Unanswered Questions (riddled with spoilers)

Well, this board is like a ghost town. But since I just rented and viewed the DVD of The Murder Room for the first time, I'll take my chances and see if I can start a discussion. EDIT: watched some parts again, so I've updated this post with some answers to my own questions, if anyone cares.

1. Where did Neville Dupayne go when he took his Jaguar on his weekend trips? Dalgliesh and his team were questioning everyone like crazy on this matter, and then it was simply dropped.

2. How did Dalgliesh and his PIs jump to the conclusion that Muriel had a sister who committed suicide 15 years ago? At first, they thought it was Ryan Archer's young mother (since he had been placed in foster care as a baby). Then suddenly, Dalgliesh is saying they should check out Muriel as well, even though Muriel had mentioned to others that she has a sister who wants to move in with her. What reason did they have to suspect her story?

3. Did Neville Dupayne realize that Muriel was the sister of the patient he lost -- the one who killed herself by self-immolation and whose death haunts Dupayne in flashbacks?

4. Did Muriel know that Ryan Archer was staying with Tally? It was quite convenient for her to arrive at Tally's cottage when Ryan wasn't there, which leads me to wonder if bossy Muriel coerced Ryan into making an excuse to leave that night on the pretext that he had to pick up some things at his old rooming house. First, he didn't have anything but the clothes on his back, and he took those with him when he was thrown out. Second, he was locked out of that house by his roomie. Third, why go back to a place where you are clearly not welcome and won't be let in? EDIT: When Muriel locks up the museum in the hours before her attack on Tally, Tally meets her at the door. Muriel says that she just saw Ryan Archer walking across the field, and she asks if Ryan is staying with Tally. Tally confirms that he is, and that Ryan was just making a trip to his old address to pick up the remainder of his things. Therefore, I don't think Muriel knew beforehand that Ryan was staying with Tally; so she couldn't have coerced him into leaving Tally's cottage. When she discovered for certain that Tally was alone, Muriel must have seen that this was the ideal opportunity to keep her quiet for good (and to provide an alibi for Caroline Dupayne in the process).

5. ... which leads me to my next observation. After Ryan was thrown out of his rooming house, he went on the run from the police. Since his roomie stole his wages, we see Ryan spending one night sleeping outside beside a fire with a few homeless people. He's then drawn to some object that the man sleeping near him has, but I couldn't make out what it was. Was it a weapon? I wonder if Ryan stole it from the man as he slept and was going to use it to cause trouble at the rooming house so he could get his wages back? Was that the reason for his mysterious trip?

6. Did Muriel die at the end from her injuries in the car accident? EDIT: The answer is yes, she did. When she confesses her satisfaction in murdering Celia Mellock, she states that Celia is dead "but I live and breathe... but not for long, I suspect." A short time later, Commander Harkness and the MI-5 investigator, Denholm, arrive on the scene and commend Dalgliesh for solving the murders. As we see the paramedics extricate Muriel's body from her car, Denholm makes this comment about the murders: "With the main perpetrator dead, we expect..." (then he goes on to say something about receiving a report from Dalgliesh). The main perpetrator, of course, is Muriel.

7. Some of Muriel's confession was hard to understand. When she said she was called "Ghastly Godby," was that referring to her school years? Was it because she showed signs of a violent, plotting personality; or was she being made fun of? Did she know Celia from her school days? Dalgliesh asks her if she enjoyed killing Celia, as if the two had a history together. EDIT: It doesn't refer to Muriel's school years, but instead refers to the one year during which she worked at the Swathling School as Caroline's assistant. I watched the scene again where we see Caroline with Lady Swathling. After Caroline takes a call from Muriel, Lady Swathling asks, "How is Ghastly Godby anyway?" Apparently, it was a nickname applied to Muriel behind her back, which illustrates that Muriel wasn't refined enough in the eyes of the snooty Lady Swathling. Muriel discovered the epithet anyway, which may have been the reason she quit her job at the school. As Caroline explains to Lady Swathling (who couldn't comprehend why Muriel would leave the employ of such a fine institution as her school), "Being my P.A. here didn't suit her." She also tells Lady Swathling that she'd be lost without Muriel at the museum.

8. In the night time garage scene, just before Neville was killed, did anyone notice something eerie behind him as he was putting his bag into the Jaguar? There were the usual garage things (maybe some tools, paint cans) but beside those it looked like some clothes hanging on a peg -- a gray hat and a long grey coat. On closer inspection, it appears that these items might not be hanging on a peg, but they are filled out as if being worn on someone's body. I still can't tell if my eyes are playing tricks on me. The next shot shows Neville's bag being placed upon the car seat; then, when we return to Neville as he is about to get into the car, the gray clothes are no longer hanging behind him (or, depending on how you look at it, the figure in gray is no longer behind him).

Was this a visual foreboding -- somethng to evoke the ghostly past of Albert Rouse and serve as a hint to Neville's fate? Was it an editing oversight? Or was that really Muriel, and would she have stood so close behind Neville without being sensed?

9. When the gasoline is thrown onto Neville's face, he turns to see the perpetrator and shouts, "No!" Just wondering if you really can open your eyes after you've had gasoline thrown into them. Is it humanly possible to see anything after that?

10. Tally Clutton saw two cars speed away from the area on the night of the fire -- a small red car, and a silver car. Yet all the focus and questioning surrounded the silver car and its driver. Did anyone even ask about the red car? Did Tally even remember to mention it? The red car became so significant at the climax of the movie even though it was practically ignored up to then. EDIT: I re-watched the scene of Dalgliesh and Kate Miskin questioning Tally and Muriel after the fire. No one mentions the red car; all the focus is on the silver one.

11. What was Muriel's reason for attempting to kill Tally Clutton? In the first two killings, she had her own twisted reasons: She killed Neville Dupayne because her depressed sister was his patient and committed suicide. She killed Celia because Celia witnessed her murdering Neville from the window of the museum. But what was the motivation for attempting to murder (presumably) Tally? What danger was Tally to her? EDIT: Muriel's confession at the end reveals the answer. First, Tally had Muriel's license plate number in her subconscious; after all, she recited it when being questioned by Dalgliesh (only she thought it was the license of the silver car that knocked her down). Muriel believed it was just a matter of time before Tally would suddenly realize that she saw Muriel's car speeding away from the crime scene, and that's why the plate number had been ingrained in her memory. Second, and most important reason for the attack, was to end police suspicion of Caroline Dupayne. Caroline was at the police station being questioned at the time that Tally was attacked. If another copy cat murder takes place while Caroline is in custody, then Caroline could not be the murderer and the police would stop suspecting her. Muriel timed the (attempted) murder of Tally Clutton to occur while Caroline was was with the police.

12. When questioned, Caroline Dupayne insists to Dalgliesh that her apartment does not have a private entrance to the museum. When Dalgliesh and his PIs investigate -- with Caroline right there as a witness -- they do find a cleverly disguised door that does in fact lead right into the museum. So Caroline Dupayne blatantly lied to the police (she sure was unfazed about it)? Or was she taken by surprise to see a secret door (but she sure didn't look surprised)? You'd think Dalgliesh and co. would have hauled her in as a suspect and keep her in lock-up for the maximum time allowed by law (12 hours? 24 hours?), considering all the lies she's told.

Thanks all. This should make for a good discussion if anybody still checks in on this board, or if there is anybody out there like me who has just discovered this movie recently.