City Homicide
No Greater Honour, Part Six, Ghosts
Original Air Date: March 30, 2011
Greg Stevens confessed to a hospice priest that he'd murdered three people before dying. When Duncan and Rhys start investigating the claim, they find that the three names Stevens had written inside his Bible were connected. The case takes a shocking turn when the evidence leads them to the son of the man Stevens used to work for. Homicide isn't quite prepared for what they learn next.
Duncan and Rhys are called to the hospice bedside of a man, Greg Stevens, who has died from prostate cancer. Not much is known about him other than he had lived on the streets before having been diagnosed with cancer. Stevens told the hospice Father (Trent Baker) he had murdered three people but didn't give any additional details. The Father gives them a small Bible Stevens carried around with him. Inside the front cover he had written three names: Mavis Simmons, Peter Faulkner and Ruth Benson.
Bernice Waverley fills Stanley and Jarvis in on Lombardi's plans for Homicide, which doesn't set too well with Stanley. Bernice plans to tell those assigned to the squad that night that Friday will be the last day for Homicide.
As Stanley is returning to Homicide, Rhys stops him to update him on the names from the Bible. None of them were murdered. Mavis Simmons died in a car crash and Peter Faulkner died in a house fire. Both were recorded as accidental. Ruth Benson disappeared. The two deaths and Benson's disappearance all happened in 1989 but that is the only known connection. Duncan asks what they are supposed to do with nothing else to go on. Stanley simply replies "Your job. Be detectives."
In the morgue, Ronnie (Genevieve Morris) provides them that Stevens was a professional fighter when he was younger as she found multiple fractures in his fingers and hands and his jaw had been broken at least four times and he has extensive damage to his ribs. Jarvis has a look at the body and he identifies him as Charlie Mansfield. Jarvis recognizes scar tissue under Charlie's eyes as his weakness as a fighter. He last knew of Mansfield working as a bouncer or standover for various lowlifes about town. He advises Duncan and Rhys to find out who Charlie's manager and cornerman were. Duncan takes the cornerman leaving the manager for Rhys.
Rhys speaks with Phillip Canter (Shane Connor) who managed Charlie's last few fights. He thought Charlie had potential but he was a bleeder. Rhys points out that his research showed Phillip's father George was actually Charlie's manager. Phillip explains that his father became indisposed and he took over. Again, research showed George Canter killed someone in a road rage incident and died in prison after 16 years. Canter heard Charlie was working as a bouncer but didn't really know what had happened to him. He knew of no friends or family to speak of. Charlie had said he grew up in a boys home and Canter remembered the odd girlfriend hanging around but can't remember any of their names. When Rhys mentions the three names in Charlie's Bible, Canter says they mean nothing to him.
Rhys arrives in Bernice's office at her request and she asks if he had a chance to check into transferring to Task Force Circa. Rhys tells her he isn't applying for the transfer as he loves it in Homicide and he feels he has a lot to learn there. He starts to leave and she stops him. She warns him that what she is telling him is strictly confidential then tells him the Homicide squad will be finished as of Friday. He questions if that was why she originally asked him to transfer, which she denies. He then remarks she was giving him preferential treatment and she is putting him in an impossible position by giving him information his colleagues, and his friends, doesn't know about. She tells him that he's her family.
That night, Bernice calls a meeting at Homicide where she, flanked by Jarvis and Stanley, tells the Homicide squad that in a couple of hours, Michael Lombardi will be making an announcement to the media that Homicide is going to be disbanded. The detectives are understandably shocked and angry. Jarvis quiets them down so Bernice can finish. She lays out Lombardi's plans for future homicide cases and that she will make every possible effort that each of the detectives get transferred to the squad or position of their choice. Allie brings up the point that for a homicide detective, the only direction from there is down. Jarvis shushes her and Bernice continues telling the squad each of them has served with loyalty and distinction. She tells them all she can do is thank them from the bottom of her heart. Rhys speaks up telling her that isn't all she can do. What is happening is political payback from Lombardi because Homicide got to close to the truth about him. Jarvis calls him down but Rhys continues asking if they are going to just let him destroy the best department in the job and specifically questions Bernice if she will. He tells her from where he's standing, it looks like she just rolled over. He turns to walk away and Jarvis calls him back. Rhys turns around and tells Jarvis that, with all due respect, they still have three potential murders to solve then leaves.
Matt speaks with Rhys and tells him he put up a good fight in there and Rhys says if Bernice didn't like what she heard, too bad. He points out that the case he and Duncan are currently working on is the exact type of case that will never get solved if Homicide is closed and Matt agrees. Rhys tells him Bernice tried to get him on a task force and that he told her 'no'. Matt gets a phone call and goes into his office to take it. When the detectives start filtering back to their desks, Jennifer and Nick talk about where they might go. Allie sits down next to Rhys and asks if he knew Homicide was being disbanded. He asks her why he would know and, even if he did, what he was supposed to do. He admits he learned just before everyone else did. Matt comes back out and tells the team pathology came back on Stevens/Charlie Mansfield. He had a lethal dose of heroin in his system. Ronnie examined the body and found a needle mark in his heart. Charlie was murdered.
Duncan and Rhys return to the hospice and question the Father about the security arrangements, which he explains. He directs them to the night supervisor, Michelle Smith (Susanne 'Rudie' Chapman). She didn't know Greg/Charlie very well apart from the fact he was in a lot of pain. She is caring for her father at home. She didn't recall ever seeing the Bible Greg/Charlie had and she didn't remember the name Charlie Mansfield. She also doesn't remember anyone unusual at the hospice the night Greg/Charlie died. Her father continues calling to her from inside their home and she ends their interview to attend to him.
Michael Lombardi pays a visit to Bernice in her office to inform her he has been speaking with the Commissioner to ask how the reassignments from Homicide have been going and was told Bernice would be briefing him on those details. He wants everything completed by the end of business Friday and she cannot understand the rush. He tells her "big boys games, big boys rules" and surely she's grown up enough to understand that. She tells him he clearly has no respect for her and the feeling is entirely mutual, but to destroy Homicide is counterproductive. She offers that if he keeps Homicide, she will give him her resignation. He tells her it's noble that she's falling on her sword and that he expects her resignation by Friday, but Homicide will be none of her concern. She maintains that without a guarantee that Homicide is secure he will not be receiving her resignation. He tells her not to defy him. Homicide will end Friday and her resignation will come with it.
Jennifer meets Nick after one of his meetings with his lawyers. He feels Lombardi will be pushing hard against him but that is his problem. He asks if she's learned where she's being transferred, which she hasn't. She got a call from fraud and can go back there if she wishes. She tells him it offers up other possibilities. The way she sees it, the issue between them was they were both homicide cops. She tells him to hurry up and decide where he wants to be transferred but to give fraud a miss.
Allie is going over a list of open positions in other squads and mentions to Rhys there is one in Ethical Standards but he probably shouldn't go for that one. He tells her that Task Force Circa has an opening but she doesn't see it listed. He urges her to give them a call then asks for her help in taking down a statement. He managed to track down one of Peter Faulkner's relatives and Duncan is chasing leads on the other two victims. They speak with Faulkner's niece, Debra, and tell her they believe his death might not have been accidental. Allie asks if she knows anyone who might have wanted her uncle dead and she doesn't. She describes him as the strange one in the family but everyone always got along. He lived alone and liked it that way. She only knows of one thing that could have been trouble. About three months before he died, Peter witnessed a murder.
In briefing, Allie brings the team up to speed on the case. Duncan tracked down one of Mavis Simmons' relatives and learned that before she died in the car accident, she witnessed a crime and testified about what she had seen in the trial. Peter Faulkner also witnessed a crime. Ruth Benson was also in the court records as a witness. They all saw a man being stabbed to death in a road rage incident. The man they witnessed committing the murder was George Canter.
Phillip Canter is brought in for interview and he isn't happy about being there. Once Duncan gets him under control, he tells them he was in Perth at a gaming industry convention the night before last. Matt, who is watching the interview with Stanley, checks the information out. Rhys questions Canter about his father and his trial. Rhys again mentions the names of the witnesses and Canter again maintains it was a long time ago. Duncan informs Canter that Charlie told a priest he had killed the three people and Canter claims that had nothing to do with him. Rhys asks if Canter knows about Charlie dying before he could tell the police about the murders and Canter claims he doesn't. Duncan asks Canter if he paid Charlie to kill the witnesses as ghosts come back to haunt. Canter tells him with a smile that he doesn't believe in ghosts. Duncan goes in to see Stanley and Matt comes back into the room to confirm that Canter was at the convention like he said. Stanley orders Duncan to let Canter go and they keep at the investigation. When Duncan has gone, Matt asks Stanley if he knows where he's being sent. Stanley replies that it doesn't matter, he won't go; he'll leave the force before he leaves Homicide. Stanley tells Matt he can't tell him what to do but advises him to not get bitter.
The next morning, Stanley, Rhys and Duncan arrive at the scene of a body discovery. Ronnie gives them the details that it was a woman. Duncan and Rhys identify the woman as Michelle Smith, the night manager at the hospice where Charlie was murdered. Stanley orders them to get to Michelle's home and speak with her father while he has Phillip Canter brought back in as he's now the prime suspect in her murder. When they arrive at the Smith home, they hear shots being fired. They announce their presence and Rhys takes the back while Duncan the front. Duncan enters the home and finds Michelle's father (Vincent Gil) on the bed with a gun in his hand. Rhys comes into the room via the back door and they order him to put the gun down. He says no one was shooting at him despite the fact there is glass inside the room indicating a shot came from outside. Duncan starts to tell Mr. Smith about his daughter but he corrects Duncan saying his name is Robson then asks about Michelle.
In interview, Michelle's father explains the incident at his house as mistaken identity and has no idea who would have killed her. Rhys goes over his criminal record and the fact he worked for George Canter with Charlie. Rhys asks if Phillip Canter killed Michelle then tried to kill him but Robson says nothing. They question if Michelle mentioned Charlie offhand and he recognized him as his old work mate. They ask if it was Phillip Canter's idea for Michelle to kill Charlie or if it was his (Robson's). Jarvis enters the room with Stanley and Matt and they inform him they believe everything comes back to Phillip Canter and they believe he got Charlie and Robson to kill the three witnesses. Rhys continues to press Robson wanting him to do the right thing and let them catch his daughter's killer but he refuses. Knowing they need more, Stanley orders Matt to check up on Canter's phone records but Jarvis knows it will take more than that. He suggests they let him stew for a while and build up some steam. Then, send Freeman in to put the fear of Homicide in him.
Rhys and Duncan go into the interview room with Canter and Rhys official places him under arrest for Charlie Mansfield's murder. Canter denies knowing Michelle Smith but they inform him her real name was Michelle Robson and he definitely knew her father. He says he hasn't seen Bert Robson in a long time and didn't know Michelle at all. Rhys points out they have phone records proving she contacting Canter on four occasions but he claims to not remember the calls. They inform Canter that he will stay in jail while they build the case because there is a witness to protect. He asks who the witness is and when they tell him it is Burt Robson, he laughs saying there is no way Burt would go to the police. Canter warns them they'll never make the charges stick and Duncan calmly tells him they've got all the time in the world. Rhys starts to usher Canter out of the room and he stops them offering a deal. When they ask what he has that would be of interest, he mentions Michael Lombardi's name. He offers to testify in court that Michael Lombardi approached him three weeks ago to have someone killed.
While Duncan stays with Canter to keep pressure on him, a briefing is held, with Stanley, Bernice and Jarvis in attendance, and Rhys informs the team about Phillip Canter's offer of a deal. He tells the team what Canter is being charged with then drops the bombshell about Lombardi. Canter said Lombardi wanted his senior advisor, Ethan Derwent (Charlie Cousins) murdered. Nick knows immediately that Derwent is Deep Throat. Rhys continues to tell them that Lombardi and Canter have been doing business for years and it was even Lombardi who granted Canter his online gaming license despite Canter having a criminal record. Bernice takes Stanley and Jarvis (who is thrilled at the discoveries against Lombardi) from the table to talk. In Stanley's office, Jarvis tells them he wants to go after Lombardi. Stanley reminds him of Canter's murders. Bernice agrees with Stanley that what Jarvis is suggesting isn't what Homicide stands for. Jarvis leaves the decision up to Bernice as he and Stanley continue disagreeing over the big picture. Bernice makes the call to bring Ethan Derwent in to Homicide, pleasing Jarvis, but not Stanley.
In interview, Derwent tells Bernice and Jarvis they are making a big mistake. Jarvis mentions him feeding information to the press about Lombardi but Derwent denies knowing anything about that. Bernice makes it clear to him he is among friends with them as the rest of the team watch the interview with Stanley. Bernice states clearly they believe he was feeding the press information to implicate Lombardi in the Dane Majors case. He comments that he'd never work again and Bernice reminds him Juliette Gardiner died for him. He again denies revealing any information. Jarvis tells him Lombardi doesn't believe that. When Derwent questions what he means, Bernice reveals that they have knowledge Lombardi tried to hire someone to have him killed. She assures him they have the man he tried to hire in custody and that they are trying to help him (Ethan) but he must help them as well. Jarvis tells him they want Lombardi on a skewer and they think he can do that for them.
Ethan Derwent goes into Lombardi's office and gives him his resignation. He is wearing a wire with Homicide listening to everything being said between he and Lombardi. Ethan brings up Lombardi and the Dane Majors case and Lombardi admits to having Dalton plant the golf club against Majors. When they hear that, the team take off their ear pieces to move in on Lombardi. Ethan lets Lombardi know he knows about him trying to have him killed. Bernice, Jarvis and Nick enter the office and Bernice places Lombardi under arrest for perverting the course of justice and conspiracy to murder Ethan Derwent. Lombardi is shocked when he learns they have him on tape admitting to his crimes. Bernice tells him they are "big boys games and big boys rules" and surely he's grown up enough to understand it.
Homicide watches a news report about Lombardi's arrest. When they turn it off, Bernice gets up to speak and tells them while she can't officially comment on Lombardi's future, she can tell them, "amongst those four walls" that he's going down. She continues that she's immensely proud of them all and is humbled by their tenacity, courage and dignity they have shown through challenging times. She raises her drink to them and tells them she's so happy she doesn't have to arrange for the transfer of so many fine detectives. When she has finished talking to the team, Bernice tells Stanley she understands how he feels about having to let Canter walk but asks what the alternative is. He smiles and tells her they live to fight another day. Matt and Allie express their happiness about not having to find another job and Matt comments that Rhys will make a fine cop. Allie says it helps when you have friends and family in high places, meaning Bernice Waverley. Matt tells her that Rhys was offered a way out through the task force and declined.
That evening, when the celebration is over, Rhys is sitting at his desk and Allie comes in. He starts packing up to leave for the night as they talk casually about the days events. He gets up to leave and she calls to him and asks if he is coming for a drink. Nick opens his front door to find Jennifer standing there. She comes in and tells him he'll never get his renovations completed now. He puts his arms around her and asks if she has any second thoughts as they are both still in Homicide. She tells him that doesn't matter anymore then kisses him. As they are kissing, they are both called into work.
Duncan is working a case. Stanley arrives with Jarvis. Jennifer and Nick arrive. The sheet over the body is lifted to reveal Phillip Canter. Burt Robson is in the back of a police car in custody. He said he shot Canter because Canter killed Michelle. Jarvis tells Stanley that Robson will probably confess to the murders of the other three witnesses as well, which Stanley comments is closure for those three families. Jarvis tells him that is what Homicide is about; that's why they exist.
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I've enjoyed watching every single episode of City Homicide (sometimes watching them many times). There are cop shows and then there are cop shows. City Homicide wasn't just about the weekly murder case. It was about the characters, first and foremost. We got a glimpse into their lives every week and we came to know and care about each one of them. As fans of the show, we were saddened when Duncan lost Claire, on the edge of our seats wondering if the team would find Wilton Sparks in time to save his life, we felt Matt's pain when his mother's body was found and our hearts were broken when Josh Waverley was senselessly murdered.
I hate to see City Homicide end as it was, and is, such an amazing show. I'll miss Stanley Wolfe, Duncan Freeman, Jennifer Maplethorpe, Matt Ryan, Nick Buchanan, Allie Kingston, Bernice Waverley, Terry Jarvis and Rhys Levitt. City Homicide was a fine show with a fine cast. I'm very pleased with how the writers and producers chose to wrap up the final episode. The montage of scenes was excellently put together and some fine choices made. The show was enough to give City Homicide fans closure, I think.
The show, and the series, ends with a two minute montage of scenes from the past five years of City Homicide. The emotional highs and lows, the good times and bad times and the faces that have come and gone. The evolution of the characters from episode one through this final episode. What a fitting way to send City Homicide into Australian television history.
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For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
Showing posts with label Nadine Garner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nadine Garner. Show all posts
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
AUS Television: City Homicide, No Greater Honour, Part Five "Last Man Standing"
City Homicide
No Greater Honour, Part Five, Last Man Standing
Original Air Date: March 23, 2011
The murder of Dane Majors barrister and then the judge that presided over his trial bring the Homicide team to focus on him. When both Alan Sullivan and Nick Buchanan are confirmed as missing, Homicide focus on Dane Majors. With the possibility more people who were involved in the Majors case will become targets, Homicide must work fast to prevent anyone else from dying. Can the team get to Nick before anything can happen to him and take a cold-blooded killer off the streets? Meanwhile, Lombardi drops a bombshell on Bernice Waverley when he calls her to his office to discuss her budget proposal for Homicide.
Papers flutter to the floor from above and fall around the body of a slain barrister, Helen Jefferson. Her robe is thrown from above and falls beside her body last. As the other members of Homicide are tied up with the car bomb investigation, the murder of the barrister is being worked by Matt and Jennifer. Matt explains that she fell from the same floor as the papers and her robe. She has smeared blood on her face and Matt is guessing that was from being punched before being pushed over the railing. She was murdered between 5:30 and 6:00 that morning. The assailant checked out of the building using the barrister's swipe card which was then thrown in the bin outside. Jennifer recognizes the name and, when she looks at a book lying amongst the papers around the barrister, finds that she was the barrister who defended Dane Majors.
Jarvis and Bernice arrive for the briefing wanting all details about the barrister's murder. Matt and Jennifer bring the team up to speed. Jefferson's husband, a surgeon, was performing emergency heart surgery from 3:00 to 7:00 that morning. Theories run from an affair gone wrong to a current client unhappy with Jefferson's representation and Jarvis suggests Dane Majors could have been getting revenge on her. Bernice questions Majors' motive and Jarvis points out that Majors ending up getting 20 years from her defense and Allie brings up the point that Jefferson profited off the case by writing books about it. Jarvis suggests they chat with Majors, "to test the waters" and Bernice gives the okay. Jarvis instructs Duncan and Rhys to speak with Majors while Stanley wants the rest of the team to follow up on other aspects of the case. Jennifer takes Stanley aside to tell him Nick was due back at work that day but hasn't been answering his phone. Stanley mentions that Ethical Standards has been trying to reach Nick since he's required to check in with them upon his return and they cannot reach him. She asks to check on Nick and Stanley gives permission.
Jennifer arrives at Nick's house and knocks on the door but there is no answer. There are three newspapers on from the front steps. She gets his spare key from its hiding place outside and enters the house calling for him with no answer. She tries calling his cell again and receives no answer then looks over the work he'd been doing on the Majors case and bombing.
Dane Majors is juicing carrots and pretends to not know who Helen Jefferson is and says he can't hear Rhys and Duncan until Duncan unplugs the machine. He finally 'remembers' her but doesn't seem concerned in the least that she has been killed. Narelle has gone to Port Douglas to a yoga retreat. Dane begins juicing the carrots again and, again, Duncan unplugs the machine. He asks if Dane read Jefferson's book about his trial and Dane responds that he doesn't read fiction. He tells them he wanted to tell his side of the story and Jefferson wouldn't let him take the stand. Duncan asks if that made him angry enough to get revenge. Dane asks them how much they reckon he would have made in his career had he not gone to jail. He reveals he is going to sue the State Government for everything they took from him now and in the future. He maintains he wouldn't risk all that for some stupid act of revenge.
Jennifer is waiting for Stanley in his office and he asks if she tracked Nick down. She tells him she went round to his house but there was no trace of Nick and no signs of a disturbance she could see. She insists to Stanley that Nick wouldn't just not turn up. Stanley brings up Lombardi wanting to push to have Nick charged but she's worried about how Nick feels about the deaths of Juliette and Bruce Dalton and his support of Graham Proctor all those years. She mentions the text she received from Nick three nights ago and that she checked the safe he kept in his room. His gun wasn't in that safe as it always was. Allie knocks on the door telling Jennifer they have a call-out for a male victim with a single gunshot wound. Jennifer and Stanley share a nervous look and Jennifer heads out.
In the morgue, Jennifer and Allie speak with the technician about the man with the gunshot wound. He was found in a park beneath some bushes by dog walkers who originally thought he was a homeless guy sleeping it off. When he was still there in the morning, the dog walker took a closer look. There was a library card on the man with the name Martin Dangerfield on it. Jennifer recognizes the name straight off. Dangerfield was a retired Supreme Court justice and he presided over the Dane Majors trial.
In briefing, Martin Dangerfield is added to the known information about Helen Jefferson and Tim Padgett. Jennifer points out that Dane Majors is the only link to all the victims. All of them agree it's very possible Dane Majors is going for revenge and Stanley brings up that others connected to the trial could be in danger. Jennifer notes that Nick could very well be on Dane's hit list if he has one. Matt asks when the last time was that anyone spoke with Nick and Jennifer tells him she spoke with Nick three nights ago. Matt wants to bring Majors in and put pressure on him but Stanley tells him Dane is out of bounds. Jennifer protests vehemently but Stanley tells her the decision has been made and they can't go near Majors. He orders Allie and Rhys to alert any potential targets. Allie asks if that includes the Attorney-General and Stanley tells her to leave Lombardi to Bernice. He orders Jennifer and Duncan to do a thorough search of Nick's place.
At Nick's place, Jennifer collects his notebooks and research materials. Outside, uniformed officers canvass the street in front of the house. Jennifer asks what the deal is with the line search and Duncan tells her a neighbour heard a commotion Thursday night and thought a car had knocked over his bin. When he came out, there wasn't anything there. One of the officers finds blood on the pavement and alerts Jennifer and Duncan to it. Nick's watch is found beneath some plants at the curb, the face shattered.
Bernice and Jarvis inform Lombardi he's potentially in danger from Dane Majors but he doesn't seem to take it seriously. She stresses how serious the situation is but he assures them they have nothing to worry about as his security is extremely tight. Lombardi feels he isn't a prime target as all he did was argue a case based on the evidence he was given by Homicide. He changes the subject to ask Bernice about the budget revisions but Jarvis steers it back telling Lombardi he should be worried about being up to his neck in trouble over the Dane Majors mistrial. Jarvis points out that if Majors goes back inside he will be discredited and all the dirt will wash away from Lombardi. Lombardi makes it clear to Jarvis that his aide, Christian, takes down all minutes of every meeting he has. Jarvis tells him to make sure to get it down that Dane Majors was set up once, he might be set up again. Bernice interjects that she thinks they are done but Lombardi continues, asking Jarvis if he's implying he has something to do with everything. Jarvis tells him he's just stating the facts. Jarvis gives him the information that Nick has gone missing and Lombardi smirks asking if they have a detective they cannot locate and notes it is interesting. He then states they haven't heard and tells them of Dangerfield having been killed and the shot that killed him was a police round and that he takes it their "rogue detective" will be added to the list of suspects. Lombardi tells them that is why they need change as when a squad gets too comfortable, corruption can fester.
Back at police headquarters, Jarvis tells Bernice he was simply trying to rattle Lombardi and see what fell out. She asks about that mornings theory that Dane Majors was the killer. He tells her he's keeping an open mind as Lombardi is a legitimate suspect. Bernice tells Stanley to let the team know Dangerfield was shot with a police round, giving Stanley a surprise. Jarvis tells him that Lombardi apparently has a mole in the morgue. Bernice wants to assure that all police ammunition and firearms are accounted for. Stanley tells her there is one firearm confirmed missing and when she questions who signed it out he tells her Nick Buchanan. Jarvis notes that the press will crucify Nick which, according to Bernice is all the more reason to find Nick. When she walks away, Jarvis tells Stanley it is all the more reason to put surveillance on Dane Majors. Stanley asks if that is an order and Jarvis replies it is "stamped, addressed and sealed with a kiss".
Rhys brings Bernice up to speed on him and Allie notifying the possible targets. He feels Alan Sullivan is an obvious one but getting a conversation with him is proving hard. She mentions Sullivan's second address in Cooper's Arms, Queen Street. When he starts to leave, she asks him to have a seat. She's been thinking about his career path and wondering how they can maximize his opportunities. She asks if he's heard of Task Force Circa (fraud), which he has. She tells him they are looking for new people and his skills are suitable for them. He doesn't appear very interested but she tells him she strongly suggests he apply for the opportunity. He doesn't want to leave as he feels he'd be letting the team down but he urges him that opportunities like the Task Force don't come around often. When he mentions that Homicide is the pinnacle of the police department she brings up the fact that Homicide is taking a battering over the Dane Majors case. He feels the Homicide that planted evidence in the Majors case is a different team. She warns him to think strategically if he wants to have a long career and the Task Force would be an excellent path to promotion in any number of departments and he would make wonderful contacts and she feels he would regret letting the opportunity pass. He gets a text from Allie that she found Sullivan at Cooper's Arms and gets up to leave.
Rhys and Allie speak with Alan Sullivan who doesn't feel he needs any protection. Allie points out one attempt has been made on his life already and the killer is determined. They believe he's high on the killer's list. Sullivan blames Rhys for Tim's death. Allie reminds him that his paper campaigned for Majors conviction ten years ago and that the killer has a long memory. Sullivan questions her that she's confirming Majors is the killer. He tells them that the killer might have a change of heart once they read the weekend edition. They are doing a special feature: Dane Majors, My Story. The Tribune is on Majors' side now and, as he makes a point, unlike the police, the paper admits its mistakes. Allie again tells him he's in danger but he insists he doesn't run away from a fight.
That night, as Alan Sullivan is leaving the Tribune, Dane Majors accosts Sullivan in the car park and tells him he needs his help as the cops are gunning for him. He shows him photos on his phone of police surveillance and tells Sullivan the police are following him everywhere and are saying people. Dane feels he's being set up just like last time. Dane wants Sullivan to run the story now but Sullivan tells him he can't as the paper is already to bed and the run kicked off. Dane insists that by Saturday he'll be locked up and charged and the Tribune won't be able to print a single word. A blue car with two men in it enters the car park and Sullivan notes they aren't very discreet. Dane takes a picture of the car. Dane again begs Alan telling him the story must be in tomorrow's paper and promises if he does that, he might have something more for him. Sullivan locks his car and tells Dane to come with him.
At Homicide, Jennifer is on the phone regarding Nick's disappearance. Allie and Rhys haven't found Nick in hospitals and are moving on to medical centers. Matt asks if they know the blood was really Nick's and Allie tells him the lab will get results back by tomorrow but they are covering their bases. Matt tells Jennifer to go home but she doesn't want to. She looks over Nick's research again and says they should call Deep Throat as Nick might have found out who he was and went to find him. Rhys doesn't have Juliette's phone but he still has the number. Matt agrees to give it a try even though Rhys doesn't feel like Deep Throat would answer an unknown number. Rhys makes the call and they find the number has been disconnected.
The next morning, Jennifer is sitting on Nick's couch. She steps out and picks up his paper and sees the headline "Police Stalk Innocent Cricket Star" with a picture of the blue car. Bernice throws the same paper down on Jarvis' desk telling him she doesn't recall authorizing the stalking. Bernice as been ordered to remove all surveillance. Jarvis wants to bring Dane in but she tells him Majors is untouchable until they have solid evidence.
Alan Sullivan arrives at Dane's house and tells him they missed the country run but the special edition went out to all metro distributors and by that time tomorrow, Dane would be the talk of the town. Dane leads Alan to his kitchen where everything is covered in plastic. He tells Sullivan he is about to redecorate. He offers Alan a drink and Alan asks Dane about the "second chapter to the story" that Dane rang him about that morning. Dane tells Alan that Nick has gone missing and asks if he knows that Nick was run down by a car a couple of nights ago and the cops can't find him. They speak for a moment about Dane's run in sports and Sullivan tells him he got lucky. Dane notes that Sullivan got lucky as well. Sullivan asks "When?" and Majors replies "When your car blew up." Dane tells him he had to reassess his match plan and thanks Alan for printing his side of the story and getting the surveillance cops off him but it doesn't make up for ten years in prison and the Tribune smear campaign that put him there. He opens a drawer telling Alan he found this on the cop who framed him just after he hit him with his car. He pulls out Nick's gun and shoots Sullivan.
At headquarters, Jarvis and Stanley discuss Alan Sullivan and Dane Majors and Stanley tells Jarvis they can't go near Dane Majors. Jarvis called Sullivan and his P.A. told him Sullivan is at Dane Majors' house at that moment to get another scoop. Stanley hopes Jarvis isn't going round to Majors to arrest Dane and Jarvis tells him he's not, he's going round to arrest Alan Sullivan.
Jarvis arrives at Dane Majors who takes a deep breath then answers the door. Jarvis tells Dane he's looking for Alan Sullivan and steps inside. Majors tells him he was there but he's gone now and didn't say where he was going. Jarvis walks into the kitchen which is now clean as a pin and free of any plastic. Dane offers Jarvis a drink but Jarvis wants to look around. Jarvis looks around the house but finds nothing unusual. He looks out a back door to a pool and Dane tells him they'll need divers to drag that pool as it's deceptively deep. He asks Jarvis if he was in Homicide when he was set up and puts his hand on Nick's gun which is in the back of his pants. When Jarvis tells him that was before his time, Dane takes his hand off the gun. Dane replies "lucky for you" and Jarvis turns around and tells him the same.
In briefing, Jarvis tells the team that Sullivan's P.A. said Sullivan was going to Dane Majors' home and no one has heard from him since and that he conducted a search of Majors' home and there was no sight of Alan or Nick. Bernice questions what he did and Jarvis tells her the situation has changed and, as he tells her about Sullivan going to Majors home, Jennifer looks at a Pathology folder Bernice is carrying. When Jarvis stops talking, Jennifer asks her about it and Bernice confirms the blood traces on the road are Nick's. Bernice agrees that Dane Majors needs to be shut down regardless of the commissioner and she wants Homicide watching every move he makes. Stanley orders two-man teams on two-hour shifts and puts Rhys and Jennifer up first.
As she and Rhys sit in the car outside Dane's house, Jennifer tells Rhys she feels it is useless for them to sit there as they don't even know he's in the house. She gets out of the car and goes to the house with Rhys following her telling her she needs a warrant. She tells him she's sure she saw someone in the upstairs window and she's going in. She believes she saw Nick. Rhys agrees he saw him as Jennifer rings the doorbell. The door opens in Jennifer's hand and she and Rhys enter, guns drawn, identifying themselves as the police.
At headquarters, Stanley tells Bernice there's nothing to report on Nick and the Tribune are screaming for news on Alan Sullivan. Allie tells Bernice and Stanley Dane Majors has dodged their surveillance. Bernice is going to take Duncan and Matt with her to see Lombardi to warn him again about Dane Majors. Bernice stresses to Lombardi about Sullivan and Nick both being missing and that he could be next and they don't know where Dane Majors is. Lombardi still wants no part of it and asks Ethan to escort Bernice and the detectives out of the building. Bernice refuses to leave until Lombardi accepts their protection. He tells Bernice she has no concern for his safety, just getting Homicide back into good graces. She admits she is concerned about Homicide but when Dane Majors comes for him, and he will, she doesn't want anyone saying she didn't try to protect him.
Matt and Duncan follow Lombardi's car to his home. In their car, Matt wonders why he would make such a fuss about protection. Duncan writes it up to arrogance but Matt notes if Lombardi admits he needs protection, he's admitting he's done something wrong. Matt and Duncan get out of their car to enter Lombardi's home and he reluctantly hands Matt so he can check the premises the key's while Duncan stays with Lombardi. Dane, sitting nearby, lowers the window of his vehicle, holds the gun out and when Duncan steps away, he fires. One bullet strikes Lombardi's arm and a second misses. Duncan and Matt jump into action. Duncan screams "on the road, on the road" while he holds Lombardi down and Matt runs toward the vehicle but it speeds away.
Dane drives to an old cabin in the woods and removes items from the back of his vehicle. The bloody body of Alan Sullivan is also in the back of the car. He enters the cabin and sits what he carried in down in front of a picture of Tahnee. He's talking, at first, seemingly to the picture. He sits down and points a gun at Nick, who is tied and gagged on the floor. He tells him he wanted him to know what he (Dane) was going through. If he had a really bad day in prison, he'd imagine what it would be like to shoot Nick in the face. Most of the time, he just dreamed of caving Nick's head in with a golf club.
At headquarters, Matt tells Duncan and Rhys the license number, which they got when a neighbour saw the car speeding away and took note of the number, matches Alan Sullivan's car but the driver matches Dane Majors. Lombardi only received a flesh wound and will be fine. Jennifer and Allie are looking over items from Dane Majors home. They need anything that will give them any indication as to where he's gone. Duncan begins checking out airlines and trains in the event he went to Queensland to his girlfriend. Jennifer reads an article about Dane and Tahnee that mentions the family cabin. She feels this is where he's gone. The article doesn't say where the cabin is located but Allie finds paperwork that does. Matt orders Jennifer and Rhys to check the cabin out while the rest of the team keeps looking.
At the cabin, Dane washes off in the sink and asks Nick if he's married or has a girlfriend. He asks Nick how he'd feel if the woman was ripped away from him. He takes a cricket bat from the box he carried into the cabin then puts on a shirt, his lucky shirt, from the box. He sits Nick up against a post and removes the tape from over his mouth. He sits shot glasses down on the table and pours each one full and tells Nick that since he's been three days without food, the booze will knock him right out. Dane drinks from one glass and pours another into Nick's mouth, but Nick spits the liquid out. He reminds Nick of the night they met and how he planted evidence to make sure he didn't get off the charges. He wants to know Nick lives with himself for it. Nick tells him "I'm sorry" but Dane lashes out angrily telling him he doesn't want an apology. He kicks Nick in the side then forces him to drink from the bottle. He tells Nick he wasn't a killer when he put him in prison but he is now. He puts the gun under Nick's chin and tells him he (Nick) buried him alive and now he's going to do the same to him.
Jennifer and Rhys arrive at the cabin with guns drawn. Rhys goes round the back with the plan that they'll flush Dane out the front. Rhys enters the cabin but Dane isn't there. He has finished digging a grave and is covering it up. He's close enough to hear Jennifer and Rhys at the cabin while he's digging. Dane shoots at the two telling them to come out. Rhys tries to call the team while Jennifer fires on Dane telling him lower his weapon but he cannot get any reception. She covers Rhys while he makes a run for their car. Jennifer pursues Dane through the woods and when he reaches Sullivan's vehicle, she fires, shattering a window and again orders him to drop his weapon. He dives behind a tree to check how many shots he has left and tells her she's lost. He has four bullets left. He tells her he just buried Nick. She looks to the mounds of earth. He reloads Nick's gun and stands and fires at her but misses. He admits that Dalton's suicide beat him to killing him, but he has killed everyone else that locked him up, even Lombardi. Jennifer tells him he's wrong and Lombardi was only winged. She asks if he didn't kill Nick either since only one grave, Sullivan's was filled. She wants to know where Nick is. She begs him to know where Nick is. He stands and walks toward her saying he's saving Nick till last. He fires two shots at Jennifer then puts his hand toward the back of Sullivan's vehicle to fire his last shot but Jennifer shoots Dane in the chest. Still standing, he raises his hand again to fire and she fires two more shots. When he finally goes down, she runs to the vehicle and finds Nick, alive in the back.
At Homicide, Jennifer hangs up the phone and tells the team Alan Sullivan's funeral is the next day. Rhys says the Tribune will have it as front page. Allie mentions Narelle getting her story out and Duncan is sure no one will be asking Nick for his side. Rhys notes it will all be about Lombardi, who is the last man standing. Nick arrives back to work, his face bruised and battered from his ordeal. Jennifer asks him if he's ready to go through his statement and the two go into the kitchen. She hands him the papers but he pushes them aside and thanks her. He tells her he's withdrawn his resignation. She tells him she doesn't want to lose him then they go back to the statement.
Bernice arrives at Lombardi's office. He doesn't want any small talk and jumps right to her budget cuts for Homicide. He finds her recommendations quite creative and interesting reading but with a certain natural bias. She tells him that her belief Homicide is one of the most skilled and cohesive squads in the state police is based on experience, not bias. He agrees and admits that in the current crisis, Homicide has proved to be a most effective squad and agrees that under the proposed budget cuts Homicide could not function successfully which is why he will be dissolving Homicide altogether. Divisional detectives will handle single homicides and task forces will handle more complex cases. She asks about the current homicide detectives and he tells her that's up to her. A few retirements, a few transfers, but, make no mistake, there will be no more homicide squad.
For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
No Greater Honour, Part Five, Last Man Standing
Original Air Date: March 23, 2011
The murder of Dane Majors barrister and then the judge that presided over his trial bring the Homicide team to focus on him. When both Alan Sullivan and Nick Buchanan are confirmed as missing, Homicide focus on Dane Majors. With the possibility more people who were involved in the Majors case will become targets, Homicide must work fast to prevent anyone else from dying. Can the team get to Nick before anything can happen to him and take a cold-blooded killer off the streets? Meanwhile, Lombardi drops a bombshell on Bernice Waverley when he calls her to his office to discuss her budget proposal for Homicide.
Papers flutter to the floor from above and fall around the body of a slain barrister, Helen Jefferson. Her robe is thrown from above and falls beside her body last. As the other members of Homicide are tied up with the car bomb investigation, the murder of the barrister is being worked by Matt and Jennifer. Matt explains that she fell from the same floor as the papers and her robe. She has smeared blood on her face and Matt is guessing that was from being punched before being pushed over the railing. She was murdered between 5:30 and 6:00 that morning. The assailant checked out of the building using the barrister's swipe card which was then thrown in the bin outside. Jennifer recognizes the name and, when she looks at a book lying amongst the papers around the barrister, finds that she was the barrister who defended Dane Majors.
Jarvis and Bernice arrive for the briefing wanting all details about the barrister's murder. Matt and Jennifer bring the team up to speed. Jefferson's husband, a surgeon, was performing emergency heart surgery from 3:00 to 7:00 that morning. Theories run from an affair gone wrong to a current client unhappy with Jefferson's representation and Jarvis suggests Dane Majors could have been getting revenge on her. Bernice questions Majors' motive and Jarvis points out that Majors ending up getting 20 years from her defense and Allie brings up the point that Jefferson profited off the case by writing books about it. Jarvis suggests they chat with Majors, "to test the waters" and Bernice gives the okay. Jarvis instructs Duncan and Rhys to speak with Majors while Stanley wants the rest of the team to follow up on other aspects of the case. Jennifer takes Stanley aside to tell him Nick was due back at work that day but hasn't been answering his phone. Stanley mentions that Ethical Standards has been trying to reach Nick since he's required to check in with them upon his return and they cannot reach him. She asks to check on Nick and Stanley gives permission.
Jennifer arrives at Nick's house and knocks on the door but there is no answer. There are three newspapers on from the front steps. She gets his spare key from its hiding place outside and enters the house calling for him with no answer. She tries calling his cell again and receives no answer then looks over the work he'd been doing on the Majors case and bombing.
Dane Majors is juicing carrots and pretends to not know who Helen Jefferson is and says he can't hear Rhys and Duncan until Duncan unplugs the machine. He finally 'remembers' her but doesn't seem concerned in the least that she has been killed. Narelle has gone to Port Douglas to a yoga retreat. Dane begins juicing the carrots again and, again, Duncan unplugs the machine. He asks if Dane read Jefferson's book about his trial and Dane responds that he doesn't read fiction. He tells them he wanted to tell his side of the story and Jefferson wouldn't let him take the stand. Duncan asks if that made him angry enough to get revenge. Dane asks them how much they reckon he would have made in his career had he not gone to jail. He reveals he is going to sue the State Government for everything they took from him now and in the future. He maintains he wouldn't risk all that for some stupid act of revenge.
Jennifer is waiting for Stanley in his office and he asks if she tracked Nick down. She tells him she went round to his house but there was no trace of Nick and no signs of a disturbance she could see. She insists to Stanley that Nick wouldn't just not turn up. Stanley brings up Lombardi wanting to push to have Nick charged but she's worried about how Nick feels about the deaths of Juliette and Bruce Dalton and his support of Graham Proctor all those years. She mentions the text she received from Nick three nights ago and that she checked the safe he kept in his room. His gun wasn't in that safe as it always was. Allie knocks on the door telling Jennifer they have a call-out for a male victim with a single gunshot wound. Jennifer and Stanley share a nervous look and Jennifer heads out.
In the morgue, Jennifer and Allie speak with the technician about the man with the gunshot wound. He was found in a park beneath some bushes by dog walkers who originally thought he was a homeless guy sleeping it off. When he was still there in the morning, the dog walker took a closer look. There was a library card on the man with the name Martin Dangerfield on it. Jennifer recognizes the name straight off. Dangerfield was a retired Supreme Court justice and he presided over the Dane Majors trial.
In briefing, Martin Dangerfield is added to the known information about Helen Jefferson and Tim Padgett. Jennifer points out that Dane Majors is the only link to all the victims. All of them agree it's very possible Dane Majors is going for revenge and Stanley brings up that others connected to the trial could be in danger. Jennifer notes that Nick could very well be on Dane's hit list if he has one. Matt asks when the last time was that anyone spoke with Nick and Jennifer tells him she spoke with Nick three nights ago. Matt wants to bring Majors in and put pressure on him but Stanley tells him Dane is out of bounds. Jennifer protests vehemently but Stanley tells her the decision has been made and they can't go near Majors. He orders Allie and Rhys to alert any potential targets. Allie asks if that includes the Attorney-General and Stanley tells her to leave Lombardi to Bernice. He orders Jennifer and Duncan to do a thorough search of Nick's place.
At Nick's place, Jennifer collects his notebooks and research materials. Outside, uniformed officers canvass the street in front of the house. Jennifer asks what the deal is with the line search and Duncan tells her a neighbour heard a commotion Thursday night and thought a car had knocked over his bin. When he came out, there wasn't anything there. One of the officers finds blood on the pavement and alerts Jennifer and Duncan to it. Nick's watch is found beneath some plants at the curb, the face shattered.
Bernice and Jarvis inform Lombardi he's potentially in danger from Dane Majors but he doesn't seem to take it seriously. She stresses how serious the situation is but he assures them they have nothing to worry about as his security is extremely tight. Lombardi feels he isn't a prime target as all he did was argue a case based on the evidence he was given by Homicide. He changes the subject to ask Bernice about the budget revisions but Jarvis steers it back telling Lombardi he should be worried about being up to his neck in trouble over the Dane Majors mistrial. Jarvis points out that if Majors goes back inside he will be discredited and all the dirt will wash away from Lombardi. Lombardi makes it clear to Jarvis that his aide, Christian, takes down all minutes of every meeting he has. Jarvis tells him to make sure to get it down that Dane Majors was set up once, he might be set up again. Bernice interjects that she thinks they are done but Lombardi continues, asking Jarvis if he's implying he has something to do with everything. Jarvis tells him he's just stating the facts. Jarvis gives him the information that Nick has gone missing and Lombardi smirks asking if they have a detective they cannot locate and notes it is interesting. He then states they haven't heard and tells them of Dangerfield having been killed and the shot that killed him was a police round and that he takes it their "rogue detective" will be added to the list of suspects. Lombardi tells them that is why they need change as when a squad gets too comfortable, corruption can fester.
Back at police headquarters, Jarvis tells Bernice he was simply trying to rattle Lombardi and see what fell out. She asks about that mornings theory that Dane Majors was the killer. He tells her he's keeping an open mind as Lombardi is a legitimate suspect. Bernice tells Stanley to let the team know Dangerfield was shot with a police round, giving Stanley a surprise. Jarvis tells him that Lombardi apparently has a mole in the morgue. Bernice wants to assure that all police ammunition and firearms are accounted for. Stanley tells her there is one firearm confirmed missing and when she questions who signed it out he tells her Nick Buchanan. Jarvis notes that the press will crucify Nick which, according to Bernice is all the more reason to find Nick. When she walks away, Jarvis tells Stanley it is all the more reason to put surveillance on Dane Majors. Stanley asks if that is an order and Jarvis replies it is "stamped, addressed and sealed with a kiss".
Rhys brings Bernice up to speed on him and Allie notifying the possible targets. He feels Alan Sullivan is an obvious one but getting a conversation with him is proving hard. She mentions Sullivan's second address in Cooper's Arms, Queen Street. When he starts to leave, she asks him to have a seat. She's been thinking about his career path and wondering how they can maximize his opportunities. She asks if he's heard of Task Force Circa (fraud), which he has. She tells him they are looking for new people and his skills are suitable for them. He doesn't appear very interested but she tells him she strongly suggests he apply for the opportunity. He doesn't want to leave as he feels he'd be letting the team down but he urges him that opportunities like the Task Force don't come around often. When he mentions that Homicide is the pinnacle of the police department she brings up the fact that Homicide is taking a battering over the Dane Majors case. He feels the Homicide that planted evidence in the Majors case is a different team. She warns him to think strategically if he wants to have a long career and the Task Force would be an excellent path to promotion in any number of departments and he would make wonderful contacts and she feels he would regret letting the opportunity pass. He gets a text from Allie that she found Sullivan at Cooper's Arms and gets up to leave.
Rhys and Allie speak with Alan Sullivan who doesn't feel he needs any protection. Allie points out one attempt has been made on his life already and the killer is determined. They believe he's high on the killer's list. Sullivan blames Rhys for Tim's death. Allie reminds him that his paper campaigned for Majors conviction ten years ago and that the killer has a long memory. Sullivan questions her that she's confirming Majors is the killer. He tells them that the killer might have a change of heart once they read the weekend edition. They are doing a special feature: Dane Majors, My Story. The Tribune is on Majors' side now and, as he makes a point, unlike the police, the paper admits its mistakes. Allie again tells him he's in danger but he insists he doesn't run away from a fight.
That night, as Alan Sullivan is leaving the Tribune, Dane Majors accosts Sullivan in the car park and tells him he needs his help as the cops are gunning for him. He shows him photos on his phone of police surveillance and tells Sullivan the police are following him everywhere and are saying people. Dane feels he's being set up just like last time. Dane wants Sullivan to run the story now but Sullivan tells him he can't as the paper is already to bed and the run kicked off. Dane insists that by Saturday he'll be locked up and charged and the Tribune won't be able to print a single word. A blue car with two men in it enters the car park and Sullivan notes they aren't very discreet. Dane takes a picture of the car. Dane again begs Alan telling him the story must be in tomorrow's paper and promises if he does that, he might have something more for him. Sullivan locks his car and tells Dane to come with him.
At Homicide, Jennifer is on the phone regarding Nick's disappearance. Allie and Rhys haven't found Nick in hospitals and are moving on to medical centers. Matt asks if they know the blood was really Nick's and Allie tells him the lab will get results back by tomorrow but they are covering their bases. Matt tells Jennifer to go home but she doesn't want to. She looks over Nick's research again and says they should call Deep Throat as Nick might have found out who he was and went to find him. Rhys doesn't have Juliette's phone but he still has the number. Matt agrees to give it a try even though Rhys doesn't feel like Deep Throat would answer an unknown number. Rhys makes the call and they find the number has been disconnected.
The next morning, Jennifer is sitting on Nick's couch. She steps out and picks up his paper and sees the headline "Police Stalk Innocent Cricket Star" with a picture of the blue car. Bernice throws the same paper down on Jarvis' desk telling him she doesn't recall authorizing the stalking. Bernice as been ordered to remove all surveillance. Jarvis wants to bring Dane in but she tells him Majors is untouchable until they have solid evidence.
Alan Sullivan arrives at Dane's house and tells him they missed the country run but the special edition went out to all metro distributors and by that time tomorrow, Dane would be the talk of the town. Dane leads Alan to his kitchen where everything is covered in plastic. He tells Sullivan he is about to redecorate. He offers Alan a drink and Alan asks Dane about the "second chapter to the story" that Dane rang him about that morning. Dane tells Alan that Nick has gone missing and asks if he knows that Nick was run down by a car a couple of nights ago and the cops can't find him. They speak for a moment about Dane's run in sports and Sullivan tells him he got lucky. Dane notes that Sullivan got lucky as well. Sullivan asks "When?" and Majors replies "When your car blew up." Dane tells him he had to reassess his match plan and thanks Alan for printing his side of the story and getting the surveillance cops off him but it doesn't make up for ten years in prison and the Tribune smear campaign that put him there. He opens a drawer telling Alan he found this on the cop who framed him just after he hit him with his car. He pulls out Nick's gun and shoots Sullivan.
At headquarters, Jarvis and Stanley discuss Alan Sullivan and Dane Majors and Stanley tells Jarvis they can't go near Dane Majors. Jarvis called Sullivan and his P.A. told him Sullivan is at Dane Majors' house at that moment to get another scoop. Stanley hopes Jarvis isn't going round to Majors to arrest Dane and Jarvis tells him he's not, he's going round to arrest Alan Sullivan.
Jarvis arrives at Dane Majors who takes a deep breath then answers the door. Jarvis tells Dane he's looking for Alan Sullivan and steps inside. Majors tells him he was there but he's gone now and didn't say where he was going. Jarvis walks into the kitchen which is now clean as a pin and free of any plastic. Dane offers Jarvis a drink but Jarvis wants to look around. Jarvis looks around the house but finds nothing unusual. He looks out a back door to a pool and Dane tells him they'll need divers to drag that pool as it's deceptively deep. He asks Jarvis if he was in Homicide when he was set up and puts his hand on Nick's gun which is in the back of his pants. When Jarvis tells him that was before his time, Dane takes his hand off the gun. Dane replies "lucky for you" and Jarvis turns around and tells him the same.
In briefing, Jarvis tells the team that Sullivan's P.A. said Sullivan was going to Dane Majors' home and no one has heard from him since and that he conducted a search of Majors' home and there was no sight of Alan or Nick. Bernice questions what he did and Jarvis tells her the situation has changed and, as he tells her about Sullivan going to Majors home, Jennifer looks at a Pathology folder Bernice is carrying. When Jarvis stops talking, Jennifer asks her about it and Bernice confirms the blood traces on the road are Nick's. Bernice agrees that Dane Majors needs to be shut down regardless of the commissioner and she wants Homicide watching every move he makes. Stanley orders two-man teams on two-hour shifts and puts Rhys and Jennifer up first.
As she and Rhys sit in the car outside Dane's house, Jennifer tells Rhys she feels it is useless for them to sit there as they don't even know he's in the house. She gets out of the car and goes to the house with Rhys following her telling her she needs a warrant. She tells him she's sure she saw someone in the upstairs window and she's going in. She believes she saw Nick. Rhys agrees he saw him as Jennifer rings the doorbell. The door opens in Jennifer's hand and she and Rhys enter, guns drawn, identifying themselves as the police.
At headquarters, Stanley tells Bernice there's nothing to report on Nick and the Tribune are screaming for news on Alan Sullivan. Allie tells Bernice and Stanley Dane Majors has dodged their surveillance. Bernice is going to take Duncan and Matt with her to see Lombardi to warn him again about Dane Majors. Bernice stresses to Lombardi about Sullivan and Nick both being missing and that he could be next and they don't know where Dane Majors is. Lombardi still wants no part of it and asks Ethan to escort Bernice and the detectives out of the building. Bernice refuses to leave until Lombardi accepts their protection. He tells Bernice she has no concern for his safety, just getting Homicide back into good graces. She admits she is concerned about Homicide but when Dane Majors comes for him, and he will, she doesn't want anyone saying she didn't try to protect him.
Matt and Duncan follow Lombardi's car to his home. In their car, Matt wonders why he would make such a fuss about protection. Duncan writes it up to arrogance but Matt notes if Lombardi admits he needs protection, he's admitting he's done something wrong. Matt and Duncan get out of their car to enter Lombardi's home and he reluctantly hands Matt so he can check the premises the key's while Duncan stays with Lombardi. Dane, sitting nearby, lowers the window of his vehicle, holds the gun out and when Duncan steps away, he fires. One bullet strikes Lombardi's arm and a second misses. Duncan and Matt jump into action. Duncan screams "on the road, on the road" while he holds Lombardi down and Matt runs toward the vehicle but it speeds away.
Dane drives to an old cabin in the woods and removes items from the back of his vehicle. The bloody body of Alan Sullivan is also in the back of the car. He enters the cabin and sits what he carried in down in front of a picture of Tahnee. He's talking, at first, seemingly to the picture. He sits down and points a gun at Nick, who is tied and gagged on the floor. He tells him he wanted him to know what he (Dane) was going through. If he had a really bad day in prison, he'd imagine what it would be like to shoot Nick in the face. Most of the time, he just dreamed of caving Nick's head in with a golf club.
At headquarters, Matt tells Duncan and Rhys the license number, which they got when a neighbour saw the car speeding away and took note of the number, matches Alan Sullivan's car but the driver matches Dane Majors. Lombardi only received a flesh wound and will be fine. Jennifer and Allie are looking over items from Dane Majors home. They need anything that will give them any indication as to where he's gone. Duncan begins checking out airlines and trains in the event he went to Queensland to his girlfriend. Jennifer reads an article about Dane and Tahnee that mentions the family cabin. She feels this is where he's gone. The article doesn't say where the cabin is located but Allie finds paperwork that does. Matt orders Jennifer and Rhys to check the cabin out while the rest of the team keeps looking.
At the cabin, Dane washes off in the sink and asks Nick if he's married or has a girlfriend. He asks Nick how he'd feel if the woman was ripped away from him. He takes a cricket bat from the box he carried into the cabin then puts on a shirt, his lucky shirt, from the box. He sits Nick up against a post and removes the tape from over his mouth. He sits shot glasses down on the table and pours each one full and tells Nick that since he's been three days without food, the booze will knock him right out. Dane drinks from one glass and pours another into Nick's mouth, but Nick spits the liquid out. He reminds Nick of the night they met and how he planted evidence to make sure he didn't get off the charges. He wants to know Nick lives with himself for it. Nick tells him "I'm sorry" but Dane lashes out angrily telling him he doesn't want an apology. He kicks Nick in the side then forces him to drink from the bottle. He tells Nick he wasn't a killer when he put him in prison but he is now. He puts the gun under Nick's chin and tells him he (Nick) buried him alive and now he's going to do the same to him.
Jennifer and Rhys arrive at the cabin with guns drawn. Rhys goes round the back with the plan that they'll flush Dane out the front. Rhys enters the cabin but Dane isn't there. He has finished digging a grave and is covering it up. He's close enough to hear Jennifer and Rhys at the cabin while he's digging. Dane shoots at the two telling them to come out. Rhys tries to call the team while Jennifer fires on Dane telling him lower his weapon but he cannot get any reception. She covers Rhys while he makes a run for their car. Jennifer pursues Dane through the woods and when he reaches Sullivan's vehicle, she fires, shattering a window and again orders him to drop his weapon. He dives behind a tree to check how many shots he has left and tells her she's lost. He has four bullets left. He tells her he just buried Nick. She looks to the mounds of earth. He reloads Nick's gun and stands and fires at her but misses. He admits that Dalton's suicide beat him to killing him, but he has killed everyone else that locked him up, even Lombardi. Jennifer tells him he's wrong and Lombardi was only winged. She asks if he didn't kill Nick either since only one grave, Sullivan's was filled. She wants to know where Nick is. She begs him to know where Nick is. He stands and walks toward her saying he's saving Nick till last. He fires two shots at Jennifer then puts his hand toward the back of Sullivan's vehicle to fire his last shot but Jennifer shoots Dane in the chest. Still standing, he raises his hand again to fire and she fires two more shots. When he finally goes down, she runs to the vehicle and finds Nick, alive in the back.
At Homicide, Jennifer hangs up the phone and tells the team Alan Sullivan's funeral is the next day. Rhys says the Tribune will have it as front page. Allie mentions Narelle getting her story out and Duncan is sure no one will be asking Nick for his side. Rhys notes it will all be about Lombardi, who is the last man standing. Nick arrives back to work, his face bruised and battered from his ordeal. Jennifer asks him if he's ready to go through his statement and the two go into the kitchen. She hands him the papers but he pushes them aside and thanks her. He tells her he's withdrawn his resignation. She tells him she doesn't want to lose him then they go back to the statement.
Bernice arrives at Lombardi's office. He doesn't want any small talk and jumps right to her budget cuts for Homicide. He finds her recommendations quite creative and interesting reading but with a certain natural bias. She tells him that her belief Homicide is one of the most skilled and cohesive squads in the state police is based on experience, not bias. He agrees and admits that in the current crisis, Homicide has proved to be a most effective squad and agrees that under the proposed budget cuts Homicide could not function successfully which is why he will be dissolving Homicide altogether. Divisional detectives will handle single homicides and task forces will handle more complex cases. She asks about the current homicide detectives and he tells her that's up to her. A few retirements, a few transfers, but, make no mistake, there will be no more homicide squad.
For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
Friday, March 18, 2011
AUS Television: City Homicide, No Greater Honour, Part Four "Tangled Web"
City Homicide
No Greater Honour, Part Four, Tangled Web
Original Air Date: March 16, 2011
Dane Majors is released from prison with his fans and the media waiting on him at the gates. Graham Proctor warns him as he's leaving that he won't get away with murdering his daughter. Homicide officially re-opens the Tahnee Majors murder investigation. Moments before Tim Padgett is killed by a car bomb in Alan Sullivans car, Sullivan gives Bernice information that was sent to the Tribune by Deep Throat, information which takes the case in a completely different direction. Nick Buchanan becomes the next target in the case.
Both Dane Majors and Nick Buchanan awaken from their sleep with nightmares of the murder of Tahnee Majors (Saskaia Hampele).
Dane Majors walks out of prison a free man after his conviction was overturned. He is met at the gates by the press, his supporters and even Nick Buchanan is standing with the crowd. He challenges the authorities to bring on a re-trial because he will be found innocent because he is innocent. Tahnee's father, Graham Proctor (Graeme Blundell) is there and calls Majors a liar, stating again that Dane killed his daughter. Proctor warns Majors he won't get away with it.
Bernice and Jarvis inform the team they will be re-opening the Tahnee Majors murder investigation, starting fresh and conducting their own investigation. Jarvis reminds them that, even though Dane Majors was released from prison, he's still a suspect and, despite the planted evidence, he could still very well be guilty. The team listens to the 000 call Dane Majors made ten years ago then Jennifer gives them the details of the case. Nick and Bruce Dalton were dispatched to the scene where they found Tahnee's body. Dane Majors was treated for shock and released for interview. Dane told Nick and Dalton he went for a drive down the beach and found his wife when he came home. Dane's clothes were taken at his home as they were covered with blood, which he said got there when he tried to help her by administering CPR. Dalton (Robert Morgan) asks Dane if he had a fight with his wife which Dane denies despite reports by the neighbours there were raised voices at the Majors home that evening. Nick shows Dane photographs of bruising on Tahnee's wrist that was consistent with being restrained and bruises to the face consistent with being hit with a clenched fist. When asked by Nick if he beat his wife that night, Dane reluctantly admits that he did. They go over the evidence before them. The pattern on the missing five-iron matches the pattern on Tahnee's injury. His wife was dead for an hour before Dane called 000. The theory is he had time to clean the golf club and stash it in the roof where it was found before calling 000. Jarvis thinks Dane Majors still looks good for the murder.
Duncan and Jennifer arrive at Dane Majors home to ask him some questions. He opens the door and waves to his fans and photographers who are lining the gates outside. Jennifer informs him they are re-opening the case. When Jennifer tells him he isn't exactly not still a suspect, he tells them the chat is over. Majors tells them if they want to know what happened read the trial transcripts or, better yet, watch the tapes of his police interviews. Majors makes it clear he trusts no police whatsoever and wants them to leave his home. As they are leaving, Jennifer tells him he will have to come into police headquarters for further questioning. Majors calmly tells her he came through the front door and found his wife lying "right there", and points to the bottom of the staircase. Duncan asks about his CPR attempt even though her skull had been crushed. Dane tells him he wasn't thinking straight and panicked and asks Duncan what he would have done. Duncan replies coolly, "I wouldn't have hit her in the first place". Majors laughs and tells him he'll need to do better than that. A woman enters the house and angrily asks what is going on. Jennifer and Duncan identify themselves as police officers and ask her identity. Dane tells them that is none of their business. The woman feels the police should be ashamed of themselves and Jennifer and Duncan leave.
At the office, they have a photo of the woman in Dane's house. She is Narelle O'Brien (Ella Scotty Lynch), Tahnee Majors' best friend. She was married to a former vice captain Callum O'Brien (Simon Maiden). Narelle visited Dane twice a week after he was sentenced according to prison logs. No one suspected them of having an affair before the murders but Jennifer feels that, either way, it does give her a motive to want to kill Tahnee if Narelle was in love with Dane. Two years ago, Narelle was charged with assault after she bashed one of Dane's fans.
In interview, Narelle tells Allie and Rhys the fan she assaulted came at her and she just pushed the woman away. She went to the woman's house because she was sending Dane "nasty" letters in jail. Allie asks her when she started seeing Dane and Narelle says it wasn't until after the trial, after she had split with Callum and after Dane was convicted of murder. Callum didn't like Narelle visiting Dane in jail because of him being convicted of murder. Rhys asks what makes her so sure Dane was innocent. She admits she wasn't, at first, but even if he had, he didn't mean it and it was simply an argument that got out of control. She tells them Dane was devastated after his sentencing. He grabbed her hand, looked into her eyes and told her he didn't do it. She believed him 100%. Allie asks her about how hard it must have been being friends with Tahnee since Tahnee was a gorgeous model that everyone loved and in all the photos it was Dane and Tahnee. Narelle claims she wasn't jealous because Tahnee wasn't as perfect as they made her out to be and she was always nagging Dane. She didn't think Tahnee deserved to have Dane but she denies killing her.
Jennifer goes to see Nick who thinks he 'should have seen it' regarding Narelle O'Brien. She insists he presented a solid case to the DPP and the jury found him guilty. He couldn't have followed up every case he worked. She finally agrees to say what he wants to hear and asks why he never questioned the finding of the murder weapon during the middle of a trial. He gives several reasons and tells her to take her pick of any number of lame excuses. Jennifer tells him she wants him to say it wasn't his fault, to tell everyone he didn't know the club had been planted and she wants him to stop sitting around beating up on himself. She wants him to withdraw his resignation. Before leaving, she tells him he's a good cop that's fought for a lot of people on the job and he now has to stand up for himself.
In interview with Matt and Duncan, Callum O'Brien admits he's seen Narelle be physically violent. He tells them the two split because Narelle kept seeing Dane in prison after he was convicted of murder. Callum thought Dane was guilty. Callum, who was Dane's best mate, remembered the evidence he gave against Dane. Tahnee had called him the night she was killed and told him Dane had hit her, again. He went to the house. Dane was out and Tahnee was packing her bags. She was finally going to leave Dane because she was sick of him sleeping around and beating on her. He says Dane thought he and Tahnee were having an affair but he denies that they were. He convinced Tahnee to stay with Dane and went home. Three hours later, she was dead. Matt asks why he didn't convince her to leave and Callum admits he was because he loved her and he was worried that was clouding his judgment. When Duncan presents Callum with a scenario that he tried to convince Tahnee to leave with him and an argument ensued, Callum stops him and tells him he could never hurt Tahnee. When shown a photo of Tahnee, Callum recoils then tells the two detective that he still believes it was Dane who killed Tahnee.
Matt informs the team that Bernice has been trying all day to get some sense out of the Tribune regarding what they got from Deep Throat but nothing so far. Bernice feels she's been stonewalled so she wants them to try another tact. Matt tells Rhys to talk to Tim Padgett (Andre De Vanny). Rhys knows Tim won't give away his scoop but Matt is sure Rhys will find a way.
Rhys drops in at the Tribune to see Tim who quickly closes the document on his computer screen so Rhys cannot see any of it. Tim asks what he wants and Rhys responds that it isn't so much what he wants as it is what he can give him. He offers inside scoop on the Tahnee Majors murder investigation which is too much for Tim to pass up. He mentions them having Narelle in for an interview but Tim already knows that, and knows that Callum was in as well as he had talked to Narelle himself. He feels Rhys has nothing else to offer. Rhys tells him the information he's working on was meant for him. Tim thanks him for that letting him know he has the story of a lifetime. Rhys reminds Tim that Tahnee Majors was beaten to death and Nick could lose his career. Tim tells him what was in that envelope was bigger than a homicide and way bigger than Nick Buchanan. Rhys asks again for Tim to tell him what it was to which he responds Rhys will just have to wait to read his article.
At the office, Graham Proctor insists that Dane Majors killed his daughter and would still be in jail had Dalton not planted the evidence. Allie reminds him that Majors wouldn't have gone to jail at all had it not been for the planted evidence. Graham and Dalton were mates for 10 years until the day he admitted planting the evidence. Jennifer makes mention of the other person Dalton mentioned in his suicide note and Graham immediately names Nick Buchanan since he was the one who found the club. He's surprised at Jennifer's implication he was the other person in on planting the club. He claims he knew nothing about it. When Allie asks him if he killed his daughter, he is insulted. He says he and his daughter only fought about one thing ever: Dane Majors. He wanted her to leave Dane. He takes a picture from his pocket showing his daughter with bruises and cuts where Dane beat her the first time. The press want to know nothing about Dane beating his wife but Graham insists he and the police know the truth about him.
Rhys finds the story on the Tribune web site. He and Duncan call Matt from his office to read the story with the headline: State's Attorney-General Linked to Planted Evidence. The story is complete with a picture of the State's Attorney-General Michael Lombardi (Marcus Graham) with Bruce Dalton. Nick reads the story at home.
The next morning, Duncan, Matt and Rhys identify Lombardi as the other person in the "we" in Dalton's suicide note. The article states that Lombardi emailed Dalton three days before the club was found saying he needed the club and without it he couldn't guarantee a conviction. Bernice and Jarvis arrive to remind them they aren't there to clear Nick's name, they are there to find the truth. The detectives handle the investigation while Bernice and Jarvis will handle the Attorney-General. She informs them that in an hour, they will be questioning Lombardi about his involvement in planting the evidence so she wants every bit of background possible at her fingertips as she doesn't want to be under-prepared. Deep Throat calls again, while Bernice and Jarvis are still at the table, and he isn't happy with what was and wasn't printed in the paper. He's angry that Lombardi might get away with it even though the information he presented was clear and "dynamite". Jarvis wishes the police could know just what information the paper is sitting on before they talk to the Attorney-General but Bernice knows they can't wait and will have to wing it with Lombardi. She orders the team to get working on the background.
Bernice and Jarvis arrive for their meeting with the Attorney-General and find that Tim Padgett and Alan Sullivan (John Howard) are there wanting to give the AG his chance to "tell his side of the story". They overhear the argument between Sullivan, Padgett and Lombardi and the latter denying there is any story at all. The AG tells Bernice and Jarvis he wants to have things sorted out properly at police headquarters. When Jarvis, Lombardi and Bernice are leaving the Office of the Attorney-General, Alan Sullivan calls Bernice aside and tells her they couldn't publish the last piece of the puzzle because the lawyers got a bit skittish and gives her an envelope and tells her to stick it up Lombardi's backside for him when she gets a chance. When Tim Padgett gets into the car he and Sullivan arrived in and starts the engine, the vehicle blows up.
At headquarters, Sullivan is stunned noting it was his car and if he hadn't turned back to talk to Bernice he would have died as well. Matt informs them a full canvass of the area has been done and all security footage has been pulled. Jarvis adds that the bomb squad figures it was a rudimentary homemade job. Bernice feels the bombing is related to the Dane Majors investigation. Sullivan wants Bernice to find who killed Tim and nail them to the wall.
Later, in her office, Bernice shows Jarvis what Sullivan had given her. It was two copies of a page from Bruce Dalton's day book. There are two copies because there is a discrepancy. A bloody big discrepancy Jarvis notes after looking over the pages with highlighted information. She tells Jarvis they need to get the Attorney-General in now.
In Bernice's office, Lombardi admits Dalton came to see him a few days ago to speak about the Dane Majors trial. Dalton was worried about a reporter digging up dirt. Lombardi told Dalton not to worry as they'd done nothing wrong. Jarvis questions him about the email he'd sent Dalton during the trial regarding the club. Lombardi explains it was a statement of fact and not a suggestion to plant evidence. Lombardi, rather than answering Bernice when she asks if he had knowledge of the planting of evidence, questions why they are asking him those questions rather than Nick. Lombardi accuses Bernice and Jarvis of trying to protect one of their own when they should be investigating a car bomb and resolving the murder of Tahnee Majors. They show Lombardi Bruce Dalton's day book and then show him the papers they received from Sullivan. In those papers, Dalton had written down that he discussed the finding of the golf club with Lombardi at a meeting at 11 a.m. before Nick even found the club. By time of trial, Dalton had altered the time of the meeting to 3:30 p.m. Jarvis jokingly asks why Dalton would do such a thing. After several seconds of looking over the papers, Lombardi suggests scrappy bookkeeping as the reason for the change. He maintains that the evidence he's holding proves that Dalton is corrupt, not him. Lombardi stands, turns his recorder off and asks what disciplinary actions have been taken against Buchanan. Bernice informs him Nick was suspended on full pay.
Jennifer again goes to see Nick who insists Lombardi made his career on the Dane Majors case and wanted Majors convicted more than anyone. He feels Lombardi can talk his way out of anything and they need solid proof. Nick is working on the case on his own time as best he can. He feels the bomb is linked to the Majors case just as Jarvis does. Nick is eliminating suspects at the moment. Jennifer notes Tahnee's father isn't on the list for setting the car bomb, but Nick feels he didn't blow anyone up.
Rhys and Duncan bring Graham Proctor back in for interview and he tells them he was at home alone. It's clear that Proctor doesn't care much for Alan Sullivan. He used to feel that Alan cared about the truth but now it is all about selling papers. He admits he was disappointed and angry when the Tribune started calling for Majors' release but he didn't try to kill Sullivan. He tells them if he had the strength in him to "do the deed" there's only one person he would kill: Dane Majors.
The police search Dane Majors' home. He and Narelle are there and he wants to watch the search in progress. Jennifer asks where he was that morning and he tells her to take it to his attorney. Narelle steps up and tells Jennifer he was with her that morning. When Matt arrives and Jennifer excuses herself to talk with him, Dane takes Narelle aside and the two go up the stairs a bit and begin to argue. Narelle tells him she wants to help and, after a short argument, he orders her upstairs.
At briefing, Jennifer offers a theory. She asks what if they ignore the golf club as the cause of death and points to a photo of the stairs leading Bernice to say "what if she fell down the stairs". And Duncan suggests Tahnee was pushed. Matt tells them the pathology report excluded that possibility the first time around because it named the club as the cause of death. Ten years ago pathology didnt perform CT scans so they assumed the club was the cause of death. When Bernice asks if Jennifer can prove her theory, she tells her not without exuming the body. Discussion turns to someone hitting Tahnee with the club once she's already fallen to possibly frame Dane. Someone who holds a grudge against Dane.
Callum is brought back in to be questioned about the new theory. Nick enters the room with Jarvis who is watching the interrogation on the monitors. Allie and Matt suggest to Callum that he wanted what Dane had. Callum admits Dane seemed to do things so easily when he (Callum) had to work hard to do the same things. He tells them he and Tahnee didn't argue but something did happen. He kissed her and told her he loved her but knew she didn't feel the same as soon as he said it. He felt Dane had killed Tahnee because she had told him about Callum kissing her and expressing his love for her.
Duncan and Rhys speak with Graham Proctor who is angry over the suggestion of a second autopsy. He denies arguing with his daughter at the top of the stairs the night she died. After persistent questioning, Proctor admits his daughter was dead already and there wasn't anything he could do. When he went to see her that night she was crying and her eye was closed over. They argued because he wanted her to leave Dane and she slipped on the stairs when he grabbed her arm. He tried to revive her but she was dead. He hit Tahnee with the club because he felt it was Dane's fault she was dead and people needed to know that. He threw the club away later. He didn't help Dalton plant the evidence against Majors and says he should have come forward and admit what he'd done but he couldn't even admit it to himself. He maintains Dane would have still killed Tahnee one day.
Alan Sullivan and Bernice talk over that mornings headlines "Our Dane's Innocent Father Bludgeons Daughter" in her office. She assures him they're doing everything they can to find out who bombed his car. He tells her she will have to pick a side regarding the Attorney-General sooner or later and notes she doesn't know. When she questions what he informs her Lombardi is going to charge Nick Buchanan with perverting the course of justice.
At his place, Jennifer asks Nick if he's still going to resign and he tells her he's going to apologize to Dane Majors first. She tells him to leave it. Dane will get on with his life and Nick should do the same. Bernice hasn't processed his resignation yet and wants to talk to him about options. She tells him if he's still sure of his decision in a month she'll let him quit, but he must talk to Bernice.
That night, Nick sends Jennifer a text saying "Thanks for everything Jen" before being struck by a speeding car.
For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
No Greater Honour, Part Four, Tangled Web
Original Air Date: March 16, 2011
Dane Majors is released from prison with his fans and the media waiting on him at the gates. Graham Proctor warns him as he's leaving that he won't get away with murdering his daughter. Homicide officially re-opens the Tahnee Majors murder investigation. Moments before Tim Padgett is killed by a car bomb in Alan Sullivans car, Sullivan gives Bernice information that was sent to the Tribune by Deep Throat, information which takes the case in a completely different direction. Nick Buchanan becomes the next target in the case.
Both Dane Majors and Nick Buchanan awaken from their sleep with nightmares of the murder of Tahnee Majors (Saskaia Hampele).
Dane Majors walks out of prison a free man after his conviction was overturned. He is met at the gates by the press, his supporters and even Nick Buchanan is standing with the crowd. He challenges the authorities to bring on a re-trial because he will be found innocent because he is innocent. Tahnee's father, Graham Proctor (Graeme Blundell) is there and calls Majors a liar, stating again that Dane killed his daughter. Proctor warns Majors he won't get away with it.
Bernice and Jarvis inform the team they will be re-opening the Tahnee Majors murder investigation, starting fresh and conducting their own investigation. Jarvis reminds them that, even though Dane Majors was released from prison, he's still a suspect and, despite the planted evidence, he could still very well be guilty. The team listens to the 000 call Dane Majors made ten years ago then Jennifer gives them the details of the case. Nick and Bruce Dalton were dispatched to the scene where they found Tahnee's body. Dane Majors was treated for shock and released for interview. Dane told Nick and Dalton he went for a drive down the beach and found his wife when he came home. Dane's clothes were taken at his home as they were covered with blood, which he said got there when he tried to help her by administering CPR. Dalton (Robert Morgan) asks Dane if he had a fight with his wife which Dane denies despite reports by the neighbours there were raised voices at the Majors home that evening. Nick shows Dane photographs of bruising on Tahnee's wrist that was consistent with being restrained and bruises to the face consistent with being hit with a clenched fist. When asked by Nick if he beat his wife that night, Dane reluctantly admits that he did. They go over the evidence before them. The pattern on the missing five-iron matches the pattern on Tahnee's injury. His wife was dead for an hour before Dane called 000. The theory is he had time to clean the golf club and stash it in the roof where it was found before calling 000. Jarvis thinks Dane Majors still looks good for the murder.
Duncan and Jennifer arrive at Dane Majors home to ask him some questions. He opens the door and waves to his fans and photographers who are lining the gates outside. Jennifer informs him they are re-opening the case. When Jennifer tells him he isn't exactly not still a suspect, he tells them the chat is over. Majors tells them if they want to know what happened read the trial transcripts or, better yet, watch the tapes of his police interviews. Majors makes it clear he trusts no police whatsoever and wants them to leave his home. As they are leaving, Jennifer tells him he will have to come into police headquarters for further questioning. Majors calmly tells her he came through the front door and found his wife lying "right there", and points to the bottom of the staircase. Duncan asks about his CPR attempt even though her skull had been crushed. Dane tells him he wasn't thinking straight and panicked and asks Duncan what he would have done. Duncan replies coolly, "I wouldn't have hit her in the first place". Majors laughs and tells him he'll need to do better than that. A woman enters the house and angrily asks what is going on. Jennifer and Duncan identify themselves as police officers and ask her identity. Dane tells them that is none of their business. The woman feels the police should be ashamed of themselves and Jennifer and Duncan leave.
At the office, they have a photo of the woman in Dane's house. She is Narelle O'Brien (Ella Scotty Lynch), Tahnee Majors' best friend. She was married to a former vice captain Callum O'Brien (Simon Maiden). Narelle visited Dane twice a week after he was sentenced according to prison logs. No one suspected them of having an affair before the murders but Jennifer feels that, either way, it does give her a motive to want to kill Tahnee if Narelle was in love with Dane. Two years ago, Narelle was charged with assault after she bashed one of Dane's fans.
In interview, Narelle tells Allie and Rhys the fan she assaulted came at her and she just pushed the woman away. She went to the woman's house because she was sending Dane "nasty" letters in jail. Allie asks her when she started seeing Dane and Narelle says it wasn't until after the trial, after she had split with Callum and after Dane was convicted of murder. Callum didn't like Narelle visiting Dane in jail because of him being convicted of murder. Rhys asks what makes her so sure Dane was innocent. She admits she wasn't, at first, but even if he had, he didn't mean it and it was simply an argument that got out of control. She tells them Dane was devastated after his sentencing. He grabbed her hand, looked into her eyes and told her he didn't do it. She believed him 100%. Allie asks her about how hard it must have been being friends with Tahnee since Tahnee was a gorgeous model that everyone loved and in all the photos it was Dane and Tahnee. Narelle claims she wasn't jealous because Tahnee wasn't as perfect as they made her out to be and she was always nagging Dane. She didn't think Tahnee deserved to have Dane but she denies killing her.
Jennifer goes to see Nick who thinks he 'should have seen it' regarding Narelle O'Brien. She insists he presented a solid case to the DPP and the jury found him guilty. He couldn't have followed up every case he worked. She finally agrees to say what he wants to hear and asks why he never questioned the finding of the murder weapon during the middle of a trial. He gives several reasons and tells her to take her pick of any number of lame excuses. Jennifer tells him she wants him to say it wasn't his fault, to tell everyone he didn't know the club had been planted and she wants him to stop sitting around beating up on himself. She wants him to withdraw his resignation. Before leaving, she tells him he's a good cop that's fought for a lot of people on the job and he now has to stand up for himself.
In interview with Matt and Duncan, Callum O'Brien admits he's seen Narelle be physically violent. He tells them the two split because Narelle kept seeing Dane in prison after he was convicted of murder. Callum thought Dane was guilty. Callum, who was Dane's best mate, remembered the evidence he gave against Dane. Tahnee had called him the night she was killed and told him Dane had hit her, again. He went to the house. Dane was out and Tahnee was packing her bags. She was finally going to leave Dane because she was sick of him sleeping around and beating on her. He says Dane thought he and Tahnee were having an affair but he denies that they were. He convinced Tahnee to stay with Dane and went home. Three hours later, she was dead. Matt asks why he didn't convince her to leave and Callum admits he was because he loved her and he was worried that was clouding his judgment. When Duncan presents Callum with a scenario that he tried to convince Tahnee to leave with him and an argument ensued, Callum stops him and tells him he could never hurt Tahnee. When shown a photo of Tahnee, Callum recoils then tells the two detective that he still believes it was Dane who killed Tahnee.
Matt informs the team that Bernice has been trying all day to get some sense out of the Tribune regarding what they got from Deep Throat but nothing so far. Bernice feels she's been stonewalled so she wants them to try another tact. Matt tells Rhys to talk to Tim Padgett (Andre De Vanny). Rhys knows Tim won't give away his scoop but Matt is sure Rhys will find a way.
Rhys drops in at the Tribune to see Tim who quickly closes the document on his computer screen so Rhys cannot see any of it. Tim asks what he wants and Rhys responds that it isn't so much what he wants as it is what he can give him. He offers inside scoop on the Tahnee Majors murder investigation which is too much for Tim to pass up. He mentions them having Narelle in for an interview but Tim already knows that, and knows that Callum was in as well as he had talked to Narelle himself. He feels Rhys has nothing else to offer. Rhys tells him the information he's working on was meant for him. Tim thanks him for that letting him know he has the story of a lifetime. Rhys reminds Tim that Tahnee Majors was beaten to death and Nick could lose his career. Tim tells him what was in that envelope was bigger than a homicide and way bigger than Nick Buchanan. Rhys asks again for Tim to tell him what it was to which he responds Rhys will just have to wait to read his article.
At the office, Graham Proctor insists that Dane Majors killed his daughter and would still be in jail had Dalton not planted the evidence. Allie reminds him that Majors wouldn't have gone to jail at all had it not been for the planted evidence. Graham and Dalton were mates for 10 years until the day he admitted planting the evidence. Jennifer makes mention of the other person Dalton mentioned in his suicide note and Graham immediately names Nick Buchanan since he was the one who found the club. He's surprised at Jennifer's implication he was the other person in on planting the club. He claims he knew nothing about it. When Allie asks him if he killed his daughter, he is insulted. He says he and his daughter only fought about one thing ever: Dane Majors. He wanted her to leave Dane. He takes a picture from his pocket showing his daughter with bruises and cuts where Dane beat her the first time. The press want to know nothing about Dane beating his wife but Graham insists he and the police know the truth about him.
Rhys finds the story on the Tribune web site. He and Duncan call Matt from his office to read the story with the headline: State's Attorney-General Linked to Planted Evidence. The story is complete with a picture of the State's Attorney-General Michael Lombardi (Marcus Graham) with Bruce Dalton. Nick reads the story at home.
The next morning, Duncan, Matt and Rhys identify Lombardi as the other person in the "we" in Dalton's suicide note. The article states that Lombardi emailed Dalton three days before the club was found saying he needed the club and without it he couldn't guarantee a conviction. Bernice and Jarvis arrive to remind them they aren't there to clear Nick's name, they are there to find the truth. The detectives handle the investigation while Bernice and Jarvis will handle the Attorney-General. She informs them that in an hour, they will be questioning Lombardi about his involvement in planting the evidence so she wants every bit of background possible at her fingertips as she doesn't want to be under-prepared. Deep Throat calls again, while Bernice and Jarvis are still at the table, and he isn't happy with what was and wasn't printed in the paper. He's angry that Lombardi might get away with it even though the information he presented was clear and "dynamite". Jarvis wishes the police could know just what information the paper is sitting on before they talk to the Attorney-General but Bernice knows they can't wait and will have to wing it with Lombardi. She orders the team to get working on the background.
Bernice and Jarvis arrive for their meeting with the Attorney-General and find that Tim Padgett and Alan Sullivan (John Howard) are there wanting to give the AG his chance to "tell his side of the story". They overhear the argument between Sullivan, Padgett and Lombardi and the latter denying there is any story at all. The AG tells Bernice and Jarvis he wants to have things sorted out properly at police headquarters. When Jarvis, Lombardi and Bernice are leaving the Office of the Attorney-General, Alan Sullivan calls Bernice aside and tells her they couldn't publish the last piece of the puzzle because the lawyers got a bit skittish and gives her an envelope and tells her to stick it up Lombardi's backside for him when she gets a chance. When Tim Padgett gets into the car he and Sullivan arrived in and starts the engine, the vehicle blows up.
At headquarters, Sullivan is stunned noting it was his car and if he hadn't turned back to talk to Bernice he would have died as well. Matt informs them a full canvass of the area has been done and all security footage has been pulled. Jarvis adds that the bomb squad figures it was a rudimentary homemade job. Bernice feels the bombing is related to the Dane Majors investigation. Sullivan wants Bernice to find who killed Tim and nail them to the wall.
Later, in her office, Bernice shows Jarvis what Sullivan had given her. It was two copies of a page from Bruce Dalton's day book. There are two copies because there is a discrepancy. A bloody big discrepancy Jarvis notes after looking over the pages with highlighted information. She tells Jarvis they need to get the Attorney-General in now.
In Bernice's office, Lombardi admits Dalton came to see him a few days ago to speak about the Dane Majors trial. Dalton was worried about a reporter digging up dirt. Lombardi told Dalton not to worry as they'd done nothing wrong. Jarvis questions him about the email he'd sent Dalton during the trial regarding the club. Lombardi explains it was a statement of fact and not a suggestion to plant evidence. Lombardi, rather than answering Bernice when she asks if he had knowledge of the planting of evidence, questions why they are asking him those questions rather than Nick. Lombardi accuses Bernice and Jarvis of trying to protect one of their own when they should be investigating a car bomb and resolving the murder of Tahnee Majors. They show Lombardi Bruce Dalton's day book and then show him the papers they received from Sullivan. In those papers, Dalton had written down that he discussed the finding of the golf club with Lombardi at a meeting at 11 a.m. before Nick even found the club. By time of trial, Dalton had altered the time of the meeting to 3:30 p.m. Jarvis jokingly asks why Dalton would do such a thing. After several seconds of looking over the papers, Lombardi suggests scrappy bookkeeping as the reason for the change. He maintains that the evidence he's holding proves that Dalton is corrupt, not him. Lombardi stands, turns his recorder off and asks what disciplinary actions have been taken against Buchanan. Bernice informs him Nick was suspended on full pay.
Jennifer again goes to see Nick who insists Lombardi made his career on the Dane Majors case and wanted Majors convicted more than anyone. He feels Lombardi can talk his way out of anything and they need solid proof. Nick is working on the case on his own time as best he can. He feels the bomb is linked to the Majors case just as Jarvis does. Nick is eliminating suspects at the moment. Jennifer notes Tahnee's father isn't on the list for setting the car bomb, but Nick feels he didn't blow anyone up.
Rhys and Duncan bring Graham Proctor back in for interview and he tells them he was at home alone. It's clear that Proctor doesn't care much for Alan Sullivan. He used to feel that Alan cared about the truth but now it is all about selling papers. He admits he was disappointed and angry when the Tribune started calling for Majors' release but he didn't try to kill Sullivan. He tells them if he had the strength in him to "do the deed" there's only one person he would kill: Dane Majors.
The police search Dane Majors' home. He and Narelle are there and he wants to watch the search in progress. Jennifer asks where he was that morning and he tells her to take it to his attorney. Narelle steps up and tells Jennifer he was with her that morning. When Matt arrives and Jennifer excuses herself to talk with him, Dane takes Narelle aside and the two go up the stairs a bit and begin to argue. Narelle tells him she wants to help and, after a short argument, he orders her upstairs.
At briefing, Jennifer offers a theory. She asks what if they ignore the golf club as the cause of death and points to a photo of the stairs leading Bernice to say "what if she fell down the stairs". And Duncan suggests Tahnee was pushed. Matt tells them the pathology report excluded that possibility the first time around because it named the club as the cause of death. Ten years ago pathology didnt perform CT scans so they assumed the club was the cause of death. When Bernice asks if Jennifer can prove her theory, she tells her not without exuming the body. Discussion turns to someone hitting Tahnee with the club once she's already fallen to possibly frame Dane. Someone who holds a grudge against Dane.
Callum is brought back in to be questioned about the new theory. Nick enters the room with Jarvis who is watching the interrogation on the monitors. Allie and Matt suggest to Callum that he wanted what Dane had. Callum admits Dane seemed to do things so easily when he (Callum) had to work hard to do the same things. He tells them he and Tahnee didn't argue but something did happen. He kissed her and told her he loved her but knew she didn't feel the same as soon as he said it. He felt Dane had killed Tahnee because she had told him about Callum kissing her and expressing his love for her.
Duncan and Rhys speak with Graham Proctor who is angry over the suggestion of a second autopsy. He denies arguing with his daughter at the top of the stairs the night she died. After persistent questioning, Proctor admits his daughter was dead already and there wasn't anything he could do. When he went to see her that night she was crying and her eye was closed over. They argued because he wanted her to leave Dane and she slipped on the stairs when he grabbed her arm. He tried to revive her but she was dead. He hit Tahnee with the club because he felt it was Dane's fault she was dead and people needed to know that. He threw the club away later. He didn't help Dalton plant the evidence against Majors and says he should have come forward and admit what he'd done but he couldn't even admit it to himself. He maintains Dane would have still killed Tahnee one day.
Alan Sullivan and Bernice talk over that mornings headlines "Our Dane's Innocent Father Bludgeons Daughter" in her office. She assures him they're doing everything they can to find out who bombed his car. He tells her she will have to pick a side regarding the Attorney-General sooner or later and notes she doesn't know. When she questions what he informs her Lombardi is going to charge Nick Buchanan with perverting the course of justice.
At his place, Jennifer asks Nick if he's still going to resign and he tells her he's going to apologize to Dane Majors first. She tells him to leave it. Dane will get on with his life and Nick should do the same. Bernice hasn't processed his resignation yet and wants to talk to him about options. She tells him if he's still sure of his decision in a month she'll let him quit, but he must talk to Bernice.
That night, Nick sends Jennifer a text saying "Thanks for everything Jen" before being struck by a speeding car.
For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
Thursday, March 10, 2011
AUS Television: City Homicide, No Greater Honour, Part Three: "If It Bleeds, It Leads"
City Homicide
No Greater Honour, Part Three, If It Bleeds, It Leads
Original Air Date: March 9, 2011
The investigation into Juliette Gardiner's murder begins and Nick is quickly cleared as a suspect. A new reporter takes her place at the Tribune on the Dean Major's story and it's clear things aren't going to stop with her death. They only get worse. Evidence points even more strongly to Nick's old mentor and friend, Bruce Dalton. Could Dalton have planted the evidence against Dane Majors and, if he did, what will be the fallout of that information becoming known?
The homicide team arrives to the Juliette Gardiner scene. Matt takes control ordering more officers to search every floor and the entrances be sealed off. Nick tells Matt he's wasting his time as the shooter took off. Matt wants them to work with uniforms as there isn't anything they can do until crime scene and pathology arrive. Rhys leaves to speak with security as Nick is telling Matt the direction from which the shots came. Jennifer asks Nick if he's alright. He's been better then offers her his gun saying it hasn't been fired. She puts the gun in an evidence bag as he offers information about Juliette meeting someone he believed to be a man (he didn't sight him) and there were shots (he says "a bunch"; four) as they started to talk. The first shot took her down, a car door slammed, he ran down the ramp and he saw no one. He tells them he wants his hands swabbed for residue. He informs Matt that Juliette was working on a story that could have implicated him in corruption.
As Nick is telling Jennifer he should have seen this coming, Jarvis arrives and wants Nick to enlighten him. Nick tells him he was following Juliette to find out who was feeding her information about the Dane Majors case. Jarvis orders Jennifer to take Nick back to homicide and put him in an interview room. No one is allowed to talk to him until Jarvis arrives. Duncan gives Jarvis information that they have nothing to give them any real help other than Juliette's mobile phone which is locked and will require the techs getting into it. He also says there were four shell casings found near the exit door proving the person she met with wasn't the shooter. Jarvis asks if Nick's gun was clean. Matt shakes his head and tells Jarvis Nick has already volunteered to have his hands swabbed. Jarvis orders Duncan and Rhys to go to the newspaper office and take hold of Juliette's files, notebooks and computer while he and Matt conduct an interview.
Matt and Jarvis conduct a formal interview of Nick Buchanan. Nick clearly states he hasn't fired his gun when Jarvis tells him they are awaiting the results of the residue test. When asked by Jarvis why he was in the car park next to Gardiner's body, Nick tells them they were in a fling but he ended it because Juliette had an agenda. She thought Majors has been set up by Nick and Dalton and refused to reveal her source. He decided to conduct an unauthorized surveillance to find out who she was talking to. He didn't find out who her source was. Jarvis also adds "or if she was right" for which Nick has no reply. Jarvis sits down in front of Nick and asks him point blank if the Majors investigation was tainted. Nick shakes his head and admits he doesn't know. Crime scene searched the house and the murder weapon wasn't found. They were well into the trial when he was ordered to search again and he found the golf club in the crawl space of the roof. He had no reason then to think the evidence wasn't kosher. Now, he thinks Juliette was killed because she was getting too close to the truth. Jennifer asks Bernice if Nick will be stood down and Bernice admits he will be suspended.
At the Tribune, Rhys and Duncan are not getting any help from Tim, a worker at the paper. He gives them the run-around. When Rhys threatens him with a warrant, Alan Sullivan enters the conversation telling them not to count on that. He knows from the police radio that a female reporter has been shot and he wants to know if they are there for a shakedown or a death knock. Sullivan has no idea who her meeting was with that night and wants Rhys and Duncan to confirm they are there because Juliette is the dead reporter he's heard about on the police radio. He tells them to leave. When Duncan promises they'll be back with the warrant he tells them "good luck with that". Once Duncan and Rhys are gone, Sullivan orders Tim to get into Juliette's computer and find out what it was about the Dane Majors case that was worth killing for. Sullivan is angry he's down a reporter and Tim wants to take her place, which Sullivan allows him to do.
Sullivan and Tim pay a visit to Bernice Waverly who refuses to give them any information. Sullivan tells her the paper is a family and they are missing one of their family. Bernice tells him as a courtesy to him, which leads him to send Tim from the office. Once they are alone in the office, Bernice admits it is Juliette that was killed but she has only sketchy information. She knows he's after a story and she won't give him one. He informs her she's protecting one of her own, Nick Buchanan. In the hall, Tim tells Rhys that Bernice and her position of power is kind of hot. He goes on to say he and Jules were close and that Rhys probably doesn't know anything as he's a rookie. Bernice asks Sullivan to leave but he warns her he will be noting in his editorial that she is closing ranks. She comes back that she will issue an injunction to stop the paper from making any speculation about a murder investigation that has only just begun then orders Rhys to escort Sullivan and Tim from the building. An angry Tim blurts out that the public has a right to know. She coolly tells them the public does not have a right to know if what the paper is printing is speculation. If she has something concrete to say, she will tell them. In the lift, Sullivan tells Rhys he doesn't need to show them out as they know the way. Rhys stops the lift at the 4th floor and gets out. Tim is pleased with himself as he left his recorder on in his jacket pocket, which was left in Bernice's office the entire time, and the entire conversation was recorded.
In briefing, Matt asks what they have. Rhys informs the team the CCTV footage is no good as the only useful bit shows Juliette driving in with Nick on her tail. The shell casings are 9mm. Nick's swab and gun turned up clean. Matt takes Nick off the board as he's no longer a suspect. Rhys asks why he's still on suspension and Matt skirts the issue to tell them there is a focus on a warrant for Juliette's computer and notes but he doesn't want them fixating on a news story. He wants a professional and personal background check on Gardiner. Rhys suggests that since the first of the four shots Nick heard took Juliette out the intended target might have been the source and the story should be their focus. Duncan and Matt refer to the source as "Deep Throat". Duncan feels Bruce Dalton has the strongest motive thus far for the murder.
Matt and Duncan pull Dalton into interview. He is calm when they tell him Juliette Gardiner is dead and it's related to the Majors case and asks how she was killed. Matt asks him to tell them about his day and he laughs. He gives them a brief run-down of his day then tells them he's insulted they dragged him in and gets up to leave. Matt asks him as a fellow member to please sit down. With a smile, Dalton does. Matt wants him to look at the case from their point of view with the information Gardiner had regarding the Majors murder weapon. Dalton asks Matt and Duncan if they know for sure the reason Juliette was killed was because of her looking into the Majors case. Matt asks him if he filled out his Day Book on the investigation he worked that day. Dalton becomes angry and tells him he did, like he does every day and no one is going to get a look at it. He told them what he did that day and what he did ten years ago so they are done. He gets up and leaves the interview.
At his place, Nick wants to explain to Jennifer about he and Juliette but she tells him they don't need to talk about that. She tells him although he feels guilty for Juliette's death, he shouldn't go rogue on the investigation and sit it out. He promises he will as he's done enough stupid things. He tells her he does have copies of all the Dane Majors trial transcripts, case notes and materials--all of which he got illegally. He feels if Juliette's murder was about the story she thought she had the story is key and it had to be about the evidence that turned up during trial, which focuses on him and Dalton. Jennifer points out he acted in good faith. Nick tells her he can't believe Bruce would be bent as he was a Stanley Wolfe to him. She agrees it's best he keep going after the truth, even if it is something he doesn't want to know.
Jarvis storms into Homicide with the latest edition of the Tribune which ran with the story about a reporter having been slain while investigating police corruption. Jarvis knows from the word-for-word write-up that Sullivan and Tim were recording Bernice. Jarvis sees this development as a declaration of war. Matt wants the case put to bed ASAP in light of the newspaper story. Rhys spoke to some of the assistants at the paper and learned Graham Proctor was there going nuts on Juliette for stirring up the Dane Majors case. One of the assistants also said that on her way home, she saw Proctor a second time sitting in his car outside the newspaper office.
Proctor is brought in for interview where he admits he threatened to sue Juliette, not kill her. He was waiting outside the paper wanting to talk to Alan Sullivan. He waited around then went home, still angry. He tells Rhys and Allie about Dane Majors being the biggest mistake his daughter ever made and the violence he exhibited towards his daughter, all of which came out at the trial. When Allie questions if he owns a gun, he tells her no. She asks where he was the day before from six o'clock on and he tells her he went home and got drunk, alone.
Duncan informs Matt there was no luck with Juliette's belongings. They seized her computer but found no notebooks at her work or apartment. They both agree Sullivan probably hid them if they were at the paper. Matt notes it was her visits to Dane Majors that started everything so Duncan and Rhys go to the prison to interview him. Majors knows Juliette is dead as Tim beat them to him. Majors believes her death was related to his case because she was going to help him by exposing the crooked cops that framed him and someone stopped her. He informs them that he told Tim to have a look at Bruce Dalton and Nick Buchanan. Rhys asks if he knows who Juliette's source is and Dane tells them he has no idea and they'll have to play nice with her colleagues for that information. He warns them they are making a mistake backing their mate. Nick warned Juliette off the story and the next minute she's dead.
Rhys tells Allie he thinks it is worth the time to bring Tim in for an interview. He asked around to her friends at the office and they all said Tim had the hots for her. They went out for a drink, he made his move and she turned him down. He has badmouthed her ever since by suggesting she got a let up at the paper by having sex with Alan Sullivan. Rhys sees it that Juliette had the story, she's now dead and Tim now has the story.
They bring him in for interview and he tells them to be "very afraid" now that he's on the story. When Rhys comments that he did well from Juliette's death, Tim replies that they will not stop the paper from exposing Nick Buchanan's behavior. They ask him for any comment on murder rather than corruption and he tells them if they think trying to intimidate him will shut him down they can forget it. Rhys notes Tim was jealous of Juliette and she rejected his advances. He asks if the reason was because he was too short. Tim tells them he was out for a little fun but she was at the age where girls start looking for "The One" implying he rejected her rather than she him. Allie points out that lying to police is an offense and he tells them it was a mutual decision between he and Jules. They sparred a lot and had a professional rivalry which can often generate chemistry between people. When presented with statements from colleagues that Juliette didn't like him, Tim insists she respected his work and him. He says nothing when Rhys asks if he murdered her then took her story. Allie asks Tim to tell them about his day yesterday.
Rhys and Allie bring Matt up to speed on their interview with Tim. He gave them entertainment but nothing as to what Juliette had. When Matt suggests they are at a dead end, Rhys brings Deep Throat up again. Techs pulled the contact list from Juliette's phone and they have call information from the memory. There are several numbers on the phone without I.D.'s and one of them was an unanswered call right before the shooting which Allie suggests was probably the ready signal from her source. However, the number was from a prepaid cellular so it couldn't be traced. Rhys suggests calling the number and Allie agrees getting in touch with him will really narrow down the motive. Matt notes the man won't talk to police and Rhys says he might talk to Juliette's replacement suggesting that he take that role. Tim is a nobody at the paper and there's little to no chance Deep Throat knows him. Allie and Rhys push Matt to give it a try and he reluctantly agrees. Rhys dials the number on speaker and when it rings the man on the other end asks "who's this?". Rhys identifies himself as Tim and says he worked with Juliette and the man knows what he's talking about. He asks how come Tim has her phone and Rhys tells him the cops gave it to him with her belongings. He tells the man he and Juliette were very close and she told him what she was working on. The man declines a meeting saying it's too dangerous. Rhys says they need to do it for Juliette. When the man says he's just been shot at, Rhys comes back that she took the bullet for him. After a moment, the man tells him to keep her phone with him then hangs up.
Bernice calls Jarvis to her office. He starts off telling her he doesn't have an update but that isn't why she wanted to see him. They have been summoned by the State Attorney General. The two go to see the Attorney-General who starts off by wanting to know the status of the Juliette Gardiner investigation. Bernice tells him they are early days but he wants her to be straight with him because of what information the Tribune is spinning. They show her the article printed from her talk with Sullivan and he asks if Bernice knows about it. Jarvis tells the AG what he reads in the paper is their take on the motive for the murder. Bernice agrees it is speculation. The AG asks if there's anything in the investigation to support it. Jarvis admits there is but points out investigation is the key word. There are no facts yet, only possibilities and just one line of inquiry. Bernice cannot answer yet if there is police corruption or not. The AG makes sure they know he was the prosecutor on the Dane Majors case. He's worried not only about himself but about the integrity of the justice system. He wants everything done swiftly and by the book.
In briefing, Rhys tells the team Deep Throat sent a message a few minutes ago. He's agreeing to meet and they are just waiting on details. Bernice asks who they are meeting. When Matt tells him it is Juliette's source and Rhys is posing as Tim, she is surprised. She isn't pleased that one of the detectives is impersonating a journalist even though Deep Throat himself believes he was the target and might know who the shooter was. Matt stresses this is their only avenue of inquiry and they must use the paper to their advantage somehow. Jennifer gets a call from Nick telling her he thought he found something and wanting to meet with her at the morgue. She excuses herself saying there's a lead. Bernice asks what the plan is. Matt informs her once they establish the meeting place they will position people at the exit points. Juliette's phone rings; it is Deep Throat. Bernice gives her approval and Rhys answers the phone. Deep Throat gives Rhys the time and location of the meeting then hangs up.
Jennifer and Nick meet in the morgue to look over the attendance logs for the entire year of the Majors murder. A silverfish infestation problem caused the records to get muddled up so the logs for the week in question, the second week of July, are mixed with those from the entire year. Dane Majors said the murder weapon was a setup. The club Nick found wasn't his, so he said, despite the fact a club identical to it was missing from Dane's golf bag. DNA and blood samples from Majors' wife's body were stored in the morgue's labs. When Nick found the murder weapon he was careful to wear gloves, bag everything by the book and tagged properly. He knew it wasn't tampered with. There was a small bit of blood on the clubs head even though it looked like it had been vigorously cleaned. If the club was a fix, someone had to access the blood samples and the morgue records should lead them to that someone.
Rhys arrives at the scheduled meeting place with Duncan, Allie and Matt watching and listening. The phone rings and Rhys is given the orders to go to the next bench over. He complies. There is a bin in front of him and, in it, a plastic bag. He tells Rhys he will be reading the next installment in the paper and will be in touch. Deep Throat isn't going to show. Matt calls Rhys to ask what was left. Rhys pulls a blue bag that contains a yellow envelope from the bin. At the office, they open the bag and then the envelope. Inside the envelope is a police roster from 2001. Both Bruce Dalton and Nick are listed on the roster. The Name "Jack Enderby" is circled in blue. Enderby would have worked the Majors case as well but according to the roster he was on leave when the case went to court. Jennifer and Nick enter and Matt tells him he shouldn't be there. Nick knows that but he hands Matt a paper he should see. It is a copy of the morgue attendance log from July 2001, from the day before Nick found the murder weapon in the Majors case. Jack Enderby signed into the morgue and Nick names him as a member of their team. Nick and Jennifer believe Enderby accessed the blood samples at the lab, placed them on the club and planted the club. Matt tells them it's a good theory but is contradicted by the roster. Rhys learns that Enderby died in 2006 of a heart attack so they cannot talk to him to find out his story from July 2001. There is also a copy of Enderby's retirement letter in the files Rhys pulls up on the computer. The signature on the letter does not match the signature on the morgue attendance log. Nick names Bruce Dalton as the likely suspect. Matt orders Jennifer and Duncan to pick up Dalton and Nick to go home.
At home, while preparing something to eat, Nick listens to Graham Proctor telling a radio host that Dane Majors killed his daughter. He turns off the radio and calls Matt to see how things are going. Dalton wasn't at home and didn't show up for his shift that day. While they are talking, there is a knock on Nick's door. As he's going to the door, Nick asks if anyone knows where Dalton is. No one does, but they're looking for him and he'll let Nick know when they find him. They end their conversation and Nick opens the door to find Dalton standing there. He asks Dalton in and he immediately asks Nick why his homicide buddies are knocking on his door and coming to his office asking questions about him. Nick tells him he's been suspended so he can't be of help. Dalton chuckles and says that's temporary but his buddies are after his skin permanently. Nick tells him he knows someone signed into the morgue during the trial and he thinks whoever it was got some blood samples which were put on the club and it was planted for him to find. Dalton tells Nick he can't be the scapegoat for Majors. Nick asks why he'd be the scapegoat if he has nothing to hide. Dalton wonders how many times Nick has seen a man walk on a technicality. He says they all knew Majors killed his wife. He was a lowlife hiding behind his celebrity. Nick tells Dalton he's taking him in and he's already told his sergeant about the planted evidence. He grabs Dalton and tells him he needs to know if he killed Juliette Gardiner. Dalton doesn't answer and when Nick turns around, Dalton hits him, knocking him out then leaves Nick's house.
The next morning, Nick, Matt and Jarvis are in Bernice's office and she asks Nick if he deliberately let Dalton go. Nick, sporting a busted lip, asks if it looks like he did. Matt informs her Nick was unconscious for a short time and called Matt when he came to. Cars were dispatched to the scene but Dalton was already gone. Jarvis asks Nick if Dalton all but confessed to planting evidence in the Majors case which Nick confirms. Bernice comments that isn't motive in the Juliette Gardiner killing. Matt's phone rings and he leaves the office to take the call. Bernice sits down and tells Nick she and Jarvis have been asked to keep the Attorney General abreast of any developments in the case, especially in relation to the Majors case. She asks Nick if he colluded in the planting of the club. Nick answers her quickly "no, ma'am, but if push comes to shove and Dalton wants to take me down with him, it'll be his word against mine". Matt comes back into the office to let them know they found Dalton.
Matt and Duncan arrive to find Bruce Dalton sitting in his car. Matt asks him if he wants to get out of the car to talk about things. Dalton tells Matt he didn't mean to shoot the girl, he was aiming for "him". He then raises his gun and shoots himself under the chin.
In the morgue, Jennifer brings in a bloody paper. There was a note on the seat of the car where Dalton was sitting. The note tells them to check the gun, it will be a match to the one that killed the reporter. Her death was an accident, he was after her informer trying to stop the truth from coming out. Dalton says he spent his life going after the truth and they were sure Majors killed his wife but "we" never should have planted the evidence and now it is time to pay the price.
Later, Nick questions Dalton's use of the word "we" in his note. He feels he'll naturally be seen as a co-conspirator with the use of "we". The papers are lining him up and he tells Jennifer he might well deserve it as he didn't even consider Dalton might have crossed the line. He feels if he were half the cop he pretended to be, Majors would be free, Dalton would be in jail and Juliette Gardiner would be alive.
At the office, Matt asks Jennifer how Nick is doing and they both agree he will need a day or two to get over things. Rhys receives a message from Deep Throat. He texted to say he has more information on the planted evidence. He said he just sent it to Tim at the newspaper. Rhys goes to the Tribune and starts going through the papers on Tim's desk. Tim walks up and asks if he can help him. He tells Rhys if he's looking for a package, he can't have it. Matt tells him that the package is related to their murder inquiry. Alan Sullivan gets involved saying Tim has already read the contents and shown them to him so Matt and his squad will have a bit of explaining to do.
Alan pays Bernice another visit telling her he knows one of her detectives is impersonating Tim. She tells him it was, and still is, a legitimate line of inquiry and they need the contents of the envelope. He declines telling her what is in the envelope is personal correspondence, not evidence, and if she wants it, she needs a warrant. For that, she will have to tell a judge how she knows what is in the envelope. He tells her it would be easier to read tomorrow mornings edition. As he's leaving, he off-handedly mentions to catch the television news that night because there will be a quite interesting press conference.
At the press conference, Michael Lombardi, the State Attorney-General tells the press he prosecuted the Majors case ten years ago. He acted in good faith as did the men and women of the jury. Given the revelation that Majors was convicted using false evidence, he has ordered a full inquiry in the matter and re-opened the Majors murder investigation. He has also ordered the release of Dane Majors which should be effective first thing in the morning. Sanctions against police are yet to be determined. Lombardi believes more than one detective was involved, and they will be dealt with as there is no room for corruption in police ranks. Nick is angry that everyone in homicide is going to be painted with the same brush. He tells Jennifer, who is at his house, that everything he's done has been based on a lie. She tells him he wasn't complicit and he maintains he was. He says he knew deep down, somewhere.
Dalton's wife identifies him at the morgue as Nick looks on. He stops by Bernice's office where she and Jarvis are sitting and drops an envelope containing his resignation on her desk. They don't want to accept it but he tells them they must for everyone's sake because this is his mess and it's only going to get dirtier, then leaves.
--
This just gets more and more twisted as it goes on, doesn't it? More complicated. I love that. We know now that the Dane Majors evidence was, in fact, planted and who did it. We also know who killed Juliette Gardiner and why. What we still don't know is who "Deep Throat" is, how he knows what he knows, where he's getting the paperwork from and how much more he knows.
Nick has resigned and things aren't looking good for him. Alan Sullivan is pushing his authority of the press a bit hard, isn't he? And that cocky little Tim is more than annoying. It would really please me for Rhys to be able to put him in his place when everything here is all said and done. I just don't like Tim at all (Alan Sullivan either, for that matter).
Three more shows to go and I can't wait to see just how much darker and worse things are going to get for our beloved homicide team and how they are going to claw their way up out of all this mess.
--
For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
No Greater Honour, Part Three, If It Bleeds, It Leads
Original Air Date: March 9, 2011
The investigation into Juliette Gardiner's murder begins and Nick is quickly cleared as a suspect. A new reporter takes her place at the Tribune on the Dean Major's story and it's clear things aren't going to stop with her death. They only get worse. Evidence points even more strongly to Nick's old mentor and friend, Bruce Dalton. Could Dalton have planted the evidence against Dane Majors and, if he did, what will be the fallout of that information becoming known?
The homicide team arrives to the Juliette Gardiner scene. Matt takes control ordering more officers to search every floor and the entrances be sealed off. Nick tells Matt he's wasting his time as the shooter took off. Matt wants them to work with uniforms as there isn't anything they can do until crime scene and pathology arrive. Rhys leaves to speak with security as Nick is telling Matt the direction from which the shots came. Jennifer asks Nick if he's alright. He's been better then offers her his gun saying it hasn't been fired. She puts the gun in an evidence bag as he offers information about Juliette meeting someone he believed to be a man (he didn't sight him) and there were shots (he says "a bunch"; four) as they started to talk. The first shot took her down, a car door slammed, he ran down the ramp and he saw no one. He tells them he wants his hands swabbed for residue. He informs Matt that Juliette was working on a story that could have implicated him in corruption.
As Nick is telling Jennifer he should have seen this coming, Jarvis arrives and wants Nick to enlighten him. Nick tells him he was following Juliette to find out who was feeding her information about the Dane Majors case. Jarvis orders Jennifer to take Nick back to homicide and put him in an interview room. No one is allowed to talk to him until Jarvis arrives. Duncan gives Jarvis information that they have nothing to give them any real help other than Juliette's mobile phone which is locked and will require the techs getting into it. He also says there were four shell casings found near the exit door proving the person she met with wasn't the shooter. Jarvis asks if Nick's gun was clean. Matt shakes his head and tells Jarvis Nick has already volunteered to have his hands swabbed. Jarvis orders Duncan and Rhys to go to the newspaper office and take hold of Juliette's files, notebooks and computer while he and Matt conduct an interview.
Matt and Jarvis conduct a formal interview of Nick Buchanan. Nick clearly states he hasn't fired his gun when Jarvis tells him they are awaiting the results of the residue test. When asked by Jarvis why he was in the car park next to Gardiner's body, Nick tells them they were in a fling but he ended it because Juliette had an agenda. She thought Majors has been set up by Nick and Dalton and refused to reveal her source. He decided to conduct an unauthorized surveillance to find out who she was talking to. He didn't find out who her source was. Jarvis also adds "or if she was right" for which Nick has no reply. Jarvis sits down in front of Nick and asks him point blank if the Majors investigation was tainted. Nick shakes his head and admits he doesn't know. Crime scene searched the house and the murder weapon wasn't found. They were well into the trial when he was ordered to search again and he found the golf club in the crawl space of the roof. He had no reason then to think the evidence wasn't kosher. Now, he thinks Juliette was killed because she was getting too close to the truth. Jennifer asks Bernice if Nick will be stood down and Bernice admits he will be suspended.
At the Tribune, Rhys and Duncan are not getting any help from Tim, a worker at the paper. He gives them the run-around. When Rhys threatens him with a warrant, Alan Sullivan enters the conversation telling them not to count on that. He knows from the police radio that a female reporter has been shot and he wants to know if they are there for a shakedown or a death knock. Sullivan has no idea who her meeting was with that night and wants Rhys and Duncan to confirm they are there because Juliette is the dead reporter he's heard about on the police radio. He tells them to leave. When Duncan promises they'll be back with the warrant he tells them "good luck with that". Once Duncan and Rhys are gone, Sullivan orders Tim to get into Juliette's computer and find out what it was about the Dane Majors case that was worth killing for. Sullivan is angry he's down a reporter and Tim wants to take her place, which Sullivan allows him to do.
Sullivan and Tim pay a visit to Bernice Waverly who refuses to give them any information. Sullivan tells her the paper is a family and they are missing one of their family. Bernice tells him as a courtesy to him, which leads him to send Tim from the office. Once they are alone in the office, Bernice admits it is Juliette that was killed but she has only sketchy information. She knows he's after a story and she won't give him one. He informs her she's protecting one of her own, Nick Buchanan. In the hall, Tim tells Rhys that Bernice and her position of power is kind of hot. He goes on to say he and Jules were close and that Rhys probably doesn't know anything as he's a rookie. Bernice asks Sullivan to leave but he warns her he will be noting in his editorial that she is closing ranks. She comes back that she will issue an injunction to stop the paper from making any speculation about a murder investigation that has only just begun then orders Rhys to escort Sullivan and Tim from the building. An angry Tim blurts out that the public has a right to know. She coolly tells them the public does not have a right to know if what the paper is printing is speculation. If she has something concrete to say, she will tell them. In the lift, Sullivan tells Rhys he doesn't need to show them out as they know the way. Rhys stops the lift at the 4th floor and gets out. Tim is pleased with himself as he left his recorder on in his jacket pocket, which was left in Bernice's office the entire time, and the entire conversation was recorded.
In briefing, Matt asks what they have. Rhys informs the team the CCTV footage is no good as the only useful bit shows Juliette driving in with Nick on her tail. The shell casings are 9mm. Nick's swab and gun turned up clean. Matt takes Nick off the board as he's no longer a suspect. Rhys asks why he's still on suspension and Matt skirts the issue to tell them there is a focus on a warrant for Juliette's computer and notes but he doesn't want them fixating on a news story. He wants a professional and personal background check on Gardiner. Rhys suggests that since the first of the four shots Nick heard took Juliette out the intended target might have been the source and the story should be their focus. Duncan and Matt refer to the source as "Deep Throat". Duncan feels Bruce Dalton has the strongest motive thus far for the murder.
Matt and Duncan pull Dalton into interview. He is calm when they tell him Juliette Gardiner is dead and it's related to the Majors case and asks how she was killed. Matt asks him to tell them about his day and he laughs. He gives them a brief run-down of his day then tells them he's insulted they dragged him in and gets up to leave. Matt asks him as a fellow member to please sit down. With a smile, Dalton does. Matt wants him to look at the case from their point of view with the information Gardiner had regarding the Majors murder weapon. Dalton asks Matt and Duncan if they know for sure the reason Juliette was killed was because of her looking into the Majors case. Matt asks him if he filled out his Day Book on the investigation he worked that day. Dalton becomes angry and tells him he did, like he does every day and no one is going to get a look at it. He told them what he did that day and what he did ten years ago so they are done. He gets up and leaves the interview.
At his place, Nick wants to explain to Jennifer about he and Juliette but she tells him they don't need to talk about that. She tells him although he feels guilty for Juliette's death, he shouldn't go rogue on the investigation and sit it out. He promises he will as he's done enough stupid things. He tells her he does have copies of all the Dane Majors trial transcripts, case notes and materials--all of which he got illegally. He feels if Juliette's murder was about the story she thought she had the story is key and it had to be about the evidence that turned up during trial, which focuses on him and Dalton. Jennifer points out he acted in good faith. Nick tells her he can't believe Bruce would be bent as he was a Stanley Wolfe to him. She agrees it's best he keep going after the truth, even if it is something he doesn't want to know.
Jarvis storms into Homicide with the latest edition of the Tribune which ran with the story about a reporter having been slain while investigating police corruption. Jarvis knows from the word-for-word write-up that Sullivan and Tim were recording Bernice. Jarvis sees this development as a declaration of war. Matt wants the case put to bed ASAP in light of the newspaper story. Rhys spoke to some of the assistants at the paper and learned Graham Proctor was there going nuts on Juliette for stirring up the Dane Majors case. One of the assistants also said that on her way home, she saw Proctor a second time sitting in his car outside the newspaper office.
Proctor is brought in for interview where he admits he threatened to sue Juliette, not kill her. He was waiting outside the paper wanting to talk to Alan Sullivan. He waited around then went home, still angry. He tells Rhys and Allie about Dane Majors being the biggest mistake his daughter ever made and the violence he exhibited towards his daughter, all of which came out at the trial. When Allie questions if he owns a gun, he tells her no. She asks where he was the day before from six o'clock on and he tells her he went home and got drunk, alone.
Duncan informs Matt there was no luck with Juliette's belongings. They seized her computer but found no notebooks at her work or apartment. They both agree Sullivan probably hid them if they were at the paper. Matt notes it was her visits to Dane Majors that started everything so Duncan and Rhys go to the prison to interview him. Majors knows Juliette is dead as Tim beat them to him. Majors believes her death was related to his case because she was going to help him by exposing the crooked cops that framed him and someone stopped her. He informs them that he told Tim to have a look at Bruce Dalton and Nick Buchanan. Rhys asks if he knows who Juliette's source is and Dane tells them he has no idea and they'll have to play nice with her colleagues for that information. He warns them they are making a mistake backing their mate. Nick warned Juliette off the story and the next minute she's dead.
Rhys tells Allie he thinks it is worth the time to bring Tim in for an interview. He asked around to her friends at the office and they all said Tim had the hots for her. They went out for a drink, he made his move and she turned him down. He has badmouthed her ever since by suggesting she got a let up at the paper by having sex with Alan Sullivan. Rhys sees it that Juliette had the story, she's now dead and Tim now has the story.
They bring him in for interview and he tells them to be "very afraid" now that he's on the story. When Rhys comments that he did well from Juliette's death, Tim replies that they will not stop the paper from exposing Nick Buchanan's behavior. They ask him for any comment on murder rather than corruption and he tells them if they think trying to intimidate him will shut him down they can forget it. Rhys notes Tim was jealous of Juliette and she rejected his advances. He asks if the reason was because he was too short. Tim tells them he was out for a little fun but she was at the age where girls start looking for "The One" implying he rejected her rather than she him. Allie points out that lying to police is an offense and he tells them it was a mutual decision between he and Jules. They sparred a lot and had a professional rivalry which can often generate chemistry between people. When presented with statements from colleagues that Juliette didn't like him, Tim insists she respected his work and him. He says nothing when Rhys asks if he murdered her then took her story. Allie asks Tim to tell them about his day yesterday.
Rhys and Allie bring Matt up to speed on their interview with Tim. He gave them entertainment but nothing as to what Juliette had. When Matt suggests they are at a dead end, Rhys brings Deep Throat up again. Techs pulled the contact list from Juliette's phone and they have call information from the memory. There are several numbers on the phone without I.D.'s and one of them was an unanswered call right before the shooting which Allie suggests was probably the ready signal from her source. However, the number was from a prepaid cellular so it couldn't be traced. Rhys suggests calling the number and Allie agrees getting in touch with him will really narrow down the motive. Matt notes the man won't talk to police and Rhys says he might talk to Juliette's replacement suggesting that he take that role. Tim is a nobody at the paper and there's little to no chance Deep Throat knows him. Allie and Rhys push Matt to give it a try and he reluctantly agrees. Rhys dials the number on speaker and when it rings the man on the other end asks "who's this?". Rhys identifies himself as Tim and says he worked with Juliette and the man knows what he's talking about. He asks how come Tim has her phone and Rhys tells him the cops gave it to him with her belongings. He tells the man he and Juliette were very close and she told him what she was working on. The man declines a meeting saying it's too dangerous. Rhys says they need to do it for Juliette. When the man says he's just been shot at, Rhys comes back that she took the bullet for him. After a moment, the man tells him to keep her phone with him then hangs up.
Bernice calls Jarvis to her office. He starts off telling her he doesn't have an update but that isn't why she wanted to see him. They have been summoned by the State Attorney General. The two go to see the Attorney-General who starts off by wanting to know the status of the Juliette Gardiner investigation. Bernice tells him they are early days but he wants her to be straight with him because of what information the Tribune is spinning. They show her the article printed from her talk with Sullivan and he asks if Bernice knows about it. Jarvis tells the AG what he reads in the paper is their take on the motive for the murder. Bernice agrees it is speculation. The AG asks if there's anything in the investigation to support it. Jarvis admits there is but points out investigation is the key word. There are no facts yet, only possibilities and just one line of inquiry. Bernice cannot answer yet if there is police corruption or not. The AG makes sure they know he was the prosecutor on the Dane Majors case. He's worried not only about himself but about the integrity of the justice system. He wants everything done swiftly and by the book.
In briefing, Rhys tells the team Deep Throat sent a message a few minutes ago. He's agreeing to meet and they are just waiting on details. Bernice asks who they are meeting. When Matt tells him it is Juliette's source and Rhys is posing as Tim, she is surprised. She isn't pleased that one of the detectives is impersonating a journalist even though Deep Throat himself believes he was the target and might know who the shooter was. Matt stresses this is their only avenue of inquiry and they must use the paper to their advantage somehow. Jennifer gets a call from Nick telling her he thought he found something and wanting to meet with her at the morgue. She excuses herself saying there's a lead. Bernice asks what the plan is. Matt informs her once they establish the meeting place they will position people at the exit points. Juliette's phone rings; it is Deep Throat. Bernice gives her approval and Rhys answers the phone. Deep Throat gives Rhys the time and location of the meeting then hangs up.
Jennifer and Nick meet in the morgue to look over the attendance logs for the entire year of the Majors murder. A silverfish infestation problem caused the records to get muddled up so the logs for the week in question, the second week of July, are mixed with those from the entire year. Dane Majors said the murder weapon was a setup. The club Nick found wasn't his, so he said, despite the fact a club identical to it was missing from Dane's golf bag. DNA and blood samples from Majors' wife's body were stored in the morgue's labs. When Nick found the murder weapon he was careful to wear gloves, bag everything by the book and tagged properly. He knew it wasn't tampered with. There was a small bit of blood on the clubs head even though it looked like it had been vigorously cleaned. If the club was a fix, someone had to access the blood samples and the morgue records should lead them to that someone.
Rhys arrives at the scheduled meeting place with Duncan, Allie and Matt watching and listening. The phone rings and Rhys is given the orders to go to the next bench over. He complies. There is a bin in front of him and, in it, a plastic bag. He tells Rhys he will be reading the next installment in the paper and will be in touch. Deep Throat isn't going to show. Matt calls Rhys to ask what was left. Rhys pulls a blue bag that contains a yellow envelope from the bin. At the office, they open the bag and then the envelope. Inside the envelope is a police roster from 2001. Both Bruce Dalton and Nick are listed on the roster. The Name "Jack Enderby" is circled in blue. Enderby would have worked the Majors case as well but according to the roster he was on leave when the case went to court. Jennifer and Nick enter and Matt tells him he shouldn't be there. Nick knows that but he hands Matt a paper he should see. It is a copy of the morgue attendance log from July 2001, from the day before Nick found the murder weapon in the Majors case. Jack Enderby signed into the morgue and Nick names him as a member of their team. Nick and Jennifer believe Enderby accessed the blood samples at the lab, placed them on the club and planted the club. Matt tells them it's a good theory but is contradicted by the roster. Rhys learns that Enderby died in 2006 of a heart attack so they cannot talk to him to find out his story from July 2001. There is also a copy of Enderby's retirement letter in the files Rhys pulls up on the computer. The signature on the letter does not match the signature on the morgue attendance log. Nick names Bruce Dalton as the likely suspect. Matt orders Jennifer and Duncan to pick up Dalton and Nick to go home.
At home, while preparing something to eat, Nick listens to Graham Proctor telling a radio host that Dane Majors killed his daughter. He turns off the radio and calls Matt to see how things are going. Dalton wasn't at home and didn't show up for his shift that day. While they are talking, there is a knock on Nick's door. As he's going to the door, Nick asks if anyone knows where Dalton is. No one does, but they're looking for him and he'll let Nick know when they find him. They end their conversation and Nick opens the door to find Dalton standing there. He asks Dalton in and he immediately asks Nick why his homicide buddies are knocking on his door and coming to his office asking questions about him. Nick tells him he's been suspended so he can't be of help. Dalton chuckles and says that's temporary but his buddies are after his skin permanently. Nick tells him he knows someone signed into the morgue during the trial and he thinks whoever it was got some blood samples which were put on the club and it was planted for him to find. Dalton tells Nick he can't be the scapegoat for Majors. Nick asks why he'd be the scapegoat if he has nothing to hide. Dalton wonders how many times Nick has seen a man walk on a technicality. He says they all knew Majors killed his wife. He was a lowlife hiding behind his celebrity. Nick tells Dalton he's taking him in and he's already told his sergeant about the planted evidence. He grabs Dalton and tells him he needs to know if he killed Juliette Gardiner. Dalton doesn't answer and when Nick turns around, Dalton hits him, knocking him out then leaves Nick's house.
The next morning, Nick, Matt and Jarvis are in Bernice's office and she asks Nick if he deliberately let Dalton go. Nick, sporting a busted lip, asks if it looks like he did. Matt informs her Nick was unconscious for a short time and called Matt when he came to. Cars were dispatched to the scene but Dalton was already gone. Jarvis asks Nick if Dalton all but confessed to planting evidence in the Majors case which Nick confirms. Bernice comments that isn't motive in the Juliette Gardiner killing. Matt's phone rings and he leaves the office to take the call. Bernice sits down and tells Nick she and Jarvis have been asked to keep the Attorney General abreast of any developments in the case, especially in relation to the Majors case. She asks Nick if he colluded in the planting of the club. Nick answers her quickly "no, ma'am, but if push comes to shove and Dalton wants to take me down with him, it'll be his word against mine". Matt comes back into the office to let them know they found Dalton.
Matt and Duncan arrive to find Bruce Dalton sitting in his car. Matt asks him if he wants to get out of the car to talk about things. Dalton tells Matt he didn't mean to shoot the girl, he was aiming for "him". He then raises his gun and shoots himself under the chin.
In the morgue, Jennifer brings in a bloody paper. There was a note on the seat of the car where Dalton was sitting. The note tells them to check the gun, it will be a match to the one that killed the reporter. Her death was an accident, he was after her informer trying to stop the truth from coming out. Dalton says he spent his life going after the truth and they were sure Majors killed his wife but "we" never should have planted the evidence and now it is time to pay the price.
Later, Nick questions Dalton's use of the word "we" in his note. He feels he'll naturally be seen as a co-conspirator with the use of "we". The papers are lining him up and he tells Jennifer he might well deserve it as he didn't even consider Dalton might have crossed the line. He feels if he were half the cop he pretended to be, Majors would be free, Dalton would be in jail and Juliette Gardiner would be alive.
At the office, Matt asks Jennifer how Nick is doing and they both agree he will need a day or two to get over things. Rhys receives a message from Deep Throat. He texted to say he has more information on the planted evidence. He said he just sent it to Tim at the newspaper. Rhys goes to the Tribune and starts going through the papers on Tim's desk. Tim walks up and asks if he can help him. He tells Rhys if he's looking for a package, he can't have it. Matt tells him that the package is related to their murder inquiry. Alan Sullivan gets involved saying Tim has already read the contents and shown them to him so Matt and his squad will have a bit of explaining to do.
Alan pays Bernice another visit telling her he knows one of her detectives is impersonating Tim. She tells him it was, and still is, a legitimate line of inquiry and they need the contents of the envelope. He declines telling her what is in the envelope is personal correspondence, not evidence, and if she wants it, she needs a warrant. For that, she will have to tell a judge how she knows what is in the envelope. He tells her it would be easier to read tomorrow mornings edition. As he's leaving, he off-handedly mentions to catch the television news that night because there will be a quite interesting press conference.
At the press conference, Michael Lombardi, the State Attorney-General tells the press he prosecuted the Majors case ten years ago. He acted in good faith as did the men and women of the jury. Given the revelation that Majors was convicted using false evidence, he has ordered a full inquiry in the matter and re-opened the Majors murder investigation. He has also ordered the release of Dane Majors which should be effective first thing in the morning. Sanctions against police are yet to be determined. Lombardi believes more than one detective was involved, and they will be dealt with as there is no room for corruption in police ranks. Nick is angry that everyone in homicide is going to be painted with the same brush. He tells Jennifer, who is at his house, that everything he's done has been based on a lie. She tells him he wasn't complicit and he maintains he was. He says he knew deep down, somewhere.
Dalton's wife identifies him at the morgue as Nick looks on. He stops by Bernice's office where she and Jarvis are sitting and drops an envelope containing his resignation on her desk. They don't want to accept it but he tells them they must for everyone's sake because this is his mess and it's only going to get dirtier, then leaves.
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This just gets more and more twisted as it goes on, doesn't it? More complicated. I love that. We know now that the Dane Majors evidence was, in fact, planted and who did it. We also know who killed Juliette Gardiner and why. What we still don't know is who "Deep Throat" is, how he knows what he knows, where he's getting the paperwork from and how much more he knows.
Nick has resigned and things aren't looking good for him. Alan Sullivan is pushing his authority of the press a bit hard, isn't he? And that cocky little Tim is more than annoying. It would really please me for Rhys to be able to put him in his place when everything here is all said and done. I just don't like Tim at all (Alan Sullivan either, for that matter).
Three more shows to go and I can't wait to see just how much darker and worse things are going to get for our beloved homicide team and how they are going to claw their way up out of all this mess.
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For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
Friday, March 4, 2011
AUS Television: City Homicide, No Greater Honour, Part 2: Go Down Swinging
City Homicide
No Greater Honour, Part Two, Go Down Swinging
Original Air Date: March 2, 2011
A man comes into Homicide about his missing wife and the case takes on a surprising twist when he identifies the Jane Doe in the morgue as the woman who was the lover of him and his wife from swingers parties they attended. His wife is later found dead and the investigation leads the team into the swinger scene. Were the women murdered because of their lifestyle choices or could there have been another motive and who had motive to kill them? Meanwhile, Juliette Gardiner's continued digging into the Dane Majors case takes a deadly turn.
A distraught man, Drew Preston, comes into Homicide looking for his missing wife, Rebecca. Stanley takes him aside to speak with him and is told that the man's wife disappeared three days ago. He filed a missing persons report but he has a feeling something bad has happened. Allie and Nick are at the morgue and the description the man gave matches a Jane Doe that was found the night before by the freeway. Preston is brought into the room with Nick and Allie. Allie takes him into the room with Ronnie and the body where he identifies the body not as his wife but as Sophie Mayne, a woman who was a lover to Preston and his wife.
Preston tells Allie and Nick Sophie and Rebecca were often mistaken for sisters because of their similar appearances. The Preston's met Sophie in Canberra in the swinging scene. When Drew had to move to Melbourne from Canberra because of his work, Sophie on Rebecca's idea moved with them but had her own place. He had no idea she was missing as well. He last saw Rebecca on Saturday night, four nights ago, when she and Sophie went to a party together. He fears that if they were together, his wife is also dead.
In briefing, Allie and Nick bring the team up to speed on Sophie's murder. Her car is missing. Allie thinks it wise to put out a picture of Rebecca Preston as a person of interest in the murder since she was the last person known to be with Sophie. Rhys suggests Sophie and Rebecca might have been swinging a little too hard so Drew Preston killed them both. Matt orders Jennifer and Duncan to follow up on Sophie's last movements including the party, Rhys is to check on next of kin and people at her workplace, Allie and Nick go to Sophie's apartment while he checks the Sexual Offenders Squad in the event there are any predators in the local swingers scene.
As Nick is getting ready to leave, Juliette Gardiner arrives wanting to talk with him. He introduces her to Rhys, Allie and Jennifer and trades workloads with Rhys so he can talk with Juliette. She tells him the truth about the phone call she received while at his place the night before. The papers she was given the night before suggest there was a problem with the evidence that convicted Dane Majors; that it was planted by the police. She asks if there's anything in it and he answers her squarely "no". She can't ignore the information and must at least try to find out if it's credible. She says his word is good enough for her but not for her boss. When she leaves, he calls Bruce Dalton, the investigator he worked with on the Majors case.
Rhys and Allie look through Sophie's apartment and Rhys comments there are no knickknacks or girly things about the place. It's almost like a display home with no personality. There are no keys and the kitchen shows no signs of use and there's no food present. They find one photo of Sophie. Even the teddy bear on the bed is brand new. Allie finds casual clothes in the closet and Rhys finds credit card statements in the drawer of the bedside table. There are five cards from Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne and every one is maxed out on clothes, nice car and furniture.
When Duncan and Jennifer pay a visit to one of the couples, Steve and Olivia Ackerman, who host the swingers parties they are, at first, mistaken for swingers. Once they identify themselves as police, they ask if the couple recognize the Prestons and Sophie, which they do. They last saw Drew on Sunday when he visited their home wanting to know if his wife was there. Rebecca and Sophie were at the party the couple hosted on Saturday night but the wife claims she cannot remember what time they left as it was a busy night.
Bruce Dalton comes into Homicide to speak with Nick who asks his former colleague if there was anything in the evidence or procedures that they need to worry about. Dalton knows of none and assures Nick they are absolutely good on it and tells him if the journalist gives him grief to send him along to him. Jennifer comes in and informs Nick of a briefing in two minutes. Dalton introduces himself to Jennifer and the two men part with a handshake.
At briefing, Jennifer feels the Ackerman's were deliberately obstructing by refusing to give any information about the people who go to the parties, especially the husband, Steve. Nick confirms that Sophie was absent from work that week. Rhys has been researching the swinging scene and learns there is a fee, or donation, at the door to get in which can sometimes be quite substantial and it would be worth looking into the Ackerman's finances. Matt learned that Sophie's car was at the mechanic for two days. She paid the bill and picked it up on Saturday. They speculate the car is now with Rebecca Preston. Matt wants Drew Preston brought in and made aware that with Sophie dead and Rebecca missing he's the prime suspect.
In interview, Drew Preston tells Allie and Nick he knows of no reason his wife would have had to kill Sophie. He wasn't the only connection between them, the scene was a connection and they were both at the party, a party he didn't want to attend. The parties here weren't like those in Canberra. His wife accused him of being boring which made him jealous but he maintains he didn't kill either woman. He loved Rebecca. He didn't love Sophie but he liked her. Nick isn't getting any solid vibes off Drew Preston. Rhys suggests there is one way to find out what happened the night of the party. Matt agrees and sends Allie and Rhys to infiltrate the swingers scene.
Allie and Rhys arrive at the party using the names "Colleen" and "Jack". They bring the $60 door fee with them and turn it over to Olivia Ackerman. Allie is clearly uncomfortable but Olivia assures her there are plenty of newbies there. The two move through the party and separate to mingle. Rhys questions Olivia Ackerman if anyone ever gets jealous, which she says they don't. A man, Tom Smith, comes up to Allie to ask if she's going to join them but she declines saying she and her boyfriend are there to watch as it's all a bit new to them. Steven Ackerman takes interest in Allie. She drops Sophie's name saying she (Sophie) works with her brother. Steven leaves when Tom brings Allie a drink. Tom knows she doesn't want to be there and he assures her there's no need to be scared as the choices are all hers.
Nick meets Majors' slain wife's father, Graham Proctor, at a pub to let him know questions have arisen in the case. Graham is certain the evidence was solid against Majors and suggests it might be worth it to speak with Al Sullivan to let him know someone is taking Juliette for a fool. That night, Nick and Juliette have a discussion about the case. He informs her he's watching out for everyone, especially Graham. He advises her to go back to the source and make him tell her exactly where he's getting his information from for her own sake, to cover herself.
At the party, Allie is approached by a woman who says her husband has had his eye on her. Allie declines the second invitation of the night. Olivia gives Rhys information that Rebecca was fine but there were rumours flying around that Sophie had been lifting wallets. The door takings from last Wednesday went missing, a few months worth of takings. When things begin getting too hot between Rhys and the woman, Allie rushes in and tells him they are leaving.
At briefing the next morning, Rhys informs the team of the suspected thefts at the parties. The theory arises that Rebecca might have killed Sophie and took off with the bag of missing door takings or that they both could have been killed by Drew for the money. Jennifer asks what Rhys was able to learn about Drew and Rebecca and he tells them they had to leave early to maintain their cover because things were getting heavy. Olivia thought Rebecca was bubbly and sweet and completely infatuated with Sophie. She also told Rhys Drew and the two girls were having a few problems. Sophie was becoming possessive of Rebecca. The three of them had a huge fight the last time they all attended a party and were asked to leave. Rhys gets a call and when he steps away to answer it Allie tells the team she wants no part of anymore undercover work. Rhys' call was about a female body found with no identification. Matt sends Rhys and Allie to the scene while Nick and Jennifer look into the Ackerman's financials.
At the scene, they find the body of Rebecca Preston. She had been hidden under some carpets. As Drew Preston identifies his wife in the morgue, Allie gets a message from Duncan that the Ackermans have come in for an interview. Allie and Jennifer take Olivia and Matt and Rhys, Steven. Allie informs Olivia Ackerman that they are there because of a murder investigation and that both Sophie and Rebecca are dead. Both interviews focus on the missing money. Both of the Ackerman's give the amount of missing money at about $70,000-73,000. Steven Ackerman says the theft wasn't reported because he works for the tax department and the money is undeclared income. He admits they suspected Sophie about the missing wallets. Olivia says she caught Sophie in the undressing room a couple of times. When asked why the three weren't banned from the parties, Olivia says Sophie was very popular. Both of the Ackermans are presented with the fact they have motive for killing the women because of the missing money. Steven tells Matt and Rhys the girls didn't leave alone. They left with Tom "Smith", aka Tom Anstey.
Uniforms are checking out Tom's address but Rhys feels Drew Preston shouldn't be taken out of the suspect line-up. Allie definitely sees Tom as a viable suspect as she found him to be odd. Jennifer has information that crime scene is still working the alleyway where Rebecca Preston was found. They aren't sure if she was killed there or just dumped there. Pathology found a particle in scratches on Sophie's back, nail polish which matches the polish Rebecca Preston is still wearing. Matt sends Jennifer to re-interview Drew Preston and Allie and Rhys are to find Tom.
Tom tells Allie and Rhys he was having a sauna. He uses the last name "Smith" at the parties to be discrete. He denies having a relationship with Sophie or Rebecca outside of the Ackerman's parties. He admits he left the Saturday party with them. He says he walked them to Sophie's car two blocks away from the house and doesn't know where they went after that. He can't recall anyone seeing him. When Allie asks if he got along with Drew Preston he tells her he didn't know him too well but he claims he knew the girls were "sick" of Drew and were planning on running away together. Rebecca told him. She said the spark was gone. Tom says he thinks Drew killed them out of jealousy and rage.
At briefing, Rhys presents the new information they received from Tom and Jennifer adds that Drew Preston admitted things had deteriorated in the relationship with him and the two women. Rebecca's time of death could have been anywhere from Sunday morning up to Tuesday. Matt brings information that Sophie's car has been found burnt out and it is believed the fire happened four or five days ago. Part of a luggage tag with Rebecca Preston's name on it was found with the car. The seats in the car were slashed before the fire.
Bruce Dalton pays a visit to Nick, calling him out of the briefing. Dalton is angry because Gardiner caught him outside the station with two constables and tried to make him look like a joke. Nick defends Gardiner saying she believes she has a smoking gun. Dalton knows this as Graham Proctor came to see him as well. Nick sits down in front of Dalton and asks him point blank to be straight with him if there's anything to tell. Dalton gives him his word and that both men know their gut told them Majors was guilty. He feels it all has come about because someone wants Majors out of jail. Nick asks who it could be but Dalton has no idea. Dalton insists the evidence was straight up and he has nothing to hide and that Juliette Gardiner is trouble for Nick.
Juliette goes to see Dane Majors in jail again who insists he was set up. She tells him her source agrees with him which interests him. She wants to know more and asks what he's basing his belief the evidence was planted on. He tells her the golf club. He felt the case against him, which she notes was strong even without the club, was all circumstantial. Majors again implicates Nick as being the only officer at his place to find the golf club. He feels both Dalton and Nick cooked the evidence up against him together. At the new trial with the new jury his lawyer wouldn't let him take the stand to bring that point up in court. He tells her he's been saying something ever since but no one has been listening until now.
Nick asks Jennifer if she's ever been on a case where something doesn't seem quite right but the evidence is overwhelming and everything points to the suspect. He tells her he and Bruce put someone away but he ignored that thought of something not quite right and now Juliette Gardiner is convinced she has something and the worry is back again. He tells her that someone thinks the evidence was planted and is feeding that information to Gardiner. Jennifer advises him to talk to Gardiner and find out what she knows. He takes Jennifer's advice but Gardiner wants him to be straight with her first. He agrees, but when she pulls out a recorder he turns it off. She tells him he either knowingly planted the golf club or someone used him and names Bruce Dalton. Nick states that he knows of nothing that was done illegally in the Majors case and asks who is feeding her information. She doesn't know. He insists he didn't plant evidence. She gets out of the car then tells him she'll give him a heads up before they go to press so he can tell his side of things. He doesn't want her to bother as he doesn't need to see her again.
Allie brings the information that the autopsy showed Rebecca Preston was beaten for a period of time before she was strangled. Jennifer and Rhys agree it sounds like the Ackerman's could have come back to claim their money as Tom didn't need the money and Drew wouldn't have tortured his wife before killing her. Allie and Rhys go back to see the Ackerman's and find Tom running from the house followed by Steve and Olivia. Steve had apparently caught Tom and his wife together. Rhys and Allie bring the confrontation under control. Olivia claims to be in love with Tom and the two are going to run off to Italy. Steve goes back inside to get Olivia's bags. He throws her suitcase down on the drive and throws Tom's briefcase down as well. When it lands, it opens and money spills out. Rhys and Allie place both Tom and Olivia under arrest.
In interview, Olivia admits it was Tom's idea to get the money back from Sophie and Rebecca. She insists Tom wouldn't torture the girls and that he's a good man even though she knows next to nothing about him. She claims he told her on Sunday he'd spoken with the girls and Sophie gave the money back when she realized she'd done the wrong thing. Rhys lets her know that at the time Drew Preston was at the Ackerman home wanting to know about his wife, she might have still been alive. Had she spoken up she could have possibly saved her life.
When Rhys and Allie question Tom, Rhys lays down their theory of how the murders took place. He made his move when the girls went back for one last swingers party. He convinced them to go back to his place for a threesome and killed Sophie from behind by strangling her with his belt. When Rebecca refused to tell where the money was he held onto her and tortured her into telling then killed her. Tom tells them he thinks the killer didn't intend to kill Sophie, only frighten her to find out what she had done with the money. It was a sexual rush when her neck snapped. Rebecca's fear was a buzz when he tied her up to dump Sophie's body. He needed to hurt her to make her tell him where the money was. It made it more enjoyable. He felt nothing despite all the parties until that night. Tom, in his confidence, tells Allie that without any proof, they can't have the killer. Allie, informs him she remembered his story about going to the gym every Sunday and she checked on if he did go that day or go to the barbecue he claimed to have gone to. The gym has no member named Tom Anstey so she showed a picture which was identified as Tom Brown. He stopped in for five minutes to use the change room then leave. From her case, she removes the keys to Sophie's car that he left in his gym locker. He admits Olivia would have been next. The parties are full of the most perfect victims.
That night, Nick watches Juliette Gardiner as she leaves work and follows her. She drives to a car park where she once again meets with her mystery source. Both the source and Gardiner are shot. Nick enters with gun drawn but it's too late. Juliette dies.
--
I never thought I'd see anything make Allie Kingston uncomfortable. Then again, she's never been undercover in the swingers scene before, either. I actually found her reaction to the party rather amusing. She wanted out of there fast and was no doubt quite relieved things started getting out of hand with Rhys and Olivia Ackerman.
Tom Anstey was just plain creepy, wasn't he? I thought it was quite nice how Allie ended up getting the upper hand on him in the end. It would have been wrong on so many levels if he would have gotten away with killing Sophie and Rebecca. His bragging about going to the gym got him in trouble. His attitude got him caught.
I have to say I never saw it coming that Juliette was going to be shot. I thought she would meet with her source again and Nick would be there to overhear something. I don't believe for a second Nick killed either Juliette or her source. Right now, I'm placing my bets on Dalton. If he planted the golf club for Nick to find, he's got a lot to lose. He'd definitely be willing to kill for it, I think. Like I said last week, Nick is a stand-up guy. He's genuinely troubled by the allegations Juliette raised. Now that she's been murdered, he's going to want the truth even more than he does now.
--
For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
No Greater Honour, Part Two, Go Down Swinging
Original Air Date: March 2, 2011
A man comes into Homicide about his missing wife and the case takes on a surprising twist when he identifies the Jane Doe in the morgue as the woman who was the lover of him and his wife from swingers parties they attended. His wife is later found dead and the investigation leads the team into the swinger scene. Were the women murdered because of their lifestyle choices or could there have been another motive and who had motive to kill them? Meanwhile, Juliette Gardiner's continued digging into the Dane Majors case takes a deadly turn.
A distraught man, Drew Preston, comes into Homicide looking for his missing wife, Rebecca. Stanley takes him aside to speak with him and is told that the man's wife disappeared three days ago. He filed a missing persons report but he has a feeling something bad has happened. Allie and Nick are at the morgue and the description the man gave matches a Jane Doe that was found the night before by the freeway. Preston is brought into the room with Nick and Allie. Allie takes him into the room with Ronnie and the body where he identifies the body not as his wife but as Sophie Mayne, a woman who was a lover to Preston and his wife.
Preston tells Allie and Nick Sophie and Rebecca were often mistaken for sisters because of their similar appearances. The Preston's met Sophie in Canberra in the swinging scene. When Drew had to move to Melbourne from Canberra because of his work, Sophie on Rebecca's idea moved with them but had her own place. He had no idea she was missing as well. He last saw Rebecca on Saturday night, four nights ago, when she and Sophie went to a party together. He fears that if they were together, his wife is also dead.
In briefing, Allie and Nick bring the team up to speed on Sophie's murder. Her car is missing. Allie thinks it wise to put out a picture of Rebecca Preston as a person of interest in the murder since she was the last person known to be with Sophie. Rhys suggests Sophie and Rebecca might have been swinging a little too hard so Drew Preston killed them both. Matt orders Jennifer and Duncan to follow up on Sophie's last movements including the party, Rhys is to check on next of kin and people at her workplace, Allie and Nick go to Sophie's apartment while he checks the Sexual Offenders Squad in the event there are any predators in the local swingers scene.
As Nick is getting ready to leave, Juliette Gardiner arrives wanting to talk with him. He introduces her to Rhys, Allie and Jennifer and trades workloads with Rhys so he can talk with Juliette. She tells him the truth about the phone call she received while at his place the night before. The papers she was given the night before suggest there was a problem with the evidence that convicted Dane Majors; that it was planted by the police. She asks if there's anything in it and he answers her squarely "no". She can't ignore the information and must at least try to find out if it's credible. She says his word is good enough for her but not for her boss. When she leaves, he calls Bruce Dalton, the investigator he worked with on the Majors case.
Rhys and Allie look through Sophie's apartment and Rhys comments there are no knickknacks or girly things about the place. It's almost like a display home with no personality. There are no keys and the kitchen shows no signs of use and there's no food present. They find one photo of Sophie. Even the teddy bear on the bed is brand new. Allie finds casual clothes in the closet and Rhys finds credit card statements in the drawer of the bedside table. There are five cards from Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne and every one is maxed out on clothes, nice car and furniture.
When Duncan and Jennifer pay a visit to one of the couples, Steve and Olivia Ackerman, who host the swingers parties they are, at first, mistaken for swingers. Once they identify themselves as police, they ask if the couple recognize the Prestons and Sophie, which they do. They last saw Drew on Sunday when he visited their home wanting to know if his wife was there. Rebecca and Sophie were at the party the couple hosted on Saturday night but the wife claims she cannot remember what time they left as it was a busy night.
Bruce Dalton comes into Homicide to speak with Nick who asks his former colleague if there was anything in the evidence or procedures that they need to worry about. Dalton knows of none and assures Nick they are absolutely good on it and tells him if the journalist gives him grief to send him along to him. Jennifer comes in and informs Nick of a briefing in two minutes. Dalton introduces himself to Jennifer and the two men part with a handshake.
At briefing, Jennifer feels the Ackerman's were deliberately obstructing by refusing to give any information about the people who go to the parties, especially the husband, Steve. Nick confirms that Sophie was absent from work that week. Rhys has been researching the swinging scene and learns there is a fee, or donation, at the door to get in which can sometimes be quite substantial and it would be worth looking into the Ackerman's finances. Matt learned that Sophie's car was at the mechanic for two days. She paid the bill and picked it up on Saturday. They speculate the car is now with Rebecca Preston. Matt wants Drew Preston brought in and made aware that with Sophie dead and Rebecca missing he's the prime suspect.
In interview, Drew Preston tells Allie and Nick he knows of no reason his wife would have had to kill Sophie. He wasn't the only connection between them, the scene was a connection and they were both at the party, a party he didn't want to attend. The parties here weren't like those in Canberra. His wife accused him of being boring which made him jealous but he maintains he didn't kill either woman. He loved Rebecca. He didn't love Sophie but he liked her. Nick isn't getting any solid vibes off Drew Preston. Rhys suggests there is one way to find out what happened the night of the party. Matt agrees and sends Allie and Rhys to infiltrate the swingers scene.
Allie and Rhys arrive at the party using the names "Colleen" and "Jack". They bring the $60 door fee with them and turn it over to Olivia Ackerman. Allie is clearly uncomfortable but Olivia assures her there are plenty of newbies there. The two move through the party and separate to mingle. Rhys questions Olivia Ackerman if anyone ever gets jealous, which she says they don't. A man, Tom Smith, comes up to Allie to ask if she's going to join them but she declines saying she and her boyfriend are there to watch as it's all a bit new to them. Steven Ackerman takes interest in Allie. She drops Sophie's name saying she (Sophie) works with her brother. Steven leaves when Tom brings Allie a drink. Tom knows she doesn't want to be there and he assures her there's no need to be scared as the choices are all hers.
Nick meets Majors' slain wife's father, Graham Proctor, at a pub to let him know questions have arisen in the case. Graham is certain the evidence was solid against Majors and suggests it might be worth it to speak with Al Sullivan to let him know someone is taking Juliette for a fool. That night, Nick and Juliette have a discussion about the case. He informs her he's watching out for everyone, especially Graham. He advises her to go back to the source and make him tell her exactly where he's getting his information from for her own sake, to cover herself.
At the party, Allie is approached by a woman who says her husband has had his eye on her. Allie declines the second invitation of the night. Olivia gives Rhys information that Rebecca was fine but there were rumours flying around that Sophie had been lifting wallets. The door takings from last Wednesday went missing, a few months worth of takings. When things begin getting too hot between Rhys and the woman, Allie rushes in and tells him they are leaving.
At briefing the next morning, Rhys informs the team of the suspected thefts at the parties. The theory arises that Rebecca might have killed Sophie and took off with the bag of missing door takings or that they both could have been killed by Drew for the money. Jennifer asks what Rhys was able to learn about Drew and Rebecca and he tells them they had to leave early to maintain their cover because things were getting heavy. Olivia thought Rebecca was bubbly and sweet and completely infatuated with Sophie. She also told Rhys Drew and the two girls were having a few problems. Sophie was becoming possessive of Rebecca. The three of them had a huge fight the last time they all attended a party and were asked to leave. Rhys gets a call and when he steps away to answer it Allie tells the team she wants no part of anymore undercover work. Rhys' call was about a female body found with no identification. Matt sends Rhys and Allie to the scene while Nick and Jennifer look into the Ackerman's financials.
At the scene, they find the body of Rebecca Preston. She had been hidden under some carpets. As Drew Preston identifies his wife in the morgue, Allie gets a message from Duncan that the Ackermans have come in for an interview. Allie and Jennifer take Olivia and Matt and Rhys, Steven. Allie informs Olivia Ackerman that they are there because of a murder investigation and that both Sophie and Rebecca are dead. Both interviews focus on the missing money. Both of the Ackerman's give the amount of missing money at about $70,000-73,000. Steven Ackerman says the theft wasn't reported because he works for the tax department and the money is undeclared income. He admits they suspected Sophie about the missing wallets. Olivia says she caught Sophie in the undressing room a couple of times. When asked why the three weren't banned from the parties, Olivia says Sophie was very popular. Both of the Ackermans are presented with the fact they have motive for killing the women because of the missing money. Steven tells Matt and Rhys the girls didn't leave alone. They left with Tom "Smith", aka Tom Anstey.
Uniforms are checking out Tom's address but Rhys feels Drew Preston shouldn't be taken out of the suspect line-up. Allie definitely sees Tom as a viable suspect as she found him to be odd. Jennifer has information that crime scene is still working the alleyway where Rebecca Preston was found. They aren't sure if she was killed there or just dumped there. Pathology found a particle in scratches on Sophie's back, nail polish which matches the polish Rebecca Preston is still wearing. Matt sends Jennifer to re-interview Drew Preston and Allie and Rhys are to find Tom.
Tom tells Allie and Rhys he was having a sauna. He uses the last name "Smith" at the parties to be discrete. He denies having a relationship with Sophie or Rebecca outside of the Ackerman's parties. He admits he left the Saturday party with them. He says he walked them to Sophie's car two blocks away from the house and doesn't know where they went after that. He can't recall anyone seeing him. When Allie asks if he got along with Drew Preston he tells her he didn't know him too well but he claims he knew the girls were "sick" of Drew and were planning on running away together. Rebecca told him. She said the spark was gone. Tom says he thinks Drew killed them out of jealousy and rage.
At briefing, Rhys presents the new information they received from Tom and Jennifer adds that Drew Preston admitted things had deteriorated in the relationship with him and the two women. Rebecca's time of death could have been anywhere from Sunday morning up to Tuesday. Matt brings information that Sophie's car has been found burnt out and it is believed the fire happened four or five days ago. Part of a luggage tag with Rebecca Preston's name on it was found with the car. The seats in the car were slashed before the fire.
Bruce Dalton pays a visit to Nick, calling him out of the briefing. Dalton is angry because Gardiner caught him outside the station with two constables and tried to make him look like a joke. Nick defends Gardiner saying she believes she has a smoking gun. Dalton knows this as Graham Proctor came to see him as well. Nick sits down in front of Dalton and asks him point blank to be straight with him if there's anything to tell. Dalton gives him his word and that both men know their gut told them Majors was guilty. He feels it all has come about because someone wants Majors out of jail. Nick asks who it could be but Dalton has no idea. Dalton insists the evidence was straight up and he has nothing to hide and that Juliette Gardiner is trouble for Nick.
Juliette goes to see Dane Majors in jail again who insists he was set up. She tells him her source agrees with him which interests him. She wants to know more and asks what he's basing his belief the evidence was planted on. He tells her the golf club. He felt the case against him, which she notes was strong even without the club, was all circumstantial. Majors again implicates Nick as being the only officer at his place to find the golf club. He feels both Dalton and Nick cooked the evidence up against him together. At the new trial with the new jury his lawyer wouldn't let him take the stand to bring that point up in court. He tells her he's been saying something ever since but no one has been listening until now.
Nick asks Jennifer if she's ever been on a case where something doesn't seem quite right but the evidence is overwhelming and everything points to the suspect. He tells her he and Bruce put someone away but he ignored that thought of something not quite right and now Juliette Gardiner is convinced she has something and the worry is back again. He tells her that someone thinks the evidence was planted and is feeding that information to Gardiner. Jennifer advises him to talk to Gardiner and find out what she knows. He takes Jennifer's advice but Gardiner wants him to be straight with her first. He agrees, but when she pulls out a recorder he turns it off. She tells him he either knowingly planted the golf club or someone used him and names Bruce Dalton. Nick states that he knows of nothing that was done illegally in the Majors case and asks who is feeding her information. She doesn't know. He insists he didn't plant evidence. She gets out of the car then tells him she'll give him a heads up before they go to press so he can tell his side of things. He doesn't want her to bother as he doesn't need to see her again.
Allie brings the information that the autopsy showed Rebecca Preston was beaten for a period of time before she was strangled. Jennifer and Rhys agree it sounds like the Ackerman's could have come back to claim their money as Tom didn't need the money and Drew wouldn't have tortured his wife before killing her. Allie and Rhys go back to see the Ackerman's and find Tom running from the house followed by Steve and Olivia. Steve had apparently caught Tom and his wife together. Rhys and Allie bring the confrontation under control. Olivia claims to be in love with Tom and the two are going to run off to Italy. Steve goes back inside to get Olivia's bags. He throws her suitcase down on the drive and throws Tom's briefcase down as well. When it lands, it opens and money spills out. Rhys and Allie place both Tom and Olivia under arrest.
In interview, Olivia admits it was Tom's idea to get the money back from Sophie and Rebecca. She insists Tom wouldn't torture the girls and that he's a good man even though she knows next to nothing about him. She claims he told her on Sunday he'd spoken with the girls and Sophie gave the money back when she realized she'd done the wrong thing. Rhys lets her know that at the time Drew Preston was at the Ackerman home wanting to know about his wife, she might have still been alive. Had she spoken up she could have possibly saved her life.
When Rhys and Allie question Tom, Rhys lays down their theory of how the murders took place. He made his move when the girls went back for one last swingers party. He convinced them to go back to his place for a threesome and killed Sophie from behind by strangling her with his belt. When Rebecca refused to tell where the money was he held onto her and tortured her into telling then killed her. Tom tells them he thinks the killer didn't intend to kill Sophie, only frighten her to find out what she had done with the money. It was a sexual rush when her neck snapped. Rebecca's fear was a buzz when he tied her up to dump Sophie's body. He needed to hurt her to make her tell him where the money was. It made it more enjoyable. He felt nothing despite all the parties until that night. Tom, in his confidence, tells Allie that without any proof, they can't have the killer. Allie, informs him she remembered his story about going to the gym every Sunday and she checked on if he did go that day or go to the barbecue he claimed to have gone to. The gym has no member named Tom Anstey so she showed a picture which was identified as Tom Brown. He stopped in for five minutes to use the change room then leave. From her case, she removes the keys to Sophie's car that he left in his gym locker. He admits Olivia would have been next. The parties are full of the most perfect victims.
That night, Nick watches Juliette Gardiner as she leaves work and follows her. She drives to a car park where she once again meets with her mystery source. Both the source and Gardiner are shot. Nick enters with gun drawn but it's too late. Juliette dies.
--
I never thought I'd see anything make Allie Kingston uncomfortable. Then again, she's never been undercover in the swingers scene before, either. I actually found her reaction to the party rather amusing. She wanted out of there fast and was no doubt quite relieved things started getting out of hand with Rhys and Olivia Ackerman.
Tom Anstey was just plain creepy, wasn't he? I thought it was quite nice how Allie ended up getting the upper hand on him in the end. It would have been wrong on so many levels if he would have gotten away with killing Sophie and Rebecca. His bragging about going to the gym got him in trouble. His attitude got him caught.
I have to say I never saw it coming that Juliette was going to be shot. I thought she would meet with her source again and Nick would be there to overhear something. I don't believe for a second Nick killed either Juliette or her source. Right now, I'm placing my bets on Dalton. If he planted the golf club for Nick to find, he's got a lot to lose. He'd definitely be willing to kill for it, I think. Like I said last week, Nick is a stand-up guy. He's genuinely troubled by the allegations Juliette raised. Now that she's been murdered, he's going to want the truth even more than he does now.
--
For more information:
City Homicide Official Site: http://au.tv.yahoo.com/city-homicide/
Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024932/
TV Rage: http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-17228
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