Ms Fisher takes Melbourne Fashion Week!

 

Step out of lockdown in style! Join Melbourne's fashionistas to enjoy a celebration of 60’s fashion at Two Fashionable Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries Events:

Exhibition 

FREE EVENT | 15 Nov - 3 Dec | Open Daily 9am - 5pm | Collins Place

As part of the 2021 Melbourne Fashion Week, we invite you to attend the Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries Exhibition. Jet yourself back to the swinging 60's with a costume exhibition showcasing the fashion, hair and make up and production design from the hit television series Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. Visitors will get access to the behind-the-scenes world of TV making, and what goes into recreating the iconic fashion, hair and make up from the period. The Exhibition will feature over a dozen costumes designed by Penny Dickinson.  

 

Meet the Makers Q&A + Screening at The Capitol 

FREE EVENT | 6pm, Wed 17 Nov 2021 | The Capitol 113 Swanston Street Melbourne

The Capitol, RMIT School of Media and Communication and Every Cloud Productions will also host a special event-screening and in-conversation about how the Miss Fisher universe was created and how you develop a franchise as successful as the phenomenal spin-off series, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries.
 
The evening will commence with a screening of Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries Season 2, Episode 1 and an exclusive “Making of” featurette with the show’s Heads of Departments, covering costume design, hair & make up and production design.
 
Hosted by Lisa French, Dean, School of Media and Communication, RMIT, the post-screening conversation invites Ms Fisher’s Co-Creator and Executive Producer and RMIT Adjunct Professor, Fiona Eagger; Producer Beth Frey; Catherine McClements, one of Australia’s most accomplished actresses who plays Birdie Birnside in series, Costume Designer Penny Dickinson, Hair & Make Up Designer Lynn Wheeler and UK and Australian TV writer Peter Mattessi, who was also Co-Executive Producer on the series. Additional Heads of Department guests to be announced closer to the screening.
 
The conversation will explore what goes on below-the-line and behind-the-scenes and dissect how various areas of expertise such as costume design, hair and make-up, location scouting, producing and licensing - work collaboratively to create the world of Ms Fisher. We'll also look at how the authenticity of the series was enriched and inspired by Melbourne's wonderful period architecture.

Guests are invited to attend the Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries costume exhibition on the day of the screening. A curated walk through of the exhibition will take place at 5pm on the day of the screening, and will offer fans, students and industry guests the opportunity to view the Ms Fisher’s Modern costumes up close.

Miss Fisher fans will be out in force for this event but the behind-the-scenes insights from the screening and exhibition will offer general audience appeal. Individuals who are drawn to a screen career will have an opportunity to gain a perspective on how creatives and crew work together to achieve the vision of the show. 

Watch the series trailer here.  Ms Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries is rated PG.

Miss Fisher's Murder Msyteries S03E07 - Game, Set, Murder

Warning: contains spoilers! 
 
 Game, Set, Murder begins with inside the ladies changing room. A gloved hand pours a large spider from a jar into a shoe and shoves the balled up socks on top. 

A lady enters the room taking off her shoes and putting the shoes on. She screams as she puts her foot on the spider and collapses obviously bitten. We see a close up of the ladies pale dead face with the spider crawling across. 

Credits roll

Inside Miss Fishers home Dot is chatting with Mr Butler and Burt about being excited about having a tennis champion come to stay. Whilst looking at a newspaper article about the tennis champ. 

 Hugh knocks on the door having returned from his fishing trip. Dot scolds him for not writing and he said he sent postcards about fish. He apologizes for leaving like he did and said he was confused. Dot makes him promise that if they are to get married he will never go off again. He said of course they are getting married and Dot asks about his mother. Hugh said he told his mother he could either marry a virtuous catholic girl or a protestant girl with loose morals. Dot asks what girl and he said there isn't one but don't tell his mother. Hugh says his mother wont argue with a senior constable and Dot hugs him proud of his promotion

At Aunt Prudence house Phryne is watching a man and a woman playing tennis. The man says it is good of Aunt Prudence to let them use the tennis court and asks if she will be back for the tournament. Phryne says no Aunt P does not like ball sports. The man Stanley says he thought Aunt P was just miffed about missing his wedding. Phryne tells him she is the one that's miffed as he is one of her dearest friends and she had no idea. Stanley tells Phryne he and Constance eloped. Phryne asks Constance about cutting their honeymoon short and she says she could not miss the Sydney cup. 

Stanley and Constance finish up their game and go to have tea. They say they hope the tournament is a success and Phryne says with Constance playing its bound to be. Dot arrives and asks Constance to sign the newspaper article. Constance says it was windy at the Sydney cup and she looks practically naked in the photo. Phryne asks who took the shots and she says Mr Fredrick Burns. Phryne says its always a dance with the press and Constance says its got nothing to do with that hideous man or his pictures. 

Burt calls Phryne having discovered the body. Phryne identifies her as Belinda Roswell, Constance's practice partner. Constance says she was a future champion in her own right. Jack removes her sock and says the puncture marks look like a spider bite. He says there are no lethal spider in Victoria. Jack said it must have been in her shoe. Constance says they are her shoes as Bel had a problem with hers so Constance lent Bel her shoes. Jack asks what time it was and Constance says around 3pm. Constance and Stanley leave and Jack tells Phryne she was very restrained not investigation until he arrived. Dot returns with a broken shoelace she found in the hedge. Hugh says the venom must have been fast acting if Bel didn't even get out of the rotunda. Phryne compliments him on his promotion. Phryne says she thinks Bels family are all in England but starts looking through her purse when she spots the spider and jumps on a bench in fear. Jack catches it in a glass. 

 Outside Jack give it to Hugh to take to the car along with Bel's belongings. He teases Phryne on finding her Achilles heel and tickles her should causing her to shriek and lunge into his arms as a photographer, Fredrick Burns appears from behind a tree and snaps a shot. 

At the car Hugh commends Dot on not being scared of spiders and is wiping leaves off her coat as Fredrick Burns snaps another shot.

In the lab Dr Mac identifies the spider as a Sydney Funnelweb and estimates the time of death as 6pm. Jack says the spider must have crawled inside Constance bag when she was in Sydney for the cup. Dr Mac says it seems unlikely that the spider would have been on a tennis court. Phryne speculates the spider was deliberately placed in Constance shoe. 

At Phryne's house Phryne tells Constance that there has been a murder attempt on her. Stanley is outraged. She asks if Constance can think of anyone who would want to hurt her and she and Stanley both say Angela Lombard as she never misses an opportunity to put Constance off her game.

At the boat the SY Ena Phryne tells Jack Angela has been world champion for several years but Constance is nipping at her heals. She says Angela is a keen sailor so she has arranged for her to stay aboard whilst shes playing in Phryne's tennis tournament which is a charity event for women's rights as the Australian Tennis Organization pays for men to play all over the world but women have to pay their own way. Phryne tells Jack Angela is in the midst of an ugly divorce from her wealthy husband leaving her with financial troubles and a waning career which makes her a suspect. 

 They board the boat and meet Angela telling her about Bels murder and Jack asks where she was yesterday afternoon. She say she left the court at midday and spend the rest of the day below deck on the boat with Terrance Lawson. Terrance appears and Jack takes him down to the station to question him.

At the police station Jack asks what time he left the court yesterday and he said 2pm. Jack asks if Angela would want to hurt Constance and he says "Connie?" Jack asked if he was sweet on her and he said she was not interested in men only tennis. 

Back at home Constance says she and Terrance never socialized off the court. Dot brings in tea and complements Constance on her dress. She says she has not worn it in a while and its a little snug. She seems flushed and Phryne asks if she is ok. She says she is trying to keep a cold at bay which is why she bought her own tea brew with her. Stanley comes in and says Mr Burn is lurking outside. Phryne chases him off and says if he does not leave she will have him arrested for trespass. Stanley remembers that Constance made an official complaint against Mr Burn and the police told them he was already facing other charges.

 At the police station Hugh brings Jack the paper with the picture of he and Phryne in an apparent embrace. At her house Phryne and Dot are reading the story. Phryne finds it amusing but Jack tells Hugh he thinks he is in for a serve. His phone rings, it is the Commissioner who tells him he is forbidden to solve cases with a civilian. Jack leaves. 

 At Phryne's house Phryne tells Jack about Fredrick Burns impending criminal charges and Jack has her sign  a document making her a special constable. He gives her a sheriff badge he had been saving since he was 10. 

In the kitchen Dot is repairing Constance purse when she finds a photo. 

Jack and Phryne go to visit Mr Burns. Phryne accuses him of harassment. They ask where he was on Tuesday and he says wherever Constance was he would not try to kill her as photos of her are his meal ticket. Phryne finds some more salacious snaps of nudes and Mr Burns runs. Phryne and Jack give chase and Phryne takes him down with a thrown bin lid.

Jack asks Mr Burns about the photos and he says he is not selling them they are art.Phryne takes his hip flask and he tells them it is his lumberjack whisky and they cant take it. Phryne says Lumberjack is only available in Canada or America where it is snuck over the border to cheat prohibition. Jack asks where he got it.

 Dot arrives at the police station and tells Hugh she is bringing him some evidence. She notices him reading the paper and looking at photos of the female tennis players. He tells her he was just checking something and turns the page where the picture of him whipping leaves off the back of Dots coat is printed. Hugh confronts Mr Burns as he leaves the station and Dot worries what her and Hugh's mothers will say. She shows Phryne the photo she found which is Constance and Terrance together it is signed forever yours Terry. 

 They confront Terrance for lying to them and he tells them Constance dumped him for Stanley and it stung a bit but he had plenty of takers. Phryne says she does not doubt it but it is obvious his heart still belongs to Constance. Jack asks what went wrong he said what hasn't gone wrong this year he injured his shoulder and missed out on the finals then just after Easter Connie dumped him and married Stanley. 

They confront Constance about lying and she says she kept it a secret because they were intimate and if the press found out they would drag it down. Constance says she does not want Stanley to find out and get the wrong impression. Stanley arrives and tells him he did know. She said she ended it because she could only think of Stanley. She looks into her bad and screams snake but on closer inspection Jack realizes it is an eel. Angela runs over laughing and Constance tells her she will not put her off her game that easily. 

Jack goes to confront Angela she complements him for the photo in the paper and pours them a drink which Jack notices is Lumberjack whiskey. He asks why only a glass when he gave Fredrick Burns a whole flask of her good whisky and asks whats between them. Angela confesses she has been paying him to throw Constance off her game. She attempts to seduce Jack and asks him to come for a swim with her but he declines but she gets him to undo her dress.

At her house Phryne tells Dot not to worry about the photo of her and Hugh but she tells Phryne their mothers have already been casting aspersions. She worries her priest may see it. Phryne invites Dot to her cocktail party. As Phryne gets ready at her dressing table a funnelweb crawls across and onto her sleeve she brushes it off trapping it under her cap and screams for Dot. Jack speculates about Stanley but Phryne says it is unlikely and says someone came through the window. She finds a scrap of fabric stuck to her window frame. Jack tells her when he spoke to Angela she was reading an important document and left the envelope behind from Blue spruce shoe company. He says he may need to conduct a search at Phrynes party but Phryne tells him she will do the search. Hugh catches the spider. 

On board the boat the party is in full swing. Mr Burns takes Phryne and Dots photo and Phryne asks Dot to keep Angela busy. Angela says she saw Dot in the paper and calls her a racy dame. Phryne bumps into Constance who has spilled her champagne down herself. Mr Burns takes her photo and Constance shouts at him to leave her alone running away. 

Phryne heads below deck and looks in Angela's bag she finds the contract from the shoe company. Terrance enters and is sorting a pile of his clothes. Phryne asks if he is staying over he says no but he doesn't own much and likes to keep it safe. Phryne notices a hole in one of the garments. He asks if something is wrong and she tells him she is just admiring the cut of his jib he asks if he can do the same but they are interrupted by Angela and Terrance leaves to get a drink. Angela mentions that she and Jack had a chat that afternoon and he knows how to unhook a woman's dress. Phryne is not fazed and says it is better when he does it with his teeth.

Dot sees Stanley talking to Constance saying he is worries she will sneak off with Terrance. Constance tells Stanley Terrance means nothing to her. Stanley says he wants to believe her but it took so long for them to be intimate her feels she is doing it under sufferance. Constance gets irate and tells him she will ravish him right there and now but Stanley shushes her. Dot goes to tell Phryne what she heard but Phryne tells her they have a new suspect on their hands.

At the police station Terrance asks Jack why he would want to kill Miss Fisher. Phryne says because she was getting to close to the truth. Terrance tells her he loved Connie and would never hurt her. Jack asks him to explain the torn shirt. He says he has been set up. 

In his office Jack tells Phryne the spider put in her bedroom would not have killed her as it was a trapdoor spider and is not venomous. He says he thinks it was a practical joke. Phryne asks him to get rid of the spider and he tells her it is important evidence. Phryne says so is this and flashes the contract tucked in her garter and tells him he will not see it until the spider is gone. Jack puts the spider in a drawer and Phryne shows him the contract between Angela and a Mormon shoe company which will give her a lucrative deal if she wins all her matches. Jack says she did not mention it when he interviewed her earlier and Phryne asks before or after he helped her out of her dress. She says to be careful Fredrick Burn doesn't catch him at it.  

Phryne arrives home and Stanley asks if Terrance was charged and she tell him no as its all circumstantial but they will be watching him. Stanley takes a tray of tea up to Constance. Phryne hopes Constance is not toying with Stanley and snoops for more evidence of Terrance. Phryne searches Constance coat but knocks Stanley's bag down a photo falls out and Phryne says oh no. 

The next day Phryne and Jack confront Stanley and he tells them that Bel and he had an arrangement but it only happened once. Phryne doubts it as she says she knows his marital relations aren't what he hoped. They asked if he loved Bel and he says no and asks them not to tell Constance. Jack tells Stanley they will tell Constance everything if they find out he tried to kill her. Jack tells Stanley he can go and Phryne says she finds it hard to believe Stanley would want Constance dead unless Bel was the victim all along. Jack says perhaps he killed Bel to cover his shame. Phryne says maybe Constance found out and killed her.Phryne says Fredrick obviously knew Belinda quite well as he took the nude photo Stanley had. Jack says it must be time for another chat with him but Phryne says he is too slippery and she has a better idea. 

Phryne does a photoshoot with Fredrick agreeing to remove one item of clothing per satisfactory answer. Fredrick tells her Bel was posing for him for about a year and he was paying her to take sneaky pics of other players especially Constance. Phryne says she thought Angela was paying him for that. He says Angela was paying him to rattle Constance but Bel could get a lot closer than he could so he gave her a cut. He says it was a good arrangement until Bel called it off. Phryne asks why and Mr Burns tells her Bel said she was being paid better money to do special favours for someone else. Phryne asks who and Fredrick tells her he does not know but last time he saw Bel she had to leave early as she had a meeting with Constance. Phryne gets all her answers and confiscates the film as a special constable of Victoria police. 

Back at home Phryne ask Constance about the meeting with Bel and asks if it was about Stanley. Constance says yes but she was not angry as the truth is she asked Bel to seduce Stanley as she needed to concentrate on her tennis. Phryne asked if that's the case why marry Stanley and Constance says because he is a good man and a good coach. Phryne asks about Terrance and Constance says he was just a fling and he is not wealthy enough to support her career. Phryne says and Stanley is. She says at least Constance could afford to pay Bel for her special favours but Constance tells her she did not pay her. 

The day of the tennis tournament Dot takes her tennis dress to Constance but finds her ill with a temperature. Dot tells her she is not well enough to play. Dot tells Phryne Constance is ill and the tea is making it worse. Phryne sniffs it and says it smells like sage. Prhyne wonders if she is being poisoned and asks Dr Mac to test the tea. 

At the police station Phryne speculates if someone is poisoning Constance perhaps she is the target all along. Jack asks about the payments and Phryne tells him Constance was not paying Bel but Jack tells her someone was paying her as money had been deposited in her account. Jack asks Phryne to remove herself from his desk but she says she is comfortable so he waves the spider at her. Phryne takes a chair. 

 At the tennis tournament Hugh tells Dot he has searched Constance bag and its free of eels and spiders . Mr Burns corners them for a picture and Hugh confronts him and threatens to lock him up and throw away the key if he doesn't leave Dot alone.

Jack and Phryne are searching Bels bag and finds it has a false bottom. Meanwhile Dr Mac calls and says the tea is not poisoned. Phryne finds photos of Terrance and Angela in Bels bags number 1-10 the envelope says 11 - $50, 12 - $100 so she has been paid for the photos. Jack says they were the exact amounts paid into Bels account. 

At the tennis comp Jack and Phryne confront Angela who says she did not kill Bel she just paid her off for the photos so she didn't lose her shoe contract. Jack asks to see the photos and Angela shows them one. Phryne asks where the other one is but Angela doesn't know anything about it. At this point the tennis comentator tells Phryne they are about to start. 

The match goes ahead in the stands Stanley tells Phryne he can't believe Terrance is still free after what he tried to do to her. Jack wonders who would have paid Bel for the 12th photo. They look closely at photo 11 and see Constance in the background looking shocked. Phryne has a realization and they return to the tennis court where they tell Constance to forfeit her match due to injury. Constance says its only a cold but Phryne says it is not a cold and she lied to them about paying Bel as she paid her a great deal for the photo. Jack tells her to forfeit or they will arrest her for Bels murder in front of everyone. Constance fakes an ankle injury and forfeits. 

Stanley tells Phryne that shes made a mistake as Terrance is to blame but Phryne notices a spider bite on his arm and says it was Stanley that tried to scare her off and frame Terrance. He says he was trying to protect Constance. Phryne asks when he realized Constance had killed Bel and he said he was jealous so went through her things and found the spider jar. Phryne arrests Constance and says she realized the stain on her dress was not champagne and she was drinking sage tea to combat mastitis so she must have given birth recently. Stanley is shocked and Terrance asks if the baby was his. Constance says yes and the baby is in a good home. Jack says Bel had a picture of her with the baby and Constance says she paid Bel good money for it and she promised it was the end of it but Constance got scared so she sabotaged Belinda's shoes and planted the spider. Terrance asks why she would give up the baby and not tell him and she says because he would want her to get married settle down and give up tennis and tennis is everything. Jack tells Stanley he will need to talk to him in regard to with holding information. 

 Angela asks Jack if it is true Constance killed Bel and he says he is afraid so. She tells him if he ever gets tired of Phryne and wants to play ball with her shell give him the best game hes ever had. He says that is a challenge he wont be accepting. The episode ends with Jack and Phryne playing tennis she complements him on his game and he tells her he learned at the police academy and speaking of which there is a lack of attention to detail in her paperwork so she is being retired as special constable. She says she supposes he will want his badge back and he says no and pins it back on her saying she has earned it.

The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - A Matter of Style Synopsis

 

Phryne is getting her hair done at Salon de Paris when she overhears Daphne Ballard complain loudly about personal items that have gone missing at the salon with Mrs Jones whose necklet had also gone missing and Mrs Jenkins who was missing a hairclip. 

Mrs Ballard a loud obnoxious woman who was the wife of a local MP went on to complain that Miss Garlands opal earring had gone missing at the salon the week before and accuses the salon girls of stealing her scarf. 
 
The salon owner Madame Latour tells her it may have fallen to the floor and been swept up and she will make enquiries, Mrs Ballard tells her she will give them 24 hours to return the earring, scarf and everything else that had gone missing and will be back tomorrow to collect them. 

Phryne ask Mme Latour for a private word and asks her to tell her everything that happened. Mme Latour tells her that Edna had been in charge of Mrs Jones styling and Elsie had looked after Mrs Jenkins. 

Phryne then asks about the missing opal earring and Mme Latour tells her Miss Garland has left in good humour on Friday but called later to report the earring missing. Phryne asks if Miss Garland had an dressing applied and Mme says she cannot remember but Jean attended her so calls Jean in. 

Phryne asks Jean if she applied any liquid dressings to Miss Garland's hair and Jean says yes Phryne asks her if she asked Miss Garland to take her earrings out and she says yes and also her ring because she manicured her nails. She says Miss Garland only had one earring on when she asked her to take them out. She says she put the earring back but perhaps Miss Garland did not fasten it properly.

Mme lets Jean go and asks Phryne about the scarf Phryne says she may have some ideas and asks if Mrs Ballard was wearing it when she arrived. Mme Latour says yes it was a hideous thing. Phryne asks if she sat under any of the machines. Mme Latour says yes and Phryne asks to be shown which one. 

Phryne reached into the machine and pulled out the missing scarf followed by the necklet and hairclip. She points to the brass clip on Mrs Ballard's scarf and tells Mme she thinks there may be some loose magnets in the machine which are attracting the metal objects. 

After her hair styling Phryne saw Jean outside the florists. The girl was trembling. Phryne invites her to a nearby teashop for lunch. Phryne then asks her what she did with Miss Garland's earring and she can help her. Jean tells Phryne her boyfriend Matt lost his job and told her to take valuable items from salon clients for him to hawk. Phryne tells Jean to go to Matt straight after work and demand the pawn ticket for the earring but Jean who appears scared of Matt tells her she can't do it. Phryne then tells Jean to tell her where Matt lives and she will deal with it. 

Phryne heads to Matt's address a run down boarding house where the landlady tells her where to find Matt. Phryne tells Matt that the police are on the way and if he wants to avoid 6 months hard labour he will give her the pawn ticket. After Matt hands over the ticket she then threatens him that if he goes near Jean again she will carve her initials on his liver with a blunt knife. 

The next day Phryne returns to Salon de Paris. Mrs Ballard arrives demanding the missing items and Phryne walks up to the machine and pulls out all the missing items including the earring. She tells Mrs Ballard that the machines are in their infancy so she would be advised to remove such items before getting her hair done and even better advised to be more cautious about strewing about wild accusations about the staff at the salon, addressing her as Mrs Bollard. 

Mrs Ballard tells Phryne that her husband is an MP and Phryne says that if that is the case she should avoid causing him embarrassment as the she could see the headline in The Hawklet. Mrs Bollard is enraged and says she will not attend the salon again and storms out. 

Mme Latour closes the door and ask Phryne how she contrive it. She says Jean is such a foolish girl and asks if she has shown Matt the door. She asks if it cost Phryne much to get the earring back. She tells Mme Latour 10 bob at the pawn shop but it was worth it for telling vile Bollard off. She says she hopes Mme will not lose business. Mme says she will probably get more business without Mrs Ballard around. 

Phryne then says as they are in private can she ask Mme a question. She asks if Mme is really from Paris. Mme tells her she will only tell Phryne as she can count on her discretion but she is really Maisie Fields and the closest she has been to Paris is Moonee Ponds. She says she was born in North Port. 

Phryne tells her her French is very good and Mme says she took classes with M. Dupont who pronounced her passable. Phryne tells her her secret is safe and she is delighted she could assist Mme. 

Ms. Fisher's Modern Murder Mysteries Season 2

Ms Fishers Modern Murder Mysteries will be back with a second series on 7th June on Acorn TV

When we first met Peregrine Fisher in 2019’s “Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries” on Acorn TV, she was a little bit at loose ends. Sure, she inherited a sweet house, a sports car, and a knockout wardrobe from her aunt — the indefatigable Phryne Fisher of the cult favorite TV show “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” — but Peregrine was unsure about taking on her relative’s whole “solving crimes while looking fabulous” thing.

Judging by the trailer for the upcoming second season of the spinoff, Peregrine has come to terms with her new role — and she even has the private detective nameplate to prove it.

Per AcornTV’s official synopsis:

“As murders continue to plague the streets of 1964 Melbourne, daring detective Peregrine Fisher tackles her trickiest assignment yet: juggling her career, the busy life of an Adventuress, and her romance with Detective James Steed (Joel Jackson, Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door, Deadline Gallipolli.) Playful but never mocking, exuberant but never naive, Peregrine Fisher continues her mission to do the legacy of her famous aunt justice, to find her way in changing times and to make a difference in the world.”

Here is the trailer for season 2:

The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - The Boxer Synopsis

 On a cold winters morning Phryne is visited by the unpleasant Mrs Ragnall who wants Phryne to find her missing granddaughter, Christina. Phryne ascertains that Christina who is only eight has been missing for two weeks and Mrs Ragnall has not reported the disappearance to the police as she says they are useless. Phryne asks where the child's mother is and Mrs Ragnall says the mother Ellie ran away some time ago.

Phryne sees Mrs Ragnall out and heads to the police station to find out more about Mrs Ragnall. There Hugh tells her that Mrs Ragnall had reported a missing pearl necklace some time back but as they had no reason to believe it was stolen they told her they could not search for it but would take a description report in case it turned up.

Phryne asks about Christina and Hugh tells her she will probably be found amongst the working girls as her mother Ellie is a working girl.

Phryne then heads to South Melbourne and chats to one of the working girls. She offers her a gasper and asks after Christina but the girl tells her she cant help her. She then asks after Ellie and the girls face freezes. The girl tells her Ellie was one of them but she disappeared a few weeks back and a few other girls have also disappeared.

Phyrne then heads to her sisters house to ask about the working girls and Ellie's disappearance. Eliza tells Phryne that Ellie caught pneumonia and was taken to a private hospital run by Dr James. Phryne asks if Ellie had an eight year old daughter and Eliza says it cant be the same Ellie as she is only 20. 

Phyrne heads back to South Melbourne and finds a young girl selling matches amongst the working girls. Phryne buys a match and asks the girls name and she says Christina. Phryne then asks if she isn't a little young to be out on the streets on her own and Christina tells her she has Bear to look after her. Phryne asks if she can meet Bear and Christina tells her Bear doesn't want to meet her. Phryne asks if she will be there tomorrow if she needs another match and Christina says yes. Phryne leaves but senses she is being watched.

The next day Phryne goes to the office of births marriages and deaths. She muses that most Teddy bears do not make very good guardians so the likelihood is that Bear is in fact a man and that he could be Christina's father. After some detective work Phryne discovers that Mrs Ragnall gave birth to Ellie at aged 20 (no father listed) and Ellie had Christina at just 12 years old. Christina's surname listed as Forrest but the father unknown. Phryne also finds a death certificate for Christina signed by Dr James listing cause of death as pneumonia. Phryne remembers what the working girl said about more girls going missing and keeps searching. She finds three more death certificates signed by Dr James for young women with pneumonia as the cause of death. 

Later that day Phryne returns to South Melbourne where she finds Christina and asks if she can see Bear now. Christina leads her to a the gate of a well kept cottage and tells her to wait there. She is met by a huge man. The man greets her with a southern drawl  and asks who she is. Phryne hands over her card and the man invites her in for tea with his wife. 

Bear then introduces himself and says he is Christina's adopted father. Phryne tells him that Mrs Ragnall would like her granddaughter back. Bear tells Phryne that Mrs Ragnall is not a good woman. He says he was a tent boxer in America under the name Black Bear and never lost a fight but jumped ship when he got to Melbourne and set up home with his wife Rosie with his winnings. He says Rosie cannot have children as she used to be a working girl which is why the girls look out for Christina. 

Phryne asks about Ellie and Bear asks what she knows about Mrs Ragnall. Phryne tells him more than he thinks and asks if Mrs Ragnall had the same planned for Christina. Bear asks if Phryne has met a man called Forrest and Phryne tells him she has not had the dubious pleasure. Phryne asks why Christina is selling matches and he tells her Christina believes everyone should earn a living. He says Rosie has a shop now and he keeps order at certain public houses. Phryne thanks him for his time and tells him she intends to tell Mrs Ragnall Christina cannot be found. Back in the car Phryne muses she will have to make a call to Dr Mac and will have to make two house calls tomorrow one unpleasant and one pleasant.

The next day Phryne calls on Mrs Ragnall where she meets Mr Forrest she tells them that Ellie is dead and Christina has run away to Queensland. Mrs Ragnall is outraged and says Christina is far to young to know whats best for her. Phryne asks her if she does as she took such good care of Ellie. Phryne then tells Mrs Ragnall her fee will be 30 shillings as she had to use considerable resources to discover the truth of the case. 

Phryne's next stop is Dr James where she tells him that he is in a lot of trouble but she can help him. She says she knows he has lost 4 working girl patients that month and that he has been "helping them out of their misery" She says she knows Ellie didn't have much of a life as she was sold to a lecher at the age of 12 and she ran away to work on the streets where she caught syphilis. Dr James tells her it was only gonorrhea but he doesn't have enough medicine to cure the girls. Phryne tells him that he is quite mad but that afternoon Dr Mac will arrive to section him and save him from being hanged for the murders. Dr James starts to wail and Phryne slaps him and tells him to "play up and play the game as Grammar expects no less" Dr James asks how he knows about Grammar and she says she has made inquiries. 

Phryne's leaves the hospital musing that it was fun but being back at Bear and Rosie's house and handing over Elliot Forrest's 30 shillings will be pure joy. 

The Lady with the Gun ask the Questions - The Chocolate Factory Synopsis

Phryne is being painted by Miss Carson for an illustration for Madame Charpentier's latest chocolate selection entitled Dark Lady.

A few months later on a dark winters night Phryne receives a parcel from Madame containing a box of the chocolates which she shares with the household. Also in the package is a plain box containing four nougats which Phryne gives to Jane and Ruth to share. 

The next day at 10am Phryne receives a phone call from Madame to check the delivery arrived safely. Dot arrives and tells Phryne the girls are complaining of feeling sick and says there is something wrong with the nougats. Ruth said they tasted funny and Jane said they had better leave the last one as evidence. Phryne examines it and determines it smells of mustard. Dot sniffs it and agrees. They investigate further and realize that it is deliberate sabotage. Phryne contacts Madame Charpentier and Madame asks for her help.

A short time later Phryne arrives at Madames factory at Footscray. Madame walks Phryne through the chocolate making process so Phryne can see where the sabotage may have taken place. Phryne asks who has access to the chocolate making room and Madame tells her on she does and the room is kept locked. 

Phryne then goes on to interview the staff, the two packers an attractive girl Helen and an outspoken but plain girl Janet. Janet tells Phryne that the plain box of chocolates was actually meant for her as Madame gives them a box to take home every night but hers were nougat which she doesn't like so Madame swapped them and put the nougat in Phryne's parcel. 

Phryne asks Janet why someone would want to mess with her and Janet asks her if shes met the delivery boys Harry and Charlie she says the older of the two Charlie is always making rude comments at the girls but she slaps them down whereas Helen only blushes. 

Phryne asks about Harry and Janet tells her he is quiet but sweet on Helen. Janet says she told him that he didn't stand a chance with Helen.

Phryne then brings in the delivery boys to talk to them. Charlie attempts to flirt with Phryne but she stops him and asks him about the girls. He tells them Helen is a looker but no go and Janet is ok she gives as good as she gets. 

Phyrne then talks to Charlie who is quiet and skakey. Phryne tells him he is wasting his time with Helen she wants a confident boy and that she know he tried to punish Janet because she told him so. She tells him thankfully they have found that someone was not trying to sabotage Madame's business but he will be fired. She give him a pound note and dismisses him telling him to get some sense. 

Madame rewards Phryne with two more boxes of chocolate which Phryne plans on sharing with Lin Chung when he visits that night.
 

Phryne's Friends - Ember and Molly

 There are two animal members of Phryne's household Ember the cat and Molly the dog.

Ember is a black cat and arrived in Murder on the Ballarat Train when he was a scrawny black kitten only 6 weeks old. He awoke Jane in the middle of the night by scratching on her window and giving her a fright. Phryne allowed Jane to keep Ember providing he have a bath and got a collar. He arrived as a soaked and starving kitten just when Jane needed comforting and has stayed to become an elegant black cat who loves mirrors. Ember appears again in Death in Daylesford but is referred to as a female kitten. 

Molly first makes an appearance in as a stray with a dislocated hip who was treated by Hugh and never left. Molly is very humble but loves eating slippers.