For the non-musical, scherzo is a “vigorous, light, or playful composition” and those vibes are very much present and accounted for in the opening of this episode. There’s a young couple getting dropped off at a place called Paradise Court by a charming cabbie. There’s a middle aged man dancing through his garden. There’s a ripped gardener. There’s a young lady learning how to drive (and getting leered at in the process, which is less fun). There’s a figure drawing class, which counts among its members Mr. BRIGHT, of all people. Not gonna lie, all of this made me want to go fix a summer cocktail to accompany the episode, and while I fear that that would leave this recap riddled with typos at best and unfinished at worst, there’s nothing stopping YOU, dear reader.
First things first: it turns out that Bright is actually a pretty darn good artist, which is a surprise, and very polite to the model, which isn’t. Alas, this fun intro must come to an end, if only because Morse is still extremely committed to trying to add a second O to his name, behavior-wise (and because our morOse pal is in fact a detective, and needs a case to solve). He’ll get that in the form of a murdered cab driver, whose car is abandoned in the woods, but first, he has to deal wtih a runaway train of a woman who shows up on his doorstep and barges into the house, leaving Morse to pay her taxi fare.
Patient Driver: So… this broad’s a friend of yours?
Morse: Uh, no. That’s my stepmother?
Patient Driver: Bummer. She complained the whole way.
Glad Morse also seems to have forgotten about his stepmom; I thought I was the only one. Anyway, he loads her bags into the house, pays her fare (including a tip, which seems reasonable), and faces the dragon.
Steamroller Stepmother: Got all the bags in? Good, the rest comes tomorrow.
Morse: Uh, the rest?
Steamroller Stepmother: Yeah, didn’t you get my letter? I sold the house and I’m moving. Your half-sister Joyce got engaged to some man she’s been shacked up with.
Morse: She didn’t say!
Steamroller Stepmother: That’s on you for not talking to anyone.
Me: Ok, well that actually does feel like a fair hit, sorry pal.
Morse: So, can’t you stay with them?
Steamroller Stepmother: I wouldn’t be here if I could! They’re out of the country for a few days, SINFULLY UNWED, which is horrible. Anyway, you can sleep on the sofa for a few nights; neither of us is thrilled about this, but deal with it. It’s only until I get the new house. And don’t worry about me; I don’t expect to be entertained.
That may be true, but I bet she does expect to live in a house with, ya know, furniture. And food. Anyway, look, I have some sympathy for Morse because unexpected houseguests are maybe one of the worst surprises of all time, but he’s being such a bummer that I confess I’m perversely delighted to see how this will all shake out. But first, a crime scene:
Strange: The driver is a middle-aged cabbie. A paper boy found him this morning.
Dr. DeBryn: Based on the condition of the body, I’m guessing he’s been dead about 12 hours.
Morse: Are you sure? His watch is broken and it’s set to 7.
Dr. DeBryn: Then the watch died a few hours before he did. Bodies don’t lie; other than this moi, they’re the only impartial witnesses!
Fred: So. 10pm time of death.
Dr. DeBryn: Yes. Shot to the back of the head, bullet hit the windshield and then fell onto the dash, here.
And while our doctor friend delivers all of this fairly important information, what is young Morse up to? Not listening! Instead, he’s rummaging through the car, looking for clues, like a newspaper with marked up classified ads. The squad arranges to meet up later that afternoon (slightly later than usual, in fact, so that Dr. DeBryn can linger over lunch), and Fred and Strange wander back to the car, musing about how easy cab drivers are to murder.
Strange: Yeah, and one of our cabbies was pistol whipped a little while back. He couldn’t remember much though.
Fred: It’s kind of a long way out to drive someone just to kill them.
Morse: Private though; no witnesses.
Fred: Fair, but if he took a cab, how did he get back home?
Strange: Might not have gone home… there’s a place called Paradise Court just down the road. It’s some kind of nudist camp, apparently. That’s where the paper boy was delivering.
While he talks, Strange picks up a piece of colorful paper on the ground, thinking it might be a clue, for which he gets teased (rude, Morse). And then Fred, who’s either shy or wants to keep messing with Strange, sends the younger man over to talk to the nudists while he and Morse talk to the deceased man’s wife.
Cabbie’s Wife: I just assumed he’d taken a long fare, and that’s why he didn’t come home. I did explain this to the other cops; I figured they’d write it down.
Fred, reacting to her weird energy: Uh, sorry to ask, but… how was your marriage?
Cabbie’s Wife: Oh, super duper happy. Our daughter is going to be devastated. She’s out playing but she idolizes her dad. You’re going to tell Pauline, right? Or do I have to?
Fred: Whomst?
Cabbie’s Wife: His first wife. She lives in another town with their son. Someone has to tell her, but she won’t take it well from me AND I don’t want to.
So look, everyone grieves differently! But this gal seems like she’s barely reacting at all to her husband’s death, which I fully expect our detective crew to jump on as suspicious. While they talk with her, Strange awkwardly wanders into Paradise Court, where the greeter naturally (ha ha) assumes he’s there as a guest. A first time guest, specifically, due to his awkwardness.
Strange: I’m a cop.
Major Nudist: And I’m a former major in the armed forces, but the naturist community is here for everyone!
Strange: No, you’re not getting it, I’m a detective, and I’m not here to hang out naked.
That changes the mood pretty much right away, as you can imagine. Major Nudist escorts Strange down to the pool and gets everyone’s attention so the blushing detective can introduce himself. Strange is deeply uncomfortable, and asks everyone to clothe up while they chat. The guests reluctantly pull on clothes, and circle up.
Strange: Ok, so: did anyone hear anything weird last night?
Major Nudist: Look, I told you, with the luau music, it would have been very hard to hear anything else.
Au contraire, mon frère: a young couple called the Applebees both heard what the wife, Allison, thought was a gunshot, and the husband, Barry, thought was a car backfiring. No one wears watches at the retreat (to try and get back to nature) but Allison heard the church bells: the shot happened right before 10. Whilst they grapple with the fact that they’re going to have to be clothed and talk to a square detective on their vacation, Morse and Fred talk to Pauline, Dead Cabbie’s ex. She makes them tea, and while she and Fred exchange pleasantries (her son goes to the same school Joan and Sam attended back in the day), Morse sits in the corner like a grump.
Pauline: So your daughter works at the welfare office now? I’ve probably met her; my boy’s been into trouble a few times. He’s not a bad kid, he just misses his dad. Can’t imagine this will help.
Fred: So you’re divorced then?
Pauline: Yes, for four years now.
Morse: He was a gambler?
Pauline: Oh yeah, big time. That and he cheated on me, as you may have gathered.
Fred: How did he meet her?
Pauline: Surprised she didn’t tell you. She was the dispatcher at work; usually his affairs didn’t last, but she got pregnant, so. He had his vices; I tried to keep it from my son but kids do notice stuff, don’t they?
Yikes, that’s a bummer all around, and also a possible motive.
And, well, that very same unhappy little pitcher with big ears just happens to be out in the woods as we speak, practicing shooting on tin cans (and given the size of the gun, to my admittedly untrained eye it seems very possible that it’s the same caliber as the murder weapon).
Next up, Morse and Fred head over to the taxi office to talk to the friendly dispatcher, a Welshman who brags about his daughter to the detectives and shares how awful the news is between answering calls. Between the two attacks, the drivers are getting, understandably, concerned about their safety. The dispatcher also tells them that Dead Cabbie’s last assignment wasn’t near where he was killed, but he had heard that the man had been drinking in that approximate area with some friends.
Speaking of friends, when Morse and Fred question the other cabbies, they talk to both drivers from the start of the episode: the Charming Cabbie who dropped off our young nudists, and the Leering Guy who flustered the driver in training. Interestingly, when Morse asks if either of them had a job in the area, Charming Cabbie lies and says no. Mid conversation, the driver who had the unlucky task of ferrying Steamroller Stepmother earlier, Patient Driver, arrives. Introductions made, the detectives press the drivers on Dead Cabbie’s vices: gambling and women.
Leering Guy: Oh yeah, he was always borrowing money from us.
Patient Driver: And yes, he constantly had women hanging out in his car, but you can’t blame him can you?
Back at Paradise Court, the Applebees' attempts at lounging aren’t really going to plan. Barry Applebee is grumpy and evasive when his wife asks where he went last night. Allison Applebee wonders if they should have told the cops that they were dropped off by a taxi a few hours before they heard the shot. She’s also a bit creeped out by the hulking gardener, who’s making a real meal out of trimming the hedges near the nudist-filled pool.
At the autopsy, Dr. DeBryn confirms that the gun used in the shooting was a small caliber pistol. Fred wonders if it might not be a woman’s gun, suggesting that most women would want something that could easily fit in a handbag. DeBryn also notes that their victim didn’t struggle for the gun, and thus probably didn’t know he was about to be killed. While they talk, Morse again pokes through the man’s things, finding a card for an Ostrich Fanciers Club in the wallet.
There’s no address, but there is a phone number, and let me tell you I cannot wait to find out more about this totally bonkers thing. Morse also points out that the victim can’t have had all that much money in his wallet, so even though it’s gone, it seems likely the robbery is a red herring. He’s also spotted some lipstick on the man’s collar, which is just textbook TV infidelity. Later, after Fred reports in to Bright and tells him all about it, Strange rolls in to tell Morse about his experience at Paradise Court: in a word, unsettling. Morse shares that he can’t find anything about the Ostrich Fanciers Club anywhere, and the number just goes to the switchboard, so that’s a dead end for now.
Back at Morse’s house, Steamroller Stepmother sure has made herself comfortable, posting up on the couch with a drink and a cigarette. She’s also pissed that Morse hasn’t got dinner planned for the two of them, but he’s not really willing to be swayed by her needling, about either his lack of fresh food OR his fondness for randomly dropping latin into conversations.
Steamroller Stepmother: I suppose this tawdry nudist murder is what’s taking up all your time. Embarrassing. Your dad would be embarrassed too.
Morse: Doubt it, but whatever. At least being the son of a cabbie might come in handy for once.
Steamroller Stepmother, horrified: He was a CHAUFFEUR. Rude! Why must you drag us down? Your dad and this dead guy probably don’t have anything in common.
Morse: Well, they both liked to play the ponies. And both left their wife and child for another woman who they’d knocked up, so… there’s that. Nighty night!
Elsewhere, there seems to be some trouble in Paradise (Court); Alison Applebee is looking in vain for her husband, finally finding out from Major Nudist that Barry Applebee’s gone off somewhere in a cab. Whilst she worries, Morse pokes around at the crime scene looking for more clues, until he’s interrupted by the wee son of Dead Cabbie, who holds our friend at gunpoint. After a good deal of convincing, Morse gets the kid to lower his weapon.
Morse: What are you doing here anyway?
Wee Son: I heard murderers come back to the scene of the crime; I’m here waiting to dish out some tiny justice.
Morse: Where’d you get the gun?
Wee Son: Dad gave it to me.
Morse: Mine gave me a gun once too, can I see?
And with that, he quickly removes the bullets and confiscates the weapon. He also very sternly tells the boy that he understands the impulse to try and help, but this ain’t it; Wee Son is going home now, and Morse is taking him. On the way, Wee Son explains that he thinks it’s his fault his dad left; if only he’d done better at school, his dad wouldn’t have gone to go live with his new family.
Morse, for some reason the one who has to explain this: No way. Your dad leaving had nothing to do with you; it’s not your fault.
Wee Son: He was a good dad. He let me help out with the garage sometimes!
Morse: I’m sure he was great. Now look, I’m going to keep your gun, because it’s actually illegal for you to have; you’re just as likely to hurt yourself as someone else. When you’re old enough, I’ll give it back. Now go on into the house, hug your mom, and tell her you love her.
Now look, that was a cute bonding moment and all, but we have bigger fish to fry: across town, Strange is dressed up all fancy and picking up Joan like a true gentleman. Gotta say, they both clean up great, and I’m not even a little bit mad at it. I am, however, mad at their cabbie, Patient Driver, who makes a creepy comment about Joan.
Meanwhile, a priest settles into the confessional booth to read the paper, when he’s interrupted by a man who he seems to recognize (and not happily). At the art class, Bright strikes up a conversation with the model, who compliments his work.
Bright: You’re welcome to have it, if you like!
Model: Really?
Bright: Yes, for sure!
Model: Would you sign it?
And with a flourish, he does. They introduce themselves, and he hands over the piece. Unfortunately, this show doesn’t seem to like to let us have nice things, so instead of just enjoying what I hope is a budding friendship, I’m instead worried that something horrible will happen to this girl. Hooray!
Not horrible? The fancy event Strange and Joan are just now entering. All the couples are getting formally introduced! The ladies are in gloves! Maybe it’s just because I’ve been sat at home for the last few years due to the pandemic, but this seems fabulous. After some prodding from Joan, Strange explains that the event is hosted by a society that Strange is part of: the Freemasons. It’s basically the only kind of networking available to him, given his lack of fancy education or money, and they also do charity work. That explained, they hit the dance floor, and seem to be having a pretty grand time. The pair also win tickets to see The Carpenters, so at least one more date is in order.
In stark contrast to that, Morse drinks his dinner at the pub, and then stumbles over to Joan’s place in the dead of the night to try and talk to her, getting her annoyed roommate instead.
Rebuffed, and still hammered, he wanders into the road and gets clipped by a car. The driver, understandably horrified, runs over to check on him, and reveals himself to be Charming Cabbie from earlier. He gets Morse on his feet, pretends like he doesn’t notice that Morse is extremely drunk, and bundles him into the cab to make sure he gets home safe. Across town, Strange escorts Joan home, and thanks her for helping him out. Charmed, she kisses him on the cheek.
Strange: Aww, I won’t wash my face for a week! What was that for?
Joan: For such a nice evening.
Strange: Ok well, get on inside where it’s safe. And don’t feel like you have to come to this show with me.
Joan: Uh, excuse me, I will absolutely be attending! A fun night out? Wouldn't miss it.
Strange: Ok then… goodnight.
And while he and Patient Driver watch her head inside, the cabbie tries to ruin it by objectifying Joan. But not on Strange’s watch! He tells Patient Driver he better remember Joan’s a strong, smart, independent badass if he wants a tip next time.
And so our detectives head home in very different states, but both clean up enough to show up on time at a crime scene the next day. That priest who was just looking for a quiet spot to read? He’s been murdered. Strange explains that once again this appears to be a robbery, and Dr. DeBryn emerges from the confessional booth to share that the victim had been shot through the screen after the mass the previous evening; relevant, as Morse points out, because confession happens before mass unless by arrangement. No exit wound, so they’ll need to wait for the post mortem to find out if the weapon was the same.
Morse: I mean, come on, it has to be. Two shootings in two days?
Fred: Someone at the train station cafe said she saw a cleric hanging around there the night Dead Cabbie was shot. It might have been our second victim, so we’ll find a picture, and Strange, you can go confirm. Morse and I will go talk to the housekeeper.
Hey, remember when I said Morse turned up on time to the crime scene? I was wrong. Instead of picking up Fred, like he was supposed to, he claims to have overslept.
Fred: Did you oversleep in your clothes? Because that’s what it looks like.
Morse: Look, my stepmother is in my house; it’s not great.
Fred: I don’t really care! Messy clothes make for a messy mind, and I need you sharp.
Morse: Well I’m sharp enough that I didn’t get shot yesterday! Wee Son was lurking at the crime scene with a pistol. I confiscated it and took him home, but while I was there I found what I think is part of a metal cannister. I was going to take it up to question the nudists, but obviously couldn’t with the kid there.
Fred: Take it to forensics and have them look it over. The pistol too.
And with that, the two head off to chat to the housekeeper, running into a window washer on the way who’s none too keen to come down off his ladder: he doesn’t want to get behind schedule! Fred, who doesn’t have a ton of patience (possibly partly due to rumple-Morse-kins) ramps up his threatening persona until Window Washer finally caves and comes down to talk to Morse while Fred heads inside. Window Washer tells Morse he hasn’t seen Dead Priest in about 6 weeks (the last time he was there to clean) and that they hadn’t been close enough to invite any confidences, like whether or not our victim had any enemies.
Window Washer: It is kind of funny you mention it; I did hear him get into an argument the last time I was here. I was up on the ladder and heard him yelling at someone in the front bedroom.
Morse: Did you hear who he was talking to, or what he said?
Window Washer: No, but I saw a distinctive hat on the hall table! A trilby with an orange feather in the band.
Surprisingly helpful! Morse finishes up and heads inside, where Fred’s finding out from the housekeeper that the victim used to be a prison chaplain before he got this job, and had a brother, Donal, with whom recent relations were a bit tense. Apparently, said brother would turn up every so often to ask for money, and rather than be annoyed, our priest felt it was his brotherly and religious duty to help out. After Fred finishes questioning the housekeeper, our detectives reconvene and share what they’ve learned, including this new tidbit from Morse: the victim had made a note in his calendar to call D (Donal, presumably) before a late night confession appointment.
Back at Paradise Court, Allison Applebee’s uncomfortable solo breakfast is interrupted by the return of her husband, Barry, who acts like it’s no big deal that he up and disappeared from their vacation overnight. Was he avoiding her?
Barry Applebee: No! I just needed some space. I went to a pub I used to frequent when I was in school. Got drunk and passed out in a field. But I’m back now and I’m going to try this whole thing out properly! Look, I’ll get over my discomfort. We already paid for the week, let’s just try to have fun!
Sweet, in theory, but it hasn’t escaped my notice that Barry’s been unaccounted for during both murders (and I don’t think it’ll escape Allison Applebee’s notice either). Speaking of both murders, post post-mortem, Dr. DeBryn has confirmed that yes, both men were indeed killed by a 22 caliber. Also of note, Dead Priest had a cigarette case on his person emblazoned with the symbol of the Ostrich Fanciers Club (and engraved on the inside from a group of prisoners from when he was a prison chaplain).
Morse: What kind of robber doesn’t take a pocket watch though? And both watches were smashed!
Fred: Maybe it’s the killer’s signature? But why? Trying to make a false time to give an alibi?
Morse: Well regardless it didn’t work: we have Dr. DeBryn AND notes in his calendar.
Fred: Hm. I need to go update Bright; no matter what’s happening, two murders isn’t a good look.
Morse: I’ll head back to the rectory and see if this chain goes with any of his clothes. There was a wardrobe I couldn't get into and I just want to make sure we didn’t overlook anything.
As he heads off to do just that, our boy almost immediately gains access to said wardrobe, finding a case at the bottom that piques his interest. Rummaging around inside he finds a powder blue garment of some kind, a glove, and a tape canister. And at headquarters, Bright is, predictably, not thrilled to hear about his employee’s suspicions.
Bright: Look, you guys have to figure this out ASAP; I’m getting a lot of pressure from up top, and if this guy is killing people at random, as it seems, we are in deep trouble.
Indeed. Back at the church, Morse gets into the confessional booth where the priest was murdered, and happens upon not one but TWO potential clues: someone has scratched messages into the wood, which say “Jesus saves but-swift scores on the rebound” and “Mic .5 .15.” Does the first message perhaps reference our Striker friend Swift from last week? Does Morse know his bible well enough to recall the potential reference of the second? This recapper sure didn’t, but I have the internet on my side, and thus am able to quote Micah 5 15 to you: “And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard.” That’s… pretty dang murdery, huh?
Before Morse can parse either clue, however, someone enters the church on quiet feet, coming up to the confessional box and scaring the absolute crap out of our detective friend. Thankfully, it’s only reporter extraordinaire Ms. Frazil. After they both stop panicking, they exchange info: Frazil is of the impression that their victim had recently lost his faith. Morse, digesting that, also asks if she’s heard of the Ostrich Fanciers Club, but alas, no dice. She does, however, offer to ask around, which may help.
Back at the office, Strange wanders into a darkened office where Fred and Morse are reviewing the tape Morse found earlier just in time to see the footage take a turn to the salacious. It seems our priest had a bunch of pornography hidden away in his wardrobe. Fred’s got a friend on vice, so they have a lead there, but unfortunately Strange’s found that Dead Priest wasn’t the one eating at the station cafe near Dead Cabbie after all. On the plus side, Strange does immediately recognize that blue thing from the case in the wardrobe: it’s a Masonic apron.
Strange: But that can’t belong to the priest: the Pope put a ban on them joining the Masons.
Fred: Might be his brother’s though.
Morse: Oh man, I just realized: I think that metal I found at the crime scene is a piece of one of these cannisters!
That makes sense, so Morse and Fred head back to the countryside to talk to Major Nudist. He claims that they have a movie night at Paradise Court every so often, but that they use smaller reels for that. Fred, naturally, decides they ought to follow up with the Applebees, who finally tell our detectives that they took a cab to Paradise Court. Next stop: following up with Charming Cabbie.
Charming Cabbie: Look, I know I should have said something, but my wife has been sick. We’ve been back and forth to the doctor.
Fred: And where were you last night?
Charming Cabbie, blowing up Morse’s spot: Uh, you guys know where I was last night? We had that little accident and then I made sure he got home?
Morse: Before that!
Charming Cabbie: I had fares all over, but not in the area you asked about.
Morse: And were you tight with Dead Cabbie? No money issues between you? Because I found this IOU from him in the back of your cab last night.
Charming Cabbie: Oh, that? It’s no big deal! He paid that back a long time ago.
Fred: Then why didn’t you guys destroy the IOU note? And this is for a lot of money!
Yeah, things aren’t looking great for Charming Cabbie, but I have to say, I believe him: I wouldn’t want to get all involved in a murder investigation either. While we wait for more clues to shake out, Patient Driver prepares to take an older woman to the train station while her husband looks on. And back at home, Morse pops the pornography on the projector to see if he can glean anything else of use from the tapes. Naturally, this is exactly the moment Steamroller Stepmother chooses to make her judgemental entrance. Morse explains that it’s evidence, but as you can imagine she doesn’t quite buy it. She also takes this opportunity to remind our friend that even though he’s fancy, he still failed out of Oxford.
Morse, pouring more booze: Yeah yeah, say it again. I’m sure you’d have liked it if I’d stayed at home, driven a cab, and knocked up some local gal so you could judge me for it.
Steamroller Stepmother: You’ve always been a weirdo and a disappointment. I didn’t kill her!
Morse: Huh?
Steamroller Stepmother: I didn’t give your mom cancer, and you can’t just blame me for it your whole life.
You know what, she’s not wrong. But Morse isn’t in a position to process that, so instead, he points at the porn and tells her he has work to do. Look, she might be sour and judgemental, but recently, so is Morse, so.
Fight over, Morse turns his attention back to the film, just in time to see a familiar face: Dead Cabbie! The next morning, as he picks up Fred, the two debrief about this revelation while also trying, unsuccessfully, to avoid talking about porn in front of Win.
Win: Guys, come on, I’m an adult. Also I knew a guy once who kept asking to measure my feet; I’m well aware of the wide spectrum of human sex stuff. Morse, are you ok? You’re looking tired.
Morse, lying: It’s just work stuff.
Win: You have to take care of yourself, ok? We all care about you. I’m sorry you’ve had a rough time of it lately.
Ugh, she’s just so lovely. Unfortunately, there’s no time for Win to convince Morse to open up, because there’s been another murder: the husband we saw waving his wife off in a taxi just a few scenes back. He’s also, as it turns out, the worshipful master at Strange’s Masonic lodge; the very same gent Strange and Joan spoke with just the other night. The next door neighbors thought they heard a pistol at about nine the previous evening. Just then, Dr. DeBryn arrives and confirms what we’ve already suspected; Dead Mason was also shot in the head at close range. He also tells the squad that Dead Mason’s wife has just arrived outside in a cab. While Strange escorts her inside, Morse questions Patient Driver, who confirms he drove Dead Mason’s Wife to the station the previous evening. Morse sets the driver up to give a formal statement and then sends him on his way just as Ms. Frazil arrives with a tip on the Ostrich Fanciers Club.
Frazil: One of the classified ad guys recognized the name from this listing.
Morse: Love rare and exotic birds? Send a self-addressed and stamped envelope to the rectory? Huh?
Frazil: Birds as in slang for ladies, Morse.
I’ll tell you what; I sure didn’t have pornography ring organized out of a rectory in my Endeavour plotline bingo card! Anyway, Morse ponders that, and a bit of turned over dirt in the garden, and then heads inside to where his friends are questioning Dead Mason’s Wife. Has she heard of the Ostrich Fanciers Club? No. But she does notice that one of the family’s clocks has been broken, continuing the pattern Morse noticed earlier.
Later, Morse tells Fred he thinks he knows who called in the tip on this murder: that weird bit of dirt was about as wide as a ladder, and it makes sense that Window Washer wouldn’t want to be found on the scene at a second murder in as many days. Morse also has a second revelation, looking around the family’s living room and realizing that it’s where one of the pornographic films starring Dead Cabbie was shot.
Morse, naturally, heads off to talk to Window Washer, who says exactly what we’d expect: he didn’t want to be getting a bad reputation, he doesn’t know anything about the murder, and he didn’t know his client at all. He explains that the previous evening he walked his girlfriend home from her part time job as (wait for it) a live model. Yes, his girlfriend is none other than Bright’s friend Model! Unfortunately, as fun as this coincidence is, Window Washer was only with Model for the walk, so his alibi isn’t great.
Later that afternoon, Bright calls in to Fred’s desk, and gets Morse instead. Where’s Fred? Off to London to try and talk to Dead Priest’s stepbrother Donal, to see if he was at all involved in the Ostrich Fanciers Club situation. Bright asks to be kept in the loop, and then rings off just as Strange arrives looking for Morse: someone needs to go take a statement from a domestic abuse victim, and it’s either that or attend Dead Mason’s post-mortem, so Morse picks statement. Sadly, the woman he talks to thinks the attack was her fault, because she cheated on her husband. Morse affirms that this wasn’t her fault, but does ask her to tell him who the other man was. She resists, at first, but finally caves: the man she cheated with was none other than Dead Cabbie. Now obviously, Morse needs to go talk to this woman’s husband asap, and guess where he is: Paradise Court. She’s right in the middle of repeating that she doesn't want to press charges when the cavalry arrives in the form of Joan Thursday, who steps between her and Morse, tells her she doesn’t have to talk to him if she doesn't want to, and basically sends our boy on his way.
And who, praytell, is the alluded to crap-bag of an abuser? You guessed it: it’s Paradise Court’s gardener, who at this very moment is drunkenly burning pictures on the property. When Morse and Fred appear, they ask Major Nudist to speak to him, but are interrupted by a scream from the garden. Running toward the sound, they find a sobbing Allison Applebee, who’s being comforted by Barry Applebee: it seems the pair have found said gardner, who’s apparently died by suicide.
Later, as Dr. DeBryn examines the body, Morse and Strange go through his things and find some of his unburned photos. It turns out that the gardener was a peeping tom, who used his job as an opportunity to take illicit photos of the guests at Paradise Court. They arrange a time for the post-mortem, and then discuss what happened. Did the gardener kill their first three victims? Is this just remorse for attacking his wife?
Strange: I can’t imagine what his motive would be for killing the second two. I’ll get a warrant, but unless he’s got a 22 at home, we’re going to have to look elsewhere for our killer.
He heads out, leaving Morse to poke around the shed, where he finds a letter and a set of pictures from a photobooth; cute, romantic pictures featuring the gardener and Barry Applebee! Given that the second man is pretty close by, Morse, of course, heads right over to question him. Barry tries to pawn it off as a youthful indiscretion, but Morse came armed with the paper flower Strange found at the crime scene, which now suggests that Barry Applebee might have met the gardener down the laneway after being handed a fake lei at Paradise Court’s luau night.
Barry Applebee: Yes, I did meet him; I just wanted to make it clear that whatever happened in the past was going to stay in the past. I’m married, and so was he.
Morse: How did he take that?
Barry Applebee: Not that well. He was stuck in a marriage with someone he didn’t love; he’d done it to keep up appearances.
Morse: So that’s where you were when you heard the shot? And instead of having to answer any questions, you both lied about your whereabouts.
Barry Applebee: Yes. We also met the next night to finish our talk. I feel horrible; I was really clear that what we had was over.
Morse: Does Mrs. Applebee know about your “youthful indiscretion?” No, obviously not. Well I’ll be in touch if I need more info.
Meanwhile, in London, Fred knocks at the door of a seedy-looking sex shop with a lurid neon sign. Stepping inside, he presents the Ostrich Fanciers Club card they found to the shopkeeper and asks to see some “birds,” only to be interrupted by the vice squad, who send everyone outside.
Vice Commander: Hey Fred. Rude to be working on my patch and not say hi.
Fred: Hey, bud. Didn’t want to bother you. Just here looking into this Ostrich Fanciers Club thing.
Vice Commander: Well I need to be looped in. See, we have everything working how the brass likes it: nice and quiet. Get it? If it’s someone from outside, you can have him, but if it’s one of our guys, you’re out of luck.
Fred: So you’re on the take, huh? We’re looking for a guy in a trilby with an orange feather… about your size. When did you blackmail the priest, when he was working at that prison? Let me guess: you found out he was a pedophile and you blackmailed him into running the business out of his rectory. And then you’d drop by every once in a while posing as his half-brother just to keep him in line. What happened to you anyway?
Vice Commander: None of us is clean, Fred.
Fred: Hm. Well look, three men are dead, and they’re all connected to this thing. Maybe someone’s trying to put you out of business. Toodles.
Vice Commander: Fred. Your presence has been noted. Don’t come back here.
Fred: You know what, back at ya. If you show up on my patch, I’ll take you out.
Oh great, more dangerous enemies for your friends! Neat! Just what I hoped we’d get this season! Anyway, back at Morse’s house, he comes home to find Steamroller Stepmother gone, having left a note that literally just contains her new address, and nothing more. Not as relieved as one might think, he heads back into the station to meet up with Bright and explain that they can probably rule out the person Dead Cabbie picked up at the station (it was his mistress, the gardener’s wife, who as we’ve seen was in no shape to injure anyone). He’s about to explain more when Bright offers him a drink, which gives Morse an opening to spy Bright’s sketchbook. Flipping through, he spots a lovely portrait of Model.
Morse: Hey, who’s this?
Bright: She’s a life model at the art school — striking, isn’t she?
Back at his desk, sitting in the dark, Morse pours over the photos from the case again. Whatever he sees prompts him to make a call at Model’s home the next morning, and then to bring in the dispatcher from the cab company, who he’s talking to when Fred and Strange arrive in the office. With his audience assembled, Morse confirms the time of Dead Cabbie’s last assignment, and that the cab company paid for a table at the Masonic Lodge’s charity events. Next he reminds everyone that they were able to confirm time of death for all three victims, and that the killer changed the time on a clock at all three scenes.
Morse: We thought he was trying to trick us into thinking we had the wrong time of death, but it’s actually simpler than that. The time doesn’t matter, it’s the position of the hands on the clock: they’re meant to invoke semaphore.
Fred: If I’m remembering right, that spells what… CYW? But that doesn’t mean anything.
Morse: It does though, it’s a puzzle. Right, Dispatcher? Oh, hey, look who’s joined us: hi Model!
Dispatcher immediately runs over to talk to her, which makes everyone uncomfortable, except for Morse, the only one who knows what’s happening. He sends her to the breakroom, and explains: cyw, in Welsh, is a term of endearment meaning chick, and you guessed it: Model is Dispatcher’s daughter. She also starred in the pornographic films made with Dead Cabbie, in Dead Mason’s home, and distributed by Dead Priest. After that, it’s no surprise when Morse arrests Dispatcher for the murders. In interrogation, he explains how easy it is for cabbies to spy on people (very) and Fred surmises that Dispatcher discovered his daughter’s involvement in the illicit videos in the worst possible way: as a member of the Ostrich Fanciers Club.
Later, at the art school, Model talks about the case with Bright. It turns out that she never knew her dad all that well, and worries about what her new friend will think of her.
Bright: I think you got taken advantage of by some crappy men. They’re the ones who should feel shame, not you. Also if you need a surrogate dad, I got you.
Me, watching this:
Meanwhile, back at the cab company, Charming Cabbie takes over as dispatcher, sending Patient Driver out on an assignment. He seems pleased, and I like him, so hopefully this means he’ll be in a better position to take care of his sick wife! Across town, Morse and Fred go over how Morse solved the case. It turns out that Dispatcher had some insignia on his jacket that pointed to his past in the signal corps, and the graffiti in the church was indeed all about seeking vengeance.
Fred: Yeah, that makes sense. Hard to blame him; if that were Joan…
Morse: Never would be though!
Fred: It could happen to anyone in the right circumstances. Every woman is someone’s daughter, you know. And these people mean something to us too, right?
Morse: I’m not that silly boy who got emotionally invested anymore.
Fred: Well I liked that silly boy. He looked for the best in people.
Morse: Isn’t it better to see things as they are? Bad choices lead to consequences. I’m not here to make people feel better, I’m here to see that justice is done.
Fred: Well, I’m sure you know best. Look, we are who we are; don’t try to escape your nature, it’ll catch up to you in the end.
I think Fred meant that to be a good thing, but given what we know about how Morse turns out, I can’t help finding that pronouncement very dire indeed. What will we learn about everyone’s nature next time? We’ll just have to watch next week to find out.
If you or a loved one is considering suicide, please call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255.
Episode 1 'Striker' recap: ancient grudge break to new mutiny
