Original subtitles

How did your interview go? It was useful.

I don't know how you even were in the same room as him.

I should hate the men who do these terrible things

but I can't.

What does that say about me?

It says you understand them.

I hate the sin, not the sinner.

Something like that.

Why did it take you so long to catch me?

I was tired of killing.

But I could never have stopped until you stopped me.

People worry about you, you know.

You should take a holiday.

You know why I can't take that holiday.

He was never going to stop by himself.

(SOBS)

It's down to us.

To me.

There's always another case coming in...

..another killer starting up.

Those men are out there.

And then...

..they're in here.

(RUNNING FOOTSTEPS, HEAVY BREATHING)

(SCREAMS) Themba!

Worked through the night?

(CHUCKLES)

They needed something to go on.

I needed to get back today so...

I slept on the plane.

For an hour.

It's fine.

Anyway, how's your case going?

Mine? Hm.

Yeah. Good. I can talk you through some of my deductions if you want.

No, no. I trust you.

Need to get my head into Soweto.

What time's court? Three.

Oh, but I didn't get a chance to tell you before you left.

Brink brought forward your meeting.

Quantico are already doing this.

Ressler. John Douglas.

Even Canter in the UK for the Met.

I'm aware of that.

Erika's already covering her own cases.

By not expanding further you're...

Well, the killers are ahead of us. Innocent lives are lost.

Micki, let's forget that.

There's no money for this.

Do you really want this?

Do you honestly think this is going to make anything better?

Yes.

Training courses, extra travel budgets,

progress reports.

I mean, on top of everything that you're doing now.

I'm sorry to say this but you already look like chewed string.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Sorry, Sir.

There's a problem.

Micki, just give me a minute, please.

Just wait outside.

Yeah.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, RISING HEARTBEAT)

(BREATHES HEAVILY)

(AMBIENT SOUNDS INTENSIFY)

(BREATHING BECOMES LABOURED)

(GASPS FOR BREATH)

(WHIMPERS)

(INTENSE SOUNDS DISSIPATE)

(HEAVY BREATHING SLOWS)

(WHIMPERS)

(BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP HISSES)

Really?

Now?

(BLOOD PRESSURE PUMP HISSES)

Your blood pressure's a little high.

How are you sleeping? Well, fine.

When I get to. (CHUCKLES)

Work is busy, huh?

Er, you could say that.

Has been for a while. No?

(SIGHS)

Is that what this is?

Your heart is fine, from what I can tell.

What you've described...

..seems to be a mild panic attack.

That's it?

Well...yes.

But it's something that is not to be ignored.

Your mind is trying to tell you something.

Cut down on Vogue Slims? Hm.

Or, that it might not be able to process everything

that's been thrown at it.

You've told me about the work you do, the things you see.

This is not normal.

Certainly not on an ongoing basis.

It needs unpacking.

And you need to rest.

Well, I'm supposed to be in court right now, so...

(SIGHS) Micki, this is something that can't just fix itself.

I'm saying this is a warning sign.

The tip of a...

..somewhat unpleasant iceberg.

Talk to somebody.

(SOFTLY) Yeah.

Do I seem OK to you?

A little distant maybe.

Well, I said I needed a break but...

..I can't just up and leave.

They need me. They can't do it without me.

That's a lot of pressure.

Yeah. Uh-hm.

All these things you see, you can't just...

..unsee them.

It's harder seeing the families.

Watching their hope dying.

All the damage.

Is there someone you can talk to?

No.

No, it's just impossible with work.

Then what about me?

Not only am I a great listener

but I have an almost endless supply of wine.

Yeah...

..you do.

What is that?

It's an address.

"Grabouw."

It's my parents' cabin.

It's nothing grand but I'm heading there Friday.

You should come.

Maybe it's what you need.

Hey.

So, I ended up giving testimony in court.

It went fine. Oh. Well done.

Sorry, I just got caught up in something.

Is everything alright? Yeah. Yeah, of course.

How is the rest of the week looking?

What? Brink.

Is it a proposal?

No, you remember the Phoenix case with the superintendent?

Er, the sugar cane fields, right? Yeah.

So, there's more bodies now and they're putting pressure on Brink.

I'm sorry, but they want us out there for the week.

You are OK, though?

Uh-huh.

When do we leave?

Bodies in the plantations are not uncommon.

It's a rough area, squatter camps.

I'm fairly certain all the victims are female.

They're that badly decomposed?

Burnt.

First four are burnt.

Clever really.

He knows the cane fields are burnt before harvest so...no evidence.

And then we have five or 10 other dockets that could be connected.

And that's what you need us for?

It's Superintendent van Rooyen, right?

Please. Pieter.

I was the one who requested you guys.

My team is struggling.

They need a steer in the right direction.

I was told you could provide that.

Erm, well, possibly. If we have enough detail.

Female, 5'5.

I'm going to say late 20s.

A little underweight but organs healthy from what we've seen.

Callus skin under the hands.

She possibly did manual work.

And you believe all the victims to be black and female?

I do.

Given the state of decomposition,

they asked me to remove bone marrow for DNA extraction.

I couldn't get much from under the nails

but there's evidence of blunt trauma to the back of the skull.

Not enough to kill, but it drew blood.

So, possibly to stun or at least get her to the ground.

You OK?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm... Um... I need to see where it happened.

Now, as I said, some of the bodies were burnt.

Maybe he's aware of farm practices.

But those...

Impossible to tell whether they were bound.

The problem is people around here don't trust the police.

I can't send my white cops into this...

..into the townships, it's too dangerous.

Both victims were killed by strangulation?

Chetty suspects.

Only one with clear ligature marks.

There's nobody out here to help.

Superintendent? Yeah.

Sorry. Can you just help me get my bearings?

Just trying to figure out where Essenwood Township is.

I've got the map at the car.

You were so scared.

I'm sorry you were so scared.

Yeah, so it's definitely the same guy.

All five? Yeah.

And the two other dockets you showed me.

I was hoping we were wrong.

That you'd tell us we're chasing shadows.

Afraid not.

Bodies always a similar distance from the tracks.

Always a secluded, quiet spot.

They were all found in similar submissive positions.

This last one had aggressively-tight binding

but neat, precise knots.

And your pathologist thinks they're all female.

This is not opportunistic.

An organised serial killer.

Selecting, planning and acting.

I guess he'd be Zulu. Late 20s, early 30s.

Similar to the victims. Why?

Well, organised serial killers of this type tend to be intraracial.

Their type is the same race as them.

Plus, these women trusted him,

enough to follow him into the fields.

So, chances are he's within their age range

and they've probably seen him before locally.

OK.

I'd focus on the squatter camps with a view of the plantations.

You know, he probably knows the farmers' practices.

He's hoping the fires will cover his tracks.

You know...

It's like each crime scene is where the hills form

a kind of amphitheatre.

I need to visit the remaining scenes.

Yeah. See all the visual material.

OK. Louis.

Louis can pull together the photos for you.

And all the info from the postmortems.

Well, Erika knows the sort of thing I'm after.

Most importantly, I suggest we check all the outstanding dockets.

I think there's going to be more.

It's late but here are some more dockets.

Look at this.

OK, the knotting on these ligatures is so consistent.

When you really look it's...

..it's like a facsimile.

I sensed who he was straightaway.

Honestly.

It's like he was there.

Well, we're going out for a bonding session.

Are you going to join us?

Er...

No. Not tonight.

OK.

Have fun.

(ROCK MUSIC PLAYS)

Thanks. Cheers.

Sir.

I'm going to... I'm going to... I'm going to go...

Talk to her?

Hey.

Hey, yourself.

So, they decided you're alright.

Hm, good to know. (CHUCKLES)

Your boss, though. They think she's fucking weird!

(CHUCKLES)

Hm. Well, whatever it takes, right?

So, you guys on the road all the time?

Feels that way.

Hard? Being away?

Why? Are you the homesick type?

Er, my family all moved away.

Port Shepstone.

I would miss my boys back there, though.

You know, through all this, there's no hiding anything.

We've really got each other's backs, you know.

You seem tight. You're lucky.

So, you...you got family in Pretoria?

Six months ago, I would have said yes but now I don't know what I've got.

Hey, it's... It's getting late.

I... I could give you a lift.

Back to my place?

Um... If...

(LAUGHS) Put it back in your pants, detective.

We are professionals.

Er...

See you tomorrow.

And there better be coffee.

Coffee. Uh-huh.

Ah, you're early.

Mm. I want to make a start on these scenes.

Well, then you're going to want to have a look at these as well.

Based on what you told us yesterday, we found six additional murders.

I mean, the MO is slightly different but...

..age, ethnicity, location.

It all matches.

Makes it 11, Micki.

11 that we know about. Yeah.

Just leave these with me, yeah?

So, this is the second-most-recent body?

Correct.

Still don't have a name.

Apparently, the boy was hiding from his father.

She was... She was found...

..there.

She was one that was confirmed as death by strangulation.

Did you sleep at all?

It feels like I haven't slept in a week.

Well, I suppose you'd rather be alone.

Pieter?

Thank you.

Hello, little fella.

Why would you do this...

..here?

I need to see it like you.

Does oxygen deprivation help the process?

I know this guy.

I know what's driving him.

Look.

"She trusts me now. I can see it.

"So, I tell her we should cut through the fields.

"The fact that it's her choice thrills me."

Yeah.

You're...writing as if you're the killer, Micki.

That's...

That's what made sense.

I mean...

..we don't normally do that.

Why now?

Don't you think they might be a little bit surprised?

Like, worried even?

(TYPING CONTINUES)

Look, erm...

Maybe...

Maybe the strain you've been under...

I know what I'm doing, OK?

Expressing the emotional signature of the attacks.

It's the only way I know how.

I just, erm...

I know how thin you've been spread, that's all.

Are you leaving?

Yeah. Erm...

Got some work to do at my desk. Great.

(SOFTLY) Shit.

Oh, fuck.

Oh...

He lures them into the cane.

And there he physically forces them into submission.

Incapacitates, ties up, rapes and kills.

In that order.

Control. Submission.

Domination.

So, why the tying up?

They're already unconscious, struck in the head with a rock.

They don't need to be bound.

Because he wants to.

This is a man who fetishizes bondage.

No intimacy. Don't touch me.

The ball of cloth in the mouth. Don't speak to me.

This is a man angry at women.

Their mysticism, fearful of their power,

fearful of intimacy without control so...

A black male. Late 20s, early 30s. A loner.

He'll already have a criminal record for burglary or rape

because this crime is sophisticated.

Something he's built up to.

The sullen, moody type.

Outwardly I'm charming but I have outbursts.

A temper.

I'm like a...a wounded animal.

Yeah. It's about my pain.

My powerlessness.

I've built up to this.

Yeah.

Rape alone isn't enough anymore.

It's taken me time to develop my techniques,

to correct my mistakes.

You'll find my work in old rape cases with the same MO.

But I'm sure as hell nowhere near done.

In fact, I'm working on my next one right now.

Right now.

(EXHALES SHARPLY)

Alright.

OK. Uh, good. Plenty to go on there.

Erm...

Some of you I'll be putting to reviewing old sexual assault cases.

And the rest...

Well, you asked for a steer and there it is.

Alright.

Micki. Uh-huh?

Look, everything I've seen tells me this guy is going to act again really soon.

He has no plans to wait. Micki...

No, no, I know you don't believe me but it is right there in front of me, OK?

Yeah, but it's just... Whoa, hang on, hang on.

It's just as likely he's seen our cars around

and knows we're onto him now.

Listen just...

At least give the fellas a chance to catch up with these...ideas.

It's not typical practice for them, or for me.

I've got a team of dogs from this afternoon.

We'll go to the scene, let them...

No, no, no. We are not moving fast enough.

I... I'm sorry.

On it.

When last did you have something decent to eat?

Why do people always ask me that?

It'd be great if you could come home with me.

My wife knows I've been working late and...

Well, frankly, she wants to meet you.

Make sure I'm not having an affair.

Erm... Yeah.

OK.

Thank you.

(SIGHS)

No, no, no, no, no.

Don't feed the dog at the table. Come on.

You know Mummy's food goes right through him, poor guy.

Stop it!

(CHUCKLES)

Best manners for our guest.

Have you got any kids? Uh, no.

Married? I'm divorced actually.

Oh, sorry.

No, no. No, it was amicable. We're on very good terms.

And Pretoria is home?

Erm... Well, I travel a lot.

Actually, lately, I've spent some time working in Mitchells Plain.

Ever since I felt sort of drawn there.

Why?

Um... I don't know.

The people are...

They live and work and argue.

It's mixed up and chaotic but...

But it's real. No pretence.

That makes sense. Pieter and I met at church.

Oh.

One of the few with a mixed congregation.

Eventually, he plucked up the courage to ask me out and...

..for the longest time, our relationship was secret.

We were scared.

And then '85 came and we could marry, so we did.

And then our families cut us off.

I guess what I'm saying is we could have kept the lie

but we wanted it to be real.

No pretence.

Do you have a boyfriend?

Uh, yeah...

When I have time.

(CHUCKLES) Now, this I've got to hear!

It's distracting!

Oh, I don't know what it is.

He has this way about him.

He's so open and lovely...

..and handsome.

Oh, my God, it is distracting!

And is this your first something since your husband?

My first something...

Your first real something.

I think so.

Oh, I hope so.

No, when we're together, it's so good.

Everything feels better.

I don't know.

Sometimes I think this job takes away so much.

I worry it's infectious.

One of his detectives committed suicide

over this case you're working on.

Young guy. Sebastian.

I had no idea.

He's hardly been home since it started.

Tonight was a rarity.

(PHONE RINGS FAINTLY)

It's really eating him up. I can see it.

All of us need this over.

I know.

Hi. What is it?

Er...

There's news.

Seven?

Five more this morning, plus the two we found last night.

Seven women in a part of the plantation we hadn't covered.

Some of them were only metres apart.

Means the victims must have seen the other bodies before they were attacked.

Jesus.

Entomologist took samples of blowfly.

Reckons if he can work it out exactly where they are in the life cycle,

he can ascertain precisely when the victims died.

Some of them were much fresher.

You were right.

Yeah.

Micki.

Micki. What?

Did you speak to Brink? I put the call through.

Fuck, I never picked up. What was it?

Soweto were expecting the full profile on their rapist yesterday.

Well, you're across it. Can you have helped me out?

You know what I'm in the middle of.

Well, I thought you were on it.

How can I be?

I've got to finish this profile, based on the new evidence.

I'm pushing back requests from Wemmer Pan. Sorry.

I've got three serial killers in my head, OK?

I can't just turn one off and switch the other one on.

Everything OK?

Listen, I think we've got something.

This profile you've been feeding through, his method.

Louis has been going through some of the older murder dockets.

Sure.

Come on, then.

OK.

Nandi Phutini, 22, from Blackburn Estate.

A guy picked her up on the street offering her manual work in a hotel

and then he convinced her to walk with him via the sugar plantations to Durban.

She was with him for like two and a half months,

until farmers found her burnt remains.

That was a year and a half ago.

Hang on. How do we know all this?

That's just it.

Her sister, Ruth.

She overheard them talking.

And I have her details.

Come.

She not speak now.

I am so sorry.

I think...

Yes, I did.

I know.

And we're still trying to find him, I promise.

This man and your sister...

You were inside cooking and overheard them talking?

I know you've been through all this before but

if you could remember anything about how he sounded.

Maybe quiet.

Or confident.

Charming.

He was charming.

I was cooking.

And did you voice that to your sister?

But he had another side to him, right?

She say, "We wait.

"We go tomorrow."

Then it was nothing again.

And my sister, she needed money.

She always wanted to make a life for herself in the city.

And that's the last time you were with Nandi?

I follow.

And I turn away.

I let her go.

My sister.

Well, you say you didn't see him.

Yes, I did.

You mean you saw his face?

..he come find me.

It's OK. It's OK.

So, you can describe him?

You remember?

Yes.

It's like a tattoo...

..in my mind.

Not round.

His face more narrow.

High cheekbones.

No.

Ruth needs to focus right now.

Yeah, but I want to go over what he said. No.

But if we dig, there's bound to be more.

This is the most important thing. We get this right.

OK.

OK, well, then you and I can go over the details of the profile.

Micki, you've done enough.

You haven't slept since you got here.

Go and rest. Get your head in gear.

I'm going to need you later. But this...

This is progress.

OK.

(SOFTLY) Sure.

Hey, did the entomologist come back with anything?

I... I don't know. OK. Um...

OK. Well, what about Soweto? Soweto?

Yeah. We need to go over the new information they faxed.

But I did that, I gave you my summaries.

Yeah, so we go through it again.

It's just I don't physically have the files...

Well, we can at least try Erika, please.

Micki.

Sorry, I just...

I cannot just sit there. OK?

I can't sleep knowing he's out there sweet-talking the next girl.

Micki... What?

I'm really worried about you.

Sorry. Sorry.

I'm not a mother.

I can't imagine your pain.

They're so carefree.

Lost in their own world.

They'll be proud of how their mother helped.

What Ruth is telling us, it takes us so much closer.

The children are not Ruth's.

They're Nandi's.

Oh...

They're my pain.

I look at their faces.

And I see that thing they brought home from the sugar cane.

You know that thing they called my daughter?

With everything they've done to her.

Tell me...

..why won't you catch him, hm?

That's him.

It's definitely him.

We need to get this out there. Circulate it in the communities.

And we will, carefully.

You do know he's operating right now?

Yeah, I told you, if anything, he'll speed up his attacks.

The press release is being prepared, along with part of your profile.

Micki, a word.

We're getting closer.

But you have to trust me. It's time for the nuts and bolts way.

We should have gone to see her sooner.

No, you don't realise if I'd opened myself up, I...

I get it, you're strung out. We all are.

A delay like this will be our fault. You think I don't know that?

I'm going to need you for what's to come, right?

But...your profile's done.

I know how to do my job, so just let me do it.

(GASPS AND COUGHS)

(RETCHES)

(COUGHS AND RETCHES)

(GASPS)

(KNOCK AT DOOR) Micki?

They found another body.

RECORDED MESSAGE: Hi, this is Micki. I can't get to the phone right now...

Captions by Red Bee Media (c) SBS Australia 2024