Death Of An Expert Witness – The episode opens with DCI Adam Dalgliesh (Bertie Carvel) reading from his book, “Last Sighting.” A group of kids discovers a woman’s body at a clunch pit. Director Maximillian Howarth (Sam Hoare) and DI Doyle (Stuart Graham) watch the forensics team collect evidence and protect the victim’s hands with paper bags. Doyle suggests the murder stems from a domestic dispute. Dr. Edmund Lorrimer (Dominic Rowan) makes it clear that Howarth isn’t in control of his biology laboratory, on the facility. Howarth agrees with him.

Hoggatt’s Forensic Laboratory – Lorrimer examines the potential murder weapon, a mallet. He refuses to permit Clifford Bradley (Perry Millward) to run tests on the swab. Angela Foley (Carolina Main) informs him that Howarth is leaving the facility but he seems disinterested.

Domenica Howarth (Margaret Clunie) watches a live performance. Someone sticks pins in a voodoo doll. She exits the pub. After sticking another pin into the voodoo doll, he starts shaking violently. At 9:05pm, someone rings the doorbell. When he returns to the laboratory, someone hits him with a mallet from behind. His body lies motionless on the floor.

Blanche Fielding (Debbie Chazen) tells Dalgliesh that American consumers bought 18,000 copies of his novel in two weeks. She says they want him to tour the United States starting in New York. He reminds her of his job. She assures him this is the perfect time to stop working when a call comes in from Scotland Yard.

Hoggart’s Forensics Laboratory – Howarth greets Dalgliesh and DS Kate Miskin (Carlyss Peer) upon their arrival. He escorts them to the crime scene where Lorrimer lies face down on the floor. Dr. David Rollinson (Richard Harrington) sets the time of death between 7pm and 11pm and the cause of death, a blow to the back of the head with a mallet. Kate asks if the blow required a significant amount of force. He suggests Lorrimer’s assailant could easily be a woman. Howarth informs him of Brenda Pridmore (Alyth Ross) finding the body.

Howarth claims the laboratory was locked as usual when he arrived at 8:25am. Nothing was reported missing. Dalgliesh asks how many keys the facility has for the laboratory. Howarth tells him that Lorrimer has his own key and the two duplicates are stored in the wall safe and at the police department. He says as he was opening the facility, Norman’s father called to check on him after he failed to come home last night. Brenda went to the laboratory where she discovered Lorrimer’s body.

Dalgliesh inspects a window always left open on the upper floor restroom. Kate asks if someone cleaned the facility last night. Howarth tells her that a cleaner is there for about an hour daily. She shows Dalgliesh a substance that appears to be vomitus in a lavatory.

Doyle tells Dalgliesh about the female’s body discovered in the clunch quarry. Kate asks if someone didn’t want Lorrimer to examine the evidence. After asking who could it be since the husband and lover are in jail, he says why leave the mallet behind. Dalgliesh asks if the father, old Mr. Lorrimer (David Hargreaves) is the next of kin. Doyle says the father claimed to have spoken with his son at 8:45pm last night. Dalgliesh points out the father’s statement could push back the time of death. Doyle tells him that Howarth’s secretary, Angela is a cousin of Lorrimer. Dalgliesh orders DC Carling (Conor Hinds) and DC Mercer (Francis Mezza) to search the facility and grounds. Doyle describes Lorrimer as a “miserable, pain in the arse.”

Howarth tells Dalgliesh that the junior biologist, Clifford arrived at the facility as he was contacting the police. He claims to have been unaware of Angela and Lorrimer being kin. He says Lorrimer held some resentment toward him because the Board appointed him manager, a position he wanted. Brenda denies ever seeing a dead body before Lorrimer but didn’t touch the body. Dalgliesh asks if it’s possible someone could have passed while she was waiting in the hallway. She admits to being in shock.

Howarth claims to have arrived at a local venue at 7:30pm. When his sister came down with an illness, they left and arrived home at 9:30pm. Kate asks what he ate for supper. He says an omelet and salad. Brenda admits to liking Lorrimer because he encouraged her to enroll in college. Kate asks what time she left work. She says it was 6pm when she left the facility and 6:25pm when she got home. Her dinner consisted of grilled chicken and chips.

Clifford tells Dalgliesh that Lorrimer was running tests on the victim’s blood and blood from the mallet. He claims to have left the facility at 6pm and ate chicken and curry for dinner.

After inspecting two different tire tread marks, Dalgliesh questions why the driver(s) didn’t part in the carpark. He asks Mercer to check with the local garages. Kate suggests Lorrimer knew his assailant or one of the employees stayed behind to kill him. Dalgliesh says the killer could have utilized Lorrimer’s keys to lock the lab before leaving. She points out that the security alarm needed to be set.

Angela claims to have arrived for work at 8:40am. Dalgliesh asks if she knows the key safe combination. She says the keys were in the key-safe at 8:50am when they checked. She denies any relationship with Lorrimer and his father even though they are kin. She tells him that it was 6pm when she last saw Lorrimer in his laboratory. She says he inherited 30,000 pounds from her grandmother who wanted him to leave it to her. Stella Mawson (Shanaya Rafaat) adds he never sired a son. Angela says Lorrimer refused to give her some of the money when she asked. Dalgliesh asks if she is the beneficiary of Lorrimer’s trust.

Mr. Lorrimer tells Dalgliesh that he received a call from a woman who gave him a set of numbers. The last two numbers were 18 and 40. He describes the woman as sounding “conspiratorial.” He shows them a secret compartment in his grandfather’s desk where Lorrimer hid love letters to Domenica.

Domenica admits to throwing Lorrimer’s love letters in the trash bin. She ended their relationship after a few weeks because he was “boring.” Kate asks where she was last night. She claims to have been at Howarth’s concert until no later than 9:15pm. She denies he harassed her after their relationship ended.

Stella assures Angela that it won’t be long before no one will be able to take their home away from them.

Dr. Rollinson’s daughter, Hell Rollinson (Lara Cohen) warns Dalgliesh that their housekeeper, Miss Willard (Deborah Findlay) is a compulsive liar and steals their sherry. Willard claims when David arrived home at 7:15pm, he never left. She describes William Rollinson (Ezra Carlisle) as an “angel” but not Nell. She tells him that their mother left with David’s work associate. She says Father Gregory urged Lorrimer to give her a ride to mass.

Dalgliesh informs Angela that Mr. Lorrimer will inherit Lorrimer’s trust excluding 5,000 pounds which will go to Brenda. He says Lorrimer’s sister told him that he didn’t support her relationship with Stella. He asks if they rent or own. Stella claims their offer to buy the house was rejected before suggests he speak with Brenda.

Clifford tells Dalgliesh on Tuesday, Lorrimer told him that his “bad” annual report would be given to Howarth Wednesday. He admits to complaining to him about feeling nervous around him. He returned to the laboratory after 9pm to plead with him to change his annual report. He claims to have vomited after Lorrimer criticized his work. Clifford says when he returned to the laboratory Lorrimer was already dead so he fled. A car was sitting outside the facility. Mercer makes a call from a local garage to warn the suspect car belonging to his wife. The man tries to convince him to keep it between them. He agrees to give him 30 minutes before contacting Dalgliesh.

Stella orders Angela to not follow her before leaving. Clifford denies killing Lorrimer. Angela discovers a letter made out to Lorrimer. Kate jots down DI Doyle on her notepad. Finding her bike tire flat, Brenda enters the construction zone. Dalgliesh and Kate visit the police department in search of Doyle. The officer is unable to reach him. Believing someone is following her, Brenda flees into the church where she discovers Stella’s body hanging from a rope. The episode ends.

 

Dalgliesh Review

Dalgliesh is called in to investigate the death of Dr. Edmund Lorrimer at Hoggatt’s Forensic Laboratory. While his colleague respected his work, they weren’t fond of his personality. He is in love with the new director’s sister, Domenica who doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. Only Brenda speaks highly of him. Howarth’s assistant, Angela is his cousin but they’re not close. He inherited 30,000 pounds from her grandmother’s trust with the intent to leave the money to her when he died if there wasn’t a son. She is devastated to discover his trust was left to his father besides 5,000 pounds which to cover Brenda’s college education. He excluded her from his will because of her intimate relationship with Stella.

Clifford learns from Lorrimer that his less-than-satisfactory annual report will be turned in to Howarth the following day. He returns to the lab to try to convince him to change his mind. After a verbal dispute, he vomits in the restroom lavatory. When he returns, Lorrimer is deceased. He fled the laboratory to see a vehicle outside with its lights on. He slipped away without anyone seeing him.

Angela discovers a secret about Stella. A short time later, Brenda finds her hanging in a church. DI Doyle’s wife owns the vehicle Clifford saw at the laboratory the night Lorromer was murdered. Doyle’s superiors cannot get in contact with him.

The show is blah midway through the episode. It could have helped to compress the two-episode investigation into a 50-minute episode. The last final minutes are the only reason to stick around.

While Bertie Carvel is a tremendous actor, Adam Dalgliesh is melancholic to the point of being miserable. It’s time to drop the grief and move on. Besides, he is taking a backseat to DS Miskin this season as she leads the investigation. Carlyss Peer is a good actress but nowhere on the same level as Carvel.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more Dagliesh recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Our onsite advertising builds online brand awareness the easy way.