Clarice (2021) s01e07 Episode Script

1
Previously on "Clarice"
Two dead women floated
down the Anacostia River.
Those women
were whistleblowers,
and they died trying to tell
a story.
So how come the autopsy
says natural causes?
I didn't have anything
to do with that.
Someone else got to the coroner.
Someone with power.
Have you heard about
the Black Coalition?
I respect deeply
what the Coalition is doing,
but it's not for me.
You really screwed it,
Marilyn.
No, you said no one would
get to me.
What does Starling know?
She says they found evidence
in my house.
This is all because
they connected
the women you dumped
to me.
You said she gave you
something I would need.
Get me whatever
the FBI knows.
And I'll get you both out.
There was a man.
Can't remember his face.
I'll find him.
I'd like to retain you.
Thank you
for the trust.
Nearly 10 months
after going missing,
the body
of 14-year-old Cody Phelps
was found in a suburban home
in Alexandria, Virginia,
this morning.
Alright, the only people
permitted in this room
are the people actively working
the Phelps case.
Yes?
Yes, sir.
Yes.
Yes, sir.
I want a timeline
for the day Cody went missing.
Tell the Rapid Start supervisor
to get his ass down here.
Tell him I want any particulars
on my desk
the second
they become available.
Call the crime lab.
Tell them we need
a rush turnaround
on any DNA
pulled from the scene.
Let's get AV set up.
Every news outlet
is all over this.
We've got to be up to speed
on what's out there.
Let's stay on our toes, people.
Reporter #The country
held its breath for Cody
when he was abducted last year, just months after
Has anyone seen Starling?
ViCAP's new motto.
We should have
new jackets made.
We should be in Alexandria
by now.
-This family's waiting.
-Yeah, I know.
Let's, uh,
stash this stuff
before we get the eyes
of the nation on us, okay?
Cody was the man of the house
for his single mom and sister
when his abduction
rocked the nation.
Now the search ends
with a new question,
"Who did this to him?"
Where is Starling?
Still on leave.
It's only been a week.
AG signed off
on her early return.
She wants her
out front on this.
--Very high profile.
-For a 7
-C?
Cody Phelps was abducted
a year ago.
There's no active killer.
It's basically a cold case.
Also,
he's a kid who died.
Do we think she's okay?
Starling?
After Felker?
A week seems soon.
Also,
define "okay."
You know, Starling is good,
but has she ever been okay?
Are you okay,
Agent Clarke?
Sorry, sir.
-I was out for a run.
-Right.
Well, listen,
whatever the AG says.
I feel like you come back
when you're ready.
Well, my people pulled coal
out of the ground
in West Virginia
for the last 100 years.
When we say we're okay,
we're okay.
Have you found
a new therapist?
-Still working on that.
-It's not optional.
Understood.
Uh, sir, when there's time,
I'd appreciate hearing where
we're at on the River Murders.
Boss.
I told Alexandria PD to keep
their hands off the scene,
but the longer we wait --Right.
Let's go.
Starling.
It's him.
It's him.
It's the guy,
the guy from Woodhaven
with Marilyn Felker,
the one who --
No, no, no, no.
That -- That's not --I-It is. It is.
It's him.
I know.
I have been seeing his face
in my head for a week.
I've been trying
to figure out how to --
So you found him.
Can I ask
how you know this guy?
Joe Hudlin.
I have a meeting
with him today.
This is background.
What kind of meeting,
boss?
He's an attorney,
alright?
His firm
is handling my divorce.
He's not a --
He's not.
Clarice says he is.
Look, she says this guy
put hands on her.
Alright.
Then I need you to run
Cody Phelps for me.
You alright
to do that?
Yes.
I'm fine.
Of course. Yes.
Alright.
You and Esquivel
take Starling to the scene.
Tripathi, you and I
will stay behind.
I'll keep my meeting
with Joe Hudlin.
You can
jump on his tail then.
Try to get some DNA
at the meeting.
We can compare it
to what Mapp got
from Clarice's
fingernails.
Who am I?
James Bond?
It's weird, though,
huh?
Hey, where --
How do you know this guy?
Murray, there's a dead kid
in Alexandria.
Yeah.
The homeowners were
doing renovations.
We're guessing that once air
got into the wall,
the flies got in.
An exterminator came,
figured something crawled
inside the wall, died,
an animal of some kind.
So they broke in, and
well, here he is.
9, 10 months decayed.
Killed right after
he was taken.
And stashed in a wall.
Or tucked away.
For protection.
I don't know.
Looks like a womb.
Looks like someone
tried to protect him.
If he'd been protected,
he wouldn't be here right now.
Postpone. Why?
The Coalition meeting doesn't
have to be tomorrow night.
We need more people.11 people is a lot.
Against the whole bureau?
It could be 12.
I still
want you to join.
Close the door.
Get 11 scared people who already
feel invisible in a room,
show them
they're not alone,
and 11
is essentially everyone.
Watch.
I'll come to the meeting
to support you-all, but --
I'll take it.
Mapp. Hey.
Hey, we're sending a DNA sample
from Cody Phelps to the lab.
Can you run it
through your database,
see if there's a match?
Cody Phelps.
Send me your stuff.
Okay.
Single blow
to the back of the head.
He died instantly.
Sorry, ma'am.
-It's an active crime scene.
He's my little boy.
No. No. Ma'am, if I could just
have you wait.
-I have waited.
-Please wait.
Don't --
You need
to let me see him.
I know --
you have to see him.
But before you do,
I need you to know
that Cody
didn't feel any pain.
It's not much comfort,
but he didn't.
Oh, my boy!
My beautiful boy!
Give the prior owners
of the house
to the Rapid Start guys.
You -- You have them --
I think
homicide has those --Well,
then get them, dumbass.
This isn't siesta time.
Is he worse
than usual?
Clarice.
My database
was a bust.
Krendler has a picture
of the guy on his desk,
the guy
from Woodhaven.
What?
He found him?
No.
Krendler knows him somehow
or something.
He doesn't believe it.
He doesn't believe
it's the same guy?
Let's talk when we can.
Okay.
Listen, the lab's doing
a feasibility study
on mitochondrial DNA --
maternally passed chromosomes.
So I checked their cold cases,
and there it was.
What?
A match.
We got a match --
a different victim,
a boy in Northwest D.C.
12 years ago.
Traces of the same DNA
you found on Cody Phelps.
Clarice,
some monster --
some monster killed
two little kids.
There's power in the blood
In the precious blood
of the Lamb ♪
Mitochondrial DNA
found at the Cody Phelps scene
is a match to DNA
found on a murder victim
from 12 years ago --
Bobby Larkin, abducted in
Northwest D.C. in 1982,
found two days later
hidden in a wall
in the basement
of an abandoned house.
Mitochondrial DNA?
It's a type of DNA
that yields better results
if a sample
is old or degraded.
But it's not just
the DNA.
Both victims
were 14-year-old boys,
both died of hammer blowsto the occipital bone,
and not
a regular hammer.
It hasa triangle-shaped head.
It is the same wound,the same, uh, entombment.
We'll look into it.
Thanks, Mapp.
Sir?
I want to be on this.
Mapp, I know you found it,but Cody Phelps is ViCAP.
I do not need another turf war
with your boss.
It's not about turf.
I grew up in Northwest.
I know the neighborhood
and the people.
-I don't know.
-Connections are sketchy.
They're 12 years apart.
The kids aretwo different races.
Hey,
I have something here.
The house where Cody was found
had no previous owner,
not when
he was hidden there.
It was a foreclosure.
It had been sitting around empty
when Cody disappeared.
An abandoned house,
just likethe victim in Northwest D.C.,
if you need
another connection.
See, it's not all
in her headsir.
Are we worried that Krendler'sin bed with this guy?
Right now, the only thing
I know for sure
is that
the guy on his desk
is our only lead
in the River Murders.
I know what I saw, but I can't
make anyone else see it.
It's hard.
Oh, my God.
I'm sorry.
It's your first
field case.
Okay, I got BSU searching
for anything with a hammer.
I want to start withBobby Larkin's mother, Fran,
and the house whereBobby's body was found.
Okay.
Was it a nightmare?
Seeing Cody?
No.
Seeing the mother
is the nightmare.
Paul.
I think my most importantquestion for you is,
who do you want to be?
-Excuse me?
-In this divorce.
Whomeveryou thought you were
is about to meet
a new guy.
What's the new guy like?
In my experience?
Heartbroken, angry.
Angry attheir own helplessness, really.
Huh.
And some have a hard time
opening up.
I'll start.
You believe your children
should be with you
because of questions aroundMandy's sobriety.
Our investigator thinkswe're in pretty good shape,
based on
what he's dug up.
Dug up?
Well, you know,
Mandy's lobbied
or consulted
for half of D.C.,
so there's, uh, stuff.
Excessive drinkingat Christmas parties,
missed meetings
at Brookings.
The DUI is,
I'm sorry, helpful.
Not for my family,
it wasn't.
And it was years ago.
Again,who do you want to be?
The nice guy or the guywho looked out for his kids?
Was there infidelity?
On either side?
No.
Not that
I'm aware of, but
I'd say no.
We have testimony regardingat least two parties
at Mandy's old firmwhere she had passed out.
We've secured a witness
who will testify
that he and Mandy
had a physical relationshipduring those periods.
His testimony will be
that Mandy was so out of it,
she didn't remember him
the next --
Stop.
You're not gonna
sandbag her.
Okay.
That's fine.
You know, Joe,
I'm not sure I --
I need
to think about this.
Well, like I said,
it's about
who you want to be.
Hello, sir.
I'm Special Agent Starling.
This is
Special Agent Mapp.
We --What do you want?
We're looking
for Fran Larkin.
She's not here.
At a friend's.
Do you have
that number?
No.
No, sir.
That's not gonna do.
I hear you, but we need
to speak to Ms. Larkin,
so how about you
take us to her now?
How about that?
Alright.
She's next door
at the neighbors.
Sorry to barge in
on you folks.
Thank you for taking the time,
Mrs. Larkin.
I grew up
right near here.
That Ethiopian place
on U Street --
that's my Grandma's.
Really?
Well, look at you now.
You say
there's new evidence?
About Bobby.
That's right,
Mr. Larkin.
Um, Terrence isn't
my husband.
He's my brother.
I've been living
with Terrence
ever since
that year.
Fran lost her husband
shortly before Bobby died.
Forklift flipped
on the job.
Bobby and I were just
getting it together,
the two of us,
and then --
Thank you.
You knew Bobby,
too, Mrs. --
Oh, Kern.
Marybeth Kern.
We've been neighbors
for years.
What about you, Mr. --No, I never did.
I taught
at the high school.
I actually used to drive him
some days.
Marybeth has been
a good friend to me.
I lost my first husband
when my son
was around the same age
as Bobby,
and I just knew
how horribly alone she felt.
Babe,
will you get her a tissue?
Yeah,
I-I'll get one.
Why are you
interested now?
All the police ever said
was Bobby was in that house
selling drugs or --
or buying drugs or something.
But he wasn't
like that.
He was driven
and kind.
And smart.
Oh, it just --
It never made sense.
Here you go.
Cops probably killed
Bobby themselves.
They're always busting
kids' heads over nothing.
Probably they did it
and stashed him there.
Sir, there's new DNA evidence
that can help us find out
who did this
to your family.
So we're asking for DNA samples
from each of you.
No, ma'am.
These are
elimination samples.
Hell no.
I'm not giving you nothing.
Terrence, you will.
Of course.
Me too,
if it will help.
Thank you.
Thank you
for giving one damn.
Thank you for giving one damn
about my child.
You're the only one.
Ma'am, I promise
I won't be the last.
-So, what's he doing?
-I don't know.
He's been in his office all day,
so I guess lawyer stuff.
So why
are you calling me?
Because it's weird,
right?
The picture on the boss' desk,
how hard he pushed back.
Who are
you investigating?
Look, you know him
better than I do.
-Apparently.
-Don't do that, Murray.
Don't blind-eye
this thing.
Look, I want him
to be straight, too,
but you can't sit there
and tell me
that, empirically,
this walks like a duck.
It's his lawyer.
He wants his family back.
Don't tell me
you don't get that.
I'm sorry.
That was, uh
It's a missing kid,
you know --
I get it.
I'll see you back there.
And you're sure the
results will come tomorrow?
Okay. Thanks.
That was the lab
confirming they got
the DNA-elimination swabs
for Bobby's mom,
her friend, Marybeth Kern,
and Uncle Terrence.
I keep looking
at all this stuff
expecting something new
to magically appear.
It will.
It's there.
Okay, they were killed
by a blow from a hammer,
so we're looking
for a male.
Sexist.
It's the mess.
Female killers
are typically more tidy.
They plan the clean-up
with the killing, right?
Right.
Also, the way
the victims were carried --
in the fetal position,
like a -- like a parent.
A father.
A father figure,
an uncle.
That Terrence
was a ball of rage.
He sure didn't want
to give up his DNA.
Yeah, why would he?
He thinks the police
killed his nephew.
What do you think?
I'll tell you
what I know.
There's a candlelight vigil
for a white boy
in Alexandria tonight,
and the police never even cared
who killed Bobby Larkin
and threw him away.
Hi, baby!
Oh, my God.
Hi, Grandma.
Hi, Miss Mulu!
Who is this crazy doctor
who attacked you?
Ardelia told me what happened.
I would have killed
that crazy woman myself.
Just hit her
with my good pan.
See?
She likes you better.
Grandma, I told you,
I can't have dinner tonight.
-I'm working a case.
-Oh, I know.
Your first field case.
Her first field case!
So,
you need strength.
You need a plate.
You won't know
I'm here.
Honestly, we're right
in the middle of --
You need a plate.
Oh!
This really sneaks up on you,
this tudge -- tej?
It's tej.
Tej.
It's smoother than that
Appalachian moonshine
you make us
everything Thanksgiving.
Yeah.
That stuff
puts me on the floor.
Well, the only way I get
all the good info on Ardelia
is when you're hammered,
Miss Mulu.
Oh.
Drink up.
And here's
to the FBI
finally letting my girl shine
in the sun!
Mm!
Sprung from
the cold-case dungeon.
See? I told you
you can rise yourself.
You don't need
a Black Coalition.
Later, please.
She's talking about organizing,
going to court.
That would just make her
a target.
The system's rigged.
Rise quietly
and then make change
when you have the power.
Otherwise, you end up
as bad off as her father.
You go see your father
this week?
I don't know
if he even hears me.
He can hear you.
He may not be able to tell you,
but he can.
Don't give me
the big pity eyes.
At least my father's
still alive.
Wow.
You are brutal.
A large crowd gathered
this evening
for a candlelight vigil
in memory of Cody Phel--
Wha--Did you do the old addresses
on the Phelpses?
I didn't --Huh? Did you know
they used to live about
a block from the Larkins?
Hey, hey --You want me to tie
your shoes for you, too?
Look, look, I don't know what's
been going on with you lately,
whether it's
this thing with Cody
or whatever's happening
with Krendler, but --
You're right, Chiquita.
You don't know.
What happened to Cody is,
we were too late.
But now
his mother needs answers
so she can actually
sleep again.
She needs to know
she didn't flub the one job
given to her as a mother --
to keep her kid alive.
She's alive.
She needs us.
Can you wrap your head
around that, killer?
The lab
got a DNA match.
We got a suspect.
That woman is out
like a light.
I can totally sleep
on the couch.
That couch?
Please.
Come on.
Good.
How did
your dad get hurt?
You told me someone hit him,
but you never --
He was
a labor organizer.
Mulu says there was
a dispute at the port.
No, I know.
I mean
was it the police?
The police beat him?
Mm-hmm.
I don't even remember
his voice.
When I was 4,
I used to love
feeling his stubble.
Now I like to visit a day or two
after they shave his face
so I can still feel it.
Oh,
is that weird?
Am I weird?
No.
I can't believe you never
told me that before.
You?
Yours?
What don't I know?
My last memory
of my dad
was the night before
he got killed.
Took me
on his rounds.
My mom
was losing it.
She was always
on the edge.
Always angry.
But this night,
she was scary
and screaming at him
to get out.
My daddy
just swooped me up.
We drove all over town
all night long.
We got Coke floats.
It felt renegade,
against the rules.
But he was the rules.
He was the law.
He seemed to have the keys
to every door in town.
He was important.
That was the night
he gave me this.
Probably the best night
of my life.
Funny how we only keep
the good memories.
Like the photos
we like.
Yeah.
Ooh!
The lab got a match
on one of your DNA swabs.
God.
You were right.
Was it Terrence? No.
A woman --
Marybeth Kern.
Our report said
she's a friend of the family.
Got the background check
on Marybeth Kern.
Mulu get home okay?
Mm-hmm.
So, her first husband was
Gerry Kern,
a construction worker.
And they had a son,
Gerry Jr.,
less than a year
after the wedding.
So shotgun wedding.
Maybe.
Marybeth said she lost
her husband when the son was 14.
Died? Divorced?
Shoes off my couch,
Starling.
Sorry.
Um, no,
he just left.
Marybeth moved to D.C.,
but the son, Gerry Jr.?
He just drops off
the face of the Earth.
No sign of him after D.C.
But Marybeth's DNA was found
on both Bobby and Cody's bodies.
How did it get there
if she didn't kill them?
Marybeth had no worries at all
about giving up her DNA.
Does she want
to get caught?
It's mitochondrial DNA.
That's passed through
the mother.
They were mistaken IDs.
So the DNA
could be Marybeth's
or it could be
her son's.
So where is he now?
This is Agent Clarke.
Leave a message.
Clarke,
answer your phone.
Hudlin's headed
into Lockyer.
This is not it.
Are you --
Are you asleep?
You're awake?
Bring these back.
Two hours I waited for this.
Two hours!
Mobile grooming.
Yeah, your pal here
is about to lose his job.
What's he doing?
Going mad with power.
Go, go, go!
I'm -- I'm surrounded.
Look, I've put up with
his little racist digs, but I --
Let it go.
-I'm gonna hit him,
okay?
I'm gonna hit him really hard,
and then I lose my job.
Hey, I'm not saying
don't punch him.
Just not today.
It's a missing-kid case.
I know that.
Murray's little sister got taken
from their front yard
when she was 13.
Murray was 16. He was the only one home.
Some precinct guy
a bunch of years ago
said that he thought he saw her
in one of those movies once.
That's the only lead
Murray's ever had.
So when he's
looking at porn --
He's looking for her.
Well, um, in other news,
you're not gonna believe
which building I just saw
Joseph Hudlin, Esquire,
walk into.
What?
Lockyer Labs.
Get out.
So, Hudlin's involved with the clinical trial somehow.
Keep it between us
for now.
And, uh, for Murray, look,
do what you gotta do,
but if you tell him that
I told you about his sister,
I'll shoot you
in your sleep.
May I ask
why your husband left?
No.
No, it's okay.
Uh, Gerry always resented
the responsibility.
He said, uh,
we weighed him down,
me andour boy.
And your son?
Where is he now?
I don't know
where he is.
He went
with his father.
I don't know.
For God's sakes, babe, can you
go quiet those dogs down?
Uh, ma'am, may I please
use your restroom?
Yeah. Yeah.
It's just down the hall.
And then
you moved here.
-Mm-hmm.
-When did you remarry?
After that.
So, you say you knew
the Phelps family, Cody Phelps.
Oh, sure.
Oh, God.
It's just tragic.
What happened to little Cody
is just awful.
The Phelpses --
they moved away --
gosh, I don't know
how many years ago now.
So your son never knew
Cody or Bobby.
My son?
Yeah.
Um, no.
I --
Just you and your husband here,
Mrs. Kern?
Just me and him,
yep.
Do you have any pictures
of your son that we could have?
No.
I -- He went with his daddy.
I don't have --
Even a childhood picture?
We have folks
who can --
No.
I-I don't think so.
I'm sorry.
What does all of this
have to do with my son?
Mrs. Kern, remember when
I took your DNA sample
back at the Larkins'?
It matched DNA found
at Cody's body and Bobby's.
Mi-Mine?
It's possible
it could also be your son's.
You see, ma'am,
mitochondrial DNA is the same
from mother to child.
I killed them.
I killed those boys.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
No, Marybeth,
you didn't.
Who are you
covering for?
Marybeth,
where is your son?
Mrs. Kern, one more time.
Where's your son?
Where's Gerry?
Gerry!
Gerry, baby!
Gerry!
Ger--
Is he in the garage?
I don't know what
he does out there.
Mr. Kern?
Mr. Kern?
Tell me where you are,
Gerry.
-You leave us alone!
-Who, Gerry?
Your new wife
or you and your mother?
Shut up!
She doesn't know!
What happened, Gerry?
Did Bobby find out
about you and your mom?
She told me
not to tell anyone.
I had to tell someone.
They were just boys, Gerry.
Why tell them?
Because they were just boys
without fathers.
I --You're worried for them?
You didn't want them
to have to do the things
your mother made you do.
She told me
that I drove her husband away
and that she needed
a husband, so
Someone needed to --
Someone needed
to stop us!
You needed to stop us!
And there was nobody there
to stop us!
I was 14.
When a child is sexually abused,
a whole part of them dies.
And the kid tries to survive
in there somewhere.
When Gerry Jr.'s father
left them
My husband left me.
his mother only had her grief
and her anger
I wasn't a wife andand her son.
And Gerry Jr., he was always
my little boy.
He was always
my little man.
She'll say
she was so lonely,
that she needed
to hurt the man who left.
She hated the father
more than she loved her son.
I was 14 years old.
And the child will try
to make anything normal.
And my mom kissed me
like I was her husband.
And a child needs friends.
Gerry Jr. made friends
with neighborhood boys.
I'm so sorry.
With Bobby Larkin u found my baby.
-and Cody Phelps.
-Thank you.
There was no one there
for me.
He told them his secret.
And then he panicked.
He made them keep it.
Good Lord.
What parents can do
to their kids
and still not believe
they're doing it.
Outstanding work.
I just got off the phone
with the AG.
She couldn't be happier.
She said,
"More like this."
Wants press.
I found the case, sir,
that led us to the killer.
If it weren't for my work,
neither case would be solved.
I'd like my superiors
and the AG to know that.
I'll see to it.
Well done, Mapp.
Well done.
Krendler.
Paul.
Joe Hudlin here.
Hang on.
That felt real, right?
Right?
I just wanted to make sure we, uh,
didn't have a misunderstanding.
No, I-I think
I understood you.
I just don't think this is
the direction I want to go.
Oh.
I'm not sure
you did understand me.
It's very intimate.
I have a lot of information about your wife,
your family, their schedules, the comings and goings.
I can get you your kids, but, uh,
I need something
from you, though.
What's that?
Pull your team off what went
down on the Anacostia River,
the three dead women.
I think you got
the wrong man.
Somebody falsified
a coroner's report
in order to cover up the murder
of a suspect in your custody.
No one is aware
this has happened,
but if somebody's told
to look into it,
they'll find it really
looks like it was you.
You'll never get your kids after that kind of thing
and you'll never get them from prison.
I've got the right man,
Paul.
That's why I found you.
I'm very, very serious about getting you custody.
Talk soon.
Please don't stop.
Shut up.
You didn't see that.
Ready for the meeting?
Tonight.
What's wrong?
I think I need to pull back
from the Coalition.
I need to stick
to my original plan --
make change from within.
Who said
that was the right path?
Clarice Starling?
My father.
Well
tell him I disagree.
Starling,
is this your guy?
Oh, you gotta
be kidding me.
We couldn't snag DNA, but he had
a meeting at Lockyer Labs.
So he might be tied
to the clinical trials.
Starling.
I looked into Joe Hudlin.
I met with him
and did due diligence.
He's not your guy.
But, sir,
he was t-there when --
Boss, I saw him
-walk into Lockyer.
-Circumstantial.
U.S. Attorney told us
it won't hold up.
We're backing off
the conspiracy thing.
We're backing off?
The River Murders --
The River Murders
are solved.
They're in the books.
Wellig and Felker.
The conspiracy is not
ViCAP's mandate.
Finding Cody's killer
was a huge win.
Let's do what we do,
guys.
Sir, Joe Hudlin was there
when I was almost killed.
But no one
can confirm that.
I can confirm that!
You came back early.
You need
more time off,
I'll write it up,
whatever you need.
Hey, you can stay
and find another Gerry Kern.
Good work today.
Everyone.