The Marlow Murder Club

Someone's just killed the mayor of Marlow.

You don't think it was one of us?

SUZIE: Everyone has secrets.

Stop right there!

MARCUS: What are the three of you doing here?

We're civilian advisers to the police.

How good are your friends?

They always get to the truth.

(engine revving) Here we go.

BECKS (whispering): That is a lot of money!

(siren wailing) Shall we?

(thunder claps) (whimpers) (click) (rowers calling) Thank you.

(people talking in background) (chuckling) (Luna panting) (hip-hop song playing on earphones) (sighs) I don't believe it.

(song stops) Okay, Luna, this stops now.

(door opens) Geoffrey.

Cup of tea?

(tea pouring) I just want to say I am sorry-- you're right.

You're always right.

I shouldn't have... Don't worry.

We can talk about this tomorrow.

Did you bring any biscuits?

As it happens, I did.

(chuckling) Chocolate Bourbons-- the king of biscuits.

Lovely!

TERRENCE: I mean, I know I bring them every time, but they really are the best.

GEOFFREY: Quite right-- couldn't agree with you more.

(door opens) MARCUS: Afternoon, gents.

So, what's on the agenda?

(coffee machine running) Bin collections?

Potholes?

Or dog mess in Higginson Park?

If we're really lucky, all three.

What a ray of sunshine you are, Terrence.

Oh, chocolate Bourbons.

You can't beat the velvety chocolate of a Bourbon biscuit.

(footsteps approaching) (door opens) Ah, Debbie.

Perfect timing-- can I make you a coffee, darling?

I can get my own, thank you, "darling."

I just need to distribute these agendas and meeting notes.

GEOFFREY: Oh, here, let me help.

Thank you.

There you are.

Biscuits?

I'm good, thank you.

(tea pouring) Marcus said he had a viewing in an hour, so how about we just crack on?

(coffee machine running) MARCUS: Thank you.

Sadly, that won't be possible.

We can't start the meeting without Sophia.

We're not quorate.

Terrence.

MARCUS: Can't you just overrule him, Chairman?

TERRENCE: He's not the chairman.

MARCUS: He is.

TERRENCE: He isn't!

Are you really saying the mayor of Marlow doesn't chair our meeting?

TERRENCE: Authority is only invested in the chair when the meeting has been convened, and we're not quorate.

(footsteps approaching quickly) (pants) I'm sorry I'm late.

GEOFFREY: Just in time!

Come in, Sophia, come in.

I was in my studio and completely lost track of the time.

(exhales heavily) Have I missed anything?

COLIN: Right, then, that's the last of it.

BECKS: Well done, everyone.

We're going to have to get on the road if we're gonna make the campsite by nightfall.

The great outdoors awaits!

(whispers): Help me!

(video game playing) Now, I know it's going to be so difficult with us being away.

So difficult.

Sure you don't want to come with us?

Instead of staying here, with the whole house to yourself?

Text me when you get there.

We are going to have so much fun!

Aren't we, Sam?

And have a total digital detox.

(murmuring) These are going in the glove box.

What?

Hurry up and get in.

You're, you're getting in the back.

No, I'm not.

SAM: I'm, I'm always in the back!

Why would I go in the back?

It's not fair, Dad!

Exactly, just get in the back!

Just leave each other alone!

Tell him to get in.

Just, one of you get in.

(Sam sighs, both arguing) We'll swap halfway through.

(Sam muttering) We're not swapping halfway through!

See you in four days.

(chuckling) Good luck.

(car door closes) (engine starts) Please wear sunscreen, both of you!

SAM AND CHLOE: Yes.

(sighs) (drawer closes) (brakes squeak, engine stops) (door opens and closes) DEBBIE: Item three.

Gastronomy, the restaurant run by Ferdy Blake.

It's applying for a temporary late license.

Something to do with a book launch, I think.

Ooh.

(chuckles) Sorry, sorry to interrupt.

You're not interrupting.

We always want to hear from members of the public.

Oh, thanks.

It, it's just that bridge at Temple.

(Geoffrey panting) SUZIE: It's still all locked up for "safety," but it's been months.

And the kids on the other side, they can't walk to school.

(Geoffrey gasping, shivering) SUZIE: Their parents have to drive them the long way round into Marlow.

It's not right.

TERRENCE: Unfortunately, bridges fall under the purview of DEFRA, not the town council.

Well, there must be something you can do.

MARCUS: Perhaps, Geoffrey, you could have a quiet word with the landowner?

(Geoffrey gasping) Geoffrey?

(wheezing) (grunting) Geoffrey?

(wheezing) (wheezing continues) (coughs, mug shatters) TERRENCE: Geoffrey!

SOPHIA: Oh, my God!

Geoffrey!

He's dead.

(standard playing in background) JUDITH: You paid last week.

It's only fair that I pay this week.

No, Judith-- fair?

Please.

No, well, you can do next week.

On my card, please.

No, no, my card-- I invited you to brunch.

It would be ungallant if I let you pay.

Besides, who knows if there's even going to be a next week?

Indeed, who knows?

(phone vibrates and chimes) Oh!

Sorry, excuse me-- I have to get this.

Suzie?

I'll be there in five.

WAITER: Yep, sure, sure, sure.

JUDITH: No, I've got it.

(reader beeps) I have to go.

WOMAN (on recording): And you can understand (song continues) (radio chirps) (people talking in background, siren approaching) (sirens stop) (sighs) Am I glad to see you.

What happened?

I don't know, it was fast.

One minute he was sitting there, next minute, boof-- the man was on the floor.

Did he say anything?

No.

But he did look at his coffee cup before he went over.

There might have been something in it.

I told the witnesses to wait for you over there.

TANIKA: Thank you-- Jason, Alice, initial statements.

Guv.

And Suzie, are you going to be okay?

(scoffs softly) You're going to be okay.

TANIKA: Discoloration to the lips and skin, and the pupils look dilated.

You think Suzie was right?

We'll need toxicology to test the coffee.

But if this was murder... Someone's just killed the mayor of Marlow.

DEBBIE: I still can't believe it.

Is it even possible?

ALICE: Was he unwell?

Had he mentioned anything wrong?

No-- uh, must have been a heart attack.

And you are?

Sorry-- Marcus Percival.

Marcus Percival Estates.

This is Terrence Clarkson.

He runs a local architect's practice.

I take jobs nationally.

And this is... Debbie Smith.

Accountant and council secretary.

(radio running in background) Mm?

Sorry.

Sophia Hollingbry.

I make a podcast.

A very successful podcast.

Did you know anyone who may have had any grievance towards Mr.

Truman?

TERRENCE: I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you there, because that is quite simply impossible.

I'm sorry?

MARCUS: Oh, Terrence is right.

Geoffrey was the best of us.

It's how he ended up being mayor.

Everyone loved Geoffrey.

(sighs) SUZIE: Did Tanika tell you when the toxicology report was coming in?

No.

Did either of you know him?

Geoffrey?

Mm.

I met him a few times at church events and Remembrance Sunday.

I only met him for 30 seconds, and then he died.

Yes!

What were you doing at that meeting?

Oh, you know the bridge at Temple?

It's been closed for months.

The landowner refuses to repair it.

(phone chimes and vibrates) I thought the council could make him mend it.

Excuse me.

But apparently, it's not a council matter.

BECKS: Mm.

Oh.

SUZIE: Okay.

Here we go.

What?

It's not Tanika.

Oh!

What?

SUZIE: That's your "going for brunch with Darius" face.

Actually, you couldn't be more wrong.

That's not what this is about at all.

So, what is it about?

Um... I invited him for afternoon tea.

(snickers) Knew it!

It's just afternoon tea.

Sure.

But it starts with brunch, moves on to afternoon tea, and before you know it, you'll be inviting him in for a "nightcap."

I think it's wonderful.

JUDITH: Stop it, the pair of you!

(both chuckling) There's a book on the Avebury Standing Stones I want to lend him, that's all.

Yeah, standing stones, sure.

(both chuckling) (phone vibrating) BECKS: Oh, he's keen.

I'll give him that much.

It's Tanika.

Tanika, have you got the toxicology report?

TANIKA (on phone speaker): Afternoon, Judith.

And yes, the labs have run preliminary tests on the coffee in Mr.

Truman's cup.

They found traces of a poison called aconite.

He was poisoned!

TANIKA: The full report in the morning will tell us more, but, yeah, it's how it's looking.

(people talking in background) Got to go, but thanks for the tip-off, Suzie.

It really helped.

So, what's aconite when it's at home?

Ooh, it's monkshood, isn't it?

Or wolfsbane-- I think it's got another name, as well.

Okay, impressive.

There-- there's this gardening podcast I always listen to, "Notes From a Marlow Garden," and the host is always talking about poisonous plants and which ones she grows at home.

SUZIE (chuckles): She didn't know Geoffrey, by any chance?

BECKS: Oh!

She was with him when he died!

It's Sophia Hollingbry.

Hang on.

She did an entire episode on aconite earlier this year.

The garden is in Little Marlow.

SUZIE: Whoa-- not a bad manor for someone who makes podcasts.

(knocks) (exhales) Wow.

I wonder where the poison garden is.

(chuckles) Come on.

BECKS: Shouldn't we wait and see if anyone's in?

SUZIE: It'll only take a second.

This way.

This is it, isn't it?

BECKS: Don't touch a thing.

They could be dangerous.

SUZIE: What, everything?

BECKS: Everything.

(gate opens) Can I help you?

Hello, Sophia, I'm Becks.

I'm a big fan of your podcast.

And these are my friends, Judith, and you've met Suzie.

We're civilian advisers to the police.

Oh.

I'm so sorry to have to tell you that Geoffrey was poisoned.

They found traces of aconite in his coffee.

No!

You know your poisonous plants, don't you?

Do you grow aconite?

Well, I do, yes, but... Well, you can't possibly think it came from here.

Lots of gardens have aconite.

It's such a beautiful flower.

It's very popular-- could have come from anywhere.

Ew!

Is... Is that human hair?

I take it from my hairbrush every morning.

Keeps the slugs away.

I've found, over the years, that the old ways are often the best ways.

And so much better for the environment.

Oh, you really do listen.

How did you get on with Geoffrey?

I adored him.

He helped me.

How?

It was a long time ago.

I was on the works and buildings committee, which included looking after the graveyards in various parishes.

I, um... I, I messed up, um... Could have got into a lot of trouble, but Geoffrey, he, he stepped in and sorted it all out.

(car approaching) He lived to help other people.

(car approaching) That's my husband.

Sorry, I'm going to have to go.

(engine stops) Paul-- Paul, wait up.

Hang on-- Paul.

TANIKA: Okay.

So, what have we got on the victim?

Geoffrey Truman.

No listed next of kin.

Used to run a small publishing business, but then he retired.

Became the mayor of Marlow last year, and he was also involved in the Rotary Club, Dementia Action Marlow, Meals for Marlow... It's, it's actually quite a long list.

So, he was a do-gooder.

Which is good.

What did we get from the witness statements at the scene?

JASON: They all said he was well-liked and had no enemies.

They assumed it was natural causes.

There's nothing natural about someone putting aconite in your coffee.

TANIKA: Well, exactly, so let's find out who put it there.

Brendan, find out everything you can about the victim, and check his home.

Jason, what was Mr.

Truman up to before the meeting?

Where did he go?

Who did he see?

And Alice... Guv.

...run background checks on the witnesses.

Who they are, and how did they get on with the victim.

Guv.

Did Col and the kids leave this morning?

They did.

What's this?

Colin's taken the kids camping.

It means that Becks is footloose and fancy-free.

(exhales) I've dreamt of this for years.

No responsibilities for four whole days.

Well, you deserve it.

It's kind of spooky, though, innit?

Everything looks so normal.

But there's a killer here somewhere.

That is, of course, flood plains permitting.

(all chuckling) Um, I'm going to have to leave you.

(both talking indistinctly) Nice to see you.

(exhales) Ladies.

I, I should introduce myself-- Marcus Percival.

I take it you're working with the police?

What makes you ask?

Well, your reputation precedes you, Mrs.

Potts.

Oh, all good, I hope.

Do the police suspect foul play?

I'm afraid they do.

Impossible.

What makes you say that?

Ah.

Because he was such a good guy.

Never crossed anyone, never took offense.

I can't imagine you've got any active leads.

Let alone suspects?

(chuckles) Of course.

(whispers): You can't say.

Anyway, it was lovely talking to you.

I need to go shut up shop for the day.

Was he just trying to pump us for information?

I think that's exactly what he was doing.

Mm.

How curious.

WAITER: There you go.

Thank you.

WAITER: 11.92, please.

(reader chimes) Could Geoffrey really have been that perfect?

I don't buy it-- everyone's got secrets.

(phone vibrating) Oh, excuse me.

(button clicks, vibration stops) Hello.

DISTORTED VOICE (over phone): Follow the money.

I'm sorry?

Who is this?

DISTORTED VOICE (on speaker): You want to know who killed Geoffrey Truman?

Follow the money.

(call disconnects) SUZIE: "Follow the money."

BECKS: What money?

(card reader beeps) JASON: Okay.

I've spoken to Mr.

Truman's neighbors.

No one saw him this morning.

TANIKA: We know he was at the council building at 1:00 p.m.

(door closes) Don't worry, I'll keep digging.

Tanika, we need a number traced.

Alice.

ALICE: Yep.

Judith's just had a call from a withheld number, saying that if she wanted to find Geoffrey's killer, she had to "follow the money."

We need this stat.

TANIKA: Who was this person?

JUDITH: No idea.

His voice was distorted.

Do you mind if we put some software on your phone in case he calls again?

It would allow us to record him directly.

Yes, of course.

ALICE: Okay, so, the call came in at 5:17 p.m.

It came from a phone box near Bovingdon Green.

Get over there, Alice.

Find out if anyone saw who made the call.

On it.

But if we are following the money, what have we got on Mr.

Truman's financials?

Not much.

He lived modestly on a mixture of state and private pension.

He had no credit cards and no debt.

They might mean the council money.

Brendan, contact the council.

Let's get all of their financial records.

All of them?

Going back, let's say, the last five years?

(Brendan sighs) TANIKA: Got to go pick up Shanti.

(phone ringing) TANIKA: Oh.

(ringing stops, button clicks) Alice?

ALICE (on phone): We've got all we can from the phone box, but it's not much.

No witnesses, no physical evidence.

What about fingerprints?

ALICE: Well, the phone was wiped clean with a solvent, as was the door handle.

Whoever made that phone call knew what they were doing.

TANIKA: Okay, finish up there, and let's pick this up in the morning.

But good work, Alice, thank you.

(button clicks) (kids yelling in distance) Pickle?

What's up?

(softly): Nothing.

You sure?

You know you can tell me or your dad anything.

Is it something at school?

I don't want to talk about it.

Okay.

(sighs) The doctor says his heart is failing him.

MARGARET: I'm sorry to hear that.

HARRIET: He wants you.

(Becks sighs) (show dialogue continues) (sighs) SOPHIA: We've heard how aconite has earned its many names, from monkshood in the monastery to wolfsbane in the forest, and how it weaves through literature from Greek myth to Shakespeare.

But for me, what I can't get over... (on speaker): ...is how a plant so pretty and ornamental can be so very, very lethal.

But maybe that's just me.

Until next time, happy and, above all, safe gardening.

Who could have wanted you dead?

What do you think, Jasper?

(purring) Hm?

Is that all you've got?

One statement and no other credible witnesses?

MIA: None of them are really credible.

(kids yelling) They're eight-year-old kids.

No, of course-- sorry.

And I'm not saying that Shanti bullied anyone, but she is friends with the group of pupils who did.

I'll talk to her-- thank you.

(phone vibrating) Sorry.

Got to take this.

(phone vibrating) Brendan?

Okay, so the PM's in, and it's been confirmed that Mr.

Truman died from a lethal dose of aconite.

Do they know how it got into his coffee?

Well, they've checked all the other cups and tea-making paraphernalia, and they're all clear of poison.

The only thing that wasn't was one of the used coffee pods in the machine.

How do they know it was his?

Well, he was the only person that drank decaf coffee, and it was a decaf pod that they found in the machine.

But get this.

Forensics lifted two sets of fingerprints from the pod.

One was Mr.

Truman's.

TANIKA: And the other?

Was council secretary Debbie Smith.

And you should know that according to the witness statements, she's the only person, other than Geoffrey, that ever used the coffee machine.

TANIKA: Okay, bring her in.

(sighs) We've got this, Luna.

(Luna whimpers) Yeah.

Right, game on.

DEBBIE: I still can't believe he was poisoned.

BRENDAN: You know that?

Mm.

I work for Paul Hollingbry, Sophia's husband.

He told me.

What would you say if I told you that your fingerprints were found on the coffee pod that poisoned him?

Well, that's impossible!

How so?

I had a normal coffee.

Geoffrey's the only one of us that drinks decaffeinated.

I never touched any of the decaf pods.

I think I know what's happened.

When I went to make my coffee, there was already an old pod jammed in the slot.

I had to push it through.

If that one was Geoffrey's, that must how my fingerprints got on it.

Look, I arrived after Geoffrey had made himself his coffee.

What has Alec Miller told you?

Who's Alec Miller?

The person who lays out the teas and coffees before all the council meetings.

You have spoken to him, haven't you?

There was a fifth person there?

JUDITH: I kept hunting last night.

I got drawn into reading the comments under the council's social media posts, and there was one account, Marlow1628, and it is horrible.

It really goes for Geoffrey-- look.

"Disgusting mayor"?

And look what they said here.

"Cesspit"?

Nah, that's out of order.

We've spent all this time looking for someone who hated Geoffrey, and here he is.

Although it's not only Geoffrey, is it?

I mean, whoever that is, he hates everyone.

(door opens) Ooh, here she is!

Our lady of leisure.

Did you have a nice lie-in?

Me?

Yes, you!

Please tell me you've been having a proper break.

Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, 100%.

Actually, no, I haven't.

Oh, Becks.

I know.

I'm furious with myself.

I sat down to watch telly last night, and I was all set-- nice glass of wine, bar of chocolate.

Love it.

BECKS: And then I noticed the games cupboard looked a bit messy.

No, tell me you didn't.

I just thought it'd be a quick tidy.

She did.

You know how it goes.

Once that cupboard was tidy, all the other cupboards looked terrible.

Before I knew it, I had the marigolds on, and I was giving the sitting room a once-over.

What an idiot!

SUZIE: You could've at least come round here, made yourself useful, and cleared out Judith's stash of old newspapers.

Do you mind?

BECKS: But that's the thing.

It was useful.

Once I'd finished the sitting room, I moved on to Colin's study-- it seemed stupid not to.

Stupid not to.

BECKS: Well, he's away.

It's needed a deep clean for months.

And I was reordering some old files, and I found this.

What is it?

Remember how Sophia said she'd been involved in a muddle when she was in charge of the graveyards?

Uh-huh.

Well, I found all these cuttings and correspondence about it from 15 years ago.

The parish kept the records.

JUDITH: This wasn't some minor mishap.

Sophia mixed up where people were buried.

It was pretty bad.

The location of one body was never found.

But she's right when she says Geoffrey sorted it out.

There's letter after letter between him and the bishop of Oxford.

Reading between the lines, if it wasn't for Geoffrey, she may have ended up being prosecuted.

So, she may be the person with the aconite, but there's no way she'd ever kill him?

(phone vibrating) JUDITH: Oh.

(vibration continues) Oh!

It's Tanika.

(button clicks, vibration stops) Hello!

Just a quick update, Judith.

There was possibly a fifth person at the council meeting.

A man called Alec Miller-- he lives in Marlow Bottom.

We're going to talk to him now.

Shall we meet... (line beeping) Oh, she's hung up.

It's a bit of a mistake, if you ask me.

She's going to the wrong address.

And you know that?

No, Alec does the teas and coffees for some of our church events.

He's got a caravan by Hurley Lock, and he moves to it every summer.

SUZIE: And Tanika's gone to his house in Marlow Bottom.

You know what I think?

I think we can guess.

It's our civic duty to help the police in every way we can, and sometimes that involves going to the right address when they've gone to the wrong one.

(kids yelling in background) The mayor always had a kind word for everyone.

A lovely man.

It's terrible what's happened to him.

And at the hands of Locusta, no less.

At the hands of who?

Emperor Nero had an infamous assassin called Locusta, whose weapon of choice was poison.

You do not fail to live up to your reputation, Mrs.

Potts.

How do you know Geoffrey was poisoned?

Have your tea and I'll tell you.

Thank you.

(exhales) I bumped into Marcus in town-- he told me.

So, if you prepared the tea and the coffee for the meeting, and you know that Geoffrey was poisoned, why haven't you spoken to the police?

What would I say?

I wasn't there.

I'm sorry?

ALEC: I got a phone call yesterday morning telling me not to come in.

(phone ringing) Hello?

Who is this?

BECKS: Who from?

SOPHIA (on phone): Good morning.

It's Sophia Hollingbry.

Oh.

She rang and told me I wasn't needed, the meeting had been canceled.

(people talking in background) (sighs) Hey-- how's it going?

(exhales) Up to my eyeballs in council receipts, memorandums, minutes.

Whatever it is I'm meant to find is well hidden.

How about you?

I've knocked on every door near the council building.

No one remembers seeing Mr.

Truman on the day he died.

It's like he was never there.

That's tough.

I know, but don't worry-- I'm going to find him.

BRENDAN: Well, that was a waste of time.

(sighs) (phone chirps, vibrates) Oh, you're kidding.

(sighs) So, while we went on a wild goose chase, your civilian trio went to Alec Miller's summer residence for a chat.

He's saying that Sophia Hollingbry rang him and told him not to attend the council meeting.

Guv?

Oh, sorry.

Shanti's got herself mixed up in some trouble at school.

There's been some bullying.

Oh.

Well, that doesn't sound like her.

I don't know what to do.

Um... Uh, talk to her?

Get her to tell you what happened in her own words?

You mean like a witness interview?

Well, isn't everything in life a bit like a witness interview?

She's a good kid.

Mm, you think?

Yeah, of course-- she's your daughter.

(birds chirping) I've read the witness statements.

Sophia was the last to arrive at the meeting, and she never went near Geoffrey or the coffee machine.

If she's the killer, how did she do it?

(phone vibrating) Oh.

Withheld number.

(Becks gasps) Call Tanika.

It could be our mystery caller again.

How many rings before it goes to answerphone?

I don't know.

Seven?

Eight?

(phone vibrating) Answer it!

Hello!

(whispering): Tanika.

TANIKA (on phone): Becks?

DISTORTED VOICE (on phone): Have you followed the money?

TANIKA: Are you all right?

Judith's mystery caller is talking to her again.

Alice, run a trace on the incoming call to Judith's phone.

On it.

Um, we have.

We haven't found anything.

Not yet.

She needs to keep him talking.

Tell Judith she needs to keep him talking.

(mouthing) VOICE: Have you followed the money?

Um... Are you talking about council money?

It would help if you could be a bit more specific.

VOICE: Yes, it's council money.

Um, and... What bit of the council?

Is it, um, housing?

VOICE: No.

No-- well, what about travel and transport?

VOICE: No.

No, um... (stammers) (mouthing) Uh, knitting!

(whispering): The waste disposal!

No!

Not, not knitting.

Waste disposal.

VOICE: Look at the petty cash.

What area of the petty cash?

Hello?

Are you there?

(sighs) He's gone.

Which part of this looks like knitting?

What was it?

It's tying up the dog poo bag and putting it in the bin!

(laughing): Oh, of course-- that's actually quite good.

Yeah.

TANIKA: Becks?

Becks.

Oh, hold on.

TANIKA: It's the phone box outside All Saints' gate.

We're leaving right now.

Tanika says the call came from a phone box just outside All Saints, by the gates.

They're going to check it out.

Well, how long's that going to take them?

I reckon if we're quick, we might catch a few witnesses.

Mm.

There's no way we'll get to All Saints fast enough.

Oh, you want to bet?

(engine starting) (tires screeching) (engine revving) (car sensor beeping) (beeping faster, then steadily) BECKS: Remember the bridge restrictions!

Not this fast across this bridge.

Suzie, I agree with Becks!

Not this fast, Suzie!

SUZIE: I can do this!

I can do this!

(tires skid) Easy.

Easy.

JUDITH: You've got about two inches on this side.

You all right, Bob?

Hello, Suzie.

JUDITH: Careful.

SUZIE: I'm doing it.

Careful!

SUZIE: I'm doing it.

JUDITH: One inch.

Oh, this is tight.

(sighs) You're grazing it!

I hate these speed spoilers.

All right, let's shift it!

(horn honks) Learn to drive, fool!

(tires skid) Oh, my, give me strength.

Hold on.

Hold on, yeah.

Suzie.

(chuckles) BECKS: We're through.

(tires skid) SUZIE: Easy!

Told you I'd get us there.

JUDITH: See if anyone saw anybody use this phone box.

(groans) Someone must have seen him.

Excuse me.

Oh, sir.

Yeah.

JUDITH: Have you seen anyone use this phone box?

MAN: No.

BECKS: Hello, excuse me there.

JUDITH: Oh-- sir, have you seen anyone use this phone box?

No, sorry.

Oh-- um... (exhales) (police radio running in background) TANIKA: Still nothing?

No one saw a thing.

BRENDAN: No CCTV, either.

Guv.

It's the same as before.

Everything's been wiped clean.

No fingerprints, no nothing.

So, he's got away.

Again.

Becks?

What do you know about peregrine falcons?

Mm?

BECKS: Brendan, I need your help.

There's a pair of falcons that hatch their chicks every year in the spire.

And why are you telling me this?

BECKS: A local birdwatching society have a webcam pointed at them.

(bell rings) You can watch the nest live, but they record it on the laptop up here.

(bell rings) (bell rings) (bell rings) (bell rings) It's not much higher, is it?

No.

You okay with heights?

I, I don't love them.

Just don't look down.

It's just a little ladder.

(panting) Look, it's as I thought.

The webcam picks up more than just the nest.

Oh.

Oh, that's cool.

The view?

No, the... The birds.

Now, the call came in at midday or thereabouts.

That's him, our mystery caller!

(mouse clicks) (phone camera clicks) (whispers): Let's have a look.

Who the hell are you?

(radio running in background) (laughing): Whoa!

Great work, Becks.

(chuckles) Come on, girl, up top.

Oh, yeah!

So, what happens now?

Well, I imagine the police will try to identify the mystery caller.

Which leaves us three to ask the only question that matters-- why did Sophia stand Alec down?

SOPHIA: And now on to a topic I know vexes a lot of us as we head into the drier months: to mow or not to mow.

(on recording): To mow or not to mow.

(knocks) (recording rewinding) (on recording): And now on to a topic I know vexes a lot of us as we head into the drier months: to mow or not to mow.

(recording repeating) I haven't time to be interrupted.

Look, we, we just wanted to know why you rang Alec Miller yesterday and told him that the meeting had been canceled?

Sorry?

What are you talking about?

Are you saying you didn't ring him?

That's exactly what I'm saying.

Then who did?

I don't know!

Either Alec's lying or it was someone pretending to be me.

Either way, I didn't call anybody yesterday.

I don't suppose you know this person?

I don't recognize him, no.

(door closes) Oh, the plot thickens.

What are the three of you doing here?

We could ask you the same question.

As it happens, we're meeting to discuss options for a commemorative bench for Geoffrey.

SUZIE: Mm.

(chuckling) "True son of Marlow."

Yeah, that's the one that I would choose.

BECKS: None of you know who this is, do you?

Hold on, I think I do.

Didn't he do your podcast studio?

Dave or someone?

Paul hired him to do some work in the office, as well.

PAUL: His name's Dave Butler.

If it's the same person that did your little studio there.

JASON: Got you!

You've identified our mystery caller?

No, it's the victim-- I've found him.

I've been checking all of the CCTV footage I could find near the council building.

So, it's ten minutes before the meeting, near the cemetery.

Look.

He's with Terrence Clarkson.

And he's not happy.

TANIKA: Good work, Jason.

It's a shame there's no sound.

Wait, hold on-- who's that?

Just there-- zoom in a bit?

All right.

Oh, God.

What?

It's Mrs.

Eddingham.

Okay, this is it-- Dave Butler, Great Marlow I.T.

Services.

Nice spot.

(doorbell chirps, wolf howls) I think I can see your house over there, Judith.

I think you're right.

(kids calling in background) What do you want?

JUDITH: Dave Butler?

(slow rock music playing) (door opens) We believe you have some explaining to do.

I was only trying to help.

SUZIE: By making anonymous phone calls?

Why didn't you just ring the police?

(music stops) I didn't want to get involved.

I was hoping Mrs.

Potts would do the work for me.

I think you need to tell us everything you know.

Now.

Okay, okay, but it's not much.

A while back, I saw a spike in how much petty cash the council were spending.

They're published on the council website.

�3,000 last year, �4,000 this year, but I couldn't see a reason for the sudden jump in claims.

And you think the extra cash could be connected with Geoffrey's death?

It could be.

He was such a good man.

If he discovered anything dodgy, he'd have gone straight to the police.

Maybe that's why he was killed, to stop him from doing just that.

You say he was a good man-- you knew him?

Years ago, I wanted to be a writer.

I got into a young writers' scheme, and Geoffrey was one of the mentors.

He really helped me with the book I was writing.

Sort of high fantasy-- "The Warlocks of Wynhaven."

But then my mum died, and I moved to the States to live with my aunt.

Last year, I moved back to Marlow, and that's when I bumped into Geoffrey.

It's you, isn't it?

Dave Butler!

Geoffrey Truman-- we worked together on your "Warlock" book.

Gosh!

DAVE: He said he'd try and help me get my book published.

We'd been working together ever since.

GEOFFREY: You've got to end every chapter with a, a cliffhanger.

DAVE: His ideas-- amazing.

On structure, character.

Can you prove any of this?

Go to Geoffrey's house.

There's a spare key by the back door, I think, and you'll find my manuscript in his office.

You'll be able to see how well we've been working together.

Where were you when he died?

I was here, on my own.

But his death is a disaster for me.

Don't you see that?

It's been my dream to be published my whole life, and it's not going to happen now.

MRS.

EDDINGHAM: You're right, I did see them arguing.

EDDINGHAM: From a bush?

That's really not the point.

That very much sounds like the point to me.

Lesley, don't you have some other place to be?

Nope.

TANIKA: Perhaps if we could focus on what you heard.

I'm not sure if I put the right bins out this morning.

You know it's a blue bin day!

MRS.

EDDINGHAM (chuckling): Is it?

I, I just don't remember.

I remember now.

The younger man was saying the most horrible things to Mr.

Truman.

What was the argument about?

I couldn't quite tell, but I definitely heard Geoffrey saying the other man had handled the situation badly.

He said it a few times.

Whatever it was, he's handled the situation badly.

BECKS: Okay, this is the house.

See if you can find the key.

I found it.

What?

It's in the door.

That doesn't feel right.

Let me call Tanika, let her know.

And while you do that, why don't we make ourselves useful?

TERRENCE: I don't understand.

Well, it's simple, really.

You were seen arguing with Mr.

Truman 20 minutes before he died.

It was just a misunderstanding.

About?

I, um, wanted the comments turned off on the council website.

Seriously?

There are nasty people out there, and it can get personal-- that's all it was about.

I wanted the comments turned off, and he wanted to leave them turned on.

(phone vibrating) (button clicks) Then why did Geoffrey keep saying that you'd handled the situation badly?

He was just saying I was being aggressive, which I was, and I had to calm down.

At the meeting, I tried to apologize, but he'd already moved on-- that was him all over.

He didn't dwell.

That's all it was.

A minor disagreement, and he forgave me.

Who prepared the tea and coffee for the meeting?

I'm sorry?

We're just trying to ascertain who put out the poisoned coffee for Mr.

Truman.

TANIKA: Was it Alec Miller?

It wasn't Alec I saw through the window.

There was someone else there?

Who?

TERRENCE: I don't know, I couldn't see through the glass.

I think it was a man, but they didn't have the build of Alec.

And they had light hair.

Why didn't you mention this in your witness statement?

At the time, I thought Geoffrey had died of natural causes.

If you're looking for the person who put the poison in Geoffrey's coffee pod, I bet it was the person in the kitchen.

SUZIE: I think I found it.

Judith?

You've got it?

Dave was telling the truth.

Geoffrey's really trying to help him.

And he's positive, kind, and supportive.

It's like everyone's been saying.

Then why did he have to die?

There must be some dark secrets in his life.

Everyone has secrets.

(door opening) Hey!

(gasps) Oi!

Stop right there!

Oi!

You!

Come back here!

Tanika, you need to come to Geoffrey's house at once.

BECKS (breathlessly): Going so faster.

Oh, God!

Come on!

(panting) Oh, okay, it's another wall.

We can get over this.

Come on!

(both panting and grunting) That's it-- come on, Suzie, careful.

All right, I'm over.

Yep!

Whoa!

Yeah, I'm down.

Whoa!

I made it.

BECKS: There he is.

Come on!

Let's go!

(both panting) SUZIE: Becks, I can't see!

Oh, yeah.

(panting) BECKS: Come on!

Oh, no, my back!

(panting) Nah... No!

SUZIE: I said no more walls.

No, that's not possible.

We can do it.

No.

Are you mad?

(grunts) Nah, I told you!

We can't do it.

There's no way we can do that.

(both sigh) (panting) (calling): Judith?

JUDITH: In here.

We lost him.

Oh.

Did you see who it was?

Oh, we were so close.

But no, no idea.

(both panting) What's that?

You know you wanted Geoffrey to have a dark secret?

"Stop or I'll tell everyone your secret."

(click) BECKS: We found out who Judith's mystery caller is.

SUZIE: Welcome to the town council.

TANIKA: Any of these three people could have had reason to want Geoffrey dead, if he had found out their secrets.

SUZIE: Means, motive, opportunity.

TANIKA: It could've been anyone.

ANNOUNCER: Visit our website for videos, newsletters, podcasts, and more.

And join us on social media.

The DVD version of this program is available online and in stores.

This program is also available with PBS Passport and on Amazon Prime Video.