Episode 3 Hinterland

PHONE VIBRATES

PHONE CONTINUES VIBRATING

What is it?

I'm on my way.

HE SIGHS

The victim's name is Owen Beynon. Lawyer.

The housekeeper found him this morning.

You all right?

Where were you?

Out, killing myself.

Running.

HE SNIFFS

How long have you worked for Mr Beynon?

16 years.

I look after the house when he's in London.

That's where he works.

I do the laundry here for him.

He was just lying there...

-on the floor.

-How often does he come back?

He came when he could.

This place, it...

-..meant a lot to him.

-Yes.

Were you expecting him back?

Not until the weekend.

He must have arrived late last night. I didn't hear anything.

He never married?

I never asked him about his private life - it wasn't my business to.

-Did he ever bring anyone back to the house?

-No.

Who's this?

Lewis, my son.

Does he live here?

When it suits him.

Where is he now?

Working.

Over at the church.

Renovations.

I'll need to speak to him.

Owen Beynon was on the 16.43 from Euston, London.

He arrived into Aber at 21.25,

-caught a taxi from the station, was dropped off at the gate.

-Alone?

According to the taxi driver,

Mr Beynon showed no sign of concern or agitation.

So, the victim arrives home late, pours himself a whisky

and goes to bed.

Some time later, he was woken by an intruder.

Do we have a list of what was taken from the house?

We searched the house, we searched the grounds - as far as we can tell,

a pair of antique shotguns - nothing else, sir.

Get on to local gun dealers, see if anyone's been approached.

What else do we know about Owen Beynon?

We've spoken to the victim's sister,

she hadn't spoken to Owen in over a year.

-What about neighbours, associates?

-Glyn Powell, neighbouring farmer -

he did some odd jobs round the estate for some extra cash.

-So he has access?

-Yeah.

-Do we have an address?

-Home and work.

The Beynons were a big noise in the county -

Owen and his sister were the last of them.

You knew him, sir?

Our paths crossed a few times. His family was well respected.

What about Owen?

His death won't go unnoticed.

Glyn Powell.

We should talk to him.

I know you're under a lot of pressure, Tom.

If there's anything I can do to help...

Thank you.

KNOCK AT DOOR

Vermin.

Gamekeepers do it.

They shoot them, then hang them up as a warning to poachers.

PHONE RINGS

What is it, Lloyd?

'The missing guns - they're vintage Purdeys.'

They were recently valued, sir, by local antiques dealer Huw Griffiths.

-'For how much?'

-80,000, sir.

Whoever stole the guns knew what they were worth, knew what they were looking for.

FLIES BUZZ

DOOR OPENS

Can I help you?

-Mr Griffiths?

-Yes.

How well do you know Mr Beynon?

I did some business for him.

I knew what he liked, and I knew when to put a call in.

When did you last see him?

Oh, er...six months ago?

-When you valued the guns?

-The Purdeys, yes.

Lovely-looking things.

-Expensive, too.

-Yes, well, depends who's buying.

We'll need a list of employees, brokers, drivers -

anyone who might have come into contact with Mr Beynon.

-Anyone who would have known about the guns.

-Of course.

HE CHUCKLES

It's a mantrap.

These were used right up until the 19th century.

Not lovely, as you can see.

There's always a market for the curious and the, er... specialist.

THUD

Mr Powell.

You're a hard man to find.

I do my best.

Do you know why we're here?

It's not the news you want, is it?

Did you know Mr Beynon well?

Of course I did.

I've known the family for years.

I've lived in this valley all my life.

Were you and Mr Beynon friends?

I wouldn't go as far as that. I did a few jobs for him.

We used to say hello to each other, and then mind our own business.

Foxes.

They can't get through the fence, so they dig underneath it.

They're like bloody rats!

Where were you last night, Mr Powell?

At home with my wife and daughter.

-Esyllt said some shotguns have gone missing.

-That's right.

Do you have any idea who might be responsible?

I have an opinion.

Whether you want to listen or not, well, that's up to you.

Oh, we'd be very keen to listen to it, Mr Powell.

Daniel Protheroe.

You should have a word with him.

He's been a thorn in the side of this place for years -

stealing, poaching, running wild.

He lives at the top of the mountain there with his mother -

she's not better. Never puts a curb on him.

You know a lot about him, Mr Powell.

I should.

My wife, Bethan, was the midwife - she brought him into this world -

worst thing she ever did.

Foxes, rats, predators...

..if you don't look after your own,

they'll come back and take, take, take.

'Nora Protheroe, the boy's mother.

'Drugs caution, 1996,

possession of marijuana.

'Shoplifting charge the following year, given a few warnings

'and that was it, sir.'

What about Daniel?

Plenty of complaints,

prowling about people's property, poaching, stealing.

-Was Owen Beynon one of the complainants?

-No.

See what else you can find out.

We're on the way to Daniel's house now.

KNOCK AT DOOR

Hello!

KNOCK AT DOOR

DOOR CREAKS OPEN

KETTLE WHISTLES

WIND CHIMES TINKLE

Nora Protheroe is an epileptic.

She was in her late 30s.

Social Services confirm that she was

on their at risk register up until 18 years ago when she had her son.

She dropped off the radar after that.

I can't find any documents.

Nothing official, no social security details, birth certificates...

No record of Daniel existing.

The electricity was cut off about a year ago.

Why would anybody live like this?

We need cause and time of death, as quickly as possible.

I've issued an alert to the public concerning Daniel Protheroe.

Is that wise, sir?

We've no proof that he's involved with the Beynon case.

You've no proof that he isn't, either.

With respect, sir, I should be consulted before those

kind of decisions are made.

And until you or the IPCC tell me otherwise, this is my investigation.

Let me be the judge of that.

Daniel?

Daniel, stop!

Stop!

Get off me!

Who are you? What are you doing here?

I heard about Daniel's mother.

You know Daniel?

Where is he?

Branwen Powell.

Glyn Powell's daughter.

I'll take her home.

She just locks herself in her room and shuts the world out.

Is it true...

..Nora Protheroe?

You delivered her baby?

Yes.

What was Nora like?

She was troubled.

Nora had a tough upbringing...

..but having the baby seemed to settle her.

And after that?

Nobody saw her.

She never left the house?

What about Daniel?

What about him?

How well does he know Branwen?

What is it?

Bethan...

..I really need you to help me.

SHE SIGHS

My daughter is...

headstrong, like her father.

She doesn't always do what's best for herself.

Meaning what?

Daniel's got a hold on her.

In what way?

In the way that men do, sometimes.

VEHICLE PULLS UP OUTSIDE

PHONE RINGS

DS Owens.

Yeah.

I warned you about that boy!

You forgot to mention that your daughter

and Daniel were friends, Mr Powell.

There's no friendship. It's finished.

Sir, there's been a possible sighting of Daniel Protheroe.

You took your time.

That's the third time I'm going to have to replace that.

It's hard enough making a living up here without all this nonsense!

The till?

Never went near it.

Batteries he wanted...

..and sardines -

tins of the stuff.

And he ran like a rat when saw me coming back.

Do you have the CCTV footage?

That's him.

Can you rewind it back a bit?

Stop it there.

What happened to his face?

Well, someone must have given him a hiding. No more than he deserved.

CAR DOOR SLAMS

We'll need a copy of that CCTV.

-It's Lewis, isn't it?

-That's right.

-Ran out of milk?

-No.

There's a meeting.

About what?

Pest control.

SHEEP BLEAT

CHATTER, DOGS BARK

GROUP MURMURS AGREEMENT

There is no evidence that Daniel Protheroe has hurt anyone.

You need to get your facts straight

before you do something you might regret.

The facts? Huh!

The facts are there for all to see.

What sort of boy kills his own mother,

allows her to rot in the house,

and then carries on as if there's nothing wrong?

We have a right to defend ourselves.

You'd better find him, then.

We intend to.

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

How did they survive up there?

Just the two of them.

They must have been completely dependent on each other.

He loved her.

He couldn't bear to be without her.

The radio appeal, there are sightings of Daniel Protheroe

coming in from all over the county. Dozens of them.

And they all have to be followed up.

This is interesting.

What is it, Lloyd?

I've been checking through employee records for Huw Griffiths' place.

He had a delivery driver working with him up until last summer.

Lewis Jones?

You going somewhere?

Out. That's all.

You used to work for Huw Griffiths, didn't you?

For a bit.

Do you think he had anything to do with what happened to Owen Beynon?

No.

They got on, as far as I know.

Everyone knows it was Daniel.

Do they?

Of course they do.

He was off his head. Always has been.

He never talked to anyone in school.

If he bothered coming to school, that is.

Did you ever go up to the house?

Sometimes.

As soon as they saw us coming, they'd lock themselves in.

Why?

They were scared of you.

We were just kids.

Just having a bit of fun.

CAR DOOR CLOSES, ENGINE STARTS

PHONE RINGS

Lloyd?

According to Lloyd, Lewis' alibi stacks up.

He was out drinking with his mates in Aber.

Having fun.

We should be out there.

We have to find Daniel before Glyn and his mob do.

There's hundreds of acres. We couldn't possibly cover the area.

-We don't have the resources.

-So we just do nothing?

-You're not coming in?

-No.

CAR DOOR SLAMS

DOG BARKS IN DISTANCE

GUNSHOT

DOGS BARK IN DISTANCE

DISTANT VOICES

WHISTLING

DISTANT VOICES

WHISTLING

DOGS BARK

DISTANT SHOUTING: "PROTHEROE!"

Argh!

BIRDSONG

Sir?

Look at how it was buried.

That child was loved.

Tom? Have you spoken to Prosser?

The IPCC have submitted their report.

You're in the clear.

Doesn't feel that way.

Preliminary report from the scene, sir.

The body was that of an infant male, 18 to 24 months.

No sign of injury, no broken bones.

We need a DNA comparison between Nora and the dead child.

We need to establish time and cause of death

and when the child was buried.

-Are there any records of a second child?

-No. I checked.

Nora Protheroe was visited regularly by a health worker until 1999.

Only one pregnancy was ever recorded.

Autopsy report on Nora Protheroe.

No external injuries or signs of violence.

-She died of natural causes?

-Looks that way.

Most likely she suffered an epileptic fit.

Nora Protheroe.

A troubled girl, gets pregnant, has a baby,

lives a life of virtual recluse.

Why?

Perhaps she had something to hide.

Daniel didn't report his mother's death

because she was all he ever had.

All he ever knew.

And the only person who ever loved him.

This boy...

..is a poacher, a stargazer.

He's not a killer.

BIRDSONG

-I want to talk to your daughter.

-I'm not sure. My husband's...

It's OK, Mam, I want to talk to him.

On my own.

I used to see him in school.

Across the playground.

And up on the mountain.

He was the loneliest boy I ever saw.

All those times I saw him...

..he never looked back at me.

So what changed?

I don't know.

About...a year ago...

..it's like he looked up for the first time.

Like he saw me.

A year ago?

His mother was dead.

He was lonely.

He was reaching out.

Where is he, Branwen?

I wish I knew.

Why does everyone hate him so much?

They treat him like he's an animal

just because he's different from them.

Do you know who could've done this to him?

Who did it, Branwen?

You have to leave! You can see she's upset!

(OK.)

The baby was wrapped in a blanket and plastic.

But inside, it was wrapped in newspaper.

The paper underneath the body perished,

but above the body, a few bits survived.

Look at this date.

20th of June, 1999.

If that was the date of burial,

it makes the approximate date of birth February 1997.

The same age as Daniel.

It doesn't make any sense. There were no other children, right?

The records confirm that.

So the little boy we pulled from the ground, who is he?

I think it's Daniel.

The child's DNA matches the mother's.

Confirmation just came through.

So if the dead child is Daniel Protheroe...

Who are we chasing?

BIRDSONG

Branwen?

Branwen?

1997, Nora Protheroe has a son, Daniel.

1999, Daniel dies and Nora buries the body in the garden.

After that, she disappears off the radar.

Next thing you know, it's 2001,

and Nora enrols her child at Coed-y-Fedw Primary School,

and that boy is also called Daniel.

They tested Daniel's toothbrush from the house.

The DNA results confirmed there is no familial match

between Nora Protheroe and the boy she enrolled at school.

So, who...

..is this?

We've been through every database, local and national,

searching for any missing or abducted children.

We extended the age range in case we're wrong about the timeline.

There are no unsolved disappearances of any boy of that age at that time.

But a child doesn't just disappear like that, unnoticed.

There's media coverage, grieving parents. Look!

This...is the important timeline.

1999-2001. Please, check again.

What is it?

Tom?

What's the latest?

-We're still looking for Daniel Protheroe, sir.

-Is he our killer?

In my opinion, no, he's not.

Then why are we pursuing him?

To save him from the ones who think that he is, sir.

-And Owen Beynon?

-We're still pursuing all possible leads, sir.

He was very well connected, Tom.

I need results.

Well, I'm doing my best, sir.

You can tell that to the IPCC next time.

We were looking for a missing child, not a dead one!

April, 1999, a child disappears in the sand dunes at Ynyslas.

His name was Aled Roberts. He was three years old.

The area was searched, but the boy was never found.

It was presumed that he drowned at sea.

The body was never recovered.

This is the same boy.

This is Daniel.

I was part of the team that searched Ynyslas.

I'd only been in uniform two years.

I remember what the mother said now at the press conference.

"One minute he was laughing, the next he was gone."

In 2006, the child was legally declared dead.

The case officially remains open,

but with no evidence of foul play, it hasn't been reviewed in years.

Why didn't he come up on the database?

It hadn't been updated properly.

-Why didn't you remember?

-He was presumed dead!

Have we got an address for the parents?

-I don't think we should speak to them.

-Their child is still alive!

As far as the family is concerned, their son is dead.

You're not listening to me!

We should contact Social Services.

We don't know their situation, what the consequences might be.

They deserve to know!

-Yes, of course they deserve to know, but there's a way of doing things.

-They shouldn't have to wait!

-Tom!

-Objection noted, Mared.

KNOCK AT DOOR

FOOTSTEPS DESCEND STAIRCASE

FOOTSTEPS APPROACH

Ayesha?

Well, we have...

..reason to believe that your son, um...

..Aled...

..is still alive.

A young man we have come into contact with...

No, you've made a mistake.

-I know this is difficult.

-You've no idea.

Is Aled's father home?

-Mrs Roberts?

-We're no longer together.

I'm sorry.

Is there a way that we could contact him?

How do you know it's Aled?

-Um...

-Circumstances are...

..difficult.

Difficult?

He's a suspect in a crime.

SHE SIGHS

After all these years,

you come here and tell me you've found my son?

That this criminal is Aled?

My son is dead.

He drowned 16 years ago.

Mami!

I want you to leave.

Now.

Please.

Eluned Roberts lost her child, and we just made it worse.

There's a way of going about this job, procedure.

Things happen in a particular way for a reason.

We should have prepared her. Given her a chance to take it in.

-OK, Mared, I get it.

-Do you?

We've got a dead man in the mortuary, a dead mother and child,

and a boy who's running for his life on a mountain.

-We need professional focus!

-You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?

-Excuse me?

-You spend more time here than you do with your own daughter!

Mared...

I'm sorry.

I love my daughter.

SHE SIGHS

DOOR OPENS

I stick my neck out for you, Tom.

Time and time again.

I know.

You deserve better.

Where are you going?

To do my job.

You?

KNOCKS AT DOOR

I thought I told you to stay away.

I want to talk to Branwen.

She's already told you everything she knows about Daniel Protheroe.

She has nothing more to say.

She could help. She's the only one who knows him.

I don't want my daughter involved in this any more,

any more than she already is. He's trouble!

Is this you speaking, or your husband?

My husband is right. He's brought us nothing but grief!

It was Glyn who beat him, wasn't it?

Bethan?

Bethan...

If you had a child that was in trouble, you'd want to know

somebody was looking out for them, wouldn't you?

Nora's child is in trouble.

I don't know what you're on about.

Daniel is out there on the mountain on his own.

He's scared.

His mother is dead, he needs someone to look after him.

And I need the truth, Bethan!

It was Glyn who beat him, wasn't it?

Glyn caught him outside Branwen's window.

And he taught him a lesson?

-Yes?

-Yes.

SHE SOBS

He told him he'd kill him if he ever came back.

SHE SOBS

Glyn was brought up in a different time.

He finds it hard to connect with her.

But he doesn't mean any harm.

He loves his daughter.

BANGING UPSTAIRS

Branwen?

We have no reason to believe that Daniel would harm your daughter.

If you'd done your job...

it would never have come to this.

You should be out there, looking for her.

ENGINE STARTS

For years...

I wouldn't let myself believe he'd drowned.

Did everything I could to convince myself that...

..he might come back to me one day.

But in the end...

..we had to accept that he'd gone.

So that I could breathe again.

I felt like I was letting him down.

Giving up on him.

But at the same time, I owed it to my little boy to keep going.

To carry on, to live again.

But I never forgot him.

He was my son.

I want to see my son.

Plas Bach. Now.

You coming?

Why didn't you tell us that Plas Bach was being sold?

You didn't ask. I didn't think it was important.

How could it not be important? It changes everything.

-No.

-You were going to lose your home, Esyllt.

-It may not have come to that.

-I've checked your bank details.

I know you have nothing. All you have is this roof above your head.

How are you going to cope?

After all the years of service,

don't you feel betrayed by Owen Beynon?

When were you first told?

Esyllt?

A month ago.

Who else knew?

-Nobody.

-Esyllt.

Who knew?

Lewis is a good boy.

DOOR SQUEAKS

CAR APPROACHES

Where did you go after drinking in Aber?

I told you, I slept in the truck.

And the next morning you woke up and went straight to work?

Yes.

And it was your mother who told you about Owen's death?

You must have been very upset.

I was.

He was like a father to you, wasn't he?

Wasn't he?

It doesn't make any sense.

Why would somebody kill an innocent man like that

in cold blood in his own home?

A man who never hurt anyone. A kind man.

A man that always looked after you and you mother, always made sure

that you had a roof over your heads, that you'd never go without.

Who'd kill a man like that?

I don't know.

Oh, I think you do, Lewis. And I think your mother does, too.

Doesn't she?

I think she's known since the morning it happened.

Since she asked you to look her in the eye

and promise her you had nothing to do with it.

But you couldn't, could you, Lewis?

-Because you stole the guns to help her.

-No.

-Because you love her, Lewis, and she loves you.

-No.

And when you found out that he was leaving her with nothing

after she gave her life to him, you lost your temper.

You got angry.

He was going to throw her out

on the street, humiliate her, treat her like a dog.

And you're not going to let anybody do that to your mother,

-are you, Lewis? So what did you do? What did you do, Lewis?

-I hit him!

You knew we'd already checked the estate, didn't you?

So you hid the guns in the one place you knew we'd already looked.

I did it for my mother.

I did it for her.

He came downstairs...

Caught me with the guns.

He told me to put them back.

He made me feel small.

Like a little boy.

And he turned...

..to walk out the door.

Wasn't supposed to be there.

THUNDER ROLLS

SHE SOBS

Police! Police!

Sir! We got a call from Branwen Powell. They've caught Daniel.

HE LAUGHS

Hmm?

-Put it down, Glyn.

-You keep away from me.

-Daniel hasn't hurt anyone.

-He killed his own mother.

-No, he didn't.

And he didn't kill Owen Beynon, either.

Well, he knows where my Branwen is.

Branwen is here.

CAR DOOR OPENS

Argh!

Tom! No!

-Let it go!

-GUNSHOT

GLYN GASPS

GLYN COUGHS

He's just a boy, Glyn.

You don't know anything about him.

GLYN SOBS

Does Daniel know?

You ready?

SEAGULLS CALL