Old School Ties New Tricks

# It's all right, it's OK

# Doesn't really matter if you're old and grey

# It's all right, I say it's OK

# Listen to what I say

# It's all right, doing fine

# Doesn't really matter if the sun don't shine

# It's all right, I say it's OK

# We're getting to the end of the day. #

Uh-uh. I think not.

You don't own it, Archie.

Consuetudo pro lege servatur, I think you'll find.

OK, let's get started. The day after tomorrow,

the Right Honourable Geoffrey Parks MP will be visiting the school

to open the new computer centre.

Well, it wouldn't be a language lab.

That boy couldn't conjugate a verb to save his life.

So Mr Parks will be accompanied by a dozen or so members of the press

and also by his daughter, Melissa, who is his private secretary.

I'm sure many of you will remember Melissa

from her time here as a pupil.

I hope someone's put the caterers on red alert.

Archie!

< NOISE FROM DIGGING TRUCK

I'll get it, shall I?

Yes.

He's been in the ground long enough and fits the height and age description,

but New Zealand police say it might be up to 48 hours before they can match the dental records

-so there is a window if you want us to use it...

-Hiya.

-OK, we'll do our best. Thanks, bye.

-Who's this?

Jason Bowe. A 25-year-old PE teacher from New Zealand.

He worked at Peregrine Manor school but went missing

on the 29th June 2007,

it was the last day of the school year.

The body was found just outside the school grounds.

According to the pathologist, there's no obvious cause of death,

but there is a slight nip to the lower ribs which could have been caused by a stab wound.

Now we've got a body, presumably it'll go to the murder squad?

No, there's going to be a 48-hour delay before New Zealand can match the dental records

so Strickland wants us to re-open the missing persons case

in the hope we can tie things up before the press get hold of it.

-What have the press got to do with it?

-Peregrine Manor school is very old, very expensive

and only accepts very high-profile offspring.

So the tabloids will be all over the place once MIT go in.

I do appreciate the police being so discreet in this situation.

Sadly, I don't have anything to add to what I said at the time.

Awful as it sounds, I'd forgotten all about Jason.

Staff come and go. Time rolls on.

We need to establish his last known movements.

According to the file, you noticed he'd gone in the morning, is that right?

Yes. He was in school for tea the night before

-and failed to show up for breakfast or morning meeting.

-And you thought he'd left during the night?

Yes. Well, no. The school's locked up at 11,

so I thought he'd left either the previous evening

or early that morning while we were all still at breakfast.

Do you not check teachers are all in the building before locking up?

It's hard enough keeping track of students without having to do lights out for the staff too.

You didn't think it odd? Him upping and leaving with only one day left?

A lifetime in school has taught me that youth often acts on impulse.

I didn't call the police, but I did call his home.

This should all be on your files.

PHONE RINGS

I'm sorry about this.

We have a very high-profile event later in the week and I need to finalise all the arrangements.

Let me take you to Helen, our home support,

I'm sure she'll be able to help you.

Eleanor, take any messages, unless of course it's Geoffrey Parks' office,

-in which case transfer them to my mobile.

-Geoffrey Parks the MP?

Yes. He's an ex-pupil, we used to be in the same year here

and we've been friends ever since.

Geoffrey has kindly agreed to open the new computer centre.

Ah, Helen, there you are. We have some visitors.

The police, I presume?

Are we that obvious?

No, but we've all heard about the find in the woods, I'm afraid.

Helen Hadley. Nurse and home support.

We used to use the word "Matron". Much simpler.

-Archie Milgrow - Latin.

-Detective Superintendent Pullman.

These are my colleagues Gerry Standing and Brian Lane.

They have some questions about Jason Bowe. If you could...

-I'm up to my eyes.

-Of course.

Is the body Jason Bowe's?

Well, we can't be sure, but it's possible.

Jason Bowe was last seen at tea by your head teacher. Did either of you see him after that?

-No.

-But that's not unusual because most of the staff go to their rooms and relax after tea.

The evenings are my busy time, not the teachers'.

-How well did either of you know him?

-PE and Latin aren't a natural mix.

We'd be speaking a different language in more ways than one.

Now, if you'll excuse me,

I'd better go and prepare for Upper 3A and the imperfect tense,

the irony of which will no doubt strike halfway through the lesson.

I liked Jason. We weren't overly close, but he was good fun.

-Was he seeing anyone?

-Not that I know of.

-Close friends on the staff?

-I don't think he had many.

He liked a drink in the pub of an evening,

but I think he was closer to the students than the teachers.

Nearer his age.

That's him on the right. He wasn't exactly handsome, but he had something about him, don't you think?

This was a couple of days before he disappeared. York?

-Did they stay away?

-They must have done.

Who's that boy? Oliver Lebbon?

He was the sports captain. Very, umm...

..popular.

I didn't warm to him, but that's just me.

He was very close to Jason -

probably closer to him than any of the staff were.

I take it you're not an athlete any more.

Smashed my leg surfing the summer after school.

Now I can't run for a bus.

< God, I'm so late!

I should have been back 20 minutes ago. Dad's going to kill me!

Hi.

Police. Asking questions about Mr Bowe.

Mr Bowe from school?

My girlfriend, Melissa Parks.

Detective Superintendent Pullman.

So you were at Peregrine Manor as well, were you?

Yes. We were in the same year together.

He went missing, didn't he, Mr Bowe?

PHONE RINGS

Hi...

Yes, I know, sorry, I ran into a girlfriend from Uni and we lost track of...

Yes, I'm heading back now.

OK, I'll see you in...

Charming(!)

Tell me, how would you characterise your relationship with Jason Bowe?

I liked Mr Bowe.

He was a good coach.

Laugh, too - not like the rest.

Were you ever in trouble with him?

-No, he was cool.

-Did he talk to you about his personal life?

Was he seeing anyone?

There was no school gossip if that's what you're asking.

Some of the girls had crushes, but...

Two days before he disappeared, you were all away on a sports trip.

Were you still getting on with him then?

Yeah, we were.

But actually...

He was a bit...weird.

Distracted.

Snappy. Not like him.

Did you ask why?

No, and he didn't say.

That evening, when you got back to the school, did you see him at any point?

No, don't think so.

But it was five years ago. I'm a bit hazy.

I saw you when you got back.

I met you by the minibus.

You were still talking to Mr Bowe, joking about something.

Just before tea.

There you go then.

Then he saw another teacher and just left us mid-sentence.

They started quite an intense chat.

Who was the other teacher?

Oh God, I can see him in my head, but the name's gone.

Old. Dull. Fuddy-duddy.

Wasn't it that Latin teacher?

Mildew? Mr Milgrow.

They were arguing about something, you're right.

We just left them to it.

That was the last time I saw Mr Bowe.

You lied to us.

On the evening that Jason Bowe disappeared,

you were seen having an argument with him.

Which is somewhat surprising, considering you told us you hardly ever spoke to him.

I didn't.

If you're observant, and I like to consider myself an observer of life,

then you find you know a person without talking to them very much at all.

But yes, we did have words.

What about?

I've never been keen on the over-popular teachers.

You can be loved too much by students. You can want to be loved by them too much.

It can cloud one's judgement.

The relationship between Lebbon and Jason Bowe was a good example.

They were more like friends than student and teacher.

The particular case in question concerned a hunting knife

that Lebbon had brought into the school.

He had been told to hand it over to Jason Bowe, his tutor.

I heard about it and checked with Bowe that the item had at least been confiscated.

-And had it?

-No.

He said Lebbon hadn't got round to handing it in yet.

As if it were a mobile telephone or something.

That was just before they left for the championships.

When they got back, I told Bowe enough was enough and I expected the knife to be in his possession

by the following morning. But by morning, Bowe had vanished.

And what about the knife?

I have no idea what happened to it.

It was the last day of term, I'm afraid I didn't pursue it.

Did you see Oliver Lebbon at all that night?

I didn't.

Presumably, he was cavorting with Eleanor Higgins, as usual.

The most popular couple in school -

now one of them is a failed athlete,

and the other is the headmistress' secretary.

'So often the case with those who peak too early.'

So, you were Oliver Lebbon's girlfriend. When did you break up?

Pretty much as soon as school did. It's not that serious.

And now he's with Melissa Parks.

Melissa was always mooning around after Oliver. Guess she must have eventually got him drunk enough.

Was he ever violent? Did he get into many fights at school?

Oliver? No.

Who'd want to fight him?

He was incredibly popular.

We understand he collected Japanese blades. Still does, apparently.

And he brought a knife to the school at the end of that term.

What has any of this got to do with Mr Bowe's disappearance?

He was supposed to hand the knife in to Jason Bowe.

How do you think he'd react to that?

-Being told to get rid of it?

-I don't know.

Brian?

I've lost me glasses. Well, that wasn't very clever, was it?

The necklace. That's Jason Bowe's.

It's the one he's wearing in that picture on the wall out there.

-That IS interesting.

-So you were seeing him as well at the time?

-It wasn't like that.

-What was it like?

I was in love with him. I thought he was in love with me too.

-And were you still seeing him when he disappeared?

-Yes.

You "thought" he was in love with you.

How do you mean "thought"?

Well he ran off, didn't he? At least I thought he did.

-You didn't wonder why?

-I used to get jealous.

All the girls had crushes on him.

They used to make up stories about what they'd done with him.

I used to get scared they weren't just stories and...

I'm sure I wasn't easy to be with.

Where were you when he disappeared?

I was in my dorm.

Can you prove that?

There's the lock-up book.

The whole school is locked up at night, so no one can get in or out.

We had to sign in so they knew we were inside.

Could Oliver Lebbon have discovered you were two-timing him?

No...

I don't know. I don't think so.

Bastard!

I totally looked up to him.

What happened to the knife you had at school?

-What knife?

-The hunting knife.

-You were supposed to hand it in to Mr Bowe.

-Ah, that knife. It was a Hattori hunter.

Very rare and very expensive.

Why do you think I was so reluctant to give it up?

So you didn't?

I was going to.

When I got back from the competition, I went to get it from my room,

but it was gone.

The next morning, so was Mr Bowe. And whoever nicked it never gave it back.

But I don't think you're going to find Mr Bowe by finding my knife.

We found a body, buried in the woods behind the school.

Mr Bowe?

We don't know that yet.

But we think whoever it was had been stabbed.

So if it does turn out to be Jason Bowe,

the man who was having an affair with your girlfriend, who went missing the same night

as your hunting knife... Can you see where I'm going with this?

I've never hurt anyone in my life.

I didn't know anything about Mr Bowe and Eleanor.

Where were you that night?

I got drunk in my room and passed out.

-Alone?

-Yes.

You understand why I wouldn't just take your word for that.

If you found him in the woods, then...

The school's locked up at night.

I couldn't have got out without setting the alarm off, and even if I could,

I wouldn't have been able to get back in. This is nothing to do with me. I swear to you.

I'll only be gone for two nights.

There's some chicken in a Tupperware on the second shelf in the fridge,

and there's fresh salad in the drawer for the lasagne

which is in the middle of the fridge.

They're all labelled.

There's some bread there, and there's a new marmalade jar

in the cupboard, in case that one runs out.

And...there are your spare glasses.

Do not lose those as well.

I didn't lose them.

Did you hear what I said about the lasagne?

-What lasagne?

-For your tea tomorrow.

Oh, yes.

Yes!

-Right, how long do you have to cook it for?

-What?

You weren't listening, were you?

-Esther, I'm working.

-You're not working. You're hiding from me!

You have been ever since Jack retired.

Look? See? Working.

What is the matter, Brian?

How much do you think a new computer centre for a posh private school costs?

I can't see how they can afford it.

I shall miss these intimate little chats while I'm away(!)

Yep, he did spend that last night in the pub.

The landlord said that he was talking to, and being bought drinks by,

a bloke called Lucas Graves, a local property developer.

Apparently he didn't speak to the regulars, which was unusual,

then he left ten minutes before closing, which again, was unusual.

Lucas Graves? Where do I know that name from?

Lucas Graves, the owner of LGG Developments.

The company that dug up the body.

You're asking me to remember a conversation I had with a virtual stranger five years ago?

Apparently you bought him drinks all night, Mr Graves.

Which was pretty generous of you if you didn't know him.

I'm a generous man. I buy a lot of people drinks.

He was often in the pub and normally he was quite chatty with everyone,

but that night he was really quiet.

So I asked him what was wrong and I bought him a drink.

And what was wrong?

He'd been having some trouble with old Archie Milgrow,

the Latin teacher, but it didn't seem like that big a deal to me.

And yet he disappeared a short while later.

Well, obviously if I'd known that in advance,

then I might have dug a little deeper.

Assuming the body in the woods IS Jason Bowe,

then Oliver Lebbon must be our prime suspect.

He considered Bowe to be his mentor and his friend,

but he was shagging his girlfriend. Lebbon had a thing about knives

and the knife he had at school, which he was supposed to hand in to Bowe,

went missing the same night as Bowe did.

Oliver Lebbon says he was passed out in his room all night

but there's no one to corroborate that.

If it wasn't Lebbon, could it have been Eleanor Higgins?

According to her school file,

her mother died in a car accident when she was 11 years old.

She received counselling for it, but there's mention here of self-harming after that,

so there's certainly psychological issues.

If she'd become too attached to Bowe and it seemed he didn't reciprocate...

And if she knew about Lebbon's knife,

and he's telling the truth about it going missing, maybe she took it.

There's no way to pursue that without either a murder weapon or a positive ID on the body,

-and I want to look at the school finances.

-Why?

Because this school is practically deserted.

Attendances are down across the board at independent schools,

they're all struggling for money,

but this lot are about to open a state-of-the-art computer centre.

How can they afford it?

What's that got to do with a missing PE teacher?

He might be onto something.

Claire Swain. English teacher.

She started at Peregrine Manor in the summer of 2007

and appears to have been fired six weeks into the following autumn term.

-OK...

-I can't find her.

The references don't check out and the forwarding address is fake.

Another missing teacher.

So maybe Brian's right,

maybe there is something more sinister going on in this place.

Mr Lane. What can we do for you?

Helen, if you could check all the students have clean blazers for tomorrow. Time is ticking on.

We've been going through your staff reports

and we've found a teacher called Claire Swain.

Now, you let go of her during the autumn term of 2007.

Yes, her time-keeping was dreadful.

She never seemed to be where she was supposed to be.

Did her references check out?

Of course. Why?

Well, because we can't track down any of her referees

and the forwarding address she left doesn't exist.

Well, I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about that.

You know, from your school photographs,

it looks like the numbers have been falling for the last ten years.

That must have caused a bit of belt-tightening.

We receive very generous donations.

It's one of the benefits of being such a well-connected school.

Wouldn't it be easier to allow students from overseas to make up the numbers?

That's what other independent schools do.

That hasn't been necessary. What has this got to do with Jason Bowe?

Well, it's just that, if you're relying on what's basically charity,

rather than having the security of fee-paying pupils,

well, that doesn't make sense, does it?

This school was founded to provide an education for English boys and girls.

It's part of the school's heritage.

You mean white English boys and girls?

Your ancestor, Edwin Clayton,

he was against the abolition of slavery, wasn't he?

And your grandfather, Arthur Clayton,

-was one of Oswald Mosley's most fervent supporters.

-I don't see the relevance.

Do you know, I haven't seen a single Asian or black pupil in this place.

Not one.

Are you calling me a racist?

I'm just making an observation.

An offensive one.

And I might say the same of you.

I see no coloured faces in your team.

And very few in your higher ranks.

But we have some, rather than none.

I'd like to take a look at your financial records.

I'm sure your efforts would be better spent concentrating outside the school, but go ahead.

It may take you some time. Our system is still on paper.

Oh I'm good on paper.

Any possible Jack replacements yet?

Not as yet, no.

There's got to be someone!

PHONE RINGS

Sir?

Oh. Yeah. Will do.

Thanks for letting us know.

We're done. The dental records are a match for Jason Bowe,

so I've got to hand it over to MIT.

I wouldn't be too quick with that. I've found Claire Swain.

-Where?

-In the UCOS files.

Her real name was Claire Swan,

and her listed profession is "private investigator".

-So she must have been undercover at the school.

-Missing or dead?

Dead. Hit and run. Two days after she left Peregrine Manor.

And Lebbon couldn't have killed them both because when Claire Swan was run over,

he was still in hospital recovering from his surfing accident.

But now she's a cold case, I think we should keep them both with UCOS.

That policeman working late?

Maybe I should take him a cup of tea.

This isn't a game, Helen. Enough is enough. You don't need it.

Give it back, it needs to be destroyed.

It's not that simple.

Of course it is.

Nothing's changed. Not for me.

Believe me, Helen, you do not know what you have,

and you do not want to come out on the wrong side of this.

Oh, bloody hell!

That chair's about 200 years old.

What the...?

I don't think you should stand on it.

No.

What do you think that camera's pointing at?

I don't know. Something.

They normally do.

What are you doing out of bed?

I'm conducting an experiment.

Since they found those bones,

everyone's going on about the Peregrine poltergeist.

I'm not following you.

All the stuff that goes missing? They think the poltergeist takes it.

What kind of stuff?

Weird things. Toothbrushes. Bits of clothes.

Been happening for years, apparently.

So what's the camera and thermometer all about?

Well, sometimes ghosts and spirits can be caught on film

even if you can't see them in real life.

Plus, a sudden drop in temperature can be a sign of a paranormal presence.

Well, you've done your research. Anything so far?

Nothing conclusive.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Well, I'm trying to keep an open mind.

-But no. Not really.

-No, I didn't think so,

not with you being out here on your own in the middle of the night.

I did try to do it this afternoon after prep.

-But people got in the way.

-Yes, people tend to do that.

Have you not got a friend you could do this kind of thing with?

I did have a friend. David.

He left, though. Had to go somewhere else.

I had a friend like that.

Do you miss him?

Do you miss David?

Shh.

What are you still doing here?

The doors are locked, I couldn't get out.

Stay there, I'll come down.

I'm sorry, I didn't wake you, did I?

No. No. I'm a terrible sleeper.

When my son was little, he was hyperactive.

Three hours' sleep a night seems to have become a habit.

And which school did he go to?

Well, he's here.

That's a nice staff perk!

Oh, it isn't normally allowed. Took some hefty persuasion, believe me.

I was going to make some hot chocolate.

Do you fancy a mug?

Then I can set you up in one of the empty dorms for the night?

Well, that would be... Yeah, yeah, go on then.

Thanks very much.

I have a secret stash of marshmallows.

Do you like marshmallows?

No.

You're not really like the rest of them, are you?

I don't know what you mean.

You know. Privileged. Wealthy. Entitled.

Oh, I see. No. Hardly.

But yet you're happy to make your son a part of that world?

Well, I'd like to think I have some influence over who he is,

the person he becomes.

But a good education...

The school he was at, the local school... He was in trouble there.

Drinking.

Drugs - I think, I suspect.

And he was only 12.

There's too many children.

Those poor children. Too many of them in a class.

How can they learn? How can they be helped?

I know you're supposed to do something,

to help make things better.

But who am I?

And all the time I was working here...

..seeing the opportunities this school gives these kids.

And you look at the disparity.

I had to do better for him.

And you think to yourself, "by hook or by crook".

It's defeat, in a way. But what's the alternative?

For him, I mean.

Do you have children?

Yeah. A son.

Grown up now?

Oh, yes.

What does he do?

Well, he used to be an accountant...

I'm not sure now.

I used to drink.

Well, I'd better get to bed.

Thanks for the cocoa. Second on the left?

That's right.

Thanks. Good night.

Night.

I think I found something.

You know, parents can't afford to send their kids to independent schools any more.

Admissions are way down, year on year.

So schools are having to make up the shortfall in income

by bringing in high-paying foreign students.

Yeah, but Klu Klux Clayton won't let anyone in who's not white?

Exactly. So this school's short of money and yet Geoffrey Parks

is on his way to open up a brand-new computer centre.

And how did they pay for that?

Charitable donations from very wealthy, very influential people.

There's a fellow here called Ali Khan. Indian technology millionaire.

He donated £180,000 to this school last year.

Now why does a bloke from his background give money to a school like this?

After Khan had made his donation,

a government data contract was issued to his firm in Mumbai

to the tune of £20 million by a select committee headed by Geoffrey Parks.

All these donors have benefited in some way as a direct result

of Geoffrey Parks' actions in government.

And if that's what Claire Swan found out...

Yeah, but hold on. None of this goes to Parks. It all comes to the school.

If we're following this train of thought,

he has to get something out of it and something worth killing for.

PHONE RINGS

Mr Graves, you hired Claire Swan to go undercover at Peregrine Manor.

-Why?

-About six years ago I heard the school was in financial trouble so I made an offer on it.

A generous one. I quite fancied the place as a country club and hotel.

Clayton wouldn't sell, though.

So I got Claire to go in as a teacher and see if she could find some leverage.

If they were having money trouble and if she could find a bit of scandal,

well, Clayton might have had to rethink.

-And what did she find out?

-That's the thing. She never told me.

She called to say she was out of the school and she'd found something that might be big.

Said she'd call again when she'd checked out the facts.

But the next night, she was killed, and that was that.

Was it originally Claire Swan who told you the school was in financial trouble?

God, no. That was Archie Milgrow.

He rents a lock-up at one of my premises. Has done for years.

< MAN CLEARS THROAT

Archie Milgrow: the Peregrine Poltergeist.

'Do you know how long I've been at that school? 35 years.'

Hundreds of pupils. Teachers who come and go.

None of them remember me.

-You stole from them.

-I didn't steal. Not really.

I took nothing valuable.

Why did you take Mr Lane's glasses? He's not part of the school.

You, this - it's all part of my story. All these things.

They're my memories. My photo albums, if you will.

-They're proof.

-Proof of what?

Proof that I was ever here at all.

It's quite the collection. When did you start? 15 years ago?

I don't know exactly.

Oh, I think you do. It's quite clear to us.

See, although you didn't take something from every student,

you took something from every teacher who worked at that school since then. All except one.

Jason Bowe. Why did you take nothing of his?

I have to tell you, Mr Milgrow, that right now things aren't looking that good for you.

None of this is exactly normal,

but the one teacher who isn't represented in your...collection

is the one you were seen arguing with on the night he disappeared.

Did he find out about your little hobby?

A few days before the end of term he saw me taking something from the laundry room

and followed me to the lock-up.

He said I was perverted.

On reflection, perhaps the item I'd taken hadn't helped.

A red bra belonging to Melissa Parks.

He took it away. Along with his T-shirt.

And what happened after that?

I begged him to not report me.

He said he'd decide what to do while he was away.

That's what we were discussing on that last night.

Lebbon's knife went missing. Maybe you took it while he was away.

Then when Jason Bowe came back and decided to report you...

You stabbed him.

I didn't kill him.

APPLAUSE

Thank you, Mr Parks, for taking time out of your very busy schedule.

I thought you'd left.

We've taken somebody in for questioning - Archie Milgrow.

He's the thief.

The Peregrine Poltergeist.

Jason Bowe knew about it and was going to report it.

Archie? Well, I... I'm quite surprised.

Well how did you manage that?

Bowe caught him stealing Melissa Parks' red bra and followed him.

Maybe I should let her know.

You're as bad as him! You're as bad as him!

You're a liar! A stupid, fat liar!

What are you talking about? You're crazy!

Don't touch me! You liar!

I hate you! Don't touch me!

I snuck into Jason's room to surprise him when he got back.

It was the last night of term and I didn't really care if I got caught.

And there it was on his bed.

Her bra. I knew it was hers.

Stupid fat cow.

Melissa, fat? Hardly.

She got fat at school.

"Porky" Parks.

You thought he'd slept with her.

She told everyone she'd lost it getting off with somebody.

It went round the whole school. Every boy, denying it was them.

And then there it was, in Jason's room.

That must have made you extremely angry.

We argued, yes. I was hysterical.

Asking how long it had been going on for.

What did he say?

He said the bra was nothing like that and that he loved me,

but he wouldn't give me another explanation.

Just said I had to trust him.

I said some terrible things.

I told him I was going to tell Miss Clayton that he'd raped me.

In the morning, he was gone.

You called Geoffrey Parks a liar.

I think you've got history with the Parks family that pre-dates Jason Bowe.

My mother used to work for Geoffrey Parks.

Are you trying to say you think they were more than work colleagues?

She bought new things. Underwear.

Started working late.

My father didn't like it.

She was working late the night she died.

What do you mean, Eleanor?

The coroner's report said she was alone in the car,

but the doors weren't locked.

The report says the doors weren't locked.

If my mother was alone in the car or just with me,

she always locked the doors from the inside. Always.

So someone must have been with her.

Whoever was with her left her there to die.

He didn't even call an ambulance.

She was my best friend when we were little, you know.

Until the accident.

Then we drifted.

I started gaining weight and we moved to different friends.

Why would she call your dad a liar?

I don't know.

She used to love my dad when we were kids.

Something changed after the accident.

But your father and her mother were close, yes?

They worked together. Of course they were close. That was it.

If I hadn't told that stupid lie about the bra,

none of this would have come up.

Why would you make something like that up?

You have no idea what it's like to be the chubby girl at school.

"Porky" Parks. Pretending not to care about the snide digs.

I just wanted to feel attractive. Normal. Like someone liked me.

Eleanor wasn't the only one with problems.

Your father's gone, Melissa.

There's a cab for you at the side gate. And Mr Lane?

If you could return the financial records to my office before you leave.

Right, this is starting to make sense.

Eleanor Higgins - she has a history of self-harming, she's emotionally unstable,

she's involved in a relationship with Jason Bowe

and she's come to believe that he's having an affair with Melissa Parks.

Who's the daughter of the man that Eleanor believes was in the car

when her mother crashed. But she couldn't have done it.

The school was locked up and she was inside.

How could she have got out?

Remember what you said the other night?

About what?

I asked where this camera was pointing. You said, "Somewhere. They normally do".

Stay here.

Absolutely not.

No, I didn't think you would.

We must be outside the school perimeter by now.

'The gardener's hut is only a few metres from where the body was found.'

You know that if any blood was spilled in that shed then our forensic team will find it.

No matter how hard you think you scrubbed.

And I imagine some of it will be yours, won't it?

You took Oliver Lebbon's knife out of his room while he was away.

To cut yourself or to kill Jason Bowe?

It was an accident.

I put a note under Jason's door and told him to meet me in the shed.

I said if he didn't come, I'd slit my wrists.

I just kept thinking about that bra, and Melissa and her father...

and my mother.

Melissa's red bra.

My mother bought new underwear before she died.

My father had shouted about it and I couldn't understand why.

Thinking about Jason and Melissa made me think about my mother and Geoffrey Parks and the car doors

and I didn't know why.

I was just shouting all of this at Jason

and I started cutting myself, right there in front of him.

-He tried to stop me.

-Then you stabbed him.

It was an accident.

He was trying to stop me and the knife just...

It was so sharp. It didn't even go in that far.

I could still see half the blade.

I just couldn't bring myself to take it out.

But you didn't try to get any help?

No. He died.

I dragged him out to the woods and buried him.

You dragged a fully grown man at dead weight

into the woods all by yourself?

I couldn't do that, and I bet I'm a whole lot stronger than you.

Unless you were extremely unlucky with where that knife hit,

Jason Bowe would have been alive for quite some time after you stabbed him.

So, your story is all very neat and tidy and tragic,

but the ending doesn't work. Who helped you?

That's what happened.

Right, then.

Are you leaving?

Yes.

Eleanor Higgins has confessed to Jason Bowe's murder.

Eleanor? Oh that poor girl.

It's hard to believe.

Yes. Yes, it is.

You don't sound convinced.

-Well, she's more convinced than we are.

-What do you mean?

Well, Eleanor's version of events doesn't fit with the forensic evidence.

I don't know, maybe she's just mis-remembering a few things.

-It was a long time ago.

-Yeah.

Well, it was nice to meet you, and thanks again for that cocoa.

Why would she say she'd killed him if she hadn't?

Maybe to protect someone.

But there isn't anyone.

He was a big lad, Jason. Heavy.

A lot to drag through the woods and bury all by yourself,

plus she was bleeding - she had some injuries, too.

You think someone helped her?

It's possible. And now she's covering for them.

But even if she had help burying him, she still...

She still did what she said. Killed him, I mean.

Maybe.

But the wound that she inflicted shouldn't have been fatal.

So, if whoever was helping her finished him off, well...

She could have spent all this time thinking she'd killed someone?

-I expect it'll all come out in the wash.

-Yes.

There's something you need to see.

And when you've seen it, I'll accept the consequences.

Helen Hadley's been sitting on this footage

since the night of Bowe's death.

That makes her an accessory after the fact.

After a few minutes, we get this.

Well, well, well.

Then there's a time gap of about an hour and a half.

Before this.

We should bring her in.

It's not enough.

But we see her...

We see her with an upset girl. That's all. No body. No murder weapon.

So now what?

OK. Regardless of what we can prove,

we feel certain that Clayton helped Eleanor bury that body.

-Right?

-Right.

So she goes into the shed and sees Jason Bowe on the floor.

She's probably left Eleanor in the passage or sent her out of the room.

Bowe is still alive because the wound that Eleanor describes giving him couldn't have killed him.

So Clayton could have saved him, but she didn't. Why?

What made her stick the knife in deeper?

The consequences of him surviving this were obviously greater

than the consequences of her killing him.

Eleanor said that before she stabbed Bowe she was ranting at him

about her mother's crash.

Well, is that it?

Her talking about Geoffrey Parks in relation to her mum's death,

is that the knowledge that got Bowe killed?

It's what Clayton's got on Parks - how she's getting the donations to the school.

So, as she sees it, she killed Jason Bowe to protect the school's future?

But she's not going to admit it, is she? And we can't prove anything that happened that night of the crash.

Parks is hardly going to tell the truth, and Eleanor's testimony wouldn't stand up in court.

But she wasn't the only one traumatised by those events.

If Parks was in that car, then there are two families involved.

We've focused on Eleanor because she was the one that gave us the story in the first place

plus she was the one most obviously affected by it.

Maybe we should be looking elsewhere.

You and Eleanor were best of friends, weren't you,

right up until her mother's car crash.

-So?

-Well, everyone can see how it damaged Eleanor.

But you changed after that, as well.

I put on some weight. Lots of kids do.

No, you put on a lot of weight. Very quickly.

And this all started just after Eleanor's mother died.

See, a lot of what's going on here seems to lead back to the events of that night.

Where was your dad, that night?

At home.

This isn't a formal interview, you know. Nothing's being recorded.

There's nobody listening.

I'm not even a policeman. I'm retired.

Whatever happened that night, you filed it away.

So you didn't have to look at it.

That's when you started eating,

that's when you started to distance yourself from Eleanor -

that way you could pretend it never happened.

Well, maybe now's the time to get it off your chest, eh?

Something woke me up.

Maybe it was the car pulling in the drive. It was late.

I wanted a glass of water.

I was at the top of the stairs when the front door opened.

My father came in.

He was crying.

I was only 11, he was my dad.

I couldn't understand why he was crying.

I ran back to bed.

The next day, they all acted so normal. Even my mother.

She came and told me that Eleanor's mother had died.

I asked her about the night before. Where Dad had been.

She said he hadn't gone out.

When he came in, he was on his own, was he?

No.

Miss Clayton was with him.

He ran away from the accident.

He must have rung her, cos she drove him home.

You know, you really should put this down in a statement.

Eleanor's whole future could depend on it.

I know you're not friends now, but you were.

This is a complete fantasy.

No, it isn't.

Then I presume you have some evidence.

We have a videotape from the night that Jason Bowe disappeared,

which Helen Hadley tells us you're very anxious to get hold of.

We've also got a statement from Melissa Parks telling us

that you brought Geoffrey Parks home on the night of the crash.

She was 11 years old.

Eleanor Higgins is next door.

She's confessed to the murder of Jason Bowe.

But we said we didn't believe she buried him on her own.

We also told her that we doubt she delivered the fatal blow.

She's confused at the moment, but it won't be long before she realises what really happened in that shed

and gives you up.

At which point you will have the testimony

of a psychologically damaged, emotionally distraught young girl,

against the word of a woman whose family has run one of the finest schools in England

for six generations.

That's the point, isn't it? That's what all this is about.

You'll do anything to save your school.

But what's going to happen when Eleanor finally gives you up

and, unreliable testimony or not, we bring in Geoffrey Parks

and present him with everything we've discovered?

Do you think Parks cares more about your school than he does about his own career?

No.

He's going to paint you as a murderess, a blackmailer,

and he'd be more than happy to sink your school to save himself.

If you're really serious about saving your school

then it's time for you to fall on your sword.

I think I'm going to need a lawyer, aren't I?

I never asked Elizabeth outright what happened that night.

I thought she'd just helped... with the body.

I thought Eleanor had killed him.

I couldn't afford a school like this for my son.

You've paid in other ways, though, haven't you?

All those sleepless nights.

I don't like to sleep. Jason Bowe haunts my dreams.

He's always cold.

Have you come to arrest me?

They're waiting at the front.

You found a new Jack in those files?

You haven't even read any of them yet, have you?

-Don't you start.

-Look, Sandra,

you're not the only one that misses that miserable old bugger. I wish he hadn't left. But he has.

-And he's not coming back.

-Gerry, I don't need a lecture.

-Well, tough.

Whether you like it or not, Jack has gone.

But Brian and I, we're still here.

And we can't do all this by ourselves!

So read the bloody files!

-All right! All right! I'll read them, OK?

-Yeah, properly!

Properly.

-Promise?

-Promise.

-Good night.

-Night.

Brian? Remind me never to get that train again.

It was full of commuters.

I think the journey was nearly as tiring as looking after Jenny.

Oh, she's camped out on the sofa, poor thing.

Her ankle's black and blue and all swollen up.

All she did was come off the kerb.

Anyway, Anne's there till after the weekend, so I gave them both your love.

What are you doing sitting here like this in the silence?

Did you drop off?

No, no, just...

thinking.

Oh, just thinking. Right, well, I'll leave you to it, then.

I fancy a bath, anyway.

I'm glad you're home.

Are you?

And I'm sorry.

You know, for snapping at you.

What is the matter, Brian?

Why don't you just tell me and put us both out of our misery?

Just sit with me, will you?

All right.

What is it?

It's a secret.

But I keep gnawing away at me head.

I don't think I can carry it on my own.

You can share it with me then, can't you? When you're ready.

I think I'm ready.

Well, go on.

It's about Jack.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd