Original subtitles

(birds squawking)

- [Radio Announcer] There are warnings of gales

(drown out by bird squawking).

The general synopsis (drown out by bird squawking).

New low forming in the Southbourne Sea,

expected south of France, 1,040, by midnight tonight.

Another low developing,

expected southeast of Iceland, 987, by same time.

The area forecast for the next 24 hours.

Viking, northwest backing south-southwest, three or four,

increasing five or six later.

- Clear off, clear!

Clear off!

Go on!

(deep, suspenseful music)

(water sloshing)

(door rattling shut)

(John groaning)

(deep, suspenseful music)

(door rattling shut)

(keys rattling)

(John wailing)

- Hey, what's the matter?

He didn't hit you that hard.

(John yelling)

- [Radio Announcer] Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne.

North or northwest, backing southwest, three or four,

occasionally five in 40s.

1,023, mainly fair, moderate or good.

Dogger, north or northeast, becoming cyclonic.

Four or five, occasionally six later.

Rain and drizzle, moderate or good.

Fisher, German Bight, Hamburg, Thames, Dunlop.

Cyclonic, becoming south or southeast,

four or five, occasionally six.

Rain and--

(John grunting)

- Get his legs.

Come here.

(John grunting)

Get a doctor for him.

Get a doctor.

(footstep clicking rapidly)

(deep, suspenseful music)

(haunting music)

He's dead.

(haunting music)

(mysterious music)

- [Joyce] Well why can't you tell me?

- 'Cause it's meant to be a surprise.

- Hello, Cully.

- Hi, Dad.

- [Tom] You know your mother does not like surprises.

- Yes well, she'll like this one.

- Will she, why, is it a good one?

- No, no, no, no, no.

You're not catching me out like that.

- Don't suppose I could ask you

a couple of questions, could I?

- I thought I wasn't obliged to say anything

unless I wished to do so.

- Well, feel obliged.

- I'm taking you to dinner.

- Are you?

Somewhere nice?

- Mm, The Crown, tonight.

- The Crown, ooh.

(phone ringing)

Uh, I'm going to have to suspend this interview,

but she'll crack if we give her some breakfast.

Barnaby.

- [Joyce] So is it a special occasion?

- Name's John Ransom, 24 years old, well-nourished male.

According to his driving licence,

he lived at Midsomer Mere, which is where he died.

- Can you tell us what happened?

- Well, that's what bothers me.

He'd been in a fight,

but I'd say it had more to do with these.

They look like electrical burns to me.

There's 12 more across his scalp.

Small traces of adhesive on the skin.

There's also a phenomenal amount of alcohol in his blood.

I had the brain scanned and the dark area

looks like an embolism to me.

- Is that what killed him?

- I've never seen anything like it before, Tom.

My guess is somebody got him drunk,

stuck electrodes in his head and deep-fried his brain.

- Shoose.

(intriguing music)

- [Dan] So you're saying this bloke attacked you?

- I'm saying he went completely berserk.

- Excuse me.

Hi, sir.

- Scott, where's your tie?

- Sir?

- We are investigating the death of a man.

The least you can do is wear a tie.

- Oh yeah, sir.

Well, I'm not sure it goes with the shirt, sir.

The landlord's in there.

He reckons he um, he threw the bloke out

and then he just turned on him.

(patrons chattering)

- Mr. Kirby?

I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

He must've put up quite a fight.

- What, am I under arrest?

- Sir, I am not accusing you

or anyone else here of anything.

I am, however, anxious to establish one or two facts.

My sergeant says that you spoke to the dead man.

Is that right?

- Course I spoke to him, I threw him out.

I went to close the door,

he started wailing like a banshee.

- Was that when he attacked you?

- I'm telling ya, he went completely off his nut.

Took six of us just to hold him down.

You know, before he died,

he got this funny little look in his eyes.

Yeah, like a drunk man who'd just seen half a dozen ghosts.

- Sir.

- Uh, Scott.

I want to go to Lower Mere House.

I need to talk to the deceased's next-of-kin.

- Ah, what do you reckon, sir?

One too many horror films?

- I don't know about that, Scott.

What I do know, if memory serves,

is that Lower Mere House used to be

an asylum for Midsomer's insane.

(bold orchestral music)

Hello?

(knocking at door)

(mysterious music)

See if you can find someone, Scott, anyone.

- All right.

(mysterious music)

- [Gregory] What are you doing?

- Oh, um, I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

Causton CID.

And you are?

- Gregory Ransom, Dr. Gregory Ransom.

John's father.

- Uh I, I need to talk to you about your son's death.

(birds chirping)

- Do they know the cause of death?

- The pathologists are doing tests.

When did you last see your son?

- About two o'clock yesterday afternoon, he took my car.

- To go where?

- Well if he was running true to form, some pub,

where he'd have stayed until he got into a fight

or was too drunk to start one.

- Dr. Ransom, pardon me for asking this question,

but how do you feel?

- About what?

- About the loss of your son.

- John had no love for me,

or for anyone else, for that matter.

His only concerns were for himself, for his appetites.

Let's just say my feelings for John were conditioned.

- Conditioned?

- By the fact that I knew him for what he was.

- Excuse me.

Sir, in the Lotus.

There's a betting slip and about six grand in cash.

- From Lol Tanner.

- Who is Lol Tanner?

- An unlucky bookie.

If you want to know where John was yesterday,

I suggest you start there and work your way

to where he died.

Now if you'll excuse me.

- Yeah, no, no, please, Dr. Ransom.

Yeah, Scott, can you see if you can find

this unfortunate Mr. Tanner.

Dr. Ransom and I need a little chat.

Now, regardless of your feelings for him,

we are obliged to investigate the death of your son.

Now we can either talk about it properly here

or we can do it down at the station.

Now one thing I know for sure, your son

had a number of injuries on his body when he died.

More specifically, 14 small contact points

spread evenly across the top of his skull.

- He got those courtesy of Max.

- Who's Max?

- His brother.

When he wired John up inside the cage.

(scary music)

It's a Faraday cage.

Blocks out stray electromagnetic radiation.

It means that a signal from a radio

or a mobile telephone can't get in or out.

The machine measures brain activity.

The contacts were fitted to John's scalp.

He was wired in for most of yesterday morning.

- Doing what?

- Being a lab rabbit for me.

Max Ransom, John's brother.

- [Tom] Ah.

- He's the police.

He wants to know what John was doing yesterday.

(serious orchestral music) (birds chirping)

- No luck?

- A murder's not the time for tea and biscuits.

- Pa made his money in the 50s.

Helped develop the polygraph lie detector with the Yanks.

You know a bit about science, Mister--

- Barnaby, Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

- Well, this machine measures brain waves.

Alpha, theta, delta.

Alpha is the one that's interesting though,

eight to 12 cycles per second.

See this curve?

That's what your brain is doing when you daydream,

or perhaps engage in imaginative thought.

- And the point of this is?

- This machine can teach people to produce alpha.

(light organ music)

- 15th century, mostly.

(lights sizzling)

Before the miracle of electricity.

The parish records date from the 1300s,

when the church would've been full. (laughs)

- Detective Sergeant Scott.

- Peter Kubatski.

How can I help?

- Looking for a bloke called Lol Tanner.

Don't where he finds himself this time of day, do you?

- I've been trying to tempt him in so I can ask.

But this village is more interested

in simple superstition than complex belief.

If he's not in his shop, then try the pub.

(Christine babbling)

Excuse me.

Emma.

I was coming to see you.

I heard about John.

I uh, this is Emma, John Ransom's sister.

Mr. Scott's with the police.

I'm so sorry.

- We can't go ahead with Christine's baptism, Peter.

- Oh, dear God.

(Emma crying)

(Dan clearing throat)

Sergeant, you must need to speak to Emma.

Perhaps you could just give us a moment first.

- Right.

(mysterious music)

- John's natural ability to guess at hidden cards

was way above the average.

It increased tenfold after a spell of producing alpha.

It's what we're investigating.

Precognition, ESP.

The way some people seem to be luckier than others,

and some, you picked a red triangle, a blue and red square,

then the black cross.

- [Tom] Hm!

- Have what we call second sight.

The ability to predict events which should be unpredictable.

(Christine cooing)

- This may well be God's way, Emma.

A baptism would bring folk together, mm?

A chance to pray for the progress

of John's soul to paradise.

(crowd chattering)

(men talking loudly)

- Lol Tanner?

- Hm?

No, I've already told 'em that won't work.

They wanna put another fruit machine in here, with that lot.

(crowd chattering)

It's like giving a nest of crocodiles an oven-ready turkey.

Landlord's waiting for you.

- Mm, mm, oh dear, oh dear, no no, no no.

Whoever told you you could wear that flowery tie

with that shirt,

they want locking up in their own police cell.

(men laughing)

- I don't know what you're laughing at, sir.

You're our chief suspect.

(sombre music)

(birds cawing)

Sir. - Scott.

I want you to find us an electrician.

Somebody who can check over a Faraday cage for us.

Michael Faraday.

Oh, don't tell me an educated boy like you

didn't do physics.

- General science, sir, sort of as and when.

- Hey, hey, hey.

Who's that?

- That's Lol Tanner, sir, bookie.

Problem is, John Ransom put him out of business yesterday

and then spent the afternoon in the pub.

- That would explain the high level of alcohol

in his blood, wouldn't it?

But I've also discovered where John Ransom

spent the morning.

He was wired up to an electric chair

in an experiment for his brother.

And I've also discovered something rather interesting

about Midsomer Mere.

- [Both] Everyone--

- Knows what's gonna happen next.

Spoke to Jimmy Kirby sir, something about two families?

- Yeah, the Kirbys and the Ransoms.

- Yeah, Kirbys are supposed to be able

to see into the future.

- Second sight, they call it second sight.

(machine beeping)

- It's Weights and Measures-approved, lads.

You've got no chance.

(patrons laughing)

- Well whatever they call it, sir, Jimmy Kirby

knew I was wearing this tie before I came in.

- I should think everyone between here and Causton

would know you're wearing that tie.

Don't tell me you believe all this mumbo jumbo.

- No sir, I'm just saying that my nan was superstitious.

- Well, luckily for this investigation, Scott,

my nan wasn't.

Mr. Kirby.

(birds cawing)

(sombre orchestral music)

(machine beeping)

There was an altercation yesterday involving John Ransom

before you threw him out of the pub.

Now you forgot to mention that, didn't you?

- Well, Big Ben gave John Ransom a slap, yeah.

- Who's Big Ben?

- My little cousin.

- Mr. Kirby, John Ransom died last night

with cuts, abrasion, bruises on his face

consistent with having been beaten up.

Now I think it would be a very good idea

if you told me what went on

and where I can find your little cousin.

- You can ask all the questions that you like,

but it won't do you any good.

John Ransom always had one foot in his grave.

- And what exactly does that mean?

- It means he'd been up in that lab.

- Oh, you know about the experiments, do you?

- Is that what Mad Max said they were?

Why do you think he had to start

using his brother, Inspector, hm?

It's 'cause none of us go up there.

- You saying you took part in what goes on

at Lower Mere House?

- I'm saying that some of us

have still got the scars to prove it.

Now all right, my little cousin,

yeah, he's got a bit of a temper.

He's a bit too ready with his fists.

But you wanna know what that fight was about,

you go and talk to Preaching Pete.

If you wanna know what killed the man,

you go and tell Dr. Ransom you want 200 quid

for the morning to go and sit in his chair.

You let Mad Max get inside your skull,

like he's doing it with his fingers.

But you better book yourself a nice long holiday afterwards

'cause you're gonna have one hell of a headache.

(machine beeping)

(coins rattling)

Now, you go and see Preaching Pete.

He's um,

polishing his candlesticks.

(church bells tolling)

- Huh, Sergeant Scott.

- This is Pete Kubatski sir, vicar of the parish.

- How do you do, sir? - Ah.

- Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

- Yeah.

- We were told to come to talk to you about John Ransom.

- Ah, he did come and see me yesterday.

- See you about what?

- It was about the baptism, Emma and Ben Kirby's daughter.

I said I couldn't discuss anything with him

unless he'd spoken to Ben, and Emma.

- We understand he, he went to the pub.

He met Ben Kirby and they got into some kind of a,

some kind of a fight.

And I have to tell you sir,

we are treating his death as, as murder.

- The child's John Ransom's niece.

Emma Kirby, the mother, was Emma Ransom

before she married Ben.

- Dr. Ransom's daughter.

- Uh-huh, two families, Sergeant.

Two great houses.

Both alike in their deep-seated objection

to my baptising their child.

John wanted the baptism stopped.

Ben and Emma have accepted Christ as their saviour,

and neither family is happy or likely to do the same.

(serious music) (birds chirping)

When people turn their face from the light, Inspector,

there's really nothing left.

Utter darkness.

- So how come you fetched up in Midsomer Mere then?

- (sighs) I was sent here by the bishop,

at Emma Kirby's request.

She heard me preaching in Birmingham but she grew up

in Midsomer Mere and wanted to bring something back.

She feels she owes her life to an act of God.

So I've been given 12 months to bring real religion

to this village, instead of the false religion

of scientific reason.

(bird chirping)

And just plain paganism.

Whatever Ben did, you shouldn't judge him.

He's simply trying to hold a baptism

in a village with a resident palmist.

See?

(sombre orchestral music)

- Well, If you do happen across Ben Kirby--

- I should have seen him this morning,

the whole church needs rewiring.

I tried it myself, yow! (laughs)

I mean, apart from being a third of my current congregation,

if you'll excuse the terrible pun,

Ben Kirby's a first-class electrician. (laughs)

- Thank you, sir.

Scott, I want you to go back to Lower Mere House.

Get the name of the Ransom's solicitor.

See if John Ransom made a will.

And if he did, who benefits.

And I'll see if I can find Ben Kirby.

(music box music twinkling)

- She's asleep.

(music box twinkling)

(knocking at door)

- Mrs. Emma Kirby?

I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby from Causton CID.

Can I have a word, please?

- You'd better come in.

- Thank you.

I'm very sorry about what happened to your brother.

- The neighbours have been asking about the funeral.

- I'm afraid the pathologist needs to make more tests,

I'm sorry.

Uh no, no thanks, not for me.

(mysterious music)

You're a teacher, Mrs. Kirby?

- Midsomer Mere Primary.

We've just broken up for half-term.

- Ah, what about your husband?

- What about him?

- Well, I know you've got other things on your mind

but your brother John and your husband Ben,

they argued in the pub last night.

And I was just going to ask your husband

what that argument was about.

The vicar says that the Ransoms and the Kirbys

are like two great houses.

I do know my Romeo and Juliet, and I also know

that John wanted to stop the baptism of your daughter, why?

Why was that so important?

- It was because of something John had.

Something we don't.

- Are you talking about second sight?

Ben doesn't have it?

- As a Kirby, he should but he doesn't.

And he wouldn't want any part of it if he did.

Neither would I.

We have faith, Inspector.

We go to church, believe in the gospel,

the intercession of Christ.

- Why do both the families want to stop the baptism?

- Because it puts Christine out of reach.

My family are scientists, pure and simple.

Ben's are con artists.

Can you imagine Christine's life

if they thought she had second sight?

- Has she?

Has she second sight?

- She's six months old.

She hasn't even got her first tooth.

She's never gonna hear about second sight.

She's being baptised.

(birds tweeting) (sombre orchestral music)

(rustling)

- Hello?

(fire swishing)

(phone ringing)

- Hello Joyce, love?

- Uh no, sir, it's me, sorry.

I just had a word with the Ransoms' solicitors.

Apparently, John Ransom never made a will.

- Thank you, Scott, bye.

Joyce, it's me, I'm on my way.

I'll go straight to The Crown, but I might be a bit late.

I'll see you there, bye.

(serious orchestral music)

Jeez!

(tyres squealing)

I'm sorry, are you all right?

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(mysterious, tense music)

- Max?

(music grows in intensity)

What are you doing down there, Max?

(mysterious, tense music)

Max, what are you playing at?

Why, what do you want?

No, no!

(birds squawking) (slow, haunting music)

(phone ringing)

- Hello, Barnaby.

Scott, I am late.

(sombre orchestral music)

When?

(sombre orchestral music)

- Dead for about an hour, broken neck.

I'd say he either fell from the top of the steps

or was pushed with some force.

- Front door was wedged open, sir, same as before.

Just about anybody could have walked in.

- Who found him?

- The electrician, sir.

The one we asked to look at the Faraday cage,

but he didn't see anyone.

- Anything taken?

- Hard to say, sir, until we find the other son.

(siren wailing)

(crowd chattering)

I ran Ben Kirby through the computer, sir.

- Did you?

Excellent work.

Hold onto that thought.

Lend us your torch.

- [Officer] Sir.

- Someone trying to destroy evidence.

Or scientific data.

Or trying to obliterate the memory of John Ransom.

- Why would you want to do that?

- I don't know, righteous anger.

Tell me about Ben Kirby.

- Uh, one piece of previous, sir.

Aggravated assault on holiday when he was 17.

He knocked out a couple of local lads with a pool cue.

- A pool cue?

Not one to turn the other cheek then, eh?

Well, tell uniform we need to find Max Ransom,

and ask forensics to take a look at this stuff,

see if they can lift a few prints for me.

And when you've done that,

get yourself over to Emma Kirby's.

Make sure she's been informed.

You wait for me there.

(light, bouncy orchestral music)

Joyce, where's Cully?

- Well, you better let her tell you yourself.

- Tell me what?

- Oh she wants to do a job where she ends up

getting changed in a van.

- I should've listened to you.

You said Mum didn't like surprises.

- She.

(light, curious orchestral music)

Cully.

Cully, why don't you make a cup of tea

and I'll talk to your mum?

- (scoffing) Dad, it's work.

- I know it's work, what, what if she's worried?

- Mum, it's theatre in education, it'll be interesting.

I'll be staying with a friend from drama school.

- Tea, anybody?

- Causton was never meant to be a way of life.

It was just meant to tide me over.

- I, I do think we ought to hear Cully out.

- It's 10 shows to begin with, 10 more if we get funding.

- And what happens then?

- No one knows what happens then, Mum.

That's why it's called the future.

(birds cawing)

(car engine humming)

- Joyce.

I do understand.

It's not the most wonderful job in the world.

It's not the National.

It'll be hard for her, but it's what she wants to do.

- Tom, I just want her to be happy.

- Me too.

(solemn music)

(dogs barking)

(front door clicking shut)

(sombre orchestral music) (dog barking)

- No sign of Max Ransom, sir.

I've informed Emma about her dad.

(dog barking) (slow, sombre music)

- Emma?

I got it, Baylor.

(sombre music)

(Christine cooing) Could you put the kettle on?

- Yeah.

(police radio chattering) (car engines turning over)

(sombre music)

- You need somebody to be with you

at a time like this, Emma.

Where's Ben, where's your husband?

- Out.

(car engine humming)

(eerie music)

(Christine crying) (eerie music)

- Do you want one, sir?

(Christine crying loudly)

Sir?

- Yeah, tea please.

(banging at door) (Christine crying)

(dramatic music)

Let's go.

(adventurous music)

- Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa.

(both grunting)

You're not avoiding me, are you?

(sombre music)

- It was Max, wasn't it?

- Yes, it was.

What was Christine afraid of?

Mr. Ransom.

I need for you to account for your movements this evening,

please, starting with what time you left your house.

- 'Bout an hour ago.

- Where'd you go?

- For a walk.

- And that walk took you to your sister's.

And when I opened the door instead of Emma, you ran.

Did you go there to see Emma, or was it Ben you wanted?

I found your research, well,

the remains of your research up at the house.

Was it you who burned it?

(Max scoffs)

You told me that John had a talent for precognition.

Well, you've cleaned out the local bookies,

presumably meaning that your experiment was a great success.

Who burned your research?

- Me.

- [Tom] Why?

- Because it was mine.

Did you notice the way the kid behaved?

Were there floods of tears when I knocked on the door?

Oh come on, you're coppers.

Good observational skills.

Did you notice whether Christine had started crying

before I knocked on the door?

- I'm suspending this interview.

- It was before, wasn't it?

- Give him a cell.

- I've got to know, why won't you answer the question?

- Because I don't particularly

like the question, Mr. Ransom.

Your father and your brother are dead,

possibly in both cases because of

some experiment you are conducting

in what you are pleased to call a second sight.

Now I am trying very hard to catch their killer

and I'm asking you why you went to see your sister.

And all you are doing is trying to involve some child

in this, this, this voodoo.

(serious music)

- You all right, sir?

- Yes.

Thank you.

The primary school in Midsomer Mere.

I'd like to set up an incident room.

Oh, there's something else you can do for me.

Have to be tomorrow.

Get hold of the Ransoms' solicitor.

Find out who inherits the Ransom money now.

- Tom, what are you doing?

Are you all right?

- Yeah, yeah.

Well, I say that.

I almost ran over a chap on the way

to see you two at the pub.

I only just managed to stop before I hit him, phew.

- [Joyce] You're sure you're all right?

- Oh, yeah, yeah.

It's just, I thought I'd seen him somewhere before.

- What on earth's that for?

- Do you believe in the supernatural, Mrs. Barnaby?

Then follow me.

(clown shrieking)

- Oh.

(Tom laughing)

- Hey, do you remember this stuff?

- I remember you frightening Cully.

- I didn't frighten Cully.

Here, pick a card, any card.

Don't let me see it.

Nine of diamonds.

- But you know the cards are marked.

- Yes, of course I know the cards are marked, Joyce,

but Cully didn't know, did she?

To her, I was the great magician.

Joyce, I do think we ought to let

Cully do what she's got to do.

I mean, she's not eight years old any more, is she?

- But don't you worry we'll be having this conversation

when we're 80?

- Yes, I do, but do you think worrying

will make it any different?

You know, Joyce, I don't think Cully sees this as a

back-of-the-van-suffer-in-Finchley job.

I think she sees it as a great opportunity

to restart her career.

Like finding the nine of diamonds.

People see things they want to see.

(birds chirping)

(people chattering)

Thank you.

(mysterious music)

- [Dan] Sir.

- Scott.

I think I've figured out what this precognition,

this second sight, is all about.

It's a lot of over-fertile imaginations

engaged in wishful thinking.

- Right, well, the SOCOs have finished in the lab

and the electrician's back in there

having another look at the Faraday cage.

Oh, and this is the carrier bag from the Lotus,

the one with Lol Tanner's receipt in it.

I just found it in Dr. Ransom's office minus 6,000 quid.

- How's Max?

- Well, he's mad, sir.

He wants to see a solicitor and he's just

thrown his breakfast all over the custody sergeant.

- That's an odd manifestation of grief for

a man who's just lost his father and his brother.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, well, we'll have a chat when he arrives.

Scott, I need you to go back to the lab.

Find out all you can from the electrician.

I think I'll go and have another look around Midsomer Mere.

(gentle melancholic music)

- I can read your palm later but that'll cost you a fiver.

There you go, dearie, be lucky.

Hello, gorgeous.

Now, you've got a lucky face.

- And I also have one of these.

And the penalties for gaining pecuniary advantages

through deception can be very severe.

- I am a bonafide psychic.

- Aye, well there's a lot of that 'round here.

I mean it's funny that a medium

to the crowned heads of Europe

couldn't spot that I am with the CID.

Now, I'm gonna make a prediction.

When I get back, that won't be here.

- I knew you were gonna say that.

Are you here for the murders?

- Well you're the clairvoyant.

(mysterious music)

- Ben.

- You haven't heard?

- What?

(bicycle bell dinging)

(curious, solemn music)

(phone keys beeping)

(curious, solemn music)

What happened?

- I got in a fight with John.

- How's Emma?

- Well, the police are all over the house.

I need somewhere to lie low, just for a couple days,

until they find out I didn't kill him.

- [Dan] Mystery solved, sir?

- Ah-ha, no, not yet.

But I don't think Dr. Ransom

was killed just for the 6,000 quid.

How you doing?

- What I wanna know, sir, is what genius wired this up.

The electrician reckons that whoever it was

wants to be doing some serious jail time.

Don't sit there, whatever you do.

The juice goes down through the wires

into the back of the chair.

- Someone rewired the chair?

- Yeah, according to the electrician

they blew every fuse in the place.

Only now the transformer goes up as high

as whatever's coming in off the mains.

(banging and buzzing)

- We've tested the wiring, Mr. Ransom.

We know what was going on.

- Oh, and what exactly was that?

- You were using electrical shocks

to reinforce correct answers.

Or to put it another way, you'd shock whoever was

in the chair every time they got an answer wrong.

But then you started upping on the voltage, didn't you?

Your brother John was given a severe electrical shock

just before he died.

Severe enough to leave burns on his body.

You started with 50 volts

and then you worked your way up, didn't you?

But you were so determined to get him

to give you the right answers,

that you ended up giving him enough electricity to kill him.

I assume your dad wasn't best pleased

when he found out what you'd done.

Is that why you killed him,

because he found out what you'd done?

- Inspector, if you would only put your trust in science,

I might use second sight to help you find your killer.

- I'll tell you what.

Why don't we run a little test, eh?

I was so inspired by your demonstration the other day.

I thought I'd come equipped to do a little experiment.

Now,

find me the nine of diamonds.

(Max scoffs)

How 'bout the nine of any suit?

Pick up any diamond.

How 'bout a red card?

Evens?

(curious orchestral music)

You've no more got second sight than I have, have you?

You simply memorised the flash cards

in the cage to show me what you could do.

- And why would I do that?

- Because you wanted to be able to do magic

just like your brother John.

But John really was someone special.

And you well, you're a scientist, aren't you?

Not a very good one.

Lost inside something you don't understand at all.

But I understand, it must be very frustrating

to be surrounded by all that talent

and realise that you haven't got any.

Did you argue with your father about going to see Emma

because your father wanted little Christine

left completely out of it?

(Tom sighs)

You take your time, Mr. Ransom.

(tense music)

Scott.

Ask the custody sergeant for the full 48 hours

while we gather enough evidence

to charge him with double murder.

(sombre music)

(siren wailing)

(birds chirping) (slow, tense music)

(eerie wailing)

How much do you know about Salieri, Scott?

- Salieri?

- Antonio Salieri.

- I don't really bother about the Italian side, sir.

- Antonio Salieri was suspected of murdering

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on December the 5th, 1791,

out of a great jealousy for the great genius

he himself did not possess.

But the operative word here, Scott, is murder.

Emma?

- Is Max still here?

- I'm afraid he's on his way to Causton.

We're holding him for further questioning.

- I need to talk to you about Max.

About why he came to see me.

- Well I assumed he came to see you about Christine.

- There's someone else.

There's someone else I want to protect.

- [Radio Announcer] Jersey, four miles,

west by northwest, seven.

Later in Thames, west by northwest seven, 986 falling.

And that concludes the day report.

(rain splattering) (solemn music)

- How do they get the pigeons in there, sir?

- That, that Scott, is a Stevenson screen.

It houses instruments for measuring

temperature, humidity, and ambient barometric pressure.

- Right, what's wrong with a weather forecast?

- You know, Scott, you're right.

(sombre orchestral music)

- What?

- Cops.

(tense, serious music)

(knocking at door)

(rain splattering) (serious music)

- Mr. Kirby?

Where's Little Mal?

You're the man in the lane, aren't you?

I'm Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.

Are you all right?

- I'm fine.

- Uh, this is Detective Sergeant Scott.

We want to ask you about Ben Kirby, Emma Kirby's husband.

We want to speak to him about a fight

in the pub with John Ransom.

Emma thinks you know where he is.

- He's not here.

Don't bloody touch that, don't touch nothin'.

- Mr. Kirby.

- Oh don't you listen?

- [Dan] Okay.

- Don't touch that again or I'll kill you.

It's a scientific instrument.

Mustn't be disturbed.

- Mal?

Mal, there's just a couple of things we need to know about.

Ben Kirby.

- I'll tell you what you want to know

and then you'll go, right?

Ben was worried about hitting John Ransom.

He was here last night and he's gone now.

- And what about Max Ransom, Mal?

Did he want you to take part in those experiments?

Did he want you to sit in the cage?

I'm talking about second sight, Mal.

Emma says that you have it and that Max had asked her

to come here to talk to you about it.

I'm sorry, I'm trying to understand why a man

with second sight would need one of those

and that Stevenson screen out there to tell him

what the weather was going to do.

- You listen to me, I don't use it.

Second sight's nothing,

nothing to smile about and joke.

It's not a blessing neither and if I don't choose to use it,

that's up to me.

(rain splattering)

- Scott.

I want you to go down to the cash point at the garage,

take out a hundred pounds on expenses.

Then I want you to spend the rest of the afternoon

in that pub, losing every penny you've got.

- I might win, sir.

- Ha, you might win.

You'll buy us both a pint to celebrate.

I want to find out once and for all

whether this second sight stuff is for real or a hoax.

(mysterious music)

I'll meet you back here.

- Wish me luck.

(mysterious music)

- How long's a limited period, then?

- That depends on what God has in mind.

- Ah.

- This church has been empty for years.

No congregation, no believers.

I've got to pluck Midsomer Mere

like a burning brand from the fire.

- From what I've seen, that could take quite some time.

- That's what they said to me in Birmingham.

Within six months, I'd quadrupled the congregation.

They needed a PA for all the folk

who couldn't get in to church.

That's why they call me Preaching Pete.

I said I'll do the same here within a year.

- So, a baptism, that would be quite a victory.

- Oh well, it's a symbol of a hope-filled future.

- Has Mal Kirby caused you any trouble?

- Little Mal?

Little Mal won't even set a foot inside church.

He's ducked every wedding, every funeral,

every christening for the last 20 years.

He's what's wrong with this village, Inspector.

No faith. (chuckles)

(people chattering)

- [Jimmy] This won't take long.

- Mind if I watch?

- No.

Shall we look at the cards or do you wanna do this without?

- Hm.

(people chattering)

- Bad luck.

(coins clattering)

You don't learn, do you?

- I think you need to be taught a lesson, my friend.

Trip kings. (chuckling)

- Well, here endeth the lesson, my friend.

It's a royal flush.

(glasses clinking)

- Uh, can I um, can I have a look?

- Yeah.

Yeah, do.

- Thank you.

Now, Jimmy.

You tell me what I've got.

- Three of diamonds, nine of clubs.

(eerie booming)

Four of diamonds.

Nine diamonds.

Queen of clubs.

Ace of spades.

Now, you see, what are the odds against that?

Go on, do it again, do it again.

Hm?

Two of hearts.

- How's it done?

- Buy me a drink, I'll tell you.

- Well you'll tell you have second sight, won't you?

- No.

But I will tell you

there's a bloody great mirror behind that bar.

(men laughing)

I'll be seeing ya.

(machine beeping)

Well no luck?

You know the way they design these things these days?

You know, weights, magnets and such.

Unbeatable.

But I find you give it enough of a nudge,

a bit of a hold.

(machine beeping) (coins rattling)

Weights and measures.

(phone ringing)

- Barnaby.

- [George] Do you want to know what killed him?

- Yes, indeed I do.

- The brain had been subjected

to some sort of electrical shock,

but nowhere near strong enough to kill him.

He died from a simple blood clot.

A good old-fashioned blow to the head with something blunt.

I'd say by somebody very strong.

(patrons cheering)

- Uh, remind me again, George.

What was the colour of his hair?

- Dark brown, almost black.

- George, can you lift a couple of DNA samples

from both of the bodies?

I want to make sure that John Ransom

is in fact the son of Dr. Ransom.

(door clattering)

(telephone ringing)

- Let's start with wrongful arrest.

- Someone's laid waste to half your family, Mr. Ransom.

Let's start with police protection.

George.

Gonna give you a prediction, George.

John Ransom's DNA profile

is different from his father's, huh?

- How'd you know?

- Because, George, that's what's been bothering me

all this while.

Apart from the father and son not looking alike,

precognition or second sight,

if it exists, is inherited, isn't it?

Inherited in this case through the Kirby bloodline,

not the Ransoms'.

What threw me was that Max Ransom

appeared to have it, but he doesn't.

John Ransom did have it.

But for one reason and one reason alone.

He was part Kirby.

- Nice work.

- Morning, sir.

- Scott.

Get after the solicitor.

Find out if any of the Kirbys benefit

from the death of the male Ransoms.

- The Kirbys?

- And if any of that hinges on

Ben and Emma baptising their child.

(siren wailing)

(bells chiming)

(knocking at door)

- Ben.

- Vicar.

Look, until there's been funerals,

I'm sorry, we've really gotta call the baptism off.

- Oh, ye of little faith.

(Christine cooing)

- I want you to understand, Emma.

No one is accusing you of anything.

- Why do you want to know about my father's will?

- Because John died of a head injury.

He was struck with a blunt instrument.

And that means he didn't die as a result

of acting as a guinea pig in Max's experiments.

And that means that the killer

is probably still out there,

and that Max himself is probably at risk.

That's why I need to be absolutely sure of what happens

in the event, say, of Max meeting an untimely death.

- What does that have to do with me?

- Emma, I have some evidence that suggests

that Dr. Ransom was not John's biological father.

Did John know his father was a Kirby?

- Max knew.

He'd taken samples from Jimmy and the others.

He knew John had Kirby DNA.

John wanted to know who was going to be godfather.

I told him we wanted Little Mal.

- And why would Little Mal's presence

as a godparent, why would that upset John?

- I'll show you.

(slow, sombre music)

(Christine babbling)

This is my classroom.

(slow, sombre music)

This is where Ben used to sit.

- Oh, my desk.

- [Emma] I was seven.

We'd just come in off the playground.

- G-L-O-S-T, check.

(rain splattering) (suspenseful music)

(children cheering)

(suspenseful music) (truck squealing)

The next thing everyone saw was a giant come running in.

- All right, I need everybody to stand up.

We're gonna play a game.

Like Ship To Shore.

The one who gets furthest away from me wins the prize.

All right, off you go.

(suspenseful music)

That's it, well done.

No, we mustn't forget the captain.

(suspenseful music)

- Fortunately.

- If it hadn't been for Mal,

half of us would have been killed.

- [Tom] That's you.

- [Emma] And Ben, with glasses.

- Mal Kirby, the 21-year-old farm worker,

cannot explain the impulse which drove him from his tractor

into a half-mile sprint to Midsomer Mere Primary

where 27 children and their teacher

had been sheltering from the rain,

moments before a lorry came crashing through the wall.

It's hard to believe that was just luck.

- I stopped believing in luck when I was seven.

- Which is when your mother met Little Mal.

- John's real dad.

(rain splattering)

Thanks.

(mysterious music)

(rain splattering)

- I'd say it was raining, wouldn't you Mal?

(water gurgling)

(eerie music)

(Christine crying)

- Hello?

(Christine crying)

(eerie music) (rain splattering)

(Christine crying loudly)

- There's a special connection between you and Ben Kirby.

Something you haven't told me.

Something to do with the fact that you haven't always

been a recluse, have you Mal?

Once, you were the hero of the village.

Emma showed me the classroom,

and she also showed me the photograph

of you with the children.

The ones you kept out of harm's way.

Like I think you're trying to keep Ben

out of harm's way now.

Mal, I know that you are the father of John Ransom.

He got his gift from you.

That's why Max wants Emma

to persuade you to go up to the lab.

And it's also why Max wants the child, Christine, isn't it?

Because she's like John.

A child of a Kirby and a Ransom.

And Dr. Ransom knew.

That's why he told me his feelings for John

were always conditioned by knowing what he was.

But Mal, I cannot make the other connection.

- Between what?

- Between a man responsible for an act of integrity

and bravery, and a compulsive, obsessive recluse,

always making notes about the air pressure.

Why aren't you in the pub with Jimmy, eh?

- Second sight's nothing to be celebrated.

If I choose not to use it, that's up to me.

- We've met before, haven't we Mal?

And I mean apart from me trying to knock you over last night

on Fortunate Lane.

- Oh, I've been waiting for you to be there almost 20 years.

- So you are using second sight?

- Was using it.

Hell of a lot.

More even than Jimmy.

Card games, horses.

And then, one day,

under a clear blue sky I, I sat down on the village green

to see how far I could see into my own future.

I saw all the way.

Right to the manner of my own death.

It starts with you, and the black car.

You almost ran me down in the lane and then,

then you get out and you ask me if I'm all right.

- I'm sorry, are you all right?

- And then,

then it ends in a storm.

(thunder clapping)

Not like the one at the school, like '87.

(crashing)

And me dead, in the doorway of the church.

(phone ringing)

That's not for me.

(serious music)

- Barnaby.

- Sir?

- Scott.

- Sir, I want you to answer this like it's no big deal.

Are you with Mal Kirby?

- Yes, I am.

- Go.

All right, two things.

First, I've just discovered that Mal Kirby's

the chief beneficiary of the Ransom estate

in the event that both John and Max Ransom dying.

- And the other?

- Max Ransom, sir, he's just been murdered.

(thunder crackling)

(police radio chattering)

- Dead for less than an hour.

Hit by something like a tree branch.

(birds chirping)

(bells tolling)

(slow, sorrowful music)

(car door banging shut)

(slow, sorrowful music)

- He's not here.

- Oh.

(ice cream splattering)

(serious music)

(tyres squealing)

You ask me, sir, the whole thing's a con job.

- I thought you said your nan was superstitious.

- Yeah well, my other nan wasn't.

You know what I'd like to do, sir?

- [Tom] What?

- Get that shyster Jimmy Kirby

to take the mirror down behind his bar.

- Well, you might just get the chance, Scott.

- [Dan] Who's that?

- Just seen Lucky Lol Tanner.

I suppose that's what you call a cool six grand.

So, you admit you were at Lower Mere House

the night Dr. Ransom was killed, and stealing his money?

- My money.

Well, I'm not denying it.

That cash is mine by rights, I was the one who was cheated.

- I think you'll find, Mr. Tanner,

that as long as you accepted the--

- Yeah, all right, Sherlock.

What?

All I wanted to do was talk to the father.

I wanted to tell him what I thought of his weasel of a son.

I walk up there, front door's open, I walk in.

- [Tom] Did you see Dr. Ransom?

- [Lol] No, no, I saw the carrier bag.

I could hear him arguing with his other lad in the kitchen.

- [Max] Those years worth of research.

We need to start again with someone else.

- No! (glass shattering)

- Bag was on his desk.

Six grand was in it.

I decided I must need it more than they did.

So, I, I took it.

Well, they were both still alive when I walked out.

- And what are you doing living in a caravan

with Romany Rose?

- Well that's not illegal, is it?

We've been shacked up since she arrived, to tell the truth.

I, I have this uh, weakness for northern gipsies.

You've got to admit that she's a very good-looking woman.

- She's also got two dead husbands.

- Bet they died happy an' all. (chuckles)

Hey look, could we hurry up?

I, I wouldn't mind getting back there.

- No, no, no, no, no.

Afraid that's not possible, Mr. Tanner.

You are implicated in three murders, and until I find out

the extent to which you are involved,

your next stop's a police cell.

(Christine cooing)

(Emma crying)

- Please, God,

help me to understand.

I cannot believe the suggestion

by your servant Pete Kubatski

that my father and my brothers have been taken by the devil.

(Christine crying)

(sighs) It's you.

- You've nicked him, then?

I'm psychic, remember.

- If you mean Mr. Tanner,

he is helping us with our inquiries.

- Look, I'm going to do you a deal.

You let him go and I'll give you

all the help you need to solve these murders.

- And how do you intend to do that?

- Like I said, I'm a clairvoyant.

- Oh you're a clairvoyant.

And I am a policeman

and I'm afraid I have had it up to here

with all this hocus pocus.

Now, my sergeant took the trouble to look you up

on the police computer, Romany Rose,

Flower of the Carpathians.

Alias Gloria Pitt from Audenshaw, Manchester,

with convictions for deception, fraud, and theft.

Wanted for interview by every police force

from here to Blackpool North Pier.

Now I'll do you a deal.

I'll give you one hour's head start

before I start phoning them.

And in the meantime, I'd be very grateful

if you'd let me solve these murders.

- Yeah, well, I might be all the things you say I am, lover,

but at least I know how policemen think.

And I'd say rational deduction is not cracking this, is it?

How many more people have got to die

before you get anywhere near, eh?

Try something else.

- DCI Barnaby?

- What?

- I'm Ben Kirby.

It was me who thumped John Ransom in the Luck in the World.

- I'm delighted you can join us.

- Emma and Christine are missing.

(wind howling) (thunder crashing)

(ominous music)

(glass shattering)

(thunder crashing)

(ominous music) (rain splattering)

- Upstairs, Scott.

Anything to tell us where they are.

(thunder crashing) (ominous music)

Scott!

- Sir.

- Get yourself back to the pub.

Round up the Kirbys.

I wanna know if they've seen Emma.

- What about you, sir?

- I'll be with Little Mal.

- [Radio Announcer] For East Anglia, Kent, the South Coast

and the whole of Southern England,

after a clear start a terrible night to come.

Rain and high winds already in excess of 60 miles per hour.

Now, that's enough to bring down branches, even trees.

- Mal!

Mal, I know where we've met before.

I think I once did you a favour.

Now, I want you to do the same for me, please.

Three of the Ransoms are dead.

Emma and Christine have disappeared.

Now, if you know anything, anything at all

about the Kirbys, I need you to tell me now.

(thunder crashing)

Mal.

(thunder crashing)

Could Jimmy help if you asked him?

(dramatic music)

Mal?

Mal!

- I need to think about this.

(thunder crashing)

- No one's seen her, sir.

All they want to do is to play cards.

- Here we go.

Here's a right pair of jokers.

(men laughing)

- Leave 'em, Jimmy.

Leave 'em.

(dramatic music)

- Mr. Kirby, Emma and Christine are missing.

Do you know where they are?

- Well, can't his fancy barometer tell you?

You lost it, Mal, lost it a long time ago.

Never got it back.

Can't find his own backside

in the dark with both hands now.

(men laughing)

- We're wasting time, sir.

- You,

ever played 52 Card Pick Up?

Pick 'em up.

- No, you pick 'em up.

You pick 'em up, and I'll bet you

I'll see every single one of 'em.

- (scoffs) Anyone got a quid?

All right.

Right, ladies and gentlemen.

Nothing up my sleeves but the ends of both my arms.

(spits)

Come on.

(thunder crashing)

- Nine of diamonds.

Three of spades.

(thunder crashing)

Ten of clubs.

Queen of clubs.

Ace of hearts.

Nine of hearts.

Four of diamonds.

My pound.

Excuse me.

(machine beeping)

(coins rattling)

That's yours.

(thunder crashing)

(machine beeping and whirring) (coins rattling)

(rain splattering)

(sombre music)

(Christine crying)

- No!

(Christine crying)

- I abjure thee!

This creature of salt.

(banging at door)

I must cast out from you

the devils of his heathen village, huh?

(Christine crying) (banging at door)

So that you're ready to be baptised.

(thunder crashing)

(sombre music)

- He's gonna baptise her, isn't he?

If her parents want it or not.

(adventurous music)

Mr. Kubatski.

It's the police, Mr. Kubatski, open the door!

- Now seeing that they are accursed

- There must be another one, Scott, 'round the back.

Mr. Kubatski,

open the door. - To do hurt

and go astray.

(suspenseful music)

- [Tom] Mr. Kubatski!

Open the door!

Mr. Kubatski, police, open the door!

(rain splattering) (suspenseful music)

(Christine babbling)

(Mal grunting)

(Christine crying)

- It is a fearful thing,

to fall into the hands of the living God.

(stone grinding)

(banging at door)

(Christine crying)

And then shall the axe be put onto the root of the tree.

And every tree that bringeth not forth fruit,

will be cast into the fire.

For he will pour down rain upon the sinners.

Snares, fire and brimstone, storm and tempest!

(thunder crashing)

Then we shall say "Peace, and all things safe."

And then shall sudden destruction cometh on.

- Leave the kid.

Leave the child, Kubatski, leave her.

- And through stubbornness heaped upon, I will save her.

I will save her, it's not too late.

I've had people crowding into the doorway

just to hear me speak.

- Peter!

I want you to stop!

- Ben, this is just the start.

- [Emma] Ben, get me out of here!

(tense, adventurous music)

- That'll do, Mr. Kubatski.

(Christine crying)

(Emma gasping)

- Peter Kubatski, I'm arresting you

for the murder of John Ransom

and for the abduction of Emma and Christine Kirby.

And I'll think you'll find that is just the start.

(people chattering)

(door slamming)

What are you praying for, Mr. Kubatski?

- Forgiveness.

- For they know not what they do.

But you knew exactly what you were doing, didn't you?

- No, forgiveness for you.

- Oh.

- I'm praying for all those who, through stupidity

or ignorance or lack of faith,

stand in the way of God's work on Earth.

- Oh, that's what you were doing, was it?

God's work, when you were laying in wait

for John Ransom outside the Luck In The World?

You've been expecting this for some weeks, haven't you?

A letter from your bishop to tell you

something you already knew but couldn't face up to.

That Preaching Pete Kubatski was indeed

for a limited period only.

Because you've failed in Midsomer Mere, haven't you?

- The Lord my God is a jealous God,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children.

- John Ransom came to see you the day he died.

He was upset, liked to torment people.

And he tormented you, didn't he?

He used his precognitive powers to tell you

that letter was on its way, didn't he?

And despite a lifetime believing

that the future was known only to God,

you believed John Ransom.

- Clear off!

(eerie music)

(banging)

- And when he died from his injuries,

you tried to place the blame on Max and his experiment.

You told me you tried your hand at rewiring your church.

And I think you used the little knowledge you gained

to rewire the chair.

- Ah! (electricity sizzling)

- Max, what are you playing at?

Well what do you want?

(crashing)

- And then it was you and Max.

Faith against science, battling for little baby Christine.

But you couldn't stop him going

to see his sister, could you?

(Christine crying)

And Emma and Christine were very special.

They were the only congregation you'd got.

- Leave Emma out of this.

- Why, because she's pure, because she's innocent?

- No.

Because Emma's mine.

- She's not yours, Mr. Kubatski.

Nor is baby Christine.

She no more belongs to you than to Max.

Max, who you killed with the first weapon that came to hand.

(banging)

- I'm not scared by you.

I answer to a higher authority.

Let us return unto him who is the merciful receiver

of all true penitent sinners.

And yet, though we have sinned,

is still an advocate in the Father.

- As Mr. Kubatski is already talking to an advocate,

Scott, I think we can assume he doesn't need a solicitor.

(birds chirping) (Christine babbling)

Emma, Ben.

- We came to thank you.

- Preaching Pete, eh?

Could no more cope with the idea of failure

than he could second sight.

You two still planning to baptise this one?

- That church is gonna be full one day.

A baptism's not a bad way to start.

- No, best of luck.

(Christine cooing)

(horn blaring)

- Looks like you'll be needing this.

- Be lucky.

(birds chirping)

(PA announcer speaking muffled)

- [Tom] Mal.

- I knew you'd be here.

- Oh yes, of course you would, hm.

- I wanted you to have this.

- Oh, that's kind, thank you, thank you.

I figured out where we met before.

Homeless man battered to death

in Mere Woods, storms of '87, yeah?

- I got pulled in for murder by some prat of a DCI.

You, you said you did me a favour.

- We should never have brought you in, should we?

We had no evidence against you,

we were on a fishing trip.

DCI said I should charge you.

I told the DCI, "I'm a policeman, not a psychic."

And instead of kicking me off the force, he let you go.

- Thank you.

You caught the killer?

- Oh Mal, of course.

(train horn blowing)

- [Cully] Bye, Mum.

- See you soon.

- Yeah, you will.

(laughing) Bye, Dad.

Thank you.

Mm-mm.

- Best of luck, love.

- Luck is not gonna come into it.

(train horn toots)

- She's gonna be just fine.

(mysterious music)

- I wanted to ask you, Mal.

(mysterious music)