Pollys.

CHEERING ON COMPUTER

OK. Paperwork, devices, anything we can find on Stephen Sedgwick,

then we bring him in. Yes, guv.

Do you know who I mean by Simon Howell?

He was my predecessor here at the school.

Your mum and I,

we came here just before I took over,

to see the house.

We couldn't believe it.

It was so much nicer than our previous place.

I mean, you wouldn't remember that.

And at one point, as your mum was talking to his wife,

he brought me out here.

And he told me not to move in.

I mean, take the job,

but even though you'd never find anywhere as nice as this,

get somewhere outside the school boundary.

"Because people keep turning up."

How do you mean?

Pupils, parents, staff.

They knock, and they knock, and they keep knocking.

Because this isn't your house,

it's the headmaster's house.

It belongs to the school, it belongs to them, and you belong to them.

You're no longer just Michael, you know.

You're always the headmaster. Yeah.

And it doesn't just affect you.

It affects everyone.

Sarah, she ceases to be Sarah.

She's the headmaster's wife, and then it affects your marriage...

Don't. You're married to the school.

I mean, that's why he was trying to tell me,

because that's why him and his wife were leaving.

Cos they saw the danger they couldn't do it all.

And I looked at him, and I thought, "Well I won't be like that...

"..cos I can handle it...

"..cos I'm better than you."

And so I thanked him for his advice, and I ignored it.

Stop now.

And I never discussed it with your mother, and then it happened to us.

We didn't get out in time.

TICKING

So, I have asked the governors for some time off, and they've agreed.

As short as possible, of course, given how busy we are.

But I think it's important to have some time at home with Alana.

Good. Pleased to hear that.

OK. You're about to ask me how it's going, aren't you?

I recognise that look.

Well, it's mine and Becky's job to keep you updated.

But there is no update,

other than the fact that we're checking everything from the search.

And still talking to locals in Wales,

at the pub where her card was used.

Is that it?

Did you get into her phone?

Yes. Yes, we did.

Right, OK, well, then that's an update, isn't it?

Yes, it would be,

but your lovely mum wasn't glued to her phone like the rest of us are,

so...

Can I show you something quickly? Yes.

Did they leave it like this?

Yeah. It's way worse upstairs.

It's like she's been murdered, and now she's been burgled.

I'm really sorry.

We will sort this out, OK? Even if I've gotta do it myself.

She was on her phone much more than you're making out, you know.

There will be stuff on there.

Not necessarily.

Did you look through it properly?

Alana, we have whole departments dedicated to that stuff.

If there's anything on there, we will find it,

and you'll be the first to know.

BELL RINGS

INDISTINCT CHATTER

There's, like, 60 different articles.

Quieten down, please.

What did I just say?

Three or four different articles about it.

I've seen like... Bauri!

Last time I checked, winning a rugby match

did not give you the right to talk in class.

Or use your phone.

Or have I got that wrong? No, Sir.

Dyce? No, Sir.

What was so interesting, anyway?

Come on.

Someone told me...

Quickly.

They said Dylan's dad's been arrested, Sir.

Say that again.

Arrested.

For murder.

SIREN WAILS

STEPHEN: 'This a tactic of yours, is it?

'Arrest a man and put him in a cell, stewing for five hours?'

Put him on edge?

Interview commences at 13:01.

Stephen, before we get into your relationship with Sarah...

Yeah, there was no real relationship.

OK... What there was were phone calls.

I want no confusion about this point.

But before we get into that, I want you first to tell us

where you were on the afternoon of March 23rd,

specifically, between the hours of...?

12:15 and 4:30.

Well I was, um...

If it helps jog your memory, Stephen,

it's the place you chose to be

instead of watching your son play rugby for his school.

Thanks for that.

It's also the time that Sarah Polly went missing.

Later to be found murdered.

So where you were during those hours is crucial.

I was at the cottage.

'What cottage?'

'We have a holiday cottage we rent out.

'I'd gone over there to check it had been cleaned.'

Got back to Bristol late afternoon

and spent the rest of the evening at home.

With Claire.

And if you want any evidence of that,

then ask our neighbour opposite.

He's got cameras up all over the front of his property.

Cos robberies in Bristol are going up, he says.

Cos he's a nosy bastard is nearer the truth.

'I see them whenever I go out for a cigarette.

'He films everything.

'I never thought I'd be glad about it.'

'Now, this cottage. Where is it?'

'Wales.'

Place called Ogmore.

Near Bridgend.

Was Sarah ever at this cottage?

Maybe once.

'As a friend.'

BELL RINGS

It seemed they all know.

'Sedgwick's dad.

'Presume they've told you this already?'

Must be true, mustn't it?

'The police know about the affair.

'They will not have arrested Sedgwick for no reason.'

Where are you now?

We need to talk in private.

Are you married?

Sorry? Well, you don't wear a ring,

but that doesn't mean anything these days, does it?

So, long-term relationship? Married?

Sorry, are these questions off limits?

No.

So...?

Yes.

And happily?

Happily enough.

Why?

Well, how do you do it?

Work, relationships, how do you manage all that?

I'm not sure how useful it is

comparing yours and Sarah's relationship to mine and...

And...? You were about to tell me his name.

Well, I mean, you don't have to answer any of these...

I'm just making conversation, so... Craig.

I don't know.

"Must do better"?

"See me after school"?

I dunno, what is it that you say to your pupils

when they show you their homework,

You know, it's...

I don't know.

None of us are perfect, I know that.

What about you, Michael?

DOOR CLOSES

That's a good idea.

Go for a walk.

Can I go for a walk?

Not if you go where I think you're gonna go,

because I can't take you there.

Why, is it still sealed off, or...?

No.

Then? Because you'll get yourself into trouble, that's why.

If the press sees you, if you leave marks,

you'll put yourself at the scene, forensically.

I thought they'd done with all that. Yes, they are.

But someone might review this case in the future

and find evidence of you being there.

Why give yourself the hassle?

"Hassle"?

It's where my wife's body was found.

IVAN: This was an extramarital affair,

and Stephen Sedgwick is trying to conceal it.

So we are now not looking for evidence.

We are looking for an absence of it.

You know, what's been deleted?

Messages that have gone, phone records,

odd gaps in the diary, yeah?

I want the CCTV from that neighbour's house opposite. Boss.

And I want a full team down at that Welsh cottage.

See if we can place Sarah there on the day she went missing.

PAUL: Even though it'll be difficult for him to hear,

he's better off knowing, isn't he?

He's gonna find out anyway. He's better off hearing it from you.

You want him to find out.

No... You do.

You don't like him. No, he doesn't like me.

And it doesn't matter what I think of him,

because he's your dad.

You want to look after him, and that makes sense.

But I want to look after you.

HE SCOFFS

Jesus, what's the matter?

What?

I've done something stupid.

When they were on their way to the house, I took something.

I could see...

I could see how it was gonna look, how it was all gonna play out.

What are you talking about? I need you to do me a favour.

I need you to go to the staff room...

APPROACHING CHATTER Out!

I can't go in there.

I need you to go to the staff room.

That's where I hid it.

I need to get rid of it. I'm not sure that's the right thing.

If Dad finds out, it will kill him.

I cannot lose them both.

HE STUTTERS

Everything all right? Everything's fine.

Mind if I...? Of course. Sorry.

BIRDS CAWING

Sarah was down there.

Melodie, the dog walker, came from across there.

I am married...

but not happily.

He left me for another woman, younger woman.

It's hard, isn't it?

When things get tough, it's hard to talk about.

It's embarrassing.

BELLS RING

You hear that?

That's the school chapel bell. That's how close we are.

And that's why I wanted to come here...

...to ask you that whoever did this, whoever left Sarah here...

...did they want people to think it was me?

RINGING CONTINUES

DOOR CLOSES

Did you read what's inside? Course not.

What's the big deal about it, anyway? Who's it by?

It's not the book. I just used that to hide them in.

It's, um...

It's Mum's diary...

from her Filofax.

I knew that's where she wrote about things, about...

him.

Sedgwick or your dad?

Both.

And I took the pages out, the journal section,

the morning after she first went missing

to stop Dad reading them.

Um...

and then the police said they were gonna come and search the house.

I...

knew if they found it, it would make Dad look bad.

It would give him motive.

That's...

...how they would twist things.

So you hid them?

HE INHALES SLOWLY

Have you read them?

All of them? Enough.

I couldn't get to the end.

So, what now?

I'm gonna take them home and burn them.

You can't. Why?

What if they search the staff room? It's her own private business.

It's evidence. You need to give it to the police.

No, no, they'll get the wrong idea.

She says how much she loves him, Sedgwick.

How she was planning to leave, for months and months.

It says it over and over... It doesn't matter what she says.

...and it makes Dad look guilty.

You cannot get drawn into this.

So what if it says she was planning on leaving your dad?

OK, he wouldn't have wanted that.

Hmm? But maybe, Sedgwick, he might not have wanted that either.

Otherwise, if it had been months and months and months...

...why hadn't they done it already?

It's evidence against the both of them.

Guv!

These messages were deleted off Sedgwick's phone.

Sarah deleted the same ones off hers,

but she didn't delete them from the cloud.

Can you print these off?

Thought you might say that.

If there were any text messages, there wouldn't have been many.

There are 700 on your phone.

That's total nonsense.

Sorry, you're right.

There WERE 700 on your phone,

and then, the day before Sarah went missing,

you deleted them.

All of them. In one go.

Her final message... May as well start at the end.

...was pretty short and to the point, wasn't it?

I don't recall.

You don't remember what it said? No, why don't you remind me?

Why not?

Her last message simply says, "It's over."

IVAN SCOFFS

That's odd because if there was no affair,

then what was it that was over, exactly?

SOFTLY: Friendship. Bit louder.

RAISES VOICE: The friendship. And what did you reply to that?

Or has that slipped your mind as well?

Shall I...? Why not?

"Who the hell do you think you are?

"Making all these promises, trying to make me leave C,

"then calling it quits.

"You're going to pay for this.

"You have no idea. You're gonna fucking pay".

That's one hell of a friendship.

The cottage you rent out is in Ogmore, yeah? Mm-hm.

So if Sarah did go there, it wasn't to stay there?

I don't think so. Hmm.

So when our forensics team arrive there later,

they won't find any evidence of her in any of the bedrooms?

Stephen?

'I'm sorry. It's a lot to take in.'

On the afternoon she went missing,

Sarah Polly used her cash card at The Red Hare pub.

A five-minute drive to your cottage.

She bought cigarettes.

She doesn't smoke. No, but you do.

You told us your neighbour Alec films you

every time you go out for a cigarette.

That's what you said, wasn't it?

'That was me.

'I had her card.'

We were close, I...

I admit it. I admit that now. I...

We spent time together...

...when we could.

And...

because of that, she left her card in my car.

I'd left my wallet at home, so I used that instead.

Why are you hiding all this? I'm not hiding.

I'm helping. Where is that card now?

If that's your story, and you had it with on you on the Monday,

then where is it now?

It's in my wallet.

Which was taken from me when I arrived here.

BIRDS TWEETING, CAWING

SHE EXHALES

DOOR OPENS

DOOR SLAMS

I've taken that compassionate leave. I've confirmed it.

PHONE RINGS Hey, Becky.

'You were right about Sedgwick. He's got Sarah's bank card.'

OK, thank you. Bye.

That was Becky saying that she's coming to take over,

if there was anything you needed her to bring?

No, I didn't think so.

I'll leave you to it.

Thanks. Bye.

DOOR OPENS

DOOR CLOSES

CAR ENGINE STARTS

Where did you go? I told you.

To confirm that compassionate leave.

Well, you were gone a long time. Well, it took a long time.

What's in your pocket?

Sorry?

What have you got in your pocket?

Why are you being like this? I'm just asking you a question.

No. No, you're interrogating me like I'm a sixth-former.

Show me.

CLOCK TICKING

They're pages... from Mum's Filofax.

Diary pages.

I was worried... I...

I didn't want her private thoughts being pored over by the police.

And have you read them?

Not all of them, no. Not to the end.

Well, can you read them to me?

I mean, if you think they're worth keeping from the police,

I'd like to hear what they have to say.

You don't want that.

Don't I?

Well, why don't you start with the week she went missing?

Dad, please. You know, the days before she died.

Start there.

SHE EXHALES SOFTLY

Read.

"He's impossible.

"The way he talks to me, the way he looks through me.

"These days, every time I see him in the house,

"I ask myself..." SHE SIGHS SOFTLY

Keep reading.

"I ask myself, whatever attracted me?

"What the hell was I thinking? Those..."

Keep reading.

"Those shoes, clothes, hair, the pompous way he strides around."

Dad, Dad, people...

people write things, and they don't mean them.

It doesn't... It doesn't mean anything.

Just keep reading.

"But with..."

No, no. Don't edit them or skip anything. Just keep reading.

"But with Stephen, it's different.

"Stephen wants me.

"Stephen knows how to pleasure me.

"We did it..." Keep reading.

"We did it in his car and his house.

"He knows what to do, how... to touch.

"He takes his time, until..."

Keep reading. Dad, please...

Keep... reading.

"He takes his time until I am satisfied.

"He's going to leave Claire.

"He wants me to leave Michael.

"Boring Michael...

"..who everyone laughs at.

"And I want to.

"I have to.

"You only get one life."

I never wanted you to know.

And, um...

...what are you gonna do about them?

Burn them. SHE SNIFFS

It's her own... private business. I...

What do you think?

Paul thinks I should take them to the police.

Well, my advice is that, um...

...you should do what you think is right...

...now that Mum isn't here.

NIRA: Sedgwick's got a cottage in Wales.

He said he used her card when he was there.

They were there together? No.

Claims he was alone. Reckons she left the card in his car.

Well, you know what that is, don't you?

That's a man drowning in his own bullshit,

because if I left my card, I'd want it back. Exactly.

His neighbour in Bristol's got all his comings and goings on CCTV.

That's the house there.

All right for some. Here's Sedgwick leaving.

ANPR picks him up on the Severn Bridge...

...then a few hours later,

back over the bridge he comes.

Back to Bristol in time for tea.

Both trips, he's on his own in the car.

In the front of the car, anyway.

I'm gonna call the CPS. See what we need in order to charge.

How long can we keep him? Till 6:30.

What's the time now? Six.

OK, we've got half an hour.

BELLS RING

BECKY: Everything OK? Hi. There's something I forgot.

DOOR CREAKS

It's probably not even helpful. It's all helpful.

Well, everyone's been saying that she was killed in the afternoon,

during the rugby match. Yes?

Everyone? Well, online and stuff.

I mean, it is on there. You can't avoid it.

But that can't be right. She must have been killed later.

And why is that?

Well, because I walk the same route every day, always at 4:30.

And I walked past the house, didn't I, on that first afternoon?

The afternoon that Sarah went missing.

And I said hello to Michael Polly,

and then I went on my way, same way I always go.

But Caspar never found her.

So, as we thought - she must have gone missing,

gone somewhere, and then come back.

BECKY: 'Yeah, or been dumped there later.'

The day the dog found her.

OK. Let me check again.

OK, Duncan.

We need footage of Sedgwick leaving the house again,

so keep scrolling through.

I want evidence of him moving the body.

6:20. OK.

FIRE CRACKLES

This is Monday night, so day she went missing.

Sedgwick comes home from Wales, he parks up, and he never leaves.

Family's tucked up for the night. Nobody budges.

Just keep scrolling forward.

Keep going.

Are we sure he didn't leave again that night?

No, he didn't. Look.

Nothing.

HE EXHALES

Was that car there when we started scrolling?

Well, no, it's just arrived.

What time is it? Er, 11:15.

So, a car arrives at 11:15...

Nobody gets out? Not yet.

There they are. Zoom in.

That's Michael Polly.

FIRE CRACKLES

At least we still have each other.

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