Original subtitles

[Lucy] She's dead, we were, we were too late.

[Jean] What did you think it would be like, Susan?

[Susan] I didn't think it would be so...

[Priest] As a life so cruelly cut short.

[screaming]

We must try to let her live in our memories...

[Susan] Did you see the cigarette butts

on the floor in there?

[Lucy] What does it matter?

[Susan] It matters, because it means

he took his time in there, it matters

because he stops for a smoke, for God's sake!

[tense music]

[keys clacking]

[Radio] More news on the oil price crisis later today.

No arrest has yet been made

in the case of the murder of Mary Lawrence,

whose death is believed to be linked

to that of four other young women.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward

and aid them in their inquiries.

Deputy Commissioner Wainwright of Scotland Yard

said earlier this morning that any information

will be treated in strictest confidence.

Elsewhere in the city, bacon rations...

How was it?

Grim.

Right, how are we getting on?

We've got it down to seven suspects.

That's with engineering work on the Leeds service?

No, no, we're doing that now.

They were closing the lines off

in pairs by the looks of it.

Yes, so you get schedule changes fortnightly.

[Susan] Yes, I see.

That takes these two out straightaway.

And Peter Lakes, he was in the mainline service before.

They moved, didn't they?

He was part of the crew pulling

alternate shifts back in February.

Yes, so he comes off, and this one,

Oliver Cartwright, he was part of the P19 shift.

[Susan] I thought he was P6.

[Millie] Only until...

April 8th.

Good, right, three names and a week to go.

We're running out of time.

We need to hand it over.

Mrs. Gray?

Deputy Commissioner can see you now.

[knocking]

Hello again, Mrs. Gray.

I believe you have some more information for us.

Yes, I've analyzed the journeys the girls made

and they all connect in some way

to the 6:15 slow train from St. Pancras to Barking.

Now, I think that the man you're looking for

is either a ticket inspector or a guard on that service.

Well, why a guard?

Why not a passenger?

Because he'd have to lure them

off the train without a struggle,

he'd have to be someone they trust, someone in authority.

[knocking]

[Wainwright] Come in!

Sir, Mr. Reynolds is here.

I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me.

Do tell DCI Compton everything you can.

So you were saying a guard or a ticket inspector?

Because of the journeys the girls made

on the days they were abducted.

We've been, I've worked out the schedules

for all 87 guards who work there and we can narrow it down.

Now, there were work out of St. Pancras at that time,

engineering works, I mean.

Right.

Which means they were chopping and changing

staff schedules, so guards were doing duties

on other trains because their usual service was canceled.

How does that relate to the murdered girls?

Well, before we factored in the engineering work,

we had 38 possible solutions.

but when we added in the altered rail services,

it gave us a whole new set of variables,

the number of suspects suddenly changed.

But what's this got to do with trains, anyway?

There was only one girl was found under a railway arch.

No.

No, it's not to do with where they were found,

it's to do with how he targets them.

The journeys the girls made on the day they were abducted

is the only significant link between them.

Perhaps if I could have five minutes with...

Mrs. Gray, the Deputy Commissioner is very busy

at the moment, and I'm sure you can appreciate that.

I'll pass your ideas onto him.

They're not just ideas.

You mean you got evidence?

Yes, I've got evidence.

Yes, this is the evidence.

Ahem, these are the three names:

Tommy Casterwell, Antony Cross, Gerald Wiggins,

it's one of these three.

He's working to a timetable,

you've only got three days left so I...

I promise we'll look into it.

And thanks again for your trouble.

Now, I really must get back to my men.

[Susan] It was a disaster.

But they did take the names?

They didn't take any of it seriously,

we can show them patterns and data all day long,

that's not how they work, they want evidence, not theory.

If we could just take them one name, not three...

Susan, we have cross-correlated everything.

What if we did a vector analysis?

[Millie] How?

Remember at Bletchley,

when the Germans kept shifting their code sequence?

We worked the data looking for incremental changes,

we tracked changes to the pattern, not the pattern itself.

Doing a vector analysis on a crime scene

is gonna take forever the day.

I know, so we'd better crack on.

[pensive music]

There must be something.

No vector variation, they're identical.

Well, doesn't that just show

he's done the same thing every time?

We knew that from the start.

No, there ought to be something, even if it's small.

There's no change here, no anomalies.

Not even in the first one?

First time you baked a cake, what happened?

I don't bake cakes.

Mine fell.

They often do first off, dear.

Everything comes with practice.

You knit a jumper, you bake a cake,

the first time's all a bit of a mess.

But look at the vectors, the date are straight,

he's already good at this!

He's done it before!

We'd have heard about the murders.

What happens if they were years ago

or somewhere other than London?

I'll try the British Library at Collingdale,

they keep an archive of all regional newspapers.

Come on, Lucy, I need you and that memory of yours.

[Millie] Good luck!

What are you doing?

The police would go knocking on doors, why shouldn't we?

What?

Don't worry, they won't be there,

we've got their schedules, remember?

We can go 'round, talk to their wives, their neighbors,

get an idea of who these men are.

Come on!

[whirring]

How far have you got?

Halfway through 1948 now

but I'm only scanning the headlines.

[whirring]

You'd have thought after the war people would have

had enough of killing each other.

I've got 19 murders here.

Any underground or strangled?

No, nothing like that, nothing that fits.

[sighing] Me neither.

Life insurance?

In case your husband has an accident at work for instance,

the policy would compensate for his salary

and ensure your family was provided for.

What is your husband's occupation?

He works on the railways, ticket inspector.

So if he got ill or injured...

What kind of ill?

He's already got asthma.

Oh, I'm sorry, does that affect his ability to work?

I don't know how much longer he'll be able to stick it,

with the all smoke and fumes.

How serious is it?

He can't lift, can't run.

Some days it's that bad he can't

pick the baby up, he's so puffed.

But that doesn't mean you can't insure him, does it?

Thank you.

Jean, I think I've got something.

Hereford Times, the 4th November 1949.

Strangled.

They found her in a storm drain near the gas works.

Oh, good Lord.

I think I've found one, too.

[somber music]

[whirring]

Oh, no, we haven't missed a match in 15 years!

Every Tuesday and Thursday.

I'll go with him, you see, for support.

You should write that down.

Regional Darts Champion for the Southeast.

That's wonderful.

I think that's all we need.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

Why are we leaving?

Matches are Tuesdays and Thursdays,

Jane Hart went missing on 7th February,

Patricia Harris on the 28th.

Oh, yes, they're both on Thursdays.

We've only got an hour 'til the last one gets off shift,

we better get a move on.

Another seven victims all over the country,

strangled and hidden like the five in London.

How could the police miss that?

Well, they didn't, didn't they?

These cases were solved.

The murderers were either hanged or went to jail.

James Lowell, caught in Hereford in 1949,

he kept clothing from the girl he killed.

Marco Giacommi, convicted in Birmingham in 1950,

dropped his wristwatch at the scene of the second murder.

Terry Hudson's lighter was found

under the seventh girl's body.

Well, maybe he's making it look like other people did it?

Placing false evidence at the crime scenes,

things that point to someone else, like the wristwatch.

So one man who's killed 12 girls all around the country,

over and over, fooling the police, fooling everyone,

and getting away with it.

You think it's impossible.

I don't know.

[sighing] I mean, look at all these cases!

If this really was the work of one man,

he'd have to be planning three steps ahead of everyone else,

every single detail with military precision as if he were...

As if he were what?

As if he were deceiving the enemy.

What did that newspaper report say about

Terry Hudson and the ration coupons?

"Upon searching Hudson's house in Derby Street

"police also discovered forged ration coupons which they

"believe Hudson may have been selling on the black market."

Doesn't that strike you as odd?

I don't know, not really.

Because italso say he was feeble-minded.

Yeah?

Well, they can't have it both ways,

feeble-minded and impulsive enough to kill

and running a nice little racket in forged coupons.

No, it doesn't fit.

Terry Hudson wasn't clever enough to be a forger.

Our killer is.

So, where would he have learned to do that?

I think there's someone we should talk to.

Jean McBrian, my goodness!

Hasn't it been a long time?

It certainly has.

This is Lucy Davies.

Would you like to come to my office?

So, what brings you to the Central Records Office anyway?

I have a favor to ask.

Oh, yes?

It's regarding our time during the war.

What kind of favor?

Lucy was at Bletchley with me

so she understands these things.

Ah, what kind of things exactly?

Keeping things secret.

Oh, of course.

Angela, when I was at Special Operations Executive,

there were rumors.

Mm-hmm, what kind of rumors?

A special department within Electra House

handling misinformation and deception

and the rumor was you worked for them.

Oh, well, I'm afraid you've got that quite wrong.

No, I was general clerical.

Weren't we all, dear?

I wouldn't ask, except it's important.

Well, Jean, I'd love to help you, you know that,

but I was only at Electra briefly.

No, they sent me here just after you went to Bletchley.

My mistake.

This is it, Gerald Wiggins, flat 22, fifth floor.

[knocking]

Hello?

[knocking]

[tense music]

- What are you doing? - There's no one here!

Two clocks.

This isn't what we're supposed to be doing!

This is not normal.

Come on!

[both gasping]

I...

[all screaming]

Who are you?

What're you doing in Gerald's flat?

I'm so, so, so sorry, we were looking for Mr. Wiggins.

He'll back from work in a minute.

How did you get in?

The door was open.

Oh, that was me.

I came in to give Patrick his seeds, but I'd left them.

I feed him while Gerald's out.

I'm sorry if I was a bit brusque there,

but you caught me by surprise!

What was it you wanted with Gerald?

Oh, we're offering life insurance.

Gerald don't know what to do with that.

What do you mean?

Well, he's not all there.

He got a head wound in the war,

still got a piece of shrapnel stuck in there.

So, well, he's a bit simple now.

I help him out on and off, things he can't manage.

But he still goes to work?

Oh, yes.

On the railways, timetables, dates, numbers,

anything like that, you name it, he comes alive!

That's what he loves.

It's the rest of life he has trouble with.

We've always said he's working to a timetable.

Gerald loves timetables!

Yes, but she seemed to know him so well.

Maybe he's not as harmless as she thinks he is.

[engine rumbling]

We've got it all wrong!

Thank you.

Let's talk inside.

Seven other girls?

All around the country.

He chooses a scapegoat, makes the evidence point to them.

He orchestrates the whole thing.

Well then it can't be Gerald Wiggins, doesn't fit.

You heard what the neighbor said,

he can hardly plan for himself.

This man plans everything.

Gerald Wiggins is the one who is going to hang for this.

He's the one they're going to pin it on.

Ah, Mrs. Gray.

I'm pleased you're here. I have good news.

We made an arrest this afternoon,

and I have to say, it's thanks to you.

What?

Those names you gave our DCI,

took us a while to follow them up, but it's good job we did.

We found items from the girls hidden

in a locker of a ticket inspector, Gerald Wiggins.

Oh, no.

What's wrong?

It's not him.

I beg your pardon?

Well, I was wrong, it's not Gerald Wiggins.

Mrs. Gray.

You've been an enormous help but

it's over now, we've got him.

No, you don't haven't.

I'm not making the arrest public

until I have a full confession.

No, no, no, you have to make public,

If he hears it on the wireless,

he'll be scared off, he won't take anyone else.

- You have to... - Susan, please.

Excuse me.

And thanks again, what you did helped us immensely.

So he's gonna be on the 6:15 tonight?

Yes, and now they've got Wiggins in the cell

there's gonna be no one there to catch him.

There must be something we can do.

Well, we know he's gonna be on that train,

and we know he's looking for someone,

we know what kind of girl he's looking for,

what she wears, she looks like.

Yes?

[Susan] Well, what if we...

Give him what he's looking for?

What are you suggesting?

She means be bait.

Put on the right clothes, use the right lipstick,

the right make-up, get on the train,

and try to catch his eye.

No!

You'd be putting yourself in his path!

You are a bright girl, Susan, but that is downright idiotic.

You are, you were backroom girls.

Jean, we were backroom girls,

we never had to make this kind of choice!

What kind of choice is that?

Whether to put yourself at risk

in order to save someone else,

even if you're not good at it, even if you're scared,

because you know it's the right to do,

because, because you know the only thing to do.

In the war, people did that every day!

This is extremely dangerous.

I'll be careful.

Millie, it won't work, you're tall and you're confident.

He's picking on younger girls.

It's me, isn't it?

It has to be me.

Here, let me.

There.

Keep it, you might need to touch it up later.

I'll be in the next compartment.

I'll be watching, all right?

Millie and Jean will be on the platform

at Harringay Park and Blackhorse Road.

If nothing's happened by then

we'll call the whole thing off.

Got it.

Where did you get this stuff?

Ask me no questions.

There.

How is it?

You look...

It's, it's going to be fine.

Wedding ring.

And...

Oh, my God!

Oh, God, that smell,

it's the smell that was in the cellar!

I recognized it when we were down there.

It's French, Charme D'or.

You used to be able to get it in the war.

You most certainly did not!

You did if you knew who to ask.

Where did you get it?

I know someone.

I recommend people to him, he gives me a cut

of what he sells, it helps pay the bills.

I just thought it would add to the effect.

We don't all have Timothy's wonderful

career to support us, you know?

This is how he gets them off the trains.

We thought the killer was an authority figure, a guard.

He tells them to go with him and they do

because he's wearing a uniform.

But he's not a guard, is he?

They choose to go with him

because he has something they want.

Perfume, nylons, anything you can only get on the sly.

You think these girls went along with a man

they didn't know for a pair of stockings?

I know you wouldn't, Jean, I wouldn't.

But they've done it before, that's how they got

their lipsticks, their nylons in first place,

by taking that kind of risk.

That's who he is!

That's who you're looking for.

We'll be right there, remember.

It's going to be fine.

One more thing...

Now, I haven't loaded it yet.

Millie, I don't think that's necessary.

I do, when I was travelling alone,

this was the best companion for single girl, believe me.

Oh, I don't know how.

It's easy, you just point and pull the trigger.

[clicking]

Remember, he needs to get you off the train,

so go with him, play along, pretend you're interested.

The moment you're on the platform drop your bags,

stop to pick it up, try to slow him down.

I'll be behind you, and either Millie

or Jean will be right in front.

Scream blue murder and get the guards on him in no time.

How do you feel?

Fine.

Scared.

[train hissing]

[train whistling]

[train rumbling]

Can I take your ticket, sir?

Thank you.

[suspenseful music]

Hello.

[train rumbling]

You look nice.

Going out somewhere?

Just to see my friend.

Boyfriend?

None of your business, is it?

I don't know, could be.

Girlfriend, actually.

So you don't have a boyfriend?

Not right now.

That's a crying shame, a pretty thing like you.

[Lucy chuckling]

Fancy going for a little walk?

What, with you?

Yeah, with me.

I'll make it worth your while, if you like.

All right.

[train hissing]

Come on, then.

No, not that way, this way.

[tense music]

- Move! - For goodness sake be careful

What's this?

A freight van and it's all ours.

[train whistling]

She's not here!

Well, what do I do?

Call the police, now!

[Susan panting]

Come on!

Do you like my perfume?

I like your tits.

Do you know where I could get some more of it?

Come on, stop playing hard to get!

I'm sorry, I think there's been a mistake,

I'm not interested!

Don't worry, I'll soon have you interested.

- Get off! - [slapping]

[slapping]

Police, my friend's on a train

and I think she's being attacked.

No!

No!

Shut up!

[train whistling]

Do you know when this train's coming?

In two minutes.

[Lucy screaming]

Lucy!

[train hissing]

Lucy!

- [thudding] - Ow, shit, shit!

My nose!

You've broken it, you silly bitch!

[Lucy sobbing]

Oh my God, Lucy!

What happened?

- Are you all right, miss? - I lost track...

It wasn't him, was it?

It was just some clark looking for a good time.

[ominous music]

[Man] Make way, coming through.

[Jean] It's okay, it's okay.

What time do you call this?

[Lucy] I'm sorry.

It's my fault, I really do apologize,

we just lost track of time.

Then I'm sure you'll be in a hurry to get going.

We won't keep you.

Bye, darling.

Get to bed.

Sorry to keep you so late.

- Thanks again, see you soon. - Good night.

If I asked you what the hell was going on,

would you tell me the truth?

You were on a train to Barking.

What's in Barking?

Nothing, I was, it's...

I don't believe you.

For the first time, I don't believe you.

So you lost track of time?

What were you doing losing track of time?

Nothing!

Who were you doing nothing with?

I was with Millie.

It was your snooker night, I think you wouldn't mind.

Liar.

Harry, please...

[smacking]

Jean!

Angela, I don't have time for hello and how are you,

I need to know right now

who was in charge of your department at SOE?

I told you before, I was in clerical.

Dear, you're going to have to take a deep breath

and tell me what I need to know,

and if you don't, word might get out

about that little sideline you had going back in the war.

What on Earth are you talking about?

Trading ration coupons.

Did you think I didn't know about that?

Jean, for heaven's sake...

It's funny how that still carries weight,

people still care.

If you fiddled rations during the war,

what might you fiddle now, eh?

Who did you work for at Electra House?

[doorbell ringing]

Jean.

Before Bletchley, I was at SOE.

Francis Cavendish headed a team there

dealing with misinformation and deception.

Now, they were based out of Electra House.

He trained people to fool

the German High Command and get away with it,

just like our killer's fooling the police.

They did a lot of forgery there, bank notes, documents,

ration books, just like they found

in the innocent men's houses.

Now, Cavendish is retired now.

That's his address.

[sighing] I don't know, Jean.

Should we carry on?

Maybe we were foolish to put Lucy on that train.

But you saw her face, how terrified she was.

How can we let other girls go through something

a thousand times worse than that

when we've got a chance of stopping it?

[pensive music]

[doorbell ringing]

Mr. Cavendish?

Yes?

My name's Susan Gray.

I was hoping I could talk to you a moment?

I'm afraid my time simply isn't

my own this morning, Mrs. Gray.

I was given your name by Angela Barker.

I gather you used to work together during the war.

I'm not at liberty to talk about anything

relating to that period in the war.

Because you've signed the Official Secrets Act, so did I.

I was at Bletchley Park.

Then you should know better.

You've heard about these women that have been killed?

The murders.?

It would be hard to live in London

and not have heard about it.

Why?

The man who's killing them has placed evidence

for the police to find.

It's a trail that leads to an innocent man.

That sounds very unusual.

I think that the man responsible

might have worked for you.

Mrs. Gray, what you're saying

is both insulting and upsetting!

Now, as you were one of Alan's girls,

I'll extend to you a degree of professional courtesy

that I normally wouldn't.

That department doesn't exist any more.

But during the war it did.

None of my men would do what you suggest, kill five girls.

12.

What?

He's done it before, he's killed 12 women.

The police think they have their man.

My friends and I are the only people who believe,

who know that they are wrong.

12 girls, you say?

How have you got this far?

By doing what we did at Bletchley,

treating the crimes like a code,

applied pattern analysis to all the facts

of the case we could gather.

That's very clever,

but it won't give you the full picture.

You need to understand the psychology of your target,

what drives him, what makes him tick,

try and get inside his head.

That was my speciality, of course.

How do I do that?

Well, what do you know about him?

Well, nothing now.

Well, you know what he does to his victims.

Well, he lures them off trains by gaining their trust,

he gets them alone, he kills them.

Lots of people kill, what does he do specifically?

He takes them somewhere dark.

Underground, it's strange, actually,

they're such pretty girls and yet he wants them in the dark.

[Mr. Cavendish] Go on.

He strangles them, he waits until

they're dead and then rapes them.

What else does he do?

Tell me.

They wear perfume.

He puts them in cellars, Anderson shelters,

confined spaces, things like that.

The smell of it becomes almost unbearable.

You know who he is, don't you?

What I'm going to tell you goes no further,

do you understand?

It's entirely confidential.

Mm-hmm.

But if there have been 12 deaths, I think I must tell you.

There was a man, he worked for me.

Good at his job.

Very clever, very careful, and then...

A bomb hit the building where he was working

and everyone was killed, we thought...

But he wasn't dead.

He was buried in the rubble under a stairwell.

He survived, you see.

For three days in the dark until they dug him out.

And there was a girl in there, too.

But she was dead.

They were trapped.

For three days?

We sent him to a psychiatrist,

because he was different afterwards.

Still good at his job, almost too good, but different.

I often feared what might have happened down there,

but the psychiatrist said he was fit to work

and I needed him, so...

Where is he now?

There was a fire.

We found his body.

His signet ring, his keys.

No face, of course.

I chose not to pursue it, not to question it.

I was almost relieved when I heard.

I'll let you have all the paperwork I've got on him.

There's not much, I'm afraid.

There's been some sort of accident.

[knocking]

Hello.

[somber music]

Harry.

The doctor's seen her, nothing's broken,

thank God, but the bruising's pretty bad.

She can stay here for now.

[Radio] This is the BBC Home Service News at 1 o'clock

and this is Alvar Lidell speaking.

Police have arrested a man and charged him

with the murders of five women in the greater London area.

Gerald Wiggins, a railway ticket inspector,

was apprehended at home yesterday.

Inspector Lawley of Scotland Yard

said today that Wiggins appears to be mentally frail.

Police believe they have found evidence

linking him to all five murdered women.

The petrol and fuel oil shortages at home

may be worsening as...

Well, that's it, isn't it?

He's gone.

Lucy, I'm so sorry.

It's not your fault.

Did he take anyone from the train?

Not that we know of.

No one's been reported missing.

The police must have scared him off.

That's something.

That's a lot.

That's a life you saved.

I know, but he's still out there.

We still don't know who he is.

I do know who he is, actually.

He's Malcolm Crowley.

[Jean] You got a name from Cavendish?

[Millie] Who's Cavendish?

He headed up a classified department during the war.

He trained Crowley. Jean found him.

So we have a name and whatever else is in there.

Bloody hell!

How's your friend?

Recovering.

What happened to her?

Harry beat her.

It's not the first time.

Good God.

Lucy's the little one?

Yes.

And her husband did that to her?

It happens.

Does this have something to do with the other day?

Yes.

But you don't want to talk to me about it?

I can't.

All right.

I...

I understand.

You do?

She's your friend.

Whatever you were trying to do for her,

get her away from him, to Barking, whatever,

even if it didn't work,

that was a good thing for a friend to do.

- Timothy... - No, no, no, I understand.

I didn't before.

But...

I do now.

[somber music]

Thank you.

I was hoping to go over and see her at the end of day.

Yes, well, you must.

You will be back in time for this...

Yes, of course.

He was in the rubble for three days!

With her body, yes.

Jesus!

Who was the psychiatrist they sent him to?

Dr. Tremaine at the Meredith Hospital.

We should talk to him and see if he remembers Crowley,

if he knows what happened to him.

Meredith's not far from me.

Why don't you go?

Are you sure?

Don't worry, I'll look after her.

[engines rumbling]

[gentle music]

[suspenseful music]

[doorbell ringing]

Can I help you?

I'm looking for a Dr. Tremaine.

I'm afraid Dr. Tremaine no longer works here.

The hospital's being shut down, I'm sorry.

Uh, sorry, uh, Mr...

Croft, Andrew Croft.

Mr. Croft, I'm Susan Gray.

I'm trying to trace one of his patients from the war.

Are there any records, addresses, anything?

What name was it?

A Malcolm Crowley.

I think you'd better come inside, Mrs. Gray.

[dramatic music]