Liebes Kind (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

1
[warm, optimistic music plays]
[sighs]
JASMIN GRASS
APPLICATION AS COPYWRITER
[woman] Your portfolio's impressive.
Background in advertising psychology,
extensive copywriting experience.
Your writing works for me.
Funny, creative, emotional,
with strong storytelling.
I've done lots of campaigns.
- Including a few as senior creative.
- Mmm, I saw that.
Which of course makes me wonder
if concept developer
isn't a bit of a step backwards for you?
And the salary too?
You can move me up fast. [chuckles]
Okay.
OMEDIA
ADVERTISING AGENCY LLC
[sighs]
- Hey.
- Hey.
- That was perfect.
- Yeah? You think?
- You'll get the call soon.
- I hope!
- [elevator chimes]
- [laughs]
Yeah, I see them other girls
But they ain't you ♪
In a world full of lies
But I stay true ♪
Head over heels, I blame you ♪
Take the rest off
But the heels to stay, too ♪
You love it when I'm playful ♪
Get excited, but I play it cool ♪
You never stress me
Even if I ain't cool ♪
'Cause you know
You know what I was made for ♪
- Hey ♪
- Hey ♪
It's all about you ♪
[music fades]
[muffled screaming]
[clock ticking]
[water dripping]
DEAR CHILD
RULES
[disquieting music plays]
- [Papa] Are you excited, Lena?
- [inhales]
[sighs]
- [knocking]
- [door opens]
- Hey there, Dad.
- Hey.
- [Jasmin] I'm almost done.
- [closing zip]
How are you feeling?
Good.
- [Ulrich] Let me help you. I'll do that.
- No, no, it's fine, I'm
[sighs]
[Papa] You have to be strong now, Lena.
You've almost made it.
- [knocking]
- [door opens]
- Jasmin.
- Good morning.
- [exhales]
- [Dr. Alexandridis] I've already told you
that I think a discharge
after 14 days is a bit premature.
You should stay a while longer.
Thanks, but I just want
to sleep in my own bed.
Your therapy is very important.
I'd like to be sure you'll keep attending.
This is for an excellent therapist
in Düsseldorf.
[car engine humming]
Eva says hi.
And the twins, but they have chickenpox,
which is why Eva couldn't come.
[sighs softly]
Kai sends wishes.
Kai who?
- He was such a mess when he heard
- [Jasmin] Oh, poor Kai.
If he hadn't been screwing his ex
for a year, then none of
none of this
It's not Kai's fault.
Kai is just a
an asshole.
Why don't you come home? To Freiburg?
- What would I do there?
- What'll you do here?
You have no friends or job.
Your apartment isn't really ready.
- You could stay with us for
- Please let it go, Dad.
I've always wanted to leave Freiburg.
There's better opportunities,
and the job market's bigger here.
Plus, I had landed a job.
I'm worried, Jassy.
[sighs]
Yesterday, I read that there was
another woman there before you.
A Lina Beck.
Lena.
Her name's Lena.
- And the children
- I told you I don't want to talk about it.
[sighs]
[crow cawing]
[murmur of voices]
- Hey.
- Hey.
[radio chatter]
[shutter clicking]
[Gerd] The same shoes
we found in the house?
Yeah.
[sighs] Where is she?
I'll take you.
Detective Bühling.
[sighs]
Where's the rest of her?
Wild boars, we think.
That's what the ranger said.
He just happened to notice
it was fairly sunk in right here,
and then he found her,
pretty much by accident.
He said there are
traces of a whole pack here.
[quietly] Thanks.
[emotional music plays]
[sobbing]
[man on radio] As we've learned
from inside sources,
the police have found remains
that are possibly connected
to the Jasmin Grass case.
[sighs]
Speculation is that they could be
the remains of Lena Beck,
the university student who disappeared
after a night out with friends
13 years ago.
[Karin breathing heavily]
[phone vibrating]
[sighs]
[vibrating continues]
[sniffles]
Karin?
[Karin] You found her?
[softly] Shit.
I heard it on the radio.
[Gerd] We have to wait
for the forensics report.
I'll call as soon as we hear.
I promise.
- [sighs]
- [drops phone]
[exhales]
[exhales]
[exhales]
You want some company?
I'll make you lunch.
You still have to drive
five hours to get home.
I'm sorry, sweetheart.
It's all right.
[sighs] Okay.
- [keys jingle]
- I aired things out.
And stocked the fridge.
This is for the main entrance.
And the other three are
for your apartment. Okay?
The locksmith said
it's absolutely burglar-proof.
And I left a new phone on your table.
Thanks.
- [man] Ms. Grass.
- Yes?
I'm Detective Bujevic.
Just to let you know we're keeping an eye
on things from over there.
Okay.
Jassy, why don't I stay with you
a few days while you settle in?
Come on, Dad. It's fine.
I can handle it.
[groans]
[car door shuts]
I'll be all right.
Say hi to everyone.
[foreboding music plays]
[inhales deeply]
[Papa] Why are you doing this, Lena?
You know there's no point.
[Hannah] He is always with you.
Can I try talking to the wife?
I saw her leaving.
[woman] Come on.
[man] Tell her we're here.
[mysterious music plays]
[sighs]
[metal creaking]
[woman on TV] Earlier today, police
were working on identifying remains
found in the surrounding forest.
The deceased
is presumed to be Lena Beck,
the university student
who disappeared 13 years ago
after a night out in the Düsseldorf area.
- The case triggered a nationwide search.
- [Karin coughs]
[Karin] I was just on the phone with Gerd.
[sighs] They haven't confirmed it's Lena.
But I think it is.
This is the last straw, Karin.
[breathing shakily]
We learned from the news
[gasps]from the news
that our daughter has been found.
[sobbing]
[poignant music plays]
[birdsong]
[Aida clears throat] Whew.
[sighs]
It's all over the media.
Yeah, of course.
[sighs]
We find Lena,
and her parents hear it on the news.
- But we don't know if it's Lena yet.
- Who else would it be?
Here.
The man at the house.
A probable likeness.
They did their best with what they had.
It wasn't easy,
considering how messed up his face was.
It's hard to blame Jasmin.
[Aida] If it was her.
I mean, she denied it, remember?
A blackout?
Or if this guy's partners did it.
I still don't believe
there's more than one suspect.
Even if there are others,
why would they leave him there?
[Aida] To make us think
we found the culprit.
And to make us stop looking.
That's also why they cut his face.
To make us do this,
use our resources to find out who he is.
And it worked.
But why leave the boy who could
identify them? I mean, he's a key witness.
- [phone vibrating]
- Because kids are a lot of work.
SALLI
ACCEPT CALL
[Aida] And showing up anywhere with
Jonathan might attract too much attention.
I don't get that either.
Why didn't Jonathan run away too?
- And please don't say it again.
- He was too scared to run.
Jonathan's never been outside.
- And Hannah?
- [laughs]
Hannah is Hannah.
Better pick up next time, Detective.
Don't learn the hard way.
Gotta go.
I'll see you.
[Shari] You're doing amazing!
That's so good, Hannah.
Jonathan, your turn.
- Mm-mm.
- Come. You can do it.
Hmm?
[footsteps]
- [Shari] Excellent, Hannah.
- [Jonathan gasping]
Don't be scared. I'll go with you.
[whimpers] Mm-mm.
- Come, Jonathan!
- [whines]
Hannah, easy. It's fine.
[sighs]
[Jonathan whimpering]
If you don't stop crying, you won't be
able to come home when Papa rescues us.
- This will be your house forever.
- [gasps]
[crying]
[Shari] Oh boy, what's going on?
It's all right, Jonathan. It's all right.
- [continues whimpering]
- I'm right here.
- I've got you.
- [whimpers]
[Hannah] I did everything right.
I remembered everything exactly.
I'm a big girl.
[Shari] Good job.
I'll wake you up before dinner, okay?
[poignant music plays]
- [child] Keep going!
- [woman] That's really good.
Hannah.
- Nurse Ruth!
- [Ruth] Hello, sweetheart.
I have a little surprise.
A present?
THE TALES OF 1001 NIGHTS
"The Tales of the 1001 Nights".
- Thank you.
- Do you like it?
- Well, I'll only know after I've read it.
- [Ruth] That's true.
Would you like to go
read a bit of it outside with me? Hmm?
Great.
A new book.
It's a gift.
Oh.
[mouthing]
[child] I won that one.
They don't get the ball.
Has your grandpa come to see you?
He's been here every day except today.
He'll bring me home soon, he said.
Good for you.
Will Jonathan go too?
No, he won't.
I'm Grandpa's favorite.
I'm curious. Can you tell me
who you were showing the book to earlier?
[whispers] Papa.
Is he watching you through the camera?
Just like at home
so he knows we follow the rules.
[Hannah whispers] Rules are important.
If you follow them, everything's fine.
If you don't follow them,
you have to be punished.
[breathing shakily]
See you, little Goliath.
Goodbye, Nurse Ruth.
[door opens]
[door closes]
This is Ruth Küppers.
I'd like to speak to Detective Kurt.
This isn't Lena Beck's skull.
Belongs to a different woman.
However, I checked the DNA
of all the hairs we found in the hair tie.
Two of them are indeed Lena Beck's.
So that means Lena wore that hair tie?
[pathologist] Yes, possibly.
The woman died about 15 months ago.
- 15 months?
- Mm-hmm.
Jasmin Grass was abducted
five and a half months ago.
So there's a ten-month gap in there.
Who took care of the kids
and played Mama in the meantime?
What if there are other victims?
Besides Lena and Jasmin Grass
and this one?
[Aida] We need to check
the entire database.
Focus on young missing women
in a 100-kilometer radius.
Slim build, average height to tall.
Hair color doesn't matter,
but it has to be long. Light eyes.
[Gerd sighs] Disappeared
in the last five or six years.
[Aida] Why in the last five or six years?
The children lived with Lena long enough
to remember her stories.
[sighs] Grandpa, the garden,
the Eiffel Tower, that's all Lena.
You are too close to all of this.
If we're going to keep working together,
I need to know I can count on you, Gerd.
No more lone-wolf business.
[clears throat]
- [rustling]
- [Aida] Here.
A friend of mine deals with depression.
It's a shitty disease.
[sighs]
[ominous music plays]
[sighs]
[sighs heavily]
So she was in the same house?
I don't understand.
Hmm.
Probably after Lena, we think.
As a replacement. Before Jasmin.
To replace our Lena.
[sighs]
So our daughter's dead.
Right?
He killed her.
Hmm?
The dead guy?
Have you at least identified him?
We're scouring the data banks.
- But so far, there's nothing.
- What about the survivor?
She was there plenty of time.
She must know something!
Jasmin's in therapy, Matthias.
She's severely traumatized.
- If we push too hard, it could backfire.
- So, once again, you have nothing!
- We have evidence.
- [door opens]
Two hairs aren't proof to me!
What do you do all day?
How do you think
we've gotten this far, Matthias?
Two weeks ago we put together
a special task force.
Guess what it's called?
The forensics department
is working non-stop.
There's a nationwide bulletin
inquiring about missing adult males.
We're scouring garages and scrapyards
throughout North Rhine-Westphalia
for the car that hit Jasmin.
We've interviewed 53 people
with possible access to the military site.
The army, NATO staff,
even Aachen's Chief Tech Officer.
And nothing.
We questioned the guards from the firm
that patrolled the perimeter.
In the 13-year window,
not one of their 36 employees
noticed anything unusual going on.
Does that cover it?
Here.
[sighs] I brought pictures
of the dead man in the house.
He must have looked something like this.
This is him 13 years younger.
With a different hairstyle and a beard.
[Matthias sighs]
Do you recognize him?
Was he one of Lena's friends?
Nah.
[sighs]
- [insects chirping]
- [dog barking]
All the press out there,
you want me to get rid of them?
The more we ignore them,
the faster they'll go away.
Karin, I
I really thought we'd found her.
[quiet, foreboding music plays]
Hmm.
[switch clicks]
Oh.
[chuckles]
[clattering]
[Papa] Lena.
Lena, open your eyes.
I know that you're awake.
[urinating]
[Jonathan] I'm hungry.
[Jasmin] I know.
When will Papa be back?
He'll be here soon.
- I think he forgot us.
- No, he hasn't!
- Then why isn't he here?
- Don't fight.
I've got a surprise.
How about we share it?
Where's your piece, Mama?
I'm still full.
Oh!
You packed your bags, right?
- Are we going somewhere?
- [Jonathan] Yeah! A plane ride!
[Jasmin chuckles]
Boarding call! All aboard!
Please fasten your seatbelts.
[machinery whirring]
On behalf of Captain Goliath,
I would like to welcome you
on our flight to Paradise Island.
- Cleared for take-off.
- [door slams]
[Jasmin mimics engines]
Speeding up and up!
We're glued into our leather seats.
We're flying higher and higher,
clearing 20,000 feet and suddenly [gasps]
Ah! We're floating.
I'm flying.
I see the sun.
The sky is so blue.
And the clouds are glowing pink.
On the horizon, the pilot [gasps]
can make out a mountain,
rising in the endless sea.
It's Paradise Island.
With coconut palms.
[Jasmin] Exactly.
[sighs]
[sighs]
[sighs]
[church bell ringing]
[sighs] I was racking my brain all night.
I don't think I've ever seen him.
Monday, you're back at work, right?
[Matthias] I requested a leave.
- What?
- Mm-hmm.
Everyone understands, and Stefan
will cover for me while I'm out.
Remember, work is good for you.
[Matthias inhales] Mm-hmm. Mmm.
What are you doing today?
I'll finish painting the dollhouse,
then go visit Hannah. You wanna come?
[sighs]
You should come with me this time.
She'd love to see her grandma.
Please, Karin. It'd be good
if you two met before she comes home.
Our home?
Just for a couple of days
so she gets used to us.
- And then
- [Karin] I can't do it.
She's Lena's daughter.
That's why.
She she'll remind us every day
of what happened to Lena.
I don't need reminders.
- [Karin] It won't work, Matthias.
- [sighs]
[Karin] I can't do it.
I can't stand seeing her.
Lena would want this.
[knock at door]
I don't need to see your hands.
I trust you.
And it's okay if they're dirty sometimes.
Hello, Hannah.
Did you find Miss Tinky?
No, not yet.
Hi, Jonathan.
I'm Aida.
[softly] Remember me?
Hey.
Hannah?
This man.
Is he your Papa?
Yeah.
And what about this man?
Is he a friend of Papa's?
He's also Papa.
And him?
- Papa.
- Hmm.
You have more than one papa, then?
Papa is Papa.
The woman who had the accident,
her name is really Jasmin.
- It's pretty, don't you think?
- I like Lena more.
I see.
At your house, were you two ever alone?
Without a mama?
Yeah?
How long?
Eight breakfasts.
And then Mama was back.
[Hannah] When I think of Mama,
I know that I love her,
because I feel warm.
Love is similar to happiness.
Comfortable and warm.
[door intercom rings]
[Hannah] And when I think of Nurse Ruth
[knocking at door]
I feel warm too.
[Aida] Ms. Küppers?
[knocking]
[knocking at door]
[woman] Ms. Grass?
Who is it?
Your neighbor. Ms. Hardert from next door.
I'm leaving some groceries
at the door for you.
Thank you.
What do I owe you?
Nothing at all. Your father left
an envelope in my mailbox.
It had a shopping list and money.
Get well soon!
[footsteps departing]
[exhales]
[door closes]
[breathing shakily]
[tense music plays]
[sighs]
[gasping]
[screaming]
[Papa] 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 will kill you.
- Those are the rules, Lena!
- [wailing]
[panting]
- [birdsong]
- [children laughing]
[Hannah] Ultraviolet light,
also known as UV rays,
has a wavelength shorter than any color
visible to the human eye.
[Matthias] You know a lot.
Can I do your ears now?
[child] There's a bird.
Tell me, Hannah.
Your mama,
did she tell you and Jonathan
lots of stories?
- At home?
- Yeah.
Did she ever tell you about me,
Grandpa Matthias?
Like what?
She told us that her papa
was the best grandpa on Earth.
And Grandma was the best grandma.
And that they both lived
in a beautiful house,
with a garden,
and a red swing
and lots of shelves overloaded with books.
Hmm.
[chuckles]
[shutter clicking]
It looks like a silly accident.
Fell off a ladder changing a lightbulb.
Except?
[Aida] She called the station
yesterday afternoon.
- Apparently, she sounded quite worried.
- Uh-huh.
Nobody thought to ask why she was calling?
[Aida] She said she would only talk to me.
I couldn't reach her.
- That's why I came here.
- [Gerd] Okay.
[door intercom rings]
Ms. Hardert?
[intercom rings]
Hello?
Jasmin, this is Detective Bühling.
I'm sorry to bother you.
Could I speak with you a moment?
It won't take long, I promise.
[sighs]
[knocking at door]
[keys jingling]
[lock turns]
Hi.
May I come in?
How are you?
- How you holding up?
- Good.
- I'm good. Thanks.
- Glad to hear it.
That color suits you.
[Papa] Obey the rules, Lena.
A neighbor got me a few things.
I told you I'd check in
once a day, remember?
I thought you meant on the phone.
You got a new phone already?
I'll give you the number.
[Gerd] The man,
it was always the same one?
There weren't any others?
I told you, there was only him.
Did he ever mention friends
or talk about accomplices?
No. No matter how many times you ask.
- Any other women?
- What?
Did the children or he
ever mention other women?
There was only Lena.
We came up with a portrait.
A facial reconstruction of the dead man.
As much as possible, anyway.
Do you recognize this guy?
[Papa] Remember, Lena.
You know what happened.
- [Jasmin] Stop!
- [tires screech]
- [crash]
- [glass shatters]
[murmuring]
[man] Hey!
[wheezes]
Can you hear me?
Jesus. I'll I'll call
I'll call an ambulance, okay?
I'm going to get you some help.
[grunts]
[Gerd] Jasmin?
Jasmin?
You don't have to be afraid.
The prosecutor's office
won't investigate you.
They have enough evidence
to support a case of self-defense.
But
please answer.
[Papa] You know what to do.
[Gerd] Jasmin?
[Papa] Answer him, Lena!
Yes.
I recognize him.
[Papa] Well done.
Mm-hmm.
Good.
These, uh, things
[sighs]working through them,
processing them,
it takes time.
[front door opens]
[Papa] Do you finally get it, Lena?
There's only us.
We are your family.
Lovely. Someone's gonna be happy.
Would you like them gift-wrapped?
[Papa] That won't be necessary.
[foreboding music plays]