Dockers (Episode #302)

KQED Plus: Thu, Oct 4, 2012 -- 8:00 PM

The Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) reinvestigate the murky death of Joe Walsh, the General Secretary of the Crane Drivers' Union, whose body was found in the Thames in 1975. At the time of his death, Walsh stood accused of stealing money from the Union's account. Pullman and Standing visit Walsh's daughter, Anita, a glamorous and successful author. She tells them she's always believed the generally accepted story that her father took his own life. Claiming to be ignorant of her father's involvement with union finances, Anita directs them to Walsh's deputy, Brendan Dyer - who subsequently reveals that he and Labour peer George McCready were the last two people to see Walsh alive. As the team delve further into the case, they find themselves at the centre of a political minefield, with suggestions of misappropriated union funds, MI5 involvement and a union leader whose threats of strike action were gravely threatening the national interest. The influential "New Labour" peer McCready is a suspect in the inquiry, but the team know they have to tread carefully. DAC Strickland manages to secure a meeting for them at the House of Lords. McCready, keen to avoid scandal, points the finger of suspicion at Dyer, revealing that Dyer's wife, Rose, was having an affair with Walsh. Throughout, the team's investigation is hampered by Lane's increasingly erratic behavior. Unknown to his colleagues or his wife, Lane has decided to swap the conventional medicines taken to manage his various neuroses for an array of alternative treatments. The new regime leads to alarming outbursts - crazy, even by Lane's eccentric standards.