0:00:03 > 0:00:06# Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream
0:00:06 > 0:00:11# Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily Life is but a dream!
0:00:11 > 0:00:15SHOUTING: # Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream
0:00:15 > 0:00:17# Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
0:00:17 > 0:00:18# life is but a dream!
0:00:18 > 0:00:20# Row, row, row your boat... #
0:00:20 > 0:00:26Oh, baby! You're really turning me on!
0:00:26 > 0:00:29You really shouldn't say these things.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31# Row, row, row your boat... #
0:00:31 > 0:00:36You don't know what you're doing to me. But you're making me really hot.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38You know what I mean.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40CHILDREN SQUEAL AND TROLLEY TRUNDLES
0:00:40 > 0:00:44What, the red ones? You know I love those, baby!
0:00:48 > 0:00:52# Row, row, row your boat gently down the stream... #
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Silence! This is a bloody library!
0:00:57 > 0:01:00- ALARM SOUNDS - Oh, Brian.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Come on.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09ALARM CONTINUES
0:01:09 > 0:01:10# It's all right, it's OK
0:01:10 > 0:01:13# Doesn't really matter if you're old and grey
0:01:13 > 0:01:17# It's all right, I say it's OK
0:01:17 > 0:01:20# Listen to what I say
0:01:20 > 0:01:21# It's all right, doing fine
0:01:21 > 0:01:24# Doesn't really matter if the sun don't shine
0:01:24 > 0:01:28# It's all right, I say it's OK
0:01:28 > 0:01:31# We're getting to the end of the day. #
0:01:35 > 0:01:37- Hold on, we've seen all these. - And these.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Yup, we've read all of them, and none of them seemed worth pursuing.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43- Well then.- So now we're going to read them all again.- Why?
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Because the DAC noticed that a bunch of these files never seem to get
0:01:47 > 0:01:48to the top of the pile, and he'd like to see some of them progressed.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51So that's what's going to happen.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Smashing.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20- Well, is this all right? - This is heaven!
0:02:20 > 0:02:25They've got over a million volumes, and, unlike the British Library,
0:02:25 > 0:02:30- they're on open shelves, so you can browse them yourself.- Terrific. - And you can take them home!
0:02:30 > 0:02:31What, like a library, you mean?
0:02:31 > 0:02:37Look, there's no racks of CDs, DVDs, no misery memoirs.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41- No fun at all, then?- It's a proper library. It smells of books!
0:02:41 > 0:02:45- Any progress with these files?- Nah. - Yeah, this one's interesting.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Richard Symes, 2007, suspicious death.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52Died from traumatic injuries apparently sustained in a fall.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54It wasn't interesting the last time we looked at it.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59- Well, among the deceased's possessions was a London Library card.- Do leave off!
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Don't you think you're getting a little bit, er, forgive the expression, obsessive?
0:03:02 > 0:03:05- Hang on a moment, I think Brian's got a point to make.- Thank you.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07At least, I hope he has.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Richard Symes had a load of books out from the London Library, some of which
0:03:11 > 0:03:13he'd taken out just before he died.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17- Which seems a bit odd if you're feeling suicidal.- Accident?
0:03:17 > 0:03:20What's he doing falling off a roof on a cold, wet night in November?
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- Any motive for murder?- Not according to the original inquiry.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26Coroner recorded an open verdict.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29What makes you think we're going to do any better? Is there any new evidence?
0:03:29 > 0:03:31No, but I was wondering,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33did anybody ever read these books?
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- Reading the books might tell an investigator something. - You go and read them.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41- You're a member. - Oh, now, Sandra, hang on a minute. I've only just joined.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45If I go barging in there with my ex-copper's boots on, I'll put everyone's backs up.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49Just find the books and have a look at them. Any reader can do that.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Basically, Brian, you'll be drawing your salary for sitting on your arse with your nose in a book.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55Enough said.
0:03:57 > 0:04:03Dr Richard Symes, head of the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05London Municipal University.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08He was an authority on botanical sciences in the 18th century.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12I've solved this already. He died of boredom.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15The body was discovered November 2007.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Now, the post-mortem found injuries consistent with
0:04:18 > 0:04:22- a fall from the roof terrace of the university library building. - Witnesses?
0:04:22 > 0:04:24No, nobody saw the fall.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Body discovered by Pavel Illich, a security guard.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31- Family?- Yes, a widow, Paula Symes.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36- Ooh, hello! Maybe he didn't die of boredom.- So predictable, Gerry.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39Described as an antiquarian book dealer.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- No children.- I'll talk to her.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45I'll come with you. Jack, you can go to the university and check if the security guard's still around,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48and see if any of his colleagues are available for interview.
0:04:48 > 0:04:49- Yeah.- And Brian...
0:04:49 > 0:04:51I'll get my reading boots on.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- Pavel Illich?- Yes. - My name's Jack Halford. I'm with the Metropolitan Police.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16We're reinvestigating the death of Richard Symes. You found the body?
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Ah, yes, about where you're standing now.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20Hmmm.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Can we get access to the roof terrace?
0:05:22 > 0:05:24- Sure. This way, please.- Thank you.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32Come this way, please.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34All this work...
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Refurbishing the library, are they?
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Never. It's being turned into student accommodation. More money that way.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43So where are they putting the library?
0:05:43 > 0:05:44No more library.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Did you know Richard Symes?
0:05:53 > 0:05:58I knew who he was. Security, we have to know. But not more than that.
0:05:58 > 0:06:00What was he doing up here?
0:06:00 > 0:06:06This "roof terrace" is hardly the hanging gardens of Babylon, is it?
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Library is a no-smoking area. Students, staff, come out here for a cigarette.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13According to my information, Symes was a non-smoker.
0:06:13 > 0:06:19- So what might've been the attraction on a wet November night?- A mystery.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33- Type in as much information as you have about a book. - MAN COUGHS
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Mr Lane?
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Yeah, sorry, sorry.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51The display shows that we've got it. Now click on "availability".
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Now you can see the book's available for borrowing.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58All you need to do is note down the shelf-mark and you can find it.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00I think I've got the hang of that.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Thanks very much... Emma.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Just ask if there's anything you need help with.
0:07:04 > 0:07:08What's your particular area of interest?
0:07:08 > 0:07:11Yeah, well... Books, really.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Well, you've come to the right place.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58KNOCK ON DOOR
0:07:59 > 0:08:02Mr Halford, the Vice Chancellor.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04- Jeremy Ventham.- Jack Halford.
0:08:04 > 0:08:05Thank you for seeing me, Mr Ventham.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10It's Doctor, actually, but we don't go in for formality at LMU.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15Oh, not being a varsity man myself, I don't grasp all the distinctions.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17- Sit down, Jack.- Thank you.
0:08:18 > 0:08:25I told your secretary, that we're, um, investigating the circumstances of the death of Richard Symes.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Yes, er...
0:08:27 > 0:08:29very sad business.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Can you think of any reason why he would've been on the roof terrace that night?
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Your guess is as good as mine.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38I was hoping to see some of his old colleagues, but of course his
0:08:38 > 0:08:41- department doesn't exist any more, does it?- That's right, Jack.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44"History and Philosophy of Science".
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Bit ivory tower for us.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Doesn't cut it with LMU's target demographic.- Really?
0:08:49 > 0:08:53A bright kid with straight As or the International Baccalaureate wants to
0:08:53 > 0:08:57hear about accountancy, management economics, company and commercial law.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02She's made an investment, she's heavily leveraged, she wants to see big-time pay-back.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06- When was the Symes department closed down?- Just after his death.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11How did he feel about the department closing down, and the imminent end of his career?
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Well, nobody wants to be in a situation like that, but, er, I mean the fact is,
0:09:14 > 0:09:19poor old Richard wanted to go on living in the 1960s, when he was a student.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Academia was a different world back then.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Jobs for life, grants, not loans.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29Cloud cuckoo land. It couldn't last. We all had to grow up.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31And he accepted it?
0:09:31 > 0:09:33I think he found ways to live with it.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Yes, all right, till after lunch, yes.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Am I right for Bibliography?
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Dear me, no, this is Biography, A to H.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Two more floors to go!
0:09:53 > 0:09:55You're new here, aren't you?
0:09:55 > 0:09:58- Yes.- Don't worry, we still get lost.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01And we've been regular users for 30 years!
0:10:01 > 0:10:03- Follow us!- Thank you.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06I'm Jasper Urquhart, by the way.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08This is my wife, Sophie.
0:10:08 > 0:10:09Brian Lane. How d'you do?
0:10:09 > 0:10:12- What's your field, Brian?- Sorry?
0:10:12 > 0:10:15What are you researching into? If it's not a secret!
0:10:15 > 0:10:20Oh, well, er, history and philosophy of science, and so forth.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Oh, how interesting. That's rather close to our own field.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25- Oh? What's that then?- The corn field.
0:10:25 > 0:10:32- Oh, Jasper, you wicked man. - Or the fallow field, or the pasture.
0:10:32 > 0:10:38- We're economic historians, Mr Lane, and we specialise in the agricultural revolution.- Fantastic!
0:10:38 > 0:10:43Not a fashionable topic in today's academic world, but we struggle on.
0:10:43 > 0:10:47Religion, that way. Bibliography, this way.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I must say I'm a bit surprised at the university closing its library.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Wasn't cost effective, given the overheads.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58If the students need books, there's our excellent and highly profitable shop,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02but, quite frankly, Jack, LMU's new multi-media learning resource centre
0:11:02 > 0:11:06is a far better source of information access than any old library.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09This is the digital age - books are history.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Yes, well, thanks for your time, Jeremy.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15We may need to talk again.
0:11:15 > 0:11:17Of course, Jack.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Er, as a matter of interest,
0:11:20 > 0:11:22what's your academic discipline?
0:11:22 > 0:11:24I came up through the business school.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28Before I became Vice Chancellor, I was head of the Department of Financial Control.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33No end to what people study these days, is there?
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Check out our prospectus, Jack.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42- You might find something that appeals.- Oh, thank you.
0:12:00 > 0:12:01I thought this might help.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Thanks.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18- Any assistance we can give, feel free to ask.- Thanks very much.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Ssh!
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Oh, that's a bit posh.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29I've never met a rich widow.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32She doesn't own the business, she just works here.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Well, maybe some day...
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Richard's sudden death was a deeply traumatic experience for me.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43These past three years, I've moved on. I really see no purpose in reopening the matter.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45The cause of death was never established.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48The cause of death was Jeremy Ventham.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51- What exactly do you mean by that? - I don't mean that he pushed him off the roof...
0:12:53 > 0:12:56- He just destroyed Richard's life, that's all.- How?
0:12:56 > 0:13:01Richard believed in giving his students the very best, and he expected the best from them.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05I know that because he was my teacher, 20 years ago.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09- Richard believed in academic standards.- So, what did Jeremy Ventham do wrong?
0:13:09 > 0:13:14Ventham thinks that the university is a degree factory, and that the students are customers.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17So they should get what they want for their money.
0:13:17 > 0:13:23- Meaning?- Meaning high marks for average achievements, and pass marks for no achievement at all.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Richard objected to this, but Ventham told him to "teach to their expectations".
0:13:27 > 0:13:33When Richard tried to defend his department's integrity, Ventham decided to close it down.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35When you say this was the cause of your husband's death...?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38I don't know whether he took his own life,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42but I know he felt betrayed and abused.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49Brian.
0:13:49 > 0:13:55Y'know, Esther, I ask myself if I'm not wasting my talents in the rough and tumble of criminal investigation.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58I'm sure I'm better suited to the life of the mind.
0:13:58 > 0:14:03Quite possibly. Look, will you please come and have a look at the cracks in the plasterwork upstairs?
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- It could be subsidence. - Why don't you get that Polish bloke to look at it?
0:14:06 > 0:14:12He can't deal with subsidence. It might need underpinning. It could be an insurance job!
0:14:12 > 0:14:16Well, whatever you decide, my dear.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20I'm beginning to feel I could spend the autumn of my days in scholarly seclusion,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24unearthing the mental and spiritual riches of the world of literature.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Why not go the whole hog and become a monk?
0:14:27 > 0:14:29You've already got the haircut.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33SANDRA: Contrary to what you told my colleague, it's been put to us
0:14:33 > 0:14:35that you forced Richard Symes out of a job
0:14:35 > 0:14:40because he refused to lower his standards to get more students through with higher grades.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42He wasn't a martyr for academic standards.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45He took early retirement because I gave him a choice.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51- Either go quietly with a generous retirement package, or face criminal prosecution and dismissal.- For what?
0:14:51 > 0:14:54The theft of books from the university library.
0:14:54 > 0:15:00Some valuable items went missing. Books of the same description appeared in the antiquarian market.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02- You know Paula Symes is in the rare book trade?- Yes.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05We believed she was in charge of what you'd call the handling.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09- How did he get the books out of the library?- I have no idea.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11We had an electronic security system.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15If I'd known the details, I could've sacked him on the spot instead of buying the bugger off.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Was any of this reported to the police?
0:15:17 > 0:15:20That's not what I wanted, for the sake of LMU's image.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24But, confronted with my suspicions, Symes
0:15:24 > 0:15:28seemed happy enough at the prospect of taking the money and going.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34It's a sad, sordid story, but that's all there is to it.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19Look at the state of this lot.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22I only hope they appreciate what they're getting.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25University wasn't an option when I was young.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27It was a privilege of the elite.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31Well, it's not much of a privilege now. In fact, most of them are up to their necks in debt for it.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35- Well, I hope it inculcates a sense of adult responsibility.- I doubt it.
0:16:35 > 0:16:40Now, look, is that deep, or is it bloody obvious?
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I think you'd have to have a degree in philosophy to work that one out, Jack.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Yeah, well, a bit late in the day for degrees now.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53- It's never too late!- Come on, Sandra. How could I possibly hold my own with all these smart kids?
0:16:53 > 0:16:57- When I was at university, you didn't have to be a genius. It's certainly not got any harder.- Well, maybe.
0:16:59 > 0:17:01- Pavel? Hello!- Oh, hello.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04This is Pavel Illich. He found Symes' body.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07This is my colleague, Detective Superintendent Pullman.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10- Off duty? - Security is a part time job.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12I'm also a PhD student in economics.
0:17:12 > 0:17:13Working your way through college?
0:17:13 > 0:17:17- Well done. - Isn't that Jasper Urquhart?
0:17:17 > 0:17:20- Yes, it is, yes.- We were told the Urquharts had retired.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23Well, yes. But they came back, part time.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28- Teach economic history as option for economics undergraduates. - Big demand for that?- Not really.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31- As Henry Ford say, history is punk.- Bunk.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Yes. A soft option for wankers.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Economists with any brain wants to do what I'm doing.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43Learn to build mathematical models of derivative trading, join the merchant bank and make megabucks.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45So why were the Urquharts brought back?
0:17:45 > 0:17:52Vice Chancellor says economics students need more breadth of cultural understanding.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55If you excuse me, I have a meeting with my supervisor.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Doesn't sound like a Jeremy Ventham line to me.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Brian, join me.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05Oh, thank you.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10How are you settling in as a library member?
0:18:10 > 0:18:11Very well, thank you.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Good.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20Now, Brian, tell me, as a philosopher of science,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24do you support Kuhn's idea of revolutionary paradigm shifts?
0:18:24 > 0:18:31Or are you tempted by the radical antinomianism of Feyerabend?
0:18:31 > 0:18:34I try to keep an open mind.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39I'm sure it's very wise.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43So, what brings Jasper and yourself to the library?
0:18:43 > 0:18:45We're academics, where else would we go?
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Especially since our university library has been taken over by a
0:18:49 > 0:18:53"multi-media learning resource centre",
0:18:53 > 0:18:56full of undergraduates
0:18:56 > 0:18:58playing with their mobile phones.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Point taken.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06What exactly are you researching, Brian?
0:19:07 > 0:19:13Bibliographical questions in my field of interest.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15So how is the work progressing?
0:19:15 > 0:19:17Mmm...
0:19:19 > 0:19:22I can't quite see the wood for the trees at the moment.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Really?
0:19:27 > 0:19:29You know, sometimes it helps to talk things over.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34Oh, I think I've got to work this one out for myself.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56- If Symes was a thief, maybe that's what he was doing on the roof.- What?
0:19:56 > 0:20:00The university library has an electronic security system.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02All the books have to be checked at the desk,
0:20:02 > 0:20:05otherwise they set off an alarm when they go through the turnstile.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08But Symes may have found a way round that.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11He takes the books onto the roof, chucks them down to an accomplice,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13who takes them off to Paula to be fenced.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17OK, OK, if we go with that, then we could be looking at an accident.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Symes leans over too far...
0:20:19 > 0:20:23Yeah, but what about this accomplice, the book catcher on the ground?
0:20:23 > 0:20:26At the very least he would've witnessed the death.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Right, so we're looking for an accomplice-stroke-witness.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34And murderer. There was a criminal conspiracy. Thieves fall out.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Nicking library books is hardly a criminal conspiracy, is it?
0:20:38 > 0:20:42I can't see middle-class professional people killing each other over it.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44There could be a lot at stake, Gerry.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Talking about book theft's made me realise what Symes' reading list was all about.
0:20:49 > 0:20:56- Go on.- Well, I thought it must be about particular subjects, or authors, or periods of history.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58But that was all wrong.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01All these bibliographies and catalogues
0:21:01 > 0:21:05include information about books that are quite exceptionally valuable.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07That's the common factor.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10So Symes was doing his homework for the thefts?
0:21:10 > 0:21:13So are we talking serious money? For old books?
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Tens of thousands of pounds. In some cases, millions.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19The university was just a poly a few years ago.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23- They wouldn't have rare books lying around, surely?- They might not have known what they'd got.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28- Right, I want to know more about Paula, and her book business. Jack, you haven't met her.- No.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- So keep an eye on her for a few days, see how she operates.- Right.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35- Brian, are you finished in the library?- Dear me, no. I still need to be there.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38There's some very funny stuff going on.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- Like what?- Well, my documents have been suspiciously disturbed.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44So have you, from time to time.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48And there's something very odd about the way the Urquharts are behaving towards me.
0:21:48 > 0:21:54- Just who do they think you are, Brian?- Just another member of the intelligentsia, obviously.
0:22:20 > 0:22:21Thank you.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Mr Lane, this is a library!
0:23:05 > 0:23:08According to the original inquiry, you were both working
0:23:08 > 0:23:12- in the university library the night Richard Symes died? - Yes.- Yes, that's right.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17And you said you suspected nothing suspicious. Is that still your recollection?
0:23:17 > 0:23:19The first we knew of it was the sound of the
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- ambulance, and the police arriving. - Did you speak to him that evening?
0:23:22 > 0:23:24- No, not at all. - How well did you know him?
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Well, we were in different departments, but we had interests in common.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31Richard was a specialist in 18th-century botanical science,
0:23:31 > 0:23:37and obviously that was relevant to our study of agricultural history.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42- In fact, we three collaborated on an academic paper.- In the Journal of the History of Economic Thought.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Was there anything in Richard's behaviour that might lead you to
0:23:45 > 0:23:48- believe that he would take his own life?- No.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52- No, not at all.- But you can never tell with people, can you?
0:23:52 > 0:23:53Did he have any enemies?
0:23:53 > 0:23:55None that we know of.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57What can you tell us about the allegations that he was
0:23:57 > 0:24:01systematically stealing the university's books?
0:24:01 > 0:24:08Well, we were aware that books were missing from the library, but we never suspected Richard.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20Item 17 on your list, a copy of Lewis Carroll's Through The Looking Glass.
0:25:20 > 0:25:271872, first edition, a reserve price of £500 had been set. However, it's been brought to my attention that
0:25:27 > 0:25:30this item is not complete, as described in your catalogue.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Page 63 is missing.
0:25:33 > 0:25:36Due to the incomplete nature of the item, the reserve has been removed.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41Nevertheless, I'll start by asking for £500. 400?
0:25:41 > 0:25:44300?
0:25:44 > 0:25:46250?
0:25:46 > 0:25:49250 I have. Any advance? 260, anyone?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52260 I'm bid. Any advance?
0:25:52 > 0:25:53Madam?
0:25:53 > 0:25:56The bid is 260.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Anyone?
0:25:58 > 0:26:00Sold to the gentlemen in the second row.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06- Good afternoon, sir. - The name's Timothy Mortimer.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10- Mortimer?- Mortimer. And the address is Flat 3.- Three.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14- 75 Winchford Road.- Winchford?
0:26:14 > 0:26:16- Winchford Road, West Hampstead. - Lovely.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34Great system, this, eh? What's your particular field of interest?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37- Business.- Yes?
0:26:37 > 0:26:40Particularly my own, and how to mind it.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50INAUDIBLE
0:27:39 > 0:27:45His name is Timothy Mortimer, and he was Richard Symes' research student at the time of Symes' death.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49So, Symes' widow and his research student are involved in their own book scam?
0:27:49 > 0:27:50And now they're getting up close and personal.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54And maybe Mortimer was also involved in the library thefts.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59We'll call them both in for interview. You and I will take her, you two do the boyfriend.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00Oh, no way. Wrong.
0:28:00 > 0:28:06- Sorry?- Well, if I show me hand as an investigator, me cover's blown at the library, isn't it?
0:28:06 > 0:28:10You're not there undercover, you're just doing a bit of reading.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14- This has gone way beyond that, I'm definitely being spied on. - You've said that before.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16This is not about my medication!
0:28:16 > 0:28:22- This case is all about books and libraries, and that's where it'll be solved. I know it is!- Oi!
0:28:22 > 0:28:26- I'm the guvnor here! - Yes, we're all clear about that, aren't we, Brian?
0:28:26 > 0:28:28There's no argument who gives the orders around here.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32But, I mean, think about this interview with Mortimer.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35It's all be about ducking and diving, a bit of rumpy pumpy on the side.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37I mean, that's my territory, isn't it?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39I mean, poor old Brian'll be way out of his depth.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43Maybe Gerry would be better off on his own.
0:28:43 > 0:28:48I'm sorry. Look, I just think I'll be more cost-effective
0:28:48 > 0:28:52if I can do another couple of days in the library, that's all.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55- A couple of days.- Yes!
0:28:55 > 0:28:57The meter's running.
0:29:00 > 0:29:02So what exactly do you do for a living, Tim?
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Well, I suppose I've got what you'd call a portfolio career at the moment.
0:29:05 > 0:29:11I'm still finishing my PhD. I do a bit of teaching, I make a bit of money as a runner in the book trade.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14- What does that mean? - I buy and sell books,
0:29:14 > 0:29:19but I don't have a business premises, or issue catalogues, or carry much stock.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23If I see a book at a good price, I'll buy it, try to sell it to a more established dealer.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26See, we've got a little problem.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30We think that you conspired with Paula Symes
0:29:30 > 0:29:37to defraud the auction house and the vendor... when this book was sold.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Well, that's putting a particular interpretation on events.
0:29:44 > 0:29:50This book was on sale in the shop where you work, described as complete and offered at £600.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55Now, a page has recently been "tipped in". I believe that's the technical term?
0:29:55 > 0:29:58A repair has been effected.
0:29:58 > 0:30:04- That's nothing unusual.- I think what I witnessed between you and Timothy Mortimer speaks for itself.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07A copy of a book changed hands at auction.
0:30:07 > 0:30:09A copy of the same book was for sale in the shop.
0:30:09 > 0:30:13You're making a lot of inferences after snooping into my personal life.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17- I think you'd have a hard time proving anything.- Maybe.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20But then you and the business you work for would also have a
0:30:20 > 0:30:23hard time whilst we were conducting the investigation, don't you think?
0:30:23 > 0:30:29We want you co-operation in our investigation into the death of Richard Symes.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33Now, in view of your recent conduct, you'd be well advised to come clean
0:30:33 > 0:30:37about what you were doing in the past. Do you understand?
0:30:37 > 0:30:41- Yeah.- Richard Symes was stealing valuable books from the university,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44and you were putting them on to the market for him.
0:30:44 > 0:30:50- It's right, isn't it, Paula?- Richard thought Jeremy Ventham was subverting the standards of the university.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55He knew Ventham wanted to destroy his department and to get rid of him.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58The library itself was scheduled for closure.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03Collections that had taken decades to build up would be dispersed, probably
0:31:03 > 0:31:07- at knock-down value, that's if they weren't just dumped into skips. - Surely that wouldn't happen?
0:31:07 > 0:31:12It's happened before, with libraries being wiped out by bean-counting barbarians.
0:31:12 > 0:31:18So, Richard decided to go for what Ventham would no doubt call "pay-back".
0:31:18 > 0:31:21He smuggled out some saleable books, and I found buyers for them.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23When you say "saleable books", what are we talking about?
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Nothing very rare or precious.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28Maybe, what, 50 to £100, mostly.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32And can we be clear about the method, and who was involved?
0:31:47 > 0:31:48CAMERA CLICKS
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Richard brought the books out on to the roof terrace, and threw them down to me.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59And then I took them to Paula and she sold them on in the trade.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02Thank you, Tim. That's very good.
0:32:02 > 0:32:05So you were in the car park the night of Richard's fatal fall?
0:32:05 > 0:32:07No. Not that night.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Oh, come on. He was at it that night and you were his accomplice!
0:32:10 > 0:32:13No, I didn't know he was taking books that night so I didn't go.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15So where were you?
0:32:19 > 0:32:20That's difficult.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Oh, Brian, I wanted a word with you.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40We need a free and full exchange of views, Jasper.
0:32:40 > 0:32:43When did your affair with Tim Mortimer begin, Paula?
0:32:46 > 0:32:51Tim was very supportive in the months after Richard's death.
0:32:51 > 0:32:54Eventually, a relationship developed.
0:32:54 > 0:33:01- OK, so, just to be clear, you're saying that it started some time after Richard died?- Yes.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03We don't believe you.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Paula was, what,
0:33:06 > 0:33:0820 years younger than Richard?
0:33:08 > 0:33:12- Something like that.- And you met her when you were his student?
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Graduate student, yes.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Very attractive woman, eh?
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Intelligent, independent.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22When did the affair start?
0:33:24 > 0:33:29I tried to help Paula out as much as I could after the shock of Richard's death.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33We started seeing each other quite frequently, and then we both
0:33:33 > 0:33:37- realised we were strongly attracted to each other. - I don't doubt it.
0:33:37 > 0:33:39But what I do doubt is when it started.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42I think it happened while Richard was alive.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Look, son, we're going to be talking to people.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50Friends, neighbours, colleagues.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54We're going to be checking hotel registers, credit card bills, bank accounts.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Now believe me, I've been there.
0:33:57 > 0:34:03And if you were at it, someone will know about it. Someone always does.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06So you'd be better off to come clean right now.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15OK, the truth is Paula and I started a relationship about six months before Richard's death.
0:34:15 > 0:34:17Was he aware of it?
0:34:19 > 0:34:21I don't know.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23So, why have you two been spying on me?
0:34:23 > 0:34:27Why are you so interested in Richard Symes?
0:34:27 > 0:34:29I'm a scholar in the same field.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33No, you're not, Brian. You've no scholarly publications to your name.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36And you're quite ignorant about the basics.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Look, we're not here to discuss my credentials!
0:34:40 > 0:34:44We're here because of your outrageously underhand conduct!
0:34:44 > 0:34:50Well, the truth is, we realised you must be looking for the same thing as ourselves.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Yes, and you thought you'd take a short cut by plagiarising my research.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Well, let's see just how far you've got.
0:34:57 > 0:35:03We are, of course, talking about a particular book, aren't we?
0:35:03 > 0:35:07Stolen by Richard Symes from the university library?
0:35:07 > 0:35:08He shouldn't have done that.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10We're the ones who found it!
0:35:10 > 0:35:15We took it to Richard because it was in his specialist field, to ask if it really was...
0:35:15 > 0:35:17No, shush!
0:35:17 > 0:35:19Let's see what Brian thinks it might be.
0:35:24 > 0:35:29Well, we're obviously talking about a work of considerable value, aren't we?
0:35:32 > 0:35:35We're talking about a major work,
0:35:35 > 0:35:39about 18th century botanical science.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46Look I'm not prepared to reveal my hand any further without...
0:35:46 > 0:35:48without having some convincing evidence of your good faith.
0:35:51 > 0:35:52Bullshit.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56Don't forget I could ruin your reputations with the evidence I've got.
0:35:56 > 0:36:01Right, what have we got here? Photos.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05And you've just deleted them.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Pleasure talking with you, Brian!
0:36:11 > 0:36:14It was both amusing and instructive.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Now, you've a well-supported alibi for the night of your husband's death. But, of course,
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Tim could've killed him, couldn't he?
0:36:25 > 0:36:27The night Richard died, Tim was with me.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31The police found you at the hotel to notify you of the death,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34but they don't record the presence of anyone else.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38I got a call from reception to say that the police wanted to speak with me.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41I didn't know what it was about.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44Tim hid out in the bathroom.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48I didn't particularly want the police in on my adulterous relationship.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Thanks, Paula.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53I think we've made significant progress.
0:36:53 > 0:36:59Richard Symes, married to a much younger woman, who in turn takes a young lover.
0:36:59 > 0:37:01Classic scenario for murder.
0:37:01 > 0:37:03- Paula gave Mortimer an alibi. - Well, she would, wouldn't she?
0:37:03 > 0:37:08Yeah, but Mortimer could easily have travelled to the book fair with her but he would still have had time
0:37:08 > 0:37:10to get back in the evening and push Symes off the roof!
0:37:10 > 0:37:14- No, the book's the key to it. - Oh, not more bleeding books.- Go on.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17I fronted up the Urquharts today.
0:37:17 > 0:37:18They've admitted spying on me.
0:37:18 > 0:37:23- They're trying to track down a book, stolen by Symes from the university library.- What book?
0:37:23 > 0:37:25I don't know.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29They cottoned on to the fact I was bluffing, and clammed up.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Brian, does this help us with Tim and Paula?
0:37:32 > 0:37:36Symes stole the book, Symes was killed, the book's missing.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39If Tim or Paula are now in possession of it...
0:37:39 > 0:37:42We can hardly confront them with it if we don't know what it is.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45It's something the Urquharts wanted Symes' opinion about.
0:37:45 > 0:37:50So it's got to be in an area where they had shared interests - history of agriculture or botany.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54- They did all write a paper together. - What about?- Some kind of journal.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58- No, no, this is important! - Er, Journal of the History of...
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- Turnips, probably.- Turnips?!
0:38:00 > 0:38:03No, no, no. Journal of the History of Economic Thought! That's it.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07- The Library's still open. I can check this out tonight. - It's not that urgent, Brian.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Sandra, it's the thrill of the chase!
0:38:35 > 0:38:39- The Journal of the History of Economic Thought!- Yes? - Well, where is it?
0:38:39 > 0:38:43Learned journals are on Level Seven, right at the top.
0:39:09 > 0:39:12- Going-home time, Jack! - Yes, yes, I'm on my way.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16I, er, had an e-mail from the university.
0:39:16 > 0:39:17There's an Emma Curran.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20She was the librarian on duty the night that Symes died.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22I couldn't track her down at all.
0:39:22 > 0:39:25Turns out she's now using her married name, Emma Woodford.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27Works for the London Library.
0:39:27 > 0:39:29There's a job for tomorrow.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32Yeah.
0:39:32 > 0:39:38Y'know, when we were still in the job, Brian applied to a university as a mature student.
0:39:38 > 0:39:44- Really? What happened? - They interviewed him.
0:39:44 > 0:39:45Oh.
0:40:00 > 0:40:012005!
0:40:13 > 0:40:14Yes!
0:40:14 > 0:40:17"Arboriculture in the French Enlightenment."
0:40:17 > 0:40:21- You've lost me already. - Arboriculture, the science of tree cultivation.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25Richard Symes and the Urquharts wrote this paper together.
0:40:25 > 0:40:28I thought you were trying to work out what this mystery book was?
0:40:28 > 0:40:30Well, have a bit of patience and I'll get there.
0:40:30 > 0:40:37Now, part of this paper is about a fellow called Henri Duhamel, and a lot of the references
0:40:37 > 0:40:44are to Symes' PhD thesis on French botanical scientists, so I'm assuming that Symes wrote that bit of it.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Now the Urquharts wanted Symes' opinion
0:40:47 > 0:40:51on a book, so they must've thought it was potentially rare and valuable.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55And remember, the Urquharts knew that Symes was an authority on Duhamel.
0:40:55 > 0:41:01Hold on, hold on. So, are you saying that this unheard-of French bloke wrote a book that was worth nicking?
0:41:01 > 0:41:05A list of the top ten antiquarian book prices of all time.
0:41:06 > 0:41:11In 2006, Duhamel's "Traite Des Arbres Fruitiers,"
0:41:11 > 0:41:14that's "A Treatise On Fruit Trees,"
0:41:14 > 0:41:17sold for 4.5 million!
0:41:17 > 0:41:21- Good God!- Bugger me! - Worth nicking, eh?
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Worth killing for. Sandra?
0:41:38 > 0:41:41If I had a copy of Duhamel's Traite, I would've disposed of it
0:41:41 > 0:41:44through the trade, and I'd be living in the Bahamas.
0:41:45 > 0:41:50As well as searching your premises, we'll be investigating your financial records.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Waste as much time and public money as you like.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19- Sit down, Mr Halford.- Thank you.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Er, I don't think I can really add anything to the statement I made at the time.
0:42:26 > 0:42:28I was on duty at the university library,
0:42:28 > 0:42:32but I didn't know anything was wrong until the police and ambulance arrived.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34Did you speak to Richard Symes that evening?
0:42:34 > 0:42:36- Only to say hello. - How well did you know him?
0:42:36 > 0:42:39We knew each other professionally, but not socially.
0:42:39 > 0:42:44Did you notice anything out of the ordinary in his mood or behaviour that evening?
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Not at all.
0:42:46 > 0:42:50As a member of the library staff, you must've noticed that books were going missing?
0:42:50 > 0:42:56- Yes. Jasper and Sophie Urquhart made a lot of fuss about it.- Did they?
0:42:56 > 0:42:58Yes, but books do go missing from libraries.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03- Quite apart from readers failing to return them, they can be mislaid or mis-shelved.- Or stolen.
0:43:03 > 0:43:05Yes.
0:43:05 > 0:43:09Did you know that Richard Symes was suspected?
0:43:09 > 0:43:12No.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15Right.
0:43:15 > 0:43:16Some decisions need to be made.
0:43:16 > 0:43:18Mm.
0:43:18 > 0:43:20About the work on the house.
0:43:20 > 0:43:22Whatever you decide, dear.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29If we don't do something, and soon, this house could fall down round our ears.
0:43:29 > 0:43:31Did you hear what I said?
0:43:33 > 0:43:35House. Fall down around us.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Well, have you got anything to say about that?
0:43:38 > 0:43:40- Poe!- What?
0:43:40 > 0:43:44"The Fall of the House of Usher" - made me think of Edgar Allen Poe.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58- What are you looking for? - Tales Of Mystery And Imagination.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00- Why?- Because that's the answer!
0:44:02 > 0:44:04There you are.
0:44:04 > 0:44:07Esther, you're a genius!
0:44:11 > 0:44:15Hey, hey, I've cracked it!
0:44:17 > 0:44:19- I know where the book is!- Really?
0:44:19 > 0:44:24Yes, I said from the start this whole case will be solved in the library.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27- Is that it? - No, that's Edgar Allen Poe.
0:44:27 > 0:44:28What's he got to do with it?
0:44:28 > 0:44:31He wrote a story called "The Purloined Letter".
0:44:31 > 0:44:35A compromising letter goes missing, and the great detective discovers it,
0:44:35 > 0:44:38in open view, in a domestic letter rack!
0:44:38 > 0:44:40- I thought we were looking for a book?- It's the same principle.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42Where do you hide a book? In a library!
0:44:42 > 0:44:45And that's what Richard Symes did.
0:44:45 > 0:44:49He nicked a copy of Duhamel, he re-bound it with a fake title,
0:44:49 > 0:44:52- and he stuck it on a shelf at the London Library.- Wouldn't they notice?
0:44:52 > 0:44:55No, they've got a million volumes, how are they going to
0:44:55 > 0:44:56know about an extra one that's not in the catalogue?
0:44:56 > 0:45:03A book could sit there for years, especially if it's an obscure subject with a boring title.
0:45:03 > 0:45:09- Why did he do this?- He couldn't cash in on the book immediately. Other people were on the trail of it.
0:45:09 > 0:45:14- The Urquharts in particular. And he was right to be anxious, wasn't he? He was killed over that book!- Maybe.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18So who is it? The Urquharts? Tim Mortimer?
0:45:18 > 0:45:19- Person or persons unknown? - Oh, I haven't thought about that.
0:45:19 > 0:45:24Thank you. And where, amongst the millions of volumes, is this book?
0:45:24 > 0:45:26That's the question. I haven't worked that bit out yet.
0:45:26 > 0:45:32But if I could just enter into Symes' mind, I'm sure I could reconstruct his thought processes.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34That would be a very impressive trick.
0:45:34 > 0:45:39In the meantime, why don't you just disappear back into the library and leave all the dreary stuff to us?
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Witness statements, interviews, suspects.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46- I'm sure I'll have the nub of the matter in my grasp. - Mind you don't go blind.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54Oh, er, I'm supposed to give this to Dr Urquhart.
0:45:54 > 0:45:55We're expecting her any minute.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58Uh, thing is, I'm late for another class.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00We'll make sure she gets it.
0:46:00 > 0:46:01Cool.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08That's not how you spell "plough".
0:46:08 > 0:46:12It is in the States. He's probably downloaded the whole thing from an American website.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14What, is that what they get up to?
0:46:14 > 0:46:17Yeah, I told you, Jack, doing a degree is not rocket science.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Unless you're doing rocket science, I suppose.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24Actually, there are some bits that must be his own work.
0:46:24 > 0:46:30For "must have" he's got "must of", and he spelt "input" with an "m".
0:46:30 > 0:46:33- I could do better than this! - So what's stopping you?
0:46:33 > 0:46:35Well, I wouldn't come to this place.
0:46:35 > 0:46:39I want to be able to stretch the old brain a bit before it seizes up completely.
0:46:39 > 0:46:44- There are much better places than this, Jack.- Yes, well. - Oh, hello.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48Hi. Sophie, we would like you to come down to the station with us
0:46:48 > 0:46:54- to do an interview about the death of Richard Symes. - Oh! Very well, then.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57By the way, a budding Nobel Prize-winner left you this.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59Thank you.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04Well, he's progressing.
0:47:04 > 0:47:10- Really?- Oh, yes. Last time, he printed out the bit that said, "For further information, click here".
0:47:13 > 0:47:16There's one thing that puzzles us, Sophie.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19Jeremy Ventham seems very keen to have got rid of
0:47:19 > 0:47:23departments and teachers who, in his terms, weren't pulling their weight.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26And yet he took you two back on.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28So what favours does he owe you?
0:47:28 > 0:47:29For keeping quiet.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31About what?
0:47:31 > 0:47:37One evening, we happened to be passing through the dogmatic theology section of the university library,
0:47:37 > 0:47:44which was somewhat under-used, and we came across Dr Ventham having it off with the librarian, Emma.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48- Who is now at the London Library? - Yes.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50And of course, they are both married.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52So you blackmailed him?
0:47:52 > 0:47:57In a nutshell, yes, we did, really.
0:47:57 > 0:48:03What do you know about a book written by Henri Duhamel, called...
0:48:03 > 0:48:06Well, in English, "A Treatise On Fruit Trees"?
0:48:06 > 0:48:09It's very rare, and very valuable.
0:48:09 > 0:48:16We have information that you found a copy of this book at the London Municipal University library.
0:48:16 > 0:48:19Is that right?
0:48:19 > 0:48:24It's what we hoped we might've found, but we couldn't be sure.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27The title page was illegibly foxed.
0:48:27 > 0:48:32- Foxed?- Brown staining caused by metallic or chemical impurities in the paper.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35- And you drew Richard Symes' attention to the book?- Yes.
0:48:35 > 0:48:37He was the authority on Duhamel.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39And you were willing to cut him in on the deal?
0:48:39 > 0:48:41We weren't thinking about any kind of deal.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45We didn't have any notion of the potential value.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48We asked a colleague to confirm an academic discovery!
0:48:48 > 0:48:51- And where was this? - In the university library.
0:48:51 > 0:48:53Richard was working there.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55What did he say?
0:48:55 > 0:48:56He wouldn't commit himself.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00He asked us to leave the book with him, said he needed to study it
0:49:00 > 0:49:04and to consult some reference books and bibliographies.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06We had classes to teach.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09When we looked for Richard later, we couldn't find him
0:49:09 > 0:49:13and the book hadn't been checked out of the university library, but it wasn't on the shelves.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17So we decided to do our own research on what the book might be worth.
0:49:17 > 0:49:21And you realised that you'd been closed out of a multi-million- dollar scam?
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Ah. If you want to put it in vulgar terms, yes.
0:49:24 > 0:49:28And you confronted Symes on the roof terrace the night he died?
0:49:28 > 0:49:31No, no. We saw him in his office.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36He said he'd taken the book to show to his wife, and that she'd taken the
0:49:36 > 0:49:41view that it wasn't a first edition, and that so many of the plates, the illustrations, because that's what
0:49:41 > 0:49:46makes these books so valuable, were missing, that it was almost worthless.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50- And you didn't believe him? - Well, we said, in that case, why isn't it back on the shelves?
0:49:50 > 0:49:52Well, he didn't have an answer.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55He treated us with contempt.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59This gives you a motive for killing him.
0:49:59 > 0:50:00But we didn't.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02What, you just shrugged your shoulders?
0:50:02 > 0:50:05I find that very hard to believe!
0:50:05 > 0:50:06We're not violent people.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10We didn't try to hurt him.
0:50:10 > 0:50:11We just grassed him up.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13Grassed him up?
0:50:13 > 0:50:16Isn't that what you say? Or is it "dobbed him in"?
0:50:16 > 0:50:18We denounced him to the authorities, anyway.
0:50:18 > 0:50:21What authorities are we talking about?
0:50:21 > 0:50:27- We said to the security officer, the nice Russian boy. - Pavel Illich?- That's it.
0:50:27 > 0:50:33We said, we're terribly sorry, but we have an awful suspicion that Dr Symes has taken a very valuable book.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Then you tried to find out what happened to the book?
0:50:36 > 0:50:39Yes.
0:50:39 > 0:50:44To no effect, sadly. Of course, we realised he'd probably hidden it in the London Library.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46What, you worked that out?
0:50:46 > 0:50:48Well, any idiot could have guessed that.
0:51:45 > 0:51:49- We'd like you to tell us what you know about the death of Richard Symes.- All of it, this time.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52We've been checking your immigration status.
0:51:52 > 0:51:59- You're here on a student visa.- And you shouldn't be working.- And anyhow, that visa expired some years ago.
0:52:04 > 0:52:08Where is Accountancy and Financial Control?
0:52:08 > 0:52:10We don't get many requests for that.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12That's what I thought. Where is it?
0:52:12 > 0:52:15The basement, the rolling cases.
0:52:15 > 0:52:19You were told that Symes had stolen a valuable book from the university,
0:52:19 > 0:52:24and the next thing that happened was that Symes was found dead, and the book was never seen again.
0:52:24 > 0:52:25And you kept quiet about it.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29- That'll take a lot of explaining, Pavel.- Yes.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36- Well?- You think I killed Richard?
0:52:36 > 0:52:39- Richard and me, we were like this. - How come?
0:52:39 > 0:52:41He comes to me, maybe three months before he dies.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45He says he wants me for private security job, cash in hand.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Thinks his wife is shagging that research student, Tim.
0:52:49 > 0:52:52I follow them both. And it's true.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- Richard gives me a big bung.- Yeah?
0:52:55 > 0:53:00Then Richard says, "I have this little earner going, do you want some?"
0:53:00 > 0:53:02And I say yes.
0:53:02 > 0:53:08He was stealing books from the library, throws them off roof to Tim, and his wife, Paula, sells them.
0:53:08 > 0:53:11But Richard says, "They're cheating on me, I owe them nothing!"
0:53:11 > 0:53:18- So I become his partner. - And you became the book catcher? - Yes, I became the book catcher.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20So the Urquharts weren't actually giving you any news?
0:53:20 > 0:53:22No. I had caught that book myself.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24What d'you do with it?
0:53:24 > 0:53:26I gave it back to Richard.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28He says, "I'll hide this until I can put it on the market."
0:53:28 > 0:53:32- It's worth megabucks.- And the night he died, you were there?- Yes.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36I'm waiting in the car park.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38Richard throws some books, I take them to the car.
0:53:38 > 0:53:43Then, I look up and there is a fight going on. Richard and...
0:53:43 > 0:53:47- Vice Chancellor. - Ventham was up there?- Yes.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Richard falls, Vice Chancellor disappears.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53I check the body
0:53:53 > 0:53:56- and Richard is dead. - How did Ventham know he'd be there?
0:53:56 > 0:53:59The only person who could've told him was you.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02The small problem with my student visa,
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Vice Chancellor also knew about that.
0:54:05 > 0:54:10He says he'll keep quiet if I give information about Richard, so he could give him the sack.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13Oh, so you were spying on Symes for Ventham?
0:54:13 > 0:54:18- Busy little bugger, weren't you? - Did you tell Ventham about the really big scam, the Duhamel book?
0:54:18 > 0:54:21Yes, I did.
0:54:44 > 0:54:50You've missed the Vice Chancellor, I'm afraid. He's flying out to Geneva tonight for an academic conference.
0:54:50 > 0:54:53- Will he be at the airport now? - He had something to do in town on the way.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55Thank you.
0:55:20 > 0:55:22KNOCKING
0:55:22 > 0:55:23Oi!
0:55:23 > 0:55:26I'm in here! Oi, I'm still in here!
0:55:26 > 0:55:28Excuse me!
0:55:34 > 0:55:37Help!
0:55:37 > 0:55:38There's no-one here but us, Mr Lane.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41You've found it, haven't you?
0:55:41 > 0:55:44- Found what?- Don't play silly buggers!
0:55:44 > 0:55:48- Give me the book and this will all be over.- I can't move!
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Slide the book along the floor.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52What book? There's hundreds in here!
0:55:53 > 0:55:55Ahh! Ahh!
0:55:56 > 0:56:01- Where's Brian Lane?- I believe he's in the library.- He's an investigator for the Metropolitan Police.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04- Look, I really don't know where... - Yes, you do.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08- You've been watching him! - And reporting to your boyfriend, Jeremy Ventham.- So where is he?
0:56:08 > 0:56:11The basement.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15Jeremy said he was just trying to recover university property.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20Oi! Hey, no!
0:56:20 > 0:56:24Ah! No! Aaahhhh!
0:56:29 > 0:56:32- Come here!- All right, that'll do, that'll do!
0:56:34 > 0:56:37- Are you all right? - I've got it, I've got the book!
0:56:37 > 0:56:41Look, it's French. It's 18th century, and it purports, according to the
0:56:41 > 0:56:45cover, to be an exposition of the merits of double entry book-keeping!
0:56:45 > 0:56:48- That's mine! - Get off. Whereas in fact...
0:56:54 > 0:56:57- It is an exposition of the merits of double-entry book-keeping.- Shit!
0:56:57 > 0:57:00- Come on.- Well, never mind, Brian.
0:57:00 > 0:57:05Only another 999,999 volumes to go.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17Well, I'm going for a pint. You going to the library?
0:57:17 > 0:57:21- I've had it with libraries.- Eh?
0:57:21 > 0:57:24- They're full of weirdos.- I thought that's why you felt so at home?
0:57:24 > 0:57:26Anyway, they're a thing of the past.
0:57:26 > 0:57:29- Oh, really?- This is the way forward!
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Linked to the internet, it allows me to access the world's literary culture
0:57:32 > 0:57:35- from the comfort of my own armchair!- Cool, let's have a go.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37Can you play Football Manager on it?
0:57:37 > 0:57:39No, you can't. Be careful.
0:57:39 > 0:57:42I've just downloaded the Complete Poems of Philip Larkin.
0:57:42 > 0:57:44Now there's a man who spent his life in libraries.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46Here's a good quote.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49- What's that then? - "Books are a load of crap".
0:57:49 > 0:57:54I think you'll find that's an example of Larkin's use of irony.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:13 > 0:58:16E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk