ANIKA BOUNCER CLEANER COOK CORMACK FERGUS FRANKIE GUARD_2 JADE KEITH LIAM MORGANA RITCHIE STEVEN ZACH ZARA CORMACK Fuck mate, you coulda just asked. BOUNCER The toilets are for pissing in champ, not the bar. CORMACK It was a pot plant. It helps them grow. CORMACK Just let me finish my beer. BOUNCER Nah, you're done. CORMACK Yeah, I should go. I still gotta fuck your wife tonight. BOUNCER I'm not married. CORMACK Your sister then. BOUNCER She'd eat you alive bro. BOUNCER Just go home. Sleep it off. CORMACK How about your Mum? I bet she's up for it. JADE Jimmy? Are you awake. CORMACK I am now. JADE Sorry, I need a favour. Can you look after Frankie for me please? I have a trial shift. CORMACK Ah. Yeah. Sure. JADE Thank you. I'll be back by 11, I promise. CORMACK What, right now? Shit, can I change my answer? CORMACK Fine. JADE Frankie, behave for your uncle. Thank you. CORMACK Jesus, watch the ribs. FRANKIE What are we going to do today? FRANKIE I'm hungry. FRANKIE I'm allergic to peanuts. CORMACK How allergic? CORMACK You want some chips? FRANKIE Yes please! CORMACK Thanks. FRANKIE Do you have a girlfriend? CORMACK Nope. FRANKIE Do girls not like you? CORMACK No. They don't seem to. FRANKIE Why not? CORMACK It's hard to tell. FRANKIE Well, don't be sad. I like you. RITCHIE Strong look. What'd you do to deserve that? CORMACK Why are your fingerprints on the murder weapon? RITCHIE What? There must be a mistake. CORMACK Not with the science. But there's something wrong with your story. RITCHIE I must've touched it when I tried to revive Liam. I told you, I don't remember everything clearly. CORMACK The trauma angle won't wash with a jury. RITCHIE It's not an angle. CORMACK That's how it'll look. You need to remember. There are things we can do - cognitive therapy techniques. I've seen them work. RITCHIE No! No therapy! I don't want to remember. CORMACK Calm down mate. They'll take you away. RITCHIE You found Mum. Do you enjoy playing that slideshow over in your head? CORMACK I'm not on trial for murder. RITCHIE Please don't make me go back there Jimmy. CORMACK I'm sorry mate, but we don't have a choice. I'll find someone I trust. Until then, I'll get you a phone and you can start trying to unlock the vault with me. ZARA Ritchie said you suggested he try EMDR therapy? ZARA (CONT'D) That's pretty risky, it could expose him to significant trauma. CORMACK But it might produce a lead. Not even O.J's lawyer could spin prints on the murder weapon. ZARA Ritchie's blank spots aren't uncommon for trauma victims. And that night wasn't the first time it happened to him. ZARA Psych reports from his time in Harborne House cite instances of dissociative states. It's entirely plausible he could've forgotten moving the weapon when he tried to revive Liam. And this-- Supports that. CORMACK Or it supports the theory he killed Liam and buried the memory. ZARA Let's focus on our arguments, not theirs. The discovery evidence may have thrown up something positive. I think Liam called someone an hour before he was killed. ZARA The phone records show no calls were made from Liam's or Ritchie's motel rooms. But there was one made from Reception, which was closed. CORMACK You think he used the Reception phone to avoid paying for the call? ZARA That's what I would've done when I was 20. CORMACK Cheapskate. ZARA I've put in a subpoena to find out who he called. If they were local, then they had time to get to the motel and kill Liam while Ritchie was at the beach. CORMACK What about the forensic report. Was there any DNA in the room besides Liam's and Ritchie's? ZARA Quite a bit, actually. But not sure it helps us, it was a motel room. CORMACK You wouldn't want to put a black light on this room. ZARA Gross. CORMACK Anika Strauss. That could help us. ZARA I doubt it. She was his girlfriend and a cleaner at the motel. It'd be stranger if her DNA wasn't there. CORMACK Maybe. I'll go have a little chinwag with her all the same. ANIKA There's a VIP group in at 7, make sure you keep their wine flowing. CORMACK Anika? I'm James Cormack. ANIKA Hi. Yeah, Morgana said you'd be stopping by. CORMACK Do you mind if I ask you a few questions about Liam? ANIKA Yeah, of course. ANIKA Can I get you a drink? CORMACK Better not. I'm on the job. ANIKA Do you mind if I have one? CORMACK Knock yourself out. These things are no fun. CORMACK How long were you and Liam together? ANIKA 4 years. On and off. CORMACK Impressive. 6 months is the longest I've managed to fool a girl for. CORMACK You're still close with the Knox's, managing their resort and all? ANIKA They're family. My mum was sick with cancer when Liam died. Morgs helped me through losing Liam, and then losing Mum. CORMACK I'm sorry to put you through all this again, but the defence may call you to testify. ANIKA It's fine. What do you want to know? CORMACK Why were strands of your hair found at the crime scene? ANIKA I was a cleaner there. CORMACK You cleaned the rooms Liam and Vogel were living in permanently? ANIKA Sorry. No. I didn't clean those. But I hung out there a fair bit. CORMACK In Vogel's room? ANIKA Yeah. It was less like his room, more like the boys' share house. CORMACK What did you think about Vogel? ANIKA I liked him. He was kind. CORMACK He's pleading not guilty. Do you think it's possible he's telling the truth? ANIKA Anything's possible. CORMACK But you knew him, do you think he's capable of it? ANIKA Back then I didn't, he was such a sweet guy. But I was 19. And I've met plenty of sweet guys since who were capable of horrible things. CORMACK You were with Liam and Vogel at the pub, a few hours before Liam was killed. How were they together? ANIKA Fine. Liam was upset that night, but with Fergus, not Ritchie. CORMACK Do you know why? ANIKA Fergus was angry cos he saw Liam at the bar, talking to Keith Finch. CORMACK Keith Finch? He's not mentioned in any of the police statements. ANIKA He was a journalist. And an asshole. CORMACK Do you know why Fergus was so upset Liam was talking to him? ANIKA Keith and Morgana had history. I don't know the details and I don't like gossip. The only thing I know for sure, is the whole Knox family hated him. MORGANA Morning. LIAM Hey Ma. LIAM So what's the plan? STEVEN We got no bookings the next few days. So I want you boys to do a full service of the boat and all the gear. LIAM No worries. STEVEN And I want you to film it, so I can check the results. LIAM Seriously? LIAM Alright. Fergus is probably going to film his dick though. MORGANA Fuck! STEVEN What's wrong luv? LIAM Nice blouse. FERGUS What's going on Mum? Why couldn't we talk on the phone? MORGANA Give us a minute, luv. MORGANA We need to be extra careful. Keith Finch has his nose up our ass. FERGUS Are we mentioned? MORGANA Not directly. But he knows the Coast Guard is on the take. FERGUS How? MORGANA No idea. But we need to down tools for while. FERGUS There's a drop out on Bishops Island waiting to be picked up. MORGANA That drop can wait, it's not going anywhere. I need to speak to the uncles, see what they want to do. FERGUS I don't want to be Keith's bitch. Where's Dad? MORGANA He's resting. But he agrees - we need to lay low for a while. RITCHIE What size sinker? LIAM 80 grams. LIAM Done-ski. RITCHIE Thanks mate. LIAM Why haven't you unpacked? There's a perfectly good cupboard there. RITCHIE Never know when you need to make a quick getaway. LIAM If you're going to rob a bank let me know, I'll be your wheel-man. LIAM Wait, that lure's wrong. I'll grab a squid from my kit. ANIKA Hey. RITCHIE Hi. ANIKA Whatcha up to? RITCHIE Just hanging out. I'm Ritchie. ANIKA Anika. LIAM Hey. You got my message? ANIKA I got the one you left two months ago, when you pissed off without saying goodbye. LIAM I'm sorry, it just kind of happened. Did you miss me? ANIKA Not really. Your brother kept me company. LIAM Whatever. ANIKA Of course I missed you, you idiot. I just don't know why you didn't tell me you were leaving. LIAM I tried to, that last night when I came over. But your mum was in a bad way, so it didn't feel right. I really am sorry. LIAM See you tomorrow. RITCHIE Morning. ANIKA Hey. RITCHIE Fuck. ANIKA I'll give you a hand. RITCHIE There's spew in the bin. How did they even sleep in here? ANIKA It was a bucks party, they wouldn't have slept. We get a couple a month. They're gross, but they usually leave behind some treats. RITCHIE Score. ANIKA Are you right? Blow-up Barbie won't bite. RITCHIE I'm sorry. ANIKA Don't apologise. If you're not into her, I'll let her down slowly. ANIKA Were you in the army or something? RITCHIE Foster care. The group home was run by some mad-scary nuns. ANIKA What happened to your parents? RITCHIE Mum died when I was 14. ANIKA Fuck. I'm so sorry. RITCHIE Thanks. You know, I wasn't scared of blow up Barbie before. It was just a bit of an acid flashback. ANIKA Bad trip? RITCHIE It was like a Marilyn Manson film clip. ANIKA I've got a friend who grows her own shrooms. They're super chill. If you ever want to go on a good trip? RITCHIE Yeah, sounds fun. LIAM You're burning them. FERGUS Charcoal's good for your guts. FERGUS So how was Sydney? LIAM Pretty cool. Expensive but. FERGUS You just need to find a Suga Mumma down there. LIAM Whore my way through school? FERGUS Yeah, whatever it takes. Seriously, you should go back, once Dad's up and about. You're too smart to keep fucking about on the boat. FERGUS Cleaner boy and the dirty minx. ANIKA Don't be a dick, or you won't get any of the loot. LIAM Bucks party? ANIKA Yep. They left you a little prezzy. LIAM Nice. ANIKA And they left you some cancer. FERGUS Nah, I'm immune to that. It only takes the good ones. FERGUS Whoa, jackpot! I'll take this too. ANIKA No way. I'll get 20 bucks for this. Men are so weird. 6 blokes watching porn together. Great party. FERGUS Don't knock it til you try it. You'd go alright in a wet t-shirt comp. LIAM Fergus, don't be a fuckwit. FERGUS It's a compliment. FERGUS But I reckon I'd smoke you. ANIKA You're such a tool. CORMACK Thanks mate. CORMACK Keith, I'm James Cormack. I-- KEITH I know who you are. CORMACK Mind having a yarn about Liam Knox? KEITH I do mind, yes. CORMACK What's with the Lego? KEITH It's good for cognitive function. CORMACK Shit, I could use some help there. Does it reverse damage? KEITH Sadly not. CORMACK I could use your help Keith. I know you had your finger on the pulse back then. KEITH I don't trust you. CORMACK I'm just gathering facts, trying to understand the story. Same thing you used to do. KEITH Except you have an agenda. You work for the prosecutor. CORMACK Actually, I work for Liam Knox. KEITH You won't like what I have to say. KEITH The Vogel kid didn't do it. CORMACK What makes you say that? KEITH The Knox's charter boat had a sideline in illegal imports. CORMACK Can you prove that? KEITH I know the Coast Guard was on the take. I was close to proving it, but the source I'd been working was killed. CORMACK Is that what you were talking to Liam about at the pub that night? KEITH He wouldn't talk there, but he was going to meet me the next day. CORMACK How do you know he wasn't just trying to find out what you knew for his family? KEITH Well, he ended up dead. So that's a clue. KEITH Have you seen Liam's autopsy? He had the shit beaten out of him before he was killed. KEITH This is an interview I did, two days after the murder. CORMACK And you just carry it around with you? That's a bit tragic. KEITH It's in the cloud, you idiot. How do you file your case material? CORMACK I find these pretty handy. Keith shakes his head - unbelievable. KEITH Whoever killed Liam was strong. KEITH Anika, how are you feeling? ANIKA Leave me alone. KEITH Have the police revealed who's responsible? FERGUS Back the fuck off Keith. KEITH Liam was a tough kid. Don't you think he'd have fought back? MORGANA Morgana speaking. CORMACK It's James Cormack. I'm at Fergus's house. He's back today, right? MORGANA No, he's still at his in-laws. Home tomorrow. CORMACK Ah, got my wires crossed. Sorry to bother you. MORGANA That's fine. I was going to call you actually. I was wondering if you'd meet me later today. I have something I'd like to show you. CORMACK Yes, of course. MORGANA Grand. I'll text you the details. CLEANER Mai? Fergus? You home? CORMACK shit, gotta go! MORGANA Thank you for coming. CORMACK Beautiful one day, perfect the next. MORGANA I was just having a nip for my boy. MORGANA We scattered his ashes here. CORMACK Sliànte Mhath (cheers). CORMACK Christ! Is this Jaeger? MORGANA One of the lesser known traumas of losing a child at 20 - his taste in booze was shite. CORMACK Nobody'd judge you if you pretend top shelf single malt was his favourite. MORGANA Liam loved it here when he was wee. We lived above a shop on Main Street then, so this was his backyard. I always thought I'd come here with him and his kids one day. MORGANA I looked you up. MORGANA Or, I tried to. You don't have much of a digital footprint. CORMACK I've got some pretty provocative Tinder accounts under fake names. MORGANA You did pop up in a bunch of court mentions though. Do you remember a girl named Erin Kealy? MORGANA I spoke to her mother about you. She runs a charity in Erin's name, so I DM-ed her. She said you were different to the other cops who handled Erin's case over the years. MORGANA She said you cared - for her family's grief - but also for Erin. Even though she was gone. CORMACK They're never fully gone though, are they? MORGANA No. I want you to promise me you'll fight for Liam, like you did Erin. That you'll make Richard Vogel pay for what he did to my boy. CORMACK I promise I'll make things right. LIAM Can you grab the bowline? RITCHIE Ahh? LIAM The rope at the front. RITCHIE Just say 'the front' then. FERGUS I'm commandeering this ship! ZACH Hey mate. You want a beer? FERGUS No, he's driving. I'm half cut. FERGUS Tell Ritchie to bounce. Just us today. LIAM No. FERGUS I'm serious, it's Zach's only day off. We need the boat. LIAM Then take it. Ritchie and I'll go out tomorrow. FERGUS I need you to drive. I can't risk losing my license. LIAM It's not my fucking fault you're wasted. Ritchie stays. ZACH It has to be today. FERGUS I know. I'm thinking. FERGUS Ritch, give us a hand champ. FERGUS I just realised we've never given you an official initiation. RITCHIE What do you mean? FERGUS The crew of a ship is like an army unit, you gotta be able to trust everyone in it. So the unit tests the mettle of new recruits. Today we test yours. RITCHIE What are you doing? RITCHIE No! Please don't. Please? LIAM Fergus, leave him alone. ZACH You'll be right mate. Show us what you're made of. LIAM What the fuck are you doing? FERGUS I told you to leave him behind. We've got to go out to Bishops. LIAM What? I heard Mum say-- FERGUS Mum's not here. LIAM You're an asshole. Let him out! FERGUS Don't ever forget that I'm the skipper. Take us to Bishops. LIAM You need to let some air in. ZACH Hardship breeds resilience. This'll be good for him. LIAM You're a psycho. It's no wonder they kicked you out of the army. ZACH Careful young pup. ZACH Oooh rah! LIAM What's in it? FERGUS Let's go. LIAM Let Ritchie out. FERGUS The quicker you get us back home, the quicker he gets out. ZACH Sound effort mate. You passed the test. ZACH Steady on Tyson. FERGUS Fuck! LIAM Ritch, it's OK. You're safe now. But Ritchie is somewhere else. He swings at Fergus again. Fergus ducks, and Zach swoops in and restrains Ritchie. Liam watches on, deeply distressed. LIAM I'm so sorry Ritch. OUT ON: Ritchie - thrashing against his restraint, eyes wild. GUARD 2 Vogel! GUARD 2 Present from the outside. He steps into the cell and hands Ritchie something. GUARD 2 Get caught with this, you forget where it came from. Understood? CORMACK Hello. RITCHIE It's me. CORMACK Hey. How you holding up? RITCHIE I'm fucking nervous. Not loving having this phone in my cell. CORMACK Does it have Snake? I told them to get you one with Snake. RITCHIE How's it going? Any progress? CORMACK Some. Did Liam ever talk to you about the charter business? RITCHIE Not really. Why? CORMACK Rumour is it wasn't entirely legit. RITCHIE Shit. Liam didn't talk much about work. Other than to bitch about crewing for his brother. CORMACK Do you know why they didn't get on? RITCHIE Older brothers are pricks? CORMACK Nice. How's the food in there? RITCHIE Fergus was hitting the gear pretty hard, which Liam hated. And he thought Fergus and Anika were a bit too friendly. CORMACK Did they ever sleep together? RITCHIE I don't know. But why all this focus on Fergus? He was out at sea all night. Zara said there's CCTV from the Coast Guard tower. CORMACK Only of him leaving and returning to port. We don't know where he went in between. RITCHIE Have you even looked for the guy from room 9 yet? CORMACK I'm trying. But so far nobody else remembers him being there. RITCHIE I'm not making him up! He was a bad man. CORMACK I believe you, but I need more details. That's why I want you to see a specialist. I've found-- MORGANA Hi James. CORMACK Nana duty? MORGANA Yep. We're off to get pizza. CORMACK This is the Aussie dream. Must be good money in the fishing game up here? MORGANA Only if you work your bollocks off. But Ferg's given that game away. He owns a quarter share of the resort. He helped us set it up. CORMACK Where is he? MORGANA Out back. CORMACK Thanks. MORGANA James. Be gentle with him. Losing Liam almost broke Ferg. He's not coping well, having to relive it all. CORMACK Why were you and Liam arguing at the pub that night? FERGUS I wanted him to come fishing and he wouldn't. He and Anika were having a tiff and he just wanted to go home and play video games. I wasn't very compassionate back then. CORMACK So it had nothing to do with Liam chatting to Keith Finch? FERGUS Keith found you did he? He's just a pest with a grudge. He and Mum dated, years ago. She chose dad over him, and he's had it in for us ever since. CORMACK So he just made up those stories he was writing? FERGUS No, not entirely. FERGUS But he really put some mustard on them. Mum and Dad didn't know any of this, but when I skippered the boat I had a bit of a side hustle going. I'd bring in stuff from the Vietnamese boats - cheap ciggies, fake DVDs - but nothing serious. CORMACK If the defence can raise the idea of organised crime it could harm our case against Vogel. FERGUS I wasn't Al Capone, it was just beer money. Keith was just looking for any way to hurt Mum and Dad. CORMACK Do you remember a sketchy bloke staying at the motel around that time? I think he was in room nine. People have suggested he was a bit of a creeper. FERGUS What people? CORMACK I interviewed some of the guests that gave police statements back in 99. Vogel's lawyers will too. FERGUS I wasn't at the motel much. But if that's Vogel's defence then they're grasping at straws. FERGUS Have you met him? Vogel. CORMACK I've watched his police interviews. FERGUS What's he like now? CORMACK He doesn't look like a killer, but they usually don't. FERGUS I feel sorry for him. Don't get me wrong, I want him to pay for what he did. But he was a messed up kid. FERGUS Excuse me a sec. FERGUS Hey mate. Medium pepperoni. OK, get a large then. I love you too. FERGUS My son's a crafty bugger. He knows I'll only eat half and he'll get the leftovers. CORMACK Smart kid. CORMACK I'll leave you to it. Just one last thing... How did this happen? FERGUS Out on the boat, that night. I slipped and hit my head on the gunwale. CORMACK Right. You walked into an oar? COOK Number 43. COOK Sorry for the wait darl. CORMACK No worries. Hey, what's this little inlet here? COOK That's Butcher Bird Creek. CORMACK Can you get a boat up there? COOK Yep. Good crabbing up there. CORMACK Thanks. CORMACK Fergus was an addict. Who may or may not have been doing the nasty with Liam's missus. ZARA That'd be a promising motive. But he's got a pretty solid alibi. CORMACK I'm not so sure about that. There's a creek that flows close to the motel. He could've used that to get in and out. When can I look at the CCTV from the Coast Guard tower? ZARA Whenever the DPP release it to us. Stuff is coming in dribs n drabs. It's infuriating. I do have this though... ZARA They traced the call made from the motel Reception on the night of the murder. Liam called Anika. ANIKA Hello? ANIKA Liam? Are you OK?