The Scent of Rain & Lightning

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[mysterious, low

string music]

[buzzer sounds]

[chains clinking]

[music building]

[slow, pulsing percussion]

- Pretty girl.

- Sweaty girl.

[gravel crunching distantly]

Sh*t.

Where'd you park?

Walked up from the co-op.

Something wrong?

Senior's here.

Chase and Meryl too.

[car doors slamming]

You think I'm

scared of Senior?

- [knocking on door]

- Jody?

She's, uh, coming.

Maybe it's time we tell him

about us and get it over with.

Us?

There is no us

to tell him about.

Red, that's not what I meant.

I just... you know,

he wouldn't...

he wouldn't understand this.

Yeah, well, that makes

two of us now.

[sighs] Let's really not

make this a thing.

Apparently it ain't

a thing at all.

[knocking at door]

Red, we've talked about this.

Yeah, we have.

[pounding on door]

Jody?

I'm coming.

[footsteps approaching]

Come in.

What's going on?

We need to talk to you.

Why are you back?

Did something happen to Mimi?

No, no, Annabelle's fine.

Uh...

we, uh, had a meeting

with the governor today...

and, uh... Billy Croyle's

getting released.

[soft, stirring music]

- So the governor pardoned him?

- No, not quite, not pardoned.

His sentence has been commuted.

It's, like, reduced.

Yeah, he was pardoned

on account of his kid, Collin.

It's not pardoned.

It's commuted.

The governor's not saying

he's innocent,

just the trial's smelly.

Look, the county attorney

said the more Collin pushed,

the more he got

to feeling guilty...

said he felt like Don and him

hadn't done due diligence.

[quietly] I don't know.

[louder] Really, the problem

here is Billy's hat.

I mean, an eyewitness says

that she saw

Laurie take it out of Baileys'

that night...

It doesn't matter

whether she did

or didn't pick up the damn hat.

- It does matter.

- I'm not about to debate this.

There's no point.

Now, listen, I know

what I'm about to say

is gonna sting a little bit,

but we need you to pack a bag

and come on back out

to the ranch

till we can figure out

how to deal with this.

No, I most

certainly will not.

Billy Croyle hates

this entire family.

He hates us with a vengeance,

and the only way

I can protect you

is by having you on the ranch.

I know you think

you're all grown up

and ready for the world,

but you're still

a child, sweetheart.

I, against my better judgment,

let you move down here

in the first place.

It's not a good place

for you to be, this house.

- Hey, Pop... Pop!

- Listen, I know Belle and you

- had some kind of idea...

- Pop, Pop!

I think you made your point.

Hey, just look at it like this.

We can spend some time

catching up.

Kay?

[quietly] Okay.

Okay, fine.

Yeah, I'll come back.

[sniffs]

I'll be back before dinner.

Okay.

[somber music]

[door clicks shut]

Jody?

- You've got to be kidding me.

- Hey, hey, hey... wait, wait,

no, no, just...

just let me speak.

- No, I don't want to hear it.

- Okay... no, no,

I-I had to do it, okay?

I...

- No, you didn't.

- No, please, will you just...

will you just

try to listen to me?

What?

What do you want to say to me?

I didn't exactly want

to get him out either.

You and your dad

are exactly the same.

You don't take responsibility

for what you did.

- [stammering] I didn't...

- Don't f***ing touch me.

Hey! Look, just...

just listen to me, okay?

Okay, so-so... the night...

that everything happened,

the police asked me

if he left the house.

And I said that I didn't know.

But I did.

I lied.

I mean, he didn't move

a muscle that night.

I watched him until dawn.

I-I could have told

the sheriff what happened

that night,

and I didn't...

because I wanted to see him go.

Are you done?

So is that how

this is gonna go?

I come out here

as a courtesy call to tell you

that now that the case

is back on my books,

I'm gonna have to look

at all possible suspects,

and this is what I get?

You should have ran an

honest investigation, Don.

Well, that's a hell

of a thing to say.

Mind explaining exactly

what you mean by that?

You sat on evidence

from the defense.

I "sat on evidence"?

And why would

you have wanted that?

You got something

you want to say?

Okay, easy, fellas.

Come on.

He would have wanted that

so we wouldn't have this,

here and now...

a guilty man

walking out of prison.

Senior, you should

know something.

I talked to Billy

a few hours ago,

and I told him... I told him...

if any harm came

to a Linder, hell,

if one of you got so much

as a paper cut,

I'd be on his ass

like flies on sh*t.

And you know what he told me?

If any harm came to a Linder,

that's something he'd gladly

go back to jail for.

Let you get back

to your dinner.

[door squeaks open]

[sniffs,

speaks indistinctly]

[door slams shut]

Gonna smoke a cigarette.

[tense music]

[funeral officiant murmuring

indistinctly]

[stirring music]

Tell me about my mom.

Well...

Still might be the prettiest

women I ever seen.

Definitely the world's

worst cook. [clears throat]

And your dad...

he'd just eat every damn bite

of whatever disgusting thing it

was she slid in front of him.

That was your dad.

Always doing the right thing.

Ain't gonna lie, it was

annoying as hell sometimes,

especially when I wanted

to get into some trouble.

It was like

I had Senior with me.

They a lot alike?

Yeah, it was scary sometimes.

But my dad was

definitely friendlier.

Yeah, but I mean, come on.

How hard is that?

[chuckles, sniffs]

Promise me you're gonna be

smart about all this, kay?

Yeah.

[dogs barking distantly]

[slowly building string music]

You disgusting pig.

This town ain't full of

chickenshits after all.

How refreshing.

Most folks happy just to put

a sign in the yard,

make an anonymous phone call.

I'm not scared of you.

[sniffs]

Mm.

Well, you should be.

Well, I'm not.

Yeah, I'll try

to remember that.

I'll write it down in my diary.

You have no idea who I am.

No.

You'll have to forgive me.

I've been gone a minute.

Jody Linder.

Little Jody Linder?

Jody Linder.

That's Hugh Jay's little girl.

[chuckling] Goddamn.

Why'd you do it?

- Hm.

- I want to know the truth.

[sniffs] You want the truth?

You're in the wrong

goddamn place for that.

[bottle shatters]

Wrong goddamn family too.

Billy.

I need to know

why you did it.

Why did I f***ing do it?

- Billy.

- F***ing murderer.

[mutters indistinctly]

Get the f*** out of my...

Billy, just... Billy.

Talking to me?

Goddamn it.

Scared now, ain't you?

- Why'd you do it?

- F***ing...

[gasping hoarsely]

Granddaddy made me

a murderer.

How's that feel, huh?

How's that f***ing feel?

Have a murderer all with

his hands all up on you, huh?

Huh?

Like that?

[dogs barking continuously]

[laughing]

[imitating barking dogs]

Run on home, now.

Run on home 'fore you get

yourself into some trouble...

in some real goddamn trouble.

Run on home.

[laughs, whoops]

You run home!

You run home

and tell granddaddy

all about what I did.

You tell him...

I meant what I said!

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