"We ought to get a picture..." "Ready?" "Cheese!" "Give 'em a wave!" "Aaaagh!" "Excuse me." "Who are you?" "It's here somewhere." "This is ridiculous." "Trouble, Constable?" "Don't know who he is." "Tell this idiot who I am!" "Sorry." "Do I know you?" "Come on Lynley, just..." "Sorry, Constable." "It's our pathologist." "Understandable mistake." "Look how he's dressed!" "Practical clothing for the only practical transport... in this filthy town." "So you keep saying." "Right." "So, what makes you so sure it's murder?" "Would you turn him over please?" "Sir." "Ah." "Fair enough." "What's the story, Lafferty?" "Oh, damn!" "Level 12, though." "Hardly appropriate, is it?" "Nothing like a bit of ultra-violence to unwind the coils." "I see enough of the consequences." "Makes a change to dish it out!" "Joking." "Cause of death?" "Well, it wasn't drowning." "Circular, comminuted fracture to the right side of the skull." "Someone hit him with something hard before dumping him." "Something hard?" "Small, round, heavy, about that size." "If you suggested a ball hammer, I wouldn't laugh." "And the hands..." "Were they tied before or after death?" "Well, subcutaneous bleeding around the site of the ligature marks suggests pre-mortem." "At one point he was tied at the ankles, and around the neck." "Tied and beaten, then?" "Possibly." "This is interesting." "Normally in these circumstances you'd see a slip knot, or maybe a reef knot - this is something different." "Designed specially, tied by someone who knew what they were doing." "Most people can hardly manage their shoelaces." "Like a sheet bend, or a bowline, or a clove hitch, or a round turn..." "OK, most people other than your Outward-Bound, cadet-corps types." "Don't tell me you never went to Scouts, Lafferty?" "Sir!" "Prints came up." "Eric Ramsey, 11 Humber Road, Streatham." "He had a record?" "Yeah." "Drink-driving a few years ago, nothing serious." "He's also ex-Navy." "Chief Petty Officer Ramsey." "And, er..." "And what?" "Security clearance." "He needs it because of his job." "Doorkeeper to the House Of Lords." "What does that mean?" "He is the guardian of some secret parliamentary chamber?" "Actually, it just means he's a glorified security guard." "Doffs his cap to the aged members." "SNIFFING Sorry." "I'm sorry." "Please don't apologise." "I'm only sorry we have to ask you these questions." "Had, er, Eric been acting unusually at all recently?" "Well... he's always been a bit of a brooder." "What was he brooding about?" "He wouldn't say." "Never did." "Always kept things close to his chest." "Bit of a habit from Navy life, I suppose." "But...he was much better, much happier, when he accepted Jesus as his personal saviour." "His heart was opened to the Spirit, Marie." "His life spoke of that if his words did not." "Did he have any enemies that you know of?" "Eric was a highly respected member of our community." "He'll be badly missed by all of us who knew him." "What did you do when Eric didn't come home last night?" "I went to bed as normal." "If there was a late sitting, it wasn't unusual for him to be at the House till the small hours." "That's him in his uniform." "So you were here alone?" "Yes." "After Mr Bellamy left." "Great spiritual benefit is to be derived from meaningful fellowship." "Hmm." "I wonder what form of spiritual comfort Mr Bellamy offers Marie." "I wonder that he isn't offering it to her on a regular basis." "Check his alibi." "You are aware you're staring, Havers?" "Do you think he moonlights at the Ritz?" "SHE GIGGLES I'm only asking!" "Lord Asherton." "Nice to see you again, sir." "Hello, Mr..." "Tamworth, sir." "You're looking well." "Thank you very much, sir." "Er, would you excuse me a moment?" "They never forget a face." "So I see." "Still the best gentleman's club in London, then?" "Things have changed a bit since the Lords reform." "Oh, yeah, your lot are on their way out." "The hereditaries." "My lot!" "Endangered species still have their rights." "And besides, we haven't all gone." "My staff and I will be happy to assist your enquiries in any we can, but what exactly are you looking for?" "Background." "Friends and colleagues can provide a very useful source of information." "Ah, I see." "Um..." "Well, SO 17, the Palace Of Westminster division, have asked me to keep them informed." "You don't think his murder's connected to the House, do you?" "Not at this stage, no." "Good." "I'd appreciate your discretion." "I wouldn't want to disrupt the important business of the House." "No, I quite understand." "Yes, of course you do." "Right, right, um..." "Well, I suggest you talk to Geoffrey Cramond, he's one of our Committee Clerks." "He and Eric were close, I believe." "Thank you." "We will." "Could you ask one of your doorkeepers to show my sergeant round, give her a feel for how you run the show here?" "She'd find it most interesting." "Of course." "Oh, um, Deputy Chairman Of Committees, Lord Fanshaw, has asked if you would like to drop in to his office." "If you have time." "I understand you were friends?" "We were at Oxford together." "Ah!" "How marvellous." "I'm not jumping the agenda." "That's exactly what you're trying to do." "Just five minutes for the committee to consider revising para 43." "The agenda has been finalised as my memo clearly stated." "Mr Cramond?" "I'm Detective Inspector Lynley." "This is Detective Sergeant Havers." "We wanted to talk to you about Eric Ramsey." "Yes, yes, of course." "If you'll excuse us?" "It's terrible news, Inspector." "Eric was, er..." "Well, he was a decent man." "How can be of help?" "I should explain that the Trade sub-committee meets in ten minutes." "Uh..." "We'll try not to keep you." "How well did you know Eric?" "W..." "Er..." "We first met as youngsters, um, teenagers, but we lost touch when I went to university." "I hadn't seen him for, ooh, 30 years when he started working here." "Had he been frustrated or anxious at all recently about anything?" "No." "Had he spoken to you about any threats or enemies?" "No." "Would he have done?" "Eric and I have, er..." "HAD known each other for many years." "Although he was a doorkeeper, long hours in the House, it does breed a certain, ooh, camaraderie." "But we were very different people, Inspector." "Excuse me, er, Mr...?" "Tim Sadler." "Special Advisor to the EU Trade Committee." "Er, can you tell me how well you knew Eric Ramsey?" "Not that well." "Eric was a good bet for a bit of banter to lighten the day." "It gets a bit Dickensian in here." "Protocol is everything." "Implementation, forget about it." "What about Mr Cramond?" "I work with him." "But, er, he was a good friend of Eric's?" "He WAS." "They had a bit of a set to, I heard." "Really, what about?" "Word gets around." "Gossip's part of the fabric here." "Lord Asherton?" "Tamworth." "I hear you're after a guided tour, sir?" "Well, not me, but my sergeant would love to take you up on your offer." "I'd be delighted." "This way, ma'am." "Um..." "It is forbidden for beggars, vagrants, itinerant musicians and females of doubtful reputation to enter these premises." "In your case, we'll make an exception, ma'am." "HE LAUGHS Come this way." "What is it you actually do, when you're not fending off females of doubtful reputation?" "Doorkeepers are the oil that runs the machine, ma'am." "House security, carrying messages for and between the members, keeping order in the galleries and committees." "We're everywhere, the all-seeing eye." "Others might think they have the power, but we have the keys to the castle." "Shall we go?" "This way, sir." "Lynley." "Simon." "How the hell are you?" "Well, thank you." "What is it, 15, 20 years?" "Must be." "Amazing." "We were at the same college at Oxford." "Laetitia Gane, Thomas Lynley." "How do you do?" "It's a pleasure." "Best count your fingers." "A persuader." "Thanks for the parental-guidance label." "Your silver tongue works dangerous miracles unless I'm very vigilant." "Laetitia here's a lobbyist for an American contractor." "A "going places" kind of a girl." "Where I'm going depends on the miracles I can work, which depends on your committee reaching the right decision." "It's extremely gracious of you to pretend that politicians still have some influence." "Now you're being ridiculous." "I'm sure I am." "Sit, sit." "Tommy here's something of a high-flyer himself." "Oh, nothing compared to your dizzy heights, Simon." "We're window dressers, nothing more." "Fairies on the global corporations' large and lucrative cake." "Dreadful thing about old Eric." "Good man, good man." "Married now, I hear?" "Yes, I am." "Proved a harder catch than me." "How is Pippa?" "As expensive as ever." "And has so far ushered in two very sweet and even more expensive children." "Have you?" "No, I'm afraid not." "Well." "Amazing." "Look, I really ought to, um..." "Do drop in again." "We'll sink a couple of gins." "Perhaps." "Good to see you." "Bye." "Bye-bye." "Give my regards to...?" "Helen." "Helen." "It's actually pretty impressive." "It's meant to be." "Why did Eric and Geoffrey Cramond fall out?" "I don't know, ma'am." "Must've been a few mutters." "Thought this place ran on gossip?" "Hear no evil, see no evil, that's me, ma'am." "You might try the Alderbury." "What's that?" "A club they used to drink in." "A social club?" "Yeah, though it likes to think it's a cut above." "Some of the staff are members." "those who fancy lording it about a bit themselves." "Clerks, mainly." "OK, that's two people who said that Cramond and Eric had a bust-up." "Yet Mr Cramond failed to mention it to us." "What are you up to tonight?" "Er, well..." "We could go to the club the doorkeeper mentioned." "The Alderbury." "That's the one." "We'll go in low key." "I'll buy the first round." "I take it you haven't heard from Helen." "No." "Why?" "Look, you don't really need me, do you?" "If you have a pressing engagement..." "As a matter of fact, I do." "I do occasionally manage a glimpse of a social life." "Yes." "Yes, of course, sorry." "Inspector...?" "Lynley." "David Thompson." "Sorry to leave you on your tod." "What's that, scotch?" "Irish, actually." "Oh." "Shall we step into my office?" "Bit of privacy." "When was the last time Eric visited the club?" "I don't know..." "Last week some time, I think." "Had you know him long?" "We were mates since before our Navy days." "I'd get in trouble, he'd get me out of it." "What kind of trouble?" "Young sailors' kind." "More spit than polish, know what I mean?" "Well past that." "Did you ever return the favour and get him out of trouble?" "It'd be wrong to say that no such a thing was unknown." "Serious trouble?" "No, no." "Oh, there was a time in some filthy basement hole in Macau where Eric lost his shore pay." "Very handy with a blade, your Chinese." "Nothing we couldn't handle." "Actually, I meant more recently." "He did bring a girl here, I had a talk with him about it." "Not that it was ever going anywhere." "Who was she?" "One of your clones." "Professional, political types." "All sharp suits and an eye on the next opportunity." "The kind Eric and Cramond came here to get away from, I thought." "What was her name?" "Something posh." "Foreign-sounding." "It'll be in the Club register." "Nice looking girl, though." "Too young and fast for him." "Ah!" "Laetitia." "Were they having an affair?" "He was making a bloody fool of himself if they were." "Never saw her again." "Did Marie know about her?" "He'd have been kipping round mine if she had." "Hi." "May I, um...?" "What?" "Martin." "Ooh!" "Am I your first?" "No, um..." "What?" "Oh, this?" "!" "Yeah, I suppose..." "I'm not," "I don't." "Oh, Barbara." "That's a shame." "Maybe we should..." "Can I have a go?" "I'll be gentle." "Sorry." "Ow!" "Sorry..." "I think..." "I'm not sure, I think it's..." "Ow!" "Oops." "Thank you." "How long have you known Geoffrey Cramond?" "Since I was a youngster." "Sea Cadets, that's where we all hooked up." "Geoffrey was Petty Officer, of course." "Yeah, I was never made out for officer material myself." "I understand that he and Eric had a bit of a falling out recently." "Yeah, well, chalk and cheese, that pair." "Geoff's a diamond bloke, straight as they come, mainly because he's got a poker stuck up his jacksie most the time." "THEY LAUGH" "He can be a right pain!" "What was the argument about?" "Something about work." "They got very worked up about it..." "I don't know." "I checked out Bellamy's alibi." "The old woman he visited after Marie says he stayed ten minutes." "If he didn't get home till 11.30, that's over an hour missing." "Push him on it." "What are these?" "Oh." "You were right about Thompson." "He has got a record." "Demoted twice for violent behaviour, never got beyond lead rating." "When he was discharged, he served three years for GBH." "What are the details on that one?" "Some bloke owed him money." "Thompson went round, beat lumps out of him till he paid up." "Anything from the Marine Support Unit?" "Yeah." "If time of death was 10.30, the body was carried two miles up river by the tide." "Divers are searching for the weapon." "Good." "Our one chance of giving anything meaningful to forensics." "That the Alderbury club?" "Yeah." "Thompson had access to the river." "I want to talk to Cramond about the argument he didn't mention having." "Oh, how'd it go last night?" "What?" "The big night out." "Oh, that." "Er, yeah, great." "What was the argument about?" "A petty disagreement." "David Thompson told me it was related to your work." "Er, well, I suppose it was." "A matter of procedure." "Papers that should have been delivered, er, were not." "What papers?" "Internal papers." "It was just committee business." "They were recovered, of course, but I have certain responsibilities." "Where were you between 9.30 and 11 o'clock on Tuesday night?" "What do you mean?" "It's a simple enough question, Mr Cramond." "Er..." "Well, I was, er, on my way home." "And, er, at home." "Can anyone verify that?" "I don't know." "I live alone." "I'm not sure." "I suggest you make sure." "After all, you do have your responsibilities to consider." "How did the client react?" "I don't have your persuasive powers." "They don't stretch that far." "Politics is war, Laetitia." "And war is politics with bloodshed." "So if it is war, pick the side with the biggest tanks." "Is that your working principle?" "Isn't it yours?" "Mr Sadler?" "Yes, Sergeant..." "Er, Havers." "What can I do for you?" "Sorry." "Laetitia Gane." "Yeah, I know." "They said you'd be here." "Excuse me." "How well did you know Eric Ramsey?" "As well as I know most of the doorkeepers." "So they all take you out for drinks?" "Well, no, they don't." "But you went with Ramsey?" "Yes." "Because?" "Because he asked me." "He's a nice old man, friendly." "A gent." "And I don't meet many of those." "Thanks very much(!" ")" "Were you having an affair?" "No, we were not." "It was one time, one drink." "I mean..." "He might have fancied me, but no, no way." "I'm running late, so, um, if you'll excuse me..." "I'll be in touch." "Were they?" "No." "I mean, I don't know, but I don't think so." "You don't seem sure." "Well, there did seem to be a bit of a spring/autumn thing going on, if you know what I mean." "Harmless, though." "I understood your enquiries were to be discreet." "And so they are." "Well, perhaps your definition of discretion differs from mine." "This is not a museum nor is it a public gallery, despite what people think." "This is a place of extremely serious business." "For a general overview of committees, talk to Christine Miller." "She's Deputy Counsel of Committees." "Thank you." "So what about Cramond?" "Oh, yes, sorry about that." "I seem to be immune to it now." "We were promised an office in the new building, but that hasn't happened." "Pay's a pittance too." "Why do you work here?" "My specialty's international law, and this is one of the places it happens." "It isn't always about money, is it?" "Be nice if it wasn't." "Cramond's territory is the EU Trade Affairs Committee." "Like most Clerks, he's fiercely possessive." "And if papers went missing?" "He'd scorch earth finding them." "Papers do occasionally go astray." "They usually turn up, but Cramond would take it personally." "He does seem to take his role rather seriously." "Clerks do." "To be fair, Fanshaw does have a tendency to throw his toys out of the pram if things don't run as he thinks they should." "Simon Fanshaw?" "The Committee Chair." "Do you know him?" "Oxford." "Bet he was an arrogant little sod there too." "HE LAUGHS He was, actually!" "Thought so." "Sorry." "Cappuccino next time." "My treat." "I don't believe it." "Tommy!" "How fantastic." "Pippa." "Lovely to see you." "So much more interesting than my terribly earnest clients." "And terribly dull husband." "Only when you're working, darling." "Where have you been hiding?" "I told you he was lurking round the place." "I'm sure not lurking." "How's the investigation going?" "We're making progress." "Dirty work, but someone's got to do it." "I could say the same for you." "Idealism is the despot of thought, Tommy." "As politics is the despot of will, to complete the Bakunin quotation." "You always had a retentive memory." "Oh, don't be so boring, the pair of you." "I was so sorry to hear about you and Helen." "I didn't know you..." "Oh, Helen and I go way back." "I hadn't met her for ages then I met her at a fund-raiser last week." "Looking fantastic, I must say." "Good." "It's so hard to move on, isn't it?" "One can get so bogged down when something like that happens, but she really was in fine form." "W..." "You're looking tired, Tommy." "Must be all the lurking I've been doing." "SHE LAUGHS Oh, Tommy!" "You must come to dinner." "How about Friday?" "I don't know if I can." "No, no, really, you must." "I insist." "I'll check my diary." "I insist." "SHE CHUCKLES" "All Eric's other bank accounts were joint with Marie." "He opened that one six months ago in his own name." "Er, the savings account." "Large amounts going in and out." "Yeah, two deposits totalling 15 grand in the last two weeks." "Do you think he was having an affair with Laetitia?" "She was adamant they weren't." "If they were it would give Marie motive." "She is a bit of a Christian soldier for murder, isn't she?" "Let not the cross blind you to sin, Havers." "What is that?" "The Bible?" "Experience." "Right." "I didn't know this account even existed." "That's a lot of money coming in and out." "There's also a regular payment, to a loan company." "I see it." "He told me he'd paid it off." "Um, paid what off?" "He got involved in this pyramid-scheme thing." "You know, recruit your friends and make a packet." "By the time I found out about it, he owed a fortune and all he had to show for it was a garage full of vitamin B." "He..." "He gambled too." "Cards, horses, dogs..." "Whatever came along, a bet's a bet." "It could be... difficult." "Um..." "Does the name Laetitia Gane mean anything to you?" "Is she what Eric was hiding?" "Were they having an affair?" "Or am I barking up the wrong tree?" "I don't think your attitude is very sensitive, Sergeant." "You and Marie seem pretty close." "I try to give what solace I can." "I bet you do." "What's that supposed to mean?" "I've spoken to the old woman you visited the night Eric was murdered." "Ivy." "Yeah, Ivy." "She said you stayed ten minutes." "She gets confused." "She seemed pretty convinced." "I'm sure she did." "She's also convinced that her daughter brings her meals on wheels." "Her daughter died four years ago." "Ivy is in the early stages of Alzheimer's." "Oh." "I see." "Is that her?" "Take it." "I don't want that filth in my house." "He swore no more secrets." "Before God." "He swore it." "Do you think he was trying to finance the affair with Laetitia?" "She seems the Bond-Street-presents type." "How long had it been going on?" "Marie reckoned he'd been secretive for the last few months." "Look at these!" "She must've been in her late teens, early 20s." "Maybe he knew her from before the Lords." "Maybe that's what he was paying her for." "Photos of her as a younger woman." "Obsessed." "How did Marie react?" "She is an angry woman." "Sir!" "We've got something." "Look after that, will you?" "Thanks." "Right." "Here and here." "Blood." "Somebody could easily back a car right up to the end of that alley without being noticed." "Down here, sir!" "Here." "It's what the divers found." "Lafferty was absolutely right." "We'll get that tested immediately." "There are no clubs or bars for checking out potential witnesses." "No, but The Alderbury club's only quarter of a mile away." "Come on." "There's two." "Doesn't cover the entrance." "That does." "Stop." "Ramsey." "Yeah." "So he WAS at the Alderbury club that night." "Who's that with him?" "Thompson?" "Possibly." "Looks like Thompson lied." "Can you get that enhanced?" "Why did Eric Ramsey come to the Alderbury club on the night of his murder?" "He didn't." "Do you recognise this?" "Club register." "How about this?" "Eric's signature." "What was Eric Ramsey doing at the Alderbury club on the night of his murder?" "We were discussing club policy." "You're out of practice." "What do you mean?" "Lying to the police." "How much did that bloke owe you, the one you beat to a pulp?" "I deserved the time I did and I regret it." "Yeah." "Not as much as he does, I imagine." "I had a problem, all right?" "Out of control." "Is that what happened with Eric?" "No." "What time did you get home?" "Some time after 11.00." "Can you prove it?" "I doubt it." "Eric deposited money into his bank account." "Where did it come from?" "I've no idea." "Do I need a warrant to search the club's accounts?" "You'll do whatever you bloody please, like coppers always do." "I was doing him a favour." "What kind of favour?" "He was skimming." "From the club." "What did he think, I'm a total moron?" "Maybe that's why he got you the job." "Did you tell the police?" "Look, we was mates." "Some things you just don't do." "I wanted to give him a chance to put the money back." "Why did he take the money in the first place?" "Debts." "I occasionally run a poker game." "Between friends." "Your club doesn't have a gaming licence." "You could face prosecution." "And you're getting on a bit for Wormwood Scrubs." "Is that what Eric threatened to do when you confronted him about the money?" "Expose you?" "No." "So you killed him?" "No, I did not!" "What do you think?" "We know he's capable of it." "How did Bellamy's alibi hold up?" "He might have one if Ivy knew what day of the week it was." "What about Cramond?" "He was evasive about their argument." "But he's still in the picture." "And then there's Laetitia." "As a student, Laetitia Gane was convicted of both a public order offence and keeping a brothel." "What?" "!" "That might explain the photos." "Nothing too big." "Community service and a fine." "Yeah, but if Eric knew about it, he could've been blackmailing her." "I'm not a policy maker..." "I'm not making recommendations." "All I'm looking to achieve today is to put the most accurate information, the facts, at your disposal." "Thank you." "Cogent, clear, and commendably brief." "Not too hard-sell, I hope?" "You can be sure we'll read this with interest." "Thank you, Laetitia." "Tommy!" "Not still stalking your killer, are you?" "I'm afraid so." "Wouldn't be surprised if Lord Ainscough carried a switchblade!" "What can I do for you?" "Actually, we're here to see Miss Gane." "Really?" "If you'll excuse us?" "Of course, of course." "Miss Gane." "Inspector." "I understand you know Sergeant Havers." "How can I help you?" "How well did you know Eric Ramsey before he asked you to the Alderbury club?" "As long as I've been working at the House. 18 months?" "You sure you didn't know him longer than that?" "I don't think so, no." "Can you explain why he had these photographs in his possession?" "How did you..." "Where did..." "Were they related to your conviction for prostitution?" "Not here." "Here's fine." "Unless you'd rather come down the station." "No." "No." "These are from a long time ago." "A different life." "Your life." "Yes." "Yes." "I got into debt at uni." "Big debt." "First time away from home," "I went a bit wild." "You're telling me." "I've never been hung up about my body, Sergeant." "Or sex." "Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's just sport." "People want it and they're prepared to pay." "I was meeting a market need." "It was practically work experience." "If you're safe, selective..." "I mean it's..." "It's not "nice", but it's not exactly gutting chickens either." "And the money's better." "So Eric Ramsey was a client?" "One of my regulars." "Never more than that." "I had strict rules." "Why did he want these?" "I'm sure you can guess, Inspector." "He paid for them." "Did you continue to see him?" "No." "That life ended the moment I paid off my debts." "Plus a bit of pocket money." "Imagine my delight when I walked in the House and one of my old punters opened the door for me(!" ")" "Why did he take you to the Alderbury?" "Was he blackmailing you?" "He wanted to negotiate a new financial arrangement." "I said no." "In a nice way." "He was an all-right bloke, but no." "No way." "Where were you on Tuesday night?" "Met a friend for a drink." "Went home." "What about your, er, public order offence?" "That?" "Just a student demo." "There was a whole bunch of us." "It's just silly." "Will that be all?" "For the moment." "If Eric was blackmailing Laetitia, that would give her a motive." "Yeah." "Hey, wait a second." "Er, Mr Sadler?" "Can I help you, Inspector?" "Yes." "I believe you work with Laetitia Gane." "Our paths do cross." "In what capacity?" "She works for a firm lobbying on behalf of an American company interested in the workings of the committee." "They're pitching for business, she's the mouthpiece." "And if she's successful?" "Next rung up the ladder." "Which would be?" "An lucrative posting in the States." "Laetitia's a very ambitious woman." "Politically or financially?" "Financially." "Most disappointed idealists end up following profit." "She doesn't strike me as an idealist." "We all have some youthful fervour." "Some of us manage to hang on to it, others don't." "How did she get into politics?" "Uh, university, I think." "Is that all?" "I've got to..." "Yes, of course." "Thanks." "D'you fancy a drink?" "Oh, you've got your date." "How did you know I had a date?" "I just assumed..." "Oh, you did, did you?" "Well, as it happens, I do have a date tonight." "Who's the lucky man?" "Um, he's, er..." "I can't remember his name." "Um..." "I joined one of those dating agencies." "Really?" "What?" "Just..." "Really?" "Well, I paid good money for it." "Well, I just thought sometimes it'd be nice to..." "Well, it's easy for you." "Is it?" "Well, it could be." "Have you phoned Helen yet?" "No." "What do you think?" "He seems nice enough." "Yeah, well, I'd better not be late." "No, off you go." "Yeah, I'd better go." "See ya." "So, what's it like being a cop?" "Er, well, it's what I do, you know?" "Sometimes I..." "Yeah, yeah, wicked." "What kind of music you into?" "Um, well, you'll probably laugh..." "Well, I'm pretty eclectic myself." "I like mix it up, yeah?" "Do a bit of DJ-ing myself actually, at this really cool little bar." "You should come." "You'd love it." "Well, I don't think that..." "Ever been travelling?" "I went to Peru last year, well, kind of a holiday really, but wicked, you know?" "Amazing people, like really cool." "So, er, I was thinking maybe you want to come back to mine, yeah?" "No pressure, just to chill a bit?" "Get to, like, really know each other?" "Er..." "You know what, mate, um, yeah, thanks for the drink, but, um, you should really learn to listen a bit more." "Goodnight." "Pleasant evening?" "Any luck?" "Before... and after." "The enhanced image." "Cramond." "I take it your date wasn't quite what you'd hoped for." "Let's say he wasn't my type." "Ah." "Will you do it again?" "Well, I've paid the money." "Gets me out the house." "Mr Cramond?" "Mr Cramond?" "Mr Cramond?" "Mr Cramond hasn't yet come in this morning." "I cannot have you hectoring staff." "There have been rumblings from their Lordships." "Mr Cramond is a suspect in a murder investigation." "It's only a matter of time before some snuffling news hound gets wind of your investigation and the media will then..." "PHONE RINGS Sorry." "Um..." "I'll take it outside..." "Sorry." "As I was saying..." "It is only a matter of time before the media wi..." "Sorry." "Sir?" "I think you'd better take this." "Excuse me." "Hello." "What?" "Yes." "What have we got?" "I'm late for court." "Sorry." "This is murder, Lafferty." "Similar MO to the last time." "I'll get you a report soon." "You're not the only body in town." "Mine's a hot and spicy with pineapple and mushroom." "Practical bloody transport!" "Can you turn him over, please?" "Is that the same knot?" "Yep." "SOCOs said there were no blood traces found in Cramond's flat." "The stereo and TV are missing but the only fingerprints are Cramond's." "Whoever broke in was chaotic enough to wreck the place but careful enough to use gloves." "Fibres?" "Nothing suspicious." "A lot of trouble to go to for some electrical goods." "What if he was mugged, he says he has cash at home, they threaten him, but go too far." "Or perhaps they witness the murder, get the ID from the body, take the opportunity to rob the flat." "Hmm." "Coincidence?" "No, me neither." "Oh, look at this." "Laetitia Gane's public order offence wasn't just a student demo." "She was in one of those extremist anti-globalisation groups." "Before her conversion to the dollar." "What do her comrades think of that?" "Wrists were tied with the same knot and there was a similar pattern to the contusions and abrasions but much more extensive and more pronounced." "Hard enough to cause intra-muscular bleeding." "The guy took a real beating." "But how was he killed?" "Well, not with a hammer." "Cause of death was myocardial infarction." "It was a heart attack?" "Well, brought on by the stress of the attack." "Well, still makes it murder." "Well, that's your job, isn't it?" "All we do here is slice and dice." "So, both murder victims were tied and beaten first." "Plus the same MO as Thompson's GBH conviction." "Thompson had the motive to kill Eric." "Go to the Alderbury club and check out his alibi." "What about you?" "The most important thing to Cramond was his work." "It seems like a good place to start." "I'll give you a lift." "Right." "Cramond's role as Clerk was quite simply to run the committee." "Which involved?" "Co-ordinating schedules, compiling minutes, collating and disseminating evidence and agendas, drafting summary reports in liaison with Counsel's office..." "Chairing the thing's a breeze by comparison." "All I have to do is turn up." "What's the committee's remit?" "Economic and financial affairs and international trade within the EU." "Import/export issues, that sort of thing." "Two good men dead." "What's this all about really, Tommy?" "I was rather hoping you might help with that." "Sorry to let you down." "Legislation is a hard, surprisingly tedious slog." "We are somewhat shielded from the grimmer realities of life beyond the gates." "Now, dinner." "Well, actually..." "7.30 for 8.00 suit?" "Yes." "Of course." "Thompson was at the club till 8.30, then claims he went straight home." "He says a plumber visited around about the time of death." "Blocked pipe or something." "Corroborate, it will you?" "'Yes, sir.'" "So, do you have another assignation planned for this evening?" "It's just a date, no big romance." "'Never say never." "Goodnight.'" "Oh, er, sir, um...?" "'Yes?" "'" "It's nothing really, I'm sorry, it's just, well," "I've got this feeling that I'm being watched." "Probably another admirer?" "No." "It's not that." "It's just..." "Well, tonight there was this guy, and, well..." "'I could have sworn...' Are you OK?" "Yeah. 'Havers?" "'" "No, I'm fine." "I've just been on me own too long." "I'll be talking to the walls next." "Well, um, have a good evening." "Yeah, goodnight. 'Goodnight.'" "Tommy, you are appalling." "So rude!" "I'm sorry, work." "You need to indulge yourself a little." "Or a lot." "Now, Joanna you know..." "Sara Longley and her fiance, Sanjiv..." "Rachel Curran, the notorious television journalist, and Joseph Frady." "Joe thinks he's pitching for business, but I'm afraid he's going to find this is a purely social event." "So, what brings you to London?" "My company is hoping to persuade Simon and his committee that the future lies with Mercury Aeronautics." "It's not my committee, Joe." "Is that the committee's intentions?" "Attempting to influence a Lords committee would be like politely asking a herd of rampaging buffalo to turn left." "They go where they will." "All I do is record the direction." "I'm sure you under-estimate your powers." "Well, that would be a first!" "You know Simon from Oxford, don't you?" "Yes." "What did you study?" "History." "First class honours, of course." "Swot." "What made a first class honours graduate of Oxford University join the police force?" "Good question." "Some of us want to make a difference, don't we, Tommy?" "Something like that." "The public service ethic is deeply ingrained in the English aristocracy." "That's why we're all broke, of course." "You're hardly knocking on the workhouse door." "It's all on tick." "In my experience, public service is grossly undervalued." "A London bobby's financial lot is not a happy one, I imagine?" "I'm adequately rewarded for the job I do." "Nothing compared to what you'd get in the private sector." "Perhaps not." "Sky's the limit for those who capitalise on their opportunities." "I'm sure that's true." "The real question is whether you recognise and act on that opportunity if it presents itself." "Can you, Inspector?" "I think that rather depends on the nature of that opportunity." "You better not be talking business." "Especially not your business." "Far too gruesome." "LAUGHTER Sorry!" "Have you had any more of those weird feelings of yours?" "What?" "Oh!" "No, no." "I wonder..." "What connections have we got between the two victims?" "Um, well, they both worked in the House Of Lords." "Friends, but they fell out." "Something to do with the job." "Yes." "And a few days later they're both dead." "Perhaps that argument wasn't just a petty quarrel." "Do you know what it was about?" "Mislaid papers." "Documents relating to a committee Cramond was very conscien..." "Conscientious about." "What?" "What?" "So Eric hands the documents to Cramond." "He knew the papers had been stolen and he knew Eric had stolen them." "He wants them back." "Why would Eric steal them in the first place?" "He needed the cash to pay off his debts." "If somebody else wanted those papers badly enough, he could sell them." "Yeah, but he gave them to Cramond." "Cramond's flat wasn't burgled at all." "It was searched." "Er, we've got a box of stuff from Cramond's flat in the evidence room." "There's nothing obviously related to the Lords." "No." "Maybe they found what they were looking for." "Yeah, and probably killed Cramond." "No." "If they knew he was dead, they wouldn't need to cover their tracks by making it look like burglary." "OK, so they knew what they were doing." "Yeah, they certainly did." "Special Branch?" "If it has something to do with the Lords, they might be interested." "If the Branch wanted to keep tabs on our investigation, all they'd have to do is throw their weight about." "I'd object, but they'd win." "Well, some other branch of national security then?" "Whoever it is, we now have to assume that they know where we've been, who we've spoken to." "They've probably been through our files." "OK, so what do they want?" "That document that Eric gave to Cramond." "But we're investigating murder." "Yeah, that document might be the key." "If documents have been misappropriated," "I must ask you to inform" "Lord Fanshaw as committee chair at the very least." "I'm afraid that won't be possible." "I cannot possibly allow you access to highly sensitive government papers without a more detailed explanation." "I'm sorry, the nature of my investigation precludes that." "What's so important about these particular documents?" "I'd like to find out." "Very well." "I'll grant you two hours' access to the committee files." "You will be supervised throughout that time and in no circumstances must any of those papers leave the building." "Is that understood?" "Absolutely." "Thank you." "Right." "These are all the documents that came into the office in the last month." "Thank you, Mr Tamworth." "What are we looking for?" "What's missing." "Is that all?" "No." "You've got two hours." "What?" "!" "What are YOU going to do?" "Like a nice cuppa tea?" "I think I'm going to need it." "Thank you, Mr Tamworth." "I've told you already." "It's been cleared by Black Rod's office." "This is not something you need to worry about." "Thank you." "OK." "What was all that about?" "Oh, Black Rod." "18th-century costume, 18th-century grasp of the media." "Wasn't that when the press won the right to report Parliament?" "Something he'd consider to be a very bad decision!" "What can I do for you?" "You said Laetitia Gane works for a lobbying firm." "Which firm?" "Bell Regis Public Affairs." "What company do they represent at the moment?" "Their main client is Mercury Aeronautics." "The American firm?" "Yes, that's right." "PHONE RINGS I'll let you go." "Thanks." "Sorry, it's all kicking off a bit today." "Well?" "It's, er, it's not looking good." "This is the third pile I've been through." "Mr Tamworth?" "Yes, ma'am?" "Any chance of another cuppa?" "Yes!" "How do you take yours, sir?" "Er, white, no sugar." "Thank you very much, Mr Tamworth." "So, erm, what is it?" "It's a dossier of a defence system made by Mercury Aeronautics." "The page count doesn't match the cover sheet." "There are seven pages missing." "What are they about?" "I don't know." "The original circulation list is to Geoffrey Cramond, Tim Sadler and Viscount Featherstonehaugh, whoever that is." "That's Fanshaw." "That's not how it's spelt." "It's pronounced that way by convention." "That's stupid." "Doorkeepers have access to every room in this building." "That'd make me Sergeant Hay-Harth." "They know who's done what, who they did it to and if they'll do it again." "And that would make you Inspector Lah-Lah." "Thank you!" "Sorry." "It would be perfectly easy for Eric to steal these pages." "But he would've had to understand their significance first." "Cramond handled every paper related to committee business." "We find these pages, we find our motive." "Yeah, but we're not the only ones looking." "Ooh, I'm sorry." "Can I help you with that?" "You got them, sir?" "Yeah." "Ah!" "Oh, I don't suppose there's any chance of biscuits, is there?" "Biscuits ma'am?" "Of course." "OK." "Miss Miller?" "Inspector." "How nice to see you." "And you." "What is it you need to know?" "There's seven pages missing from that document." "I want to know what they're about." "These papers are classified." "How did you come across them?" "I'd rather not say." "Very cloak-and-dagger." "It really is quite stunning, isn't it?" "Easy enough to forget that." "Swallowed up in our jobs, what we think our lives are." "We miss so much." "Shall we walk?" "Why not?" "This document is background to an important decision the sub-committee have to make." "A simple choice." "Between what?" "There's a defence contract up for grabs, a guidance system." "Sounds expensive." "Billions." "Two contractors are in the running, one European and one American." "Is that a delicate decision?" "A political decision." "Whisper is it's going to our European neighbours." "In these troubled times, we need all the friends we can get." "It's Fanshaw's job to nudge the committee in the direction the government favour." "Though I'd be surprised if he put his shoulder to the wheel." "Why?" "Politics is simpler than you think." "It's all boils down to money one way or another." "The findings on the report on the American System are not here." "That's what's on your missing pages." "Really?" "Thank you." "Thank you, you've been most helpful." "My pleasure." "Here." "I still owe you that cappuccino." "Good night, Inspector." "Good morning, Inspector." "What can I do for you?" "What happens if Mercury Aeronautics win the contract?" "They get rich." "What happens to you?" "I get a bonus." "In what form?" "Cash and shares." "And a transfer to Washington." "Really?" "America's still where it's at, globally speaking." "In spite of your colourful past?" "What do you mean?" "A history of anti-capitalist activism wouldn't count in your favour." "Are you still in contact with your comrades, Laetitia?" "No, I am not." "The most radical revolutionary becomes a conservative the day after the revolution." "Or in your case, after seeing an expense account." "What do you want?" "Did Eric Ramsey offer to sell you documents relating to the defence contract?" "No." "Did you know he had them?" "No." "What is Simon Fanshaw's connection with Mercury Aeronautics?" "He hasn't got one." "Then who has?" "This is about the brutal murder of two men, both of whom you knew." "If you have any information, you must tell me." "Or have you sacrificed moral decency along with your youthful principles?" "Simon Fanshaw hasn't got a connection with Mercury Aeronautics." "But his wife has." "Pippa." "'I'm not in a position' to speculate on the committee's final recommendation, and you wouldn't expect me to do that." "What I will say is that the process has been thorough, even forensic at times." "Whatever our recommendation, the country's best interests are uppermost in our thoughts." "Thank you." "How can you be sure that personal interests have played no part?" "The questioner betrays his lack of understanding of the process." "Refer to the members' declaration of interests." "Our deliberations have been made in an entirely objective manner." "Thank you." "What the hell was that in aid of?" "I'm developing an interest in the political process." "Has this interest sprung from the police process?" "It seems to have taken on an unexpectedly personal dimension." "It was always personal with us, Tommy." "What's our thinking on being under constant surveillance?" "It needn't necessarily be a government agency." "This is all somehow related to a committee's decision on the guidance system." "There's billions of dollars at stake." "Mercury Aeronautics can afford the best professional assistance." "A private firm?" "Security consultants offer many services for the right price." "If they were so professional, they'd have found the test report." "If they'd found it, they wouldn't need to keep us under surveillance." "OK..." "Eric gave the report back to Cramond and was murdered that night." "Cramond then knew the report was worth killing for." "If I was him, I wouldn't want to risk bringing it home." "I'd want somewhere no-one else knew I had a connection with." "We shouldn't be looking for a hiding place here." "We need a lead which takes us somewhere else." "A safety deposit box?" "No." "He'd want somewhere with more immediate access than that." "OK." "Sir..." "What if we do find it?" "Two people have already been murdered for it." "Sir..." "Eric's body was dumped in the river near the Alderbury." "Cramond and he were both members." "Thompson was a friend of both." "We know Thompson covered for Eric, so..." "It's a fair cop." "Book him, Danno." "We found this in Cramond's flat." "Good summer, that." "Won six straight including the Head Of The River." "Eric was our bowman." "He caught a crab at the start but we rowed right through the lot of them." "Good crew, see." "Me," "Eric," "Geoff," "Mickey Goldberg." "He was first to go." "Cancer, '93." "The boathouse." "Every year, big joke, talk about getting on the water." "Every year, we don't." "Why didn't Eric just ask me?" "I mean, if he wanted money that bad," "I'd have found it for him somewhere." "Only had to ask." "Didn't have to thieve." "Didn't have to lie to me." "Did Geoffrey give you a document to look after?" "No." "He said he was in trouble, that he needed to hide something." "Eric, I wouldn't have been surprised, but Geoff..." "I didn't ask questions." "Did he tell you where he hid it?" "I told him." "Perfect place." "Ideal." "If you see anything suspicious, call me." "OK." "Well?" "It's a preliminary evaluation of the Mercury Aeronautics guidance system." "Future targets, extended time scales, budgetary modifications." "Meaning?" "Meaning it works..." "But it's going to cost a lot more than anyone imagined." "Who gains by suppressing the report?" "The Americans?" "Yeah, and anybody connected to the bid." "To Mercury Aeronautics." "After university," "Simon Fanshaw's wife, Pippa, spent four years in the States." "Apparently that's where they met." "She was working for GRP Macgregor Associates," "Mercury Aeronautics' American PR firm." "Now she's a director of their British representatives." "Fanshaw?" "It's a connection." "What is it between you two?" "History." "OK, so Fanshaw needs the report to disappear." "He'd never deal with Eric directly." "You're right." "Yeah, he'd never trusted Dawkins to do his dirty work." "He'd want someone closer." "Someone with personal loyalty." "Someone who's ambition he could use as leverage." "Tim Sadler's the only name on the circulation list." "OK, on the 13th, Tim Sadler withdrew five grand." "On the 14th, Eric's account is credited with five grand." "On the 20th, there was a withdrawal of ten grand." "On the 21st, £10,000 was added to Eric's account." "So Eric was blackmailing Sadler." "But did Sadler kill him?" "Let's ask go and ask." "I don't get how Eric persuaded Cramond not to go to his superiors when he discovered the report was missing." "Maybe he did." "Fanshaw." "Sir, what do we do once we've brought Sadler in?" "How do you mean?" "This goes way up the ladder." "SHE KNOCKS AT DOOR" "Inspector Lynley." "What are you...?" "Can we come in?" "I don't..." "It's not very convenient." "I'm afraid that's beside the point, Mr Sadler." "TV: 'Although he's always turned away from politics, 'this time...'" "You'd better sit down." "What can I do for you?" "As say, this is really inconvenient," "I've got a meeting, some people I need to see..." "Did Eric Ramsey offer to sell you some documents?" "Documents?" "Wh-What documents?" "The report that jeopardises Mercury Aeronautics' bid." "What report?" "I've no idea what that is." "The report you paid Ramsey £15,000 for." "I don't know what you mean." "He just kept upping his price, didn't he?" "This is ridiculous." "That why you killed him?" "What?" "He promised to sell you the report, but when it came to it, he just upped his price again." "I don't know what you're talking about." "Did he threaten you?" "Say he'd go public?" "No." "You'd lose everything - reputation, career..." "So you killed him." "No!" "I could see how that might happen." "I mean, you were desperate..." "What about Cramond?" "Tying him up, beating him, torturing him..." "No!" "An old man?" "I mean, that is vicious." "That is cold." "No, I didn't mean to k...!" "You didn't mean...to kill him." "It wasn't supposed to be like this." "What do you mean?" "It's a game." "That's what you think." "What it becomes." "What?" "Power." "The getting of it." "The keeping of it." "You forget it's about people." "I'm not a murderer." "I'm not that man." "But you killed them." "You want to achieve things." "To get places." "To influence people." "And you think you know what's right, but then you find..." "I only meant to knock Eric out." "To get the report." "Why did you tie him up before you threw his body in the river?" "I thought it might put you off the scent." "I knew he owed money to that nutter, Thompson." "What about Cramond?" "He wouldn't tell me where he put the report." "I only meant to scare him." "I didn't know he was going to die on me." "He didn't understand the pressure I was under." "Who put you up to it?" "What?" "Who put you under that pressure?" "Who wanted the report to vanish?" "I don't know what you mean." "It's Simon Fanshaw, isn't it?" "If you co-operate with us, make a full statement, it'll make a big difference to your trial." "Don't let them make you a scapegoat, Tim." "Tim Sadler, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder." "You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court." "Here you go." "Sir." "The documents have gone." "Wh..." "GUNSHOT" "What was that?" "!" "There you are, Joe." "Cheers, Simon." "I told you..." "Sorry." "It's all right." "We're old friends." "No, we're not." "Oh, dear." "Have we fallen out?" "You had Tim Sadler killed, didn't you?" "I beg your pardon?" "Don't be absurd." "I've seen the test report." "What test report?" "The report you asked Sadler to make disappear." "The report that would've lost you the contract." "The one your men killed him for impersonating police officers." "I run a manufacturing business, not an assassination squad." "I'm going to prove otherwise." "Really?" "You have proof?" "You ought to think very carefully before making such inflammatory accusations." "The wise man proportions his belief to the evidence." "Oh, I'll find the evidence." "I very much doubt that." "I know what you've done." "What you think you know and what you can prove are very different things." "I'm just clinging to coat-tails here, Tommy." "Real power follows the money." "Um, I've circulated descriptions of the two bogus police officers, and details of the car they used." "They won't find it." "Won't find them either." "You don't know that." "What about Fanshaw?" "We've got no evidence against him and he knows it." "I can't believe Helen would socialise with a woman like that." "Who?" "Fanshaw's wife." "Pippa." "Are you going to tell Helen about this?" "How can I?" "If those are the people she chooses to mix with, well..." "Well, I should get going." "Yeah, yeah." "Can't keep your latest beau waiting, can we?" "Um, no." "Goodnight, sir." "Hi, I'm Barbara." "SHE SIGHS" "Um..." "Hello, er, Barbara Havers." "Hi, I'm Barbara." "Er, you must be..." "Stuart." "I'm Barbara." "IN AMERICAN ACCENT:" "Hi, I'm Barbie, nice to meet you." "TV: '.." "My definition of good government policy 'would be what is best for the country." "'Our role as a committee is to get the best solution 'for taxpayers, not the Government." "'We believe the American system future proofs us against all...'"