The Whisperer in Darkness Episode 7

## Synopsis

Whatever plot Henry Akeley believed he was trying to stop, reaches its conclusion.

## Plot

Matthew Heawood opens the episode, stating that by this point in the investigation there were only 18 hours left before the event Henry Akeley was trying to stop began, and they still had no idea where he was.

Kennedy Fisher returns to Walter Brown's house to find the police there. To avoid suspicion, she asks Albert Wilmarth to ask the officers what has happened. They meet at the church and he tells Kennedy that Walter had shot himself, and left everything to Thomas Marston's daughter, April Marston. Albert wonders whether, since Walter had no children, Walter felt like April was his next of kin, but Kennedy believes Walter is drawing attention to April for reasons she cannot ascertain.

Matt receives a call from his military contact. He tells Matt that Barbara Sayers' body has been found near Qayyarah in Iraq. Pathologists report that she died of blunt-force trauma to the head, and the evidence suggests she's been murdered. He also tells Matt that dash-cam footage shows her getting into a car with a woman he's identified as Kennedy on the night she died. The contact believes that Kennedy is responsible for Barbara's death and advises Matt to cut all ties with her in case the Iraqi police are able to identify her.

Kennedy begins trailing April through her hometown of Saxmundham. She and Slide dig through her online presence but, apart from April's homosexuality, they find her to be completely ordinary. An uncertain Kennedy follows April back to her house, and hesitates before knocking on April's front door. At which point she hears the sound of a train pulling into a station, and a church bell ringing, and realises this is where Henry was being held when he called through the doorbell. She tries to sneak round the back of the house but bumps into April's wife, Isabelle Marston. She lies that she's lost, and is looking for April. So, Isabelle directs her back to the front door. While she goes back, Kennedy calls Matt, tells him to mute his audio, then puts her phone in her pocket so he can listen in on their conversation. Kennedy lies to Isabelle that she's a colleague from the school where April works, and Isabelle offers her mint tea which she accepts. Isabelle notices Kennedy's recorder is on and Kennedy, feigning gratitude because now she won't drain the battery, switches it off. Isabelle brings the tea out on a tray, which is identical to the one Barbara served her tea on during *The Case of Charles Dexter Ward*. Isabelle explains that it's a Marston family heirloom, and Kennedy sips her tea and waits for April to come downstairs. April enters and before Kennedy has even introduced herself, she comments on how long its taken Kennedy to find them.

Upon hearing this, Matt, in a panic, calls the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and asks to speak to The Department of Works, hoping to contact the Mystery Woman. The operator tells him there is no department called that. Matt then asks if the calls are recorded, and when the operator confirms this he shouts the words Pleasant Green and Babalon, identifies himself, and asks anyone from the Department of Works to contact him immediately before hanging up the phone.

Kennedy asks April and Isabelle where Henry is, but instead of telling her they launch into a long speech justifying their actions. They explain that world is suffering from various ills, that Babalon will use her divine power to fix everything, and that April's family have been in touch with the goddess for a long time. When Kennedy asks where Mary Marston's murders fit in, April counters that the Fishers also have a dark past, to Kennedy's surprise. Isabelle recommends she ask Matt about it, and reveals Matt's secret investigation into Kennedy to her. Despite her confusion and frustration, Kennedy reiterates that she just wants to find Henry as she starts slurring her words and sounding drowsy before falling unconscious, the result of Isabelle drugging the tea she drank. They move to drag her into their car as the audio cuts out.

Matt eventually persuades local police to visit April's house but they find it empty. So, Matt tracks Kennedy's phone to Rendlesham Forest before the signal cuts out, and arranges to meet with Dean Perry and Albert at the Church of the Holy Cross so they can look for Kennedy together. Matt begins driving up the A12 as fast as he can, but is forced to stop 40 minutes away because he realises his car is running low on petrol. When he does he spots Parker waiting for him. She introduces herself, gets into the car, comments wryly that events are reaching an end point, and that something bad is probably going to happen.

At an unknown location, having tied Kennedy to a chair in a dark room, April and Isabelle turns on Kennedy's recorder. They reassure her that she's not been hurt and despite Kennedy's pleas for them to see sense, leave her to wait for someone. Eventually, Henry Akeley steps into the room and introduces himself to Kennedy.

## Cast, Characters, Crew

* Jana Carpenter as Kennedy Fisher
* Barnaby Kay as Matthew Heawood
* Mark Bazeley as Albert Wilmarth
* Rebekah Staton as April Marston
* Phoebe Fox as Parker
* David Calder as Henry Akeley
* Ferdinand Kingsley as 'Slide' and Policeman
* Steven Mackintosh as 'Jasper'
* Nicola Stephenson as Isabelle
* Gabrielle Glaister as FCO Operator

* Writer & Director: Julian Simpson
* Production Coordinators: Sarah Tombling and Holly Slater
* Sound Recordist and Designer: David Thomas
* Composer: Tim Elsenburg
* Producer: Karen Rose