[instrumental music]
[Briar-Lee] Good crumb. Not too chewy. I say...
Hey. Hey.
Oh, smooth. What is it? Something juicy?
- Oh, it's, um... - Dumb video, you'd hate it.
Go on, play it.
Hi, I'm Briar-Lee.
I'm at Reuben's Cafe, where the harbour glimpses
are super pretty, and I'm looking forward to breakfast.
Who am I kidding? It's very late brunch.
Oh, I recognize her.
- She's a food critic. - Influencer.
Main man, Reuben behind the counter is a total DILF.
- D is for "dude," right? - It's absolutely D for dad.
Well, obviously not, because I don't have the--
My sour dough.
The sour dough's maybe not quite as
exciting as the pastry offerings.
Not quite.
[Briar-Lee] Good crumb, not too chewy.
I'd say it could be the seventh best sour dough loaf
in Auckland.
This side of Auckland.
[instrumental music]
[Alexa] Hey.
[footsteps approaching]
I nearly gave up this time.
Oh, yeah. I'm so sorry.
I just had to comment on a video.
Talk to me about a case, anything but bread.
Actually, there may be some bread in this one.
Bakery delivery van was found at dawn on Tuesday,
three weeks ago in a lake near Rangiriri.
- Mm-hm. - Josh Boyer was found inside.
They pulled the van out of the water,
but he was already dead.
Josh was 28 years old.
Part time security guard, also worked in a shop
and on deliveries for his fiancee.
- Steph Rozentals. - Wait.
Steph Rozentals, of Rozentals Bakery?
[Harry] I thought you might've heard of them.
Oh, finest sour dough in Auckland, according to some.
They make a pretty mean Portuguese tart.
Ah, yes, well, Portuguese tarts are mean, bugger all custard,
even less tart.
- Coroner's report? - Death by drowning.
They found water in his lungs. Also traces of flour.
- Occupational hazard, I guess. - What kind of flour?
Wheat. I think.
You know, it says here that Josh Boyer was a navy diver.
Well, he'd know how to get out of a sinking car.
And blunt force trauma?
Consistent with hitting his head on the back panel of the cabin
as he left the road.
Okay. Well, it looks like an accident then.
Time of death was between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m.
Maybe he fell asleep at the wheel,
banged his head as he hit the water.
So why is this loaf not rising for you, detective?
This is a delivery down South to some cafes
that Steph Rozentals supplies.
You know, normal run, normal time.
It just seems odd that Josh would fall asleep at the wheel
an hour into a drive he'd done plenty of times before.
You have a suspect?
Steph didn't divorce her husband until a year ago.
Zachary Rozentals, they were a team.
Ran the shop together. Famously feisty the whole time.
They were either fighting each other
or behind the proving cabinets, doing somethin' else.
[Alexa] Bakers are a passionate lot.
You know, that has been my experience.
What were the Rozentals doing that night?
Phone records placed them both in their respective bakeries
all night, and they opened as per usual.
- So the bread got baked. - And the Portuguese tarts too?
So, you gonna take a look?
There are 20 varieties of wheat grown around the world, Harry,
and seven species.
So when I ask about wheat...
- I have more homework to do. - That's right.
[theme music]
[woman vocalising]
[Alexa] Paint me a picture of Josh Boyer's
life in the month before he died.
[Madison] On it. Josh is all over the socials.
All of them. Never made a breakfast
he didn't want to photograph.
And he spends a lot of time in gym shorts.
Alexa?
Help me out here. There seem to be two Rozentals bakeries.
[Madison] Zachary Rozentals set up a rival
one after the divorce.
Which is which? I want to talk to Steph Rozental.
They don't say. Both shops claim they're the OG.
Okay.
Hi. Uh, can I talk to Steph Rozentals, please?
They have second rate breads, which you're after then.
Yes, Steph's definitely who you need.
I think maybe I came in the wrong store.
No, no, not if you want good bread. You haven't.
[chuckles]
You must be Zachary,
and I'll make my own judgment about bread.
Thank you. Can I have a sour dough loaf, please?
I feel like I know you.
Where-where have we met?
- Previous life? - Yeah.
When you were more charming.
Thank you.
[instrumental music]
- Morena! - Morena!
Wow.
I've heard so much about the sour dough in this place.
That Steph Rozentals really got the magic touch, hasn't she?
- Or is this your work too? - Oh, no.
I leave the bread to them. I mean, Steph, I mean.
- Oh, you're the pastry chef. - Milos, the name.
Forty years in the game. But you can call me Milo.
- Everyone does. - Hi, Milo.
Ooh. Can I have one of your custard tarts?
No, no. You may have one of my Portuguese tarts
made with puff pastry and cinnamon.
Perfect. Oh, and the potato sour dough too, please.
- Mm-hm. - Oh, here she is.
Hi. Hi. Big fan.
I'm Alexa, I'm a bit of a bread tragic, I'm afraid.
And dabble in sour dough myself from time to time.
Okay. Hi.
Gosh, I would love to get a look at the engine room
in this place.
Oh, no. Customers in the kitchen. Sorry.
Oh, I'm not snooping for secrets.
I've got kinda bit a few of my own, actually. [chuckles]
I'm sure.
It's just that I'm really fascinated
by equipment at this scale.
I use a Loobenschwegen at home.
A Loob?
Wow. I had one of those years ago.
It's a beautiful machine, but if anything goes wrong,
you have to ring Dusseldorf.
Tell me about it. I had to teach myself German
just to get through to the customer service department.
Schnell! No. [chuckles]
So in a shift we do 80 kilos of white bread, 160 of sour dough.
- One-sixty? - Yeah.
Forty wholemeal, forty multigrain.
Wow. What kind of flour do you use?
Uh, a good local organic. It's not about the flour.
It's all about technique, and with sour dough
the quality of the starter.
Yeah. True that.
I've been nurturing my sour dough
starter for the last 18 months.
Well, the Rozentals bakery starter goes back 70 years.
It's been in your family that long?
- Three generations? - Well, yeah.
My husband's family.
His grandmothers, but I got it in the divorce settlement.
You've been in the wars recently.
I was really sorry to read about your fiance.
Yeah. Yeah, it's been, um...
It's been tough.
Josh was...
[scoffs]
I can't believe he's gone.
Was it a whirlwind romance?
Yeah, he, um...
He'd stop by late on his security rounds.
And then he started coming for the best coffee in Auckland.
[chuckles]
- Likely story. - Yeah. It's not very good.
It's true. We've had bad reviews.
Oh, not by that Briar-Lee, the Bread Whisperer.
[Steph] Might have been.
But Josh was just so sweet and attentive.
And...
Y-you know, he took me up on a hot air balloon to propose.
That was just a week before...
his, um, his accident.
Well, sweet and attentive works.
Especially after your husband.
- Oh. - Tsk. You met him then?
Well, I accidentally went in the shop earlier.
He is an unbelievable idiot.
He thinks getting a fancy coffee machine
is going to give him each.
But if you want second rate bread, he is your man.
Yeah, it's kind of what I heard.
[instrumental music]
Customer uploaded this month before Josh died.
Okay, this is Zachary's. Let's see what you think.
[Steph] Oh, I don't know. Maybe like an eight year old boy,
like this child that I was married to for most of my life.
This is fine, too. Maybe not as good.
Yeah, the other one's better. Steph's sour dough.
Sorry. Who said yes to who? Well, I think it was you.
Back off, mate! Get out of here.
- Oh, okay... - Oh, this is going well.
- Oh, shut up! - Just leave it, Steph.
- [Madison] Is that Josh? - [Alexa] Yeah.
[Alexa] Josh seems awfully protective.
It's kind of sweet, the way he swoops in there.
I think Steph's big enough to look after herself.
You know, she said that the store had been reviewed.
Maybe it's that Briar-Lee?
You know, I can't find the review.
There's a big gap in her post.
Have you been stalking Briar-Lee online?
- Oh, stalking such an ugly word. - Gosh.
What if she likes Steph sour dough more than yours?
Ha-ha. Just find me that review.
And what about Josh anyway?
Josh left the Navy five years back for health reasons,
but he's pretty fit.
He dives and kick-boxes.
He worked as a bouncer for a few months.
Hm-mm. Oh!
So what did Josh post about his engagement to Steph?
I haven't seen that. Nothing on Insta or Facey.
- Hey. Ah, bit of news. - Good.
Yeah. Try these.
Yep. It's bread.
- Is it important? - I'll let you know.
Forensics ran some tests on the flour and Josh's lungs.
Spectroscope says it's a European variety.
- Old school. - An heirloom strain.
You know, there's millers here
that import the stuff and then grind it locally.
- Okay. Is that significant? - We'll soon find out.
- Good morning, Zachary. - Oh, hi.
Look, I really adored your sour dough.
- Oh. - You've got the magic touch.
- Thank you. I appreciate it. - Yeah.
Look, I'm a little bit of a bread tragic myself,
and I would love to get a look at the engine.
Hey, I realised how we know each other.
Yeah. You, um, you took over our order
at Reuben's Cafe by the water?
No, I don't think I took--
Yeah, I've-I've seen you bouncing there
with an arm full of loaves.
So how do you do it? You've got a little
kitchen oven at home or something.
Well, it is true that I have a small--
I know you work for the police, too.
Technically, in parallel.
So I was just about that idiot and my ex had a fling with,
because he worked for Steph. you know,
he-he-he followed around everywhere.
I mean, he died delivering her bread.
- His name was Josh. - Right.
And, look, sad loss.
But once again...
you have the wrong bakery.
[instrumental music]
[machine hissing]
When I said, make yourself at home...
Hey. How come you dumped the Rozentals?
- Eh? - Yeah.
They used to be your bread suppliers, and now they're not.
- Why? - Well, because of you, Alexa.
No? Really?
Well, you turned up that morning
with this fantastic bag of bread.
You swept me off my feet. I couldn't say no to you,
so I had to say goodbye to the Rozentals.
Wait a minute. You said that
your mother used to supply your sour dough.
And you chose to believe me.
No good comes from discussing exes.
Oh, so there's been more than one.
How many bread suppliers have you had prior to me?
Well, I don't keep count.
I have a cafe, and my cafe has needs.
It's all about you now.
- So I'm your supplier. - And I'm very happy with that.
[laughing] But my bread's better than Rozentals, right?
- Of course. - Poof. Yeah.
Hey, I almost forgot to ask.
Did you tell Zachary that I work with the police?
Well... Well, it got him off my back, when I cut him off.
Mmm. Yes, I do understand.
Only now, you owe me.
[sighs]
Zachary Rozentals. It's been a while.
G'day, mate.
[chuckles]
Hey, I've, uh...
I just met the, the woman who's baking your bread now.
That would be Alexa Crowe. She's--
Mate, I don't know why you're wasting your time
on a baking dilettante.
You know, she works for the police.
She got you here digging dirt up on me?
[Reuben] No, not at all.
She did ask about you and Steph.
And it reminded me I was meaning to check in.
No, nothing.
Mate, hospo's look after each other.
And with you starting out on your own,
I thought I'd come and grab a few samples.
[Zachary] Oh, okay. You, ah, thinking about dumping Alexa?
- Not as such. - What? Be quick.
I can't find anything about Josh's discharge from the Navy.
[Alexa] You called me for that?
Yes, but I'm on an Alexa. Hi again, by the way.
Discharge is meant to be super private, but yeah, nah.
Everyone in the navy gossips like crazy.
Navy dirty laundry is Beth's specialty.
Look, I need you to find out more about Josh
and more about Zachary Rozentals.
I think that the flour found in Josh's lungs
came from Zachary's kitchen.
So he was there the night he died.
Which means that somebody's lying.
Josh Boyer was murdered.
I took Zachary's flour bag down to the tech guys myself,
so I want to know how you got it.
- Nicked it. - Yeah, I thought as much.
The flour matches the particles we found in Josh's lungs.
And, yes, they were inhaled not long before he died.
So Josh was in Zachary's kitchen.
Which doesn't get us far.
- What about motive? - Oh, no.
If ever a man bore a grudge, it's Zachary Rozentals.
He's still furious with me for taking one of his customers.
Sorry.
Imagine how he feels about Steph. I mean,
divorce can be toxic, right?
So maybe killing Josh was payback.
Or he just didn't like Josh moving in on his ex-wife.
Or both.
- So you work for the police? - Well, not exactly.
But, yes, there are some loose ends to tie up.
Some loose ends about a car accident.
Was Josh living with you?
Yeah. I have been, um...
I mean, trying to pack up his things.
- It's, it's been a bit... hard. - Right.
I actually believe that Josh went over to your
ex-husband's bakery that night.
- Any idea why he'd do that? - Um, he didn't do that.
Well, you said that he went to work with you about 11:00 p.m.,
and he was there cleaning all night.
Yeah, I was doing the first round of bread
for the out of town deliveries.
So he could have ducked out,
you know, just pop down the road.
No, no, he was there the whole time, I checked on him.
And then he took the van out at 2:00 a.m.,
and I saw him off.
And then he drove towards the motorway...
And that was the last time I saw him.
Well, you shouldn't feel bad about keeping his stuff.
Memories are all you have left.
He was really tired. He, he hadn't rested.
And he'd been to the gym. And then he went out to Piha.
And, I shouldn't have let him drive.
What time did your pastry chef arrive at work?
Milo? He wasn't with me then.
I was doing my own patisserie work.
Milo worked for Zachary after the divorce.
He only just joined me recently.
Oh, he got fed up with Zachary?
Zachary sacked him actually.
He'd some sort of meltdown.
He's a bloody idiot. Don't ask me why.
Well, that seems weird because
Milo worked for you guys for years.
Yeah, well, naturally. That's why I snapped him up.
So when did Zachary sack Milo exactly?
Oh, I can't be completely sure,
but, uh, maybe the 15th.
Well, the 15th is the date of Josh's accident.
Was it?
Yeah, it was a difficult day all around.
Ah, well, I was baking that night.
- Same old. - In a bad mood?
[Alexa] You'd fired Milo. What had he done?
It was just... That was an impulse thing.
I was shaking things up.
Milo had been working here forever,
and I've got, I got young Marigold now, so...
You sacked him without notice.
Did he freak out?
Did Josh walk in in the middle of it?
Well, I sacked Milo by text.
And w-what's Josh got to do with it?
Your favourite flour was found in Josh's lungs.
He was here that night.
He wasn't. And that flour really isn't that rare.
Actually, have you, have you checked to see if Steph uses it?
I think we both know that Steph doesn't use hand milled,
imported French grain.
Well, the guy probably snorted it up his nose somewhere else.
The boyfriend was a little bit of a try hard,
probably up for anything.
That boyfriend was Steph's fiance.
And she's suffering.
You didn't know he was the fiance?
Yeah. Of course I did.
Okay. Sure. Yeah. Alright.
Steph's had a rough time.
Doesn't mean that she doesn't have the hide of a rhino.
The GPS data backs up Steph.
Josh's phone was in the city, then out at Piha,
and then at the bakery until 2:00 a.m.
Anything interesting in his texts?
There's a lot to Steph with love hearts, like he's a total simp.
I think the word is uxorious.
Hey, I found Briar-Lee's review of Steph's place in an archive.
Very lukewarm. It had actually been deleted.
And then she stopped doing reviews for months.
Uh-huh. Why?
Holidays? Alien abduction. It doesn't say.
Well, use all your skills and find out.
- What about Zachary's phone? - Texts coming to you.
Here's the one sacking Milo at 1:00 a.m.
[phone chimes]
[chuckles]
Harsh.
I was shocked, especially by text, not Zachary's style.
- He must have felt betrayed. - Oh, they're both crazy.
Zach, glad to apologize that morning.
Take back the sacking. I told him, "Stuff it!" Yeah.
And then Steph offered me a job.
Are those straight out of the oven?
Portuguese tarts made with puff, pastry and cinnamon.
Mm.
Don't you just want to get away from both of them?
Oh, they're hard to be around, true.
But, they were a great team.
All the competition made them perfectamo.[chuckles]
Well, they're still at one another's throats.
True. True. But Steph is easier to work with,
especially with Josh not around.
Sorry to say, but Josh could be a bit, uh, pop, pop, pop.
Unhinged. He came down, threatened me at Zach's one day.
- Physically threatened you? - Yeah. He said I should quit.
He got stroppy. I tried to push him out.
He smacked me one. And then Steph turned up,
and dragged him away.
Fancy.
[instrumental music]
I think Josh had anger management problems.
He attacked Milo in Zachary's bakery a while back.
So maybe Milo pushed him into the lake.
He gets sacked and then he goes and murders Josh?
Nah. I want you and Beth to dig a little deeper
into Josh's past.
You know, find out if it was spicy and sweet,
savoury or stale.
[Madison] Already on it.
Hey, I might have some more information
about that Briar-Lee review soonish.
Oh, God.
Your digital sleuthing powers are legendary.
So you hated Steph Rozentals shop?
Uh, hell, no.
My audience doesn't want hate.
They want to hear what's good, what's trending hot.
Well, you weren't very positive about Steph's.
She is iconic, but the cafe side of her business lets her down.
I noticed that you stopped doing reviews for a few months
just after the Rozentals post.
Comments deleted. "See you later."
I'm back now.
Good bread is my life.
But did something happen?
After I posted that Rozentals review,
there was an attack on my pages.
Spambots posting hundreds of links to porn sites
and incel chatrooms.
I couldn't do anything but shut it down.
Do you know who did it?
It's very hard to trace these things.
And it was devastating because it's my livelihood, you know?
But I'm back now. So far, so good.
[Alexa] You're not supposed to do the interviews.
I am the season detective.
And I'm the trained digital intelligence analyst.
Also, it was Briar-Lee who you called a Gen-Z Muppet.
I have interviewed plenty of muppets.
Not ones who marked your sour dough seventh best.
You weren't to be trusted.
You know I'm right, eh, Chowder?
So tell me about these spambots.
They came from a site in Croatia.
Oh, yeah. They hate Briar-Lee, too.
Someone gave them money to mount the attack.
Is it impossible to find out who?
Yes. The spambots were paid for
through a PayPal account registered to...
- Josh Boyer. - Will you stop doing that?
I can't. I'm a seasoned detective.
[instrumental music]
Briar-Lee.
I'm not surprised to see you here actually after that review.
It seems like you don't much care for the bread here.
You supply Reuben's sour dough. That's amazing.
Seventh best. It's amazing.
Anywho, you spoke yesterday to my colleague Madison
about that review you did for Rozentals Bakery.
Briefly.
You stopped posting after the spam attack
and then you started up again a few weeks ago.
Yes.
Just after Josh Boyer died.
You knew Josh Boyer attacked you.
So you knew it was safe to start posting again.
I just said their coffee was awful.
It wasn't even about the bake stuff.
Did he find you?
He came to my apartment. He screamed at me through the door.
Then the spam happened and it was so ugly I was freaking out.
Major anxiety. I went to see Steph Rozentals and--
- Steph was involved. - Uh, I don't know.
I just asked her to cool them off.
- What did she say? - Pretty much zero.
Not a word.
Why didn't you tell Madison this yesterday?
She said the cops were checking into Josh's death.
And you didn't want to seem like a suspect?
No. I didn't want to admit I was happy Josh was dead.
Morning, Zachary.
- Morning. - Sorry about the smell.
- Ugh! - Sorry. Sorry.
- Disgusting. - I will find it.
Sorry about the smell.
- Oh, Zachary? Mm. - Yeah. It never stops.
- Remember Briar-Lee? - Who?
She gave you a bad review about three months back.
You know, about the coffee?
[sighs] I've been doing this for more than a decade,
and the worst critic I've ever had was the man
that I was married to.
Still is.
Why would I care what a teenager thinks about my coffee?
So you didn't send Josh over to monster her?
Oh. Yeah, that was, um...
It was actually really embarrassing.
I tried to get him to stop,
but he was just really protective, you know.
[Milos] Eureka!
[laughing]
You stinky little shrimp.
- Is everything okay over here? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
'Cause your stunts are like a Seth Rogen movie.
Oh, well, you get your recipes off the internet, Steph.
You know, your pastry chef uses custard powder in your Danishes?
You aware that Milo's using home bran jam in your jam fancies?
Well, at least people fancy our jam fancies.
[Zachary] Well, can I ask a quick question?
No.
When did you start doing prawns?
Oh.
[both chuckles]
[sighing]
Zachary.
Zach!
- Call an Ambulance. - He never stops.
Zachary!
[instrumental music]
The ambo said he'll need a scan.
They're thinking delayed concussion,
the bleed inside the skull.
- Oof! - Delayed concussion?
When did he get hit?
There's old bruising on the back of his head. Could be weeks ago.
Did he say anything to you about it?
Oh, I haven't seen him since he sacked me.
The morning after, he said he couldn't think straight,
but we were arguing by then.
Did you have a crack at him, Milo?
I'm the pastry chef.
Well, you-you-you think I'm that guy?
[clears throat] Excuse me.
I need to close up.
One problem tomorrow. First time ever,
either shop has been closed for a day.
[Milos exhaling]
[Alexa] It's not your fault if that's what you're thinking.
Although that crack about the custard powder.
Now, that was a low blow.
Thanks.
- Do you think he'll be alright? - Crack on the head.
They said a bump like that can get your days, even weeks later.
Unless it was your fault.
What did you do? Slug him with a rolling pin?
[chuckles] Baker's weapon of choice.
No, we've never had to resort to that.
What if it was Josh?
If he circled back in the van that night,
arrived at Zachary's kitchen, they got into a fight.
Zachary couldn't even fight a 12-year-old.
He's just not wired like that.
Even in self-defence?
Why would Josh want to attack Zachary?
We were, we were engaged.
Zachary was irrelevant.
You're very upset.
Even despite everything Zachary's done.
I'm upset because I don't want my husband to die.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course. Yeah.
Ex-husband.
[instrumental music]
[door opens]
[music continues]
Weird. Josh didn't post a single thing
about his proposal to Steph.
Even though he hired a hot air balloon?
I was engaged once...
but she left me for some actor dude.
Glad there was no social media oversharing back in my day.
- That would have been shameful. - Mm. So shameful.
Thanks for your sympathy.
[phone vibrates]
Oh, navy buddy. I'm on.
And I'm due at a hospital stakeout. Exciting.
Mmm.
[instrumental music]
[knocking on door]
- Hey. What's this? - Hi, sis.
It's your first dividend.
As number one investor in my company.
I'm getting paid in avocados now.
Yeah. Let's just go with that, shall we?
Not going to last long if you keep stealing their fruit.
It was tucked away in a corner.
They didn't even know they had it.
Do you keep saying that about their life savings?
Oh, hey, look at this, my mate.
Chows.
Hello, buddy.
What's going on here, then?
You scoping out the competition, are you?
Yeah, kind of.
- This one was closed today. - That's right.
- Mm. - How'd you know that?
- You a regular there? - Well, sort of.
I did have the best bread I've ever had in my entire life.
- From there, a while back. - Well, a bold claim buster.
Oh, yes, yes, yes. Your bread is very good.
Alright, I'm telling you, sublime.
But it must have been a one off. They've never had
the same bread back since.
Oh, yeah? What's so special about it?
I don't know. It's just different from the usual.
The Bakers swore blind that it was the same as always.
- But I do not agree. - When exactly was this?
I don't know, about three weeks ago.
It was definitely a Tuesday.
I took a little loaf to my Tuesday client.
She loved it.
She agreed. Delish.
I've been back every Tuesday since.
And so far, it's the same old sour dough.
Not that there's anything wrong with sour dough.
I'm telling you, though, you got to try this stuff.
Next time they have it, I'm going to stock the freezer.
Okay. Thanks, Will.
[Will] Oh, yeah. No, you're welcome.
You don't have any use for guavas, do you?
I've got a client who doesn't know.
He's got a whole hedge full of them.
Ooh.
[suspenseful music]
Nice fish, Josh.
[music continues]
[phone vibrates]
[music continues]
[window clanks]
Wait, wait, wait. Wait for me.
- Steph, it's alright. - Wait for me.
Just wait. I'll help you.
[Zachary] Yeah, I'm-I'm alright.
- No, that's okay. - Steph...
[indistinct chattering]
Steph. Steph.
[instrumental music]
[door bell ringing]
[door opens]
Alexa!
I'm perfectly fine. There's no need to check up on me.
No, I'm more concerned about Zachary's health.
Can I talk to him?
- Yeah, Zachary's, um... - Where did you stash him?
The old marital bed?
Well, Zachary and I seem to be having a, a moment.
There's still something between us.
Well, you were married a long time.
Yeah, when Josh had his accident, Zach was...
He was really there for me, you know?
It was comforting.
I guess we've rekindled.
The loaf rose twice.
- I'd like to talk to Zachary. - He's actually asleep.
- Well, he should be. - Oh.
Can we, um, can we do this another time? Maybe?
You lied about your engagement to Josh.
You said no, didn't you?
How did he take it? You know,
given that he's got a temper and all?
It wasn't a-a flat no, it was more of a not yet.
He wasn't pleased, but he sucked it up.
So why lie about it?
I just wanted to honour his memory.
[sighs] I wanted to go to his funeral as a fiancee.
Not as some woman he'd shacked up with.
Why do you and Zachary persist with this charade of a feud?
You're back together.
We've fought a long war.
It's part of the Rozentals brand now.
People love it.
Are you saying Josh was a psychopath?
No. Psychopath has a very specific meaning.
Yes, I know, but thank you for mansplaining.
I'd say Josh is an angry dude.
Like beyond and awk. He's definitely Uruk-hai.
What?
He was kicked out of the navy.
He got into a brawl in a pub near his base
with three civilians and put two of them in hospital.
Oh, they kept that quiet.
Kind of violent people in the defence forces.
In fact, those texts of his that you sent me...
They were kind of shouty too, his plumber copped it.
Also a real estate agent who spammed him.
Well, I might forgive him for that one.
Um, Josh worked as a bouncer after the navy,
but never in one job for long.
The punters, they pressed his buttons too easily.
So many fractured jaws. Never his.
You know, Steph had to keep him away from Milo and Briar-Lee.
Briar-Lee? She didn't tell me that.
Yeah, well, that's why I do the interviews.
Hey, are you both the type of person who would get offended
if I put a full stop at the end of a text?
Hell, yeah. It is so blunt. It's...
- And unnecessary. - Really?
That's really important, isn't it?
And you're not going to tell us why.
Let's you and I take a little trip out to the lake
where Josh died, Rangiriri.
Oh! Oh, if you're going out that way, you have to go to
this main little produce market just off the highway.
They sell the best pies. You should totally get one.
- Hmm. That sounds good. - We're working.
No pies.
[instrumental music]
So, the trip from Auckland takes over an hour.
Yeah, if you don't stop for food.
So, something happened to Josh in Zachary's bakery that night.
What time did you say Zachary fired Milo by text?
Four minutes past 1:00 a.m.
But what's that got to do with anything?
Well, that's when it started.
Like maybe a fight or something.
So it took ten minutes, and then moving the body.
I reckon they would have got here about 3:20 a.m.
You think Zachary did it?
Get rid of the boyfriend? Get his wife back? Okay.
So he shoves unconscious Josh into the driver's seat,
starts the engine, puts it in gear.
[Alexa] And watches it run into the water good and deep.
Hmm. I figure it would have been 3:30 at earliest by then.
Zachary needed another car to get back to town.
Oh, he had help.
There were two murderers.
Zachary and Milo?
So it took an hour to get back to town.
There's no way that Zachary got back in time to bake
for the shop that morning.
But they opened that day. Same as usual.
Yeah, they did.
Alright. Well, now that the work is done,
stop at that place that Beth mentioned.
Look, she texted me the directions,
and I'm starting to get hangry here, so...
Sure. Anything for you.
[instrumental music]
- What'd you get? - Kumara bread.
And one made with potato, stays fresh longer.
See? Glad we stopped here.
[door opens]
Good. Come.
What's so urgent?
Come here. I want you to try these.
[sighs] Oh, you're branching out from sour dough, are you?
Yes. Well, they're not mine, so feel free to criticize.
Try that one.
This is the emergency. You know I'm busy man.
Doing what? Stealing fruit? Get involved.
Hm, not bad.
Try that one.
Oh, come on.
- How did you do that? - Do what?
This is the good stuff, from Rozentals bakery
I got that one time.
- That's what I thought. - What did you do?
Did you bully them into making it for you. Did you?
No, Zachary doesn't make kumara bread.
He bought it from the markets out south.
Oh, it's a bit naughty, isn't it? Not that I'm complaining.
So, just for confirmation, you definitely bought the bread
from Zachary Rozentals Bakery?
Eh? Is this about bread or someone murder someone?
Both. You got it from Zachary's, right?
- No. - No?
No. They both had it.
I wanted lunch after my client, so I went to Zachary's.
He'd run out, bam.
The competition had the same good stuff.
What are the chances?
Can I take this home?
Yeah, sure.
[door opens]
[switch clicks]
- Hi, Zach. - Oh!
Oh, my God!
Wh-what are you doing?
Sorry, I had to let myself in.
I just wanted to check a couple of things.
Wh-what do you want?
If I can just borrow your phone a second.
I will explain to you
exactly what happened here three weeks ago.
- What? - And maybe even why.
[dramatic music]
Zach, I got...
Hi, Steph.
Oh, you got Zach's message?
Actually, it's from me.
[Zachary] And now she's just as confused as I am.
Three weeks ago, you came here and you found Josh
waiting for you with his spear gun.
[Zachary] No.
[Alexa] He made you hand over your phone,
and he sent that text to Milo, giving him the sack.
And that kept Milo out of the way.
Ah, no. Again.
We've already been through all of this with Milo.
[Alexa] Yes, but he texted Milo in his style, not yours.
He didn't finish with a full stop.
And now, you always use a full stop.
And I think you use letters instead of digits,
which I applaud.
However, Josh, he came here to take care of you,
'cause he thought you were a problem.
Problem for Steph's business that he had to fix.
I mean, taking care of Milo for daring to work for Zachary
after he opened the rival shop.
Just like he took care of Briar-Lee
for posting a bad review.
See, Josh had a history of using violence to solve problems,
but you knew that.
He'd watched you two at each other's throats for months.
He could not guess what you meant to one another,
even after the divorce.
So when Steph came into the shop and she saw Josh had left
his phone and gone, she could guess where he was heading.
Where is this coming from?
This is an absolute fairy-tale.
Yeah, a grim one.
So there he is.
He's got you bailed up to the point of his spear gun,
and at some point, you decide to run.
I mean, do me a favour, would you?
- Oh, my God! - What the hell are you doing?
I'm sorry about the wall, but that is a perfect match.
Ballistics are just going to love it!
[dramatic music]
And now we've got a problem.
He needs a new weapon.
So he reaches for this paddle.
Well, not this paddle, 'cause he got rid of that one.
This one is shiny and new. You're ducking, you're diving.
And then, Josh smacks you from behind on the back of the head.
What's he gonna do? Is he going to beat the hell out of you?
Is he going to strangle you? You don't know.
But you fight back, you get the upper hand
and you knock Josh out cold, and then Steph shows up.
What was it like for you?
I mean, is your ex-husband standing over your young, fit,
ex-navy, ex-military, ex-bouncer, boyfriend?
I mean, up until that point, it was self-defence, right?
You could have called the police,
but Zachary knew what to do.
He got a flour sack and he put it over Josh's head and made you
get in the van and take the body down to the lake to drown him.
- To murder him. - He was already dead, okay?
We-we were sure he was already dead.
- Would you shut up, you dick? - And the, and the road accident.
- That was Steph's idea. - You're miserable prick.
But the miserable prick did all the hard work overpowering Josh.
I saved your life! He was strangling you.
You were blue.
[Alexa] So it was you.
You picked up the steel paddle and you took out Josh.
I mean, it was between Josh and Zachary. You chose Zachary.
She put the bag on his head as well.
Because you told me he was dead.
Well, I'm not a medical expert, am I?
You said you wanted him to be dead--
No, I wanted him to go away. But about the lake
was all your idea, entirely your idea.
And-and, you made me own that text to Milo, okay?
My best friend thinks that I sacked him.
Milo is not your best friend. He thinks you're deranged.
He thinks you're a sour faced trout.
O-okay. Thank you.
Thank you. That would be all.
[bell ringing]
[Alexa sighs]
Actually, the kumara bread...
Stocking the shelves with it. Whose idea?
- Hers. - His.
You two give co-dependency a bad name.
Don't touch me.
[Briar-Lee] Rumours are flying.
A couple of top bakers are helping police
with their inquiries.
Can't say too much.
But here at Rozentals, Chef Milo has stepped out
of the custard tart and finger bun.
Uh-uh, Portuguese tarts made with puff pastry
and cinnamon, please.
Portuguese tart shadows.
That Milo. He sure is a survivor.
He's rocking the sour dough, which is more than edible,
though maybe not quite as exciting as a sour dough
over at Reuben's cafe, where the baker of loaves
has been hitting new heights lately.
What a suck up.
What did you do to her? What did you say?
I don't know. Maybe I'm just using a new kind of
French imported flour, could have been that.
I saw Briar-Lee, your bread's moving up the charts.
But who cares what critics think, eh?
I only care what you think, Reuben.
How come you chose my sour dough over Rozentals?
Well, 'cause life is too short.
And I just want to work with good people.
- People I can call family. - Oh.
But her bread's still better than theirs, right?
- Fair question. - Yeah, it's pretty good.
Oh. No, wait, sucker. Come on.
But we need to work on the prices.
[Madison chuckles]
[Madison laughs]
[theme music]
[woman vocalising]