All language subtitles for Silent Witness S08E03 Death by Water - Part 1.DVDRip.NonHI.en.BBC

Okay, you've got
five minutes, okay?

Okay, time to go back inside.

Come on.

The fossil remains show
evolutionary changes in the plants.

Does anybody remember
the types of primitive plants?

It's the coughing
game, isn't it, class?

Paul, are you with us?

Stand up, Paul.

Does anybody know?

Stand up, everyone.

Get out of the way!

Paul? Paul! Somebody help me!

Male, aged 25 to 35.

No signs of external injury.

No tamponade.

Sam?

Sam!

Sam!

Leo.

Bad dream?

What's the time? I've got
to see the vice-chancellor.

No, we're going to the seaside.

What happened to
the local pathologist?

Double hernia, apparently. How
did Sam get through all the work?

My body says it's not possible.

- Hi. DS Newton.
- How many fatalities?

One so far. This is his teacher.

We don't know
exactly what happened

but it seems to have
affected the whole class.

Any smell of gas? Any
complaints of illness beforehand?

We just don't know.

- I'll take a look at the body.
- Okay.

Why is this death being
treated as suspicious?

- We have to be careful.
- She means I may have assaulted him.

- What happened?
- He just went limp and collapsed.

His head sort of...

- Were there any other signs, symptoms?
- They were coughing a bit.

I thought they
were having a laugh.

They were a bit hysterical.

We'd been outside
having a nature lesson.

Did you notice anything
unusual when they were outside?

No.

I've never seen
anything like this before.

Feeling better?

- What's your name?
- Pat.

Hello, Pat. What happened?

Just felt scared.

Couldn't breathe.

It was spooky.

Spooky?

Lanny Forbes started it.

How could she start it?

She started coughing
and laughing first.

Lanny.

Hello.

I'm Harry.

Are you all right?

Can you sit up?

Can you breathe deeply?

Okay?

So, what do you think happened?

Do you remember what happened?

Paul Williams fell over.

Mmm, yes, I know but erm...

That was inside.

But what happened outside?

- Why were you laughing?
- I wasn't laughing.

Oh. But Pat said...

I was crying.

I couldn't breathe and
I could hear my heart.

What, like when you put your
fingers in your ears like this?

Yeah! Like in Tomb Raider.

You can stop time.

You're still a bit
wheezy, aren't you?

- Do you suffer from asthma?
- Lanny!

Oh, thank you.

Mum!

Hi. Sienna Ricci, Public
Health Officer at the council.

Harry Cunningham. This
is my colleague Dr. Dalton.

- Hello.
- Hi.

- What do you think?
- Something they've eaten. Hard to say.

Sounds like the poor
kid's fall was horrific.

But the others...
It's very strange.

- Shock?
- Started outside.

I'd feel happier if they'd
organize some clinical tests.

Want to know what I think?
Some form of mass hysteria.

- You were with the kids the whole time?
- Yes.

- But you didn't experience any symptoms?
- Nothing.

I just noticed they
were acting strangely.

At first, I thought they
were taking the piss.

- Why?
- With the coughing.

I'm a smoker. I thought
they were laughing at me.

Hello, are you feeling better?

Hello, I'm Harry.

What they're all
saying is fear and panic.

The problem is, if the
kids don't get to hospital,

they're not going to
get tested properly.

- It's a mass sociogenic illness.
- I want to follow it up.

I'm just, you know,
naturally cautious.

- It is textbook.
- I know the phenomenon.

But I'm not a psychologist.

- I admire your self-confidence.
- Oh, thank you!

All right, it's a
daft diagnosis.

Why?

So how are we
going to report this?

I suggest we leave
our options open.

In case it's a virus or
something they've eaten.

It can't be something they've
eaten. It isn't even lunch time.

They had raised heart
rates, no temperatures,

so it's unlikely to be a virus.

Suspicious death for
you up the road. Now.

- DCI Jim Tennant.
- Harry Cunningham.

According to the neighbors,
he works for the local council.

He's a scientist of some sorts.

- No catalytic converter?
- No, no. Old petrol job.

Didn't bother with a
pipe to the exhaust.

Didn't have to. There
was a hell of a fug.

Skin's a cherry red color.
Looks like monoxide saturation.

Was the engine still running?

Yeah. The neighbor found him.

Bare feet, bottom half of a
wetsuit and an old sweater.

Odd sort of get-up
for doing yourself in.

Feet are dirty.

- Can you hold him?
- Yeah.

There's some blood here.

Something sharp.

Could that have killed
him? That's near the heart.

He wasn't stabbed
through the sweater.

The face and hairline
encrusted with salt

suggest he was in the
water not long before.

There's an oxygen tank
and diving mask in the house.

Sweater's dry.

So he got in the car, half
dressed, didn't bother to shower...

Okay, where's Salek?

I don't know, Mr. Garner.
It's not a problem.

- There's 11 here and 12 passports.
- It's okay.

It's not okay, Micky. They
want to see Salek. Where is he?

He got a girl. In London.

Well, get hold of him and tell
him to report to Immigration, okay?

Muddy too. Samples, please.

His name was Nick
Garner, PhD, MPhil.

Mud in here, too.

He's used kitchen
roll on the wound.

Ah.

Yeah, that's where it went
through. Look. Blood on the inside.

Must have put the
sweater on in here.

In a hurry.

Ransacked or just untidy?

- Hi, Helen.
- Leo.

Acting head of department.
How does that feel?

Busy!

With your experience
and qualifications,

you should be knocking
at doors for a professorship.

Even if Sam hadn't
done a runner.

Don't tell me you
hadn't thought about it.

I've barely had time.

- We don't advertise or interview.
- No?

I've canvassed one or two
experienced people at the Royal College.

The appointments committee always
looked outside for a Chair in the past.

But I'm not a big
believer in tradition.

Personally I think
you'd do a great job.

Well, thank you.

How are things on
the domestic front?

You haven't really settled in
the great metropolis, have you?

No but I've erm... I've
certainly been thinking about it.

Good!

I'm very sorry, sir.

Your son was found in his
car with the engine running.

Oh, Christ.

I think it's important
we wait until the autopsy

before we draw any
obvious conclusions.

There was a wound.

I can't take this in, I'm sorry.

Can I see him?

Yes, yes, of course. Tomorrow?

Cause of death was
a fracture of the skull

into a weakness at
the point of impact,

causing brain damage
and severe hemorrhage.

If you look at the skull, you
can see there's a slight defect.

Bone hasn't calcified
properly. It's paper thin.

He might have lived
a long normal life

but he hit his head on the one
point that wasn't properly protected.

But this doesn't tell us
anything about the others.

Well, there's some evidence
of respiratory problems.

Lung tissue damage.

- Know why?
- Could be asthmatic.

It would have to be severe.

There was no evidence from
his GP he was being treated for it.

Got the Chair, Professor Dalton?

We should be getting
a blood test fairly soon.

This mass hysteria...

They reckon your
diagnosis was spot-on.

Not mine, actually.

Bit busy, don't you think?

Anything interesting on the
slab? Have scalpel, will travel.

- Hello, Marcus!
- Popped in to see your vice-chancellor.

- You know Helen?
- No.

She asked me to do your
annual Tofting Lecture.

First time ever by a
pathologist apparently.

It'll obviously be a pediatric
angle. Hope you'll come.

I'll try very hard.

Like to take a look at
the department sometime.

Well, yes, be my guest.

It's a bit busy at the moment.

You've spent money, haven't you?

Male, 28 years old.

The skin has a
cherry-red colored flush

typical of carbon
monoxide absorption.

There are marked
abrasions to the feet.

And toes.

Traces of what
appears to be reddish

paint under the fingernails.

- More samples, please.
- Sure.

I'm going to do a full
toxicological screen.

Hair, stomach contents,
blood, urine, vitreous.

We've also taken some blood
to test for carbon monoxide

using gas chromatography.

Results should be
here shortly. Thanks.

There's a small penetrating
wound in the chest area.

About two centimeters across.

Suggests the point
of a sharp knife.

Any more blood in the house?

Nothing significant apart
from on the kitchen roll.

So probably got it elsewhere.

Possibly bled again when
he took the wetsuit off

and put the sweater on.

Okay, let's open him up.

Organs are congested.

And bright pink. Again
typical of CO poisoning.

The heart is undamaged.

Whatever it was
didn't go in very far.

Scratched a rib, nicked a lung.

Nasty. Not fatal.

So...

So that rules out murder?

Well, quite an aggressive
thing to do to somebody.

Not self-inflicted?

- Did you find a knife nearby?
- Dr. Cunningham?

- What's this?
- From the lab.

It's gas chromatography.

Gas chromatography
gives the saturation as 40%.

That would kill him.

When did you last see your son?

Er... Three days ago.

He was fine. He
never got depressed.

He'd obviously been diving
not long before he died.

That's a very active thing to
be doing if you were depressed.

Well, Nick was a keen diver.

But this wound.

Yes, it looks like
a knife wound.

But it's not the cause of
death, we're certain of that.

- He was stabbed?
- Excuse me.

Blood test on Paul
Williams, fractured skull boy.

Metal found in
bloodstream, aluminum.

- Not significant, is it?
- What are you suggesting I ignore it?

What if any of the
other kids show it?

It's not like lead poisoning,
it wouldn't cause fainting.

That sounds extremely
dogmatic to me.

For one so young.

Oh, now we have it. So we're trusting
age and rank before genius, are we?

Maybe you should retrain as a
child psychologist if you're bored.

Thank you.

I'm so sorry, Lucas.

Thanks for letting me see him.

How are you?

Oh, I'm all right.

He'd been diving.

Did you know?

- I'll wait for you.
- No, you mustn't.

Erm... I'll talk
to you tomorrow.

Was it suicide? Doesn't
make any sense at all.

How well did you know him?

I liked him.

He was a close colleague.

Tell me how you found him.

Exactly.

I know you're not
supposed to say anything,

but you haven't definitely
said it was suicide, have you?

Do you have any idea why he might
have been diving on the night he died?

I don't know.

His background was marine toxicology,
so it could be connected to that.

If you find anything about
Nick, you will tell me, won't you?

Leo!

You'll have to go slower
soon. Up the dignity factor.

The appointments
committee met last night.

Professor Dalton sounds good.

So soon?

- Well, I haven't heard anything.
- Just a preliminary meeting.

If we did ask you, we may be looking
to bring someone in at your level

or maybe promote Harry to
reader and bring in a probationer.

Harry... Harry needs
more experience.

- Sam Ryan thought highly of him.
- He's good. He should step up soon.

Thanks.

So, how's the new career?

Well, I thought about child psychology
but then I decided I was needed

to brighten up the
death profession.

Brighter is not
necessarily better.

You got a hunch, you've got
to back it up with solid evidence.

Okay, try this for size.

There was an incident with some
school kids and a fizzy drink in America.

26 schoolchildren collapsing with
palpitations and all sorts of symptoms.

The drinks company
reacted straight away,

withdrew all supplies.

But within the next 48 hours,

hundreds of school kids started
showing exactly the same symptoms.

They did the most rigorous testing and
there was nothing wrong with the drink.

The kids we saw had
very specific symptoms.

Streaming eyes, coughing,
shortness of breath.

That's not the point. They
recovered! You saw them.

Why was this boy running
around with aluminum in his blood?

That little girl,
Lanny, was the focus.

There's always one hypersensitive
child who provokes all the others.

I want us to work
together on this.

There's going to be an inquest.
We can't submit contradictory reports.

I also want to see that
public health woman again.

- Sienna Ricci?
- Mmm-hmm.

She was here earlier. A
colleague of Nick Garner's.

This could be a
public health issue.

What's so funny?

- You think I'm going off on one?
- No, no.

Okay, I'll come.

If the boy had ingested aluminum does
that rule out the psychosomatic cause?

- No.
- Yes.

Has the regional health officer

followed up the kids
involved in the incident?

I think they've accepted
your colleague's point of view.

Do we know if all the kids
have returned to school?

I can find out.

Mystery viruses tend to come and
go. They won't take it any further.

What about testing the water?

I was thinking that, but then they
hadn't been swimming in it, had they?

Like Nick.

No. The drinking water.

The domestic supply? The
water company test every day.

Can aluminum get
into drinking water?

Where would it come from?

Anything like that
should be filtered out.

Sorry, I'm not really
at my best today.

Listen, don't worry,
let's leave it for now.

Surprised you're here at all.

We all miss Nick, but...

Life goes on.

Erm... Leo?

Is that Leo Dalton? Well, I
suppose it's been a long time.

I used to go out
with your sister.

- Oh! Gus?
- Yeah!

- Gus Stewart.
- What are you doing here?

Well, I run this
place. For my sins.

Council chief executive.
Strictly non-political.

- You must have been here for Nick.
- That's right, yeah.

Come in, come in, come in.

That's Nick's office.

They've locked it
for some reason.

Fancy a drink?

I could order the water company to
start spot testing if you like but erm...

I'm not going to love you
if it's a wild goose chase.

It's better to be safe.

- Sounds like a one-off to me.
- Not sure.

They went collectively doolally,
didn't they? I hear it's quite common.

It isn't.

There may be an emotional element
but I don't think it's the whole story.

Come and have a drink.

Nick cared passionately
about nature.

He did a lot of good work here.

- You liked him a lot, didn't you?
- Mmm. I did.

He was fun and er...

He had integrity.

We were lovers.

I'm sorry I misled you. I just
didn't want to go into all that.

Do you know where he was
diving? Presumably you do tests.

Yeah, but they take time.

Want another drink?

There's been a lot of
long days this week.

I'll walk you home.

- When did you last see him?
- A few days ago. He was really angry.

- What about?
- Oh, me. The world. His old man.

Why with him?

Nick was an environmental
officer. His dad breaks ships.

- No happy families there then?
- They got on fine mostly.

Are you really interested?

Yes.

Why did you want to know
where Nick was diving?

Just to know what he was doing
the last few hours he was alive.

Sorry, erm...

I just need to crash.

Shh!

Relax.

Can you stop her crying?

It's not her fault, Daryl.

- Why? Why did he do it?
- We're not sure it was suicide.

But what was he doing diving?

At night, alone?

I feel so bad because
we'd had a row.

What, that night?

The day before.

I never really got
to the bottom of it

except that he accused
me of lying to him.

I thought someone was
trying to poison his mind.

You mean me?

He never explained himself
properly. He was drunk.

I threw him out.

That was the last
time I saw him.

You must have some
idea what it was about.

It's too late.
Doesn't matter now.

We split up.

Didn't know.

A few weeks ago.

Has he left a lot
of stuff at work?

They've locked his office.
Are you looking for something?

Just personal things. Mementoes.

Who locked his office?

It's been going on for months!
We've got to do summat about it!

She is not going in the
other room, Daryl! No way!

Hey.

Tests on Nick Garner show
significant levels of PCBs in the body fat.

- What are PCBs?
- Polychlorinated biphenyl.

They're used in electrical
motors, switch gears.

- How toxic?
- Oh, they're dangerous.

Because they break down slowly
the body can't get rid of them.

It causes damage to the liver.

Nothing significant in the
liver. So probably very recent.

PCBs reduce the body's
ability to fight infection.

- Any acute symptoms?
- Only for people working with them.

You're looking at chronic health
problems years down the line. Cancers.

How do they get in the system?

They're easily absorbed
through the skin.

Swimming in polluted water.

Oh, did you read my
report on the school?

- Yes, I did.
- What do you think?

I think you should enter
it for the Booker Prize.

Your colleague was here.
He's gone to get a takeaway.

He told me you had been
recently bereaved too.

My wife.

A year back.

We've just about finished here
now. Will you be taking those?

Well, there's
nothing here really.

I just find it hard to
think about anything else.

I have to do something.

I had a look through them, but
they're mostly scientific tests.

- Over my head.
- Mine too.

- Did you lock his office?
- No, sir.

- Is it locked?
- So they tell me.

I'm sure you can have anything
that belonged to your son.

You gave me the impression you
were looking for something specific.

Oh. No, no. Just...

The letter never sent, the
photograph you've forgotten.

That's not what
you've got there, sir.

Those are technical.

It's what he was about.

His life.

But over your head.

I know there's
something wrong with her.

Diarrhea is nothing to worry about.
Just make sure she gets plenty of water.

- You can go to your GP.
- We know that.

- She doesn't seem hot to me.
- Doctor.

She was, she was very hot. I
gave her aspirin, I gave her Calpol.

How often? That could be
the cause of the diarrhea.

Shh.

You were in the
other day, weren't you?

What's wrong with that?

Harry?

- I hear you had a mass hysteria.
- Yes.

MSI they call it now. Very PC.

I like to use the old
word. Was it girls?

Mixed. My head of department
doesn't agree with me, anyway.

- What, Leo?
- Mmm.

That's why senior academics like
he and I exist. To hold back talent.

It's fear.

I really rather like London.
I'm just off to your library.

Leo, going to get the Chair?

If he does, let's hope
they tell him soon.

Hard act to follow.

The blessed Sam.

- Do you really want Sam's job?
- Yes. Why?

Do you think I'm not up to it?

- No...
- No?

I mean no, I didn't mean that.

A lot of the kids in that class are
showing aluminum in their blood.

- How much?
- Well, it's too soon to say.

The hospital didn't look for it because
someone told them the kids freaked out.

So they missed it.

They must have
ingested it somehow.

Could a fizzy drink
have reacted with a can?

None of this explains
why those kids fainted.

Most of them are still complaining
of respiratory problems.

Local GPs are calling it severe asthma.
Everything seem to be asthma nowadays.

These psychosomatic events

are about exclusion.

Separateness. A group.

There was just one classroom.

The epidemic usually
starts and finishes quickly.

I thought it was something
that happened outside,

but the teacher
wasn't affected at all.

Because he was an adult,
he was outside the group,

he was excluded.

This has got to be something
to do with drinking water.

We've looked at school dinners

but half the ones with aluminum in
their blood bring in packed lunches.

The tap water is the only
possible common factor.

Are there any aluminum
works disgorging,

unchecked into the local supply?

- In Britain, in the 21st century?
- Aluminum is here.

It's not in our dreams, mate.

Is this an offer?

Helen?

Sounding you out.

Obviously after Sam Ryan the general
status of the department is very high.

There are one or two
things I'm not too sure about.

I would want to think about
who stays and who goes.

I'd like it to be my team.

It's not always easy to get
rid of academics, as you know.

There's that horrible
American word called tenure.

We can argue about the
teaching staff, can't we?

If you want me.

I'll see what I can do.

Why isn't this being treated
as a suspicious death?

What about all the other wounds,
they must tell us something.

The slashes on the
arms suggest a struggle.

There you are. Have
you told the police this?

- Yes, of course.
- What else do we know?

Where was he
swimming? I'd like to know.

It might give me a clue
as to who attacked him.

I can tell you the water he was
swimming in wasn't very clean.

So he wasn't swimming
in the open sea.

The salt in his hair was
contaminated with fuel oil.

Which makes it likely it
was an area of heavy traffic.

And there were
PCBs in his body fat

which suggests maybe they were
present in the water he was swimming in.

He was wearing a wetsuit.
You can only absorb PCB...

Through the skin. I know.

But parts of his face and his
hands would have been exposed

so if the concentrations
were high enough then...

We were together for two years.

We kept it secret
because of office politics.

Can I have a tap
water as well, please?

It was difficult
when we split up.

Stayed friends or?

It was a bit tense sometimes.

I finished it.

Thanks.

- What are you doing?
- Humoring an old man.

Looks oily.

Doesn't taste very good either.

Mmm. Tastes acidic.

Could this happen? Could they just
cover something up and get away with it?

I don't trust anyone.
You know Gus Stewart?

He's been going into Nick's
office. Taking stuff. Shredding stuff.

- Why?
- Well...

I think Nick knew something
about council business

that Gus doesn't
want coming out.

About drinking water?

I've got the water company's
own tests going a fortnight back.

Do you think you
could test this too?

It's council offices. Gents loo.

Look.

I so wanted you to be right.

What about?

The water company's own
analysis last Thursday and Friday.

Calcium.

Sodium.

There's nothing nasty.

Look at those two results.

They're identical.

No two litters of water
can be the same in analysis.

So, much as I hate to admit it,

there may be something going on.

- This is the third time you came in.
- Can we please see a doctor?

I'm sorry, we are really busy.

I want a doctor!

Can you hear me, you bastards?!

This little girl's ill!

I want a doctor now!

Calm down, calm down.

Hi, it's Harry.

Hello.

The analysis results are phony.

Look at last week's.

It's like a photocopy
with different dates.

They've been cheating.

Listen, I'm just in a
meeting at the moment.

Yeah, I'll call you later.

Bye.

That was Harry Cunningham.

He says the water company
must have a problem.

They've been messing
around with the paperwork.

They've been cheating.

Why are they still involved
in this? They're pathologists.

Well, I asked them to advise.

The water's good.
We've won prizes for it.

I don't want to quote
my job description at you

but if they have an issue with public
health that we should know about,

I have to talk to them.

Okay, we'll look into this.
But let's deal with it quietly.

And keep those
guys out of the loop.

Have we got something to hide?

No.

No, we've got to be
straight about this.

Water samples.

Gents lavatory, that
is just rusty water.

But the sample I
took from the pub...

Traces of aluminum.

Yes!

Congratulations.

I have to admit, it
didn't taste very good.

But what's the
source? Aluminum...

They use aluminum sulphate
in the purification process itself.

Look. The aluminum goes in as
a coagulant to take out impurities

then it gets filtered out and
eventually you're left with clean water.

So it's a cock-up. It got put back
into the clean water at a later stage.

Looks like they found out
then rather than owning up

decided to flush out the system.

Tried to cover up by
doctoring the results.

Is that Haven Water?
Yeah, it's Dr. Leo Dalton here.

Can I speak to your
chief analyst, please?

I'm really furious about
this. They won't admit a thing!

People who cover up stuff have
to come clean in the end, hmm?

That's what Nick used to say.

And Nick was right
about a lot of people, Gus.

How do you feel about
me getting the Chair?

If I got it.

No precise feelings
at the moment.

I've just had the chief
executive of Haven Water

railing at me for the
best part of an hour.

You seem to be acting
outside your remit.

It's a question
of public health.

Maybe I'm being naive but I
thought pathology was about

using your experience
to explain mortalities.

If it's a question of
saving people's lives,

job descriptions go
out the window, surely?

This is the most expensive
department in the university.

There are a lot of people
who don't think it's justified.

Well, I hope that we can
prove them wrong, Helen.

Your business is death.

And you aren't Sam Ryan.

Thanks for your support.

Are we working together?

Or are you waiting for
Marcus Gwilym to take over?

Two workers sacked accused of
contaminating the water supply.

Oh! If you believe
that you're being naive.

It's negligence.

They'll probably get away without
paying a penny in compensation.

Council censured for
slow reaction to crisis.

Aren't you pleased?

I pulled you out but I
may not have a job myself.

I screwed up by moonlighting
on a public health issue.

And I still don't know
why those kids collapsed.

That amount of aluminum wouldn't
have caused that amount of damage

in Paul Williams or any of
the other kids for that matter.

I still think

there's an element of
hysteria involved but,

I admit something
else is going on.

Maybe we're both
barking up the wrong tree.

Or just going about
it in the wrong way.

- Hello again.
- Hi.

The baby's name is
Ella. She died in the night.

You should really have
a pediatric pathologist.

I spoke briefly to
Dr. Gwilym on the phone.

Marcus Gwilym?

He wants to do the autopsy
but he's just had a car accident.

- So I thought of you.
- Is he all right?

Nothing too serious.

We kept telling
them over and over!

Oh, Mum...