"Taliban Compound Helmand Afghanistan" "An occasion such as this is always one of conflicting emotions, as we celebrate the safe return of our comrades and the honours that they have gained in the field." "We also remember the injured and the fallen." "Shine up the old silver, looking good, looking sexy!" "Ladies and gentlemen - the Royal Ordnance Fusiliers." "Has anybody seen the enemy?" "Light House, 500m, rapid fire!" "Move!" "Here you are, boss." "Have some rounds." " Take that, Terry Taliban!" " This one's for Ollie!" "Charge!" "Man down!" "Man down!" "Wanna go home!" "Let me go home" "Let me..." "Let me go home" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "I feel so broke up" "I wanna go home" "I hope he hasn't decided to stay." "Two tours of Afghan?" "Not likely." "Come here." "Morning." "No." "No, they can be awkward buggers." "Listen, call Joe." "Tell him I'll pick him up on the way." " You did it?" " Aye." " How much?" " A pound." "That's what we used to get, Joe." "Yeah, well, inflation hasn't hit the fairy world yet." "Go, then." "Go to your other woman." " Babe, I'm between a rock and a hard place." " Hm..." "Well, I hope I'm the rock." " Hi, Vera." " Celine." "Mum, Mum, the tooth fairy forgot to take the tooth!" "She'll come back for it, pet." "Well, I wouldn't worry about it." "She was going to find out sooner or later." "Breakfast?" "It's an army death." "You'd have thought military police would handle it themselves." "Boy soldiers playing at policemen." "Fine at banging up a couple of drunk squaddies on a Saturday night." "But unexplained deaths... out of their league." "Isn't it their case, though, if it happens on military property?" "Aye." "Letter of the law, you're right." "But what happens in reality is we both do what we're good at." "We do the investigating, and they do the marching and the saluting." "Excuse me, sir." " Captain Shepherd, SIB." " Vera Stanhope." " Chief Inspector, ma'am." " DS Ashworth." " Joe." " Most people call me Shep." "And this is Lieutenant Colonel Chapell, CO of the regiment." "Detective Chief Inspector, welcome to Otterford." "A suicide, of course, is bad for morale." "So we're grateful to you for your assistance." "Let's hope we can resolve this as soon as possible." "If you need anything, please ask." "In the meantime, I leave you in Captain Shepherd's capable hands." "Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel." "And as soon as we've established that the unexplained death is a suicide, you'll be the first to know." "Right, Shep." "Staff Sergeant James Deverson." "Everyone called him Dev." "RLC, Military Cross." "He was EOD." "Sorry, ma'am, bomb disposal." "Two tours to Afghanistan, and Iraq before that." "Recently returned." "Military Cross?" "That's a big deal, isn't it?" " Aye, you got to the Palace for it." " He was down there only last week." " So where is it?" " He would have been wearing it last night." " Anyone come across this medal?" " No, not yet, ma'am." " Family?" " Married." "Two kids." " Were they...?" " No, they live off with the wife's mother." " Weapon?" " It's a Browning, 9mm." "Standard army issue." "It's got a silencer on it, so he didn't want to be heard." "His?" "We don't carry weapons outside of theatre." "He had to have checked it out of the armoury." " No note?" " None we've found, ma'am." "There might be something on that." "Have someone bag it up." " Who discovered him?" " A new-minted sergeant out of Catterick." "He was supposed to move in with his wife and baby this morning." "What, he was... shipping out again?" "He was hanging up his boots." "15 years." "His last night on barracks." "Ooh!" "Nice-looking lass." " The wife?" " I'm afraid I'm not long in Otterford." "Sorry, didn't hear my alarm." "Well, you have to wake up in your own bed to hear the alarm, Billy!" "Better suit up." "Right, thoughts?" "He's an armaments officer." "They know how to get access to all the equipment." "It looks like suicide." "After making it alive through a couple of tours to Afghanistan?" "Afghan affects people in different ways, ma'am." "You see it here, when they come back." "Leaves its mark." "Ma'am." " Looks like a squat." " Aye, it's a bit grim, in't it?" "Billy's got something for you downstairs." "It smells in here." "Get Forensics to check for traces of vomit." "No, it's too low." "Look, if I'm going to shoot myself... firstly, I'm tense, so I'm sitting up straight." "Second, I want my wrist behind the shot because of the recoil." "So I hold it lower, shoot upwards." "Now, look at him." "Exit wound is too low." "It's the base of the skull." "But if he was asleep, head back, mouth half open, like he was found..." "And someone else shot him through the mouth." "You think he was murdered?" "It's too like a suicide..." "to be a suicide." "State of shock." "I said I'd drive her home in a bit." " Where's Shep?" " Getting the rest of the Sandancers together." " The what?" " Dev's bomb team." ""Sandancer" must have been their call sign." "Must have been a Shields lad, eh?" "She said she'd meet us up the mess up the way." "Right." "Get the statements first, then the gun." "Get Shep to take you to the armoury." "Eh, you'll be like a kid in a sweetie shop." "Ma'am." "Morning." "Thanks for coming." "This is Detective Chief Inspector Stanhope of the Northumberland and City CID." " Ma'am." " Captain." "I expect some of you have heard that Staff Sergeant Deverson died early this morning." "Initially, his death was thought to be a suicide... but we now have reason to believe he was murdered." "So, which of you were with Staff Sergeant Deverson after the meal last night?" "Come on, show of hands." "So after the fireworks at the Collingwood Memorial?" " Back to camp." " What time?" "I thought you liked real men, ma'am." "He's a bit boy band, is he not?" "Answer Sergeant Ashworth's question, Corporal Grafton." "I don't know what time." "Why don't you check with front gate?" "So you'd been drinking since the meal?" "And what makes you think we only began then?" "And what happened after?" " We all came home." " Together?" " I don't remember." " No, after the fireworks?" "Yeah, I remember heading over to the fireworks." "So how did you get home after?" "Did Dev and Vince take you back?" "We all signed in." "Then said our goodbyes." "What about Budgie?" "He could hardly stand." "Poor bastard." "Where did you wake up this morning, Budgie?" "The block." "My own bed." "You can't remember getting there?" "It always makes me feel that little bit calmer." "I read once it's the positive ions generated by the pounding of the waves." "But I think it's the wind." "Blows the cobwebs out of your head." "I don't know what to think." "First the chaplain came, saying he's shot himself, and then you say..." "You weren't with your husband last night?" "But I thought it was a celebration dinner, to welcome the lads home?" "Er... an army thing." "Not for wives." " So where were you?" " Home." "You can ask my mum." " You don't think that I had anything...?" " No." "But I have to ask, pet." "You don't like it at the barracks much, do you?" "It's just with him being away on tour so much, we felt... it would be better if I stayed with my mum." "And it's better for the kids not to be surrounded by it all at the barracks." "But this time he was home for good?" "I've longed for that for years, and now..." "And there weren't any problems?" "With anyone in the regiment or his team, I mean?" "No." "Not that I know of." "Why?" "What about in Afghanistan?" "He didn't like to talk about out there and I..." "I didn't want to know." " Letters?" " Well, it's emails now." "But he was never much for writing." "When he had his soldier head on, which was 24/7, there's not much time for family." "Joe?" "Right, I'm on my way." "The Browning 9mm is standard army issue since the Second World War but they're being decommissioned in batches." "The one that killed Deverson should've been done eight months ago." " So someone took it instead?" " Mm-hm, yeah." " What am I looking at?" " The officer that signed it out." "James Deverson?" "He'd have known it would be decommissioned." "So it must've got lost in the bureaucracy." "Excuse me." " What about forensics?" "Prints on the gun?" " Yeah, only Deverson's." "So the killer knew he had the gun." "Knew not to leave prints on it, obviously." "Silencer?" "Not army issue, not according to the armaments officer." "Home-made or modified." "Expertly done." "But something an ATO like Deverson would know how to make?" "Mm-hm." "What about the team?" "Corporal Vincent Grafton." "He's not giving anything away." "Lance Corporal O'Connor claims that he drank so much he blacked out and can't remember a thing." "That's fortuitous." "Shep checked with the front-gate log." "He signed in with Dev at 10 past midnight." "As forthe others, didn't hear or see anything." " Did you get prints and swabs?" " Mm-hm." "Ma'am." "Lieutenant Colonel Chapell." "He's right, we've nothing." "Nothing from his men, nothing from the wife." "The only prints on the gun they appropriated from the armoury are his." "He seems very keen for us to believe it's suicide." "There's a lot riding on Billy's theory." "It's not a theory, it's a fact." "You did tell him I'm a pathologist, not a homeopath?" "Besides, what's he going to threaten you with?" "You're outside his bailiwick, aren't you?" "Outside everyone's." "But he can still make things difficult." "Here." " What's that?" " Little present." "Front tooth." "Most of it, at least." "Found it in the back ofthe victim's head." "If you were going to do it yourself, you wouldn't shoot yourself through half-closed teeth." "So what are you saying?" "Deverson conks on the bed, still in his full formal gear from the meal." "Middle of the night, gets up, vomits, comes downstairs for a glass of water, sits in the chair to stop the world spinning?" "Forensics confirmed there were traces of vomit in the bedroom." "Yeah, but Deverson didn't vomit." "Had half a keg of beer in his gut when we opened him up." "Had to mop the place clean after." "And here's me thinking you'd been partying in the morgue again." "So there was someone else in the house with him?" "Put that down, Kenny." "This is an incident room, not a greasy spoon." "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a visitor." "Captain Shepherd from Her Majesty's Royal Military Police is going to assist us in our investigations." "Now..." "Staff Sergeant James Deverson, known to everyone as Dev." "Recently awarded the Military Cross." " Speaking of which, any sign yet?" " No, nothing in the scene-of-crime report." "Now, the killer wanted us to believe he'd committed suicide." "Why?" " Make him look like a coward." " Personally, I think it takes some courage." "But the common view, of which you are the proud possessor, Kenny, is that it is cowardly." "What is that?" "That's the high-speed broadband upgrades we're crying out for, ma'am." "Well, I'm sure it's going to assist greatly with all your tweeting." "But would someone tell 'em to shut up?" "Now, then... he was killed with a handgun that Deverson himself signed out of the garrison armoury." "So who would want him dead?" "Wife" " Laura?" "Motive?" " Him never being around." " So why kill him when he finally comes back?" "Playing away from home as well as working." "Hm?" "He was clutching her photo, when he died." "No, she seemed genuinely distraught, plus her mother confirmed she was at home that night." "What about members of his team?" "Vince Grafton, his infantry escort, Dev's bodyguard when he was defusing." "Lance Corporal Kevin O'Connor." "Fusilier, point man to the team, nicknamed Budgie." "Now, both of them had a skinful that night." "Grafton claims they came back around midnight, said their goodbyes." "He went back to his block." "Budgie doesn't remember a thing." "But the traces of vomit tell us there was someone in the house with him that night." "Did you get Forensics to crosscheck with their samples?" "Aye." "They said they'll try their best, boss." "But, apparently, there's a variety of DNAs in vomit." " Depends on what you put in." " Oh." "Thanks for that!" "Did either of you get any sense that any of them held any grudges against him?" "All the soldiers I spoke to yesterday seemed to respect him, look up to him, even." "Vince, I don't know whether it's his soldier's code, keep it in the family sort of thing, but Vince did say that Dev could be a mean bastard sometimes." " Meaning?" " He clammed up after that." "Said he meant nothing by it." "They were all under stress out there." " Did you check Deverson's military record?" " Yeah." "It's exemplary." "Does it say what he got the Military Cross for?" "Mm." "Heroism under enemy fire." "His team were lured into a trap." "His second in command Oliver Barton triggered an IED." "It was pressure released." "He was blown up." "Dev had to defend his team from the Taliban, extract his comrade's body and his men without further casualties." "There's a full report here from Lieutenant Colonel Chapell, CO at Otterford." "Brave man." " Any of the team mention this Oliver Barton?" " No." " Did you know him, Shep?" " No, I'm only in the post a few months." "Right, Kenny, I want checks on Vince Grafton and this Budgie O'Connor." "Shep, I want background on this Oliver Barton." "I want the logbook from the front gate, CCTV tapes from the night before last." "I want a list of everyone who went in or came out of the barracks." " Joe, any mention of next of kin for Barton?" " Yeah, there is." " I want someone to talk to them." " Me, ma'am." "Where are they?" "The Cadvar Estate." "He's the estate manager there." " What, the Cadvar?" " Yeah." " Do you know it?" " Mm, years back." "I'll tell you what, we'll take this one, Joe." "Sorry, pet." " Ma'am." " Thanks." "Kenny, Deverson's laptop." "Emails.." "See if there was anything going on in Afghanistan." "Bullying, that sort of thing." "And see if he was carrying on, like you suggest." "Er... password?" "No, that's what the detective part of detective constable means, Kenny." "Significant dates, kids' names, anything at all." "Come on, we've got work to do." "Keith and Diana Barton." "He's a former sergeant major in the Royal Ordnance Fusiliers." "He retired from the regiment 15 years ago." "Now he runs shooting parties on the estate." "So how is it you know this place again?" "Was it coming to balls here when you were a lass?" "My dad, he had a bit of a racket going with the shoot manager." "Must be this Barton." "Whenever he spotted a peregrine's or a goshawk's nest, he'd call my dad." "Up he'd come and take the eggs, and the young, if there were any." "Why did he want to get rid of them?" "Birds of prey pick off the chicks they breed for the shoot." "Old bugger made me turn a blind eye." "Up you get, up!" "Good girls." " Mr Barton?" " A moment." "Blanking in the woods before tomorrow's shoot." "Stop the birds straying." "DCI Vera Stanhope." "Stanhope?" " Anything to...?" " Aye, daughter." "Ah, so the poacher's girl's a gamekeeper." "Better watch what I say!" "Actually, we're here to talk about Oliver, your son." "Have you got a minute?" "The day he got his tapes at Otterford." " Thank you, Mrs Barton." "You shouldn't have." " It's Diana, please." "It's nothing." "You served with the Royal Ordnance Fusiliers too, Mr Barton, out of Otterford?" " I did my time." " He's being modest." "Rose to sergeant major, didn't you, sir?" "Thanks." "And you still retain links with the regiment?" "Cut off my leg, and you'd see Royal Ordnance Fusiliers written right through me." "So you would have been at the dinner the night before last?" "Oh, we wouldn't miss it." "It was our chance to, you know..." "remember Ollie." "Well, you've sacrificed more than most." "Yes." "Yes, we have." "Did you come straight home after?" "We went to Dominic's for a nightcap." "Why?" " Dominic?" " Lieutenant Colonel Chapell." "I was his platoon sergeant on his first tour." "He was fresh out of Sandhurst." "I thought you wanted to talk about Ollie." "I'm afraid to have to tell you that yesterday the body of your son's immediate superior, James Deverson, was found at the barracks." "Well, as I said, I am - we are - close to Dominic." "He called me yesterday." "Deverson was Ollie's colleague, after all." "Which is why I want to talk to you about Ollie's death." " It's a needless bloody waste!" " Keith, please." "He did stand on an IED, didn't he, Mr Barton?" "And then Deverson extracted his body and the team?" "That's what they gave him the MC for, wasn't it?" " You don't think that is what happened?" " How can we know what happened?" "Now Deverson's dead too, what more can we tell you?" "We weren't there, were we?" "No, I understand that, and I'm sorry to have brought it all back to you." "It's not like it ever goes away." "I'll see you out." "Thanks." " So it's a big shoot?" " Two days." " Your guns?" " The estate's." "Don't worry, they're all registered and licensed." "Just giving them the once-over before tomorrow." "They must be big business, these shoots." "It helps maintain the place, keeps some of us employed." "This one's private, for his lordship and his friends." "I'd better get those dogs up there, so there are still birds to shoot at, make sure there's enough game for them to feel like the last of the great white hunters." " Goodbye!" " Goodbye." "Thanks, Mr Barton." "So how come you know so much about the army?" "I used to love everything to do with the army when I was a kid." "It seemed like a way out." "Why didn't you choose that as a career?" "Celine." "Imagine her letting me go to Afghanistan six months at a time!" "Their loss!" "Now, get Shep to check their alibis with Chapell." "And Laura Deverson told us the dinner wasn't for wives." " Is the Provo about?" " Yeah, he's around." "I'll give him a ring" "Right." "Laura 2000." "Dev's email." "He married Laura in 2000." "Eh, you're not just a pretty face, then, Kenny." "Hm?" " What does it tell us?" " Now, that's the problem." "It's mainly spam, phishing scams." "He didn't seem to use it much, though." "Only the emails, that is." "Eh, don't think you can get all lads mag just cos Holly's no longer here." " Is there nothing to his wife, even?" " No, EOD, boss." " Explosive Ordnance?" " No, no, no. "Everyone's divorced."" "It's an army joke Shep told us." "Oh, telling each other jokes now, are we?" "Just because he's not emailing his missus doesn't mean they're getting a divorce." " It's not like he's emailing anybody else." " Maybe he didn't have high-speed broadband." "Well, you'd better check, see if there's any sign of divorce proceedings." "Solicitors, banks, that sort of thing." "Boss?" "Turns out there were traces of blood in that vomit." "From an ulcer." " They've got a match?" " Uh-huh." "Budgie!" "You need to put that beer down, Budgie, and come with me." "Do you understand why you're here, Kevin?" " Kevin, do you understand?" " Don't call me that." "OK." "Budgie." "How did you come by a name like that?" "Dev said I was like a canary down a mine." "If my Val started tweeting." " Your what?" " Vallon." "Metal detector." "Oh, so you went out in front, did you, looking for leds?" "So why didn't he call you Canary?" "Because I'm a Fusilier." "Nicknamed the Budgies because of our dress hats." "Typical British army, Dev said, always messing up on equipment." ""They send me a budgie instead of a canary."" "Have an ulcer, Budgie?" "Only you told my sergeant here you couldn't remember what happened the night before last." "But we found vomit with traces of blood, your blood, at Dev's house." "So do you remember going back to Dev's?" "Well, what were you doing there?" "I asked, Budgie, what you were doing there." "I want to confess to the murder of Staff Sergeant James Deverson, ma'am." "After the dinner, we went out on the piss." "Drinking all day." "Been like that since Afghan." "Need to knock myself out." "But out at them fireworks, the legs went from under me." "And then what?" "And then Dev took me home." "His home?" "Gave me some tabs... to help me sleep." "He had trouble and all himself like that." "Said for me to take the bed." "Said he didn't use it any more." "Then the next thing I know I'm come to and I'm staring at Dev, and he's shot through the head." "And I know it's me that's done it." "But it looked like suicide." " You knew he had a gun?" " Some lads bring mementos back from Afghan." " His gun was army issue, Budgie." " I mean, they have kit, their own kit." " What about the silencer?" " What do you want from me?" "I did it!" "I shot him, I took his gun and I shot him." "What, you don't think I'm capable?" "Hm?" "And then I made it look like suicide, just like you said, and then I scarpered, back to my block." "Dev rated you." "You did two tours together." "But he could be hard on you, Budgie, couldn't he?" "Hm?" " Cos sometimes I messed up." " That why you killed him?" " We wouldn't have all got through without Dev." " But you didn't all get through, did you?" "Ollie didn't make it." "We're just trying to understand why you killed him." "You talk like he was a second father to you." "Was it because he was leaving the army?" "Leaving you?" " You take his medal, his Military Cross?" " No." " Not even as a memento?" " No, I didn't mind his leaving." "OK?" "What about Ollie?" "What about Ollie's death?" "Did you blame Dev for that?" "No." "No, that was my fault." "It was me that got Ol killed." "Ollie!" "Ollie!" "Dev was the hero." "He got us and Ollie's body out of there." "I didn't spot them other lEDs." "I told him that the path was clear." "Ma'am, Chapell's confirmed 1:45am." "Right." "Kenny, has Billy confirmed time of death?" "Between 1 and 2am, ma'am." " And I checked CCTV." " 1:48am." " What about Chapell himself?" " He's the commanding officer, ma'am." " Well, no-one's above suspicion, Shep." " But I thought we had our man anyway." "Found at the crime scene." "Valium. 10 grain." "There was enough Valium in the vomit to knock out a horse." "And as you know, Dev was long dead before dawn." "What are you thinking?" "I'm thinking whatever Budgie's done, or thinks he's done, he didn't do this." "This didn't happen in some drunken brawl." "This was a clinical job." "You can take that." "I'm going to discharge him." "Ashworth." "Ma'am, it's Keith Barton downstairs." "I asked him to pop by with Ollie's laptop, just in case there was anything on it - bullying, troubles, like you said." "Now, that's what I like to see." "Bit of initiative." "Tell him I'll be downstairs in a sec." "No, there's hundreds of 'em, boss." "Come on, boss, we can't get him." "He's out there." "He's dead." "He's one of ours." "Come on, lads!" "I don't know what happened, boss." "I cleared them." "I've cleared the leds, I'm telling you!" "Come on, Budgie, man up!" "We can't move." "Ollie's out there!" "Ollie's out there!" "Let go of me." "Please, please!" "Please, Budgie." "Please." "It's not gunfire, Budgie." "No." "It's just drilling." "Is it loud noises..." "like drilling?" "Bring it all back for you?" "Is it?" "Your fireworks?" "Is that what happened that night, Budgie?" "The fireworks?" "You didn't want to be on your own?" "Or maybe... maybe Dev thought you shouldn't be on your own." "Hm?" "So he took you back to his place instead?" "But some time in the night you woke up, and that's when you saw him, didn't you, Budgie?" "And you thought you'd done it, hm?" "Budgie, he'd been dead for hours." "Stand down, Budgie!" "Stand down!" "Joe, easy!" "OK, Budgie." "OK." "But I saw myself do it." "You didn't kill him, Budgie." "I can still see him, lying there in the sand." "His limbs like a jigsaw I can't put back together." "Who?" "You mean Dev?" "Or Ollie?" "The dead don't leave you." "What are you looking at?" "Go and get me a large drink and a psychiatrist." "At last, the cry for help." "I'll make you a wee cup of tea, ma'am." "I know that it would've been Dev's last will and testament that we get absolutely hammered in his memory." "OK." "To Dev." "To Dev!" " Sandancer legend." "Don't they give these lads any kind of help, after all they've been through?" "Counsellors are available, but soldiers have to know they've got a problem to consult them." "And if they do, it's still seen as a sign of weakness by some." "I'll make some calls tonight." "Thanks for the lift." " You don't want to overdo the exercise." " I've still got 10km to run when I get home." " What, are you being punished for something?" " Iron Man challenge." "Well, cannot let the RMPs down." "Show the grunts what us monkeys can do." "That's what they call us!" " Where's Budgie?" " Off with the birds." "I sent him a text." "Told him where we were." "Joe?" "Just to let you know, Ollie's emails have been cleaned out." "His folders, his trash-can, everything." "And it wasn't done two months ago before he died." " It was done today." " Oh?" " Well, Mum or Dad?" " His dad seemed fine about bringing it in." "Well, let's pay them another visit tomorrow." "And Laura Deverson." "Now, Joe, you get yourself home to Celine and the kids." " Good night." " Night." "Night." "Where are we going, lads?" "Right, I'll see you losers later." " Where are you off?" " Oh, aye, Grafton, where are you off to?" " How does it compare?" " Different angle to the first." "Upward." "Entered jaw here, exited skull... here." "Might also have been awake when it happened." "Gun?" "Silencer." "It's just like the other one." "It's not army, though." "Not British army, anyway." "Russian maybe." "A little memento from Afghanistan." "Isn't that what he said?" "Oh, well, see what there are in the way of prints." " Note?" " No." " So what are we saying?" "Same killer?" " Or a copycat." "Apart from the angle of shot, but crouching down could explain that." "Any sign of a break-in?" "None I can see." " Who found him?" " Vincent Grafton." "I thought maybe I'd better check on him." "Was the door locked or unlocked?" "Open." "Why did you think you needed to check on him?" "I thought maybe he'd bugged out or..." "Or what?" "Killed himself?" "He was a soldier, and a good soldier." "He wouldn't have done that." "I was just checking he wasn't ill or something." "What did you do last night?" "I was out." "Drinking to Dev." " After?" " Came back here." "Went to bed." "Ma'am..." "Why was he in uniform?" "We were a guard down." "Must have had to do last-minute stag." "Well, we'll need the logbook from the front gate, Shep." "Right." "And the CO wishes to speak to you, ma'am." "Is it OK, if I...?" "Thanks." "This latest death is terrible." "For the barracks, for the regiment, as well as being a tragedy in itself." "Yet I can't help but think that it might have been prevented." "If you had not gone around chasing phantom murderers, then perhaps Corporal O'Connor might not have taken his life in the same way." "We believe somebody killed these men and might kill more." "And I might be able to get to the heart of the matter if you and your men showed a little more cooperation." "I'm sorry." "I don't understand, Chief Inspector." "Hasn't Captain Shepherd been of assistance?" "Oh, Captain Shepherd's been a great help." "Though I believe that something happened in Afghanistan." "Something that links the deaths of these two soldiers, but nobody's prepared to talk about it." "And what do you suppose that something is?" "Oliver Barton." "I've written a full report." " I've seen it." "It's in Deverson's file." " Then you know what occurred." "I spoke to Keith Barton, and he was reluctant to endorse the official version." "So I did a little bit of reading up on military procedure last night and I discovered it was Deverson's job to ensure that the incident site is safe." "Chief Inspector, I do not believe that you have the authority..." "Did Deverson follow procedure?" "Maybe not to the letter, but..." "So he could be seen to be responsible?" "Barton was Deverson's number two." "Even if he technically should not have been the one to secure the ground, he had the skill-set to do so." "So it is only in the letter of the law that Keith Barton and his family might have a case." "What sort of a case?" "They were pursuing the matter?" "I cannot speak for them." "On the night that James Deverson was killed, you invited the Bartons back to your house for drinks." " Did you talk about Ollie?" " Amongst other things." "They wanted you to push for an inquiry." "And you told them no." "What time did they leave?" "As I told Captain Shepherd, 45am." "Shep, you stay here, take statements - Dev's team, what's left of them." "Anyone who saw Budgie last night." "And guns." "You've got to find all these personal arsenals before anyone else gets hurt." "Er, are Keith or Diana home?" "No." "Dad's with the shoot and Mum's at the cash-and-carry." "Can I help?" "Peas in a pod?" "The terrible twins, Mum always used to call me and Ollie." "And you're with the Royal Ordnance Fusiliers too?" "Medical Corps, but I'm based at Otterford." "Still completing my training at Newcastle City Hospital." "Ah!" "What, then you'll go to Afghanistan, will you?" "If I'm needed." "It's sad to say, but theatre of ops is one of the best places to learn new theatre skills." "What was it you wanted?" "Could we have a look at Ollie's room?" "See if we can get some idea." "He still had a room here?" "Yeah." "But why?" "We're looking into your brother's death, and trying to find out exactly what happened in Afghanistan." "We were very different, me and Ol." "I'd bury myself in some science books, and he'd be into the back of an old computer or radio or circuit board." "Dad wanted us to go to uni and then on to officer training." "He'd risen up through the ranks." "He wanted his sons to go further than him." "That's perfectly natural." "But Ollie knew what he wanted." "He didn't want to be ordering men to do things." "Be in there, getting his hands dirty, doing them himself." "He signed up as a private after school." "Ollie had just been selected for his final training to become an ATO." "So he'd have then been qualified to do Dev's job?" "Deverson insisted that he'd only go back out if Ollie was his number two." " Or what?" " He'd quit." "But Ollie could have said no, right?" "Dev would have made sure that was him finished in ordnance disposal." "Deverson must have thought highly of him, all the same." "You have to trust the men you're out there with." "What do you think happened in Helmand, Alex?" "Look, your parents think Ollie's death might've been preventable." "They think there might be grounds for an inquiry." "So why don't you tell us what you think happened out there, and maybe we can help." "Deverson defused an IED." "They did the controlled explosion, but then he sent Ollie in to give the all-clear." "That's Deverson's job, as officer in charge, to give the all-clear." "But how would Deverson know there were more lEDs?" "He'd been up to the incident site." "He'd seen the lie of the land." "If there were any more ground signs of devices, he'd know." "You think he wanted Ollie killed?" "Well, I'm not saying that." "And now that Deverson's dead, we'll never know." "Were you here the night Deverson was killed?" " Anyone vouch for you?" " Yeah." "Er... no." "My parents were here earlier in the evening before the dinner." " What about last night?" " I was on duty at the hospital." "And your parents?" "Where were they?" "They were up at the main house." "There was a dinner for the first day of the shoot." "Ollie's laptop that your father brought in to us yesterday, the emails had been wiped." "Know anything about that, Alex?" "You've got to help us here." "It was nothing to do with Afghanistan." "It was girlfriend stuff." "Private, that's all." "He's dead." "Is he not entitled to his dignity?" "Uh-huh." "All right." "No, that's great." "Thanks, Kenny." "Cadvar House confirmed the Bartons were there last night." " Alex Barton?" " The hospital says he was on night shift." " Laura Deverson?" " At home." " Oh." "Anything on divorce proceedings?" " Kenny says no sign." " And the good news?" " Vincent Grafton." "You might be interested in this, then." "I did a search of the lines, looking for illegal firearms." "Well, where do you come across a collection like this?" "You'd be surprised what $20 will get you at a souk in Basra or Sangin." "Did you talk to the others who were with him last night?" "Uh-huh." "They said he left them down at the quayside around midnight." "But look at this." "From the logbook at the front gate." "Right, then, Vince, I think you'd better come with us." "You arresting me?" "Can do, if you like, unless you've got licences for your little arsenal." "So you were out on the lash on Dean Street last night?" "Had a few bevvies." "Only signed back in at 11:30pm." "Check it back at 11:30?" "If that's what it says." "Oh, only the name before yours gets back at 12:20am." "Your colleagues said they left you down at the quayside." "Were you with anyone?" " Maybe I got lucky." " A woman?" "She have a name?" "You don't think much of women, do you, Corporal?" "I like them." "Lots." "I just don't want to get too close to them." "They mess you up, when you're a soldier." "Like Ollie?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Well, he had girlfriend problems, didn't he?" "Yeah." "He had some problems with his bird before... before the last tour." "So?" "It's pretty common in our line." "What's her name?" "Ollie's girlfriend." " She have one?" " I'm sure she did." "But I didn't know her, did I?" "Listen, Vince, Budgie was killed with a weapon you smuggled back from Afghanistan." "Your prints are all over it." "So I suggest you start telling us." "So what if Budgie was shot with my gun?" "Doesn't mean I did it." "He knew I had them guns." "Loads of the guys did." " Where were you last night?" " I was with someone, wasn't I?" "You stop off at a hotel or a BB?" "I was down the front." "Didn't get back till dawn." "My mate Kez was on stag at front gate that morning." "Ask him." "Kenny, I've got to check something." "Watch our back, will you?" "Yeah, sure." "What happened in Afghanistan the day Oliver Barton died?" "Listen, Vince, I'm not interested in the rights or wrongs of what goes on out there." "But I believe that the death of Budgie and of Deverson have something to do with it." "Dev changed, the last tour." "He was still the best at his job and all." "You could put your house on him to get you through." "But outside, he didn't join in." "No banter." "Distant." "Especially with Ollie." "Do you blame Deverson for Ollie's death?" "Or do you blame Budgie?" "The sentry admits he entered the wrong time on the log." "Said it was well after dawn when he got back." "Yeah, can we trust that?" "These lads would rather go to jail than tell us the truth." "Get Shep to check the CCTV." " You still think he did it?" " Aye." " Where are you off to?" " Evening shift will be starting." "You can knock off when you've done that." "Stupid!" "Have you got a moment?" " Er, yeah." "Right, Budgie's death, forget about Deverson's for the minute..." "What do the forensics tell us?" " Yeah, angle of shot suggests he was awake." " Right." " Teeth weren't broken or burnt like Dev's." " Right." "What else?" "Which means his mouth was open for the gun." "Er... yeah, sorry." "Er... no sign of a struggle either." "Yeah, if it wasn't for the other death, I'd have said he took his own life." "Here's me feeling so smug." "Because Deverson's death looked too like a suicide to be a suicide," "I've only gone and assumed Budgie's was the same because it looked so much like Dev's." "Budgie wanted us to arrest him." "To save him from himself." "Thanks, Billy." "So let's proceed on the assumption that Budgie's death was not murder, though that doesn't rule out a connection." "All these lads were members of the same unit, close colleagues of Oliver Barton, whose death they all witnessed." "Ma'am, computer forensics have recovered Oliver Barton's deleted emails." "We might have our connection." "I'll see you in a minute." "What, you're not coming?" "No, you go and charm her first." "I'm sorry that he killed himself, but I didn't know him that well." "Dev didn't talk much about the others?" "He said he had a private self and a soldier self." "He thought he could switch one off and the other on." "And when he was on tour?" "No demands from us on his private self, so he could be all soldier." "It must be difficult being away from each other for such a long period of time." "Him not writing much." "You got into his email account?" "He did still care about you, Laura." "He..." "He was holding this picture..." "when he died." "So much of my married life I've been alone." "While Jim was off saving the world, I was stuck in his house, in his barracks, being father and mother to his kids." "And the funny thing is, I don't even understand what we're doing there." "Afghanistan." "It's their country." "If they want to live like that - killing and murdering, maiming..." "So why do we have to go and sort it out for them?" "Why does my husband have to go and sort it out for them?" "You did get close to Ollie Barton, didn't you?" "Yeah." "He knew what it was like for me." "And then it became something else?" "Now, why didn't you tell us this before, Laura?" "Because it wasn't like that." "For me, at least." "You can't understand how trapped, how penned in on every side I was, I am..." "I still am." "Between children and the army and Dev and expectation..." "And when Dev found out, what did he do?" "He went round to Ollie's and threatened him, threatened to kill him." "He had a gun." "He kept a gun in the house." "And they got into a fight." "The RMPs had to come and sort it out." " They said they'd put him on a warning." " It's not in the file." "He was their star-turn." "Clearing mines, saving lives, winning medals." "But then again, maybe Jim just sorted it himself." "Like he sorted it for all the wives to have nothing to do with me after." "Like he sorted it for Ollie." "You think he knowingly put Ollie's life in danger?" "I don't know what to think, I just know that Jim insisted Ollie went on that tour." "the little red hatchback, that's your car, is it, pet?" "Yeah." "Only I was talking to your neighbour, Mrs Preston." "She's very observant." "She said your car was gone until the early hours the night your husband was killed." "I went out, yeah." "Now, that's different from what you told us before." " I was with Alex." " Alex Barton?" "Ollie's brother?" "He'd found out about me and Ollie from Ollie's emails, and he wanted to ask me if the family could use them as evidence for an inquiry into Ollie's death." "Evidence that your husband had a motive to harm Ollie?" " And what did you tell them?" " How could I look my kids in the eye?" "Turning against their father." "I couldn't do that." "I couldn't do what they were asking me." " They?" " Alex and Ollie's parents were there for a bit." " And then they went to dinner." " And you stayed with Alex?" "We were just drinking wine and remembering Ollie." "And I drank too much, so Alex drove me home." " In his car?" " In mine." " What time was that?" " Midnight, just after." " Then what?" " He got a cab and went home." "So?" "Why would Alex clear his brother's emails when he wanted Laura to go public with them?" "Because she said no." "Because Dev was dead." "It only embarrasses her." "What, and he didn't want to embarrass her?" "Deverson puts Ollie in danger in Afghanistan, getting him back for sleeping with his missus." "Ollie dies." "His soldiers support his story because...?" "Because Ollie had broken trust." "It's a code of honour." "Or maybe they don't all agree." "Vince Grafton thinks Dev could be a mean bastard." "Maybe he thinks that Dev would put him in danger." "Then Vince can't hack it when Dev gets his Military Cross, knowing what's gone on." "Or maybe he's paying them back for endangering him with their private squabbles." "Thinks women are trouble, doesn't he?" " You showed Laura this photo?" " Mm-hm." " Did you tell her where we found it?" " Yeah." " How did she take it?" " She was surprised, given everything that's gone on." "Deverson was estranged from his wife ." "She's had an affair with one of his mates." "Yet the night he dies, he falls asleep clutching her picture..." " He still loves her?" " Or maybe the killer put it there." " And where does the killer get it?" " The wall?" "Not the sort of picture you'd put on the wall, Joe." "You can leave that." "Not the same without something to dunk anyway." "Ma'am!" "Come on!" "Chief Inspector." "No-one in." "No, Alex is up at the hospital and Keith's away with the shoot." "He won't be back till after dark." "Alex said you called yesterday as well." "Well, we're still trying to piece together exactly what happened to your son in Afghanistan." "Does that mean there might be an inquiry after all?" "Oh, well, it's not for me to decide, pet, but if we could uncover further evidence..." "Can we talk?" "It's very beautiful here, in't it?" "Is it?" "Yeah, I suppose it is." "I suppose I should count myself lucky to live in such a place." "But I don't feel lucky." "I feel like I've given my whole life in the service of this country." "First trailing after Keith with the boys, while he's posted to Germany and Ireland and God knows where." "And then, when we finally come home and make a home, you know, a real home... my... my own little boy..." "You know, when I hear some boy's won a medal," "I think about his wife and his mother." "I think of all the tears that have been shed in the winning of that medal." "Were you upset that Laura Deverson wouldn't allow you to use her affair with your son as evidence to push for an inquiry?" "No, I wasn't." "I don't condone her actions, but I just thought it was unfair to ask her." "She's a soldier's wife... and the lover of another soldier, apparently." "My son." "And I expect she's suffered greatly." "But your husband and Alex?" "Oh, well, Keith wanted to go ahead and make it public anyway." "And..." "Alex, I don't know." "And by the time I saw him the next day, James Deverson was dead." "Did your husband discuss an inquiry with Dominic Chapell at his house, after the dinner?" " Yeah, they talked, yeah." " Yeah, and?" "And Dominic said he couldn't help us." "Mrs Barton, Diana, I don't suppose you have a hairbrush of Ollie's, or a lock of hair?" "For DNA." "No, I'm afraid..." "I'm afraid I didn't keep a lock of hair." "Well, anything at all that might have traces?" "His army kit, perhaps." "No, I washed and mended his uniform." "I'm sorry, pet." "What about his teeth?" " Excuse me?" " His baby teeth." "Do you still have them?" "Thanks, Mrs Barton." "Right, I'm taking them straight to the lab." "Get them to crosscheck those teeth with the blood on the original of this." "Stand over them while they do it, if you have to." " Where are you going?" " Shep." "See if Laura Deverson's story's true about Dev threatening Ollie with a gun and, if so, why any report of it's been removed from the file." "The keeping of soldiers' records is not my responsibility, Chief Inspector." "Captain Shepherd has found you made special pleadings to her predecessor not to have the charge of affray added to Dev's record." "It was a personal conflict, out of character, no reflection on his soldiering." "Plus it would have reflected badly on the regiment." "And there'd be no chance of him winning any honours, let alone the Military Cross after that." "I did not think it was relevant to your investigation." "It is not for you to decide what is or is not relevant to my investigation." "Now, is there anything else you have withheld?" "Chief Inspector, you are meant to be investigating the death of these two men." "Instead, you seem intent on questioning military operation and procedure, which lie beyond the range of your jurisdiction or competence." "You're in no position to question my competence." "Captain Shepherd, I must ask you to resume charge of this investigation, as I should have insisted from the outset." "Now, if you don't mind." "I'm afraid I cannot comply with this request, sir." "It is not a request, Captain." "Sir, you have no procedural authority over RMP." "No, but you do have authority over this investigation." "Under the Provost Martial's ruling of 2009, in all serious crime relating to the military in the UK, the civilian police will take the lead." "Sir." "Hey, Shep, I hope that hasn't ruined your chances of promotion." "Well, like CID, we're independent of the powers that be." "At least, that's the theory." "We've got our match." "Two different blood traces on the photo." "Dev's and Ollie Barton's." "And I confirmed with Laura that she gave the photo to Ollie before he went to Afghanistan." " Ollie had it on him when he died." " That's the motive." "Revenge for the death of Oliver Barton in Helmand." "Now, the killer planted the photo on Deverson as a sign, thinking that since Laura's his wife, no-one but them's going to see it as such." "Who had access to Ollie's personal effects?" "They would have been returned to his family." "Let's pay a little visit to the hospital." "We talked about Ollie, mainly, and family." "Around midnight, I drove her in her car back to her place, and then I got a cab home." "So you left your house with Laura Deverson at midnight." "Arrived at her house at 1 am." "What time did you get home, Alex?" " Around 2:30." " Took a detour?" " Stop by the barracks, settle an old score?" " No." "What, then?" "I was waiting for the cab." "What did you do while you waiting?" "Talked." "Talked?" "Where?" "Laura's car." "What about?" "Ollie." "Eh, that's a lot of talking about Ollie." " Nothing else?" " It's difficult." "It's complicated." "Aye, it would be, holding a torch for big brother's girlfriend." "No." "It wasn't to protect Ollie's privacy you wiped his emails." "It was to cover their affair and your tracks." "I don't have to say anything, do I?" "I don't have a lawyer present." "I haven't arrested you yet." "Would you prefer that?" " Joe..." " OK." "OK." "It's because... because I could see the whole thing had caused her so much pain." "And after that night, after hearing her side," "I thought my dad should just give up looking for an inquiry." "It was your dad pushing for the inquiry, was it?" "And me." "But I was doing it for him." "After that night, I thought it just prolonged the pain." "I told him, before he left for the dinner." "And then when I heard that Deverson was dead, it just seemed cruel to drag Laura through it again." "What about the photo of Laura?" " What photo?" " The one with Ollie's things from Afghanistan." "I've never seen it." " Well, it would have been sent to his next of kin." " I'm not his next of kin." "I don't care how long it takes, I want every little detail, Joe." "And don't take any slaver from him." "You going to be all right on your own?" "Kenny says that the cab company confirmed that a passenger was picked up 30am and that they dropped off around the Cadvar Estate around 2:30am." "So there is no way they had time to take a detour around the Otterford Barracks in that time." "And Shep's checked, there's no record of Alex Barton" " entering or leaving the camp by foot that night?" " No, none." " What about Chapell?" " There's still no sign." "Well, get her to call him again." "I don't care if he's invading France." "If he's not with her in five minutes, I'll have him arrested for obstruction." "Chief Inspector?" "Which way was the hunt headed, Mrs Barton?" "Oh, it's at Cadvar Woods." "Why?" "Thanks, pet." "What's going on?" "Mum?" "I was in a meeting with military officials, Captain Shepherd." "What was it that couldn't wait?" "The night that Deverson was murdered, you invited the Bartons to your house after the dinner at the hall." "It was more like Keith insisted." "He wanted to talk about his son." " And how far is your house?" " 20 minutes by foot." "Five minutes by car." "You drove?" "You took them in your car?" "Could you show us?" " You said in the statements that they walked away at 1:45?" " Yes." "Did they walk back from your house to the car park?" "Diana was tired." "She was wearing heels." "Keith decided to go back for the car." " And would they pass by this way?" " It's one way they could have come." "Is this the most direct way?" "Keith Barton!" "Mr Barton!" "How long was he gone?" "Hard to say. 20 minutes..." "Was it not more like half an hour or 40 minutes, and that's why they were so late leaving?" "You and Barton go back a long way, don't you?" "He was platoon sergeant on your first tour, wasn't he?" "I've committed no crime, Sergeant." "I was asked what time they left and I have told you accurately." "Gibbet." "Where we hang the vermin." "Scares others off." "I know it's frowned on, but nature doesn't operate by man's laws." "Your father would have understood that." "Put the gun down, Keith." "I'd have done anything for them, my boys." "Same as in the army." "The only way a unit survives is by standing together." "Whatever it takes." "Dad!" "Now it's all changed." "All hearts and minds." "Ollie and I disagreed on that." "He thought you could reason with the enemy, make them see you're right." "But then he gave his heart to a woman, and look what her husband did." "He insisted on Ollie going on that second tour." "So he could fix him." "So I fixed him." "Natural law." "Dad!" "Keith, don't!" "Don't!" "Do you think I'm going to sit there and watch, while the murderer of my son is awarded a medal for bravery?" " Dad!" " Oh, so you took it, did you, Keith?" " Dad, please!" " You took his Military Cross?" "I looked for it, but I expect even he was ashamed to keep it." "It is not your fault Ollie died." "Please don't do this." "Stop!" "They say it's just a flesh wound." "Like you said, it takes guts to go through with it." "It'll take more than guts to live with what he's done." "May God give you his comfort and his peace." "His light and his joy in this world and the next." "And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be among you and remain with you always." " Amen." " Amen." "Vince." "Look, I know it doesn't compare, what we do." "But what we're fighting for, both of us in our own way, it's for more than just our mates." "And though it's not always pretty, we're both good at what we do." "So you let him off the weapons charge?" "Yeah, on condition he has his little mementos decommissioned." "So, Shep, what's next for you?" "Oh, you know, 15k run, see what's on my desk." "Glutton for punishment, you!" "Still, if you're ever looking for something, you know, when you're done with your marching and your saluting, or if your senior officers stand in your way... you look us up, hm?" "Hey, your garden is transformed." "Well, had to be done." "That shrub got so overgrown, it kept banging on the window." "Kept thinking it was Heathcliff coming to take me away!" " So where's this stuff you want moving?" " Ah." "No bob-a-job today, pet." "That was just a ploy to get you over here." " Ta-dah!" " Look at that." "Lunch." "Return the compliment." "Well, that's lovely, boss." "But salad?" "Yeah, I know." "The end of the world." "Eh, come on, I'm feeling all demob happy, as if I've made it through basic training." "Eh, that's it." "Come here." "Where is he?" "Where are you?" "Give up." "Come out, come out, wherever you are." " Come on, Jimmy!" " Come on, Jimmy!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"