"(SPARKS CRACKLE)" "(LIQUID SLOSHES)" "(DOOR LOCK RATTLES)" "(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)" "(LIQUID SLOSHES)" "(SPARKS CRACKLE)" "(BIRDS CALL, CHIRP)" "(THE WARRATAHS' 'BIG SKY')" "# With this whole town..." "Oh, bloody show off." "I thought that was the point." "Olson can't win it again." "That's what you said before last year's Beach Hop." "And the year before." "Yeah, well I'd back my Cadillac over that Thunderbird of his any day of the week." "You'd back anything any day of the week." "# Under the big sky. #" "What the... hell's happened here?" "Don't!" "Don't touch anything." "Call the cops." "He hasn't been moved?" "Nah." "He's exactly as we found him." "Nah, just walked in, saw him." "Called you guys." "Do you know him?" "Nah, never clapped eyes on him." "Nah." "I know his type, though." "Young punk petrolhead trying to take what he hasn't earned." "Beautiful." "Lot of work gone into that." "Yep." "A 1969 Cadillac Eldorado." "Temperamental prima donna, but worth it." "His injuries look consistent with falling through the skylight." "There would have been massive internal trauma, plus the angle of the head hitting the concrete has forced the neck back, snapped it." "No ID?" "No wallet, no cards, no phone." "He's conveniently a man of no identity." "As if he knew he might not make it." "Not your most optimistic burglar." "(CHUCKLES)" "(CAMERA SNAPS) Who are you, and who sent you?" "You think someone sent him?" "He's a kid." "He's someone's minion." "Or acting on his own initiative P sees a flash car, wants it." "You might be underestimating the drive and ambition of the younger generation, Mike." "Maybe underestimating their sense of entitlement?" "Mm." "Why are cars like catnip to men, young or old?" "Big engines." "They often compensate for other things." "Go you P Mr Feminist." "No, that's Roxy's theory, actually." "OK, how did he know that the Eldorado was here?" "If indeed that's what he was after." "And can we assume that he's local?" "I'll get started on some enquiries." "(INTRIGUING MUSIC)" "Is that yours?" "Mm." "Ooh, good bones." "I could do something with that." "I kinda like it the way it is." "Yeah, but there's a difference between original and mint." "Tell you what, why don't you bring it along, meet some kindred spirits?" "I might just do that." "(ENGINE RUMBLES)" "Those mongrel hot-rodders, the scourge of the sport." "I thought you car people were one big happy, slightly mad, family?" "Like hell." "(UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC)" "(CAR DOOR CLOSES)" "Good to see you, girl!" "(CHUCKLES) You too." "Greg." "Ah!" "How are ya?" "Good to see you, man." "How long's it been?" "Oh, not long enough, brother!" "Ooh!" "Some things never change." "Coffee?" "Yeah, we'll grab the bags." "Yeah, you do that." "See the bleed at the back of the head?" "From something blunt." "Is that what killed him?" "Maybe." "But how did he get it?" "It's not consistent with the impact from the fall." "Kristin, could you check the arc of the fall before you go?" "Sure." "Could he have hit something on his way down?" "Uh, there's maybe a sprinkler pipe." "I'd have to take a closer look." "You looking for something?" "Why the screen?" "Cuts the light from the MIG welder." "Health and Safety thing." "Right." "Yeah, that'll work, unlike the safety bars over the skylight." "What safety bars?" "Exactly." "Sam." "Safety protocol time." "All checked." "It's safe and secure." "Thanks, Sam." "Good." "I don't really want anyone else falling through the roof." "Ah, would you mind just sticking to the nail lines?" "(INTRIGUING MUSIC)" "(ROOF CREAKS)" "(MUSIC CONTINUES)" "From here it's a sheer drop." "No one's going to touch the sides on the way down from there." "How was he planning on getting down?" "Eh?" "Did he have any rope on him?" "You're right." "It was never going to be a happy ending without rope." "(TEXT MESSAGE BEEPS)" "The soles look like a match with your print." "KRISTIN:" "Thanks, just checking." "I thought the weekend was all about the Beach Hop P the big parade." "Yeah, yeah, but tonight's a little private street action for the hot-rodders." "Cheers, brother." "Street action?" "Yeah, all the cars are street legal." "And what you're doing on the street P is that legal?" "We've found a little road outside town." "There won't be any traffic that time of night." "You'd be up for a little quarter mile, wouldn't you?" "A drag race?" "Nah, mate, I'm good." "We're all friends here, aren't we?" "And I need a crew tonight." "Where do you keep it?" "The ladder?" "Just inside with the rest of the gear." "Was the garage locked last night?" "Well, if it wasn't, why'd he use the skylight?" "Point taken." "There's nothing missing from what I can see." "Right." "For an accident, there are too many unexplained elements." "There's not even a drainpipe he could've shimmied up." "So how did he get on the roof, given that the ladder was locked inside last night?" "Maybe he had an accomplice or a friend who scarpered with their own ladder when things went wrong." "Some friend." "Even so, why no rope?" "How was he planning on lowering himself through the skylight?" "Well, he was climbing on the roof in work boots, hardly designed for stealth." "A total novice, perhaps?" "Holy..." "Frodo?" "What're you doing here?" "Work here." "You?" "What happened to the Tyre Centre?" "Too many heavy memories, y'know?" "Charlie and Keith offered me an apprenticeship here, so..." "Yeah." "Where were you this morning?" "Got a call from Keith saying there'd been an accident, take the morning off." "Nice wheels for an apprentice." "Thanks." "I'm competing tomorrow." "Got a bit to do." "You better get on with it, then." "35 grand, 40 grand at least, I'd say." "How'd he come by that sort of cash?" "Hey, uh, Frodo's heard something on the grapevine you might be interested in." "(UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC)" "(CARS REV)" "(CAR HONKS)" "He totally loves it!" "(ENGINES CONTINUES REVVING)" "What the hell d'you think you're doing, huh?" "Who do you think you are, mate?" "Easy, friend." "You know, it's criminal what you bastards do." "That is a '56 Customline." "It's a classic." "Look at it now P it's desecrated!" "Well, we make 'em go." "You ponces just make em show!" "Ponces?" "Yeah, get back in your Tonka toy and head for the hills." "And if the cops turn up tonight," "I'll know exactly who tipped them off." "You surely will." "Now why don't you head home and tuck yourself in with a cup of cocoa, eh?" "(LAUGHS)" "Hey, Morehu!" "What are you doing out here?" "Just hanging, Charlie." "Get back in your car." "Oh, look who called the cops, eh?" "Him and his boyfriend." "OK." "This is a public road, and you need to get off it." "Good." "Yeah, you tell the bastards!" "They're killing the sport, giving genuine enthusiasts a bad name." "What?" "It goes for you too, Charlie." "What?" "Get!" "Come on, hombre." "See ya later, Charlie." "YELLS AGGRESSIVELY:" "Yeah, goodnight, mate!" "# Well, I'm six months' married, and I'm on the road" "# Singing round the Southland in a country show." "# Leaving my man home all alone, yeah." "# I'm six months' married, and I'm on the road." "(TYRES SQUEAL)" "# Yeah, we're six months' married, and we're paying the rent." "# Trying to earn it faster than we can spend..." "How sweet is this, eh?" "(SONG CONTINUES PLAYING ON RADIO)" "Hey, Frodes, isn't that your boss's car?" "# Six months' married, and I'm payin' the rent. #" "Yo, boss?" "Is it him?" "I guess so." "Charlie?" "Need a hand?" "You can't just leave him." "Nah, he's busy." "Can we help?" "Bit late, I reckon. (SCOFFS)" "Wait." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "(SCREAMS)" "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "OLD WOMAN:" "Carry on, detectives P don't mind us!" "Was that a film?" "What?" "Carry on, Detectives." "They made a lot of those Carry Ons P Barbara Windsor." "Blonde, huge bosoms?" "Yes, that's the one." "Petrolhead dies ingesting petrol." "Some would call it irony, others might say natural selection." "Ingestion." "What makes you so sure?" "The scenario before us, Gina?" "All we know at this stage is that he has a plastic pipe sticking out of his mouth." "A plastic siphon tube running back into the petrol tank." "The keys are still in here." "Tank is half full." "So he was... taking gas out of his own tank for someone else's." "Charlie would've had to park up close to access that tube." "So the other car must've been... here?" "Maybe it slid into the side as it ran out of gas." "But there are no obvious tyre marks." "So much for the Good Samaritan." "But if it was an accident, why didn't the other party report it?" "Cold." "As is he." "So, yesterday morning you discover a dead man in your garage, and the next morning you end up dead." "Is this a coincidence, Charlie?" "You can get back to me on that." "Speaking of coincidence, do you remember him?" "Frodo, isn't it?" "We've already told him everything." "Can we go now?" "She's pretty freaked." "That's understandable." "Kinda put a downer on the day, but we were hoping to get to the Beach Hop prelims." "You've just found your boss lying dead in the road." "You're still in the mood?" "Hey, Charlie was a good guy, and the Beach Hop was the highlight of his year." "He wouldn't want the show to stop just because he had an accident." "What if it wasn't an accident?" "What?" "Would that make you feel any different?" "Did Charlie have a wife?" "Yeah, they live just up the hill outside town, off Connemara." "Gotta go, eh?" "Could, uh, you take their statement?" "I thought you wanted me to get to the Beach Hop?" "Yeah, but..." "Besides I think she'd prefer you more than me." "(ENGINE REVS)" "Detective Shepherd!" "We saw nothing." "Speak for yourself." "Well, apart from the green Cadillac P" "Bronze." "The bronze Cadillac." "It was partially obscured by the brown Mustang." "Uh, red." "Red Mustang." "(UPBEAT ROCK MUSIC)" "Wow." "So much panel, paint and testosterone, all in one place." "You've gotta love it." "Mm, no, you don't." "So, how should we do this?" "More coverage and quicker if we split up." "Valerie Baxter?" "Val." "Yes?" "Uh, Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shepherd." "This is bad news, isn't it?" "It is, I'm afraid." "Is there somewhere we can sit down?" "Sorry, I don't want to sit down." "What's he done?" "Mrs Baxter, your husband, Charlie, has been found dead." "# Well, I'm on the road for weeks at a time." "# But when I get home to you, yes, I need your lovin', baby." "# I want your lovin', baby. #" "Sorry." "Got to check my make-up in the mirror." "What do ya think?" "Yeah, good." "You a fan of the ol' T Bird, eh?" "Best car ever made." "Mr Siola..." "Olson, please." "You're a mate of Charlie Baxter's, aren't you?" "Charlie's the president of the Car Restoration Society," "I'm the Treasurer." "Yeah, we work very closely together." "He's been found P an accident." "What?" "Serious?" "Fatal, I'm afraid." "Oh dear." "Greg!" "Coffee, bro?" "Yeah, bro." "Ta." "Mm." "You remembered." "No sugar P sweet enough without, you used to say." "I did?" "(ENGINE REVS REPEATEDLY)" "God, I hate that noise!" "I'll give him another call." "Wait." "Remember these?" "I scanned them." "That was us." "Lovebirds." "(CHUCKLES) Yeah." "Wow." "Long time ago." "There's more." "Just like old times, eh?" "Dude, your coffee." "Thanks, brother." "What's that P 10 years ago?" "Where was I?" "Oh, that's right P" "Afghanistan, fighting the good fight." "The reconstruction force in Bamyan Province." "Yeah, whatever that means." "Flag the coffee P the Killing Machine is tuned and ready for action." "Let's get over to the Beach Hop!" "(WISTFUL MUSIC)" "So after the confrontation with the hot-rodders, you drove where?" "To Charlie's garage, where I'd left my car." "Uh, I left Charlie there and drove home." "Did Charlie go straight home?" "Nah, Charlie went in the garage." "He said he wanted to do one more cut and polish." "Really?" "That Cadillac looks spotless." "Nah, not the bodywork, the engine." "He was going to cut and polish the engine?" "Yeah, chrome-plated, like mine." "Charlie was a true devotee, just backed the wrong horse." "What horse?" "General Motors." "Should have got a Ford." "(CHUCKLES) Right." "Look, I'm going to need to take a statement P" "Yeah, yeah I'm happy to oblige, yeah?" "But, uh, the kids come first." "You know, I can't let them down." "(TOOTS HORN)" "Well, a couple of punters saw the Eldorado earlier this morning, as early as first light, but no one stopped, so Charlie could have been there for hours." "Anything from Olson?" "Not yet." "What makes a grown man want to dress up like that?" "To make kids happy?" "Freak them out, more like." "Charlie didn't come home last night at any stage?" "No." "Was that unusual?" "Not in the lead-up to a big show." "Like this weekend's Beach Hop parade?" "He was obsessed with that bloody car!" "That car restoration stuff P it's like a drug, an addiction." "I hated it." "I told him more than once, 'There'll come a day, Charlie, it'll be that car or me!" "'" "The irony is it was him." "You wouldn't understand, of course." "Sorry?" "You're one of them." "One of what?" "I saw your car." "I'll admit I have a soft spot for the old Kingswood." "But it's not what you'd call an obsession." "You keep it that way, detective." "Obsession can end up killing you." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "Thanks for coming in." "Two victims on consecutive nights." "But what is the connection?" "Thanks." "Charlie's car?" "Balaclava guy's trying to steal it," "Charlie was trying to protect it?" "Any ID on Balaclava Guy?" "Fingerprints are working on a match." "The forensics have gone over Charlie's Cadillac." "There's nothing unusual about it." "Other than being a priceless piece of Automotive bling." "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." "Oh, are you saying you're feeling the love?" "I'm saying I really don't care." "Val Baxter hates cars with a passion." "Does that make her a suspect or just sane?" "She didn't seem very upset." "Oh, she's definitely upset, but it's more anger than grief." "She may know more than she's letting on." "I'll see what she stands to make from Charlie's death." "Last night P that altercation out on Boundary Rd with Charlie." "Who was on the other side of that?" "Out of towners." "And Jared Morehu." "Jared?" "And Olson Siola with Charlie." "They are P were P chairman and treasurer of the Car Restoration Society, and rivals." "Well, they looked like mates." "Up to a point." "But Charlie's pride and joy was a Cadillac Eldorado while Olson's is a Ford Thunderbird." "So, different cars?" "It's tribal." "You're either Ford or General Motors." "(SIGHS) Boys and their toys." "I'll never get it." "OK, let's get back over to the Beach Hop, do a bit of mix and mingle before the big parade, hm?" "I'm not sure how much more fawning over cars I can take." "Deep down, I reckon there's a petrolhead in you just waiting to come out." "Not even a tiny bit." "(TAMI NEILSON'S 'COME OVER')" "# Come over and take me out." "# Take me someplace we can jump and shout." "# I wanna put on lipstick, do my hair up high." "# Tight dress, make you lose your mind." "# Come over and take me out." "# Take me where the music is good and loud." "# Get over here now." "Come over and take me out. #" "(CAR ENGINES RUMBLE)" "Impressive beast." "Yeah, beast is right P 500 horsepower." "What does that actually mean?" "Goes fast, I think." "(CHUCKLES)" "Quarter of a mile in less than 12 seconds, that's what that means." "I call her the Killing Machine." "Uh, Mike, Kristin, this is Greg and Carly McQueen." "Yeah, we've met." "Not formally introduced, but..." "That's what was going to happen last night out on Boundary Rd." "A drag race?" "A gentle quarter mile, mate, nothing to be alarmed about." "But then those idiots turned up and shut the party down." "Which idiots?" "Charlie and his mate." "But you guys already knew that, so what's this harassment really about?" "Greg, they're just trying to do their job, bro." "Nothing happened last night." "That nutter made sure of it by calling you guys." "But something did happen." "Yeah?" "Last night." "Charlie Baxter died in suspicious circumstances." "No way." "Suspicious?" "In what way?" "What was said out at Boundary Rd before we arrived?" "What was suspicious?" "That's what we're trying to clarify." "By talking to me?" "Mm." "We're talking to everyone." "Mate, if you think you've got something on me, go on, arrest me right here." "But otherwise, you and blondie here should back off." "We've got a Beach Hop to get to." "As have we." "Enjoy." "Since when did you get all friendly with the cops, huh, bud?" "Finished clowning?" "Until later, yeah." "It's time for the serious business." "The Prix de la Concourse Cup." "You're the defending champion, right?" "Well, actually she is." "A quick question." "If Charlie cut and polished his engine, how long would that take?" "Two, maybe three hours." "But Charlie was a perfectionist, eh." "But it wouldn't have been an all-nighter?" "Not even by Charlie's standards." "(AIR HORN TOOTS)" "We're on, my beautiful!" "(ROCK MUSIC)" "If we believe that the first victim was trying to steal the second victim's car, then one gets the feeling that these murders are all about cars." "Which means the killer could be right here amongst us." "I doubt they'd miss an event like this." "Well that narrows it down a bit." "You think they're laughing at us right now?" "Laughing or lining up their next target." "(PETROLHEADS CHATTER, CHEER)" "Bit touchy, that bloke." "Just a bit (!" ")" "(CHEERING)" "(CELL PHONE RINGS)" "Breen." "Senior, Olson dropped Charlie at the garage at about 10:30pm." "Charlie cuts and polishes his engine, which, according to Olson, would take him a max three hours, so that brings us to 1:30am latest." "Kristin says one of the early arrivals saw Charlie's Eldorado at about 7:30 this morning, so Charlie died between 1:30 and 7:30." "Thanks." "Y'know, I think I'm starting to get all this P the colour, the enthusiasm for their hobby..." "Those people that told you they saw the Cadillac, why didn't they stop?" "Just thought it was some guy tinkering with his engine, taking a leak." "(CHEERING)" "Whereas Frodo stopped because he recognised his boss' car, he says." "Do we know what he was up to last night?" "(CELL PHONE RINGS)" "Gina." "Yeah, on my way." "Uh, back soon." "What's up?" "Uh, Gina's got a cause of death." "Tell me what you see." "He died from superficial cuts and grazes?" "How would that be possible?" "OK, he died from swallowing petrol, then." "If he had swallowed it, he would probably still be alive." "Our digestive systems can deal with petrol?" "In Russia, some of the vodka is much the same as gasoline." "But for normal mortals like Charlie Baxter...?" "What killed Charlie Baxter would kill any Russian too." "So...?" "It was the petrol getting into his lungs." "Even a tiny drop there can be very dangerous because it spreads out rapidly, coating and damaging the tissue and making it very hard to breathe." "So the actual cause of death would be...?" "Asphyxiation." "By the petrol coating his lungs." "But how would it get in there?" "By inhalation or..." "But why would he start inhaling petrol?" "If his breathing was suddenly disrupted, if he began coughing..." "Like someone attacking him while he was attempting to siphon, forcing him violently forward on to his hands and knees." "Exactly." "So it wasn't a coincidence, was it, Charlie?" "Olson Siola!" "(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)" "Thanks a lot." "I'd like to dedicate this year's Prix de la Concourse to my dear friend, Charlie Baxter." "Excuse me, Sam." "A moment of your time." "We've just recalled what could be a material fact." "'We'?" "Well, Mrs Marlowe recalled P" "How can I help?" "That young man..." "...in the red shirt..." "Brown." "The brown." "He was the first at the scene of the crime." "If indeed it was a crime." "One of the young girls got out of his car and discovered poor old Charlie Baxter." "Yes." "And the interesting thing is, Sam," "I'm no criminal investigator, as you know, but..." "When we pulled up and Edward asked Frodo..." "Can we help?" "Bit late, I reckon." "'He said, "Too late"...'" "GIRL:" "Wait." "(SCREAMS)" "..before the young lady screamed." "Meaning?" "That young man seemed to already know what the young lady was about to discover, and it was too late to help poor Charlie Baxter." "You can confirm that, Edward?" "Well, let me see now, how can I put this?" "Um, (CLEARS THROAT) If Mrs Marlowe says that the young man told her..." "I don't really care (CONTINUES ARGUING)" "..that it was too late before the young lady screamed, then that is exactly what happened." "Got it." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "ANNOUNCER:" "Frodo!" "(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)" "(APPLAUSE CONTINUES)" "Whoo!" "Very Thelma and Louise." "Nah, I'm Kimberly, and she's Toni." "You must be proud." "Whoo!" "Go, you good thing." "So, you and Frodo P you're an item?" "(SCOFFS) No way." "Oh, sorry." "So you are?" "Well, we both sort of are." "Kind of." "OK..." "So you were both with Frodo last night?" "CHUCKLES:" "Oh, no." "It's not like that." "(SIGHS)" "(SIGHS FRUSTRATEDLY)" "Congratulations." "Seems a bit hollow without Charlie being around." "Still, on to more important things, like making little kids laugh." "Do kids actually laugh?" "Yeah, of course." "Yeah, but is it, like, joyous laughter or a bit, y'know, nervous?" "When I was a kid, I always thought clowns were pretty scary." "Did you actually want something?" "Val Baxter." "She didn't look like she was congratulating you." "She's upset." "About...?" "Need I explain?" "It would be helpful." "Have you no compassion?" "She's just lost her husband." "Of course." "Thanks for your time." "So, Charlie fell forward on to his hands and knees, choked on the siphon and ended up getting petrol in his lungs." "Question is, did he fall or was he pushed?" "Well, if it was an accident, how come whoever Charlie was trying to help hasn't come forward?" "If someone forced him to swallow that petrol, it's manslaughter at the very least." "We need motive, then." "What is it and who might have it?" "Um, well, Greg McQueen seemed pretty fired up going head to head with Charlie last night." "We were too late to hear exactly what was said." "I'll have a yarn with Jared, away from McQueen, try and confirm what was said." "Olson Siola was having heated words with Val," "Charlie's widow, after the prize-giving." "She says she hates cars." "What was she doing there?" "Crying on Olson's shoulder, apparently." "You think that's all?" "I'll keep digging." "Minor point, but neither of the two girls in Frodo's car is his girlfriend." "What, like rent-a-date?" "Pretty much." "But meaning neither of them can verify Frodo's whereabouts last night." "Oh, and Mrs Marlowe and Edward reckon Frodo told them it was too late to help Charlie before Kimberly discovered his body." "Tomorrow morning bring Frodo in for a chat." "Yes, boss." "(DELANEY DAVIDSON'S 'STILL HER HEART')" "He seems different since Afghanistan." "Maybe." "I guess he saw some pretty hard out things." "He's a pretty hard out guy." "Always has been." "You wanna go?" "You wanna go, huh?" "Yo, it's cool." "Yo, back up!" "He doesn't mean no harm." "Don't bother to get up." "It's cool." "Ooh, big man eh?" "Bro, you're wasted." "Yeah." "Just like old times." "Watch out for that." "(GRUNTS)" "You're a good mate, bro." "You're a good mate." "He'll appreciate you bringing him in." "I usually have to leave him in the car." "Is he like that a lot?" "Fair bit." "Are you guys OK?" "Yeah." "Why?" "Do we seem...?" "Nah, just..." "That's good." "I'm glad you're happy, you know." "Do you sometimes wish things had worked out differently?" "What?" "Between us." "Y..." "You can't just say stuff like that." "Tell me you don't think about it." "I don't." "Really?" "Have you ever had anything else like we had?" "Look, Carly, I pretty much keep to myself these days." "And... that's how I like it." "Night." "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "Bit early in the morning for the mailman, Mike?" "Maybe." "And I take it you're not keen on taking up running again." "Yeah, not really dressed for it." "OK." "What?" "Out on Boundary Rd, before Kristin and Breen arrived, there were strong words said between Greg McQueen and Charlie Baxter." "What was said?" "Is this on the record?" "Or is this just the bit where I'm Mr Anonymous, helping you with your enquiries?" "Mr Anonymous works for me." "We're just talking at this stage." "OK, talking and walking." "Walking, not running." "Greg was pissed off, alright." "And if the cops turn up tonight," "I'll know exactly who tipped them off." "So Greg made a direct threat against Charlie Baxter?" "Was it a threat?" "Look, Mike, Greg's a decent guy deep down." "He served in Afghanistan and something happened, I dunno..." "Aid reconstruction fatigue?" "(CHUCKLES)" "He's dropping hints there was more to it than that." "Maybe he's got some post-traumatic stress." "So you and Greg and Carly came straight back home after that?" "We did, yeah." "And Greg was at your place all night?" "Yeah, must have been." "I would've heard that bloody machine of his if he'd tried to go out." "You're sure?" "Yeah." "I mean, no way P that monster would wake the dead." "The Killing Machine." "Why would he call it that?" "It kills the competition." "Metaphorically." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "It's just a stupid name, Mike." "Right." "Where were you night before last?" "The night Charlie died?" "Am I in the gun for that?" "It's not the most helpful turn of phrase, Frodo." "Do you mind just answering the question?" "Working late on my car, getting it ready for the show." "So you were at the garage when Charlie came back with Olson?" "Nah." "When did they turn up?" "When did you leave?" "Before they turned up." "Care to put a time on it?" "About 10:30?" "That's when Charlie came back with Olson." "10, then." "Maybe it was earlier, because I didn't see them." "Why did you pretend that Kimberly was your girlfriend?" "She's a girl." "She's a friend." "OK, she loves my car." "OK, I get that." "But you stand a better chance of winning with a hot chick in your car." "So it works both ways." "Right." "At Charlie's Cadillac," "Mrs Marlowe and Edward arrived just after you." "Yep." "When Edward asked if they could help, you said," "'It's a bit late for that.'" "Uh, yep." "Yeah, I think I did." "You said that before Kimberly discovered the body." "So?" "As if you already knew Charlie's body would be there." "How could I have known that?" "Why did you say 'It's a bit late for that'?" "Because we were already there P already taken care of." "What was taken care of?" "Whatever was the problem with Charlie's car." "Look, you know Mrs Marlowe and Edward?" "Yes." "Well, what help could they possibly be?" "(SIGHS)" "Boots." "What?" "Your boots." "So what?" "What brand are they?" "Be on the label." "Stein-mans." "Your own boots and you don't know what they are?" "I was given them by Charlie." "Standard issue work kit." "1969 Cadillac Eldorado." "Temperamental prima donna, but worth it." "Standard issue." "Are you sure about that?" "Yeah." "What size?" "12." "You're a size 12?" "(SNAP!" ")" "(TEXT MESSAGE BEEPS)" "The soles look like a match with your print." "So they're a bit big." "I like them that way." "Particularly if they're free, eh?" "An extra pair of socks, sweet as." "(CHUCKLES)" "(TENSE MUSIC)" "Do you want one?" "Nah." "Hey, look, Carly, Greg's gotta pull his head in and be careful." "The cops know he threatened Charlie Baxter the night he died, and I had to reassure them he was here all night." "OK." "Jared, what I said last night..." "Oh, it's no big deal, you'd had a few P" "No." "I meant every word of it." "Jeez, Carly." "What am I supposed to do with that?" "That coffee coming?" "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "You were seen arguing with Olson Siola at the Beach Hop prize-giving yesterday." "What was that about?" "Nothing important." "I thought you had an aversion to that whole car culture thing." "I do." "What better place to find a buyer for Charlie's Cadillac?" "I thought Olson might buy it, given he's got all the money." "I don't really care what I let it go for." "I'm sorry, Val." "I'm sorry for your loss, but I've no desire to own that car." "It'd be like walking in a dead man's shoes while he's still wearing them." "I need the money." "Can't you take it and flick it on to some other car nut?" "Well, maybe if it was a Ford." "'Why do you need the money?" "'" "The bank made a friendly call just over a week ago." "This place is under water, virtually." "You talk to Charlie about that?" "No." "Why not?" "I tried to." "He got angry." "Before the bank rang, you had no idea how much the mortgage was?" "The mortgage secures whatever's owed to the bank, including any business debt." "I had no idea how much that was." "Was Charlie a violent man?" "Not to me." "Who to?" "You just wouldn't want to cross him, that's all." "So you never did." "Until the night he died." "You said it was an accident!" "We believe that Charlie stopped for someone on the side of the road, that they'd run out of petrol and he went to help them out." "Was that you?" "What?" "No!" "We're working through several theories." "For instance, it's dark;" "the wee small hours." "Who's the one person in the world that Charlie would be certain to stop for?" "His own wife, if you'd run out of gas..." "No, that never happened." "OK." "Like I said, it's only a theory." "I never left the house!" "Mm." "Can anyone confirm that?" "No." "I know how this looks." "I knew something was wrong." "He was away a lot." "Away?" "Overnighters." "He said it was the Cadillac, but there was something else going on." "There must have been!" "I kept asking him what was wrong, and he'd just P he'd say it was business and not to worry about it." "Did you ever think there was someone else?" "Of course." "I even asked him if there was another woman." "At least he was honest." "There was?" "Yes." "He said her name was Eldorado." "He could be such a smart arse." "(CELL PHONE RINGS)" "Breen." "Thanks." "We have a fingerprint match for the guy who fell through the skylight." "Sonny Smith, long list of previous, a bit of breaking and entering, lots of car conversion." "Another car enthusiast." "Maybe he was after Charlie's Cadillac." "Or maybe there was something else in that garage he was interested in." "Local?" "Up North until recently." "Patchy employment history up there P possum trapper, forestry release cutter, local farm hand, arrived down here six weeks ago, and got a job cleaning cars." "Who for?" "A local clown." "Olson Siola of T Bird Cars." "You really don't like him?" "Why would anyone want to be a clown?" "To bring a little joy into the world." "Nah." "There's something dodgy about clowns." "Anyway, getting back to the facts..." "Olson Siola employed the deceased, Sonny Smith?" "One of the deceased." "Maybe Sonny was stealing to order for Olson." "A Cadillac." "General Motors?" "Olson wouldn't sully himself." "What was that kid doing there?" "And who sent him?" "And I still want to know how he got on the roof." "What do we know about the business, Baxter and Balance?" "They advertise themselves as a one-stop car shop P repairs, panel and paint, and they do compliance work for imports." "What, so they take the cars off the wharf as they arrive?" "No, the dealer or importer does that, then the dealer takes the cars to an authorised compliance agent like Baxter and Balance." "They check them out, make sure they can be issued with a Warrant of Fitness for our roads, and then the cars go back to the dealer to be sold." "Sounds lucrative." "Baxter and Balance is the only authorised compliance agent in the area." "Ka-ching!" "So how come the Baxter house is so heavily mortgaged?" "Breen, get an address or phone number for Sonny out of Olson, then go there, find someone to ID him at the mortuary and pick up whatever background you can on him." "There must be some connection to Charlie Baxter." "Ah, the clown whisperer." "Mr Siola." "Do you have any contact details for a kid you employed here as a cleaner?" "Sonny Smith?" "Who?" "How many cleaners do you have?" "They're called car valet." "What's the name again?" "Smith." "Smith." "Such an unusual name (!" ")" "It's a wonder I can't remember it (!" ")" "Sonny?" "Sonny." "Wait there." "I think I've got something for you." "He came in looking for a car valet job, so I gave him a couple of tries." "Had to give up on the boy." "Stoned most of the time." "Can't say I'm surprised he's in trouble." "I never said he was." "Then why's a detective enquiring after him?" "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "Hold the fort." "Keith Balance about?" "Just missed him." "(TYRES SCREECH)" "Urgent call out?" "Delivery." "He's just finished compliance on that ute." "What happens behind here?" "That's where the compliance work are done for the imports." "Why's it screened?" "Regulations." "You've got to be accredited to do that stuff." "Separate business." "I can't go in there." "Uh, nor should you!" "That's the rules." "It's OK." "Nah, you'll cost me my job." "You've gotta be accredited!" "Will this do?" "No car." "Keith was driving it." "Where to?" "Making a delivery, I guess." "Delivering the car?" "Yeah." "Who to?" "Don't think it's a secret." "I mean, most of that work's for T Bird Cars, far as I can make out." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "Hey!" "Stop." "Police!" "(THUD!" ") Ah, come on!" "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "(GRUNTS)" "Oh hell!" "D..." "Don't run, OK?" "When a police officer says 'stop', you stop." "I didn't know I was being chased." "Why were you running?" "Exercise." "It's for my own use!" "What's your name?" "Tai." "Tai." "Do you know Sonny Smith?" "You gonna bust me for the dope or what?" "Yes or no." "Do you know him?" "He's my cousin." "Where is he?" "Bastards!" "(SOBS)" "Who?" "He wouldn't hurt anyone." "How did this happen?" "He fell through a skylight." "Possibly accidental." "Yeah, right." "(LIVELY MUSIC)" "# Why don't you come and talk to me any more?" "# When you get home, first thing you should have done... #" "Are we interrupting something?" "Not at all." "Just delivered an import, and I'm about to pick up a new one." "Takes a day or three to clear Customs." "Is there a problem, officer?" "Why did you take off when we pulled up at the garage?" "Didn't see you." "Oh, we had a little chat to Frodo." "Yeah, Frodo's got an IQ in the margin for error." "(LAUGHS)" "Why did you give him an apprenticeship, then?" "That was Charlie." "Charlie did a lot of things." "Please, Detectives, can't you see thisP?" "What did Charlie do, Keith?" "There's many stages to grief." "There's anger P I'm talking to him." "Charlie was just a bit, uh, headstrong at times, that's all." "Frodo's not a bad guy." "Look, I've got, uh P I've got work to do." "Gotta get that new ute back to the garage." "Time is money." "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." "Money?" "You seem upset about Charlie." "I'm the one left holding the baby!" "Is there something you wanna share?" "Perhaps down at the station while making a statement?" "Why?" "Am I a suspect?" "Well, that would suggest that you believe Charlie was murdered." "Why?" "You can put whatever words you want in my mouth." "I'm saying nothing." "My cuz wouldn't fall." "He was like a cat." "As in burglar?" "Was Sonny on a job when he fell?" "Who was he working for, Tai?" "Somebody sent him to Baxter's garage." "(SIGHS) He got a call that night." "Who from?" "He wouldn't say." "He never did." "It was his way of protecting me." "Sonny took a call, what, on the home line?" "He had a mobile?" "Who doesn't?" "What do you think happened to Charlie, then?" "Charlie owed a container-load of money." "We know his house was mortgaged to the hilt." "Val said that was because the business was in trouble." "The business wasn't the problem." "Charlie was the problem." "Why?" "You've got his phone?" "Take a look at the apps." "What's up?" "Baxter's mobile?" "Something about apps." "(BEEP!" ")" "Jeez." "Gaming Club, Jackpot City, Royal Vegas." "Charlie had a gambling problem?" "It wasn't a problem." "It was catastrophic." "Who'd he owe money to?" "Oh, who didn't he owe?" "He owed me for taking the money out of the business, he owed Val for leaving her nothing!" "Well, that gives you and Val motive." "Oh, like hell!" "I've had enough of this!" "I don't have to stay here, you know." "That's right." "You don't." "Yeah, good enough for me." "Does he ever stop?" "Fiddling with the car or drinking?" "Jared, babe P" "Please." "You can't call me that anymore." "Sorry." "What if Greg walked in and overheard?" "Is that the only reason?" "Nah." "But what happened between us, it was P it was a long time ago." "I know that." "OK." "There's still something I need to tell you." "Oh, Carly, we can't go there." "It's not about that." "What?" "The night before last P the night of the stand-off between Greg and that guy Charlie Baxter, Greg went out." "Nah, nah, nah, couldn't have." "I would have heard him!" "He didn't take the Customline." "He took your car." "No way." "Greg's got problems, but he's no murderer." "Greg did that?" "He hits me where no one will see." "Never my face." "Sometimes round the head." "Nah, not Greg." "You guys can't see what's in front of your eyes when it comes to your mates." "What happened to him?" "He was always exactly like this." "Afghanistan just made it worse." "Sonny's cousin Tai confirms that on the night he died, someone phoned him on his mobile, which seems to have disappeared." "He went out to meet someone and never came back." "So he was on a mission at Baxter's garage." "Tai also said Sonny was as agile as a cat, and she doesn't believe he would fall." "Unless the agile cat was wearing oversized boots..." "By the look of it, he and his cousin didn't have two cents to rub together." "Maybe those boots were all he had." "Or someone's trying to cover their tracks." "Also a big doper, according to Olson, who cannot be trusted." "Because...?" "He's a clown." "Is that it?" "At this stage." "Wasn't Olson's opinion that Sonny was a stoner backed up by the bag of dope you found on his cousin?" "Maybe he was so stoned he put on the wrong shoes?" "Size 12 were way too big for him, but they're Charlie's size exactly." "Yeah, and size 12 is the same size that Frodo wears." "So, instead of a middle-aged success story, own house, own business, we are now getting a picture of a very different Charlie Baxter P a desperate gaming addict who was causing his wife and business partner financial distress." "Which might provide motive for both of them." "But motive enough for murder?" "Well, it'd certainly put a lid on all the debts he was running up." "Maybe Val and Keith were in it together." "Conspiring lovers?" "Valerie Baxter is living proof of what my mother used to say P when debt comes in the door, love flies out the window." "Get hold of the Baxter and Balance company records, balance sheet, cash flow, who owes what where." "And then we get in a forensic accountant?" "Let's see what we can make of it first." "You." "Mm." "What're you doing here?" "(SIGHS) I can't be seen." "I can see you." "Can we go somewhere, you know, without windows?" "(TENSE MUSIC)" "What time was this?" "Well, Carly reckons the bedside digital was reading 2:23am." "You saw and heard nothing?" "Sound asleep." "So Greg leaves the marital bed, takes your car and goes... where?" "Well, Carly has no idea." "She went back to sleep, didn't hear him come in, but when she woke just after 6, Greg was in bed beside her." "Between 2:30 and 6 certainly fits the time frame for Charlie Baxter's death." "I thought it might." "There's no avoiding it." "We have to interview Greg, try and get a statement." "If Greg gets a whiff of where this is coming from," "Carly might be the next body you find." "You think he's that bad?" "What you don't know about your mates..." "He's been giving Carly the bash, and she showed me the bruises." "She's terrified of him." "We could arrest him for that." "I doubt she'll testify against him." "OK." "We can sort this so it doesn't come back on her." "We don't have to disclose who our witness is." "Thanks." "Your mate's hiding in the kitchen." "We're actually here to see you." "Listen, I've already told you." "If you want to talk to me, you're going to have to arrest me." "If you insist." "Caution him, Sims." "What?" "Based on what?" "Morning, Jared." "Mike." "What the hell is this?" "What do you think you've got on me?" "Huh?" "They can't have anything on you, babe." "Just relax." "Good idea." "Relax." "You've got something to say, say it here." "We'd like to." "But it's confidential." "To you." "Like what?" "It's to do with a witness that's come forward." "A witness, babe?" "It'll be nothing." "A witness to what?" "Your movements the night you were out on Boundary Rd." "OK, well, let me grab my stuff, and I'll meet you down at the station." "Much appreciated." "Better hope he turns up." "Well, with a car like his, he won't be hard to find." "Your mate's straight out of the bloody Gestapo!" "What the hell's he trying to prove?" "They're just doing their job, Greg, you know, ticking the boxes." "That better be all it is." "See you guys soon." "Frodo." "(THUD!" ")" "Oh, gosh!" "What?" "Where's the boss?" "Uh, he was here." "But isn't?" "Might be." "Hey!" "What the hell do you think you're doing?" "I was going to ask politely if I could have access to your firm's financial records P bank accounts, securities, budgets, cash flow charts." "Get outta here!" "You need a warrant to do that." "That's Plan B. Either way, it's going to happen." "Look, we just want to familiarise ourselves with your position." "My position, what, vis-a-vis Charlie Baxter, was bent over a table with my pants around my ankles." "Right." "Because of Charlie's gambling." "Pretty much." "That must've been hard to take." "Look, he dipped his fingers in the till and put the squeeze on the business." "That's all." "Infuriating." "But you get on with it." "Or you take matters into your own hands get back control." "Bugger this." "I've had a gutsful!" "Here!" "And here!" "That's this year's!" "There's only seven more years to go once you've finished those!" "And this!" "Oh, and this!" "Fill your bloody boots!" "Keith Balance is keen to help... sort of." "Looks like it." "Greg McQueen's on his way in." "How'd you manage that?" "He wants to find out what we know." "The theory being?" "Charlie's driving home in the dark." "He stops to help someone he knows." "He recognises Jared's car, assumes it's him." "That makes sense." "There's no way he would have stopped for Greg's hot rod." "There's more." "You do the interview, given that Greg knows I'm friendly with Jared." "OK." "Remember..." "Before confirming Carly's assertion, get him to deny it." "You're on to it." "And?" "Their names will not leave my lips." "of 1:30am and 6:30am that morning?" "I didn't." "Well we have information that you were out and about in Jared Morehu's car." "(SCOFFS) And this would be the witness that you mentioned?" "That's right." "Who is...?" "So, this witness that you won't name reckons that he?" "She?" "It?" "They." "They." "That they saw me in Jared's dunger in the early hours of the morning that Charlie died?" "Is that it?" "Yes." "Mm." "So how can this witness be sure it wasn't Jared in his car?" "Our witness says it was you." "Well, how can they be sure?" "He, she, it or them." "Would've been dark." "And how many people round here know me?" "The witness saw you at the Beach Hop." "The Beach Hop didn't start until the next day." "Well, that car of yours attracts a lot of attention." "Not before the Beach Hop began." "Unless he/she was at the drag race that wasn't out on Boundary Rd?" "Look, we just need to know whether you can account for your movements that night?" "But there were no movements." "I was in bed asleep." "And I have two alibis to support me on that." "Unless Jared was out in his car." "But I wouldn't know." "I was asleep." "Have you spoken to Jared?" "We will speak to Jared P" "If you haven't spoken to Jared, how do you know it was his car?" "Our witness knows his car." "And he knows it wasn't Jared driving, it was you." "He?" "Which is weird because, as I said, I was tucked up in bed all night, and you can easily find two witnesses to verify that." "Well, you could have slipped out unbeknownst to either of them." "Which is why you took Jared's car, so they wouldn't hear anything." "Ah, so they heard nothing?" "Well, I don't know." "I'm just guessing." "You've talked to Jared and Carly already." "No, I didn't say thatP You've got nothing." "You're fishing." "I don't know who put you up to this, but someone is hanging me out to dry!" "You got him to deny he was out and about?" "But Jared can't actually confirm that he left the property at that time in his car." "No." "It's down to Carly." "We have to get her statement." "Well, can we pull both Carly and Jared in now?" "I mean, they can just tell Greg that they're providing him with an alibi." "In fact, if we don't do that," "Greg will get suspicious." "You've got the makings." "Of what?" "A forensic accountant." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "Expect Jared'll be showing up any minute now." "Wouldn't wanna miss a chance to share lunch with his old flame." "Babe..." "Mm." "What's with the paranoia?" "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." "What are you talking about?" "The cops reckon they have a witness who saw me driving Jared's car the night that that guy was killed." "No way!" "You were in bed with me all night." "Mm." "Did you tell them that?" "(DANGEROUS MUSIC)" "Hm?" "I will." "But you haven't spoken to them already?" "No." "I swear!" "(CAR PULLS UP)" "Ah, speak of the devil." "What'd I tell you?" "He can't stay away from you." "(DOOR THUDS)" "Hey." "Hey, brother." "Cleaning your rifle?" "Yeah, old Army habits die hard, eh." "See, in the desert, your life depends on having a clean rifle." "Just like I thought I could depend on you." "Eh?" "I thought we were mates." "What do you mean?" "I didn't expect you to go to the cops behind my back." "What?" "Nah P" "You're trying to stitch me up." "Come on, Greg P" "You've been speaking to your detective mate." "The cops reckon they have a witness who saw me driving your car the night that Charlie was killed." "I thought you were here asleep P Is that what you told them?" "Who?" "The cops!" "Who else?" "What are you saying?" "It was your car." "They'd need to talk to you first to make sure you weren't driving it." "Not if they'd seen P I know how the cops work!" "(CAR PULLS UP)" "Ah, who do we have here?" "(TENSE MUSIC)" "Didn't hear you knock." "Is Carly about?" "That depends." "I'll get back to you." "(COCKS RIFLE)" "OK, lovebirds, which one of you put the cops up to this?" "Comms, this is DSS Shepherd." "Someone better start talking real quick!" "Is everything OK in there, Greg?" "You tell me!" "If there's an issue, we should just keep calm and talk it through." "Listen to your mate." "He's giving you a chance to tell the truth." "OK, OK." "It was me." "You were right to be suspicious." "I wanted to be with Carly and saw a chance to get you out of the way." "She knew nothing about it." "Is that true?" "I knew nothing." "Honest, babe." "I should put a bullet through your head." "Don't, babe." "He's not worth it!" "You tell them what you just told me." "Tell them!" "(GUN CLICKS)" "I made the story up." "Greg never took my car." "He was here all night." "I tried to set him up so me and Carly could get back together." "OK." "You got that?" "We've got that." "You can lower the rifle." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "Lower the rifle." "(BULLETS CLINK ON GROUND)" "Good." "Now put it down." "Now, step back inside." "Put your hands on your head." "Now!" "That was such a brave thing to do." "Thank you." "It's OK." "It's over." "They'll lock Greg up and you'll be able to make a statement." "Hey, hey, hey." "Greg will never bash you again." "Maybe I won't have to make a statement." "How do you mean?" "Well, Greg'll go to prison for what he did today." "Maybe." "But he's still got to stand trial for murdering Charlie Baxter." "Except he couldn't possibly have done that." "He was here all night." "He never went out, didn't take your car." "I wanted him out of the way so we could be together again." "It was all a lie?" "A white lie." "A fib." "In a good cause." "Do you know what you've done?" "You told Greg the truth, that you really want to be with me." "And I want that too, babe, back the way it was." "Get in the car." "I didn't know what else to do." "Get in the car, Carly." "Charge him with reckless use of a firearm." "I'll get a statement from Carly, we'll go from there." "She's got something to tell you." "(EXHALES) Unbelievable." "I know you wanna charge her with something, but all she's actually done is lie to Jared." "I feel like we're going round and round in circles, getting nowhere." "Doughnuts." "Doing doughnuts." "Going round and round in circles, and getting nowhere." "Petrolhead term." "(CHUCKLES) I know what a doughnut is." "I'm just surprised that you do." "Actually, I can see you popping some wheelies in your youth." "Did you?" "Pull a few doughnuts." "Let's just say I prefer mine with jam and cream." "(CHUCKLES)" "Hey, you should see the money trail here!" "So much money!" "Huge amounts going out on Baxter's online gaming accounts P" "Indian sports betting, TAB, online poker." "You name it, Charlie was up to his eyeballs in it." "So he was a gambling addict." "Does that help us?" "No, the mystery's not how he lost all this dough, it's where the hell he got it from." "The business is doing well P the panel and paint, the car repairs, the compliance work on imports." "It's all here, all going through the books." "So he blew it all?" "And much more besides." "According to Val, he borrowed against the business and against their house?" "Yeah, that would cover some of it." "But Charlie's online gaming accounts show so much more going out." "There's no trace of it on the books so he must have had a huge stream of income that wasn't going anywhere near the books." "From where?" "From his winnings?" "No way." "None of those accounts were ever in credit." "So Baxter's gambling and gaming went far beyond what he was making from the business?" "Way beyond." "And despite all this money coming in, the business itself is mortgaged to the hilt P the land the garage sits on to, uh, an outfit called Taurus Inc, and then there's also a debenture on the remaining company assets to" "something called Edsel Inc." "Who are they?" "Well, I'm still trying to find out." "They were shelf companies, but now with an accountant holding the shares in trust for the real owners." "Which means we're looking for a cash source, some kind of black market money stream?" "Has to be." "Keith Balance must know where the cash is coming from." "How could he not?" "And how could he not stop Baxter from blowing it all?" "(EMAIL ALERT)" "Ah, OK." "An email from Val and Charlie's insurance company." "Charlie's life policy was increased 10 days ago." "Sole beneficiary P wife Valerie Baxter." "We note that you increased Charlie's life cover P doubled it to $500,000 P just over a week before he died." "I did." "It was a five-yearly review." "I know the timing looks bad, but it was just a coincidence, I swear." "And when exactly did you hear from the bank about the size of the mortgage on this place?" "Before or after you increased the life insurance?" "Before." "Right, so increasing the life insurance wasn't entirely coincidental." "No." "I called them." "Can you blame me?" "The point is, you doubled the cover on your husband's life insurance just days before he was killed." "That was coincidental, I swear." "Oh, you'll have to." "If there's this half mill in the pipeline, why were you so anxious about selling Charlie's Cadillac?" "Because I very quickly realised after he died that half a million wasn't nearly enough." "You know what I would have done if I'd known?" "I'd have put it up to 2 million and killed the bastard myself!" "I'm sorry, babe." "Sorry doesn't do it." "It didn't work out exactly as I thought it would, but hey P" "Carly." "I don't blame you." "You did what you did to try and get out of a toxic relationship, and I get that." "But I'm not the answer." "You've got Greg out of the picture for a while, and you should take advantage of that." "Go see your family." "Let them help." "I'm still your friend, OK?" "OK." "Olson says that after the altercation out on Boundary Rd," "Charlie drove him back to the Baxter and Balance garage." "It's not too late to get a Ford." "(LAUGHS) Goodnight." "Good night." "Olson drives home, and Charlie works on the Eldorado." "Next morning, Charlie is found dead beside his Eldorado, halfway between the garage and his home." "Yet when I showed up here that morning to give Val the bad news, his ute is sitting in the driveway there." "How did Charlie's ute get home that night?" "Either Charlie drove it or you drove it." "Either way, you're not telling us the truth, Val." "He did come home." "(DOOR SLAMS)" "Those bloody hot-rodders spoil it for everyone!" "'He wanted me to drive him back to the garage, because he still had more work to do on the car." "'He said he'd bring it home when he'd finished, so he could go straight to the beach hop' in the Eldorado in the morning." "This was about half-past 10, quarter to 11." "He never came back to the house that night in the Eldorado?" "No." "It wasn't the first time he'd promised to come home and not shown up." "After you dropped him at the garage, you came straight home?" "And you never left the house again that evening?" "No." "Why do you think I never mentioned it?" "I was the last one to see him alive." "I knew that and the insurance would make me a suspect." "Plus lying to the police." "That doesn't help." "No one's touched this since Charlie parked it here?" "No." "I ran him back to the garage in my car." "Key?" "No idea where." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "Sonny Smith." "I swear I've never seen any of this stuff before." "What the hell was Charlie up to?" "I'd say he was up to no good." "If the shoe fits,..." "And I suspect it will... on Sonny's foot." "Tai verified that these belong to Sonny, and they fitted his feet perfectly." "They're not the only things that fit... (OMINOUS MUSIC)" "From something blunt." "It's not consistent with the impact from the fall." "That'll have traces of Sonny's blood and hair." "Tai also said Sonny took a call earlier in the evening before going out." "She was telling the truth." "Trace it." "The jerry can will need to be tested too." "I'm picking it will have Sonny's prints on it, as well as Charlie's." "Sonny was sent to the Baxter and Balance garage, not to steal the 1969 Cadillac Eldorado, but to burn the garage down." "Why?" "Insurance, we can only assume." "But Charlie was working late." "(SPARKS CRACKLE)" "Charlie heard or saw something and sprang Sonny about to commit arson." "Charlie whacks him.'" "(THWACK!" "THUD!" ")" "Charlie needs to make it look like an accident." "He's got too much to hide." "So he gets the ladder from the garage and drops Sonny through the skylight... (CRASH!" ")" "..to make it look like the burglary had gone wrong." "Which is why there's only one set of footprints on the roof, and a burglar's not going to care about keeping to the nail lines." "But Charlie did care about those prints up there," "and he saw a great way to tie those to Sonny." "So it's clear that Charlie killed Sonny." "But who killed Charlie?" "Was it revenge for Sonny?" "Whoever ordered Sonny to torch the garage would have been angry that Charlie screwed the plan." "We'll only know that when we find out who sent Sonny on his mission." "It's got to be an inside job." "Keith Balance or Val." "Maybe." "And where is Frodo in all of this?" "Where's the boss?" "Hey, you can't just barge in there P (ENGINE RUMBLES)" "Frodo!" "Get in here now!" "Stand back!" "(MACHINERY WHIRRS)" "He's alive." "Right." "Stay with him until he's up to talking about the secrets he was so keen on taking to the grave." "Too many loose ends around you, Frodo." "Your brand new boots the day after the burglar was found dead in the garage wearing the same brand and size." "Charlie flicked me those." "What am I supposed to do, turn 'em down so I can fork out for my own?" "How much did you fork out for that car?" "It'd be worth about 30K or 40K." "And how does an apprentice mechanic get that sort of cash?" "It's not actually mine." "Meaning?" "It's the company's." "Which company's?" "Charlie and Keith jacked it up for me, so I assume it was them." "We'll check who it's registered to." "I'm allowed to drive it as if it's mine." "Generous bosses." "Nothing wrong with that." "What was the quid pro quo?" "What, what?" "What did you have to do in return?" "Nothing!" "Not much." "Drive it over to Olson's yard for a valet." "How often?" "Once a week, regular." "Well, couldn't you just clean it yourself?" "I wasn't to touch it." "That was the deal." "Once a week?" "Isn't that a bit excessive?" "Maybe." "I wasn't going to argue, was I?" "I get free use of a mint Mustang, and I don't even have to clean it!" "How choice is that?" "And I won the Piston trophy at the Beach Hop!" "Yep, Kimberly and Toni were very impressed." "Yeah." "Yeah, they were." "Uh, do you mind not telling Kimberly?" "She..." "She doesn't need to know it's not my car, right?" "Don't get it." "Frodo appears to be a pawn in a very strange game." "He's not up to this, I'm sorry." "Just one question." "OK?" "You had a stream of black cash." "Huge." "Where did it come from?" "Take a look at the ute on the hoist." "I've seen it." "(SCOFFS)" "Do your job." "Take a real look." "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "Bingo!" "Pseudoephedrine, precursor to P." "They come in through the utes, the Asian ones." "We had it made." "How did you launder the money?" "All Charlie had to do was go into the casino, buy some chips, not bet them all, get a good proportion cashed up, and we'd be home free with clean money." "But Charlie got a taste for the gaming tables and couldn't stop." "So you two put Sonny Smith up to torch the garage for the fire insurance money." "Fat use that'd be." "The mortgagee would collect, not me or Charlie." "So who's the mortgagee?" "Who's standing behind those companies P" "..Taurus Incorporated and Edsel Incorporated?" "Who did you deliver the bags to?" "(COUGHS) They went back where they came from." "Well, where did they come from?" "That's enough!" "How far back down the line?" "Please." "I'm asking you to leave." "(GASPS)" "(CELL PHONE RINGS) Kristen." "Sonny's mobile is prepay, predictably." "Untraceable." "I think we know whose phone that'll turn out to be." "Oh, and Frodo's Mustang is registered to one of those companies P Edsel Inc." "Thanks." "Edsel Inc owns the Mustang." "Oh!" "How did I miss that?" "What?" "Taurus and Edsel, the companies that hold the mortgage on Baxter and Balance." "It has to be P Ford!" "Ford what?" "Ford who?" "Taurus and Edsel are the model names of the least successful Ford cars ever made." "The mystery shareholder has to be Olson Siola, the biggest Ford freak in town." "So Frodo was the unwitting mule, driving his precious Mustang back and forth to Olson for a valet." "If it was ever stopped, Frodo would have to take the fall." "Nice work." "Mr Siola!" "A word, please." "What's he doing?" "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "(TYRES SCREECH)" "(UPBEAT MUSIC CONTINUES)" "Olson, you idiot." "Pull over!" "Can I help you, Officer?" "Yes, you can accompanying us down to the station." "Hm, I must admit it's a lovely evening for a cruise, but why would I want to do that?" "To help us with our enquiries." "Need help, do you?" "From you, yes." "And what if I find that inconvenient?" "We could arrest you, if that would help?" "On what grounds?" "Failure to stop, for starters." "Were you pursuing me?" "If I'd known you were going to get all OJ Simpson about it," "I would have driven my white Bronco." "It's your choice, Olson." "Can I bring a friend?" "Miranda Temple." "My lawyer." "Please do." "Charlie Baxter had become a loose cannon who was jeopardising your lucrative scheme." "A lucrative scheme?" "Olson." "Please." "Ms Temple cautioned her client to say nothing." "I certainly did not." "By gesture." "Burning the garage was a way to put Charlie out of business and to cash up at the same time, by collecting the fire insurance." "Charlie caught Sonny in the act and killed him, hence Plan B for ending your partnership with Charlie." "You knew Charlie's plans to cut and polish the Eldorado and exactly how long that would take, and you knew he'd then drive it home." "You parked the T Bird where you knew Charlie would see it on his way home." "(TENSE MUSIC)" "'You knew he'd pull over...'" "(SINISTER MUSIC)" "It's coming." "(GRUNTS)" "(GURGLES, COUGHS)" "As much as my client and I enjoy a good story, we're still unaware of what lucrative scheme you're referring to." "These were found in the last ute that your client imported." "The one Keith Balance rendered unsaleable due to carbon monoxide toxicity?" "Keith dobbed your client in." "Well, he would, wouldn't he?" "Although my client is unaware of what he and Charlie Baxter were up to, clearly the stress has taken a terrible psychological toll on the man, and he's trying to deflect culpability." "Keith will be ready and able to testify." "Which is more than can be said for Charlie Baxter." "But is that it?" "One psychologically unstable witness who's clearly implicated in some sort of drug importation and will lie to save his own skin?" "If that is it, Detective, my client and I will take our leave." "Damn." "Then there's Frodo." "Frodo?" "As in Bilbo Baggins' nephew?" "Frodo, aka Frankie Oades, the apprentice at Baxter and Balance P" "What does he have to do with my client?" "He made deliveries directly to your client weekly in the borrowed Mustang, still registered in Olson's company's name." "Frodo knows nothing!" "Olson, you're not required to speak." "Hobbits driving Mustangs?" "Until you can give us something less fictional to go on," "Detective, we'll bid you goodnight." "I tried to tell you." "Never trust a clown." "The murderer of a murderer." "Should we even care?" "And I hate to say it, but it seems you've dropped Frodo in it." "We better try and warn him." "Poor Frodo." "At the mercy of that crazy clown." "And not likely to die laughing." "(SIGHS) Straight to voicemail." "What do we do?" "(TENSE MUSIC)" "(SPARKS CRACKLE)" "(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)" "Frodo, my friend." "I go out of my way to help you, give you a Mustang to play with, and you repay me by talking to the cops?" "You weren't supposed to know about the P import side of the business, but as with most things, Charlie and Keith were loose." "Unfortunately, my friend, you're going to have to pay for their mistakes with another little accident, just as Charlie had to." "These workplaces can be so unsafe." "(GRUNTS) Drop the weapon!" "Drop the weapon!" "(STICK CLATTERS)" "Quite a performance," "Olson P drug imports, Charlie's murder, all on tape, and attempted murder on camera." "(UPBEAT MUSIC)" "(HANDCUFFS CLICK)" "Olson Siola you're under arrest for the murder of Charlie Baxter." "You have the right to remain silent." "Anything you say..." "You OK?" "Never better." "That was so awesome!" "(CHUCKLES)" "Thanks for helping out." "Nah, like I said, that was totally wicked!" "Any time." "Well, let's hope there isn't another time." "Take care, Frodo." "Hey, um, since he's nicked, will I lose the car?" "Proceeds of a crime." "I'd make the most of it." "Hey, um, want to take it for a spin, then?" "Hell yeah." "As long as I can drive." "Hard out." "(THE EASTERN'S 'MISTY AND JIMMY')" "(ENGINE RUMBLES)" "# Well, Misty and Jimmy found themselves out in the middle..." "The petrolhead within." "It's a beautiful thing." "Yee-hah!" "Well, Misty said to Jimmy, 'I never read the sky.'" "# And Jimmy said, 'Well, me neither.'"