Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

(dramatic music) (footsteps clopping) (audience clapping) - For our next death-defying spectacular in the Cavalcade of Mysteries.

- Wow.

- As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, blade, deadly sharp.

(audience gasping) (suspenseful music) (blade zinging) (audience gasping) (upbeat music) - No magic for you tonight, then, Miss?

- Oh, I wouldn't say that, Mr. Butler.

(doorbell ringing) (footsteps clopping) (Phryne sighing) (door clacking) - Jack.

(inquisitive music) - Of course.

Miss Fisher, no doubt an unexpected guest is far more enticing than an expected one.

- Allow me to introduce to you the new patron of Mackenzie's Cavalcade of Mysteries, the Baron of Richmond.

(flowers whipping) (suspenseful music) - Any final words, Miss Pearl?

- Quick and clean, please, Mr. Mackenzie.

(audience laughing) (suspenseful music) (Mackenzie laughing) (audience gasping) (wheelies squeaking) (rope whizzing) (blade zinging and thudding) (audience groaning) (audience clapping and laughing) (ominous music) (audience member screaming) (upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (car engine rumbling) (attendees faintly speaking) (tires screeching) (handbrake cranking) - Oh, Miss, I hope I didn't spoil your evening.

- Don't worry, Dot, my plans were already sabotaged by an unexpected house guest.

But the less said about him, the better.

(footsteps clopping) - Miss Fisher, what happened to your prior engagement?

- I dealt with that.

- Pearl Dyson, magician's assistant, cut off in her prime.

- You know, I saw the original Cavalcade of Mysteries as a child.

- I can't imagine you small and harmless.

- Well, I was definitely small.

And luckily for you, I paid attention.

- I, uh, can lend you my notes if you'd like, Hugh.

- I, I think I can manage.

Thanks, Dottie.

- Now, this guillotine is a rather rudimentary model, but the principle remains the same.

- So I assume- the trick- - Don't be, uh.

- is to keep the lethal section of the blade outta the way?

- Exactly.

With this, by pulling out this small nail.

Now, perhaps you could pass me some vegetation and I'll demonstrate, unless of course you'd like to volunteer.

(footsteps scratching) Now, without that small nail, the blade should be rendered absolutely harmless.

(rope whizzing) (blade zinging and thudding) Oh.

(inquisitive music) How?

What's this?

- Another nail with the head filed off.

- This was no accident.

- [Mackenzie] Something must've gone wrong, think harder.

- [Assistant] I did everything as always, I told you.

- It's happening again, isn't it?

I knew it was happening again, I knew it.

(assistant throat clearing) Inspector.

- Mr. Mackenzie, meet Miss Fisher, private detective.

And Mr. Mackenzie's right-hand woman, Miss Eva Callahan.

- Callahan?

It was once Callahan's Cavalcade of Mysteries, wasn't it?

- Yes, this was originally my father's show.

- Oh, what a dreadful accident.

None of us can fathom it.

My poor Pearl.

- The deceased was Mr. Mackenzie's fiance.

- My condolences, Mr. Mackenzie.

- Well, we don't really understand what happened, do we?

I mean, every detail was correct.

- I'm afraid your guillotine was deliberately sabotaged.

- So our poor Pearl was murdered?

Lord, no.

Oh, she was so kind and generous.

- This theater is now a crime scene.

You'll all be questioned in turn, so please remain in the building.

(employees faintly speaking) - So who else had access to the guillotine before it was wheeled on stage?

- Anyone who used the prop store.

Sid Forest in charge, then there's myself, Mackenzie.

Sarah Norton has her contortionist props in the store, but she joined the act around the same time as Pearl.

They were very close.

- Thank you, Miss Callahan, that's most helpful.

(footsteps clopping) (blood squelching) - Keep your eye on the contortionist, Dot, while I follow up with Mr. Forest.

- I know how dreadful this must sound, Inspector, and the Lord knows it's the last thing I feel like doing, but I do hope the show can go on this Saturday.

Our new investor would be counting on it.

- We'll do our best, Mr. Mackenzie, but I can't guarantee we'll have the case solved by then.

- Well, we're in financial straits, we have theater rent and wages.

- I thought you said you had a new investor.

I'll need to speak with him as well.

- Yes, well, if you find him, can you send him my way?

We haven't seen the baron since we left the ship.

- The baron?

The Baron of Rich, but I'm afraid that's all I know him as.

- Sid Forest?

- Yes, yes, he'd be in the prop store.

Uh, uh, th-this way.

(footsteps clopping) - [Jack] Did you notice anything unusual, Mr. Forest, when you wheeled the guillotine on stage?

- No, it all looked good to me.

W-what was I supposed to notice?

- So Pearl had done it before without incident?

- About 100 times.

- Did you notice anyone lurking near the machine earlier in the day?

- Uh, no, I was busy working on the mermaid tank for Saturday.

Um, Pearl kept badgering me to check it over again.

Mackenzie hasn't performed the mermaid for 10 years, not since what's her name left.

Tilly I think it was.

Before my time.

- Are you a magician, too, Sid?

- No, I'm just a general dog's body, didn't they tell you that?

- Oh, you must've picked up a few tips in your time with Mackenzie?

- I'd be an idiot if I hadn't.

(Phryne gasping) (bright music) (upbeat music) - As entertaining as this is, Miss Fisher, I have an investigation to get on with.

(Phryne sighing) (sword zinging) - (sighing) Careful with that.

- You sure you don't want your turn to star, Sid?

- Don't worry, my turn will come.

Eva Callahan has taught me every trick her father ever knew.

- Sounds like a woman with her eye on the future.

(sword zinging) Oh, you might want this.

(stick clacking) (stick whooshing) (inquisitive music) Remember, Sid, the best trick is the one you least expect.

(footsteps clopping) (suspenseful music) (footsteps clopping) - Hugh, I'm trying to be invisible.

(Dot sighing) Miss Fisher always says, "You never know when a clue might pop up."

- Well, I'm sure I'll find them eventually, Dottie.

Why did Miss Fisher send you to the magic show anyway?

- Because she had other arrangements.

- Dotty, there's enough detective work going on here.

Why don't you go home for a cocoa and I'll come over once we're done and tell you what we find.

- You can't, sorry.

Miss Fisher has a gentleman house guest.

- Constable, you working or gossiping?

I'm work, it's, I'm working.

It's, working, sir.

(footsteps clopping) - Oh, have you finished Fraternizing?

- Don't be like that.

That really is rather a nice tie.

So would you like to take another look at the body with me?

- Is that an invitation?

- Well, I could wait all day for yours.

- Miss Fisher, got a mate of yours in the cab, reckons he's taken you for supper at the Green Mill.

- Run along, Miss Fisher.

I wouldn't want you to neglect your social commitments.

- Jack, it's really not as social as you think.

(footsteps clopping) (car engine rumbling) - The show over, my dear?

I thought a Manhattan or two.

(footsteps scratching) - Out of the cab.

(door clacking) (baron sighing) - Ah, I-- - Don't worry, Baron, ride's on us.

(footsteps clopping) (clock ticking) (doors squeaking) (doors slamming) - Cognac, my dear?

- I don't want a drink, I want an explanation, Baron of Rich.

- So murdered, you say?

(sighing) This is dreadful for me.

- For you?

- Saturday night is sold out.

The crowds have been waiting 10 years for the return of the Miraculous Mermaid.

It's meant to be utterly thrilling.

Mackenzie was going to recapture the magic with the Amazing Ruby.

- Pearl.

- Yes, her.

What am I gonna do now?

- Go to the theater and offer the troop your steadfast support?

- Oh, I'd dearly love to, my dear, but at a time like this, I want to be the bearer of happy tidings.

- And that's not possible?

- (laughing) Let's just say the ticket money has been invested.

- You spent it?

- Well, there've been unforeseen delays on my financial returns, that's all.

A few days.

(drink pouring) Unless of course I can arrange a loan?

- Why are you here?

Causing trouble can't be your only motivation.

- I told you, my dear, your mother's doing the season in London with the Langleys, but I needed to see more of my beautiful daughter.

It's been far too long.

- For you, perhaps.

(Phryne sighing) I'll loan you the money.

- If you insist, my dear.

What can I do to make you think better of me?

- You can move into a hotel.

I'll have Cec and Bert load your bags.

- What, now?

I've only just arrived.

I've put enough nerve tonic in this cognac to flatten a carthorse.

- You better go quickly then.

(baron sighing) (footsteps clopping) (car engine rumbling) (footsteps clopping) - Not much mystery to Miss Dyson's cause of death, I'm afraid.

- Hello, Jack, Mag.

- Good, you're here, for a moment there, I thought I stood an even chance.

- Mag doesn't play favorites, Jack, unlike her predecessor who never ever told me anything.

- I promise to withstand her inveigling and bribery for as long as humanly possible.

- Telephone me when you have more on Miss Dyson.

- [Mag] Of course.

- But, Jack, I've only just arrived.

Did you know Sid Forest is a sword swallower?

- A man of many talents, I'm sure.

Perhaps you should invite him to supper.

Good day.

(footsteps clopping) (door clacking) (door slamming) - What have you done to him?

- Stood him up for another man.

- Oh, come on, cough up.

- (sighing) Men, can't live without them, you can't hit 'em with an axe.

(door slamming) (footsteps clopping) - [Hugh] Ah, sir, I've found an inconsistency with Miss Eva Callahan's statements.

- Go on.

- Well, according to your notes, she set up the guillotine a quarter past seven.

But according to Dottie's notes, she was reading fortunes at the ticket box until the show started at 7:30.

- Dottie's notes?

- Dottie's notes, yes, sir.

- Ah, well, good, good, let's get her in.

- I already have, sir, she's waiting in the interview room.

(door squeaking) - Jack, may I finish my conversation with you?

- If I said no, would it make a difference?

- I think we need to have another word with Eva Callahan.

Sid is an aspiring magician and Eva has been grooming him.

- And what does Sid's aspirations have to do with Miss Callahan?

- Well, what if they're in cahoots?

Eva's been teaching him her father's entire repertoire.

If the two of them want to take over the show, then what better way than by sabotaging the Miraculous Mermaid and discrediting Mackenzie all in one fell drop of the blade?

- A drastic theory, but worth testing, especially as we already have Miss Callahan here.

(footsteps clopping) (door clacking and squeaking) - So you do.

(door squeaking) (footsteps clopping) (door squeaking and clacking) - I'm so sorry I misled you.

I didn't set up the guillotine last night.

- [Phryne] Why did you lie?

- Uh.

- Miss Callahan, may I remind you, this is a murder investigation.

(Eva grunting) - I began a discreet arrangement with Sid.

He sets up the guillotine while I tout for a little bit of extra fortune telling money.

Mackenzie doesn't approve of clairvoyancey, but I've been doing everything I can to try to keep us all together.

- By working up a new routine with your props boy?

- Well, that was just part of the deal.

Sid wanted to learn and I needed someone to do my checks.

- How did Sid get along with Pearl?

- I think maybe you better ask him about that.

- No, I didn't like Pearl conning Mackenzie into the mermaid act, so what?

- You failed to tell us that before.

- You never asked me.

I got nothing against her type, but I'm damn good at what I do, I got talent, and she trumped me by batting her eyelashes and agreeing to marry the poor duffer.

She didn't play fair.

- So you retaliated?

- [Sid] What do you expect?

I didn't talk to her, I didn't share my lunch with her, but I didn't lop her head off either.

- You had ample opportunity to add that second nail when you set up the guillotine for Eva.

- Yeah, that's not the same as doing it.

- Uh, Inspector.

(inquisitive music) (footsteps clopping) Someone's been very busy over here doing some metal filing.

And look what I found in the forest green, a nail head.

- Hang on, that, that paint's been there for days.

You can't pin that on me.

- Not yet, Mr. Forest.

But if we do tests on those filings and they match the nail used to sabotage the guillotine, that might be a different story.

(footsteps scratching) - So now that Sid's officially been struck off my supper guest list, perhaps we could try again, tonight?

- No unexpected guests?

- Actually, (sighing) that's what I wanna discuss.

- Good, good.

So would I.

(footsteps clopping) (door slamming) (birds singing) (footsteps scratching) - Phryne, at last.

- Ah,Aunt Prudence.

- Someone has tried to charge the royal suite at the Windsor to my personal account.

Can you imagine who might have had the gall?

- Unfortunately, yes.

(footsteps clopping) - Prudence.

- Henry?

- How marvelous.

You look younger with each passing year.

- What are you doing here?

- Father took the opportunity to visit while Mother's doing the season in London.

- And I'm afraid there was some terrible misunderstanding when I went back to the Windsor.

- So it was you.

- I was chatting to the concierge about you, Prudence.

He spoke very highly.

He must have confused our accounts.

- You don't have an account at the Windsor.

- As I discovered when the manager accused me of fraud.

(Phryne sighing) And as all my available funds are tied up with Mackenzie's cavalcade, I have nowhere to lay my head tonight.

- I'm entertaining.

- You'll barely know I'm here.

Unless you'd like some male company, Prudence?

- I'm redecorating.

(horses clopping) - Looks like I'm yours, my dear.

(downbeat music) (bell ringing) (footsteps clopping) (suspenseful music) - [Sid] Sarah, Sarah, where are you?

(suspenseful music continues) (startling music) (Dot gasping) - Ah, there you are.

Any anomalies in my absence, Dot?

- Sid and Sarah are definitely up to something.

- [Henry] Salutations.

- He's following me.

(footsteps clopping) - Why are the glum faces?

Oh, of course.

My condolences, Mackenzie, I heard your tragic news.

- And where the blazes have you been?

- Looking after your interests.

This should cover the theater's rent, plus outstanding wages, and, uh, a little something extra for any inconvenience caused.

- (gasping) Some good news at last.

This will certainly help the cash box.

- Oh, thank you, Baron.

I'm, I'm sorry I doubted you.

- [Henry] No harm done, just a small delay.

- [Mackenzie] Ah, now, uh, uh, this, this is Miss Phryne-- - Oh, Miss Fisher and I are already very well acquainted, aren't we, my dear?

(laughing) Mm.

(lips smacking) Now, with this awful incident behind us, we can think about the Miraculous Mermaid.

- No, Henry, we can't.

It's an extraordinarily dangerous feat, Pearl had been rehearsing for weeks.

- But the tickets are sold.

What about the other young lady, Sally or something?

She could do it, couldn't she?

Do you mean, Sarah?

- I'm a contortionist, I can't even swim.

- (laughing) No one's asking you to cross the channel.

- It's gone, the, the rest of the cash.

What did you do with it, Mackenzie?

- [Mackenzie] Nothing, it should still be there.

(footsteps clopping) - Um, Miss Norton.

Sarah, those were Pearl's pearls, weren't they?

(pearls rattling) - Well, they're mine now.

- And whose is this money?

(dramatic music) (footsteps clopping) - Guard the stage door, Dot.

(footsteps clopping) (Phryne grunting) (suspenseful music) (footsteps clopping) (sword whooshing and zinging) (footsteps clopping) (footsteps clacking) (door slamming) (sword zinging) (footsteps clopping) (door squeaking) (sword chinking) (door squeaking) (door clacking) (footsteps clopping) (sword chinking) (wicker rattling) (door clacking) (footsteps clopping) (doorbell ringing) (door clacking) (door squeaking) (footsteps clopping) - Evening, sir.

Um, if you wouldn't mind waiting in the parlor, Miss Fisher's been slightly detained.

(footsteps clopping) (door squeaking) (door clacking) (suspenseful music) (barrel knocking) (footsteps clopping) (glass tinging) (tray rattling) (footsteps clopping) (door squeaking) (door clacking) (tray scratching) (Jack laughing) - I know you're in here, Sarah.

(footsteps clopping) (suspenseful music continues) (cabinet clacking) (door clacking) - I do apologize, Inspector.

I'm sure Miss Fisher will be here shortly.

(drink pouring) (glass clinking) (footsteps clopping) (door clacking) (door slamming) (clock ticking) (door crashing) - Oh.

- Whoa.

- What are you doing here?

- Aw, we were waiting for the baron.

He's given us the slip.

(metal clanking) - Forget the baron, I've got a paying job for you.

(glass clinking) (door slamming) (door clacking) Jack, at last.

(sighing) I am so sorry I kept you.

- I'm sorry, too, Miss Fisher.

- Uh, why don't you sit down and have another drink?

- No, no, no, I, I, I, and I need to make something perfectly clear.

- Go ahead.

- Well, you know, I'm a liberal-minded man, m-maybe not as liberal minded as, as you'd like me to be, or as, ah, much as I would like me to be for you.

But I don't want you to think I'm like all those other liberal-minded men.

- What other men?

- Well, the parade, the constant parade of, of French artists, of fugitive anarchists, of, of, of Russian clairvoyants, and the, the tango dancers, and, and men who, men who wear damned cravats.

(Phryne gasping) (Jack gulping) (Phryne sighing) Well, I'm not one of them and I never will be, even if you want me to be.

That's all I have to say.

- Jack, wait.

(door clacking and smacking) (Phryne gasping) (Jack thudding) - I forgot my nerve tonic.

(bell ringing) (birds singing) (Cec snoring) (Cec snorting) (mysterious sneezing) - Was that you?

(mysterious sneezing) (footsteps clopping) (birds singing) (Jack grunting) (sheets rustling) (door knocking) (door clacking) - Good morning, Inspector.

I've pressed your suit.

(footsteps clopping) - Thank you, Mr. Butler.

- No trouble at all, sir.

(door clacking) (footsteps clopping) (flowers rustling) (vase clinking) (footsteps clopping) - Hungry?

I can recommend the omelet.

- Uh.

- Morning, Jack.

How's the head?

- Miss Fisher.

- I offered him breakfast.

- Father, I asked you to wait upstairs.

- Father?

- Henry George Fisher, Baron of Richmond.

We haven't been formally introduced, though I did help to carry up the stairs.

- [Phryne] This is Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.

- Inspector?

- Yes, Father, an officer of the law.

My father is the main financier of the Cavalcade of Mysteries.

You might recall Mr. Mackenzie mentioning him.

- Yes, I, I do recall.

- I think I'll try another omelet.

- Jack.

I was going to explain last night, but you were in no fit state.

- You assaulted me.

- My father assaulted you.

Well, his nerve tonic assaulted you first, but none of it was planned.

- Who put me in pajamas?

- Mr. Butler, of course.

After I undressed you.

(door knocking) (door clacking) (footsteps clopping) - Coming through.

- Urgent delivery.

(inquisitive music) (trunk thudding) (trunk clacking) - Good morning.

(Sarah gasping) Why did you take this money?

- Because it was owed to me and I needed it to send to Pearl's auntie so she could buy her a proper headstone.

- Shouldn't Mr. Mackenzie do that as Pearl's fiance?

- You and Pearl were close, weren't you?

- We were friends.

- Sid said he had nothing against her type.

Now, what would he mean by that?

You took her beads.

- Yes, I did.

- They were covered in her blood.

- I'm sentimental.

- You were intimate friends, weren't you?

In a sapphic sense.

But Pearl had ambition.

- She was perfect for that act.

She was a champion swimmer.

She'd dreamed about doing the Miraculous Mermaid ever since she heard about the act.

- And she was prepared to do anything to get the part, wasn't she?

Even marry Mackenzie?

- It doesn't mean that she loved him.

- No, but she gave you up for him, didn't she?

- She was mine.

- Prepare yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, for the most dangerous and spectacular act you have ever seen.

(wheels rolling) - No, Mackenzie, it's not spectacular, it's not dangerous.

- We'll come back to this later, Mavis.

- What happened to your last mermaid?

Mermaids don't just vanish, you must at least remember her name.

- It was Tilly, wasn't it?

- No, her name was Millie, Millie the Miraculous Mermaid.

- It doesn't matter what her name was.

We're not doing it.

It's cursed, I'm telling you.

This act is cursed.

(footsteps clopping) - Come with me, Dot.

(footsteps clopping) (door squeaking) (footsteps clopping) (door clacking) (footsteps clopping) - What exactly are you looking for, Miss?

- The original mermaid picture, I saw it the other day.

(footsteps clopping) (trunk squeaking) But this is far more informative.

(footsteps clopping) - Oh.

(gasping) (door squeaking) (footsteps clopping) - Sid.

- Hey, what happened to you?

- [Sarah] Nothing, I told them the money was for Pearl's family and they couldn't prove anything, the cops just dropped me back.

- [Sid] Yeah, well, you nearly got us both caught.

- [Sarah] No, I didn't.

And stop complaining, you're lucky I didn't drag you into it.

(footsteps clopping) (door clacking) - The trouble with a dubious bunch like Mackenzie's cavalcade is sorting out the petty criminals from the killers.

- Those two?

- (sighing) They're definitely the former.

They obviously colluded to steal that money.

That's why Sid tried to stop me with his sword-throwing trick.

I'll reserve judgment on the latter.

(inquisitive music) (trunk squeaking) (papers rustling) - Miss, look.

Mr. Mackenzie on his wedding day.

- With a bride who looks like Eva.

- Millie was Eva's twin sister, and my darling wife.

- And why didn't you tell us, either of you?

- We couldn't see what Millie had to do with Pearl.

- Well, she was obviously a big part of the show, why did she leave?

- Sh-she made-- - Eva.

She didn't leave.

She died.

- [Eva] It's not true.

- Eva, please, y-you don't need to cover up for me anymore, I've had enough.

Millie drowned 10 years ago.

It was all my fault.

- It was an accident.

- Oh my stars, I've invested in a bunch of crooks.

- Be quiet, Baron.

- We were on tour, in Kalgoorlie, and I, I, I left her there, I just left her there.

- He had no choice, the show had to go on.

- The razzle-dazzle went on, didn't it?

But I failed her just as I failed poor Pearl.

(curtain rustling) - Inspector, just in time.

Mr. Mackenzie has something he'd like to tell you.

(suspenseful music) - I'd like to confess to the manslaughter of my wife, Millie Mackenzie, 10 years ago.

(footsteps clopping) - Miss Williams, you're still here.

- I was just looking for Miss Fisher.

- Oh yes, she holds your skills in very high regard.

Please.

- Oh.

- Oh, you have a very strong mind and an eye for detail.

- That's what Miss Fisher relies on.

- Hmm, and don't worry, your fiance's dilemma will soon be resolved.

- What dilemma?

- The choice between a working woman and a wife?

Forgive me.

(footsteps clopping) (letter slapping) (footsteps clopping) (inquisitive music) (letter rustling) - [Dot] Millie?

(footsteps clopping) (suspenseful music) (suspenseful music continues) (footsteps shuffling) (hinges clacking) (lid squeaking and rattling) (suspenseful music continues) (hinges clacking) (footsteps clopping) (suspenseful music continues) (Phryne straining) (lid rattling) - Trick hinges.

- Miss.

(footsteps clopping) Eva Callahan just dropped this.

- (sighing) A letter from a dead woman?

(letter rustling) Excellent sleuthing, Dot.

(birds singing) (door knocking) (door clacking) - Millie Mackenzie.

- Of course I can assist if it means saving Mervin, Mr. Mackenzie from the gallows.

- But what about your second husband?

- Benedict died six months ago in Paris.

That's why I came home.

- I'm sorry.

- I knew it was risky, but I missed everyone so much, especially my sister.

We were so close, as twins are.

(kick thudding) (Dot coughing) - Oh dear.

(coughing) - [Phryne] Could we bother you for a glass of water?

- Of course.

(Dot coughing) (inquisitive music) (footsteps clopping) (Dot coughing) - Miss.

(Dot coughing) (footsteps clopping) (Dot coughing) (Dot sighing) - Excuse me for saying so, but staging your own death seems a rather complicated way out of a marriage.

Why didn't you just ask for a divorce?

- At the time, it seemed the only way.

Even if I'd told Mervin the truth, that I'd fallen in love with another man, he would never have let me go.

- You were afraid of him.

- I was terrified.

(inquisitive music) - And so Eva helped you pull off your audacious stunt.

- Please, don't blame her.

I begged her.

(car door slamming) (footsteps clopping) - Have you released Mackenzie?

- We had no choice.

- Millie pretended to get into trouble, but Mackenzie believed she'd drowned.

He was distraught, so I promised him that I'd take care of everything.

So, as far as Mackenzie knows, Millie is buried somewhere outside Kalgoorlie.

- I'm surprised that you didn't take over.

- Um, Millie and I are identical, but unfortunately we don't share identical talents.

I get breathless when I'm nervous.

- Is it true?

Is Millie still alive, eh?

- Stop, sir.

Try to stop.

- How could you treat me like this?

Where is my wife?

(Eva screaming) - Mackenzie.

- Eh?

You tell me where she is, I need to see her.

She broke my heart, like Pearl.

Get off me, get off me.

I need to find her.

(Eva crying) - Well, if you ask me, it's all to do with bringing back the Miraculous Mermaid because each of our suspects had a reason to stop it going ahead.

Mackenzie obviously found out the Pearl was taking him for a ride, and the thing that she wanted most was not him, but to play his new mermaid.

- The last thing Sid wanted was Mackenzie's star to rise again.

- And Sarah was furious with Pearl for casting her side, again, for the sake of performing the mermaid act.

- Eva could've murdered the new mermaid to protect her sister's legacy.

What about Millie?

- No obvious motive, but I am curious to know what she was using this for.

- Fell out of her handbag?

- A paregoric, a cough mixture, pain relief, diarrhea.

It's a camphorated tincture of opium.

- Opium?

- I'll take that.

- You may need her new address, too.

- I'll pass on your regards.

(footsteps clopping) (door clacking) - If the killer didn't want the Miraculous Mermaid performed, then performing it-- - Would be dangerous.

- But might flush out the killer.

- So might a methodical investigation.

- I'll leave the methodical part to Jack.

(inquisitive music) While I conduct a small experiment in Aunt Prudence's swimming pool.

(footsteps clopping) - I can't believe Mackenzie's still stuck on this woman after she ran away with another bloke.

Even wrote her a soppy love letter.

- [Dot] Are you going to deliver it?

- Of course not, Dottie, this is a police station, it's not a post office.

- We could go together.

I think Millie's definitely hiding something.

- Mm, bigamy for a start.

And I don't do this job for fun, Dottie, I have to follow procedure.

(phone ringing) (phone clacking) City South Police Station, Constable Collins speaking.

(letter rustling) I, sorry, Dottie, I can't chat now.

Sorry.

- Yes.

(footsteps clopping) Yes, that's correct.

- [Phryne] What do you say?

- [Mackenzie] You're not qualified.

- I did study Houdini's water torture cell under the Great Levante.

- I haven't done it for 10 years.

- But it's what the audience have paid for.

- No, no, it's too late without any rehearsal.

- I've been rehearsing all afternoon.

You know you didn't drown anyone.

You didn't fail.

You didn't kill the Miraculous Mermaid 10 years ago.

What are you so afraid of?

(door slamming) (footsteps clopping) - Aunt Prudence, can't stop.

I'm on my way to Mackenzie's magic show.

- I want to know what my niece is up to.

- She'll be at the theater, too.

I-I-I've just had a call, we found a new mermaid.

- Mermaid?

- I haven't met her yet, but she'll be padlocked into an underwater tank and have to escape from her chains or drown.

Thrilling stuff.

- Henry, wh-what kind of an idiot are you?

- Steady on, Prudence.

- Phryne has been submerged in my swimming pool all afternoon.

- Oh, do you think?

Oh.

- It's another of your ridiculous schemes gone wrong.

If any harm comes to that dear girl, it'll be on your head.

(car engine rumbling) - Taxi.

(Prudence sighing) - You were right about Sid Forest, sir.

Previous charges of petty theft, a minor assault on a train driver, and jailed five years ago for counterfeiting.

- Impressive list of achievements for a sword swallower.

- Mm.

- Nothing on Miss Norton though.

- Just like Mackenzie, he's, hang on, where's the?

(paper rustling) Oh no.

- Something wrong, Collins?

- (sighing) Millie Nailer's letter's missing from the Mackenzie file, sir, and I think Miss Williams has taken it.

- Just what we need, two of them.

(inquisitive music) (gate squeaking) (footsteps clopping) (door knocking) (footsteps clopping) (inquisitive music continues) (inquisitive music continues) (footsteps clopping) (inquisitive music continues) (door clacking) (lock pick jangling) (lock pick clinking) (audience clapping) - It's Joe and Jenny.

- Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm here tonight to talk you and-- - Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello.

(audience laughing) - I'm sorry, what are you doing here?

- I-I-I've come to see the magic show.

(audience laughing) - Miss Fisher, please.

can you please double-check that you'll be able to reach this once your hands are padlocked?

It, it slips in here.

Excuse me.

- You're too nervous.

- Oh, look.

- Here.

(throat clearing) Miss Fisher.

- Okay.

- Oh, bravo.

(clapping) - I just heard what that guy out in the back row's thinking, too.

Stop it, you naughty boy.

(audience laughing) (inquisitive music) (door clacking) (lock pick clinking) - Yes.

(footsteps clopping) (door squeaking) (switch clicking) (torch clicking) (inquisitive music continues) (letters rustling) (letters rustling continues) (door clacking) (upbeat music) - This is more like it.

- JC Williamson's got nothing on you, mate.

(laughing) (upbeat music continues) (audience cheering and clapping) - Just remember not to panic.

- Shame to lose a beautiful lady like you, Miss.

Are you sure this is wise?

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (audience clapping) - [Audience] Ah.

(audience cheering and clapping) - It's Miss Fisher.

- Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, at last, what you've all been waiting for.

I give you my Miraculous Mermaid.

(audience cheering and clapping swelling) (door squeaking) (footsteps clopping) (suspenseful music) - [Hugh] Anyone here?

- [Dot] Hugh.

- Aw.

(sighing) (Dot panting) Dottie, what are you doing here?

- Look at this.

(footsteps clopping) Millie Nailer lied about living here.

Inspector.

- Miss Williams.

(letters rustling) Paregoric.

(suspenseful music) - My cousin uses that for his asthma, sir.

- In this most daring of feats, my Miraculous Mermaid must channel the lungs of a creature from the deep, the wondrous powers of the great Houdini, that she find herself in a watery grave.

(Eva wheezing) - Are you all right?

It was you.

(key zinging) (hook clanking) (audience gasping) (dramatic music) (glass banging) (lid slamming) (audience gasping) (nail chinking) (locks clacking) - How long does she have, ladies and gentlemen?

(audience murmuring) (clock ticking) - One minute.

- Can she do it?

(chains clanking) (audience murmuring) (clock ticking) - Two minutes.

(audience gasping) (dramatic music continues) (clock ticking) Three minutes.

(audience gasping) (siren blaring) (tires screeching) (door clacking) (car doors slamming) (dramatic music continues) (footsteps clopping) (clock ticking) Four minutes.

(audience gasping) - Get her outta there.

Get her outta there.

Phryne's in there.

(footsteps clopping) (audience gasping) (audience clapping) (dramatic music) - Stop her.

(footsteps clopping) (Eva grunting) (audience gasping) (Eva wheezing) (handcuffs clinking) - You're under arrest.

- Good teamwork, Hugh.

(chains clanking) - How on earth did you manage that?

- It helped that our murderer showed a distinct lack of imagination in her modus operandi.

(audience cheering and clapping) Thank you.

(inquisitive music) (footsteps shuffling) It was galling, wasn't it, Eva?

First, your father and then Mackenzie forcing you to hide behind the scenes while your sister received all the accolades.

And the more successful she became, the more eclipsed you felt, until you could bear it no longer.

So you murdered Millie by trapping her in the water tank, and you convinced Mackenzie it was just some accident.

- How could I not have seen it all?

- Because you're a lovesick fool.

- [Phryne] And it all played out just as you'd hoped.

You've finally stepped out from your sister's shadow - 'Til I lost my nerve and the show was ruined.

- Until the baron came along, and convinced Mackenzie to revive the Miraculous Mermaid.

Then Pearl began to ask too many questions about the water tank.

She must've found the secret hole you drilled to sabotage the lid.

- That's why Pearl kept badgering me about the tank.

- You were so worried it would all come out, you had to stop her.

And so you fixed a second nail in the guillotine, just like you fixed the lid of the water tank and you let poor Mackenzie believe that he had made yet another fatal mistake.

- What possessed you?

- Millie possessed me, that's who.

(inquisitive music) The audience adored Millie, but never knew I even existed.

I was just part of the trickery, "Oh, look, Millie's over here.

Now she's over there."

But where was I?

This was my father's show, and it should've been mine, too.

I deserved my share, I deserved to be a part of it.

(Eva wheezing) (footsteps shuffling) - This way, Miss Callahan.

(footsteps clopping) (cicadas chirping) (footsteps shuffling) (footsteps clopping) - Uh, your father has just arrived, Miss Fisher.

- Not again.

- Um, Mrs. Stanley was quite insistent that you read this letter before you speak with him again.

(letter rustling) (footsteps clopping) (upbeat music) (door clacking) (footsteps clopping) - There you are, my dear.

(door clacking) I told you it was a wonderful show.

Of course it'll be difficult to replace you, but y-you've at least made my money back.

- My money.

What I'd like to know is how you managed to squander yours.

Is that why you sold the estate in Somerset?

Mother wrote to Prudence.

She thinks you're in London looking to buy a townhouse.

- Your mother wanted something less drafty.

- The point is, you're not in London, and you've been lying to me ever since you got here.

- I only invested in Mackenzie's cavalcade because of you, because you always loved magic.

- Do you know why I studied magic so avidly?

To make you disappear out of our lives?

(door knocking) Don't.

(door clacking and squeaking) - Miss Fisher.

- Inspector Robinson, just in time to help us celebrate.

Come in, come in.

(door clacking) come in.

- And what are we drinking to?

(glass clinking) - To magic, to mermaids, to my wonderful daughter, to leopards changing their spots.

- And to miracles.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (bright music) (film reel rattling) (logo whooshing and rumbling) (transition zooming)