Original subtitles

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...