Episode 3: Part 1 Hinterland

KNOCK ON DOOR

HE MOUTHS

Meg.

Meg.

Sir.

Your phone was off.

Are you OK, sir?

INDISTINCT POLICE RADIO CHATTER

We've interviewed the two divers who discovered the body, sir.

They're amateurs. They were just out for a bit of fun apparently.

According to the doctor, the body's been down there weeks...months.

-ID?

-Young male, naked apart from his underwear.

The divers.

They broke in just before dawn.

They found the body ten metres down. It was tied to something.

-One of them caught it with his flipper and it broke away.

-Sir.

-Find out what was holding him down.

-And search the whole area.

We're looking for anything that can give us a name.

Who owns this place?

Tommy James, local businessman.

Runs a haulage company up in Penwyllt.

-Penwyllt?

-I'll take you there.

Mr James?

DI Rhys. DCI Mathias.

We'd like to talk to you.

-When did the quarry close?

-20 years ago.

-What did it produce?

-Stone.

-Why did it shut?

-It was worked-out.

And when were you last there?

Don't remember. Ages ago. Why?

Two men broke in there earlier today.

They found a body.

Any idea who it might be?

No idea, sorry.

You said that the quarry hadn't been worked for 20 years

so it couldn't have been someone who was working there.

There was no security guard? Or caretaker?

Why should I pay someone to guard a worked-out quarry? Fencing's cheaper.

I've got a licence for that.

-Do you still keep records of your employees?

-Somewhere.

I'd like to see them.

Me and the boys, we drive up the mountain in this,

-wait in the dark for a bit, then turn on the lights.

-And?

Shoot anything that moves.

Only rabbits.

You know these people?

Grew up around them helping Dad with his rounds.

Hello. Is your mammy in?

Mammy!

Mammy!

They shouldn't have been in there.

Doesn't matter how many signs you put up, people think they can go wherever they like.

And we'll need those back, please.

What did he look like?

The dead body?

Defi isn't like other children.

He sees the world in a different way.

We're trying to keep the worst of life away from him for now.

It'll get to him soon enough.

Do you have any idea who the dead man might be?

-MOBILE PHONE RINGS

-Excuse me.

DI Rhys.

I like your drawings, Defi.

You ever seen an owl?

The pathologists estimates death between two and three months ago.

Which would make it late January...

..February.

Twit-twoo.

Twit-twoo.

-I've been expecting you.

-Have you?

What about?

The body in the quarry.

-How do you know about that, Mr..?

-Morgan. Gwilym.

Small place, news travels fast.

He'd been in the water for two to three months.

-Someone from these parts?

-You tell me.

-Well, I'd say no.

-Why's that?

-Because I would have heard.

Do you have any idea who the dead man could be?

No.

We must establish who this man was as soon as possible.

We don't have a name yet but we're hoping with your help

we can find out who it is.

Anything you say will, of course, be treated with the utmost confidence.

But if you have any information, any ideas,

anything at all that might help,

please let us know.

Thank you for your time.

'Goodyear 18.4R38.'

Bog-standard tractor tyre.

Well-worn, no markings apart from the manufacturer's.

Any human contact traces soaked off weeks ago.

-And this was holding him down?

-Yes, sir.

Just tied to him with blue, plastic rope.

Standard, 16 mill, three strand polypropylene.

A sample of his DNA has gone off for matching.

We're also checking dental records, missing persons, hospitals, homeless charities.

No name, no age. How did he get into the water and why?

-Suicide?

-It's a possibility.

-Any sign of his clothing?

-No.

Why keep his pants on?

Dignity.

So he makes his way to the quarry naked,

apart from his underpants and he's what? Carrying this tyre?

Too heavy.

Rolling it along in front of him?

This was no suicide.

This man was stripped naked, near as dammit, and thrown into the quarry

tied to a tractor tyre to make sure that he stayed there.

-Murder?

-Yes, Lloyd!

Murder.

Come on, Mared, we're going back to the quarry.

Sir...

Just spoken to pathology.

Dental examination put the victim in his early 20s.

Bruising to the face and marks on the body

suggests he was beaten and his finger nails were worn away.

-He was trapped in a confined space.

-Cause of death confirmed as drowning.

-But they tested the water in his lungs against the water of the quarry.

-And?

It doesn't match.

He drowned somewhere else.

The pathology report says the water in his lungs

-shows high levels of peat and animal waste.

-Animal?

What sort of animal?

The water the victim drowned in contained significant quantities

of sheep's urine and faeces.

Well, there's plenty of that up here.

I thought you ran the pub?

I do. I also do this.

Some of the fencing at the quarry looks new.

-Who did the work?

-Me.

-When was that?

-A month ago thereabouts.

A disused quarry? Why?

Disused but still dangerous. Tommy knows his responsibilities.

You two are close friends.

I saw some photos in his office.

We grew up together.

We still don't have a name for the dead man. Any ideas?

No.

It's good of Mr James to give you the job at the quarry.

It's what friends do, isn't it?

CAR HORN

My husband's not in, if that's who you're after?

I've already spoken to him. Second job, is it? Fencing?

Yes. And just as well.

Business bad, then?

Quiet in the week, bit better at weekends.

Lots of postcards.

-Help cheer the place up.

-Who are they from?

Customers and some of the people we get stopping here.

Got a room upstairs. Do B&B.

Get all sorts here. Loggers, shearers.

Some of them stay in touch.

Can you give me any names?

Do you think one of them might be him in the quarry?

It's possible.

Names?

I'll do my best.

You lost?

No, not lost, just...

I'm just trying to work out how a drowned man's lungs got to be

full of water containing sheep shit and piss.

He could have fallen into a sump.

You wouldn't want to fall into one of them.

-What about the pens?

-That's where we sort the sheep out.

Can't see how your man would end up drowning in there, mind.

Thanks.

This one's Dean Hudson. Shearer.

Worked here for the last three seasons.

Any address?

-Lives in New Zealand. Sorry.

-What about this one?

Shelley. Agricultural student.

Girl.

This one?

"Hope you're well. Life moves on. M."

M?

-I can't remember.

-Matthew? Martin?

Might have been Matthew.

CHAIN SAW IN DISTANCE

METALLIC CLICK

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

Put it down!

Put it down, I said!

Now!

You tried to kill me.

-I thought you were...

-Who?

You shouldn't be here, it's private.

I was following a man that sells tyres in Penwyllt.

-Gwilym Morgan.

-You know him?

-Well, I've seen him about.

-Wasn't he up here to see you?

-I don't see anyone

-Why not?

I just don't.

What's your name?

Wyn. Wyn Bratton.

Were you up here in January, Wyn?

I live up here, why?

We found a body in the quarry yesterday.

I'm trying to find out who it is.

Well, I can't help you.

Well, you must know every inch of this forest.

What and who moves in and out.

I just get on with my job.

-Nature's simple, people complicate things.

-Is that why you live here?

-Yeah.

-In a caravan?

-Suits me.

Bed, roof, something to cook on.

For how long?

Four years.

-Lonely life.

-Only if you need company.

-Don't you?

-Have you finished?

-Not yet, no.

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

Lloyd?

We've got a match on the DNA, sir.

-His name's Michael Reynolds.

-Thanks.

-Did you phone just now?

-Yes. Why?

No reason just...

The dead man has a name.

Michael Reynolds. Does that mean anything to you?

Michael Reynolds was 24 and originally from Abercrave.

He taught science in a comp near Swansea, Ynysuchaf School,

until January.

Middle of the afternoon on Thursday 7th...

..he suddenly stops speaking and walks out of his classroom.

Then he goes home, packs a few things and leaves.

-Any problems at the school?

-No, the headmistress couldn't speak highly enough of him.

She said the kids loved him, too. He was a natural.

So why did he walk?

His parents were killed in a car crash a few months before.

The head thinks he'd bottled up his grief to the point where he simply couldn't take any more.

He left these things at the school.

It's a St Christopher, sir.

His housemates say it was a present from his parents.

Always wore it.

It wasn't on the body.

So he leaves the house,

calls a cab, spends a night in a hotel in Swansea.

The next day, January 8th,

he goes to a garage and buys a VW Camper Van.

Plate number E730 FLR.

He pays in cash and insists on taking it immediately.

He arranges insurance on the spot by phone, by card.

That's the last time the credit card was used.

-That's the last time anyone saw him.

-Where's the camper van now?

We're checking traffic cams, all available CCTV.

Details have been circulated to all regional forces.

Get this photocopied and circulated

and run a check on a Wyn Bratton for me, please.

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

DI Rhys.

MATHIAS: Meet me at Gwilym's garage in 15 minutes.

Yes, sir.

He broke down on the forest road.

Tommy found him and brought the camper van down here

-with the pick-up truck.

-When was that?

-January, early part.

-What was wrong with the camper van?

Clapped out. I agreed to repair it. I'm a qualified mechanic.

I love those old camper vans.

The freedom to move whenever you want.

You feel the need to move, do you, Mr Morgan?

No, no just...

Anyway, it took a few weeks, waiting for parts and that, you know.

Where did he live in the meantime?

Did he live with you?

No.

He lived with Dic and Lowri at the pub.

When did you last see him?

When he drove off. End of February.

There's a lot of Dic and Tommy. None of you.

Well, I took 'em, didn't I?

I saw you yesterday by the forest. Where were you going?

There's a short cut through there, to the next valley.

You weren't going into the forest?

No. No. Just to the next valley.

-How did he get on with everyone?

-Really well.

He didn't get into any arguments?

Fights? Make any enemies?

-Wasn't the type.

-What about you?

Did you like him?

Yes. We all did.

It's very sad.

How long was he here for?

A few weeks. He had the little room upstairs.

Can I see it?

Sorry. Sorry.

He was great with Defi and Defi loved him too.

He knew a lot about wildlife.

Defi's mad about animals and birds.

-Owls.

-Yeah.

Let me help.

I...

..haven't got enough time to spend with him.

Michael took him for walks in the woods.

Defi always came back full of the things they'd seen.

That's very trusting of you.

Do you think so?

Terrible news about Michael.

Please don't mention it to Defi.

We'll find our own way of breaking it to him.

Mrs James go lamping too?

Just the boys.

You, Dic and Gwilym?

That's right.

Did he leave anything?

-Any clothes, any personal items of any sort?

-No.

No. Nothing.

You all right?

I just can't believe it.

Sorry...

Lowri...?

Michael.

-MOBILE PHONE RINGS

-Lloyd?

We ran a check on Wyn Bratton.

His ex-wife moved herself and their two kids in with the new lover.

Bratton set light to his house.

-And?

-They got out OK.

Bratton got three years. That was 2005.

Defi.

Where would you go if you want to see an owl?

Mr Owl knows.

Mr Owl?

He's Michael's friend.

-He lives in the forest.

-Defi!

DOOR OPENS

I came to see if Wyn had heard the news about Michael.

I thought you said you didn't know him.

-I was shocked.

-So you were friends?

-Sort of. He came here sometimes.

-With Defi James?

That's his drawing, isn't it?

I showed him a barn owl one night. Next time, he gave me that.

Michael brought him here a few times.

When was the last time you saw him?

-The week before he left.

-Did he tell you he was leaving?

No.

Didn't you think that that was odd?

That's what people do, isn't it?

What are their names?

It doesn't matter.

He and Michael had a lot in common.

Michael had just lost his mam and dad and Wyn, well...

The two boys in the photo, he's not allowed to see them any more.

Michael started bringing Defi up here and he was really happy.

-Then Tommy put a stop to that.

-Why?

Cos he's an oddball who lives in a caravan on his own, I suppose.

-No other reason?

-Not that I know of.

Wyn's an outsider and what Tommy says goes around here.

Anyway, Wyn went into his shell after that.

-He won't talk to anyone about it.

-Not even to you?

No, not even to me.

-Would you drop me off outside the village?

-Why?

-Well...

-You'd rather not be seen with me.

No worries.

2003, Bratton and his wife divorce.

She claims he'd beaten her several times over the years.

She's granted sole custody of their boys,

aged four and six at the time, and moves away.

Bratton gets monthly visiting rights

but the boys don't want anything to do with him.

He accuses her of turning them against him.

There's a fight with the new boyfriend

and a day later, he torches the house.

A neighbour sees flames, alerts the wife.

She and the boys get out without injury.

Bratton claims in court that he thought the house was empty,

that he loves his boys and would never do anything to harm them.

What did he get?

Three years and banned from going anywhere near her and the boys.

I don't think he intended to kill anyone.

And none of this makes him our killer.

-Intuition, sir.

-Is that reason enough not to bring him in?

He's got no motive to kill Michael Reynolds, sir.

Has no alibi either and a history of violence.

Now, those children were only four and...

Six years old, sir! Yes, I know.

And he's spent the last four years on his own in that forest

regretting every minute of it.

Living in a caravan.

You all right?

Sorry to bother you. It's about Bratton.

I'll catch you up.

-I think he killed Michael.

-For what reason?

They knew each other...

And I had the idea that maybe the missing camper van was up in the forest.

That's where I was going yesterday. To look for it.

But we didn't know it was Michael at that point.

Yeah, but there was a body and Bratton's got a record.

I saw him the night Michael went missing by the quarry.

It was a terrible night, raining hard and I remember thinking,

"What the hell is he doing out on a night like this?"

-So why were you out there?

-I was on my way to the pub.

You remember, Tommy?

Can't say off the top of my head, but then I can't remember

when you weren't in the pub.

Right.

It has to be him because it's not one of us.

Nobody in this village would do something like that.

It's him.

I'm right, aren't I?

Offside front tyre's got a slit in it.

Slap a new one on for me, will you?

Would you be surprised to know if I told you

that one of Defi's drawings was in Bratton's caravan?

No.

But you put a stop to his visits?

He's 12 years old and vulnerable.

What would you do?

Mrs James?

Carry on.

We weren't sure if he was talking about the birds or a person.

But we soon realised he meant Bratton.

And that was a problem for you?

We were happy for Defi to spend time with Michael

but not Bratton, not in that caravan.

Being Michael, he defended Bratton.

He said Tommy was being unfair just because he didn't fit in.

Did your husband ever feel that Michael was undermining his relationship with Defi?

Not at all.

Tommy was pleased Defi had a made a real friend. We both were.

Michael wasn't here very long, was he?

-You placed a lot of trust in him.

-You never met Michael.

Either of you.

You'd understand if you had.

We're trying to establish what Michael did in the days

leading up to his death, Mr James.

We know he spent quite a lot of time with Defi.

-I'd like to talk to him.

-No, he's just a child.

Gwyneth, we can't keep him wrapped in cotton wool forever.

Where is he?

In the garden.

Defi?

Defi!

Defi!

Defi!

Defi!

Defi! Where are you?

Defi.

Defi!

TOMMY: Defi!

Defi!

There'll be a team of officers here in half an hour.

I can't wait that long.

I've been all over the village.

I'm telling you, it's Bratton.

Hey, we don't know anything for sure yet.

Drink that.

See if there's anything in those paintings that can give us a clue.

-What's the point?

-Will you just look at them?

What is it, Tommy?

-That could be Defi.

-Who's the big one? Michael?

No. It could be Bratton.

The quarry. It's the one place we haven't looked.

Come on! Come on!

Mammy!

-LOUD BANGING

-Gwil! Agor y drws!

MOBILE PHONE RINGS

Lloyd?

Sir, it's Gwilym Morgan.

Dic Rees has just found him dead in his garage.

Thank you.

Onset of rigor puts time of death between two and four this morning.

His best friend's son goes missing

and he was the only one who doesn't help look for him.

Where did he go?

The firearms register shows he has a licence

for a 12 bore, double barrel shotgun.

-Looks like it was his own gun.

-It was loaded with game shot.

24 hours ago, he stood here trying to convince me that Bratton killed Michael Reynolds.

Why this? Why now?

-Maybe the guilt caught up with him.

-Maybe.

Straightforward suicide, then.

-Tell ballistics to call me as soon as they've got a report.

-Yes, sir.

This is harassment.

Gwilym Morgan died in the early hours of this morning.

Shot himself by the looks of it.

You don't seem very sorry.

I hardly knew him.

-When did you last see him?

-I can't remember.

Well, he said that he saw you at the quarry the night Michael died.

-He was lying.

-Where were you, then?

-Here.

-Can you prove that?

You know I can't.

I liked him. Why would I kill him?

Why would Gwilym lie?

He's always had it in for me.

Him and his little gang - Tommy, Dic and him.

Could Gwilym have killed Michael?

Only he knows that.

-Where were you last night?

-Trying to sleep.

-You have trouble sleeping?

-Sometimes.

I went for a spin. It helps.

-How do you sleep?

-Where do you get your water from?

Cooking, washing.

Where does it come from?

I fill containers.

From the pub?

-Not any more.

-Since Michael left?

-About that time, yeah.

-So what now? You just use the streams?

Things live and die in streams, fill them with piss and decay, so, no.

No, I use rain water.

'You don't think it's odd that Gwilym didn't help look for Defi?

He did, didn't he?

Apparently not.

What time did you get to bed last night?

Just after Dic got in. About half twelve?

Did you tell him you'd been out to see Bratton?

-No.

-Why not?

I don't tell him what I'm up to every minute of the day.

That's not the reason, is it?

You didn't tell him because you didn't want him to know about the affair.

-How did you find out about that?

-It's pretty obvious.

I wanted to know if he'd said anything about it to Dic.

Why would Bratton tell Dic? Lowri, you're not making any sense.

Are you, or are you not having an affair with Bratton?

Bratton? No.

You were having an affair with Michael Reynolds?

He was like a brother to me.

If he was in any trouble...

All he had to do was ask and I'd be there for him always.

When did you last see him last?

Last night, in the pub. He was worried about Defi.

Like we all were.

Could Gwilym have had anything to do with Michael Reynolds's death?

No.

Not Gwilym.

Michael persuaded Wyn to let us use his caravan.

When you told me who it was in the quarry...I panicked.

I had to know if Wyn had told Dic about me and Michael.

He said he hadn't.

-I was so relieved.

-Why?

It means Dic's in the clear.

What happened the night Michael went?

I was out, got back late.

Dic told me that the camper van was fixed and that he'd gone.

-How did you feel about that?

-How do you think?

He didn't even say goodbye.

I didn't hear a word from him, until this...

"M." Michael.

I keep thinking, you could be wrong, couldn't you?

About Michael?

Mix-ups happen, don't they?

I mean, if he's dead, how could he have sent me that in April?

Lowri, Michael's dead.

And he has been since February.

Postmarked April 9th.

-Does she have any idea who sent it?

-No.

But whoever it was wanted her to think that he was still alive.

Find out if anyone from Penwyllt was in Dublin in April.

-Ferries, airlines, scour the passenger lists.

-Yes, sir.

-Get someone onto Ynysuchaf School for a sample of Michael's handwriting.

-OK.

-Lowri and Michael were using Bratton's caravan for sex.

-What?

Bratton wasn't happy about it.

-Dic Rees know about that?

-She says not.

-Let's get him in for a chat.

-PHONE RINGS

Mared Rhys. Hang on.

Ballistics for you.

Mathias.

INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER

'The preliminary report from the postmortem

'and the assessment of the ballistics experts have cast doubt

'on what happened the night Gwilym Morgan died.'

Our initial analysis of events at the scene was wrong.

Further investigation has shown that the length of the gun barrel

was too long for Gwilym to have been able to reach the trigger himself,

and no evidence has been found of any mechanism

which would have enabled him to do so.

Gwilym Morgan did not kill himself.

The distribution of debris from the head indicates that the angle

at which he was shot is not consistent with the gun being fired

by the deceased himself.

Gwilym Morgan was murdered.

-What the hell are you doing?

-Bratton knows something, that's for sure.

But so do Dic Rees and Tommy James.

Something happened in that village and I know they're all involved.

These were written by the same person.

Get onto traffic. Get him stopped!

I didn't kill him! Why won't you believe me?