"Esther, don't forget to smile, please." "Do you have a drink?" "Enjoy the gardens, the literary festival will be starting very soon." "It's funny because it's true." " You did it, darling." " WE did it." "Would you give me an interview please?" "Oh, this is my husband, Dr Oliver Wolf..." "You know it's you they want, Professor." "Esther, can I get you a glass?" "No, thanks." "It's a three-day celebration of Caribbean Literature in all its forms." "Tours, readings, book signings." "And of course our star guest, Sylvie Baptiste." " Welcome." " This is her family estate and the setting of her most celebrated novel, The Flame Tree." "A pleasure to be hosting the first year of this wonderful festival." " Oh, well, then!" " After the reading, please." "Remind me not to invite you to my next party." "Esther?" "I was wondering if you had had a chance to think about our little chat?" "I have and the answer is still no." "OK." "We'll see." "Ladies and gents..." "Ooh." " Try again." " Ladies and gentlemen." "Welcome to the very first Saint-Marie Literature Festival." "To kick things off, we're starting with a talk from" "Sylvie Baptiste's long-time editor and assistant, Patricia Lawrence." "Thank you, Anna." "When Donald and Iris first meet in The Flame Tree, they are worlds apart..." "Where did Esther go?" ".. and it's easy to see how the beauty not only of this island..." "Maybe I should go and look for her." "No, no." "Not now." ".. but of the house where we are all gathered today inspired Sylvie Baptiste." "This estate is very much..." ".. it's in this sacred place that Donald learns about the power of Obeah..." "Sorry." "It's here that he buys a love spell, one that will bind Iris to him, even against her will." ".. throwing a red haze... .. the setting for Iris's attempted escape... .. when she first found the estate and got lost exploring the many pathways that eventually lead to the ocean." "Let me read you the text at this point." ""Her heart was burning in her chest." ""She heard his voice in the garden behind her," ""calling her away from the cliffs," ""but she wanted to see over the cliff," ""over the water, all the way to the horizon and beyond it."" "Never realised the Commissioner's reports were so much fun, Sir." "He's had that smile on his face all week." "Just like my granny when she'd been at the rum." "Do we take it things are going well with Martha?" "Could say that, Florence." "Could say that." "She's moving in for the rest of her stay." " Nice one, Chief!" " Yes." " So when is she planning to move in?" " Hello?" "End of the week, Florence." "When she returns from Montserrat." "Actually, I could do with a hand at the shack," "I need to clear out some junk." "Make it into more of a..." " Love shack?" "!" " Thank you very much." "Sir, body of a young woman's just been found on the beach of the Malbonne estate." "Malbonne?" "That's Sylvie Baptiste's home..." "So who is Sylvie Baptiste?" "She wrote a novel we all studied at school." " Set on Saint-Marie." " The Flame Tree?" " You've read it?" "Heard of it, of course, but I had no idea it was set on the island." "It's about an Englishman who falls in love with an islander," "Iris, a former slave." "He marries her against her will and when she realises she's enslaved again, in a different way, she kills herself." " How?" " She jumps from the cliffs." "Well, the paramedics say her injuries are consistent with a fall from this height." "JP's up on the clifftop near where she fell, cordoning it off." "Do we know who she is?" "Her name's Esther Monroe, a PhD student currently living in England." " Esther Monroe?" " Mm-hmm." "I went to school with her." "Really?" "Was she a friend?" "For a while." "But she and her family moved to England when we were teenagers, a long time ago." "Well, I'm sorry, Florence." "Are you OK to carry on?" "Sure." "Of course." "So, who found the body?" "Her tutor, Anna Wolf, and her husband Oliver." "They went looking for her after she went missing from an event" " up at the house." " An event?" " Literary festival." "You know, readings, lectures, you know, things like that." "If you can call that a festival." "So, watch smashed and stopped at 1.25, so I think we can call that time of death." "Do we know how old she would've been?" "She was a year below me, so, 26." "So young." "OK, Dwayne." "We can release the body." "Then let's take a look up top." " Morning, JP." " Morning, Sir." "Sarge." "So, in the novel, this is where Iris jumped from, right?" "It's become a bit of a tourist destination." "You've all read it, I suppose?" "Of course, Sir." "It's required reading at school." "I can't imagine anyone growing up on this island having not read it." "And that includes me, Chief." "It's one of my favourites." "Really?" "Sounds like I've got some catching up to do." "Right, JP, what've you got?" "Well, Sir, The victim's bag was found just here." "I've gone through it." "Nothing out of the ordinary." "Purse, pen, diary, laptop cable." "And then... this." ""To My Family." "I'm so sorry." ""I tried but I couldn't do it any longer." "Please forgive me." ""I love you." "Esther."" "Poor Esther." "Yes." "Strange, isn't it?" " What is?" " That she chose to write that letter on a computer, print it and then sign it." "Seems somewhat impersonal, rather formal, wouldn't you say?" "Montblanc fountain pen." "These aren't cheap." "Is something troubling you, Sir?" "Well there is a bit, JP, if I'm honest." "It's that suicide note." "It doesn't quite make sense." "That it wasn't handwritten?" "Yes, that." "But also that Esther's signature is written in Biro." "Esther uses a rather expensive fountain pen to write all her appointments in her diary." "But when it comes to signing her final letter to her family, she plumps for a Biro." "Like I say, strange, isn't it?" "So, Chief, there were around about 100 guests here today." "Anna Wolf is pretty sure Esther didn't have any contact with any of them until they arrived here this morning." "OK then, talk to the other guests, confirm whether Anna's right about that." "Also, the laptop cable we found in Esther's bag would imply she has a laptop." " See if you can find it hereabout." " Chief." "DI Humphrey Goodman." "DS Florence Cassell." "I understand you both found Esther?" "Do you have any idea what happened?" "Was it accidental?" " We found a note." " Oh, God." "I know this is a difficult time, but I need to ask a few questions." "When did you last all see Esther alive?" "I noticed her leaving the garden, at about..." "Quarter past one." " You're sure?" " Quite sure." "I was on stage..." " about to start my talk." " I saw her then too." " So did I." "Leaving the garden alone?" "Yeah." "And where were you all for the next ten minutes?" "In the audience listening to Patricia." "All of us were." "Can you tell me about how Esther seemed over the last few days?" "Her mood, behaviour?" "She'd barely left her hotel room -- since we arrived five days ago." "Do you know why?" "She was working late every night on a new chapter of her thesis." "It was on The Flame Tree." "She was doing some research here on the island." "What sort of research?" "She hadn't shared it with me yet." "It was obviously preoccupying her." " Obsessing her, even." " Really?" "Esther was a very dedicated student." "Cared about her work." "Perhaps a little too much." "Did you have any contact with Esther?" "She was here yesterday, helping me with the festival admin." "Printing the programmes, setting up the equipment." "And, Sylvie, did you speak to her then?" "Yesterday, no more than a word or two." "Didn't she go to see you on Thursday, to interview you?" "She did and we spoke a little more then." "What did she want to talk about?" "Oh, my writing." "She had some research questions." "Like Anna said, I did notice she seemed a little tense." " Do you know why?" " I have no idea." "Presumably she was already planning to throw herself off my cliff." "Mmm." "And you say you were still all present at Patricia's talk at 1.25." "Are there other guests who can confirm this?" "Ask anyone else in the audience." "There were 100 people here and we were sitting in the front row." "But Esther jumped, didn't she?" "She wasn't..." "Well, we're not ruling anything out just yet." "OK, thank you." "We'll be in touch with any further questions." "Bye." " Sir?" " Yes." "We looked around and there's no sign of Esther's laptop." " Mm-hmm." " And we've spoken to most of the other guests." "And it's true -- they only know Esther from meeting her after they arrived earlier this morning." "Listen, a couple noticed Esther leaving the grounds during Patricia Lawrence's talk." "Any of them notice anyone following Esther?" "Apparently everyone remained in their seat for the duration of the talk." "What are you thinking, Sir?" "Well I'm thinking that if, as I suspect, that suicide note was faked and Esther was pushed to her death." "Then, as there seem to be only four people at the festival who knew her, it has to be one of them that did it." "But Chief, if they were all in full view when it happened," " it can't be, can it?" " No, Dwayne." "It can't." "You're right." "We need to get that note dusted for prints as soon as possible." "Also, Dwayne, JP, find out if there was anyone else present on the estate at the time of death, apart from the guests, I mean." "Any staff, neighbours, anyone who may have witnessed anything." "Also, there's a small bungalow over there, I noticed." "Might be worth checking out." "In the meantime, Florence, let's take a look at Esther's hotel room." "If she's pretty much been holed up there since she arrived on" "Saint-Marie, then it might give us a clearer idea about what she's been up to this last week." "Good idea, Sir." "Oh, and we should call Esther's parents." "Of course we will." "And again, I am so sorry." "We'll speak soon." "Bye." "How were they?" "Shocked and devastated, of course, but they refused to believe Esther would kill herself." "They were aware she was stressed by her studies." "But not to the extent she..." "Well, that tallies with our thinking." "The receptionist says she saw Esther arguing with a male English guest two nights ago." "Sounded like Oliver Wolf, from her description." "We should get in touch with Esther's university -- see if they can offer us any insight into her relationship with Professor and Doctor Wolf." "Looks like she really was burning the midnight oil..." "What a mess, right, let's see if Esther's laptop is here." "Strange." "She left her phone here." "These look like notes for her thesis." "We used to love collecting shells as kids." "We used to go to the beach after school." "And then she moved to England?" "Did you stay in touch?" "Yeah." "Wrote a few times, but that was it." "Until today, I haven't thought about her for years." "Anything on her phone?" "I've only had a quick look through, but it seems to me that Esther liked to keep herself to herself." "Hardly any personal texts or photos, even." "There's no sign of her laptop either, is there?" "No, there isn't." "Someone's taken it, haven't they?" " Why?" " I don't know, Florence." "But as we now not only have a suspicious suicide note, but also a laptop that's gone missing," "I'm sorry to say that we're treating Esther's death as murder." "Oh, I have never been to the Baptiste estate before, Dwayne." "Me neither." "Yes, to think this is where the book actually takes place, you know, it really brings it to life, don't you think?" "Oh, yes, JP." "I'm seeing it very much in a new light now." "What's your favourite part of the book, Dwayne?" "Honore Police." "Can you open up, please?" "You know what, JP, I don't think there's anyone at home, you know." "Wait a minute, Dwayne." "Oh!" "Good afternoon, madam." "We're investigating an incident that's taken place near here." "Did you happen to see a young woman, early 20s, heading towards the cliff at about 1.15 today?" "Sorry." "No." "Do you live here alone?" "Excuse me!" "Can we take your name...?" "Nice to meet you, too!" "Some people, eh?" "JP?" "Well, it does look like the same handwriting to me." "But then it could just be a good forgery." " It's not hard to do." " Sir?" " Yes?" "I've just spoken to the dean of the university." "He said Esther had made an appointment with the union welfare officer." "He didn't know why but I've asked her to get in touch." "Mm-hmm." "So our victim dies in an apparent suicide." "She'd been on the island five days and we've established she only had contact with four people." "They were..." "Professor Anna Wolf, 44, Esther's tutor and head of the English faculty at Esther's university." "The dean spoke very highly of her." "Seems to be the star of her department." "Married to..." "Oliver Wolf, 43." "An academic too, but we can't find much about him online." "Hasn't published anything for some years, it seems." "Sylvie Baptiste, 66." "Big-deal novelist, lived on Saint-Marie all her life, and Patricia Lawrence, 46, lives at the estate." "Originally from Lewisham in the UK." "How long has she been here?" "25 years." "Apparently she came here whilst travelling, got a temporary job as Sylvie's assistant and ended up staying." "And the woman in the bungalow, did she give a name?" "Name?" "She slammed the door in my face." "Seemed very reluctant to talk to us." "Suspiciously so?" "I don't think so, Sir." "There's something about her." " She didn't seem well, you know?" " OK, well, call Patricia." "See if she can tell us who lives there." "Right, Dwayne, get the suicide note fingerprinted." "And get in touch with Esther's internet provider." "See what her e-mails show up." "Also check with immigration and find out about Sylvie and Patricia's travels over the last few years." "See if there's any chance that either of them may have crossed paths with Esther before." "Chief." "Sir, that was the university welfare officer." "Apparently Esther had reported a case of sexual harassment... against Oliver Wolf." "It comes with the territory, the odd flirtation." "Nothing more than that." "What exactly happened between you?" "Well, it was at a seminar recently, drank too much red wine." "We ended up kissing." "Look, these girls are young, they're hormonal, if you're halfway decent-looking and under 50 -- they do flirt." "Yes, thing is, Oliver, we just spoke to the union welfare officer at your university." "They told us that Esther's version of that seminar is rather different from yours." "You were the one drunk." "You were the one who cornered her in your office, and the next morning Esther made an appointment to report you for sexual harassment." "But I think you already know that, don't you?" "We spoke to the receptionist at your hotel." "She said she saw you and Esther arguing -- two nights before she died." "I had... nothing to do with her death." "What were you and her arguing about?" "I was just trying to get her to be reasonable." "Had she threatened to tell your wife?" "After all, Anna was her tutor." "I swear, I was only going there..." "Perhaps you wanted to shut Esther up before she could do any more damage!" "Anna knew!" "Anna always knows." "She turns a blind eye." "Why on earth would she do that?" "Because I've sacrificed everything for her!" "She's the star academic, her career always comes first, while I'm the one who rubs her feet, does the laundry and makes sure there's food in the fridge." "And in return she allows you a few discreet... dalliances?" "Yes." "It may seem a little dysfunctional to you, Inspector, but it works for us." "Except, with Esther making a complaint -- things had become" " slightly less discreet, hadn't they?" " I suppose so." "Which makes me wonder how Anna felt about it all." "Huh?" "He told us you knew all about it." "Of course I didn't." "He told us you had a deal." "About you turning a blind eye." "Of course you couldn't turn a blind eye to that, could you?" "I mean, he'd pushed it too far, wrecked your cosy agreement." "I mean, a few discreet affairs, fine, but a sexual harassment charge?" "I mean, that would really take the shine off the university's golden couple." "I had no idea about this "charge"." "OK." "Florence, call Ms Hoskins, would you?" "See if she can clear this up for us." "Wait!" "Look, he... he wasn't meant to go after students!" "It was only ever meant to be women I didn't know, things I would never have to hear about, but of course Ollie couldn't resist a girl like Esther." "I'm sure he saw her as a challenge." "So you knew Esther had reported him?" "Yes, I knew." "And it was only a matter of time before something like this happened." "I thought it was a good deal, that I needed his support in my career, but the truth is, I could've coped on my own." "Then, why let him get away with it?" "Because I loved him." "Idiotic, I know." "You don't think that I had anything to do with Esther's death, do you?" "Well, you can see how it looks." "She was a threat to your marriage and your career." "My marriage is over." "It has been for a long time." "Now, our victim was on the cusp of reporting Oliver Wolf to the university authorities for sexual harassment." "Which means that both he and his wife had a great deal to lose." "Either -- or indeed both of them -- had reason to kill her." "Yeah, but as they were sat next to each other in the front row during Patricia Lawrence's talk at the exact moment Esther died..." "In theory, neither of them could have done it." "Dwayne." "How're you getting on?" " Well, Chief, I've fingerprinted the suicide note." " And?" "I'm afraid only Esther's prints are on it." "I also checked with Immigration." "Seems Sylvie and Patricia travel a lot, all over the world." "The life of a celebrated novelist, eh?" "Whilst Patricia's never been back to the UK, Sylvie's made four trips there in the last seven years for other literary festivals." "But after a quick check, Esther wasn't in attendance at any of them." "So it's highly unlikely they met prior to Esther's arrival on the island." "Thank you, Dwayne." "JP, anything of interest from our victim's e-mail account?" "Well, I've looked back over the last six months and there are four e-mails sent to Patricia Lawrence requesting an interview with Sylvie Baptiste." "All politely refused." "Esther pretty much..." "Keeps herself to herself." "Yes, well that's the impression we got." "Oh, also, I left a message for Patricia to call me back about whoever lives in that bungalow." "But in the meantime," "I checked the Electoral Register -- and the owner is Sylvie Baptiste." " No occupier registered." " How odd." "Chase Patricia -- we need to find out who her mysterious tenant is." " Yes, sir." " But do it first thing in the morning." "It's getting on." "We should call it a day." "I'd also like to pop into the library before it closes, get a copy of The Flame Tree to read, but if anyone fancies a beer after I've done that..." "Chief is buying." "That's very good of you, Chief." "Yes, well, I'd like to pick your brains about Sylvie's novel." "As you've all read it." "Of course!" "Florence?" "Beer, maybe?" "I just want to finish going through Esther's notes." "I'll see you there." "Yes, yes." "Ah!" "On the Chief's tab, Catherine." "Mm-hmm." "Victor Pearce standing for mayor." "Eurgh." "Just as bad as the last one." "I love this island, but I wish that, just once, we could elect a mayor who deserves the job." "What's so bad about him?" "A bully and a crook." "Out drinking every night." "And it all goes on his expense account." "Never pays for a thing." "Well, maybe you should stand, Catherine." "I mean, I personally think you'd do a great job." "What's so funny about that?" "Nothing." "My drink went down the wrong way." "OK, here we go, Sir." "Ah!" "Fine beer and classic literature." " What more could a man want?" " Indeed." "You enjoying the book, Sir?" "Mmm." "Very much." "You liked it as well, Dwayne?" "Me?" "Yes, what did you make of it when you first read it?" "Well..." "You know..." "It's... richly evocative." "A classic tale of destiny and desire." " Crikey." " Wow!" "It's a triumph of post-co... colonialism." "Kathy Morrison, New York Herald." "OK, OK, so maybe I didn't quite get to the end." "Where is Florence?" "I thought she'd be here by now." "Excuse me..." " Morning, all, morning." " Morning, Chief." " Morning, Chief." "Sorry I'm late." "I didn't get to sleep till five." "I could not put this down." "Esther's parents called me first thing this morning." "They'd remembered something she said about uncovering a secret during the research she'd been doing here on the island." "A secret?" "About what?" "They didn't know but they said she'd seemed worried about it, nervous." "I started going through her notes here," " seeing if there's any clue as to what it was..." " But no joy?" "Not yet." "It looks like some kind of textual analysis, comparing different works by Sylvie Baptiste, word usage, styles of phrasing." "I'll keep looking." "Also, I found this matchbox from a bar, in amongst the things we took in Esther's room." "I went to visit it last night and showed them her picture." "Did they recognise her?" "The barman said Esther didn't really talk much but she showed some interest in this." " It was hanging on the wall." " Sylvie Baptiste." "Not just her." "Look at the caption." " Lizzie Baptiste, too." " Lizzie Baptiste?" "Turns out it's Sylvie's sister." "There's a record of birth and where she went to school, but after that -- nothing." "It's like she just... disappeared." "Gosh, how strange." "Could this be the secret Esther discovered?" "I can't see any secret exactly." "Just not many records of her." "I think this is the woman from the bungalow." "I mean, she's a bit older now, but same eyes." "No?" "Mm-hmm." "So Sylvie's sister is living on her estate, not 100 metres away from the scene of the crime, and Sylvie neglected to mention it?" "I think you need to pay this Lizzie another visit." "Chief." "Morning." "It's Lizzie, isn't it?" "I'm JP Hooper." "This is Officer Myers." "You need to speak to my sister." "I don't like to have visitors." "Lizzie?" "I see your plants need a bit of a weeding." "Would you like us to help you tidy them up a bit?" "It'll be our pleasure." " So you live alone, Lizzie?" " Mm-hmm." "And does your sister come and visit you?" "She's good to me." "She takes care of me." "How long have you lived here for?" "A long time." "Since... .. I came out of the hospital." "You weren't well?" "Hmm." "Things went a bit wrong... .. up here." "She wanted to know about... a poem." "Who did?" "The girl..." "The one whose body you found." "I told her I don't know anything about any poem." "Ah, where exactly did you speak to her?" "She came here." "I told her I don't like having visitors, but... .. she wouldn't listen." "And when was this?" "Couple of days ago, I think." "Lizzie, where was you yesterday lunchtime?" "Yesterday?" "Just before the first time we visited you." "I was here." "All morning." "A poem?" "Apparently, that's what Esther was interested in." "I wonder why?" "And why on earth would she want to talk to Lizzie about it?" "I mean, Sylvie doesn't write poetry, does she?" "She writes novels." "That's what Esther was researching." "I think I saw some poetry in the notes that Esther was making for her thesis." "And she can't say for sure where she was at the time Esther was pushed off the cliff?" "No, Chief." "But I don't think that that's our killer, though, Sir." "I mean, I know she's vulnerable." "Had some sort of..." "Yes, yes, I know, JP." "And I'm sorry." "But she currently has no alibi, and she was in the vicinity of the murder at the time it happened." "We have to do due diligence and add her to the board." "I'm sorry." "There it is." "Thank you. "Perhaps if I jump, I will fly." ""Perhaps if I jump, I will be free."" "I'm sure I've seen that in the novel somewhere." "That's when Iris goes to the cliff for the first time." "That's it!" "That's it!" "Now where is that?" "Er, about halfway through." "Just after Donald visits the Obeah woman." "Oh, here we are. "Perhaps I'll fly if I jump." ""Perhaps I'll be free..."" "That's almost identical to the poem." "The phrasing's just slightly different." "And what's that number next to it?" "I don't know." "There's a few of them in the notes." "All eight digits." "It's a phone number, maybe." " No." " I don't think so." "There's a number on the book, Chief." "Eight digits." " Where?" " There." "They're library reference numbers." "So Esther was researching all this at Honore library." "Dwayne, I want you to get down there." "See if you can find whatever it was Esther was digging out." "Right away, Chief!" "Where would the library be, exactly?" "I'll come with you." "Shhh." "Why do they keep all this old stuff, Sarge?" "It's a library." "It's a fire hazard, is what it is." "You should read it." "I think you might enjoy it." "510 pages?" "You must be joking!" "Shhh." "What?" "Dwayne, Elizabeth Baptiste." "Listed here in the index." "Oh!" "It's the poem Esther wrote out, similar to the lines in the novel." "But it's by Lizzie Baptiste, published two years before The Flame Tree." "So Sylvie stole her lines?" "Maybe that's not all she stole." "Esther's notes compare The Flame Tree to Sylvie's other works." "There are significant differences." "It's almost like she's comparing two different authors." "Is it possible that the secret Esther discovered is that..." "There ARE two different authors?" "That Sylvie didn't write The Flame Tree at all?" "That Lizzie did?" "And Sylvie found the manuscript?" "I think that's what Esther's research was about, and that's why she was writing a new chapter for her thesis." "It explains why she was so stressed, why she hadn't felt able to tell anyone." "But why would Lizzie allow her sister to take the credit for all her work?" "Well, Lizzie doesn't remember the poem." "So maybe she didn't remember the novel, either?" "Is it possible that you'd forget you wrote a novel?" "Well, if her breakdown was as severe as she says it was, then, yes, maybe." "But if that is the case, then Sylvie Baptiste must have thought she'd committed the perfect fraud, until the day Esther came along." "And threatened to ruin it all." "Esther came to see me here, yes, as I already told you." "A strange girl." "What did she want to talk about?" "Oh, my creative methods, my inspirations." "I told her I have only two." "The beauty of this island, and single malt whisky." "Did she tell you about her research?" "I don't believe she did." "I've read the novel." "It's incredibly powerful." "Soucriants flying round the island as balls of flame." "Obeah magic." "Must need a very vivid imagination to write that." "No imagination required." "My grandmother was an Obeah woman." "She had the power of love and death." "Real power... because the people believed in her." "Amazing what people will buy, isn't it?" "If it's sold to them with enough panache." "Ms Baptiste, we have a warrant to search your house." "'Idea for a short story." " 'A married woman in a close-knit community...'" " Sylvie..?" "'.. begins an affair with a parish priest.'" "What's going on?" "She was obsessive." "She was losing her mind." "Obsessive, yes." "Losing her mind?" "No." "Esther knew she was onto something." "She believed she'd discovered a secret." "That the original manuscript of The Flame Tree had been written by Lizzie." "Esther discovered a poem that Lizzie had written -- about a young woman who, unable to cope with life, throws herself off a cliff." "We've been researching your background." "You were rejected by publishers many times." "And then, suddenly, you came up with The Flame Tree, and you were an instant critical hit." "Did you find a manuscript of Lizzie's, decide to keep it for yourself?" "Lizzie would never have done anything with it!" "She never worked at it." "She didn't deserve it." "She would write things and forget them, like a child." "I was the one who took things seriously." "I was the one who gave it to the world." "Chief?" "It's Esther's laptop." "We found it in Ms Baptiste's room." "You stole it." "She did." "On your instructions, no doubt." "You said you'd got rid of it." "Tell us exactly what happened when Esther came to see you on Thursday morning." "She asked me if I had any original notes for The Flame Tree." "Anything to prove that it had been my work." "She said she had a new chapter for her thesis, which posited that I wasn't the author." "I think a part of her was still hoping that I would prove her wrong." "But you couldn't." "So she said she'd go ahead and publish." "She had the laptop with her." "The new chapter was on it." "Which you then instructed Patricia to steal from her while Esther was helping you prepare for the festival." "But you knew she'd just rewrite the chapter?" "I panicked." "I wanted to delay her." "Esther's work threatened to destroy your reputation and career." "You needed to deal with matters more permanently." "I didn't kill her." "You needed to make absolutely sure that she would never breathe a word about what a fraud her idol had turned out to be." "You're right." "I am a fraud." "I told myself I could help Lizzie, could look after her better." "The truth is, I did it for myself." "I may be a fraud, but I am not a murderer." "I need to go and lie down for a while." "We've got the book signing at five." "You can do that beforehand." "Tell the guests I am not well." "If you'll excuse me." "You stole for Sylvie." "I wonder, would you kill for her, too?" "Sylvie got nervous, didn't she?" "She knew Esther would just rewrite it." "She asked you to do one more thing for her." "The ultimate act of loyalty from an employee whose devotion knows no bounds." "I'm afraid that's where you're wrong." "I wish I could summon the sort of devotion you imagine." "I wish to God Sylvie inspired it." "I have no pension." "No savings." "I work 12-hour days that end in putting her to bed drunk, and mopping up her vomit." "I draw the line at killing for her, too." "Sylvie Baptiste." "She had everything to lose." "A lifetime's worth of reputation destroyed in an instant." "Or Patricia Lawrence, loyal assistant protecting her employer." "Either one of them could've done it." "Maybe they were in it together?" "Maybe." "But they, like Mr and Mrs Wolf, were in full view of an audience of 100 in the ten-minute window when Esther was killed." "Which leaves Lizzie Baptiste" " as the only suspect who doesn't have an alibi." " Sir..." "But why would Lizzie want to kill Esther Monroe?" "She hardly knew her." "And it seems, knew nothing of the long-held secret Esther was uncovering." "And then there's that fountain pen." "I'm afraid we're not going to solve this tonight." "Let's call it a day for now." "Pick up again tomorrow." "Come on, I'll buy you a beer." "Florence?" "I thought I might make a start looking through Esther's laptop." "Actually, you said you'd help me tonight." "Not often I pull rank." "Come on." "So, earlier, this gardening thing." "You did well, JP." "I was impressed." "Ah, Catherine." "So, JP, I decided to take your advice." "Could use a little more idealism in politics." "The spirit of protest!" "A woman's touch." "Wouldn't you say, Dwayne?" "You'd better believe it!" "OK." "If you haven't used it in three months, it goes." "Very good." "Ah, no, I wear that rather a lot actually." "Thanks for helping me, Florence." "I know you feel a responsibility to Esther." "But I keep thinking, maybe if I'd stayed in touch, things would've been different for her." "It's not your fault Esther died, Florence." "She was harassed." "She was stolen from." "She spent a week on this island alone with no-one to turn to, and she ended up on that clifftop with someone who..." "If I'd been a friend to her, if I hadn't forgotten her..." "You can't think like that." "Looking back and dwelling on the ifs, buts and maybes, it's a fool's game." "What Esther needs most now is for a detective to catch the person that did this to her." "OK?" "And you'll help me?" "I'm surprised you need to ask." "Come on." "Lots to do." "Morning, Florence." "JP." " Morning, Sir." " No Dwayne?" "Not yet, but, Sir, you should come and look" " at what Florence has found..." " Oh, yes?" "Something interesting on Esther's laptop." "A video file, recorded on Thursday." "'Lizzie, can you remember this poem?" "'If we read it together, in the place where you wrote it, 'it might help you remember...'" "The poem we read is set on the cliffs." "So maybe Lizzie Baptiste did go to the clifftop with Esther." "She is the only suspect not to have an alibi." "Except the fake suicide note." "I don't think she can plan something like that." "If Esther was going to the clifftop to meet Lizzie, could someone have seen her going there and decided to follow her?" "No, no, it's too convenient." "Whoever did this knew that Esther would be on the cliff and planned their alibi accordingly." "I just don't know how they were able to make it appear like they were at the festival with the rest of the attendees, when they were actually on the clifftop committing murder." "It's..." "Sorry I'm late, Chief." "Overslept." "Up late on a school night?" "No, Sarge, finishing The Flame Tree, actually." "No way." "Audio book." " Yeah, that's cheating!" " What did you think?" "Loved it." "Glass of rum, feet up, headphones in," "I think I'll start reading more often." "Mmm." "Listen..." "'Chapter 57." "'Iris woke early the next morning and walked down to the beach." "'The storm had cleared by then and the sea was calm.'" "Like she's there in my living room." "Everything all right, Chief?" ""In your living room," you said." ""Like she was there in your living room."" "Yes, Chief?" "So, watch smashed and stopped at 1.25." "There were 100 people here, and we were sitting in the front row." "What's going on?" "Didn't she go to see you on Thursday, to interview you?" "She did." "She was working late every night on a new chapter of her thesis." "If we read it together, in the place where you wrote it..." "Montblanc fountain pen." "The suicide note... how did they manage that?" "How?" "!" "'We've got the book signing at five.'" "Of course!" "That's how!" " Dwayne!" " Chief?" "I need you to collect the laptop from Sylvie's estate and get it to the lab." "I'm also going to need the folders containing our background checks and gather up the suspects." " Most importantly, Lizzie Baptiste." " Sir..." " Please." "Just trust me on this." "This place is quite something, isn't it?" "The real-life setting of a famous novel." "Esther Monroe died here three days ago, in what appeared to be a suicide." "She was anxious, obsessing about her work." "Jumping from the same cliff that her literary heroine had jumped from might seem like the ultimate escape from her problems." "But this was no suicide." "Esther was murdered." "Now, Esther left the party at 1.15pm." "When her body was found, her smashed watch had stopped at 1.25." "100 witnesses vouch for you all being at Patricia's talk during that period... .. in the front row, Patricia on stage." "So it's impossible that any of you could have left to commit murder." "Unless every one of those impartial witnesses were mistaken... .. which is exactly what they were." "Early on Thursday, the day before her death," "Esther had been to visit Sylvie Baptiste." "Esther had confronted Sylvie about the true authorship of The Flame Tree." "She knew by then her theory was right." "But she wanted one final piece of evidence." "She wanted to talk to Lizzie herself... .. to try and uncover Lizzie's long-forgotten memories of writing." "Esther planned to record Lizzie's testimony on her laptop, which she did." "'Lizzie." "Can you remember this poem?" "'" "But..." "Lizzie could remember nothing." "So Esther suggested to visit the place where Lizzie wrote the poem -- the clifftop." "But we think Lizzie wasn't the only person present during this conversation." "Which means that there would be someone else who knew about the plan to visit the cliff." "In fact, I believe they suggested it in the first place -- a helpful idea to tap into Lizzie's memories." "Am I right, Lizzie?" "That someone else was in that room that day?" "Yes." "In fact, this person told you to stay at home, didn't they?" "And went to meet Esther alone, intent on murder." "So the following day," "Esther left the festival reception at 1.15pm." "She knew that her research would ruffle feathers." "Esther went secretly to meet Lizzie at the clifftop, as she believed she had previously arranged." "But the person who helped her to arrange it met her there alone." "There are only two people who could've been the third presence in that room, who could've let Esther into Lizzie's house, been present at the interview, and, thus, known about the clifftop plan." "Sylvie Baptiste... .. or Patricia Lawrence." "You can't possibly believe..." "You were the third person in that room." "Am I right, Lizzie?" "Now, once you'd told Lizzie that the clifftop rendezvous wasn't happening any more, you then went and impressed on Esther the importance of telling nobody else about the planned meeting with Lizzie." "And when the time came, you left the festival opening to meet with Esther at the clifftop." "This is ridiculous." "I was giving a speech at the time she died." "They all heard me..." "'And this is the cliff right here on the estate...'" "Yes, they HEARD you." "But did they see you?" "You see, I must say, you had me fooled." "Sylvie?" "Until I remembered seeing you typing Sylvie's notes from her Dictaphone." "See, you're quite adept at technology, aren't you, Patricia?" "You told us yourself that you were in charge of setting up the laptop and the AV equipment for the festival." "And you gave a presentation, showing the slides of the locations of The Flame Tree." "My colleague's audio book made me wonder..." "What if you read a recording of your speech?" "'And this is the cliff right here on the estate, 'where Iris decides she can no longer live 'with what Donald has done to her.'" "Now, you started the talk genuinely enough, onstage, holding a microphone." "It's in this sacred place that Donald learns about the power of Obeah." "Sorry." "But then, I think you retreated to the sides to let the slides play..." "One that will bind Iris to him, even against her will." ".. where you then pressed play on the audio file you'd already set up." "'The house itself, with its unique design, 'seems to add a sense of foreboding 'to every encounter that Donald and Iris have.'" "The second laptop vital to solving this case, your laptop." "'And this is the cliff, right here on the estate, 'where Iris decides she can no longer live 'with what Donald has done to her.'" "The recording lasted for five minutes." "And while the audience would've sworn that you were still there giving that talk, in fact, you had slipped away to the clifftop, to push a young woman to her death." "This is nonsense." "The girl killed herself." "It's obvious, she left a suicide note." "Ah, yes, the note was a nice touch." "The fact that you'd got Esther's fingerprints onto it, and no-one else's, was smart." "And we already knew that Esther had helped you with the festival admin." "I mean, there would've been reams of paper with her prints on." "All you had to do was use some gloves to take a piece, print the note off and then sign it." "Sign it?" "How could I..." "Well, you sign Sylvie's books for her when she's, um... indisposed." "We've got the book signing at five." "Can you do them beforehand?" "Tell the guests I'm not well." "For someone so practised at forging signatures, it wouldn't be difficult to forge Esther's handwriting." "I'm sure it would've been easy enough to lay your hands on a copy of Esther's signature." "And then, all you had to do was slip the faked suicide note into her handbag -- after you'd killed her." "But as clever as it was, that suicide note was also your undoing." "That it was a typed note meant that it somehow lacked credibility." "But also the fact that Esther's signature was written at the bottom in Biro, rather than the fountain pen that she always used, confirmed to me that she neither wrote it, nor signed it." "Tell me this isn't true." "Did Sylvie's loyal assistant kill to protect her employer?" "I mean, you've implied to us that you were Sylvie's personal slave, working 12 hours a day, doing everything for her, even putting her to bed, all for a pittance of a salary." "All true." "You didn't even get the chance to visit home." "That's not quite so true, is it?" "Because we know that Sylvie had visited the UK several times on work trips." "Sylvie's made four trips there in the last seven years for other literary festivals." "And our immigration checks show that you did not accompany her once." "It's not that you didn't get the chance to go home." "You CHOSE not to." "We've looked into your background." "26 years ago, you came here travelling, and through luck and perseverance you landed a job working for a successful author." "And what a life you've lived over those last twenty-odd years." "You got to travel the world, meet other famous authors." "And when you haven't been doing that, you've been living in this Caribbean paradise." "Fantasy made real." "Unfortunately, you realised that's exactly what it was." "A fantasy that could be destroyed at any time." "Was it when Esther first got in touch that you first realised that Sylvie was a fraud?" "No, I think you've known for years, haven't you?" "That's why you stopped Esther meeting her." "You knew what Esther was onto." "And if Sylvie's fraud had been exposed, you would be the one person who had even more to lose than Sylvie herself." "The dream would be over forever, and so you killed an innocent young woman to protect it." "She left me no choice, don't you see?" "She was going to destroy it all." "Take her away." "I had no choice." "I had no choice!" "I had no choice!" "I want to fund a scholarship in Esther's name, for the students of my work." "We spoke to the head of faculty at Esther's university." "They're planning to award her PhD posthumously." "So I'm afraid it's Lizzie's work from now on." "Do you understand?" "It's YOUR novel." "You know..." "I don't say this nearly enough." "But you are a brilliant detective, Florence Cassell." "And a good friend, to Esther and to me." "If ever I was in trouble," "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have on my side." "You hungry?" "Fancy braving my cooking and coming for dinner at the shack?" "Is Martha back tonight?" "In an hour." "If it's just the two of you..." "Harry'll be there too." "I'm making shepherd's pie." "Then, how can I resist?" "I'd better go and get the spuds on." "Join us when you're ready." "Welcome to La Maison Cecile..." " We've been expecting you." " Let's get you up to the hotel." "It's been lovely, our little holiday romance." "To chance encounters..." "To chance encounters..." " We should call the police." " Actually, I am the police." "We know that the hotel is in financial trouble." "We have five possible suspects." "You want to know why he kept it secret?" "Who's the key witness?" "It's me." "What are the chances, eh?"