Tricky?
I'm home.
Tricky?
Patrick?
Are you in there?
Bren...
I love you.
Tricky?
- Oh, God, no! - Take him out of here.
- Tricky! No! No! - Come on.
- Come on, please. - Mr. Hayes.
Let me go!
Where's the gun?
There's no gun.
Death comes to us all.
I'm not scared to die but when I go, I plan to go my way.
I've lived my life writing mystery stories,
so why should my death be any different?
- Some people might consider that to be in poor taste.
I'm dying.
Why should I give a shit about that?
- Brendan, let me ask you, as I understand it,
you've agreed to risk a lot.
Isn't this all rather macabre?
- It is the world that Patrick and I live in
and have done for almost three decades.
Yes.
It feels fitting.
- And a game is meaningless if there's nothing at stake.
Hmm.
Tricky -- Patrick was never much for convention.
It's why I loved him.
One of the reasons.
What did he mean by going his way?
I don't need you to find a murderer.
I know who murdered Tricky.
Tricky did.
I need you to find out how he did it.
How is it possible for a man to shoot himself
in a locked room and the gun vanishes?
Well, the simple answer is it's not possible.
Someone else was involved.
I was outside that room from the moment
I heard the gunshot till the Guards opened the door.
No one came out.
Another door? Hidden?
I did think of that.
Maybe Tricky had modified the room since we had it installed.
I got the company that installed it to come back and check.
They said nothing has been changed or tampered with.
May we see the room?
I've taken the room apart, trying to figure it out.
I thought he might have found a way
to hide the gun after pulling the trigger.
A wire or something. I don't know.
It sounds ridiculous.
But what did he mean in the video when he said
the game's meaningless if there's nothing at stake?
When Tricky found out he had cancer, we made a wager.
One last mystery to solve.
I know it sounds odd.
You heard the interviewer but Tricky and I
wrote 26 books together.
26 mysteries.
I have to solve his suicide or else I forfeit
Amhrán, the house.
Amhrán -- it means "song."
Amhrán belongs to Tricky.
It's been in his family for generations.
But it's been my home for 28 years
and I don't want to lose it.
Then why did you agree to the wager?
Hubris.
I could always solve Tricky's mysteries
and he could always solve mine.
We always said we shared a brain.
We complemented each other like that.
His characters were grounded, mine were fantastic.
Together we found a middle ground,
the best of both worlds.
But this one has me stumped.
Who gets the house if you don't solve it?
No one.
Patrick didn't have any family.
He had a sister, Wynnie, but I never met her.
She died in '95, the year before Tricky and I met.
This house is worth millions now.
It'll go to the government.
Why did you build a panic room?
About six months ago, Patrick was targeted.
Targeted by who?
Whom.
There were death threats, weird phone calls,
dog shit through the letterbox.
And then, one night when I was away
someone shot at him through the window.
Never found out who was behind it.
Went to the Guards but they did nothing.
Said there was nothing to go on.
We even hired a private detective
but he couldn't find anything either.
That's when we had this installed.
Why didn't you go back to the other private detective?
- Mm. - I did actually,
but he said he was too busy to take on a new case.
He recommended you.
He was a Harry too actually.
- Harry... - Benedict?
Ah, you do know him.
He lives here?
Maybe we've got the wrong address.
- If it isn't the dynamic duo.
Door's open. Let yourselves in.
I'll be right down.
Hmm.
Well, to what do I owe the pleasure?
Can I get you a glass of wine?
I mean, it's almost wine o'clock.
Ah, well, somewhere.
It's just a flying visit.
We're not stopping.
Why did you send Brendan Hayes our way?
Ah, see, that's what I like about you, Harry.
You are very direct.
No beating around the bush.
Thanks for recommending us?
My pleasure. He's a good fella.
Do try and help him, won't you?
Poor Patrick, eh? Suicide.
I don't think so.
I mean, how does somebody shoot themselves without a gun?
Well, they don't, is the simple answer.
Which is why we're here.
Brendan said you had a couple of leads for people
who might be harassing Patrick.
Sure, but both had solid alibis for the evening
Patrick was shot at.
Alibis can be faked.
I don't disagree but I couldn't find any fault in them.
You, uh...
Who were the suspects?
Barbara Quinlan and Seamus Keane.
She's a blogger/self-published author.
Fucking awful.
And she interviewed Patrick about a year and a half ago
and then accused him of plagiarism.
- Any truth to it? - Nah.
Nah, when she interviewed him, she pitched him an idea.
And he told her it was similar to his and Brendan's new book,
which at the time, was with their publisher.
It was ballpark similar at best but when the book was released
and became an instant bestseller,
she wrote a series of scurrilous blogs
accusing him of stealing her idea.
Total bollocks.
And Seamus Keane?
Yeah, Patrick's co-writer before Brendan.
So you're going back 30 years.
They weren't a couple.
Seamus isn't gay but their split was acrimonious.
Patrick wouldn't tell me why, and as far as I can tell,
Brendan doesn't know either.
What were their alibis?
Barbara Quinlan was helping a woman
whose Range Rover had broken down.
Her name's Gráinne Fox.
I checked. There's no connection.
Gráinne Fox is a company director's wife from Dalkey.
Different parts of the city, different walks of life,
there's no crossover.
So why would a complete stranger falsify an alibi for someone?
And Seamus Keane?
Well, he's not part of the book world anymore.
He hasn't written anything since he and Patrick split.
He's just an old man now, who divides his time
between the allotment and the pub.
The night someone shot at Patrick,
Seamus was part of a darts team
playing a round robin in a pub in Finglas.
There's plenty of witnesses.
So, you found out nothing at all?
Well, I couldn't find anyone else
who had a grudge against Patrick
and no one had a bad word to say against Brendan.
They're just not the sort that attract that sort of anger.
Well, clearly you missed someone.
Yeah, maybe I did.
Maybe we should get some dinner and put our heads together.
Yeah. Yeah, I could eat.
Or not.
Come on, Fergus.
If you're, uh, wondering who that is...
Oh, no, I'm not.
No skin off my nose if you want to display your conquests.
Ugh, that's my daughter.
Uh...
Well, I mean, she's very beautiful.
Clearly, she takes after her mother.
This is Donnie.
Donnie Crotty, at your service.
Safe As Safe Can Be Security.
It's good of you to meet us, Mr. Crotty.
Donnie, please, and of course.
Whatever I can do.
It's awful.
Just awful.
I'll, uh, go and make us some coffee.
Poor Mr. Hayes.
I don't know what help I can be.
I checked every inch of the room.
Nothing's been changed, nothing's been added.
It's exactly as we installed it.
I took the lock apart first.
Nothing there.
I mean, if you want to get an independent opinion,
please go right ahead,
but I don't know what they could say different.
How did Patrick and Brendan come to call on your company?
Well, that I can't tell you.
They would've spoken to someone in sales first,
but that would be somebody in Mumbai.
- Mumbai? - We used to have a team in store
but the owners decided it would be cheaper
to outsource it to a call center in India.
When did you install it?
About six weeks ago.
And no one at your company knows the code to open the door?
Nope. That would have been set up by Mr. Doherty
and Mr. Hayes after installation.
And what would happen if they forgot it?
You'd have to install a whole new door.
There's no workaround that.
I mean, that's the whole point of a panic room.
Wouldn't be very secure if there was a back door now.
Mm.
Now, you're probably thinking, "But, Barbara,
surely any big publisher would be ecstatic
to have you in their stable."
The honest truth is I wouldn't want to be
published the traditional way.
Simon & Schuster or the likes could come beating down my door,
saying, "Barbara, Barbara,
we want to make the Lady Amelia Swallow
books the biggest thing since Robert Galbraith,"
and I would say "No, thank you very much."
Why would I want to be a small fish
in a huge ocean of mediocrity
when I am the number-one author that I publish?
Think about it.
Thank you for coming.
Oh, I have some postcards of my book covers,
which I designed myself.
And I'd be very happy to sign them for you for a small fee.
Just come see me after.
That was very interesting.
Oh, thank you.
Yes, it was, wasn't it?
Peter, it's time to leave, Pet.
Fellow Spub?
- Spub? - Self-publisher.
Clearly not.
Oh, no, no, I'm -- I'm just working on a book.
Ah, a book. How quaint.
Yeah, that just won't cut it at all, I'm afraid.
It's a numbers game.
You should've been here last week for my talk.
I release six books a year.
You write six books a year?
Oh.
No, I write about 20 a year
but it doesn't do to oversaturate.
They're all K.D.P. available or P.O.D. if you prefer.
Mm.
Well, I don't think I have 20 books in me,
although I have been lecturing for two and half decades,
lots of stories, and, you know, my son's a Guard.
An actual Guard?
Oh, I'd love to meet him.
Would you?
- Yes, I have tons of questions. - Oh.
Accuracy is so important in the Spub world.
For example, like, none of the characters in my book
say goodbye at the end of a phone call.
You always see that on the police shows on TV.
Uh, I think Charlie says goodbye.
"Goodbye, Mother."
Yes, he does.
Anyway, um, I would love some advice from an expert.
I-I just don't want anyone stealing any of my ideas.
And I don't know, who do I talk to?
Who don't I talk to?
You know, that sort of thing.
Very wise.
I've been a victim myself.
The old dinosaur press are an unscrupulous lot.
A published author stole one of your ideas?
Would it be anyone that I know?
Well, I can't discuss it for legal reasons,
you understand, but um...
Yes, you would know him.
Or her.
But he -- or she --
got their just desserts, so don't worry about it.
That's fascinating.
Uh, can I buy you a drink?
Usually I'd be very happy.
I feel it's my duty to pass on what I know,
but I've an appointment.
So, maybe another time.
I have an idea.
Mr. Keane?
My name's Fergus Reid.
You know you're getting old
when the coppers look like teenagers.
No, I am a teenager.
Oh.
Good for you, lad.
What can I do for you?
I'd like to talk to you about Patrick Doherty.
I've got nothing to say on the subject.
You know he's dead?
I thought we were going for a drink.
There're no pubs around here.
I need to make a quick stop.
Do me a favor, and buy me some time, yes?
- What? - Yes?
Come in, come in!
Oh.
Charlie, this is Barbara.
Barbara, this is Charlie.
My son.
Harry tells me you're a Chief Superintendent.
That is very impressive.
Sit, sit!
I always think the man should open the bottle
and the lady should drink.
Actually, I don't think we're stopping.
I would love a glass.
Ooh, could I use your loo?
Top of the stairs.
How many people do you have under you,
if you don't mind my asking?
Is there room for one more?
Where's my mother gone?
I hope she's not lost.
Tell me what happens when you arrest someone.
I bet you can be quite, um...
- physical. - Um...
I'm mostly paperwork now.
Really quite boring.
Oh, I doubt there's anything boring about you, Charlie.
I hope your wife appreciates you.
Oh, God, yes, she does!
Um, actually I should probably be getting home.
- She'll wonder where I am. - Oh, you --
You'll have another drink though.
Tell me a time you've had to get a bit, um...
handsy with a suspect.
Mother!
You know, it really is fascinating work that you do
and I was always considering...
We probably should get going, Charlie.
- It's getting late. - You're right.
We should go.
Early start in the morning.
Nice to have met you, Barbara.
Educational.
Mm.
I'm going to have nightmares for weeks.
How could you do that to me?
I can't believe you'd use me like that.
- That's low, even for you. - Oh, don't overreact.
What was that poem you read me as a kid?
"The Spider and the Fly."
I totally get that from the fly's point of view now.
What was that about?
You're clearly up to something.
What are you talking about?
Harry!
Very well.
Brendan Hayes has hired us to investigate
how Patrick shot himself without a gun.
I suggest you drop that one, Ma.
Why? What do you know?
Mr. Hayes, we need you to come with us.
This is a nightmare.
How can they think I'd hurt Tricky?
They're just following the evidence.
They only have your word for the sequence of events.
And you are the only person that inherits
from Patrick's death, which gives you the motive.
There was no modification in the panic room
and only you and Patrick knew the door code.
I told you, the code wouldn't work.
They checked it and it worked, Brendan.
I don't understand. I have no motive.
If I don't work out how Patrick died, then I forfeit the house.
There's no clause in the will that said
- you would lose the house. - What?
It never existed.
They talked to Patrick's solicitors, they saw the will.
The 3-million-euro house belongs to you.
That's motive.
I swear, I didn't lie to you, Harry.
I honestly thought Tricky'd added that clause to his will.
Well, I guess the idea was stakes enough
as far as he was concerned.
I think you're a good judge of character.
Look into my eyes and tell me I'm lying.
You're a writer.
You lie for a living.
Don't think I've ever heard it described like that before.
I don't believe that Patrick shot himself.
But you are the only person with the motive for killing him.
I swear, I didn't do it.
Oh, I do believe you.
But we're missing something.
- "Scrooge, T triangle M, L, B." - "Bojo, HV76DSU."
They could mean anything.
But they clearly mean something.
You don't write that in a calendar and in a notebook
if it doesn't mean something.
No, I completely agree but where do we even begin?
This one.
It's different from the others.
It's the only one that's got that triangle symbol.
Right, so...?
So that's where we start.
What could a triangle mean?
It could mean a triangle.
- A pyramid. - A musical instrument.
The Bermuda Triangle?
There is The Triangle Motel.
It's next to the SuperValu near me.
Wait.
Wait, I think you've got something there.
What was the name of that hotel in Dun Laoghaire
where we caught Tina O'Connell?
Who?
The one who chopped off your one's head.
The Majestic.
T-M-H. The Majestic Hotel.
The Triangle Motel -- T-triangle-M.
Right.
And then what does HV mean?
There are two of those.
29VPG and 76DSU.
Sorry about that.
Had to change a barrel.
Took two of you, then, did it?
Want a top up, Harry?
Uh, no, I'm good, Glenn.
Oh.
Trying to make a bit of extra cash, are we?
What -- What are you talking about?
Would you mind telling me why you're laughing?
Baby Fetish.
Naughty Nurse.
Naughty School Boy.
Light bondage.
Barbara Quinlan is a prostitute?
What's HV?
- Home visit. - Home visit.
So 29VPG and 76DSU -- they're addresses.
I think we should pay Barbara a little HV.
Harry?
Oh, hello.
Who's this?
I haven't been entirely honest with you, Barbara.
But this is my partner, Fergus, and we're private investigators,
we've been hired by Brendan Hayes
to investigate Patrick's death.
Was Charlie even your son?
Yes.
Who's Gráinne Fox and why did she give you an alibi
for the night that someone tried to kill Patrick Doherty?
Look, you can tell us or you can tell Charlie.
Don't judge me.
Oh, I never judge anyone.
Being an author is not as lucrative as some people assume.
So, I have to supplement my income.
But where does Gráinne Fox come into all this?
I mean, she's just a Range Rover-driving
company director's wife from Dalkey.
Her husband is a director for a company
that sells meat-scented candles.
You think she can afford the Range Rover
or the house in Dalkey on his salary?
So, she's a pimp?
We don't call them that.
She's a facilitator.
I didn't have anything to do
with what happened to Patrick Doherty.
I didn't kill him and I didn't shoot at him.
That night, I was working.
That's why Gráinne gave me the alibi
because otherwise I'd have to tell the Guards
that I was with a 200-pound,
47-year-old politician who liked to have his nappy
changed, burped, and put in his cot.
- I'm not lying. - No, we believe you.
But now we're back to square one.
You spelled "Wynnie" wrong.
- Hm? - What?
Patrick's sister was Wynnie.
W-Y-N-N-I-E.
Her real name was Eowyn.
- From "Lord of the Rings"? - Mm.
Patrick told me in that interview that I did with him.
Their parents were big fans.
We need to talk to Seamus Keane.
How did you know?
Windfola's Haven.
Windfola's Eowyn's horse.
When did you read "Lord of the Rings"?
When you made me read it, three months ago.
And once more since.
You liked it?
There's a lot to like.
- Yeah. - What are you doing there?
You.
I've still got nothing to say about --
Did you and Patrick split up
because you were sleeping with his sister?
I wasn't.
I loved her.
Clearly.
You've built a shrine to her.
When Patrick found out about us, he went ballistic.
Wynnie loved him and he killed her.
What?
She was pregnant.
She was pregnant with my baby.
I would have married her but Patrick forbade it.
He was a man of contradictions, that one.
Openly gay but fiercely old-fashioned
when it came to premarital sex.
What did you mean, "he killed her"?
He packed her off to England.
Liverpool.
The Partridge Institute.
For an abortion.
She...died during the procedure.
I would have married her.
I wanted to marry her.
The date's wrong.
Brendan said she died in 1995, not 1994.
No. He sent her away in '94.
Leave me alone.
Don't come back here.
The Partridge Institute.
I've heard that name before, I just can't remember.
Recently?
No, I don't think so. It's...
Oh, somewhere on the tip of my brain.
Why the difference in years?
I mean, something's not right.
I wonder...
You know, there's no evidence that the sister ever died.
Mm. Well, if she is still alive,
she'd be Patrick's next of kin and...
Oh, my God!
I've just remembered where I heard
The Partridge Institute before.
Oh, this is not gonna be fun.
I can't believe Ray told you about the most private,
painful moment of my life.
If he wasn't dead, I'd kill him.
Well... Well, if it means anything,
he was sticking up for you at the time.
Justifying why I'm such a bitch?
Something like that.
Look, I'm sorry about raking this all up for you,
but a man is dead,
and I think an innocent man is going to be blamed for it.
I was 18.
Long before I met Ray, I was in love with a man
who couldn't get away from me fast enough
when he found out I was pregnant.
My parents weren't very supportive,
so I did what a lot of Irish girls did.
Called on friends of friends,
found out where to go and took the ferry to Liverpool.
Was the Partridge Institute the only place to go at that time?
No, there were plenty of places one could go,
but we didn't have the Internet back then.
We relied on word of mouth.
So most women ended up in the same place.
Do you know anyone who might still be there?
Well, the same woman has run it for almost 50 years.
Claire Brogan.
I mean, she may not talk to you...
but she'll talk to me.
Claire, yeah, it's Vivian Mitchell.
Claire was able to look up what happened to Eowyn Doherty.
Oh. And?
She didn't have a termination.
She had the baby?
Yes, but there were complications.
Eowyn died in childbirth.
So that's why Seamus Keane thought she died a year
earlier than she did.
What happened to the baby?
Adopted.
Did she give new you details of the adoptive parents?
The mother died a little while ago
but the father is still alive.
- In England? - No, here.
They moved back after the adoption.
There was a stigma attached to being an adopted child
from an unwed mother.
People would go over, adopt, wait a year and then come home.
No one would ever know.
And he's willing to meet with us?
Yes.
Lives in Wexford.
Thank you, Vivian.
I know that must have been very difficult.
It quickly became apparent there
was something not right about him.
You know, he was an unhappy little boy.
- A boy? - Yeah. Davy, we called him.
Davy Nolan.
We never told him that he was adopted,
and then a little under a year ago his mother passed
and he found out by accident.
He found some papers we'd forgotten all about.
Well, this really upset him.
He found out the name of his birth mother, he left,
and I've not seen or heard from him since.
Did you try to find him?
Of course.
But it's not the first time he's gone off like this.
You know, other things have triggered him in the past
and he usually just comes back after a few weeks.
But not this time?
Not this time, no.
Not so far.
Did he have a job?
He was a great worker.
He was smart.
He could turn his hands to most things,
just couldn't stick at anything though.
He worked as a builder and a laborer, a carpenter.
He worked on computers.
He was a real jack of all trades and master of none.
Do you have a photo of him?
Yeah.
This is Davy and his mam.
There are none so blind, Fergus.
"Murder in the Crooked House."
- Why didn't I see it? - The what now?
Soji Shimada. He was a Japanese writer.
He wrote about a murder in a locked room,
where there was no way that a killer could get in,
but they were basing that assumption on information
that the killer gave them.
- Just like us. - But I don't get it.
I mean, why kill Patrick, his uncle?
Revenge 'cause of what happened to his real mother?
Maybe, maybe not.
Maybe it was just old-fashioned greed.
You know, but that interview that Brendan and Patrick did.
Well, if Brendan couldn't solve Patrick's "suicide,"
his inheritance was forfeited.
And there's no other family, so there's no one else to inherit.
But then, out of the woodwork, comes this long
lost adopted nephew and he gets everything.
Exactly.
Hold up.
That's not what Patrick actually did.
He just said that on TV for effect.
Brendan willinherit.
Shit. You're right.
Well, if that's the reason, then Donnie can't let Brendan live.
Brendan?
- Harry, I --
Brendan?
What?
What's wrong?
Oh, alright then.
I will go out for dinner with you.
So I know this perfect little place...
Stop talking!
I think Brendan's in danger.
- What? - It's Donnie Crotty.
The guy who installed the panic room.
He's Patrick's nephew.
I think he might be going after Brendan.
I'm gonna ring Charlie, but can you get over there now?
Yeah, yeah. I'm on my way.
What...
What's happening?
Is this not self-explanatory?
Donnie?
Should I call you Uncle Brendan?
I don't really know what the etiquette is here.
What are you talking about?
I'm Wynnie's son.
The one Uncle Patrick sent her off to murder.
You... You killed Tricky?
It was so sweet.
I had this gun to his head when you pressed the intercom.
I said to him he could say whatever he wanted to you,
but if he warned you, I'd have to shoot you too.
And he chose to tell you that he loved you.
That was a beautiful moment.
And then I blew his brains out.
But I was outside the room all the time.
- How did you get out? - I know.
I was watching you on the monitor.
I hadn't expected you to just stand there.
I was getting kind of nervous, I don't mind telling you.
But I knew you had to leave to let the Guards in.
I was only gone 30 seconds.
Long enough.
You were the one tormenting Tricky?
Ah!
Now all the pieces are falling into place, aren't they?
You installed some sort of override?
Crime writer's mind right there.
I feel like I could write a book.
It's in the genes.
All those mysteries you and Uncle Patrick came up with...
- Don't call him that! - But he is my uncle.
We're family.
Even though he rejected me and told my mother to murder me,
I forgive him.
I do.
Uncle Patrick had a lot of medication around the house.
Guess that's one of the upsides of cancer.
Another suicide?
You think the Guards are that stupid?
You're distraught.
The loss of the man you love has pushed you over the edge.
Or they'll think you're guilty and it's remorse.
Either way works.
- Brendan... - And you are?
Agh!
Okay then, that complicates things.
New plan.
You killed Patrick and now you're here to kill Brendan
but yous two kill each other.
That could be even better than I planned originally.
The Guards get a killer.
And what's my motive?
I don't know.
They'll work it out or they won't,
but the evidence is going to be compelling.
Now, you'll shoot Brendan with this gun but before he dies,
he'll beat you to death with this walking stick.
And then he'll slump over your dead body,
and it'll be a work of art.
And how do you explain me?
And me?
No, no, you're spoiling everything!
It's over, Davy.
- Don't call me that! - It is your name, isn't it?
No, it's not. It's a lie.
I'm not who they said I am.
The Guards are on their way.
You've only got a few minutes to come up with a solution.
No, you don't!
You know, you have to admit, we make a pretty good team.
Oh, I admit no such thing.
You were just someone else that had to be saved.
Fergus and I are a team.
You, uh, not gonna invite me in?
"I do desire we may be better strangers."
"'Tis strange but true, for truth is always strange,
stranger than fiction."
"The simplicity of your character
makes you exquisitely incomprehensible to me."
Oh. "There is no greatness where there is not simplicity,
goodness and truth."
"A prig is a fellow who always makes you
a present of his opinions."
Well, "literature is strewn with the wreckage of those
who have minded beyond reason the opinion of others."
"If I was as ignorant as you,
I wouldn't let on."
Oh, well...
"Where ignorance is bliss, it is folly to be wise."
"The sweetest nut hath sourest rind."
"I may observe that private balls
are much pleasanter than public ones."
"I wolde I hadde thy coillons in myn hond...
Oh.
"Lat cutte hem of."
Ouch.