Dr Joe O’Loughlin’s (Aidan Turner) situation went from bad to worse at the outset of tonight’s episode of ‘The Suspect‘.
If you want to avoid all spoilers for ‘The Suspect’, stop reading this article now.
A flashback revealed that Catherine (Tara Lee) used to see Joe when she was self-harming and during his questioning from Ruiz (Shaun Parkes) and Devi (Anji Mohindra) he also admitted that she had tried to hit on him. Joe was questioned about his tendency to keep in touch with his female patients, leading to him revealing that Catherine had applied for a job with him.
Joe almost mentioned he went on a bender after receiving his Parkinson’s diagnosis, but couldn’t remember the pubs he’d visited. Devi cautioned Joe and after leaving the police station, Joe confided in his unimpressed solicitor that he believed one of his patients may be responsible for Catherine’s death.
So is Bobby (Bobby Schofield) the murderer? All signs point to no. Joe voiced his concerns to Jack (Adam James) again, who voiced concerns that Joe might be obsessed with his patient. Joe had to attend to Bobby in hospital when he was found battered and bruised, and he thought he smelt chloroform on him, which he reported back to Ruiz.
Keen to push the spotlight off himself, Joe reluctantly told Ruiz and Devi that Bobby might have murdered Catherine but when they looked at the file on Bobby, and arrested him, they found it to be full of fabrications. They did however find traces of chloroform on Catherine’s body, and wondered how Joe could have known unless he was the killer.
After arresting Joe, who was watching his daughter playing football, Ruiz and Devi revealed that they’d confirmed Bobby couldn’t have murdered Catherine. They then pushed Joe to reveal what happened on the night of her death, when he claimed to go on a bender and not remember the events. That led to another revelation that Catherine’s phone and handbag had been found, and a meeting with a ‘J.O.’ was scheduled in her diary for the night she died.
Proving to be an unreliable narrator, it transpired in an argument with Julianne (Camilla Beeput) that she had lied to the police to cover for him. She aired her suspicions he was having an affair and Joe confirmed he slept with his former patient Cara (Bronagh Waugh), the night Catherine died.
Julianne kicked him out of the house and Joe turned to Jack who seemed sceptical that there was a conspiracy to frame him. Jack urged Joe to come clean to the police but he wouldn’t.
Things went from bad to worse for Joe as it looks like his job is in jeopardy following his very public arrest. Bobby was waiting at Joe’s office to confront him for telling the police he killed Catherine, and threatened to sue. Meanwhile, Ruiz vowed to Devi that they’d keep pushing Joe until he slips up and they can get evidence that he is Catherine’s murderer.
One other thing of note in the episode is Joe’s daughter drawing a whale for a school auction. He saw her drawing it shortly after Bobby had handed him a carved while figure and at the auction, Joe was outbid by a sealed bidder. Who could that be?
Read our recap of ‘The Suspect’ Episode 1 now
‘The Suspect’ continues Monday at 9pm on ITV.
