The Miniature Murders is the second episode in the Twenty First series of the popular ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders. It was first streamed in the U.S. on 1 December 2019 on streaming services Acorn TV and Britbox, and later aired in the UK on 4 February 2020.
Synopsis[]
The worlds of miniature dollhouses and real houses collide when a prolific real-estate agent is shot in front of a crowd at the unveiling of a new dollhouse collection at the Midsomer Museum of the Family. The victim had no small number of enemies: he was an unpopular landlord, an estranged husband with a new lover, and a party to a manslaughter case years ago.
Plot[]
Inside the Toy Shop, a music box plays. a dog growls.
At the Midsomer Museum of the Family, the Life in Miniature Charity Fundraiser is going on.
In the Play Center, bubbles are in the air and it's almost time for the light show. Outside the window, a woman in a purple bird costume frowns.
In the museum, Fiona Beauvoisin picks out a piece from the dollhouse on display. Her husband Alexander Beauvoisin walks up and makes a snide remark to her while his girlfriend, Holly Ackroyd watches. The children play with bubbles and the woman in the purple bird costume posts a flyer on the bulletin board.
Maxine Dobson says "On behalf of my fellow trustees, welcome to the Midsomer Museum of the Family. This is one of the county's most notable collections of dolls' houses, most notable collections of dolls' houses, and we're delighted to be adding it to our existing display. So please welcome our generous new sponsor, Alexander Beauvoisin."
The audience claps and one man stands in the back, slow clapping. Alexander says he may not know much about doll houses but he does know about family. At this, his wife stands up and walks out. His girlfriend follows.
Alexander continues, "These incredible miniatures were actually collected by my great-aunt Olive, the founder of the Beauvoisin Estates. She taught me to value family above everything else.... (In the playroom, children play with the bubbles, including Sarah Barnaby and daughter, Betty.).......Homes are the lifeblood of any community. They're the place we raise our children. They're the place we make memories. They're the place we feel safe. (a gun protrudes from a dollhouse in the back of the room) ...And that's why it's so fitting that Beauvoisin Estates be making this donation." Alexander is shot and falls to the floor. Birds cry and balloons float to the sky.
The police arrive. DS Jamie Winter tells DCI John Barnaby that his family is safe. No one saw the gun go off, but everyone is talking about the man who gave the slow hand clap. 60 people including 15 children. All have been searched. No weapon found and no one saw the shooter.
"Daddy," calls Betty. Purple Bird watches from the back.
Alexander Beauvoisin, 52. He was a local estate agent. He'd just donated a collection of dolls' houses to the museum, apparently. Fleur examines the body and says a large-caliber firearm was used- 45 caliber or bigger.
Barnaby asks if there is anything else Fleur can tell him. "Don't move house the weekend you're on call." Fleur needed more space for her many and varied interests.
Winter finds a door behind a dollhouse. "This house hinges at the back. It's been left open. And the frame's been blown out. And the chest of drawers is singed. I think we know where they took their shot."
Carys Nicholson, the leader of the playroom group, brings a list that police asked for and Maxine tells the police to be careful. Maxine is in charge of exhibits at the museum. She says that people fail to show the necessary respect because they are toys. Maxine says, "It was a little ironic, I suppose. Dolls' houses donated by the landlord from hell. He had dozens of houses, but not so keen on maintaining them. A girl died thanks to a dodgy boiler. It was in the paper." Carys adds, "She was a student, I think. They've been organizing protests against him ever since."
Winter shows Barnaby an article about Lara Wokoma. She died in her student flat three years ago of carbon monoxide poisoning linked to a faulty boiler. The pair go interview Holly. Holly is covered in blood. She says she was outside when it happened. When she got back in, she used her shirt to try to help Alexander. She says she didn't know him that well. She can't think of anyone who would want to harm him. He and his wife, Fiona, are separated. They are fighting over the house. The woman in the bird costume gave him a hug.
Fiona mentions that the guys who came to move the dollhouses. The older one totally lost it as in throwing things. She says she told Alex to go and sort it but her refused to go downstairs. He seemed afraid.
Barnaby and Winter go to speak with the Purple Bird woman, Jemima Starling. She ran Alexander's sales team for a decade before doing the Bird thing full time. When the girl died at his property, he was devastated about it. It wasn't his fault. "You'll probably hear some horrible things about Xander, you know, but he was a successful man, and it makes people jealous," she says. His wife was "mercenary. Doesn't do a day's work in 20 years and then suddenly thinks she's entitled to every penny in the divorce."
Jemima says she and Carys used to run the soft play center together, but then had creative differences. Jemima says Carys stole some things. When the gun went off, Jemima was near the entrance putting up posters. She did see Maxine and Carys arguing with Alexander before the event and they didn't not look happy.
Holly arrives at a house and goes upstairs. She makes a call. "You need to get me out of here. We're done."
Barnaby goes to interview Fiona at her house. She says "Birdbrain called. She loved being the one to tell me. Jemima Starling, Alexander's one woman fan club." Fiona assumes Wesley Peters shot Alexander. He got out of prison and 24 hours later he's eyeballing Alexander and clapping hands. Wesley had the maintenance contracts for his properties and a girl died. He got five years for manslaughter. He claimed that Alexander set him up.
Barnaby asks if Alexander had any enemies? Fiona says, "Um, tenants, colleagues, family of the girl who died. Oh, and me, of course. I should've left as soon as the affairs started. It was humiliating. The day I filed for divorce, I came home to find he'd changed the locks. Then there were all these schemes for hiding his wealth. I gave up everything for him, but he was determined that I should leave with nothing." Barnaby says, "So why go to his fundraiser?" Fiona replies, "To stand up to him. I loved those dolls' houses. He was giving them away to spite me." Fiona says Jemima was the only woman Alexander didn't sleep with. She was in love with him and told him so at one of the work parties. And he laughed at her, which is why she quit.
Winters and Barnaby go to talk to Wesley Peters. He is working out at a gym. He says he wasn't at the museum to do anything. He just wanted to see the look on Alexander's face. Alexander framed him. Wesley never signed off on the boiler. Alexander sent Nicco Dearden around to patch it up and then faked the certificate. Winters tries to lift a weight, which he can't. He says, "You can't really do it in a suit."
Fleur meets the detectives in the lab. "Sorry I'm late, sorry if I smell." At her new place, there is no hot water and she can't find the kettle. Barnaby offers to help. "There's a pile of flat-pack furniture with your name on it." Fleur vouches for the Wokomas. They did her move last time and did a better job. Fleur says they've had a hard time. The mother died a few years ago and then Lara. As for Alexander, cause of death was exsanguination. The gun was a 1917 Lundberg- a Swedish semiautomatic designed to fired a lightweight wooden bullet. The lab ran tests on the marks inside the dolls house and found some human blood. Before they leave, Fleur tells Barnaby to let her know when he is ready to put together the furniture. "I know you were only offering to be polite, but that's not my problem, is it?"
At the Wokoma's Removals and Storage facility, Samuel greets Barnaby, "At last. The phone's been ringing off the hook with the good news." Samuel refuses to tell Barnaby where he was yesterday. They did deliver the doll houses to the museum. Finn tells Barnaby that his dad was with him. Finn says that when they were packing up the doll houses Alexander was yelling at the woman who lived there, who was crying. Wesley Peters shows up and goes off with Samuel.
At Midsomer University, Winter speaks to Erin Turner. She says she was running a campaign against Alexander and all landlords who fail in their duty. "We wanted to challenge his "pillar of the community" act. I mean, it was sick... Donating these tiny houses when his real properties, lived in by real people, are damp and unsafe." The protest was cancelled, however, due to lack of interest and Exam term. Erin says she was with Finn yesterday at his sister's grave. They take flowers around for her birthday. Winter says that Finn says he was at home with his father. Erin says Finn must be confused.
Finn is searching his dad's office and tries to get into his safe.
Fiona receives a packages. It is a doll house replica of her home. The note on it says, "You wanted the house. My gift to you. A"
Erin is out swimming in the canal.
At the police station, Winter and Barnaby watch a video from CCTV. Barnaby asks, "Did anything come back on Holly?" Winter replies, "No. No criminal record or firearms license. She's not on social media, which is a bit odd." Barnaby says, "Well, I'm not." Winter says, "Yeah, I know, but you're, you know... Above all that." "I am indeed," says Barnaby. As far as banking records and digital forensics, tech is still going through Alexander's computer, but he was moving a lot of money around. Winter says, "You know the old school building behind the church? He sold that to Jemima Starling and Carys Nicholson for 70 grand..... I spoke to an estate agent. It's worth at least 600." Barnaby says, "Well, perhaps his wife was right... He was getting assets off the balance sheet. Any luck tracing Finn Wokoma and Erin Turner's movements?" Winter- "We're trying to get CCTV from the streets near the cemetery." Barnaby- "Good, because Finn can't have been in both places at once, can he? And what about Alexander's tenants? Have uniform spoken to them yet?" Winter- "Three separate people mentioned Maxine Dobson. She rents the toy shop from him, and they've been seen in public, arguing." Barnaby receives an update from forensics. "They've found a purple thread in the dolls' house. They think it came from a synthetic feather."
Finn stands on the bank of the canal as Erin gets out of the water. She tells him to stop. Finn pleads with her and she says no and walks away.
At the Toy Shop, Barnaby exclaims about the incredible level of detail on toys. Carys says that's why Maxine has a two-year waiting list. Everything she makes is a perfect reproduction. Carys helps run the shop and is also Maxine's lodger. Carys used to run the soft play center with Jemima Starling. Carys says, "Yeah. Never go into business with your quirky friend. They might just turn out to be your insane friend. She's gonna buy me out. Has she been accusing me of stealing? Because every item I removed is something I paid for." Barnaby says, "I wanted to know why Alexander let you buy the building at such a discount." Carys says, "I don't know. I mean, Jemima set it all up. She said it was okay. Have we done something illegal?" Maxine rents the Toy Shop from Alexander and there were disagreements between them. Carys says, "She's been here 35 years. He was trying to bully her out so he could sell the place." Barnaby says, "A witness saw you and Maxine arguing with Alexander in the museum car park shortly before he was killed." Carys says, "Yeah, because it was getting ridiculous. He actually paid someone to stand outside the shop scaring customers away. He admitted to this. Yeah, he was proud of it." Carys warns Barnaby that when he speaks to Maxine, she doesn't find things easy socially.
Maxine tells Barnaby that Alexander's great-aunt Olive promised her a lifetime's tenancy in the Toy Shop. Olive was a collector and appreciated the craft. Alexander had a long list of tenants who hated him. Maxine says she was outside drinking from her hip flask of single malt.
In the soft play center, Jemima dressed in purple bird costume with bubble machine going, is singing to the kids in the ball pit. She has a ukulele which plays tunes. When the police walk in, she changes the lyrics. "The policemen on the bus say hullo, hullo, hullo, all day long." Jemima doesn't know how a feather got in the dollhouse because she never set foot in that hall. "This costume is my entire livelihood," she complains as apparently Winter wants the costume to take to the lab. Winter says, "Yeah, well, you'll get it back." She says, "Oh, well, obviously I don't have a choice." Winter has a few questions first..."Alexander gave you this building at a very good price, didn't he?" Jemima says, "Yeah, it was a gift. For years of loyalty." Winter asks, "And it wasn't part of his divorce proceedings? He sells you this building at a huge discount, reducing the value of his assets on paper, and then you sell it back to him further down the line. If that were the case, his death means that all this is yours to keep. You're half a million pounds up." Jemima says, "You're wasting your time! Have you spoken to Maxine? Because I've remembered something. When I saw Xander arguing with her outside, he said he knew all about her "little side project." And that seemed to shut her up." Winter asks, ""Were you in love with Alexander?" Jemima admits, "Well, I might have said something, maybe a bit like that, you know, when I was drunk. Like, you know, "You're the best, you are! I love you!" But I didn't kill him out of a crime of passion. I didn't kill him for the money. I didn't kill him! (She starts strumming the ukelele) I didn't kill him!" and then breaks down weeping.
Barnaby tells Winter that he has been talking to Alexander's solicitor. She says Fiona Beauvoisin offered her a bribe last month for information on Alexander's finances and whether he'd changed his will. He intended to.
Fleur walks up to the Wokoma storage facility. "Hello, stranger!" says Fleur. Samuel says, "To what do we owe the pleasure?" Fleur says, "They're coming home to mama!" Samuel says, "Thank God. They've been pining away. Breaks my heart to see it. We... We had a visit from the police this morning about Lara's landlord. You're not working on that case, are you?" Fleur says, "You know I can't get into that."
At the Beauvoisin home, Fiona tells Barnaby and Winter that she has just been figuring out what Alexander has sold. Or what other people have been helping themselves to. D.S. Winter goes to speak to Holly outside. Barnaby tells Fiona, "I've been in contact with Alexander's solicitor- she refused your bribe," Fiona responds, "When the person you're divorcing plays dirty, you have to play even dirtier." Barnaby says, "You believed he was concealing his wealth. Financially, you come away with more as his widow than as his ex-wife." Fiona says, "I don't see how this has any relevance, given I have an alibi. I was outside the building with Holly when the gun went off." Barnaby replies, "I'm not suggesting you pulled the trigger. I imagine you're more of a delegator." Fiona says, "Oh, you think I paid someone else to do it? What a fertile imagination."
Outside, Holly tells Winter that she and Alexander had a discussion about his missing cufflinks. As he's a man he thinks she has tidied them away or something. Or they may have been taken during the break-in last week. Barnaby and Fiona walk up. Holly points out the window that was broken. Fiona tells Holly she can stay at her house a few more nights.
Fleur opens her storage bin. "Hello, girls! I've missed you." She gets a call from the lab. Samuel walks up and asks if everything is alright?
Barnaby speaks with Fleur at her new place. She says that "the lab called about those blood particles in the dolls' house. We're looking at Samuel or Finn. Bear in mind, though, the blood could've been there before the shot was fired. I saw Samuel today, and he said they packaged up the collection, so there's every possibility..." Barnaby interrupts, "Have you been talking to the Wokomas about the case?" Fleur says, "Of course not. I went to collect my stuff from storage, and he mentioned packing up the dolls' houses. That's all. Let's be crystal clear. I would never, under any circumstances, discuss evidence with a suspect." Barnaby says, "I'm sorry. Genuinely." Fleur says, "Apology grudgingly accepted. Provided you make it up to me... one bookcase at a time."
Fiona looks in the doll house that Alexander sent her and pours herself a glass of champagne. Holly look on from the doorway.
Barnaby tries to assemble a bookshelf. It collapses. Fleur says, "I need to show Gladys and Brenda a bit of love. My girls! We've been apart for far too long." Fleur goes out to her garage and starts one up- motorcycle.
At the police station, Winter hears from Barnaby about Fleur. He says, "A biker gang?" Barnaby says, "They call themselves the Ladies of Leather. She did a road trip across Romania with them last summer." Winter says, "Well, in other news, the prison got back to me. They sent through a list of Wesley Peters' main associates. The visitors' log's interesting. Samuel Wokoma visited over a dozen times. And Carys Nicholson was a regular visitor too. The guards think that she was Wesley Peters' girlfriend."
Winter goes to talk to Carys. She says that she and Wesley had been seeing each other three months when he went to prison. They tried to keep things going, but prison changed him. Actually, not even prison. It was the guilty verdict. He just couldn't get past it. Winter tells Carys that Wesley turned up at the museum on Saturday afternoon. Carys didn't know that as she was prepping for her class, which started at 4:30. Carys says she doesn't have a relationship with Wesley now. They broke up six months ago.
Samuel Wokoma tells Barnaby that he cut himself when he was taking the little furniture out to bubble-wrap it. Samuel declines to do a DNA test. He did visit Wesley Peters in prison. He wanted to give his side of the story. Samuel says, "I believe that Alexander set him up. Paid some waster to patch up the boiler for 20 quid. Nicco someone. My Lara wasn't even worth the price of a proper service." Samuel refuses to say where he was at 5:00 on Saturday?
At the Toy Shop, the dog barks and whines. Maxine comforts it.
Winter tells Barnaby that tech is still going through Alexander's computers, but there is video of Erin and Nicco, the handyman. Apparently, Alexander sent that to Erin on Wednesday night with a two-word e-mail. "Let's talk." Then, on Friday morning, she canceled the protest. Winter says that door-to-door turned up something interesting on Erin too. "Guess who Alexander's neighbor saw near the house on the night of the break-in."
Erin explains that the video is from when she was a first-year. She doesn't do that stuff anymore. Drսgs. Alexander told her to cancel the protest, or he'd post the video online. Erin says, "I couldn't let that happen. I'm trying to get into politics." Barnaby says, "I wouldn't worry. They seem to get away with most things these days. I'd be more concerned with the breaking and entering." Winter says, "Alexander's house. We have a witness. Erin says, "I didn't take anything. I wanted the phone. I canceled the protest, but I didn't trust him to delete the video." Barnaby says, "You thought getting rid of the phone would get rid of the video? Because even I know it's too late once it's been e-mailed." Erin says, "It wasn't just the video. There were pictures. Later that night, we... I let Nicco take photos of me. I wasn't sure if he deleted them." Barnaby tells Erin that Finn isn't backing up her alibi.
Jemima, dressed in her purple bird costume, walks to her car with party gear and angrily shoves them in the seat. She gets in her car and sees someone drive past her. She turns around and follows them.
It's late at the police station. Winter brings in pizza. Winter says, "Forensics called when I was on my way back from getting these. The purple thread found in the dolls' house is a match for Jemima's costume. The lights were still on in the soft play center as I drove past just now. It's too late to go and talk to her, isn't it?" Barnaby says, "Come on, leave that. It'll stay warm. Winter grabs his piece of pizza and heads out the door with Barnaby.
Barnaby and Winter arrive at the soft play center. Jemima's car is still in the parking lot. A window is cracked open and bubbles are coming out. Barnaby tells Winter, "Well, go on. Perks of being younger and slimmer." Winter tucks his tie in his shirt and goes in through the window. He opens the front door and Barnaby comes in. Barnaby asks, "Anyone in here?" Winter looks for lights. Barnaby flashes his flashlight around. He sees the bird mask on the floor. The ukulele is broken and plays a discordant Wheels on the Bus. Jemima is in the tub of balls. Dead.
Fleur says, "See how the cut begins high on the side of the neck? That suggests an attack from behind. There's dirt in the wound, presumably transferred there by the knife. Rigor has hardly set in. She's not been dead three hours." Winter found a diary in her bag. The evidence room released her costume back to her at 10 past 4:00. She then had a children's party over near Aspern Tallow at 6:00. Winter says, "I spoke to the parents. They texted to cancel the party because their daughter was feeling unwell, but Jemima turned up anyway. Apparently, she was angry and then left just after 6:00." The cameras are smashed. Fleur finds green paint under the elbows and vertical stains at the front. It's the exact color the Wokomas were painting the fence at the storage unit.
Winter goes to get Carys and sees her with Wesley Peters.
Carys comes to the play center and shows the videos to the police. They don't record when the center's closed though. So there is no footage after 6:00 p.m. Carys gets emotional and starts crying. She's known Jemima a couple of years. Carys was having a difficult time after her mum died. Carys started helping out at the toy shop, and Jemima was one of their regulars. They had squabbles about the soft play center.
Barnaby shows Carys an insurance certificate. Barnaby says, "Jemima's death means that you inherit this entire place with the mortgage paid off. It leaves you very comfortable. You and Wesley." Carys says, " What's Wesley got to do with it?" Winter says he saw them together on the doorstep less than an hour ago. Carys says they are not together. They are just sort of figuring things out. Carys was at home with Maxine all evening and Wesley did come 'round about 9:00.
Winter goes out to look at the storage fence. There are marks in the fresh paint and a purple feather. Jemima seemed to be leaning against the fence. The first rows of containers can be seen from where Jemima was standing. Barnaby says to "Free up some manpower. We'll get those searched." Fleur says, "I had a closer look at the cut. And from the shape and depth, I think it was made with a fairly small blade. I think it was made with a fairly small blade. Penknife maybe? It definitely wasn't the best tool for the job. More like they grabbed whatever was to hand." The dirt in the wound is cement dust introduced by the knife. Barnaby notices the doll house in the corner of the lab. Fleur says she came across it in the move. Fleur says, "I thought it could be a useful teaching aid. See? (A doll is hanging from the ceiling in the dollhouse) I can re-create crime scenes." Barnaby says, "I have increasing reservations about you." Fleur replies, "I'd listen to that instinct."
Barnaby looks at a map at the police station. The phone masts put Jemima near the house where they canceled the party at 6:00 p.m. Then Jemima is picked up again by the mast near the Wokoma storage facility at 6:40. She's not renting a unit. So, what was she doing there? It's in the middle of nowhere. Winter says, "I spoke to the company that provide their security, and they stopped the contract in April because Samuel kept missing payments. The cameras are just empty boxes." Barnaby says, "We have to treat the murders of Alexander and Jemima as related until we can prove otherwise. Who benefits from both deaths?" Winter says, "Carys inherits the building from Jemima. And with Alexander dead, she doesn't have to give it back." Barnaby says, "That would all be premeditated, though. Now, Alexander's death seems planned, but it looks like Jemima was killed in a panic. I think she witnessed something either at the museum or at the storage facility." Winter says, "But why didn't she tell us?" Barnaby says, "Well, perhaps she didn't realize its significance. Or perhaps she was afraid." Barnaby gets a text that a member of the public reported a female swimmer disposing of something in the reservoir. They think it's a gun.
Barnaby and Winter go out to the canal. They search Erin's rucksack. They tell her they have reason to believe she has just disposed of a murder weapon. There's a dive team on its way. Erin says she hasn't killed anyone. Finn thinks his dad's done something really stupid. Finn found a gun in the office. He was afraid the police were watching him, so he got Erin to swim out with it. Finn is hiding behind boats. He admits he doesn't know where his dad was on Saturday afternoon when Alexander was killed. Finn says, "He didn't get in till midnight. Then he was upset. He's been drinking a bit since... since Lara died. Look, I was just being paranoid, okay? He wouldn't do anything like this." Finn says they found guns in house clearances. His dad used to hand them in, but sometimes he... he doesn't. He keeps them in the office. Finn panicked and wanted the gun gone. When asked, Samuel says "I don't know what to say. I'm sorry Finn thinks I'm capable of that. But I've never fired that gun. I just pass them on to a gunsmith. We're still covering the costs of the civil case. W-We're drowning in it." When shown a picture of Jemima, Samuel denies knowing her. He didn't know why she was at the storage facility last night.
Winter tells Barnaby that "The fingerprints found on the window at Alexander's house have flagged up a match in the database. One set were a match for a police officer dismissed for misconduct in 2016. Sergeant Leanne Carpenter. Or as she now calls herself, Holly Ackroyd. Senior officer, Met firearms unit. She's using a fake identity. And she's a trained sniper."
The dive team heads out on the canal. The police go in to search the storage facility.
Holly Ackroyd/Leanne Carpenter tells police that she is now a private detective. Fiona paid her to date Alexander and find out how he was hiding their money. Holly says, "I wanted to be straight with you after he died. But Fiona was worried about how it would look. She paid me to keep the Holly thing going. I was in the car park with Fiona. I went out there to give her Alexander's cufflinks. She needed things from the house to sell. Look, she didn't pay me to kill him. But if you told me she'd paid someone else, I could believe it." Fiona walks in. She says, "What's going on? We haven't done anything wrong. Alexander wasn't playing fair, so I did what I had to do." Fiona wasn't aware that Jemima Starling was murdered last night. Fiona says she was here all afternoon and evening, as was Leanne. Barnaby says, "With Alexander dead, you inherit everything. You've got exactly what you wanted." Fiona replies, "What I wanted was a family! I wanted a husband who liked and respected me! Who thought that I was enough! But I didn't get that. 24 years, and all I had left to fight for was a posh house. So I fought for it! And I don't feel the need to apologize for any of that!"
Barnaby says to Winter, "Whoever killed Jemima didn't plan to do it with a small penknife. They reacted in the moment because she suddenly became a threat. Why?" Winter says, "Maybe she put two and two together about something." They wonder what Jemima knew. It was Jemima who told them about Alexander's argument with Maxine. She saw them outside, but she didn't hear the content. Only that Alexander referred to Maxine as having a "little side project." Maxine's got the shop, the museum. She sells her miniatures online. Are any of those a little side project?
At the Toy Shop, Barnaby and Winter look around. Winter looks at the website and says, "This is her main seller page. She ships all over the world. Mainly five-star reviews. Except this one, back in March. A collector accuses her of misselling a jack-in-the-box." Barnaby says, "How do you do that? No spring?" Winter says, "She claimed that it's a one-of-a-kind prototype from the 1930s. But then the collector found there was one on display here." Barnaby says, "The only example of this prototype in existence." Winter says, "Half the things she's selling here are identical to the ones in these cases." Barnaby says, "She's making and selling fake antiques." Maxine walks in, "I most certainly am not. Every item I sell is 100% authentic. It's these that are the fakes." Winter says, "You've been stealing the exhibits?" Maxine says, "Why not? It doesn't make a jot of difference to the visitors. They have no respect for the collection. Better to have replicas here and let the originals go to collectors, who appreciate them." Winter says, "And Alexander found out about this?" Maxine says, "Oh, he didn't care! As long as he got his rent." Barnaby says, "But it's your reputation. Alexander wanted you out of that shop. Was he blackmailing you? Is that what Jemima overheard?" Maxine says, "Carys has told me what happened to that poor woman, so I know where you're going with this. And, no, I did not commit a double murder, over a replica jack-in-the-box!"
A Policeman goes to open up a storage unit. A diver finds a gun- a 9-millimeter semiautomatic from World War II-not the murder weapon. The bullet that killed Alexander was 11-millimeter. An investigator tells Barnaby and Winter that "Whoever wiped it on the outside forgot to think about the magazine. It's giving me a match. Wesley Peters." Barnaby gets a text and says he is needed back at the storage units. He tells Winter to call him as soon as he find Wesley Peters.
Winter follows Peters out to a cabin in the woods. He looks through the window. Winter calls Barnaby, "So Wesley Peters has got a cottage. It's in the middle of nowhere. He's got it set up like a torture room." Barnaby has gone to the storage unit. He says, "That boy who Wesley blames for Lara's death. I think we've found him."
At the cottage, it is raining outside. Wesley punches Winter, who punches back. Wesley runs to his car. Winter has the keys. "Don't make this worse," says Winter.
Fleur examines the body. She says, "With this level of decomposition, we're talking a good few weeks. Although, actually, that patch of lividity doesn't make sense with the way he's lying on his back. .. Not much sign of blowfly activity. The most likely scenario is that the body was kept tightly wrapped in something for a period of time and then moved here quite recently. I'll call you once we've got him back to the mortuary."
Wesley says to Winter, "I know how this looks. But I swear, I was never going to use the gun. I didn't even have ammunition." He brought it to the museum just to frighten Alexander. He was going to get Alexander to follow him to the car park, put him in the van and bring him to the cottage. Wesley says he needed Alexander to admit on tape that he set Wesley up. Samuel Wokoma provided the gun. Wesley gave it back to him the next day. Winter tells him that Nicco Dearden's body has just been discovered in the storage facility. Wesley says, "That's it, then, isn't it? Alexander and Nicco were the only people who knew for sure I was telling the truth. If they're dead, what chance have I got?"
Barnaby says to Fleur, "I'm going to have to arrest him" about Samuel. Fleur asks to talk to him. Five minutes. Fleur goes to talk to Samuel. Samuel tells her that Alexander Beauvoisin wasn't interested in justice for his daughter so why should he help get justice for him. Samuel says, "When Lara was tiny, she begged and begged me to take her to a ballet... A proper one where you got to dress up and all that. I said we'd do it for her 21st birthday. But it sounded like my worst nightmare. She knew I was putting her off. Then the older she got, it became like this joke between us, like, how many years till I had to deliver? She would've... She would've turned 21 this week. I was sitting in a box at the Royal Opera House." Fleur tells Barnaby.
Barnaby and Winter talk. Barnaby says, "Wesley planned to torture a confession out of Alexander, but he didn't kill him. Do you buy it?" Winter says, "I'm not sure. The gun with his fingerprints on isn't actually the murder weapon. And if we're looking at him for Nicco too, then he was in prison." Barnaby says, "But he could've ordered Nicco's execution from inside and then killed Alexander as soon as he was released." Winter says, "So how does Jemima fit in?" Barnaby says, "Nicco's key card was used at 6:38 last night, around the same time that the mast picked her phone up. This all begins with Nicco, doesn't it?"
At the lab, Fleur says "Fragment of wood in the entry wound. That'll almost certainly be the same gun as Alexander. That'll almost certainly be the same gun as Alexander. But what I wanted to show you is this. See that gray dust in his hair? It was on his clothes too. I think it might be cement dust." Barnaby asks, "Same kind as Jemima?" Fleur says, "I've sent a sample down to the lab. They managed to match the stuff in Jemima's throat wound with a brand called Alton Ready-Mixed." Winter says, "So Nicco was buried in cement for weeks and then moved?" Fleur says,"And probably wrapped in plastic first. There was a small piece stuck to his arm." Barnaby says, "We need to find that burial place."
Winter walks out and spies the doll house.. "What the...?" Barnaby says, "Yes, quite. Dr. Perkins plans to terrorize her students with her basement of horrors." Fleur says, "I'm a well-respected teacher. And his name's Clive." Barnaby goes to look at the dollhouse and then says, "We need to go back to the museum."
Barnaby shows Winter the dollhouse that Maxine's been working on. Barnaby says, "Maxine's making a new one of these in her workshop. An exact replica. Except it's not. I'm sure the new one doesn't have that cellar." Winter opens the display case. Barnaby reaches in and moves a tug in the entry way. Underneath is a trap door leading to the cellar. Barnaby says, "She needs this version gone because it tells everyone that the shop she lives in has a hidden cellar." Barnaby and Winter come in the toy shop, Barnaby moves the rug and opens the trap door. Below the trap door is a cellar. And bags of Alton Ready-Mixed.
Barnaby says, "I think you need to start talking. No? Then I will. You had a gun. An unusual thing... Swedish." Maxine says "It was my grandfather's. I never thought I'd have to use it. We'd had these break-ins. It made me feel safe. I was on my own. I heard breaking glass. I wasn't even sure the thing was working. He was there in the doorway. Then, when he was lying there on the floor, I could see his face. He was a boy. Carys was away, so I kept the shop closed the whole weekend, and I sat there with him. If I didn't move, it wasn't really happening." Winter says, "But at some point he ended up in your cellar, covered in cement." Maxine says, "I thought as long as I could keep living here, I could make sure nobody went down there." Barnaby says, "We know that Alexander was killed with the same gun." Maxine says, "He started demanding access. He... He wanted to survey the whole building! I tried everything to put him off. There was no way to get the body out. He was gonna find him on Sunday." Winter says, "So you killed Alexander. But then you still moved Nicco." Maxine says, "I'd already started digging him out of the concrete. I couldn't live like that anymore. I found a card to the container place in his wallet." Barnaby asks, "Where's Carys?" Maxine says, "She had nothing to do with this! She was running one of her kiddies' classes in front of a dozen parents, including your wife!" Barnaby asks, "Maxine. Where is she?"
Barnaby and Winter rush to the Barnaby house. Carys is planning Betty's birthday party. Barnaby tells Sarah to take Betty and go play in her room. Barnaby says, "Maxine is under arrest with our colleagues." Carys says, "She's saying she did it all, isn't she? All Maxine's guilty of is being afraid. She acted in self-defense. I'd been away. When I got back, she was on the floor of her workshop. I don't think she'd eaten for two days. I made her some food, gave her some sleeping tablets, then... I did the rest. I got some plastic sheeting, wrapped him up, but it wasn't enough." She buried him in concrete because he was starting to smell. And Alexander? Carys tried to talk to him but he was a bully. Maxine was falling apart. So she had a choice... Let her die in prison or do something. (flashback showing Carys shoot Alexander) I was back in two minutes." Barnaby says, "But the whole area was searched. How did you get rid of the...(flashback to Carys putting the gun in a bag connected to balloons).... The balloons. They were everywhere." Carys says, "I only hurt Alexander to protect Maxine." She still needed to move Nicco. Wesley had told her how bad things were with Samuel, that he'd stopped paying for security. So when she found Nicco's key card, she thought it could work. But Jemima was watching. Carys says, "She'd got it into her head that I'd poached some children's party booking from her, so she followed me. (flashback showing Jemima watching Carys and Maxine carry a rolled up rug into a storage container)...She'd been going on about me stealing stuff from her, and she called me to have it out." At the play center, Jemima asked her, "What were you doing there? Was there something in that rug? Because it looked like..." so Carys killed her. " I've killed my friend, and she's done nothing wrong. I... I wish I'd just... I wish I'd been thinking more clearly or..." Barnaby says, "You were thinking clearly enough to smash the CCTV cameras. You wanted to imply that whoever killed Jemima thought they were recorded." Carys says, "I didn't go looking for this. I was trying to protect Maxine... You don't understand! Jemima didn't tell you? How I met Maxine. How I was sat on the edge of a motorway bridge at 5:00 a.m., and I did not care. She was out walking her dog. A complete stranger. She took me home, gave me some food, didn't make me talk. We just sat painting one of her little houses together. We sat there for hours. And I felt safe. What's gonna happen to her?" Carys is taken to a police car and sees Maxine in the other police car. Carys goes up and puts her hand to the window. Maxine puts her hand up.
At Fleur's new house, Sarah tells her, "Oh, Fleur, it's just lovely! Looks like you're settled for a while now." John has gone inside for a beer. Winter, who is grilling, says "He's been gone quite a while, actually." Fleur says, "No man can resist the siren call." Betty is playing with Fleur's dollhouse. Betty says, "Look, Mummy!" Sarah goes and looks and sees a doll in a bathtub full of red water. Sarah says, "Oh. The dolly must have got one of those strawberry bubble baths like you've got. Heh. Let's get you a drink." They hear a motor running. Out in the driveway, Barnaby is in the sidecar of the motorcycle with Paddy. Barnaby says, "This is the only way to travel. Why did nobody tell me?!" Sarah tells him, "You are too old for a midlife crisis." Barnaby says, "I'm only human!" Fleur says, "Nobody's perfect! Are they Paddy? Off we go! Whoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Whoo! Whoo-oo-oo! Whoo!" and Fleur drives off with Barnaby and Paddy.
Cast[]
- Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby
- Nick Hendrix as DS Jamie Winter
- Fiona Dolman as Sarah Barnaby
- Annette Badland as Fleur Perkins
- Rosalie Craig as Carys Nicholson
- Katy Brand as Jemima Starling
- Roger Barclay as Alexander Beauvoisin
- Clare Holman as Fiona Beauvoisin
- Joanna Page as Holly Ackroyd - AKA Sgt. Leanne Carpenter
- Eleanor Bron as Maxine Dobson
- Thomas Dominique as Wesley Peters
- Rohan Nedd as Finn Wokoma
- Karl Collins as Samuel Wokoma
- Ami Okamura Jones as Erin Turner
- Tom Anderson as Forensic Officer
- Lee Byford as Police Officer (uncredited)
- Lucie Cooper-Jones as Parent (uncredited)
- Michael Haydon as Police Officer (uncredited)
- Colin Murtagh as Mortuary Attendant (uncredited)
- Guy Normas as Charity Photographer (uncredited)
- Jon Ranwell as Delivery Man (uncredited)
- Mike Ray as Warehouse Customer (uncredited)
- Mick Slaney as Charity Member (uncredited)
- Lindsay Townley as Detective (uncredited)
- Chris Wilson as Police Officer (uncredited)
Galleries[]
Body Count[]
Prior to the Episode
Died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning linked to a faulty boiler in her student flat 3 years ago.
Died of natural causes 2 years ago.
Shot in the head with a wooden bullet fired from a Swedish semiautomatic gun some weeks ago.
In the Episode
Shot in the chest with a wooden bullet fired from a Swedish semiautomatic gun through a miniature house.
Held from behind and had her throat slit with a small penknife.
Supporting Cast[]
Episode Images[]
Video[]
Midsomer Murders Series 21 Episode 2 - The Miniature Murders Preview
Notes/Trivia[]
- Alexander Beauvoisin, the first victim is the grand nephew of Olive Beauvoisin, an estate agent who figured prominently in Death's Shadow, Dead Man's Eleven and Hidden Depths.
- It is implied that the same Olive Beauvoisin had passed away.
The following actors and actresses who appeared in this episode have also appeared in the following episodes
- Clare Holman - Ring Out Your Dead and Country Matters
- Eleanor Bron - The Dark Rider
- Lee Byford - The Lions of Causton, Till Death Do Us Part, Send in the Clowns and With Baited Breath
- Colin Murtagh - The Point of Balance
- Lucie Cooper-Jones - With Baited Breath