High Desert (2023–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - This Doesn't Have to Be a Tragedy - full transcript

Bruce, it's Peggy.

So, when the DNA comes in,
this thing is gonna break.

And when I think about my family's faces,
I can barely breathe.

Speaking of which,
my brother wants to come for a sit-down,

so I'll bring him by the office.

See you soon.

Denny, Denny.

- Hey.
- Hey. Listen.

Maybe I've been a little hard on you.
Okay?

My life, it's changing.
I try to stay in Kung Fu Horse Stance…

- What is he doing?
- Quiet.



…you know? Balanced, ready for combat.

But I still wanna give you
the benefit of the doubt, you know?

- I'm different.
- Don't move!

I accept you may be different too.

- Wow.
- Quiet. Keep it down.

- I'm touched, Peg. Really.
- You need to stop.

Get outta here, you sons of bitches!

- Are you...
- Look away! Look away!

- Shut the fuck up.
- Denny?

He's on the phone with his ex!

- Jesus!
- I just have to process this, you know?

- Denny, you're not a bad guy…
- Shit!

- Hey! Stop!
- What are you doing?

Don't move!



Could you just be quiet, please?

- Hey! Stop it! Get out!
- Why did you do that?

- You okay, man?
- I'm on a call.

- I'm on the phone.
- Shut the fuck up!

- All right? He's on the phone.
- Can you hear me?

Am I dropping out?

- Are you there?
- I'm here.

- Stay down! I mean it.
- I am trying.

- Thank you for seeing that.
- Down!

Hey, can I call you back?

Stop.

Yeah, sure. You sound a little muffled.

Hey. I saw Ethan.

He's so beautiful...

I can't hear you, Peg. I'll call you back.

You... I'll kill you! I swear!

Hey! Hey!

Wait!

Wait!

Work with us.

This doesn't have to be a tragedy.

- Would you please…
- Fuck.

- …just give us the fucking money?
- Yeah.

Please?

- I'll drive.
- Okay.

Oh, my God.

Okay, look. Listen to me.

I don't wanna talk on the phone,
so I'm not going to.

So you have to listen very closely
to what I'm saying.

Fire in the hole.

Wait, wait. Hold on.

There's cornmeal in my phone.

- Damn it, Peggy! No phones!
- Okay. Sorry. You okay?

The thing?

The thing we've been looking for
but kinda dreading to find?

You following?

The what?

The bigger thing
that the smaller thing was attached to.

Stop and think.

Fire in the hole!

- No.
- Let's keep it clear.

Mother of God.

You're with me, right?

- Are you sure?
- Yeah.

More pyrotechnics next time.

Yeah, but a human body's
gotta be shot out of this thing.

I'm gonna get Cooper
to tell you what we saw,

but first I need to yell at her.

- What were you thinking?
- She just came back

from the place where the small thing was
and where the big thing is.

How dare you take my car?
You are 15 years old.

You can't even drive! Get in here.

- Peggy!
- Not now, Tammy.

I called Bob.

I can't help it. I loved him once.

Is that thing still leaking?

Yeah.
And they're definitely different sizes.

Hurts like a motherfucker.

You need to get that checked.

And you need to stay away
from that ass bag.

Believe me. He's worse than you think.

- I told him you have infectious diarrhea.
- What?

I'm sorry.

I was jealous, and my tit was leaking.
It all just got to me.

I saved your ass

when you stole money
for those defective tits,

and this is the fucking thanks I get?

Now you're on my shit list.

I'm sorry.

- Peggy, are you okay?
- Uh-oh.

What's going on over there?

You need to get that looked at, kid.

Carlos! Come on.
You gotta take Tammy to urgent care.

Go! Sorry, I'm dealing with some shit.

What's happening?
Are you in the middle of a show?

Sorry. Go ahead.

Okay.

Tell Peggy what you saw, and don't say it.
And don't say where.

I'm not. I'm not an idiot.

Okay. I flew over a certain house...

Peggy, we saw a body.

What the fuck?

If we were allowed to talk,
I should've been the one to say it.

- God.
- Show her. Show her the shots.

Look. Looks like a body
or, like, a part of a body.

- It might be...
- It has to be Dona's body.

I've got chills. That means it's right.

Oh, my God! He killed her.

We gotta collect the reward,
then call the cops

so they can get Dona before
she gets finished off by the javelinas.

The Gattchis are gonna kill
the guru though.

That's why there's an order, babe.

Reward, cops, get guru off the streets.

You're smart. So professional, Peg.

Yeah. Gotta go.

Shit.

Hey, slick.

There was a whole block
I didn't see ya behind me.

Aces job.

Nick!

Nick! Nick!

What?

- Hey! Yo. She...
- There you are.

What's with all the grunting?
You're like Koko the ape but not as smart.

It nearly fucking killed me
when that monkey died.

- Who?
- Koko.

She was an ape,
and her best friend was a kitten.

And she could spell "kitten."

Sounds like a genius.

Okay, hey. So, what's going on?

Hon, can you go make your new
smoky eye tutorial someplace else?

- Fuck me, sailor!
- Fuck me, sailor. Fuck me, sailor.

Well, make sure you like and subscribe.

This is not my lunch break.

Also, these walls are very thin.

- I'm gonna listen.
- Just go.

Fuck me, sailor.

I'm gonna give it to you straight.

You put out a reward for your sister,
and I found her.

But… she's dead.

So, my condolences.

This is her nail.

So, one, you're telling me
that my sister's dead.

And two,
you're telling me there's no book.

I'm still doing the book.

I just need to make sure
that you're on the up-and-up.

Where the fuck did you get this nail?

She's dead.

- Shit.
- You owe me a grand.

That's our sister. Our sister!

That's her nail.

Where is she?

I'll tell you when you give me the reward.

Yeah, okay.

You take us to the body, if this is true,

and then I'll give you the 70K.

You know who you're dealing with, right?

Of course.
That's why I didn't go to the cops.

Think we're just gonna hand you 70K?

Tina Nail told us
you're fucking that fruity fucking vegan.

Her last name's not "Nail."
It's just a fucking sign.

"Tina Nail & Fashion."

Okay, I got close to Bob, yes.
Because strategy.

My research helped me find Dona.
Should I just leave 70K on the table?

You'll make it back
when the book comes out.

Yeah, yeah. Well, we don't have it here.

And don't you owe us
for the painting you stole?

What painting?

The one in the little girls' room.
Foggy fucking bridge.

I saw that. That was a beautiful piece.

But I didn't steal it.
How would I steal something like that?

I mean, you saw me walk out of here.
Where would I put it, in my pants?

- I'm not just gonna hand you 70k, Sylvia.
- Fuck me, sailor.

Give me something
so I know that you're good for it.

Then you can deliver the rest tomorrow
in a public place,

like Pioneertown.

7:00 p.m. sharp.
Meet me at the covered wagon.

- I'll take 5k now.
- I got maybe 600.

I'll take it.

But you gotta give me something in kind.

Fuck me, sailor.

Oh, yeah. Swing those tits.

There's my little angel.

It's okay, kid. No more pervs.

Oh, yeah. Fuck me, Daddy.

That bird has heard and seen too much.
He needs some downtime.

And ixnay on anything about Onaday.

He's got some Oedipal trauma.

Poor little man.

Plus, he hasn't had any real light
since you-know-when.

He's been a hostage
in a dark and fungal sex room.

Oh, yeah. That's good.

That's probably
what fucked up all his feathers.

No, I think it's the trauma.

Hey, Stewart and Dianne
are coming by Bruce's.

They're in for a rude awakening.

Their big sister is about to become
a legit VIP.

Fucking A.

Come on.

Come on, say bye!

Fuck me, Daddy. Fuck me, Daddy.

Wow, nice! What, is she leasing this?

Now, don't start. She's trying.

- Hi!
- Hey.

Hey.

Wait, don't move.

I'm taking a picture with my brain.

Oh, my God. I love it!

This is for your desk.
Just water it when it's dry.

I love it. I'm gonna call it "Pam."

My babies.

I can't help loving you, God help me.

Hey, here is a down payment
on the mortgage.

You can put it in my name now.
I'm buying you out.

Just don't cash the check till Monday
or maybe Thursday, because of the holiday.

The holiday's on Monday,
so how would that affect next Thursday?

It does. Believe me.

Here, hey.

Welcome to Bruce Harvey and Associates.
Watch your step. And I'm the associate.

Plus, I solved a cold case,
which is unheard of in this business.

You know, I could've been a cop, easy.
But the culture's just so gross,

and I don't have time
to fix it all single-handedly.

Right. And they're a little touchy
about felonies too.

This is William. He's our Guy Friday.
He's also a phoenix, like me.

What's up with the Lilith Fair in there?

His wife is cheating on him with a chick.

He has a wife?

I'll be right back.

- Jesus!
- Gun!

Oh, my God!

Bruce! What the fuck?

Bruce! You can't shoot yourself
four times in the head.

I know you're not dead!

For fuck's sake, I'm coming in!

It's fine. He's just upset.
I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere.

- My God!
- Go. Go, go, go.

- God, what is happening?
- Put it down.

What the fuck are you doing?

- Oh, my God.
- Put that kill machine down.

Are you out of your fucking mind?

- One more.
- Put that shit down!

Fucking idiot. Hey. Give me…

Do you know what you just did?

Destroyed private property.

You destroyed what should've been
the redeeming moment of my entire life.

My brother and sister are out there.

Do you have any idea
what I had to go through

to parlay their respect?

Oh, my God!

I didn't know you had siblings.

- I didn't know you had a wife!
- Well, what the hell do you think this is?

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be violent.

Hold Pam. She'll ground you.

Peace offering.

You know, when my partner ran off
with most of my business,

it was bad.

But losing my Mojo is a nightmare.

You didn't lose your mojo.
Come on. We're about to be on top...

No, no. Mojo's my wife.

Is that a name?

Maureen Joanne. I call her Mojo.

Is she the one with the mock turtlenecks?

She loves those.

Okay, so let's start celebrating.
You're free.

I can't compete against a woman, Peggy.

Hey, love's a hallucination.

- Till you get that, you end up here.
- Please go.

- And isn't this sad?
- Let's go.

I'm going as fast as I can! Oh, my God!

Hey, are those your siblings?

- Oh, my God. Look at my car!
- Oh, Jesus. Fucking hell.

Fuck!

There they go. Fuck! Oh, God!

Thanks, Bruce. Great!

Okay, now I gotta
get rid of this moronic thing.

- Sober up.
- Easy.

Hey, we found the body.

We're about to hit pay dirt.

We're getting that reward.
We're gonna get busy.

Okay. Listen, everybody.

Nobody saw anything, believe me.

Everybody in the building
is still cowering under their desks.

When the cops come, you're gonna tell 'em

all you saw was a woman
who resembled a forklift.

She was driving a silver G-Class Benz,
a real douchemobile.

They can't miss it.

Hey.

- What are you doing in my house?
- I'm making you chicken cacciatore.

What's your wrestling shit doing in here?

I found it in a box.
Thanks for not throwing it out.

Don't bring your crap in here.

You know the ground rules.

You don't come in the house.

You know what? You haven't changed.

You haven't self-actualized.
You've talked.

That looks very good.

You know, I am changing.

That's why we're celebrating.

I'm actually transforming,
and it's painful.

But, you know,

they say when the butterfly's
in its pupa stage, it screams.

You know?

It's not a scream.

It's a noise to ward off predators.

Yeah, well, that's not the way I heard it.

Well, maybe you should read
a real newspaper.

I was trying to make a point about us.

Stop it with that. There is no us.

All right.

So, you didn't finish telling me
about Ethan.

And I'm sorry.
I was in the store when you called.

Yeah.

He's 21.

He has a man bun and whiskers.

Twenty-one. Fuck me.

- That's nuts.
- I know.

How was he? At the funeral?

He didn't come.

He thinks that he hates me,
but he doesn't.

He loves me.

- No. He worships you, okay?
- No, he worships his father.

- Fuck that guy.
- He loves me.

Look.

I fell short as a partner. I know that.

But I wanna make it up to you.

I wanna protect you.

That ship has sailed.

I'm so fucking tired.

Just go back to your area.

What's with that bruise?

I hit it on a beam in "my area."

Which, by the way, is a dojo
if you looked out the window to notice.

Uh-huh.

And the Airstream?

Chunky's dad was off-loading it.

- Uh-huh.
- It's a comfortable place to sleep.

Uh-huh.

Go.

What do you mean? Go now?

Yeah, now.

Hey, take your fucking trophies.

Save me some leftovers, would you?

Jesus, fuck! Goddamn it! Christ!

Hey. Enough with that.

I told you about my issues.

I just wonder if the voice you snore with
is the same as the voice you scream with.

Good. It's you.

You know,
that chicken's been out on the counter.

You could get listeria.

You said
the money would be wired in two days.

Well, it's day two.

Just barely,
and I did say it could be three.

Can I see if she's really a hemophiliac?

Or she could just tell us
she's full of shit.

Okay, take it easy.

I could've been lying about that.

I told the truth!

I'm not seeing any money.

- I've looked all over this dump.
- Hey!

And I'm not seeing where you come up with
the money that I've lost.

Why is this my problem?

I'm not the one
who sold you a sublime fucking forgery.

It became your problem
when you pretended to have a buyer.

But it wasn't pretend.
Bob and I are meeting him tomorrow.

Well, then it's complete pretend,

because Bob skipped town.

No.

- When?
- You tell me.

Tear it up, honey.
But hey, watch your wrist, please.

Your brace is in the car.

- Yes, Daddy.
- Just don't go into my mother's room!

Your mom lives here? Which one's hers?

- Yo! Mommy!
- Hey! Hey!

Motherfucker! Can't you people dialogue?

That's it.

Fun's over.

Get off of her.

I have your money.

Let me tell you something.

We are gonna strip your house tonight.

Jewelry, gold teeth, exotic pets,
copper pipes, all of it.

Then I'm gonna take you
to meet this friend of mine in Tucson,

and this guy,
he's gonna strip you for parts.

Now he may make ten or 20 grand
harvesting your organs,

but he doesn't do it for the money.

For him, it's the love of the job.

Well, he can get my toxic liver,

or you can get your money right now.

Okay.

Then where the fuck is it?

We all make mistakes, okay?

So, what have we got?

It's 150. No, a hundred...

No, no. What we've really got...
We've got a hundred and a quarter.

All right, let's count it off.

A hundred and a quarter.
If they ask, it's 150.

Right? That's it.

Peg. Peg, what the fuck?

- You wanna protect me, then protect me!
- Jesus Christ.

- Jesus. Okay, look. Here it is.
- Peg, you're bleeding.

- What is this?
- If you can't wait 'till tomorrow. Jesus.

- Who are they?
- This is my ex and his significant other.

- No, we're not. We're not.
- Who the fuck are you?

Are you guys Indians?

- What is he saying?
- Don't ask me. I never understood the guy.

He's not even supposed to be here.

Excuse me. Excuse me.

Are you asking me this
because my skin's a little darker?

- I was just wondering.
- You scrawny bitch!

- Oh, my God. That's uncalled for.
- Fucking shit!

She stabbed me! She fucking stabbed me!

Fuck. Oh, my God!

Hey! How much is that?

- Don't tell her.
- A hundred and a quarter.

What?

You said 250!

Okay, that's half. Right? Half.

Yeah. You get the other half tomorrow.

- Take it. Take it and go.
- Come on! We got cash flow issues.

- Tomorrow?
- Yeah.

Well, it is tomorrow, but yeah.

I mean, there's no need
to take me to Tucson.

If you take me to Tucson,
you don't get paid.

Right.

- I say no. You're a proven liar.
- No.

Fair enough.

How about if I offer you
something in kind?

What the fuck was that?

- Who the fuck did you rob?
- Peg, come on.

- We gotta get you to the hospital.
- You're gonna get me in trouble.

I'm gonna get you in trouble?

Who the fuck were those two?

What? The guru went missing.
I'm on the hook.

Peg, come on.
We've gotta get you to the hospital.

Hey. I'm fine.

Kachel wants the dead wife's art.

Kachel?

Is he back in the States?

Do me a favor and tell me when
that fucking guy is back in the country

so I can leave.

The fuck.

My stomach. Fuck. Okay.

You fucker.

Okay. God.

I'm not going to the hospital.

Hey, Mom.

Ethan? Where are you?

Yeah, Dad's in jail.
They stopped him at customs.

Oh, no.

Okay, get on a plane.
I'll get you a ticket.

No, I'm not doing that.

I'm calling 'cause he asked me to.
That's all. He can't come.

Ethan.

I'm doing so much better now.

I'm doing so well.

Mom, I gotta go.

No, wait.

Mommy!

Mommy.

Where are you?

I need you.

What are you doing in my bathroom?

I just wondered
what you were gonna do with the house.

I can't do anything with it.

The kids are selling it out from under me.

You're not pissed about it?

You'll be fine even if you're not fine.

Where are you?

I can't tell you that.

Come on.

Describe it.

That would be like trying to tell
an unborn baby what life is like.

Do you know everything?

Sure.

Do you know about me?

Do you know what I did?

Of course.

Uh-huh.

Who the fuck are you talking to?

Time to go.

Come on.