What Became of Miranda? Armchair Detectives

Janice from accounts has had her stapler stolen.

IT Malcolm looks guilty, so does Debbie on reception.

You know where the trail of staples leads,

and that's why this is the place for you.

Welcome to the TV show with only one question, whodunnit?

APPLAUSE

Hello, this is Armchair Detectives.

15 murder mystery enthusiasts are ready to solve a fictional crime.

Our amateur detectives will watch the evidence unfold

from a case set in Mortcliff,

the picture-postcard village with a hoard of hardened criminals.

We'll see the town's diligent police detectives

sift through all the clues in today's case.

Here they are.

DI Knight, DC Slater, and Scene of Crimes Officer Simmons.

Before we head to Mortcliff for the first time,

let's meet our Armchair Detectives.

Hello, Armchair Detectives!

-ALL:

-Hello.

Oh, they're all ready to go again.

Only three of you play each day, though.

So, please, take your armchairs Roger, Gregor, and Laura.

Come on up!

CHEERING

The Armchair Detective guessing the killer correctly will win this,

the fiercely-contested golden magnifying glass.

-AUDIENCE:

-Woo!

Not bought from a pound shop!

This is your final appearance on the show.

So, can you sum up what it's like being an Armchair Detective

in three words for me, Roger?

I would say it is brilliantly challenging fun.

I would have to go with fantastic, amazing, and argh!

LAUGHTER

-Not even a word but I know what you mean.

-Yeah.

It's definitely an adventure. Certainly an experience.

And it certainly puts a long of things in perspective.

Oh, beautiful. It's time for round one, the crime scene.

Knight and Slater meet Simmons at a stunning country house,

Strath Manor.

Notepads at the ready.

For the first time today, let's head over to Mortcliff.

Strath Manor is the ancestral home of the Laxford family.

This part of the house was used as a hospital barracks during the war.

It was bombed in 1941.

And they've only started renovations now?

I would have called Homes Under The Hammer, sir.

Sir Charles has been applying for heritage funding for years,

but there's all this nonsense nowadays about

historic homes being undeserving.

Right.

When Strath Manor is reserved to its former glory,

it will be a beacon of beauty as well as offering employment.

Boo!

-Don't believe in ghosts do you, Slater?

-No. Not at all, sir. Ahem.

It's time to start.

Thank you, Mrs Mackenzie.

Um, I will also need to speak to Lord Laxford.

He and his family are on their way back from the Cairngorms.

I see. Thank you.

Don't tell me you've found Lady Miranda?

Just through here.

No way!

Who is Lady Miranda?

She's Lord Charles Laxford's wife.

She went missing 15 years ago. Are you absolutely sure it's her?

It's a female skeleton of the same age.

She has an old fracture on her right leg that corresponds with

a skiing accident on her medical records.

And...we found this.

We found it by her left hand.

We've dusted for prints but I wouldn't hold your breath.

We've sent her dental records off

but, judging by her age, I just am 100% sure that this is her.

Anything else? What about these gas canisters?

Not sure if they're of any importance yet.

Although I did notice one's quite badly damaged.

Could that be what killed her?

I'll not know until I've run some tests.

Luckily no-one smoked nearby, sir.

Indeed.

Otherwise the Heritage Society would have been looking at

a full-scale construction from the ground up.

Could you make sure we get some tea?

I thought when Jane called, you'd found her in Morocco or...not this.

She was here all along?

Just yards away.

Poor Daniel.

We'll obviously be investigating all possibilities.

Of course, um...

I expect you'll want to know where I was the day she supposedly left.

Yes, sir.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

We were all set to go and visit Aunt Netty.

She had been unable to meet baby Daniel, and Jemima was ill.

So, I took Daniel, and Miranda stayed here with her mother.

You'd best speak to Jemima sooner rather than later.

She has dementia now, and today was a good day

but, er, she isn't always so lucid.

Do you recall the events of the day your daughter went missing?

Well, of course!

Well, I was taken ill.

Miranda kindly looked after me.

I stayed in bed and read.

Do you remember which book?

I read it every night before I retire.

Ah, it's an invitation.

16 years ago, that's almost a year before Lady Miranda went missing.

There's something written on the back.

Is there? Do read it, dear.

"Let's just keep this between the two of us."

Sir. That's what we call a clue.

Well, there's no fooling you, is there, Slater?!

LAUGHTER

Armchair Detectives, we have a cold case on our hands.

-She's not looking her best, is she?!

-No, she's not.

Although, I think she might have intended to look her best

because that looked rather a fancy yellow, laced dress.

And also the rather lovely engagement ring

-next to her left hand.

-Left hand.

-Next to her left hand.

-There were modern gas tanks there.

-Yeah.

I couldn't clearly see what was lying alongside the body.

-Was it a sword or something similarly shaped?

-I couldn't see...

It looked more like just rubble and things.

Let me tell you a bit more about the victim

and we'll talk a bit more.

Today, we're investigating the death of Lady Miranda

who was 35 years old when she went missing 15 years ago.

She was the Lady of Strath Manor.

Lady Miranda was married and had one child.

The cause and time of death is currently under investigation.

So, that's our victim.

Charles, the previous husband, mentioned the fact that

the mother was suffering dementia or beginning to.

Um, so, do we take her at her word she remembers

she was in bed reading because she was ill?

Which did kind of coincide with his story, but are we meant to...

-Miranda stayed behind...

-To take care of the mum.

Or was she taking advantage of the absence of her husband

-for some reason?

-Yes.

-Hence the smart frock.

Who's to say that invite, "Keep it between the two of us"

was Jemima's? It might have been Miranda's.

-Two of who?

-Yes.

-Mm-hm.

Well, let's have a look at the suspects.

The suspects so far are

Lord Charles Laxford, the Lord of Strath Manor,

Jemima Andrews, mother of Lady Miranda,

and Judith Mackenzie, the housekeeper of Strath Manor.

Yeah, it's more about alibis and things at the moment.

-Yes, it's difficult when it's so far in the past.

-Yeah.

-Mm-hm.

But let me try and help you out with a piece of evidence.

In every round you get to interrogate a piece of evidence,

and I'm going to start you off with one.

It is the party invitation found in Jemima's book.

"Let's just keep this between the two of us."

And it is "Lord and Lady Laxford invite you to join them

"at Strath Manor between 5 and 10pm. RSVP."

And also you can see there the book that it was in.

Poems of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Well, the invitation is to the party at the manor.

-At the manor, so, someone else brought it into the house.

-Yes.

What did they say about the date of that invitation, though?

-Cos she talked about...

-It's 16 years, not 15 years.

-Yes.

-So, the year before.

-Which could be why

there could be something going on. Maybe an affair, a possibility.

-Well, baby Daniel.

-Ooh.

Laura, that's just what I was thinking as well.

-A year, a year, you say.

-I don't have any children

but I understand there's some distance between things happening

and things happening!

LAUGHTER

So, that's the party invitation.

It's time now for round two, last movements.

We'll see what happened to Lady Miranda on the day of her death

15 years ago.

It's a flashback. Ooh!

LAUGHTER

Notepads at the ready, let's had back to Strath Manor.

-TV:

-And finally, a reminder of today's top stories.

After seven years of construction, the new bridge has finally opened

for traffic at Loch Menzies.

-The outsider Maiden Zet...

-DOOR SLAMS

-..won the Champion's Hurdle at 66-1.

-FOOTSTEPS

In business news,

the Financial Times 30 Index had one of its worst...

-Mummy!

-Oh!

What are you doing creeping around?

You're going to set fire to something one of these days.

What are you doing with that?

-Help! Murder!

-Honestly.

Have you carried on drinking?

-BOTTLE CLATTERS

-Absolutely not.

Show yourself!

There's no-one there.

Too much gin makes you hallucinate. Did you know that, Mummy?

Into bed, go on.

Darling, are you there?

Darling?

-ALL:

-Ooh!

I always wear my pearls to bed as well!

Armchair Detectives?

-It would seem it wasn't a sword, it's the poker.

-Yes.

-Yes.

So, there was something potentially beside the body

and it was the poker she was carrying.

Whereas I think she was expecting trouble.

The moment the mother made sounds, she went straight for a weapon.

Charles was definitely hiding something because he called out

to find out where the wife was, and then hid an envelope in a drawer.

-Yes, something happened there, didn't it?

-A nice thick...

-A nice thick envelope.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

Did anyone see what time the car drove away?

-6.40.

-6.40, thank you.

-And His Lordship arrived at 7?

-7.20.

7.20, it was 7.20.

-And was it a different car?

-It was the same estate, but I can't tell

if that was like 12 hours later or if that was just an hour and a bit.

And then the noise in the hallway,

but both women heard it, and both women came to find out what it was.

As always, it's time to pick a piece of evidence from the following.

We have the forensics on the fireplace poker.

Or from the cold case file, a forensics report on the candlestick.

And finally from the cold case file, a police report on the envelope. So?

The poker, I would love to know if she maybe got a whack at the guy

or person who attacked her.

Envelope, I'd love to know what was in that thick envelope.

But I might have missed the candlesticks.

-I don't recall...

-Well, Mum was holding a candlestick.

That was a gin bottle.

No, the gin bottle was picked up, she was lighting her way

-with the candlestick.

-Oh, the candlestick.

I imagine the poker forensics ought to tell us

if that was the murder weapon.

I would like to see the envelope to begin with, just so we can know...

-Know what he was up to.

-..what he was up to.

-We'll inevitably return to the poker forensics.

-And the candlestick.

We'll be haunted by the candlesticks for the rest of the game.

-I'm happy to go with you and the envelope.

-Envelope?

-I'm happy to go with the envelope.

-Yeah. Let's see it, then.

-This is an envelope found 15 years ago...

-Right.

..in the top drawer,

containing £6,700 in cash, and you can see the denominations there.

132 £50 notes, three £20 notes, four £10 notes.

-It's a lot of money.

-It's a lot of money.

15 years ago as well, that would have been a lot of cash.

Has it come from the bank?

Does the bank normally issue money in envelopes of that kind, or...?

Currently, it's the bank of Auntie Netty.

-Well, yes, that was going to be my follow-up.

-Well, yes.

Has he gone scrounging off the family?

-Where did this money came from?

-That's a very good point, yeah.

It's time to lock in your prime suspect.

We have Lord Charles, Jemima, and Judith.

Please write down who your prime suspect is now.

Time's up, Armchair Detectives, notepads down.

So, Roger, tell me who's your prime suspect and why?

I have at this stage said Jemima

because I suspect there is hanky-panky going on

on the part of Miranda and, um,

Jemima does not approve of this at all.

Gregor, who's your prime suspect and why?

I have also gone for Jemima.

She hallucinates when drinking

so, it might have been a case of accidental death.

Laura, who's your prime suspect and why?

-Well, I've gone for Lord Charles.

-Yes.

Although I am also thinking that it's Jemima.

-But what put me off was murdering your own daughter.

-Yes.

-But the hallucination thing is...

-Mm.

-It's cast doubts.

-Yes.

So, in summary, Roger has gone for Jemima,

Gregor has gone for Jemima,

and Laura has gone for Lord Charles.

So, it's on to round three now, the police interviews.

Knight and Slater decide to ask Lord Laxford

further questions at Strath Manor.

Notepads at the ready. Let's go back to Mortcliff.

I'm sorry about that.

Here it is.

I've been going through the police reports

on your wife's disappearance.

At the time, there were questions raised

as to whether the letter she left was authentic.

I understand you found it a few days after she went missing?

It's her typewriter, and that's her signature, signed with her pen.

I bought her a pen the day she disappeared.

I still have it if you need to do tests.

Who's Brian?

Brian Murray.

He delivered food every week and did a bit of catering if we needed it.

And you're convinced that she was...

I knew she was attracted to him.

She enjoyed cooking.

They spent a lot of time together,

especially when I couldn't give her what she needed.

I loved Miranda, but we had problems.

I guess, at the time, it made sense to me.

Brian Murray?

No, Brian Peters.

Are you sure?

You certainly match the description we have.

Better come inside.

Do you always keep photographs of people you don't know?

I do know them.

So, you are the Brian Murray who used to do catering for them?

Yes, I am.

After the old lady threw a meat cleaver at me, I left.

Sweet old lady Jemima!

I don't know what she's like now

but she had a bit of a bad drink problem back then.

The family were nice enough.

But when I complained to Lady Miranda, she got angry,

accused me of all sorts, so, I left.

Took early retirement and moved here.

-You changed your name as well?

-Not legally.

Peter is my middle name.

Never fancied Murray much.

Would you say you and Miranda Laxford were...close?

-HE CHUCKLES

-No.

I know what the rumours were.

What were they?

That she fancied me.

I was flattered but there was never anything like that.

She was a nice lady.

Had a blind spot where her mother was concerned, though.

I, mean think about it.

Would she really want all this

when she lived up there in that fancy house?

It's not always about the money.

She loved him, Lord Charles.

And he loved her, there was never any doubt about that.

Why are youse here after all this time?

Her body was recently discovered.

How awful.

Well, if there's anything I can do to help.

Thank you. We'll be in touch, Mr Murray.

Mr Peters.

-Ah.

-Very interesting.

Let me just bring up the suspects board before we talk about it,

because we've got an extra suspect.

Brian Murray, a former employee of the victim.

Let's deal with Lord Charles first of all.

At first he was looking through the betting slips on the table

-when he walked into the room.

-Yes.

Which, on the night of Lady Miranda's disappearance,

she was listening to the radio, which mentioned the horse

racing was on at the time, which may account for...

-His winnings.

-..his winnings.

-Which could be winnings.

-Which could be winnings.

But if he had a bad gambling habit then he might not have always won.

Precisely.

-We also have a note.

-We also have a note.

-Yeah. A typed note.

-A typed note.

-Lord Charles says it's her signature.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Is that so?

And, Brian, there's something not quite right there.

Yeah. What's he trying to hide? What's he running away from?

And what was mentioned in the letter?

Am I getting a sniff of Lady Chatterley's Lover here?

His Lordship can't give his wife what she wants.

She needs.

And maybe he can't provide the wherewithal for an heir.

OK.

Once again you can pick a piece of evidence,

and we've added a new one to the list.

So would you like to see the forensics on the fireplace poker?

From the cold case file, forensics on the candlestick?

Our new piece of evidence is a photograph of the Laxford

family taken at Strath Manor.

So, the questions for here and now, the candlestick is a cold case file.

Yeah, so for some reason at that time

they decided to investigate the candlestick.

-Mm-hm.

-Whereas we know the poker was found next to the body.

So, I'd like to know why they felt it was necessary to do

a forensics report on the candlesticks at that time.

Yeah, yeah.

I should like to see the candlesticks at the moment, I think.

Colonel Mustard, candlestick.

-Colonel Mustard, candlestick in the library.

-Yes.

Yes. It's an antique French Second Empire silver candlestick.

And the prints on it are Miranda's and Jemima's.

Prints found but nothing else found. No blood, no hair.

It certainly seems to be quite an old, expensive, antique

candlestick, doesn't it?

But it's an old, expensive house.

It is an old, expensive house.

-So presumably such things are about the place.

-So they just...

Absolutely. OK, it's prime suspect time again, armchair detectives.

Lord Charles, Jemima, Judith, or Brian?

Please write down who your prime suspect is now.

Notepads down, please, armchair detectives. Time is up.

So, Roger, last time you picked Jemima. Have you changed your mind?

I'm still sticking with Jemima for the time being, although I am

still hanging onto this touch of Lady Chatterley theory.

Gregor, last time you went for Jemima. Have you changed your mind?

I have not. To be honest, it's still the same, hallucination, drinking.

There might be a backstory that we're going to learn

possibly about the whole baby aspect and whatnot.

Laura, last time you went for Charles. Have you changed your mind?

-Not yet.

-Oh, right, OK.

Brian seemed...he seemed sincere in saying that he wasn't

attracted to Miranda.

The rumours were that there was something between them,

but he didn't have much truck with that.

Suspect round up, then.

Roger has gone for Jemima, Gregor has gone for Jemima,

and Laura has gone for Lord Charles.

So, it's time for round four now, Dig Deeper.

We'll now discover more details of what

happened on the day of Lady Miranda's death 15 years ago.

And for you.

Oh, I don't deserve you.

Oh, God.

Mummy!

Come on, old chap, let's get you into the car.

You evil woman! And you, you're not even a real father.

Jemima.

Take Daniel out of here, Charles.

Let me. Let me.

No, I'm better at dealing with her than you.

How much have you had to drink?

Good God, it's only one o'clock in the afternoon.

She'll be fine with the housekeeper.

If I can get her to sleep it off then I can try

and get her to see sense.

Have a lovely day with Aunt Netty.

And you better be going, otherwise you'll be late.

Oh, do you have any cash? I've run out.

In the hallway dresser drawer.

What a mess.

ENGINE STARTS

The car that drove away in the earlier clip,

was it the same as his Lordship's car?

See, I thought it was an estate.

I thought it wasn't.

The car was seen going and coming.

Lady Miranda's just watched him leave at this time.

-One o'clock.

-At one o'clock.

-At one o'clock, yeah.

Cos we saw him...we saw that car departing again at 6.40.

-And he returned at 7.20.

-And he returned at 7,20,

When he did the thing with the money. Now...

If Aunt Netty is looking after the baby

while he's gone to the horse races and then come back.

Get more money then go back to get the baby.

Let's have a look at the evidence, see

if we can help you out a little bit.

Your choices are either the forensics on the fireplace

poker, or a photograph of the Laxford family

taken at Strath Manor, and there's a new item, which is

from the cold case file, Lady Miranda's goodbye letter.

If she was testing the pen by signing her name...

On that bit of paper.

..and that just conveniently there to be...

And that's why it was typed.

I would like confirmation of what that letter contains.

Yes. Without confirmation of what the letter contains it's easy to

get caught up in all the new things.

Yeah, understood.

I would like to see the poker.

To see if there was DNA, blood, anything like that.

-Is that the murder weapon?

-Shall we go for the...

-Poker?

-Yeah, I'm... Yeah, poker.

So it is a robust steel poker from the Netherlands, wrought iron.

And the prints on it are Miranda Laxford and Charles Laxford.

She might not have been bashed across the head to

produce the blood and hair.

It could have been a soft tissue injury,

if that was the murder weapon, which...

Well, we don't actually know the cause of death.

No, we don't know the cause of death.

No, we don't. No.

But the fact you don't know a lot of things doesn't stop us

from asking you who's your prime suspect?

It's time to lock in. Lord Charles, Jemima, Judith, and Brian.

Who is your prime suspect? Write it down in your notebooks now.

Time's up. Notebooks down, armchair detectives.

OK, Roger, last time your prime suspect was Jemima.

Have you changed your mind?

For the time being, I have.

Oh, right. Who have you gone for?

I've gone for Charles.

Charles, why?

The Lady Chatterley business, and he's got what he needs,

which is an heir, and I really want to find out about that letter.

But she is no longer necessary.

Disposable wife. Gregor, last time you went for Jemima.

Have you changed your mind?

I haven't. I'm sticking.

You're still sticking?

Sticking with Mummy for now. There's just something about her.

Yeah. Laura, last time you went for Charles.

Who have you gone for this time?

I've stayed with Charles so far, but I'm still curious about Brian.

So, in summary, the suspects as we stand are Roger has gone for

Charles, Gregor has gone for Jemima, and Laura has gone for Charles.

It's round five, the Final Clues.

Knight and Slater are still looking for answers

and have pulled in Lord Laxford and Jemima for questioning.

This time, they're at the Mortcliff Police Station.

Who's trying to hide family secrets?

Notepads at the ready, let's find out.

So the bulk of the wealth of the estate

comes from Lady Laxford's family?

Yes. It's no secret.

The house is my ancestral home,

but my father lost a lot of money after the war.

Seven years after your wife's disappearance you had her

declared dead.

It seemed like she was never coming back.

It was time to move on.

Bit extreme, don't you think, when you didn't know she was dead?

It was done on the advice of my solicitor.

Your wife in her will left the bulk of her money to you and your son.

Detective, it's common practice for people to make wills...

..especially when there's a lot of money involved.

You've sold a lot of assets, though, since your wife disappeared.

Why didn't you keep on looking for her?

Isn't that what you lot are supposed to do?

Sir, last time we met you said you couldn't give Miranda what

she wanted.

What did you mean by that?

I have a condition.

I'm sterile.

Which is why, 15 years ago

when Daniel was born, you had a paternity test done.

That's none of your business.

According to the postmortem report, your wife died of a

"violent, blunt-force trauma to the back of the head."

Murder, I'm afraid, is very much our business.

I wanted to be sure. Of course Daniel isn't my biological son.

Miranda had an affair, it was over. We desperately wanted children.

We tried IVF, but it didn't work for us.

I know she loved me, as I loved her.

Very much.

Lord Charles, I'm going

to need your permission to take a DNA sample from Daniel.

I can't remember much from that time.

They used to argue about the fact that they couldn't have children,

and he was desperate to have someone carry on his family name.

I'm sure you're as virile as an ox.

Flattery, my lady, will get you everywhere.

Now, can you remember anything from that night at all?

I remember hearing a car start up and leave,

then waking up with rather a sore head.

I'm not sure why. I got up and looked through my window.

It felt as though almost immediately the same car came back again.

But it couldn't have been.

How come?

Because the car that came back was Charles.

DOOR OPENS

For the record, a uniformed officer has entered the room.

No more abuse, Madame du Bois. This time I shall defend myself!

Lady Jemima, everything's all right, she can't hurt you now.

Please, sit down.

Sit down.

I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me.

That's all right.

Do you know why you reacted like that?

Never trust a woman who wears a yellow dress.

-Ah.

-So, armchair detectives, what do you think?

-I think I said other facilities, didn't I?

-You did, yes.

Well, I think the other facilities were definitely made

use of by the family.

Whose facilities?

LAUGHTER

I think they used Brian's facilities.

Used Brian's facilities.

So you think that that discussion with Lord Charles is

confirmation of the theory?

Well, his facilities weren't working.

Yes. OK.

But Charles seemed sincere and honest.

-I thought that.

-And his fingerprints are on the poker,

-not surprising because it's his poker.

-Yeah.

You've got one more pick before you make your accusation.

There are just two pieces of evidence left.

You can have the photograph of the Laxford family taken at

Strath Manor, or, from the cold case file, Lady Miranda's goodbye letter.

I'm keen to see the letter.

Yes, the letter.

The letter? Let's have a look at Lady Miranda's letter.

Miranda Laxford.

"Sorry, I have to be with Brian. Look after our son."

OK, that's the practice signature.

-Yeah, the practice signature.

-Can I...

And someone found that and put it through the typewriter.

..just say that that A looks awfully like a Q.

I think that's maybe the typing skills of somebody who's not

terribly focused.

-A little intoxicated.

-OK.

How does Brian come into this, though?

What are you thinking about Brian?

Well, the letter is inferring that Miranda,

being in love with Brian, wants to go and start a life with him.

But we already know from the interview that Brian might

have been convenient.

Yeah. I mean, that's not a letter, that's an improvisation.

So you're fairly certain this isn't actually...

-No. What it...

-It's almost like you discovered a scrap of paper with

somebody's signature on it and then...

-Then they put it through a typewriter.

-And put it through a typewriter, absolutely.

-Because they couldn't do the handwriting.

-That's what it looks like to me.

Armchair detectives, I'm sorry, the big moment has arrived.

-No!

-You're about to make your final accusation for the chance

of winning a golden magnifying glass.

This is your last chance to get your hands on the trophy.

It's time to answer the only question that matters, whodunnit?

Notepads down, time's up, armchair detectives.

Roger, who have you accused and why?

I've gone back to Jemima.

She heartily disapproves of her daughter's shenanigans.

Gregor, who are you accusing and why?

I have stuck with Jemima.

Whether she knew what she was doing or not, I'm not sure.

Laura, who are you accusing and why?

I have gone to Jemima.

Jemima. Why?

Because we're finding out the... The narrative gaps are being

filled in in the background,

but the letter suggests somebody who doesn't know about the agreement.

The gentleman's agreement.

So in summary, it's a full house.

Roger, Gregor, and Laura have all gone for Jemima.

However, there is one piece of evidence left.

-The photograph.

-Oh, yes.

So let's have a look at the photograph.

Would it have made a difference or is it a red herring?

Let's take a look at the photograph of the Laxford family.

This is the Polaroid picture that was taken on the day of the murder.

Happy families.

Cos it is his child.

Very possibly.

Let's find out what really happened in today's story,

What Became Of Miranda?

Who killed Lady Miranda Laxford? Let's find out whodunnit.

How many men would raise another man's child?

Depends on the circumstances.

I do believe him when he said he loved his wife, though.

He told us he wasn't jealous,

but Jemima said they argued about not having children.

And love can be a motive for murder.

I just... I can't see him striking her from behind, though,

feels too last-minute for me.

Also, if he murdered her in a fit of rage,

why would he still call Daniel his son when he's not?

So he didn't go to Aunt Netty's.

But he did put a bet on the horses.

And the race track is too far away for him to go there

and come back again in time.

Thanks.

Right, so, Jemima Andrews, drunk at the time,

but, as we know, prone to outbursts of violence.

She doesn't trust women in yellow dresses.

Miranda was wearing a yellow

dress during the time of her disappearance.

As for Brian Murray, though,

she did write a letter saying she was leaving with him.

You're assuming that it was Lady Miranda that wrote that letter.

Yeah, true. It was typed, supposed anyone could have written it.

Full DNA match with Daniel Laxford.

PHONE RINGS

-Hello.

-Hi, it's Judith from Strath Manor, if you remember.

Ah, Judith. Yes, of course I remember.

Someone's at the crime scene.

I see.

He doesn't look like an officer.

We'll be right there. Grab your coat, Slater.

We're going to see the ghost of Strath Manor.

Mr Murray, fancy meeting you here.

I was...

OK, so I lied to you.

We did sleep together, but it was only once.

And you know that once is all it takes, Mr Murray.

I propose to you that you were suspicious that Daniel was your son.

That you went to the house to confront Miranda about that fact.

She denied it and you got angry.

-No.

-Were you blackmailing her?

Absolutely not.

Did you want her to leave her husband for you?

I said nothing like that.

Or was it the boy?

The one thing in her life that she really wanted

and you were going to take him away from her.

You got into a fight, she called out for help,

you hit her on the back of the head and then you left.

I loved her.

You loved her so much you didn't want her to be with anyone else

so you killed her.

But then you couldn't bear the thought of never

seeing your son again, so you moved close.

You went downstairs, you found that piece of paper with her

signature on it, you typed the letter on it and then you left.

No.

What are you doing in this section of the house?

To look for this.

To prove to you that that crazy old woman killed her daughter.

If that had been here for 15 years it would be black by now.

She wanted to stay with him. Pretend Daniel was his son.

She accused me of trying to get my hands on her money.

She refused to believe I loved her.

Brian Murray, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murder

of Miranda Laxford.

Spit it out, Slater.

Who typed the letter, sir?

We may never know, but my money's on Jemima.

I think she wrote it just to put Lord Charles out of his misery.

And don't forget, she believed her daughter had run off with Brian.

Mm. Yeah. That's an interesting theory, sir.

Well, never mind, guys.

You failed to pick today's killer, which means, Gregor,

your girlfriend, Toria, will finish with more trophies than you.

Well done, Toria. Well done.

Armchair detectives, how many of you got that right?

Oh, not as many as usual. That was a tough one.

So that's all from Armchair Detectives.

Come back tomorrow, as we put our faith in Knight and Slater,

who try and solve a deadly crime at a church.

And remember, no-one gets away with murder in Mortcliff. Goodbye.