01x07 - The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb

[bunniefuu]

[tense music playing]

[hushed, indistinct speech]

[indistinct speech continues]

[rattling]

[music intensifies]

[indistinct speech]

- [phone clicks]
- [sighs]

[plaintive music playing]

[breathes slowly]

[sighs]

[sighs]

[music continues]

[girl, in Spanish]
I can do that, Mom.

[in Spanish] No, sit
down. I want you to eat.

[kisses softly]

[music fades]

Who was that?

Who?

On the phone.

Nothing. It was nothing.

Are you okay?

Yes. Yes, of course.

Don't worry. How is it?

It's great. Thanks.

How is the book?

The book is excellent. I
think I know who did it.

But I got the last one
wrong. You should read it.

Those books scare me.

It's not scary!

Sweetheart.

I have to work late.

Sure. Am I going to Nanna's?

I'm sorry.

It's okay. Past dinner?

Is it anything fun?

State Dinner.

Is that fun?

It's the White House.
It's always fun.

State Dinner for who?

Australia.

[girl] Australians are fun!

Is anyone famous
going to be there?

I don't know.

Okay, Mom. Mom. Listen to me.

If Hugh Jackman is there,
you have to say something.

No! Why would Hugh
Jackman be there?

I don't know. He's famous.

I can't say anything.

Okay.

What would I say?

Something like...

I don't know.

Like, "Hi, Mr. Jackman."

Stop it! Never!

Eat.

[soft music playing]

I'll call you later. I love you.

I love you too, Mom.

I'm sorry about tonight.

It's okay. It's for the
good of the country!

[music fades]

[phone ringing]

["Charade" by Henry
Mancini playing]

[phone continues ringing]

[indistinct speech]

[announcement over PA system]

- [car horns beeping]
- [passersby chattering]

- [announcement over PA system]
- [brakes squealing]

[announcement over PA system]

[in English] Morning.

[music continues]

[man] Morning.

[indistinct chattering]

[woman] Morning.

[indistinct chattering]

[door opens]

[man] Oh, excuse
me. I'm so sorry.

No, no, it's my fault.

[man] How are you tonight?

Fine, thank you.
Hi, Mr. Jackman.

[Hugh] Hi.

[music continues]

[indistinct speech]

[indistinct speech]

[music continues]

[phone buzzing]

Hello?

[exhales deeply]

[music becomes discordant]

[music stops abruptly]

[rapid footsteps]

[breathes raggedly]

[ominous music playing]

[breathes shakily]

[curious music playing]

{\an8}[Cupp] Yeah, I just landed.

{\an8}No, I didn't see
it. I was so close.

{\an8}I did find the El Oro Parakeet.
A little flock of them, actually.

{\an8}And the Long-wattled
Umbrellabird.

That was great. Yeah,
both at Buenaventura.

Oh, and I got the Pale-headed Brushfinch,
but I just missed the Antpitta.

No, I had to come back.

Some of these people I'm working
with on this case... Ugh.

You know how it is. Yes!

Exactly. [laughs heartily]

All right.

Yeah, thanks, Kenn. Talk soon.

[Cupp laughs]

[phone bleeps]

Kenn Kaufman. Great birder.

He found the first Pale-footed
Swallow for Venezuela!

What do you mean, "these
people you're working with"?

Oh, not you, Chief. I meant him.

Why are you using that phone?

Only phone I have.

- You don't have a cell phone?
- No.

You don't have a cell phone?

This is why I never let
you ask any questions.

Do you have any idea how expensive it is
to make a call on that satellite phone?

- No.
- It's really expensive.

- The Bureau is going to k*ll me.
- Okay. Sorry.

[light jazz music playing]

I talked on it for hours
in the Quito airport.

Nice to see you, too.

So, what's the plan? When do we
get to meet this Doumbe fellow?

Patrick Doumbe.

Are we going there now?

- What is that?
- Mackerel.

- No.
- Smoked.

- No. In here?
- I didn't want to open it on the plane.

- It would bother people.
- It would. It will.

I have some ideas
about who he saw.

[dramatic music playing]

But we obviously need him
to go through everybody.

Do we have that set up?

It feels like I'm talking a lot about
Mr. Doumbe, and nobody's saying anything.

How was the flight?

- What?
- Did you watch a movie?

- Doumbe won't talk.
- What do you mean, "Doumbe won't talk"?

His lawyer said his immunity only
extended to the hearings, which is true,

and the hearings are over,
or suspended technically,

because Senator
Bix blew them up.

- Let me tell you something.
- Senator!

- He won't talk.
- So why don't we give him immunity?

Who? You and me? Like, we give
him an immunity idol or something?

No, the people
who give immunity.

The Justice Department. Let's
go to the Justice Department.

You're not going to
the Justice Department.

[light jazz music playing]

- Any turbulence?
- [Cupp sighs]

- No!
- No!

[tin snaps open]

So we have no way of questioning the
guy who saw someone dragging a dead body

out of the Yellow Oval
Room of the White House?

[gags] When you
put it that way...

So what are we investigating? How
are we doing this? Why am I here?

You're here because
I reopened the case.

The Metropolitan Police
Department has reopened the case.

I say this with all the love in the
world, Larry, but who gives a sh*t?

They don't care about that. That
doesn't get us into the White House.

Oh, we're getting
into the White House.

We've got support this
time. On the inside.

From who?

From who?

I think what we wanna focus
on is, hey, we're here!

From who?

Really missing
Ecuador right now.

I need you to solve this
case, Detective Cupp.

- What case?
- This f*cking case. Did you not tell her?

Oh. [laughs wryly] Okay.

Do you mean A.B. Wynter?
That case is closed.

I read the report.
He k*lled himself.

Okay, yeah, yeah. I get it. We're
all a bunch of f*cking idiots.

Okay. But you know what? I
did think he k*lled himself.

Because he was here with slit
wrists. And he had a suicide note.

And actually, I would like
to see that suicide note.

What did it say, anyway?

- Because maybe he did k*ll himself!
- [repeated banging]

Too loud!

I agree!

- Nan and Tripp still up here?
- Oh, they're like f*cking phroggers.

Phroggers? People who
sneak in your house,

live in your attic, eat your
food and you can't get 'em out.

Isn't that what you're doing?

Anyway, you need me to solve this case.
Or possibly you already solved this case?

It was confusing to me.

I need you to solve this case.

- Why?
- Why?

Because we are in the
sh*t, Detective Cupp.

This administration. We
were in the sh*t before.

But this is a
thousand times worse.

We are in, like, a well of sh*t.

Do you know when some kid
falls down some 100-foot well?

We are in that, but
it's a well of sh*t.

Between this and
the smoked fish...

I've spent my entire life trying to
get Perry Morgan into the White House,

and now it is all f*cked up.

This is all anybody asks about.
It's all anybody thinks about.

So we just need an answer.

From the only person that anybody
trusts anymore. Who did it?

And I don't f*cking
care who did it.

- I just want a name.
- What if that name's Harry Hollinger?

Then you're not as good
as people say you are.

- I need all the access I had before.
- You have it.

- Nothing off limits.
- Nothing off limits.

- Including the second floor.
- You can head down now.

- President Morgan's okay with that?
- He doesn't live here anymore.

Did he not pay his rent?

The President and Mr. Morgan
moved to Blair House.

- When?
- About a week after the dinner.

- Why?
- [Harry sighs]

They didn't feel
comfortable here.

- 48 hours enough time?
- What?

I phrased it like a question.
It's not a question.

- You have 48 hours.
- You never said...

They're going to get those hearings
back together at some point,

and I need an answer before then.
There is blood in the water.

Oh, and one last thing:

Can we not with all
the birds this time?

Just, like, enough
with the f*cking birds.

Detective Cupp?

[light jazz music playing]

[sighs, mutters] f*cking birds.

- He never said 48 hours.
- I can get this done.

You trust him? I
don't trust him.

[Cupp chuckles]
Him? Of course not.

You always have to be suspicious of
the person who calls the meeting.

The Godfather? Was that
a Godfather reference?

- Yeah, that's it.
- Uh, uh, uh... Clemenza?

No, no, no. The
other guy. Um, uh...

- Tessio.
- Tessio. Right.

Tessio approaches Michael at the funeral
and asks for a meeting with, um...

- Barzini.
- Barzini! Oh my God! Yes!

[both laughing]

- [laughing stops awkwardly]
- [music ends]

- Uh...
- [Park clears throat]

[quiet, intriguing
music playing]

I heard a loud thump.

[Cupp] The way his shoes were coming off.
The way his pants gathered at his waist.

- I have always thought he was moved.
- [Park] From where?

- Where is Jasmine Haney?
- How would I know?

- I've been with you since you landed.
- Can you find her?

I thought things would
be different this time.

Really?

- [Vusi] Room 301, the northeast corner.
- [Cupp] Why did I smell paint up there?

We definitely didn't do any work in
here. And that is definitely paint.

This door was taped.

[music continues]

[yells]

- It's a door. A pop door.
- [door clicks]

[Cupp] And on the other side
of the hallway? Same thing?

This is different. A staircase.

[Cupp] A secret staircase.

[Haney] A staff staircase.

- [Cupp] To where?
- To the third floor.

- [Cupp] Who has access to the 3rd floor?
- [Haney] More people than you think.

Honestly, so many
people in this house.

- [Sheila] I rode the elevator with him.
- [Cupp] Where'd he get off?

[Sheila] The second floor.

[Haney] There are guest
bedrooms on both floors.

[Sheila] Kylie
Minogue was a guest.

[Haney] Her only ask was that
she got the Lincoln Bedroom.

[Cupp] You want to go up
to the Lincoln Bedroom now?

- [Kylie] Yes.
- [Cupp] It's a crime scene.

[Kylie] The Lincoln Bedroom? I thought
this guy died on the third floor.

[Kylie gasping]

Blood!

- [Park] Where?
- [Kylie] In the Lincoln Bedroom.

[Cupp] And this room next
to the Lincoln Bedroom?

[Haney] The Treaty Room.

[Bix] Harry Hollinger has a
meeting in the Treaty Room

with the Director of the
CIA and Walpole Bing...

- Get the f*ck out.
- [Bix] ...the day before the State Dinner.

- [Doumbe] I saw someone.
- [Filkins] On the 2nd floor?

[Doumbe] He walked over to me and said
that I needed to get out of there.

[Filkins] Why did he say that?

What did you see
in that hallway?

When I came out of the living
room, I looked down the hallway,

and I saw him dragging a body
out of the Yellow Oval Room.

[animated chattering]

- [Cupp] Why no Secret Service there?
- [Trask] We were told to stay off.

Who told you to stay off?

- Mr. Morgan.
- That's a lie.

- He called at 9:22 p.m.
- I didn't call anyone.

- Where were you?
- [Rausch] 2nd floor.

- And then you left?
- I left.

- You didn't see or hear anything else?
- Nothing. Except for the dog.

I went upstairs. Didn't see anything.
Came back. The barking stopped.

- [Filkins] Recognize this person?
- [Doumbe] No.

- [Harry] Who did it? I want a name.
- [Cupp] What if that name...

[Haney] Detective Cupp?

I didn't know you were coming.
Are you back investigating?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Okay. That's good.

I never thought
he k*lled himself.

Well. You were right.

[Haney] The last few months have
been hard. Really, really hard.

After that night, we
were all in shock.

We've just been trying to
keep things going. Um...

Are we headed somewhere
in particular or...?

Yes.

Then they pulled us into those hearings.
I never trusted what they were doing.

Feels weird around here.

Well, the President and
Mr. Morgan are gone.

Oh, that could be it. Or maybe it's
that I've never been in the White House

when there wasn't a State Dinner. Or
a dead body. Or a lot of Australians.

It's definitely quieter. Lilly
has been making a lot of changes.

- Lilly Schumacher? The Social Secretary?
- Yes.

What changes?

The look of the house mainly.

New uniforms for the butlers
and the housekeepers.

She's renovating some rooms.
She started in the Blue Room.

- What was wrong with the Blue Room?
- Everything. Apparently.

When I interviewed Angie Huggins, she
mentioned Mr. Wynter kept a journal.

His journals. He wrote
everything down in them.

He did.

- Do you know where it is?
- I don't.

I need to find it.

g*dd*mn, what am I... I don't know
where to start with this sh*t.

I literally can't
work like this.

Have you guys seen this board? Why
is there an Irish fence? I don't...

I'm not doing this. I'm
not cooking that sh*t.

What is that? I can't
even tell what that is.

Is that the collarbone of a
f*cking moose or something?

Lilly said she also collected
these pictures online.

- It's easier to see on Pinterest.
- I'm not going on f*cking Pinterest!

This is completely unacceptable!

These are not food items.

This is a stone.

This is a picture of a stone!

Go on Pinterest.
It's easier to see.

I don't understand what word you
are saying, but it bothers me.

[tense music playing]

- I will not do this! I can't do this!
- There is an opening in a hotel in Zurich!

- None of this is food!
- I have been on Zoom with them!

- How do you cook a forest?
- And also FaceTime!

I guess some things
haven't changed.

[Haney] Oh, they've changed too.

Lilly now sends Marvella and Didier
mood boards and cooking vlogs.

There's a lot about different bone
broths and the evils of sugar.

They aren't thrilled.

Uh, I'm sorry. Are you sure you know
where you're going, Detective Cupp?

Yes. Of course. I'm
going to your office.

[door opens]

[poignant music playing]

Hm.

This all pretty much look
like you remember it?

[Cupp whistles]

[Haney] I...

I just couldn't bear to
look at all his stuff.

As awful as it is, I have to
continue to run the house.

- You have a job to do.
- Yes.

You're the Chief Usher.

[music fades]

- You didn't find it here when you moved?
- What?

- Wynter's journal.
- No.

- Is it possible he locked it up?
- I guess. I don't know where.

I have his keys. Is there
something we could try?

- Those aren't his keys.
- What?

Where'd you get those?

They were in
Mr. Wynter's pocket.

They aren't his.

Mr. Wynter didn't carry
keys, for one thing.

[hesitates] He had some, but
he always kept them over here.

Goddamnit.

I don't like making mistakes.

- Luckily, you don't make a lot of them.
- It's not luck.

Do you know whose
keys these are?

[Haney] Uh...

Yes.

I think I do.

[shower running]

- [knocking on door]
- [Haney] We need to talk to you.

- [man] Right now?
- [Cupp] No, not right now.

We don't need to talk to him now.
Aren't they living across the street?

The President and Mr. Morgan
moved to Blair House.

- Maybe they come back here to shower?
- This isn't a campground. We can wait.

- Right now!
- [man] Jesus. Okay.

[Cupp clears throat]

[shower stops]

sh*t.

Why "sh*t"?

What?

You said "sh*t." Why?

Why? 'Cause I'm figuring you're
here to talk about Mr. Wynter.

[scoffs] We're trying
to all move on here.

Move on from m*rder?

- I thought Mr. Wynter k*lled himself.
- You did?

[Park mutters]

So you're not saying "sh*t"
because you're worried?

- I'm just trying to understand the "sh*t."
- Correct.

I did not say "sh*t"
because I was worried.

- Okay, got it. Thank you.
- [keys jingling]

[sighs] sh*t.

Now I'll be honest. That
felt worried. Right?

Absolutely. Uh...

- Where'd you get those?
- You really don't wanna know.

Are they yours?

I want to ask you about the night
of the State Dinner, Mr. Geller.

- You've already asked me about this.
- [Cupp] Yes.

Y... you don't remember?

Oh, I remember.

And when I say "I remember,"

I don't mean it like most people
do when they say, "I remember,"

like, "Oh, I generally
remember the conversation."

Or, "I remember. We were
in the China Room." No.

When I say, "I remember,"

I mean I remember literally
every word you said

and the way you said them.

There is nothing you will ever
say to me that I won't remember.

This isn't about
what "I remember."

I wanna see if you remember

and if what you tell me this time is
the same as what you told me last time.

I wasn't supposed
to work that night,

but I got called in by Mr. Wynter
because of some plumbing.

That sh*t is gnarly.

Problems on the third floor.
In Tripp Morgan's room.

So I came in, went
up. Fixed the problem.

When I came out of the
bathroom, Tripp was gone.

I went downstairs.
And you showed up.

How was your relationship
with A.B. Wynter?

It was fine. I did my job. We
both worked here a long time.

We got along fine.
I told you this too.

I had no issues with
A.B. Wynter. Ever.

Yes, but you lied.

How do you know I lied?

Because you just asked me that.

[Daryl] That's a lie.

Bruce... [scoffs]

I mean, I love the guy, but he did
not get along with A.B. Wynter.

Bruce was close with the
former Chief Usher Sam Needler,

and he and A.B.
never hit it off.

- And then, when the Morgans came...
- [George sighs]

Even on Moving Day, the day
the new First Family moves in,

it was bad.

A lot of people have trouble that day,
but they hide it. Put a good face on it.

Well, except for Sheila.

- [Sheila wails]
- [man] The President and First Gentleman.

I don't apologize for that.

But it was Bruce, too.

- Why?
- Listen. Moving Day?

That is the single
busiest day of the year.

The single busiest
day every four years.

It makes a State Dinner look
like a kid's birthday party.

Moving Day is just overwhelming.

Mr. Needler, the former Chief Usher,
he was a motivator. And a charmer.

He'd work with you. Get you through
it, like you were all in it together.

A.B.? It was just: Get that
sh*t done. Now. No questions.

And the Morgans had a lot
of things they wanted done.

It was a constant barrage of fix
that, repair that, change that.

That day was insane.

- And Bruce and A.B. went at it.
- [Bruce and A.B. arguing]

[Wynter] Well, you're the
engineer. You tell me why...

[Duane] A.B. didn't ever raise his
voice in public if he could avoid it.

- Let me ask a question...
- I do my job.

- [Duane] And he did try to avoid it.
- Come on.

- [Duane] But they went at it.
- You can't talk to me this way.

[Duane] We all heard it.

- [Wynter yells] I want the lights fixed!
- [Bruce] I know you want...!

Hold up here, okay?
Because this isn't it.

Yes, Moving Day was
insane. It always is.

And that one especially. And
Bruce and A.B. did go at it.

But the conflict between
Bruce and A.B.? The real sh*t?

It was about the shower.

The shower?

The shower.

The President's shower. The
water pressure. The heat.

Look, every President has
their quirks and obsessions.

Ronald Reagan wanted
jelly beans everywhere.

Calvin Coolidge had an electric horse in
his bedroom and rode it 3 times a day.

Perry Morgan's
obsession is his shower.

He wants the water hot. And
when I say hot, I mean hot.

- Scalding hot.
- Like f*cking lava.

And he wants the pressure
like a fire hose.

There isn't another person alive who
can get in that shower and survive.

Even Mr. Morgan thinks he's
nuts. I'd hear them sometimes.

- [shower running]
- [Elliott] You are f*cking insane!

But that's what
President Morgan wanted

and A.B. was committed
to giving it to him.

For months, all Bruce would
do was work on that shower.

And all he would do was fail.

Weak. Weak! A dribble.

A mist. A rumor of a mist.

It's like an old man is pissing
on me for my f*cking shower!

- And it wasn't just the pressure.
- Cold! Cold, cold, cold!

Cold! I'm freezing.

I have hypothermia. Medic!

You know what my dad
would've said about this?

He would've said it's fine
because your dad is not insane.

He would've said, "That shower is
colder than a brass toilet seat

on the shady side
of an iceberg!"

Bruce visited other
hotels and houses

that President Morgan
insisted could do it right.

And he would study their
plumbing systems. At all hours.

He got the General Services
Administration involved.

The National Park Service. The
Army Corps of Engineers. NASA.

If this is what it's
like to shower on Mars...

[yells] ...nobody is
going to f*cking Mars!

The fact is, this
is a very old house.

And what Bruce was being
asked to do was impossible.

It was impossible.

And yet... he did it.

Somehow.

None of us ever understood how
he figured it out. But he did.

And when it was over, President
Morgan was incredibly grateful.

[shower running]

[laughs]

Come here, you. [laughs]

[Bruce laughs]

Oh yes!

[Haney] I'll give
him credit for that.

But A.B. was just on
to the next assignment.

[Morgan] Thanks again!

I need you to look at
the heating in 321.

[Haney] That was A.B.

I know he appreciated Bruce.

It just wasn't his
style to express that.

[Daryl] It broke Bruce.

I really believe that.

The work itself and the lack of any
recognition for what he had done.

He was traumatized.

That shower has been fine for over a
year, and he still checks it every day.

Every. Single. Day.

[Eddie] And here's
what's important to know.

Bruce didn't blame President Morgan for
anything that happened with the shower.

He really didn't.

He blamed A.B. For
not protecting him.

So when he got called in
on the night of the dinner,

it was like it was
all happening again.

Except this time, it
wasn't President Morgan.

It was Tripp Morgan.

Who is a drunk, by the way.

- He got completely f*cked up.
- My f*cking toilet's clogged!

- And also steals stuff.
- Grab a few of these.

- And pretends to know sh*t about salt.
- I'm a semelier!

But he doesn't. And he's
always going on about,

this is an Icelandic
Smoked Birch Sea Salt.

- Salt.
- Or this is a Prussian Blue Salt.

- Salt!
- Bullshit! Have you seen this guy?

Would you trust anything
he says about salt?

[Tripp grunting]

[inhales deeply]

[Eddie exhales slowly]

I've been trying this
circular breathing thing.

Box breathing. Give me a
second. f*cking Tripp Morgan!

[inhales]

[exhales slowly]

So yeah, Bruce was pissed.

Pissed at Tripp, but pissed
at A.B., who made him come in.

[tense music playing]

We had some problems.

- [Cupp clears throat]
- [Bruce] Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay. I'll admit that.
But I didn't k*ll him.

Were you on the second floor on
the night of the State Dinner?

You're asking me this because of
what that guy said in the hearings.

He was a big guy.

Yes. I mean, I'm generally
interested, but. Yes.

- That wasn't me.
- Yeah, I don't know.

- Feels like it might've been.
- It wasn't.

Possibly.

[tense music playing]

If you wanna take a look at somebody,
look at that f*cking wacko engineer.

The dude wouldn't shut
the f*ck up about Wynter.

I'm just an engineer.

I was on the second
floor that night. Yes.

- Were you in the Yellow Oval Room?
- Yes.

Well, now that is
interesting, isn't it?

Absolutely.

- [Cupp sighs]
- Uh...

It's actually not that interesting.
Tripp Morgan had messed up his plumbing.

In this house, that usually means
something else gets messed up too.

Especially if it involves Tripp.

Lemme tell you, a few months
ago that as*h*le poured, like,

four f*cking gallons
of salt down his sink,

right into the sink,
clogged everything up.

Backed up Harry Hollinger's room,
the bathroom, the music room,

and then down into the
ceiling of the second floor.

He told A.B.: "Oh no, salt can't clog,
it's from the sea, it's sea salt,

water passes right
through it, dude."

Made no f*cking sense.

We had a crew of like six guys

who spent two weeks digging
sea salt out of the pipes.

I was just caked in salt - and I
have high blood pressure, okay?

So I went down to the
Treaty Room that night,

which is directly
below Tripp's room,

to see if he'd messed
up the ceiling again.

I looked around,
didn't see anything.

And then I went next door
to the Yellow Oval Room,

which shares a wall
with the Treaty Room.

And I looked all
around there too,

on the walls, on the
ceiling, just to make sure.

Because I did not want to
go through that sh*t again.

If he screwed this house up, I
wanted to catch it early this time.

That's why I was there.

I mean, honestly, I did find
that kind of interesting. You?

- Yes!
- Uh, yes, very interesting.

- Did you see anyone?
- Where?

In the Yellow Oval
Room. And wait. Sorry.

Before you answer,
when I say "anyone,"

I mean anyone at
all, dead or alive.

So, for example, if there
was a dead body on the ground

in the Yellow Oval Room
when you were there,

you can answer,
"Yes, I saw someone."

Got it.

Yes, I saw someone.

Dead or alive?

Alive.

[suspenseful music playing]

And who was that?

Detective Cupp?

What a surprise!

So is this. What's
happening in here?

These rooms have been
like this for 100 years.

I just wanted to try
something with more... style.

Ah. Well, looks like the lobby of
a hotel I don't want to stay at.

Exactly! Thank you!

So what's going on? I heard
you wanted to talk to me.

Did something else happen?

No, just here on the
original unsolved m*rder.

Oh, good.

I mean, not good. Obviously.

Obviously.

We wanted to ask about
the night of State Dinner.

Of course.

Were you ever on the
second floor that night?

I was on every floor.

- Including the second floor?
- Yes, absolutely.

- Why?
- Because I was looking for A.B.

Because I hadn't seen him in an hour,
and I was trying to run this dinner,

and there was so much
going on, and I needed him.

And then I started getting worried.
I was looking for him everywhere.

That's true. She asked me
about him at least four times.

Including when I was
showing you around.

I still haven't found
A.B. You haven't seen him?

I saw her in the basement.

Twice. Asking about A.B.

And Lilly Schumacher doesn't
come down to the basement.

- She seemed worried.
- Concerned.

Not panicky, just
genuinely worried.

She told me it was weird. That
she thought something was wrong.

A.B. doesn't
disappear like that.

Never heard of her.

Uh, so, uh, what are you...
what are you doing here?

Investigating A.B.'s m*rder.

- You're not here about the painting?
- What painting?

Nothing. Why do you keep
asking about a painting?

[objects crashing]

And did you see anyone when
you were on the second floor?

Yeah, actually, I did. One
of the guys from downstairs.

I think he's a plumber or
an engineer or something.

I don't know his name.

- I'm sorry.
- Bruce?

- Bruce.
- Bruce, thank you.

Bruce! Yeah. He was standing
in the Yellow Oval Room.

He told me he was there to make sure
nothing had leaked from the third floor.

- Why is this important?
- I don't know if it is.

Is he a suspect?

Because of those hearings?

[Lilly sighs]

Okay, first of all, those hearings?
That was some crazy sh*t. I was there.

Lilly Schumacher. That lady
was out of her f*cking mind.

Bullshit!

Listen, I'm all for having a congress,
okay? That's fine, I guess. I guess.

But these things, they just get
so out of control... [fades]

- [intriguing music playing]
- [indistinct speech]

[inaudible]

What do we know about
Lilly Schumacher?

I know she's the
Social Secretary.

- Really?
- Yeah, I think so. Right?

Oh. Oh, I see.

You're saying "really"
like that's nothing.

Okay. Uh, okay.

Well, listen, that's all I know. That's
all we know. What else do we know?

Yeah, well, don't look at me.

All I know is she's the daughter of
Lillian and Wallace Schumacher...

Pops Schumacher,
the casino magnate.

She grew up shuttling
between Vegas and Macau

and the family estate
in Jupiter, Florida.

She was raised in
these massive houses,

all new construction, and
by some markers, antiseptic.

She has gravitated more

towards the new luxury
of Six Senses and Aman.

Her parents, historically
supporters of the other party,

were major donors
to the Morgans.

And their support was
instrumental, some think,

in Perry Morgan's thin victory.

Which accounts for her
appointment as Social Secretary.

A job she campaigned for.

She has made no
secret of her desire

to reinvent the White
House as a "concept."

She is a rising celebrity,
socialite, influencer.

She has an inflated
sense of self-importance.

She doesn't just wanna be Letitia
Baldrige. She wants to be Jackie.

[Park scoffs]

Schumacher arrived at the White House
with grand ambitions and big questions.

"Oh, the staff is
permanent, huh?"

"Can they be fired?"

"Do there have to be tours?"

She uses the word "do" a lot.

"Can we do a Zen garden where
all of those roses are?"

"Can we do a wellness center
like at the Amanruya in Turkey?"

Everything is up
for reconsideration.

Every tradition. Every
element of design.

"Red Room! Blue
Room! Yellow Room!"

"Ah, so many primary colors!"

Early on in her tenure, she proposed
all-new uniforms for the staff

and presented a
"lookbook" of models

from her favorite hotels
from around the world.

"Don't you just love Nicholas Oakwell's
vintage look at the Rosewood in London...?"

- Come on!
- What the f*ck?

Hey. Y'all out there running
around. I'm doing my research.

Actually, it's all
in this Vanity Fair.

They seem to be all over
the house, in every room.

I don't understand. Doesn't
seem very flattering.

- She's always given me a bad vibe.
- Should we arrest her?

I'm just saying I
don't trust her.

You keep using that word. Trust.
You shouldn't trust anybody.

Why would you trust anybody?

The only person I trust in the world
is Larry Dokes, and he just played me.

But do I think Lilly had something
to do with this? I don't know.

Everyone says she really tried
to find A.B. I saw it myself.

Either she is a
world-class actress,

and Lilly Schumacher does not
seem like a world-class actress,

or that alone rules her out.

There is something
bothering me though.

- Why the Yellow Oval Room?
- What do you mean?

I mean, why were you looking for
Mr. Wynter in the Yellow Oval Room?

I wasn't looking in
the Yellow Oval Room.

I was looking everywhere.
In every room.

But did you have any reason
to believe he'd be there?

No. But I didn't
know where he was.

I don't really... understand
what you're asking.

I mean, couldn't you ask
this about any other room?

[quiet, tense music playing]

I don't really wanna do this.

Do what?

- I thought A.B. k*lled himself.
- He didn't.

I went to look for him twice
in the Yellow Oval Room.

The first time, I was looking
everywhere in the house.

And the second time?

The second time is because
of what I saw the first time.

I did find A.B. that first time.

I was in the hall, and I saw him arguing
with someone in the Yellow Oval Room

and it was heated and I didn't
feel like I could interrupt.

So I left,

but when I didn't see him
downstairs later, I went back up.

That's when I ran into Bruce.

So when you said you hadn't seen
him in an hour, that wasn't true?

- That wasn't true.
- Why did you lie?

Who was he arguing with?

I don't want to drag
anyone else into this.

It's best to avoid the word
"drag" in this situation.

- What do you want, Detective Cupp?
- To know who you saw Wynter arguing with.

Well, I don't want
to tell you. So.

- I think I need to call my dad.
- Go right ahead. You can use my phone.

[Park sighs]

- What the...
- Could you not use that phone? Please.

- You don't have a cell phone?
- No.

Why are you so focused
on this person?

What about the Australians?
What about Harry Hollinger?

Did you see Mr. Wynter arguing with
an Australian or Harry Hollinger?

[Lilly sighs]

She's a good person.

Then she shouldn't have
anything to worry about.

[tense music playing]

[camera clicks]

I don't know why
she would say that.

- It's not true?
- It's not true.

- You weren't on the second floor?
- No.

- Never?
- Not that night. No.

- Did you two have any trouble before?
- Me and Mr. Wynter? No. Not at all.

[Haney] Elsyie and A.B.?

Zero issues.

Elsyie doesn't have any
issues with anybody.

Here's the thing to understand
about Elsyie Chayle.

She is the single loveliest
person in the White House.

She is literally the only
person Nan Cox will talk to.

True.

Everybody has something with
somebody around here. Everybody.

Except for Elsyie. She tolerates
everyone. She annoys no one.

Wynter actually used Elsyie as
a way to evaluate other people.

If he heard you had said
something bad about Elsyie,

he knew you weren't
right to be here.

What's her f*cking
problem? Right?

[Conor laughs]

Oh. That's why he was fired!

But here's the other
thing about Elsyie Chayle:

She's also tough as nails. If you knew
what she'd been through in her life...

I know some of it, not all...

you wouldn't get out
of bed for a week.

She cannot be broken.

It's what makes her all
the more remarkable.

Wynter loved her.

I wouldn't say he loved
her. He respected her.

She was unusual. A.B. wanted everyone
to take the job as seriously as he did.

And she actually did.

And she's an incredibly
nice person. To everyone.

Yeah, okay, he loved her.

I don't know what to say.

I don't understand this.

Maybe she confused
me with someone else?

There's this bird, the
chickadee. Do you know it?

No.

There's a handful of
different chickadees.

But the mountain chickadee
is the interesting one.

It's a small little bird. About
half an ounce. Unassuming.

And yet, it's possessed with one
of the most remarkable powers

of any animal on Earth.

Mountain chickadees
have the ability

to survive incredibly
harsh winter conditions

because of their memories.

Astounding memories.

A mountain chickadee can hide 60, 70,
sometimes 80,000 seeds in the fall.

And when the dark winter
comes, they find them.

All of them.


over a vast landscape.

With near-perfect recall.

What makes this interesting
in my profession

is how many people think they have
the ability of the mountain chickadee.

A totally, outrageously
preposterous and unearned arrogance

about their ability to remember

where they hid the things
that are important to them.

I don't mean just physical things...
although that's interesting, too.

Lost wallet, keys. Socks.

I mean the things we think
that we have hidden, inside,

that others cannot see,

that we assume we can go
back to, call on, call up.

And then they are gone.

And we forgot that we
ever even buried them.

The night of the State Dinner,

I asked if you'd been on the third floor
that night. Do you remember what you said?

No. I don't think you do.

I didn't see anything
on the second floor, no.

The second floor.

You said the second floor. I
knew that answer was peculiar.

I didn't ask about the second
floor. And now I know why.

It was a mistake that hid a lie.

If you remembered that, then
you might have avoided this.

But now I know you didn't want to talk
about the second floor that night.

You don't want to talk about
the second floor right now.

Because something bad
happened on the second floor.

Something wicked. Isn't
that right, Elsyie?

[quiet, tense music playing]

[sighs softly]

At some point during
the evening...

I don't know the exact time...

my supervisor, Ms. Vail,

asked me to clean the Lincoln Bedroom
for a special guest. Ms. Minogue.

So I went upstairs, and
I was getting it ready

when Agent Rausch came
in and told me to leave.

- Secret Service Agent Rausch?
- Yes. Right.

She said nobody could be on
the second floor. So I left.

I went back up to
the third floor.

A few minutes later, I
got a call from Mr. Wynter

telling me to come to
the Yellow Oval Room.

From the moment I
walked into the room,

it was different.

I've never seen him like
that. He could be difficult.

He could be really... difficult.

But he was always fair with me.

But that night...

He told me to close the door and
asked me about the Lincoln Bedroom.

He wanted to know
why it wasn't ready.

I tried to tell him what
Agent Rausch had said,

but he was just yelling at me.

He said I was lying.

Again.

Again? What do you mean "again"?

- [Wynter] I got a call today, Elsyie.
- A call?

Telling me that you lied to me
when you applied for this job.

What? What are you
talking about? I don't...

When you applied, you
were specifically asked

whether you had ever been arrested
or charged with any crime.

No. No, no, no.

A material lie

which could have serious
consequences for you and this House.

Mr. Wynter, no. I can't believe
this. Why is this happening? No. I...

- That was... That was so long ago.
- Mm. Mm-hmm. Is it true?

[angrily] Is it true?

I want you to go finish that
work in the Lincoln Bedroom.

And then I want you to go home.

And come and see
me in the morning.

No. Mr. Wynter, please. Please,
I am... I am begging you.

Or you can go home now. And not
come and see me in the morning.

[Elsyie cries, sniffles]

What was he talking about?

- What'd you lie about on your application?
- It doesn't matter. It's not relevant.

Seems kinda relevant.

This is not something
I will talk about.

What happened when you
left the Yellow Oval Room?

I walked down the hall to the linen
closet by the Lincoln Bedroom.

I tried to calm myself down...

[Cupp] Yes?

[Elsyie] And then he
came up behind me.

[Cupp] Who? Mr. Wynter?

No.

Elsyie?

That is true.

I did run into Elsyie
Chayle. In the hall.

I'd just come down from Tripp's room.
She was standing outside the closet.

She told me about the fight
with Wynter. She was very upset.

[indistinct speech]

She just kept shaking her head

and looking down the
hall and saying "I'm..."

- "I'm gonna k*ll him."
- I am going to k*ll him.

"I'm gonna k*ll him."

That is true. I did say that. But
I wasn't talking about Mr. Wynter.

I was talking about my
husband. My ex-husband.

I was going to k*ll him!

She didn't say that.

For calling Mr. Wynter
earlier in the day.

I got a call today, Elsyie.

He's the one who did that. I knew
he did it the minute I heard it.

He wanted me to lose my job.
Wanted to destroy my life.

I did want to k*ll him!

But I didn't do that either.

Bruce must have misunderstood.

I left her there
after she said that.

I didn't know what to
do. She told me to leave.

- Just leave me alone, okay?
- Okay.

So I went down to the
west end of the hall,

by the elevator, and, you know,

realized what she said was
really f*cked up and weird.

[Bruce sighs]

So I went back.

And when I turned
out onto the hallway,

I saw Elsyie running out
of the Yellow Oval Room

with a candlestick in her hand.

And when I looked into
the Yellow Oval Room...

...Wynter was dead.

Bruce left when I was still
standing in front of the closet.

I was there for, I don't
know, a couple of minutes,

trying to figure out what to do.

I was so angry and upset.

I got my supplies, and I was going
to go into the Lincoln Bedroom,

but I realized that I had to
try to talk to Mr. Wynter again.

So I went back to
the Yellow Oval Room

and that's when I saw him.

[Elsyie gasps]

Mr. Wynter was dead.

Who do I think
k*lled A.B. Wynter?

Elsyie Chayle.

Bruce Geller.

He told me he did.

He came up to me later and
said, "I took care of it."

I haven't spoken to him since.

[music intensifies]

[music fades]

Harry wants you off the lawn.

He also doesn't understand
why there are so many birds.

I took care of it.

You talked to Harry? Or
you got rid of some birds?

I took care of it. That's
what Elsyie said Bruce said.

Oh. If you say so.

It's weird. That sounds like
he k*lled Wynter for her.

Maybe he did.

- Why would he?
- I don't know.

- Do they even know each other?
- I don't know.

But I do know Lilly Schumacher went to
the Met Gala in Valentino this year.

I don't know anything about
them. I know he has a son.

I know she's married. Or was.

- What am I looking for?
- Birds.

[brisk jazz music playing]

[inaudible]

Oh God!

[camera bleeping]

No. Chief, how did
I not see this?

How long have you
been in love with her?

[Bruce sighs]

[tense music playing]

A year. More.





Sorry, no. 516.

I didn't really know
her before that.

We both worked here for years,

but it's a big house and we both
had stuff going on in our lives.

- [Haney speaking indistinctly]
- [elevator bell dings]

[laughing]

And then it was just one of those
things. I came into the break room.

I had had a... difficult
morning at home.

And I unwrapped a sandwich,
and it fell all over the floor.

And I just picked it up
and tossed it in the trash.

I didn't even know
he was in the room.

Maybe about a half-hour later,
I'm in the laundry room,

and this guy I've barely ever
seen before walks up with a plate.

Hm. He had gone upstairs
and had Marvella make it.

He told me this later,
that they were close.

And that was it.

He just handed it to
me and walked away.

Mm. [chuckles] Nothing
really changed after that.

Work just... felt different.

We'd chat. We'd sometimes eat
together if our schedules worked out.

We talked a lot about our kids.

If I knew there was something
on a floor he was working on,

I'd make a point of
getting that assignment.

[Elsyie and Bruce
chattering indistinctly]

We both did that.

He would steal macaroons
from the Pastry Kitchen...

and leave them for me
all over the house.

Nobody knew.

We knew.

Some of us knew.

Hard not to know.

But listen, she was
married. I knew that.

And there wasn't a policy
or anything about this...

- That is true.
- ...but I knew A.B. didn't like it.

That is true.

We didn't talk about it. We
talked around it, you know?

Closest we ever got to talking
about it was... March 4th.

March 4th?

Everybody remembers the
scenes from March 4th.

All of Washington
being evacuated.

{\an8}The President being rushed out in
Marine One to an undisclosed location.

{\an8}The terror of it all.
The absolute chaos.

[Wynter] Remain calm!

- [man] Which way do we go?
- That way. Please go that way.

Yes. Easy, easy. Don't panic.

What a lot of people don't know is
that some of us were left behind.

...wind up having
to stay here...

We either didn't get out in time
or we were told we had to stay.

There were maybe a
dozen of us. Um...

Me. Rollie. Didier.
Jasmine. A.B., of course.

Agent Trask.

Rosalind Chace. The curator.

She wanted to stay.
Insisted on staying.

Angie. And me and Bruce.

At first, when we heard
the attacks were over,

and we thought we were all
just waiting to be let out,

the whole thing had kind of a
doomsday Breakfast Club vibe.

In a good way.

That's when Angie and
A.B. took up backgammon.

[quiet chattering]

I saw people talk to each
other, work together,

who I've never seen work
together before or since.

[quiet chattering]

Late in the evening, though, we
heard that another strike was coming.

People were scared
out of their minds.

We literally thought
we were gonna die.

- [distant expl*si*n]
- [gasping]

[distant sirens]

I went up to the
third floor, and

I just laid down in the hallway.

I... I don't know. It
was such a weird night.

You kind of felt like doing
something you'd never do again.

You didn't know if
there'd be another day.

It was that scary, you know.

It really was.

[exhales slowly]

[poignant music playing]

Elsyie came down
from the Solarium...

I had no idea she
was in there...

She saw me, and without
saying anything,

she just... laid
there next to me.

We were both thinking
about our kids.

There was no cell service.
We couldn't reach them.

She took my hand.

I always wanted to go to Italy.

Rome.

I was always hoping
to make it there once.

I had this old
calendar on the wall

next to my bed when I was a kid,

with pictures of Rome.

I kept it for years
because of the pictures.

[sighs]

I would sometimes flip through
before turning off my light.

Piazza Navona.

Piazza del Popolo.

Castel Sant'Angelo.

I loved even saying the words.

My dad said he was
going to take us.

It was so silly 'cause
we didn't have any money.

We had never even
been on an airplane.

And he was sick.

But I kept thinking we
were really going to go.

I was sure of it.

Every time he opened the door,

I thought that's what
he was going to tell me.

You know what's sad?

I had a little bag
packed under my bed,

because I wanted to be ready.

I really don't want to
die before going to Rome.

[Bruce exhales heavily]

I really don't.

The Pantheon!

[sighs] That was the other one.

That was my favorite.

That was July.

[sighs]

I loved that picture.

[music fades]

He didn't try to reassure me.

He didn't tell me I'd get there.

He didn't lie to me.

He didn't talk.

He didn't do all of the
annoying things that men do

because they don't want
you to just feel something.

He just kinda...

held my hand and rubbed my arm.

Mm.

It was the loveliest

anybody has ever been
to me in my life.

[sighs]

[door opens]

Can you get me some vodka?

Thank you.

[door closes]

[both laughing]

We all survived, of course,

and then, about two weeks later, I
found a little package in my locker...

[poignant music playing]

[cries softly]

It was the ceiling
of the Pantheon.

[chuckles tearfully]

I wore it every day.

Only at work.

Until that day.

The State Dinner.

And when did you give him his?

That day.

What are you doing here?
You're not working tonight.

I am working tonight.

- Oh no. What happened?
- He called me in. Something upstairs.

- Tripp?
- Tripp.

I'm sorry.

It's nice to see you.

Nice to see you too.

I got something for you.

Stop.

I did.

[both giggling]

[quietly] So, um,

it's not the same...

[whispers] ...but...
it's something.

[whispers] Elsyie...

Close your eyes.

[kisses softly]

Okay.

I thought maybe we could
go sometime. Together.

Now that I'm a
single lady and all.

[soft, suspenseful
music playing]

[keys jingling]

- [Haney] Where did you get those?
- [Cupp] In Mr. Wynter's pocket.

- Do you know whose keys these are?
- sh*t.

Oh God!

How did I not see this?

How long have you
been in love with her?

[clipped falcon calls]

Option one. Elsyie is lying. When
she said she wanted to k*ll him...

I am going to k*ll him.

...she did mean Wynter because
she didn't wanna lose her job.

And that's what she did.
She went back into the room,

hit him over the head with a candlestick,
and left. That's what Bruce saw.

Option two. Bruce is lying.

When she said she wanted to k*ll
him, he thought she meant Wynter.

Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. But he
was mad at Wynter himself already anyway,

and he wanted to protect
the person he loved,

so he goes into the room while
she's still in the closet,

kills Wynter, leaves

and then comes back
later to clean it up.

And that's what he meant when
he said, "I took care of it."

Option three.
They're both lying.

- How does that work?
- I don't know, but it is an option.

And option four is they're
both telling the truth.

That's even more confusing.

I agree. But those
are the options.

But you think it happened
here in this room?

I am now convinced of it.

And you have ruled
everyone else out?

Keep your f*cking mouth shut.

He won't fire me if
he isn't here anymore.

I am going to k*ll you!

[Didier] It is going
to be served my way!

[Tripp yells]

Absolutely not.

[quiet, curious music playing]

[music intensifies]

- [music ends]
- Do you want some time here alone?

[hesitates] I'm just going
to, uh, head out, uh,

this way. Here.

[music resumes]

I'll be out in the hall.

Uh, goodbye.

Goodnight. Goodnight? Do
you think... all night?

Okay.

Well, uh, either way,

I'm going to...

leave...

[music continues]

- [Cupp] Were you in the Yellow Oval Room?
- [Bruce] I went to see if there was water.

[Lilly] He was in the Yellow Oval
Room. Told me he was there...

- [Cupp] Why the Yellow Oval Room?
- [Elsyie] I got a call from Mr. Wynter...

[Cupp] Something bad
happened. Something wicked.

- [Elsyie] ...back to the Yellow Oval Room.
- [Bruce] ...out of the Yellow Oval Room.

- [Elsyie] Mr. Wynter was dead.
- [Bruce] Wynter was dead.

[music fades]

[solemn instrumental
music playing]