Line of Duty Page #10

A CVA. A stroke. She understands

but she can’t talk.

CUT TO:

446 INT. ASHCLIFFE NURSING HOME. ELIZABETH’S ROOM. CONTINUOUS.

They reach a private room. Kasia goes in first.

Lindsay braces herself and then follows.

Lindsay’s mum, ELIZABETH DENTON (70s), lies propped up on

pillows. The pillows support her more on her right-hand side.

Elizabeth has a right-sided hemiparesis (partial paralysis of

her right arm and leg plus difficulty understanding and

making speech). She’s barely conscious. The right side of her

face sags. Her breathing is shallow and rasping. She looks at

death’s door.

The sight is shocking for Lindsay. It takes her a moment to

compose herself.

KASIA:

She’ll be more aware of you if you

sit on her left.

Lindsay moves to her mother’s left side.

LINDSAY:

Mum?

Lindsay sits, keeping her hands out of sight below the level

of the bed.

LINDSAY:

Mum. It’s Lindsay.

Elizabeth becomes more aware. She makes a garbled attempt at

speech.

LINDSAY:

Kasia says you can understand. Are

you comfortable? Are you in pain?

(CONTINUED)

LINE OF DUTY #2.4 Blue Revisions 19/07/13 59.

446 CONTINUED:

Elizabeth makes a sound that approximates to no.

Lindsay reaches out for her mum’s hand but stops herself

because of the cuffs. She looks low and ashamed.

Kasia lifts a folded blanket off a chair and lays it over

Lindsay’s hands to hide the cuffs.

LINDSAY:

Thank you.

Lindsay takes her mum’s hand under the blanket.

KASIA:

Ring if you need anything.

Exit Kasia.

Lindsay watches Kasia go, and her gaze falls on Regan and

Carroll. Awkward and embarrassed, they take up positions on

either side of the door, but stare at their feet.

Elizabeth notices the prison officers. She makes a noise to

Lindsay.

LINDSAY:

They’re just helping me with work,

mum.

Elizabeth makes another noise, a bit of distress at Lindsay.

LINDSAY:

I’m okay. Everything’s okay.

Lindsay attempts to put on a brave face, but, under the

strain of her mum’s condition, she’s far from convincing.

CUT TO:

447 INT. AC-12. OPEN-PLAN OFFICE. LATER THAT DAY.

Kate shows photocopied pages to Steve.

KATE:

Dryden’s emails were clean but this

is from his electronic diary. On

16th August, the night of the

traffic offence, he attended a

reception at City Hall, from 5.00

pm. According to witnesses, he left

at around 7.00 pm. No further

engagements that evening.

(CONTINUED)

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447 CONTINUED:

STEVE:

The whole rest of the night, his

whereabouts are unknown. So what

could he have needed an alibi for?

Steve leaves that with Kate and moves off.

Kate enters the date of 16th August into the police database.

A number of files come up as listed.

One is Dryden’s speeding offence.

There are other random crimes.

She scrolls down them, her gaze settling on:

MISSING PERSONS FILE

CARLY KIRK:

Curious, Kate opens the file. She sees that 16th AUGUST was

the date Carly was last seen by her foster parents.

KATE:

(Under her breath.)

Sh*t.

Kate ponders for a couple of beats and then picks up the

phone.

KATE:

(Into phone.)

4th Street Station please.

(Listens. Into phone.)

Missing Persons.

(Waits. Into phone.)

Hi, this is DC Fleming. I’m chasing

up the latest update on one of your

Mispers.

(Listens. Into phone.)

Case number G103734. Kirk -- K-I-R

K. Carly.

(Waits. Listens. Into

phone.)

Pretty straightforward really --

just wondered if there was a formal

DNA match with the body found at

the Canalside Industrial Unit. It’s

not showing on the database ...

Kate listens, becoming concerned.

CUT TO:

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448 INT. CARLY KIRK’S FOSTER PARENTS’ HOUSE. LATER THAT DAY.

Bob and Tessa climb the stairs to Carly’s room, followed by

Kate.

BOB:

We left everything as it was.

That’s what the police told us to

do.

KATE:

Normally what would happen is

control samples of Carly’s DNA

would be collected off of her

toothbrush, her hairbrush,

whatever.

TESSA:

That’s what they did.

They enter Carly’s room. It’s a typical teenager’s room, but

frozen in time.

KATE:

I know this is only going to add to

your distress, but there seems to

be a problem with the samples.

TESSA:

What kind of problem?

KATE:

We’re trying to track them down.

I’m sure they’ll turn up, but the

more you can tell me, the better.

BOB:

A detective came to the house and

took the stuff you said. Her

toiletries. Her bedclothes. Her

dirty laundry. It all went in black

bin bags and he took it away.

KATE:

(Concerned.)

Normal procedure is for an officer

to be accompanied by a forensic

investigator. All the material goes

into individual evidence bags and

you’d be asked to sign the search

book.

Slowly the penny drops with all three of them. It distresses

Tessa and Bob.

(CONTINUED)

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448 CONTINUED:

TESSA:

But we spoke to the police. They

said they were sending someone.

KATE:

You called them?

TESSA:

Yes.

BOB:

No. You remember, Tess? We got a

call from the detective, saying he

was on his way round.

KATE:

This “detective” -- did you take

his name?

BOB:

He showed his badge for a fraction

of a second. Sorry.

KATE:

Would you recognise him again?

BOB:

Yeah.

TESSA:

(Off Bob’s look.)

Yes.

KATE:

Could you come with me to the

station?

BOB:

When?

KATE:

Now.

CUT TO:

449

INT. ASHCLIFFE NURSING HOME. ELIZABETH’S ROOM. LATER THAT

DAY.

Elizabeth has drifted off to sleep, breathing roughly.

Lindsay looks like she’s been by her side for many hours.

Regan and Carroll are slumped in chairs, half asleep.

Kasia slips in quietly, leaving the door open behind her.

(CONTINUED)

LINE OF DUTY #2.4 Blue Revisions 19/07/13 63.

449 CONTINUED:

KASIA:

Sorry. Just one minute.

Kasia checks Elizabeth’s condition -- looking at her neck

veins, pinching the skin on the back of her hand to see how

long it takes to settle back down.

Lindsay glances out of the door. She sees along a corridor to

a door at the far end. People are coming in and out freely;

beyond it is a car park and then the open road.

Lindsay glances at the prison officers. Regan and Carroll are

still dozing.

Lindsay starts to look tempted. Kasia is focussed on her job;

the prison officers are in the land of nod.

A member of staff jams the outer door open to let a

deliveryman through. It’s left jammed open as the member of

staff discusses with the deliveryman where the items should

go.

Lindsay sees her opportunity to escape but turns back to her

mother.

LINDSAY:

I’m here, mum. I’m with you.

CUT TO:

450 INT. AC-12. OPEN-PLAN OFFICE. LATER THAT DAY.

At her desk, Kate enters search data into the police

database, alongside Bob and Tessa.

KATE:

He was male.

Kate enters that into the system, thereby nearly halving the

number of matches.

KATE (CONT’D)

Age? Under 25, 25-35, 35-45 -

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