The Stitcher Society is the second episode of the twenty second series of the popular ITV crime drama Midsomer Murders. It aired on 11 April 2021 on ITV.
Synopsis[]
A local outcast, who was acquitted of murder years ago, is the latest inductee of the Stitcher Society, a post-operative heart rehab club. Following his arrival, members start to die.
Plot[]
Tamworth Springs- Five years ago. In the dark, Toby Wagner is grunting and moaning. A group of people with a dog is chasing him. Alberta Tooms "Say it! You killed my sister!" "No! I am innocent," says Toby. Mimi Dagmar, his ex-wife, says to set the dogs on him.
Present day- Harry Marx races down the road on his motorbike. The Barnaby family is walking down the road with their dog, Paddy, Harry races by and nearly hits them. John says to Sarah "I hope you got his number plate."
Harry arrives at the Stitcher Society, a post-operative heart rehab club owned by Reuben Tooms. Two people are fighting with Shinai sticks. Alberta Tooms asks if Harry's been smoking. Harry says "Yes. Smoking as in smoking hot. When you've been given a second chance... you take it." Cooper Steinem is working out on a. machine. Mimi Dagmar whacks Reuben and he falls to the ground. "What's the matter, Rueben? Can't take a little extra thrust?" says Mimi. Harry's niece, Erika Marx, asks Harry to look over an insurance policy for a new member. Gideon Tooms introduces the new recruit: Toby Wagner walks in. Everyone in the club gets upset. Reuben tells them to calm down. "Toby is not what you think he is"
In the back, Alberta is really angry. "I tried to warn him," says Gideon. Alberta confronts Reuben. Reuben fires Gideon. He says "he needs someone he can trust."
MURDER 1: Outside, at night, Reuben is walking and talking on the phone. He deletes a text from his phone. He hears a noise and turns around. Someone in a mask stabs him with a Shinai stick.
At the crime scene, Fleur Perkins reports that "judging from the rigor mortis, he's been here all night. Reuben Tooms, 68 years young." He was stabbed with a shinai stick. With modifications. They use it in Kendo.
Alberta tells Barnaby she went to bed early. Reuben has insomnia since his operation. Harry Marx comes in to comfort her and act as a solicitor. Alberta is rude to him. Alberta says she nursed Reuben back to health after his heart bypass.
The Kendo is practiced at the Stitcher Society. Gabriel tells the police that the club is never closed. The club arranges lectures, counseling, health and fitness, and, more importantly, new challenges. Anything that'll ignite a passion for life again. The trauma of an operation can leave a heart patient very depressed. The club members were upset the day before when a new member was introduced: Toby Wagner.
At the pub, Toby is upset. His sister, Julia Steinem and her husband, Cooper Steinem own the pub. Toby says that Reuben was the only person who was sticking up for him. Harry walks in and wants a drink. "The minute you turn up, another person dies...and you can forget about joining the club not that Reuben is no longer here to stick up for you."
Outside the pub, Winter speaks to Mack McInally, the employee and lodger. Mack tells him it was a flare-up at the club. Georgie Tremayne threatened to kill Toby. Reuben stepped in. It could've been a bloodbath. Reuben asked Georgie to meet him. Now he's dead.
Georgie says she wasn't really going to kill Toby. Georgie runs the local paper and pulls out the article about the death of Viola Deepdale. The case was thrown out of court. Harry Marx screwed up in court. The defense destroyed his credibility as a key witness. Reuben told Georgia that another witness came forward and said that Toby was elsewhere at the time of the murder.
Barnaby interviews Mimi Dagmar. She says she wasn't really trying to kill Reuben. She was just angry with him. "Cards on the table - his wife, Alberta, has been a very good fried to me through all my ups and downs, and... I had the overwhelming sense that he was... playing away, so I was just a teensy little bit angry with him, but only on behalf of Alberta." At the Stitcher Society, Gideon Tooms and Alberta are giving a tour to potential investor, Jocasta Farthing. Gideon says that "Coronary disease is a gold mine. I mean, we've had a revolving door of members for several years now. All I need are the funds to get as many Stitcher Societies up and running as possible. Premises, private nurses, money for confidence-building activities. People will pay a fortune for that."
Alberta says to Gideon "I see you've reinstated yourself." Gideon promises to do a good job. Gideon says that his father insisted Toby was innocent. Gideon thought that the more people were in the club the more impressed Jocasta would be. Alberta says "If you weren't my son, you'd disgust me." Gideon promises to get rid of Toby. And Georgie who could turn everyone's mind against them.
The pub is empty. Connor says they've been blacklisted. Mimi comes by and says she may have a buyer for their pub. Julia says they are not selling.
Toby is out running at night. He remembers the scene from five years ago. He goes to his room and the word "Murderer" is written on his wall.
Barnaby comes out to interview Toby. He tells Barnaby about the night the villagers tried to kill him. He asks Julia for her car keys. He's going away. Toby says, "I was a free man. Exonerated. But that mob, thanks to Georgie's newspaper, they decided I was guilty regardless. Rueben came to visit me after my heart attack. He said he had proof of my innocence and that he was gonna make things right. I... I couldn't believe it, but he was adamant. Said that... he hopes that I'd be able to forgive him and the others, so... I pitched up, and... and nothing changed. He hadn't even told them that I was coming. It was like walking into a lion's den." Julia walks in and wants to know if Barnaby has arrested anyone yet. Julia tells him Toby was home all night and that she was with him. Barnaby promises to look into the break-in.
In his room, McNally turns on his computer. He has multiple views of the village. He's been spying on villagers. Connor peers through the open door. McNally has a video of Reuben talking to Georgie. He sees Julia on the path watching them.
Back at the lab, Fleur says that Zipper is what the surgeons call a heart bypass scar. "Looks like a zip. What they do is... break open the sternum and then slice all the way down to a few inches above the belly button. If you're ever having a Sunday roast, make sure you invite a surgeon. They do a cracking job on your chicken."
Barnaby confronts Harry Marx who almost ran over his dog. Harry drive off.
Winter interviews Alberta. She was furious that Reuben admitted Toby to the Stitcher Society. "I was still volcanic. I'm not going to hide that. I was furious with him. But please be aware that, when you're married to someone with a damaged heart, you tend not to yell at them or upset them. You're scared stiff it might bring on another attack. So whatever anger or rage I was feeling, it never surfaced. I merely went to my room." Gideon goes to talk to Georgie at the club. Her payment is overdue. He tells her she is out of the club. She says she would be lost without it. He says too bad, she's out. Georgie says, "Then perhaps I'd better tell the police your father and I didn't just talk about Toby when we met. Rueben was really angry. He said he'd sacked you, and the next thing I know, he's dead." Gideon asks if anyone else heard him say that? Georgie sighs. At Georgie's house, Erika tells her she got her echocardiogram results. The surgeon is recommending another operation. Georgie tells her she got kicked out of the Sticher Society because she can't pay the fees. Georgie tells Erika that Reuben fired Gideon. Erika is apparently dating Gideon.
Barnaby and Winter talk, "SOCO found this in the pages of a book in Rueben's bedroom. It's, er... It's an agreement with a letting agency. He was due to move into a new flat next month." Dagmar's realty agency is handling the rental. McNally is observing and listening to the conversation with his computer.
Barnaby goes to talk to Mimi. Mimi tells him "Reuben said that the murder of Viola had changed Alberta irrevocably, she couldn't get over it and it was dominating their lives. And, sadly... very sadly... 40 years of happiness just... slipped slowly away." She denies knowing who Reuben was going to move in with. Mimi flirts with Barnaby. He is very uncomfortable. He asks if she is the other woman. She says, would you like me to be?
Conner goes to see Harry carrying beer. He takes pictures of Harry posing. Connor asks Harry how he can sell the pub without Julia finding out. "Mimi's found a buyer." Harry tells Connor to get rid of Toby.
Barnaby asks Sarah if she remembers the woman who sold the house to them. Sarah says "She was practically moving herself in with you. Gigi something."
MURDER 2: Georgie goes to work out in the Stitcher Society gym. Someone comes up behind her and strangles her with a ribbon.
Winter says that's the last time he'll go to the gym. Fleur tells Winter and Barnaby that everyone is supposed to train with a partner. Georgie was training on her own last night. Erika tells them that "Gideon had thrown Georgie out of the club, so I thought I'd make a stand and show him that she was still very much a part of things. It was the last available slot." Georgie couldn't pay the fees. Erika also says that Gideon shouldn't even be in charge of the club. "Georgie told me that Rueben sacked Gideon just before he was killed."
In the pub, Toby worries that everyone will blame him for Georgie's death. Cooper tells McInally they are going to have to let him go. Mimi has found a buyer for the pub. He hasn't told Julia yet.
Barnaby talks to Winter in the station. "Rueben stood in the way of his son Gideon's plans for expansion, but where does Georgie fit into that? Well, we know that Rueben had a secret lover, and Alberta told me that he made a silly mistake, which I just assumed she meant letting Toby back into the club, but maybe Mimi isn't the only one that thinks Rueben's having an affair." They go to ask Alberta. They tell her that Reuben had a rental agreement for another place. Alberta says it is nonsense. They ask if Georgie was Reuben's secret lover. Alberta tells them that her sister Viola and George were lovers.
In the pub, McInally comes up to talk to Erika Marx. Erika wants to give McInally a health check, but he won't let her.
Mimi Dagmar is outside of Georgie's cottage taking photos. She already has a For Sale sign posted. Then she asks Barnaby why he hasn't arrested Toby.
Winter goes to talk to Harry Marx who drives off on his motorbike. Winter blocks his path. Winter takes away his keys and then has to walk the motorbike up the hill.
At the pub, McInally is packing. Erika comes up with him. They toast. She tells him that Gideon doesn't seem upset that Reuben and Georgie are dead. All he can think about is expanding the business.
Jocasta talks to Gideon and Alberta. She tells them that she would have to make some changes to the club. "I'd have to insist on a makeover. "The Stitcher Society" sounds like it's about old ladies embroidering hankies. So, how about... Blood Pumpers Limited?" Gideon is excited about Jocasta's interest in investing. Alberta is disgusted. "Blood Pumpers? Your father would have hated that."
Barnaby comes up to talk to Gideon. He is planning another club event- Clay Pigeon Shooting. Barnaby says he knows Reuben sacked him. Gideon says his father found out he was trying to sell the format of the Stitcher Society. And as for Georgie, he was going to reinstate her. The more members there are, the more the club looks like a viable proposition.
Winter tells Barnaby that Georgie had her will changed. The beneficiary is Toby Wagner. Toby is shocked. Toby tells his sister he never knew about the will. Connor tells him he can move out now.
Barnaby wonders how Toby was able to escape the angry mob years ago. He had an injured leg. Barnaby asks Alberta to tell the about the night the chased Toby...Reuben sees a light go on in a nearby house and then Reuben tells Toby to get out of there. He tells the others that "We are not these people. None of us are. And Viola wouldn't want this. She'd be horrified." Alberta says they weren't really going to set the dogs on Toby. They just wanted to scare him into confessing. "Toby Wagner bludgeoned my sister to death in cold blood. He lured her to a house he told her he wanted to buy. She turned up to show him around, and he killed her. That is the only truth of this." At the pub, Mimi is in McInally's room measuring. She tells him Cooper said she could do it but Julia is not to be told. McInally tells Mimi that maybe Toby isn't the killer. "It could be me." He tells Mimi to leave. As she is walking outside, McInally calls her from the window. He drops her phone to her. Barnaby and Winter go to talk to Julia. Her phone number showed up on Reuben's phone. Reuben wouldn't have any reason to call her, she says. Julia says she loathed Reuben because of what they did to her brother. The police find this odd since the call lasted 18 and a half minutes. Julia denies it was her. Conner listens in from around the corner.
Conner confronts Julia. "You and Reuben were running away together. You were going to leave me here to die, like this pub? Well it's a good job I'm selling it." Julia says he can't sell the pub but Conner says he is doing it for them. "I didn't nearly die on an operating table just to have you walk away. I got through that not for me, for you. For you, Julia. And I want us to move on. And get away from everything, including Toby." Julia says, "we're done. It's finished. The only reason that I am still here with you is because Reuben's dead." She walks off.
Julia goes to sit under a tree. McInally comes up and shows her the videos he has of her talking to Reuben. He wants Julia to pay him for the proof that her brother is innocent and for the videos. She tells him she has no money, but he says she will have once Cooper sells the pub.
Gideon gives the Stitcher Society members a pep talk before the Clay Shooting Party starts. Jocasta is present for the event. Alberta is angry that Toby is still a member of the club.
Fleur tells Winter "We found several sets of fingerprints in the lodge...One set showed up on the police database. The prints belong to Mack McInally." He's a private investigator.
MURDER 3: At the Clay Pigeon Shooting party, Alberta tells Toby he "doesn't belong here." Cooper is supposed to go first, but can't do it. Alberta takes his gun and hoots. Then McInally. His gun backfires and kills him. (screams). Fleur reports 'Thin strips of cloth were used to jam the gun. Also, Mack doesn't have a zipper scar. He was probably undercover." Fleur says the cloth is from bar towels.
Barnaby tries to figure out the case...1) Rueben is killed, which means Gideon can go ahead and build his Stitcher Society empire, 2) Georgie's death means Toby inherits a cottage, and... 3) Mack was killed because... What? He found a witness who proved Toby's innocence? The door was unlocked when we got there. No self-respecting PI is going to go out and leave his door unlocked, especially not if he's undercover and hiding who knows what." Someone had a spare set of keys... Julia is out walking. She runs over to the tree under which she sat with Mack. She finds a recording device up in the branches. Barnaby and Winter walk up. Winter takes off with the device. Julia tells Barnaby what happened 5 years ago,.. Toby managed to get away from the mob...Reuben shows up and talks to Julia. They had been having an affair for awhile. It ended when the her brother was arrested. Despite the trial collapsing, Reuben couldn't accept that Toby was innocent. "How dare you come here." Reuben tells Julia, "I know what I want now. It's you." Julia says "I told him to leave. That all I wanted was for my brother to be able to live peacefully in our village without accusations and threats. So Rueben decided to prove Toby's innocence? It took a few years... a few false starts. Plus, he had to do it all behind his wife's back. But, a few months ago, he said that he'd found someone who could help. That they were confident that they could find unequivocal proof. So Rueben and I started making plans to be together."
Winter comes back with the device and says "this is linked to a specific Wi-Fi configuration. It's... It's transmitting to a laptop or a PC." They follow the signal and find Cooper with Mack's computer. "I'd like you to explain what you're doing with a murdered man's laptop," says Barnaby. And he knows that it was Cooper who wrote "Murderer" on Toby's wall. Cooper says, "Toby wouldn't take the hint, would he? Him coming back, it ruined everything. Me and Julia were happy. Happier than we'd been in years." Cooper says he stole Mack's computer because he found him creepy. He was always sneaking around. He wanted to know what Mack was up to. Cooper tells them he was with Alberta Tooms the night Reuben was killed because he knew Julia and Reuben were seeing each other. "When you meet the single-most amazing person ever, you would do anything, ANYTHING to hang onto that person. So... all those things that you have accused me of... I probably could have done them. In fact, I... I probably would have done them. But I promise you... I didn't. Even after she broke my heart," says Cooper. He starts crying. So Alberta and Cooper are each other's alibis. Winter views the videos on the computer. There are tons of video files.
In the Stitcher Society, someone steals a Shinai stick. Toby is in Georgie's cottage. Someone knocks on the door. Toby answers the door, walks out and gets hit on the head.
Julia says why would she kill Reuben? She was trying to start a new life with him. "Viola's murder has twisted this village into something it wasn't meant to be. I hoped that Rueben and I could change that. Bring peace. Even closure. They never forgave Harry for losing the trial. That spaced-out fool is almost as reviled as my brother is. Losing that court case has haunted him ever since." Winter goes to Harry's house. He isn't home.
Mimi goes into Georgie's cottage and finds Toby tied up in a chair and Harry holding a Shinai stick to his neck.
Barnaby asks Erika if she's seen her uncle Harry. She says she has warned him. No one wants two zippers down their chest. Barnaby realizes that the murders are about the person who didn't have a zipper. Barnaby calls Winter.
Harry tells Toby to confess. He tells him he has 5 seconds... Barnaby hears a scream. He arrives at Harry's cottage to find Mimi on the phone and she is pumping Harry's heart. Toby is still tied to a chair. Harry starts talking. Toby says for Barnaby to arrest Harry. He tried to kill him. Barnaby says he didn't come for Harry Marx. He came for Mimi. Mimi says "I'm flattered. But you are a married man." Barnaby tells Mimi, "I'm arresting you for the murders of Rueben Tooms, Georgie Tremayne and Mack McInally, and not forgetting Viola Deepdale, your ex-business partner."
Barnaby goes on..."Rueben's about-face must have come as a huge shock. It meant he knew that Toby hadn't killed Viola. So you had to kill Rueben before he could get to Georgie. You couldn't have Georgie believing that Toby was innocent. She would have gone to press again, told the whole village. And then she changed her will in his favour. She was refusing a second operation. She wanted to pay him back for the nightmare she'd put him through. Whatever changed Georgie's mind must have been nagging at you. Rueben Tooms must have had some very substantial evidence to be able to do that, which leads us to Mack.
Mack "doesn't have a zipper scar, does he? When you saw that he didn't have a zipper scar... Mimi? ..it had to mean that he was here under false pretences. It wouldn't take much to do some research on Mack, find out who he really was and what he was doing. As it turns out, Mack hadn't found out a single thing about Viola's murder. He took the money from Rueben in return for telling him what he wanted to hear. Mack had a history of conning people... You killed three people for nothing. There was no other witness. It was a lie, Mimi." ( Toby laughs )
"I believe you are a free man, Mr Wagner." (Toby cries)
Before she gets into the police car, Barnaby says, "One last thing... Why did you kill Viola?" Mimi says, "Would you think more kindly of me if I said it was accidental? She hated the way I did business. Claimed I was all over our male clients, that their wives didn't like it and I was losing sales left, right and centre. I mean... We'd only gone to price a house, and... suddenly, there was a rather weighty object in my hand, and, well... what can I say? She stepped out in front of it. Three or four times, as it happens. I mean, can you imagine that? Me, flirting? Wherever did she get that idea?" She blows Barnaby a kiss.
At home, Barnaby is cutting up carrots while watching a video about it. He throws Paddy a carrot. In the fridge he finds a sausage. He goes to eat it when Sarah comes in. He hides the sausage behind his back. Paddy jumps up and grabs it.
Cast[]
- Neil Dudgeon as DCI John Barnaby
- Nick Hendrix as DS Jamie Winter
- Fiona Dolman as Sarah Barnaby
- Annette Badland as Fleur Perkins
- Silas Carson as Reuben Tooms
- Lizzy McInnerny as Alberta Tooms
- Hannah Waddingham as Mimi Dagmar
- Harriet Thorpe as Georgie Tremayne
- Keith Allen as Harry Marx
- Natalie Simpson as Erika Marx
- John Thomson as Cooper Steinem
- Michael Nardone as Mack McInally
- Peter de Jersey as Toby Wagner
- Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Gideon Tooms
- Nimmy March as Julia Steinem
- Sirine Saba as Jocasta Farthing
- Manoj Anand as Villager (uncredited)
- Raj Awasti as Postman (uncredited)
- Colin Murtagh as Villager (uncredited)
- Zac Rashid as Policeman (uncredited)
- Scott Stevenson as Policeman (uncredited)
- Chris Wilson as Police Officer (uncredited)
Galleries[]
Body Count[]
Prior to the Episode
Bludgeoned with a heavyweight object. "She stepped out in front of it. Three or four times, as it happens." - Mimi Dagmar
In the Episode
Stabbed in the chest with a sharpened shinai sword
Strangled with a red ribbon while working out.
Killed by a shotgun blast to the face after the gun he was using had cloth stuffed into the barrel, causing the gun cartridge to backfire.
Supporting Cast[]
Episode Images[]
Arrests[]
- Mimi Dagmar- for murder of Viola Deepdale, Reuben Tooms, Georgie Tremayne, Mack McInally
- Harry Marx- for attempted murder of Toby Wagner.
Notes[]
The following actors and actresses who appeared in this episode have also appeared in the following episodes
- Lizzy McInnerny - Sauce for the Goose
- Harriet Thorpe - Dance with the Dead
Quotes[]
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Trivia[]
Trials and Tribulations of Jamie Winter: Jamie takes away Harry Marx' keys so he winds up having to push Harry's motorcycle up the hill.
Keith Allen (Harry Marx) is the partner of Tamzin Malleson who played medical examiner Kate Wilding in seasons 14-17 of Midsomer Murders (1997).