The Judgement Day Script
1. EXT.
RAVENS HOUSE EVENING.
1955…
The
opening sequence is highly stylised…perhaps even black and white. Short
scenes
cut together in a jagged, nightmarish way. The house is Victorian
Gothic…in
an isolated setting, grim and forbidding. There is a 1950’s car
parked
outside.
ANNABEL
(Voice
only)
I don’t
want you to go. Why do you
have to
go?
CLOSER
ANGLE
MICHAEL
and RUTH WESTON are a well-off couple, going out for a tenth
anniversary
dinner. ANNABEL is their seven-year-old daughter. A rather
frightening
child whose anger borders on the psychotic.
RUTH
Come
on, Anna. We talked about
this.
It’s mummy and daddy’s anniversary.
ANNABEL
I don’t
care! I don’t want you to go!
MICHAEL
We’ll
be home later. Don’t you want
us to
have a nice time?
ANNABEL
No!
MICHAEL
glances at RUTH. She’s worried. They both are. Then MRS
FOSTER
appears in the doorway. She’s a woman in her fifties - solid and
dependable.
A housekeeper and nanny to ANNABEL.
MRS
FOSTER
Are you
off then?
RUTH
We’re
just going.
CUT TO
- 2 -
RUTH
leans down - she’ll have one last try with ANNABEL.
RUTH
You’ll
be all right with Mrs Foster.
You’ll
have a nice time.
ANNABEL
No I
won’t!
ANNABEL
flounces round and storms into the house, pushing past MRS
FOSTER,
who looks on helplessly.
2. EXT.
LANE FROM RAVENS HOUSE EVENING.
RUTH
and MICHAEL drive off down the rough, bumpy track. Neither of them
are
speaking.
3. INT.
RAVENS HOUSE - KITCHEN EVENING.
Crash!
ANNABEL has dropped a plate of food onto the floor…on purpose. MRS
FOSTER
towers over her, stern and angry. The whole scene is distorted, the
prelude
to something horrible.
MRS
FOSTER
You
naughty child! You go straight
to your
room. You’ll watch no
television
tonight!
ANNABEL
I don’t
care. I hate you!
ANNABEL
rushes out of the room. MRS FOSTER calls after her.
MRS
FOSTER
You
just wait until your parents
come
home. You wait until I tell
them!
CUT TO
- 3 -
4. INT.
RAVENS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM NIGHT.
MRS
FOSTER is watching the (black & white) television. The very earliest
days of
ITV! The bulky cathode ray tube throws strange shadows across the
rather
claustrophobic living room.
CUT TO
5. INT.
RAVENS HOUSE - ANNABEL’S ROOM NIGHT.
A
pretty child’s bedroom - sloping eaves, rocking chair etc…but it’s still rather
creepy.
Lots of stuffed toys including a huge gollywog which stares at the
camera
with eyes that are somehow too large. The bed is empty. There is no
sign of
ANNABEL.
CUT TO
6. INT.
RAVENS HOUSE - UPPER CORRIDOR NIGHT.
The
corridor is also empty. It seems to stretch on for ever.
CUT TO
7. INT.
RAVENS HOUSE - KITCHEN NIGHT.
A
kitchen drawer opens. Inside the drawer we see a long, wicked-looking
kitchen
knife.
CUT TO
8. INT.
RAVENS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM NIGHT.
MRS
FOSTER is watching television. She doesn’t hear the door open behind
her.
She doesn’t hear the footsteps approach. She looks up only when it is too
late.
The blade of the kitchen knife hovers above her. She can see herself
reflected
in it. The knife slashes down. MRS FOSTER screams.
CUT TO
9. EXT.
RAVENS HOUSE NIGHT.
- 4 -
Later.
RUTH and MICHAEL return from their dinner. RUTH is the first out of
the
car.
CUT TO
10.
INT. RAVENS HOUSE - HALLWAY NIGHT.
CLOSE
SHOT
On RUTH
as she turns the light on. MICHAEL with her. Why was the light
off?
Why is the house so quiet?
MICHAEL
What is
it?
RUTH
I don’t
know…
But
RUTH is worried. Already she knows something is wrong.
RUTH
Mrs
Foster…?
CUT TO
11.
INT. RAVENS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM NIGHT.
RUTH
opens the door of the living room. The television is still on but the
screen
is blank. MRS FOSTER is lying on the carpet. She has been butchered.
RUTH
stifles a scream, then runs out.
CUT TO
12.
INT. RAVENS HOUSE - STAIRS NIGHT.
In a
panic, the world spinning, RUTH runs up the stairs. MICHAEL sees her.
MICHAEL
Ruth…?
CUT TO
13.
INT. RAVENS HOUSE - ANNABEL’S ROOM NIGHT.
- 5 -
RUTH
rushes into the room and stops dead. A flood of relief. ANNABEL is
unhurt.
She’s in bed, asleep, sucking her thumb.
RUTH
Annabel!
Thank God! Oh thank
God!
RUTH
snatches the child up in an embrace. Then she sees it. Her eyes widen
in
horror. The gollywog is holding a blood-stained kitchen knife, cradling it in
his
arms. Just as RUTH takes it in, the door opens and MICHAEL is there. He
sees
ANNABEL. He sees the knife. He knows. They both do…
14.
OPENING CREDITS
15.
EXT. MIDSOMER MALLOW - SHOP DAY.
Forty-five
years later. MARY DRINKWATER, a large and indomitable
geriatric,
cycles past the village butcher shop. She sees the butcher through
the
window and open door and honks the horn on her bike several times.
MARY
Come
on, Ray! You don’t want to be
late!
16.
INT. RAY DORSET’S SHOP DAY.
Inside
the shop, JACK DORSET, RAY’S twenty-one-year-old son, is
decapitating
a chicken. Another butcher’s knife! JACK is pale, glum, weakwilled,
bored
with village life. His father, RAY, is a widow, in his fifties, goodhumoured
and
still in love with a village in which he has spent his entire life.
He
takes off his butcher’s coat.
RAY
I’ll be
back in an hour.
JACK
I don’t
know why you’re wasting
your
time going. They’re all snobs.
CUT TO
- 6 -
RAY
hesitates at the door. He and JACK have grown apart all too quickly.
RAY
It’s
for the village, Jack. That’s why
I’m
going.
RAY
leaves.
CUT TO
17.
EXT. LOTHLORIAN DAY.
Lothlorian
(from the Lord of the Rings) is a large, modern house…glass sliding
doors,
flowers in tubs & barrows, perhaps even a swimming pool. The lawn is
being
immaculately cut by a man on one of those expensive, tractor mowers.
This is
MARCUS DEVERE, a blimp in his late fifties, once something in the
city,
now retired. He’s been in the village only eight years and sees himself as
a
country squire.
A
movement at the gate and BELLA DEVERE appears. An opinionated, bossy
woman,
she is indeed rather snobbish. She bullies MARCUS…but only
because
she knows he doesn’t mind.
BELLA
Marcus!
It’s five to eleven. We ought
to be
on our way!
MARCUS
Righty-ho!
But he
keeps on mowing!
BELLA
Marcus!
MARCUS
I’m
coming! I’m coming! Don’t blow
a fuse!
BELLA
shakes her head. To her, MARCUS is like a naughty schoolboy. At
that
moment, the door of the house opens and CAROLINE DEVERE comes
out. A
punkish, not very attractive girl of about twenty, CAROLINE is also
extremely
soppy.
- 7 -
CAROLINE
‘bye
mum…
BELLA
Where
are you going, dear?
CAROLINE
I
dunno. Just out. I’ll see you…
BELLA
watches CAROLINE leave. She is faintly worried.
CUT TO
18.
INT. VET CLINIC DAY.
GORDON
BRIERLY is a shaggy, shabby disappointment of a man. In his
forties.
He’s examining a dog which doesn’t look much better than him, feeling
its
hips. A small boy - ALEX - watches the examination.
GORDON
(Feeling)
There…that feels much
better.
Is he still limping?
ALEX
Not
really.
GORDON
Well,
we’ll keep him on the steroids
a
little longer but I think he’s going
to be
OK. (Patting) There’s a good
boy,
Jacky.
ALEX
His
name’s Lucky.
GORDON
Right.
The
door opens and LAURA BRIERLY comes in. A few years younger than
GORDON,
she’s long been out of love with him. Rather spiteful, she needs
physical
love and isn’t getting it from him. Her dress sense is “mutton dressed
as
lamb”. She sees GORDON with his hand concealed somewhere behind the
dog…
- 8 -
LAURA
(Sweetly)
If you don’t mind taking
your
hand out of that dog’s arse,
Gordon
darling, it’s time to go.
19.
EXT. THE COCK AND HOOP DAY.
ESTABLISHING
SHOT
The
village pub. Determinedly pretty.
MARCUS
(Voice
only)
And so
we come to the main item on
the
agenda. The Perfect Village
Competition.
20.
INT. THE COCK AND HOOP DAY.
The pub
- closed - is being used as an ad hoc commmittee room for the selfappointed
Midsomer
Mallow committee: MARCUS and BELLA DEVERE,
GORDON & LAURA BRIERLY, MARY DRINKWATER, RAY DORSET
(smoking).
Coffee has been served.
MARCUS
As we
all know, it’s just three days
away
now.
BELLA
July
10th!
MARCUS
That’s
right. And let’s not forget the
first
prize of five thousand pounds
that’s
at stake.
RAY
We
could rebuild the village hall for
that.
CUT TO
- 9 -
MARCUS
Absolutely,
Ray. So we’re not
leaving
anything to chance. Bella?
BELLA
hands MARCUS a sheet of paper.
MARCUS
(Reading)
The welcoming committee
of
myself, Bella and Gordon will
meet
the judges at ten am, for a
tour of
the village. (To GORDON)
How’s
the historical commentary
coming
along?
GORDON
I’ve
started it but actually I’ve got a
bit
behind.
LAURA
(Catty)
Gordon’s had a lot on his
mind,
recently.
GORDON
I’ll
have it done, though. Don’t you
worry!
MARCUS
We’ve
got the tent going up on the
green
on the 9th. Lunch to be served
at one.
RAY
I’ve
got the food all taken care of,
Mr
Devere. Sausages. Chicken
wings,
pasties. I’ll do the village
proud.
BELLA
And at
the same time I’ll be serving
Marcus’s
home-made wine.
MARCUS
The
apricot and elderberry has
turned
out absolutely tip-top this year.
- 10 -
BELLA
It’ll
certainly make an impression.
MARCUS
And of
course entertainment! A
musical
gala on the green to
accompany
lunch. Mary…?
MARY
Nothing
to worry about there,
Marcus.
I’ve been working with the
village
band. In fact we’ve been
going
at it hammer and tongs.
MARCUS
Not
literally, I hope!
MARY
It’s
important to show these judges
that
there’s still some young blood
in
Midsomer Mallow.
GORDON
I don’t
suppose we know yet who the
judges
actually are.
MARCUS
Well,
Rosemary Furman, editor of
Country
Matters magazine, is one of
them. I
understand Frank Mannion
is also
on the panel.
RAY
Frank
Mannion…
MARY
He does
that gardening programme
on TV. “Up the Garden Path…”
MARCUS
Apparently
Annabel Croft has
agreed
to join them. And then
there’s
a member of the general
public.
BELLA
Oh?
- 11 -
MARCUS
Yes.
They ran a competition in
Country
Matters and one of the
readers
- I’ve got the name somewhere
-
anyway, whoever won it,
gets to
join the panel. She’ll
probably
be the easiest to impress.
LAURA
(Brightly
- to RAY) Bung her an
extra
sausage and her vote will be
in the
bag.
21.
INT. BARNABY’S HOUSE - KITCHEN EVENING.
JOYCE
is making dinner for BARNABY - on their own for once. JOYCE is the
lucky
winner of the Country Matters competition. BARNABY is reading a copy
of the
glossy rural magazine.
BARNABY
So
you’re going to be a judge? What
was the
first prize?
JOYCE
That
was the first prize, Tom. It
means a
week away from home.
First
class travel. And a big dinner
at the
end of it.
BARNABY
A week
away from home…
JOYCE
Don’t
worry. I’ve already phoned
Cully.
She’s coming tomorrow.
BARNABY
She’s
not working?
JOYCE
She is,
as a matter of fact. She’s
writing
a book.
Lunch
is ready. JOYCE and BARNABY move over to the
table.
CUT TO
- 12 -
BARNABY
A book?
That’s different.
JOYCE
It’s
something to do with the
theatre.
I’m sure she’ll tell you all
about
it.
BARNABY
The
Perfect Village Competition. I
don’t
suppose any of the Midsomer
Villages
have made it through to the
final?
JOYCE
There
is one. Yes. Midsomer
Mallow.
(Pause) Don’t tell me, Tom.
You’re
investigating some grisly
murder
there.
BARNABY
No, no.
It’s all pretty quiet at the
moment
- apart from one thing.
We’ve
had a spate of burglaries.
CUT TO
22.
INT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - BARN EVENING.
PETER
DRINKWATER, a darkly handsome and obviously roguish man aged
about
twenty, rolls out of bed and starts to get dressed. Half-naked, he has a
gold
chain around his neck. He was in bed with CAROLINE DEVERE. He has
a
large, scruffy room in a barn. An isolated part of the farm.
PETER
I’ve
got to go.
CAROLINE
Oh,
Petey! Have you?
PETER
Yeah.
And so have you.
CAROLINE
(Sulky)
Why? Where are you going?
CAROLINE watches as PETER draws on a black polo.
She pouts at him.
PETER
is fully dressed. Outside there’s the hoot of a car. He leans over and
kisses
CAROLINE.
PETER
leaves.
23.
EXT. WINDWHISTLE FARM EVENING.
The
barn stands in an old, derelict farm. Lots of outbuildings scattered around.
JACK
DORSET has drawn up in a battered white van. It’s his father’s van.
Like
PETER, he is dressed in black.
- 13 -
PETER
I’ve
got business.
CAROLINE
You
haven’t got business. There’s
someone
else, isn’t there.
PETER
(A lie)
No.
CAROLINE
I couldn’t
bear it if there was. I
really
couldn’t…
PETER
You’d
better get home. Your mum
and dad
would kill you if they knew
you
were here.
CAROLINE
They’d
kill you first.
PETER
I’ll
see you.
CUT TO
PETER
Greyfriars
House.
JACK
Peter…are you sure about this?
- 14 -
PETER
You
said he was going to be in
London.
Not back until late.
JACK
I mean…
It’s too much too soon.
We’re
going to get caught.
PETER
(Menacing)
You losing your bottle,
Jack?
JACK
(Faltering)
No…
PETER
I hope
not.
PETER
gets into the van and the two of them drive off.
CUT TO
24.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE NIGHT.
ESTABLISHING
SHOT
A
large, rather forbidding house on the outskirts of Midsomer Mallow. It is set
in its
own grounds with a gravel drive leading down to a gate. The white van is
parked
outside.
CUT TO
CLOSE
ANGLE
Two
shadowy figures run round the side of the house.
CUT TO
25.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - CONSERVATORY NIGHT.
A
gloved hand breaks through a window, then reaches round to unlock a door.
CUT TO
ANOTHER
ANGLE
- 15 -
PETER
DRINKWATER and JACK DORSET come into the conservatory. They
are
both wearing balaclava masks.
CUT TO
26.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - HALL/LIVING ROOM NIGHT.
They
begin to ransack the house and they’re messy and destructive with it.
JACK
deals with the small stuff: a silver lighter, silver knives and forks, a
wallet,
various ornaments. PETER unplugs a brand new computer with tower,
printer
etc…he’ll take that along with the TV, CD player etc.
As they
go, they are watched by a collection of stuffed toys. Prominent among
the
toys is a gollywog that might make us think of the opening scenes.
CUT TO
27.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE NIGHT.
PETER
comes out with the first load and bundles it into the back of the van.
CUT TO
28.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - HALL/LIVING ROOM NIGHT.
JACK is
on his own. Riffling through drawers. He doesn’t notice a door open a
crack.
He is being watched - but we don’t see by whom. A single eye stares at
him
through the crack in the door. Watching. There is something slightly
horrific
about the eye.
JACK
stops, a porcelain bowl in his hand. He is suddenly aware that he is
being
watched. He turns towards the half-open door, begins to move towards
it.
But
before he can get there, PETER suddenly returns.
PETER
(A
whisper) What is it?
JACK
(A
whisper) I thought I heard
something.
PETER
notices the bowl.
- 16 -
PETER
Leave
that!
He
knocks the bowl out of JACK’S hand. It smashes on the floor.
PETER
There’s
nothing here. Let’s go.
PETER
notices a portrait above the fireplace. A lean, saturnine man…an
actor.
We’ll know him as EDWARD ALLARDICE. PETER takes a poker out of
the
fireplace and uses it to slash the canvas.
PETER
You old
fart!
He
hesitates for a moment. Suddenly he’s aware, like JACK, that he’s not
alone.
ANOTHER
ANGLE
The eye
has been watching PETER from the door. The eye widens with fear
and
indignation at the sight of the torn canvas.
ANOTHER
ANGLE
PETER
turns and leaves the room.
29.
INT/EXT. THE VAN/GREYFRIARS HOUSE NIGHT.
JACK
starts up the van. PETER gets in.
PETER
Right.
Let’s go.
PETER
takes off his mask. JACK does the same.
PETER
Piece
of cake.
CUT TO
- 17 -
The two
of them speed down the path, swerve left at the bottom (cutting up
the
gravel) and disappear into the night.
30.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE DAY.
ESTABLISHING
SHOT
The
following day. The police have arrived…and with them TROY and
BARNABY.
BARNABY
So what
is this now? The sixth…?
TROY
Seventh.
BARNABY
Seventh
burglary in two month.
That’s
not a spate. That’s an
epidemic.
Who is it this time?
TROY
His
name’s Edward Allardice. He’s a
retired
actor. Lives here alone.
BARNABY
It’s a
big place for one man. So
where
was he last night?
TROY
You can
ask him yourself. He’s
inside.
31.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM DAY.
EDWARD
ALLARDICE is in his late fifties…older than the portrait we saw
the
night before. A distinguished looking man with a scar running down one
cheek.
Once again the gollywog is a silent witness of the scene.
CUT TO
- 18 -
EDWARD
I had
to go to London yesterday. A
meeting
with my accountant. I
didn’t
get back until one in the
morning.
It’s almost as if they knew.
BARNABY
Did you
tell anyone about your
travel
plans, Mr Allerdice?
EDWARD
No. I
keep myself to myself. (Pause)
I may
have mentioned something to
Ray.
A
glance from BARNABY.
EDWARD
Ray
Dorset. The butcher. You can’t
go in
there without chatting. I
suppose
I may have mentioned it.
TROY
And
there was no-one in the house.
EDWARD
(Lying)
My wife died some years ago
and I
live here alone. But I may be
able to
help you.
TROY
Sir?
EDWARD
As I
was driving home, I saw a
white
van. I was quite near the
house
and it was doing a ton. That’s
why I
noticed it.
TROY
I don’t
suppose you got…
EDWARD
…a
registration number? I got most
of it.
M 932. Then an L - or it could
have
been an E- something F. It
went
past too fast.
- 19 -
TROY
takes a note.
TROY
That
may be very helpful, sir.
EDWARD
If ever
I get my hands on the little
bastards
who did this, I’ll kill them!
It
wasn’t just what they stole. It
was the
damage. That portrait was
painted
by Lucien Freud. And the
bowl
they smashed, it was given to
me by
Olivier. Irreplaceable.
TROY
We’ll
do what we can, sir.
As
ever, BARNABY picks up what TROY has missed.
BARNABY
If you
don’t mind my asking, sir,
how do
you know there were two of
them?
EDWARD
I’m
sorry?
BARNABY
You
said “little bastards”. Plural. It
could
have been just one.
EDWARD
(Thrown)
Well…I assumed. They
always
come in pairs, don’t they?
CUT TO
32.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE DAY.
BARNABY
and TROY walk down to the gate where the tyre marks gouged
into
the gravel by the van can be clearly seen.
TROY
You
don’t think he was lying, do
you?
About being out of the house?
- 20 -
A shrug
from BARNABY. He looks down at the tyre marks.
TROY
Those
were made last night. I’ve
checked
them. They don’t match his
car.
They could belong to the white
van.
BARNABY
Quite
possibly, Troy. But these tyre
tracks
are quite clearly turning that
way.
(Points) But surely the London
road is
over there…
TROY
So if
Allerdice was coming from
London…
BARNABY
He
wouldn’t have seen it.
TROY
So he
is lying.
BARNABY
Or
obfuscating, certainly.
TROY
doesn’t know what “obfuscating” means but doesn’t like to say so.
BARNABY
Seven
burglaries in one small area.
You’d
think they must have some
sort of
inside knowledge.
TROY
Allardice
mentioned the village
shop.
BARNABY
Ray
Dorset. Yes. that’s where you
might
go for information. The
butcher.
The baker…
TROY
The
candlestick taker?
A smile
from BARNABY.
33. INT. RAY DORSET’S SHOP DAY.
RAY
DORSET confronts BARNABY and TROY. JACK is working in the
background.
RAY
considers.
- 21 -
CUT TO
RAY
So
you’re police officers, are you?
Investigating
all these break-ins?
BARNABY
Yes,
sir. You must know quite a bit
about
the village, working here.
RAY
I
suppose I do.
BARNABY
Has
there been anyone in here
that’s
new to the area? Someone
perhaps
showing an interest in
other
peoples’ movements?
RAY
No. The
last person to come to the
village
was Mr Allardice. That was
quite
recent. About five, six years
ago.
TROY
No-one
more recent than that?
RAY
Well. I
don’t like to point any fingers
at
no-one…
TROY
Go on.
RAY
Maybe
you could talk to Peter
Drinkwater.
- 22 -
In the
background, JACK stops working.
RAY
He’s
Mary Drinkwater’s nephew.
Her
great nephew. He come back at
the
start of the year. Lived with her
for a
while but then he moved into
the old
farm. Windwhistle Farm. It’s
deserted
now.
TROY
Peter
Drinkwater.
RAY
He’s a
young lad. A bit on the wild
side.
Not that I’m saying he’d get
himself
in any trouble, mind. But
you
asked!
34.
EXT. JACK DORSET’S SHOP DAY.
BARNABY
and TROY leave.
BARNABY
Peter
Drinkwater. I have a feeling
that
name rings a bell.
TROY
Do you
want to see him?
BARNABY
Unless
you have other plans…
They
get into the car.
35.
INT. RAY DORSET’S SHOP DAY.
RAY
watches BARNABY and TROY leave, at the same time slicing meat.
JACK
comes forward.
CUT TO
- 23 -
JACK
Why did
you have to do that? Why
did you
have to talk about Peter
that
way?
RAY
I could
have said more than I did.
JACK
He’s my
friend, dad!
RAY
He’s
trouble. He’s leading you into
trouble
and I wish he’d never come
here.
Sometimes I want to…
JACK
What?
RAY
Nothing.
Never you mind.
RAY is
still holding the butcher’s knife. He slices open a joint of meat.
CUT TO
36.
INT. LAURA’S BEDROOM DAY.
An
almost exact replay of Scene 30. PETER DRINKWATER, half-naked, with
the
gold chain in place, rolls onto his back. But this time the image is a even
seedier.
He’s in bed with LAURA BRIERLY - with an age gap of about twenty
years
she’s very much the older woman. Worse, this is her bedroom (Habitat
with
country chintz) and her marital bed.
LAURA
What
time is it?
PETER
Twelve.
LAURA
Gordon
will be back soon. It’s his
afternoon
surgery. You have to go.
PETER
All
right.
- 24 -
PETER
gets out of bed and quickly gets dressed.
LAURA
You
don’t care, do you.
PETER
What.
LAURA
Stay or
go. You don’t care. (A smile)
But
maybe that’s what I like about
you,
Peter. You’re so bloody heartless.
You’re
like an animal.
PETER
Watch
it…
LAURA
I’m
complimenting you. (Pause) If
Gordon
ever found out about us,
he’d
neuter you, do you know that?
He’s
good at that.
PETER
If you
don’t like Gordon, why do you
talk
about him so much?
LAURA
Good
question.
She
reaches out and kisses him.
LAURA
Don’t
you ever change. I like you
just
the way you are.
PETER
catches her wrist.
PETER
And you
know what I like about
you?
LAURA
What?
PETER
Your
generosity.
- 25 -
LAURA
I
hadn’t forgotten.
He
releases her. She gets out of bed, finds her handbag and takes out fifty
pounds.
She’s hurt and decides to bite back…
LAURA
Are you
still seeing that girl? The
Devere
girl? Caroline…?
A
slight reaction from PETER. LAURA presses on, knowing she’s scored a
point.
LAURA
Yes.
You’ve got plans there, haven’t
you.
Well, a word from me and that
would
be all over. I wonder what
she’d
say if she knew about me?
PETER
(Angry)
Get lost, Laura. Just piss
off,
all right? You start threatening
me, you
can look for your fifty quid
thrills
elsewhere. Right…?
LAURA
(Dismayed)
Peter…
PETER
(Ignoring
her) Maybe you should try
Jack.
He’ll do it for thirty and he
might
even enjoy it.
LAURA
God!
You little bastard…!
LAURA
slaps PETER across the face. PETER freezes for a moment, then he
snatches
the money and walks out. LAURA is left alone with her rage.
CUT TO
37.
EXT. GORDON BRIERLY’S HOUSE DAY.
PETER
strolls nonchalantly out of the house. We might see the plaque:
GORDON
BRIERLY - VETINERARY SURGEON. The nearest house is
- 26 -
MARCUS
DEVERE’S and PETER glances in that direction to make sure he
isn’t
being seen.
CUT TO
ANOTHER
ANGLE
PETER
doesn’t notice pull in on the other side of the road. GORDON
BRIERLY
has got home early. He sees PETER come out of the house and -
from
his manner, his cocky walk, guesses what has been happening. GORDON
stares
with growing disgust and fury.
CUT TO
GORDON’S
P.O.V.
PETER
gets into his car, a beaten-up Morris. He drives off.
CUT TO
38.
EXT. WINDWHISTLE FARM DAY.
BARNABY
and TROY have arrived at the farm and get out of their car. They
are in
a yard with out-buildings dotted around. Windwhistle Farm is empty,
already
quite derelict.
BARNABY
Windwhistle
Farm. If you were
going
to hide stolen loot, this would
be the
place to do it.
TROY
All
these out-buildings. It’s got to be
him.
BARNABY
Here he
is now…
PETER
DRINKWATER has arrived, driving home in his Morris. He stops the
car but
doesn’t get out. BARNABY and TROY walk over to him.
PETER
Yes?
TROY
You’re
Peter Drinkwater?
- 27 -
PETER
And
you’re police, aren’t you.
TROY
takes out his ID.
TROY
Detective
Sergeant Troy. Causton
CID.
This is Detective Chief
Inspector
Barnaby.
PETER
It’s
the same smell. You can always
tell.
TROY
Would
you mind stepping out of the
car?
We’d like to talk to you in
connection
with a break-in at Greyfriars
House
last night.
PETER
Would
you? And what if I don’t want
to talk
to you?
BARNABY
Do you
realise we could be back
here in
six hours with a warrant to
search
this entire place?
PETER
Search
it. I don’t give a damn.
PETER
throws his car into reverse, then spins forward, driving between TROY
and
BARNABY who have to get out of the way hurriedly. Then he’s off, back
down
the drive.
TROY
Charming.
BARNABY
Yes.
TROY
Do you
want me to take a look
around?
- 28 -
BARNABY
No.
Let’s do this by the book, Troy.
We’d
better get that warrant first.
BARNABY
and TROY move back towards their car.
CUT TO
39.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. A
bright, tastless room with a curiously large number of photographs of the same
person: CAROLINE DEVERE at various stages of her life. The actual CAROLINE
now comes in. An angry BELLA and a worried MARCUS are waiting
for her. CAROLINE
Hi.
What’s for lunch? I’ve been out walking
and I’m stivvy starving! Slow as
she is, CAROLINE realises that something is wrong. MARCUS is embarrassed.
BELLA is on the edge of fury. CAROLINE
What is
it? BELLA (Cold)
Peter Drinkwater. CAROLINE
(Faint)
What? BELLA You’re
seeing him again, aren’t you. CAROLINE
No! BELLA Don’t lie
to me, Caroline! BELLA
produces a handful of letters. BELLA I found
these in your room. - 29 - CAROLINE
Mummy! BELLA Letters.
Love letters. Disgusting letters!
How could you…? CAROLINE
You shouldn’t
be searching in my room! MARCUS Now
listen, Caroline. Your mother and I
are very worried about you. CAROLINE
Why? BELLA You
know what sort of a boy he is! He’s
worthless. Even his aunt agrees.
MARCUS It’s
true… CAROLINE
(On the
edge of tears) But I love him.
And he loves me. BELLA Don’t
talk nonsense. CAROLINE
It’s
true! He wants to marry me. And I
want to marry him. You don’t understand.
MARCUS You’re
not marrying him, Caro. Not over my
dead body. Really…! BELLA That
boy is a snake-in-the-grass, Caroline.
He’s nothing but trouble. And you
will listen to me… - 30 - CAROLINE
I
won’t! I’m twenty years old now. I can do
what I like. MARCUS Look…maybe
I should go and have a talk
with him. Just the two of us. Mano a
mano… CAROLINE
No,
daddy. No! (Pause) I love Peter more
than anyone in the whole world.
We’re going to live together. And
there’s nothing you can do! CAROLINE
leaves the room. MARCUS and BELLA are left, helpless. CUT TO 40.
EXT. LOTHLORIAN DAY. Wiping
away the tears, CAROLINE leaves the house. She has more or less composed
herself by the time she reaches the edge of the village and it’s now that
her bad luck begins. LAURA BRIERLY, still smarting from her earlier encounter,
is leaving her house. She falls into step with CAROLINE. LAURA Good
afternoon, Caroline. Is something the
matter? CAROLINE
No. LAURA You
know, I was talking about you only
this morning. I was rather hoping
I’d run into you. CAROLINE
Mrs
Brierly… LAURA I was
talking to Peter Drinkwater. He’s a
friend of yours, I know. But there’s
something perhaps you ought
to know about him… - 31 - CUT TO HIGH
ANGLE We
don’t hear LAURA spill the beans on PETER - but we can guess her intent from
the spite in her eyes. CAROLINE stands agog as the dirt comes tumbling out. CUT TO 41.
INT. BARNABY’S OFFICE DAY. BARNABY
is at work, looking something up on his computer. TROY comes in, excited
about something. TROY Sir… BARNABY
holds up a hand. He’s just checking something. BARNABY
I
thought I knew that name. Peter Drinkwater.
He has a record. TROY
glances at the computer. BARNABY
Nothing
very serious. Two police cautions.
Taking and driving away. Shoplifting.
A six month suspended sentence
for assault. TROY And you
think he’s graduated to burglary?
BARNABY
What
have you got? TROY The
registration number of the van. I had
to go round in circles but I finally
got there. M 392 LYF. It’s a white
Ford Transit, registered to Ray
Dorset at Midsomer Mallow. - 32 - BARNABY
Ray
Dorset? The butcher… TROY He has
a twenty-one year old son. Jack
Dorset. I think it may have been
him working in the shop. BARNABY
And the
shop is the centre of gossip in any
village. People tell Ray when they’re
going to be away for the weekend…
TROY …and
Jack tells his mate Peter. BARNABY
Yes, I
think so. So which one shall we go
for first? TROY Peter.
He was an obnoxious little sod.
Let’s start with him. BARNABY
Right. CUT TO 42.
INT. VILLAGE HALL DAY. A clash
of cymbals and a cacophany of sound over the cut introduces us to the Midsomer
Mallow schools orchestra…a motley collection of kids aged from about
six to gangly teenagers. They are presided over by MARY DRINKWATER. MARY All
right, everyone! Can you calm down
please. Thank you! Eventually
the musicians stop making a noise. MARY Now -
this is our last rehearsal before
judgement day and you all - 33 - know
how important it is that we make
the right impression. A “blurp” from a trombone. MARY Thank
you, Simon. I want lots of energy,
lots of pazazz. Remember that
we’re in the key of D major which
means F sharp and C sharp. Everyone
together then. One, two, three
and… The
band begins to play with MARY DRINKWATER vigorously conducting and the
joke is that although they are absolutely awful, she isn’t aware of it, smiling
and conducting as if this were the LSO at the Festival Hall. MARY Yes,
yes, yes! Crescendo…! And as
the music takes over… CUT TO 43.
EXT. LOTHLORIAN DAY. The
beginning of a murder montage. CAROLINE DEVERE is sitting on a wall, crying.
Still reeling from the news that LAURA told her. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE A
worried BELLA DEVERE watches her from a window, inside the house. CUT TO 44.
EXT. RAY DORSET’S SHOP DAY. RAY
DORSET gets into a van and drives off. It is the white van that was used at the
burglary. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE - 34 - A
worried JACK DORSET watches him from the open door. Does he know what
RAY is going to do? 45.
INT. VET CLINIC DAY. GORDON
BRIERLY finishes an operation on a cat. He is being helped by LAURA
BRIERLY. The two of them in cold silence. GORDON Finish
it. I’m going out. LAURA Where
are you going? GORDON Just
out. GORDON
throws down his equipment, takes off his gloves and walks out of the
clinic. LAURA watches him, slightly worried. 46.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM EDWARD
ALLARDICE is cleaning up the mess made by the burglars. He has the
pieces of the broken bowl. He stops suddenly, a flash of anger and
determination on his
face. 47.
EXT. LOTHLORIAN DAY. CAROLINE
DEVERE has disappeared from the wall. There is also no sign of BELLA
DEVERE. But suddenly the automatic garage clicks and begins to whirr
open. A bright red Renault Megane with tinted windows drives out. We cannot
see who is driving it. 48.
EXT. CAUSTON POLICE STATION DAY. CUT TO CUT TO CUT TO CUT TO
- 35 - And
another car. BARNABY and TROY drive out of the police station. A second
police car follows them. CUT TO 49.
INT. VILLAGE HALL DAY. The
horrible music continues. MARY conducts. MARY Piano!
Piano now! Building up to the
climax…! CUT TO 50.
INT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - BARN DAY. The
music from the band might meld into our own murder score as PETER DRINKWATER
hurriedly packs his bags, planning to leave the area. CUT TO 51.
EXT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - BARN DAY. A
murder committed in brilliant sunshine. We see only a shadow moving across
the straw that’s strewn over the bottom of the barn…this is underneath the
area where PETER lives. A FIGURE is moving towards the outdoor staircase.
CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE There’s
a pitchfork stuck into a bale of hay. A hand reaches out and removes the
pitchfork. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE The
FIGURE carrying the pitchfork starts climbing the staircase. CUT TO - 36 - 52.
INT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - BARN DAY. As
before. PETER is still packing. We might notice some of the valuables taken
from EDWARD ALLARDICE. Then he hears something. He stops. PETER Jack?
Is that you? Nothing.
Worries, PETER goes over to the door and opens it. The sunlight floods
in. He just has time to make out a figure standing outside, silhouetted against
the light. PETER What…? CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE The
pitchfork is shoved forward, crashing into PETER’S chest. CUT TO 53.
INT/EXT. BARNABY’S CAR/ROAD DAY. BARNABY
and TROY are very near Windwhistle Farm now. They see the white
van approaching them on the main road, moving away from the farm in the
direction of Midsomer Mallow. The white van is on the same side of the road as
the entrance to the farm, heading east. It drives past them and BARNABY
catches sight of RAY DORSET behind the wheel. TROY That’s
the van! M392 LYF! BARNABY
Yes. TROY Do you
want me to go after it? BARNABY
No,
Troy. That was the butcher - Ray
Dorset - driving. We can catch up with
it later. - 37 - 54.
EXT. ENTRANCE TO THE FARM DAY. BARNABY
and TROY arrive at the entrance to Windwhistle Farm. They are heading
west and so have to turn right, crossing the road, to enter the farm. 55.
EXT. WINDWHISTLE FARM DAY. BARNABY,
TROY and the other POLICEMEN arrive at the farm. BARNABY
(To the
POLICE) Spread out and look
for him. I don’t want him getting
away. He and
TROY move towards the nearest out-building. 56.
INT. WINDWHISTLE FARM DAY. BARNABY
and TROY search through the shadowy interior of one of the outbuildings.
TROY comes upon a shape, hidden underneath an old piece of tarpaulin.
He pulls the tarpaulin off to reveal the computer and tower taken from
the ALLARDICE home. TROY Sir… BARNABY
comes over. TROY There
was a computer on the inventory
taken from the Allardice house. BARNABY
I wish
they were all as easy as this. Now we
just need to find Drinkwater. CUT TO CUT TO CUT TO
- 38 - The
alarm is sounded from somewhere outside. POLICEMAN
(Voice
only) Sir! CUT TO 57.
INT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - BARN DAY. BARNABY
and TROY enter PETER’S room. PETER is lying on the floor with the
pitchfork protruding from his chest. BARNABY
Oh…for
Heaven’s sake! TROY It
looks like somebody found him first. END OF
ACT ONE - 39 - 58.
EXT. WINDWHISTLE FARM DAY. A short
while later. More police cars and an ambulance stand outside the farm. CUT TO 59.
INT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - BARN DAY. DAN
PETERSON has arrived and is overseeing the removal of the - now covered
- body. TROY and BARNABY are in attendancce. PETERSON
(Cheerful)
Nasty way to go. BARNABY
Yes. PETERSON
Quick
though. One of the prongs cracked
a rib and went straight into the
heart. It must have taken quite a lot
of strength. BARNABY
Are you
saying it was a man? PETERSON
Or a
very strong woman. Skewered him
like a spud on Guy Fawkes night.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find the
spleen and the kidney shattered too.
The two lower prongs. TROY (Sickened)
Right. PETERSON
It’s
certainly another one for the books.
Death by pitchfork! Personally,
I’ve never seen anything like
it. BARNABY
How
long ago did it happen? - 40 - PETERSON
The
body’s still warm to the touch and
there’s no sign of rigor mortis. Half an
hour to an hour tops. Shame you didn’t
get here a bit sooner. BARNABY
Yes… PETERSON
It was
you who found him, wasn’t it?
What did you want him for? TROY Burglary.
PETERSON
Well, I
suppose that’s rough justice then.
Breaking and entering. That’s what
someone did to him. You mind if I
take him? BARNABY
No. Go
ahead. PETERSON
Right.
Cyril…! Two
PARAMEDICS move forward and lift the body. BARNABY notices something
underneath it. BARNABY
Wait a
minute! Troy… TROY
picks up the object, being careful not to leave fingerprints. The object is a Visa
Card. TROY It’s a
credit card. BARNABY
(Obvious)
So it is. TROY Name of
Gordon Brierly. I suppose it must
have been stolen. - 41 - BARNABY
Yes.
Although it’s a little strange that it
should have been lying there on its
own. Not in a wallet or anything. All
right… A nod
from BARNABY and the body continues on its way. TROY You
think this has got anything to do with
the break-ins, sir? BARNABY
It’s
hard to say. We need to know a little
more about the late Peter Drinkwater.
TROY He had
an aunt living in the village. BARNABY
He also
had an accomplice… CUT TO 60.
INT. JACK DORSET’S SHOP DAY. RAY
DORSET looks on in anguish as BARNABY and TROY confront a worried
JACK DORSET. There is also a uniformed POLICEMAN present. BARNABY
(To
JACK) We have an eye-witness who
places your father’s van at the scene
of at least one of the houses broken
into. We’ve also recovered several
of the missing items from Windwhistle
Farm and I should warn
you that we’ll be checking them
for fingerprints. RAY They
were using my van? JACK I’ll
tell you what you want to know. But on
my own. - 42 - BARNABY
glances at TROY who know what to do. TROY leads RAY out. TROY If you
don’t mind, sir… RAY Jack…? JACK It’s
all right, dad. TROY
leads RAY out of the shop. BARNABY and the POLICEMAN are left with
JACK. JACK We were
at school together. Pete and me.
The break-ins was his idea. BARNABY
You had
a good job, working for your
father. Why did you get involved
with him? JACK I hate
the bloody job. I hate the whole
bloody village. Bowing and scraping
behind the bloody meat counter.
That’s no life. BARNABY
So how
many were there? JACK What? BARNABY
Burglaries.
JACK About a
dozen. Two or three in the village.
Fletcher’s Cross. Badger’s Drift.
I don’t know. Too many. I told him
that. But he wouldn’t listen. BARNABY
You
argued. - 43 - JACK No. You
couldn’t argue with him. He wouldn’t
listen. BARNABY
How
well did you know him? JACK Better
than most, I suppose. BARNABY
Would
you say he had any enemies? JACK You’d
like that, wouldn’t you. You want to
know who’d want to kill him.
Who’d have a motive! BARNABY
And…? JACK Who
hated Peter Drinkwater? It’d be
easier to ask who didn’t! CUT TO 61.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE SHOP DAY. TROY is
waiting with RAY who is smoking. RAY My wife
died four years ago. Jack’s mother.
I promised her I’d look after him
but…I let her down. I let them both
down. TROY You had
no idea what he was up to. RAY Of
course I had no idea. If I’d known… TROY What? - 44 - RAY I’d
have stopped him. BARNABY
comes across the road to them. In the background, JACK is being led
away by the POLICEMAN. BARNABY
I’m
sorry, sir, but I’m afraid we’ll be charging
your son with various offences
relating to the break-ins. RAY It
wasn’t his fault. He didn’t know what he
was doing. It was that other
one… TROY Peter
Drinkwater. A nod
from RAY. BARNABY
You
think it was Drinkwater who led
your son astray? RAY Led him
by the nose. Like a bull to the
slaughter. BARNABY
Was
that why you went to see him this
afternoon? RAY What? TROY We saw
just before three. We were driving
to Windwhistle Farm. You passed
us on the main road. RAY I
hadn’t been up the farm. A
pause. - 45 - RAY I was
doing my deliveries. I was on my way
over to Causton. I had a saddle
of lamb for a Mrs Margaret Green.
She’d ordered it over the phone.
You can ask her if you don’t believe
me. BARNABY
So you
drove past the entrance to Windwhistle
Farm. RAY Yes.
But I didn’t stop. I went straight
on to Causton. I must have got
there about ten, fifteen minutes later. TROY So you
didn’t see anything? RAY (Sly) I
might have. A
pause. RAY There
was a car coming out of the drive
as I went past. It was a Renault.
Bright red. One of them new
models. TROY You
didn’t see the number? RAY No. And
I didn’t see who was driving
it neither. It had tinted windows.
But I’ll tell you something else
which I shouldn’t and wouldn’t, except
it’s my son Jack who’s involved.
(Pause) Marcus Devere has a
Renault. It’s bright red. And it’s
got them tinted windows. So maybe
you should be talking to him! CUT TO - 46 - 62.
EXT. LOTHLORIAN DAY. CAROLINE
DEVERE hurries up the drive and into the house. It’s about four o’clock. CUT TO 63.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. MARCUS
DEVERE and BELLA DEVERE are playing Scrabble together. BELLA
has just lain down the word: screamy also pluralising plant. BELLA Screamy.
That’s one…four…five… six…seven…ten…fourteen… Plus fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…eighteen… twenty-one
and fifty for using all my
letters. Seventy-one. MARCUS That’s
jolly good. But it’s not a word though,
is it? Screamy? BELLA What? MARCUS You
could have creamy… BELLA It’s a
word. Some films are screamy. It’s in
the dictionary. MARCUS Well,
if you say so… Then
CAROLINE bursts in. CAROLINE
Have
you heard? MARCUS What? - 47 - CAROLINE
He’s
been killed. Peter. Everyone’s talking
about it in the village. The police
are up at the farm. They say he was
stabbed. MARCUS (Alarmed)
What? BELLA Caroline…
CAROLINE
I
thought I loved him. But I didn’t. And now
he’s dead. And I don’t care. But you
got what you wanted. Both of you.
So I hope you’re glad. And
with this rather garbled summary, CAROLINE storms out of the room. MARCUS
stares at BELLA. He looks worried and guilty. BELLA stares at MARCUS.
She is puzzled, slightly suspicious… CUT TO
64.
INT. VILLAGE HALL DAY. Towards
the end of the day, MARY DRINKWATER is packing up the music and
putting away the stands following the rehearsal. She has heard the news. A sense
of sadness, of defeat. BARNABY and TROY come in. BARNABY
Miss
Drinkwater? MARY That’s
me. BARNABY
I’m
Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.
TROY Detective
Sergeant Troy. - 48 - MARY So it’s
true then. (Pause) News travels
fast in a place like this. It’s true
about Peter. BARNABY
I
understand you’re related. MARY I’m his
grandmother’s sister. Or I was.
She’s dead. I don’t know where his
mother is. TROY We’re
going to have to ask you to make a
formal identification, Miss Drinkwater.
MARY Yes. Is
it true that they used…a pitchfork?
That’s what I heard. BARNABY
I’m
afraid so. MARY You
know…I wasn’t happy when he turned
up here in the village. I knew he
was trouble. He always was.
But this..! Anyone who could do
something like this to a twentyyear- old
boy…well, they must be quite
evil. That’s the word for it. I hope
you’ll find them quickly, Mr Barnaby.
MARY
has finished tidying away. She reaches for her coat. BARNABY isn’t sure
what to say. MARY They’ll
have got a taste for it now. A taste
for blood. And you’ll see. It won’t
be long before they do it again! CUT TO - 49 - 65.
EXT. BARNABY’S HOUSE EVENING. ESTABLISHING
SHOT BARNABY
drives in and gets out of his car. CULLY is waiting for him. BARNABY
Hello
you! CULLY Hi dad!
CUT TO 66.
INT. BARNABY’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM EVENING. BARNABY
uncorks a bottle of wine and pours glasses for JOYCE, CULLY and himself.
BARNABY
(To
JOYCE) So what news then, of the
judging? JOYCE They’ve
booked us into the Crown Hotel
in Wisden and we’ve got our first
meeting tomorrow. BARNABY
Do we
know the other judges? JOYCE Yes.
There’s Rosemary Furman, editor
of the magazine. Frank Mannion.
CULLY Up the
Garden Path. JOYCE And
they were going to get Annabel Croft
but at the last minute she let them
down so they’ve managed to get
Samantha Johnstone to step in. - 50 - A blank
look from BARNABY. CULLY She’s
an author, dad. She writes the Sister
Claire Chronicles. Life in an English
village seen through the eyes of
a retired nun. BARNABY
(To
JOYCE) So how long are you going
to be away? JOYCE Only a
week. We’re at somewhere called
Little Kirkbridge tomorrow. Then
Midsomer Mallow the day after. BARNABY
(Remembering)
Ah yes! Actually, I was
there today. JOYCE Another
burglary? BARNABY
No.
Actually, I think we found the burglar.
BARNABY
doesn’t want to tell JOYCE about the murder. He changes the subject.
BARNABY
(To CULLY)
So while your mother’s off
gallivanting around the country, you’re
going to look after me. CULLY I’m
here to write my book, dad. BARNABY
This is
a new departure. CULLY Well,
while I’m between jobs, I thought
I’d write about the Causton Playhouse.
A sort of history… - 51 - BARNABY
Ah yes.
Do you remember that time I took
you there? Amadeus… CULLY I’m
hardly likely to forget, dad. A man got
his throat cut. And yes, I will
put it in the book. BARNABY
I shall
expect a royalty! CULLY But,
seriously, a lot of big actors played
there. Richardson and Gielgud
back in the twenties. I know
it’s only a provincial rep, but I think I
can make something of it. JOYCE I think
it’s a wonderful idea. BARNABY
Good
for you. Go for it. And with your
mother away and you locked up in
the attic, I can get on with my work in
peace. CULLY Have
you made an arrest yet? BARNABY
No. CULLY But you
said you’d got the burglar. BARNABY
Yes.
But I’m afraid he didn’t have very
much to say. CULLY
glances at BARNABY, knowing he’s hiding something. CUT TO 67.
EXT. LOTHLORIAN DAY. - 52 - The
following day. BARNABY pulls up outside Lothlorian. The red Renault is in the
drive. BARNABY notices the house name. BARNABY
Good
morning, Troy. TROY Good
morning, sir. That must be the Renault
Ray Dorset told us about. BARNABY
Yes.
Lothlorian. The Lord of the Rings
isn’t it? A blank
look from TROY. BARNABY
J.R.
Tolkein. TROY Oh. I
never read it. I started “The Hobbit”. BARNABY
And…? They
are walking towards the front door… TROY It’s
all dwarves and fairies. I like books
with a bit of…you know. BARNABY
Yes. I
can imagine. CUT TO 68.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. BARNABY
and TROY face MARCUS and BELLA in the living room. BARNABY
will notice the many photographs of CAROLINE. MARCUS Peter
Drinkwater? Of course we knew
him. Everyone in the village - 53 - knew
him and probably wished they didn’t. BELLA I can’t
imagine why you would wish to talk
to us about him, Chief Inspector. BARNABY
Well,
I’d be interested to know - when
was the last time you saw him,
Mrs Devere? BELLA The
last time? I couldn’t tell you! A week
ago? MARCUS I saw
him slouching outside the Cock
and Hoop. That would have been
last Thursday. I didn’t speak to him
though. TROY So
neither of you saw him in the last
twenty-four hours. BELLA No. BARNABY
Then
how would you explain the fact
that your car was seen leaving Windwhistle
Farm just before three o’clock
yesterday afternoon? TROY Exactly
the same time that Drinkwater was
killed. MARCUS (Guilty)
What…? BARNABY
I don’t
suppose anybody else drives your
car. Your daughter perhaps? - 54 - BELLA She
doesn’t drive. BARNABY
Then it
must have been one of you. MARCUS Yes it
was. Actually, it was me. BELLA Marcus…? MARCUS Who was
it who actually saw me? Out of
interest. TROY Ray
Dorset. The butcher. He was on his way
to Causton. MARCUS Ah.
Rather landed me in it, hasn’t. That’s
not like Ray. BARNABY
So you
did see him. MARCUS No. No
- I didn’t. I did go to see him. But he
wasn’t there. At least, I tooted…you
know. But there was no answer.
So I left. BARNABY
May I
ask why you went to see him, sir? MARCUS Well,
it’s a bit personal really. But, the
thing is, he’s been carrying on with
Caroline. BELLA Our
daughter. - 55 - MARCUS I
wanted to see what his intentions were. I
thought we ought to have a chat,
mano a mano…Those were my very
words. TROY Do you
remember what time you left? MARCUS It must
have been about…half two. (To
BELLA) You were just going up for
your nap. (To TROY) She always dozes
off in the afternoon. And that was
when I went. BELLA It was
half past two. Yes. TROY But you
didn’t see anyone at the farm. MARCUS Only
Ray. Yes. He drove past. BARNABY
How did
you know it was him in the van? MARCUS Well,
he had the window down. He was
smoking a cigarette. Ray’s always
smoking. BELLA You
can’t really think my husband had
anything to do with what happened,
Mr Barnaby. He was with
the National Westminster for thirty-seven
years. MARCUS Worked
in the city. That was before I
retired here. - 56 - BARNABY
has noticed the many photographs. He picks one of them up. A younger
CAROLINE. BARNABY
This is
your daughter? Caroline? BELLA (Fondly)
Yes. That was taken on her eighteenth
birthday. BARNABY
I
wonder if it would be possible to have a
word with her. Do you know where
she is now? BELLA She has
a summer job. At the Causton
Nursery. TROY Children?
BELLA Flowers.
69.
INT. GREENHOUSE - CAUSTON NURSERY DAY. CAROLINE
DEVERE is watering a plant and also talking to it. She’s in a large
greenhouse in a typical small town nursery, wearing a green sweatshirt with
the legend: CAUSTON NURSERY. CAROLINE
You’re
not looking very happy today, are
you! No! You’re never going to go to a
nice garden if you don’t cheer up a
bit. She
turns to address BARNABY. We now see that he and TROY are waiting patiently.
CAROLINE
I
always talk to the plants. You know.
Like Prince Charles. It helps them
grow. CUT TO
- 57 - BARNABY
I
understand from your parents that you
don’t drive. CAROLINE
No. I
can drive sort of…but I don’t like
to. I don’t like cars. BARNABY
So when
was the last time you saw Peter
Drinkwater? CAROLINE
Peter?
I don’t know. I suppose it was the day
before yesterday. TROY Were
the two of you in a relationship? CAROLINE
I
suppose Jack told you. Peter told Jack
everything. Well, we were in a relationship
but it was over. I ended it. BARNABY
And why
did you do that? CAROLINE
Because
of Laura Brierly. TROY Brierly.
CAROLINE
Yes. TROY She
wouldn’t be married to a Gordon
Brierly? CAROLINE
Yes.
He’s the vet although mummy says
he’s not very good. (To BARNABY) Laura
told me lots of things about
Peter. Private things. But I - 58 - knew
she was telling the truth and I didn’t
want to see him any more. BARNABY
You
were angry with him. CAROLINE
I could
have killed him. (Pause) But I
didn’t have to. Because somebody did it
for me. CUT TO 70.
EXT. THE VET CLINIC DAY. We see
the brass plaque (as in scene 37): GORDON BRIERLY - VETINERARY SURGEON.
BARNABY is ringing the bell of the clinic. No answer. TROY is with
him. TROY Looks
like they’re out. BARNABY
Yes. TROY According
to Jack Dorset, Laura Brierly
was having an affair with Peter
Drinkwater. BARNABY
Yes.
And she must have told Caroline
Devere about it simply to clear
the field. TROY But it
was Gordon Brierly’s credit card we
found next to the body. He could
have found out what his wife was up
to and gone up to the farm to… TROY
mimes with his fingers, a pitchfork going into his chest. - 59 - BARNABY
Well,
we’ll have to catch up with them
later. But in the meantime, has it
occurred to you, Troy, that one
person actually threatened to kill
Peter Drinkwater while we were there? Puzzlement
from TROY. BARNABY
“If I
ever get my hands on the little bastards
who did this, I’ll kill them.” TROY Edward
Allardice. BARNABY
Let’s
take his property back to him. I’d
still be interested to know why he lied
to us about that white van. TROY Or
obfuscated, you mean. A glance
from BARNABY as he walks back towards the car. 71.
EXT. THE COCK AND HOOP DAY. ESTABLISHING
SHOT MARCUS (Voice
over) What I
say is, I think we ought to take a
vote on it. 72.
INT. THE COCK AND HOOP DAY. A
second meeting at the public house. This time the place is open - but the Midsomer
Mallow committee has managed to find a quiet corner, perhaps a separate
room. CUT TO CUT TO
- 60 - GORDON
and LAURA BRIERLY are there. MARCUS and BELLA DEVERE. A
troubled RAY DORSET. The indomitable MARY DRINKWATER. MARCUS The
judges will be here the day after tomorrow.
The question is, do we call
the whole thing off? GORDON What…you
mean…? MARCUS Ring
the judges and tell them not to come. MARY After
all our hard work! MARCUS There’s
always next year. GORDON If they
catch him before next year. It
could be someone sitting in this pub who
did it. It could be one of us! BELLA Don’t
be ridiculous. RAY I don’t
see why we should think about
cancelling it. We’ve put a lot of work
into this. And that five thousand
pounds. The village needs the
money. Everyone’s been looking forward
to it. GORDON I
agree. It’s too late to cancel. It’s not
just us. It’s the whole village. LAURA You
don’t think the fact that we’ve just
had a brutal murder committed won’t
damage our chances just a teeny
bit? - 61 - BELLA They
don’t need to know. The judges.
Nobody needs to tell them. MARCUS That’s
right. RAY What do
you think, Miss Drinkwater? MARY Well, I
suppose I’m thinking of the children.
A
pause. MARY The
village band. We’ve spent hours practising
and…I know it was Peter who was
killed. My own flesh and blood.
I had to go and identify the body
and… She
stops, momentarily overcome. MARCUS Steady
on, old thing. Can I get you a drink? MARY No. I’m
all right. (Recovering) Peter never
did anything for the village. and it
seems to me, that if we let his death
spoil tomorrow, well, he’s still spoiling
things, even though he’s gone.
So I’m afraid I agree with Ray. MARCUS Well
are we ready to put it to the vote?
Let’s start with the ayes! MARY
raises her hand. MARY I say
this is a perfect village. We have no
reason to be ashamed. - 62 - RAY I’m
with that. GORDON And me.
BELLA Yes. I
say we go on. LAURA Well I
say you’re all crazy. You can’t have
music and chicken wings two days
after a murder. MARCUS That’s
a “no” then. GORDON It
doesn’t make any difference. Ray, Bella,
Mary and me. That’s a majority.
MARCUS And I’m
afraid I’m with the others, Laura.
So the ayes have it. BELLA Judgement
Day goes ahead! CUT TO 73.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM DAY. TROY
carries the stolen computer back into the house. BARNABY and EDWARD
ALLARDICE are both there. So, watching them menacingly, is the gollywog.
EDWARD I very
much appreciate this, Mr Barnaby.
BARNABY
Oh -
just think of it as part of the service,
sir. - 63 - EDWARD What
about the rest of it? TROY The
rest of it’s probably down at the station.
You’ll have to come in to sign
for it. EDWARD I can’t
believe it all ended so well. BARNABY
Well,
it didn’t, did it. Not for Peter Drinkwater.
EDWARD The man
who broke in. Yes. I’m sorry… BARNABY
You did
say you wanted to kill him though.
EDWARD That
was just words. Anyway, I had no idea
who he was. BARNABY
Yes.
Although I was wondering. You say you
saw the white van. You got part of
the number but you didn’t actually
recognize the van itself… even
though you must have seen it often
enough around the shop. EDWARD What
are you suggesting exactly, Detective
Chief Inspector? BARNABY
Are you
sure you weren’t at home that
night, sir? TROY You
could have been here. You could have
seen them… - 64 - EDWARD I told
you. I was in London. TROY There
was no-one else in the house? EDWARD I live
alone. My wife, Jane, died in a car
accident… He
briefly fingers his scar. EDWARD I was
almost killed myself. And now I just
live here, quietly, on my own, and I
resent your questions. In fact, if you
don’t mind, I’d like you to leave.
Now. ANOTHER
ANGLE EDWARD
ALLARDICE watches through a window as BARNABY and TROY drive
off. Behind him there’s a click as a door slowly opens and a second FIGURE
moves into the room. EDWARD It’s
all right. They’ve gone. But we have to
be careful. They might be coming
back. 74.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE DAY. ALLARDICE
can be seen standing in the window. And now we can quite clearly
make out a second FIGURE, moving to stand next to him. But we do not see
who it is… END OF
PART TWO CUT TO CUT TO
- 65 - 75.
INT. BARNABY’S HOUSE - HALL DAY. CLOSE
SHOT On a
local newspaper - THE CAUSTON ECHO. The headline reads: POLICE HUNT
FOR PITCHFORK KILLER. Pulling
back… BARNABY has just seen the paper and slips it somewhere out of
sight. A moment later, JOYCE comes into the hall. Her suitcase is waiting. JOYCE Come
on, Tom. I ought to be going. She
glances at the empty table. JOYCE Have
you seen the paper? BARNABY
It
hasn’t arrived. JOYCE
goes out. BARNABY picks up the suitcase and follows. CUT TO 76.
EXT. BARNABY’S HOUSE DAY. CULLY
is driving JOYCE to her hotel. BARNABY loads the case into the back. JOYCE I’ve
left a lasagne for you in the fridge
for tonight. I’ll call you from the
hotel. BARNABY
You
enjoy yourself. I’ll see you tomorrow
in Midsomer Mallow. CULLY Come
on, mum. We’re going to be late. JOYCE Are you
sure about this, Cully? I could
have taken a cab. - 66 - CULLY I’m
happy to drive you. BARNABY
Goodbye.
They
kiss. JOYCE I’m
quite nervous! I wonder what the
other judges will be like? CUT TO
77.
INT/EXT. LIMOUSINE/M40 DAY. ROSEMARY
FURMAN is sitting in the back of a chauffeur-driven limo heading
along the motorway. She’s a glamorous, hard-bitten woman, talking on the
telephone and holding a copy of the September edition of COUNTRY MATTERS.
It shows an autumn scene. ROSEMARY
Ed.
This is Rosemary. I’m phoning from
the car. We’re going to have to do
something about the September cover.
(A brief pause) Darling! I said autumnal.
That doesn’t have to mean
bloody funereal. (Pause) No. I’m out
of London ‘til the end of the week.
This sodding competition. We’re
on the M40 now. She
sneezes loudly. ROSEMARY
God!
It’s always the same. I only have to
get ten miles out of London and my
sodding hay fever kicks in. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE The
limousine speeds on. CUT TO - 67 - 78.
EXT. GARDEN DAY. A
perfect garden full of perfect flowers. The genteel, very English FRANK MANNION
stands with a pipe and patched sports jacket, talking to camera. FRANK The
repeat-blooming climbing rose. For me,
it’s the crowning glory of any
garden and what better choice than
our old friend Albéric Barbier, a tough
little fellow, almost evergreen,
with that lovely ripe apple
smell. VOICE And…cut! We now
reveal that this is the recording of a TV programme and that FRANK is
being filmed by a full crew. At the same time, he slips into his real character…a
very camp queen. He calls to the long-suffering DIRECTOR. FRANK That’s
it, Jeremy, darling. I’m out of here.
I’ve got a taxi waiting. See you in a
week’s time. Toodle-oo…! CUT TO 79.
INT/EXT. TRAIN/FIRST CLASS CARRIAGE DAY. SAMANTHA
JOHNSTONE is an elegant, elderly lady with a mournful expression.
As we join her, she is on a train speeding west. Slowly, she opens a miniature
whisky and pours it into a glass full of ice. Then, equally slowly, she places
the empty bottle on the table in front of her. It is
the seventh in line. SAMANTHA is completely drunk. The PASSENGER opposite
her looks on disapprovingly. CUT TO 80.
EXT. THE CROWN HOTEL DAY. A
modern, ugly hotel one of a chain built in a fake-rustic manner. The hotel has
about fifty rooms. Busy and impersonal. - 68 - CULLY
and JOYCE have arrived. CULLY Are you
going in, mum? JOYCE Yes. Do
I look all right? CULLY You
look fine. Do you want me to come in
with you? JOYCE No.
(Pause) Thanks for the lift. JOYCE
picks up her bag and walks towards the main door. CUT TO 81.
INT. CROWN HOTEL - MEETING ROOM DAY. A
round-table meeting in a downstairs room with coffee-making equipment to one
side. ROSEMARY FURMAN - in a bad mood, eyes streaming - and SAMANTHA
JOHNSTONE, depressed, smoking and drinking coffee - have already
arrived. ROSEMARY
God!
Country hotels! Teas Maids in the
rooms and teenaged waiters with
acne in the reception. I was so glad
you were available, Samantha. I
thought you might be back in that …what’s
that psychiatric place you go to?
The Retreat. SAMANTHA
No. ROSEMARY
Depression’s
a terrible thing. Have you
thought about Prozac? The
door opens and FRANK MANNION comes in. - 69 - FRANK Oh.
Hello, Rosemary. (Brighter) Samantha,
how are you? He
kisses her. FRANK I heard
you’d stepped in at the last minute.
Loved the new book, by the way.
I’m your biggest fan. SAMANTHA
(Timid)
Thank you. ROSEMARY
How are
you, Frank? I haven’t seen you
since… FRANK …since
you fired me, Rosemary. ROSEMARY
Oh yes.
You’ve got that television programme
now. FRANK “Up the
Garden Path” - and doing very
nicely, thank you very much. ROSEMARY
Yes. I
suppose it allows you to pursue
your interest in pansies. Before
FRANK can answer, the door opens again and JOYCE comes in. For a moment
the knives are put away. JOYCE Hello…? ROSEMARY
Joyce
Barnaby? JOYCE Yes. - 70 - ROSEMARY
I’m
Rosemary Furman. Editor of Country
Matters. This is Frank Mannion.
JOYCE It’s
nice to meet you. I often watch your
programme. FRANK
takes JOYCE’S hand to shake it but examines it at the same time… we
might guess this is a favourite trick of his. FRANK Ah! Now
these are green fingers. I’m sure
you’re a wonderful garden-er. I can
always tell. JOYCE Well… ROSEMARY
This is
Samantha Johnstone. SAMANTHA
Nice to
meet you. JOYCE How do
you do. SAMANTHA
(Depressed)
Oh… ROSEMARY’S
mobile telephone goes off. ROSEMARY
That’s
the office. Excuse me… ROSEMARY
takes out her telephone and goes into a corner to have a conversation
which we don’t hear. Meanwhile, FRANK talks to JOYCE. FRANK So you
read “Country Matters”. JOYCE Yes. - 71 - FRANK Do you
live in the country? JOYCE Yes.
Sort of. I live in Causton. FRANK I don’t
know it. JOYCE It’s in
Midsomer. FRANK Oh yes!
Midsomer Mallow. JOYCE That’s
not far. Meanwhile,
SAMANTHA has gone over to the coffee machine to refill her cup. SAMANTHA
Coffee?
JOYCE Not for
me, thank you. ROSEMARY
comes off the telephone. SAMANTHA brings her coffee to the table.
FRANK and JOYCE take their places. ROSEMARY
Right.
We’d better get started then. Little
Kirkbridge this afternoon. Midsomer
Mallow tomorrow. Does anyone
actually know where Midsomer Mallow
is? FRANK I see
you’re as well-informed as ever,
Rosemary. Joyce here lives quite
near it. ROSEMARY
Oh yes?
JOYCE It’s a
nice place. I’ve passed through once or
twice. - 72 - ROSEMARY
produces a stack of papers. ROSEMARY
I’ve
had notes done on all the finalists. We
should take a look at them before
we go. This coffee’s cold. Frank-
why don’t you see if you can get
your hands on a waiter. FRANK Fine. ROSEMARY
But not
literally. Right? FRANK
looks daggers at ROSEMARY and leaves the room. SAMANTHA takes
out another miniature bottle of whisky and pours the contents into her coffee.
Out on
JOYCE. Beginning to wonder what she’s got herself into. CUT TO 82.
INT. BARNABY’S OFFICE DAY. BARNABY
is at his desk, looking through a file. TROY knocks on the door. BARNABY
Ah.
Come in, Troy. This might interest
you. TROY Yes,
sir? BARNABY
Edward
Allardice. I’ve been checking up on
him. BARNABY
shows TROY the file. BARNABY
He was
telling the truth about the car
accident. It happened six years ago. He
was driving. And, according to the
report, he was drunk. - 73 - TROY So he
killed his wife. BARNABY
Well,
that’s just the thing. There’s no
death certificate. His wife’s name was
Jane Bradley. She was also an actress
but as far as I can see, she survived.
TROY So
where is she now? BARNABY
A good
question. TROY And why
lie about it? BARNABY
closes the file. BARNABY
I don’t
know. Nothing in this case seems
straightforward. Allardice threatens
to kill him but it was actually
Marcus Devere who was there
on the day. TROY And Ray
Dorset driving past. BARNABY
Supposedly
delivering a saddle of lamb.
Did you check that out? TROY Yes. He
was in Causton at ten to three. BARNABY
There’s
still something wrong. The van
passing the farm. I don’t know… BARNABY
picks up the credit card, now in an evidence bag. - 74 - BARNABY
And
then there’s this. TROY Gordon
Brierly’s credit card. We still haven’t
spoken to him. BARNABY
Then
it’s time we did. CUT TO 83.
INT. LAURA BRIERLY’S LIVING ROOM DAY. LAURA
pours tea for BARNABY and TROY. LAURA Gordon
shouldn’t be long. He’s over at
Poplar Farm. They’ve had an outbreak
of leptospirosis in their dairy
cattle. (To TROY) Milk? TROY No.
I’ll have mine black, thank you. BARNABY
Mrs
Brierly, There is something I’m afraid
I have to ask you. About your relationship
with Peter Drinkwater. LAURA Aah… BARNABY
We
understand that you and he were… TROY …involved. LAURA Yes.
Well, we might as well be adult about
this. It was a question of supply
and demand and the truth is that
Gordon has always been a bit - 75 - short
in the supply department, if you
know what I mean. BARNABY
He came
to the house? LAURA Occasionally.
BARNABY
So it’s
possible he could have picked up
something of your husband’s here. TROY His
credit card, for example. LAURA You’ve
found one of Gordon’s credit cards?
He never said he’s lost it. BARNABY
Mrs
Brierly…did you mention your relationship
with Drinkwater to Caroline
Devere? LAURA Yes, I
did. I thought of it as a public service.
To warn her off. But of course
I didn’t need to bother because
a few hours later he was dead. The
door opens and GORDON BRIERLY comes in, just back from the farm, carrying
his medicine bag. GORDON Laura… LAURA These
are policemen, Gordon. They seem to
have found something of yours. TROY
produces the credit card in its evidence bag. - 76 - TROY A
credit card, sir. GORDON
looks at it. GORDON Well,
it’s mine all right. Of course. Where
did you find it? TROY At
Windwhistle Farm, sir. Peter Drinkwater
was squatting there… GORDON What?
And he’d taken my credit card? BARNABY
Unless
you had been up there and somehow
dropped it. GORDON I
haven’t been up to Windwhistle Farm. BARNABY
I’d be
interested to know where you were,
sir. On Wednesday at around three
o’clock. GORDON Wednesday?
I was operating on Wednesday.
A cat had to be spayed. TROY And you
didn’t go out? GORDON No.
Laura was here. She helped me. We
stayed in together. A sharp
look from LAURA. She knows GORDON is lying. CUT TO 84.
EXT. THE VET CLINIC DAY. - 77 - GORDON
and LAURA watch from the doorway as BARNABY and TROY drive away. LAURA Why did
you tell him that? GORDON What? LAURA You
went out on Wedneday. After you’d
done the cat. GORDON Did I? LAURA Where
did you go? GORDON No I
didn’t, Laura. I was here all the
time. Do you understand? I never
left. And
with a grim look, GORDON goes back into the house. A worried LAURA is left
on the doorstep. CUT TO 85.
INT/EXT. TROY’S CAR/ROAD DAY. TROY
drives BARNABY back towards Windwhistle Farm. TROY Caroline
Devere. BARNABY
What? TROY Maybe
she killed him. She’s in love with
Peter Drinkwater. Laura Brierly
tells her the truth about him.
And in a fit of jealous rage… Stop. Sorry? Stop
the car! TROY
jams on the brakes. 86.
EXT. WINDWHISTLE FARM/LANE DAY. TROY
was driving past the entrance to Windwhistle Farm. BARNABY gets out of
the car and crosses the road, trying to work something out. TROY follows.
BARNABY
(Pointing)
Causton is that way, right?
And Midsomer Mallow’s back there. (Puzzled)
Yes. I was
just thinking about Ray Dorset
and his saddle of lamb. If he was
going to Causton, he was travelling
east. BARNABY
gestures. His path would have taken him past the farm on the same
side of the road as the turn-off. TROY I’m not
quite with you, sir. BARNABY
There’s
something wrong, Troy. Something
we’ve been told. - 78 - BARNABY
TROY BARNABY
TROY BARNABY
CUT TO
- 79 - TROY Are you
wondering how Ray managed
to see Marcus Devere driving
down the lane? BARNABY
He
didn’t see who was driving. TROY But he
saw the car. BARNABY
looks up the drive. BARNABY
Yes… TROY Do you
think there was someone else
here? BARNABY
When
Peter Drinkwater was killed? By car.
On foot. I wouldn’t be surprised
if it was half the bloody village…
Shaking
his head, BARNABY walks back to the car. CUT TO 87.
EXT. LITTLE KIRKBRIDGE - GREEN DAY. A
banner reads: LITTLE KIRKBRIDGE WELCOMES COUNTRY MATTERS. JOYCE
BARNABY, ROSEMARY FURMAN, FRANK MANNION and SAMANTHA
JOHNSTONE have been shown round the village of Little Kirkbridge.
Architecturally, this should be as different as possible to Midsomer Mallow,
suggesting that it’s in a different part of the country. They
are sitting on wooden chairs on the green. There is a small tent erected and a
number of watching VILLAGERS, some of them in historical dress. They are
being addressed by a self-important ALDERMAN, an elderly man in period dress.
He is reading a scroll: his own composition…a terrible poem. ALDERMAN
The
village of Little Kirkbridge/Today you
have it seen/And we finish - 80 - now
where we began/Upon the village
green! FRANK mutters
to SAMANTHA. FRANK Is he
serious? The
ALDERMAN finds the next page. ALDERMAN
To
celebrate your visit/And to hope you’ll
come again/Our merry team of Morris
Men/Are here to entertain! And
with a loud chord from an accordion, a dozen MORRIS DANCERS launch themselves
out of the surprisingly small tent and begin to form a dance with sticks.
CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE Only
JOYCE BARNABY is enjoying the spectacle…and even she isn’t overthe- moon.
At least she’s polite. ROSEMARY doesn’t attempt to hide her horror.
ROSEMARY
Oh God!
She
yawns…then sneezes at the same time. JOYCE glances in her direction. CUT TO 88.
INT. CROWN HOTEL - BAR AREA EVENING. Back at
the hotel. It’s later that evening. JOYCE is on the telephone. JOYCE We got
longsword dancing, clogs and molly
dancing, a Welsh Border dance
with sticks and finally they put on
antlers for what they called an
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance. - 81 - CUT TO 89.
INT. BARNABY’S HOUSE - STUDY EVENING. BARNABY
is at the other end of the phone. From here on, intercut as desired. BARNABY
So how
many points did you give them? JOYCE I
thought they were rather fun. But I don’t
think the others were too impressed.
BARNABY
The
other judges… How are they? JOYCE Rosemary
has hay fever. Samantha, the
writer, well she’s completely depressed.
Frank Mannion’s all right
although I’m afraid he disappeared
after dinner with one of the
waiters. BARNABY
(Laughing)
Come home! JOYCE I’ll
see you tomorrow. Midsomer Mallow.
BARNABY
I’ll be
there. JOYCE Give my
love to Cully. BARNABY
Bye! JOYCE
hangs up and looks round. CUT TO - 82 - ANOTHER
ANGLE SAMANTHA
JOHNSTONE is alone in the bar. She has a whisky in front of her and
several empty glasses. She sees JOYCE. SAMANTHA
Would
you like to join me? JOYCE Yes.
All right… JOYCE
is acting against her better judgement. But perhaps she feels sorry for SAMANTHA.
And she is on her own. She sits down next to her. SAMANTHA
I’m so
pleased to meet you. I don’t know
what happened to the others. She
drains her whisky in one and calls to the BARMAN. SAMANTHA
Barman!
Two large whiskies, please!
(To JOYCE) What are you going
to have? Out on
JOYCE’S reaction. CUT TO 90.
INT. BARNABY’S HOUSE - KITCHEN EVENING. BARNABY
comes into the kitchen where CULLY is working with a pile of books
and papers. She looks up. CULLY Was
that mum? BARNABY
Yes.
She sent her love. (Pause) Where’s
dinner? CULLY Oh dad!
I’m sorry. I was at the theatre
today and they’ve given me a pile
of stuff. My head’s buzzing with
ideas. And… (Pause) I forgot. - 83 - BARNABY
It’s
all right. BARNABY
goes to the fridge and takes out a dish with a note attached. BARNABY
Here’s
something your mother prepared earlier.
Lasagne. Six minutes in the
microwave. As he
puts the lasagne in the microwave, CULLY starts putting her books and papers
away. CULLY Why
didn’t you tell her? BARNABY
What…? CULLY Mum!
About the murder. BARNABY
Aaah. I
don’t know really. It just didn’t
seem fair somehow. CULLY To her
or to the village? BARNABY
To
both. CULLY I don’t
see how you can be a perfect village
when you’ve got a homicidal maniac
running around with a pitch fork. BARNABY
Maybe
that’s my point. I didn’t want to
influence her judgement. BARNABY
starts to uncork a bottle of wine. BARNABY
Anyway,
I’m not entirely sure it was a
homicidal maniac. - 84 - CULLY So who
wanted to kill him? BARNABY
Quite a
few people actually. He was having
an affair with the vet’s wife and he
was carrying on with someone
else’s daughter. CULLY At the
same time? BARNABY
And
then there’s the burglaries. He was
breaking into peoples’ houses. CULLY You
don’t murder someone because they’ve
burgled you do you? BARNABY
As a matter
of fact, that’s exactly what
one of them threatened. Edward
Allardice said as much to me. “If
I ever get my hands on the little
bastard who did this. I’ll kill him.” His was the last house to be broken
into. Maybe he found out who did
it and took the law into his own
hands. CULLY Edward
Allardice? BARNABY
Yes. CULLY The
actor. BARNABY
Troy
mentioned he used to be an actor.
Yes. Do you know him? CULLY Dad!
I’ve just been reading about him.
Edward Allardice did four - 85 - seasons
at the Playhouse. He did Hamlet.
Titus Andronicus. Malade Imaginaire.
The Importance…You know he
was married to Jane Bradley.
BARNABY
She was
also an actress. CULLY Actress.
Model. She was always in Vogue
and Vanity Fair. Back in the sixties
she was said to be one of the most
beautiful women in the world. She
made a lot of films in America. But
then she died. BARNABY
Do you
know how? CULLY It was
a car crash. I think. Is he really
living in Midsomer Mallow? It’s
amazing. Do you think I could see
him? BARNABY
I don’t
know. He struck me as rather
reclusive. He lives in a big house.
Greyfriars. He’s on his own. CULLY But you
wouldn’t mind if I contacted him? He
was part of the golden period
of the Causton Playhouse. He could
tell me everything I need to know. BARNABY
I
suppose not. Although he is still theoretically
a suspect in my investigation.
CULLY Come
on, dad. He wouldn’t murder a local
delinquent! He’s a famous actor! - 86 - BARNABY
Maybe
not. But someone did. CULLY
wrinkles her nose. CULLY Is
lasagne meant to smell like that? BARNABY
turns towards the microwave and sniffs the air. BARNABY
Let’s
go out. CUT TO 91.
INT. LAURA’S BEDROOM EVENING. LAURA
is getting ready to go out. She opens a cupboard to take out a shawl and
notices some-thing at the bottom, on the floor. She reaches in and takes out a
pair of trousers. She is
unpleasantly surprised. The light coloured trousers are splattered with quite a
lot of what is evidently dried blood. Just then the door opens and GORDON
comes in. GORDON Aren’t
you ready yet? It’s five to seven. LAURA
realises she’s still holding the trousers. He’s seen them in her hands. LAURA Gordon
- what are these doing here? GORDON They
need to go in the wash. LAURA This is
blood! GORDON Yes. - 87 - LAURA Well,
why did you put them in the cupboard
like that? And how did the blood
get there? Is it animal blood? GORDON
looks at LAURA with a watery sort of madness in his eyes. GORDON Oh yes.
It was an animal all right. A nasty
little creature. But it’s all right
now. I put it out of its misery. Now
let’s go. I don’t want to be late. GORDON
walks out of the bedroom. LAURA is left, very worried now, still holding
the trousers. END OF
PART THREE - 88 - 92.
EXT. MIDSOMER MALLOW - HIGH STREET DAY. The
following morning…and a Judgement Day montage. We
start on the village high street as bunting is strewn from lamp post to lamp
post. CUT TO 93.
EXT. MIDSOMER MALLOW - GREEN DAY. On the
village green, MARCUS DEVERE is mowing the grass, sitting on his tractor
lawnmower. On the
other side of the green, a marquee is being erected. This is a pavilion with
open sides. It will contain trestle tables, chairs and a platform for the village
band. The
village streets are also being swept and cleaned. Everything is being made perfect.
CUT TO 94.
INT. RAY DORSET’S SHOP DAY. RAY
carries a tray of chicken wings over to a large oven. He opens the oven door
and slides the tray in. CUT TO 95. INT.
LOTHLORIAN - CELLAR DAY. BELLA
DEVERE, helped by CAROLINE, is loading up a crate with homemade bottles
of wine: apricot and elderberry. Each one is hand labelled with the
date and contents. She smiles to herself. CUT TO 96.
INT. VILLAGE HALL DAY. MARY
DRINKWATER looks through the music which the band will be playing later
and conducts a passage, humming to herself. - 89 - CUT TO 97.
EXT. THE CROWN HOTEL DAY. A
minibus has pulled up outside the hotel. JOYCE BARNABY comes out of the hotel
with SAMANTHA JOHNSTONE. ROSEMARY FURMAN and FRANK MANNION
follow. CUT TO 98.
EXT. THE VET CLINIC DAY. GORDON
BRIERLY is digging over a flower bed in the street outside his house.
By coincidence he is using a pitchfork. There is a slightly psychotic glee in the
way he stabs into the earth with the forks. Slash! He jabs down. Jerk! He rips
it out again. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE LAURA
BRIERLY watches GORDON from an upper window. With growing concern.
CUT TO 99.
EXT. MIDSOMER MALLOW - GREEN DAY. The
tractor has gone. The pavilion is up. MARY DRINKWATER oversees the erection
of a sign, similar to one we have seen before. MIDSOMER MALLOW WELCOMES
YOU TO JUDGEMENT DAY. CUT TO 100.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE DAY. CULLY
walks up the drive to the house which is even gloomier and more Gothic
than ever. She rings the bell. A
pause. Then EDWARD ALLARDICE opens it. EDWARD Yes? - 90 - CULLY Mr Allardice.
EDWARD I don’t
think I know you, do I. CULLY No. I’m
writing a book about the Causton
Playhouse. I only just found
out that you live here and… EDWARD
is already closing the door. EDWARD No. I’m
sorry. I’m not really interested. CULLY You met
my father. Tom Barnaby. Detective
Chief Inspector Barnaby. He was
here… The
door opens again. EDWARD He came
about the burglary. CULLY Yes. A
pause. Then… EDWARD Come
in. CUT TO 101.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM DAY. CULLY
follows EDWARD ALLARDICE into a comfortable, old-fashioned living
room with various theatrical souvenirs on the shelves, playbills and posters
on the walls. EDWARD The
police returned the rest of my property
this morning. I’m very - 91 - grateful
to your father. There was nothing
of any great financial value. But
some of it was sentimental… CULLY You
heard what happened? To the person
who broke in? EDWARD Yes. He
must have had a lot of enemies, someone
like that. It seems he had one
too many. CULLY
stops in front of a model. A set design…in the form of a Victorian dolls house. CULLY This is
Hamlet. The 1962 production. EDWARD (Impressed)
Yes. Olivier directed it. I was
Laertes to his Hamlet. He set it… CULLY …in a
dolls house with just seven actors.
EDWARD He said
he wanted to get to the core of the
play. But of course he just wanted
more stage time for himself. CULLY I wish
I could have seen it. EDWARD I
imagine you’d have been too young. EDWARD
waves CULLY to a seat and sits down opposite her. She takes out a notepad
and a portable tape recorder. EDWARD How can
I help you, Miss…? - 92 - CULLY Cully.
Cully Barnaby. Well, it’s like I said.
I’m writing a book about the Playhouse
and I wondered if I could interview
you… EDWARD I’m not
really interested in giving interviews.
It’s been a long time now since I
was in the public eye. CULLY I know.
Six years. You retired… EDWARD …after
the accident. He
can’t stop his hand touching the scar on his face. EDWARD I was
quite badly hurt. And of course,
my wife… CULLY I know.
I’m sorry. EDWARD I
suppose I could tell you something of what
you want to know. I was at Causton
for seven years. It’s one of the
reasons I decided to retire here. But I
would have to insist that I did so
anonymously. I don’t like people coming
here. The public. CULLY Whatever
you say. (Pause) You don’t
mind if I tape this? Just for myself?
A nod
from EDWARD she presses the button on the tape. EDWARD So what
do you want to know? CUT TO - 93 - 102.
EXT. MIDSOMER MALLOW - GREEN DAY. Lots of
activity in and around the pavilion now. GORDON BRIERLY is watching
out for the arrival of the judges. The BAND (in uniform) is on its podium,
tuning up. MARY DRINKWATER is in her place… MARY Is
everyone ready? They’ll be here any
minute. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE MARCUS
DEVERE and BELLA are unloading glasses and wine bottles onto a table,
helped by the small boy (ALEX) who is dressed, along with other kids, as a
miniature waiter. BELLA That’s
right, Alex. I want all the glasses
in lines. RAY
DORSET goes past with his tray of chicken wings. BELLA Smells
good, Ray! CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE LAURA
BRIERLY wanders over to GORDON. LAURA I don’t
know how you can go through
with this. Just one day after… GORDON Miss
him, do you? Peter Drinkwater? LAURA
wonders how much GORDON knows about her and PETER. LAURA Not
particularly… - 94 - GORDON Nor do
I. Nor does anyone. But if you are
missing him. GORDON produces
a gold chain and hands it to LAURA. GORDON Here’s
something to remember him by.
This was his. The
gold chain looks very like the one that we saw PETER wearing in Scenes 22 and
36. LAURA is shocked. But before she can ask him where he got it… MARY Here
they are! And
sure enough, the mini van appears, driving towards the green. At once MARY
lifts her baton and the band begins its first, hopelessly off-key and outof- time,
welcoming tune. MARCUS, BELLA and RAY come out of the pavilion to join
the reception committee. The table with the wine bottles on it remains in
their sight. The van
stops beneath the welcome banner. ROSEMARY FURMAN, FRANK MANNION,
JOYCE BARNABY and SAMANTHA JOHNSTONE get out. MARCUS Mrs
Furman? ROSEMARY
Yes. MARCUS As head
of the Midsomer Mallow welcoming
committee, I’d like to welcome
you and your fellow judges to
Midsomer Mallow. As you can see,
we’ve arranged perfect weather for
your visit to our perfect village. ROSEMARY
This is
Joyce Barnaby. One of our readers.
Frank Mannion. And Samantha Johnstone.
MARCUS How do
you do. How do you do. - 95 - MARCUS
shakes hands with JOYCE. At the same time, we just might notice that
SAMANTHA JOHNSTONE is staring at something, puzzled. FRANK I’m
afraid it’s a tight schedule. We only
have an hour and a half. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE BELLA
has looked back at the tent. She has noticed someone lurking in the shadows.
She turns round and starts to walk back. BELLA Excuse
me. RAY What is
it, Mrs Devere? BELLA I
thought I saw someone take something.
She
walks off. A moment’s pause. Then GORDON gives MARCUS his cue. GORDON Marcus.
MARCUS Oh yes.
Yes! Sorry. Let me introduce
you to Gordon Brierly who has
lived here and been our vet for eleven
years. It’s his job to give you the
full historical tour. GORDON From
the third century AD to the present.
You’re actually standing on what we
believe was once a Saxon burial
ground. ROSEMARY
Oh… She
lifts her foot as if she’s trodden in something. - 96 - MARCUS A quick
walk round the principal sites
and then back to the green for food,
drink and entertainment. Best foot
forward - what? JOYCE After
you. GORDON This
way. I thought we’d start with our
medieval alms houses, small parts
of which actually date back to the
fourteenth century CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE Inside
the tent, BELLA has reached the wine table. CAROLINE and ALEX are there. CAROLINE
Mummy?
Are you all right? BELLA I
thought I saw someone… Alex, did someone
just take a bottle? ALEX No, Mrs
Devere. BELLA That’s
very strange. (Pause) Well, we’d
better get on with it. BELLA
starts uncorking bottles. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE BARNABY
and TROY have just arrived. They get out of their car in time to see
JOYCE and the others disappearing into the distance. - 97 - BARNABY
It
looks as if the judges have already
arrived. TROY Are we
going to join the tour? BARNABY
No, no.
I’ve seen enough of this village
if you want the truth. We’ll wait
for them to come back. CUT TO 103.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE DAY. EDWARD
ALLARDICE is showing CULLY out. The two have obviously warmed
to each other. EDWARD finishes an anecdote. EDWARD That
was when Richardson said to me. “Teddy. The play was bad and the
audience was worse. But the Playhouse
will always be a jewel.” CULLY That’s
lovely. EDWARD They
were happy times. They
stop on the doorstep. CULLY Thank
you very much for talking to me. EDWARD I
enjoyed it. I like the idea of your book.
We should talk again. CULLY I’d
like that. EDWARD Do you
have a car? - 98 - CULLY No. I’m
walking into the village. EDWARD I’ll
come with you, if I may. I have a little
shopping… CULLY Sure. EDWARD
turns and locks the door. EDWARD There
was a time when you didn’t have to
lock the door. Shall we…? The two
of them walk off together. 104.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - LIVING ROOM DAY. CULLY
has forgotten her tape recorder. It is next to the chair where she was sitting.
A
pause. Then a door creaks open and a FIGURE sneaks into the room. We do not see
who it is. A shadow falls across the chair. A hand
reaches out and turns on the tape recorder. We cannot even be sure if it is a
man or a woman’s hand. It is gnarled, misshapen. Like something out of a
horror film. The tape turns. CULLY (Voice
only) Actually,
I’m an actress myself. Or at
least, I want to be. You must know
how difficult it is these days. I have a
boy-friend, Nico, and he was the one
who suggested… The
claw-like hand swoops down again and turns the tape recorder off, at the same
time knocking it to the floor. A pause. Then the slam of the door as the FIGURE
leaves the room. CUT TO CUT TO
- 99 - 105.
EXT. MIDSOMER MALLOW - GREEN DAY. FRANK
MANNION, SAMANTHA JOHNSTONE, ROSEMARY FURMAN and JOYCE
BARNABY come to the end of their tour, returning to the green. GORDON
BRIERLY is reading from the notes he has prepared. MARCUS DEVERE
and RAY DORSET are with him. GORDON …and
that brings us back to the green
where we started and also to the
present day. We have a fete here every
summer, a bonfire night, pancake
races and Easter Egg hunts.
Midsomer Mallow isn’t just a village.
It’s a community. And in conclusion,
I have to say that we certainly
find it perfect. MARCUS (Applauding)
Bravo! Well said! SAMANTHA
JOHNSTONE is looking for someone. JOYCE Are you
looking for someone? SAMANTHA
I’m not
sure… MARCUS You
must be hungry. Stivvy starving after
all that walking! RAY We have
home-made wine and all the
food is locally grown. If you like to come
this way. RAY
ushers them towards the tent. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE BARNABY
and TROY are walking towards the group. MARCUS sees them and his
face falls. - 100 - MARCUS Excuse
me. As the
group begins to move in the direction of the tent, MARCUS hurries over towards
BARNABY. MARCUS Mr
Barnaby… BARNABY
Mr
Devere! MARCUS You’re
not…um. I don’t suppose your
investigation could wait a few minutes.
You see, I wouldn’t want to “obstruct
justice” but thing is, we’re in the
middle of this competition. BARNABY
So I
see. MARCUS It was
a committee decision to go ahead.
But we were rather hoping that
nobody would actually mention the
murder. TROY (Half-joking)
You think it might spoil
your chances? MARCUS (Serious)
Absolutely. BARNABY
Don’t
worry, Mr Devere. We’re here in an
unofficial capacity. One of the judges
is my wife. MARCUS Mrs
Barnaby! Of course! BARNABY
And I
haven’t said a word. - 101 - MARCUS Oh.
That’s all right then. Come and have a
sausage roll! ANOTHER
ANGLE The
band starts again with MARY conducting. Close to, in the pavilion, the discords
are rather deafening. A series of vignettes follow…different parts of the
festivities. ANOTHER
ANGLE BARNABY
meets up with JOYCE. BARNABY
Good
afternoon, your honour. Did you
find Midsomer Mallow guilty or innocent?
JOYCE Tom! They
kiss. BARNABY
How’s
it going? JOYCE Terrible!
Let’s go somewhere quieter.
This music is so loud! ANOTHER
ANGLE TROY
has found himself with the little boy - ALEX - who is serving drinks. TROY You’re
not serving beer, I suppose. ALEX No.
It’s home-made wine. CUT TO CUT TO CUT TO
- 102 - TROY Forget
it. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE On the
other side of the green, walking up the road, CULLY and EDWARD ALLARDICE
appear. EDWARD It was
nice meeting you, Cully. CULLY I’m
meeting my parents for a drink. You
don’t want to join us? EDWARD No, no.
No thank you. These village events
aren’t for me. CULLY ‘bye then. EDWARD
watches as CULLY heads for the pavilion. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE On MARY
DRINKWATER conducting the band with vigour, singing along. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE JOYCE
and BARNABY have moved a little further away from the music. JOYCE I can’t
believe it! Rosemary Furman hates
the countryside. She lives in London
and as far as I can see, she never
leaves it. BARNABY
She
edits Country Matters from the heart
of Soho. - 103 - JOYCE Exactly.
She and Frank Mannion are at
each other’s throats all the time.
He can’t stand her. BARNABY
Here’s
Cully! Sure
enough, CULLY walks across the green and joins them. CULLY Hi,
mum. Dad. BARNABY
Your
mother’s just been giving me an insider’s
view of the judging panel. JOYCE The
only decent one is Samantha Johnstone.
JOYCE
looks past BARNABY and sees SAMANTHA standing on her own in the
crowd, looking as depressed as ever. JOYCE I’d
better go and rescue her. JOYCE
moves off. BARNABY and CULLY are left alone. BARNABY
Did you
see him? CULLY Yes. He
was nice. But you were right
about the house. It’s creepy! CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE JOYCE
catches up with SAMANTHA JOHNSTONE, drinking rapidly as usual.
In the background, RAY is serving food. GORDON and LAURA are talking
to ROSEMARY and FRANK. MARCUS and BELLA are manning the drinks,
helped by CAROLINE. ALEX and other SMALL BOYS are serving. The
music has got louder. JOYCE has to raise her voice. - 104 - JOYCE Samantha?
Are you all right? SAMANTHA
No. no,
I’m not. I’ve just seen someone…in
the street. JOYCE In the
street? That’s
what it sounded like. JOYCE looks round. JOYCE’S
P.O.V. There’s
only one man standing in the street. It’s EDWARD ALLARDICE. He is some
distance away, looking rather sinister. ANOTHER
ANGLE ALEX
passes. SAMANTHA passes him her empty glass. SAMANTHA
Can you
get me another, please? JOYCE Would
you like to come and meet Tom? SAMANTHA
No. I’m
all right. ANOTHER
ANGLE ALEX
takes the empty glass to the table. BELLA uncorks a fresh bottle. ANOTHER
ANGLE On
ROSEMARY FURMAN (with no drink), FRANK MANNION, LAURA and GORDON.
RAY has also joined them. CUT TO CUT TO CUT TO CUT TO
- 105 - RAY I’ve
always been a big fan of your programme,
Mr Mannion. FRANK Make
that Frank. Do you have a garden?
RAY Oh yes.
Nothing grand, mind you. Just a
little patch at the back. FRANK That’s
all you need! ALEX
walks past with a drink on a tray. He is heading for SAMANTHA. But ROSEMARY
plucks the glass off the tray. ROSEMARY
Thank
you so much. ALEX
wants to protest. But it’s too late. ROSEMARY takes a large glug of the wine. ROSEMARY
God,
that’s disgusting. What is it? ALEX Elderflower
and apricot. ROSEMARY
(To
FRANK) Let’s get back to the hotel.
I’m dying here. FRANK Not
soon enough, my dear. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE On
MARCUS and BELLA she also sips some wine. CAROLINE is helping fill the
glasses. MARCUS Are you
all right? BELLA Yes.
I’m fine. MARCUS (To
CAROLINE) I’m glad you came. CAROLINE
I think
it’s fun, daddy. I bet we’re going
to win. BELLA
smiles. Then jerks forward, catching CAROLINE’S arm. She’s been poisoned.
CAROLINE
(Alarmed)
Mummy…? ANOTHER
ANGLE On
BARNABY and CULLY as JOYCE rejoins them. BARNABY
Did you
find her? JOYCE Yes.
Another glass of wine and they’ll
be carrying her out. I’ve never
seen anyone… CULLY (Seeing
something) Dad… ANOTHER
ANGLE BELLA
DEVERE is staggering backwards, clutching her throat. The tent spins. ANOTHER
ANGLE Other
people in the tent notice that something is wrong. But not MARY DRINKWATER.
The band plays louder. Suddenly everything is becoming nightmarish.
CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE ALEX
stares. MARCUS moves towards BELLA to catch her. But too late. She falls
backwards and smashes into the trestle table. As she plunges to the ground,
broken glasses and spilled wine cascade around her. ANOTHER
ANGLE The
music has at last stopped. BARNABY and TROY push their way through the
crowd. All eyes are on BELLA. TROY Let me
through, please. I’m a police officer.
TROY
gets to the body. MARCUS is panicking over her. MARCUS Oh my
God! Oh my God! CAROLINE
Mum! TROY Stand
back, please, sir. Give her air. BARNABY
reaches the stricken woman. BARNABY
How is
she? TROY Still
breathing. She must have had some
sort of attack. And
then a scream. LAURA BRIERLY has seen something that the others have
missed. ANOTHER
ANGLE CUT TO ROSEMARY
FURMAN has fallen to the ground, stiff and unmoving, her eyes staring.
LAURA screams again. LAURA Someone!
Do something Please! Help! BARNABY
is the first to react, moving towards the second figure. But he’s too late.
It’s obvious, at a glance. ROSEMARY
FURMAN is dead. END OF
PART FOUR
106.
MIDSOMER MALLOW - THE GREEN DAY. The
immediate aftermath of the killing. The VILLAGERS have all gone home. DAN
PETERSON, more POLICEMEN and an ambulance have turned up. We start
on PETERSON who is examining ROSEMARY FURMAN’S body. BARNABY
is with him. PETERSON
I’ll
need to run some tests but I’ll bet
your bottom dollar it’s cyanide. Rat
poison or something. You see the
skin? Abnormally pink. Her red cells
have been oxygenated. Classic… BARNABY
Cyanide.
That has no taste… PETERSON
Right.
And one in four people can’t smell
it either. (As Michael Caine) Not
many people know that! (Pause) Bung it
in a glass of wine and she wouldn’t
have known a thing. The other
woman… BARNABY
Bella
Devere. PETERSON
She was
lucky. She only took a sip. BARNABY
Where
is she? PETERSON
The
doctor sent her home. There’s not much
he can do for her. Plenty of
water and rest. That’s about it. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE Inside
the tent, TROY is trying to make sense from a hysterical LAURA. - 110 - LAURA There
was a little boy, carrying a glass
of wine on a tray. She took it and
drank it. And then… TROY Were
there any other glasses on the tray? LAURA What? TROY How
many glasses of wine was the boy
carrying? LAURA Just
the one. She drank and… GORDON
appears. Even he has been a little moved by events. He reaches out with
one hand. GORDON Laura… LAURA (Hysterical)
Leave me alone! Leave me
alone! Was it you? Did you poison
her? You’ve gone mad, haven’t you!
Just…go away! CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE BARNABY
approaches JOYCE and CULLY who are sitting outside the pavilion
in a state of shock. BARNABY
Are you
all right? JOYCE Tom!
The editor…Rosemary Furman. - 111 - BARNABY
She’s
dead, I’m afraid. Cyanide poisoning. JOYCE But
why? Who would want to kill her? BARNABY
She may
not have been the target, Joyce.
A crowded tent. Bottles and glasses
everywhere. CULLY How
many of them were poisoned, dad? BARNABY
We
don’t know. A lot of the glasses got
broken when Bella Devere fell. Look.
I’ve got a lot of work to do. You go
home. I’ll catch up with you later. JOYCE
nods. BARNABY kisses her. Smiles at CULLY. Leaves. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE TROY is
interviewing RAY DORSET. RAY I
didn’t see anything. I didn’t have anything
to do with the wine, you see. I
was looking after the food… TROY Do you
know who opened the wine? RAY That
would have been Mr and Mrs Devere.
And Caroline. BARNABY
joins TROY and RAY DORSET. - 112 - RAY She saw
him, you know. TROY Who? RAY Mrs
Devere. It was just after the judges
arrived. The lady introduced them to
us. Frank Mannion and that
writer. We weren’t expecting her.
Anyway, that was when she saw
someone. In the tent. BARNABY
Doing
what? RAY Taking
one of the bottles. That’s what
she said! CUT TO 107.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - BELLA’S BEDROOM DAY. BELLA,
still sick, is lying in bed, with more photographs of CAROLINE around
her. MARCUS is looking after her. BARNABY and TROY are there. BELLA I
didn’t see who it was. I’m not even sure it
was a man. The sun was in my eyes
and it was dark in the tent. BARNABY
He was
taking a bottle. BELLA (Nods)
He had a bottle in his hand. BARNABY
He
could have been adding it, then. Rather
than taking it away. BELLA I don’t
know. - 113 - MARCUS I don’t
think this is the right time to be
asking my wife questions, Chief Inspector.
BELLA No.
They have to… BARNABY
I have
just one more question, Mrs Devere.
Was there anyone else helping
you serve the wine? BELLA
glances at MARCUS. She appears worried. CUT TO 108.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. BARNABY
and TROY confront CAROLINE DEVERE. CAROLINE
It
wasn’t me who opened that last bottle.
It was mummy. She opened it
herself. BARNABY
What
happened then? CAROLINE
The
little boy came over with an empty
glass and she filled it. and then
she filled some others. BARNABY
Was
that when she drank some herself? CAROLINE
Yes.
She said something to me. “I’m going
to have one too.” Something like
that. I saw her drink some and then… - 114 - BARNABY
Nobody
else came near the glasses. It was
just you and your parents. CAROLINE
Yes.
But don’t you see? Whatever it was,
the poison, it must have been inside
the bottle already. We were meant
to drink it. Mum and dad and me. It
was us they wanted to kill. 109.
EXT. THE VET CLINIC DAY. GORDON
and LAURA BRIERLY return home. GORDON I’ll
put the kettle on. 110.
INT. GORDON BRIERLY’S HOUSE - KITCHEN DAY. The
kettle has boiled. GORDON makes two cups of tea. LAURA is slumped at the
table, defeated by this new turn of events. GORDON Biscuit?
A long
pause. GORDON I
didn’t kill him. Peter Drinkwater. I know
that’s what you’re thinking. LAURA
looks up. GORDON I
wanted to. I saw him, leaving here.
That must have been when he stole
my credit card. I know what the two
of you were up to and I think
it’s disgusting. You’re old enough
to be his mother. CUT TO CUT TO
- 115 - LAURA The
trousers…the ones that I found. GORDON The
blood came out of the surgery. Cat
blood. And the gold chain… I bought
that. GORDON
brings over the tea. GORDON I know
what you think of me, Laura.
It’s how you’ve always thought
of me. But, just for a little while,
I wanted you to believe I had killed
him. I wanted you to think I’d had the
strength to shove a fork into him. It
amused me. It made me feel good. LAURA
looks at GORDON in a new light. LAURA Gordon…? GORDON You
disgust me. I want you to move out of
my house. I don’t want to see you
again. I don’t want to know you. GORDON
takes his tea and walks out. LAURA slumps, in tears, finally defeated.
CUT TO 111.
INT. POLICE STATION - CORRIDOR/OFFICE DAY. BARNABY
and TROY walk with a certain urgency towards BARNABY’S office.
BARNABY is carrying a roll of paper. BARNABY
God!
What a mess, Troy. A poisoning in
front of our very eyes and we still
can’t be sure who it was who was
actually meant to die. - 116 - TROY You
think this is connected with the death
of Peter Drinkwater, sir? BARNABY
It’s
got to be. Unless it was an attack
on the whole village… TROY To
spoil their chances in the Perfect Village
competition. BARNABY
I don’t
think so. They
plunge into BARNABY’S office. CUT TO 112.
INT. BARNABY’S OFFICE DAY. BARNABY
has pinned a chart to the wall. It’s a schematic showing the inside of the
tent with everyone in the positions they had when the poisonings took place. BARNABY
So.
We’ve got Marcus and Bella Devere
here, serving the wine. Bella opens a
fresh bottle… TROY Which
must have been tampered with by
whoever it was she saw. BARNABY
Except
you know what bothers me? The
judges had just arrived. The big four…including
Joyce. This is the moment
they’ve all been waiting for. So why
was she looking into the tent at
all? A
pause. TROY refers to his notes. - 117 - TROY According
to your wife, Samantha Johnstone
asked for a glass of wine just
before it happened. BARNABY
You
spoke to Joyce? TROY A few
questions. Yes. BARNABY
Samantha
Johnstone asked for wine. TROY Yes.
She was here. There was an eight-year-old
boy. Alex James. He went
and got it. TROY
points to the diagram. SAMANTHA was mid-way between BELLA and ROSEMARY.
BARNABY
And
according to Caroline Devere, he was
only carrying a single glass. TROY Laura
Brierly said the same. BARNABY
Well,
could it have been that the poisoned
wine was intended for Samantha
Johnstone? TROY Perhaps.
But nobody even knew she was
coming. She was the last judge to be
chosen. So why would anyone suddenly
decide to kill her? A
pause. Suddenly BARNABY is worried. BARNABY
Where
is she now? CUT TO - 118 - 113.
INT. CROWN HOTEL - ROOM 17 DAY. SAMANTHA
JOHNSTONE is packing. She is also worried about something. She
closes her case, then goes over to the telephone. Picks it up. SAMANTHA
(On
telephone) Hello. Reception? I wonder
if you could help me. I need a
telephone number. It’s in Gloucestershire…
There
is a knock at the door. SAMANTHA looks round. SAMANTHA
(On
telephone) One moment… She gets
up to answer the door. CUT TO 114.
EXT. CROWN HOTEL DAY. BARNABY
and TROY arrive at speed at the hotel. As they pile out of their car, they
notice FRANK MANNION leaving in a hurry with two suitcases. BARNABY
Mr
Mannion… FRANK No
autographs now. I’m sorry… BARNABY
I’m
with the Causton police. Are you leaving?
FRANK Am I
leaving? Yes I am leaving. They
try to bore us to death in the first
village and when that doesn’t work,
they poison us in the next. Well
I’m out of here. I’ve had enough!
- 119 - TROY Have
you seen Samantha Johnstone? FRANK No.
She’s Room 17. Opposite mine. BARNABY
and TROY hurry into the hotel. FRANK Charming!
FRANK
MANNION continues on his way. 115.
INT. CROWN HOTEL - CORRIDOR DAY. BARNABY
and TROY wait as a MAID unlocks the door. BARNABY
Thank
you. The
MAID wants to see what’s happening. TROY It’s
all right. You can go now. They
wait until the MAID has gone, then enter the room. 116.
INT. CROWN HOTEL - ROOM 17 DAY. BARNABY
and TROY enter the room. SAMANTHA is lying on the floor. There is a
knife protruding from her neck. BARNABY
Damn!
Damn! Damn! We’re too late! 117.
INT. BARNABY’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM DAY. CUT TO Things
are moving at a break-neck pace now. BARNABY and TROY are interviewing
JOYCE at her home. CULLY is also there. JOYCE Dead? TROY She was
stabbed. JOYCE But… CULLY Dad!
What’s going on? BARNABY
(To
JOYCE) Joyce. You have to think
carefully. There is somebody extremely
dangerous in Midsomer Mallow.
First Drinkwater. Then what
could all too easily have been a mass
poisoning. Now this… CULLY You
think they’re all connected? BARNABY
I think
the first death somehow prompted
the next two. But I don’t quite
know how. (To JOYCE) That’s why I
need you… TROY You
were the last person to speak to Samantha
Johnstone in the tent, Mrs
Barnaby. BARNABY
What
did she say? JOYCE I don’t
know. The music was so loud I’m not
sure that I heard. (Pause) She was
worried about something. Something
or somebody she’d seen. She
said something like…”I’ve just - 121 - seen
someone…in the street.” That’s what it
sounded like. BARNABY
In the
street. JOYCE But
there wasn’t anyone in the street
- apart from Cully. And that man… CULLY Edward
Allardice. BARNABY
He was
on the green? CULLY He didn’t
go anywhere near the tent,
dad. He came in to do some shopping.
TROY Wouldn’t
the village shop have been closed?
BARNABY
(To
JOYCE) Did you get to know Samantha
Johnstone at all? JOYCE Yes. I
had a drink with her. We talked
for about an hour. BARNABY
What
can you tell me about her? JOYCE Not a
great deal. She was a very unhappy
person. Clinically depressed. In fact
she hinted that she’d tried
to commit suicide… several times. BARNABY
Go on. - 122 - JOYCE She’d
had a failed marriage. After her
second attempt, she was committed for a
while. She spent six months
in a place called Sebdon Manor. BARNABY
Did she
say where that was? TROY It
wasn’t in Gloucestershire? JOYCE (Puzzled)
Yes. TROY She was
trying to make a telephone call to
Gloucestershire just before she was
killed. BARNABY
Joyce -
one last question. Did any of the
other judges know about the murder
of Peter Drinkwater? JOYCE Yes. We
all did. Frank Mannion had read
about it in the paper and he made a
joke about it on the bus… BARNABY
Right. BARNABY
is already on his way out with TROY following. CULLY Where
are you going? BARNABY
Gloucestershire.
Don’t wait up. CUT TO 118.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - BELLA’S BEDROOM DAY. - 123 - BELLA
is lying in bed, half-asleep. MARCUS comes in, carrying a tray with a glass
of water and some pills. BELLA Marcus…? MARCUS How are
you feeling, old girl? BELLA I’m
tired. MARCUS I’ve
brought you something. He sets
the tray down and sits down on the bed. MARCUS It’s
been quite a day! BELLA Yes. MARCUS Are you
sure you’re feeling better? BELLA Yes.
I’m all right now. MARCUS You
gave me quite a scare, Bella, my
dear. But everything’s going to be all
right now. He
kisses her gently. He really is in love with her and this scene should have a certain
poignancy. MARCUS I love
you. You know that? BELLA Marcus!
MARCUS Everything’s
going to be all right. CUT TO - 124 - 119.
EXT. SEBDON MANOR - GATE DAY. A sign
beside a security gate reads: SEBDON MANOR. PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL.
VISITORS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. BARNABY
and TROY have arrived in their car. BARNABY speaks into the intercom
system. BARNABY
Detective
Chief Inspector Barnaby. I
telephoned… There
is a click and the gate opens electronically. 120.
EXT. SEBDON MANOR - MAIN ENTRANCE DAY. BARNABY
and TROY get out of their car in front of a building that mixes the traditional
and the modern, the ugly and the attractive. High security yet lowkey. It’s an
asylum for patients no longer considered dangerous. A man
in his sixties appears and walks towards them. DR SELLERS has that neurotic
edge that seems to attach to all those who treat the mentally ill. He’s pleasant
and jocular but just a little tense. His part must be played with complete
seriousness… SELLERS
Mr
Barnaby? BARNABY
Yes. SELLERS
I’m Dr
Sellers. Mark Sellers. I head up the
psychiatric staff. How can I help
you? BARNABY
I want
to ask you about one of your former
patients. Samantha Johnstone. SELLERS
Do you
have some ID? CUT TO - 125 - BARNABY
and TROY take out their cards. SELLERS examines the cards carefully.
SELLERS
Ah yes.
Thank you… (Reading) Detective
Sergeant Tory… TROY Troy. SELLERS
I have
mild dyslexia. Samantha Johnstone.
Yes. I remember her. The
writer. Come in… CUT TO 121.
INT. DR SELLERS’S OFFICE DAY. Large
windows look out onto beautiful gardens. The study is old-fashioned, cavernous,
book-lined. SELLERS
You
have to understand that Sebdon
Manor is not a psychiatric hospital
in the strictest sense. Very few of
our patients have actually been
sectioned and those that have are
usually very near to the end of their
terms of sentence. They see us more as
a sort of halfway house. BARNABY
Had Samantha
Johnstone been sectioned? SELLERS
No. She
committed herself. SELLERS
opens a file on his desk. Because of his dyslexia, occasional errors creep
into his reading. SELLERS
An
attempted…suicide. Yes. This was
twenty-two years ago. Marital breakdown,
lack of self-regard lead- ing to
alcoholism and problems with dogs.
(Pause) Drugs. TROY How
long was she here? SELLERS
Eighteen
months. She arrived just before
I did which is why I probably remember
her. BARNABY
Was
there anyone she knew? Anyone she was
particularly close to? SELLERS
It’s
funny you should ask that. I was about
to say. Yes. She formed quite a close
friendship with one of our most
notorious residents. Annabel Weston.
I don’t suppose the name means
anything to you? BARNABY
Go on. SELLERS
The
Weston case was very famous in its
time. 1955. Annabel was seven years
old then… CUT
TO
122.
EXT. RAVENS HOUSE EVENING. FLASHBACK
We’ve returned
to the opening. The very first scene as RUTH and EDWARD WESTON
leave their seven-year-old daughter behind. ANNABEL
I don’t
want you to go. Why do you have to
go? As RUTH
and EDWARD try to explain where they’re going… - 127 - SELLERS
(Voice
over) Her
parents were wealthy and hardworking. The
father was an accountant. They
had a big place somewhere
on the coast. A charmed life. I
suppose that’s what made it so shocking.
123.
INT. RAVEN’S HOUSE - KITCHEN EVENING. FLASHBACK
To
Scene 3. The argument between MRS FOSTER and ANNABEL. MRS
FOSTER You
naughty child! You go straight to your
room. You’ll watch no television tonight!
ANNABEL
I don’t
care. I hate you! SELLERS
(Voice
over) It was
one night in June. Nobody knows
exactly what happened except
that the child must have had some
sort of argument with the housekeeper.
A Mrs Foster. 124.
INT. RAVEN’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM NIGHT. FLASHBACK
To
Scene 8. The death of MRS FOSTER as she watches television. The blade slashing
through the air. SELLERS
(Voice
over) Anyway,
the child went into the CUT TO CUT TO
125. INT. RAVEN’S HOUSE - ANNABEL’S ROOM NIGHT. FLASHBACK
To
Scene 13. RUTH WESTON cradles ANNABEL in her arms - then notices the
gollywog holding the knife. 126.
INT. DR SELLERS’ OFFICE DAY. Back to
the present. - 128 -
kitchen,
took out a knife and…well, she
butchered the housekeeper. Stabbed
her seven or eight times. CUT TO SELLERS
(Voice
over) Then
she went to bed and she was asleep
when her parents got home. The
knife was being held by one of her
stuffed toys. CUT TO SELLERS
There
was never any question that it was
her. She admitted as much to her
parents. She didn’t like the housekeeper,
so she killed her. She had no
idea she’d done anything wrong. TROY And
they sent her here. SELLERS
Oh no.
No. She went to Broadmoor. She was
there for almost thirty years.
But they couldn’t keep her for ever.
She’d been in consant therapy and it
was felt that she’d made some progress
and she certainly wasn’t a threat
to anyone any more. So she - 129 - was
passed down through the system
on her way to being released and
eventually she ended up here. BARNABY
And
Samantha Johnstone… SELLERS
More or
less took her under her wing.
There was something of the child
still about Annabel. Her own parents
were dead by this time. Samantha
became something of a surrogate
here in the Retreat. BARNABY
I’m
sorry? SELLERS
What? BARNABY
What
did you call it? SELLERS
The
Retreat? Sebdon Manor sounds so prim
and Victorian. Everyone here
calls it The Retreat. We like to think
of ourselves as a shelter, one step
away from the real world. DR
SELLERS has told BARNABY everything he needs to know. 127.
EXT. SEBDON MANOR DAY. BARNABY
and TROY move towards the car. BARNABY
We have
to get back to Midsomer Mallow.
TROY Annabel
Weston… CUT TO
- 130 - BARNABY
She’s
there, Troy. And to think that Cully
actually said as much to me. A homicidal
maniac running around with a
pitchfork! BARNABY
opens the car door. BARNABY
For
once she was right. CUT TO 128.
INT. BARNABY’S HOUSE - HALLWAY DAY. CULLY
comes down the stairs - on her way out. JOYCE notices her from one of the
downstairs rooms. JOYCE Where
are you going? CULLY Greyfriars
House. I left my tape recorder
there. CULLY
leaves. CUT TO 129.
INT/EXT. TROY’S CAR/ROADS DAY. As
ever, TROY drives BARNABY back in time (?) to catch a killer. BARNABY
Rosemary
Furman was an accident. The
poisoned glass of wine was aimed
at Samantha Johnstone. And why? TROY Because
Annabel Weston knew her. BARNABY
Because
Samantha Johnstone knew Annabel
Weston! Think about it. A - 131 - murder
has taken place a few days before
in Midsomer Mallow. And not an
ordinary murder. It’s psychotic. A
pitchfork through the chest. TROY Annabel
Weston is living in the village.
BARNABY
Under
another name. Right. And the one
person who knows her secret
is suddenly there, in front of her. It
couldn’t have been worse timing.
One word from Samantha and
Annabel will be exposed. So Samantha
has to die. TROY But you
say she’s got a false name. Who is
she? Who is Annabel Weston?
CUT TO 130.
EXT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE DAY. CULLY
has arrived at the grim-looking house. The front door is slightly open. She
pushes it further. CULLY Hello?
Is there anyone there? She
looks around. There’s nobody in sight. She hesitates, then goes into the house. CUT TO 131. INT.
GREYFRIARS HOUSE - HALL DAY. CULLY
steps into the hall. We’re back in “Psycho” land. The house is big, empty
and oppressive. CULLY Hello…? - 132 - No
sound of anyone. CULLY isn’t sure what to do. 132.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - KITCHEN DAY. The
deformed hand that we saw earlier opens a kitchen drawer and takes out a
knife. This is horribly reminiscent of Scene 7 - the young ANNABEL taking the
knife. 133.
INT. GREYFRIARS HOUSE - HALL DAY. CULLY
sees her tape recorder sitting on a table just across the hallway. She goes
over to it. At that moment the kitchen door swings open and a woman is suddenly
revealed. She is horribly disfigured - the result of a savage car accident
which also gave her multiple burns. JANE Who are
you? What are you doing here? The
woman is JANE BRADLEY. She is holding the knife. CULLY sees her and gasps.
At the same moment, EDWARD ALLARDICE makes an appearance, coming
down the stairs into the hall. We have
to see everything in a new light now. This is not Psycho. JANE is not a
monster - she’s a victim, a frightened woman. CULLY was wrong to come here. EDWARD Cully…? CULLY I’m
sorry. JANE Who are
you? EDWARD This is
Cully Barnaby. She’s the girl I was
telling you about. JANE
realises she’s still holding the knife. She lowers it. CUT TO CUT TO
- 133 - JANE I’m
sorry, Cully. I didn’t mean to frighten
you. But… ever since we were
burgled, I’ve been so afraid. (To
EDWARD) I heard someone out here. I
picked up the knife… EDWARD It’s
all right. CULLY I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t be here. I came
back for my tape… EDWARD Cully.
Let me introduce you. This is Jane
Bradley. My wife… CUT TO 134.
EXT. LOTHLORIAN DAY. BARNABY
and TROY arrive at their true destination (ie not Greyfriars House).
They have parked outside Lothlorian. BARNABY is ringing the bell. The
door opens. MARCUS DEVERE is standing there…not quite the twit we first
took him for. Somehow sadder and wiser. He was expecting BARNABY. BARNABY
Mr
Barnaby. MARCUS Yes.
Come in. CUT TO 135.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. BARNABY
and TROY confront MARCUS DEVERE. MARCUS I’m
afraid Bella isn’t here. BARNABY
You
know it’s her we’ve come to see. - 134 - MARCUS Oh yes.
BARNABY
Bella.
Short for Annabel. MARCUS Yes. BARNABY
You
knew that she had killed Peter Drinkwater.
MARCUS I
suppose I might as well tell you the
truth, Chief Inspector. It’s not going
to make a jot of difference to Bella
or to me. Yes, I did know. TROY She
told you? MARCUS No. She
didn’t have to. I knew at once.
As soon as I heard he’d been found
dead. BARNABY
So you
knew who she was. When you
married her. MARCUS Isabel
Weston. Yes. I knew. A
pause. MARCUS She
answered an ad I put in a newspaper.
Lonely Hearts. And I fell in
love with her. Just like that.. Of
course, I soon found out the truth about
her. It couldn’t be avoided. She was
still under supervision then.
Reporting to the Home Office But it
didn’t matter to me…what she’d
done when she was a child. I loved
her. - 135 - TROY So it
was her driving your car that day at
Windwhistle Farm. BARNABY
Oh yes,
Troy. I knew at the time it had to
be one or the other. The mother
or the daughter. MARCUS You
knew I was lying. BARNABY
Yes. CUT TO 136.
INT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - BARN DAY. FLASHBACK
To
Scene 52. The death of PETER DRINKWATER. He’s packing. He hears something.
PETER Jack?
Is that you? BARNABY
(Voice
over) Peter
Drinkwater was killed shortly before
three o’clock. PETER
goes to the door and opens it. BELLA DEVERE is there, holding the pitchfork,
her eyes staring and quite mad. PETER What…? BELLA
lunges forward with the pitchfork. CUT TO 137.
EXT. WINDWHISTLE FARM - LANE DAY. FLASHBACK
- 136 - Cutting
now to a scene that we have only heard described. RAY DORSET is driving
towards Causton. He sees the red Renault driving down the lane towards
him. But because of the direction he is moving in, the driver side is away
from the farm and the identity of the driver is largely obscured. BARNABY
(Voice
over) The
killer was seen, leaving the farm a
few minutes later by Ray Dorset,
who was on his way to Causton.
138.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. Back to
the present. BARNABY
You
tried to pretend it was you but I knew
you were lying. It just took me a while
to work out why. 139.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY FLASHBACK
To
Scene 68. MARCUS confronts BARNABY. BARNABY
How did
you know it was him in the van? MARCUS Well,
he had the window down. He was
smoking a cigarette. Ray’s always
smoking. 140.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. CUT TO CUT TO CUT TO
- 137 - Back to
the present. BARNABY
Ray
Dorset was driving to Causton, on the
same side of the road as the farm
entrance. The driver’s seat would
have been on the other side, away
from the farm. So there would have
been no way you would have been
able to see if the window was open or
closed…or for that matter if the
driver was smoking. MARCUS Yes. I
was having to think on my feet
rather. BARNABY
And
there was something else you said.
Troy asked you what time you left. CUT TO 141.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. FLASHBACK
To
Scene 68 again. The end of the scene. MARCUS turns to BELLA. MARCUS It must
have been about…half two. (To
BELLA) You were just going up for
your nap. (To TROY) She always dozes
off in the afternoon. CUT TO 142.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. Back to
the present. BARNABY
That
business about Bella going up for her
nap. You weren’t asking her - 138 - to
corroborate your story. You were purposefully
giving her an alibi. She was
asleep. You were in the car. You were
trying to protect her. MARCUS Yes. TROY But why
did she kill him? What was the
point? MARCUS She
thought he was going to marry Caroline.
She couldn’t let it happen. BARNABY
She was
the devoted mother, Troy. Look
how many photographs there are in
this room! And upstairs. But unfortunately
she carried her devotion
to extremes. TROY She
poisoned Rosemary Furman. And
herself! BARNABY
Yes.
Bella had no idea that Samantha
Johnstone had been chosen
to be one of the judges. If she had,
she’d never have shown her face on
the green. It must have come as
quite a shock when she saw Samantha
getting out of the bus. CUT TO 143.
EXT. THE VILLAGE GREEN DAY. FLASHBACK
To
Scene 102. BELLA glances back at the tent, turning her back on the judges. BELLA Excuse
me. - 139 - RAY What is
it, Mrs Devere? BELLA I
thought I saw someone take something.
144.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. BARNABY
continues. BARNABY
She was
improvising. All she knew was
that she had to get away from Samantha
before she was recognised. Before
Samantha actually greeted
her by her real name. MARCUS I
didn’t know anything about Samantha
Johnstone. I didn’t know it was
going to happen. BARNABY
I
believe you. but Bella had decided then
and there. Samantha had to die. 145.
EXT. MIDSOMER MALLOW - GREEN DAY. FLASHBACK
To
Scene 105 and the second murder - under the pavilion. We see BELLA take out a
bottle of wine and begin to uncork it. BARNABY
(Voice
over) It
would have been easy for Bella to go home
and doctor a bottle of wine with
rat poison while the judges CUT TO CUT TO
- 140 - were
being shown round the village. Then
all she had to do was wait. CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE ALEX
(the little boy) passes SAMANTHA. She gives him her empty glass. SAMANTHA
Can you
get me another please? CUT TO ANOTHER
ANGLE Back on
BELLA. She quickly fills a glass and hands it to ALEX. Then, as he goes,
she pours the rest of the wine into the other glasses. BARNABY
(Voice
over) While
the little boy carried the glass over to
Samantha, Bella emptied the poisoned
bottle into the other glasses…
BELLA
takes a small sip. BARNABY
(Voice
over) And
then she took a small sip herself.
That was the clever bit. CUT TO 146.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - LIVING ROOM DAY. Back to
the present. TROY When
she fell, she smashed all the glasses.
BARNABY
That’s
right. She made it look as if she
might have been the intended - 141 - victim
and at the same time she destroyed
the evidence. With so many
broken glasses we would never
be able to tell how much poison
there was or where it had come
from. TROY But
then Rosemary Furman drank the
wine. BARNABY
Her
death was an accident. So that same
afternoon, Bella caught up with
Samantha at the hotel. TROY But
wasn’t she afraid of being seen? Someone
might have seen her! BARNABY
I don’t
think the thought ever entered
her head. MARCUS I
didn’t know, you know. She was lying
here in bed and I thought she was
asleep. I didn’t hear her go out. BARNABY
You
knew it was her who had killed Drinkwater.
You must have known she was
responsible for the poison. Were
you going to stand by and let her
wipe out the entire village? MARCUS Oh no!
I’d already decided what I was
going to do. And I have done it. It’s
all over. Something
in MARCUS’S tone of voice alerts BARNABY. BARNABY
Where
is Bella? - 142 - MARCUS She’s
upstairs. TROY You
said she wasn’t here. MARCUS She
isn’t. BARNABY
is already on his way out of the room. TROY follows. 147.
INT. LOTHLORIAN - BELLA’S BEDROOM DAY. BELLA
is lying in bed with the sleeping pills that MARCUS brought her (in Scene
118) on the table beside her. A transparent plastic bag has been stretched
over her head. Her face is distorted behind it. Shocking. Dead. BARNABY
Troy! TROY
rushes over to the bed and rips off the bag, at the same time feeling for a
pulse. He shakes his head. It’s too late. At the
same time, MARCUS has come into the room. A sad man in the end - rather
than a mad or a dangerous one. MARCUS You’d
have put her back in the bin, wouldn’t
you. I couldn’t let you do that.
It would have destroyed her. I gave
her sleeping pills and then put the bag
on her head. It was painless that
way. Better for her. So much better.
I only wanted her to be happy. BARNABY
looks at MARCUS with a sort of sick dismay… 148.
EXT. BARNABY’S GARDEN DAY. CUT TO CUT TO
- 143 - The
episode ends with BARNABY, JOYCE and CULLY having tea on the lawn. CULLY It was
horrible. Jane Bradley wasn’t killed
in the accident. She was just terribly
burned. And I told you, dad. She was
so beautiful… BARNABY
Yes. CULLY Edward
told me that he blamed himself.
He was drunk. He was driving.
And all he got was the scar. A
pause. CULLY sips her tea. CULLY They
told everyone she was dead. She
can’t face the world any more. And now
they live there, the two of them,
in that great big house. It’s very
sad. JOYCE It’s
certainly something for your book. CULLY I got
an offer today. Eight weeks in rep
with Blithe Spirit. Maybe I won’t
write the book after all. BARNABY
You
know, for a while, I thought your
friend Mr Allardice might be the
reason for all the deaths. CULLY Why? BARNABY
Well,
first of all he lied to me about the
burglary. I knew someone must have
seen the white van when it - 144 - was
outside the house. Of course, I didn’t
realise it was his wife. CULLY And…? BARNABY
Well,
it was your mother’s fault. Do you
remember what she told me? According
to her, Samantha Johnstone said
that she’d just seen someone, “in the
street”. JOYCE That’s
what I thought she said. Yes. CULLY And
Edward Allardice was the only person
in the street. BARNABY
Yes.
Although I did wonder if villages
actually have “streets”. I would
have said it was a road or even a
lane. But it didn’t matter anyway
because what she actually said
was that she’d recognised someone
whom she knew from the Retreat.
Meaning Sebdon Manor. A
pause. JOYCE blushes. JOYCE Well,
the music was very loud, Tom. I did
say I wasn’t sure. BARNABY
You
still misled me. JOYCE Tom! BARNABY
I
relied on you, Joyce. JOYCE Nobody’s
perfect. - 145 - BARNABY
That’s
probably just as well. BARNABY,
JOYCE and CULLY continue their perfect tea in their perfect