Truth Be Told (2019) s03e01 Episode Script

1
Emily.
Oh, shit!
Is there any circumstance
more terrifying
than when a child goes missing?
By now, we all know
the haunting stories
of Natalee Holloway
the 18-year-old
who vanished
during a trip to Aruba,
and Gabby Petito,
the young blogger whose remains were
eventually discovered in a park.
The nation watched
around-the-clock coverage
OPD!
As every parent
feared the worst.
The same story
is unfolding again.
Emily Mills!
Recently,
a 16-year-old local teen
named Emily Mills disappeared.
Sun.
Hey. Hey.
Okay.
It's not her.
But what if I told you another
local teen went missing a year ago?
Her name is Drea Spivey.
Drea's mother, Charise,
is a friend of mine.
You haven't heard of Drea because
her story has never been covered
by a single news outlet.
Charise was finally able
to find Drea
by enlisting the help of friends
in the community.
I interviewed this young girl
to better understand her story.
But there's been
an upsetting development.
Sixteen-year-old Drea went
missing again almost 72 hours ago.
With every hour that passes,
the hope to find Drea dims.
This means
Charise is forced to live
that nightmare all over again.
Just uploaded the podcast
to our new bosses at Boisterous.
I never wanted
to see Drea up here.
Another in a sea of sweet,
stolen faces.
Drea makes 11 total.
All reported missing over the
last four years in Oakland.
But only one had come home
to safety.
Why run again?
Okay. What's our next step?
We conducted over 10 hours
of interviews
with Drea before
she went missing again.
There must be something in those
recordings that could guide us.
Drea,
when the Capstones found you,
you were in a drug den
and addicted to fentanyl.
How did you end up there?
This boy I met gave it to me.
And the first time
I snorted fentanyl,
I went somewhere else
in my head.
A door opened,
I stepped through it,
and everything
on the other side was different.
I just sort of floated along,
and there was no more hurt.
I kept doing it 'cause I wanted
to go wherever I wanted.
Where would you go?
Japanese Gardens.
It's so green. I love it there.
Why?
I, had my 11th
birthday party there.
That was probably the last time
I remember being legit happy.
That was before my mom
had problems
and I had to go
into foster care.
After a few years of, uh,
foster homes,
I just started doing drugs.
You've been sober now
for six weeks.
Do you get tempted?
Oh, my God.
Just the other day, I ran into
a friend from my trapping days.
She told me she had
the High Hunter hookup.
It would've been so easy
to meet her.
- But I didn't.
- What is that? "High Hunter?"
Oh, it's a
It's just a new drug.
But I-I thought
about my life now,
like all the little things
being one big reason to say no.
So, I turned her down.
I know that probably
sounds hella corny.
Hmm.
I think that sounds very brave.
Good morning, Oakland.
Three full days have passed
since Bay Area teen
Emily Mills was last seen.
Local police departments
assured Channel 13
that bringing Emily home
is their top priority.
The PTA meeting
will begin shortly.
Do you need me
to get you something, baby?
- No, no, no. I'm good.
- You sure?
Yeah.
But you might need to step
in here if she doesn't
get here soon.
There might be a riot.
How long is she gonna
keep us waiting?
She will be here any second.
Everyone, just settle down, please.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry. I was on the phone
with the superintendent,
discussing protocol for tomorrow
night's Get Out The Vote event.
Now, with all the cameras
and people on campus tomorrow,
I wanted to have a conversation
about school safety.
Two girls have gone missing
in the last few days,
Emily Mills and Drea Spivey.
Some of you may know
that Drea is a student
Um, I hate to be indelicate, but is
this really a school safety issue?
What are you saying,
Mrs. Williams?
Drea was a drug addict.
What's Ashley's
cell phone number?
What does my daughter
have to do with this?
- You know what? It's okay.
- I'll just message her.
All I'm asking is what
this has to do with our kids.
Our kids know not to do drugs
or whatever Drea was into.
Mm-hmm.
Done. I just messaged Ashley, who
should be in choir right about now.
I pretended to be a boy
from Bellarmine.
I told her she was cute
and to meet me in the gym if she
wanted to come to a hooky party.
Y-You can't do that.
That's
That's catfishing or something.
We're using the gym right now,
Ashley.
You can go back to choir.
Thanks.
In less than 45 seconds,
I got your daughter,
who knows better than Drea,
to meet a stranger in the gym.
What happened to Drea could
happen to any one of your kids.
Do you understand that?
Lastly, I need volunteers
for tomorrow's event.
Thank you.
My parents are just inside.
Don't worry. That meeting
will go on for hours.
Mmm, yeah. But if my dad
catches us, he'll kill me.
Or he'll just kill you
He'd make me watch.
So, you really want me to stop?
No, I wouldn't say that.
- Yeah.
- I just
I just wish we had some privacy.
When can we go back to my cousins' house?
It's been a minute.
Soon.
Mrs. Killebrew.
I was just keeping Trini
company during your meeting.
Well, I'm here now.
So, she doesn't need
to be kept company
any longer, does she?
Yes, ma'am.
- I'll text you.
- Yeah.
You think I scared him?
What?
Your father always gets to be
the tough one. It's not fair.
Wait,
am I in trouble? Or
Sweetheart, if I told you all the
places that your grandmother caught me
and my high school boyfriend
hooking up,
you wouldn't look
at me the same again.
Ew. Mom.
Trini, you're never in trouble
as long as you
are honest with me, okay?
All I care about
is keeping you safe,
especially with all
of this going on with Drea.
And that is why you
cannot be getting
- Mom, I know.
- Into a stranger's car
I told you it
was Aubrey's cousin.
And not answering your phone.
You had us worried sick, honey.
Yeah, I know.
I'm I'm sorry.
I-I learned my lesson. Really.
Well, then you have my trust.
There's no way
you're getting in.
This is ludicrous.
I know Detective Aames.
Like you know Markus Killebrew?
Yeah, how's he enjoying
sleeping on piles
of our department's
hard-earned cash?
Ugh, finally.
Aames, could you please
tell them to let me through?
I thought I told you you're
not welcome here, Miss Parnell.
It's Scoville.
Take care of this, new guy.
Time to go.
Did we sell it?
I think a little too well.
Listen, I am sorry.
I don't have any more news
on Drea Spivey. I am trying.
No, they got you working
Emily Mills 24 hours a day.
You are not wrong.
Well, if you can find an
extra hour in your day,
something came up
in one of Drea's interviews.
She made a reference to,
uh, "High Hunter."
Said it was a new drug.
High Hunter?
It's not one I've heard of.
Well, if it isn't a drug,
what else could it be?
Oh, it could be a dealer.
It could be a trap house.
I'll look into it for you.
Wait, is that
Andrew Finney.
- Andrew.
- Danny.
Front-runner
to be Oakland's next mayor.
You wanna know why we're
so pressed to find Emily Mills?
There's your answer.
But he's not even in office yet.
Oh, you beat that
law-and-order drum hard enough
in the age of "defund police," you
get a hero's welcome 'round here.
Law and order for whom?
Mmm.
Thank you.
Oh, this guy's blowing
up my phone.
Oh. You like him?
We had one date.
We'll see.
You should get back out there.
- Oof, that part.
- Mm-hmm.
Tinder, BlackPeopleMeet,
Bumble, Hinge, JDate.
JDate.
Get you a nice Jewish boy.
All of it.
I'm not using an app.
Plus, I-I think I'm fine alone.
For now.
- Oh.
- Uh, that's new.
I mean, the old Poppy just had
to have herself some Ingram.
Right? This new you
is doing baller shit.
Mrs. Rhoades would've never
come up with a stunt like this.
What are you talking about?
I've always been this person.
- Huh?
- Uh.
I have.
Remember when Uncle Bug
brought me over to Aunt Leona's
and I had us crash that little
bougie tea party she used to hold
- in the backyard?
- I forgot all about that.
Um, it was sponsored
by the Links,
and we weren't allowed
to come and get any cake.
We sure did make a ruckus
when we came
in there banging them pots
and pans.
We made an impact.
Aunt Leona was pissed.
Why is she insisting
that we go back
to that house
to pick up Mom's stuff?
I just hate the idea
of going back to that place.
Too many bad memories.
Yeah, it has a lot of
bad memories for me too.
Not because I lived there, but
'cause Aunt Leona shut me out.
Let's just get it over with
then, so we all can move on.
That heifer's moving
to Vineyard,
- so it's good riddance.
- Oh. Well
All the way around.
- Uh, cheers on that. Goodbye.
- Yes.
Mmm.
Hey.
Hey.
What do you think?
It's perfect.
I can't stay long. I'm meeting
with some of the other MCs,
let 'em know about Drea.
Have you ever heard
of High Hunter?
No, what's that?
It's a drug Drea mentioned.
I'm just trying to figure out what
it is and where she used to get it.
I'll keep my ears to the ground.
Aames didn't know anything.
He knows OPD ain't doing enough.
This is something
we can handle ourselves.
- Daddy
- I mean it!
Daddy
are you sure it's okay for me
to stay in this house?
I
I said my name is Poppy Scoville
on my podcast. I
- You don't need my approval to stay.
- I know.
I'm just
trying to figure out what
my declaration really means.
Is that why you wanna do the podcast
on Drea and the missing girls?
So you can prove yourself.
Maybe.
Maybe to redeem myself too.
I think of those girls,
I think how easily
I could have been one of 'em.
Yeah, but you're here.
You're Poppy Scoville.
And being a Scoville has
nothing to do with geography.
It's about
how you carry yourself.
Keep your head up.
We got work to do.
I'm outside the Piedmont home
of missing teen Emily Mills.
Following Emily's story is
mayoral candidate Andrew Finney.
It's a horrible situation.
Every parent's worst nightmare.
The crime in this city
has gotten out of control.
Good afternoon, community
members, stakeholders and press.
I'm Lee Hackman,
and this is my wife Sybil.
We started our company,
Questeur, uh, out of a garage
when we were across the bay,
at Stanford.
And today,
Questeur is one of the largest
tech companies in the world.
And we're about to break ground
on our new Questeur campus
right here in Oakland.
That better mean jobs
for the community.
Uh, you bet.
Uh, we owe a huge thank you
to Oak Creek High School
for lending us their campus.
Over the past seven years,
this school has become one
of the top performing schools
in Oakland.
In other words,
we know where to keep an eye out
for future Questeur employees.
Superintendent Lennon,
please stand up,
so that we can acknowledge you
and all that you've done here.
All that he's done?
Just smile.
I'll key his car later.
Most of you already have
the Questeur messaging app.
But, uh, we've recently
added a new feature
that enables anyone
to easily register to vote.
And for today only,
you can use the app
to submit questions
directly to the candidates,
which I recommend you do.
Oakland is in a period
of transition.
So now, more than ever,
it's critical
that we vote
as informed citizens.
So without further ado,
please welcome Rachel McKegney,
Everett Hoagland and Andrew Finney.
They are our future, and we need
to invest in them accordingly.
While in office,
I championed Measure W.
By utilizing funds allocated
in this anti-gang initiative,
police can focus
on specific areas of the city.
And if elected,
I intend to reduce the budget
for local law enforcement.
So I urge you to vote for me.
There's abs
There's absolutely no reason why
a progressive candidate can't
also support
a strong police department.
Please pardon the interruption.
The faces you see before you
are all missing girls
from Oakland,
with families
who want them home.
This is Drea Spivey,
a student at this very school,
who went missing
almost four days ago,
but the search party for her
had very little police support.
We came to ask why.
Why?
Does this girl
not deserve attention?
Is it not imperative to allocate
resources to help find her?
If you feel as we do,
we need you to put pressure
on the police department
and the news media
to bring these girls home.
Bring our girls home!
- Bring our girls home!
- Yes, bring 'em back.
Bring all of them home.
- Yes.
- Bring our girls home!
They need to be with us!
I've heard a lot of people
talking about Emily Mills.
I hope they find her safe, so she
can be returned to her family.
But my daughter is missing too.
My Drea matters too.
She's my only child, and I
need you to help me find her.
- Bring her home.
- Bring 'em home.
- Do something!
- Your daughter does matter.
And I hope she's home
with you soon.
Your questions are good ones.
But there is a time
and a place for all our words.
- Say her name!
- Say her name!
Say her name!
Say her name!
Say her name!
Say her name! Say her name!
Say her name! Say her name!
Say her name! Say her name!
Say her name! Say her name!
Say her name!
That was some stunt.
I know you were aggrieved
that this was foisted upon you,
but to embarrass your school,
your students
and your boss this way makes me
question your judgment entirely.
If you continue to act like
one of the school's children,
I will have no choice
but to treat you like one.
I'll do better.
Ooh.
I hope I didn't get you
into trouble.
Only the good kind.
- Eva Pierre.
- Poppy Scoville.
Markus Killebrew
told me all about you.
You think that demonstration
is gonna make a difference?
I don't know.
Right now,
I'd just settle for action.
Police, political,
tweets, whatever.
It's what all
these girls deserve.
Yeah.
We can hope.
Miss Pierre?
Poppy, this is Tanya,
one of Drea's friends.
- Oh. Nice to meet you, Tanya.
- You too.
I saw what you did in there.
I wanna help.
I ju I'm just not sure how.
Well, uh, have you ever heard
Drea mention someone
with the nickname "High Hunter"?
Could that
be her drug dealer maybe?
I don't know anything about him.
I don't use.
Um, I should go.
I have a lot of homework to do.
I think it can wait.
I don't think you're being
honest with me, Tanya.
That's very disappointing.
She hasn't texted me in a week.
I'm scared.
Give me your fear.
Let us act on it.
I never heard her
call him High Hunter,
but Drea did have this guy
she was hanging around with.
Do you know his name?
All I know is that he was older,
and that Drea said
that he took care of her.
But you didn't like
the sound of him?
She seemed scared.
Everything she described
sounded real controlling.
The last few weeks,
she kept telling me
that she needed some time
in her happy place.
That's all I know. I-I s-swear.
It's okay. You can go, Tanya.
Thank you.
Thanks.
I hate to be the one to bring this
up, but have you considered that
This controlling guy
is Drea's pimp?
I'm trying not to go there.
But
I think I know
where Drea's happy place is.
You look good
doing the dishes.
I look good doing
a lot of things.
- Hey, baby?
- Uh-huh.
- Let me ask you a question.
- Hmm.
You think that Trini
and Aubrey are, uh
- Oh.
- Jesus Christ, I can't even say it.
No.
Trini told me she's a virgin.
So you two talked about it?
Don't look so shocked.
We talk about a lot of things.
How come you
never told me about it?
You never asked before.
And seeing as how you
You can't even say it,
I was right in assuming it's a
don't ask, don't tell policy.
Damn.
So I guess we have to invite
that knucklehead
over for dinner, huh?
- Uh
- Look, I just want
to sit the boy down,
look him right in his eyes.
See what he's all about.
Okay.
You wanna broach
that subject with Trini
by all means, go ahead.
I will.
- And I won't even be nice about it either.
- Uh. Okay, big man.
Excuse me.
- I gotta go to work.
- Uh-huh.
- Love you.
- I love you, baby.
Bring me back something sweet?
Yes, I will.
It'll be me.
Oh, that's
Hi, sir.
Where are you racing off to,
urgent meeting of the assholes?
- Oh.
- What?
Just wondering, um,
how someone with your
temperament became a principal.
I don't need them to like me.
They need me to protect them.
That's what my high school
principal did for me.
My mom was illegal.
She brought me here from Haiti
for a shot
at a better education,
but was, uh, deported while
I was still in high school.
I didn't have anybody
looking out for me.
My high school principal,
Evelyn Varga,
she made sure that school
was a safe place, you know?
Like a refuge for me.
She made sure I graduated
on time,
and I was the first one in
my family to go to college.
Here I am.
Your mother must be so proud.
You honor her sacrifice
every day.
She passed away
shortly after being deported.
I was barely 20.
Ah. I lost my mother
too young as well.
Isn't it always too young?
Hmm.
- Hi, we're looking for a missing girl.
- Thank you.
Take a look.
Excuse me,
have you seen that girl?
Nah.
You'll have
to stop blaming yourself
for Drea going missing again.
It's not on you
or the Capstones.
I've been thinking
about a lot of things, Lil.
- My legacy
- Is secure.
Is it?
What are you talking about?
OPD put out a list of calls
they gonna stop responding to.
Basically,
10 commandments that all say,
"Fuck you,
deal with it yourself."
So, I been thinking I will.
You got nothing
to prove to anyone.
- Hmm.
- Said the same thing to Poppy.
I'm happy y'all two have gotten so
much closer the last couple of months.
I can see it's good for you.
Ah, she's still lost.
And my grandma used to say,
"There always gonna be some people
who are just a little bit restless."
Georgia grandmas
know everything.
Yeah.
You got a call today
from Andrew Finney.
- The cat running for mayor?
- Mm-hmm.
Said he wants to meet with you.
Could be he saw the influence that
you have and wants to work with you.
With our history?
Capstones don't do politics.
Well, maybe they should.
Why did you fall
in love with me?
Hmm,
because there's no one else
in the world like you.
Nothing you do
will make you more
of a man than you already are.
You're the most compassionate,
authentic soul I've ever met.
And I've loved you
from the inside out.
Always.
Inside out, huh?
Have you seen
the latest dispatch
from our new overlords
at Boisterous?
Do they have a problem
with our VO sample?
No, but they'd
just love us to lean
into the
"tragic nature of Drea's life."
Look, Noa
I think Drea
is being trafficked.
They're gonna hang Drea
and Charise out to dry.
I will control it, okay?
I know how to handle Boisterous.
It-It may mean a lot
of haggling with corporate,
but I can handle Boisterous.
We are going to have to be able
to do the story we wanna do.
These guys are asking
for sensationalist chum.
And we may not feel it at first,
but it'll be a picture here
and a sound bite there,
and before we know it,
the marketing will start
to drive the narrative.
It's how Micah lost sight
of who she really was.
Okay.
Okay.
I'll call the lawyers.
See if they can amend
the contract to give us
marketing approval.
Thank you.
Okay.
Use your legs.
Use your legs.
Okay, okay, okay. Enough.
What happened at the Gardens
with Poppy?
I haven't seen you
like this in years.
You think she's good people?
You're the one
that talked to her.
Yeah, she's she's not
how I expected her to be.
And don't forget cute.
This man's not blind.
So what, you're thinking about
working with her or something?
I can't do this alone.
Just be careful
because that's a fucking
live wire right there.
So am I.
Let's go. Come on. Again.
Let's go, old man.
- Shake a leg.
- All right.
Hello?
Hello?
You have to stop looking for me.
Drea?
I'm fine.
So, why don't you come home?
We all miss you
and-and-and want you safe.
What-What's going on, honey?
You wouldn't understand.
Well, does it have anything
to do with
that guy Tanya mentioned?
I owe him.
How much?
Whatever it is,
we can we can pay off
your debt to High Hunter.
What?
It's not that simple.
Look, he's done so much for me,
so now I have
to return the favor.
What does that mean?
I don't know.
Give guys blow jobs and stuff.
Drea, that man
is-is pimping you out.
Drea?
Don't tell my mom.
She loves you so much.
She'd do anything for you.
Can that guy you're
with say that?
I got this, okay?
- Tell my mom that.
- Okay,
can you a-at least call her
and let her
know you're alive?
Okay?
Trafficked?
How did this happen?
Could you tell where she was?
Did you hear anything?
No.
But it's not too late for her,
Charise.
We can still bring her home.
Look, Poppy's right, okay?
Now, Drea wouldn't
even had called her
if some part of her
didn't wanna come home.
My question for you is,
do you want me putting this
on the podcast?
When you agreed to let me
interview her initially,
it was a talk about her
time missing and the drugs.
But this is different.
It's up to you.
I won't air
anything you don't want me to.
If you think it has a
chance to bring her home
do it.
Hey.
Hey.
So
Charise approved
using Drea's interviews
to talk about trafficking.
What'd the lawyer say
about amending the contract?
Yeah, she said,
"Boisterous is open to
discussion regarding marketing."
Pop, they'll use
the most lurid details.
The campaign
will be all about sex,
-and the girls will be a footnote.
- Not if we find them.
Have you seen the advertising
for their women's
prison podcast?
Every female inmate wears the
tightest tank top imaginable.
But that's not gonna happen
with Reconsidered.
Maybe not,
but doesn't it bother you
that it's the Boisterous MO?
Sure, but these girls' story
is way too important,
so I'll give the
tank tops a-an eye roll
and keep it moving if it means our
message gets out to the masses.
We're not even ready to go on
air with a trafficking episode.
This pivot requires more research.
We need more time.
Drea doesn't have time!
We're already compromising.
Can't you see that?
What I see is
an opportunity to help.
Look, when I was with Alex,
I saw how our podcast
affected his daughter.
She heard every word
other kids said about her,
and that was without salacious
marketing and sensationalized copy.
If we do things
the Boisterous way,
Drea and the other girls
will be hurt
much more than Alex's daughter.
- What are you saying?
- The message doesn't matter
if this is how we're
gonna convey it.
Oh, I wish you would
just trust me!
I wish you would trust me!
I'm telling you,
I am not gonna let Boisterous exploit
Charise, Drea or any of the girls.
I'm not, Noa.
Poppy, uh, I just
I just don't think that I'm
compatible with Boisterous.
So, this'll be my last podcast.
As a journalist,
when I came
across something horrific,
something I wanted
to turn away from,
I couldn't.
I had to confront it.
So, here it goes.
Drea Spivey is a bright,
beautiful young woman.
She's a junior
at Oak Creek High in Oakland.
Her favorite subject is biology,
and her dream is
to become a nurse.
And she is also a victim
of sex trafficking.
When people think
of sex trafficking,
their minds go
to scary men kidnapping girls
and taking them across borders.
But sex trafficking
is more often
a neighbor, a friend,
even someone on social media who
lures kids into trusting them,
only to turn around
and abuse them.
People always assume
this could never happen to them
or their kids.
But the truth is,
it is happening.
And not just in some shadowy,
forgotten corner of the hood.
It's happening in our schools,
our community.
Trafficking has been labeled
an epidemic in Oakland.
How much we are to blame
for our negligence
is a conversation for you
and the god you worship.
What you looking for, mama?
Get in.
I know one thing:
Drea and the other
missing girls like her,
wherever they are,
deserve our love.
I don't got track marks.
I don't mess with that shit.
Smart girl.
I aim to find them
and the people responsible
for taking them away.
Sex trafficking
is a cancer on our city.
I know I can't cure it.
But I can expose it.
I hope you'll follow me
into this world,
however dark it may be.
My name is Poppy Scoville,
and I'd like you to reconsider.
I'll clean this up
and send it to ya.
I may lay a little music
over the end,
but it'll be ready
to air tomorrow.
- Oh, sounds good.
- Yeah.
- Thank you.
- Sure.
Oh, um
I was gonna give this to you
when we got to 50 million listeners,
but you'll be there
soon enough.
Oh, thank you.
It's been an honor.
- Me too.
- Yeah.
Nothing new under the sun.
- But there are new suns.
- Yeah.
Is that
" To my favorite Oakland girl.
Now that you have your roots,
may you never lose your voice.
Love, Noa."
Hey, Aames.
Wait, what?
Hold up, guys.
Thank you.
I don't want this to be real.
This motel's on High Street.
Guess what the nickname is.
High Hunter.
Somebody wanted
to shut her up, Aames.
I'm gonna find out who.