01x10 - Bigger Than All of Us

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Home Before Dark". Aired: April 3, 2020 – present*
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A young girl moves to a lakeside town where she uncovers a cold case that everyone, including her father, tried to hide.
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01x10 - Bigger Than All of Us

Post by bunniefuu »

No. I'm not going anywhere with you.

And if I ever find you here again, I'm calling the cops.

Wait. Please.

This is everything that has ever meant anything to me.

'Cause I don't know what's gonna happen to me after this.

Tell me what you know.

There's been a break in the Richie Fife case.

Did the old lady spill her guts?

Hey, don't call her that. It's not appropriate.

Yes, ma'am. Did the old librarian spill her guts?

Not exactly.

It needs to be your legal name.

Sorry.

Carol Collins did confess.

But the word is, the pieces don't add up.

What do you mean?

I'm not really sure.

Since Frank Briggs is in charge of the case now, he won't allow me to see it.

In order to find out what really happened, we need to see that confession.

So how do we get a hold of it?

Hey.

What are they gonna do with her?

Well, they know your mom's not a flight risk.

So... she can come home with you.

And then my dad's gonna decide whether it's worth it to try and dig up evidence to support her confession.

My guess, he won't.

What about the fact that she's been living under a false identity?

It's complicated.

In any case, she needs a lawyer.

And you need a Xanax.

I love you.

Great timing.

Awesome.

Yeah, I know you said not to expect too many changes, but, uh, is there anything we could do to make my dad's stay more comfortable?

I'm turning you into a tree frog.

Ribbit.

More serious, like you mean it.

Ribbit! That's it.

That's what I'm talking about.

All right, w-well, thank you, Dr. Harwood.

No, really, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Wow. Whoa.

What?

Nothing. No, it's... it's just, uh... No. Uh, fancy.

Mm-hmm.

Ethan said he wanted to talk later.

Oh, my God. It's the RDT.

Okay, I don't even wanna know what that is.

Relationship defining talk. Relationship defining talk. It's...

It's the thing. It's the thing that you do when you're taking it to the next...

Level. Yeah.

Okay, could you guys just, like, make this any more uncomfortable?

I don't think so. No, I don't think so.

No, I think she's right. I... I don't think we can.

Dad. Dad, I need you. Whoa.

Okay. I'm changing. Oh, don't! Oh, it... No, we love it.

Dad. Carol Collins wrote a confession, and I need you to help me get it.

What?

Okay, look, look, look. I... I'm gonna need you to wait here.

Not fair. It's my tip.

Yeah, I know, but...

Look, it's not like l'm gonna scoop you, Hilde.

It's just I doubt Frank's gonna give up the evidence without a fight, and, you know, we may say some things that I don't want you to hear.

Mostly so your mom doesn't k*ll me.

Okay?

Okay. All right.

Don't punch him this time. All right. I'll try.

Yeah?

Is it true?

You know, did she do it?

Well, how's Kim? She's fine.

For someone who just found out her mother's a complete stranger.

W...

No, I can't give you any more details.

Come on, man. I'm not asking you to say anything.

Just, you know, just let me read her statement.

"Come on"? No. It's in evidence.

I gotta keep a clean chain of custody until the trial.

J-Just make a photocopy. Matty.

Come on. What, you're just gonna bend the rules for Kim?

No, I just... I just wanna let it go.

Me too.

Yeah.

Hey, Matty. Matty, wait. Look, I'm sorry.

You know, I'm sorry about everything.

You were my best friend.

And I... I should've stood up for you.

Well, you still can, Frank.

Yeah, I mean, you can do the right thing, right here, right now.

No one knows this case better than me and Hilde.

Let me see it.

I can't.

I can only share evidence with the prosecutor and one other person.

Well, who's that?

Sam Gillis's lawyer.

Thanks, Frank.

I still can't understand why Frank couldn't just give it to Dad.

As Sam's lawyer, I have a right to see all evidence relating to my client before the retrial.

But there is no retrial yet.

Wow, you don't miss anything, do you?

Well, he slipped it to me a little early.

Okay, this guy is like the worst cop ever.

I don't even know how he's still employed.

Oh, right. He's a white guy.

Uh, hello?

Okay. You cannot, under any circumstances, write about this.

Or even tell anyone. It would jeopardize Sam's case.

Yes, ma'am.

Okay. I'm gonna start strategizing.

Just one request.

Aybe-may on't-day in front of the ittlest-lay.

On't-day at-whay?

I'm sorry. Who taught her pig Latin?

She did. She did.

Okay, please just promise you don't read that in front of her.

No, I won't.

Okay. I love you. Let me know if you need anything.

All right, will do.

Hey.

Mom and Dad are trying to protect you from scary things.

So let's watch an animated movie where both the parents die in the first ten minutes.

Dad, I know a place where we can read this and no one will bug us.

Welcome to HQ.

This is where we work on our stories.

And I think Izzy kisses Ethan here.

Pretty cool, right? Izzy found it.

This freaking house is freaking awesome.

Oh, my God.

You know, you cover enough stories, you stop believing in magic.

What do you mean?

Oh, nothing, sweetie.

It's a great hideout.

You ready?

Yeah.

Are you?

You know, this... this story is... it's... it's the end of my childhood.

You know, I was only 11.

And you're only nine, Hilde.

But my teacher says I'm precocious.

Which is probably just another word for "annoying".

Yeah, well, you're still not a grown-up.

Everything I've done since we got here... was just to try and figure out what happened to you.

It's why you became a reporter.

And it's probably why I'm one too.

Yeah, well, that's true.

Dad, the story of your life...

is also kinda the story of mine.

On January 31st, 1988, my brother, Zeke, came to town.

He asked me to meet him at the arcade where Richie and his friends used to hang out.

Did you see Zeke there? On the day of the abduction?

I didn't know I should've been looking.

My brother had just been released from prison.

He used to steal cars.

One time he even roped me into it and we got caught.

He told me his plan.

He needed a driver and a car.

I didn't want to have anything to do with it, but he convinced me it wasn't a kidnapping.

It was a rescue mission.

A friend of the family hired him to grab Richie and get him away from his abusive father.

You either get on board or I blow up this phony life you built here.

When I refused, he said he'd hire another ex-con to help him.

I'll get Tommy to do it.

So I agreed to drive the van and try and protect Richie.

Hey! Ow!

Get off Richie! No!

In the end, I got out of the van and I went home.

I never saw Zeke or Richie again.

I just assumed Richie was safe with a friend of the family.

Someone who loved him.

Hey, look, how about we take a break? Huh?

Yeah? Mm-hmm.

Cool.

Yeah, let's get back to the house. Yeah? Yeah.

Wow.

That was...

How did you do that? Why didn't you tell me you could?

I mean, when did you...

I... I didn't really wanna make a big deal out of it.

Usually, uh, scares people away.

But, yeah, I just... I just wanted to play for you before I leave.

Wait, what?

Yeah. I, um...

I-I just found out that my parents are getting separated.

Oh, my God. Ethan, I'm so sorry.

My mom's moving to San Francisco.

And now l need to decide who to live with.

I mean, if I stay here with my dad, I get you but I also get him.

And I don't think I can do that anymore.

Yeah, you know, the night it happened, Richie actually wanted to leave.

Come on, Matty.

I made him stay and... and ride longer... and I was telling him, "Just one more jump, one more jump" and...

Matty! Whoa. Come on, Matty, you got this.

Oh, my God.

Ooh. Are you okay?

Good, 'cause that was freaking awesome. It's definitely gonna leave a mark.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

That was awesome! That was nice.

And that's when my bike broke and that's why we had to walk home.

Come on, grandma, today.

So I can... I can't help thinking that if I hadn't have done that...

well, then we'd be halfway home by then.

Dad... you're a reporter.

Look at the facts.

I mean, you weren't in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It wasn't random. It wasn't a crime of opportunity.

Zeke was going to get Richie one way or another.

And somebody hired him.

What about that guy?

Yeah, I know, I know.

So Carol Collins lived her whole life knowing that her brother took Richie while Sam was locked up for it?

I wish I could say this is the only time it's happened, but...

There has to be more to the story than what Carol's saying.

The only way to save Sam is to find that van.

Prove what Carol's saying is the truth.

Then that's what we're gonna do.

I came to talk to her.

Yeah.

I don't think you're telling the whole story, Mrs. Collins.

Well, I suppose this means that you've read it.

Sam did nothing wrong. How could you do this to him?

I had a daughter to raise.

They would've taken her away from me.

So I let, uh, Sheriff Briggs... convince me that Sam was a bad guy.

And that it was really only a matter of time before he'd hurt someone else.

My God, Frank. He's a boy.

He's a grown man who groomed our kids with beer and dr*gs so he could take one of them.

But what if he didn't do it?

He really doesn't seem like the type to me.

Those people.

That family.

That is the type. Textbook.

Textbook.

Textbook what?

You mean Indian.

I didn't say it, you did.

Look.

Widow checks out on her kids.

Sam dropped out of school in the tenth grade.

I've arrested him for drunk driving twice already.

It's no... no surprise that it escalated.

Trust me.

Erie Harbor is a better place without the Sam Gillis's of the world in it.

Uh, what if he didn't do it?

What if he's innocent?

You.

You were the bad guy.

You knew that they put an innocent person away.

And I'm gonna make sure it's not forever.

Where's the van?

Where did Zeke go after the kidnapping?

Richie! No.

No!

Come on! No!

As I was driving, I was trying to figure out how to get Richie out of the situation.

Help! Hey!

Let me out!

Don't worry! We're taking you someplace safe.

No, no!

Hey, take it easy.

Let me out! Look, kid, you gotta calm down.

You're gonna be all right.

Zeke!

He stabbed me. Wha...

Maggie, help me!

Richie! Richie!

The little sh*t stabbed me.

Grab the Kn*fe. Oh, my God!

Pull it!

Come on!

My hand.

God. Richie.

No, no, no.

He stabbed me and he jumped me. What did you do?

I was trying to calm him down. Oh, my God!

We have to get him help.

Maggie, he's dead.

No. We're calling the police.

Maggie, we k*lled him.

Get him in the van. We gotta get him to the hospital.

And I'm going to grab Richie's things.

We have to help him, Zeke.

Zeke!

So Zeke just left you there?

By the time I got home, the search party for Richie had already begun.

So, I couldn't get through to the Sheriff's Department.

No.

God.

Hello.

Hello?

You were right.

Where are you?

I need a hospital.

It's a lot of blood, Maggie.

Is Richie okay?

Stop it, Maggie.

You gotta tell me. Tell me, please.

Tell me Richie's okay.

He's dead.

Where are you?

Some pay phone. I gotta get the hell outta here.

No. No, no. Zeke?

No, you stay... you stay right where you are.

Zeke?


Do not get in that van. Don't drive.

Zeke?

Zeke?

Are you sure it crashed?

I'll never forget that sound.

And I drove all overlooking for an accident.

And it was never even in the news.

It's like it just...

It just disappeared.

What time did Zeke call you?

I don't know. It was... It was during the Super Bowl.

What part of the game was on?

I don't know. I've never really cared for football that much.

But wait. Um, I do remember that The Rockettes were on.

It was halftime.

I'm sorry, Principal Collins.

Sam didn't deserve any of this... but neither do you.

Dad, we may have something.

I need your phone.

Sure.

Hilde? Hey, Trip.

Hey, partner.

What are you up to right now?

Oh, nothing, you know, just preparing to get my ass whipped by Frank Jr. tomorrow.

I need a favor.

What do you need?

Phone records from the day Richie Fife was taken.

From 1988?

Yeah.

That's gonna be somewhere between a "no"and a "hell no".

Well, did they pull any pay phone records when they were doing the original investigation?

Uh, yeah.

They were looking to see if the kidnapper made a ransom call, or if Richie got away and called home, but they never found anything.

Maybe it's because they didn't know what they were looking for.

What if I gave you a specific date and time?

I'm on it.

Hilde's trying to get justice for you.

In whatever way she can.

I don't know if I deserve it.

Can I have another sip of that beer?

Whoa.

When I saw the bruises on Richie's arm...

I gave him that Kn*fe.

I wanted him to be able to protect himself from his dad.

But if I hadn't, he wouldn't have stabbed that guy.

He might still be alive.

Sam...

I'm getting you out of here.

Get this.

Of all the pay phones in the county, only one shows an outgoing call during the '88 Super Bowl halftime show.

It's from a pay phone over on Route 8.

There it is.

Well, if the van crashed in the woods, it would have to be up here.

Right? I mean, he... he was heading outta town.

And it would have to be close because...

Carol heard the crash.

Did she say how quickly she heard it?

Or how loud it was?

Did she say it...

What is it?

Hilde, wha... what is it?

Hmm.

A piece of metal, maybe. Like from a van.

What?

The tree must've grown around it.

What if they never found the van because all this time it was in there?

Look, it's not gonna happen, Matt.

Come on. We've waited 30 years for an answer.

And now you think you've found one just because some kid with an overactive imagination followed a bunch of bread crumbs?

What is it, huh?

What? You're scared to drag the lake?

Hey, what if she is right?

With zero evidence? Not a chance.

But there is evidence!

The call from Zeke. The phone records.

Now, wait a minute.

How do you even know anything about that?

Drag the lake, Pop.

You showed 'em Carol's confession.

After all these years, I'm just trying to make things right.

Can we do that, please, Dad? Can we do that?

I'm not gonna chase a little fantasy that you have cooked up here.

You're afraid we're right.

And if we are, that means you did something wrong here.

The truth is what makes everything work right.

That's what my dad says.

It's bigger than me. It's bigger than you!

It's bigger than all of us.

That's adorable.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

I got real work to do.

Hey, sweetie. Hey, hey, hey.

Let it go.

Look, guys, Sam is in a life-or-death situation in that prison.

The only way to get him out is to get Trip elected.

This is the most important story we've ever done.

That could be us one day.

Never being able to go outside again.

Or see your family.

We have to tell the story the right way.

The key to Sam's innocence is at the bottom of that lake, but the sheriff doesn't care.

So, we have to make sure everybody else does.

Thirty-one years ago, Richie Fife went missing.

Thirty-one years ago, everything changed for the people of Erie Harbor.

Thirty-one years ago, Frank Briggs Sr. put away Sam Gillis for a crime he didn't commit.

All so that he could become sheriff.

But at what cost?

An innocent man lost his freedom.

A town closed its eyes.

A family rebuilt its shattered home on top of a false foundation.

Richie Fife's disappearance split the town in two.

Those who wanted to find the truth...

We're not backing down!

And those who were willing to accept a lie just so they could sleep at night.

But once you close your eyes... it's not just the things that you don't want to see that you miss.

It's everything.

The kids in this town trusted the adults to do what was right.

Our eyes are open, and all we see are two choices.

The truth... and more lies.

Open your eyes and do what's right.

Sheriff Johnson... you b*at me.

What?

Congratulations.

Are you kidding m-me?

You won, and it wasn't particularly close.

Are you gonna shake my hand or what?

Sheriff.

Sheriff-elect.

I wanted you to know, my first act once I'm sworn in... is gonna be to drag that lake.

But if you wanna reconsider, make it your final act of good faith as sheriff, I don't know, maybe save your pension and your ass.

Iz, you okay?

Ethan's moving.

All right. All right, that's good.

All right, come on, get in there.

No. Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.

Thank you. All right. What do you think? Right here?

Yeah, right there.

I'll get it. That's good.

Hey. Can I come in?

Hey, Frank.

Hey, what's going on?

Matty... we found the van.

Please don't go.

I'm here.

I mean ever.

Well, I'm not gone yet.

Hey, you know, all this, Hilde... this is all 'cause of you.

Hey, Trip. Hey.

Moment of truth.

Dad, something's wrong.

Sheriff!

Sheriff!

Mayor, wait. You can't go back there.

Hilde! Hilde!

Where's my boy?

Come on! Come on!

Dad.

What if Richie's still alive?

Oh, my God. Nerds. What are you doing?

I thought you just finished the story.

Please don't say it's only the beginning. That's only the beginning.

Yeah, well, I was gonna say something along the lines of, "A good story is never over", but yeah, sure, we can... we can go with that.

Dad, look.

Let's go.
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