Phantoms Doctors

MUSIC PLAYS ON RADIO

Michael?!

You barm cake!

You're going to clean out the caravan today, of all days?

Because it's not winter yet and it's your birthday!

Well, I've got to nip into work for this interview, so wish me luck.

Dad, when I come over later, you'd better have your feet up!

SHE SIGHS

The fence is fine.

-The garden gate's still locked.

-I know what I saw.

I don't see how he could have got in.

He was there!

Look at me, I'm shaking!

It's him again. I know it is.

I just think we need to slow down.

Look, you've been under a lot of stress

and it's starting to take its toll.

I'm just saying, see someone.

A doctor.

Something to tide you over, calm you down a bit.

Thank you.

KNOCK AT DOOR You ready?

Yeah, as I'll ever be.

SHE EXHALES

Well, your blood pressure's fine.

That's a relief. My heart was pounding!

You do seem a little anxious.

One minute, I'm fine, the next, I'm all over the place.

Yeah, I know that feeling.

Um...I see from your notes that you've suffered from anxiety before.

Look, I was hoping you could give me those pills again.

Rather than a short-term fix,

there may be better ways to help you manage that stress.

I could talk you through some relaxation...

-I didn't come here for a lecture.

-No.

Especially not from someone that knows nothing about my life.

OK. Um...

So...why don't you tell me?

You wouldn't understand.

You won't know until you try.

I'm a good listener.

Be a first.

My husband, Michael, he's at his wit's end with all of this.

I am the victim of a stalker.

Ten years, it's been going on.

That's...that's terrible.

When he finally went to prison, I thought that was the end of it.

It's started again?

He was released three months ago

and I've seen him several times since then.

-You've spoken to the police?

-I've tried.

Well, my colleague's married to a policeman.

-I can call him, if you like.

-No, don't.

-He's a great guy. I'm sure...

-I shouldn't have told you.

Could I just get the prescription? I really need to go.

-Like I said, if we could talk about that first...

-Forget it!

The training I've had so far,

the breadth of work the company does is second to none.

I pick things up quickly, I like working with other people,

sharing ideas.

If I go for something, I'm totally committed.

-Any weaknesses?

-Weaknesses?

Er...well, I guess what I've just said makes me sound stubborn,

but sometimes you have to be tunnel vision.

Right now, I just...I want to focus on my career

and not get distracted by other stuff.

She gave me the impression the police didn't want to help.

But you don't know that for sure?

No. Well, I could ask Rob, find out what's going on?

Have you got your patient's permission for that?

No. In fact, she kind of freaked out when I mentioned it.

-There's your answer.

-I can't just do nothing!

You won't get very far without her co-operation, trust me.

I'm at the usual place.

See you in a minute.

SHE SIGHS

BIRDSONG

Laura? Laura! Laura! It's me! What's happened?

SHE BREATHES HARD

Heston?

Oh! I didn't see you there.

That's a lovely dress.

This old thing?

Well, you ready for some Rigoletto?

It's like going out with David Niven!

-SHE CHUCKLES

-Well...

Common courtesy never goes out of style.

There's nothing common about you, Heston.

That way.

-Who are you calling?

-The police.

-What?!

-Just wait a second.

-Tell me what you saw. What happened?

-It was him!

-Are you sure about that?

-He was on the bridge!

I need you to look me in the eye, tell me you believe me!

Michael?!

Let's not do this now, OK?

Laura, how many times have we called the police

and how many times have they come up with nothing?

He's smart. He knows not to get caught!

People don't just vanish into thin air!

You're wrong!

-It's weird.

-I know, black tie at a matinee.

Heston, please climb down from your ivory tower.

I wasn't aware I was in one.

Opera tickets alone are out of reach for most people.

Opera's done more than most to make itself accessible.

Outreach projects,

student tickets, cheap standbys.

Do you think that makes a difference to the average Joe?

I'm sure the average Aston Villa fan pays more for his season ticket.

-I didn't know you were a fan of the Villains?

-The what?

Ah, right, here we are. After you.

There we go.

You think I'm imagining it?

Every second of every day, I remember what that man did to you.

The way you had to live, the constant fear.

We had to live.

When you were out, I phoned our solicitor.

She told me that Adrian's in Scotland now.

Oh, so, I'm safe now? You're that naive?

He's on licence, he sees his probation officer regularly.

As far as they're aware, he's never ventured more than a few miles away from his home.

I know what I saw.

You have to try and let it go.

What if I can't?

What?

It's been two and a half years now since he went to prison.

We started making plans, talked about having a family.

-I still want those things.

-Do you?

Because I see two futures.

One where we allow him to wreck our lives and one where we don't!

It's not my choice!

Then you have to let it go.

Help me!

What did the doctor say?

-I walked out.

-Huh!

You want help?

Then I suggest you go back.

-Can I help you?

-Amelia?

-Yeah.

I'm...I'm Emma. Howard's girlfriend.

What do you want?

To meet you.

I wanted to talk to you.

-Well, now you have.

-Please. I've come a long way.

Surely you can spare five minutes.

Aren't you the tiniest bit curious about your father?

So, what did you think of the first act?

I thought it was amazing.

Live opera, it beats internet hands down.

And the singing, superb!

Isn't it!

And I thought the pared-down, modern-day staging worked a treat.

Oh, I'm not so sure.

I've got a feeling you'll give me the benefit of your experience.

I would have preferred more opulence.

The sense of immorality of the Duke's court.

I mean, Verdi was attacking the aristocracy.

You and him would have got on like a house on fire.

I mean, his impassioned plea on behalf of the boy,

it proves my point. Opera is not just for the upper classes.

Heston, look around.

How many normal, working people do you see here today?

Well, you shouldn't make assumptions.

People will look at you and me and jump to the wrong conclusions.

What do you mean by that?

Well, that, you know, that we're two people who enjoy similar interests.

You have a beautiful home.

It's a lot tidier than mine.

But then, um...I blame my lodgers.

Did you and he not live together?

I thought, with you being his girlfriend...

No. We hadn't been back together that long.

So, how did you find me?

I had to sweet-talk Howard's solicitor.

Howard had your mum's address, but not yours.

And, um...it was he who told me that you're an accountant.

Trainee.

Why are you smiling?

Well, I was just marvelling at the power of nature over nurture.

Come again?

Howard would have been so proud.

Oh! Do you think I give a monkey's?

-I-I'm sorry, I just meant...

-What?

You think I should care about a man who left me without a second glance?

It wasn't that simple.

-Well, you found me easily enough.

-Please, let me explain.

Just say what you've got to say and then leave.

AMELIA SIGHS

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off on one before.

You were only trying to help.

-It's OK.

-The police have done the usual stuff.

Checked CCTV, spoke to neighbours. They just haven't found anything.

If he's been doing this ten years, presumably, he knows a few tricks.

I've got so many questions.

Maybe Michael's right and this guy's in Scotland.

In which case, I don't know what to think.

What's important now is that you're safe. OK?

Let's do a few routine health checks.

How would you describe your general state of health?

All right.

Any headaches, migraines at all?

How much would you say you drink?

A few glasses, I suppose.

-Any drugs?

-No.

Um...you said you had trouble sleeping?

Quite a lot, yeah.

-Irritability, or mood swings?

-Sometimes.

OK. You mentioned before about the anxiety.

Would you say at any point you felt depressed at all?

What do you think?

Well, yeah, um...after what you've been through,

I..I suppose that's pretty natural.

So, why are you asking?

Like I said, it's just a routine check.

You're like Michael. You think it's all in my head.

I faced that man in court.

A man who'd sent me to hell and back.

And I made a vow then that I wouldn't be his victim again.

So I know what I saw!

Is everything all right?

Not again?!

Wait! Please!

I'm not trying to catch you out, I'm just trying to understand!

-Don't you want this to stop?

-Of course I do!

So work with me.

Right now, I'm fishing in the dark.

Thank you.

So, what do you see?

Are we talking literally, or are we talking metaphorically?

Both. I need to get my eye in by the weekend.

Well, your eye for the ladies has always been in.

THEY CHUCKLE

No, I'm doing a residential photography course.

Oh. Well, in that case, my eye is drawn to the dark,

verdurous hue of the leaves over there.

Verdurous?

Yeah. To be honest, I can't stop staring at

this empty packet of crisps. I missed my lunch today.

OK. So if I buy us some sandwiches,

-will you take a look at what I've shot so far?

-Yeah, sure.

As long as I can make obnoxious comments about

the subaqueous quality of the light in your work.

How the multitudinous scene's incarnadine.

We're talking about a couple of self-portraits.

Yeah. Photoshop can fix anything.

-No, no, I want them to look natural.

-Yeah, buy me lunch first.

Thank you.

AMELIA SIGHS

Howard and your mum, they, um...

..they weren't in a serious relationship.

Serious enough for her to get pregnant.

Yeah, but by the time he found out, he was back in Germany.

That was his excuse.

No, look, the Army don't let you choose about that kind of thing.

And by the time he got home and realised that she'd kept you...

What, he didn't know?

Mum told me that she wrote to him.

Right.

Well, I'm sure that Howard...

As far as he was concerned, she could have just aborted me.

Howard gave you and your mum everything you needed.

He never shirked his responsibility.

But when your mum met...

What, you mean my dad?

You thought I'd give that title to him?!

A man I don't even remember?!

You see, Verdi's genius...

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

..is in making the Duke seductive.

Seductive?

A man who deflowers Gilda

and then hops into bed with a string of married women?

I'm not condoning him, of course.

Ah! Or did a young Heston Carter

leave a trail of broken hearts?

Or were you like, um...Gilda? Aw!

I see her ultimately as rather noble.

Huh! A woman who sacrifices herself for a cad?

Well, she's...seeking martyrdom.

Mm. I think there's a lot to be said for staying single.

Well, yes, I have to agree with you there.

The freedom to live life as one pleases.

Heston, some of us have got kids.

Yes, but you're able to come on a trip like this.

Yeah. Because funny enough, my kids didn't fancy

three hours at the opera this afternoon.

You have the freedom not to answer to anyone else.

-OK, I'll drink to that. Cheers.

-Cheers.

I've, um...left her with Karen for a moment. Sure you don't mind?

No. I love a challenge. So, where are you heading with this?

Well, er...my first starting point was psychosis.

All right, so you're looking at disturbed thoughts,

lack of insight, self-awareness.

But apart from seeing this man, she's all there.

Totally clear in her mind about what's happening.

-What else have you ruled out?

-Delirium.

Otherwise, she'd have abnormal vital signs, look sweaty, be sick.

Which leaves?

-Um...

-Which leaves?

Post-traumatic stress.

She could be reliving the traumatic event in her mind.

I think you're on the right path, young man.

Cheers, Al.

Your dad was there all the time.

Howard's visits were infrequent because of his job.

And when the adoption went through...

He was free.

He thought he was doing the right thing by stepping aside.

-For who?

-Everyone.

-Why did you come here today?

Because I thought you were owed an explanation.

So now he's dead, he has the right to intrude on my life?

I had hoped that you would've thought of him more kindly.

Nothing you've told me explains

why he never got in touch all these years.

Amelia, I'm going to be honest with you,

I don't know the answer to that.

Maybe the longer it went on, the harder it got.

-Or he just didn't care.

-No!

That's not true.

He never stopped thinking about you. I do know that.

Maybe.

Have you experienced any recurrent, involuntary memories of the event?

-Sorry?

-Nightmares or flashbacks?

No, this is too real, too vivid to be some flashback.

How about persistent feelings of horror, anger or guilt?

Let me paint a picture of the last ten years

and then maybe you'll understand.

I used to have a great job in the City.

A job that I loved, until Adrian became my boss.

At first, it was just flirting. I felt I could laugh it off.

But then he asked me out.

You turned him down?

And then he made it his mission to make my life hell.

He was calling all through the night,

sitting outside my flat for days on end.

It got so that I was scared to go out.

So, yeah, I've felt pretty horrified, pretty angry!

-Sure.

-And guilty, too.

Because he messed up Michael's life, not just mine.

We had to keep moving house, leaving family, jobs.

So if you think that after all that, I would let this man in my head...

I believe you.

What?

-I may not understand it, but...

-Thank you.

But I would still like to give that police friend of mine a call.

See what he can do.

Yeah?

-Laura?

-He's out there!

The stalker?

I have to know. He can't keep doing this to me!

There!

You can see him?

OK, keep looking!

Now, without moving your head,

look from left to right about once every second.

Why? How's that going to help?

Just do it for me, please.

Keep looking.

That's good. Keep looking.

OK. Now, stop.

Now, if you wouldn't mind, take another look.

Can you see him?

No!

I don't understand.

Um...tell me about your eyesight.

-What's that got to do with...?

-How bad it is?

Well, you find ways of coping.

I've some sight loss from the corner of my eyes.

I had to stop driving at night.

You never thought to get it checked out?

Well, it's only recently that it's got a lot worse.

And to be honest, it felt like the least of my problems.

Could you cover one eye for me, please? Thank you.

OK, now tell me when this comes into vision, OK?

Now.

And again.

Now.

OK. And, um...the other eye's the same?

Do you mind if I take a look? Thank you.

Do you have any history of eye disease in your family?

My mum always complained she had terrible sight.

Was she ever diagnosed?

She never got the chance. Died of cancer.

I'm sorry.

I don't understand. Why are we talking about my eyes?

Oh, um...well,

I think you might have something called Charles Bonnet syndrome.

It's usually a lot more common in older people,

but I think it might explain what's happening.

When you lose your sight, your brain

isn't receiving as much information from the eyes as it's used to.

And it can sometimes fill in those gaps with fantasy pictures,

or patterns, or old images that it has stored.

-You mean, he's not really there?

-No.

And I think you, and most probably your mum,

have a genetic eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa.

And the CBS is a manifestation of that.

Can you make it stop?

Unfortunately, no. There is no cure.

But sometimes the symptoms do lessen over time as the brain adjusts.

So, I'm going to keep seeing him?

Well, um...things like this exercise that we just did, they can help.

And I'm going to refer you to an ophthalmologist.

They'll give you a much more definitive diagnosis

and offer advice.

It's a lot to take in, I know.

Just to feel free of that man,

you've no idea how happy that makes me.

For a moment, I thought Michael was right.

That I was really going mad.

Howard was old-school.

He had the kind of values that you would say are probably outdated.

But the fact that he held on to them, it made him even more remarkable.

Yeah?

Yeah.

Hmm. We'd huff and puff at work

about his various harebrained schemes but...

..we loved him

Colleagues, patients...

He'd have done anything for anybody

and he never took advantage.

In his spare time, he was a Special Police Constable.

He never forgot the people that he fought with either.

He always supported ex-servicemen and women.

Regular saint.

If you'd been at the funeral,

you would have seen just how many lives he touched.

I'm not blaming you.

I know I'm painting a glowing picture.

He had his demons.

He suffered with huge guilt about leaving you.

He knew he'd made a massive mistake.

Mistake?

-Bravo! Bravo!

-Exceptional.

-SUSTAINED APPLAUSE

It was amazing, it was the best!

I thought you didn't like the Duke?

I don't. I'm cheering for Gilda! Whoo!

Well, actually, it's "brava" for a woman.

Well, whatever. The point is, she stole the show.

I thought he did a marvellous rendition of La Donna E Mobile.

It wasn't bad but she's got real range -

that mix of innocence and sadness....

Ooh!

Her Caro Nome was a bit shrill.

-He was outright hammy.

-Quite wooden.

Yeah. Not a patch on Pavarotti. Whoo!

OK, I admit I started thinking all sorts of things.

All sorts of what?

Don't make me spell it out.

The point is, we can put this behind us

and start moving on with our lives.

That doctor, someone I'd never met, had more faith in me than you.

-You can't compare me...

-You're my husband.

-Look, I was wrong...

-Instead of helping me through it, you gave me an ultimatum.

Yes. Only because I couldn't bear the thought of going through all that again.

Is that so selfish, so wrong?

No.

Ten years we've been a slave to this thing.

Ten years I've stuck by you, when most other men would have just...

Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say...

I'm going to my dad's for a few days, take some time to think.

About how to deal with my eyes, all of this...

You don't have to do that.

Yes, Michael, I do.

Look, whatever you think of him,

please don't turn your back on the money he left you.

Oh, yeah. I forgot. The fact that he squirreled away some cash makes it OK.

No, it's just that

the lion's share of his estate is yours

and it's a life-changing sum.

I've told you, I don't want it.

If you don't take it, you might not get another chance.

-Why do you care?

-Because it's what Howard wanted.

Or, maybe, you need to convince yourself he was something he wasn't?

You knew Howard a long time, right?

-Yes.

-Yeah. So when did he first tell you about me?

See? I was his guilty secret.

He was ashamed.

Yeah, of me.

Of the child he couldn't wait to walk away from.

The child he didn't want.

No... It wasn't like that.

A tangled tale of jealousy and rage, it's not unlike today's soaps.

Have you seen any?

Yes.

Right... Um...

I better get going I've got a shift to get to.

I thought you'd taken the day off?

Some of us have to work for a living.

-Well, let me give you a lift.

-No, I'm going to get a bus.

No. I won't hear of it.

-People do get buses.

-Well, of course.

If it horrifies you, I'll splash out, get a cab.

Let me pay.

No, it's fine. I'll manage.

Speaking of which, here's the one I booked.

Thank you.

Right, yeah, I mean...

of course I had considered Charles Bonnet syndrome.

I was just giving you space to come up with that conclusion.

Right.

It's all part of the service.

You can thank me with a pint later.

I'm going out with Ayesha.

You've got time for a quick one. Jimmi's going to come, too.

-I suppose...

-Having said that, strike that.

Some people just can't take a joke.

I'm not following...

Well, I altered one of Jimmi's photographs

and sent it back to him.

I don't see what the problem is.

You've certainly showed him in a different light.

Imagine the devilish things we can get up to after a couple of pints.

I can only stay for a quick one.

Oh, yeah. They'll be quick ones.

I thought coming here would be a good thing,

I'm sorry I didn't realise that you felt so strongly.

Well, now you know.

Amelia, I don't want to leave things like this.

-Just go, will you?

-Please. It's just so sad.

If you'd had a chance to get to know him...

Howard Bellamy is nothing!

-He was already dead to me.

-Don't say that.

I never want to see you here. I never want to hear his name again!

Do you understand?

Hello, love. We can talk about this later.

This little mix-up you're having, eh?

-I had no idea.

-Me either.

Well, it must be important.

Yeah? What underwear are you wearing?

-Nothing. It's just...

-You're wearing nothing?

-No...

-And the dad?

-Er, it didn't work out.

-Oh, I'm sorry.

-No, it's fine. It's a good thing.