Original subtitles

Good morning, Ms. Collins.

We're looking for bookson American history.

Specifically, the election process.

More specifically, local elections.

More specifically, has a rookie deputyever pulled off a last minute election

to become sheriffin a small American town?

So, what is ityou're looking for specifically?

I'm kidding. Let's look.

-Hi, Mom.-Oh.

Good morning. We're polling for the election.

May we ask who you're voting for?

Strictly off the record, I'd like to seesome new blood around here.

I like what I'm hearing, ladies.

I made them myself.-Oh, how creative.

But I'm not surel can wear mine at school.

She has to give the appearanceof objectivity. I don't.

Nice.

Margaret Miller?

Agent Chris Adkins, FBI.

We have some questions for you.

You've made a mistake. This is my mother, Carol Collins.

It's okay, sweetie.

Mom? Mom, wait, don't go with him.

Excuse me, what's happening? Are you arresting her?

We just wanna ask her some questions.

It's okay.

Make sure the kids are okay. Keep them in here.

Hilde!

I need to get my things in the office.

Matt, what the hell is going on?

I, uh... I wanted to give you a heads-up, but they said that I couldn't.

They who? The FBI? You knew they were coming?

They ran a DNAfrom the blood on Richie's jacket.

-You know, the one he was wearing.-Yeah.

Well, apparently, you did a genetic profile kit.

What does that have to do with anything?

Kim, your blood matched the profile.

Well, obviously I didn't have anythingto do with it. So...

No, but... And that's the thing, it was a 50% match.

- And it was female.-What are you trying to say?

Well, you don't have a sister. So...

My mom?

What's going on?

-Matt, that doesn't make any sense.-I know.

But they ran her picturethrough facial recognition

and, well, they got a hit.

Well, there must besome sort of explanation.

I know. Look, I know these guys. They'll clear this up.

- You did all of this?-Look, I had to.

I couldn't bring any of thisto Sheriff Briggs.

Look, whatever happened, he... he's beencovering this up for... for, like, decades.

Look, I'm... I'm sorry. All right? We'll figure it out.

I got a pitch for the headline.

"Don't judge a book by its cover."

Get it? Because she's gonna be in frontof a judge soon.

Not salacious enough.

We need a catchy nickname, like "Mother Murder."

Guys, we can't publish.

But this story is huge.

I know, but we just gotta be careful.

This is a real person.

Just imaginehow Principal Collins must feel.

Are you sayingwe should give her special treatment?

No, it's just thatwe have to get it right.

There was a time when I thoughtPrincipal Collins murdered Penny Gillis.

We need more facts. Not just what we think, but what we know.

- All right, folks.-

I know that was exciting, but you know what else gets excited?

Atoms. Today, we're studying...

-Where is she?-She's okay.

The FBI guys are justasking her some questions.

Guess they own the place now.

How you holding up?

Can I see her?

Are you sureyou're gonna be okay in there?

I doubt it.

Then maybe you should wait in my office.

That's my mom in there.

All right. Come on.

As I'm sure you know,

there's been some new informationin the Richie Fife case.

Hey.

We have some questions for you.

Yes. Of course. Whatever you all need.

Does this look familiar to you?

I understand you were the one who found itduring the initial search for Richie on...

January 31st, 1988.

-Is that correct?-Yes.

Can you tell mewhy your blood is on this jacket?

I... I cut myself...

in the kitchen, and I guess I was still bleeding...

-I remember that.-...when I picked it up.

I remember her sayingthat she cut her hand.

Yeah, but did you see it happen?

And you didn't thinkto tell anyone?

I never thought that would matter.

I realize how naive it sounds,

but back then I'd never even heard of DNA.

And-and we were alljust trying to find Richie.

Don't worry, Kim. They don't have a clean chain of custody.

There's no judge on earththat would allow it as evidence.

Is that your former addressin Portland?

Yes.

You wanna tell me about this?

In 1973...

I was arrested for auto theft.

My family...

Um, well, there was troubleand money was always tight.

A lot of people experiencefinancial hardship, Ms. Miller.

My name's Carol now, please.

Most of them don't commit grand larceny.

I know that, which is why I...

When I got out of prison,

I was so ashamed of... what I'd been, what I'd done...

and I just wanted a do-over.

Just a new name and a new life.

And I found that here in Erie Harbor.

Which broke the terms of your parole

because you weren't allowedto leave the state, Margaret.

Even though wateris supposed to keep us clean,

H2O molecules are actually very sticky.

Can I have a bathroom pass?

To the Holmes County Sheriff's Department?

- No.-

And you knew Richie Fifethrough your daughter?

Yes.

They just seemedto really care about each other.

And you've said before

that you did not see Richie Fifethe night he was abducted?

That's correct.

You know how longl've been doing this job, Margaret?

It's Carol.

Long enough to knowwhen I'm hearing the truth

and when someone is lying to my face.

Why is he going after her like that? She didn't do anything.

Don't you remember? You said you thoughtyour parents were hiding stuff.

Normal parent things.

Infidelity, money problems...

not murder.

I swear to you, I did not hurt Richie Fife.

I loved that boy.

My daughter loved that boy.

We all did.

Now, even thoughwater is supposed to keep us clean,

H2O molecules...

Ms. Lisko.

- As I was saying, the hydrogen atoms...-

of the water moleculelike to stick to the nearby oxygen atoms,

which causes multiple water moleculesto stick together.

Oh, come on!

Oh, come on, molecular fusions.

Why are you so interesting?

- -I'm glad we all find this fascinating,

because water's remarkable stickiness...

If you leave, you can go straightto the principal's office.

She's not here, but I'll give her the message.

We don't know yet, Jack. I'm sorry.

Richie had dinner at her housealmost every night.

Why would she have anythingto do with this?

Maybe she didn't. You know, that's exactlywhat we're trying to find out.

Hilde, what are you doing here? This isn't some story.

I know. I just... I wanted to make sure you're okay.

Hey, uh, let 'em go, Hilde. Come on. Let 'em go.

I meant it.

I know you did, sweetie. I know.

It's just, uh, she's going through a lot right now.

- Hey, come on. We should get you home.-Really?

I... I don't have to go back to school?

Well, we'll call it a mental health day.

Okay? Come on. Huh?

Dad, why would Carol change her name?

Just because she got arrested?

Yeah, maybe.

You know, maybe she didn't like who she was.

And maybe she wanted to start over. Press the reset button on her life.

Yeah, look, some people, well, if they don't like something that they did

or they don't like somethingthat happened to 'em,

well, they try and move on, right?

Pretend it never happened.

Kinda like you didwhen you left Erie Harbor?

Yeah, yeah. Kinda like that.

Did it work out for you?

It kind of did. For a while.

What ends up happening isyou try so hard to convince yourself

that you can leave that person behind, right?

And, uh, you end up just lyingto everyone.

Just so you can be someone else.

And then one dayyou end up kinda believing it.

Maybe that's what happened to Ms. Collins.

Yeah, but you know what?

Always catches up with you in the end.Always.

Trust me. It caught up with me.

When we came back to town?

I think it was more around the timewhen I had you.

Yeah. Yeah, you were so annoying

that you wouldn't let me get awaywith anything at all.

And you would drive me crazy all the time, asking questions.

Let's do this.

Okay. So, these are all the eyewitnessaccounts from the kidnapping

in the hours leading up to it in the news.

Okay.

And this is a rundown of Sylvester'sresearch organized chronologically.

And this is probably the worstmoo shu pork I've ever eaten. Ever.

Can you be helpful?

I am being helpful. Don't eat the moo shu pork.

I don't get it. Not one thing in all of this research

points to a woman being involved.

You're sure it was a male's voiceyou heard that night?

Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. I wish I could forget it.

There's somethingthat's always bothered me.

Come on. We've watched that videolike a hundred times.

Count until the van drives away.

No! No!

Hey! Richie!

Maybe two seconds.

Not even. I don't think the person who took him

could've gotten from the back of the vanto the driver's seat that quickly.

So, what now? The person who took Richieis... is not the driver?

Maybe there were two peoplein the van.

So, Principal Collins' momcould've been the getaway driver.

Oh, come on. Why would Carol do it?

I... I can't think of anyonewith less of a motive.

Well, the first night out of prison I gotas far away from Portland as I could.

I hopped this bus to this cheap motel

and, um, Carol Burnett was on the TV.

And she was funny, and she was smart.

And I just wanted to beall those things too, so...

That was it. I decided to become Carol.

You say that like it was a fun nicknameyou chose for yourself.

Look, you wanted to know what happened, and I'm telling you.

But my biggest fear was that my old lifewould somehow touch this one.

- Touch you.-That didn't work out so well, did it?

Come on. Nothing's changed.

I'm still your mom.

And you are the best thingthat I've ever done with my life.

I'm the one who's watched you... become this smart...

and amazing tough lady boss.

I'm just in awe of the womanthat I somehow created.

Because I can see that little girl... underneath all that,

who has such a good heart.

And I don't wanna lose that, any of that.

You were the one that made me feellike the world could be safe again.

And now I can't believethat I listened to you.

Because... I don't know who you are.

-This. This is me. I... Ah.

You have got to believe me, honey.

Please.

I did not kill Richie Fife.

Honey.

- I thought of something.-

Oh, my God. You just... You just gave me a heart attack.

- What's happening?-Uh, Hilde just thought of something.

Oh, good.

You wanted to start over, but you didn't change your name.

Uh, can we... can we talk about this tomorrow?

You were basically the same person.

Ms. Collins became someone else.

I was trying to figure outwhy she would want to do that,

why she would kill Richie.

And then I realized,

what if Carol didn't kill Richie,

but maybe Margaret Miller did?

It's like you said, you lie to other people

and then you actually start to believe it.

What if Carol doesn't have a motive,

but Margaret Miller does?

Hey, you know what? That's, uh... That's really something, Hilde.

Are you just saying thatso you can go back to sleep?

No. No, no, no. No, that's... that's really smart.

Thanks.

We need to find Margaret Miller. Find out who she was.

Hey, you know what?

I've, uh...

I've got an address in Portland.

-Really?-Uh-huh.

-Road trip?-Tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

-All right, come on. Go back to bed.-Okay.

All right. There we go.

It's fake.

Yeah. Well, technically, yeah.

But since I didn't include the dateand the state seal,

I think we'll be all right.

Hey, no one's gonna know.

But I know it's fake.

Yeah. Well, it's not for you.

See, this... this is for the peoplewho don't believe in you.

You have had this thing the whole timeas far as I'm concerned.

What? It's beautiful.

Mom.

Aw. I'm so proud of you.

You look like a soldierfor truth.

Remember, it's fake.

Yeah, for now. All right. Come on. Let's go.

-Come on.-Let's do it.

- You got it?- Yeah, I got it.

Uh, Matty?

Please don't go.

New York is too far.

I'll never see you.

I'll come back and visit, Pop.

Hey, come here.

Hey. Hey, it's just a day trip.

All right? I won't leave you again.

- Okay.- Okay.

Yeah. All good.

Hey, Scout. What are you thinking about?

Pop-Pop. How sick is he?

Is he gonna die like Grandma?

Well, that's... that's how it works.

You know, people... people get old and...

yeah, you know, they... they die.

I was really sad when Grandma died.

Yeah, me too.

It snuck up on me sometimes.

I remember.

That's kinda the order of things.

Losing your grandparentsand then losing your parents.

You know, it's kinda... kinda the way that's supposed to go.

That's why the Richie Fife thingwas so hard.

Yeah, parents aren't supposed tolose their child.

And a kid isn't supposed tolose a friend either, Dad.

Yeah.

Is Matt okay? Is this Carol thinghelping him or messing him up?

-Helping him, actually.-Oh.

For the first time in a long timewe're not not okay.

Or at least Matt's not not okay.

So, I guess we're pretty good.

-Happy husband. What's that like?-Yeah.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Is there anyone new you're interested in? It's gotta be slim pickings around here.

You are the nicest, most well-meaning snob.

No, I just mean, you know, numbers-wise,

like, statistically speakingbecause the town is small.

Do you hate this place that much?

No. No, I...

It... It's amazing in a lot of ways.

The air is clean. The rent is cheap.

Yeah, everything I get herewould cost me $8 billion in New York.

I'm actually wrapping my mind aroundstaying a while.

Maybe even opening an office.

With everything that's been going onwith Sam since he went AWOL, it's...

They're transferring himto maximum security

right while I'm trying to provehe's innocent.

Go get 'em, snob.

All these neat little houseson all these nice little streets.

It's hard to believe that something'swrong with some of those little houses.

Yeah. Well, you need to watch a movie foronce that's not All the President's Men.

- I know, but it's so good.-

All right. Listen up.

Okay, remember, silence is your friend.

Each new question is the endof the last answer.

So, you gotta be patient.

Let the silence go ontill it gets awkward,

'cause that person's gonnawanna fill the empty space, okay?

Okay?

All right. Okay, I get it. You're, uh...

Enjoying the silence.

Very good. All right. Save it for in there.

Come on, give it a knock.

Hi, sorry to bother you.

We're here from The Magic Hour Chronicle.

Yeah, we just wanna ask some questionsabout a woman

who used to live here a long time ago.

Uh, a woman called Margaret Miller.

Uh, thank you.

So was she the onethat sold you this house?

No, Margaret is... I guess you could sayshe's my fairy godmother.

She gave me this house. I've always wanted to thank her.

Well, any idea where she lives now?

No. I was hoping you knew.

Oh. Yeah, well, we're... we're looking into it.

My mom and I, we, uh...

We could not have survivedwithout Aunt Margaret.

Aunt Margaret?

So, Margaret and your dadwere brother and sister?

Yeah. My biological dad is Margaret's brother.

Why do you say, "biological dad"?

I guess because I never met him.

He ran off before I was born.

My mom said it was right afterhe found out she was pregnant.

She didn't like to talk about him much.

There's some photos of him and Margaretat the diner my grandparents used to own.

I still go look at them sometimes.

I could take you guys.

There they are. That's my dad, Zeke, and Aunt Margaret.

Margaret and Ezekiel were inseparableas kids,

but then Ezekiel startedgetting into trouble.

Some more photos over here.

Uh, so when did he disappear?

Little before I was born.

And if I could ask, uh, w... When was your birthday?

March 14th, 1988.

Hey. That's right around the time when Richie...

Yeah.

Um...

He left town.

What's your story about anyway?

Oh, well, we're not exactly sure yet, right?

But we're definitely getting closer.

- Let me know if you need anything.-Thank you.

Thank you.

That's the tattoo.

What tattoo?

That "sinner" tattoo.

The one in Pop-Pop's notes.

Sam saw it too.

Yeah. Well, maybe.

Oh, that tattoo says "saint."

Sound it out, honey.

I learned how to read upside down. When Mom was teaching Izzy.

If he held his arms down by his sides...

people would see "sinner."

It's an ambigram.

Yeah, I got it.

Yeah, thanks, Joe. I appreciate it.

Thanks.

Do you have a sourceat every police department in the country?

Twenty years at the New York Sentinel.

That didn't pay much, but yeah, I got some pretty good contacts.

Here, look, check this out.

Ezekiel Miller's record, right?

Guy had a rap sheet like a mile long, and they both spent time in prison.

Lead with that.

No, you lead with it.

I'm grounded, remember?

On a case-by-case basis, you're ungrounded.

You write the article.

Dad, it's your story.

Anyway, look.

We gotta head out. You know, your mom's gonna get worried.

Take that in the kitchenand wash up for dinner, okay?

Hey, Izzy.

Izzy, I'm gonna need youfor some extra babysitting duties.

I'm really going back to work. Before you roll your eyes at me,

I am prepared to pay you because I willhave money because I will be working.

What, no snarky comments?

You all right, Iz?

You can have me full-time. It's not like I have any friends anyway.

Iz.

Oh, man.

Izzy!

These comments on your profile...

they're really mean.

Especially the ones from Jessica.

Look, I'm gonna be real honest, I'm...

a little out of my depth here.

We didn't have all this...

open cruelty when I was growing up.

It was more of a behind your back, quiet kind of cruelty.

So, I'm not exactly sure whatthe right thing is to say. I mean...

Girls were mean and shitty to each other,

but it wasn't amplified around the worldand immortalized until the end of time.

What'd you do?

I ignored them.

And avoided them.

And sometimes I just cried quietlyin my car like a loser.

Mom, what are you doing?

I don't cry in my car anymore, sweetheart. I am a lawyer, I take screenshots.

- No, Mom, please don't. I mean, it's...-Look, I know you don't want me to do...

You don't want me to get involved. So, I'm not gonna do anything with these.

But I want you to knowthat I have your back.

So, if it gets worse

or you need helpor you start feeling bad about yourself,

which is insanebecause you are the most amazing,

funny, smart, sarcastic, awesome girl on the planet.

I... forgot where I was going with that.

I just...

I love you.

Oh, Ginny!

Mom, Mom! It wasn't me.

Oh, of course not.

No, it really wasn't.

Pop-Pop.

Come on.

Ezekiel seemed like a guythat was up for a buck, right?

Like he's not a killer.

He wasn't even arrestedfor anything violent.

W... What if his planwas to hold Richie ransom,

and then something went wrong?

-Something went awry.-Dad.

No, what... what if Ezekiel thoughtthat Richie was someone else? I mean...

-Dad!-What?

Why did you quit?

You do like this.

You love it. We love it.

You, uh... You remember that girlthat disappeared in Montauk?

You know, when I wasn't home a lot?

I didn't realize until nowthat all of that

was just because I never let goof what happened to Richie.

And that's why Mom got mad at you.

When you get married, you... you make a deal.

And that deal is thatthat person is your person.

You know, you go to them with all of your feelings.

Good and bad.

And I... I didn't do that.

No, I talked to one of my sourcesinstead of talking to your mom.

Hey, but not anymore.

No, no, no.

- No, your mom and I... - yeah, we share everything.

No more secrets. Yeah, that's thanks to you.

"Secrets are like monsters under the bed."

That's what Sam said.

But I think thatonce you shine a light on them,

they're actually not that scary anymore.

You're pretty mucha superhero monster slayer, kid.

Bridge! What the hell happened?

He fell. They... They think it's a stroke.

Go with him. I'll follow in the car with the girls.

Easy.

See you there.

Hey, guys.

Hey.

-Here.-Hey, what did you get?

Egg salad with one bite missing.

'Cause I didn't like it.

Oh, well, thank you. Thank you very much.

How's Pop-Pop?

It's okay. You can tell us.

Well, listen, guys. Um...

Look, your Pop-Pop's had somethingcalled a mild ischemic stroke.

All right, and he's lost some blood flowto a part of his brain for a little bit.

It couldn't have been too long. We heardhim fall and we called 911, like, almost...

Hey, Iz. Iz, no, no, no, no, no.

Look, you... you saved his life.

Yeah, 'cause, uh, you know, the doctors, they think he's going to be okay.

Will he remember us now?

I don't know, sweetie.

Are you sure you don't want usto stay?

No, no, no. You guys, uh... You guys head off. Get some sleep.

- I'll grab some stuff for you.-All right. Thanks.

Come on.

- All right, see you later, guys.-

See you later.

Bye-bye.

I'll write the article for us.

I'll take care of you, so you can take care of him.

I love you, Pop-Pop.

Night.

- Good night. -Good night, Mom.

How long are you going to be typing?

You might want to put in earplugs.

The Chronicle has uncovered that ourvery own school librarian, Carol Collins,

has an unlikely criminal past.

Her real name is Margaret Miller,

and she was part of a car-theft ringin Portland

with her younger brother, Ezekiel Miller, back in the 1970s.

She got an early releasefor good behavior

and changed her name to Carolwhen she moved to Erie Harbor.

That's where she married Roger Collinsand had her daughter,

Erie Harbor's school principal, Kim Collins.

Margaret Miller's brother, Ezekiel,

was released from prison about six monthsbefore Richie Fife was abducted.

Ezekiel has a distinguishing tattooon his arm that reads "sinner."

And multiple sources confirmedseeing a man with that tattoo

around the time Richie went missing.

DNA tests on Richie Fife's jacket revealedMargaret Miller's blood.

The jacket remains inadmissible in court.

As of the time of publication, there is still no conclusive evidence

tying Margaret or her brother, Ezekiel, to Richie Fife's disappearance.

You read it yet?

Why don't you want to know the truth?

Thirty-one years ago, we buried an empty coffin,

and I've been wondering about yourbrother's final moments every day since.

What if we find out what happened to him, and it's worse than we thought?

I'm sorry.

Shit.

Yeah, uh, hello?

It's about the article.

About this picture.

The day Richie Fife was taken...

for me...

it was different.

I woke up after a few daysin the hospital,

and I didn't remember anything.

Until I saw Hilde's article today.

Well, you think he could be a witness?

That would officially placeEzekiel Miller in Erie Harbor

on the day Richie was taken.

-Yeah.-Yeah? Okay. That's good.

Look, uh, I-I gotta make some calls, but...

Thank you. Appreciate it.

She went home sick.

All right, thank you.

Hey, Chris. Yeah, it's Matt.

Listen, I... I think I got something for you.

Can I see it?

He got one too.

I wonder if he still has his.

-Hey.-Hey.

I'm, uh, glad you came.

Yeah, me too.

Hey. Will, uh... Will you sit down?

Please, Kim.

All right, look, um...

Sipple is saying thathe saw your uncle here in Erie Harbor.

He is also saying thathe ran him off the road too.

God.

Look, it's only a matter of time

before we connect himto what happened to Richie.

And your mother too.

Look, I ju... I just wanted you to know.

So you could be prepared.

Sipple, he's, uh... he's saying he's gonna testify.

Jesus, Matt. What am I supposed to do with all of this?

Well, maybe you could help.

Talk your mother into confessing.

Get her to tell all of uswhat really happened.

So choose between you and my mother?

No, just... just tell the truth.

You know, the way things are goingthis... This isn't gonna end well for her.

Agent Adkins is already trying tofigure out what to charge her on. So...

So, no choice really.

I wish you'd never come back.

You got this.

Perfect. Now watch me one more time. That's the intro. Ready?

Kim.

Where are you going? Kimmy!

Kimmy, I get why you're upset.

There was one thing thatalways bothered me about that night.

For 31 yearsmy brain hasn't been able to let it go.

The night Richie disappeared,

Matt came banging on our door, and I followed him back to the overpass.

So, I'd been, you know, over the same section of road twice

before the search party even started.

But when I circled back with you...

suddenly it was there.

As if you knew it was there.

Or you put it there.

- Richie!- Richie!

- Oh, honey.-

- Hello!- Richie!

- Richie!- Richie!

What I can't figure out is why.

The only thing I can come up with is

maybe you thought if you werethe one to give them the evidence,

that they'd never suspect you.

Let's run away.

I know how to start over.

That's not gonna happen.

Kim.

Kim!