"Much of this story is based on fact, through we have also included an element of speculation." "Some scenes and characters have been created for dramatic pupose." "My name is John Pearson and I'd intended to write a book about a lost world of gamblers and aristocrats, of privilege and decadence, now long gone." "But books have a strange way of exerting their own existence and the more I researched one story, the more I was pointed in the direction of another." "Towards a mystery that has remained unsolved for four decades." "Can't we get started, Aspers?" "As you wish, Lucky, as you wish." "Can you smell that, Burkie?" "Excitement, glamour, fear, greed." "And a dash of desperation behind the ears." "Make sure you keep the drinks flowing." "Card." "How dare you!" "This is outrageous!" "Mother, leave this to me." "What right have you to come barging in here?" "I am Chief Superintendent Rogers of the Metropolitan Police." "You are breaking the law, sir." "How so?" "These are all intimate friends of mine and we're simply indulging in a spot of after-dinner fun." "Yourself, Lady Osborne and Mr. Burke are under arrest for running a common gaming house." "Your guests also for frequenting the same." "Take them away." "There was nothing common in here, Officer, until you walked in." "I can manage." "And that's where it should have ended, Mr. Pearson." "The whole thing." "London, 2003" "Aspers had got used to a certain lifestyle." "He'd bought this big estate, opened his own zoo." "He couldn't face being broke again, so he decided to fight it." "But didn't the policeman see everything through the window?" "Aspers realised that if they prosecuted us, then every club in Mayfair with a bridge table must also be "a common gaming house", you see." "He was quite right." "The case was thrown out of court and, pretty soon after, gaming houses were made legal." "It was called Aspinall's Law." "But we never did go back to our Chemmy parties." "There was now an opening for something on a much grander scale." "Lovely evening." "Aspers spent an absolute fortune doing the place up." "He was a wonderful host." "But makes no bones about it, he was after their money." "He was systematically working his way through the inheritances of the English aristocracy, money that had been built up over centuries." "It only took him a couple of years and he'd cleaned out most of them." "One of those men ruined by Aspers was, of course, Lord Lucan." "The reason you're here, Mr. Pearson?" "Well, I'm not here just about Lucan." "You can say you're writing a book about the Clermont or whatever, but, really, you're writing about Lucky Lucan and what happened." "What became of him." "Because that's the key to everything, isn't it?" "So what did become of him?" "That's your problem, John." "Nobody will tell you." "Lucan Part 1 of 2" "Subtitles by Deluxe Sync:" "Marocas62" "Are we going to see the horses today, Daddy?" "Not today, my little angel, but we will soon, I promise." "Will you be having lunch with us?" "I was going to cook." "Fish fingers and frozen vegetables?" "No, thank you." "I'll take it at the club." "I'm meeting a few friends there." "What about dinner?" "I'll dine there." "Right, will you hold this for Daddy?" "And, Frances, can you get my cuff links from the drawer?" "Park her up, Billy." "Very good, Your Lordship." "Lucan treated the Clermont as a home from home, just as Aspers intended." "The world is overpopulated, Jimmy." "We've forgotten the lessons of natural selection, the survival of the fittest." "Aspers, you really are full of the most frightful hot air." "Where there is the greatest density of human beings, there is the greatest social sickness." "We are led, therefore, by representatives of the sickest part of our community." "That is why the country is paralysed by strikes and filthy with rubbish piled in the streets." "I would quite happily sacrifice myself and my children, if it could be arranged that another 250 million of the surplus biomass went with us." "I assume all of us would survive the cull in this brave new world of yours?" "Lucky, you'll be all right, your lineage is impeccable." "And I assume the Goldsmith millions would save you, Jimmy?" "It's to do with genetics." "If we are pre-programmed to lead and to innovate, then we'll rise to the top and assume our rightful place at the head of the pack, just like the alpha male amongst a band of primates." "I might have known your bloody gorillas would be involved somewhere." "What about everyone else, Aspers?" "The weak, the old and the useless will fall away." "One mustn't be overly sentimental about these things." "Come on." "I want some supper before I fall away." "And keep that bloody thing away from me." "I do so love, Aspers." "He's the perfect antidote to glumness." "Are you still under siege at home?" "She's beginning to complain about the amount of time I spend here." "She does have a point, old thing." "But this is what I do." "This is how I earn my living." "Do try and square things up with her, Lucky, it would make your life so much easier." "God." "I'm only trying to help." "No, no, it's not that." "What then?" "Well, I was just thinking." "If it's useless old primates we have to cull, then poor old Charlie here will be the first to go." "Very funny." "Lucan got his "Lucky" tag after winning £26,000 pounds in a single night, playing Chemmy in Le Touquet." "But as his luck at the table seemed to have consistently deserted him thereafter, as a nickname it became more and more ironic." "More chips, please." "Of course." "Another thousand." "I shall just write another." "Please, Lucky, allow me to make this gesture." "I cannot, Aspers." "I lost." "I must, therefore, settle my debts." "If one has the right to judge a man by the effect he has over his friends, then you're a very fine fellow, indeed." "Nature designed you and me as gamblers." "It demands nothing of us and yet it asks everything." "But there was an unsavoury side to Aspers." "Burkie!" "He was siphoning money off from the Clermont out to a numbered account in Switzerland." "His courier was a Mr. Fix-It type, who had a useful little fishing boat in Newhaven." "From there, he'd cross to the continent on all sorts of errands for Aspers." "You two have met before, haven't you?" "Let's call this man Ulrich." "Come and have a drink with us, there's plenty to discuss." "I won't, thank you, Aspers." "I think I'll be heading home." "As you wish." "In the end, I resigned from the Clermont." "I'd been with Aspers right from the start." "He never spoke to me again." "He said it didn't matter what someone had done." "If they were a friend, you supported them." "He was... an extraordinary man." "Still no sign of the dustmen." "Do you think we should make other arrangements?" "I've paid my rates." "The rubbish will pile up until they return to work and take it away," "As they are obliged to." "Well, I'm just off into town, darling." "Really?" "Who to see?" "A girlfriend." "You've become very friendly with Mark, I hear." "No more than normal." "I'm just friendly in the way I would be with anybody from the club." "Is fucking him normal?" "You said, "No more than normal"." "I wondered if you included that within your definition." "I don't know what you've heard." "I know everything that's been going on between you, Jane." "Part of me, to be honest, isn't too bothered about it." "But what did bother me, what bothers me a lot, was the discovery that you are also fucking one of my zookeepers." "I don't know what to say." "Then just listen." "I am divorcing you." "Because of your adultery, I shall cut you off without a penny and I intend to gain custody of my children." "No!" "You will be denied any and all access to them." "From today onwards, you're dead to us." "John, please." "Get out." "You know, there was no sentimentality to Aspers." "Everything was a game of poker." "Did you know Lucan well?" "Well enough." "I knew her too, Veronica." "I'll be honest with you, I liked the woman." "She had spirit." "Why don't we stay on another night?" "I don't know if you've noticed, but the conditions are distinctly Arctic." "It's rather fun, isn't it?" "Us all together, wrapped up warm against the cold." "We could take the children to the pier tomorrow." "I'm sure George and Frances would enjoy another day digging their way through to France." "Darling?" "I can't." "I need to drive back down tonight." "Why?" "Please answer me, John." "I have a lunch arranged for tomorrow." "So you've given us two days and that's it?" "Now you must get back to the club and your friends." "Can't we discuss..." "Look at that!" "Yes, I can see, it's splendid." "We owe £43 to our milkman." "He hasn't been paid for six months." "He's told me that he is going to stop delivering." "Harrods has already cancelled our account, because it is so overdue." "Then it's a good thing I'm going to the club to earn us some money." "But what if you lose?" "What happens if you lose and you lose and you lose again?" "Calm down, Veronica." "You're frightening the children." "What do we do?" "What do we do?" "If I didn't have my chums, I don't know what I'd do with myself." "I can hardly bear to live in the same house as Veronica any more." "How did you manage things, ending it with Jane?" "I battered her about the head with a blunt implement." "Metaphorically speaking, of course." "But... if a female challenges the primacy of a male silverback gorilla, that is precisely the treatment she will receive." "My weapon was Jane's infidelity." "I'm thinking of moving out, getting a flat on my own." "Not if you don't want to lose everything, you don't." "Whom do you imagine will be given custody of your children?" "Me, of course." "On what grounds?" "On the grounds that I'm their father and that I can better provide for them." "Dear Lucky, as things stand, the best you can hope for is a few weekends here and there with them." "Veronica will be given custody, as the mother." "She currently holds the winning hand." "That is the law, however ridiculous." "You need a reason for the judge to take the children away from her and award them to you." "With Jane, it was her adultery." "I assume Veronica is not conveniently fucking anybody?" "But I'm an..." "I'm an earl, surely the courts would favour me?" "You made Veronica a countess when you married her." "Your title will cut no ice." "My advice is to fight dirty, for you can be sure she will." "Fight dirty, fight nasty and let there be no shame." "The future of your children is at stake." "But how do I fight her?" "What do I do?" "In my limited experience of her," "I imagine Veronica can be a highly-strung woman, can she not?" "Highly strung?" "She's completely paranoid!" "The rages that woman can work herself into." "I wonder if there might not be something in that for you?" "Mr. Pearson?" "Mrs. Maxwell-Scott?" "I shan't tell you what happened to him, I want to make that quite clear." "Whatever you feel comfortable with." "Do you remember "Gone With The Wind"?" "There was a caption before the film that said," ""A civilization now no more than a dream remembered."" "Everything... ..gone" "with the wind." "I feel like that about the Clermont, and the life we had." "I loved my husband very much, Mr. Pearson." "But I did have a bit of a thing about Lucky Lucan." "He was such a romantic figure." "Quite reckless." "John Burke said that things became increasingly bitter between the Lucans in the early '70s." "Of course, we all knew that divorce was looming." "Come on, V, it can't be as bad as all that." "Lots of girls would give their eye teeth to be in your position." "A countess." "A handsome husband on your arm." "Well, he's a loving father, I won't deny that." "But an absent one." "All his time and energy are expended in that club." "And we have no money, Susie." "Neither have Ian and I." "I've always thought money rather overrated." "Never had any respect for it." "The children and I have no better than a hand-to-mouth existence and yet he gambles away thousands every week." "Do you challenge him?" "I have tried to." "But he gets very angry." "He thinks so little of me, it's unbearable." "But, lately, he's even become violent towards me." "What do you mean?" "He has lost his temper and attacked me on more than one occasion." "Of course, I was horrified." "I remember thinking to myself... .."Why would she lie about a thing like that?"" "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Susie." "Veronica has these fantasies." "If anything, it's been her attacking me." "I'm frightened there might be something seriously wrong with her." "I'm worried about the children." "Well, thank goodness it was me she was talking to." "If she starts whispering that sort of thing in the wrong ear, it could be very damaging for you." "Do try to get her down off the precipice." "For your sake, as well as hers." "Thank you, Susie." "You're a saint." "Veronica?" "She's determined to do everything she can to make my life hell." "Come on, Lucky, buy her a bunch of bloody flowers and take her to Monte Carlo for the weekend." "This is no laughing matter, Dominick." "Lucky is engaged in a struggle for the future of his line." "The consequences of defeat are unthinkable." "I've missed this, John, just the two of us spending time together." "I think that's been the heart of all our problems." "You just need to relax, darling, get away for a few days." "You need peace and quiet." "Here you are, darling." "These people will look after you now." "Where are we?" "It's just to give you some peace and quiet, like we said." "I thought we were going to a hotel." "What is this place?" "It's a clinic." "Well, what sort of clinic?" "A psychiatric clinic, Veronica." "I've brought you here so you can get well." "There is nothing wrong with me!" "What has he told you?" "We're just here to help you." "Has he told you that I'm mad?" "Don't make a scene." "There is nothing wrong with me!" "I am not going in there!" "It's for your own good, you stupid woman!" "I must remind you that admission is voluntary, sir." "I do not give my consent." "I refuse to stay here." "Take me home right now!" "Today, tomorrow, next week." "It doesn't matter when, but I will have you committed." "Will you, John?" "Or is a father who gambles away his children's inheritance the one who is actually mentally ill?" "Why do you just sit there all night, watching him?" "I'm waiting to go home with him." "Why?" "You obviously hate gambling." "Why stay if it makes you miserable?" "So that he doesn't go home with somebody like you." "Why can't you just let Johnny enjoy himself?" "You know... you really do look like a little owl, glaring away there in the dark." "And we all know what you look like." "It's amazing how a woman can still love a man who's plainly not in the least bit interested in her, and only wishes to get away..." "How dare you!" "I'm so sorry, Kiki." "I really must apologise for my wife." "Honestly, Lucky, it's you one should feel sorry for, being married to her." "And this was witnessed by everyone?" "The whole room saw it." "Once we'd mopped her down I managed to get something in about how V's behaviour is becoming more and more erratic." "This was overheard?" "I'm sure Greville Howard heard..." "and Stoop and Ian." "Good." "More in the same vein, please." "We need to establish her instability as a generally accepted fact." "Darling..." "Darling?" "What is it, ma'am?" "I ca..." "I ca..." "I can't..." "breathe." "I can't breathe." "I can't breathe." "God." "I can't breathe." "Please excuse me, Lord Lucan, but it's the Countess." "What about her?" "She can't breathe." "Well, call the doctor." "Would you mind if I had another, sir?" "My nerves are shot to pieces." "Please do." "We're all very worried about her." "How is she?" "She's much calmer." "You can go and see her if you wish, but please don't tax her too much." "I feel as if we've come to the end of the line, don't you, Doctor?" "What do you mean?" "Well, her behaviour is becoming more and more irrational." "She had a panic attack." "I feel it's best all round, not least for Veronica, if you commit her to an institution." "At least in the short term." "I've known Lady Lucan for some years now and I've witnessed nothing that would cause me to doubt her sanity." "Paranoia." "Suspicions." "False accusations." "All of these can be proved independently." "Even her own family believes she has behavioural problems." "She was suffering from acute anxiety, nothing more." "So you're not going to commit her?" "Well, no." "This is a gross dereliction of duty." "Well, I think the whole thing could have been avoided, if only that doctor had committed Veronica, as he should have done." "It was a gross dereliction of duty on his part." "There was the attack on Kiki at the Clermont." "A whole catalogue of incidents." "Lucky can't have made them all up." "No." "At this point..." "Veronica was quite unhinged." "I've moved into a little flat." "Resumed the bachelor lifestyle." "And what about the children?" "I..." "I see them every other weekend." "Lucky, that's terrible." "Those children are your world." "How can it have come to this?" "There is a plan in place." "Aspers has been helping me." "He's been a tower of strength." "Well, beware Aspers, old thing." "He does tend to come up with his own rules." "And she has no whisper of your intentions?" "No." "I'm certain of it." "Because you must keep her in the dark until the very last second." "And then, be merciless." ""Attack with overwhelming odds," ""pressing home your advantage to the full."" "You must win." "You stole my hat, cheeky monkey!" "Ah!" "Now I have you!" "No, you don't!" "Come along, children." "Time to go home." "But I don't want to go home!" "Well, I'm afraid you have to." "Frances, George, Camilla!" "Lord Lucan, were you just passing, sir, or..." "I thought Saturday was your day to see them." "The children will be coming home with me, Mrs. Roberts." "But I'm to take them home for supper." "They'll be living with me from now." "They've been made wards of court." "I've been authorised to take them into my care." "Lady Lucan will be receiving a copy of this letter now." "Come on!" "Camilla!" "But what will I say to Lady Lucan?" "Being a policeman, Camilla?" "Where are they?" "He's taken them." "No, no!" "I'm so sorry." "He had people with him." "There was nothing I could do, my lady." "Get off me!" "Where are you going?" "I need to get my babies back." "Get off!" "He had a piece of paper from the court." "You mustn't go round there - not yet." "It'll only make things worse." "Come on." "That's it." "Now..." "I know." "I know." "I thought you'd appreciate some special visitors, Mama." "Come in." "How clever of you, Johnny, to have got them back." "Now into the kitchen." "You know where the sweetie tin is." "What a relief!" "And they are with you permanently now?" "I have interim custody, pending the full hearing." "Wonderful." "Congratulations, darling." "I've always found Veronica to be a rather pathetic little thing, really." "The whole "in-law" situation is a lottery, isn't it?" "I find it hard to feel any sympathy for her, John, after the way she treated you." "I'm hoping common sense will prevail and, in time, she'll come to accept the situation and then we can all get on with our lives." "Quite." "One thing, Mama." "I have incurred rather a lot of legal costs thus far." "I find myself temporarily short." "I wonder if I might not ask you for a small loan to help me through this immediate period." "I have four thousand in my deposit account." "I can let you have that." "But I must have it back." "Yes." "Yes, of course." "Thank you." "Hello." "Veronica, it's me, John." "What do you want?" "I don't want anything." "But I think we should be on speaking terms for the sake of the children." "Where are they?" "They're with me." "I want to talk to them, now." "I'm sorry you can't." "They're in bed." "Can't I even say good night to them?" "No." "What right have you to just turn up with your heavies and kidnap them?" "I have been granted custody." "I haven't been given a chance to defend myself!" "It was an ex parte application." "All I had to do was persuade the judge in chambers that your mental health puts the children at risk." "Beut there's nothing wrong with me!" "I'm afraid you're a very sick woman and you need help." "I hate you for what you've done, you are the devil incarnate." "I hate you!" "I hate you." "You are evil, you're pure evil!" "I hope you die!" "I hope you..." "I hope you d..." "I hope you die!" "I am the Countess of Lucan." "I wish to be admitted." "Bill, you're one of my oldest friends and, Christina, you're her sister." "I just want you to know that I... don't expect you to appear for me in court." "You must feel free to give evidence for Veronica, if you so wish." "Well, I have thought about this very carefully." "I shall answer honestly." "I think Veronica is capable of looking after the children." "But only if she undergoes medical treatment." "And by that we mean she must be given proper medication." "Yes." "I just want what's best for the children, that's all that guides me." "We have run a number of psychiatric tests and evaluations on you." "Yes." "You've been here with us for a week now." "Do you feel you've learned something from your stay here?" "Yes." "And what is it that you've learned?" "That...it is perfectly normal to have bad feelings." "And indeed your husband intends to make representation as to your mental health during the course of this hearing, does he not?" "I believe so, yes." "He believes you to be, not to put too fine a point upon it, insane, does he not?" "That is what he says, though I do not believe it is what he really thinks." "In the past, he has tried to persuade a doctor to have me committed to an institution and even tried to forcibly commit me himself." "Lady Lucan, did you recently commit yourself voluntarily into the care of the Priory Clinic?" "I did." "And what was the purpose of your stay there?" "I went there to have my mental health evaluated." "And what were the conclusions of the psychiatrist, a Dr. Flood, under whose care you were placed?" "He judged me to be sane." "I have no further questions, Your Honour." "But even her own sister says she needs medication!" "We've got tape recordings of her rantings, a dozen affidavits from people swearing that she's stark-staring mad!" "None of them are from professionals." "It was a very clever move, getting herself committed." "A statement from a psychiatrist carries much more weight." "So what are you saying?" "We... might be able to get rid of the drunken nanny." "I've sunk a bloody fortune into this." "I rule that the children shall remain wards of court, but in light of Lord Lucan withdrawing his objections, their care and control be restored to Lady Lucan." "I rule that a nanny should reside at the family home to help with domestic arrangements." "The cost of this to be met by Lord Lucan." "I further rule that Lord Lucan be granted access rights to his children... ..every second weekend." "Look at them." "Aren't they lovely?" "Welcome home!" "Welcome home, come on in." "Come on, then." "Let's get you some tea." "I've got your tea ready, down in the kitchen." "Straight on." "Let's get the kettle on." "Those poor little things." "They were exhausted." "They were asleep the minute their heads hit the pillow." "Mrs. Roberts, I don't know what I'd have done without your support during all of this." "Think nothing of it, my lady." "I'm just as pleased as punch that the children are back at home where they belong." "Mrs. Roberts, it's all so unfair." "What is, my dear?" "I'm going to have to let you go." "Let me go?" "Why?" "It's Lord Lucan's decision." "Please don't think I had anything to do with it." "But I've always tried my best." "And I've never had cause for any complaint, but he's insisting that you're replaced." "I'm..." "I'm so very sorry." "I really..." "I'm so sorry." "I'll get my...bag and coat." "I can see myself out." "Another one." "Hello." "Hello?" "Who's there?" "Is that you, John?" "Veronica's was a pyrrhic victory." "She had the children, but what she really wanted was her husband." "I could understand that." "I'm quite ready to die, Mr. Pearson, and be with my beloved Ian again, gambling away the housekeeping." "How did Lucan take defeat in the court?" "Well, he was devastated." "He expected to win." "And, on top of it all, the fact that he was a professional gambler went against him." "Well, judges are mostly from the middle classes." "They don't understand rich people who don't have to work for a living." "But after, he was a broken man and bankrupted by his legal expenses." "And the irony of it all... ..was that the court order required that she always employ a nanny." "Hello, I'm Sandra, Sandra Rivett." "I'm here about the vacancy." "Yes, of course." "Do come in." "Thank you." "I can provide references, if necessary," "I've parted on good terms with all my previous employers." "That's fine." "The agency that sent you is a reputable one." "I'm... afraid there's no man about the house." "My husband and I are separated." "We've got that in common, too." "Roger and I split up a while back, but we're still friends though." "Unfortunately, my situation isn't so amicable." "Oh, dear." "My husband..." "hates me." "There's no other way of putting it." "Well, I'd quite understand if you didn't want to put yourself into such a difficult environment." "Oh, things like that don't bother me in the slightest, ma'am." "I just love being with the little ones." "Everything else goes right over my head." "Perhaps I should take a leaf out of your book." "It's nine o'clock." "Tea time?" "Yes, please." "Hello?" "Hello?" "I've been..." "I've been getting these calls lately, at all times." "Well, I'm sure it's him, he's just trying to torment me." "Well, you mustn't give in to him, ma'am." "I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you'd just call me Veronica." "You've got to fight back, show him he's not got you where he wants you." "What should I do?" "Well, let me answer it." "Hello." "Look, whoever this is, we've been on to the police and they've put a trace on the line, so they know who you are." "Now fuck off!" "See?" "It's easy." "Once Lucky saw that Veronica wasn't going to crack, he became a changed man." "He wasn't so much fun?" "He'd lost his children, Mr. Pearson." "That's no fun at all." "He was bitter and angry." "He couldn't believe the court case had gone against him, none of us could." "I don't know." "Is this really necessary?" "We're just going over old ground, again and again." "Playing with ghosts and shadows." "All the same, I would like to know what happened in those next few weeks." "Well, things began to take shape in Acapulco." "Jimmy Goldsmith was 40." "And he flew everyone out there for a huge party." "Jimmy had been having a long affair with Mark Birley's wife, Annabel." "She paid Lucky a lot of attention on that trip." "I think she felt sorry for him." "Can't you fight it, Lucky?" "Can't you challenge the judgment?" "There's no point." "The law is hopelessly stacked against fathers." "Even if I wanted to, the last hearing's wiped me out financially." "Couldn't you speak to Jimmy, see if he can help?" "Lucky's becoming a total bore, just banging on and on endlessly about that bloody wife of his." "He is rather monopolising the ladies." "Come now, Jimmy, how did you react when your mother-in-law tried to take your daughter away from you?" "I fought with every fibre of my being." "That's just the point, Lucky's not fighting." "He's just fucking whining." "Come on, you two." "Come on." "Stop gazing adoringly into each other's eyes and have a photo." "Right, say cheese." "Here we go." "Cheese." "Cheese." "I have to tell you, Lucky, that sympathy amongst your fellow primates is running thin." "You've become apathetic and accepting." "I don't know what to do, Aspers." "She holds all the aces." "All I do know is that I can't go on living like this." "My children torn from me." "I'm your friend." "But I cannot help you, if you will not help yourself." "Typical Aspers." "I'm convinced he was involved." "Both before and afterwards." "He knew... how to..." "arrange that type of thing." "He had a man to sort things out for him - there was a boat." "Somewhere on the south coast." "In Newhaven?" "Burkie mentioned something about Newhaven." "And you say you've no doubt Aspers was involved?" "We're going to have to leave it there, Mr. Pearson." "Of course." "Perhaps we can pick it up again tomorrow?" "Or maybe next week?" "I've said all I'm going to say." "I've said too much, in fact." "I don't wish to discuss this any further." "But " "Please, don't call any more." "Losing Susie was a blow." "But there was still enough in police and court records and old witness statements to piece together what happened next." "Lucan borrowed an old car from his friend Michael Stoop." "He told him the battery on his Mercedes was playing up." "But he kept this from Veronica." "Now he could park outside the house without her knowing he was there." "There we are." "OK." "Can I help with anything, sir?" "How do you like the new nanny?" "Sandra's nice.She's funny." "She makes Mummy laugh." "She went out on Thursday night, didn't come home till late." "Thursday's her night off." "She has a boyfriend who works in a pub." "Right, who wants to see some wild animals?" "Me!" "OK." "That big one is the alpha male." "He's the head of the whole family, the patriarch." "He must provide leadership, but, just as importantly, he must defend his family." "They all rely on him." "And, occasionally, he will receive a challenge to his power, which he must confront and defeat." "And, in this way, the natural order of things is maintained." "Come along." "I want to see a lion!" "I want to see an elephant!" "Any moment now..." "Bloody power cuts." "How are miners given primacy in this country and yet the nobility and the gentry, families who have ruled for centuries, are hounded and taxed into extinction?" "The only solution is for her to..." "..disappear." "To somehow vanish off the face of the earth." "The children would be mine." "I wouldn't have the cost of maintaining two households and there would be none of the baggage associated with divorce." "I don't believe it would even be particularly questioned." "People know how erratic her behaviour is." "I would simply say that she had gone." "I know not where." "You must be under no illusion, Lucky, as to what it is you would be getting into should you choose to go down that path." "It would be a gamble, pure and simple." "Her life against yours." "If you win, the way is open for a happy continuation of your life." "The...natural order of things would have been restored and you would, of course, be free to breed again and increase your blood stock." "But if you lose, your position would be untenable." "Were you ever, say, to stand trial in a court of law, the impact upon your children of seeing their father in the dock, accused of engineering their mother's disappearance, would be catastrophic." "Your life would be forfeit." "You're right, Aspers." "It's a gamble." "Good morning, Sandra." "Morning." "Did you sleep well?" "I actually did, for once." "Not too bad." "See you all later." "Veronica?" "Yes." "Could I ask a favour?" "Yes, of course." "Well, it's just my boyfriend's working Thursdays now." "I wondered, could I switch my night off for another night?" "Yes, of course, any night you wish." "Still going strong with him, then?" "Yeah." "Well, things might be going a bit too fast, actually." "Thanks." "Soldier?" "No, no." "Not soldier." "Hello, it's Lord Lucan." "Just ringing to reserve a table for dinner tonight." "Yes, sir." "What time?" "11 o'clock, please." "Sorry it's a bit late." "Usual table." "Thank you." "Dominick, I've reserved a table at the Clermont for 11." "11." "I've asked Greville, Daniel and Sarah" "to join us after they've been to the theatre." "Good idea." "There's an exhibition next week." "I thought you might like to come along." "I have to fly, old thing." "Lots of running about to do." "All right." "Speak to you then." "OK." "Bye-bye." "He's asked me to move in with him!" "Are you going to?" "Well," "I'm abit worried it's too soon." "And I've made that mistake before in the past." "Besides, I'm enjoying myself too much here with you and the children." "You mustn't let us stand in your way, though." "There we go." "That's a good girl." "Let's get these knots out before bed." "Do you want to say good night to Mummy?" "Come on, give Mummy a kiss." "How come she gets to stay up?" "Cos I'm older than you." "Come on, off to bed now." "Kiss for me, please, Camilla?" "Sleep well." "Do you want me to park her up?" "No." "I have a dinner booking later." "I just wondered if any of my crowd had arrived yet." "A few of them, sir." "Very good." "I'll see you later." "We'll be back tomorrow." "..whether it's the case for a doctor or a policeman... ..or a priest..." "Sandra?" "Sandra?" "Are you all right down there?" "Subtitles by Deluxe Sync:" "Marocas62" "Much of this story is based on fact, through we have also included an element of speculation." "Some scenes and characters have been created for dramatic pupose." "So, you're writing a book about Lucky Lucan" "and what happened." "So what did become of him?" "That's your problem, John." "Nobody will tell you." "The children and I have no better than a hand-to-mouth existence, yet he gambles away thousands every week." "I can hardly bear to live in the same house any more." "Whom do you imagine will be given custody of your children?" "Fight dirty, fight nasty, and let there be no shame." "Beware, Aspers." "He does tend to come up with his own rules." "I feel it's best all round if you commit her to an institution." "Has he told you I'm mad?" "Please, don't make a scene." "There is nothing wrong with me!" "The children shall remain wards of court, their care and control be restored to Lady Lucan." "Hello, I'm Sandra." "Sandra Rivett." "I'm here about the vacancy." "He'd lost his children, Mr. Pearson." "He was bitter and angry." "You say you've no doubt Aspers was involved?" "I've said all I'm going to say." "Too much, in fact." "I don't wish to discuss this any further." "You must be under no illusion, Lucky, as to what it is you would be getting into should you choose to go down that path." "Her life against yours." "It's a gamble." "Now you sleep well, darling, and I shall see you in the morning." "Night, Mum." "Night, night." "Night." "Sandra." "Sandra?" "Lucan Part 2 of 2" "Are you all right down there?" "Sandra?" "Subtitles by Deluxe Sync:" "Marocas62" "Shut up!" "Where's Sandra?" "Where is she?" "She's dead." "I've killed her." "She's in the kitchen." "Oh, my God, what have you done?" "Don't go down there." "It's a bloody mess." "I thought she was you." "God..." "Everything has turned to ashes." "This is your doing!" "You tried to take my children away from me." "You must have known I could not allow that to happen." "Yes, yes, yes..." "Yes, I'm sorry." "I must make a decision." "I must decide what to do." "Well, I..." "I can..." "I can help you." "You?" "Yes." "We can..." "We can clean everything up together." "Get rid of the evidence." "Please, John." "Let's just go upstairs and talk this through calmly." "It doesn't have to end like this." "Please, let's talk it through." "Yes?" "I ju..." "I just need some water, my..." "My throat, it hurts so badly..." "Come on, hurry up." "Look at yourself!" "Go upstairs to your bedroom, darling." "That's right." "Just go straight to bed, darling." "That's right." "That's right, in your..." "Go into your bedroom, darling!" "Wait!" "Wait, wait..." "Here, you'd better clean yourself up." "Do you have any Tuinol in the bathroom?" "Yes, I think so." "Would you consider taking an overdose?" "That might be the best way out of all this, don't you think?" "Yes." "Yes, all right then." "Could you get me a glass of water?" "Veronica?" "Veronica!" "Bitch!" "Help me!" "Help me, please, help me!" "Please!" "Help me, help me!" "I've just escaped from being murdered." "Help me!" "Help me, please, somebody!" "Please, please, please!" "Somebody call 9-9-9." "Help me!" "OK, come on." "My children!" "Hello?" "Mother, it's me, John." "Can you listen carefully, please?" "There's..." "There's been a terrible catastrophe at the house." "And I need you to go there right away and collect the children." "What has happened?" "Er, the children are all right, but Veronica's hurt, and... and also the nanny." "Are they badly hurt?" "I think so, yes." "I need you to collect the children, they're on their own." "And ring Bill Shand-Kydd for help." "Are you all right, Johnny?" "Yes, I'm fine but I've..." "I've got to go." "I'll explain later." "Please..." "Please hurry, Mother." "It had been my intention to write a book about a lost world of gamblers and aristocrats, but my research had been taken over by the Lucan mystery." "A picture of the immediate events of that night could be pieced together from police records and witness statements." "After the phone call to his mother, Lucan left the city in a hurry." "He headed south." "It's open." "You check out upstairs." "I'll have a look down here." "Where's Mummy and Sandra?" "Lucky?" "Is Ian here?" "I'm afraid he's not." "He's stayed on in London." "Right." "What's the matter?" "Do you want to come in?" "If I could, Susie." "Thank you." "I'm sorry, madam, you can't go inside..." "I'm here to collect my grandchildren." "Sir, she says she's the children's grandmother." "I am Dowager Countess of Lucan." "How did you know to come here?" "My son called me and told me to collect the children." "Are you going to tell me what has happened?" "I understand there's been an incident?" "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything at the moment, madam." "We're still trying to understand it." "Fetch the children." "Yes, sir." "My daughter-in-law has been treated for a mental complaint." "She and my son are separated." "She's a manic depressive and the courts have told her she must continue her medical treatment." "I'm afraid she's in hospital with serious head injuries." "Well, where's the nanny?" "The children's nanny has been pronounced deceased." "We found her body downstairs in the kitchen." "Can I ask, ma'am, where your son is now?" "I'm afraid I don't know." "He told me he had to go somewhere and then he hung up." "It was only a short conversation." "You don't think he's involved?" "Grandma!" "Darlings." "Come on!" "Come on, sweetheart." "How lovely, lovely, lovely." "Into the back of the car." "Hello, darling." "Very good." "If your son gets in touch again, could you please refer him to us?" "We need to speak to him urgently." "Into the back." "Thank you." "I've, er..." "I've had the most nightmarish experience, Susie." "It's..." "It's so incredible, I don't think you or anyone else can believe it." "Try me." "I was er..." "I was passing the house this evening." "I walk past it regularly these days to keep an eye on the children." "And I saw some sort of..." "struggle going on in the kitchen." "Through the blinds in the basement" "I could see Veronica grappling with a man." "I ran into the house, I still have a key, of course, and I flew down the stairs into the kitchen." "At the bottom of the stairs I slipped on something that I later discovered to be blood." "I got it over my clothes." "And, as I was lying there... this man, whoever he was, made his escape." "I could see that Veronica was very badly hurt and..." "Sandra was lying... half in a sack." "The poor girl was quite dead." "Dear God!" "V was..." "was crying out that this... this man had murdered Sandra." "There was blood and mess everywhere." "It..." "It was a ghastly situation." "Then, as I was trying to help her, in the same breath, she accused me of hiring this man to murder her." "She kept on using the phrase "contract killer"." "Must have heard it on one of those" "American TV movies she watches all the time." "This is too horrible!" "John, what did you do?" "Well, I managed to get her upstairs to the bedroom." "I was going to try and treat the wounds on her head." "Then I was going to call an ambulance and ring the police." "As I was going into the bathroom to wet a flannel she, she bolted." "God alone knows what she's saying but..." "I'm pretty sure that I am being implicated in what happened." "The woman will do anything to bring me down." "Surely she wouldn't stoop that low." "It's the children I'm worried about." "I must use your telephone to check they're all right." "Of course." "I'll give you some privacy." "Oh and er, Susie, could I also have a pen and a clean piece of paper?" "I want to write down some thoughts whilst they're still clear in my mind." "I'll get you one." "Hello?" "Mother, it's Johnny." "I'm just ringing about the children." "They're here, safe and sound." "Thank goodness for that." "And Veronica?" "She's been taken to hospital." "Have you heard from the police?" "Well, they're here with me now." "Would you like to speak to them?" "Erm..." "No." "No, I..." "I think not." "Tell them I'll ring them in the morning and I'll call you, too." "OK." "Goodbye, Mama." "That was my son." "He won't speak to you now." "He'll speak to you in the morning." "The children are with my mother." "Thank you." "Lucky, why don't you stay the night?" "You can have a wash." "I'll prepare you a meal." "You must be famished." "And then, tomorrow, I'll go with you to the police." "That's very sweet of you, but I'll have to go back and... find out what she's done to me." "I must write to my brother-in-law." ""Dear Bill..." ""the circumstantial evidence against me is strong" ""in that V will say it was all my doing." ""I am only interested in the children." ""If you can manage it, I want them to live with you." ""V has demonstrated her hatred for me in the past" ""and would do anything to see me accused."" "Dear Lucky..." "All you have to do is tell your story calmly, faithfully." "The truth will out." "Well, thank you for everything." "Don't forget to post those letters." "I'll do it first thing." "Goodbye, Susie." "And then he was gone." "Susan Maxwell-Scott was the last person to admit to seeing Lucan alive." "Good morning, sir." "Sit down, Dominick." "Help yourself to some hock." "There are cold cuts over there and a slice of Mother's game pie." "God help us." "I'm fine, thanks." "Right, well, you all know why you're here." "A friend of ours is in trouble." "As far as we can tell, there was some sort of incident last night at 46 Lower Belgrave Street." "And Lucky Lucan is wanted for questioning over an attack upon his wife and, it seems, the death of his children's nanny." "I will begin by asking if anybody has heard from Lucky in the last 12 hours?" "And what about you, Aspers, has he not rung you?" "He has not, but let me tell you this, if he did," "Lucky Lucan is my friend." "If he came to me, covered in blood, having done some frightful deed, the last thing that would occur to me would be to turn him in." "That would go against every last instinct of human loyalty." "It would also go against the law." "To hell with the law!" "To hell with the common norms of civic behaviour, whatever they are." "If the law doesn't suit, then change it." "If you can't change it, then damn the law." "Weakness is bringing this country to its knees." "Our trade unions seek to destroy our industry and economy." "Our government aids them by driving from these shores the leaders, the strong and the wealthy, taxing them at 98 pence in the pound." "Nobody likes paying tax..." "We must fight back!" "Our very future depends on it." "In times such as these, I should like to think if our friend turned up on any of our doorsteps, we should offer him sanctuary." "What exactly has happened?" "It's confusing trying to piece it together from the papers and, various bits of gossip flying around this morning." "I think matters between Lucky and Veronica came to a head last night." "Custody of those children should have been awarded to Lucky." "Has Christina spoken to Veronica lately?" "We haven't spoken to her for months." "It's impossible to have a conversation without the whole thing descending into the most almighty row." "How badly hurt is Veronica?" "I don't know." "How did the nanny end up dead?" "I don't think for a second Lucky killed her." "Why would he do such a thing?" "We don't know yet, but I've had a lot of calls this morning asking what to do if we're approached by the police." "It is essential that we say nothing of Lucky's affairs until we do know precisely what has happened, and can be confident of not incriminating him." "We can't incriminate Lucky because he hasn't done anything!" "He's not a violent man, I'm sure." "What about Veronica?" "Your concern is endearing, but it rather misses the point." "Lucky is our friend, not his wife." "I meant what does she say about it?" "Perhaps there's been some sort of terrible mistake?" "Wouldn't it be a good idea to pay her a visit and find out what she says about it?" "If further unpleasantness can be avoided, that is to be welcomed." "Bill, she's your sister-in-law?" "I suspect somebody else will be able to get rather more out of her." "Very well then." "Dominick..." "As you're so concerned for her wellbeing." "Yes, all right." "I'll go." "Sir." "Dave." "This it?" "Lent to Lucan about a month ago by a friend called Michael Stoop." "Left here somewhere between five and eight in the morning." "Nobody saw anyone get out the car." "It's an absolute gold mine, sir." "Blood and hair found on the seats, steering wheel and floor." "And look at this." "Almost an exact match of the one found at the house." "Same sort of tape wrapped round it." "Just a bit longer." "Newhaven?" "Why here?" "The ferry?" "First one sailed for Dieppe just after six this morning." "Sussex police are looking at the passenger lists." "He could have got a 60-hour passport over the counter." "I can't believe he'd get on a commercial ferry when he knows we'd find the car here." "His club said he made a late booking for dinner in town last night." "So, he leaves the family home in Lower Belgrave Street at, what?" "Just after nine o'clock last night?" "Yeah." "Then he turns up in Newhaven a minimum of..." "seven hours later." "Well, where did he go?" "Who did he see?" "Ian?" "Sir, he insisted on waiting." "Aspers, I need a word." "Lucky arrived at the house last night." "I'd stayed in London at the club." "Susie took him in and she had a chat with him." "What did he say?" "He said he was innocent of the attack and he tried to stop another man from attacking Veronica." "Said he was walking past the house at the time." "I have to say, Aspers, it sounded rather far-fetched to me." "Has Susie gone to the police?" "Not yet, no." "She posted some letters for him this morning and then I came home." "Who were the letters to?" "Bill Shand-Kydd." "Aspers, she has to report this to the police." "Yes, of course." "Do you think I should call them now?" "I should think it's rather late now." "Yes." "I suppose Susie could ring them in the morning." "I think that's the best option, old thing, call them in the morning." "Now who's the mad one?" "God." "He tried to kill me, Dominick." "What happened?" "Was it a row that got out of hand, heat of the moment sort of thing?" "It was premeditated." "I was to be done away with so he could continue his life without me." "And..." "Nanny Sandra?" "He killed her by mistake." "He told me he thought she was me." "You know he's taken leave of his senses." "I would never have thought John capable of violence." "He's struck me before, a number of times." "And what are you going to do now?" "I know that's why you're really here." "You can tell Aspers thank you very much for the flowers, but it's too late." "I've given a statement to the police naming my husband as my attacker, and that he admitted to me to killing Sandra." "Please, don't bracket me with Aspers." "I cannot defend the indefensible." "What's happened to you is... is grotesque." "Detective Superintendent Gerring." "We're here to see Mrs. Maxwell-Scott." "Yes, of course." "There was a 48-hour gap between Lord Lucan being here, and you reporting it to the police." "Why did you not contact us earlier?" "I had no reason to." "With respect, this is a murder inquiry." "By your own admission, Lucan told you of the death of Mrs. Rivett, and you noticed blood on his clothing." "He explained that, he'd slipped on the kitchen floor." "Obstructing the course of justice is very serious, Mrs. Maxwell-Scott." "She isn't obstructing, it's just she didn't realise how much publicity the case had attracted." "It's fairly remote here." "The next day you didn't turn on the television or radio, did you?" "No!" "I had no way of knowing it was such big news." "John and I simply had a chat." "He left in the early hours and in the morning I posted his letters." "Letters?" "What letters?" ""For my children to go through life" ""knowing their father had stood in the dock" ""for attempted murder" ""would be too much." ""When they're old enough to understand," ""explain to them the..." ""..the dream of paranoia and look after them."" ""Dream of paranoia"?" "Definitely it's Lucan's handwriting." "Forensics have confirmed the blood stains on the envelopes." "And this third letter was to Michael Stoop?" "Fella who lent him the Ford Corsair." "Anything on the ferry passengers lists?" "As far as we can tell, unless he disguised himself very heavily, he wasn't on any of the crossings that morning." "A description's been issued through Interpol." "The crossing channel borders are on alert." "Was there no envelope?" "Stoop said he threw it away after he opened it." "Mrs. Maxwell-Scott said she definitely didn't post it." "Lucan only gave her two letters, both for Shand-Kydd." "We don't know where he posted it from, or when?" "I think it's time we started to rattle a few cages." "Let's talk to his friends." "All those Lords and Ladies, better start brushing up on my etiquette." "Don't worry about etiquette, old son." "We mind our Ps and Qs, Dave." "But we don't hold back, all right?" "This is a murder inquiry." "Detective Superintendent Gerring." "We're here to speak to Mr. Aspinall." "Yes, do come in." "Mr. Aspinall is having lunch." "He's asked if you could wait here for him." "We did have an appointment." "We are here at the specified time." "If you could wait here." "I'm telling you, I'm not in the mood for playing silly buggers." "James." "Dominick." "Lovely to see you." "Lovely to see you, too." "Take a seat." "I've ordered us a bottle of Perrier Jouet." "Very good." "The Sunday Times is paying?" "Yes, yes, it's all on account." "Good." "So, you want to commission a painting from me?" "Yes." "I want it to be something set in your club." "The Clermont?" "Lots of people have suggested I should talk to you." "I'm interested in your friends, and how what's happened to Lord Lucan has affected you all." "If you're going to do an article, you've got to do something about Veronica." "Veronica?" "Yeah, the poor thing." "She's been dreadfully bashed about." "She's lucky to be alive and it's very unfair the way people are talking about her." "She's an intelligent woman, perhaps too intelligent for some." "How do people talk about her?" "Well, they say she's one of the most disliked women in London, but most people who say that haven't met her." "You know, I adore Lucky, I do." "I adore him but the life he inflicted on Veronica was a form of torture." "I mean, she managed to stick it out for nine years, taking her nightly seat on the "widow's bench" behind him, watching him work his way through the family fortune." "It must be some sort of record." "Right, this has gone on long enough." "We're not here to be made fools of." "Where is he, in there?" "Please, sir." "I've asked you to wait." "We were here at the agreed time." "We ar a busy man." "We are investigating a murder." "Mr. Aspinall is having lunch with some guests!" "Who's so bloody important that we have to be kept waiting?" "Sir!" "Good afternoon, officer, so sorry to keep you waiting." "My guests and I were just enjoying a spot of lunch." "Would you care to join us?" "The sexual revolution is despised by the upper classes." "Not for reasons of prudishness." "It's just they were already boffing away left, right and centre, and don't like the idea of everyone else getting in on the act." "That and the fact most toffs I know pretty much hate women." "Well, how does Veronica fit into all this?" "She was just not Lucky's type." "One could see straight away, she was too bright." "I mean, he's a creature of habit." "A dozen identical pin striped suits from the same tailor's, the smoked salmon and lamb cutlets for lunch every, every day." "That sort of thing." "You know, I suppose she thought she was marrying into a life of glamour and privilege." "He thought he was getting someone to push out babies and do as she was told." "No." "Didn't quite turn out that way for either of them." "Has Lord Lucan been in contact with you since the night of November 7th?" "No." "Would you object if we were to make a search of the premises?" "You wish to lift the floorboards?" "And your zoo?" "My zoo." "I too have heard the rumour, about me feeding his body to the tigers." "You're quite welcome to have a squeeze through their droppings." "Who knows, maybe you'll find an undigested signet ring?" "Are you proud to be the friend of a man who tried to bash his wife to death?" "If she'd been my wife" "I'd have bashed her to death five years ago, and so would you." "Lucky and I with some..." "with some serious crumpet." "You know, funnily enough he's never been a boffer." "You know, not really interested in girls that way." "They all seemed to love him though." "Annabel Birley and her crowd were all over him on a holiday in Mexico." "Someone has a photo of her with her arms around him." "It's all good fun." "She's been with Jimmy Goldsmith for years." "That would be worth seeing." "Yeah well, I don't know who has it." "Someone will have a copy." "James, you'll try to make us look half human in this article?" "Aspers says it's pretty important the public are not alienated, what with the inquest coming up." "At the moment it does seem to be," "I don't know, open season on my friends and me." "I'll tell the truth, Dominick." "I can promise you that." "Yes, of course." "The inquest has been set for June, Jimmy." "Are you sure your strategy is correct?" "So far there's only been one side of the story put forward, that of Veronica's." "The inquest will redress this." "It will, in effect, be a murder trial." "The police will seek to identify Lucky as public enemy number one." "But, with the Lucan family retaining a barrister we shall at last be able to put Lucky's version of events to Veronica in a court of law." "But does his version bear scrutiny?" "This is a very delicate time for me, Aspers." "I've been having discussions about joining the cabinet." "It does if accompanied by an examination of the undoubted hatred shown by Veronica towards Lucky in the months leading up to November the 7th." "If Lucky's still alive, what then?" "If we can prepare the ground for him," "I would imagine he'd return to clear his name and reclaim his children." "The inquest verdict will be," ""murder by person or persons unknown"." "The hunt will then switch to the man" "Lucky said he saw attacking Veronica." "In the meantime, work has been ongoing to try and balance things out a bit with the press." "Dominick has set up an article with The Sunday Times magazine which should paint us in a rather more favourable light." "I'm determined to win, Jimmy." "Have you anything to say before the inquest?" "I will simply say this..." "I was brought up to believe in the presumption of somebody being innocent until proven guilty." "I believe my son to be innocent of all the charges levelled against him." "Have you spoken to him?" "Is he still alive?" "It must have been just after nine when I decided to go downstairs and find out what had happened to Sandra with the tea." "I got to the top of the basement stairs and it was dark down there, so I called her name." "What happened then?" "I heard a noise." "What sort of noise?" "A noise of somebody or something behind me." "As I turned towards it, somebody rushed out and hit me on the head." "The same person then attempted to silence me by stuffing his fingers into my mouth." "The person then attempted to strangle me but I managed to twist around and... and grab his privates." "And at this he desisted?" "Yes." "And did you hear anybody speak during this attack?" "Initially when I started to scream, the person said, "Shut up"." "Did you recognise the voice?" "Who was it?" "My husband." "It was Lord Lucan who attacked me." "Sir, I am retained by Lord Lucan's mother, the Dowager Countess of Lucan." "Lady Lucan, you separated from your husband in January 1973?" "January the 7th, yes." "And the position was that, even before the separation, you entertained feelings of hatred against your husband?" "Objection." "The relationship between Lord and Lady Lucan is not relevant this inquest." "I shall dismiss the jury and hear legal arguments to the court." "Clear the court." "My instructions are as follows, by the beginning of 1973," "Lady Lucan, quite definitely, hated her husband." "There was a suggestion in one of the letters of paranoia, and I would like to have in evidence that the relationship between Lord and Lady Lucan had deteriorated to a point where she had become paranoid and was quite capable" "of holding her husband responsible for the attack on her." "I don't think evidence about a witness's mental state should be brought into it." "That would take me beyond the bounds of my remit." "Sir, I submit..." "The airing of family tensions would not benefit this inquiry, and to turn this into a family forum to air those tensions would be a wrong thing." "Members of the jury, if you are satisfied with what you have heard on the injuries to Mrs. Rivett, then your verdict has to be murder." "But you must also try to ascertain the person or persons, if any, to be charged with murder, and on the evidence, to decide whether you feel you can name someone." "Remember, there is also the possibility of an intruder." "And, if you were to name someone, you must bear in mind it is a serious matter from the point of view of stigma." "The responsibility is yours." "Do you know where Lord Lucan is?" "As a gambler, I'd give even money on him being alive or dead." "I hope he's alive." "If he is, where do you think he is?" "In hiding somewhere?" "Securely tucked away, biding his time?" "And, if he turned up here now?" "I would embrace him." "Do you think he should escape the law?" "I don't know if he's killed Mrs. Rivett or not, I believe not." "But, I know that he's a figure like myself, born out of this time." "His qualities, as they appeared to me, were old-fashioned qualities like loyalty, honesty and reliability." "If he came to me, I would do whatever he asked." "We're going back now to our remote past, as Anglo-Saxons, when friends kept together and faced the battle regardless, side by side." "Would you please read the verdict to the court." "Murder... by Lord Lucan." "Today's events do not alter anything." "There is a warrant out for the arrest of Lord Lucan, and that would still have been in force whatever the verdict." "The search for him will go on until we find him, dead or alive." "Lady Lucan, how do you feel, you must be pleased?" "I'm neither pleased nor displeased." "I was concerned with establishing the facts." "But, it's a blow for Lord Lucan's family and supporters?" "His mother complained Lord Lucan had been convicted without having had the chance to defend himself." "She overlooks the fact he could have gone to the police that night and explained his actions." "It was his choice to run." "That's enough questions!" "Excuse me, are you Sandra Rivett's parents?" "We are, yes." "I was just wondering if you had anything to say about the verdict?" "My daughter was hardly mentioned in there and yet she was supposed to be the reason why we were all there." "All we heard about was the quarrels between Lord and Lady Lucan and their family." "No-one seemed to spare a thought for our poor Sandra!" "Aspinall took it very badly by all accounts." "His grand plan to rehabilitate Lucan's name had come to nought, and so it seemed, had my story..." "I'd run into a dead end." "What had become of Lucan?" "Where was he?" "I had picked up hints and clues, but nothing concrete." "And without an answer to the riddle, nothing made any sense." "I was faced with scrapping the whole project." "Then, fate intervened." "Mrs. Maxwell-Scott?" "I was very surprised to get your message." "I didn't think I'd be seeing you again." "I'm dying, Mr. Pearson." "I haven't been given long to live." "Dear." "I'm so sorry." "Are you?" "I'm not." "John Lucan has been on my mind recently." "And I've come to the conclusion that, perhaps, the time..." "The time for what?" "To tell you what I know." "I think Ian would have wanted it to come out in the end." "In the early days, I..." "I gave Lucky the benefit of the doubt about that night." "But now, I've come to accept that... perhaps he had planned to do away with Veronica... and that he... murdered Sandra by mistake." "Ian was working with Aspers at the time that Lucky went missing, and by picking up on conversations and putting two and two together, he thought he'd managed to work out what had happened." "Get me a refill, would you?" "Yes, of course." "I think Lucky rang Aspers from the telephone box up the road that night... and made the arrangements." "Goodbye, Susie." "He left me about 1.15, but he didn't arrive in Newhaven which was only 40 minutes drive away, until around five." "He must have been driving around, but why?" "Well, it's my belief, you see, that he was waiting for someone." "Ian had told me about the "little facility" in Newhaven." "How Aspers had a money dealer, who he'd used in the past to get cash and that sort of thing out to the continent." "And, I believe that it was this man who Lucky was waiting for... to get him out of the country." "Get out of sight!" "Get inside now!" "Ian said he thought they got Lucky to Switzerland, where Aspers' man had arranged a bolt hole for him." "And I believe that's where he stayed in the months immediately after his disappearance." "Ian said he thought Lucky spent a lot of his time writing to Aspers." " Legenda não traduzida " "One can easily imagine what was going through his mind." ""Aspers, I've been working on a statement." ""There is evidence we can use from the custody hearing" ""that can show V's hostility towards me." ""Then, as there were no other witnesses," ""it should come down to a straight choice between her word and mine" ""as to what happened on that night."" "Ian said Aspers would initially have been optimistic about the situation." "Lucky, now is the time to stay out of sight" ""and let some of the heat dissipate." ""Rest assured we are working towards your return," ""and the moment you can be reunited with the children," ""but you must remain patient."" "Well, of course, the inquest put the kibosh on that." "Lucky couldn't come back after he'd been publicly branded a murderer." "I haven't even been given a chance to defend myself." "They've only heard one side of the story." "How can a person be found guilty without even having a proper trial?" "What's to stop me from just going back there and demanding justice?" "You stay here." "And Dominick's Sunday Times article didn't quite turn out as planned, either." "They all said, "Why Veronica?" ""Why did he choose her?" "She's such a little mouse."" "But, I was madly in love with him." "In fact, "Love" doesn't even come close to describing it." "But, in a strange sort of way he seemed to despise me for feeling like that." "Thank you, Poppy." "What is this?" "!" "It's page after page of what a saintly nun Veronica is, and what a horrible bunch of pricks we are!" "And there, on the front cover, is the mother of my children made to look like some cheap tart enjoying a holiday romance with a man wanted for murder!" "I want Elwes blackballed." "He's been foolish, Jimmy, no more." "It is unforgiveable that he should give a newspaper private photographs, exposing Annabel to ridicule." "Our children will get to see that, their mother fawning over another man and a bloody fugitive to boot!" "Annabel was just play acting." "You were there." "I want Elwes cut off." "Persona non grata." "I want him made a fucking pariah!" "Jimmy had bailed out Aspers in the past when he'd faced financial ruin." "He wouldn't dare go against his wishes." "Morning, sleepy." "You know, you really should think about having a tidy up." "It's not the way to go about impressing a girl." "Shit." "What is it?" "It's a bill from the Clermont for 17 quid." "I never get a bill from the Clermont, they never charge for food and drink." "So, why are they now?" "It's that bloody article." "God, they're furious with me." "Ah, yes." "Could you put me through to Mr. Goldsmith, please?" "It's Dominick Elwes." "I'm a personal friend of his." "OK." "Thank you." "Well, what did he say?" "It was..." "Jimmy's secretary." "He asked me not to call this number again." "Poor Dominick." "He was refused entry to clubs and restaurants, and denied contact with his friends." "They just abandoned him?" "Most of them." "They were too scared of going against Jimmy Goldsmith." "And there was a depressive side to Dominick's personality, so this was torture for him." "Worst of all was that he received a letter from Annabel's teenaged son from her first marriage." "He was at boarding school at the time, and he bitterly blamed Dominick for exposing his mother to ridicule and causing him to be teased at school." "It was just teenage angst, but Dominick had known the boy since childhood." "The last thing he wanted was to cause him any unhappiness." "Dominick?" "The news of Dominick's death would have had a tremendous impact on Lucky." "They'd been friends for a long time." "I think, stuck out there, he must have felt the world was falling in on him." ""I think the time is right to come home now." ""Even prison is preferable to my current situation." ""At least I might then be able to see the children again," ""even if it were only during visiting hours." ""I am enormously grateful to you for what you've done for me," ""but I must insist now that I return" ""and take up the fight to clear my name."" "Ian said he thought Lucky was pushing hard to come back." "But, Aspers knew that if he ever did return," "Lucky would face prison and disgrace." "It's Pandora's box." "First The Sunday Times, and now after Dominick's death..." "I've got Private Eye breathing down my neck." "There's an article trying to insinuate" "I was involved in helping Lucan escape justice." "I'm going to sue." "They've been poking their noses in my business affairs, digging around for all sorts of dirt." "Needless to say," "I haven't been receiving any more calls from Downing Street." "I curse bloody Lucan!" "He's the architect of all this." "Lucky is our friend." "Well, I shan't be unhappy if I never see him again." "Can I ask, what do you think happened to Lucky, Mr. Pearson?" "Well, as I see it, there are two possibilities." "One, he committed suicide soon after the murder, or he disappeared somewhere, as you say, and has managed to evade capture ever since." "Have you ever considered there might be a third possibility?" "Ian, how are you, old thing?" "Really?" "When?" "Now." "I drive you home today." "This is pure supposition, of course, but Lucky would have been so excited to think he'd be seeing his children again." "Aspers, could I get a signature on this so I can get it in the post first thing?" "Aspers?" "Don't forget, the whole plan to do away with Veronica had been a gamble, and Lucky had lost." "I think Aspers... must have felt compelled to call in the debt." "I suppose it would decrease the surplus population he was always banging on about." "Of course, I can't prove any of this." "It all happened years ago." "Ian told me about it all... and he's been dead... many, many years." "And, Aspinall isn't around, either, to defend himself." "But, I'm convinced that's what happened." "Not long after our last meeting," "Susan Maxwell-Scott died." "There have been many theories about what happened to Lord Lucan." "Hers was one of the more intriguing ones, but that's all it could ever be, a theory." "I'd heard about a casino Aspinall had opened after he'd sold the Clermont." "He'd erected busts of his great gambling heroes in the foyer." "The society gambler, Charles James Fox," "Prussian military genius Marshall Von Blucher, and General Gordon, who'd gambled everything, and lost, at Khartoum." "I discovered there originally had been a fourth bust, long since removed." "It was of Lord Lucan." "I asked to see the Lucan bust." "In particular, I wanted to see for myself the inscription... penned by Aspinall himself." "John, 7th Earl of Lucan who gambled his life to reposses his children" "Fate had it that neither Lucan nor Veronica claimed the one great prize they fought so bitterly for... the children." "At first, they lived with her, but in 1982, custody was awarded to Veronica's sister and brother-in-law," "Bill and Christina Shand-Kydd." "Veronica refused all requests to meet with me, but though estranged from her family and now living alone, she's repeatedly stated her love and forgiveness for the husband who disappeared so suddenly all those years ago." "Lord Lucan was effectively declared dead in 1999, when his family was granted probate over his estate - though no death certificate has ever been issued." "Veronica, Countess of Lucan, believes her husband committed suicide, throwing himself from a cross channel ferry within hours of leaving the Maxwell-Scott home." "In 1990 interview John Aspinall said of Lucan:" ""Of course he's dead." "He's at the bottom of the English Channel"." "Subtitles by Deluxe Sync:" "Marocas62"