TV PLAYS INDISTINCTLY TV: '..the average 2.2% increase is the largest in five years. 'With operators arguing that 97% of its proceeds 'will be invested into the service. 'However, a rally next week will call for railways 'to be brought back into public ownership. 'Now for most of us, News Year's Eve is an occasion 'to wring out the old and bring in the new, 'for others it is a time to reflect on heartache. 'January 1st marks three years since local teenager Elise Fox 'disappeared from a party near her family home in Sutton Hollow, 'sparking a massive police search. 'To mark the anniversary, her family, today, 'made an appeal to the public.' 'Three New Years have come and gone and Elise still hasn't come home. 'We still expect her to... '..every single day. 'We expect the front door to open... 'If... 'If somebody out there, anybody... '..knows what happened to Elise, 'if anyone has any idea where Elise might be, we beg you to, 'please, please, get in contact on the number provided. 'There must be somebody who can help. 'There must be somebody.' HEAVY RAINFALL PATTERS DOOR BELL BUZZES BUZZING AGAIN BUZZING CONTINUES Hello, mate. Bob. What are you...? What are you doing here? You can't come here. We agreed. We said. I know. So what you doing here, then? They're digging up the woods. No, they can't. But they are. No, no, no, no. You're not coming in. OK? I'll meet you somewhere. Tomorrow. Just give me a call, phone me at work. All right? I'll be two minutes. Bob, this is my house. My wife will be home soon. It's a housing development. Newbeck Green. They're breaking soil on Monday. Details are in here. Rip it up when you're done. Burn it. OK, thanks. Nathan, what have you done? Shit. Shit. My wife's home. You have to leave. Get, get, get up, Bob. Get up. Get up! Come on, off. Off the stairs now. Bob, get up off the stairs. Hey. Hi! Hey, you're early. Yeah. The, er, rain. Oh. Oh, sor... Sorry. Um, Holly, this is Bob. Bob, Holly. OK. Hi! Hello. He's an old mate. Right. Yeah, he just, just popped round on the off-chance. But, er... You've gotta be off, haven't you? Well, it's nice to meet you. And you. Sorry to intrude. Oh, no worries. Girl trouble. Sorry to hear that. Well, anyway, I'd better... Yeah. Yeah. Mate, I'll give you a call. We should definitely meet up. So who was that? Er... er, Bob. And who's Bob? He's just, just an old mate. Oh, my God, you're soaking. You want a cup of tea or some soup? Soup? Wine! So, who was the girl? Girl? What girl? He said he had girl trouble. He didn't say, really. Hm. God knows. Will you excuse me a minute? I'm busting. ATMOSPHERIC DRONING DRONING INTENSIFIES RETCHING COUGHING CLOCK TICKING OK, you're burning up. I think you might be sick. Shall I pop to the chemist? No. Honestly, I'm fine. I think... I think I'm already over the worst of it. Oh, take it easy. Don't push yourself. I'll be off, then. Love you. I love you, too. HE SIGHS HE EXHALES Newbeck. 'Have you looked it up?' I'm looking at it now. 'We have to move her... 'soon.' I can't. 'We have to.' Yeah? I can't. I can't do it. 'This isn't the kind of situation where either of us has much choice. 'Did it come?' Did what come? 'You'd know if it had. 'Call me back when you've given it a listen.' Bob, what are you talking about? LINE CUTS Bob? HE SIGHS ANGRILY INTENSE MUSIC BOB: 'You know who this is. 'Now, at first, you're gonna hear white noise. 'That's perfectly natural, you need to listen a few times. 'Play it loud and listen THROUGH the static. 'It's important to know 'this recording was made in an empty room.' WHITE NOISE INDISTINCT SOUND REWIND SCRATCHING WHITE NOISE INCREASES VOLUME UNINTELLIGIBLE VOICE REWIND INCREASES VOLUME FURTHER VOICE: 'Nathan!' 'I'm not dead.' 'Charles Collier Estate Age...' HE SIGHS Bastard. PHONE RINGING 'Charles Collier Estate Agents.' Hi. I'd like to speak to Holly Fox, please. 'Mm-hm, one moment.' Holly Fox. 'Hi.' I was looking for somewhere to live. 'OK. Would you be looking for a flat or a house?' A house, I think. A small house. A little house. Bedrooms? 'Yes.' I mean, how many? Roughly? Er... Three? Three bedrooms? The best thing would be if... I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. Nathan. 'Hi, Nathan. The best thing would be if you came in for a chat. 'I could talk you through current listings. 'See what we can find that fits your budget.' Absolutely. 'When's good for you?' Tomorrow? 'I could do...' ..9:30, if that suits? OK. Great. 9:30. Out of interest, how did you get my name? I'm sorry? 'You asked for me by name. 'Have we met?' No, I don't think so. 'OK.' Er, you were recommended. By a friend. A client... 'I suppose.' He said you were... ..honest. For an estate agent? CHUCKLES AWKWARDLY Yes. Well, that's always nice to know. 'Well, I'll pop by...' around 9:30. See you then. Bye. Boo! Jesus! LAUGHING: Sorry. Oh, sorry. Oh, your face! Sorry. I was... Your face! Oh, Jesus. Aww. Mwah. How're you feeling? Yeah... A lot better. Jesus, my heart. Look at you! How was work? Oh, the usual. Contractors on Jubilee Road seem to be on a go-slow. Had to give them the evil eye. Give the boss a gentle kick. Bill Todd? Yeah. He's a lazy sod. I'm not sure why you hired him. He's slow, but he's good. But he's slow. Yeah. I'm not sure I'll go there again. We'll see. TV IN BACKGROUND You're too soft. Hm! Tell that to Bill Todd. So, do you know anything about this new estate they're building out near your mum's place? Newbeck Green? Yeah, course. Why are you interested? I dunno. Saw it on the internet today. Just... Just seems a bit... They're digging up the woods to do it. It's a disgrace, really. Cowboys. Hmm? Did you hear back from Bob? Hm? Uh, Yeah. Yeah, I did, yeah. Gonna, erm... pop out tonight, actually, for a bit. Tonight? You're sick. Er, yeah, well, it's, it's only... ..for a quick half. I'll be back by eleven. Sure you don't mind? No. I've got contracts to review. I should call Mum, really. Give her my love. I will do. Say hi to Bob. Yeah. So what did you think? Er... ..yeah, I like it. So, we're on the right track? In the ballpark? Yeah, I mean it needs a bit of... Life? Yeah. Are you OK? Yeah. Oh, no, thanks. I gave up. But, honestly, you go ahead. I gave up once. Two years. Two years? Mm-hm. What made you start again? Y'know... Stress. Yeah. Tell me about it. So is it` is it stressful, then, being an estate agent? I'm not really an estate agent. I mean, it's not a vocation or whatever. How did you get into it, then? It's just one of those things. Life just... SHE HUFFS And how long have you been a, erm... A greetings card salesman. Really? Yeah. SHE GIGGLES HE LAUGHS Well, it's not, it's not like it's a vocation or anything. SHE CHUCKLES HE LAUGHS I'd better go. Hey. You don't have to feel guilty for laughing. Bye. HAUNTING MUSIC DOOR BELL RINGS You can't come here, we agreed. Only joking, come in. Thanks for coming back. It was great last time, we had a lot of feed back. That's nice to hear. Yeah. I think it was the most popular guest slot, since, um... Uh.. Since I don't know, actually. Maybe the... maybe the Princess Diana bloke. But he was a bit mental, so... Can I get you a glass of water, anything? Cup of tea? Yeah a glass of water would be great. Water, yep, fine. Now, one of the most popular guests we've had on the show over the last few months has been Professor Bob Morrow. Now, you might remember Bob as the expert on all things that go bump in the night. Well, tonight, Bob's back to discuss more of your, spine-tingling true stories. It's lovely to have you with us again, Bob. It's nice to be back, Brian. Thanks for having me. THROUGH HEADSET: 'OK. We have got a Simon on line two.' So we are going to go straight to Simon on line two. Evening, Simon. 'Hello.' Hello, Simon. 'So, um, I'm sitting there on the bed 'and I see something in the wardrobe mirror. 'I think my wife must have come home, 'cos she'd forgotten her phone or something... 'But it's not my wife. 'It's my mum, two years to the day after she died.' Well, Simon. It sounds like you've experienced, what we call a mental imprint manifestation. ON HEADSET: 'These are ghosts 'which seem to repeat the same action over and over again. 'Walking across a particular room, opening a particular door. 'They also seem to...' Oh. "Oh," what? You were supposed to destroy it. Destroy it? Those were the instructions. Bob... What is it? Have you given it a listen? Yeah. It's blank. There's nothing on it. You need to listen a few times. Listen THROUGH the noise. Oh. You did hear it. I heard static. I heard like a TV in another room, like a radio or something. I've been making these recordings for 15 years, I know what I'm doing. It's called EVP. You set a tape in an empty room. You make sure it's isolated from stray radio broadcasts. You ask it a question, you walk away, you come back, you get voices. Whose voices? Who else? The dead. The dead? Jesus Christ, this isn't... Usually, you get three or four voices. Sometimes a dozen. Usually, what they say is banal. They sound confused, disconnected. Like someone half asleep. But the recording I sent you... For the first time, there was only one voice on it. Just one. And for the first time, I recognised it. So did you. I didn't hear anything. Listen properly this time. If you play that thing again, I'll break your fucking arm, I swear to God. So you heard her. Yeah, I heard a voice. But not HER voice. Not HER voice. Because she hasn't got a voice, her voice is gone. You know, I was thinking about it all, your wife. I couldn't sleep. Do you know what it's like lying awake, worrying about something? I've got a pretty good idea, yeah. So what is it, like, a sex thing? Cos that would actually be pretty sick. Why would you marry her, Nathan? Why would you do that? Don't mention my wife again. Fine. No, I mean it, Bob. Not ever. Ever. We have to move it. Before they dig her up. I can't believe this is happening. HEAVY BREATH It won't be difficult. I mean, it won't be heavy. Not by now, it won't weigh much. We can't be sure they'd find it. How much of a risk are you happy to take? Yeah, but what if...? You know, by now, just.. Naturally decomposed? They only need a fragment of DNA. If there's anything left, anything. Anything, they will find it. I can't do it, Bob. I just can't. And what about Holly? I just told you... Just saying, it would be a terrible thing to do to her. To let this happen. For her sister to be discovered. CAR LOCK BEEPS TV PLAYS IN BACKGROUND How was Bob? Shh. Go back to sleep. Mm. Love you. You too. SOFT MUSIC Hey. Am I late? No! No, sorry. Erm... I'm early. I get it from my dad. He's early for everything. He thinks... being on time and being late are the same thing. SHE LAUGHS OK? Do you want another drink? Oh, no. Er... I'm good, thanks. This isn't actually my first. OK. So, definitely not doing Dry January, then. SHE LAUGHS Very much not. Er, can I, erm... start a tab, and can I get a margarita, please? SERVER: Coming up. Everything OK? Look, erm... I think you're really nice. That's because you don't really know me yet. It's just... It's difficult at the moment. Great. You're married. SHE LAUGHS It would be excellent if all I was was married. I-I don't actually know how to say this. Er... It's a bit weird. Everyone already knows. So I've never... actually had to tell anyone about it. Three years ago... ..I lost my little sister. Elise. Oh, Jesus. She went out one night. To a party. And she just... ..never came home. THUMPING MUSIC HOLLY: 'It was New Year's Eve. 'I was there with Mum and Dad. 'We wanted to leave early, 'but Elise wanted to stay.' Happy New Year, darling. I love you. 'So we left her there.' 'I rang her all night. 'But she never answered.' That's... I don't know what to say. The police searched for her. They even thought they knew who did it. But... But there wasn't enough evidence. And they never found her. There was no... ..body... or anything. So... So really, we still don't know. HE INHALES SHAKILY I'm sorry to lay all this on you. No. Don't worry. I don't mind. It's... I honestly don't mind. This is really the first time I've done anything since. Gone... Gone out with someone? SHE LAUGHS No, erm... Gone out, period. Right. So, er, anyway... I told my mum about it. I mean, I-I had to. This is a new dress. You look lovely. It's... It's nice. Thank you. Um... Anyway, er... I had to tell my mum I was going out. I'd come home with this new dress and these new shoes. And... And... I don't know. I was... excited. And so was Mum. She had this... look in her eyes. She asked me who you were and how we'd met. And so I told her. And then she asked me where we were going... Where I'd bought the dress and how much I'd paid for it. And then we both cried. So you see, I'm sorry. TEARFULLY: But I can't. I don't know what to say. Don't worry. No-one ever does. I mean... What is there to say? I'm so sorry. Thanks for the drink. I'll give you a call. Best not. FOOTSTEPS RECEDE DOOR OPENS, CLOSES THUMPING MUSIC Gin and tonic, please. Mate, how are you? PHONE BUZZES You OK? Absolutely. Why? Nothing. You just... seem a bit... Yeah. Sorry. I... I just, er, was wondering if... we could sit down tonight? Have a chat about something? Course. Yeah. What? It can wait till this evening. Have I done something? I just... I got my period. HE SIGHS Don't. It's OK. Honestly, I'm... I'm OK. Can we just talk about it tonight? I... should be back seven, at the latest. We could get a curry. Curry sounds good. OK. Back by seven. PHONE BUZZES BUZZING CONTINUES ..definitely thinks the terms negotiation can be rolled back. Sorry to interrupt. There's someone in Reception here to see you. He says it's urgent. Hm. Mm. Why won't you take any of my calls? Bob. Did you think I was just gonna go away? That this situation would go away? No, of course not. It's just... Cos it won't! WHISPERS: Keep it down, for God's sake. I'm at work! Oh, right, well... I'll just sit here and wait. Till you're ready to see me. If you can't do it today, I'll come back tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that. Unless you wanna call the police, have me thrown out. Just five minutes. Listen... We've been through a lot of stress. And I mean... a lot of stress. And stress can make you do funny things. So... what you need is, you need to get away for a few days. I don't understand how you can do it. HE SIGHS Do what? Just refuse to acknowledge the evidence. Evidence? What, a voice you think you can... A voice you think you can hear, on a blank recording. Jesus Christ. Bob... Do you even know how mad that sounds, really? We've got to move her. No, we don't. What we've got to do is leave her be. Leave her where she is. We can't. Why not? Look, even if they did find her, and it's a big if, it's been so long. It's been years... She's haunting me, Nathan. I woke up two days ago, and she was standing there, at the foot of my bed. Her mouth was moving. Oh. Oh, God, why didn't you tell me? Tell you what? That you've seen her, too. Because I haven't. I haven't seen her, because there's nothing to see. She's gone, Bob. She doesn't exist! PIGEON FLAPS Look. I understand. I really do. It's difficult to face. It's easier to just pretend it's not happening. But it's happening! And she won't go away. She won't leave us alone. Not until we put it right. She's not there. You know that's not true! You put it right. YOU do it! I can't. Why not? Why do you think? I don't know! Why?! Because I'm scared! Listen, I'm sorry. I can see you've been trying to make amends for it. Oh, shut up! I suppose I have been, too, in a different way. But it hasn't worked. It's not going to work. And I can't stand it, Nathan. I can't bear it, I'll go mad. So you need to help me do this now, today, or I've got no choice. What? To talk to Holly. Oh, you stay away from Holly. You stay away from my family. And you don't say a word. Not a word. It would kill 'em if they knew, Bob. It would kill 'em. Then help me. And Holly doesn't have to know. No-one has to know, except you and me. And her. No. I'm sorry? Fuck you, Bob. Take your threats and go fuck yourself. You leave me alone, you leave my family alone, and you go and get psychiatric help. You need it. Hello! Sorry I'm late. Are you home? PHONE RINGS OUT BEEP Babe, it's me. I'm home. Er, are you there? You said seven, at the latest. CREAKING OK, it's nearly 25 past. Just... CREAKING CONTINUES ..give me a call when you get this. FAINT THUD FAINT THUDDING HE EXHALES FAINT SOUNDS CONTINUE Are you here? If you're here, do something. THUD HE BREATHES UNSTEADILY Oh, Jesus. Is she breathing? IS SHE BREATHING? Stand back! Stand over there! What did you do? What did you do?! What did you do?! OMINOUS MUSIC You sure you don't mind? Why would I mind? I dunno... Some people might. You should talk about her. I talk about her all the time. You think about her all the time. Oh... I dunno. It's not a words thing. I'm not good with words. I just... I just like feeling like she's around. Does that make sense? Yeah. I talk to her sometimes. Yeah? Quite a lot, actually. When mum's getting on my nerves. Problems at work. You. She was the first to know about you. Ah! Seriously. I told her, "I met this bloke today. "He was like an abandoned puppy that needed rescuing." Wow... You were probably right. Yeah, I know. So... do you feel rescued? I do. I feel rescued. Good. PHONE RINGS PHONE CONTINUES RINGING ANSWER PHONE: 'Hi, you've reached Holly. 'I'm sorry I can't take your call right now, 'but if you leave a message, 'I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Bye.' BEEP Babe, it's me. Er... I don't want to seem an old woman, but it's... ten past nine, and you said... Listen, I hope you're OK. Just give me a call to let me know you're OK. DOOR BANGS I'm so sorry! Jesus Christ. Where have you been? With Dave Sarkissian. He swears he's about to make an offer on those bloody retail units. You said seven o'clock! I know. I know, I'm sorry. I've been texting. I bet you have! It's not funny. Too bloody right, it's not. I lost my phone, by the way. Lost it where? If I knew that, it wouldn't be lost, would it? Honestly, what a night. Dave Sarkissian's late, then he goes on for hours and hours and hours. By the time I get away and... Are you OK? I'm good. I was just a bit worried. And I knew you wanted to have this talk, so... Yeah. So... ..are you still OK to do that? We can wait. No, it's fine. Now's... good. So, yeah... I got my period. I had a good feeling. I thought, this time, it would take. "Take". Jesus. What a word. And there's the money. Oh, the money doesn't matter. We'll get the money. We can... I... I dunno. We can keep trying. Honestly? I'm not sure I can. Oh, OK. I mean, every time, it feels like... I don't know. Bereavement's probably too strong a word. I know it's stupid. Because they were never real. They were never really there. But you were hoping so much. It was like you could feel them. It's like you've lost something. Does that make sense? It does, yeah. It makes sense. And I just... I can't keep putting us both through it! Just hoping so much, then losing them. I just can't do it. SHE SOBS If you want to stop, we can stop. But if you just wanna, like, just take a breath, we can do that, too. We can go on holiday. Go to Greece. Bit of sun. Drink Retsina. Throw up in a bidet. We can do whatever you like. All I care about is you. I just want you to be happy. It's the only thing I care about. MUSIC: 'Ooh La La' by Goldfrapp Hello, gin and tonic. Please? Well, thank you! Mate! How are you? I didn't know you were coming. Oh, I know. Neither did I, really. What made you come along? Erm, well, I was meant to go to this other thing I was invited to, but my ex-girlfriend was going with her fiance, and... yeah. So, here I am. Billy No Mates. Right. Ouch. Yeah, well... Er, cheers. To be honest, I'm not even sure I like parties. I don't think anyone does. Not really. Do you know what helps with that? Not liking parties? No. What? Drugs. Yeah? All right. HE SNORTS AND SNIFFS So you do believe it all? You really believe in ghosts? Like, actually believe. It depends what you mean by "believe". About 80% of the recently bereaved experience what's called a "post-bereavement hallucinatory experience". Eight out of ten people will see the ghost of a person they lost. Their mother, their father, their wife, their child. Now, they could be experiencing an objective phenomenon. Or it could be purely psychological. Or it could be something in-between, who knows? Either way, the question is not whether ghosts exist - of course they exist. They're part of our experience. We see them, we hear them. We sense them. The only question is... ..what are they? We ask only to be reassured, about the noises in the cellar... and the window that should not have been open. So, where does all this come from? How did you get into it? Ah, the most predictable way possible, I suppose. Yeah, what's that? When I saw one. One what? One what do you think? HE EXHALES DEEPLY What? Actually? Actually. Shall we head back then? Back to the party, show our faces? MUSIC: 'Over And Over' by Hot Chip MAN: 'Seriously?' BOB: He's a professor at Copenhagen. Basically, reproduces poltergeist phenomena, right there in his lab. Things levitate, fly across the room. It's like... It's like he's built a room inside a kind of electro-magnetic chamber. MAN: 'Here we go, ladies and gentlemen, is everybody ready? CHEERING CROWD: 'Five... four... three... two... one...' CHEERING Happy New Year! Hello. Hello. Erm, boss, before we step inside... Is everything OK? I, er... I actually know the missing woman's family. OK. Well, the sister, really. She and I were in the same year at school. Is it gonna be a problem? Absolutely not. No, not for me. Then I think we're probably good, don't you? OK... Cheers, boss. So, Mr Redman, I expect you'll have gathered why we're all here? We're investigating the disappearance of Elise Fox. So, if you wouldn't mind taking us through exactly what happened that night? Absolutely, please. Of course. So, what took you to the party? Ah, the host. My boss. It's sort of an annual fixture. He invites all the other DJs and their staff and basically... everyone in his village. It's sort of a thing. Annual thing. Since the '80s, I think. And while you were there, did you see or speak to Elise Fox? Not that I know of. That you "know of"? Well, there's... there's, like, a million people there, so, all night, you're like, "Hello this, excuse me that," so, you know... I could've, you know, whatever, said hello or something. But if I did, I don't... I don't know. So, how come you're, er... Leaving? Yeah. Oh, it's, er... it's my ex, Richard. Your ex. Yeah. Although... he's not actually getting that message. He thinks we're more like Ross and Rachel. Oh, right. Yeah. But we're not, we're more like Rachel and Gunther. OK. Let's go over there. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. Er, Bob, this is Elise. Elise, Bob. Hello, Elise. Happy New Year. Happy New Year. So, where are you two thrill kids headed? Just y'know... home, really. Home? Oh, come on. The night's young, surely? There must be somewhere local we can grab a drink? I mean, The Wheatsheaf's got a late licence. We could go in there and see if we could get something, if you fancy it? The Wheatsheaf. Excellent idea. So, who's up for The Wheatsheaf? Come on, it's a bit embarrassing, going home this early on New Year's Eve. Now, that's two for The Wheatsheaf. Nathan? Yeah, all right, sod it. Three for The Wheatsheaf. OWL HOOTS THEY LAUGH So, you can't get a taxi, you're walking to the train station. This bloke, Bob, comes driving past. Er, yeah. He was just on his way home, and he stopped to pick me up. And you were alone at his point? Absolutely, yes. Just... Just me and Bob. SHE LAUGHS I'll drink to that. Does The Wheatsheaf have any drug-taking facilities? Erm, not as such, no. But they'll do you a Cumberland sausage. Then how about we stop off en route for a nice little top-up? Yeah, just to backtrack a bit... you're absolutely sure you didn't see Elise Fox at this time? Yeah, well, like I said, I don't know if I saw her or not. I-I-I don't know. It was really busy, and there were so many people there. And how do we know this place? Locals call it "The Hollow". It's like lovers' lane or something. In the summer, anyways. Yeah, why? Why only in summer? Cos it's haunted. Haunted? By whom? A grey lady. Like a witch or something. Yeah? Mm-hm. She's got this awful expression on her face, like she's terrified. You ever seen her? Yeah, right! SHE LAUGHS I bet there's a river nearby, though. How'd you know that? There's usually running water near haunted lanes. Oh, and he's off! Wait, what? Shh. Why is that? The water? Who knows? Maybe electrical currents interfering with brain activity, especially the temporal lobe. Could be infrasound. Mm-hm. Yeah. How come? It's pretty cool. Exposure to low-frequency sound. I'm talking around 18 cycles a second. That's roughly the frequency of a tiger's growl. It causes a sort of... prey response in us. Gives rise to a lot of unpleasant physiological effects - shivering, anxiety, breathlessness. A sense of unseen danger, of being watched. Like we're being hunted. All you need to create the effect is to make the right kind of standing wave. Like when you do this. LOW-PITCHED HUMMING HE SNORTS, THEY GIGGLE It's a bad joke. No, I don't mind. A little reckless? Yeah. Yeah? Mm-hm. My bladder's gonna explode. I'm going for a slash. Grey Lady. Yeah, yeah, all right. WHISPERS: Witch. Leave some for me. Back in a tick. SHE LAUGHS Actually, I might be a while, so y'know, whatever. Is he gone? Yeah. THEY GIGGLE SHE SNIFFS SHE SNIFFS AND EXHALES Happy New Year. Her ex told us she may have taken drugs, so is there any possibility, during the course of the evening, that you sold illegal drugs, or... gave illegal drugs to a woman who might have been Elise Fox? Absolutely not. No, why, why would you even... Why would you even think that? Do I need to call someone? Do I need a lawyer or something? You're absolutely free to call counsel, of course. But you're not really in trouble here. We traced your movements. You what? I'm sorry? This is you and Mr Morrow, on your way home at 4:12am. OK. Elise Fox was last reported alive around 4:30am. That's 18 minutes later... and 30 miles away. I'm sorry? Elise Fox was heard banging on her ex-boyfriend's bedroom window. Crying, demanding to be let inside. Apparently, very distressed... and confused. Sorry, I don't understand. W-What do you mean? What are you saying? That she was alive, Nathan. Long after you got home, she was alive. So you're not a suspect in her disappearance. HOLLY, IN HIS HEAD: 'I'm really sorry.' 'I don't know what to say.' 'Don't worry, no one ever does. Thanks for the drink.' I'll give you a call. Look, erm, best not. Mr Fox? Yes? Er, hi, I'm Nathan. I'm a friend of Holly's. Oh, ah... ..I'm afraid she's not at home. Oh, OK. OK, right. Come a long way? Ah, no, not really. Not too far. Just... Just from town, so... Well, she... she shouldn't be long. She's just running an errand. Why don't you come inside and wait? Well, are you sure? I don't want to impose. No. No, no, no, it's no trouble. Be glad of the company. Darling? Darling, this is Nathan. Nathan, this is Holly's mum, June. Oh. Aren't those lovely? Shall I put them in water? Please, thank you. She shouldn't be long. She's, um, just getting Hetty seen to. Hetty? Our daughter's cat. Oh... Right. Oh, er... Sit, please. So... how do you and Holly know one another? Nathan was looking to buy a house, darling. They met that way. Oh, I see. We actually we went for a drink a few weeks back. Well... sort of. It didn't... didn't go too well, if I'm honest. I'm sorry. The thing is, she's... been having a difficult time of it lately. Well, I-I know... some of it. It's just that she... DOOR OPENS She told me, she mentioned it. HOLLY: Who's car is that in the drive? Tea, darling? Gasping. Oh... Go on. Darling, why don't you show Nathan the garden? TENSE MUSIC BUILDS What did you think you were doing? What could I do? They asked me in. But why are you even here? Look, I'm really sorry. It's... It's just, you wouldn't take my calls. So you come to my house?! Not with any expectations. And that's OK, is it? I didn't mean to upset you. Look... you can see, right? Why it might be upsetting for me, to have someone do what you did? We're not a normal family. Things aren't normal for us. Yeah, I'm really sorry. It was stupid. Yeah, it really was. I'm sorry I didn't take your calls. Doesn't matter. Of course it matters. Oh, my God. What? If I don't ask you to Sunday lunch, they'll never forgive me. Oh, here he is, then. The groom! ALL: Hey! Hello, hi. Er, these are for Jacki. He hasn't met Jacki yet. She's not here yet. She's always late. She'll be late for the wedding. It's all right. Sit down. I'll take these. Come, sit. Oh, hey. Hey, how are you doing? We work together. Hey, nice to meet you. Hi, nice to meet you, too. Oh, at last! The maid of honour makes an entrance! CHEERING Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Nathan? Jacki? GLASS CLINKING So, I'm smoking. Is anyone smoking? Nathan? Are you... are you smoking? Er, actually, I'm all right. It's cold out. OK. Er, let me say it another way. Erm... please join me outside for the bit where the Best Woman delivers a warning speech... ALL: Ooh! ..to the groom. ALL: Ooh! You're in trouble, mate! SIREN WAILS DISTANTLY She doesn't know. No. You have to tell her. Tell her what? Oh, ah... that you were there. That night. Well, yeah, me and about 300 other people. Yeah, that. And what's it gonna achieve? It's not about achieving anything, it's about her knowing the truth. But why? Because you're lying to her. Look, when I met her, she didn't talk about it. Obviously, I knew she had this thing, that something had happened, but I didn't know what it was, cos she didn't talk about it. And by the time she did, it was too late. I didn't want to ruin it. Me and her. I wasn't trying to deceive her, for Christ's sake. I just... I didn't wanna hurt her. Look, all I want to do is to make her happy. Literally, honestly, that is all I want in the world. And she is! She's happy. You saw her in there. She's happy. I won't let you hurt her. I won't. And I couldn't. Cos if you do... I'll bury you. FOOTSTEPS RECEDE PHONE VIBRATES OMINOUS MUSIC Hello? Nathan? NATHAN: 'How did you get that phone?' Chicken balance box and the double espresso? Magic. Bob, I swear to God. I swear... I told you, it can't wait any more. It has to be tomorrow. 'We have to move her, Nathan. We have to.' CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS CAR REVS Who is that? REVS Here's Graham. Bob. Please don't. Who is it? Can you see? No. Call the police. I'll go and have a word. Darling, you should call the police. And say what? Be careful. I think Graham's on his way down to have a word with me. 'What should I say to him when he gets here? 'What should I tell him?' Bob, stop. 'Do you want me to tell them, Nathan? 'Do you want me to tell them what you did? 'That you buried Elise? 'That you put her in the ground?' Bob, please! You've got about five seconds. GRAHAM: 'Can I help you?' HE SIGHS Bob, come on! Hello? Four seconds. Just, Bob, stop! Just... Just leave it alone! Two... 'This is my property.' One... Argh! All right! All right! All right! Tomorrow night? Yeah... Yeah, tomorrow night. Tomorrow night. Now, just leave him alone! Excuse me, can I help? So, where did you tell her you'd be? Let's get this straight. If you threaten my family again, I'll kill you. I'll wipe you from the face of the fucking earth. They'll never find you. All right? It'll be over soon. UNSETTLING MUSIC Is she breathing? Is she breathing?! Stand back! Stand over there. What did you do? What did you do? What did you do?! BOB: 'Look at her! What did you do?!' I used to come here sometimes. Why? You never did? No, Bob. I never did. Why would anyone? I don't know. To make it real? That's the thing... I don't want it to be real. So, when's Nathan joining us? Oh, he's not tonight. He's dealing with a bit of a situation. Oh, really? What situation? He's had this old mate turn up out of the blue. Work friend? No, someone from the old days, I think. Nathan hardly knows him. But this bloke's in pretty dire straits. Mentally sort of thing. Oh, poor old Nathan. Well, that's all well and good, but we're in schtuck without a fourth. Oh, didn't I say? Jacki's stepping in. Oh, lovely! How's she keeping? She's good. Much the same. Still no boyfriend in the picture? Honestly, Mum, I really don't think that's gonna happen, do you? Well, you never know. But as long as she's happy. Hi. So sorry I'm late. Lovely to see you. So, who's my partner in crime for the evening? It hurts you even have to ask. Oh, come here! Good to see you. Where shall I sit? I'd sit... OK. Wine? Was it true? Did you see her? Elise? Standing at the end of your bed? Come on. Give me a hand. Thank you. Are you OK? 'Course. Why? You've been checking your texts every five seconds. SHE CHUCKLES Bloody hell, Inspector Morse. It's just Nathan, hasn't been himself. He's on edge. Actually, his nightmares are back, and that's always a sign. Nightmares about what? It's just a thing with him. It happens when he's stressed out. He talks in his sleep. Sometimes, he cries. Sometimes, he, like... sits bolt upright, and I'm like, "Whoa!" And he'll look at you... ..but nobody's home. He never remembers it in the morning. Well, has he seen a doctor? Yeah, about a million times. He's got sleeping pills, but he doesn't like to take them. Why not? In case there's a fire and I'm unconscious, and he has to rescue me. No. SHE SNIGGERS Yeah. He might seem pretty sane on the outside. Underneath, he's basically mental. And there's also this bloke. What bloke? Nathan's mate. Bob. And who's Bob? Some bloke from years ago, apparently. He basically turns up at the door one night. And since then... He's got a few issues mentally, or whatever, so it's sad, really. But he's really getting to Nathan. What is it? NATHAN'S VOICE: 'Yeah, he was just on his way home, 'and he stopped and picked me up. 'Well, like I said, I don't know if I saw her or not. 'I-I don't know, it was really busy, and there were so many people.' JACKI: 'And this bloke Bob comes driving past? 'Yeah, he was just... on his way home, 'and he just stopped to pick me up.' 'And you were alone at that point?' 'Absolutely, yeah. 'It was just... me and Bob. 'Just me and Bob.' VIDEO REWINDING 'Just me and Bob.' TENSE MUSIC BUILDS INAUDIBLE Subtitles by ITV SignPost Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air.