The Oxford Murders Page #3

Scared, probably.

In the book

that I based my conference on,|I unfortunately

compare logical series|with serial murders.

And since its publication|I've received

dozens of totally absurd letters,

which is why I attached|little importance to this one.

And you're sure you destroyed it?

Well, no, I threw it away|in the street.

Where?

Well, somewhere near|the Sheldonian Theatre.

Scott, get on to it,|it might still be there.

The road sweepers|will have passed through by now.

It doesn't matter. We'll search|the dust carts, if necessary.

Now is there anything else? Anything|else that caught your attention?

Oh, uh, under the text

there was a hand-drawn circle,

a perfect circle,

also in black.

About...

this size,

approximately.

A circle?

Like a signature?

Oh no, I'm almost convinced|it was a symbol,

the first element|of a logical series.

Well, excuse my ignorance,

I must have been off school|the day they taught

logical series.

A logical series

is a group of elements|that succeed one another,

following a particular rule.

Could be 1, 2, 3, 4...

or even numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8...

Or of course it could be|the Fibonacci series.

Fibonacci?

A 12th-century mathematician.

Each element is the sum of the two|previous ones: 1, 1, 2, 3, 6,

- 8, 13...|- Look, I still don't see

the relationship between|the murder and these series.

I'm sorry. In my book I sustain|the theory that the murder committed

for intellectual reasons|does not exist in the real world.

In general, the patterns|followed by a serial killer

are crude, monotonous|and repetitive,

cases that can be analyzed|psychologically, not logically.

So you think the murderer is|killing to prove something to you?

Yes, sadly, I believe|that to be the case.

Murderer wants to prove me wrong.

He wants to show that|he's more intelligent than I am

and that he can beat me

at my own game.|Somehow he knew of my friendship

with Mrs. Eagleton,|and decided to begin there.

How about this circle?|How do you explain this?

Oh, a circle's a good way|to start a logical series.

There's no symbol|more indeterminate.

Could mean almost anything.

So you mean there's gonna be|another murder after this one?

I'm afraid so.

And if we don't|discover it in time,

could be many more.

Okay, we are going to change

some notes please in part 12.

We knew she was going|to die at any time,

but never like this.

The doctors gave her 6 months|to live, 6 years ago.

Thanks to Beth's nursing|she had an extra lease of life,

like a blessing from heaven.

Maybe that's why|the murderer chose her.

How do you mean?

If he is trying to demonstrate|something purely intellectual,

maybe the deaths in themselves|don't interest him.

Maybe his aim is to inflict|as little harm as possible.

He chose someone|that should have died.

He probably knew Mrs. Eagleton|was receiving treatment...

She went every week|to St Joseph's hospital.

He could have found out about her|illness there, and that made her

the perfect victim for him.

Go on.

If he hadn't broken her nose,

it would have looked|like death by natural causes.

In that case, only you|would have known what happened.

The police would never|have been involved.

It would have been|a private challenge.

A murder that almost isn't a murder.

That makes sense.

What do you think|he would do next?

I suppose he'll try|to be more careful.

He'll commit another murder|that almost isn't a murder.

An imperceptible murder...

Excuse me.

Excuse me, officers,|but I need to speak

to Miss Eagleton first,|to break the bad news,

to her, if that's all right.|Thank you.

You have a C,

B flat, and C sharp.

Excuse me, please,|I can talk to him?

Yes, so

you have a C, B flat,

and C sharp.

Oh, no, no, no. You have a B,|a C sharp, and C natural...

Oh, okay,

let's do a break, please.

The police told me that you|were the one who found the body.

Forgive me, Beth.|I'm really sorry.

They asked me to try|and remember every detail and...

It's no problem.|I understand.

It must have been difficult|for you to go through all of this.

Two hours of interrogation.

It's logical, though, bearing|in mind I'm the chief suspect.

Did they tell you that?

No. No, they didn't have to.

You don't need to be|a detective to realize

that I'm the one who|most benefits from all this.

But you looked after her|for years. Seldom told me.

Five years...

Five years of waiting|for her to drop dead.

Forgive me for being|so cruelly sincere,

but if anyone wanted this|to end, it was me.

Do you know what it is|to wake up every morning

wondering when you're going|to have a life of your own?

I couldn't abandon her,|she was my mother.

She had cancer but it was supposed|to be a question of months.

You want this person you're supposed|to be looking after to disappear

and at the same time you know

there's something evil in you|for thinking that way.

You hate yourself

for the thoughts|that go through your head.

It's like being rotten inside.

Beth, you've no need to worry.

Seldom got a note.

Someone warned him of|what was going to happen,

- and is threatening to do it again.|- Who?

No one knows.

They made me go to the morgue|to look at the body.

Her eyes were still open.

Don't think about it.

I don't think I can sleep|upstairs tonight.

Is it okay|if I stay here with you?

I'm sorry.

Don't be... it's okay.

I don't know what you must|think of me. I'm so embarrassed.

Beth, please. Don't go.

Congratulations! Your name|in the papers and with Seldom!

Knock off the old lady|to attract attention, did you?

Not so fast!

Your friend is lucky.

Always close to death,|but never touched by it.

Didn't you know?

Thirty years ago,|the four of them

- were travelling together.|- What are you talking about?

Mrs. Eagleton's husband|and Seldom's wife were killed.

And guess who was driving.

And now the old lady is dead.

Three down, one to go.

This is Miss Scarlet

and she is in the dining room.|Now we know that the murder

took place in the dining room,

don't we? And that the victim|was killed with a cushion,

but since we don't have

a cushion, we'll use|the nasty little knife.

Now I'll stick

my neck out and say that|Miss Scarlet was the murderer

in the living room,|with the knife.

What do you think?

Clue didn't figure|into my degree course.

Cleudo!

It's recommended reading|in police academies.

In the papers,

Beth appears as the chief suspect.

But the police know all the facts.

Ah, I forgot that I was talking|to the champion of universal logic.

Thank you.

You and the police think that it's|possible to demonstrate the truth.

On the basis

of certain axioms|and by using valid reasoning,

you can reach a valid conclusion,|isn't that so?

As sure as today is Wednesday.

And what if I say,|"All Britons are liars"?

True, false|or impossible to prove?

All right. There are|mathematical formulations

that can neither be proved|nor refuted starting from axioms.

Indeterminable propositions.

Exactly, Gdel's|incompleteness theorem.

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