Marble Hall Murders, Season 2026 | Episode 2 | Masterpiece | Official Site - PBS

As Atticus Pünd begins his interrogations with the Chalfont family, Susan discovers that Miriam Crace may have been murdered.

♪ ♪ MATTHEW: We're going to publish a new Atticus Pünd story.

His grandmother, Miriam Crace, was a monster.

I overheard something that shocked me to the core.

Murder takes them to places they do not want to go.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (thunder claps) (whimpers) (click) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (birds chirping, insects buzzing) (humming) (humming stops) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (broom sweeping) (door opens) (footsteps approaching) (major general speaking German) (soldier replies in German) MAJOR GENERAL: You will accompany us please, Herr Director.

(Maria panting) DIRECTOR: There is nothing here.

(footsteps descending stairs) (soldier speaking German) (door creaks open) (soldier speaking German) (breathing softly) MAJOR GENERAL (speaking German): (breathing softly) SOLDIER: (speaking Greek): (slide racks) MAJOR GENERAL (speaking German): (speaking Greek): (speaking German): (gun fires, body falls) (gasps) (breath trembling) (slide racks) MAJOR GENERAL: ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (door sliding open) ♪ ♪ (breath trembling) Maria.

(footsteps retreating) ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (people talking in background) (birds chirping) (sniffs) (footsteps approaching) You're Atticus Pünd.

I am Police Lieutenant Achilleus Vassilikos.

Let me say at once that I know who you are.

I understand you have come to Corfu to meet Lady Margaret Chalfont.

I happened to meet Lady Chalfont, and she asked for my assistance.

I am afraid that will not be possible, Herr Pünd.

Lady Chalfont died yesterday afternoon.

And you believe it is a matter for the police?

It is as yet unconfirmed, but we suspect poisoning.

You are aware, I'm sure, that Lady Chalfont was not well.

She told me she did not expect to live for another season.

Nevertheless, the evidence suggests she did not die a natural death.

(sighs) How can I be of assistance to you, Police Lieutenant?

Frankly, I do not believe you can help me in any way... Ooh?

But my superiors in Athens think otherwise.

If Lady Chalfont consulted you, she may well have been in fear of her life.

Still, she approached you, and now she is dead.

Many clients have asked me to their houses, but, uh... (softly): ...not all of them have been murdered.

Do you not think you owe it to her to investigate what has occurred?

It is what my superiors are asking.

(sighs) SUSAN: Why does he speak perfect English?

Look, there may be a problem setting it in Corfu.

But I think you might be creating difficulties for yourself.

Atticus has gone back to his roots.

Well, you say that, but in the museum chapter, they're speaking three languages: English, German, and Greek.

Don't you think it's a bit League of Nations?

It's not for me to say-- it's not my book.

I'll put in an explanation for why Achilles Vassilikos speaks English.

You speak excellent English, Police Lieutenant.

My father was a translator at the British Embassy before the war.

(knocks) He had a huge admiration for the British, and he insisted that I learn the language from the age of six.

(both speaking Greek) JEFFREY: It all happened very suddenly.

Mother had her usual pot of lemon and ginger.

She said something was burning her throat.

And then... We, we thought she'd had a heart attack.

No one had any reason to do her harm.

So why, then, did you ask your lawyer to summon the police, Mr.

Isn't that what you're meant to do when someone dies?

Lambrose said you were in a state of panic.

I wasn't panicking, I... I was upset.

Did you also drink the lemon and ginger tea?

You can't get anything like that on this damn island.

The symptoms you describe, they do not suggest to me a heart attack.

Are you suggesting there was something in her tea?

Who would want to kill a woman who only had months to live?

Why risk hanging when the end was so near anyway?

In any event, the tea has been sent to the laboratory in Athens for analysis.

And we will have the results very soon.

VASSILIKOS: How long have you worked for the family?

So which one did Lady Chalfont use?

♪ ♪ The small one-- always the small.

After you made the tea, did you take it straight out?

I make the tea the same as I do every day.

♪ ♪ But this time, just when I finish, somebody knock... (knock at door) ...at the window.

MARIA: I think it is maybe Luan, the gardener.

(mumbling in Greek) ♪ ♪ MARIA: And that is when I see.

I know I put the lid on the pot for Lady Chalfont.

I am certain, but, now... You, you did not see who knocked the window?

If someone came in, they could've used any one of them.

(stammers): No, sir, there are four, and I heard the door close.

♪ ♪ A service staircase-- it leads up to the first floor.

I've spoken to the family, and they were all here when Lady Chalfont died.

Any one of them could've created a diversion.

Allowing another of them to slip down these stairs.

This is Judith Lyttleton's bedroom.

Jeffrey and Lola Chalfont are there.

Uh, Robert Waysmith, Elmer's son, over there.

As for Elmer himself, he has an office and a bedroom here at the far end.

VASSILIKOS: This is where she liked to spend her time.

For what reason had he come to the house?

That is clearly of great significance, hm?

It would help if we knew what was in it.

CEDRIC (calling in distance): Mummy?

Mummy, when can we go back to Norfolk?

They just want to ask us some questions.

'Cause she wouldn't give you the money for your play.

Now, that's a terrible thing to say!

Lady Chalfont asked me to investigate because of a conversation that she had overheard, concerning her second husband, Elmer Waysmith.

(knock at door) Hope I'm not interrupting.

Yeah, good-- we're just getting to the scene with Judith and Lola.

Um, I've got my shift, so... Thanks for these.

(chuckles) Susan, you, you don't mind me asking, do you?

Yeah-- I'll tell you something, if Alan Conway was still alive, I think he'd be impressed.

If Alan was still alive, I wouldn't have got the gig.

(chuckles) So are, are you gonna be Eliot's editor, then?

I think the decision's been made-- yes.

(chuckles) I, I just know this one is gonna be a huge bestseller.

Don't be-- I, I could do with one of these.

(house door closes) Actually, there's something I haven't asked you.

You've read 60 pages, 20,000 words.

But I heard someone go down the service stairway just around 4:00.

As far as I know, Elmer was the only one up here.

Lyttleton, how would you describe your relationship with Mr.

When he died, I never expected Mother to marry again.

Certainly not to someone ten years her junior.

JUDITH: We all assumed Elmer was a gold digger when he joined the family, and it's true he had Mother wrapped around his little finger.

He inherited a fortune from his first wife when she died.

Well, she threw herself under a train in Grand Central Station in New York.

(clicks tongue) I wonder, what could've driven her to such a desperate act?

♪ ♪ I want to leave as soon as the will has been read.

(sighs) We'll have the funeral in England.

Where did you expect it to be, Paddington Station?

(sighs) I hope we're not interrupting you.

I didn't realize we needed Interpol.

I wonder if you could tell us what your movements were yesterday, Mr.

I'll talk to these people on my own.

Whatever you say, Pa-- if, if that's all right?

(starts) ELMER (shouting): I said, we don't need you!

(door opens) (door closes) I was at home all day yesterday, apart from lunch with my son at Votsalo.

That's a restaurant in the Old Town.

We met at 1:00, but I was back here by 3:00.

Must be a uniquely painful experience for you to have lost not one, but two wives in such an unnatural way.

She had been ill for quite some time.

If it's not too personal a question, when you married Margaret Chalfont, how did the family react?

(scoffs softly) Well, it is a personal question, Mr.

They resented me from the moment I came onto the scene, and I'll tell you why.

Because they were bleeding her dry.

All they ever wanted was her money, and whatever they may say to the contrary, they can't wait for the reading of her will.

Let's just say they may be in for a big surprise.

I don't have to and I don't think I will.

I do have one further question, Mr.

There's a book on the shelf behind you.

If, if I may... (chuckles) ♪ ♪ I could not help noticing that it's been read recently.

"Erskine's Toxicology: A Study of Poisons."

(loudly): As was Britannicus, Ptolemy, Alexander the Great, and many more.

I sell antiquities, and it's my job to know the stories behind them.

(slams) (people talking in background) (bicycle bell rings) What is it you want?

I thought you might like to see these.

These are the photographs of the calyx krater from the Vathy Museum in Ithaca.

It's some sort of old sort of vase.

You really don't like Elmer, do you?

You know, Alan Conway played games.

He put people into his books, people that he knew, but it was never in a pleasant way.

He turned them into caricatures, and sometimes he made anagrams of them.

Well, I thought the whole idea was to do the same as Alan Conway.

It was those games that got him killed, Eliot.

Belmar is an anagram of Marble, as in Marble Hall.

And Miriam Crace, your grandmother, has the same initials as Margaret Chalfont.

Both elderly ladies who die quite suddenly.

Isn't that what mystery novels are all about?

(exhales) She said you were very unhappy at Marble Hall.

Sorry, is that what she said, "unhappy"?

She said you hated your grandmother.

Because, you see, she had the money, fame, power.

Do you know the biggest mistake I ever made?

(knocking softly) I told her I wanted to be a writer, like her.

ELIOT: I'd written this story called "Space Boy."

ELIOT: It was about a little kid who builds a rocket and travels to the moon.

My father persuaded me to show it to her.

♪ ♪ (page turns) (clicks tongue) It's very sweet, Eliot.

I'm flattered you want to be like me.

And reading this, I wouldn't say you have much imagination.

And maybe you should lower your expectations and do something more boring with your life.

♪ ♪ ELIOT: Don't ever say I was "unhappy" at Marble Hall.

Do you know it's open to the public now?

You can visit there for, like, 12 quid.

I sometimes think about going back just to burn it down.

In your book, Margaret Chalfont gets poisoned.

But Miriam Crace died a natural death.

It was in all the papers, it... It was never in question.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (people talking in background) SINGERS (over speakers): ♪ Tiny People, Tiny People on the go ♪ ♪ We are the Tiny People ♪ ♪ We're tiny ♪ ♪ That's why we're coming for you ♪ ♪ The Tiny People never sit, we know what to do ♪ There you are.

SINGERS: ♪ Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, Tiny People ♪ ♪ On the go ♪ ♪ We are the Tiny People ♪ BRENDA: Good afternoon, everyone.

Please come this way for the 3:30 tour.

(talking softly) BRENDA: So, I'm Brenda, and it's my pleasure to show you round the house where it all began.

And what better place to start than here, in the library, where Miriam Crace actually wrote many of the books, sitting at that desk there.

Please, uh, don't sit in her chair, as Mr.

(all laugh) Um, a few facts to start us off.

There were 63 books about the Tiny People, and they are said to have sold 300 million copies in over 90 languages.

Uh, this is a Korean edition, but you'll find many others on the shelves.

Um, over here is a collection of Miriam's left-handed pens.

She was a left-handed writer... WOMAN: Ah!

...and bought a new pen for every book.

(guests murmuring) Um, and this is a facsimile of Grandpa's stopwatch, which was given to Miriam on her 50th birthday by the Society of Authors.

Uh, as you can see, it's showing 4:00, because... GUESTS: It always stops at teatime.

Uh, incidentally, Netflix has just bought the rights to make a new series, so that's definitely something to look forward to.

Um, anyway, please, do look around, and, any questions, just ask.

(guests murmuring thanks) (talking softly in background) ♪ ♪ Uh, excuse me, um... Who's this?

(guests talking softly in background) ♪ ♪ BRENDA: So now we're heading up to the first floor, and please do watch your step.

What's with all these stuffed animals?

That was Arthur Crace, Miriam's husband.

He died in 2001, but taxidermy was his hobby.

It's Victorian, and we're not allowed to touch it.

I'm afraid it's our old friends again, Health and Safety.

Anyway, this is the corridor that Miriam shared with two of her grandchildren.

Her youngest grandson had the bedroom at the far end.

His name is Eliot, and he's actually written a couple of books himself.

Although I'm afraid they weren't terribly successful.

His older brother, Roland, had the bedroom opposite-- he still works with the estate.

But now we're going to go into Miriam's bedroom, which is just here.

This is Miriam's bedroom, and this is where, very sadly, she died.

That was on April the 12th, 2004-- almost exactly 20 years ago to this day.

Her funeral was in Westminster Abbey, and you may have noticed, when we were downstairs in the library, the family received a letter of condolence from the queen.

She'd been ill for quite some time.

In 1967, she had to spend six months in a clinic in Lausanne.

Anyway, let's, um, carry on through here.

SINGERS (on speakers): ♪ We're tiny ♪ BRENDA: Thank you very much for coming.

(song continues) SUSAN: That was a wonderful tour, thank you.

Are you, are you a fan of the Tiny People?

Oh, yes, I've been reading them since I was this high.

(both laugh) I can't believe this is where it all began.

Did Miriam want it to become a museum?

Uh, no, that was Jonathan, the eldest son.

I'm surprised he doesn't live here.

Ah, most of the family left after Miriam died.

Actually, Frederick Turner still lives here.

He was brought here as a boy, and now he manages the house.

Oh, well, I don't know, I... I'm sorry, I'm, I'm Susan Ryeland.

I'm actually working with Eliot Crace, Miriam's grandson.

(people talking in background) Susan Ryeland?

I hope my appearance didn't alarm you.

I was, uh, involved in a car accident a long time ago.

I went through a red light on my way to the airport, and a lorry hit me side on.

I had a head cold and I wasn't concentrating.

Right-- no, no, I wasn't, I wasn't alarmed, it's just that, um, I didn't know if you'd want to see me.

Well, if you're working with Eliot.

This book of his, is it set at Marble Hall?

No, no, it's, um, it's a murder mystery set in Corfu.

But he does draw on some of his childhood experiences.

I'm afraid he wasn't very happy here.

He wanted to be a writer, even then.

Why do you think he was so unhappy?

I came to Marble Hall when I was seven years old, and it saved my life.

If Eliot's writing a mystery story, he should start with me.

I know very little about her apart from her name, Mary Turner.

And my father was a Traveler, doing agricultural work, name unknown.

I ended up at an institution in Salisbury, the St.

Ambrose Children's Home and Orphanage.

Crace was a patron, and she adopted me.

You, you didn't call her Miriam, or Mother?

I never called her that when she was alive, and I wouldn't dare do it now.

(chuckles) I respected her too much.

Crace paid for me to go to accountancy school in London.

I was the family accountant for 15 years, but when they decided to open the hall to the public, Jonathan suggested I might like to run it, and so here I am.

I have my old room up in the eaves, and I'm very comfortable.

It took forever for the doctor to arrive.

She pressed her panic button at 6:00, but when the maid got to her room, she wasn't breathing.

FREDERICK: It still hadn't sunk in.

♪ ♪ FREDERICK: It was the worst day of my life.

(closes firmly) Could I speak to Dr.

(inhales) He lives in Urchfont, the next village.

Was there ever any suggestion that there might've been something unnatural about her death?

Miriam Crace made millions of people happy.

(voice trembling): When I was alone in the orphanage, it was her work that gave me hope that I might one day have a future.

(whispers): You know, you should think carefully, Susan.

(aloud): We will not allow you or Eliot or anyone to damage her name.

Or maybe it is you who are becoming more mistrustful.

Well, either way, you're not gonna tell me, are you?

(chuckles) Frederick Turner never referred to Miriam as his mother.

He worked as the accountant for the family for 15 years and he lived in the attic!

It sounds a great deal better than an orphanage.

(grunts) It's the worst thing about a murder investigation, Susan.

By its very nature, it forces you to look for the worst in everyone.

But the danger is, you can become one yourself.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (brake engages, engine stops) ♪ ♪ LAMBERT: So, Eliot's writing a book.

We all had to sign an NDA before we got anywhere near Marble Hall.

Not at all, they were just protecting their interests.

Eliot does have quite a negative view of his grandmother.

Well, I'd take anything Eliot has to say with a pinch of salt, my dear.

He was 12 years old when he left Marble Hall.

I was the family doctor for more than 30 years.

He actually got quite seriously ill.

It brought him into contact with some quite unpleasant chemicals, and he contracted a skin disease.

I put him on a course of dimercaprol and it cleared up in the end.

♪ ♪ Eliot had a morbid fascination with poison and with disease, and something happened just before his grandmother died.

It was nothing very serious-- tonsilitis.

I'm just going to look at your throat.

LAMBERT: And then I saw it with my own eyes.

He stole one of the bottles of medicine from my bag.

And a few days later his grandmother died?

It was only a bottle of cough medicine, liqufruta-- quite harmless.

I issued the death certificate and informed the coroner.

I can assure you, Miss Ryeland, that there was nothing even faintly suspicious about her death.

Mitral stenosis is fatal in 80% of cases.

And who would want to harm her, anyway?

Lambert, I didn't mean to offend you.

I'm sure Miriam Crace was a wonderful person.

I've got a Triumph Spitfire in the garage.

(chuckles) It's all thanks to Miriam Crace.

She left me a generous bequest in her will.

(birds chirping) ♪ ♪ (speaking Greek) VASSILIKOS: You are Hector Lambrose?

I am Police Lieutenant Achilleus Vassilikos.

This is my associate, Atticus Pünd.

We would like to have a word with you.

Well, I'm afraid I can't speak to you now.

I'm here for the reading of the will.

I am conducting an official murder investigation.

♪ ♪ (door closes) ♪ ♪ I sent a sample of the tea that Lady Chalfont drank to Athens for analysis, and I received a telephone call this morning.

I understand that you arrived at the villa at exactly the moment Lady Chalfont died.

She had telephoned me and asked me to come.

Did she say what it was that she wished to discuss?

She just asked me to bring it with me and then she rang off.

It was a quarter past two last Wednesday.

I took the call, and I transferred it to Mr.

How did you come to be working here in Corfu, Mr.

I started a private practice in 1949.

There are a great many English families who have homes here and require legal assistance.

Miss Androulakis is bilingual and has been at my side from the very start.

Miss Androulakis is engaged to be married.

(chuckling): Oh, um... His name is Antonis-- he works in a hotel.

VASSILIKOS: Who in the family knows the contents of the will, Mr.

He helped with the drafting, but no one else has any idea what I'm about to reveal.

Well, then, why don't you tell them what they want to hear, and let's see how they react?

♪ ♪ (exhales) How long do you think they're gonna be?

You know what's in the will, Elmer.

How much money did you persuade her to leave you?

You really think that anyone could've persuaded your mother to do something she didn't want to do?

♪ ♪ Will Grandma have left me any money?

Police Lieutenant Vassilikos wishes to say a few words before we begin.

VASSILIKOS: I regret to have to inform you that I am now engaged in an official murder investigation.

Analysis has shown that Lady Chalfont was poisoned... (gasps) (sighs) ...with aconitine in her tea.

One of you... Hey, Pa, don't say that!

It's impossible-- you've made a mistake.

Yeah, we, we were there, we were with her!

You can't seriously believe it was any of us.

JUDITH: My mother was dying anyway.

And you can be sure that we will find the answer.

The police lieutenant has asked-- nay, demanded-- to be present for the reading of the will.

It seems very likely that your stepmother's death was related to the will.

The sooner we know the contents, the sooner we can act.

LAMBROSE: First of all, I would like to express my condolences to all of you.

We all loved and admired Lady Chalfont, and although we knew she was gravely ill, none of us could have predicted this terrible turn of events.

We can dispense with the estate of Chalfont Hall in the county of Norfolk, which has already passed down to the seventh earl, Jeffrey Chalfont, following the death of his father: 500 acres, including the manor house, various farm buildings, and the hunting lodge.

(softly): What is the point of having all that land if you can't afford to keep it?

We are here today to discuss the considerable fortune which Lady Chalfont inherited from her first husband: this property... (breathes deeply) ...the house in St.

James's, London, the private bank and funds, which total together £900,000... (breathes deeply) ...sterling.

LAMBROSE: I spoke at length to Lady Chalfont last summer.

She had made certain arrangements which she wished to explain to you herself.

To that end, she wrote a final communication witnessed by myself and Miss Androulakis in my office.

"I have come to a decision with respect to my will... (with Lady Chalfont): "...and I want it to be known "that it is, without question, "my decision and mine alone.

"I do this without any malice, "and "with only... (sighing): ...the best intentions."

♪ ♪ "I am very fond of the young people "who make up my immediate family, but I sometimes question their judgment."

LADY CHALFONT: "Which is why "I am leaving the bulk of my estate to my dear Elmer..." What?!

(gasps) LAMBROSE: "...who has been "my rod and my staff since the loss of my first husband."

"I am leaving the sum of £20,000 to my son Jeffrey Chalfont and his wife."

"I am leaving the same amount to my daughter Judith and her husband, Harry."

(mutters) "Cedric will receive his parcel of £20,000 on his 21st birthday."

LAMBROSE: "My stepson, Robert Waysmith, will also receive £10,000."

Well, I suppose that's what she thought I was worth.

"But the rest of my estate, in its entirety, I bequeath to Elmer Waysmith."

LADY CHALFONT: "I know that he has no need of the money, "but I am making him the custodian of my wealth "to protect my family.

"He will provide them with guidance and financial support they need..." "...whilst at the same time protecting them from their worst excesses."

Your late mother made it quite clear, milord.

You have each been given sizeable amounts... Peanuts!

(exhales) ...and the bulk of the estate is at your disposal, but she has made Mr.

HARRY: You mean, if we want money, we have to ask him.

Do you have any idea how much it costs to build a hotel?

£20,000 will barely pay for the foundations.

It's my £20,000, Harry, and I need it for Peru.

It'll take ten times that amount to save the Nazca lines.

Do not talk to my father like that.

LAMBROSE: Ladies and gentlemen, please.

He turned Margaret against us from the day he married her!

Margaret knew you all for what you are.

Feckless, weak... ...obsessed with money without ever having earned a penny of it in your life!

You're running your father's estate into the ground while you're off partying, drinking, gambling.

You're pouring money into a hotel that's never gonna see the light of day, while you're throwing thousands at a monument that no one's ever heard of and no one's ever gonna see.

And you want to keep the money for yourself.

I'm not gonna take that from a second-rate actress who's trying to buy her way back into show business!

That's enough now-- I think everyone should sit down.

(groans) You knew about the will, so you put poison in her tea!

Your father is a thief and a murderer!

You and your father are both swine.

I wonder who will be murdered next.

(shouting continues) (click) ♪ ♪ The man we are going to see collects every herb on the island, even the most poisonous.

PÜND: Your father, how was he that day?

Did he look someone who was planning to murder his wife?

SUSAN: Do you believe that your grandmother was murdered?

(laughs) JONATHAN: Your job is to protect us from Susan Ryeland.

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