Mr. Mercedes (2017) s01e04 Episode Script

Gods Who Fall

1 Hodges: Previously on "Mr.
Mercedes" Officer: It's registered to a Mrs.
Olivia Trelawney in Sugar Heights.
My sister? It's completely unlike her to leave her keys in her car, and if she said she didn't, she didn't.
I mean, you need I.
T.
help, Mr.
Hodges.
Come on.
Well, I won't be getting it from you.
I mean it.
"Dear Olivia Trelawney, I am the man who stole your Mercedes.
Had you not left your keys in the ignition, perhaps none of this would've happened.
" I promise you, the police don't give a shit.
This is our guy.
He sends me messages through my computer.
Your PC is talking to you? What are we up to here, you and me? Hodges: The actual Mercedes killer was taken into custody.
He had details that only the actual killer could've had.
Good night, Mr.
Nothing.
You stupid, fat, dead fuck.
[T Bone Burnett's "It's Not Too Late" plays.]
The wind turns like a dagger The rain falls like a hammer The sky has grown dark But it's not too late The weather crashes down What's lost cannot be found The night is closing But it's not too late It's not too late It's not too late The atmosphere is lethal But I will fear no evil [Click.]
[Ryan grunting.]
[Brady imitating a siren.]
[Siren wailing.]
[Bell clanging.]
[Brady imitating siren.]
[Imitating siren.]
[Toy siren sounds.]
[Siren stops.]
[Siren sounds.]
Man: Liberal media will never get it because they hide in their penthouses in Manhattan and they [Punk music playing.]
but the only way to fight this enemy is with hate.
If liberals had their way, they'd play football with tus instead of uniforms and fight wars with love beads rather than guns and bullets.
These people make me sick! They should make you sick, too, - because soon - You will succeed.
Man: won't recognize [Typing.]
[Punk music playing.]
There you are.
Good morning.
[Knock on door.]
[Punk music playing.]
Hi, are you Ryan Springhill? Why? Are you Ryan Springhill? Sure, why? You've been served, Ryan.
Cheers.
- [Laughs softly.]
- [Door closes.]
[Spoon clinks.]
Take my family away from me.
[Mumbles.]
Take everything away from me.
[Bowl thuds.]
[Beep.]
Bye-bye.
[Hammering keys.]
You incompetent dyke.
[Breathes deeply.]
[Chuckles.]
I know.
Even I don't know what I'm gonna do half the time.
[Laughing.]
I don't know When I'm gonna find it I don't know But it's somewhere I don't know But I'm gonna find it Soon, yeah Get along Pete: Yeah, I mean, I'm having a bit of trouble with the idea that someone as organized and, um, circumspect as you could leave the key to a Mercedes in the ignition.
Yet there was no sign of forced entry.
The killer didn't break into your car, ma'am.
But he did.
No, he didn't.
I didn't leave my keys in the car.
Then you must have handed them to him.
No.
"No"? 16 people are dead What do you want me to do about it? - What? - I didn't kill anybody.
I'm sorry they're dead, yes, but they're no different to me than the 16 people who died in Iraq today or or in that flood in India, or wherever 16 people have died stupidly and horribly today.
You want me to profess kinship with them, and when I can't, you demand guilt, and when I say I'm not guilty of anything, you still flay the flesh from my bones regardless, because I own a Mercedes and because I don't mourn strangers properly.
I have to give my mother her lunch now.
Is is is there anything else? We'll see ourselves out.
Um, when will I get it back? Excuse me? My Mercedes.
When will I get it back? You're seriously asking this? Well, I don't have any other method of transportation.
Rent a car.
I have.
It's expensive.
- Keep the receipts.
- Ma'am, you car was used in a I know what it was used for.
Clearly.
I need to know when I'm gonna get my car back.
You don't impound vehicles indefinitely, do you? In this case, we might.
I have needs, officers.
Ma'am, we're detectives, - and you may be - Mrs.
Trelawney you can go down to headquarters on Ridge Avenue, and fill out a stolen/recovered form.
And they'll give me my car back? - Want to say 10:00 a.
m.
? - Tomorrow? Why not? That that's wonderful.
Thank you.
Pete: Worth every minute, baby.
[Chuckles.]
Oh, makes my day.
Makes my day.
Mm-hmm.
Great idea, Hodges.
[Indistinct conversation.]
[Dinging.]
[Train whistle blowing.]
[Beep.]
[Chatter.]
- I am so sorry.
- Fuck out of the way, guy.
Guess what just shit the bed in the middle of a crucial project.
You said it was fixed, but it's worse.
Um, I said I hoped it was fixed, but I suspected that the circuit board was fried.
I recommended that you replace the entire hard drive, which would take a week, and you said that you couldn't wait.
You didn't say any of that.
- I did.
- You didn't, twat.
Sir, I have shown you nothing but respect.
Why don't we keep it professional? Professional is doing your job.
You and your tit tats and your vag rings and your Subaru Outback might want to look up the definition.
Yeah, I don't get paid enough To do your job, but you do, and you're going to.
Stop eyeballing me, you dickless wonder.
Man: Can I help you? Morning, sir.
I'm Ryan.
Yeah, I'm, uh, Anthony Frobisher.
- You're the manager.
- I am, sir, yes.
I'm just trying to explain to your employees that I'm unhappy with the way my laptop was improperly serviced last time by this young lady.
I, uh, heard raised voices.
- Oh, yeah.
- Guilty as charged.
I'm upset 'cause it cost me a big project at work and my company sends a lot of work your way, but this experience will give us pause next time, I'm afraid.
- Ryan Springhill.
- Yes, sir.
You work with Johnson Construction.
I sure do.
We'll have it back to you tomorrow night.
This young lady said it would take a week to replace the mother The motherboard? Yeah, well, normally it would, but I'm gonna put a special rush on this so you know how much we value your business.
Well, I appreciate that very much, and apologies for raising my voice.
Not necessary.
Perfectly understandable.
See you tomorrow at 9:00.
If you find the door locked, we won't have gone home.
Just ring the bell.
Will do.
[Lightning Hopkins' "The Howling Wolf" plays.]
[Knocking.]
Sound like I hear that wolf howling Yeah, he howling [Knock on door.]
I need cash for gas, my good man.
- What do you need gas for? - Your lawnmower.
I fired you.
Yeah, but you didn't mean it.
You base this on what? I mean, who else are you gonna find who's gonna tell you about, uh, I don't know, computer code, hacking.
Look, I won't tell my father anything, and I'll step back if it gets too sketchy, okay? Cool.
Well, you know they can't see me late at night But they hear me when I howl - [Door closes, lock clicks.]
- [Music stops.]
This is him, isn't it? Get away from there.
Get away from it.
Get away from it.
I mean, you read about that kind of stuff, you hear about it, but [Exhales sharply.]
Most people never see it.
They regret it when they do, because you can't unsee it.
[Exhales deeply.]
You know, I bet she didn't leave her key in the ignition.
She didn't seem the type, I grant you.
But how else did he gain access? We checked.
He didn't pick the lock.
He didn't hot-wire the ignition.
The worst fight my parents ever had, my father found out that my mother had been driving around her new car for six months with a spare key in the glove compartment.
I mean, she didn't even know about it.
It was still in the plastic wrap from the dealership, with the owner's manual and all that.
That's a stretch for our guy, though.
He'd have to know it was sitting there since Olivia drove it off the lot, what, 10 years before? Unless he was a mechanic, or a valet, or anybody with easy access to the car to find the spare key in the glove box, right? Not bad.
Hmm.
Not bad.
I'll look into it.
- Yeah? You'll look into it? - Yeah.
Get the fuck out.
[Scoffs.]
All right.
[Door closes.]
It's where the top three are sitting right now, and Mark has moved up into fourth place all by himself.
[Door opens.]
I thought you were driving it to tech supply.
Yep.
So why wrap it? Ask fucking Robi.
Hey, you know, I got it running for a few minutes.
You know why it keeps crashing? Porn? Surprisingly, no.
He likes to go to these white-power sites that send him phantom redirects to exploit kits.
He's a big fan of pictures of lynchings and reading up on handy ways to subdue the mud races and kill all the fags.
Ugh, I don't know what's wrong with people sometimes.
Right? Fuck.
Oh, there's a lot of mean out there, you know? [Laughs softly.]
[Sobs.]
[Inhales deeply, sniffles.]
I'm sorry.
Can I get you something? You're so frigging sweet, Brady.
No, really.
You didn't even react when he called you a dickless wonder.
[Laughs.]
He called me that? [Laughing.]
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's weird.
Sometimes, you know, in conflict, my mind just kind of checks out.
I just kind of float away.
[Beeping.]
So you don't rember? [Beeping, whirring.]
Yeah.
- [Thud.]
- Now now I do.
He said, "Stop eyeballing me, you dickless wonder," right? [Laughs.]
He's probably just a very sad man.
What, that he needs like a hug or something? Or a little understanding? Fuck him.
[Exhales sharply.]
Tell me how you really feel.
Like rigging up his laptop so the next time it's on his lap and he hits "return," it fucking explodes.
Hmm.
Then who'd be a dickless wonder? Exacta-fucking-mundo [Laughs.]
Thank you for cheering me up.
I'll let you get back to your lunch.
Sure.
[Door closes.]
Tee shot off the 14th.
And as you can see, at 295 yards, right in the middle of the fairway.
Meanwhile, as we look at the 13th hole, here's Nichols, and just didn't get it and it lies off in the high grass on the right side.
Here's the green [Demonic laughter.]
[People screaming.]
Here today for round number one.
It is a beautiful 83 degrees, but as the weekend comes on, it is expected to get cooler and cloudy with the wind picking up on Sunday, and that could be a huge factor on the final day of the tournament.
We have Colby at minus 7, Hagen at minus 4.
Jerome: All right, so we're good on the mural, though? Yeah, It's almost finished.
It looks great.
How about music? Allagash Middle Choir said they could take the sixth slot.
The troupe from Thomas Jefferson said that two of their dancers have a stomach bug but should be fine by the night of.
Oh, what about a play? We have to have a play.
Oh, the drama club's in.
They got a trophy for their play.
Jerome: All right, well, so, fingers crossed, right, guys? Put down on the sixth slot that, um, we're set.
Okay, so I was thinking, um, for slot four - Uh-huh.
- It was, um Hey, buddy.
What's up, man? We should have, um Uh, black coffee, two sugars, please.
Who's that? Oh, just the ice-cream truck guy.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
It's like running into your teacher out of school.
It feels weird somehow.
[Laughter.]
Yeah, I can't relate to that, man.
[Laughter.]
[Chatter.]
[Chatter.]
[Dog barking in distance.]
[Shopping cart rattling.]
[Barking continues.]
[Indistinct conversation.]
Stop.
Stop it.
[Train whistle blowing in distance.]
[Barking continues.]
[Indistinct conversation.]
Let's go, let's go! L-E-T-S G-O! Let's go, let's go! L-E-T-S G-O! Let's go, let's go! L-E-T-S G-O! Let's go! Woo! [Laughter.]
Deb! [Laughs.]
[Train whistle blows in distance.]
[Indistinct conversation.]
Gorgeous dog.
[Vehicle approaches.]
[Punk music playing.]
[Engine shuts off.]
What's up, Ma? Nothing.
Just sitting.
Big day tomorrow.
You're coming, right? You promised.
"We'll fucking see," I said.
[Phone ringing.]
Hello? Jerome: Hey.
You near your car? It's parked out front.
Why? Well, I was talking to some friends who know how to break into a car without leaving a trace.
What kind of friends are these? Geeks who want to grow up to be Bond villains.
Listen, punch your fob and unlock your car.
Just made me breakfast.
[Horn beeps.]
Okay.
All right, your car is now open? Well, color me dazzled.
Lock it.
Come on.
Come on, just lock it.
[Horn beeps.]
It's locked.
That it? Now, your fob is part of a PKE system.
It's passive keyless entry.
It's pretty simple.
The fob emits a low-frequency radio signal that passes through the air and connects to a receiver in your car.
Now now, it's it's this kind of genius that got you into Harvard.
- Don't be modest, now.
- Ha ha.
Look, once that radio signal passes through the air, it's pretty easy to snatch it once you have the right tool, and all those components need for it, you can find it at any electronics store.
So you're saying, like, if somebody walks past me, - they can clone my fob.
- No, no, not clone.
I'm talking about snatch.
Look, once you point your fob at your car and you press that button and the signal hits the ether, anyone within a hundred yards who has the proper equipment can just, like, snatch up the codes.
Go back to school.
Uh, it's summertime.
School's out.
Go back to something, then.
[Scoffs.]
Yeah, I'm already gone.
[Horn beeps.]
Now there's a man with a bounce in his step.
Owe it all to you, Ida.
[Car door closes.]
[Engine starts.]
[Ship horn blows.]
[Indistinct chatter.]
You on today? 4:00 to 12:00.
[Sniffles.]
And how is the records department these days? Whole lot better than kicking in doors and getting shot at.
Well I-I miss kicking in doors.
Well, you always were the alley cat.
I was always the house cat.
You still doing this? You still eating them? Not much point in catching them if you're gonna throw them back in.
Yeah, but from this river? Our poisons are our pleasures.
I was wondering if you'd look into something for me.
Car break-ins.
Around the time of the Mercedes massacre.
So, what, early '09, late '08? Yeah.
The ones that mystified us, you know, smash-and-grab shit.
No broken windows or popped-out lock or just no physical evidence of forced entry at all.
Looking back into the Mercedes case? What if I was? Dedicate your life to this shit, protecting, serving, speaking for the dead.
You can't even down a drink or two? What kind of fucking world is that? Do it to you, they can do it to us.
See what I can find out.
Thanks for your time, Marlo.
Appreciate it.
Still don't see the point.
We're observing an anniversary.
They don't know that.
Maybe they do.
Nah.
Your father always loved me in this dress.
Same weather the day he died.
What time is it? 4:00.
Close to the same time.
They came to the house at 3:30, said, "Something's happened to your husband, Mrs.
Hartsfield.
" You know, they say that that much electricity hitting your body all at once is pleasurable.
Who'd be left alive to say? I think God gave your father all his light at once, and he died in the glory of that light.
And what was the Almighty's plan for Gerald? [Choking.]
Mom! Gerald! Call 9-1! Call 9-1! He was so special.
God just had to take him early.
So why'd he send him back? [Siren wailing in distance.]
[Sighs.]
He always stopped at one.
[Chuckles.]
Woman: It's so becoming.
Oh, she does a wonderful job.
Don't say it too loudly.
I'd have to give her a raise.
[Laughs.]
She's worth it.
And what are you doing with the rest of your day? I am gonna treat myself to a martini across the street.
You rock out, girl.
I might even have two.
[Laughs.]
- See you next month.
- Bye, Ida.
[Horn beeps.]
[Horn honks.]
[Chatter.]
Know why your dad took a job at the power company? Steady work.
Nope.
It was a utility.
Utilities, he used to say, are recession-proof.
Everybody needs water, everyone needs electricity and gas.
Until they privatize it all.
We didn't want much.
Solid house and a solid neighborhood.
Dad would get promoted off the pole, become a supervisor, that sort of thing.
Take a vacation once a year, go to Paris on our 10th anniversary.
We were short a year.
[Laughs softly.]
We just want what our parents had, you know? Good job, gold watch at the end of it, decent pension.
Keep hearing about that world.
Never seen it.
They were rolling it up before I was born.
Janey: They can just snatch this signal out of the air? Easy-peasy.
He definitely hacked my TV.
What? One second I'm watching sports, the next, carnage.
Second time he's done it.
What did you see? The inside of your sister's Mercedes, in the moment.
Oh.
- No.
- 'Fraid so.
- Did you record it? - No.
It was two seconds, maybe less.
Well, what's your next move? My next move? Isn't that what people say when they're on an investigation, "What's your next move"? [Laughs.]
- Some may.
I'm not sure I ever have.
- Just go with it.
My next move.
Well, my next move is just to continue to tune him up - Mm.
- Get him a tad perturbed.
Yeah.
Taunting him, calling him out as a fake, et cetera, et cetera.
Pissing him off.
Any luck, very much so.
Is it really wise, pissing off a lunatic? People make mistakes when they're angry.
People make corpses when they're angry, too.
I brought you something.
[Laughs softly.]
[Gasps.]
Now you look like a real gumshoe.
[Laughs.]
Thank you.
[Laughing.]
I like it.
[Laughs.]
You know what I'm thinking about? No.
My next move.
[Laughs.]
Gerald: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! [Thumping footsteps.]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! [Bell dinging.]
[Siren wailing.]
[Echoing.]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! [Gasps.]
[Siren wailing.]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! [Siren wailing.]
[The Pixies's "Here Comes Your Man" playing.]
Outside there's a box car waiting Outside the family stew Out by the fire breathing Outside we wait till face turns blue I know the nervous walking I know the dirty beard hangs Out by the box car waiting Take me away to nowhere plains There is a wait so long So long, so long You'll never wait so long Here comes your man Here comes your man Here comes your man Man: Sorry about that, Dixie.
Big shake to the land Next person, please.
Is a wind makes a palm stop blowing [Music stops.]
You're next, sir.
Y-You can go.
Oh, no.
After you.
Well I think I grabbed the wrong screws anyway.
[Indistinct conversation.]
Next customer, please.
Hey.
Mr.
Mundy.
Brady Hartsfield.
How are you? - Excellent, sir.
You? - Yeah, you know.
Supplementing the income.
You know, high school science teachers don't live the glamour life.
Oh.
So what are you up to these days? I work in I.
T.
Fixing computers, mostly.
Oh.
Well, good for you.
You were always a wiz at that.
Yeah.
Getting into gardening? Oh, a little.
That was a tiny yard you had, wasn't it? Yeah, but my mom, she's, uh, kind of got a little victory garden going.
Ah.
How is Deborah doing these days? Quite well, thanks for asking.
Um, she's gardening, so that's good.
- That's terrific to hear.
- Oh.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
She's she's doing great.
Well Well $59.
40.
All righty.
- There we are.
- All right.
[Beeping.]
[Drawer opens.]
[Beeping, whirring.]
[Coins clatter.]
Da-da-da.
There you go.
- Thank you.
- Here's your receipt.
60 cents.
- Thank you very much.
- Have a good day.
- You too.
- Nice to see you, sir.
Nice to see you, too.
Tell your mom I said hey.
Oh, I will.
Next customer, please.
You do recon before you walk into a place to buy fucking poison.
You make sure the cashier is not your old faggot science teacher, you dumb fucking fuck! [Muffled screaming.]
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! [Exhales.]
Janey: How did it end? Hodges: The way most things end.
Unpleasantly.
Are you still in contact with her? Uh, occasional Christmas card.
That's it.
My daughter more so, but you know what I mean.
You got kids? Nah, just fuckhead.
[Laughing.]
I mean my dear ex-husband.
Oh, I see.
Yeah.
A real love affair with my daughter.
When she was a kid, I could just How could you not, you know? Yeah, I mean, they make you feel like a god and it's nice to feel like a god, but that just means that even if you're a great father, you're bound to disenchant them when they realize you're just a mess of a man like any other, and I wasn't a great father.
Wasn't even a particularly good one.
Yeah.
I broke her heart, really, and then she spent the next 10 years breaking mine.
Drugs, booze, boyfriends who only offered STDs and new ways to separate her from what little money she had.
Yeah, she's in rehab now, not far from here, yet again.
When do you see her? I don't.
The fuck is wrong with you? [Laughs softly.]
- You have to.
- She made it abundantly clear - Yeah.
- That she doesn't want No, no, no, no, no, no.
No.
You don't get off that easy.
You're still her god.
You're just her god who fell.
You get back up there.
You get your ass up there and see her.
All due respect, you don't have kids.
All due respect, I've been a daughter, dick.
When you say "dick," you mean dick as in gumshoe, private dick, that kind of thing? I mean dick as in dick.
Thought that's what you meant.
[Typing.]
Seems okay.
But it did last time, too.
Well, the entire motherboard was replaced this time, Mr.
Springhill.
- You're all set.
- That's what I was told last time.
We did not replace the entire motherboard last time, sir.
Where do you keep her leash? What? Better work.
All right.
Let's close up.
[Horn beeps.]
[Engine starts.]
[Engine starts.]
Janey: Who signs your checks these days? Hodges: That would be you, I think.
That makes me [Laughs.]
Your boss.
Well, I guess it does.
That makes this inappropriate.
- Maybe we should hold off.
- What? What why? We've had a lot to drink.
I don't know, I don't know.
I don't know.
Maybe not.
Maybe, maybe.
I've got to hit the head first.
[Laughs.]
Sorry.
Where, um [Mumbles.]
[Laughs.]
Come on.
Take you to a warm, happy place.
You love this place.
It's your favorite place, always has been.
- Come on, come on, you motherfucker.
- Are you okay in there? Grand, yeah! I'll be out in a sec! [Urinating.]
Oh.
[Exhales.]
Good man, yourself.
[Sighs.]
Okay, good man.
Yeah.
[Toilet flushes.]
[Clears throat.]
Maybe you're right.
Maybe, uh we've had too much to drink.
Okay.
Okay.
It's okay.
We'll commend ourselves for our mature restraint in the a.
m.
[Laughs.]
See you tomorrow.
Good night.
Where do you lay your head at night, Ryan Springhill? I'm guessing you're a split-level ranch kind of gent.
I bet your bros all call you "dude" or "Ry Guy.
" But then, what would I know? I'm just a dickless wonder, right, Ry Guy? And you're the big man.
Cheerleaders loved you at school, girls love you at the gym, and all your bros think you're such a tough guy.
Yeah, you're just a big man.
You're just a big bro, bro.
You're a big bro, bro.
- [Beep.]
- Happy birthday.
Dang, Ry.
You are so fucking cool.
You're flawless.
Now I know you're drunk.
You got this, Ry.
Ry, you got this.
You can make it.
Then again [Beep.]
You thought you had that one, didn't you, Ry? Well life's a curveball, bitch.
Oh, now you're all, "Who's that in my rearview? I didn't see lights before.
" No, you didn't.
No, you didn't.
[Click.]
[Click.]
Merry Christmas, Ry.
[Beep.]
[Horn honking.]
[Tires screech.]
[Tires screech.]
[Breathing deeply.]
Ha! Ha ha! Holy fuck! Holy fuck! [Engine idling.]
[Breathing heavily.]
[Steam hissing.]
[Breathing heavily.]
What? I can't hear you.
I've seen that look before.
[Gasping.]
[Siren wailing.]
[Steam hissing.]
[The Green Demons' "Bad Ass Demon" plays.]
He was a badass demon New Orleans Badass demon And that mother was mean His girlfriend was good in bed But you know that girlfriend didn't even have no head He was a badass demon on the run from the law We brought his ass back to life with a monkey paw We got two wishes left One is for drugs And the other for sex Well, he can writhe on the floor He can writhe on the ceiling He can writhe anywhere He was a rock 'n' roll demon He was a badass demon Smoking lead Mama, machete Better watch your head We don't care what he does As long as the demon Brings the badassest of drugs He can writhe on the ceiling He can writhe anywhere He was a rock 'n' roll demon He was a badass demon Smoking lead Mama Machete Better watch your head We don't care what he does As long as the demon brings the badassest of drugs We can writhe on the floor We can writhe on the ceiling We can writhe anywhere We are the fucking Green Demons Guitar! Get it on, little demon, come on There you go, little demon All night long
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