The 'Inspector Ellis' Finale Finds Justice & Friendship in "Brindleton"

In the final episode of Inspector Ellis, a new unsolved case sends  Ellis and her bagman, Chet Harper, to Brindleton. Newlyweds Rachel (Jade Matthew) and Oz Hoffman (Tama Matheson) were last seen stopping in to see her father, Gerry Rees-Mortimer (Michael Simkins), before driving off to camp in a scenic spot nearby, at which point they disappeared.

After the first two episodes, Ellis is pleasantly surprised when the local cops, DCI Val Cotton (Amanda Drew) and DI Archie Dent (Josh Bolt), are not only friendly but grateful for their assistance. It makes for a much less tense situation, especially with Ellis and Chet’s friendship progressing nicely. Ellis even opens up (a little) about her daughter and responds warmly to pregnant pathologist Soraya Mansoori (Shanaya Rafaat). 

A comprehensive search for the missing couple is underway. The van was abandoned, but three glasses and a bottle of champagne suggest the couple expected a visitor. However, the “Missing Persons” turns into a murder inquiry when dog walker Lydia Green (Rina Mahoney) finds Rachel’s body. A disembodied human hand, which bears the recently-inked tattoo of a double-headed jackal, suggests a third victim, while Rachel’s wedding garter was found hanging in a tree nearby. Local journalists and social media wannabes swarm around the site while Lydia (far too into having found a body) tries to insert herself as Ellis’s designated “amateur sleuth helper” like this is an episode of, well, a British mystery series.

To add to the chaos, Gerry Rees-Mortimer arrives, distraught over his daughter’s death, and convinced Oz, who has a record in Australia for fraud, killed her. Ellis isn’t convinced the killer is local as she and Chet return to the trailhead, now blocked off by police but busy enough with a curious crowd and a food truck run by Leo Braxton (Charlie de Melo). With Chet chowing down on a sandwich, they visit the beauty spot/death trap waterfall before learning Oz’s body has been found, beaten, and with a shotgun wound. Mansoori reports the hand was captured and torn off in an animal trap, while Oz was shot at close range with a shotgun, which makes the case even more difficult. (Since this is a rural area, there are a lot of shotgun owners.)

Years ago, Rachel was a member of a rock band, the Cold Turkeys, with many friends here, and Cotton, a relative newcomer to the area, is embarrassed she hadn’t thought to look into that. Former bandmate Alex Scanlon (Richard Sherwood) is now a local DJ; Abbie Summerfield (Charley Webb) runs a motocross track with partner Kane Harrison (Mark Field) and her brother Rory (Harry Marcus), the blogger who flew the drone over the crime scene. The food truck vendor, Leo, is also a former band member; he worked as a super chef in London before returning to Brindleton and now runs the Boar & Brisket in addition to the truck.

Fingerprints in the van belonged to Lydia the Dog Walker, who is not from Norfolk as she claimed. It turns out she’s a wannabe true crime podcaster, taking advantage of the murder, and she’s solved it, declaring Gerry, Rachel’s father, was the murderer, upset and angry that Rachel was closing her bank account, possibly in preparation for moving to Australia or creating a new one with her husband. 

Leo is chatting to Gerry Rees-Mortimer when Ellis and Chet arrive at his pub. He tells the pair that Rachel wants to organize a band reunion so they can meet Oz, but Leo isn’t interested, saying Alex and Rachel are the talented ones in the band. They turn to Gerry, who admits he tried to get his daughter to see sense about Oz but never got to talk to her alone. He claims to have had no idea she was planning to move to Australia. 

The two then visit local DJ Alex Scanlan, also Rachel’s ex. Upon arriving, they discover that the house has been broken into, and he’s nowhere to be found, with scattered, ripped-up clippings and photographs of the band. It makes sense to hit up Abbie and Kane next, who are there. Abbie tells Ellis she and Rory spent years in the foster system after their parents were arrested for an illegal cannabis operation. They only recently got the family’s farm back and hope to make ends meet as a motocross track. Some motocross jacket fabric was found near the camper van, and Abbie admits she and Kane met with Rachel and Oz, and her jacket was torn when she popped outside to pee. She confirms Leo refused to show up; she clearly doesn’t like him much. She’s still in contact with Alex. 

If the severed hand does belong to Alex, he hasn’t tried to get it checked or contacted anyone about it. Abbie suggests he may have gone to his old music teacher, Foster Lang (David Sterne), who suffers from mental illness. Lang was last seen at the police station the previous night and has since done an interview with Lydia Green, who is bound and determined to make this case the one that turns a profit.

Lang is outside his cottage listening to Gustav Mahler recordings when Ellis and Chet arrive. Ellis is concerned that bloody handprints are on the window, and Foster tells her not to go inside. She ignores that, only to discover bloodstains and a bed drenched in blood. As she and Chet wait for reinforcements, Foster announces Alex left and went to the hospital, pointing the way. Ellis and Chet discover it’s not a hospital but a derelict church; however, it is where Alex went, as his body is inside. Now digging into their third victim, Chet learns the double-headed jackal represented Alex’s bisexuality; he had come out after years of denial. Alex’s friendship with Foster began in high school when he was outed by another teacher and expelled; Foster resigned in protest. Foster also knew Abbie and Rory, their parents abused them; Abbie has been playing parent to Rory her whole life.

Val is furious to discover someone leaked to the media that Alex is dead. The obvious answer would be Lydia (whose car registration says she’s Lydia Mason). Upon finding her again, they finally get her to admit she blames Gerry Rees-Mortimer for ruining her business and forcing her to sell it to him cheap. However, her belief he killed Rachel seems genuine, and she insists Gerry’s other employees share her opinion.

While searching Rachel’s belongings, Ellis and Chet find documentation on her move to Australia and a draft press release revealing her father’s corrupt business practices, including evidence that puts a Rees-Mortimer as staying in town for a period the previous year. Gerry denies his daughter’s evidence or visiting a year ago but admits to a significant recent investment in Leo’s business.

Digging through phone and email records revealed Leo and Rory were much closer to Alex than initially realized. When Ellis and Chet return to Abbie and Kane’s, Leo is there, talking to a sobbing Rory, grieving Alex’s death. Ellis and Chet finally get to question Rory, who tells them he’s trying to get away from his sister and her partner; he believes they killed Alex because Rory refused to break up with him. Abbie denies this, claiming they were only concerned about the age difference; Kane, in particular, was disturbed by it, as it recalled his own childhood sexual trauma. However, a closer look reveals Alex was there when Abbie and Kane met with Rachel and Oz. In the reminiscing conversation, Abbie realized Alex was the one who called the police on her parents; Alex admitted it was out of misdirected jealousy of Rachel, who was dating his crush, Leo, at the time. 

Rachel kept returning to Leo every time her life upended; it was her, not her father, on the hotel register during a point when she and Oz were broken up. Ellis and Chet start a manhunt to find Leo, who has disappeared, and track him to the waterfall. He’s got a shotgun and is working up the nerve to take his own life. He tells Ellis he loved Rachel, but she loved Oz more, breaking his heart. He blamed Alex for driving her away, and the two fought at Alex’s cottage; when Alex tried to flee, Leo chased him down to the waterfall, where he got caught in the trap. Rachel and Oz, hearing his screams, ran to the rescue. Alex ran, taking Rachel’s phone. Leo shot Oz, and Rachel was killed trying to save him.

With Leo’s arrest, Ellis and Chet retire to the pub where she chooses a treat – a good whisky that makes Chet choke and gasp to her amusement. The last frame is of Ellis, laughing and relaxed, a satisfactory ending to a terrific series.

All three episodes of Inspector Ellis are streaming on Acorn TV. Season 2 has yet to be greenlit.