Dear Child (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

1
COPYWRITER
You've already done quite well.
Background in advertising psychology,
then worked as a copywriter.
The texts are really great.
Witty, creative, emotional,
with strong storytelling.
I've been involved in several campaigns,
including in a lead position
as senior creative.
I saw that.
It makes me wonder,
isn't this job as a concept developer
a bit beneath you?
In terms of salary as well?
You can just promote me quickly.
OMEDIA
ADVERTISING AGENCY LLC
-That went great.
-Yeah, you think?
You'll get the call tomorrow.
DEAR CHILD
RULES
Are you excited, Lena?
-Hello, Dad.
-Hey.
I'm almost done.
How are you today?
Good.
-Let me do it.
-No, I can do it. I can
You have to be strong now, Lena.
You've almost made it.
-Ms. Grass.
-Morning.
I've already told you that I think
a discharge after 14 days is premature.
You should stay a while longer.
I'm feeling much better already.
Then please promise me
you'll keep your therapy appointments.
My colleague in Düsseldorf
is really excellent.
Eva says hello.
So do the twins. They have chickenpox.
Otherwise, Eva would have come too.
And Kai says hello.
Kai who?
-He was beside himself when he heard
-Oh, poor guy.
If he hadn't been screwing his ex
for almost a year, then I wouldn't be
then none of this would have
It's not Kai's fault.
Kai is just
simply an asshole.
Are you sure you don't want
to come back? To Freiburg?
What will I do there?
What will you do here?
You don't know anyone. You have no job.
Your apartment
isn't even properly furnished yet.
-You could stay with us
-It's fine, Dad.
I always wanted to leave Freiburg.
The industry is much bigger here.
I have a lot more opportunities.
And I had already landed a job.
Think about it, Jassy.
Yesterday's paper said there was
another woman in captivity before you.
-Lina Beck.
-Lena.
Her name is Lena.
-And the two children
-I told you I don't want to talk about it.
-Hello.
-Hey.
Just like the one in the house.
Yes.
Where is she?
It's not far from here.
Hello, Mr. Bühling.
What about the rest of her?
Probably wild boars.
That's what the forest ranger said.
He informed us
because he noticed the sinkhole here.
It was an accidental find.
There are traces of a whole pack of them.
Thank you.
As we've learned from inside sources,
the police have found a body
that is possibly connected
to the kidnapping case of Jasmin G.
It could be the remains of Lena Beck,
the university student who disappeared
13 years ago without a trace.
Despite a nationwide search
Karin?
You found her?
Shit.
I heard on the radio.
We have to wait for the examination. I
Please, as soon as I know something
I'll be in touch.
Shall we eat together?
I could cook us something.
Dad, you still have
more than a five-hour drive ahead of you.
Sorry about just now, that I
It's all right.
The fridge is full.
I aired out the place.
Here.
For the building door,
three for the apartment door.
The locksmith said
that the lock is absolutely burglar-proof.
And I left a new phone on your table.
Thanks.
-Ms. Grass?
-Yes.
Bujevic, Düsseldorf Police.
I just wanted to let you know
that we're nearby for now, okay?
Jassy, really, if you like,
I can stay for a couple of days.
Dad, everything's all right.
Don't worry, okay?
I will be fine.
Say hi to everyone from me, yeah?
What are you doing this for, Lena?
There's no point.
He is always with you.
Today, the police have found
a female body in the adjacent forest.
The deceased is presumed to be Lena Beck.
The university student
disappeared without a trace 13 years ago,
in the Düsseldorf area after a party.
At the time, the case had triggered
a nationwide search
I was just on the phone with Gerd.
They don't know yet if it's really Lena.
I think it is her.
This is just beyond the pale.
We learn from the news,
from the news,
that our daughter has been found!
Whoops.
The media knows.
Of course.
We find Lena, and her parents
hear about it from the radio.
-We don't even know if it's Lena yet.
-Who else would it be?
Here.
The man from the house.
That's what he probably looked like.
Colleagues did their best. It wasn't easy,
given how badly messed up he was.
Can't hold it against Ms. Grass.
If it was Ms. Grass.
I mean, so far she still denies it.
A blackout.
Or maybe the dead man's
accomplices after all?
I still don't believe
there were multiple perpetrators.
And even if there were, why would
they leave the body in the house?
To give us a culprit.
So we don't keep looking.
That's why he was so messed up,
so it'll take us a good long while
to find out who he is.
And it's worked.
They don't take Jonathan,
a possible witness, with them?
That makes no sense at all.
Because they didn't know what to do
with the child.
ACCEPT CALL
Because it would draw attention
if he suddenly had a small boy with him.
I still don't understand
why Jonathan didn't escape too.
-And don't say it again
-Because he's too scared, yes.
Jonathan has never been outside.
And Hannah?
Hannah is Hannah.
Next time, I would answer, by the way.
I'm talking from experience.
See you.
See you.
You're doing so well.
Great job, Hannah.
Okay, Jonathan, your turn.
Come on, don't be scared.
Very good, Hannah.
Come on, we'll go together.
Come on now!
Hannah, easy.
If you don't make an effort, you can't
come home when Dad comes to get us.
Then you're going to stay here forever.
It's all right, Jonathan. It's all right.
Hey, I'm here.
It's okay.
I did everything right.
I remembered everything exactly.
I'm a big girl.
All right.
I'll wake you up for dinner, okay?
Hannah.
Nurse Ruth!
Hello, my darling.
I brought you something.
A gift?
Fairy Tales from the 1001 Nights.
Thank you.
Do you like it?
I won't know until I've read it.
That's true.
Shall we go outside
and read a bit of it together?
Look.
A gift.
Has your grandpa been to see you yet?
He comes to visit me every day.
Except today.
And soon he'll take me home.
Oh, that's great.
Is Jonathan coming too?
No, just me.
I'm his favorite child.
Say, Hannah,
who did you show the book to just then?
Dad.
Is he watching through the camera?
That way, he can ensure
that we follow the rules.
Rules are important.
If you follow them, everything's fine.
If you don't follow them,
you have to be punished.
See you, little Goliath.
See you, Nurse Ruth.
This is Küppers.
I'd like to speak to Ms. Aida Kurt.
This isn't Lena Beck's skull.
It belongs to another woman.
However,
I checked the DNA
of the hairs in the hair tie.
Two of them were from Lena Beck.
So the hair tie
previously belonged to Lena Beck?
Yes, possibly.
The woman died about 15 months ago.
Fifteen months ago?
Jasmin Grass was kidnapped
five and a half months ago.
Meaning almost ten months unaccounted for.
Who took care of the children
and played Mommy during this time?
What if there are other women?
Other than Lena and Jasmin Grass
and the skull?
We need to check the entire database.
Starting with all the young missing women
in a 100-kilometer radius.
Slim build, at least 1,70 meters.
Hair color doesn't matter.
Long hair is important.
-Light eyes.
-Disappeared in the last five, six years.
Why in the last five to six years?
The children lived with Lena long enough
to remember her stories.
Grandfather, the garden,
the Eiffel Tower, all of that is Lena.
You are too close to it all.
If we're to continue working together,
I need to know I can count on you.
Here.
A friend of mine
had the same ones prescribed to her.
It's a shitty disease.
So, this woman was also in that house,
or what does it mean?
Very likely after Lena, as
as a replacement.
Before Ms. Grass.
As a replacement for Lena.
That means Lena is dead.
Right?
That's what it means.
And the perpetrator?
Do you at least know who he is yet?
So far, there has been no match
for the dead man's DNA.
What does Grass say?
She lived with him five months.
She must know something!
Ms. Grass is in treatment.
She's severely traumatized.
If we push her now, it will only backfire.
-So once again, you have nothing!
-We have evidence
You have two strands in a hair tie!
What are you doing anyway?
What do you think
we've been doing all this time?
We formed a new special task force
14 days ago.
Guess what it's called.
The forensics department
is still working at full speed.
Nationwide inquiries are being made
about missing males.
We're checking car repair shops
and scrapyards in North Rhine-Westphalia
for the accident car.
We have questioned 53 people
who would theoretically have had access
to the military site.
German armed forces, NATO staff,
even the technical director
of the city of Aachen. Nothing.
The security firm that was responsible
for securing the site perimeter,
not one of the 36 guards who worked there
for the past 13 years noticed anything.
Is that enough?
Here.
I brought pictures.
Of the dead man in the house.
He must have looked something like this.
Here he was made to look 13 years younger.
A few different hairstyles, beards.
Have you ever seen him before?
One of Lena's friends?
No.
Want me to do something
about the press in front of the house?
The less they see of you,
the faster they'll leave.
Karin, I
I really thought we had found her.
Lena.
Lena, open your eyes.
I know that you're awake.
I'm hungry.
I know.
When will Dad be back?
I'm sure he'll be here soon.
-He's forgotten about us!
-No, he hasn't!
-You can't know that!
-No fighting.
Look at what I have.
We'll share it now, okay?
And what about you, Mom?
I'm stuffed.
-Have you guys packed yet?
-Are we going on a trip, Mom?
Oh, yes! On the plane!
Everyone, please fasten your seatbelts.
On behalf of Capt. Goliath,
I would like to welcome you
on our flight to the Paradise Islands.
We're taking off and are pressed deep
into our leather seats.
We're flying higher and higher.
Reaching 20,000 feet, and suddenly
we're floating.
I'm flying.
I see the sun.
The sky is bright blue.
And the clouds are glowing light pink.
And in the far distance,
the pilot can already make out
an island
in the endless sea.
Paradise Island.
With giant palm trees.
Exactly.
I've been up all night thinking.
I've never seen him before either.
Are you going back to the office
on Monday?
I took time off.
What?
Everyone understood. Stefan will take over
my clients for the next few weeks.
Work does you good. You know that.
What are your plans for today?
First, finish painting the dollhouse,
then visit Hannah.
Are you coming with me?
She'd surely be happy
if her grandma came to visit for once too.
Please come.
You need to get to know each other
before she comes here.
Comes here?
For two or three days,
so she gets used to us. Then
I can't do that.
She's Lena's daughter.
Yes, exactly.
She'll remind us every day
of what happened to Lena.
Nobody needs to remind me of that.
It won't work, Matthias.
I can't do it.
I can't bear to see the child.
Lena would want it this way.
I don't need to see your hands.
I trust you.
And if they're dirty, that's okay too.
Hello, Hannah.
Have you found Miss Tinky?
Not yet, unfortunately.
Hello, Jonathan.
Remember me?
I'm Aida.
Hannah.
This man
is he your dad?
Yes.
And this man?
Is he a friend of Dad's?
That's also Dad.
And him?
Dad.
So, you have multiple dads, yeah?
Dad is Dad.
The woman who had the accident,
her real name is Jasmin.
-It's a pretty name, isn't it?
-I like Lena better.
I see.
Were you ever alone for a while?
Without a mom?
Yes?
And for how long?
Eight breakfasts.
Then Mom was back again.
When I think of Mom,
I know that I love her.
Because I feel warm then.
Love, it's something similar to happiness.
A feeling that's warm.
And when I think of Nurse Ruth,
I feel warm too.
Ms. Küppers?
Ms. Grass?
Who is it?
It's me. Ms. Hardert from next door.
I'll leave some groceries
at the door, okay?
Thanks.
How much do I owe you?
Nothing at all. Your father already
dropped an envelope in my mailbox,
with a shopping list and money.
Get well soon.
If you scream, I will kill you.
If you don't do exactly as I say,
I will kill you.
If you think the wrong thing,
I'll kill you. Those are the rules, Lena.
UV rays are electromagnetic waves
whose wavelengths lie
beyond the violet limit
of the visible light spectrum.
Very good.
And lastly, the ears. May I?
Tell me, Hannah,
your mom,
she always used to tell you
lots of stories.
-Didn't she?
-Yes.
Did she ever tell you about me as well?
About Grandpa Matthias?
What did she say?
She said that her dad
is the greatest grandpa there is.
And Grandma is the best grandma.
And that both of them
live in a beautiful house.
With a garden.
And a swing.
And that there are lots of books there.
Looks like a domestic accident.
Fell off the ladder while changing a bulb.
But?
She had called the station yesterday.
And the colleague said
she sounded really worried.
And nobody asked the woman
why she was calling?
She wanted to talk to me.
I couldn't reach her.
That's why I came here.
Ms. Hardert?
Hello?
Ms. Grass, sorry to disturb you.
It's Bühling here.
I need to speak to you for a moment.
It won't take long, I promise.
Hello.
May I come in?
How are you doing?
Are you holding up well?
I'm okay.
I'm doing well.
I'm glad to hear that.
This suits you much better.
Keep to the rules, Lena.
A neighbor went shopping for me.
I told you
that I'd be checking in on you daily.
-I thought that would be via phone.
-You already have a new cell phone?
I can give you the number.
The man, it was always the same one?
And there were no other men?
Like I said, it was always the same one.
Did he ever talk about friends?
About accomplices?
No. No matter how many times you ask me.
-And about other women?
-What?
Did the children or he
ever talk about other women?
There was only Lena.
Yeah, we have a facial reconstruction.
Well, in as much
as it was possible anyway.
Do you recognize him?
Remember, Lena.
You know what happened.
Stop!
Can you hear me?
My God. I'll call an ambulance. Yeah?
I'll call an ambulance, okay?
Ms. Grass?
Ms. Grass?
You don't have to be afraid.
The prosecutor's office
won't investigate you.
By now, they consider it
a definite case of self-defense.
But
do you recognize him?
You know what to do.
Ms. Grass?
Tell him, Lena!
Yes.
I recognize him.
Well done.
All right.
These things
working through them,
processing them,
that takes time.
Do you finally get it, Lena?
There's only us.
We are a family.
Someone is going to be very excited.
Should I wrap them as a gift?
No need. Thank you.