Cardinals Page #2

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[chuckles softly]

[sighs] I should go.

I should've given you more time.

No, you've waited long enough.

That's fine.

And thanks for breakfast.

Thank you for forgiving me.

I'll see you guys later.

Bye, Mark.

- See you around.

- I hope so.

How did Mark's mother die?

She killed herself.

Maybe you could make a list

of all the other people

who died while I was away.

That would be helpful.

[water running in sink]

[birds chirping,

children shouting in distance]

[shower running]

...is about that tall,

you know?

No matter how many times

I pass by your house,

I see you outside there.

[laughter]

You grew.

[chuckles] Guilty.

"Guilty."

That's good.

Guilty as charged.

- [laughs]

- Yeah.

So what can we

help you with today?

Oh, uh, well,

I was just wondering, um...

you... you used to have

a German shepherd.

Jackson.

Jackson, that's right.

When did he die?

Why?

Okay, well, uh... not sure

if you're aware of this,

but Valerie Walker claimed

that a German shepherd

ran in front of her vehicle

right before she hit my Dad.

I was not aware, no.

Do you... you think Jackson

might have been that dog?

That's why I'm here.

Hmm, well...

What year

was the accident?

- It was 2007.

- 2007.

Hmm.

[woman] Hmm.

Hmm. [clears throat]

Well, let's see,

we got him in ninety... um...

When did we get him?

[classical music playing

in headphones]

[door closes]

Oh, hi. Valerie.

[Valerie] Jonah?

Yes.

Nice to meet you in person.

Would you happen to have a spade

or a small shovel?

[Jonah] Springtime.

They tend to run head-first

into their own reflections

thinking they're being

protective.

Snap their necks.

Something about their color

makes them prone.

I... I don't know.

I understand that there's

no confidentiality

between myself

and Jonah here.

And do you understand why?

Oh, and I understand why.

Thank you.

Uh, so we're clear,

you said that there's

no confidentiality

- between us and...

- Is that wrong?

No, not wrong,

not incorrect

in the sense

that I have to report

anything incriminating

you might say

but incorrect in that there's

a great deal of confidentiality,

and you can trust that anything

we talk about is private

unless there are

extreme circumstances

where the law

needs to get involved.

Should I just record

that again?

Oh, no need.

I drank green tea for years.

Never knew about

the antioxidants. [chuckles]

Thank you so much

for making a house call.

A perk of you

not having a license.

Is this, uh...

are you new to the field?

No.

Oh.

Never been asked that before.

I just have no

frame of reference.

Uh, so, um... you know,

I have a fair number of

questions that I have to ask you

and others

that I'd like to ask you.

But is there anything

you'd like to ask me?

I'm sorry, I don't have

any more questions.

Okay. So, first off,

is there any chance

of you returning to work

at the plant in any capacity?

I would assume no.

Do you like working in sales?

[Zoe]

Is that stuff good?

This? It's the best.

Mmm. I've heard that.

Yeah?

So you have a lawn then?

No, I don't have a lawn.

I like your plaque.

Thanks.

I can put you in touch

with my guy if you want.

You want to walk?

I'm gonna walk.

[Mark] Where to?

[Zoe] Mm...

[speaks indistinctly]

[Jonah]

You're still married?

Uh, well, yes, technically.

Technically, yeah.

But you're, um...

you'll be staying here

in this house alone?

For now.

You're comfortable

living alone, I assume?

Yes, yes. Mm-hmm.

Um, living alone,

are there any concerns

that come to mind with that?

Carbon monoxide.

[chuckles softly] Huh.

Seriously,

what do you feel

is the number-one threat

to your freedom?

Well, I guess I would

have to say you, wouldn't I?

Not the answer

I was thinking of, but, uh...

yes, theoretically.

But what would make me

a threat to you freedom?

What about alcohol?

Oh, that's not a threat.

Alcohol won't be an issue.

So, that feels like a mistake

to me, I have to say.

Consider that the only time

your freedom

has been taken from you

was because of drinking.

That works out to 100%.

I'm gonna speak candidly

because I think

it's just going to save us

a lot of time.

Great.

I exaggerated my drinking

during the trial.

I know I drank too much

that night.

But I thought the judge

and jury wouldn't be happy

if I didn't say

I had a problem.

So I just went along with

any language about alcoholism.

Okay, um...

Thank you for your honesty.

Still, you know,

I have a number of clients

who would drink

all the time if they could.

You'd consider that

to be an issue

with alcohol,

wouldn't you?

Well, most of them

haven't taken a life.

So, um, you might understand

how I would see

your relationship

with alcohol as a problem.

No, I understand.

I just wanted to make it clear.

I don't respond well

to alcohol,

which I, you know,

triumphantly proved.

So...

I won't be drinking again.

Okay.

Well, you know, as long

as you meet your conditions

and attend your scheduled

meetings, uh, which start...

Tomorrow.

Yep, uh,

as long as you do that,

then we don't have to talk about

this any further right now.

Okay. Mm-hmm.

[Mark] They've been

developing this for, like,

three or four years.

I think it's changed hands

a few times.

They're gonna dig

all of this up over here.

A lot of garbage under here,

I think.

I guess when this is all done,

the property values

on your house will go up.

Do you wish we'd sell?

No, did it come across

that way?

A bit.

Well, if that

really mattered to me,

I could just sell my own home.

Well, I'm not sure

that's the same thing,

but whatever you say.

I suppose I kind of embarrassed

myself this morning.

Can I say something sad?

Might as well.

[sighs]

Did you have help

with your mom?

You know, she was pretty good

about hiding it.

I didn't really understand

what was going on, to be honest.

F***.

Yeah.

Anybody notice

with your mom?

What do you mean?

With her drinking?

Oh. No.

It was only that one time.

F***in' 30 feet from home.

Then came the German shepherd.

Then came the German shepherd.

Yeah.

But not trying to make you

feel sorry for her.

How is she?

My mom?

Uh...

not good with apologies.

It's okay to talk about it,

honestly.

What happened to my family

is way worse

than what happened

to your family.

So it's not like you'll be

making me feel bad or something.

Okay. Um...

well, she's not doing good.

Um...

her friend Wendy's calling,

and she thinks that, like,

she doesn't deserve

to have friends.

I'm sure I didn't

help with that.

No, oh, my God,

it's not your fault.

She should have

f***ing apologized.

So Wendy from the plant?

Yeah.

I always liked Wendy.

Yeah, me too.

[machinery clanking

and squealing]

[man]

Is your mother asleep?

Uh, I think so, yeah.

Almond milk?

Did she say that it was okay

for you to stay over tonight?

[man] What difference does

it make if I'm here tonight

or tomorrow morning?

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