Clarice (2021–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Add-a-Bead - full transcript

KRENDLER: Previously on Clarice:

RUTH: Two dead women
floated down the Anacostia River.

- We're investigating a doctor.
- Felker, right?

TRIPATHI: We think that the
company that Felker worked for

silenced three whistleblowers.

ESQUIVEL: And did a
professional hit on a witness

inside the FBI building.

Have you heard about
the Black Coalition?

I respect deeply what the
Coalition is doing, but it's not for me.

Some guy hit me across
the head with a phone.

And I know that he
has something to do



with the women we
pulled out of that river.

It's him.

- So you found him.
- Can I ask how you know this guy?

He's an attorney. His
firm is handling my divorce.

I can help you get your kids.

I need something
from you, though.

Pull your team off what went
down on the Anacostia River.

I think you got the wrong man.

Somebody falsified
a coroner's report.

It really looks like it was you.

KRENDLER: I looked into
Joe Hudlin. He's not your guy.

We're backing off
the conspiracy thing.

My last memory of my dad...
was the night he gave me this.

Probably the best
night of my life.



[Skin squelches]

[Sizzling]

[Steam hisses]

[Air whistling]

CLARICE: I know that smell.

LI: They roast
ducks in the morning.

First session of the
day is quite the prize.

- Is it distracting for your patients?
- On the contrary.

A taste or smell can
be useful for therapy.

So, why didn't you want to continue
to work with your last therapist?

Couldn't trust him.

And why do you
think you can trust me?

You got me to a place...

A place where I
could remember...

CLARICE'S FATHER:
This is for my little deputy.

YOUNG CLARICE: Thank you, Daddy.

CLARICE: I saw Hudlin's face.

LI: Under hypnosis.

Now we start therapy. The work.

Are you ready to do the work?

Because I can guide
you, but I can't do it for you.

I understand.

So, why do you think you
need to see a therapist?

[Exhales sharply]
Post-traumatic stress.

LI: Buffalo Bill, Marilyn
Felker, Joe Hudlin.

Every agent
manages it, the fear.

LI: Most agents don't have
an infamous serial killer

who has taken a
special interest in them.

- I'm not worried about him.
- That concerns me.

He is not coming after me.

For him, hunting me
wouldn't bring relief.

It would only... articulate his
own unspoken self-loathing.

You have a lot of
confidence in the relationship.

- Yes.
- You have been traumatized.

Can you see that?

And you have a job that continues
to re-traumatize you every day.

Yes.

LI: Trauma is contagious.

No one needs a law enforcement
officer out there spreading it.

I can help you
process your trauma,

but I can't promise you
that you will keep your job.

- Can you be honest?
- Always.

[Sighs] Alright.

If you think I shouldn't
be out there, then...

I'll accept that.

But I'll do the work.

- I want to do the work.
- Okay.

So, why did you
decide to see me today?

A body.

Karolina.

She came from Yugoslavia
to study medicine here.

She came to me yesterday.

All alone.

[Dog barking in distance]

CLARICE: Are there any left to
distribute to the rest of the Bureau?

- Mulu Rose wants... extras.
- [Laughs]

She's a rabid grandma.

Well, you're very lucky
to have a rabid grandma.

And I'll take the publicity.

Good for the agency to see a Black
person up there doing the real work.

I've got to head out early.
You better get dressed.

Oh, you go ahead. I'm
meeting up with Esquivel.

- We're working a lead.
- Hudlin?

You're gonna catch
hell if Krendler finds out

you're still investigating
behind his back. Be careful.

- Yes, Mom.
- [Chuckles]

[Door opens, closes]

Ugh.

ESQUIVEL: You do this for Mapp?

- Yes.
- She deserves a little recognition.

- More than a little.
- Look, I know you hate this stuff,

but it makes the
Fraud guys nuts.

Oh, hold up. There she is.

CLARICE: Why her? When
you approached her about Felker,

she turned you
and Tripathi down.

She's been hounding
Big Pharma for years.

And now we have
Joe Hudlin's name.

- Agent Esquivel.
- This is...

- Clarice Starling. Of course.
- Good morning.

I thought my office told
you that I can't help you.

Joseph N. Hudlin. Principal
at Hudlin and Meriwether.

- D.C. fixer.
- What about him?

He's involved with
the River Murders.

He was present when I
caught up with Marilyn Felker.

You didn't share
this when I met you.

He and Felker spoke
intimately about the case.

If they weren't involved, they
couldn't have known what they knew.

- We think he hired Karl Wellig...
- To commit murder?

Yeah. The River Murders.

And hired the guys that
killed Wellig at Buzzard's Point.

You said to come back when
we had more. This is more.

Paul Krendler closed
the River Murders,

and the AG, my
boss, is satisfied.

I've been hanging out on a
limb by myself for three years.

No one higher up on the food
chain wants to poke this bear,

and I'm not risking myself and
my family when I've got no cover.

Well, you do now.
We'll have your back.

- Right. Not when it gets ugly.
- It's already ugly.

Four people are
dead... that we know of.

- I was almost the fifth.
- We're not backing off.

Krendler might not
know what we're doing,

but if we bring him
something real, he'll engage.

Karolina Savich. Called me,

mentioned Hudlin,
wanted to talk Big Pharma

if I helped her with
some visa problems.

CLARICE: How'd she know Hudlin?

I don't know, but I told her that
I'm out of the Big Pharma business.

- She's dead.
- Yes. Suicide, apparently.

If you want to pursue
this any further,

better take it up with
the Attorney General.

[Wind roaring]

[Screaming]

♪ There's power in the blood ♪

♪ In the precious
blood of the Lamb ♪

[Telephone rings]

[Candy crunches]

- [Knock on door]
- Sorry to bother again,

but Joe Hudlin keeps asking
about lunch today at Zeibert's.

Just put it on the pile.

And you're supposed
to talk to Murray.

He actually made an appointment.

Thank you.

To whoever's been
stealing my pens...

- MAN: Give us a break.
- MAN 2: You gotta be kidding me.

- Mine. Yes?
- MAN: What crawled up your...

- Okay?
- MAN 2: Murray, uptight much?

- We get it?
- MAN 3: Nobody wants your pen.

- Okay.
- MAN: Hey, Murray,

- I got your pen right here.
- Hey, Paul.

KRENDLER: I got a thing.

- Hey, Paul.
- I have a thing.

Paul, don't do that,
man. Don't blow me off.

- You're right.
- The River Murders.

I've known you a long time.

I've always known
why you did things.

- And vice versa.
- Something's not adding up.

Starling's convinced she
saw Hudlin at Woodhaven.

Murray, it's a dead end.

- I don't know.
- Look, this is the Bureau,

and the Bureau
needs to clear cases.

Paul, you've never gotten caught
up in this Bureau whatever before.

I've never been
your boss before.

- Where are Starling and Esquivel?
- Exchanging soufflé recipes.

There's a stack of leads about
the incident in Annapolis, am I right?

Thank you.

ARDELIA: Well, sir, I
assumed they cleared it with you

before approaching me.

The request came
from the SAC's office.

You think I don't know the
value of a little publicity, Mapp?

I mean, but this... this...
this is a slippery slope.

You're a fine agent. I want you
to keep your eye on the prize.

- I cleared a cold case, sir.
- Mm. Inner city drug stuff.

Bobby Larkin was
not involved with drugs.

Eh, there's a perception he was.

He was hit in the head
with a hammer, sir.

New DNA task force, hmm? When
were you planning on telling me?

I saw the open call for
applications and I thought,

"It's what I'm doing already."

I want Violent Crimes
focused on things like this.

I'm impressed,
Mapp. Very impressed.

This is the sort of
mettle makes leaders.

I don't say that lightly.

I have put my all into
learning about DNA,

building a database, and
applying it to criminal investigation.

And that good, hard work
should be reward in and of itself.

There's no need for
these flashy articles.

Play the long game.
That's what leaders do.

Thank you.

- [Sighs]
- Right.

CLARICE: Caucasian
female. Mid-20s.

Neck is broken.

Trauma to the head caused
subconjunctival hemorrhages.

Globe ruptures on both eyes.

Died on impact.

Next of kin was unreachable.

She was out here
in the States alone.

ESQUIVEL: She had her wallet.

And her ID. Could be a suicide.

Maybe we label it "suspicious"
and get a full autopsy.

Think we could get a medical
examiner to help us quietly?

Actually, yeah.
I'll make a call.

Okay.

Hold on.

ESQUIVEL: Hmm.

Looks like Hebrew.

Where's Tripathi
when you need him?

We'll just have to run it through
Linguistics back at the office.

I'll start the paperwork to
get the body transferred.

Karolina Savich.

She liked Chuck Taylors.

She writes to herself in Hebrew.

[Sighs]

[Melancholy violin music plays]

Do not call me on
my Bureau phone.

It's much more
conspicuous if you stand.

They make a hell
of a microbrew here.

Go to hell.

We still have
stuff on the table.

I meant it. My firm does want
to represent you in your divorce.

A man tries to do me a
favor at the same time

he's trying to tie
me to a cover-up?

You did me a favor by making
the hit on Wellig look like a stroke.

- No. I didn't.
- Sure looks like you did.

And who else would have the
motive to change the coroner's report?

Stay out of my divorce, Joe.

How many times do I have to
tell you, Paul? Moms always win.

They could be drunk in
court and they'll still win.

I know how much you
want them safe with you.

So...

I'm gonna prove my value to you.

That, uh, DUI Mandy got
out of a couple years back?

Kids were in the car.
She ever tell you that?

Of course.

If you didn't know, you're in
worse shape than you thought.

If you did, you're in
worse shape than I thought.

My guy at Juvenile and
Domestic Relations District Court

agrees her
behavior is troubling.

- No one asked you to take it there.
- Don't worry.

She'll lie down.

You must really need me, Joe.

When I stop needing
you is when it gets bad.

It's an honor to represent
you, Agent Krendler.

- MAN: Looking good, Joe.
- Great to see you, Tom.

- [Laughing] Hey.
- Hey, Joe.

CLARKE: $53 left.
Okay. Three calls.

Hey, thanks. Alright.

This is a $60
international calling card

she bought six
months ago. $53 left.

She made a few calls to
Yugoslavia... then nothing.

ESQUIVEL: Well, there's
civil war in Yugoslavia.

Communication lines go down
constantly. Infrastructure's gone.

Mass graves. Bad, bad stuff.

She gets tangled up with Hudlin.

How? She's worth ten of him.

Well, we don't know
if she's clean yet.

What did Linguistics
come back with?

Hebrew. But it's just
a jumble of letters.

- [Paper thuds]
- She was here on a student visa

sponsored by Global
Health Horizons.

Global Health Horizons?

It's a charity run by a Tyson
Conway. He's her emergency contact.

- [Pen taps]
- Bring him in.

- Um...
- CLARICE: Karolina's tied to Hudlin.

Is it time to tell Krendler?

Krendler's on a personal
day. This one's on us.

- But I think it's...
- Krendler's, um...

not, uh, acting like himself.

What does that mean, Clarke?

It means the guy I know for
20 years would believe Starling.

And I don't know
what to make of that.

Get out of here.

- Thank you for joining us.
- MAN: Of course.

I've never had the FBI
show up at my door before.

What's this about?

You know someone named
Karolina Savich, Tyson?

Yeah, yeah. She, um...
She works with me.

- CLARKE: For how long?
- TYSON: A couple years.

What'd you think
when we picked him up?

Well, he was genuinely
surprised to see us.

- He seemed too nice.
- CLARKE: I'm afraid so.

- You're too nice.
- We're hoping you can help us.

We just got these from the
Fairfax County medical examiner.

Wh... How... What?

- When did this happen?
- Yesterday.

- Um, what happened?
- Maybe a suicide.

Any thoughts on what
might have made her do that?

Actually, I can think
of, uh, quite a few.

Increased respiration.
He's breathing more heavily.

His blink rate is
staying steady, though.

CLARKE: She had you. You're
her only emergency contact.

- You wanna explain that?
- I run a non-profit.

It's called Global
Health Horizons.

We bring in med students
from impoverished nations

from all over the world.
We train them here

so they can take what
they've learned back home.

We're trying to
start a virtuous cycle.

Karolina is...

She... she was
our ideal candidate.

From the first moment
I read her application.

She made me so
proud of the work we do.

She did an amazing
job at her residency

and at the local
clinics we placed her in.

Sorry. It's just... It's hard
to believe, you know?

But what happened?

TYSON: Doing your
residency is hard enough as it is.

Long hours. Exhaustion.

But then a war broke out
in her home, Yugoslavia,

and it wasn't safe
for her to go back.

We were trying to get her asylum
and bring her husband out here,

but then her husband
was killed in Sarajevo.

Karolina was, as you can
imagine, beyond devastated.

She'd always
been so full of light.

CLARKE: You always get so
close to your scholarship recipients?

Or is it just the ones that
are, um... "full of light"?

Like I said, we were trying
to bring her husband out here.

Still... bringing a special
young woman here,

focusing all those
resources on her...

Ty, it must make you
feel like a big man, right?

I've never worried
about being a big man.

CLARKE: You like
being the protector.

Agent Clarke, what I would like

is to live in a world where
someone like Karolina

does not need to flee her home
because it's become a police state

run by murderous fascists.

I think we're done. How
about I show you out?

Well, hell if I know
how to read him.

- [Door beeps, opens]
- Yeah.

- [Door closes, buzzes]
- [Pager beeps]

Oh, Karolina's autopsy
got put on the schedule.

We'll have results
by tomorrow morning.

How'd you manage that so quick?

This guy's hard to read,
but no alarm bells going off.

ESQUIVEL: He
seemed to really care.

CLARKE: He's upset over
her death. Seemed shocked.

He knows more.
He can tell us more.

I'm going to go catch him.

MAN: [over intercom] Welcome to
Fry Kingdom. How can I help you?

KRENDLER: [In Russian
accent] Hello, little man in box.

I'm on my way to FBI agent
convention. Very hungry.

What do you want, Dad?

[Normal voice] Two double
cheeseburgers with two milkshakes.

[Rock music plays]

What're you doing here?

I was in the neighborhood.
Thought I'd come visit.

[Coworkers laugh]

- GIRL: Can I have a dad burger?
- [Coworkers laugh]

- Your break's in five, right?
- I'll meet you around back.

BOY: Hey, Jay. He
forgot to feed you.

- [Girl laughs]
- BOY: Hi, Mr. Krendler.

GIRL: Hi, Mr. Krendler.

[Birds chirping]

Mr. Conway?

I'm sorry. I didn't
mean to interrupt.

- Ty is fine.
- Well, again, I'm Agent Starling.

My colleague, Agent Clarke, can
be a little bit of an acquired taste.

He's a wounded bird. He thinks
he's got a sensitive bull button,

but that's just because
he thinks everyone is lying.

Well, he thought you
were telling us the truth.

Good. I was.

- Uh, Mr. Conway... Tyson...
- I brought Karolina over here.

I was...

We can always try to help
people, to save them, but...

you know, we never
really get the final say.

You understand.

Yeah.

[Sighs]

The jobs we're drawn
to aren't an accident.

Um... you said
Karolina was married.

- Did she wear a wedding ring?
- Yes.

[Sighs] I'd never
seen one like it before.

We didn't find it
among her things.

She wouldn't have taken
that ring off for anything.

[Sighs] Will you let us know
if you think of anything else?

Will you tell me if
you find something?

- If it doesn't hurt the case.
- Thank you.

Are you sure? She
wouldn't take her ring off?

She loved her husband very much.

LI: Do you have anyone
in your life right now?

I live with my best friend.

Everything else going
on, that is enough for me.

Outside of your best friend,

when was the last time
that you felt known, seen?

- Not examined?
- Not examined.

Known.

I don't know.

LI: Do you want that?

Do you want to be known?

I think what you're asking
might be a little advanced for me.

That's fair.

Why do you think you
understood Mr. Conway?

Was it because you happened
to be studying him as a suspect?

No. He didn't feel like
a suspect. He felt...

Um...

Do you ever get a
feeling about someone?

A feeling?

Like there's an easy
place for the pain to land.

LI: His pain, or yours?

CLARICE: His pain, or mine?

- [Beads clattering]
- Both.

LI: You'd be surprised
how much our past trauma

informs who we're drawn to.

KRENDLER: Are
there fries in that?

- JASON: It's for Alison.
- We'll get her another one.

I'm starving. Had to skip lunch.

- [Sighs] Okay.
- [Chuckles] Nice.

Mm?

- Coworkers seem cool.
- My boss is a dick.

Hey.

I remember when I was a kid,

everyone wanted to
work at Fry Kingdom.

Tastes the same no
matter where you go.

Mm. Oh, I love that.

[Chuckles]

Why aren't you eating? Eh.

You're around this every day.

It's not the burger, Dad.

Mom's an alcoholic, and you've
been lying to us this entire time.

I thought you were too young.

[Sighs]

Maybe I wanted
you to be too young.

Yeah, well, you don't get to choose
when I'm a kid and when I'm an adult.

Not when Mom is drunk
every single night of the week.

What about Alison?
Can she handle the truth?

She wouldn't have
to if you were home.

You're right. And
I'm sorry for that.

Your mom and I are
both alcoholics, Jason.

I made a vow to stop, and I
had to leave home to keep it.

And that's not
fair to you, but I...

I am fighting to get back.

There's no such thing as
lying for a... a good reason.

What the... What the hell, Dad?

You taught me that.

ESQUIVEL: You
hear from Tripathi yet?

He's out in Chicago,
helping out his wife's parents.

Hey. Debbie from
accounting made these.

Huh.

His wife, she passed.

My second ex-wife's mother still calls
me for help cleaning out her gutters.

- And you still do it?
- What am I gonna do?

[Chuckles]

Are you making any progress
on those gum wrappers?

ESQUIVEL: Mm. They're
names of numbers in Hebrew.

Karolina's wedding ring.

- How'd you do...
- Well, it had to be somewhere.

Called the local police, asked
them to do another sweep

by the bridge,
and they found it.

Ty Conway said she wouldn't
take that ring off for anything.

ESQUIVEL: Yeah, but what?
She took it off before she jumped?

CLARICE: Well, yeah.

You know, I have this, um...
this add-a-bead necklace.

It's like a kid thing.

But it's the last thing my
father gave me before he died

and I was sent to
live with my relatives.

I never took it off.
You know, it's funny.

When I thought I'd die,

in the back of my mind,
I had this crazy thought.

"Well, I'll leave those
add-a-beads behind

and I'll still be here."

So, I thought
I'd give it a shot.

That's a bank routing
number. Look at the prefix.

Hey. Look. Let's go.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Wow.

ESQUIVEL: Olive oil.

You get this sometimes with
immigrants. Nowhere feels safe.

They put anything in life that
means anything in the box.

[Sniffs]

CLARICE: Okay. But
why the gum wrappers?

Why go to all the effort?

Esquivel.

Do they do pregnancy
checks in a standard autopsy?

Not unless it's the
suspected cause of death.

You think it's Hudlin's? You
think he killed her because of it?

Hudlin wouldn't have
let her toss her ring.

That ring's like a
message in a bottle.

She knew she was pregnant.
Why would she do this?

I'll call the morgue.

Hey, Mapp. Do you know
someone named... Muh-loo?

- [Chuckles softly] My grandmother.
- Oh.

Hey, nice catch
on the cold case.

Thanks.

You know, I don't
say this often,

but since you and I graduated
Quantico around the same time,

I always think of me
and you like a little duo.

I mean, we've always
had each other's back.

Mm.

So, when Herman asked me
who I wanted to work with me

on the DNA task force, your name
was the first one out of my mouth.

- You're leading the task force?
- No. No. I'm more senior agent.

Eric Phelan will lead. But I'll
be running the... the day-to-day.

My research funded the
task force. I applied for...

Exactly. That's why
you'll be my right hand.

In fact, I really need you to
get me up to speed on DNA,

the database, you know,
what you've been doing,

so I can prep Phelan and Herman
for their Investigator interview.

Their what, now?

Oh, we're doing an
interview for the newsletter.

Yeah, Herman's really excited
to let the other FBI offices

know about the DNA Task Force.

Do you think you could
write up a summary of...

everything by Monday?

- Of all my work?
- Exactly.

And once Herman, Phelan,
and I are up to speed,

I mean, your work could
really mean something.

I mean, this could be a great
opportunity for you, Mapp.

- Really excited to work with you.
- Mm-hmm.

Hey. What are you
doing here so late?

I want you to run a DNA test on
the saliva on the tip of that pen.

- Whose is it?
- Just run it.

[Indistinct
conversations in building]

- You could just ask.
- Ask what?

To join the Coalition.
Care to come in for coffee?

I'm not going to get where
I want to go by joining.

I wanted it to be different.

We all do.

Want to come in? Hear
what we have to say?

No.

Most agents never come
close to turning a cold case

or winning funding
for a new task force.

We're proud of you.

Come on.

Ah. Agent Mapp. About time.

- ARDELIA: How you doing?
- Agent Mapp.

[Indistinct conversations]

Why did you tell Esquivel that
you were sent to live with relatives?

Because I was.

The background
report I received says

that you grew up
in an orphanage.

I was sent to live with relatives
who then sent me to an orphanage.

LI: Well, why did your
mother send you away?

CLARICE: Money was
tight. My father was dead.

No way to make ends meet.

LI: Did you have any contact
with her when you went away?

CLARICE: I'd get a present at
Christmas, crochet hat or a scarf.

Card on my birthday.

LI: Which one of your siblings
was sent away with you?

CLARICE: Where are
you going with this?

LI: Sounds like you were
feeling the pain at that moment

and looking for a
place it could land.

- What makes you think that?
- Because you live in a world

of performance and accuracy.
That's where you feel safest.

That's what gives you
purpose and meaning.

You spoke inaccurately
to your partner

after you had the
experience with Mr. Conway.

I don't think you lied.

CLARICE: None of my siblings
were sent away besides me.

LI: It was just you?

Just me.

LI: Did the rest have jobs?

My older brother
and sister, yes.

But my little brother was
younger than me, so, no.

What did you make of that then?

[Voice breaking] I wanted
to be with my mother.

And what do you
make of that now?

[Thud]

[Gasps]

I have no good
answer. [Sniffles]

Do you think about her?

[Clicks tongue]

I do.

- Often?
- [Sniffles]

Often.

[Pager vibrates, beeps]

- I'm sorry.
- Okay.

I'll see you next week.

[Indistinct
conversations, laughing]

Okay. Uh, you owe me.

Those lashes are only
gonna get you so far.

[Chuckles]

Thank you.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- Uh, Jesse.
- Oh.

The Assistant Medical
Examiner. She helped us.

- That's very nice of her.
- Okay, okay. Um...

we've been dating almost
two years now. Um...

She's awesome,
but we keep it quiet,

- because, you know...
- Yeah.

- It's a work thing.
- Yeah.

Totally get it.

Uh, did you get the
page from Clarke?

Yeah. Yeah, I did.

I saw Krendler's
car in the garage.

I don't know how much longer
we can keep this from him.

Come on. Let's go.

Close the door.

Too many ears and
eyes up in the bullpen.

I know you have questions
about me. So here it is.

Joe Hudlin has me in a vise.

- ESQUIVEL: You mean extortion?
- ViCAP was about to go down.

- I had motive to make that go away.
- Did you report this to the ASAC?

I don't trust anyone
but our team,

and at the moment,
that includes the AG.

DNA says you were right.

Hudlin was the man
you saw at Woodhaven

the night Marilyn
Felker killed herself.

It's up to you, Starling.
He assaulted you.

We could cuff him and
I'd be happy with that.

Or we keep going...
and tie him to everything,

make him pay for all of it.

His firm is still handling my
divorce, so I can keep playing him.

Let's keep going.
We can get more.

Okay. What do we got?

Karolina Savich. Suicide.

Wanted to talk to an Assistant
US Attorney about Hudlin.

Might've had a personal
relationship with Hudlin.

- You think he killed her?
- She was alone out there.

One set of footprints in, none out,
and she left a ring when she jumped.

If someone were with her,
they wouldn't have left it there.

- We got us an autopsy on the low.
- She was also pregnant.

- Hudlin's?
- We don't know,

but there's something
wrong with the fetus. It was...

Like the babies
in the clinical trials.

- Cranial abnormalities.
- Missing organs.

- Improper growth.
- Those trials took place years ago.

Well, we're still waiting
on the tox report,

but maybe that drug is
just out on the market now.

Okay.

One more thing. We
tell no one about this.

Not the Bureau. Nobody.

It's just us, which means if it
goes wrong, we might go with it.

Anyone has a problem with
that, door's that way. No questions.

But last chance.