Meg made a mistake by arresting Erika. She is just proving how much of an amateur she is, and that’s the only reason she is forgiven. If only arresting could solve cases. It’s up to Max now to speak to Erika and see if she can offer any more information related to the case. On the other hand, Macklin might not be involved in Sophie’s death, but there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye. Sophie’s laptop has more than the mulesing pics and needs to be analyzed further. And then there’s Oscar. That guy needs to be questioned properly by Max himself. Episode 4 of North Shore offers many inputs, and many will have consequences exclusive to Sophie’s murder. Let’s talk about it.
Spoilers Ahead
Under The Table
Max is naturally not happy with Meg and wants to lodge a complaint. But D.C.I. Andrew Newell knows that it’s just temporary and reminds him that he is supposed to be the observer, and the only reason he is getting to investigate without others preventing him is that Andrew is letting him. Erika is being interrogated by Meg and Paea, but as expected, she doesn’t reveal anything. Max wants to try and see if he can get any information out of her. Erika reveals that Sophie’s death has nothing to do with drugs but with her laptop. However, it’s important to find out who the supplier is. Max seems to know who it is, or at least he thinks he does. Is it Oscar? Meanwhile, Abigail and Greg are getting along pretty well—more than they should—and it’s not just because Greg shouldn’t be seen with a foreign government official in the middle of an election campaign but because Abigail is a married woman with a loving husband. Later that night, when we see her asking Simon when he will be back from his dinner with Lloyd and others (probably some business partners or clients), we realize what she has in mind. Greg will be coming over. And of course, you know why.
Mutual
Oscar is arrested for drug possession. His seized cellphone reveals Sophie’s pictures in a bikini from a week before she was killed. Max and Greg meet Erika, who is in the dark about Oscar and Sophie sexting each other. What happens then is really funny. She pretends to call and yell at Oscar, but what she doesn’t know is that the police have Oscar’s phone. Why did she do that? She is either involved in the conspiracy or knows more than she’s letting on. She then reveals that Sophie went to Tom’s house (Macklin’s) after the party. Tom was also the one to throw Sophie’s phone in the water. She used Tom’s phone to inform Erica that she’s at Tom’s place. And Oscar didn’t want Erica to speak of it because it would lead the cops to him and Tom. The same night, Abigail and Greg are having fun in her room. Downstairs, Ben has no idea that Greg and Abigail were ex-lovers, and when Justin tells him about it, the truth dawns on him. So, when they spot Simon entering the building, they somehow manage to slow him down and give Greg a heads up so that he can leave before Simon sees him and Abigail together. Back at Tori’s place, Max finds himself eating Hamish’s dinner because Tori has no idea when he will be back from work. He comes and goes all the time. So it makes sense that Hamish has to eat whatever he finds. Their married life, too, isn’t quite like it should be, and we can see how Max and Tori are glad to have each other. Max, too, is better off at Tori’s than at his own house with Anna.
Old And Clean
The next day, Max and Meg set out to speak to both Oscar and Tom. While Oscar denies Sophie using his phone to call Erica from Tom’s house, Tom tells them that it was Oscar who called Erica, and Sophie wasn’t present there. Max and Meg arrive at Macklin’s house to check his CCTV, but it isn’t working. How convenient! They check the security room, and the storage space appears way too clean for a CCTV system that was removed from inside it nine months ago. There’s not an inch of dust. This means that either someone took the time to clean the otherwise-useless storage space, or the security system has been recently removed. Max and Meg leave without any questioning. At the department, Newell tells the lot to look into Tom after finding out that he is more prone to violence than Oscar, as pointed out by one of the girls who were at the party. Plus, the fact that Tom might have thrown Sophie’s phone off the yacht also adds to his violent nature in a sense.
While having lunch, Simon tells Abigail, to her utter shock, to greenlight the deal with the Australians because it will prevent him from losing the $2 million that he has invested in Macklin’s company’s shares. Due to her delay, the buyers of Macklin’s Winston Station are delaying the deal as well. The longer the delay, the lower the share prices will drop. Abigail decides to talk about the prospects of her deal during her upcoming interview. Max and Tori also have an awkward conversation while at a store. It somewhat highlights their muted feelings for each other, but both ignore it nicely. They don’t want to get involved in each other’s personal matters, but it seems like they already have, in a good or perhaps useful way. Later, Max, Meg, and Paea meet Simon and Abigail and question them about Tom. While they don’t mention anything unusual that they noticed between Sophie and Tom, Simon, with Abigail not around, tells them that he noticed a bruise on Sophie’s face around two weeks before she died.
What Happens At Macklin’s Boab Ball?
With Tori backing out of the Boab Ball, Max brings Meg. Simon, who is also present at the Ball, watches his wife’s interview on his phone as she tells a journalist about how her trade agreement with Australia is making a “great progress.” But what he doesn’t know is that after the interview, his wife will be spending some quality time with Greg. Also, Abigail is a tactician. She is planning to delay the agreement and dump the blame on the Australians. This will show them in a bad light and thus increase Greg’s chances of winning the elections. But what about Simon, then? Will he be able to wait that long? Maybe. Or did Abigail say it to actually save her husband and lie to Greg later (she had to tell him something)? I guess we’ll find out in the next episode of North Shore.
In the meantime, Greg and Abigail can spend more time together. It seems that nothing can stop them from doing what they want, but Ben clearly does not like it. Will he inform Max about it? Meanwhile, Max gets a call from Anna, who asks him for a divorce. He then opens up to Meg about how he has probably developed feelings for Tori and thinks that the feelings are mutual. Without intending to be swayed by his personal issues, he returns to his professional issues and tells Meg about the clean storage space at Macklin’s house. Even though he believes that Sophie did come to Macklin’s place the night she died, he can’t prove it yet. But Max is up for the challenge. North Shore Episode 5 will reveal how Max figures out a way to find the CCTV footage. Also, we will get to know more about Abigail’s deal. Also, who was responsible for the bruise on Sophie’s face?
