The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair (2018) s01e09 Episode Script
Firebug
Previously on The Truth About
the Harry Quebert Affair
We found fingerprints
on the gas can,
but no match
which means it was someone
with no police record.
No record?
What happened to your face?
I had an accident.
Why would Stern go
through all this mess,
maybe even kill someone,
just to protect Luther?
I'm still trying
to figure that part out.
Fuckin' redneck!
These are all his paintings?
Your brother, he, uh,
he had a thing for blondes?
Oh, my God!
Luther, you scared me!
Jeez
The results are in.
The handwriting
on the manuscript
is Luther Caleb's.
Check your email.
What the hell is this?
Nola's mother died in 1966,
nine years before
Nola disappeared.
She was beaten by a dead woman.
Your book is a pile of crap.
The night of the fire
did not go quite the way
David Kellergan told the police.
I gotta tell you something.
Mommy was in our bedroom
when the fire happened.
I know.
She was wicked.
She needed to be dead,
so I put the curtains on fire.
That little girl
started to believe that
she herself was her mother.
She was punishing herself,
whipping herself,
plunging her head
into a bath of icy water
Her father couldn't
take any more,
so he decided
to move them both far away.
Get a warrant,
or get off my property.
I think you should
let us in, Reverend.
It's better if we can
all come inside
and talk calmly.
Yeah, We know about
what happened in Alabama
in 1966.
We know about the fire.
You know nothing.
We talked to Pastor Lewis.
Why didn't you try
to get her help?
See a doctor?
I was afraid.
I was afraid
they'd take her away
and lock her up.
And so you had him
you had him exorcise her?
I had no choice.
Pastor Lewis said I had to,
or he'd tell the police
what she'd done.
It only made
my poor sweet girl sicker.
She started punishing herself
as her mother.
And so you left Alabama,
hoping the move would
wipe the slate clean.
Mm-hm.
And it did at first.
The outbursts
were less frequent.
Her memory of the whole thing
seemed to be fading
Till the summer
Harry Quebert appeared.
That's when she started having
violent fits again.
At the time, I didn't know why.
It was a horrible sight
to see her do that to herself.
You know why I'm doing this
So that I can go to heaven.
You wanna be
an angel, don't you?
I'm sorry I'm a wicked girl.
You're not wicked.
Penance is a blessing.
No, Mother!
No, Mother, please!
Please, Mother, no!
No!
She started reliving
her exorcism.
What happened
on that day she disappeared?
On August 30th?
The anniversary of the fire.
Of Louisa's death.
She had a terrible fit.
One of the worst ever.
I tried to calm her,
but nothing worked,
so I
I hid out in the garage,
and I
worked on the damn motorcycle.
I turned up the music
as loud as it would go.
Later,
when I went into her room,
she wasn't there.
Do you have any idea
what triggered
such a violent fit?
I found a letter on her bed.
A break-up letter.
You never told us
about any letter.
What should I have done?
Nola! Nola?
She was carrying on
an illicit romance
with I didn't know who.
But the writing
it wasn't any teenage boy.
I couldn't let
the whole town think
my little girl
was some kind of slut!
I found these
after she disappeared
under a loose floorboard.
They're not stamped.
He must've hand-delivered them.
They're all from Harry Quebert.
They're all the letters
in his book,
"The Origin of Evil."
This was the last one.
The one she received the day
that broke her heart.
May I?
"My darling
this is my final letter,
a painful last embrace
before parting.
Lovers separate
and never find each other again,
and that is
how love stories end.
But we who have loved
not with our eyes
but with our souls
can never truly be separated.
I loved you against all hope,
against all reason,
against all promise.
You will be with me always,
the last dream of my soul.
H."
It's the end
of "The Origin of Evil."
It's the final page.
How long have you known
that Nola and Harry
were corresponding?
Only the past few weeks.
I just recently
bought a copy of the book.
I needed to read it
to try and understand.
When those letters appeared,
I
I knew I'd seen them before,
and that's when
I made the discovery.
For the past 33 years,
I've wondered who wrote
those letters to my daughter
and all that time,
the answer was just sitting
in every bookstore in America.
I can't believe it.
He wasn't waiting
for her at the motel,
like he said.
He'd written her
a breakup letter.
Son of a bitch.
He never intended
to elope with her.
So where'd he go, then?
Why would he lie?
Harry's cellphone is cut off.
No activity on his credit card.
Okay.
Okay, let me just
Just walk through this with me.
So, he leaves a letter for her
in her mailbox, right?
The day before their
their supposed elopement,
right before he skips town.
Right?
Mm-hm.
She finds it in the morning,
and she reads it,
and she breaks down.
Right?
She has a fit.
She starts punishing herself.
Okay, Dad
Dad locks himself
in the garage
And then what?
Where is
Where is she going
when she climbs out the window?
To confront Harry.
But on the way,
she runs into Luther,
and everything goes wrong.
Okay, but then why does Harry
come back to Sommerdale
the day after she disappears?
When he hears about it
on the news, he panics.
Mm-hm.
That letter would be
incriminating.
Plus he has
real feelings for her,
which makes it
all the more complicated.
Yeah. We, uh
we gotta go find him.
I don't think that's possible.
Border patrol records
have him crossing into Canada
at Derby Line, Vermont.
Huh
In the unpublished manuscript
that we found in his locker,
"The Seagulls of Sommerdale,"
he ends up in Canada with Nola,
remember?
I mean, I still don't get it.
The charges have
been dropped, so
what the hell
is he running from?
The crowd behind us
is basically
shoulder to shoulder,
with people standing
all the way up,
all the way through
to the Capitol,
and now we're seeing
the President
Ladies and gentlemen,
the president
of the United States,
Barack H. Obama.
Hi!
Sorry I'm late.
Oh, my God
It's like those
pictures of VJ Day.
Like in World War II?
Everyone is so happy,
and so full of hope and pride.
It's it's like
they can't believe
they actually did it!
Oh, I got you a mug.
Thanks.
Can you put some coffee in it?
Absolutely.
You know, it's days like these
that you regain
faith in humanity.
It's like we're evolving.
We're getting better
as a species.
Yeah? Well,
let's, uh
let's see if he turns out to be
who he says he is.
That's weird,
coming from his number-one fan.
Well, no, I mean,
you never really
know a person, do you?
You look up to someone,
admire his integrity,
his intelligence,
and then one day,
you discover he's betrayed you,
and that it was all a lie.
You have any idea
how shitty that feels?
I walked in on my husband
in bed with my best friend.
We had gone to the Hamptons
for the weekend
with my best friend
and her husband,
and on that Saturday afternoon,
my husband said he wasn't
feeling that well,
so I
went into town by myself.
But it started to rain,
so I came back,
and I found my husband
on top of my best friend.
Oh, my God.
What did you do?
Nothing.
They didn't see me, so I
turned around and left,
and I went for another walk.
When I came back,
I found him in the hotel bar,
drinking with
my best friend's husband,
and
that night,
we all had dinner together.
Well, did you
did you divorce him?
No.
He left me.
For her.
Is there anything else
I can get you?
Uh, no. Thanks, Denise.
Okay.
This is a one-woman
horror show here.
Daughter kills Mommy,
then she becomes her,
then she starts
beating herself silly?
I mean, this
out-psychos "Psycho."
Yeah, but the whole
infantile psychosis thing
is, uh it's funky.
You know, I just
I think there's still
too many missing pieces.
Okay? Just with Harry
disappearing, and these
these cryptic messages,
this unpublished manuscript
Which would make a fabulous
prequel, by the way.
Yeah, you're missing
the point, Roy
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no, you're
missing the point.
This childhood madness,
this is a godsend.
We'll put out a press release
saying we knew about this
from the beginning,
but that you decided
to tell the truth
to demonstrate that reality
is never what it seems.
Now we're talking Pulitzer.
Look, just give me a week.
Give me one week
to dig a little deeper
before you put out
a press release, okay?
Fine.
Thank you.
One week.
We'll call you back.
Did you know you ran
a red light back there?
Uh
And you were speeding?
Uh, well, sorry. I
License and registration.
Yeah, just a second.
Uh
What happened to your face?
Have you been drinking, sir?
Huh?
What?
Sergeant Gahalowood?
This is Officer Forsyth
from, uh
Montburry County.
Sorry to disturb you
at this hour, but, um
we have somebody in custody here
that I think
you'll be interested in.
Hello?
Met our firebug.
I'm sorry, what?
The arsonist
who set fire to Harry's house
was arrested tonight.
Montburry police
matched the prints
from a traffic stop.
Who is it?
Are you sitting down?
I'm, uh
I'm lying down, actually.
Good.
Less of a fall
when you hear who it is.
Thank you.
You look like shit.
Yeah, thanks.
Are you sure
you got the right guy?
'cause I can't see it
Fingerprints matched
the ones on the gas can.
So that means he sent
all those messages too.
Seems like it.
Oh, man
But what's
what's his motive?
I wish I knew.
He's refusing to talk.
And the trouble is,
Quinn's lawyer's claiming
that he found the gas can
on the beach that night.
Oh yeah?
Yeah.
He was out for a walk.
Picked it up,
threw it in the bushes.
I have spent the morning
on the phone with the governor
and a slew of goddamn reporters.
They all want my head.
I'm Marcus Goldman.
I wrote the
Yeah, I know what you wrote.
It can't go on like this, Perry.
The DA and the governor
want this case closed.
We just arrested Robert Quinn
last night.
I need some time
First it was Quebert.
Then it was Caleb,
then the father,
and now it's this Quinn guy?
You change perps more often
than your underwear.
If you could just
give me a few
24 hours. That's it!
Tomorrow. 5:00.
You come to my office
and you tell me officially
the Kellergan case is closed.
Great, we're on our way.
Yeah, we'll see you there.
Hey, Roy, now
is not a good time.
Well, I'll just assume
you'll meet me tomorrow
at 5:00, my office,
for your big press launch.
Listen, I can't, okay?
We just got a new lead.
It's, uh, it's
you're gonna have to
hold 'em off a bit longer.
Disappoint the cognoscenti?
They'll tear you to pieces
like a pack of wild dogs.
Not exactly the liftoff
your book deserves.
Tomorrow afternoon.
Don't be late.
I'm speaking to the press
tomorrow at 5:00.
All right.
So at 5:00 tomorrow,
we'll both have
officially fucked up.
I still can't believe it.
Maybe he really did
just find the gas can
while he was walking.
Does your father-in-law
usually take late-night
walks by Goose Cove
without telling anyone?
How are Jenny
and Mrs. Quinn?
They're in shock.
Tamara said she didn't even know
he'd gone out last night.
She was dead asleep.
Do you think that
No, I don't think anything,
but I, uh
I found this
It was in a
a box of family photos
that Jenny keeps at our house.
Check the back.
So he owned a black Monte Carlo?
Well, why didn't Pratt
No, Jenny said
her father wanted to buy
a new car that summer,
and would often take different
models for test drives.
Bobbo would never
but he was
acting a little strange
last night.
He, uh
kept asking me
to drink this cup of tea.
Just drink it, honey bunny.
Look, I don't want any tea.
Drink it for Bobbo.
I'm not British,
for God's sakes.
It's a diuretic.
It'll do you good.
And I was
feeling a little bloated,
so I drank it.
And then
I fell asleep
like a dead person.
What time was that?
I
guess it was
around 11:00.
Yeah, 'cause
Law and Order was playing.
And then
the next thing I know,
it was morning,
and then
the police were knocking
at the door.
Mrs. Quinn, is it true
that your husband
was thinking about buying
a Chevrolet Monte Carlo
during the summer of '75?
Uh, yeah.
I think so.
Until I told him
that I
I thought it made him
look like a pimp.
But I just can't
believe that
he would ever do that.
He could never do anything
to harm that girl.
Do you understand?
He's a kind man.
Honey, I'm gonna be sick.
I'm sorry, this has
all been a little hard
for us to digest.
Yeah, this is the spot.
It's right here.
Guy drove out
like a bat outta hell.
That's the road that leads
to Montburry Lake.
What are we looking
for, Sergeant?
A weapon, personal effects,
anything that can tie
our suspect
to the Kellergan case.
You realize this lake is
a dumping ground, right?
So if you could be
a little more precise?
Near the shore.
Focus on the marsh over here.
The suspect was covered in mud.
He had a scratch on his face,
probably caused by a low branch.
I'm guessing
he was trying to hide
whatever it was
where no one would look for it.
All right.
Hello?
You find anything?
Uh, no, sir, not yet.
We've got a press
conference at 5:00.
Show up with
some definitive proof,
or you can take
your sorry ass to Canada
and join the goddamn Mounties.
He says hi.
Over here!
Sergeant!
Over here!
Sergeant!
They got something.
We found a handgun
and a necklace
with Nola's name on it
in Montburry Lake.
Any idea how they
got there, Mr. Quinn?
The, uh, black Monte Carlo
at the scene of the crime,
that was yours
all along, wasn't it?
A loaner car,
uh, you were conveniently
test-driving
during the time
of Nola's disappearance.
It couldn't be traced
to you 'cause
you didn't own it.
It's clever.
Except you got yourself
photographed next to it.
Mm-hm.
Yeah.
Game over,
Mr. Quinn.
Why'd you kill Nola Kellergan
and Deborah Cooper?
I don't know.
It was an accident.
I saw her, Nola
walking by the side of the road,
so I, uh, I offered her a ride.
She thanked me for stopping,
and got in.
And we drove
for a few minutes, and then
I just felt so lonely.
And she was so beautiful.
So friendly.
I wanted to touch her.
Just to stroke her hair.
But she she panicked
and started to scream.
I-I stopped the car
to calm her down,
and she got out,
started running into the woods.
I had to catch her
so she wouldn't tell anyone.
Then she went
to Deborah Cooper's place.
I didn't want to hurt 'em,
but
they would've talked.
Chief Dawn.
Travis, your father-in-law
just signed a full confession.
Okay.
There'll be a press
conference at 5:00.
News will spread quickly.
I, uh, I didn't want you
or your wife or Mrs. Quinn
to have to find out secondhand.
Thank you, Sergeant.
If you could make it
up to Augusta,
clear up a couple of things
about Mr. Quinn,
I prefer not to inflict
any more pain
on his wife or daughter.
Of course.
Look, I'm on duty at the moment.
There's been a car accident,
and they're waiting for me,
and I should
talk to Jenny first.
Can I come by tomorrow?
Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow works.
Yeah, no rush, man.
Thanks again, Sergeant.
I wouldn't wanna be there
for that conversation,
telling Jenny.
I think this calls for
a little celebrating, huh?
Really?
Yeah.
This one's on me.
You sure you don't
want anything else?
I'm good, I'm good.
Come on, man, get a donut.
I got you.
I'm good.
Oh, God.
Well, I'm not making it
back to Manhattan by 5:00.
You're not gonna be
in any trouble?
No.
No, as soon as
my publisher finds out
I'm helping
the Maine State Police,
he'll find a way to spin it
into more book sales.
Right.
Oh, this is probably
about my 5:00
press conference.
Hello?
Uh, can it wait?
Okay.
Okay, we'll be there
in, uh, 20 minutes.
All right.
That didn't sound like
Chief Lansdane.
Yeah, that was Elijah Stern's
partner, Bo Sylford.
He wants us to come over.
Bo Sylford?
What the hell is that about?
We've been fighting constantly
since we last saw you, Sergeant.
There's things that,
uh, he hasn't told you
that need to be said.
Please.
I'm afraid I haven't been
completely forthright
with you, Sergeant.
Directly or indirectly,
I am responsible
for Nola Kellergan's death.
Mr. Stern, if you're
trying to protect
Luther Caleb,
there's no need.
We have a confession
from someone else.
Luther's name's
already been cleared.
But mine's not.
You know that Luther
was obsessed
with Miss Kellergan?
We do.
But you don't know the extent
of that obsession.
He would sneak off to Sommerdale
to watch her with Harry.
Day after day,
he'd report to me
what they'd done,
what they'd said,
where they'd gone.
He
experienced love
vicariously through them.
It became such a preoccupation
that I rarely saw him.
I had to drive myself
to my meetings.
Why didn't you fire him?
Because you were
in love with him?
Because I was in his debt.
Luther.
Luther?
The situation had
deteriorated so badly that
Luther was beaten up
by a policeman
for vagrancy.
A waitress had apparently
filed a complaint against him
You will not go back
to Sommerdale again.
I forbid it.
But I must
I must go.
I want you to go home,
back to Massachusetts.
Just for a while.
You don't understand
Just to get that girl
out of your system.
You don't understand.
You don't understand!
You don't understand!
You
They're running away.
In ten days, on the 30th,
they will be gone,
and they will never come back.
And then, on August 29th
Luther disappeared.
His blue Mustang
was in its usual place,
but I soon discovered
that one of my cars was gone.
A black Monte Carlo.
He'd been asking to borrow it
because his blue Mustang
had become too recognizable.
I'd said no, of course.
I was furious.
And worried
If he was capable
of that kind of subterfuge
what else was he hiding?
And that's when I found them
the letters that he'd stolen.
The letters between
Harry and Nola.
What the hell have you done?
Don't touch those,
they're private.
What the hell have you done?
Leave that poor girl alone!
You fuckin' redneck!
You fuckin' redneck!
Elijah
That night, it was you.
It was you.
And so he left.
He took the Monte Carlo,
and he left.
I never saw him again.
He'd recognized
my voice, you see.
When I was younger
I would
meet up with some of
my college friends,
a kind of fraternity,
I guess you'd call it,
and we'd go away for weekends,
stay in expensive hotels,
drink,
act like the arrogant,
entitled monsters that we were.
We were desperate
to prove to ourselves
that we were powerful.
Hey! Let's get this one!
Whoo! Yeah!
Hey, redneck!
Where you going?
And he is down
on the 20-yard line!
Oh!
Come on, hit him!
Boom!
All right, should we go
for the field goal?
You're up.
Show us what you got.
Let's go.
You fucking redneck!
Oh!
Come on, let's go!
All right, he had enough.
Whoo!
It was in all the papers.
The police never found
the culprits.
But I knew,
and
was sickened by what I'd done.
A few years later,
I tracked him down, and
stuck a nail in my tire,
asked him if he could fix it.
I'm sorry to disturb you,
but I seem to have a flat tire.
I offered him a job,
and he took it.
But he wasn't happy.
I gave him money,
a car
I built him
an artist's studio
but nothing
could assuage my guilt.
The servants were afraid of him.
He had no friends,
no girlfriends.
The only thing he could do
with a woman, he said,
was to paint her.
So
I bought him some.
Blondes.
Mostly
strawberry blondes
like his fiancée.
Then he met Nola
and fell in love with her,
the first time
he'd ever fallen in love
since the accident.
Then Harry turns up,
brilliant,
handsome,
and of course,
Nola fell in love with him.
And so Luther decided
he would live through Harry.
Love through Harry.
When Nola disappeared,
and it was announced
that the suspect was driving
a black Monte Carlo,
you can imagine what I thought.
Uh-huh, but you kept quiet.
Yes,
so he'd never be suspected.
I knew
whatever he'd done,
I drove him to it.
What does all this
have to do with Robert Quinn
and Nola's murder?
I guess just that
it's a huge coincidence,
that, uh, Luther, Stern,
Harry, and Mr. Quinn
all drove black Monte Carlos
in the summer of '75.
Like, maybe it
was a popular car.
A lot of coincidences.
Yeah.
Here's another one.
Quinn said he saw
Nola Kellergan by chance
while he was driving, right?
Right.
Why did he have a gun with him?
What year was Watergate?
Uh 1974. Why?
Look at the newspaper box
behind him.
I can't
Give me the
See it?
Nixon resigned in August, 1974.
There is no way
that that photo was
taken in August, 1975.
Holy shit!
Who are you protecting?
You test-drove
a black Monte Carlo in '74,
not '75.
You're protecting someone,
and I wanna know who.
Huh?
Your wife?
Daughter?
Fine.
We'll bring them both in
for questioning,
and keep them here
until we get some answers.
Are you sure you wanna
subject them to that?
Who are you calling?
Travis.
I need his help
getting Quinn to talk.
Damn it!
He's not picking up.
Hey, it's Sergeant Gahalowood,
Maine State Police.
I need to talk to Chief Dawn
right away, please.
No, I tried his cell.
He's not answering.
Can you radio him?
It's important.
Wait, what do
What do you mean,
he's not on duty today?
I talked to him earlier.
No, he told me he was
investigating a car accident.
Hey!
Issue an APB on Sommerdale
Police Chief Travis Dawn!
And I want roadblocks
along state lines.
Now!
Excuse me. Could we?
Oh, for God's sake, Marcus.
Just bear with me, okay?
I don't know how you're
gonna hear anything in here.
Okay, go for it.
Okay, um
So, when you get to
the end of your novel
Mm-hmm.
You wanna make sure
you give your readers
one last twist.
Thank you.
One last twist?
Yes, you wanna
you wanna keep 'em
on tenterhooks
until the very end.
Uh-huh.
It's like cards.
So you wanna keep
your trump card
till the very last round.
Okay.
Keep your trump card
until the very last round.
Cheers.
Cheers. Cheers.
Cheers to that,
Professor Quebert.
Good afternoon.
Afternoon.
Is this a special vacation
for the two of you?
Yeah, it is.
It's anniversary.
Oh, lovely.
If you could wait one moment,
I just need to check
something about your seats.
I don't like this, Travis.
the Harry Quebert Affair
We found fingerprints
on the gas can,
but no match
which means it was someone
with no police record.
No record?
What happened to your face?
I had an accident.
Why would Stern go
through all this mess,
maybe even kill someone,
just to protect Luther?
I'm still trying
to figure that part out.
Fuckin' redneck!
These are all his paintings?
Your brother, he, uh,
he had a thing for blondes?
Oh, my God!
Luther, you scared me!
Jeez
The results are in.
The handwriting
on the manuscript
is Luther Caleb's.
Check your email.
What the hell is this?
Nola's mother died in 1966,
nine years before
Nola disappeared.
She was beaten by a dead woman.
Your book is a pile of crap.
The night of the fire
did not go quite the way
David Kellergan told the police.
I gotta tell you something.
Mommy was in our bedroom
when the fire happened.
I know.
She was wicked.
She needed to be dead,
so I put the curtains on fire.
That little girl
started to believe that
she herself was her mother.
She was punishing herself,
whipping herself,
plunging her head
into a bath of icy water
Her father couldn't
take any more,
so he decided
to move them both far away.
Get a warrant,
or get off my property.
I think you should
let us in, Reverend.
It's better if we can
all come inside
and talk calmly.
Yeah, We know about
what happened in Alabama
in 1966.
We know about the fire.
You know nothing.
We talked to Pastor Lewis.
Why didn't you try
to get her help?
See a doctor?
I was afraid.
I was afraid
they'd take her away
and lock her up.
And so you had him
you had him exorcise her?
I had no choice.
Pastor Lewis said I had to,
or he'd tell the police
what she'd done.
It only made
my poor sweet girl sicker.
She started punishing herself
as her mother.
And so you left Alabama,
hoping the move would
wipe the slate clean.
Mm-hm.
And it did at first.
The outbursts
were less frequent.
Her memory of the whole thing
seemed to be fading
Till the summer
Harry Quebert appeared.
That's when she started having
violent fits again.
At the time, I didn't know why.
It was a horrible sight
to see her do that to herself.
You know why I'm doing this
So that I can go to heaven.
You wanna be
an angel, don't you?
I'm sorry I'm a wicked girl.
You're not wicked.
Penance is a blessing.
No, Mother!
No, Mother, please!
Please, Mother, no!
No!
She started reliving
her exorcism.
What happened
on that day she disappeared?
On August 30th?
The anniversary of the fire.
Of Louisa's death.
She had a terrible fit.
One of the worst ever.
I tried to calm her,
but nothing worked,
so I
I hid out in the garage,
and I
worked on the damn motorcycle.
I turned up the music
as loud as it would go.
Later,
when I went into her room,
she wasn't there.
Do you have any idea
what triggered
such a violent fit?
I found a letter on her bed.
A break-up letter.
You never told us
about any letter.
What should I have done?
Nola! Nola?
She was carrying on
an illicit romance
with I didn't know who.
But the writing
it wasn't any teenage boy.
I couldn't let
the whole town think
my little girl
was some kind of slut!
I found these
after she disappeared
under a loose floorboard.
They're not stamped.
He must've hand-delivered them.
They're all from Harry Quebert.
They're all the letters
in his book,
"The Origin of Evil."
This was the last one.
The one she received the day
that broke her heart.
May I?
"My darling
this is my final letter,
a painful last embrace
before parting.
Lovers separate
and never find each other again,
and that is
how love stories end.
But we who have loved
not with our eyes
but with our souls
can never truly be separated.
I loved you against all hope,
against all reason,
against all promise.
You will be with me always,
the last dream of my soul.
H."
It's the end
of "The Origin of Evil."
It's the final page.
How long have you known
that Nola and Harry
were corresponding?
Only the past few weeks.
I just recently
bought a copy of the book.
I needed to read it
to try and understand.
When those letters appeared,
I
I knew I'd seen them before,
and that's when
I made the discovery.
For the past 33 years,
I've wondered who wrote
those letters to my daughter
and all that time,
the answer was just sitting
in every bookstore in America.
I can't believe it.
He wasn't waiting
for her at the motel,
like he said.
He'd written her
a breakup letter.
Son of a bitch.
He never intended
to elope with her.
So where'd he go, then?
Why would he lie?
Harry's cellphone is cut off.
No activity on his credit card.
Okay.
Okay, let me just
Just walk through this with me.
So, he leaves a letter for her
in her mailbox, right?
The day before their
their supposed elopement,
right before he skips town.
Right?
Mm-hm.
She finds it in the morning,
and she reads it,
and she breaks down.
Right?
She has a fit.
She starts punishing herself.
Okay, Dad
Dad locks himself
in the garage
And then what?
Where is
Where is she going
when she climbs out the window?
To confront Harry.
But on the way,
she runs into Luther,
and everything goes wrong.
Okay, but then why does Harry
come back to Sommerdale
the day after she disappears?
When he hears about it
on the news, he panics.
Mm-hm.
That letter would be
incriminating.
Plus he has
real feelings for her,
which makes it
all the more complicated.
Yeah. We, uh
we gotta go find him.
I don't think that's possible.
Border patrol records
have him crossing into Canada
at Derby Line, Vermont.
Huh
In the unpublished manuscript
that we found in his locker,
"The Seagulls of Sommerdale,"
he ends up in Canada with Nola,
remember?
I mean, I still don't get it.
The charges have
been dropped, so
what the hell
is he running from?
The crowd behind us
is basically
shoulder to shoulder,
with people standing
all the way up,
all the way through
to the Capitol,
and now we're seeing
the President
Ladies and gentlemen,
the president
of the United States,
Barack H. Obama.
Hi!
Sorry I'm late.
Oh, my God
It's like those
pictures of VJ Day.
Like in World War II?
Everyone is so happy,
and so full of hope and pride.
It's it's like
they can't believe
they actually did it!
Oh, I got you a mug.
Thanks.
Can you put some coffee in it?
Absolutely.
You know, it's days like these
that you regain
faith in humanity.
It's like we're evolving.
We're getting better
as a species.
Yeah? Well,
let's, uh
let's see if he turns out to be
who he says he is.
That's weird,
coming from his number-one fan.
Well, no, I mean,
you never really
know a person, do you?
You look up to someone,
admire his integrity,
his intelligence,
and then one day,
you discover he's betrayed you,
and that it was all a lie.
You have any idea
how shitty that feels?
I walked in on my husband
in bed with my best friend.
We had gone to the Hamptons
for the weekend
with my best friend
and her husband,
and on that Saturday afternoon,
my husband said he wasn't
feeling that well,
so I
went into town by myself.
But it started to rain,
so I came back,
and I found my husband
on top of my best friend.
Oh, my God.
What did you do?
Nothing.
They didn't see me, so I
turned around and left,
and I went for another walk.
When I came back,
I found him in the hotel bar,
drinking with
my best friend's husband,
and
that night,
we all had dinner together.
Well, did you
did you divorce him?
No.
He left me.
For her.
Is there anything else
I can get you?
Uh, no. Thanks, Denise.
Okay.
This is a one-woman
horror show here.
Daughter kills Mommy,
then she becomes her,
then she starts
beating herself silly?
I mean, this
out-psychos "Psycho."
Yeah, but the whole
infantile psychosis thing
is, uh it's funky.
You know, I just
I think there's still
too many missing pieces.
Okay? Just with Harry
disappearing, and these
these cryptic messages,
this unpublished manuscript
Which would make a fabulous
prequel, by the way.
Yeah, you're missing
the point, Roy
No, no, no, no, no.
No, no, you're
missing the point.
This childhood madness,
this is a godsend.
We'll put out a press release
saying we knew about this
from the beginning,
but that you decided
to tell the truth
to demonstrate that reality
is never what it seems.
Now we're talking Pulitzer.
Look, just give me a week.
Give me one week
to dig a little deeper
before you put out
a press release, okay?
Fine.
Thank you.
One week.
We'll call you back.
Did you know you ran
a red light back there?
Uh
And you were speeding?
Uh, well, sorry. I
License and registration.
Yeah, just a second.
Uh
What happened to your face?
Have you been drinking, sir?
Huh?
What?
Sergeant Gahalowood?
This is Officer Forsyth
from, uh
Montburry County.
Sorry to disturb you
at this hour, but, um
we have somebody in custody here
that I think
you'll be interested in.
Hello?
Met our firebug.
I'm sorry, what?
The arsonist
who set fire to Harry's house
was arrested tonight.
Montburry police
matched the prints
from a traffic stop.
Who is it?
Are you sitting down?
I'm, uh
I'm lying down, actually.
Good.
Less of a fall
when you hear who it is.
Thank you.
You look like shit.
Yeah, thanks.
Are you sure
you got the right guy?
'cause I can't see it
Fingerprints matched
the ones on the gas can.
So that means he sent
all those messages too.
Seems like it.
Oh, man
But what's
what's his motive?
I wish I knew.
He's refusing to talk.
And the trouble is,
Quinn's lawyer's claiming
that he found the gas can
on the beach that night.
Oh yeah?
Yeah.
He was out for a walk.
Picked it up,
threw it in the bushes.
I have spent the morning
on the phone with the governor
and a slew of goddamn reporters.
They all want my head.
I'm Marcus Goldman.
I wrote the
Yeah, I know what you wrote.
It can't go on like this, Perry.
The DA and the governor
want this case closed.
We just arrested Robert Quinn
last night.
I need some time
First it was Quebert.
Then it was Caleb,
then the father,
and now it's this Quinn guy?
You change perps more often
than your underwear.
If you could just
give me a few
24 hours. That's it!
Tomorrow. 5:00.
You come to my office
and you tell me officially
the Kellergan case is closed.
Great, we're on our way.
Yeah, we'll see you there.
Hey, Roy, now
is not a good time.
Well, I'll just assume
you'll meet me tomorrow
at 5:00, my office,
for your big press launch.
Listen, I can't, okay?
We just got a new lead.
It's, uh, it's
you're gonna have to
hold 'em off a bit longer.
Disappoint the cognoscenti?
They'll tear you to pieces
like a pack of wild dogs.
Not exactly the liftoff
your book deserves.
Tomorrow afternoon.
Don't be late.
I'm speaking to the press
tomorrow at 5:00.
All right.
So at 5:00 tomorrow,
we'll both have
officially fucked up.
I still can't believe it.
Maybe he really did
just find the gas can
while he was walking.
Does your father-in-law
usually take late-night
walks by Goose Cove
without telling anyone?
How are Jenny
and Mrs. Quinn?
They're in shock.
Tamara said she didn't even know
he'd gone out last night.
She was dead asleep.
Do you think that
No, I don't think anything,
but I, uh
I found this
It was in a
a box of family photos
that Jenny keeps at our house.
Check the back.
So he owned a black Monte Carlo?
Well, why didn't Pratt
No, Jenny said
her father wanted to buy
a new car that summer,
and would often take different
models for test drives.
Bobbo would never
but he was
acting a little strange
last night.
He, uh
kept asking me
to drink this cup of tea.
Just drink it, honey bunny.
Look, I don't want any tea.
Drink it for Bobbo.
I'm not British,
for God's sakes.
It's a diuretic.
It'll do you good.
And I was
feeling a little bloated,
so I drank it.
And then
I fell asleep
like a dead person.
What time was that?
I
guess it was
around 11:00.
Yeah, 'cause
Law and Order was playing.
And then
the next thing I know,
it was morning,
and then
the police were knocking
at the door.
Mrs. Quinn, is it true
that your husband
was thinking about buying
a Chevrolet Monte Carlo
during the summer of '75?
Uh, yeah.
I think so.
Until I told him
that I
I thought it made him
look like a pimp.
But I just can't
believe that
he would ever do that.
He could never do anything
to harm that girl.
Do you understand?
He's a kind man.
Honey, I'm gonna be sick.
I'm sorry, this has
all been a little hard
for us to digest.
Yeah, this is the spot.
It's right here.
Guy drove out
like a bat outta hell.
That's the road that leads
to Montburry Lake.
What are we looking
for, Sergeant?
A weapon, personal effects,
anything that can tie
our suspect
to the Kellergan case.
You realize this lake is
a dumping ground, right?
So if you could be
a little more precise?
Near the shore.
Focus on the marsh over here.
The suspect was covered in mud.
He had a scratch on his face,
probably caused by a low branch.
I'm guessing
he was trying to hide
whatever it was
where no one would look for it.
All right.
Hello?
You find anything?
Uh, no, sir, not yet.
We've got a press
conference at 5:00.
Show up with
some definitive proof,
or you can take
your sorry ass to Canada
and join the goddamn Mounties.
He says hi.
Over here!
Sergeant!
Over here!
Sergeant!
They got something.
We found a handgun
and a necklace
with Nola's name on it
in Montburry Lake.
Any idea how they
got there, Mr. Quinn?
The, uh, black Monte Carlo
at the scene of the crime,
that was yours
all along, wasn't it?
A loaner car,
uh, you were conveniently
test-driving
during the time
of Nola's disappearance.
It couldn't be traced
to you 'cause
you didn't own it.
It's clever.
Except you got yourself
photographed next to it.
Mm-hm.
Yeah.
Game over,
Mr. Quinn.
Why'd you kill Nola Kellergan
and Deborah Cooper?
I don't know.
It was an accident.
I saw her, Nola
walking by the side of the road,
so I, uh, I offered her a ride.
She thanked me for stopping,
and got in.
And we drove
for a few minutes, and then
I just felt so lonely.
And she was so beautiful.
So friendly.
I wanted to touch her.
Just to stroke her hair.
But she she panicked
and started to scream.
I-I stopped the car
to calm her down,
and she got out,
started running into the woods.
I had to catch her
so she wouldn't tell anyone.
Then she went
to Deborah Cooper's place.
I didn't want to hurt 'em,
but
they would've talked.
Chief Dawn.
Travis, your father-in-law
just signed a full confession.
Okay.
There'll be a press
conference at 5:00.
News will spread quickly.
I, uh, I didn't want you
or your wife or Mrs. Quinn
to have to find out secondhand.
Thank you, Sergeant.
If you could make it
up to Augusta,
clear up a couple of things
about Mr. Quinn,
I prefer not to inflict
any more pain
on his wife or daughter.
Of course.
Look, I'm on duty at the moment.
There's been a car accident,
and they're waiting for me,
and I should
talk to Jenny first.
Can I come by tomorrow?
Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow works.
Yeah, no rush, man.
Thanks again, Sergeant.
I wouldn't wanna be there
for that conversation,
telling Jenny.
I think this calls for
a little celebrating, huh?
Really?
Yeah.
This one's on me.
You sure you don't
want anything else?
I'm good, I'm good.
Come on, man, get a donut.
I got you.
I'm good.
Oh, God.
Well, I'm not making it
back to Manhattan by 5:00.
You're not gonna be
in any trouble?
No.
No, as soon as
my publisher finds out
I'm helping
the Maine State Police,
he'll find a way to spin it
into more book sales.
Right.
Oh, this is probably
about my 5:00
press conference.
Hello?
Uh, can it wait?
Okay.
Okay, we'll be there
in, uh, 20 minutes.
All right.
That didn't sound like
Chief Lansdane.
Yeah, that was Elijah Stern's
partner, Bo Sylford.
He wants us to come over.
Bo Sylford?
What the hell is that about?
We've been fighting constantly
since we last saw you, Sergeant.
There's things that,
uh, he hasn't told you
that need to be said.
Please.
I'm afraid I haven't been
completely forthright
with you, Sergeant.
Directly or indirectly,
I am responsible
for Nola Kellergan's death.
Mr. Stern, if you're
trying to protect
Luther Caleb,
there's no need.
We have a confession
from someone else.
Luther's name's
already been cleared.
But mine's not.
You know that Luther
was obsessed
with Miss Kellergan?
We do.
But you don't know the extent
of that obsession.
He would sneak off to Sommerdale
to watch her with Harry.
Day after day,
he'd report to me
what they'd done,
what they'd said,
where they'd gone.
He
experienced love
vicariously through them.
It became such a preoccupation
that I rarely saw him.
I had to drive myself
to my meetings.
Why didn't you fire him?
Because you were
in love with him?
Because I was in his debt.
Luther.
Luther?
The situation had
deteriorated so badly that
Luther was beaten up
by a policeman
for vagrancy.
A waitress had apparently
filed a complaint against him
You will not go back
to Sommerdale again.
I forbid it.
But I must
I must go.
I want you to go home,
back to Massachusetts.
Just for a while.
You don't understand
Just to get that girl
out of your system.
You don't understand.
You don't understand!
You don't understand!
You
They're running away.
In ten days, on the 30th,
they will be gone,
and they will never come back.
And then, on August 29th
Luther disappeared.
His blue Mustang
was in its usual place,
but I soon discovered
that one of my cars was gone.
A black Monte Carlo.
He'd been asking to borrow it
because his blue Mustang
had become too recognizable.
I'd said no, of course.
I was furious.
And worried
If he was capable
of that kind of subterfuge
what else was he hiding?
And that's when I found them
the letters that he'd stolen.
The letters between
Harry and Nola.
What the hell have you done?
Don't touch those,
they're private.
What the hell have you done?
Leave that poor girl alone!
You fuckin' redneck!
You fuckin' redneck!
Elijah
That night, it was you.
It was you.
And so he left.
He took the Monte Carlo,
and he left.
I never saw him again.
He'd recognized
my voice, you see.
When I was younger
I would
meet up with some of
my college friends,
a kind of fraternity,
I guess you'd call it,
and we'd go away for weekends,
stay in expensive hotels,
drink,
act like the arrogant,
entitled monsters that we were.
We were desperate
to prove to ourselves
that we were powerful.
Hey! Let's get this one!
Whoo! Yeah!
Hey, redneck!
Where you going?
And he is down
on the 20-yard line!
Oh!
Come on, hit him!
Boom!
All right, should we go
for the field goal?
You're up.
Show us what you got.
Let's go.
You fucking redneck!
Oh!
Come on, let's go!
All right, he had enough.
Whoo!
It was in all the papers.
The police never found
the culprits.
But I knew,
and
was sickened by what I'd done.
A few years later,
I tracked him down, and
stuck a nail in my tire,
asked him if he could fix it.
I'm sorry to disturb you,
but I seem to have a flat tire.
I offered him a job,
and he took it.
But he wasn't happy.
I gave him money,
a car
I built him
an artist's studio
but nothing
could assuage my guilt.
The servants were afraid of him.
He had no friends,
no girlfriends.
The only thing he could do
with a woman, he said,
was to paint her.
So
I bought him some.
Blondes.
Mostly
strawberry blondes
like his fiancée.
Then he met Nola
and fell in love with her,
the first time
he'd ever fallen in love
since the accident.
Then Harry turns up,
brilliant,
handsome,
and of course,
Nola fell in love with him.
And so Luther decided
he would live through Harry.
Love through Harry.
When Nola disappeared,
and it was announced
that the suspect was driving
a black Monte Carlo,
you can imagine what I thought.
Uh-huh, but you kept quiet.
Yes,
so he'd never be suspected.
I knew
whatever he'd done,
I drove him to it.
What does all this
have to do with Robert Quinn
and Nola's murder?
I guess just that
it's a huge coincidence,
that, uh, Luther, Stern,
Harry, and Mr. Quinn
all drove black Monte Carlos
in the summer of '75.
Like, maybe it
was a popular car.
A lot of coincidences.
Yeah.
Here's another one.
Quinn said he saw
Nola Kellergan by chance
while he was driving, right?
Right.
Why did he have a gun with him?
What year was Watergate?
Uh 1974. Why?
Look at the newspaper box
behind him.
I can't
Give me the
See it?
Nixon resigned in August, 1974.
There is no way
that that photo was
taken in August, 1975.
Holy shit!
Who are you protecting?
You test-drove
a black Monte Carlo in '74,
not '75.
You're protecting someone,
and I wanna know who.
Huh?
Your wife?
Daughter?
Fine.
We'll bring them both in
for questioning,
and keep them here
until we get some answers.
Are you sure you wanna
subject them to that?
Who are you calling?
Travis.
I need his help
getting Quinn to talk.
Damn it!
He's not picking up.
Hey, it's Sergeant Gahalowood,
Maine State Police.
I need to talk to Chief Dawn
right away, please.
No, I tried his cell.
He's not answering.
Can you radio him?
It's important.
Wait, what do
What do you mean,
he's not on duty today?
I talked to him earlier.
No, he told me he was
investigating a car accident.
Hey!
Issue an APB on Sommerdale
Police Chief Travis Dawn!
And I want roadblocks
along state lines.
Now!
Excuse me. Could we?
Oh, for God's sake, Marcus.
Just bear with me, okay?
I don't know how you're
gonna hear anything in here.
Okay, go for it.
Okay, um
So, when you get to
the end of your novel
Mm-hmm.
You wanna make sure
you give your readers
one last twist.
Thank you.
One last twist?
Yes, you wanna
you wanna keep 'em
on tenterhooks
until the very end.
Uh-huh.
It's like cards.
So you wanna keep
your trump card
till the very last round.
Okay.
Keep your trump card
until the very last round.
Cheers.
Cheers. Cheers.
Cheers to that,
Professor Quebert.
Good afternoon.
Afternoon.
Is this a special vacation
for the two of you?
Yeah, it is.
It's anniversary.
Oh, lovely.
If you could wait one moment,
I just need to check
something about your seats.
I don't like this, Travis.