A lavish reception is held on the top floor of a tall building to celebrate the return to its owner (a rich property developer, Pendrick, who collects art for its intrinsic value as much as for its aesthetic qualities) of a famous Rembrandt painting of Bathsheba washing that has previously been on show in a New York gallery. After being displayed, the painting is taken away to be hung at the owner's mansion , which requires a trip in the lift (elevator), but the painting vanishes between the top floor and the ground, leaving just the porter, dead, on the floor of the lift. How can this have happened when both Murdoch and some constables were monitoring the progress of the lift from above and below, and observed that it did not stop in transit?
There are some interesting echoes of the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba throughout the show, for example Murdoch walks in on Mrs Pendrick while she is posing, semi naked, for a portrait; also, later, when Murdoch questions Pendrick, Pendrick admits to enjoying the view from his rooftop. There is a discussion about the fact that the model for Rembrandt's painting was his real life mistress, plus, Mrs Pendrick seems somewhat flirtatious, but each of the men she flirts with (other than Murdoch, who narrowly escapes) ends up dead.
Dr Ogden's postmortem examination reveals a clue which leads Murdoch to discover how the painting was stolen from the moving lift, but when Murdoch follows up on this, he finds the dead bodies of the two robbers, but no trace of the painting...
Each time Murdoch has a credible suspect, that person turns up dead, and in the end, Murdoch is not sure he has uncovered the entire conspiracy.
For those who enjoy being kept guessing during their crime stories, this will prove an enjoyable watch, but see how true the Inspector's observation proves to be...
There are some interesting echoes of the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba throughout the show, for example Murdoch walks in on Mrs Pendrick while she is posing, semi naked, for a portrait; also, later, when Murdoch questions Pendrick, Pendrick admits to enjoying the view from his rooftop. There is a discussion about the fact that the model for Rembrandt's painting was his real life mistress, plus, Mrs Pendrick seems somewhat flirtatious, but each of the men she flirts with (other than Murdoch, who narrowly escapes) ends up dead.
Dr Ogden's postmortem examination reveals a clue which leads Murdoch to discover how the painting was stolen from the moving lift, but when Murdoch follows up on this, he finds the dead bodies of the two robbers, but no trace of the painting...
Each time Murdoch has a credible suspect, that person turns up dead, and in the end, Murdoch is not sure he has uncovered the entire conspiracy.
For those who enjoy being kept guessing during their crime stories, this will prove an enjoyable watch, but see how true the Inspector's observation proves to be...
