The Calling (2022) s01e06 Episode Script

The Pursuers

1
What do we know?
So far, that there is a bomb
and that the FBI are in charge.
Keep everybody calm and moving.
- The thing, it's not real.
- How do you know?
I shouldn't have run.
Beyond that [GROANS]
I don't know what to tell you.
Can you think of any reason why this man
- would run from the scene?
- No.
Everyone seems to have
questions about Anna Harvey.
You need to stop this right now.
She's not done with us, is she?
You didn't have to come, you know?
Could've called the
next name on the list.
It's my turn to volunteer.
I show up, always.
It's nice, the police let you do this.
My first dad told me.
He told you who left the bomb.
But it's a secret. He made me promise.
Not the first time. She's left before.
I don't think she's coming back to us.
Has there been infidelity
in your marriage, Mr. Serra?
Not from my side, all right?
Why the hell are you
looking into a possible
missing wife case when we've got
an ongoing bomb threat
here against kids?
'Cause they're related.
You think I don't stand
up for this family?
- Are you serious?
- Yes, I'm serious.
What have you done to your wife?
[INTENSE MUSIC]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Sir. Sir!

Sir!
[MACHINE BEEPING]
Right through here.
[CHATTER, MACHINES BEEPING]
- [BABY CRYING]
- Yeah, we can't find our

We'll find someplace
for you, okay, ma'am?
Keep some pressure on it, all right?
[SPEAKING HEBREW] Janine.
- Hm?
- Where's Davies?
Did Davies get out?
None of us got out.
S-seven

Seven.
[PRAYING IN HEBREW]
Hey.
Hey.

Hey!
[CONTINUES PRAYING]

You shouldn't be in here.
Danny?

[GASPS]
[PRAYING IN HEBREW]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]
Please tell me you got some sleep.
I think a parent planted the bomb.
- You do?
- I do,
and I'm afraid next time
the bomb will be real.
- Who's your suspect?
- Elisabeth Serra.
Her husband Paul was the one
who told Janine the bomb was fake.
What do we know about her?
These are her threatening
posts on Nextdoor Brooklyn
venting on Anna Harvey over
how she runs her day care.
"Shut her down by any means necessary.
Her time is gonna come.
Anyone who hurts children
deserves no mercy."
They go on like that.
When I asked Paul about
his wife, I sensed tension.
I think it's because he
knew what Elisabeth did.
Where is Elisabeth now?
She could be lying low,
waiting to do something worse.
What does Paul say?
They had a fight and
she needed some time away
down with her parents in Mexico,
but I don't know if
he's telling the truth.
So she could still be in the States
hiding out because she planted the bomb.
I hope I'm wrong and she
isn't planning another attack.
Ohh, God forbid.
I didn't get much sleep, either.
I didn't think you would.
We both know we'll never have peace
if children are harmed
or killed on our watch.
[CLANGING]
Okay, who wants to go first? [LAUGHS]
[CLANGING]
- [GASPS]
- [LAUGHS]
- Sorry.
- It's okay, sweet boy.
Oh, all right. Can I have it, please?
Thank you.
It's gonna be so good. Wanna put it in?
- Yeah.
- Yeah? Okay.
Good job.
Oh. Ohh.

We were gonna serve
you breakfast in bed.
Yeah, it was Danny's idea.
Oh. [LAUGHTER]
- It was your idea?
- Yeah.
Was it your idea? [LAUGHTER]
Oh, how lucky are we?
Mom is coming home.
My first dad is bringing her
and you're gonna have to leave.
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
Try not to make a big mess, okay?
This is a subpoena for
all electronic devices
that your wife has access to.
What? Why?
Because she's written a
number of threatening posts
online about Anna Harvey,
and now she's a suspect.
The bomb threat? Are you serious?
Your wife's posts clearly show a strong,
potentially to violent
animus toward Anna Harvey.
Look, you guys are out of your mind.
Elisabeth would never
do anything like this.
Plus, she wasn't the
only one who hated Anna.
Yes, but Elisabeth's
posts were incendiary,
suggesting a willingness to
act to see her brought low.
A line was crossed. These were threats.
All right, so how can you even be sure
that she's the one who
posted those things?
- Maybe it was me.
- Was it you?
I need to see those electronic devices.
Yeah, well, she's got
her phone with her, so

Hm.
- Hi, Danny.
- How did you know?
- What did we know?
- That she did it.
- That who did it?
- My mom.
But it was supposed to be a secret.
Hey. Hey, hey, enough.
Not another word to
him, you understand me?
Here.
Please leave.
Are you gonna bring back my first dad?
Danny!
I'd like you to leave.
Please go.
Let's go.

Come here, buddy. You're okay.
I don't know if I'm okay
leaving him with the boys.
We don't have enough
to get children services
involved yet, and I don't
see Paul as a threat.
Do you think that
Danny's telling the truth
that his mom really did leave that bomb?
I think he's telling the truth.
As to whether it is the truth,
I don't know. Let's go.
[CHATTER ON TV]
We should sue them for false arrest.
They violated your civil
rights and hurt you.
Baby, I just wanna forget
the whole thing, okay?
I mean, what about your
emotional distress and mine?
- Well
- I mean, a million bucks
is the least they can do.
- Really?
- Yeah, the city hands those
checks out like Aaron Judge
bobbleheads at Yankee Stadium.
What are you doing?
Making moves on my wife.
If that's okay.
Yeah, that's okay.
Good.
Baby, why were you there?
At the day care.
I told you.
I was walking down the sidewalk,
minding my own business.
Anything else or
Can we get back to it?
[GIGGLES]
[TENSE MUSIC]

[CAR ALARM CHIRPS]
[ENGINE TURNS OVER]

[STARTS ENGINE]

[HORN BLARES]

Oh, hell no.
Don't even think of taking that right.
Don't do it.
Oh, you mother
[CHUCKLES]
He did it.

I received a call from my colleague
who observed still more
suspicious activity around the day care.
Why is someone targeting you, Anna?
I don't I don't know.
[DOOR OPENS]
It's frightening for most people
being in a police precinct.
This is your first time?
Yes.
I mean, not counting spring break
sophomore year at Sarah Lawrence.
What was the charge?
Destruction of police property.
I swung a palm frond at a siren
on a Daytona Beach police cruiser.
Shattered it. [CHUCKLES]
Anna, you're attracted
to mischief, aren't you?
No. No, just a little
walk on the wild side.
Nothing more.
But I take my work very seriously.
Those parents put their
trust in me every morning.
Hi, it's Elisabeth. You know what to do.
[BEEPS]
Hi, it's Elisabeth. You know what to do.
- [BEEPS]
- Do you recognize this voice
as the one making threats?
I have a nonstop white
noise soundtrack in my head
of needy, self-satisfied
women just barking at me
a chorus of entitlement,
so that could really be any of them.
Anna, please.
Listen again, okay?
Hi, it's Elisabeth. You know what to do.
[BEEPS]
I'm still not sure.
Sarah, this is a sick
and dangerous person
who threatens children.
We need to find and
lock up whoever did this
and any sort of direction
would be of use to us.
Whatever you think, I
wanna do what is right.
Right for who?
For the children and their families.
What about Anna?
Do you want to do what's right for Anna?
I try not to think about
Anna when I don't have to.
Why?
[SIGHS]
Hm?
When you first came in
here to speak with us,
I just listened. I let you talk.
Now, I wanna tell you something.
You've seen cop shows, right?
So you know that
there's someone watching
on the other side of that glass.
My boss.
- If you say so.
- Yeah, well, most captains
when they're watching
this sort of thing,
would keep their eye
on you, the respondent,
but not Davies.
No, she watches me.
Every move. Every question.
If I miss something, if I hesitate
[SIGHS] You know what that's like,
don't you? Having a boss like that?
How frustrating it can be.
How infuriating it can be.
Yes.
So I appreciate your loyalty.
I do, but do you really think
that Anna would cover for you
if the roles were reversed?
Anna only cares about Anna.
She's a natural with the kids,
but she's always distracted.
The center's overenrolled,
tuition keeps on going up,
but Anna still misses payroll sometimes.
Her life seems like Whac-A-Mole,
and she can't catch up.
All right, so you know that
that was just a strategy, right?
Mm.
Something Avi might've
tried, and it worked.
I meant no disrespect.
I know exactly what you meant.
Also know that there's some truth to it.
You have aspirations, Janine.
You know, standing where I am now,
the commissioner's office,
maybe the governor's.
And you're right. I do
expect a lot from you,
but only because I think
that you can deliver.
[SIGHS]
So I got a definite maybe from Sarah.
Same with Anna.
The fact they're not sure
it's Elisabeth worries me.
If she were guilty, they
would be more certain, right?
Yeah, and also, we got
into Elisabeth's computer
and she did purchase an
airline ticket for Mexico City
which backs up Paul's story about
her going to visit her family.
But she also bought two
tickets for her boys,
which Paul didn't mention, and
she didn't buy one for Paul.
And then she cancelled all of them
or Paul did.
I'm still trying to figure out
if Elisabeth could be our bomber.
No evidence on her
computer about bomb-making?
Mm-mm, CCS did a deep
dive, and there's nothing.
Nothing on weaponry, DIY devices,
bomb-making, nothing.
I think we're jumping to
conclusions about Elisabeth
and none of them are proving to be true.
We're not jumping to conclusions.
We're trying to figure
out possibilities.
That's what we do.
Elisabeth didn't do it.
I'd still bet the farm it
was one of the other parents.
My money is on the Holts.
Brad took a drive this morning
and you're never gonna guess
where he decided to pull over and rest.
Hmm, where?
- The day care.
- Ugh.
Yeah, window rolled down.
Just staring for, like, 15 minutes.
Hold on.
If you two are right, it means
we have more than one case.
We have two cases.
The bombing and
Elisabeth's disappearance.
Elisabeth may not have planted
the bomb, but she is missing
and I fear, the victim of a crime.
And do we think that these two cases
are somehow connected or
It would be reasonable
to assume they are.
This fancy stationary you
saw at their apartment
Uh-huh.
She works at the Valley
Forge Club, right?
- Yeah, as an events planner.
- We start there.
This place is full of
important and powerful people.
Two NYPD detectives showing
up could rattle some cages.
Maybe shake something loose.
Mm, cool. I'll stay with the Holts.
Maybe one of us will get lucky
and figure out what's going on.

Ah, man. A fake bomb at a
day care center leads us here.
It's crazy how many crimes
in Brooklyn start in Manhattan
at places like this.
You know this place?
Yeah, I've been a few times as a guest.
Went to school with girls
whose families belonged.
Membership here is very exclusive.
Not just wealth,
members must be of a
certain social standing,
a certain cultural class.
Yeah, well, today we
get an all-access pass.
- Ha, ha.
- Madame.
[ELEGANT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]

1935, the club visits the Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.
Wow, during the Great Depression.
That must've been fun.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
The largest structure
of the ancient world.
Now, nothing.
I wonder if it made them consider
the hubris of human ambitions.
Doubt it.
Welcome to our club.
We're always happy to help the police.
How may I help you, detectives?
Elisabeth Serra.
Queen. I adored her.
Elisabeth was special, inside and out.
Why are you using past tense?
Didn't someone tell you when you called?
- She gave notice.
- When?
About a month ago. I'm gutted, still.
- Why did she leave?
- Exhaustion.
Working with the rich is
a blessing and a curse.
This place can wear on you.
How about a tour?
We're pretty good at getting
what we need from people
and I guarantee your members
have never met anyone quite like him.
What are you implying, Detective?
Just that Elisabeth
must've turned heads,
shaken things up, and so maybe
she made some enemies, too.
Elisabeth was no saint,
but she had integrity.
- None of the rumors were true.
- Hmm.
The more persistent,
which somehow made its way
to the "Post," was an
association with Peter Hanney.
The Peter Hanney who
owns half of New York.
There was nothing to it.
When did you last speak to her?
About a month ago when she
picked up her last check.
I think we'd like to talk to Mr. Hanney.
I'm afraid Mr. Hanney
is not on the premises.
Nor would I be bound
to tell you if he was.
This is a private club.
Now, please.
This damn case keeps expanding.
- I hate it when that happens.
- What did you find?
Well, I don't know how it
fits into our bomb case,
but it seems that the Serras
had serious financial problems.
Up until five months ago,
they had perfect credit
and then all of a sudden,
they started maxing out
their credit cards and
drawing cash advances.
Well, money seems like
a pretty good motive
to commit a crime, but I just don't see
how you make any money leaving
a fake bomb at a day care.
Unless it's blackmail.
Could be. Where was the money going?
Some kind of crypto play.
According to their bank records,
their balance shot through
the roof over the past year
and then it cratered.
Something bad definitely happened.
Bad things, they follow the good.
Yeah, well, that's putting
it mildly in this case.
They had $716,743 five months ago
and it's sitting at just over 3,000 now.
Nest egg wiped out.
Okay, well, maybe Elisabeth
cleared out the accounts
to start a new life somewhere else.
I don't see her leaving
without the kids.
At least not without a plan to reunite.
We need to find Danny's first dad.
He'll tell us where Elisabeth has gone.
But what about the bomb case?
If Elisabeth didn't do it then who did?
I have Earl sitting on the Holts.
See if he needs any help,
otherwise, you two, stay on
the Serras because whether
she's out bomber or not,
I want to know where the
hell Elisabeth Serra is.

[CAR ALARM CHIRPS]
[ENGINE TURNS OVER]

Can you tell us about your
relationship with Danny?
I'm limited in what I
can say without a subpoena
by law and by inclination.
You treat her sons.
Sometimes children with
stressful home lives
create alternate realities
to protect themselves.
Could you speak to that?
It's a mistake to assume
that a child's mind
isn't as complicated as an adult's.
It is. Often more so.
When an adult feels unloved,
they create an illusion
that they feel valued
and then they hold on to that illusion.
But for a child, the
fantasy becomes real.
A split occurs.
First and second dad.
Has Elisabeth ever spoken with you
about her relationship with her husband?
She mentioned feeling boxed in.
I gave her a referral for
a few marriage counselors.
I don't know if she ever reached out.
Do you think she could leave Paul?
Now, that would be difficult.
She is deeply committed to
keeping the family intact.
Elisabeth loves those boys.
She's the one that brings
Danny and Eric in each week.
She would never leave without them.
Plus, she loves her work.
Actually, she quit her
job a few weeks ago.
Did you know that?
No.
Why? She always spoke
positively about the club.
It's a very good question.
You've been very helpful.
Thank you, Dr. Sands.
What can you tell me about Peter Hanney?
- Hanney's a scrapper.
- Mm-hmm.
Good nose for a deal, likes a fight,
doesn't mind a seven figure
fine for a nine figure payday.
Okay, so you know him.
We've gone up against
him a couple of times.
Came away bloody.
Not the kind of guy
who accepts defeat, huh?
Oh, he'd sooner pull the
pin and take everyone out
then take a loss.
There's this whole myth
he's built up for himself.
Mean streets of Canarsie,
Marines, tour in Iraq,
Rutgers night school,
outhouse to the penthouse
in one generation.
I mean, he starts every negotiation
by letting the other
side know where he grew up
and he has nothing to lose.
Okay, well, thanks so
much for stepping out
and meeting me, Darren.
I know the markets don't
close for another hour.
Hour and two minutes.
But who's counting?
Honestly, I didn't think
I'd hear from you again.
Thought we had a really good time.
I I did have a really
good time with you.
- You're a cop. I get it.
- Yeah.
Well, I'd love to take
you out again, anytime.
Hm.
Um, one last thing.
What would it mean that
Hanney doesn't have a permanent address?
Probably on the water.
Moveable feast on a yacht.
Easier to duck and weave
jurisdictions, taxes.
You're not gonna find him
unless he wants to be found.
Did anyone else show up?
The minyan guys,
some of my yeshiva boys,
and the Jamaican
caregiver and her family.
It was very nice.
- I have a question.
- Hm?
How do you deal with the fear?
My fears are legion. Which one?
That something bad could
happen to your children.
Oh, that one.
That one's a killer.
I pray,
I try to be grateful for
every day that they're healthy,
and of course, I drink.
Heavily when necessary.
What do you remember about my father?
About your father?
I remember a
darkness followed him.
In my mind, he was always
making people laugh.
Both these things can be true.
Why the sudden interest?
I don't know.
Unfinished business.
How's your new partner?
She thinks understanding
all this will her on the job.
Bring her for Shabbos.
I'll invite the old gang.
You like this woman?
Any requests?
You start. I'll follow you.
You'll be Jerry, I'll be Bobby.
A Grateful Dead reference?
Zabarsky would approve.
[PRAYING IN HEBREW]

Here it is.
6141 Canarsie Street.
Hanney's childhood home.
Seems to be a point of pride
that he came from nothing.
Behind every great
fortune is a great crime.
I wonder what Mr. Hanney's was.
Oh, so just because he's rich,
you assume that he's
guilty of something.
Hmm, doesn't seem fair.
I didn't say it. Balzac did.
- Oh, okay.
- Perhaps I should show
more compassion for those with wealth.
I respect you and you come from money.
Mm-mm, depends on what
you mean by money. And
if I did, so what?
The wealth itself doesn't matter,
but the getting of it does.
In my experience, the act of obtaining
great wealth reveals character.
Once freed from the demands
of running one's living,
reveals who and what they really are.
Oh, so you took a little
look around my file, huh?
You saw my parents' address,
you saw the private school, all of that.
I'm not rich, Avi.
Far from it, and I also don't
stereotype based on anything.
Okay? Including money.
[SLAMS DOOR]
[KNOCK AT DOOR]
Mrs. Hanney?
What do you want?
We're detectives with the NYPD
and we're looking for your son.
[CHUCKLES] I don't
Good for you. You found him.
You knew we were looking for you.
Mr. Rasgon, at the club,
might've said something.
So you were ducking us.
No, I've been exercising
my right to be left alone.
What exactly are you
hiding from, Mr. Hanney?
I'm not hiding.
Staying with my mother
in my childhood home
is hardly hiding.
So what's the deal
with you and Elisabeth?
The deal?
We didn't have a deal. We had chemistry.
We could've been great together.
I invited her to go away with me.
In fact, I begged her to,
and I'm not a man who begs.
Unless, of course, I have to.
So what happened?
I'm a persistent man.
She said no until she finally said yes.
She said yes?
And then what?
[TENSE MUSIC]
We were set to sail away
on my yacht last week.
She didn't show.
I haven't heard from her since.
Money can't buy everything.
Close to everything,
but not everything.
That must've hurt
getting ghosted by Elisabeth like that.
She didn't ghost him.
What makes you say that?
The Serra apartment
is filled with evidence
of the kind of person Elisabeth is.
The color she chose for the rooms,
the clothes for the boys,
the order she sought to
create, a sense of safety.
This was a woman with values.

Thanks.
This was a caring mother.
She would never have abandoned her sons
and she didn't.
She was taken from them.
Elisabeth Serra isn't missing.
She's dead.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[MACHINE WHIRRING]

[SAWING CONTINUES]
Hey.
So what was so important
that you couldn't say it over the phone?
- Did you find Elisabeth?
- Find her?
Oh, well, now, we can
agree that she's missing.
You mind if we make this quick?
There's a 5K bonus if
I get done by Friday.
By all means, $5,000 is a lot of money.
Yeah, and Danny needs braces.
Hey, maybe his first dad could spring.
How did you get into this line of work?
Radiant heating, is it?
It was Elisabeth, actually.
You know, she always had cold feet.
Summertime, it didn't
matter, always cold.
So we took the boys
sledding this one time
or maybe it was just
Danny at that point,
but we got snowed in.
We couldn't get back in the city.
Found this B&B.
It had heated floors in the bathroom.
Elisabeth just couldn't get
over how every, little itch
that some people have
just get scratched.
Rich people can't have cold feet.
A lightbulb just kinda went off.
You must work in fractions of fractions
the smallest spaces.
Precision is key.
What is that measurement?
We measure to 3/16ths of an inch.
- 3/16ths.
- Yeah.
If anything's off by a hair,
the heat doesn't get
distributed evenly, so
3/16 of an inch.
Spinoza believed numbers
were a way to describe
God's activity in the world.
When I was younger, I
needed proof of everything.
God most of all and numbers were proof.
Take the number seven.
God created the world in seven days.
The first verse in the
Bible is seven words.
Shabbat is celebrated
on the seventh day.
Some Jews believe in Gematria,
giving each letter of the
Bible its own numeric value
adding them to reveal hidden truths.
917-555-0179
You know those numbers, don't you, Paul?
Did you find her phone?
No. No need. We just pulled her records.
She has spent a lot of time
talking the past few months
to a man named Peter Hanney.
I mean, a lot.
Yeah. I know.
What do you know about the affair?
They flirted, okay? Nothing happened.
Is that what she told you?
'Cause Mr. Hanney tells
us a different story.
[TENSE MUSIC]
[TENSE MUSIC]

Okay.

[ENGINE STOPS] [DOOR SHUTS]
[ALARM CHIRPS]

Hey, Cap, we might have a problem.
Holt just rolled up to some warehouse.
1983 St. John's Place.
He may be gathering
materials for a bomb.
Call in a 10-85 for me.
I'm gonna take a look.



[SCREAMS]
What the hell, man?
- Anna, what the hell?
- Shit.
- You okay?
- Oh!
What's in these boxes,
Holt? Another bomb?
What do you got in here, huh?
Those are vape pens, bro.
What are you doing?
How long has this been going on?
- Shit.
- Put your clothes on.
Holt and Anna having sex?
Mm-hmm. [LAUGHS]
- You're kidding.
- Mm-mm.
At least they didn't
do it in the day care.
- There's some restraint in that.
- [LAUGHS]
Was this a long-term affair?
It seemed to me like it is.
I mean, neither one of
them would talk to me,
and it's not like I could arrest them
- even if I wanted to.
- [CHUCKLES]
What would you arrest them for exactly?
I mean, sex between consensual
adults isn't a crime, yet.
What about withholding evidence?
I mean, neither one said that
they were sleeping with one another.
- Okay, wait. Hold on.
- What?
So does Earl walking in on
them make it more or less
likely that Holt was the one
who left that bomb outside?
Marcie might have something to say
about her husband's infidelity.
Ooh, do we think she knows?
Question is not just whether she knows
he's having an affair,
but who he's having it with.

[ALARM CHIRPS]
- [BLOW LANDS]
- [GRUNTS]

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