Buy Suspects

Inspector Martha Bellamy, Sergeant Jack Weston and DC Charlie Steele investigate when two-year old Hope Wilkins goes missing after an apparent break-in, which proves to be false. Hope's father Laurie, lives with his cowed young son Toby, having sole access of the children after their mother Rachel was deemed unfit following a breakdown. Nor does Laurie get on with Rachel's religious mother Fiona. Prints on the back window belong to Robbie Hyland, a youngster who ten years earlier had been sentenced for killing his three year old sister. Laurie had argued in the off licence where Robbie worked and soon after Toby, who was friends with Robbie, rang him to say something bad had happened to Hope. Laurie clearly abuses Toby physically and Fiona admits that she took Hope to spare her ill-treatment from her father and that she accidentally died in her care. But Martha and Jack believe she is covering for somebody else.
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The police are called to the Green Pit night club, whose owner Kirk Hawthorne has been assaulted though his sister Ziggy has sustained very severe head wounds, putting her in a coma, and had clearly been taking a large quantity of ecstasy substitute PMA. Then the body of Tom Yeoman, another PMA user, is found in an alley way. Ziggy's friend Hannah claims that Ziggy had ingested a huge amount of PMA but Kirk denies that she used drugs. Jack goes after security chief Dave Mastings since the CCTV footage is missing and he should have conducted searches given that the club had only recently reopened after closure for a drugs death. Dave admits to disposing of Tom's body on Kirk's orders whilst Hannah tells the police that Ziggy was in a very bad mood having discovered that Wakim, a boy she fancied, was actually Kirk's lover. Eventually the police discover who was making and selling the drugs but must still deduce whether the attacks were drug motivated or crimes of passion.
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Martha and her team investigate when a woman is raped by the West Willow canal. There have been two other recent assaults in the area and in each case the women were grabbed from behind by an attacker wearing a balaclava helmet and gloves. The immediate suspect is George Callaghan, a rapist recently released from prison, but the CCTV installed at his house after his release and his girlfriend Annette corroborate that he was at home at the time. The latest victim is Diane Ackerman, whose husband Howard is a chief superintendent at the station. The Ackermans have recently separated and the police were called to the house when Ackerman hit Diane, who has since changed all the locks. Diane was drinking in a bar just before she was attacked so her rapist could have spotted her there but Ackerman himself has no alibi, making the investigation particularly difficult for the team.
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Wealthy Terence Holland, terminally ill founder of Euthanasia Action UK, is keen to die and end his suffering. His doctor Melanie Standish calls the police when she finds him unconscious after she heard him argue with somebody. She presumed it was his estranged wife Henrietta, whom the police find asleep in the flat and who claims that she and Terence were actually discussion reconciliation. She denies giving Terence the sleeping pills and morphine found in his blood stream. The examination of a mug found in the kitchen shows that all finger prints have been wiped clean, suggesting attempted murder. Whilst Henrietta would seem to be the prime suspect Jack discovers that Terence's brother Matt and his wife would also stand to gain financially if Terence were out of the way.
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A young girl, Anna Fisher, is stabbed in a park at night but manages to flag down a taxi which takes her to hospital, where she unfortunately dies. Charlie and Jack interview the cab driver, Max Lowell, who had no motive and yet did not ring for the police. Anna's step-father Shaun Jones is out cold after taking heroin but tells the police that Anna ran out of the house after they argued about nude photos on her computer that she was sending to her boyfriend. It is discovered not only that Anna is pregnant but appears that she was, on a previous occasion, sexually assaulted. A look at her phone shows that she had last contacted her friend Carrie, who says that they often met up in the park to meet boys and were to do so that night, But Anna had also made several calls to taxi-driver Max, an apparent stranger and also the brother of Carrie's boyfriend Jason. Suddenly he seems not so innocent.
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Thirty-two year old barrister Jonathan Moxton is found nude and tied to his bed, his head crushed by a hammer. Schizophrenic Saul Hammond found the body in response to the victim's screams and rang the police. Still covered in blood he claims he heard somebody else in the house when he went to investigate. Jack is convinced of his guilt, as he had argued with Jonathan over the closure of the hostel where he lives, but with no evidence Martha releases him. The police discover a man named Mick Shaw was blackmailing Jonathan's wife Tanya over her past a prostitute and Jonathan himself for his gay affair with teen-aged Nate Turner. Nate is arrested but whilst he is in custody Michael Collins is murdered at a cruising ground in the same way as Jonathan.
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As forensics prove Michael and Jonathan were killed with the same hammer Charlie finds that Michael's drug addicted sister Carol had argued with him as he had accused her of stealing their elderly father's benefits money to feed her habit. However she denies murder. Daley Black is arrested for trying to sell Michael's phone and the police discover that he and Nate had a line in robbing closet gays and stealing their property to sell. Witnesses state that a woman was also involved. Could she be the murderer and if so is it Carol, Tanya or Saul's friend Sadie who may have been exploiting his mental state to make him believe himself to be the murderer.
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Scott Freeman, a widower with two teen-aged daughters, is found battered to death on a canal tow-path. Masquerading as a young girl on the Internet Scott had been setting out to trap paedophiles, hopefully catching the man who, nine years earlier, raped his younger daughter Rose at a dance contest in Brighton, organized by Edward and Tamsin Shaffer. Scott's computer leads the police to Dr Philip Cleaving, who admits to meeting Scott on the tow path but claims that he left him alive. He confesses to his part in Rose's rape but states that he acted alone. Jack is convinced that Edward Shaffer is involved and finds a blood-stained towel in his garbage, seemingly proof that he attacked Scott, but when Jack visits the house Edward has been killed.
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Following her husband's death Tamsin tells the police the dance school had many hate calls. A student named Justin Marecroft has persistently phoned but claims it was to cancel a party at the school. At the same Shaffer's computer shows evidence of a group of men abusing missing schoolboy Andre Gatting, who left home after arguing with his mother Tracey. Homeless Jeff Patterson is found with Andre's school-bag, which he says the boy asked him to look after whilst he delivered leaflets though Charlie discovers that Jeff lost his teaching job after accusations of molesting a pupil. A suspect is linked to Andre's abduction and arrested for killing Edward Shaffer to prevent him naming the members of the paedophile gang but one of them is still at large with Andre and must be found.
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Art teacher Abigail Lincoln is found dead at the sixth form college where she worked by handy-man Harry Webster, a man with a conviction for violence, who had recently been sacked for harassing Abigail for being a Lesbian. At the same time Charlie learns that Abigail was about to report the principal, Rory O'Hanlon, for having an affair with student Melissa Parker whilst Rory's stepson Dylan had been sending Abigail abusive texts. Melissa is caught on CCTV disposing of the murder weapon but there will be another death before the police solve the case.
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Sian Jenkins is pulled from the Thames, unconscious and suffering from burns. Two years earlier she had disappeared and now her father Neil, a former alcoholic, works for the homeless, a white van similar to his being seen at the spot where she was found. DNA found under Sian's nails is that of Josie Wilson, another missing girl whose father Mike also appeals for her to be found. Sian's belongings are found at her friend Lewis's flat and he is charged but then Josie turns up, also suffering from burns and amnesia. Jack suspects that both girls have been abducted and locked up - but which of the suspects is responsible, and what motive do they have?
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Teenager Asif Khan is seriously injured after a petrol bomb is thrown into the family home. His father Jamal accuses shady businessman Gregor Forrester of intimidating him into a property deal and using disgraced former policeman David Eboda, a former mentor to Jack, as his heavy. When Forrester's son Zach goes missing it seems that Jamal is out for revenge though he has an alibi, which is more than Forrester has for the night of the arson attack. A secret love triangle and an attempt to give the illusion of a kidnapping are revealed before the case is closed.
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After teenager Mandy Granger goes missing the body of a young girl is found dumped on waste ground though Mandy's mother Natalie claims it is not her daughter. The police discover that Mandy made the 999 call and CCTV reveals her violent father Andrew fighting with Jez, her boyfriend, who is a trans-sexual previously called Julie and Andrew is arrested. Then Oliver, who dated Jez when she was Julie, is in the frame, having sent her abusive texts. A drunken party which got out of hand eventually holds the key to who killed Jez and what happened to Mandy.
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Ken Baxter stages a roof-top protest over his missing soldier son Pete whilst Pete's mistress Sophie is the victim of a hit and run incident. Pete's friend Eddie is a primer suspect as is Sophie's husband Ricky whilst Sophie's friend Caitlin also has something to hide. Ricky is arrested for the hit and run but when Ken is also killed Martha and her team must look elsewhere for the guilty party.
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After an early release from prison due to his having cancer Dean Price is stabbed and dumped in the same place where he left Alekz Wojnar for whose manslaughter he was convicted. Alekz's father Marek and sister Kamilla had both recently argued with Price whilst there is evidence to suggest that the victim's grieving brother has been hiding evidence. Eventually the team come to the conclusion that Dean did not kill Alekz but was silenced by the actual murderer and must identify them.
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Philanthropic vicar Daniel Matthews is wounded in a drive-by shooting and suspicion falls on recidivist Joseph Brookes, with whom he had been recently arguing, and Kelly Pearce, the ex-girlfriend of the vicar's son Aaron. Kelly denies the shooting but claims that Daniel sexually assaulted her 12 year old brother though Aaron reckons that she is just vengeful following their recent break-up. Martha is able to link both Joseph and Aaron to a recent, similar shooting but she is also convinced that Daniel knows who attacked him and is covering up for them.
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Pensioner Betty Walker is attacked from behind by an intruder and tells the police that her savings of ten thousand pounds have been stolen. Betty incriminates her ex-convict son Mark, who has drug debts but young Romario Baber and his pregnant girlfriend Mae are in the frame, having argued with Betty recently. Mark owes money to local pusher Wayne Harris, who claims that he visits Betty as a friend but Martha finds inconsistencies in Betty 's stories and surmises that she is acting as Harris's banker. That being the case the team must establish who also knew and robbed the old lady.
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Jack rushes to Martha's house after a frantic phone call from her daughter to find that Martha has been shot dead in her bed. DCI Dan Drummond and DS Alisha Brooks take charge but it is Charlie who finds the dead body of Martha's missing husband Adrian. CCTV shows Adrian and a woman taking drugs in a night club owned by step-brothers Mo Jones and Stan Turner who deny knowing him. However Stan is arrested as he has been blackmailing Adrian for police information but released from the murder charge when club employee Rose Harris gives him an alibi. Jack is not convinced and prepares to strike a deal with Stan, unaware that Drummond may not be as innocent as he first appears.
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A woman's corpse is dragged from the river, identified as Jasmine, caught on camera taking a drugs with Adrian and known as a club patron. Stan is arrested for her murder but released when Rose refuses to incriminate him whilst Alisha tracks down Jasmine's boyfriend Mitch and discovers that they were having trouble looking after their baby and planned to sell her to childless criminal Grant Johnson. The organizer of the sale of the child is Rose, who is caught trying to flee with her teen-aged daughter Lucy. For Jack matters are complicated when Lucy claims that he is her father whilst Drummond is also anxious to preserve a secret.
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Alisha and TDC Gary Roscoe are called out when 16 year old Kia Hopkins reports that she was raped after being at a party with Rose Harris's daughter Lucy though Charlie is shocked when Jack admits he has been putting up the girl he believes to be his daughter at his flat. Kia tells Alisha that she was drugged and cannot recall events but evidence points to the rape taking place in a car belonging to her father Archie and the culprit being a boy known as CJ. Matters are complicated when Kia's foster brother Nico is also involved and when Lucy is implicated in an attack on CJ Charlie is forced to tell Alisha about her relationship to Jack. Given time off Jack returns home to find Lucy has been abducted.
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Investigating Lucy's disappearance the team learn that the blood stains at the flat are those of Gus Adebayo, the bouncer at Mo Jones' club but when arrested he claims to have no knowledge of Lucy's whereabouts. Following an appeal schoolboy Jimmy arrives at the police station, stating that he is Lucy's boyfriend and, after Gary's sensitive interview, admits to being sexually abused by Stan, a fact that he told Lucy. The girl is found but Mo takes a terrible revenge on his brother and Drummond helps him hush it up, swearing Jack to secrecy though Gary suspects that there is something wrong.
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The body of Sarah Kramer, who went missing eight years earlier is found and Jack interviews her widowed father Joseph, who tells him that Martha had been investigating the disappearance. Retired officer Ed Goddard, no friend of Drummond, reports to Gary that Sarah was an informant and Drummond her handler and secret lover whilst Jack also lets Gary in on Drummond's confession regarding Stan's death. Drummond covers himself to the team, throwing suspicion on Mo as the object of Sarah's investigation and her killer, to which he admits but adds that Drummond buried her body. Alisha and Jack have to prove it.
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Alisha obtains evidence to incriminate Drummond from his wife Chrissy and, after she is attacked and it is stolen, its recovery proves that Drummond's son Luke was the attacker. Realizing that the game could be up for him Drummond goes to see Joseph and asks him to keep a secret. The connection between Joseph, Mo Jones and Drummond will eventually solve the mystery as to who killed Sarah, and Martha and her husband and bring Drummond down.
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