Line of Duty Page #11

MORTON:

Morning, boss.

Gates doesn’t answer, peers into the living room grimly --

two dead Asian men, tied to chairs, dead from multiple stab

wounds. There’s a lot of blood. Both men have had all their

fingers cut off, which lie on the carpet round them, being

bagged one by one by FSI’s in white suits.

Cottan looks very, very sheepish.

COTTAN:

Tone, I don’t know what to say,

mate ...

GATES:

Later, Dot, alright.

Cottan nods, hangs his head sheepishly.

FLEMING:

From the blood spatter both men

were alive when the fingers were

amputated. Looks like whoever

killed them wanted to know

something, and didn’t find out.

GATES:

The finger amputations are clean.

Each one done with a single stroke.

Most likely with a bolt-cutter.

Dot, go through the files back at

the station, see if there’s a

similar M.O. here or in another

force’s case history.

COTTAN:

OK.

(Exit.)

"Line of Duty" Episode 1 Shooting Script 18.08.11 64.

GATES:

Nige, I want entry control back and

front, dabs from all the downstairs

rooms; if there’s a bathroom

upstairs, there too. Once Forensics

have got all their samples, I want

you to go through everything, find

out who this pair were.

MORTON:

Aye, aye, skipper.

GATES:

Fleming, I want you to run door-todoor.

Exit Gates and Fleming.

CUT TO:

1/86 EXT. GREEN LANE. CONTINUOUS. DAY 9. 1/86

Gates and Fleming come out of the house, shed their shoe

covers and walk.

GATES:

This is what I’m dealing with. I’m

trying to run a round-the-clock op

and some bloody penpusher bans

overtime.

FLEMING:

There were fifteen minutes for

someone to break in.

GATES:

The lads in that house were new

kids on the block. Someone didn’t

like them muscling in on their

territory.

FLEMING:

Not tempted to dump this one on

CID, sir?

GATES:

(Shakes his head.)

It’s big. It’s sexy. That makes it

mine.

"Line of Duty" Episode 1 Shooting Script 18.08.11 65.

He exits. Fleming watches him go, even more fascinated by

Gates than she was.

CUT TO:

1/87 INT. OUTSIDE INTERVIEW ROOMS. LATER THAT DAY. DAY 9. 1/87

Wearing a grave expression, Fleming heads towards an

interview room. Janson “greets” her.

JANSON:

What goes around comes around.

Janson exits with a sneer. Fleming goes in. Alf Butterfield

is inside, being comforted by Larkin. Alf has a black eye and

a cut lip.

ALF:

This time I was home when they

broke in.

FLEMING:

Mr. Butterfield, I’m very sorry -

Enter Hilton, at the door, beckoning Fleming out. They talk

in the corridor, in whispers.

HILTON:

He’s going to make a complaint!

FLEMING:

Sir, with respect, you told me to

put the case on the back-burner.

HILTON:

I told you to prioritize.

Butter wouldn’t melt in Hilton’s mouth. He exits. Fleming

looks very bitter.

CUT TO:

1/88 INT. AC-12. OPEN PLAN OFFICE. LATER THAT DAY. DAY 9. 1/88

Arnott is still at it, bleary eyed, empty coffee cups strewn

round his desk. He’s filled a dozen pages of the note pad.

He’s on case number 15, a case of ARMED ROBBERY.

Arnott makes notes about the laddering here: additional

charges of:

-- aggravated criminal damage

"Line of Duty" Episode 1 Shooting Script 18.08.11 66.

-- false imprisonment

-- conspiracy

-- possession of firearm with criminal intent

CUT TO:

1/89 INT. CID. SAME TIME. DAY 9. 1/89

Rita clicks open the image for Gates. Gates looks very

uneasy.

RITA:

This missing persons report came

through from County CID.

She opens a missing persons file on someone called GURJIT

PATEL. Switching between the morgue images of the dead man

and Gurjit Patel we see they’re one and the same.

RITA (cont’d)

Gurjit Patel went missing the day

before the hit and run. Mr Patel

was an accountant for Laverty

Holdings.

Gates turns from uneasy to ashen.

Rita calls up the file image for Jackie Laverty.

RITA (cont’d)

Laverty Holdings is owned by

Jacqueline Laverty, the lady whose

vehicle was stolen the same night

Mr. Patel got run over. He was her

account-

GATES:

Thanks, Rita. My squad’s taking

over this case from now on. Leave

it to me to inform County we’ve got

an ID.

RITA:

Yes -- of course -

GATES:

It’s a sensitive case. I need to

shoot these files to my computer.

May I?

"Line of Duty" Episode 1 Shooting Script 18.08.11 66A.

RITA:

Yes, sir -- of course.

"Line of Duty" Episode 1 Shooting Script 18.08.11 67.

He takes her seat.

GATES:

(With a wink.)

Milk, no sugar.

Rita complies, happy to do so and not one bit suspicious. As

soon as Rita reaches the kitchen, Gates highlights the

section relating to Gurjit Patel.

The enormous dilemma plays on Gates’s face. He looks like his

world is about to cave in.

CUT TO:

1/90 OMITTED 1/90

1/91 INT. AC-12. OPEN PLAN OFFICE. CONTINUOUS. DAY 9. 1/91

Arnott exits the previous case, back to the main list of

Gates’s cases. There’s a new one at the top, the most recent:

-- HIT AND RUN

Arnott is curious and a little puzzled.

CUT TO:

1/92 INT. CID. CONTINUOUS. DAY 9. 1/92

Gates hits DELETE.

CUT TO:

1/93 INT. AC-12. OPEN PLAN OFFICE. CONTINUOUS. DAY 9. 1/93

Arnott's finger hovers over the mouse, ready to open the

file.

CUT TO:

1/94 INT. CID. CONTINUOUS. DAY 9. 1/94

Gates exits -- calm, in control, invulnerable.

CUT TO:

1/95 INT. AC-12. OPEN PLAN OFFICE. CONTINUOUS. DAY 9. 1/95

"Line of Duty" Episode 1 Shooting Script 18.08.11 68.

CLOSE-UP:

Arnott's finger clicks the mouse.

SMASH OUT.

END OF EPISODE 1.

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