The Sentence Is Death

On an October morning, the author and screenwriter Horowitz arrives late to a London film set for Foyle’s War, feeling unwell. The director, Stuart Orme, struggles with delays after a period-accurate bus breaks down. The producer, Jill Green, who is also Horowitz’s wife, manages the chaos as the schedule slips. Honeysuckle Weeks, an actor, waits while Stuart cuts dialogue to save time. After two difficult rehearsals, they roll cameras, but a modern taxi drives into the shot and ruins the first take.

The driver, Daniel Hawthorne, steps out and calls to Horowitz. Horowitz identifies Hawthorne as a private detective of his acquaintance to the crew. Hawthorne offers no explanation for his presence. Filming resumes, and the crew captures enough usable footage to continue.

Horowitz finds Hawthorne in his trailer, reading his script. Hawthorne demonstrates his observational skill by deducing the difficulties of Horowitz’s morning. He then announces a new real-life case: the murder of Richard Pryce, a wealthy Hampstead divorce lawyer. He invites Horowitz to write a book about the investigation, as Horowitz had detailed Hawthorne’s previous murder case in an earlier book.

Hawthorne produces crime scene photos and summarizes the murder. The killer bludgeoned Richard with a bottle of 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild, stabbed him with the broken glass, and then painted the number 182 on the wall in green paint.