I suppose you're too burnt out to go again?
Yeah, listen. I'm the son of a famous Fitzroy hard man.
You knock me down, I just get straight back up again.
You've called Jack Irish. Leave a message.
(BEEP)
I've got that number for you.
Ronald Bishop's last phone call was made to a Dr. Paul Gilbert
at some health spa in Daylesford.
Oh, yeah, and Harry said not to wear out this service.
G'day. I'm looking for Long Gully Road. The, um, Koolanja Healing Centre?
You've come the long way, mate.
Long Gully's down there at the T-junction.
Turn left, go down about a kilometre or so, second on the right,
first after that, yeah?
But the place is closed, I think. Oh, I'll give it a try. Thanks.
Hooroo.
(APPLIES HANDBRAKE)
(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYS)
Hello?
Hello!
(INSECTS BUZZ)
(MUSIC STOPS)
Hello?
Oh!
(STARTS CAR)
Police have released the names of the murdered men -
Dr. Paul Gilbert, a deregistered general practitioner,
and Ronald James Bishop, a former social worker.
An anonymous call to the RSPCA
led police to the grisly discovery of the bodies
that may have been there for over two weeks.
As yet, the motive for the murders is unclear.
Oh, good, you're alive.
I was worried sick.
I'm fine.
So I'm thinking we can pretty much discount coincidence.
You've got Jeppeson, McKillop and now Bishop.
And according to the news,
Ronald Bishop was killed before Danny McKillop.
Feels like there's a bit of spring cleaning going on.
Thanks.
My, um, editor,
he's an old drinking buddy of the former planning minister, Kevin Pixley.
He hates journos. He reckons we ruined his career.
But he's a Fitzroy tragic He might just talk to you.
Yeah, I should talk to him. I reckon a journo will send everyone to ground.
OK, but don't think you can cut me out, Jack.
I feel a Walkley Award coming on.
Really?
So you were worried sick, were you?
No, I think I had an off oyster at lunch.
He's in the kitchen.
MAN: Spit of your old man.
You know, he was one of the hardest bastards to ever pull on
a Fitzroy guernsey.
We'll be lunching soon, Kevin.
Goodbye, Mr. Irish.
Very economically done.
I got my instructions, you got your marching orders,
so we'd better be quick.
There's a beer.
They tell me I shouldn't drink, but stuff 'em. What do they know?
This is about Yarra Cove, eh? Yeah.
Who was that society bird, Jeppes... Anne.
Jeppeson. Anne. Yeah. Saucy little girl, right?
She nearly put a stop to the whole thing.
No, this is off the record, is it, Jack?
I'd be more inclined to shaft the shaftworthy if it was.
Be like me doing a public service. Totally off the record.
It was your idea to sell the Hoagland Commission ﬂats, wasn't it?
Well...
You know, the place was a cesspit.
It was Pittman's lead at the start.
The Premier and I were happy to be involved.
Just export all the rapes and the bashings to Melton.
There was plenty of opposition, wasn't there, at the time?
There wasn't a whisper till that woman got involved.
Suddenly, you had, you know, rent-a-leftie protesters
popping up like... pricks at a pyjama party
I had Premier Weak-As-Piss ready to drop the whole development.
Thought it was gonna cost him the election.
Well, why was Pittman involved?
I thought he was the, um... the police minister at the time.
Where have you been, Jack? Planning's where the big graft is.
That's where the big boys play.
Pittman would have put on lipstick and a party frock
and sucked off the entire Caucus to get his hands on Planning.
Can you tell me about the tender process?
I'll tell you everything. There wasn't any.
As planning minister, I called for one. Correct procedure.
So...?
There was a palace coup.
I was made minister of the arts, geriatrics and other national disasters
and Lance Pittman, Mr. Lucky, got my job.
Now, you can say whatever you like about me, Jack.
And when I was planning minister,
I was responsible for some fuckin' horrible cock-ups.
I mean, there's some I still can't bear to drive by today.
But I did get into Parliament to help people.
So Pittman sold it straight to Charts?
For about half of what it was worth.
Lunch now, Kevin.
Oh. yeah?
And...
And the death of Anne Jeppeson?
Oh. Well, buggered if I know. I mean, she was being tailed 24/7.
Listen. You got a light?
No.
Shit. Could have stayed indoors!
What was she being tailed for?
Oh, she had some activist boyfriend the government didn't like.
Was it ASIO? No, not ASIO, local boys.
Special Branch.
See, they were monitoring her every bowel movement.
I don't know how she could have
got herself knocked off without anybody noticing.
You haven't got any names, have you?
Oh, yeah, Special Branch, they love giving out that sort of info.
But I had this all out with the new police minister, Garth Bruce, yonks ago.
And? And?
Next time, bring a match.
It's time for my lettuce and a nap.
(PHONE BEEPS)
Yep. Leaving now.
MAN: Mate, you've got to watch out for these people.
Kwitny doesn't come from the Melbourne Club.
This mob thinks
bribery's a legitimate tax deduction.
Hey, did I tell you, tipped eight out of eight three weeks in a row,
me granddaughter's tipping pool.
You did, Wilbur, but I'm happy to hear it over and over again.
Why are they wearing colours of a team that was extinct over a decade ago?
They do know it's a Saints-Hawks game we're going to?
Mate, look around you. They may now barrack for the Saints.
But all they see is Fitzroy. Jack.
Detective Tony Baker.
Nice to see people still do work among the elderly.
Yeah, it's the Fitzroy Youth Club.
No... no risk of anyone wanting to join?
Like you to come for a little drive, Jack.
Have you got some identification? Oodles.
But if it's not convenient for you right at the moment,
I do have instructions to arrest you.
Really?
Yeah. On what charges?
Many options available to us.
Conspiring to pervert the course of justice,
conspiracy to conceal the odd murder or two.
Yeah. Well, it does appear that a gap's just opened up in my social calendar.
I'll come with you. No. It's OK, mate. I'll...
I'll see you there.
See you at half-time, fellas. Yeah, righto, mate.
I didn't know Jack had a mate from the Gold Coast.
(LIFT DINGS)
So, cop shops have gone up a notch or two.
Police Minister's expecting you.
The Minister?
I'm meeting Garth Bruce?
You've managed to piss off people in very high places, Jack.
After you.
Come in, Jack.
Thought it was about time we had a quiet drink together.
Take a seat.
Hey, what'll you have?
Uh, whisky and water, thanks.
Jesus, what a day.
Politics, eh?
Win 1, lose 10.
(SIGHS)
I'm told you've been sniffing around,
asking a lot of questions about old business.
Really?
I was a cop for nearly 20 years. I know the story.
And I know the system. I know what goes on.
It's why the Premier gave me the job.
Yeah.
What's your particular interest, mate?
Well, I... got a phone call from an ex-client, Danny McKillop,
the night he was killed.
When your bloke was shot behind the Trafalgar, I called in the file.
I've had it with this Dirty Harry shit.
20 years on the beat, I fired all of three shots,
and all in response to pricks firing at me.
Now, your name...
...is all over this, Jack.
What's worrying is that you were seen in the bush, in Daylesford,
and it looks like you wiped clean a whole lot of Danny's prints from the scene.
You know how serious this is?
Danny's prints?
Who the hell do you think killed him?
Wake up.
Here's the ballistics.
The gun Danny had on him the night of the Trafalgar
was the same as the one that knocked Ronnie Bishop and his doctor mate.
No question. You were next. Revenge.
McKillop reckoned you fitted him up. You, Scullin and Ronnie Bishop.
If you had managed to meet up with him that night,
you'd be looking at the lid now.
I spoke to Kevin Pixley. Oh, yeah?
What number gin and tonic was he on?
He pretty much shafted Pittman.
You know who the biggest crook ever to hold ministerial office in this state is?
Oh, it'd be a pretty open field, wouldn't it?
One clear winner. The Honourable K. Pixley.
You like his little lean-to in Brighton? Think that came from family money?
I need a favour from ya.
An election coming up.
Premier doesn't want a media circus over Yarra Cove.
It's prehistory.
Now...
You've made a right tool of yourself so far,
and it's only thanks to me you're not sitting in remand.
But keep your nose out of it,
no articles on the subject in the dailies from your girlfriend,
and in return, maybe I'll get the files cleaned up.
No charges. No trace of you.
Come on, eh?
My private line, if you need me.
Tony'll drive you back.
TONY: You're right to walk from here, Jack?
JACK: You're joking, aren't ya?
Outski.
You've got a bad history of losing your women, don't you?
Be a shame to repeat it.
(GUNSHOT)
(JACK'S VOICE ECHOES) Isabel? Isabel?
Isabel! Isabel!
Listen, just give me 10 minutes. I'll meet you in the car park... car park.
MAN: You wouldn't bloody listen... listen.
ISABEL: We're buying the table.
You listening now, Jack?
Isabel?!
(GUNSHOT)
I thought you could use some MSG and trans fats.
Great.
Remember all those companies that sold their land to Charts?
Um, the supremely virginal oil, the pepper grinder, but not the toothpicks?
Yeah, not the toothpicks.
Names like Edelweiss Nominees Number 12,
and Collarstud Holdings and Rabbitrun.
You can put your hands around me if you like.
All registered in the Caymans and Vanuatu.
So, for your average reporter, a dead end.
I'll get some plates, eh? No, no. I want you to listen.
This food'll kill you anyway.
It's only a dead end if the companies don't own real estate here,
and, you see, all these companies did.
They bought existing buildings,
so they had to pay water rates, electricity bills, like real people do.
So a brilliant journalist traced them.
And guess where all the bills got sent.
Well, to a management company.
And guess who the signatory was for that management company.
Um...
Joseph Kwitny, I hear you suggest?
No. That'd be completely improper.
His wife.
Give the man a fish ball.
Charts was there from the start.
They knew bloody well the development was gonna proceed.
Pittman was their inside man.
I am going to print with this.
Hey, listen, um...
I met with Garth Bruce today.
He, uh... he has ballistic evidence proving that Danny McKillop killed all three
and I, apparently, was next on the list.
Hang on. I haven't got over the “I met with Garth Bruce” bit yet.
Why? I know, I know.
He basically made it clear to me that... it's a conspiracy theory.
I mean, he's right.
You can't connect
Pittman and Kwitny to the murders
without a tangible, beneficial link, and we don't have one.
Uh, normally, lawyer talk turns me on.
Yeah, I'm not so sure this time. I told him we'd drop it.
Why the hell would you do that?
They know I was in Daylesford. They've got my fingerprints.
Didn't you ask yourself why they didn't charge you?
Five minutes with the Police Minister, you come out in reverse?
This is a huge story. I'm running with it.
I told them you wouldn't.
Yeah, well, I'm not yours to shut up, and I don't know what made you think I was.
Oh, come on. Screw you, Jack.
Actually, no, that's the last thing that'll ever happen.
Oh, Linda!
Linda!
Oh, Linda, just once, fall for a proper bloke, eh?
(LAUGHS)
Fuckin' hell.
(SAW WHINES)
I didn't wake you, did I?
No.
Some idiot turned the saw on
at fünf o'clock in the morning.
He woke me.
Oh, well, I'm glad it wasn't me, then.
This table needs something special,
to hide the disaster
you make of joins.
Come here.
Cuban mahogany.
100 years old.
So beautiful.
Maybe they won't notice the mess you've made.
Yeah, I don... I don't know that I'm ready for this, Charlie.
Till you make something nice out of it, it's only a piece of wood.
Mr. Pittman. Linda Hillier.
I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions.
I'm only here for a wretched breakfast meeting
with a bunch of religious nutters.
I'm running a story on the Yarra Cove development
and specifically your links to the Charts Corporation - care to comment?
I'll happily answer all your questions, love.
Best make an appointment with my secretary.
Hillier, was it? I'll tell her you'll call.
Yeah, the problem seems to be ongoing.
There he is, lads.
Dakota Dreaming.
Part of the superannuation plan.
Walks like a stayer.
You can tell.
Next Saturday, Caulfield, race four.
What's her experience?
Well, rounding up cattle in the country, mainly. Couple of city wins.
Cam's happy. He wanted a girl from the start.
Women keep their mouth shut.
Well, they don't get on the phone, go to the pub and do all their mates favours.
She loves this horse.
Don't want some cocky bastard on him, hard hands, know-it-all,
thinks he can thrash him home.
You'll understand if I say you're not to make any outside calls
until after Saturday's race, love?
Is this big? Well, big enough.
This horse is gonna win 'cause it's the best horse in the race.
There's nothing else going on here.
Microfiche. How old is this?
Yep, just keep going. Faster.
What's that? OK, can... Wait. Go back a bit.
No! No!No!
No! (SHOUTS)
Stop.
No!
No, back. There.
That.
Got him.
Well, that was nice.
Girl can ride.
230 on this sheep paddock?
HARRY: For a stayer, she's smoking.
So you in? It's 25 big ones.
Jesus! By next Saturday?
Well, can you do it?
Well, I might have to sell a kidney.
(LOW, TENSE MUSIC)
You having fun there, Schumacher?
Two pricks on a bike have been with us since we left the track.
I just wanted to see what they would do.
JACK: Uh, what's going on?
I don't know.
Could be just two guys out for a joy-ride.
Could be someone who thinks we've got cash on board.
(KNOCKS)
(CAR STARTS)
Harry, you want to reach under the seat for me, please?
There's a little case there.
You want to open it for me, please, Jack?
CAM: 686 Smith & Wesson.
When was the last time you shot anything, Jack?
Oh, some rabbits about 20 years ago in the mallee.
I missed most of them, though.
(TYRES SCREECH)
The bloke in the back's got a little... bag or something.
Well, that'll be his playlunch.
Hold on. I'm gonna take the scenic route.
Can't outrun 'em.
I think we'll have to show the boys the iron.
Out we go!
I'll stay where I am, Cam.
Stay down!
Give me the gun.
Get down!
You bastards!
Party over?
Yeah, it looks that way, boss.
That ain't the way you go about taking money off people.
Uh...
I don't think this is about the horses, fellas.
Might have something to do with a little job I've taken on.
Well, don't take on any big jobs.
Yeah.
You want me to wait? No, it's OK. Cheers.
You alright?
Have you seen anyone go in or out? No.
Alright, come on. I'm gonna grab some stuff and then we'll go.
Look out! Look out!
No. No, Jack, you can't.
Jack! Leave it!
LINDA: Come on, please.
Leave it! it's gone! Hop in the car, Jack!
Get in the car! No!
Come on! Jack! Hop in!
Should be comfortable here. It belongs to my current.
She's in Italy somewhere, swanning with her mother.
Wish I was in Italy with her mum.
I need to swap the Jag over for the ute.
You need me, I'm on my phone.
But don't use your mobile.
Help yourself to the fridge.
I'm in the apartment opposite.
I can see everything from there. That's how I met my girlfriend.
I'm indebted, Cam.
Next Saturday, at Caulfield, we pay off our debts.
See ya, Jack.
Cheers, mate.
See ya, Linda. Thanks, Cam.
Found something of historical interest.
Well, Bishop's mum did say he was into filmmaking.
Down the bottom - name of the cop who said it was all
a case of mistaken identity.
Uh...
Detective Sergeant Scullin.
One paragraph on. The other arresting officer.
Senior Sergeant Garth Bruce.
Ronald Bishop had to be blackmailing them, didn't he?
So we need to find whatever it was he had over them before they do.
Which will probably keep us alive for another week.
You realise we are going to end up in a caravan park in Deniliquin
on witness protection, don't ya?
What is it about imminent death that makes you horny?
I'm just turned on by the thought of Deniliquin.
(MOANS)
Oh, God.
Oh, God! Yeah!
Ah! McKillop's wife.
What?
Well...
...you told me that she said that this all started
when McKillop received a call from a mystery woman, right?
Is this your idea of pillow talk?
A call from a recently widowed woman.
She rang and said that she had something
that proved Danny's innocence.
It has to be the wife of someone on the inside.
Who knows? It could be someone from Charts, or Good Hands or a cop.
Death notices. The obituaries from that time.
Somewhere, there has to be a name that jumps out.
Right, yeah.
Hang on a sec.
Didn't your mother tell you it's rude not to finish what you start?
Can you not mention my mother?
Uh, this is Dr. Charles Taub here, from Monash University Medical School.
Um, Denise, we're doing a study on police mortality.
Hopefully, our research will mean higher stress loadings on police salaries.
Yeah, I'm just wanting to double-check our data
on any police deaths in the last three months.
Sure.
I find appealing to their pockets usually gets more answers.
Two in January.
Motor transport. Yeah.
Yeah, I've got those.
None in Feb.
Yes, thank God.
PK Vane?
Yeah, I did hear about that. (SNAPS FINGERS)
Uh, no. Thanks, Denise. That's all we need. Thank you. 'Bye.
PK Vane, shot dead in the driveway of his Seaford home.
What department?
Special Branch.
That's gotta be him, doesn't it? I mean, it's gotta be his wife who called Danny.
Can you get an address? Sure.
Cam. CAM: Hey, listen, brother.
It's time to go.
There's some blokes coming up your way.
Don't use the back. Use the roof.
Gotta get out of here. (KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Oh, shit!
Fuck.
MAN: Jack Irish? Police! We know you're home.
(KNOCKS)
Open the door, Jack!
TONY: Roof! Go, go, go!
Find another way out!
(GLASS SHATTERS)
Give me that fucking chair! Alright, alright!
Ah! Shit!
Mrs. Vane?
Are you sure this is the right house?
WOMAN: Excuse me!
Oh, Mrs. Vane, I'm... I'm sorry. We're just wondering if you could help us.
I take it you're not Jehovah's Witness.
Didn't I see you at Danny McKillop's funeral?
Paul had the Jeppeson girl under surveillance the day she...
...was run over.
He said he'd seen her get murdered.
That they'd framed someone and that he had something that would prove it.
Did he say what?
Nope.
He didn't want me to know.
Well, why didn't he come forward himself?
He was too scared.
He started hiding guns all around the place.
Started checking for phone taps.
He took an early retirement and sat on the couch for years
just watching nature docos.
I mean, it wasn't exactly the kind of... retirement that I had planned.
And then one day, he just...
He just snapped.
He got up, he rang Danny McKillop, and he told him,
“We can make these bastards pay."
Pay?
I think the word is 'blackmail'.
Oh, and they paid him out.
They shot him in the driveway in front of his dog.
Jesus.
Well, the cops pulled the place apart trying to find whatever it was.
Pretended they were looking for clues.
I told them I didn't know.
If you didn't know what he had over them,
then why did you call Danny McKillop?
I may not know what it is, but I have a fair idea where it is.
You've got a long drive ahead of you.
(CAR DOORS CLOSE)
LINDA: Here it is.
I bet it's in there.
How do you know?
Oh, debt collector's instinct.
Well, there's a crowbar in the ute. Yeah, I know. I was lying on it.
Move along, Kamahl.
Jacklﬂsh.
You know, you really are one giant pain in the arse.
Oh, well, I'm sorry to be such an inconvenience.
Where is it? Don't know. We're just here on holidays.
Maybe if you tell us what it is you're looking for.
Who do you think I am, Miss Marple? (GROANS)
TONY: Let's be clear at the outset.
What's gonna happen is I'm gonna kill the blackfella.
Oh, like the good old days. Then I'll move onto the woman.
They're not involved, OK?
Well, they are now.
You see, you're all gonna die here, Jack. It's really just a question of speed.
Get us what we're looking for and it can be over in a heartbeat.
Painless, like putting down a dog.
Dick us around, I mean, there's no-one for miles.
Death could come very slowly.
They know the story I'm working on. They know your names.
Tell me, do people still read newspapers?
JACK: it's in the fireplace.
Show us.
Yeah, OK.
OK, now get up there.
This coat cost me four grand.
Yeah, right.
SCULLIN: Don't get stuck up there, Jack.
You'll make an easy target for Tony.
JACK: Ow!
SCULLIN: Come on! Get a move on.
(LINDA YELLS) TONY: Taking too long!
No! It's here. LINDA: Bastard!
SCULLIN: She's a real fighter, Jack.
Get on with it!
Thank you very much.
I will take that.
(LINDA SCREAMS)
You can stop now. I think they understand.
Yeah.
(BIRDSONG)
Ow.
I've taken worse beatings.
(GROANS)
I'm thinking maybe I should just return to conveyancing.
Oh, that's Anne Jeppeson.
Our officers Garth Bruce and Martin Scullin.
I need you to be with me tonight.
Well, that's a relief, 'cause I haven't got anywhere to live.
(COMMENTARY PLAYS ON TV)
LINDA: I need a car sent to the Prince of Prussia hotel.
I need to come in the back of the building.
Make sure there's plenty of security staff.
Yes, Gavin, it is life-and-death.
No, I'm not drinking till I've filed this. Oh. Well, I'll have yours, then.
You realise this doesn't really link Kwitny?
He could still bullshit his way out of it.
Yeah, we'll get him eventually.
Great win last Saturday, Jack.
Yes, a truly, truly great win.
Ball out of defence, still a weakness.
Shame about your place.
Yes, isn't it just?
Don't they want you now for murder or something?
It's a misunderstanding.
Some great songs.
But I could have bet the whole bar here
that Nelson Riddle done the arrangements on this record.
Well, that's lovely for Riddle.
Look, Wilbur, it's been a long couple of days.
Yeah.
WILBUR: Oh, it was Riddle. Money on the table.
I never heard of the bloody Kwitny Orchestra.
Pittman on counter sax. Oh, shit, how did I miss this?
There.
The post office box of the recording studio.
Abbotsford. WILBUR: Well, that's plain wrong.
Nat recorded that in Chicago.
My guess is that he never came anywhere near Abbotsford.
We would have heard about it.
No, he was never there, to my knowledge.
How does it feel to bring down an entire government, Wilbur,
without getting off your bar stool?
WOMAN ON TV: With this extraordinary story still unfolding,
we can confirm that both the Minister for Police, Garth Bruce,
and the Minister for Planning, Lance Pittman, are now in custody.
And following the revelation of secret documents from an inside source,
Special Branch detectives have also raided the offices of Charts Corporation,
making several arrests, including that of millionaire developer Joseph Kwitny
and Father Alex Gorman, of the Good Hands Foundation,
on multiple charges of graft and corruption.
In what is certainly proving to be the biggest scandal
to hit this city in decades,
we spoke exclusively to the woman who helped break the story, Linda Hillier...
Dakota Dreaming's at 12 to 1 now.
Reckon we can push it to 20 before they smell a rat.
Oh, Harry, I just came by to tell you that my house blew up,
so I couldn't raise the 25.
Your place was insured, wasn't it? You'll be good for it.
Cam knows how to find you.
Could really go down big-time here, couldn't we?
HARRY: You know what Oscar Wilde said?
“Only one thing makes more of a fool of a man than a woman,
“and that's a horse.”
And this one's got a woman riding it.
Pulling off a coup's always a bit of a miracle.
I've had a coup horse run stone motherless last.
Goodbye 70 grand.
And today...
...there's 13 other cattle out there trying to sink us.
But some bunny's gotta win, eh?
Why not us, Jack?
COMMENTATOR: Just about ready for the running of race number four
on the program at Caulfield.
Group one feature, moving in.
Just about set.
Ready to run.
Dakota Dreaming sprung the gates.
(NAT KING COLE SINGS) ♪ The mere idea of you
♪ The longing here for you
♪ You'll never know
♪ How slow
♪ The moments go
♪ Till I'm near to you... ♪
(LANGUID MUSIC)