Longmire s04e01 Episode Script

Henry, hi.
What are you doing here? I was looking for Walt.
Did I miss something while I was in prison? No.
Shut up.
I was just, like, dropping by.
With beer? Um so, do you have any idea where he is, or If I did, I would be there rather than here.
Hmm.
What? Walt's saddle's on the fence.
He normally puts it in the barn.
So? So that is odd.
Excuse me.
Hey, it's me Vic.
Um, just, uh, seeing what you're up to and and I was hoping that, um, this isn't too weird, but I was wondering if you wanted to, um Vic! Henry? What? This was in his saddlebag.
It is empty.
So he's out of tea.
This box used to hold Walt's wife's ashes.
The fact that the ashes are gone is significant.
Why? Walt once told me that he would not scatter Martha's ashes until he found the person who killed her.
Yeah, Miller Beck, which we've known for months.
Henry.
Miller Beck stabbed her, but David Ridges hired him to do it.
And Ridges worked for somebody else.
Yeah, Jacob Nighthorse.
I think Walt is going after him right now.
No, he can't be.
Nighthorse has immunity.
Walt can't arrest him.
He's not going to arrest him.
Walt! What the hell are you doing?! - Helping! - Get off of me! No! This doesn't involve you! Give me my rifle, Henry.
I cannot do that.
Suit yourself.
I'll just use this one.
I do not think this is what Martha would want.
We'll never know.
If you fire that gun now, you will kill everything that you have ever stood for.
We have been given a second chance, Walt, both of us.
I will not let you ruin it by shooting Nighthorse out of the sky.
I was planning on waiting for him to land.
Let me have the gun! Nighthorse is gonna pay for Martha.
He will! If you go after him the right way, through legal means.
It's too late for that.
If you shoot him now, I will be implicated as an accomplice and I will be thrown right back in jail.
You promised me that I would never go back there.
We will get him, Walt.
And he will pay for what he has done.
So What are you two doing here? Customs.
Anything to declare? Nope.
Okay, then.
Our work here is done.
- Hey, morning, Walt.
- Morning.
So, um, Henry was looking for you yesterday.
Did he What happened to your face? Henry found me.
Where? Out and about.
Don't worry.
We worked it out.
What's in the box? Casino research.
Stuff my wife pulled together a while back.
I was hoping you'd get the paperwork started on getting wire taps on Nighthorse's home and office.
I think the casino's got connections to organized crime.
Why? It's a casino.
Okay.
I don't know what Henry said, but I didn't do anything stupid, so Henry didn't say anything.
Should he have? Oh.
Uh No.
Why are you here? Well, I was worried about Branch, but now I'm kind of worried about you.
What's up with Branch? I haven't talked to him in a couple weeks.
We kind of left things on a bad note, but last night out of the blue, he started texting me, like, a bunch of texts, and they're kind of crazy.
Here, read them.
Don't worry.
There's nothing too personal.
"You deserve better than me.
" Well "I can't be with you right now.
" Uh, "I need to be alone.
" "I want you to forget about me.
Don't remember me how I really am.
I'm a bad person.
Remember me how I should be"? Sounds like he's been drinking.
Maybe.
But I don't know.
- Did you call him? - I texted him, but he won't respond.
I didn't say text him, I said call him, as in two people talking to each other directly.
Maybe I'll just go over and see him.
Wait.
Wait.
The way Branch has been acting lately, I'm not sure I want you going over there alone.
Hello? Branch? Talked to a neighbor.
Said he saw Branch's truck come and go last night around dusk, so I know where he hides a key.
Cady, I don't have any right to go into his house.
Okay, so stay here.
And if you're gonna arrest the concerned ex-girlfriend, go right ahead.
Morning, Hank.
Or, uh, closer to afternoon, actually.
Must be nice.
I just got back into town.
We, uh, had all the locks changed.
So, here's your new key.
Ah.
Don't lose it.
Now, shall we get ready to open, hmm? Malachi, I am confused.
You haven't forgotten our deal, have you? I give you some useless information about my friend Darius' whereabouts a couple years back, and you sign the deed of your bar over to me.
That was if I go to jail.
No, it wasn't.
You're not the first Indian to, uh, make a bad business deal.
But you did put years of sweat into this bar.
You know how to run it.
You'll still be the face of the Red Pony, and I'll look after the finances.
Well, if Barlow comes in, please have him call me immediately.
It's important.
Barlow hasn't come into the office yet.
His secretary doesn't know where he is.
But that could just be her, uh, standing instructions on what to say if I call, so - You find anything? - No.
I checked Branch's bedroom.
Luggage in the closet.
Toothbrush by the sink is dry.
I don't think he slept here.
- Bed's been made.
- He always makes his bed.
From what I remember.
It's warm.
Dad.
"I'm sorry.
This was not supposed to happen.
But when I look in the mirror, I don't know who I am anymore.
I've let everybody down and I can't fix this.
I can't undo what I've done.
Don't try to find me.
I deserve to be alone.
It's the white warrior's fault.
He made me do this.
Forgive me.
" Oh, God.
What do you think he's done? I'll find him.
I'll get Vic and Ferg to trace his phone.
We'll find him, okay? You go home.
You try and get ahold of Branch's dad.
Try the house, try the office.
Maybe he'll respond to you.
Dad.
What are you looking for? Nothing.
He's got a shotgun.
Which is exactly why you want to put one of these on.
Never wore one.
Not starting.
So, this is where the phone company pinged his phone? More or less.
Stop changing the subject.
Put it on.
In my experience, bulletproof vests beget bullets, so Yeah, and in my experience, when a cop goes postal, you want to have one of these on.
She's right, Sheriff.
We're not going with you unless you put it on.
I don't have time to argue.
Oh, Jesus.
No.
Branch.
Branch.
His, uh truck was parked about 100 yards or so down the bank.
His deputy's uniform and his hat were in the truck along with his phone.
Box of shotgun shells in the back.
Okay.
Should we move the body? No.
Walt, I think we know what happened here.
Doesn't matter.
We still got to do the work.
We still got to write up the report.
Branch Connally was a deputy in my department.
He gets the same thorough investigation that anybody else would get.
I wasn't suggesting that we don't I want to know every detail about every minute of his last days.
Every minute I didn't get to him.
Determining time of death is gonna be hard because of the cold water.
I don't care.
We're gonna try.
I ignored everything, everything leading up to this.
I'm not gonna ignore anything now.
Need me to take pictures of the body? No.
Give me the camera.
I'll do it.
Vic, you You got any of those rubber gloves? What? Just never seen you use gloves before.
Well I've never lost a deputy before.
I'm gonna go back through Branch's truck a bit more carefully, see if the shotgun shells match, check the call log on his cellphone.
After that, head over to his house, take a look with fresh eyes.
I was I was there earlier, but I Yeah.
Of course.
So, who's gonna tell Cady? Cady, I'm sorry.
It's Branch.
We found Branch.
It's not good.
Oh, shit.
Hey.
I thought I heard you pull up.
What happened? What's going on? Ferg, what happened? Is he okay? He He's He's dead, isn't he? He committed He killed himself.
I'm so sorry, Cady.
Truth is that the Branch that we knew was gone a long time ago.
I know this wasn't easy on you, Ferg.
I'm glad you were the one to tell me.
I was the last one to see him alive.
I had to go get the keys to his squad car.
Just doing your job.
I mean, he knew He knew that.
You were always a good friend.
No, I wasn't.
I was jealous.
And I wished for bad things to happen to him.
Now it just seems so stupid.
It's okay.
It's okay, Ferg.
It's okay.
Okay, that's it.
- Out, Walt.
- What? Look, I said you could sit there as long as you kept your mouth shut.
- Sorry.
I will.
- No, you won't.
I-I don't blame you, but it rattles my nerves.
Well, I need to know what happened.
I told you.
Birdshot to the head at extremely close range.
I found wadding from a shotgun shell in the wound and, as you have so rigorously pointed out, 196 pieces of shot.
All consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot.
Suicide.
You sure? Consistent with suicide.
I mean, I have more work to do before I can confirm anything, and all due respect, Walt, I had planned on doing that work alone.
I need to run a couple more tests before I can release the body to the family, so if you can You can take your time, Doc.
I haven't found the family yet.
And I still need them to I.
D.
the body, so Well, Walt, we know who it is.
I mean, I gave him that scar.
Well, technically, I guess we gave him that scar.
You're not releasing him till I find the family.
Okay.
You do know we serve food here.
I'm not hungry.
How are you doing? Well checked three shells, all from the box of number 4 game loads that Branch had in his truck.
All came out to the exact same pellet count.
Not one anomaly.
I meant how are you doing? Better than Branch.
Walt, I know what it feels like to have a death weigh on you.
I think about Hector every day.
I wonder if there is anything I can Six pellets are missing.
All these shells have 202.
Branch's head wound only had 196, so Six pellets are missing.
Probably washed away in the river.
And this proves what? Are you trying to turn this suicide into a murder to ease your conscience? Or is this so you have another reason to go after Nighthorse as the most likely suspect? Walt, I got Vic for you.
Go ahead.
So, I'm at Branch's house.
And I found some business cards.
Branch started working for his dad.
Doing what? Vice Presidenting.
You find out, uh, anything about the, um Well, you saw the note on the computer.
But I also found a bunch of pills in a drawer that I recognize from a case a few months back.
He stole them from evidence? Yeah, looks like it.
So, he was self-medicating.
Left a self-loathing note.
We've both seen this before.
I know we don't want to admit it, but it looks like suicide.
Walt, listen, I I know that you're gonna try and take responsibility for this, but you didn't even fire him.
After everything that he did, you only suspended him.
I'm the one that he was mad at.
I'm the one that he had an entire file of research on.
If he blamed anyone, it was me, okay? So, what do you think that he meant by "I can't fix this"? Do you think he was talking about us and the job, or do you think he did something else? Vic, I got to go.
Mother Superior says, "Well, Monsignor, it's usually $150, but with the clerical discount, it'll be $75.
" Now, there's a PG-13 version of that story for the family, but it's not half as funny.
Oh.
Gentlemen, if this is your idea of a stripper, I'm gonna have to kick all your asses.
It wasn't me.
Barlow, I need a word.
This is a private dinner.
If you need to talk to me, you call my office, and we'll get you put on my calendar.
I tried that.
And my secretary told you I was here? I'm gonna have to fire her.
You told me you were here.
I Oh.
I am way too buzzed to play Sherlock Holmes.
Whatever it is you came to say, you just go ahead and say it.
Really, Barlow, please.
This This needs to be in private.
Sheriff, anything you got to say to me you can say in front of my partners-to-be.
It's Branch.
Yeah, I know.
He's late.
It's not the first time.
He's not coming.
Why in the hell not? Gentlemen, please.
He's dead.
Branch is dead.
He's been shot.
I found him.
He had his phone on him.
That's how I knew to come here.
But he Who? Who shot him? Well, it looks, um self-inflicted.
No.
No.
No, no, no, no.
No.
No! He's my son.
He's my son.
My only son.
Shit.
Shit.
Dear Hector, if you are not dead, will you please help me? Sometimes my uncle drinks too much, and then he gets really angry and he hits my mom.
I'm not big enough to make him stop, but you are.
Hector, every day my son comes home from school beaten to a pulp.
I tell him to fight back, but he refuses.
Please help my son find the fighter within.
Hector, all the money I've been saving is gone.
I've been working every day since I was 13 trying to save.
I just had a beautiful baby girl.
When my boyfriend saw her, he knew she wasn't his.
Please, justice for my wife, who was mugged getting off her shift at the hospital.
Hector, you're the only one who knows how scared I am to go to school.
He can hit me all he wants, but if he touches My son is missing, and I know it's my ex-husband who has him.
- Hector.
- Hector.
- Hector.
- Hector.
- Hector.
- Hector.
Hector.
You're messing up my crime scene.
The river already did that.
You okay? I did it again.
What? Another man is dead because of me.
I'm toxic.
You should just stay away from me 'cause I'm bad for people.
And really bad for possums.
Or is it opossum? Possum, opossum.
I don't even know.
Doesn't matter.
He's dead.
Vic, that's Did you know that I came to Wyoming to start over? Like, I-I left Philly to get away from all of that shit.
But you can't Can't start over.
There are no second chances.
Your shit just follows you everywhere you go, and you just keep making the same goddamn mistakes over and over again.
Maybe Maybe the point is to keep trying.
Maybe getting it right just one time is good enough.
- Come on.
Let's get you out of here.
- Oh.
Did you know that my dad used to call me "The Terror"? He's right.
You know, I'm I am the terror because everyone who gets too close to me either dies or they leave.
So, you know Don't you touch me! Uh! No.
- Come on.
- No.
No.
Fine.
Gonna be fine.
Did my dad send you? I sent me.
I made you waffles.
Food eases sorrow.
Have you even spoken to your dad? No.
Have you? Yes.
Or should I say I talked at him.
Branch's death has him immersed in his work.
It's okay.
I need time to be with my own thoughts.
I have been thinking about Branch, too.
How much he helped me.
I would like to return his bail money.
Henry, you don't have that kind of money.
And besides, I don't think it matters much to him now.
My freedom cost a lot of people.
I would at least like to return the legal defense money that was donated.
Do you have records of who contributed and how much? Not really.
It was kind of a pass-the-hat thing.
But I have copies of all the affidavits that people wrote for you.
That should be close to a complete list of the people who donated.
I have those files.
I'll get them.
No.
They can wait.
Eat.
You know the hardest part? Realizing how little I feel about someone who once meant so much to me.
If you're looking for your possum, I buried him by that tree over there.
Isn't the water cold? Yep.
What are you doing? Looking for the missing birdshot from the shotgun shell that killed Branch.
Planning on dredging the entire river or just Hey, Walt, what's this gonna prove? Don't know yet.
Yeah, I think you do.
If you find the pellets, it just proves what we already know.
If you don't find them, it just means that they're buried by mud or they were carried away by the stream or If it was me instead of him, I'd hope you'd do the same thing.
Do you know who you sound like? Look at you.
You've been up all night, and And you're planning on panning an entire river for a couple of BBS.
It's like Branch's obsessive behavior was contagious.
I missed something, Vic.
I didn't pay close enough attention.
I didn't see how bad things had gotten for Branch.
You have got to stop blaming yourself for this.
It's too late.
I'm not gonna miss anything more.
If I find the rest of the birdshot, maybe this'll all make more sense to me than it does right now.
And if I don't, at least I'll know it wasn't through lack of trying.
I think I'm gonna be sick.
Well, try to get clear of the crime scene.
Jesus.
Hey, Ruby said she didn't know where either of you guys were, so I thought you'd be down What's he doing? Grasping at anything that will prevent him from having to face the fact that Branch committed suicide.
Shit! Jesus.
Guns make a lot of noise, especially shotguns.
Anybody could hear my gun sure as hell could hear Branch's.
Ferg, get out there.
See if you can find anyone who was in earshot the last couple of days.
I'm supposed to just ask anyone that lives within a mile of Ferg, why are you still here? Nothing to see here.
Just, you know move along.
Ruby.
Are you sure he knows it's today? I reminded him three times.
He should be here.
Branch Connally, my son did not take his own life.
He was a deputy of the Absaroka County Sheriff's Department.
And that job took his life.
Branch emptied himself out trying to help other people.
Trying to help all of you.
Help the sheriff.
He sacrificed himself, even when it went unappreciated.
He would've been sheriff himself one day if only The, um The Connally family settled this county.
And a lot of Connallys laid down their lives for it.
But not before they left their mark.
Branch was supposed to have built on what I had done, j-just like I did from my daddy.
But now, uh it's the end of the line.
We, uh We all let him down.
But that's, uh that's the past now.
So, let's, uh Let's try to carry him in our hearts going forward.
He Did you notice who wasn't here? Lucian? Lucian doesn't do funerals, no.
Nighthorse.
Ah.
I'm not obsessing, Henry.
I'm observing.
Nighthorse was Branch's biggest benefactor during the election.
You'd think he would make an appearance.
Walt, do you think it might be a good idea to take a break from your crusade just for today? Ferg.
When you brought Branch the personal items from his desk, do you remember seeing a bag full of surveillance cameras? Yeah, they were right on top.
Why? 'Cause I don't remember seeing them in Branch's house.
- Did you? - Did I what? See a bag full of surveillance cameras at Branch's house? No, why? So, what do you think that means, Sheriff? I don't know.
Maybe he put them somewhere we haven't looked yet.
Or maybe there was incriminating evidence on those cameras.
And Jacob Nighthorse broke in and stole it.
Cady.
Cady.
How you holding up? Oh, you know.
Yeah.
You want to get some breakfast? Uh, I-I can't.
Branch's family invited me to a private ceremony at the grave site, so Of course.
Makes sense.
Not really, but I guess they don't know that Branch and I broke up.
It's awkward because I've never met Branch's mom before.
That's good of you to go, so Yeah.
Um How are you? I'm fine.
Really? That's not what I'm hearing.
What are you hearing? That you're having a hard time accepting the reality of this.
- You talking to Henry? - Doesn't matter who I'm talking to, Dad.
You got to stop carrying around all this guilt.
You couldn't have done anything.
Branch changed.
I didn't even recognize him at the end.
What he did, it was It was really sad.
But it happened, and it wasn't your fault.
You know what? Let's go to breakfast.
Let's go.
No, no.
You can't.
I-I don't think that you should be alone right now.
Neither should Branch's parents.
They just lost their only son.
Now, sometimes we got to do things we don't want to, Punk.
But what do I say to them? You don't have to say a word.
Thanks.
- Hey.
Are you following me? - Not anymore.
Let me put this another way.
Why are you following me? You know why.
Okay, I give you my word.
I will have no contact whatsoever with Jacob Nighthorse today.
There.
You satisfied? For today, at least.
Good morning.
Standing Bear.
Hey.
I heard you was out.
It's good to see you breathing the air of your ancestors.
You have no idea.
I do, actually.
I did a nickel in Rawlins back in the '90s.
Like to buy some oranges? I also got some buffalo jerky.
Or maybe some dream catchers.
The turistos love them.
No, no, thank you.
I am good.
I actually stopped to pay you back.
For what? You contributed to my defense fund.
You ain't got to pay me back for that.
I donated that money.
Never meant to see it again.
Or you, for that matter.
Well, here I am.
And here is your money.
I ain't touching it.
Ain't often an Indian goes into the white man's justice system and comes out again.
Ain't often an Indian gets any kind of justice, especially now that Hector's gone.
You know, people still put notes into Hector's jar.
Out there at the old wall.
If it makes them feel comfort that's good.
But it's a shame ain't no one to answer those notes no more.
How about an orange for the road? Keep the change.
Hey.
As soon as I get the messages checked, I'll put on a pot of coffee.
- What the hell are you doing?! - I wasn't, Vic! - I am not gonna lose you, too! - I wasn't! The gun's not even loaded.
- What? - See? Empty.
I couldn't stop thinking about the length of the barrel of this shotgun.
Whether it was even possible for Branch to pull the trigger with his hands.
It would be difficult.
But it would be possible.
Even if he couldn't, he could use his toe.
Okay, then, so it was suicide.
Will you move on now? Please.
Branch was obsessed with his case.
We thought he was wrong, but he was right.
I owed it to Branch to keep on digging, but, uh I think I have to stop fighting this and just, uh just admit that what happened happened, so Okay.
So, then, you're not gonna need this, right? Shit.
God damn it.
- No, wait, I'll just - I got it.
It's fine.
What? How'd the dirt get in the shell? Never left the gun.
- There's dirt inside the shell casing? - Uh-huh.
That would mean that somebody put a spent shell back in the gun.
Someone tampered with that shotgun before we got to the scene.
So, I went all over Branch's house and the garage.
No sign of the cameras or the bag they were in.
I'm sorry.
Am I interrupting something? Branch didn't die the way we thought he did.
What we found down by the river was staged.
And whoever did it made sure all the evidence washed away.
I already know someone with a history of staging fake death scenes.
Nighthorse? Nighthorse.
Doc I need you to change the cause of death on Branch's death certificate.
- I can't.
- Well, you have to.
It wasn't suicide.
It was murder.
I found new evidence.
It's too late, Walt.
Don't you even want to hear it? Honestly, I don't really like discussing tragedy after work hours, so, no.
Come on, Doc.
You saw Branch's wound.
You think after he shot himself in the face, he ejected the shell, picked it up off the ground, and put it back in the gun? 'Cause there was dirt in the spent shell.
That's the only way this could be a suicide.
Okay, even so, Walt, the paperwork's already been filed.
There's nothing I can do.
So, you're gonna hide behind some stupid bureaucratic process 'cause you don't want to do your job? Wait a minute.
Are you kidding me? My job description says nothing about being your unofficial, unpaid forensic researcher.
Officially, that body was supposed to go to Laramie.
I did the autopsy as a personal favor out of friendship.
Now you're gonna walk in here and you're gonna criticize me for for not breaking the law? I'm sorry.
I'm not asking you to break the law.
Actually, that's exactly what you're asking me to do, Walt.
I cannot legally alter that death certificate unless I'm ordered to do so by a court.
So, if you want a change, you're gonna have to present evidence in a court of law.
And if you want to prove that Branch didn't commit suicide, I'm telling you right now, you're gonna need a little bit more than just some dirt.
Hey, listen.
You two rummies don't keep it down out here, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave.
What are you doing in Henry's office? Oh, you know, just going over the books, learning the ropes.
It ain't easy with you two crackers out here making a lot of racket.
- Where's Henry? - He's off the clock.
It's none of my concern.
Why are you walking around like you own this place? 'Cause.
Ever since your boy signed the deed over to me, I do.
Next round's on the house.
Hello? Hey, it's me.
So, I have been to his house, the office, the construction site.
There is no sign of Nighthorse anywhere.
It's possible I alerted Jacob to our interest in him earlier tonight.
How? Malachi.
He overheard me talking to Doc Weston at the Red Pony, so Shit.
Yeah, uh, was there something else you wanted to talk to me about? What? No.
Why? Well, it's, uh It's just that I-I saw you called earlier and didn't leave a message.
Um, yeah, no, that was nothing.
You sure? Yeah.
Get some sleep, Walt.
Tell me, Sheriff.
When General Custer looked out over the field at Little Bighorn, do you think he had a moment to reflect? I suspect.
How do you think he characterized his failure in his own mind? You think he felt he had underestimated the Indians? Overestimated himself? What do you want, Jacob? I just want to talk.
No lawyers, no bullshit.
No bullshit? What do you call this display? This is just backup.
What do you want from me? Your head on a pike.
Or barring that, prison.
For what? What did I ever really do to you, Walt? I believe you murdered Branch.
Why would I murder Branch? Because he exposed your soldier.
David Ridges.
Yeah.
But you killed him.
So, I take your deputy, you take mine.
Or maybe he found something out that Ridges did for you.
Like kill my wife.
Oh.
So, that's what this is all about.
That's what this is all about.
Well, let me put your mind at ease.
I don't kill women and children.
In fact, in my experience and the experience of my people, that's been more of a white man's strategy.
You once said you intended to fight the white man on his terms.
And I will.
Harnessing the power of the almighty dollar with casinos.
You took our land.
You killed us with guns and disease.
You lied to us.
Shame on you! But we were naive.
We were gullible.
We never came together as a people, so shame on us.
Look around you, Walt.
Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Sioux, Cherokee.
Could it be we are no longer a beaten, drunken, vanishing people? We are united.
We will not be harassed and intimidated anymore.
These men have my back! And I have theirs.
So, you're threatening me? Is that it? I'm just giving you the warning poor General Custer never got.
Don't overestimate yourself.
And don't underestimate us.
Oh.
All right, let's go!