Sacrifice

1

- Hello, Janice.

Doctor Hamilton.

Everything's gonna be okay.

- My baby..

- I need you to relax

your stomach muscles.

Okay.

She's having a complete

placental abruption.

- What's wrong with my baby?

- Your placenta has dislodged

from the uterine lining.

Which means your baby

needs to come out right now.

Do you understand?

I'm going to perform

a c-section.

Okay.

Call o-ops, tell them

we're coming down.

- Doctor Hamilton..

- Oxytocin's not working,

can you..

- Doctor Hamilton.

It's not her. It's you.

- Oh, sh*t! No!

Oh, sh*t!

Uh!

- There you are.

Welcome to UNST.

Thank you for doing this.

I know adopting in America

would have been easier, but..

- I just want a baby.

- Come on. Let me

make you breakfast. Come on.

Then I'll show you

around the island.

Beautiful, eh?

- Hey... What are these things?

I see them all over the island.

- You mean the runes?

- No, these,

these carving things.

- Not ruins, I said "runes."

It's old viking script.

And you'll have to

watch yourself

as you might have people

make fun of your accent.

- I don't have an accent!

- Spoken like a true American.

Right now..

...we're north of the last

inhabited house in the UK.

The closest train station.

It's 300 kilometers that way,

in Norway.

- Really?

- Yeah.

I used to come here

when I was a kid.

It felt like

the end of the world.

- What's that?

- Oh, that?

That's-that's Tronal island.

That's where we'll be adopting

our baby from.

Are you okay?

- I just hate not knowing why.

Excuse me. I'm-I'm looking

for doctor Wickliff's office?

- Oh, he's on the third floor.

Just that way.

- Thank you.

- This is quite a CV.

- Thank you.

- I think you might find things

a lot quieter here at Saxa Vord

than you maybe used to.

- Well, I hope so.

- So how soon would you like to

get started?

If you need a week

or two to settle in..

- No, actually,

I-I'd like to keep busy.

- Idle hands are the devil's

playthings, eh?

- Something like that.

- We act as a fully

functioning hospital

and all out patient treatments.

We have oncology, pediatrics

coronary care, there's even

a psychiatrist on call.

And then anything long term,

they transfer to Lerwick.

And this is your office.

- Oh... Nice.

What's in that wing?

- Upstairs is dental,

downstairs physiotherapy

and a burns unit

and then in the basement

we have the mortuary.

- Oh, you certainly

pack it all in.

- Well, you have your

father-in-law to thank for that.

He prided himself

on the care he provided.

He said,

"just because we're an island

doesn't mean

people don't deserve the best."

- Oh, yeah, there he is.

- Is that the heartbeat?

- Yes.

- A toast

to my only son and heir

beautiful wife

and to my future grandson.

- Cheers!

- Cheers!

- It's good to have you

back, Duncan.

And, thank you, Tora,

for bringing him.

- No, thank you, Richard

for everything, for the house

for my job, for... The adoption.

- It's what families are for.

Anything you ever need,

please don't hesitate to ask.

- How are you finding

the islands dear?

- I think they're beautiful.

- And the hospital?

You're settling in?

- Ken treating you well, I hope.

- He's a prick.

- Oh, Duncan!

- Why would you say that?

- Because he's licked

dad's ass since we were kids.

He's modelled his entire

career on him.

- You're criticizing the man

for knowing what he wanted?

- Who's for pudding?

I made your favorite, Duncan.

Cranachan.

- You spoil me, thank you.

- Tora, um..

...why don't you go and help

Elspeth with the coffee?

- Not too much sugar, sweetie.

- Oh? Why is that?

- Cause I had too many

New York slices

got to lose a few pounds.

- Oh!

- Nonsense.

The world's gone diet mad.

- Oh, who's this?

Is this you?

- No,

that's Duncan's mother, rose.

She died shortly

after Duncan's birth.

- And is that the library?

- No, dear,

that's Richard's study.

- Your dad doesn't know

you're diabetic, does he?

- And burst his illusion

that Guthrie men are perfect?

- And here we are.

Tronal international.

- It's amazing to think this is

all just maternity.

- You'd be surprised how many

women need sensitive solutions

to unfortunate

or ill-timed pregnancies

even this day and age.

And with us, we guarantee their

baby will be well cared for.

That's one of the reasons

they come to Tronal.

- What's the other reason?

- Anonymity.

- So, who provides your

obstetrics support?

- We have a resident Ob gyn.

A fellow of the royal college.

He has six fully qualified

midwives working with him.

So, I can assure you

our clients are well cared for.

- Would you like some tea?

Or a dram of whisky?

- Uh, no, thank you.

- I'm sure your father

explained the process.

You're set up with bank accounts

and jobs here on the island.

- Uh, why the twelve months

before we can adopt the baby?

- Well, that's to settle

any residency issues

with the Scottish government.

We don't go giving

our wee nippers to just anyone.

No, there's just the matter

of some filing fees

and we can get you

on the waiting list.

- Is that your son?

- Aye.

- He's very handsome.

- Thank you.

We adopted him from Tronal,

actually.

- Really? He's not yours?

He has your eyes.

Oh, no.

- At the tone,

record your message.

To end, please hang up.

- Hi, this is Dr. Hamilton.

I'm going to need someone

to cover my morning patients.

Oh, Jesus.

Oh, Jesus.

- Tora Guthrie?

Detective inspector Mckie.

- Hi.

- This is d.S. Tulloch.

- Hi.

- What can you tell us, Steven?

- Well, at first glance,

what we have here

are the remains of a female

aged somewhere between 25

and 35 years of age.

Her skin has been tanned

by the peat, but

from her bone structure

and the shape of her skull

I'm pretty sure

that she's Caucasian.

- What are those markings?

- They look like runes

that have either been carved

or branded into the flesh.

From the position, I say they

couldn't have been self-inflicted.

- You sure about that?

- Sure as I am..

...that she didn't die

of natural causes.

- I had no reception.

Are you okay?

- Did you hear that her heart

was cut out?

Gives me the creeps to think of

her lying downstairs right now.

- What are you doing?

- Dr. Hamilton,

you shouldn't be in here.

- I'm sorry. I, I just..

You do realize

this woman gave birth

shortly before she was murdered?

- This is

a police investigation.

- No, that's okay.

Go on, doctor.

- The uterus contracts..

...between one and three weeks

after delivery

depending on the age

of the mother

the younger the woman,

the faster this happens.

In my opinion,

this woman gave birth

between a week to ten days

before she died.

- You're sure about that?

- Well, if you look here,

you can see that

that she was nursing.

- Is she right?

- Hm, it seems

your talents are wasted

on the living, Dr. Hamilton.

- So, what do we have so far?

- We only know

that the victim's rib cage

was split open

with some kind of blade

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