American Gothic (2016) s01e04 Episode Script

1 Previously on American Gothic BRADY: That is the belt that was used to strangle David Morales and is Cam wearing it.
You got to get Cam to reconsider giving his DNA.
I told you, it's a no.
BRADY: I need you to test one of these hairs against the blood on the SBK belt.
You betrayed my trust.
ALISON: People were transported to the hospital.
Tell me Hawthorne Concrete didn't supply that part of the tunnel.
MARGARET: I've decided to sell.
ALISON: Tom.
You bought Hawthorne Concrete.
ALISON: This is Naomi.
My new campaign manager.
TESSA: It does feel like the killer could be someone close to us.
Yeah, my father was a victim of the Silver Bells Killer.
MARGARET: Gunther Holzmann had access to both the belt and the work site.
(both screaming) (creaking) (phone ringing, buzzing) (sighs) Can you see who that is? (ringing continues) - It's your mother.
- (moans) (both panting) (ringing continues) Ignore her.
No, I have to take that.
(sighs) Hey, Mom, what's up? Oh, my God.
Okay.
Right.
Sure.
I'm on my way.
(sighs) Untie me.
(indistinct radio transmissions) Deceased is Gunther Holzmann, 53.
Hung himself with an electrical cord.
Left a note, "I'm sorry" And you think he's the Silver Bells Killer? Yes, sir, I do.
Lieutenant, I'm happy to take the lead on this, given Detective Ross' conflict of interest.
Gunther was the Hawthorne's landscaper.
He was the handyman and groundskeeper, actually, sir.
Worked here for nearly 18 years.
Well, 20, to be exact.
If I may, Lieutenant? My connection here is not so much a conflict of interest, as a useful source of information.
In fact, I found this photo in the Hawthorne house.
- When did you - The belt is clearly the same one that SBK used to murder David Morales.
They found it in a bag of clothes the family gave to Goodwill.
Gunther was the guy who took it there.
But not before he liberated the belt.
According to one employee here, he secretly hated rich people.
All smiles to the family, but apparently in private, Gunther could get pretty worked up about the one percent.
And he killed himself because Well, SBK case is back in the news, he would've known that eventually we could trace the belt from the tunnel back to him.
My guess, he sensed we were closing in.
Took the easy way out.
No press.
No word about this at all until we're 100% sure.
Yeah, absolutely.
Oh, sure.
When the Hawthornes have some guy kill himself, a zillion cops show up.
But when my cat gets his tail cut off, I get the runaround.
It's all yours, Cutter.
(indistinct radio transmissions, car door closes) We should tell the police about the bells.
Tessa It's obvious now why they were in the shed.
They were Gunther's, they weren't Dad's.
We've got to tell the police.
Absolutely not.
What? Why? Tessa, the bells are gone.
I had Gunther get rid of them.
- Well, you didn't know.
- I didn't know what? That there was a Silver Bells Killer on the loose? Of course I did, the whole world did.
Now, at the very least, I'm guilty of destroying evidence.
At the worst who knows what the police might think.
ALISON: I talked to the cops.
You found him just hanging? Yeah.
Oh, my God.
Are you both okay? (sighs) Okay.
At least there's no press around.
There probably won't be until the police decide to make a formal announcement.
- (scoffs) - Tessa thinks that we should tell the police about the bells - from the shed.
- What? No, no way.
There is no reason to drag us deeper into this mess when the killer is dead.
I mean, who knows what the cops no.
No.
It's nothing personal to Brady.
But who's to say his loyalty lies with us and not the case? You're right.
I won't say a word.
- (printer beeps) - Oh, not again.
No, no, no, no, no, no! - (door closes) - Hey.
I just got this voice mail from Tessa saying that our groundskeeper was the Silver Bells Killer.
What? Yeah, I mean it's insane.
I The guy used to chaperone us on school trips when our parents were away.
I mean, it's it's just Hey.
At least you're not a suspect anymore.
That's good news.
You're right.
I'm no longer a suspected serial killer.
So how do we celebrate such an occasion? Should we go out for brunch? Jack's at science camp all weekend.
(rock music plays) Oh (both sniffing) (both moaning) (slurping sound) (sighs) Don't you miss this? (winces) Ow.
(sighs) Oh, morning.
Ta-da.
I have to get to school.
Tess, wait, wait, wait.
(sighs) Look, you said no DNA tests on the family, and I should've respected that, instead of doing what I did.
You know what? I can't undo it.
But, look, we got SBK.
It's over now, so wouldn't it be great if our fight was over as well? All I can do is apologize and tell you that I will never betray you like that again.
From now on, no secrets between us.
Okay? I really have to go.
(door creaks open, closes) Hey, Mom.
Mrs.
Hawthorne, hello.
What's the strategy for this latest problem? I was just telling Alison that the Gunther issue - might actually be a - No, not Gunther.
(sighs) Could you give us a moment, please? For goodness sake, Alison, check your Google alerts.
Do you remember the woman who was injured in the tunnel collapse? She lost her foot? and so today I have filed suit against the state of Massachusetts, the city, and Hawthorne Concrete of Boston.
They are all responsible for what happened to me and must be made accountable - for their actions.
- Okay, so the company is getting sued.
If a tunnel collapsed and chopped off my foot, I'd be suing everybody, too.
You are not appreciating the gravity of this situation.
The company isn't liable.
I read the NTSB report.
The collapse wasn't caused by the concrete, it was the bolt anchors.
Yes, but a lawsuit means discovery.
And discovery means turning over old records and files.
Do you remember when I told you I was glad to sell because of certain skeletons? We could be liable for millions.
The company could go under, and I don't think I need to explain to you about the effect this would have on your campaign.
Now, granted, this is a larger problem for the new owners, - but neverthe - Unbelievable.
Tom is the new owner.
Excuse me? Those Moscow investors that bought the company, Tom put the deal together.
Tom is now the owner of Hawthorne Concrete.
Oh, my God.
What do we do? Make this lawsuit go away.
I own the company now, I didn't own it then.
No, my father owned it then, and if you hadn't stepped in to buy it behind my back, some massive conglomerate would have scooped it up, and this whole mess would have been their problem, not ours.
Let's get this over with.
(sighs) (chuckles softly) Ms.
Tyler what happened to you was awful.
There's no denying that.
It was a horrible accident.
Um, you've suffered bodily injury and loss of mobility.
Uh-huh.
Now, we know in situations like this, the injured party will file suit against, well, - everybody.
- But I can assure you, as the new CEO of Hawthorne Concrete that my company was in no way responsible for what happened to you.
Uh-huh.
ALISON: That being said, we're prepared to offer you as a well, as a sort of gift The sum of $200,000.
What?! - That was not the plan.
- Not your plan.
We agreed not to try to low-ball her.
You agreed, I didn't want to give her anything! - Eva, I'm so sorry.
- 200 grand.
Take it or leave it.
Wait, wait, wait.
Let's just stay calm here.
We were prepared to offer you $500,000, but you know what? Let's make it a million dollars.
Contingent on your dropping the lawsuit.
(chuckles) Wow, look at that.
A little play, right in my living room.
Bad cop and blonde cop.
Listen, idiots.
I lost my foot, not my brain, so here's how it's gonna be.
I'll drop the lawsuit today, in return for $15 million.
Or you can just give me my foot back.
She's savvier than we guessed.
- What's Plan B? - (sighs) (phones ringing) It's 3:15.
Okay.
I have an appointment with you.
Since when? Since last night at the Hawthorne place, when you and a zillion cops came over to investigate after Gunther hung himself.
Why? To figure out who did it? The dead guy did it.
He killed himself.
I solved the case, make me a detective.
Okay, ma'am Never mind that, look, I talked to that lady cop, and I was telling her about Caramel.
She said to come here at 3:15 today and talk to Detective Ross.
She promised you'd help me.
Great.
Uh, great, why don't you take a seat? ("Shave and a Haircut" knocking at door) (vigorous knocking) Where's Sophie? Hey, man.
Uh Who the hell are you? I'm Link.
Like from Zelda? I sell dope to that little fiend.
No, let me correct myself.
It's only really selling when the other person pays for it, right? Look, man, I have no idea what you're talking about.
I'm talking about the four grand she owes me.
Four grand? Yeah, four grand.
You got four grand? Uh, no, not on me.
Right.
Oh.
Hey, hey, look, man, I really think you should leave.
Yeah? Yeah.
Okay.
Whatever you say, man.
Now you tell that little bitch I want my money by tomorrow night.
(groans) PHYLLIS: Can you imagine the pain? His tail was cut off and then sewn back on, and the Hawthornes did it.
Why? Why would they do that? (sighs) They've always been after my cats.
Before Caramel, they almost took out poor Toblerone.
That idiot Gunther may he rest in peace while he's rotting in hell nearly ran over him on his stupid bicycle back in June '99.
Luckily, Gunther veered off and hit a curb.
The paramedics made such a fuss over him, rushing him off to Fisher Hill.
Never once thought to ask, "Hey, is the cat traumatized? What about the cat?" Hmm.
Gunther was out of commission for a few months.
The Hawthornes had to hire a new gardener.
Killed all their hydrangeas.
I'm sorry, ma'am, you'll have to wrap this up.
But I'm not finished.
There was also a recent incident of denture theft.
Yeah, well, we'll have to deal with that another day.
(scoffs) Oh, you're supposed to protect and serve? Well, you're doing neither.
You're giving me the shaft.
What is it? We have to get to Fisher Hill Hospital right now.
- Why? - Because you might have been wrong.
Gunther may not be our killer.
We're in trouble, aren't we? Definitely seeing a pattern here.
Contractor complains that the concrete isn't up to code, cash withdrawal from Hawthorne's business account, contractor complaint withdrawn.
Doesn't take a genius to figure out what's going on, does it? No, and that's the fourth payoff we've found.
Way to do us proud, Dad.
Yeah, I need a change of pace.
(sighs) Safety inspection reports, what a breath of fresh air.
You know, we need to fix this.
If the business is exposed as dirty, both the company and my campaign will circle the drain.
Look at this.
It's a safety inspection report, signing off on the exact area where the collapse happened.
So what? So look who signed it.
(chuckles) Remember the good old days, before you were a corrupt mayor, when you were just a corrupt public safety inspector? You signed off on the tunnel that collapsed and injured Eva Tyler.
The woman who's suing us, and soon, you.
So let's work together to shut her down.
We both have oppo research teams.
Why don't we train them on her, instead of each other? I don't love the idea of teaming up with you.
Oh, it's mutual, but play this out in your head.
We'd both be screwed.
If I'm going down, so are you.
(sighs) I've told him a hundred times I'm gonna pay him.
Yeah, paying him and telling him is not the same thing, Soph.
- Ow.
- Sorry.
Sorry, sorry.
- Ow.
- Sorry.
Come here.
(groans) How you feeling? Like I just got the crap kicked out of me.
You really owe that guy four grand?! Look, it's my problem I'll take care of it.
Sophie, where are you gonna get $4,000? (groaning) I'll find it.
No.
I'll get it.
Okay? I'll get it, and I'll pay that son of a bitch, and then I don't want you going near him again, okay? You understand? I think I've got some Hydro in my bag.
You want it? Yes, please.
Hey, Mom.
Hey.
You know, in all the years we've lived in this house, I don't think I ever remember sitting on the stairs.
So, you gonna tell me what's going on, or do I have to drag it out of you? I don't think I want to have a baby anymore.
Okay.
I mean I do, of course, in theory, want to have a baby.
But what Brady did and his betrayal, I don't know.
I'm (crying): just having major cold feet.
And I miss Dad.
Oh.
I know how much you loved your father.
I used to love just watching you look at him.
You could see it in your eyes, you thought he was perfect.
He wasn't.
But I loved him.
You know, if you wait until everything is perfect to have a family, then you never will, and there's nothing more important than family.
Nothing.
So give me my grandchild.
(chuckles) I mean, the twins are precious and Jack is fascinating.
(laughs) But I want a little you.
Maybe we could sit on the steps again sometime.
No, this was it for me.
(laughter) - Another one? - I'm good.
Thanks.
(phone chimes) I ain't gonna tell you Where I hold my sanctuary And the places I like to go CHRISTINA: How much is this? BARTENDER: Five bucks.
Doesn't come in a gold tractor You put up your shopping mall I've got plenty of reasons To look, girl I've got Sap overflowing from the tree But when you talk about cutting them down So I fix your hand up and you're not gonna come over and say hello? Or are you just stalking me and hoping I wouldn't notice? Exactly.
Come on, do you want to see a doctor smoke a cigarette? Come.
Don't like the daze You can find someplace else If you don't like the daze You can find someplace else (lighter flicks) (inhales sharply) So what was making you so happy? In the bar? You're an observant stalker.
What do you care? What? What do you care what makes me happy? I'm a stranger.
No, you're not.
I mean, you saved my life.
Right.
I think I did a spectacular job here.
Even though I was a little distracted.
Why? You know, I'm the doctor, and you're the patient, and ethics.
I just found out that they got my father's killer.
He's dead.
There you have it, the source of my happiness is death.
How twisted is that? No judgment here.
I figure I'll come out and celebrate with the basics.
Some alcohol, cigarettes anything else that presents itself.
(belt jangling) (unzipping) (moaning) Sorry it took so long for me to process your request.
Lot of records for Mr.
Holzmann.
Here it is.
Gunther Holzmann, admitted June 18, 1999.
Discharged six days later.
Got out of his upper body cast after nine weeks.
Continued rehab into the fall.
(sighs) - Nine weeks.
- We got the wrong guy.
You can't strangle someone when you're in a body cast.
Was there anything else? Sorry, why are there so many medical records for Mr.
Holzmann? He'd been in quite a bit because of his condition.
And what condition is that? Mr.
Holzmann had lung cancer.
Diagnosed three years ago.
He probably only had a few months left.
(both sigh) - Thanks.
- Thank you.
(sighs) Well, maybe that explains why he killed himself, but I mean, the note? "I'm sorry"" You know what I think? I think we should look into his family, his finances, see if there's been an influx of cash.
Why? All right, this is weird, and it's a long shot, but what if somebody convinced Gunther to take the fall for this? I mean, he's dying already.
Somebody had enough money to talk him into it.
- "Somebody" being the real SBK.
- Yeah, exactly.
Well, that means the Silver Bells Killer is still out there.
Yeah, and we're looking for someone rich.
Well, you look awful.
Thanks, man.
What happened? (groans) I got into a scuffle.
You all right? Yeah, except I need to get four grand from Mom.
And of course she'll think it's for drugs.
- Is it? - No.
It's drugs adjacent.
Drug debt.
Sophie's debt.
Of course, I can't tell her that, so I'll spin some yarn about why I need it.
About 30, 40% chance she'll buy it.
Stick around be a real nail-biter.
You look awful.
That's what I hear.
- What on earth - GARRETT: Mom, I need $4,000.
- Wh-Why? - Doesn't matter why.
I haven't asked you for anything in 14 years.
(sighs softly) Why don't you just take it out of whatever the old man left me in the will.
(sighs) Make it out to cash.
Are you at least gonna tell me what it's for? It's for Cam.
Be smart.
Ow.
Thanks, man.
I'm taking this, too.
I'm taking this, too.
(sighs) Hey.
Listen, um, I've been thinking, I just want to clear the air, okay? You know, you apologized, and I forgive you.
So let's just move on.
Uh, yeah, yeah, done.
And I say we go back to trying to start a family.
Tonight.
T Okay, great.
Uh, is it the right time, or, you know, whatever? No, but I think we should do it anyway.
You know, just to keep our skills up.
(chuckles) All right, if you insist.
I love you big.
Love you big.
This is nice.
Yeah.
I never knew this place was here.
How long have you lived in Boston? All my life.
On and off.
- You? - I moved here with my father when I was six.
Mm-hmm.
My mother died when I was a baby.
I'm sorry.
Thank you, but I don't know, it's not, it's not sad for me.
I mean, I didn't know her.
My father That was sad.
Yeah.
It almost destroyed me.
You know, it probably had nothing to do with you.
What do you mean? Well, the killer He probably wasn't thinking about collateral damage.
Never crossed his mind that a 16-year-old was gonna wake up Sunday morning, head downstairs for breakfast, and You found him? Yeah.
Yeah.
I don't want to talk about it.
You do the talking.
Uh, about what? I don't know, your baggage? I know you have it.
It's written all over your face.
(sighs) I'll get it out of you eventually.
I will.
Well, this is unexpected.
Aren't you two competitors? Oh, we can always reach across the aisle for the right cause.
How is your your injury? It hurts more than I can say.
Although when it comes time to tell the jury, I'll find the words.
(chuckles) We're prepared to offer you one million dollars today - to drop the lawsuit.
- (scoffs) See you in court.
Hold on.
Hear us out, sweetheart.
Oh, I can't wait till you're not mayor anymore.
Not that I'm a big fan of yours, Blondie.
- (soft chuckling) - See, we've discovered - a very, um, lively video.
- Mm.
(slurred): Happy Birthday, Lizzie, you whore! Mwah! Mm, what's the difference between Lizzie and a whore? (laughing): Oh, wait, I forgot my joke.
(laughter) Love you, Lizzie! (video stops) Where did you get that? The Cloud, it rained.
When that video was recorded, you were on probation for a DUI.
And one of the conditions of your probation was absolutely no alcohol.
CONLEY: And in that regard, the video speaks for itself.
So if you move forward with this lawsuit, your probation officer gets that video.
And you could end up in jail, Eva.
Which is not a comfortable place for people with two feet.
Oh, my God.
So I get nothing? I lost my foot.
The offer of a million dollars still stands, but you have to drop the lawsuit today, and you also have to do one more thing.
therefore, I am dropping my lawsuit, and I am very, very grateful to Mayor Conley, Alison Hawthorne-Price, and Hawthorne Concrete of Boston, for agreeing to do whatever it takes to ensure that something like this never happens again.
How much time do you have before your function tonight? I just came home to change.
Well, isn't the first step of changing (unzipping) .
.
taking off your clothes? (giggles) (giggles) What is this? Is this yours? No.
Whose is it? It's Naomi's.
Naomi was in here.
You had sex with her.
Yes.
In our bed.
Yes.
Tell me more.
(chuckles) Well, first, we started kissing at the edge of the bed.
Got some DNA news from Dana.
I know.
Gunther's not a match.
Back to square one.
(chuckles) A different DNA.
The full workup on the hair from your wife.
I got to say, I was surprised to hear she's Hispanic.
You wouldn't guess it looking at her.
What are you talking about? Hispanic female.
That's what the DNA showed.
Did you fake a DNA test to clear your wife's family? What? No! 'Cause it sure as hell looks that way.
(scoffs) Look, I just thought I'd give you a heads up before I told the lieutenant.
Cutter.
Cutter.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Come on, look.
There's obviously been some kind - of screw-up here, okay? - Hmm.
I know you don't like me, but you know that I wouldn't do something like this.
You've got to give me some time to figure this out.
30 minutes.
Then I see the lieutenant.
I need you to tell Linda that you screwed up the sample.
(scoffs) No way.
I don't screw up.
Look, she thinks I did this deliberately, to protect the Hawthornes, and I didn't do that.
- Just tell her the truth.
- I can't tell her the truth.
She's not gonna believe me if I tell her the truth, and that sounds like Like Tessa was covering for someone in her family? Yeah.
So I'm gonna lose my job or my marriage or both.
Dana, please.
Come on.
You got to help me out here.
My perfect record.
(sighs) Dana, what do you want me to say? You can have anything you want.
Just name it, okay? But I need you to go and tell Linda right now.
(groans) Two things.
One, if it turns out your wife is connected to Silver Bells, you've got to come clean and keep my name out of it.
You got it.
Second? A boat.
A boat? What kind? I'll let you know.
CONLEY: These are unreasonable demands.
But my opponent wants to keep coddling these unions, regardless of what it does to the economy.
Regardless of the effect it has on our city's job creators.
(laughter) Well, we're back to normal.
Oh.
You left this behind the other night.
Oh, my God.
Did Tom see this? Don't worry.
I got the money.
Oh, hey, man.
No, we're cool.
What do you mean? I mean, your girl came by, and we settled up.
Oh, Sophie gave you the money? I said we settled up.
I didn't say anything about money.
(groaning) SOPHIE: Would you relax? This is not a crisis.
I'm a very sexual person.
I saved us money.
You had sex with a guy to pay off drug debt.
And you don't think there's anything wrong with that? No.
God, Cam, when did you become so middle class? What is wrong with us? Are we delusional? Look at this place.
Look at us.
Look at our kid.
He's like us.
He's creative.
He's different.
He's demented! He stole dentures from the old lady down the street, and stuffed them into a disemboweled doll.
It's depraved.
And settling debt with sex is depraved.
Oh, yeah.
And I'm depraved thinking that this warped little family can even work.
Yeah.
Run! (sighing) I couldn't resist.
I made a lasagna.
Did you put someone else's hair in your brush? Did you put someone else's hair in your brush, Tess? I told you my family didn't want to give you a DNA sample, Brady, I told you that.
You were so mad at me for taking it, and you made me feel so guilty, and you planted - someone else's hair.
- Brady.
What else are you lying to me about, Tess? I'm not lying about anything.
I was testing you.
- You were testing me? - I was testing you.
And you failed.
- I failed? - You betrayed me.
What the hell is wrong with you? I've been trying to clear your family, because I thought they were all innocent.
They are innocent.
It was Gunther.
No, it wasn't Gunther! What-what do you mean? I mean that the DNA was not a match for Gunther.
I mean that Gunther was in the hospital during one of the murders.
I mean that he is not SBK! Okay, I was wrong.
I was wrong to put the hair on the hairbrush, but you were wrong to take it.
That is not the same thing.
What I did was not illegal, Tess.
What I did didn't interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation.
Let me tell you this.
I am gonna do my job.
And if Cam or Garrett, or anyone else in your family has anything to do with SBK I am gonna make sure that they go to prison.
(door slams) (knocking) Hey.
CHRISTINA: Thank you.
You're smilin' now I'll hold you in my arms Won't let nothing harm you Till morning comes You toss and you turn Dreams give you no peace Baby, what's going on? What tortured your soul? From who are you running? For what are you yearning? Ooh, is it pain That you're feeling?