Shit!
I've read it properly this time.
I'll find you later.
Training demonstration, girls. Details on the noticeboard.
And because Matron's away,
Mr Courtney-Briggs will be assessing you. I'd like your best work, please.
Morning.
Don't linger, girls.
Oh! Look who's playing the patient.
Bad luck, Pearce.
Two chairs over there, not too close.
Have any of you been in my room?
- Course not. - Have any of you taken something
from under my pillow?
Stop it, will you?
Five minutes, girls.
So, in such cases, we have to organize... what?
Introgastric feeding by the nose or mouth, Sister.
Please continue, Sister Gearing.
Good. Yes.
Nurse...
Dakers,
please recap on our patient's history.
Our patient is...
called Mrs Stoakes.
She's a 50-year-old mother of four children.
Yesterday, she had a laryngectomy
because of a cancer of the mouth and...
she...
So we have a patient who's already seriously undernourished,
who is unable to take food by mouth. Right.
Explain your equipment, please.
Sodium bicarbonate mixture for cleaning the mouth or nose.
Funnel, connector.
Lubricant.
And we have a tongue spatula,
forceps
and a gag.
And the oesophageal tube.
Now the feed. What are you giving her?
Actually, it's just warm milk.
Yes, but... if we were dealing with a real patient?
We could add soluble protein, eggs, vitamin preparations and sugar.
Good.
At what temperature are we giving the feed?
Body temperature, 37 degrees Centigrade.
Now, explain carefully to your patient what you're going to do.
Hello, Mrs Stoakes.
We're feeding you through this tube today.
It won't hurt.
If you could help
by guiding this to the back of your throat...
and when it reaches the back of your throat, please swallow it.
It won't hurt.
I'm just going to aspirate the tube to make sure it's reached your stomach.
So, that must be gastric juice, which
means it's reached her stomach.
- Oh, my God! - Get out, now!
Get it out!
- How do we get it out? - No, leave it in!
- Christ... - Do something!
Hold her hip.
Clear the airway. Out, everyone!
When Mrs Thatcher announced her leadership bid last week,
her chances were seen as minimal,
given widespread support for Mr Heath, particularly from Conservative peers.
However, with growing discontent on the party's back benches,
Mrs Thatcher's bid is gaining momentum
and it's now thought unlikely that the first ballot will...
...whether Mr Heath will eventually emerge as the winner.
...head a British political party.
The MP for North Finchley since 1959...
What kept you?
"What kept you, sir?"
Yeah...
DS Masterson. Charles...
- We did actually meet once, last year on the... - Yes, I remember.
Yeah.
But that was my first job on the team, so...
I've learned a lot since then.
Have you got the scene secured?
Well, not yet, sir, I was waiting for you to get here.
Hare and the tortoise, Sergeant.
You what?
I'm not a bloody tortoise!
Don't be distracted by the blood.
They tried to open her chest.
Clumsy attempt to save her, I assume.
Rohan Chopra.
Adam Dalgliesh.
Pending the PM, cause of death was almost certainly
some sort of strong corrosive substance, which she ingested.
Right, her name was Heather Pearce,
19, student nurse.
Not local. She's from Kent.
Some sort of training demonstration that went wrong.
Oh, and one of the nurses has noticed a disinfectant bottle
missing from the toilets, but uniform are looking for it.
- Time of death? - 9:41, precisely.
- No further, please. - Chief Inspector Dalgliesh?
Stephen Courtney-Briggs, lead surgeon.
- I called your boss. - I'm Sister Gearing.
I'm the senior nurse tutor in charge of Nightingale House.
I need to get back to the hospital. I was due in surgery two hours ago.
I won't keep you any longer than necessary.
I want everyone who was present at the demonstration in the same room.
- Yes, sir. - I take it that it was you
who tried to open her chest?
- I wonder what you hoped to achieve by that. - I beg your pardon?
The only possible course of action would have been an emetic,
administered immediately, preferably through the tube itself.
- Sister Gearing pulled the tube out. - I was trying to...
I was trying to massage her heart.
It was an entirely appropriate response.
Ah, well, we are all wise after the event.
I shall avail myself of your mortuary facilities, sir.
- Has next of kin been informed? - We were waiting for Matron.
She's been away at a conference in Leeds, but she's on her way back.
I assume the Commissioner filled you in about the end of the month.
Yes.
He assures me that you have a reputation for working quickly and quietly.
I don't want things messed up because of a stupid prank that backfired.
Well... it can't have been a prank, surely?
They're third year students. I can't believe they'd be so foolish.
DS Masterson and I will be taking a witness statement from each of you.
We'll also be requesting your fingerprints.
Until we know more, we're treating this as an unexplained death.
Who was it who noticed the disinfectant is missing from the toilets?
Me.
Dakers needed to be sick after,
so I took her to the toilets and then we wanted to clean up--
It's very important that we find the missing bottle.
Please, sit down.
There are officers searching the house,
including bedrooms.
Maybe it was meant for Fallon.
The disinfectant.
She was meant to be the patient today.
Nurse Fallon was taken ill in the night.
She's on Sister Brumfett's ward,
in the private wing of the hospital.
But she was here this morning.
- I saw her walking away from the house. - She can't have been.
Concentrate on your own recollection of events, nobody else's.
No detail is too small.
Shall we split the statements, then, sir?
No, I want to speak to all of them.
Courtney-Briggs can go, but he remains on the hospital site.
All right, then.
Marty Taylor, Matron.
If you're interviewing the girls, I'll need to be present.
We're taking witness statements, that's all.
I consider myself in loco parentis.
And you'll be the first to know if I suspect any of them
of involvement in Nurse Pearce's death.
I assume you'd prefer to inform the next of kin.
- I'd be grateful if you'd do that as soon-- - I'll do that now.
And I'd like to speak to you as soon as you're finished here.
Second floor.
The Burt twins are refusing to be seen separately, sir.
We'll make an exception, Sergeant.
And after you got dressed?
We went down to the kitchen to get the milk for the demonstration.
Time?
About... ten past seven?
Did you take it from the fridge?
Miss Collins did.
- She's... - The housekeeper.
We took it to the demonstration room
and we opened it
and measured out the amount we need into a beaker,
half a pint.
And we put the beaker on the trolley
and then we started to get the other things that we'd need.
Were you alone in there?
- Yes. - Yes.
Then it was about quarter to eight, so we went for breakfast.
Who else was at breakfast?
Everyone, really.
Not Fallon.
Goodale, Dakers,
Pearce,
the Sisters.
Pardoe came a bit late.
- How late? - About 15 minutes.
And what time did you leave the dining room?
About 20 past.
Then we went to our rooms and brushed our teeth.
Went to the toilet.
They don't need to know that!
And then we went back to the demonstration room.
At about 8:40.
Had anything changed?
Anything about the equipment, the milk?
- No. - No.
We didn't notice anything different.
You say you saw Nurse Fallon leaving the building. When was that?
I was getting my things and
I looked out of the window and I saw her walking away from the house.
It was definitely her.
- She was wearing her red suede coat. - We love that coat.
What did you think of Nurse Pearce?
Presumably, this is a young woman you've known for over two years,
and now, she's dead,
in the most horrific of circumstances.
She was... very religious.
She didn't really talk to us much.
What happened to the milk next?
My first porno was twins. Had me seeing double for weeks.
There was a large window of opportunity
for someone to have tampered with the milk between 7:45 and 8:40.
Anyone had access to it.
Well, if it wasn't them, they're pretty stupid.
How could they not notice something odd about the stuff?
All that business they had to do with it? Checking the temperature...
That whole room smells strongly of cleaning fluid, carbolic.
And if the liquid poured like milk, why would they think it wasn't?
So, what's happening at the end of the month, then, sir?
Or am I not allowed to know?
The private wing.
A member of the Cabinet's booked in there for a routine operation.
So this is old boy network, then?
- We do as the Commissioner asks. - Thought it was overkill.
Sending in Met major incident team
for what's probably a joke that went wrong.
- Was there anyone else in the study room? - Yes, Dakers.
She arrived about five minutes after I did
and then we went to breakfast about the same time.
I was only five minutes late.
Actually... I was with someone, in my room.
A junior doctor.
Isn't that against the rules, having a man in your room?
Oh, dear.
Caught red-handed.
With anyone?
No.
Why should anyone else have been with me? I was in my own room,
getting ready.
- I'm sorry, but I-- - You're doing well.
And then at around...
8:25, I went to my room,
did some more revision and then, I went to the demonstration room.
Pearce was the last to arrive.
There was one odd thing that happened.
She asked if
someone had taken something from under her pillow.
She didn't say what. We all told her that we hadn't.
- How did she respond? - Actually, she looked...
satisfied.
As though she'd had her suspicion confirmed.
I'll say this cos no-one else will.
Pearce wasn't just a killjoy.
She was malicious.
She tried to blackmail me a few months ago.
She caught me with a...
visitor in my room,
threatened to report me to Matron.
She just wanted me to take her to the pub.
Turns out, she had the hots for a spotty anaesthetist called Nigel.
- What did you do? - I told her to piss off.
Why did you think to report the disinfectant missing, Nurse Goodale?
Sister Gearing mentioned something about...
a corrosive substance.
I need to ask you about your actions
when you realised something was wrong with Nurse Pearce.
You pulled the feeding tube out of her mouth.
Yes, I had to stop the liquid getting in. I was trying to help.
She never bothered me again, but...
maybe she bothered someone else.
- Would you say you disliked her? - No,
but nobody particularly liked her.
Dakers, maybe.
They'd seemed to have been talking quite a lot recently.
Did you like Nurse Pearce?
Answer the question, please.
I understand you often talk together.
I found a leaflet in her room about a...
charity for female prisoners. Was that an interest of hers?
I...
I don't... know.
Can you think of any reason anyone might have to want to harm her?
Hello. I was looking for Miss Taylor.
Sister Brumfett, Chief Inspector Dalgliesh.
I came to see if there was anything I can do to help.
Were you in Nightingale House at the time of the incident?
No, I was on my ward.
But you do live here, so you were here this morning?
Yes.
I'll need a statement from you.
And I understand you have Nurse Fallon on your ward.
- I'll need to speak to her too. - Not at the moment.
She's been most unwell.
She had a temperature of 101 last night.
- I'll be keeping her in for several days. - Tomorrow, then.
- Do you need me to stay? - No.
Thank you.
Do you have time for some coffee?
Thank you.
- You spoke to Nurse Pearce's family? - Yes. The grandfather.
Her parents died when she was a child.
When I told him, he said, "God's will be done."
Just that.
I felt like saying, "It can hardly have been God who tampered with the liquid feed."
How long have the students been in Nightingale House?
They've only just come back.
We rotate them. Three months on the wards, three months here.
I'm going to need access to the
personnel files of everyone who lives and works here.
I'm afraid those files are confidential.
The only person who can grant access is Sir Marcus Cohen, our chairman.
- And he's abroad at the moment. - But you're in charge...
in his absence?
I will do everything I can to facilitate your investigation,
we all will,
but I need you to understand that you have come into what is our home,
- as well as our place of work. - Yes.
And we are largely a group of women and young girls,
and I will not allow any of my students or staff
to be unduly pressured or intimidated.
Missing disinfectant.
That's the first floor toilets, sir.
Could have been chucked from there pretty easily.
That's some of the nurses' bedrooms.
Yes, that's one of mine. Where did you find it?
Ah, don't go in there.
This where the Burt twins got the milk for the demonstration?
Yeah, I gave it to them myself.
There was nothing wrong with it when it left kitchen. It was only delivered this morning.
15 pints a day, we get through. It's ridiculous.
I've told Matron. I can't be responsible for it any more.
Do you have help?
Not enough. I've told Matron that too.
I have a girl, Morag Smith,
but she's not all there.
Was she here this morning?
She was. She lives in.
Could I see her now?
I doubt it. It's her half day.
She'll have taken herself off to the woods.
A law unto herself, that one.
Carbolic acid-based disinfectant.
Just over a third of a pint.
Severe damage to the stomach,
pulmonary edema,
damage to brain tissue and to other internal organs.
What you said to Courtney-Briggs about his response being strange.
Yes, highly unusual now to open up the chest.
We opt for CPR.
I'll wager he served as an Army medic.
Can't get out of the habit of hacking things about.
Was the disinfectant diluted at all?
- Mixed with milk? - Regular concentration.
In my opinion, unless they were a complete fool,
whoever did this must have meant for her to die.
Murder, then.
Should we be closing the place down, sir?
Everything points to this being personal.
There's no reason to suppose anyone else is at risk.
But what about the Fallon woman?
Anyone who had the opportunity to swap the milk
must almost certainly have known that Fallon was ill.
We keep them here, together.
It's supposed to be for me alone,
but I've always let the Sisters use it.
They have keys.
They have little enough privacy as it is.
It comes out next to my room.
Do you think it's possible an outsider got in?
It's possible, but I think it's unlikely,
given the very specific nature of the crime.
There'll be a constable posted outside tonight
- to reassure everyone. - And to watch us?
You can all come and go.
But you'll have to tell the constable where you're going, and why.
The house is supposed to be haunted.
The ghost of a kitchen maid,
who was abused, and hanged herself in the woods.
People say they hear her crying in the night.
- Have you heard her? - No.
I think we hear each other cry.
I think they're sexy.
I have to confess...
that I, for one, will be locking my door tonight.
Then again,
if Pearce comes back as a ghost, a locked door isn't going to stop her.
Courtney-Briggs was in the War.
Royal Medical Corps, served in Egypt.
That's interesting. So was Gearing.
Mavis Gearing,
Cairo, '44 to '45.
I think it was a pretty close scene out in Cairo.
Yeah, well,
probably got her the job, didn't he?
He's probably doing her.
Mind you,
he's got to like them younger, hasn't he?
I mean, the money, the...
power, looks, sort of.
You make a lot of assumptions, Sergeant.
That's my area of expertise, sir.
I'll get the drinks in now, then.
You married then, are you, sir?
My wife died recently, as I'm sure you're aware.
And if not, you're the only officer in Scotland Yard who's missed it.
I'll have a Scotch, please.
Coming up.
A pint and a Scotch, please.
Suspect thought to be alone and on foot, heading for the station.
Next London train due in 8:20 hours, repeat, due in 8:20 hours.
Sierra three to Control. Suspect in sight.
Christine, stop. Christine, it's OK.
Christine...
It's OK.
Christine, can you tell us why you left?
I want to go.
- I want to see my mother. - Speak up, I can't understand you.
I had a look in your suitcase.
You'll have to forgive me for that.
Yesterday, I asked you if you knew anything about Nurse Pearce's interest in this charity,
and you told me you didn't.
But this is exactly the same leaflet.
Can you explain that?
Seems a strange thing to have been evasive about.
You just have to tell the truth.
- I can't help you unless you're honest. - I'm not...
- Not what?
A thief.
Did you take something from Nurse Pearce's room yesterday morning?
A few weeks ago...
Nurse Pardoe was walking in front of me...
and she dropped something out of her pocket
and when I got closer, I...
I saw it was a note for ten pounds.
I should have given it back to her, but...
I didn't.
Oh, God! I didn't.
It's so much money.
My mother, she needed a new coat.
She was cold
all the time.
So I sent it to her.
But then, Pearce came and she said she saw me take it.
She said I'm a thief.
She said she told...
- She said I'd go to prison. - She was wrong.
What you did doesn't make you a thief.
She was trying to save me.
She said...
I had to send it to the charity for thieves like me.
And I had to learn my Bible,
a passage every night, and say it to her the next day.
I wanted to do it.
Please don't tell my mother.
And please don't take her coat. I'll pay the money back.
Have a break.
DS Masterson will make you a cup of tea,
and then he can take your statement.
It's easy to make scapegoats of people.
I believe her.
But it does give her a reason to want to harm Heather Pearce.
Josephine Fallon?
- Yes. - I'm Chief Inspector Dalgliesh.
- About Heather Pearce? - Yes, may I speak to you for a moment?
Yes.
Who told you about her death?
Sister spoke to me. It's awful.
Dalgliesh. That's Scottish, isn't it?
It is.
I'm not. My ancestors were.
There's a very good poet called Adam Dalgliesh.
I don't suppose you're related?
It's not...
you, is it?
Yes.
Gosh, I...
I really like your work.
- Thank you. - I had no idea you were a policeman.
Policeman and a poet...
odd combination.
It has its uses.
I understand you left Nightingale House
in the early hours of yesterday morning in the care of Sister Brumfett,
and you've been here ever since.
Yes.
It's just a virus, but I reacted badly.
I feel a bit better today.
Will you have another book out soon?
I haven't written a lot recently.
I'm told it was you who was scheduled to play the patient...
yesterday. I have to ask, is there anyone at all
who would have any reason to want to harm you?
No.
I've thought about it, of course, but...
no.
Is that your coat, Nurse Fallon?
- Yes. - Someone's saying that they saw you
wearing that coat
walking away from Nightingale House at around 8:20 yesterday morning.
What?
That's not true. I was in here all morning. All... day. Ask the staff.
I will.
- It will be quite possible-- - I couldn't have got out of bed yesterday.
The witness was quite certain it was you.
- Then they're lying! - What are you doing?
I feel sick.
I'm going to be sick.
Leave! At once!
Leave!
- Is she all right? - Yes.
- You should have spoken to me before-- - I'd like to take a statement from you, Sister.
It's very short.
I got up at seven,
bathed and dressed, went to breakfast just before eight.
Ate breakfast, brushed my teeth, and came here.
It's what I do every morning I'm on duty.
I caught sight of Pearce at breakfast. Other than that, I didn't see her.
I would have appreciated hearing this from you.
Is this going to have an impact on my patient coming in?
- That'll be the Commissioner's call. - Oh, come on! He's going to be guided by you.
I was just saying, we still need a witness statement from him.
Witness statement!
What time did you arrive at Nightingale House yesterday morning?
Early. Around eight. I'd spent the night at the hospital after some late surgery.
- Made some calls from Gearing's office-- - Could you slow down, please?
And then I went into the demonstration.
I did everything I could to save the girl.
To be frank, it was horrific.
Anyone see you arrive?
Probably. I've no idea.
What did you think of Nurse Pearce?
She seemed competent. I didn't know her.
- Not your type? - Don't judge me by your standards.
Well, what about Sister Gearing?
You knew her in Cairo, didn't you?
What on earth is...?
Yes, I knew Gearing in Cairo.
I even screwed her once. We all screwed each other at least once. Does that satisfy you?
And yes, I recommended her for a job here. What of it?
I have work to get on with. I assume you do, too.
If this is quick, I'd hate to see what slow is!
Pompous arse.
Right, then.
No fingerprints found on the disinfectant bottle.
Deliberately wiped clean, or the killer wore gloves.
And forensics say that the contents are a match for the substance that Pearce ingested.
Why throw the disinfectant out of the window at all,
if there were no prints?
Why not simply...
replace it on the windowsill?
Perhaps the killer was disturbed, panicked.
Perhaps.
Nurse Fallon.
- I've been discharged. - Good.
Can I speak to you for a moment?
I'm sorry. I'm so embarrassed.
I panicked. I-I did come back to Nightingale House.
I'd left some... letters on my bed.
Very...
personal letters.
Some of the girls... well,
Pearce mainly was a snoop.
I couldn't bear the thought of becoming a laughing stock. I'm sure you understand.
I came straight in and out, I didn't see anyone.
All right. I'll add this to your statement. You can sign it tomorrow.
Thank you.
Good night.
Mr Dalgliesh,
I wondered if you would sign my copy of your book for me,
if I bring it.
Of course.
Thanks.
What book?
Morag Smith?
Close the door, then.
Makes me feel better.
Crying.
I'm Chief Inspector Dalgliesh.
I know who you are. That's why I want to see you.
She was all right.
Holy Nurse.
She gave me money.
Read me stories from the Bible, and gave me 20 pence for listening.
- Won't get that now. - I was brought up on... Bible stories.
There are some good ones.
She didn't ignore me, like the rest of them.
I'm sorry you've lost your friend.
Is this where you come for some peace and quiet?
To get away from her.
Collins.
Ner-ner-ner-ner, always on at me.
I'm sick of it!
"Did you touch my disinfectant?!"
Shouting in my face!
Makes you want to bloody hit her, sometimes.
Was she asking you about the...
the disinfectant in the first floor toilets?
Course.
And did you touch it?
She's got it wrong. That's what I want to tell you.
What did she have wrong?
It wasn't in that milk.
The disinfectant?
Why do you think it wasn't in the milk?
Swear you won't tell her?
I swear I'm very good at dealing with the Miss Collinses of this world.
I had some hot milk.
I ain't dead.
I went into that room to look for my duster.
And I saw the beaker of it on the trolley and...
I was thirsty, so I drank a bit and it was nice.
What time was this, Morag?
Are you feeling sexy?
I'm way too old to feel sexy.
You ain't that old!
It wouldn't cost you.
What time did you drink the milk?
- Eight? - She looked at the clock on the wall
and realised it was eight. That's the time she's supposed to help with the breakfast.
She topped up the milk with some milk from a bottle which she noticed on the side,
then she left.
- And you believe her? - Yes, I do.
All right.
So that means the killer must have come into the room between
two minutes past eight, say,
and...
8:40 or 8:35, most like,
and swapped the milk with the disinfectant.
Timing wise, it would be a hard push,
but not impossible, for any of the women who were at breakfast between eight and 8:20.
Less of a push for anyone who was in the building, but who didn't go in to breakfast.
Fallon.
And Courtney-Briggs.
Better?
- Would you like some of this water? - Yes, please.
I'm glad you're OK.
Thanks.
Goodness me!
It's just a virus, but I reacted badly.
She's been most unwell.
I've been discharged.
I'll be keeping her in for several days.