4 January 2024

Cwmderi is a hive of police activity

Cwmderi High Street is the scene of considerable activity as Delyth walks towards number 9;  

Forensics are investigating

forensic officers go into the house and she looks at the large number of other officers who are there.   On the other side of the police tape a group of local people are standing.   

Delyth waves to Maya

Delyth waves to Maya, who has come out of the pharmacy. 

Her superior, DI Lloyd, calls her over, 

Dani comes out of number 7 . . .

while Dani emerges from number 7, which is inside the police cordon.   Iolo and Ffion wonder what is going on 

. . . and says there is talk of a body

and are informed by Dani, “I don’t know how much I can say, but Jinx is talking to the cops – he found something in the garden – a body.   I haven’t spoken to him yet.”

"I have to go"

Iolo says that he has to go, 

Ffion heads for the pharmacy

so Ffion walks along to the pharmacy, where Maya comments that she heard the word ‘corff’, but is unsure what it means.   

"They've found a body"

“They’ve found a body,” Ffion replies.

Jinx is sitting, completely stunned, as the DI tells him, “Anything you can tell us would help.”   

"It's a body, isn't it?"

Jinx groans, “It’s a body, isn’t it?”   The DI replies that they cannot confirm anything at this point, 

"It does look that way"

but it does look that way.   “It’s a person – well, it was a person,” Jinx continues, but is told that whatever it is, it appears to have been there for quite a long time.

"Why were you digging in the garden?"

“Now, why don’t we start again?   Tell us what sent you out to dig in the garden.”

"What's going on at Jinx's house?"

In the shop flat, Rhys asks Mathew what is going on at Jinx’s house;  “There are loads of police there!”

Mathew peers through the blind and confirms that there are.   

"Is he all right?"

“Is he all right?” he wonders.   

Rhys is managing to sell 'Meddal' stuff

Rhys has managed to secure an order for ‘Meddal’ stuff from Selwyn Ty Isaf, [Lower House Farm] which he has written down.   “How did you manage to sell those?   You were supposed to be going for a run,” Mathew asks.

"Us entrepreneurs don't have an off switch"

“Well, entrepreneurs like me see opportunities everywhere – we don’t have an off switch, Math!” Rhys boasts, and he is instructed to get them out of the boxes and take them over there, but Rhys is unable to do that today.

"It's like a circus at APD after the storm"

“Well, I can’t do it either,” Mathew protests, “It’s like a circus at APD after the storm – and I’m late already – come on!”

"Come and sit down, Iolo"

At Y Felin, Siôn is urging Iolo to come and sit down with a cup of tea, 

"The police have found a body, Dad!"

but he whines, “The police have just found a body, Dad!” and when assured that it is not Cai, 

"You don't know that!"

he goes on, “You don’t know that!”

“Yes I do, because Cai phoned, so I know he’s all right.   Now come and sit down – you need to stay in control!” his father instructs, 

"I'm going to talk to the police"

but Iolo is insistent that he is going to talk to the police.   

"You can't do that – it's not Cai!"

“You can’t do that!   It’s not Cai – he phoned and I heard his voice.”   

"It was someone pretending to be him"

Iolo maintains that he just said Merry Christmas and the line was not clear, so it could have been anyone impersonating him.

He is encouraged to breathe deeply and drink some tea;  

"Please, Dad!"

“No, tea won’t help,” whimpers Iolo, “Please, Dad!”

"You said you wanted to stop taking it"

“You said you wanted to stop taking that stuff,” Siôn reminds him and Iolo agrees that he will, but considering the circumstances, you know . . .”

"You have to keep a clear head"

Siôn points out that he has to keep a clear head, but he replies, “Nothing’s been clear in my head – 

"Just get me one, please!"

“just get me one, please!”

“And then it will be another one – and another one,” his father answers;  Iolo loses it and shouts that he cannot do this.   

Siôn ponders his next move . . .

Siôn stands at the foot of the stairs, working out what he ought to do, 

. . . then hands over the tablets

then reaches into his pocket and hands over the packet of Diazepam, warning him, “That’s the last one, OK?”

Iolo takes three of them . . .

As soon as Siôn goes into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water, Iolo quickly swallows three tablets, 

. . . washed down with water

washes them down with the water and waits for them to take effect.

The van keys have gone missing

There is a panic at APD, with Mathew frantically searching for the van keys and Anita apologising on the phone, 

"As soon as we've changed the tyre"

“Yes, as soon as we’ve changed the tyre we’ll be up with you.”   

"Don't lie to the customers, Anita"

Mathew reprimands her for lying to customers.

"Shall I tell them we've lost the keys?"

“Would you prefer it if I told them we’ve lost the keys?” she demands.   

Mathew looks by the till

He makes it very clear that he has not lost anything, but she was the one who opened up this morning, and so it is is her fault.   

“I told you, I put everything on the counter,” she snarls, “So they must be here.”

As the phone rings again, Mathew moans, “Whose idea was it to keep the keys for the van and the shop together?”   

Anita trots out the same excuse

As he continues searching, Anita fields another customer complaint with the same excuse.

"Can't you tell me anything else?"

Ffion has gone to the Deri, where she demands from D I Lloyd whether he can give her any more information.   

"I'm sure you'll find our soon enough . . ."

“Not while the investigation is ongoing – I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.   

". . . now, if you'll excuse me . . ."

Now, if you’ll excuse me . . .”

"What did you see, Jinx?"

Jinx comes in and she demands from him what he saw.   

"A body – bones – something"

“A body – bones – something, I don’t know.   The police are not saying much.”   

"I have no idea, Ffion!"

When she demands who it was, he has no idea.

At APD the phone rings yet again 

"We've lost loads of customers already!"

and Mathew orders Anita not to answer it;  “We’ve lost loads of customers already – we can’t find the van keys – and we can’t look for them if you keep answering the phone!” he shouts, “Do you realise how much business we’ve lost already?   

"You've been focusing on that for weeks!"

“All you’ve been doing is focusing on that ‘Meddal’ business for weeks – and I’m fed up, so find those keys – and find them quick!”

They are not in her handbag

Anita suddenly has a thought;  she delves into her handbag but with no success.

Ffion visits Y Felin . . .

Ffion walks into the garden of Y Felin and shouts to Iolo, 

. . . and sees Iolo in the garden

who she can see sitting on the swing.   She receives no response and asks what he is doing out there;  

"You'll freeze in this weather!"

“You’ll freeze in this weather!   Can you hear me?”

There is no response

There is still no answer so she finds him with a glazed to look in his eyes 

She is unable to get any sense out of him

and slaps his face, trying to get some sense out of him.   She shouts for Siôn.

Jinx has fetched some coffee

Jinx brings a couple of takeaway coffees from the Deri and takes them into number 7.   

He notices that . . .

He notices that Jason is watching him

. . . Jason is watching him intently

from the other side of the road, by the alley.

A box of tablets goes into his pocket

Jason is looking pleased with himself as he replaces a box of Flunitrazepam tablets into his pocket, which he kept, in case they would come in useful, when he was flushing the rest of the tablets down the sink at Bryntirion.   [14 November 2023]

Jinx gives one of them to Dani

Jinx hands a coffee to Dani and does not know how many of them he has drunk in the last twelve hours.   

"Seren's happy for you to stay . . ."

She has good news for him;  “I’ve spoken to Seren and she’s happy for you to stay here tonight – 

". . . on the sofa"

“on the sofa,” 

"At least, it's a step forward"

which he regards as, at least, a step forward.

"I still haven't forgotten, you know"

“I still haven’t forgotten, you know – that you haven’t given me an answer about moving in with me,” he says, “I know you need time to think.”   

"We've had a few distractions"

She reminds him that they have had a few distractions.

"You don't want to, do you?"

“Yes, but I’m not stupid, Dani – you don’t want to, do you?”

"I want more time – is that OK?"

“To be honest, I’m not sure – I want more time to think about it – is that OK?”   

He apologises and does not want to rush her into a decision;  he confesses that he is not OK.   

"The fire, now the body . . ."

“Bad things happen in threes, don’t they?   The fire, now the body . . .”   

She realises that he is waiting for the third, but points out that Gwern caused the fire, not a curse, and this body is nothing to do with him.

"It's hard not to think like that"

He finds it difficult not to think like that, so she takes another approach;  

"The third thing has already happened"

“The third thing has already happened – the rats!   So you’re off the hook.”   

"Seren would not agree"

However Jinx stresses that Seren would not agree with her.   “I’m trying to make you feel better,” she snaps, and he appreciates that.

DI Lloyd comes out of number 9 to speak to Delyth, with a crowd of locals still taking an interest.   

Jason is still keeping a careful watch

Jason comes out of the deli 

The body is being removed . . .

just as a black box, containing the exhumed remains, is brought out of the house 

. . . and loaded into a van

and loaded into a black van.

Iolo is completely 'out of it'

Ffion is still trying to get some kind of recognition from Iolo and Siôn tells her that he said he was going for a walk.   Ffion wants to take him inside, as it will be warmer in there, 

"I'm all right here"

but Iolo weakly mutters that he is all right there.   

"We have to call an ambulance!"

She demands that they call an ambulance, 

"He seems to be all right now"

but Siôn maintains that Iolo seems to be all right now, something which she can clearly see is absolutely not the truth.

"What's going on?"

“What’s going on?” she continues, with Siôn explaining that he has not been himself since losing Tyler.   Ffion is totally unconvinced by this, 

"Cai"

and Iolo mumbles Cai’s name, which causes her to want to know what he has taken.

Siôn’s denial that he has taken anything causes further suspicion 

"I can deal it this myself"

and then Siôn tells her to go, as this fuss is not helping anyone;  “I can deal with this myself.”

Now she is completely sure that there is something he is not telling her;  “Just leave this to me, will you?” he growls, “Just go!”   

Ffion leaves them

Ffion walks away, while Siôn cradles Iolo in his arms.

DI Lloyd knocks on the door . . .

DI Lloyd knocks on the door of number 7 and wants another word with Jinx.   

. . . and goes inside number 7

When they go inside, Jason, who has been waiting his chance outside APD, 

Jason seizes his opportunity . . .

strolls nonchalantly along the street, where the police tape has now been removed, 

. . . slips into the unguarded number 9 . . .

and, apparently unnoticed by any members of the Constabulary, slips into number 9, 

. . . then calmly continues along the street

emerging a few seconds later.   He then continues along the High Street.

"That house is now a crime scene"

Inside number 7, Jinx is informed that the house is a crime scene, so he will have two pack a few things to take with him;  “I can’t say exactly how long this will take, 

"It will be up to a week"

“but up to a week,” says the DI, “A member of the team will go around the house with you, to make sure you don’t move anything and make a few notes.   

"I'll get someone for you"

“I’ll get someone for you.”

Delyth needs a bite to eat

Although on duty, Delyth slips into the pharmacy in the hope of getting some lunch;  “It was good to see you working this morning – 

"I like a woman in uniform"

“I obviously like a woman in uniform,” comments Maya.

"Now is not the time!"

“Are you joking?   What’s wrong with you?   Now is not the time!” Delyth angrily replies and walks out of the shop.   

"I'm having a tough morning"

Then Ffion arrives and is told that Maya is having a tough morning.   

"Iolo's taken something"

“Yeah, like me – I’m worried about Iolo.   I don’t think he's sleeping and I think he’s taken something.”   

Maya knows exactly what the problem is, 

"I'm not a doctor, Ffion"

but gives the stock response, “I’m not a doctor.”   Ffion continues that he is refusing to go into hospital so she is pleading for any sort of help at all.

"Can you go and see him?"

“Can you go and see him?” she begs and Maya will go later;  “As soon as you can, please!” urges Ffion.

"So that's where they are!"

As Anita opens the door of APD, she finds the keys still hanging in the lock and realises that they have been there all the time.   

She puts the keys in her pocket

Of course, she does not want to take the blame for this and as she goes back inside, Mathew is groaning, “There’s no point – they’re not here!   We might as well phone the garage and ask for another set!”

"Have you looked in the bin?"

Anita suggests that she should look one more time and asks him if he has looked in the bin;  

Oh, look, Mathew!"

while he is busy doing that, 

"They were right here!"

she slips the keys by the side of the till, jubilantly announcing that she has found them.   “They were right here – I said that they were on the counter.”   

He is quite adamant that he has already looked there, 

"Well, you didn't look hard enough"

so she accuses him of not looking hard enough.   

"Right, I've got work to do!"

He grabs the keys, announcing, “I’ve got work to do – if we have any customers left!”

"Delyth said they were old remains"

Maya has gone to Y Felin, where she informs Siôn, “Delyth said there were remains, old ones, they think.”   

"How many have you taken, Iolo?"

She goes to Iolo, who is now lying motionless on the sofa and asks how many he has taken.

He mumbles about taking everything in the packet;  

"And you didn't do anything, Siôn?"

Siôn admits that he knows about the addiction, but she demands, “And you didn’t do anything?”

It is unusual to hear Siôn speaking in English;  

"He's through the worst now"

“He’s through the worst now – he’s taken one – I gave him the last tablet this morning.”   

"This is not the effect of just one"

Maya can clearly see that this is not the effect of just one;  “This is serious, Siôn – his addiction!” she snarls, 

"I have a plan"

but Siôn maintains that he has a plan.

“A medical one, that will be supervised?” is her next question, but Siôn maintains that they can handle this.   “I’m sure you think you can, but you don’t have the training!” she insists, 

"I know someone who's an expert"

“I know someone who’s an expert in the field who will be able to give him a tapering programme to follow – where you cut down over time to nothing.”

"That's what I want"

Iolo mutters that is what he wants, 

"That would mean giving him more"

but Siôn is anxious that in the meantime it would mean giving him more.   

“It’s really dangerous to just stop taking Diazepam,” he is informed, “The side effects alone.”

"It will be long, painful and drawn-out"

Siôn is still intending to handle this alone, but she advises him not to do that, as it will be a long, painful, drawn-out process for Iolo.

"Don't tell me how to best look after my son!"

“Don’t tell me how best to look after my son,” Siôn warns her, “If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t be like this.”

"In my professional opinion . . ."

“Well, in my professional opinion . . .” she begins, 

"Professional?"

but he strongly protests that his son is addicted, 

"Your total lack of professional responsibility!"

thanks to her total lack of professional responsibility.   

"I want you to go now!"

Furthermore, he thinks that she should go now, but she still insists that she was only trying to help.

"They were just some old bones – not Cai . . ."

As soon as she is gone, Siôn says, “Did you hear what she said?   They were just some old bones, not Cai – 

". . . it's nothing to do with you!"

“so it’s nothing to do with you!   You can focus on relaxing and getting better.”

"So where is Cai?"

 “So where is he, Dad?” says Iolo, “Where’s Cai?

Rhys is getting rid of the stock . . .

Rhys is studying the laptop when Matthew returns to the flat;  “Right, if I take these to the gym tomorrow morning . . .” Rhys tells him.

. . . but Mathew does not wants to hear another word

Mathew stops him there;  “Just don’t!   I don’t want to hear another word about ‘Meddal’ or Anita, or anything like that!   Just leave it!”   

Rhys is pleased with himself

Rhys smiles contentedly.

Jinx has collected some belongings

Jinx comes downstairs in number 9, having packed his bag, accompanied by a police constable;  he thinks he has everything he needs and picks up his new coat.   Dani suggests that he takes the old one as well, as she knows that he loves it.   

As he puts on his old coat . . .

As he picks it up, he can feel something in the pocket, 

. . . he finds the planted tablets

which he discovers to be a packet of Flunitrazepam;  he very smartly replaces it.

"Found a tenner?"

“Found a tenner?” Dani enquires, and he replies that with his luck, there was no chance.   

They leave the house

With that they walk out of the house.