("The Birds and the Bees") ♪ Let me tell ya about the birds and the bees ♪ ♪ And the flowers and the trees ♪ ♪ And the moon up above ♪ ♪ And a thing called love ♪ - Ripping day for it.

- Sublime.

Now, what's this I hear about you snagging a new lady?

- Oh, Thelma, you'd love her.

Bright eyes.

Long legs.

Short, stout neck.

- I'm a sucker for a bird with a stout neck.

(Melvin chuckles) (gentle calm music) - [Server] Want a cuppa?

- [Patron] Oh, yes, thanks.

- [Server] Anyone else?

(bright upbeat music) (people chattering) (typewriter keys clacking) - Cage Seven for the Gorgeous Dame, huh?

(chuckles) - Dimitri.

- Ahh!

(typewriter keys clacking) (gentle calm music) (typewriter keys clacking) - Is Virgil here?

- I thought he'd be with you.

- Oh, he left home over an hour ago.

What if he's had an accident?

- He was cockeyed last night.

He's probably taking a nap.

- I'll check the coop.

- Hey.

(pigeons cooing) - [Thelma] Virgil, you fool.

Are you in there?

(intense dramatic music) (Thelma gasps) (Thelma retches) Help!

Somebody help!

(typewriter keys clacking) (dramatic upbeat music) - Ah.

(chuckles) (telephone ringing) Adventuresses' Club.

- [Aleksander] We're getting close here, Birdie.

Someone's been murdered.

- Murdered?

Who?

- [Aleksander] President of Sandridge Pigeon Club.

- Sandridge?

I might have an in there.

And Aleks, this is our last mission.

Once we find the target, we're done.

(receiver bangs) (light suspenseful music) (dramatic suspenseful music) (door bangs) - [Peregrine] Beautiful day for it.

- Fancy see seeing you here.

- A little birdie mentioned there may be some fowl play at the Pigeon Club.

- I'm here to meet a potential Adventuress.

You?

- I'm here to investigate a murder.

- Pigeon aren't fowl.

- Oh, they give you the creeps, whatever they are.

- Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, Peregrine, because once a pigeon saved my life, This isn't your mission.

(light curious music) - [James] So what time do you have?

(people chattering) - Are you two with the police?

- Oh, certainly not.

I'm Birdie Birnside.

I'm here to join your club.

- Oh, interesting timing.

- And Ms. Fisher here, she was just leaving.

- Peregrine Fisher, Private Detective.

- Birdie and Peregrine.

Oh, that is too perfect.

Who hired you to investigate?

- Nobody as yet.

- Could I engage your services?

- No, I don't think that's a very good idea.

- Oh, I strongly disagree.

This case is too complex for the police.

Look at that fop, couldn't solve a children's puzzle.

- God, where is... - I would be honored to investigate on your behalf, Ms.?

- This is Dr. Thelma Beasley.

Australia's preeminent ornithologist.

- Well, (chuckles) one of.

- I have been wanting to invite you to join the Adventuresses' Club for years.

- And I have longed to be invited.

- Well, then it's settled.

I'll show you around this afternoon.

(Thelma chuckles) - Birdie, somebody's just been murdered.

- I'd be honored.

Remind me to tell you about my recent field trip to Scotland.

- Yes.

- I was almost killed when a giant wood grouse chased me through the Caledonian pines.

- Oh, that sounds terrifying.

- Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

Birds are predictable.

I understand birds, whereas humans.

(Birdie chuckles) - What was your relationship to the deceased?

- Virgil was President of the Pigeon Club.

El Presidente, he called himself.

He was a ruthless dictator.

He was vindictive, racist, misogynistic and he also happened to be my brother.

- Oh.

- But for all his many faults, he didn't entirely deserve this.

- Can you think of anyone who had a reason to kill Virgil?

- It's more a question of who didn't wanna kill Virgil, especially amongst this lot.

- Oh, no, thank you.

(light curious music) I might just take a look around.

(light curious music) - Ladies, we meet again.

Wouldn't have picked you two as pigeon fanciers.

- I'm here to join the club.

- And I've been hired to investigate by Thelma Beasley.

- Well, I guess I can't stop you then.

- Oh.

(pigeons cooing) Does this deter you from joining?

- Pigeon racing is not for the fainthearted.

- So what do we know?

- It appears that Virgil Beasley was feeding those pigeons when the killer grabbed him.

There's signs of a struggle and then, looks like he was choked to death with birdseed.

- Oh.

- Stripped and feathered and left on display.

- To humiliate him in death.

- [James] Hmm, appears so.

(tense suspenseful music) (camera shutter clicking) - I'm no ornithologist, but this doesn't look like a pigeon feather.

- It's more likely a bird to prey.

I found a few on him earlier.

- Do you think the killer wanted to make him look like a bird?

- Tarring and feathering typically represent revenge.

- But this isn't tar.

(light mysterious music) Is that glue on your sleeve, Melvin?

- Oh, yeah.

Must've happened this morning when I was fixing baskets.

- What were your movements this morning?

- I was with my girlfriend.

We have a special routine on race day.

It starts off with- - Right, we don't need the details.

One race to go in the championship season.

- Um-hmm.

- You're narrowly trailing Virgil, with Dimitri not far behind.

- Um-hmm, hell of a competitor was Virgil.

I'm pretty sure he used a peregrine falcon to try and take out my fastest bird, though.

- A peregrine falcon?

- Natural predator to the pigeon.

- Oh.

- Came out of nowhere, just as the lead pack were arriving home.

- A strange move for a pigeon enthusiast.

- Virgil, he was a nutter trying to get me kicked out of the club.

- Why?

- Who knows.

(chuckles) He just likes to get under people's skin.

- Sounds like he got under yours.

- Nah, he never bothered me.

Dimitri, though, he couldn't cop it.

He was convinced that Virgil was cheating.

- How do you cheat in a pigeon race?

- Well, you switch birds.

You have a secret loft near the club.

There's doping.

- Drugs?

- Yeah, he put a bit of cocaine in with the seed and watched the birds zing, apparently.

Anyway, well, Dimitri couldn't prove it.

Must've drove him mad.

- Mad enough to kill?

(gentle tense music) - Virgil said he was going to poison my best flyer, Anna Karenina.

Huh.

Oh, back you go, Anna.

- Dimitri?

What were you doing this morning?

- Well, Nick and I went to for a drive to Rosebud for a training run.

Left around, oh, 6:15.

Arrived down the peninsula around seven.

- In the same car?

- Nick and I don't have much in common.

He's a good deal younger than I am.

Swiss.

I prefer to share my drive with Tchaikovsky.

(Dimitri humming) - And where did you go after Rosebud?

- Uh, I went straight home.

- Is there a Mrs. Privalov to vouch for that?

- Mrs. Privalova and she died four years ago.

- Oh, I'm so sorry.

(gentle tense music) - Carry on.

- If you and Nick didn't get along, why bother joining him on a training run?

- Oh, I was keen to get more miles into my youngsters.

Nick's rehoming some of their lesser flyers.

- Their?

- Oh, Nick and Virgil were a team.

- Nick's name isn't on the championship board.

- He was very much the silent partner.

Even though Virgil started winning once they joined forces.

- How did Nick feel about that?

(tense anxious music) - No one understood pigeons like Virgil.

He was fastidious about breeding, diet, everything.

- Do your birds fly to Virgil's loft?

- I have other responsibilities on race day.

I drive the truck to the liberation.

- The liberation?

- It's when the birds are released for the race.

- To watch a kit of pigeons rise as one, before they must leave each other to fly home is, um, cathartic.

- [James] When did you last see Virgil alive?

- Here, at his birthday drinks last night.

- Yesterday was Virgil's birthday?

- So who was the last to leave the drinks?

- Well, in the end it was just me and Virgil.

- [James] It's a good effort to drive to Rosebud first thing in the morning.

- I promised the birds I would.

- What did you do after you released them?

- I drove straight home.

- Can anyone attest to that?

- My birds, I clocked them when they got home, last to arrive was 8:55.

I can bring you the timestamp.

- And the clock.

- Anything to help catch the monster that did this?

(gentle suspenseful music) - I can't believe someone would commit murder over pigeons.

Toucans, maybe.

- I understand the passion for pigeons.

My dad raced them.

- Oh.

- Yeah, as a kid I loved waiting and watching for his birds to arrive home on a Saturday afternoon.

- And what would you do when they get home?

You throw them in the car and drive as fast as you can to the club?

- No, no-no, you, you clock your birds at home.

Here, I'll show you.

Before each race, a numbered rubber ring is placed on each bird's leg.

And then the clocks are synchronized and locked.

- Locked clocks.

How very Dr. Seuss.

- The clock must be tamper-proof and accurate to the second.

'Cause when the pigeon returns, you remove their rubber ring, you put it into the clock and then it stamps the exact time.

- Ingenious.

- [James] Hm.

- So first bird home wins?

- No, each bird's flying to a different coop.

So the winner is the bird with the fastest average flying speed.

- Oh.

- It's sport with one starting gate and a thousand finish lines.

- How do they find their way home?

- Well, some believe that they sense the Earth's magnetic field and others think it's an internal compass that relies on the sun's position.

No one knows for sure.

It's a beautiful mystery.

(gentle sentimental music) - [Peregrine] Hm.

(chuckles) (gentle tense music) - [James] How would you describe your marriage to Virgil?

- You think I killed him don't you?

(gasping) Someone told you what I said.

- Gladis, slow down.

It's all right.

What are you talking about?

- A few days ago in front of everyone, I told Virgil I wished he'd turn into a bloody pigeon.

Oh, you're gonna lock me up and throw away the key.

Go on then, get it over with.

- Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mrs. Beasley.

- So you and Virgil weren't getting along?

- It was just a little lover's tiff.

Not that he could love anyone as much as he loved his birds.

- [Dimitri] Your tea, Gladis.

- Did you have any children?

- Impossible, with Virgil sleeping in the pigeon loft most nights.

- That must've made you resentful.

- (stammers) It was my fault.

I'm a fitful sleeper.

- What time did Virgil get home from the birthday drinks?

- Around midnight, drunk as a boiled owl.

He wolfed down some cheesecake I'd spent all day baking, then stumbled out to his loft in the backyard.

- Did you see him this morning?

- He, he didn't come in for breakfast and drove off like a man possessed.

- At what time?

- Around 7:30, that's an hour earlier than normal.

- [Peregrine] What happened here?

- Oh, Virgil grunted something about a set-to with Melvin.

- What about?

- I'm really not sure.

- Well, you must have some idea.

- All I know is that Melvin hated Virgil and Virgil hated him right back.

(light suspenseful music) - Melvin's top of my list.

He's fuming about Virgil trying to kick him out of the club, even if he tries to cover it up.

And his comment about a rogue peregrine falcon, that might explain our mystery feathers.

- We need to find how they ended up on Virgil.

- It's interesting that peregrines are the natural enemy of the pigeon.

The pigeon being a monogamous bird that mates for life.

- What are you implying?

- [James] Nothing.

- Humans live a lot longer than pigeons.

Speaking of monogamy, did you notice how Dimitri prepared Gladis's tea?

- What are you talking about?

Tea is tea.

- Tea's certainly not tea.

Dimitri was meticulous with the sugar and he even timed how long he steeped Gladis's tea bag.

I think there's something going on there.

- You're clutching at straws.

- I think Virgil eroded Gladis's sense of self.

You can't deny that's a strong motive.

If my husband slept in a pigeon coop every night, it'd drive me to something wild.

- If the thought of having a husband didn't make you run for the hills.

- I haven't gone anywhere.

You're the one who seems to have moved on.

(James clear throat) (Peregrine sighs) - We need to look more closely at Thelma too.

- Why would she hire me to investigate if she was the killer?

- To throw us off the scent.

Virgil would've been a tyrannical brother.

- Thelma'd give as good as she gets.

- That's exactly my point.

- Her and Birdie are somewhat of a mutual admiration society.

- What is she really doing here?

- A pigeon saved her life.

- [James] Oh, that explains it.

(gentle suspenseful music) - Gotcha.

(car horns honking faintly) - What's this?

- Possible murder weapon.

- (scoffs) Death by birdseed?

- Could you analyze it for poison?

- Of course.

Fascinating.

- What?

What can you see?

Sodium cyanide?

Cocaine?

- Wheat, peas, corn, sunflower, sorghum.

Whoever created this has an extraordinary knowledge of avian diet.

- Seems like Virgil Beasley was more attuned to pigeons than humans.

(phone ringing) (door bell chiming) You get that?

I'll get this.

- Okay.

(phone ringing) Adventuresses' Club of the Antipodes, Peregrine Fisher speaking.

- Peregrine.

James, I've been digging into Melvin Delaine's police record.

- Let me guess, a rap sheet that would make Al Capone blush.

- Mm-mm, no criminal offenses in Victoria.

- Oh.

- But he only moved here five years ago from Sydney after spending 18 months in jail for assaulting and then tarring and feathering a coworker on the docks at Jones Bay.

So I'm getting him in.

- Thelma Beasley here to see you.

- [Peregrine] Oh, I would love to stay and chat, but I have a client to attend to.

(receiver bangs) - The guy in Jones Bay was skimming off the shipments.

He tried to pin me for it.

- Oh, gee.

Don't make it too easy for us.

- Tarred and feathered that rat and I gave him a hiding too.

Taught him a lesson.

But, he's still alive.

- Maybe you taught Virgil a lesson too and just went a bit too far.

- Nah, I didn't touch him.

- He had more of a motive to kill Virgil.

He was trying to kick you out of the club that you loved.

And I know that you said he didn't get under your skin, but maybe he just pushed you to the brink.

- I couldn't stand the buzzard, eh?

But if you honestly think that I'm dumb enough to tar and feather some bloke when I've already done time for it- - You're a convicted criminal who races vermin for fun.

I think you're plenty dumb enough.

- I've done my time.

Your vermin, my pigeons saved me and I'm a different person now.

- Gee, Steed, we've heard some piss-weak excuses in this room, but pigeons saved me really takes the cake.

- And your alibi's a lie.

Your girlfriend hasn't seen you in weeks.

- Well, you got me on that one.

I was home alone all morning.

But what did you want me to say?

I knew I'd been stitched up.

- Well, you have no alibi and a history of violent crime and all the evidence points to you.

(suspenseful music) - That's not my seed.

(tense suspenseful music) It's not Virgil's either.

It's Thelma's.

- Oh, and you would adore my African gray parrot, Amelia Earhart.

Oh, she's a fiercely intelligent creature.

- You know which bird I really love, for obvious reasons, the peregrine falcon.

- Oh, I have one.

- Oh!

- Sojourner Truth.

I named her after the inspirational abolitionist and women's rights activist.

- Of course.

- Is he permitted here?

- On occasion.

- Ms. Beasley.

- [Both] Dr. Beasley.

- It was your seed found at the crime scene.

Everyone's seed is different and a closely guarded secret.

- I knew it.

He nicked my seed.

I'd kill him, only someone got there before me.

- Are you saying that Virgil was choked with seed he stole from you?

- Or the killer brought their own seed to choke him with.

- Tread carefully, Detective Steed.

- I think that your sibling rivalry with Virgil was more serious than you let on.

- Do you think I was joking when I called my brother a misogynistic fascist?

I haven't hidden anything.

Virgil wanted to make the Pigeon Club men only.

So I used Sojourner Truth to remind him of feminine power.

- Sojourner Truth?

- A peregrine falcon named after the inspirational abolitionist and women's rights activist, obviously.

(Thelma imitates bird squawking) - Oh!

- That was the hideous sound I woke to this morning.

Virgil trying to clip Sojourner's glorious wings.

- So that's why her feathers ended up on him.

- It was lucky she didn't kill him.

- Oh, she left that to you.

- I could never hurt Virgil.

I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

- Well, I don't know how satisfied he's feeling now.

What were you doing before he got to the Pigeon Club this morning?

- I took Sojourner to the vet to make sure she wasn't injured.

I do hope your investigation is more advanced than this nitwit's.

(Peregrine chuckles) Do you know what parthenogenesis is?

- Refresh my memory.

- It is the wondrous process whereby certain female birds reproduce without any male input.

Meditate on that.

And find my brother's killer.

(light playful music) - I like her.

(tense suspenseful music) - Aleks, I know you're there.

- Did you find our target at the Pigeon Club?

It's a definite likeness, but it's not conclusive.

- Oh, come on, Aleks.

You knew him.

- 20 years ago.

- 20 Years.

We're this close.

- We need more proof.

An older photo.

- Well, how am I gonna get that?

- Birdie, they told me you still knew what you were doing.

- Hm, what do you think?

- Hm, it could go either way.

- If he is who we think he is, best keep your friend away.

- Well, that's easier said than done.

Peregrine Fisher has inherited her aunt's bloody-mindedness.

- I'm sure you'll figure it out.

(light tense music) - Ah, Nick Hoffman.

- Norma Jean's ring, our clock and the timestamp from when she arrived home from Rosebud.

8:55, it's consistent with her other times.

- How long does it take to drive to the club from your house?

- A little over half an hour.

- Well, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Hoffman.

We'll be sure to get these back to you.

- Yeah.

- So the morning of his murder, Virgil Beasley leaves home at 7:30.

Arrives at Thelma's, roughly 20 minutes later, stoushes with her falcon and is gone by a quarter past eight.

- Then he drove to the club, which is a 15 minute drive from Thelma's place.

- Making his arrival around 8:30.

The other racers filtered in around 9:30.

- So leaving time to commit the crime and then flee the scene, the murder must've occurred between 8:35 and 9:20.

- Ruling out Nick.

- Can I see what Samuel makes of this clock?

He's a closet horologist.

Clock expert.

- Oh.

(tense sentimental music) (Peregrine sharply exhales) (Sally clears throat) - Hi!

- Oh, Sally.

- [Sally] Hello, Peregrine.

James, you ready?

(gentle tense music) - Yes, we're all done here.

- So how's the investigation going?

- It's good.

It's good.

We've got our beaks in a few troughs.

(Peregrine chuckles) - Ah, ah.

(clears throat) - Would you like to join us for dinner, Peregrine?

We have a six o'clock booking at Toto's.

- Oh, normally I would love to, but I'm very busy tonight.

So many things to do.

(chuckles) (tense lively music) - And what do we have here?

- Pigeon clock.

- Could you- - See what makes it tick?

Sorry.

- No.

What's the rule?

- [Both] Never apologize for a pun.

- Samuel, do you have any idea why Birdie's so invested in this case?

- I gave up trying to work out my sister years ago.

(gentle tense music) - She's spying again, isn't she?

- No.

- Hmm!

- Ah!

(sighs) - But what's her interest in this particular case?

- Now I, I didn't say that she was.

You can't tell her that I said she was.

Y-you can't tell anyone.

(gasps) - [Peregrine] Samuel, Samuel, relax.

- Ah, I'm finding that rather difficult.

(exhales) I'm quite worried about her.

She's carrying a gun.

- Hm.

So that's why she's been acting so strangely.

But why?

What am I missing?

(sighs) - Where are you going?

- Back to the crime scene.

It's not like I've got dinner booked at Toto's.

(tense mysterious music) (dramatic suspenseful music) (door bangs) Hm.

(object bangs) (dramatic suspenseful music) (intense dramatic music) Birdie?

- Go home, Peregrine.

- Why are you so interested in this murder investigation?

- I got what I came for.

That's all you need to know.

Now let's go.

- What did you get?

- You just be very careful.

- You're acting like this is my first murder investigation.

- Peregrine, you are out of your depth.

Now drop it, please.

- I'm not gonna drop anything!

Oh, oh, oh, damn it!

(tense suspenseful music) (motorcycle engine revving) Birdie?

(pigeons cooing) (exhales) Who does she think she is, making out like I don't know what I'm doing.

(gentle suspenseful music) (pigeons cooing) What are you tangled up in there, Anna Karenina?

(gentle suspenseful music) The cage is gone.

Now we are free.

Kiss.

G. (gentle suspenseful music) (dramatic suspenseful music) (birds squawking) - I found this at the club.

It's from 13 years ago.

And look who turns up in the back of one of the photos.

What do you think?

- Yes, that's him.

I want to be the one who pulls the trigger.

- Oh, no, Aleks.

We're bringing him in.

We're bringing him in or I'm out.

(gentle anxious music) - [Peregrine] A love note from Gladis to Dimitri.

Anything you'd like to say to me?

- You were right.

Tea is not tea.

- [Peregrine] Mnh-mnh, mnh-mnh - I have to say, I'm not entirely surprised that love blossomed at the club.

My dad believed that the secret to successful pigeon racing was creating an intimate atmosphere.

- Champagne.

Candlelight.

- Cooing.

(Peregrine chuckles) He had a gift of just knowing which birds were compatible.

And then once a cock and a hen partnered up, he'd take the fastest one out to race and then he'd leave the other one in the loft.

Gave the racer an incentive to hurry home.

- Oh, that's sweet and a little bit manipulative.

- It's brilliant, isn't it?

(tense suspenseful music) You and Gladis are having an affair.

- That's, that's outrageous.

Gladis Beasley's a married woman.

- Which is why you wanted Virgil dead.

- [Dimitri] No!

- Okay.

That's what Gladis's note means.

The cage is gone.

Now we are free.

- I've been attaching silly notes to Dmitri's pigeons for months.

It's just a little fun.

- The note suggested that now that Virgil's dead, you and Dmitri can finally be together.

Unless, of course you are already.

- Of course not!

I adore Dimitri.

He's kind, compassionate and there's so much more to him than pigeons.

But we have never acted on our feelings.

- So what did the note mean?

- That both our lives would be brighter without Virgil's constant negativity.

- Did she consider divorce?

- On what grounds?

Infidelity with his pigeons?

- With Virgil dead, she doesn't need a reason.

- For better or worse, he was my other half for 32 years.

I could never hurt him.

- What about Dimitri?

- He's a lover, not a fighter.

- [Peregrine] Hm.

- Do you have any timestamps from the training run at Rosebud?

- Why would anyone stamp a training run?

You only ever do it in a race when you need an official time.

(dramatic tense music) - Thank you.

- It's been tampered with.

It took me pulling it apart three times to work it out.

But once it's locked, only the race official can unlock it.

But watch this.

(gentle curious music) - You can change the time.

- [James] Huh.

- [Samuel] An ingenious method of cheating.

- And fabricating an alibi.

So Nick could make it look like he was at home clocking Norma Jean at 8:55.

- Giving him plenty of time to drive to the club and commit the murder.

- Well, to go to such lengths, Nick must've murdered Virgil.

Maybe he wasn't as happy about being silent partner as he made out.

- But he seemed genuinely upset about Virgil's death.

Jealousy just doesn't feel like the right motive.

- Doesn't matter why he did it.

We've got more than enough to bring him in.

- It's the race today.

He's probably halfway to the liberation point by now.

- Then we need to step on it.

- Better take my car.

(dramatic suspenseful music) - To lie about your name, your age, your life.

Not to have a photo for 20 years, that takes some effort.

- He had a lot to lose.

Hans Einrich, finally.

- There he is.

(tense suspenseful music) (pigeons chattering) (wings flapping) - Birdie, you always said the timing was wrong for us.

What about now?

The war is over, isn't it?

- Oh.

(dramatic suspenseful music) - Nick!

Can we have a word, please?

(intense dramatic music) (gun fires) (tire hisses) (intense dramatic music) - No.

Aleks!

(intense dramatic music) - What?

Come on.

(intense dramatic music) - Aleks!

Aleks, behind you!

(Aleks moaning) (Aleks groaning) Oh, no.

Oh, no.

Oh, Aleks, Aleks.

Aleks, don't move.

- Birdie?

- Just catch him!

- Who is it?

- Just catch him!

(Peregrine panting) Aleks, just look at me.

Look at me.

Stay with me.

Just stay with me.

Just stay with me.

Aleks, don't you dare.

(Aleks speaking in foreign language) Oh, no-no.

No-no-no, no, no-no-no-no, stay with me!

Stay!

(serene somber music) (dramatic suspenseful music) (James groans) - James!

(fist thuds) - Nick Hoffman, you're under arrest for the murder of Virgil Beasley.

- Oh, and a whole lot more than that.

Oh, we've been tracking you for years.

And finally, here we are.

- It's okay, Birdie, he's under arrest.

- Do you know who this is?

This is a tattoo of the German SS!

Meet Captain Hans Einrich.

- He's a Nazi?

- He's responsible for thousands of deaths.

You tortured my Aleks, you nearly killed him.

20 years.

How did you finally slip up?

- Virgil's birthday drinks?

What did he find out?

(dramatic anxious music) (glasses clinking) - Virgil found out I'm German, not Swiss.

Look, I haven't been to his drunk since the '38 World Cup.

Since we lost to the Swiss the first round.

- '38, what?

Germany lost to the Swiss that year.

You are hiding something, mate.

Are you German?

- No, no, no-no.

- [Peregrine] So the next morning you convinced Dimitri to meet you in Rosebud to establish an alibi.

- You drove to the Pigeon Club knowing that Virgil would be the first to arrive.

(birdseed clinking) - [Peregrine] You couldn't risk Virgil revealing your secret.

(dramatic booming) - [James] And you choked Virgil with Thelma's seed.

- [Peregrine] And then you glued and feathered Virgil to make it look like Melvin had done it.

- You know what you've done.

You don't deserve to live.

- Birdie.

- I was following orders.

- Oh, spare me.

- Birdie.

- You just couldn't stop killing.

These victims they deserve justice and my Aleks, he deserves justice.

- Birdie, I know this might feel like justice, but there's a better way!

Please, Birdie!

- [James] Birdie, put the gun down!

(intense dramatic music) (gun fires) (Hans panting) - After he killed Virgil, he went home and when his pigeon arrived, he stamped the ring in the clock.

- Which he'd managed to stop, so it was an earlier time.

- Which gave him an alibi for when Virgil was murdered.

There was a lot more to that than we first thought.

- Well done.

- Oh, team effort.

- I should, um.

- Yes, I should get Birdie home.

- [James] Aleksander, he was- - The cock to her hen.

Do pigeons repartner when one of them moves on?

- Eventually.

(gentle sentimental music) - Thank you so much for everything.

- Oh.

- Women work for nothing far too often.

- Yes, they do.

Thank you.

- Now that the business side of things is over, I was wondering if I might invite you to dinner.

- Oh.

Oh!

Oh, that's a really lovely offer but I'm... - (chuckles) That detective has your heart.

- What?

N-no.

- Pheromones don't lie.

And when he's around, yours are intoxicating.

- They are?

- Oh well, worth a shot.

I shall be in touch about joining this place.

- [Peregrine] Good.

- My brother's only friend was a Nazi.

Of course he was.

(Peregrine chuckles) (door clicks) (gentle somber music) - I'm so sorry, Birdie.

- Aleksander and I were stuck behind enemy lines.

We were trapped.

Hans Einrich had tortured him for four days.

He was, he was dying.

And every carrier pigeon we released was shot dead by a Nazi soldier except Mata Hari.

She was, she was shot in the breast and her right leg was completely blown off, but she delivered our message.

(Peregrine sharply exhales) Here's to you, Mata Hari.

- To Mata Hari.

- [Birdie] Yes - And to Aleksander.

- Yes, and... (glass clunks) (sobs) Oh, Peregrine.

Oh, thank you for, for stopping me doing something I would've regretted, because I don't need any more regrets.

- I didn't think you were the type for regrets.

(Birdie speaking in foreign language) - What does that mean?

- My love.

Peregrine, if it's within your grasp, if love is there for the taking, you seize it.

Do not wait for a better day because it may never come.

(gentle pensive music) ("Different Drum") ♪ You and I travel to the beat of a different drum ♪ ♪ Oh, can't you tell by the way I run ♪ ♪ Every time you make eyes at me, whoa ♪ ♪ You cry and moan and say it will work out ♪ ♪ But honey child I've got my doubts ♪ ♪ You can't see the forest for the trees ♪ ♪ So, don't get me wrong, it's not that I knock it ♪ ♪ It's just that I am not in the market ♪ ♪ For a boy who wants to love only me ♪ - Didn't they say this is just what the doctor ordered?

- Oh-ho-ho!

- What is it?

(lively upbeat music) Are there no other detectives in Melbourne?

Morris Dunnett was an awful person.

He's not the type of victim that I stand for.

- Well unfortunately, Peregrine, I don't have the luxury of choosing which victim that I stand for.

(lively upbeat music) - [Violetta] See that?

- Huh.

Yes, I-I'll just give you some, some space.

- Look who I found in the foyer.

- Sally.

- Be still my beating heart.

- [Sally] Happy birthday.

- You and Sally seem very suited.

- Suited?

- Both a bit- - Conservative?

- Traditional.

- Come on.

Who wants to dance, huh?

(all laughing) Whoo!

Peregrine, um, last night.

I didn't, um, I didn't do anything?

(lively upbeat music)