The episode begins amid the death investigation of Nurse Josephine Fallon (Siobhan Cullen). Medical Examiner Rohan Chopra (Avin Shah) explains the findings to Detective Investigator Adam Dalgliesh (Bertie Carvel) and Detective Masterson (Jeremy Irvine). The findings do not reveal any signs of strangulation or suffocation. Medical Examiner Rohan Chopra says, “It is unlikely to be a natural death”. Detective Dalgliesh and Medical Examiner Chopra discuss the possibility of the death being contributed to a non-corrosive substance. The death is determined to be around midnight. Medical Examiner Chopra says, “She died when she drank that nightcap”. No suicide note was discovered at the scene. Dr. Stephen Courtney-Briggs (Richard Dillane) enters the room exhales, looks disgusted and exits the room.

The student nurses are held-up in a sitting room, awaiting the investigators. Nurse Julia Pardoe (Alice Nokes) becomes anxious and decides to retrieve her cigarettes. Sister Mavis Gearing (Fenella Woolgar) interrupted her, telling her to “sit down”. Nurse Pardoe says, “Did she look like she had been murdered”. Sister Mavis Gearing snarled and said, “Don’t bother”. Nurse Pardoe pushed back, saying, “I want to know if it looked like murder or suicide”. Nurse Madeline Goodale responded, “She looked horrified”. Detective Dalgliesh and Masterson enter the room. Nurse Pardoe continues to push for information about the death. She teases the nurses about the supposedly killer, “Someone is picking us off, one by one”. Sister Mavis Gearing interrupted, “Please be quiet”.

Detective Dalgliesh asks the nurses, “Who was the last person to see her alive”. Nurse Christine Dakers (Helen Aluko) said, “It might’ve been me”. She says Nurse Fallon visited the kitchen while she was preparing tea. She gave Nurse Fallon boiling water for tea. Nurse Pardoe says, “Well, well”. The investigation comes to an end. Detective Dalgliesh tells Masterson to collect the kettle and send it for testing. Entering the hallway, they discover Dr. Courtney-Briggs speaking with Sister Ethel Brumfett and Matron Mary Taylor (Natasha Little). Dr. Courtney-Briggs complains that Detective Dalgliesh while investigating one murder allowed another murder to occur right under his nose. Dalgliesh says it may not have been a murder.

Sister Brumfett interrupts, “It is more likely to be suicide”. Dr. Courtney-Briggs continues to ridicule Detective Dalgliesh for what he believes is murder. Sister Brumfett tells Detective Dalgliesh, “I saw her light on, Fallon’s, it must have been around 2 am, I was on my way to bed after nursing a patient at the hospital”. Dr. Courtney-Briggs becomes upset when Detective Dalgliesh tells the witnesses to stay at the Nightingale House. Detective Dalgliesh investigates Nurse Fallon’s room. He discovers his book “Collected Poems 1973” lying on the floor beside the bed. He picks it up and gives it a good look over. He discovers another book that appears to be “The Story of Sex”, lying on the nightstand. He picks it up and discovers a library card inside. While continuing to search the room, he discovers a ticket stub before leaving.

He visits the mail area, where he discovers a couple of letters to Nurse Pardoe and a letter to Nurse Pearce (Beccy Henderson). Nurse Goodale (Eliot Salt) walks down the steps and stops to observe, as he puts the letter in his pocket. Masterson interviews Nurse Dakers. She explains the incident in the kitchen the night before, where she entered Nurse Fallon. She told Masterson, she filled Nurse Fallon’s cup with water. She said the kettle was what she believed to be full and did not add additional water. Masterson asks Nurse Dakers if she had anything against Nurse Fallon and Nurse Pearce. She said, “No, I didn’t have anything against Pearce, she was trying to help me”.

Detective Dalgliesh investigates Nurse Goodale. She told the detective Nurse Fallon was very private. She says, “She was the best nurse”. Detective Dalgliesh responded, “Does that bother you”. She says it bothered her some but would be leaving once she is qualified because she is engaged to be married to a vicar. Detective Dalgliesh asks Nurse Goodale about Nurse Fallon’s relationship with Nurse Pearce. She says, “Civil, Pearce once threatened to complain to Matron about whiskey”. She says Nurse Fallon did not hold a grudge against Nurse Pearce. They discuss Nurse Fallon’s relationship with Nurse Dakers. Masterson interviews Sister Mavis Gearing. She denies visiting the nurse’s corridor and being close to Dr. Courtney-Briggs. He was her reference and friend.

Detective Dalgliesh asks Nurse Goodale if Nurse Fallon had a boyfriend. She says, “She didn’t tell me she did, but I think there was someone, she would often go to London when she had free time”. She denies knowing anything about Nurse Fallon’s personal letters. She tells Detective Dalgliesh, “A couple of days before she died, I went into her room to ask her if she wanted some cake and I noticed she was reading a part from her Bible, she never read”. Nurse Pearce says she saw a magazine or book in Nurse Pearce’s room, which she conceals from view. She suggests it is the thing that was taken from Nurse Pearce’s pillow. Masterson interviews Nurse Pardoe. She claims to have spent the night in her room alone.

Detective Dalgliesh reads Nurse Pearce’s letter from her grandmother. The letter read “I was so very sorry to hear about the recent passing of your patient Mr. Dettinger”. He enters the dining hall and takes a place at a table with Sister Brumfett and Sister Mavis Gearing. It is obvious Sister Brumfett is not happy with the detective’s decision to sit at their table. Sister Mavis Gearing questions their ability to eat following the death of a student nurse. Masterson enters the dining hall, Nurse S. Burt (Robin Kristoffy) and Nurse M. Burt (Alex Kristoffy) giggle and leer. Detective Dalgliesh questions the sisters about Mr. Dettinger. Sister Brumfett says, “Pearce was on my ward for the last rotation and she was assigned to Mr. Dettinger, he was one of Mr. Courtney-Brigg’s patients.” Sister Brumfett says she was relieved about Nurse Pearce’s response to the death of Mr. Dettinger before leaving the table.

Detective Dalgliesh and Masterson return to the investigation room. Detective Dalgliesh tells Masterson about Mr. Dettinger. He sends Masterson to London to speak with Mr. Dettinger’s mother, Louise Dettinger. Masterson grumbles, saying he needs to be there to assist with the investigation. Detective Dalgliesh visits the library to question the librarian about Nurse Fallon’s previous book rentals. The librarian tells the detective, Nurse Fallon checked out two books, one was about the Nazi War Trials. She picked the book up 4 days prior and incorrectly returned it the day before. The book was discovered amid a pile of children’s books. Detective Dalgliesh asks the librarian to describe the lady she dealt with. The description was not Nurse Fallon, but Nurse Heather Pearce.

Masterson is leaving to visit Louise Dettinger when he encounters Nurse Pardoe. She gets in his vehicle, they drive away. Detective Dalgliesh inspects the book “An Account Of The Nazi War Trials” and discovers, it contains a gritty substance. He walks over to a bucket that is filled with the same substance. He climbs the stairs and inspects a similar bucket, where he discovers a bottle of Fozax Insecticide. He gives the bottle to the medical examiner who said the insecticide was consistent with his findings. He denies finding any sand under Nurse Fallon’s fingernails. He says the time of death was “between midnight and 2 am at the latest”. He tells Detective Dalgliesh, Nurse Fallon was pregnant (13 or 14 weeks) at the time of her death. Detective Dalgliesh says, “She didn’t take her own life”.

Masterson and Nurse Pardoe are having sex in his vehicle. They are smoking a cigarette. Nurse Pardoe asks Masterson what he thinks Detective Dalgliesh would think of him now. He responds, “He thinks, he is a saint, but he is not”. Nurse Pardoe says Detective Dalgliesh is sexy. Masterson says, “He is old enough to be your granddad”. She says, “It is not about age, it is about power”. She admits to lying about the male student in her room. She says, “It was Stephen Courtney-Briggs”. She insinuates, Mr. Courtney-Briggs makes sure she passes exams. She says, “Now, I have power over you”. They threaten each other before she gets out of the vehicle. Masterson looks concerned.

Detective Dalgliesh shows the insecticide bottle to Matron Mary Taylor, Sister Brumfett, and Sister Mavis Gearing. He asks if they had seen the bottle before. Sister Mavis Gearing says it is hers. She becomes extremely upset and shows him where she kept the insecticide. She denies hurting Nurse Fallon and Morag Smith (Lily Newmark) knew about the bottle. Sister Brumfett tries to leave the room but is interjected by the detective. He wants to speak with her and refuses to delay the meeting. Detective Dalgliesh interviews Sister Brumfett. She asks her about serving in the war, which she denies. The detective reads her account of the night Nurse Fallon died. She claims to have gone to investigate a noise on the nurse corridor and encountered the Burt twins. Nurse Fallon discharged herself from the ward the day before against the sister’s advice. She denies checking in on Nurse Fallon. She entered the home through the back entrance instead of the front entrance, where the Constable was stationed.

She tells the detective about Nurse Fallon’s pregnancy, saying it was probably the cause of her death. She makes several assumptions about Nurse Pearce and Nurse Fallon before leaving. Masterson visits Louise Dettinger in London. He introduces himself. She does not appear to be upset over her son’s death. He asks Louise about Nurse Pearce. She refused to answer his questions unless he refused to dance with her. Detective Dalgliesh speaks with Matron Mary Taylor. He tells her Nurse Fallon was murdered. He asked her about Mr. Courtney-Brigg’s response to the death scene. The Matron tells the detective about their relationship. She says Dakers and Morag Smith are easy scapegoats. He asks her about Mr. Courtney-Briggs serving in the war. Masterson and Louis Dettinger dance.

Detective Dalgliesh enters the woods to speak with Morag Smith when he is hit in the head. Morag Smith carries him into the house, screaming for help. The detective, covered in blood, takes a seat on the step. He tells them to lock all the doors. Matron Mary Taylor tells Nurse Goodale to call Mr. Courtney-Briggs. The detective does not want the doctor to treat his injury. He wakes up to a flashlight in his eyes. Mr. Courtney-Briggs wants to utilize an anesthetic, which the detective refuses. Louse Dettinger tells Masterson about her son’s stint in the army. He came out uninjured and was sent to the Germany Nazi War Trials. She calls the Germans “barbarians”. She tells Masterson, her son recognized someone while spending time as a patient at the ward. He asks the doctor about his relationship with Nurse Fallon. The doctor appears to be shocked. He denies killing Nurse Fallon, saying, “I was extremely fond of her”. He says she called the relationship off three months prior. He continues to deny killing Nurse Fallon. Detective Dalgliesh is stitched up without an anesthetic. Masterson tries to contact the Nightingale House with no luck. He leaves without speaking to Louse Dettinger.

Detective Dalgliesh tells Mr. Courtney-Briggs about Nurse Fallon’s pregnancy. He denies knowing. He tells the detective, he and his wife were never able to get pregnant. He denies the baby being his. Detective Dalgliesh assesses the Nazi book, his vision is blurry. Masterson returns from London. He tells Masterson about the attack. Masterson begins to tell the detective about Dettinger witnesses someone he knew in the ward. He tells the detective, Dettinger way someone named Grobet. He says Louise Dettinger brought the incident to Mr. Courtney-Brigg’s attention and was given 50 percent off her son’s bill. The two now know Grobet is Brumfett. Masterson believes Nurse Pearce blackmails Sister Brumfett, leading to her death. Masterson reads a paragraph out of the Nazi book, saying Brumfett killed 122 Polish soldiers. Brumfett was found guilty of the killings. Detective Dalgliesh questions Mr. Courtney-Briggs about Louise Dettinger’s interview, which he denies.

The student nurses are called in for an interview. Sister Brumfett is missing. Sister Mavis Gearing begins screaming “fire”. The garden hut is burning. Morag Smith enters the home through the front door. Everyone is scurrying around, trying to find out what is going on. The student nurses are ordered to stay upstairs. The garden hut blows up. Detective Dalgliesh and Masterson inspect the garden hut once the fire is extinguished. They discover the body of Sister Brumfett inside the garden hut. Matron Mary Taylor appears to be concerned. Detective Dalgliesh investigates Sister Brumfett’s room and discovers a suicide note. The detective reads the note aloud. Sister Brumfett admitted to killing Sister Pearce and Sister Fallon because she feared them telling her secret to the authorities. The student nurses are sitting around. They are upset over Brumfett’s death. The Burt twins say they no longer want to remain at the Nightingale House. Nurse Pardoe tells them to “go then, run back to the farm”. Nurse Dakers says it is not places that are evil, but people. She tells Nurse Pardo, she feels sorry for her, she had rather be herself. She calls Nurse Pardoe “corrupted” and “graceless”.

Detective Dalgliesh speaks with Matron Mary Taylor about Sister Brumfett. She tells the detective, Sister Brumfett was born in Germany. She admits being aware of Brumfett’s past. She says Brumfett was horrified by what she did, without disclosing any information. She contributed Brumfett’s actions to her young age. She calls her a “brilliant nurse”. Detective Dalgliesh tells Matron, he has requested Brumfett’s file. He says, the sister only served 14 months of her sentence when she escaped with a soldier who was responsible for guarding her. Detective Dalgliesh says he couldn’t understand why a guard would risk his freedom and run away with Brumfett. He says, she was not “romantic” or “inspiring”. Matron Mary Taylor tells him to “stop it”, as she rises from her seat. He tells the matron he knows she is the guard who helped Brumfett escape. She denies killing Nurse Pearce and Nurse Fallon blames Brumfett for the murders. Matron Mary Taylor says Brumfett was obsessed with her. She says, “I hated her”. She admitted to killing the Polish soldiers. She says they trusted her to inoculate them against TB. She tells the detective, she pushed poison into their veins. She tells the detective, he sees “the underneath, our souls”. He responds by saying, “human beings do matter, and every human has a right to justice”.

Masterson enters the room.  Detective Dalgliesh tells Masterson to search Brumfett’s room and then, Matron Mary Taylor’s. The matron tries to jump out the window. Detective Dalgliesh stops and arrests her. She is taken away in a police cruiser while the student nurses watch on. Detective Dalgliesh gets in his car and leaves.

 

Dalgliesh Review

I really enjoyed the episode. The acting and scenery were superb. I am always impressed with Bertie Carvel’s remarkable performances. I was a bit disappointed with some of the dialogue. I found some of the dialogue cheesy, although it was replicated after P.D. James’ works. I never got bored but did wish the story would have sped up at times. I would give the episode a 7.5.

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