Original subtitles

Seeing what other people do with their houses and gardens

does give one ideas.

Hello, sexy boots. Madam.

What's in these? Elderflower cordial.

Yuck.

Yes, I am talking to you, Mr Rogers!

What about the Pelfe Chase development?

(LAUGHTER)

Excuse me, Mr Rogers, I'm talking to you!

Oh, you deign to listen to me, do you?

Because I want to tell you that, in my opinion,

you're bent jerry-builder with the morals of a Tomcat!

And don't forget the Chairman of the Planning Committee.

Oh, yes, Mr Otley. Look at you!

It's clear you're corrupt by the company you keep!

You're a disgrace to elective office!

JOYCE: Now, this last one, Swanscombe House,

wouldn't be on the list if we'd had our way.

BARNABY: Ah, The Conservation Society are on the warpath.

We were dead set against it being built at all.

It's quite out of character with its surroundings.

The fight goes on.

You've got a nerve, Mr Swanscombe!

You think by opening this eyesore to the public

you might win some sort of approval!

Well, you are so wrong!

Because it should never have been built in the first place!

And I have to tell you that The Midsomer Conservation Society

will oppose your plans to further vandalise this village

by any means necessary!

My dear Maureen, why would I want to vandalise the village?

I've made my home here! My mother was a local girl...

But your father could have been ANY passing tinker, couldn't he?

Take no notice, Norman. Oh, and you're just as bad!

You and all his other cronies.

You've put this monstrous carbuncle on the face of the village

and now you want to do worse with your appalling plans for Pelfe Chase!

God, you ridiculous Philistine old bags!

No, no, no, no! Please, please!

Steady!

Sync and corrected by www.addic7ed.com

Midsommer Murders - Season 13, Episode 7 "Not in My Back Yard"

Well done you, sir! No, not at all.

I used to be in the peacekeeping business.

Did you really? Army.

Major David Walsh. Tom Barnaby.

Peacekeeping's what we did in my day.

Retired down here for a quite life, but you never know, do you?

If you'll excuse me, I'm a candidate in this local election.

I have to counter all the votes being bought

by the er...development mafia.

Chief Inspector Barnaby? Liz Gerrard.

County Planning Officer.

They hold Liz personally responsible for this...'monstrous carbuncle.'

Which is terribly unfair.

This house went through all the rigors of the planning process.

Amen to that.

Liz studied the specification for this house to such a point

she could build it herself - blindfold.

Personally, I think the committee made the right decision.

But I'm just a politically neutral servant of the public.

Like yourself, Chief Inspector. (CHUCKLES)

Er... What exactly is this um... Pelfe Chase development

that Mrs Lawrence was going on about?

Pelfe Chase is a piece of land on the edge of the village.

The council is considering giving outline planning permission

to a mixed housing and commercial development.

But there is local opposition, is there?

Oh, well, there'll always be opposition to change -

especially change for the better.

Mr Swanscombe, you are a candidate in the local election, are you not?

I am. I'm standing as an advocate of change for the better.

The Pelfe Chase development will breathe life into a village

that's in danger of... dying in its sleep.

(GATE SQUEAKS)

(CLANK)

(GLASS SMASHES)

(WHIMPERS)

Argh! Argh!

(CAMERA LENS CLICKS)

(APPROACHING SIRENS)

Fragments of broken glass in the wound.

An opportunistic killing, yeah? A pretty savage one at that.

Time of death? Between 9pm and 3 this morning

probably.

BARNABY: We need to talk to Mr Swanscombe.

When did you last see Maureen Stubbs alive?

Yesterday afternoon,

when she left here after the... well, the incident.

And did either of you see or hear anything unusual

between the hours of darkness?

Mrs Swanscombe? No.

We tidied up in the garden and then had supper.

It was quite late when the phone rang.

It was Maureen Stubbs.

She said she had something to show me that I ought to be aware of.

About what time?

Um... It was around 9 when she called.

I asked if it could wait until the morning, but she was insistent.

Very insistent.

So I agreed to see her.

She didn't turn up? No.

Maureen - she...

..said something about your mother yesterday.

What was the meaning of that...

..Mr Swanscombe?

My mother grew up here.

In the early '50s, when she was 18, she left Midsomer.

She was expecting me.

She never named the father.

So the name Swanscombe...? My stepfather.

He met my mother in London and took us both on.

You were obviously very offended by what she said.

We're offended on behalf of Norman's mother and stepfather.

They'd be deeply hurt by having ancient history dragged up again.

What's so depressing about this place is the way

gossip and malice and spite

infect everybody for generations.

That's why I'm standing for election.

I want to introduce the village to the 21st century.

And Maureen Stubbs opposed your plans.

(SCOFFS) Local politics.

Not something anyone would commit murder over.

(GAVEL BANGS)

So, in principle, we're all happy

with the plans for the Pelfe Chase development

and we'll recommend approval to the next full council meeting

after the election. (MUTTERS OF AGREEMENT)

Good. Well, that concludes this meeting of the Planning Committee.

Thank you, colleagues.

Oh, and a... and a particular thank you to Liz

for her customary diligence and efficiency.

Hear hear! Thank you, Chair.

Oh, Liz, Liz. Um...

Don't fancy lunch, do you?

Oh, I can't right now, James. Got a meeting.

So Maureen Stubbs had a very busy day, even before I arrived.

Yes, sir. She'd told the Chair of the Planning Committee

that he was a disgrace to his office. Ah.

James Otley.

What does James Otley do in real life?

He's a vet.

She said Liz Gerrard was "a spineless jobsworth."

Oh, that's a little harsh.

She's very pretty.

And she called Geoff Rogers "a bent jerry-builder

with the morals of a Tomcat." (CHUCKLES)

You were late last night. Business.

You can't build houses in the middle of the night.

Don't act thicker than you are, girl.

I'm not a brickie any more, Gem.

I'm a mover and shaker around here. Got to put myself about.

At all hours.

See you when I see you.

So what had all these people done to provoke Maureen?

Well, Clifford Bunting designed the house,

Rogers built it, Otley and Liz Gerrard gave it planning permission.

They're what Angela Lawrence called Swanscombe's cronies.

Oh, I see. Oh!

There's Fiona Conway.

She lives at Pelfe Hall.

She sold Swanscombe the land to build on.

Maureen shout at her too? No.

She seemed to steer well clear of Maureen.

(SIGHS)

(DOOR OPENS)

At last! I was just about to start without you.

I had some hassles at work.

We can forget work for an hour.

Swanscombe's site repeatedly vandalised

and the building's plant machinery sabotaged.

STEPHENS: And the attacks on Swanscombe House continued.

Yep. Graffiti sprayed on the walls,

ball bearings fired at the windows from a catapult.

And then death threats to Norman Swanscombe.

Why don't we have a word with Major Walsh?

A peacekeeper's perspective on Great Pelfe might be interesting.

JONES: You've had an interesting career, Major Walsh.

WALSH: Service through leadership: that's always been my motto.

Special Forces. Nuff said? Ooh, yes, sir. Yes, indeed.

And Detective Sergeant Jones and I, we...we stand in awe.

Drinks? No, but thank you.

We were hoping you'd give us your perspective on recent events

in the village.

You've got to understand there are alien elements at work here.

They've got money and they've got influence.

Who exactly are we talking about, sir?

Norman Swanscombe and his cronies.

Look at the way they got his ghastly house through the planning process.

Stinks of corruption.

Have you any proof of that? It's obvious.

And now he's trying to bulldoze his way onto the council.

I mean, I've been living here for five years now.

I sat at the feet of our late council representative.

I made it my business to learn about the village and its traditions

before I put myself forward for office.

So you were groomed for the succession, so to speak.

If you want to see it in those terms.

I see it as more of an apprenticeship.

Frankly, no one expected the seats to be contested.

Then Swanscombe threw his hat into the ring.

But that's his democratic right.

But he's doing it for subversive ends.

Ooh, subversive?

A plan is being drawn up for the development of Pelfe Chase -

an unspoilt site on the edge of the village.

A development which Maureen Stubbs was opposed to.

Yes, and Swanscombe says he'll support it if he's elected.

The same gang are involved that built HIS eyesore.

Mm, I see how that could cause trouble.

Trouble's what they'll get.

Sir, that could be interpreted as a threat.

Not at all. It's a promise.

At a public meeting tomorrow night,

openly and above board,

I'm going to take the war to the enemy.

Have you got the keys? Sir.

Well, you can see who Maureen Stubbs supports.

Yeah. Right,

you search the house, I'll do the garage.

Jones!

Up here!

I don't think Maureen Stubbs was our burglar,

but she was certainly equipped to be the vandal.

Maureen was a fairy godmother to me.

When I moved here with my husband and took this on,

we had no idea the business was going.

It was a desperate struggle.

Then my marriage broke up.

Dear Maureen and Douglas befriended me,

and when he died we became even closer.

Maureen Stubbs was the founder member of the Midsomer Conservation Society,

wasn't she? Of the Great Pelfe branch, yes.

She was our leading light. I just helped out as Committee Secretary.

David Walsh and I will have to pick up the baton

and the struggle will continue.

Mrs Lawrence, will the struggle continue using the same

criminal methods? I don't know what you mean.

We found aerosol cans,

a catapult and ball bearings on Maureen's premises.

The kind of equipment that was used to vandalise Mr Swanscombe's house.

Did you know about that? Absolutely not.

But you were so close, weren't you, you and Maureen?

Well, if she had been tempted into extremism...

..she would have wanted to protect her colleagues from guilty knowledge.

Selfless to the last.

(WHIRS)

(WHIRS)

(CREAKS)

(WHIRS)

(CREAKS)

See what I mean? Yeah.

I can't see anything mechanically wrong.

Maybe there's an electrical fault.

Please, don't get me started on electrical faults.

The man you want to talk to about these doors is your architect.

He specified all this fancy gear.

You and Bunting! I tell you, I've had it up to here

with your bloody excuses!

Er...Mr Swanscombe!

Could I have a word, please?

Don't mind me. I'll be off.

Mr Rogers?

Geoff Rogers, yeah.

I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby. I'd like a word with you too

when it's convenient.

Yeah, well, I'm out and about a lot.

You can er...try me on my mobile, fix something up.

Er...this is DC Stephens.

I'm so sorry, we seem to have walked in on an altercation.

Yes, well, it's just nagging issues, you know.

Always happens on a new building project.

Oh, yes.

Now, sir, we've discovered some items on Maureen Stubbs' premises

which suggest that she was the person responsible for the vandalism here.

That doesn't surprise me at all.

And we couldn't help wondering if she came back here last night

intending to inflict more damage.

She said she wanted to talk. She had something I ought to see.

We're going through her phone records.

What, do you mean you don't believe me?

Perhaps she came back here last night unannounced

and you disturbed her when she was about her work.

No. Yes, and the anger you felt

at the persecution you'd suffered, then your anger boiled over...

No, no, nothing like that happened!

I am not responsible for Maureen Stubbs' death!

I don't say what you say, Cliff.

I can't be doing with all this Swanscombe House aggravation.

Swanscombe's a nit-picking pillock.

Yeah, but your drawings didn't help much.

All right for some poncy architect magazine,

sod all use on site.

My design instructions were perfectly clear.

Quite frankly, Geoff, I wonder if your local yokels are up to speed

with cutting-edge building technology.

We'd better get our act together when it comes to Pelfe Chase job.

If it ever happens. Oh, it's gonna happen.

I've got serious money behind me.

I am gonna be a big player in the construction business.

Actually, Geoff...

..I don't think my cash flow problems can wait until then.

A bit of folding money up front would be very welcome.

Yeah, we'll all get paid off in due course.

Yeah, but I'm safeguarding your dirty secrets right now

and I think I should be rewarded.

Are you blackmailing me?

I don't care what you call it, Geoff.

'One new message.' (ANSWERPHONE BEEPS)

'It's Norman Swanscombe, Clifford.

I'm sick and tired of you and Geoff Rogers playing pass-the-parcel

about the defects in this house!

If action isn't forthcoming,

the next communication you'll get from me

will be a solicitor's letter.

I'm fronting up a major property development for you people,

for God's sake!'

(ON STEREO) #..As the Miller told his tale

♪ That her face, at first just ghostly

♪ Turned a whiter shade of pale...

This Maureen business...

I don't want the police poking around.

I know. Well, we'll try and keep them off the scent.

Oh, no. Think of my public profile.

(SIGHS) Well, I'd better get back to Eleanor.

We've got an election to run. You can count on my vote.

If only I had the same hold over the rest of the electorate.

I'm so glad we found each other, Norman.

So am I.

(DIALLING BEEPS)

(SIGHS) 'Norman Swanscombe.

Leave a message and I'll get back to you.'

(ANSWERPHONE HANGS UP)

Norman, I got your rather hysterical call.

I'll drop round when I can

and see what I can do about your petty problems, but do calm down!

The last thing you want to see is your own dirty linen

waving in the breeze.

(HANGS UP)

(CAR DOORS SHUT)

That's what I call a des res!

Maybe he's round the back.

Sir.

Oh! And it's recent.

Right, in you go.

(BROKEN GLASS FALLS TO FLOOR)

(DOOR CLOSES)

Someone's done a very thorough job here. Mm.

So where's Bunting?

(FOOTSTEPS)

Who the hell...?!

Oh...it's you.

Well, that's service, I suppose.

I was just on the phone ringing about the burglary.

We're not here about the burglary, Mr Bunting.

We want to talk to you about the death of Maureen Stubbs.

Murder? Burglary?

Blimey!

You lot are losing your grip around here.

There's only you and I now,

and we have just two meetings left to win the vote.

So do you think I should go ahead with tonight's speech as planned?

Absolutely, David. Give them both barrels.

Well, yes, but... now we have no proof.

Never mind about proof.

Speak out for what you know to be true.

It's what Maureen would have wanted.

And it means so much to me.

(SIGHS)

Did you hear your intruder, then, Mr Bunting?

If I'd heard him, I would have dealt with him.

What's been taken?

Nothing, as far as I can see.

Does anyone else live here?

Not since my last wife left. I'm not a total masochist.

When did you last see Maureen Stubbs?

At the Swanscombe House two days ago when she threw her drink over me.

She was murdered that night.

Well, not by me.

Maureen was a pest not an enemy.

Where were you that night? Here.

Can anyone verify that? No, they can't.

But if I murdered everybody who took offence and exception to my work,

the streets would be clogged with corpses.

The trouble is, too many people like Maureen and Angela Lawrence

want to live in the past.

A bit like yourself.

If I could afford the kind of house I design, I'd live in one.

As it is, I'm in a Georgian house

and I have modernised it according to its form and function.

That is integrity!

And tell me, Mr Bunting,

do all your clients appreciate the products of your creative integrity?

Well, they have a tendency to ignore the fact

that they are privileged to live in sculpted space.

They quibble about trivial details.

Who was the architect who said that God is in the detail?

Mies van der Rohe.

And he'd have changed his mind if he had my clients.

(HECKLING) WOMAN: Order!

And so I want to see Great Pelfe moving with the times.

We need affordable housing for sale and rent

for local village workers.

The Pelfe Chase development is in sympathy

with the existing built and natural environments.

It's not. It is ecologically sustainable.

Rubbish!

That alternative is to see Great Pelfe turned into a theme park

for commuters and second-home owners. Not true!

Nonsense! I would like to make it absolutely clear

that I have no financial interest in this development whatsoever.

Not much (!) (HECKLING)

That is absolutely true.

I'm asking you for your support because I believe that together

we can safeguard the future of our village

as a thriving, living community.

Thank you. Thank you very much indeed.

Murderer! Order! Please!

You and your cronies!

Everyone here knows why Maureen Stubbs was killed!

Mrs Lawrence, I must ask you to moderate your language!

Oh, don't worry. I'm not listening to any more of this charade!

This is the kind of stitch-up

that provokes ordinary people into direction action!

And I can promise you, there'll be plenty more of that!

(CHEERING)

(BANGS GAVEL) Order! Order! Order!

David Walsh, Independent.

(CHEERING)

Well,

you've been offered a seductive vision of the village's future.

Unfortunately, this vision

is a mere smokescreen. Hear hear!

This will never be built! (SHOUTS OF AGREEMENT)

Detailed secret plans already exist

for a quite different development on the Pelfe Chase site.

An out-of-town shopping centre will be built

with parking for hundreds of vehicles

together with some low-rent social housing of poor quality

radically and permanently altering the character of our village!

(MURMURS OF DISGUST)

And who's behind this?

Mr Swanscombe.

The big city accountant and his cronies!

Fiona Conway owns the land.

Clifford Bunting's drawn up the plans.

Geoff Rogers will be the builder.

(JEERING)

Now, once this Toy Town fantasy has been approved,

they'll use salami tactics -

grub up the woodland, drive roads through,

and then, bit by bit,

the attractive and expensive features of this plan

will be dropped for reasons of 'cost overruns'

and 'technical difficulties.' Rubbish! Rubbish!

This has all been written down in black and white!

And once the REAL scheme,

or should I say SCAM has been nodded through

by compromised council members and officers...

Shame! ..a supermarket chain

will plunge millions into the development

and all concerned will get a handsome payoff!

Where's your evidence, eh, Walsh?

All right, all right, I'm being asked about evidence.

Maureen Stubbs had in her possession documentary evidence

of this conspiracy the day she died!

And that's why she was killed!

(SHOUTS OF OUTRAGE)

Order! Order!

Order!

So Swanscombe's up to no good, then. Excuse me. Major Walsh!

I'm sorry. Um...Major Walsh, can I give you a lift home? Oh.

Because if you do have some information

pertaining to Maureen Stubbs' death, I want to hear it.

Only too happy to oblige. That's very kind. Thanks.

Um... Jump in.

Liz! Hang on.

Well, that's opened up a whole can of worms.

The innocent have nothing to fear.

Er... It's not them I'm worried about.

Listen, do you think maybe we should go for a drink,

talk this through? Not a good idea right now, James.

Might look as if we're conspiring.

Everything comes to him who waits.

(DOOR OPENS) Major Walsh,

you spoke of documentary evidence of a corrupt conspiracy.

Mm-hm.

Can you produce that evidence?

I saw it with my own eyes.

That's not what I asked.

Where is it now, this evidence?

Maureen had the evidence. Now she's dead and it's missing.

I know the conclusion I draw from that.

Well, surely she made a copy. Apparently not.

We can all be wise with hindsight, can't we?

Where did this material come from?

Maureen told me she received it from an anonymous source -

a whistleblower, if you like.

Fiona Conway, Geoff Rogers, James Otley -

they've all suffered from burglaries in these past few weeks.

Burglaries in which, apparently, nothing was taken.

And these are all people that you accuse of being cronies

in this new development scheme.

It doesn't look like a coincidence, does it?

Was the evidence that you saw the product of a burglary?

I'm in no position to know, am I?

And I don't think that's the point. The point is,

these people are corrupt.

And they've committed murder to cover their tracks.

Everything Walsh said last night was absolute rubbish.

Smear tactics -

an attempt to spread black propaganda about the opposition.

So the Pelfe Chase development is clean,

it's all above board, there's no conspiracy,

there's no plan to substitute another scheme?

Absolutely not!

We're going to have to look through your personal and business affairs -

records of financial transactions, phone calls, so forth.

Well, I find that unnecessarily intrusive.

Mr Swanscombe...

..someone's been murdered on your property.

And last night, you were publicly accused of that murder.

Oh, please! Angela Lawrence is an hysteric.

There have also been allegations of corrupt practices.

Now, we are bound to investigate.

Very well.

I've got nothing to hide.

(WHIRS)

(CREAKS)

Damn it!

How is it? Walk him about a bit.

Well, it looks good.

And he might just, you know, take it gentle for a few days.

Magic, James.

Bless you.

Margherita? It's Fiona, actually.

But we won't let that stand in our way.

I don't seem to have any cash on me.

But if you'd like to step inside for a minute, I'll see you right.

Tillie!

Thanks, James. No, not at all.

You were my right hand in the operation

so you've got yourself to thank.

You don't want a job as a veterinary...nurse...

Mr Otley. Miss Gerrard.

Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, Causton CID.

This is Detective Sergeant Jones. Right.

Well, I'll leave you guys to it.

Will you be available for interview later, Miss Gerrard?

For Chief Inspector Barnaby, I'm permanently available.

Yes, well, without the support of the public there,

where would we be, Jones? Nowhere. Nowhere at all.

Tell me, Mr Otley, do many public sector workers,

I mean council officials,

manage to keep horses these days?

Liz? Well, I think she's got some private income, I believe.

Has she?

Now, Mr Otley, we need to talk.

Are these patients? No, no, they're symptoms...

of nostalgia.

I started as a marine biologist specialising in the Indo-Pacific.

Is that you in these photos?

Yeah, I used to do a lot of scuba diving.

Off Australia and Indonesia.

And you gave all that up to become a lowly vet in Midsomer?

Oh, you know, financial security,

settling down.

Now, Mr Otley,

at Norman Swanscombe's house,

Maureen Stubbs strongly suggested that the um...

council planning process was open to abuse, to corruption.

At least I take it that's what she was implying.

Well, there's no way of knowing now, is there?

Look, I chair the Planning Committee.

Conservationists always accuse us of all sorts of dereliction of duty.

It comes with the territory.

The people who built the Swanscombe house

are now trying to develop Pelfe Chase.

Have any of them tried to bribe you? No!

I'd be onto you people like a shot!

When did you last see Maureen Stubbs? Er...well,

the afternoon that she left Swanscombe's place.

And your whereabouts that night?

Well, I was at the surgery, I think. I was catching up on some paperwork.

JONES: With anyone else? No.

Up to what time was that?

About midnight.

Maybe half past.

And then I went home.

You're not treating me as a suspect?!

We'll need to talk to you again, Mr Otley. But thank you.

(DOORBELL)

Hello?

Well, the spark plug went, didn't it?

I had to go for miles to get another one.

See ya!

(CAR APPROACHES)

It's all right, sweetie, it's only the filth.

It's not the Drug Squad, just a murder inquiry.

Do come in!

(DOOR SLAMS)

(MOPED DRIVES OFF)

(SNIFFS)

(SNIFFS)

Someone must have been burning leaves.

Yes, and autumn is so far away.

Do you live here on your own, Miss Conway? Yeah.

Pizza? Er...no.

Seems to have gone a bit cold.

How about you, sexy boots? No, thank you.

The truth is, when I have finally sold off Pelfe Chase

you won't see my arse for dust.

Why couldn't you sell up sooner?

Hassles with planning permission and all sorts.

Thank God dear Norman Swanscombe and his pals seem to find a way through.

But they're being accused now, are they not,

of conspiracy, even murder?

You heard what Angela said at the meeting last night.

That soppy cow? Do you think Norman's that stupid?

He's one of the few people round here who've actually got a life.

What about those allegations of corruption?

Can you shed any light on those?

I don't know anything about it.

And I don't believe the galloping Major knows either.

David Walsh?

The truth is, Walsh's nose is out of joint

because he thought he was a shoe-in for the council seat

and now there's a much stronger candidate standing against him.

Drink? No, thank you.

Major Walsh is very passionate, is he not, for conservation issues?

He never used to give a toss about conservation.

In fact, a few years back, he tried to buy some land from me

to build holiday homes. Really?

Oh, yes, conservation's just a bandwagon for him.

And of course, Angela Lawrence is leading him around by the plonker.

Due sit down, darlings.

Is there any actual relationship there?

In his dreams! Angela's on the other bus.

Can you explain that to the Chief Inspector?

When Angela came to terms with her sexuality, dear,

her marriage broke up.

So, one way and another you would reject absolutely, would you,

the charges of cronyism and corruption?

If there's one thing I'm an authority on,

it's villains, chancers and wrong-uns.

And believe me, Norman Swanscombe is as straight as a telegraph pole.

(WHIRS)

So what the hell's the problem?

(WHIRS)

(STOPS WHIRRING)

(GROANS)

(WHIRS)

(WHIRRING STOPS)

Well, the cause of death seems obvious.

If causes of death were ever obvious,

you wouldn't need me, would you?

Well, Dr Bullard,

I await the full results of your post-mortem examination

with anticipated delight,

but might you expedite our investigation

by honouring us with a speculative hypothesis?

Occlusion of the carotid artery leading to severe brain damage

due to hypoxia. Just a guess.

Time?

Recent. Within the last two or three hours.

And looks accidental. Well, we'll see.

Bunting's car's out there. You'll take a look? Yes, sir.

And I must talk to Mr Swanscombe.

I drove Eleanor to the station, she's in town for the day,

then I came back here and... found him.

Where are the electrical systems that control all this?

Where do you keep them? There's a fuse box in there, I think.

What was Mr Bunting doing here in your absence?

I'd asked him to sort out some problems,

including the sliding doors.

Yes, it's in there.

He kept his own set of keys so he could sort out the problems

when I was working in London.

So someone could be using those controls

at the same time as watching the window.

Yes, I suppose they could.

What time was your wife's train? 12:45.

Was it on time? Yes.

The drive back would take 15 minutes, give or take.

That would get you back here at... one o'clock.

You didn't report finding the body until 1:30.

Well, after Eleanor caught her train I decided to take a drive

- the woods, Pelfe Chase -

take in some scenery.

Did you meet anyone? Did anyone see you?

I was taking the air, not constructing an alibi!

What you found? This.

Oh! The architect's essential tool.

Is it just houses? Yeah.

(BEEPING) OK.

Get 'em downloaded, we'll have a look at them.

At least they'll give us the times and places

of Bunting's recent whereabouts.

You said Angela Lawrence made threats at the meeting last night.

Yes, she did.

And Swanscombe dismissed her as an hysterical woman.

Fiona Conway thinks she's a fool.

Well, she may be either of those things.

On the other hand,

she could be something else entirely.

(SHOP BELL)

That was quite a meeting last night.

And you were wonderful, my dear!

Someone had to speak up for poor Maureen.

You certainly did that.

So, who are you targeting next?

Less said the better, my dear. Oh, David...

..surely there's nothing we can't share.

Jones.

Couple of things on Clifford Bunting, sir.

He was heavily in debt,

he was being chased for maintenance by both his ex-wives,

and he was in arrears with his mortgage.

So, if a really serious money-making scam were on offer,

he'd be very tempted.

I also found this. He left it for Swanscombe two nights ago.

'One new message.' (ANSWERPHONE BEEPS)

'Norman, I got your rather hysterical call.

I'll drop round when I can

and see what I can do about your petty problems

but do calm down.

The last thing you want to see is your own dirty linen

waving in the breeze.' (END OF MESSAGE BEEP)

He's not coming clean with us - Mr Swanscombe.

(ELECTRIC GATES WHIR)

Is this business again?

Yeah.

What time are you likely to be home?

When I'm good and ready. All right?

Geoff, I've never known you like this before.

Why can't you tell me what you're scared of?

(SCOFFS)

Doing a little overtime, Stephens?

Before you go, sir, you should look at this.

From Bunting's camera? Yes, but there's more detail.

Oh! Geoff Rogers! To coin a phrase.

Hm... Not so easy to ID the woman.

Vehicle registered to Elizabeth Gerrard.

And there's more? There's houses.

But there is this.

Fiona Conway.

And that's not her pizza delivery boy.

Hm...

Bunting was in financial difficulties, wasn't he?

Maybe he was dabbling in a little blackmail.

Geoff Rogers installed those sliding doors.

Yes, so he'd know how to use them as a weapon.

I think we should have a little talk with Mr Rogers.

(ALARM BEEPS)

(SIGHS)

(SIGHS)

(DOOR CREAKS)

Ah, Mrs Rogers. We actually wanted to talk to your husband.

Oh, he went out a couple of hours ago.

Went out? Do you know where he went?

Business.

When were you expecting him back?

He told me not to wait up.

All right. You will tell him, will you please,

that we would like to talk to him?

Yeah. Thank you.

I think, Sergeant, we should call that a day.

(DIALS NUMBER)

'Barnaby.' Stephens, sir.

I'm at Elizabeth Gerrard's house. There's been an incident.

(SIREN)

(VOICES ON POLICE RADIO)

Major Walsh.

Getting a new perspective on criminal justice, are we?

I'm exercising my right to silence.

Well, don't exercise it too hard. It's not what it used to be.

I heard a noise from in here,

so I locked this door and dialled three nines.

That showed coolness, great presence of mind, that.

Well, the windows in here are barred so I knew he couldn't get out.

None of your property was found on Major Walsh.

Have you any idea what he might have been looking for?

Evidence of my professional wickedness, no doubt.

And, of course, he didn't find any.

Guv'nor's here early, checking up on us.

(VOICES ON POLICE RADIO)

I could have been a brain surgeon.

It probably worked out for the best though, George.

Thanks. Any initial thoughts, Mr Bullard?

Well, I can only assume asphyxiation

because of the pressure on the thoracic cavity.

Was he alive when he was covered with concrete?

Well, that's what it looks like.

Until I get his lungs on the bench I can't tell you any more.

Where were you before you broke into Liz Gerrard's house last night?

Major Walsh?

Geoff Rogers was killed last night.

So if you have an alibi,

I think you ought to give it to us now.

Several people, your political opponents in the village,

have been burgled recently.

We know now that you committed one of those burglaries,

and we believe that you committed all the others as well.

Now, two of those people...are dead.

And that puts you...

..in a very serious position.

I need to think about this.

That's very wise, Major.

You and Geoff Rogers were having an affair, weren't you?

(SIGHS) Yes.

Yes. When did you last see him?

Two days ago.

We were due to meet again last night.

Where? The usual place.

Geoff didn't show up. I couldn't get him on his mobile, so I...

came home and discovered the break-in.

Was he due to meet anyone else before he met you?

I don't know.

Geoff kept his business to himself.

He had all sorts of deals going, contacts all over the place.

Professionally, I preferred not to know.

What, you suspected they were criminal contacts?

I wasn't in the business of criminal investigation.

I took Geoff to bed because he was rough, and uninhibited,

and exciting.

People like that can be dangerous.

That's the fun.

And people like that can make enemies, can't they?

Were you aware of any enemies?

Geoff knew the conservation crowd blamed him for Maureen's death.

Was he afraid they might take some kind of revenge?

You heard what Angela Lawrence said at the meeting.

But Geoff wasn't afraid of much.

These photographs show that someone knew about your affair.

Was he being blackmailed? Yes.

By who? I don't know, he wouldn't tell me.

But he said he'd take care of it.

We think Bunting was the man. Bunting took those photographs.

Do you think your rough and dangerous Geoff,

do you think he'd be capable of killing Mr Bunting?

I can only say I desperately hope not.

(TALKS ON PHONE)

We'll take that as a definite no, shall we?

Yes.

It's just that it's such a big step, darling.

(SIGHS)

You know best.

I'll leave straight away.

(KNOCK ON DOOR) Come in.

(SIGHS) You shouldn't have come in today.

Better than wallowing at home.

Well, if there's anything I can do, you only have to ask.

I know.

(DOOR CLOSES)

I'm going to come clean with you.

I admit burgling Liz Gerrard's house,

but I don't know anything about any murders.

What about the rest of the burglaries?

Yes, I effected entry into those properties.

Oh, you effected entry (!)

Why?

I broke the letter of the law in pursuit of a higher good.

I was hoping to find evidence of criminal conspiracy

and eventually, in Rogers' case, I found it.

Where? Oh, in the documents you SAY Maureen Stubbs was carrying

the night she was killed? Yes.

So the story about this anonymous whistleblower is untrue.

Yes, yes.

When the documents disappeared at Maureen's death,

I suspected both Bunting and Liz Gerrard.

I targeted them for covert action.

Unfortunately, I didn't find any documents.

Look, two of the people you targeted

have subsequently died.

That cannot be coincidental.

I know nothing about any murders!

I'm giving you as much help as I can.

What about your other associate on the conservation committee -

Angela Lawrence?

What part did she play in all this?

(SIGHS)

So you packed a few bags, put them in the car?

What was the intention? I wanted a few days away.

Business hasn't been good.

You can't just walk away from a post office.

Have you arranged cover?

Mrs Lawrence,

you were a leading light in the conservation committee, weren't you?

Now, if Maureen Stubbs knew about Major Walsh's criminal campaign,

then you knew too.

I'm not responsible for whatever foolishness Walsh has been up to.

If he's told you differently, he's just trying to spread the blame.

At the election meeting, you threatened more direct action.

Now, since that meeting, two of your political opponents have died.

I wonder...

(WHISTLES)

Ooh!

Oh, Mrs Lawrence!

Well, this isn't the overnight float

from the village post office till, is it (?)

And I can't believe it's a reward from Major Walsh

for supporting his election campaign.

So, Mrs Lawrence, you have a lot of explaining to do.

I had no reason to murder Clifford Bunting or Geoff Rogers.

No, you hadn't, had you?

Because I believe that you were acting on their behalf.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Mrs Lawrence, I don't believe that you are an hysterical woman,

and I don't believe you're a fool,

but I do believe that you are in desperate need of money.

And I think that this is payment for your role...

That is such nonsense. I believe

that someone is paying you to discredit the society

by associating them with extremist tactics. Am I right?

So who was paying you?

Geoff Rogers.

Geoff Rogers.

So YOU vandalised Swanscombe's house

and you planted the catapult and the aerosol cans

in Maureen Stubbs' garage?

I'm afraid so, yes.

(SHOP BELL)

Sorry, Lesley, Cyril, we're closed. Sorry.

Shall we go into the other room?

So you were actively encouraging Major Walsh's campaign of burglary?

Major Walsh is just a silly man

who thought it was Watergate all over again.

Then, unfortunately, he actually found something.

The documents Maureen was taking to Swanscombe when she was killed? Yes.

I do not believe that Maureen Stubbs or Major Walsh

would be so foolish

as to approach Norman Swanscombe with such incriminating evidence

without first making a copy.

And you'd be the woman to do that, wouldn't you?

Yes.

When Maureen received

the compromising documents from David Walsh,

she did bring them to me to make a copy.

So, you knew Maureen had the documents,

you were secretly working against her -

did you follow her into Swanscombe's garden and attack her?

After Swanscombe's garden party,

I went to Causton and spent the night with my sister.

We went to a concert in the evening. There'll be plenty of witnesses.

Who else knew that Maureen Stubbs had these documents?

Geoff Rogers. That's very convenient, isn't it (?)

Given that the man is dead.

Who else is involved?

He was my only contact.

If anyone else was implicated, I never knew about it.

So you betrayed your... your best friend...

..for a bit of cash from Geoff Rogers?

I don't believe you.

You can believe what you like.

I have nothing more to say.

Well, it's all here, as Walsh claimed.

At first, everything's normal.

First phase, original planning application,

phase two site preparation to the point where it CAN be developed.

But then, phase three onwards,

there's a planned series of technical hitches -

cost overruns and so forth.

So that any environmental or social benefits have to be stripped away.

And then, finally,

a supermarket chain moves in to save the day

with a vast out-of-town shopping complex.

Walsh found it on Rogers' premises, so he's implicated.

But apart from that,

there's no proof of who's in on the scam and who isn't.

Trouble is, that doesn't solve our murders for us.

No, it does not.

And my guess is there could be more.

(GAVEL BANGS)

(CHATTER)

I thought he was under arrest.

He was. He's been charged. He's out on bail.

Can he stand for election? Certainly can.

Man is innocent until proved guilty.

Welcome to the final meeting in the by-election

of Midsomer County Council for the seat of Great Pelfe.

I'll begin by calling on David Walsh, Independent.

(APPLAUSE)

This election is taking place in the shadow of grave events.

Three people have died in the village.

I ask of you one simple thing.

When you come to the polling station, please remember

the documents brought to light in the current police investigation

have vindicated every word, and every action, of my campaign

and that of my supporters.

The Pelfe Chase development plan

has been exposed as a snare and a delusion

whose corruption has been accompanied by lethal violence.

In all humility,

I solicit your vote...

..not for a flawed and fallible man,

but for a cause.

Thank you.

Hear, hear! (APPLAUSE)

Now...

..Norman Swanscombe, Independent.

The revelation of a hidden agenda

behind the Pelfe Chase development plan

has been a profound shock and disappointment to me.

However, I should make it absolutely clear

that if elected, I will support the planning application

with all of my ability.

Now, by that I mean the original plan...

..with all of its social,

environmental and architectural benefits

to this community. MAN: Hear, hear!

And I most solemnly pledge to press for the most vigorous investigation

into Midsomer's planning procedures and personnel.

(SHOUTS OF AGREEMENT)

Vote for prosperity,

progress and principle.

Thank you.

Bravo! Bravo!

Thank you.

(SIGHS)

(GROANS)

I've trawled through Swanscombe's financial affairs, sir.

And?

There's nothing that ties him in with this development scam.

He's not received any benefits, that I can see, from Bunting or Rogers.

He's clean?

Well, when he acquired the land from Fiona Conway

to build Swanscombe's house,

the title was transferred

but there's no record of any money changing hands.

But that land must be worth millions! And she obviously needs money.

Fiona Conway stands to gain massively

from the Pelfe Chase development.

Swanscombe's an aspiring politician promising to support it,

so on the face of it...

She's handed him an absolutely massive bung.

Yeah.

(CAR PULLS UP)

(CAR DOORS CLOSE)

Mrs Swanscombe.

We're trying to find your husband.

We've been round to your place, but no one in.

Well, you could try Pelfe Hall.

My husband spends a lot of time there.

But you'll have to talk to him about that.

Thank you very much.

The Major's a buffoon!

You're bound to win, if the electors have got any sense.

If.

Then shouldn't we have really stopped pretending?

It would be a relief to Eleanor.

It's the filth again.

Should you do a runner out the back?

Only if you feel compromised.

Good God, it would take more than this!

(CHUCKLES)

I see the payroll vote is out in force.

We've come across something rather...rather odd.

Mr Swanscombe, it appears that

you obtained the land for your house from Miss Conway here

without paying her any money for it.

Could you explain that to me, please?

Damn it, Norman, they've got ways of finding out.

Finding out what?

Fiona's my sister.

Half sister, strictly. Same dad, different mothers.

Ah!

Er... How long have you known this?

I've known for years. Daddy let it slip shortly before he died.

Fiona told me when I came back to the village.

I thought the family owed Norman, so I gave him the land.

But why the secrecy?

I thought it might open old wounds for my mother.

And Maureen Stubbs, for one, would make a meal of it, yes?

Yes.

I'm afraid we have been rather selfish,

grabbing as much time together as possible.

(DOOR OPENS) Ah, Tom!

I hear you have some information for me. Is that right?

Yes. You remember I said that Rogers was alive but unconscious

when the concrete was poured?

Yes, I do. Not entirely correct.

He was in what we call a state of

dissociative anaesthesia.

And...what would that be, then?

Conscious, but incapable of speaking or acting, Benjamin.

He'd been taking, well, been induced to take, Ketamine.

Bit old for recreational drugs, wasn't he?

Ketamine also has legitimate medical uses, yes?

In some cases, on humans, yes. Although these days...

It is commonly used, is it not, by vets?

Absolutely.

Hello?

Mr James Otley,

I'm arresting you in connection with the death of Geoff Rogers.

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 court. Anything you do say

may be given in evidence. Do you understand, sir?

I didn't kill Geoff Rogers.

Mr Otley,

do you use Ketamine

as an animal tranquiliser in the course of your work?

Yes, of course. It's normal in a veterinary practice.

Rogers was drugged with Ketamine before he was killed.

That has nothing to do with me.

Mr Otley, look at it from our point of view.

A criminal conspiracy has been uncovered.

You and Liz Gerrard are at the very heart

of the Midsomer council planning process,

so either one or both of you must have been part

of that development scam in order for it to succeed.

Now someone who opposed the conspiracy has died.

But then two other people

who we believe were part of the conspiracy have also died.

And it begins to look as if someone is methodically trying

to cover their tracks by killing their associates.

Someone, sir, like you!

When you operated on Liz Gerrard's horse,

did you use Ketamine?

Sure.

Thanks, James. No, no, not at all.

You've got yourself to thank. You were my right hand in the operation.

So if you ever want a job as a veterinary nurse...

Were you present for the whole time the horse was being tranquilised?

Of course.

Oh, no, hang on. Except...for a moment,

when I had to go back to the Land Rover to get a splint.

But Liz was perfectly safe looking after the drip.

When was the last time you saw Liz Gerrard?

She didn't go to work this morning.

Called in at her house. No one home.

Where is she, sir?

You don't think...

I haven't harmed Liz.

I couldn't. I couldn't.

Mr Otley, please...tell me,

when did you last see Miss Gerrard?

She stayed the night with me. Here.

I'd been dreaming about that night for years.

I always knew there was something about Liz that was...dangerous

underneath the surface.

She just proved how right I was.

Tell me about the really scary things

down on your Indo-Pacific reefs.

Um... Well, there's the er...

blue-ringed octopus which is very small,

but lethal poison.

Isn't there an Australian fish

that produces a heart attack in humans?

Oh, I know what you mean. No, the um...

Irukandji syndrome,

except it's not a fish.

Look.

(GASPS) The Irukandji jellyfish.

Wow, that's tiny!

And that could give a grown man a fatal heart attack?

It could. And it would be... almost entirely undetectable.

Unless some pathologist knew... exactly what he was looking for.

Has anyone ever extracted the toxin?

Er...well, yeah, I have, actually.

Just by way of interest -

I thought it might be a more humane way

of putting down terminally sick animals.

Oh, you're such a clever guy, James.

And that's about all I remember.

When I woke up this morning, Liz had gone.

Swanscombe will be at the Town Hall, won't he, for the count?

Yeah. Right, come on.

(CHATTER)

MAN: Now, concentrate, everybody. Please commence counting now.

(PHONE RINGS)

'Norman, Liz Gerrard.

We need to talk.' What, now?

'This is desperately confidential.'

So, what's all the secrecy about, Liz?

Can we talk about this over a drink?

I'm really strung out about things.

OK.

Cheers, Norman. Cheers.

Don't drink that! Argh!

Secure the bottle.

Miss Gerrard...

Put that glass down.

Argh!

Argh!

Miss Gerrard...

..you murdered Maureen Stubbs

because she was just about to reveal details of your development scam

to Mr Swanscombe here.

(WHIMPERS)

And you had the most to lose, didn't you?

Because Otley, Bunting, Rogers - they could all have bounced back

from such an exposure, but not you.

You, your whole professional life would have been destroyed.

And when bunting tried his blackmail,

then you, Rogers, the entire conspiracy was threatened.

Geoff Rogers couldn't bring himself to kill Bunting, could he?

He didn't have the stomach for murder.

But you did.

And you knew every detail of Swanscombe House

like the back of your hand, didn't you?

Because of your work on the planning application.

And you took the safety device off the patio doors.

And then Geoff Rogers became a danger

because he wanted out.

I want the best, and it's within reach if we don't panic.

I'm really not sure I'm up to this, Liz.

Jeff Rogers, he loved you, didn't he?

He trusted you. So it was easy to spike his drink with Ketamine...

..the drug you'd taken from James Otley

when he was treating your horse.

And when you'd rendered the poor fellow helpless...

..you killed him.

And of course the use of the drug Ketamine,

that pointed the finger at your one remaining co-conspirator,

James Otley.

And if you had managed to introduce

the fatal Irukandji syndrome to Mr Swanscombe here...

My God, Liz! Yes, sir.

..and that exotic toxin had been detected,

then James Otley would have been in the frame twice.

Poor old James.

Good vet, lousy lover.

But your loyal accomplice in all this was your one true love.

Though I doubt if you know the meaning of the word.

I thought everything we'd planned for was falling apart.

But you kept your nerve, love.

Anything for you.

And you rewarded her with the promise of a future life together,

financed by your...paymasters.

The venture capitalists financing the secret supermarket development.

Ooh!

(BANGS GAVEL)

In the County Council by-election

for the seat of Great Pelfe,

the votes cast were as follows:

Norman Anthony Swanscombe...

..254.

David Patrick Walsh,

306.

(CHEERING)

I declare David Patrick Walsh duly elected.

(CHEERING)

It's what Maureen would have wanted. (CHUCKLES)

Well done. Many congratulations. Thanks very much.

Look, I've got...

Those two are starting to look like cronies.

You can't rely on politicians' promises, Joyce.

There'll be a Pelfe Chase development yet, you'll see.

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