Tell Me Your Secrets (2021) s01e04 Episode Script

[Emma] It wasn't
a hallucination.
It happened, Pete.
This happened.
I can't just show up there
and start asking questions
about a girl that you think
went missing.
[Van] I checked
on your landlord.
He did work at St. Jerome.
But his license was suspended.
[Kamala]
Mother to mother.
Parker didn't kill
our daughter.
[Mary]
How can you know that?
Because Parker told me.
[Kit] The most
dangerous part of me
isn't even in this prison cell.
Someone worse than me
is still out there.
You copied
a private recording
of a conversation.
[Gayle] Grandma Moses
fostered so many kids,
but she couldn't save
that one.
Your secret is safe.
I love you.
[Esther] Will you take
the wolf out, please?
[door buzzes]
Karen?
I'm Pete Guillory.
I'm very glad you agreed
to meet me.
I don't feel
I had much choice.
The FBI, uh, has been known
to be a bit pushy.
So they asked me
to come talk to you,
to see if you remember
anything else.
You've been here
barely two weeks.
I'll bet you every minute feels
like an hour, doesn't it?
You don't get to choose
what you eat, when you sleep.
One moment all the lights
are on, and the next, well,
all you have is total darkness.
As long as you're in here,
no choice will ever be yours.
You came to tell me things
I already know?
No one likes to think
they got it wrong
about someone they trusted,
someone they loved.
Loving a bad person
doesn't make you a bad person.
Who are you?
I'm a psychiatrist.
I work with Witness Protection.
I make psychological
assessments.
My job is to determine
whether or not
someone like you is, well
is right for the program.
You think I'm crazy?
No. I do think you have PTSD.
That's why you pull
your hair out.
It's also why you don't remember
everything that happened
between you and Parker,
which is unfortunate,
because if you did and you could
help us with other cases,
I'd get you out of here a whole
hell of a lot faster than, uh
than seven years.
I could give you a new life.
I want my old life back.
And I've said everything
I remember.
[knock on door]
Karen? Louise.
I'm next door.
-Hi.
-Hey.
You doing okay?
Need anything?
Cup of sugar,
orientation day?
It's a lot to get used to.
Yeah.
But I was playing,
about the cup of sugar.
Right.
You want me to take that
to the mail room for you?
-Oh, no, I'm not done.
-I'll take it.
Is this to him?
Get out.
Beg your pardon?
It's not your business
who I'm writing.
Huh.
I said you should get out.
[groans]
See, we all got daughters
on the outside.
And women like you,
helping out men like him
Well, that makes us sick
to our stomachs.
I didn't help him.
Yo, this bitch done
so much lying
she's starting to believe it.
We gonna help you remember.
[phone rings]
[Pete] Hello?
It's Karen.
I've changed my mind.
I'm ready to talk.
[drill whirs]
[sighs]
Something happen
out here, miss?
I just I live alone.
I want to feel safe.
At least you got a kitty.
[cat meows]
Excuse me a moment.
I got to shut you in.
Kit? Kit, they've got
cotton candy, clouds of it,
and they're
just giving it away.
Why, that is the best news
I've heard all day.
How about you go and get
the biggest cloud
you can carry
and bring it back to me?
No, I'll wait.
I'll wait till you're finished.
We can go together.
I'm gonna be a while here.
Go get me some
cotton candy, baby.
Hurry up.
[theme music playing]
Oh, God.
Jake?
You okay?
Have you seen all this?
Are you on this thread?
Don't look at it.
Just leave it.
And do nothing?
No, I got to call her.
I got to tell her
that I'm sorry.
I was so careful
with that upload.
I did not put on
the marriage part,
just that one moment.
It was her moment.
You stole a recording
that was so private
and so personal,
and you shared it
with everyone.
I don't think you can
apologize for this.
I never meant to hurt
or damage them.
I just I just wanted
to make it count.
It doesn't matter, Mom,
your reasons, your validation.
No, I got to go see Kamala.
I can't leave it.
It's like you
won't hear me. Mom.
Take a break
from all of it,
but especially
from Karen Miller.
Mom, you got to stop now.
Please.
Are you cold?
There's such a chill
in here.
You know I love the cold.
Karen said she loved the cold,
but it was because she thought
I couldn't afford
to buy her that warm coat.
She always worried so much.
That's right.
She was cold,
but she never said.
Has she called?
I don't want to miss the chance
to talk to her next time.
[shushes]
Does she still have
her stone
for the lake?
When it gets to be too much
and she needs to throw
those sins away,
she'll need to put them
in her stone.
I hope so.
"Don't forget your stone."
How many times
do I tell her?
And that's Elsinor Lake?
Do you need a stone, Roger?
They're looking for her.
Then we'd better
find her first.
[applause]
I told you I wasn't
gonna make no speech
to tell you how much
I love you
'cause don't nobody need
that kind of sentimentality.
[laughter]
But y'all just wouldn't
let it lie.
-[phone vibrates]
-You know, I chose
to go this alone,
just me and my baby.
But it never felt like alone
'cause y'all never left me,
-not for one minute
-Sorry.
of this whole journey.
That's right.
These your people, too.
And they love you.
And I love you.
This is your family.
All right, anybody want to
volunteer to give birth for me?
[laughter]
'Cause I want to outsource
that part.
You have quite an aura
about you.
Excuse me?
I sense other lives.
You've been many others
before you.
And there may perhaps
be many more lives to come.
I lived in Seattle.
My name's Emma.
I don't know
I don't know what else
to tell you. Hi.
-Hi.
-Hi.
You are gonna be great
at being a mom.
Thank you.
Maybe it's not your aura.
Maybe it's the aura
of others that I sense.
What?
[phone vibrating]
Excuse me.
Oh, my God.
Shit. Shit.
This is my work.
I'm trying to build a life here.
Why'd you change the locks?
I want my key. My key.
I am not in prison anymore.
Hi. Get in the truck.
I'm not getting
in the truck.
Is this about the girl?
Do you need me to keep going,
keep looking for her?
Is that what you need?
Tell me, 'cause I'll do it.
-Is that it?
-You were fired
from St. Jerome House.
You've got sealed records.
So I don't think
it's a great idea
for you to go looking
for a girl from St. Jerome.
That was you? You ran
a background check on me?
Oh, my God.
Wait, how'd you do it?
Wait, I know how you did it.
Your new boyfriend.
I don't have a boyfriend.
Sleeping with a cop
isn't exactly laying low.
What do you want from me?
You want to be with me?
You want to be
my boyfriend?
-Yeah.
-You jealous?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm jealous, yeah.
Is that why you need a key,
so you can come check up on me?
When all the time, it's you.
You who's been lying to me.
I worked there
when I was 20.
Check my background.
Check whatever you want.
You're not gonna find anything.
Why are they sealed?
Emma, I'm a psychiatrist.
I work with
the federal government.
I have been vetted
through and through.
If there was anything shady
about my background,
I wouldn't be able
to do this job.
Now, if you don't trust me,
all right,
and you want to play
Nancy Drew
and you want
to go digging around, fine.
But get ready to start
from scratch
new identity, new town,
new everything.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
Why not same identity,
new you?
Because it's my cabin.
What?
Don't you remember
you asking me
for a place
where you could find peace?
A place where
you could breathe?
But a place that's my own.
I'm just a guy
that's protecting you.
Now, if you don't want me in
your life anymore, say the word.
I'll arrange a transfer.
You keep that shirt.
It looks way better on you
than it ever did on me.
Hey, Jake, honey.
It's Mom.
Um, listen, you were, uh
you were you were right.
I kind of lost hold of myself
back there.
So, um, thank you for, um,
loving me, letting me know.
So, uh, I think
I'm gonna take off
for a few days to a spa.
You know, unplug.
Get some headspace.
Let this whole thing burn out.
I won't be in contact.
Okay?
So, uh, I love you.
I'll see you in a few days.
[three deadbolts click]
[keys rattle]
Just keep it covered.
You get any discomfort, call me.
Oh, you went for pink.
Nice choice.
-[laughs]
-Mmm.
Did you
get what you need?
Yes, it's an ultra-plush
wearable warming blanket.
They had it in her color,
which I'm picking up, is mauve.
It's so chilly
in her room.
Great.
So we go there now?
Well-- I'm not
so sure about "we."
I have a very detailed way
of working.
The devil is, of course,
in all those details.
John, I just need
an address.
You can get that for me,
can't you?
I can do exactly that,
but I need to do
my important work alone.
Okay.
Look, I don't want to be that
asshole boss who micromanages.
-I'm so pleased.
-But I'm going with you.
I just need to get in
and get out.
From Saint Cloud
Assisted Living?
From Minnesota.
Um
You've taken me a little bit
off-balance here.
I called to say that I was
making good progress.
I didn't expect you to just
show up like this.
I had a window.
I don't even have
a pseudonym for you.
A cover name.
Uh, try this
cousin Helen from Tampa.
No one questions anyone
from Florida, right?
The construct of Helen
is very close to Esther,
with the E's on either side
of the consonants.
Why not, say, Linda?
Fine. Linda.
Well, then a gift
would be a nice gesture.
A new nightgown?
Hers are threadbare
and food-stained.
Hate these institutions.
There's no care anymore.
Go pick something out.
Put it on your Amex.
[seagulls calling]
[Emma] I need to find out
what he did. My landlord.
How do I get those
records unsealed?
You need a court order.
-Okay, how do I get that?
-You don't.
Now, if it was me, I'd just
quit my lease and move.
No, I can't.
I can't break my lease, so
You can
if you don't feel safe.
That's what I can't figure out,
like, why you stayin'.
Then I start to wonder
how you, in Seattle,
come across a psychiatrist
in north Louisiana
and rent out his cabin
in Saint James.
I met a lot of people
through my work.
You can talk to me
Emma.
About anything.
You can trust me.
Something is going on
with you,
and I don't know what it is,
but I know that
it's keeping you alone.
I like to be alone.
-No one wants to be alone.
-Yeah, I do.
-I don't believe you.
-I'm better this way.
I don't believe you.
You should let me know
if you like me.
[Emma] And how
would I do that?
Hey, what's the
what's the rush?
Isn't this
what you wanted?
I just don't want to feel
like I'm in a fight is all.
Well, then don't fight!
Emma.
Hold Emma. Emma.
-Enjoy your books.
-Emma, hold on!
I was just saying, like,
let's just take it slow is
Brought an old friend
to pay a visit.
No, there's a wolf.
There's a wolf!
[Denise] Please, Miss Esther,
there's no wolf.
Come on now.
Out there in the snow.
"In the snow"?
Is there something
you forgot to tell me?
Esther does have signs
of dementia.
Signs?
Yes, but also moments
of great clarity,
which we're having
with more regularity.
I think I'm able to center her,
and I have every confidence
that I will get
that address.
Hey, Denise.
I've got this now.
Denise. Let me.
Hey, you.
How's my girl?
It's okay.
It's all right.
I'm here.
I don't know you.
Yes, you do, sweetie.
It's me.
I don't know you.
Do you remember me?
Cousin Hel-- Linda?
From Florida?
Get them out.
Get them away from me.
I don't want to see the girls
from school.
We won't get
her back today.
Love you.
Wolf.
Don't call me that.
[stone thuds]
One, two, three,
four, five, six.
Two, two, three,
four, five, six.
Three, two, three,
four, five six.
Four, two, three,
four, five, six.
Stand up straight.
Good. Very nice.
One, two, three,
four, five
It's a sliding step,
a sliding step.
You should feel like water,
like currents in the river.
Very nice.
You're doing beautifully.
You want to
get out of here?
Like you
wouldn't believe.
One, two, three, four
So these are the things
Jess left?
Did you ever know
that man?
His name's Pete.
He used to work here
a long time ago.
He has a beard now.
I
[aide] What's that light on?
Who's in that room?
What are you doing in here,
young man?
You should be
at the dance.
I just need to find
my shoes.
What's your mom on?
Who even dances like
that anymore?
She thinks it's 1929
and Wall Street
hasn't crashed yet.
[door opens]
I just want some time
alone with you.
I wake up at night
and I'm so hard.
I'm sorry,
I can't do this.
What?
Do you want to get high?
This was just
on the off chance.
There's a work conversation
I need to have with my boss.
Uh-huh.
I'm based in Florida.
You fellas sure know
how to throw a cold snap.
Of course, my work brings me
all over the country.
You got blood
on your chin, sir.
John.
Hi. I just thought,
we're both in Minnesota,
we should have
dinner together.
Unless you prefer
to dine alone?
I didn't give you
my hotel details.
I'd be pretty poor at my job
if you needed to.
What you'll have
to understand, Mary,
is dementia is not
a specific illness,
a disease
It's an umbrella term.
It describes a collection
of symptoms,
all related to the decline
in memory, thinking skills.
I know about dementia.
My mother had it.
Oh, my goodness,
I'm so sorry.
Don't be. Really.
She's passed.
Then we are both of us
unmothered.
Did you lose your mother?
I did, when I was nine.
Any other family?
Yeah, a sister. Jane.
Jane?
Jane and John?
That's
The names
of unidentified corpses.
-Thanks, Mom.
-Okay.
I need to,
uh, get my rest,
so I guess we'll, uh,
start again tomorrow.
I need you to let me
do my work.
This afternoon
was very unusual.
Um
You have a certain energy,
which is understandable,
but it brings a tension.
I have an energy?
I think you hide
a lot of rage.
Don't analyze me.
I have a theory of my own,
of dementia sufferers.
I think they become
very instinctive.
As their conscious
processes dwindle,
their subconscious
becomes heightened.
And I think Esther
that felt your rage.
Do you want to know
about my rage?
It's dark, and it's
growing inside of me.
It's like a big, black lump
of burning tar.
It started in my chest,
and now it's in my gut.
And I hope it never
comes out, John.
I hope
I can keep it inside.
Have you considered
meditation?
Good night.
I meditate.
It helps me cleanse
after this work.
You have no idea of the toll
on the emotions.
I have a connection with her,
with Esther,
by being
what she needs me to be.
And what's that?
Her husband. Roger.
A remarkable man.
He's an engineer
and a political activist,
love of her life.
Heart attack at 50.
They never had the time
together they deserved.
Why does she think
that you're her husband?
I've encouraged a chemistry.
And cousin Linda from Florida
is kind of in the way.
We don't need three people
in this marriage, Mary.
I don't want you
there tomorrow.
See that star?
What?
That star
that one up there.
Are you crazy?
There's like a billion
up there.
[howls, laughs]
[groans]
[both laughing]
I think I see it now.
[laughs]
[Rose] What were you doing there
tonight at St. Jerome?
Did something happen?
Why do you hate it here?
I don't fit in.
Aren't you the
carnival queen?
Every night my mom locks me
in my bedroom
to keep me safe
from the world.
And every day
she gets me ready
for a stage that everybody
in town can watch me on.
[sighs] What's she afraid of,
your mom?
[Rose] Dangerous men.
Something very bad
happened here.
What?
You need
to go home, Rose.
What are you talking about?
What's happened?
She's right.
Your mom.
It isn't safe here.
It isn't a good place.
I don't want to go home.
I hate it there.
I hate it in this town.
I want to stay with you.
Go home.
Go home, Rose!
[thunk]
[shushes]
It's okay, Esther.
I'm your friend.
Linda?
I haven't been
a very good friend.
So I wanted to come
to you tonight,
mother to mother,
to tell you that I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry I brought him
into your life.
Who?
The man who's been
coming to see you.
The man who's been coming
is a very, very bad man.
None of us
is all bad, Linda.
Mary. I'm Mary.
They wanted her to rot.
But I know she's growing.
I know she's flourishing.
She is?
Well, that's good.
Where is she flourishing?
That's my
little girl's kitten.
-I recognized it.
-[kitten meows]
Not even the worst of us
is all bad.
There's no monsters,
just frightened children.
Get out of my house.
She'll never come.
She's too clever.
What?
You think
I don't know wolves?
You sent your wolf.
But I survived him.
And she'll survive you.
Because you'd hurt her
if you could.
What are you talking about?
I wouldn't hurt anyone.
I came here
to make sure you were okay.
You'll never find her.
They keep her safe
because of people like you.
Get out of my house.
She is a monster.
She's part of him,
the man who broke nine women's
skulls with a hammer.
Get out of my house!
[Mary] Smashed them so they
were unrecognizable
except through DNA.
She did exactly what
he told her to do,
and they took my daughter.
[glass shatters]
I'm going to ring my bell
and ask them to take you
out of my room.
No, no, no, no, no.
Get out. Get out!
Get out! Get out!
Get out!
You're gonna hear the truth
about this monster
that you're protecting.
I know she phones you.
I know you know
where she is.
So I will sit and wait
until you draw
your last breath,
if that's as long
as it takes.
Then you'd better
get comfortable,
because that's
what it'll take.
And that's the only time
my Karen's ever coming home,
is to kiss my coffin.
[coughing]
I can't even ask
for a glass of water,
seeing as you've
taken my bell.
Do you have it in you
to pour me a glass?
It's okay
that you love her.
Even I can
understand that.
It's not okay
that you hide her.
If she is innocent, then she
has nothing to be afraid of.
Why is she afraid?
Why is she hiding?
Esther, get back into bed now.
Come on.
You get away from me.
They'll call the police.
I know they will.
They have very strict rules
on who can come see us.
Back into bed.
I just want to know
-where she is.
-No.
If you tell me that,
-then I will go.
-No.
-Okay. [shushes]
-[whimpering]
Don't do that.
Don't do that, please.
-[grunting]
-Just stop. Stop.
Stop. Just stop it.
Don't make that noise.
Just-- pl--
You have to stop.
You have to stop
making that noise.
Please, stop it.
Stop it.
[panting]
[Pete] Do you recognize
any of these girls?
Karen, anything you can
give us will help you.
Anything at all.
I'm here to help you.
I'm here to be
a friend to you.
Her.
I think I remember her.
I think I saw her with Kit,
in his van.
We were in North Carolina
at a music festival.
It was
May, two years ago.
This is good.
I'm gonna look after you.
Gonna stay close,
watch over you.
I'm gonna be
in your new life.
[man] Hey, it's me.
I want to hear
your voice again. Call me.
It's me.
I don't know what happened
back there,
but can you call me?
[woman] Do you still have
a file on me?
What?
You were my patient once.
Yeah, of course
I have a file on you.
I want to see it.
Why?
Because I want to know how you
saw me before you loved me.
Well, maybe
just maybe
I've always loved you.
Hello, I'm calling for, uh,
for Esther Moses.
[man] I'm sorry.
Esther passed away last night.
[sobs]
No.
Is this Karen?
My dad won't even notice
it's gone.
Yeah, well, he's gonna notice
that you're gone.
Then you'd
better drive fast.
Did you bring any money?
We can't disappear
for free.
I got 400.
It's not enough.
I have my debit.
We can get more.
No, we can't.
We can't use cards once
we're on the move.
I know where my dad keeps
his stash in the office.
You don't have to
do this.
You don't have to
come with me.
Give me five minutes.
Five minutes, okay?
I'll be right back!
[engine starts]
[sighs]
[gasps]
[theme music playing]
[child]
Tell me a story.