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02x13 - Chapter Twenty-Six: The Tell-Tale Heart

Posted: 02/25/18 08:50
by bunniefuu
Previously on Riverdale...

[HIRAM] Isn't it something the Serpents would do?

- Why'd you do it?

- To cause some chaos.

So Hiram Lodge asked you to start a mutiny.

It's an eviction notice.

My woman's intuition told me Sheriff Keller was having an affair with Mayor McCoy.

I have some out-of-town guests coming in.

I'm hosting a little poker game at Pop's.

Poppa Poutine was found dead in his hotel room less than an hour ago, sh*t in the back of the head.

Good night, Chic. You'll be safe here.

He has to go, Alice.

I threw you out once, I'll do it again.

I want all of you tonight.

Is Chic home?

Mom...

[PANTS AND GASPS]

[WHISPERS] What... What happened?

No, no, Don't come any closer.

Don't... Don't touch anything.

[STAMMERS] He tried to hurt me and Chic, your brother...

[SNIFFLES]

- No, no, what are you doing?

- I'm calling the police!

No, don't do that. Do not do that!

Mom, there's a man on our floor!

If the police come, they're gonna take Chic away from me and I won't let that happen again.

- Well, if it was self-defense...

- [PANTING]

- It was self-defense, right?

- Yes, of course, it was.

- But it won't matter.

- What do we do?

- Just go to your room. You didn't see anything.

- Mom, let me help you.

No, honey. It's better if you're not involved.

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

- It's Dad.

- Don't answer it.

- What if he came...

- Yes, you're right. Answer.

Just... Just act like everything is normal.

Hi, Dad, what's up?

Oh. Okay, I'll see you in a bit.

Please tell me he's not coming here.

Uh, he needs toiletries.

He says he doesn't wanna get in a fight with you.

- Betty!

- Mom...

We don't know how much time we have.

Please just let me help you.

[JUGHEAD] And in one reckless moment...

[EXHALES] Bleach is under the sink.

The lives of the Cooper women were forever changed.

They were a mother wanting to protect her son, and a daughter wanting to protect her mother, while less than yards away... Once more, you didn't see or hear Hiram Lodge say anything to or about Poppa Poutine?

[SIGHS] Honestly, it seemed like...

- What?

- Like they were friends.

A friend, Archie, doesn't force you down to your knees and sh**t you in the back of the head with a Glock .

Maybe it wasn't Mr. Lodge. I mean, I didn't see him leave the Pembrooke.

Hiram would've sent someone.

- His capo.

- What's a capo?

[DRUM CLASHES]

If you woke up my dad...

A "capo," Archie, does the boss's dirty work, the k*lling.

Is there someone who's always hovering around Hiram?

Like a personal assistant, a driver?

Not that I can think of.

[HAL] Hello? Betty?

Betty.

Alice.

- Hal.

- Dad.

So, where's Chic?

Upstairs in his room, resting.

What... what's that smell?

Bleach. I spilled tomato soup, I didn't want it to stain.

Well, it must have been a lot of soup, because it smells like a hospital in here.

Dad, do you want me to get the toiletries for you?

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Jug, what's up?

Nothing, I was just calling to say good night.

And, uh...

I love you.

- [KNOCKING ON DOOR]

- Your dad's gone. Hurry up!

Oh, Jug, uh, I gotta go.

I'll see you tomorrow.

What if someone comes looking for him, Mom?

People go missing every day.

But what if he has a family?

He didn't strike me as the type.

I mean, who walks around without a wallet?

[GRUNTING]

They shut down these sewer pipes decades ago.

[PANTING]

This used to be my secret place as a little girl.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

Here, cover it up.

[PANTING]

[HAL] They were hiding something.

Oh, Harold, everyone's always hiding something.

The house smelled of bleach.

And you didn't see Chic?

Maybe he was up in his room.

Entertaining.

[FP] Tall boy won't be coming back anytime soon. [SIGHS]

Good.

He was a coward.

You know, riding back, I was thinking, maybe I should take a page from your book and have a sit-down with McCoy.

Now that we know that Hiram Lodge is responsible for what happened to the statue, I say we show her the head, appeal to her sense of justice.

What, you don't like that plan?

Wait a second.

Boy, where the hell is General Pickens' head?

I don't think we can interpret the delivery of that head as anything less than a declaration of w*r.

Well, we knew we'd have to go to w*r, eventually.

There is, of course, another option.

At Spence, I was Secretary General of the Model UN, and before declaring w*r, we'd always try to negotiate a settlement.

Now, if I could broker a detente between the Contras and the Sandinistas, you should be able to de-escalate relations with a biker g*ng.

This isn't high school.

Said the man who just vandalized a park statue.

You're an excellent businessman, Daddy.

I'll get them to the table, all you have to do is play nice.

[PANTS]

We have work to do.

We have to clean anything that he may have touched, so there are no fingerprints.

Mom?

Did he touch any of these?

No.

[SWITCH CLICKS]

[ALARM RINGING]

[SWITCHES ALARM OFF]

Mom?

Oh, good, you're up! Have a seat.

I don't like chocolate-chip pancakes.

Well at least, have some cereal. You must be starving.

Thank you.

Oh, can I have the butter, please?

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

[ALICE] Elizabeth?

[KNOCKING CONTINUES]

[ALICE] Ask who it is.

Who is it?

- Morning.

- [SIGHS IN RELIEF]

Just thought I could walk you to school.

Hey, can I talk to you about last night?

Why? What about it?

Nothing, I just... thought we had this really nice night, and you hung up on me, so I... I kind of got nervous.

Maybe you felt we were moving too fast or...

I don't know, maybe it wasn't enjoyable?

Oh, my God! No!

- No, not at all.

- [CHUCKLES]

Last night was amazing. [CHUCKLES]

There was just a lot of drama when I got home.

[INHALES SHARPLY]

Let me guess, Chic-centric?

It'll be fine.

Just typical Cooper house lunacy.

So Archiekins, do you regret anything we talked about at my confirmation?

The revelation that my father's more Al Capone than Eliot Ness?

No. All good on my end.

In that case, just to put it on your radar, a low-key turf-w*r might be brewing between the Joneses and the Lodges.

- [BELL RINGING]

- Veronica, are you trying to manage me right now?

- Define "manage."

- People are gonna lose their homes.

Jughead, why don't you come over with your dad and sit down with my dad, and hash this out like civilized humans, face-to-face?

Okay, one condition.

- Your dad comes to Sunnyside Trailer Park.

- [CELL PHONE BUZZING]

I want him to see the people that he's gonna be displacing.

Fine. And trust me, no one is being displaced.

Oh, my God, did you guys hear?

My dad's scanner's blowing up.

The police found another dead body this morning, there's blood everywhere.

Could the Black Hood have risen from the grave?

- Did they say whose body?

- Where did they find it?

The investigation's ongoing but apparently, it was a gruesome, gangland-style execution at the motel, with blood and brains splattered all over the duvet...

Okay, Kev, we get it.

I gotta go.

[GAGGING AND PUKING]

- [SNIFFLES]

- [TOILET FLUSHES]

Oh. Betty, are you okay?

- Do you need some help?

- I'm fine, Cheryl.

- Let me grab you a towel.

- I said I'm fine!

You have puke on your collar.

[SIGHS AND SNIFFLES]

A b*llet to the head? That is clearly a mafioso's doing.

God, no sooner do I feel like I'm in a good place, some terrible thing happens, somebody dies...

And I'm immediately back in the place of, "What if my father's behind this?"

And making matters infinitely worse, I've now dragged you into this Martin Scorsese nightmare.

Veronica, I chose to be with you, remember? To help you.

Archie, I can't handle the not knowing.

- Then choose to believe in your dad.

- [SIGHS]

His business dealings might be shady but at heart, he's still a good guy.

- I know that. You know that.

- Do I?

Come here.

[JUGHEAD] Riddle me this.

What do Sunnyside Trailer Park, Twilight Drive-In and Southside High, all have in common?

I'm sure I don't know.

They were or are townland. You control them.

The drive-in was shut down as was Southside High.

Now the trailer park is in jeopardy.

Can't you just feel the invisible hand of Hiram Lodge all over this?

What exactly are you insinuating?

If you've been accepting "donations" from the Lodges in exchange for "favors" such as land deals...

[SCOFFS] Now is your chance to come clean to the public.

- What is this, a bribe?

- Payment.

The FBI always compensates its informants.

Enclosed is three weeks' salary.

Great.

Now I can replace the bass drum you trashed.

I'm hoping that payment will entice you to go to Hiram Lodge and engage with him directly about Poppa Poutine.

Be a little aggressive, gauge his reaction, see what he says.

But if I ask him anything about it, he'll be suspicious.

Come on, Archie.

How many people have to get hurt or die before you do something about it?

[ARCHIE] Thank you for

meeting with me, Mr. Lodge.

Yeah, of course, Archie.

The article in the Register about Poppa Poutine in his hotel room...

Archie, if I may?

I am gutted over this atrocity.

But Poutine was rich with enemies. He was rude, and selfish, and deep into gambling debts...

A quarter to Lenny alone, not to mention the affairs... With so many vendettas against him, it was just a matter of time.

And sadly, his time came the same night as my daughter's confirmation.

But since you brought up Veronica's confirmation, she's the reason I came to see you.

Has something happened?

Is she all right?

When she heard someone was m*rder*d in Riverdale, the thought of you, maybe, possibly being involved is making her spiral.

And I don't want to overstep, but you may want to clarify things with your daughter.

Just to give her peace of mind.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[CELL PHONE CONTINUES RINGING]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]

Hey honey. Perfect timing, we're about to have dinner.

Oh, no, I'm not hungry.

I have a ton of homework.

- [KNOCKS ON DOOR]

- Hey, Veronica.

Hi, Daddy.

Ready for your big negotiation?

I am. But first, Archie

came by to see me.

He said you were concerned.

- Daddy...

- No, no. It's all right.

I'm glad he did. He... cares about you.

As do I.

I understand certain aspects of my business trouble you.

So if there's something you wanna know...

Do you have anything to do with Poppa Poutine's death?

No, mija.

I did not.

You lied to us. That shady guy wasn't one of your customers.

He was a drug dealer. It's all in here.

Hundreds of messages from junkies looking for a fix, including one from Chic, the night of...

Betty, why in God's name would you go back there?

To make sure in broad daylight that no one could see him from the trail.

Okay, give that back to me before someone tracks that right back to this house.

No, Mom. I already turned off the GPS.

And you're missing the whole point here, okay?

Chic lied to us about the shady guy.

What else is he lying about, huh?

Excuse me. Are you kidding me?

No one is buying the waterworks.

That's enough, Elizabeth.

You keep this up, and you're going to get us all caught.

He's the one who's gonna get us caught by not telling us everything that we need to know, Mom.

What, that that person in the sewer pipe was a drug-dealer?

Frankly, I'm relieved.

A transient like that?

Hopefully, it means no one is looking for him.

Um, I hate to break it to you, Mom, but drug dealers still have families.

What's done is done, Elizabeth.

The only family that you should be worried about is your own.

I asked him point-blank.

I said, "Mr. Lodge, did you k*ll or hire anyone to k*ll Poppa Poutine?"

- And he said no.

- And you believed him?

I did, yeah. I do.

And Mr. Lodge did tell me there was, uh, bad blood between Poppa Poutine and some other guy named Lenny.

Lenny Kowalski?

Yeah.

I guess Poutine owed him a lot of money.

$ , in gambling debt or something.

Lenny Kowalski.

Let me look into it.

Thank you for agreeing to sit down and discuss this misunderstanding.

- There's no...

- There's no misunderstanding here.

Tall Boy said you paid him to decapitate the Pickens statue.

As an excuse to turn up the heat on the Serpents.

You got a lot of nervous people scared they're gonna lose their home.

I heard about that.

And though it has nothing whatsoever to do with me, I've spoken to Mayor McCoy.

And as a gesture of goodwill to the Southside community, I'd like to settle any back rent you or your neighbors owe the town.

- And what do you want in return?

- Peace in the land.

Hmm.

It's a deal.

- There is one thing.

- [EXHALES]

Mayor McCoy tells me you have some kind of expose you're working on, Jughead.

So in exchange for my generous offer, I'd appreciate it if you just kept my name out of it.

- Sound fair?

- [SCOFFS]

- That sounds a lot like a bribe.

- [CHUCKLES]

- No deal.

- [LAUGHS]

See you in the funny pages.

Have you no scruples, Mother?

What are you going on about now?

I just saw Hal Cooper leaving Thistlehouse.

Betty was literally sick to her stomach at school yesterday, Mother.

What if it was over this?

You're destroying families with your courtesan ways.

It's different... with Hal.

He's not a client.

It's real.

Mother, he has a wife!

Alice Cooper? That gorgon?

[SCOFFS] She's not the victim here.

So please, Cheryl, stay out of it.

[PEOPLE ARGUING INDISTINCTLY]

[MAYOR MCCOY] Let me tell you two something.

I am this close to telling that Jones boy everything, and it'll be a lot worse for you than it will be for me.

Mayor McCoy!

Wait, what just happened?

Given the hatchet-job your friend Jughead is writing about us, your mother and I feel it's best to accelerate our timetable.

So we told Sierra we might have to announce our plans for Southside High, but typical Sierra, she refused and demanded that we wait until after she's reelected.

And she's threatening to expose us if we proceed without her.

If this isn't handled properly, the whole town will be out for our blood.

If we get her out of the Mayor's office, under a cloud of scandal, the damage she could do to us would be minimized.

- How? How would you do that?

- I had Andre follow her.

And let's just say, she spends an awful lot of time in cheap motels.

It's time for Operation Guess Who's Coming To Dinner.

Hey, Vegas! Hey, boy.

Hey, boy...

Dad?

Hey, Arch... Uh, this is...

Agent Adams. Nice to meet you.

Your father and I were just finishing up.

[MAN] Hello.

Hi, I found this phone in a parking lot. I was wondering if you knew...

[LINE CLICKS]

- [WOMAN] Hello?

- Hi, I'm so sorry to bother you.

[STAMMERS] I think

someone lost this phone.

I was wondering if you knew who it belong...

[LINE CLICKS]

[SLURPS]

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

- Hello?

- [WOMAN] Who the hell is this?

Uh, I found this phone...

[WOMAN] Cut the crap!

You're the slut he's been whoring with, aren't you?

- You're why he's been missing!

- Uh...

You know what? Tell that scumbag not to come home.

He's dead to me!

[CELL PHONE RINGING]

Betty?

Yeah, I'll be right there.

Betty...

What's going on? What are you doing out here?

I think I'm going crazy.

Jug, my mom's acting like everything's normal when...

It's not. Everything is falling apart.

Everything is falling apart.

[EXHALES]

I need to tell you something.

I can't eat, I can't sleep.

I'm just obsessing over this shady man, his phone and his life.

- [BREATHES HEAVILY]


Meanwhile, my mom's acting like it never even happened.

God, why didn't I just call the police?

You still can, Betty. And you know, you probably should!

And say what, Jug?

Hey! Either of you know the owner of that car?

It's been parked there since the day before yesterday.

Neighbor's complaining.

Yeah, sorry, Officer, that's my car.

I just can't find my keys.

Street's being cleaned tomorrow a.m. I'm going around the block.

If it's still there in five minutes, you're getting a ticket.

- [EXHALES]

- [MOTOR REVS]

How fast can you hot-wire a car?

That agent left.

What did he want?

Apparently, the FBI is assisting in a crackdown on undocumented labor from Canada.

They think that maybe over the years I've hired some of these guys, paid them cash under the table.

Yeah, couple of times, I looked the other way.

But they can't take you down for that, can they?

Oh sure, they can. Son, it's the FBI.

They're requesting my files for the last seven years.

[SIGHS WEARILY]

[ARCHIE] Agent Adams, you stay the hell away from my dad!

Scary, isn't it? How quickly I can make things difficult for you and your father?

You said he'd be protected.

You gave me a freaking contract!

Aw, gee.

Poutine did not owe Lenny Kowalski anything close to $ , .

I believe you're feeding me false information because you're protecting Hiram Lodge, which means you're compromised.

Basically, the only thing you can offer me now is access.

So I need you to wake up, stop dicking around, and plant a bug in Hiram's office.

Then he'll slip up and say something incriminating, and I'll record it and arrest him.

Nice happy ending.

You and your father will be safe.

I don't believe you, that you'll leave me and my dad alone.

I think you'll do anything that you can to destroy Hiram Lodge.

Even if it means destroying us.

You better make sure it doesn't come to that.

[CHERYL] Back so soon, Mr. Cooper?

[HAL GRUNTS]

Cheryl, what are you doing sitting there in the dark?

You do know my mother's a harlot, don't you?

A modern-day Moll Flanders?

What you're doing could destroy your family.

That's why I'm not going to tell Betty.

But I suggest you hurry home to your wife and daughter before I change my mind.

[VERONICA] I came to warn you, Mayor McCoy.

I know that whatever questionable arrangement you have with my parents is imploding, and that you're trying to go after them in some way.

But, Mayor McCoy, they're planning to discredit you, to get you out of this office and neutralize you.

Whatever b*mb they think they can set off will only burn them, too.

They know about the affair.

Your... relationship with Sheriff Keller.

But, Mayor McCoy, you can get out of this.

Take control of the narrative, inoculate yourself.

How long do I have?

[JUGHEAD GRUNTING] Norman Bates made it look so easy.

[PANTING]

[BETTY GASPS]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[WATER BUBBLING]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

His phone, too.

- Betty, his phone.

- Oh.

[GRUNTS]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

As mayor, I have seen us through a triumphant Jubilee and the terrors of the Black Hood k*ller.

But my friends, it has taken a personal toll.

I have decided to step down as Mayor, to spend more time with my family and to return to my own legal career right here in Riverdale.

- What's going on?

- Mayor McCoy's resigning.

- I am very proud...

- We haven't even made our play yet.

That's great. Now, you don't have to.

If you did, it would be cruel.

[MAYOR MCCOY] It has always been my intention to do what is best for the people of Riverdale.

[HIRAM] I have to say, Veronica, for Mayor McCoy to resign like that out of the blue...

It's almost as if someone warned her.

Did you tell Mayor McCoy we were planning to expose her affair?

No.

I did not.

Hmm.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

[SIGHS]

Oh, Hal. Alice and Betty aren't here right now.

But I can come in though, right, Chic?

I mean, this is still my house.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

- Hi.

- Betty.

I wasn't going to tell you about something, but all night long I kept tossing and turning in my canopy sleigh bed, thinking, "I'd wanna know."

- But I take no pleasure in sharing this with you.

- [CELL PHONE CHIMES]

Uh, actually, Cheryl, I gotta go.

Chic texted me, he's at home with my dad.

This is about your father.

[HAL] I'm onto you. Your little game isn't gonna work with me.

Where's my grandfather's watch, huh?

- [BETTY] Dad!

- Is that in here?

What are you doing? I thought you moved out.

I did, but I had a change of heart, and I was feeling like, maybe it was time for me to move back and finally get some answers from him.

But your brother can't seem to even look me in the eye.

That's because you're terrifying him.

- Oh. Oh, I'm terrifying him?

- Yeah.

Come on, Betty. What the hell is going on here, really?

Why does it stink of bleach?

And where is the dining-room rug?

[STAMMERS] I don't know. I think she sent it out to get cleaned.

Oh. And what about the lamp that's usually there?

Why are you interrogating us?

Because something is going on in this house!

This kid is doing what, turning... Turning tricks?

They're coming through the house... Who knows what?

They're stealing and pawning up, right Chic?

Speak up! What else have your pals taken from us?

- Dad! Get away from him or I will call Mom.

- Fine. Think I care?

And I will tell her about you and Penelope Blossom.

Maybe the reason you feel like we're hiding things and keeping secrets is because you are.

You need to leave, Dad. Now.

Thank you, Betty.

I didn't do it for you, I did it for Mom.

What if he comes back?

Or calls the police?

Oh, God...

[ARCHIE] I have to tell you something, Mr. Lodge.

The FBI approached me.

I guess to be a mole or an informant to keep tabs on you.

The FBI did?

- A few weeks ago.

- A few weeks.

- I didn't tell them anything.

- Well, what would you have told them?

- They asked me to plant a bug in here.

- A bug? [CHUCKLES]

I smashed it with a hammer.

Mr. Lodge, this agent has been threatening my dad because I haven't given up any information, and I don't think he's gonna stop until I do.

So why are you telling me...

- any of this?

- Because...

I like you, Mr. Lodge, and I love your daughter and I think Agent Adams is a lot more dangerous than you are at this point.

Is that his name? Adams?

Arthur Adams, yes.

And uh... I was hoping maybe you could help my dad.

Maybe help us out of this.

Arthur Adams will be dealt with.

- You're not going to...

- No!

Archie, no one's going to...

As you can imagine, it's not my first tangling with the FBI.

Hey, you did the right thing telling me.

Now, just give me hours, I'll make some calls and I'll get back to you.

[SIGHS IN RELIEF]

I really didn't tell them anything, Mr. Lodge.

About anything.

And I believe you.

Now go. Wait to hear from me.

Oh, and Archie, you tell your father everything is gonna be just fine.

Dad was here. He was pissed off and asking a lot of questions.

Oh, my God.

Yeah, but don't worry, he won't be back.

Mom, we're in way over our heads here.

The shady man's car was parked outside our house for two days.

- What?

- It's okay. Jughead and I took care of it.

- You told Jughead?

- Yes.

I keep thinking about that damn body and about who might come looking for it.

And how many loose ends are out there that we're not even thinking about.

We need help, Mom.

We can't go to the police. I can't.

I'm sorry. I just can't.

I'm not talking about the police.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

- FP, I...

- Save it, Alice.

Jughead just told me, all of it.

I'm not gonna let the three of you make the same mistake I made with Jason Blossom. Come on.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[GRUNTS]

[GRUNTS]

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Andre?

We're going for a drive.

The boss wants to see you.

Hey, you just missed the turn to the Pembrooke.

Andre?

Where are we going?

Boss requested somewhere more private.

Scenic.

[MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS]

[DOOR BELL DINGS]

It's done. [SIGHS]

Jeez... Dad, you reek.

It's the sodium hydroxide.

In a week, there'll be nothing left...

Not even his teeth.

[SNIFFLES] Thank you, FP.

I'm sorry for involving Betty, and that she pulled Jughead into this.

[SOBS SOFTLY]

We take care of our own.

The circle ends here.

No more loose ends.

Are we almost there?

Just about.

Come on, let's go.

Come on.

Here he is, boss.

Thank you, Andre.

Give us a moment.

[WAVES CRASHING]

Mrs. Lodge?

Do you know what "omerta" is, Archie?

It's our code of silence.

It states there is no worse, no more cowardly crime than snitching.

Mrs. Lodge, I... would never, ever... do anything to betray your family, I swear.

And so you've proven to me these last few weeks.

Hiram and I, unbeknownst to our daughter, enlisted one of our closest associates to approach you, say he was an FBI agent investigating Hiram.

Agent Adams isn't real.

- He works for me.

- [GASPS]

One of my capos.

I asked him to apply a lot of pressure to you.

thr*aten your father, even.

- See if you would cr*ck.

- Wait...

This whole thing, this was all some kind of test.

Yes, it was.

And you passed.

Welcome to the family, Archie.