Original subtitles

SQUAWKING

Hello, Mr Buzzard!

SCREAMING

Lady Phil?

Mother?

What is it?

No.

Oh, please, no.

♪ The way I get to heaven

♪ The way I get to heaven is to fall

♪ Forgiveness is their business

♪ I'll give them something to forgive me for. ♪

The victim is Andrei Mavrodi.

Undocumented Romanian migrant

working on the estate since February

to do odd jobs and ground clearance.

- Who found him and when? - Lady Philippa Armstrong,

bird watching, half seven this morning.

Have you taken a statement?

She's too distressed.

According to her gamekeeper, Whittick,

Andrei spent yesterday clearing land using powerful weed killer.

- The contents of that bottle will need testing. - On it.

Probably an accident.

Bloke had a long day,

light-headed on chemicals.

Wandered past as it was getting dark,

tripped, fell in,

couldn't get out.

You're assuming he was alive when he entered the water.

Erm...

You might be right.

- Thanks. - Although, high on solvent fumes or not,

if Andrei Mavrodi wasn't able to get out of 14 inches of pond water

to save his own life,

it's most likely because someone wouldn't let him.

Look, it's not going to happen like that.

We knew, though. We knew something like this would happen.

I am telling you, we have to stay silent.

- Do you understand? - Well, that's easy for you to say.

And maybe I'm done...

...being silent.

If you know what's good for you, you're not.

You must be Lady Philippa.

DI Rose O'Connell.

I should never have let him use glyphosate.

It's a vile chemical.

It's banned for a reason.

But he insisted.

Nothing else works on rhododendrons.

When they're gone, we shall replace them with the native heathers.

Lady Philippa...

That poor, poor boy.

It's terrible to think that

Andrei inhaled those ghastly fumes

and then met his death in...

...in an awful accident that I could have...

...I SHOULD have prevented.

We're not classifying it as an accident yet,

until the coroner says otherwise.

It's an unexplained death.

You don't think...

We don't know yet.

LADY PHILIPPA GASPS

Everything all right, Father David?

Ah.

Joe.

Yes.

In Tom and Jerry, I was always Team Tom.

There's been a mouse.

Ah.

How are you?

Yeah, I'm well, thanks.

- Yeah. - Good.

I had some bad news.

A labourer from Gallowbrae Hall has died.

He stayed here once.

A man in search of something.

Not unlike yourself.

What is it, Joe?

I've been thinking.

You know, you dedicated your life to helping others.

I'm doing God's work,

not mine.

Sometimes, doing nothing can be the better path.

You're right.

I'm on a better path.

I am staying well out of it.

Out of what?

Tell them to check his right hand first.

It might be nothing,

but I think there might be traces of something, some kind of fibre.

Thanks.

Why are you here?

It's a good question, Rose,

and it's one I have been grappling with but...

...I think I can help.

I thought we'd established that, while you are many things,

"helpful" isn't one of them.

Look, I overheard two of the staff from here in the cafe.

They sounded stressed.

OK, well, one of their people's just died.

No. It was like they knew something.

Ah, what's he doing here?

Pleasure as always.

What have you got? RAJ SIGHS

I tried to get witness statements from the staff,

but they weren't that helpful, to be honest.

I think that Yates the butler's just downright rude.

Ah, well, if you called him a butler,

- that's your first mistake right there. - Ma'am, can I nick him?

All I'm saying is, he's not a butler.

Then why was I told his father,

and his father's father were all butlers

going back to the dawn of time.

The gamekeepers here, they've always been the Whitticks

and the groundsmen are the Randalls.

The housekeepers are the Greys.

But Yates, he's the house manager now.

He'll be polite enough.

They might talk to police.

They won't tell you anything.

I suppose they'll tell you.

I'm not here for my benefit.

No.

Do you hear me?

RAJ MOUTHS

SOCOs are done processing Andrei's room in the staff quarters.

That's all the ID there was.

Registered to the Gallowbrae address.

No passport, no national identity card...

...nothing.

And these pills?

These were found in the drawer of his bedside table.

There were five. One's gone off for analysis.

It's got to be organised crime,

smuggled in to work in the drugs trade.

Romania entered the EU in 2007,

so he wouldn't have needed to enter the UK illegally.

Right.

We need to find out who he was.

Contact the Refugee Council and the Romanian consulate.

If he's ever had his fingerprints taken,

he'll have an Interpol or a Eurodac profile.

Got it. That's Lady Phillippa's son.

Jonathan.

Ah.

I need alibis for all of them.

Sorry, door was open.

Yes?

Hello, Maxine.

It's...

- Joe Ruby. - Ah, you remember.

My mother does.

- And how is she these days? - What do you want?

Look, can I give you a bit of advice?

If you crack an egg on a flat surface,

and not the edge of the bowl,

you won't get any splinters of shell in your batter.

Yeah, sorry.

Why are you here?

Well, I used to come here as a kid to nick stuff.

I'm trying to make amends, I suppose.

I heard about...

Yeah, I'm sorry, Maxine.

It just doesn't seem possible.

I mean, I know accidents happen, but...

You think it wasn't an accident?

I don't know.

Maybe.

There was this guy...

...on the grounds yesterday afternoon.

- Yeah? - Gavin Cooper.

He's always spying.

He spouts right-to-roam propaganda as a reason to trespass.

He wanted in on the rewilding and Lady P wouldn't have him.

What time did you see him?

Who are you?

Me? I'm nobody.

I just stopped in about a delivery.

Whittick!

You shouldn't be discussing estate business.

Everything all right?

Can you call the police? This man's trespassing.

Easy.

There's no need for this.

I shall be on my way.

Cause of death confirmed as drowning.

Pond water and algae in his lungs.

Still waiting for toxicology results.

Estimated time of death

between 1930 and 2100 hours.

Alibis?

Lady Philippa was in the gamekeeper's cottage

with Betty Whittick, helping to pot gooseberry jam.

Yates, the butler...

Sorry.

...house manager was doing a wine inventory with Maxine.

Jonathan was alone in the home gym up until 6.30,

then on a Zoom call to his sister in South Africa.

Most of the staff were at a film night in the music room.

Whittick was at the Gallowbrae Arms.

PHONE RINGS

Hello?

Where?!

I'll take this from here.

Thank you.

Before you say anything,

I was not trespassing.

I was catching up with an old friend's daughter.

Gavin Cooper.

- You need to find him. - Stop talking.

He got turned down for a job on the rewilding project there.

Probably not happy about an illegal immigrant getting the job over him.

He was sniffing around the gardens about the time of the murder.

You do think there was a murder, right?

Oh, and there's something very dodgy about that Jonathan character.

And the gamekeeper, Whittick - he knows something.

And a bit of a heads up, he knows me as well. He just can't remember why.

- Why? - Well, I'd lay money on mine and Tony Conyer's cigarette butts

still being in that old bunker out back from 1979.

Good times.

So...

...Gavin Cooper.

- You want me to find him? - I'm going to charge you with trespass.

You what?

We need to find Gavin Cooper.

See what you can dig up.

OK, and what about the trespass?

- Just messing with him? - Just get him out of here.

RAJ SIGHS

Lime and soda, please.

And whatever you're having.

I'm...

I'm looking for an old pal of mine.

Hello?

Gavin...

Stop. Stop!

I already told Baz I haven't got it.

You haven't got what?

Who the hell's Baz?

Who are you?

Gallowbrae, last night.

A workman drowned in a garden pond.

- How unlucky's that? - Are you police?

No. It's the eyes.

Someone saw you, on the estate, yesterday afternoon.

Well, access to nature should be a public right.

I agree. But your problem is...

...he died around the time you were there.

Well, why do you care so much if you're not a copper?

When I was a kid, I used to sneak in at night-time to watch the badgers.

They are beautiful creatures.

So I do know where you're coming from.

Yeah, well, the badgers have all gone now.

Frightened off by all those trucks.

Trucks?

Yeah, you know, the equipment.

Well, yeah, for the rewilding.

Oh, sure!

But I've never known a rewilding project to use that much machinery.

You should have a look at my socials.

And not only that, why are they only doing it at night?

- Look, you're going to have to talk to the police. - No way.

I know who's on the case.

And for a copper, yeah, she's not completely awful.

Well, if you're not a copper, why are you doing this?

You know, a lot of people ask me that.

Ah, Inspector Clueless.

That's Detective Sergeant to you.

Apologies, Detective Sergeant Clueless.

Is your boss here?

Special delivery. I bring you...

...Gavin Cooper.

I saw him around, but I didn't know him.

You're certain you saw him yesterday, talking to Jonathan?

Yeah, well, Jonathan was doing the talking...

Well, shouting, more like.

About what?

He said, "Don't you dare, I'm warning you."

Anything else?

No, I split after that.

You're a bit of a fixture around Gallowbrae, I'm told.

It's not right, what they're doing.

- You mean the rewilding? - Robbing, more like.

What, taking land from the public?

Giving priority to red squirrels over local people

and getting two million quid from the government to do it?

You seem quite angry about that.

Trust me, I'm not the only one that's angry

about those toffs and all they stand for.

Look, seriously, mate, you need to...

I'll handle this.

We'll be in touch.

Right, I know what you're thinking,

but I just thought I could help and save you some time.

The ice is thin.

I assume he told you about Jonathan Armstrong.

Slippery as a fish,

and definitely hiding something.

And not just the upstairs-downstairs action

- that's going on with him and Maxine. - The what?

Oh, come on. It's what they do.

Is that a chip on your shoulder?

Look, Maxine and Whittick are scared of something...

...or someone.

And the kind of people they're scared of hold on very tight

to what they've got.

Did he mention the... the trucks?

The earth-moving equipment? All at night.

There's something going on there, Rose,

something beyond the rewilding.

I'm telling you, this was no accident.

It's DI O'Connell.

OK.

I get it.

- - I'm here at Gallowbrae Hall.

Look at these machines.

They claim this is for government-funded rewilding.

Clearly, it isn't.

- Jonathan Armstrong? - Yeah. - DI Rose O'Connell.

- I think you've already met my colleague, DS Raj Singh. - Yes.

I have a couple of questions about Andrei.

Uh-huh. Maxine, will you give us a moment?

Yeah.

It must have been a shock.

Yeah, of course. Yeah, we're all in bits. Um...

...I've already given my alibi,

so I don't think I can be of much help, I'm afraid,

but abundantly clear it was a tragic mishap, so...

Well, a witness says they saw you and Andrei

having an argument yesterday afternoon.

- What witness? - They claim that you were shouting.

Andrei looked nervous.

And you're on record for having been in a scrape or two.

Oh, yeah, that was ages ago. Yeah, yeah. Um...

...Andrei speaks very poor English, so no wonder it was...

One had to shout to be understood.

So, you deny warning him, making some kind of threat?

HE LAUGHS That?

No, that was just a bit of fun.

Yeah, next month is Mother's surprise birthday party and I told

Andrei the plan and then I had to... sh..warn him to keep shtoom.

Has anyone visited him here?

How would I know? I'm not his keeper.

No. He worked for Mum, not me.

Tell me more about this rewilding project.

I want to get a better picture of what Andrei did.

Are you aware of Mr Hugh Corcoran, KC?

- Should I be? - He's my lawyer. An eminent one.

Call him if you wish, but you're not under caution.

I'm just trying to find out what happened to Andrei.

- I assume you'd like to know. - Hmm.

So, the rewilding.

Most of the estate will be off-limits to the public

- from here on in, correct? - No, no, no.

Only as required for the sensitive reintroduction

of these incredibly valuable plants and animals.

Hmm. It's quite a contentious scheme, though, isn't it?

Yes. Isn't everything these days?

Do you think Andrei, or any of the other workers,

might have been victimised or threatened?

Look, we are donating most of our land to nature.

And so, who could possibly -

apart from those right-to-roam loons - have any objection?

Maybe the families that have lost their farms.

The land-for-homes lobby seem to think

they have a pretty strong case.

Do I need my solicitor or not?

You've been... very helpful.

It's toxicology.

Andrei had high levels of "benzo-dia-zep-ines" in his system.

No wonder he didn't struggle.

You think he was a user?

Either that or he was drugged.

Any update on the pills in his drawer?

I'll chase. Um, also, forensics are saying

there's still nothing on the fibres in Andrei's right hand,

but that, "the hand shows

"disturbance inconsistent with natural rigor release."

Whatever that means.

Someone forced his hand open after he died.

Aye, that's what I'd have guessed.

But why?

Because whoever that was must have been involved.

Do you think it was this lot?

I mean, I can't say I like him.

We might need more than that.

So, was I right? Was he murdered?

You need to leave before I nick you for harassment.

Look, I promise I won't keep you.

I can see you're busy with Colin Firth there.

Look, there's a lot more than rewilding

going on at that place, Rose.

You can build an office block

with the amount of stuff that's come through those gates.

So where is this office block?

And why haven't the residents gone into meltdown,

not to mention local councils, planning officers,

conservation groups? There's checks and balances, Joe.

Hush money. Oh, and the staff? All signed NDAs.

NDAs? Seriously?

According to Gavin Cooper.

- You did interview Gavin. - Oh, you mean the white supremacist

that torched a Turkish barbers two years ago?

- They have put their prices up. - Joe, I'm trying to solve a murder!

Ugh.

So it WAS murder.

I was right.

You should get a warrant. Search the grounds.

We can't get a warrant. We don't have any evidence, and we can't

just make it up. Now, please, I've got a halibut waiting for me.

Oh, don't call him that. He's all right.

Just needs a haircut.

GROANING

GROANING

Ah.

Ma'am, I'm not exactly sure what's going on here.

Incoming!

It's all going to the women's refuge!

Good morning, Lady Philippa. Do you have a moment?

Absolutely!

Oh.

We're just trying to get a better picture of Andrei's circumstances.

Oh, that poor boy.

Lady Philippa, is it true that you make your staff sign NDAs?

We look after our staff extremely well.

But as a family, we've had more than our fair share of issues.

The NDAs were Jonathan's idea.

Jonathan is a bit of a loose cannon.

I'm sure you've seen the tabloids.

Thank heavens we got his two sisters safely married off.

Thick ankles and all.

Would you mind if we had a look around Andrei's bedroom?

I just want to get more of an idea of who he was.

By all means.

We have no secrets here, detectives.

Yates will take you.

Ben Whittick previously said he was at the Gallowbrae Arms all evening,

but ANPR have him driving towards Morpeth at 18:09,

parking on Tillet Street till 23:45

then driving home.

What's there to do in Tillet Street on a Tuesday evening?

I wonder.

Bag those, please.

Not so unskilled after all.

PHONE CHIMES

The local prescribing register has...

...no record of Andrei Mavrodi.

But Jonathan Armstrong

has prescriptions for anxiety medications...

...including benzodiazepines.

Now, this is bordering on harassment.

ROSE EXCLAIMS

When did you realise that pills had gone missing

- from your bathroom cabinet? - Ooh. What pills?

- Benzo... - One of them ended up in Andrei's blood.

Oh, well, that would be...

...a couple of weeks ago.

Did you tell anyone the pills had gone missing? Maxine, perhaps?

Why would I have told her?

Because I think you and her were having a relationship.

Ah.

And did she tell you about their smutty little situationship?

Hmm? She and Andrei?

How did that make you feel?

- Jealous, maybe? - What, of her?

No, no, no. She has her upsides, but she's not worth drowning a man for -

if that's where your forensic mind is going. No, if anyone

had it in them to commit a crime of passion, it was her.

I mean, he dumped her.

She was devastated.

- And she's got previous, so... - Oh?

Yeah, I think I've said enough,

- so I need... - No, no, no, there's something else.

How come there's so much industrial equipment

being delivered to this place?

It seems an awful lot for a rewilding project.

Well, you clearly don't know much about land management.

- Enlighten us. - Right, I'm off to the refuge.

You will take some rhubarb.

Crumble if you must, but you haven't lived

until you've had it with pork chops.

Come along, Jonathan. We have work to do.

Hmm.

Good. Um, make yourselves at home.

Looks like an antique.

Uh, yeah.

Lady Phil's had the same pair of boots since...1990.

Maxine, I understand you had a relationship with Andrei.

You spoke to Jonathan.

I miss him.

No judgment, but...

...was Andrei a drug user?

Sorry, I've got to go.

Do you think Maxine could have done it, then?

I think we need to know why Jonathan keeps throwing her under the bus.

I mean, his alibi's pretty weak.

No corroboration beyond his flaky sister in South Africa.

But if Jonathan drugged Andrei,

then drowned him...

...why are his benzos in Andrei's drawer?

Think about it.

Oh.

Jonathan planted them there.

- Should we bring him in, then? - With his lawyer?

We continue to treat him like a witness, not a suspect.

Let him hang himself.

I agree.

LINE RINGS

Yeah, it's...

It's Jimmy Hayes from Gallowbrae.

It's about the Portland Cement Order.

For Highwater.

Yep, that's it.

Right.

Ah, of course.

C45.

Ah, my mistake.

Sorry.

Oi!

You again.

I know. Shouldn't be here.

I remember you now.

Oh, no.

Come here!

- No! - Stop! - Don't shoot!

Jonathan was right, though.

Maxine was cautioned for assaulting a local lad,

ex-fiance, last New Year's Eve.

GUNSHOT

- Stop! - He's got a gun!

Lower the gun!

DI Rose O'Connell.

I thought you lot had dealt with this lowlife already.

Easy with the "lowlife".

I'm glad we bumped into you.

Your alibi doesn't stack up for the night of the murder.

- What? - Your car was parked on Tillet Street.

You want to tell us why you were there,

or do I assume you're lying because you murdered Andrei?

Well, I... I...

We checked the CCTV at Ronnie's.

You're off the hook.

As long as your wife doesn't find out.

What just happened there?

Ronnie's. It's a brothel.

What were you doing, Joe?

I was checking out C45 concrete

and several stacks of rebar by the air raid shelter.

Designated for something called Highwater.

"Highwater"? What is that?

No idea. But you wouldn't use all those materials

for a nature conservation project.

C45, it's for foundations, beams, heavy-duty stuff.

Plus, it's one of the most toxic building materials there is.

Show me Andrei's drawings.

What are you thinking?

Well, just because he's an unskilled labourer here doesn't mean he's not

a highly qualified professional in his own country.

Where are the keys?

This isn't a Romanian flag. Look.

There's a small coat of arms in the middle.

Andrei isn't Romanian. He's Moldovan.

And this matters because?

See what you can find out about Andrei the Moldovan

and see if you can find anything about Highwater.

Sure.

There's a rabbit off, Rose.

Remember you told me that you and...

...somebody used to sneak into the air raid shelter

at Gallowbrae and smoke roll-ups?

Yeah. Me and Tony Conyers.

Why?

I assume we have a warrant.

You know, I've been a copper for 25 years

and this is the first time I've broken the law.

You wear it well.

HE EXHALES

HE GROANS WITH EFFORT

What is this?

Well, it's definitely not for rewilding.

Am I right?

This has to prove something.

Not yet.

And without a warrant,

this is all inadmissible.

Well, we'd better be careful.

We might get arrested.

CLANG What was that?

Let's go.

What do you know about Highwater?

- What's he doing here? - Listen, you.

We know about your plans to build something in that air raid shelter.

Right, I'm calling my lawyer.

Can you tell him to give me that back?

Look, um...

HE SCOFFS

It is a...

Highwater...

...is more of an idea. It doesn't even exist yet.

Not in the... not in any real sense.

Well, evidently, it's an idea that already has

a significant amount of heavy-duty concrete to back it up.

Yeah, that's, um...

That's for a helipad.

The estate is desperate for revenue from the city-types

and they helicopter in for the shooting season.

So why the code name? Why not just call it a helipad?

There wasn't time to get planning permission.

My mistake. Mother knows nothing about this, of course.

But... needs must.

Sorry, I was just...

What do you know about Project Highwater?

Despite what you might have been told,

an NDA can't stop someone from telling the truth.

Highwater is Jonathan's pet project.

The same way the rewilding programme is Lady Philippa's.

Has it been discussed among the staff?

No, she doesn't know anything

because there's really nothing to know.

Did you know Andrei was an architect?

No.

I knew he could draw, but...

What I'm wondering is whether he'd figured out

that this "rewilding project"

is just a smokescreen for Highwater,

- whatever that is. - Yeah.

And if he threatened to go public and needed to be silenced...

Right, look, well, I think we're done here,

- unless you're going to charge me. - I'll be in touch.

He killed him.

He has motive and, come on, those plans weren't for a helipad.

We might need more than that.

"We"?

Nice.

PHONE CHIMES

The fibres under Andrei's nails were polyester.

Maybe from the tarpaulin he was using for ground clearance.

Wait.

Look, I...

I don't know Lady Phil's involvement in Highwater but...

...I do know she wasn't at Betty's potting gooseberry jam

when Andrei died.

Because I was.

Lady Phil asked you to lie?

I have to.

I told you.

You can't trust them.

They've been getting away with it for generations.

The fibres.

I don't think they were from tarpaulin.

You see? Hmm?

Perfectly serviceable paper.

Oh, and why your generation

cannot appreciate the utility

of a half-pencil, I shall never know.

Ah.

- Detectives. - Actually, I'm not a...

Mum, I really must insist that we get Corky up here at once.

Oh, dear.

I doubt there's time for that.

Would I be right in thinking

the fibres underneath Andrei's fingernails

are from the laces on your boot?

They're with forensics now.

I had a feeling you were a clever one.

Shall we?

Lady Philippa Armstrong, I'm arresting you for the murder...

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

I'll tell you everything.

Enough of the drama.

If you'd like to come with us, we can...

The grand estates are struggling, you see.

You can tell us all this at the station.

And you should have a solicitor.

Do you want to hear this or not?

English families are coming apart at the seams.

So, rather than sell up and downsize like the rest of us,

you thought you'd spend public money

and build what, exactly?

For what it's worth, my money's on a nuclear bunker.

Oh.

Well...

In a way, yes.

Rewilding is the perfect cover.

Jonathan is certain he can find a tech billionaire

who'll buy the bunker outright.

But they do insist on total privacy and isolation

so that, when the climate falls down or the world blows up,

they'll have somewhere to live out their days, riff-raff free.

But did you have to execute Andrei just because he found out?

After he put two and two together,

I tried to bring him on side, but he...

...he was outraged.

Insisted on blowing the whistle.

Regrettably, Highwater is the only decent idea

Jonathan has ever come up with, so one had to act accordingly.

And the murder? Did Jonathan help?

Oh, no.

Might as well invite a Labrador to play you at chess.

So you acted alone?

Indeed.

I simply located Jonathan's tablets,

crushed a few of them up

and added them to Andrei's water.

He was already fairly woozy

after a long day with the weed killer, of course.

So by the time we got to the pond,

he didn't need to be pushed.

He struggled when he drowned though, didn't he?

Oh.

I've put many an animal out of its misery over the years.

Sometimes it just has to be done.

By holding his head underwater with your boot.

He briefly resisted.

Grabbed at whatever was within reach.

But, in the end, it was all mercifully quick.

When did you figure out he had the end of your boot lace in his hand?

Ah.

Only after rigor mortis had set in,

as you so correctly deduced.

What I'm struggling to understand is that...

...you liked Andrei, cared about him even,

and yet you don't seem to be remorseful.

It's no secret that I probably care more about my dogs

than about humankind.

I won't be around come doomsday,

but one does what one can to protect one's own.

Rhododendrons, Romanians...

Intruders, they need to be controlled

to protect the natural order.

Andrei Mavrodi was Moldovan.

Oh, well. "Pot-ay-to, pot-ah-to."

We're all going to hell in a handcart.

You'll see.

Ah, gotcha.

I do hope that's humane.

Vermin.

The mouse, not...

You're as remorseless as Lady Phil.

Well, maybe that's where I'm going wrong.

Well, those people don't get where they've got by feeling remorse.

But we're not those people.

No.

You're right.

We're not.

I just wanted to say...

...thank you for helping.

Catch anything?

Well...

...like you said, Father David...

...some of us have a calling.

And as a result...

...there's one less rodent walking the streets.

Well, that is good news.