Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre

Focus on the Family: Hello, I'm Dave Arnold, producer for Focus on the Family Radio Theatre. I'm not sure how many Anglican priests can claim to be former police detectives, but I suspect there aren't many. But for Louis Gilbert, the move from carrying a badge to a prayer book seemed inevitable, especially when you consider the very painful event that guided him along.

It was a difficult case of a missing girl that ended in tragedy. And what Father Gilbert couldn't expect is how a case from 15 years ago could reach into the present and threaten his very soul. Because of mature themes and situations, we don't recommend this program for children under the age of 15. With that said, Focus on the Family Radio Theatre is proud to present the Father Gilbert mystery, Dead Air.

Guest (William Barry): You're listening to Citywide Radio, and we're back with Live Wire, the chat show that boldly goes where no other chat show dares to go. I'm William Barry and my guest, if you're just joining us, is well, he's a bit unusual really. A former London police detective who's now an Anglican priest in the tiny village of Stonebridge, Father Louis Gilbert.

Give us a bell on freephone 0800 Live Wire. Ask whatever you like. We always take a no-holds-barred approach on this show. Okay, back to your story, Father Gilbert. Before the break, you were telling us about your career with the Metropolitan Police. But let's get down to the real question. How in the world did you go from there to become a priest, of all things?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Well, I suppose I could be clever and say that being a priest is a lot like being a detective. We're both trying to solve the mysteries of life, battling the forces of evil and all that.

Guest (William Barry): The forces of evil. It was evil that pushed you in the direction of the priesthood, isn't that right?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): It was a very difficult case, yes. We were investigating what we thought was a teenage girl who ran away, and our trail took us to the worst parts of the Soho district.

Guest (William Barry): Did you find the girl?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Yes, we did. Unfortunately, by the time we found her, she was already caught up in the sleaze and drugs of that area.

Guest (William Barry): But wait a minute though, during the last break, you told me that you don't really consider the girl a runaway.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): No, I think she was lured into a trap. You have to understand, this girl was no ordinary runaway. In fact, she was a very sweet and innocent girl. She came from a loving Christian family.

Guest (William Barry): So you think.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): So I know. I dealt closely with the girl's parents. I saw firsthand what they were made of, how much they loved their daughter, what their faith meant to them. It was their faith during that terrible ordeal that made such an impression on me. Their faith made me think twice about my own.

Guest (William Barry): A good girl somehow gone bad. How sad. But if this girl was so happy at home, why did she run away?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): We're never going to know for sure.

Guest (William Barry): Why not?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): According to the coroner, she committed suicide shortly after we found her.

Guest (William Barry): According to the coroner. Now there's a qualifier. What do you think?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I believe she was murdered. I've never been able to prove it conclusively, and I was taken off the case before I could pursue it.

Guest (William Barry): So, what happened? In a fit of self-pity, you ran to the loving arms of the Church of England to become a priest?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): It wasn't self-pity.

Guest (William Barry): And on that note, let's go to the phones. We have a caller from Croydon. Are you there?

Guest (Jim): Yes, I am. It's Jim from Croydon.

Guest (William Barry): What's your question?

Guest (Jim): It's for Father Gilbert. You keep talking about evil, which I suppose you saw all the time as a detective. What do you think about evil now you're a priest?

Guest (William Barry): Good question. Do you think of evil differently now?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I think as a detective I saw evil in its most sensational forms: muggings, robberies, abuse, addiction, murder. And it was easy to write it off as human beings merely behaving at their worst.

Guest (William Barry): Isn't that what evil is, people behaving at their worst?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): There's more to it than that. For one thing, there's the supernatural side.

Guest (William Barry): You're not going to tell me that you believe in the devil.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I believe in a personal supernatural force that's actively working against us. He wants to squeeze out all of God's grace and goodness from the world.

Guest (William Barry): Very interesting. Let's see what our next caller thinks about that. Are you there, caller? Hello?

Guest (Legion): You know nothing about evil, Father Gilbert. You're an amateur. You always were. Evil doesn't want to eliminate goodness. If we eliminated all goodness, then what would be left to corrupt? Corruption is what we love most.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): We? Who is this?

Guest (Legion): Let's consider an example. Telling boldfaced lies for one. Of course, Father Gilbert would never do that. It would be an obvious sin. But he might omit parts of the truth.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I don't understand. What are you talking about?

Guest (Legion): Our good father isn't telling the whole story of his conversion. Has he mentioned his deep despair at having failed the girl? Has he confessed his guilt over the fact that she killed herself directly after seeing him? No, he wouldn't.

Had he left her alone, she might have lived. She might not have committed such a desperate act. Had he stayed away from Soho, had he given some thought to the clues, things might have been different. He knows it. Poor little Patricia. Poor, poor Patricia.

Guest (William Barry): Do you know what the caller is talking about, Father Gilbert? Was the girl's name Patricia?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I won't discuss the details of the case now. Who is this?

Guest (Legion): Who or what? You may call me Legion. Not original, I know, but as you said, it doesn't matter what I'm called. There are many names by which I answer, but Legion will suffice for now.

Guest (William Barry): Legion? As in the French Foreign Service?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Legion as in the name of a group of demons cast out by Jesus.

Guest (Legion): The mystery isn't solved, Father Gilbert. It's only just beginning. Shall we give you another chance? Oh, yes, please. It would be so much fun.

Guest (William Barry): Caller? Are you there? I think we lost him. Was this some sort of prank? Have I been set up for a joke?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): It's no joke. Do you know what he was talking about? I want to know who that was.

Guest (William Barry): Well, we'll talk about that and lots more right after this break.

Guest (Claire Stevens): That was something else, wasn't it? Great radio. Look, the phone lines are lighting up like a Christmas tree.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I'm sorry, but I can't go on.

Guest (William Barry): What? It's just getting good.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Oh no, there's nothing good about this at all.

Guest (William Barry): Father Gilbert, stop. You can't leave now.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Oh, I'm not leaving. I want to know who took that call.

Guest (Claire Stevens): I did, Father. I'm Claire Stevens, the producer of the show. I came in late, I'm sorry.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Well, surely you must have some idea who this caller was. Aren't you supposed to log in names and phone numbers, that sort of thing?

Guest (Claire Stevens): Yes, normally we do. But this call came in on the direct studio line, not the public one. The caller claimed to be an old friend of yours. I assumed you'd given him the phone number.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): It's no one I know.

Guest (William Barry): Father Gilbert, please, we have to go back on the air.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Look, if he phoned in on a direct line, then you could dial that number for caller identification. What is it?

Guest (Claire Stevens): 1471. Right, I could try. But the caller ID only works if the call hasn't been blocked.

Guest (William Barry): Father Gilbert, I can only run so many commercials. Are you coming back to the studio or not?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): What? No. No, Mr. Barry, I don't think I can.

Guest (Claire Stevens): I've got the number. Paper, pen?

Guest (William Barry): What am I supposed to do? I have to finish my show.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Boldly go on without me. I want to find that caller. I was also wondering if I might have a recording of the call. You do record these shows, don't you?

Guest (Claire Stevens): Yes, I'll have the engineer dub it off for you right away. But what can you do now?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I still have friends at Scotland Yard. They may be able to get an address to go with this phone number.

Guest (Henry Ross): Detective Inspector Henry Ross at your service, and he always delivers.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): You found an address, Henry.

Guest (Henry Ross): I said I would, didn't I? It's on the Goldhawk Estates in Hammersmith, government housing. A very rough area. And there's a surprise that comes with it. I got the name of who lives there. It's an old mate of yours.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Of mine?

Guest (Henry Ross): Carl Higgins.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Higgins? I know his voice, that wasn't him on the phone. You listen to the tape.

Guest (Henry Ross): I can't. I gave it to one of the boys in the lab to analyze it. Besides, I didn't say it was Higgins's voice, only that it was his address.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): But Higgins living in government housing? Surely he could do better than that. I thought he retired with a full pension and with honors.

Guest (Henry Ross): So everyone was supposed to think, but Higgins was never the same after that case you worked on. What was the girl's name? Patricia Atkins. Right, the Atkins case. You went off to be a priest and Higgins started drinking more than he should. It got so bad and embarrassing that they forced him to take an early retirement. No one was supposed to know the real reasons, but you know how word gets around.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): But the word didn't get to me.

Guest (Henry Ross): And to which monastery were we supposed to send the news? You were locked up pretty tight before they let you out to drink tea with the Stonebridge parish flower committee members. Are you coming with me or not?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Coming with you?

Guest (Henry Ross): Let's go and talk to your friend Higgins. If one of our own is being so indiscreet as to phone in second-rate chat shows and blab what he knows about cases, then I want to put a stop to it. Besides, it's time for lunch, and you're paying.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Then by all means, let's go. Oh, this is charming. Just the place I'd want to spend my retirement. I can't imagine Higgins here. It doesn't make sense.

Guest (Henry Ross): You didn't see how much he changed after you left. It's open. Hello? Higgins? Carl? It's me, Louis Gilbert. Oh, maybe he's gone shopping.

To get some fresh air. It smells awful. I'll check down here. Why don't you look in the kitchen?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): If you insist. Well, there's nothing in here, although it looks like he left in the middle of a meal. Everything's cold.

Guest (Henry Ross): Gilbert, in here.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): What is it, Henry?

Guest (Henry Ross): It's your pal Higgins. He's dead.

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Guest (Louis Gilbert): Father Gilbert.

Guest (John Bennett): Detective Sergeant John Bennett. I'm with the Hammersmith division. DI Ross filled me in on why you were here, but I'd like to get your account, if I may.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): How did Higgins die?

Guest (John Bennett): That's up to Dr. Simpson to tell us. Simpson over there, medical examiner. He'll do the autopsy. But it looks pretty open and shut to me.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): You mean suicide?

Guest (John Bennett): Single incisions on his wrists. That would make a strong case for it, don't you think?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Normally I would say so, but there's something awfully strange about all this. How long do you think he's been dead?

Guest (John Bennett): Let's ask. Dr. Simpson?

Guest (Simpson): Don't forget to log the body in this time. Yes, John?

Guest (John Bennett): Estimated time of death?

Guest (Simpson): As a guess, I'd say almost 12 hours.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Then he couldn't have made the call.

Guest (Simpson): What call?

Guest (John Bennett): Father Gilbert was on a radio chat show this morning and someone from this flat phoned in with some rather cryptic messages.

Guest (Simpson): Well, I can assure you that this man didn't make any call this morning. It looks to me as if he drank too much last night, felt sorry for himself, grabbed some razors from the cabinet, and did himself in.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): It's uncannily similar.

Guest (Simpson): Similar to what?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): The death of a girl in a case I once investigated.

Guest (John Bennett): Father Gilbert used to be a detective inspector, Scotland Yard.

Guest (Simpson): And you're saying you think Higgins was murdered? By whom?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): By whoever made that call this morning.

Guest (Henry Ross): Right, we have a few more emerging details to keep us baffled and confused.

Guest (John Bennett): Who are you?

Guest (Henry Ross): DI Henry Ross from Scotland Yard. Henry, what details? The neighbors haven't seen Higgins for days. They said he didn't go out much, stayed at home, drunk most of the time. They also haven't seen anyone else come or go from here.

There's only one phone in this flat, the one next to the bed. So our chat show friend called you with the body lying there next to him. How nice. No fingerprints on the phone; it was wiped clean. And surprise, surprise, Higgins kept a gun in the bedside table drawer.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): What?

Guest (Henry Ross): One of your boys just found it. The registration was underneath; it belonged to Higgins.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): He had a gun, and yet he killed himself with razor blades? Wouldn't you say that was rather odd?

Guest (John Bennett): What's so odd about it?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): A gun is quick and efficient, whereas razor blades are less sure and drawn out. An ex-cop knows that. Tell me, what kind of razor blades were used? They weren't Wilkinsons, were they?

Guest (John Bennett): I have that information. Yeah, Wilkinson blades. How did you know?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): That was the brand Patricia Atkins used. Which was odd, since the brand we found in her bathroom was the cheap disposable kind. You should check Higgins' bathroom.

Guest (Henry Ross): Already done. His razor is a different brand.

Guest (John Bennett): What's your point?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Don't they teach you anything in Hammersmith? Why would he buy blades that won't work in his shaver?

Guest (John Bennett): Perhaps the Wilkinson blades were bigger, more easy to handle for what he wanted to do. So you're suggesting it was premeditated?

Guest (Henry Ross): It's possible, but not likely, Sergeant Bennett. Do you really think he went out several days ago and bought the blades with the express purpose of killing himself, then waited until last night to do it while he was in a drunken stupor with a gun right there in the drawer next to him?

Guest (Simpson): Now I'll have to do an autopsy. I had hoped to have an easy day today.

Guest (John Bennett): Say what you like, I still think he did himself in, straight and simple.

Guest (Anne Blain): Pardon me, detective. It may have been straight, but it wasn't simple. I'm Detective Inspector Anne Blain with CIB.

Guest (John Bennett): CIB? Anti-Corruption Squad. And what are you doing here, DI Blain?

Guest (Anne Blain): We've been investigating Higgins. Investigating a retired policeman? Don't you have enough active duty officers to torment? We're investigating what we believe is a network of corrupt policemen from the past and the present.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Higgins was a lot of things, but he wasn't corrupt.

Guest (Anne Blain): Just as I'd expect you to say, Father Gilbert, since you were partners at one time. But I have hard proof that he was taking bribes, among other things. Carl, not a chance. Your loyalty is touching, especially since we've been wanting to ask you about your financial health.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): You are joking.

Guest (Anne Blain): Not at all. So it's convenient that you've come to London. It saved me a trip to Stonebridge.

Guest (Detective): Detective, what is it? Something we found under the deceased man's pillow. Well? It's a cassette tape. Yes, and? And it has Father Gilbert's name on it.

Guest (Legion): Dear Father Gilbert, you must see now that the nature of evil is rarely dramatic, but slow and efficiently corrupting. Look at poor Higgins. It took him all these years to realize he was better off dead than alive. And even in his alcohol-saturated state, he was reluctant to embrace the inevitable. But he did. And now I leave him as a present for you. Hooray for good sense.

Guest (Henry Ross): My, what did they decide? The powers that be have put me in charge of the investigation.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Oh, what do you make of the tape?

Guest (Henry Ross): Well, nothing. It's the same voice as this morning, that's certain, but no clues that I can discern. No fingerprints, no clues. Then it's off to the lab for further analysis.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): And what do you want me to do?

Guest (Henry Ross): Unfortunately, you'll have to stay where you are. Detective Anne Blain wants a word with you, and you might want legal counsel present.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Oh, that won't be necessary. I hope.

Guest (Anne Blain): So you can see from this and this and those statements there that Detectives Higgins, Shiller, Ramsey, and Enslin were all taking bribes from the various Soho merchants who wanted the force to keep away. And I believe they're only the tip of the iceberg. The corruption goes deep.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I'm staggered.

Guest (Anne Blain): You honestly expect me to believe that you had no idea it was going on?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Look, I'm not naive, Detective. I knew it was going on somewhere with a small handful of officers in other divisions, but not at Scotland Yard. Not right under my nose. Tell me about your last case. What do you want to know? Everything. Start with Patricia Atkins.

She was a good girl from a decent family, well-to-do. Simon Atkins was at the forefront of the computer revolution in the early 80s. His wife Susan was a teacher at a church-run school.

Guest (Anne Blain): And they were devout in their beliefs.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Yes, as were Patricia and her brother and sister.

Guest (Anne Blain): I read your files. Patricia's parents reported that something happened to her and she went off the skids.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): It may have been normal teenage rebellion, hanging around the wrong sort of people. She ran away from home to London, Soho as it turns out. And this is what confuses me, Gilbert. You normally didn't work cases with runaways, so why did you work this one?

The Atkins family were friends with a member of Parliament, a neighbor. Richard Magnuson. Magnuson pulled some strings to get Scotland Yard to make it a priority. They brought in several of their top detectives, including Higgins and me. We checked leads, inquired among her family and friends, and ultimately tracked her down.

Guest (Anne Blain): According to your file, you received an anonymous phone call from someone who claimed to have seen her in Soho.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): That's right. Higgins and I followed the lead to a flat there, above one of the strip clubs.

Guest (Anne Blain): Higgins. I thought you saw the girl alone, Gilbert.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I did. Higgins stayed downstairs while I went up to find Patricia.

Guest (Anne Blain): Why did Higgins stay downstairs?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): He said he felt sick. Bad fish and chips. He wanted to stay outside for the air.

Guest (Anne Blain): You went up to the flat alone and Patricia was there.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): The squalor was horrible. And there was Patricia, obviously strung out. She was getting ready for work, she said, and didn't want to talk to me.

Guest (Anne Blain): Work?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): In one of the clubs, it's all in the report. When I told her we'd been looking for her as a runaway, she became upset and annoyed with me for interfering. She begged me not to tell her parents where she was. She said that he wouldn't like it, that he would cause trouble for her entire family.

Guest (Anne Blain): Who was the "he" she referred to?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I don't know. I asked, but she wouldn't say. She seemed trapped. She didn't know what to do or where to turn. I tried to persuade her to go home. I said her parents loved her, wanted her back, no matter what she'd done.

Guest (Anne Blain): By law, you could have arrested her and taken her home.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I know.

Guest (Anne Blain): But you didn't.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): No. Initially, I wanted her to go home because she wanted to. I was afraid that if I dragged her back unwillingly, she'd only run away again.

Guest (Anne Blain): And because of your decision, you lost your chance to physically remove her.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): She locked herself in the bathroom and begged me to leave. After several minutes of discussion, she promised to come out, but only if I would agree to come back the next day.

Guest (Anne Blain): But she didn't come out.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): No, she was silent. I threatened to break down the door. She didn't respond. And then I did break through, but she was gone. She'd slipped out the bathroom window and down a fire escape. She escaped that night and was found dead the next day. A suicide.

Guest (Anne Blain): You blame yourself for that.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Yes, although I don't think it was a suicide.

Guest (Anne Blain): Of course not. By thinking it's a murder, you can displace some of the blame for your poor decision-making.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Oh, there's no need to displace the blame. I accept it fully. It's never far from my heart, even though I have been shown a remarkable grace and forgiveness.

Guest (Anne Blain): Grace and forgiveness from whom?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): From Patricia's parents. From God. But I want you to know, I tried to find Patricia's killer, but I was told by my superiors it was a closed case as a suicide. I was forbidden to investigate it further.

Guest (Anne Blain): There's no need to trouble yourself about that part of it, Gilbert. There was never a chance that you were going to solve the case properly. Everyone was against you. Higgins, your superiors, their superiors. You weren't meant to find her, Gilbert. And since you did find her, then I believe she had to be taken out of the picture.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): You think she was murdered.

Guest (Anne Blain): It wouldn't surprise me. We're dealing with something bigger than you can imagine.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): Oh, I have quite an imagination.

Guest (Anne Blain): If you were still a police officer, I could tell you what I know. But you're a civilian now. Don't go back to Stonebridge without letting me know. We'll need to talk further.

Focus on the Family: Next time on Focus on the Family Radio Theatre's presentation of Father Gilbert, Dead Air.

Guest (Louis Gilbert): So what did they do, bring you back to search for that missing girl?

Guest (Anne Blain): What girl?

Guest (Louis Gilbert): I'm not supposed to know. Some runaway. Don't touch anything. Someone's there. Ask yourself why, Father Gilbert. Why is this happening now? But you better hurry to find the answer. Time is running out.

Focus on the Family: Father Gilbert, Dead Air was a presentation of Focus on the Family. For Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, I'm your host, Dave Arnold. Thanks for listening.