Original subtitles

Don't forget the celebrant. I won't forget the celebrant. And then no

back. I don't want to turn back.

You're the best.

Cheers. The best man.

You're choking.

Brilliant.

I've got to get cracking on a box night.

Not before I have a bed.

Let's get on the floor. Let's get on the floor. Get down here, okay?

Hello? Hello?

You should probably take Frankie.

Permanently. so she's not pulled between two people.

Well, I dismember them with a rusty old circular saw.

I mean, yeah.

One of those serrated blade jobbies, you know, really firing up stuff with their

arms and legs.

Time fiction bestseller Brendan Cratmore starting our festival with a bang.

Bill Carrera, author of the critically acclaimed Alex Thorne Mysteries.

What's your perfect murder?

If I had to choose, it would be something silent, untraceable.

Bore them to death?

I was going to suggest the pillow over the face.

Leave no evidence, almost foolproof.

Gripping star.

Lena.

You had us all gasping for breath with the latest instalment of your mermaid

-themed romantic series, The Siren's Conch.

How would you do away with your victim?

Well, murder isn't something that I turn my mind to very often. I think that my

readers prefer drowning in desire.

Brendan.

You've always said that when you're writing Johnny Fox, you had to live his

life. Wasn't it dangerous immersing yourself in the criminal underworld?

There's no other way to get inside a story.

That's why Johnny Fox feels so real.

What about Lena's work?

Do you expect her to breathe underwater or to commune with Poseidon for her...

Sorry, what's the genre again, Lena? Mermaid smut.

Romanticy.

I think that the true appeal of my work is the celebration of women unashamedly

owning and satisfying their desires.

Maybe the idea of a satisfied woman is foreign to you, Brendan.

Well, in the words of Johnny Fox, there's nothing as lethal as a woman's

But hey, you know, whatever floats your boat.

I mean, who cares if the critics call it thinly disguised pornography?

And they also called your novels Airport Pulp, as I recall.

Oh, there you go, Will.

There's your latest review.

Aren't you officially retired?

Writer's block.

Wrong.

Coming soon, my new novel.

Branded a Johnny Fox mystery.

A bikey gang.

It's cutting a murderous wave across the country, leaving a slew of bodies in

their wake, each victim branded on their wrist.

Please tell me you didn't brand yourself.

I told you. I've got to live Johnny Fox's life.

Okay, but you killed him off in your last book. He's dead.

It's going to take more than death to stop Johnny Fox.

We haven't even started the Q &A.

Yeah, make yourself useful. We have questions.

Okay,

well, I'm his publisher, ladies and gentlemen, and not even I knew about

one.

And that was our last question. Please thank our panellists. Lena Shaw, Will

Pereira, and who knows where he's gone, Brendan Trutmore.

Don't miss our next panel, Wave of Hormones, Coastal YA.

He swiped me this before the panel started.

Summoned. Whiskey and cigars with my girls after the panel.

Good, because he's got some explaining to do.

were brilliant.

I'm going to go find a quiet place for this one.

I love you. I love you too.

Did you really not know about Brendan's new book?

He wasn't a guaranteed bestseller. I'd kill him.

Brendan, you owe me decals.

Brendan?

Blimey. Brendan Shrapmore.

I read three of his Johnny Fox books on the plane back from the UK once. Big

mistake. Oh, yeah, they're terrible.

Oh, I couldn't put them down. Didn't sleep a wink.

Brutality.

Guest access only.

Do we have a list of who was staying here? The only other ones that checked

were the two panellists and the moderator.

OK.

Reggie, can you tap off the area and Felix get statements from all the

attendees? Yeah, sure.

Be done.

Taylor dropped the knife then. Looks like it.

Oh, Glenn.

Already here.

Morning, mate.

That wound to the upper chair.

Any defence wounds?

Not that I can see, no.

A writer who died with his pen in his hand.

How poetic.

The patch means death.

A Johnny Fox mystery.

That is absolutely savage.

There's a scene in there with a pillowcase full of broken glass.

Gave me nightmares.

Branded.

The new Johnny Fox.

Get him.

It's a few bits of broken gold chain.

Someone must have ripped the chain from around his neck.

Did you check his pockets? Was there a wallet?

Nothing in there.

A broken gold chain. No wallet. Signs of forced entry here.

Robbery gone wrong?

Brendan came in through the back, didn't see them. They got startled?

He's still holding his pen, so clearly he was at the desk signing when the

killer came in.

The intruder broke the lock on the front door with...

With what? With what? With... That.

But it's already unlocked.

It snips to the right, so why smash it?

Unless you wanted it to look like a robbery gone wrong, a horrible

accident with no premeditation.

The killer didn't exit through the front door. They dropped the knife here as

they left.

We're surrounded by cliffs.

There's only one way in, the guest -only gate.

So the killer had to be a salon with access.

Mm -hmm.

How's Frankie?

Driving me nuts.

Barking at every surfer that walks past.

She misses you.

Take her for a run if you wanted to.

I think a claim breaks easier.

Victims are walking pharmacy.

Bathroom is full of prescription drugs.

We'll get them tested.

Hey, don't work too late. You've got to be at the surf club for seven.

I'll book tonight.

I'll book.

It's going to be debauchery and chaos.

I've, uh... I've booked a magician.

Glenn?

Mackenzie?

So who's on the body?

Miranda East, I'm Brendan's publisher.

I was hosting the panel for Brendan and my other writers, Will Pereira and Lena

here. The panel was from 10 till 11am?

Yes, but Brendan walked out early, about 10 .30. Not for the first time either,

he hates the Q &A.

We have questions.

Typical Brendan.

Made his big announcement and then waltzed off.

What was this announcement?

His first book in five years, branded.

But the manuscript was in his room.

So it exists.

Shouldn't his publisher know about his new novel?

Well, you would think.

I had no idea it was even happening. He sprung it on us while we were on the

panel. Loved to keep me and everyone on their toes. Nightmare, really.

Sounds like he was quite difficult to work with.

No, no, not at all.

I mean, he could be a bit erratic.

You knew him pretty well?

I used to be his assistant.

Brendan always encouraged me to write.

Even when I didn't know what I was doing, he saw something in me.

So Brendan left the panel, the rest of you stayed for the Q &A.

Why go to his villa afterwards?

Oh, he slipped me this note.

Whiskey and cigars with my girls after the panel B.

With my girls.

I know.

I'm a slightly patronizing.

What happened when you got there?

So we went inside and he was, you know, covered in

blood, still holding his pen.

And I tried to call the police, but I couldn't get any reception at the villa,

so I had to run back out.

In those... I broke a heel on the stupid drain.

Do you know if Brendan had any enemies at all?

Well, according to him, he had enemies baying for his blood from Hobart to Cape

York. What about today? Anyone suspicious in the audience?

Ginny would have noticed.

My wife.

She was filming the panel.

I'll introduce you.

No, no one's there. Just your usual book festival crowd.

And you were at the panel the whole time?

Yeah.

Did you see anyone following Brendan when he left?

Arlo was grizzling. I was trying to film it. Will made the footage.

Yeah, I'll send it when I get a chance.

Now? Please.

Fine.

But my camera's in the room.

Oh.

When Miranda left, what did you do?

Well, I was right behind her.

That's when we ran into Will.

Brendan's dead.

He's coming up the path.

Will Ferreira. Sorry, I'm not signing anything right now.

Oh, I was so hoping you could make one out to Detective Sergeant Mackenzie

Clark.

Hello, Detective Sergeant.

Was he really stabbed?

Miranda said something about a knife.

Yeah, but perhaps if I ask the questions?

Of course.

When did you last see Brendan?

When he walked off.

And you didn't leave the panel at all?

No.

What about after the Q &A?

I signed some books and then headed back to my villa.

Where did you bump into Miranda and Lena?

In the garden. They were very shaken. I told them not to go back into Brendan's

villa.

Why?

They'd already disturbed the crime scene once.

Not great for forensics if they kept going back in.

Expert, are you?

Not detective.

I've read a lot of crime novels.

I know the basics.

I've read them.

You don't.

Ah, yes.

Now, this is interesting.

I wonder who did the cover art.

Now, that one, that's boring.

Yeah. A copy of Will's book has been placed in front of all of Brendan.

So, nobody's reported a robbery or anything suspicious.

Staff accounted for. They were all at a meeting, nowhere near the village.

I just got to chase up a couple, but they'll get back to me soon.

Who else had access?

Just the four people on the panel.

And Ginny, who was filming. One of them must have snuck out.

Doesn't look like it. I've just skimmed through Ginny's footage.

They were present the whole time.

Brendan surprises everyone with the announcement of a new book, and then 35

minutes later, he's dead.

One of the enemies that Miranda and Lena mentioned?

They couldn't have got in.

The only people who could have killed Brendan had guest access, and they were

all on that panel. I saw them on the footage.

It's impossible.

Sure. Author of mermaid -themed erotica. What are we calling it?

Romantic -y. Yeah, not my thing.

Romance, absolutely.

No,

thanks.

Okay. She is the former assistant to Brendan, Miranda East, his publisher,

Will Pereira, who's, yes, another crime fiction author.

Yes, that is the panel.

And then Ginny Shaw, Lena's wife, she was filming the whole thing.

Just, can I, why, what, what?

Oh, it's for the books.

Has that been airbrushed? No, it has not.

Mackenzie, I've been reviewing the footage from the panel and Will is no

Brendan, I can tell you that.

But listen to this.

My heroine, Elka, isn't based on myself.

She's more of a combination.

She's our baby boy.

Ah, Luna and Ginny's baby.

Arlo.

Oh, it's getting fainter.

Ginny said she was at the panel the whole time, but it sounds like she left

the baby.

Wait, I also just got an email from one of the staff that left early.

He said he saw Brendan arguing with the woman holding a baby before the panel.

She said, you have no idea who you're dealing with.

Well, we need to speak to Ginny again.

Colin.

I want that out of here.

So sorry.

Did you leave the panel this morning at any point? I took Arlo outside to change

in. I've gone, like, five minutes?

Yeah. Six minutes, actually. We can hear your return on the footage.

I wasn't trying to hide it. I just forgot.

I'm so sleep -deprived, I nearly brushed my teeth with nappy cream this morning.

Did you have an altercation with Brendan prior to the panel?

A small one.

I'd just gotten Arlo to sleep and Brendan bumped into us. Woke him up.

You have no idea who you're dealing with.

That sounds like a threat.

Did I say that?

I didn't mean to threaten him. I'm just on a very short fuse at the moment.

I haven't slept more than a few hours in the three months since we had him.

And we went to so much trouble to have him.

Wasn't smooth sailing.

Putting it lightly.

But he was worth it.

Actually, do you mind? No.

Oh, hello.

You're okay.

Yeah.

Must be tough travelling with a baby.

Wouldn't you rather stay at home?

Oh, no.

Lena's worked so hard to get away from Brendan to focus on her career. I just

want to be as supportive as I can.

Get away from him.

I thought he encouraged her.

She'd say that, but back when she was his assistant, she did everything for

His cleaning, his research, signed his books for him, the work.

Sorry, he's a bit of a spewer.

The Brendan Trapmore Brandon manuscript?

Oh, gosh.

Inconsistent tenses, spelling all over the shop, and the women...

The characters aren't well -rounded at all. I mean, they're well -rounded, if

you know what I mean, but their personalities are... Like you could do

That is uncanny that you should say that, Felix.

The Rocco files sophisticated crime fiction from a mature female

Now, this little baby, she's ready for her first review.

So, are either of you keen to give it a go?

Yeah?

Yes.

Felix! Good.

Thank you so much.

I cannot wait to hear your thoughts.

Biggie?

Good on you, Felix.

Whoa!

Watch him.

Oh, come on.

All this space and they parked this close.

I think that's Miranda's car.

This old bum?

Did you not see her high heels? That's a week's wages right there.

And that broken heel. What a waste.

Why do you think it's hers?

Loafers. Under the steering wheel.

You shouldn't drive a car in stilettos.

Felix?

A fight?

Who?

This is you and Brendan.

Last year's festival.

Looks like you took a real swing at Brendan there.

Almost took out Lena as well.

Not my finest hour.

What was the fight about?

Brendan harangued Miranda for an advance copy of my book and decided to use this

very public forum to spoil the ending.

But no one was hurt.

I wasn't. And nothing stopped Brendan when he was in the mood. He took a fan

back to his villa that night, probably some poor moon -eyed aspiring writer who

thought he was the real deal.

You're saying he wasn't?

He was very good at selling a certain image, especially to people he wanted to

sleep with.

Your image is very different, though, isn't it?

I mean, you know, I've read the Alex Thorne novels.

So you said.

What did you think?

Yeah.

I guess the killer in the first one.

When? Page 20.

Oh, 15.

The serviette.

I mean, where else is the powder going to come from?

Yeah, of course.

Well, you should read the new one. It's out now, and there's a red herring in it

that I'm very proud of. Putting the reader one way so they don't look the

I've improved, Detective.

Well, your sales have at least.

A huge jump in the last five years since Brendan stopped writing.

Almost as well as Brendan in his prime.

It's not a competition.

So why did you put your book in front of his on the display table this morning?

No idea what you're talking about.

I think you were livid that he was back with a new novel because you knew it

would eat into your sales.

Brandon, the Johnny Fox mystery.

You're suggesting I killed Brendan over a book.

Not just absurd.

Impossible.

I was on the panel, on camera, while he was being murdered.

Oh, Brendan took his research seriously.

Miranda's financials?

Absolute shambles.

She's deep in the red with debts.

Everywhere. Brendan announcing a new Johnny Fox novel must have been very

news for her.

That's a shame he didn't put the same effort into his prose as he did his

handwriting. Son of a... Who are they?

A local bikey gang.

He must have been talking to them about his book.

Hang on.

Huh.

Brendan used biro in all of these.

Until his most recent one.

May I switch pens?

Yes. Huh.

To this rather expensive -looking fountain pen.

Going by his journals, he'd never used it before.

A gift, maybe?

I'll chase it up.

Stationery is my thing, so... Oh, how did you go with the branded manuscript?

Oh, Lord, where do I start?

You know what? I'll just read it myself.

I'd love to know.

Frankie! It's not him!

I'm sorry.

How's Brandon?

Do we know how Johnny survives being chopped up into a thousand pieces by

propeller in the last book?

No.

All he said about it is that... No helicopter blade is as lethal as the

a treacherous woman.

He's not wrong.

Frankie?

Nate. Did it get him? Was she bitten?

Well, Colin, I've got to get him a vet.

Shall I call Glenn?

No, no, no. Just let him enjoy his night.

That's actually my body.

I believe that. I believe that.

All right, team. The fun bus is arriving out front. So finish your drinks and

let's go.

Which of the two bars are going to your sticky floor or the other one?

Oh, you little faith. I know you're better than that.

You're a legend, Carl.

You are the best man.

The night's not started yet. Let's go, people.

Can't beat it, mate. You've had some knocks lately, but you always come

Come on, mate.

All right, let's do it.

How is

she?

Yeah, they gave her the antivenom, and it put on an IV drip.

Hi, Sarah.

Hi, Glenn.

They said that we should prepare ourselves.

No change.

Colin told you?

I'm glad he did.

I yelled at her earlier.

She was barking and barking.

She was barking at the snake.

She was trying to warn you, Michael.

Why would you let her go off like that?

No, that's not fair.

Ever since she was a puppy, she's been running around at Mum's place and at

place. This was an accident. This is not my fault. I'm not saying it's your

fault. I'm saying that since you've come back, these things just keep happening.

What are you talking about?

Come on, Mac.

You know exactly what I'm talking about.

And since you've come home, everything is harder. Oh, your life. It would just

be so much easier if I'd never come back.

Yeah, I guess it would be.

Uh -huh.

I'm going to go.

Mary, you let me know if there's a change.

How's Frankie?

Um, it could go either way.

Or think.

Um, how are you?

Colin, can we... Can we just... work?

How's Johnny Fox?

Well, he's heartbroken because he found out his lover, Calypso, has found love

with someone else because, well, she thought he was dead.

What birth date's it on?

Found love.

With a woman.

Go on.

Do you know who Calypso is in Greek mythology?

Would it surprise you if I told you I didn't?

The one who can feel.

And she's a mermaid.

A mermaid?

I was in love with him. I mean, it felt like love, but then everything does when

you're 25.

Eventually, I realised that what I really wanted was his approval, which is

of why I had to stop working for him, to make my own way as a writer and a

person.

You were tempted back to him, though, weren't you?

You talk quite a lot about giving in to your desires.

Is that what happened last year, when he took a fan back to his room?

This poor moon -eyed aspiring writer who thought he was the real deal.

One.

A moment of weakness.

Ginny and I had been going through hell with IVF and Brendan could be very...

charismatic.

Ginny doesn't know.

She was the thing about Brendan.

She thought that he mistreated me when I was his assistant.

Did he?

Maybe. He was a terrible boss.

But he was an amazing writing teacher.

And now he's dead.

The man who holds a secret that could ruin your relationship.

You're wrong.

Ginny and I went through the ringer to have Arlo.

Years of IVF. If we can survive that, then me having a one -nighter with

isn't going to make a dint.

You look up to someone for years.

They take advantage of you, then sell you out in their book.

Yeah, but would you kill for it?

She's right. Her and Ginny have been through a lot.

Mackenzie, I have a word with you.

Hmm?

Is there any news on Frankie?

Oh, uh, no.

Well, if you need some time off, you need to go to the vet.

They'll update me if anything changes.

Or Glenn.

Glenn.

He's very upset about this.

You know, he was quiet.

Is everything okay there?

Professionally?

Yeah, of course.

It's fine.

Yeah, of course.

Oh, well then.

Off you go.

Are you glad I came back?

Am I glad?

Hmm.

Is me being here something that's made your life easier?

You mean professionally?

Yes, I do, of course.

Absolutely.

What about on any other level?

Don't you have something you have to be doing? Yeah, I do. Yeah.

What are you up to there?

Nothing. Nothing.

Nothing.

It's Reggie's book.

I told her I'd give it a read and give her my thoughts.

Is it good?

Good. Uh, look, not my thing.

Generally, I prefer something a little less... adult.

Oh, my days.

I mean, people can read and write whatever they want. Who am I to judge?

But she was my teacher.

Yeah, well, um... Good luck with that.

Mamma mia.

Enzo, potrei essere tua madre.

Si.

Allora, se mai dovessi venire in Australia, chiamami.

Si.

Ciao, ciao.

What a lovely bloke.

What?

Oh, oh, I've been learning Italian on my phone for the last few months. I'm on a

200 -day streak.

Anyway, that was the charming Enzo from the Greste Company in Milano. That's

Milan. That is where Brennan's pen comes from.

Expensive? Oh, yeah.

So, why would a killer wanting to sell us a robbery gone wrong leave it behind?

Maybe they didn't know it was expensive.

Did Enzo... Enzo.

Yep. Did they tell us who bought it? A company called 43 Global.

And what do they do?

They're Brendan's new publisher.

Signed contract from 43 Global, a massive media company with exclusive

the new... Johnny Fox series, starting with Branded. Not just the book.

Film adaptations, television rights, graphic novels, the works.

43 such sharks they would have promised him the world.

You knew.

I had an idea. People talk.

Losing your best -selling author.

Tough break for a struggling publisher.

Money and fame.

were all that mattered to him, not loyalty and sure as hell not friendship.

Do you know his first book was rejected nine times before I took it on? I built

him up from nothing, and this is how he repays me.

A writer of brutal crime novels gets brutally murdered. That's a story that

guarantees his old bestsellers keep selling for you.

I am.

I'd kill him, all right.

But he was already dead when I found him.

Autopsy results, Fran.

I haven't heard anything.

Have you?

No.

I'm going to go there after this.

Autopsy, then.

Fatal wound to the right lung and the knife in the blood is a match.

Any prints?

No. No sign of struggle either, which I think I can explain.

Stab wound was what killed him.

But I've done a basic toxin.

Well, there were a lot of drugs in his room. And he took all of them. He would

have been, let's just say, slow.

Yep. That explains why he was stabbed in the chest. But there was no sign of a

struggle.

His inner left wrist, was there any branding or scarification?

No. No tattoos, no scars.

But I suppose a tough guy, he didn't have much to show for it.

Right. He had nothing to do with the funnel webs.

He wasn't living Johnny Fox's life.

Doesn't look like it.

But someone would.

What do you want now?

Lena told me about Brendan, if that's why you're here.

It was a dumb mistake that meant nothing.

Actually, we're here about your tattoo.

You've covered it in vine leaves, but it's a funnel web spider, isn't it?

So?

The symbol of the funnel web spiky gang, right?

Can we please see your wrist?

They call it the exit fee.

Punishment for leaving.

You hold out your arm, cut your teeth, and once it's done, you're free.

When I was working for Brendan, I told him Ginny's story.

Showing off, I suppose.

Wanted him to think that I was cool and dangerous.

I never thought that he'd use it.

So you knew about Brenda before the announcement?

Well, sort of.

I mean, he rang me trying to get my permission to use Ginny's story.

I said no.

You have no idea who you're dealing with.

It was a threat.

Yeah.

It was.

And I assumed that was the end of it.

But then he announced it on the panel.

Branded as Johnny Foxx Mystery.

He didn't even change the name of the gang.

The connection to me is so obvious.

The funnel webs would think you've spoken to Brendan.

Yeah.

And the one thing they don't like is publicity.

You think they'd come after you in retribution?

I know they would.

It's a pretty good reason to want to take Brendan out of the picture,

you to danger like that.

I have a dodgy past.

I was born into it.

My dad was in it, my brothers, but it was never by choice. I'm not a killer.

Not even to protect your family?

I'd do anything to protect my family.

But I told him he couldn't use my story and assumed that was it.

You're the only... Only one that had opportunity.

I had a baby strapped to me all day.

I couldn't have killed anyone.

Ginny had good reason to hate Brendan, putting her family in danger like that.

And having a thing with Lena.

Lena said Ginny didn't know beforehand, but maybe she did.

But she only had a six -minute window during that Q &A, not a lot of time.

And hard to imagine her doing a thing with Arlo there.

Where are we going?

Fruit shop.

Baby Arlo?

Straps. Wow, impressive skills, Felix.

Yeah, I don't have a world's best uncle mug for nothing.

Okay, right.

So, Judy left the panel at 10 .46, back at 10 .52.

Ready?

Wow, wow. Baby crying. Go.

Oh, no, leave it.

Oh, no, leave him. Don't pick him up.

I'm Brendan, writing in my notebook with my expensive, beautiful pen.

Stop!

Okay, yep, stop. And you're back at the panel.

Even if you legged it, you wouldn't have made it.

Then how did it happen?

You... You dropped your pen.

Which makes sense, doesn't it?

Does it?

If someone attacked you with a knife, you would drop your pen, wouldn't you?

Brendan didn't.

Maybe he didn't see them. The killer surprised him. How could they surprise

when he was stabbed in the chest?

There were no defensive wounds on his body. It's like he didn't fight back at

all. Why not?

Freeze response?

It happens.

Well, he didn't freeze when Will hit him at last year's Writers' Festival.

It's almost like he didn't see his... Sheila coming at all, but...

He

didn't see them.

Because it hadn't happened yet.

What are you doing?

The knife had to go somewhere.

Yeah, in an evidence bag.

And this one?

Brendan Trapmore, best -selling crime writer, murdered in his

villa, but much like his infamous rogue detective,

Johnny Fox.

The story of his murder wasn't what it seemed. Act 1.

Brendan returns to his villa. Act 2.

Lena and Miranda find his body. But the twist.

Brendan wasn't actually murdered until Act 3.

Our killer crafted the story of a robbery gone wrong. The smashed lock on

front door.

The gold chain ripped from his neck. The bloodied knife on the deck. But I

found... Some plot holes.

I did.

Including that expensive pen.

Not just a gift from Brendan's new publisher, no. This pen was the

complication in our killer's plot.

Why would a killer who wanted to sell us a robbery not take it? I mean, it was

such a dead giveaway.

Because you had to leave the scene exactly as it looked when you discovered

Brendan's body.

Isn't that right, Lena?

What? The lock on the front door, that was easy enough to fudge. You just lead

Miranda round the back to see the knife that you'd planted there earlier.

Look.

And you pointed it out to her, setting your scene.

A knife covered in...

fake blood, just like your hands when you discovered Brendan's body.

It really is just such a lovely shade of red, that lip gloss.

Why would I put a knife there?

To sell the fiction that Brendan had already been stabbed and the fleeing

had dropped the knife.

A knife Brendan didn't see because he came in through the front door.

So, what other conclusion could there be other than Brendan was dead? But he was

dead. No, Miranda, he just...

looked it.

He had fallen down there after struggling to sign his books because he

drugged by a former assistant who knew his habits.

All you had to do was slip a mix of the barbiturates and sedatives that he had

on him into his whiskey before the panel.

You knew that he never went to the Q &A, but he would go back for his usual

smoke and drink.

When the drugs took effect, Brendan tried to stand to get help or to get to

bed. I don't know, but the important thing is he was holding that pen when he

slid to the floor and fell unconscious.

Which brings me to the note.

Ginny said as his assistant, you did everything for Brendan. I did books for

him, the works. It's a pretty good copy of Brendan's handwriting.

Why would I do that?

Invite myself and Miranda there to make sure you had a witness.

Someone to say Brendan was dead when you found him.

And then when Miranda left to call the police, that's when you took your

And then you quickly...

staged the scene to look like a robbery, smashing the lock, ripping the chain,

lifting his wallet, but you couldn't take that pen.

Miranda had already seen it.

Robbery scene set.

You swapped the real murder weapon for the knife covered in your lip gloss that

you had planted there earlier.

Then there was only one thing left to do, drop the decoy knife down the drain,

the same drain that Miranda broke her designer heel on.

Your prints were all over it, Lena.

Brendan Trapmore put your family at risk from the funnel web.

But as it so happens, he put your family at risk in more ways than one.

As we all know, in Greek mythology, Calypso... A mermaid whose name

as she who conceals.

I had a one -night stand.

So what? With Brendan at this venue at last year's festival, that's what.

That is how you knew there was no phone reception in Brendan's villa and Miranda

would need to leave to call the police.

Giving you your chance to shut him up for good.

Why would she do that?

In your room, we found... Lactation medication.

To help Ginny breastfeed.

Because you're Arlo's birth mother.

Aren't you, Lena? Not Ginny.

Fine.

I did the IVF. I carried Arlo. Ginny breastfeeds.

That doesn't prove anything.

Are you going to tell her?

Or am I?

Arlo is Brendan's son.

No. No, that's not possible.

Conceived a year ago at last year's Writers' Festival.

He's three months old, isn't he?

You can't prove that.

I already have.

Sorry. He's a bit of a spewer.

The DNA's a match.

Brendan was Arlo's father.

You knew he would hold that over you forever.

You knew that even though you and Ginny have survived so much, that was the one

threat that could break your family apart.

After everything we've been through.

I couldn't risk losing our family.

I couldn't.

And now you have.

Lynn Shaw, you're under arrest for murder. Brendan Cameron, please.

You don't have to say or do anything, but anything you do say or do, maybe use

in evidence.

Oh, no.

No. Stealing someone else's story. I am all for artistic inspiration, but my

writing comes from my own life.

A real storytelling is about going deep into your own experiences. So your

imagination and maybe your fantasies, yeah? And then spinning a yarn out of

that. You know what I mean, Felix?

Yeah. How did you go with the Rocco files there?

Yeah, Felix. How did you go with the Rocco files?

Very, uh, interesting.

Love? Very interesting? Would only get you a four out of ten for a book report

in my class.

You can do better than that.

Look, I just don't think it was quite for me.

Ah, so you don't like well -plotted, with complex characters, and

he gently touches her... Oh!

Oh, I gave you the wrong one.

I didn't mean to give you this.

This is not crime fiction at all. No, it's not.

It's like a personal story, an exploration.

Yeah, I got that part.

You actually read it?

Most of it.

I had to stop myself at the hot tub bit. You should have kept going. That's

where the narrative really reaches its climax.

Wow. Power of literature.

Oh. Speaking of power, I still have the real Rocco Files here.

If anybody's keen, call.

I've got a jujitsu.

Same. I mean, I have a washing.

Washing?

Overdue for the eye check.

Everything's a little bit...

Blurry. Blurry.

Always an excellent student, that one.

Oh, Frankie!

Hello. Oh, my goodness.

Oh, Frankie.

She's not supposed to run.

You're not supposed to run.

Such a naughty girl.

Thought you'd want to see her the moment she got out.

So, um, what, she's going to be okay?

Yeah. Keep an eye on her, keep her fluids up, and she should be fine.

Oh.

Oh, you're so clever. And make sure you keep her out of it. Keep her out of the

garden? Yeah. Oh, I know.

Look, at the vet last night, it was a really stressful situation.

Yeah.

I might have said some things.

I bet it'd be easier if you weren't here.

She's okay.

Yeah, she's okay.

So, uh, we're good to do the books? Like, properly this time?

We must.

Sorry, I interrupted.

You finish what you're saying and we'll go.

Uh, nothing important. Just to say, it's not true.

What's not true?

That once a dog is bitten by a snake, it's immune.

Right.

Not true.

And it's a myth, and it is a dangerous one.

Lesson learned.

We're good to go.

Got to get this box in the road. Wedding's only around the corner.

That'll do it.

Professional? Always.