The Long Call

Maurice Braddick, an elderly widower, waits for the return of his 30-year-old daughter Lucy, who has Down syndrome. She is later than usual. When Lucy does arrive, she tells her father that she is late because the man who usually sits beside her on the bus and gives her candy didn’t arrive today, so she waited for him. Concerned for Lucy’s safety, Maurice questions her about this man, asking whether he has threatened her, but Lucy insists that he was just a friendly acquaintance.

Matthew and Jen question Hilary and Colin Marston, who live in the toll keeper’s cottage. Colin, a birdwatcher, describes everything he saw when he was on the beach that morning: a man and woman driving separate cars who met on the beach and kissed, and a man in the distance whom he didn’t see clearly. After the questioning, Matthew and Jen return to Ross, who has found the dead man’s shopping list and a piece of junk mail. Matthew sends Ross and Jen to investigate whoever lives at the address listed on the envelope. Matthew returns home to dine with his husband, Jonathan Church. He tells Jonathan about the murder, and then leaves to continue work on the case.

Arriving at the address listed on the victim’s junk mail, Jen and Ross interview Gaby Henry, who reveals that she is a renter at this address. The building is owned by Caroline Preece, and there is another renter in the house—a man named Simon Walden. Gaby identifies him as the murder victim. Gaby is the artist-in-residence at the local Woodyard Centre, an art-focused community center. She met Caroline because Caroline’s father, Christopher, is the chair of the trustees at Woodyard. Because Simon had depression, Caroline met him through her work at a mental health charity. She took him on as a renter and got him a volunteer position at Woodyard.

Jen and Ross plan to return the next day to question Caroline. For now, they return to the police station and share their new information with Matthew and Joe Oldham, the Detective Chief Inspector. The narrative reveals that Simon was already known to the police; he was in prison for three months after an incident in which he killed a child while driving drunk.

Shaken by the encounter with the police but pleased with herself for concealing her nervousness, Gaby waits for Caroline to return home. When Caroline comes back, Gaby tells her about Simon’s death. Gaby carefully regulates her tone so as not to appear too upset.

Matthew returns home and tells Jonathan that he may have to recuse himself from the case. Jonathan founded Woodyard, and Simon’s involvement at Woodyard might imperil Matthew’s impartiality. Jonathan encourages Matthew to fight to stay on the case. When Matthew wakes the next morning, he reflects on how nurturing his marriage to Jonathan is. He also remembers a woman from his childhood—Mary Brownscombe—with whom his father might have been in love.

In the morning, Matthew meets with Jen, who tells him that Simon’s estranged wife has been notified of the death. Matthew and Jen question Caroline and Gaby, both of whom insist that they last saw Simon when he left the house on the day of his murder. Gaby seems unbothered by Simon’s death, but Caroline, who was Simon’s project worker through the charity that her father set up after her mother’s death by suicide, is more distressed. Jen stays in the house to continue questioning Caroline while Matthew heads to Woodyard and Gaby goes to work.

Lucy recognizes Simon after seeing a picture of him on the news; she tells her father, Maurice, that Simon was the man who gave her candy on the bus. Maurice takes Lucy to Woodyard and passes this information on to Jonathan. Maurice trusts Jonathan because Jonathan has worked to help Lucy find purpose by getting involved at Woodyard. Jonathan calls in Matthew, who questions Maurice and Lucy. Lucy tells Matthew the exact bus stops where Simon would get on and off and says that he always brought candies in the same paper bag. Matthew deduces that this bag must have come from an old-fashioned sweets shop rather than a supermarket.

Jen continues to question Caroline about how she got involved in social work and why she took the risk of inviting Simon to live with her, even though he was one of her clients. Caroline reveals that Simon had depression and an alcohol use disorder. Caroline is also fully aware of Simon’s car accident, but she tells Jen that Gaby and her father didn’t know about it. Caroline agrees to give the detectives her fingerprints.