Can't say no, can I?
Go on. Get.
All right, all right.
*CREDITS*
_
'This is Lee. Leave a message.'
Lee, where are you?
We were gonna talk about the seating plan tonight, remember?
And if you're not here,
I might end up putting you next to my mum on top table.
_
No, I haven't planned anything yet for Dad's anniversary.
'Well, you'll need to get a move on.'
Well, I'll have to come up with something, won't I, Mum?
'Be quick.'
Yeah. Listen, Mum, I can't really talk about it now.
I'm at work, OK? I'll call you later. See you.
Now, a missing persons report has come in this morning.
Laura Kirkham, 16 years of age.
Last seen at home lunchtime yesterday.
Her parents, Dominic and Charlotte Kirkham,
are the new owners of the Win Low Estate,
which means there's over 500 acres to be searched,
including dense woodland.
Boss, since when are we in the search-and-rescue business?
Since I agreed we'd help out.
Dominic and Charlotte were at lunch yesterday.
They got back to the house at about 4pm.
There was no sign of Laura.
They searched the house
and phoned emergency when it started to get dark.
Uniform attended and conducted a thorough search
of the property and the nearby buildings,
which means she's been missing for over 20 hours.
I take it she's not been answering her phone.
Dominic found her phone in her bedroom when he got up.
Teenagers don't leave their phones behind, sir.
Well, it's with digital forensics now.
Eland, you have this lot to interview.
It's a list of the people who work in the house and on the estate.
Ben, Diane, I want you to interview the Kirkhams.
Try and get more of a sense of who Laura is.
And stay open-minded, because they both alibied each other.
Will do, sir.
So, this is the Win Low Estate.
It's a bit run-down.
It's in the Woburn family for generations.
When George Woburn died last year, he didn't have an heir,
so it came up for sale.
Now it's Kirkham's passion project, and he wants to restore it.
- The Kirkhams only have one daughter? - Yeah. Why?
It just seems a bit much for three people.
Yeah.
You all right?
Yeah. It's nothing.
Looks like bad news to me.
It's fine.
Happy-looking family.
You're not gonna put a bad picture up, are you?
Rest assured, Mrs Kirkham,
we are doing everything we can to find Laura.
I mean, this is ridiculous.
I can't go and look for my own daughter.
We've got drones and search parties working their way across the estate,
and we've got uniformed officers up in town
asking people if they've seen Laura.
We've put the train and bus station on high alert
in case she tries to leave Edendale.
You could help us by telling us a little bit more about her.
She's a good girl, very bright.
When she's not got her head in a book,
she'll be out at the stables with the horses.
Does she have a boyfriend?
- No. - No.
Laura doesn't have time to socialise outside of school.
She's too busy concentrating on her studies.
She's going to be a lawyer.
Was she stressed about her exams?
Could that have been a reason she ran away?
We had a parents' evening recently.
The teachers said she was doing OK.
Any significant life changes? Anything at all?
Oh, yeah. She met Lee Bateman.
- Who's that? - Dominic.
He was the gardener.
About a month ago, I caught him with his shirt off,
flirting with our Laura when he was supposed to be working.
So I sent him to work away from the house,
and last week, I caught the pair of them smoking weed together.
So what do you do? I fired him on the spot.
Do you think Laura ran away with Lee Bateman?
No, I don't think she ran away with Lee Bateman, Detective.
I think...
he's abducted her.
Dominic Kirkham reckons we should be speaking to this guy, Lee Bateman.
He's pretty insistent that Lee's taken Laura off somewhere.
As you can see, he's known to us.
Got previous for theft, intent to supply, GBH.
And if you look a bit earlier down in his career...
Persuaded young girls to go and steal alcohol from the supermarket.
So he gets young girls to do his bidding.
Apparently, he got nasty with them
if they didn't bring back what he wanted.
And it doesn't take a huge leap of the imagination
to guess what he wanted with a 16-year-old Laura.
Right.
I'll go and track down this Lee Bateman,
see if he's involved.
Meanwhile, Diane, can you go and join the searches?
And, Ben, we've had a call through the night.
Can you go and check it out?
- Yes, sir. - Sir.
Helen.
Oh, my God. Ben Cooper.
I didn't expect you to turn up.
- Please come in. - Thank you.
Er, we had a call from Harry Dickinson
saying he'd found something on the estate.
I take it you know Harry.
Yeah. Harry's my uncle. I look after him from time to time.
He's the groundskeeper at Win Low.
Uncle Harry, it's the police.
Wow, Ben.
Haven't seen you since we left school.
Sounds about right. You look good.
So do you.
Last I heard, you were getting married to a farmer
just outside Edendale?
- I did, but it didn't work out. - Ah, sorry to hear that.
- No, don't be. It's for the best. - Right.
Get to spend all my time with my horses.
I run the stables up at Pivy Point.
- How about you? - Ah, married to the job, I guess.
Here.
It's all over the village.
You're out looking for Laura Kirkham.
This hers?
Where did you find this?
Jess picked it up outside Raven's Side.
Laura wouldn't have gotten far without it.
Size five and a half.
And they look exactly like the ones on Laura's photo as well.
- 'Who found it?' - Er, Harry Dickinson.
He's the groundskeeper up at the Kirkham's estate.
Found them this morning when he was walking in the woods near Raven's Side.
- Well, his dog did. - 'Right.'
And I think we have a bit of blood here as well.
'Keep Harry in the house till I get there.'
Will do.
I need you to stay put, Mr Dickinson.
Do you want me to show you where I found this shoe or not?
Ah, but we have to wait for the search teams first.
What if Laura Kirkham's lying in a ditch right now
with a broken ankle or worse?
She won't thank you for waiting. Come on.
Off we go, then.
Do you ever see anyone out here?
Only living things in these woods are the badgers and the fallow deer.
And we've got too many of them bloody things.
Dominic Kirkham wants me to leave the deer alone.
Thinks they're pretty.
He'll change his tune once he hits one
with his shiny new 4x4.
They're reet in the woods from the ground up.
What we could really do with is some help from the Black Dog.
Ah, the Black Dog.
I remember hearing about it when I was a kid.
It was a good story, though.
It kept us from trespassing on the estate.
Come on. More than a story.
A few hundred years ago,
Black Dog used to come out of the woods at night,
hunting cattle and sheep.
Then it moved into the village, started taking babies from houses.
In the end, they caught it. Buried it under a plague stone.
Right, this is where Jess dropped the shoe.
She must have found it down there along the stream.
Off you go, then.
Careful, lad.
If you hurt yourself, I shan't be carrying you back.
Yes, noted, Harry. Thank you.
Good luck.
Come on.
I told you to keep Harry Dickinson back at the cottage
and wait for the search teams.
I thought if Laura was injured, you know...
- We've protocol for a reason, Ben. - Understood.
Dr Taylor, what can you tell us?
Well, off the record,
it's almost certainly the girl you've been looking for.
First impressions are she's got a significant injury
to the back of her head.
Most likely a blunt object.
- Is that what killed her? - In the end, probably, yes.
But I think after Laura was struck,
she ran through the forest to escape.
SOCOs are picking up a trail of hair and blood spots
through the trees that start way down there
and end up near the stream where she was found.
My guess is that she ran and kept running until she fainted,
lost consciousness, then bled out through the head wound.
So the initial attack could have happened
- before Laura entered the woods. - Correct.
Any sign of sexual assault?
No. She's fully clothed, so you'll have to wait
till I get her back to the mortuary for a definite answer.
I did find a single bite mark on her right arm.
Difficult to say what made it at this stage.
- An animal got to her? - Yeah, more than likely.
Harry Dickinson said badgers were up here.
I'll compare the bite marks to be sure.
Thank you, Dr Taylor. Right.
Once we get Laura back to the mortuary,
I'll go and collect Charlotte and Dominic Kirkham, confirm the ID.
- Do you want me to come with? - No.
I want you back at CID, liaise with SOCO.
What about me, sir?
You go get Eland, and pick up Lee Bateman immediately.
Have you come across Lee Bateman before?
He's been off our radar for a while,
but I doubt he's changed much.
All right, here we are.
Lee, wanna talk to you, mate.
- About what, man? - Laura Kirkham.
All right, give me five minutes.
Hey!
You'll get down quicker than that,
else I'm coming through that front door!
So, has Ben invited you along on Saturday?
To what?
It's Joe Cooper's anniversary.
No. No, he hasn't.
Oh, right. Right.
It's probably for the best anyway. It's always a grim affair.
He's running!
Only the guilty run, am I right?
I heard Lee Bateman gave you the slip.
Sarge is waiting for Lee's fiancee, Gemma, to return from work.
Right, so, digital forensics
have done a preliminary report on Laura's phone.
Is that everything?
Yeah. It's weird, right?
So, usually, you expect to find thousands of messages,
social media posts, like, triple that for a teenager's phone.
But there's hardly anything on that.
Do you know what still bothers me?
Laura left her phone behind on Sunday afternoon.
What teenager does that?
I'll get forensics to dig a little deeper.
He made me run, Gemma.
I don't like running. I'm not a fan.
It was self-preservation.
Er, where's he off to?
Not a clue. Just back from work, aren't I?
So you were here all day yesterday?
Yeah, yeah. Just making plans for the wedding.
How sweet.
Yeah, cos...
it is only a week away, right?
OK, well, if we don't find Lee before then,
then we'll just wait outside Edendale Registry Office.
What was it... 3:30? Smart casual, yeah?
It's not fair, you lot chasing him down.
He's done nothing wrong.
I just wanna ask him what's been going on at the Kirkham house.
Oh, well, I can tell you that for free.
Lee went to work then came home. End of.
So, you don't think he showed any interest in Laura?
No, of course not. She's a... She's a kid.
Actually, no, she is 16.
No, no, he's not like that any more.
Oh, erm... one final thing.
Does Lee still have those tattoos of his exes?
What was it? Frankie and... Brandy.
Only, I am gonna have to update the PNC file.
Get out.
Are you coming to The Ram for a beer?
Oh, I'd love to, but, erm, I've spent the day hacking undergrowth
and running down back alleys.
- I deserve a long bath. - Fair enough.
Did I catch you napping?
Hardly. I've got a bladder full of double espresso.
Did you notice the whole street's got wreaths up?
Yeah. What's the occasion?
Not occasion.
It's for protection against the Black Dog.
The locals are saying it's on the loose,
and Laura Kirkham's the first victim.
I don't think she was killed by a myth.
Forensics have proven she died from a blow to the back of the head.
Yeah, we know that. But it doesn't stop people believing, does it?
What's up?
It's, erm, Helen. Harry Dickinson's niece.
We randomly went to school together.
Is it about the case?
No, she's seeing if I want to meet up for a drink.
I take it she's single.
- Recently divorced. - So, what are you waiting for?
Don't know if I can be bothered with,
you know what I mean, starting something up?
Ben, it's a drink, not a marriage proposal.
Just go and have a laugh.
All right. I will take your advice.
There we go. Sent.
Good. I'm happy for you.
If you get lucky, I don't wanna hear about it.
A gentleman never tells.
You certainly don't.
That's because there's nothing to tell.
It's just that you freak out any time you get a text, that's all.
Obviously, somebody's trying to get hold of you.
All you need to know is I was seeing a guy in Leeds,
it got messy, I moved here, the end.
I'm here if you ever wanna talk.
Oh, look, Lee ain't gonna come back here,
so who else would take him in?
Well, he's not gonna go to his mum's either.
She booted him out when he was 15.
She was sick of the police knocking on all the time.
What about his dad?
Connor Bateman is currently serving time at HMP Full Sutton
for GBH and common assault.
Nice guy.
Like father, like son.
Lee's apprenticeship started young.
He was five years old
when Connor used to take him poaching on the estate.
They would hide out in the forest.
Oh, are you thinking Lee's gone to visit his dad in prison?
No. But I'm thinking he might have gone back to his roots.
There's a hut in these woods
where Connor and Lee used to hide out until it got dark.
OK, so, we wait here for back-up.
It's literally 100m down that track.
Remember what Hitchens said?
There's no point calling the cavalry if Lee's not there, is there?
Cooper!
Damn it!
Gun!
Cooper! Gun!
I said "gun", you idiot!
Thought it was just a bird scarer!
Arresting you for attempted murder of a police officer.
I didn't know he was police! I was just warning him off!
- Cooper, are you OK? - Nah, nah, gah!
- Cooper! Are you OK? - Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
OK, then, you can walk yourself back to the car.
So, at no point did you think to call for back-up?
We did, sir, but we couldn't get a signal.
And there was no intel to suggest that he was armed, sir.
And what was with the heroics, Ben?
You're both lucky to be alive!
I let you down, sir.
Diane, go with Todd and interview Bateman.
Sir.
It was hard enough losing your dad.
We don't wanna lose you as well.
Go home, Ben. Get some rest.
I hope you give these things a proper boil wash.
I don't wanna be wearing something a rapist has been sweating in.
Disgusting.
Don't worry, Lee, they're brand-new out the packet.
Yeah, right!
OK. Let's talk about Laura Kirkham, yeah?
- Now, you were caught smoking weed. - Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Let me stop you there before you get too excited. Yeah?
The only question I'm gonna answer is,
"How do you like your tea, Mr Bateman?"
Builder's strength with a splash of milk and four sugars.
Now... if you don't mind, I've got some sleep to catch up on.
Couldn't get a wink last night.
_
Here we are.
Bar snacks included in the apology. Help yourself.
Are you OK?
It's just been five years.
So five years and we're still no closer to solving it.
Still not knowing.
Eats away at you.
One thing I know is I can't do this for another five years.
Can I ask what happened?
Everyone has a different theory.
Hitchens thought he'd driven past and interrupted a burglary.
Eland thought it was some out-of-town drug thing.
But I know...
I know somebody in Edendale knows something,
and nobody's talking.
What about forensics?
Nothing. No fibres, no DNA.
And I'm conscious that the longer this goes on,
the less likely we are to solve the case.
And I feel like I'm letting him down.
I need to get justice for him.
Why don't you step away? I mean, just for a little while?
And give up? No way.
Ben. You nearly got yourself killed today.
Carry on like that,
and you won't even be around to get justice for your dad.
It is what it is.
Can I come? On Saturday? Pay my respects?
I'd like that very much. Thank you.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
Hello, Mr Kirkham. Thanks for seeing us.
We just wanted to ask you a few questions about Lee Bateman.
- Has he been charged with murder yet? - Er, no.
We don't have enough to charge him with yet.
That's why we're here.
Mr Kirkham, why did you decide to hire Lee in the first place?
I didn't. Charlotte did.
She put an advert in the local paper for a gardener
when I was away on business.
When I come back... there he was.
And when you caught Lee talking with Laura,
you sent him to work away from the house, is that right?
I told him that I wanted the plague stone from Raven's Side
digging up and bringing back here.
I thought it'd look particularly nice in the back of my garden.
And those stones can weigh half a ton.
You seriously believe Lee was gonna roll it down here on his own?
I knew it was an impossible task.
Then why ask him to do it?
To remind him who's in charge.
Anyway... I fired him a week later.
Has Lee been back to the estate since?
Any staff here seen him come back onto the property?
No. I think he took my final warning very seriously.
What did you say to him?
Trespassers will be shot.
Not exactly the grieving father, is it?
No. And he's hell-bent on putting the blame on Lee Bateman.
There is more going on between those two
than Dominic's letting on, I know it.
All right. I'll tell boss we need to find that plague stone.
It's in the woods, so we need to get the area searched.
In the meantime, we'll go and ask Harry Dickinson
if he saw Lee creeping back onto the estate to meet up with Laura.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Go.
- Hi, Helen. - Hello.
Wasn't expecting to see you till tomorrow.
I just have a few questions for Harry.
This is DC Diane Fry.
He's over at Sam Beeley's place.
The two of them spend a lot of time together since his wife died.
- Thank you. - That's nice.
I were never good at making stuff like that.
It's not for decoration.
I know, erm...
Protection from the Black Dog, right?
Ben told me the story.
It sounds to me like the medieval folk had a serious fox problem.
Really? What about all the babies being taken from their beds?
I'm guessing the Black Dog was a good cover-up story for infanticide.
Right. Well, thank you, Helen.
DC Fry, you're new to Edendale, aren't you?
Yeah. And it's very different to what I'm used to.
I think you should spend a night alone in the woods at Raven's Side.
And what would be the point in that?
Because when you start to hear the trees whispering your name
and the shadows start to change shape,
you'll realise just how different things really are here.
Right. Well, we won't keep you any longer.
- Thank you. - Bye, Ben. See you tomorrow.
- What is wrong with you? - What?
A healthy debate. Science versus superstition.
When are you gonna realise
that people don't have to justify their beliefs to you?
Take people as they come, or no-one is gonna talk to you.
Excuse me. Mr Beeley?
You are Sam Beeley, correct?
I'm Detective Cooper. This is Detective Fry.
- We're looking for Harry. - Just getting washed up.
- Your hands all right? - Chickens got diseased.
We've just been hurrying things along a bit.
What, by wringing their necks?
You got a better way to put them out of their misery?
Harry, you're in trouble with the law.
Mr Dickinson, just wanted to talk to you about Lee Bateman.
You've not seen him on the estate this week, have you?
No.
What about in the woods at Raven's Side this Sunday evening?
I've already told you. I've seen no-one in there.
That's Black Dog territory now.
You'd be stupid to be up there after dark.
What about the Kirkhams' house?
I wouldn't know cos I'm never near it.
If there's a problem with the estate,
I leave Dominic a message on his phone.
OK.
Thank you.
Look at these two. Bloody clueless.
Can't have you coming all this way for nothing.
Why don't you go up the barn, help yourself to a couple of chickens?
I thought you said they were diseased.
You're not a fusspot, are you, detective?
You live near Raven's Side, don't you, Mr Beeley?
Didn't see Lee or Laura there this Sunday evening?
I were in bed by sunset, reading my Bible
This is a murder investigation, gentlemen.
It's a serious business.
Then why are you asking him stupid bloody questions?
Did he see Lee in Raven's Side? There's 15 acres of trees.
Your dad would be disappointed to see you, lad.
Making hash of it.
You knew him?
Aye. I met Joe Cooper a couple of times.
He knew how to talk to country folk. Had a way about him.
He'd have sorted this murder in no time.
'Erm... I'm not sure at the moment, but...'
'I found the tape around...'
I found something.
- What's the story, Trace? - Oh, hey. OK.
So, we have recovered cigarette butts here,
but we found a used condom on the altar.
So we've marked that urgent and sent it to the lab. Right?
This is the stone Dominic asked Lee to take down to the house.
He didn't move it very far, did he?
Least he didn't cause any damage.
Oh, but he has. He's unleashed the Black Dog.
Harry Dickinson told me
that they placed the stone on top of the Black Dog
to trap it under the earth and stop it coming into the village.
Why does everything in Edendale have a story or a legend attached to it?
Why can't a stone just be a stone?
Let's get started, shall we? We visited the church ruins.
It's a nice secluded spot, so no-one can see what you're up to.
You've been having a lot of fun up there, haven't you?
But with a 16-year-old girl. Shame on you.
You don't know what you're talking about, mate.
OK, now, we're thinking you targeted Laura,
just like you've done before with other schoolgirls.
Laura's father told us that he caught you and his daughter
getting high on drugs you supplied.
Laura's now dead.
How do you think that's gonna look to a jury?
Look, she wouldn't leave me alone.
Right? She always wanted to talk to me.
Go on.
She said she wanted to escape her house and needed my help to do it.
She has some beef with her dad, I don't know.
I don't know cos I wasn't interested.
I'm a bit confused, Lee.
On the one hand, you're saying you didn't want Laura anywhere near you,
but you were both found smoking weed together.
Look, I had no choice.
Yeah? She told me if I didn't keep bringing it,
she would tell her dad I was stealing stuff from the house,
and I'd lose my job.
She is not as innocent as she looks, that one.
She had the makings of a real hustler.
Right. Well, we've got a problem, Lee,
because we believe you and Laura met up at the church ruins.
This is some evidence we found up there.
Now, you're a big boy. You know what that is?
It's a condom,
which leads me to think getting high with Laura
was not the only thing you were doing up there.
Right? So all it takes is a DNA test,
and we can find out who these belong to.
No comment.
"No comment." OK.
Well, maybe we should go see Gemma, see if she wants to make a comment.
Whoa, Gemma doesn't need to know what's been going on, does she?
Not unless you start talking, Lee.
All right, yeah.
Yeah, I did see someone at the church.
We both knew it was stupid and dangerous, but...
it was just a hook-up, no strings.
W-Who was this someone,
and what do you mean by "it was dangerous"?
In case the lord of the manor found out.
She was worried what her husband might do.
Hang on. Are you saying you were seeing Charlotte Kirkham?
For fun, yeah.
But I told her, once I'm married, that's it, show's over.
Yeah.
Not as perfect as they look, that Kirkham family, right?
- And neither are you, Lee. - Oh, I know.
But I'm trying to become better.
And Gemma knows I've made mistakes, but she believes in me.
That... That woman is my future.
And when I say my vows, I'm gonna mean every single word.
I'm afraid Dominic is in his office on a call.
It's OK. Erm, we actually needed to speak to you about a private matter.
Lee Bateman has told us
he was meeting up with you in secret at the church.
He's lying.
I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of his mouth.
Well, we've found condoms in the church ruins.
DNA tests will give us the answers we need.
But you could help speed things up.
Help us find Laura's killer.
Charlotte... were you meeting up with Lee?
We need to know the truth.
Yes.
It was just a distraction.
A distraction from what?
Being trapped in this house.
It may look impressive from the driveway,
but once you're inside, it's like a bloody mausoleum.
Well, why come here, then?
Dominic wanted to buy somewhere he could renovate,
show off to his wealthy clients.
Oh, it's fine for him. He gets to leave.
Travel the world on business. But me?
I'm left floating from room to room.
Did Dominic know about you two?
I'm sure he would have said something if he found out.
What about Laura? Did she know?
God, I hope not.
It was me that let Lee into the house.
Is she dead because of me?
I mean, did I do this?
I'm wondering if Laura knew about Lee and her mum having the affair.
And what if she did?
Well, maybe getting the weed out of Lee wasn't enough.
Maybe she wanted more,
so she threatened to tell Dominic about the affair until she got it.
- And Lee pushed back. Hard. - Yeah.
Sarge, we need to speak to Lee again.
- Too late, he's walked. - You what?
He's out on bail with strict instructions -
check in with us three times a week, ordered not to leave Edendale.
Yeah, apparently, his solicitor made an emotional plea to the magistrate,
saying that, you know, Lee getting married this week
was a sign he was turning his life around.
Even though he tried to end mine?
Who's telling t'Kirkhams?
Oh, you... cowards.
Dominic, I heard the phone. What's happened?
They've released Lee Bateman.
How could that have happened?
Dominic.
Dominic!
Look, babes, I just got out.
I'm so sorry for all this.
I'll explain it all when I get home.
being careful not to touch the ground.
So, what we thinking? Car swerved and hit him?
Yeah, OK. Thank you.
Crash investigators reckon the driver swerved across the road
and hit Lee Bateman straight on.
Could have been deliberate, could have been drunk.
- Any witnesses? - None.
We're gonna have to wait for the reports and the tests to come back.
When I told Dominic yesterday Lee was being released on bail,
he was absolutely furious, saying we weren't doing our job properly.
Who can blame him? Any parent would be.
The question is, would he take matters into his own hands?
Hi, Gemma. Can we come in, love?
What's happened, and why are you being nice?
- Let's just go in and sit down first. - Er, no, hang on.
You're not coming in here again. Just...
Just tell me.
Right. Erm...
I'm afraid Lee has been in an accident, and he has been killed.
I'm sorry.
- Dominic's car's not here. - We need to find him.
Yes, Tracy?
Yeah. Er, Forensics have found secret tracking software
embedded on Laura's phone connected to Dominic's,
so he was tracking her all the time.
- Cheers, Trace. - What?
Turns out the phone Dominic got Laura had tracking software on it.
It's normal for parents to want to know where their kids are.
No, not like an app you download,
this is secret software embedded into the phone.
She didn't know about it.
Maybe Lee were right about Laura having a dark side
and, well, Dominic knew that too.
Laura left her phone behind Sunday afternoon, yeah?
Which was strange.
What if she knew Dominic were tracking her movements,
and that's why she left it in her room?
- She could have been anywhere. - Yeah. Doing what?
Lee Bateman...
was killed in a hit-and-run incident yesterday afternoon.
Do we know when Dominic's coming back?
You think Dominic was involved?
We just need to track his movements at this point.
Christ.
Er, he left soon after you called yesterday.
We also need to talk to you about Laura's phone.
Apparently, there's a secret tracking software
has been installed on it, directly linked to Dominic's phone.
Why would he need to track Laura?
To make sure that she was at home, studying.
Did he have reason to believe that she wouldn't be?
Charlotte, we're starting to think
that there might have been a different side to Laura,
a side that you and Dominic are keen to hide from us.
Who was she... really?
I loved her... with all my heart.
But, God, she didn't make it easy.
There was a wild streak running through her.
Dominic convinced me
Laura would be best suited to a private school,
somewhere with strong discipline, strict rules.
So I agreed to send her off.
She seemed to be settling in quickly.
We thought, "Finally... we've found a solution."
But then two months ago, we got a call from the school
telling us to pick her up immediately.
What happened?
Laura broke curfew.
Turns out she'd been climbing over the wall
in the middle of the night to meet a boy in town.
Dominic was mortified.
He sent her to a local school.
Made sure she was picked up as soon as it was finished
and brought straight back here.
So that's why she had no social life, no friends.
Dominic wouldn't allow it.
Look, this tracking app...
isolating her from other teenagers...
it was...
it was his way of saving Laura from herself.
Do you really believe that?
He's back.
- Mr Kirkham. - What now?
Mr Kirkham, you're under arrest for the murder of Lee Bateman.
You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if...
- Are you serious? - Afraid so.
We can talk about it down at the station.
All right.
It may harm your defence
if you do not mention when questioned something...
You drove to Birmingham yesterday evening, Mr Kirkham, correct?
- Yeah. - What route did you take?
The one my satnav suggested.
Didn't travel along the Bulmer Road?
Do you know a quick way?
Lee Bateman was hit by a car along that road last night.
He died of his injuries.
That's unfortunate.
It's coincidental, cos when I called you yesterday
to tell you Lee was being released without charge, you were furious.
You said we were putting a child killer back on the streets.
I'm guessing now he's dead, Edendale can breathe a sigh of relief.
Did you go looking for Lee after that call?
Of course not.
I can't stand being anywhere near that man.
Perhaps there was another reason you hated Lee Bateman.
What are you getting at?
Well, we know that you were secretly
tracking Laura's movements on her phone.
Were you spying on Charlotte too?
Cos if you were, you would have noticed
that she went to the church ruins whenever you left the house.
Look, I'm not stupid, detectives.
I knew Charlotte was having an affair with Lee Bateman.
Well, why didn't you confront her about it, then?
The scandal coming out, it's worse than the crime itself.
I thought if Charlotte was being discreet,
then I could turn a blind eye.
Appearances do mean everything to you, don't they?
We believe what we see, 'ey?
And what about that fresh-looking dent in your bumper?
We noticed it when you arrived back.
Yeah, that. I, er...
I swerved to miss a deer
when I was driving out of the house yesterday evening.
Are you sure you didn't swerve to hit something else...
or someone else?
No comment.
Dominic didn't flinch when we told him Lee Bateman was dead.
He also said he knew about Charlotte's affair
taking place right under his nose
but claimed he was happy to turn a blind eye.
- The dent in his car? - Said he swerved to miss a deer.
Harry Dickinson said there's loads of 'em on the estate.
When can we expect results from SOCO?
They're doing the test now, sir...
so we should have something tomorrow.
Great. Stay on it.
Mum, I'm at work. You all right?
All right, wait there, wait there.
- Can you hold the fort? - Yeah.
- You OK? - Yeah, good. Won't be long.
Mum?
You told me it was an emergency.
I thought you'd fallen down the stairs again.
I'm not that doddery.
The cards have spoken.
Jesus.
See?
No, Mum, I don't see.
Money and treason.
Your father was murdered over bad money. Gambling.
Mum, Dad never gambled.
I'm not saying that he did,
but what I am saying is that's the reason he were out there
on Boggart's Bridge that night.
I can't use tarot cards to steer an investigation.
But this is the clearest message we've ever had.
It's been five years, almost to the day,
and nothing has happened.
You need all the help you can get.
You think I don't know that?
Look, I'm sorry, love. I'm...
I'm sure you're trying as hard as you can.
I've gotta go back to work.
Did you ask Diane about coming on Saturday?
I did. She is. Why?
Tell her I have an urgent message for her and all.
Can I get a large house white, please?
- I'm sat there. - Sure thing.
- All right? - Hiya.
How was your mum?
Ugh, this anniversary's got her all stirred up.
- She'll be all right after Saturday. - That's good to hear.
She's pleased you're coming.
Really?
She's got a special message for you.
I've had enough of her special messages, thank you.
- Oh, hey. - Tracy.
Do you want to join us? But it is a work-free zone.
Oh, no. I've had my glass already.
Erm, there was a fella in here earlier looking for you.
- When? - About an hour ago.
Very handsome, 40s, tailored suit.
Er, what did you tell him?
I just said that you'd be in later, and then he went.
You gonna tell us who this fella is?
No.
Oh, all right. See you both tomorrow, yeah?
- Bye. - See you.
I take it this is the gentleman you left behind in Leeds?
Yeah.
He's the reason you came to Edendale.
- It's nothing I can't handle. - Right.
Well, if you want to feel a bit safer,
I've got a spare room at my house.
You're welcome to kip there for a few nights.
Thank you, but, erm...
- I'll be OK. - Suit yourself.
So, we just had an interesting call come in
from an Edendale council worker.
He's a genie who scoops up roadkill animals
and makes them disappear.
Turns out he was driving near Raven's Side on Sunday night,
and he thought he caught a glimpse
of a dog running loose through the woods.
The Black Dog.
He went to investigate and to see if the owner turned up...
which they never did.
He then moved on to his last job because it was getting dark.
This was around 6:30pm,
close to the time that Laura was murdered.
Is there a chance it could have been Harry Dickinson's dog?
Come on. I have a feeling they'll have got a dog.
Could be any one of them.
Yeah, but you wouldn't want a dog on the estate.
There's signs everywhere. Dogs off the lead would be shot.
I'm thinking there's a good chance that Harry could have lied to me
and it was his dog that the worker saw.
Well, go with Diane and speak to Dickinson.
Yes, sir.
- You all right? You look knackered. - I'm fine.
Once this coffee kicks in, I'll be all right.
Come on. You left the pub early last night.
Looks like you're still in the same clothes.
Have you even been home?
It's nothing I can't handle, remember?
You brought it, then?
I was thinking on the way here...
we could set the sheep free in the woods,
let them fend for themselves.
You can't live on pine cones and leaves, Harry.
This is the kindest way.
You don't have to do it with me.
Hello again, Mr Beeley.
- What do these two want? - Hello, Mr Dickinson.
Helen said you were here again.
All right? Still helping Sam sort things out.
Dare I ask what you're up to today?
We're slaughtering the sheep.
Don't worry. We're not gonna strangle them.
- You're not joking? - I can't look after 'em any more.
Are you shutting down the smallholding?
No choice.
I can barely tip a bag of feed these days.
I see. I mean, I noticed the walking stick.
I've the Goldstone Company to thank for that.
That's a mining company, innit?
We're the only survivors
when the whole thing collapsed in June of '92.
Five days, we were trapped down there in the dark.
I remember a dozen men died.
Oh, this fella here saved my life.
Feeding me water from his hands.
Right, well...
We've got some more questions to ask you about Sunday evening,
obviously, when Laura was murdered.
A witness said they saw a dog running loose through the woods.
Can't have been Jess. She never leaves my side.
Oh, well, where is she, then?
Home, in her basket.
Turned herself inside out last night.
You were right about not eating those chickens.
So, you weren't at Raven's Side on Sunday evening?
You're beginning to annoy me more than a bloody horsefly.
I'm just asking for your help
with a murder investigation, that's all, Harry.
It's not too much to ask.
Well, I feel bad about what happened to that girl.
I'm quite happy that Dominic Kirkham
goes through as much hell as possible.
Now get, the pair of you. Leave me be.
Come on.
When we've killed the sheep, we're gonna burn 'em.
Wanna stay around for a bit of lamb shank?
I wonder what Harry's got against Dominic Kirkham.
Well, I doubt he'll ever tell us.
You could always go and ask Helen.
Not quite the first date I had in mind.
So, you reschedule our drink and then turn up again out of the blue.
I know, I know.
I'm sorry for messing you about, Helen.
I just, erm...
If it's OK, I just had a question to ask you about your uncle Harry.
- Is it to do with the investigation? - I'm not sure yet. Maybe.
All right.
So, it's safe to say that your uncle Harry
is definitely not a fan of Dominic Kirkham.
Is there a reason for that?
Did something happen between the two of them?
Doubt you'll find anyone around here with a good word to say about him.
That's not what I asked, Helen.
Listen, I just need to find a background on this guy.
Anything that's gonna help us solve Laura's murder.
It happened months ago.
Dominic called me up one afternoon,
asking if I'd come over to the estate
and give Laura some private riding lessons.
She were a lovely girl, Laura.
Real funny, smart, tearaway look in her eye.
Yeah, that's what people have said.
I was only... teaching her for a few weeks
when Dominic organised this big garden party
for all his clients.
He said he wanted Laura to ride in on the horse
just so he could show her off to all his guests.
- And you told him no. - Absolutely.
That horse wasn't used to big crowds of people.
It would've gotten spooked and thrown Laura off.
Dominic didn't like me saying no, but I stood my ground.
I told Laura to dismount.
Then he just slapped me right in front of her.
Jesus Christ.
Uncle Harry came home, saw the welts coming up across my cheek,
and he grabbed his gun and said he was gonna shoot off his kneecaps.
I talked him out of it, obviously.
But I don't understand.
Why would Harry keep on working for Dominic if he's done this to you?
Dominic owns all the cottages on the estate.
If I made a formal complaint against him,
he'd fire my uncle and make him homeless the same day.
In the end, I convinced Harry that he serves the land, not the owner,
and we just put it to bed.
Well, I appreciate you telling me all this.
- I know it can't have been easy. - Do you know what?
It actually feels good to have finally told someone.
Listen, do you want me to take this any further?
I can call him in.
No, no, I don't. What's done is done.
One thing I do regret, though... about not coming forward, is that...
I let Dominic get away with it.
I'm sure I'm not the first person
to be on the receiving end of his anger.
You didn't ever see him hit Laura, did you?
She kept away from him as much as possible.
So make of that what you will.
When we spoke yesterday, Mr Kirkham,
you agreed with me when I said appearances mean everything.
Like the portraits in your hallway.
Everyone's smiling. Laura looks happy.
But I suppose it's all just part of the illusion, isn't it?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
We know Laura was rebelling against you -
expelled from an expensive private school,
smoking with a gardener.
Which is why she needed firm parenting and strong boundaries.
On that Sunday, you found Laura's phone in her bedroom.
Correct.
And that's when you realised she'd tricked you,
making you think she was at home studying
when, actually, she'd left the house.
She wasn't doing what she was told.
Now, I think before you phoned the police
to say that Laura was missing, you did find her.
And because all your previous attempts
to try and control her behaviour had failed,
you lost your temper and you swung at her,
hitting her in the back of the head.
This is bullshit. I never laid a finger on her.
You've no idea the sacrifices I made for that girl and her mother.
- What sacrifices, Dominic? - Well, where do you want me to start?
When I first met Charlotte...
she was stuck in a toxic relationship.
Pretty awful man.
So I took her and Laura in. I raised her as my own.
I gave them everything that they could want in this world.
And what did I get in return?
Infidelity and downright disobedience.
You're not Laura's real father?
No.
No, I'm not.
I tried to love Laura as if she was my own.
And she resisted and rejected that love with every fibre of her being.
Dominic always referred to Laura as "my daughter".
I think being a stepdad doesn't fit in
with Dominic's vision of the perfect family.
Kept it quiet.
And unfortunately, as we all know...
stepfathers are more likely to kill children than actual fathers.
Yeah, we had the same alarm bells ringing.
Boss, we've just had more forensics in from the crash investigators.
I'm calling it.
Final nail for Dominic Kirkham.
It's the opposite, I'm afraid.
They found red metallic car paint on Lee's clothing.
Dominic's car's black.
Yeah, which means he can't be our hit-and-run driver.
No, but... but Gemma Ward might be.
Gemma. Police.
Come on, Gemma, open up.
Lee called me saying he was out on bail
and wanted picking up on Bulmer Road.
I grabbed my keys, went off to get him.
I was speeding all the way there because I didn't want him waiting.
Then... I see him up ahead...
and I knew if I let him get in the car,
he'd lay it on thick with excuses and promises, trying to win me over.
I couldn't give him that chance.
He didn't deserve another one.
So...
instead of slowing down...
I sped up...
aimed right for him.
My mum didn't want me to marry Lee.
Said he brought out the worst in everyone.
She was right.
So, what happens with Dominic now?
We have to let him go. Pending further enquiries.
Unless anything came up when you spoke to Helen Miller.
There was something, sir.
Dominic assaulted Helen at his stables a few months ago,
struck her across the face.
Harry Dickinson found out,
and Helen managed to convince him to keep quiet.
As you can imagine, he wasn't a happy man.
Were you gonna tell us?
Right, this proves Dominic has a violent disposition, yeah?
Well, this is new information we can't use. Why not?
Because Helen wants to keep it in the past.
Can't you just convince her to make a statement, then?
I'm not sure I can do that.
You can't or you won't?
- I won't. - It's a joke.
Look, even if Helen did give a statement,
it don't prove that Dominic laid a hand on Laura.
Thank you.
I just think Harry Dickinson was lying
about not being in the woods when Laura was murdered.
And I don't think he'd let Dominic get away with hitting Helen.
It's his niece.
So you think he attacked Laura out of revenge?
Well, he knows more than he's letting on, put it that way.
Why don't I speak to the roadkill cleaner?
I mean, he was vague about the dog he saw in the woods.
If he can prove that it was black,
then we could put pressure on Harry to tell the truth.
Yeah, and with your permission, sir,
I'd like to dig a little bit deeper into him.
All right.
Thank you.
Did Lee ever mention anything about a Harry Dickinson?
He was a groundskeeper on the estate.
Harry went mad at Lee
for moving some old stone inside the church ruins.
Harry started to shove Lee about,
so Lee threatened him with the sharp end of the spade.
It was weird...
this old man getting so upset about a stone.
No, that's helpful. Thank you.
So, what did the roadside genie say?
The dog he saw in the woods was black and white.
So not Harry Dickinson's, then?
Hold on.
Whose dog is that?
Mr Kirkham, I need you to look at this photo.
- I'm done with all this. - It might help find Laura's killer.
Who does that dog belong to?
The old gardener.
He quit shortly after that photo was taken.
He kept on banging on about this sacred stone.
Who is he?
A man named Sam Beeley.
Sir, the dog in this photo belongs to Sam Beeley,
ex-gardener of Dominic Kirkham.
I think it was this dog the council worker saw running wild
on Raven's Side the night that Laura was murdered.
And I think it was this dog that bit Laura.
Not a fox or a badger.
And does this mean that Harry Dickinson's not involved?
No, I think Harry knew that it was Sam's dog who bit Laura.
Them two are closer than family since the mining accident.
Let's arrest Harry Dickinson and Sam Beeley.
Sir.
'DC Ben Cooper.'
Ben. Ben!
I know. I know.
It's your home.
I'm leaving.
Cooper?
Dave?
It's me, it's me, it's me.
What are you doing? I have been looking for you.
Well, I was following Sam, but then I heard you shouting.
- I've lost him. - I know where he is.
Where?
He's gone to be with his wife.
Read this.
Sam.
We've read your letter, mate. We know everything.
You're gonna have to come to the station with us.
I'm afraid this is how it has to end.
Now, go back. You don't have to see this.
Oh, Sam, Sam. You don't wanna do that.
Listen to me.
Do you not think Laura's parents
deserve to know what happened to her?
Explain it to us, Sam.
So, a couple of weeks back,
Harry told me that young Lee had been down here
and decided to move the stone back towards the house.
I couldn't let that happen.
So I come down Sunday afternoon to put it back in its place.
This was...
where I sat with my wife, Ruth...
every day for nearly 20 years.
This was, like, our special spot. We'd come here for our lunch.
She cooked up in the kitchens at the house,
and I tended the gardens.
And we had, like, this little arrangement.
She'd bring the sandwiches,
and I'd bring a joke I'd made up that morning.
On a good day, her laugh would scare the birds out of the trees.
She's been gone two years.
It just feels like yesterday.
I spread her ashes around the stone
so I could still come here and be with her,
you know, and share a joke.
When I came down on Sunday,
Laura was sat here, smoking a cigarette.
I told her to sling her hook,
let me move the stone back into place.
She just laughed like...
like I couldn't do it.
She didn't realise what the stone meant.
This is Ruth's last resting place.
I shouted at Laura. I said some things I'm not proud of.
She just flicked her cigarette into the weeds
and walked away like this place was nothing.
Connie went after her. That's what she's trained to do.
Laura pushed her away. Connie didn't like that.
Jumped up and bit her on the arm. Laura started screaming,
going on about how she's gonna get Connie put down.
And you lost your temper.
Yeah.
Hit her on the back of the head with my stick.
- That's when she went running. - Connie went after her.
I tried to make things right. I went looking for her, but...
couldn't find her.
Sam... we hear you.
We know you've lost everything.
But you need to put that gun down.
I just want to be with my wife.
It's OK, Sam, it's OK.
I just want to be with my wife.
Shush, Connie.
- Are you warmed up yet, Harry? - It'll take a bit, lad.
The cold from them woods goes in deep.
When Sam came to see you late Sunday evening,
after he'd killed Laura, why not get him to turn himself in?
There was no way Sam could deal with being locked in a tiny prison cell.
See, he became claustrophobic after the mining accident.
Even sitting in here,
you'd have to have the front door open in case he needed to escape.
When he asked for my help to end things his way... I agreed.
He saved my life. How could I say no?
Fed you water from his hands.
And how many friends would do that?
You know, you're gonna have to answer for your part in all of this.
I know, lad.
One thing before we take you away.
Why did you take me to see Laura's body?
Cos you lot were searching in the wrong bloody direction.
I didn't want that young girl lying out in the woods any longer.
I've seen what happens to a deer when it dies out there,
when the animals and the insects take over.
- No-one deserves that. - Yeah.
Right.
Do with me what you will.
- What's going on? - Nothing that can't be sorted, love.
Harry Dickinson, I'm arresting you
for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
You do not have to say anything,
but it may harm your defence if you do not mention,
when questioned, something you later rely on in court.
Now, listen. Take Connie back to my cottage, will you?
She'll be good company for Jess while I'm away.
- You all right? - Yeah.
Did you notice that they've taken the wreaths down?
All right, no more talk of the Black Dog, OK?
- Welcome back to the 21st century. - Hang on, hang on.
I could've sworn you shouted out someone's name in the woods.
Was Helen right? Were the trees whispering to you?
- No. - No.
But I actually have to admit, it was creepy as hell.
Look, I love a good horror,
but I don't want to be a main character in one.
What about me? I'm stuck in a rom-com nightmare.
Boy meets girl, girl takes boy for a walk,
boy arrests girl's uncle, boy texts girl,
girl ignores boy's text.
Well, you don't have to be alone forever.
Well, I'm not going on a dating app, that's for sure.
No, I was thinking of taking you up on the offer
to kip over for a few nights.
- I just need a sofa. - Ah, that's right.
- I made that offer, didn't I? - You were just being polite.
- I could see it. - No, no, it's fine, it's fine.
- You can stay. - Nah, it's all right.
No, you can stay. It'll be good to have company.
You know, I'd actually really appreciate it.
Well, that's fine. Cheers to Black Dogs. Yeah?
- No. - OK.
Ah. Right.
Joe was one of the finest. He was a great officer.
A great colleague.
More importantly, he was a friend...
a great husband and a great father.
And nothing was too much trouble for him.
And no-one, no-one, could make you laugh as hard.
You remember the sheep in my office?
My damn jacket.
Here's to you, Barrel.
To Joe. God bless.
To Joe.
We miss you, Dad. Every day.
I'm really glad you came. I've got a message for you, in fact.
Oh, you don't have to do that right now.
It's more of a warning, really.
You're going to destroy someone you really love,
ruin their life forever.
But it's not too late to change a path.
I don't care what the cards say, Isobel.
Cards can't lie, Diane.
I mean, we can, to ourselves, but they can't.
- Shall we make a move, Mum? - Yes. Yes, love.
- I'll catch up with you in a minute. - All right, love.
- All right? - Yeah, fine.
- You? - Yeah.
There were more flowers last year.
Suppose that's life, isn't it? People move on. People forget.
Not the people that know and love Joe.
They'd never forget.
Home-grown, they're nice.
Yeah, someone leaves them every year.
The same flowers, the same message.
"Always and forever."
Look, thank you for inviting me, Ben.
I just wish I had the chance to get to know him.
Thank you.
Sorry, Dad.
I'm gonna have to stop.
*CREDITS*