The Oblong Murders is the fourth episode of the fourteenth series of Midsomer Murders and first aired 25th May 2011.
Dr. Bullard asks Barnaby to investigate when friends' daughter Lucy Oliver goes missing after joining the Oblong Foundation, a new age group leasing a house from Ruth Lambert, whose parents died in an explosion on their boat. Ben Jones goes undercover as a new inductee and hears group leader Dominic Segal take a call implying there has been foul play. Local publicans, the Powells, tell Barnaby that Lucy argued with Oblong's directrix Freddie Raft before leaving but Ruth denies this. However it is discovered that Ruth's parents loaned a large sum of money to somebody, leading Barnaby to believe that they may have been murdered by the payee. If having his dog trained by Dr. Bullard's formidable sister was not enough he once more finds himself confronting a killer, the perpetrator of the Oblong murders.
Tropes:
- Hand-or-Object Underwear: A woman walks in on Jones while he is in the shower and is obviously enjoying the view. He hurriedly grabs a washcloth to cover himself.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: The killer murdered Ruth's parents by loosening the gas line to the stove on their boat, causing it to fill with gas. The killer then called Carolyn, Ruth's mother, as she arrived back on the boat, knowing that she always lit a cigarette while talking on the phone. Result: one "accidental" explosion.
- Phoney Call: Jones gets trapped in a bedroom while conducting an undercover investigation. He calls Barnaby to rescue him but — because he cannot let the person he is with know that he is a cop — he pretends to be calling a friend. Calling Barnaby "matey" initially confuses the Inspector, but he soon figures out what is going on.
- Produce Pelting: Jones gets pelted with tomatoes while he is is undercover.
