Late one night, a man is murdered in his bathtub at the House of Industry by having his throat slit. Detective Murdoch and Dr Ogden are due to leave for a Psychiatry Conference when they receive a telephone call summoning them to the morgue. Dr Ogden's initial observations of the man's good teeth and soft, manicured hands suggest he is well-to-do, hardly the usual client of the House of Industry, which normally caters for the destitute.
The man has some numbers and letters inscribed on his hand: 01-03 42 19 FP. Dr Ogden helpfully suggests it might be a clue. Inspector Brackenreid visits the House of Industry, and is told the dead man was Jefferson Brick, and he had lodged at the House of Industry for two weeks. Both Detective Murdoch and Constable Crabtree find the man's name vaguely familiar, and then they recall it is the name of a character from a Dickens novel, and therefore most likely an alias.
Constable Higgins has been reading about banana splits in the newspaper and tells Constable Crabtree all about them. Together they plan a motor car ride to the beach to try one. Rebecca James arrives just in time to join them. As they are pootling along, there is a loud bang, and they see a boy lying in the road. His mother runs up to the car in hysterics at what has happened, The Constables reach into their pockets to pay the mother off.
Edmund Sheppard from Saturday Night magazine arrives at Police Station 4 to report a missing person, one of his reporters,Cal Graveman, who had been undercover at the House of Industry researching conditions there for a story.
Murdoch decides to go undercover himself to find out what became of Mr Graham. He turns up at the House of Industry and gives his particulars as Henry Weldon, an out of work lumberjack. What he hadn't bargained on was the need to be de-loused before being admitted. Soon, Murdoch is asking just a few questions too many and drawing attention to himself in other ways. He finds work at a sawmill.
Constables Crabtree and Higgins are walking the beat when they see the same boy they hit in their car being picked up by his mother after another collision, and realise they have been scammed. They decide to catch them in the act.
Murdoch's work at the sawmill leads him into interesting situations, including doing odd jobs for Candace Riley, wife of the mill owner.John Dempsey, a client of the House of Industry, is forced to confide in Murdoch that he saw Constable Frank Peakes of Police Station 5 burying the body of another officer at the sawmill, but when they arrive at the shallow grave, there is no body.
So, is this story about a shallow grave just a ruse by Dempsey to get the Detective away from the other men so that he can dispatch him with the shovel? Would Mrs Riley really go that far to cover up her infidelities? Will the two Constables manage to bring their enterprising accident scammer to book? How does Dr Ogden feel about William deserting her to investigate this murder? Some of the hares set running in this episode may run and run, while others may be quickly caught. One never knows with Murdoch, which is how his stories remain consistently fresh.
The man has some numbers and letters inscribed on his hand: 01-03 42 19 FP. Dr Ogden helpfully suggests it might be a clue. Inspector Brackenreid visits the House of Industry, and is told the dead man was Jefferson Brick, and he had lodged at the House of Industry for two weeks. Both Detective Murdoch and Constable Crabtree find the man's name vaguely familiar, and then they recall it is the name of a character from a Dickens novel, and therefore most likely an alias.
Constable Higgins has been reading about banana splits in the newspaper and tells Constable Crabtree all about them. Together they plan a motor car ride to the beach to try one. Rebecca James arrives just in time to join them. As they are pootling along, there is a loud bang, and they see a boy lying in the road. His mother runs up to the car in hysterics at what has happened, The Constables reach into their pockets to pay the mother off.
Edmund Sheppard from Saturday Night magazine arrives at Police Station 4 to report a missing person, one of his reporters,Cal Graveman, who had been undercover at the House of Industry researching conditions there for a story.
Murdoch decides to go undercover himself to find out what became of Mr Graham. He turns up at the House of Industry and gives his particulars as Henry Weldon, an out of work lumberjack. What he hadn't bargained on was the need to be de-loused before being admitted. Soon, Murdoch is asking just a few questions too many and drawing attention to himself in other ways. He finds work at a sawmill.
Constables Crabtree and Higgins are walking the beat when they see the same boy they hit in their car being picked up by his mother after another collision, and realise they have been scammed. They decide to catch them in the act.
Murdoch's work at the sawmill leads him into interesting situations, including doing odd jobs for Candace Riley, wife of the mill owner.John Dempsey, a client of the House of Industry, is forced to confide in Murdoch that he saw Constable Frank Peakes of Police Station 5 burying the body of another officer at the sawmill, but when they arrive at the shallow grave, there is no body.
So, is this story about a shallow grave just a ruse by Dempsey to get the Detective away from the other men so that he can dispatch him with the shovel? Would Mrs Riley really go that far to cover up her infidelities? Will the two Constables manage to bring their enterprising accident scammer to book? How does Dr Ogden feel about William deserting her to investigate this murder? Some of the hares set running in this episode may run and run, while others may be quickly caught. One never knows with Murdoch, which is how his stories remain consistently fresh.
