♪ ♪ LEANNE: My guess is, this body was put in there already dismembered.

♪ ♪ JULIET: So you now just attack random girls for no reason at all.

She made a joke about you and Dad.

PATRICK: I'm getting stronger every day.

Sorry, Dad.

HASSAN: I have a watertight case.

I can prove that I will be killed if I went back.

SUNNY: We have a match.

So his name is Gerard Samuel Cooper.

The O.I.C.

on the case was a guy called Ram Sidhu.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (thunder cracks) (whimpers) (click) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ All we do is hide away ♪ ♪ All we do is, all we do is hide away ♪ ♪ All we do is lie in wait ♪ ♪ All we do is, all we do is lie in wait ♪ ♪ I've been upside down ♪ ♪ I don't want to be the right way round ♪ ♪ Can't find paradise on the ground ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ASIF: Like I said, I don't know this guy personally, but everyone says he's fine.

So as long as you work hard and do the job, he's not interested in anything else.

You finish at 5:00 today, okay?

I'll, I'll be waiting for you here.

Thank you.

Have a good day, my friend.

(seatbelt clicks) ♪ ♪ MAN (on speaker): Question 15: how many royal parks are there in London?

JESSICA: So he was identified through comparison with a DNA swab taken after he was charged with a section 47 ABH on July 16, 2019.

All of his files are on COMPACT, and a quick squint suggests they thought he had fallen into debt during the pandemic.

His car was found parked near the Elizabeth Bridge two weeks after he was reported missing by his wife, who we will be speaking to A.S.A.P.

We will also be speaking to DCI Ram Sidhu, the original investigating officer.

(inhales): So right now, I need all the original investigation paperwork inputted into HOLMES, please.

Yep.

Um, ditto with the 2019 assault.

Guv.

And can we check who maintains Whitney Marsh car park CCTV, how long they keep their video files, and if there's any data entry at the car park or pay-online facilities?

Sure, on it.

Okay, that's it for now, guys.

Thanks, guys.

♪ ♪ (door closes) ♪ ♪ You told me to tell them to shove it.

Of course I didn't tell them that.

So what did you say?

That you were considering their request.

For heaven's sake!

(sighs) It's the union, Jules-- it's not a good idea to back them into a corner.

And it doesn't scare you that even soft-soaping them-- dishonestly, as it happens-- even that merest hint of dissent has caused my board to be daubed with "racist"?

Yeah, it's, obviously, not ideal, but...

But what?!

They effectively pay our salaries.

Oh, well, yeah, and what a catastrophic mistake that was-- we're now all in the thrall of sodding children!

(exhales): I mean, think back to when you were 21.

(exhales) Yes.

Exactly.

I mean, seriously, Paul, they don't understand real life yet, with all its compromises and, and messy, imperfect solutions, and surely, part of our job is to teach them about that.

It's just an online course.

It'll only take a few hours.

(sighs) Isn't it just easier to say yes?

You know what?

It actually isn't.

Because what will it be next?

It's also not fair.

To us, sure, but much more importantly, it's not fair to them.

(door opens, closes) ♪ ♪ DOT: Marty!

(voice trembling): Marty!

Martin!

Marty, please-- I need to go toilet!

Pickle?

Mummy needs to wee-wee!

RENFIELD: How bad?

Very bad.

And what makes you think it's getting any worse?

Everything.

And when you say, "Everything"... My dad, Mr. Cooper, that place.

The pub?

And if I had a girlfriend...

So maybe we can up your dose to 100 milligrams.

I have the right to have a girlfriend down... We're not going down that rabbit hole again, Marty.

Women can get a boyfriend whenever they want, so... No woman has the right to have a boyfriend.

No man has the right to have a girlfriend.

We've been through this too many times already.

I'm just so tired of it.

Not understanding anything.

I know, mate.

What did I do wrong, Dr. Renfield?

♪ ♪ You didn't do anything wrong, Marty.

And it's certainly not your fault.

Life is just unfair sometimes.

So I'm going to up your sertraline to 100 milligrams, and I'm gonna refer you to a new autism service being set up by Kent Council.

I should say that it might take a year or so to get an appointment-- they're...

They're a bit snowed under right now.

So we'll... ...see each other in three months.

RENFIELD: I should say, raising the dose might give you some side effects, Marty.

Call us immediately if you start to have any trouble sleeping, if you feel more anxious, if you have any violent... CLAIRE: Dr. Renfield.

Martin... Duncan... (sighs) Do you want to come through?

(birds chirping) ♪ ♪ Hey.

Hey.

I heard Paddy was struggling.

Yeah, yeah, he's not brilliant.

Ah, Mel, I'm so sorry.

You want to talk things over at mine?

I can't-- I just, I, I can't.

It's just, I have so much crap going on in my life, and I just, I can't.

I'm sorry.

No, it's me who should be apologizing.

Do you want to... Do you want to grab a drink somewhere, though?

♪ ♪ So we only have one session with this guy, but he basically tells us what sort of therapist he thinks we need.

So we see a therapist to see what kind of therapist we need.

Yeah.

(chuckles) Bit nuts, I know.

You certainly are.

Oi!

(chuckles) (car approaches, brakes squeak softly) ♪ ♪ And I've, I've just asked for the search to be widened, so, it may yet be that we do find more of him.

(voice trembling): How could someone do that?

To another human being?

How could someone do such a terrible thing?

It's, um, pretty much always about disposal.

If it doesn't sound too absurd, it's generally not personal.

(crying): Oh, my God, how am I gonna tell my daughter?

(gasps) And where was it you said you found him?

Whitney Marsh?

(audio distorts) (sniffles) I always knew he hadn't jumped.

In here.

I always knew, and I told them.

I told them so many times.

The original investigation?

I told them I thought his death had probably been violent.

Okay, can I ask why you thought that?

Because of the money.

Okay, sorry, can we just... Can we just backtrack a minute?

(knock at door in distance) CRYOBABEE (on voice chat): Women don't even like that, bro.

They like to know who's boss, innit?

(knocking continues loudly) That they like a strong man, that's just nature.

LOLCOWZ (on voice chat): They're gonna love you more.

(Cryobabee chuckles) Hang on one second, dudes.

(chat and knocking continue) Hello, Marty, how are we today?

Fine, thank you for asking.

He took on the lease of a pub in Stepney in 2014.

(sniffles) His uncle had managed it in the '80s, and it was a bit of a home from home for Gerry.

So that was his main job, but we also had three rental properties.

SUNNY: And... (stammers) These were flats, or...?

No, HMOs.

Two had seven rooms, one had five.

It was quite a lot of work, and, and we also had fairly large mortgages on all three buildings.

You had to be really on top of tenancies and payment...

Sorry, you did this with him, or...?

No, no, I work at Central London University.

Oh, right-- as?

A lecturer in modern history.

Oh, okay, I, I'm sorry-- carry on.

Yeah, so, uh, things were pretty tight, but absolutely manageable, and the first five years or so in Stepney were great.

Gerry had grown up near there, in Bow, and, and he just...

He just dived back into that life.

Lots of local community stuff, and... (voice breaking): Yeah, he really loved it.

And then the pandemic happened, and it was just like a perfect storm.

Obviously, the pub had to shut, so that revenue went, and then the tenants, one by one, stopped paying their rent, so we, we basically just got deeper and deeper into debt, which is when he-- without telling me, I should say-- spoke to a friend of a friend of a friend, and started borrowing money from people he really shouldn't have.

Moneylenders.

(sniffles) That makes them sound much more respectable than they were.

I think they were basically gangsters.

Okay.

And how did you find out about them?

(sighs) So, he was attacked, early February 2021, as he was putting the bins out one night.

Okay, and you think by one of them?

Yeah, I do.

And did he say it was by one of them?

No, but at that stage, I still didn't know he'd borrowed any money, um... And how badly hurt was he?

Well, he didn't break anything, they were probably too clever for that, but he was knocked out.

And you went to the police?

I called them, yeah.

And?

♪ ♪ Well, Gerry was obviously not that helpful.

In hindsight he was probably scared, so, I mean, the police had very little to go on, and it, it was only after we rowed about that that he finally told me what was going on.

Okay, and how much did he owe them?

By that point, he said it was about £17,000.

And did you ever get any names of these people?

I think I only ever met one of them once.

Some guy called Markaj.

He came to the pub asking for Gerry five days after the attack.

Markaj.

Yeah, looked and sounded Mediterranean.

I think, um... (gulps, inhales) Gerry said they were Albanian.

Okay.

Um, so can you talk us through what happened the day he disappeared?

♪ ♪ Can I just take a break?

I need to check on my daughter.

Yeah, yeah, of course.

(footsteps retreating) (door slams) ♪ ♪ (buttons clicking) (door opens) MELINDA: You think you have everything mapped out.

You can see the next 20, 30 years.

And then out of nowhere, this thing happens and it shifts everything.

Forever.

(phone vibrating) (sighs) I'm so sorry, I have to take this-- it's my producer.

Another one?

Yeah.

Gabe?

GABRIEL: Mel, sending you an article from the "Express" for your next piece.

MELINDA: Gabe... Ciao.

And are you managing to get into the shower, Dot?

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah?

Yeah.

How do you do that, then, if you find it hard using your walker?

Does Marty help you?

Yes, yes, he helps me.

And how'd you get that bruise on your face?

She slipped, silly billy.

As I got her out of the shower.

DOREEN: Oh, dear.

Yeah.

(chuckles): Dotty old Dot.

(Doreen chuckles) Marty, do you want to have a quick sit-down, 'cause I just need a quick chat?

So, look, as I said before, and I really do feel this strongly now, I'm not sure Mum's being looked after as well as she needs, Marty.

She's fine.

Aren't you, Mum?

Yes, I'm fine.

Well, I'm not completely sure you are, my love, so, I'd like to speak to social services... MARTY: Uh... DOREEN: ...and get them to come and do a proper assessment.

MARTY: Uh-uh.

I'm not going into a home.

DOREEN: We just need to make sure you're safe.

I can't leave him on his own.

He, he can't cope.

All, all we need is some more help here.

(Marty muttering) (sighs) Cheese and pickle do you?

(chuckles): Yeah.

(Marty moaning and muttering) Mum, Mum, Mum...

DOT: It's all right, it's all right, dear.

(Dot shushing) DOREEN: It's all right.

The 24th was our wedding anniversary, and we were meant to be having a meal together later that evening.

It's okay, take your time.

(sighs): I got back from work at about 6:00, made Taylor her tea, and then she went upstairs to do some homework...

Sorry, you lived here then?

No, I bought this place after he died.

We were living above the pub in 2021-- we had a, a two-floor flat there.

Oh, okay, right.

So, um... (exhales) Taylor went upstairs, and I started cooking for myself and Gerry.

I'd expected him in about 6:30, and then when he hadn't turned up by 7:30, I started to call him.

Over the next four or five hours, I called multiple times.

I called his friends, his family.

Then I checked his diary, and saw he was meant to be having a meeting with a colleague from the brewery, so I rang her.

And she said he'd rung half-an-hour before their meeting at 4:00 to cancel, which was very unlike Ger.

And where was the meeting?

Winchester.

And then eventually, at about midnight, I called the police.

And what was their response?

They just assumed we'd had a row, and that he'd turn up at some point tomorrow.

Even though I told them that that wasn't him.

That wasn't us.

I called again the following day, out of my mind now with worry, and finally, that night, two officers came and took a statement.

SUNNY: And, uh, you told them about the assault and the loan sharks, and...?

Yes.

Of course.

And, and what was their reaction to that?

After there was no credit card spending or phone use, they said they were upgrading him to high-risk and that they were putting resources into it, but my sense was, their investigation was always perfunctory, at best.

So they thought, what, he'd just walked out?

Until they found his car near the Elizabeth Bridge.

And then they decided, with a third U.K. lockdown beckoning, that he'd jumped.

But you never believed that?

His car was by that bridge 'cause one of our rentals is a hundred yards from there, so no.

And then, nine months later, I saw the officer who led the investigation was charged with corruption... Yeah, and I, I should say, we are very sorry for that.

And I asked for the case to be reopened, but nothing happened, so no, they didn't exactly inspire me with confidence.

No, I can imagine.

(sighs): But listen, could we maybe pick this up tomorrow?

I really think I need to be with my daughter now.

Of course, yeah.

Uh, we're only over in Euston.

It would be great if it were tomorrow.

I'm in the office all day.

MARTY: Doreen!

Doreen!

Doreen.

I, I'm going to get a job.

So we can pay for more help at home.

You don't need to get a job, Marty.

You won't have to pay for anything.

Don't take her away, though-- we like it how it is.

We just need to make sure you're both safe, Marty.

Well, I like it here.

I know.

I've always liked it here.

Course you have.

Mum likes it here, too.

Well... And, and we need each other.

Go on inside, or you'll catch your death.

♪ ♪ (car passing) Thanks so much-- Taylor not at school today?

She wasn't feeling too well.

JESSICA: Call me, um, as soon as you know your movements.

Will do.

I hope it goes okay with her.

Thank you.

(car passing) (door closes) ♪ ♪ (car door opens) What are you thinking?

(siren wailing in background) I'm thinking, that's a very nice house.

I'm thinking the kid's at a 25K-a-year school.

I'm thinking life insurance.

(car door opens) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ HASSAN: My friend.

Yes.

What is this?

It's your wages.

(Hassan continues indistinctly) ♪ ♪ (car door opens) HASSAN (speaking Dari): ASIF: HASSAN: ASIF: HASSAN: ASIF: HASSAN: Get out.

What?

Get out, walk back over there, and apologize.

You're joking.

Now!

This is not fair, Asif.

Life's not fair, mate.

If it was, my brother would still be alive.

Now go back over there and apologize.

(sighs) ♪ ♪ (door closes) (breathes deeply) Killed by who?

Well, that's what they're now going to try to find out, sweetie.

Where was he found?

In a place called Whitney Marsh.

It's about 15 miles east of here.

And... What did they find, just, like, a, a skeleton?

Yeah, sort of, I guess-- I don't, I don't really have the details on that yet.

(exhales softly) They're sure it's him?

They did a DNA comparison test.

It's definitely him.

(sniffles) (exhales softly) (voice trembling): How did he die?

(sniffles): How was he...?

They're not sure yet.

It's okay to cry, sweetheart.

To be angry-- you scream and shout if you want.

Just always thought it was me.

What was you?

(sniffles) Why he jumped.

(clears throat, sniffles) I just, um, I thought he mustn't have liked me enough to stay around.

Oh, my God!

No!

He would never have thought that, even if that had been how he died.

He, he adored you.

Tay, you were his life.

♪ ♪ Tay?

(sniffles): It's fine.

Uh, it's fine, I'm fine-- I've, I've got homework to do.

♪ ♪ (door closes) Okay, not too long on that, boys, okay?

(video game beeping and chiming) (game continues) ♪ ♪ (sighs) (game continues) ♪ ♪ (sighs) (phone calling out) DEBBIE (on phone): Hey.

Jessie?

Hey.

Hello.

How are you?

I've missed you so much.

(inhales) I was just calling to see if, um, if maybe we could meet up, just the two of us, to talk?

(softly): I'd like that.

Okay, um, I'll text you some dates.

Thank you.

JESSICA: And maybe-- don't, um... Don't say anything to Mum just yet.

Of course, whatever you want.

JESSICA: Okay.

Bye.

(call ends) (exhales) SUNNY (laughing): So, I'm...

So I'm sitting at the bar, okay?

And, um, she's already 15, 20 minutes late by this point, and, uh, I look, and I see her walk in, and I sort of raise my hand, and, and she sees me, and then I actually see her eyes narrow, in a kind of, "Hm, not sure," narrow?

Narrow.

(laughing): Oh, stop it.

You know what I mean?

So I'm sitting there, you know, I'm smiling and stuff, and, and I watch her walking over, and I stand up, ready to kind of shake hands or kiss or whatever, and, except about ten feet away, she suddenly stops.

And, you know, I say, "Hi," and, um, put my hand out, and... (laughing): And she just looks at me and goes, "Nah."

(laughing): No way!

I promise you.

(softly): Oh, my God!

And then turned around and walked out.

Stop it!

No, I promise you.

Oh, my God!

She just...

"Nah."

Oh, my God!

(both laughing) (speaking indistinctly, laughing) Not even a kind of, like, "Oh, you're..." You know, "You're too short, you're too old, you're too brown," nothing-- just, "Nah."

(laughing) And then... (indistinct) (laughing): And... And I don't know why, Lee, but that was the moment I decided to stop online dating.

Yes, well, you know, good for you.

Well, thank you very much.

Good decision, I think.

(laughing): I think so.

(train horn honks) ♪ ♪ (officers talking indistinctly) (siren wailing in distance) Jesus, what... Yeah.

What is it, 20 pages?

30?

24, including two blank sheets.

So how long did DCI Sidhu get?

(exhales) Not long enough.

Anyway, I asked Fran to go through it, and I thought maybe we could do a briefing with the entire team straight after this.

Yeah, cool.

♪ ♪ (door closes) JESSICA: Thanks for coming in.

Can I get you a coffee, black coffee?

JULIET: White, please, no sugar.

Yeah?

Yeah.

JESSICA: Black, yeah, please.

How are you doing?

All right.

Thanks.

MELINDA (on phone): So, that's it from me until tomorrow.

Good luck, good night, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Sounds very much to me like you're trying to get our audience to panic a little bit there, Mel.

No.

Sounded a little bit net zero, if I'm honest.

Yeah, well, I guess when you've got hospitals in Southern Spain where half the beds in the burns unit are occupied by people whose feet got burned by the pavement, Gabe, then yeah.

(chuckles): It, it's a little bit freaky, is my red-hot opinion.

GABRIEL: Our audience don't care about your opinion.

They don't care about mine or anyone's here.

They just want to hear their own.

Yeah, but you hired me because... GABRIEL: That's the only reason they watch us and not Patriot or Chat or Info or any of the million others out there.

So we give them their opinion or we lose them.

And then we're all out of a job, so... Rewrite.

♪ ♪ When he died, the landlord of the pub obviously took back the tenancy, so for a while, we were couch-surfing.

But over the next year, I was able to sell the HMOs, pay off the mortgages, and there was enough equity left to buy where we live now.

And what was the name of the pub?

The Three Crowns.

It's, um, it's flats now.

And did he have life insurance?

Yeah, although, I... (inhales) I actually didn't even know he'd taken it out until after he was declared dead.

When had he taken the policy out?

2015.

And how much did it pay out?

About 400.

Thousand?

Yeah.

And was there anyone else that you're aware of?

Any conflicts, disputes, rows that you think we should know about?

Anyone who might have had beef with him?

I guess maybe one of his tenants.

Uh, one specifically, or...?

No, no, I mean generally.

The houses were in deprived areas, and he often rented to people living slightly on the edge, and, it's like I said yesterday.

Lots of them stopped paying during the pandemic, so, yeah, he had lots of disputes with them in 2020.

Um, do you have records of all the tenancies from around this time?

Somewhere.

Might need to see those, please.

Okay.

And you said he was born in Stepney, I think?

Bow.

Bow.

And what was his relationship like with the locals?

Really good.

People loved Gerry.

I mean, you could stop 100 people on the streets around where we lived, and ask them what they thought of him, and they'd all say the same.

(inhales): "Yeah, great bloke."

(chuckles) Okay.

And then, lastly, how was your relationship?

Our relation... Our relationship was fine.

Can you elaborate on that at all?

Not really.

It was a, a happy marriage.

How did you guys meet?

How did we meet?

We often like to get a wider picture of someone in a case like this.

A small detail that you might think unimportant might give us a clue that will help us in our investigation.

We met through politics.

We were both members of our local Labour Party.

And when was this?

Early 2009.

Okay.

He'd just been through a rather painful divorce, and we met at a local election hustings one night, and... Yeah, we just clicked.

(chuckling): Four months later, we were married.

And Taylor was born when?

Late 2009.

Okay, thank you so much.

I think we're done.

JULIET: Okay.

JESSICA: Thank you.

Yeah, nothing I can put my finger on.

But off?

FRAN: Oh, boss.

There's no record in any files I can find of Juliet Cooper asking for the case to be reopened after Sidhu was prosecuted.

Yeah.

Off.

JESSICA: So, obviously, the initial investigation was more than a little flimsy, with no indication anyone even attempted to identify the loan sharks.

Now, my sense is that that whole angle does seem a little... (exhales): ...confected, but COMPACT does detail an Erjon Markaj, who we will be speaking to.

His family has lots of form.

SUNNY: And I will be speaking to Ram Sidhu later today.

JESSICA: Uh, Kaz, you have any luck with the CCTV?

KAREN: Yes and no.

Camera is maintained by Havering Council, but they only keep footage for 90 days.

Yeah.

But I did see that there were a couple of notices in the car park about car theft, so I wondered if it might be worth checking to see if there were any reported incidents in the weeks after he was reported missing.

Because that footage might be preserved somewhere.

Yeah.

In a car theft case file.

And if the body was brought in by car... Yeah, good shout.

So, he was reported missing on the 24th of February.

I'm thinking of checking up till maybe end of March?

Yeah, go for it.

So, as we now know, Mr. Cooper was also the victim of an assault in his pub car park three weeks before he disappeared.

Murray, can you pull up the CRS files on that, please?

Yep.

And also Cooper's own criminal record, maybe link in with Command and Control.

Guv.

Yeah, Sunny, you had a thought about bin liners.

Mm.

So, you're trying to dispose of body parts, you need to transport them, and so you're gonna wrap them up in bin liners to minimize evidence being deposited in your vehicle.

But then, when you throw them in the marshes, you want to unwrap them to accelerate the decomposition, so they get eaten more quickly, et cetera.

And indeed, the little that we found of the torso certainly suggests that went into the marshes unwrapped.

My guess is that we haven't found other parts due to the same reason.

So why would the leg have gone into the marshes still wrapped in bin liners?

FRAN: The killer was interrupted.

Had to have been.

Yeah, a member of the public disturbed them, and they threw it in quickly to avoid detection.

Okay, so, boards up, please, Kaz, all along that path, asking if anyone saw anything unusual between February 24, 2021, and the end of March.

Boss.

SUNNY: Murray, Juliet Cooper is supplying us with their rental records.

Could you compile a list of all their tenants in the 12 months before Cooper was reported missing?

Sure.

And Fran, can you track down as many pub employees as possible?

Ask them what their general impression of the marriage was, if they know of anyone else who might've had beef with Cooper.

Ditto the locals who knew him.

(exhales) Maybe a board up there, as well.

Yeah-- yeah, why not?

Okay.

Thanks, guys.

(phones ringing in background) ♪ ♪ (engine stops, seat belt unclicks) MELINDA: But you absolutely weren't drunk.

You, you were nowhere near over the limit.

I know.

You'd had half a pint.

Colm Moyland was three times over the limit.

He drove through a red light.

It was his fault.

Except now they're arguing that even the small amount of alcohol in my bloodstream means that... (sucks in breath) ...culpability should be shared.

And if they can convince a judge of that, it would mean I wouldn't be able to make any claim on his insurance.

So, so we claim on yours.

(laughs): Sure.

Except now that my insurance are saying, in the absence of any claim on his, it would mean that mine would be invalid.

Because of the half a pint.

How?

You weren't anywhere near over the limit.

(exhales, smacks lips) There's a clause in the small print, which, um, means that they have the right to deny compensation on a case-by-case basis if the driver had consumed any alcohol.

(scoffs) (exhales audibly) (people talking, devices beeping in background) Mm.

(sniffs) Come here.

(chuckling): Mm.

We're gonna be okay-- we are.

We're gonna be just fine.

(dog barking in distance) (traffic passing) D.I.

Khan.

Hands up-- no excuses, we screwed up.

(gate buzzes, slams in distance) Feels less like you pursued the wrong leads, more like you pursued no leads.

Oh, we followed plenty of leads.

Maybe you were otherwise occupied.

(laughs) Did you just come here to bask, D.I.

Khan?

I take no pleasure in where you find yourself.

Come on.

Little bit.

I mean, I did call you (muted).

Put your funny little DC on the deck and get your charges withdrawn.

Got there in the end, though, didn't we?

(chuckles) We did.

So... How about we just agree I'm a disgrace to the badge, and then maybe I can actually help you?

Because your pity's slightly making me want to puke.

You are a disgrace to the badge.

Excellent.

So... MARKAJ (voiceover): No, we own restaurants, dry cleaners, a few office spaces, but we're not gangsters.

Your cousin is doing eight years for drugs offenses and your father did ten for GBH.

My dad died in 2009 and my cousin is nothing to do with our business.

So you really felt he jumped into the river?

Or just walked away.

You met the wife?

We have.

Firstly, my instinct was that the marriage wasn't what she painted it as, and that, coupled with genuine money worries, caused him to just leave.

Okay, so, how much did you lend him, as a friend?

12,000, which he paid back with an interest of five.

My guess was that he had borrowed money, and of course, it's possible they killed him, but again, my instinct was that, you know, that wasn't the case.

Why?

Well, firstly, she was pushing that too hard.

She must have called my office maybe, pfft, I don't know, half a dozen times to push that angle.

Maybe because you didn't do anything.

'Cause it didn't make sense.

Dead men don't pay debts.

Even if we were that kind of organization, why would we have him killed?

Dead men don't pay debts.

You want a theory?

I'll give you a theory.

There was an assault on Cooper a few weeks before he died.

I'd ask why the wife was so keen to point the finger at us.

One of his bar managers, a Chinese girl, reckoned it was committed by a lad that Cooper had employed the previous year, but who'd not got furlough.

I'd ask how happy she was knowing that he was with another woman.

What other woman?

You know his name?

No.

But apparently, the lad had threatened him a couple of times.

The one always waiting in the car when he was dropping off his repayments.

If I was you, I'd be looking for her.

If I were you, I'd be looking for him.

I appreciate your help, Mr. Sidhu.

(scoffs): "Mr." It's classy.

We're done here.

But listen, if you need any more help... (door opens) Indeed.

And I certainly know where to find you, don't I?

(door closes) ♪ ♪ (birds chirping) (dogs barking in distance) GEOFF (on monitor): But right now, this is BNC.

It's 7:00.

Yes, it's time for "Mel's Minute."

(theme playing) Well, face masks may be gone, lockdowns, for now, a thing of the past, but if you thought that the wokerati were gonna let you get on with simply enjoying life, well, think again.

This week, we saw more highly questionable data released, informing us that we are literally going to burn in hell if we don't give up our cars, our holidays abroad, and heck, they even have it in for my little old log burner.

And as I sit here and look outside my window on this May evening to see the frost outside, and I pull on my jumper, I ask myself two questions: Why are the climate change clap-trappers lying to us, and why, if the world is now boiling, am I so frigging cold?

Well, the answer to the first question is because if we're in a state of perpetual fear and panic, then we're so much easier to control.

If the pandemic taught us anything, it's that governments across the globe love to keep us under their thumb.

And the answer to the second question is, I'm cold because that's how climate works.

It is unpredictable.

Always has been, always will be.

To coin a phrase, "Sometimes it snows in April."

(chuckles) So until next time, good luck, good night, and God bless.

Now, where are my matches?

(laughing) That is so true.

So true.

Thank you, Mel.

GEOFF (on monitor): Thanks, Mel.

And thank you for watching.

(beeps) (mimics gun firing) GEOFF (on monitor): This has been "Britannia News."

In Newcastle today, further unrest... (sighs) (mouse clicks) ♪ ♪ (birds chirping and calling) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ MERRICK: They are compromising, Juliet.

All they want to do now is meet with you and talk.

They want to lecture me, Paul.

We both know that.

They want to judge me...

They really don't.

Paul, it's the union's core skill.

They want to judge me and wag their pompous little fingers... Jules, please, will you help me here?

My hands are tied.

You've tied them yourself by just taking this rubbish for too long.

I'm doing you a favor.

I'm saying, "Enough."

You should be grateful.

(door opens) (chuckling): I know this is the life that I chose, Mother.

I know it's my fault.

I was just hoping, for once-- just, you know, once-- a little bit of empathy.

We don't really do empathy, darling, do we?

And given you've rather made a living out of that, it's a bit rich, expecting it yourself.

Well, I'll say goodnight, then.

I'm sure you've got some vinegar you'd like to take a long soak in.

HILARY: Before you go, sweetie, did you hear about that man we met you with at the Oaks?

What man?

HILARY: Hm, he was in the paper yesterday, I...

I recognized him from the photo.

MELINDA: What man?

Gerard Cooper?

♪ ♪ Gerard, wow, that's a long time.

Why, why was he in the paper?

HILARY: They found his body out in Whitney Marsh.

It, it says they're launching a murder investigation.

♪ ♪ Melinda?

Yeah, sorry, I'm just... Just in shock.

HILARY: You used to love our picnics out in Whitney when you were a little girl, didn't you?

I gotta go, Mother.

I'll, I'll talk to you next week.

MAN (on computer): There's so many have fallen for the corrupt, that evil narrative that has long been broadcast.

(sighs) MAN: We will be initiating the emergency broadcast system... ♪ ♪ (man continues indistinctly) ♪ ♪ (breathes deeply) (sighs) MAN: ...direct message, avoiding the fake news, to all citizens.

♪ ♪ AUTOMATED GREETING: Please leave a message after the tone.

(voicemail beeps) Hi, it's Melinda Ricci.

So, I just wanted to let you know that if you say anything to anyone that brings people to my door... ...you will regret it.

(button beeps) AUTOMATED VOICE (on phone): Message deleted.

(button beeps) ♪ ♪ (click) REPORTER: Police have now launched a murder investigation.

DOT (calling): Marty?

What you doing?

ASIF: Men like you and me, we don't do well in detention centers.

TAYLOR: Was he?

Having an affair.

SUNNY: Infidelity.

It's just about the oldest motive for murder there is.

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♪ ♪