Original subtitles

James' phone has been cracked. Who is this?

Someone set it so that you can't withhold numbers any more.

The number that called last night, they didn't know we could see it.

It's his old partner, Matt Neville.

He could be anywhere.

How do you know she wasn't followed? Please!

I'm sorry. Matt!

Something is being covered up here,

but that all seems a bit big.

It has to be big, doesn't it?

Dad wouldn't just abandon us if it wasn't.

I was obsessed with this thing,

particularly after Dad left.

He knew that our dad was never coming back.

Same as I know that yours is.

I don't think this woman likes me very much,

or James anyway.

Don't worry, I've wiped the system.

Are we really going to keep pretending

like nothing happened between us?

You kissed me, remember -

not the other way round.

Lucy Taylor? I'm Holly.

I work with your husband.

How did you, erm, get my number?

I need to talk to you in person.

It's about James.

Please come.

Lucy?

Coffee.

I'll leave it here.

Ma'am? What are you...?

Holly Pinder was discovered dead in her flat

in the early hours of this morning.

Your wife has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Sir, I don't know what to...

It's got to be a mistake.

It has to be.

Can I see her?

Erm...

Why don't we just, er...?

I think perhaps my office, DI Carter.

Ma'am.

I'd just made her coffee.

It's still on the landing.

Holly's neighbours heard a fight,

called the police.

They picked up Lucy at the scene.

She had no ID on her.

She was barely communicating at all.

It wasn't until the day shift arrived

that she finally told them who she was.

That's when she asked to see you.

Then let me see her.

You know that can't happen.

Guv, she was found with a knife.

No, that can't be right.

This can't be real.

No, no, no, it's a mistake or a...

Or a trick, or a... dream.

Is this a dream?

You OK?

Sir.

Henry's school. Get someone to pick him up.

Unmarked car, no uniform.

Sir.

Er, sir...

Mrs Betts-Taylor?

My name's DI Carter.

I work with your husband. I know who you are, Detective.

I need to speak to James.

Your husband's a DCI here.

I'm sorry, but in circumstances like this...

He's still my husband. I still have a right to see him.

And you will.

But your connection to this department means

we have to do this by the book, more than ever.

Lucy, I want to help you, and him - believe me...

..but that is going to mean answering some questions

before we can move forward.

Do you think we can do that?

I am DI Russell Carter.

The date is 14th of March, 2024,

and the time is 10:05.

I need to remind you, you are still under caution.

Mrs Betts-Taylor...

..did you kill Holly Pinder?

No, I did not.

Why did you go to her flat in the middle of the night?

Er, she called me.

She wanted to talk to me in person.

She said it was important.

Did you know her? I knew of her.

And yet you just went?

Right then, in the middle of the night?

Didn't wake your husband? Didn't tell him?

No, I...

I wasn't thinking.

I need to speak to James.

Why did you take a knife? Protection.

Holly Pinder was someone you felt you needed protection from?

No, I was...

I'm a woman, I was going alone to meet a stranger

in the middle of the night, so...

She was like that when I got there.

She died in my arms.

Look, if I could just see my husband,

speak to him just for a minute, then I can tell you everything.

So there's more to tell? No, I...

No, I'm not saying that. I...

I have been arrested for the murdering

of one of your colleagues,

someone that you knew,

someone everyone who saw me brought in knew.

I'm sure the only thing that's being talked about out there,

in every single corridor.

I just need to speak to somebody that I know, please.

Let's take a break.

You know he's the most brilliant man I've ever met?

I'd tell him but I think he'd just agree.

Hmm.

Irritating, isn't it?

I can't let you talk to the guv...

..but I can fetch you a glass of water.

It'll take me about two minutes.

Hello? John, it's me. I don't have long.

Lucy, where are you? What's happening?

I am in an interview room.

Your DI Carter left me his phone -

not that I trust him any more than I trust anybody else here.

You need to get me out.

Sir?

Coroner's report.

They sent me straight down here.

In two hours?

That's unheard of.

She was one of us, sir.

Why were you even there?!

Er, she called me last night.

Said she had information about James.

Oh. You don't sound surprised?

I don't think being surprised is something

I'm even capable of any more.

Why on earth didn't you wake me?

Well, would you have let me go? Of course not!

Well, there you go, then. No, there you go, then.

You're now under arrest, and I think I'm being held in my boss' office.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they've locked me in.

You all right, sir?

Er, yes.

Can I go to the toilet?

Yes?

OK, good.

Perhaps later.

Well, I wish I hadn't done that.

You're not thinking clearly. I need Ludwig.

What? That's who I need right now.

To solve this.

This was deliberate.

It has to have been.

I don't even know if it was her on the phone.

I've never actually heard Holly speak.

You think it was them? Yes, of course it was them!

And whoever "they" are,

"they" are here now in this building!

For all I know, they're right outside this door.

Any news?

We've got a problem.

What sort of problem? The sort that would usually be anything but.

The postmortem confirms

that the knife Lucy Betts-Taylor brought with her to Holly's flat

is the same one used in the murder.

Well, what's she said?

That she found Holly like that and the attack had already happened.

Which is impossible.

But why would the DCI's wife kill Holly?

It doesn't make any sense. And did she even know her?

I don't know, Detective Sergeant.

I've no idea what to make of...

Sir?

I think there's something I need to tell you.

I don't know what else to do, Lucy!

It's unravelling.

You must be able to see that?

Our best, our only choice now is to just to come clean,

explain everything and...

What, you think they're just going to let us go?

Do you not see what's happening here?

They killed Sinclair, they killed Bowen,

and now Holly!

We don't actually know any of that for...

But we know that I didn't!

John?

John, are you there?

Mrs Betts-Taylor, in light of new information,

I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to return to holding.

We'll reconvene later.

What new information?

Henry.

Son.

You'd probably better give me a hug, or it'll...

Are you crying?

Of course I'm crying.

Course you are.

That makes sense.

Sorry.

Come and sit down.

Notify all comms.

Tell them I want a complete media blackout on this,

do you understand? Yes, sir.

I assure you I'm going to try and keep this...

No, don't try. Do.

I am five minutes away from delivering a talk

on public trust in the police force

and I do not intend to lose column inches to a story

that completely undermines it.

I bet. Do you have any idea how many leaks

have come from your station in the past year?

If I so much as hear this being alluded to,

I will personally launch an investigation myself

and stop it once and for all.

Lock it down. When the story breaks,

it needs to break with us

already having made a charge

and anyone tangentially connected to the situation

already moved on.

And by "tangentially connected", you mean...?

I mean, an active DCI married to the prime suspect

in the murder of a colleague, Chief Superintendent!

Yes, sir.

DI Carter, what's happening?

We've, er...

Ma'am, Constable Evans has some information

we believe may be important.

Is she going to prison?

No.

She didn't do it.

And I'll prove it.

How?

They're not going to let you go anywhere near the case.

You must know that?

And how much digging till they realise

you're not even who you say you are?

What if they search the house?

You have a photo of the murder victim pinned up

in Dad's office, next to pictures of half a dozen

other people working here.

And a load of weird codes and cyphers...

Yes, I have, haven't I?

That is going to look a little bit serial-killery.

Yeah, just a little!

What are we going to do?

Trust that justice will out?

Seriously.

Guv, sorry to, er... Oh, no, no, no.

I realise this is a bit awkward, for the both of us,

but I'm afraid... I need to get a statement from you.

Only, we kind of need to do it officially, so...

Er, I won't be long.

It's Henry, isn't it?

You probably don't remember me.

The last time we met was, er...

Well, it was just after you were born, actually.

Yeah, no, I don't remember that.

Henry, I'm afraid we can't have you wandering the station,

so I'm going to have to ask you to come with me

to the family room and stay put. Yeah.

But if there's anything at all you need,

please consider everyone out there at your disposal.

Thanks.

Oh.

When you said you needed to do it officially,

I didn't realise...

I'm afraid I have some questions to ask you

that I'm not sure you would've wanted your son to hear.

Er, please.

I am DI Russell Carter.

The date is 14th of March, 2024,

and the time is 12:14.

Is that necessary?

Guv, when I said this was awkward, I wasn't lying.

There isn't a detective in the world

who'd want to be in my position right now. I'd happily swap.

Trust me, if Lucy is innocent,

the only thing that's going to help her is the truth.

DCI Taylor, what was the nature of your relationship

with Holly Pinder?

The neighbour said... What are you standing around out here for?

Haven't we got a crime scene to investigate?

"We", Ma'am?

Yes, Sergeant. We.

Ma'am, what are you doing here?

Well, I haven't come to perform a limbo routine, so...? Oh!

SOCO's only just left.

There's some weird stuff in there, Ma'am.

"Weird" how?

W-Well, just that...

All right.

What rumours?

Rumours from who?

From a source I trust.

Just as much as I trust you.

So you can see the predicament that I'm in

and why I just have to ask you this straight out.

Were you, or have you ever been,

sexually involved with Holly Pinder?

I don't know.

Ma'am...

..do you think she did it?

She had a motive, Constable -

the oldest one in the book.

I keep thinking I've got it wrong.

Like I shouldn't have said anything.

I mean, I know what I heard,

but I just can't see it.

I mean, the boss - having an affair?

Middle-age can do funny things to a man.

I see no reason why he'd be any more immune to it than others.

Er, we've got a guy demanding access outside, Ma'am.

OK.

This is ridiculous.

I don't understand why you won't let me in.

That's her flat - number 21, Holly Pinder!

Who are you? Adam Newsum.

I'm her boyfriend! Boyfriend?

Sorry, will someone please tell me what's going on?!

Mr Newsum, when did you last see Ms Pinder?

What? Last night.

Sorry, what's happened?

Last night? You were here?

May I ask what time you left?

I don't know! Er, midnight?

I live across town, I had work in the morning.

But for God's sake, would you just...?

Is she OK?

Mr Newsum, I'm sorry to inform you Holly Pinder was found dead

in the early hours of this morning.

Holly's flat is an active crime scene,

so I'm afraid you can't be there.

I also don't think you should be getting behind

the wheel of a car at the moment.

Officer, would you mind running Mr Newsum

to the police station.

No questions. We'll take a statement later.

And find him a liaison officer.

Ma'am. This way, sir.

Ma'am?

Constable? Oh, er...

Holly never once mentioned having a boyfriend.

Holly never mentioned a lot of things.

What is this?

She was a stalker.

I think this goes a bit beyond stalking, Sergeant.

The guv has a twin?

Ma'am, there's a folder here with your name on it.

Don't touch it! Don't touch anything.

Don't press a button, don't move a mouse.

There's files here so restricted even I don't have access.

We need to clear out and get a specialist team in, immediately.

Ma'am, what's going on?

Well, Holly's murder's not the only crime that's been committed here.

How can you not know whether or not you had an affair?

Guv?

I'm not the guv.

Russell, I'm so sorry, but...

..I'm not DCI James Taylor.

I'm his brother, John.

I need to speak to James.

No, you need to speak to me.

Back in the interview room.

James?

They know.

What?

He said we know.

Ma'am! Ma'am!

All those files... Forget it.

If it doesn't relate to the murder, forget everything you saw.

The contents of that flat are a matter

for internal affairs now.

Ma'am, your name was on one of the folders.

I'm aware of that, Sergeant.

Was yours? No.

Was yours?

That's called "plausible deniability".

I don't have it.

You do.

Whatever happens, maintain it.

Ma'am, we need to talk, I have some very troubling news.

Not nearly as troubling as the news we have.

Trust me, Ma'am, that is not a bet you're going to want to take.

She said nothing else?

Only that James disappeared a few weeks ago.

She said he left a letter alleging he was in danger

and that she shouldn't try to contact him.

Almost every question after that got a "no comment".

She's paranoid as hell

and, given what she seems to believe,

I guess that's understandable.

We're holding her for now.

And "John"? Much the same.

Claims he just wanted access to his brother's office,

but instead we kept sending him off to solve murders.

If he's not a detective, what is he?

Apparently he's a professional puzzle-setter,

goes by the name of "Ludwig".

"Ludwig"?

No way! My mum's got some of his books!

He's a...!

Sorry. He's being held voluntarily.

In fact, he insisted on it.

He doesn't seem to understand, or care,

about just how much trouble he's in here.

His only priority is convincing us of his sister-in-law's innocence.

Holly knew.

I don't think they were having an affair.

I think what I overheard was her testing him,

seeing if he knew that. A test he failed?

She was a bloody IT consultant!

We've got four ranks of officers in this room!

How could she work it out and not us?!

Exactly how many cases has your department closed

in the last fortnight?

Six, Ma'am.

It's actually a new record.

And every one will be reopened.

They'll have to be.

They could all walk free.

What are we going to do?

Your jobs, Constable.

Like it or not, you still have a murder to solve.

As for everything else we've discussed,

for now on, nothing leaves this room.

If and when heads roll for this,

I intend to make sure that yours aren't amongst them.

And yours, Ma'am?

None of your concern, Detective Inspector.

Where's Dad?

I think you know as well as I do that we've absolutely no idea.

But if you're asking where your uncle is,

he's downstairs in a holding cell.

He's under arrest? Technically, no.

He's there voluntarily.

What?

Your mum is being held overnight.

Can I stay, too?

I don't want to go home.

Do you think you might be in danger?

Can you guarantee that I'm not?

We'll arrange somewhere safe for you to stay.

If the real DCI Taylor is missing,

shouldn't we - or someone - be investigating that?

I mean, isn't there a good chance that that's connected to this?

More than a good chance, I'd say.

You heard the Super.

That's a can of worms we need to kick down the road for now -

and focus on what we do have.

What do we know about the boyfriend? Adam Newsum?

Up until today, we didn't even know he existed.

Are we even sure they're an actually couple?

And then there's Lucy Betts-Taylor.

That man downstairs may not be the real guv,

but no-one can deny he has a detective's brain.

He's known her for 40 years.

He doesn't believe she did it.

And for all the lies he may have told...

..I'm struggling to believe he would ever protect a killer.

The evidence is so damning.

She brought the murder weapon with her,

literally had it on her when she entered the flat,

but claims the crime had already occurred.

That's impossible.

Yes, well, "impossible" is a word

we've heard a lot lately, Sergeant.

Yet, in each and every case,

we've successfully managed to prove otherwise.

No, we haven't.

I mean, it wasn't us that did that, was it?

Well, I'd like to think we helped.

What are you thinking, boss?

I'm thinking...

..that it's time you two went home.

Oh, sir, I think we'd both agree that we'd rather stay.

I know, which is why I'm making it an order.

OK.

Goodnight.

DI Carter?

I'm glad you're here.

I really want to apologise for...

..you know, the massive crime I've committed.

Well, as long as you've learned your lesson.

Sarcasm, Guv.

James.

John.

Look, it may interest you to know that we do not believe

your brother was involved in any form

of relationship with Holly Pinder.

Oh.

Then why did she say she was?

We're working on that.

I have two questions.

Do you truly believe that Lucy is innocent of this crime?

Yes. And you are aware that all the facts, and all the evidence,

suggest otherwise?

Yes.

It's quite the puzzle.

My sentiments exactly.

What's this?

Well, something that could cost me my job.

But given that's hanging by a thread anyway, I...

I fail to see what I've got left to lose.

Goodnight...

..Ludwig.

Do you know where my dad is?

I don't, Henry.

Do you know why he disappeared?

I think...

..because he's a good man.

That's rather cryptic.

You really are your uncle's nephew, aren't you?

He's a good man, too, you know?

My uncle.

I don't doubt that.

Doors opening.

Coming?

How did Lucy enter the flat?

Good morning to you, too.

Er, she said the door was open.

OK, good.

Good, that makes sense.

And do you have any other suspects?

There was someone in her life.

A boyfriend, apparently.

Can you get them to the flat?

We're going to need them there.

Their reactions will be important.

I'll also need Lucy there and Chief Superintendent Shaw.

Are you saying you've solved the case?

Well, I wouldn't go that far,

though I do have a strong working theory

on how Lucy didn't do it,

despite being in possession of the murder weapon.

So... So, tell me.

I'd rather tell everyone at the same time,

in front of witnesses.

In fact, can we ensure that DC Evans and DS Finch are there, too, please?

No, we can't, Guv!

You're not the guv, all right?

You can't attend crime scenes and you can't make demands.

So, if there's anything you've spotted in here,

can you just tell me?

That's the reason I gave it to you in the first place.

I came here to find out what happened to my brother,

but I don't care any more.

I'm angry with him.

I have been since the very beginning, if I'm honest.

But whatever he thinks he may have uncovered,

Lucy and Henry should always have come first.

Family never does in this job.

Maybe that's the difference between you and a real detective.

Then I'm glad I'm not one.

The only thing that matters now is proving Lucy is innocent,

which I believe I can do -

provided it's within a controlled environment

and in front of witnesses.

Witnesses like myself, Finch, Evans and the Super?

So you trust us, then?

I believe he's playing the odds, DI Carter.

You've no idea who you can trust, do you, John?

But it only takes one of us to be on the level

so that everything you say can't simply disappear

into the system, am I right?

Yes, Ma'am.

Can you really prove that DCI Taylor's wife

didn't do this? I think so.

Can you prove who did?

Well... if it all played out the only way it could have...

..then, yes, probably.

How's that? It'd be better if we were at the actually scene.

Can't attend a crime scenes, John.

You should never have attended a crime scene.

You do get that, don't you?

John? Oh, hello!

Don't worry, it's good news.

They're going to let me solve one more murder

before I go to prison.

What? "Prison"? Sorry, who is this?

He's one of our...

..consultants.

And what does he consult on?

Puzzles, actually.

And we've got a good one here.

I think I need to pace about.

Can I pace about?

Mm-hm.

Ahem! So, the puzzle is,

how was a murder committed with a weapon

that was only brought into the scene

after the murder had been committed?

Well, that's impossible, is it?

Correct!

The murder was unplanned.

As was the presence of Lucy here,

whom Holly had telephoned half an hour earlier,

supposedly with information about her missing husband.

"Missing husband"?

Yes, my brother.

But that's not really relevant.

Don't worry about it.

The only important factor here is that the killer

had no idea she was coming.

They'd arrived first, for reasons of their own.

The flat door was left open

so I'm assuming they pretty much barged their way in

when Holly answered it.

Whereupon an argument ensued,

spilling over into here.

Oh, this is supposed to be a reconstruction

of the kitchen, by the way.

Is it? Well, we only had five minutes!

Look, that's a stool made of binders!

The murder happened here,

at which point the killer heard someone else enter the flat...

Hello?

Holly?

..and quickly hid.

Lucy comes through...

Holly?

..sees the body behind the kitchen island...

..and puts the knife that she brought with her

down... here?

Stool.

Then, like ring a ring o' roses, she comes round this way

while the killer... Oh, Holly?!

..with the actual murder weapon comes around this way.

I imagine their first instinct was to run,

but then they spotted what fate had just handed them.

And whilst Lucy was on the floor with Holly...

..they simply swapped knives...

..depositing Lucy's knife here,

in this...

..knife block.

A knife block from which, only minutes earlier,

they'd snatched the actual murder weapon.

I did hear a door slam.

That will have been the real killer leaving, now completely sans-knife.

Whilst you mistakenly picked up the murder weapon.

Et voila!

How the murder could've been committed

without Lucy doing it.

Er, could have?

Yes, well, I may not have got every part of the sequence right,

but you get the general gist.

Erm, Constable Evans, did you...?

What...? Oh, yes! Hang on.

You brought the evidence up in a bag-for-life?

Well, I thought we were trying to be low-key?

Yeah.

There. See? They are pretty identical.

But the ones we have at home are a teensy bit longer,

and that's why this one here is sticking out more.

They look the same to me.

Well, they're not.

This one is blatantly sticking more by at least a millimetre. Trust me.

I don't suppose you'd like to confess, would you?

Save them checking for fingerprints?

Guv... I mean, Consultant Taylor,

we've already done that.

Yes, on the murder weapon,

but that doesn't prove anything, does it?

I'm sure a boyfriend could come up with a dozen reason

why their prints would be on Holly's property.

But this one?

This is Lucy's.

Her prints will be on it.

Mine will. Henry's.

Possibly my brother's if he ever did the cooking.

He didn't. And neither do you.

Good point, perhaps mine won't be on there either.

And what about you?

Do you think yours might be on there?

On a knife that was brought from another location,

by a different person,

after the murder?

It's...

It's... possible.

I want...

I want... I want to make a deal.

Absolutely.

You tell us everything we want to know,

and I'll see to it you get extra pillows.

Sergeant.

Go on.

What, you...? Just this once.

Oh, hang on. Don't have the...

Yeah. Please.

Adam Newsum, I'm arresting you on suspicion of murder.

You don't have to say anything... That was terrific!

Thank you very much!

Oh, yes.

You know, for a minute there, I almost forgot

how much trouble I'm in.

Officers.

Am I going to a real prison now?

No, Chief Superintendent Shaw would like to see you upstairs.

Oh.

I'm not sure if that's better or worse.

Boss...

Er, whatever you are.

..I just wanted to say that was really good work today.

Thank you, Sergeant.

Er, Mr Taylor,

do you think you could sign this for my mum?

He went home to get it.

Thank you, sir.

Do sit.

How's Lucy?

She's fine, as is Henry.

They're both back at home.

I said, "Take a seat."

Adam Newsum was not Holly Pinder's boyfriend.

She employed him to do grunt work

on what she probably considered her real job.

Real job?

Acquiring and selling information.

To who?

To whoever paid the most.

Holly Pinder has been the source of every leak we've had here

over the past year.

She's tipped off people under investigation,

extorted money from employees whose emails she'd hacked,

and she sold multiple stories to the media.

Roger Sinclair was a regular client.

I'm assuming you know all about him,

given that you have been investigating us

for the past fortnight.

He was a journalist. That's generous!

He was a blogger, commentator and conspiracy theorist.

One with a surprisingly long reach.

We have no idea what information Holly sold him.

It's been cleared from her system.

And as you've probably already discovered,

every blog, tweet, article and post

that Sinclair ever put out into the world

has completely vanished from the internet.

Henry's good with computers.

He says that's really weird.

A postman saw Sinclair's body through the window.

Your brother was first on the scene.

Within 24 hours, I got word from on high

that a specialist team

was being brought in,

and James and his partner were off the case.

But James didn't stop investigating.

Well, he got hold of the amended report,

and he sat right where you are now and told me it was all lies -

there was no robbery, no break-in, no broken windows.

That his first instinct was professional hit.

What did you do?

I ordered him to drop it.

And you've no idea how much I wish he had.

Holly knew he'd been removed from the case,

but, of course, she could also see everything he was accessing.

Extortion was one of her sidelines

and DCI Taylor was to be her next victim.

James would never have paid her.

Well, I'd like to think not,

but she never got that far anyway

because he left and you arrived.

And unlike the rest of us,

she clocked something was amiss straight away -

and she's been testing you ever since.

She was going to blackmail me instead?

You and Lucy.

That's actually what their meeting was supposed to be about.

It happened to fall on the same night that her dogsbody

caught a glimpse of their Bitcoin account

and their supposed 50/50 split was anything but.

Ma'am, why did you tell my brother to stop digging?

The entire contents of the Sinclair house were brought here.

Box upon box of documents, pictures,

thumb-drives and God knows what else.

They were all eventually packed up and sent to Scotland Yard.

They never got there.

The van did, but it was empty.

The driver and the escort were fully investigated,

and they couldn't explain why.

Your brother was never going to win this fight -

not when the people at the top can move mountains

to ensure that he doesn't.

He was going to lose everything.

What happens to me now?

Tell me something, John.

Does the identical nature of the twin thing

stretch as far has handwriting?

Your brother's resignation letter.

Lucy gave it to me.

Apparently she was supposed to have posted it on the day he left.

Did you notice it was unsigned and undated?

Sign it on his behalf, would you, and add today's date?

Why? So that we have it on record that,

up until three o'clock today,

the only Taylor who'd been working at this station -

and solving a record number of cases -

was the one who was actually a detective.

And then? And then, John, you can go back to your own life.

I learned a long time ago what I can and I can't control in this job...

..but I make it my business to look around

and work out who the good guys are,

and then do everything in my power to protect them.

Your brother was one.

As are DI Carter, Sergeant Finch and Constable Evans.

So, for their sakes, if not yours, sign the letter.

Did you sign it?

Yes.

Thank you.

Oh, er, here you go.

Oh, thanks.

Great, thanks.

I, er...

I just wanted say that, you know,

outside of the whole lying to me about everything stuff...

..it's been a pleasure working with you.

You, too, Russell.

Come in.

DCI Taylor...

..I've heard your wife has been released.

Well, yes, she didn't do it.

I see.

Come with me. I want a full report.

Erm, sorry.

I'm going home.

Excuse me?

I've actually just quit.

Here you go.

You have one new message.

Hi, John.

It's James.

You know, I thought through 100 different scenarios

for how all this might play out -

and not one of them involved you taking on my identity

and going undercover.

That was never the plan.

How could it have been?

How could it have occurred to me

that you would ever even leave Mum's house,

let alone travel halfway across the country to play detective.

Look, I mean, that's not you, is it?

But now I realise there was one variable

I never fully factored in.

Lucy.

You were always her best friend.

I may have been the one to marry her,

but that never changed.

There's nothing you wouldn't have done for her.

So, I need you to do something for her now, John -

and that's tell her the truth.

Because I've been lying,

more to myself than anybody else.

Something was rotten in the state of Cambridge

and I threw myself into it wholesale.

I disappeared from my family's life

weeks before I disappeared from home.

And I told myself I was doing so in search of answers

and the greater good.

But the truth is...

..I was just looking for anything to pull me away

from a life I'd grown unhappy with.

We're identical in almost every way, John...

..but there's one major difference.

You take after Mum.

And me...

..I take after Dad.

I'm the Bowerbird, John.

I'm the Bowerbird.

Hello.

Hey!

I wanted to do that at the station, but it was a bit awkward -

what with the murderer being there and all.

So she kept her promise?

You've signed the letter? She let you go?

Yes. That doesn't mean we can trust her, though.

And it doesn't mean we're going to stop, does it?

Lucy... No, no, no!

Don't "Lucy" me in that Ludwig way.

Just because we don't have access to the station any more

doesn't mean that... Er, Mum...

Oh, God, now what?

Henry, go and put the kettle on. But...

Just... Thank you, please.

What do you want? All the charges have been dropped.

Relax, I come in peace.

And with a peace offering.

What's this? That is a contract to put you on a retainer.

It's admittedly hastily written, but I wanted to get it out to you

before the Super changed her mind,

or someone changed it for her.

A contract? We're offering to put John on the payroll

as a consultant.

A consultant in what? Puzzles.

We phrased it as "lateral problem-solving" -

but, yeah, puzzles.

Look, I recognise this isn't a decision

you're going to want to make on the spot,

but I do urge you to make one soon, before the situation changes.

We don't want to lose the best detective we never had.

Thank you.

Yes!

This is brilliant!

This means we can carry on now!

Amazing!

Oh, we can get cracking now!

I'm not taking it.

What?

What do you mean? Why?

Lucy, I'm going home.

And I think you should come with me.

Both of you.

Get away from this place -

no more conspiracies,

no more murders,

no more danger.

We could just live a life. John, what are you talking about?

My husband is still missing.

He left you, all right?

My brother left you.

Can we all stop pretending he didn't have a choice?

Well, of course he had a choice!

And one that I would never have made.

John, we don't know how is.

He could be in a terrible state.

He's fine.

He's alive, well and leaving me answerphone messages.

What?!

He left you a...?

What did he say?

That he was like Dad.

He's even the same age as when he...

Perhaps it's just in our DNA.

You don't believe that.

He said he was the Bowerbird.

What?

It's a bird that leaves the nest

the moment its mate lays their eggs, never comes back.

How do you know that?

It's in that book that James gave him,

the same one that our dad gave us.

I used to stare at that one page in it so much,

that cartoon of the Bowerbird,

leaving the family nest,

clutching a suitcase.

I don't understand.

Why would Dad say that? What does he mean?

It's a metaphor. Oh, come on!

Since when did James, or you for that matter,

ever use metaphors?

Never, they're ridiculous.

Why describe one thing by describing another?

I never saw the sense in that, and neither did...

Oh, my God!

I'm not a genius.

I'm a complete moron.

John, are you all right?

It was so obvious!

The only thing we ever really shared,

and it's just been sitting there throughout all of this!

I'm so embarrassed. What exactly is happening?

I'll tell you what's happening,

my brother knew full well

that someone else could listen to that message.

Probably already has.

He was giving us an out -

while also giving us a clue.

That's a clue?

Not the picture, the text.

It's the source code.

It's how we solve the cypher.

First page of his notes.

First page is important.

If we crack this, we might crack it all.

C.

F.

Well, that's not it.

There'd need to be a vowel in between.

So, er...

It can't be that complicated.

Wouldn't need to be, so...

Every seventh word?

Seven was always James' favourite number.

Who has a favourite number?

Every seventh letter or paragraph?

No.

U.

The Taylor boys, apparently.

N.

I.

T. I think this is it.

We multiply each number by seven

and find the corresponding word in the text.

And we take the first letter of that word.

V.

What is it?

It's an address.

Number seven.

Well, the security guard said it's on the right.

What's all this?

It's all of Sinclair's "research" -

and I use the term loosely.

It was stolen, all of it,

from the back of a moving police van.

Even Chief Superintendent Shaw didn't understand

how it was possible.

You think Dad stole it? I've no idea.

But what I do know is that, somewhere in here,

amongst all the nonsense about fake moon landings

and false flag operations,

there's one small,

probably completely insignificant-looking story

which even Sinclair himself didn't realise was,

A, totally true,

and, B, important enough to kill him over.

We have to call the Superintendent.

So it can go missing again? Not on your nelly.

But look at it all! It'd take a team of ten over a year

to go through all this!

Well, ten normal people.

I don't mean to blow my own trumpet,

but I'm a very fast reader.

And good at filtering out gibberish.

Does this mean...

..he's staying?

Where are we going to put all this?

We'll find somewhere.

I'm just going to say it again, sir -

is there absolutely no way that the body could've been moved?

It wasn't.

He died here, exactly where he was found.

He was heading to his car, he had his keys in his hand,

he was about 20 feet away from it and then he just...

Drowned.

That's impossible!

Isn't it?

Course it is.

Five, six, seven...

So, er, do you have any idea what happened here, then, John?

Oh, well, yes.

Isn't it obvious?