18 September 2017

"I know what it's like to have someone come back from the dead"

“I know what it’s like to have someone come back from dead,” Kath tells Jim, who replies that he could not believe it when he heard that Ed was back.   “Sioned probably doesn’t know if she’s coming or going,” adds Kath, 

"Quiet – Dani's coming!"

but Jim tells her to be quiet as Dani is coming.

“Your veg was lush – can I have more today?” Dani asks, and Jim, 

"That's a good idea"

prompted by Kath, agrees that she can.   

"Can I pick my own?"

“I was wondering if I could do some pick-your-own in the allotment,” she goes on.   

Jim tries to dissuade her . . .

Jim tries to convince her that it would be a lot of hassle, but she insists she needs the exercise, and a break from that bar.

. . . but finally has to give in

“If she wants to get her hands dirty, who are you to stop her?” says Kath.   

Ed is being watched by WPC Morris

Ed is sitting in an interview room with DS Davies;  

DS Davies sums up the current situation

she summarises, “You’ve returned to Cwmderi after faking your own death, to confess to the manslaughter of Dewi Owen.”   When he protests that he did not fake his own death, she points out, “You left your belongings on the cliffs and disappeared.”

"You jumped to that conclusion"

He argues that he had to leave the village but did not want anyone to think he was dead, and that she jumped to that conclusion.   “Can we discuss it later?   I want to say what happened with Dewi.” He confirms that he does not want a solicitor.

The DS takes notes as he speaks

“When I went to Dewi’s flat, I went there to warn him to stay away from Sioned.   He had threatened her – she knew that Dewi was meeting Vicky while she was working as an escort.  

"Sioned asked him for money"

“Sioned asked for money to keep it a secret – she realised it was a mistake straightaway and regretted it.   She wanted to forget about it, but Dewi wouldn’t let it go.   He threatened to harm her, to make a mess of her face – she was really scared.   So, I went over there to warn him to stay away – he lost his temper and we argued.   

"I picked up a chair . . . and I hit him"

“He picked up a statue, I picked up a chair . . . and I hit him.   He went down.”   

She listens intently

DS Davies listens critically to this account.

Sioned is reminded of happier times

Sioned is deep in thought when Kelly once more materialises in her flat;  

"Happy now?"

“Happy now that he’s gone to the cops?” she enquires, but Sioned orders her to get out.   

"The cops will come and knock on your door"

Kelly warns, “Once Ed has confessed, the cops will come and knock on your door – and you are going to be in trouble!   I just hope they lock you up for ever,” and, 

Sioned just wants to get shot of her . . .

in response to Sioned’s repeated demands, 

. . . and Kelly leaves the flat

Kelly leaves.

"I should never have hit him"

“Are you absolutely certain Dewi Owen picked up the statue first?” asks the DS;  Ed confirms this, but adds that he should never have hit him.   “So it was not self-defence?” DS Davies asks.

"I've killed someone – I want to be punished!"

“No, it was down to me, no-one else!   I’ve killed someone – I want to be punished!” demands Ed.   She asks if there was anyone else in the flat that day, and does anyone else know what happened.   Ed shakes his head.

"Didn't you confide in anyone?"

“You must have been in a state when you got home – didn’t you confide in anyone?” she asks, 

"No, I didn't tell anyone"

but he denies this;  

"Did anyone know you were going there?"

she obviously does not believe him, then questions him as to whether anyone knew he was going to the flat.

Sioned waits for the inevitable knock at the door . . .

Meanwhile, Sioned is sitting in her flat, 

. . . and looks at the clock

watching the clock, which shows 12:50pm.

"Did you plant the phone there?'

The DS turns to the matter of Dewi’s phone, which was found in Mark Jones’s house.   “Did you plant it there to make us think he killed Dewi Owen?”   

He denies all knowledge of the phone

Ed maintains that he knows nothing of the phone;  

"Come on, it didn't walk to Maes-y-Deri!"

“Come on, it didn’t walk to Maes-y-Deri,” she smiles, “Someone put it there and gave us a tip-off.   There is a clear link between the two – how do you explain it?   You must have an explanation.”

"Isn't it enough that I've confessed?"

“The phone is nothing to do with me!” exclaims Ed, “Isn’t it enough that I’ve confessed to killing Dewi?”   

"It does not make sense"

DS Davies replies that it does not make sense.

"I don't blame you for trying to strangle him"

At Maes-y-Deri, Debbie does not blame Mark for trying to strangle Ed;  “He left to you to rot in prison for something he had done.”   

"He's gone to the police to confess"

Then he receives a text from Kelly, informing him that Ed has gone to the police to confess everything about Dewi.   

Mark is worried;  

"What if he says that I attacked him?"

“Do you think that he will tell them I attacked him?   I could be in a lot of trouble.”   Debbie reminds him that he went through hell because of Ed, 

Debbie is sure he will not say anything

and is confident that Ed will not say anything, not if he is confessing to killing a man.   

"You think someone is a friend!"

“It hurts, you know – you think someone is friend!” wails Mark.

"Why didn't you confess earlier?"

The DS asks why Ed did not confess when Mark Jones was sent to prison;  Ed admits that he is a coward and should have told them at the time.   She wonders why he has kept his mouth shut until now;  

The PC encourages him to sit down again 

“I’ve told you – I couldn’t live with myself!   I’ve done the right thing now, so charge me, will you?”

Then DS Davies mentions Kelly's allegations . . .

“There’s something else which concerns me,” DS Davies goes on, “You said you fled from Cwmderi to escape what you done, but a few days after you left, Kelly Evans came to see us and said that you had left to get away from your abusive wife.   

. . . supported by photographic evidence

She said that Sioned Charles had been hitting you for months, and the reason you left was because you feared for your life.   Kelly Evans was convinced that Sioned had driven you to suicide.   Of course, you didn’t commit suicide, but is that the real reason why you ran away?”

"How do you explains the photos on Kelly's phone?'

He is adamant that this is not true, so she wonders how he explains the photos on Kelly’s phone.   

Sioned is becoming increasingly nervous

“I’m not here to talk about Sioned,” he insists, 

"I want to focus on what I did to Dewi!"

“I want to focus on what I did to Dewi – so ask me about that!”

“I have, but you can’t answer the fundamental questions, Mr Charles,” says the DS, “Another point I don’t understand is that you don’t tell anyone until you come back to Cwmderi –

"You could have got away with this!"

“you could have got away with this!   Why are you making this confession now?”

"Stop it, and charge me!"

He begs her to stop these questions and charge him;  DS Davies marvels, “I’ve never seen anyone so eager to go to prison.   

"Your story is inconsistent"

“I’ll have to make further enquiries before I charge you – your story is inconsistent.”

"I did it!   Charge me!"

Ed is desperate;  “I’ve confessed that I did it – what else do you want?   Charge me!   I can’t go home!”   She wonders why this is the case, suspecting that he is scared, 

"Are you afraid of going home to Mrs Charles?"

and asks if he is afraid of going home, to Mrs Charles.

He whimpers, “No – I just deserve to go to prison!”   

The interview ends

The interview is brought to an end at 1:35pm, and WPC Morris will make him a cup of tea.

Dani is 'picking her own'

As Dani is picking her own vegetables, Jim is worried that she will find out this is not his allotment. Kath reassures him that no one will tell her, 

"Why are you making a big deal of this?"

and wonders why he is making such a big deal of this.   “You enjoy winding me up, don’t you?” moans Jim.

"I don't want to be the one to tell her Sioned is back"

Kath enquires why he did not want to talk about Ed and Sioned in front of Dani;  he is not sure that she knows they are back, and he does not want to be the one to tell her Sioned is back.   

"We don't want her giving birth here, do we?"

“I don’t want to upset her – we don’t want her giving birth here, do we?”

"You're a big softy, Jim Probert!"

Kath jokes that he is a big softy.

The police have arrived, as expected

Sioned is disturbed when DS Davies comes into her flat 

"Were you aware of that?"

and says, “I assume you know your husband is back – your husband has just confessed to the manslaughter of Dewi Owen.   Were you aware of that?”

Sioned tries to act surprised

Sioned puts on an astonished look and says she knows nothing of this.   Then she is asked if she remembers the day of the attack on Dewi Owen;  

"How was his behaviour that day?"

“How was Mr Charles’ behaviour that day?”   

"It was a long time ago"

Sioned says she cannot remember, as it was so long ago.   “When he came home, did he behave as though something was wrong?   

"Had Dewi Owen threatened you?"

“Mr Charles claims that Dewi had threatened to harm you because you were blackmailing him for his use of escorts.”

"He turned nasty"

Sioned admits this, but maintains it was a mistake and she backtracked immediately, but Dewi turned nasty.   “According to Mr Charles he went to Dewi Owen’s flat, to warn him to stay away from you – that is when the fight broke out which led to his death.   You didn’t suspect anything at all?”

"He had been hitting me for months"

Sioned replies that she did not, and that Ed has a quick temper, but the police knew that already;  she adds, “He had been hitting me for months.”

"Was it not you hitting him?"

The DS puts it to her that it was in fact the other way round – that she was hitting him;  Sioned vehemently denies this, and points out that Ed has confessed to killing him, 

"It's obvious what sort of person he is!"

so it is obvious what sort of person he is.   “Surely you believe me now,” she assumes. 

Mark intends to have a bonfire

Mark is frantically collecting all the newspaper cuttings about his imprisonment and is going to burn the lot in the garden;  “I don’t want anything to do with the murder in our home!   

"Where are the matches?"

“Where are the matches?”   

"You're going to need a clear head"

Debbie tries to calm him down, and informs that if the police need to talk to him, he will need a clear head.

"It seesm that Mr Charles is afraid of you"

“Despite what you claim, it seems that Mr Charles is afraid of you,” observes DS Davies, “Why would he rather go to prison than come back to Cwmderi?   

"He is desperate to go to prison!"

“Most people would do anything to avoid prison, no matter what they’ve done – but not Mr Charles – he is desperate to go there!   Is there more to it than simply wanting justice for Dewi?”

"I don't want him back in Cwmderi"

Sioned demands, “Has he said he’s afraid of me?   If he has, he’s lying!   You have to charge him – I don’t want him back in Cwmderi.   Goodness knows what he’ll do!   

"He's dangerous – you have to believe me!"

“He’s dangerous – you have to to believe me!”

The officer’s response is that it is difficult to know what to believe, but now she is going back to station.   

"That is all – for now"

“That is all – for now,” Sioned is told.

Dani is delighted with her fresh veg . . . 

Dani has paid handsomely for her vegetables, and is very grateful to Jim, also for not talking about Sioned, as she overheard them.   

. . . and for not mentioning Sioned and Ed

She knew that they were back, but did not want to talk about it;  

"I can't believe he let us think he was dead"

“I cannot believe he let us think he was dead – I don’t understand it.”

Kath hands Jim the money . . .

Kath is looking forward to spending the money which Dani paid, 

. . . and sends him off for a couple of cans and some chips

and sends Jim for a couple of cans and some chips.

"I'm not in a position to charge you now"

After some time in a cell, Ed is taken back to the interview room;  “Are you ready to charge me now?” he demands.   The DS replies that she is not in a position to do that, as she has no evidence.   

"You can't let me go!"

Ed is furious when he learns that he is being released;  “You can’t let me go!   

"Please – I don't want to go!"

“Please, please, I don’t want to go!”

But he is forced to leave the sanctuary of the police station

DS Davies is sorry, but she cannot complying with his wishes, and he looks desperate as she shuts the door behind him.