Excuse me. I'm looking for Firefly Cottage.
On the left.
Ah, OK. Thank you. You're welcome.
Mr Rotfeld.
Find it OK?
Only just.
Come in.
Forgive me if I'm a little rusty. It's been a while.
35 years.
I stopped counting long ago.
May I?
So, I think I would like to begin with the obvious.
1987.
What happened? You're 30 years of age,
at the peak of your career.
Then you announce that you'll be
stepping back from competitive chess.
Never to be seen again, until now.
Why?
Why did I disappear?
Or why did I come back?
Both.
HEAVY METAL MUSIC PLAYS
KNOCK AT DOOR
LOUDER KNOCK AT DOOR
Hello?
Er, Mr Rotfeld is just arriving.
APPLAUSE
Welcome back, Mr Rotfeld.
Mr Rotfeld to start.
Clock?
I, uh... Would you like water? I, I can't.
CROWD GASPS
Help!
Julius, Julius.
Mr Rotfeld. Are you all right?
Help! Help me!
Mr Rotfeld. I'll call an ambulance.
Mr Rotfeld!
Help... Help.
Sir, I'm terribly sorry to disturb you on a Saturday,
but we've got a suspected murder.
The victim is Julius Rotfeld. The chess player.
It's getting some press attention.
OK.
Naomi, what's going on?
Oh, excuse me, Officer?
Maggie Harper. UK Press. Erm, do you know if Commissioner Patterson
will be attending the crime scene today?
I believe he's been notified of the situation.
OK.
Sorry again, sir. I bet your heart sank when you saw my name
came up on your phone.Indeed. But that's not unusual.
So, how was Mr Rotfeld killed?
We believe he was poisoned, sir.
It was about an hour into the game, Mr Rotfeld started perspiring.
Struggling to breathe and his face went red.
The paramedics were thinking it was some kind of allergic reaction,
but then they found these marks on his hands.
See?
That's when they were wondering if it was a possible poisoning.
Absorbed through his skin?
The only touch poison I'm aware of is batrachotoxin.
It's a secretion found on the skin
of a certain breed of frogs originally in the Amazon.
I checked online and they're also indigenous to Saint Marie.
There are poisonous frogs here?
Why didn't I know that already?
Do we know yet how or where the poison was administered?
Well, batrachotoxin is fast-acting.
It would've kicked in within a few minutes.
And, as Mr Rotfeld had been seated
at the table for close to an hour,
we think the poison must have been absorbed well into the game.
Looks like neither player drank any water,
so their glasses weren't touched.
And the pencils, notepads and clocks were all in use from the start.
A chess piece, perhaps?
One that he didn't use until late in the game?
Oh, that's what we thought.
Mr Rotfeld was playing white.
His opponent's being checked by the paramedics, just in case.
Do we know when it was decided who'd play white and who'd play black?
There was a draw made two days ago, so it was public knowledge
which colour the victim would be playing.
After Marlon's finished photographing the scene,
he's going to bag everything on the table
and have it all tested for poison.
Also, sir, the game was being live-streamed.
Darlene's liaising with the organisers to arrange
a copy of the footage. It's odd, isn't it?
Julius Rotfeld lives a relatively obscure life.
Then, within an hour of stepping back into the spotlight...
Someone goes and murders him.
Sir, Maurice Holburne. He helped to organise today's game.
I'm on the committee of the British Chess Association.
And a notable player himself.
Mr Holburne is the current UK champion.
Grigory Markoff. I was the Arbiter of today's game.
And you laid out the chess table this morning, Mr Markoff?
The board, the pieces, the clock.
Everything that was on the table was laid there by me.
And I can assure you there is no way that any of it had poison on.
How can you be so sure?
Because I was the only person who had access to any of it.
I locked everything away inside the case in my hotel room last night
after yesterday's game, and it remained there all night.
And what about the game yesterday? Who had access?
It was a warm-up match before the big game today.
Uh, between myself and Mr Magnussen.
But no-one came anywhere near.
I, myself, was present the whole game.
And this morning before the match? What happened?
I removed everything from the case,
and went and set it up for the game.
Did you leave the table unattended at any point?
No, no. Never. Not once.
Grigory is one of the best arbiters in international chess.
Are those your gloves, Mr Markoff?
The ones that you used today to prepare the chessboard?
Er, yes, I always have a new set of gloves for every match.
Mr Magnussen has been given the all-clear.
I can't believe there was poison on that board.
I've never known anything like this.
He says he has no clue either how
the poison might have got there. Correct?
Of course. If I had known there was poison on that board,
there's no way I would have even sat down at the table.
Mr Holburne, do you know why Julius Rotfeld decided
to play again after all this time?
No, all we heard was that he'd decided to make a return
to the chess scene. It was a shock. But, uh,
well, we were excited. Today was a real coup.
I mean, it was supposed to be.
We should get Darlene to see if there's any footage of
the game played the day before the murder.
The more we can find out about who did or didn't touch those chess
pieces in the last 24 hours, the better.
Agree.
Excuse me. Inspector, Commissioner,
there is someone else you may wish to speak to.
A journalist from London.
She interviewed Julius this morning.
Her name is Maggie Harper.
Uh...
Sorry.
Maggie Harper is here, on the island?
I'm afraid she is. Hello, Selwyn.
Maggie.
I didn't know you were here. I just got here.
I, I wasn't sure if I should let you know or not.
You two know each other?
It's been a while.
Mr Markoff mentioned you spent time with the victim this morning?
That's right.
Did he say anything which might be of importance to the case?
I don't... I don't know. Like what?
Erm, we talked for several hours.
You made notes that we could see? Did research?
I taped the interview. It's on my Dictaphone.
We'll need to take that from you. If we may.
Sure, yep, that's OK. I'll go get it.
Er, Marlon?
If you could give it to Officer Pryce, that would be great.
OK, all right, thanks.
Erm... I'm going to be here for another couple of days.
If you had time, we could grab some dinner maybe, and catch up a little?
I'll need to check my diary.
I'll arrange an initial press statement to be issued tonight.
But keep me in the loop
when you hear back from the lab in the morning.
Will do, sir. Commissioner, is Miss Harper a friend of yours?
Of sorts.
I'll speak to you in the morning.
Harry, if you were of the opposite sex and, you know,
human... Would you date that?
Not exactly the reaction I was hoping for.
Morning, sir. Morning, Naomi.
I've got the results through from the lab.
Plus the postmortem. Thought you'd want to see them. Oh, thanks.
The pathologist has confirmed cardiac failure as cause of death,
due to poisoning. Batrachotoxin, as suspected.
And while there was evidence of some slight transference of
the poison on to Mr Markoff's gloves
and a few of the pieces on the chessboard,
the most significant traces of the poison were found...
On the white queen.
That's what they reckon's killed him.
Morning, Neville. Catherine.
Naomi. Hi, Catherine.
Darlene said I'd find you here.
Yeah, we've commandeered a room here
to base the investigation from, so.
I heard what happened yesterday.
I wondered if you had a moment?
Er, I'll go help set up the replica chess sets.
Thanks, Naomi. Oh, and see if you can locate Grigory Markoff.
Sure. Thanks.
Is this about the case?
In a way.
I wanted to know,
is it true Maggie Harper is connected?
Er, loosely, yeah. She's not currently a suspect. Why?
Oh? You don't know who Maggie is, then?
No.
She's Selwyn's ex-wife.
They got divorced a long time ago now.
No wonder they were awkward around each other.
I will check in with him if I get the chance.
Yeah. Thanks, Catherine.
It cannot be. It... it just cannot be.
Evidence doesn't lie, Mr Markoff.
The lab found significant traces of poison on the white queen.
Inspector, I've got the footage lined up for you.
So the pieces were laid out by Mr Markoff at 3pm.
And as he said in his statement,
no-one else touched them until the players sat down.
So the poison must have already been on the chess piece?
Unless Lucas Magnussen added it during the game.
He never goes near the white queen at any point.
All right, when does Julius first touch the white queen?
That was about 45 minutes into the game.
Look, he starts getting ill a couple of minutes after.
It wasn't long before he died. Hmm, poor man.
I don't understand it.
How could it have poison on it?
I...I swear, it was locked in the case, in my room, all night.
All right, what about the game the day before?
I've got the practice game here, sir.
The white queen was used by Maurice Holburne
a number of times throughout the game.
The last time it was used was minutes before the game ends.
As you can see, he touches it with his bare skin,
so there couldn't have been any poison on it.
And after this? Well, nobody else touches it
until Mr Markoff puts it back in the case.
So if the white queen was un-poisoned when it was returned
to the case the day before the murder, and yet
the very next day when it arrived at the table
it was coated in poison, then...
No! No, no, no, no.
I would never do such a thing. I swear to you.
But the chess pieces were with you all night.
No-one else touched them, you said so yourself.
I know. But I am not a killer.
I'd never even met Julius Rotfeld before yesterday.
Why would I want to murder him?
That'll be all for now, Mr Markoff. We'll be in touch.
He seems genuinely shocked by it all.
Yeah.
And if it was him,
it's a dumb old way of murdering somebody.
I mean, he may as well have just handed us a signed confession.
Yeah, and if there's one thing we know about these elite chess
players, they're very smart.
They understand tactics and gameplay,
how to outmanoeuvre an opponent.
It just seems too obvious for Grigory to have done it. No?
So, then, someone else did.
But if that's the case, how or when were they able to get poison on to
the white queen when no-one else went near it?
Right, let's not discount Grigory Markoff just yet.
You two, can you see what you can dig up on him?
See if he's telling the truth about not knowing Julius Rotfeld.
Got you, sir. Naomi, let's go search the victim's house,
see if that sheds any light.
# There's a man that lives next door
# In my neighbourhood
# He gets me down... #
Should just be up there, sir.
Do you reckon that's his regular spot?
I'll go have a chat.
I spoke to the guy at the stall.
Said the victim rarely had visitors here.
Confirmed a woman matching Maggie's description
arrived early yesterday morning.
But also said he saw a young man arrive in a taxi
the evening before. Early twenties. Brown hair.
Sounds like Lucas Magnussen.
Then that is interesting. You've got something?
Er, this is Julius's notepad, found it here by the computer.
He was noting down the moves from three of Lucas's recent chess games.
He was watching it online. Thing is,
he'd marked a certain point in each game
and he'd written the word "Fritz".
Who's Fritz?
Ah. WHAT is Fritz, is the question.
Amongst other things, Fritz is a computer chess program.
The point at which Julius has marked each game
is the point that the players went to the toilet.
I... I don't understand.
It's not unheard of for some dishonourable chess players
to hide smartphones in the toilets.
So they can access chess programs, like Fritz?
I think Julius thought that Lucas Magnussen was cheating.
I can see how this looks.
We assume that's why you went to visit Mr Rotfeld two nights ago?
You're right. About all of this.
Julius had been studying my previous games
ahead of our match as preparation
when he came across some anomalies in play.
He was correct that there had been some cheating going on, but
there's one small aspect of this about which you are mistaken.
Which is?
It wasn't me he thought was cheating. It was my opponent.
Sorry, what?
Aaron Reid.
He's a player from the US. Young, like me.
We've played each other in many championships,
but he's never once managed to beat me.
Which is why Julius believed that Aaron resorted
to accessing his phone during our breaks.
And had he?I can't prove it.
Not until we next play each other, but my team are alert to it.
I don't cheat.
I never have, I never will.
For the simple reason that I don't need to.
Well, thank you for talking to us.
There's something else I should tell you about the night I saw Julius.
Julius took a phone call just after seven o'clock.
Hello?
I don't know who it was, but I could tell it was tense.
He seemed angry and defensive.
I could hear him say...
You can't blame me for that!
"It was not my fault."
I'm not responsible, I swear to you.
Any idea what he might have been referring to?
But when he got back, he was not the same.
He was shaken and upset.
Wasn't sure if I'd see you again.
Neither was I.
It, erm, it was a shock for me.
Yesterday. I know.
I didn't intend for it to be that way.
I'm sorry if I seemed discourteous.
I would never want you to think I wasn't pleased to see you.
It's been such a long time.
It has.
And, erm, I would like us to...catch up.
Properly. Over dinner perhaps,
like you suggested?
I'd like that.
Inspector? That phone call you asked me to check.
The one to Julius Rotfeld the night before the murder.
Hello?
It was made from this hotel.
Do we know who by? I just spoke to reception.
The call came from Maurice Holburne's room.
So Maurice calls Julius the night before the murder
and whatever's said leaves Julius agitated and upset.
What was that conversation about?
I've just been going through the research Maggie Harper
collated on the victim, and there's some notes she made
about a woman called Anna Herald.
She was a political writer and activist.
She dated Julius for a while between '84 and '85. Right.
But, before that, she was in a relationship with Maurice Holburne.
Sounds like she and Julius did the dirty on Maurice,
if you know what I mean.
But that was 35 years ago.
We're not suggesting that Maurice is still bitter about that, are we?
Well, we know that Julius was defensive on their phone call.
You can't blame me for that!
And, from the background check I did, Mr Holburne never married.
And there's no sign of any other girlfriend that I can find.
PHONE RINGS Huh?
Marlon.
All right, we're on our way.
He's got something, sir.
OK. So Paulina over there overheard some of the phone call Mr Holburne
made to our victim. She thought Mr Holburne's room was empty,
so she went inside...
Found him on the phone, getting very upset and heard him saying...
I was in love and you stole that from me.
So Maurice was still bitter after all these years?
"I can't forget what happened, Julius.
"I was in love and you stole that from me."
Your words, Maurice.
I met Anna at a political rally.
You may not think it looking at me now,
but, I was a very idealistic, passionate young man.
Protested at everything, thought I could change the world doing it.
Sounds like you and Julius were cut from the same cloth?
Chess and politics have always been good bedfellows.
But behind that bravado,
I, uh, I was naive, emotionally.
Inexperienced.
I was in love.
What Julius did, it hurt me. Badly.
And I did move on. I did, in time, forget. But, uh...
..I never forgave.
Is that why you called Julius?
To finally forgive him?
We're a very obsessive sort, us chess players.
We play things over and over again in our minds,
desperate to make sense. We...
..we can find it hard to let go.
I guess I wanted to know if, after all this time,
speaking to Julius, if I could find some peace with it all.
With him.
And did you?
I didn't kill him over an ex-girlfriend,
if that's what you mean, Inspector. I promise you.
Would I be right in thinking this came from Maggie Harper?
She spoke to you about this? Well, if you ask me,
she's looking for a story that isn't there.
I don't know her agenda but, well, I think she's up to something.
Slainte.
You still don't know how to pronounce it, do you?
SHE LAUGHS
Brilliant.
So, apart from work, how's your life?
I remember reading in one of your articles that you were married?
I was. He died, a year ago.
Steven was a journalist too.
And a very loving man,
patient and loving.
I'm so sorry.
He was very ill with cancer, so it wasn't a surprise.
Andrina and I - erm, my daughter and I - we had...we had time to prepare.
You have a daughter?
Mm-hm.
I mean she's all grown-up now, so.
And?
And she's magnificent.
She's a proud, confident young woman.
Knows exactly what she wants from life.
She sounds a lot like you.
Do you know, I'm glad that we're doing this.
When you lose someone, you... you come to realise how precious
certain people are in your life.
I'm glad we are too.
Erm, I'll, I'll... Yep. I'll just go and get the menus.
GROANS
Psst!
Come on!
Is something the matter, Inspector?
Er, maybe a bit.
It's just that you look quite troubled.
Well, I, I guess I am,
but it's not really anything to do with the case.
OK...?
But it...it's just a bit personal.
Oh!
Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh! You thinking of dating?
Yeah, well, yeah, I thought it's time
I started putting myself out there again.
And I've written a profile, and that's fine,
but it's, it's these photos.
I mean, look. Everyone just looks so perfect.
Look at this guy. LovePup33. I mean, he's...
He's gorgeous!
I'm so sorry, sir. I don't know where that came from.
Oh, I do, honey, hmm.
Well, if we can just put LovePup33 aside for one second,
this is what I've got.
Oh, Lord have mercy. What have you done there?
You know, sir, all you need is to get the right apps on your phone.
That's all these guys did, I promise you. Really?
Yeah. I could help, if you like?
Would that not be really boring for you?
Course not!
I'd be really happy to.
Thanks, Naomi.
I think you better delete that one.
Yeah.
Sir.
CLEARS THROAT Sir.
I've finished listening to Maggie Harper's interview
with Julius Rotfeld. Anything of interest?
Well, he does say why he decided to start playing again in public.
And? He needed the money.
Said he was seriously ill and wanted to pay for his treatment in the UK.
That tallies with the financial check I did. Not many savings.
Anything else? There is something towards the end.
It's like some of it's been deleted. Here, listen.
And your decision to retire, 35 years ago. Why?
I was just done with it. The pressure of playing,
competing. I wanted a simpler life. CLICK
There. It, it just stops. Nothing.
Right.
So what about the game? How are you feeling about it?
And the interview goes on for about 20 minutes or so.
It does sound like something's been erased. Redacted.
I got a techy friend that could look into it if you want, sir.
Recover whatever's missing.
Yeah. Do it, please. If Maggie deleted something,
I want to know what it is and why she lied to us about it.
THEY LAUGH
Do you, do you remember the, erm,
the parties we used to have at the old house?
All our friends would come over. SHE LAUGHS
I'd do all the cooking.
Mm, thank goodness!
HE CHUCKLES
I did make a pretty wicked rum punch all the same, thank you!
People would stay all day.
And long into the night.
And then, when everyone had gone,
we'd go out into the garden and...
..and watch the sun come up.
Just the two of us.
Are you still angry with me, Selwyn?
For abandoning our marriage. For choosing my career over us.
I was. Very angry.
And hurt, but the anger faded in time.
And when it did,
I started to think more clearly.
And I realised I could still live
a very happy life.
SHE CHUCKLES
And I have.
THEY CHUCKLE
You never married again?
There have been others, but, erm, no.
I am sorry. You know that?
We were young.
And we were in love.
But it turns out
we had different dreams.
That's no-one's fault.
Well, you stayed on my mind.
I mean, I moved on. I had to, but...
..but you were often in my thoughts.
As you were...in mine.
AUDIO RECORDING:And your decision to retire, 35 years ago. Why?
I was just done with it. The pressure of playing,
competing. I wanted a simpler life.
OK, sir, so this is the part that was deleted by Ms Harper.
So, you're going into hiding had nothing to do
with what happened to Ilya Petrov?
I have not been in hiding
and I don't want to talk about that.
So what about the game, how are you feeling about it?
STOPS AUDIO
And you've heard the rest already.
Now, there's not much available on this guy.
But it seems Ilya Petrov was a Russian dissident.
He fled the Soviet Union in the mid-'80s.
He fled to the UK, changed his identity.
But he disappeared a few years after.
Now, no-one knows what happened to him or where he is now.
Or even if he's still alive.
So Maggie obviously thought that Julius had some connection
to this, and it clearly hit a nerve. Mr Rotfeld shut it right down.
We should go and speak with her, sir.
We should, but I think maybe I should go alone,
be a bit more discreet.
We know that Ms Harper has a connection to the Commissioner.
She does? You never said.
Oh, yeah, there's definitely history.
He couldn't wait to get away from her the other day.
Hmm, it sounds like an ex-girlfriend if you ask me.
Men can be really awkward when it comes to their exes.
Actually, it's a bit more than that.
I was really hoping I wouldn't have to mention this,
but, since Ms Harper is now officially part of
the investigation...
She's his ex-wife.
They were married a number of years ago,
before getting divorced.
That's why I think a more sensitive approach might be best.
Sir, remember she still lied to us.
Oh, I know.
Miss Harper, I'm sorry to have to disturb you like this
but I need to ask you a few questions.
OK.
I thought it was your voice I heard.
Morning, sir.
What do you want, Inspector?
Well, sir, I need to, erm, speak with Ms Harper.
Why?
Well, sir, it seems that, uh,
she left some important information out of her interview
with Julius Rotfeld. Sir.
I think that when you asked for the recording,
I panicked a little, and I deleted that part of it.
Why?Because I'm a journalist.
I had a good story and I didn't want your investigation compromising it.
So you obstructed our case?
I'm sorry. All right?
So, Ilya Petrov was the story, I assume? Him and Julius Rotfeld?
I have a source in London that has evidence
to suggest Julius Rotfeld was in ongoing contact
with Russian intelligence services in the '80s.
He's a spy, you mean?
Well, they won't actually admit that,
but I believe he was an agent, yes.
He travelled to Russia a lot as a chess player
and had a lot of contact with state officials.
So, where does Ilya Petrov fit into all this?
Well, I believe it was Julius who gave details
to Russian intelligence of Ilya Petrov's identity,
his location in the UK, knowing that they would kill him.
So you think he's dead? According to my source,
KGB officers were on their way to his house that night.
However, a body was never found so it's possible he escaped.
Do you think that's why Julius moved to the island? And became a recluse?
Yes. I think he feared repercussions.
He as good as signed Ilya Petrov's death warrant.
Selwyn?
I really am sorry, Selwyn.
I think it best, as you're now playing an active role in this
investigation, if we keep our distance.
OK.
Inspector.
If Julius Rotfeld did go into hiding 35 years ago after helping
the Russian intelligence service,
the fact that he was murdered
the moment he stepped back into the public eye must...
Suggest that the two are connected? Agreed.
I need to go and alert our security minister about this.
Yes, sir. Sir?
Look, obviously my lips are sealed about this whole...
Just go, Inspector.
Well, I'm still... I can't.
I would say that is one of the most stressful experiences
I've had in a long time. Finding the Commissioner as I found him.
You want me to give you a nice little shoulder rub, Inspector?
Erm, I'm not entirely sure that would be appropriate in
the workplace, Darlene, but I appreciate the offer. Thank you.
I'm just glad to get back down here
and focus on the case instead of seeing the Commissioner...
Inspector? Oh, no.
In light of the recent serious development in the case,
I want a full update of where we're at.
Oh, sure, yeah. Right you are, sir.
So, sir, erm, as far as how the murder was committed...
..we're still none the wiser. No-one went anywhere near
the white queen since it was last used the day before.
So how the killer managed to get poison on it, we have no idea.
Grigory Markoff is the only suspect who had the opportunity to do it.
But he has no motive. He didn't even know the victim.
It just doesn't add up.
So then there is Lucas Magnussen.
Who, also, it has to be said, has no tangible motive either.
So, the first two suspects on your list have no motive to speak of?
And your third suspect? Dare I ask if he has a motive?
Maurice Holburne, sir. He's kind of got a motive.
Julius Rotfeld kind of stole his girlfriend.
And Maurice did say that he'd lacked
a certain amount of closure on that score, but,
sir, it was over 35 years ago. It just doesn't seem likely.
So, of your three suspects,
not one has a tangible motive.
And two of them didn't even have
opportunity to commit the crime.
Hmm?
I'd say that's a fair assessment
of where things stand vis-a-vis the case, sir.Mm-hm.
Then it's a good job I'm here to take up the reins. Isn't it?
You're taking up the reins, sir? Grigory Markoff.
If he is the only person who had access to the chess pieces,
during the time the poison must have been added,
then he has to be prime suspect.
Sir, I know it looks that way... Tell me everything you know
about Mr Markoff.
I did the, erm, background on Mr Markoff, Commissioner,
and he's a professional arbiter for
the International Chess Federation.
He's based in Harlow in Essex.
He's married with one child,
but he travels a lot for his job. Obviously he's of Russian
descent, but I'm struggling to find anything much on his younger life.
There must be something.
You'd think so, but I couldn't find anything before 1986.
It's almost as if he didn't exist before that.
And if someone's past just seems to run out like that...
..it means they've changed their identity.
Well, sir...What, so, Grigory Markoff
didn't used to be Grigory Markoff?
Darlene, what is the earliest record you have of Mr Markoff?
Erm, June 1986.
He registered with the local authority in Harlow
and started renting a flat there.
But that's three months after Ilya Petrov disappeared.
That can't be a coincidence.
A Russian dissident goes missing from London.
Three months later, in a nearby part of the country,
a new identity is created for a man called Grigory Markoff.
Sir, with respect, that's quite a leap.
Perhaps. But, in case you'd forgotten,
we are trying to find a motive for Julius Rotfeld's murder here.
We know Mr Rotfeld tipped off Russian intelligence
as to Ilya Petrov's whereabouts in the UK.
That gives him motive for revenge.
It's been over 35 years, but there is a passing resemblance.
Maybe, sir.
We need to interview Grigory Markoff.
I want to put this to him, see how he reacts.
If you think that's best, sir.
You...you think this is me?
On my daughter's life, it is not.
This is Ilya Petrov.
I am not Ilya Petrov. I promise you.
No, but it sounds like you know him?
I knew of him. In many ways, we were very similar.
We both left our homeland. But Ilya Petrov fled Russia,
fearing for his life.
I left because I was looking for freedom.
And having found it,
I know how very precious true freedom is.
And I would never do anything to jeopardise it.
Certainly not kill someone.
Good day, Commissioner. Inspector.
It was worth a punt, sir.
And maybe you're not thinking as straight as you normally would be.
Given everything that... Don't, Inspector. Please.
Sir.
Sir, Commissioner. Naomi?
I've spoken to the UK Police about the Ilya Petrov case
and they just emailed the file over.
They said although Ilya Petrov's body was never found,
they were always convinced he was murdered.
Did they say why? There was a friend staying
with him at his house when it happened.
Two Russian men turned up. Probably KGB.
They forced Ilya at gunpoint into the boot of their car
and drove off with him. Apparently,
he'd always feared his past would catch up with him one day.
All right, thanks, Naomi.
Well, we're back where we started, sir.
Three suspects. No motive.
And not the first clue how the killer managed to poison
a chess piece without going anywhere near it.
In fact, we're about as far from a checkmate as it's possible to be.
Inspector. Yes, sir?
Do shut up. Yes, sir.
And take a look at this.
Well, that's interesting. Sir, this changes everything.
And it might mean we actually, finally, have ourselves a motive.
But it seems Ilya Petrov was a Russian dissident.
Julius Rotfeld was in ongoing contact
with Russian intelligence services, back in the '80s.
Although Ilya Petrov's body was never found,
they were always convinced he was murdered.
But if we know who did it...
I'm not responsible, I swear to you!
We still don't know HOW they did it.
No, sir. But we do know when.
Of course.
Darlene, Marlon?
I need you to bring up the footage of both chess games.
Specifically the point at which they first touched the white queen.
Sounds like you might have worked it out, Inspector? Commissioner?
I think you could say we're reaching the endgame.
Do stop with the chess analogies, Inspector.
I'm finding them rather tedious. Sir.
Whenever you're ready, Inspector. Yeah.
Now this is the real game.
OK, pause it.
Of course!
All right, this is the practice game, sir.
Yeah.
Pause it there.
Well, would you look at that!
You know how? Yes, sir, I do.
Afternoon, Mr Holburne.
If you could take a seat, please?
You think I did it, don't you?
I mean, that's why you've asked me here. Because you think it was me.
Actually, we're here because we KNOW it was you
that killed Julius Rotfeld.
Well, let's hear it, then.
A murder carried out by a chess grand master was always going to be
a challenge for us to solve. What was it you said, Maurice?
That you chess players obsess over every decision you make.
Playing it out in your head, over and over again.
Each and every variation before finally making your move.
It's not so different from what we do, as detectives.
We can be pretty obsessive too.
And it was the obsessive re-watching of
the footage from both chess games...
Of course!
..that led us to working out exactly how you were able to poison Julius Rotfeld...
Well, would you look at that.
..even though you were nowhere near the chess set on the day of the murder.
We sent the white queen to the lab for testing,
and they confirmed that there were significant traces of poison on it.
Now, when a lab technician swabs a piece of evidence,
they do so by running the swab up and down, all over,
and picking up traces of whatever's on it.
Which is why, throughout this case, we assumed that
the entire piece was covered in poison. But as it transpires,
only a very small part of it was coated in batrachotoxin.
The very, very top. The queen's crown.
Now, I asked the lab to re-test the original piece this afternoon.
But this time in small sections,
and they confirmed that they only found poison on the very, very top.
Which meant that when Julius Rotfeld was playing
and he picked up the queen from above,
putting his fingers halfway down the piece, as was his playing style.
The palm of his hand came into contact with the poison,
and he was dead within minutes.
Help me!
Mr Rotfeld. Mr Rotfeld!
Now, why only poison the very top?
Well, so that you were also able to handle it
without touching the poison.
As you did here, when you picked it up - in the middle of the piece -
with two fingers and didn't touch the queen's crown.
Thereby avoiding the poison,
but also fooling us into believing that it could not have been poisoned
on this piece during your practice game
with Lucas Magnussen.
But of course it was.
Now, exactly when it was put on there,
we can't be sure. But, today,
I re-watched the footage of that game
and I noticed that by the time the recording started,
you were both already seated at the table.
Which means we can only assume that you switched in
the poisoned queen before the camera started rolling
while no-one was watching. Now, during the game,
a grand master like yourself would be able
to make sure that Lucas was never in a position to take your queen,
thus ensuring he didn't accidentally become your victim.
And Grigory Markoff, wearing those official gloves
that of course kept him protected when he packed away all the pieces,
he unwittingly placed the poisoned queen into position,
ready and primed to be used the very next day
by your intended victim - Julius Rotfeld.
And do you know why I did it?
You're not denying it, then?
I think we're beyond that now, aren't we?
In 1986,
the night Ilya Petrov was taken from his home
by suspected KGB officers...
They forced Ilya at gunpoint into the boot of their car
and then drove off with him. There was a friend staying
with him at his house the night it happened.
..there was a friend there who witnessed it. Gave a statement.
It was you.
We know Julius Rotfeld alerted Russian intelligence services
to Mr Petrov's location. He as good as actioned his murder.
And now, 35 years later,
you've avenged Mr Petrov's death.
But not, we believe, because Mr Petrov was your friend.
Because he was much more than that. Wasn't he?
He meant so much more to me.
May I show you something?
I've carried this with me every day.
It's all I have to remember him.
When you spoke to Julius on the phone the night before
the murder, it wasn't your old girlfriend you were referring to
when you said...
I can't forget what happened, Julius.
I was in love and you stole that from me.
DS Thomas, here, managed to get in touch with yours and Julius' ex,
Anna Herald.
She said the two of you were never that serious
and couldn't believe you'd still be angry about what happened
with Julius. She went as far as to say
that she knew, after her, you'd fallen in love with a man
and that it made sense of a lot of things for her.
You told us you would never forgive Julius for what he did.
I did in time forget, but...
..I never forgave.
But what you were actually referring to
was the fact he allowed your lover to be murdered.
When we spoke on the phone, I asked him if he was sorry.
For taking the one person I loved. He couldn't say it.
All this time later, he still couldn't say it.
There was never anyone else for me.
It was, it was him. Only him.
GROANS
Everything's as it should be now.
Mr Holburne, are you all right?
Maurice?
Illy and I, we'll be together.
Maurice, what have you done?
Oh, God, I want to be with him.
Careful, the photograph! The poison's on the photograph.
Marlon, call an ambulance.
No, no, I want to be with him.
I've waited so long.
I'm going to see him again.
GROANS
Hi, this is the Saint Marie police.
We need an ambulance at the Arawak hotel right away, please.
Inspector. Sir?
You were right, earlier, when you said I was distracted.
Please accept my apology.
I'll leave you to it.
Sir.
You are leaving?
Yeah. I changed my flights.
I feel I've caused you enough trouble here already.
Look, I need to understand what's going on.
One moment, we are as close as we ever were.
The next, you're lying to my officers behind my back.
Quite the homecoming, huh?
Please.
I deserve the truth.
OK, let's find somewhere quieter where we can talk.
It was my work that brought me here, it's true.
But if I'm honest,
after Stephen died, I had thought many times
about being in contact with you.
I mean, us sleeping together, I didn't expect that.
I think I was hoping that you might remember how you felt about me once.
How you used to love me.
Because I was so scared you'd hate me.
Why would I hate you?
Andrina, my...my daughter?
That's her.
There you go. What do you think?
That's not half-bad.So, come on, Inspector. You going to post it?
I suppose that is the natural next step of this process, isn't it?
Go on. You can do it.
Ah, there, I'm officially out in the dating world.
Ah, which I guess calls for drinks, huh?
I've been wanting to check on you.
Are you OK?
It seems...
..I have a daughter, Catherine.
I'll get you a large rum.
Thank you, Inspector.
Oh, it looks like you've got a match.
What, already?
Ha!
Somebody called LovePup33.
No! Oh.
I'm just joking, sir.
Ah!
But honest, she looks nice, though.