Night.
We've had this conversation before. I just...
Do you understand? No...
Goodnight.
*CREDITS*
8-9-2-1-8.
Hello, John.
Lucy?
I know. And not even a birthday or anniversary.
I need a favour, a big one.
How big?
Pretty big. It's going to involve you having to leave the house...>
and get into the taxi that I've booked you.
"Taxi"?!
There's a taxi outside my house.
Lucy, why's there a taxi outside my house?
Uh, because I've known you since we were six years old.
Five and four months.
Meaning, I know, all too well, that the only way I'm going to get you
to travel the 140-plus miles to Cambridge is if I book you one.
And then, very annoyingly, refuse to tell you why on the phone.
What?! That...
That's ridiculous. Lucy, I-I-I can't just...
I'll match whatever you're making for dinner, like for like.
Given that it's Sunday, I am assuming...
pasta.
Carbonara.
- John... - No.
Lucy I'm-I'm not...
Please.
See you soon.
John Taylor?
Yes.
Hi, I'm Chris.
Cambridge, yeah?
It's, uh, it's a long drive.
You the kind of guy who likes to talk
or shall I stick on the radio?
Radio it is.
Can you turn that off, please?
Don't get mud on your dad's new car.
Where is Dad?
He's been called in to the office.
Again.
But then he's off for Christmas and New Year.
Why are you so dirty?
PE.
Well, then, why isn't James?
Because HE didn't get deliberately pushed over.
Hello!
It's the Elvis Presley of puzzle-setters!
See? You survived a taxi trip. Well done.
Henry!
The spare bedroom's all made up.
Three pillows, just how you like it.
Goodness, you travel light.
Yes, well, my packing time was somewhat limited.
It really is good to see you, John.
Hi, Uncle John.
Henry.
You're taller.
Yes, well, erm, teenagers do tend to grow over the course of a year.
Dinner in ten minutes.
Or five, if you're willing to set the table.
Off you go.
Right, now you've popped your bagdown, maybe a good next step
is to take your jacket off.
Where's James?
Dad's away. He's working a case.
Lucy, what's all this about?
Maybe we should talk after dinner.
I-I think I'd be more comfortable knowing now.
Oh, come on, John, when have you ever felt comfortable?
And before you ask, no, I haven't sold any.
And, yes, I am still doing endless weddings and bonneted babies.
And, no, I most certainly am not artistically satisfied.
Wasn't actually going to ask you any of those things.
Uh, John, I need your help. Erm...
Henry doesn't know anything about why you're here.
Erm, I've told him you're on a work thingy, a convention.
So, a puzzle convention?
Yes. No. I don't know. Uh, I had to tell him something.
Maybe, erm...
Maybe you should sit down.
Don't worry, it won't give you tetanus.
So, it started a couple of months ago.
James was on some case, or other. Uh, I don't know.
I didn't ask. I never asked.
It was like some unwritten rule.
You know, your brother spent day in and day out
at some grisly murder scene or other.
But when he came home to us...
then DCI Taylor ceased to exist
and he was, uh, just James.
Our James.
Lucy, why... why are you talking in the past tense?
Oh, I didn't realise that I was.
Uh...
Well, maybe it's because...
for the last two months...
OUR James wasn't the one coming home to us.
What do you mean?
I mean, he changed. Something about that last case changed him.
He'd come in, he'd barely communicate, he'd lock himself away.
I'd be asleep by the time he came upstairs.
Uh, he'd be gone by the time I woke up.
Until three nights ago...
when he didn't come home at all.
And then, the next day I...
received this. It's from him.
Burn after reading.
It's sweet, isn't it? Do you remember when we were kids,
the three of us, we used to pass those notes through the fence?
DCS Shaw?
It's his boss. It's a letter of resignation.
What does any of this mean?
Well, exactly what it says.
It's a list of instructions.
So, post the letter of resignation, and then get Henry, and just leave.
I mean, as you can see, he doesn't feel the need to tell me why,
or where we're supposed to go... just that I am to do it.
And that if anyone from his department
tries to contact me, then...
"Don't talk to them. Don't meet with them.
"Don't believe them."
That's it.
Now, does anything about that letter strike you as odd?
Yes!
Everything!
It's the single most terrifying thing I've ever read in my life!
No, John! That's not what I mean!
I mean... Look, John, you know me.
In fact, the only person who knows me better is him.
Would either of you expect me to read that, and then just go,
"Oh, I know. I'll what I'm told, and I won't think any further on it,
"I'll just pop off"?
Does that even remotely sound like me?
- Not right now, it doesn't, no. - And he knows that.
Which brings me to the big favour.
Uh, Lucy, I'm not sure...
Just...
OK. So, I went into his home office, looking for clues as to what
he might have been, erm, working on, and there's nothing.
He's been hid in there for two months, nothing to show for it.
Now, either he took his files and tatty orange notebook with him,
or it's in his other office.
The one at the police station.
Now, I can't access that.
In fact, the only person that can is James.
Or...
somebody who looks remarkably like him.
No!
It's nothing. It's easy. It is in and out.
Are you...?
No! Absolutely not!
I've been there, I know the layout.
- You won't have to talk to anybody. - Really?!
- And if they talk to me? - Well, just stick to small talk.
- Just keep walking. - What "small talk"?!
Have you heard my small talk?
This, right now, is about as good as it gets!
Look, I've met most of his colleagues.
I mean, I can brief you on all of them, certainly enough
to get through a piddly little visit to the office.
Just... just there and back.
Lucy, stop!
That would be illegal.
James wouldn't just abandon his family without reason.
He... he knows what that feels like.
If he's not telling you everything,
it's because he's trying to keep you safe.
This is how he does it?
You don't get it.
That isn't a letter that a husband of 20 years sends his wife,
no matter how much he's trying to protect her.
There's nothing personal in it.
There's no comfort.
No feeling.
It's more like the type of letter that...
That's true.
Maybe I shouldn't have involved you.
I don't know, I should, erm...
I love you.
Always have.
Oh...
It's an acrostic.
The same one we used as kids.
So, same one every kid learns.
Oh, right! Ha!
Right, yes. What?
First letter of each sentence.
I'll just be in and out, right?
- Oh, thank you...! - Oh.
Thank you, John.
Thank you.
How's this?
Yes, you do look like him.
But something's different.
Of course something's different.
I'm literally a different person.
These pens will have to go.
- I might need them. - Not in there.
You're not a school prefect.
You'll need his car.
James still has your dad's.
Do you drive much these days?
I've got his work phone, he left it.
It's locked.
I've tried every date I can think of.
My birthday, Henry's birthday.
Too obvious. Try your first date.
How am I supposed to remember when...
23rd of July, 1991.
You went to the village fair.
Right.
Nope.
Historical dates, then. Uh...
Battle of Hastings, signing of the Magna Carta.
- Oh, the list is endless. - James always liked trains.
Try the invention of the steam locomotive, or...
Oh, right, well, I'm locked out for an hour now.
Look, when you get there, just look for his notebook, the tatty orange.
I'll keep trying the pin on this thing.
We're going to have to keep in contact.
Do you even own a mobile phone?
Course I do!
You know I do... you bought me it me for Christmas.
No, I didn't. You...
What...? Wait.
That was 20 years ago!
_
Detective Chief Superintendent Carol Shaw.
I've never liked touching eyeballs, especially mine.
Well, James doesn't wear glasses, so you're going to
have to suck it up, I'm afraid.
She's the one that I was supposed to have sent the resignation letter to.
James's boss.
Everybody's boss.
Probably best to avoid.
Hold. Hold!
Doors closing.
Cheers.
DCI Taylor.
Oh, yes, hello...
you.
How's Henry?
Oh...
You know, kids today with... with their...
skateboards.
Doors opening.
Second floor.
His team are on the second floor,
in front of the stairs.
It's a large, open-planned room
with shared desks and work spaces.
They'll probably be manned but don't worry about that,
just walk straight through.
James's office is at the back, on the left.
Don't talk to anyone.
Oh, James, hello. Do you have...?
DI Matt Neville.
They've worked together for ten years, James was his best man.
He knows him better than anybody else.
Memorise this face.
He's the only one you can trust.
But be careful.
Oh, there you are, Guv.
New pens?
Looking sharp.
- Thank you. - Anyway, here's a good one.
Some big-shot solicitor guy, found in his office this morning
with an antique letter opener stuck in his chest.
Been there all weekend, apparently.
The rest of the team, already down there.
Uh, Guv?
Dead bloke's this way.
Erm... Uh, yes, I just, erm...
I need to get something from my office.
What?
My gun...
- Your gun? - Gum.
Curry night, was it? Oh...
Don't worry, I've got some Tic Tacs in the car. Come on.
Come on, let's go.
There's only, like, ten people in the whole building.
No CCTV. But security on the door.
You have to sign in when you arrive, sign out when you leave...
which, according to the sheet, they all did, including the victim.
Is there something in your eye, Guv?
Sorry. New contacts.
For some reason, I don't wear glasses, you see?
Oh...
OK, uh, well...
Guess that explains the parking.
Are you all right?
Um... Yeah, yeah. Good, great.
Uh, I just...
I need to make a quick phone call on my mobile telephone.
OK...
_
John?
I didn't get to the office, there's no Matt Neville.
I'm back outside, and I'm supposed to be attending a crime scene.
What?
I didn't get to the office, there's no Matt Neville. I'm back outside...
Yes, no, I heard you the first time, John.
What do you mean there's no Matt Neville?
I mean James has a completely different partner
from the one you told me about, that's what I mean.
One that's sat waiting for me to go and look at
a dead solicitor with him.
No, that doesn't make any sense.
I'm sure he would have told me if Matt had left,
or if he had a new partner, or...
I mean... wouldn't he?
He's looking at me.
Yes, it's probably not helped by the fact you're standing there
holding a phone that's older than the Bible.
Oh, God, I'm going to prison, aren't I?
No, you're not going to prison!
I'm impersonating a police officer!
Well, yes, but he's your brother.
That's really not the legal loophole you think it is.
Oh, Henry's school is calling.
What? So?!
Look, Lucy, what am I going to do?!
Look, you've got no choice, you're just going to have to wing it.
I mean, it's easy. You're lead detective,
so just, erm, delegate.
- "Delegate"? - Yes.
Let them do their jobs, maybe engage their reaction,
see if they're acting sus.
Look, the main thing is, you need to get back
to the station and into that office.
John, you can do this.
Lucy, you can't still think...
Please, John. Look, if nobody's noticed so far, you'll be fine.
Call if you need me.
What? Wait... Lucy!
OK, bye.
You good?
Oh...! Ah...
What are you doing?
Nothing. Uh, making notes.
Morning.
Thank you.
You're doing... you're doing a fine job.
Well done.
Looks like we're taking the stairs.
Oh, there you are.
Detective Constable Simon Evans, youngest member of the team.
I think he's into his graphic novels.
Know much about superheroes?
Well, I do know that he still lives with his mother,
so if you get stuck, then just ask after her.
Oh, that's a...
nice selection of pens, sir.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Right, OK, yeah, so, we've commandeered the biggest
conference room in the building.
I've got them all gathered in there, everyone who was here Friday.
I haven't questioned them, as such,
but I have taken a detailed statement
of their movements at the time.
Now, I mean, it all gets a bit... Uh...
Agh.
Well, no, they were in and out, up and down
all over the place, really.
But I figured you'd want to talk to them all separately anyway, so...
No, I'm all right, thanks.
Oh.
Erm, well...
Yeah, DCI Taylor's right, we're not talking to anybody
until we've visited...
You weren't kidding, were you?
It's like a dance number.
Uh, no, we're not talking to anybody until we've visited the scene.
- So, just try and keep them entertained for now. - Sir.
How's your mum?
Oh. Very well, thank you, sir, yeah.
Good.
Well, she has actually started dating a...
I-I'll see you in there.
Morning.
Morning, sir.
Detective Sergeant Alice Finch.
Shaw's protege.
Ambitious.
Very letter of the law.
Probably spent her teenage years dobbing in
fellow students to the head.
Lives for the job.
Rule of thumb with her...
Don't attempt witty repartee.
Actually, just be you.
This feels big, really big.
Like, six-part docu-drama big.
Phone records, had the provider email them through.
So, there was an incoming call Friday afternoon at 1706 hours.
It was pay as you go, unregistered, and it connected.
There's no answer-service set up on the office phone.
If nobody's here, it just rings out.
So, somebody was definitely here at 1706 hours.
Although, according to the security book, both the assistant
and victim signed out at 1703 and 1705, respectively.
Yes, but it's pretty safe to assume he was here, Sergeant,
given the fact that, you know...
he still is.
Guv, do you want to come and take a look at this?
No, thank you.
So, nobody reported him missing over the whole weekend?
No. Divorced, no children.
I'm just going to come out and say this, yeah?
This feels professional, like, organised crime professional.
Someone trying to send a message.
I think that we need to look if he was working any big
criminal trials, you know, people that might have the reason,
the resources, or the connections to put the brakes on.
He... he did conveyancing law.
Sir?
Probably not too many big criminal trials, then, Sergeant.
But, hey, maybe a disgruntled estate agent.
Well, then, I think it's about time that we introduced ourselves
to the chorus line. Don't you?
Right, how long are we going to be here?
Until we've ascertained everybody's whereabouts
at the time of the incident.
And how long will THAT be?
We've already been through all this with him!
- Calm down, Brian. - What?
I'm just saying, I never knew the guy, I barely even spoke to him.
I couldn't even tell you his name!
Alan Howells!
All right.
All right, I'm sorry.
But I honestly never knew the guy.
None of us did.
It's three different companies, three different floors.
We share the same building, that's all.
Yeah, I've never even been on this floor before.
It's nice, though.
Guv, do you want to...?
Hmm? Do... do I want to what?
OK, well, in that case, regardless of floors or companies,
you were the only people in the building on that Friday.
How do you know that? It's not Fort Knox.
Erm, I don't just let people walk in.
Oh, you're not always there, though, are you?
Well, you said earlier you went to check a fire door.
Well, yeah. The alarm was going off.
Right, there you have it. Somebody broke in, in the back.
Well, if they did, then they walked straight back out again.
You've got to go through another set of fire doors to get into
the main building... none of those went off.
OK, fine, somebody came in the front when you were out the back.
- Brian. - What?
I'm just saying, it's not rocket science, is it?
The alarm went off at 5:03.
That was, uh, just after the phone call.
Are you OK, sir?
Is it hot in here?
Not especially, no.
Ahem. Excuse me.
Sorry, but what phone call?
Someone called your office off an unregistered number.
I take it you're not the one who answered it?
No.
And I were back behind my desk by then.
By which point, anybody could have waltzed in, that's all I'm saying.
Well, did any of you see anybody?
Waltzing in, waltzing up to the third floor,
and waltzing down again...
during the three-minute window, where everybody seemed to be either
on the stairs or inside the lift?
In that case, let me ask this...
did any of you, throughout the whole of Friday,
see anyone in this building who
isn't currently sat around this table?
I didn't see anything. But I don't know half the people
- sat around this here. - Brian, just stop taking...
How can you not have seen me? I was right there.
And don't you dare think that I don't know where you spend
most of your time...
I was just behind you.
Why am I still sat here in this room?
Do your job!
Guv?
DCI Taylor.
Are you all right?
I-I think I need some air.
It's a push, sir.
John?
I want to go home.
My home. My house. My life.
I... I can't do this, Lucy.
I don't know how anybody can.
I don't know how James ever did.
Look, I know it's not... easy.
But James chose to do this job because...
I'm not talking about his job.
I'm talking about all of it.
I'm talking about just getting up in the morning
and leaving the house, coming out here to...
This! All this!
Crowds and noise,
and buildings and offices, and computers, and people!
Nobody seeing each other,
and everybody talking at once.
Alarms going off, phones ringing.
Everybody moving around,
up and down and in and out,
and no order to any of it.
No structure, no purpose.
You do realise that, in many ways,
James was as intimidated by the world as you?
It was easier for him.
He had you.
Look,
you and James, you're so alike.
But...
John...
I remember the day that your father left.
Night. Night he left.
New Years Eve, 1989.
Yes.
But it changed you both.
James, it pushed him forward, gave him drive,
made him want to take on the whole world.
Whereas, it's made you...
Just want to hide from it. Yes, I know.
And I'd quite like to go back to that now, please.
And you can... tomorrow.
But, first, I just need you to get back to the station
and find his notebook.
It's just one day, one day in a life.
I mean, if you think about it logically,
you can get through one day.
Logic doesn't come into it.
If it were up to me, everything would be logical, the whole world.
But it... but it isn't, is it?
It doesn't work that way.
Things don't always fit neatly into some ordered, structured,
15x15 grid, like some sort of...
puzzle.
Look, I know it's difficult, it is, but I really do have...
- I've got to go. - Sorry?
Bit awkward, really. Uh, I think I might have just solved a murder.
I'll... I'll call you back.
You think you've what...?
Please, please, please, please.
Yes!
Ha!
Is it OK if I use this?
Erm... Yeah, sure.
OK, so, what we're looking at here is a concatenation
of syllogisms, obviously.
A series of statements and propositions, one of which
will be false, but which we can weed out via a process
of cross-reference and deductive reason.
It's a logic puzzle.
In this room, we have seven subjects, or suspects.
I will label you A to G for simplicity.
Three definitive facts, presumably... the fire door alarm,
the phone call and the murder itself.
I'll label them one to three. Plus, of course,
the alleged movements of everyone in this column
within the time-scale of the factual events contained in this one,
which we'll put into a third column of seven, T to Z.
So, C was exciting the elevator in the foyer at the same time
as D was leaving by the front.
Both statements confirm the other,
which means that neither C nor D
could have been present at factual events one or two,
so we can cross those off... which, naturally, means we can also
put crosses here and here.
And here, since this dictates that A and E could not have been
present at that location at that time, or else they would have
crossed with C or D. Do you follow?
No.
Hello, hello, hello. Listen, we're going to have to do
the leg work on this one.
And we know that E was still in the office at the time of factual
event one, which was verified by A, who left immediately afterwards.
Alice, you're going to want to see this.
A signed out just after G, who had left the building
between factual events one and two.
F left the building last and locked it up,
leaving no-one inside but Mr Howells.
Which, in turn, locks up the rest of everything for A in this column
and this column, meaning...
that F must be movement Y in this column,
locking off all of these ones.
And there we go.
Only one subject remains that could possibly have been
at events one, two and three.
Opening the fire door to create a distraction
and opportunity to forge Mr Howell's signature.
Making the telephone call to delay his departure.
And, finally, making their way up the stairwell to his office,
just as the last of the other subjects was leaving.
Therefore, we have our killer.
And that person is?
Well, B.
Oh, sorry. Erm...
Sarah Gilmarsh.
Are you joking?
What the hell are you talking about?
Why would Sarah want to murder some solicitor bloke
she barely even knew?
I've absolutely no idea.
Right, I think it's best if we, erm, you know, all just take a beat,
take time to think a bit more about this.
And regroup, relax, you know, everybody?
I'm sorry...!
I'm so, so sorry...!
I didn't plan any of this, I swear!
No, you definitely did.
You set off a fire alarm, faked a telephone call
and forged a signature.
Yeah, but I...
I never wanted any of THIS to happen...!
Well, you probably shouldn't have done it, then.
OK.
Um, Sergeant, would you like to do the honours?
Sarah Gilmarsh, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder.
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. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.
Is it OK if we go back to the police station now?
Well, well, well.
If there's anything I'm taking from today, it's that maybe I should
start making notes before attending a crime scene, too.
I mean, they told me you were brilliant when I transferred,
but I did not expect something of this level in my second week.
You... you've only been here two weeks?
Oh, you're going to tell me it feels like a lot longer, are you?
Well, you know what, I choose to take that as a compliment.
- I'll be in my office if you need me, guv. - Hmm?
Oh, great. Yes, uh...
Me... me, too.
There it is.
Guv!
DCI Taylor?
Congratulations, sir! Yeah!
Full confession!
Crime of passion, would you believe it?
Yeah, they were having an affair for six years.
He chose to end it, she chose to end him.
Agh!
Sorry, we do realise that if she hadn't confessed, we'd have nothing?
Like, there was no actual evidence.
Yes, well, fortunately for us, Sergeant Finch, she did.
I'm reliably informed you went slightly unorthodox
on this one, DCI Taylor.
Nonetheless, results speak for themselves,
so I suppose congratulations are in order.
Thank you very much...
ma'am.
DCS Shaw?
Chief Constable Ziegler, I wasn't aware you were at the station today.
No, it's just a flying visit.
Although I would like a quick word, if you're not too busy.
Yes. Of course, sir.
Two minutes.
Ah, DI Carter.
It's good to see you.
Settling in OK, are we?
- Yes, yes. Thank you, sir. - Good.
Good. I'll be in your office.
Right, then, another 90 seconds of celebrating,
and then onto the paperwork, please.
Let's see if we can get that wrapped up as quickly as the case.
This is something of a new look for you,
isn't it, Detective Chief Inspector?
Hmm?
Oh, uh, yes...
Uh, thank you for noticing.
Erm, ma'am.
Thought you were resting.
My phone charger's not working.
Oh, you need your phone to rest.
Hello.
That was, uh, quite the puzzle convention.
I think there's a charger in my studio.
Just careful what you're unplugging.
So, the pens are back?
For easy access.
And I'll have you know, I've been getting compliments
on my attire all day.
What was it you were saying...?
Follow me.
What were you saying about a murder?
Oh, that.
Yes, I... I solved it.
Everyone seemed very pleased.
You solved a murder?
But...
I don't care.
I need to show you something.
I cracked the code on the phone.
It was a significant date, one only he... and, of course, you...
would never forget, New Year's Eve, 1989.
Oh. The night Dad left.
But he'd cleared the calls and texts,
and he'd attempted to delete a photo, which I've restored.
I'm not sure that James quite understands how the cloud works.
What cloud?
Yes. Look at this.
That's nice.
Hmm?
No, not that. Sorry, I've gone too far back.
Uh... Not that. No.
Not that.
No. No. No.
You know, we do invite you every year.
You do. He doesn't.
Would you have come if he did?
Oh, here it is.
No clue who this chap is.
That's Chief Constable Ziegler.
Who? Who's... who's Chief Constable Ziegler?
Someone else at the station you didn't warn me about, that's who.
Yeah, sorry about that, John.
I may have slightly exaggerated my, uh, knowledge of that place.
Well, you wouldn't have gone there otherwise, would you?
No, obviously not.
But since I did...
Oh, you found it.
Looks like a cypher, polyalphabetic...
number and symbols substituted for letters.
Most likely a pretty advanced one.
He was obviously using this to take notes about whatever
he was investigating, notes that nobody else could read.
What does it mean?
I presume it answers every single question we have.
You presume?
Well, I haven't actually been able to solve it.
But you're Ludwig.
I'm sure even Elvis had his off days.
I will solve it.
Just need more data, that's all.
A key word to search for that...
That might unlock the rest.
Need to find out what he's been doing, what he's been working on,
who he's been working with.
I'll start tomorrow.
You're going back in there?
I have to. It's a puzzle.
Puzzles are meant to be solved.
Oh, John...
thank you.
Henry! Your uncle's going to be staying with us for a few days.
Oh, Henry...
Dad's gone?
What's Mum reading?
Why is she crying?
It's all right. I'll talk to her.
Just give us...
A few minutes, OK?
OK.
Ten, nine, eight, seven...
six, five, four, three, two, one!
Happy New Year!
*CREDITS*