Brokenwood Mysteries

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (footsteps echoing) (birds chirping) ♪ Ding-dong bell ♪ ♪ Pussy's in the well ♪ Oh!

Morning, Vicar.

- God bless, Evie.

- [Patrick] Good morning.

- Good morning, Mr. Timson.

♪ Who put him in ♪ ♪ Little Johnny Flynn ♪ ♪ Who pulled him out ♪ ♪ Little Tommy Stout ♪ - Morning, Evie.

- Hello there.

- Hello, soldiers.

(Evie humming) Mr. Shuler?

(ominous music) Mr. Shuler?

Hmm.

- Don't shrug, Evie.

It is unladylike.

That man is late again.

Remember, a poor work ethic is a sign of immorality.

Now, it is a big day.

We must always look our best.

- Yes, Mrs. Highmore-Browne.

(Evie humming) (bright music) (bright music continues) - Vicar Seymour?

Vicar, you have left God's Word on your doorstep.

(bright music continues) (Charity sighs) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) (ominous music) (arrow squelches) (Charity's body thuds) (ominous music continues) (upbeat music) (car engine roars) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - Always meant to visit this place.

- [Breen] I used to come here with my dad in the school holidays.

I wonder if they still do the horse and buggy ride.

- Given the nature of the callout, there could be some irony to that sign.

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - G'day, Detective Shepherd.

- The dynamic duo strike again.

- Gina.

Bright and early.

- I have always wanted to visit this place.

- Me too.

- Oh.

Maybe we could look around together.

- Maybe.

Work to do first.

- Of course.

(steady music) - [Shepherd] Thanks.

- Victim is Charity Highmore-Browne, the owner and manager of the village.

- And the schoolmistress.

- Gave the kids of today the scary old school experience.

- [Shepherd] More irony?

A message perhaps?

- If so, it must've been the slow-learners class.

- Maybe he did it.

- I've always had a thing about mannequins.

(Sims chuckles) - Pretty obvious cause of death on this one, Gina.

- Mm, not necessarily.

Sometimes the obvious hides something more sinister.

- That has been cut with something.

- Yeah, hunters do that to make it easier to transport their kill.

If an arrow is barbed, it's impossible to pull out without damaging the beast.

- So, Charity, why were you hunted down?

(steady music continues) What are we thinking?

- [Breen] She walks in, opens the window.

Thwack!

Gets an arrow to the head.

- [Sims] Arrow could have been fired from any number of places out there.

(window creaks) - [Shepherd] Which suggests that whoever had Charity in their sights must've known that she would open that window as opposed to any of these others.

Get all available units to begin door knocks in the surrounding area.

If there is someone running around with a bow, they must've been spotted.

- We can assume, then, that the person knew her routine, that she would open that window.

- Exactly.

(car engine stuttering) - [Shepherd] Is that?

- Frodo's gone up in the world.

(car engine stuttering) - [Shepherd] This your van?

- Oh, hi.

Yeah.

Yeah, it's mine.

For sure, totally.

It's part of my fleet.

- Fleet?

How many do you have?

- As of now, just this one, but I'll be expanding.

There's money in ice cream.

- You should move your fleet along.

- What happened in there?

- Hunting accident.

- So there won't be any public visiting today until the crime scene is cleared.

(car engine stuttering) Time to round up the usual suspects.

I'll deal with the next of kin.

(car engine stuttering) - Right.

Let's get through this lot.

Doing the grunt work.

Oh, to be the boss.

- While we wait for that day to come, we could order a choc-dip with nuts and a Flake.

(poignant music) - Gina, this is Debra Yelich.

Debra, this is Dr. Kadinsky.

- Hello.

(poignant music continues) - Yes, that's my sister, Janet.

- Janet?

Not Charity?

- That too, but her real name was Janet.

Plain old Janet Tucker.

Though that was never good enough for her.

- This is Charity Highmore-Browne?

- Yes.

What happened to her?

- She was hit in the head by an arrow.

- An arrow?

How strange.

- Please.

When was the last time you saw your sister?

- Some time ago.

We weren't close.

- Would you know of anyone that would want to harm her?

- It wasn't an accident, then?

- Ah, doesn't seem that way.

- Like I said, we weren't in close contact.

- Can you tell me, why did your sister wanna change her name?

- Charity Highmore-Browne, 49 years old.

Owner and general manager of the Brokenwood Historic Village.

- Also the local representative of the Historic Places Trust.

Known to be a stickler for preserving heritage buildings.

- Her next of kin, Debra Yelich, explained that her birth name was Janet Tucker.

- But as soon as Janet was old enough, she insisted on changing her name by deed poll.

- To Charity Highmore-Browne.

- To Charity.

Then when she met her husband, David, well, she couldn't believe her luck.

She became Charity Highmore-Browne.

- Interestingly, David Highmore-Browne disappeared a little over seven years ago.

Charity reported him missing when he failed to return from a walk along Brokenwood Beach.

An extensive search revealed nothing, and it was rumored he had, in fact, walked out.

The coronial report mentions a note addressed to Charity turned up in the mail.

- "I couldn't be myself, I couldn't be your everything.

"It is better I become nothing at all.

"Yours, All at Sea."

- Bit of pedal steel guitar, it could be a country lyric.

- Hmm!

Do we know what he did?

Did he write Mills & Boon?

- A conservator, he worked at the village, restoring interiors to their original state.

More extensive searching turned up nothing until some of his clothing washed up at the beach.

But his body was never recovered.

- The coroner deemed it death by suicide.

- He kills himself.

She gets an arrow through the head.

- Thanks.

- An exciting marriage.

- Hmm.

Oh, this was found around her neck.

- Padlock maybe?

Small cupboard door?

- Or the key to her heart.

- Ooh, that definitely needs some pedal steel guitar.

(Sims chuckles) - Witnesses?

- Ah, Evie Neaber was believed to be the last to see Charity alive.

But she was too upset to talk.

Maybe you could bring her in a little bit later.

- Of course.

- I spoke with Wally Seymour.

- I saw Charity enter the schoolhouse.

I thought after a while she was taking a long time.

Charity was a woman of strict routine, you see?

I was the one who found her.

Charity!

Call an ambulance!

The police!

Help!

Call an ambulance!

Help!

(bell ringing) Who would do such a thing?

This is a colonial village, not the Wild West.

- I talked to Jack Shuler, the blacksmith.

- Didn't see anything.

Head down, ass up.

Getting my smithy ready for the day.

- I also spoke to Kahu Taylor, who was set to work his first Live Day as the Maori postal runner.

- What are they?

- Well, in colonial times, Maori knew all the routes, so were paid to run between settlements carrying mail between postal depots.

So you saw nothing suspicious?

- I didn't see anything suspicious because I was in my raupo hut feeling like the token Maori.

I knew this was a dumb idea.

- Patrick Timson is the postmaster.

He was in his kiosk prepping his franking machine.

- The historic village has a unique postmark.

Posting letters, even in this day and age, is very popular with the visitors.

- Patrick said his post office is one of the busiest attractions.

- I guess that makes him Postman Pat.

- But only if he has a black-and-white cat.

(Sims chuckles) - Other witnesses?

- Billy Franks and Nigel Medlock were in their tent cleaning their muskets.

- We can reload in 40 seconds.

- Yeah, powder horn to compression.

- Okay, can you point that thing somewhere else?

- Oh, sorry.

- Senior.

(steady music) - I will find out where this came from.

(phone camera shutter clicks) - [Sims] So you saw Mr. Timson in the post office.

- Yes.

- But Mr. Shuler wasn't in his blacksmith shop.

- No, and Mrs. Highmore-Browne was grumpy because he's always late.

- And then what happened?

- I dropped off my milk at the general store, when I heard Mr. Seymour.

- Help!

Call an ambulance!

The police!

Help.

- Everyone came running.

- Call an ambulance!

(bell ringing) Help!

Help!

(foreboding music) - It's so horrible what happened, because Charity was such a nice lady.

I'll miss cooking in her house.

(bright music) - Nice and slow to get an even peel.

Well done, Evie.

- Evie when you say "her house," you mean the museum house?

- That is her house.

That's where she actually lived.

- In the museum?

- Charity was quite eccentric.

- Perhaps you could show us what you mean.

- Sorry.

Chasing out a stray chicken.

- Oh, can I help?

I love chasing chickens.

- I can manage.

Thanks all the same.

If you need anything, I'll be in the office.

- This is her room.

- This is an exhibit.

- We wanna see where she actually lived.

- In here.

That's her bed.

- Like I said, totally eccentric.

- So she actually lived her life as if she was in 1861?

(foreboding music) (upbeat music) - Gina.

Didn't know you were into hunting.

- There is a lot you don't know about me.

But today I'm doing research for Mike.

- I guess I could say the same.

We should compare notes.

- I don't think so.

My research and your research are very different.

(steady music) - [Breen] What can you tell me about accuracy?

- Depends what you're after.

Hunting, recreational, sport, field archery.

There's a bow for every occasion.

- Murder?

- Mate, this whole shop's packed with potential murder weapons.

Not that I've ever sold anything.

- I'll take your word for it.

Could this have come from here?

- No, I don't sell those.

More for accuracy than heavy kill.

But these days you can order all this stuff online.

Seriously, I wouldn't ever actually-- - It's okay.

- I mean, sometimes I think about it.

You know, when there's a really annoying customer.

But I've never actually-- - Tony, you should stop now.

- Yeah.

- What is the difference between these types?

- Ah, right.

Compound bow versus recurve.

So as you draw back, the pressure relieves on the hand, but it's still held within the string.

It saves the archer from tiring when firing arrow after arrow.

- And improves accuracy?

- Maybe.

I'm not an expert.

If you want more detailed info you should approach the archery club down the domain.

Woman who runs it is an ex-Olympian.

- Debra Yelich?

- Yeah, that's her.

Just missed out on a bronze.

- Seriously, I wouldn't ever... - [Breen] Thanks, Tony.

(steady music continues) (bell rings) - Wally.

Did you find what you were looking for?

- [Wally] Eh?

- The stray chicken.

- Oh, yes.

Well, no, they're a nuisance but hardly worth bothering about under the circumstances.

Can I help?

- We're curious.

How long did Charity reside in the homestead?

- Maybe eight years.

They moved in shortly before her husband left her.

- Left or went missing?

- The detail hardly matters.

Suicide amounts to the same thing.

Charity was heartbroken.

- We note that his death certificate was only recently issued after the statutory seven-year period.

- Yes.

- Did you notice anything different in her demeanor when that came through?

- I think it gave her closure, actually.

We had a little ceremony.

And so we remember David, missing in body but not in spirit.

(steady music continues) (people clapping) - Thank you, Vicar Seymour.

Being laid to rest here would have been a special honor for David.

He put so much work into the place.

This village meant so much to him.

- Means so much to her.

- We don't know he's actually dead.

- Awkward.

- Patrick!

Come on, mate.

- Patrick, after seven years even I have to accept it is time to move on.

David made his choice, something that was out of my control, and the result is that he is dead.

Unless you know something I don't.

- No.

- He's dead, Patrick.

- That's right.

David is gone.

We must move on.

- Wally, you're not an actual vicar, are you?

- Well, no.

Like everything else here, we... - Pretend?

- Evoke.

We evoke the past.

- You are paid, though?

- Charity provided a basic salary for me as caretaker and Patrick as head conservator.

The rest are volunteers.

This place has always run off the smell of an oily rag.

I'm not sure we will survive this.

- One more thing.

Just before you discovered Charity, a witness saw you walking towards this office holding your cheek.

Had you hurt yourself?

- No.

- As a result of a struggle, perhaps?

- No.

If I had, I think I'd remembered that.

I-Is that all?

- Yes.

Thanks.

♪ When the sun goes down ♪ - Charity was clearly a complete eccentric with an absolute passion for the village.

- Which is on the brink of insolvency.

- Could she have offed her husband to keep funding the dream?

♪ No, I ain't got you ♪ - Look into the life insurance situation.

♪ When the sun goes down and I scream your name ♪ ♪ It's 'cause your love drove me insane ♪ ♪ And I ain't got you ♪ ♪ Ain't got you no more ♪ ♪ No, I ain't got you ♪ ♪ Ain't got you no more ♪ - [Breen] Hi there.

D.C. Breen, Brokenwood CIB.

(dog barking in the distance) Oh, right.

Um.

Is Debra about?

(dog barking in the distance) Beautiful day.

- Hi.

Sorry.

Mr. Breen?

- Yes.

- Debra.

This is my husband, Ron.

He suffered a severe stroke many years ago, so he doesn't speak.

- Right.

Sorry.

- But he loves it out here in the fresh air, watching.

Don't you, love?

(dog barking in the distance) - Thanks for coming down.

And congrats on your Olympic record, by the way.

It's very impressive.

- Eh, fourth is a hard one to celebrate.

Especially as the bronze went to a woman from Belarus.

Knowing what we know now about their sporting tactics, well, go figure.

- Still, the Olympics, that's a massive achievement.

- It's a long time ago now.

What do you want to know?

(Sims knocks) - David Highmore-Browne's life was never insured.

So with no life insurance, his death and the subsequent certification seven years later would have been of no financial benefit to Charity.

- No motive there, then.

Perhaps it was suicide.

- Although to commit suicide and never have your body found takes a high level of planning.

- Or good luck.

- Did you find Debra Yelich to be quite staunch?

(arrow whizzes) Nice work!

- Not really.

Pulled to the left.

- Still, that's amazing.

Especially given you lost your sister earlier today.

- I've had enough tragedy to call myself an expert.

My sister is dead, and I am sad about that.

(arrow whizzes) When I'm sad or have things I need to work through, I shoot ends.

- Ends?

- Ends.

Groups of arrows.

This is a quiver.

This is a bow.

Really, what else can I tell you?

- You mentioned a list of your club members.

- And why exactly do you need that?

- As you know, your sister was killed with an arrow to the head.

(Ron mumbling) - So you assume it must be someone from this club?

- We are focusing our lines of inquiry.

That's all at this stage.

What can you tell me about this?

- It's a small broadhead.

- [Breen] Used in sports archery?

- Hunting, I believe.

- Do you hunt?

- No.

- But firing a sports arrow and a hunting arrow would be much the same?

- Like I said, I don't hunt, so I wouldn't know.

Can I e-mail you the list?

- Sure.

Thanks for your time.

Oh, for the record, where were you just before 10:00 AM this morning?

- This morning I was picking Ron up from respite care.

(Ron mumbling) Yes, Ron, I know.

- Sorry, what's he saying?

- Um, my husband wants to go.

He's getting cold.

I'll get you that list.

- I couldn't help think he was trying to say something else.

I'll follow up with the respite place to verify her movements.

- Fair enough.

After all, a champion archer's sister has ended up with an arrow in her head.

Can't be that simple.

Or can it?

(upbeat music) - What we know so far.

We have a broken arrow, a key, a dead husband, and a tiny window of time between Evie seeing Charity alive here and being found dead here by Wally.

A maximum of five minutes.

- Most likely she was shot through the window from a hidden vantage point somewhere around here.

But where did they disappear to?

- And what did they do with the weapon.

A bow is difficult to conceal.

It's hard to leave the scene unnoticed.

- If they did stash it somewhere, it would seem very out of place.

- The dogs couldn't get a scent, which clearly suggests... - The perpetrator didn't leave the scene.

(phone ringing) Breen.

- [Breen] I sighted the visitors' log book.

Debra Yelich signed her husband out at 9: 30 yesterday morning.

It's at least a 30-minute drive from this place to the historic village.

We know time of death occurred just before 10: 00 AM.

I reckon we can count her out.

- Got it.

Oh, and meet me at the village.

Thanks.

Debra Yelich was across town at the time of death.

- Okay.

We know from Evie that Postman Pat was in his kiosk.

And Billy and Nigel were in the same place when Evie talked to Charity here and when Wally sounded the alarm here.

They never left their position.

They can be discounted.

- Evie said she saw Wally here heading away from the schoolhouse, but then he reemerged from the schoolhouse.

Where was he in the interim?

- The other person we can't account for is Jack Shuler, so I'll follow up with him.

And something that Kahu Taylor said needs clarification.

- Ah.

As for me, I'm off to play bows and arrows.

(upbeat music) That's 40 meters.

- And... Chooo!

- I like the sound effects.

- Ah, thanks.

But according to Debra Yelich, anyone less than skilled loses basic accuracy over distances greater than 25 meters.

- So we're looking at an expert.

What about the members of her archery club?

- They all check out.

None of them were near the place.

- Mm.

(upbeat music continues) Let's try that one.

- According to a witness, you weren't in your smithy just before Charity was killed.

So we're keen to know where you were.

- Witness?

Evie Neaber?

- There were several people present around the time.

- I was there.

I remember Wally sounding the alarm.

- Call an ambulance!

The police!

Help!

Call an ambulance.

(bell ringing) - So maybe Evie was mistaken.

- And where were you just prior to that?

- I don't know.

Around, getting things done.

There's a lot to organize on open days.

- "Around," can you be more specific?

- Why?

Because a kid might've been mistaken?

For all I can remember, I might've been in the bog.

- It was only yesterday.

- What'd you have for dinner last night?

- Uh... - There you go.

It was only yesterday.

I gotta go.

Busy day.

- Ah.

For the record, it was a curry laksa.

- Good for you.

(tense music) (steady music) - [Shepherd] Doesn't give a clear vantage point to the school.

- It's not easily accessible either.

And if the killer walked out of here with a bow, surely they'd have been seen by someone.

- Hmm.

Wait.

(dramatic music) (Breen and Shepherd scream) - Holy, mother of... - I'm sorry.

I was doing maintenance, and I couldn't resist.

- Am I too young to have a heart attack?

- As far as practical jokes go, it's an oldie but a goodie.

Gets people every time.

- Yeah, well, yep, you got us.

- You curate the exhibits, Patrick?

- Yes, I specialize in the models, the scenes, artifacts.

Restoration, it's delicate work but very rewarding.

- Do you think we could use one of these mannequins?

- What for?

- Measurements.

- They're incredibly fragile.

- It's about position.

I mean, once in place, they wouldn't need to move.

- Their clothing is ornate and antique.

No one touches them but me.

- Sure.

You supervise.

- Which one?

- Her.

(gravel crunching) - Kahu.

- Detective Sims.

What can I do you for?

- I just wanted to clarify something you said in your witness statement.

- Uh-huh.

- You said that you were inside your raupo hut when you heard the alarm being raised.

- [Kahu] So?

- Well, a witness has you emerging from the side of your hut.

- You doubting me?

- Kahu, I need to be clear.

It suggests that you were returning from somewhere.

- I was.

- Okay.

From?

- I was returning from behind the hut.

- And what were you doing there?

- Hiding.

From Charity.

I was talking on my mobile phone, an act which she specifically banned.

- But you must have known that you had to dress up.

Why did you agree to do it?

- I told you.

For the money.

- There must be flushing toilets for the public, so they need to be maintained.

- Well, I'm up for it.

- Up for it?

What are you, a helium balloon?

(Kahu titters) Our last native left.

Would you like to act as our Maori mail runner every fourth Sunday and public holidays?

- Did you just say "native"?

- Yes.

Well, you are, aren't you?

Oh, please, I won't be laid siege by the politically correct brigade.

Here it is 1861.

In this village we reflect attitudes, we don't rewrite them.

Do you want the contract or not?

- I wish I'd had the guts to tell her to stick it.

Now I won't get the chance.

(steady music) (door shuts) - A little more to the left.

- She was shot through the window, then?

- Seems that way.

- That would take some skill.

I presume you're aware Charity's sister's into archery.

- We do know that.

Thanks.

We also know she was across town at the time of the incident.

- Yeah, turn her just a little bit more.

- [Breen] A little more.

Better?

- Yeah, that's it.

- Any more and it won't line up with where she fell.

(steady music) (foreboding music) - Patrick.

What's in the scrub over there?

- A cesspit or something.

It used to give off a bad smell, and the public complained.

Charity made it out of bounds years ago.

- I wouldn't go in there.

- Wally.

Hello.

Why is that?

- The ground is believed to be unstable.

- Thanks for the warning.

- [Wally] Please be careful.

- [Shepherd] What is this, Wally?

- [Wally] I believe it's an old offal pit from when the land the village was built on used to be a farm.

- [Shepherd] When was this?

- Charity's father bought it back in the early '70s.

(lock clunking) - Any idea where there might be a key?

- No.

Probably still with the previous owner.

It's not something that gets used as part of the village experience.

- Sims.

I need you to bring something down from the station.

- Roger that.

There ASAP.

(steady music continues) (steady music continues) - Doesn't fit.

- I'll grab the bolt cutters from the car.

- Is that entirely necessary?

By the looks of it, that padlock is antique.

This is a museum, after all.

- [Shepherd] Grab them.

I thought you said this area wasn't part of the museum experience.

- Well, yes, but... (wood cracks) (Shepherd screams) - [Sims] (gasps) Mike!

(Shepherd groaning) - [Breen] You all right?

- [Shepherd] I think I hurt my leg.

- [Sims] Don't move anything.

(Shepherd groaning) (foreboding music) (foreboding music continues) - Hello.

(steady music) - Detective Shepherd, how's the pain level?

- No pain.

- Well, the good news is you've managed to evade serious damage.

- It looks a little serious.

- It's a hairline fracture of the tibia.

- That's the bad news?

- No.

The bad news is you'll need to keep your weight off it for the next two weeks as the healing process gets under way.

- As in no walking?

- As in no walking.

And it has to be elevated to reduce swelling.

The sooner the swelling recedes, the sooner you can get back to work.

I'll organize a wheelchair.

Back soon.

- Hi!

Did she say wheelchair?

- Ah, probably an overreaction.

- Does it hurt?

- No pain.

- Gotta love good drugs.

Prescription.

It's a hospital.

- Now we've established that you're not a recreational drug user, what's the latest?

- The human remains are with Gina.

I'll head down there next.

I mean, you can't, obviously, be there, so I'll-- - It's okay, Sims.

I'm under the gentle influence of opiates.

Clearly you need to take the lead while I'm out of action.

- Oh, you want me to... - Yes.

As of now, you are the acting boss of the Brokenwood CIB.

- Wow.

Okay.

Good, great.

- Nice one.

- But I wanna stay across everything.

- Oh, of course.

- Oh, and while I think of it... - I'll notify the coroner and let him know what we've found.

(phone ringing) Yeah, we'll leave you to that.

- Oh, ah, Wally Seymour was very antsy about that offal pit.

Perhaps he knows more than he's letting on.

- [Sims] Got it.

- We can get that ice cream now.

- Simon.

- I hear you took a crash course in speleology.

Doing a spot of caving with a friend.

- Something like that.

- Excuse the pun, but the old bones aren't what they used to be, huh?

- It's nothing serious.

- What, so you're bobby back on the beat already?

- [Shepherd] Not exactly.

- [Simon] What have they got you on?

Tramadol?

- Apparently.

- Do I need to send reinforcements?

- Detective Sims is taking the reins.

- Ah, good opportunity for her.

- It's only my leg, I can still think.

- On tramadol?

You'll be thinking you're line-dancing with purple elephants.

Sing out if I can help.

- Thanks.

(steady music) - [Gina] So you have a promotion.

- I am the O.C.

on this, yes.

- Good for you.

- Thanks.

So, um, why the sheet?

- Skeletons deserve modesty as much as anyone.

Because they are very exposed.

- I expect the cause of death will be difficult to ascertain given the passage of time and decay.

- What little tissue that has remained will be sent for testing.

We'll see.

I already know by the shape of the pelvis, this is male.

But what's most interesting is this small hole in the side of the skull.

- [Sims] Bullet wound.

- Bullets usually leave an exit wound.

There isn't one.

The other unusual thing, if you looked more closely, is that the wound is slightly square.

Bullet entry holes are round.

You didn't notice that?

- Well, not at first, but now-- - You can tell so much about a person by their skeleton.

- Such as?

- He was a tortured soul.

A man with secrets.

- You can tell this how?

- Tension in the jaw.

And see here, the shoulders... hunched.

Secrets and tension.

Mike would have noticed that.

- Well, Mike's not here.

- I know.

(scalpel scrapping) - John Doe has to be David Highmore-Browne.

- Given the state of him, we may never know.

- Gina seems confident.

She really doesn't like me.

- Oh, no.

She really likes Mike.

There's a difference.

- Assuming it is David Highmore-Browne, what does that tell us?

- He was hiding from Gina and got locked in.

- Or Charity.

- But the head wound suggests he was murdered rather than starved to death, right?

- Motive?

It wasn't money.

- Accidental.

Hid the body.

- Maybe, but how would that be connected to her death?

- Maybe they're not.

- You're with Debra Yelich tomorrow?

- Yeah, Mike wanted her expertise to look at firing angles in the village.

That got interrupted when he attempted his journey to the center of the Earth routine.

- Yeah, well, after that, follow up on any grievances people might have had with Charity over her involvement in Historic Places.

- Yes, boss!

Do I have to call you boss now?

- No.

It feels weird.

(steady music) - Is this some kind of sick joke?

- No, not at all.

We need your expertise to narrow down the possibilities of where your sister's killer may have been situated.

- You're insinuating I killed my sister.

- No.

We know for a fact you were across town picking up Ron.

- [Debra] The forehead is an incredibly small target.

- So you'd need to be closer.

- Put it this way, if I was that good, I would've won gold.

Perhaps you should be looking for someone from Belarus.

(Ron mumbling) - What's that?

- Nothing.

- Is he laughing at your joke?

- No, it's time for his physio appointment.

And I wasn't joking, Detective Breen.

From here, whoever they are, they're a crack shot.

(foreboding music) - [Sims] Ooh.

(Shepherd grunts) You all right?

- Yeah.

- [Sims] Home sweet home.

(Shepherd groans) (Shepherd groans) - Oh.

Allow me.

- [Shepherd] I've got it.

(Shepherd groans) - You're a natural.

- Not a skill I was aiming to perfect.

- So I have the latest edition of the Brokenwood Courier.

And... A gift.

Great indoor fun, according to Breen.

- Thanks.

I appreciate it.

- Great, so, anything else you need before I go?

- To be kept informed.

- Right.

Well, specialist search are down the offal pit now looking for anything that might explain the hole in John Doe's head, so I'll keep you posted.

- Nothing else?

- Um... Gina mentioned something about John Doe holding tension in his jaw.

Like he was keeping a secret.

Yeah, I think she misses you.

(steady music) Rest up.

- Do I have any choice?

(foreboding music) - You're quite sure you wouldn't have the key to this?

- If I had, I would've furnished him with it yesterday.

How's he doing, by the way?

- Ah, fine.

So no idea, then, who might have the key?

- No.

Do you know when we may be able to reopen?

It's my desire to keep up Charity's good work.

- Perhaps tomorrow when the specialized search group have finished their work.

I need to have another look around.

- Oh.

Anywhere in particular?

(tense music) - No.

(tense music continues) - [Patrick] Good morning.

Good morning!

- Oh, Patrick.

Sorry, I didn't see you there.

Good morning.

Actually it's afternoon now.

- Do you know the identity of the corpse yet?

There's a rumor it's David Highmore-Browne.

- Well, it's still too early to say.

But I take it he was a friend of yours?

- Sure.

I knew him.

He worked here.

He was part of the family.

- Well, we hope to know more soon.

Do you always wear those outfits even when the place isn't open?

- Yes, when on site.

Charity insisted.

I guess it's a way of honoring her legacy.

(phone ringing) - Kristin.

- I'm lying on Charity's bed, which is as hard as nails, by the way.

- Okay.

- Trying to imagine why you would choose to live in a world with zero mod cons, surrounded by relics and dusty curtains.

With only a weird doll for company.

- The Victorians weren't known for their excess.

- Ooh.

Avert your eyes, caller.

I'm in her knicker drawer.

Wait.

(steady music) - Kristin?

Kristin?

Sims?

(steady music continues) - I'll call you back.

- Sims?

(steady music continues) (toy gun cocks) (toy gun fires) - Charity rubbed a lot of people up the wrong way over her zealous attitude to historic buildings.

Her view was pretty much, if it's old, it's gold and shouldn't be touched.

- So there were numerous people with grievances.

- But none more so than Debra Yelich.

- [Sims] Mm, her own sister.

- Five years ago there was a massive court case over the development of the old savings bank.

- Ah.

On Teeling Street?

- Yeah.

Debra and her husband bought it with an eye to convert it into like a funhouse arcade, kind of game zone for kids.

- Charity would've loved that.

- Right?

So under the auspices of the Historic Places Trust, she opposed it on the grounds it would "demean the building's inherent and historical integrity."

- And Charity won?

Bring Debra in for another chat.

- Breen.

- Dental records for David Highmore-Browne are a match for John Doe.

- So we have a double homicide on our hands.

(soft foreboding music) (soft foreboding music continues) (phone ringing) - Detective Sims.

- Are you sitting in my chair?

- Uh... How did you... - You answered my phone.

(Sims sighs) Developments?

Last time we talked, you were delving into Victorian underwear.

(Sims chuckles) - Well, your friend down the hole is David Highmore-Browne.

I think we can rule out suicide as it's difficult to jump down an offal pit and lock oneself in from the outside.

- No cause of death yet?

- No.

But Charity's keychain has unlocked a box from her dresser.

It contains love letters all signed by Waldo Seymour, Esquire.

- Wally Seymour was in love with Charity?

- Oh, yes, and then some.

- Right.

That might give him motive to knock off David, but why would that make him wanna kill Charity?

- Yeah, I don't know.

But one quote reads, "Your rejection is like an arrow to the heart."

- Okay, that might do it.

- [Sims] I take it you were looking for this the other day rather than chasing chickens.

You were in love with Charity.

- Well, I... - "If only you knew the stars align "and twinkle a little brighter as you walk by."

- She appreciated literature.

- Wally.

- Yes, all right.

I was in love with her completely.

But it was unrequited completely from the get-go.

- Well, I have to say you were persistent.

There's seven years' worth of correspondence here.

Oh, come on, Wally.

Seven years is the length of time her husband's been dead.

How long prior to his death had you been in love with Charity?

- It was after he left, never before, I assure you.

- And did she ever write back?

- A few times.

Long epistles.

But never saying anything I wanted to hear.

- I'll need to see those.

- That will be difficult.

- You destroyed them, didn't you?

- Burned them.

Childish, I know, but there you go.

- In one letter you said "like an arrow to the heart."

And what did you mean by that?

- Just words, silly words.

- Did you miss and hit her in the head?

- I had nothing to do with her death.

- Or David's?

- Nor David's!

- Have you ever used a bow and arrow?

- I can't believe this.

- Wally?

- Yes.

Once.

It was part of a village committee team-building exercise.

- Team building?

Doesn't sound very Victorian.

- There had been tensions in the committee.

- Now, last item on the agenda, standards.

They have been slipping, particularly on Live Days.

Yesterday was unfocused.

Particularly you, Mr. Shuler.

Always late, being far too casual.

- I'm sure people in the 1860s were late sometimes.

It's authentic.

- Nonsense.

- Well, hang on, Charity.

I've been late a couple of times.

- Yeah, me too.

- I know, and it is unacceptable.

The public come to this village to believe they have been transported back in time.

It is all of our responsibility to help them suspend their disbelief.

- People are tired, Charity.

- A work ethic is what sets us apart from animals.

- You know what they say.

"All work and no joy makes Jack a dull boy."

- I hardly think you lack joy in your life, Mr. Shuler.

- Perhaps we do need a little bit of fun.

- Yes, a team-building exercise to rally the troops.

- Paintball!

- Laser strike!

- Modernistic travesties, not in the spirit of our precious era at all.

- Archery.

- Yes!

- We could spend the afternoon down the archery range.

Perhaps your sister could get us a deal.

- It was Jack Shuler's idea?

- It was.

- When was this?

- Three weeks ago, after David's unveiling.

We headed to the domain.

It was actually jolly good fun.

(bright music) (arrow whizzes) - Oh, well done, Waldo.

(people applauding) (arrow whizzes) - It's harder than it looks.

- Are you sure these arrows don't have bends in them?

(all laughing) (arrow whizzes) ♪ Don't sit down before the cooking's done ♪ - [Man] Well done.

(people clapping) ♪ You've gotta give it half a chance ♪ - Charity, your turn.

- No, thank you.

- Well, then, let me put an apple on your head, do the whole William Tell thing.

(people laughing) Come on, I'm getting better.

- From what you describe, you were the crack shot.

- Beginner's luck.

- Just before Charity was killed, Evie saw you walking away from the church.

And yet minutes later, you discovered Charity in the schoolhouse.

What were you doing in that time?

- Oh, I was sitting on the steps of the chapel learning a new hymn when one of my sideburns came unstuck.

I went back to the office to glue it back on.

- You've just remembered this?

- Yes.

It's been a difficult time.

- Thanks, Wally.

♪ Why can't they see ♪ ♪ That it's holding me ♪ - Yoo-hoo!

Only me.

(Mrs. Marlowe knocking) Don't get up.

- Mrs. Marlowe.

- Lasagna.

Italian food has health-giving properties.

Look how long those handsome Italian men live for.

You have a little Italian in you?

- Not that I'm aware of.

- Well, it's never too late to start.

Now, that lasagna is truly bellissimo.

Any development on the Highmore-Browne case?

- Early days.

- I knew her quite well, you know?

Through the sewing circle.

Her needlework was top-notch.

- Interesting.

- Her name wasn't Charity, though.

It was Janet Tucker.

- Yes, we had established that.

- Such a tragedy that she and David never conceived.

Such a shame to be wanting a baby and never to have that desire fulfilled.

- They didn't try adoption?

- Oh, well, he had died, you see?

And she wasn't the single-parent type.

You know, in my younger days, I was a nurse.

It's a truly rewarding career and a great way to see the world.

Anyway, I am fully qualified to give you a sponge bath or attend to any needs.

(comedic music) - That's very kind.

I should be fine.

(comedic music continues) (foreboding music) - We put all our eggs into one basket with the savings bank development.

Mortgaged ourselves heavily.

But by the end of it, the building was worth nothing because there were so many caveats on it no one else could develop it.

We'd invested everything and lost it all.

- That must've been incredibly stressful.

- Like you wouldn't believe.

Ask Ron.

- Ron?

I can't... - Stress can trigger a stroke.

In Ron's case it was massive.

- That must have made you feel very... - Angry?

Yes.

I'd admit to that.

It'd be fair to say that I hated her for many years after that.

For her arcane, intrusive view of the world.

She was a ridiculous woman.

But I didn't kill her.

(ice-cream truck music playing) - There you go.

One Frozen Frodo and one Frodo Fudge, packed with chunks of natural fudge.

- [Children] Thank you.

- Frodo.

- How's it?

- This isn't really an appropriate spot to ply your trade from.

- I'm just trying to make a buck.

- I know, but this area needs to be kept clear for those in need of police services.

- Jeez, I just got here.

- Sorry.

Do you and Detective Shepherd want a Frozen Frodo before I pack up?

- Um, couple of points.

One, that could be seen as bribery.

And two, Mike isn't here.

He's laid up at home.

Broken leg.

- Oh, that's gotta suck.

I know a bit about banging up your leg.

I could give him some advice.

- Maybe you can focus on moving your van.

- Oh, hey, you want that ice cream now?

- You know Debra Yelich?

- Nah.

Potential customer, though.

- How long have you been parked here?

- I told you, only a couple of minutes.

And I'm moving, okay, I'm moving.

- No, wait.

So when did you offer her an ice cream?

- That lady?

The other morning, out on Sullivan's Rise.

She had a flat tire, I was passing and offered to help.

(ice cream truck music playing) (brakes sing) Need a hand, lady?

- No.

Thanks, it's under control.

- Was help on its way?

- Already there.

Some bloke.

- Her husband, that man in the wheelchair?

- No, no, he wasn't there.

Some other dude.

- [Jack] We're all good here, mate.

- [Frodo] You don't wanna buy an ice cream?

- Perhaps another time.

- I could do a two for one.

- Mate, we don't want an ice cream.

(ice cream truck engine roaring) - What morning was this?

- The other one.

You know, the day you fellas showed up at the historic village.

- Yeah, what time?

- I don't know.

Oh, yeah, no, it was 9:30.

I remember 'cause I was trying to get out there in time to set up for the Live Day.

Could've been big business, but it wasn't, as it turned out.

(foreboding music continues) (door shuts) (steady music) - Mr. Shuler.

Got a minute?

- Well, Detective, I had 15, but 13 were taken up on two cigarettes and a cup of tea, so.

- So I have two.

Great.

Charity Highmore-Browne.

- What about her?

- You didn't like her very much.

Would that be fair to say?

- She didn't like me, that would be fairer.

- You were on the village committee.

- No thanks to her.

She tried everything she could to get me off it.

But last time I checked, we still live in a democracy.

Others liked me there.

- If tensions were so high between you two, why didn't you just leave?

- I'm the blacksmith.

Where else would I get a chance to practice my skills?

(bright music) (hammer clinking) (hammer clanging) (hammer thudding) (hammer clangs) (metal singes) - Who wants a lucky nail, then?

- [Children] Me!

- I learned how to run a forge from her father years ago.

And I love what I do.

And I intend to pass it on to the next generation.

Otherwise it just dies, right?

I wasn't gonna let Charity bully me out of that place.

- You felt bullied?

- All I'm saying is that she didn't have a monopoly on the past.

Though she'd like to think that she did.

Her father would turn in his grave of the way she took the fun out of that place.

We done here?

- Almost.

A witness mentioned you helping Debra Yelich change a tire in the half hour before you turned up at the village on Sunday.

- I was helping a damsel in distress.

So what?

- The witness didn't mention seeing another car in the vicinity.

So were you on foot when you came across this damsel?

- Debra had dropped me off at the village.

- Is that because you don't have a car?

Well, that's unusual for a mechanic.

- I have a car.

- So... Is there anything more you'd like to share to clarify your whereabouts?

- I was going to the village.

I helped Debra change her tire.

She dropped me off.

Nothing more important to say.

- You're sure about that?

- Two minutes are up.

(foreboding music) - This means that Debra Yelich was on or around the premises at the time Charity was murdered.

- With a hell of a motive.

- To avenge her husband's plight.

But she signed Ron out at 9: 30.

It's at least a half hour drive to the village, and Ron wasn't in the car.

How does that work?

- Well, she can't have been in two places at once.

Check with the respite facility.

Someone's lying.

(steady music) (Shepherd grunts) (ice cream truck music playing) (door shuts) - Detective Shepherd.

- Frodo.

- Hey, heard about your accident.

I thought you'd appreciate a Frodo Fudge.

It's high in calcium, so it has healing properties for bones.

- Thanks.

- And one of these.

Years ago when I shot up my foot, I had this cast like yours.

Got a bit manky and itched like crazy, but the old arrow, it's great for hard-to-reach places.

And that little feathery bit just feels so good when you hit the spot.

You all right?

- Frodo, do you know how Charity Highmore-Browne was killed?

- Uh, should I?

- She was hit by an arrow between the eyes.

- This is a bad look, then.

- How much do you know about hunting with a bow?

- Never have.

Uh, not much.

Uh, except after my accident, I moved to a bow.

I thought it might be safer.

But I couldn't hit anything, so I just went back to my gun.

- Do you still have your bow?

- No.

Well, yeah, but I never use it.

- Okay, thanks.

SSG have found something.

(steady music continues) Any idea what that is?

- See that?

It's a "J."

J for Jack Shuler.

I think it's time we search his smithy.

- Okay.

What are we looking for?

- A key.

(steady music continues) It fits.

Tell me it fits.

- Yes.

Because it is slightly tapered, as the tissue around the skull decayed, gravity would have released it, and it fell out.

What kind of nail is it?

- It's a handmade four-inch colonial nail.

Otherwise known as a lucky nail.

(steady music) We need to clarify exactly when it was that you picked up your husband Ron from the respite facility on Sunday morning.

– Around 9: 30, I think.

Yes.

- That's what we thought too.

- Until a witness placed you on the other side of town around 9:30.

- Oh, I must've been mistaken.

Maybe it was later.

There's been a lot going on.

- Interestingly, it was actually a whole hour later that you picked up Ron.

- Oh.

- Weirdly, you still signed the register as 9:30.

I admit I missed it at first.

But, hey, there's been a lot going on.

You signed it as 9: 30 even after those before you clearly have times that say 10:00 AM, 10:10, 10:20, and 10:30.

(tense music) You have to admit it's a strange mistake to make.

Was it a mistake or an effort to conceal your whereabouts at a certain time?

- I... - Perhaps it was the flat tire that got you confused.

Made you late, flustered.

- Flat tire?

- Mm.

Out on Sullivan's Rise?

(Debra clears her throat) - Could I get a glass of water?

- I have information for the officer in charge of the Highmore-Browne case, Detective Sims.

- [Officer] She's conducting an interview.

- She can't be disturbed?

- I'll pass it on.

- It's okay.

I think Mike will understand it better anyhow.

(door creaks) - Thank you.

(clears throat) Jack Shuler and I have... - An arrangement?

- Yes, I suppose you could call it that.

- And how long has this been an arrangement?

- Maybe 18 months.

Things in that department have been nonexistent since Ron's situation changed.

- I presume it's not something you shared with others.

- Absolutely not.

Discretion is everything, to protect Ron.

- I'm guessing Charity got wind of it.

- Yes, she did.

- And she didn't approve.

- Not that it was any of her business.

- But it explains why she was so dark on Jack.

- You'd think after everything she'd done, caused, that she could have had some semblance of a heart to allow me a few moments of happiness.

- Did you and Jack Shuler conspire to kill Charity?

- No.

- To punish her for causing Ron's stroke?

(Debra exhales sharply) - This may look bad, you may wish to judge, but I did not kill my sister.

- [Sims] Thanks for your time, Debra.

Goodbye, Ron.

- Hello.

- Hi.

(steady music continues) - Mr. Shuler, come through.

- Look, the thing about me and Debra is that I can make her happy.

And that is a good feeling.

- It's win-win.

- Very much.

What's the big deal?

- Debra wasn't clear about where she was in the time leading up to Charity's death.

- She was covering.

She was being discreet.

She's done nothing wrong, but she feels awkward about it.

- From the time Debra dropped you at the village and Wally Seymour raised the alarm, your whereabouts is unclear.

- Why?

I was walking from the car park to my smithy.

- Yet, strangely, no one saw you.

- Patrick did.

- [Patrick] Good morning!

- If you say so, Paddy.

- We will have to verify that.

- Knock yourself out.

- Have you ever hunted with a bow, Mr. Shuler?

(Jack chuckles) - Is that what this is all about?

- It's a simple question.

- I'm a man.

I live in Brokenwood.

Most of us like to go up to the ranges and hunt.

- Please answer the question.

- No, I haven't.

But in the interests of being transparent, I admit that I've used a rifle.

I scuba dive, I spearfish.

I've even been to the archery range.

I flew a kite once when I was seven years old and caught butterflies.

Are we finished?

(plastic crinkles) (nail clatters) - Recognize that?

- Could be one of mine.

- Well, if you look closely, you'll see a punched "J" near the head.

J for Jack, your signature.

- So it is one of mine.

I've made hundreds of them, if not thousands.

Where'd you get it?

- We found it.

- Lucky you.

It's a lucky nail.

- We found it next to the resting place of David Highmore-Browne.

- Fits a hole in his skull.

- What?

- And we found this in your smithy.

(foreboding music continues) - Breen.

- Fits the padlock that secured the offal pit where Mr. Highmore-Browne was found.

- This is a bloody setup.

- [Breen] Any idea how it got there, Mr. Shuler?

- I want a lawyer.

- Smartest thing you've said all day.

(foreboding music continues) (Shepherd strums guitar) - Mike.

Hello.

How are you feeling?

- A little static.

Apart from that... - Borscht, it has amazing healing properties.

I will heat it up for you later.

Also, Mike, I bring you something interesting.

I have been running field tests.

The humble pumpkin is the best for this because it has a similar density to the human skull.

(arrow whizzes) - Okay, that's very diligent.

- Of course ballistics are running their own tests, but between you and me, they are very slow.

50 meters, 40 meters, 30 meters.

Here, the arrow that penetrated Charity Highmore-Browne was fired from less than 20 meters.

- That's close.

- Maybe even closer.

- Thanks, Gina.

- Is there anything else you want from me?

- There is one thing.

- Nothing is a problem.

And I have other news.

- I get that we have circumstantial evidence, but we're lacking motive for Shuler knocking off David Highmore-Browne.

- I know, but we have motive and opportunity for him on Charity.

- Then again, so does Wally Seymour.

Wally was frustrated by Charity rejecting him.

He kills her and pins it on Debra by using an arrow because maybe he knew Charity disapproved of Debra's morality.

Even in killing Charity, he wanted to impress her.

- Okay, that's interesting, if slightly wiggy.

(Breen exhales sharply) - Come on.

A lady who insists on living like it's still 1861?

All these people are from Wigsville.

- We keep digging before Dennis Buchanan helps him walk.

Mike.

Sure.

(Sims knocking) - Someone's been busy.

- Where'd you get that?

- Gina dropped by, asked if there was anything I needed.

- Generally the reply would be paracetamol or a cup of tea.

- What's wrong with the top half?

(pen thuds) Got it.

- So... Where are you at?

- Jack Shuler is the prime suspect for the murder of David Highmore-Browne.

One of his lucky nails was found to have penetrated David's skull, and the key to the padlock was found in his smithy.

- Motive?

- We're still trying to establish that.

But we now know that Jack had the opportunity to kill Charity and a motive.

- That being?

- He was in a relationship of sorts with Debra Yelich.

- And Debra has a long-standing grievance with Charity.

- So we're thinking that Jack or Debra exacted revenge.

And either way, one of them is covering for the other.

- Nice work.

- Thanks.

- The only problem is David Highmore-Browne wasn't killed by the nail.

- Strychnine?

- Extremely high levels.

If he had been killed by the nail then the strychnine would have had no way to be absorbed into the body's tissue.

- So he was killed by the poison?

- The nail came after.

- Oh.

Damn, I thought we were on the right track.

- Sometimes we take a step in the wrong direction.

Well, at least you didn't fall down an offal pit.

- Oh.

You know the worst thing about this?

- Dennis Buchanan.

- Mm.

- The nail was circumstantial.

The key was circumstantial.

There was zero motive.

It seems your case, Detective Sims, has more hot air than a blacksmith's bellows.

(Dennis chuckles) My client and I will bid you good day.

Oh.

Good luck.

Think you'll need it.

(Sims groans) - Strychnine?

It's so old-fashioned, why bother?

- Because it's so very Victorian.

- Meaning Charity.

- Absolutely.

She wanted to kill her husband but insisted, like she did in all things, on doing it in keeping with the era that she so dearly loved.

But the question is, why?

Why did she want to kill him?

We have to understand why.

(bright music) (Simon knocks) - Only me.

How's my wounded officer?

Ah, resting and recuperating.

So I see.

You've been busy.

I was gonna bring you flowers, but I thought people might talk, so it's Irish whiskey instead.

- I presume this has healing properties?

- No idea, but it tastes great.

I would pour you a dram, but it seems you're on duty.

- Just thinking.

- Progress?

- Getting there.

- Is Sims stepping up?

- Above and beyond.

(Frodo knocks) - Hello?

- Frodo.

Frankie Oades, Area Commander Simon Hughes.

- Uh, I can come back.

- No, it's fine.

I asked Frodo over to demonstrate his bow.

Which, as it turns out, is a crossbow.

- Nice.

Do you mind?

I've used these a few times on hunting trips.

They can bring down a deer but not a pig.

- I only used it a couple of times.

Could never hit anything.

- Workman always blames his tools.

It's a nice piece, though.

Nifty too.

Good for moving through the bush without snagging.

Unfortunately they lose accuracy after about 30 meters, especially with wind factors.

But deadly accurate at short range.

In fact...

In here, with no breeze, you could put that on your head, and I could split it from across the room, William Tell style.

- What, blindfolded?

- Not sure.

Game to try?

- I should get going.

(comedic music continues) - No, that wasn't posted from here.

When we issue mail, it gets a special frank.

That's the whole point.

- But you would have delivered it to Charity, being the postman.

- Detective, nothing here is real.

On Live Days, we stage mail deliveries, but it's not real mail.

A bona fide piece of mail such as that would've been delivered to the office via a real mail person.

- Where Charity would've picked it up?

- [Patrick] Or Wally.

- Just before Wally raised the alarm on Sunday, did you see Jack Shuler walking past here?

- Yes.

Yes, I did.

He was in a hurry.

Late as usual.

- Okay.

Thanks.

- The body you found was David's?

(poignant music) - Yes.

- There's talk he had a lucky nail in his head.

- That is true, but it didn't kill him.

The coroner has reopened the case.

The details will be clarified soon.

- You believe Charity killed him, don't you?

- If she did, it's unclear why.

I mean, there was no insurance, no obvious benefit.

- Could I read it?

- Um... - I presume it's David's suicide note, judging by the date it was posted.

- This is police property and private to the Highmore-Brownes.

- They're both gone now.

What difference does it make?

Everyone here at the village was left wondering, and Charity was never forthcoming.

(plastic crinkling) (tense music) "Couldn't be myself.

"Couldn't be your everything.

"It is better I become your nothing at all.

"Yours, All at Sea."

"Couldn't be your everything."

- Do you know what that means?

- I need to dispose of this shellac.

(steady music) They couldn't conceive.

It was very important to Charity.

- Did they try all avenues, IVF, et cetera?

- IVF isn't very 1861.

Charity liked things to be authentic.

You hear of people getting knocked up after one night in a nightclub.

Others spend years trying everything.

Sometimes it can be as simple as a lack of will.

- But not with Charity.

- That letter wasn't written by David.

The calligraphy is too perfect.

And David was dyslexic.

He never would have managed to spell better with two T's.

- You seem certain.

- You work closely with someone, you notice things.

- Sorry, David, settlers has two T's and no Z.

(pen clatters) - You do it, then.

- So there you go.

If the police had shown me that letter seven years ago, would have saved us all a lot of time.

(steady music continues) (steady music) - You know, for all his paranoia, his Frozen Frodos ain't too bad.

Want a lick?

- I'm good.

Thanks.

David Highmore-Browne's suicide note was posted two days after he went missing.

And Patrick Timson believes it's not even his handwriting.

How did that get missed in the initial investigation?

- Who was OC?

- Gary McLeod.

- Old Gary was never famous for dotting his I's and crossing his T's.

- Yeah, well, that's the other thing.

Postman Pat says that David was dyslexic.

He definitely couldn't have written that note.

- Charity.

So she knocked him off.

Question remains... - Why?

- Why?

- Why, indeed.

- Sir.

- You don't need to stand.

Didn't take you long to move in.

And clearly progress must be good if it's time for dessert.

- It was just... - Looks tasty.

Frozen Frodo, is it?

- Uh, yeah, how did you... - I just met Mr. Oades, with Mike.

I was checking on his status.

Thought I'd pop in here and see how you were doing.

- Good.

Some strong leads.

I-- I think we're on the cusp.

- Good, then.

Let me know if you need any extra boots on the ground.

- I will.

- Careful, Breen, there's a drip.

You'll get it on your suit.

- Did that just happen?

- I so need a coffee.

A strong one.

(pastoral music) (pastoral music continues) - Hi.

- Hi.

- [Sims] Can I get a long black, please?

- [Barista] Coming up.

- Detective Sims.

How are we today?

- I'm good, thank you, Mrs. Marlowe.

- Oh, call me Jean, please.

Rodriguez is a marvelous barista.

He come's from Costa Rica, you know?

- Oh!

The real deal, huh?

- Oh, what that man can do with a coffee bean.

(Sims chuckles) I hear David Highmore-Browne has at last been found.

- Yes.

- With an ax in his head, was it?

- Not exactly.

- Oh.

Well, that's a relief, really.

You're thinking it was a hate crime?

- Well, aren't all murders based in hate?

- Not always.

Some are based in passion.

- That's true.

- But with the Highmore-Brownes, I don't think there was a lot of that.

I always thought that was why they never conceived.

It's what happens when you marry to acquire a fancy surname rather than for animal attraction.

- Double shot, half soy latte, no sugar, double foam.

- Ah, that's me.

Thank you.

(Sims knocks) - Oh.

Mayor Bloom, hello.

- Detective Sims.

- I just wanted to run something by you, a theory.

- Ah, police business, I should go.

Best wishes, Detective Shepherd.

- Thanks.

And thanks for the flowers.

- [Bloom] Ciao.

- Ah, Neil... - Mm?

- Did you know David Highmore-Browne?

- Ah.

No, I can't say I did.

He kept to himself, I believe.

- So you wouldn't know if he was gay.

- Why do you think I would know that?

- You're Brokenwood's first gay mayor.

You're a trailblazer.

- And a member of a secret society?

- Oh sorry, I didn't mean... - That's fine.

But if David was gay, I can't see that working with Charity.

She was an old-fashioned, priggish woman.

Although I do remember a time when I thought she seemed surprisingly progressive.

A vote for me is a vote for equality and honesty.

Thank you.

Ah, Charity.

Hello, Evie.

- Hello, Mr. Bloom.

- Would you like a flyer?

- No, thank you, Mr. Bloom.

And Evie won't be needing one, she's not of voting age.

- [Bloom] Ah.

- Your sort of politics is not welcome in my village.

- Oh.

I see.

Well, I have to say your village is looking impressive these days.

- Thank you.

- Yes, I particularly like the modern touch in the Ideal Victorian Family diorama.

- [Charity] Is this supposed to be funny?

- You didn't organize this?

- Of course not!

- Oh, I thought you were acknowledging Rainbow Week.

- This is some sort of sick joke.

Please avert your eyes, Evie.

- I like the rainbow.

I think it's nice.

- They didn't have rainbows in 1861.

- That's exactly what she said?

- Mm-hmm.

So, progressive Charity was not.

Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

- No, you've been very helpful.

Thanks.

Things are starting to make a lot more sense.

- Mm, I'll leave you to it, then.

- What is your theory?

- Well, it's hinged off something Mrs. Marlowe said.

- It's what happens when you marry to acquire a fancy surname rather than for animal attraction.

- What if Charity killed her husband, David, because, as it transpired, he was homosexual.

A notion which directly contravened her Victorian values.

We know from Kahu Taylor that she was racist in deference to the era.

- Our last native left.

- So no doubt she harbored homophobic views as well.

And why else would David have suffered strychnine poisoning?

- A Victorian method of murder for a Victorian transgression.

- Right?

David's failure to out himself earlier deprived her of the chance to have children.

She was left with a doll in a cot and a burning anger at having her maternal rights thwarted.

♪ On your baby's skin ♪ - She knew she couldn't kill him with a nail to the head.

She had to incapacitate him first.

So she poisoned him over dinner.

♪ And here I find no peace at all ♪ - [Sims] She knocked a nail into his head (nail clangs) before dumping his body down the pit (David's body thuds) and locking the lid.

(lock clinks) She hid the key amongst Jack Shuler's belongings as an insurance policy should David ever be found.

And she never liked Jack.

He wasn't one to toe the line.

I know it sounds extreme, but it's the only thing that can explain all of this.

- So whoever killed Charity was avenging David's murder.

Now we're getting somewhere.

From what we know from Frodo, Debra Yelich and Jack Shuler arrived at the village just in time for opening.

They can't have changed the tire at 9:30 and got there and executed Charity, because Patrick was at the kiosk and saw Jack just before the alarm was raised.

- Which leaves the question, where's Wally in all of this?

Last seen by Evie heading this way, away from the schoolhouse, then returning to his church.

- I thought after a while she was taking a long time.

Charity was a woman of strict routine, you see?

- He had time.

He was placed to do it.

- Yeah, but why would he kill the woman he was so completely in love with?

- He was avenging David's death?

- As a friend or a lover?

- Well, hardly a lover, given his florid, painfully heterosexual attempts at love letters to Charity.

Wally says he was on his way here to glue his sideburn back on.

He's so daffy, I think he probably was.

Patrick Timson, on the other hand.

Given he was in charge of the diorama, he must've been responsible for the rainbow gesture.

- Maybe he was David's lover.

- And if he was, perfect cause to avenge his murder.

Except he didn't know it was murder.

- Otherwise, surely he would have spoken up to the police.

- If the police had shown me that letter seven years ago, would have saved us all a lot of time.

- Unless he'd only recently discovered it was murder.

But he was in the kiosk at the time that Charity was struck.

He couldn't have been in two places at once.

Maybe he did it.

- Bring Patrick Timson in.

Get to the village.

I need you to check on a couple of things.

- Wait, but it can't have been Patrick.

He was in the post office, as witnessed by Evie.

She saw him.

- But did she?

- You think she's lying?

- No, but I think Evie didn't see Patrick.

(steady music) - Just to be clear, we have no witness, no murder weapon, just a theory.

- It's always the best way.

I wish I could be there.

(steady music continues) - [Patrick] Is something wrong?

- There are a few things I need to run by you.

- Charity Highmore-Browne was a woman steeped in routine.

As she walked into the schoolhouse, she walked past the headmaster.

She had no reason to think twice.

She opened the window, and then she turned and saw the message on the blackboard.

But the headmaster wasn't the mannequin.

- It was you, standing in wait.

- Oh.

- There was no long-distance marksman.

It was near point-blank.

Full force and deadly.

She falls to the ground in such a way that it looks like she's been knocked flat from an arrow through the window.

- You cut the arrow to disguise the fact it was a crossbow bolt and to hide any DNA on the fletching.

- And I did all this while in the post office?

- You weren't in the post office.

- But you have a witness.

- Yeah, Mike.

Found it.

- [Shepherd] When Evie Neaber walked down the path just prior to seeing Charity outside the blacksmith's, she must have triggered a sensor that played a recording of... (sensor beeps) - [Patrick] Good morning!

- The same that played, accidentally I presume, when I visited you yesterday.

(sensor beeps) - [Patrick] Good morning!

Good morning.

- Oh, Patrick.

Sorry, I didn't see you there.

- These sensors aren't uncommon in museums.

They add ambience, atmosphere.

- And provide alibis, if necessary.

- That's right.

Patrick was nowhere near the kiosk when Evie passed by.

(foreboding music) - Mike, the postmaster has made it home.

And, yeah, he looks a lot like Postman Pat.

- Good.

Get to the schoolhouse.

- This is quite an elaborate theory.

- It was quite an elaborate plan.

- But if it were true, surely someone would have seen me carrying this preposterous crossbow weapon thing away from the crime scene.

- Not necessarily.

(crossbow handles crank) - [Shepherd] You need to take off his clothes.

- You do remember I have a thing about mannequins?

- Be brave.

- You then climbed out the opposite window.

You then skirted around the perimeter of the property to return to your kiosk, almost sight unseen.

Almost.

(sensor beeps) - [Patrick] Good morning.

- [Jack] If you say so, Paddy.

- Just in the nick of time.

- Charity.

Oh, God!

Help!

Help!

Call an ambulance!

The police!

Help!

(bell ringing) - I understand you wanna lay blame with someone.

But you have no evidence.

Where is this medieval weapon and the shaft of the arrow?

- Right where you left them.

- The nifty thing about that model of crossbow is that with a little modification, it fits the dimensions of the human torso.

- Their clothing is ornate and antique.

No one touches them but me.

(clasp clinks) (foreboding music continues) (foreboding music continues) - Well done.

- Why?

- 'Cause Charity took away the one thing I truly loved.

- You do it, then.

- Shh.

Come here, you silly thing.

David was my everything, but he struggled to be his true self.

Such a waste.

- When did you know Charity killed him?

- I always suspected.

David told me that he finally confessed to Charity about his sexuality.

The next day, he disappeared.

With talk of suicide, I thought, "Damn you, David.

"You damn coward."

But it never sat right.

As years went on, I started doubting more and more.

And then at the unveiling.

- He's dead, Patrick.

(foreboding music continues) - Then at the team-building exercise, I got my inspiration.

- Your turn.

- No, thank you.

- Well, then, let me put an apple on your head, do the whole William Tell thing.

(people laughing) - Why didn't you come to the police with your beliefs?

- Would it have brought David back?

She tossed him down that offal pit like a dead animal.

- You could have got justice through the courts.

- I have justice.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Stone cold.

Dead.

(steady music) (phone ringing) (cell door clangs) (phone ringing) - Mike.

- Well done.

- No witness, no murder weapon, just a theory.

- We found the murder weapon.

- [Sims] And if we hadn't?

- You would have thought of something.

Like I said, it's always the best way.

(Sims chuckles) ♪ Goodbye ♪ ♪ All you dealers ♪ ♪ The cold ones ♪ ♪ And the feelers ♪ ♪ Dreaming just gives glory to the grave ♪ ♪ And everyone's got something to say ♪ ♪ Seems like everyone's got something to say ♪ (steady music continues) (sparkling music) (sparkling music continues) (no audio)