Running off like that! The itinerary was clear.
Breakfast in the pub 9:30.
Ten o'clock - meet outside the pub.
Final prep 10:15.
Walk from the pub to Pwll Mawr,
then complete the loop back to yesterday's start point.
Why would she leave early?
Maybe she fancied something less strict?
Like an SAS bootcamp?
These walks are a bit full-on, Anne.
I haven't looked up for 40 minutes.
If you put on some hard garage,
it's like you're on a treadmill at Fitness First.
Well, I don't get it.
Karen agreed to have breakfast with me,
and I was looking forward to it
cos I haven't had a proper chat with Karen.
I didn't like the way she behaved,
flirting with Steffan, a teenager.
I'm 19, Mam.
Come on! Keep up the pace!
OK.
Oh! Oh, that is tidy, that is.
It's a shame Karen's not here.
I think she is, guys.
Oh, good God.
- We'd better call the police. - Oh, I'll do it.
Don't look, Steffan. Don't.
Janie? It's Mam.
Hey, you answered that very quickly.
Why is it echoing in there?
I didn't raise a girl who answers the phone in the toilet!
I will get to the point, yes.
We found a body.
*CREDITS*
This is the fifth faller we've had here in two years.
When are people going to learn exercise kills?
What was she doing?
No appropriate equipment.
The shoes she looks like she's going to a festival.
Well, good on her.
Nothing wrong with rocking a bit of style, is there?
A heart jacket and a leopard-print backpack - style?
I have that exact same backpack.
It's nice.
How's your mam holding up?
- Bit shaken. - Mm.
She wouldn't have suffered, Mrs M.
Totally would have suffered. Horrible way to go.
My idea of hell.
- Basically smashed to death. - All right?
Awful business.
This place brings back bad memories.
Did you have a case here? A jumper?
Oh, no, no, no. Family holiday.
Brought Kel and the kids here walking.
Trying to teach them about the history of these falls,
the myth of Sgwd Gwladys, learn about their heritage.
Teenage girls?
Should have taken them to Tenerife, on reflection.
Anyway, what have we got?
Looks like a fall.
You'd expect lower-body injuries from a jump.
She'd have been upright on impact, but our woman wasn't.
Cause of death, I'd say,
is the head trauma from when she hit the rocks.
Obviously can't rule anything else out until I've done
the PM and toxicology.
All right, well, keep us in the loop.
Any info on who she is?
Yeah, according to Mam, she was new to the walking group,
too thin by half and had "stubborn eyes".
The only concrete information she gave us
was that she's called Karen Barnes.
No, she isn't.
She gave a false address.
She isn't on the criminal record database either.
She's a mystery.
Shake it up, shake it up.
Thank you.
How do we find a person?
A good actor, proper actor, doesn't need words or movement.
They can reach into the essence of character with two things.
The eyes.
Cheryl, can you just pop over here, please?
Cool earrings.
I want you to read from this sheet. All right?
We're going to go through a series of emotions.
Now, I'm going to try and portray them
just by using... my eyes.
And cue.
Anger.
Love.
Betrayal.
Lust.
Sadness.
Fear.
Surprise.
Again, rapidly.
Anger. Love.
Betrayal. Lust. Sadness. Fear. Surprise.
Freeze!
There. The eyes have it.
Thank you, thank you.
Now, physical comedy.
This is amazing.
Oh, that. Yes, that's my acting masterclass series.
I resisted it, but, er, my agent said, in the end,
it would be my gift to the profession.
Oh, yeah.
"A powerful peek behind the magic of acting."
Not my words.
Jeremy Irons'.
Yeah. So what's going on here, anyway?
Well, I'm rearranging everything.
I do it every three years.
I've always... I become blocked.
Have you tried prune juice? Mam swears by it
when she needs to clear out the basement.
Delightful. Very evocative. Yeah, I'll bear it in mind.
Now, Detective Mallowan, we both know why you're here.
So come on, let the dog see the rabbit.
I just popped by for a chat.
So nothing to do with this mysterious
unidentified individual, mm?
Read it in the paper.
Identity wiped,
but can we ever truly hide ourselves?
Yeah, I knew you'd be up for it. I'll put a brew on.
You haven't got any biscuits, have you?
There's no car in the trail car park
and no bus or taxi driver remembers her,
so we think she must have arrived by foot.
Interesting.
Could be something, Chapel. Could be something...
Could be something. Could be talking to yourself
like a weirdo, Chapel... Oh, my God!
Oh! A little warning would be nice
- before you explode. - The coat!
This is Caesar's coat. Why didn't you
tell me you have Caesar's coat? This is huge.
I think we've got two mysteries here.
The missing person and you.
What? I'm not a mystery.
I'm simple.
I'm an open book. Everybody says so.
Mam says it all the time.
Nice. But you're not like other big fans of Caesar.
Why do you like it so much?
You're a professional policewoman,
for goodness' sake. You know how it all works.
I just do, OK?
Anyway, we're not talking about me.
We're talking about Karen.
So shut up about the coat, John Chapel.
You're bloody obsessed with it.
What can you tell me about Karen? Who is she?
Well, she had a childhood without money.
The sugar sachets found in her pocket.
She didn't want them, didn't use them,
but she remembers what it was like to go without.
Yes. And, er, apple stalk and two pips.
Which means she eats the whole core.
Now, that is very interesting.
Why?
Because I do that as well.
Great. I'll put an APB out for anyone who nicks
sugar sachets and eats apples like a weirdo.
Should have this wrapped up in no time.
Building up a picture of this woman's psyche
is important if you want to find her killer.
What? You think she was killed?
Obviously. Yes. Look.
The shoes... and no phone.
You can't discount that.
But we're working on the theory that her phone
slipped out of her pocket when she fell and washed away.
You'd be better off working on your observation skills,
because phones do not slip out of skin-tight jeggings.
- You know about jeggings? - Doesn't everyone?
No, Karen's killer took her phone
to stop you finding out who she really was.
But who?
One of the walking group?
This is my mam's walking group we're talking about.
You can't think that one of them would murder a stranger!
She wasn't a stranger.
Whoever killed Karen clearly knew her.
Of course, I wouldn't be able to say who
without knowing more about the suspects.
This is not what I meant.
I hate synthetic fibres.
They make my skin itch.
You're lucky the charity shop had any walking gear.
This could be good for you, getting out the house.
You know... loneliness is a killer.
I am not lonely.
I just like being alone.
There's a distinct difference, you know.
Anyway, chance would be a fine thing.
You see, there's this detective
who always disturbs my peace and quiet.
Rude. Right, there they are.
They all agreed to come back and do the walk again?
A bit ghoulish, isn't it?
Right, now, it's probably best if I take the lead.
You haven't got my antennae for people.
Look, just try not to let on that you're helping me.
If I get caught involving you, then my promotion and my career
- are down the toilet. - They'll never suspect
I'm involved. I'm just a retired local actor...
well, of some repute, of course.
- Well respected... - Yes, yes.
- revered internationally. - Less talking, more walking.
Recently there was an article. I'll send it to you.
Oh, here they are. Hiya!
Mam said it'd be all right if I brought my friend John along.
We've never had a national treasure with us before.
Oh, please, please. Oh, no, please.
I'm just one of the group. Nothing special.
What are you doing here?
I'm not here on official business.
Mam's just always telling me I need to get out more.
Well, you're so pale.
And you're always driving. Never walk anywhere.
Yes, thank you.
John, Mam.
Mr Chapel.
_
Anne Treadway, Treasurer. Can you sign here?
Of course, yes. Is that Anne with an E?
No, I don't want your autograph.
No, this is the consent form.
Wait, do you expect preferential treatment because you're famous?
- No, but... - No. No, indeed.
I should hope not.
Now, hurry up and we can get started.
- All right. - Right. Snack bar.
Oh, no, I'm fine, thank you.
No, it's not a question.
No, it's three hours until the pub lunch,
and I will not have people's blood sugar falling.
Worth remembering.
Right, let's go.
_
I do understand quite a lot of Welsh, you know.
My wife used to speak it all the time.
_
Definitely not a sex pest.
Mam, he understands Welsh. Also, even if he didn't,
sex pest is an English word,
so he'd know that you were calling him one.
Too much gossip and dawdling back there!
This isn't a sewing circle.
It's like she's got eyes in the back of her head.
They'd go with the snakes in her hair.
Still, that's not a bad place to start.
Whatever got Karen killed,
she's the most likely to have observed it.
Come on! No stragglers, please.
Fresh air in the lungs and blood in the legs.
Blow, winds, crack your cheeks!
Rage! Blow!
- What more could you want? - A bit of silence.
This is the Trebach Ramblers' Pwll Mawr yomp.
- Not a chat show. - Sorry.
Forgive me. I'll shut up.
But I would like to say I do admire you
for doing this in Karen's memory.
Something that modern youth don't understand... the notion of duty.
What was she like, this Karen?
Honestly? She was a troublemaker.
- Ah. - Arrived late.
She signed up online,
and the website didn't say, "Walk up whenever suits you."
Oh, rules are rules for a reason!
I find in the modern world
that there's a distinct lack of decorum.
You sound like my husband.
This was Peter's favourite walk. I didn't like the idea
of someone turning up and treating it like a joke.
Well, quite right. It's an affront.
I bet she wasn't prepared in the slightest.
No, she wasn't. No equipment, no money,
so she couldn't pay for the walk or her room at the pub.
Can't say I'm surprised.
People want something for nothing nowadays, don't they?
It boils my blood.
Yes, that's exactly it, Mr Chapel.
Young Steffan paid for her in the end,
which I thought was very odd.
Mind you, there's a lot odd about Steffan.
He's a bit of a mummy's boy.
That's interesting. Oh, I'm sorry. One second...
Oh, yes. No, do.
God, you really are good.
No, ice cream's good.
I'm a highly skilled emotional empath.
Come on, don't dawdle.
Oh, leave it, Mam.
- Steffan, isn't it? - Yeah.
You're Mr Chapel.
Hey, how come you're not on the telly any more?
Mam thinks you were cancelled,
but Leah thinks you're just not getting any work.
- Steffan! - No, no, no, no.
That's not what we said.
I'm Leah Jones.
- Lovely to meet you, darling. - And you.
I didn't have Caesar down as much of a walker.
It's good to get out into God's country, isn't it?
- Yeah. - Open the gills.
Clear out the old blowhole, so to speak.
No, it is.
I need it.
I'm a taxi driver, so I spend all week sitting on my arse.
This is the only chance I get to show off my legs.
- Well, good set of pins! - Thank you.
I won't get my old pasty legs out,
not without a couple of stiff ones in me!
Drinks, that is!
Bronwen Richards.
- Big fan of your theatre work. - How wonderful.
Always a pleasure to meet a discerning theatre-goer.
Hopefully you can bring some intellectualism into the group.
Oh! No, I'm an intellectual.
I went to Open University, love. I've got an MA.
Yes, of course, Leah fach. You've done amazingly,
considering your background.
I'm from Merthyr, not a war zone!
Beautiful scenery, isn't it?
Stunning.
This is the sort of place I used to come to with...
with my wife.
Oh, come on. Oh, you poor love.
Sorry, sorry.
God.
You really know how to make a newcomer feel welcome,
don't you? Just like poor Karen.
So lovely.
Anne just told me that Steffan even paid for her room.
Yeah. Against my wishes.
He's a very generous boy.
It comes with being what we call academically more able.
_
He's just been accepted to Oxford.
Oh, wow. When do you start?
- Seven weeks, three days. - Marvellous.
Karen must have been very grateful.
Yeah, she was.
Too grateful by far, if you ask me.
Almost lascivious.
Told Steffan she was his type.
I mean, that's a bit harsh, but she was a wrong 'un.
Is that why you asked Anne to throw her out the group?
No, I...
She was messing with the mood,
like, the equilibrium of the group.
Now, Ryan, he seemed to take a dislike to Karen.
That night, she was making a point about
dark things in people's past, and he got up and stormed off.
Three-minute rest break is over.
Come on. It's only four miles to the pub.
Right.
See? You're making friends.
- Please. - Come on, admit it.
You're enjoying getting out and meeting new people.
- Careful, Steffan. - All right, Mam.
OK. Pint, pint.
They didn't have an extra-hot long macchiato, so it's Kenco.
- Sorry. - Oh, dear.
Er, G and T?
Tap water, Ryan.
Oooh! I'm surprised to see you
have a beer, Steff. Assumed you were still breast-fed.
For your information, Steffan has not been breast-fed
since he was six.
Makes sense.
Oh, and, Anne, they said your Earl Grey's coming.
Probably leave the bag in too long.
I'd better go and advise.
Ooh, I'd best take off my jacket,
otherwise I won't feel the benefit.
Shift your bum.
Come on!
- It's Ryan, isn't it? - Yep.
Janie. I'm Yvonne's daughter.
Yeah, I can tell.
I wish everyone would stop saying that.
We're nothing like each other.
Oh, best take this off or I won't feel the benefit!
Can I have a crisp?
Your accent. It's not from round here.
No. Moved here from Manchester.
Manchester! Mad fer it!
Sound!
So why'd you move here?
I, er, wanted somewhere quiet with, um, nothing going on.
Nothing going on?
You seen the new park and ride in Abercynlle?
Saving it for a rainy day.
Aren't you a bit young and normal for this group?
My GP thought it'd be good for me.
There's a lot of health benefits of walking.
Not for Karen, though, eh?
Jesus.
Er, just came in for a slash.
Excellent place to have one, I find.
Ah, strange the people you meet in toilets, isn't it?
I remember once standing at a urinal next to
the great Sir Ralph Richardson.
Oh, God. I was a young actor then.
I was completely in awe, trying to impress.
Very eager. So I started rabbiting on
about this, that and the other,
and without even looking over, he said,
"Less prattle, more piddle."
Classic Rafey!
- Right. - Yes. Wonderful.
I think it was John Gabriel Borkman
he was playing at the time. Yeah. And...
Are you sure you didn't see or hear Karen walk off, Leah?
You were in the room next to her.
No, I didn't see anything.
I was working early shifts all week,
- so I was out like a light. - I saw her.
I went for a walk and saw her heading off.
Couldn't miss her in that heart jacket.
I gave her a wave and she waved back.
I saw her leaving, too.
- Never! - I was looking out the window.
It would have been about nine o'clock.
Could you be sure it was her?
Well, you don't see many walkers on the falls trail
with leopard-print bags,
so, yeah, I think it's safe to say it was her.
- Anne's taking her time. - Oh!
Her and Karen nearly came to blows here that night.
No!
Yes. Over Karen being tight and not paying for the walk.
Anne said it wasn't the money, it was the principle.
Karen told her to lighten up. Anne called her a cow!
- Anne?! - Mm.
Well, I never.
I am speechless, completely speechless.
That is a shock.
I know. Pillar of the community.
Doctor's wife well, widow -
in a slanging match.
We were about to send out a search party.
I needed a think.
About Karen?
You didn't like her, did you?
No.
No, she wasn't a nice person.
I know people think I'm a fuddy-duddy,
but this walking group means a lot to me,
and she treated it like a joke.
I think I understand.
This was Peter's favourite view.
I think it was the reason he wanted to move here.
Every weekend we were up in the Peak District,
but he took early retirement so that we could be here.
This was Peter's spot.
When he could still make it up here.
Do you mind me asking what happened?
It was Parkinson's.
Such a cruel disease.
We had a few good years when he could still
enjoy these hills before it got too bad.
And then last year, he...
People expect you to move on.
Put on a brave face.
Be who you were before.
They don't see that you can't go back.
It doesn't get any easier.
Oh, I'm sorry. I remember reading about your wife.
- How long has it been? - Ten years.
Ten!
It might be good for you
to talk about it with the group more.
A problem shared?
We're a walking group, not a poetry society.
Come on.
What'd you get from Anne?
A stiff upper lip and a warm vulnerability
hidden behind a cold shoulder.
- In English. - Oh, sorry. My mistake.
I'll dumb it down.
Anne didn't like Karen. Karen bad.
- Make Anne sad. - Sod off.
I can't see her as our killer.
This death has sullied one of her remaining links
to her husband. She's the only one
who seems to have lost anything from this.
There's something off about Karen's backpack.
Do you want to know what I reckon?
No.
Um, now, I followed up my hunch on Ryan.
Pray tell.
Went to the toilet to take these.
Quetiapine.
- No idea what that is. - Mental health meds.
A friend of mine used to take them. It's not a big deal.
Why are you making such a big deal out of it, John Chapel?
And... our charming landlady?
What does she make of Karen?
I assume you've interviewed her.
She wasn't very helpful.
Like trying to get blood from a stone.
Well, I didn't see her leave, but she cleared her room
and she left the key behind the bar.
Her room was settled in cash, which is fine by me
because I don't trust this internet banking.
Oh, neither do I.
It makes it too easy for all these crooks and conmen.
This is it, isn't it?
Now, I know you'd never be indiscreet about a guest,
but if you noticed anything about Karen,
it could be very helpful... for me.
There were goings-on in the night.
Sexual goings-on, if you know what I mean.
Fairly sure it was coming from her room,
which doesn't surprise me,
because she seemed to be a very cheap woman.
Thank you.
I will never forget how helpful you've been.
Blood from a stone?
What's the hold-up?
We were supposed to set off eight minutes ago.
He's had a fall.
I haven't had a fall! I'm not 80!
I fell over.
Nearly ended up with a poker up me... Agh! Agh!
- Ankle! Argh! - Let me do that.
Silly sausage.
That's really helpful of you, Yvonne. Thank you.
Oh, I think I need to put this up, actually.
Look, I think it's for the best
if you continue this walk with... out me.
Yeah, you heard him.
Come on. We have to finish the walk.
It's the whole reason we're here.
He'll be fine.
Hope I don't collapse on the walk.
Anne'll leave me for dead.
- Yeah. - Bad choice of words.
We'll stay with him.
Right, let's go.
Well, come on, then.
I thought you were injured!
You are really good at acting.
Thank you, Yvonne. A BAFTA, an Emmy nomination
and a TV Choice Award.
Feigning a man with a twisted ankle is nothing.
Yes, you were great, darling. But why did you do it?
Because we need to get back and find Karen's car.
We've already checked every car in the car park.
It's something the landlady said.
Karen was cheap. The sugar sachet, see?
- _ - _
Karen was frugal. She wouldn't pay for the car park.
She'd park nearby and walk,
and we need to widen the search.
One of these must be hers.
Look.
You say you're not a sex pest.
Not a sex pest last time I checked, no.
But you're not trying to take advantage of her, are you?
If anyone is taking advantage,
it's your daughter, Mrs Mallowan,
using my gifts to further her career.
Only you mean a lot to that girl.
Your show was the only thing
that got her through what happened.
What happened?
Oh, I shouldn't say anything.
OK, fine.
Her best friend died. A while ago.
Very sad.
Suicide.
Right. Well, I didn't know.
Janie was so lost, bless her.
Hardly left her room for months.
Watched your show on repeat.
It was like a comfort blanket for her.
Got her through the worst.
Look, what I'm saying is, you are her hero.
So if you hurt her, I'll have your whatsits off
and feed them to the birds.
Right.
Well, as I say, no intention of hurting her.
And every intention of holding on to my whatsits.
Happen to be quite attached to them.
What about this one?
It's got a leopard-print dog bed in the back.
Very Karen.
If Karen had a pet, it would be a cat.
Honestly, your antennae.
Think, Chapel.
Think, think, think.
_
What are you doing?
It's Karen's car.
Sticker, personalised plate. Ostentatious. Very Karen.
Ooh, it's messier than your car, love!
You can't go around damaging people's property!
This is a police investigation.
You could have just jeopardised the...
That's her. That's Karen.
Apparently, it's Veronica Mount, actually.
Wow.
You can choose any fake name, and you go for Karen.
So Karen Barnes is in fact Veronica Mount,
a psychiatric nurse from Cheshire.
Can we go back to the bit
where you completely lost your mind
and smashed open the window before calling it in?
Yeah, sorry, sir.
A moment of madness. Don't know what came over me.
Yeah, right. Say no more.
I've got three daughters.
Do you need to take an afternoon off?
Hot-water bottle and a big Galaxy
usually does the trick for my lot.
No. No, sir. I'm fine. It's...
Yeah, that's... That's not it. Very considerate of you.
Bit over the mark, but...
Ah. Anyway, it all seems cleared up.
This calls for a Twix from the vending machine.
- My shout. - I don't know if it is.
I still think it's murder.
We still haven't found her phone,
she lied about her identity,
and she rubbed a lot of the group up the wrong way.
That sounds like something
your actor friend might dream up.
How about sticking to the obvious instead of your guts?
Not everything is a murder.
Hiya.
Thanks.
That was Baxter at the path lab.
PM report confirms it was murder.
Karen was dead before the fall.
The impact was from some sort of metal rod.
Somebody hit her, then pushed her over the edge.
Well, what do you think?
It would be easier to think without distractions.
I can't believe someone would do that to Karen.
Speechless, I am.
Sorry.
Giving her a lift to Funky Pump.
Mind you, nobody seemed to like Karen.
Even Anne, right from the off.
Karen asked her what kind of operation she was running,
and Anne bristled.
Bristled! Didn't even give her a snack bar for the walk!
And Anne always gives people a snack bar,
so I thought even then, "She's a wrong 'un."
Yeah. A cup of tea would be lush, Mam.
I keep being drawn to the backpack.
This again?
Forget objects.
Focus on people.
Emotions, feelings.
Chaudhry?
I've run a background check on our victim.
Her bank got back to me.
Up until 2023, Veronica Mount received regular deposits
of 5,000 grand!
I think you mean five grand.
- Anything else? - Yeah.
Tony on the front desk has just won 100 quid on a scratchcard.
Anything relevant to the case?
I thought we were just chatting.
Er, no. Nothing.
Well, that explains the comment,
"Dark things in people's pasts."
Blackmail.
You think she was blackmailing one of the group? Who?
Ryan, obviously!
Because he's on antipsychotics? We can't hound people
because they have mental health problems.
Yes, but he's lying about seeing Karen -
Veronica - that morning. What did he say?
He knew it was her because he saw the heart on her jacket?
- So? - Well, how could he?
She was wearing her backpack.
Bronwen saw her wearing it that morning,
and it was found with the body.
I'm not lying. I saw her.
She even waved at me. Why would I lie?
You moved here from Manchester.
Veronica Mount lived in Cheshire
but worked for a mental health trust in Manchester.
It's a big city.
It's not like here, where everyone knows each other.
I mean, yous two probably went to school together.
That's just a Welsh stereotype.
We did not go to school together.
Only because Auntie Yvonne
thought my school was too rough for you.
We are cousins, yes, all right.
So you and Veronica just went for a walk at the same time?
Where? Why?
I'd urge my client not to say anything.
Don't act all smart, Aeron. You used to eat crayons.
Look, I know you don't want to talk about
the darkness in the old melon.
Are you trying to say mental health?
Yeah. I've been there too.
I might seem like a normal person...
Feel free to agree.
but a little while ago,
I had a pretty big...
breaky D.
Nervy B.
Just lost my marbs a bit.
You're really not very good at talking about this stuff.
I just slept,
occasionally ate,
and watched a hell of a lot of crime dramas.
That's why you disappeared!
Mam said you'd gone on a ski holiday.
_
Look, I know what it's like to come back from
something like that, and I think you do, too.
Maybe, yeah.
But you need to start opening up
and talking about it,
because I don't see you as a murderer.
Last year, I had a bit of an episode.
I were working in Manchester,
burning the candle at both ends, and, um,
I couldn't cope.
Hence the quetiapine.
How'd you know?
It's not a peeing contest, but I was on a way higher dose.
Well, the meds have really helped, but I lost them
when I was on the walk.
I had to get an emergency prescription
sent over to the pharmacy in Abercynlle.
That's where I was.
I know the one. Jean would remember you.
Your big city coat, weird accent. I'll check it out.
Now who doesn't have the antennae?
Ha-ha!
Um, oh...
I still don't understand why you lied
about seeing Veronica leaving.
I didn't.
I don't care what Bronwen thinks she saw.
Check with her son. He would have seen her as well.
Steffan? He was asleep all morning.
No, he were watching from the window. It was definitely him.
Little weirdo.
OK.
_
- Yeah. - OK.
Ryan's story checks out.
Couldn't shut Jean at the chemist up about his coat.
But Steffan... I don't know why he lied to us.
Probably because he was hiding the fact
that he'd spent the night with Veronica.
You think they were doing it?
No, I don't think they were "doing it",
because I'm not 12 years old.
I think they were having sex.
Natural, passionate animal sex.
I don't like it when you talk about that stuff.
It's like when teachers do.
Right. Let's go and see what he has to say.
Whoa! You're not coming.
We'll be laughed out of court
if the arresting officers are me
and the man the Radio Times called
"Britain's greatest detective".
No. Stay here.
I'll leave the window open for you.
I'm not a dog!
And it was "Britain's most formidable detective".
Good boy.
_
- Hi. - Can I help?
We need to have a chat, Steffan.
I said stay in the car.
Look, I told you
- everything I know... - It's all right.
I knew this moment would come
sooner or later, so I might as well say it.
I murdered her.
I'm not convinced.
Oh, it just doesn't feel right. Bronwen...
- Get off my fries. - I'm only having a couple.
I know what you mean, but Bronwen's confessed.
Doesn't even want a solicitor, even though Steffan and Leah
are desperately trying to get her one.
Leah?
Of course!
Bronwen didn't do it.
She made the same mistake I did.
It's got nothing to do with Bronwen.
- You were right. - Was I?
Brilliant. What about?
The backpack.
It all hinges on that.
It wasn't messy.
Ryan wasn't lying.
I hope there's a good reason for bringing us all here.
I'm supposed to be at water aerobics, and the instructor
will go easy on the group if I'm not there.
What is going on?
You're still not telling me why I've been released.
Because you didn't kill Veronica.
You're protecting your son.
I was gonna say that bit!
Needed gravitas.
- I didn't kill her! - He didn't.
It was me.
Wow.
Sorry, what are you doing?
I just came in with everyone else.
- What's going on? - Can you go?
Steffan really didn't kill her, Bronwen.
You made the same mistake I did.
You assumed that Steffan spent the night with Veronica.
No!
Nice young Steffan and Veronica?
Well, I had suspected.
No, you hadn't, Mam.
I came to your room to bring you a hot-wot bot,
and you weren't there.
Next morning, I saw her walk off.
You came back into your room within an hour.
Nobody else was up,
so I assumed that you'd...
Nipped out to murder a woman?
No!
Then where were you all night?
With me.
Oh, bloody hell.
Fish and chips for you?
Oh, for...
Who's ordering food at a time like this?
Someone stole all my chips earlier.
These are on the house.
- Really? That's so sweet. - Yeah.
- _ - I hope this is a sick joke.
I actually had suspected.
I don't think we need to be airing all this in public.
Excuse me.
God, they are good chips, though. Mm.
Sorry.
That's why Veronica made the comment about
being exactly your type.
She wasn't flirting.
She'd caught me and Leah kissing on the walk.
- Oh... - She seemed to find it funny.
Well, that's why I offered to pay for her room,
so she wouldn't tell Mam.
_
Why do you think I come on these walks with you, Mam?
You're smothering.
How could you say that about your own mother?
To be fair, you have just accused him
of being a murderer, love.
Well, I wish he was. It'd be better than this.
Oh, leave her alone.
Leah's the best thing that's ever happened to me.
Wait. So who did kill Veronica?
It was the snack bar that made me suspect first of all.
You always offer one on arrival.
I thought I'd been so careful.
We didn't realise you used to live in Manchester.
That's how you knew Veronica.
She'd worked as a trainee nurse under your husband
before he took early retirement.
And of course, she knew why he'd taken early retirement.
The onset of Parkinson's is not great for a doctor,
but far worse for a surgeon.
My guess is that there was some kind of botched procedure.
Only one.
I mean, people didn't have to be snowflakes about it.
Nobody died, and the panel cleared him.
Yes, but they didn't know about the Parkinson's.
And Veronica did,
and she decided to blackmail him.
I never knew. She was blackmailing him right up until
he went into care and she couldn't get to him.
She was torturing him.
And then Veronica showed up here.
Yes, last year.
She threatened to expose the truth about Peter.
He was a pillar of the community!
I shouldn't have, but I paid her.
She said it was a one-off.
Yes, but blackmail is never a one-off, though.
No, I thought that was the end of it, and then
she showed up on the walk.
It must have taken a lot for you to pretend
that you didn't know her.
She wanted more money.
She said she would come back every week until I paid her.
I told her to meet me along the trail
so nobody from the group would see us,
and in return, she would leave for ever.
And she did leave for ever.
- That's good gravitas. - Thank you.
You waited for her at the top of the falls
with an iron bar you'd found.
- Found? - Yeah.
No, no, it was clearly the poker from the pub.
Didn't you get that?
Occasionally you do have to
think about objects and not people.
Thank you.
Then... you took her phone,
removing the one piece of evidence that could tell us
who she really was.
And then you pushed her over the edge.
Everyone would assume that she didn't want to walk
with the group and left early.
Another faller in inappropriate gear
in a danger spot.
Very well planned.
Very Anne.
But how did you actually know?
The backpack.
Ryan saw Veronica walking off without one.
So who did Bronwen see walking with the backpack?
- She left it in her room. - Yeah.
I mean, what sort of a person walks the falls trail
without their equipment?
You panicked.
But then, as usual, you came up with a plan.
You came back to Veronica's room,
packed her bag, then left the pub
- pretending to be Veronica. - Then you
- walked back... - Oi! I'm still talking here.
Then you walked back to the falls
and threw it in with the body.
I still don't see...
- It was too neatly packed. - Yeah.
Ordered.
Very Anne, but totally out of character for Veronica.
Oh, that's very annoying.
May I have a moment alone to... say goodbye?
Of course.
A-Actually, no.
Just the whole you being a murderer thing
sort of means I have to stay here,
but I can... I'll wait while you have the moment.
Take a minute...
It's hard to believe how much Anne would risk just to protect
a dead person.
It's easy to kill
when half of you is already dead.
It's a shame.
We all need people.
Living people.
Can't cut yourself off from all connections.
I am talking about you, in case you...
I very much got that.
Yeah. Hard to miss with your sledgehammer approach.
- Oh, quick! Get down! - Ow!
- Get down, get down! - Ow, ow! Don't!
- Sir! Don't! - What are you doing?
A senior male officer getting into
- a lone female officer's car? - Oh!
Inappropriate.
Yeah. Sorry.
They're doing, uh, gender politics in the workplace
refresher courses in Swansea. I'll sign myself up.
I'm just going to have a chat with the lads.
Not lads!
Fellas. F... Fellow officers.
Colleagues. Er, people.
Hello there.
How's it going, lads?
Well, unsurprisingly, Anne made a full confession.
Wow, look at this place.
You finally finished your great cry for help!
Yep.
Made a lot harder with my shoulder,
pushing me down like that.
But still, everything is in its place,
and now I can sit down...
and enjoy it.
Yeah, great. Look, um,
feel free to say no, but I'm going to the pub tonight.
Do you fancy joining?
Can't.
- Got plans for this evening. - Oh.
But you might have had a point.
Perhaps I do need to get out and meet people.
So I've signed up for the local bookshop book group.
Aww, John Chapel, that's amazing!
- My mam goes to that one. - Oh, great.
I was hoping not to get a word in edgeways.
Hey, I'm allowed to be rude about my mam, but you're not.
Well, I'll leave you to get ready.
Oh, before you go!
I've, um...
- got you a gift. - OK.
I know, um...
I know Caesar means a lot to you, so...
What? What's wrong?
Nothing! These are happy tears.
Thank you.
Can you put it on?
- Ah! - I'm sorry.
- OK? - Ah! All right.
Can you do the line?
Crime waits for no man.
What?
No, nothing. It's just... Didn't...
Didn't sound like Caesar.
What are you talking about? Of course it did.
- Mm, not really. - Yeah, yes, it did!
Well, don't get in a huff about it.
I'm not in a huff.
Crime waits for no man.
Keep working on it. I'm sure it'll come back.
*CREDITS*