Murder Call: episode guide

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Dead Offerings

Episode 37
April 21, 1999
Story by Jennifer Rowe
Teleplay by Deborah Parsons
Directed by Chris Martin-Jones

Tessa and Steve investigate when a young blind man is found dead in a swimming pool.

Guest Cast: Annie Byron as Madga Trabor, Danielle Long as Janice Petrie, Andrew McFarlane as Adrian MacKerras, Morgan Smallbone as Drew Leep, Kerry Walker as Iris Leep, Greg Robinson as Daniel Spivak.

Evil Chances

Episode 38
April 28, 1999
Story by Jennifer Rowe
Teleplay by Andrew Kelly
Directed by Paul Faint

A sports teacher is found impaled at a boarding school and is found by Fisk's older sister. Tessa and Steve investigate, but Fisk is frustrated when his sister is interviewed, and he is excluded.

Guest Cast: Rebecca Bowles as Elva McEvoy, Imelda Corcoran as Cecily Waterman, Jane Harders as Dr. Lois Fisk, Ric Herbert as Edward Stump, Rainey Mayo as Holly Ronan, Josh Picker as Ben Lipman, Bevan Wilson as Simon Moses.

Tongue Tied

Episode 39
May 05, 1999
Story by Jennifer Rowe
Teleplay by Peter Gawler
Directed by Chris Martin-Jones

A mutilited body is found near a church, with identical markings to the victims of a serial killer 15 years ago- Thorne's first case. Experiencing a sense of deja-vu, Thorne heads the investigation. Has the killer returned, or is this a copycat crime?

Guest Cast: Brandon Burke as Forrest Peak, Gabrielle Adkins as Virginia Peak, John Allen as Ronald Bootland, Brian Adams as Norman Grace, Harry Cripps as Joe Hargett, David Harriman as Andrew Peak, Bernadette Madell as Rosie's Mum, Veronica Porcaro as Rosie.

Dying Day

Episode 40
May 12, 1999
Story by Jennifer Rowe
Teleplay by Rick Maier
Directed by Geoffrey Cawthorn

Steve and Tessa investigate when a young woman is found hanging from a tree limb in a popular city park, and Tootsie's preliminary findings indicate it was not suicide.

Guest Cast: Bogdan Koca as Kosta Bonik, Danielle Spencer as Ingrid Nergun, Ian Stenlake as Jamie Nikolides, Karen Davidson as Annie Vega, Rob Sampson as Hamish Moodie, Murray Bartlett as Gavin Todd, Dion Hunt as Morgue Assistant.

Death in the Family

Episode 41
May 19, 1999
Story by Jennifer Rowe
Teleplay by Cathryn Strickland
Directed by Chris Martin-Jones

A vagrant is found dead at an inner city underpass surrounded by the corpses of poisoned sparrows. When Tootsie diagnoses death by Strychnine, Tessa, Steve and Thorne fear that someone is out there purging the streets of the homeless. The investigation takes a twist when Fisk finds ten thousand dollars hidden in the stuffing of the vagrant's mattress, but is it enough to kill for?

Guest Cast: Brian Rooney as Nero, Camilla Ah Kin as Leila Dukakis, Duncan Wass as Matthew "Duke" Dukakis, Michael Denkha as Carlo, Michael Percival as Julius Hogg, Lisa Bailey as Fleur, May Lloyd as Faith Teldane, Cass Cumerford as Douglas Burnie, Rebecca Rogers as Security Guard, Kevin Taumata as Newspaper Vendor, Garath Gilham as Police Officer, Rebecca Ingram as Policewoman.

Death Down Market

Episode 42
June 02, 1999
Story by Duncan Ball
Teleplay by Denise Morgan
Directed by Karl Steinberg

When a woman is found murdered in a neighbourhood that is terrorised by a local gang, Steve and Tessa are called in to investigate.

Guest Cast: Linden Wilkinson as Rose Van Zeller, DJ Foster as Rov Pecci, Justin Rosniak as Luchano "Andy" Andrea, Shirley Cameron as Mrs. Darcy, Matthew Doran as Joel, Evan Sheaves as Nicolas "Trog" Andrea, Bronwyn Eather as Janet Toltz, Adam D'Amato as Stuart, Neil Young as Milos, Paul Sanders as Barman, Jane Willcox as Newsreader, Kathy McMorrow as Faith Pecci.

A Blow to the Heart

Episode 43
June 16, 1999
Story by Kel Richards
Teleplay by Margaret Wilson
Directed by Karl Steinberg

Tessa and Steve are called in to investigate a series of murders revolving around a prominent bio-chemistry lab.

Guest Cast: Zoe Carides as Dr. Constance Young, Karen Colston as Rosemary Stone, Donal Forde as Carl Tatum, Neil Gladwin as Dr. Worthington, Douglas Hedge as Dr. Edgar Travers, Catherine Marie Jones as Elaine, Gerard Maguire as Donald Cook, John Ridley as Journalist, Amanda Shillaker as Zena Sutherland.

Bad Business

Episode 44
June 30, 1999
Story by Jennifer Rowe
Teleplay by Louise Crane
Directed by Geoffrey Cawthorne

A shop assistant opens up for the day in O'Leary's Dry Cleaners, but there is more hanging on the rack than coats and evening wear today… namely one very dead boss, Irene O'Leary. It looks at first as if it's a simple case of robbery ending in murder, but as the details of O'Leary's business practices unfold, it appears that there is much more to this case and Tessa and Steve soon uncover a dangerous web of blackmail and righteous fanaticism.

Hide & Seek

Episode 45
July 14, 1999

When Cyril Crease, an elderly worker at the equally ancient Bilby Leather Factory is found dead, mangled beyond all recognition, it is initially thought to be an unfortunate accident. Tessa and Steve must race against time to avert another tragedy growing from the ruins of the first.

Guest Cast: Brian Bird as Cyril Crease, Harold Hopkins as Brian Capper, Celia Ireland as Barb Ferris, Sandy Winton as Peter Sharp

Booming Business

Episode 46
Original Airdates: July 28, 1999 / November 30, 1999

Tessa and Steve uncover a web of intrigue surrounding businessman Brian Hart's horrific death when he is killed as he commutes to work by train when a letter bomb concealed in a card explodes. Tessa and Steve are confronted by a bewildering array of suspects and motives to finally apprehend the person they believe to be the killer, only to realise at the last moment that they only have it half right.

Guest Cast: Sebastian Goldspink as Jeremy Tonks, Gabrielle Hammond as Sally Hart, Jim Holt as Graham Hart, Sean McKenzie as Brian Hart, Martin Vaughan as Walter Hart

Cut and Dried

Episode 47
Original Airdates: August 04, 1999 / December 07, 1999

Tessa and Steve investigate a murder where nothing is as it seems.

Guest Cast: Michala Banas as Kylie McDonald, Nicholas Bishop as Marshall Bowdon, Tim Elliott as Arthur Smith, Barry Kennedy as Daniel Traynor, Ken Porter as Hunter, Tom Richards as Stan Greaves, Alyson Standen as Sheridan Traynor

A Stab in the Dark

Episode 48
December 14/21, 1999

When horror novelist Sebastian Tombs is found lying dead with a knife in his back, Tessa and Steve must investigate the four people closest to him, each of whom has a strong motive for committing the murder.

Guest Cast: Marilyn Allen as Inge Kohlmann, Bartholomew John as Sebastian Tombs, Andrew Lloyde as Hugh Hollingsworth, Kate Raison as Abigail Easton, Alison Van Reelen as Miranda Tombs

Paid in Full

Episode 49
December 28, 1999 / August 28, 2000
Story by Jennifer Rowe

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Guest Cast: Sarah Aubrey as Amy Simms, Josef Ber as Michael Frampton, Ashley Bindon as Ralph Eadie, Lynette Curran as Janet Simms, Liddy Holloway as Delia Frampton, Paul Kelman as Ernie Meinhardt, Grant Page as Lindsay Frampton

Grave Matters

Episode 50
Monday August 21, 2000

As a crypt is opened for an interment, the funeral goers are shocked to discover the sarcophagus already occupied by the corpse of a young woman holding a rare orchid in her hand.

Guest Cast: Arianthe Galani

Last Act

Episode 51
Monday, September 04, 2000

A busker suffers from hallucinations while performing mime outside a train station. When he collapses and dies, Tootsie's autopsy points to poisoning.

Scent of Evil

Episode 52
Monday, September 11, 2000

A woman is ripped to shreds by savage dogs on the grounds of an empty house. Steve and Tessa must determine whether her death was an accident, or if the dogs were trained to kill by someone with a grudge and a vicious streak.

Guest Cast: Shane Briant as Willard Thatcher, Noel Hodda as Jack Turkington, Kimberley Joseph as Andrea Thatcher, Siobhan Lawless as Emma Chambers, Paul Mercurio as Travis Draper, Damian Pike as Nigel Warner

Still Life

Episode 53
Monday, September 18, 2000

At the opening night of his exhibition, artist Vincent Osborne's head is discovered inside his own death mask.

Guest Cast: Rose Byrne as Sarah Watson, Sandy Gore as Penny Satchwell, Bob Hornery as Warren Leyman, Peter Kowitz as Richard Nossiter, Franko Milostnik as Franco Garcia, Chris Mitchell as Security Guard, Steve Ostrow as Neighbour

Absent Friends

Episode 54
Monday, September 25, 2000

While at a school reunion Tessa is called to a homicide on the school grounds. The victim is one of her friends, stabbed in a reenactment of a Muckup Day prank, leaving Tessa as either a suspect, or another possible victim.

Guest Cast: Rodney Bell as Nick Tesoreiro, Lisbeth Kennelly as Geraldine Murray, Chris King as Detective Roudonikis, Lou Pollard as Poppy Tremaine, Ling Hsueh Tang as Emma Trimble

House of Spirits

Episode 55
Monday, October 02, 2000

Tessa and Steve investigate when a psychic conducting a séance in a storm-swept house is shot dead by the ghost of the man he was trying to contact.

Guest Cast: Ralph Cotterill as Talkback Tel/Arthur Pitman, Kathryn Hartman as Lisa Herriman, Clarissa House as Helen Pitman, Helen O'Leary as Sestina Pitman, Julian Pulvermacher as Quentin Warburton, Anna Volska as Gillian Pitman

Done to Death

Episode 56
Monday, October 09, 2000

The cleaner at an up-market beauty parlour makes a gruesome find—the proprietor strung up in a tanning booth and roasted like a pig-on-a-spit. Tessa and Steve's investigation uncovers a wealth of secrets and resentments harboured from birth.

Guest Cast: Bridie Carter as Jessica Millay, Bill Conn as Ivor Peter, Eric Oldfield as Shaun Brennan, Jeremiah Tickell as Handy Davis