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Season 8 | Magnum Opus
Aired 8/14/2016 @ 9:00 PM
01:23:05 | CC
In "Magnum Opus," an Oxford college dean is found bludgeoned to death in the woods following a heated debate in a pub. An alchemic image purposefully left at the crime scene leads Lewis and Hathaway to anticipate that three more murders will follow. An unusual tattoo on the dean’s body and the bodies of two more victims leads to the discovery of a secret esoteric society and a frantic effort to prevent a fourth murder. Meanwhile, Hathaway is struggling to accept his father’s illness.
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ANNOUNCER: This is Masterpiece Mystery!
Some kind of ritual killing?
I think this might have something to do with alchemy.
This could be just the beginning.
MAN: We're the only ones who know what happened.
Which means it's either me or you.
MOODY: If there's a possibility of future murders, I want to know about it.
LEWIS: We think you might all be being targeted.
You're in danger.
ANNOUNCER: "Inspector Lewis," the final season, tonight on Masterpiece Mystery!
(thunder) (wailing) (click) (fire crackling) (liquid bubbling) (bird squawking) (gunshot) As the Bible says, "Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ."
To do this, Charles Williams promoted the concept of Co-Inherence, which held that we are all spiritually connected and can, through ritual, share suffering and ease one another's burdens of, for example... ...guilt.
Not intellectually or theologically, yet something much more real.
Practical.
(door opens) No, no, honestly, no need to help.
What do you want with all this junk anyway?
I'm not sure.
MAN: Forgiveness is not a solitary affair.
It can be, and is, a shared experience.
Because through active engagement with the Holy Spirit, it's not only Christ who can forgive sins.
So can we.
(applause) (music playing) (distorted bar chatter) Don't be so naive.
I mean, how is it literally possible to become as Christ?
Well, because we are made in God's image.
Mystical mumbo-jumbo.
MAN: In your opinion.
Not one the rest of us happen to share.
MAN: Really, Williams was a minor theologian and no academic.
That's in his favor then, isn't it?
Less arrogant and patronizing.
Well, coming from you, a tattooed freak... Come on, guys, calm, calm.
Let's just calm it.
So much for forgiveness.
(birds chirping) Come here.
Give us a hug.
See you later.
(phone ringing) (phone dialing) VOICEMAIL: Please leave your message after the tone.
Gina?
Gina?
(twig snaps) Victim's a college dean-- Phil Beskin.
What's a college dean doing right out here?
I don't know, but he must have got here pretty late.
He was giving a talk in town on one of the Inklings.
Oh, which one this time?
Tolkien or Lewis?
Charles Williams, the Third Inkling.
Beskin was a bit of an authority.
Blunt trauma to the back of the head.
Skull crushed.
One fell swoop, by the look.
Around 4:00 or 5:00.
SOCO found a mobile phone on the ground, and... LEWIS: Maggots?
Yep.
If this happened just a few hours ago, there's no way the maggots have come from the corpse or the raven.
Well, it's staged, intended to be found.
"And know this: "that the summit of art is the raven, "who flies without wings in the blackness of night and the holiness of the day."
It's a new one on me.
Are they making a statement, or a warning, maybe?
Some kind of ritual killing?
I think this might have something to do with alchemy.
Why do hangovers get worse the older you get?
Too long between sessions.
The trick is just to keep drinking.
Phil Beskin?
Yes.
So I spoke to the landlord at The Watermans.
He confirmed that the usual group were in there after their talk last night.
Apparently there was a bit of trouble but, you know, it's hardly Battle of Helm's Deep.
LEWIS: You were right about alchemy.
That quote is from a 17th century German alchemist.
Question is, what's it got to do with murder?
Or Charles Williams?
Did Charles Williams write about alchemy?
No-- theology, supernatural novels, and he was a bit of a mystic.
MADDOX: Details of the phone found at the scene.
It belonged to the victim.
A text came through at 4:37 a.m. "At Boars Hill, going to end it all."
Suicide?
Or threat to?
According to this, from someone called the Lioness.
Right, let's get onto the service provider and get a real name.
Okay.
Lioness?
What's that, a girlfriend?
There's quite a few on here.
"The Butterfly," "The Serpent," "The Eagle"... As long as they're not all pubs.
LEWIS: New Zealand was Laura's idea, to be on hand for the birth of her niece's baby.
Mine to see a bit of the world while we're still young enough to enjoy it.
Far, far too late for you.
Less of that, thank you.
Is it just you two, or family as well?
Just the two of us, I hope.
So what do we know about Phil Beskin's wife?
Is she expecting us?
No-- Grace Beskin, works in the college library.
As for Beskin himself, he was an engineering science lecturer, very popular with the students on account of his late night drinking.
(phone ringing) Pastoral care at its best, eh?
Yeah?
Okay.
That was Maddox.
She's got a lead on our Lioness.
Local girl by the name of Gina Doran.
Goes out with a student from Phil Beskin's college-- Nate Hedesan.
You do Gina, I will do Grace Beskin.
(engine starting) I'm here to see Grace Beskin.
Mrs. Beskin, my name is DI Hathaway.
I'm very sorry to hear of your loss.
I'm afraid I have a few questions for you.
It's not a great time right now.
Who are you?
His sister.
Any idea who killed him?
Not yet, hence the need for questions.
Dax and Annapurna Kinneson.
If we can help-- really, anything.
Thank you.
(door closes) We should postpone this evening.
No, no, no.
Phil would have wanted you to go ahead.
Would he?
He might not have approved of your changes.
He would have been fine about them.
The point is, as he said in his talk, it worked for him, and you've waited long enough.
We had an early supper, and then he went to do his talk.
That was the last I saw him.
And you weren't aware that he hadn't come home?
No.
He was always out all night.
I was at the talk and the pub, and they were still going strong about midnight, when I left.
So you weren't at the talk, is that correct?
I'm not a great Williams fan, to be honest.
I'm afraid my faith is rather simpler than my husband's.
Butterfly, Lioness, Serpent, and Eagle-- all characters in Charles Williams's The Place Of The Lion.
Yeah.
I'm the Serpent, apparently.
Phil's idea of a joke.
Have you any idea who the others are?
No.
I gather your husband got on very well with his students?
He'd do anything for them.
Phil wasn't great with boundaries.
In other words, the students ran rings around him.
There's a fine line between sainthood and being a mug.
(sighs) What?
It's true.
Are you familiar with a Nate Hedesan?
Phil was worried Nate's love life was interfering with his studies.
They'd had words.
Recently?
Uh, last couple of days.
Your husband's talk?
Please, help yourself.
Thank you.
Oxford student and a local girl?
I thought that wasn't allowed.
Where there's a will, there's a way, Lizzie.
(knocking) LEWIS: Mr. Hedesan?
Hello?
Miss Doran?
Gina?
Phil's dead?
Someone killed him up at Boars Hill last night.
He was responding to a text that you sent him.
You said that you were there, and you were going to harm yourself.
I don't think I can remember.
And I can't find my phone.
How did you get the cuts on your arms?
Uh...
Climbing through the window, I guess.
Was your boyfriend with you?
No.
MADDOX: Where did you go?
GINA: College bar from about 8:00, and The Hopper later.
Gina?
Gina!
(vomiting) Look, she crashed out in her shoes, but I don't see any mud or grass on them, do you?
Where we found Phil Beskin was really muddy, so they'd be covered.
She could have cleaned them.
What, in her state?
She managed to climb through a window.
Yeah, but cut herself to pieces in the process.
Gina... Nate Hedesan, by any chance?
Yeah?
Shall we all get some fresh air?
Yeah.
Phil was a brilliant bloke.
Everyone thought he was great.
Except you, apparently.
I gather you had words with him about your love life, your relationship with Gina.
Was that a problem?
No.
I got that he was doing his job, and to be honest, we just ignored him anyway.
So where were you last night?
At a friend's.
Binman Sam's!
I was with you all night, wasn't I, Sam?
Yeah, sure.
Sam...?
Langton.
Me and Gina had a row.
I went to Sam's to let off steam.
What was the row about?
Usual stuff.
I knew she'd come back, and I just couldn't face another slanging match.
And you were here in college all night?
You didn't go out?
I wish.
No money.
Not very good for you, you know.
Binge drinking.
What are you, my dad?
Why did Phil Beskin have your number on his phone?
You're not a student.
Phil was on my case because he thought I was getting in the way of Nate's coursework.
That still doesn't explain why your number was in his phone or why he has a pet name for you: The Lioness.
Dunno.
But he was concerned about me as well as Nate.
Why?
No particular reason.
Just because he was a nice guy.
(footsteps) The College barman confirms Gina was in there.
The Porter escorted her off the premises around about 10:00-ish.
Barman at The Hopper recalls her there later too.
Both of them mentioned that she'd had a skinful.
Don't judge me, all right?
(phone ringing) Yeah?
Believe me, I'm not.
But I am going to need to take your top to establish for definite whose blood that actually is.
A college dean doesn't immediately strike me as the most obvious person to have a tattoo like that somewhere like there.
HOBSON: Oh, I don't know.
I like a man with a tattoo.
Is that alchemical?
I don't know.
Three in one-- Holy Trinity?
That's your department.
Are you looking forward to your trip?
HOBSON: Imagine, six months with no corpses.
Whatever will I do with myself?
But you shall have Robert.
My family can't wait.
They've always wanted to go to Southeast Asia.
Joke.
(sighs) Thanks for covering.
No problem.
Anything you want to tell me?
Don't think so.
Very enigmatic.
Learnt it from you.
Hi.
I'm so sorry about Phil.
(sniffling) What are you doing with this?
SAM: He told me to read it.
Any good?
Not for me.
Charles Williams believed in a living, breathing spirituality in which we could all become as Christ.
Turn water into wine?
Save me a few quid.
Stop it, Maddox.
No, it's about forgiveness.
Because we are like Christ, then we too can forgive all the sins of the world.
And interestingly, Phil Beskin claims to have had direct experience of how that works.
Interesting because?
Well, because by implication, he was guilty of something he needed to be forgiven for.
He also had this tattoo in the middle of his chest.
I want to know what it means.
Does it have to mean anything?
Maybe he just liked the image and put it where he fancied.
That's what I did with mine.
I'll see you later.
Have you ever thought of getting a tattoo?
No, I have not.
One for the travels, maybe?
I'll bear that in mind.
Uh, a word?
DI Lewis.
Do you recognize this, by any chance?
Are you sure?
It belongs to somebody you know.
Phil Beskin.
You were at a talk he gave last night.
He didn't get his tattoo out.
Wasn't that kind of talk.
Are you a Charles Williams fan?
Yeah.
Not all tattooists are pagans.
We gather you had a bit of a barney with a Wouter Eisler last night.
Was Phil Beskin involved with that?
Yeah, we all were.
It's nothing to write home about-- why?
Because Phil Beskin was murdered last night.
GINA: Jay?
What are you doing here?
I work here.
Yeah, that's great.
Thanks very much.
Seen one you fancy?
No, I'm more of a piercing man myself.
So Nate Hedesan goes out with Gina Doran, who works in a shop run by one of Phil Beskin's mates.
Does that not strike you as at all of a coincidence?
Not necessarily.
Small world and all that.
Says the intrepid traveler.
How was uni?
Yeah.
Dr. Wouter Eisler.
As part of his History of Religions course, he runs a module saying "Rationality Versus Gullibility in Comparative Religion."
And guess what?
He covers alchemy.
Alchemy, the sacred art.
Seemingly torturing nature to extract her secrets.
Beautiful, aren't they?
Jung considered that alchemical images were unconscious archetypes, keys for unlocking our psyche.
Surely, they have meaning.
Certainly, they are profound.
Or do they just give the illusion of meaning?
You decide, in your essays.
One clue: This is Geber, an eighth century Arabic alchemist.
From his name, we get the word "gibberish."
(students chuckling) Police officers attending lectures?
Whatever next?
How about a dead body covered in maggots and ravens?
Who?
Phil?
Phil Beskin, that's correct.
How do you know?
Well... Word spread after his wife notified the college.
We understand you had a difference of opinion with Mr. Beskin after his talk last night.
No, not really.
It was a bit of heated debate, that's all.
I am not a great fan of amateurism.
To what extent?
I'm an academic, Inspector, not a murderer.
I would hope it took something more than intellectual discord to make me a suspect.
This was found beside his body too.
Can you think of any connection between alchemy and Charles Williams?
There isn't one.
It symbolizes Negredo-- "the blackening"-- associated with earth.
What about maggots?
Decomposition.
The body being broken down in readiness for spiritual regeneration, Negredo being the first stage of the Great Work-- the Magnum Opus.
So how many stages are there?
Oh, it varies, but conventionally, four.
So this could be just the beginning.
(fire crackling) MOODY: You're telling me Phil Beskin's murder might be the first stage in some warped spiritual process that might play out in four stages?
Yes, sir.
Well, it sounds vague and nebulous to me.
Well, this is Oxford, sir.
If there's the possibility of further murders, I want to know about them.
And I want to deal in tangibles.
Lizzie.
Gina Doran.
The blood on her top was hers and hers alone, no trace of Phil Beskin.
Anybody else?
Nate Hedesan.
Oh, yes.
Had an argument with Phil Beskin about his relationship with a local girl, and we think he lied about his movements last night.
LEWIS: Told us he was in college, but he had a stamp of a rope on his wrist as if he'd been to a nightclub.
Blue Rondo-- that's their stamp.
It's an S&M club.
I could give them a call later on, see if anyone saw him.
MOODY: What about the wife?
Still in the frame, obviously, sir.
He's got a lot on his plate, that's all.
A lot on my plate?
Like what?
Like your dad.
It's got nothing to do with my dad.
I'm not saying it is, and if you don't want to see him, that's fine.
You've got nothing to feel guilty about.
I don't feel guilty.
Good.
I was trying to explain why you're even more rude than usual.
Does this mean anything to you?
"Chen."
It's everywhere.
Grace...
I thought I told you to leave me alone.
SAM: No stamina, that's your problem.
It's all that arguing with Gina.
NATE: Hark at the Binman.
How is your girlfriend?
SAM: Fine, thank you.
What have I done now?
Told us you were with your mate Sam there last night, but the stamp on your wrist is from the Blue Rondo.
And even allowing for student levels of hygiene, I don't think that would have lasted more than one night and a day, do you?
So?
I went clubbing.
What time did you leave?
You saw me return to my rooms.
So why lie earlier?
Didn't want to say in front of Gina.
You weren't in front of Gina.
You were talking to me.
You might have said something.
She doesn't approve.
Tell me, what course do you do?
PPL.
Psychology, philosophy, and linguistics.
And where does alchemy fit in?
I have to do a subsidiary, and alchemy's a doss.
I wasn't sure whether you'd be here today.
There's only so many condolence calls you can take.
Anyway, this is where Phil and I did most of our courting, if you could call it that.
(woman clears throat) (quietly): May I?
In his paper, your husband seems to reference a guilt that needed forgiveness.
Does that mean anything to you?
Sorry, no.
The reason I ask is just his sister's references to his issues with boundaries.
Did he mention a Gina Doran?
He was fond of her.
Thought she was a breath of fresh air.
If you're asking me if Phil was sleeping with her, I don't think so.
His boundaries may have been loose, but his morals weren't.
Williams again, you see.
And about his tattoo... His what?
You know, the tattoo in the center of his chest.
You're not aware of this?
No.
We hadn't been intimate in a long time.
What is it of?
Three angelic tear-shaped forms within a circle.
Does that mean anything to you?
Afraid not.
Oh, just one other thing.
When did you inform the college about your husband?
I didn't.
I presumed you would.
Essays in by Friday, please, at the latest.
And no gibberish.
Dr. Eisler, why are all your books dedicated to somebody called Chen?
No reason.
It's just an old mentor of mine, that's all.
When I asked how you heard about Phil Beskin's death, you said word spread after Grace informed the college.
She didn't.
And seeing as you say that you're a lecturer and not a murderer, the question remains: who told you Phil Beskin had been killed?
Grace.
I bumped into her.
Must have slipped my mind.
As someone who dislikes amateurism, do salient pieces of information often slip your mind?
I'm just finishing up.
It's Gina we want to talk to, actually.
Your boyfriend lied to us about where he was last night.
He was actually at an S&M club.
Is that what you rowed about?
No, I'm cool with it.
Don't knock it till you've tried it.
Why weren't you with him, then?
We're not chained at the hip, you know.
Everything all right?
Yeah, they're just giving me grief about Nate.
What's he done now?
What's he done before?
They fight like cat and dog, those two.
GINA: We're fine, okay?
Will everyone just back off?
There's pictures of you in this.
The tattoos on your neck match this picture here.
Their face is obscured, but it... Maybe somebody has the same neck tattoos as me.
Would you open your shirt for us, please, Mr. Fennell?
Come on, you weren't shy posing for the photographs.
We could take you down to the station and strip search you, but it seems a bit of a faff, doesn't it?
It's a tattoo-- an image.
What of it?
You said earlier you didn't recognize it.
You've got it right in the middle of your chest.
Phil Beskin had the same, and he's dead.
I did Phil's and I thought it was cool.
Look, I've got hundreds.
I'm a magpie like that.
But it's Christian in meaning, right?
It's something to do with the Trinity?
Is it connected to Charles Williams?
I don't know.
Is it?
Are you good?
Okay.
See you there in a bit, yeah?
Hey Nate, are you seeing Gina or clubbing again?
It's just if I'm going to cover, I'd rather know.
Actually, I've got other plans.
Enjoy.
Hey, Langton.
Have you seen Nate?
Faculty cheese and wine.
Nice try, Sam.
Nice try.
LEWIS: Hathaway says Phil Beskin's emails contain a reference to some row he was having with Dax Kinneson about publishing something.
Also several references to "Companions," whoever they are.
So Phil Beskin and Jay Fennell have the same tattoo.
You're the resident expert, Lizzie.
They could be lovers.
Might explain the secrecy, wouldn't it?
Fancy a drink?
You're pushing the boat out a bit, aren't you?
Well, you know what it's like, when the cat's away... Nah, I've got my alchemical homework and Laura's working late.
I promised to keep her company.
No fun you, are you?
♪ ♪ Don't worry.
It'll be fine.
The first day of the rest of your life.
(sighs) JAY: Sister, you come to us in a state of sin and contrition asking that by God's grace and in the name of Jesus Christ, your burden might be lifted from you.
DAX: I, Dax Kinneson, desire to take your sins upon me, to substitute them for love, so that you may be released from your suffering.
(sobbing) JAY: We offer your transgressions up to Christ for substitution in the hope of blessing and redemption through His grace.
(knocking) (knocking continues) NELL: James?
Come on, we've got to go.
I'm going to catch you up.
I've got to do some work.
Dad's expecting us.
Is he?
(phone ringing) Yeah, James?
I know what the tattoo is.
Charles Williams set up a mystical order called the Companions of Co-Inherence.
What, a sort of secret society that dabbled in alchemy?
No, it's nothing to do with alchemy, but the tattoo was their symbol.
Now, the order only existed for a few years, but what if Phil Beskin, Jay Fennell, and Dax Kinneson and others revived it?
I mean, it would make sense of the "Companions" mentioned in the emails between Beskin and Kinneson.
Any link to Beskin's death?
Don't know.
How's the Great Work coming along?
Don't ask.
Listen to this.
The second stage is known as... "Albado"?
Albedo?
"The Whitening," or sometimes "Washing."
Associated with the moon and the female.
Does that mean the next victim's a woman?
Carina?
Want a drink?
Hey.
No, thanks.
(sniffling) No Dax?
No, he's working.
We're celebrating.
Oh, my God.
You did it, didn't you?
It works, Carina.
You have to do it.
(knocking) (sighs) Lizzie, come in.
Seeing as no one wanted to play out with me, I thought I'd do a bit of homework too.
Well, I phoned the Blue Rondo.
Turns out Nate Hedesan is lying to us again.
He said he was there until dawn, but it was early closing.
Do you fancy a drink?
(phone ringing) VOICEMAIL: Please leave your message after the tone.
(beeps) Sorry, I'd like to, but I just can't make tonight.
Hey, Lizzie!
Back again?
Cool.
I thought you said your man was away?
Uh, no, this isn't Tony.
This is James.
He's a colleague.
We're actually here for work.
Yeah, he's in all the time.
Is he in tonight?
Might be.
I've only just got on.
He was in last night.
I want to know what time he left.
He's called Nate Hedesan.
Maybe he had a bar tab?
I'll take a look.
You know, I'm not actually a regular... Sh, sh, sh...
Paid with a credit card last night at 11:56.
Thank you.
If he left at midnight with his girlfriend's phone, then... Well, then he would have had time to text Phil Beskin and get himself over to Boars Hill.
You watch out front.
I'll stay here.
Do you want a lift?
No way.
It's a beautiful night in all respects.
I'll walk.
(music playing) (phone ringing) Is he out there?
Maddox?
(phone ringing) (ringing continues) Where?
(sirens blaring) (engine puttering) Washing?
Whitening?
Two down.
Two to go.
It looks like she was strangled and then tied to the post.
Yeah, holding her body in place so the river washes continually over her.
Time?
Educated guess, between 12:00 and 4:00 a.m.
There's a head wound, but I'll know more after the post mortem.
Great.
More alchemy.
So the pattern's the same, but this time, they came by boat.
MADDOX: Kinneson is a linguistics lecturer.
I'm just waiting to speak to her head of department.
Check out her movements yesterday?
MADDOX: Husband's already said she went for a drink at The Watermans with Jay Fennell.
Okay, let's set up a search along the riverbank between here and there.
MADDOX: Okay.
Both the deaths were out in the open, theatrically staged.
The staging may be sophisticated, but the manner isn't.
Phil Beskin battered over the head with a rock, Annapurna Kinneson strangled.
Crude, angry acts.
Is this somebody on a moral crusade who thinks Annapurna Kinneson needed to be purified?
If so, why?
What had she done?
What had Phil Beskin done?
Well, in terms of the Great Work, we've had Negredo and Albedo.
The third stage is Citrinitas, associated with the male gender, the sun, and yellow, if that's any help.
(car door closes) Play nice.
I gather one of our key suspects in this case is a student-- Nate Hedesan.
You were keeping tabs on him, I believe?
Yes, and I lost him, sir.
But to be fair, we don't know if there's any link between Nate Hedesan and Annapurna Kinneson, sir.
Actually we do.
According to Lizzie, Mrs. Kinneson's head of department just called to confirm Hedesan is one of her students.
Until she kicked him off the course a few days ago.
Just find him.
Never mind Moody.
Listen to me.
Get yourself home and get cleaned up.
No, I need to speak to Hedesan.
I can do that with Maddox.
Get home, have a shower.
You look a right state and you're starting to stink.
(phone ringing) Hey, Nell.
NELL: How could you do that?
We waited for ages.
I hate that place.
He was waiting for us-- for you.
He was really confused... (hangs up) Not exactly the white heat of academic endeavor in here, is it, lad?
What do you want?
Well, you can start by telling us why you got booted off your linguistics course.
You're the detective.
Too much like hard work, and the tutor did my head in.
Yeah, Mrs. Kinneson, I believe.
Were you angry that she kicked you off?
I've never been happier.
Hanging out at the Blue Rondo two nights in a row can't help your studies.
Last night, you arrived at 10:45.
Have you been following me or something?
Two nights ago, you settled your bill just before midnight and then you left.
Whereas you told us you were there all night.
MADDOX: What time did you leave last night?
GINA: He left about 1:30.
With me.
Can anyone vouch for your being there?
This help?
♪ ♪ (clears throat) Someone looks happy.
Yep-- I need a favor, though.
Can I take half a day?
Nate's taking me punting, don't you know.
I hope you know what you're doing.
I do.
We made up.
Oh, can I, please?
You can get us a brew first, skiver.
Mr. Kinneson?
(bell ringing) Robert!
Blood.
The blood is from a fishing trip.
I caught my arm on a fish hook.
LEWIS: We'll need to get forensics to check.
Where were you last night, Mr. Kinneson?
Here all evening.
Your wife had a tattoo, as did Phil Beskin, as does Jay Fennell.
Do you?
Am I right in saying it's the symbol of a mystical order created by Charles Williams called the Companions of the Co-Inherence?
Have you revived the order?
We're going to need a list of the members.
We think you might all be being targeted.
You're in danger.
Okay.
There's about a dozen of us.
We vowed not to talk about it.
Can you think of someone who might have opposed the revival?
Someone who was thrown out?
Rejected?
You argued with Phil Beskin-- why?
I'm publishing some rare writings of Williams.
Phil didn't think I should.
It's no big deal.
And Carina Beskin, is she a member of your group?
Does she have the tattoo?
No.
No, Carina's not interested.
HATHAWAY: We know that Dax Kinneson had a spat with Phil Beskin, and we just found blood in his boat, obviously, whatever he says about it.
But why kill his wife?
He may have had the means, but no motive that we know of.
And what is the motive for targeting a bunch of seemingly spiritual people?
LEWIS: Even spiritual people get messed up sometimes, don't they?
They've all got secrets, skeletons.
We should be delving into their pasts.
What about Wouter Eisler?
Well, he's not a fan of Williams.
He's also got the alchemy link.
Yeah, that's a good point.
He's definitely hiding something.
He dedicates all his books to someone called "Chen."
Actually, Maddox, do you mind doing a name check on "Chen" for me?
Yeah.
A word.
I asked Hathaway for a full report on the investigation on my desk this morning.
Sir.
Two words: "Investigation ongoing."
He was never great at paperwork.
Hello, yes.
Carina Beskin, I had a couple of questions.
Sorry to have to inform you that Annapurna Kinneson was found murdered this morning.
What?
An alchemic symbol was found with her body.
Do you know anything about that?
No.
You see, I checked with your college.
Yes, you're a scout, but you also studied here.
Double first in Theology, PhD, fellowship, and then eight years ago, it all just unravels.
And now you need to tell me why.
I...
I had a crisis.
Of faith.
It happens.
Is that why you're not in your friends' group?
(sighs) No.
Do you know of any reason why anyone would want to harm Annapurna Kinneson and your brother?
No.
Do you know of any disagreement between your brother and Dax Kinneson about some unpublished Williams writings?
Tell me now.
It wasn't writings.
They fell out over a ritual.
A ritual.
Something happened to Carina Beskin eight years ago.
She goes from being postgraduate prodigy to cleaner and girlfriend of "Binman" Sam.
Sam Langton?
"Binman"?
Well, it's room cleaning etiquette, same as at Cambridge.
You leave your bin out if you don't want the cleaner to come in.
No bin out, cleaner comes in.
Never leave your bin out, cleaner comes in a lot.
Hence earning you the nickname "Binman."
Maybe he's just tidy.
I'll try harder with Moody.
I didn't ask you to.
All set for the grand tour?
Counting down the days, aren't we?
Absolutely.
Annapurna Kinneson.
Autopsy confirms there was no water in her lungs.
Added to which, the absence of diatoms in her blood indicate she was dead before she entered the water.
Head wound?
Deep traces of varnish, consistent with taking a whack in the rowing boat.
But she was strangled before she was put into the boat.
Maneuvering a corpse is never easy.
Bang!
Maddox.
Forensics got back about Dax Kinneson's boat.
The blood they found was his and his alone.
And how about the riverside search?
Yeah, they're doing everything they can.
I will go and chase them up.
Wouter Eisler's dedications to "Chen."
It's a common Chinese surname, or a Hebrew word meaning "Grace."
LEWIS: As in Phil Beskin's wife?
Yeah, I think he dedicates his books to her.
Okay, well, you speak to both of them.
What's your leaflet?
My dad needed some help, so I gave it to him.
I said, "Call the number, speak to the person on the other end of the line."
Someone I knew once.
And did he?
No, but he kept this, funnily enough.
How is your dad?
Yeah, he's fine, thanks.
And your sister?
Oh, no.
Okay if I go?
Of course.
Gina... Be careful, yeah?
(phone ringing) Jay?
I need to talk to you.
No, I can't right now.
The police?
No, wait.
Okay, let's meet.
I'm sorry, I've got to go.
Bye.
LEWIS: Dr. Eisler?
Why have you dedicated all your books to another man's wife?
Grace Beskin.
Grace?
No, don't be ridiculous.
I'll just go and ask her then, shall I?
Okay, why should I be ashamed?
I fell for Grace some years ago, but sadly, it's not a feeling that's reciprocated.
But I live in hope.
Are you having an affair with her?
Oh, if only.
Grace won't countenance such a thing.
Well, maybe those chances have improved in light of Phil Beskin's death.
Seemingly not.
How well do you get on with Annapurna Kinneson?
We're not close.
Why?
First Phil, then Annapurna.
I know.
Two down, two to go.
If it's connected.
Of course it's connected.
Once is a coincidence, twice is a vendetta.
Who by?
We're the only ones who know what happened.
Which means it's either me or you.
(fire crackling) (fizzing) ♪ ♪ Police, please.
I might not have been having sex within my marriage, but that doesn't mean it's okay to have sex with someone else.
But you do have feelings for Dr. Eisler?
Yes, although since Phil died, they're mainly feelings of guilt.
(phone ringing) MADDOX: Given his feelings for you... Yeah?
...do you think his frustrations could drive him to other extremes?
(sighs) Please God, I hope not.
No, that's great if he wants to talk.
Yeah, tell Mr. Fennell DI Hathaway and I will be right over.
(phone ringing) Yeah, Robert?
♪ ♪ (door opens) (door opens) GINA: Jay?
HATHAWAY: Find out who owns the boats.
LEWIS: Where had you been?
Uh... to meet Nate.
We were meant to go punting, but he didn't turn up.
So Nate knew that you weren't in the shop?
Where is he now?
Gina, Jay wanted to say something to us.
Do you know what it might have been?
Earlier, when Mr. Kinneson kicked off, what was that really about?
Um...
He said his wife had been killed and he wanted to know what had happened.
Happened when?
Um... Jay wouldn't say.
Ages ago.
And Mr. Kinneson flipped out, shouting he was carrying his wife's guilt, and he wanted Jay to tell him why.
Signs of a struggle.
No quote or image this time.
Much messier.
It's interesting what she says about guilt.
Williams was into a process called "substitution," where you take on other people's burdens, transferring them literally onto yourself.
How do you do that?
Rituals.
What did you mean, you were carrying your wife's guilt?
Her guilt for what?
I don't know.
Come on, it's about the ritual, isn't it?
Alleviating people of their burdens?
Anna was haunted by guilt for something that happened in her past before I met her.
I relieved her from that.
Yeah, from what though?
What happened?
I've no idea.
Did you ask?
A thousand times.
Well, this event from her past, did it also involve Phil Beskin and Jay Fennell?
Yes, but it's their secret.
And what happened to Carina Beskin eight years ago is her secret.
What does it have to do with alchemy?
I have no idea.
(inhales sharply) Mr. Kinneson, may I see the ritual, please?
It might be relevant.
LEWIS: Any word on that boat or Nate Hedesan's whereabouts yet?
LEWIS: Okay, Lizzie, listen, take uniform, see if you can find Sam Langton.
He might know where Nate is.
Nah, we're... Well, Hathaway's just getting some religious uplift.
Did the entire group perform the ritual?
Not Jay.
Phil a while ago, and Anna yesterday.
(door opens) Where've you been?
I've been worried.
I just got caught up.
Jay's dead.
Jay?
Somebody killed him.
What's that?
Nothing.
It can wait.
You're breaking up with me?
Sorry.
We're not going to work.
No, we said we'd try.
There's someone else.
At the club.
Mr. Hedesan, we need to talk to you.
Interesting.
I was promised "relevant."
Phil had done the ritual, Annapurna had done the ritual, and as a result, both of them are forgiven.
This is about forgiveness.
It's got nothing to do with alchemy.
So somebody wasn't happy about them being forgiven.
What about Jay Fennell?
Has he done this ritual thing?
Apparently not.
Can you let them know?
Where were you this afternoon between 1:00 and 3:00?
Trying to pluck up the courage to do what I've just done.
With your new girlfriend, more like.
Oh, when I said I was at the club with him, I wasn't.
I went there, but I couldn't find him.
Yeah.
Now.
Nate Hedesan's alibi has just fallen through.
Gina Doran was lying for him.
He's back in the frame.
As is Carina Beskin.
I just spoke to forensics.
They found muddy boot prints in that boat, mud thick with limestone.
Which is important why?
Oxford's built on clay.
You have to go right out almost to Burford to find the limestone stuff.
Also, tissue fibers from the head wound match, so Annapurna Kinneson was definitely in that boat.
Both boats registered to Phil Beskin.
What are you thinking-- Grace Beskin?
She says she and her husband hardly used them, but Carina does.
She used to row for the university.
I row every morning.
It helps to burn off some of my tension.
What is it?
Jay?
We know about the ritual and we know what it does.
LEWIS: What we don't know is what happened eight years ago between you and your brother and Mrs. Kinneson and Jay Fennell, all of whom are now dead.
Which means either you're guilty of multiple murder or you're in real danger.
Why didn't Jay do the ritual?
Because he just... didn't feel the need to.
There are many ways of forgiving yourself.
Belief?
Simple faith?
Mm-hmm.
Jay felt those things more than the rest of us.
My brother and Annapurna needed something else.
Something more.
What about you?
I don't think you can magic those things away.
We just want to find out who killed your friends before something else happens.
You could be next.
If that's what it takes.
I'm processing full background checks on all the victims, but eight years ago?
It's going to take a while.
Okay, I'll catch up with you.
I'll see you there.
Hello?
Hi, it's James.
Can I come and see you, Father?
Cause of death, stab wound to the chest.
Yellow thrown on him afterwards.
LEWIS: To symbolize the coming of enlightenment and to mirror the sun, apparently.
Japanese yakuza needle inserted beneath the xiphoid process at the base of the sternum straight into the heart.
Death wouldn't have been immediate.
The needle's been forced straight through the center of the tattoo.
Somebody is not a fan.
Dr. Eisler?
Grace Beskin?
There's one more stage: Rubedo, meaning completion, redness, and blood.
Great.
(fire crackling) While since we've seen you.
17 years.
I would have thought you'd have given up in that time, Placid.
Ditto.
Still running?
Oh, you know.
It's a funny thing, faith, isn't it?
Actually, I meant still running.
Oh, um... No, I...
I took up rowing at Cambridge.
You were good at cross-country.
That's probably down to all those extra morning runs you sent me on as punishments.
There is that.
So you became a policeman?
For my sins.
A very good one, I gather.
Oxfordshire Police.
And a detective inspector now, I hear.
All that discipline, you see.
What do you mean, you hear?
Your father told me.
How is he?
Why are you talking to my father?
You told him to come and see me.
Yeah, years ago.
Indeed it was.
He kept coming.
More after your mother died.
What for?
That's between me and him, really.
Dad's, um... not well, Placid.
He's losing his mind.
I, um...
He came to talk about you.
How he felt bad about being a distant parent.
That it was too late to turn back the clock.
How he wished you and Nell saw more of each other.
I can't believe he came.
Come and have some breakfast.
Stay for our conference.
You'd like it.
A series of lectures about Giordano Bruno, "Hero or Heretic?"
Hero, surely.
(laughs) What sort of conference is it?
An esoteric conference.
A joint venture with another spiritual group.
We provide the theology, they bring the mystery traditions.
Do you have a computer and Wi-Fi here?
We're monks, James, not cavemen.
Come on.
(phone ringing) Yeah?
There was a conference in the Tickenham area near Bristol eight years ago.
Check with local plod for any incidents reported around November time.
I've figured the link.
Alchemy is an esoteric tradition.
Williams believed in an esoteric form of Christianity.
There are conferences on this stuff.
This one, about a Christian mystic called A.E.
Waite.
He influenced Williams and he wrote on alchemy.
Two talks-- guess who was at them.
Phil Beskin, Annapurna Kinneson... MADDOX: Here we go.
Fatality recorded.
A car accident.
Francis Fisher was knocked over and all of our four were in the car.
HATHAWAY: Was there a police investigation?
Yeah, and an inquest.
The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.
Because they weren't charged with it, there was nothing in the system.
Someone disagreed with the verdict.
Okay, let's do a check on Fisher.
Find out if he was married, where he lives, and if he had any children.
Under occupation, it says he was a practicing alchemist.
Grace said you'd be here.
We know about Francis Fisher.
(sighs) If the death was ruled accidental, why do you feel so guilty?
Why do you think?
Because they got it wrong.
According to the inquest, your brother was driving a car late at... No, no.
I was.
I was drunk.
We'd spent the evening in the pub.
When I reached the grounds...
I turned the headlights off.
We'd been warned not to stay out late and I was trying to sneak back in without being seen.
We were showing off, mucking about.
Phil had been surfing on top of the car, he was getting in through the back window.
Anna was laughing, I was laughing.
Jay was pushing Phil to the front seat, and then... (claps hands) Bang.
Out of nowhere.
I didn't even see him.
How come you weren't charged?
Well, we lied.
Phil said he was driving, and weirdly, he was under the limit.
We didn't mention the headlights.
So you got away with it, and all agreed not to tell anyone.
We were all haunted by it, but the others found Williams and his concept of forgiveness.
But you couldn't, could you?
No.
My faith, or my guilt, wouldn't let me.
Never will.
So who else knows?
Fisher's dead.
Who else is there?
I have no idea.
Sir?
Fisher?
Widowed.
But there were two sons.
Elder one, Leslie, in the Royal Marines, currently on exercise in Canada, and younger son, John.
Age of the younger son?
21.
Nate Hedesan?
Can we check if Fisher was black, please?
Yeah.
Hedesan lied about his movements on both nights.
He got Gina out of the tattoo shop on the promise of punting.
I think he's changed his name, he's gone to the college where Phil Beskin worked, he's enrolled on Annapurna Kinneson's course, befriended Gina in order to meet Jay.
Yeah, but what about the boat?
Well, Phil Beskin could have told him about it.
He got close to each and every one of them.
(knocking) We met at the Blue Rondo a while back, but honestly, something only happened between us two nights ago.
Mr. Kinneson?
I'm bisexual.
Anna knew.
Somehow, we made it work.
The night Phil Beskin was murdered... DAX: Nate was with me.
In a hotel.
We went there straight after the club.
I can give you the name.
We didn't see each other the next night.
I went to the club, but then I got your message that you weren't coming, so I headed back to college.
And why didn't you meet Gina?
Dax needed me.
We met at the chapel.
Nate, did anyone else know that you were taking Gina punting?
I don't know.
Sam?
Sam Langton?
So he would have known that Gina wasn't at the tattoo parlor?
Did he know Jay?
He was the person that first took me to the parlor.
That's how I met Gina.
And what about Annapurna?
She wasn't his regular tutor.
Not officially.
She'd agreed to tutor his dissertation.
Fisher was Caucasian, and Nate Hedesan's parents check out.
What about Sam Langton?
Funded by a trust.
Sam!
MADDOX: Home address: The Forge, Balcon Lane, outside Burford.
Where the limestone is.
(siren wailing) Carina?
Where's Sam?
Um...
I don't know.
Did he tell you who he was?
How do you mean?
Stay here.
John?
Dad used to love it out here.
Hour after hour, practicing his alchemy.
Is all this really what your dad would have wanted?
I'll never know.
Have you lived all alone here ever since, what, you were 13?
I lived with my brother until a couple of years back.
Said he took his anger elsewhere.
Ah.
Say sorry to Gina.
Here's her phone.
Who are you hoping to kill with that?
Carina?
She is nothing like the others.
Because she can't forgive herself?
Yes-- it's not for them to decide when they're forgiven.
Yeah, but it's not for you either.
This isn't a spiritual process.
This is about you playing judge and jury.
No, there has to be justice.
So what's the plan, if Carina's to live?
Then it's finished.
I complete the fourth stage.
No, no, just wait!
Carina!
Wait, please.
Think about it, it isn't over, Sam.
Sam?
You see, she's never going to let herself off the hook, but you can.
If you truly love her, you can release her.
I forgive you.
You forgive me for what?
For killing my father.
What?
What have you done?
You killed my brother and my friends?
I just missed my dad so much.
♪ ♪ MOODY: Well done, James.
Thank you, sir.
You were right.
He'll be fine without you.
Are you coming for a drink?
Robbie's buying.
Oh, I would do, but I've got a girls night.
Another one?
I know, yeah!
Ah, Bex!
You've met Bex before, haven't you?
Bex is my new next door neighbor.
Her husband is away also, so we've been keeping each other company.
BOTH: Pint?
There you go.
To your travels.
I haven't gone yet.
It's all right, you can admit it.
Admit what?
Well, you're going to miss me very, very, very much.
As if.
Have you made up with your sister yet?
The peace process has begun.
We are spending the weekend in a retreat in Ilchester Abbey.
A retreat?
To get in her good books?
What if she doesn't like it?
She'll do her nut.
No, she won't.
It is a silent one.
(laughs) Next time on Masterpiece Mystery!
This is what I want to do till the day they carry me out of here.
I've seen a lot of grieving widows, but never one like her.
Do you love Laura?
(sirens blaring) Put it down slowly.
I don't want to die.
"Inspector Lewis," the final episode, next time on Masterpiece Mystery!
Go to the Masterpiece website, listen to our podcast, watch video, and more.
To order this program on Blu-ray or DVD, visit shopPBS.org or call us at 1-800-PLAY-PBS.
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org
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