The fifth and final episode of the BBC docudrama series Julian Fellowes Investigates: A Most Mysterious Murder
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TVTranscript
00:00This is 59 Byrdhurst Rise in Croydon.
00:07In 1929, it was the home of a pretty widow, Grace Duff, and her three young children.
00:12Her mother, Violet Sidney, was a little way along the road,
00:15and Grace's brother, Tom, was a few minutes walk away.
00:18They were an attractive loss, educated, quite amusing, good-looking, well-off.
00:23The last family in England, one might think, to lose three members of it through murder.
00:30I'm going to take care of her.
01:00I'll take it to school.
01:01What on earth?
01:02Bore?
01:03It's a pet.
01:04You can't be very playful.
01:05So let me have a puppy.
01:06They make your sister sneeze.
01:07Hello?
01:08You can live out in the garden.
01:09You can build a kennel.
01:10Darling, shh.
01:11Robert.
01:12It doesn't look good.
01:13I think you should come back.
01:16But I've only just left.
01:18Grace, I'm serious.
01:19You must come now.
01:25Um, find Amy.
01:27Tell her that she must put Alistair to bed.
01:29You and Grace Mary must look after yourselves.
01:35Grandmother will be alright, won't she?
01:39The doctor's up there.
01:40Your brother's with them.
01:41Grace, thank goodness.
01:42I'm afraid she's far worse.
01:44I don't understand.
01:45Why so quickly?
01:46She must have eaten something.
01:47Or taken it.
01:48It's the only explanation.
01:49What are you trying to say?
01:59Is she even though I'm here?
02:03She does.
02:07You're sure this is what you prescribed?
02:08Of course he's sure.
02:09Of course he's sure.
02:10She was perfectly fine before she took it.
02:12Your mother's taken it for weeks.
02:13You said yourself she'd been picking up.
02:14Oh, no.
02:18It's nothing good.
02:19No, no.
02:27At half past seven in the evening, on the 5th of March, 1929,
02:32Violet Sidney died in appalling agony.
02:35Her death was witnessed by her son, Tom, her daughter, Grace,
02:42and Dr. Robert Graham Elwell.
02:45The cause of death was acute arsenical poisoning.
02:49But there is insufficient evidence to show whether Mrs. Sidney killed herself
02:53or was murdered by some person or persons unknown.
02:59What complicated matters was that two other members of this luckless family
03:03had also died within the year.
03:06Grace's husband, Edmund Duff, and Violet's other daughter, Vera,
03:10perished in horribly similar circumstances.
03:12Inevitably, their graves were now dug up,
03:14and two new inquests were held.
03:17The results were loud and clear.
03:19Both bodies, just like Violet's, were full to the brim with arsenic.
03:23Stop press, triple poisoner on the loose,
03:27and a poisoner who must surely be a surviving member of the family.
03:32Either that or, at the very least, someone close to them.
03:34Their housekeeper, perhaps, or that nice Dr. Elwell.
03:37Well, the police and the press had their suspicions,
03:42and so will you when you hear the evidence,
03:44because one of them certainly did it.
03:47But in the end, no charge was brought,
03:49and so the Croydon poisoner of Birdhurst Rise walked free.
03:53Today, one might hesitate to describe Croydon
04:18as the acme of fashion.
04:20But once, before the First War,
04:22it was the choice of many prosperous, middle-class families
04:25in search of rural and yet convenient surroundings.
04:29It was a commuter's paradise.
04:31And even in April 1928,
04:32a year before the painful events you just witnessed,
04:35it was still a very nice place to live.
04:43Violet Sidney was the unchallenged queen of all she surveyed.
04:48Mother, there you are.
04:50We've all been waiting.
04:52What are those crates of bear doing there?
04:55I suppose they're for him.
04:56Well, they're certainly not for me.
04:58I nearly fell over them.
04:59She wasn't always so autocratic.
05:01In her youth, she'd fallen deeply and hopelessly in love.
05:05But her parents had forbidden the match
05:07and selected Sidney as a more suitable candidate instead.
05:10Her reward was to be deserted by her husband for another woman,
05:14leaving Violet to bring up their three children,
05:17Grace, her only son, Tom,
05:19and Vera on her own.
05:23Any little fish can swim.
05:26Over the years, she became their absolute ruler,
05:28demanding and generally receiving, unquestioning obedience.
05:33But after the pummeling life had given her,
05:35is it to be wondered at?
05:36Tom Sidney was the odd one out in that family.
05:45After he left the army, he opted for a career in show business.
05:52Noel Coyard was just getting started then and the rest of them.
05:55But actually, I suspect he had his eye on the movies.
05:58Oh, too watery and not enough sugar.
06:01If there were no lioness, he'd lie down with a lamb.
06:03So why can't I?
06:05Any little cock can crow.
06:07Any little fox can run.
06:09Any little crab on any little shore.
06:12Hello, little crab.
06:13Father!
06:14Hello, old boy.
06:16Oh, no.
06:17Hello, darling.
06:19Did you catch lots of fish?
06:21The river's empty.
06:22I think your father's pulling you a leg, John.
06:25Tom, don't stop on his account.
06:28No, indeed.
06:29Well, let's not pretend you'd be sorry.
06:31I can take it.
06:33Especially as I know it won't be for much longer.
06:35What do you mean?
06:36Only that soon they'll be in America.
06:39Oops.
06:40Have I let the cat out of the bag?
06:42Tom, what is this nonsense?
06:45We've been thinking about it, that's all.
06:48Don't be absurd.
06:49America would be good for Tom's career.
06:52My son's career is here, as is his family.
06:58Isn't that right, Tom?
07:01Darling, why are you back so early?
07:04We weren't expecting you till tomorrow.
07:06Isn't it obvious?
07:08I couldn't stay away from you for one more minute.
07:11We must be going.
07:12But you'll stay to tea?
07:14No, that was before he came back.
07:16Come on, Vera.
07:17Mother!
07:17I thought they might like to spend some time together.
07:21Oh, do come along, Vera.
07:23I'm so sorry.
07:24It's not your fault.
07:26It's hard not to feel sorry for Vera.
07:29Forty, unmarried, and living with Violet.
07:32She was popular.
07:34She was sporty.
07:34She was kind.
07:36But Vera was still no match for her formidable mama.
07:39Sorry if I spoke out of turn.
07:42I told you in confidence, Edmund.
07:44Which doesn't explain why you told him at all.
07:47You're such a close family.
07:49I can't believe that your mother didn't know.
07:52Edmund, stop it.
07:57If they want to go to America, you can't stop them.
08:00Tom's not going anywhere.
08:01It's just that Margaret being ridiculous.
08:04Oh, Mother, shush.
08:07Oh, ah.
08:08Tom, dear.
08:09I was thinking about Scarborough this year.
08:13The air would do the children so much good.
08:15We can't really make any plans.
08:16Not at the moment, can we, Tom?
08:18Why ever not?
08:19It's only April.
08:20There's plenty of time.
08:21Tom, no, I don't like things to drift on.
08:25We'll go for two weeks in August.
08:32Tom?
08:35Yes, Mother.
08:37Excellent.
08:38Well, it's settled.
08:40Leave all the arrangements to me.
08:43Tom met his wife when he was performing in the United States.
08:47Of course, her career in song and dance was an unlikely choice
08:50for someone of Tom's background.
08:52Edmund wasn't alone in despising him for it.
08:55By 1928, they had a son to educate.
08:58When professionally, things weren't going well.
09:02I just mentioned it.
09:03That's all.
09:04It was privately agreed to keep it between ourselves.
09:06Only because you're scared of your mother.
09:08I'm scared of my mother.
09:09Oh, two weeks in Scarborough?
09:11I rest my case.
09:12It doesn't hurt to keep her happy.
09:13It does, if it means we can't be happy too.
09:18Tom?
09:21I'm sorry, Tom.
09:26You shouldn't tease Mother so.
09:29I can't resist it, I'm afraid.
09:30Well, we can't afford to fall out with her.
09:32And she doesn't find it funny.
09:34But she should develop a sense of humour.
09:37It's a bit late for that.
09:39John?
09:40Stop teasing your sister.
09:42Edmund Dove first met Grace through her father,
09:45that same runaway who'd left Violet in the lurch.
09:48And so naturally, there couldn't have been a worse introduction to his future mother-in-law.
09:53But he was a bluff, easygoing chap.
09:57Ex-army, ex-colonial service.
09:59And by 1928, he was eking out his modest pension with a bit of clerking in the city.
10:05Actually, this was quite a precarious time for a lot of people.
10:10The aftermath of the Great War had sent the world's finances into a loop,
10:13and the Wall Street crashed only 18 months away.
10:15But whether it was Edmund's fault or not,
10:19the fact remained that for the Doves, money was in short supply,
10:22and they needed every penny that Violet might dish out.
10:25Why are you back so early?
10:27Tell you the truth, I'm feeling a bit seedy.
10:29Not up to another day with the rods.
10:34Darling, you're ice cold.
10:38Not another.
10:39Grace, it's a sure thing.
10:41Six months investment.
10:43200% yield minimum.
10:44It's always a sure thing, except it never is.
10:47We've been unlucky.
10:49We've nothing left to invest.
10:51I thought I might cash in an insurance policy.
10:53How can you possibly consider it after the last time?
10:57Are you all right, Mother?
10:59Everything's fine, darling.
11:00Why don't you collect Father's things? We'll go inside.
11:04Come on.
11:05We'll have that wretched tea.
11:14Why don't you tell him to buy him?
11:16Don't be silly.
11:17Why not?
11:18He's my husband.
11:19I'll come round.
11:21All right.
11:22Looking forward to it.
11:23I'm looking forward to it, too.
11:25Goodbye.
11:29Father wants to know if his supper's ready.
11:31I thought he was supposed to be ill.
11:34Amy, where's Mr. Duff's beer?
11:37Sorry, Mum.
11:38I'll take it.
11:39If you have an appetite, you must be feeling better.
11:49I'm not sure that I have.
11:51I just thought eating something might help.
11:56No.
11:59The seal's broken.
12:01I think it's all right, sir.
12:03Of course it is.
12:04We ought to get these two to bed.
12:09Come on.
12:10Leave your father in peace.
12:12No, no.
12:12Don't kiss me, darling.
12:13You might catch whatever it is.
12:19Good night, Father.
12:21I hope you feel better soon.
12:27Grace, I'm going to that meeting.
12:29I've telephoned the doctor.
12:31He'll be here as soon as he can.
12:34Well, give him our love, won't you?
12:59And make sure you don't catch it.
13:01All right.
13:02Bye-bye.
13:02Man makes such a fuss.
13:04You'd think no one was ever ill before.
13:06Well, she has called out the doctor.
13:08Of course she has.
13:09She always gives in to him.
13:11What about a game of cards?
13:13Mother, I'm going to the cinema with Margaret.
13:15I told you.
13:16You have to go?
13:19Yes, I do.
13:21Well, come straight back.
13:23Why do I have to spend the entire evening on my own?
13:26We had nothing to pay to the baker that day, and so we crept out of the pot.
13:39How long have you been standing there?
13:52You're very sweet with him.
13:55How's Edmund?
13:56I can't find very much wrong.
13:58I must have eaten something.
14:00Did he offer you a nightcap?
14:03He is the limit.
14:05Especially when you come all this way.
14:07I do a lot more than that, Grace.
14:11Do you want to come back?
14:12I could rustle up something to eat.
14:14Oh, I'd better not.
14:15You should stand up to her more.
14:20Shouldn't we all?
14:23That's Dr. Elwell's car.
14:26Gosh, I hope Edmund's not worse.
14:30Perhaps it's a social call.
14:32Oh, it's very late.
14:34What?
14:35I'm saying nothing.
14:36Well, I should hope not.
14:38Really, Margaret, behave yourself.
14:41Grace and Edmund are very happy.
14:43That's not what Tom says.
14:44Well, then Tom is wrong.
14:49Come on.
14:50For goodness sake.
14:59Mother?
15:02Mother, come quickly.
15:03Come on.
15:14I couldn't lift him.
15:17You did the right thing.
15:20We have to make him stable.
15:23What's that?
15:25Strict me.
15:26Don't worry.
15:27I know what I'm doing.
15:33Don't worry.
15:35Dad, he's strong.
15:36He'll be fine.
15:37You'll see.
15:37Oh, but for God's sake, do something.
15:58God!
15:58God!
16:01God!
16:03On the 27th of April, 1928, Edmund Duff breathed his last and was soon buried next to two daughters
16:11who had died as children.
16:12Their loss had been a source of great grief for the couple.
16:16And now this added blow of sudden, unexpected widowhood, well, it seemed to those present as if it was almost too much for Grace to bear.
16:26It's the children I feel sorry for.
16:30And to think he could have been saved if he'd only worn a hat.
16:34It's really too sad.
16:36The post-mortem had been conducted by Dr. Bronte, who came to the surprising conclusion that Edmund had died from degeneration of the heart muscle brought on from fishing in the sun without a hat.
16:46Almost as odd as this verdict was the fact that no one questioned it in those deferential days.
16:53Now, you mustn't worry about a thing.
16:54If you need anything, you just ask.
16:58We'll be all right.
17:00You're already such a darling about John's coffees.
17:03That's more than enough for one person.
17:05Oh, don't be silly.
17:07What else am I going to spend my money on?
17:10Dear Vera.
17:17I am sorry, Grace.
17:19Don't pretend you liked him.
17:22I wish you didn't have to go through this, that's all.
17:24Margaret's waiting for you.
17:29They had all inherited money from their grandfather, but only Vera still had her legacy.
17:36Grace's share was lost through her husband's dabbling in the stock market.
17:45Edmund was insured, of course, but it would be months before the policy paid out.
17:49Could I speak to your mistress?
17:55I'll see if she's at home.
18:01That's the doctor, ma'am.
18:08Sorry, sir.
18:09She must have gone out.
18:10No.
18:10Will you tell her I call me?
18:12I wasn't expecting you.
18:25Is Vera around?
18:26She's playing tennis with Mrs. Northbrook.
18:29Tell her I dropped by.
18:30You're out of funds.
18:34Have you any idea how much I've already given you this month?
18:38I wasn't asking you.
18:39No, you were going to ask your soft-hearted sister instead.
18:42Hasn't been easy, mother.
18:44When I lost your father, I coped.
18:46But Daddy wasn't dead, was he?
18:47Daddy ran off with...
18:49...someone else.
18:50You have a way out, Grace, which is more than I had.
18:56I won't marry, just to please you.
18:59Oh, you've made that quite clear.
19:01Edmund was a good man.
19:03Edmund was an oaf.
19:07Dr. Alwell, on the other hand, is a gentleman.
19:20Oh.
19:27Tom!
19:33Tom!
19:34What is it now?
19:36It's from your club.
19:42It's just a whip round.
19:44One of the club's servants is leaving.
19:46You told me you'd given up your membership.
19:49It's an investment.
19:49Is it?
19:51We're supposed to be saving money.
19:53I need to get more work, and to do that, I must be seen around.
19:56Now, I promised I'd get you back to America.
19:58You promised a lot of things.
20:04Margaret Sidney came to England believing she was marrying into society
20:07and that her husband was a successful entertainer.
20:11As in many marriages, the reality proved rather different.
20:15By now, Tom had spent his grandfather's legacy,
20:17and the social world Margaret had anticipated had not materialized.
20:23She was a clever woman.
20:24She was a college graduate.
20:26But work wasn't considered appropriate,
20:28and their level of society, well, respectable, was hardly a cutting edge.
20:34In short, she was bored to death.
20:38Shall we go out tonight, have some fun?
20:40What do you say?
20:41I'm not a fool, Tom.
20:42Don't treat me like one to be bought off with kisses and treats.
20:47You have to trust me, Margaret.
20:48We will get to the States.
20:51When?
20:54Soon.
20:55I hope so, because one way or another, I'm going home this year.
21:00And the children are coming with me.
21:01In August 1928, four months after Edmund's death,
21:13and with the help of his life insurance policy,
21:16Grace bought 59 Byrdhurst Rise.
21:19It was a few doors down from Violet's house.
21:22And in truth, she'd begun to recover.
21:24Thanks to her mother and sister,
21:26she was no worse off, really, than when Edmund was alive.
21:29And she was at least free of his harebrained financial schemes.
21:33And she wasn't alone.
21:34In the years after the Great War,
21:36there were plenty of young widows around.
21:39Grace, you really can't put that oak chair next to the walnut desk.
21:42It doesn't work to mix woods in a drawing room.
21:45It's my drawing room, mother.
21:47And I shall do as I like.
21:52Where should I put these?
21:53Not in here, surely.
21:55They were daddy's.
21:56Darling, let's put them on the mantel shelf for now.
22:01What on earth is all this stuff?
22:03My feelings entirely...
22:05It's my stuff, and it's my home.
22:10Well, hello.
22:12Who's ill?
22:14No-one, I hope.
22:15Robert.
22:16I thought these might cheer you up.
22:19You exhausted?
22:21Why? Do I look it?
22:22Grace.
22:23Grace.
22:23By early 1929, almost a year had passed since Edmund's death,
22:30but not much had changed for Tom Sidney.
22:33He still hadn't made the grade in England,
22:36and he still hadn't made the break to America.
22:40No shadows born
22:42of earthly light.
22:50Oi!
22:50Get out of there!
22:57Come out of there!
23:02What do you think you're doing?
23:04I'm sorry.
23:05I needed some rope when making a swing.
23:07Well, the shed's out of bounds.
23:08You know that.
23:09I didn't touch anything.
23:10Think, if Cedric got it into his head to play in there,
23:13there's all manner of dangerous things.
23:14We have to be very careful.
23:16You're right.
23:17I wasn't thinking.
23:21You know you're never to come in here, don't you?
23:24Good man.
23:25Good man.
23:25Good man.
23:25Good man.
23:25Good man.
23:27Good man.
23:33Good man.
23:35John.
23:37John.
23:39Go on.
23:40Go and make your swing.
24:03Hello.
24:13Show me.
24:14this is becoming a habit I'm sorry the game over round and the wretched car
24:37wouldn't start miss Vera's soup I suppose yes mom do I get a first course
24:42or am I just to sit here and watch you I've done you a nice egg mayonnaise it may be egg mayonnaise
24:48but whether it's nice or not is too early to say I can't think why you're playing tennis when you're
24:56not well I'm fine you don't look fine you look dreadful thank you mother that makes me feel a
25:03lot better I just want you to slow down it's not like you to be ill well you know how I hate staying
25:10in when you can't bear staying in with me this is delicious you should try some mother I detest soup
25:19as you know well enough mother and yes I'm nothing
25:24why do I have to because your aunt paid your school fees I didn't ask her to don't be so
25:42grateful it's all father's fault don't talk like that daddy didn't plan on dying
25:53what are we going to do don't worry I will look after you now I'm the man of this house now and
26:03I will look after you we'll be all right I still got one or two tricks up my sleeve
26:10Vera you look awful oh well I wasn't too clever yesterday but I think I'm on the mend now
26:30oh John they're beautiful thank you um yes yes take will you let me call Dr. Elmer no I'd rather you
26:43didn't oh Vera don't you start I've already had all of that from Tom I hate gossip do you I love it
26:54not when it's about you people are talking well let them you don't mean that
27:00does he want to marry you I think he might what about you it's a solution after all I'm
27:13really sure mother would approve the more she pushes him towards me the more it puts me off
27:18oh that's all very well but I think you're going to have to consider it lack of money is so ghastly
27:25makes me feel dirty just to think about it lack of money makes people do worse things than that
27:30yes I'm afraid it does Vera was a simple soul a wartime physiotherapist she had total faith in
27:38fresh air and exercise as the cure for every ailment oh is it that bad it was if you'd seen a ghost
27:43oh no miss didn't expect to see you up now you're feeling better I am a bit I wonder what it was
27:52touch of influenza I suppose
27:54what is it miss Vera I'm afraid I don't know what it was it was that soup
28:02well what makes you say that well you won't tell your mother of course not well you know how strict
28:07she is about what I'm allowed to eat of course I do though I don't see the point of it I mean why
28:12shouldn't you finish up anything that's left over anyway I did have a bowl of that soup then I
28:16gave some to the cat and blow me we were sick as a parrot the pair of us oh well that's it then
28:24well I can't think what went wrong I made it the same as always well it's done now let's just
28:32forget about it oh well not a word to mother I promise
28:35mrs Sydney's residence oh no I'm sorry you've just missed her but I thought she'd be laid up for
28:52days very well I'll pop in later see how she is by the way your mother wants to know whether you
28:58could meet your aunt off balloon train tomorrow aunt Gwen I didn't know she was coming she called
29:04today and invited herself to luncheon couldn't Tom do it no mrs Sydney doesn't want to bother him with
29:09it
29:16it's quite simple to do need a sharp knife I thought I heard voices
29:41Gwen how lovely to see you do know what I'm going to brought a pineapple heavens give it to me I'll
29:49take it to the kitchen and let mrs noakes have her way with it then I'll shoot off aren't you staying
29:53for lunch I'm afraid I can't I must sort out the children but I'll see you later for tea
29:58I'm so pleased that things are looking after grace she spoils those children running around at their
30:06beck and call as opposed to running around at your beck and call these days I'm quite used to my
30:14wishes coming second with all my children are you mother I'm sorry Tom couldn't join us I should love
30:20to have seen him I didn't want to bother him um Margaret says he's not feeling very well if he
30:26isn't it's her fault are you going to try some of my soup aunt Gwen I'd love some if I'm allowed
30:32actually I wonder whether I will I'm not feeling terribly hungry nonsense you always have soup
30:43oh
30:43hmm
30:44hmm
30:45hmm
30:50hmm
31:07their aunt gwen was the first to feel the effects and although she did manage to get home she was
31:19extremely ill but gwen recovered poor vera was less fortunate
31:25at last elwell decided he needed some help
31:32and the eminent dr charles bolton the expert in gastro diseases was sent for
31:38try to keep still my dear you'll only make yourself hot
31:42gastrointestinal influenza aggravated by dilation of the heart he says the exercise brought it on
31:55he thinks that car's the culprit starter handle it's much too violent an exercise for a woman
32:01i've warned her so many times
32:03still now we've a diagnosis we can make sure we get you better
32:08is it incredible that nobody questioned these extraordinary diagnoses
32:13well they didn't
32:15i suppose the key factor was that vera seemed to have influenza disease that acclaimed more victims
32:23after the great war than died in the war itself
32:25in those days flu was no laughing matter
32:29is it as bad as she says
32:33i'm afraid so
32:34there must be something you can do
32:35i really wish there were
32:36there must be something you can do
32:47oh my god
32:48oh my god
32:49oh my god
32:50oh my god
32:51oh my god
32:53vera it's grace please let me take your hand
32:55oh my god
33:20I don't know. I don't know.
33:30Despite the similarity to Edmund's death,
33:32the world accepted that the car starter handle had done for Vera.
33:37And a few days later, she was buried next to her unfortunate brother-in-law.
33:50Where have you been?
33:52Meaning?
33:53You haven't been to see Mother since Vera died.
33:55What are you thinking?
33:57I've been ill.
33:58It wouldn't have helped to give her the flu.
34:06Don't be sad, Mother.
34:08Things will get better.
34:10Is that a promise?
34:11Of course.
34:12You'll get on Vera's money, won't you?
34:14She's only just died, John.
34:17I know.
34:18It's terribly sad, and I'll miss her dreadfully,
34:20but maybe if she spits it with Uncle Tommy, I'll still get home.
34:23I don't want to talk about it.
34:25See if Grandmother's all right. There's a dear.
34:27He was only trying to be helpful.
34:29Perhaps he's right.
34:32She only had her share of what Father left us.
34:35But she was careful. There should be something.
34:39Of course, there's one way to solve your problems.
34:42And it would certainly solve mine.
34:46It's all so muddled, Robert.
34:48Don't force me to make a decision when it won't be what you want.
34:56I know what you're thinking.
34:57One less time to hold us here.
35:00I was very fond of Vera.
35:01She was always very kind to me, unlike some of your relations.
35:05Do you think Vera left you any money?
35:07She might have done. Why?
35:08Just as long as you understand, I'm not staying in England because you won't leave your mother.
35:14Vera has died. Mother needs me.
35:18I'm just warning you, that's all.
35:20Violet took Vera's death very badly.
35:32And not long after the funeral, Dr. Elwell had to prescribe her a tonic.
35:36You're looking for the will?
35:37Why?
35:38Have you already taken it?
35:39God knows what I'm going to do with all this stuff.
35:40Give it to the church, I suppose.
35:41Where's Mother?
35:42Downstairs.
35:43What are we going to do about her?
35:44Well, I'm not going to take over from Vera, so you can forget that now.
35:45You know Mrs. Noakes is leaving next week.
35:46She can't.
35:47I think she is.
35:48Well, who's going to look after Mother?
35:49You'll have to talk to her.
35:50What could I say?
35:51I don't know, but you'll have to think of something.
35:52What are you going to do with all this stuff?
35:53Give it to the church, I suppose.
35:54Where's Mother?
35:55Downstairs.
35:56What are we going to do about her?
36:00Well, I'm not going to take over from Vera, so you can forget that now.
36:05You know Mrs. Noakes is leaving next week.
36:07She can't?
36:08I think she is.
36:09Well, who's going to look after Mother?
36:12You'll have to talk to her.
36:13What could I say?
36:14I don't know, but you'll have to think of something.
36:16All I know is I have a dead husband.
36:21I have three children.
36:23No money.
36:24Vera's things to sort out.
36:25I can't manage an impossible mother as well.
36:33She left most of it, Mr. Tom.
36:35She ain't to waste it.
36:37Don't worry.
36:38I don't see why you can't see the leftovers.
36:40It's one of Mother's peculiarities.
36:42Well, she's certainly got plenty of those.
36:45Is that why you're leaving?
36:47You can't go, you know.
36:49I gave Mrs. Sidney my notice in good time.
36:52Yes, but things have changed.
36:54I'm very worried about Mother.
36:56Vera's death has hit her heart.
36:58She's very depressed.
36:59Surely you can see that.
37:00My daughter's dead.
37:02She'd hardly be cheerful.
37:03The point is we all need to be extra vigilant.
37:06And that's why I'm asking you to stay on.
37:09Well, I don't know what difference I make.
37:11She knows you.
37:12She's used to you.
37:13I'm not convinced she can survive without you.
37:16God alone knows what she might do if you go.
37:22I don't know if you go.
37:23I don't know if you go.
37:24I don't know if you go.
37:29I don't know if you go.
37:30I don't know if you go.
37:31I don't know if you go.
37:32What is it?
37:34I don't know if you're doing what they need to like.
37:36I don't know if She gets to the house.
37:37I don't know if she gets to the house, she's already done.
37:39Get me some water.
38:00What is it, Mum?
38:01It's the medicine.
38:03Gritty.
38:05Foul taste.
38:07Should I shake it?
38:08Oh, I think I did.
38:12Oh, don't let me make lunch late.
38:14You know how I hate that.
38:24Back then.
38:24Where's Mother?
38:25In the dining room.
38:27She's still having lunch?
38:28No, Miss, she's finished, but she's not feeling too well.
38:30She wants to sit quiet for a while.
38:35Mother, what's wrong?
38:36Grace.
38:37Thank goodness.
38:38It's...
38:39Where is it?
38:41I think I've been poisoned.
38:44What?
38:45It's the medicine, Miss.
38:47Your mother thinks it tasted odd.
38:50Well, it doesn't smell very nice.
38:52It's poison, I tell you.
38:55I feel dreadful.
38:56I must go check on the children.
39:02I'll stay with her.
39:07Grace, it's not the right time.
39:09Robert, no.
39:10Not now.
39:12I know you mean well, but...
39:14I wish someone would just let me manage my own life for a change.
39:23What do you mean by bitter?
39:24Do you think it's gone off?
39:25I tell you, I've been poisoned.
39:30And you prescribed this?
39:32It's a tonic.
39:33There's nothing in it to harm your mother.
39:34What did you have for lunch today?
39:41Chicken.
39:42Oh, well, there you are then.
39:43It must have been bad.
39:44Don't talk rubbish.
39:46This is...
39:47What?
39:48What?
39:52This is true.
39:53What on earth for?
39:54A pet.
39:55It's hardly very playful.
39:56So let me have a puppy.
39:57They make your sister sneeze.
39:59Hello?
39:59I can live in the garden.
40:00I can build at a kennel.
40:01Darling, shh.
40:03Robert.
40:04It doesn't look good.
40:06I think you should come back.
40:08But I've only just left.
40:10Grace, I'm serious.
40:10You must come now.
40:15The doctor's up there.
40:23Your mother's with her, too.
40:24Grace, thank goodness.
40:26I'm a Reggie as far as.
40:27I don't understand.
40:28Why so quickly?
40:29She wants to be eaten something.
40:31Or taken it.
40:33It's the only explanation.
40:34What are you trying to say?
40:45Is she even though I'm here?
40:51She does.
40:55You're sure this is what you've prescribed?
40:56Of course he's sure.
40:58She was perfectly fine before she took it.
41:00Your mother's taken it for weeks.
41:01You said yourself she'd been picking up.
41:03Oh, no.
41:03And so Violet Sidney became the third member of her family to die within the year.
41:28At last, the alarm bells were ringing.
41:37And not before time.
41:39Elwell was asked to supply the authorities with the medicines he'd prescribed.
41:43And samples of Violet's food were taken away for analysis.
41:46Who are you calling?
41:52Aunt Gwen.
41:54No, don't.
41:57I thought I'd go up there myself.
41:59To Newcastle?
42:01Why?
42:01I think I ought to.
42:03At least somebody should.
42:04She's getting on and I think it's too much for her to hear it over a telephone.
42:07But when can you go?
42:08I mean, I quite agree.
42:09She needs to hear it from one of us.
42:10I'll go today.
42:11I'll go today.
42:41Long before Edmund's grave also yielded up its secrets.
42:51But when?
42:55What have I done?
42:57I'm afraid the press have taken against you.
43:03Oh.
43:04There were three inquests in all.
43:08And the coroner, Dr. Jackson, heightened the drama by declaring he would hold them all concurrently.
43:14So it was soon established that first Edmund, then Vera, and finally Violet had all swallowed arsenic.
43:21In other words, there was a triple poisoner at large.
43:24The last of the inquest was Edmund's.
43:27And by that time, the verdict was not a surprise.
43:30We find that Edmund Crichton Duff met his death on the 27th of April 1928 from acute arsenical poisoning administered by some person or persons unknown.
43:44What the coroner did not do, however, was point the finger at a suspect.
43:50There were no arrests.
43:52There was no trial.
43:54Unless, of course, one were to count trial by public opinion.
43:56Press, public, even the police cast Grace Duff in the role of killer, ridding herself of her boorish husband and ending his reckless financial dealings.
44:15According to this version, she killed her sister and her mother simply to gain her share of their fortunes.
44:20The bitter truth is that Grace would live out the rest of her days under suspicion of murder.
44:28So were they right?
44:30Was it Grace?
44:32A popular image of the cool and stylish murderers.
44:35Remember, in those days, poison was very much seen as a female weapon of choice.
44:41All three victims had been poisoned with arsenic, then used in household pesticides and commonly available.
44:50The consensus was that the first dose of poison was in the beer.
45:02And it was certainly meant for Edmund, because nobody else in the house drank it.
45:06What are those crates of beer doing there?
45:08I suppose they're for him.
45:10Well, they're certainly not for me.
45:11I nearly fell over them.
45:15Vera's poison was in the soup.
45:17Absolutely no question.
45:18Actually, I wonder whether I will.
45:20I'm not feeling terribly hungry.
45:22Nonsense.
45:23You always have soup.
45:27Everyone knew that nobody else in the house drank it.
45:31It was Violet's tonic that finished her off.
45:35What is it, ma'am?
45:36Medicine.
45:38Trishy, foul taste.
45:41Could it have been Violet?
45:43She certainly hated her son-in-law.
45:44Could she kill him to make way for Dr Elwill?
45:47Then rid herself of an uncomfortable relationship with Vera and finally take her own life in remorse?
45:54Well, it was an idea put about at the time, and Tom appeared to believe it.
46:00My mother thought her garden paths looked untidy and asked me for some weed killer.
46:05I bought some and made up a solution for her.
46:07She never did the paths, but I dread to think what she might have used it for.
46:15To me, Tom's theory of homicidal suicide is the least convincing of all.
46:20However much she loathed her son-in-law, I can't believe she would have poisoned her beloved daughter Vera
46:25and then visited a similarly gruesome death on herself.
46:30No, it wasn't Violet.
46:31Could it have been Mrs. Noakes?
46:38Obviously, it would have been easy for her to poison the soup, but why would she drink it herself?
46:45I think we can safely acquit Mrs. Noakes.
46:48Especially as she had neither motive nor opportunity to kill Edmund.
46:52So who did?
46:53Elwell came in for some suspicion.
46:59So in love with Grace, he'd do anything to make her his.
47:06How long have you been standing there?
47:08You're very sweet with him.
47:11How's Edmund?
47:12I can't find very much wrong.
47:14Must have eaten something.
47:16Did he offer you a nightcap?
47:19He is the limit.
47:20Especially when you come all this way.
47:22I do a lot more than that, Grace.
47:25No.
47:26As a doctor, he would surely have used an untraceable poison.
47:30Not arsenic.
47:31The right thing.
47:34And what about the most shocking theory of all?
47:36And what did you do with the rest of the weed killer?
47:39I kept it in my shed for safety.
47:42Could anyone have access to your shed?
47:44No, I always keep it locked.
47:47Although, now you ask, I did once find my nephew John in there.
47:51I was quite cross with him.
47:53I have young children, you see.
47:56Was it John?
47:58Tom's testimony suggested that it might have been the boy who took the weed killer.
48:02So desperate was he to make his mother's troubles go away.
48:06I thought I might cash in an insurance policy.
48:09How can you possibly consider it after the last time?
48:12Are you all right, Mother?
48:15Everything's fine, darling.
48:16Why don't you collect father's things?
48:17We'll go inside.
48:19Could it be true?
48:22Did he kill his father?
48:23Only to find he'd made his mother's life more difficult than ever.
48:29It's all father's fault.
48:33Don't talk like that.
48:35Daddy didn't plan on dying.
48:39What are we going to do?
48:41Don't worry.
48:44I will look after you now.
48:46I'm the man of this house now, and I will look after you.
48:48I suppose the boy might conceivably have poisoned Elwell, but not his grandmother and aunt.
48:55Does he want to marry you?
48:57I think he might.
48:59It's a solution after all.
49:00I'm sure it wasn't John.
49:04I'm afraid we are left with the siblings, Grace and Tom.
49:09Where's Mother?
49:10Downstairs.
49:12What are we going to do about her?
49:14Well, I'm not going to take over from Vera, so you can forget that now.
49:17So, which of them was it?
49:19Tom or Grace?
49:21Both of them had a motive to kill Violet, as they both stood to inherit her money.
49:27But would they really want poor, harmless, generous Vera dead?
49:34Of course, she was the only one who'd husbanded the inheritance they'd all received from their grandfather,
49:38and she had no children.
49:40So Tom and Grace stood to benefit.
49:42At the inquest, Mrs. Noakes remembered seeing someone in the passage.
49:50Charming.
49:51But you think Mr. Thomas Sidney was in the house on the morning that you prepared the soup that later made you and the cat ill?
49:58Yes.
49:58Are you sure you saw him?
50:02I was sure.
50:05I just caught a glimpse of him.
50:06Oh, you just caught a glimpse.
50:08That's a little vague, don't you think?
50:10You're not muddling it up with some other day?
50:13Well, he was in and out all the time.
50:17Suppose it could have been another day.
50:19She thought it was Tom, but was it Grace?
50:21And was she muddled?
50:22On the day of the poisoning, Grace brought Gwen to the house.
50:26Do you know what on Gwen's brought?
50:28A pineapple.
50:29Heavens.
50:30If it's me, I'll take it to the kitchen and let Mrs. Noakes have her way with it.
50:33Then I'll shoot off.
50:34Aren't you staying for lunch?
50:35Even though Grace didn't stay, she knew that Gwen was there.
50:40I'm sorry Tom couldn't join us.
50:43I should love to have seen him.
50:44I didn't want to bother you.
50:45Tom, on the other hand, was unaware there even was a luncheon in Gwen's honour.
50:52Edmund's death is the awkward detail in all this where Grace is concerned.
50:58Tom might dislike Edmund, but Grace alone would benefit from her husband's death.
51:05The seal's broken.
51:06I think it's all right, sir.
51:08Of course it is.
51:09So were the press and public right?
51:13Was she a murderess?
51:18The police never accumulated enough evidence to charge Grace with murder,
51:22and I'm confident that the reason for this is a simple one.
51:25She didn't do it.
51:27The key to the mystery is Gwendolyn Greenwell.
51:30It was essential that only Vera drink the soup.
51:34However, on the day, Aunt Gwen invites herself for lunch.
51:37So who of the possible poisoners knew that Gwen would be served the soup?
51:42Well, Violet knew.
51:44Mrs. Noakes knew.
51:46Grace brought her from the station.
51:47Obviously, if she put arsenic into the saucepan earlier,
51:49she would have gone into the kitchen and accidentally spilled the lot.
51:53The only member of their circle who did not know that Gwen would be in the house that day was Tom.
52:00No, Grace was innocent.
52:03The notion that her marriage was unhappy came from Tom.
52:06None of the servants' testimony bore it out.
52:09And she was close to Vera.
52:11And Vienna loved John.
52:13But anyway, there's something else to consider.
52:16Whoever killed Violet was in a hurry.
52:19There'd already been two deaths, surely, to risk a ferns, to fly in the face of fortune.
52:23And Grace wasn't going anywhere.
52:24But someone was in a hurry.
52:29And that someone was Tom Sidney.
52:33Later, he'd pretend that he'd fled to America to escape Grace,
52:36but we know he was burning to go just as soon as he had the money to do so.
52:39Well, you have to trust me, Margaret.
52:41We will get to the States.
52:44When?
52:47Soon.
52:48I hope so.
52:50Because one way or another, I'm going home this year.
52:53And the children are coming with me.
52:54It was Tom who originally planted the idea that Violet might have committed suicide.
53:01I'm very worried about Mother.
53:03Vera's death has hit her hard.
53:05Your daughter's dead.
53:06She'd hardly be cheerful.
53:07The point is, we all need to be extra vigilant.
53:10I'm not convinced she can survive without you.
53:17God alone knows what she might do if you go.
53:19And it was Tom who suggested that Mrs. Noakes could be the killer,
53:23or even that the murderer was young John.
53:26A suggestion that Grace bitterly resented.
53:30Mrs. Noakes maintained that he'd been in the house on the morning of the first attempt to kill Vera.
53:35She said she saw him in the passage and he denied it.
53:37Hello.
53:38But later in court, the coroner forced her to question her own memory.
53:43Nevertheless, I'm sure she was right and he was there.
53:46Just as he would have been in the house the day that Violet died.
53:49And why did he go to Newcastle to tell Gwen?
53:53I'll tell you why.
53:55It was always part of his plan to set Grace up.
53:59And within the family, Gwen was Grace's special champion.
54:02But that was before she knew she'd narrowly escaped death by arsenic.
54:06Tom achieved his ends.
54:08The next time Gwen saw her niece, she was as cold to her as ice.
54:14Oh, Gwen.
54:14What have I done?
54:19I'm afraid the press have taken against you.
54:25Vera's death brought the first helping of cash and prevented her from taking a share of their mother's.
54:32After all, half of everything was the most he could hope for.
54:38You're looking for the will?
54:40Why?
54:41Have you already taken it?
54:42He was bound to share with Grace unless he was prepared to kill all her children and that would have brought detection.
54:49My guess is that having got away with the first two murders, he would have preferred to wait.
54:54Let Violet die naturally.
54:55But his marriage was hanging in the balance.
54:58He just didn't have time.
54:59I don't know what you're thinking.
55:01One less tie to hold us here.
55:04I was very fond of Vera.
55:05She was always very kind to me, unlike some of your relations.
55:09Do you think Vera left you any money?
55:11She might have done.
55:12Why?
55:14Just as long as you understand, I'm not staying in England because you won't leave your mother.
55:18The temptation, having brought it off twice, must have been great.
55:24Unless we forget.
55:26The arsenic was sitting there in his garden shed.
55:33The truth is, the whole grisly campaign of death worked.
55:39With his inheritance, Tom and Margaret left for America and made a new life.
55:48These are the graves of all three victims.
55:57Violet, Vera and Edmund.
56:02Why Edmund?
56:05He didn't like his brother-in-law.
56:07He detested being the butt of his coarse humour.
56:10But murder?
56:12Well, I think firstly, he wanted to rid himself of the only other man in the family
56:18who might challenge him.
56:20I also think he wanted to try out his method, which with both Edmund and Vera meant giving
56:25small amounts of the poison to simulate illness before killing them.
56:29That way he could achieve a diagnosis of natural causes, which, thanks to Doctors Bolton and
56:35Bronte, he managed both times.
56:37But finally, I'm sure his real motive for killing Edmund was to have a fallback position
56:43if the whole thing should go wrong.
56:47With Edmund gone, it meant whomever was killed later, suspicion was bound to fall on Grace.
56:53And in this, he was quite correct.
56:56It did.
56:57And it ruined her life.
56:59Grace is dead now, and her son John, another target of his uncle's malice, was killed in
57:12the Second World War.
57:13Her house survives, but Violet's does not.
57:17It fell into ruin and was replaced by a spanking new block of flats.
57:21Today, the Sidneys have departed, and Birdhurst Rides is just another street in Croydon.
57:31But it is a bit chilly to think that less than a century ago, an unconvicted killer walked
57:36down it, who murdered half his family, and would have placed a noose around the neck of
57:40his one surviving sister, all to help him on his way to the new world.
57:45Thank you very much.
58:15Thank you very much.
58:46You