Truth Be Told (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - No Cross, No Crown - full transcript

Family. The word is a forecast.

The family you're born into
forecasts who you'll be, where you go,

but membership comes with an obligation.

Your success
becomes your family's success,

as do your failures.

But what do we owe those
that share our blood?

Is it more than what we owe
a stranger on the street?

Is there a point
where a line can be drawn?

A point at which we're clear to protect
ourselves at the expense of our families?

Did Owen Cave find himself
on the other side of that line?

Hey. How you doing, Uncle Bug?



Here you go.

Smell like they got lots to say.

- You get all the ones on my list?
- Yeah.

Thank you.

This one smell different.

I ran over to Walden Pond.

Had to buy it used.
It was checked out at the library.

You always been slick, Pop-Tart.

This one smells like commerce.
Take it back.

What you listening to?

You.

You got a voice make people pay attention.

Like your mama.

I was thinking about going up to
the cemetery to see her.



- Wanna come with me?
- Nope.

We could get some flowers, ride up there
before they even close the gates.

You used to do that when you was little.

What?

Run to your mama every time
you crossed swords with Shreve.

You heard about that already?

Bush telegram.
More reliable than the government.

- What you gonna do about it?
- Me?

What's he gonna do?

Nothing.

When Shreve look at you, he don't see
your pretty smile, your big, pretty eyes.

Can't see his daughter.
All he sees is... his mistakes.

He doesn't think about all that.
It's been 30 years.

Man went to prison
the week after your mama died.

Left you swinging in the wind.

He ain't forgot. Trust me. It eats at him.

Took a chance I'd find you here.

You got to stop, Lanie.

You cannot keep ambushing me like this.

Were you really just gonna slip in and out
without saying anything?

I'm not here for you.

Do you not understand that?
Did you really need me to say it?

Wait. Wait. Why do you think
that she made you executor?

I think we both know
the answer to that question.

Because I think that she did it
to make sure that you would come home.

At least once.

I just don't wanna fight, Lanie.
God, I don't want any of this.

Well, too bad.

I loved her as much as you did,
and she loved me.

- I know that.
- Do you?

Do you know that I was
in the car with her when she died?

I don't wanna hear this.

We were hanging there upside down,
and they were trying to get us out.

It felt like hours and hours,
but they said it was only 18 minutes.

- Knock it off.
- And I watched her fade,

and then she just...

died.

The lights went out right in front of me.

I do this for a living.

I help people transition,
and I'm known for my touch,

so how cruel is it
that I was trapped there by my seat belt,

and she's hanging, dying?

I'm close, so close I can feel the heat
coming off of her body,

but I cannot make contact with her,
no matter what I try...

- Jesus, Lanie.
- She was trying to say something,

but her mouth was filling up with blood,

so I have no idea
what she was trying to say.

Do I not deserve to say goodbye to her?

Don't I deserve to be...
part of the arrangements?

I'm the one who stayed here, not you.

Lanie, get off of her!

I'm sorry.

This is who we are together.

This is who we've always been together.

When we're done with Susan,
I am gone, Lanie.

When a woman cheats on her husband
and her lover is found murdered,

naturally the first person you would
look at is the woman's husband.

In this story, that woman is Melanie Cave,
and the husband is Owen Cave.

He had motive in its purest form.

But motive alone doesn't make a murderer.

As strong as his motive was,
his alibi was even stronger.

Or so we thought.

Owen Cave, a police officer, detective,
was on duty that night.

The question of whether he could've
done it should've started and ended there.

According to police logs,

Owen Cave responded
to a noise complaint at 3:30 a.m.

After leaving the noise complaint,

Owen was unaccounted for
until the next entry on the police log,

a domestic violence call at 4:44 a.m.

In those 74 minutes,

Owen Cave could've left his patrol
and doubled back to the Buhrman house.

Perhaps wanting to confront Chuck Buhrman,
a man he once called "friend."

A man he knew
had been sleeping with his wife.

Did Owen Cave kill Chuck Buhrman?

Only two men knew the answer.

Owen's partner, George Hutner,
was one of them,

and he took his knowledge to the grave.

Owen is the only other person
privy to the truth.

And I believe his son Warren
deserves to hear it.

Come on. Get up. Jax, get up.

Come on, you lazy shit.

Hey, hey, hey. Watch your tone with him.

Hey. Miss me? Huh?

Come on, Jax. Sit. Sit.

Welcome back, homes.
Nice to see you not dead.

Yeah. Nice to not be dead.

They put me in charge after you left.
Ain't so bad at the top.

Don't get attached...

to the dogs.

They come and go. They're not ours.

Come on, Jax. Sit. Sit.

We're straight, right?

Who tried to take me out?

You hear anything?

Nah.

But I'll keep my ears up.

All right.

Not for free though.

Ain't easy to listen and not be seen.

I'll take care of you.

I need to talk to the two witnesses
who made those 911 calls.

See if they noticed anything off
about Owen.

He had more than enough time to get to
the Buhrman house between calls.

- You need to slow it down, Poppy.
- You don't think he's hiding something?

I don't know. He probably is.
That doesn't mean he murdered old boy.

Cops do all kind of shit on patrol.

Is that a confession?

I'm just saying, Chuck had a lot of fans.
Quite a few of them on the crazy side.

Sounds thin.

And then there's your boy, Warren.

I know it doesn't fit the script for you,
but he still looks good to me.

All right.

If I concede some of your what-ifs...

will you concede
that those 74 minutes are sketchy?

- Yes.
- That simple?

Hey, I'm not a complicated cat.

Then I guess you won't mind
riding along to talk to these witnesses.

It would be helpful
to have a former policeman there.

All right then. I'll pick you up tonight.

What? Y'all beefing?

Keep your eyes on the road.

Classic Poppy.
If you don't wanna see it, it ain't there.

But Desiree's as bad as you.

You don't know what you're talking about.

Please.
I see your people more than you do.

You know how she acted when we broke up?

You skipped town. I had to stay here
and deal with the heat.

Is that why you got married a year later?

Hey, when I jump, I jump.

But we both see
how that turned out, right?

How old is your daughter now?

Trini's 15. Smartest person I know.

Besides you.

She wants to take this road trip
to go look at colleges.

And I'm telling you, Pop, she has planned
this thing out to the letter.

She worked out driving times.
Flights. Even where we're staying.

But...

- What?
- Her moms.

She won't okay the trip.

It's messing with me, you know?

I just don't feel like fighting
with her anymore.

You should always feel like fighting.
For your daughter.

Kara Rios?

Yes?

My name is Poppy Parnell.
I'm a journalist. This is my associate.

Markus Killebrew.

This gonna take long?

Oh, we'll be quick.

We're just trying to find out
everything we can about this man.

We think he answered
a 911 call at your apartment.

Halloween night. 1999.

He wasn't wearing a uniform.

- Owen Cave?
- I don't remember his name.

- I do remember he ditched me though.
- He ditched you?

He wasn't there for more than two minutes,
and then he got a phone call.

- He took off once his phone rang?
- Yeah.

Seemed pissed about it too.

He grabbed his partner and left.

Forgot all about me.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate it. Thank you.

Susan Carver will be dearly missed.
She was the heart of our little school.

Ella. Stay where I can see you.

Such a warm spirit.

And a special talent
for making everyone feel heard and seen.

When I arrived at Crown Academy,

Susan had already been here
for about seven years,

but she immediately brought me
into the fold.

I'm grateful that I got the chance
to know her.

I'm grateful that you all got the chance
to spend time with her.

I know it will be hard
to go throughout each day without her.

You brought your daughter?

- This little spot can be a place where...
- Whatever it takes.

We can all go in those moments
when we're missing her the most.

There's two of you.

Who are you?

I am Josie. I'm your mommy's sister.

Who are you?

I'm Ella Josephine.

Hi. So nice to meet you, Ella Josephine.

Can you say,
"Nice to meet you, Aunt Josie"?

Nice to meet you, Aunt Josie.

You're married?

- No.
- It was a life well lived.

- May we all follow your example.
- Any kids?

You will never be forgotten.

No.

Ms. Carver's class
would like to sing a song in her honor

before we plant the tree.

I'd like to ask Susan's family to
step forward so that we can get started.

You coming?

Mom's been calling.

She's got the whole world in her hands.

- She's got the whole world...
- Girls! Time to come in.

No, Lanie, you can't leave!

Warren! Let me go!

Josie? Aunt Josie?

- She's got the wind and the rain.
- Aunt Josie?

In her hands.

Can you come to dinner at our house?

She's got the wind and the rain
In her hands.

We'd love to have you.

She's got the whole world in her hands.

Did you and Owen have a fight
the night Chuck died?

No.

Are you sure?

Owen got a phone call that upset him.
I'm trying to figure out who it was.

Owen didn't kill Chuck, Poppy.

He's wrong, but he genuinely believes
that Warren did it.

He wouldn't have destroyed our family.

Otherwise, he would...

I'm taking you to the hospital.

Hold on.

In here.

Don't move.

Brother.

Everything good?

You tell me.

I was just putting out a couple feelers.

And who gave you sanction?

It's natural to ask questions.

Natural to want answers.

But it is not natural to disobey orders.

So what am I supposed to do?

Walk around exposed,
not knowing who tried to kill me?

The man who moved on you will be DP'd.

He will not jump outta line again. Ever.

But neither will you.

You understand why I'm tethering you?

Trying to save my soul?

Your soul can rot. I don't give a shit.

But you get in a fight, lockdown happens.

You get shanked, lockdown happens.

And that shit affects my business.

Can't happen.

Understood?

You doing all right?

- Here.
- I am now.

She'll be a little out of it for a bit.

Gotcha. I'll stay with her.

Melanie?

You know it's okay
if you were fighting that night.

No one would blame you.

If Owen was mad,
and he did something because he was mad...

what he did was just on him.

It's not your fault for calling him.

I know.

What was the fight about?

I called...

I told him I was going to leave him.

You told Owen
that you were going to leave him?

Owen was so furious. He was so...

He...

I'm so tired.

Okay.

And we're in the wrong parking lot.

Sun's starting to set,
and we didn't wanna go back to the park.

Right.
Yeah, I'd seen the sign about bears.

I was very freaked out.

Bears are really fast.

- They are.
- Yeah.

- Lightning fast.
- We decided to hitchhike.

I think it took about an hour
before someone picked us up?

- A brave couple.
- Yeah.

And the wife was hitting on
this one the entire time.

- You say that every time. She didn't.
- She was.

Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom.

You don't need my help, do you?

I want your company.

Oh, well, in that case,
we'll be right back.

Yeah.

Hey, sorry we're talking at you all night.

No, it's fine. Really. It was nice.

You know, takes a little pressure off.

Yeah. This must be bizarre for you.

Kind of.

For what it's worth, Lanie's missed you.

Lanie, get off of her!

Can you come back and hang out,
Aunt Josie? I like looking at you.

I like looking at you too.

I wish you were here when I was born.

I should probably get going.

Long day tomorrow.

So... I will see you at the service.
Thank you.

Josie. Josie, wait. Wait.

You know what I've been thinking about
on a loop since I got here?

Your face...

and what it looked like when I woke up

to find you pressing a pillow into mine
so that I couldn't breathe.

- You tried to kill me.
- No.

Aunt Susan had to pull you off of me.

No, I know, but...

I was an open wound back then. I was.

Every part of me hurt all the time.
I was angry at everything.

I understand
that this doesn't make any sense,

but I needed you
to feel what I was feeling.

Okay? I needed you to feel the rawness
and the panic.

I was so wrapped up in it, and...

I wasn't trying to kill you, Josie.

I was trying to kill myself.

But I'm in control of my life now.

Hello?

No, I can see that.

And that is why I think it would be best
if I left right after the funeral.

We can have this time and then...

What?

Like you can't see it.
Lanie, please, I know that you can.

I know that you can feel the same thing
just creeping back in this family.

It's just...

- Hey.
- Give us a second.

Your mom was just arrested.

- What?
- For breaking and entering.

That.

Your new spot?

I don't wanna waste an inch
of this beautiful house.

Yeah.

You okay?

Sure.

You wanna talk about
the other night at the jail?

Not yet.

You don't tiptoe around much,
except your father.

I need time.

Shreve drew a line in the sand, baby.

I mean, there's not a person in my family

who would ever assault
another family member.

- Assault is a strong word.
- Yes, it is.

That's the difference in how you grew up
and how I grew up.

Well, we can't just act like
it didn't happen. Who does that serve?

Okay, okay, tell me your plan.

It doesn't have to be complicated.

Nothing is ever simple out here.

My father is sick.

He's not in his right mind.
He didn't know what he was doing.

Take him to a doctor then.
Get him checked out. Get clarity.

It's time. Something has to be done.

I'm trying to get everyone here
on board with that.

No. Don't wait.

If he's so out of it that he gets physical
with his own daughter

in front of her husband...

No.

I'd like to see him get checked out
by the end of the week.

If not, I'm prepared
to file a restraining order.

I've already filled out all the forms.
All I have to do is get them to a judge.

- Are you serious?
- Dead.

Look, baby,
I am going to drag your country-ass family

into this century
if it's the last thing I do.

Owen Cave's second 911 call,
the 4:44 mystery woman?

Carmela Isaacs. Full ghost.

She doesn't exist?

I checked everything. DMV, police records,
death certificates, mental institutions.

Not just in California,
but national databases.

There's no record of her
since December of 1999.

She called about
a domestic violence dispute.

I did a series for the Times once
about the domestic violence epidemic.

Victims often change their names
to escape their abusers.

Beat you to it.
Name changes are public domain.

Except when they're sealed
at the victim's request.

I'll see if Markus can pull a few strings.

Sounds good. Talk to you later.

So, how'd you do it?

You know, that's what they all wanna know.

No, seriously,
how did you find our missing witness?

File clerk I used to work with
pulled a few strings for me.

He still with the city?

She.

I see.

You didn't have to let me stay overnight.

I came when I could. Hey.

Why'd you go to the old house?
What were you doing there?

Skipping down memory lane.

I don't know what you're doing,
but you need to stop. Okay?

- Whatever it is. Stop.
- You need to be more grateful.

I was not there for me.
I was there for you and for your sister.

Jesus Christ.

Have you found Josie yet?

No.

Try to stay out of jail
before Susan's funeral, please.

Fuck Susan.

Look, I am just trying to prove
that I was framed.

Well, what I don't get is why some darkie
gives two shits about you.

Something you're not telling us?

She gonna say something on her show
about you getting shanked?

Maybe people start
sending you sympathy cakes.

You know what?

If you're nice to me, Dyson,

I can get her to put you
on her show next season,

and then she can convince
everybody in the world

that it wasn't you on tape
who shot that old woman in the head.

How about that?

Boys.

Couple Mexicans in front of me
were talking about you on the way in.

Took Spanish in high school.
I understood every word.

So? Who was it?

He said he was gonna get a gun
and come back and kill me.

- Who?
- My father.

So I called the police.
They came very fast.

Only one man. A detective.

Was it him?

That looks like him.

Can you tell me anything about him?

He was very kind. Professional.
Tried to be helpful.

But he was... agitated?

Sweating a lot even though it was October.
It wasn't hot out.

He said it had been a long, busy night.

I didn't understand what that meant
until the next day.

What did it mean?

The next morning I noticed red smudges
all over the carpet.

I got down to clean them out,
and I realized it was blood.

Detective Cave showed up to your house
at 4:44 a.m. with blood on his shoes?

- Yes.
- Are you sure?

Yes. We had to get the carpets replaced.

Come on!

Cave. When?

Well, how?

What I want you to do now?

I want you to go back in time
and do it right.

Owen. Who was that?

It's nothing.

This the only place
you could find to hide?

There's AC.

So?

So.

Uh-uh, I need to hear you say it, loudly
and clearly, "Poppy, you were right."

I'll say it when it's for real for real.
But I will tell you this.

The motherfucker
is looking guiltier by the minute.

I mean, I don't think I ever came home
with blood on my shoes.

And I was Oakland PD.

He's scared. I hope he's losing his shit.

See, that right there,
that look on your face could win wars.

So what's happening?
We gonna celebrate or what?

Bet. Where to? Not The Knock.

How long you gonna
shoot your sister to the left?

- To hell with all of 'em.
- Damn. What happened?

- Leave it alone.
- No, hell no. So tell me.

- Let it go.
- Why?

Because I said so.

You know, I remember that tone.
You were famous for that.

You brought it on yourself.

But, you know, back when you and I
used to fool with each other,

I was famous for not giving a shit
about that tone.

So spit it out.

I feel like I'm under siege
from all sides.

You heard about the bar
getting raided, right?

Yeah, I heard about it.

It's full circle.

Owen sicced his goons on us
and things spiraled.

They arrested Cydie on a bullshit warrant.
Humiliated her.

Daddy was so furious.

He grabbed me by my throat.

What?

I don't have the words.
And I always have the words.

The way he looked at me...

Listen to me.

You cannot be scared of the look
in your father's eyes,

and you damn sure
can't let some crooked cop

be the reason you don't end up
with your family.

I mean, you may not be able
to fix everything, but you got to try.

Whatever that looks like.

Quiroga, something's wrong with Jax.

Who was looking after him when I was gone?

We were all on rotation.

Well, somebody gave him something
they shouldn't have.

Come here. Take a look.

I know it was you who shanked me,
you little bitch.

No, man, I swear.

I wanna know why.

You got it wrong.

I got hired, all right? Please.

- Bullshit.
- I'm telling you.

My girl got busted for possession.
They were gonna take my son away.

He made it go away.

I want a name.

The cop who came to visit you.

Hey, hey! Get him off me!

Aus, Jax, aus!

Get him off!

So tired of trying to hold on.

It's looking crystal clear now.

Borderline is near now

I can just breathe, yeah, yeah

I love that song. It is real sexy.

She ain't never giving you none, Herbie,
so stop.

- Hey.
- Hey.

Not now. Okay, why don't I cook,
you come over, and the three of us can...

Can we talk?

You can.

Okay.

I'm sorry that you got swept up like that.

I'm sorry that those officers
treated you that way.

I'm sorry that they embarrassed you.

I'm sorry that you have to live
with that memory. You shouldn't have to.

You're sorry those officers
did what they did.

- Where you in that?
- Too soon for this.

We don't call them officers
in this family neither.

Especially when they trying to
shut my bar down because of you.

I got it, Daddy. It's okay.

So what you want me to say?
"Everything's good"? "We good"?

- You want me to lie?
- I wanna fix it.

They strip-searched me over some
parking tickets. How you gonna fix that?

You gonna make my mug shot disappear?

Or explain to my job
why I missed my shift?

You know they put me on probation?

- Cydie...
- Save it.

I did not come over here to fight.

I promise you, baby sis.

Okay.

I know you're angry with me, Daddy,
and you can have that.

- But I am angry with you too.
- You're angry?

You know what, Daddy? I will give you
some grace because I know you need help.

My father would have never done to me
what you did the other day.

Pickles, grilled onions, side of fries.
Great. Thank you.

Look, I know they're acting
like everything's normal

when they're around me.

But they're listening
to that podcast, right?

Don't think it's affected
anyone's job performance, sir.

I just want you to know what that
Parnell woman is saying are speculations.

It's bunk.

I understand.

Cedros, your order's ready.

I hate eulogies that aren't honest.

You know the ones that paint the portraits
of the saintly people

who donate all their money to charity,
never whispered a bad word.

So...

it was very important to me
that I not leave this podium

before mentioning that my Aunt Susan
really loved bad words.

It was her favorite thing:
A good bad word.

When I was younger...

sometimes I felt like
I was trapped in my head.

Like my brain was a maze
and there was no exit,

and it was Susan
who helped me find my way out.

And I know for a fact I would not be
standing here if it were not for her so...

I just wanted to thank her for that.

Now anyone with a memory to share...

- That was perfect.
- or a final wish to impart.

You should say something.

You're welcome to come and do so now.

I'm really happy you're here.
Even if you don't stay.

Your mother's here.

Jesus Christ, she's trashed.

I thought you said that she wasn't coming.

Alex. Please.

- Erin...
- No. I get to grieve too!

Two peas in a pod. Look at you.

You are embarrassing yourself.
You need to leave.

Really?

Am I embarrassing myself, Jojo?

Sorry.

Susan was my little sister,
and we never got along.

And she had bad taste.

I told her.

With her run-over
Ross Dress For Less heels,

knitted sweaters...

There was only one thing
that we agreed on: My daughters.

I'll give her that.

When they were babies, she used to
come over at night and help me.

And she would hold one baby
and I would hold the other.

And we would rock them
and we would sing to them.

Where are you going, I don't mind

I've killed my world
And I've killed my time.

So where do I go? What do I see?

I see many people coming after me.

So where are you going to...

I don't mind.

If I live too long I'm afraid I'll die.

So I will follow you wherever you go.

If your offered hand is still open to me.

Strangers on this road we are on.

We are not two, we are one