"Cutting a red one?" "That's a symptom of premature ejaculation." "Morning, Fitz." "The cleaners found him this morning." "There was a stag night but the manager reckons there was no trouble." "There was no trouble at my stag night, either." "It was the next 30 years that buggered me up." "Oh, sweet Jesus." "What did that?" "A leather belt and a buckle." "Ian McVerry." "Social worker." "Social worker and you're looking for a motive?" "Cuts all over - face, neck, heart." "The artery was severed when the neck was under pressure." "Human hair residue under the fingernails." "What does all that mean in Scouse?" "Attacked from the front and from the rear." "He was secured from behind before he was attacked from in front." "Just like Mrs Franklin's murder." "I thought you said Mrs Franklin was attacked from the front first." "Doesn't matter." "He thought he was fighting one person, overcame that person, banged his head off the floor, then the stronger one, he comes up behind, gets the belt round his neck and garrottes the poor bugger." "It's emotionally identical to Mrs Franklin's." "Except you just said "him"." "Did I?" ""He was banging his head off the floor. "" "I thought we were looking for a man and a woman." "One older, one younger." "One taller, one shorter." "Father and son?" "We can check with the tenant's statements." "God." "Attaboy." "I think this is a new relationship." "I think Mrs Franklin discovered something." "Something that caused a row." "A big enough row to warrant her murder." "What is there to discover about a new relationship?" "Sex." "Mrs Franklin discovered sex between a man and a boy." "That's what started the row." "That's what got her murdered." "He was called out of the case conference at about 8 o'clock." "I saw him take the call in here." "He left when?" "He never came back into the meeting, so five past eight." "We all assumed he'd just gone home as usual." " Is this his office diary?" " That's confidential." "There might be clients' names and addresses in there." "We are investigating a murder." "It's not my job to offer them all as potential suspects." "Cllents' privacy Is very Important here." "Have you ever worked in a hairdresser's?" "No." "Just curious about the use of the word "clients"." "It's only the older members of staff who have a problem with that word." "Really?" "Ian McVerry was stabbed in the face and neck 20 times with a broken bottle." "He lost six pints of blood in an hour." "We think one of our clients did it." "So, can we see the diary, please?" "DC Temple, report back to Anson Road." "OK." "Let's go and get that telly on." " Diane Nash?" " Yeah." "Detective Sergeant Jane Penhaligon." "Can I talk to you about Ian McVerry?" "You rang him last night." "Look, let's nip and see your gran." " Are they police?" " Just get in the car." "Give me your money." "Where did you get this?" "One of the children we fostered, William Preece, came round." "He was making a nuisance of himself." "It was a bit silly, really." "I phoned Ian, he came round, sorted out the problem and left." "Talk me through that." "Well, you know, he took him back to the children's home." "William's coming to the end of a long-term care order." "What age will that be?" "17?" "On March 23rd." "You fostered him when?" "'85 to the end of '86." "Were you threatened?" "Not threatened, no." "William was not... 17 can sometimes be a bit intimidating." "Look, I don't really know him any more." "If you want a social history, you'll have to ask McVerry." "Tricky." "He was murdered last night." "I'm sorry, it's..." "Oh, good God." "When he left with William, were they alone?" "B N, two exclamation marks." "That was the last entry in McVerry's diary." "The B obviously could be William, but his name's Preece." "So, what do you think the N could stand for, Mrs Nash?" "Look, I want my husband here." "Come in." "Sir, Fitz's son is at the front desk." "Right." "The Cheltex factory, Dayton Road." "The young fella there, William" "Preece or William Nash, check his records." "Right." "Behave." " Where have you been?" " Dentist." "I needed a filling." "Did you?" "You slope off again without permission and you'll want the bloody lot replacing, OK?" "Go on!" "Dickhead." "Don't know how he got in the police force." "I ran away once." "I hid here the best part of a week." "I'm sorry." "I didn't know she was there." "Just talk to me." "Out." "I said out!" "This is not just about you, it's about me, you prick!" "I don't know where you want to go but you are not taking me with you." "All right?" "All right?" "Nobody asked for an eight-year-old." "We asked for a baby." "I wanted a baby." "We were only going to foster him for a couple of months, but he seemed so happy." "Just blended in." "He seemed like he'd been with us for ever." "We signed the forms and applied to adopt." "And then you got pregnant." "A bit of a shock." "You constructed a new family round you to fill in the gaps, and then you get pregnant." "Ironically, he probably helped you conceive your first child." "You were carrying a premier division player and you're looking at a sub in the spare room." "It wouldn't have been fair." "We'd never have treated them the same." "He resented anything that changed our relationship." "So you cancelled the adoption." "Yes." "You cancelled William." "Yes." "If they catch us, what's our story going to be?" "I want you to know that we're together." "Come here!" "Come here!" "Come here!" " Where do we find this lad?" " The bloke who'd know, if anybody does, is Stuart Grady" " Grady, the dayshift foreman." "We're going to be here all bloody day." " 47 Banville Road." " You what?" "47 Banville Road." "That's Franklin's house." "Now, is that a 3 or an 8?" "Begging your pardon." "Oh, no, it's a 3." "Flat 3." "Shit!" "Rip this room apart." "We're looking for a murder weapon." "Somebody interviewed him yesterday after Mrs" "Franklin was murdered, I want to know who." "I'm not sure, sir." "I think it was Skelton." " Well, go and fetch him!" " Nobody here." "Grady and William Nash arrived in work after midday." "Some of the machinists on their shift have been interviewed." "They both disappeared around 3 o'clock." " So the flying Scotsman wasn't far wrong." " No, sir." "That's the rest of the stuff on Grady." " Ex-army." " Discharged 18 months back." ""Incompatible behaviour." "" That's all they're saying." "Lean on them." " No way!" " Look, Skelly..." "No way!" "This is the biggest chance I've ever had." "You're allowed a mistake." "I've had all mine." "Hey!" "Look at me." "I'm not allowed any mistakes." "Skelton." "You're going to Preston." "What?" "Bretherton Barracks." "Grady got turfed out the army." "Find out why and we need a photograph." "Thanks." "We've only just got rid of one little shit." "We don't need another!" "You interviewed Grady." "Don't do that." "If I report you, you can write your promotion off, now back off." "He said it was his son." "He opened the door with a tin of paint and a Walkman on." "Nobody else heard anything so I wrote them off." "I swear, I looked round the flat and there was nothing to see." "It was calm." "He said it was his son." "I even checked again today." "You'd have believed him." "So you try blaming a new DC and get on with rebuilding your career?" "Skelly could have taken that one on the chin and carried on." "I won't." "You get a look at them?" "You can describe the kid?" "Yeah." "What happens now?" "What are you asking me for?" "October 10th." "Treated like shit by Penhaligon." "Bilborough told me to Ignore her." "November 5th." "Woke up crying." "Bilborough's death." "Catriona asked me to be the godfather." "I found Jimmy Beck's diary." "I know what he did to you." " Where is it?" " I've got It." "Where is it?" "It's safe." "I swear." "Nobody else saw it." "I didn't know how to bring it up before." "You've not exactly been... approachable." "It's in my locker." "Stapled envelope with your initials on it." "All right, driver." "Judith?" "Will you just stand still?" "I don't want you to do anything, I just want you to tell me where you keep his pyjamas and things." "You don't have to feel this way, Judith." "You don't have to feel guilty." "Oh, I don't." "It doesn't have to be me." "I could recommend somebody." "Wrong." "This isn't postnatal depression." "I had postnatal depression." "I had it the first time and the resident shrink missed the symptoms." "The only reason you'd recommend anyone is for yourself." "You want me better so we can all get back to your 26-year-old interminable existential crisis." "You've had it so long it's made the house smell." "This is mine." "OK?" "It's mine." "And I've never felt better." "So keep your bloody hands off!" "That's enough." "Shit." "I'll do it." "Be careful." "Grady!" "Put it out." "Put it out!" "Come on!" "Quick!" "Come on." "Stuart David Grady, aged 35." "Ex-army." "Brown hair, grey eyes, 6 ft tall." "Skelton?" "Kicked out for inconsistent behaviour, two court martials for picking fights." "They reckon he's a bright bloke but impatient and volatile." "Page 2, a photofit of William Preece, or William Nash, aged 17." "Why haven't we got a proper photograph of this guy?" "The most recent anybody's got, he was just eight years old." "Who interviewed these two people yesterday?" "I did, sir." "William Nash has brown hair, brown eyes." "He's around 5'9", slimmer than Grady, and I think he had a Manchester accent." "Could have been the Bolton area." "Grady told me Nash was his son, and when I came back and checked Nash has no named father, so, as far as we know, that might still be the truth." "You believed that?" "If they're father and son, we don't have a motive." "We won't let intelligence interfere with a good profile, will we?" "Go to the back of the queue." "These are facts." "I said two people." "You disagreed, I was right." "I said one older, one younger, I was right." "I said two men." "One taller, one shorter." "I was right." "All I'm saying Is, these two have just met." "It's still conceivable if he was an absent father." "What does it matter if we know who we're looking for?" "Is this small, deaf and stupid in here, or is it me?" "Of course it changes how they operate." "Of course it changes how we take their confession." "Father and son do not operate the same way as two star-crossed lovers." "These two do not know each other very well." "This is Death In Venice before the hair dye." "Where?" " Carrington Dock." " We've just found Grady's burnt-out car." "Two witnesses heard a scream." "The young fella might be injured." "Hospitals." "OK." "OK." "Come on." "You ready?" "One, two, three..." "Come on." "Argh!" "Hang on." "Hang on." "Coming across the road?" "My shout." "We'd lit a barbecue and It didn't take." "I threw on some fuel... and some must have caught his... his jeans." "It just went up." "It was my fault." "OK." "I'll just need to grab some fresh gloves." "Judith?" "Judith!" "Do you fantasize about rape?" "If she does, It doesn't Include violence." "Do you fantasize about rape?" "Sometimes, yes, I do." "I've been raped, sir." "I never heard that." "Detective Sergeant Beck raped me, sir." "Are you accusing me of rape?" " Yes." "Let's have this out In front of the boss." "Get me some evidence and I'll give you all the help I can." "Do you believe I could rape you?" "No doubt, Jimmy." "It's not too serious but I want a plastic surgeon to take a look before we dress it." "OK?" "All right, Doctor." "Are you glad you met me, Grady?" "Since you're in a Julie Andrews kind of mood, this might be a good time to ask you." "I desperately need a bed for tonight." "Judith's decided to flat" " pack our entire bedroom and I suspect I might be next." "I do literally just need a bed for the night." "I mean..." "literally." "Obviously." "Although I could be harassed into more." "I would like more." "No." "You don't like me pissed." "Tonight might be a bit of a disappointment." "St Michael's casualty." "Grady and Nash have just checked in." "Grab Temple." " Move!" " What do you mean, move?" "Sir, what are you doing?" "Sir, you cart..." "You can't leave like this!" "Somebody..." "Hey!" " Let go!" " Nurse, call security!" "Out of my way!" "Oi, come back here!" "Shit." "Run, Bill!" "That's bloody Grady!" "Sir, suspect sighted." "He's driving a blue BMW, registration G985 FOV." "He's heading towards the side gate." "Grady's down." "Repeat, Grady's down." " Out!" "Now!" " Main car park." "Stuart Grady, I'm arresting you for suspicion of murder." "You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if..." "Just Grady." "Anything you do say may be given in evidence." "Where is William Nash?" "Who's William Nash?" "Grady?" "Grady!" "Grady!" "?" "... if you were the only girl in the world... ?" "And I was the only boy" "Where's your lawyer, Stuart?" "When I arrived, he was down In the cells briefing you." "Nipped down to the gents." "Grabbed a coffee." "When I got back, he was out the door like a whippet." " Not the man for a challenge, hmm?" " I sacked him." "Oh." "One of my most vivid fantasies Is to sit, like this, face to face with a lawyer." "He's desperate for my wisdom, of course." "And..." "There's a virus going round, so I've lost my voice." "So I have to write everything down." "So I'm scribbling away and grinning like a fool cos I know that every note I push to him," "I'm going to charge the bastard 25 quid, plus VAT." "Would that not make you cringe, Stuart?" "No?" "What's your most vivid fantasy, then?" "Hmm?" "What would you really most like to be thinking about, right this minute?" "Go on, close your eyes." "Forget you're in the shit." "Try and get a taste of it." "Go on." " No." " They can't touch you for it." "I don't want to." "Go on." "Go on." "It'll relax you, make you feel good." "I don't want to be relaxed." "Do I have to talk to him?" "Ask your lawyer." " No, but thanks anyway." " Fitz." "Right." "I'm off, then." "I'll not stay where I'm not wanted." "This is the one day where you have to try and account for all the dreadful things you've done before they take you down." "I wanted to help you with that, Stuart." "No-one else will." "Your lawyer won't, cos he knows your gay." " What's happened?" " Nothing." "He's fine." "Where's Judith?" "Resting." "Why can't you make her feel better?" "She doesn't want to feel better." "Because she knows you're waiting for it so you can scrub out your own bloody guilt." ""I have no guilt... about all those who I have sacrificed. "" " Who said that?" " Judas Iscariot?" "Jeremy Beadle." "Your guilt about making her feel worse, you arrogant tit." " Heard it, heard it." " You know she's divorcing you?" "What?" "According to her mother, she went for a drink with her lawyer yesterday." "Oh, yeah, she's pulled that stunt before." "She'll go and flirt with her lawyer, then make sure I hear about it." "It's childish." "Sad and childish." " Your wife's having a bloody breakdown!" " Don't you dare tell me about my wife, you overgrown, underqualified, Impotent wee shite!" "Oh..." " It's all right." " Shite." "Oh, Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy." "Sorry, son." "Oh, dear, dear, dear, dear, dear." "Hey, who is it you're meant to be interviewing?" "Those fights you picked in the army." "They were special, weren't they?" "Real men." "Men like yourself." "One or two of the men singled you out, saw a weakness somewhere." "Said something "sensitive"." "So you decked 'em." "Wallowed in the brutality, the testosterone." "Volatile temper." "Got yourself back in with the lads, eh?" "Did it never occur to you how they knew?" "Those ones who spotted your secret?" "Come on, Grady, takes one to know one." "All those guys you chinned - any one of them - could have been your future." "Did you tell Bill about your wife and child?" "No?" "Why not?" "Cos Bill was special?" "Because he looked at you long enough to make sure you knew what he meant?" "A strong, young man." "Did he make the first move?" "You looked at him and you saw a braver version of yourself." "Come on, Grady." "This is your one chance to let the light in." "What age is your mum?" "54." "What age was Mrs Franklin?" "Late forties?" "About the same age." "Your father will be difficult for all the usual reasons." "Same reason your lawyer left, I guess." "One man smelling of two men's aftershaves gets the old antibodies going." "Your mother will be quite different." "She spent a quarter of her entire life on this planet personally supervising your development." "She'll be devastated." "When Mrs Franklin found you and Bill, you saw her, but you were letting down your mum." "Weren't you, Stuart?" "Nothing happened." "A whole generation of women screaming, "What a waste. "" "You couldn't face it." "That's why you attacked Mrs Franklin." "You couldn't face letting women down." "I didn't." "I know you didn't." "Bill attacked her." "She went for you, Bill attacked her." "He leapt to your defence because he wanted you to be happy, because he loves you." "What are you talking about?" "What's he talking about?" "Look at me, Stuart." "Nothing happened." "Look at me." "Nothing happened because you always prevented it from happening." "The wife, the child, the army, the factory... you always surrounded yourself with "real" men, just in case you weakened." "But you're not unique." " Sit down!" " I want another lawyer!" "I'll get you one." "Now, sit down!" "You just have to go ten yards from here, and you'll get some honest answers." "There's 100, 200 coppers - 90%, male." "Minimum number - 18 of them - 18, who feel exactly as unique as you do." "I swear..." "I never touched him." "That's the waste, Stuart." "You never did it." "You never said it." "Bill Nash offered you the best ever chance of making all this mean something." "Your legs went." "Your stomach went." "You could hardly breathe." "I understand that so completely It's breaking my bloody heart, Stuart." "It's tragic that you should do all this, that you should feel all this, and not say it." "You love him, Stuart." "And if you love him, you must tell us where he is." "I can't." "We have to speak to him." "You didn't go home the night you killed McVerry." "They'll take him back to Sowerby Park and that'll do his head in." "He's had 12 years of all that." "That's why the social worker went down." "That... bastard deserved to die!" "All Bill wanted... was an hour with his family, a chance to talk, and that bastard started dragging him off like a convict." "He's 17 and he's been through all that shit." "At 17, I was signing up for this country." "Bill... is owned by everybody but himself." "And I'm the only one who showed him any respect." "Mr and Mrs Nash are not Bill's parents." "He told me." "And he told me what they did to him." "Yeah, well, I think he's paid them back." "Phone calls." "80 in one night." "Had to change the telephone number 12 times and eventually they changed the address." "Good!" "Straight in there." "Make them suffer." "They're the bastards who should be here now." "Right." "But it's different now." "He's got somebody who is committed to him." "You have killed for him." "We did it together." " We helped each other." " You and Bill killed Mrs Franklin?" " Yes." " Ian McVerry?" " Yes." " Three days of Intensive training, you were like that." "Yes." "He could stand up for himself." "You liked that as a fighter." "I'd give anything to be like him." "Anything!" "He's fallen in love and killed in one week." "And he's separated." "And Bill doesn't cope with separation well." "I think we should find him." "No chance." "He's gonna fly now." "You wouldn't think it to look at him but he really does know how to survive." "How closely have you looked?" "Here?" "Here?" "Here?" "Five suicide attempts." "Two overdoses, one near fatal." "If he told you he was a survivor, he lied." "If he told you he was a man... he lied." "Bill Nash Is still very much a child." "Are you going to help him?" "Brown's Mill." "Back of the canal." "He's on the third floor." "Walt." "Walt." "He's got a gun." "What gun?" "It's mine." "HI, It's me, love." "Are you there?" "I cart remember whether I'm coming home first or what." "Well, I'm obviously talking to myself, so I'll see you all down Castlefield." "Right." "Ta - ra, then." "I told Wise the Nash family need protection." "He'll go there." " Are they in danger if he's suicidal?" " Depends how good a shot he is." "I've been to Brown's Mill." "I've found someone who knows the layout." "Follow the van to Nash's." "Take him with you." "You must be bloody joking." "That's my bit." "I don't mind the occasional razor blade or perhaps even a rope, but I do not do guns!" "No, we're certain." "He's been here." "There's no sign of him at the mill." "Ask Fitz." "We need to know where Nash would go next." "Tell him It's worth a few quid." "Don't pull the trigger." "You're supposed to keep your arm very still and squeeze." "Good boy." "Now squeeze." "You'll win something." "Come on, just give It a go." "It's easy money, this." "It's time to apologise, Diane!" "Move." "Move!" "Diane?" "Mum!" "Please, William." "Please, let Steven go." "It's Bill." "It's Bill!" "Nobody calls me William any more." "You should know that." "If it wasn't for him, you'd know that!" "Tell them I want Grady." "I want Grady now!" "No!" "No!" "He's desperate to make sure everybody likes him." "It's his fostering instinct." "That's how all those kids got free." "They just smiled till some bugger latched themselves on." "No pun intended." "Grady!" "He trusts you because he thinks that you care." "I do!" "Well, go and save his life." "Look." "I'm not moving unless you come with me." "That's fine by me, pal." "On his own, I said!" "On his own!" "It's OK, Bill." "He's with me." "He's not a copper." " Don't tell him I'm a shrink." " He's my lawyer." "Thanks." "We want a car." "I'm gonna put the kid in the car." "If we get away and nobody follows us, he wort get hurt." "Bill, they won't do that." "We'll give you a car." "But not until you put the gun down, Billy." "Do you think I'm brain dead, you wanker?" "Bill!" "Grady!" "That's him." "That was me." "I know, Bill." "That's not his fault." "Now, let him go." "I can't, can I?" "If he goes, there's only her left." "I can't trust her, can I?" "She's a lying cow." "I'm sorry." " What?" " I'm sorry!" "Bill, you don't need the gun." "Just put your arm round her neck and squeeze with your elbow." "You don't need the gun." "But she'll get away." "And then they'll have me." "They'll have us both and then that's the end of everything, Grady." " It's not." " No, it's not." "He's changed your life." "Just keep your arm around her throat and squeeze." "Tell him how Important he Is." " Make him feel he's important." " Shut up!" "I don't need telling." "Telling what?" "You are Important." "I understand... why you're here now... doing this." "You're half my age... and I really admire you for what you've got through." "Being honest and just doing it." "You love him." "Tell him." "Just tell him." "I love you." "I swear to God." "Billy, come on!" "There are kids here." "I love you more than I..." "The gun." "The gun!" "Bill, please put down the gun." "If you don't put the gun down, I'll never be able to tell you again." "Please put the gun down." " If you're scared, give it to me, Bill." " No!" "Billy, put the gun on the ground!" "Give it to me, Bill." "Billy!" "I'm gonna take the gun and I'm gonna put it on the ground so we can talk properly, all right?" "I love you." "I love you, Grady." "God!" "Oh, shit!"