04x34 - Paper Chase
Claire is on school crossing duty outside of a primary school. A woman comes running up to her to tell her that her daughter, Joella has been taken. Joella's friend, Paula, tells Claire that she and Joella were approached by a lady who said she was a friend of her mums and that she'd been sent to collect her. Claire calls it into the station
Christine and Frank arrive and speak to the headteacher and Paula with her mother in attendance. Christine is adorable with Paula. "Are you a real detective?" "Not really." "Not like on the telly?" "...Sometimes." she chuckles. She asks Paula what happened and she starts to explain that they were playing. Joella's mother, Mrs Hortman interrupts and shouts at Frank to send out squad cars and helicopters to look for her daughter because talking is nothing. Paula continues to explain that a lady came up to her and Joella and told her that she'd been sent by her mummy to collect her from school because mummy had been held up shopping. Mrs Hortman explains Joella has been collected by a neighbour before but it's not any of them. Joella's father, Mr Hortman, isn't at the office yet so Christine heads over to try to find him to speak to him. The headteacher tells Frank that Joella is a very sensible and mature child, but her mother is not punctual and she is often collected by neighbours and friends.
Frank rings Mike and asks him to do some background searches and to let Derek know about the missing child. Derek has Tosh in his office and is rollicking him for sloppy work according to Frank. Tosh claims he doesn't agree with what Frank had said but Mike has to interrupt because of how important the case is. Derek places Tosh with Dashers and warns him to keep it low-key so the press doesn't get wind.
Frank asks Mrs Hortman if she recognises the description of the woman who took Joella. Mrs Hortman can't answer and just shouts at him. "Don't ask me, do something. Find my daughter!" It'd help if she could answer a straight question and give him something to work with rather than yell at him to find her without any information (!)
Mr Hortman's secretary tells Christine that he isn't in but mentions that he was acting strangely before he left. He took a phone call that was apparently 'family business' and then ignored her and walked out. She says he took a briefcase with him as though he were going to a meeting but there's nothing in the diary. As Christine leaves the office, she spots Hortman returning with a briefcase so follows him inside in time to hear him ask his secretary if she'd told the police where she was. Mr Hortman tells Christine that he was told Joella would be killed if the police were involved. He's been asked for a ransom of half a million pounds and the chairman in Detroit has agreed for the company to put the money up to get her back safely. Christine asks for the details of the drop off and Hortman is evasive, saying he doesn't know until he gets another phone call. He says all he knows is that he will be given the location and time when he's called again and that, if there's no funny business, Joella will be returned unharmed within the hour. Christine tells him that paying a ransom is a criminal offense.
Mike finds that Mr Hortman has a previous conviction for dangerous driving but there's nothing on Mrs Hortman. Mike arranges for specialist tracking equipment to be delivered to Frank at the father's office. Derek tells them that the fewer people who know about the case the better and he wants the car park to be kept clear with no obvious activity seen so that no one can work out there's an operation in progress.
Mr Hortman reassures his wife that it'll all be OK. Christine suggests that they tap the phones but there isn't time and besides, all calls come through the switchboard. A briefcase with a tracker is delivered and Frank is told that the official tracker team will be waiting around the corner for them to join him. Frank calls him back and asks for a pen with a tracker in it. In the office, Frank starts to swap the money into the police briefcase and Hortman insists they use his briefcase because if anything happens to Joella through police interference he will come back for Frank. Frank acknowledges him but secretly slips the pen inside a pocket on Hortman's briefcase before putting the money back. Hortman receives a call from the abductor who tells him the location once he clarifies he has the cash. He asks if Joella is safe and the person hangs up without answering. The instructions are to take his car and head to a phone box on Venice Road within the next 5 minutes. If the police are involved then Joella will be killed.
Mike watches as Hortman stops outside the phone box and reports back to Christine and Frank. They are sat in the van monitoring the tracker. Christine reminds all units that they would rather lose Mr Hortman than have the kidnapper suss them out and harm come to Joella. Derek responds that he does have men on standby at the station should they be needed but he'd rather keep it to a minimum for obvious reasons. Obvious reasons:
Mrs Hortman returns home with Claire to look after her. Mike gets bored waiting for the phonebox to ring but, eventually, a phone does ring... only it's not the phone box. It's Hortman's car phone. "You crafty....!!!" Mike calls in what's happening and loses Hortman as he speeds off because a bus pulls out before he can follow. Thankfully the tracker is still working and Tosh picks him up. Mike soon gets back in the game and reports that Hortman appears to be getting fresh instructions via his car phone as he drives. He appears to be heading into Victoria Park.
Robin comes up to see Derek and tells him there's been a call from the local press and they're reporting a possible child abduction. Derek tries to bluff it out as the radio keeps giving obvious updates beside him(!) "Tell them we have no knowledge of such a crime."
Mike watches as Hortman parks and walks into the park with the suitcase which he then leaves beside a bench. Frank reminds Mike not to approach. Hortman gets back in his car and drives off.
Claire and Mrs Hortman sit in their garden and drink tea. Claire comforts her but Mrs Hortman tells her she didn't want to move to London in the first place, she wanted to remain in Sussex where all their friends were but they had to follow her husband when he was promoted.
Frank rings Hortman in his car and asks him what is happening. Hortman responds that he was contacted by a woman who is going to ring back. He keeps repeating that he doesn't want him involved and to get off the line before he hangs up. Tosh is opposite the car, fiddling with his car's engine as a cover.
Claire asks if Mrs Hortman suspects anyone and she says no. She tells her they've been married 10 years next Tuesday.
In the surveillance van, Frank is getting twitchy and seems to have something on his mind. Something is starting to smell about this case.
Mike watches as a dog pees against the briefcase. A little later, two old ladies see it and start to fuss, looking around them to see who could have left it. Mike has to ring it in but the old ladies walk off.
Tosh follows Hortman as he receives another call and moves on, he drives back towards the park and collects the briefcase before driving off. Tosh and Mike swap and change so he doesn't get wise. He heads to a derelict house. Frank asks Tosh to check out the back of the block.
As Claire and Mrs Hortman chat, Claire spots a child enter the back garden. Joella is home! Claire runs out and there's no one to see that could have dropped her off as Mrs Hortman hugs Joella,
Mike watches as Hortman leaves the derelict property without the briefcase. Claire rings in that Joella is home safe and unharmed so Frank takes the decision to storm the house. The case is there but is empty. "We've been stuffed!" Frank growls, radioing Derek to tell him something is iffy. They drive to the Hortman's where Frank and Christine talk to the little girl. Joella tells them she's never met the lady who collected her before. Her parents cut in and stop them talking to her claiming that she's stressed out enough and that the police should leave.
Outside, Mike and Tosh are chatting as a furious Frank and Christine return. The surveillance van turns up, however, about to make their day. He's followed the tracker from the briefcase. It just so happens that the reading leads them to the boot of Hortman's car where the original briefcase is found still containing the cash.
Thank god for Tumblr's auto-save because adding the Mike gif finished off my computer for some reason and I had to force a restart.
This is a slightly weird episode as it doesn't explain why Hortman conned his company out of half a million pounds. There are no money problems shown, Mrs Hortman is constantly shopping and late for pick up of Joella. The husband doesn't complain of her spending, and there are no signs of red bills or dodgy money lenders.
It's never explained who the female was that asked to be put through to Hortman on a family matter. Surely the secretary would recognise his wife's voice so it's unlikely to be her?
Who does he keep speaking to on the phone? He doesn't know he's being followed so he's not faking the calls for cover.
It's never explained who the woman who picks Joella up is either. It doesn't seem likely to be the secretary as she told Christine about him acting odd, going off as though he had a meeting, and didn't tell Christine where he was because she didn't know. Is he having an affair? Could it be the other woman? Joella didn't recognise her so it can't be a relative surely and it's possible she'd recognise the secretary too.
They find out early on that he has previous for dangerous driving but it's not built upon so it couldn't be him being blackmailed by the victim/victim's family of anyone he killed or injured.
Mrs Hortman can't be ticked off as being innocent either as she was so irritating that it's unclear if she was so dismissive of the questions Frank was asking at the school because she was feeling guilty and knew where Joella was and was worried they'd be caught out or if she was genuinely upset that her daughter had been taken. I didn't buy that she was a genuinely upset mother, more a stuck-up middle-class woman used to getting her own way and not being questioned.
It feels like a big chunk was cut out almost as there's just too much up in the air.
As an aside, how does Claire look younger at 22 when out of uniform than Beth Green did at 19? I swear Claire could have been Beth's mum if they'd linked the two. They look and sound so much alike!