Whitstable Pearl (2021) s01e04 Episode Script

1
Arthur?
Arthur? It's dinnertime.
Hi, Mike. It's me.
Just wanted to hear
how you're holding up.
And because I needed
someone to talk to, I guess.
I went to her grave today
and put up some lilies.
I know it's just a date,
but somehow it hit me full-force today
like she's a phone call away
and I just can just
pick up and talk to her.
Strange, isn't it?
One second and everything changes.
Anyway, call me if you want to talk.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly ♪
Come on, Ruby. Find
that angel for the top.
'Tis the season to be jolly ♪
Do you think it's a bit too much?
It's Christmas, darling.
It can never be too much.
I once saw Arnold Schwarzenegger
on top of a plastic sledge
being pulled by six
elves wearing bikinis.
Even that filled me
with the holiday spirit.
More is more.
Uh, Mum, do you still want
beef and oyster pie on the menu?
Oh, can we skip it this
year? I hate making it.
Have we ordered enough champagne?
I ordered, Pearl, and I can
assure you there's enough.
Champagne and decorations
that's all the holiday spirit needs.
Hmm, absolutely.
That's why Jesus died for mankind.
So no pie then.
Not unless you wanna make it?
- Hmm.
- I could make it.
Yeah, okay. I'll help.
Oh, God.
That's what love looks like, dear.
You should try it sometime.
Do you remember that?
Dad got it.
He said I could choose any
one I want, and I chose that.
Right, you two are in
charge of pies, then.
Hi. Pearl Nolan.
Okay. Right.
A note?
It is small,
but you can't beat the view.
These flats are selling like hot cakes.
You're lucky to have
snapped it up just in time
to make it your own little
nest before Christmas.
Mr. McGuire?
You okay?
Yeah, absolutely.
Just admiring the great sea
view the brochure promised.
Yeah, okay.
Uh, I'm just gonna leave the keys here
and, uh, leave you to it.
Hope you like the flowers.
Merry Christmas.
Pearl.
Please have a seat.
So your husband disappeared,
yeah, seven years ago?
His car was found abandoned
by a slipway in Oare.
I was three months pregnant.
And the police?
Police were there.
By the car. Nothing.
No body.
And then they found a
suicide note so they,
um, stopped looking.
What do you think happened?
He's alive.
And he's out there
somewhere and he needs me.
What did the suicide note say?
I never saw it.
They never showed it to me.
And how would you like me to help?
I don't need to see a note to know
that my husband didn't kill himself.
No one believes me.
And then this came through my door.
It was just posted
through the letterbox.
Told the police?
They'll say it's just
someone being cruel.
They won't
They say it's not enough
to reopen the investigation.
They think I'm mad, you see,
because I believe that
he might come back.
The rest of them think he's dead.
Them? Who Who are them?
The people who were in our lives.
They've abandoned us now.
They told me to let him go.
But how could I do that, huh?
Tell me how?
How can I let my son
believe that his daddy
didn't want to meet him?
That he wasn't enough to stay alive for?
No.
This This is the truth.
I know it in my bones.
They're Robert's.
He painted them.
They help me keep him alive.
Have you ever lost a child?
No.
It's God's way of testing us, isn't it?
He takes away what we love the most
to teach us not to be selfish.
And it's His way of
reminding me every day
that what He gives can be
taken away just like that.
Like my son.
Minister Cameron says
they never really leave us.
They're just watching us,
and we're spinning so
fast we don't see 'em.
But if we slow down, we
can catch glimpses of 'em.
Hmm.
They're all watching us until
we slow down enough to join 'em.
Christina said that there's
Christina doesn't
live in the real world.
Um, I'm just trying to help.
Christina turned away from us.
And from the light.
She won't let us take Arthur to church,
won't let him be baptized even.
She can live her life how she wants,
but to do that to her
son, the selfishness.
Look, I know this is hard.
But I'm just trying to
find out more about Robert.
What was his life like?
No, I don't wanna talk about Robert.
Robert betrayed us.
He betrayed God's gift.
I lost two children that day.
I lost the light of my life.
No, I don't want to talk about Robert.
Sorry, I I'm just
trying to help Christina
to understand what happened.
- Oh.
- She'd got this note.
- And she's been
- Yeah.
She sent us that, didn't she?
She probably wrote 'em both
to persuade the police that
My son is dead.
They both are.
Christina is sick.
And cruel.
The only one who can help
her now is Minister Cameron.
You tell her that. You tell her.
Sorry. Sorry, I didn't
I
I am sorry.
My, uh, my wife, s she, uh
Evie has never fully
recovered after the accident.
What accident?
Robert had a twin brother, Mark.
He died.
Uh, they went swimming out at Oare.
Red flags were up,
but, uh, he was only 12.
They swam out.
Mark got caught in the undercurrent.
He never should've been out that far.
Robert was the better swimmer.
And he screamed for help,
but there was no one there.
Just Robert and somewhere
underneath him, his brother.
I'm sorry.
It wasn't Robert's fault,
but he blamed himself.
They were our world.
And, um, and Evie, uh,
couldn't believe God
could do that to her,
so she needed someone to blame.
And then when Robert ended his life, uh,
and left us with nothing,
she knew she could've
saved him if she'd just
Christina doesn't think
that Robert's dead.
Look we all believe in in
in whatever helps us from going insane.
My wife believes in
the minister and God.
Christina has has her own reality.
Our sons are dead.
Robert is dead.
Please just stop this madness now.
So you didn't put a 30-pound
frozen turkey in your pram?
Well, how could I?
My baby was in the pram.
I hate to tell you,
but your kid's never gonna play piano.
And its head is missing.
Probably feels a bit cold
too when you're breastfeeding.
- I want a lawyer.
- Oh, bloody hell.
Just Just stop.
Find out if there's
actually a baby somewhere
that we need to worry about.
Maybe she stuffed the turkey with it.
Guv, I have something for you.
I know you just bought an apartment,
and I know you would never
get round to buying a tree,
so just, you know, pimp her up a bit.
You're a glitter and
sparkles kind of guy.
Oh, come in. It's open.
All right?
You've been busy.
Yeah, it's a cold case.
Woman's husband went missing
nearly seven years ago.
Car found by the River Oare.
Suicide note but no body.
So you're chasing a ghost.
Well, I'm helping a
woman who needs help.
But I need to see the suicide
note, and it's in police files.
Is this why you wanted to meet?
Pearl, we've been through this.
It's a police file. I
can't give it to you.
Well, you don't have to give it to me.
But you could Like,
you could describe it to me
or you could, like, take a picture of it
or you could draw it or do charades.
I I just need to know what it says.
You hungry?
- Uh
- Get your blood sugar levels up.
No, I I I've got
got some stuff to sort out
so, uh, maybe another time, yeah.
You okay?
It's not your fault, it's
It's just a bad day.
I got something for you.
I got you this for your new
flat, make it Christmassy.
Well, that's, uh, nice.
Got any plans for Christmas?
I've, uh I I've gotta go.
I'll give you a a call later.
Hello. Can I help you?
Hi. I was looking for Minister Cameron.
He has a baptism
ceremony out by the beach
and can't be disturbed.
And after that, he works
with our outreach programs.
He'll be back for group
and therapy meetings
in the afternoon. Come back then.
What's a Lazarus meeting?
That's our grief counseling meeting.
It's open to everyone.
Is that what you're looking for?
- Yeah.
- Great.
Well, you're welcome.
Did Robert Scott used to
come to these meetings?
He used to with his girlfriend.
You mean Christina?
No.
Alice. Tsk, that's right, yeah.
Were they together for a while?
The love of his life, and he was hers.
Now they're both gone.
Gone? Where Where did Alice go?
You said you were looking
for Minister Cameron.
It was just seeing Robert's photograph,
it just reminded me of him.
So sad.
Well, thanks for your help.
I'll I'll come back.
Think not that I came
to send peace on earth,
I came not to send peace but a sword,
for I am come to set a man
at variance with his father
and the daughter with her mother-in-law
and a man's foe shall be
those of his own household.
Hello.
Sorry to disturb.
It's just I have another question.
There's not much more to say.
I know. I'm sorry I came back.
It's just do do
you remember an Alice?
She was a friend of Robert's.
- Alice.
- Yeah.
I think maybe she was his girlfriend.
He used to take her to church,
so it was before he stopped.
He used to have a girlfriend
before he met Christina.
Maybe Alice was her name.
I I'm not sure, but she left.
Left? What do you mean she left?
Uh, I I don't know.
Somebody told me she
was the love of his life.
She was a bit of a lost soul, I think.
Ran away a lot.
Do you remember her parents?
- No.
- No?
Come on.
It's a small town.
And she was dating your son.
You must have known her parents.
She, uh, grew up in the
children's home, I think.
So like I said, no.
- Near here?
- Guess so.
Can you remember the name of it?
Look, you need to stop this.
Robert is dead.
My wife is having a breakdown.
We lost both sons,
and now this note.
Have you asked Christina
if she wrote it?
Okay, well, if you do remember
her surname or her family,
could you let me know?
Thank you.
Ooh.
It's delicious.
Do you really think so?
Yeah. It's better than mine.
Well, I worked on the
recipe you taught me
and added a couple of things.
Wow.
I'm really proud of you, Ruby.
Did Charlie help?
Uh, yeah.
You're a horrible liar.
Ruby, you should take over the kitchen
for a couple of evenings a week.
Give Pearl a chance to get laid.
What?
H how have you gone from
the beef and oyster pie to that?
Come on, I'm not gonna stand here
and discuss my sex life with you,
least of all in front
of my son's girlfriend.
Listen.
What?
That's the sound of us
discussing your sex life.
I think she means it's non-existent.
Yeah, I got it, thanks, thank you.
I think you should take
over every now and then.
I think it's a brilliant idea.
I'm going out to the Mather's Church.
Why?
A man went missing a few years ago,
and his wife's asked me to find him.
But they're like a cult.
I've read about them.
They're like the Manson
family but with a priest.
No, it isn't.
They call themselves a church.
Yeah, they all say that, dear.
Do you know I have always
wanted to visit a cult.
Feels kind of secret.
Hi. It's me.
Um, listen sorry about
asking for the note.
I I won't ask any more favors.
And you didn't answer when I asked
if you had plans for Christmas.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
But for everything there
is a season and a time
for every matter under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant
and a time to pluck up what is planted.
A time to kill
and a time to heal.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Can you feel the comfort, my friends?
Can you feel God within you?
Yes.
Ah, ah, do not whisper to God.
Let him hear your voice.
Can you feel God?
Yes.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
And now my friends,
what would you like to
share with us this week?
Ah.
I felt Jason very close this week.
Like we spoke about,
it didn't hurt as much.
I felt more comforted.
Well, we cannot rush healing.
- But healing
- Cult.
comes to us all.
And you?
Yes, you.
You're welcome to Mather's Church.
What about your loss
would you like to share?
Well, hello.
Um, my husband died 30 years ago.
Pff, I mean so long ago now that I
compared to most of you,
I should barely think of him anymore.
It's just that I'm
reminded of it every day.
I lost my husband. I can cope with that.
But what I felt most was
the loss for my daughter.
She was only 8 at the time.
And I wanted so much
for it not to hurt her.
But I think some things get stored
in our subconscious, don't they?
I watch her now,
and she's scared to love.
She's scared of being hurt.
And I know it's not my right,
but sometimes I I
just wanna scream at her.
But to be scared to love
because you're scared of being hurt,
well, that's sacrilegious, isn't it?
Thank you.
Now, that was wonderful.
- Oh.
- Wonderful.
- All right, see you.
- Go well. See you next week.
- God be with you.
- Thank you.
God be with you.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
Thank you for sharing. God go with you.
Lovely to see you. Thank you.
Thank you for coming.
May God bless you.
- Minister Cameron.
- Hmm?
Ah, I wondered if I could ask you
a couple of questions
about Robert Scott?
Why?
Well, he used to come here
with his girlfriend, Alice.
And?
And, well, she disappeared,
and then a few years later,
he allegedly committed suicide.
Don't you think that's strange?
Do you believe in God, Miss Nolan?
Well, it's a simple question.
Do you come here to mock
Him in His own house?
I came here to ask some
questions about Robert
and try and understand his life.
Christina received a note.
- It's ridiculous.
- Why?
It's a wound she doesn't want to heal.
She's constructed her life around it.
Two of your f flock,
is that what you call them,
went missing, so how
would you explain that?
I failed.
There is a world out there
that I try to protect them from
but, uh
I don't believe you.
I don't believe that
you don't know anything
about Robert or Alice.
Really don't care what you believe.
There is only one who can judge us,
and it's not you, Miss Nolan.
Robert made a choice to turn
his back on us a long time ago.
Our church does a lot of good work.
I've dedicated my life
to that. We all have.
Christina wrote that message herself.
She needs help.
You're only encouraging
her fantasy world,
so please leave.
That went well.
I don't get it.
That's not a normal response to suicide.
They're Christians, dear.
They have a 2,000-year-old tradition
of not having a normal
response to anything.
Did you miss him?
Who?
Dad.
Doesn't really help to
miss someone, does it?
Doesn't bring them back.
But that doesn't answer my question.
Is there something
you're not telling me?
Like what?
About you and dad.
Something I don't know.
Did you love him?
What kind of question is that?
You're not a child anymore, Pearl.
Life isn't black and white.
I just
Still here?
No.
There was no baby.
The woman who stole the turkey.
No baby.
There was a dog, though.
Yeah? Maybe they share
like Lady and the Tramp.
Tell you what, why don't
you call her lawyer,
tell him there's no
baby and have him explain
what his client was doing in the store
with a pram full of meat.
Shouldn't you be at
home in your new flat
settling in for Christmas?
I got your tree.
All I need now is a plum pudding,
liter of vodka, and a Santa hat.
And I'll be all set.
Sounds like fun.
Humbug.
What do you think?
It's like one of the quotes
that have been ripped off his sketches.
He put quotes on everything.
Look, you've got a young man, right,
disappeared, what,
almost seven years ago.
I read the case file,
a lot points to suicide.
You've got a car abandoned by water.
Right, he's shy, no friends.
Got a history of
tragic loss, depression.
Yeah, but his life was looking up
and he had a decent
relationship with his wife
even though she had problems.
And he was about to become a father.
Uh, maybe the
responsibility was too much.
And maybe he was more
depressed than people noticed
and didn't talk to anyone.
It's t typical male behavior.
Not me, of course.
I'm the male equivalent of Oprah.
I dunno, maybe you're right.
I've spoken to all the
people that his wife said
he was close to or that he
had regular contact with,
and that's a grand total
of four, including her.
And there's this one I can't find.
She grew up at the kid's home.
Shut down.
Sorry, I wasn't eavesdropping.
I'm the reason it shut down.
How's the fish?
Yeah, yeah, great, yeah.
Suspect it hasn't seen water in a while,
but the oil makes up for that perfectly.
Really, you shut it down?
Well, the girls weren't
properly cared for.
In what way?
Well, when I first
started here as a waitress,
they used to all come
over and spend time here.
The bloke that run it used
to dish out free tattoos
to the girls right there in that corner.
12-, 13-year-olds.
So I called the home to report it.
Nothing was done, so
I called the council.
They investigated,
and they found a bit
more than just tattoos.
Did you know a girl called Alice Lowry?
I remember Alice.
Troubled.
Scottish, big hair, makeup out here.
I always thought
underneath all the guck,
she'd look just like a little girl.
First tattoo she ever had
was right by her suicide scar
she had on her wrist.
Tattooed the word
"failure" right next to it.
And after that, she got her whole chest
covered in butterflies.
Was this the girl that disappeared?
Hmm.
Must've run off with her boyfriend.
She used to boast about
how she'd found someone,
how he was gonna take care of her.
She was pregnant last time I saw her.
- What?
- Yeah.
Did the test here.
I spent an hour holding her
while she sobbed in the loo.
That's the last time I ever saw her.
Who was the boyfriend?
Who knows?
Glad I reported it, though.
Ooh, excuse me.
You only use that thing
as a pager, don't you?
Oh, it's, um
When I came to see you yesterday
It's just been a rough couple of days.
I'm sorry about that.
I'm gonna have a party at
the restaurant for Christmas.
If you haven't made any other plans.
Look, I know you don't
like meeting new people,
but you could you
could just talk to me.
Stand in the corner and have your back
on all the other guests.
I gotta get back to work, um
Give me a call if you
find anything, all right?
And, uh, don't go
speaking to people alone.
Just call me.
I'll see you later.
Mike, it's me.
Um, I've done something really stupid.
I went to the children's home.
I know I said I'd tell you
but, well, I'm telling you now.
Look, I I think Robert is alive.
I think I just saw him.
He attacked me or I I scared him.
But either way, I lost him.
Can you, um Can you call me?
Hi.
I got your message. Are you all right?
- Sorry.
- For what?
Well, you warned me.
Listen, Pearl, this is a small town.
What do you mean by that?
What if he knows who you are?
Or where you live? Or where you work?
Well, I think I just scared him.
He's living there or
he's sleeping there.
And what if he killed Alice?
Where are you?
At home.
Listen, uh, why don't you get
some sleep and, um, tomorrow,
bring me everything you've got,
and I'll go through it, okay?
Okay.
Thank you.
All right, good night.
Night.
Sorry, we're shut. The
kitchen isn't ready yet.
Do you think I could
just have a cup of coffee?
I can sit on the balcony.
Sure.
Just plain black.
I could use one myself.
Do you mind if I join you?
Why are you looking for Robert?
Because Christina hired me to find him.
Is he with you, Alice?
I saw him last night.
No, you saw me.
What do you want?
I wanna help.
Robert's dead.
How do you know?
Why have you come back?
I'm here to meet the father of my child.
And who's that?
He's the one that killed Robert.
I've imagined this moment
so many times in my head.
What I would say, what you would do.
What you'd look like when you're scared.
I was 14.
I was a child.
And I trusted you.
When I told you that I was pregnant
I thought that you
would take care of me.
But you made me do things
that no child should do.
Took pictures.
Threatened to take my baby
away if I didn't disappear.
You had to involve my son, didn't you?
Couldn't stay away from him.
Robert tried to save me from you.
He gave me money so that
I could run from you.
Why did you come back?
I had to tell him.
When I first left, I lied.
I said I didn't know who the father was.
And it hurt him.
But it was better than
the truth, wasn't it?
I came back and told him about you.
The night that you beat him to death.
I saw you leave the car at Oare.
Do you think I mean to hurt him?
He was my son.
Try to imagine that.
I loved you.
Uh, I tried to explain, but
but he he just
wouldn't stop shouting.
So you hit him until he stopped.
Don't you dare judge me.
Every single night when I close my eyes,
I see his f
face.
No sin is forgiven as long
as the conscience knows.
Try killing your own son.
Try losing two sons.
You killed Robert by
spreading your legs for anyone
who'd give you a minute's
attention, you little whore.
Why did you send those notes?
Why?!
Now you know how it feels to be scared.
They're looking for him,
and they will find you.
There is nowhere that you can run.
Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4.
It's a lie, though.
It's a lie, Alice.
I want this to end.
I want this to be over.
I want this to be over.
Whoever strikes a man so that he dies
shall be put to death.
You shall take him from
my altar so he may die.
Now everyone will know
who you really are.
He will never hurt me
or anybody else again.
Mike, it's me.
You're not gonna like this.
You came.
Yeah.
Oh, thanks.
The corner.
What?
You said there was a
corner where I could stand.
Well, I've got a balcony if
the corners are too crowded.
Are there Christmas
songs playing out there?
No.
Balcony sounds like a good idea.