High Desert (2023–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Get Judy off the Bed - full transcript

No! Daddy, don't! Stop it!

- Listen, I'm gonna call you, all right?
- Where are you going? Dad.

Who wants an early allowance?

Look at you, Father of the Year.
Where should I send the plaque?

Send it to that whore's house.

- I got it, Mommy. Here...
- Don't let him take anything!

...let me help you with your bags.

Peggy, don't!

Come on!

Good girl, Peggy.

I should say hi.



This should be good.

- Peggy.
- Hey, whore!

Peggy, stop it. Peggy! Goddamn it.

Yeah! Smash that car!

Hey! You sure you don't wanna come inside,
say hello to your best friend?

I never called her that.

Dianne, go up to Mommy's bathroom
and get her douchebag.

- A whore needs her tools.
- Peggy, back off. Come on.

Are those my mother's fucking pearls?

- You said these were your mother's.
- How could you give her Mommy's pearls?

It's like a contest with you two.

- Who's worse?
- Can we please go?

- Take them off! Take them off!
- Oh, my God.

Peggy.



- Get off me.
- Take them off. Take...

- Take them off!
- Peggy. Peggy, let go.

- Peggy. Goddamn it!
- Fuck!

- Let go of me.
- Take them off!

Peggy, let go!

Get off me. Fuck off!

- Let go. Let go, you little punk.
- Let go!

I'm never getting married.

What can I say? He was exciting.

Let's find enough to make a bracelet.

You can have it when I die.

You're not dying.

She is,
when I push her in front of a train.

Can you push them both?

Wow! There she is.

Are you fucking kidding me?

Early release.

The state fucked up their case
on a technicality.

Take off my mother's kimono. Let's go.

Wow, Peg, you look great.

All right, time to go.

Can I just finish my doppio?

I haven't had real coffee in,
like, what, 18 months?

And whose fault is that?

Peg, I don't want to be the guy
to say it, right?

'Cause that's not my style.

But one of us took the rap,
and it wasn't you.

But that was ten years ago,
and you've been back in twice since.

Yeah, well,
I should have represented myself.

Here we go.

Hey, they botched
both those fricking cases.

You know what?

You did, what, a half a semester

- of law school at Queens College?
- Anyway...

- And then you flunked out.
- Yeah, exams are a racket.

Now, can I have an espresso
and wash my clothes, please?

These are good beans.

This is what I missed.

You know, the cars out there,
they're different. It's weird.

You don't think things are gonna change
that fast, but they do.

- When I walked in here today...
- When you broke in.

Rosalyn's things all around me.

You chased my sister
out of our mother's house.

The closet even smells like her.

Stay off of her clothes, Denny.

Come on.

- You put your smell on top of hers.
- No, I didn't. I just got the kimono.

But you can't miss that fragrance.

You know? It's Rosalyn.

Her being is still in the fabric.

You break into my house.

You slime around my mother's albums.
You're waltzing around in her kimono.

- You don't respect boundaries.
- Peg, these are still damp.

What did I say last time? We're done.
You're a detriment to my life.

And number two,
sign the fucking divorce papers.

Why don't you give me a ride to the motel?

I got 200 in gate money.

I can buy you dinner.

I just had chicken cacciatore
with three sides.

Wow. Your stuck-on-an-island meal.

And it's not even your birthday.

- No, there's just bureaucracy and shit.
- Right, right.

And so I'm taking these PI classes.

- Thank you.
- Sure, hon.

You know, they're just a formality

because, really,
Bruce has already given me cases.

I'm already bringing in work.

I mean, I'm pretty much indispensable.

- Wow, Peg. Look at you.
- Right?

- Look at you.
- I know.

You're a fucking phoenix, baby.

Don't call me "baby." I'm not your baby.

I'm sorry, I apologize.

Listen, I'm coming from a place
of learning now.

I'm sorry.

Look, here's the thing. Here it is.
We're both phoenixes.

You, with Rosalyn gone, God bless her.

As you know,
she was like a mother to me too.

And the kids shivving you over the house.

But you're a PI now.

And I'm out of camp,
and I'm ready for a new chapter.

Okay, I'm broke. I'm a felon.

But I taught qigong in there
and it lifted my heart.

Who's qigong? What's he in for?

No, no.
It's a martial arts form of meditation.

But I'm making my own hybrid,

because I wanna teach in a healing way,
you know? How to do battle.

I get it.

- All these disciplines need to evolve.
- Exactly.

I'm leading these gangbangers.

We're sitting in asana,
breathing together, just being.

I mean, this is the shit
that John Lennon died for.

That's beautiful.

It is beautiful, and I wanna share it.

I wanna parlay my inner phoenix
into a qigong center,

right here in the High Des.

I'm gonna have to do
what's called a soul retrieval,

so the part of my soul
that I lost can rejoin me.

Where'd you drop it?

The Alejo Road house.

Is this about the fucking silver?

- It's gotta be worth, like, 20 large.
- Oh, fuck.

You told me you sold it
to pay your lawyer.

Just a calculation.

- Could be more, I don't know.
- You hid it at the house?

It's in the laundry room.

We just have to get in there.

I could've paid the mortgage.
I could've stayed there.

You're such a fucking liar.

I only lied
so we could be together when I got out.

No, you never change.
Nothing ever changes with you.

Peg, this is seed money
for the both of us.

You're going to get, like,
10,000, 12,000 out of this.

This is the time, Peg.

This is the beginning
of the rest of our lives.

The rest of my life's already begun.

Okay?

And there's no you in it. There is no us.

I'm not putting my neck on the line.

- Peg...
- I'm not risking my future.

I'm a PI.
I don't break into people's houses.

- Peg...
- No.

- Really?
- No.

- Okay.
- Just sign the fucking divorce papers,

and just leave me the fuck alone.

Excuse me, waitress.

Guess you need the check?

Can I have a coffee
and an apple pie and a prime rib to go?

And give this fucker the check.

I just want you to know that I'm getting
very close to this guru bastard.

Very, very fucking close.

Fuck. Hold on.

Please tell me you opened the fudge shop.

Yeah, but I just wanted to thank you.
You know, for what you did with Owen.

And I realized it was a big mistake.

The right one's bigger than the left.

And also, stealing is wrong.

You're welcome, hon.
I'll see you soon.

Did he talk about me at all?
Guru Bob? Does he miss me?

No personal calls at work.

Number one, this is business.

And number two,
it's called a work-life balance.

You should try it sometime.

You're supposed to stay away
from that guy.

That was part of our deal.

Plus, he left you lopsided.

Well, how did you get him to pay?

Well, I... We went to dinner,
I threatened him, he wrote a check.

Dinner?

- Like a date?
- God, no.

Where did he take you? Did he pay?

Tammy, I'm at work.

I'm a professional now.

Okay.

Listen, if we do get the reward for
this bastard's missing wife, I'd like...

All right, listen. How do we even know
that there's still the reward?

We have bigger fish. Where's my IT guy?

Look, you know what this is? It's 1962.

I'm Brian Epstein. You're Decca Records.
You're about to pass on the Beatles.

I'm not seeing the Beatles.

Well, look harder. They're right here.
They're right in our hands.

Please don't throw the Beatles
in the toilet.

You wanna know what's in the toilet,
Peggy?

Hot and Cold Appliance Repair.
My last best client.

With the pink trucks?

- Come on! What kind of messaging is that?
- Okay.

- Is pink hot? Is pink cold?
- Listen. Over here.

If I don't come up with three background
checks for them by next week,

we're gonna be on the street.

What am I paying you for?

You're not paying me.

Listen, I need you to find out
about this reward.

No. No, my plate is already full.

And do not come in here again
without an IT guy.

I gave you one task.

Now you ruined it.
I was gonna surprise you.

I got the guy.
I just got to go pick him up.

You're not even giving me money for gas.

It's not coming.

Maybe try to relax.
You've had two postponements already.

I think I have this thing.
This shy bladder thing.

It's a syndrome.
I had a boyfriend who said I had that.

How about now? Little more privacy.

Hey, you have a son, right?
Is he good with computers?

He's a Carthusian monk in France.

Hey, how about
I just take my week's supply now?

Then I'll come back when I have a day off,
and more time,

and I can freaking relax.

- Hey, miss, are you in there?
- Hold on. I'll be right out.

We're not up to a week yet, Peggy.

And with an incomplete on this test,
you can only get a daily.

I can't come here every day, Mary.
I have a life.

Miss?

Install the software,

fuck around till you figure it out,
then teach him how to use this shit.

- Already installed.
- Bam. Excellent.

Well. Promises made, promises kept.

I've been meeting with my accountant.

Turns out that my ex-partner kept
two sets of books, both fake.

So... Please.

So I had to liquidate
the stocks I had left.

- I had to sell off all the eBay stuff.
- Pretend I didn't ask.

- Might even lose the house.
- Because I didn't.

So, we'll pay the kid with the eBay money

and you... not so sure.

Okay, buck up. Come on.
We got a fat payday coming down the pike.

I'm telling you, shit is happening.

I can't say more about it right now,
but it is big.

Big?

Don't roll your eyes.

It's disrespectful,
and disrespect is the weapon of the weak.

Don't be weak. I have class.

She's cool.

Fuck!

Fuck you! Fuck you!

Come here, come here.

Special delivery for the brat.

Tell her to stop stalking me.

I was calling you.

I found out more shit
about the guru's wife.

We might be bugged.

- What, like, your phone?
- The buggy.

Listen, I'm 99.9% sure
that this guru bastard murdered his wife.

And I think that he drove her car
to Mexico,

which is dark and premeditated as shit.

I found out where her family is
because I found their rap sheet.

They're Gattchis.

What? Gattchis? How?

I thought the mafia was dead.

They run a tanning spa in Rancho Mirage.

Who wouldn't know a tanning spa's a front?

- Come on, this is the High Des.
- Right?

So the Gattchis offered the reward,

and they're the only ones who know
if it's still active.

Okay, I'm gonna check it out.

Not hiring.

Not applying, hon.

We're not offering lady-on-lady
type massages right now.

The girl that did that kind of thing
lost her foot in a motorcycle accident.

- On, no. Fuck me, Daddy.
- Oh, no. Fuck me, Daddy.

Is Nick around?

Nick!

You're very pale. The tanning bed's open.

I don't think I have time today.

You Nick Gattchi?

Who's asking?

I'll cut to the chase.

I'm writing a book
about my brother, Frank.

He disappeared five years ago.
Poof! He was gone.

I hear we share the same kind of grief.

You were great, cutie.
Down here on the left.

Yeah, I'm a little busy at the moment.

- Is there any more mayo in the fridge?
- Nah, we're out.

You too busy to make money, Nick? Huh?

Oh, yeah. Fuck me, sailor. Oh, yeah.

The government owes us. We're victims.

Last time I checked,
in this country, victims get checks.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

- This fucking bird.
- Fuck, fuck, fuck.

- Yo, Lionel Richie, shut up!
- Fuck me, Daddy.

Wen, turn the fucking music up, please.

Oy vey.

We're due reimbursements.

Payments for pain and suffering.

Plus, the right to hold state funerals,
which, if I'm being honest,

that's usually reserved for presidents,
but we can make the case.

Look.

We already put up a reward for Dona.
We put up 70 G's,

so making money's not a...

Is that money in escrow?

Because most families keep
the reward money in escrow. I do.

Look, I pray that Donatella comes home,
but if she doesn't,

don't you deserve a payday
for the suffering?

- How much you talking?
- Like, three mil each, maybe more.

But we gotta build the case.

My lawyers are experts in class action.

The Lockerbie plane crash...

- They did that?
- That was a billion-dollar settlement.

Billion, with a B.

What's the name of the firm?

They consulted. Eckhart & Tolle.

Wait a second, what's your name?

Sylvia Plath.

It might say that I'm dead
but that's another Sylvia Plath.

I scrubbed all my shit.

You're very pale.
You want ten minutes in the tanning bed?

No, I'm good.

What do you think happened to Donatella?

I don't know. She split.

This you? The Bell Jar book?

No, that's the dead Sylvia.
That book's a downer.

So you don't think somebody killed her?

- Like her husband?
- Her husband?

That guy? No.

- So, not the husband Bob?
- No, Dona. No.

Fuck me, Daddy. What did you do?
Fuck me, sailor.

- Fuck. Fuck.
- Bird's got a mouth on it.

Goes off every time he hears his name.

- Bob's?
- Fuck, fuck. No, Dona.

- She had that thing forever.
- Fuck me, sailor.

Anyway,
that guy's a granola-eating fruitcake.

- Couldn't do it.
- I don't know.

He's pretty buff.
From the pictures I've seen.

You know, powerful in his own way.
But he could kill.

Nah.

Dona hated him. She took all the money.
You should've seen the note.

So, why didn't she tell you
where she was going, if she was going?

Look, she had issues with the family,
all right? I don't need to get into that.

Let's just say there was all of us
and then there was her.

We busted our humps to make a living.

And she spent it all
going to art school, okay?

We were businesspeople, she wasn't.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Fuck me, sailor.

- So, when's that book coming out?
- About a year.

I've got other families I gotta talk to.

- I'll be in touch.
- Hold on.

- Come with me for a sec.
- Oh, no. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

- So there is a reward, right?
- Yeah.

Gonna offer you a free tanning session
because I can't look at you.

Yes, Tony! Yeah! Yes!

Is that a lithograph?

This is oil on canvas.

Yeah. Dona did that.

Dona did this?

It looks like a Magritte.

That's Magritte's wife, actually.
You know the history of this thing?

History is he had a wife that's
a little too chunky, at least for me.

I mean, I go for a broad,
flat stomach, nice tan.

But Dona, she loved this shit.

Anyway, come on. Jump in.
Come on. Let's go, come on.

What did you do?

Oh, yeah. Lionel Richie is
a sad little fuck these days.

She had him 30 years.
And he was like her kid.

Plucked all his fucking feathers out
when she left.

Fuck me, Daddy. Oh, no.

Oh, yeah.

Evidently, she had a thing
for Lionel Richie, but whatever.

The point is, she made replicas
of stolen masterpieces,

and the swami sold them to mobsters.

I mean,
all signs point to Donatella's dead.

- Poor Dona.
- I know. It's a loss to humanity, Carol.

The girl could paint.

I mean, I'm not an art appraiser per se
but I got an eye.

And for a second there,

I thought I was looking
at an honest-to-God Magritte.

Plus, that bird knows
more than it's saying.

Why do you think he killed her?
Was he jealous?

Yeah. They were running the scam,
and something went wrong.

That guru's got blood
and bird shit on his hands.

I gotta go pick up
that missing persons report.

Hey! Get the hell out of my car!

I gotta go defuse a lunatic.
Meet me at Mommy's.

Are you nuts?
Who gets into someone else's car?

Yeah, my bad. I'm late.

You were blocking me.

Honey, I've shot people for less.

Well, then it's my lucky day, right?

Are those acrylics?

Yeah. I did them.

That's my shop.

Wowza.

May I?

Wow. How do you do that?

Experience.

Well, it's not just that, it's a gift.

Stop by. I'll give you a discount.

Okay.

Don't do that again.

Thank you.

Missing persons report.
Dona Scarborough left a note for Bob.

- Wow. So mean.
- Right?

So she did leave. She left.

But she left Lionel Richie.

She loved that fucking bird.
Even though it has a very foul mouth.

Now it lives in a whorehouse
plucking out its feathers. Brokenhearted.

He killed her. I'm sure of it.

I should go get that bird.

You're so sweet.

You would take in a bald bird?

Such a caring person.

I don't know if I'll be able to sleep
tonight thinking about that bird.

This world is just too much.

Hey.

We just have to carry that, Carol.
We just have to carry it.

PS, you should reach out to your sister
because Stewart pressures her.

You know how he is. He's trapped in stone.

You said
he didn't even cry at the funeral.

Not a tear.

Not even when I sang
"The Wind Beneath My Wings."

What?

I should've released doves too.

Regret. It feels like acid reflux.

Anyway, I tried to reach out to her.

So, try again?

Dianne. Hey.

Do me a favor, meet me at P. Town.
I have something to show you.

What do you mean "no?"

Okay, fine,
then I'll just tell you on the phone.

Look, I found some naughty shit
you wrote in high school

that you tried to submit
to Penthouse Forum.

Some fantasy about
being in a dugout with Lenny Dykstra.

Mommy held onto it.
She was always so proud of you.

Anyhow, I could send it
to your house but if your kid...

Okay. Well, I'll see you then.

Yay.

Come back to the bunkhouse
just out of Pioneertown.

For your mother. And you.

Peggy, did you know Ginger
was a regular in Knight Rider?

Semi-regular. Semi.

Excuse me. Does the talent go in
and make paper dolls out of the ledgers?

And if she's on a horse,
who's got their eyes on the books?

Anything could be happening right now.

Excuse me. No!

Now they're eating each other's faces.
That's not accurate to the period.

Don't stress over a man.

I say be like a cat. Let them come to you.

How long you been single?

Thirty-four years.

Hey, how'd you like
to make some real money?

I'm not making any kind of money.

How'd you like to play an art buyer?

I played an art enthusiast
in The Thomas Crown Affair.

"It's nice."

That was my line.

Russo was threatened.
She made them cut it.

Okay. Ginger, go inside. Get in character.

- Hi!
- All right. I'm here.

Hey!

Hi.

- Okay, you ready?
- Ready for what?

Okay. Just do a scene with fake Mommy.

Just say everything you couldn't say.

It'll help. I swear on my life.

What about the Penthouse letter?

I threw that filthy thing away
'cause I look out for you.

Remember when I read
that fucking coach the riot act

for not letting you play Little League?

I always believed in you. Okay?

Just give me ten minutes.

Ginger!

Since we're
workshopping this indefinitely,

Dianne here will be playing
another daughter for a while.

- Dianne...
- Can you not use my real name, please?

...Isis. Dianisis. Okay.

You're on your deathbed obviously,
and you and Dianisis have lost contact.

No one could really get over
what happened when Jerry left.

Bastard.

You recall the scene
when Stewart is sucking his thumb.

- How old's this kid again?
- He's nine.

Is there something wrong with him?
It's a little old to suck your thumb.

This is a "no shame zone," Ginger.

I can't do this.

I'm sorry. It's just too weird.

Hey. No, get back down.

You're on your deathbed
in and out of worlds.

Dianisis.

You have to tell Mommy
how you really feel.

Look at her.
She's open, completely available to hear.

Just open your heart, open your mouth.

She's ready to hear.

- Hold the work in the saloon!
- Sorry, Peg.

Come on.

Stay with the moment.

Stay in this moment. And... action!

Mommy, I didn't see you before you died.

Were you scared?

Course I was. Who wouldn't be?

Ginger, you're unconscious.

Okay, I remember before Daddy left,

you took me to see Alvin Ailey
in the city and we sat way up top,

and you cried...
because you were just so in awe.

And then we went for ice cream
at Grand Central Station,

and you told me
you wanted to be a dancer once.

And then I fell asleep on the train.

And that day, you were all mine.

But then Daddy left,
and you turned into a ghost.

People die before they die sometimes.

I kept trying to get you to see me again...

but it hurt too much.

I couldn't do it anymore!

I see people waiting for me.

I just thought that if I was good enough,
that if I was successful enough,

you would come back.

But you were gone.

Mommy, I just wanna say that I love you.

Okay? And...

And I forgive you.

I forgive you too.

You're unconscious, Ginger!

What? For what?
What would you forgive me for?

For being selfish.

What is she doing?

It just felt right.
She's a little clingy.

Oh, my... This is bullshit.

Screw this. She sucks.

It was kind of cathartic though, right?

Cathartic? Peggy, no!
I actually feel worse now.

She was not a good Mommy.

I know. That makes two of them.

Oh, my... Would you just go away? Please!

You really shit the bed on that one.

I hope you're a better art buyer.

It's nice.

Nice? Yeah, it's a Cézanne.

Don't get touchy.

- It's a fucking Cézanne.
- It's quite classic,

from a modern sort of modality.

Or the other way around,
I think, actually.

900,000?

Not even close.

- Why don't you go call your guy?
- Oh, yes. Yes! Yes.

Now is the time. Indeed.

Is she mentally ill?

She's on the spectrum.

But she's totally legit.

The point is, her guy is loaded.

We need someone for Kachel to bid against.

He's gotta feel the heat.

Wait. She's not working for our guy?

I thought
she was working for James Kachel.

No, she works for a guy
that Kachel fucking hates.

You told me
she was working for James Kachel.

Do you want 1.3? Did you tell me
you wanted 1.3, or didn't ya?

- Yeah.
- Well, this is how we get to 1.3.

Yes, I certainly will, sir. Yes. Ciao.

- We'll be in touch.
- Okay. Don't touch. Come, come.

How bad is it?

It's bad.
I thought it was bad, but it's worse.

Do you have an umbrella? I'm very fair.

How much worse? What do you mean?

Or a hat, maybe?

I mean,
I might have to declare bankruptcy.

You can't declare bankruptcy.

I'm inches away from a payday.
This is my life's work.

What am I gonna do?

I can't do anything else. I'm an asshole.

Look, just give me today, maybe tomorrow.

Okay. By Thursday.

Just keep it together. Semper fi.

Semper fi.

In today's qigong instruction,

we will be concentrating on
sealing our gates.

Squeeze the buttocks.

And tilt the pelvis.

Who is that?

This is Judy.

- Judy, huh?
- Some SOB left her in a hot car.

I was like, "Nope, that's not gonna
happen today. You're coming with me."

Right, Judy?

All right. I'm gonna help you
get the silver back for 60%

since you should've given it to me
in the first place.

- I actually think 50-50 is...
- All right,

do not try to chisel me down
one-eighth of a percent, or I'm out.

Okay.

And I need a favor.

Whatever you need.

You up for a little Miami Shock and Awe?

Who's the mark?

This guru bastard.

What do you wanna know about him?

If he killed his wife.

I'll tell you more if it's necessary
but for now, it's a need-to-know basis.

Okay. Sounds good.

And get the dog off the bed.

How come?

Because we're gonna have sex.

Judy, off the bed.