A man walks in to a room with a group
of young girls and a woman. The girl hand over items that have
probably been stolen and the man checks the items over. One girl only
hands over a few coins and the man grips her wrist and ask if she is
stealing from him. He says he can make her tell. The girl behind her
in the queue grabs a carving fork from the table and sticks it in the
man's hand shouting at him to leave her alone.
Credits roll
Phryne and Dot are queuing for train
tickets. Phryne tells Dot that their return journey will be far more
thrilling and shows Dot a brochure for the Hispano-Suiza car they are
going to collect.
The young girl who stuck the fork in
the man's hand is hanging around the fence. Behind Phryne and Dot in
the queue are a woman and her daughter. The daughter offers to take
her mothers bag but the mother tells her off saying she is trying to
count and calls the girl stupid. Phryne notices the young girl
hanging around and the girl runs away.
Phryne purchases two first class
tickets to Ballarat. Burt and Cec bring Phryne's luggage onto the
platform and Phryne says she doesn't know what she would do without
them. Burt says she will have to find out as they have some jobs on
that day. Phryne says that is a shame as she is taking possession of
her new house and wanted them to help move in the last of her
furniture but Burt tells her their old car couldn't handle heavy
loads. Phryne tells them it is a shame and give them a scrap of paper
telling them if they call at that address she has left a small token
of her appreciation for them. Cec and Burt thank her and leave
Dot wonders if she should stay behind
to help with the unpacking as she would be of more use but Phryne
tells her she didn't invite her to be useful she invited her so they
could have some fun. A young boy whizzes past with a toy aeroplane
getting dangerously close to the tracks. Phryne tells him if he is
squashed under the train no one would be able to put him back
together again and the young boys father comes to collect him telling
him to stay away from the edge.
Phryne and Dot are on board the train.
Two handsome young men enter the platform. One hands a bouquet to the
daughter who was behind Phryne in the ticket queue and gives her a
kiss. The other young man smiles at Phryne. Phryne comments that the
scenery has vastly improved and they haven't even left the station.
The train pulls out of the station and the young men do not board it.
Phryne comments that this is a shame.
At Phryne's new home Cec and Burt are
collecting their present which is a new taxi. Burt comments that they
left their job at the docks so they didn't have to lick the bosses
boots but Cec says Miss Fishers boots are different. Mr Butler comes
out to greet them with a tray of lemonade and offers them some
refreshment before they pick up the rest of the furniture. Mr Butler
says that he hasn’t worked for a spinster before and it will be a
pleasure to work for a lady with a strict routine who appreciates the
quiet life and Cec spits his drink.
Back on the train Phryne is hanging off
the back rails and invites Dot to come smell the fresh air but Dot is
worried and asks her to come back in. In the dinning cart Dot notices
the young woman reading and her mother playing cards. The young woman
is reading a book called Bandit Love. The young boy with the toy
plane whizzes past her and comes to see Dot. The father comes to
collect the boy and the lady asks if someone can keep the boy quiet.
The father notices the woman and addresses her as Matron Henderson.
Mrs Henderson says she is surprised and he says likewise and if he
knew he would have changed his booking. The young woman Eunice tells
him Mr Cotton that is enough but her mother tells her to keep out of
it. Mr Cotton takes his boy Eddy away. Mrs Henderson tells Dot to
stick her eyes back inside her head and Dot looks away.
In their compartment Dot is sleeping
whilst Phryne reads Lady Chatterley's Lover. Phryne places her book
and Dot's knitting on the table and curls up to sleep. It is late at
night and the train has stopped. Phryne wakes. The train sets off
again jarring her and she notices a strange smell so she grabs her
purse and goes to investigate. She pulls her gun and follows the
smell to another compartment and knocks to see if everything is
alright but there is no answer. Through a crack in the door she can
see Eunice collapsed on the floor but the door is locked so she
shoots of the lock and checks on Eunice. Dot is awoken by the noise
and comes to see what is happening. Phryne finds a cloth next to
Eunice covered in chloroform. Eunice stirs and asks where her mother
is as she was right there. Phryne tells Dot to pull the emergency
cord which she does.
The train is stopped and the local
police search for Mrs Henderson. Phryne, Dot and the rest of the
first class passengers are waiting in the dinning cart. Phryne and
Dot are playing cards but Phryne although distracted wins. Phryne is
concerned that the local police are useless. Dot tells Phryne about
Mr Cotton's run in with Mrs Henderson as the local police constable
comes in to tell them the train will be stopping where it is for the
night. Phryne grabs her card from her bag she offers it to one of the
police constables and asks if she can be of some assistance but her
tells her not to worry her pretty head about it. Phryne tells him
Jack find her work invaluable and he says he will be phoning his
report through so will ask Jack direct.
Hugh is aboard the train and bumps into
Dot. Phryne pops her head out of their compartment and asks Hugh to
tell Jack she will be right there but Hugh tells her Jack is not
there. Hugh says Jack only sent him to tell her to stay in her
compartment and not interfere and not to bandy about his name for her
own convenience.
Phryne goes to find Hugh and Hugh tells
her she should be in her compartment as the local police have it
under control. Phryne says she is not good with confined places and
says she knows Mrs Henderson was on the train at Baccus Marsh because
she saw her and asks where the train stopped after that. Hugh says
nowhere as it is an express but Phryne says she felt the train stop.
Phryne consults a map and asks what a marking is and Hugh says it is
a water station but the train only stops there for five minutes.
Phryne tells him a lot can happen in five minutes.
Phryne gets of the train and follows
the track to the water stop with the police dragging after her.
Phryne notices a patch of grass where it looked like something had
been dragged through. They reach the water tower and Phryne begins to
climb the ladder and then they spot Mrs Henderson's body hanging from
the tower.
Phryne and Hugh are back on the train
with the body when Jack arrives and tells her to go back to her
compartment. Jack checks the body notes there's not a lot to see
apart from the bruising around the neck. Phryne comments that Mrs
Henderson is not wearing a lot of jewellery and tells Jack to look
out for the jewellery Mrs Henderson was wearing which she describes
in detail. She then bids them goodnight and leaves. Jack calls her
back and tells Hugh to take a full description of the jewellery from
Phryne.
Jack questions Eunice asking who would
harbour a grudge against her mother. Eunice says everyone knew her
mother was difficult but murder and breaks down crying. In her
compartment Phryne has asked Mr Cotton to open the windows for her as
they are sticky. She then tells him that they found Mrs Henderson's
body and asks how he knew her. Mr Cotton says he is not sorry she is
gone but her daughter seems nice. Jack arrives to question Mr Cotton
and Phryne offers the use of her compartment.
Jack asks where he was when the train
stopped at the water tower and Mr Cotton says he was in the dinning
cart getting a lemonade for his son Eddy to keep him quiet as Eddy
kept asking how long it would be until they got to the show. He says
they were on the way to the Ballarat show as they had free tickets.
Phryne motions for Jack to come outside and tells him to ask Mr
Cotton about his altercation with Mrs Henderson.
Phryne goes to speak to Eunice and asks
her if her mother was in full control of her faculties. Eunice tells
Phryne her mother was completely sane and had only recently retired
and they had moved to the city. They were going to Ballarat to visit
old friends and had booked a guest house for the weekend. Eunice asks
Phryne if she think her mother suffered and Phryne tells her she was
chloroformed and would not have felt a thing. Phryne comments it is a
lot to go to for some jewels but they looked valuable. Eunice says
her father bought them back from the war and they had sentimental
value. Phryne gives Eunice her card offering her services and asks
her why her mother was arguing with Mr Cotton. Eunice says Mr
Cotton's wife went into labour when her mother was still Matron at
the Ballarat hospital and she died in childbirth. Eunice asks if
Phryne thinks Mr Cotton hurt her mother and says she would like
Phryne's services.
Jack is still questioning Mr Cotton and
Mr Cotton tells him that his wife tried to tell Matron Henderson that
their son was arriving but Matron would not listen and sent them
home. His wife bleed to death on their kitchen floor after he
delivered their son.
Phryne meets up with Jack on the train
Phryne says that if Mr Cotton had hauled Mrs Henderson of the train
he should have a blister or two. Jack says he could have been wearing
gloves. Phryne says it is odd that he happened to be travelling on a
train with a woman he loathed but Jack tells her Mr Cotton had not
planned the trip as he won the tickets and shows her the envelope
containing the tickets.
Jack asks Phryne how she got into the
Henderson's compartment if the door was locked and Phryne tells him
she hit the lock with her shoe. Jack comments that her shoe seems to
have the capabilities of a 38 revolver. The check out the compartment
and wonder how the murderer broke in and knocked out both the ladies
without either of them protesting. Jack asks if the window was closed
when Phryne found Eunice and picks up a piece of material from the
window frame. Phryne says it is a perfect match for Mrs Henderson's
dress. They notice red leather patent paint on the frame from Mrs
Henderson's shoes and realise her body must have been dragged out of
the window. Hugh comes to get Jack and Phryne tells him that she is
working for Eunice.
Jack is angry but Hugh interrupts
telling him that the local police want to talk to him about a lost
child. Jack goes to see the child who is the girl from the station
and Hugh tells him the local police picked her up and she had a
handkerchief full of Mrs Henderson's diamonds. Jack asks the girl her
name and tells her she had to talk as she has been caught with
thousands of pounds worth of diamonds but the girl refuses to talk to
Jack says perhaps they have a use for Phryne.
Jack find Phryne on top of the train
surveying the area. Phryne asks why the murderer would use the water
tower to hang Mrs Henderson as any tree would suffice. She says the
only use for the water tower is the water but Mrs Henderson was hung
not drowned. Jack tells her that they have found the diamonds. Jack
tells her the thief is being uncooperative and asks for her help.
When Phryne sees the thief is a child she says she doesn't do
children and Jack says he will have to call welfare then. Phryne says
they both know that will not help and talks to the girl.
Phryne introduces herself and tries to
bribe the girl with a fizzy drink but the girl stays quiet. Phryne
then tells her she is tempted to tell the police she saw the girl
hanging around the platform obviously attempting to stow away. The
girl says she doesn't remember anything and must have hit her head
when she jumped from the train.
Phryne tells her if she does not say
how she got possession of the jewels she could be locked up for life
and the girl tells her she didn't kill anyone and her name is Jane.
Phryne tells her she had a sister called Jane.
Phryne then goes to see Eunice and
Eunice asks her if the police questioned Mr Cotton. Phryne says he
has a flimsy alibi and he has motive but not incriminating evidence
has been found against him. Phryne tells Eunice that her car is
arriving in a bit and she can give Eunice a ride back to Melbourne
Jack and Hugh are aboard the train they
look outside and see Phryne and Dot with Eunice and Jane in Phryne's
new car. Phryne and co zoom away and Jack realises that Phryne has
possession of two of the cases witnesses. The car load arrive at
Phryne's new house and she meets Mr Butler. She apologises for not
calling ahead and tells Mr Butler they are a little shaken up over
Eunice mother's murder. She tells him to watch out for Jane as she is
a thief and a stowaway and probably needs delousing and that the
police will probably come looking for her and asks him to be careful
unloading her bags as her pistol is in one of them and is still
loaded.
Inside the house Phryne finds Dot
blubbering and asks what's the matter Dot tells her she has never had
her own room and that it is lovely. Phryne says that is a relief as
she was wondering if Dot was still suffering motions sickness and Dot
says she was not ill just terrified. Mr Butler greets Phryne at the
foot of the stairs and asks how long Jane will be staying. Phryne
says until she has told them everything she knows. Mr Butler then
announces that Mr Alistair Herbert Eunice's fiance and Mr Lindsay
Thompson her cousin are in the parlour.
Phryne greets them and Alistair tells
her he is worried about Eunice as she told him she had been
chloroformed and he knows of the effects. Lindsay tells him not to
show off and says that Alistair will be a doctor after one more exam.
Dot shows Alistair to see Eunice and Phryne talks to Lindsay who
apologises for their informal dress as they have been rowing and they
are part of the university team. Phryne notices a bandage on his hand
and he says it is part of the sacrifice but Al is the sporting hero
and it is how he got his university scholarship. Phryne asks Lindsay
if he is a medical student too and he tells her he is studying law
and hopes to specialise in crime.
Phryne asks who would have had
something against his aunt and Lindsay tells her there would be a
long list. He says he was fond of her but she didn't like Al as she
thought he was too common to marry Eunice. Phryne ask why his aunt
never turned her talons on him and Lindsay says charm.
Alistair and Eunice come downstairs and
Eunice thanks her for the ride. Phryne asks if she is sure she is ok
to go home and she says yes but she looks forward to her call and
Lindsay chirps in that so does he dropping Phryne his card. The party
leave and Phryne then asks Dot to get her the number for the
university as she needs to have a word with the Vice Chancellor.
In the middle of the night the
household is interrupted by a knock on the door. Mr Butler answers
and Hugh is at the door with a woman that claims to be Jane's Aunt.
Phryne comes downstairs and asks Mr Butler to show the woman Miss Gay
into the parlour. Hugh tells Phryne that he has explained to Miss Gay
that Jane is in temporary care whilst they continue the investigation
and that Jack wants to see her in the morning as she has technically
kidnapped a minor.
Phryne joins Miss Gay in the parlour
and Mr Butler fetches Jane. Phryne tells Miss Gay that Jane has been
accused of theft and Miss Gay says she has been in trouble before.
When Jane sees the woman she says she is not her aunt and she doesn't
want to go with her as she doesn't want 'him' near her. Phryne says
it is very late and tells Miss Gay if she meets her at the police
station in the morning with proof she is Jane's legal guardian she
will be there with her lawyer and release Jane into her care. Miss
Gay tells Phryne not to be fooled by Jane as she is a devious child
but Phryne tells Mr Butler to show Miss Gay out. Phryne then asks
Jane who the woman was and why she is afraid of her but Jane says she
can't tell her.
The next morning Cec and Burt are
enjoying breakfast in Phryne's kitchen. Phryne asks them to rent a
room in Miss Gay's boarding house and find out about her and her
dubious male tenant. Jack is in the living room he reprimands Phryne
for taking Jane when she should be in state care. Phryne tells Jack
she has convinced Jane to talk to him and calls for her. Jane tells
Jack she found Mrs …. jewels by the rail line. Jack asks what she
was up to the rest of the time and Jane tells him she was asleep in
the guards van but someone came in when the train stopped and woke
her up. She said she thought it was the guard but they just grabbed a
lot of rope and then left. It was too dark for Jane to see who it was
but a little later she heard noises so she looked and saw the jewels
on the ground. Jack said he should still charge Jane with being a
stowaway and Jane tells him she was not the only one there the rich
man in the striped jacket was there. Phryne says it must have been
Alistair Herbert or Lindsay Thompson. Phryne sends Jane away and
tells Jack the pair turned up to quickly for her liking so she
checked with the college and found out Lindsay Thompson is in trouble
for gambling and Alistair Herbert has failed his medical degree.
Cec and Burt head to the boarding
house. It looks dilapidated. Burt checks in. Miss Gay shows him his
room and tells him the rules. A man name Mr Merton asks Miss Gay if
she found the girl. Burt tells Mr Merton he looks familiar and Mr
Merton says perhaps Burt has seen his stage act as he is the Great
Hypno. Burt leaves and gets back in the cab he tells Cec he cant take
the room because he knows Mr Merton the hypnotist that had made him
cluck and 'lay an egg. Cec sends him back in.
When Burt gets to his room a young girl
is in there. Burt asks her for some information and gives her some
money. Burt asks about Jane and the girl Ruth says Jane was her best
friend. Miss Gay calls the girl and the girl runs away.
At the police station Jack is
questioning Lindsay Herbert . Jack asks him where he went after he
saw Miss Henderson off on the train. Lindsay says he loves Eunice but
he was in the city watch-house for soliciting. Lindsay says police
records will confirm he was in a jail cell all night.
Phryne is at the university watching
the rowing team. Back at the police station Jack is with Eunice
looking over her mothers will. It turns out her cousin is the sole
beneficiary. Eunice says she can't believe it but her mother must
have found out Lindsay owed money and wanted to help as Lindsay's
gambling had got out of hand. Jack asks if her mother discussed her
plans to change her will but Eunice says never, she only thought to
look when Phryne mentioned it.
Back the the uni Phryne is talking to
Lindsay and he tells her he only just found out that everything was
left to him but he will share it with Eunice. Phryne says he doesn't
seems surprised but Lindsay says his aunt threatened it constantly
because of Alistair but he didn't think she would go through with it.
Phryne asks where he went after dropping his aunt at the train.
Lindsay says he went to the automobile club for a drink and stayed
longer than planned. Phryne asks if anyone can verify this and asks
where Al was. Lindsay said he went off to swot or something. Phryne
asks who else was there but Lindsay can't recall. Phryne tells him he
should hone his answers before Jack calls him in.
Phryne asks if Eunice was aware she
would be disinherited and Lindsay saw yes his aunt was not the
secretive type. Eunice might have been worried Al would lose
interest.
At the boarding house Burt gives Ruth
Phryne's details. Burt asks Ruth how Jane ended up at the house and
Ruth said they got her from the orphanage like some of the other
girls. Ruth says Jane has no one unlike her as she still has her
granny. Mr Merton walks in and asks what they are up to. Mr Merton
asks Burt how he enjoyed his lunch Burt says he guts are still
groaning and Mr Merton says he can help and hypnotises Burt to do
everything he commands. Mr Merton asks why Phryne is interested in
Jane and Burt says she thinks Jane stole some jewels.
At the police station Jack is
questioning Lindsay and asks where he was the night of the murder.
Lindsay says he was at the automobile club and Jack says no one of
his name signed in. Lindsay said he moved on and Al can back him up.
Jack said Al can't back him up as he was in the watch-house. Lindsay
asks if that is what Al told him. Jack says the police-station
confirmed it. Lindsay tells Jack it was him at the watch-house he
had signed in under Al's name so he can still go to the bar. As he
and Al look alike they have an agreement. Jack tells him someone
looking like them was seen boarding the Ballarat train the night his
Aunt died.
Phryne returns home and Mr Butler
advises her she might like to have a word with Jane. Phryne finds
Jane and Ruth raiding her jewels. Phryne asks them what is going on.
Meanwhile Mr Butler finds Mr Merton
snooping around outside the house. Mr Merton offers hos card and asks
if he may have a word with the householder.
Back in the house Jane tells Phryne Mr
Merton has hypnotised her to steal. Phryne tells the girls they are
safe there. Mr Butler gives Phryne Mr Merton's card and Jane gets
scared. Mt Butler offers to phone the police but Phryne says she will
deal with it. She tells Dot and the girls to wait in her room and
tells Dot to lock the door behind her.
Phryne heads downstairs and meets Mr
Merton. Phryne tells him she is taken with the idea of being
hypnotised and Mr Merton says he will demonstrate his skills.
Meanwhile the girls have locked Dot in Phryne's room.
Back downstairs Mr Merton is
hypnotising Phryne. He asks her where Jane is or he will kill her and
he pulls a knife. Jane runs in and hits him with a candlestick.
Phryne pulls her gun and Mr Butler retrains Mr Merton. Phryne tells
Jane to let Dot out so she can telephone the police.
Jack arrives and informs the girls Mr
Merton and Miss Gay are both behind bars. He tells them he has
contacted the girls families including Ruth's grandmother. Dot comes
in and tells them that Eunice is there to see Phryne.
Eunice pays Phryne and informs her that
the police can handle things from here. Phryne says the case isn't
solved yet. Eunice says she is over it and needs a spell at the
seaside. Phryne tells her it is a pity that no one sent her free
tickets like she sent Mr Cotton. Eunice says she doesn't know what
Phryne is talking about and Phryne says she needn't lie about a good
dead unless it is not a good dead as she already lied about having no
knowledge of her mothers changing her will. Jack arrives and Phryne
tells him that Eunice was just about to explain why she framed Mr
Cotton for her mothers death. Phryne hands over the cheque and says
it is a match to that on Mr Cottons tickets.
Eunice becomes scared and says its not
what they think they only needed enough money for a practice in the
country they just wanted her mothers jewels but something went wrong.
Her mother woke up while Al and she were robbing her so Al gassed her
as well.
Eunice says Al found out about her
mothers will and about Lindsay and is furious. Phryne says they have
to stop him as he is a desperate man. Eunice tells them Al has gone
to the rowing club to meet Lindsay. They race to catch him.
At the club they hear an argument and
see Al choking Lindsay with an oar. Phryne drops her gun and Eunice
picks it up and trains it on Phryne and Jack. Al tells her to bring
him the gun their plans don't have to change. Phryne tells Eunice not
to trust him as Al always planned to kill her mother. The whole thing
was premeditated as Al knew exactly where the tower was. The plan
only went awry when Jane stole the jewels. Phryne tells Eunice her
mother did not wake up as even a failed medical student would know
how much chloroform to use. Phryne asks Eunice if he had told her he
failed his degree. She says Mrs Henderson was right he was not good
enough. Eunice collapses dropping the gun. Phryne grabs it and trains
it on Al telling him to let Lindsay go. Al does and Jack arrests
him. Al tells Eunice he still adores her.
Back at home Phryne puts Jane to bed.
Jane returns Phryne's broach. Phryne tells her she was prepared to
let it go if Jane wanted it bad enough. Jane ask when Phryne is
taking her to welfare and Phryne says she can't and asks Jane how she
would feel about staying. Jane says she is not a nice girl and Phryne
tells her she never been very nice either so Jane is just the kind of
girl she likes.
Phryne remembers playing sailing with
her sister Jane as a child. Mr Butler announces Jack and Jack tells
her the welfare have agreed for her to foster Jane. Phryne says he
doesn't look convinced. Jack tells her it is not easy to foster a
child that has been through the ringer. Phryne tells him it is not
and offers Jack a drink. Jack accepts and Phryne asks Jack about
children of his own. They toast children's that have been through the
ringer. Jack tells Phryne to call him Jack as everyone else does and
Phryne tells him then he must call her Phryne although hardly anyone
else does.
No comments:
Post a Comment