As the second episode of DI Ray begins, DI Rachita Ray (Parminder Nagra) finally comes through after being knocked out from behind. PS Tony Khatri (Maanuv Thiara) runs over to learn that Anjuli was there but ran off because she was scared. He calls for an ambulance as Ray says he needs to get forensics down there urgently. Rachita asks two officers to go check the area where the attacker came from. She tells Tony that they need to find Anjuli because she was trying to tell her something. Once backup arrives, Rachita says they’ll have to knock on doors because there are no CCTV cameras around the playground. She believes they should start before the ambulance arrives although Tony tries to convince her otherwise. She refuses but agrees to knock on doors together.

They find one woman who saw a girl around the playground with Ray’s “sort of coloring”. DCI Kerry Henderson (Gemma Whelan) arrives to find out what is going on. Ray explains she was talking to Anjuli Kapoor (Lucky Sanghera) who was trying to tell her something about the people Imran was working with. She confirmed it was Imran’s phone she posted outside Ray’s door. When Anjuli ran off, Ray felt a pain in the back of the head. Tony says forensics is going a fingerprint search now for a possible weapon. Rachita is adamant that Anjuli was terrified for her life so they need to continue with the door knock. However, Kerry argues it is inappropriate for Ray to lead the investigation right now.

When Ray throws up, Kerry orders her to go get checked at City right now. DC Carly Lake (Jessica Temple) is asked to go to the ambulance with her. Kerry reminds Ray that they’ll need her clothes for forensics. She leaves with DC Liam Payne (Sam Baker-Jones) as Ray questions about the search for Anjuli. Later, Ray’s parents Dev (Ezra Faroque Khan) and Debo (Shobu Kapoor) visit the hospital to check on their daughter after Tony called them. She claims it was just a tumble and she is fine. Ray is more interested in getting back to work to find the girl. Martyn Hunter (Jamie Bamber) arrives to check on Rachita seconds later. She argues that they don’t need to worry since she is about to be discharged.

Once Martyn learns she has a minor concussion, he recommends resting up a bit. Her parents offer to let her stay with them for a while. Martyn and Debo leave to get coffee and check with the nurse. At the station, Kerry tells Liam, Carly, and DS Clive Bottomley (Steve Oram) that she has told the Tech team unlocking Imran’s phone is a priority action. Fibers have been collected from the bench, Ray’s clothing, and the entire surrounding area. There is no sign of a weapon. Kerry is surprised when Ray joins them and says she has been given the all-clear. Kerry puts Kwesi (Peter Bankole) and Clive on the vehicle searches and door knocks while Carly and Liam are waiting on a couple of sources for the CCTV footage from the area.

Kerry argues they need to send out a serious message to anyone who thinks it is okay to harm one of their officers. The superintendent is willing to allocate more resources to the manhunt if necessary. Kerry thinks Ray should go home because the team can handle it without her. Tony finds Rachita sitting in her car a bit later. When he is asked why he called her parents, Tony says his parents would want to know he was hurt. Rachita reminds him that she is a grown woman so it was her decision to make. Tony says he is a dad and can’t help it. She gets a call confirming Anjuli’s vehicle has been located. They check the car as Rachita learns there is nothing else and no overnight bag.

Kwesi yells from nearby to tell them there is something over here. Anjuli’s body is pulled out of the water underneath the bridge nearby. At the station, they learn that there are no visible bruises, lacerations, or broken bones. Dr. Clacy (Nicola Alexis) tells them there are no visible marks on the wrist or legs to suggest they had been bound. The blood and urine samples show sedatives and alcohol in her system, but water in the lung cavities indicates that the cause of death is drowning. Clive wonders if she just became overwhelmed with it all.

Rachita is told that the superintendent wants to talk to her. Ross Beardsmore (Ian Puleston-Davies) apologizes for the assault before learning that Ray thinks the two deaths are linked. As for the suicide talk, Rachita doesn’t think Anjuli would’ve killed herself since she wanted to talk to her. She believes her attacker is key here. Although she doesn’t think it was the brothers, she cannot remember anything else about the attack. Kerry says she is concerned about the head injury and suggests post-trauma therapy since it is standard procedure. Ross agrees so he will put in a request to prioritize Ray for counseling. She meets with Zehra Abidi (Viss Elliot Safavi) after that. Rachita is asked how he felt about the assault.

She says she was worried about losing sight of a vulnerable witness. Ray knows she shouldn’t have gone alone, but she lost control of the situation. Although it happens to people all the time, Ray says it is different for her because of the looks, judgment, and throwaway comments. She argues that she is constantly working to prove she deserves to be there. If there is anyone she could talk to about it, she believes Martyn would be the best option. She hasn’t told her parents about her engagement even though they’ll be ecstatic. Ray says he is white. As for her parents, they’re not Indian-Indian since her mom has been here since she was six. Her dad came when he was 15.

The therapist suggests not wanting to open up about her relationship says more about her than her parents. Ray confesses that nobody at work knows about them, but it’d be easier if they did. She isn’t sure they’d accept her more if they knew she had a white partner. She has spent her whole life trying to fit in, but it has never worked. Rachita claims she isn’t Indian enough for the Indians and she isn’t white either. She begins talking about the time they drove to see some relatives in London when she was a kid. Her dad got into the back of the car with his slippers and forgot to pack his shoes. They stopped on the Holloway Road to visit a local market where a man yelled at her father calling him a Paki.

She was mad at her father for standing in the market, attracting attention, and not saying anything. Ray never wanted anyone to call her that and they haven’t to her face. When people say it to your face, you can at least prove it. Later that night, Rachita meets with Martyn for dinner and he confirms he didn’t say anything to Annalie about the attack in the playground. Annalie (Helen George) joins them and complains about the baby banging on her bladder. She is surprised when she sees the engagement ring which was Nana Jean’s ring that Martyn had restored. They agree that Rachita should meet their mom and dad first. When the waitress (Amy Anderson) comes over, she thinks Annalie and Martyn are having a baby.

He has to tell her that he is going to be the uncle. Once they leave, Martyn tries to figure out what is wrong with Ray. He insists there was nothing in what the waitress said. She claims she is trying to get her head around all the change happening right now. When she begins up the baby subject, Martyn says he is still with her on that. They can still be auntie and uncle without all that chaos. She admits that is a relief before saying they should go home and not make a baby. The following day, Dr. Clacy comes into the station to tell Ray there was a significant amount of water in her lungs. However, the water samples were analyzed and it was revealed that there was no presence of algae.

It isn’t water from any pond, lake, river, or canal. Anjuli could’ve been drowned in a bathtub before her body was moved to the canal. Dr. Clacy says towels could’ve been used to hold her under since they tend to cover the signs of physical force. Rachita says Imran and Anjuli knew something that got them killed. Then, they learn that Navin Kapoor (Ryan McKen) has been arrested again and they’re bringing him in right now. As Ray goes looking for him, she finds Navin struggling with Kwesi and yelling about his solicitor.

Kerry tells Ray that they’ve arrested him on suspicion of abduction and murder. A relative came forward saying Anjuli had stayed with her. Two hours before Anjuli met with Rachita, she was witnessed arguing with Navin. He claimed he hadn’t seen his sister since Imran’s death so he is lying or the relative is lying. Kwesi and Kerry interview him with his solicitor moments later. Navin is told what the witness said about the argument before being questioned about assaulting DI Ray. He denies it and claims he shouldn’t be dealing with this bullcrap. Navin says they couldn’t get him for Imran’s death so they’re trying to get him for something else.

He calls it victimization and says police brutality isn’t just in the US. Kwesi continues pushing until Navin gets upset and stands up as his solicitor asks for one question at a time. He sits down and explains that Anjuli called him because she wanted to talk. When he went to see her, Anjuli said she wanted to speak to the police lady about Imran. He told her that she shouldn’t speak to the police because they don’t care about the truth. Navin warned her that the police would do the same to her as they did to them and their parents couldn’t take it. He just wanted his sister to come home. Kerry says his attempts to dissuade her didn’t work.

Kerry questions what lengths he’d take to protect his family’s honor. Ray doesn’t like that question as Navin begins flipping out in the interview room. Moments later, Ray learns that the lab analysis on Imran’s phone is back. Liam shows her all the messages from the past three months. There is nothing before that and it is all between Imran and one number. One of the messages mentions something about discussing the assets. Ray remembers that Anjuli said it wasn’t just tango and cash. She suspects that is what the T and C in the messages mean. Rachita asks Carly if she checked into that after she gave her statement, but she did not. Clive knows that tango and cash is often used to describe fentanyl from a case he and Kwesi had a while back.

The case involved someone who mixed too much with cocaine and got one of his kids selling it on an estate. The drug combination turned out lethal. Ray admits it is possible that he was involved in drugs, but he wants to know what the assets were. She wants a production order from the bank and a financial investigator to visit the bank once the order is granted. They need to build a picture of where money is coming in and where it is going out. Ray wants to trace the number to find out who Imran was dealing with. Later, Ray is held underwater when she takes a bath. She eventually comes up and finds that the house is empty. Martyn looks around but can’t find anyone either.

Martyn believes he must’ve run for it when he saw him. He wants to check CCTV to find out who was responsible for the attack. A stunned DI Ray says this is how Anjuli was killed. She suspects the person who killed Anjuli is trying to scare her. When Martyn offers to call the team, Ray worries that they’ll think she is paranoid and remove her from the case. He reminds her how serious this is since they could’ve killed her. Martyn is adamant that she can’t stay there since no case is worth jeopardizing her safety. Once they reach his place, Martyn reveals it’ll be better for his nerves when they’re living in the same house. After he says she worries him, Ray realizes she never told him about the therapy.

Rachita admits it is alright since she found out there is stuff she never talks about. He assures her that she can tell him anything. Ray is finally ready to tell her parents about the engagement, but it wasn’t the right time at the hospital. She apologizes if she had made this awkward. He tells her to do what she needs to do in her own time because her folks are so important to her. At the station, she tells Clive and Kwesi about the assault. Liam finds something on CCTV from a restaurant car park roughly one hour after Ray was attacked. Someone is shown walking around Anjuli’s empty vehicle.

When Liam zooms in on the suspect’s face, Ray instructs them to circulate the image since he is likely the prime suspect now. She asks about the phone number only to learn it had been disconnected. Rachita argues that Imran could’ve been connected to organized crime since Anjuli said they were using his business and he was scared. Later that night, Rachita and Martyn have dinner with Martyn’s parents Susan Hunter (Elizabeth Bennett) and Terry Hunter (Paul Copley). They talk about his sister as Susan argues she shouldn’t be driving in her condition. She admits had too much time on her hands to worry. When asked about her parents, Rach reveals her father works for the NHS and her mom is a lecturer in particle physics.

She tells them about their recent 40th anniversary before Terry says they went to an Indian wedding once. When Martyn serves dinner, the parents learn that Rachita doesn’t eat meat. Susan asks for painkillers for her migraine. Although Terry keeps telling her to visit the doctor, Susan says it is pointless because you can’t even get an appointment these days because they’re not a priority. Rachita has to step away from the table when her phone rings. Carly tells her about a call from the landlord of Ghara which is a working men’s club in Lozells about Kabir Kapoor. He is demanding to speak to her while sobering up in the back of a police van. Before she goes, Martyn tells her that this is what her DSs and DCs are for.

He doesn’t think it is worth ruining the night over since his folks have been waiting forever to meet her, but Rachita wants to be there. His parents welcome her to the family and tell them not to fight since they’ll be seeing a lot more of one another going forward. Once DI Ray arrives, she learns that Kabir (Manpreet Bachu) caused a scene, but the landlord knows what his family is going through. He didn’t want him getting into trouble. Kabir tells her that he had to get away because it was too much at home and his brother told him not to say anything about him seeing Anjuli. He is confident that his brother would never hurt Anji. Kabir goes on to say she was strong and didn’t want to be involved in anything that wasn’t legit.

Navin told him not to say too much because they’d turn it around on them. He reveals that Anjuli and Imran were fighting a few days before he died at around 3 AM and he could hear them on the phone. She was upset about the business Imran was doing with some guy who he was supposed to meet after that. Ray tells Liam to find Imran’s vehicle around 3 AM on the day in question. At the station, Rachita overhears Tony talking to his son on the phone. When the call ends, she thanks him for coming in and admits she was meeting Martyn’s parents tonight. He is surprised she gets to do things at her own pace considering what their lot is like, but she has never dated an Asian guy. At school, all the Asian kids stuck together and her mates were Claire and Meghan.

She just never met anyone she connected with in that way. Then, they join the others and brainstorm about Imran’s possible drug deals. The phone Imran was texting with was a SIM-only number paid for using a business account that matches the payments that went into Imran’s cash and carry business. When Clive gets off the phone with the financial investigator, he reveals the business is called NQD Logistics. It is registered as a consultancy business run by Nick Davies. The only address they have is for the company’s accountant in Spain. However, the same business account was previously linked to a hauler.

DI Ray argues that they need to find Nick Davies. Carly says ANPR has detected Imran’s car on the M6 roughly two miles from Brackstowe at 4 AM three nights before he was found dead. There is a freight yard around Brackstowe. As Rachita and Tony drive to the scene, he tells her that homicide is stressful. She informs Kerry who doesn’t like that this is the first she is hearing about it. Ray quickly ends the call after saying she didn’t want to waste any time. Once they arrive, a guard at the freight yard tells the container number for Aziz. Ray eventually finds the container and yells for Tony to come over. She calls Clive to get the on-call Magistrates’ Court clerk to get a warrant for the container.

She also asks for a method of entry team. Before long, the warranty and entry team arrive at the container. Kerry shows up just before the container is opened. As they step inside, they find a bunch of dead bodies. One boy in the corner is alive. Ray knows it wasn’t an honor crime and looks at Kerry before the episode ends.

 

DI Ray Review

The second episode of DI Ray had some genuinely interesting moments as the story is slowly unfolding, but far too many frustrating moments in between. I am not sure where the series is going with the development of DI Ray as a competent DI. At the moment though, the show has turned her into a poor sop to the point that I actually feel sorry for the character at times.

From the counseling session, nearly being killed twice already, and being an outcast a work, she doesn’t have much going on for her. The character doesn’t exude confidence in the least although that may change in future episodes. The interactions between Rachita and Tony feel forced and isn’t much chemistry there yet. The acting isn’t terrible at all. In fact, I think the lead actors and actresses do okay with the wafer-thin script.

Still, there are too many unrealistic and convenient moments like Rachita being attacked in her own bathtub. We’ll have to wait and see whether things can improve in the next two episodes. This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of DI Ray can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work here.