Thriller s01e08- File It Under Fear

michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
In the English town of Pembury death stalks. A number of girls have been strangled, a killer on the loose.
Superintendent Cramer not pleased to be called into the office as he was playing golf with mates and about to win some money, but yet another girl has been found dead, strangled by the canal in the park.
That makes 4 dead and no clues as to the perpetrator.
Cramer turns to his assistant Truscott, "the girls don't put up much of a fight."
Truscott ," he must be fit sir."
Cramer, " or he's been trained to kill, a serviceman perhaps. One thing for sure, he'll strike again."

In the Pembury library Miss Elizabeth Morris leads her team of George, the assistant librarian and Gillie, a student earning a wage during the summer holidays. Betty the girl from the newsagents next door comes in and gossips with Gillie and tells her she's been seeing a married man, meeting him at the bridge over the canal, and at what time her next rendezvous is. A young man is entering as this gossiping goes on and hands Miss Morris a tupperware box
" your sandwiches Liz, you forget them."
Elizabeth " thanks Steve."

After Betty has gone Miss Morris tut tuts, even though she's only 29, she's very prudish and believes Betty is very silly taking a risk with a married man.
Mr Stubbs also is there, a 70 years old ex navy man who agrees with Miss Morris that Betty is asking for trouble with her general attitude to men.
Stubbs is a regular visitor and spends most of the day in the library. He knows that this is odd.
Stubbs, " you see Gillie you don't have to feel sorry for me, I spent many years in the navy, and never married. I could afford to go elsewhere, but I prefer to come here, amongst friends. You don't need to pity me."
After he leaves Gillie says to Elizabeth, " poor Mr Stubbs, feeling he has to apologise for being lonely. "
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That evening Betty pays the ultimate price, the strangler strikes, by the canal again, her body left on the footbridge over the water. Seconds later her date, turns up, US airman Gerry Masters from the nearby airbase. Masters looks at the body and runs off.
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michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
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Miss Morris lives with her mother and lodger Steve, the next morning at breakfast the murder of Betty is news, in the newspaper, and Miss Morris goes to the local police station to see Superintendent Cramer.
She tells him that Betty has been seeing a married man , " she distinctly said a married man."
Cramer, " er..well thank you Miss Morris."
Elizabeth, " I just hope you get the filthy man....I mean I hope you get him."
Cramer not impressed, after Miss Morris has gone he turns to Truscott his deputy, " well they've started, the cranks, frustrated as hell that one."
Truscott, " a married man? Surely this is the work of your frustrated loner."
Cramer tears up Miss Morris's statement, "exactly."
Elizabeth Morris turns up late at the library after seeing Cramer, and George her assistant moans that if she trusted him with the spare key he could have opened the library. But George is not trusted, because he seems immature, shy, in his 20's but not really manly.
As the library closes that evening Elizabeth Morris stares out of the window to see student Gillie crossing the street and sees Gerry Masters approaching. The two stop, chat for a minute and go off together. When Elizabeth gets home she phones Gillie's landlady and asks her to ask Gillie to phone her when she gets in.

Steve the lodger says as he puts his coat on, " don't make me any dinner Mrs Morris I have to go out."
After he leaves Elizabeth says to her mother, "Steve's going out a lot lately, never used to."
Mrs Morris, " he's having trouble with that wife of his."
Elizabeth, " didn't know Steve was married."
Mrs Morris, " yes, divorced, or separated."
Elizabeth, " why didn't he tell me?"
Mrs Morris, " probably thought you wouldn't understand, not being married yourself. "

In a telephone kiosk a blonde haired woman is talking, unaware the door behind her is opening, she turns, hands grip her throat, another victim.

Next morning the police find a woman's shoe by the canal, and Miss Morris phones again to Gillie's landlady and discovers Gillie never came home.
Elizabeth contacts the police straight away, telling them Gillie didn't come home, and she saw her with a regular to the library, Gerry Masters.
Cramer not totally convinced that Miss Morris has anything useful to add, but says, " nevertheless we need to bring Gerry Masters in, get in touch with the airbase."
Truscott reports back that Masters is on 48hr furlough and no one knows where he is.

George comes round to Elizabeth's house wanting to know why she's late again and Elizabeth tells him about Gillie and the police have informed her they've found a shoe by the canal. Elizabeth gives George the spare key and says he's in charge until she gets in.
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Later Steve the lodger comes downstairs for breakfast, his face scratched , Elizabeth asks how come , he says he had a fight with a cat, a cat he once married.
Mrs Morris, " well you be careful Liz on the way home tonight."
Steve, " I don't think you need worry Mrs Morris, from what I've read he goes for the younger type."
Elizabeth says nothing, she's only 29 herself, but Steve didn't mean anything cruel by saying that, she leaves to see Superintendent Cramer.
 
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michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
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Elizabeth identifies the shoe as Gillie's, and tells Cramer of her street meeting with Masters. The phone rings, Cramer hears about the latest victim, the body in the police morgue. Miss Morris is taken to identify the body, but it isn't Gillie.
Back at the library Elizabeth returns with news that Gillie still missing but the latest body isn't hers. Mr Stubbs the old boy regularly in the library is shocked by developments , " can't understand it, Gillie is such a nice girl, sensible girl."
Elizabeth Morris, " I don't thinks he's that fussy Mr Stubbs."
Stubbs, " I disagree, the others were flighty, easy, but not Gillie, I really don't understand it."
Elizabeth goes to her desk and sees library books that have been just brought back.
She opens the top one, to stamp it as a returned book, and notices who took it out, Gerry Masters. She screams at George who is doing some filing over at the history section.
Elizabeth, " George! George, where is he? The man who brought this book back, where?!"
George, " I didn't see anyone I've been busy, does it matter?"
Elizabeth " the man who brought this back murdered Betty and probably Gillie."
Cramer gets a phone call from Elizabeth about what's happened, he instructs Truscott to radio all cars, telling them Masters is in the area.
 
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michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
At the end of the day Mr Stubbs gallantly offers to walk Miss Morris home in light of the situation. Elizabeth declines saying bitterly, " he goes for the younger type, it was pointed out to me clearly. "
Stubbs leaves, George says " I could walk with you Miss Morris, I'd feel safe with you!"
Elizabeth doesn't rise to the jibe, but says " the spare key George I'll take it back."
George realises his error, having the key is very important to him, " I'm sorry Miss Morris I should not have said that. "
Elizabeth, " the key please George."
George slams the key down on the desk," you like humiliating me , gives you power, well you're on your way to becoming a dried up old spinster."
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Elizabeth, " becoming? I am one George. I think you better start looking for another job."
George is close to tears, he picks up the spare key and throws it across the library down an aisle about 20 feet away. Angered he then starts removing books from a nearby shelf and hurls them across library.
Elizabeth, " in fact George you better not come back here again."
Miss Morris starts picking up the books, George gives her a V sign then walks towards door, but notices her handbag open on desk, he sees main library keys on top of bag, he takes them. George leaves library and locks door, locking Miss Morris inside, he leaves with keys still inside door lock.
Meanwhile a big surprise at police station, Cramer looks up as someone enters his office, it's Gillie.
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michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
In the library Elizabeth has picked up the books, turns the lights off and goes to door, and finds it locked of course. She opens her handbag, and finds no keys, and realises what's happened.
" GEORGE! GEORGE ! LET ME OUT"
But George is long gone, Elizabeth remembers, the spare key, she starts looking remembering where George threw it.
She heads down a darkened aisle, then hears a creaking noise, she looks up, the storeroom door is opening......out steps Gerry Masters.
Back at the police station Cramer can barely believe what Gillie is telling him.
Gillie, " Gerry got to the bridge and saw Betty's body, it must have been minutes after because he is certain he saw someone running off."
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Cramer, " why didn't he say anything?
Gillie" because he's a married man, he didn't want it all coming out."
Cramer, "then you agreed to disappear?"
Gillie" I agreed to drop out of sight, that was Gerry's idea, I've been staying with him. The idea was to draw George into the open."
Cramer, " George?"
Gillie, " yeah he works at the library, sort of odd, weird , well he was in the library when Betty said she was meeting Gerry at the bridge over the canal and the time too. Don't you see, someone was waiting for her, oh there is someone else, Steve somebody, he lodges at Miss Morris, he was in there too at the time."
Cramer, " well Gerry Masters must be very persuasive and very stupid. Where is he now?"
Gillie" in the library, he said he was going to hide until it closed then take a look in George's desk for any clues."
Back in the library Elizabeth backs away in terror as Masters approaches her.
Masters, " please Miss Morris, I'm not going to hurt you, I know what happened to Gillie, please let me explain."
Elizabeth is throwing books at him, Gerry Masters bats them away, " please..I just want to look in George's desk."
Elizabeth is breathing heavy, desperately throwing book after book, " you won't kill me....NOT ME."
Elizabeth runs up a spiral staircase leading up to a gallery where more bookcases are located.
Masters, " for crying out loud Miss Morris let me explain. "
Elizabeth " NOT ME..( crying) NOT GETTING ME."
She heaves at a small bookcase, the whole thing topples over the gallery and Gerry looks up in horror, "NO!! AAAARRRGGGGHH."
Masters killed instantly as the bookcase crushes him.
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michaellevenson

Member: Rank 8
Back at Elizabeth Morris's home her mother is worried, it's late and she wonders where her daughter is. Lodger Steve offers to go to the library to see if she's okay.
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Outside the library is Mr Stubbs, he sees the keys in the door and opens door and enters quietly. He goes over to desk and picks up glasses case. He then stops in amazement, he sees books on floor everywhere, Gerry Masters dead underneath bookcase and Miss Morris sitting on floor in a state of shock .
Stubbs, " Miss Morris what's happened here?!"
Elizabeth is crying and shaking, " tried to kill me, because I'm a woman, I had to..I.had to. I didn't want to kill him."
Stubbs "have you called the police?"
Elizabeth, " no not yet."
Stubbs " let me do it."
Stubbs puts a book he was carrying on the desk, helps Miss Morris to a chair at the desk, then picks up the phone receiver.
Elizabeth, " why did you come back?"
Stubbs, " my glasses, I left them here today, ( phone) hello, this is Mr Stubbs I'm at Pembury library there's been an incident..a man is dead...hmm"
Elizabeth picks up Stubbs's book and flicks through it, it's in a brown plain cover, she reads and is disgusted.
Elizabeth, " this is FILTH..FILTH."
Stubbs( phone), " that's right officer please send someone....."
Stubbs notices Elizabeth looking over at him , and seeing he has his finger depressed on the receiver button, pretending to make call.

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Stubbs," oh...Miss Morris, I'm sorry."
Elizabeth, " IT'S YOU! YOU."
Stubbs, " in the navy , all those years, never married, but I like looking at pretty girls...sorry..my only pleasure."
Stubbs moves towards her, she runs up spiral staircase , Stubbs climbs stairs after her mumbling almost to himself, " have to do this...necessary."

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Stubbs's hands wrap around Elizabeth's neck, " it's NECESSARY."
Suddenly hands grab him, Cramer and Truscott drag him off her.
Steve, the lodger runs in, uniformed officers march Stubbs out , Steve calls out,
" Liz?...Liz..?"
From the dark shadows Elizabeth Morris appears, Cramer and Truscott on either side of her, she has a weird look on her face, almost smiling.
Steve " are you okay?"
Miss Morris, " he came back for me, wanted me....because I'm a woman, a very desirable woman."
She is gently led out, in need of counselling for sure.

Cast;
Elizabeth Morris....Maureen Lipman
George....Richard O'Callaghan
Cramer....James Grout
Stubbs....John Le Mesurier
Masters....Richard Pendrey
Gillie......Jan Francis
Betty....Jenny Quayle
Steve....John Nightingale
Mrs Morris...Rose Hill
Sgt Truscott......Colin Fisher

On to next episode
 
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