Down Among the Fearful

Captioning sponsored by VIEWERS LIKE YOU (thunder) (woman wailing) Infidelity.

Resentment.

Lies.

Once the pattern has been revealed, murder somehow seems like the logical conclusion.

The only faithful relationship around seems to be the partnership of Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway, one from a working-class city in the north of England, the other from the seminary.

They make a perfect if improbable team, as they once again uncover the deadly logic at work in the historic and beautiful city of Oxford.

Inspector Lewis, a new season, begins tonight.

(engine whirring) Were you taken to church as a child?

This is not about indoctrination.

God was in my life before I was born.

Is that what they taught you?

At church?

Is God the law?

Yes.

Can he see you doing wrong?

Of course.

How's my gorgeous girl?

Both my gorgeous girls.

Hello.

Reuben, she's having her lunch.

She needs routine.

She needs changing,I'd say.

Then Daddy came back just in time, didn't he?

Beans on toast okay?

Why not?

It was yesterday.

INTERVIEWER: Are you afraid of God's judgment?

He's gracious and merciful.

He's also vengeful, angry.

INTERVIEWEE: Like any concerned parent.

Yes, one who imposes irrational rules no child can follow.

It's up to us to rationalize what's in the Bible.

The essence of faith is love.

(phone ringing) Hello?

Hello, Mr. Beatty, it's me.

Don't forget your first one's in in half an hour.

Yep, I'm on my way.

Who's that?

Vicki.

There's a departmentmeeting.

She was just reminding me.

Reuben... Love you.

(Gregorian chant music playing in car) LEWIS: I think your CD must be scratched.

Don't you find the repetition meditative?

If meditative is another word for monotonous, then yes, very.

Highly effective in combating stress.

Yeah, but I'm not stressed.

HATHAWAY: You don't think you're stressed.

You've assimilated it.

God, man, watch out!

(brakes screeching) (brakes screeching) (yelling) Come on!

There is someone trying to get through.

She's a little disorientated.

She didn't expect to go so soon.

Can you see her?

Does she look okay now?

She's standing on a road.

There was an accident.

Yes, a car crash.

She's in a safe and peaceful place.

Anytime you need to talk.

If you can get a word in edgeways.

(laughing with relief) That's Tina for you.

I can't thank you enough, Mr. James.

Randolph, please.

Thanks.

Not the best way to get a copper's number.

It wasn't her fault.

It was the woman who crossed the road, she just... You're sounding a bit tense, James.

Did you remember to grab your CD from the car?

Brilliant.

Mac.

Who's Mac?

Was anyone in your family known as Mac?

My name's McLean.

I'm sensing an older man.

Grey hair.

I can smell smoke.

Sounds familiar.

He's very proud of you, Frank.

It can't be my dad, then.

Oh, I think it is.

He's saying he appreciates everything you did for him towards the end, but it was a great relief to go.

To escape my mother.

He's laughing.

He loves you very much.

He's with family now.

On the other side.

This is so strange.

It shouldn't be.

You see, my Dad... ...is in the pub down the road.

So I looked through his phone...

Poll!

Found a text message from his colleague Vicki.

She's pretty, super bright...

So are you.

With lovely shiny hair that doesn't smell of baby sick.

What did it say?

"This afternoon was fun, can't wait to do it again."

Right.

And a kiss.

Not a word to Mum.

Hell no.

She'd kill to have you back home.

You and Sarah.

Give us our little flea pit any day.

He'd better not be cheating, Josh.

Not after everything I've given up for him.

Neck okay, is it, after your shunt?

Mm-hmm.

Give it time.

(knocks) Hello?

Mr. James?

Mr. James.

Mr. James?

She's in the car.

POLICEMAN: Get back a bit, please.

Thank you.

(camera clicks) (rain pattering) HATHAWAY: The door was open?

Yes, so I went in.

Did you see anyone in the building?

No, no one at all.

Any lights on in any of the other offices?

I don't think there were.

Have you been here before?

Yes.

I come to talk to Geoff.

Who's Geoff?

My husband.

Does he work here too?

No, he's dead.

Randolph James is a psychic.

Oh, right, I'm sorry.

POLICEMAN: Sarge, found this on the body.

Geoff and I always liked to natter.

I tell him all my news.

About the kids, the footie... Randolph James, you say?

HOBSON: Well, he hasn't been shot, strangled, stabbed, beaten, bludgeoned, or had his neck broken.

If we're listing all the things that haven't happened to him, why don't we include that he hasn't been struck by lightning or savaged by wolves?

Robbie, do I stand in your office asking, "Have you caught them yet?"

(footsteps) LEWIS: What is it about those eyes?

Strong painkillers, warm bath.

HOBSON: That's Robbie sorted.

How about you?

A witness identified him as Randolph James, but he's Reuben Beatty on his debit card.

So he was leading a double life?

Randolph James was a practicing clairvoyant.

He certainly looks like he's seen a ghost.

He was at the department.

Maybe it's not Reuben.

Someone could have stolen his card.

That's why we need him identified.

Do you need a minute?

I need to know.

(baby crying) Thanks.

(sobbing) Mrs. Beatty, is it Reuben?

What happened?

We're still waiting for the autopsy report.

Until we decide otherwise, we're treating your husband's death as suspicious.

What was he doing in some office?

We have reason to believe that he was moonlighting as a psychic.

That's absurd.

He's a junior research fellow at the Department of Psychology.

He's a scientist.

He investigates systems of belief, why people believe.

Could it have been part of his research?

He never mentioned it.

Then again, he was hardly home.

Are you sure?

One of his clients found him.

She knew him as Randolph James.

(sobbing) It just gets worse.

What does?

"We'll never have secrets."

That's what he said.

"When love strikes like this, you've got to trust it."

We met at a Fresher's Ball.

It took us six days to get engaged.

And when we weren't together, we were incomplete.

We couldn't function.

Whirlwind romance, eh?

That's what my mum said.

Right, thanks.

Not one word.

There was no meeting in the Department of Psychology yesterday afternoon.

Not canceled, never scheduled.

So Reuben Beatty lied to his wife.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

Yeah, poor lass.

Lost not only her husband but all her faith in him too.

According to the landlord of his office building, Randolph James was six months into a 12-month lease.

The rent was paid out of a building society in the name of Reuben Beatty.

HATHAWAY: He and his wife had a joint account, but this one was set up in secret.

And he topped it up weekly with wodges of cash.

HATHAWAY: So far, no other trace of Randolph James.

It seems to be an identity confined to a psychic's chair.

Why would Reuben the postgrad scientist moonlight as Randolph the clairvoyant?

Well, lots of scientists have irrational beliefs.

Isaac Newton thought the Bible was a cryptogram set by the Almighty.

Walking Wikipedia.

Only more accurate.

We found four sets of 40 quid at the scene, which means he was doing it for the money.

He was just taking advantage of the recently bereaved.

Some people are so gullible.

Well, if believing in the spirit world gets them through, who are we to knock it?

You're onto his colleagues from the Department of Psychology?

Yes.

Maybe they had some idea what he was up to.

Sorry to hear about your bump.

Thanks, ma'am.

Must bring back memories, the collar.

Only when it itches.

This is my home.

You're not thinkingclearly.

Why is it whenever I make a decision you don't agree with, I'm not thinking clearly?

This flat belongs to the college.

Reuben is no longer a student here.

A little compassion wouldn't go amiss, Mum.

Someone has to keep a clear head.

And we can always rely on that from you.

Yes, actually, Joshua, because I'm the one that brought you up.

If I was pushy... Only you could turn Reuben's death into a platform for your sacrifices as a single mother.

At least I got a good settlement out of your dad.

Reuben's left you with nothing.

You've always hated him.

I hated how he rushed you when you had so much potential.

They're going to ask you to leave sooner or later.

I can't.

Not yet.

I've got your old room ready.

You'll have my support.

I know how hard it'll be.

Think about it, Polly, please.

(door opening) Apologies for the delay, gentlemen.

It took some time to find, but if you screw your eyes up really tight, you'll see a tiny puncture wound.

That a bite?

Eight-millimeter hypodermic needle.

Delivering what?

An extremely powerful paralyzing agent called M99.

Pharmaceutical name, etorphine.

It's a controlled substance strictly for use on large mammals.

Etorphine's a sedative.

He didn't seem very sedated when he died.

That's because first of all, he was fed barbiturate.

How?

Piece of cake.

For you, maybe.

He was fed a piece of cake soaked with barbiturate.

HATHAWAY: But surely the barbiturate would have eventually stopped him breathing, so why two drugs if you want him dead?

Barbiturates operate in three broad stages: sedation stage, unconsciousness and death.

Based on his weight and height, I've calculated he was only given enough barbiturate to sedate him.

So his murderer wanted him woozy, but not completely out of it.

Yeah, and then some time after, injected him with the lethal dose of etorphine.

But like James said, why not just finish the job with a lethal dose of barbiturate?

Because that would involve a complete loss of control and a lot of wild thrashing about.

Could be messy, could be noisy.

Attract unwanted attention.

HOBSON: Whereas a massive overdose of etorphine would shut down respiration in seconds.

It explains the look on his face, if he was conscious enough to know what was happening to him but unable to do anything to stop it.

But no physical pain.

On that front, his murder was as considered as the most compassionate form of euthanasia.

If this etorphine's used to knock out animals, we should get onto all the local vets, see if any significant dosage has gone missing.

(phone rings) REUBEN (on answering machine): Guess what, we're not here.

But you know what to do and when to do it.

(beeps) Hello, it's Vicki... Vicki Walmsley from the department.

I just wanted to say, Polly, I'm really sorry.

Hello?

(dial tone) (birds chirping) (tower bell ringing) CRANE: Parapsychology: the study of contested mental phenomena such as telepathy, near death experiences, clairvoyance, psychokinesis...

If any of you believe in such phenomena, then knock three times.

(students laughing) Or should I say, "More fool you."

(knocking) No other species lives within such a complex framework of competing beliefs.

You will learn, under my guidance, how to conduct a rational attack on the subjects' beliefs, thereby identifying the mechanisms that retain them.

Thank you very much, that's all.

Gentlemen.

Professor Crane?

Inspector Lewis.

This is Detective Sergeant Hathaway.

I didn't have you down as volunteers.

It's such a shame about Reuben.

Professor Crane?

This is Vicki.

She worked alongside Reuben.

We're sorry for your loss.

Do you know how he was killed?

He was sedated and then given a lethal injection of etorphine.

Oh, my God... Do you have any idea why someone may have wanted him dead?

None whatsoever.

He was well liked, he was very popular, he was one of my best postgrads.

A true skeptic.

What, he didn't believe in the paranormal?

Course not.

Were you aware that he was practicing as a psychic in the center of town?

I'm sorry?

There must be some mistake.

(phone ringing) Excuse me, I'm sorry.

I'm going to have to take this.

Gentlemen, please...

Thank you.

(phone still ringing) Excuse me, sorry.

Excuse me.

Yep?

(ball jingling) (phone ringing) Vicki?

Who's Vicki?

(sighs) Hi, Mum.

Darling, it's a truly terrible thing that's happened, but you need to think about restarting your life.

Yours and Sarah's.

She needs you to be strong.

Polly?

Polly?

Yeah, okay, Mum.

LEWIS: What the hell was Reuben up to?

Going out on a limb, going against everything he ever believed in.

Maybe he was questioning the rationalism imposed on him by Professor Bumptious.

VICKI: Excuse me!

I wasn't as honest in front of Professor Crane as I might have been.

About what?

Reuben.

What he was doing.

Crane is old school.

Conducts all his experiments under laboratory conditions.

Our subjects know what they've signed up for.

Reuben had this idea that he'd get better results in the field with real people.

People who've just lost their loved ones.

In the depths of despair.

Nice.

Do you believe in God?

An afterlife?

No, but I don't believe in conning people either.

How about you?

Don't think that's relevant, is it?

We all know there's nothing after death, but people cling on to the idea.

They carry their lives on as normal.

Why aren't they running down the street telling people that no one truly dies, or why aren't they killing themselves to be with their deceased loved ones?

Faith and rationality aren't mutually exclusive.

That's what we wanted to investigate: the mechanism that allowed that exact dissonance between what we believe and how we behave.

So you taught Reuben the art of cold-reading, rented an office, and stuck an ad in the local press?

Yeah.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

You took money from people?

To pay the office rent.

Well, there's the best part of two grand left over.

Reuben reckoned there was no difference between him or any other clairvoyant, apart from he knew it was nothing more than a trick.

He still helped them.

Do you have any idea how lonely it feels, having this discussion without him to back me up?

If you want to know what loneliness feels like, ask his wife.

And she could have done with some of that money.

Were you having an affair with him?

No.

Do you have any idea who his clients were?

He kept an appointment book.

I never saw it, never knew their names.

No, why would you?

They weren't important, they were only subjects.

LEWIS: That appointment book wasn't in Reuben's office.

Maybe he kept it at his flat.

Take a look.

Was she lying, do you reckon?

About an affair?

I'm not sure, but I do think she loved him.

Vicki's defense of Reuben was that he knew he was exploiting people.

That's disturbing.

I'd find it more disturbing if he actually believed he could talk to the dead.

Vicki was with Reuben all the time.

His wife, Polly, hardly ever saw him.

(phone beeping) But would that give her a concrete motive for killing him?

Come on, we're going to the Natural History Museum.

Meet Kanan Dutta.

Kanan Dutta?

Oxford Campaign for Assisted Dying.

He works there.

HATHAWAY: This Dutta, who did he lose?

LEWIS: Teenage daughter in a diving accident.

She was in a persistent vegetative state for a year.

Why do you think it's personal?

HATHAWAY: Most advocates of euthanasia have seen a loved one suffer.

It overwhelms their belief in the sanctity of life.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

I presumed you'd got in touch about the campaign.

No, that's not what this is about.

We've been investigating a murder where to all intents and purposes the victim's been put to sleep.

Our pathologist says it has all the hallmarks of euthanasia.

HATHAWAY: Most murder is unplanned and violent.

This was planned and pain-free.

Sedated with barbiturate, murdered with etorphine.

It's a bit over the top.

A single drop can kill a man within seconds.

You're familiar with the drug?

My wife and I used to work as conservationists in Angola.

We often used it to anaesthetize large animals.

Elephants, mostly.

The barbiturate was in a slice of cake.

Barbiturates are traditionally bitter-tasting.

Sweet cake would disguise that.

So the victim was given cake, sedated and then killed?

I mean, are you sure it wasn't some form of mercy killing?

He wasn't killed immediately.

We have reason to believe he was kept alive for quite some time.

(sobbing) KANAN DUTTA: The whole point of euthanasia is to prevent prolonged suffering.

It sounds like your murderer knew the technique and callously abused it.

I'm sorry, but Katherine, my wife, is waiting.

Was there anything else?

I'm sorry, by the way, about your daughter.

It must be, well...

I'm just trying to remember her as she was before.

Celebrate that, you know?

What was she like?

She was so... full of energy.

She came on all our conservation trips from the age of five.

And after the accident, we convinced ourselves there might be a miracle.

Classic denial.

But as time dragged on, we soon realized that all that lay ahead for Jo was just lying there, wired up to some machine, feeling God knows what, terrified, maybe.

We knew that her life was being needlessly prolonged, but we were refused permission to do anything about it.

We wanted to protect her, spare her from suffering.

Yeah, any parent would feel the same.

We brought her home.

It just felt like the right thing to do.

And then fate intervened.

A chest infection.

Not many people in our situation have that blessing.

My wife torments herself about it every day.

Why weren't we able to do anything to help her?

Whereas you've found a way to move on.

Or at least keep moving.

You still think it's wrong to want to put somebody out of their pain?

Just because I'm uncomfortable with it doesn't make it wrong.

Who were they?

Detectives.

I don't like the police hounding us at every turn.

It wasn't about the campaign.

They just had some technical questions about a murder case.

How was your morning?

Well, I made it.

To the hairdressers.

They had no idea what to say, which makes a change.

INNOCENT: Why keep the clairvoyant experiment a secret?

HATHAWAY: Apparently, Crane likes to have his imprimatur on everything.

LEWIS: The plan was to do the research without anybody knowing about it and then make a big splash in their own right with some kind of a book.

Well, why didn't he tell his wife?

Were Reuben and Vicki more than just colleagues?

Not according to Vicki.

Somebody went to his office with the sole intention of scaring him half to death before finishing the job off with an animal tranquilizer.

There must be some significance to the way he was killed.

Well, he abused a lot of vulnerable people's trust in there.

We need to know who they are.

Here, listen to this.

The National DNA Database has got an ID match on a hair follicle found in Reuben's office.

It belongs to a Justine Skinner.

She's in our system for breaking into her neighbor's house and killing their cats.

Bring her in.

Yeah, I'll do that.

You go back to Reuben's flat.

Check that Uniform didn't miss anything.

Okay.

CRANE: Reuben's death, yes.

I hope this won't compromise things too much.

You can appreciate I've...

Thank you, Vicki.

(blowing) You won't find anything.

College have cleared it out.

All trace of us gone.

Like we were never here.

Where are you living now?

My mum's.

It's fine, except for the fact she's there.

I want to have good memories, but all I can think about is him and Vicki.

I hate the thought of her grieving for him.

She has no right.

You took your time.

You were expecting me?

Yeah, Reuben told me you'd come.

Yes, arrested for burglary and criminal damage just under a year ago.

She broke into her neighbor's house and lethally injected four cats.

CPS decided not to prosecute because of her mental health issues at the time.

Maybe she's had a relapse.

Turned her attention from cats to people.

(phone beeping) Reuben came to me not long after he'd passed.

He told me you'd need my help.

Justine, the questions I'm about to ask you have nothing at all to do with the spirit world.

Do you understand?

I'm not stupid, Inspector.

We know that you visited Reuben on the day he died.

And why was that?

I wanted to talk to my mother.

My channels were blocked.

I get angry, you see.

No good for anyone.

So I thought I'd try new blood.

But he was no good.

A charlatan with a fake name.

How did that make you feel when you found that out?

Disappointed.

I told him so, too.

He won't tell me how he was killed.

He was given a lethal injection.

Sound familiar?

I wasn't well.

What did you use to put your neighbor's cats to sleep?

I can't remember.

I had blackouts, days.

Grief, drink, anger.

It all broke down.

Who were you angry with?

I was my mother's sole carer for 25 years.

She had cats, four of them.

When she died, she gave them to the neighbor and everything else to Cats Protection.

Left me with nothing.

I could hear them next door, mewling, taunting me.

So I broke in.

I did to those cats what I wished I'd done to her.

She let me down.

Reuben Beatty let you down.

And now I can't get rid of him.

Are you okay?

Justine?

He's trying to tell me who killed him.

There's a woman in danger.

Who?

Such anger in his office.

Someone wants him to feel terrible fear.

A woman... No, no... A man.

Justine, if you're trying to throw me off the scent here... (gasping) I know him!

He's a psychic.

Frank.

Frank... ...McLean.

Thanks for coming all the way out here at such short notice.

You're worried about being seen with me.

No offense, but you look like a policeman.

Oh, dear.

Promise me this stays off the record.

That I'll be safe.

If it's about Reuben, you want us to find whoever killed him, don't you?

You loved him, didn't you?

Three weeks ago, I was asked by Professor Crane to help him devise an experiment for an external agency.

What sort of experiment?

Sleep deprivation.

How it affects will power, breaks it down.

And the external agency?

Let's just say there's military involvement.

Whose military?

Ours?

The state?

Private contractor?

And for what purpose?Torture?

(doors opening) I honestly don't know.

Reuben got wind of the project and told Crane he thought it was unethical.

He was probably right, but I...

I think he was just pissed off that Crane asked me to assist and not him.

Because he'd miss out on a fee?

It was more of an ego thing.

How did Crane feel about Reuben finding out?

Well, Reuben told Crane that if he didn't pull out of the project, he'd go to the department board with a complaint.

And that would have stopped the project?

I don't know.

It might have been enough to jeopardize Crane's involvement.

So what are you telling me?

Crane had Reuben killed in order to silence him?

You told me that Reuben was killed using two drugs, barbiturate and etorphine.

Mm-hmm.

Well, some barbiturates are used to form the basis of so-called "truth drugs" used by intelligence organizations all over the world.

Isn't it possible that they used that to find out what Reuben knew about the project and then killed him when they realized he knew too much?

Why didn't you tell me this before?

I've never felt this scared before.

Some of us don't have the safety net of life after death.

I should go.

Want a lift?

No.

I can't be seen with you.

(buzzer rings) Hello?

Is that Frank McLean?

Who wants to know?

Detective Inspector Lewis.

You want to talk to me about Randolph James?

Yeah.

(door opens) Lovely place.

Business is clearly good.

Yes, I've never subscribed to the belief that work should be its own reward.

I much prefer actual money.

You must be very good at what you do.

We're the only creatures that are aware that life has a beginning, middle, and an end.

Every life has a story, and for a small fee, I help my clients find a shape to theirs.

Using psychic ability?

Whatever you take me for, Inspector, don't take me for a fool.

You and I both know that I'm one step up from the fairground.

The skill lies in presenting the logical as mystical.

For example, how did I know why you've come to see me?

Because I've got a notorious website on which I'm roundly critical of so-called "fellow practitioners."

And I also assume you've seen my latest blog post.

I haven't, actually.

"Randolph James: a terrific stage name that sadly wasn't matched by his cold reading skills."

Unless we maintain a certain standard, we all get tarred with the same crappy brush.

Someone's got to sort the wheat from the chaff.

And that's you?

I don't trust anyone else, in this world or the next.

I take it you know that Randolph James has been murdered.

I heard a whisper, yeah.

So when did you post this?

Tuesday night.

If you didn't know about it, how come you're here?

Did somebody point you in my direction?

I'm not at liberty to say.

Keith Poland?

Liz Birkwood?

Jodie Osborne?

Justine Skinner?

Randolph James's real name was Reuben Beatty.

When did you visit him?

Well, I always go twice: the first to check them out and the second to confirm my first impression.

I afforded Randolph the same courtesy.

And then I destroyed him.

What?

Online.

What's this about?

Crane was devising a secret military experiment.

He wanted Vicki on board, but not Reuben.

Reuben threatened to sabotage it.

What kind of experiment?

Which means that Crane, Vicki and whoever Crane was working for had ample reason to want him out the way.

Yeah, but what... Hey, isn't that... Yeah, that's Vicki.

LEWIS: Vicki!

Can we talk?

Vicki!

LEWIS: Vicki!

Vicki!

Oh!

(gasping) Look after her.

Help me!

(gasping) What's the matter?

(gasping) Someone get an ambulance, please!

(gasping) Tell me I'll be okay.

You'll be fine.

(gasping) Can we get an ambulance, please!

I'm frightened.

Pray with me?

(exhales) (birds chirping) If you look in the center of the bruising, you'll see a tiny hole which may seem familiar.

The same as the one on Reuben Beatty's arm.

Someone just banged into her.

Next thing, she's on the ground.

This figure in a hoodie ran off, got away.

Man or woman?

No idea.

Quick on their feet, I'll give them that.

Injected.

Same drug, etorphine.

I heard you were with her when she died.

That's rough, I'm sorry.

Yeah.

Etorphine.

We've had a result from our enquiries.

Garsington Equine Center reported a theft.

Sleepless night?

I should have stayed with her.

When she told me about Crane, she was scared for her life.

Well, don't give yourself a hard time, James.

Professor Crane's her boss, he got her into it.

See what he's got to say about it.

I'm sorry to have to bring you in at what must be a very difficult time for you.

Don't be.

You have an investigation to conduct.

But if you're going to ask me the same questions about Vicki that you've asked me about Reuben, then I'm going to give you the same answer.

I have no idea why anybody would want either of them dead.

Could it have something to do with the work you've been offered, Professor?

Work?

For the military.

Understand you've been offered a great deal of money to undertake it.

And Reuben was jeopardizing that by threatening to go public about it.

That would give you motive for Reuben's murder and probable cause for Vicki's.

Who told you this?

Did Vicki come to see you after Reuben was killed?

Did she ask you if you'd killed him or knew anything about his death?

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Where were you between 4:00 and 5:00 yesterday?

That's easy.

I was doing my daily jog, and if you want to check that, you can ask the man at the juice bar in the market.

I always buy a drink there.

LEWIS: You said on the phone that a small amount of etorphine disappeared from your stock.

0.25 milligrams, to be exact.

I had no idea it was missing until your lot asked us to check.

We only use it in emergencies, until the vet can get here.

Whereabouts is it stored?

All our pharmaceuticals are kept in the dispensary.

I'll show you.

I have no idea who might have taken it.

Has someone abducted a horse or something?

Were you approached by the military to design a trial for them?

No, but I do find the idea intriguing, I must say.

What sort of trial?

Have you signed the Official Secrets Act?

Let me tell you about Reuben and Vicki.

Reuben was the clear-headed one.

He was driven, you know, detached.

My protégé, in fact.

He set up shop as a clairvoyant.

He didn't tell you.

Your protégé, he branched out with Vicki.

That must have stung.

Now, Vicki.

The total opposite.

She's brilliant but excitable.

The type of person who may well submit to hysterical conspiracy theories to justify the object of her affection's death.

Are you claiming that you didn't approach Vicki to assist you in the trial instead of Reuben?

Had there been any sort of trial, I assure you, I would have favored Reuben over Vicki.

This cupboard is always locked, and I keep the keys in the office.

I'm the only one who can administer it, and always with an antidote to hand.

An accidental injection can be fatal for a horse.

For a human being, too.

Gosh, yes.

You're not telling me it's been used to kill someone?

Two people, in fact.

That's awful.

How many people have access to the office, Lucy?

Lots of people.

And how often do you do a stock take?

We do one annually.

In fact, we're probably due for one round about now.

Thanks for the reminder.

I'm going to need a list of all your staff and paying customers.

I understand your position.

You have a great deal to protect.

A great deal to be frightened of.

I have nothing to be afraid of because I'm telling the truth.

Reuben Beatty was drugged and then kept alive knowing that he faced certain death.

Tortured.

Terrorized for information, maybe.

Doesn't that bother you, professor?

Takes a lot of effort to keep your hands still, doesn't it?

I was watching you earlier, through the mirror.

Ah.

Studying the lab rat, eh?

I'm trapped.

Don't forget, I'm used to sitting where you're sitting.

Deconstructing people.

Helping them cope with the truth.

Or failing that, working out why they're in denial.

Denial of what?

That they aren't part of something greater than themselves.

That this is it.

You know, we're no different, you and I. Hmm?

Here you are, trying to break me down...

Except your subjects aren't criminals or liars.

You've no real evidence, therefore you've no reason to keep me here.

It's quite in keeping with the blindness of your faith.

My little test.

Those who don't believe in God readily admit it.

I'm keeping you here because I think Vicki was telling the truth and you're not.

Then talk to me when you have some proof.

You can tell how busy we've been.

And this is without the drop-ins and the holiday makers.

Thanks.

When was the last time you used etorphine?

Less than a year ago.

It was awful.

A dressage horse slipped and broke its leg during training for a national competition.

It hit the ground and rolled onto its rider, a teenage boy.

He was crushed from the waist down.

His mother was running the session, a championship rider herself, and very ambitious for her children to follow in her footsteps.

We suspected she'd been pushing the horse and son too hard.

"Into my heart on air that kills from yon far country blows.

"What are those blue remembered hills?

"What spires, what farms are those?

"This is the land of lost content, "I see it shining plain.

The happy highways where I went and cannot come again."

LEWIS: So what happened to the boy?

He's been more or less confined to a wheelchair ever since.

The horse had to be put down.

Not a good day.

Everyone was screaming and panicking.

So amid all this chaos, your stock room could have been left unlocked for a time?

Yes, I suppose.

Staff, customers, voll... Vollies?

Volunteers.

Can't get enough of them.

Justine Skinner...

Thanks, Lucy.

What, you're saying Justine Skinner killed Reuben?

Well, she was in his office.

Yeah, but she was right here in custody when Vicki Walmsley died.

Well, maybe she had an accomplice.

Maybe one of her clients proved malleable to suggestion?

Whatever.

She's our only link between Reuben and the etorphine, so we'd better keep an eye on her.

(breathing deeply) (knocking) What do you want?

If you were kosher, darling, you'd know.

Pick up Vicki here,jogging.

That's where I called her name.

There, see?

She's on the ground, whoever did it's gone.

Stop it there.

Can you wind that back?

Yeah, just stop it there.

Can you blow that bit up?

Can anyone make out if they're male or female?

Someone's just called asking to speak to you in connection with the Beatty murder.

Do they have a name?

Joshua Grace.

He says he's Polly Beatty's brother.

Joshua?

Detective Inspector Lewis.

This is my colleague, Detective Sergeant Hathaway.

Is it Joshua or Josh?

Josh.

Don't be nervous.

Anything you tell us here is just between us, okay?

HATHAWAY: What do you want to tell us, Josh?

You know the day Reuben was murdered, in that office?

Yeah.

Well...

It's okay.

Take your time.

Mum went there.

Where?

To Reuben's office in Oriel Street, that day.

I know because I was in the car.

What time was this?

After school, about half 3:00.

I didn't think anything of it-- she's always running errands-- but then Polly told me where Reuben's office was, and... How did your Mum and Reuben get on?

Mum likes to get her own way.

If she wants her daughter to get a first in psychology or her son to be a championship rider, you don't really have much say.

Look what I had to do to get out of it.

Did this happen at Garsington?

I don't think Mum killed him or anything, but she might know something.

Get over to their house and talk to the mother.

If she doesn't admit she was in Reuben's office that day, take her fingerprints.

We'll compare them with the unidentified ones SOCO found.

Hello, Polly.

Have you found out who did it?

Not yet.

Is your mum in?

POLLY: This is Detective Sergeant Hathaway.

He's investigating Reuben's murder.

Do sit down.

I hope you've got some news for us.

I think it might be better if I spoke with your mother alone.

This is about Reuben, I have every right to stay.

Darling, why don't you go and check on Sarah?

Mrs. Grace... Jane, please.

Did you know that Reuben was renting an office on Oriel Street?

Yes.

That's where he was killed, right?

Did you know before?

No, of course not.

We have evidence that suggests you did and that you visited him the day he was killed.

What?

I'd advise you at this juncture that withholding information in a murder inquiry is a very serious offense.

Mum?

Yes.

I did know about the office.

What?

He was never at home.

I presumed he was having an affair.

I followed him one day from the department.

You spied on him?

Someone had to make you see sense!

I knew you'd just keep on making excuses for him.

You just wanted to get rid of him!

I thought if I could give you a concrete reason...

So why didn't you, Mum?

Oh, believe me, I wanted to.

Why didn't you tell me?

Because I never found him with another woman, all right?

Why did you go to Reuben's office the day he was murdered?

Jane?

To talk to him.

To confront him.

He told me he was doing some counseling on the side, asked me not to tell Polly.

I said I didn't trust him.

And I offered him money to divorce her.

You did what?

He said he didn't care whether I trusted him or not.

He told me he loved Polly.

He was hoping to surprise her with a deposit for a proper family home.

For her and Sarah.

I didn't tell you before because the next thing, Reuben was dead.

I knew how it would look.

This is a serious offense.

You were the last person to see Reuben alive and you didn't come forward.

I didn't kill him.

Joshua told you, didn't he?

(sighs) Are you all right?

Yeah.

In a way, Mum's done me a favor.

At least now I know he did love me.

I can't shake the idea of him and Vicki having an affair.

They weren't.

Maybe I should talk to her.

You can't.

She was murdered yesterday.

You being convinced that they were having an affair gives you a motive.

You can't think I killed them.

No, no...

I was angry with both of them, yes, but only because I didn't want to lose him.

I love him more than anything.

I could never...

He's the father of my child.

Have you told us everything you know?

Yes.

Except... (phone ringing) Yeah?

Justine's not picking up, so I'm going round there.

I want to know what happened to that etorphine from the Garsington riding school.

What did Josh's mother have to say?

She admits going to see Reuben.

She denies killing him.

She had motive, she had opportunity, but no reason to kill Vicki.

I'll call you back.

I was looking for answers.

I couldn't make any sense of it.

I'm going to need to take this.

Oh, God, no... Justine?

Justine, who did this to you?

F... Frank McLean.

Frank McLean.

The guy she reckons killed Reuben.

As a result of some message from beyond the grave.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

But she did warn us that there was a woman in trouble.

Yeah, who, Vicki Walmsley or herself?

Well, the afterlife's obviously a bit vague on the specifics.

So we've certainly got enough to go after McLean for assault.

Well, that's not all we've got, sir.

LEWIS: What the hell does all this mean?

Well, according to Vicki, Reuben did his psychic hearings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so these are his clients' initials and the order of the appointments.

How many times did Justine Skinner visit him?

Just the one.

And he died on a Tuesday.

Well, he's booked up for most of the next few weeks, so there should be a "J.S."

in here somewhere.

A lot of clients became regulars.

He must have been good.

I never realized so many people fell for this kind of thing.

Grief makes people irrational.

You can't blame them for that, I suppose.

But you can blame the parasites that feed off them.

It would come as a hell of a blow to find out that this was some sort of giant scam.

Maybe someone did.

Here she is, Justine Skinner.

And "F.M."

Frank McLean.

He was booked at 3:00, says he left early.

(phone ringing) "K.D.

", "S.S." Susan Smith, who found Reuben's body.

Lewis.

Ah, right, thanks.

So "K.D.

"was due in after she left.

We have McLean in custody.

(keys rattling) (door opening) Hello, Frank.

Would you please do me the courtesy of explaining why I'm here?

Maybe you'd do me the courtesy of explaining how you got those grazes on your hand?

Justine Skinner is in hospital.

When you left her for dead... Oh, please!

She blacked out.

If she hadn't been able to reach her phone... An hour later.

...she'd probably still be lying there now.

Well, I am sorry about that, but it's nothing to do with me.

I got you so wrong.

I thought, "Here's a man that wouldn't kill somebody when he can break them down with words."

I never had you down as a coward who would beat up a defenseless woman.

When I saw you, I thought, "Now, here's a man that won't present any great challenge, with his simple questions and his dumb, open face."

And I wanted to find out who'd incriminated me, so I fired some names.

And you reacted to Justine Skinner.

I cold-read you in a heartbeat.

You shouldn't be so lax, Inspector.

A psychic and his colleague have been murdered, and now another psychic has been viciously attacked.

Forensics are crawling over her home as we speak.

I only meant to scare her.

HATHAWAY: She's a vulnerable woman.

You violated the sanctuary of her home.

She set me up.

She said she'd seen a vision of me in that dead bloke's office, all because I wrote on my blog that she was a disturbed cat-murdering spinster.

So I confronted her and she came at me and I pushed her away.

And that was all.

Can you read my face now, Frank?

I've never known a man have so much arrogance and self-belief.

Not anymore, he's a mess.

What you said before about, "What if Reuben's clients found out he's a phony, that whatever got them through their pain was a lie?"

Well, I imagine they'd feel broken.

Wouldn't Professor Crane's subjects feel the same?

HATHAWAY: Crane says that he wants to work out why people believe in the paranormal.

But he's also desperate to prove that any faith, including religion, is pernicious, because it affects people's ability to think rationally.

He wants to push his subjects to the limits of their beliefs.

Maybe he pushed one of them too far.

Vicki and Reuben conducted his experiments.

Maybe one of their subjects wanted revenge.

Who was that?

Ma'am?

Professor Crane is out of bounds.

What?

Crane is out of bounds.

Says who?

It doesn't matter who.

But ma'am, we need to get into his research files.

You think he's involved?

LEWIS: Well, we haven't ruled out the idea that he might have killed Reuben and Vicki to protect some potentially lucrative source of income.

But there's also a second line of inquiry we'd like to pursue with him.

In that case, I'll rephrase.

Professor Crane is going to be out of bounds.

As of when?

First thing tomorrow morning.

(sighs) This is borderline harassment.

Your alibi checked out.

Then what are you doing here?

Why are you so jumpy, Professor?

Is it because your colleagues have been murdered and you don't want to be next?

Don't you care what happened to Reuben and Vicki?

What good would that do?

She was running for her life.

Didn't know if she was safe at home, in the lab, in a crowd.

I'm not big on sentiment.

They weren't like children to me, but I was very fond of them.

And I am so bitterly sorry that I ever got them involved in this sleep deprivation experiment.

But please, I cannot disclose any details about my employers.

That's not why we're here.

How do you select the subjects for your experiments, Professor?

We mainly use adverts in the local press or the Oxford journals or the department's website.

Is there a specific type of individual you look for?

It varies from one experiment to the next.

But why are you now interested in the subjects?

We think it's possible one of them killed your students.

We're looking for someone with the initials "K.D."

Right, well, their details will be in here somewhere.

So how does this work?

People tell you what they believe and you disprove it?

Yeah, we question it.

We counter their beliefs with logic.

We try and understand why they hold on to such views despite all the evidence to the contrary.

They come to us voluntarily.

They know exactly what to expect.

If we break them down, then their conviction must have been shaky in the first place, so...

Course it has nothing to do with you browbeating them into submission.

This last list of volunteers is three months ago.

There's no one with the initials "K.D."

The last investigation was a few weeks ago.

Vicki led it under my supervision and Reuben assisted.

Here it is.

"An investigation into the mechanism upholding spiritual conviction."

Sir!

What is it?

I think I know who killed Vicki and Reuben.

Kneel down now!

What's going on?

LEWIS: Kanan Dutta, I'm arresting you on suspicion of the murders of Reuben Beatty and Vicki Walmsley.

Who else is in the house?

No one; my wife goes swimming at this time.

All right, get him down the station.

But I haven't done anything wrong!

Search the place thoroughly, any evidence of etorphine.

LEWIS: I'm placing a photograph of Reuben Beatty in front of Kanan Dutta.

Do you recognize this man?

Yes, from the news.

Reuben Beatty was sedated with barbiturates... And then fatally injected with etorphine.

You came to see me about it, likened it to euthanasia, though to me it sounded more like... torture.

You're familiar with barbiturates, Mr. Dutta?

I give Katherine, my wife, a barbiturate-based pharmaceutical to help her sleep.

But you also had access to etorphine, didn't you, when you and Katherine worked as conservationists in Angola?

Yes, but I don't now I'm here.

Why do you think I did this?

Did you volunteer for an experiment at the Department of Psychology three weeks ago to examine the resilience of spiritual belief when challenged by a sustained attack of logic and reason?

Yes.

Why?

I'm placing a second photograph in front of Kanan Dutta.

Do you recognize this woman?

I'm not sure.

Vicki Walmsley led the experiment assisted by Reuben Beatty.

Sat opposite you, persistently challenged your spiritual beliefs.

That can't have been easy.

Professor Andrew Crane oversees the experiments for the university's Department of Psychology.

You just said you volunteered, Mr. Dutta, and yet you don't seem sure you met any of the people involved.

Reuben Beatty was also a practicing psychic under the name of "Randolph James."

His appointment booktells us that you've visited him regularly for the past three months.

Your last appointment was on the day he was murdered.

So why are you pretending you never met him?

I was ashamed.

When Jo died, I wanted to stay strong for my wife.

But the grief was eating me away.

So you went to see a psychic?

Yes.

And he brought her back.

Just like she used to be.

(phone ringing) Found anything?

The wife's name is Katherine Dutta with a "K." Dutta's covering for her.

She was at the lab.

She was a volunteer for Crane's experiment, and that's where she saw Reuben.

And Vicki.

And Crane.

We just found the etorphine.

Get over to his place.

(loud music playing over headphones) (door opens) Katherine with a "K." The initials in Reuben's appointment book are "K.D."

Where is she?

Where's your wife, Mr. Dutta?

Let me speak to her!

She isn't home yet.

A man's life could be at stake.

Stop trying to protect her!

She lost her daughter!

You have no idea how close they were.

When Jo died, Katherine looked for her everywhere, wanted to talk to her.

She said the psychic helped.

She wasn't living in the real world.

All that seemed to matter to her were those sessions.

With Randolph James.

I was losing her.

To our dead daughter.

I signed up for the experiment to prove to myself that Jo was gone.

But I wasn't the one that needed convincing.

So I sent Katherine in my place.

In Crane's lab, she saw her psychic.

He wasn't called Randolph.

It was Reuben, a postgraduate.

Cold, detached, self-absorbed.

She hasn't been right since.

Whatever she's done, it's down to me.

Any sign of Crane?

Not here.

Neighbor saw him set off for a run about 15 minutes ago.

Oh, he could be anywhere!

Said he always stops in at the market when he goes for a jog.

Meet me down there.

Have you seen a short guy, Oxford professor, comes in here and has a drink every day?

(phone ringing) Can you see anything?

Nothing.

Professor Crane!

Professor!

Look out!

Are you all right?

Hathaway, man!

Talk to me!

Please!

She got the brace.

(huge sigh of relief) Oh God... Where did you get the etorphine?

Katherine?

We used it on elephants in Angola.

I smuggled it in, ready for when Jo died so I could join her.

But I was too scared, in case Jo wasn't there and it all just went black.

Is that when you went to see a psychic?

I must have been a walkover because I couldn't stop talking about her.

But it didn't matter.

He was good.

It was like she was in the room.

Told me she was healthy, having fun, missing me.

Kanan wanted me to do the spiritual conviction experiment.

I thought I could stay strong.

But it was in a sterile lab and this girl was grilling me, mocking me, while her boss looked on, observing me like a rabbit in a cage.

They were wiping Jo out.

All I wanted to do was get out of there, see my psychic.

And then I did see him.

My psychic.

In that lab.

Randolph James.

The man who brought Jo back to me.

Did he see you?

He didn't look at anyone.

He was lining people up to be passed on to the professor.

Why did you sedate Reuben before you killed him, Katherine?

He was happy enough to speak for Jo.

I wanted him to know what it felt like to be her.

And Vicki?

She was just a young girl doing her job.

She had no belief to take.

So I took her life instead.

"The World"represents the ending of one cycle of life before the next begins.

It teaches us that true happiness lies in giving ourselves back to the world, taking what we've learned and moving forward.

But the emphasis is on moving forward.

Does that make sense?

Yes.

I'm looking for a new house for us two, and my brother.

Great about your neck, eh?

Yeah, who'd have thought rugby-tackling a syringe-wielding murderer would be such good physio?

An inch and a half of foam away from certain death.

Just think, if you hadn't made it, I might have had to go and see a psychic.

Would have been a very one-sided conversation.

You say that now.

You'd miss me if you were gone.

So you don't think Justine was the real thing?

She knew Reuben had been killed before we told her.

Strange she didn't tell us something we didn't already know.

Strange how the higher powers are so ambivalent, eh?

Come on, let's get back.

I don't think I want to.

I used to feel like that.

What happened?

The next case.

Can we just sit here for a minute?

Of course we can.

CUMMING: Next time... Visit us at pbs.org/masterpiece to watch video and explore features, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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