The Gone (2023) s01e05 Episode Script

1
My name is Hannah Martin.
And we are the parents
of Sinead Martin.
I was asked to bring something
personal of our daughter's.
Some "thing" that would
encapsulate
what Sinead means to us.
Our daughter doesn't
find meaning in things.
She finds it in family
her friends, love, happiness.
Nothing that I can
show you here today.
Sinead told us a joke
when she was seven.
"Knock, knock?"
"Who's there?"
"Ice cream."
- "Ice cream who?"
- Pull!
"I-scream
"so you can hear me."
If you have Sinead
please let her go.
And Sinead, love
I scream
so you can hear me.
- Thank you.
- (REPORTERS CLAMOUR)
DS Huia, can you confirm
Colin Friends is a suspect?
- Thank you, everybody,
for your time.
- (CLAMOUR)
Mr Friends,
where were you on the evening
of November 10th between
the hours of 6:30 and 10pm?
As I said, I left work
at the usual time.
I went home, I made my wife
soup and then I spent an hour
or two at the gun club.
- Your wife can confirm
the time you arrived home?
- My wife?
My wife's not well.
My client's already answered
those questions. I suggest
you cut to the chase.
Yesterday, when Sergeant Harris
asked you when you first
came to the region,
you advised September 2020,
three years ago.
That wasn't your first time
in Mount Affinity.
You lived here back in 2006,
Mr Friends.
Why did you lie to us?
I didn't lie.
I didn't lie!
We moved here three years ago.
And I stayed here briefly
from May 2006, working
on a project at the mill.
You were here at the same
time Emma Wilson and Gabriel
Peeters were murdered.
You can't be serious.
Where did you get those
scratches, Mr Friends?
- I'm not sure.
- I'm requesting
a voluntary DNA sample,
access to your electronic equipment,
including home computer,
- laptops, cell phone
- Not without a warrant.
I need air.
Where's Sinead?
- LAWYER: I'm calling an ambulance.
- RICHTER: Look at me and relax.
You've had a panic attack before,
you what this is, yes?
Breathe in through your nose. In and
out slowly, you know what to do.
I need to go home.
Unless you're arresting
my client, we're leaving.
Come up slowly. Get up.
- There we go.
- This way.
(DOOR CLOSES)
We need that warrant.
Confirmation from ESR.
The blood from the mill is Ronan's.
There's also animal blood
and another human profile
but it doesn't match Sinead's
and it's not on the database.
Colin's blood's not in the profile.
Any update on his history
in Mount Affinity?
Colin rented a bach.
- A what?
- A small house on the outskirts
of town in late 2006.
He lived alone for quite
a number of months.
- He said he was working at the mill.
- Why does a mill
need a tech scientist?
He was researching fungal spores
and resin acid exposure.
He wrote a paper
published later that year.
- When exactly did he get here?
- 15th November.
Three weeks before the first murder.
Until he returned to his post
as a lecturer at Auckland Uni
in late
February 2007.
So, Colin was definitely in Mount
Affinity for both murders.
If Ronan's blood was in
that room at the mill and
the goat was dismembered there,
the killer had to have
been coming and going.
Bruce, I want a team
knocking on doors
to see if anyone saw anything
in the vicinity of the mill.
And until we get that warrant,
I want 24-hour surveillance on
Friends' house.
He doesn't do anything, he doesn't go
anywhere without us following, OK?
- Copy that.
- Great, thank you.
Good work, team. Thanks, everyone.
PODCAST: 'Who were the victims?
'How did they come to be in Mount
Affinity that fateful summer?
'What drew the Goat Man to them?
'And, other than
their grizzly murders,
'is there another link
that binds Emma and Gabriel?
'I'm Ava Scott, and this is episode
two of The Mountain Murders.'
RICHTER: Let me know
if Ava solves this one, will you?
- (PODCAST OFF)
- Hey.
You know the way serial killers
typically don't just stop?
If that's what we're dealing with,
where do you think they've been all
this time?
In rare cases, they go dormant
for years, sometimes even decades.
Hm.
- Why, have you got a theory?
- Maybe.
You?
Drink?
- I promise I won't
ask a single question.
- Oh, yeah?
Go on, then.
Whoa.
All right.
- So, how are you?
- Yeah, I'm good.
- You?
- I meant since Derry.
I'm not pressing charges.
Come on, talk to me.
I knew he wasn't going to do it.
But I suppose him,
or someone like him, might.
Do you ever get sick of it all?
All the ugliness and the
All the shit coming at you
non-stop from all sides.
Dou you ever just want to stop?
And give up all of this?
Richter, I know the risks.
You've seen the locks on my doors,
but what else would I do?
I don't know who the fuck
I am without this job!
- You can do whatever you want.
- (SCOFFS)
- Oh, yeah?
- Yeah, course you can.
You're Aileen fucking Ryan!
Good night, Aileen.
Good night, Richter.
'Let's start right back
at the beginning,
'to what we knew then
and what we know now'
Where'd you go?
Nowhere important.
What are you hiding from me?
Nothing, my love.
Not one thing.
Colin, I'm dying.
I'm not a child.
WIKI: # I te po marino e
Te korowai
o Te Atua
Ko taku whare okioki
BUSTER: I know your heart is broken.
Our boy leaves us today.
And I'll leave, too,
if that's your will.
Te kapua
i te Ikaroa
Moku, mo aku takahanga ♪
(BIRDSONG)
DOC: Harriet's doing well,
considering. Her stomach
should settle in a day or so.
- As if you need more on your plate.
- You've heard the talk, I'm sure.
Do you think I'm capable
of what they're saying, Ray?
I think anyone is
capable of anything.
But when I look at you,
I see a good man.
TAMATI: Jesus!
- Hey, Tamati.
- Hey, Doc.
Hey, Colin.
Oh, come on, mate.
(LOCK TURNS)
(SIGHS)
Listen, I
I don't understand any of this.
You know, what they're saying.
You hurt Sinead?
Colin! It's bullshit!
I know it is.
Come on.
Look, just tell me
that you didn't do anything wrong.
Please, mate.
You're the best man I know, Colin.
(CRYING)
(SOFTLY) Hi, my love.
Scrambled eggs.
You try to eat it, OK?
HARRIET: Where are you going?
COLIN: Well, those chickens
of yours won't feed themselves.
I love you.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(DOG BARKING)
VOICES CALLING: Sinead! Sinead!
Sinead!
Sinead!
Sinead!
- Sinead!
- Sinead!
Sinead!
(RADIO CRACKLES) 'Val. Val, come in.'
- Go ahead.
- 'Yeah, we're near
the end of the valley.
'We need you down here, boss.'
Copy.
This way, team.
We almost missed it.
There.
(BUZZER)
(CLUNK)
Colin?
(COUGHING)
AILEEN: Frank.
Shelly Duncan, Frank's solicitor.
What are you doing here?
Shelly?
Just checking in.
Losing a son?
It's not easy.
OFFICER: 15 minutes.
Colin?
You said something
the day of the funeral.
First off
who are you?
I'm a journalist.
Colin?
Colin!
And what are you doing here
with me, missy journalist?
You tell me.
Colin?
(CHICKENS CLUCKING)
AILEEN: The Goat Man.
You heard those words,
closed your eyes and off you went.
Where did you go?
HARRIET: Colin?
Call me.
AILEEN: I think you
do know something.
The public is safe from you.
But who's out there?
(RINGING)
(RINGING STOPS)
Have they found the girl?
- Not yet.
- Do they have a suspect?
They do.
But they're not giving anything away.
You said,
"It's not what it looks like.
"Never was."
What did you mean?
Diana Huia.
She's the main pig
on this case, right?
What does she know that you don't?
What's she not telling you
little Diana?
Did they ever find her mummy?
OFFICER: Hey, Pastors. Time's up.
VAL: One of my teams
found this place this morning.
Signs of a struggle.
Sinead's shoe.
She didn't break out.
This was unlocked.
So, he came and got her. When?
(PHONE RINGING)
DS Huia.
How long ago?
Our guys outside Colin Friends'
house? They lost him.
- What's our timeline?
- Last time they saw him,
four hours ago.
Enough time to get up here.
Bruce knows the river best.
I'll get some dive teams
under his command to search
for likely dump spots.
Can you go with him?
We need to act fast before
there's any chance of flooding.
To clarify, the ground
search is abandoned?
Keep some teams on the ground.
They're out there
so we're not giving up.
But we need to redirect some of our
resources to recovery and the water.
DIANA: A young woman's life
is at stake, Mrs Friends.
RICHTER: Do you have idea where
your husband might have taken her?
I'm sorry, I really am,
but the best way you can help your
husband right now is by telling us everything.
I don't know.
I just don't know.
We have no idea how he's moving -
by foot or vehicle,
or in what direction.
I want checkpoints on every road
going out of Mount Affinity.
Check every car, every truck,
their back seats, their boots.
Yes, I know it's a big job.
It's someone's life!
The police have specified
a person of interest.
Colin Friends, 54 years old,
most recently employed at
the local tech company, Houkura.
- Do you know Colin Friends?
- I don't know Colin Friends well.
I do know that he's a brilliant
scientist, committed to
the Houkura philosophy.
But apart from that, I have
no knowledge of why the police
would want to speak with him.
- Thank you, everybody.
- (CLAMOUR)
Gwenda.
- Anything on that
priority one alert?
- Nothing yet.
- Bruce?
- Sorry, mate.
(PHONE RINGING)
DS Huia.
OK, where?
Oh, fuck.
Yeah. Yeah, we'll be
there in ten minutes.
(VOICES INAUDIBLE)
(VOICES INAUDIBLE)
The news is not good, I'm afraid.
Sinead has not been found.
(NOTIFICATION CHIMES)
DAVID: What's going on?
- What do you mean?
- What do I mean? Seriously?
The main suspect in Ronan's death,
a potential fucking serial killer,
committed suicide today.
What were you doing?
Obsessing about some
- Frank Pastors knows something.
- He's playing with you.
There's no story here. Let it go.
I'm not asking you.
BRUCE: I know the stats.
Every hour she's gone,
the chances plummet.
But in my bones
I really felt like
we were going to get her back.
Stupid!
It's not stupid, Bruce.
What do you think?
Is there a chance?
None of the other crimes were
abduction for abduction's sake.
He took them to kill them.
If he's gone, she's gone.
Looking for her, on the river bed.
(EXHALES)
BRUCE: I'm going home.
RICHTER: You're not going
to sleep tonight?
Me neither.
I'm gonna need a drink.
Drink just makes it worse.
- This is a police station, Richter.
- Yeah, but out there
is just a car park.
(SHE CHUCKLES)
With the Mountain Murderer dead
they'll give a bit of resources
into finding the last victim, but
there'll be a limit.
Her body could be anywhere, Richter.
That's what they said to me.
That Mum
We might never find Sinead.
Or know what happened to her.
Anyway, you'll be
wanting to get back.
Can't be who I was there.
- Not now.
- So, what's your plan?
Give up?
Fuck you!
How is it that Irish
can always make "fuck" sound so
- Bitter?
- (LAUGHS) I was going
to say "charming".
I don't know, must be a gift.
Mm!
What about your friend, Aileen?
And don't say you don't
like her, it's lame.
- You just going to walk away?
- Hm.
Don't do that.
Because that, my Irish friend,
that is a special kind of hell.
What about you? What's next?
Tie up the loose ends.
- Back to the city and my real life.
- Are you sure this isn't your real
life?
Mm-hm!
So, Mr Flash International Detective
thinks he knows all about me now,
does he?
- Maybe I do.
- Or maybe you don't, gob-shit.
It's gob-shite, not gob-shit.
(LAUGHING) You're a gob-shit,
you gob-shite!
Oh, God!
Good work, Detective.
(TYRES SCREECH, CRASH)
- Oh, fuck!
- (DOGS BARKING)
I'm quite stoned.
Hannah!
DIANA: Hannah!
RICHTER: Hannah.
- Oh.
- Oh, shit!
BOTH: Hannah!
Hannah!
Lean back.
(GROANS)
- DS Huia reporting
a traffic collision.
- It's OK, I'm here.
One car, solo occupant,
ambulance assistance
HANNAH: Oh, God,
I don't want to be alive.
DIANA: ..main street, about halfway
up, opposite the police station.
HANNAH: Where is she, Richter?
DIANA: Yeah, I'll stay on the line.
It's OK. I got you.
I don't want to live.
I got you, I'm here. I'm here.
DIANA: Yeah, I'm still here.
Sinead?
Sinead!
- Sinead.
- Mum!
Mum.
(SPLUTTERS)
(CHUCKLES)
This isn't the first time
she's made a big entrance.
I was abroad when she was born.
Hannah went into labour early
and I couldn't get a flight.
So, I stayed in
the hotel room and smoked.
- About five packs of cigarettes!
- (BOTH CHUCKLE)
(COUGHS) That's how long the delivery
took, five packs of cigarettes!
I haven't smoked since then.
Mr Martin.
Your wife and daughter
are a little hard to keep
apart, understandably so.
How is Sinead?
Dehydrated, bruised, traumatised.
Physically, she'll be fine, but right
now, she just wants to see her dad.
Thank you, Doctor.
- When can we talk to her?
- She needs to rest.
Tomorrow?
(HE CHUCKLES)
I thought I was protecting Wiki.
Protecting myself.
OK.
(KNOCKING)
(SIGHS)
Sinead's alive and safe.
- No way?
- Yeah.
How?
I I don't know.
It's a bloody miracle.
We get to talk to her tomorrow.
- Oh, that's amazing.
- Yeah.
That's fucking amazing!
- What happened?
Did she escape or?
- We don't know anything yet.
- We get to talk to her tomorrow.
- Jesus!
- If I believed in miracles, well
- Yeah.
- Yeah, best news ever.
- Yeah.
Well good night.
Aileen.
Yeah?
I'm sorry.
I really didn't
want to come out here.
I thought the story
was a goose chase.
- David dug his heels in, of course.
- (CHUCKLES)
I'm glad he did.
Are you? What was that?
I miss this.
Yeah, me too.
Can I ask you something?
Yeah.
Why are you leaving your job?
I should go.
Hey.
Enough.
OK, you're not leaving
until you just tell me what the
what the fuck is wrong!
What is it?
I have the gene for Huntington's.
Do you know what that is?
- Yeah, I know it.
- OK. That's it.
- Oh
- Don't, please.
Come here.
(WHISPERS) I'm sorry.
I don't want this to
touch you, you know?
When I can't walk or talk
or I can't look after myself.
I'm just so fucking angry
all the time. I'm just
- So fucking angry.
- Whatever happens, I don't care.
- I do. I do!
- OK.
I care.
I don't want you anywhere near this.
Don't go.
- Theo, don't go.
- I have to.
I'm sorry.
I was calling but
you, er, weren't in your room.
Sinead's awake.
She's ready to talk.
SINEAD: Mum says you flew
around the world to save me.
RICHTER: Well, lucky for us,
you saved yourself.
DIANA: I can't tell you how much
we hoped for this moment.
- Was it you who found him?
- Search and Rescue.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
I knew he was dead
when I saw him on the deck.
What happened, Sinead?
Can you tell us what
happened from the start?
I went to the garage
to put petrol in the car
and pick up a bottle of wine.
Ronan was cooking
when I left, then
Ronan? Ronan!
Jesus Christ! No, no, no, no!
Ronan, Ronan.
(SCREAMS)
I felt something
and then nothing.
- Then I woke up in
the boot of a car.
- (SCREAMING)
Help me!
Oh, no! No!
Next thing I remember was the hut.
(BOLT THROWN)
No.
Let me out.
Let me out!
Let me out!
LET ME OUT!
LET ME OUT!!!
How did you get out?
Last time he came,
I grabbed at his arms
and then he put
this cloth over my face.
I lost consciousness.
When I woke up
the cable ties were cut
and the door was open.
So I just ran.
Ran until I found the road.
Mum says you found who did it,
says he killed himself.
Who was he?
It was your boss, Colin Friends.
- Colin?
- Mm-hm.
That's impossible.
It couldn't have been him.
I saw him that night on
the way home from the garage.
Jeez! Oh, my God!
(MUSIC POUNDING)
Colin?
Colin?
Are you OK?
Are you all right, Colin?
OK, then.
Jesus!
He was locked. He could barely walk.
Colin didn't do it.
(CAR BEEPS)
If it wasn't Colin
(ROCK PLAYING)
Well, there's a hell cat,
loose cat, hear it wail
Well, it's gonna get to you,
got the demon power
You got to run, run, brother,
you know your soul's on fire ♪
A copycat copies exactly.
How did they know about the bones?
It's just a diversion.
'I'm scheduling this to send to you
this time tomorrow. Undo what I've
done.'
(YELLING)
Someone on this list was
out there that night and
no one saw a damn thing.
Don't be a fucking coward,
Richter. Richter!
(HORN BLASTS)
Today's a day this
town's gonna remember.
No more secrets, eh?
I will find out,
and he will answer for it.
What are you afraid of?
Just admit it - you killed him!
Why?