The episode kicks off at the majestic Castle Museum, where Tania Macalinden (portrayed by Claire Schuyffel) navigates the exhibits with a cleaning cart in tow. Upon glancing at her phone and responding to a message, she stumbles upon Emily Barret (played by Abigail Gypens), sprawled unconscious on the marble floor. Without hesitation, Tania bolts from the scene.
Meanwhile, DI Bea Metcalf (Laura Fraser) and her son Alfie Metcalf-Haynes (Maxwell Whitelock) arrive at his school, only to realize Alfie had left his bag in the car. Miss Page (Shireen Farkhoy) informs Metcalf that David Haynes (Eddie Elks) wishes to have Alfie evaluated for ADHD, to which Metcalf responds by asking to be updated on their decision.
Later, within the precinct's sterile walls, DS Jake Hunter (Nathan Welsh) breaks the news to Metcalf about a body discovered at the museum. Skeptical, she brushes it off as a mischievous prank. Hunter insists the caller maintains the deceased is a staff member. Metcalf begins to text Patience Evans (Ella Maisy Purvis) but halts abruptly, realizing her value as an undercover asset. Instead, she suggests Hunter affirm this to Patience, just as she picks up her phone—little knowing Patience is already at the museum.
Elliot Scott (Tom Lewis) snapshots the grim crime scene, greeted by Patience, who seems eerily unfamiliar with the museum's fossil cleaning procedures. Director Raymond Starr (Mark Umbers) elaborates on Barret's job specifics, casually mentioning some fossils are fiberglass replicas. A poignant flashback takes us to George Evans (Jamie Maclachlan) discovering young Patience (Ava Cook) engrossed in a dinosaur exhibit, her eyes wide with wonder.
Back in the present, Patience confesses to Metcalf that this is her first visit since her father's passing, noting Alfie's favorite spot as the dinosaur gallery. Suddenly, Cate Furnish (Samantha Fadahunsi), a reporter for Paleontology Today, bursts into the crime scene, prompting Metcalf to sternly order her to stay outside the barriers. Furnish persists, demanding an interview with Starr, who promises to call her post-haste.
Hunter confronts Starr about his delayed police notification, despite Tania's 7 AM alert. Starr claims a misunderstanding, believing she had already contacted the authorities. Dr. Loretta Parsons (Liza Sadovy), freshly arrived, can't ascertain the cause of death yet. Patience, unable to contain herself, blurts out drowning, highlighting Barret's cyanotic fingers, swollen eyelids, and nasal foam. Parsons counters, noting no trace of water.
At the precinct, Metcalf scans Alfie's ADHD referral and visits Patience in criminal records, uncovering Barret's past: smuggling velociraptor teeth from Mongolia, charges dropped when her boyfriend, Peter Venkman (Robert Lonsdale), bore the blame. Patience reveals Starr's speeding ticket, and Metcalf offers to formalize her role with DCI Calvin Baxter (Mark Benton). An anxious Patience agrees to an outdoor meeting.
In the morgue, Parsons confirms Barret drowned. Patience intently studies Barret's tattoo, clues swirling in her mind. Metcalf and Patience later peruse Barret's apartment, guided by Hunter's inquiry about evidence pointing to forced submersion. Patience notes the absence of neck bruises, suggesting no external force was involved. Instead, she stumbles upon a fossil tucked in a bag, a mysterious clue left in the wake of tragedy.
Metcalf dutifully delivers Alfie's lunch to school, where Patience captivates him by unveiling a fossil. Her revelation that it is a dinosaur hip bone ignites his curiosity. Before departing, Metcalf gives him a heartfelt embrace.
At the museum, Starr denies any knowledge of Barret's theft of the brachiosaur ischium, a fossil he believes could fetch a fortune at auction. Metcalf inquiries about its insurance, and Starr reassures him that most wouldn't even suspect it's genuine. Ironically, her own son had discovered its authenticity.
At the police department, DC Will Akbari (played by Ali Ariaie) presents Baxter, Hunter, and Metcalf with CCTV footage depicting an apparently intoxicated Barret at the museum's entrance on Sunday at 11:00. Venkman arrives ten minutes later but never steps inside. Later, cameras capture him again, about an hour later. Hunter suspects Venkman's involvement. Metcalf mentions that Barret's phone last signaled near Robin Hood's Bay at 7 PM on Sunday, but they've been unable to locate him. Despite the evidence, Metcalf remains unconvinced of Barret's guilt as a thief.
An online video surfaces, featuring Barret railing against James Watson and Francis Crick for taking credit for Rosalind Franklin's DNA double helix discovery. Later, Metcalf contacts Patience, reluctantly asking her to pick up Alfie from school.
At the school, Patience arrives to find Alfie being bullied by several boys. Miss Page intervention leads them inside, while Patience helps Alfie gather his belongings. Meanwhile, at the police station, Venkman insists his fossils are legitimate but lacks proof of acquisition before the law changed. Metcalf queries him about his last encounter with Barret, whom Venkman suggests he last saw three months ago. She confronts him with a photo of Barret at the museum entrance on Sunday, but he counters that she had asked him to meet her there the previous night, which she didn't. She then informs him of Barret's demise.
Patience comforts Alfie by introducing him to her rat maze and Accio. He inquisitively asks if she has friends, and she replies uncertainly, noting that some people are helping her confront her fears. Intrigued, Alfie touches Accio's tiny nose.
Back at the interrogation, Venkman reveals that an intoxicated woman, sounding like Barret, left a voicemail from an unknown number last night, which he deleted. Later at home, Metcalf gifts Alfie a dinosaur model from Starr, which Alfie dismisses as "stupid" due to the lack of assembly instructions. Patience educates him on how early paleontologists pieced together fragments, and Alfie persuades her to assemble it for him.
As she works on the model, Patience stumbles upon a photo resembling Barret's tattoo. The next day, she and Metcalf visit the morgue to compare it, discovering an additional branch in Barret's tattoo. They show the tattoo photo to Starr, who recognizes it as Darwin's Tree of Life, hinting at a potential new evolutionary discovery. Patience inquiries about Furnish, and Starr reveals his article will be published the next day but declines to share details.
Metcalf poses a question about illnesses mimicking drowning, prompting Patience to delve into drowning case files.
Hunter and Metcalf confront Venkman, their voices resonating with accusation as they reveal the discovery of his fingerprints within the museum's lab. Just as tensions flair, Patience bursts through the interrogation room door, her entrance a storm of emotions. Hunter, stern and unyielding, scolds her, prompting her abrupt departure. Metcalf, maintaining composure, instructs Hunter and Will to escort Venkman back to his cell, where he will await further scrutiny.
Patience, visibly distressed, reminds Metcalf of her earlier directive to inform her immediately of any new developments. Hunter, determined to command Metcalf's attention, raises his voice, revealing Venkman's startling claim—that he and Barret had shared an intimate moment in the lab. Metcalf, though momentarily distracted, agrees to address the matter upon her return, dismissing it with a nod. Baxter, an unwitting witness to this chaotic exchange, follows Patience to a sentimental sanctuary her father once cherished.
Metcalf, seeking to ease the strained atmosphere, proposes a truce of sorts, suggesting they attempt to forge a friendship. Patience, her eyes reflecting a complex mixture of emotions, extends her hand in a gesture of reluctant acceptance. As their fingers clasp, she shares a cryptic file, whispering about Barret's tragic demise before slipping away into the shadows.
In the morgue, Parsons' voice carries a note of awe as he describes the rarity of the findings. Later, Metcalf's call interrupts Patience's contemplation, confirming her suspicions about secondary drowning and hinting at Marshall's Quarry as the potential scene of the crime. Ben Colston, alias Benjamin Gooch, a figure tarnished by a past charge of indecent exposure, had picked up Barret near the quarry's edge at Croft Corner. Patience, phone dangling limply in her hand, jots notes furiously and pulls up a map on her laptop, a flicker of understanding lighting her eyes. "Perhaps this is the piece that ties it all together," she murmurs.
Hunter's revelation to Metcalf that Ben Colston's true identity is Benjamin Gooch adds another layer to the intricate tapestry of deceit. Patience, standing firm, announces her conclusion regarding Barret's killer. She meticulously outlines how the evidence, like threads, led inexorably to Starr. Baxter, resolute, orders his team to apprehend Starr forthwith. Hunter, impressed, offers Patience a rare commendation.
Later, Metcalf and Hunter confront Starr, their accusations as sharp as daggers. Starr, feigning shock, claims to have been on a solitary bike ride when Tania broke the news of Barret's death. Metcalf unveils another twist—Starr's submission of an article under false pretenses, its title a mouthful of scientific jargon but its content disturbingly relevant: a hip bone discovered in Barret's apartment. When pressed if Barret authored the piece, Starr否认 categorically.
Will's dramatic placement of Barret's phone and laptop, retrieved from Marshall's Quarry, onto the interrogation table serves as the final nail in Starr's coffin. Defeated, Starr confesses. He boasts of a groundbreaking discovery that Barret had made, one that would have cemented his career. In a moment of desperation, he submitted her research under his own name. A heated argument ensued, Barret filming his betrayal and threatening exposure. In a fit of rage, Starr admits to pushing her too hard, but denies any intent to rescue her. Panic-stricken, he fled. Hunter, unyielding, charges Starr with manslaughter.
Elsewhere, Patience assists Alfie in packing, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts. Metcalf hands David a signed referral form for ADHD testing, a small but significant victory. Alfie, sensing her turmoil, envelops her in a hug, confusing yet warming her heart with his纯真 embrace.
