Black Bird (2022) s01e06 Episode Script

1
Nice!
My old man used to say
he wanted me to better myself.
I love you.
But I could see in his eyes
he didn't.
"Better myself."
- No.
- I got you.
Nice, Jimmy.
Way to get off the line.
Attaboy!
Gremlin.
You know
what they never tell you?
They don't tell you
that the love of your life…
could be your child.
Are you a threat to the mental health
of any of my patients?
Are you a threat?
Hi. Where are you heading off to?
Just gonna go home.
You can't. You promised.
I never promised anything.
You did.
You did.
You promised.
Hey, James.
What?
James.
Hey, James.
James.
You were having some dream.
Did I say anything?
No. But it did make me think
that my stories yesterday
may have given you some nightmares.
Stories?
That's what they are.
Sometimes I do that.
Lie to your friends?
Huh?
What? No.
Well, you just said you lied to me.
So either you lie to your friends,
or you lie to people
who aren't your friends,
which pretty much tells me
where I stand either way.
That's not it.
Okay.
All right…
All right, look, it's
Relax, Larry.
I'm not surprised.
What are you saying?
I guess if I'd given it more thought,
I would have realized you were lying.
It's not lying. It's storytelling.
I'm not a liar. I'm a raconteur.
Look, whatever.
Your details were off,
and God's in the details.
Okay. What "details?"
- You said you grew up digging graves.
- I did.
Yet you didn't dig
one for Jessica Roach.
See?
That's how I know
you're full of shit.
Then you would know
that you need to dig a grave
in the right kind of soil.
Yeah.
And it's hard to find in the dark.
Of course.
And this man, he pulled up
on the road across from my van.
Yeah, that guy.
He keeps showing up.
I meant to go back.
I just didn't have the time to do it.
Larry. It's okay.
- It's not.
- It's fine.
Everybody in here tells stories.
I tell everybody I played for OSU
It's not!
I
I'm telling the truth.
You just said it was a story.
That was the lie.
That was?
Yeah.
I'm not lying, James.
You're not a killer, man.
I am.
I've looked into the eyes of a few.
And you don't have those eyes.
What eyes do I have?
A wannabe's.
- Meet me in the woodshop later.
- Why?
I wanna show you
what kind of eyes I have.
Chow, maggots.
Shut the fuck up!
You could always request PC.
Might as well open up, Jim.
Mind if I come in?
I'd rather come out.
Where's your girlfriend?
Is he the one you're
supposed to rat on?
Cause I would support that.
A kid killer?
You kidding me, Jim?
I would have your back on that.
- Yeah?
- I'd be your true blue, bud.
What would it cost me?
Nothing.
Really.
Some things are bigger than us
and we can all agree
that motherfucker has to get got.
So who would we be working for?
You mean who am I working for?
Yes, but we'd be in this together.
And maybe, if I did good,
it would be like an audition for me.
And I can get a job
with the Marshals.
Well, if I was working
for the Marshals, maybe.
So who you working for?
I tell you what, Mr. Carter.
What?
You call off the dogs for a week
Why would I do that, Jim?
- So I know you can.
- And you'll do what?
- Tell you who I'm working for.
- So, tell me.
A week from now.
If I'm still walking upright.
That's not…
That's not how our relationship works,
Jim.
I don't think
you can call anyone off.
How you gonna call me off you?
Well,
you fucked with my phone calls.
And you already put
a snitch jacket on me.
What else you gonna do?
- You don't wanna find that out.
- Yeah.
I do.
Okay then.
Enjoy your day.
Savor it.
- I was on the phone.
- Yep.
On hold for three fucking hours.
Three hour
I didn't even know that
if it's breakfast or lunch anymore.
It's lunch.
And all
Here you go.
All to tell me to call back tomorrow
to talk to the one guy,
the one guy who can let me know
why Jimmy's funds were frozen.
Well, you know,
maybe you could drive out there again
and sit and stare at the prison.
Come on. Stop.
This is fucking serious.
I know.
What are you having?
A churger.
- What?
- The cheeserburger.
No, you said "churger."
- I did?
- Yeah.
Hi, folks.
Can I get you something to start?
Hi. Yeah. I'll have ice tea.
Hon?
A coff of cuppee, and a churger.
The I don't know,
the cheese Fuck.
Call 911. He's having a stroke.
- Oh, God.
- What?
- 911.
- Okay.
Okay.
It's okay. Okay.
Oh, God.
911!
Good friend of mine
got the pancreatic cancer.
Doctor said he'd be
dead in four months.
A week later he slipped walking up
some icy steps of a church, mind you,
and hit his fucking head.
Died right there in front
of his wife, one of his kids.
Know what his last words were
before he bled out all over the steps
of St. Augustine's?
"You just… never fucking know."
How'd you get in here?
Door was open.
What you working on?
James.
I finished them.
Twenty-one? Why?
Because I like to carve.
No. Why 21?
Why not 20 or an even two dozen?
Like, I carve well.
See?
It's too bad I don't paint well.
I'll leave that to Gary.
Gary paints them black.
Blacker than any
black you've ever seen.
Shipping these to Gary?
Home, yeah.
Do you know what they're for, James?
No.
They watch over the dead.
They guard their spirits
to make sure they're okay.
These are the eyes
you wanted me to see?
Well, there's these too.
Right.
You know, James.
You thinking that I was a liar,
that made me sick to my stomach.
Because then maybe you'd think
that I don't take what I do seriously.
There's a care
that should be taken.
That's what I'm saying.
It shouldn't be casual.
You know, not like your 80 women
you've been with.
No. I'm sorry to say,
but you probably don't remember
some of their names.
Maybe their body parts start to blur.
Am I wrong?
It was just sex, Larry.
It's never just sex.
Never just anything.
Every interaction you have
with a person means something.
We That's what we owe to the…
to the world.
To history.
Sometimes it's just sex.
No.
If every interaction
with another person had the same weight
we'd all go insane, Larry.
No. You fucking hear me?
No.
Shut the fuck up and listen to me.
We are part of something.
I am a part of something.
When I folded those clothes,
that was an act of kindness from a…
a deity.
Whose clothes?
Who are we talking about?
Tricia Reitler's.
Everyone was looking for her.
They still are.
She got in your van too?
She was a handful.
She punched like a man.
And I didn't wanna stab her, James.
I didn't stab her…
because I was going to stab her.
I stabbed her
to stop her from hitting me. Man.
But that didn't work.
She just kept on trying to hurt me.
I had to choke her.
You stabbed her and choked her?
Such a nasty fucking girl.
I must have passed out. When I
woke up, there she was lying there.
Naked and all.
No pulse.
But to your point,
James. To your point…
I did dig her grave.
I know you made fun of me earlier.
But I've dug hundreds of graves
since I was a child.
Probably more than you've had women.
I'm serious. I have
dug more than you've…
Was that 80?
I've dug more than you've fucked.
I've dug in the cold.
I've dug in the boiling heat.
I've dug in the rainfall.
It turned the soil into oatmeal.
I know a good grave.
I do, James.
And Tricia's was one of the best
I ever did.
No one will ever find that one.
But you know where it is.
I know where all of them are.
Everybody wants the same thing
in this life.
To be seen.
Well, I see them, James.
I give them that.
And so long as my life continues on,
theirs has meaning.
It has
Five minutes, guys.
You could do more.
I don't follow.
You could give them peace,
their families anyway.
You could give them the map.
The map?
Yeah.
But why?
So they could sleep.
Bury their dead.
If you've given them their peace,
and you've given the daughters your…
Your
If I give them my seeing
my witness.
Then everything will be okay.
Everything is okay.
Everything is bliss.
If you've given them your seeing
then the parents would have the
The knowing of where their girls are.
They could move on.
James, you're not thinking clearly.
If I did that,
then I would never get out of here.
You could.
What if someone could send the
The locations of the girls
to the authorities, like, anonymously?
Why?
They just did.
Then the families would know.
They would have that.
But why should they have that?
Because they're probably hurting
pretty bad, Larry.
James!
James.
You're fucking with me.
You're always fucking with me.
Just like Gary.
Oh, my God.
You gotta give these
people some release.
What did you say? Say that again?
Give these people some release.
Never.
Why?
Because, James,
I'm going to win my appeal.
And I'm going walk right out those
doors and keep on living my life.
You're not gonna win your appeal.
No fucking way!
James, why are you acting
You'll never get out of here.
You kill children
who cry for their mothers.
You demented fucking monster!
Beaumont sent you, didn't he?
He did, didn't he?
- Beaumont, sent you!
- Guard!
Beaumont sent you.
Beaumont sent you, didn't he?
- Hey!
- You fuck!
- Fuck you!
- Break it up!
You cunt fucking whore!
Beaumont sent you!
Fuck you!
Go fuck your mother!
I know you've already
fucking thought about it!
- Settle down!
- Fuck!
I need to talk to Dr. Zicherman.
No, tonight.
Ain't happening.
How about a phone
call? Just a quick one.
Phone call?
Convict, please.
Ain't no phone call happening either.
Please.
Look, I'll hook you up
in the morning. All right?
Thank you.
- No. I need Dr. Zicherman.
- Calm down.
- Get me Dr. Zich No!
- Come on.
His number is 6-1-2-5-7-1-1.
His number is 6-1-2-5-7-1-1.
That's it! That's
all I need. That's it!
6-1-2-5-7-1-1.
No. Okay. Just let
me talk to the warden.
- Let me talk to the fucking warden!
- Shut the fuck up!
- Shut the fuck up!
- No!
Get in.
No!
Hey. I just need a pencil.
If you want another blanket,
another pillow, more toilet paper,
you gotta do us a huge favor
and shut the fuck up, Convict.
No, I
I need a pen. A pencil.
A fucking crayon, anything!
Come back, please!
Please, come back!
If I could just use a pencil.
You can even stand here with me
while I use
Bodily fluids, they all
They all serve, like, a different
function, every one of them.
Like, saliva has one purpose,
and blood another.
He do that all day?
Depends.
That much to burn, huh?
Sometimes, yeah.
Just scrub, lots of dead flowers.
Mostly, though,
he's just in the habit.
Likes staring into
the fire, drinking.
We met a few years ago.
- I remember.
- Yeah.
Remember her too.
Brian Miller.
Lauren McCauley, FBI.
I didn't think you lived here anymore.
I don't.
Come back to help out
now and again.
You do something
different with your hair?
No.
Color it? Nothing?
Nope.
You look good.
That's nice of you to say, Gary.
Maybe we could all talk inside?
You got a warrant?
Then enjoy the fresh air.
Got manners around here.
Thanks.
You're welcome.
You already got him locked up
the rest of his life.
Not if he makes his appeal.
Yeah.
Well, you ain't never had shit on him
but a lot of conjecture.
No, we got two confessions.
Yeah, "coerced" was the word
his lawyer used.
One court's agreed.
You wouldn't be here bothering us
if you didn't think his second appeal's
gonna go the same way.
And then he'll be back home.
Yeah.
Up to his old tricks.
He'll get his old job
back and be fine.
Yeah. Maybe meet a nice girl,
settle down, raise a family.
Hey.
- What?
- Just don't.
- Don't what?
- Don't make fun of me and mine.
- No one's making fun of you, Gary.
- No, sure you are. Talking shit.
"Larry's gonna live a normal life.
Have a wife and kids."
What makes you think he won't?
Yeah, you want me to say
because my brother ain't capable
of having a normal home life,
that means he kills people?
Well, does he?
Look, Larry's done
some terrible things, sure. Who hasn't?
But he ain't never killed no one.
He's just so desperate
someone see him once in his life.
See him as a what?
A person.
Someone who can be funny,
smart, fucking helpful to people.
I know you love your brother, Gary,
but he killed those girls.
No.
I think you know that.
That's for you.
These, mine.
He's the person in those pictures,
not some beast.
Go on, look through it.
You've been quiet.
We reward quiet.
You need anything? Anything at all?
But don't say a pencil.
I'm not crazy
like some of the people in here.
You never struck me that way.
I was sent here
to get a confession from Inmate Hall.
What kind of confession?
He kills girls.
I was sent here to find out
where he buries them,
and I saw a map and I
- Who sent you to do this?
- The FBI.
- The FBI.
- Yes.
- I have to get a message to them.
- To the FBI?
Yes.
Before I can't remember
where the bodies are.
Before I can't help the parents.
Before I'm no use.
- Your name's Jim, right?
- Yes, Jimmy.
- Yes.
- Jimmy.
Don't you ever say "FBI" to me again.
You hear me?
- Fucking answer me.
- Yes, I hear you.
Like you guys
in these soapbox cars you made.
What are you, 12?
Eleven.
Yeah, Larry made those.
Man's a magician
with anything mechanical.
Where'd your dad go?
Fuck knows.
Wandering, drinking.
Pinching a watch off a corpse.
Shit like that.
Your mom?
She still with us?
Yeah, she's inside.
Gotta
Can't get around much no more.
She got the bed and the Barcalounger
and a toilet in the same room.
Works for her.
Sick?
Fat.
What "terrible things?"
You said, "We've all done
terrible things, even Larry."
I was just wondering
what those things were.
What? So you can arrest
him for something else?
No, I was just wondering, Gary.
You ain't never done nothing terrible
in your life? You above all that?
You weren't talking
about general things
I could have done, Gary.
You were talking about
a specific thing Larry did.
No.
Picked up this hitchhiker once.
Was years ago.
Ten, 15, something like that.
Anyway, she got drunk, you know?
And I wanted her to take
Larry's cherry.
So, yeah.
When she was feeling no pain,
I… fooled around
with her a little bit,
and then Larry took his turn.
Yeah. So, we were sharing this tent
because we had a reenactment nearby
the next day.
Anyway, I was too fucked up
to leave the tent,
so I just figured I'd pass out before
Larry really started getting into it.
You know,
sometimes a girl says "no"
but her body's saying "yes"?
You know, man.
You know how it is?
But with Larry,
when this girl said "no,"
she goddamn meant it.
And I see him
over on his side of the tent
with her,
and he looks like
some kind of wolf.
You know, like he might actually
rip her throat out with his teeth.
Instead, he…
hit her a bunch of times.
Choked her a bit.
Like, spit on her.
Called her a bunch of
names until he came.
What were you doing during all this?
I was, like, in shock.
You know?
And she's lying there afterwards,
and I see this look
Larry gets in his eyes.
What kind of look?
Kind you never wanna see.
And I said, "Don't."
Larry looked at me and
He knew what I was saying.
I knew what I was saying.
That poor girl, she fucking knew.
Eventually Larry passed out.
I sat up the rest of the night,
in case he woke up
with that idea still in his head.
But he just kept
sleeping, snoring away.
Next morning,
the girl went out with some biker.
You know, I always
felt like I fucked up.
I introduced him to, you know,
sex in the wrong way,
with the wrong woman.
So, I…
So maybe that's why
he got a taste for killing them?
That one thing
didn't make your brother a killer.
- I never said he was a killer.
- But you knew.
I don't. I didn't.
You've always known.
Gary.
Gary.
If your brother gets out,
and he moves back in here,
and he gets his old job back,
and life goes back to the way it was…
are you gonna be able to stay up
every night for the rest of your life
to make sure your brother stays
where you can see him?
Hey, Jimmy.
Come on.
Come on.
Need help here.
Come on.
There you go.
They were supposed
to tell me, Jimmy.
What?
While I was on vacation. If you asked
for me, they were supposed to tell me.
I need a pen.
Okay. Listen, Dr. Hackett's actions
will be subject to review
- That doesn't matter. I need a pen!
- Okay.
- Jimmy, we're gonna make this right.
- I need a pen.
I'll get some paper.
What are the dots?
The bodies.
Okay?
They're the bodies.
There were 21.
- He had a map.
- Hall had a map?
Of all his dead. I saw it.
This is it, but this is shit.
Okay.
Jimmy.
We'll work this map, Jimmy.
We'll see what we can do.
It'll help.
He used two belts.
What?
On Jessica Roach. He used two belts
buckled together to strangle her.
He told you that?
In detail.
What else he tell you?
Told me he folded Tricia Reitler's
clothes and placed her earring on top.
Then we got him, Jimmy.
You got him.
Mr. Keene, when last you stood
before this court,
you carried an air of entitlement.
You actually wore it
like someone would wear
their clothes or their skin.
Where'd it go, son?
I don't know, Your Honor.
Well, judging by the brief
presented to me by Mr. Beaumont,
I would venture
that you left it behind
in that hell that you entered
on behalf of this case.
Mr. Keene, the court hereby
commutes your sentence
of 120 months for
narcotics trafficking.
This commutation is
full without conditions,
and effective immediately.
You're a free man, Mr. Keene.
Thank you.
I didn't get the bodies for you.
You did plenty.
Hey, Jimmy.
I'd like you to meet somebody.
Brian Miller, Jim.
You got the first confession.
You found…
Jessica Roach.
Yes, I did.
- Jessica.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
I just wanted to thank you
for what you did.
Never found out where they're buried.
You made sure he won't bury any more.
The petitioner's claim
that the confessions were coerced,
and further, that
the petitioner himself
had not the mental capacity
to understand the charges,
does not bear up to scrutiny.
Further, the respondent,
working within the boundaries
of the existing cases and evidence,
has produced further sourcing
which confirms the petitioner knew
details of the crimes
to which he confessed
that only the actual perpetrator
could know.
It is the decision of this court
that the ruling
of the criminal court stand.
The petitioner's
appeal is hereby denied.
Bailiffs, please remove the prisoner
and return him immediately
to where he belongs.
Court is adjourned.
- You see him?
- I see him.
Hey.
Thank you.
You okay?
I can't sleep.
When I do sleep, it's like I didn't.
It's the apnea, Larry.
They're supposed to be treating that.
What are you gonna do?
You're gonna tell 'em
to treat it, Larry.
It was a contributory factor,
they said.
Contri
To your suicide try.
What? Wasn't why I did it.
Then why?
- I don't belong in here.
- Yes, you do.
I don't deserve this injus
"Yes, you do?" What?
You do.
It's all mucked up in your head, man.
It's eating you away.
What?
- The girls, Larry.
- No.
- The girls. Yes.
- No.
You gotta tell people what you did.
You gotta get clear of it.
You're my brother.
And I failed you.
I didn't look after you right.
Look, if you get the flu,
I'm supposed to get you medicine.
If you're cold, and I have a blanket,
I'm supposed to share it with you.
If you're fucked up in how you think,
I'm supposed to help you
not do bad things.
No.
No, Gary. Not you.
I
Look, I
I need to do what's right here, Larry.
And not for them.
Not for them, but for you.
You're never gonna
stop living in fucking…
agony till you do.
Gary.
Not you, Gary.
Please. Hey. Please?
Gotta let me help you.
Ladies and gentlemen,
our flying time today to Grand Rapids
will be approximately 55 minutes.
The captain has turned off
the seat belt sign,
so relax and enjoy the flight.
Can I get you anything, sir?
Vodka soda, please.
Lemon or lime?
Lemon.
Most people choose lime.
I'm a rebel.
A bad boy.
Well, I'm trying to reform.
No, you're not.
What's your name?
Tori. With an "I."
Jimmy. With a "Y."
Nice to meet you, Jimmy.
Nice to meet you, Tori with an "I".