The annual Police Games are just around the corner, so Inspector Brackenreid and Detective Murdoch are trying to motivate the Station 4 officers so that they win this time, having been defeated last year by their rivals at Station 5. Murdoch's strategy lecture is cut short when the telephone rings: it is Police Station 5, there has been a murder in Chinatown and they are asking for Murdoch to take the case. The dead man is Constable Cooper of Police Station 5, and as Inspector Davis from that station explains, their own Detective, Hamish Slorach, is off work sick. Davis assigns Constables Randall Townsend and Pete Holder from his staff to Murdoch, and the investigation begins. Chief Constable Stockton lets it be known that he wants a quick arrest.
Though it is their beat, Constables Townsend and Holder are uncomfortable in Chinatown and do not like much about the Chinese or their way of life. Dr Ogden's preliminary finding at the scene in Chinatown is that Constable Cooper died from loss of blood from a thigh injury. Murdoch notes that Cooper's watch is missing, while Crabtree finds some bloodstained shards of glass not far from the body. Crabtree finds that Constable Cooper had been due to meet Edward Chen, a Chinese businessman, so Murdoch goes to speak to him. Chen has two bodyguards with him, but also a black eye, which he claims was Cooper's handiwork. Chen says it was over a girl called Mai-Li, whose grandfather, Feng Choy, runs a local herbalist shop. Murdoch visits the shop, but all Feng Choy will say, via his niece, Ling, who acts as his interpreter, is Mai-Li us not there.
Murdoch learns from Dr Ogden that Cooper's leg wound contained fragments of broken glass as well as some unidentified dark threads, he also has strange bruising above the wound, and had swallowed opium. A search of Feng Choy's shop turned up Cooper's watch. Murdoch receives word that the killer has been caught. Arriving in Chinatown, Murdoch finds the officers of Police Station 5 have arrested Feng Choy, so he reminds them that CC Stockton has given him the case, so he will handle any arrests.
Back at Police Station 4, Murdoch questions Feng Choy, but gets no answer. Ling says Cooper was buying opium from them to treat back pain. When Murdoch asks Ling about Mai-Li, Feng Choy angrily claims she is innocent, but won't discuss her further. Crabtree discovers that Edward Chen runs a gambling den at Feng Choy's premises. Murdoch and several Constables raid the den, where Chen claims to have been giving Cooper a 20% cut to look the other way, and that Cooper hit him because he didn't pay, which Chen explains was because Feng Choy didn't pay him, and when asked said it was because of Mai-Li. Murdoch discovers that Cooper's hand was in many pockets on his beat.
Murdoch tests the glass from Feng Choy's bottles, and finds a match with the glass fragments collected by Crabtree, but it is different from the glass in Cooper's wound, which seems to be window glass. Dr Ogden then reports that the blood on the glass from the scene was not human. Murdoch concludes that the crime scene in Chinatown was staged, and Cooper's body had been moved from where he was actually killed, so he reviews the physical evidence he has, looking with fresh eyes, and finds some white powder on Cooper's uniform that had been overlooked. It is plaster dust, which leads Murdoch to a nearby plaster factory, and then to the true crime scene, where Murdoch discovers plenty of material to match what he already has.
So will knowledge of the true crime scene point Murdoch to the killer? As Constable Cooper wasn't killed in Chinatown, does that exonerate Feng Choy? Will Murdoch ever find Mai-Li and learn how she is involved? How will the tensions between Stations 4 and 5 affect the forthcoming Police Games?
This episode has a real mystery at its heart, and Murdoch feels the weight of peer pressure from his Station 5 colleagues, as well as the urgency from CC Stockton. Murdoch takes cultural differences in his stride, and connects with the Chinese in a much more benign way than anyone from Station 5. There are some big issues in this episode, and they are carefully dealt with.
Though it is their beat, Constables Townsend and Holder are uncomfortable in Chinatown and do not like much about the Chinese or their way of life. Dr Ogden's preliminary finding at the scene in Chinatown is that Constable Cooper died from loss of blood from a thigh injury. Murdoch notes that Cooper's watch is missing, while Crabtree finds some bloodstained shards of glass not far from the body. Crabtree finds that Constable Cooper had been due to meet Edward Chen, a Chinese businessman, so Murdoch goes to speak to him. Chen has two bodyguards with him, but also a black eye, which he claims was Cooper's handiwork. Chen says it was over a girl called Mai-Li, whose grandfather, Feng Choy, runs a local herbalist shop. Murdoch visits the shop, but all Feng Choy will say, via his niece, Ling, who acts as his interpreter, is Mai-Li us not there.
Murdoch learns from Dr Ogden that Cooper's leg wound contained fragments of broken glass as well as some unidentified dark threads, he also has strange bruising above the wound, and had swallowed opium. A search of Feng Choy's shop turned up Cooper's watch. Murdoch receives word that the killer has been caught. Arriving in Chinatown, Murdoch finds the officers of Police Station 5 have arrested Feng Choy, so he reminds them that CC Stockton has given him the case, so he will handle any arrests.
Back at Police Station 4, Murdoch questions Feng Choy, but gets no answer. Ling says Cooper was buying opium from them to treat back pain. When Murdoch asks Ling about Mai-Li, Feng Choy angrily claims she is innocent, but won't discuss her further. Crabtree discovers that Edward Chen runs a gambling den at Feng Choy's premises. Murdoch and several Constables raid the den, where Chen claims to have been giving Cooper a 20% cut to look the other way, and that Cooper hit him because he didn't pay, which Chen explains was because Feng Choy didn't pay him, and when asked said it was because of Mai-Li. Murdoch discovers that Cooper's hand was in many pockets on his beat.
Murdoch tests the glass from Feng Choy's bottles, and finds a match with the glass fragments collected by Crabtree, but it is different from the glass in Cooper's wound, which seems to be window glass. Dr Ogden then reports that the blood on the glass from the scene was not human. Murdoch concludes that the crime scene in Chinatown was staged, and Cooper's body had been moved from where he was actually killed, so he reviews the physical evidence he has, looking with fresh eyes, and finds some white powder on Cooper's uniform that had been overlooked. It is plaster dust, which leads Murdoch to a nearby plaster factory, and then to the true crime scene, where Murdoch discovers plenty of material to match what he already has.
So will knowledge of the true crime scene point Murdoch to the killer? As Constable Cooper wasn't killed in Chinatown, does that exonerate Feng Choy? Will Murdoch ever find Mai-Li and learn how she is involved? How will the tensions between Stations 4 and 5 affect the forthcoming Police Games?
This episode has a real mystery at its heart, and Murdoch feels the weight of peer pressure from his Station 5 colleagues, as well as the urgency from CC Stockton. Murdoch takes cultural differences in his stride, and connects with the Chinese in a much more benign way than anyone from Station 5. There are some big issues in this episode, and they are carefully dealt with.
