01x02 - Slightly Foxed - Part Two

[bunniefuu]

I'm Book and I run a bookshop.
You must be here about the job.

You know where I've come
from, don't you?

I have a little hobby on the side and I
find it's taking me away from the shop

more and more.
Well, you must stay with us, mustn't

you? Now that you've got the job,
what exactly is it you do? I sell books.

Yeah, but that's not all, is it?
Yesterday out there at a b*mb site. So

you don't think they
died in an air raid?

Inkerman Street was already empty,
wasn't it, Mr. Basehart? Scheduled for

demolition. It's a chaotic world, Jack.
I have a system.

Do you think it was suicide?
Why would a chemist k*ll himself with something as

horrible as Prussic acid? It's m*rder.
There's a daughter, isn't there?

All right. Money grabbing little cow.
And then she has the gall to run off

with him. Well,
dad was convinced that Mickey was

thieving. Got the chemist will through.
Sir daughter doesn't get a beam.

This is a sacred charge. You understand that?
I wouldn't ask this of you if I

didn't think you were ready more than that.
That you're the one creature on

this earth to whom I could entrust this.
This message must go to Trottie and to no

one else. Is that clear?
Is that clear?

Good boy. Off you go.

Morning in. Morning.
Uh, doc, stay.

Can I help you? Oh, yes.

With wallpaper, that is.
It's a little early for that.

For what? Never mind.

I'm looking for a Mrs.
book. You found her.

Well, that's a crying shame.
What is that?

You're married. That is.
Can I help you?

Yeah. Yeah. You're uh got a message
from your husband. Said you were having

problems with your alternator.
My

in the car. It's what I do. See cars.
I see. I miss Mr. Book sent for you

today. Yeah. Yeah.
I mean, no idea why I didn't

go with someone more local, but why not say no?
I go where the work is, right?

Quiet. Oh,

got a light. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Hang on.
Somewhere here. One minute.

Where have they gone?

Somewhere. Where's the
last pocket you looking at?

Ah, here we are.

T. So, you are a mechanic, Mr. Mickey.
Mickey Hall. And uh Yeah. Yeah.

I got a garage mile end.
All yours.

Why not? Me in the um Oh, yeah.
Yeah. All mine.

See? Um,

if you excuse me a moment,
I need to lay my hands on a well, find my car.

Right on. Yeah.
Well, I ain't I ain't going anywhere, so

the very man. Oh, good morning, Mrs.
Book. Ah, morning

Eric. Wonder if you'd be an
absolute darling for me, Eric.

Anything for a lady?
Well, as I recall, Sheila is a proud owner of

a rather splendid Daimler.
Yeah, she's got a car.

Yeah, is she in? Can I just pop
in to ask to borrow the car?

Lovely. I'm sure she wouldn't mind.
It's just parked around the back. I'll get

the keys for you. Thank you.

Yeah.

Hello. Hello.

What's up? Puncture.
I think as ball as daddy. I

told him these wheels
won't get me to Cambridge.

I don't suppose you could help me out.
It's not really my department. I'm just

looking after the place.
I'd be most awfully grateful.

Yeah. All right.
I'll see what Mickey's got.

Thanks ever so.
So, there must be a repair kit back here

somewhere. I really appreciate this.
Like he puts things in those random

places.

There we go.

Huh?

Slow

down. Oh my goodness.

Yeah, nothing wrong with that.
The alternator. I mean, I'd have trouble

starting it.
He didn't mention it.

Maybe I should put me specs on.
Maybe.

Thank you very much, Mr. Hall.
That was, uh, that was quite a ride.

Yeah, not at all, love.
And, uh, anytime you want to go a bit

further, Sunday maybe?

Desperately tempting though, that is.
I find I'm washing my hair that evening.

Besides, besides,

I think perhaps your dance
card may soon be a little full.

Quick word, Mr. Hall.

Well, isn't this nice?
Who are you?

We thought, Mr. Hall that it
was high time we had a little chat.

Listen, I know my rights.
Straight out of the blocks.

Disappointing. Dear me, Mr. Hall.
One point deducted already.

Point. What are you talking about?
Listen, you can't stick anything on me.

There you go again.
Hey, textbook quotidian, banal.

What? You see, the inspector and I have
been through this routine a hundred

times. Thousand.
You have no idea how tedious

it is having to listen to the same old
stock responses from gnarly old lags

like something from the music hall.
Hold your hand down, you naughty boy.

Probably enough of that.
So, here's the question that you would

ask were it not for your fear of me dinging you.
Why would I want to k*ll

poor Mr. Harkup? Well, why would I?
I wouldn't hurt a fly.

I never did it.
But you'd meant to go into the shop.

Yeah. Yes. All right. I I went there to
talk things through, to reason with him.

Now me and Marula got a
little one on the way.

Oh, did you go with the express
intention of filching the jade elephant

and replacing it?
That's a dirty lie.

Oh, bravo.
Haven't heard that one in a while.

Should put copper at the
end, though. What?

That's a dirty lie.
Copper is much more effective.

But you ain't a copper, is you? No. Fair point.
No, I ain't, isn't, aren’t. But I do

have a special letter from Churchill.
So anyway, you can't prove that I did

that. No, but it's very
probable, you admit.

What happened then?
I waited outside the shop.

I knew he'd be in. He never goes
anywhere except Mondays and Thursdays.

He's played dominoes down The Bull.
I waited till well after 7:00, but there

was no sign of him.
So he went into the flat.

No sign of him, but first she come out.
Who? The char. Mrs. Dredge

coming out of the chemist acting all shifty.
Yeah, well, you know all about that.

She had something in her coat.
Trying her best to keep it hidden.

Didn't let her see me.
Obviously. When was this?

About 6:00. Now go on.

Then someone else come.
But it's like Piccadilly circus on your lane, Book.

Couldn't see him properly.
What with me eyes and that.

Oh yes, we've heard all about.
But it was a him.

I do know the difference, mister.
Your reputation precedes you.

It was all bundled
up, scarf, overcoat.

After he left, I went to the flat.
My door was shut, but I know my way around

a lock. So, in I went,
and that's when I found him.

Maru's dad that is, stone dead.
So naturally, you thought you should

call the police.
Well, that wouldn't have been a very

wise thing to do, would it?
I almost just legged it. And then I remembered

about the ornaments,
the jade figures.

A month ago, he told me
about how precious they was.

I thought no one's going to
miss one of them, are they?

Alas for you,
that wasn't quite the case.

Had me little
chess set with me.

So, I swap one.
Then I took off straight home. I swear I

never k*lled Harkup. I never even touched him.
He was dead when I got there.

All right, son. Maybe you're telling the truth.
Maybe you're not. But let me

assure you, if you are lying,
if you think you can take Scotland Yard, I'll

come down on you so hard you won't be
able to see straight till Christmas.

I'll throw the bloody book at you.
Inspector,

do we believe him?
Bent his dog's hind leg.

Yeah, but is he a m*rder*r?

I need to think.
Do you have time to queue?

I'm planning a casserole.

We should stop him moaning love.
Chance would be a fine thing.

Come on, Edith, sharp now…
It's not going to wrap itself.

She's new.

Out the way you we're
be all bleeding day,

right? You're watching. Over.
Over. Under. Under under.

There we go. Lovely. Bye.

Come in. Let's be having you.

It’s enough to turn you vegetarian.
No, our cat brought home a pigeon the

other night. And

well, Mrs. Bliss was sorely tempted.
We had plenty of pigeons in the w*r.

Nothing wrong with a bit of pigeon.
Yeah. Yeah, I know. But now it's all

over. I mean, we want to weigh
him a bit higher, don't we?

We are all of us in the gutter,
but some of us are looking at the starlings.

Right. Bugger this. All right. Excuse me.
Police business coming through.

Coming through. Police business.
Police business. Thank you. Thank you. Sorry.

Sorry, madam. Police business.
Thank you very much.

Oi! Wait, your bloody turn like the rest of I'm so
sorry, madam. It's urgent. Police

business. One minute. Oh, madam. Sorry.
Could I just ask you to take a few steps

outside urgent
police business?

Afternoon, Eric.
Afternoon, sir.

Now, stewing steak.
I've kept it aside, sir.

You are a prince amongst men.
Oh, you've got something just there.

Hey, excuse me. Powdered egg.
Bit of a rushed

breakfast. How's Sheila?
Well, sir. Well,

she's driven up to Sheffield.
I know family.

Yes.
Terrible about George Harkup.

Certainly is. Mind you,
I wag your old Basehart won't shed any tears.

Huh? I never got on.
Many a running during

the blitz.
Arup was a stickler for the rules.

Always on at Mr. Base for being too slack.
Blackout curtain, showing light,

that sort of thing.
Rob your tick.

Right. Then where are we
up to with the murders?

m*rder? There's only
one as far as I know.

Yes. Well, Mrs.
Dredge says she saw the

chemist at approximately 6:00 p.m.
We have only her word for that.

Yes. They did.
But Mickey Hall did say he saw her

leaving the shop around that time with
something in her coat she wanted to keep

hidden. And she has a strong motive.
Now we know

she inherits the lot.
So Harkup appears to have died somewhere

between 6 and 10 according to Dr. Calder.
An awful lot could have happened in

those 4 hours. Indeed.

Now we're presuming the k*ller called round.
No sign of forced entry.

So Half Cup knew them. Probably.
I've told you this before.

Hear me out, Mr. Harkup. Please.
It's about Marula.

I suppose you'd better come through.
So, he let them in. There was some talk,

chat.

The k*ller proceeds to pour
Prussic acid down his throat.

Harkup croaks.
Literally, I should imagine.

But why did he take just the one piece?
Well, why not grab the lot? Cuz then it

would look like burglary.
Whereas he wanted to make it look like suicide.

There we are, sir. Oh, bless you, Eric.
Oh, um, anything

for dog? I'll spoil you.
You do.

Would you like it, wrapped? No, no, no.
He won't mind. Thank you,

Toodle Pip. Enjoy your day, gentlemen.
Cheerio.

H barrel. Hello.

Mrs. Dredge has motive and opportunity.
Mickey Hall motive and opportunity.

What about Marula?
Nikki says the bundled up stranger is a

man. Yeah,
but then he would if they were in

it together.

Did they know that Harkup is
going to disinherit them?

Hello, Jack. Sir,

not for you.

What have you done?
Oh, tidied up.

Tidied up. Oh dear.

Well, you said you wanted things
cataloguing, so I need to put it in a

proper order.
You've only done these shelves so far.

Yeah, sorry. Takes time, you know.
Thank God. Put it all back. I put it all

back just as it was. I told you I have a system.
But you'd said that. Catalog it.

I said, not desecrate it.
Christ.

I'm sorry.
Least said, soonest mended, eh?

Well, I think I might
have done something right.

You found something? Yeah, I have.
It's been cleaned recently.

The residue you can see that's
remains of silver polish.

Meaning? meaning that
it got into the ground

recently. Probably dropped or
something far more sinister.

What you getting at? 1665.
Year of the plague.

Yeah. Very specifically
the year of the

plague. Not a year or two before.
Capital.

Too convenient. Horribly.
Where better to hide a tree than in a forest? 11

skeletons in the plague pit from the


Oh, bloody hell.
You said earlier ‘murders’, plural.

Yes. Linked.

Oh, I should think so. Top of the class, Jack.
Really? I should give you the

afternoon off to go to the pub.
So I will more specifically the Bull where

the late Mr. Harkup used to
play dominoes. Take Nora.

Nora? I believe you met.
She's good at this

sort of thing.
You could learn a lot.

Ah, something?

Very much something.

What's this? A list of addresses and a
very particular question. I'd be ever so

grateful if you go on a
little field trip for me.

All right.
If you cook tonight, I am, a casserole.

Oh, casserole.

Very irregular this,
kiddies on the premises.

I'm not a kid.
You look like one.

Appearances can be very deceptive.
I'll have a drink if that's what you're

worried about.
That would make it worse.

She'll have a lemonade.
Oh, what?

And I'll have a bottle of mild, please.
All right.

Thanks.

You'll have to get these. What?
I haven't got any money.

Oh, no. Ask Mr. Book.
He'll advance you your

wages.

There you are. Thanks.
Keep the change.

You were saying, Mr. Harkup.
That's right, son. Yeah. Every Monday

and Thursday, sit just over there. Yeah.
Mr. Wellbeloved the butcher. Mr. Basehart.

the RP warden. Mrs. Acres from the junk shop.
Mr. Cullen the tailor. It's

like happy families. Mr. Toovey from the cobblers.
Mr. Harkup. Oh, God rest his soul.

Yeah.

Are you with the
coppers then?

In a manner of speaking.
I mean, I don't mind. I was in the in

the force myself back in the day.
Ah, poor old Harkup. Didn't seem the

type, you know, to do himself in.
But then do they ever?

I know we had a teacher life and soul,
drowned herself in a weir man when you

last saw him. Well, that's the thing.
You see, I saw

Mr. Harkup just the day before.
Oh,

yeah. Very out of character. It was.
Yeah. He marched in here in the middle

of the day. He was a man of very regular
habits, so it did seem a bit q*eer.

It seemed like he had a lot on his mind.
Said he was sitting on a secret.

Obviously eating him up a bit.
Did you get it out of him? The secret?

Not at first. No. More than my life's worth.
He said he said that his very

words, son.
And the next day dead.

Did he um elaborate?

Yes, son. Eventually he did.
Now, Mr. Harkup was a very upright

citizen. You see, he suspected one
of his pals was cheating at Spotties.

Spotties? Spotties.

dominoes.

That was smashing. Book has His uses

better than what you're used to.
Oh, yeah.

So, uh, you were saying,
uh, Scarlet Fever.

Well, that's what
brought us together. Yes.

We met on the Scarlet Fever Ward
when we were what, both, 12?

And so what? You fell for
each other right from the off.

I wasn't quite like that. No.

Profitable day. I'm not sure.
I put my foot right in it.

Oh, I tried to tidy
Mr. Book's bookshelves.

I mean, I don't think I
did too much damage, but.

And then I was out and
about with Nora detecting.

Well, it certainly put
some color in your cheeks.

So, go on then.
Well, if you didn't fall for each other

straight away.
When did you know?

You'll forgive me, my dear,
but we'll have to know each other rather better

before such confidences are exchanged.
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't

mean to overstep, but Not at all.
You haven't.

I do hope we'll become fast
friends, Jack.

It's complicated. That's all.

Book and I weren't
separable for years and then

life got in the way.

Love is where it falls.
Isn't that what they say?

Couldn't trouble you for a
lie, could I? Sorry, I

I don't smoke.

You sure?

And were things more than formal
between you and your employer?

I resent that question, Inspector.
Nevertheless,

well, I won't deny there was a degree
of affection between George, between Mr.

Harkup and myself.
If you've been doing for someone all

those years. Well, that's my point, Mrs.
Dredges. Is

that all you were doing?
What my friend is trying to suggest.

Well, what he's trying to suggest,
what he's trying to elucidate then is

whether this affection took
any more tangible form.

Well, what's it got to do with you?
Well, the fact is, Mrs. Strange, certain

new facts have come to light.
Mr. Harkup gave the lot to you. Love

the shop. The good will
this whole estate or yours?

Never.
I didn't see that coming.

Everything. Everything.

Is your son at home, Mrs. Dredge?
Oh, he's uh upstairs in bed.

A late riser. A w*r hero.
His Wellington came down

over Holland 44. All right. I'm sorry.
Nothing to be sorry for. He survived,

didn't he? Given that we
don't believe Mr. Harkup

took his own life, you can see why
that leaves you in a rather difficult

position.
You never think I topped him.

The fact remains you're in a rather
sticky position, Mrs. Dredge. The the

the new will was properly
signed and witnessed.

Well, I don't know anything about that.
But you could have done. You could have

found a draft when you were cleaning and decided
to, you know, speed things up a

bit. What?
By knocking off Mr. H?

Yes, Barmy. No, it's her.
You should be

talking to Marula and him Mickey Hall.
Have you nabbed him?

He is assisting us with our inquiries.
Oh, well, good. That's something then.

In fact, Mr. Hall's been most helpful.
He has?

Yes. Yeah. Most helpful.
In fact, he told us

that he saw you leaving the chemist
shop the night of the m*rder.

But there's no mystery there.
I told you. I saw it.

Leaving and trying your very
best to conceal something.

Bandages. I told you for
elf the trying to hide.

He lost a leg,
didn't he, your son?

H how?

One of them worn and creased,
the other almost completely smooth. His prosthesis

must need constant attention and
painful, I should imagine. Very, very

painful.

Painful enough for morphine.

Why didn't you just
ask Mr. Harkup to help?

I I couldn't.

Alf needs more than he's
ever given by the doctor.

So I, I, I nicked some extra.
I didn't think Mr. Hark would notice, but he did.

And he assumed Mickey Hall must have done it.
I couldn't tell him it was me.

He was such a stickler, you see, for the rules.
Well, well, how could I tell him?

I'd had away with drugs
from his own shop.

You've no idea what it's like the pain.
My poor Alf. So, you dropped in on the

pretext of getting bandages and
instead stole more morphine.

I And Mr. Harkup was
alive when you left him.

I swear on my son's life.

If you'll excuse me.
Yes, of course.

Oh,
and, uh, when do I get it then?

Beg pardon? The money.

Not her then. No.
Life is hardened, Mrs. Dredge. But

not a k*ller. No. Then who did it?
Them. Two murders. Remember

them? Then look, I suppose it'd be too
straightforward for you to just, you

know, just tell me.
It would be my...

Well, no, not my pleasure.
You're going to need backup, Inspector.

What? What?

Oh, no. No. Sorry.
Uh, we're just Good evening, sir.

Eric. Oh, we're just
closing, I'm afraid.

That's all right. How's Sheila?
Well, you asked me that, Mr. Book.

Oh, yes. She's in Sheffield.
What day did you drive up there?

Oh, um, Thursday. Yes, Thursday. I see.
Well, if there's anything special

I can help you with, sir. You know, I've got a lot on.
But she couldn't have done

that. Could she, Eric, when
Trottie borrowed her car

on Friday?

Come on. Come on. Come on.
Come on. Come on.

Now then, Mr. Wellbeloved,
I didn't mean to do her in.

Don't go on. Things hadn't
been right for some time.

Always rowing we were.
And then.

I met her... Edith

Ah, an old fool
and a young beauty.

It's. It's a very old tale.
When did you know, Mr. Book, if you

don't mind me asking?
I suspected right away that something

was off. And that was confirmed when I
discovered that some of the bones in the

plague pit were newer,
though you'd made an effort to age them.

Gravy Browning.
Sheila uses it on her legs.

Couldn’t afford to get her nylons.
Plus, the knife marks on them are very

distinctive. I checked your handiwork.
That bone you gave me for dog.

So, uh, for the sake of a future with Miss Enid
Clegg, you sent your wife to

meet her maker.

Then found yourself confronting
the m*rder*r's oldest dilemma,

getting rid of the corpse.
Should have been simple for you, not being a

stranger to the notion
of chopping things up.

Unfortunately, Inspector,
people can tell the difference between the bones of

hogs and h*m* sapiens.
So, I think that after removing the flesh from your

unfortunate wife, ‘flensing’
her, you still needed to

dispose of her skeleton,
which is where the caustic soda comes in.

Precisely. Freely available at any chemist.
Getting rid of a body, are you?

Drains. It's for the drains, George.
Terrible pong.

Alkaline hydrolysis.
Was that what you were going for?

I'd read about it.
See, funny the things you pick up in this

trade.

Caustic soda. Dissolves flesh.
I'd used it before to

get rid of carcasses, you know,
but it didn't work properly. You know, lots of

lots of bones left.
I didn't know what to do. And then

and then Basehart mentioned the
skeletons that he'd found.

Strange to think that if it wasn't for
the Luftwaffe, we'd never have known

those poor devils were under
our feet all these years. You told the coppers?

not just yet.
Well, no rush, I suppose. After 300

years, I put a tarp
over the crater. Yes.

Well, you know what kids are like.
They probably run off with the bones and give

them to a dog. Yeah.
Anyway, cheerio.

Afternoon.

As I said, where better to
hide a tree than in a forest?

Who would notice? Oh, you.

Then there was this. Of course, Eric
here, though exhibiting a lively skill

at improvisation, is not an imaginative man.
No offence. No call for it in my game

meat is meat.
You rather overdid it by planting the

coin in the plague pit that rang an
alarm bell straight away. And so armed

with a description of our suspect,
my wife made a short but instructive tour

of the local curio shops.
Oh, how how do you know he hadn't gone further a field

to get the coin? Unimaginative.
Remember, anyone

conceiving so clumsy a clue would never
stray far from their own neighbourhood.

Eric was very much in the frame
when I noticed the clincher

in the queue at the butchers.

Notice what? Powdered egg.

Oh, you've uh you've got something
just there, right? Excuse

me. Powdered egg.
Bit of a rush breakfast.

Such an intimate thing to do with
absolutely no acknowledgement from Mr.

Wellbeloved. Aha, I thought.
Uh-huh. How's Sheila?

Well, sir, well,
she's driven up to Sheffield.

A nice family.
I inquired with Sheila's family in

Yorkshire. They've seen neither
hide nor hair of her, of course.

So, it all looked rosy.
And then

I've got the note.
I suspected something of the kind. Some

sort of vague threat.
Urgent that we talk.

I don't want to have to take
this to the authorities.

I hope we can sort this
matter between ourselves.

George Harkup. And you assumed
it was about the m*rder.

Of course. What?
And it wasn't?

No. What?
Then what was it about?

Dominoes. What?
Mr. Harkup was a stickler for the

rules, as we know. He suspected you
of cheating at his favourite pastime.

That's all it was.
No, no, no, no, no, no. It had to be a

threat about Sheila.

What else could it be? So,

what happened next?

I had an idea I could
buy him off with cash.

With beef.

So he went round.
I was scared,

you know, scared of what he might say.
What if he wouldn't listen to reason?

you there was poison everywhere, all around.
And so I I kept him talking.

I just need you to tell the truth.
George, just tell the truth, Eric.

And then I took my chance.
I I got hold of him and and and then I poured

the poison down his throat. Right.
You poisoned him, did you?

Oh, yes. Oh, it's horrible.
Nothing else.

Why? You see, that's very interesting,
Eric, because before he was poisoned,

George Harkup was struck over the head
and the weapon left a bloody residue in

his hair. You remember there was
blood but no wound, Inspector?

Yes.
Dr. Calder analysed it for me.

Cow's blood.
Ah, and you would have known that, Eric, if

you'd been the one who'd hit
him with a joint of beef.

No. Yeah. Yes. No. No. No. No.
I remember now. No, I did hit him.

I don't think so. So, who did?

it? Obviously neglected to mention the
part where she clobbered Mr. Harkup. Was

it her idea from the start?
No.

She was…

Enid found me after I’d
strangled, after Sheila died.

She just took charge.
Didn't know what to do.

And it was so calm,

methodical, and

we, we reckon we was
going to be okay until.

What the hell do we do now?

Leave this to me.

Huh?

And to finish the job,
make it look like suicide.

She poured Prussic acid down
poor Mr. Harkup's gullet.

Can't we just say that I did
it, please?

I mean, I'll swing, won't I?
But it the law must take its course.

I'm sorry, Eric. I truly am.
But I'm even more sorry for George Harkup

and poor Sheila. Oh.

Right. Formal charge done. Sign out.
You can take him to a holding cell.

Very good of you.
Thank Mrs. Book.

She said you might be a while.
Quite a tale. Wish I could have sat in

on it.
I'm pushing my luck as it is.

Questioning now.
What exactly did you do in the w*r?

It must have been pretty big for you
to get that letter from Churchill

for the inspector so that you
have run of the shop like this.

Now, now Jack, don't be nosy.
Where would the fun be if everyone knew

everything?
Besides, I hardly have the run of the

place. Not with laughing boy there
hovering the whole time. He's just

waiting for his chance to collar me.
Slightest malfeasance.

Surely you're a model of
respectability, Mr. Book.

You'd be surprised: they got
Ivor Novello for his petrol coupons

All right, we're out.
Out you go.

Eric. Eric.

All right. No, no, no contact.
Enough of that.

That's enough. Run for

love.

Hell’s bells….

Eric.

Eric, come out, man.
Don't be a fool.

Think I see him. Eric.

That's it. That way. Come on.

Where did he go?

There

crater.
This is - was - Inkerman Street,

which means Mr. Basehart's
fastidiousness has come good at

last. If the ruddy
thing's still working.

All right.
Wellbeloved, come quietly.

You see him

there?

Eric, stop. Don't lose him. I'm trying.
I'm going in. Let me talk to him.

Where are you going to run to, Eric?
There's nothing to be done.

Where will you go,

Eric?

You can give up today or tomorrow, Eric.
It's inevitable.

The law must take its course.
That's what you said.

You're not stringing me up.

Eric, no. You shan’t do that to me.
I've seen

beasts go. It's not always kind.
Eric, stop.

What about Enid?
You’re going to leave her to face the rope alone?

You're right.
She did all this for me.

Yes. All for me.

I can't leave her to face the
music, can I?

If we're going to
go, we go together.

No. No.

For him the hemlock shall distill.
For him the axe be bared.

For him the gibbet shall be built.
For him the stake prepared.

I see him up there with Mr. Book.
And then.

Wallop. He just fell. Dropped like a stone.
I mean he must have broke his

neck. Sad business.

Very sad. Well, this is a treat.
Pineapple chunks.

Haven't had these
since before the w*r.

So, what now?
What do you mean?

We just go back to selling books?
Well, that's the job, Jack. Just Jack.

Yeah, but that was Yeah,

but it was so
bloody exciting.

Can't be like this all the
time, young man. And anyway,

who are you?
You haven't really said.

Jack Blunt. I was brought
up in an orphanage. Like I

told you, made acquaintances
with the wrong sort.

I did time for it. Oh,

yeah. Oh,

I was the driver for a smash and grab
up Mayfair way. They got away with a

load of mink coats.
I got away with two years.

I missed the w*r, some of it anyway.
And then

I get a letter from the Prison Reform Society.
An address for a job. This

address. Well, there we are.
And no need to

mention it again.
Yeah, but why me?

Why'd you pick me? Altruism.

What? Giving a second
chance to someone felt

like the right thing to do.
Yeah, but you don't know me from Adam.

Oh, he was hopeless, wasn't he, Trottie?
Always wandering around the shop in the

altogether.
Getting his fig leaf trapped in the

till. I'm serious.
I mean, bloody hell. I am

grateful and all that,
but it's nice here.

It's really nice.
But Book’s is a raft on the great turbulent

sea of life.
You mean books are a raft?

No, no.
Book’s, this place, my shop.

Don't dwell in it, Jack. Just accept it.
It's a second chance.

But why me? Why not?
You only live once, but if you do it

right, once is enough.
Shakespeare?

May West.