Constable Jackson is patrolling the park early one morning, without a care, whistling 'the British Grenadiers', when he spots an elderly man asleep on a bench. Assuming he is a vagrant, he goes over to wake him. It is then that he discovers the man is dead with a stab wound in the chest. Jackson raises the alarm and is soon joined by other officers, and Dr. Grace, who was doing her morning calisthenics in the park. The only other witness that early in the morning is Nigel Barnes, a birdwatcher. At first, he says he didn't see anything but then recalls a man in a long coat with a beard. Dr Grace finds that the dead man had a key on him and three pages torn from a printed book. Detective Murdoch observes that the man has dried blood on his index finger, whilst the doctor notes there is a general lack of blood around the bench and she concludes that the man was killed elsewhere. The bird spotter stays just within earshot, unconvincingly fiddling with a camera on a tripod.
At Police Station 4, a man called Owen Hume has asked if he can speak to detective Murdoch by name, and tells Murdoch that his employer, patent lawyer Randolph Sampson, has not been seen for two days. After hearing Sampson's description, Murdoch takes Hume to the morgue, where he confirms that the body is that of Mr Sampson.
Back at the station house, detective Murdoch brings inspector Brackenreid up to date with the case. There appears to be no motive for the killing, Mr. Sampson is the most ordinary of men; indeed, the only clue of any substance is the pages torn out of the book, a novella by Mark Twain, those pages being 39, 81 and 146. Murdoch wonders where Constable Crabtree is, and Inspector Brackenreid says he has gone to medical school in order to look into the disappearance of a corpse, that of Professor Andrew Richardson. Dr. Dempsey from the school is conducting a research project concerning the brains of highly intelligent people. It transpires that it is very difficult finding people willing to donate their brains for research. Also, for the purposes of the research, the brains must be fresh to be of use, so the loss of the Professor's body is critical to Dr Dempsey, who may even lose his funding as a result.
Dr Ogden, meanwhile, is meeting with her fellow suffragettes to discuss ways of furthering their cause, since their petition has only attracted 100 signatures to date. In a flash of inspiration, she wonders if there is any reason a woman may not stand in the imminent provincial election. The women decide to seek legal advice.
Murdoch follows up the clues from the torn book pages. He visits Belair Books, where the proprietor, Mrs Dewar, says she only had one copy of the book, which she sold to one of her regular customers, Annie Cranston, who works nearby, at Minnie's Tea Room. Pursuing this lead, Murdoch goes to the tea room, and finds Miss Cranston, who is a waitress. She cannot help, as someone stole the book from the tea shop before she had read all of it. Another waitress, Ruby Rosevear, had been eavesdropping, and tells Murdoch that she recalls a man with a beard acting suspiciously on the premises, and returns with Murdoch to recreate the man's face using Murdoch's facial samples device.
Murdoch believes he has found an encoded message in the pages from book; he believes they are an invitation to building near the docks. Accompanied by Inspector Brackenreid, he visits the building and finds it to be the scene of foul play. There is a bloody knife, and a trail of blood spots, which they follow to a message written in blood, saying, "BLUE SKY". Going on from that building to Mr Sampson's office, Murdoch uses the key found in the park to open Sampson's desk, which contains a file for BLUE SKY, but the contents have been torn out.
Back at the morgue, with help from Dr Ogden, Dr Grace discovers that Sampson was dead from being smothered before the stab wound was inflicted on him. How could Sampson write a message in his own blood if he was dead from suffocation already? Pioneering lawyer Clara Brett Martin confirms to the women's group that the election rules do not preclude female candidates, though she suspects that, were a woman to win, she might find doors slammed shut.
When Constable Crabtree returns from visiting the widow of Professor Richardson with a photograph of her late husband that shows Professor Richardson and Mr Sampson are in fact the same person, it throws the whole investigation into disarray. The news from Dr Grace's investigation into the corpse is that, as well as being smothered and stabbed, he was also being poisoned.
The two facts Murdoch is clear on are first, that someone wanted the Professor dead, but who, and why? And second, that there has been a conspiracy to waste his time by making him look into the death of a man who never was. What will he do about the five who have been leading him a merry dance? On top of that, who can the women get to stand?
An impressive episode, for sure.
At Police Station 4, a man called Owen Hume has asked if he can speak to detective Murdoch by name, and tells Murdoch that his employer, patent lawyer Randolph Sampson, has not been seen for two days. After hearing Sampson's description, Murdoch takes Hume to the morgue, where he confirms that the body is that of Mr Sampson.
Back at the station house, detective Murdoch brings inspector Brackenreid up to date with the case. There appears to be no motive for the killing, Mr. Sampson is the most ordinary of men; indeed, the only clue of any substance is the pages torn out of the book, a novella by Mark Twain, those pages being 39, 81 and 146. Murdoch wonders where Constable Crabtree is, and Inspector Brackenreid says he has gone to medical school in order to look into the disappearance of a corpse, that of Professor Andrew Richardson. Dr. Dempsey from the school is conducting a research project concerning the brains of highly intelligent people. It transpires that it is very difficult finding people willing to donate their brains for research. Also, for the purposes of the research, the brains must be fresh to be of use, so the loss of the Professor's body is critical to Dr Dempsey, who may even lose his funding as a result.
Dr Ogden, meanwhile, is meeting with her fellow suffragettes to discuss ways of furthering their cause, since their petition has only attracted 100 signatures to date. In a flash of inspiration, she wonders if there is any reason a woman may not stand in the imminent provincial election. The women decide to seek legal advice.
Murdoch follows up the clues from the torn book pages. He visits Belair Books, where the proprietor, Mrs Dewar, says she only had one copy of the book, which she sold to one of her regular customers, Annie Cranston, who works nearby, at Minnie's Tea Room. Pursuing this lead, Murdoch goes to the tea room, and finds Miss Cranston, who is a waitress. She cannot help, as someone stole the book from the tea shop before she had read all of it. Another waitress, Ruby Rosevear, had been eavesdropping, and tells Murdoch that she recalls a man with a beard acting suspiciously on the premises, and returns with Murdoch to recreate the man's face using Murdoch's facial samples device.
Murdoch believes he has found an encoded message in the pages from book; he believes they are an invitation to building near the docks. Accompanied by Inspector Brackenreid, he visits the building and finds it to be the scene of foul play. There is a bloody knife, and a trail of blood spots, which they follow to a message written in blood, saying, "BLUE SKY". Going on from that building to Mr Sampson's office, Murdoch uses the key found in the park to open Sampson's desk, which contains a file for BLUE SKY, but the contents have been torn out.
Back at the morgue, with help from Dr Ogden, Dr Grace discovers that Sampson was dead from being smothered before the stab wound was inflicted on him. How could Sampson write a message in his own blood if he was dead from suffocation already? Pioneering lawyer Clara Brett Martin confirms to the women's group that the election rules do not preclude female candidates, though she suspects that, were a woman to win, she might find doors slammed shut.
When Constable Crabtree returns from visiting the widow of Professor Richardson with a photograph of her late husband that shows Professor Richardson and Mr Sampson are in fact the same person, it throws the whole investigation into disarray. The news from Dr Grace's investigation into the corpse is that, as well as being smothered and stabbed, he was also being poisoned.
The two facts Murdoch is clear on are first, that someone wanted the Professor dead, but who, and why? And second, that there has been a conspiracy to waste his time by making him look into the death of a man who never was. What will he do about the five who have been leading him a merry dance? On top of that, who can the women get to stand?
An impressive episode, for sure.
