Episode 11 - A Dying Breed

‘I don’t care who bankrolls me. If it folds, I’ll have it.’

Dunbar is tempted by a financial offer from a smarter class of criminal. Gulliver is out of his depth in a domestic situation which is resolved by a surprisingly sympathetic Sarah.

DC Simons is getting anxious to see Dean Small behind bars, but this time, Dunbar doesn’t need any help in keeping Dean on the streets. Late arrivals, disappearing witnesses and inadequate technology mean that DC Simons’ day in court is a complete waste of time.

Meanwhile Dunbar is using his free time to court Eric Curtis, an ex-pat who runs a local “haulage” business from the Algarve. He needs permanent representation to keep his drivers out of trouble, and is prepared to move his business from mega-law corps Hunters & Gray to the more competent (and frankly desperate) hands of Bagnall & Dunbar.

When Gulliver objects, Dunbar insists he has no qualms about defending criminals – it’s what they do and Curtis could be the cash cow they need; all their financial worries will be over. But when Curtis asks Dunbar to do something blatantly illegal for him, Dunbar realises the dream is over.

Gulliver’s also being taken in by a client, but in his case it’s single mother of three, Sheila Mole. Unable to pay her TV licence, or any of the many fines she’s defaulted on, Gulliver tries to appeal to Sheila’s sense of responsibility towards her children. However, Sarah’s seen all this before, Sheila will never change.
 
As Gulliver and Sarah head into court, it looks as if Sarah is going to go in for the kill, but her arrogance in front of the bench has the opposite effect and the judge is lenient with Sheila, just as Sarah had hoped. Gulliver wonders why Sarah should care about Sheila Mole when she’d written her off earlier in the day.

Sarah points out that it’s not Sheila she’s trying to help, but her kids. It sounds as though Sarah’s experience of this might be personal rather than professional. Just when Gulliver thought he had Sarah worked out, she goes and grows a heart.