_
Mind your backs.
Yeah, it's, er...
Feels like it's about three, four feet up,
just on or past the smoke shelf.
Could it be a squirrel or a rat?
Feels way bigger than that.
We had a fox up one the other day.
Must've got right up on to the roof and then...
Oh, my Christ.
*CREDITS*
Sir?
Sorry, miles away. Er, how much was that?
4.80, please.
Excuse me.
- Hey, Fran. - Hey, boss.
I've just had a call from Hammersmith nick,
who have found suspected human remains on their patch.
- Right. - Found in a chimney flue.
Think they've been there a while.
OK. Er, text me the address, I'll be right there.
Should I call DCI James?
Oh, yeah, wow, it's today, isn't it? Er, yeah, I guess you should.
OK. I'll see you there in an hour, then?
OK, good stuff. Thanks, Fran.
I didn't mean to tell you like this, Jess.
Oh... You had a plan?
No, I mean...
Who?
- Doesn't matter who. - Oh, it does, does to me.
Magda!
It's her day off. Do you want me to...?
No.
Kids?
Come on. Got everything?
Susan's here. Hey, Susan. There you go.
All right, they're ready. See you later, lads.
You're a life-saver. I'll see you Thursday.
Love to Tim. Bye, boys!
I literally start my new job in 54 minutes.
- How could you do this? - I'm really sorry.
But like I said, love, it wasn't planned.
Don't fucking call me "love".
OK. Well, erm...
I've gotta go, or I'll miss my train.
- You're not still going? - Oh, I've gotta go.
- It's a massive client. - No.
You need to tell me who, and you need to tell me why.
- I'll call you this evening. - No. You're not going.
- Please... - You're not going.
- Jess, Jess...! - You owe me that at least!
Jess, Jess, please let me go.
I'll call you this evening.
I'm really sorry.
_
Hm! Six kisses.
_
- But four hugs today. - What's the rate again?
Two hugs to one kiss today,
so actually, you're two up on the deal, fella.
I'm up on the deal.
- _ - _
So, if you look here, it's hard to make stuff out clearly,
but that mass you're looking at there...
is about... here, sitting on the smoke shelf.
Why don't we just take the breast off?
Oh, morning, Ma'am.
Morning. Nice to see you again.
- Er, this is DS... - Can we take this wall off?
We're not taking the breast down.
Sorry, who are you?
The man who owns the room you're standing in.
Right, well, sorry, but I own this scene now, so...
I mean, is there a way of getting the body out
and keeping it intact without removing the wall?
Not guaranteed, no.
- OK. Better get some Acrows up, then. - Hang on, can we...?
- Where's the body part? - Over here, Ma'am.
Hey, hey! Let go! No!
Help, help! Leave it.
- Fucking bitch, man! - Oi!
So, obviously, the footage already suggests there's more up there,
but also this.
These are bite marks.
My guess is that's how the leg came to be separated.
- Bite marks from...? - Rats, I'd guess.
- Right. - So, first glance, it is small.
Adult small or child small?
Could be a child.
OK. So, obvious question, could it be Victorian?
That's the "obvious" question?
Well, child in a Victorian chimney?
Dick Van Dyke's little brother, you mean?
Just a thought.
OK, erm, do you want a lift back to the nick?
We could talk, yeah?
- Got a couple of questions, if you don't mind. - Yeah.
He had a mask, he had his hood up.
That's it. She's in.
- And you completed when? - Er, about two months ago.
- OK. And the previous owners? - Er, developer.
He was gonna turn it into some flats,
but he went bankrupt cos of COVID.
- Right. - He'd bought in a probate sale.
- OK. - Some long-running family will dispute, I think.
By the time I got it, it had been unoccupied for maybe five years.
And was it secure, do you know,
during that time when it was unoccupied?
I don't know.
One of the neighbours said something about squatters at some point,
but you'd need to speak to them.
Sorry, I, er, sort of forgot you were there.
Why, thank you
Listen, erm, DI Khan.
All I wanted to say was that...
I am aware of the boots that I'm filling,
and I sincerely hope to do her, and all of her team, justice.
Yeah, of course.
Large bottle of Vladvosa, please, boss, and 40 reds.
Here you go.
So, this is it. Erm, obviously, it's been cleared of all her, erm...
Well, we've already had two interim DCIs here,
so there shouldn't be too many ghosts.
So, I thought we'd have a proper briefing with the team
once we got the body out and know what we're dealing with.
- Sounds good. - But, full disclosure...
I don't intend to run this team like she did.
OK.
I mean, this, this has obviously become the go-to team
for historical cases now, which is great,
but these cases have hoovered up ridiculous amounts of resources
that I believe could be better spent elsewhere.
Right.
As does Superintendent Andrews, I should say.
So if this body does turn out to be, erm, your "sweep",
or 30 years old, maybe even 20, I'm afraid I'd give it minimal time.
I'd rather we spend our always limited resources
on murders that happened today.
Obviously, I would advocate that we can do both.
That two opposing ideas can co-exist in the same world.
In the same ideal world, yeah, maybe,
but, erm, we don't live in an ideal world, do we?
We live in a shitty one.
Is there anything else?
Er, not for now, no. Thanks.
Hi, I'm sorry I can't take your call. Please leave a message.
_
Tony! Never had you down as a "Grauniad" man.
No-one's more surprised than me, Rash.
How are you?
- I was rather hoping you'd tell me. - Come on through.
So, if this is a secondary, given my history...
what's the likelihood there are, in fact...
multiple growths?
Every case is different, of course.
But, yes, it's possible.
Percentages?
I don't want to talk about percentages, Tony.
We're getting ahead of ourselves.
We still need more scans, and then we'll...
we'll see where we are then.
Service!
- Table six. - I am so sorry.
If you haven't booked, we're totally full tonight.
Two chana dal, one mushroom raclette, one akara.
Next available Saturday night is looking like June now.
Here you go.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you. Bye.
- Cheers. - We'll see you again soon, yeah?
- How was that? - How is it ever?
Don't know how you do it.
Do you want to do ten minutes on tomorrow?
- Nope. - Please?
Can do it in the car on the way up. It's a three-hour drive.
It'd just be so nuts to go unprepared, though, you know.
It's you they'll wanna hear talk anyway.
I'm just the talent, darling.
I mean... maybe all she's saying is that
if you do have to prioritise,
and I guess, sadly, these days, you do...
maybe it's better to be living in the here and now a bit more.
- Not looking back so much. - Well, I don't like her.
Er, they've got the body out. I'll drive.
- Gotta go. - Are you still good for dinner tonight?
Er, yeah.
'Cos then I'm away on the team jolly for two nights.
- Yep, sure. - Seven thirty?
Yeah, see you then. Love you.
Shit!
- All right? - All right, boss?
Cheers, man.
Stupid question, I'm sure...
- It is female? - It is.
Any obvious signs of trauma to the body?
Again, it's hard to say yet. It wasn't easy getting her out,
and I need to try and work out what damage is what.
What about age, roughly?
The cartilage I can see on the leg has turned to bone,
so she's older than late 20s, and again, from what I can see,
there's no evidence of arthritic degeneration,
so I'd guess somewhere between 30 and... maybe 60?
Obviously, dental tests will give me a more accurate picture.
- She's small for an adult. - She is. Tiny.
No more than 4'9, 4'10, I'd guess.
- Wearing any underwear? - No.
And there were no shoes, no socks?
Nothing else on her at all, for ID purposes.
DNA comparison's gonna be hard too.
The tissue's very degraded.
And this discolouration on her dress is what?
It's body fluids, I guess, and soot.
From a fire, or from the sides of the flue?
Very uneven. If it were from a fire, I'd expect it to be all over.
Is the owner around?
Er, yeah, he's...
Erm, Mr Bradley?
- Hi. - Hi. When I came earlier,
- there were some battening marks on the chimney breast. - Yes.
And was it like that when you bought it, or...?
No, no, the whole breast was covered in plasterboard.
We exposed the fireplace.
OK. Thanks.
Thanks.
- What are you thinking? - Dunno.
Just wondering if the plasterboard was specifically put up
to make sure no-one ever looked up there.
By whoever put her up there.
Yeah. Would explain why there's not more soot on her.
And so then I'm thinking... building regs.
My husband works in construction,
so I know regulations change with the wind,
and then I'm wondering if we might be able to date the plasterboard
based on its chemical components.
Yeah, that's a good shout.
So, yeah, let's, erm, try and date the board,
and if it's cheap and easy, the same with the dress,
cos that looks old to me.
Like, '30s, '40s old.
And then hopefully, if we can prove that,
- we can get her off the books quickly. - _
Thanks, guys.
Hi, Mum, yeah, just hang on one sec.
Hiya. Hi, love. I've just got your message.
- Everything OK? - Er, not really, no.
My dirtbag husband's been having an affair.
Er, ask Kaz to find out all the owners going back to...
the war?
Salut!
Cher?
In 'ere.
- Did you get it? - Yeah. And some food.
Well, the menus will be on their desks already when they walk in,
so they can look at them while
I'm doing the general hello and intro.
Sorry, remind me when I set up?
Dave, I've literally just been through that.
- The pitch is at one... - Yeah, I know.
- but we're allowed in the room from 12. - Got it.
And don't forget, you've got a haircut at nine.
I won't forget.
- And these... - Yeah, all right.
I just need you to play your part.
I will.
I promise. I will.
And has he rung back?
Briefly.
He had a dinner meeting.
He said he didn't want to talk about it on the phone,
and we'd discuss it properly when he got back.
Like we were discussing whether to buy a new bloody sofa
or something.
Have you told your sister?
Maybe she could come and stay for a few days.
Yeah, I left a message, but she hasn't rung back yet.
I mean, what am I gonna do, Mum?
You know, I'm not... I'm not the type of person who can...
forgive this sort of crap.
I don't know, maybe... maybe I can forgive it,
but I certainly can't forget it.
Which means we'll...
never be able to get back to any kind of normal.
Even if he wanted to, which I'm not even sure he does,
judging by this morning.
Which means we're done.
Yeah.
What I thought was my...
totally normal, happy marriage
until ten hours ago is over.
Just like that.
And if it is, if this really is it, I think... I'm gonna have to resign.
Get something more nine-to-five, less pressured, or...
take leave or something. I just...
First time in my life I...
don't know what to do.
It was a two-and-a-half very unhappy years, Mum.
Rubbish. And why on earth you resigned...
I kinda think I'm best-placed to know how I felt.
After three years at uni,
and God knows how many thousands of pounds...
OK, can we move on, please? Cos, you know, touchy subject.
- How's, er, how's Dad, how was the trip? - Good.
He's home now, but everyone was fine.
- Your uncle's moving back, apparently. - What, to Krakow?
Wants a nice Polish girl.
- He's 59. - On which subject...
Amazingly, I'm still single. Just like yesterday.
I've spoken to your father about this,
and, erm, well, we both think we know where you're going wrong.
Bliss. Off you go, then. I could do with a kip.
I think you need to be more realistic.
So, Tony Hume serving now to stay in the match.
Agh!
- Well played, young man. - You too... old man.
But I shall be demanding a rematch, so better get practising.
What are you like?
Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser, Yasmin.
Mm-hm!
Oh, erm, I'll call you on the application for funding this week.
OK.
Having a drink with a mate who vets them Tuesday,
so, er, fingers crossed, huh?
- Here we are. - Not hungry.
You got to eat, Cher, man. You haven't eaten since Monday.
Oh, where's the rest of the gear?
Not until you've eaten something.
Cher?
Oh, Christ sake, Cher, man. How much you taken?
Cher, wake up, wake up!
- Emergency service. - I need an ambulance, please, fast.
I think my girlfriend's overdosed.
_
Fuck! Fuck!
Hello?
- Sal, I'm so sorry. - What happened?
I was working late on the case. I forgot my phone in the car.
- I'm really sorry. - Right.
What did you cook?
Nothing special.
There's a bowl for you in the fridge if you're still hungry.
Definitely. I'm leaving right now.
Yeah, I will be asleep.
I've got that Leeds thing tomorrow, seven o'clock train, so, erm...
Yeah, yeah, of course, of course. Er... I'm sorry again.
- No problem. I love you. - Love you too.
_
So, the main label says "Delmuir", which I've researched,
and which was a fairly well-known couture label just after the war.
Right.
Er, yeah, had a shop in Kensington from 1946 to 1962,
till they went out of business.
OK. Er, sorry... you said "main label"?
Yeah, there's another smaller label on the hem which... says "Shaper".
And that's what, a sub brand, or a line, or...?
Yeah, I guess.
OK. Just check out that small label, will you, Fran?
OK, good work.
So, erm, it looks like the dress is from the '40s or '50s.
- And the plasterboard? - Still waiting on that.
OK. Sorry, you were saying?
Yes, so, no obvious cause of death as yet.
Hope to get more when I open her up.
In terms of her age, good few teeth are missing,
but dentine thickness suggests an age somewhere between
late 20s and early 40s.
Wasn't it unusual, even back then,
for someone so young to have lost so many teeth?
Not particularly.
No fluoride in the water, poor dental hygiene, poverty...
- And height? - 4'10", 4'11".
Could that be poverty? Malnourishment, I mean.
There's no signs of that in the bones,
and there does seem to be very little subcutaneous tissue,
even taking into account the postmortem changes,
so I'd say she was pretty skinny.
And ethnicity?
No clear indicators, I'm afraid.
In terms of more specific ID,
we could possibly retrieve fingerprints
with some new hydration techniques the labs have developed.
- They're quite pricey, but... - Erm, I'm sorry.
I'm just gonna stop you right there. I mean, obviously, we can revisit
once we get the plasterboard results,
but if they confirm we are looking at a body from 70 or 80 years ago,
we're not gonna be retrieving fingerprints.
- OK. - Agreed?
Absolutely. Though one thing I would throw in...
Could the dress be vintage buy?
It's quite a thing these days, apparently.
- Mm! Big on your vintage, are you? - No, just...
What's, er, what's the name of the officer
handling the plasterboard tests?
That's DS Boulting, Ma'am.
OK, maybe I'll chase that one myself, but thanks for now, guys.
Sorry, one last detail.
She has a C-section scar.
Oh!
Yeah, it's slightly concealed by her position, but that there...
is the edge of a Caesarean scar.
Right.
So if the dress is, say, 1950s,
and she had a kid in her mid-20s in the 1930s,
then, conceivably, her child could still be alive.
OK, useful to know. Thank you.
All I am asking, all I wanna know is,
are you still seeing her?
I'm just gonna say the same thing, Jess.
Can we speak tomorrow, properly, when I'm back?
I don't want to speak when you're back. I...
Jess, your signal is terrible, you keep cutting out.
- This is not the way to do this. - You know what? No.
I mean it, you either... you tell me now,
- or you don't come back. - Jessie. Jess..
I mean it, Steve, this is a dick move,
so you either tell me now, if it's over with whoever this women is,
or you'll find a suitcase on the doorstep when you do come back.
Steve?
OK. Best vegan dish I think I've ever tasted.
- Thank you. - And this is not just a one-off.
I've eaten there maybe more than a dozen times,
and every meal has been good as this one.
So, look, we're interested. You did a great presentation.
Bele, you'd done your homework on us, on the business.
Like your branding. I like you... both.
The big question is, can we scale you?
My worry is that what we most like about you,
the food, the brand, the unique feel,
is innately tied to the fact that you are a tiny little business
doing 30 covers on a busy night.
Would it work doing 3,000 a night over ten sites?
- Well, we think it would. We think that if you... - Good.
And what do you think, Dave?
- Well, he agrees and... - Can we just let Dave answer?
I don't underestimate how hard it'll be
to recreate some of what we do at scale.
My sort of food is labour and ingredient-intensive,
and that costs, so...
So, yeah, it-it is a challenge.
But one that we feel we can and will overcome.
- Indeed. - Because, let me tell you,
we've both overcome so much more than that
to get here today, so, please, believe in us.
We do.
The rather painful truth is that the electorate
in very many Western democracies
have now become entirely disengaged from politics.
They no longer believe the system can positively influence their lives
and instead view politicians simply as figureheads,
as vague representations of, often, their baser instincts.
And so the idea a Prime Minister would ever need to offer
any kind of moral leadership these days,
well, it's for the birds, I'm afraid.
I was just being honest.
No-one is interested in honesty, David!
People are interested in passion, in self-belief, in ambition.
They wanna know that, of course it's gonna be hard,
but that we 100% believe that it is totally achievable.
Look, just lie for Christ sake, like the rest of us.
Sorry, I obviously don't find it as easy as you do.
- Oh, hilarious! - I wasn't joking.
It's like you, you don't even want to be successful.
We already are successful, Bele.
What I don't share is your desire to make everything bigger!
Oh, that certainly explains why you lived in a fucking tent
- when I met you. - Classy!
And why I had to bankroll you for the last three years.
- You've had to bankroll me? - Yes! - Sure you have!
Are we not allowed to mention all the times...?
- Shut the fuck up! - Bele! Bele!
I will not be spoken to like that!
I'll crash the fucking car, for God...
Argh!
David!
David! What are you doing?!
David, please!
So, our spinster of the parish, Hazel Dunmore, died...
Er, 2015.
And bought the house in 1979, from John and Mary Garton.
Yeah, who were the polar opposite. They raised five kids there.
And they in turn bought the house in 1947.
- So, er, if we're saying the dress is late '40s, earliest... - Mm.
let's leave out anyone before the Gartons.
I mean... obviously, anything's possible, but...
having a woman in a chimney in a house with five kids
doesn't seem like a likely a scenario.
Yeah, but ditto our spinster.
- True, although... - What are you doing?
Er, just going through the history of the house, Ma'am.
Why?
The dress was '40s. We know that.
Well, we know it was made in the 1940s.
Doesn't necessarily mean that...
And the plasterboard was made sometime between 1951 and 1967.
I just got the results.
Right.
This isn't therapy, DI Khan.
This isn't your chance to somehow...
Look, I don't know, I am very sorry for the woman who died,
but it was at least 55 fucking years ago,
probably more, so the case is closed.
As of now.
What'd you do that for, man?
I've told you so many times.
- Sorry. - Let me tell you how much you can have.
You ain't got a clue, Cher.
Come on, let's get you home, huh?
Listen, I'm not excusing Will's behaviour at all.
It's bad manners, apart from anything else,
but I do also find myself asking why these young ladies
drink so much.
Maybe I should have a word with him. And the school.
Their response needs to be proportionate.
- Tea? - Mm.
- Everything OK? - Yes, fine, just a bit tired.
Sorry.
_
- It wasn't "Shaper", it was "Snaper". - Sorry?
The other label on the victim's dress. I had it...
Go on.
I had it stuck through a spectrograph,
and it's actually "Snaper".
And Snaper & Co is a vintage shop that opened in early 2010.
- No... - Just come from there. They confirmed that is their label.
Here's the zinger.
Did a search on their website and found the actual dress.
- The actual dress? - Yep.
It's the only Delmuir one they've ever had,
and it sold for 29.99 at their Portobello store
in early June 2016.
How was it paid for?
Debit card.
So unless someone redressed a corpse,
our victim died no more than six years ago.
Then I'd say it's game on.
Game on indeed.
Call the bank, see if they can identify these card details.
And, Fran... you're a star, a bloody star.
_
Hey, Bele, how are you doing?
I'm gonna have a drink, Jen.
I'm gonna have a large vodka, and then another one,
and that's... that's just how it is.
Right.
And if that's what you think you need to do, go for it.
Just before you do,
have you got five minutes to tell me what's happened?
I hit him again.
I hit him really hard!
So, how do we explain the plasterboard, then?
I've no idea, but that's part of the job description, isn't it?
I mean, obviously, the bit that you had tested was from 50 years ago,
but maybe they put a new bit over the original opening.
I mean, from what I can remember from the house,
the board was in a thousand pieces on the floor.
Maybe you just picked the wrong bit.
Mm. So it was my fault, was it?
It's nobody's "fault", DCI James.
Just... Just the way it goes sometimes.
But we move forward now, yes?
I mean, six years...
Did you apply for this job, DI Khan?
No.
But they offered it to me, multiple times.
In fact, they fucking begged me.
*CREDITS*