Listen to Me

Harry Shepherd, a convicted criminal, arranges for a phone to be smuggled inside the prison in which
he is incarcerated. Before he is caught, he manages to put a call through to Radio West, asking if
Eddie will prove his innocence. Shepherd has been found guilty of the murder of a young girl during the
robbery of a jeweller's shop.

Visiting Shepherd in prison, Eddie finds that the inmate is more worried about the private ear keeping
an eye on his wife, rather than proving his innocence.

Eddie sets out to help her, and is questioned by a photographer outside Radio West. His first port of call
is the Landsmans' Jeweller's Shop. Mr Landsman says that the killer wore a mask, but that the
policeman who made the arrest was insistent that he give a description fitting that of Harry Shepherd.

The policeman, Inspector Colston, has since been suspended on grounds of corruption. Visiting him,
Eddie finds out that the other chief suspect was Stan Burnham, who tells Eddie that he didn't rob the
shop, and that after the killing happened, the criminal underworld tried to find the real killer, having widely
accepted that Shepherd was framed by the police.

A prominent public figure who has a clandestine occupation as a "fence" informs Eddie that no one
attempted to pass jewels on to him after the robbery - and if they had, he wouls have grassed on them.
Eddie gets a lead to Freshfield, the only person who supplies guns. Freshfield gives him a description of
the man who bought the shotgun.

The girl's boyfriend has a job at that paper, and
Eddie gets him to look for a copy of the edition
with the photograph in it. Drawing a moustache
on the photo, Eddie learns that the image now
looks like an employee at the newspaper.

Racing to the employee's flat, Eddie finds it empty,
but uncovers a drawer full of pornography and a
scrapbook of newspaper cuttings relating to sex
offences. The flat's occupant, who returns at that
point, attacks Eddie. He is the photographer who
took photographs of Eddie leaving Radio West as he
began his case. The photographer had sexually
assaulted the girl and shot her as part of a fake
robbery to cover his tracks, as she was about to
identify him.

A suspenseful episode, in which Eddie has to
discover the truth about a murder to prevent the
death of another person. Great acting from Trevor
Eve as he talks to Mel Shepherd on the roof top -
it's almost as if other people's insecurities are
contagious at times, and set off Eddie's nerves.
Essentially a very straightforward episode, "Listen
to Me" reveals the killer at the end of the episode,
cleverly using a character who had a walk-on part in
an early scene. Once the twist is uncovered, the
episode doesn't really stand up to repeated viewing,
but it's another strong entry in "Shoestring's"
stylistically diverse first season.

Eddie back in Marlowe territory as he traverses his way through a string of villains in the search for the
real perpetrator of the killing of a young girl in a jeweller's shop.

A 'high concept' episode this (like Series Two's "THE DANGEROUS GAME"), with terrific human interest.
Mel Shepherd's plight lends the proceedings an urgency some other episodes don't have, with electric
results.

A nice touch is that the concept of the radio station is very much to the fore in "LISTEN TO ME", what
with the Radio West building itself being so central, plus the events being played out in the midst of a
media onslaught.

The only minor problem I have with this episode is that it may be a little far-fetched, in that Eddie solves a
year-old case, which the police have closed long ago, in a few hours. Considering the deft touches that
go into characterisation in Shoestring (and this story is no exception - both the Shepherds being
examples), the plotting in this episode seems a little akin to that in more fantastical series. However,
variety is the spice of life. A tightly-paced treat.