The episode opens with DI Liz Nyles (Siobhan Finneran) reminiscing about her time with DS Paul Brandice (Barry Ward). At the police station, Liz points at where the dressed in scrubs was when she arrived outside Paul’s room. DCI Amanda Kelman (Nadine Marshall) says the CCTV footage doesn’t look tampered with. Liz assures her that she saw the man within minutes of when Paul went into cardiac arrest. She reminds her that DCI Hannah Wheatley knew the location of Amy McLennan’s (Tilly Kaye) interview and had control of security in the ICU ward. Kelman stresses the need to have solid evidence to investigate Wheatley. They agree not to discuss it with anyone else. The next morning, DS Rachel Gordon (Charlotte Mills) tells Liz that Wheatley has requested a second interview with Amy. DCI Amos Wilson (Anthony Flanagan) asks for Patrick Ellis (Adam Long) to be placed in witness protection. In the interrogation room, Liz asks Patrick, a Patriots UK member, if he decided to testify against Daryl Fitzwilliam after he found out he and his 15-year-old daughter were involved. He agrees to testify against Daryl in exchange for a fresh start. After the interview, Liz tells Amos that she believes Patrick is out to remove his name from the Sex Offender Registry. He claims it was ACC Rory Davenport’s (Ian Pirie) idea to bring Patrick in.

Liz warns Davenport that Patrick is a lawsuit waiting to happen. He says the home secretary wants Fitzwilliam’s case brought to trial. She stresses the need for more qualified protected persons officers. He asks if she has someone in mind. She requests the evidence against DS Raj Kohli (Chaneil Kular) be reviewed as a matter of priority. He agrees to speak with Wheatley. She agrees to inform Amos of her decision to accept Patrick into her unit. She insists on being in control of Amy’s next interview with Wheatley. Later at the jail, Liz asks to see Raj. The custody sergeant (John Tueart) says he is with his attorney, Peter Wojcik (Roderick Hill) who later tells Liz that Raj will meet with Wheatley in the morning to discuss a mobile phone. DI Tommy Jardine (Tom Christian) pursues Liz from the jail. A car veers onto the road in front of him and he loses sight of Liz’s car. She knocks on his window and asks if he is trying to intimidate her. He claims Wheatley ordered him to follow her. She suggests Wheatley find someone with surveillance knowledge to follow her the next time. He threatens to take her down next.

Liz is at the pier when Wheatley, DS Sue Beardsley (Akiya Henry), DS Irene Kim (Naomi Yang), and Amy arrive. She apologizes to Amy. Wheatley criticizes Liz for going over her head. Liz says being followed does tend to firm one’s resolve. Sue questions her judgment for believing Paul was innocent when he received “sly” calls like he was having an affair. She claims Paul told her he was talking to an Army mate. Later, Liz arrives home to find Jasmine Howard (Jodie Price) playing her violin. Jasmine says Sid Nyles (David Hayman) asked her to play. Liz checks Paul’s burner phone to find several missed calls from John Gibson (Jonathan Cake). She calls him to set up a meeting. A short time later, John claims to have last spoken to Paul a week before he was shot, not on Tuesday morning. She tells him that someone called Paul before he was shot t the safe house. Several calls from a withheld number were on his phone. He offers to let her look at his phone. She says some people have more than one phone because they keep secrets. He asks if she will honor Paul’s secrets. She says maybe. As he walks away, she calls in his license plate number to learn the vehicle is registered to a car hire company, Smithson Autos Limited, registered under the name of Rezan Crowther. She calls Kelman to set up a meeting with her.

A masked man is watching Jasmine and Sid through a window. He enters through an unlocked door. Liz arrives home. The armed masked man watches from the upper floor. A frantic Jasmine alerts Liz of someone being in her room. Liz orders her to go to the kitchen. She finds the mattress pulled back on her bed and sees the masked man running down the steps. She pursues him. A short distance away, they get into a physical altercation. The man hits her in the face and flees on foot. She returns home, assures Sid and Jasmine that she is okay, and goes to check her mattress. A short time later. Liz confronts Eddie Crowther (Alec Newman) at a soccer game. She vows to make sure he spends the rest of his life in prison and Arlo Crowther (Reuven Walker) knows exactly who he is. Arlo runs over to see what is going on. Eddie tells him to get back out there. Liz accuses him of trying to kill Arlo’s best friend. He asks if she is referring to Amy. Laughing, he assures her that she is wrong. Back in her car, she receives a call from DI Richard Bewley (Andrew Knott) informing her of Jock Ferguson’s death. A short time later, Liz arrives at the crime scene. Wheatley warns that Crowther has the right to file harassment charges against her. Liz says someone broke into her home while her daughter was there and suggests Jardine gave Crowther her address. After a bit of back and forth, Wheatley urges Liz to get a mental health assessment and take a holiday. Kelman orders Liz to go home.

Liz schedules an appointment to have window bars, a security system, and new door locks installed at her house. Sid asks if the break-in had anything to do with Amy. She urges him to let the police do their job. Jasmine climbs into the bed with Liz. She asks if the burglar will return. Liz says probably not because they don’t have anything worth stealing. The next day, Bewley and Liz learn Gibson’s address doesn’t exist and he never worked at the bank. He urges her to tell him what is going on but she refuses. Later at the hospital, Kelman tells Liz that only she and Wheatley can access Paul’s post-mortem report. Liz asks a nurse (Louise Lee) if she saw anyone suspicious when Paul died. The nurse says a female cop had to be asked to leave after Paul regained consciousness, three days before he died. She claims Paul was saying it was his duty to be quiet. The nurse identifies the police officer as Kelman. Later, she meets Kapoor to ask him about Paul being transferred to the Protected Persons Unit without being vetted. He claims Kelman said Paul had been independently vetted but denies knowing who actually wanted the transfer. He says Kelman wasn’t authorized access to Amy’s interview location. Later at the police station, Kelman informs Liz that evidence revealed a hacker broke into Raj’s computer and emailed sensitive information to a burner account. She says Raj has been released. Liz declines her offer to step away from the case. Kelman says the post-mortem report shows Paul died from his injuries. Liz says it is a shame Paul couldn’t have talked to her before he died.

Liz tells Raj one of Crowther’s men took the phone from her house. She insists Kelman is the mole and his computer wasn’t hacked. She tells him what the nurse told her. He says Kelman is Davenport’s shadow. She receives a call from a frantic Sue saying Amy is gone. A short time later, they arrive at the caravan park where a search team is looking for Amy. Wheatley reminds Liz that she declined extra assistance and now, Amy is missing. Liz assures her the location of the house wasn’t the problem and all protocols were followed. Wheatley says Amy is the last person who was at the safe house that day and hopefully, they find her before she ends up dead as well. The episode ends.

 

Protection Review

Liz believes Kelman is the mole but doesn’t know who she is working with. Just when she is ready to come clean to Kelman, a masked man breaks into her house and steals Paul’s phone. The charges against Raj are dropped after it is determined his computer was hacked. Liz refuses to believe it.

Liz chose a discrete location for Amy’s interview and there was no leak. Sue issues a red alert when Amy goes missing. The episode deserves a 5 out of 10.

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