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Taggart

Scottish television series

Taggart (1983–2010) is a popular Scottish detective fiction series revolving around a group of detectives from the Maryhill CID of Strathclyde Police investigating murders across Glasgow. The series initially centred around DCI Jim Taggart (Mark McManus) and the colleagues in his department. After McManus's death in 1994, the series started to revolve around an ensemble cast of detectives.

Pilot edit

Killer edit

[It's a cold and frosty morning. A young woman has been found murdered on the banks of the River Kelvin. Taggart arrives at the scene. He passes a police car where a jogger is being questioned. He is greeted by Sgt. Blackman.]

Blackman: Strangulation, sir. Jogger found her earlier this morning, five minutes past seven.
Taggart: Bit cold for that.
Blackman: Aye, but we've had three people past here since then. Down here, sir. [He points to the body down the riverbank. Taggart follows. Already there is a young plain clothed detective.]
Livingstone: Morning, sir.
Taggart: Who are you?
Livingstone: I'm Detective Sergeant Livingstone. I just got here myself.
Taggart: [To Sgt. Blackman] All right. Thanks. [Blackman heads off. Taggart and Livingstone glance down at the body.]
Livingstone: Strangulation, with a ligature.
Taggart: We don't have ligatures in Maryhill! [He bends down to take a closer look. He pulls out a dictaphone and starts recording.] Young woman aged about twenty, strangled, lying face upwards in obstetric position, no immediate evidence of sexual assault, hands crossed on body. Possible weapon... uh... stocking. No marks of knots. Abrasions on left cheek, large clump of hair cut from right side of head exposing scalp... loose hairs near head. [He stops recording.]
Livingstone: Time of death 12:25, sir. Her watch broke in the struggle. I made a few notes of my own before you got here. [He hands his notebook to Taggart.]
Taggart: [Reading from the notebook] "In situ"?
Livingstone: A reference to her undergarments.
Taggart: Aren't knickers good enough for you? [Chucks the notebook back at Livingstone.]

[Blackman and another officer scale down the riverbank to retrieve what appears to be the woman's handbag, suspended from a tree branch over the river.]

Livingstone: [Observing] Must have flung it.
Taggart: Obviously.

[The officer slips.]

Blackman: Ach, be careful!
Taggart: [Noticing Livingstone's scarf] What fitba' team's that?
Livingstone: Edinburgh University. Sentimental value.
Taggart: A bit old for it, aren't you?
Livingstone: Keeps my next warm.

[The officer reaches for the handbag, but as he grabs it, he loses his balance and falls into the river.]

Taggart: Shite! That's vital evidence!

[The officer, now cold and wet, hands the bag to Sgt. Blackman.]

Blackman: It's empty, sir. Sorry about the accident.
Taggart: Put it away. [Blackman heads off. To the officer, zipping up his coat] Hey! Not near the locus!
Officer: Sorry, sir. [He heads off.]
Livingstone: I took a brief statement from the jogger. You'll probably want to talk to him yourself. Mr. Martin Inglis, he's a lecturer in languages of the African Horn.

[They are caught up by Pathologist Dr. Andrews.]

Andrews: A bit cold for swimming, isn't it?
Livingstone: [Introducing himself] Detective Sergeant Livingstone.
Andrews: Andrews.
Livingstone: This way, sir. She's been dead a good six hours. Her watch stopped, luckily. [He returns down the riverbank.]
Andrews: [Cheerily] Good morning, Jim.
Taggart: [Turns to Andrews, dourly] ...Going to be(!)

[Taggart gets into the back of the police car to question a shivering Inglis.]

Taggart: Mr, uh, English?
Inglis: Inglis, with an I.
Taggart: Come this way regularly?
Inglis: Look, I've already given details to the young constable.
Taggart: Ah, well, you know these young ones, sir.
Inglis: [Nods] Every morning.
Taggart: About the same time?
Inglis: Give or take half an hour.
Taggart: Ever find a deid body before?
Inglis: [Turns to Taggart, chuckles nervously] What sort of question's that? No.
Taggart: Must've come as quite a shock.
Inglis: I suppose you're used to it. The police don't see life or death, only offences.
Taggart: Aye, well that's a popular belief.
Inglis: Look, I'm very cold, I've not eaten any breakfast...
Taggart: You're at Glasgow University?
Inglis: I lecture in languages on the African Horn.
Taggart: My wife took an MA in Sociology there. Gives the odd lecture.
Inglis: And what's her name?
Taggart: Taggart, Jean.
Inglis: In a wheelchair?
Taggart: [Looks offended. Inglis sheepishly turns away] Do you enjoy jogging?
Inglis: Aye, like to keep fit.
Taggart: I believe we're born with so many heartbeats to use up. Why waste them?
Inglis: Do you know who she is?
Taggart: Not yet.

[Back at the crime scene, Andrews examines the body as Livingstone watches on.]

Andrews: Seen a strangulation before?
Livingstone: Yes.
Andrews: It always surprises me how serene they look. Almost buddha-like.
Livingstone: Why do you think she was laid out like that?
Andrews: It's not for me to look into the minds of killers. I'd say between twelve and one. Bears out the time on the watch. Lucky stroke, that.
Livingstone: That's allowing for the rise in temperature, due to asphyxia?
Andrews: That's allowing.
Livingstone: [Bends down to get closer to the body] What do you think was used?
Andrews: Stocking. Certainly not a hard cloth.
Livingstone: And scissors?
Andrews: Scalping like that is unusual.
Livingstone: [Covering the deceased's face] Red Indian.
Andrews: Not many of them in Glasgow.

[They head back up the riverbank.]

Andrews: Where are you from?
Livingstone: Penal division, just promoted.
Andrews: Originally?
Livingstone: Edinburgh.
Andrews: University?
Livingstone: Yes.
Andrews: You're working with Jim Taggart? Good luck to you!

[As Andrews heads off and the body is brought through, Taggart approaches Livingstone.]

Taggart: I don't like educated people that find deid bodies at seven in the morning.
Livingstone: Or just educated people, sir?
Taggart: You being cheeky?
Livingstone: No, sir.
Taggart: So you're a flyer.
Livingstone: I did my course in Lothian and Borders.
Taggart: And flew off course(!) Glasgow's a hard city.
Livingstone: I'm aware of that.
Taggart: What public school did that accent come out of?
Livingstone: Matthew Kerr's Academy for Boys.
Taggart: You wait here. [He gets in his car, leaving Livingstone at the crime scene.]

[At Maryhill CID, Taggart complains about Livingstone to his superior, Superintendent Murray.]

Murray: [Leaving his office followed by Taggart, referring to Taggart's previous "neighbour"] Mackie was a good man, the best. You were a good team. But he's gone now. There's a new breed of men, Jim, you know that.
Taggart: [Pushing a button on the hot drinks machine] It's his attitude, sir.
Murray: Oh, come on. You're too good a man yourself to let personality come into it.
Taggart: [Handing the drink to Murray] I have to work with him.
Murray: He has a good record.
Taggart: [Pushing the button again] I don't care about his record.
Murray: Is it his background?
Taggart: There is that.
Murray: You and I came up the same way, Jim. A long, slow climb. [Taggart gets his drink] I know how you feel, I felt that way too. Graduates jumping in where we spent years slogging. That's the new way, live with it. [They go into Taggart's office] Al Mackie won't come back.
Taggart: I'll never know why he did it. [Left the police to become a Buddhist monk.]
Murray: He was your friend.
Taggart: Not his confidante, it seems.
Murray: It was a personal decision.
Taggart: He was a good copper.
Murray: A deeply unhappy one, Jim. At least he's found his purpose.
Taggart: Livingstone's found his - to annoy me!
Murray: Nobody's asking you to marry him, Jim! Work with him on this one case, what, forty-eight hours?

[There's a knock at the door]

Taggart: Come in. [DC Grant does so.]
Grant: Excuse me, sir. It's a message from Detective Sergeant Livingstone. They found a purse five hundred yards down the river, and they've identified the body.

[Taggart and Livingstone walk across a park to a large greenhouse to interview Billy, the boyfriend of the deceased...]

Livingstone: I grew up with the notion that Glasgow was a depressed area.
Taggart: Don't you insult my green city!
Livingstone: I wasn't trying to insult it.
Taggart: Tenements, alcohol and punch-ups. That's what you grew up with. The image everybody carries. Look around you, d'yer see any bloody noses?
Livingstone: Were you born here?
Taggart: [Pointing] A mile that way.
Livingstone: I remember you coming and giving a talk at Tulliallan about a detective's hunch, how it was still valid, even today with computers and forensics.
Taggart: Was that Grawler's course?

[At CID, Taggart and Livingstone interview Billy after he tried to do a runner...]

Livingstone: [Offering Billy a cigarette] Smoke? [Billy shakes his head.]
Taggart: Have you finished? Perhaps there's port to follow(!) [Livingstone puts the cigarettes on a table and sits down.] Well, Billy...
Billy: I didn't do it.
Taggart: So why run?
Billy: I was scared.
Taggart: Of what?
Billy: Of being arrested. I was with her on the walkway, but...
Taggart: But what?
Billy: I had no reason, did I?
Taggart: No reason to do what?
Billy: Whatever.
Taggart: Well, who says that's why you're here?
Billy: It is, isn't it? When my dad told me what happened, then I saw you coming.
Taggart: [Sighs] So... You were just walking her home?
Billy: Yes.
Taggart: Well, why didn't you walk her all' the way?
Billy: We had a row.
Taggart: And you killed her?
Billy: No! I left her.
Taggart: On the walkway? Wasnae very gentlemanly, was it?
Billy: I'm not a gentleman. We had a row about going to a disco. I wanted to go to one, she didn't.
Taggart: Why were you...?
Livingstone: Which disco?
Billy: Casters.
Taggart: [Glares at Livingstone to not interrupt his questioning again, then turns back to Billy] Why were you on the walkway?
Billy: We often walked home that way.
Taggart: Because it's dark?
Billy: Because it's there. It wasn't a serious row. I liked Eileen.
Livingstone: Only liked her?
Billy: She was different.
Livingstone: How different?
Billy: ...Just different.
Taggart: Different because you couldn't have your own way with her?
Billy: You've got a filthy mind.
Taggart: Oh, no, Billy. It's not my mind that's filthy. [Gets up]
Billy: Can I see a solicitor?
Taggart: I've already explained, that would hinder us.
Billy: Then I want my dad.
Taggart: Are you set on being difficult?
Livingstone: What time did you leave Eileen on the walkway?
Billy: I don't know. After twelve, some time.
Livingstone: Where did you leave her?
Billy: Garrioch Road.
Livingstone: Can you show me?
Billy: [Pointing to a location on the map on the table] There.
Livingstone: And you didn't walk any further on?
Billy: No.
Taggart: Why didn't you go to Casters on your own?
Billy: I don't enjoy it.
Taggart: Why don't you tell us why you rowed? You wanted your leg over on the walkway.
Billy: You're perverted!
Taggart: Oh, come on, son. I was your age. I know what it's like.
Billy: We're not all the same.
Livingstone: What is it like, Billy? [Pilly pauses.]
Taggart: [Furiously slamming the table] ANSWER THE MAN!
Billy: I can't! I swear to God, I never did it!
Taggart: Do you believe in God, Billy?
Billy: No.
Taggart: Well, you'd better start, because you're in big trouble!

[Some time later, Taggart and Livingstone are still interrogating Billy...]

Billy: She was okay. She was a quiet girl. She didn't care much for the dancing. I wouldn't...
Livingstone: Wouldn't what?
Billy: I don't even know what happened to her yet.
Taggart: [Sighs] What do you think happened to her?
Billy: My dad said she'd been strangled.
Livingstone: What with?
Billy: That's all he said.
Taggart: Did you strangle her?
Billy: No!
Taggart: What did you use, Billy?
Billy: I didn't use...
Taggart: You didn't use what?
Billy: You're trying to trap me!
Taggart: Use what?
Billy: Anything, anything at all! I left her down there.
Taggart: Well, who do you think it was, the Boston Strangler lurking about down there in the bushes?
Billy: Why don't you leave us alone?! It's the truth!
Taggart: It's a fabrication, Billy, and you know it. You didnae care one jot about leaving Eileen down there strangled, did ye?
Billy: I phoned, to apologise.
Taggart: When?
Billy: After I left her, from a call box on the way home. It was late, I put the phone down.

[In Taggart's office...]

Murray: Are we going to charge him?
Taggart: He had the opportunity, he had the motive.
Murray: You mean thwarted sexual desire?
Taggart: It does happen.
Murray: Are we going to charge him, then?
Taggart: [Sighs] It's all circumstantial for the moment.
Murray: Well, we can't keep him here. You'd better find something.
Livingstone: If he telephoned on his way home...
Taggart: What for? To apologise for killing her?
Livingstone: It would stand in his favour, if the Ballantynes remember the call.
Taggart: Er... [Rubs his eyes] Take DC Grant with you, see if they do. [Livingstone heads for the door] Hey! Don't jog their memories too much. [Livingstone leaves]
Murray: How are you two getting on?
Taggart: Me and the RAC Membership Committee(?)
Murray: You may have an opportunity, Jim. You may have a motive. [Points at Taggart] You need that murder weapon.

[Livingstone and Grant pay the Ballantynes a visit...]

Grant: [At the door] It's DC Grant, we just want to ask you a few more questions. [He, Livingstone, and the Ballantynes enter the living room.]
Mrs. Ballantyne: Have you any news?
Grant: Not yet, I'm afraid, no. Is there anything you'd like to add to what you've already told us?
Mrs. Ballantyne: No.
Mr. Ballantyne: You still think Billy did it!
Livingstone: Last night, do you remember a phone call?
Mr. Ballantyne: It rang, there was no...
Livingstone: What time?
Mr. Ballantyne: Quarter to one.
Livingstone: You're sure of that?
Mr. Ballantyne: I looked at the clock. [Grant looks at the clock on the mantelpiece, then checks his own wristwatch.]
Livingstone: What happened?
Mr. Ballantyne: I answered, it rang off.
Livingstone: Did Eileen's watch ever run fast or slow?
Mr. Ballantyne: What's this got to do with anything?
Grant: The time's very important in an enquiry.

[Mr. Dalgleish, Billy's father, enters]

Livingstone: You're not supposed to be here, Mr. Dalgleish.
Mr. Dalgleish: [Motions to Mr. Ballantyne] Joe's my partner.
Livingstone: Well, you were warned to stay away.
Mr. Dalgleish: At a time like this?
Livingstone: It's still subjudice.
Mr. Dalgleish: What?!
Livingstone: Your presence here can be construed as...
Mr. Dalgleish: Look, I've been questioned for two hours. Billy's bedroom's been searched and he's never been home, and you've had him there for how long?
Grant: You put us in a difficult situation by being here.
Mr. Dalgleish: What, just because he ran away?
Mrs. Ballantyne: You think Billy did it!
Mr. Dalgleish: You've got it in for him!
Livingstone: No, we haven't.
Mr. Dalgleish: Look, my boy couldnae... He couldnae do a thing like that. [He breaks down in tears.]
Mr. Ballantyne: Eileen's killer's loose, and you're questioning the wrong man.
Livingstone: I came here to help him.
Mr. Ballantyne: [Noticing the scarf] You're no' even one of us!
Mrs. Ballantyne: My God. Now they're leaving it to kids!

[Grant drives Livingstone to the local pub, the Gondola.]

Livingstone: In there?
Grant: What, you're afraid of the natives?

[Livingstone gets out of the car. He walks to a litter bin mounted on railings, takes his scarf off, notices three children watching him, and dumps it in the bin. He starts to walk into the Gondola, but almost walks into local shop owner Wilma McGowan as she leaves.]

Livingstone: Sorry.
Wilma: Are you the polis?
Livingstone: Yes.
Wilma: He's inside.

[Livingstone enters and finds Taggart playing a Pac-Man machine]

Livingstone: What's happening, sir?
Taggart: The Mint's having a go.
Livingstone: [Confused] "Mint"?
Taggart: Superintendent Murray. [Murray Mints.] Personality conflict. He refuses to talk to me.
Livingstone: All the same, is there time for this?
Taggart: Sherlock Holmes had his violin.
Tiny: [The pub landlord, passing by] He can play it.
Taggart: Same again. [Passes Tiny his glass.]
Livingstone: Billy's dad was there.
Taggart: He shouldn't have been.
Livingstone: Well, he was, and that didn't make it very easy.
Taggart: Where's your scarf?
Livingstone: [Lying] I lost it.
Taggart: [Chuckles] You're going to make a murder squad detective(!)
Livingstone: I don't believe Billy did it.
Taggart: I do.
Livingstone: Well, perhaps you want to believe it.
Taggart: There's a lot of things I want to believe, like respect.
Livingstone: I can't talk to you, sir, while you're playing on this. [Sure enough, Taggart loses his last life, and it's game over. They head to the bar]
Taggart: What's your drink?
Livingstone: Lager and blackcurrant.
Taggart: You can buy that yourself!
Livingstone: [To Tiny] Half a pint of lager and blackcurrant, please.
Tiny: Sickening for something, are ya?
Taggart: Tiny, Detective Sergeant Livingstone.
Tiny: Got that strangler yet?
Taggart: Och, come on. You should know better. [Livingstone pays for the drink and follows Taggart into the lounge. They find a table and sit at it.]
Livingstone: I'd like to work with you, sir, not against you.
Taggart: Cheers(!) [Sips on his Scotch]
Livingstone: The phone rang at quarter to one.
Taggart: How do we know what went through his mind? If only the ground hadn't been too hard for footprints.
Livingstone: I still think you're wrong, I'm sorry.
Taggart: Why?
Livingstone: Because it's so circumstantial.
Taggart: [Sighs] There was a Detective Chief Inspector Wallace. A bastard man. I worked with him on a dozen enquiries. He used to say that a... a nose for the truth was a talent, you either had it or you hadn't. The bastard never made a wrong jump.

[Late at night, with Billy having been released without charge, Taggart is still at his desk. Murray calls in...]

Taggart: A day gone, sir, nothing to show for it.
Murray: House-to-house?
Taggart: Nothing. Public don't seem willing to come forward, either.
Murray: All friends and acquaintances checked out?
Taggart: The ones there were. She seemed a quiet-living girl. Only the coal merchant's daughter, but she died a virgin.
Murray: What about Tommy Dalgleish, the partner, Billy's dad?
Taggart: Playing cards till two with friends.
Murray: What about the people we know?
Taggart: In this line?

[Livingstone enters with a couple of hot drinks for himself and Taggart.]

Livingstone: Sir. [Sees Murray] Sorry, I didn't bring you one.
Murray: That's all right, cocoa affects my ulcer.
Taggart: Didn't know you had one, sir. [Chuckles]
Murray: Why don't you two go home to your bed? You look like you need it.
Taggart: There's a few petals on the daisy yet.
Murray: You should relax more, Jim. [To Livingstone] Do you play golf?
Livingstone: Tennis, sir.
Murray: There's some good golf clubs in Glasgow.
Taggart: Some good tennis clubs as well, sir. [Murray leaves them to it. Livingstone sits down as Taggart sifts through his case files.] Ah-ha! Alec McGowan. [Hands the file over to Livingstone.]

[Taggart and Livingstone pay a visit to Wilma's shop, which she runs with her brother Alec...]

Wilma: [Opening the door to Taggart and Livingstone] Oh it's you.
Taggart: Hello, Wilma. [He and Livingstone enter the shop.] This is Detective Sergeant Livingstone.
Wilma: Aye, I saw him at the Gondola.
Livingstone: I remember.
Taggart: Is your brother about?
Wilma: We've been visited.
Taggart: They were the angels, I'm God.
Wilma: Wait here. Och, could this not have waited till the morning?
Taggart: Just get him.
Wilma: He was here all night! [She heads into the back to get Alec] Alec, Alec?
Taggart: [Pulling a wrapped sweet out of the box] Whatever happened to the penny dainty?
Livingstone: Costs two now.
Taggart: I suppose Matthew Keir schoolboys had better things to do with their pocket money.
Livingstone: I saved it.
Taggart: To pay for the university education? [Picks up a magazine and looks inside] God, would you look at that!? [Shows it to Livingstone] Is that not disgusting?
Livingstone: It depends on your tastes, sir.
Taggart: It depends on having any. [Passes the magazine to Livingstone. Alec appears from the back of the shop]
Alec: Hello, Mr. Taggart.
Taggart: Ah, Alec. Sorry to get you out of your bed.
Alec: I've already been questioned.
Taggart: Well, you know how these enquiries are. Suspects get interviewed, questionnaires filled out, statements taken. This is Detective Sergeant Livingstone, by the way.
Alec: Hello.
Livingstone: Mr. McGowan.
Taggart: I believe you were in your bed last night?
Alec: Most people are, at that time.
Taggart: [Shakes his head] Not everybody was.
Alec: I've gottae watch my blood pressure these days.
Taggart: High, is it?
Alec: I could show you my pills.
Taggart: I'm surprised you're not angry. I mean, here we are, questioning you about a murder, why should we do that?
Alec: I don't know.
Taggart: I mean you only raped a lassie, that's not half as serious.
Alec: Like I said, I've got high blood pressure.
Taggart: Of course, there's was that attempted murder charge that was dropped.
Alec: I held her doon, that's all.
Taggart: You nearly choked the bloody life out of her!
Alec: That was twelve years ago. We moved from Blantyre to get away from people like you, and so far we've kept it quiet here.
Taggart: Let's hope it stays that way. [Livingstone checks out the rack of stockings behind Alec]
Alec: People don't understand. I did my time, all I want to do now is forget it. I havenae touched a woman since, now that's the honest truth.
Livingstone: Do you know there's a pair missing?
Alec: Oh, there is?
Livingstone: Can you explain it?
Alec: What, should I be able to?
Wilma: [Entering] I can. [She pulls up her dressing gown to reveal a new pair of stockings underneath. Livingstone looks to Taggart who just grins back.]

[Leaving the McGowan's shop as it starts snowing...]

Taggart: Thought you had him, eh?
Livingstone: It's rarely that easy.
Taggart: Where's you're place?
Livingstone: I've rented a flat in Hillhead. Hey, you can drop me off.
Taggart: [Getting into his car] You want to get to know Glasgow, my green city? Walk. [He drives off.]

[Inglis, the jogger who found the body the morning before, is brought in for questioning...]

Inglis: I want to see a solicitor.
Taggart: We're under no obligation to let you do that, Mr. Inglis.
Inglis: You could apply causing a hindrance to any interview if you wanted.
Taggart: We don't, though. [Nods at the officer in the interview room with Inglis to leave. He does so, and Taggart closes the door.] You'll only be here a few minutes, Mr. Inglis.
Inglis: I have a study group in half an hour.
Taggart: Just tell us why you lied about your movements on Thursday night.
Inglis: Can't one find a body without becoming a suspect? [Livingstone enters and sits next to Taggart] I'm glad you're here.
Livingstone: Sorry?
Inglis: Look... I said I was in all night because... [Sighs] Because I didn't think you'd be bothered to check. I went to a club with a friend of mine.
Taggart: What kind of club?
Inglis: It's called the Centaur Club. He came home back me afterwards.
Taggart: Stayed the night?
Inglis: Till two in the morning. He's one of my students.
Taggart: Languages of the Horn(!) What's his name?
Inglis: David Scott. I'd rather you...
Taggart: Age?
Inglis: [Pauses] ...Nineteen.
Taggart: The legal age is twenty-one.
Inglis: Yes, but...
Taggart: But what?
Inglis: It's only two years.
Taggart: [Again, sternly] The legal age is twenty-one!
Livingstone: Does it matter, sir?
Taggart: What are you, some kind of champion of the underdog?
Livingstone: No, sir.
Taggart: A member of your study group, is he?
Inglis: Yes.
Taggart: I'd hate him to be anxious(!)

[At the Gondola, Taggart and Livingstone discuss Inglis' arrest over a pint and a pie...]

Livingstone: I think you were unfair, sir.
Taggart: If you and me are going to work together, there are a couple of things we'd better get straight.
Livingstone: Such as?
Taggart: Number one, you've got five minutes to eat that. [Looking at Livingstone's pie] Number two, rank.
Livingstone: I just think you were unnecessarily bigoted.
Taggart: A bigot? Me? Listen, I've turned blind eyes, but when somebody wastes my time to protect a wee bit of illicit nookie...
Livingstone: I still think you were unfair.
Taggart: Aye, you do, do you?
Livingstone: I had gay friends at university.
Taggart: [Taken aback a little] You're not a Mary Poppins yourself?
Livingstone: [Affirmatively] No.
Taggart: Oh-ho, now we're touchy, aren't we? What'd you take?
Livingstone: History and Economics.
Taggart: Pass?
Livingstone: MA. Honours.
Taggart: Must've pleased Mummy and Daddy.
Livingstone: It did. Joining the force didn't.
Taggart: Step down, was it?
Livingstone: Sort of.
Taggart: Come round, have they?
Livingstone: No.
Taggart: My dad wanted me to be a tram driver.
Livingstone: Why?
Taggart: [Shrugs] He was one, till his eyesight failed. Used to come in here with my mother. Sat over there. [Points to a table by the door behind them] Two wee people, not a lot to live for.
Livingstone: You were born near here, then?
Taggart: [Pointing] A mile that way.

[Taggart and Livingstone make an enquiry at the flat of Michael and Liz Boyd, after Michael told a police officer he walks Beaut regularly down the Kelvin Walkway. Taggart and Livingstone are sat on the Boyds' sofa. Beaut, their dog, sits on Livingstone's knees.]

Liz: Would you like some tea? I made some scones.
Livingstone: Yes, please.
Taggart: No, thanks. [Liz heads into the kitchen.]
Michael: Beaut, come on. Off the man's knee.
Livingstone: I don't mind dogs, honestly.
Michael: Sometimes her bum's no' clean. Come on. [Gets Beaut off Livingstone.] There you go.
Taggart: Do you walk her down there regularly?
Michael: Yeah, every night.
Liz: He hasnae managed the last two nights, have you, Michael?
Michael: No.
Taggart: Were you doon there the night before last?
Michael: What, the night before the murder?
Taggart: Aye.
Michael: Aye, about... half eleven?
Taggart: Sure it wasn't later?
Liz: He was back here by quarter to twelve.
Livingstone: Did you see anyone else hanging around?
Michael: No.
Taggart: Must be dark down there at night.
Michael: Yeah, I carry a torch.
Liz: He's walked it often enough.
Taggart: You ever, um... you ever seen anyone suspicious hanging aboot doon there?
Michael: Well, I see other people, but never... well, never any looking funny.
Taggart: How "funny"?
Michael: Well, suspicious.
Liz: It's mostly other dog walkers.
Michael: And joggers.
Liz: D'you think it was somebody that lives local?
Livingstone: We don't know.
Michael: Look, I wish I could be more helpful.
Taggart: [Gets a picture of Eileen Ballantyne out of his coat pocket and holds it in front of Michael and Liz] You ever see that girl before?
Liz: Is she the one?
Michael: No, sorry.
Taggart: [Putting the picture back in his pocket, as he and Livingstone get up off the sofa] Well, if you happen to remember anything, let us know.
Michael: Aye, I will.
Liz: Michael, write the man's name down.
Michael: Oh, aye, it's Mr. Taggart, in't it? [Looks for a pen.]
Taggart: Here, take one of these. [Hands Michael a contact card.]
Michael: '[Taking the card] Thanks.
Liz: We've never had the police here before.
Taggart: Not that unpleasant an experience. That's an attractive perfume you're wearing.
Liz: I treat myself now and again.
Taggart: Well, we'll no' take up any more of your time.
Liz: I'll see you out.
Livingstone: [As he and Taggart leave] Thanks, Michael.
Michael: Yeah. Sorry I couldn't be any more helpful.

[It's the end of the day. Taggart, Livingstone and Murray head into the police station car park.]

Murray: Don't think of a poster campaign as a sign of failure.
Taggart: I do, sir.
Murray: You can't crack every case if forty-eight hours.
Taggart: They're no' up yet.
Murray: [Getting into his car.] If there's some public response, that'll be a success.
Taggart: It seemed such a simple one at first.
Murray: [Laughs] Golf's like that! It's often the simpler shots that turn out the most difficult. [He shuts the car door.]
Taggart: I'll take your word for it.
Murray: [Winds the window down] You should take up golf when this is over. Ease that tension a bit. [Taggart rolls his eyes.] I've always said you needed a hobby. [Murray drives away. Taggart and Livingstone walk towards Taggart's car.]
Livingstone: I have my own car tonight.
Taggart: You know what haunts me? Knowing it's Billy boy and not being able to prove it.
Livingstone: Why did he cut her hair off at the roots?
Taggart: What did he do with it?
Livingstone: He could be telling the truth.
Taggart: Or he could be clever. [Opens his car door] Six hours' kip, all right?
Livingstone: It'll have to be. See you in the morning.
Taggart: [Gets into his car] You live alone?
Livingstone: Yes, sir.
Taggart: Will you stop calling me that?! I thought you'd be fixed up.
Livingstone: There was someone in Edinburgh.
Taggart: Young and pretty, was she?
Livingstone: [Chuckles] I nearly married her.
Taggart: Why didn't you?
Livingstone: She didn't want to be married to a policeman.
Taggart: She had brains! [Closes the car door and drives off.]

[The following morning, a second body of a woman is found in a similar manner to Eileen by a passing cyclist in the canal. Taggart and Livingstone arrive as the body is taken away.]

Livingstone: What do you think?
Taggart: [Sighs] Murder, murder, polis, three stairs up.
Livingstone: What?
Taggart: Used to be a kids' street rhyme. Domestic murder, nice and easy. Easy to solve, forty-eight hours. Not ten days, or ten bloody weeks.
Livingstone: Do you think we've got a maniac?
Taggart: I worked for eight months on the Samantha Bell murder, eighteen hours a day for eight months. In the end, they caught him because he had no rear lights.
Officer: Sir... [Presents Taggart with a locket found alongside the body.]
2nd Officer: Excuse me, sir.
Taggart: Aye?
2nd Officer: I remember where I've seen her.
Taggart: Where?
2nd Officer: Er, the video shop on Duncrannon Street, she runs the place.

[Taggart and Livingstone head to the Village Video shop.]

Taggart: This used to be a chemist.
Livingstone: You go in for any of this?
Taggart: Last time I was at the pictures, I saw The Sound of Music. That was in the days when people at home read books.
Livingstone: You're a cynic, you know that?
Taggart: Somebody has tae be.

[They enter the shop. The proprietor, Charlie Paterson, heads out of his office to greet them.]

Charlie: Yes
Taggart: Detective Chief Inspector Taggart. Detective Sergeant Livingstone. [They show their ID badges. Taggart holds up the locket] Do you recognise that?

[Charlie is shocked. Livingstone turns the "Open" sign in the shop door to "Closed" and the three make their way into the office.]

Charlie: [Holding up the locket] I gave it to Susan.
Taggart: Was it expensive?
Charlie: No.
Taggart: How long had she worked for you?
Charlie: Er, six months.
Taggart: Her birthday, was it?
Charlie: No. [He hands the locket back to Taggart] It just... suited her.
Livingstone: Did she have any family, Mr. Paterson?
Charlie: Er, her cousin. Well, not her real cousin. She was adopted. They're not very... They weren't very close.
Taggart: What about parents?
Charlie: Both dead. I suppose you'll want to know how I met her. [Taggart nods.] Well, it was in London, although she's from Glasgow originally. She worked for one of my suppliers as a typist. I offered her this job managing the shop.
Taggart: Experienced, was she?
Charlie: I gave her the experience. No-one had ever trusted her before.
Taggart: Where'd she stay?
Charlie: With Frances, her cousin. More out of convenience.
Livingstone: What time did she leave the shop last night?
Charlie: Er, five o'clock. She said she wasn't feeling well.
Taggart: Well, why didn't you see her home?
Charlie: Well, why should I have? I worked late in the office last night until nine. The VAT men are due next week.
Livingstone: A business to be in(!)
Charlie: It has its risks.
Taggart: Obviously.
Livingstone: How many branches do you have?
Charlie: Four. [Livingstone offers Charlie a cigar] No, I don't smoke, son. Never have.
Taggart: No vices at all(!)
Charlie: I'm not sure what you mean by that.
Taggart: This Susan Maguire was young enough to be your daughter. Did you have no conscience about that?
Charlie: I haven't... got a daughter.
Livingstone: Any children?
Charlie: We had a son, died of meningitis when he was three.
Livingstone: Did she have anything with her? A bag?
Charlie: Erm... she had a red canvas thing.
Livingstone: And what was in it?
Charlie: How should I know that?
Livingstone: Did she normally walk home by the canal?
Charlie: ...Canal?
Livingstone: Well, which way did she go?
Charlie: Summerston. Why the canal? [Takes a deep breath] She said she wasn't feeling well, I sent her home.
Livingstone: Who else was she friendly with?
Charlie: Patricia.
Livingstone: Who?
Charlie: My wife.

Series 1 edit

Dead Ringer edit

[The charred skeletal remains of a body have been found wrapped in paper bags by workers, under the floorboards of a house on Dalmally Road which is undergoing demolition. Dr. Andrews is already at the scene with a police photographer when DCI Taggart arrives...]

Andrews: Good morning, Jim.
Taggart: Christmas comes but once a year(!) [He starts to climb down the ladder]
Andrews: Exciting, isn't it?
Taggart: [Now down the ladder] I can think of another adjective.
Andrews: I haven't touched anything. The workmen opened this one.
Taggart: [Glances at the bones] They are human?
Andrews: I'd have gone if they weren't.
Taggart: How long d'you think they've been here?
Andrews: These bones? [Picks one of them up] Eight or ten years. I might be able to be more exact when we open the rest.
Taggart: [Glances over at the wall, then motions to the photographer] Hey, over here. [They move over to a corner of the wall where Taggart uncovers a handbag covered in cobwebs. He also spots a set of small wooden discs. He carefully picks one up with his handkerchief.]

[Superintendent Murray and DS Livingstone arrive as the photographer climbs up the ladder and passes them. Taggart also emerges with the handbag bagged up.]

Taggart: [Handing the handbag to a sergeant] Now, take care of that. We might get a print from the inside. I don't know what these are yet [He also hands over a couple of the discs which have been bagged up. To Livingstone] We've a dismembered body down here. I suppose you'll want to look at it. [He descends the ladder again, followed by Murray and Livingstone.]

[Andrews unwraps another bag containing another set of skeletal remains - the pelvis.]

Andrews: Stunning! A complete pelvic girdle.
Livingstone: Just what you've always wanted(!)
Murray: One body?
Andrews: What are you, greedy? Yes, I'd say one.
Livingstone: At least it confirms the sex. The pubic arch and inlet look too wide for it to be male.
Andrews: So you know your anatomy?
Livingstone: A little.
Andrews: [Examining the pelvis] You're right. There should be a groove. Yes, there we are, on the front of the ileum. Uterus has decomposed, often it's the last organ to go.
Livingstone: And why the discolouration?
Taggart: ...Fire burns?

[Taggart and Murray examine the room above, which contains a fireplace.]

Taggart: That would have been big enough, wouldn't you say?
Murray: Yes... one limb at a time.
Taggart: There must have been a lot of blood. He could've cut her up in a bathroom.
Murray: You realise this property's been subject to a lot of short lets?
Taggart: Aye, I know. [Starts to walk off.]
Murray: Jim? [Taggart stops.] I hope you're going to work with him [referring to Livingstone].
Taggart: Haven't I been a good boy so far(?)

[Livingstone is still with Andrews, now examining the ribcage...]

Livingstone: Aren't the... what is it... centres of ossification the only way to tell the age?
Andrews: Sure you wouldn't like my job?
Livingstone: Right now, I'd prefer it.
Andrews: Provided she's under twenty-five, I can pin it to a year. But I'd sooner do it in my laboratory.
Livingstone: Can you at least have a look just now?
Andrews: Why are you so impatient?
Livingstone: Well, the sooner we find out who she is, the sooner we find out who murdered her.
Andrews: And the sooner you stop working with Jim Taggart!
Livingstone: Right.

[Taggart returns under the floorboards as Livingstone examines a ring, hanging it from a pencil.]

Taggart: ...So I've got you back.
Livingstone: Well, it wasn't my idea.
Taggart: Nor mine.
Livingstone: Do you still keep that lucky charm? [An ornamental green buddha.]
Taggart: Why?
Livingstone: You might need it. [He shows Taggart the ring] There's a name engraved on the inside - Margaret Balfour. [Taggart's face falls] Of course, could just be coincidence.
Andrews: I can give you an indication as to her age...
Taggart: [Solemnly] She was twenty-two.
Andrews: You're surprisingly clairvoyant this morning. Well, the upper and central vertebrae have almost joined, which would put her between twenty-two and twenty-five. What have you found?
Taggart: ...A load of trouble.

[Back at the CID, Taggart briefs his colleagues with a slide projector. It displays a black and white photograph of a teenage girl in school uniform...]

Taggart: Margaret Balfour, age fourteen. It was the only photo we had to work on. Husband David is serving a life sentence in Barlinnie for her murder. [He brings up the next slide, showing an abandoned car with the driver door open and the bonnet up.] Now, that's the Balfours' car, it was found abandoned on 20th November 1975 in a lay-by between Howwood and Johnstone on the A737. [He beings up the next slide, showing the passenger seat stained with blood] See the blood staining on the seats? Consistent with a stab wound to the left side. [The next slide shows two photos of the sides of the car.] Now, that's the ground around the car. Notice there's no blood?
Livingstone: Suggesting that Margaret Balfour was removed from the car somewhere else, not in the lay-by.
Taggart: [Brings up the next slide, showing photos of a bloodstained handkerchief and shirt.] Bloodstained handkerchief. Same blood group found in Balfour's possession. His shirtsleeves were also bloodstained. His story was his wife had had a nosebleed. [Brings up the next slide, showing more photos of the ground, as well as one of a knife.] There it is, the murder weapon. Ordinary sized kitchen knife, found in the grass about twelve feet away. No prints. [Brings up the next slide, showing the contents of the car boot.] Heavy soil traces in the car... [Brings up the next slide, showing a shovel and a pair of shoes.] match those found on the shovel in Balfour's flat and on his boots. He said they'd been for a drive down Kilbirnie way the day before and he had to dig the car out of some mud.
Livingstone: Could've been true, after all.
Taggart: The theory was... [Brings up the next slide, showing a map of the area in which the car was abandoned.] he buried her body in this area, and then abandoned the car here... [points to an "X" on the map] to make it look as if she'd been abducted by a passing motorist. [He turns the lights back on. Livingstone turns the projector off.]
Murray: Your theory, Jim. I wasn't on the crime squad then.
Taggart: He made a confession.
Livingstone: [As he packs away the projector] Then retracted it afterwards. I was in my first year at university. I followed the case. One of the few convictions for murder without a body on record.
Taggart: But the evidence was circumstantial, but there was a motive: she had a £50,000 insurance policy taken out by her father before he died. It wasn't to mature until she was forty.
Murray: Did Balfour have any connection with 16 Dalmally Road?
Taggart: No, none...
DC Sinclair: [Interrrupting] I've traced the owner of the flat. It was one of the Peebles' properties. Josephine Peebles owned it.

[As Taggart and Livingstone approach the Peebles' household, Taggart still ponders over Murray's orders to work with Livingstone...]

Taggart: So what's his big idea, d'you know?
Livingstone: He doesn't like friction, he says it's unprofessional.
Taggart: Sounds like the lecture I got.
Livingstone: Can we at least work together this time? It is teamwork after all.
Taggart: Are you going to lecture me? When I was a wee boy, Peter, my father forced me to shake hands with my worst enemy after a fight.
Livingstone: And did you?
Taggart: He shook hands with me... [Rings the doorbell] I kneed him in the balls, so you'd better watch yours.

[Taggart and Livingstone seek out Frederick O'Donnell, who stayed in the room with the fireplace...]

Taggart: Mrs. Cochrane?
Mrs. Cochrane: Yes?
Taggart: We're police officers. [Shows his ID badge] We're looking for Frederick O'Donnell. This was his last-known address.
Mrs. Cochrane: Oh, aye, he did lodge here right enough.
Livingstone: Do you know where he is now?
Mrs. Cochrane: I can point you to him - you go straight doon the road, turn right, and it's first on your right. [Taggart and Livingstone heads off as she calls out to them] But you'se are a bit late!

[Indeed they are, as Mrs. Cochrane has directed them to a graveyard, and to O'Donnell's gravestone.]

Taggart: [Ruefully, to Livingstone] Who needs a lucky charm when I've got you(?)

[In the Pathology Department, Dr. Andrews has assembled most of the skeleton, with one missing piece...]

Andrews: ...five foot six, taking the mean of several estimations. No foetal bones. We've everything here but the skull. Presumably he disposed of that elsewhere to prevent identification.
Taggart: I wonder why.
Livingstone: The neck looks unnaturally bent.
Taggart: Cause of death or is that too hopeful?
Andrews: Impossible to say. [He approaches the skeleton and motions to the fractures] Any fracture such as here, and here, would be caused by dismemberment of the body.
Livingstone: And what was used?
Andrews: A saw, I'd say.

[Murray enters the lab.]

Murray: How is she?
Taggart: She'll be up in a couple of days(!)
Murray: Tests brought up one print. [He hands a foolscap to Taggart, who looks through it] On a metal catch inside the bag. Identified as Margaret Balfour's thumbprint.
Taggart: That's what I like, a nine-year-old print(!)
Murray: What do we have on O'Donnell?
Livingstone: Housebreakings, cheque fraud. Attempted murder of a waitress - not proven. And one conviction of incest against his daughter.
Murray: Where is she?
Taggart: Same place as him. She took an overdose nine years ago.
Murray: Deathbed confession, Jim?
Taggart: Nah. He did us no favours. Fell out of bed drunk, died of hypothermia. He was stiff when the landlady found him.

[Taggart and Livingstone drive across a beach to get to the house of Margaret Balfour's mother...]

Livingstone: How did you guess about the trunk?
Taggart: Those pieces of wood that were in the cellar, they had to be sawn out of something to make it sink.
Livingstone: Which means it could be anywhere.
Taggart: No, not anywhere. In the Clyde, near to Dalmally Road. Though how O'Donnell got it there without a car, I'll never know.
Livingstone: How did he get Margaret Balfour's body from the lay-by to 16 Dalmally Road if he didn't have a car?

[They drive off the beach and onto a farm track up to the house where Balfour's mother is feeding chickens. They get out of the car...]

Taggart: Mrs. Robertson. Remember me?

[They follow Mrs. Robertson into the living room.]

Mrs. Robertson: Sit down. [Taggart and Livingstone do.]
Taggart: This is Detective Sergeant Livingstone, by the way.
Livingstone: Hello.
Mrs. Robertson: What did you come for again?
Livingstone: We found your daughter, Mrs. Robertson.
Mrs. Robertson: [Taking in the news, she sits down too.] It was only a matter of time.
Taggart: Her body wasn't where we expected, where we thought it might be.
Mrs. Robertson: [Confused] I don't...
Taggart: We found her body in Glasgow, in a house in Maryhill.
Mrs. Robertson: A house?
Livingstone: On the night your daughter was killed, she was driving down to see you, is that right?
Mrs. Robertson: Yes.
Livingstone: Well, we now think it's possible she... she was abducted from her car after all.
Mrs. Robertson: [Shaking her head] I don't understand.
Taggart: It, erm... it seems likely your son-in-law David wasn't responsible for Margaret's murder.
Mrs. Robertson: Are you sure it's my Margaret?
Taggart: Quite sure. We found that by the body. [He produces the bagged-up handbag and places it on the table in front of Mrs. Robertson.] It had her thumbprint inside.
Mrs. Robertson: [Takes a moment to look at the handbag.] ...It's hers. I bought it for her. I'd like to see her.
Livingstone: She... er... that wouldn't be a very good idea...
Taggart: See, what he means, Mrs. Robertson... she's been dead a long time. [Mrs. Robertson looks visibly upset] There will be a press announcement this afternoon, but we wanted you to know first. Have you any neighbours we could ask to come in.
Mrs. Robertson: [Shakes her head] No neighbours.
Livingstone: A friend?
Mrs. Robertson: No-one comes to see me anymore. I prefer it that way.
Taggart: [Taking back the handbag] Why did you leave Largs?
Mrs. Robertson: Too many people wanted to speak about me and not to me. Does it mean that David'll come out of prison?
Taggart: A report has to go to the Procurator Fiscal, then to the Crown Office, then all the way to the Home Secretary. But, yes, that's what it means.

[Following David Balfour's release, Taggart still insists there is a trunk in the Clyde containing the remaining parts of Margaret Balfour's skeleton...]

Murray: Jim, you keep on about it!
Taggart: Peter feels the same as me, sir.
Livingstone: There's some evidence there was a trunk.
Murray: What do you want me to do about it?
Taggart: Frogmen. Selected parts of the Clyde where a trunk might be disposed of, starting near Dalmally Road.
Murray: Have you any idea how long an operation like that would take?
Taggart: I know, sir!
Livingstone: We think you should consider it.
Murray: I am not wasting police time searching the Clyde for something that might not exist anywhere. She could have been kept in a knotted sack under the floorboards. That would account for the curvature of the spine. You find some hard evidence there was a trunk, I'll sanction the request. [Murray heads into his office.]
Taggart: [To Livingstone] Thanks for your enthusiasm(!)
Livingstone: Well, he has a point.
Taggart: What does he want? A photograph?

[David stays at Jo Peebles' house, which she opens up for recent releasees from Barlinnie. Also there are her husband, ex-con Ronnie McIsaac, long term resident Bill and fellow recent releasee Alan. David, Alan and Jo are all in the front drive as David fixes Jo's car...]

David: [Tightening a screw] ...the fan belt shouldnae work loose again. I'll take it for a wee drive, see if it's that's what's causing the problem.
Alan: Didn't look loose to me...
Jo: I'm sure he knows what he's doing.
David: It's all my brother and me were ever good at.

[Ronnie enters the yard]

Ronnie: What's going on?
Jo: Oh, David's just fixed the fan belt on the car. Er... [Realises she hasn't introduced David to Ronnie] David Balfour, my husband Ronnie McIsaac...
David: We've met.
Ronnie: Jo... [Beckons Jo aside] No more.
Jo: What do you mean?
Ronnie: I want a home, not a... a halfway house. I want to forget.
Jo: Well, it's only for a few weeks.
Ronnie: But you said we'd have time on our own. You promised.
Jo: I know...
Ronnie: And why him? [Motioning to David, he starts to aggressively approach him, but Jo stops him. Taggart appears on the driveway.]
Taggart: Quite a party(!)
David: [Slamming the car bonnet shut, he stares at Taggart] If you've come to apologise, you're too late. I'll try the car. [He gets in the driver's seat.]
Taggart: Listen, if there's anything I can do...
David: Try resigning. After next Sunday, your name won't be worth the space it takes up in the telephone directory.

[Back at CID, Taggart reads David Balfour's interview in the paper...]

Taggart: 80,000 nicker... Works out to be... [DC Sinclair gets out his calculator.]
Livingstone: Works out at nearly £9,500 a year.
Sinclair: [Reading the calculator's display] Er, £9,411.76.
Taggart: Can't folk work things out in their heads nowadays?
Murray: [Entering, carrying some files] Jim? Have you started on the Highlands Electrical enquiry yet?
Taggart: [Not lifting his eyes from the paper] Yeah, we've got 230 customers' returns.
Murray: Try and be enthusiastic about it. I'm just off to a conference in London.
Taggart: What conference is that?
Murray: "Policing in the 90s."
Taggart: Well, you'd better hurry(!)
Murray: Is David Balfour still in your conscience?
Taggart: [Holding up the paper] He'll be all right for the rest of his life.
Livingstone: £80,000 doesn't carry you far these days.
Murray: Is he still at Jo Peebles'?
Taggart: As far as I know.
Murray: Forget about him, Jim. He's been compensated. You can't give him back eight and a half years of his life! [He hands the files to Taggart and heads for his office]
Taggart: [Calling after Murray] I can found out the truth about Margaret Balfour's murder! [He starts going through the files...]
Livingstone: You really think Jo Peebles knows more?
Taggart: Yes, I do. Why did O'Donnell try to conceal Margaret Balfour's identity?
Livingstone: Well, maybe he panicked after David Balfour was arrested.
Taggart: [Briefly shakes his head] He'd a dismembered body under the floorboards, what difference did it make? Anyway, he'd left before the arrest.
Livingstone: Murderers don't always behave logically.
Taggart: You wade through that lot. [Hands Livingstone a large pile of files and papers] I'm going out.

[June Balfour, wife of David's brother Mike, returns home from the supermarket after their baby son Christopher is kidnapped from the car park. She rushes into the living room to a CB radio, holding a ransom note left by the kidnapper.]

June: Call sign 361... [Desperate] Hurry, please!

[Mike, who works as a car mechanic and recovery service with his assistant Dougie, is roadside at a job. Dougie hears the radio in the recovery vehicle and answers it...]

Dougie: Hello.
June: Mike?
Dougie: Er, hang on, June, I'll get him. [He heads to Mike who is with the customer] Mike? [He motions to the recovery vehicle] For you. [Mike passes his notepad to Dougie to continue taking notes while he goes to the radio.]
Mike: Yes, June?
June: Mike... [Breaking down in tears] Christopher's been kidnapped!

[Mike and Dougie rush home...]

June: Oh, Mike... [She rushes to Mike, he comforts her.]
Mike: Okay... What happened?
June: I found that in the car. [She shows Mike the ransom note, which reads in newspaper headline print "DO NOT CALL COPS, HAVE £50,000 READY IN £5 NOTES. WAIT FOR INSTRUCTIONS". They head into the living room.] I only left him for a few minutes.
Mike: You left him?
June: In the multistorey. He was crying so much. The lift wasn't working, you cannae take pushchairs into some of the supermarkets!
Mike: You left him in the car on his own!?
June: Well, he was crying so much!
Mike: Stupid bloody...! [He strikes June across the face.]
Dougie: Mike!
Mike: Jesus Christ! [Frustratedly sits down.]
Dougie: Look, I'll phone the police.
Mike: No.
Dougie: Well, you've got to, Mike!
Mike: [Shows Dougie the note] Read it, it says "no police"!
Dougie: Well, what are you gonna do? Pay it?
June: Fifty-thousand... This is all because of David!
Dougie: Well, do you know where David is? Has he been in touch with you?
June: No.
Dougie: The police'll know!
Mike: We can't bring the police into it, Dougie! ...I know who might know... [He heads to the telephone and looks in the newspaper. He starts to dial.]
Dougie: D'you want me to pick Fiona up from school?
Mike: Yeah, thanks. [Dougie heads off.]
June: Mike... What if David won't help us?

[Back at the Peebles', Bill pours himself a glass of Guinness, which he uses to grow tomatoes in the conservatory, in the kitchen. David catches him taking a swig...]

David: I thought that was for your plants.
Bill: Oh... er... Just, er... testing. [Takes another swig. David sits at the kitchen table] You'll be off soon?
David: I get the impression people are trying to get rid of me.
Bill: [Chuckles as he joins David at the table] Made any plans yet? You know what I would do if I had your money? I'd go and live in Monte-Carlo.
David: Monte-Carlo?
Bill: Uh-huh. Always had a great fascination for Monte-Carlo. But I suppose I'll still be here... as long as Jo allows me.
David: I might go to London.
Bill: Aah, there's a city! Oh, I spent a good few years there.
David: Me and my brother had this... dream once. It was more than that... We were going to go into the car hire business, you know? Go tae London, buy a couple of flash cars... it never come off. Suppose I might go abroad - Spain, Portugal, France... [Alan enters]
Alan: Taggart's here to see you.
David: Tell him I don't want to talk to him.
Alan: You tell him.

[Reluctantly, David gets up, leaves the kitchen and enters the living room, where Taggart is sitting on a sofa, waiting for him.]

Taggart: You here?
David: I've got nothing to say to you.
Taggart: You've said it all through the papers. Maybe that's the coward's way.
David: If I said what I really felt, it'd be libellous.
Taggart: How long have you been here now? Two weeks? Sit down. [David does so in an armchair opposite Taggart.] You didn't come here just 'cos it was a place to stay... I need your help. [David scoffs.] You find that funny?
David: No. What I find funny is you coming here to ask me. Why should I help the police do a job they should'ha done nine years ago?
Taggart: Why did O'Donnell bring her body back twenty miles from the lay-by to Dalmally Road? How could he use Jo Peebles' car without her suspecting anything? Why did she trust him so much? You've got more opportunity to talk to her than I have.
David: You think she knew?
Taggart: There were two other people in that house - George Cunningham and Jo Peebles. Cunningham's been in and out of mental hospitals for years. I doubt he'll tell us anything.
David: Are you saying Jo can?
Taggart: [Pauses] Well... let's say there's too much that doesn't make sense about what O'Donnell did and why he did it.
David: There's a lot that didn't make sense about what I was supposed to have done. I didn't hear you asking those questions then.
Taggart: Why did you confess to me? [The telephone rings in another room.]
David: You've never been interrogated have you?
Taggart: Ah, no. No.
David: I just went along wi' it, to get some sleep.
Taggart: ...Sorry.
David: Well, you're nine years too late.

[Ronnie enters the room.]

Ronnie: [To David] You. Phone. [He leaves.]

[David leaves for the telephone in Jo's office without saying another word. He picks up the receiver.]

David: Hello?
Mike: Hello, David? It's Mike. Look, I need to talk. Somewhere private.

[David notices Ronnie looking suspiciously at him. He closes the door to the office. Ronnie tries to listen in through the door anyway.]

[At the cemetery, Mike meets David at the grave of Fred O'Donnell...]

Mike: Why here?
David: Meet the man that killed Margaret. You wanted somewhere private. Where's more private than a cemetery? How'd you find me?
Mike: Phoned the Tribune. Spoke to that reporter, Laurie Johnson. Why are you staying there?
David: Do you expect me to stay with you?
Mike: [Sighs] ...I need a favour, a big favour. We've got a son, Christopher. He's ten months old. He's been kidnapped. They're asking a ransom of £50,000. They say they'll kill him if I phone the police. So I'm not gonna... [Sighs] Did you know we had a son?
David: I heard.
Mike: A daughter too, she's six.
David: Everything gets to you inside.
Mike: I've nae right to ask... it's your money they're after.
David: How'd you know?
Mike: All that stuff about you in the papers.
David: You make me laugh(!)
Mike: Davey, I don't know what we're gonnae do!
David: You left me to rot in there. A year campaigning, and then nothing. Not even a letter. Was it guilt that stopped you visiting us? Or were you just too busy bringing up a family?
Mike: Come on, look at what I did do for you!
David: You know what kept me going? Knowing there'd be compensation when she was found. A lot of it. I wasn't coming out to do a trip down the social. That money is all I've got. I've earned it.
Mike: So you'll no' help me?
David: Why should I?

[David turns and leaves. Both are unaware they're being watched by Ronnie.]

[June rings the police against Mike's instructions. Outside the station, as Livingstone is about to get into his car, Taggart pulls up across the street, blocking his way...]

Taggart: Get in the car!
Livingstone: What's up now?
Taggart: I'll explain on the way.
Livingstone: This is Carol's first night home. Is it that urgent?
Taggart: We've got a kidnapping - a Balfour baby. [He heads to the front passenger seat so Livingston can drive]
Livingstone: Does Murray know?
Taggart: I've left instructions for him to be told.
Livingstone: Do you really think you ought to be doing this? Just stop and think. After the David Balfour case, do you think his brother's going to welcome you taking charge?
Taggart: Oh, just get in the car.

[Taggart and Livingstone arrive at Mike and June Balfour's house. They enter the living room, Dougie is already in there...]

Mike: You've got a bloody nerve coming here! Who's in charge of you?
Dougie: Mike, give him a chance.
Mike: He's the guy who put David in Barlinnie.
Dougie: Oh, so what? Christopher's life could be in danger for all your arguing now!
Taggart: I'd listen to him, If I were you. What's your name, son?
Dougie: Dougie Turnbull. I'm Mike's assistant.
Livingstone: Why didn't you phone us sooner?
Mike: Because the note says no police or they'll kill him, and I want my son back alive. So if you don't mind, just go. [Points to the door.]
Taggart: [Picking up the ransom note] I'm afraid it's too late for that now. [He hands it to Livingstone.]
Livingstone: Have the kidnappers been in contact since?
Dougie: No.
Livingstone: Your brother... Have you spoken to him?
Mike: He won't help me.
Taggart: We're gonna have to talk to your wife, find out exactly what happened.
Mike: She's in no state to talk to anybody.
June: [Entering] I'm alright, Mike.
Taggart: If it's, erm... If it's any consolation to you both, a baby can't inform on his kidnappers. It's... it's not in their interests to harm him.

[Later, as Livingstone rigs the Balfour's phone with a tape recorder...]

Dougie: What happens if they cannae pay the ransom?
Livingstone: Well, we hope the kidnapper accepts less.
Taggart: [To Dougie] Who do you live with, son?
Dougie: Just my mum.
Taggart: Well, don't say anything to her. Don't say anything to anyone.
Dougie: I won't.
Taggart: Secrecy is crucial, okay?
Dougie: Okay. I'm like an uncle to these kids, you know?

[Dougie leaves as Livingstone finishes up]

Livingstone: There. That's all working okay. [Grabs his coat.]
Taggart: Okay. You'd better stay here tonight.
Livingstone: What?
Taggart: Well, somebody's got to remain on duty! I'm sorry if it interferes with your domestic arrangements. You'll be relieved in the morning. [Taggart leaves. Livingstone frustratedly throws his coat onto the sofa.]

[Mike and June are up in the baby's room...]

Mike: Lie down. Try and rest.
June: I can't!
Mike: ...Had to be Taggart, eh?
June: Can you not try and have someone else put in charge?
Mike: Yeah, I'll try my best.
June: [Looking out of the window] Where is he, Mike? Where is he?

[The following morning, the Balfour's phone rings. Livingstone is woken by the phone.]

Livingstone: Mr. Balfour, phone!

[Mike and June come into the living room. Mike answers the phone.]

Mike: Hello?
Kidnapper: Do the police know?
Mike: Er... no.
Kidnapper: Have you the money?
Mike: My brother won't give us it. We can pay you £20,000. [Silence] Say something!
June: [Snatching the receiver] Please, would you just tell us he's alright? Please! [The line goes dead. She hands the receiver to Livingstone.] ...They hung up. [Livingstone replaces the receiver. June breaks into tears] Ring. Please ring!

[The phone rings again, Mike answers it quickly.]

Mike: Hello?
Kidnapper: Okay, here are your instructions...

[Back at CID, Taggart briefs his colleagues...]

Taggart: Kidnapping for ransom is one of the rarest crimes in this country, fortunately. So far, we've kept it from the press, and that's the way it's going to be kept. The call was traced here... [With a ruler, he points to point on a map of Glasgow] ...to a box in West Nile Street, too late to apprehend. The drop is to be made here... [Points to another location on the map] ...at Prince's Dock. The fact he got directly in touch by telephone suggests he's fairly confident we're not involved. Now, the nature of the drop... a case of money is to be suspended from a bollard, which suggests the pickup is by boat, which for a... compromised figure of 20,000 quid is a lot of trouble for nothing, and it probably means he's desperate to get a crying baby off his hands.
Livingstone: Can I make a suggestion?
Taggart: Yes, Peter.
Livingstone: Suppose he swims for it?
Taggart: Oh, come on. Be serious.
Livingstone: I am. It's not so ridiculous. If he waits till nightfall then who can follow him? A good swimmer could come up anywhere. [Points to parts of the map] Stobcross Quay opposite, Yorkhill Quay. Once on the north bank, he can be straight on the expressway.
Sinclair: A swimmer? With an attaché case full of money?
Livingstone: Why not? With a handle attached to his belt or something.
Taggart: What's he doing? Delivering milk chocolates(?) [The other officers chuckle. Livingstone doesn't.]
Murray: [Walking in with a face full of thunder] Jim, my office! [Taggart follows Murray into his office. Murray takes his coat off] When I heard, I couldn't believe it! What did you think you were doing?
Taggart: I was giving a briefing, sir.
Murray: Was taking this case your idea of a joke? [Heads for his desk.]
Taggart: I'm sorry you feel about it that way.
Murray: What do you think the newspapers will say about this?
Taggart: The papers don't know.
Murray: They will.
Taggart: By which time we'll have the child back and we'll have caught the kidnapper with the ransom money.
Murray: Is this to salve your conscience, Jim, because of what happened to David Balfour?
Taggart: It's a case like any other, sir.
Murray: It is not a case like any other! This'll be headline news, just like David Balfour! People asking why the same officer took charge!
Taggart: I take it you have no confidence in me?
Murray: It's not a question of confidence! [Sits at his desk] Look, Jim, I have been offered the help of a team of experts from Scotland Yard. It's ours for the asking.
Taggart: For Christ's sake...!
Murray: Jim, there is not one officer in this division, including me and you, who has any experience in a crime of this sort.
Taggart: The drop is at six o'clock! By the time your experts get up here and take their lunch...

[There's a knock at the door. Livingstone enters.]

Livingstone: Sir, can I say something?
Taggart: Don't bother.
Livingstone: We've only got a few hours. To hand the case over now would waste too much time.
Murray: I know, which is the reason I'm not going to hand it over. How's the search going?
Taggart: I've issued a directive that covers twenty miles outside the city limits, isolated farmhouses, cottages...
Murray: And the ransom money?
Livingstone: The Balfours are getting it from their bank, £20,000 in £5 notes.
Murray: I thought it was fifty.
Livingstone: He accepted less without persuasion. David Balfour wouldn't help.
Murray: Jim, if we fail... just don't forget what happened to the Lindbergh baby.

[The following morning, David is stopped outside the Peebles' house by Laurie Johnson, the journalist who interviewed him upon his release...]

Johnson: Hello, David.
David: [Hesitantly] ...Hello.
Johnson: I was just coming to see you. Er, did you hear from your brother?
David: Uh-huh.
Johnson: Ah, good. He seemed quite desperate to get in touch with you.
David: Well, he did.
Johnson: Good.
David: Listen, I'm in a hurry, I've gottae go.
Johnson: Listen, the Tribune would still be interested in that reunion shot. You know, David Balfour reunited...
David: Johnson, I'm yesterday's news, and I'd like to stay that way from now on. Okay?
Johnson: What are you going to do with your money? [David scoffs at the question] Are you on speaking terms with your brother?
David: I don't want tae talk about it. And don't you go bothering him.
Johnson: You sound as if you care about him.
David: Maybe I do.
Johnson: Aye, he sounded quite desperate.
David: Did he?
Johnson: Coincidental it coming so soon after the compensation award. The two wouldnae be connected, would they?
David: No, no connection.
Johnson: Financial difficulties, perhaps?
David: I've told you. No. [He walks off.]

[The ransom drop fails due to the kidnapper not picking the money up at Prince's Dock. Livingstone returns to the Balfours' house. June is helping their daughter Fiona complete a jigsaw puzzle.]

Mike: What went wrong?
Livingstone: We don't know. His plans, probably.
Mike: Of course, it wouldn't be yours, would it? [Sighs] I've asked for Taggart to be taken off.
Livingstone: Why?
Mike: Isn't it obvious?

[The doorbell rings. Mike leaves the room to answer it.]

Livingstone: [to June] Did you ever know your sister-in-law?
June: No, I met Mike after she was... [She falls silent and focuses back on Fiona and the jigsaw.]

[Mike opens the front door. It's Laurie Johnson.]

Johnson: Mr. Balfour. Sorry to bother you, I was in the neighbourhood, thought I'd stop by and see if you got in touch with your brother okay.
Mike: Aye, I did.
Johnson: That's good. We like to be of help at the Tribune.
Mike: You have. Thanks. [He tries to shut the front door, but Johnson catches it and forces it open again.]
Johnson: [Observing Livingstone's unmarked car] That's a police car, isn't it?
Mike: No.
Johnson: I've been a reporter long enough to recognise the trappings, Mr. Balfour. Nothing wrong, is there?
Mike: No. [He finally slams the door shut in Johnson's face.]

[Johnson turns to leave, but sees Dougie pulling into the yard in the recovery truck.]

Johnson: [As Dougie gets out of the truck] Hi. I've just been talking to Mr. Balfour. Bad business, eh?
Dougie: You're from the Tribune, aren't you?
Johnson: [Nods] Yeah.
Dougie: I thought they weren't gonnae talk to the press.
Johnson: Nah, they changed their mind.
Dougie: You're not gonnae print the story, are you?
Johnson: No, of course not.
Dougie: Has the kidnapper been in touch yet?
Johnson: [Knowing this is the first he's heard of it] I... er... I couldn't tell you.

[Johnson gets into his car and drives off. Dougie enters the house and goes into the living room.]

Dougie: I thought you weren't going to talk to the reporter about it.
Mike: We didn't.
Dougie: Well, I just met him outside and he said you changed your minds.
Livingstone: What did you tell him?
Dougie: ...Well, I just said that I hoped they wouldn't print it.
Mike: [Putting his head in his hands, as does Livingstone] Oh, Dougie!
Livingstone: They wouldn't print without confirming with us. Can I use the phone?

[As Livingstone gets up to use the phone, it rings. Mike picks it up.]

Mike: Hello?
Kidnapper: 20,000 isn't enough. We want 50. Have it this afternoon at four. The phone box in Royal Terrace. Wait for instructions. Ring the police and your baby'll be killed. [The line goes dead. Mike replaces the handset.]
Mike: They want 50.
June: Mike, let me go and talk to David.
Mike: No.
June: He might listen to me.
Mike: We get the money ourselves.
Livingstone: How will you do it?
Mike: Get a loan, from the bank. It means if we don't get the money back, we have to sell the house.
June: I don't care about the house! All I want is my baby back!

[Back at CID, Livingstone plays Taggart the recording of the kidnapper's latest phone call...]

Taggart: What kind of guy are we looking for, Peter?
Livingstone: Two, I'd say. They're amateurs, got the idea from the papers. One of them's scared, the other's convinced him that 20,000 isn't enough. One of them fancies himself as a swimmer.
Taggart: Are you sticking to that?
Livingstone: A boat would have been to conspicuous. They probably have records for something else small-time.
Taggart: You sound as if you've done this sort of thing before.
Livingstone: No, I just don't fall asleep at seminars.

[Taggart goes to see Murray...]

Murray: No joy?
Taggart: No, none. Peter's gone to the bank to with the Balfours.
Murray: Are we taking any extra precautions?
Taggart: The instructions have come through a box at Royal Terrace. We're gonna give Mike Balfour a two-way radio so he can communicate with us, dust the money down with UV powder. I believe they both want to go together this time.
Murray: I just hope Mike Balfour agrees to co-operate with you. [He sits at his desk] I spoke to the Press Association, gave them the story.
Taggart: Why?
Murray: You know what it's like, Jim... one paper gets wind of it, there could be others. I'm not having a secret blown just because we were too slow in asking the press not to publish.
Taggart: Well, how long will they maintain secrecy?
Murray: As long as the baby's life is in danger. It's a precaution, Jim. We need them on our side. [Taggart turns towards the door and starts to head out] There is one problem... [Taggart stops.] There was some speculation, not to say amazement, at you being in charge.
Taggart: [Shrugs] An overreaction, sir.
Murray: Yeah, well, when this story does break, they'll make a big thing of it. If we fail...
Taggart: We won't fail.

[Near the phone box on Royal Terrace, Mike and June are in their car...]

June: Mike? The money's not important. We can always start again somewhere.
Mike: [Grips June's shoulder] I'll be all right.

[He clips the microphone onto his coat and exits his car with the briefcase full of money. Taggart and Livingstone are around the corner, listening in on the radio. Livingstone tries to hand Taggart a cup of soup.]

Taggart: [Looking into the cup] What are they?
Livingstone: Croutons.
Taggart: Give me a Valium sandwich. I've never been so nervous in my life, Peter.

[Mike paces outside the phone box. It rings, and he rushes inside to answer it.]

Mike: Hello?
Kidnapper: Look under your own name.

[The line goes dead. Mike looks in the telephone directory under his own name. There's a sheet which reads in newspaper headline print "GO TO THE PARK NOW. LEAVE CASH IN BUSHES NEXT TO POND. NO SLIP-UP." Reading this, and still distrusting of Taggart, Mike unclips his microphone and disconnects it from the transmitter, leaving them in the phone box. He runs into Kelvingrove Park. Back in the police car, Taggart desperately tries turning all the dials]

Livingstone: It's working!
Taggart: Well, why the hell doesn't he communicate?

[Mike crosses the bridge over the River Kelvin and heads towards the bushes by the duck pond, passing some boys playing with a football as they have a kickabout towards the playground. Making sure the boys don't notice him, he places the briefcase in a gap in the bushes, before making his way back towards the bridge. Moments later, one of the boys kicks the ball into the duck pond. Two of the other boys go to retrieve it, but instead find the briefcase in the bushes. Mike turns around and notices this.]

Mike: HEY! [The boys run off as Mike gives chase.] COME HERE! [A police officer sees the boys as they run to the Stewart Memorial Fountain.] Give me that back! [Three of the boys climb the fountain while the others run around with the briefcase, with Mike chasing them] Give me that case! [They pass the briefcase up to the boy at the top. He starts to open the case.] NO, DON'T...!

[Too late! The boy opens the briefcase and lets the contents - £50,000 in £5 notes dusted in UV powder - spill all over the fountain.]

Police Officer: Hey, you boys! [The boys run off, leaving Mike in despair.]

[Meanwhile, Dougie pulls up at what he thinks is a callout, but it's on derelict land which looks like it's been used for tipping. There's a car there, but it looks like it's been abandoned, with all the windows smashed in...]

Dougie: [On the radio to June at base] 361 here. I thought you said the owner was going to be with his vehicle.
June: [Over the radio] That's what he said.
Dougie: Check S-reg bronze Ford Cortina.
June: Details correct.
Dougie: Looks as if it's been here for months. [Gets out of the truck and approaches the car. He opens the rear passenger door and sees a box on the seat. He opens the box and looks inside...] Jesus Christ! [He runs back to the truck.]

[Some time later, the police arrive, as do Taggart and Livingstone. Turns out the box contains the clothes Christopher was wearing on the day of the kidnapping.]

Livingstone: The baby's clothes don't mean the baby's dead.
Taggart: What do they mean?
Livingstone: I don't know. A way of frightening the Balfours.
Taggart: What for?
Livingstone: Anger at the ransom collection going wrong.
Taggart: I suppose he walked into Mothercare and bought the kid a new outfit(!) [Heads back to his car. Livingstone follows.]
Livingstone: What happened wasn't your fault.
Taggart: I started this sequence of events nine years ago. [They get into the car.] Do you know any kidnapping statistics, Peter? The killing usually happens in the first forty-eight hours. This is the fourth day.
Livingstone: Don't forget what you said: a baby can't betray his kidnappers. So why add murder?

[A downcast Taggart returns to CID to report to Murray]

Murray: There's been no message?
Taggart: None. Not even a note with the baby's clothes.
Murray: It could be just a way of scaring them.
Taggart: My God, if they're heartless enough to try that...
Murray: We'll keep it out of the media another twenty-four hours, just in case.
Taggart: In case?
Murray: We don't know for certain the kidnapper witnessed that fiasco in the park. He could still be unaware that we're involved.
Taggart: I say let them publish now.
Murray: [As they head into his office] No, not while there's a slim chance the baby's still alive. Let's keep the kidnapper's confidence up. He might try and extract some more money.
Taggart: [With his head in one of his hands] Well, in the meantime, sir... you don't mind if I hand in my papers?
Murray: [Shocked] What?!
Taggart: You heard. [He slumps in one of the chairs in the office.] It's my responsibility. You're right, I shouldn't have taken this case. I took it for all the wrong reasons - personal reasons.
Murray: Jim, I know how you feel...
Taggart: Do you, sir? It was me that put David Balfour in prison. Without that, there wouldn't have been any compensation money! No kidnapping! And now... I'm probably responsible for that kid's death.
Murray: We don't know the child's dead.
Taggart: See, tomorrow, the press'll crucify me. I might as well go out and buy the nails and the wood and do it myself!

[Murray heads to his desk, trying to think of a way to get Taggart to change his mind, but to downplay his involvement in the case. He sits down.]

Murray: Do you still believe there's a trunk in the Clyde with the rest of Margaret Balfour's remains in it?
Taggart: Haven't I always?
Murray: Go and look for it. Take a team of frogmen.
Taggart: [Gets up] In other words, you want me out of the way?
Murray: Yes! If there's any way I can downplay your involvement in this, I will, but you know how difficult that can be...
Taggart: Don't worry, sir, I'll get right out of your way(!) [Opens the door and storms out of Murray's office]
Murray: [Calling out through the doorway] Well, it won't be roses they shower me with either!

[The following day, Livingstone goes to Taggart's house to check on him...]

Taggart: Uh-huh? Who sent you?
Livingstone: I came to see how you were.
Taggart: Pour yourself a drink.
Livingstone: It's too early in the morning for me.
Taggart: [Raising his voice] It's too early for me as well! Pour yoursel' one!
Livingstone: [Reluctantly pouring himself a Scotch] When are you going to stop wallowing in self-pity?
Taggart: What?!
Livingstone: The first time I worked with you, I came to the conclusion you were a bastard. Well, this time I've come to a different conclusion.
Taggart: Have you?
Livingstone: Frankly, I'd rather see the bastard.
Taggart: Really?
Livingstone: [Sitting down] The Mint says he gave you the chance to look for that trunk.
Taggart: And the chance to make another mistake. It was a long shot. The Clyde's a long river.
Livingstone: You have your likely spots where a car could pull up, starting near Dalmally Road.
Taggart: Out there a baby's lying dead. Right now, that's the most important thing to me.
Livingstone: So, why resign?
Taggart: [Sighs] Well... We all need faith in something, Peter. Someone. [Getting his little green buddha out of his coat pocket] Remember me telling you about Al Mackie?
Livingstone: Yeah, he went to Japan and became a Zen Buddhist.
Taggart: He achieved something because he believed in it.
Livingstone: And you believe there was more to Margaret Balfour's murder, well now's the chance to prove it!

[The phone rings. Taggart answers it, still clutching the buddha.]

Taggart: Taggart. ...What?! ...Right. [He puts the phone down.] Speaking of Margaret Balfour's murder, we have a confession to it.

[Taggart and Livingstone arrive at CID. They enter the interview room to find George Cunningham, a former inmate diagnosed with schizophrenia, previously convicted for the attempted murder of his wife, who stayed at Jo Peebles' house at the time of the murder. Until recently, he'd been in a psychiatric hospital, but has spent the past few days living and sleeping rough. He appears to have dozed off.]

Taggart: Hello, George.
George: [Waking up] ...Oh, Mr. Taggart. And your colleague... Oh, I forget.
Livingstone: Detective Sergeant Livingstone.
George: [Remembering their previous meeting at the psychiatric hospital] Varsity.
Taggart: [Entering the room as Livingstone closes the door behind him] Well, George... what's all this about? [He sits at the desk opposite George]
George: I've come to confess. I can't live with it any longer.
Taggart: Live with what?
George: The murder.
Taggart: George, the doctor told me when you were at the hospital, you couldn't stop talking about it.
George: Oh, I couldn't stay there. Every day they make you sit around and talk about your illnesses. Imagine everyone... talking about their illnesses. I told them I was cured, but... they wouldn't believe me.
Livingstone: What do you want to confess to?
George: Well, can I have a light please? [Pulls out a cigar out of his coat pocket.]
Livingstone: [Getting a lighter out of his coat pocket] That's the one I gave you three weeks ago.
George: I've been saving it for a special occasion. [Livingstone lights the cigar. George takes a drag and coughs] And I suppose this is a special occasion of sorts. That woman, at 16 Dalmally Road, in O'Donnell's room... I killed her.
Taggart: How?
George: With a knife. It was I who... cut up her body, and... hid it under the floorboards.
Livingstone: Where did you kill her?
George: In O'Donnell's room. She was fine when he brought her back. He went out the next morning, leaving her in bed. And I went in... [he starts sobbing] ...and I killed her!
Livingstone: Why?
George: Oh... why do the trees shake?
Taggart: Usually because there's a lot of wind(!)
George: Well, it was such a long time ago. There was a struggle, I remember there was a struggle...
Taggart: [Interrupting] George... George! Margaret Balfour was either dead or heavily injured before she was brought back to Dalmally Road.
George: Was she? I saw no signs. ...You don't believe me.
Taggart: [Shakes his head] No.
George: You couldn't just lock me up for one night? I could do with a bite to eat. I'm starving.
Livingstone: Why don't you go back to where you were?
George: And hear them all talk about their illnesses? I don't want to go back to hospital. I'm not ill, you see?
Taggart: George... [Writing something down on a piece of paper] Why don't you go to Jo Peebles'?
George: [Somewhat shocked at hearing that name] Ms. Peebles!?
Taggart: [Tears the paper off the pad and places it firmly in front of George] There's the address. I'm sure you'll find her very charitable. [Opens the door and beckons George to leave and not waste any more of his time.]
George: [As he leaves the interview room] Oh, I wish I could get back to Ethiopia. I've got friends there. Thank you. [He finally leaves.]
Livingstone: [As George makes his way up the steps to the exit] He needs a psychiatrist.
Taggart: He needs a bed. Besides, psychiatrists haven't done him much good up to date.
Livingstone: A few days ago, you were running around like mad trying to find him!
Taggart: Aye, that was a few days ago. I don't believe he has any idea what went on in Dalmally Road. But, see where he's going - he'll stir up a few unpleasant memories there!

[A team of frogmen search the Clyde near Dalmally Road. On the riverside, Taggart goes over a map with Livingstone...]

Taggart: We've four places - here, here, here and here. [Pointing to the map as he references each.] They're the nearest to Dalmally Road with this kind of access.
Livingstone: Assuming he used Jo Peebles' car?
Taggart: He used it once. Why wouldn't he use it again?
Livingstone: What more do you think it'll prove?
Taggart: Who the trunk belonged to.
Livingstone: I hope you're right about there being a trunk.

[Later in the evening, Murray turns up with some bad news...]

Murray: Jim, we're going to need the frogmen team tomorrow morning first light at Hogganfield Loch.
Taggart: Why?
Murray: We found a body of a child believed drowned. It'll be dark in twenty minutes, too late to go there now. [Turns and heads back to his car.]
Taggart: [Turns towards the river, pulling his buddha out of his coat pocket] Well, thank you(!) [He throws the buddha into the river in frustration, close to the frogmen's boat.]
Livingstone: What the hell did you do that for?

[One moment later, a frogman surfaces and signals to his captain.]

Frogman Captain: Sir, there's a trunk down here!
Taggart: Well, get it up here! [Murray hears this and returns to riverside] And while you're about it, there's a green ornamental buddha about that size! [References the size with his hand]

[A short time later, the trunk is raised from the Clyde and brought to the slipway. Sure enough, there were holes in it to make it sink. Taggart, Livingstone and Murray head down the slipway to the trunk.]

Murray: Congratulations!
Livingstone: You were lucky! [They open the trunk and look inside.]
Murray: As you expected?
Taggart: As I expected!

[In Pathology, Andrews studies the skull]

Livingstone: ...Struck from behind, I thought.
Andrews: [Frustrated with Livingstone's impatience] I do know a bit about skull fractures(!) A hammer, I'd say, with some force.
Taggart: The cause of death?
Andrews: Well, it didn't just give her a headache(!)
Taggart: Why did O'Donnell go to all that trouble to prevent identification?
Livingstone: If she was attacked with a knife in the lay-by, the hammer blow to the skull suggests she was killed later.
Andrews: Makes sense. He wouldn't use two weapons to attack her with.
Taggart: [To Livingstone] That bails out your theory.
Andrews: What's that?
Livingstone: That she was alive when she was taken back to Dalmally Road, like Cunningham said.

[The following day, Taggart gets out of his car outside the station to see Laurie Johnson waiting outside, frustrated about the kidnapping story being given to the Press Association...]

Taggart: Who are you looking for?
Johnson: That kidnapping story was a Tribune exclusive!
Taggart: It wasn't my idea.
Johnson: Now, a lot of folk are going to be waiting to go ahead with this story!
Taggart: So?
Johnson: So, how long are we going to be asked to withhold?
Taggart: As long as necessary.
Johnson: If that baby dies, your reputation isnae going to be worth a great deal, is it? What was your reason for taking the case? [Taggart ignores the question and starts to make his way to the station. Johnson follows him.] I don't want you to think that we in the Tribune are knocking the police, far from it. After all, we're doing you a favour withholding the story. We don't have to.
Taggart: You'll get your story. There's a press conference this afternoon.
Johnson: Will you be there? Or will you choose not to be?
Taggart: Oh, I'll be there.

[Livingstone is on duty again at the Balfour's. He's asleep on the settee]

Dougie: [Entering with a cup] Coffee?
Livingstone: [Stirring] ...Oh, thanks. What time is it?
Dougie: Quarter to nine. [Livingstone checks his watch.]

[June brings in the post, which includes a small parcel with the address in newspaper headline print. She rushes into the living room, followed by Mike.]

June: [Handing the parcel to Livingstone] Look at the printing. [Mike snatches the parcel and opens it.]
Livingstone: Oh, be careful!
Mike: [Takes out the letter and a cassette tape. He reads the letter] "Sorry, unable to collect..." This means he wasn't even there!

[Livingstone takes the tape. He puts it into the Balfour's radio and presses Play. The tape plays the cries of baby Christopher.]

June: Oh, God! [Collapses in tears into Mike's arms]
Mike: For God's sake, stop it going out on the news!

[Back at CID, Taggart still goes over the tape recording of the kidnapper's demand...]

Murray: [Sitting on the edge of the desk] You don't have to be at the press conference.
Taggart: [Sighs] Who has a motive for wanting to cause Mike Balfour distress, the money apart?
Murray: Yes... who?
Taggart: And why return the clothes at all, and in that way?
Murray: [Nodding at the tape player] Are you suggesting that's David Balfour's voice?
Taggart: It's well disguised if it is.
Murray: If you're accusing David Balfour of kidnapping and murdering his brother's child, be careful.
Taggart: I'm not accusing anyone!
Murray: Get a comparison voiceprint first, that's an order.
Taggart: You forget, sir, I'm off this case! [The phone rings. Taggart answers it.] Taggart.
Livingstone: [At the other end] Jim, we received a tape of the baby crying. The letter, it suggests the kidnapper didn't see what happened in the park.
Taggart: [Puts the phone down] The kidnapper's been in contact again.
Murray: [Gets up from the desk and picks up the phone handset] They'll have telexed that by now. [He dials a number] ...Get me the Press Association in London. [Checks his watch, then turns to Taggart and shakes his head] We're not going to make it.

[Taggart and Livingstone are at Jo Peebles' house. They are waiting with Ronnie. Jo has just returned from Sheila Burt's house with David, where she has just heard about the kidnapping on the radio.]

Ronnie: Anything you want to say to Jo, you can say in front of me.
Taggart: [Seeing Jo and David walk past the doorway] Jo? David? [They enter the living room]
Jo: What's it about now? The kidnapping?
Livingstone: Not quite. We found the trunk we were looking for - we wonder if you recognise it. [Livingstone shows Jo a photo of the trunk.]
Jo: ...No, I've told you.
Livingstone: Are you quite sure? [He shows her another photo.]
Jo: ...Yes!
Livingstone: It was never in O'Donnell's room?
Jo: [Finally snapping] Why don't you people ever believe me?
Ronnie: Satisfied? She's been through enough because of him! [Nodding at David]
David: Listen, you'll have to excuse me, I've got stuff to pack. [Starts to leave the room]
Taggart: David? [David stops in his tracks] Where are you taking your money abroad? Oh, this is Detective Sergeant Livingstone, I don't think you've met.
David: How'd you know I was going abroad?
Taggart: I figured a fellow like you would have bought a car if you hadnae intended on leaving the country.
David: There's no crime in it.
Livingstone: We hear your brother approached you about the ransom?
David: That's right.
Jo: I knew nothing about it until this morning.
David: I didn't tell anyone. Mike... wanted it kept secret from the police and the press.
Livingstone: And you refused to help him?
David: It's my money! He never helped me!
Taggart: He did. For a year after you were in prison.
David: And then he deserted me!
Taggart: Bet you'd do anything to get back at him, wouldn't you? Anything at all.
David: Are you accusing me?
Taggart: Who says?
David: Because I've been accused before. Okay... I hate my brother, but I don't hate him that much! And I'd never hurt a kid. I know who could have done it. [Taggart's glances at David] Norman Burt. [Sheila's husband] He... got out of Barlinnie a week before me. Ask Jo.
Jo: Just because he had towels in his bike box?
Taggart: Towels?
Jo: He goes swimming. That was a confidence placed in me by a client. Thank you, David, thank you very much(!)

[Taggart and Livingstone leave. As they get into the car...]

Livingstone: Who's Burt?
Taggart: He's a wee man. Used to work in the Peebles' shipyard. Turned to burglary when he lost his job.
Livingstone: Jo Peebles recognised that trunk!
Taggart: Yeah, I know she did. [They drive off.]

[At the factory where Burt works, Taggart and Livingstone wait by the factory gate as the workers leave to look for Norman...]

Livingstone: You sure that's him?
Taggart: I'm positive. [They watch as Norman gets onto his motorbike with a female colleague.]
Livingstone: Do you believe [David] Balfour?
Taggart: Well, I can't see him hurting his brother's child, could you?
Livingstone: It's just odd that he hasn't been in contact with him since.

[Norman rides off. Livingstone starts the engine and follows in pursuit. Later, Taggart sights the pair through his wife's opera binoculars as they ride towards an old grain silo]

Taggart: The perfect place. We'll give them one minute.
Livingstone: That silo was searched.
Taggart: Aye, maybe.
Livingstone: Did you ever read Sherlock Holmes, The Silver Blaze?
Taggart: What's your point?
Livingstone: A paradox. [Taggart observes Norman and the woman getting the towels out the bike box] The curious incident of a dog in the night-time.
Taggart: Enthrall me(!) [Norman and the woman run into the silo]
Livingstone: The dog did nothing in the night-time. That was the curious incident. [Confused, Taggart takes down his binoculars to glance at Livingstone, before turning his attention back to the silo.]

[Back at the silo, Taggart and Livingstone approach the entrance from either side. They burst in.]

Taggart: Where the baby? [He's stunned to find Norman and the woman naked, covering their modesty with the towels, but no baby.]
Norman: Well, give me a chance to get my trousers on!

[Taggart and Livingstone interview Norman back at CID...]

Taggart: Why the grain silo?
Norman: It was a place to go, that's all. Rosie's married, so we couldn't go to her place. Except one night we managed when her husband was away. You won't tell my wife, will you? I'd sooner go back inside.
Taggart: [Getting up from his chair] I think we owe you an apology, Norman. [Motions for Livingstone to open the door.]
Livingstone: [As Norman is about to leave the room] How well did you know David Balfour in prison?
Norman: Why? Who was it that shopped me? It was Balfour, wasn't it?
Taggart: Any reason why?
Norman: Just because I had a go at him the day he got out.
Taggart: [Taking Norman back into the interview room] What kind of a go? [Livingstone closes the door again.]
Norman: I reminded him that there's some people come out to nothing. Do I look like the sort of man who would kill a child? Kidnap anyone? Where would I put a baby? In my bike box? Him working out his compensation money before she was even found. [Taggart's eyes light up] If you ask me, he was lucky. I wish it was mine that'd been found dismembered beneath the floorboards
Taggart: What did you say?
Norman: I said I wish it was mine that...
Taggart: No, no, no. About the compensation money.
Norman: He used to work out how much he'd be entitled to when she was found.
Taggart: [Turns to Livingstone, who glances back at Taggart, then turns back to Norman] That confident, was he?
Norman: That's why I said he was lucky. It happened one day, like he said it would.

[Taggart beckons Livingstone out of the interview room. They head for his office, but are interrupted by Murray.]

Murray: Ah, Jim.
Taggart: I'm just going to get a fingerprint set from June Balfour's car in the multistorey.
Murray: But there weren't any.
Taggart: Yes, there were. [He starts going through a filing cabinet]
Murray: Jim, what's going on?
Taggart: Peter, get me the report on the handbag that was found near the body.
Murray: Is it Burt?
Taggart: Nah. Burt was a last-minute decoy.
Murray: By whom?
Taggart: By a desperate man. [He finds what he's looking for and puts the report on a desk.]
Murray: Jim, what are we looking for?
Livingstone: The reason the dog did nothing in the night-time, sir.
Murray: [Confused] Dog?!
Livingstone: There's one thing David Balfour should have done that he hasn't.
Taggart: Especially as he's going abroad.
Livingstone: He's never asked about the burial of his wife's remains.
Taggart: The head wasn't cut off to disguise the fact that it was Margaret Balfour, it was cut off to disguise the fact it wasn't.
Murray: Jim, we found Margaret Balfour's thumbprint on the bag and the wedding ring.
Taggart: Yes, and there it is there, and there, and there, and there! [Pointing to the fingerprints] O'Donnell didn't murder Margaret Balfour. Whoever that body is, Margaret Balfour was in on the killing.

[At the Balfour's house, June, Dougie and Fiona wait on news with a WPC. They have the radio on.]

Newsreader on Radio: ...in Glasgow today, there are still fears for the baby's life. The ransom has been increased and as yet there's no further information from the kidnappers. [Dougie turns the radio off.]
Dougie: You all right, June?
June: Dead. I know he is.
WPC: Sssh, Mrs. Balfour. Don't give up hope.

[The phone rings. Dougie answers it, and the tape recorder starts. Mike also enters the room.]

Dougie: Hello? ...No, sorry, I think you've got the wrong number. ...Hold on. [Holds out the handset] June, it's for you. It's your mother. [June looks startled.]

[Taggart and Livingstone call in at Jo Peebles' house one more time. Jo goes through her records as she finally recalls the trunk.]

Jo: I thought I recognised it. I just didn't connect it with Dalmally Road at that time.
Taggart: That's because it wasn't there, Jo. It arrived later, when you moved here.
Jo: [Finds a record in her books] Ah, that's the couple, the Ritchies. [She hands the book over the Taggart.]
Taggart: Do you remember anything about them?
Jo: [Shrugs] Only that they took the place for a few weeks. It was due for demolition and there was a whole series of short lets. [Taggart passes the book to Livingstone.]
Taggart: Do you remember what they looked like?
Jo: No.
Livingstone: [Reading from the book] 8th September 1976 - that's just after the trial.
Taggart: And after David Balfour's conviction.
Jo: You mean they brought the body in? But how...?
Livingstone: The body wasn't Margaret Balfour's.
Taggart: See, it was well known locally, Jo, that 16 Dalmally Road was a hostel for ex-cons, and at the time of Margaret Balfour's disappearance, you'd had to move out and re-let.
Livingstone: [Handing the book back to Jo] All part of her plan to fool everybody.
Jo: But whose body was it?
Taggart: We don't know yet.
Livingstone: Why did David need your car four days ago?
Jo: He said he wanted to visit Margaret's mother on the coast. Wasn't that the truth?
Taggart: Aye, it was the truth all right. [He goes to the phone to make a call.]

[At the Balfour's, DC Sinclair arrives as the WPC replaces the handset]

Sinclair: What's going on?
WPC: It's all right, I've just phoned the station. They're getting in touch with Mr. Taggart right away.
Sinclair: [to Dougie] Well, where are they?
Dougie: Don't know. See, we can't understand it. June got a phone call from her mother, but June's mother's dead.
Sinclair: And you've no idea where they've gone?
Dougie: They wouldn't say. [The phone rings again. Dougie answers.] Hello? ...It's for you. [He hands the receiver to Sinclair.]
Sinclair: Yes, sir? Oh, I've just got here.
Taggart: [At the other end of the line in Jo Peebles' office] What? ...He didn't say where? ...Oh, it makes sense to me all right! It means the kidnapper's finished his game. You can pack up. [He replaces the receiver]
Jo: And Fred [O'Donnell] had nothing to do with it?
Taggart: Nothing. The fact that he had your car that night, that he drove along that road, just, er, just coincidental.

[Mike, June and Fiona arrive at Mrs. Robertson's house. David, Mrs. Robertson and baby Christopher emerge. June sits Fiona on the car seat while she gets out of the pickup, running to Mrs. Robertson, who returns Christopher to her.]

June: Christopher! [Grabbing him and clutching him tight in relief. Meanwhile, Mike cannot help but look daggers at David.]
Mike: [to Fiona] You stay here, darling.
Fiona: Okay.

[Mike gets out of the pickup and approaches David]

Mike: [Shouting] YOU BASTARD!!
June: Mike! No, please!

[David jumps the barbed wire fence and runs down the road for his life. June and Mrs. Robertson try to stop Mike, but runs out of the gate in pursuit of David. They run onto the beach, where several police cars approach from the distance. Mike finally gets hold of David and pulls him onto the ground near a wrecked wooden boat. Mike grabs a large wooden plank and holds it above his head ready to strike.]

Mike: Do you know what you've put us through? Have you got any idea?
David: [Desperately] I was gonna bring him back to you. I didnae want the police, I didnae know they knew. I didn't want any of us caught!
Mike: I'm gonnae kill you, ya bastard!

[The police pull up in the nick of time. Taggart gets out of his car.]

Taggart: Oi! [Mike stops a nanosecond before he can deliver the fatal blow. Both he and David turn their heads towards Taggart.] Don't do it, he's not worth it. [Having been caught, Mike throws the plank away.]

[Back at Mrs. Robertson's house, June is reunited with Christopher. But she may not be for much longer, for she is not June, but...]

Taggart: Margaret Balfour. [Referencing the picture of her as a teenager] Sixteen years have changed you... or maybe you've changed yourself. [He places the photo on the armrest of the settee next to Margaret.]
Margaret: We destroyed all the later pictures.
Mrs. Robertson: [About Fiona] Take her out.
Taggart: [To Fiona] Come on, hen. [Taggart leads Fiona to a waiting PC, who takes her out of the room so he and Livingstone can interrogate Margaret.]
Livingstone: How long have you known, Mrs. Robertson?
Mrs. Robertson: That Margaret was alive? For years.
Livingstone: You let David stay in prison for a... for a murder he never committed?
Margaret: We all did!
Livingstone: Why?
Taggart: Because if you told the truth, you, David and Mike would've gone inside for conspiracy to defraud.
Margaret: Mike and David wanted my insurance money to start a car hire business.
Taggart: So it had to look as if you'd died? Your car abandoned in a lay-by, the knife, the blood...
Margaret: It was meant to look as though I'd been... killed by a stranger. David wasn't meant to go to prison for it. No-one was.
Taggart: [Tuts] Poor David. He must've loved you a lot to carry the can for you.
Mrs. Robertson: When David came to see me three weeks ago, he... told me about the body. How it was Mike who put it there.
Margaret: We both did, mum. [Christopher briefly starts crying. Margaret sighs] Mike picked a girl up in a railway station in London. We never even knew her name. Mike just made sure she was my height, age...
Livingstone: You killed a total stranger?
Margaret: It was the only way to free David.
Taggart: When did you do it?
Margaret: After the trial.
Taggart: And then you brought the body back to Glasgow in a trunk, planted it in a house you thought was going to be demolished, and left your wedding ring by the body.
Margaret: David was convicted on evidence that he'd buried me. Circumstantial evidence that was wrong. Mike said if my body was to be found somewhere where David couldn't have put it... [Christopher squeals] Mike went to see David in prison. Told him what we'd done. Told him he'd only have to wait.
Taggart: He did. Only you didn't.
Livingstone: Why did you look after the baby, Mrs. Robertson?
Mrs. Robertson: They're my grandchildren, aren't they? Even though I've never been allowed to see them... send them presents, anything. They didn't know I even existed.
Margaret: Don't, mum!
Mrs. Robertson: [Choking back the tears] David told me you'd gone on holiday and couldn't take the baby. I never knew the truth... until I heard it on the news.

[There's a knock at the door. A PC enters the living room.]

Officer: Sir, we're ready to go.
Taggart: Come on.

[Margaret has one final cuddle with Christopher before handing her over to her mother. They get up from the settee.]

Margaret: Did David really want our money?
Taggart: No, all he wanted was revenge, because you married his brother. Calling the police was the only thing he thought you'd never dare to do.

[Taggart beckons Margaret to leave. He follows her, followed by Livingstone and Mrs. Robertson carrying Christopher. Outside, an officer gets Mike and David into the back of a car. Another officer takes Margaret to another car while Mrs. Robertson and Fiona look on. Taggart and Livingstone make their way to their car.]

Livingstone: [Noticing Taggart has a dourer expression than usual] You ought to look pleased!
Taggart: Because we got it right? I was happier when we were wrong.

Murder in Season edit

Series 2 edit

Knife Edge edit

Death Call edit

Series 3 edit

The Killing Philosophy edit

Funeral Rites edit

Cold Blood edit

Cast edit

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