The Last Thing He Told Me (2023) s01e04 Episode Script

[OWEN] It's gonna be great.
[HANNAH] Sure, what could go wrong?
- [OWEN] She's gonna love you.
- [HANNAH] Uh-huh.
[PEOPLE IN BAR CHATTERING]
Do you think you'll see
NYU while you're in town?
- Uh, maybe.
- [OWEN] Hmm.
- [HANNAH] Mmm.
- [OWEN] She can't go to NYU.
How would she be home
for dinner every night?
- [CHUCKLES]
- Your dad told me you love theater,
so I got us tickets to the revival of
Barefoot in the Park tomorrow.
Neil Simon, right? He's a favorite
around here. How great is that?
I thought it was just
gonna be us tomorrow.
You know what? I'm, uh,
I'm pretty far behind
on that bowl for the Canners.
I could use a quiet night at the studio.
- You two go without me.
- No, I I'd like us all to go together.
Sure, we'll do it next time.
Say thank you for the tickets.
Thanks. [GRUNTS] I have
to go to the bathroom.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
[SIGHS DEEPLY]
[SIGHS] Yeah.
It's gonna be great, huh?
You're doing fine.
Mmm. I know exactly how
I'm doing, thank you.
- [HANNAH] She seems great.
- [OWEN] You mean that?
She's her own person.
- Mmm.
- What could be better than that?
Nothing.
Why would he make up a fake life?
I don't know. [INHALES DEEPLY]
Maybe he was trying to protect you.
From what?
I really don't know. [SIGHS]
[HANNAH] The only thing
I know for certain
He lied to me.
He lied to me too.
So, I mean, if if
he changed his name,
that means he probably changed mine.
Yeah.
[BREATHES SHAKILY] And my birthday.
- [HANNAH] Probably.
- [BREATHING SHAKILY]
Seems like something a person
should know about themselves.
- Bailey.
- What?
What are you gonna say, Hannah?
What the fuck could you
possibly say right now
that would make any sense?
Nothing. There's nothing to say.
We should try and get some sleep.
We've got an early flight home.
Excuse me?
We're not gonna find him there.
You were right.
Something's here. I can feel it.
So, you wanna stay?
Yeah. I wanna stay.
[HANNAH] You should've seen me at 15.
Mm. What color was your hair?
Seriously, it wasn't pretty.
It's not easy without a mom.
Thank God I had my grandfather.
Yeah.
[SIGHS]
[CLICKS TONGUE]
[PHONE RINGING]
[SECRETARY] Deputy Bradford's office.
Yes. Is he in?
I'm afraid he's on vacation.
Would you like his voice mail?
Vacation?
Yes, ma'am.
Can I take a message?
No, but you can put me in touch
with someone who can tell me
what Deputy Bradford was doing
waving his badge in my
face on his vacation.
[MARCO] Did you go see the Warriors?
[GRADY] No, it wasn't that
kind of trip, mijo.
But I did catch the end
of last night's game on TV.
- You see DeRozan dunk on Curry?
- Yeah, yeah. That was pretty.
Hey, what were you doing up so late?
- Dad!
- Buddy, it was a school night.
We talked about this, okay?
- Come on, Dad. It's the playoffs.
- [CELL PHONE BUZZING]
Okay, um, we're not done here.
[CELL PHONE BUZZING]
- This is Grady.
- How's spring break?
[GRADY] Excuse me?
Your office just told me you
were on vacation. It's funny.
It sure didn't seem that way
when you were sitting on my dock.
Hannah, I was there to help.
[HANNAH] Then how about telling
me what's really going on?
Why are there no records of Owen
before he and Bailey moved to Sausalito?
[GRADY] What? Who told you that?
What does that matter?
Look, did it ever occur
to you that the man
developing The Shop's software
for erasing online paper trails
may have used it on himself?
If that software works, Avett
wouldn't be on trial for fraud.
And I would still be
asleep in bed with Owen,
unaware that he'd lied to me
about everything, apparently.
That's not actually true.
Is that right? Why did
Owen change his name?
I think you're getting
ahead of yourself there.
I think you're not telling
me the whole story.
I'm just trying to keep Owen
safe. Owen and Bailey. And you.
Well, I can take care
of myself, thank you.
Is that what you're doing now?
- What's that supposed to mean?
- Where are you?
Hannah?
I'm home.
Yeah, if that were the case
the heavy Avett sent over
to break into your house would
have been more disturbing.
What? Avett sent someone to
Seriously, where are you? A hotel?
I'll send a deputy from the San
Francisco office to pick you up.
Have you been watching my house?
Where the hell are you, Hannah?
Where are you worried I'll be?
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[SIGHS]
[BAILEY] It seems like
something a person should know.
[YOUNG HANNAH] She doesn't
know what grade I'm in.
[EXHALES SHARPLY]
["YOU DON'T KNOW ME" PLAYING]
[BREATHES HEAVILY]
[CRIES]
[GRANDPARENT] Hannah.
What the hell happened here?
She doesn't even know what grade I'm in.
- Let me see.
- [BREATHES HEAVILY]
You didn't have to blame my bowl.
Come on. You owe me a new one.
- [SIGHS]
- All right, that's better.
- I can't get it.
- Are you quitting on me?
It's all marked up. There's
no way I'll scrape those out.
So? It's for the cupboard, not a museum.
You don't have to pretend. We both
know that it's a piece of shit.
Hey, hey. It's easy enough
to look at what went wrong.
You know, you should
try to take a second,
look a little harder and
find the things to appreciate.
Oh. So because my mom doesn't
know what grade I'm in,
I should appreciate that she
knows how to spell my name right?
- Got it.
- Hannah.
No. I'm done.
Hannah.
That's your choice what
you pay attention to.
[CELL PHONE BUZZES]
[CELL PHONE BUZZING]
[CELL PHONE BUZZES]
[DOOR BEEPS, OPENS]
Hey. What was the
name of that restaurant
where your dad worked as a valet?
Remember his story about getting fired
for scratching someone's Porsche?
Uh, sure. Yeah.
You think he made that up?
I mean, he was pretty specific.
Exactly. All these stories your dad
loved to tell about when he was younger,
they can't all be made up.
Some of the details have to be true.
Like the name of that restaurant.
If we could remember,
we could look it up.
Try and find people who knew him.
Does this make any sense? You're
looking at me like I'm a crazy person.
Uh, no. Yeah, I-I get it. I just, um,
I don't remember the restaurant.
Okay. What about that
high school boat trip?
The one where he said he got
rescued by the Coast Guard?
I don't think he told me that one.
Right. I wouldn't have
told you that, either.
Well, now I really wanna hear it.
Oh, wait. What about that
math professor at Princeton?
The The one he brings up when
he's lecturing me about persistence.
Yeah. Dad failed his exam
and-and the guy framed it.
As a warning for the rest of the class.
Yeah. And Dad loves to tell me
about how that only motivated him,
which is kind of messed up.
Yeah. He loved that
professor. What was his name?
Um [SIGHS]
Tobias something.
T-Tobias C Uh, Cocher? Cooker?
Cookman. He called him Cook.
How many math professors can there
be out there named Tobias Cookman?
I see only one.
What's a Fields Medal?
It's like the Nobel Prize for
math. I-Is he at Princeton?
Not exactly.
Get dressed.
[CELL PHONE BUZZING]
- Hey.
- Hey, how are you guys holding up?
- Mmm, I'm gonna say "no comment".
- [JULES] Fair enough.
What's going on?
Well [SIGHS] Jake
is arguing with the barista
over the milk texture of his latte.
And I'm wondering if Owen kept
any kind of safe in the house.
[HANNAH] Safe?
Yeah, the Lady Paul piggy bank.
It had a small Honeywell key inside.
Jake said it's for a-a fireproof safe.
A secret safe?
Mm-hmm. Any idea where it might be?
[SIGHS] I don't know. His
office or the bedroom closet.
Okay, got it. Anything else I can do?
Yeah, actually. Can Jake hear me?
[SIGHS] Nope.
Good. Under my bed there is a
duffel. Could you grab it, please?
Yeah. Um, what's inside?
[HANNAH] I'm not sure you wanna know.
Hannah Hall. She's traveling
with her stepdaughter,
Bailey Michaels, 16.
Uh, they were last seen at
home in Sausalito 36 hours ago.
But all signs point
to them skipping town.
Her truck's outside her house.
So, rental car, bus fare, train ticket,
plane ticket, you know the
drill. Track her credit cards,
ATM withdrawals, her boot prints, okay?
We need her location ASAP.
[SIGHS] Rochelle?
[ROCHELLE] Boss wants to see you.
"Hi, Grady. You're back
early. How was your vacation?"
She sounded pissed.
[KNOCKS]
Who's Hannah Hall? And what the
hell were you doing in Sausalito?
I was coming to talk about that.
You know lying to me is a felony.
Lying about my vacation?
Speak.
[HANNAH CHUCKLES]
Bailey.
[SIGHS]
How many medals did this guy win?
Apparently all of them.
Hi. We're hoping to talk
with Professor Cookman.
Do you have an appointment?
- My father's a former student.
- We're happy to wait.
Well, you're gonna have
to wait somewhere else
'cause his next avail's on the 24th.
That's two weeks from now.
[INHALES SHARPLY] I'm
Hannah, by the way.
This is Bailey. What's
What's your name?
Cheryl.
Hi, Cheryl. Thanks for taking time.
Especially because Bailey here
is one of the top
mathletes in Corpus Christi
and she's torn between going to U
like her dad and Rice, like her sister.
You see the issue,
if we leave here without seeing Cook
and I lose another child to Rice
[INHALES SHARPLY]
If there's anything
you can do to help us
just have a little time with him today.
Um
Cook's teaching right now,
but if you wait outside of class,
you may be able to catch him.
Just don't interrupt
him or make any noise.
Got it. Thank you so much.
- [EXHALES SHARPLY]
- A mathlete? Seriously?
Is that your way of
saying you're impressed?
[SIGHS]
Bailey, wait. We should wait.
Fuck Cheryl.
[COOKMAN] This matrix, interestingly
enough, iteration of this matrix
- applied to any non-zero vector
- There's two seats.
[DOOR SLAMS]
[STUDENTS MURMUR]
Sorry.
I'm sure half of you have
lost your train of thought
and the other half probably
weren't following to begin with,
so let's call it a day, shall we?
[STUDENTS CHATTERING]
So sorry. Excuse us.
Do you make a habit of
interrupting lectures
or should I consider myself special?
I'm so sorry, we didn't me [SIGHS]
I'm Hannah Hall. This
is Bailey Michaels.
- What is it you want?
- We're hoping you can help us
identify a former student.
And why would I do that
after you disrupted my class?
You may be the only one who can.
Who's the student?
This This is the oldest
photo I have with me.
[HANNAH] He would've taken
your class about 26 years ago.
We're hoping you can remember his name.
You know he took my class 26 years
ago and you don't know his name?
We know what his name is now, but
he changed it. It's complicated.
- In a sentence.
- [BAILEY] He's my dad.
And he's missing.
- How'd you trace him back to me?
- He's talked about you.
Apparently you were
his favorite professor.
[CLICKS TONGUE] As nice as that is,
I can't say I recognize him.
I've had thousands of students.
I'm afraid most of them
just tend to blur together.
It would've been your first
or second year teaching.
I don't know about
your memory, Ms. Hall,
but I find the further back
I go, the less I remember.
Perhaps you should try
the registrar's office.
He was the worst student you ever had.
That's what you told him
when he flunked his midterm.
You actually framed it, his exam.
You hung it in your office as an example
for other students of what not to do.
Which was cruel, by the way.
But my husband, instead of
hating you, saw it as a challenge.
And then he aced the final.
[SIGHS]
- May I see that photograph again?
- Yeah.
[SIGHS, STAMMERS] I can't tell
you his name, but the face.
He looks
He looks different in my
recollection. Although not entirely.
You said he's missing?
He worked at The Shop.
He disappeared three days ago.
We haven't heard from him since.
[SIGHS] Come on. Let's see if
we can get you some answers.
[SIGHING]
[SIGHS, SNIFFS] So
- Not our problem.
- You're kidding me.
- Is Owen Michaels in West Texas?
- I sure as hell hope not.
- Well, then.
- [GRADY] This isn't about where he is.
It's about the fact that if
this office had done its job
Grady, you're not responsible
for the man's choices.
- [INHALES SHARPLY]
- And neither is this office.
Okay, okay. But if Naomi Wu
starts plastering Owen's
face on the news
Then it'll be added incentive for him
to make better decisions
than he did before.
Although I think you've been in
this business long enough to know
that people don't change.
What about the girl?
- All right, she's in serious danger.
- Not if she stays in Sausalito.
You know the kind of
people we're dealing with.
They catch wind of this, it
won't matter where she is.
I guess her father
should've thought of that.
Close the door on the way out.
You'd think I'd remember his name,
having his test hung up like that.
So, it's true? You
You really framed it?
You have to understand,
I was young back then.
Barely older than my students.
I-I thought it would
assert my authority.
Why did you take it down?
When my wife saw it,
she wasn't impressed.
She thought it was in poor
taste to take a kid's failure
and parade it like a prized deer.
- Smart woman.
- Smarter than me, that's for sure.
[DOOR OPENS]
I found all your final
exams from the '90s.
Thanks.
[SIGHS]
I'm not sure those will be of much
help. We have blind grading here.
There are no names.
Is there a way to
cross-check the numbers?
Perhaps. Cheryl, check the
filing cabinets in the archives.
See if there's a roster.
And ask the registrar for my
class lists from '96 to '98.
[CHERYL] Okay.
I still don't understand
the name change.
How does that fit into the
fraud allegations at his firm?
That's what we're trying to figure out.
[SIGHS]
He could've been in some kind
of trouble before The Shop.
We don't know.
We're only just learning the differences
between the things he told us and
- The truth?
- [SIGHS]
I can't imagine what you're
going through right now,
but for what it's worth,
there's an old Einstein quote that
always calms me when I'm at a loss.
Einstein?
"So far as the theories of
mathematics are about reality,
they are not certain.
So far as they are certain,
they are not about reality."
Is there a version in English?
Nobody knows shit about shit.
[CHUCKLES]
Shit!
[JAKE] How's it going in there?
- What's going on?
- Nothing.
But did Hannah call?
[SIGHS] Nope.
Jules, do you know
something that I don't know?
- No.
- Because I am her lawyer.
I'm aware.
Yeah, if there's something going on,
if the FBI's about to drop
a bomb that I'm not aware of,
- well, then I can't protect her.
- Okay, okay. Calm down.
[SIGHS]
Owen left Hannah and Bailey
a duffel bag full of cash.
How much cash?
I think a little over a
half a million dollars.
Oh, Jesus Christ. Do you have any idea
how bad this is gonna look to the FBI?
I don't know. Maybe less bad given
that she seems to have misplaced it.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Jules, if Hannah is hiding
money her husband stole,
she's gonna be looking
at a conspiracy charge.
- Obstruction of justice
- We don't know that Owen stole that money.
Oh, please. Who keeps a half a
million dollars in a duffel bag?
See, this is why she
didn't want me to tell you
because she knew you'd freak
out just like you always do.
Oh, right. So th It's my fault
she'd rather choose to screw herself
than trust somebody who
actually cares about her.
- She trusted me, Jake. She trusted Owen.
- Look where that got her.
For somebody who has a fear
of getting abandoned again,
she sure does know how to pick 'em.
Hannah does not have a fear
of being abandoned, okay?
She has a fear of being trapped.
Oh, so that's why she
chose not to marry me.
No, Jake. She didn't marry
you because you're an asshole.
Yeah, maybe.
But, uh, if I'm such an asshole
why am I the one who's here?
[SIGHS]
- [HANNAH] Any progress?
- [BAILEY] No.
[COOKMAN] What's this?
Roster for Spring of '97.
You only taught senior seminars in '96
and then only grad students in '98,
so this has to be the class.
[SIGHS] Well done, Cheryl.
[HANNAH] Thank you.
[COOKMAN GROANS]
[SIGHS]
I'm sorry. These names
aren't sparking anything.
Seventy-three students. How many men?
[CHERYL] Forty-nine. I counted.
That's a hell of a lot
better than a billion.
- [STAMMERS] May I see it again please?
- [HANNAH] Yes.
- [COOKMAN] Huh.
- [HANNAH] What?
[SIGHS] The young woman. I-I
was trying to remember her name.
W-What young woman?
The one he blamed for not being
able to focus on his midterm.
I just remembered he
wrote me this long letter
explaining how he'd fallen in
love with a girl from class.
That he couldn't concentrate
around her. At least, not well.
Could this be her?
[SIGHS] I would love to say yes,
but, uh, I-I just don't know.
There's no "Olivia" on the list.
W-Was that your mother? Olivia?
They met senior year of college.
That's what my dad said, but,
um, maybe it's only half true.
Like everything else.
So, what now?
Cheryl, which library
keeps the yearbooks?
[PHONE RINGING]
[ROCHELLE] Larry has an update for
you on that woman you asked him t
Tell him he can drop it.
[DOOR SLAMS]
[SIGHS]
[KNOCKING]
We're dropping the Hannah Hall thing?
Yeah. Did you find something?
She and the girl flew out
of SFO yesterday morning.
Are you fucking kidding me?
Are you fucking kidding me?
[LIBRARIAN] The yearbooks
were digitized for the archive.
Here's a guest password.
And there is a line of computers
just through the stacks.
[HANNAH] Ah, thank you
so much for your help.
[BAILEY BREATHING HEAVILY]
[HANNAH] Hey.
[BAILEY BREATHING HEAVILY]
What are we gonna find in there?
- Let's just go sit down.
- No, no. What are we
What are we gonna find out about him?
What are we gonna find out about me?
[SIGHS]
- I don't even know who I am.
- Bailey.
The worst part is that
he's always been here.
I didn't even go on a
sleepover until I was ten.
And when I did
my dad sat in his car and he
waited outside until I went to bed,
just to make sure
that I didn't need him.
He told me that story. Hmm.
Did he tell you that I
only made it till 7:30?
And then I [BREATHES HEAVILY]
I ran outside and I and I told
him I wanted to go home. [CRIES]
He's always been there for me.
He said he'd always be there.
- Bailey, I
- No. No. Let's just Let's just go.
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
[CELL PHONE BUZZING]
- Go ahead.
- I can call her back.
I'm fine.
I'm fine.
[SIGHS]
[WOOD TURNING MACHINE WHIRLING]
[BAILEY] I don't even know who I am.
[YOUNG HANNAH] She doesn't
even know who I am.
[LAUGHING]
- That cargo bed is wasted on you.
- Oh, my God. Do you hear yourself?
I'm just saying you
have nothing to pick up.
If this truck were mine
You still wouldn't be able
to haul your wood turning shit
'cause you still haven't
passed your road test.
[YOUNG HANNAH] Details.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
- Is that
- Thanks for the ride.
[PEOPLE LAUGHING]
["PRAYER IN OPEN D" PLAYING]
[MUSIC STOPS]
What are you doing to my vase?
[YOUNG HANNAH] Improving it.
This was gonna be the piece
that I was remembered for.
My magnum opus.
Hmm. It really wasn't.
[BOTH CHUCKLE]
You wanna come in and say
hello before she leaves?
- No, thanks.
- She wants to see you.
Now?
She wants to see me now? She
doesn't even know who I am now.
She's your mother. She knows you.
[SIGHS]
Look, she might not know your friends,
or that you're obsessed
with Emmylou Harris.
Or that you're a terrible driver,
but that's you today.
Those things change.
Your music, your friends.
Your driving, God-willing.
What's your point?
[SIGHS] My point is, she
might be worth keeping around.
How am I supposed to keep her
around if she's never fucking here?
[SIGHS] Hannah.
- [SONG CONTINUES]
- Hannah, come on.
Grandpa
for the record, I'm an excellent driver.
[SONG FADES OUT]
[PHONE RINGING]
- [JULES] Hey.
- I think the safe may be in my studio.
Your studio?
[HANNAH] Owen knows there's some pieces
I would never sell or give away.
You remember my
grandfather's vase, right?
- [JULES] Yeah.
- Check the bottom of it.
Will do.
Listen, um, you're sure that
duffel bag was under your bed?
[SCOFFS] Positive. Why?
[INHALES SHARPLY] Because
it's not there now.
- You sure?
- [JULES] I'm sure, Han.
What do you want me to do?
[HANNAH SIGHS]
Find the safe.
[HANNAH] No luck yet, huh?
What?
You know, I was a little
like you when I was your age.
I hadn't really thought
about that before.
Okay.
You don't believe me, do you?
Well, I don't really know who I am now,
so I don't even know what that means.
Hey, I know who you are. You do too.
Your name, your birthday,
those are just details.
[STAMMERS] Pretty important details.
Even without everything that's going on,
plenty of people are gonna
try to tell you who you are
or who you're supposed to be.
I'm just saying, I
think you know already.
For what it's worth,
I think you're smart enough
to decide the rest for yourself
and stubborn enough to stick to it.
You think I'm stubborn?
That's what you took from all that?
- [CHUCKLES]
- [CELL PHONE BUZZING]
- Hello.
- [PERSON] Scrimmages.
I didn't think about the scrimmages.
I'm sorry. Who is this?
[ELENOR] Oh, it's Elenor
McGovern at the church.
You came by yesterday asking
about game day weddings in '11?
[SIGHS] Right. Of course.
[ELENOR] Uh, well, I told your story
to one of our parishioners and, uh,
well, her older son is a Longhorn
and she pointed out that it
could've been a pre-season wedding.
And I thought, "Oh my
Lord, am I a dummy."
[CHUCKLES] It never even occurred
to me to check the scrimmages.
Wait, the scrimmages
are held at the stadium?
Just like regular games, that's right.
And they pack the
stands pretty good too.
Elenor, did you happen to check
the scrimmage dates for the season?
I did. And it turns out we had a wedding
the same day as the final scrimmage
- and it was the Reyes and Smith wedding.
- What's going on?
- [ELENOR] The ceremony was held at noon.
- Wait. Okay [STAMMERS] I'm sorry.
- Reyes, R-E-Y-E-S?
- That's right. Mm-hmm.
- And Smith?
- Yes.
There's no Reyes, but
there's a Katherine Smith.
Elenor, was the bride's
first name Katherine?
Uh, no, the the bride
wasn't named Katherine.
Her name was, uh, Andrea.
And, oh. Well Well, the husband was,
uh, his name was, give
me a second, Charles.
It was Andrea Reyes and Charles Smith.
This is above and
beyond. Thank you so much.
- Ah, well, it's my pleasure. [CHUCKLES]
- [SIGHS]
[HANNAH] It looks like you were right
about being at that church after all.
[SIGHS] Maybe.
Is one of them Katherine Smith?
It's what the index says.
[HANNAH] Wait.
[INHALES SHARPLY]
Bailey.
[GASPS]
["RUBY TUESDAY" PLAYS]