Original subtitles

Thank you very much. This does go to market welding.

I hope so.

Good morning, Harry.

Hello, Eric.

What's all this in it? Carol didn't tell me you'd had an accident. It's nothing.

I was acting the damn fool with a tractor, trying to show off in front of

the men.

You drive all right? Yes, of course.

I'll drive any damn thing. Jump in the back, old man. I've got some eggs in the

punt.

You sure it's all right, Eric? Am I staying the weekend, I mean?

What happens yet? I've told you, Harry, when you and that sister of mine get

married, I should expect you every weekend.

You want to be careful, or we shall be moving in on you.

Why not, for Pete's sake? We're only an hour and a half from London. You could

travel off every day as easy as pie.

Stop all this flap-doodle about not being able to find a flat. Ah, I found

one. At least, I think so.

I want Carol to have a look at it one day next week, if she can manage it.

There's no reason why she shouldn't. Old man Fielding's awfully good about her

having time off. In any case, she finishes with him next week. Yes, I

know.

My goodness, Thomas Fielding's going to miss Carol.

She's been a damn good secretary to him. Yes.

And I imagine he's been a very good boss.

Oh, very.

How long's she been with the firm, Eric?

Oh, must be getting on for seven years. She's been fielding secretary for nearly

five.

Have you time for a quick one, Harry?

Yes, I think so. We'll pop in the bear.

Good idea.

Then I can walk round to fielding, since it's only just around the corner.

Well, don't you trust my driving, old boy?

I'm not mad about it at the best of times.

Well, of course it was ridiculous, Gladys. It was damn ridiculous. I mean,

he... he'd been wearing the tie that was obvious.

well what did you say to her?

well I said my dear Mrs Croft-Wallace your husband may be on the council.

may be chairman of the flipping watch committee for all I know but I'm not

changing that tie. you bought it you paid for it and you are stuck with it.

what happened?

she was stuck with it.

why do you know what it is Gladys? just because all you've got is a stall in the

market they think they can take advantage of you. I can't imagine anyone

taking advantage of you Mr Tolley.

you'd be surprised Gladys.

still

I'm always open to offers. How is Mrs.

Tolly these days?

Yeah, you would bring that up, wouldn't you?

Well, she's round. She's round someplace.

Scotch, Harris?

Thank you. A large caution gin and tonic, please, Gladys. Thank you, Mr.

Viner. Hello, Tolly. How's business?

Well, I can't grumble, I suppose.

Oh, I say, that is a nice tie you're wearing, Mr. Viner. Don't give me that,

Malarkey. You know damn well I bought it off that stall of yours.

I was meaning to ring you up this morning.

I'm opening a new place over at Byfleet and I'm looking for a bit of timber.

Nothing fancy.

I'll try a great trick, Sadiq. He'll probably fix you up.

Oh, yeah. I never thought of that. That's a good idea. That's very good.

Soda, Harry, or do you want it neat as usual?

Oh, that's fine.

Must be Scott's blood in you.

Indian old boy, Navajo.

Where are you having lunch?

The slightest idea. This is on Fielding. Oh, really?

Yes, he's invited us out. A sort of fond farewell to Carol.

Oh, that's very nice of him. Yes, it is.

How's it getting on, by the way, Eric? Has he got a new secretary lined up yet?

No, I don't think so. I gather it's a bit of a problem. He's still

interviewing people.

Incidentally, what do you make of him? What do you think of the old boy?

I hardly know him, Eric. I only met him for the first time last week.

I must say, he took me by surprise.

What do you mean?

He looked me straight in the eye and he said, You're pinching the best secretary

I've ever had, young man.

Well, thank God she's not marrying that policeman.

I hadn't the slightest idea what he was talking about.

Hadn't Carol told you about the ex-boyfriend?

Yes, but I'd forgotten he was with the CID.

Fielding never liked Alan.

Well, here's to you, Harry and Carol.

Thank you, Harry.

Here's the second post. There's nothing important.

Oh, that girl doesn't want the job after all, the one you interviewed yesterday.

The one with a big bust? Yes.

I'm delighted.

She couldn't spell and her manners were atrocious.

You're seeing a Miss Barbara Smith at 12.30 and another girl this afternoon at

quarter past four.

What time's Harry supposed to be here? I told him any time after 12.

The train's probably late.

They usually are these days.

Incidentally, I went up to town on Tuesday night. You'll never guess who I

travelled up with.

Your ex-boyfriend.

Alan? Detective Inspector Alan Milton.

He seems to be going up to town quite a lot lately. Harry and I bumped into him

about a week ago.

You know, it's a funny thing, Carol.

When you were friendly with Milton, I just couldn't stand him.

I thought he was a supercilious devil without an idea in his head.

Now I'm not so sure.

Alan's an easy man to underrate. Yes, I think perhaps he is.

May I come in? Oh, hello, darling.

Good morning, sir.

I hope I'm not too early. No, of course not. How are you, Harry? I'm fine, sir.

And you?

Still having secretary trouble. No. He doesn't mean me, darling. I know what he

means. Let's have a drink in the boardroom. Then we'll all go out and get

a bite to eat. I've booked a table at the Grand. You've got Miss Smith at half

-past twelve.

Oh, Lord, yes. I was forgetting that.

Yes?

Oh, just a minute, Sheila.

Miss Smith is here. She's just arrived.

Oh, good. Send her in. I'll see her straight away.

Ask Miss Smith to come in, Sheila.

Give Harry a glass of sherry. This won't take more than a couple of minutes.

This girl's got some very good references, Mr. Fielding, and she

sounded very nice when she telephoned, so don't... Don't what?

Well, I mean, she's probably as nervous as a kitten, so do try and be nice to

her. What do you mean, try and be nice to her?

I am nice.

I'm nice to everybody, aren't I, Harry? I think so, but then I'm prejudiced.

You're going to buy me down.

Why, hello.

We met on the train.

Miss Smith, I'm Thomas Fielding. This is my secretary, Miss Viner, and her

fiancé.

Do sit down, Miss Smith. Thank you.

You'll find all the particulars in the folder, Mr Fielding, including Miss

Smith's letter.

Thank you.

I see you've been in machine tools before, Miss Smith. Yes, I worked for

McDowell & Simpson. Oh, an excellent firm. When were you with them? About

three years ago. In London?

London and Coventry.

And what did you do exactly?

Well, I started as a shorthand typist in the Coventry office, but after three

months they made me secretary to a man called George Booth.

Mr. Booth's the personnel manager. I know George Booth. We used to play goff

together. Dapper little man with a toothbrush moustache. That's right.

Terrible goffer. I'm afraid I wouldn't know about that.

No, I suppose you wouldn't.

Go on, Miss Smith, tell me a little more about yourself.

Well, after I left McDowell's, I went to work for a firm of stockbrokers, Hadley

and Salter, there in Fenchurch Street.

I didn't like this very much because the work was different. Excuse me.

Hello? Who?

All right. Put him on.

I'm sorry about this. It won't take a minute.

Hello, Fred.

How are you?

Yes, the estimate's in the post.

You should get it first thing tomorrow morning.

Well, I think it's a ruddy marvel.

Don't know how we're going to do it at the price.

Well, you phone me when you've had a look at it.

No, no, don't do that. Phone me.

I hope so too, Fred.

Thanks for ringing me.

What the devil are you doing?

The whole thing sounds absolutely marvellous, darling.

How on earth did you find it?

Do you remember that flat on the Finchley Road? The one where the old

lady...

Are you sure about this?

Positive.

Who'd you speak to at MacDarland Simpson's? I spoke to the secretary of

the company and a man called George Booth. He's the personnel manager.

Well, she's supposed to work for Booth, isn't she?

He's never heard of her.

I gave them a full description of the girl. Booth rang me back half an hour

ago. He's confident, and so is the secretary, that she never worked for

them. And the stockbrokers?

Precisely the same story. Never heard of her.

I'm afraid...

That letter she wrote to Fielding and the references.

I think they're a pack of lies.

Well, what about the hotel? She wrote Fielding on hotel notepaper. Yes, the

Clifton Hotel, Southampton Row. She arrived on Tuesday, checked out this

morning.

I've got her permanent address here.

34 Genoa Mansions, Kensington.

Well? Have you heard of Genoa Mansions? No.

Neither have I, nor has anybody else.

What the hell was this girl up to, Phillips?

She checks in a London hotel.

She gives a false address, tender one a false name, and she applies for a job.

Hello. Yes.

Who is that?

Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I didn't recognize your voice.

Yes.

Yes, we are indeed.

Well, she refuses to talk, so she just won't say anything, not a word.

Superintendent, I was with her for 40 minutes.

And Dr. Fess spent the best part of an hour trying to persuade her to... But we

don't know who she is, sir. That's the whole point.

Yes, sir, we will.

Yes, all right, sir, yep.

No, thank you, sir.

How in hell's name that man became a superintendent?

Yes, what is it, sir? The car's ready, sir.

Right.

Can I make out the list now, sir? Oh, yes. Check it with him, would you, Roy?

Type six copies.

The superintendent wants four.

God knows what.

Very good, sir.

Right.

Content of Barbara Smith Handbag.

What kind of fags are these?

French.

Ready?

One theatre ticket.

Dalesbury Repertory Theatre.

Saturday, November the 14th.

Row D.

Seat 4.

Saturday the 14th. That's next weekend, isn't it?

Well, today's the 6th.

Yes. One crocodile purse.

Contents.

Three fivers and a Timbob note.

Wait a minute, wait a minute.

Yes, that's all. Three fivers and a Timbob note.

Carol, I know exactly how you must feel, but just do try and be helpful, please.

Now, I want you to tell me just what happened.

Now, start at the beginning. She doesn't know what happened. She was with me in

the boardroom when the shots were fired.

Yes, I know that, but I'd still like to hear what Carol's got to say.

Well, when I told Mr Fielding that I was leaving to get married, he put an

advertisement in the Times.

One Wednesday morning, we had a letter from this girl, Barbara Smith.

She telephoned me later in the afternoon to see if we'd received the letter, and

I made an appointment for her to see Mr Fielding. Where did she phone from?

Well, from London, I think. I'm not sure where exactly.

Now, when you told Fielding about this appointment...

did he give you the impression that he knew miss Smith that he met her before

in fact?

no of course he didn't.

he'd never met her before Alan I'm sure of that.

you saw the girl Harry. you saw her come into the office. did you get the

impression that they'd met before?

no I certainly didn't. he'd never set eyes on the wretched girl until this

morning. I'm absolutely convinced of that Alan. yes all right. as a matter of

fact I was the one who'd seen her before.

you old boy?

she was on the train in the same compartment.

she sat opposite me. did you speak to her? she spoke to me.

She had some flowers in her hand and couldn't get the door open. I opened it

for her and she thanked me.

And that was all?

Yes. Oh, she asked if the train were going to market Weldon and I said it

was. Now, had you seen this girl before?

Before she got on the train?

No, never.

You sure?

Yes, I'm quite sure.

Yes, well, that doesn't help us a great deal, I'm afraid. We've talked to the

people at the office. We've seen Mrs. Green, Tom Fielding's housekeeper.

We've even contacted his club.

Nobody's ever heard of the girl.

What about Miss Smith herself?

She refuses to talk, Eric.

It's no use. We just can't get anything out of her.

Does she seem upset at all?

That's a difficult question to answer. Not upset, exactly.

Disturbed, perhaps.

Is her name Barbara Smith?

You tell me.

The thing that puzzles me is the time element.

Now, the train arrived at a quarter past 11.

She picked up a taxi straight away, and yet she wasn't at Fieldings until half

past 12.

Eric met me off the same train. We had a drink.

And yet I was at Fieldings before she was.

Well, that's perfectly true, but the taxi didn't take her to Fieldings.

It took her to Halford Bridge.

Halford Bridge? But that's on the other side of town. When they reached the

bridge, she let the car go and just disappeared.

And what time was this?

Oh, it was about a quarter to 12.

And 25 minutes later, she was seen in the high street. She picked up another

taxi and just drove out to Fieldings. So the big question is, what was she doing

between a quarter to 12 and 10 past?

No, we know what she was doing.

She was visiting someone.

How do you know that?

Well, she had the flowers when she got off the train.

She had them when she took the first taxi.

But she didn't have them when she got to Fieldings. Because she'd given them to

someone. Right, Mr. Brent.

So the big question is, who? Who did she give them to?

Alan. Is there a nursing home or a hospital near Halford Bridge? No, there

isn't, Karen.

We did think of that.

There's a cemetery, of course.

Cemetery?

Well, yes, I was just thinking, you know.

Flowers, cemetery.

It's about five minutes' walk from Halford Bridge.

Good afternoon.

Mr. Wedgwood? Yes?

I'm Detective Inspector Milton. Could you spare me a minute?

Certainly. I'm making some inquiries about a girl called Barbara Smith.

I think she visited the cemetery this morning between 11.40 and 12.15.

Well, if she did, I probably saw her. I was on duty till 3 o'clock. Rather good

-looking girl, about 25 or 6.

Fair hair, about 5 foot 5. She was wearing a brown suit, crocodile shoes

and a handbag to match.

Yes, I remember a girl, that's right, about five minutes to twelve. She had

some flowers and was looking for a grave.

Did she find it?

Yes, I showed it to her.

Would you be kind enough to show it to me, Mr. Westwood? Yes, certainly.

This way.

This is the one.

I don't think they'll be very long, Mr. Milton. I expected them back before now.

Where have they gone, do you know?

I think they went over to Mr.

Fielding's place.

Miss Carroll wanted to find out how Mrs. Green was getting on.

How is Carroll?

Oh, I think she's a little better now.

But you had a very bad night, I'm afraid.

Yes, I expect she did.

What a dreadful thing to have happened. Such a nice man, Mr Fielding. Yes. Is Mr

Brent still about? Yes, indeed he is. They all went out together.

Is there anything I can get you?

Would you like a nice cup of tea?

No, no, thank you.

That's Alan's car.

Yes, that is.

Don't bother to put it away, Harry. I'll see to it later.

That's all right, Eric. I'll do it. I'll come with you, darling. There's no need,

Carol. It won't take a minute.

Oh, hello, Alan.

Nice to see you. Hey, Carol.

We've just been over to Mr Fielding's to see his housekeeper. Yes, I know. Olive

told me. I saw Mrs Green yesterday myself just for a few minutes.

She's not my favourite woman, but I must admit she stood up to this pretty well.

Better than I have, I'm afraid.

Perhaps she wasn't as fond of Fielding as you were. Didn't Olive offer you a

drink? Yes, yes, thanks.

You know Alan when he's on duty.

Oh, are you on duty, old boy?

Yes, yes, I suppose I am, in a way. Carol, I'd like to have a word with your

fiancé. He's just putting the car away. He'll be here in a minute. What is it

you want to see Harry about?

Well, we know absolutely nothing about this girl, Barbara Smith, so naturally

I've got to make a few inquiries.

She still refuses to talk? Yes, not a word.

But why do you want to see Harry?

He doesn't know this girl. He told you so yesterday.

Yes, I know he did.

Carol, where did you first meet Harry Brent?

Where did I meet him?

Well, I... Now, look, I know what you're going to say. What on earth has this got

to do with me? That's precisely what I was going to say. You needn't answer

this if you don't want to, Carol, but I'd be grateful if you would.

Well, last summer, after you and I... after we broke things off, I felt pretty

miserable. You weren't the only one, Carol.

Mr Fielding told me to take a couple of weeks off.

One Saturday morning, I went into a travel bureau in Kensington.

Harry was behind the counter.

She thought he was one of the assistants, old boy. Turned out he owned

the business.

Go on.

When I gave him my address, he told me that he came from this part of the

world, and we got talking about Market World.

A week later, he rang me up, and we had dinner together.

It was as simple as that.

Yes. As simple as that, Alan.

He's all right now.

He's coming around.

Oh, my God, my head.

What happened?

We found you out in the yard, unconscious.

I... I just put the car away and I was... I was walking back towards the

house.

Somebody must have hit me on the head with a brick or something. I think we'd

better let the doctor take a look at him, Eric. No, no, I'll be all right in

a minute, Carol.

Did you see who it was who ate you?

I didn't see anything.

It was just... My wallet's gone.

Are you sure?

It's gone, all right. It was the one you gave me, Carol.

Damn glass.

What does it look like? We'll get a description out. It's black with gold on

the corners. It's got his initials on it. It was 55 pounds. Oh, Lord.

Anything else?

Well, isn't that enough, old boy?

Well, my driver's license, some photographs.

Oh, yes, and a letter from a travel bureau in Lucerne, but that's not

important. It's the 55 quid that I'm annoyed about. Are you feeling better?

Yes, don't work out. I've got a bit of a headache, that's all.

Do you think you could answer one or two more questions, Mr Brent? Well, I could

try, but I honestly just didn't see anything.

One minute I was standing there with a cigarette in my hand... No, I don't mean

about this afternoon.

You told me yesterday that you didn't know Barbara Smith, the girl who shot

Tom Fielding.

You said you'd never met her before she got on that train.

Yes, that's true.

Well, don't you believe me.

Mr. Brent, I understand you were born in Market Weldon.

Yes, in Richmond Street.

And for God's sake, stop calling me Mr. Brent. Your father and mother, David and

Freda Brent, they were killed in a car accident and are buried here in the

local cemetery.

Yes. Well, what about it? Well, Eric was right. Barbara Smith did go to that

cemetery yesterday morning. She went to that cemetery and she put the flowers

she was carrying on your parents' grave.

She put the flowers on my...

I don't believe this.

Well, it's true.

But why?

Why would she do that?

I don't know why, Mr Brent.

Where the devil's Sergeant Phyllis? I've been looking all over for him. He's gone

out, sir.

We had a phone call from Goodships, the scrap metal people. He went out almost

immediately. What was the call about? Do you know? I don't know, sir.

Is there anything I can do, sir?

No, there isn't. Ah, there you are, Roy. What's this about good ships?

Bill, good ships found this just over an hour ago. It had been dumped in one of

his bins.

It's Brent's? Oh, it's Brent's, all right. Apart from the initials, there's

a letter in it that he mentioned and his driving licence.

But no money, eh? No, the money's gone.

Is there something else in the wallet?

Yes. Yes, there is.

Theatre ticket.

Dalesbury Repertory Theatre, Saturday, November the 14th, row D, seat 5.

But didn't that girl... It's the next seat, sir.

The next seat for the same performance.

Hello. Yes.

Yes, yes, he's here. Who is it?

Sergeant Craddock. He seems a bit steamed up about something.

Yeah, hello, Craddock. What is it?

Good God, when did this happen?

But how in hell's name did she get hold of the tablets? Wasn't she searched?

Well, where are they taking her?

Barbara Smith's taking poison. They're rushing her to hospital. Get the car.

Which hospital?

Craddock! Which hospital?

Well, tell the doctor I'm on my way.

Inspector Milton. That's right, yeah.

I'm afraid we've got some bad news for you, Inspector.

The patient's dead.

Dead? I'm sorry, Inspector.

We did everything we could, I assure you.

Yeah. Yes, of course.

She was conscious for a little while and kept asking for someone.

A man called Harry Brent.