Professor T

(ruffling) (upbeat French song) (drawer closes) (vacuum buzzing) (car rumbling) (sighs) (engine cuts) Well, this'll do.

Professor T: Hotel and spa?

Yeah, that's what you agreed to.

I did not come equipped for anything, uh, spa related.

Oh, you don't need anything.

You can use the sauna au naturelle.

(soft music) Hello.

Thank you.

(people chattering quietly) Right... they've booked us into a double.

-A double?

-Mm.

That is one room for two people.

That's the one, yes.

She's trying to contact the owner.

Apparently, there's been some incident in the dining room.

-Where is he?

-Dining room.

Oh, excuse me?

Uh, excuse me?

Mm... Quite, uh, frenetic activity.

Mm.

-So... -Uh... I took the liberty, uh, given the purpose of our visit, of compiling a compatibility checklist.

Oh.

I'm not sure that's how relationships work.

Well, with this exchange alone, we've ticked a number of boxes, I mean, honesty, effective communication, (siren blaring) positive interaction and, um, acceptance.

It's all downhill from here.

I hazard that remark is not entirely serious.

Good hazard.

Another box ticked... (suspenseful music) shared sense of humor.

-(laughs) (gurney clanking) Man: Ladies and gentlemen, uh, if I could have your attention for a moment... -That does not look good.

-No.

Some old chap in the dining room.

-Keeled over.

-Full face plant.

Looked like a heart attack.

Sorry, so rude.

Simon and Paula Mulderson.

Both: Lovely to meet you.

(suspenseful music) And you... What was lovely about that?

(chuckles) Shall we, since they've messed up the booking, shall we try to find somewhere else?

No need, a room may have become available.

(police siren blaring) (dramatic music crescendo) (intro music) (sighs) (dramatic music) TV: Welcome to the Bridge Street Hotel and Spa.

Good grief.

Thank you for choosing us.

We will do everything to ensure that you have an unforgettable stay.

While you're here, why not try our heat and ice experience?

-No thank you.

- Inspired by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, (suitcase zipping) this unique treatment will draw out impurities, allowing you to pass through the zone of danger, beyond which stand the gates of happiness.

-Zelda?

- None other.

Wilfred, I'm afraid, is asleep.

I have exhausted him.

Oh, Aunt, please.

You realize you will have to relinquish control to open the gates.

Sounds like errant self-help nonsense.

Jasper, I've been happily married four times, you would do well to pay heed.

Of course, it sounds like nonsense, it describes a contradiction, (playful music) your over-developed ego is pushing you to find love, while doing everything it can to prevent you ever attaining it.

That's the impurity you have to overcome.

(click) (sighs) Open up.

Look to the sky.

Listen to this, Korean snail facial, live snails are placed on the face to exfoliate and lubricate the skin.

(laughs) Are you gonna try one of those, Jasper?

I may pass.

(laughs) Why not try a sauna?

Inhale the steam, exhale your stress, release your happiness hormones.

(scoffs) Goodness, who needs therapy when a room full of steam can do all that?

The man who expired... Clive Bairstow.

His widow, poor thing, needed someone to talk to.

A shoulder to cry on.

Mm, message from my mother.

Currently ensconced in what she insists on referring to as, The Big Apple'.

-Yep.

Sorry.

Well, Mrs.

Bairstow... She's gone to stay with her daughter... Here we are, the point of the missive, in two days she returns to Dear Old Blighty'.

Look, se only does it to annoy because she knows it teases.

(chuckles) Anyway, it was her husband's fourth stroke.

Marvelous.

Nothing like a sudden death to brighten the day.

(bar music playing) (background chatter) (laughter) Go on, Dad.

That's not bad.

Woman: No.

Don't do that.

(distant) You gonna throw that?

(tense music) (chatter, music drowned out) (dramatic music fades in) You look... (dramatic orchestral music) You're very kind.

Shall we?

(quiet chatter) -Thank you.

-You're welcome.

(sighs) I'm sorry, again, um... we've had to close part of the dining room.

Would you mind if another couple shared your table?

Um, no, no, of course not.

So long as it's not the Muldersons.

Didn't you see them?

No, no I did not.

Permission to board?

Oh, yes, permission granted.

I'm, uh, Helena.

and this is... -Both: Jasper.

– Helena: Yeah.

-Kit and Naomi.

I think we saw you last night, didn't we?

Yes, um, too late to do anything I'm afraid.

-Yes.

-You arrived before the paramedics.

Yes, um, my, my surgery's practically next door.

Oh, so that's why he called you.

Ah... (chuckles) My darling husband is implying that there was an ulterior motive.

Oh, go on, you're dying to tell them.

Right, Finlay Crawford... -The owner.

-And... Naomi's ex-husband.

We've been apart for five years.

And he's still in love with you.

He's not.

He is.

Naomi: So, um... how long have you two been married?

Oh, no, uh, no, we're...we're not.

– Kit: Oh.

– Naomi: Oh... We are test driving a, uh... potential relationship.

Naomi: Oh.

(background chatter) (background chatter) (upbeat music playing) (loud chatter) -It's all your fault.

-Oh... -Don't pull that face.

-Every single time, don't... (bang) (people gasp) Stop.

Shut up, you're embarrassing yourself.

-You're embarrassing me.

-You're embarrassing.

Are you okay?

-Not really.

-You're hurting her.

Yeah, it's got nothing to do with you, mate.

-And yet here I am.

-(scoffs) It's got nothing to do with you.

Yeah, you said that.

Sit down, finish your drink.

(scoffs) Helena: So, what do you do for a living?

Um... finance.

-Oh.

Hmm.

And how the devil is the world of finance?

We're also test-driving casual conversation.

Yeah, I've had better times.

Woman: Surprise.

(laughs) (applause) (laughs) (blows tooter) -Paula: Blow out the candles.

– Simon: Okay.

Make a wish.

(blowing hard) (applause) (Paula whoops) (laughs) They're trick candles!

(laughter) Trick candles.

Mm, I thought she was a witch.

(blows tooter) Dear God.

Oh!

Go on, cut the cake.

I want to see you cutting the cake.

Simon: Here we go, ah... How much more of this must we endure?

Oh, my God.

(laughs) Oh, it's your favorite.

Kit?

-Kit?

-Are you alright?

Naomi: Kit?

Kit?!

Kit?

Kit!

Uh, can you get the spray from his jacket pocket?

Kit?

Kit, Kit, stay with me.

There's a spray in the jacket pocket.

Kit, stay with me, stay with me.

Yes.

Thank you.

Kit, stay with me.

Keep your eyes open, keep your eyes open.

Kit?

-Get an ambulance, hurry.

Oh, oh, Kit.

Kit, Kit, stay with me, please don't leave.

(sobbing) (panting) Tell your waiter to secure all the food on this table.

-What?

– Naomi: (unclear), Kit.

It may be required as evidence.

Open your eyes!

Open your eyes!

(dramatic music crescendo) Mr Crawford?

Any news on Dr.

Ascherson's husband?

He didn't make it.

Uh, allergic reaction, or...?

All our guests are asked about allergies, as you know.

Mistake?

If you don't have a food allergen certificate, you don't work here.

(footsteps receding) Bridge Street Hotel and Spa, it's 500 quid a night and they've had two sudden deaths in the space of 24 hours.

Oh, you lose a star for that.

Yeah, well, the deaths aren't being treated as suspicious.

-So...?

So, the hotel's still open, and I have volunteered you both to go.

Because?

Professor Tempest is staying there.

Hmm... (chuckles) And I don't want him, out of boredom, or curiosity or whatever it is that goes on in there, to interfere with procedure.

and you know how to handle him, you do.

So, get in, get it signed off and get out.

Ah, I didn't realize you were up.

-Mm.

-And fully dressed.

(chuckles) I am seriously considering... a mud bath.

(playful music) I just heard that Kit actually died last night.

So tragic.

I can practically hear the wheels turning.

Jasper, an old man died of a stroke, Kit probably died of a heart attack.

Nitro-glycerin spray in his jacket pocket, he had a heart condition.

I don't think there's a mystery, except for us... we're the mystery.

Mm.

(background chatter) I believe that after an unpromising start, this...was a positive interaction.

Accompanied by sincerity and empathy.

(scoffs) His wife tried CPR, she's a doctor.

And who was closest to them?

Professor Tempest and Dr.

Goldberg.

How close?

Well, they were sharing the same table.

Okay, thanks, that's... that's all for now.

We're gonna have to take a statement from Professor Tempest, just, um, stick to the facts, right, keep it simple.

I've got a gig tonight... in Weymouth... with my dad's brass band.

(chuckles) ...well, I'm going to change.

Mm!

(patting) Do you think that's why he's here?

Do you think they're having like a naughty weekend?

Don't say that.

Professor!

Just need the facts, we're not treating this as suspicious.

Please do not ask me to accept two deaths on two consecutive nights in the same location as coincidence.

Well, I mean, coincidences happen all the time.

(sighs) Let us tarry a while in the slowly dwindling world of facts.

Before she was married to Kit Howard, Dr.

Naomi Ascherson was betrothed to the owner of this very establishment, Finley Crawford.

Another fact, noticing Mr.

Kit Howard's discomfort, when asked about his metier, I took the opportunity of perusing the Companies House website.

His finance business went into administration three months ago.

Okay.

Thanks.

(phone ringing) -Winters.

-I've got the prelims from the lab.

The first death... -Clive Bairstow.

Yeah.

Massive stroke, instant death, as expected.

But Kit Howard's biomarkers are indicating cyanide poisoning.

I'm gonna run some more tests, but as a priority, would you let his wife know?

-Yes, Ma'am.

-Thanks.

Better tell my dad.

Weymouth won't know what it's missing.

(up tempo music) (laughter) Cyanide?

(scoffs) I...I assumed it was his heart.

He was convulsing, his eyes were bloodshot, why didn't I see it?

– Chloe: It was fast acting, there was nothing you could've done.

I'm a doctor, for God's sake, if I got saltwater into him, he might still be alive.

Can you think of anyone who, um, who might wanna do him harm?

No.

We know he was having financial difficulties.

Well, hi...his business was in the hands of the receivers, but all the creditors were gonna get paid.

You used to be married to Finlay Crawford?

Really?

Is this where you're going?

Whose idea was the separation?

Ah, I don't know, it was mutual.

Wasn't that a bit odd that you... Dining there?

No.

Finlay had invited us, I... I'd helped with a situation.

-Stroke victim.

-Yes, uh... there was nothing I could do.

(up tempo music resumes) Our forensics officers need to take a look in your kitchen, remove food stuffs, drinks, glassware, crockery, that sort of thing.

Um, Kit Howard was poisoned.

Seriously?

Poisoned?

Do we have your permission?

Of course.

We, uh, we kept the food from the table where, um, I... I told the waiter it could be evidence.

Right, and he, um, he sealed it?

Air lock Tupperware.

Could I just ask, wasn't it awkward, Naomi and her new husband dining here?

Of course it was awkward.

N...Naomi left me at my lowest point.

I thought I was losing the business, I'd spent 15 years building this place up and then, in the middle of that, she announced that she'd found someone else.

Do you have children?

No...thank goodness.

She got Charlie, that was bad enough.

Charlie?

Our dog.

Got hit by a car.

Sorry.

(fridges humming) (sighs) I told the waiter, everything on that table, label it to be kept, put it on the top shelf.

You saw him do that?

If I tell someone to do something, I expect it to be done.

Okay, but did you actually... The boss came in, no more covers, no need for me to stick around.

Probably someone on the breakfast shift chucked it out.

Where are your bins?

Emptied this morning.

(quiet chatter) -DS Winters.

-Yes.

You have an added briskness to your pace.

Now why might that be, I wonder?

Mm, Kit Howard's death was the result of cyanide poisoning.

I should like you to furnish me with your evidence.

Also, the postmortem reports on both deaths.

The first was a stroke.

Triggered by what?

Professor, you're, um... you're here with Dr.

Goldberg.

Correct.

As a couple?

Putative couple.

I don't know what that means exactly.

But, um, what I do know... don't prioritize work over time with... (poignant music) somebody who's important to you.

(knocking on the door) Uh, come.

(door opens) Lunch?

Mm, I have received the autopsy reports on Kit Howard and Clive Bairstow's deaths.

Oh.

(door closes) (sighs) Okay.

And?

Oh, well, I mean I... Yes, well, I...I...I... I will delete them and, um, yes, cast the incident from my mind while we enjoy our break.

Even though you think there's a possibility that someone was murdered right in front of you?

Yes.

-Jasper?

-Mm?

We're test driving this thing... whatever it is.

And I knew there'd be some rough terrain.

So read the reports, but promise me one thing.

Alright?

Cyanide is found in various fruits and vegetables.

-Yes.

-So, if the police believe that it was an accidental death, you'll accept that and we can get on with our break.

Of course.

(soothing orchestral music) I'm trusting you.

(door opens) (city humming) PA system: Attention, (unclear) the store will be closing... Hi.

(PA announcement continues) Hi.

All that just for you?

Um... I was supposed to be in Weymouth tonight.

Yeah?

I play in a band.

Oh.

A brass band.

(laughs) You're in a brass band, you buy meat in tins, play darts with your dad, have you slipped through a portal from the 1970s?

Yeah, well, don't knock it.

How many people do you know with a black and white TV?

-Oh, not many.

-(laughs) Well, hey, if you can tear yourself away from your prehistoric telly, I'd like to buy you a drink, say thanks for last night.

What about your boyfriend?

No, he's history.

Um... It's really nice of you but, um... I'm gonna have to say no.

Sorry.

No, it's...it's okay.

Um... Gym?

You trying to flog me a membership.

(laughs) Um, I own the gym.

(soft music) Um, that's my business card and that's...my number... if you change your mind.

(PA announcement repeats) (suspenseful music fades in) Okay, handbrake turn on the cyanide case, the full autopsy for Kit Howard came in overnight and slivers of semi-digested cassava were found in his stomach.

Cassava, as you know, contains a naturally occurring form of cyanide.

Soaked and cooked properly, it's harmless.

However, incorrectly prepared, it can be deadly.

Yes, and there's no prizes for guessing that the traces found in Kit Howard were uncooked.

Dan: So, we're thinking accidental death?

Yeah, or a mistake in the kitchen, possible negligence.

Chloe: Food safety?

I've called them in.

I need you both to go back to the hotel, speak to the owner again, and the staff, especially the kitchen staff.

I've worked in kitchens.

-Have you?

-Yeah, full of surprises, me.

And I can guarantee you, there will be somebody there with a bit of gossip, a grudge, just something that will open this up.

Pointing the finger at my staff, my business... Well, would you rather he'd been murdered?

Honestly?

(sighs) Of course, not.

Is cassava something that you regularly use?

The chef used to crush it to make flour for tortillas but that was months ago.

Was it possible some of the plant was kept by accident?

Mistaken for some other vegetable, added to Kit's salad?

This is gonna finish me.

(dramatic music) (chopping) I thought no more meals were being served?

The staff need to eat.

They trust you.

When was the last time you used cassava?

(knife clatters) (sighs) You, um... (sniffs) you know that's what killed Kit Howard?

Boss said.

Right, well, could it have got onto his plate by accident?

You're accusing me of gross negligence, you'd better have something to back it up.

Julian?

You told us two nights ago you left early, and I've just spoken to staff and they said you were the last one to leave.

Well, that puts you in line with the evidence.

Listen, Julian mate, I think you'd better come with us.

(blade swishes) Do not come near me.

(sinister music) Put the knife down.

Whatever's in your pocket, mate, leave it.

You're not taking me in.

(spray hissing) Argh!

Julian Morten, you're under arrest in connection with the unlawful killing of Kit Howard.

You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you fail to mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court.

I suffer from claustrophobia, in the event of an attack... what does that say?

-Call this number.

-Call this number, not spray me in the eyes with CS gas.

He was holding a knife.

He was chopping vegetables.

Okay.

Under pressure, who knows, maybe I would've done the same.

But in your report I wanna know what you've learned from this.

-Alright.

Thanks, Ma'am.

-Thanks, Ma'am.

I'm afraid, uh, our kitchen is gonna be closed today.

If you'd prefer to leave the hotel, we're offering a full refund.

Well, when will it reopen?

To be honest I...I don't know.

Our chef's been taken in for questioning.

In connection with Kit Howard's death?

Police think it was probably accidental.

But, um, they're not ruling out negligence, so, the hotel can stay open for now, but... Sorry.

-Oh, thank you.

Accidental death.

Possibly negligence.

Two days of balmy sunshine is forecast for the Devon coast.

Why have the police not informed me of this?

Because it's not a homicide.

Jasper, we can just collect our refund and go.

(dramatic music) (raised voices nearby) But this is where the answers are.

There's no puzzle.

Come on.

(sighs) I need to speak to DCI Goswami.

Alright.

I'm going for a swim, followed by a sauna and a massage.

And I might even have a pedicure... and a glass of champagne... or three.

(raised voices continue) Finlay: Naomi... (raised voices) It's me.

Were you...were so jealous that you would... (whispering) Of course not.

It was accidental.

Finlay!

Finlay!

Accidental?

How can cyanide be accidental?

Dr.

Ascherson.

What are the police doing about it?

I see, thank you.

(birds twittering) The police believe there was uncooked cassava in your husband's salad.

Cassava?

Hence the cyanide.

Well, I'm gonna sue... and get this place shut down.

He's, he's so careless.

Well, he did get our booking wrong.

When he offered me a free dinner, all my instincts were telling me to say no, he's careless, his staff are careless, and then someone... (sniffs) sorry... someone dies.

(breaks down crying) (up tempo music jazz music) Professor!

DCI Goswami, I have been looking at Mr.

Clive Bairstow's autopsy report.

On page eight, mentioned almost in passing... A fragment of vegetative matter, insufficient to cause blockage, was removed from the esophagus.

I do read these things, you know.

I did not wish to imply otherwise.

Yeah, when we found out Kit Howard's cause of death, I asked for some more details, and the vegetative matter in Clive Bairstow's throat was also cassava.

(suspenseful music) Odd choice of holiday reading, Professor, Clive Bairstow's autopsy, mm?

Goodbye.

(knocking on the door) Come in.

(door opens) -Ma'am?

-Yes?

Is Julian Morten fit to be interviewed?

He's still in hospital.

Why?

What have you got?

(door closes) So, Morten's last job was at the Crosslands Manor Hotel in Mayfair.

-Mm-hmm.

Two years ago, they had an outbreak of food poisoning.

And was he charged?

No, but what I'm thinking is that Finaly Crawford would've known about the Crosslands incident.

Mm, possibly.

Okay.

Let's just say I'm Finlay Crawford and in a fit of jealousy, I wanna kill Kit Howard, how am I gonna do that?

Oh, I know, I will invite Kit and Naomi to the hotel for dinner, I'll poison him and then, because of Julian's history, he's gonna get blamed for it, and I'll be in the clear.

(siren blaring distantly) I'll contact the hospital.

(papers ruffling) Thank you, Ma'am.

So are you telling me that the stroke victim had also eaten cassava?

-Exactly.

-Thanks.

Well, doesn't that just mean there was a mistake in the kitchen?

Someone, you know, put something in the wrong container and, tragically, it caused two deaths?

Mm.

-What?

-You are, of course, aware that a disproportionate number of poisoners are women and, of those, a significant fraction work in the medical profession.

(scoffs) Jasper, don't you think that the shock of seeing somebody die at our table might be skewing your judgment?

Mm?

Where's that compatibility checklist?

So, we ticked honesty, we've ticked, uh, effective communication... Uh, very well.

The notion that I may have been unable to prevent a homicide in plain sight, um, yes, I can see that, um, that could, um, could be exerting some... (sighs) vague influence.

Come on.

Two days on the Devon coast, this will wait.

Will it, though?

What if DCI Goswami charges the wrong person?

Well, she won't.

Because it's an accidental death.

(sighs) Jasper, you promised.

It is not an accidental death.

(melancholic music) (sighs) Okay.

Mm.

Yeah, I'll see you, assuming you want to, back in Cambridge.

-What?

(door opens) Helena.

(door closes) Room 12, checking out.

Oh, um, was everything okay?

Yes, it, it was fine.

Sorry, I can't find my key.

(distorted tooting) Dear God!

(laughs) They're trick candles!

I wonder if you could tell me what room Simon and Paula Mulderson are in?

Oh, they checked out.

Oh, alright.

(whooping, laughing) Oh, he's forgotten his lucky hat.

Left it on the bedpost.

Last time it was me, do you remember?

I came back for my glasses.

-They were on her head.

The whole time on my head.

(laughter) Excuse me, I, um, I know this might sound a bit odd but I need a favor.

A favor?

You're right, it does sound rather odd.

You know, to respect the tranquility of the spa, my husband and I... -As Christians.

We turn the other cheek.

But it has to be said, your partner... Probably the rudest man we've ever met.

How on earth do you put up with him?

That's what I'm trying to find out.

(chuckles) (mysterious music) (knocking on the door) Helena?

Look... (door closes) Jasper I...I'm doing my best.

But I do need you to meet me half way.

Helena... I too am doing my best.

I've got something to show you.

The Muldersons sent me a video, which might prove that you're right, I don't know.

Have a look at this.

(suspenseful music) What?

Paula: Surprise.

Prof T: Any moment now.

(laughter) Pause.

DI Goswami: What am I supposed to be seeing?

Zoom in.

There.

You think she's putting raw cassava onto her... onto her husband's plate?

Well, she'll just say she was stealing food, we've all done that, haven't we?

No.

I have.

Well, maybe it's a woman thing.

More poisoners evade prosecution than any other category of killer.

What we need to ask ourselves is... what did Naomi Ascherson gain from her husband's death?

Could be financial.

Judging from the micro expressions I observed while sharing a table with Dr.

Ascherson, financial concerns are extremely important to her.

The failure of Kit Howard's business was a clear source of pain.

Mm, he filed for bankruptcy about three months ago.

Also, Finlay Crawford told us that Naomi left him when the hotel was failing.

Chloe: Mm, took Charlie.

Uh, Charlie was their dog, he... hit by a car, died.

-Mm.

Hang on, Naomi Ascherson is a very successful woman with a career most would envy.

Why would it matter so much to her if her husband's business went under?

Let us suppose for a moment that she is the living embodiment of relative deprivation syndrome.

In the presence of other successful people, her own prosperity evaporates.

She therefore chooses husbands on the basis of their achievements, their successes are her successes, their failures create deep, painful, psychic wounds.

Is that plausible?

As a theory, maybe.

But there is one flaw, the old guy who died... Uh, Clive Bairstow.

Clive, he also swallowed cassava.

Are we saying that Naomi Ascherson made her way into the kitchen without anybody seeing her and added it to the salad mix?

Prof T: No.

That would leave too much to chance.

As of now, I can only offer conjecture, but what I will say, if you interview her, Dr.

Ascherson will, at some point, refer to the death of Clive Bairstow.

(suspenseful music) (car door opens) If the professor's right, even with the film and everything, how do we prove the doctor did it?

Well, we'd need to link her to the cassava.

Right.

(doorbell ringing) But then how she got it has she... has she ordered it online?

Has she gone to a market?

(knocking on door) Has she grown it?

(crow cawing) Yeah, let's try round the back.

Yeah.

(suspenseful music) (crow cawing) Could be a cassava patch?

Naomi: Sorry.

I didn't hear you.

Dr.

Ascherson, we need you to come with us.

We'd like you to answer some questions.

About what?

In connection with your husband's death.

-And if I refuse?

-You'll be arrested.

Unbelievable.

Once I've sued the hotel for negligence, I'll sue you for wrongful arrest.

And that patch... that's my dog.

Why don't you dig him up?

Have a good root around.

(crow cawing) So, three months ago, Kit Howard filed for bankruptcy and two days before that there was a substantial increase in his life insurance.

Well, he...was under a lot of stress and, as you know, he had a heart condition.

Are you saying this was my motive?

Chloe: Is it?

Seriously?

I'm a doctor.

My salary is adequate, I have savings, the mortgage is paid and, tiny detail, I happen to love my husband.

Dan: Okay.

And, for the record, we are now showing Dr.

Ascherson footage from the evening of Kit Howard's death.

(dark music) You are clearly putting something onto your husband's plate.

-(scoffs, laughs) Kit would've loved this.

I am stealing a slice of radish.

Kit hated radishes.

(stammers) My husband was unlawfully killed, someone in that kitchen made a terrible mistake.

Y...your consultant, um... -Professor Tempest.

-Uh... he said that staff negligence allowed raw cassava to get into the side salad and I don't think it was just Kit who was affected.

(dark music continues) Meaning what?

Well, the previous night, uh, an elderly man died from a stroke.

Clive Bairstow.

Was it triggered by cassava?

Do you know?

Have you tried to find out?

How did you know that she was gonna mention Clive Bairstow?

Because that is Dr.

Ascherson's alibi.

If Clive Bairstow swallowed cassava, that would seem to take her out of the equation, focus attention on the kitchen.

No one outside this room knew that Clive Bairstow had a sliver of cassava in his esophagus, no one apart from Dr.

Ascherson and she knew... because she put it there.

She put it there?

What is the first thing a doctor does when presented with someone who is a non-responsive?

-Checks the airways.

-Exactly.

I've never seen a suspect who's confident as Dr.

Ascherson.

Mm, in the mind of the poisoner, they're merely setting a trap, it is the victim who spring it.

This, uh, logic mitigates guilt.

What you're describing, that is some plan.

Dr.

Ascherson undoubtedly gamed a number of scenarios wherein the life of her husband could be expunged, but... this opportunity proved too exquisite to resist.

Use a natural death as a cover for murder, kill one husband while suing her former spouse for his demise.

Perfect.

DI Goswami: Well, speak to the search team, see what they can uncover.

(police radio chatter) (dramatic music) (sinister music fades in) (distorted inaudible chatter) (distorted) Professor?

I think someone has made an absurd mistake.

Someone just informed me that my mother was taken ill on her flight from New York, uh, rushed to St.

Hugo's.

She has never had a day's illness in her life.

She has just circumnavigated the globe.

(dramatic music) (hospital monitor beeping) (door opens) So, how is she?

Fast asleep.

Um, they've ruled out anemia and dehydration.

Oh good.

Pfft, God, hospitals.

(sighs) (phone ringing) It is DS Winters.

Mm.

(background chatter) Tempest.

Dan: I'm at Dr.

Ascherson's with the search team.

There's no traces of cassava so far.

We've had to call it off.

-DS Winters?

Uh, her lawyer's got an injunction.

Hang on.

Oh, gross.

The search team accidentally unearthed her dead dog.

(dramatic music) Professor?

If it was unearthed prior to the injunction, it is admissible evidence and should be examined.

Why?

Why would it be evidence?

Uh, Dr.

Ascherson is not a serial killer, how did she know that the poison would work?

She tested the method on her dog.

No, her dog got hit by a car, Finlay Crawford told us.

And where did Finlay Crawford obtain that information?

(crow cawing) Dr.

Ascherson, how do you explain the fact that you were in contact with two people over the same 24-hour period, Clive Bairstow and your husband, Kit, when they both had cassava in their systems?

(sighs) Do I really have to go over this again?

Ha...have you even charged anyone at the hotel?

Are you suggesting someone working at the hotel fed cassava to your dog?

DI Goswami: An autopsy found traces of cassava in your dog's stomach.

That's two men and a dog, and no one else had contact with all three.

You're the common denominator.

(dramatic music crescendo) Dan: Naomi Ascherson, you're charged with the murder of Kit Howard.

You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defense if you fail to mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court.

(hospital monitor beeping) (rustling) (dramatic music) (sighs) (up tempo music) (whirring) Dan: Hi, you probably don't remember me.

Brass band man.

I didn't think you were gonna call.

Um, I...I thought I might take you up on your offer to buy me a drink.

Yeah, I'd like that.

(music playing in background) Okay, um... what about Tuesday?

Sounds good.

Nice, I'll, um, I'll send you a text.

Yeah.

See you then.

Great.

(soft music) (chuckles) (hospital monitor beeping) (dramatic orchestral music)