All language subtitles for Midsomer Murders S13E07 - Not in My Back Yard

(bright music)

- Seeing what other people
do with their houses

and gardens does give one ideas.

(bright music)

- [Guest] Cheers.

(bright music)

- Hello, sexy boots.

- Madam.

(bright music)

- What's in these?

- Elderflower cordial.

- [Maureen] Mr. Rogers.

- Yuck.

- Yes, I am talking to you, Mr. Rogers.

What about the Pelfe Chase development?

Excuse me Mr. Rogers, I'm talking to you.

Oh, you deign to listen to me, do you?

Because I want to tell
you that in my opinion,

you're a bent jerry builder
with the morals of a tomcat.

- And don't forget the chairman
of the planning committee.

- Oh yes, Mr. Otley.

Look at you.

It's clear you're corrupt
by the company you keep.

You're a disgrace to elective office.

(bright music)

- [Joyce] Now this last
one, Swanscombe House,

wouldn't be on the list
if we'd had our way.

- [Barnaby] Ah, conservation
society are on the war path.

- [Joyce] We were dead set
against it being built at all.

It's quite out of character
with its surroundings.

- [Barnaby] The fight goes on.

(gentle music)

- You've got a nerve, Mr Swanscombe.

You think by opening this eyesore

to the public you might
win some sort of approval?

Well, you are so wrong
because it should never

have been built in the first
place and I have to tell you

that the Midsomer Conservation Society

will oppose your plans to
further vandalise this village

by any means necessary.

- My dear Maureen, why would I want

to vandalise the village?

I've made my home here.

My mother was a local girl.

- But your father could have been

any passing tinker, couldn't he?

- Take no notice, Norman.

- Oh, and you're just as bad.

You and all his other cronies.

You've put this monstrous carbuncle

on the face of the village
and now you want to do worse

with your appalling plans for Pelfe Chase.

- God, you ridiculous,
philistine old bags.

(crowd gasping)

- No, no, no, no, no please.

Please.

- Steady.

(bright music)

- [Barnaby] Well done you, sir.

- No, not at all.

Used to be in the peacekeeping business.

- [Tom] Did you really?

- Army.

Major David Walsh.

- Tom Barnaby.

- Peacekeeping's what we did in my day.

Retired down here for a quiet life,

but you never know, do you?

Look if you'll excuse me.

I'm a candidate in this local election.

I have to counter all
the votes being bought

by the development mafia.

- Chief Inspector Barnaby.

Liz Gerrard, county planning officer.

- They hold Liz personally responsible

for this monstrous carbuncle.

- Which is terribly unfair.

This house went through all the rigours

of the planning process.

- Amen to that.

Liz studied the
specifications for this house

to such a point she could
build it herself blindfold.

- Personally, I think the
committee made the right decision,

but I'm just a politically
neutral servant of the public.

Like yourself, Chief Inspector.

- What exactly is this
Pelfe Chase development

that Mrs. Lawrence was going on about?

- Pelfe Chase is a piece of
land on the edge of the village.

The council is considering giving

outline planning permission
to a mixed housing

and commercial development.

- But there is local opposition is there?

- There will always be
opposition to change,

especially change for the better.

- Mr. Swanscombe, you are a candidate

in the local election, are you not?

- I am.

I'm standing as an advocate
of change for the better.

The Pelfe Chase development
will breathe life into a village

that's in danger of dying in its sleep.

(crowd chattering)

(soft music)

(glass shattering)

(soft music)

(camera shutter clicking)

(soft music)

- Fragments of broken glass in the wound.

- Opportunistic killing.

- Pretty savage one at that.

- Time of death?

- Between 9:00 p.m. and
three this morning probably.

- We need to talk to Mr. Swanscombe.

(soft music)

When did you last see
Maureen Stubbs alive?

- Yesterday afternoon when she left here

after the, well, the incident.

- And did either of you
see or hear, you know,

anything unusual during
the hours of darkness?

Mrs. Swanscombe?

- No, we tidied up in the
garden and then had supper.

It was quite late when the phone rang.

- It was Maureen Stubbs.

She said she had something to show me

that I ought to be aware of.

- About what time?

- It was around nine when she called.

I asked if it could wait until morning,

but she was insistent, very insistent,

so I agreed to see her.

- She didn't turn up?

- No.

- Maureen.

She said something about
your mother yesterday.

What was the meaning of
that, Mr. Swanscombe?

- My mother grew up here.

In the early 50s when she
was 18, she left Midsomer.

She was expecting me.

She never named the father.

- So the name Swanscombe?

- My stepfather.

He met my mother in London
and took us both on.

- You were obviously very
offended by what she said.

- We're offended on behalf

of Norman's mother and stepfather.

They'd be deeply hurt by having

ancient history dragged up again.

What's so depressing about
this place is the way gossip,

and malice and spite infect
everybody for generations.

- That's why I'm standing for election.

I want to introduce the
village to the 21st century.

- And Maureen Stubbs opposed your plans.

- Local politics.

Not something anyone
would commit murder over.

(gavel pounding)

- So, in principle, we're
all happy with the plans

for the Pelfe Chase development
and we'll recommend approval

to the next full council
meeting after the election.

Good, well that concludes this meeting

of the planning committee.

Thank you, colleagues.

Oh, and in a particular thank you to Liz

for her customary
diligence and efficiency.

- [Audience] Here, here.

- Thank you, Chair.

- Oh Liz.

Liz.

You don't fancy lunch, do you?

- Can't right now, James.

Got a meeting.

- So Maureen Stubbs had a very busy day

even before I arrived?

- Yes, sir.

She told the Chair of
the planning committee

that he was a disgrace to his office.

- [Tom] James Otley.

What does James Otley do in real life?

- He's a vet.

She said Liz Gerrard was
a spineless jobsworth.

- [Tom] Well that's a little harsh.

She's very pretty.

- And she called Geoff
Rogers a bent jerry builder

with the morals of a tomcat.

(soft music)

- You were late last night.

- Business.

- You can't build houses
in the middle of the night.

- Don't act thicker than you are, girl.

I'm not a brickie any more, Gem.

I'm a mover and shaker round here.

I have to put myself about at all hours.

I'll see you when I see you.

(soft music)

- [Tom] So what had all these people done

to provoke Maureen?

- Well, Clifford Bunting
designed the house.

Rogers built it.

Otley and Liz Gerrard gave
it planning permission.

They're what Angela Lawrence
called Swanscombe's cronies.

- Oh, I see.

- Oh.

There's Fiona Conway.

She lives at Pelfe Hall.

She sold Swanscombe the land to build on.

- [Tom] Maureen shout at her, too?

- No, she seemed to steer
well clear of Maureen.

(soft music)

- At last.

I was just about to start without you.

- Had some hassles at work.

- We can forget work for an hour.

(gentle music)

- Swanscombe site repeatedly vandalised

and the builder's plant
and machinery sabotaged.

- [Stephens] And the attacks

on Swanscombe House have continued.

- Yep.

Graffiti sprayed on the walls.

Ball bearings fired at the
windows from a catapult.

And then death threats
to Norman Swanscombe.

Why don't we have a word with Major Walsh?

Peacekeeper's perspective on Great Pelfe

might be interesting.

- [Jones] You've had an
interesting career, Major Walsh.

- Service through leadership.

That's always been my motto.

Special forces, 'nough said?

- Oh yes, sir.

Yes indeed.

Detective Sergeant Jones
and I, we stand in awe.

- Drinks?

- Ah no, but thank you.

Oh, we were hoping you
give us your perspective

on recent events in the village.

- You've got to understand

there are alien elements at work here.

They've got money and
they've got influence.

- Who exactly are we talking about, sir?

- Norman Swanscombe and his cronies.

I mean, look at the way
they got his ghastly house

through the planning process.

Stinks of corruption.

- Have you any proof of that?

- It's obvious.

And now he's trying to bulldoze
his way on to the Council.

I mean, I've been living
here for five years now.

I sat at the feet of our
late Council representative.

I made it my business to
learn about the village

and its traditions before I
put myself forward for office.

- So you were groomed for
the succession, so to speak?

- If you want to see it in those terms.

I see it more as an apprenticeship.

Frankly, no one expected
the seat to be contested.

Then Swanscombe threw
his hat into the ring.

- Well, that's his democratic right.

- But he's doing it for subversive ends.

- Ooh, subversive?

- A plan has been drawn
up for the development

of Pelfe Chase, an unspoilt
site on the edge of the village.

- A development which Maureen
Stubbs was opposed to.

- Yes, and Swanscombe says he'll
support it if he's elected.

The same gang are involved
that built his eyesore.

- Hm, I see how that could cause trouble.

- Trouble's what they'll get.

- Oh sir, that could be
interpreted as a threat.

- Not at all.

It's a promise.

At a public meeting tomorrow
night openly and above board,

I'm going to take the war to the enemy.

(soft music)

- [Tom] You got the keys?

- Sir.

(soft music)

Well you can see who
Maureen Stubbs supports.

- Yeah.

Right.

You search the house.

I'll do the garage.

(soft music)

Jones.

- Up here.

(soft music)

- I don't know if Maureen
Stubbs was our burglar,

but she was certainly
equipped to be the vandal.

- Maureen was a fairy godmother to me.

When I moved here with my
husband and took this on,

we had no idea the business was dying.

It was a desperate struggle.

Then my marriage broke up.

Dear Maureen and Douglas befriended me,

and when he died, we became even closer.

- Maureen Stubbs was the founder member

of the Midsomer Conservation
Society, wasn't she?

- That's the Great Pelfe branch, yes.

She was our leading light.

I just helped out as committee secretary.

David Walsh and I will
have to pick up the batten

and the struggle will continue.

- And Mrs. Lawrence, will
the struggle continue

using the same criminal methods?

- I don't know what you mean.

- We found aerosol cans, a catapult,

and ball bearings on Maureen's premises.

- The kind of equipment that was used

to vandalise Swanscombe's House.

Did you know about that?

- Absolutely not.

- But you were so close, weren't you?

You and Maureen.

- If she had been tempted into extremism,

she would have wanted to
protect her colleagues

from guilty knowledge.

Selfless to the last.

- See what I mean?

- Yeah.

I can't see anything mechanically wrong.

Maybe there's an electrical fault.

- Please, don't get me started
on the electrical faults.

- [Geoff] Well, the man you wanna talk

to about these doors is your architect.

He specified all this fancy gear.

- You and Bunting.

I tell you.

I've had it up to here
with your bloody excuses.

- Mr. Swanscombe, could
I have a word please?

- Don't mind me.

I've got to be off.

- [Tom] Mr. Rogers?

- Geoff Rogers, yeah.

- I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

I'd like a word with you,
too, when it's convenient.

- Yeah, well, I'm out and about a lot.

You can try me on my mobile.

Fix something up.

- This is DC Stevens.

I'm so sorry.

We seem to have walked
in on an altercation.

- Yes well, just snagging
issues, you know.

Always happens on a new building project.

- Oh yes.

Now sir, we've discovered some items

on Maureen Stubbs' premises which suggest

that she was the person
responsible for the vandalism here.

- Well, that doesn't surprise me at all.

- We couldn't help wondering you know,

if she came back here last night

intending to inflict more damage.

- She said she wanted to talk.

She had something I ought to see.

- We're going through her phone records.

- What do you mean?

You don't believe me?

- Well, perhaps she came back
here last night unannounced

and you disturbed her when
she was about her work?

- No.

- Yes, and the anger you felt

at the persecution you'd suffered.

Then your anger boiled over.

- No, no.

Nothing like that happened.

I am not responsible for
Maureen Stubbs' death.

- I don't care what you say, Cliff.

I can't be doing with all this
Swanscombe House aggravation.

- Swanscombe's a nit-picking pillock.

- Yeah, but your drawings
didn't help much.

All right for some poncy
architect magazine.

Sod all use on site.

- My design instructions
were perfectly clear.

Quite frankly, Geoff, I wonder
if your local yokels are up

to speed with cutting
edge building technology.

- [Geoff] We better get our act together

when it comes to the Pelfe Chase job.

- [Clifford] If it ever happens.

- Oh, it's gonna happen.

I've got serious money behind me.

I am gonna be a big player
in the construction business.

- Actually, Geoff.

I don't think my cashflow
problems can wait until then.

A bit of folding money up
front would be very welcome.

- Yeah, we'll all get
paid off in due course.

- Yeah, but I'm safeguarding
your dirty secrets right now

and I think I should be rewarded.

- You blackmailing me?

- I don't care what you call it, Geoff.

(soft music)

- [Answerphone] One new message.

(machine beeping)

- [Norman] It's Norman
Swanscombe, Clifford.

I'm sick and tired of you and Geoff Rogers

playing pass the parcel about
the defects in this house.

If action isn't forthcoming,
the next communication you get

from me will be a solicitor's letter.

I'm fronting up a major
property development

for you people for God's sake.

(bright music)

- This Maureen business.

I don't want the police poking around.

- I know.

Well, we'll try and
keep them off the scent.

- No, no.

Think of my public profile.

Well, I better get back to Eleanor.

We've got an election to run.

- You can count on my vote.

- If only I had the same hold

over the rest of the electorate.

- I'm so glad we found each other, Norman.

- So am I.

- [Norman] Norman Swanscombe.

Leave a message and I'll get back to you.

- Norman, I got your
rather hysterical call.

I'll drop round when I
can and see what I can do

about your petty problems,
but do calm down.

The last thing you want is to see

is your own dirty linen
waving in the breeze.

(soft music)

(gentle music)

- Now that is what I call a des res.

(gentle music)

Maybe he's round the back.

(gentle music)

Sir.

- Oh.

- And it's recent.

- Right, in you go.

(gentle music)

Someone's done a very thorough job here.

(soft music)

- [Jones] So where's Bunting?

(door slamming)

- Who the hell?

Oh, it's you.

Well, that's service, I suppose.

I was just on the phone
ringing about the burglary.

- We're not here about
your burglary, Mr. Bunting.

We want to talk to you about
the death of Maureen Stubbs.

- Murder.

Burglary.

Blimey.

You lot are losing your grip around here.

- There's only you and I now

and we have just two meetings
left to win the vote,

so do you think I should go ahead

with tonight's speech as planned?

- Absolutely, David.

Give 'em both barrels.

- Well, yes, but now we have no proof.

- Nevermind about proof.

Speak out for what you know to be true.

It's what Maureen would have wanted.

And it means so much to me.

- Didn't you hear your
intruder then, Mr. Bunting?

- If I'd heard him, I
would have dealt with him.

- What's been taken?

- Nothing, as far as I can see.

- Does anyone else live here?

- Not since my last wife left.

I'm not a total masochist.

- When did you last see Maureen Stubbs?

- At the Swanscombe House two days ago

when she threw her drink over me.

- She was murdered that night.

- Well, not by me.

Maureen was a pest, not an enemy.

- Where were you that night?

- Here.

- Anyone verify that?

- No, they can't, but
if I murdered everybody

who took offensive exception to my work,

the streets would be clogged with corpses.

The trouble is, too
many people like Maureen

and Angela Lawrence want
to live in the past.

- Bit like yourself?

- If I could afford the
kind of house I design,

I'd live in one.

As it is, I'm in a Georgian house,

and I have modernised it according
to its form and function.

That is integrity.

- And tell me, Mr. Bunting,

do all your clients
appreciate the products

of your creative integrity?

- Well, they have a
tendency to ignore the fact

that they're privileged
to live in sculpted space.

They quibble about trivial details.

- Who was the architect who
said that God is in the detail?

- Mies Van Der Rohe and
he'd have changed his mind

if he had my clients.

- [Chair] Order.

- And so, I want to see Great
Pelfe moving with the times.

We need affordable
housing for sale and rent,

for local, village workers.

The Pelfe Chase development is in sympathy

with the existing built
and natural environments.

- It's not.

- [Norman] It is ecologically sustainable.

- Rubbish.

- The alternative is to
see Great Pelfe turned

into a theme park for commuters
and second home owners.

- It's not true.

- Nonsense.

- I would like to make it absolutely clear

that I have no financial interest

in this development whatsoever.

- Not much.

- It's absolutely true.

I'm asking you for your support

because I believe that together,

we can safeguard the future of our village

as a thriving, living community.

Thank you.

Thank you very much indeed.

- Murderer.

- Order, please.

- You and your cronies.

Everyone here knows why
Maureen Stubbs was killed.

- Mrs. Lawrence, I must ask
you to moderate your language.

- Oh, don't worry.

I'm not listening to
anymore of this charade.

This is the kind of stitch-up

that provokes ordinary
people into direct action.

And I can promise you.

There'll be plenty more of that.

(audience clapping)

(gavel pounding)

- Order, order.

Order.

David Walsh, independent.

(audience cheering)

- Well.

You've been offered a seductive vision

of the village's future.

Unfortunately, this vision
is a mere smokescreen.

This will never be built.

Detailed, secret plans already exist

for a quite different development
on the Pelfe Chase site.

An out of town shopping
centre will be built

with parking for hundreds of vehicles.

Together with some low rent
social housing of poor quality,

radically and permanently altering

the character of our village.

And who's behind this?

Mr. Swanscombe, the big city
accountant and his cronies.

Fiona Conway owns the land.

Clifford Bunting's drawn up the plans.

Geoff Rogers will be the builder.

Now, once this toy town
fantasy has been approved,

they'll use salami tactics.

Grub up the woodland, drive roads through.

And then, bit by bit the
attractive and expensive features

of this plan will be dropped for reasons

of cost overruns and
technical difficulties.

- Rubbish.

Rubbish.

- This has all been written
down in black and white.

And once the real scheme,

or should I say scam,
has been nodded through

by compromised council
members and officers.

- Shame.

- A supermarket chain will plunge millions

into the development and all concerned

will get a handsome payoff.

- Where's your evidence, eh, Walsh?

- All right, all right, all right.

I'm being asked about evidence.

Maureen Stubbs had in her
possession documentary evidence

of this conspiracy the day she died

and that's why she was killed.

(audience gasping)

- [Chair] Order.

Order.

Order.

- Excuse me, excuse me.

Major Walsh.

I'm sorry.

Major Walsh.

- See you later.

- Can I give you a lift home

because if do you have some information

pertaining to Maureen Stubbs
death, I want to hear it.

- Only too happy to oblige.

- That's very kind, thanks.

Jump in.

- [James] Liz, hang on.

Now that's opened up a whole
can of worms hasn't it?

- The innocent have nothing to fear.

- But, it's not them I'm worried about.

Listen, do you think maybe
we should go for a drink?

Talk this through?

- Not a good idea right now, James.

Might look as if we're conspiring.

Everything comes to him who waits.

- Major Walsh, you spoke
of documentary evidence

of a corrupt conspiracy.

- Mm hm.

- Can you produce that evidence?

- I saw it with my own eyes.

- That's not what I asked.

Where is it now, this evidence?

- Maureen had the evidence.

Now she's dead and it's missing.

I know the conclusion I draw from that.

- But surely she made a copy?

- Well, apparently not.

We can all be wise with
hindsight, can't we?

- Where did this material come from?

- Oh, Maureen told me she received it

from an anonymous source.

A whistleblower, if you like.

- Fiona Conway, Geoff Rogers, James Otley.

They've all suffered from burglaries

in these past few weeks.

Burglaries in which
apparently nothing was taken.

And these are all people that
you accuse of being cronies

in this new development scheme.

It doesn't look like a
coincidence, does it?

Was the evidence that you saw
the product of a burglary?

- I'm in no position to know, am I?

And I don't think that's the point.

The point is, these people are corrupt,

and they've committed murder
to cover their tracks.

- Everything Walsh said last
night was absolute rubbish.

Smear tactics.

An attempt to spread black
propaganda about the opposition.

- So the Pelfe Chase development is clean?

It's all above board?

There's no conspiracy?

There's no plan to
substitute another scheme?

- Absolutely not.

- We're going to have to
look through your personal

and business affairs, Mr. Swanscombe.

Records of financial transactions,
phone calls, so forth.

- Well, I find that
unnecessarily intrusive.

- Mr. Swanscombe, someone's
been murdered on your property

and last night you were
publicly accused of that murder.

- Oh please, Angela
Lawrence is an hysteric.

- There have also been
allegations of corrupt practises.

Now we are bound to investigate.

- Very well.

I've got nothing to hide.

(soft music)

Damn it.

- How is it?

- Walk him about a bit.

Well, looks good.

You can saddle up.

Just you know, take it
gentle for a few days.

- Magic, James.

Bless you.

- [Boy] Margarita?

- It's Fiona, actually, but we won't let

that stand in our way.

I don't seem to have any cash on me,

but if you'd like to
step inside for a minute,

I'll see you right.

- Tilly.

Thanks, James.

- No, not at all.

You were my right hand in the operation,

so you've got yourself to thank.

You don't want a job
as a veterinary nurse?

- Mr. Otley, Ms. Gerrard.

Detective Chief Inspector
Barnaby, Causton CID.

This is Detective Sergeant Jones.

- Right.

- Well, I'll leave you guys to it.

- [Jones] Oh, will you be available

for interview later, Ms. Gerrard?

- For Chief Inspector Barnaby,
I'm permanently available.

- Yes well, without the
support of the public,

then where would we be Jones?

Nowhere.

Nowhere at all.

Tell me, Mr. Otley.

Do many public sector workers,
I mean council officials,

manage to keep horses these days?

- Liz.

Well, I think she's got some
private income, I believe.

- Has she?

Now Mr. Otley, we need to talk.

These patients?

- No.

No, they're symptoms of nostalgia.

I started as a marine biologist

specialising in the Indo-Pacific.

- Is that you in these photos?

- Yeah, I used to do
a lot of scuba diving.

Off Australia and Indonesia.

- And you gave all that up

to become a lonely vet in Midsomer?

- Oh.

You know, financial
security, settling down.

- Now Mr. Otley.

At Norman Swanscombe's house,

Maureen Stubbs strongly suggested

that the council planning
process was open to abuse.

To corruption.

At least I take it that's
what she was implying.

- There's no way of knowing now, is there?

Look, I chair the planning committee.

The conservationists always accuse us

of all sorts of dereliction of duty.

It comes with the territory.

- The people who built
the Swanscombe House

are now trying to develop Pelfe Chase.

Have any of them tried to bribe you?

- No, I'd be on to you people like a shot.

- When did you last see Maureen Stubbs?

- Well the afternoon that
she left Swanscombe's place.

- And your whereabouts that night?

- Well, I was at the surgery, I think.

I was catching up on some paperwork.

- [Jones] With anyone else?

- No.

- Up to what time was that?

- About midnight.

Maybe half past.

And then I went home.

You're not treating me as a suspect?

- We'll need to talk to you
again, Mr. Otley, but thank you.

(doorbell ringing)

(soft music)

- Hello.

(soft music)

- Well, the spark plug went, didn't it?

I had to go for miles to get another one.

See ya.

- It's all right, sweetie.

It's only the filth.

It's not the drug squad,
just a murder inquiry.

Do come in.

Someone must have been burning leaves.

- Yes, and autumn is so far away.

Do you live here on your own, Ms. Conway?

- Yeah.

Pizza?

- No, no.

- Seems to gone a bit cold.

How about you, sexy boots?

- No, thank you.

- The truth is, when I have
finally sold off Pelfe Chase,

you won't see my arse for dust.

- [Tom] Why couldn't you sell up sooner?

- Hassles with planning
permission and all sorts.

Thank God dear Norman Swanscombe

and his pals seem to find a way through.

- But they're being
accused now, are they not,

of conspiracy even murder?

I mean you heard what Angela
say at the meeting last night.

- That soppy cow.

Do you think Norman's that stupid?

He's one of the few people round here

who've actually got a life.

- What about those
allegations of corruption?

Can you shed any light on those?

- I don't know anything about it

and I don't believe the
galloping Major knows either.

- David Walsh?

- The truth is, Walsh's
nose is out of joint

because he thought he was a
shoo-in for the council seat

and now there's a much stronger candidate

standing against him.

Drink?

- No, thank you.

But Major Walsh is very
passionate, is he not,

for conservation issues?

- He never used to give a
toss about conservation.

In fact, a few years back he
tried to buy some land from me

to build holiday homes.

- Really?

- Oh yes.

Conservation's just a bandwagon for him.

And of course Angela Lawrence

is leading him around by the plonker.

Do sit down, darlings.

- Is there any actual relationship there?

- In his dreams.

Angela's on the other bus.

- Can you explain that
to the chief inspector?

- When Angela came to terms
with her sexuality, dear,

her marriage broke up.

- So, one way and another,

you would reject absolutely would you,

the charges of cronyism and corruption?

- If there's one thing
I'm an authority on,

it's villains, chancers, and wrong'uns.

And believe me, Norman
Swanscombe is as straight

as a telegraph pole.

(soft music)

- So what the hell's the problem?

(soft music)

(dramatic music)

- [PC] Got that?

- Well the cause of death seems obvious.

- If causes of death were ever obvious,

you wouldn't need me, would you?

- Well, Dr. Bullard, I
await the formal results

of your postmortem examination
with anticipating delight,

but might you expedite our investigation

by honouring us with the
speculative hypothesis.

- Conclusion of the carotid artery,

leading to severe brain
damage due to hypoxia.

Just a guess.

- Time?

- Recent, within the
last two or three hours.

- Well, looks accidental.

- Well, we'll see.

Bunting's car is out there.

Will you take a look?

- Yes, sir.

- And I must talk to Mr. Swanscombe.

(gentle music)

- I drove Eleanor to the station.

She's in town for the day.

Then I came back here and found him.

- Where are the electrical
systems that control all this?

Where do you keep them?

- There's a fuse box in there, I think.

- What was Mr. Bunting
doing here in your absence?

- I'd asked him to sort
out some of the problems,

including the sliding doors.

Yes, it's in there.

- [Tom] Ta.

- [Norman] He kept his own set of keys

so he could sort out the problems

when I was working in London.

- So someone could be using those controls

at the same time as watching the window?

- Yes, I suppose they could.

- What time was you wife's train?

- 12:45.

- It was on time?

- Yes.

- Well the drive from Pelfe Hall

would take 15 minutes give or take.

That would get you back
here at one o'clock.

You didn't report finding
the body until 1:30.

- After Eleanor caught her train,

I decided to take a drive.

The woods, Pelfe Chase.

Take in some scenery.

- Did you meet anyone
or did anyone see you?

- I was taking the air,
not constructing an alibi.

- What do you found?

- This.

- Oh, the architect's essential tool.

Is it just houses?

- Yeah.

- Okay, get 'em downloaded.

I'll have a look at them.

At least they give us the times and places

of Bunting's recent whereabouts.

- You said Angela Lawrence made threats

at the meeting last night?

- Yes, she did.

And Swanscombe dismissed
her as an hysterical woman.

Fiona Conway thinks she's a fool.

Well she may well be
either of those things.

On the other hand, she could
be something else entirely.

(bell ringing)

- That was quite a meeting last night.

And you were wonderful, my dear.

- Well, someone had to
speak up for poor Maureen.

- And you certainly did that.

- So who are you targeting next?

- Less said the better, my dear.

- Oh, David, surely there's
nothing we can't share?

- [Tom] Jones.

- Couple of things on
Clifford Bunting, sir.

He was heavily in debt,
he was being chased

for maintenance by both his ex-wives,

and he was in arrears with his mortgage.

- So if there were a serious
money making scam on offer,

he'd be very tempted.

- We also found this.

- Huh?

- Left it for Swanscombe two nights ago.

- [Answerphone] One new message.

(machine beeping)

- [Bunting] Norman, I got
your rather hysterical call.

I'll drop round when I
can and see what I can do

about your petty problems,
but do calm down.

The last thing you want is to see

is your own dirty linen
waving in the breeze.

- He's not coming clean with us.

Mr. Swanscombe.

(bright music)

(soft music)

- Is this business, again?

- Yeah.

- What time you likely to be home?

- When I'm good and ready, all right?

- Geoff, I've never known
you like this before.

Look why can't you tell
me what you're scared of?

(soft music)

- Doing a little overtime, Stephens?

- Before you go, sir,
you should look at this.

- From Bunting's camera.

- [Stephens] Yes, but there's more detail.

- [Tom] Ooh, Geoff Rogers.

- To coin a phrase.

Not so easy to ID the woman.

- Vehicle registered to Elizabeth Gerrard.

- And there's more?

- There's houses, but there is this.

- [Jones] Fiona Conway.

And that's not her pizza delivery boy.

- Bunting was in financial
difficulties, wasn't he?

Maybe he was dabbling
in a little blackmail.

- Geoff Rogers installed
those sliding glass doors.

- Yes.

So he'd know how to use them
as a weapon, wouldn't he?

I think we should have a
little talk with Mr. Rogers.

(soft music)

(gentle music)

Ah, Mrs. Rogers.

We actually wanted to
talk to your husband.

- Ah, he went out a couple of hours ago.

- Went out?

Do you know where he went?

- Business.

- When were you expecting him back?

- He told me not to wait up.

- All right, ah you will
tell him will you please

that we would like to talk to him?

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

I think Sergeant, we
should call that a day.

Barnaby.

- Stephens, Sir.

I'm at Elizabeth Gerrard's house.

There's been an incident.

(sirens wailing)

- Major Walsh, getting a new perspective

on criminal justice, are we?

- I'm exercising my right to silence.

- Well don't exercise it too hard.

It's not what it used to be.

- I heard a noise from in here,

so I locked this door
and dialled three nines.

- That showed coolness
great presence of mind that.

- Well, the windows in
here are all barred,

so I knew he couldn't get out.

- None of your property
was found on Major Walsh.

Have you any idea what he
might have been looking for?

- Evidence of my professional
wickedness, no doubt.

And of course, he didn't find any.

- Guv'nor's here early checking up on us.

(soft music)

- I could have been a brain surgeon.

- No, it probably worked out
for the best there, George.

- Thanks.

- Any initial thoughts, Mr. Bullard?

- Well, I can only assume asphyxiation,

because of the pressure
on the thoracic cavity.

- Was he alive when he
was covered with concrete?

- That's what it looks like.

Until I get his lungs on the bench,

I can't tell you anymore.

- [Jones] Where were you before you broke

into Liz Gerrard's house last night?

- Major Walsh.

Geoff Rogers was killed last night.

So if you have an alibi,

I think you ought to give it to us now.

Several people, your political
opponents in the village,

have been burgled recently.

We know now that you committed
one of those burglaries

and we believe that you
committed all the others as well.

Now, two of those people are dead

and that puts you in a
very serious position.

- I need to think about this.

- That is very wise, Major.

You and Geoff Rogers were
having an affair, weren't you?

- Yes.

- [Tom] Yes, when did you last see him?

- Two days ago.

We were due to meet again last night.

- Where?

- The usual place.

Geoff didn't show up.

I couldn't get him on his mobile,

so I came home and
discovered the break-in.

- Was he due to meet anyone
else before he met you?

- I don't know.

Geoff kept his business to himself.

He had all sorts of deals going,

contacts all over the place.

Professionally, I preferred not to know.

- What, you suspected they
were criminal contacts?

- I wasn't in the business
of criminal investigation.

I took Geoff to bed because he was rough,

and uninhibited, and exciting.

People like that can be dangerous.

That's the fun.

- And people like that can
make enemies, can't they?

Were you aware of any enemies?

- Geoff knew the conservation crowd

blamed him for Maureen's death.

- Was he afraid they might
take some kind of revenge?

- You heard what Angela
Lawrence said at the meeting,

but Geoff wasn't afraid of much.

- These photographs show that someone knew

about your affair.

Was he being blackmailed?

- Yes.

- By who?

- I don't know.

He wouldn't tell me, but he
said he'd take care of it.

- We think Bunting was the man.

Bunting took those photographs.

Do you think your rough
and dangerous Geoff?

Do you think he'd be capable
of killing Mr. Bunting?

- I can only say, I desperately hope not.

- [Angela] I know.

- We'll take that as a
definite no, shall we?

- Yes.

It's just that it's such
a big step, darling.

You know best.

I'll leave straight away.

(soft music)

(hand knocking)

- Come in.

(soft music)

- You shouldn't have come in today.

- Better than wallowing at home.

- Well, if there's anything I
can do, you only have to ask.

- [Liz] I know.

- I'm going to come clean with you.

I admit burgling Liz Gerrard's house,

but I don't know anything
about any murders.

- What about the rest of the burglaries?

- Yes, I effected entry
into those properties.

- Oh, you effected entry?

Why?

- I broke the letter of the law
in pursuit of a higher good.

I was hoping to find evidence
of criminal conspiracy,

and eventually, in
Rogers' case, I found it.

- [Tom] Where?

Oh, in the documents
you say Maureen Stubbs

was carrying the night she was killed?

- Yes.

- [Jones] So the story
about this anonymous

whistleblower was untrue?

- Yes, yes.

When the documents disappeared
at Maureen's death,

I suspected both Bunting and Liz Gerrard.

I targeted them for covert action.

Unfortunately, I didn't
find any documents.

- Look, two of the people you targeted

have subsequently died.

That cannot be coincidental.

- I know nothing about any murders.

I'm giving you as much help as I can.

- What about your other associate

on the Conservation Committee?

Angela Lawrence?

What part did she play in all this?

(soft music)

So you packed a few bags.

You put them in the car.

What was the intention?

- I wanted a few days away.

Business hasn't been good.

- You can't just walk
away from a post office.

Had you arranged cover?

- Mrs. Lawrence, you were a leading light

in the Conservation
Committee, weren't you?

Now if Maureen Stubbs knew

about Major Walsh's criminal
campaign, then you knew too.

- I'm not responsible
for whatever foolishness

Walsh has been up to.

If he's told you differently,

he's just trying to spread the blame.

- At the election meeting you
threatened more direct action.

Now since that meeting,

two of your political opponents have died.

But I wonder.

(man whistling)

Oh.

Oh, Mrs. Lawrence.

Well this isn't the overnight float

from a village post-office till, is it?

And I can't believe it's
a reward from Major Walsh

for supporting his election campaign.

So Mrs. Lawrence, you have
a lot of explaining to do.

- I had no reason to
murder Clifford Bunting

or Geoff Rogers.

- No, you hadn't had you?

Because I believe that you
were acting on their behalf.

- I don't know what you're talking about.

- Mrs. Lawrence I don't believe

that you are an hysterical woman.

I don't believe that you are a fool,

but I do believe that you are
in desperate need of money

and I think that this is
payment for your role.

- That is such nonsense.

- I believe that someone is paying you

to discredit the Society
by associating them

with extremist tactics.

Am I right?

- So who was paying you?

- Geoff Rogers.

- Geoff Rogers.

So you vandalised Swanscombe's House

and you planted the catapult

and the aerosol cans in
Maureen Stubbs' garage.

- I'm afraid so, yes.

Sorry Lesley, Cyril.

We're closed.

- [Cyril] Dreadful service.

- Shall we go into the other room?

- So you were actively encouraging

Major Walsh's campaign of burglary?

- Major Walsh is just a silly man

who thought it was
Watergate all over again.

Then unfortunately, he
actually found something.

- The documents Maureen was taking

to Swanscombe when she was killed?

- Yes.

- But I do not believe that Maureen Stubbs

or Major Walsh would be so foolish

as to approach Norman Swanscombe

with such incriminating evidence

without first making a copy.

And you'd be the woman
to do that wouldn't you?

- Yes.

When Maureen received the
compromising documents

from David Walsh, she did bring
them to me to make a copy.

- So, you knew Maureen had the documents.

You were secretly working against her.

Did you follow her into
Swanscombe's garden and attack her?

- After Swanscombe's garden party,

I went to Causton and spent
the night with my sister.

We went to a concert in the evening.

There'll be plenty of witnesses.

- Who else knew that Maureen
Stubbs' had these documents?

- Geoff Rogers.

- Well, that's very convenient, isn't it?

Given that the man is dead.

Who else is involved?

- He was my only contact.

If anyone else was implicated,
I never knew about it.

- So, you betrayed your best friend

for a bit of cash from Geoff Rogers?

I don't believe you.

- You can believe what you like.

I have nothing more to say.

- Well, it's all here as Walsh claimed.

First everything's normal.

First phase original planning application.

Phase two site preparation to the point

where it can be developed,
but then phase three onwards

is a planned series of technical
hitches, cost over-runs,

and so forth so that any environmental

or social benefits have
to be stripped away.

And then, finally
supermarket chain moves in

to save the day with a vast
out of town shopping complex.

- Walsh found it on Rogers'
premises, so he's implicated,

but apart from that there's no proof

of who's in on the scam and who isn't.

Trouble is, that doesn't
solve our murders for us.

- No, it does not.

And my guess is, there could be more.

(gavel pounding)

(crowd chattering)

- I thought he was under arrest?

- Yeah, he was.

He's been charged.

He's out on bail.

- [Joyce] Can he stand for election?

- He certainly can.

Man is innocent until proved guilty.

- Welcome to the final
meeting in the by-election

for Midsomer County Council
for the seat of Great Pelfe.

I'll begin by calling on
David Walsh, Independent.

(audience clapping)

- This election is taking place

in the shadow of grave events.

Three people have died in the village.

I ask of you one simple thing.

When you come to the polling station,

please remember the
documents brought to light

in the current police investigation

have vindicated every
word, and every action,

of my campaign and that of my supporters.

The Pelfe Chase development
plan has been exposed

as a snare and a delusion.

It's corruption has been
accompanied by lethal violence.

In all humility I solicit your vote,

not for a flawed and fallible
man, but for a cause.

Thank you.

- [Audience] Here, here.

(audience clapping)

- Quiet.

Norman Swanscombe, Independent.

(audience clapping)

- The revelation of a hidden agenda

behind the Pelfe Chase development plan

has been a profound shock
and disappointment to me.

However, I should make
it absolutely clear that,

if elected, I will support
the planning application

with all of my ability.

Now by that I mean the original
plan with all of its social,

environmental and architectural
benefits to this community.

And I most solemnly pledge to press

for the most rigorous investigation

into Midsomer's planning
procedures and personnel.

Vote for prosperity,
progress, and principle.

Thank you.

(audience clapping)

- Bravo, bravo.

- Thank you.

(soft music)
(audience clapping)

(gentle music)

- I've trawled through Swanscombe's
financial affairs, sir.

- And?

- There's nothing that ties him in

with the development scam.

He's not received any benefits

that I can see from Bunting or Rogers.

- Really?

- Well, when he acquired
the land from Fiona Conway

to build Swanscombe's House,
the title was transferred,

but there's no record of
any money changing hands.

- But that land must be worth millions

and she obviously needs money.

- Fiona Conway stands to gain massively

from the Pelfe Chase development.

Swanscombe's an aspiring
politician promising to support it,

so on the face of it--

- She's handed him an
absolutely massive bung.

- [Jones] Yeah.

- Mrs. Swanscombe, we're
trying to find your husband.

Been round to your place, but no one in.

- Well, you could try Pelfe Hall.

My husband spends a lot of time there,

but you'll have to talk to him about that.

- [Tom] Thank you very much.

- The Major's a buffoon.

You're bound to win if the
electors have got any sense.

- If.

- And then, shouldn't we
really stop pretending?

- It would be a relief to Eleanor.

- It's the filth again.

Should you do a runner out the back?

- Only if you feel compromised.

- Good God, it'd take more than this.

- I see the payroll vote is out in force.

- We've come across
something rather, rather odd.

Mr. Swanscombe, it appears
that you obtained the land

for your house from Ms. Conway here

without paying her any money for it.

Now could you explain that to me please?

- Damn it, Norman.

They've got ways of finding out.

- Finding out what?

- Fiona's my sister.

- Half sister, strictly.

Same dad, different mothers.

- Ah.

And how long have you known this?

- I've known for years.

Daddy let it slip shortly before he died.

- Fiona told me when I
came back to the village.

- I thought the family owed
Norman, so I gave him the land.

- But why the secrecy?

- I thought it might open
old wounds for my mother.

- Ah and Maureen Stubbs for
one would make a meal of it.

Yes?

- Yes, I'm afraid we
have been rather selfish,

grabbing as much time
together as possible.

- Ah, Tom.

- George, I hear you have
some information for me.

That right?

- Yes, you remember I
said that Rogers was alive

but unconscious when
the concrete was poured.

- Yes, I do.

- Not entirely correct.

He was in what we call a state
of dissociative anaesthesia.

- And what would that be then?

- Conscious, but incapable of
speaking or acting, Benjamin.

He'd been taking or had been
induced to take Ketamine.

- Bit old for recreational
drugs wasn't he?

- But Ketamine's also has
legitimate medical uses.

Yeah?

- Mm, in some cases on humans.

Yeah, although these days--

- It is most commonly
used, is it not, by vets?

- Absolutely.

- [James] Hello.

- Mr. James Otley.

I'm arresting you in connection

with the death of Geoff Rogers.

You do not have to say anything,

but it may harm your defence
if you do not mention

when questioned something
you later rely on in court.

Anything you do say may
be given in evidence.

Do you understand, sir?

- I didn't kill Geoff Rogers.

- Mr. Otley, do you use Ketamine

as an animal tranquilliser
in the course of your work?

- Well, yes of course.

It's normal in a veterinary practise.

- Geoff Rogers was drugged with Ketamine

before he was killed.

- That has nothing to do with me.

- Oh Mr. Otley, look at
it from our point of view.

A criminal conspiracy has been uncovered.

You and Liz Gerrard are at the very heart

of the Midsomer Council planning process.

So either one or both of
you must have been part

of that development scam
in order for it to succeed.

Now someone who opposed
the conspiracy has died,

but then two other people whom we believe

were part of the
conspiracy have also died.

And it begins to look as if
someone's methodically trying

to cover their tracks by
killing their associates.

Someone, sir, like you.

When you operated on Liz Gerrard's horse,

did you use Ketamine?

- Sure.

- [Liz] Thanks James.

- No, no, not at all.

You've got yourself to thank.

You were my right hand on the operation.

So, if you ever want a
job as a veterinary nurse.

- Were you present for the whole time

that the horse was being tranquillised?

- Yeah, of course.

Oh no, no hang on.

Except for a moment when I had to go back

to the Land Rover to get a splint,

but Liz was perfectly safe
looking after the drip.

- When was the last time
you saw Liz Gerrard?

She didn't go to work this morning.

- Called in at her house.

No one home.

Where is she, sir?

- You don't think?

I haven't harmed Liz.

I couldn't.

I couldn't.

- Mr. Otley please.

Tell me when did you last see Liz Gerrard?

- She stayed the night with me here.

I'd been dreaming about
that night for years.

I always knew there
was something about Liz

that was dangerous underneath the surface.

She just proved how right I was.

- Tell me about the really scary things

down on your Indo-Pacific reefs.

- Well, there's the blue ringed octopus,

which is very small, lethal poison.

- Isn't there an Australian fish

that produces a heart attack in humans?

- Oh, I know what you mean.

They're the Irukandji Syndrome.

Except it's not a fish.

Look.

(soft music)

- Oh, wow.

- The Irukandji jellyfish.

- Whoa, it's tiny.

And that could give a grown
man a fatal heart attack?

- It could and it would be
almost entirely undetectable,

unless the pathologist knew
exactly what he was looking for.

- Has anyone ever extracted the toxin?

- Oh yeah I have actually
just by way of interest.

I thought it might be a more humane way

of putting down terminally sick animals.

- Oh, you're such a clever guy, James.

- And that's about all I remember.

When I woke up this morning, Liz had gone.

- Swanscombe will be at the Town Hall,

won't he, for the count?

- Yeah.

- Right come on.

(dramatic music)

- [Chair] Now concentrate everybody.

Please commence counting and good luck.

(dramatic music)

(phone ringing)

(dramatic music)

- [Liz] Norman?

Liz Gerrard.

We need to talk.

This is desperately confidential.

(dramatic music)

- I'll be right back.

(dramatic music)

So what's all the secrecy about, Liz?

- Can we talk about this over a drink?

I'm really strung out about things.

- Okay.

(dramatic music)

- Cheers, Norman.

- Cheers.

- [Jones] Don't drink that.

- Oh.

- Secure the bottle.

Ms. Gerrard, put that glass down.

(glass shattering)

Ms. Gerrard.

You murdered Maureen Stubbs

because she was just
about to reveal details

of your development scam
to Mr. Swanscombe here.

And you had most to lose, didn't you?

Because Otley, Bunting, Rogers,
they could all bounce back

from such an exposure, but not you.

You, your whole professional
life would have been destroyed.

And when Bunting tried his blackmail,

then you, Rogers, and the entire
conspiracy was threatened.

But Geoff Rogers couldn't
bring himself to kill Bunting.

Could he?

Didn't have the stomach
for murder, but you did.

And you knew every detail
of Swanscombe house

like the back of your hand, didn't you?

Because of your work on
the planning application

and you took the safety
device off the patio doors.

(soft music)

And then Geoff Rogers became a
danger because he wanted out.

- I want the best and its
within reach if we don't panic.

- I'm really not sure I'm up to this Liz.

- Geoff Rogers, he loved you, didn't he?

He trusted you.

So it was easy to spike
his drink with Ketamine,

the drug you'd taken from James Otley

when he was treating your horse.

And when you'd rendered
the poor feller helpless,

you killed him.

(soft music)

And of course the use

of the drug Ketamine
that pointed the finger

at your one remaining
co-conspirator, James Otley.

And if you'd had managed to introduce

the fatal Irukandji Syndrome

into Mr. Swanscombe here then.

- My God, Liz.

- Yes, sir.

And that exotic toxin had been detected,

then James Otley would have
been in the frame twice.

- Poor old James.

Good vet, lousy lover.

- [Tom] But your loyal
accomplice in all this

was your one true love.

Though I doubt if you know
the meaning of the word.

(soft music)

- I thought everything we'd
planned for was falling apart.

- But you kept your nerve, love.

- Anything for you.

- And you rewarded her with the promise

of a future life together
financed by your paymasters,

the venture capitalists financing

with the secret supermarket development.

Ooh.

(soft music)

(gavel pounding)

- In the County Council by-election

for the seat of Great Pelfe,

the votes cast were as follows.

Norman Anthony Swanscombe.

254.

(audience clapping)

David Patrick Walsh.

306.

(audience cheering)

I declare David Patrick
Walsh duly elected.

(audience cheering)

- It's what Maureen would have wanted.

- Well done, well done.

Congratulations.

- Commiserations.

- [Norman] Thank you.

- Those two are starting
to look like cronies.

- You can't rely on
politicians' promises, Joyce.

They'll be a Pelfe Chase
development yet, you see.

(bright music)