"Stop, please." "OK, sir, sorry to trouble you." "Mind if we check your tyres, madam?" "Only take a sec." "Check what you like." "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten" "And it isn't the way that you talk" "It isn't the things that you say or do" "Make me want you so" "Afternoon." "I thought you were out all day." "There's been another murder." "Oh, my God." "It's getting so as you daren't go out." "Who?" "John Branaghan." "We've all been summoned to the lecture theatre." "I know we're very busy, but I may be out a lot." " Dr Leishman will be standing in for me." "Anything you want me to do?" "How many mature students this year?" "About 35." "Women?" "I can check." "See you down there." "Nobody's asking you to stop dating." "But if you are making arrangements for a new relationship we're asking everybody, not just the people in the psychology department, to tell somebody where you're going." "Make notes, leave messages." "But only if you're expecting sex?" "No." "But you're putting it on record that group sex is definitely safer, then?" "Depends what condition you're in." "Come on." "It's your cast-iron, once-in-a-lifetime wish fulfilment." " You fire me." " You what?" "Public humiliation." "Tell the whole world what a useless tosser I turned out to be." "Penhaligon was right." "She's writing to me, she's killing for me." "Take me off the case." "And where does that leave us?" "Irene?" "Irene." "You two have met." "You make a press release." "It states quite categorically that Irene's been installed." "You think that will stop the killing?" "I've no idea." "If Fitz is her focus and he's removed, it could drive her into the open." "She's organised both murders very precisely." "Three." "I thought the third was incidental." "Tell his wife that." "We need her to make a few mistakes before some other poor bastard gets nailed." "Sir!" "Sorry, sir." "They've intercepted another letter." "Excuse me." "We've compared the letter with the three lecture transcripts." "She says, "You talk about devotion." "I've never been more devoted in my life. " That was the second lecture." ""The man I've got coming to dinner tonight. "" "Future tense." "That's new." "She always sent letters after she killed." "And she's always given us a name." "Get on to the university." "Names and addresses of all mature students at the second lecture." "For a woman who wants to be caught, she's not offering much." "More than you deserve, Noddy." " Is this what it came in?" " Why?" "There's no stamp." "She's telling us, she knows we're intercepting her mail." "She wouldn't forget to put the stamp on it." "She's telling me how bright she is." "So?" "So, if she knows we've already got this, when she says tonight, she means tonight." "Not tomorrow." "She's gonna kill again tonight, for God's sake!" "Well, I think what I was trying to achieve in that in that statement was... was a kind of... er... some kind of..." "of general overview." "You're not concentrating, are you, Frank?" " Sorry." " Go on, then." " What?" " Touch me." "It's what you want." "It's what you came for." "Liar." " Nice dress." " Well, you paid for it." " Oh, come on!" " Which is why I'm paying for the meal." "Don't argue." "A gin and tonic, please." "Danny?" "I've just ordered one." " Yeah?" " Mind if we come in, love?" "Hey!" "Hey!" "What the bloody hell is going on?" " We're at 14 Devonshire Road." " What the hell is going on?" " You're a student at Queers, aren't you?" " Have you got a key for the back door, love?" "Oh, I could murder you!" "It's taken me two hours to get them to sleep." "Get them down now, or I'm calling a solicitor." "Have you got a key for the door, love?" "And you call me "love" once more and" "I'll smash you right in the bloody mouth!" "You've never met such a vindictive bunch of proprietorial bastards in your life." "Why?" "Fear." "Suddenly they're given salaries." "Cars." "That feels so nice." "Salaries, cars, status." "So, they each have to prove they care more than anyone else to justify the perks in the name of charity." "Which is why they need to be managed by someone like me." "Which is what I told them this morning, which is why I've just been promoted." "Congratulations." "My brother's been teaching you bad habits." "Judith." "I take people seriously." "I'll not be messed about." "I couldn't concentrate." " Aren't you stopping, then?" " No." "Would you want me to?" "Stay?" "Would you?" "It feels so bloody wonderful." "I feel just like a child." "But you're not a child." "And I'm not Eddie." "I've got a longer attention span than my brother." "26 years is hardly hit-and-run." "When was the last time he held you like this?" "You're not just seeing this as a chance to get back at him?" "No." "Are you?" "You have to think very bloody carefully about what you are making me do, Judith." "I am." "The police have refused to Issue detailed reasons for the psychologist's removal from the case." "But the man leading the Investigation, DCI Wise, made the following statement." "This Isn't a reflection on Dr Fitzgerald's work." "It's a complicated case and we've been forced to use the best resources available." "Professor Jackson's skills will be Invaluable" "In apprehending the killer of these three men." "You bastards!" "You stupid, stupid..." "And he hits you." "Sometimes." "But It's all right cos he always says he loves you afterwards." "Yeah." "OK." "Here's his anniversary present." "Take him out for a drink." "Take him out for several drinks." "Buy him doubles." "Bring him home." "Take him upstairs." "And when you get to the landing, turn round and push." "Bump, bump, bump." "Deck the bastard." "Let him lie about the bruising." "And then, and this is absolutely crucial, tell him you love him." "There'll be helpline numbers at the end of the show." "In the meantime, let's have some more music." "This is dedicated to somebody very special." "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten" "There's a caller for you on line two." "Dr Fitzgerald." "Why?" "Why have they taken you off the case?" "Everything was going all right." "It doesn't make sense." "Difference of opinion." "The police aren't the brightest people in the world." "You said so." "Yes." "Do I get a name?" "I know you probably better than anyone." "Don't I deserve a name?" "Nena." "He's got her on the line now." "She's using some kind of voice box." "Yes, we are." "Nena." "Nena, I know that you're in pain." "I know that you're suffering." "If you're not there and all this is going on, how do they expect to stop it?" "It'll just go on and on and on." "Stop you, Nena." "Stop you." "Not it." "The man in your last letter, did he come round?" "Is there another body?" "They've got to put you back on the case." "For his parents' sake, where's the body?" "He's not dead." "Not yet, or you've let him go?" "Which?" "He's gone." "You've got to tell them to put you back on the case." "You're talking to the wrong guy." "You have slaughtered somebody's children." "Nobody is listening to you any more, certainly not me." "I love you." "I can't hear you." "I love you." "Is It a bad line for you, Nena?" "I love you." "I love you!" "Oh, I don't frigging believe it!" "What now?" " Who are you phoning?" " My GP, if you must know." "Are you winding me up, love?" " Why don't you bloody talk to him, then?" "The news broadcast was 10:39 last night." "She phoned the station at 10:41." "She goes to the nearest call box." "Not here, not here, but here." "Two minutes from the house and within a quarter of a mile of where she dumped the first body." "We're going down Regent Cross." "Listen to the voice, talk to the people." "The only students there don't check out." "You'll have to talk to everybody, then." "Go on the knocker, house-to-house." "Somebody must have seen Steven Lowry and John Branaghan." "Neither of them could drive, so check with the residents at the bus stops, bus drivers, Uncle Tom Cobbley." "Where's Irene?" "Swiss decaff, medium fries, chicken Nine Peaks." " Sounds like a Kevin Costner movie." " Eh?" "Chicken Nine Peaks." "Oh, yeah." "Right." " Er... enjoy your meal." " Thanks." "Mark." "Forgive me." "I taught those boys." "He's very sharp, isn't he" " Fitz?" "Would you do a television programme tonight?" "Standard interview." "You'll refuse to discuss the case, but you'll talk about the job." "No." "It's working." "Since we put you up front, she hasn't killed again." "We know she's keyed in to the television." "So we need to drive it home that she's not speaking to Fitz any more." "No." "I'm sorry." "I don't care." "I just can't do this." "I can't look at all that stuff and just... carry on." "You're looking at me like that, but believe me, it's not often I get the chance to say I'm the normal one." "Tell Fitz I'm sorry." "He shouldn't be too surprised." "I'll catch up with you." " Hiya." " Again." " Are you waiting for someone?" " RAC." "Starter motor keeps packing up." "It's done it before." "I don't suppose you're any good with cars?" "No." "Not a bit." "We're supposed to be off down the Boardwalk." "Well, go on, then." " Good luck." " OK." " Do you want to try pushing it?" " OK." "If it works I could give you a lift." "You off out, then?" "Yes." "James is staying with my mother." "No offence." "Where?" " I'm not sure." "We're all meeting at the office." "Right." "So if your baby gets sick and your mother worries and phones me," "I'm just to say, "Sorry, they're meeting at the office." "I haven't a clue where they're eating. "" "Look, I'll leave a number when..." "I'll ring with the number when I know where we're eating, all right?" "For God's sakes, why are you making me feel guilty for going out on my own for the second time since James was born?" "I don't know, Judith." "When was the first?" "Look at me." "Dad, look, you've got a fax coming through." "It says, "The man who's coming to dinner"?" "No!" "Oh, God, no!" "No, please, God!" " Hang on!" " Why?" "It's what you came for." "Have you got a kid?" "Do you share?" "I haven't got anything." "I'm not carrying anything." "I'm doing nothing without a rubber." "It's all right, Mark." " You're shaking." " I've got some." "We're all right." " You're shaking." " Come on!" " I don't want to do this." " It's all right." "I don't want to." " What's the matter with me?" "Not good enough?" "Look, let's cool it down, all right?" "I..." "I can give you a call." "We can sort stuff out." "You're really nice, you know." "It's a nice place." "Erm..." "Look, it's me." "All right?" "It's me!" "What the f..." " What are you doing?" " Shut up!" "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten" "What are you doing?" "Janice, look at me!" "Has he done something to you?" "Look at me!" "Are you one of his patients?" "You're a friend." "You're a good friend." "Has he let you down?" "You wouldn't surprise me." "He can be a bit of a twat sometimes." "I mean..." "I can talk to him." "I can get him to talk to you and I won't say anything." "You can tell him about it." "I won't say anything." "Janice..." "I won't say anything!" "He doesn't care what you think." "You don't even talk to each other properly, so don't give me that shit!" "Don't pretend you've got a direct line, Mark." "I have." "He'll have to look at me now, won't he?" "Now I'm really special." "Especially in the vicinity of Regent Cross." "He could have been travelling with a young woman, possibly slighter older than himself, and possibly answering to the name of Nena." "So, if we stay calm then we can work this out, Nena, I'm sure." "I beg you." "Just talk to him." "Mark's a good listener." "Just talk to him." "Or let him ring us." "Or... you could ring us." "Just to let us know that he's..." "That um..." "I beg you, Nena." "Please don't hurt him." "Oh, God, look what they've done to you!" "Please, Nena, I beg you." "Just don't hurt him." "Tell me what she's done." "To the others." "Exactly what she's done." "Don't." "Sir." "She's on line." " Fitz." "Where is he?" " Are you all right?" "Is he alive?" "Have they said you can have your job back?" "Is Mark alive?" "Yes." "What is it exactly you want, Nena?" "I want you." "Let me ask you a question." "OK." "If you hurt Mark, can you see us ever hitting it off?" "You'll be letting yourself down." "You'll never know what it is I have to tell you." "It is not in your interests to hurt my son." "Is that clear?" "It's one way of looking at it." "Did you get my letter yesterday?" "Yes." "Love and sex and devotion." "Are you looking for all those things?" "Yes." "Hello?" "Fitz?" "Fitz!" "Oh, God!" "I've lost her!" " What have you done?" " I cut her off." "So long as I'm talking to her, the boy stays alive!" "If you cut her off, she's going to panic!" "Right?" "So long as she's got my boy, you do not make her panic!" "She was ringing from a mobile." " That's Mark's!" "I can ring him." " No." "I cut her off." "You can only trace a mobile up to a radius." "Now she's desperate she'll use a call box." "We'll force her out." "Stupid bastard." "We think we know which one she uses." "But there's four more in Regent Cross." "So we've covered them all." "He's right." "Well, find him!" "This is what you do, it's what you say you do." "It's the only thing you do that I believe in so... bloody well find him." "Woman approaching." "About 5'5"." "Early 30s." "Blonde." "Medium build." "No call, she's gone past." "Don't you want to tell your friends why you're late?" " Another lager, please." " Yep." "I want to speak to Fitz." "Tell him it's me." " Yes." "Fitz." " No." "In person." "She was ringing from home. 16 Brent Street." "Tell 'em." " Is she there?" " Yes, she is." "Mark?" "Mark?" "Mark!" "He's not here." "I just want to talk to her." "I only want to talk to her!" " If they let her through, she'll kill you." "You'll have to protect me." "Where is he?" "Nick her." " Search this lot." " I've seen her." "What?" " She works at the university." "Drives a red van." "You've interviewed her?" " The wheelbase matched, but the tyres didn't." "You sure about that?" "You'd better be." " There's some garages down the back." " Well, go and open them up." "Don't wait for permission." "Just find the bloody van!" "Come on!" ""I love you, I love you, I love you. "" "I love you, I love you, I love you." "I love you." "I love you." "Nah." "It's not working, is it?" "You see, I can make you smile." "But you don't really believe me." "I understand you." "That's far more rewarding." "Love may come and love may go, but to have somebody who... who really understands you..." "That's something that no-one can take away." "Where's Mark?" "He's only guilty of one of the crimes." "Bright, happy, sexually indiscriminate young men." "He's not that bright, he's not very happy at the moment." " Did he make love to you?" " No." "Did you ask him to?" "I'm sure normally he wouldn't let you down." "I apologise on his behalf." "I feel privileged, I know something about him that his mother doesn't." "A few months ago, Mark got his girlfriend pregnant." "Debbie's the name." "And... he's depressed because she lost the baby." "And he's depressed because she gave him the big kiss-off." "So you'll appreciate he's not really himself." "And..." "I would prefer that he didn't suffer any more." "I would really like to know where he is, Janice." "We didn't come here to talk about Mark." "If that's the way my boy ends up I will see you dead, you murdering bitch!" "Got it." " You give us Mark and we'll do a deal." " Shut up." " You'll come out better in court." " Shut up." "If you don't help yourself you'll never see daylight again." "Shut up!" "Come in." "They found the van." "It was empty." "What was it that you had to say, without contradiction?" "Mmm?" "Fixing their smiles, so they couldn't look appalled by your confessions." "Speak to me." "Surely you must have something to say about taking a psychology degree?" "No." "Possibly that you didn't get one" " booted out after six terms because you couldn't hack it." " My dad died." " You failed." " That's all right." "We've all done it." " My father died." "You went back as a lab technician." "Surrounded yourself with all these young, promising, bright, sexy people." "Why did you put yourself through that amount of pain?" "Hmm?" "To prove that even though you couldn't get a degree, you could get a job on the staff?" "Swan around in your little white lab coat with your name tag." "At least some of the first years would look up to you." "May 1990, you gave a lecture." "It was like half-ten and you were still pissed from the night before." "The board outside said, "Psychology of Family Structure." "Dr Fitzgerald. "" "You acted out a row you'd had with your wife that morning." "You stood to the left when you were playing her." "To the right as yourself." "You'd just moved Into a big house." "And she'd got a loan on a car." "You'd been Into the office that morning and packed your job In." "You were gonna write a book." "And she said you weren't capable of writing your own name." "And all the students were laughing." "I just remember sitting at the back thinking, "Oh, God, he's completely trapped." "He's got kids he never wanted, a house his mother-in-law persuaded him to buy." "And if they just listened to him for two minutes they'd know he's talking sense. "" "I went back to my room and cried." "And I'm back, like, five years later and you're still doing the rounds, and nothing's changed." " That's failure." " No, that's families, Janice." "All that squealing, all that anguish..." "That's what families do when they love each other." "When they belong to each other." "That is normal, Janice." "You killed those men because you were jealous of their future." "They have none." "Another jealous woman beat you to it." "Thatcher." "Crushed a whole generation." "Made you look like a bloody amateur." "Don't touch that." "He's waited 19%/% years to get his first job." "You've seen what he does." "He shovels shit in the fast-food cantons for two quid an hour." "If you take him away, maybe the world won't miss him." "But I will." "Right now, I'd die for him." "I'd die for my family." "And that's where you and I are completely different." "Fitz!" "So how come you were screwing her?" "If you live and die for your family, how come you were screwing her?" " Every cripple finds his own way of walking." "You see, that's when I knew." "That was your cry for help." "When I followed you home and she didn't come out till morning." "But that wasn't real, you were desperate to change your life." "But you didn't have the guts to tell your wife and leave her." "I understand that." "It's difficult to leave your wife when you haven't found the right person." "I'm offering you a life, Fitz." "I love you." "I'm offering you a future." "You have killed." "I haven't." "You definitely don't have a future." "If you bury your son tomorrow and I go to prison you'll have to think about me every single day for the rest of your life." "That's a future." " I don't want you going back in there." " What?" " You're not up to it." " What?" "We've got her sister in number two." "Well, that makes three of us now." "Three dogs chasing the same bone." "Did you believe him?" "When he said he loved you?" "No." "Why not?" "He always went back to you." "I've handed my resignation in." "I leave in November." "If that helps." "Janice isn't a murderer." " I want to get her a lawyer." " She doesn't want a lawyer." " Just answer the questions." " Janice isn't the youngest?" "Er..." "Louise." "22." "Look, I want to see her." "I want to talk to her." "Where is she?" "What did your father do?" " I beg your pardon?" " What did your father do?" "Nothing." "He did nothing." "If she's telling you that and she's blaming Dad for... this, well... she's talking crap." "She's always said it." "She's always pretended." "But I swear, he did nothing!" "I meant as an occupation." "He was a..." "He was a butcher." "Skelly?" "Check that out." "You call yourself Nena." "First name that came into my head." "I can see why you chose it." "It's a prettier name than Janice." "It's also your sister's name." " Who have you been talking to?" " Got any other siblings?" " No." " Liar." " When did your father die?" " 1991." " Month?" " July." " Time of day?" " I don't know what time of day." "You're a bloody liar." "If your father was dead you'd be blaming yourself." "Every girl needs her dad." "Question is, how much does a father need his daughter?" "You were abused, weren't you?" "No." "You are pursuing a father who doubles as a lover." " You live in a flat..." " I was not abused." "You live in a flat which looks like Barbie's playpen." "I was not abused!" "You can get that sort of hurt recognised anywhere you like." " It's every therapist's mortgage, for God's sakes!" "I was not abused." "Is it why you're punishing Mark?" "The one thing you do right, you're messing it up." "You're going backwards." "I was not abused." "You weren't." "You weren't." "Nena was." "Louise was." "But you weren't." "Nena you could rationalise." "She was the eldest." "Her..." "Her card was marked, even before you were of age." "But then he started picking Louise." "And that made you piggy in the middle." "The one that got nothing unless it had the ribbons on it." "How awful." "Not pretty enough or bright enough." "I am." "Too old, but not old enough." "And you've been wondering all your life what you did wrong." " You better shut your mouth!" " Why?" "That's what you came to me for." "Isn't it?" "But I..." "If I give you what you really want..." "If I meet the challenge..." "If I... really, really understand you, that's the end of the affair, yes?" "Nena, Louise." "You knew it caused them pain and made them cry." "But at least they were getting something from their father." " Their secret." " Yes." "All of them?" "Your mother knew?" "Fierce rejection." "Tiny girl wanting the same attention." "Trying to smile." " Begging the questions." " Yeah." "There were no rows in your house, were there?" "Hmm?" "Nobody wanted to take the lid off." "You were the only one screaming, Janice." "Naughty little girl." "Asking too many questions." "They kept lying, but I knew." "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten" "This isn't your song, is it?" "You're far too young." "Did your father play this?" "We played it for him on his 40th." "He kept staring at me." "He walked across and asked me to dance." "Nena was watching." "Louise was watching." "I couldn't see Mum but I knew she was watching." "He kissed me there." "He was looking at me and I started shaking." "He just laughed and sat back down." "Did your father slaughter his own meat?" "It was a built-up area." "He couldn't leave them squealing in the yard." "He electrocuted them." "In the head." "In the shop?" "When he'd closed for the day, Mum used to take me for walks on the embankment." "Dunstan Embankment?" "She said he was doing the meat." "But I knew he was upstairs with Nena, I could see." "We'd be walking, and Mum kept talking and talking, but I'd look back... and I could see him at the upstairs window, pulling down the blinds." "And when we got back he never had his tie on." "She could see the shop from the embankment?" "That's where the first body turned up." "Look next door, In the shop upstairs." " Yeah, we've been in there." "It's all bricked up." "We've got the van." "There's nothing in it, he must be bloody there." "Sir, we've looked everywhere." "I'm coming down myself." "He paid for her extra tuition." "And Louise?" "She's going to bloody medical school." "Nena got married last week, three days before the first murder." "You watched her crowning glory." "A fairy-tale wedding." "Up the aisle with him on her arm." "The proudest man in the world." "They made a pact." "Mm?" "She wiped the slate clean, denied her past, and he..." "She's wearing a very big ring." "Is he helping them out financially?" "They got everything they wanted just by smiling back, keeping their mouths shut." "You end up in this mess with sweet FA." "And no-one can tell you what it is that you did wrong." "No." "I can." "I understand your father." "As a shrink, maybe." "But as a man, absolutely." "I can look at you now and know exactly why he rejected you." "Why he excluded you." " Shall I tell you?" " Yes." "It's as clear as day." "I can't believe you've come this far and not understood." "Please, Fitz." "A man like that and a girl like you." "Is he handsome?" " Tell me." " You were there under his nose." "The one in the middle." "Pleading for it." "It's tragic, Janice, that he never chose you." "That he never moved in, that he never made you part of that family." "Tell me." " Where's Mark?" " Please." "Where's Mark?" "Mark." "Next door." "Tell them to move the wardrobe." "Please." "Mark." "Don't touch him." "Don't touch anything." "Mark?" "He's breathing." "Place your bets." "I just wanted to know what it felt like to be him." "I close my eyes" "And count to ten" "Men like your father say they can look into a crowd of a thousand kids, and know within seconds which ones." "Vulnerable." "Needy." "You were too big a risk for him." "He knew you'd fight him." "Talk." "Tell." "A strong little girl." "Nena envied you, but... she was only doing what all big sisters should." "Taking the rap for you." "She still is." "Oh, and um..." "If you're writing to me, for God's sake put your name on it." "Thank you." "Thank you." "You say you'd die for your family." "You'd die for your children." "You'd die for your children because they're part of you." "But I don't believe you love me any more than that girl." "She's injured." "She's confused." "She doesn't know what she believes." "I meant the other one." "So did I." "Would you die for me?" "Just me?" "Fitz."