Original subtitles

okay everyone looks like we're all here so gather around people hi for anyone

that i haven't met yet i'm julianne this is andrea hi everyone First up, we're

going to work on the name game.

The object of this is name recognition, so that any time you call your dog,

they'll come to you. And then when they do come to you, you reward them, which

cements their behaviour.

And before you know it, they'll be coming to you every time you call,

instead of running away.

OK, shall we get started?

Does everyone have their traits?

You've got a problem with your tortoise running away.

Oh, yeah, sure do.

Silly, isn't it?

OK, off you go.

Good boy.

Come on, Cosmo. Come on.

Okay,

you need to try to make eye contact before you call him. Mel, your turn. You

look worried, Frodo.

I've got a problem.

What is it?

My tortoise doesn't have a name.

Is it a boy or a girl?

I have no idea.

Well, let me have a look.

It's a boy.

How can you tell?

Well... You see, with tortoises, it can be really hard to spot the genitalia,

but if you look closely... Well, that's way too much info.

What about Thomas?

Thomas tortoise? Nah, doubt it. Tori, Trevor?

Trevor. Toby? I've got it.

Hercules.

Okay. Why Hercules?

I had a great uncle called that. He was famous. He's Brokenwood's slowest ever

cross-country runner. Won Easter race. He started on Good Friday.

Didn't finish till Sunday.

Well, Hercules it is.

Ron, it's really good to see you here.

Hey.

Hi. Don't do that.

It's a cutie.

Did I ask your opinion?

I used to go to these every year when I was a kid.

Something epic about horses racing across the sand.

Well, I have childhood trauma caused by horse racing.

Of course you do.

I went with my brother once, bet on a couple of races, lost all of my pocket

money and never went back. Well, proceeds of the beach race go to

charity, so you should go and feel good about losing again.

You seem to know a lot about this.

I have a friend who's an inside source.

You don't have friends.

Hot favourite is Wanderlust to be written by Missy Tokoroa.

We're just friends, are we?

Oh dear.

Can I get some bloody help here?

Hi. Sorry.

What seems to be the problem?

My wife's missing. Something's happened to her. When you say missing... Go on,

mate. Can I be any clearer?

You guys cops or what?

I'm Detective Kristen Sims. This is Stacey Chalmers. And you are?

Craig Tillman.

I'm a vet at the Brokewood Vet Clinic.

Andrea's a vet nurse. Last night she was running, well, helping to run a puppy

party down at the reserve.

Sorry, a puppy party?

It's a training session for owners of young dogs.

And after that she didn't come home?

I drove down to the reserve last night to check if anything had gone wrong, but

there was no sign of her.

Something's happened, I know it. All right, Mr Tillman, we'll check it out,

of course, but let's just get a few details.

Bugger that.

I'll meet you at the reserve.

Or, yep, we could do that.

Is this your wife's car?

That wasn't here.

What do you mean?

When I came down last night, her car wasn't here.

No, Mr Tillman, please don't. What?

Please don't touch the car.

Engine's cold. Hasn't been driven recently.

Mr Tillman!

No,

no, no!

Still no word from the elusive Tabitha?

Like I said, she's not a person governed by the conventional notions of time.

But you would tell me, though, wouldn't you? I mean, whatever she says, even if

it's not good.

Yeah, my word.

Not that the horses are ever good, I assume.

I wouldn't be one who has experience.

And I'm sure you never will.

Having a chance would be a fine thing, though. I mean, I still can't even get

married.

Things will get sorted.

Daniel. We're down at Brokenwood Reserve.

Got a homicide.

I'm on my way.

What do we know about the bride on the reins?

Not hers, according to her husband, and neither of them own a horse.

Hi, Andrea. I promise I won't keep you sitting here much longer.

We just have a few more things to check before we can...

get underway and locate the person responsible for this.

The reins haven't left any sign of ligature marking.

We're jumping to conclusions.

Gina won't be happy.

Craig Tillman?

This is Mike Shepherd.

My condolences.

Thank you. I need to ask you a couple of questions.

Sure. When was the last time you spoke to Andrea?

Yesterday afternoon. She called me to remind me it was her day to assist at

Julian's puppy party and... Would I be okay to cook dinner?

Julianne?

Julianne Seymour.

The dog is her bro.

And you came down here last night to look for Andrea?

Well, when she didn't come home, I became concerned.

But there was no sign of her.

Sims!

You didn't raise the alarm until this moment. Well, I went home. I tried her

mobile a couple of times, and then I fell asleep on the couch. I thought

maybe she'd gone back to the clinic. She often worked late.

Mr Tillman.

Oh, Craig, please.

Did this belong to your wife?

Yeah. Yeah, it looks like hers.

I don't know the password, though.

Look. I'm happy to answer all your questions, but I'd like to get to the

clinic and tell the staff about this.

I want them to hear from me, not some random social media post.

Of course, we'll be in touch.

Thank you.

Oh, this looks interesting.

Glad you think so.

Very, very interesting.

Turn the mic.

What is your experience with bondage?

You're asking me this because... Because of the reins, the bridal.

It has a strong resemblance to bondage imagery.

I'll take your word for that.

Don't ask me how I know.

I won't. But it's an European thing.

Particularly with the Austrians.

I did not know that.

About Austrians?

Me neither.

I thought it was all castles and cakes and the enablers quiet.

There are footprints everywhere, but it was a puppy party with a number of

owners. The victim's vehicle is headed for forensics.

Well, they're at it. Forensics might want to give the car an oil change.

Pass that on.

Shepherd's Special and Chalmers Supreme.

Thanks, Frodo.

Freeze! Police!

Sorry, it came out wrong. I meant, hey, police person, please don't move. We're

not moving, but we want to know why.

He nearly stood on him.

Who?

Hercules. And that's a turtle.

It's a tortoise.

Turtles live in the sea.

And you have a tortoise because... Well, this old lady was in last week and she

left him behind. She never came back to claim him.

You should take him to the SPCA.

What if the lady does come back?

What would I tell her? And you don't know how to contact her?

It's kind of nice having him around, actually.

Except... He moves too fast for you? Yeah, you'd be surprised.

He's always wandering on. I took him to that puppy party. I figured it might

give me some clues on how to stop him, but it hasn't helped much.

You were at the puppy party last night? Yeah, yeah. Hey, buddy.

Okay, Frodo. We need to have a chat.

You're kidding me, right?

What have I done now?

She was a really nice person.

Apparently so.

Take a seat.

Why would somebody want to hurt her?

Well, anything you can tell me might help us figure that out.

Well, she and me, we got on fine, man. I swear.

Frodo, you're only here because we need to talk to everyone that was present

last night.

What time did you get to the puppy party? Start time was 5.30. I was pretty

much on time.

Did you see anything out of the ordinary?

No, nothing.

You're sure?

Not a thing.

Apart from this old guy that turned up late.

Ron, it's really good to see you here.

Hey. He had a pup with me.

Don't do that.

He was packing some attitude.

It's a cutie.

Did I ask your opinion?

Hi. It's Ron, isn't it? Welcome to the puppy party.

And welcome to you too.

Is everything okay here?

Just having trouble getting the new one here to see sense.

Sometimes we find that it's difficult to bond with a new companion after the loss

of an old friend.

Okay, next up is lead training.

So buckle your pups up and let's get into it.

And you've never seen this man before?

No, never.

All I know is he was called Ron.

And he talked in riddles a bit.

I really am sorry, Ron.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

Is that what I'm supposed to do?

That was weird, because none of the dogs there were even sleeping. They were all

running around, all over the place.

How well do you know Julian Seymour?

I don't.

Seriously, I don't know much. I never have.

Look, can I go?

I left Hercules in the coffee cart. I'm pretty sure he's figured out how to open

the fridge.

So the obedience classes haven't helped much? Nah.

See, the thing about tortoises is they're a lot less like dogs than you

might think.

So what do we know?

Well, the Brokenwood Vet Clinic is co-owned by Craig Tillman and a Bonnie

Seymour. Related to Julianne Seymour? Possibly. Bonnie is held in high regard

and is very experienced. She seems to be the star attraction of the clinic.

Andrea was equally as experienced and social media indicates the two were

close. Frodo mentioned an elderly gentleman by the name of Ron who

attended the puppy party and caused some tension.

And these reins, why were they so carefully placed at the scene?

Uh, a message, perhaps?

Or a distraction.

Ask around equine places, see what you can dig up. On it. And see if you can

track down Julianne Seymour. She might know who this Ron is.

You and I are off to the vets. Oh, Dad, we're getting a puppy.

Hmm.

Gina.

We're on our way.

With a little detour first.

Aww. But you promised.

Oh.

Afternoon. So, what have we got?

In this case, the cause of death, it's almost certainly drug-related.

Have toxicology confirmed that? Not yet. But they will confirm what I know to be

true. They always do.

See? A puncture wound.

Could it have been self-administered? She would have to have held a syringe

like this, mainlining into the spinal cord.

So it's possible.

If she worked as a burlesque dancer with a background in circus performance,

perhaps.

She was a vet nurse.

Then unlikely.

And a scenario where she injected herself with a fatal drug and then

popped on some decorative riding gear.

Doesn't seem likely either. Do we have time of death? Between 20 and 2200 hours

last night. No other signs of physical trauma?

None. And her stomach contents provided no sign of an evening meal. But she did

drink tea.

Earl Grey, I think.

No sugar.

So, how does someone administer a lethal injection without the victim resisting?

Was she constrained by the reins?

If there were any resistance against the reins, there would be secondary

bruising. There is none.

So... They were purely decorative.

Indeed. Did you know that in the bondage world, some people like to be the horse,

some like to be the rider?

While they're being murdered.

It takes all types.

But perhaps not Austrian after all.

Maybe more Norwegian.

So maybe a, um, Norwegian police will answer them.

Thank you, Gina.

You guys are the cops, right? Yes.

This is Mike Shepard and... Detective Kristen Sims. Prisha Banerjee. Junior

Bates. And Brianna, the receptionist.

I know you from somewhere. We met in relation to the Drum and Bass Festival

last year.

Yeah, that's right. I was so off my... You guys must be here

about Andrea?

Or about the break-in?

The break-in?

This happened last night?

Probably teenagers thinking we keep party drugs on the premises.

Ketamine's become the drug of choice, isn't it? Totally.

I wouldn't know.

No, we wouldn't. No way. Have you established if anything was taken? With

everything that's been happening, we haven't had time to have a good look.

I'll get fingerprints in here.

This room will need to stay locked until our burglary team arrive and they'll

most likely ask all staff for fingerprints.

Why? To eliminate you from the scene.

And we'll need to see your drugs register.

Good luck with that.

What do you mean?

Nothing. Brianna, I have a client waiting.

I'll get the keys.

Yeah, ASAP. Okay, thanks.

Do you believe it?

That there was a break in here last night, sure.

Or at least someone wants us to think there was.

Brianna, can you make an appointment for us for the next time?

Same time.

Detectives, you're back at work.

A couple of emergency clients I have to take care of.

We'd like to speak to Bonnie Seymour, if that's at all possible.

Sure thing.

Brianna, can you check to see if she's got anyone with her?

Oh my God.

Tell me that isn't true.

I'm afraid so.

She was murdered. How is that even possible? It's crazy, I know. It's so

crazy. Hello, DS, this is Mike Shipman. Detective Kristen Sims.

I just can't get my head around this.

Andrea was an angel with the most beautiful heart.

What the hell are you doing in here?

I'm just here about poor Andrea.

Yes, and we're all reeling with the news, but regardless...

You know that you're not welcome in here. Bonnie, under the circumstances,

please, could you just let me stay?

Detectives. Would it be possible to take this somewhere else?

Ms Seymour, this is a murder investigation.

I'm very aware that our vet nurse is dead, but having my sister here is in no

way helpful.

Um, Craig, Andrea's car's booked in with the mechanic to get that oil. Brianne,

are you serious? Should I?

My wife's just been found dead. I couldn't care less about the damn car!

Okay, of course. I got it.

Um, Ms Seymour. Yes.

Sorry, uh, Julianne. Would you mind stepping outside with me so we can talk?

Sure. Thank you.

How long did the puppy party go for?

Five thirty till six thirty, more or less.

And did you see anything suspicious during that time? Anyone hanging around?

No. Although, um, when Ron Abbott turned up, there was some negative energy

between he and Andrea.

You mean there was an argument?

Not as such.

Well, just tension.

I could sense it.

Look, I didn't really know Andrea that well. She helped me with the puppy

parties, but apart from that, we weren't close.

OK. Thanks, Julianne. We will need to follow this up and get a formal witness

statement, and we're fingerprinting everyone that was at the party. Of

course. Anything I can do to help.

Thanks.

But if you really want to know what happened to Andrea, it's my sister that

you should be speaking to.

What? Why do you say that?

Talk to her.

God knows I can't.

Andrea was the best vet nurse I've ever worked with.

She was great with the clients, but with the animals, she was intuitive to a

degree I've never experienced before.

It's almost like she could sense what was wrong with them.

Are you aware of anyone that might want to harm you? God no.

Our clients come to us with their sick animals and sometimes the outcome isn't

what they hoped for.

They can get emotional, very emotional.

But everyone liked Andrea.

Were you friends outside of your work?

Yes, I think I could say that.

We go back a long way.

What about Julianne?

What about her?

How would you describe your relationship?

Honestly?

Volatile?

Unusual for twins?

Not really.

The whole idea that twins think the same, speak the same, want to wear

similar clothes was mostly a myth.

To the point that you've banned her from these premises.

My sister has an alternative view of animal welfare.

She refers to herself as a naturopath for animals.

Those are views that you don't share.

Her ideas are whimsical at best, at the worst they're downright dangerous.

How did you feel about Andrea and Julianne working together?

I was fine with it. I was happy that Andrea could mitigate the worst of

Julianne's excesses.

Okay, thank you. We might need to come back to you at some point. Of course.

This has come as a terrible shock, so if we can be of any help, we will.

If you want to know what happened to Andrea, perhaps you should speak to my

sister.

Because?

Talk to her.

God knows I can't.

And how long have you worked here? About 18 months.

And in that time, did you notice any underlying tensions between the staff?

Here? No.

Maybe the person you should be talking to is a Mr. Ron Abbott.

Why?

He held a grudge against Andrea.

What you're feeling is totally... You've got no bloody idea what I'm feeling.

Your incompetence killed my dog.

Mr Abbott, please.

Why? Why are you still working here?

You're a danger to every animal that comes into this place.

You're a cold-blooded menace.

You witnessed this?

I heard about it. It caused quite a stir.

Was there any truth to his accusations about the death of his dog?

I can't say.

So, that's a yes?

He wasn't a client of mine.

Maybe you can talk to Craig or Bonnie, but... But what, Grisha?

Maybe you didn't hear it from me.

Can I help you?

This is Mike Sheppard.

I'm looking into the death of Andrea Tillman.

Well, that doesn't explain why you're here.

Witnesses have reported that you had a dispute with her professionally.

Well, if that was true, I wouldn't be going to the puppy party thing now,

would I?

One witness says you were abusive to her at the vet one.

Well, whoever told you that was mistaken.

That never happened.

So you have never had words with Andrea Tillman accusing her of killing your

dog? Not that I recall.

We're looking for any other information that might help us with our

investigation. Bashing, you mean.

You've got to do better than that, Detective.

As I said, I can't help you.

Now, if you'd be so kind as to leave my property, you're upsetting my dog.

All right.

I would like to have a chat. Yeah, and I'd like to win the bloody lotto.

Shut it!

I'm sick of your yapping. Shut it!

Ka pai.

Kia ora, Daniel.

Kia ora, Manaia.

Let me carry on over to the phone.

You after my girl?

I am. It's a busy time getting ready for the race.

Yeah, I won't keep her long.

Don't want any trouble.

It's only my... I'm telling you, as a member of police, it's our aim to sort

trouble, not to make it.

If you say so.

Last I saw, she was in there.

Kia ora.

Just passing by, were you?

No manner of speaking.

Been shaping up well for the big race.

Oh, aye.

Wanderlust.

She's in perfect condition.

Her training's gone really good.

The Tohoroas are in with a fighting chance.

Oh, whānau tradition, then.

Oh, well, Dad's been trying to win her for years, and he's never had the right

horse. So this year, I'm riding for him.

It'll mean a lot to Mum.

So I should be betting big on her.

Well, it is for charity, so you better empty your pockets, eh, wha?

Have you seen anything like these before?

So this isn't just a social call, then?

I don't think so.

Lizzie, hi.

Julianne Seymour. This is Daniel.

I'm with the Brokemore CIB.

All right.

I believe you spoke with my colleagues already today regarding Andrew Tillman.

Oh, yes.

I told them everything I know.

I'm sure.

You have a horse here?

Winston Spring.

We're racing her in the Classic.

Um, asking around to see if anyone recognises these.

Can't say I do.

Is it something to do with Andrea's death?

Possibly. Such a terrible thing.

Unbelievable.

Well, thanks for your time.

See you at the race.

Yep.

Tillman.

Detective. How you holding up?

It's tough, but, you know.

Good to keep busy, I guess.

Well, I'm not treating a horse here.

Because I bet that's what I do.

I won't hold you up then.

There's some kind of relationship with these two.

Professional or personal? Hard to tell.

She keeps a horse at Missy's mother's stables and he arrived just as I left.

Anything on the reins?

Not yet, but I've got a couple of other places to check.

So Julianne Seymour was with the victim on the night of the murder, was possibly

in some kind of relationship with the husband and was at loggerheads with the

victim's employer.

Who happens to be her twin sister.

Twins? Yeah, but it seems they can't stand each other.

Chris and Sims. And we're yet to find out what happened between Andrea and Ron

Abbott. The old guy wouldn't talk.

Yeah, he ordered me off his property.

I reckon he'll come around.

Thanks.

Forensics have come back with results from Andrea's cell phone. Her last

message was to Craig saying, I can't take this anymore.

He didn't mention that.

No, he didn't. Boss.

Gina, what a pleasant surprise. I know.

I have some preliminary toxicology test results.

They indicate the cause of death was a lethal dose of blue juice.

Blue juice being?

Pentabarbital. The drug usually employed in euthanizing animals.

It discolored the distinctive blue during manufacture to preventing being

administered by accident.

And there were traces of another drug found.

A sedative.

Which would explain how the offender subdued Andrea prior to administering

the blue juice.

Nice work. Thanks, Gina. Of course. Tell me, will you and Beth be attending the

beach horse race tomorrow?

I wasn't planning to.

Mike's not really a horse person. Are you, Mike? I find them very obstinate.

I didn't think you were a horsey person either, Gina. Please. I love them.

Beasts of burden, draped in sturdy leather.

Magnificent creatures, with their powerful haunches pumping as they gallop

through space and time.

Glistening with sweat and steam.

Well, uh, enjoy.

Gina, I'll be at the races.

Might see you there.

Hm.

Good one.

Any news? The pathologist has established a likely cause of death.

And?

Two amongst your clinic staff had access to pentobarbital.

Oh, my God. Is that what killed her?

It's a preliminary finding at the moment.

Well, we keep any lethal drugs in a locked cabinet in the back room. Bonnie,

myself, Andrea, Prisha, we all had a key.

What about Brianna?

Well, I technically know, but she knows where the keys are kept.

Why are you focusing on clinic staff?

Surely whoever broke in stole the drug that killed my wife. That's certainly a

possibility.

There's no direct link as yet. Could be a coincidence.

You're not serious. At this stage, we need to keep all avenues of

investigation open. Well, that cop talk for we have no idea.

We've asked to see your drug register.

So far, it hasn't been forthcoming.

We'd appreciate your cooperation.

I'll appreciate it. Chase it up.

Mr Tillman, Andrea sent you a text message the night of her death.

It read, I can't take it anymore.

Why didn't you mention it to us?

I didn't see the message till the morning.

That's part of the reason I came into your station.

I knew something was wrong.

That message made no sense.

I don't believe she sent it.

Was there something going on in your marriage?

You're working on the assumption in these situations it's always the

partner.

I have to ask. Did I kill my wife because she was going to leave me?

Absolutely not.

Our marriage was fine.

Thanks for asking.

Ron's been a client of mine for a long time.

Not the easiest personality.

But we've had reports of a conflict between him and Andrea.

Is there anything you can tell me about that?

Ron's previous dog was named Evie.

After his wife passed, Evie became his only companion.

About a year ago, he brought her in for a routine vaccination.

Hello, Mr Abbott. Hi. We're ready for her.

The dogs were very similar, and somehow Andrea got them mixed up. The other dog

was booked in for surgery on an intestinal lump.

And without knowing, I operated on Ron's dog, who had an undiagnosed heart

condition.

Despite my best efforts to revive her, she died on the operating table.

Ron was understandably devastated, and especially when he discovered that

Andrea was the one responsible.

How did he find out?

Being the head of the clinic, I had the only inevitable task of telling him.

How do you take it? Not well.

We thought that with the new puppy, things would improve, but it appears

that that's not the case.

You've spoken to him?

He's been approached.

What did he say?

As I said, he's... been approached.

I've seen him hanging around the clinic.

Sometimes he'd pretend to be walking his puppy, other times he was just sitting

in the car, watching.

Has anyone else seen him?

Andrea did.

I haven't been here that long.

There's not much I can tell you.

Can't be easy.

Having to come into a situation where everybody else has known each other for

ages?

People have been distant.

It's almost as if they haven't decided to keep me on or not.

The boss has given me menial tasks to do, like vaccinations and blood samples,

as if they don't trust me with anything more complicated.

How did you get on with Andrea?

She was civil.

But it's not like she stuck up for me either.

Can you give me an example?

Sorry to interrupt.

Your 10.30 is waiting and his goat just ate the new popline.

I've put him in consult room two. Great, thank you.

If that's all.

The drug register.

What? Mr Tillman said you would get the drug register.

Did he?

Never mentioned that to me.

Thanks.

Can you give me two minutes with Craig? Of course, when?

Now. Sure, but he just left.

Of course he did. Can I help?

I need access to the drug register.

Totally, but I think Bonnie has it.

Okay, I'll talk to her then.

Except... She's not here either.

Yeah, sorry.

What about Andrea Tillman's laptop?

Any progress with that? That I can do.

One out of three ain't bad.

Um... Yes!

Can you tell your boss that I'm not a party girl anymore?

I used to be, for sure, but I've given it all away. The drugs and stuff.

It was really messing me up, but I so don't do them anymore.

Not even coffee. Although I did have three this morning, but that's because

of the stress. And why do you want me to tell him this?

Oh, so that he'll know I'm a reliable witness?

A witness to what?

Nothing, but in case I was, which I wouldn't be because I'd be way too

stressful. Brianna.

How do you get on with the other staff here? They're okay.

As long as I do my job, they leave me alone.

And Andrea Tillman? She was a really nice lady.

I mean, wow.

That poor woman had no idea what was going on.

What do you mean?

Um... I'm sorry. I've got to get this to Prisha.

Good morning, Mr. Shepherd.

How nice to see you.

Hi.

Can we talk?

Sure.

Standing line and docked leaf tea.

I'll make it myself.

Good on you. Come on, try some.

It's a bit hot for me.

I understand you're a dog whisperer.

Hardly.

I like to think of myself as an alternative animal naturopath. We as

humans are finally learning that so much of what we put in our bodies is bad for

us. Yet we don't give animals the same consideration.

And they're so much better than we are.

So much nobler.

Have you been doing this long?

I worked in the conventional vet arena when I was younger.

the conflict with my personal values became too great. So I set myself up as

an alternative to the mainstream vet madness.

How did that sit with Bonnie?

My sister.

Classic older child scenario.

Bonnie was born 90 seconds before me, and she still wants to control

everything and everyone around her, and she hates the fact that she can't

control me.

The night of Andrea's murder, you didn't see anything unusual?

Well...

Ron Abbott and Andrea had words, but he and everyone else left when we were

finished. I was the last to leave.

Are you sure about that?

Yes.

Although, as I was walking back to my car, Andrea did get a message.

You don't know who the message was from?

Sorry.

My colleague tells me that you don't recognise the reins that were found at

the scene. No, sorry.

But you do own a horse. That you keep at the Tohoroa stable.

Winsome spring.

Should be racing tomorrow.

You should come.

Horses are not really my thing.

If I win, I'm going to dedicate it to Andrea.

It's a small gesture, I know, but she has a good soul.

You back here to arrest me?

Any reason why I should?

Not that I can think of.

Good. That's all I want, Ron.

Your side of the story.

Well, I suppose the polite thing to do is offer you a cup of tea.

As long as it's not dandelion.

What?

Go on, get away.

He's okay.

He's a pain in the arse.

I know this might not be easy for you, but I'd like to know your side of what

happened with Evie. She'd never have bloody happened.

Stupid idiot of a nurse.

You sure she was responsible?

Yeah, the vet lady explained it all to me.

The nurse got the dogs mixed up. She operated on Evie without the slightest

idea she had a heart problem.

Vet said that the nurse had been disciplined.

And that's why you weren't pleased to see her at the puppy party? Yeah, that'd

be right.

And what about threatening her at the clinic?

I don't know where you're getting your information from.

But I told you before, that never happened.

But you were angry with her.

Yeah, well I'm pissed off with you.

It doesn't mean to say I'm going to kill you.

Look, in the last year I've had the two most important

things ripped away from me.

My wife of 42 years died after a miserable bloody illness.

I don't have the words to describe how that made me feel.

And then Evie, she was the best dog a man could ever ask for.

I can see it's been a rough ride.

Say, you'll excuse me if I don't want to sit here and chat to you about the lies

people are spreading about me.

You'd be as bugger off again.

Thanks for the tea.

This was at Ron's.

On the driveway.

It's similar to the one from Andrea's car left at the reserve.

Could it have been his own car?

Ah, except his is an old EV.

All of these people had access to the Blue Juice.

A drug register is yet to materialise. Who stole it? All of them. Passing the

buck. But we've got Andrea's laptop.

Tiki's are working on it. And for the record, Brianna the receptionist...

I was keen to assure you she is not a party girl anymore. Meaning?

No more late night clubbing for you two.

Meaning she could be a reliable witness.

If need be.

Senor.

What do you plan to get on with?

Ten bucks says those arrestable bags.

Couldn't make it simple, could you?

Hey.

I'm off, so night?

Night.

That's what you've been waiting for, I take it?

Not exactly.

Oh, one good thing about him showing up, if anyone else wins, I have him

arrested, right? I didn't think that would be an issue today, thank you, my

only back winners.

We reckon, Mania, you think Mum's going to be a winner today?

Every day.

Oh, good answer. Morning.

He's looking great.

But I hope you guys will be OK with the minor placing.

Yeah, like that's going to happen.

Well, let's get this show on the road, eh?

Good luck.

I'll see you after.

Hello, everyone.

Gina.

Kristen? I made Kristen come.

We are so excited.

She did.

She even offered me a hat like hers, but I said no.

What a great morning for a race. Did you know that in races in Vladivostok, only

the men are allowed to ride the horses?

Because the women are obviously off doing other things like the cooking, the

cleaning and the ironing.

The men ride the horses completely naked.

Apart from a bearskin hat.

You're not picturing that, are you? I'm trying not to.

Is she for real?

She's from Russia.

Well, that explains it.

It's such a shame you couldn't get Mike to change his mind.

Oh, well, you know, I'm pretty sure he's busy.

I'm going to kill him.

And I have branches of peace offering.

Which can only be seen as positive.

You never said you two were at war?

More of a ceasefire.

She said the original documents were accidentally composted. I mean, surely

that's a hostile act.

She takes the whole off-the-grid thing very seriously, that's all. And then she

said, we'll call you next time I'm near a phone, and that was six weeks ago.

She'll call.

If there's one thing I know about Tabitha, when she says she'll do

something, she will do it.

Eventually. An eight-year ceasefire suggests a lot of stored ammo.

I'm not really in the mood to play footsies right now, Mike.

I'm not playing footsies.

Hercules!

Hercules, come on!

You bad boy.

Sorry, guys. I've told him not to harass the customers.

Oh, he's very cute.

Thanks. Hey, could you keep an eye on him for just two minutes? I've got a

bunch of coffees to make. With Salad, he'll stay put for ages.

Oh, of course, Frodo.

Not too late to put your pocket money on the race.

Wouldn't that be illegal?

Not if it's for charity.

Well... I can waste my money in a million different ways without having to

resort to betting on which poor horse can run faster than the other horse.

There's a lot of guys here that would disagree with you.

A ton of money gets put down on this race. Always is.

Not all of it goes to charity.

All right, folks, the moment you've been waiting all year for, the Broken Wood

Beach Classic is all set to go.

Hold on to your hats. We're under starter's orders.

Hey.

It's all new up on summer's night.

Tough luck.

Luck's got nothing to do with it.

That's not right.

What do you mean? Well, look at those clowns. They're not exactly subtle, are

they?

Look at the poor animal.

Julianne, what have you done?

What are they doing?

Why are you always trying to cause trouble? I'm a vet, and I'm telling you

you need to take a swab from that horse.

What on earth are you talking about? I'm talking about the fact that your horse

is obviously doped up on God knows what.

Showing no signs of perspiration. It's calm. It's like it hasn't even run a

race. You're insane.

If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear from agreeing to a

test. Bonnie, I will not be bullied.

Excuse me.

Hi. Sarah, problem here.

Detective, please, this is none of your business.

Julianne, this is a fundraising event. People have spent money.

If the winning horse is placing as a result of doping, it will very quickly

become my business.

So... As your sister says, if you've got nothing to hide.

Whatever. Just do whatever you want, as long as she's not the one that does it.

You can't help yourself, can you?

Any chance you have to ruin things for me.

You can't have me winning for once, can you?

Come with me, I've got swords in the car.

My colleagues tell me the beach race was quite action-packed yesterday.

I assume you're referring to the allegations my sister made.

Those allegations have proven true.

We were sent through the preliminary results.

Winsome Spring tested positive to a large amount of anabolic steroid.

A dangerous amount.

Well, I'm appalled and ashamed.

The beach race has long been a dream of mine, but I would never resort to

mistreating my horse to achieve that.

Ever. The doping of the horse will be reported to the appropriate authorities.

But I'm more interested in whether there's any connection between that and

Andrea's death.

In what way?

We've had confirmation that Andrea was administered a lethal drug.

The kind usually found in a veterinary clinic. The same place one might find

anabolic steroids.

You think the steroids came from the clinic?

Was Craig Tillman the only vet you allowed to attend your horse?

Yes, but that would be against any kind of veterinary ethic.

I'm sure it would be.

Well, maybe you need to ask him then.

One more thing.

The reins that were found at the crime scene, draped around Andrea's neck, you

told my colleague you'd never seen them before.

Yes.

Yet the fingerprint branch told me this morning that your prints were on them.

Can you explain how that might be?

No. I mean, I work with horses all the time. I handle gear all the time. Lots

of gear.

It's just a coincidence.

Is everything in order?

I'm going to have to take these back to the station. There's a lot to get

through. Of course.

Are these all the dispensing records?

Doing their notes and keeping records is not most vets' favourite part of the

job. Look, the way I read this is there's one bottle of pentobarbital

that's unaccounted for.

That was noted after the break-in.

Have you spoken to Ron Abbott yet?

TSS shepherds talked to him.

And...

He seemed appreciative of the support you showed him regarding the death of

his dog.

That's all he said?

I believe so.

How's it going?

Well, these are a mess.

Some of the recent entries have question marks alongside them seemingly in the

same hand and others have been crossed out.

Any mention of the steroids?

Not in here, but in the bank statements there are payments to a US company

that's a major supplier of steroids internationally.

So the steroids were definitely ordered?

Yeah, and shipped here.

And then it just disappeared.

And Bonnie seems keen for me to know that a bottle of pentobarbital was

stolen. But again, with records as chaotic as this, how could she know for

sure? I've been looking into the horse's recent race history. It's done well in

the last four races.

Hardly surprising.

What's most interesting is the owners of the horse. Plural.

Julianne Seymour and... Craig Tillman.

Who told you that neither he nor Andrea owned a horse?

Is it time for another sit down with Craig?

Not yet.

If Craig was doping the horse, we need to know who else at the clinic knew

about it. His wife.

for instance exactly that would land us motive uh charmus can i see you for a

minute no have you been naughty

i think i

know what this conversation is about you do because of my friendship with missy

and to prevent any suggestion of impropriety you want me to step back

from the case missy is not a suspect Unless that changes, I want you to keep

doing what you're doing.

That works for me. What I wanted to say was, if you want to step away from the

investigation, I will understand.

Brianna, thanks for agreeing to meet. I told Craig I was at the dentist, but

it's actually a lie because I'm here.

Well, your secret is safe with us.

I've got this, in case he checks my breath later. I'll have a quick brush.

Well, you've really thought things through.

Am I a target of your investigation?

No, you're speaking to us as a witness.

Oh, phew.

A witness to what?

In your capacity as the receptionist, did you see any unusual courier packages

come into the clinic? Oh, God.

This is about the steroids, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

Craig told me I had to intercept the shipments before anyone else saw them. I

had no idea what they were, honest.

I did it a couple of times and then after I did ask him what they were he

told me I was implicated and so I had to carry on doing it even though I didn't

want to.

Did anyone else realise what was going on?

Yeah. Who?

Andrea. They argued about it.

Just in here.

Okay. I didn't take any of them. Any what?

The drugs. I don't do them anymore.

Good on you.

It's really tempting, though. There's this one called Blue Juice, and blue's

my favourite colour.

Yeah, I would probably stay away from that one.

Hey.

Hi.

Definitely not a social call this time, mate.

No, sorry.

I hate talking about cop stuff with you.

Feels wrong.

Yeah, I get that. If I don't tell you stuff, it'll affect our friendship. And

even if I do, you'll get stood down because we know each other.

No, my boss is cool. That's not going to happen.

But I do have to ask... About the doping.

Did I see anything? No, I didn't.

There might be someone who did.

Who?

You opened your big mouth, didn't you?

Okay.

I'll admit there was something dodgy going on with Julianne's horse.

Craig was here a lot. Way more than a vet would usually be.

Were you aware Craig was a co-owner of Winsome Spring?

Yeah, of course.

How much do you think Julianne knew about what was going on?

Hey, back again.

Time for a tetanus shot.

Oh, another one.

Better safe than sorry.

Just think, my sister hadn't screwed me over.

I'd be doing this myself.

Well, lucky you've got me then.

You're saying Julianne was present when Craig was injecting the horse with

steroids? All I'm saying is what I saw.

It could have been tetanus, it could have been something else.

What I do know is I don't need any of this black market business coming back

on my stables. Last thing I need is to be tarred with that brush.

What else do you know, Tangimai?

Did she ever talk about how her sister screwed her over?

When Julianne was younger, apparently she desperately wanted to be a vet.

Her body sabotaged her training.

My sister believed.

That I was too biased towards dogs to be a balanced, objective, dispassionate

vet.

What business was it of hers?

Body medals in my life anyway that she can.

She contacted my tutors.

Told them I'd cheated in my exams.

No, they'd waste her dreams, leaving Julianne feeling very bitter.

And this information comes via Missy's mother.

Yeah, she's a reluctant witness.

Worried it'll come back on her business.

Yeah, well, even so, Mike's gonna want a way to verify this.

These... are copies of orders from your vet clinic for quantities of steroids

from various suppliers in the United States. The orders have your name

attached.

We also have documentation from courier companies showing their arrival into New

Zealand and their delivery to your clinic. But then after that, nothing.

Which begs the question, how and where were the steroids prescribed?

We know you're a part owner of the horse.

Fact that you lied to my colleague here about. And we know that the horse tested

positive for steroids after the race.

We also have a witness who said you were directly involved.

Bloody Brianna.

She's a party girl. You can't believe a word she says. We have several

witnesses. Also of interest, bank statements.

Showing that you are carrying a considerable amount of debt.

Look.

There have been times in the past, I'll admit, where my vision has outstripped

my immediate financial resources.

That's one way of putting it. Being successful in business requires taking

risks. Well, from what we can make out, when you bought into your practice, you

took on more debt than you could service.

And then you decided to dabble in the stock market and made a lot more bad

choices.

So then you tried some old-fashioned gambling.

Yes. All right.

I was responsible for the doping.

I needed the horse to start winning.

A vet doping horses.

How would the vet council regard that?

If word got out, your career would be over.

So I think we can assume that you did everything in your power to keep it a

secret. Did Andrea find out? Is that what happened? Somewhere along the line,

she must have realised the level of financial trouble you dragged her into.

Was there a confrontation between... No. I made sure she didn't find out.

Look, I know what this looks like.

Really? Do you?

I loved my wife.

I would never have hurt her.

All I needed was two or three more wins and I would have been back on my feet.

There's something else.

Your fingerprints, along with some others, are on the reins that were found

at the crime scene.

Okay, that's impossible.

I've never seen those reins, let alone touched them.

I want to lodge a complaint.

What sort of complaint?

Brodo.

Hi.

What's going on?

Well, I've got this bunch of kids harassing me at the coffee cart and

they're giving Hercules a hard time.

Brodo, look at him. Froot. You reckon he could door flip?

Go on, smoke. Get the hell away from him.

I'm just joking around.

I know they're just dumbass kids who don't know any better, but they're

scaring off my customers.

And I'm pretty sure Hercules is developing anxiety issues.

Have you got a unit for you that could take a look?

See what I can do.

Thanks heaps.

Hi, come on through, Mike's waiting.

Hey Julian, I've just got a couple of questions about obedience after the

class the other day.

I think you've mistaken me for my sister.

You're not her? I'm his sister Bonnie.

That's amazing.

Has anyone ever told you you guys look pretty much identical?

What just happened?

Everyone knew what Craig was doing with Julianne's horse.

You're sure about that?

Ask them.

And in her role as vet nurse, Andrea was keenly aware of all the drugs coming in

and out of the clinic.

It wouldn't have been possible for Craig to hide that from her.

So she knew. I heard them arguing about it.

Did you know that they had a trial separation about six months ago?

They only got back together because Craig begged her.

She was at her wit's end.

She told me that she was leaving him for good this time.

She was sick of the lies and... violent temper.

Between Craig and Ron Abbott lurking around, Andress needs a lot of her time

and fear.

When did you become aware of Craig and the steroids?

Only recently.

I did contemplate going to the police or the vet council.

But in the end, I decided to let Craig try and sort it out himself.

Why would you give him another chance? For Andrea's sake.

Do you recognise these?

Yes, I've seen those.

Where? In the back of Craig's car.

When was this?

About a week ago.

Hey, thanks for coming. No problem.

I ordered you a coffee. That's okay.

It's flat white, right? Nice, thanks.

Your mum, she has a certain attitude to police.

She had a few interactions in her youth.

A bit of blame on both sides, I'd say.

I need to verify what she told me.

You don't trust her.

I just need to verify.

And that's why you asked me to come here.

Not just that. Are you sure?

Because that's what it feels like.

Could Tangi Mai have any kind of score to settle, Greg Tillman? No. Look, the

guy's a creep.

And she's rightly concerned his shenanigans will bounce back on her

stables. That's it.

You know, I actually came here because I wanted to have a coffee with you.

Not to go through all this... Third degree stuff.

I'm sorry.

Mike. Get out to Ron Abbott's place. Bring him in for an interview.

Don't take no for an answer.

Sure. Will do.

Missy.

Is it too hard for us to just have a coffee?

A witness has placed these in your car prior to Andrea's death.

Which witness?

It's not the issue here. What is if someone's trying to frame me? Were they

in your car or not?

Yes.

All right, they were on the back seat for a couple of days, but then they

disappeared. They just disappeared.

That's convenient. Well, Julianne left them there.

One day the horse was in a paddock. She had to restrain the beast while I gave

the injection.

Then I drove it back to the stables. But I swear to God, when I went to return

them, they were gone. You've got no idea where they went.

doing then when they ended up around your wife's neck.

No!

I'm really sorry, but Mrs. Petrie's French bulldog has swallowed the head

off her daughter's Barbie doll.

Can I get on with my day or what?

Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying.

You see, Chalmers,

We'd like you to come down to the station to answer a few more questions.

I've already spoken to your boss.

I've got nothing else to say.

Is that right?

You could start by explaining how an electric car could leave an oil stain on

the driveway.

Look, I can't leave the dog alone in the house. He'll rip it apart. I can come

with you. He might piss in your car.

I'll get it cleaned.

Right. Good choice.

After you.

Let me get its lead.

Uh, fingerprints.

I've had a look.

We're waiting on a match.

Hey, thanks.

My dog all right?

He's being looked after? Better be.

Ron, you need to tell us what you know about Andrea Tillman's death. I know

anything. The oil stain on your driveway.

Would we be right in thinking that that came from Andrea's car? Yeah, it's

bloody inconsiderate when people do that.

They should look after their cars properly. So it did come from Andrea's

car?

She came to see me.

The night she died?

Well, you two weren't exactly friends.

Why would she come to see you? That's what I wanted to know.

What the hell do you want?

Um, is something wrong with your puppy?

You'd better come in.

and we tried to figure out the confusion.

I got a message from the clinic that you called, that it was an emergency.

Oh, news to me.

The thing is, I never rang the clinic.

We couldn't figure out what happened, so then she got into our car and left.

You're telling us a woman who you didn't like, who you thought was responsible

for the death of your previous dog, just turned up out of the blue, had a quick

chat and then left.

Looks on your faces as the reason why I didn't want to talk about this earlier.

That's why I wanted to get rid of the oil stain.

I knew you'd jump to conclusions.

Then help us to understand.

Is it true you resented Andrea? You believed she killed your dog?

We actually talked about that.

You have to believe me.

Evie's death wasn't my fault.

So who was it then?

I can't say.

You're right.

Ron, it wasn't me.

I promise you.

And did you believe it?

Makes no difference now, does it?

Do you recognise that?

No. Well, then can you explain why our colleague found it on your property

about an hour ago?

Like I told him, I've never seen that bloody thing before. So we won't find

your fingerprints on it? No, you won't.

This is a set-up.

Don't you get it?

If Ron's telling the truth, that someone messaged Andrea telling her to go out to

Ron's place, that has to be someone from the clinic.

And is that the same someone who took the reins that went missing out of

Craig's car?

Tomorrow, I want to get Brianna Kutz and Preship Banerjee in here for some

straight answers.

Oh, cool.

They sent the big guns.

Are you opening up or what?

What? No, how can you want a copy at a time like this?

What are you talking about?

I just put a call through to the station. That's why you're here, right?

Hercules is gone. I need your help to get him back. Missing pets isn't really

police business, Frodo.

He's not missing. He's been kidnapped.

By those loser kids that I laid a complaint about yesterday.

Where did you see him last?

Here.

Well, he can't have got far.

You don't know him.

I know he's a tortoise.

It's not like he's going to cover hundreds of kilometers a day. You're not

hearing me.

He's been kidnapped.

He could be on a plane to some collector in Saudi Arabia by now.

Where's Liam Neeson and his special set of skills when you need them?

So we're looking for him or what?

Hercules!

Hercules.

Solid effort, man.

I'm a target, aren't I? Is that why I'm here?

You are not a target, Brianna. You are here to help me understand the

relationships between the staff at the clinic. I'm just the receptionist. I

don't know most of what goes on. Yet you said something to my colleague,

Detective Chalmers, about Andrea.

You said that poor woman had no idea what was going on.

What did you mean by that?

Nothing much. Did you mean Andrea had no idea about Craig and the horse doping?

Sort of, because I don't think she did know.

Was there more that Andrea didn't know about?

Yeah.

Like how Bonnie would talk about her behind her back. Always putting her down

and stuff. Saying how Andrea was no good at her job. Anything else?

This is the worst bit.

She told me that if you asked, I had to tell you that I'd seen Craig and Andrea

arguing. And that if I didn't, she'd tell you that I was involved with the

horse thing.

So, when you told us the other day you'd seen Craig and Andrea arguing, that

wasn't true?

Yeah, well, they did argue sometimes.

They're married. It's compulsory, right? But I don't totally know what they

argued about.

Was Bonnie ever critical of Andrea in your presence?

Presha, a woman is dead. These are important questions.

Yes.

And initially, I believed Bonnie until I started to see through what she said.

Because?

Because sometimes she makes mistakes in surgery.

Can you give me an example?

About three months ago, a cat came in for a dental clean.

And with cats, it's different. They need to be anesthetized.

Bonnie got distracted, left the cat on it for too long, and the cat died.

When the owner confronted her, she blamed other staff.

Did you ever confront Bonnie about that?

Once.

She didn't really want to talk about it.

Later that day, she made a reference to my parents' immigration status.

And that was the end of it?

Perhaps I could have done more.

But my parents... They were parents, you know.

They sacrificed a lot for my education. I just... I want them to live here so

badly.

Did Bonnie tell you to tell us you'd seen Ron and Andrea arguing?

Hercules. Hercules!

Hercules! Hercules.

Okay, that's them.

Are you going to talk to them?

Yes. You've got to find out what they've done with it. Relax, Frodo. Let me

handle this.

Hello, boys.

Nice bikes you got there.

But his pet is missing.

I wondered if you'd seen anything.

We ain't seen nothing.

You sure about that?

So the pet is it? Is it like a rat or something? He's a tortoise. What have

you guys done with him? You forgot your meds today. I told you.

We ain't seen nothing.

I'll give you a hand. I got this.

Yeah.

Oh,

what the hell?

Bro, handcuffs.

I have an idea how you can keep track of this little fella.

I don't understand why you're happy to take these lies at face value.

I've helped you uncover a doping scandal being run out of my clinic, but you'd

rather listen to the perpetrators of that than myself. So Craig's lying?

Obviously. And when Andrea realised the scale of his deception, she confronted

him and he killed her.

But he forgot about the reins in the back of his car.

So you definitely saw them there? Definitely.

And Brianna?

She's implicated in Craig's illegal activity, perhaps more than you realise.

Not about Presha.

Presha is an isolated individual, and she's having trouble coming to terms

with the fact that she's not a very good fit.

She's constantly distracted by her parents' ongoing immigration issues, to

the point where I wondered if she might have organised the break-in to cover up

some mistake that she'd made. That's a serious allegation to make against one

of your own staff.

I know.

I don't have any proof, but I have a strong suspicion.

My point is, I go out of my way to help my staff and these allegations are

nothing more than gossip and rumours and I don't mind saying, it's hurtful. Did

you contact Andrea the night she was murdered? Yes, I called her after the

puppy party to make sure she was okay and make sure that Ron Abbott hadn't

caused any problems.

And that was the only contact you had with her that night?

Yes.

Now look, with all this disruption, the vet clinic is understaffed and I really

need to help.

So if you don't have any further questions, I would really like to go

now.

What are you doing here?

I believe the phrase is helping the police with their inquiries.

Well, there's no point asking her anything because she's in no way a

credible witness.

Are you worried about what I might tell them? She's a narcissist.

Who wouldn't know the truth if it ran her over?

And she's never gotten over the fact that I've made a success of my life and

she never could. Whatever you say, sis.

Julianne, come through.

Up, just down this way.

Wow, sisters like that, who needs enemies?

What is this?

It's Frodo's latest method to keep track of Hercules. And her's idea was that?

It's my Da Vinci moment.

Oh, you missed your true vocation.

Tortoise whisperer.

How much of what your sister says is true?

Do you see her as more successful than you? Well, it depends on your definition

of success.

What's important to me are my friendships and a level of contentment.

And in that area, I'm way ahead of her.

You don't think Bonnie has any of those things in her life? My sister has no

friends. She says that she and Andrea were close.

To begin with, yes.

She burned through that friendship the way she burns through all friendships

throughout her life.

Oh.

Bonnie botched an operation and she begged Andrea to keep it a secret for

the sake of the clinic.

And her own career.

Absolutely. She's so desperate to prove herself to the world that she can't deal

with one hint of failure.

But over the years, Andrea witnessed other incidents of incompetence. The

latest of which was Ron Abbott's dog.

It was Bonnie's mistake.

She ignored Andrea and operated on the wrong dog.

For Andrea, that was the final straw. She told Bonnie that she had to resign.

So then Bonnie started spreading the rumour that Andrea was responsible.

And Andrea couldn't leave her job at the clinic because of Craig's financial

situation. And then when Bonnie got wind of Craig and the steroids, she thought

that she could hold that over Andrea forever.

But Andrea didn't want to go on working with someone who was hurting animals.

So she gave Bonnie an ultimatum via email.

Resign or I'll go to the vet council.

And what about the reins?

How do they fit in?

They came from me.

I left them in Craig's car after one of his visits to the stables.

So you lied to us.

Once I realised they were found at the crime scene, I didn't want to implicate

him any more than he already was.

Why didn't you tell us all this earlier?

Until I talked to Craig, I couldn't be sure.

What did he want?

He was asking me about my reins.

What did you say? Nothing.

Craig, what the hell is going on? I don't know.

Seriously, I don't.

All I know is they were in my car, then they were gone. Really?

Yes!

I take it you knew about the doping of Winsome Spring.

By the time I found out, it was too late.

Excuse me.

Fingerprints on the bottle came back negative for Ron Abbott.

Craig Tillman?

No. But there was a hit on Bonnie Seymour.

Hey, everyone.

DSS Shepherd would like you to know that as far as we're concerned, you're in the

clear. It's no evidence that you touched the bottle we found. Well, that's good

to know, considering I didn't do anything.

She left it there, didn't she?

Who did?

Bonnie.

She paid me a visit yesterday.

Hello, Ron.

It's a terrible time for all of us with the loss of Andrea.

And we'd like to offer you free vet care for the next year.

Anything to help with this dreadful incident behind us? No.

She's very kind.

You've been through a lot. I'm so very, very sorry.

There I was thinking, better late than never.

Dee Fleed wormed and vaccinated.

I'll see you two in 12 months.

Thank you. No worries.

We need to speak to Bonnie.

I'll check if she's here.

Hey, is Bonnie here?

No, but she did call about 20 minutes ago. She said she wasn't feeling very

well. Excuse me.

Hey, we're en route to Bonnie Seymour's place.

Might be an idea to start heading this way.

Copy that.

Hickey's found an email on Andrea's laptop, the last one since.

She was about to blow the whistle on Bonnie.

I'll come round the back.

Bonnie?

Mike Sheppard?

We need to talk further.

I was hoping we could go over a few details.

So that we can clear up...

Well that went quite badly. Yeah.

Oh, I hate golf.

Suspects heading north on Kirk Cullen Road. What's it, Quinny?

Kirk Cullen Road, heading south.

Okay, well, if you see a black BMW, Hotel Kilo Juliet 171, make yourself

useful, will you?

I'm on it.

Cutting through Ponamara Road.

I'm in pain.

You're in pain?

Mm.

Hercules?

Hercules!

Are you okay, buddy?

Jeez, what are you trying to do to me?

Hey, watch where you're going, lady!

I don't know, chicken.

Jesus Christ!

Whoa!

Tell me he's okay.

He's... Yeah, he's fine.

It's 1971 versus 2020.

Oh, Mike.

We're never going to catch her in this thing.

Well, I'm sorry, but sometimes you just have to speak truth to power.

It's making much up here.

Careful!

It's an original paint job.

Here's what we now know.

Andrea was so concerned with your failures as a vet that she was

determined to go public to stop you harming any more animals.

She'd been threatening this for some time. Time enough for you to formulate a

plan to kill her. That's ridiculous.

That she wanted to go public?

No.

We have a copy of the email she drafted the day she was killed.

containing a statement about your incompetence that she was about to send

to the vet council.

Her big mistake was giving you the courtesy to see it first.

Come.

After the puppy party, you sent her a message from the clinic computer telling

her to go out to Ron's place.

A ploy to implicate him in her death.

Then rang her and invited her to your house.

You told her you were willing to front up to your failures and resign.

That she demanded that you do.

You have no proof of this. That you rang her.

You told us you did. Just not what it was about.

And Andrea's car has a tendency to leave a tell-tale trail at each port of call.

You gave her a cup of tea.

Earl Grey. No sugar.

But with a sedative in it.

Diazepam. Which corresponds to a missing dose from your drug register.

Once she became drowsy, you administered the pedobarbital.

And watched her die.

Then you sent a message to her husband stating she couldn't take this anymore.

Then you drove her out to the reserve in her car.

Using the reins to implicate her husband and to further direct attention away

from yourself.

Interesting theory.

I presume this stems from a series of lies propagated by my embittered sister.

None of this actually connects me to Andrea's death.

We have statements from clinic staff confirming that you pressured them into

lying to police.

Did Bonnie tell you to tell us you'd seen Ron and Andrea arguing?

Will you go on record?

Yes. Pressure's the liar.

Your fingerprint is on this pentobarbital bottle. It was recovered

from Ron Abbott's property.

The serial number indicates that it came from your clinic. So how did it get

there? If it wasn't precia, then Ron must have broken in and I told you he

was sizing up the place.

There was no break-in, Bonnie.

It was staged.

Did you plant this bottle on Ron's property to impriminate him?

No.

But of course my prints are on it. It's from my clinic.

Yes, it is.

You see?

So it would be surprising if my prints weren't on it. But that doesn't explain

why your prints are also on the leaf that was used to partially obscure the

bottle.

You lifted the horse reins from the back of Craig Tillman's car

I

wanted to be a vet from when I was a child

That's the only dream I had I was nothing without it

I wasn't going to let Andrea take that away from me.

Everything I worked for my whole life, who was she to take that away from me?

She was just a nurse.

Bonnie, Detective Sims here will now take a full statement from you.

You can tell her all about it.

Yep, two flat whites.

Thanks, Fado.

Where's Hercules?

I don't want to stomp on him.

Reunited. Cute.

Yeah, apparently the old girl has a few memory issues.

One of the wrist home nurses asked where her little friend was. That's when she

remembered she'd forgotten to remember him. You don't miss having him around?

To be honest, nah.

He's high maintenance.

As far as having an assistant goes, the bottom line has got to be opposable

thumbs.

Bye, Friday.

They off, is it?

Yeah, it is.

They actually exist, do they?

But, you know, I have pressing business.

Is that right?

Yep. Got to take the horses down to the beach.

Pity you can't ride.

Where did you hear that?

When was the last time you were on a horse?

A while ago now.

Principal's the same though, isn't it?

Hold on tight.

Try not to fall off.

Too fast! You want me to slow down?

No, I'm good!

Slowpoke!