Reckoning (2019) s01e02 Episode Script

SAM:
It's not too late to go back to Willmont.
You've been lobbying me and your Mom
to go to public school for two years, right?
I knew you didn't want me to.
-That would make you uncomfortable and a little
-Crazier than usual.
You gotta look at this as a new adventure.
You'll make friends in no time. I promise.
Is everybody gonna know
what I did at my old school or?
That's our secret. All right?
Oh, she's back! Jackie!
Think about that. How many weeks you get?
[♪♪♪]
SOSA: What's the latest on Gretchen McGrath?
Heard she had an itch to run away.
Well, just because she's a troubled kid
doesn't mean there isn't foul play.
RAMOS: Day one in this job
and I was already getting an earful
about Mike Serrato's obsession
with the Russian River Killer.
You're wasting your time.
These are cold, quiet too. Five years now.
-That thing comes off first appointment we can get.
-No.
Yes!
What's going on, Mike?
It's that missing girl, isn't it?
You think it might be him again.
ROOSTER: The darkness creeps back in
when you ain't looking.
You wanna kill the beast, not the rest.
[MAN GRUNTING
AND WOMAN SHRIEKS]
FATHER MORAN:
I wanna take a moment now to thank all of you
who prayed for the safe return
of local high school student Gretchen McGrath.
Our prayers were mercifully answered.
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]
[ALARM BEEPING]
[GRUNTS]
[BEEPING STOPS]
Candace?
Candace?
[KNOCKS ON DOOR]
Morning, pal. Hey, rise and shine.
[URINATING]
[TOILET FLUSHES]
[♪♪♪]
[GASPS]
[♪♪♪]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
MAN:
Detective Serrato.
There's plenty of bad guys out there
just looking for stupid girls like you.
If you were my daughter,
I'd shake some sense into you.
Lucky for me I'm not.
RAMOS:
You okay, boss?
Want me to take the lead on this?
[♪♪♪]
DR. BREWER:
Let's look at this as a positive sign, shall we?
The good news here is that you can get pregnant.
But my body rejected it before
I even knew I was pregnant.
Miscarriages are extremely common,
most often due to a chromosome abnormality.
Are you continuing to minimize
your caffeine intake?
Yes.
-What about your stress level?
-It-- It's fine.
Well
[STAMMERS]
She's been going through a lot lately.
My son recently came to live with us
and that's been challenging for her.
-So it's my fault I lost the baby?
-No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying.
Look, I don't see any reason why
you won't get pregnant again.
My advice?
Get back at it, and with a little good luck
I'll see you back here in a few months
all smiles and happy tears.
And then you pull me out of class
like I'm under arrest or something.
Yeah, we'll talk about it tonight. I told you.
I mean, I'd understand
if you told me Grandma Luna was dead
-or that Mom had been raped and pillaged by--
-Not funny, Sam.
Neither is no answer,
which just leaves me to think the obvious,
which is that you're just crazy.
Sorry.
You're making me go back
to Willmont, aren't you?
We'll talk about it later.
[PHONE RINGS]
-Yeah?
RAMOS: What the hell, boss?
I had to make a quick stop.
To pick up dry cleaning?
We have a body less than three hours old.
You need to talk to Sosa.
He's been crawling up my ass for half an hour.
Keep your pants on, Ramos. I'll be there.
[PHONE KEYPAD BEEPS]
I'm not gonna finesse this, Mike.
Somebody else should have been called.
That's bullshit.
I handed the case to Purcell and Lund.
I just wanted to let you know first.
Let me guess. My esteemed partner
told you it's the RRK.
She thumbs through the files a few days ago
and suddenly she's Sherlock-fucking-Holmes?
Are you saying it's not?
I'm saying it's too early to make that assessment,
so let me do my job.
It's my call.
-We need to keep you away from this, Mike.
-Or let Waller make that judgment.
-Waller?
-Now, can I get back to work?
Ahem. Sheriff Waller is here, chief.
-I can see that, Marcy.
-Randy. Mike.
Rachel.
Okay, you've got my attention.
Well, forgive my ignorance.
WALLER:
Mike left a message with my office,
said it looks like we've got
another victim of the RRK.
Feel free to tell me it was a prank call.
Well, we have a body,
but it's premature, right, Mike?
Personally, I don't think so.
I've seen all eight bodies.
His signature is precise, like most serial killers.
It's early, yes,
but there's some strong indication.
He's back.
Public response is not gonna be good.
Being an election year.
So you're concerned about my job, Mike.
Sweet of you.
I thought you were trying to ensure your own.
Well, what's important to remember here
is our unsub has a pattern.
Eight victims over 14 years,
but all of them came
in clusters of two and three,
meaning when this guy gets
the urge to drink, so to speak,
he's never satisfied with just one.
Why should I back you?
Why shouldn't I give this case to anyone but you?
MIKE: Because right now,
nobody understands him better than me.
And because I know you.
And I know you're not afraid of a gamble.
And what about John Ainsworth?
He's smarter than I gave him credit for.
Obviously wanted us to believe he was the RRK
and I let myself get enthralled.
But I took my leave.
And I spent my hours with Dr. Geller.
I'm sound, sheriff.
Can I get a minute, Randy?
[CLEARS THROAT]
[DOOR CLOSES]
How's the family?
[♪♪♪]
Good, yeah. Yours?
Everyone in one piece.
[SIGHS]
Most you can ask for.
-All right, Mike.
-Thank you, Rachel.
I I appreciate your confidence.
You're actually reading confidence from me?
Look, you're right, Mike.
I'm not afraid to take a gamble.
And whether I like it or not, you're my horse.
But you fuck this department over again
and I'll seriously fuck you back.
Now, you have a family to notify.
[DOOR OPENS]
[♪♪♪]
[INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE]
[DANCE MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]
LEO:
There you go. Stay on him!
Go for the underhook, Jason!
There you go. Stay on him, Travis.
Hey, Carter. Carter, Toby.
Hey, could I get you to do me a favor?
-What's up, coach?
-Pax is over there alone.
Any chance I could get you to?
Yeah.
-Just don't-- You know.
-Discretion.
Hey, Mr. D. What's your opinion?
Plastic utensils in school cafeteria this year?
One giant step for school safety.
One giant step for administrative idiocy.
-I'm sorry.
-It's all good.
Hey, Pax. Everything okay?
-Yeah.
-Yeah?
Did you have any trouble getting the bus?
-No.
-No?
-Is Candace all right?
-Yeah, yeah. She's fine.
It's like we said, stomach flu.
Hey, um
Let me show you something. Come here.
Come here.
-Are we allowed to be up here?
-No, not students.
But I'll vouch for you.
Do teachers come up here and smoke?
LEO:
Among other things.
A few years ago, a couple of teachers
who will go nameless got caught having sex.
Wow.
-Did they get in trouble?
-No, not really. Perks of tenure.
You know, those boys are decent guys,
Carter and Toby.
You made them sit with me?
-No. No, they wanted to.
-Only because you asked them to.
Kids just need to get to know you, Pax.
It's hard being the new guy,
no matter who you are.
Meaning especially
when you're a freak like me?
Why do you say things like that?
Look, buddy, I'm just concerned.
-I've got plenty of friends.
-Yeah, online, sure.
That's fine, but it's not the same.
You can't know for sure who somebody is online.
Yeah, but it beats knowing who they are.
I knew a ton of people at my old school
and I hated them all.
They were a bunch of fakes and liars and
It was vile.
[♪♪♪]
What were you gonna do with that gun?
I mean, bringing it to school
Did you wanna hurt someone?
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
Maybe I just wanted to show off.
I thought he'd think that I was cool.
Who?
He just went and told someone.
Fuck him.
MIKE: Do you have any idea
where Gretchen was last night?
Out.
MIKE: Do you know where?
Or if she was with anyone?
TORI:
I don't know.
She stopped telling me
those kinds of details years ago.
What about her father? Is he in the picture?
He sends a monthly check.
Other than that, he could care less.
RAMOS:
You'll contact him?
Well, can't you do it?
-Better coming from you.
-I doubt that.
You're her parents, no matter what.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
If you need anything, you just call me, okay?
Here's my card.
Don't hesitate.
[PHONE RINGING]
It's my son. Should I talk to him?
Yeah. Just ask him to come home.
You'll want to talk to him in person.
Oliver, hey. I'm glad you called.
I need you to come home right away.
I know you're in school.
Just go to the front office and tell them--
Because I said so.
Oliver, I will call the school and explain.
Please just come home as fast as you can.
[♪♪♪]
[TIRES SCREECHING ON TV]
[SIREN WAILING ON TV]
[WOMAN SCREAMS ON TV]
[TIRES SCREECHING, THEN CRASH ON TV]
It's Emilio, right?
-Are you and Tori, uh?
-Together? Yeah.
A while now.
Could you show me Gretchen's room?
It's down the hall. Second door on the left.
[♪♪♪]
EMILIO:
Talented girl.
Can't believe she's dead.
-Gretchen in AA?
-Sure.
When she wasn't drinking.
[GIRL SOBBING]
TEACHER:
to talk on the way here, okay?
If you want to talk
BOY:
Mr. Doyle?
I've written three essays for Stanford,
all of them exceptional.
I was thinking I could send all three.
I think it could impress them. What do you think?
I think you should let me be the judge
of what's exceptional and what's not, Eric.
But can we do this tomorrow?
I wanna find out what's going on first.
Oh, that girl is dead.
-What girl?
-Gretchen McGrath.
[♪♪♪]
What?
It's what I heard them say.
[SOBBING CONTINUES]
[PHONE BUZZING]
Hey, sweetie. Sorry I'm late. I'm--
Yeah, I'm on my way home now. Okay. Bye.
[♪♪♪]
[SIGHS]
Father Moran. What are you doing here?
I'm sorry about the baby.
Oh, it wasn't a baby. It was barely a fetus.
Well, I'm sorry nonetheless.
They're beautiful.
-Candace will be very happy you're home.
-Oh.
Yeah.
[HORNETS BUZZING]
Hey.
Listen.
Dr. Brewer is right.
This is a, uh
It's a good sign.
And when you're ready,
if you want
we'll try again.
She was a girl.
I feel it.
-I think we should give her a name.
-I don't think we should.
Our baby deserves a name.
Honey, it's only gonna make you feel worse.
Sometimes I think you're afraid to have a baby.
That's not true.
Maybe because you feel like
you've failed Paxton.
Honey, I never had a chance with Pax until now.
But I think it'd be different
with our baby for both of us.
A chance to love it more than any parent
has ever loved their baby before.
Listen, a few days ago, you were blaming yourself
for our fertility problems.
-Your wild past, the abortions.
-Self-pity.
If it's meant to be
[♪♪♪]
it'll happen. If not, that's okay too.
We agreed, remember?
Father Moran says God brought us together
to be the parents of a very special child.
[CANDACE BREATHES DEEPLY]
Okay. Come here. Come here.
[DOOR OPENS THEN CLOSES]
Leo. Is everything all right?
Please stop filling my wife's head with garbage.
She called me. I was only trying to be of comfort.
By offering false hope?
The Church is very important to Candace.
It's a foundation for her.
I thought you supported that, whatever
reservations or struggles you may have yourself.
Not when you make promises you can't keep.
Whatever you wanna call what you lost today,
Leo, it was still a loss.
-And you're angry, understandably.
-Yeah.
And I bet you've got the answers for me.
Some. Maybe.
Why don't you stop by Gretchen McGrath's house
and give her mother some answers?
God lost. The devil won.
And Gretchen no doubt saw his face
when he snuffed out her life.
[♪♪♪]
Hello?
Hello?
[MAGAZINE CLICKS]
[BRAD & PAIGE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
[♪♪♪]
[PAIGE CHUCKLES]
[PHONE KEYPAD BEEPING]
[LINE RINGING]
PAIGE: Hi, this is Paige Serrato.
Please leave me a message.
[BEEPS]
[TURN SIGNAL CLICKING]
[♪♪♪]
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven
When did you get home?
Where are the kids?
Jake is with Amanda picking up takeout and
Well, Sam is over at Caitlin's
getting her homework assignments
since she missed most of the day.
Our victim turned out to be
a student from the high school.
A senior.
Her body was found by the river.
You need to apologize to your daughter.
You embarrassed her and you scared her.
Doesn't any of this scare you, Paige?
A lot of things scare
the shit out of me at the moment, Mike.
Uh, I'll be down in a minute.
[♪♪♪]
We need to talk about you working this case.
Randy's taking me off it.
One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight.
One, two, three, four, five, six
[SIREN WAILING]
CABRERA: TOD between 3 and 3:30 a.m.
COD manual strangulation.
-Bruising, ecchymosis, hyoid fracture.
-Ecchymosis?
Extravasation of blood into subcutaneous tissue.
Awaiting toxicology results.
No major signs of struggle.
No signs of sexual assault.
The appearance of a tattoo
on right forearm, extracted.
Blade, clean, no serrations.
Inconclusive match with the RRK.
What are you talking about?
Inconclusive match.
How many times have we been here, Cabrera?
He chloroforms his victims,
-Awaiting toxicology results.
-strangles them, removes their tattoo.
Blade similar. Clean, no serrations.
Yet slight deviations appear.
MIKE: Yeah, but our guy's been dark for five years.
Blades age, dull.
CABRERA:
Incision lacks exact precision.
Once again, five years.
Our guy's older now, less steady.
Or changes to eyesight
or some new medication.
Or maybe he's messing with us.
The small inconsistencies are deliberate.
He wants us to know it's him, that's his signature,
but also to keep us on our toes.
He's back in the game
but wants to make it interesting.
You know how this works, Cabrera.
Your report dictates how this case is categorized.
What kind of attention it warrants.
This girl, she deserves the best we got.
TAFT: It is often hard
to find the right words at a time like this.
[♪♪♪]
Perhaps you will hear in the days to come
that death is a part of life.
It's true.
Yet it never makes the loss easier.
Or a tragedy like this any less tragic.
We will never forget our fellow student,
our friend.
Gretchen was a unique young woman.
Perhaps one day
one day soon
we will be able to let her life
be a reminder to all of us
to live each day to its fullest.
Grief counselors will be available
to students who feel the need to speak
DARREN: Anyone hear whether
she was sexually assaulted?
He never does that.
Sexually assaults his victims.
-Who?
-The Russian River Killer.
My sister-in-law works for the Canaan Courier.
They think it's him.
JOAN: I thought he stopped killing.
DARREN: Looks like he's started again.
TAFT:
I'd now like to ask for a few moments' silence
in honor and remembrance of Gretchen.
[SIGHS]
-Sorry for the ambush. Detective Ramos.
-Oh.
RAMOS:
This is my partner, Detective Serrato.
-Mike.
-Leo Doyle.
RAMOS: We've been talking
to Gretchen's teachers and close friends.
We just have a few questions.
Of course, please. Yeah, sit down. Yeah.
How well did you know Gretchen?
Uh, fairly well. Um
I mean, I know most of our seniors pretty well.
It's my job.
Uh, although I will say I was
I was extremely fond of Gretchen.
[PHONE BUZZING]
Oh, sorry.
[PHONE KEYPAD BEEPS]
You were fond of Gretchen.
Yes. Yes. Uh
We, um
We have fantastic students here,
but Gretchen was different than most.
She was restless, she had a fire in her.
I've seen that before, those sorts of qualities,
and it can translate into a kid
you know, doing something special with their life.
Did you know she was an alcoholic?
I heard she was working the program.
We were told you were encouraging her
to apply to art school?
CalArts. She was that good.
RAMOS:
Is that why you met with her recently?
Uh
Yeah. We were working on her application.
Reviewing her portfolio.
As you know, she went missing
for more than a week.
-Did she tell you where she'd been all that time?
-No.
She told us she met a guy up at Spring Lake.
Called himself a shaman.
She didn't mention him?
No, I didn't ask.
I was just glad she was back safe.
She was sketching a lot,
which I was pleased by.
Uh, feeling inspired.
MIKE:
Inspired? By what?
Uh, again, she didn't say.
By the experience, I guess? Reborn.
That's the word she used.
[PHONE BUZZING]
[SIGHS]
-Do you need to get that?
-No. No, it's my wife. I can call her back.
[CLEARS THROAT]
You were telling us that Gretchen felt reborn
after she returned to school.
You weren't curious for details?
I was just glad she was home,
doing a lot more new work.
[♪♪♪]
You were about to say something else.
Well, yeah, I was just gonna say, uh,
too much curiosity can sometimes be
a dangerous thing with teenage girls.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
GARY:
So after he raped our daughter, he stabbed her.
Then he took a shower, then drank a beer,
while my daughter slowly died.
And now the scumbag comes up
for parole. Fifteen years.
My daughter's dead, and he wants
his life back after 15 years.
So I showed up, made a stink,
fought for my daughter.
And he's not going anywhere.
I have a-- I have a question for you.
Oh.
-Leo, right?
-Uh-huh.
SUE: It's good to see you again.
Thanks for being here.
-But we don't really ask questions.
-No, it's fine. Go ahead.
Well, if he was here in this room
you know, the guy that took your daughter's life,
what would you do to him?
LINDA:
Personally
I'd kill the fucking monster.
[♪♪♪]
MIKE: I probably shouldn't have stormed
into your classroom like that,
but I had good reason at that moment.
A girl from your school
had just been found dead.
-The point is
-That you're sorry.
[♪♪♪]
I know. It's okay.
I just worry about you, sweetheart.
Maybe Mom could home-school me.
Oh, come on, that's not necessary.
I mean, it's not what you want, is it?
I don't mind.
You're just saying this for my benefit.
Come on, I want you to enjoy school.
Get out there, make friends,
have a normal experience.
It's just-- I know how scary the world can be.
Yeah, and that's why I follow the rules.
I don't drink or do drugs or have sex yet.
-Yet?
-Heh.
I'm boring.
No, no. You're fascinating.
AMANDA:
Were you on my computer?
-No.
-Amanda, come on.
Well, somebody was,
searching all kinds of disgusting porn.
-And you thought it was me?
MIKE: What? Wait.
-I'll be back.
-Okay. Don't worry.
Amanda!
AMANDA:
You pervert!
How many times do I have to tell you
to stay out of my room?
-Move!
PAIGE: What is going on?
Your son is turning into a complete degenerate.
MIKE: Let's not start accusing your brother
-Move!
of something you don't know he did.
Which one of you is into dolphin porn?
-Excuse me?
-Because it certainly isn't me.
-It's him.
MIKE: Hey, hey.
-Jake. Jake!
AMANDA: Ow!
-Jake!
MIKE: Jake!
-Hey, hey! Hey!
AMANDA: Ow! Ow!
PAIGE: Show me.
-Go to your room!
PAIGE: You're okay. You're okay.
AMANDA: Oh, my God!
PAIGE:
Sweetheart. Amanda, show me.
[AMANDA PANTING]
AMANDA:
Ow!
[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]
WOMAN [OVER PA]:
Paging Dr. Smith to Oncology.
We need to talk seriously
about finding the right school for him.
We're not sending our boy away, Paige.
So just don't
-He needs help. We need help.
-Forget it.
I'm not shirking my responsibility as a parent
and sticking my son in some mental institution.
PAIGE: A mental institution?
Come on, that is bullshit and you know it.
And don't talk to me about responsibilities
until you're the one
who organizes your work
around Jake's schedule
and shows up at the school every time they call,
which is once a week lately.
I just want him to have a normal life,
which is what I thought we both wanted.
And I am just facing the reality that
that might not be possible.
-So you're giving up on our son?
-Can I get you two to wait outside, please?
-No!
-Sorry.
It's okay, Daddy.
[SIGHS]
Right here.
[SIGHS]
Dolphin porn?
[BOTH SCOFF]
[PAIGE SIGHS]
Look, there's gonna be
a press conference tomorrow.
So Randy didn't take you off the case after all.
Yeah. No. He did, but it was Waller's decision.
-Right.
-I had no choice.
Of course not.
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
-Can we go home now?
-Yes.
[♪♪♪]
-You all right?
-Yeah, I'm fine.
Knock, knock.
[♪♪♪]
Why'd you do that, buddy?
You and your sister, you love each other.
She was just upset.
Maybe she shouldn't have said what she said,
or poked you like that
but that is no excuse.
You broke her finger.
And you hurt her.
In here.
Now, what if that hurt stays?
How's that gonna make you feel?
Okay.
I know how it is, buddy. I
It's like you've got this-- This monster inside.
And it's not happy.
So when you get angry,
you let this monster out.
But it can go crazy
and even hurt those you love.
So you have to talk to him.
[JAKE SNIFFLING]
And you have to tell him who's in charge
and you have to keep telling him.
Okay?
Because it's you.
You're in charge.
You're the boss, okay?
Not him.
Okay?
[INDISTINCT CHATTER ON TV]
Morning, hon.
It's good to see you up. You feeling better?
-Yeah, better.
-Mm.
[CHUCKLES]
-Is this cantaloupe ripe? I can't tell.
-I don't know.
Yeah, I think so.
-Can you cut it?
-Yeah.
-Good morning, pal.
-Good morning.
Smells good.
French toast. I hope you're hungry.
Should I set the table?
Mm. Yeah. That'd be nice. Thanks.
Hey, Pax, did I ever tell you
I used to wrestle in high school?
I wasn't very good, but it taught me discipline,
mental and physical,
not to mention it was fun as hell.
I was thinking maybe I could
show you some moves some time.
You might like it.
-Sure.
LEO: Great.
Um, how about this weekend?
Maybe we could find some time.
WOMAN [ON TV]:We're going to take you live
-Yeah.
to Moreno County Sheriff's Department
where a news conference
All right.
WALLER:
We have reason to believe
that Gretchen McGrath
is a victim of the Russian River Killer.
Let me caution, we are in
the nascent stages of our investigation
where we have questions
and very few answers,
[VOLUME INCREASES]
yet it was important for us to inform the public.
So to brief you further,
let me hand you over
to Detective Mike Serrato.
Good morning.
Uh, as some of you might know,
I have a history with this killer.
I'm just as frustrated as you are
that he has not been caught
and that he has taken the life
of another young woman
for his own selfish and sadistic reasons.
[♪♪♪]
Um, that he has destroyed another family
and remains living among us, feeling invincible.
But he is not invincible.
No monster is.
-Now I'll answer a few questions.
PAX: Dad. Dad?
Oh, Jesus.
Oh, um No, it's fine.
-Let me see.
-I'm okay.
[LEO SIGHS]
Heh, God, that was stupid!
There we go. It's okay.
[LEO SIGHS]
[♪♪♪]
[PANTING]
[♪♪♪]
Edgar? Edgar Harris, right?
Hey, hey. Don't worry. I'm a cop.
We talked before, remember?
When you found that phone.
Yeah.
You heard about that girl who was killed, right?
And I know you sleep here sometimes.
Maybe you saw something?
Maybe.
That's good, Edgar. That's good.
Did you see someone?
Who?
You.
No, I Like I said, I'm a cop.
-I was here just after they discovered the body.
-I saw you earlier.
You and that girl. When she was alive.
No, you're confused, Edgar. Uh
Maybe you were drinking, huh? Huh?
Do you like a drink, Edgar?
What do you say you and I
go for a drink right now?
I'm buying. Huh?
Hey!
[♪♪♪]
[♪♪♪]