'I just had a call from Hammersmith nick,
'who have found suspected human remains.'
DNA comparison's gonna be hard.
The tissue's very degraded.
I literally start my new job in 54 minutes.
- How could you do this? - I'm really sorry.
My dirtbag husband's been having an affair.
If this is a secondary,
what's the likelihood there are multiple growths?
Service!
- Want to do ten minutes on tomorrow? - It's you they'll wanna hear.
I'll crash the car!
'I hit him again.'
We've already had two interim DCIs here.
Shouldn't be too many ghosts.
Maybe it's better to be in the here and now,
not looking back so much.
'I won't run this team like she did.'
I'd rather we spend our limited resources
on murders that happened today.
I need an ambulance, please, fast. I think my girlfriend's overdosed.
Amazingly, I'm still single.
This isn't therapy.
I am sorry for the woman who died, but it was at least 55 years ago.
The case is closed.
'I don't like her.'
It wasn't "Shaper", it was "Snaper".
Our victim died no more than six years ago.
Did you apply for this job, DI Khan?
No. But they offered it to me, multiple times.
In fact, they begged me.
*CREDITS*
So, the name attached to the bank card is Maggie Bowden.
Lloyds, whose card it was, couldn't tell me a lot
without a bank disclosure form, which I've now submitted.
What they were allowed to tell me was that Ms Bowden
is very much alive and well and has the same account with Lloyds,
but that she reported the card that was used to buy the dress as stolen,
- along with her handbag. - Right. When and where?
4th of June, 2016. Not sure where yet.
I need to speak to her or find the crime report.
- Preferably both. - Yeah, I'll speak to control room.
And the dress was bought in early June?
Yeah, also June the 4th.
So the thief stole the bag and used the card quickly
before it was cancelled?
Yeah, probably very close to where she stole it.
OK, well, let's see if you can speak to this Ms Bowden,
because there's surely a good chance our victim is also our thief.
Erm, DC Willets.
Er, here.
Erm, can you speak to the developer who owned the house
before the current owner, please?
Yeah, already have, Ma'am.
Very cooperative, but he's not UK domiciled.
He was in Italy during COVID for the entire 18 months
he had the property,
so not sure he's going to have a lot to offer us.
OK, well, the solicitor who handled the probate sale, then.
Basically, I wanna know if there was any permitted access to the property
between the time of the previous vendor's death
- and the developer's purchase in 2019. - Yeah, sure.
Maybe try the neighbours as well, you know,
did anyone notice anything odd?
- Ma'am. - On which front, DS Boulting.
- Ma'am. - Er, can you check C&C records, please?
I wanna know if there was any police activity connected to the property
over the last five, six years.
Yep.
OK, thanks, everyone.
Sorry...
..one more thing.
Yep.
Why do we think she was put in the flue?
We know she was tiny, very light,
so pushing her up there would've been relatively easy,
not that easy, so why choose there?
Because she died in that room?
- Or at least somewhere in that house. - Hm.
And putting her in the chimney was easier than taking her out
and risking discovery.
Yeah, or pulling up the floorboards, or digging a hole in the garden.
Yeah, good thinking. Er, are we done?
- We're done. - OK. Thank you, everyone.
- Hello. - Oh, hey, it's, er, DI Khan here.
Bishop Street nick. Er, you tested some plasterboard for us yesterday.
- You were dating it? - Oh, yeah. How can I help?
We, erm...
We didn't think we tested enough.
We think some might be more modern,
so if I get you some samples over to you,
can you get that done for me ASAP?
Trickle-down, free trade, deregulation,
all held up for decades as inviolable,
and yet all a total failure in terms of levelling up.
Is certainly one opinion, yeah.
And the fact that people like Dave Gentle
still spew this drivel out, knowing it to be empirically untrue.
To be fair, Tony, he mainly quotes your speeches.
From 20 years ago! People can change.
- Even "Mental Gentle". - You can't say that.
Look, I've got to go.
Oh, er, sorry, one thing.
My office sent over a CCM grant application yesterday.
- OK. - It's not a biggie...
100k for a youth club I'm still on the board of.
If you had five to have a quick squint at it personally,
- I'd be so grateful. - Of course.
- Bye, Mehdi. - See you.
Rash.
Do you want to come in?
'I've had some results back.'
You know Dad.
He's always on his work things.
I heard you doing a shouty whisper thing just before we went to school.
What did you hear?
I don't know, but it sounded like you were both really cross.
Look, everything's fine, Els.
I promise, OK? Please don't worry.
I'll get him to call you in the morning, OK?
Right, now, you lie down.
- Night-night, sweetheart. - Night.
_
Hey, Leanne, how's it going?
_
- _ - _
_
- _ - _
_
She needs to learn how to do it herself.
_
Here we go, then.
My lawyers and me have changed our position a bit.
What do you mean, "changed" it?
It's all agreed. I was about to sign the papers.
Yeah.
- I've decided I wanted shared custody now. - You what?
It's not right this prick gets to see more of my girls than I do.
Have a nice day.
No, Serge, please...
Serge, wait! Serge!
Hey...
The entry and exit wounds were basically obscured
by damage to the corpse, either on removal from the chimney
or from vermin.
But then, when I looked at the viscera, it became very clear.
The bullet passed through the left lung,
then into the right ventricle, more or less cutting it in two,
before exiting through the back...
here.
- And that would've been fatal, yeah? - More or less instantly.
So if she was shot in that house, maybe even in that room,
then there's gonna be blood.
Lots.
More to the point, if there's an exit wound,
then somewhere, unless the killer removed it...
there's gonna be a bullet, and bullets we can trace.
Oh, my God...
- What the hell? - You're still here.
Well, yeah. I slept badly on account of you not calling me or the kids.
Sorry.
You thought I'd already have left.
You are unbelievable.
There were times I saw more of your mum than you.
Many times, in fact. Huge great swathes of time.
We both have full-on jobs that we love.
You knew that was the deal when you married me.
I did.
- So? - It turns out that, actually, that's not enough.
Turns out that, actually, I don't wanna be married to someone
who feels more like a flatmate.
Nice! Thanks for that.
So, what, your solution to all this
was to just go fuck someone else, was it?
- Obviously not. - You didn't think about maybe trying to talk to me?
Of course, and maybe I should've tried harder.
It's just starting to feel that, for you,
difficult discussions like this were something to be won.
Crap!
And you will always win, because you're smarter than me.
OK...
So your infidelity is my fault because I'm too smart?
- It's not about blame, Jess. - Well, a little bit.
Who is she?
- It's not important. - Who is she?
It didn't mean anything, and it's over.
But the fact that it happened at all obviously did mean something,
and my feeling is that we both need a bit of...
time apart, so we can work out how to, you know, move forward.
It's up to you, how you wanna play this.
I'm happy to move out,
but I don't wanna leave you in the lurch with the kids.
You want me to move out?
No, I'm just saying I'm not assuming anything.
I'm not moving out. How dare you?
Fine. Well, erm, my brother has offered me his spare room.
I need to pack some things.
_
- Oh, good morning. Er... - Hi.
DC Karen Willets, Bishop Street Station.
I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about next door.
Yeah.
Jay... will you?
Sure.
Thank you.
Something's gotta change, though, babe, cos this...
Back in a bit, then.
I mean, if they'd been a bit smarter and kept their heads down,
I'm not sure anyone would've really noticed.
Er, when you say "they"...?
Oh, crusties, I suppose you'd call them,
pumping out trance music at four o'clock in the morning.
And how many?
Oh... well, they came and went, but probably about four or five.
Did you get to speak to them?
Couple of times, just telling them they shouldn't really be in there.
- And what were they like? - They were quite sweet, actually.
A bit smelly, maybe, but, essentially, they were harmless.
They said they were gonna be moving on in a couple of days anyway, so...
Sorry, this was... When was this?
Early summer 2016, right after we'd moved in.
So, how was it resolved?
Well, Tricia, the neighbour on the other side,
said that she knew a relative of Hazel's
who'd visited her over the years, and that she'd ring him.
So she did, and the next day,
there was a locksmith's van parked outside,
- making the place secure. - And the squatters?
She said the relative had got them out himself.
Er, which number is she at?
Oh, no, Tricia died a couple of years back, I'm afraid.
Oh, OK.
Did you happen to get the relative's name?
No, sorry.
In the nicest possible way, it's really nothing to do with you.
He just can't bear the thought that I'd ever love anyone but him.
Mm-hm.
_
Of course, just... lawyers are expensive.
Well, let's talk. I guess it's all about priorities.
- Priorities? - I gotta run.
If we want a baby, Lise, we need a bigger place.
Absolutely, but let's speak properly later.
I'm so late.
_
Yeah.
Might I suggest starting in the sitting room,
floorboards up, er, plasterwork examined?
If we don't find anything, we work our way outwards.
Right.
Er... Also, Leanne managed to rehydrate
a very small patch of skin and found some evidence of track marks.
Right.
I was thinking, with the loss of the teeth
and the slim build, that maybe she was a user.
So, er, this, this was a drugs deal gone wrong?
Er, possibly. I mean, if we find the bullet that killed her,
then striation could give us a specific weapon.
I mean, NABIS could even link us to a known offender.
Yeah. Great, yeah, thanks.
Ma'am.
- Ma'am. - Hi.
_
Oi! He's taken my phone! He's taken my fucking phone!
Take this.
Going down.
'Please keep well away from the platform edge.
'This train is not stopping at this station.'
- Yo. - All right?
Sweet.
In a bit, man.
So, Hazel Dunmore died on the 12th of August 2015.
- Correct. - But the house didn't sell till...?
6th of November, 2019.
- Yeah. - Because she died intestate.
Right.
All the family could locate was a letter of wishes
stating that the sale proceeds
should go to her elder sister's children.
Er, bearing in mind the house eventually sold for a few million,
her brother's kids contested the letter,
and it got tied up in the courts for a few years.
The case was finally settled in spring 2019,
and the house sold six months later.
And we understand from neighbours we've spoken to
that the house was broken in to probably mid-2016 and squatted in?
Does ring a vague bell, but this wasn't my case.
I inherited it.
Er, yeah, you might find something about that in there somewhere.
So, I'm gonna need copies of all this, please.
Not a problem.
So, unless I'm being dumb,
I couldn't find a crime report on it.
Well, I mean, I did report it, but no-one ever got back to me.
'Oh, right, sorry about that.'
Yeah, well, it wasn't brilliant,
cos the manager had also downloaded
the CCTV for me on a link.
Of the actual incident?
Yeah, and you could see the thief really clearly,
which I informed you guys of when I reported it.
OK, apologies again.
Erm, was it a man or a woman?
'A young woman. Small.'
You wouldn't happen to still have it, would you, the footage?
'Er...'
So, the theft was near the vintage shop.
- Less than 50 yards away, in fact. - Boom.
She's going to see if she can find the e-mail
with the, erm, footage link on it when she gets home tonight.
- Nice work. Coffee. - £2.40.
And just keep everything going through me for now, yeah?
Ooh!
Em?
- Emma! - In here, love.
Surprise!
? Happy birthday to you
? Happy birthday, dear Tony
? Happy birthday to you. ?
Hurray!
I'll come and find you in a bit, Colin.
- Happy birthday, young man. - Gripper! How lovely to see you.
- Said that like you almost meant it. - I absolutely do.
Well, ditto.
I'm a man who judges others by their actions, Tony,
and I have to say,
all the work you've done over the last five years
in Hallam and Repton, all over the country, in fact,
makes me very proud to be able to call you my friend.
You Tory bastard!
Thanks, Den.
I appreciate that more than you know.
Speak soon, lad.
Hello.
This is just brilliant, Emma.
- Thank you so much. - Got you, didn't I?
Completely! Clever girl.
Mwah!
- I'm so proud of you, my darling. - Stop it!
- I mean, don't, but... - And happy, happy birthday.
- Happy birthday, Grandad. - Ah! Will!
How lovely to see you.
Now, then...
you and I need to have a little chat, I hear.
Er, do you know how far?
Oh, erm...
Early. Yeah, very.
Yeah, six, seven weeks, max.
Right.
And, er, your pill, I mean, did you, did you forget or...?
No!
No, no. I'm guessing it was when I had that bug and I threw up.
Right. And how do you feel about it?
Oh, erm...
Yeah, shocked, obviously.
- Bit stupid for letting it happen. - Don't be daft.
But also... a bit surprised, I guess,
that I'm not definitely, instinctively, thinking...
..I should have a termination.
OK.
Does that completely horrify you?
No, no! Just...
Well, yes, slightly, yeah.
Erm, sorry if that's not what you wanna hear,
but better to be honest, I think.
Yeah, of course.
And, I mean, that's my initial reaction.
Erm, obviously, I need to digest it.
- Ab-Absolutely. - And, er, and to mull.
Erm...
Both of us, I think.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Yeah, let's mull.
I just feel very weird.
I'm sure.
Cos this is not me. I don't do "needy".
- No. - What does that mean?
People like to feel needed, Jess.
- Really? - Yes, oddly, they do.
- Has he said something to you? - No.
- He has, hasn't he? - You're missing my point.
Am I? Sorry. What is your point?
All your life, Jess, even when you were little,
you were always this person who could just cope with anything.
So self-sufficient...
unfazeable.
But that's hard for people.
For me and your dad sometimes. For your sister, definitely.
Maybe it is for Steve.
Gran, we're ready!
OK, I'm coming.
I know what it feels like, Will.
Distasteful as it might be for you to contemplate,
I know exactly what being 16 feels like.
And now you're smiling,
because you're thinking this is our "all lads together" chat.
Hm!
Except here's the thing.
This is not funny.
Taking advantage of a woman's inability to say "no"
because she's too drunk is not fucking funny.
At all.
And that you don't instinctively understand that
is so deeply morally disgraceful...
that I almost struggle to know where to begin.
But let's try this.
I'm still a very powerful man.
I can and will speak to your headmaster.
I can and will make sure that your suspension is revoked.
But I swear...
if I ever hear even a whisper about similar behaviour again...
then I will make sure that your passage out of Wallingham,
through university and into life is not the ludicrously easy ride
it will otherwise be.
Is that understood?
Yes.
Good.
Now, piss off.
'Hi, this is Debbie. Please leave a message.'
Hey, Debs, erm, it's me.
Look, I don't know if you got my message on Monday,
but, erm, give us a bell, will you?
There's all sorts of stuff going on at home,
and I need to drink wine with you, so, yeah...
Miss you. Bye.
- Guv... She found the link. - What's that?
We think we've identified our thief.
So, that's Maggie Bowden and her boyfriend.
And this is our thief.
The height and hair certainly look right,
because if this guy here is anything like average height,
then she's, what, about a foot shorter than him?
Yeah, 4'10", 4'11"?
- Well, we know what she does to pay for her habit. - Yeah.
Meaning there's a good chance she worked this patch
for a few days either side of this offence.
- Yes. - So how about we search all street and shop thefts
within maybe 500 yards of the coffee shop,
a week either side of the 4th of June, 2016?
Mm. Go for it.
Erm, DI Khan...
key information should really come to me first.
When you're actually in the office,
I'll certainly make sure they bring you stuff first.
So, er, nothing on any of the days we searched running up to the 4th,
but then, bingo, on the 5th,
we have a woman caught by shop security
in a clothes shop called Pelagonian
trying to remove a purse from a woman's bag.
- And police were called this time? - She was arrested and charged,
and, er, how's about this, ladies and gents?
She gave the Hammersmith house as her address.
No way.
- Got a mugshot? - We do indeed.
Yeah, her name is Precious Falade,
born on 15th of January 1982,
and would have been 34 at the time of the coffee shop theft.
But I should say that she has a long history of drug offences,
multiple sex work and theft arrests.
We do have a DNA swab on file which has gone to the lab,
notwithstanding the comparison difficulties.
As an adult, she seems to have resided mainly in Wales...
at least half her arrests were there...
and born and raised in London.
- Any next of kin? - Nothing on her file.
We'll do the usual trawl, but it might take a day or two.
OK, thank you.
- Erm... Kat? - Kaz.
Kaz, sorry.
So, erm, we know that there were squatters in the house
in roughly May/June 2016,
and we have a relative of Ms Dunmore's
who would appear to have had some sort of engagement with them
at that time.
Er, couldn't get a name from the neighbours,
but I'm looking at the probate lawyer's files,
- see if there's anything there. - OK. Murray?
Still waiting for control to come back
on any other police activity at the address.
OK. Good stuff.
Er, probably too early to be theorising about motives just yet.
Yeah, I think so. Yeah.
OK...
So, erm, why don't we make our priority finding next of kin?
Er, Kaz, how about you take all of Precious's Phoenix docs?
Mm-hm.
Murray and Fran, link up with those and PND for previous addresses,
associated numbers, call histories, etc.
If we can get a result today, that would be great.
Happy?
Absolutely, yeah. Good stuff.
OK, er...
thanks, everyone.
Not sure why she even bothers turning up.
Pretty much the only thing stopping me packing a bag right now
is the restaurant.
I completely understand.
And again, I am so sorry.
Except you're always sorry, Bele, and nothing changes.
- If anything, it's getting worse. - I'm... I'm trying. I'm...
I promise.
- Did you have a drink? - No.
- Honestly? - I swear.
So, I'm giving you one last chance.
But from here on in, our life has to be just that...
ours.
Not just yours... your history, your family, your problems.
- I'm someone too, OK? - Absolutely.
All right, well... let's try and move on.
I'll see you for service.
We're full again.
I love you.
I love you too.
Oh, yeah, hello there. Er, my name's DC Karen Willets.
I'm trying to trace the next of kin of a woman called Precious Falade,
and your number came up on an arrest sheet from 2004.
Solicitors. Right, OK.
So, might she have been a client of yours?
And how long was she a patient with you?
OK, and did she ever give your clinic any details
of next of kin or...?
Sorry, no, if she still owes you rent,
there's not much we can do about that.
Erm, could I just ask you, did she live there alone or...?
Right, when... when was this?
She was, erm, referred to us from Caernarfon Social Services in 2013.
'And you looked after her specifically?'
- I did, for a period. - OK, brilliant.
Erm, so, as I say, we're looking for next of kin.
That would be her son or her mother.
Right. Erm, you wouldn't happen to have
a number or address for either, would you?
'Hang on. Let me just check the files.'
Thank you.
I should say whilst I'm looking that the last time I spoke to her,
in 2014, she was estranged from both.
Now, that may have changed since she transferred to West London,
- but I'm just letting you know. - OK.
'OK, I'm not sure if this is current or not,
'but, yeah, I've got an address here for the mother.
- 'Do you have a pen?' - Yeah. Fire away.
Police! Open up!
- Police! Open up! - I'm comin', man!
- You're such a twat, Jay. - What?!
I'm arresting you on suspicion of robbery and GBH.
- What you talkin' about? - You do not have to say anything,
but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned
- something which you later rely on in court. - I never done anything!
OK, I'm gonna complete a Section 32 search under PACE.
OK. Oh... thank you, and, yeah, I'll call you tomorrow to, erm,
to discuss next steps.
Bye now. Yeah, bye.
Dave?
You OK?
What is it?
They still want to invest.
The full amount.
They wanna go ahead, love.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I will change.
I promise... I can change.
_
Good afternoon. I'm-I'm so sorry to bother you.
Erm, we're looking for Ebele Falade.
- Yes, that's me. - Hello, Ebele.
My name is DCI Jessica James,
and this is DI Sunny Khan.
We wanted to speak to you about your daughter, Precious.
What about her?
- Can we sit? - No. What about her?
Ebele, I'm very sorry to have to tell you this,
but four days ago,
we found a body in a house in Hammersmith,
and we have very good reason to believe that it's your daughter.
No! No! No!
No, no!
- No! - Please... get out.
Get out now!
Come on.
Best case, worst case, if we do all the standard stuff.
The best case, maybe a year. Worst case, maybe three months.
Which is not enough.
It's never enough, Tony, for anyone.
OK... I don't care what it costs, what you cost, what anything costs.
I want you to research every single new possible therapy, treatment,
drug trial...
Whatever there is out there that will help buy me more than that.
Will you do that for me?
I give you my word, I will do absolutely everything that I can.
So, at the time that we're specifically looking at,
we found three handwritten notes, two dated the 27th May,
one dated the 30th of June,
- er, detailing three phone calls with an "LA". - Right.
I mean, the notes are very brief,
but they seem to reference a squatter issue
and making the building secure, and then, most importantly,
- the note dated the 30th of June, "Dropping off some new keys." - OK.
Yeah, except "LA" doesn't seem to match the initials
of any of the nine relatives that I can see detailed in the files.
Er, it's not ringing any obvious bells with me either.
Right, well, you say that you inherited the case.
'Is it possible to speak to who made those original notes?'
Well, no. I inherited it from Amanda Greaves,
who died of COVID in February of last year, sadly.
OK.
Yeah, sorry about that. Erm...
Right, plan B. Er, the first note says...
"LA called, will ring back at two o'clock."
So this is one of the ones on the 27th of May.
How would you feel about us looking through your firm's phone records?
'I'm sorry I can't take your call. Please leave a message.'
I have called you back three times.
Don't just text and then not pick up.
I mean, what the fuck is going on?
- We should go back in. - Has she calmed down yet?
I don't really care. It's a murder investigation.
- We shouldn't have left. - Should we not?
Felt right to me. I'll do the talking.
Erm, I'm really sorry, but we do need to ask some quick questions.
- Well, can't it wait? - It'll only take a couple of minutes.
- Love? - Yeah, OK.
Was it an overdose?
It wasn't, no.
What was it, then? How'd... How'd she die?
Erm...
I'm very sorry to have to tell you, we think she was murdered.
Oh...
- How? - We think she was shot.
My God, no!
But... who would want to do that to her?
Well, that's what we're... we're trying to find out.
So, can you tell me when the last time you saw her was?
- Why? - Just roughly?
I've seen her maybe two or three times in the last 15 years.
OK. And the most recent time?
I don't know, maybe 2014... '15?
OK, so over seven years ago.
Approximately, mm.
You had a falling out or...?
No, I didn't fall out with anybody. She fell out with me.
Can I ask why?
Because I objected to her stealing from me to buy drugs.
Because I objected to the endless emotional abuse of me.
Because I objected to her blaming me
for everything that was wrong in her life.
And the last time that you saw her,
did she mention any conflicts she was having with anyone?
Anyone who might have sort of had a grudge against her?
No. I mean, I can't remember.
And, er, she had a son, we believe.
- Yes. - Joseph?
- Yes. - How old would he be now?
24, 25.
Mm, OK. So she had him very young.
- Yes. - And, er, do you have any contact with him?
- No. - Any idea where he lives?
- No. - Your grandson?
Again, her call.
OK. Well, for now, thanks so much. We'll...
Sorry, just one last quick thing.
Er, like to show you something.
It's a photo of the house that we found her in.
Do you recognise it at all?
No.
Take a good look.
I did.
You don't recall ever visiting her there?
No.
OK, well, erm, thanks so much for speaking with us,
and our deepest condolences on your loss.
Can I see her?
Yes, yes. You can. I-I should say we, erm...
we believe she'd lain undiscovered for several years, so...
But, yes, here... here's my card.
Just call me anytime, and we can arrange a viewing.
D'you wanna maybe give me a heads up,
if you're gonna pull stuff like that?
- Like what stuff? - The photo.
It was instinctive. You know, like you walking out.
I might have wanted to wait until she was in a less febrile state.
- It told us what we needed. - Which is what?
- That she was lying. - Maybe.
I didn't believe her initial reaction either.
- In what way? - I dunno. It was just off.
Felt fairly normal to me.
Have to agree to disagree, then.
Dick.
*CREDITS*