In Beyond Paradise season 3 episode 5, DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall) and DS Esther Williams (Zahra Ahmadi) investigate when a local farming family is struck by a run of bad luck that's either the work of supernatural influences, or a more straightforward case of deliberate sabotage. Making things slightly thornier for the team is that one of the main suspects in the case is an old friend of Esther's — and Humphrey and Esther were actually with her when one of the crimes was committed.
Meanwhile, Esther makes a momentous decision about her relationship with Archie (Jamie Bamber), and it's an anxious time for Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) when foster daughter Rosie (Bella Rei Blue Stevenson) sets off for her first day at school.
Read on to find out what happened in Beyond Paradise season 3 episode 5...
It's nighttime on a farm, and spooky music plays as Stella Ellis (Steeltown Murders' Amy Morgan) and her father George (Miss Austen's Kevin R McNally) are hanging corn dolls in the barn; Stella is creeped out by the whole thing but George says that if the dolls do their job, the farm will be good for another year.
The ladder wobbles because Stella is busy texting and her father chastises her. Later, Stella is feeding the calves, but her father criticises her for getting that wrong too. There's a rumbling sound in the distance, so Stella goes to investigate it — and then George hears her screaming. He rushes to see what's happened and finds her lying next to his milk tank, which has the tap turned to open, leaving a large pool of milk on the floor. Stella comes to, and they both see a sinister figure standing in the doorway, wearing a mask made of corn — but when they look back, the figure has gone.
Meanwhile, Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) and her mum Anne (Barbara Flynn) are helping Martha's foster daughter Rosie (Bella Rei Blue Stevenson) pack for her first day at her new school tomorrow. She says that her mum would always pack her a big bar of chocolate and a note with a smiley face. Martha seems slightly sceptical of this account, but tells Rosie that she'll sort out her packed lunch in the morning, so they'll see. Rosie goes off to bed, and Anne heads off to her art class to tackle a bit of Picasso.
DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall), on the other hand, is at the Ellis farm with plastic bags tied around his shoes, traipsing through the mud. As he crosses the crime scene tape, there are some signs on the ground protesting a proposed wind farm. PC Kelby Hartford (Dylan Llewellyn) tells him that they can't get a SOCO team out until the morning, so he's just taping the area off for now. Humphrey goes into the barn to get a measure of the place, and finds a corn doll fallen on the floor. He picks it up to examine it just as DS Esther Williams (Zahra Ahmadi) comes in to tell him that Stella has been checked by the paramedics and seems to be fine; she remembers being pushed from behind and thinks she hit her head as she fell.
A little later, Stella and George are explaining to Humphrey and Esther (and the rest of us) about the significance of the corn dolls: they are made from the last harvest and hung to bring luck until the next once.
According to legend, if the doll falls, the Corn Man will come to visit and bring bad luck. Stella explains that they were feeding the cattle in the barn when they heard a noise, and when she went to investigate, she found milk pouring out of the tank - this was just after 7 pm. She went to shut the valve when she felt a push from behind and fell forward. Then her dad came in and they saw a figure in the doorway — it was dark so they couldn't see properly, but the figure looked like it was wearing a mask made of corn.
Esther asks if the valve on the tank could have been faulty, but Stella says there have been no signs of any problems before now. George says he put the doll up himself and there's no reason for it to fall — he thinks someone took it down on purpose, because there are people who want to see him fail. He's got a good idea who that person might be too: Michaela Robson from the neighbouring farm, who happens to be a friend of Esther's. Stella explains that she and her father have been opposing the Robsons' application to build wind turbines in their back field. George thinks whoever did this knew what they were doing, and Stella says that the lost milk will halve their income.
As Humphrey and Esther step outside, she explains that she and Michaela know each other of old: they were at school together, and then they went to Young Farmers together. (Esther was an honorary member, who went along for the cheap beer and hunky farmboys.)
Being a pal of Stella's, she has some additional context for the farm feud: Stella and Michaela used to be a couple, but George found out and went ballistic. He tried threatening to disinherit her, and then when that didn't work, he told her that the stress of running the farm on his own would kill him, so Stella reluctantly broke things off with Michaela — and Esther thinks Michaela has never forgiven George for that. Esther adds that there's another problem in the whole mess: Michaela's mother Lotty is every bit as stubborn as George is.
Inevitably, Humphrey and Esther's next visit is to the Robson farm, where Michaela (Rebecca Lee) greets her warmly, not realising at first that Esther is there for work rather than social reasons. Nonetheless, when Esther explains the reason for her visit, Michaela welcomes them both in and calls her mum in from outside. While they're waiting for Lotty to arrive, Esther and Michaela make the most of the opportunity for a catch-up — Esther apologises for missing Michaela's recent birthday party, as she was away with her daughter Zoe at the time. Michaela is showing Esther the bracelet that her mum got her for her birthday when Lotty (The Lazarus Project's Caroline Quentin) walks in. She scrutinises Humphrey and asks Esther whether he's nice to her. (Esther confirms that he is.) Humphrey asks Lotty about the damage at the Ellis farm and the disagreement over the wind farm; Lotty scoffs that George is stuck in the past, and doesn't like anything new or different. (She says this with a very pointed look at her daughter.) It turns out that Michaela and Lotty were at Kitty Jay's most of the evening and have only just got back. Lotty adds that she isn't the sort of person who sneaks about: if she had a problem with George, she'd go round there and talk to him face to face.
On the way out, Humphrey is saying to Esther that they should check to confirm Lotty and Michaela's alibi when Michaela comes running out of the front door in a panic to tell them that she saw from the window that there's a fire at the Ellises', and they'll get there more quickly if they go directly over the fields. Lotty says it's the hay field that's burning, and as the four of them approach, Michaela points out the sinister figure in the corn mask again, this time emerging from next to the burning pile of hay. Esther and Kelby attempt to give chase, but they lose him in the dark. George and Stella arrive, and George accuses Lotty of taking his corn doll down to bring him bad luck. Lotty points out that she and Michaela were the ones who raised the alarm about the fire in the first place.
Once the fire brigade have extinguished the flames, Esther finds a jerrycan that the figure in the mask dropped when she and Kelby were chasing them. Kelby admits that part of the reason he couldn't catch the arsonist was because he got spooked by the cows; apparently he has a bit of a phobia of them because they always chase him. Esther points out to Humphrey that Michaela and Lotty were with them when the fire started, so it can't have been them — but who was it?
The next morning, Humphrey and Martha drop Rosie off at school, but Rosie's a little reluctant to go in. Martha promises Rosie that she'll make loads of friends, and Humphrey tells her that whenever he gets anxious about a new situation, he remembers the advice his Nanny Bird gave to him when she dropped him off for his first term at boarding school: stand tall, keep your back straight, your head high, and put your best foot forward. Martha suggests that if that doesn't work, try bribery, and gives Rosie a packet of sweets for emergencies. Somewhat cheered, Rosie heads into school, and Humphrey and Martha watch her, a little nervous themselves.
Esther, meanwhile, is walking through town when she gets a text from Archie, sending her another The Cure song to listen to. She bumps into Michaela, who says that the last time she saw Zoe with that look on her face was just after she snogged Max Dale at Young Farmers. Esther says that's ancient history, but Michaela thinks Max is still holding a candle for her. She asks Esther if she's seeing anyone now, and Esther claims that she isn't. Michaela says to let her know if she changes her mind about Max, and Esther promises to keep her informed if there are any developments on the Ellis case.
In the police station, Kelby has a map of the area out: he's trying to work out where the mysterious figure was running to, as that might help them to work out who he is. He's also been researching the Corn Man on the internet, and quotes: "When the Corn Man comes, lock crop and cattle away / When the Corn Man comes, bad luck is coming your way". He asks if Humphrey was frightened of the Corn Man, and Humphrey says no, he was more curious that a man allegedly made of corn felt comfortable starting a fire. Margo Martins (Felicity Montagu) arrives for work, and says that the story of the Corn Man is what they used to scare each other with as kids — she never saw him for real, though.
Esther walks in, and Margo asks her not-at-all-subtly how her night was (having found out about Esther and Archie's fling last time) — Esther says that she was working, and Margo says she can make up for it tonight. Humphrey runs through what they know of the case so far, and Margo says that George has got a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way. Humphrey says that the key factor in all of this is that both the milk and the hay were both ready to go to buyers and provide the Ellises with much-needed income, with Esther agreeing that this makes it look very much like a deliberate, targeted attack. Humphrey says that the two attacks must be linked, as the Corn Man appeared at both — and since he and Esther were with Lotty and Michaela when the fire started, that would imply they're unlikely to have been involved with the emptying of the milk tank either. Margo says she heard that George sacked his farm hand, Rhys Tomlinson, recently, so Esther suggests they go and speak to him too. Esther says it could have been another party who wanted to stop George's opposition to the wind farm, and Margo brings the team's attention to a public meeting about the turbines being held at the community hall later today.
Kelby questions Rhys (The Crow Girl's Oliver Hembrough), who expresses his sympathy for Stella: he says that she and Michaela were besotted with each other, but now they're always at each other's throats, and it's clearly George's fault for the way he treated Stella. He says he was sacked three weeks ago — he'd been trying to help George modernise the farm and increase profits, but George never listened. Kelby notes a jerrycan sitting in the back of Rhys's truck, as Rhys drops some new information: the Ellises almost sold up a few months back, but apparently the buyer said something George didn't like so George pulled the plug on the deal, and George and Stella had a blazing row about it.
Over at Ten Mile Kitchen, Anne is showing her attempt at a Picasso-style artwork to Zoe Williams (Melina Sinadinou), and Anne giggles that she got "a little more abstract" after the second glass of wine. Martha comes over and tells them that she got the corporate catering job she quoted on recently — which is good news, but more work. Zoe offers to help with the catering job, which Martha points out is next Friday when Zoe is supposed to be at college, and Zoe says she can sort that. Anne casually brings up that she's added a skydive to her bucket list, and she's already got 11 sponsors, much to Martha's horror — but Zoe is very impressed.
Humphrey and Esther head to the town meeting about the wind farm, and run into Archie Hughes (Jamie Bamber) on their way in, who's just there to drop off some wine for a function that's happening there later. He and Esther pretend to be no more than casual acquaintances, and Humphrey and Esther head into the meeting where George is holding court and encouraging people to sign a petition against the turbines.
Lotty and Michaela arrive, and Michaela and Stella immediately have a snarky exchange which ends up with Stella shoving Michaela. George accuses Lotty of being behind the sabotage on his farm again, and says she's trying to shut him up. Lotty insists she isn't trying to: she says his argument is fair, that as farmers they've all had to move with the times, but the problem is that he's chosen to make it personal. She says that he doesn't respect her because she's a woman, and implies that his campaign has nothing to do with wind turbines, but is just a manifestation of his grudge against her and her family. She adds, pointedly, that everyone in the room knows why he feels that way, and tells him that what he did to Stella and Michaela was vile. She concludes by telling George he should be ashamed of himself, and anyone who listens to him should be ashamed too.
Meanwhile, Kelby and Margo are researching the legend of the Corn Man, and Kelby mentions in passing that his mum wanted him to be a farmer, but there were two reasons why it never happened. He admits that the cow thing was a large part of it, and traces his phobia back to an advert that haunted him as a child. Margo asks him what the second reason was, and Kelby says that it was that they didn't have a farm. Fair enough, really.
Humphrey and Esther are returning to the office when Esther's phone rings — it's Archie, so she takes the call privately. She apologises for earlier, saying that she was in work mode and didn't really know how to handle the situation. Archie suggests they could make things a lot easier by telling people that they're seeing each other, but Esther is reluctant — largely because she hasn't told Zoe yet. Archie says they can start by telling her together later, and Esther lies about Humphrey needing her so she can end the call.
In the police station, Kelby confirms that he's spoken to the manager at Kitty Jay's, who confirmed Lotty and Michaela were definitely there until at least 6.30pm. Margo says that no prints were found on the milk tank, and none on the jerrycan either — other than George and Stella's, but that's to be expected. Humphrey asks her if there's any good news, and Margo says yes: she won £25 at bingo last night. Kelby updates them on his conversation with Rhys: he likes Stella, hates George, hasn't been back to the farm since he was sacked, and has a cast-iron alibi for last night because he was working behind the bar at the Crooked Billet. He also mentions the attempted sale of the farm, which apparently fell apart when George insulted the buyer, but having spoken to the agent, said buyer soon found another piece of land to buy so it's unlikely they were holding a grudge. Esther reminds Humphrey that it's school pick-up time, and he rushes out.
Humphrey arrives just in time to join Martha at the gate, where Rosie rushes out and greets them with a warm hug. Rosie's made friends with a girl called Libby, and Libby's mum asks if Rosie is their daughter, which is a question Humphrey and Martha aren't quite ready to answer. Still, the fact that Rosie had a good day is cause enough for Humphrey and Martha to take Rosie for a celebratory ice cream on the sea front, where she tells them that she has to write a story about what she does with her parents after school, and she wants to write about Humphrey and Martha, as well as Anne living on the boat with Selwyn the duck. Martha mentions that it's Rosie's birthday next week, and suggests organising a party with her new friends from school.
Esther and Zoe are at home clearing dishes away when Esther gets a text from Archie, saying "we need to talk". Zoe asks if it's bad news, and Esther lies that it's just work. Zoe, nervously, asks Esther if she'd perhaps like a beer, or some chocolate from her secret stash, so Esther instantly knows Zoe's about to tell her something she probably would rather not hear. Zoe falteringly says that Esther brought her up to be a strong, independent woman who makes her own decisions, and asks Esther to promise not to get mad at her. Esther: "Are you pregnant, had another tattoo, or pierced anything?" Zoe confirms she hasn't done any of those things, so Esther promises. In a blurt, Zoe admits that she's quit college because she loves her job at 10 Mile Kitchen and she's really good at it. Esther frowns, but takes a moment before she says anything. Keeping her emotions under control (but still clearly angered by this turn of events), Esther asks Zoe if she would go back to college if Esther was furious and told her she had to. Zoe says she would. Esther: "And you'd be miserable, right?" Zoe confirms she would. She tells Zoe that she still thinks it's a mistake, and she'd do better to get some qualifications under her belt, but she has always taught Zoe to be in control of her own life, so she can go ahead and prove her wrong. Zoe gives her a delighted hug, and Esther says she'll have the beer and chocolate now. As Zoe leaves the room, she picks up her phone and re-reads the message from Archie, deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Anne's delighted that she's hit her fundraising target for her skydive. Martha says she just wishes it was for something a bit safer, like a sponsored walk. Humphrey comes home and finds Martha going through her potential props for Rosie's party, which is to have a pirate theme. She asks if they should get an entertainer — she's worried about doing the wrong thing, because she doesn't want to do too much. What happens if Rosie's mum can't afford big parties when she goes home, or prefers to celebrate in a different way? Humphrey tells her to stop overthinking this: it's a child's birthday party, and all they can do while Rosie is with her is what they think is right. He adds that they have no way of knowing what the future holds, or if/when/how things might change, so they should just enjoy things while they last.
The next morning, Humphrey, Martha and Rosie head to the houseboat to give Anne a picture that Rosie has drawn of her doing a skydive. Anne gives a little gasp of surprise when she sees it, and starts to hyperventilate slightly. She quickly assures Rosie that she likes the picture, she's just having some last-minute jitters as it's suddenly starting to seem very real and she's beginning to wonder if she thought this through properly. Martha tells Anne she can always pull out, but Anne won't hear of such a thing because people have already donated so much money. Rosie offers to do the skydive with her to stop her feeling scared, and when Anne tells Rosie she's a bit too young, Rosie volunteers Humphrey to take her place — then she can put this in her story and she'll definitely have the best one. Humphrey, a little stunned, agrees to this idea.
At the police station, Margo wonders if she has to do a separate donation for Humphrey if she's already given money to Anne. Esther says she's chipped in a bit extra, and it will be worth every penny. The phone rings, and Margo informs them that someone has let all the Ellises' cattle escape onto the A386.
Humphrey and Esther head to the farm, where Stella says that they got all the cows back, but it isn't the point: some of them have been injured, and now they have vet bills to worry about on top of everything else — and they found an ear of corn tucked behind the bolt of the gate. George declares that he's done, because he can't take another year of this. Stella tries to talk him round, but he tells her she's right: they should have sold up when they had the chance. After George walks off in despair, Humphrey asks Stella about the offer to buy the farm. Stella says she didn't think her dad was ever really serious about selling, that he'd never leave the farm unless he truly had no other choice. Esther gets a call from Margo, who's been checking where the Robsons were when this happened: apparently they were visiting family in Torquay, so they can't have done it. Kelby suddenly appears in the cattle pen, trying his level best to remain calm — but he's clearly very glad when he manages to get out of the gate and is no longer trapped and surrounded by cows. He tells Humphrey and Esther that he's got something to show them.
He walks the two of them to an old gatekeeper's cottage on the boundary of the Ellis and Robson farms — technically on the Robson side. It's supposed to be empty, but there's evidence inside that a person, or people, have been there recently. There's a picture on a shelf of Michaela and Stella, so Esther deduces that it must be where they used to meet. Kelby tells them that he found something else too, and leads them into another room, where the Corn Man outfit is hanging from a hook in the ceiling.
Back at the police station, Margo takes a call from the crime scene team, who confirmed that the only prints found in the cottage were Michaela's, Stella's, and Kelby's. (Kelby apologises, he put his gloves on too late.) Esther points out that Michaela's and Stella's prints being there are to be expected, if that was indeed their old meeting place. Kelby adds that he spoke to the manager and some regulars at the Crooked Billet, and has confirmed that Rhys was working there until 11pm on the night of the milk loss and the fire. Esther reiterates that the Robsons have an alibi for all three incidents on the Ellis farm, so it can't have been them either.
Humphrey, however, has just had a stroke of inspiration: when they first went to see Michaela, she said that Esther had missed her birthday party. He asks Esther when that was, and Esther says it was last month — the 18th, she thinks. He remembers that Michaela showed Esther a bracelet, which she claimed was a recent birthday present from her mum — but she's wearing it in the picture of her and Stella which, if everything they've been told about their relationship is true, would have been taken over a year ago. Therefore: the picture was taken more recently, and Humphrey has finally figured out what's been catching them out: they've been thinking too much about motive, but not enough about opportunity.
So here's what really happened: Stella and Michaela are still together, and faked their breakup just to appease George. All of the public fights they've been having were just to keep up appearances, and they've been working together to exploit George's superstitions and force him to sell the farm. Since George used emotional blackmail to make Stella believe that running the farm alone would kill him, she didn't want to leave him there by himself — she initially convinced him to sell, but then he changed his mind and she was back to square one. The only way for Stella and Michaela to be together was to force George to sell the farm — that way Stella and Michaela could take Stella's share of the money and start a new life somewhere, and Stella could rest easily knowing that George had enough money for a comfortable retirement from his share.
It was Stella who opened the valve of the milk tank, and pretended she'd been pushed by an unseen attacker. Michaela left Kitty Jay's at 6:30, giving her just enough time to get to the farm and play the role of the Corn Man. Aware that George would point the finger at the Robsons, Stella set the hay on fire when she knew Humphrey and Esther were speaking to Lotty and Michaela, giving them the perfect alibi. She played the Corn Man when Humphrey, Esther and the Robsons came back to investigate the fire, then ran back to the cottage to get changed, and returned to the farm to resume the role of the victim. Again, when she knew Michaela and Lotty were in Torquay, Stella seized the moment and let the cows out onto the road, knowing they couldn't be realistically accused of doing that either. Her use of the Corn Man convinced George he was in for a year of bad luck, so he felt that he had no choice but to sell up.
Esther's appalled that her friend Michaela would lie to her face, and that Stella would do this to her own dad, but Humphrey points out that love can make people do things that they would never normally do. The team head to the respective farms to arrest Stella and Michaela. As she's putting Michaela into the back of a police car, Esther says she thought they were friends. Michaela says they are, but she and Stella had no choice.
Esther says she doesn't believe that, and Michaela (not unfairly) says that Esther doesn't know what she and Stella have gone through, and the only alternative involved Stella staying at the farm for the rest of George's life, putting up with all of his venom. She says that it was the only way they could see of ever being properly together, and they didn't need Esther's — or anyone else's — approval for that. Later, at the station, Humphrey muses on what Michaela said and wonders if she was right. Esther still disagrees, however: she believes that you're responsible for your own choices, and if you don't like where your life is, it's your own fault.
On that note: Esther goes to see Archie at the winery. He's excited to see her, but as he walks over to her, he can tell from her general demeanour that something is wrong. Esther, struggling not to cry, tells him she doesn't want to be with him any more. He asks if they can talk about it, and she shakes her head and walks away. Oh, Esther.
Over at the airfield, Humphrey and Anne are all kitted up and ready for their skydive. He checks if she still wants to go through with it; Anne tells him she's never run away from anything in her life, and doesn't intend to start now. Martha and Rosie arrive to wish them luck, and Martha thanks Humphrey for looking after her mum — but reminds him to be careful, because when he went paragliding (waaaay back in Season 1 Episode 1), he ejected himself and ended up in a tree. Humphrey assures her that Anne will definitely give him one of her Looks if he is doing anything he is not supposed to be. Anne and Humphrey head over to the plane, where the instructor (Ankur Sengupta) is waiting. As they're climbing into the plane, Anne laughs and says she hopes this won't be like her ski trip in 1983, when she came back with both her legs in plaster. The instructor is alarmed to hear this, because Anne didn't mention it on her form when she signed up. Anne says that the form only asked for current medical conditions, and this was 40 years ago.
Anne trudges back to Martha and Rosie, where she dejectedly tells them that she isn't allowed to do the skydive: the fact that she's already broken her legs, even though it was 40 years ago, disqualifies her from the insurance. Anne feels bad about letting everyone down, and Martha suddenly realises Humphrey isn't with her. They see him waving from the plane as it takes off.
Some time later, Anne and Martha are getting anxious, because Humphrey is over half an hour late getting back. Martha's phone rings: it's Humphrey. Sounding slightly panicked, he informs her that he leaned back too far and headbutted his instructor. He says the instructor is coming around now, but Martha might need to come and fetch him — and bring a ladder, because he's currently dangling from the cables way above the Tamar Bridge. (And if you stick around after the credits, he drops his phone too. Oh, Humphrey.)
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