Long Bright River (2025) s01e06 Episode Script

We got the guy.
- Who is it?
Sean Kelly.
Sean Kelly?
The guy you arrested
on DV a few days ago.
You need to step back.
You're not taking my girls.
Colleen, it's gonna be easier for
them if this goes smooth, okay?
Another young woman was found.
Emily Morris.
Uh, insulin overdose?
It's a gunshot.
She's still alive.
Who did this to you?
Was it a cop?
We think he's going to do it again.
You ever need to hide something,
you put it in here.
You ever need to tell me
anything, you put it in here.
And if you ever need to tell me something
- I'll put it in here, too.
A woman from the Avenue said that
we need to be looking at a cop.
Who is she?
Paula Mulroney.
Sean Kelly? He's not a cop.
It seems Paula was wrong.
Just like me,
so fuckin' wrong.
I don't remember the last time I was right.
No, no, no, no.
There goes that beautiful mind.
Spinnin' out. Second guessing.
You know what?
- What?
I'm gonna make things
easy on us this morning.
Oh.
First, I'm gonna get dressed.
Pants. Shirt.
Shoes. In that order.
Then
I'm gonna sneakily,
and stealthily make you some tea.
And I'll be out the door
before you have time to freak out,
or Thomas wakes up.
Whichever one happens first.
Where'd you go?
Sean Kelly.
I guess I just can't wrap my head around it.
I know Simon makes more sense,
for a lot of reasons.
But you heard what DiPaolo said.
- I know.
You gotta let it go, Mick.
For your own sake.
- I can't.
For Kacey's.
If Kelly's the guy,
then where the hell is she?
At least if it was Simon,
I might know where to find her.
Six months. She's never
been gone this long.
She's not at Gee's,
she's not at Ashley's.
Nobody's seen her on the Avenue.
She'll turn up. She always does.
That's reassuring.
I don't think you actually wanna find her.
I know you've never liked her.
Yeah. It's on me.'Cause Kacey's
always been such a huge fan of mine.
I should never have let her
walk out of our house that day.
It wasn't your choice.
It was hers.
This isn't your fault.
Look I've already got buddies
in the 30th looking out for her.
But there's only so much we can
do if she doesn't want to be found.
You got to let it go.
I'll let it go when I find her.
Thomas, you almost done getting ready?
Bethany's gonna be here in ten minutes.
Oh, yeah.
Getting dressed now.
I thought you didn't like Bethany.
That was just a misunderstanding.
Oh.
- Good morning.
Good morning.
Just wanted to give you this.
Thomas left Dun-Dun
at my house yesterday.
I thought he might be needing him.
Thank you.
And thank you for everything last night.
I don't know what I would've
done if something had happened.
No thanks necessary.
Thomas is a pleasure to be around.
Look, I don't get too many
visitors these days.
So if you want me
to watch Thomas again today,
it probably will be a good thing
for me, too. Not just Thomas.
He can help decorate
my tree for Christmas.
Thank you for the offer,
but we've got today covered.
Not Winnie-the-Pooh.
Winnie-the-Pooh?
Bethany?
Dresses like him anyway.
I I don't wanna know
as much about her navel as I do.
I'll watch Thomas.
You're desperate, dear.
But you're not that desperate.
Maria. Hey,
is Sean Kelly still in holding?
Uh, yeah, he's still here, but he's
about to be transferred to Riverside.
Soon as, uh,
Sam gets off his break.
Okay. Thank you.
Mickey, you got a sec?
Assuming you heard the
news about the perp
you arrested in the
domestic violence case?
Looks like he could also be
the perp in those murders.
Lafferty mentioned you two saw
him at the first crime scene.
You don't remember me,
do you?
I don't remember much.
Lafferty was the one who spoke to him.
Well, he said Kelly seemed pretty jittery.
Thought at first he might've
been coming down from something,
but, you know,
now he's not so sure.
And we're sure he's the guy?
It's just, I arrested him
on a domestic assault call,
and he didn't present as somebody
who was trying to cover up a murder.
Or murders. If anything,
it was the opposite.
Well, we've got his DNA so far
on two of the victims.
He's got a history of abuse. We're
searching his home
now, talking to his wife.
Trying to establish
a timeline for the murders.
Hey, don't worry, all right?
We're investigating every avenue.
You set me up.
I set you up?
You told me you remembered me.
And now I know where from.
I was just playing with you.
Do you really think I would've
been fucking with you like that?
Remindin' you that I was on those tracks
if I was the one who had
murdered those girls? Hm?
I didn't do this.
What they're saying.
DNA says you did.
- Please.
I ain't the first guy in Philly
to peel off a ten-spot for a trick.
And I probably won't be the last.
Seen this girl?
Huh.
You really think I'm gonna help you?
So you can set me up again?
I didn't fuck her.
That girl.
But, uh
everybody else did.
Hey, Maria, have you
seen Lafferty this morning?
No, I haven't seen him.
Hey, guys,
have you seen Lafferty?
He's on leave.
Why?
What happened?
Well, now you're concerned about him?
You were the one who requested solo duty.
So, I'm pretty sure this falls
under 'none of your business.'
Yeah.
Hold your horses. I'm coming.
Mickey.
What are you doing here?
I just came to check on you.
Ahearn said that you called out of work.
What?
Nothing. I just didn't think that you Yeah.
Sorry. Come on in.
Please.
Sorry about the mess.
The kids just left.
They never know how to leave
the place the way they found it.
I understand the feeling.
Of course, you knew.
Who am I talking to?
Hey, uh, you want a beer? I got
a couple lagers in the fridge.
Well, I'm on duty.
But thanks.
Oh.
Truth is, they benched me.
Why?
'Failure to follow through
on tasks,' is what Ahearn said.
Well, I told you I wasn't cut out for this.
I think my head's fucked up, you know?
With all those girls dying.
That's normal.
Means you care.
Does it?
I don't know.
You know what really fucks me up?
I talked to him for five minutes.
Sean Kelly.
I talked to the actual murderer
for five minutes and and
I missed it.
I mean, what if I could've
stopped him from doing it again?
Maybe he's not the killer.
I don't think he did it either.
Maybe your instincts were
correct the first time around.
I just keep going over it in my head,
you know, thinkin' about what I missed.
What? What do you see?
A guy who looked guilty.
He was shakin'.
He was lookin' over at the scene.
Kept lookin' like he wanted
to get the fuck outta there.
But I was just so distracted
by that dead body.
Did you tell Ahearn all that?
Oh, yeah. It's probably why he benched me.
Maybe he was right to.
But, uh
honestly, I don't even think he cared.
I mean, we go way back, right?
Sometimes you can't
know a person fully. You know?
What do you mean?
I don't know. Listen,
he's been different, you know.
Closed off since I started.
Like he's hiding something?
- No.
Maybe I was just askin' him
too many questions, you know.
Gettin' in his face too much.
I tried my best.
That beat though
that neighborhood is hard.
Temptation on every corner.
It's all out in the open.
And no one seems to care.
But
you gotta fit in, you gotta
provide for your family,
so you roll with it.
And that means lookin' the other way.
And in the end, you're so used
to lookin' the other way
that you forgot why you became
a cop in the first place.
You know what I mean?
I think Ahearn got lost,
if I'm being honest.
Do you know the resident Sean Kelly?
Hey, find anything that ties
Sean Kelly to the victims?
Nothing worth a shit,
but still looking.
Hey, Colleen. How you doin'?
They took my girls is how I'm doing.
I don't know when they're coming back.
I told the social worker
that you were protecting them.
From him.
CPS just has to do their due
diligence, then they'll be back.
Was one thing when Sean
was coming after me, but
my babies? Hell no.
Now he's
been arrested for murdering them girls.
Do you think he's capable of that?
I think he's capable of anything.
Uh, have you seen this girl?
I, uh, remember her from high school,
if that's what you're gettin' at.
She's my sister.
Kacey Fitzpatrick.
She's been missing.
From around the same time
the murders started.
And
do you think that Sean
had somethin' to do with that?
I don't know.
That's why I was asking.
I haven't I haven't seen her.
Uh, maybe
a couple of years back I saw her,
you know, with, uh, some
folks from high school, but
You were wrong about high school.
How's that?
I didn't think I was better than anybody.
It was actually the opposite.
I was just really quiet.
Snobby.
What?
Folks thought you were snobby
'cause you didn't say too much.
You know, the truth is,
I wanted to be like you.
Why why
why in God's name would you
want somethin' like that?
I don't know. You were just
one of those people that
everybody liked.
You and your friends, you
seemed like you were
on the inside of everything.
Everybody was gravitating towards you.
I bet you're rethinking that now, huh?
No.
Not at all.
I I I saw the way
your little girls looked at you.
It was, like,
the same back then.
Um, you're gonna get 'em back.
I'm gonna protect 'em this time, I swear.
My mother lives up in Bucks.
I'm gonna
take 'em up there, and I'm
gonna leave Sean for good.
I just hope it'll be enough,
you know.
What do you mean?
They're still his kids,
you know. I just
wonder how much of him
is in them.
Hey. Was wondering when I was
gonna hear back from you.
I saw Sean Kelly.
- And?
I just don't think he's the guy, Truman.
Lafferty seems to think he is.
I've been driving all over town
trying to find answers but
I don't know. And Emily
Morris AMA'd from the hospital.
If we could find her or Paula.
You okay?
Yeah.
Um
are we okay?
You mean
I mean, uh.
I Yeah, we're
we're we're fine.
Now, there's a vote of
confidence if I've ever heard one.
You know, try not to overwhelm
a guy with your enthusiasm.
Yeah, sorry.
Probably not what you signed up for.
No, Mick. I know exactly
what I signed up for.
Mick. Come here.
Who's that?
Nicole.
She wants to talk to me.
I wonder what she wants.
- I have no idea.
Mickey?
Can you hear me?
Mickey? Mickey?
Wait.
Oh, God.
It's 2:00 a.m.
Jesus Christ, Mickey,
you scared the shit out of me.
Where have you been?
What?
I I was just out.
Where? Where were you?
Um
You're
you're not gonna
you're not gonna wanna hear it.
- Hear what?
What?
I've I found Kacey.
Is she okay?
Tell me. What? What?
She's okay. She's she's good.
She's clean. Yeah, she's clean.
- She is?
She's got a boyfriend.
Yeah. Yeah. She's
So, where's she living?
She wouldn't tell me.
So wh why
why wouldn't she tell you that?
Did she not want you
to know where she is?
No. She, uh
she she didn't want you to know.
She doesn't wanna see you.
She she thinks you're the
you're the problem in her life.
The reason she's an addict.
Said she's better when you're not around.
Hey.
Doctor said you broke a couple of ribs.
That's what that pain is.
So you gonna tell me
what happened out there?
Uh, Nicole, Jeannie
Helen.
I I didn't I didn't really
I didn't really see who else.
But I don't know what happened.
They just started attacking me.
Yeah, I heard some of it on the phone.
I called 911,
but when I got there
they were gone. You were gone.
I think Dock might have been with them.
Dock?
I don't know. Maybe I'm imagining that part.
But why you? Doesn't add up.
It does if what Paula said was true.
The killer's a cop.
Maybe they think I know him.
What if I don't find Kacey?
Hey.
I'm scared I'm never gonna find her.
She feels so far away.
I have to find her.
I I have to.
- You will. You will.
We will.
Together.
But you gotta get better first.
- Okay.
I'm worried about you, Mickey.
Out there on your own.
It's always been that way.
It doesn't have to be.
Not anymore.
You've got me.
Yeah.
You got Thomas.
Oh, God. Thomas.
- He's fine.
I spoke to him about an hour ago.
You did?
- Yeah, he's playing Clue with Mrs. Mahon.
He's worried about you, though.
I need to get him.
Doctor said you still
need to stay another night.
No. Truman.
- Mickey.
I need to see Thomas.
Please, please. Please.
Okay.
All right, all right.
I'll go get the nurse.
Okay.
- All right.
Hey, hey, let me
Come on.
Be careful.
- I'm fine. I'm fine.
I got it.
- Mom!
Buddy, hi! Hi. Hi. Oh!
It's okay. It looks a lot worse
than it is, I promise you.
Your mom's a tough cookie.
Mm, but why did this happen to you?
I was
Thomas, you know,
we've talked about this.
Good can't fight evil
without getting a few bruises.
You know what?
The upside is that I'm off for
a week to rest and get better.
Are those stitches under there?
- Mm-hm. See?
Looks like those stitches
need to be cleaned up a little.
I can do that for you if you like.
Oh, um, it's okay.
I don't wanna
Mickey, let her help.
In the meantime, Thomas
and I'll go make some tea.
How's that sound, buddy?
- Yeah.
The trick with stitches
is to keep them clean and dry
for at least two days.
Oh.
You got a little blood under there.
I'll clean it up,
and you'll be good as new.
How come you know
so much about stiches?
Well, I was a nurse before I retired.
Seven years in emergency.
Seven years in the NICU.
Oh.
Before that
I was a nun.
A Sister of Saint Joseph.
Wow.
I was not expecting that.
God has a way of surprising us all.
Why'd you leave?
I met a man.
I realized I loved him
so much, I couldn't stay.
His name was Richard.
He passed a few years ago.
Anyway, I left and I never looked back.
I decided I could help people
in a different way.
This is gonna sting a bit, dear.
Why the NICU?
I don't know, something about
babies, and, uh, a clean slate.
It felt like we were starting
from the same place.
It must have been
challenging work, though.
At times it was.
I imagine not all babies
start out with a clean slate.
No.
They don't.
But the ones who make it
are stronger for it.
And that is something to see.
I should get back to Thomas. But
thank you very much for your help.
Yeah, anytime.
He's a wonderful boy,
Mickey. Thomas.
Yeah.
I've never seen a child so
attuned to his mother's needs.
The music he listens to,
the games he wants to play
You're in every decision he makes.
Which means,
your worry is his worry.
Children are resilient, and adversity
can be good for growth. But
whatever it is you're up against,
whatever demons you're battling,
he feels it.
Thomas is special.
And maybe he can handle
more than most, but
sometimes, a little boy just
needs to be a little boy.
All right. Let's go find her.
Hey, Mom. It's just the way you
like. With peppermint and honey.
Thanks, buddy.
Mm.
All right,
I'll leave you two to it.
You're not gonna stay?
Yeah. Stay, Truman.
I thought we could watch a movie.
Thomas' choice.
Well, how could I say no to that?
Hello, Bedford Falls!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
All right, who wants
more? Anybody want more?
I'm stuffed.
Same goes, double for me.
- Okay.
All right.
What? What is it? What?
What're you guys doing?
We want you to open your present tonight.
I'll open them tomorrow morning
at Gee's house.
But Truman won't be here tomorrow.
Kid's got a point.
Please, Mom? Please?
Yes, fine.
Go ahead.
Uh-oh.
Wow.
Oh. What is it?
Open it.
You guys
Thomas and I both thought it should
be back with its rightful owner.
She's crying 'cause she likes it.
That part, I got.
I
Oh, I've never had a more
perfect moment in my life.
Thank you.
You don't need to fold the paper.
Uh, give that one to your mom,
and that skinny one is for you, too.
Wow, this is nice.
The receipt's somewhere in there
if you don't like it.
No, I like it.
Shoulda got you a ski mask
to cover up your mug.
If you need any more evidence that
your chosen profession is a bust,
just sneak a peek at your face in the mirror.
Thanks. Oh, my God.
- Motherfucker!
Shut your mouth, Carmichael.
I should have lost the bet
that won me that bird.
Give that to Gee.
Hey, look, Carmichael.
We got a new
book.
An old book.
We got you new music, too, Gee-Pop. Oh.
A-ha!
Thank you.
Go ahead, Thomas.
Open up the skinny one.
An umbrella?
- It's not an umbrella. It's a parasol.
The Mummers' parasol!
- Wow.
Thank you.
- Oh, yeah. Hey.
Hey, hey, hey, hey.
You're welcome.
Can we play one of our albums
so we can practice our strut?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right.
Let's do it.
Kid sure does love the Mummers.
How can you not?
Probably shouldn't tell him
about the Mummers holiday tradition
of cultural appropriation.
Cultural what now?
- It's all bullshit.
Our theme is Angels and Demons this year.
Been working
on those costumes for months.
Parade starts at 9:00 am,
and there's some buses leaving from
right down in front of the clubhouse.
Maybe you can loosen the leash,
and he can go with me. I mean
Sure, Gee.
Sure, what? I'm asking you if
Yeah, Thomas can go with you. Sure.
Just like that?
He can hang out with good-for-nothing,
no-PC, gambling Mummers? Really?
You must've gotten hit in the head
worse than I thought.
Probably stop talking
before I change my mind.
What the hell's going on with you?
You're acting so
different.
- Different how?
I don't know, happier or something.
Less of a pain in the ass.
I'm just trying to be present for Thomas.
Huh. Eight years old.
Best age, in my opinion.
Your mother was an angel at that age.
Favorite thing in the world
was watching her
and your Mom-Mom together.
They used to sing all the time.
Liked music, just like you.
Ah, everything was good back then.
Home. Even work.
The Marine Terminal
was still in Port Richmond,
center of shipping in Philly.
I could just walk to work back then.
That's what killed Kensington.
What do you mean?
When the Port Richmond Yard shut down,
all the good jobs
going down to South Philly
and then overseas
Just a lot of people left behind.
With not enough to do.
That move fucked everything up.
Uh
Just hold on to Thomas is my
point, while things are good.
'Cause they don't stay.
They sure didn't stay that way for us.
Gee-Pop, you got any,
uh, triple-A batteries?
Down the cellar.
Oh! Jeez.
God, you okay?
Oh, I'm fine. Your lousy
shit ex fucked up my back.
Sit down.
I'll get you another beer.
Oh, my fucked up back,
your fucked up face
I don't know what's worse.
Your sister came home drunk
and broke the fuckin' window!
Gee, how long's that window been busted?
A week ago or somethin'. Holidays,
so nobody is available to fix it.
Was it Kacey? Was she here?
I don't know. Didn't see her.
Could have been, I guess.
How come you didn't tell me that?
You know that I've been looking for Kacey.
Nothin' to tell. Kacey busts
into places and steals shit.
Not exactly breaking news.
What'd she take?
She take anything?
Nothing was missing.
Did she leave anything?
Where'd you get those?
These are from our dad.
And?
Some of these letters
are dated after he died.
You had no right to keep this from us.
I had every fuckin' right.
I was protecting you both.
Your low-life father is the reason
my baby got hooked on that stuff,
the reason she's dead.
Wasn't gonna let that happen to you.
So, yeah,
I sent the letters back.
That wasn't your choice to make.
Hey, get off your high horse!
You made the same choice.
Hey, Paula.
Have you seen Kacey?
No, I haven't seen her.
What about her boyfriend?
Do you know where he lives?
Kacey doesn't have a boyfriend.
But Simon told me she did.
Any idea where I can find her?
Kace? Hey.
Kace. Come on.
Hey. Kace, it's me.
Hey.
Come on, I'm gonna get you out of here.
- Mickey.
Yeah, yeah. There you go.
Come on.
What?
Come on.
- I tried to tell you.
Tell me what?
Thomas?
Uh, yeah?
Get your stuff together.
You're gonna spend the rest
of the day with Mrs. Mahon.
I miss dad. How come you
never talk about him?
Oh, my God.
Kace.
I tried to tell you.
Tell me what?
Who's the father?
Is it Simon?
I'm I'm
I'm sorry, I can't.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry
Mickey.
Sophia, this is Mickey.
Hi.
- Mickey, this is Sophia.
This is my girlfriend's granddaughter.
- Oh.
Uh, uh, hey, Soph, um
why don't you go back inside, and then
Pop-Pop will be back in a sec, okay?
Mickey, you you look
God, you look like her.
So how long has she been with you?
A couple months.
I came looking for you both.
And you came to my house?
- Yeah.
Uh, a lady there sent me away.
Stopped by a couple more times,
but you were never home, and
I thought that maybe
there was a reason behind that.
Maybe you didn't wanna be found.
I wasn't sure what Gee had told you.
Gee didn't tell me anything.
I thought you were dead.
Oh, he was probably
just trying to protect you.
Years back,
he told me if I got clean
and stayed clean, that he'd
he'd let me see you,
and
I tried but
Time and time again,
I just couldn't make it stick.
What what changed?
I don't know. Something happened
when Sophia was born.
Oh, I looked at her, and I just
kept thinking about you girls
when you were little.
Did the work,
I got clean.
Started looking for you.
I just found Kacey first.
She's been with you the whole time?
She's doing great.
Really good.
And it wasn't easy. She spent a
week lying on my basement floor.
She stuck it out.
And, uh, the baby?
Uh, guy named Dock's the father.
But she hasn't seen him.
She doesn't wanna see me either.
No, I think she does. Probably
why she left the letters.
Maybe she's just not ready.
Mickey
I would like to have
a relationship with you
if you're open to it.
And Thomas.
When when the time is right.
I understand why
that's complicated for you.
For her
All this time.
I was looking for her,
scared that she was dead.
And she was just hiding from
No, it wasn't about you, Mickey.
It was about him.
Thomas.
Because I took him from her.
I didn't mean
What I did to her,
I did for him.
I know.
Uh, for what it's worth.
I I think part of the reason she
worked so hard to get clean this time
was to prove to you that she could do it.
As much as she needed
to prove it to herself.
She'll find her way back, I
I believe that.
Pop-Pop, cocoa's ready.
Okay, I'll be right in.
I should I should get going.
I'd invite you to join, but it
- No, I I can't.
I'm glad you came.
Merry Christmas, Mickey.
Merry Christmas.
Hi.
Hey, Mick. I'm sorry
to call you on Christmas.
But I think you should come into my office.
Why? What is it?
Is it another victim?
I think it's just better if you come in here.
Aura, who is it?
I'm so sorry, Mick.
I know how close you were with Paula.
Was she
Looking like an OD.
It wasn't an OD.