Six Letters Beginning with M Armchair Detectives

Keep calm, there's a killer on the loose

and the only way to carry on is to track them down.

Welcome to the TV show with only one question.

Whodunnit?

Welcome to Armchair Detectives,

where our 15 murder mystery enthusiasts are going to try

and determine who committed a devious crime.

We'll see the comings and goings of a case set in Mortcliff,

a village you really don't want to visit.

We'll follow these three top coppers as they weed out the evidence -

DI Knight, DC Slater,

and Scene of Crime Officer Simmons.

Before we head to Mortcliff for the first time today,

let's meet our Armchair Detectives.

Hello, Armchair Detectives.

-ALL:

-Hi.

They stay cheerful every single day.

Now, only three of you play each day,

so please take your armchairs,

Gregor, Ellouise and Charley.

As you know by now, the detective guessing the killer correctly

will win one of these -

our golden magnifying glass trophy.

-ALL:

-Oooh!

Now, Gregor, the pressure is on you a little bit.

Just a wee bit.

Are you going to be able to match your girlfriend Toria's

double win and secure a golden magnifying glass today, Gregor?

-I'm confident, just like last time.

-Right.

But this time I'll be paying a lot more attention.

Ellouise, what are you going to do differently to try

and win your first trophy?

-So I've got a theory...

-Yeah?

..that when I'm sitting there, I'm not taking notes

and I'm getting them right, so I'm not taking notes.

-ALL:

-Ohhh!

-No notes.

-No notes.

For the first time in Armchair Detectives history,

that notepad is not being used.

-Let's see if these tactics work.

-I know!

I'm relying on you guys to take notes.

Charley, what do you think about Ellouise's tactics of taking

no notes at all?

I think it's a bold gamble, and I like it.

-It's a bold gamble!

-I like it.

-What a polite way of putting it.

LAUGHTER

So it's on to Round One, the Crime Scene.

Knight, Slater and Simmons

find today's victim dead in his own living room.

Notepads at the ready, unless you're Ellouise.

LAUGHTER

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

Morning, Simmons. What have you got for us?

Victim was the home owner, Clive Wintern,

retired history professor.

Looks like poisoning.

His lips were swollen and he tried to be sick.

-Disabled?

-Hm, he was a polio survivor, had limited leg mobility.

Looks like he's just eaten. Are those sugar crystals at the bottom?

Yeah, looks like it. We'll check. This is water next to it.

Green litmus, pH 7.

Anything else?

We found this battery-operated push-button device

lying next to him.

That's a rather large bag for one man.

Yeah, maybe he was thinking about running off

and somebody stopped him. We'll look into it.

What's the relevance of this biro?

Well, I think it might match the writing on this crossword.

It's got a mark next to one of the clues.

Acidity level in European laurel, six letters.

What's the answer?

Since when do forensics have time for cryptic crosswords?

-Well, I mean, it's just that...

-You're the detective.

I solve crime, sir, not crosswords.

Well, now, what a puzzle. What did you spot? Have a chat.

He had a panic button, but do we know if it was pushed yet?

And do we know if it was working?

-Yeah, true.

-Yeah, that's what I was going to say, does it even work?

-Yeah.

-Battery powered, so the battery might be dead,

so we need to find out about that.

Dead or short circuited, they're relatively easy to block.

Has it been tampered with in any way?

So I'm interested to see what's in the locked bag -

was he hiding something

or was it just an innocent locked bag?

-Which is very unlikely.

-Is there such a thing

as an innocent locked bag?

-AUDIENCE:

-Oooh!

I'd also like to know who had access to his food,

because it looks like he's been poisoned by food, so he's

obviously had to eat something. Has someone else got a key to the house?

He looked like he was just at home doing a crossword,

innocently eating.

Does he have a carer cos he has polio or something like that?

Yeah, does he have a carer?

Well, let's take a look at today's victim.

The cause of death is suspected consumption of poison,

causing extreme swelling around the mouth.

The time of Clive's death is still under investigation.

So that's the victim.

Well, right now, because time of death is under investigation,

we don't actually know when he was poisoned,

so it might have nothing to do with the food that...

We just don't know until we know what the crystallisation is.

One of the joys of poison is they can be cumulative, slow acting.

-They sit in fatty tissues.

-So this could be over

-a long period of time.

-It could be any point.

I can give you a piece of evidence to look at,

see if this helps you out.

This is the crossword found at the crime scene.

As you can see,

a couple of things have been picked out -

acidity level in Europe laurel -

and that's the corresponding box there.

The clue - "Acidity level in Europe laurel" -

and if you go for laurel in the sense of laurels you have earned

or kind of laurel wreaths, and

he's answered that with "doping". The reason for the heart is cos it's

the wrong number of letters, so it doesn't really sort of fit in there.

So is it a European laurel,

somebody's won a European competition but was doping?

And Clive Wintern has put this in through the communication

method of the crossword clues, he's outing a cheating sportsman

and that's why he's been murdered.

OK, keep that in mind. Ellouise, take a photograph with your mind.

-Click!

-LAUGHTER

It's on to Round Two, Last Movements.

Notepads at the ready, let's head back to Clive Wintern's

living room in Mortcliff shortly before his death.

27 across is...

Palimpsest.

-Correct.

-CLIVE CHUCKLES

Beating you again, Malcolm!

It's almost as if the answers come to you from nowhere.

CLIVE MUTTERS NERVOUSLY

Are you all right?

Perfect.

Look, I've got to go. We're off to Crete tomorrow morning.

-Lucky for some.

-Ah, we've managed to save up enough Green Shield Stamps.

It's a history research trip.

Clive, tell me the "we" is not you and Stephanie.

For God's sake, you're old enough...

CLIVE HANGS UP

What are Green Shield Stamps?

Oh, just a thing from the old days.

I've managed to set up a meeting with a Carthage

professor on the island.

He really loves my Hannibal theory.

Of course he does.

But you think it's a waste of time.

Look, we've been over this before.

Look, your theory is brilliant, but it's just that, a theory.

At present.

Don't sulk.

Don't patronise me.

How's the packing coming?

Suitcase is ready, but it's too heavy for me, though.

Oh, don't worry, I'll get Brian to sort it.

-What do you want me to do?

-Would you bring the suitcase in?

And I'll check to see we're good to go first thing.

Tell me that's a snack.

-Your supper.

-CLIVE GROANS

Fruit salad and a pint of water.

A pint! It's almost an armful.

CLIVE CHUCKLES

Look, I'll waste away on that.

You said you wanted to lose a few pounds.

No, you did.

All the exploring we'll be doing in Crete.

Well, can't do it on fruit alone.

See you tomorrow, Professor.

High maintenance, is she?

It's complicated.

I can't see how. You have the best of all worlds.

Someone who's very smart, who stimulates you.

She's very pretty, and she's not going to stick around.

I have never seen anyone as passionate about history

other than you, Clive.

She's a genius, one of a kind,

but it's a meeting of the minds, Brian, that's all.

Well, there's your answer.

You're something to aspire to, Clive, I'll give you that.

Oh, God knows what she's packed.

Probably got half her hair salon in there.

What have I gotten myself into? I'm not sure about this, Brian.

Right, well, I'll be off.

Oh...

You don't want to leave this lying around.

Buzz me if you need anything. House alarm will be on, OK?

Thank you, Brian.

DOOR CLOSES

That will do.

HE SIGHS

HE BREATHES LABORIOUSLY

DING!

Come on, I want some answers!

Hello, Malcolm. Bit early, isn't it?

He's refusing to answer the phone.

He sleeps like the dead.

Can I come in?

-Clive!

-Oh, my...

Clive!

Professor?

Are you ready to go yet?

What have you done to him?

AUDIENCE MURMUR

-OK.

-Well, it tells us who has access to the house.

-Yes.

-I was under the impression that lady...

-Stephanie.

-I thought she went home,

but she was already in the house when they...

..they came in.

I don't think we saw whether she came in from outside or

whether she was already downstairs.

OK, let's take a look at who we're talking about.

We have three suspects to look at.

Stephanie McCracken - Clive's private student,

Brian Hunterson - gardener and housekeeper,

and Malcolm Gray - Clive's friend.

-So...

-I'm really cautious of Brian.

We know the buzzer was pushed, but it looks like it's not working.

-It's not working.

-And we saw Brian hand that to him.

So why did Stephanie say, as the first thing, "What have you done?"

-Yeah, that was interesting.

-Yeah that...that stuck out.

-Was that taking attention away from her or...?

-As if there was

an underlying issue between them.

Well, let's see if I can help you out a bit more

because it's on to the Evidence Pick.

Would you like to see a document found in a printer

at the crime scene, or a panic alarm found at the crime scene,

and finally the suitcase found at the crime scene?

The panic alarm is going to let us know

whether or not it's been tampered with.

Brian obviously is the closest link to it.

Ellouise and I are looking at each other

because you never assume anything in Armchair Detectives.

I find it weird that he...

..he said he'll check the suitcase,

so why has she put a bulky lock on it?

I would like to see the panic button.

Go for the panic first and then the suitcase after?

-Yeah, panic.

-OK, we're going for the panic alarm.

So take a look at it - what can you see?

Is the battery the wrong way round?

Panic... Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is, the springy bit's at the bottom.

I was about to say, "Does anyone know anything?"

-but apparently I do.

-LAUGHTER

See, as soon as Ellouise throws away her notepad, she's seeing

everything, she's seeing everything.

-Tactics.

-So, what does that tell you?

That means the panic button doesn't work.

Because someone's inserted the battery the wrong way round.

Now, was that an accident or intentional?

Well, Armchair Detectives, is your prime suspect

Stephanie, Brian or Malcolm?

Write it down now.

Notepads down, please. So, Gregor?

I've gone for Stephanie right now.

I'd like to know more about her theory.

She might have a grudge to bear against Clive.

Ellouise?

At this stage, I've gone with Brian.

-Right.

-Purely because he's the last person we've seen handing over

the bowl and the drink that we presume killed him.

Not to say that hasn't been tampered by anyone else,

but just from what I've seen.

-Charley.

-My prime suspect, like Gregor, I've gone for Stephanie.

OK. So the prime suspects right now are...

..Stephanie, Brian and Stephanie.

So it's on to Round Three, the Police Interviews.

Two suspects have been pulled in for questioning, but who are they?

Notepads at the ready, let's find out.

Mr Gray, do you recognise the handwriting on the piece

of paper shown in this photograph?

Yes.

Can you tell us what's written across the top of the page?

I've written, "Malcolm's time, 17 minutes 5 seconds."

You and the victim were crossword rivals?

Friendly ones, yes.

I would print out a random crossword from the past ten years,

take off the date, numbers and newspaper details,

just leave the grid and the clues.

And then I'd add my time and drop it around to his house.

He'd then see if he could beat it, which he did do 99% of the time.

We found Professor Wintern to be quite a phenomenon at the

National Crossword Championships, won nine years in a row.

And I've won twice since he stopped entering.

So you finally got some success when your main competitor stopped.

What are you saying?

Well, you're a proud man. Maybe you got tired of losing.

You can't lose to a cheat.

How long had you been Clive's gardener and housekeeper?

About four years, ever since I was discharged from the army.

He used to manage really well with his crutches,

but then he had a bad fall, decided he needed some looking after.

I cook, lock up at night, do a bit of gardening.

He was a very generous boss.

Sometimes I think he took me on as a favour.

And you were the last one to see him?

I guess.

His...protegee, Stephanie, had left,

I'd given him his supper.

He puts himself to bed normally.

Did he keep valuables around?

Could it have been a burglary?

No, not really.

I put the burglar alarms on for Clive at night

and all the windows have locks on.

Can anyone else disable the alarm?

No-one.

I'm the only one with the electronic fob to turn it off.

So essentially he was trapped in his own home?

I leave him with a remote control gadget that he can press

if he gets into trouble. It buzzes me and I can get over there quickly.

I stay a couple of doors away.

Professor Wintern left a rather generous bequest to you in his will.

-So?

-Well, it's not every day someone leaves them their home, is it?

You didn't know him very long.

You rented the house two doors down.

Look, I don't know where this is going,

but when I left Clive, he was the picture of health.

I went home, I cooked my tea, the next time I saw him he was dead.

Can anyone corroborate that?

The plot thickens, Armchair Detectives.

We know now that there's obviously an ongoing competition,

but I don't feel

like it's worthy of death from...

-..from Malcolm.

-Especially cos Clive had already retired,

so this was Malcolm's chance to shine.

-Yeah.

-But Malcolm did accuse him of cheating.

-Yeah.

-So...

-Yes.

-I think there's more to that story,

but I don't necessarily think that...

He would kill him when he's already retired.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Well, let's see if we can take you forward a bit

-with some more evidence.

-Please.

-Yeah.

Do you want to see a document found in a printer at the crime scene,

the suitcase found at the crime scene,

or this new piece of evidence,

the call log from Clive's landline phone?

-Is that printout going to give us a motive?

-Something interesting.

Yeah. Because I'm thinking we're pretty comfortable,

we've locked down so far where the poison might be.

We've nothing on a motive, so printout - motive, printout?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Printout for a motive, please.

-So you want to see the printout.

-Yes, please.

This is a document found in a printer at the crime scene,

and this is Clive's internet history.

-So this is proof that he's a cheat.

-Yeah, he was looking up the answers.

See, now I'm starting to create a theory in my head.

Stephanie really believes in this theory...

-That she has.

-He's sort of belittling her a little bit.

This is her evidence that...

"You're not actually that good at crosswords.

"I'm better than you, have some poison, see you later."

LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE

-Oh, you got a round of applause!

-Yep.

-Thank you.

It's prime suspect time.

Stephanie, Brian or Malcolm.

Please write down who your prime suspect is.

Notepads down, please, Armchair Detectives.

So, Gregor, last time your prime suspect was Stephanie -

-have you changed your mind?

-I have not.

-Still with Stephanie?

-Still with Stephanie.

Ellouise, last time your prime suspect was Brian -

-have you changed your mind?

-I have, I've changed to Stephanie.

Stephanie.

He's always going to be her superior, he's...

..he's lived his life, now it's her turn,

-"Move out the way."

-Yeah. Charley, last time you...

-Yes.

-..accused Stephanie.

-Stephanie.

I'm staying very much with Stephanie on this one.

-Staying with Stephanie. Full house.

-Yep.

-Yes.

I'm thinking because the European laurel bit, and there's...

-Yeah.

-..there's a back of the mind

tickle but I'm remembering that laurel is a respiratory poison

and if all of a sudden we discover later on that he was poisoned

by European laurel, it points towards the gardener, so wonderfully

and elegantly that it can't be, and therefore Stephanie's been framing.

LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE

So every one of our Armchair Detectives thinks that

Stephanie is the prime suspect. Will that change?

It's on to Round Four - Dig Deeper.

Who's acting suspicious and who has a clear conscience?

Notepads at the ready, let's head back to Mortcliff.

You've not been answering your phone.

I can't seem to find it.

I think I've left it at Clive's house.

It's good to see you.

Thanks for meeting me.

Better late than never. So how's the world of architecture?

Pretty good. We've got a few bigger clients now, more regular work.

You still obsessed with ancient Greece?

Absolutely, I've made some amazing discoveries about Carthage

and Hannibal.

-He was the...

-He was the best Carthaginian general, who beat

the majority of the Roman generals who fought against him,

and they crossed the Alps on elephants.

THEY CHUCKLE

So I guess you wouldn't be interested in the assistant

job going at my firm?

Thanks, but I'm happy for now.

The Professor still helping you prepare with your uni application?

Yeah, it's really good of him to take me under his wing.

So I guess you don't need me any more, huh?

It's not like that.

I was heartbroken leaving you behind with Mum.

I felt I'd failed you.

There were a lot of good times in our house, you know,

before the tax man turned up.

I hope I've turned things around now.

Yeah. It was good, us all together.

I've missed you too.

It means a lot to me, you still using my surname.

Why wouldn't I? You're my father.

Who'd want to be an Atkins anyway, huh?

THEY CHUCKLE

Could you give this to Clive?

Of course.

And can I ask you something in confidence?

-Sure.

-Is Clive really as clever as he makes out?

Of course he is.

Do you help him in any way with the crosswords?

Oh, no. I'm nothing compared to him.

Although he does sometimes find special crosswords for me

to attempt. It's cute, really. He finds ones with answers

-that are...

-He's won the National Cryptic Competition

nine years in a row,

but he hasn't entered for the past few years.

Why not?

He says he's bored of winning. I reckon he's scared.

I can't understand how I still can't beat that doddery old

bag of bones. No matter what newspaper

I get my cryptic clues from, he beats me nearly every time.

That's funny that you should say that, actually.

I don't exactly know what this means,

but it's a printout from Clive's computer.

And it looks odd.

The devious swine!

Hm, talk to me. Talk to me, Armchair Detectives.

I think I have a theory.

Steph found out just how much Clive was a cheater and liar,

and she trusted him beyond belief, and...yeah.

Let's take a look at the suspects board

because we've got an extra suspect to add.

-Ross.

-We've got Ross McCracken, who's Stephanie's father,

and of course we have Brian and Malcolm who have been there before.

Talk to me about Ross.

Well, it's interesting the affect he's going to have had on Stephanie.

She's certainly looking for a father figure to which our victim

-turns up, you know, avuncular, happy.

-Yeah.

-But she stuck with Clive..

-She's happy with Clive, yeah.

And then she discovers he's been fibbing.

I think at this stage everyone has actually got a motive of some kind.

-A sort of motive, yeah.

-Yes.

-But who's got the motive

-that would push them to murder?

-Who would do it more?

-Yeah.

Let's try and narrow it down, let's pick another piece of evidence.

You can choose one from the list.

The suitcase found at the crime scene,

the call log from Clive's landline phone,

and the new item of evidence -

a catalogue found at Brian's personal allotment.

So Brian's catalogue, I wonder if that means he's circled

something that he knows very well could be a poison.

I kind of want to see the suitcase just to give us peace of mind.

-Yeah, get it out of the way.

-Let's go for it.

If it's nothing, at least we know it's nothing.

That's what you wanted at the beginning of the show, to see that suitcase.

-So, do you want to see the suitcase?

-Absolutely.

-Yeah.

OK, let's go for the suitcase.

-Contents - empty.

-Ah!

Ahh...

Audible gasp from the Armchair Detectives!

-So Stephanie's lied?

-Stephanie's lied and Brian's...

Yeah, and Brian seemed to have some serious difficulty getting it

down the stairs for an empty suitcase.

Now, Armchair Detectives,

Bola's practically jumping out of her seat at this point.

Who packed it, whose is it, who brought it in?

It's empty now...

-Yeah.

-But was it?

Well, Steph said she packed it, Brian had trouble lifting it,

and after the death, it's empty.

If Simon was here, he'd say there was someone in the suitcase.

I can fit in a suitcase.

I went in and someone zipped it up and I went, "Oh, that works".

Did you go anywhere nice?

LAUGHTER

With a new suspect on the board, we have

Stephanie, Brian, Malcolm

and Ross.

It's time to lock in your prime suspect, Armchair Detectives.

Write down who that is now.

Notepads away, please, Armchair Detectives.

The tension is mounting. Please tell me who is your prime suspect,

Gregor.

So I'm sticking with Stephanie because why...

If Brian was the killer, why would he empty the suitcase?

Ellouise. Prime suspect?

-Stephanie.

-Yeah?

She's lied about the suitcase,

potentially it could have been empty.

I need more evidence before I change my mind.

Charley, prime suspect?

-I'm still sticking with Stephanie.

-Stephanie, OK.

So prime suspects, as we stand just now,

all of them going for Stephanie.

We're racing towards closing this case.

It's Round Five, the Final Clues.

Knight and Slater meet Brian at his allotment to ask further questions.

Can you tell us who was around the day he died?

I let the nurse in for Clive's weekly home visit.

She was a lot earlier than she usually is.

She said that he had been trying to reach me unsuccessfully,

so I changed the batteries in his panic alarm.

Then Malcolm dropped by with a new crossword to pass on to Clive.

Stephanie was dropped off by a guy in a car, I presume it was her dad.

She looked a bit teary-eyed.

You're curious about Stephanie, aren't you?

More puzzled than curious.

I wondered if there was a bit more to it.

You didn't approve of their friendship?

One doesn't like to speak ill of the dead, but...she's only 18

and I wondered if she was developing a bit of a fondness for him.

Was their relationship intimate?

What were you up to the rest of the afternoon?

Finished off in the garden, cutting the grass, watering the plants.

You said the suitcase you took in to Clive's was heavy?

Hm, yeah, very much so.

And yet it had no clothes in it when we found it at the crime scene.

Well, maybe he put them back in the wardrobe,

he was having second thoughts about the trip.

Looking to order in some new plants?

Oh...

Forgot about that.

Bit late now.

There's a phone call from Clive Wintern's landline to

one of the nurses here on Wednesday.

Only lasted a few seconds.

Was that nurse Dee McCracken?

I believe she prefers Miss Atkins.

Oh, happy birthday.

Oh, is that still on?

I'm just coming off shift.

Miss Atkins, DI Knight. This is DC Slater. We'd just like to ask

you a few questions about your daughter, Stephanie.

I don't see much of her these days. She's nearly 19.

How would you describe your daughter?

Is she in trouble?

This is part of a wider investigation.

Steph is...difficult.

She could read fluently by the age of four.

She could do things that no other child her age could even imagine.

I thought there was something wrong with her.

Anyway, we had her assessed and it turns out she's a genius.

Whatever that means.

What do you make of her friendship with Professor Wintern?

She's always preferred the company of older people.

Sorry, has something happened?

I'm sorry to have to tell you,

but Professor Wintern was found dead on Thursday morning.

-Would you like to sit down?

-No, no, I'm...fine.

Had you heard from him recently?

Yeah, now you mention it, Clive did call me.

I see him on my home visits once a week.

I thought he'd dialled by accident. He didn't say anything.

Can you tell us where you were on Wednesday evening from about seven?

I was driving to work for my night shift.

Sorry, if there's nothing else...?

Yeah, no, that's all for now, thank you.

Seems rather upset for someone who only met their patient once a week.

Indeed.

-OK.

-OK. OK, OK, let's take stock.

OK? We have another suspect on the board.

Dee Atkins, Stephanie's mum.

Had access to the house, found out Clive was a cheater,

disappointing her daughter.

She reacted really, really significantly.

-Heartbroken.

-Yeah.

-And I found myself wondering

if perhaps she had a far longer relationship with Clive.

-Than we realise.

-Well, you've got two pieces of evidence

still to look at, so let's look at one of those

-and see if it's helps you out.

-Two pieces.

You can have either the call log from Clive's landline or

a catalogue found at Brian's personal allotment.

We kind of saw bits of that in that film,

so which one would you like to see?

Brian's catalogue, the officer saw it.

-Yeah.

-He went, "Oh, I forgot about that," folded it over.

I really want to know what that green tank was

in front of DC Knight.

OK, Gregor, I was looking at that too,

I was looking at that too, going...

-What is that?

-"Ah, what is it?"

I think there's definitely more to this Dee. The fact that...

What really stuck with me with her is the fact that she knows

the relationship and didn't say, "I wonder how Stephanie is."

-I think the call log.

-I'm inclined to agree, yeah.

-I'm going to go call log.

Call log? OK, let's take a look at the call log.

Yeah, I want to see who else he called.

-Wednesday, we can see there there's a number of calls.

-Sweetheart?

Some quite close together.

It's "Sweetheart, duration four seconds," which would be the mum.

-Yep.

-Why has he saved her as Sweetheart?

How do you know that's...that's her mum?

Because the officers did say we can see you called her number,

and it was only a few seconds,

-and she said she just assumed it was an accident dial.

-However...

But there's two of them that's only four seconds.

The four seconds, and I'm thinking the 0131 number ends in four zeros,

which means it's going to be a switchboard.

-So switchboard for the hospital.

-Hospital.

So he's called them at three o'clock for eight minutes.

What was that call about?

-Yeah.

-Yes, it's the same number, isn't it?

-It is.

Reschedule the nurse's appointment?

There was something on that on one of the..

when she was talking to Brian Hunterson, "reschedule the nurse's

"appointment," an eight-minute call to the hospital would explain that.

Armchair Detectives, I hate to say this to you,

but the big moment has arrived.

It's time to make your final accusation.

Guess correctly and you'll win a golden magnifying glass trophy.

AUDIENCE OOH AND AAH

Charley, this could be your second win.

Gregor and Ellouise, you're chasing your first.

Write down today's killer.

Simple.

Stephanie, Brian, Malcolm, Ross, Dee.

It's time to answer the only question that matters.

Whodunnit?

Time's up, Armchair Detectives, notepads down.

I need you to reveal your choices to me.

Gregor, who are you accusing?

-I've stuck with Stephanie the whole time.

-Stephanie.

-All the way through.

-Aye, all the way through.

It's the only one that I think would

actually be angry enough to do something.

Ellouise.

I've also gone with Stephanie.

-Stephanie again. Because?

-Yeah.

Again, I think everyone's got motive, but I think in terms

of access and timeframe,

it's all the little tiny things that I think make

the big things in this situation.

-I hope.

-Charley, who are you accusing?

In a shocking last-minute twist, I've gone for Brian.

-ALL: Ohh! AUDIENCE MEMBER:

-I knew you was going to do that!

Because, again, motives are for juries,

he has the toxins in the shed,

he has access to sugar, he has access to the house.

I know it... I feel like I'm going for the simple one.

-I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be kicking myself, but...

-OK. Brian.

-I think it's Brian.

-Gregor, I'm going to ask you why you're jumping out of your seat.

Because I remember one of the first things I thought of poison,

poison is what they classically call a woman's weapon.

Ah!

Whereas Brian was a soldier,

whereas I think if he was going to take out Clive,

he would do it as a soldier.

Gregor and Ellouise are accusing Stephanie

and Charley, in a last-minute change of mind, has gone for Brian.

Now, before we go to Mortcliff for the answer,

we have a final piece of evidence to look at.

Was this deadwood? Let's take a look.

The catalogue found at Brian's personal allotment,

let's see what it is.

Whose birthday is it?

I'm going to assume maybe Clive's is coming up

and he wanted to get him a very nice pretty flower.

Well, he's not going to make it.

I don't know if that would have helped or hindered you,

-Armchair Detectives.

-Ooh!

So, what really happened in today's story?

Six letters beginning with M. Who killed Clive Wintern?

Let's find out who dunnit!

We just got CCTV footage,

and Ross was having dinner with a colleague in the city.

And Malcolm's alibi is established, too.

Do you think Stephanie's mother was having a relationship with Clive?

Looks like it.

Stephanie's intelligence made it difficult for her to

relate to the other kids.

Also, being a typical only child,

she preferred the company of adults anyway.

Her mother, Dee, couldn't handle her,

and her dad left when she was six.

What about Brian?

You remember his catalogue?

-Mm-hm.

-He'd written a reminder in it to give the plant with a ribbon

round it to someone called Daphne.

Who's Daphne?

Good question.

Hang on!

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Great minds, Slater.

You and Professor Wintern thought about things in a similar way,

didn't you?

What do you mean?

Well, for one thing,

you both wanted to end your friendship at the same time.

My question to you is, why did you feel the need to make it so final?

I'm not going to be intimidated by you.

Let's go through the facts, then, shall we?

What about the suitcase?

Brian brought it in and said it was very heavy.

Could that be because you were inside it?

SHE CHUCKLES

How can anyone get out of a suitcase

when the zip is locked on the outside?

But you know that the suitcase can be unzipped from the inside

using a biro, just like the one we found at the crime scene.

Oh, and we identified the poison. It's from the very same plant

you gave to Brian to give to your mother as a birthday present.

Very clever, considering its name.

The poison is found in the berries of the plant, the red berries.

You put the red berries in the fruit salad that Brian took to Clive.

You used the suitcase as a Trojan horse in which you hid

while the alarm was on.

When Clive left the room, you got out of the suitcase and hid again,

while he ate his deadly fruit salad.

You wanted to ensure his death so you stayed,

clearing up evidence and planning your public discovery of his death.

Then you pretended to arrive again the following morning,

after Brian had disabled the alarm.

You saw that Clive's crossword had one missing answer.

The clue had a heart next to it.

That was Clive's way of telling you that his future lay

with your mother.

You didn't want to implicate your mother,

so you wrote the wrong answer in your handwriting.

We can tell by the way O, I and G are written differently.

The correct answer is...

Acidity levels, pH.

Inside European - a Dane - gives a word meaning laurel.

pH inside Dane?

Daphne.

So the plant you used to kill Clive with was named...

Daphne.

You thought that by murdering Clive, everything in your life would

return to the way it used to be.

You and your mother wouldn't be rivals for the same man's attention.

And your father could be reinstated to his rightful place.

Ridiculous, Freudian psychobabble.

Is it?

When did you discover Clive was seeing your mother?

When I used his landline to call my phone,

there was a number

saved as "Sweetheart".

I called it...

..and my own mum picked up.

I did murder him...

..and I don't regret it either.

Can we just stop for a moment?

Ha-ha-ha-ha, "I've been in a suitcase," ha-ha-ha-ha.

LAUGHTER

If proof was needed that I don't know what's happening in this show,

the fact that I said I could fit in a suitcase might tell you that.

Gregor and Ellouise, you picked the killer correctly

and are today's winners - well done to both of you!

APPLAUSE

It just goes to show, Armchair Detectives,

you don't need to take a single note and you get it right!

Well done to everyone. Brilliant show, Charley,

don't beat yourself up about it.

That's all from Armchair Detectives. Come back tomorrow

when there's a cat amongst the pigeons...

-AUDIENCE:

-Oooh!

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

Goodbye.

Well done. Well done, Ellouise!

Well done, Gregor.