Grotesquerie (2024) s01e02 Episode Script
True Crime Catholics
1
["PAIN IN MY HEART" BY
OTIS REDDING PLAYING]
[MARSHALL] You understand, Merritt.
W-With those kinds of numbers,
you're looking at the
worst-case hypertension scenario.
You are not a doctor, Dad.
Well, actually he is.
Just not of medicine.
I-I don't need to be
a physician to know
what your kind of blood pressure means.
Aneurysm, stroke,
living with some kind
of compromised situation.
- You can weigh in anytime, anytime.
- Weigh in?
[CHUCKLES] It's enough weight already.
Listen, I'm making, uh, soup
and Parker House rolls.
I'm in here busy with my shit.
I hope it's the ones with the
everything bagel seasoning.
- Those are good.
- H-Honey, this is not a
Okay, look, I'm not fucking around here.
Your internist insisted
we confront this.
He said your physical showed
someone flirting with
catastrophe.
There's so much to life.
You cannot throw it all
away, Merritt, please.
[MERRITT] Okay, this is
not one of your graduate
philosophy seminars, okay?
Do not speak to me in that
"dear students" pained tone.
Don't do that.
[MARSHALL] I'm sorry I patronized you.
I'd like you to
consider going somewhere.
Some residential treatment program.
Montana. Hawaii.
[MERRITT] A fat farm. [SCOFFS]
You want me to go to a fat farm? Really?
[MARSHALL] Call it what
you will. I'm looking
- to help you reset.
- [CHUCKLES]
This is not about me.
This is about you being uncomfortable
- with the way that I look.
- Uncomfortable with ?
- These rolls came out great.
- Yes.
Stop. Stop.
Uncomfortable with the way you look?
I-I You don't
Darling, you don't get it.
I'm uncomfortable with looking
at you killing yourself.
I don't want you to die.
You know what?
This is feeling like fat-shaming.
It's making me feel awful.
By the way
I'm gonna die now? I'm dying now?
I'm dying now? [SCOFFS]
Okay. [GRUNTS] Hmm?
Dad, please.
- [CLACK]
- [MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
Love me, baby ♪
Till I get enough, oh ♪
[DOOR SLAMS]
I guess that went well.
Pain in my heart ♪
Thank you. Thank you. Uh, just
thank you for helping.
- Marshall.
- [CHUCKLING]
In the history of the human race,
nobody has ever been able
to persuade somebody else
to give up their vices.
And that's where you arrived
at philosophically, is it?
- Mm.
- I know being a cop
has fundamentally
altered your worldview.
But this cynicism, your fatalism is
[SIGHS] it's corrosive.
Or it's protection.
Ding, ding, ding.
Is the drinking protection, too?
Because you-you're-you're
turning from a pastime
into a profession.
You know what, maybe we
should get a family rehab plan.
We can get it for the food and booze
and sex addiction.
Huh?
You thought I didn't know
about your little side action?
- [SIGHS] Come on. [STAMMERS]
- Huh?
- I can smell the side piece tail on you.
- Look, look
- I can smell it.
- You-You-You're-you're drunk.
You're drunk and you-you're
talking out your head.
You don't know what you're saying.
I had you followed.
I am a detective
with foot soldiers at my employ.
Lois loyalists.
They even got photographs.
You at the Starburst Motel,
at the Happy Ho Inn
which is a great name, by the way.
Oh.
But, yeah,
caught you in a lie.
And you've been lying
to me for quite a while.
You want some soup?
[SLURPS]
When you need some lovin' arms ♪
[CLACK]
[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
[SIGHS DEEPLY]
In the face
of your commitment to your job,
which is more obsession
than occupation
and to your alcoholism,
which does actually seem
like a full-time job,
both of which shut me out
- do you blame me?
- Oh, come on now.
Marsh, we took vows.
Sickness, health, better, worse.
Don't you teach a goddamn
postgraduate seminar on ethics
for the modern world?
[SCOFFS]
What can the matter be? ♪
You're almost too cruel to fight for.
But I-I-I would like
your help in somehow
holding this family together
I wish we could.
I wish we could do that.
But that ship has sailed.
So I guess what I'm saying is
"get the fuck out."
And help me solve 'em ♪
Then I won't be missing you ♪
I won't be missing you ♪
I still love you sometimes.
Would be all over ♪
And yet I pray sometimes
that I would get a phone call
informing me that you died.
[SCOFFS]
In so many circles ♪
I hope you don't regret
those words when I do.
- [KISSES]
- [MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
This is my lover's prayer ♪
[SONG PLAYING BACKWARDS]
[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
♪
♪
[EXHALES]
[SNIFFLES]
[SIGHS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Why would you waste
those crocodile tears
outside his room?
He should see them.
See that you miss him, desperately,
see that you care.
You could even pretend to
have faith that he'll recover.
Act a bit.
Oh. What's this?
Pistols at dawn? [CHUCKLES]
You have a very mistaken
impression of me.
So I'm-a kick your ass
so all of this habit of disrespecting me
- comes to a fucking end, bitch.
- Oh, no, no, no.
No, no, no. There's no fighting here.
No, we have security mere meters away.
And should you even touch me,
they will break every last
bone in both your hands.
And then you'll be arrested
and, irony of ironies,
chained to a bed.
[CLAPS HANDS]
See?
So, now, Detective,
I would suggest going
down to the cafeteria
and gulping down a few black coffees.
Or whatever your favored
alcoholic beverage is
for calming your nerves.
Go on, dear. Go on.
Ta-ta.
[LOIS SIGHS]
♪
♪
[GASPS]
What the fuck is going on in here?
Excuse me.
I am giving your poor
husband a sponge bath.
What in the depths of your filthy mind
do you actually think is happening here?
You poor woman.
You're really not well.
You're a sicko. I actually think
you're on the edge of something.
Well, you clean him then. You clean him.
Clean him up!
You're more than
welcome to do it yourself
should you decide to bestir yourself out
of your dipsomaniacal torpor.
I know a sexual predator when I see one.
I know that look in your eyes.
I've put away so many motherfuckers
- like you.
- Mm.
Well
maybe you need to be admitted, Officer.
Hmm?
To our psych unit.
I pity you. I understand that the stress
you're under is
it's terrible.
These murders,
your incompetence,
the hopelessness.
Is it breaking you?
You know what's breaking me?
Is you goddamn doctors and nurses
who got so much of this shit wrong.
You didn't even see the pandemic coming.
Did you?
You didn't see any of it happening.
You know who did?
I did. I saw everything.
I saw it all breaking down.
But instead of paying
attention to your goddamn job,
here you are, jerking off
a man that's in a coma.
Well, then move him!
Move him.
Move him to a warehouse for vegetables.
Yeah. I mean
[CHUCKLES] believe you me,
we could use the bed.
I'll-I'll call the transport for you.
There's a lovely
place, if you can ignore
the smell of shit and cabbage
and the staff who can't be
bothered to lift a finger
'cause it might interfere
with their backgammon game.
I'll even sign the discharge notice.
"Patient's psychotic wife has accused me
of masturbating her husband
while he's in a coma."
- I will move him. I'll move him.
- Oh, you won't.
You haven't got the
courage of your convictions.
You're terrified.
You have no idea how to handle this.
None at all.
You're weak.
Behind that charade of a tough exterior
is a broken, self-medicated woman
who has no idea how
to handle this case
or care for her husband.
Go fuck yourself.
Here's the soap, deary.
[SOFT THUD]
He hasn't quite climaxed yet,
so why don't you finish him off?
[INHALES SHARPLY]
["DR. JACKIE" BY MILES DAVIS
AND MILT JACKSON PLAYING]
Do you realize how loud?
So, this nun
Sister Megan, she's nuts.
She loves murder.
Look, the way she
writes about these cases,
it's like fan fiction.
Okay, girl, it's 4:00 a.m.
You're gonna wake up
the Connors next door.
The Connors are not even in town.
They have the time-share in Mazatlán.
- [MUSIC STOPS]
- They won't be back till the fall if ever.
It's like everyone in
this town is abandoning it
like rats on a sinking ship.
So, what is it?
You're listening to Dad's
favorite record. You miss him?
[LOIS] So, this nun?
Okay, the way she looks,
she looks like a cross between a sparrow
and a Manson girl, I shit you not.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Whatever. Mm.
[SIGHS]
Mm-hmm.
[SIGHS] Why buy the ham
if you're gonna judge
anyone who eats it?
I'm an ambivalent detective.
I'll say.
What, you just gonna sit
here and drink all night?
You gonna sit there and eat all night?
Seriously, though, Mom.
You're not ready to retire?
- Oh, no.
- You should retire.
- Mm-mm.
- Maybe go to rehab?
Oh, no, baby.
I have never needed that less.
I am I'm in my zone.
I'm invigorated.
I'm gonna catch this killer.
Maybe after that, I'll hang up my spurs.
But in the meantime, if anything
the booze makes me sharper.
Makes me see things clear.
See, I don't drink to escape.
I drink to envision it.
To manifest a solution.
Mm.
In fact, guess what.
It's almost like
the less sober I am,
the more clearer I see.
Mm-hmm. What a coinkydink.
Feel the same way about food.
Touché, little one.
I don't know, Mom.
To me,
it sounds like this
killer is taunting you.
Well, maybe.
But not as much taunting as trying
to take down Western civilization,
like a challenge to grace.
Like, maybe the killer knew
the people he killed
from the university,
like some sick student who-who hated,
who hated the radiologist
and his nutritionist wife.
So much so that they did the unthinkable
to the entire household.
Someone who felt hurt by
one or the both of them?
Ding.
I'm gonna follow that track.
♪
[PROJECTOR CLICKING]
[LOIS] All the DNA?
Is there anything, any sample
from outside the house,
the front door, sidewalk, walkway?
Uh, blood that hasn't
been sequenced yet?
Something that doesn't match our bodies.
If that's the case,
it's probably our guy.
There was a lot of cutting
done in this house, Jack,
with a scalpel.
Scalpels are messy,
so it's easy to injure yourself.
Maybe, maybe our guy
left his blood behind.
Listen up, look for what
is hiding in plain sight.
You might say, "Oh, this is
more of our victims' blood."
That's not necessarily the case.
More cases have been
solved with chameleon clues:
A cigarette ash from some brand
leads you down some road, all roads.
Light all roads up.
Let's do it.
[CRANBURN] Let's go, fellas.
[RHYTHMIC CHOPPING]
[ORGAN PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
[VEHICLE APPROACHING]
[CHURCH BELLS RINGING]
[ORGAN CONTINUES]
[ORGAN PLAYING]
Did I interrupt vespers or something?
Vespers means "evening"
in Latin, Detective.
You see the sun is still shining, so no.
How can I help you today?
Actually, I'm thrilled you're here.
I wanted to run something past you.
The notion that the killer's connection
to the family he slaughtered
could be the university.
Yeah? Really?
Wow, that seems wrong to me.
- Why?
- Come with me.
I think you're barking
up the wrong tree.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
I made this to help
clarify my reporting.
The crime scene photos you let me borrow
were very helpful and informative.
I'm looking for links.
Like on Dateline.
Have you ever watched
that show? I'm obsessed.
- No.
- My personal conviction
is, you are thinking about
this in the wrong way.
It's not anybody who knew them.
They were maybe stalked,
sure, chosen but not known.
Our killer is well past
day-to-day functional life,
not a student or professor.
- How do you know that?
- My gut tells me.
And you're not listening to yours.
No. You aren't seeing the scale of it.
This is a calling card to
live in an apocalyptic reality.
These murder tableaus
mean something profound.
This killer is sermonizing.
Proselytizing.
Telling a parable.
Preaching. Look at this.
They are saying, "It
is here, it has come.
Glorify me. Shake at my splendor."
He sees himself as God.
You can't dismiss the fact
that this could be an academic.
- I mean
- You think good old-fashioned police logic will help you?
The world is different now. No.
No.
These are religious statements.
He is telling you that nothing is sacred
and nobody is safe.
Look, I have cleared over 400 cases
in my long, long, tired-ass career
- as a detective, and
- You're lost.
I am not lost. I get it.
I get what he's trying to achieve.
His testimony.
To understand this monster,
you must reach the ecstatic.
[RHYTHMIC TAPPING]
[ORGAN STOPS]
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and evermore shall
be, world without end.
[ALL] Amen.
Okay, so
I want to talk a little bit to you all
because, hey, it's
sort of what I do best,
and what can I say, I
like hearing myself speak.
[SOFT LAUGHTER]
I have hubris.
But I also have faith.
One is bad, one is good,
but my faith tells me
that I can be better with time.
And my faith also tells me
that the spirit of goodness
in our community can prevail.
Those of us who believe in
firearms, which, well, hey,
- that's most of us in this crowd
- [LAUGHTER]
we keep them close at hand,
loaded with hollow-point
ammo, am I right?
[SCATTERED AFFIRMATIONS]
Lean into this:
Guns are fine,
so are baseball bats and axes,
so are machetes and flamethrowers.
But faith,
faith is as strong as
a hollow-point round,
so let's take care of each other.
Neighborhood watch is great,
but neighborhood prayer is astounding!
Lock your doors,
but keep your hearts open.
Let's, uh, be here together,
for one another.
That is how we will survive
this evil in our midst.
And now back to our regularly
scheduled vesper hymn
"There Is Power in the Blood."
[ORGAN PLAYING]
Would you be free ♪
From your burden of sin? ♪
There's power in the blood ♪
Power in the blood. ♪
- Careful now.
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING SOFTLY]
Mmm.
Oh. Oh, wow.
These are
orgasmic.
[CRUNCHING]
Are they now? Really?
- Orgasmic, Sister?
- Hey.
I wasn't always a nun.
And you weren't always a priest.
According to my tip-top reporting,
when you were younger
weren't you a personal trainer?
- [RESTRICTED CHUCKLE]
- [LAUGHS]
Yeah.
But, uh, spiritually,
before the seminary,
I was always a priest.
It was all I ever wanted.
Saving people's lives.
At first I thought,
"Maybe I'll be a surgeon."
But then I thought,
"That's just plumbing."
I want to remove the
cancer from their souls.
So here we are.
Saving souls and doing the Lord's work
in a sick, sick world.
And getting sicker by the day.
And you do it so well.
- Oh.
- Being a priest, I mean.
Our parishioners love you.
You know that, right?
You offer a realistic vision of hope.
I got to say that your
pieces about these murders
and the religious aspects of them,
they've got people coming to services.
Attendance is up all over the county.
The archdiocese is incredibly
impressed with you, and
I might want you to
speak to the congregation.
Oh.
I would be happy to.
After I solve this case.
I can smell this creature.
I can sense him just out of sight.
How great for the church that would be.
- The church as salvation?
- [DISHES CLATTER]
Literally [QUIETLY] protector?
Right? Wouldn't it?
The story is on fire on our website.
Mostly conjecture, conspiracy theories.
Some people are likening
it to the Ripper Crew?
The Chicago Rippers? You
think this is satanists?
Yes, I do.
The mechanics of this are so elaborate
that a coordinated effort
would make a lot of sense.
There's a great documentary online
about the Rippers that I can
send to you if you'd like.
Father,
you're not a true
crime fanatic, are you?
Well, I know you are.
I think that all of these crimes,
- they share an element of, um
- A search for God.
- Yes, but also a summoning
- Of Satan.
Yes. Yeah. That's,
that is exactly right.
Is that why you're drawn to them?
I tell myself that I
only watch this stuff
out of concern for the victims,
sympathy, um, but the truth is
these crime shows, podcasts
I have a bit of a morbid fascination.
Own it.
Look, I mean, I have a favorite
serial killer, for heaven's sake.
So do I. Who's yours?
You go first.
[QUIETLY] Ed Gein.
Ah! The OG.
He loved his mother so
much that when she died,
he tried to make a "mommy
suit" out of women's bodies
that he could crawl into and be her.
He had so many different
colors, I mean
[LAUGHING]
[SNORTING]
[CHARLIE CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY]
So, who's yours?
Sister Mariam Soulakiotis.
- A serial killer nun.
- [CHUCKLES]
That's so right for you.
High up in the mountains of Greece,
a monastery in a pine
forest in the clouds,
she runs the joint
and invites people with
TB to come for the cure,
but over a hundred folks
die of negligent homicide
because she offers no real
cure, just the elevation.
And then she kills many
more after torturing them
and getting them to donate
their riches to the church
spinsters and widows
money she keeps for herself.
Ends up rich and nutso.
And still the nuns in that monastery,
to this very day, insist she's a saint.
[BOTH CHUCKLE SOFTLY]
The first home invasion
they cook and eat the dad?
Jesus, the Holy Father incarnate, says,
"Eat of my flesh."
The flesh of the Father.
Luke 22, the Last Supper.
- Okay.
- Then the next one.
Crucifixions?
And then the blood, draining the bodies?
A reference to Leviticus?
"It is the blood that makes
an atonement for the soul."
Draining the blood in an
effort to take their soul.
Right, right. That's right on.
It's the same idea as what
he they did to the bodies
so they cannot walk with
Christ in eternal life.
It's death but worse than death.
Ultimate nothingness.
Spiritual void.
They found sulfur, too.
At the last scene.
Sister.
Theft is a sin.
[LAUGHING]
[BELLS TOLLING]
[PANTING]
[MOANING]
♪
The judge shall cause him to lie down
and to be beaten before his face,
according to the measure
of his wickedness, by number.
Then it shall be, if the wicked
man deserve to be beaten, that
the judge shall cause him to lie down
and to be beaten before his face,
according to the measure of his
wickedness, by number. [GROANS]
Then it shall be, if
the wicked man deserve
to be beaten, that the
judge shall cause him
to lie down and to be
beaten before his face,
according to the measure of
his wickedness, by number.
[WHIP CRACKS]
[LINE RINGING]
Lois, I'm going to press.
There's an angle.
I'm not sure it's right,
but I'm not sure it's wrong either.
I owe it to our readers
to at least mention it.
Hit me.
- Satanism.
- Satanism?
The symbolism is impossible
to miss in both of these incidents.
You're wrong on this.
Don't write anything yet.
We found blood drops on the sidewalk.
- We got a hit.
- What? Who is it?
A guy named Sullivan Firkus.
He was an organ harvester.
Racked up dozens of bodies in the '90s.
Sold 'em for parts on the black market.
That's really amazing.
Horrible, I mean, so Wow.
He used to kidnap refugee
kids, pull 'em from war zones.
Served 21 years. Got
out nine months ago.
Must've started planning
his comeback first thing.
He's staying with his mother.
Don't release anything yet, okay?
I am gonna go on record,
and I want you to break the story.
Thank you. But, Lois,
why are you helping me?
I am not helping you. I'm using you.
Maybe your church is onto
something, using these killings
to get lapsed believers
back into the pews.
Hell, maybe nonbelievers.
- Like you?
- I got to go.
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
♪
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[OFFICER] Clear.
[GRUNTS]
♪
- Clear.
- [DOOR BANGS OPEN]
- [DOOR BANGS OPEN]
- [OFFICER] Clear.
[DOOR BANGS OPEN]
- Clear.
- Clear.
[DOOR BANGS OPEN]
[OFFICERS RETCHING, COUGHING]
[OFFICER] Detective.
Get down here.
[COUGHING]
[SQUEAKING]
♪
[CLOCK TICKING FAST]
Wake up!
♪
["MINUIT RUE JACOB" BY
JACK DIÉVAL PLAYING]
[MEGAN] What happened?
You look shaken. Tell
me, tell me everything.
What is that?
It's nothing, it's small, I tripped.
[WAITER] Ladies, what can I do you for?
What's this lychee
cocktail? Sounds yummy.
Vodka, coconut water,
lychee juice, lime juice.
People on the base love it.
I'll have one. Lo?
Club soda, lime, hold the booze.
[WAITER] No shot of
vodka in there, Detective?
I'm fine, Harv.
Off the booze, babe?
I am trying to stay sharp, Sister.
Why?
I'm losing it. My-my-my
theory wasn't right,
my-my picker's off, and
that's all I have left.
Lois,
tell me about the crime
scene, describe it.
It was staged.
Sullivan Firkus's blood,
the DNA, it was all left there for us
at the trap house slaughter.
Firkus?
He was the first killing.
[LOIS] He'd been dead for weeks.
Left there for us to find.
A warning.
[MOTHER FIRKUS] Wake
up! Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up! Wake up!
You are not a God who
delights in wickedness!
Wake up! Wake up!
[CRYING] Wake up.
Wake up!
Evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not
stand before your eyes.
You hate all evildoers.
You destroy those
who speak lies.
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty
and deceitful man.
Or does he?
Psalms chapter five, verse five.
Yes, I know you know your Bible.
I looked it up, but what's it about?
"The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty
and deceitful man."
See, "abhors," "hates."
It says God can hate,
which is very powerful.
Hatred as a force for good.
The killer left a calling card.
He left his name written in a
beautifully elaborate script.
What's his name?
Grotesquerie.
"I belong to those
who have troubled the
sleep of the world."
And then: "May all
your dreams come true."
I don't recognize that.
Any other evidence?
No.
I'd like to see the crime scene
photos when they're developed.
Since we're in this together now
and no one else seems
to be helpful to you.
Were the bodies this time
arranged in a biblical tableau?
If they were, I didn't
recognize the symbolism.
Maybe I'll have better luck.
Dreams, hatred, lessons, sermons,
hallucinations, fevers, serpents.
You have to start looking
at what the philosophy
behind these murders is, Lois.
That's how we'll catch him.
Hey, aren't you married to
some philosophy professor?
Now, he can't exactly help
me out with this, can he?
Come on,
Sister, give me something I can go on.
Someone in the clergy.
Maybe not Christian,
perhaps some odd offshoot.
Pagan or, I don't know, there's so much.
There's the Temple of
the True Inner Light,
which believes that
psychoactive substances
cannabis, LSD, mescaline,
psychedelic mushrooms, and others
are the true flesh of God.
The organization also
believes that all religions
are based upon the
psychedelic experience.
Sister,
I am a very tired woman.
What are you saying?
Unlock the dream,
solve the crime.
Thank you.
Good golly, Miss Molly.
This beverage is a near
religious experience.
Three fingers, Chopin vodka.
On the rocks.
- [SIREN WAILING]
- [TIRES SCREECHING]
Couldn't find me no friends ♪
Had no place to go ♪
If I ever get my
hands on a dollar again ♪
I'm gonna hold on to it ♪
Till the eagle grins ♪
♪
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[LOCKS DEAD BOLT]
[SIGHS]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
["SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET"
BY LOUIS ARMSTRONG PLAYING]
Hi, Mom.
Put that thing away!
- It's me.
- Merritt.
Please.
Don't do that.
At least until this fucker is toast.
Are you okay?
No.
I am not okay.
When I'm done
I'm gonna sell this house.
Sell the house? What about Dad?
I'm gonna move somewhere gorgeous,
like up in Big Sur.
[STAMMERS] You're welcome to come.
The-the water's rough, but the drama
is everything.
That is the only kind of drama
I can take after this.
So
This was at the crime scene today.
You think you can do anything with it?
You being good at puzzles and games,
you got that from me, but I'm stumped.
You think you can open it?
I don't know.
We'll see.
[SIGHS]
I don't know, Mom, this
box is not functional
No seams.
[MUTTERS]
No openings, really, I mean
Yeah, nothing.
Maybe it doesn't mean a goddamn thing.
[LOIS SIGHS]
Nothing at a murder scene means nothing.
Grab your coat ♪
It all means something.
Okay.
I'm going to bed.
Just direct your feet ♪
Good night.
Sunny side of the street ♪
Can't you hear the pitter-pat, babe? ♪
The happy tune is your step, and ♪
Life can be so sweet,
life can be so sweet ♪
Life can be so sweet ♪
Life can be so sweet,
life can be so sweet ♪
- Life can be ♪
- [RECORD SCRATCHES]
[RAIN FALLING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[SIGHS]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[PHONE BUZZING]
Yeah?
Ye
Okay.
Where?
♪
♪
Is this what people
did when they first saw
the work of Michelangelo?
Of Caravaggio?
Sit in stunned silence?
In shock and awe.
I suppose they did.
Well, this biblical positioning
is quite easy to decipher,
if I do say so myself.
The Last Supper, Sister, but
for whom?
You? Me?
All of us?
I knew the Jesus figure.
He touched me.
My heart.
I used to give him money to buy food,
although he probably
used it to buy meth.
We think
we know
these 12 people were homeless.
Unhoused.
Point is, they were hunted.
Preyed upon.
But not prayed for.
The craven mind behind this,
touched by genius, for sure.
This Grotesquerie.
Lois?
What are you going to do now?
Me?
Sister, I am going to go home
and drink.
Yeah.
♪
♪
Every time I show up
to one of these murders.
I end up bathed in invisible blood.
And I can't get it out.
[SCREAM]
I'm as doomed as you are.
The desires of the flesh
come not from the father.
But from this world.
[WHIP CRACK]
This is the end of time.
This case that you're on.
It's as if this killer
were an atomic bomb.
He is.
Don't do this to yourself.
You're going to regret it.
These murders are parables.
He's playing with us.
He's a prophet.
Trumpeting the coming of the end.
Want me to plug in the nightlight?
So you're not scared in the dark?
[GUN SHOT]
Go!
[GLASS SHATTERS]
This is someone who knows me.
["PAIN IN MY HEART" BY
OTIS REDDING PLAYING]
[MARSHALL] You understand, Merritt.
W-With those kinds of numbers,
you're looking at the
worst-case hypertension scenario.
You are not a doctor, Dad.
Well, actually he is.
Just not of medicine.
I-I don't need to be
a physician to know
what your kind of blood pressure means.
Aneurysm, stroke,
living with some kind
of compromised situation.
- You can weigh in anytime, anytime.
- Weigh in?
[CHUCKLES] It's enough weight already.
Listen, I'm making, uh, soup
and Parker House rolls.
I'm in here busy with my shit.
I hope it's the ones with the
everything bagel seasoning.
- Those are good.
- H-Honey, this is not a
Okay, look, I'm not fucking around here.
Your internist insisted
we confront this.
He said your physical showed
someone flirting with
catastrophe.
There's so much to life.
You cannot throw it all
away, Merritt, please.
[MERRITT] Okay, this is
not one of your graduate
philosophy seminars, okay?
Do not speak to me in that
"dear students" pained tone.
Don't do that.
[MARSHALL] I'm sorry I patronized you.
I'd like you to
consider going somewhere.
Some residential treatment program.
Montana. Hawaii.
[MERRITT] A fat farm. [SCOFFS]
You want me to go to a fat farm? Really?
[MARSHALL] Call it what
you will. I'm looking
- to help you reset.
- [CHUCKLES]
This is not about me.
This is about you being uncomfortable
- with the way that I look.
- Uncomfortable with ?
- These rolls came out great.
- Yes.
Stop. Stop.
Uncomfortable with the way you look?
I-I You don't
Darling, you don't get it.
I'm uncomfortable with looking
at you killing yourself.
I don't want you to die.
You know what?
This is feeling like fat-shaming.
It's making me feel awful.
By the way
I'm gonna die now? I'm dying now?
I'm dying now? [SCOFFS]
Okay. [GRUNTS] Hmm?
Dad, please.
- [CLACK]
- [MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
Love me, baby ♪
Till I get enough, oh ♪
[DOOR SLAMS]
I guess that went well.
Pain in my heart ♪
Thank you. Thank you. Uh, just
thank you for helping.
- Marshall.
- [CHUCKLING]
In the history of the human race,
nobody has ever been able
to persuade somebody else
to give up their vices.
And that's where you arrived
at philosophically, is it?
- Mm.
- I know being a cop
has fundamentally
altered your worldview.
But this cynicism, your fatalism is
[SIGHS] it's corrosive.
Or it's protection.
Ding, ding, ding.
Is the drinking protection, too?
Because you-you're-you're
turning from a pastime
into a profession.
You know what, maybe we
should get a family rehab plan.
We can get it for the food and booze
and sex addiction.
Huh?
You thought I didn't know
about your little side action?
- [SIGHS] Come on. [STAMMERS]
- Huh?
- I can smell the side piece tail on you.
- Look, look
- I can smell it.
- You-You-You're-you're drunk.
You're drunk and you-you're
talking out your head.
You don't know what you're saying.
I had you followed.
I am a detective
with foot soldiers at my employ.
Lois loyalists.
They even got photographs.
You at the Starburst Motel,
at the Happy Ho Inn
which is a great name, by the way.
Oh.
But, yeah,
caught you in a lie.
And you've been lying
to me for quite a while.
You want some soup?
[SLURPS]
When you need some lovin' arms ♪
[CLACK]
[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
[SIGHS DEEPLY]
In the face
of your commitment to your job,
which is more obsession
than occupation
and to your alcoholism,
which does actually seem
like a full-time job,
both of which shut me out
- do you blame me?
- Oh, come on now.
Marsh, we took vows.
Sickness, health, better, worse.
Don't you teach a goddamn
postgraduate seminar on ethics
for the modern world?
[SCOFFS]
What can the matter be? ♪
You're almost too cruel to fight for.
But I-I-I would like
your help in somehow
holding this family together
I wish we could.
I wish we could do that.
But that ship has sailed.
So I guess what I'm saying is
"get the fuck out."
And help me solve 'em ♪
Then I won't be missing you ♪
I won't be missing you ♪
I still love you sometimes.
Would be all over ♪
And yet I pray sometimes
that I would get a phone call
informing me that you died.
[SCOFFS]
In so many circles ♪
I hope you don't regret
those words when I do.
- [KISSES]
- [MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
This is my lover's prayer ♪
[SONG PLAYING BACKWARDS]
[MONITOR BEEPING STEADILY]
♪
♪
[EXHALES]
[SNIFFLES]
[SIGHS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Why would you waste
those crocodile tears
outside his room?
He should see them.
See that you miss him, desperately,
see that you care.
You could even pretend to
have faith that he'll recover.
Act a bit.
Oh. What's this?
Pistols at dawn? [CHUCKLES]
You have a very mistaken
impression of me.
So I'm-a kick your ass
so all of this habit of disrespecting me
- comes to a fucking end, bitch.
- Oh, no, no, no.
No, no, no. There's no fighting here.
No, we have security mere meters away.
And should you even touch me,
they will break every last
bone in both your hands.
And then you'll be arrested
and, irony of ironies,
chained to a bed.
[CLAPS HANDS]
See?
So, now, Detective,
I would suggest going
down to the cafeteria
and gulping down a few black coffees.
Or whatever your favored
alcoholic beverage is
for calming your nerves.
Go on, dear. Go on.
Ta-ta.
[LOIS SIGHS]
♪
♪
[GASPS]
What the fuck is going on in here?
Excuse me.
I am giving your poor
husband a sponge bath.
What in the depths of your filthy mind
do you actually think is happening here?
You poor woman.
You're really not well.
You're a sicko. I actually think
you're on the edge of something.
Well, you clean him then. You clean him.
Clean him up!
You're more than
welcome to do it yourself
should you decide to bestir yourself out
of your dipsomaniacal torpor.
I know a sexual predator when I see one.
I know that look in your eyes.
I've put away so many motherfuckers
- like you.
- Mm.
Well
maybe you need to be admitted, Officer.
Hmm?
To our psych unit.
I pity you. I understand that the stress
you're under is
it's terrible.
These murders,
your incompetence,
the hopelessness.
Is it breaking you?
You know what's breaking me?
Is you goddamn doctors and nurses
who got so much of this shit wrong.
You didn't even see the pandemic coming.
Did you?
You didn't see any of it happening.
You know who did?
I did. I saw everything.
I saw it all breaking down.
But instead of paying
attention to your goddamn job,
here you are, jerking off
a man that's in a coma.
Well, then move him!
Move him.
Move him to a warehouse for vegetables.
Yeah. I mean
[CHUCKLES] believe you me,
we could use the bed.
I'll-I'll call the transport for you.
There's a lovely
place, if you can ignore
the smell of shit and cabbage
and the staff who can't be
bothered to lift a finger
'cause it might interfere
with their backgammon game.
I'll even sign the discharge notice.
"Patient's psychotic wife has accused me
of masturbating her husband
while he's in a coma."
- I will move him. I'll move him.
- Oh, you won't.
You haven't got the
courage of your convictions.
You're terrified.
You have no idea how to handle this.
None at all.
You're weak.
Behind that charade of a tough exterior
is a broken, self-medicated woman
who has no idea how
to handle this case
or care for her husband.
Go fuck yourself.
Here's the soap, deary.
[SOFT THUD]
He hasn't quite climaxed yet,
so why don't you finish him off?
[INHALES SHARPLY]
["DR. JACKIE" BY MILES DAVIS
AND MILT JACKSON PLAYING]
Do you realize how loud?
So, this nun
Sister Megan, she's nuts.
She loves murder.
Look, the way she
writes about these cases,
it's like fan fiction.
Okay, girl, it's 4:00 a.m.
You're gonna wake up
the Connors next door.
The Connors are not even in town.
They have the time-share in Mazatlán.
- [MUSIC STOPS]
- They won't be back till the fall if ever.
It's like everyone in
this town is abandoning it
like rats on a sinking ship.
So, what is it?
You're listening to Dad's
favorite record. You miss him?
[LOIS] So, this nun?
Okay, the way she looks,
she looks like a cross between a sparrow
and a Manson girl, I shit you not.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Whatever. Mm.
[SIGHS]
Mm-hmm.
[SIGHS] Why buy the ham
if you're gonna judge
anyone who eats it?
I'm an ambivalent detective.
I'll say.
What, you just gonna sit
here and drink all night?
You gonna sit there and eat all night?
Seriously, though, Mom.
You're not ready to retire?
- Oh, no.
- You should retire.
- Mm-mm.
- Maybe go to rehab?
Oh, no, baby.
I have never needed that less.
I am I'm in my zone.
I'm invigorated.
I'm gonna catch this killer.
Maybe after that, I'll hang up my spurs.
But in the meantime, if anything
the booze makes me sharper.
Makes me see things clear.
See, I don't drink to escape.
I drink to envision it.
To manifest a solution.
Mm.
In fact, guess what.
It's almost like
the less sober I am,
the more clearer I see.
Mm-hmm. What a coinkydink.
Feel the same way about food.
Touché, little one.
I don't know, Mom.
To me,
it sounds like this
killer is taunting you.
Well, maybe.
But not as much taunting as trying
to take down Western civilization,
like a challenge to grace.
Like, maybe the killer knew
the people he killed
from the university,
like some sick student who-who hated,
who hated the radiologist
and his nutritionist wife.
So much so that they did the unthinkable
to the entire household.
Someone who felt hurt by
one or the both of them?
Ding.
I'm gonna follow that track.
♪
[PROJECTOR CLICKING]
[LOIS] All the DNA?
Is there anything, any sample
from outside the house,
the front door, sidewalk, walkway?
Uh, blood that hasn't
been sequenced yet?
Something that doesn't match our bodies.
If that's the case,
it's probably our guy.
There was a lot of cutting
done in this house, Jack,
with a scalpel.
Scalpels are messy,
so it's easy to injure yourself.
Maybe, maybe our guy
left his blood behind.
Listen up, look for what
is hiding in plain sight.
You might say, "Oh, this is
more of our victims' blood."
That's not necessarily the case.
More cases have been
solved with chameleon clues:
A cigarette ash from some brand
leads you down some road, all roads.
Light all roads up.
Let's do it.
[CRANBURN] Let's go, fellas.
[RHYTHMIC CHOPPING]
[ORGAN PLAYING IN DISTANCE]
[VEHICLE APPROACHING]
[CHURCH BELLS RINGING]
[ORGAN CONTINUES]
[ORGAN PLAYING]
Did I interrupt vespers or something?
Vespers means "evening"
in Latin, Detective.
You see the sun is still shining, so no.
How can I help you today?
Actually, I'm thrilled you're here.
I wanted to run something past you.
The notion that the killer's connection
to the family he slaughtered
could be the university.
Yeah? Really?
Wow, that seems wrong to me.
- Why?
- Come with me.
I think you're barking
up the wrong tree.
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
I made this to help
clarify my reporting.
The crime scene photos you let me borrow
were very helpful and informative.
I'm looking for links.
Like on Dateline.
Have you ever watched
that show? I'm obsessed.
- No.
- My personal conviction
is, you are thinking about
this in the wrong way.
It's not anybody who knew them.
They were maybe stalked,
sure, chosen but not known.
Our killer is well past
day-to-day functional life,
not a student or professor.
- How do you know that?
- My gut tells me.
And you're not listening to yours.
No. You aren't seeing the scale of it.
This is a calling card to
live in an apocalyptic reality.
These murder tableaus
mean something profound.
This killer is sermonizing.
Proselytizing.
Telling a parable.
Preaching. Look at this.
They are saying, "It
is here, it has come.
Glorify me. Shake at my splendor."
He sees himself as God.
You can't dismiss the fact
that this could be an academic.
- I mean
- You think good old-fashioned police logic will help you?
The world is different now. No.
No.
These are religious statements.
He is telling you that nothing is sacred
and nobody is safe.
Look, I have cleared over 400 cases
in my long, long, tired-ass career
- as a detective, and
- You're lost.
I am not lost. I get it.
I get what he's trying to achieve.
His testimony.
To understand this monster,
you must reach the ecstatic.
[RHYTHMIC TAPPING]
[ORGAN STOPS]
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and evermore shall
be, world without end.
[ALL] Amen.
Okay, so
I want to talk a little bit to you all
because, hey, it's
sort of what I do best,
and what can I say, I
like hearing myself speak.
[SOFT LAUGHTER]
I have hubris.
But I also have faith.
One is bad, one is good,
but my faith tells me
that I can be better with time.
And my faith also tells me
that the spirit of goodness
in our community can prevail.
Those of us who believe in
firearms, which, well, hey,
- that's most of us in this crowd
- [LAUGHTER]
we keep them close at hand,
loaded with hollow-point
ammo, am I right?
[SCATTERED AFFIRMATIONS]
Lean into this:
Guns are fine,
so are baseball bats and axes,
so are machetes and flamethrowers.
But faith,
faith is as strong as
a hollow-point round,
so let's take care of each other.
Neighborhood watch is great,
but neighborhood prayer is astounding!
Lock your doors,
but keep your hearts open.
Let's, uh, be here together,
for one another.
That is how we will survive
this evil in our midst.
And now back to our regularly
scheduled vesper hymn
"There Is Power in the Blood."
[ORGAN PLAYING]
Would you be free ♪
From your burden of sin? ♪
There's power in the blood ♪
Power in the blood. ♪
- Careful now.
- [LAUGHS SOFTLY]
[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING SOFTLY]
Mmm.
Oh. Oh, wow.
These are
orgasmic.
[CRUNCHING]
Are they now? Really?
- Orgasmic, Sister?
- Hey.
I wasn't always a nun.
And you weren't always a priest.
According to my tip-top reporting,
when you were younger
weren't you a personal trainer?
- [RESTRICTED CHUCKLE]
- [LAUGHS]
Yeah.
But, uh, spiritually,
before the seminary,
I was always a priest.
It was all I ever wanted.
Saving people's lives.
At first I thought,
"Maybe I'll be a surgeon."
But then I thought,
"That's just plumbing."
I want to remove the
cancer from their souls.
So here we are.
Saving souls and doing the Lord's work
in a sick, sick world.
And getting sicker by the day.
And you do it so well.
- Oh.
- Being a priest, I mean.
Our parishioners love you.
You know that, right?
You offer a realistic vision of hope.
I got to say that your
pieces about these murders
and the religious aspects of them,
they've got people coming to services.
Attendance is up all over the county.
The archdiocese is incredibly
impressed with you, and
I might want you to
speak to the congregation.
Oh.
I would be happy to.
After I solve this case.
I can smell this creature.
I can sense him just out of sight.
How great for the church that would be.
- The church as salvation?
- [DISHES CLATTER]
Literally [QUIETLY] protector?
Right? Wouldn't it?
The story is on fire on our website.
Mostly conjecture, conspiracy theories.
Some people are likening
it to the Ripper Crew?
The Chicago Rippers? You
think this is satanists?
Yes, I do.
The mechanics of this are so elaborate
that a coordinated effort
would make a lot of sense.
There's a great documentary online
about the Rippers that I can
send to you if you'd like.
Father,
you're not a true
crime fanatic, are you?
Well, I know you are.
I think that all of these crimes,
- they share an element of, um
- A search for God.
- Yes, but also a summoning
- Of Satan.
Yes. Yeah. That's,
that is exactly right.
Is that why you're drawn to them?
I tell myself that I
only watch this stuff
out of concern for the victims,
sympathy, um, but the truth is
these crime shows, podcasts
I have a bit of a morbid fascination.
Own it.
Look, I mean, I have a favorite
serial killer, for heaven's sake.
So do I. Who's yours?
You go first.
[QUIETLY] Ed Gein.
Ah! The OG.
He loved his mother so
much that when she died,
he tried to make a "mommy
suit" out of women's bodies
that he could crawl into and be her.
He had so many different
colors, I mean
[LAUGHING]
[SNORTING]
[CHARLIE CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY]
So, who's yours?
Sister Mariam Soulakiotis.
- A serial killer nun.
- [CHUCKLES]
That's so right for you.
High up in the mountains of Greece,
a monastery in a pine
forest in the clouds,
she runs the joint
and invites people with
TB to come for the cure,
but over a hundred folks
die of negligent homicide
because she offers no real
cure, just the elevation.
And then she kills many
more after torturing them
and getting them to donate
their riches to the church
spinsters and widows
money she keeps for herself.
Ends up rich and nutso.
And still the nuns in that monastery,
to this very day, insist she's a saint.
[BOTH CHUCKLE SOFTLY]
The first home invasion
they cook and eat the dad?
Jesus, the Holy Father incarnate, says,
"Eat of my flesh."
The flesh of the Father.
Luke 22, the Last Supper.
- Okay.
- Then the next one.
Crucifixions?
And then the blood, draining the bodies?
A reference to Leviticus?
"It is the blood that makes
an atonement for the soul."
Draining the blood in an
effort to take their soul.
Right, right. That's right on.
It's the same idea as what
he they did to the bodies
so they cannot walk with
Christ in eternal life.
It's death but worse than death.
Ultimate nothingness.
Spiritual void.
They found sulfur, too.
At the last scene.
Sister.
Theft is a sin.
[LAUGHING]
[BELLS TOLLING]
[PANTING]
[MOANING]
♪
The judge shall cause him to lie down
and to be beaten before his face,
according to the measure
of his wickedness, by number.
Then it shall be, if the wicked
man deserve to be beaten, that
the judge shall cause him to lie down
and to be beaten before his face,
according to the measure of his
wickedness, by number. [GROANS]
Then it shall be, if
the wicked man deserve
to be beaten, that the
judge shall cause him
to lie down and to be
beaten before his face,
according to the measure of
his wickedness, by number.
[WHIP CRACKS]
[LINE RINGING]
Lois, I'm going to press.
There's an angle.
I'm not sure it's right,
but I'm not sure it's wrong either.
I owe it to our readers
to at least mention it.
Hit me.
- Satanism.
- Satanism?
The symbolism is impossible
to miss in both of these incidents.
You're wrong on this.
Don't write anything yet.
We found blood drops on the sidewalk.
- We got a hit.
- What? Who is it?
A guy named Sullivan Firkus.
He was an organ harvester.
Racked up dozens of bodies in the '90s.
Sold 'em for parts on the black market.
That's really amazing.
Horrible, I mean, so Wow.
He used to kidnap refugee
kids, pull 'em from war zones.
Served 21 years. Got
out nine months ago.
Must've started planning
his comeback first thing.
He's staying with his mother.
Don't release anything yet, okay?
I am gonna go on record,
and I want you to break the story.
Thank you. But, Lois,
why are you helping me?
I am not helping you. I'm using you.
Maybe your church is onto
something, using these killings
to get lapsed believers
back into the pews.
Hell, maybe nonbelievers.
- Like you?
- I got to go.
[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]
♪
[TIRES SCREECHING]
[OFFICER] Clear.
[GRUNTS]
♪
- Clear.
- [DOOR BANGS OPEN]
- [DOOR BANGS OPEN]
- [OFFICER] Clear.
[DOOR BANGS OPEN]
- Clear.
- Clear.
[DOOR BANGS OPEN]
[OFFICERS RETCHING, COUGHING]
[OFFICER] Detective.
Get down here.
[COUGHING]
[SQUEAKING]
♪
[CLOCK TICKING FAST]
Wake up!
♪
["MINUIT RUE JACOB" BY
JACK DIÉVAL PLAYING]
[MEGAN] What happened?
You look shaken. Tell
me, tell me everything.
What is that?
It's nothing, it's small, I tripped.
[WAITER] Ladies, what can I do you for?
What's this lychee
cocktail? Sounds yummy.
Vodka, coconut water,
lychee juice, lime juice.
People on the base love it.
I'll have one. Lo?
Club soda, lime, hold the booze.
[WAITER] No shot of
vodka in there, Detective?
I'm fine, Harv.
Off the booze, babe?
I am trying to stay sharp, Sister.
Why?
I'm losing it. My-my-my
theory wasn't right,
my-my picker's off, and
that's all I have left.
Lois,
tell me about the crime
scene, describe it.
It was staged.
Sullivan Firkus's blood,
the DNA, it was all left there for us
at the trap house slaughter.
Firkus?
He was the first killing.
[LOIS] He'd been dead for weeks.
Left there for us to find.
A warning.
[MOTHER FIRKUS] Wake
up! Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up! Wake up!
You are not a God who
delights in wickedness!
Wake up! Wake up!
[CRYING] Wake up.
Wake up!
Evil may not dwell with you.
The boastful shall not
stand before your eyes.
You hate all evildoers.
You destroy those
who speak lies.
The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty
and deceitful man.
Or does he?
Psalms chapter five, verse five.
Yes, I know you know your Bible.
I looked it up, but what's it about?
"The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty
and deceitful man."
See, "abhors," "hates."
It says God can hate,
which is very powerful.
Hatred as a force for good.
The killer left a calling card.
He left his name written in a
beautifully elaborate script.
What's his name?
Grotesquerie.
"I belong to those
who have troubled the
sleep of the world."
And then: "May all
your dreams come true."
I don't recognize that.
Any other evidence?
No.
I'd like to see the crime scene
photos when they're developed.
Since we're in this together now
and no one else seems
to be helpful to you.
Were the bodies this time
arranged in a biblical tableau?
If they were, I didn't
recognize the symbolism.
Maybe I'll have better luck.
Dreams, hatred, lessons, sermons,
hallucinations, fevers, serpents.
You have to start looking
at what the philosophy
behind these murders is, Lois.
That's how we'll catch him.
Hey, aren't you married to
some philosophy professor?
Now, he can't exactly help
me out with this, can he?
Come on,
Sister, give me something I can go on.
Someone in the clergy.
Maybe not Christian,
perhaps some odd offshoot.
Pagan or, I don't know, there's so much.
There's the Temple of
the True Inner Light,
which believes that
psychoactive substances
cannabis, LSD, mescaline,
psychedelic mushrooms, and others
are the true flesh of God.
The organization also
believes that all religions
are based upon the
psychedelic experience.
Sister,
I am a very tired woman.
What are you saying?
Unlock the dream,
solve the crime.
Thank you.
Good golly, Miss Molly.
This beverage is a near
religious experience.
Three fingers, Chopin vodka.
On the rocks.
- [SIREN WAILING]
- [TIRES SCREECHING]
Couldn't find me no friends ♪
Had no place to go ♪
If I ever get my
hands on a dollar again ♪
I'm gonna hold on to it ♪
Till the eagle grins ♪
♪
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[LOCKS DEAD BOLT]
[SIGHS]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
["SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET"
BY LOUIS ARMSTRONG PLAYING]
Hi, Mom.
Put that thing away!
- It's me.
- Merritt.
Please.
Don't do that.
At least until this fucker is toast.
Are you okay?
No.
I am not okay.
When I'm done
I'm gonna sell this house.
Sell the house? What about Dad?
I'm gonna move somewhere gorgeous,
like up in Big Sur.
[STAMMERS] You're welcome to come.
The-the water's rough, but the drama
is everything.
That is the only kind of drama
I can take after this.
So
This was at the crime scene today.
You think you can do anything with it?
You being good at puzzles and games,
you got that from me, but I'm stumped.
You think you can open it?
I don't know.
We'll see.
[SIGHS]
I don't know, Mom, this
box is not functional
No seams.
[MUTTERS]
No openings, really, I mean
Yeah, nothing.
Maybe it doesn't mean a goddamn thing.
[LOIS SIGHS]
Nothing at a murder scene means nothing.
Grab your coat ♪
It all means something.
Okay.
I'm going to bed.
Just direct your feet ♪
Good night.
Sunny side of the street ♪
Can't you hear the pitter-pat, babe? ♪
The happy tune is your step, and ♪
Life can be so sweet,
life can be so sweet ♪
Life can be so sweet ♪
Life can be so sweet,
life can be so sweet ♪
- Life can be ♪
- [RECORD SCRATCHES]
[RAIN FALLING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[SIGHS]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[PHONE BUZZING]
Yeah?
Ye
Okay.
Where?
♪
♪
Is this what people
did when they first saw
the work of Michelangelo?
Of Caravaggio?
Sit in stunned silence?
In shock and awe.
I suppose they did.
Well, this biblical positioning
is quite easy to decipher,
if I do say so myself.
The Last Supper, Sister, but
for whom?
You? Me?
All of us?
I knew the Jesus figure.
He touched me.
My heart.
I used to give him money to buy food,
although he probably
used it to buy meth.
We think
we know
these 12 people were homeless.
Unhoused.
Point is, they were hunted.
Preyed upon.
But not prayed for.
The craven mind behind this,
touched by genius, for sure.
This Grotesquerie.
Lois?
What are you going to do now?
Me?
Sister, I am going to go home
and drink.
Yeah.
♪
♪
Every time I show up
to one of these murders.
I end up bathed in invisible blood.
And I can't get it out.
[SCREAM]
I'm as doomed as you are.
The desires of the flesh
come not from the father.
But from this world.
[WHIP CRACK]
This is the end of time.
This case that you're on.
It's as if this killer
were an atomic bomb.
He is.
Don't do this to yourself.
You're going to regret it.
These murders are parables.
He's playing with us.
He's a prophet.
Trumpeting the coming of the end.
Want me to plug in the nightlight?
So you're not scared in the dark?
[GUN SHOT]
Go!
[GLASS SHATTERS]
This is someone who knows me.