[phone ringing]
[dramatic string music playing]
[music continues]
[music ends]
["Hold On to Now" by Kylie Minogue playing in distance]
♪ Keep holding on to now, now ♪
♪ Dreaming we'll be dancing forever ♪
♪ Floating on this feeling together… ♪
["Take Five" by Dave Brubeck Quartet playing]
[falcon screeches]
[slow inhale]
[exhale]
[door closes]
[woman giggling]
[distant chattering]
[slow exhale]
[clattering]
[moaning, giggling]
[exhaling]
[clattering]
- [moaning] - [exhaling]
- [woman moaning repeatedly] - [rapid drumbeat]
- [glass smashes] - [music ends]
[woman] This is why. This is why! I told you.
It's distracting. I'm trying to cook. Now I'm breaking shit.
I don't want him in here.
This is David Rylance.
I don't want you in here either. Any of you.
David. Rylance. The Australian Foreign Minister…
I am trying to cook.
They need to have a look around the kitchen. It's protocol.
Well, my protocol is that I'm trying to cook when I'm trying to cook,
so, uh, unless they cook,
I don't want them in here while I'm trying to fucking cook!
- Do you cook? - No.
- I'm not going to poison you. - Thank you.
Unless you don't leave.
We can come back…
No. Do not come back. I'm not gonna have you fuck this night up for me, A.B.
I'm not trying to--
I told you there were going to be flames.
You didn't tell me that. And it isn't about the flames.
- We're going to leave. - Good.
- No! - I told you!
You told Lilly.
Told me what? Oh, there's some broken glass.
There's broken glass because these assholes are distracting me.
Told you what? Oh, Mr. Foreign Minister, so lovely to see you.
Not in here, it isn't.
You didn't tell me she was making flaming Wagyu.
- I think I did? - [Rylance] Flaming?
- Yes. - Flaming? Like it's on fire at the table?
- Yes. - Well, no, actually.
Prime Minister Roos would love that.
- Really? - Yes!
- Great! - [Wynter] Not great!
- There's a restaurant in Sydney. - Yes.
- They make a Wagyu Volcano. - Exactly.
- It would be better if you wait outside. - No, he's fine.
- It's my kitchen. - It is her kitchen.
This is a safety issue.
I cannot have flames in the State Dining Room.
Would you please put that away?
What does it mean - no flames?
You said that flames were okay.
Wait, he's having flames?
Bananas foster.
- You didn't tell me that. - It's on the sheet.
- I don't read your fucking sheet. - You told me it was okay.
It is okay. Just not at the table.
It has to be at the table. That's the point!
- Bananas foster? - Yes.
- Who are you? Who is he? - It is--
Who is he? Jesus. Fuck is wrong with you? This is David Fy…
[chef] Cra…
He's… from Australia. Don't be fucking rude.
Bananas foster? The dessert with the flames?
- Yes. - Prime Minister Roos will love that!
Why are you still here? Seriously.
Why are you in my kitchen?
[Wynter] The Australian. Foreign. Minister!
She's from Portland.
It's my kitchen. I want him out now.
There's broken glass…
[all shout] No!
Broken glass?
You wanna see broken glass, Rollie? Huh?
There's broken glass!
There's more broken glass!
I am trying to do something interesting here.
You definitely are.
Something great. But you have never understood that.
You just want me to serve
the same old bland, boring country club bullshit.
Because that's all this place is.
It's an old, shitty country club
where nothing ever changes except the President,
but you can't even tell 'cause they're all fucking dudes.
I'm not gonna do it. This is my first State Dinner.
I am going to serve my food my way.
That's what I was brought in to do by Elliott and the President,
and that is what I'm going to do,
and if you get in my way again,
I am going to kill you!
[silence]
Well. Uh…
[laughs nervously] Okay, uh…
I think we've had a chance to look around. Yeah. Thank you all very much.
No flames in the State Dining Room.
[pastry chef scoffs]
No flames… in the State Dining Room.
[Lilly gasps]
[tense music playing]
[Cupp] You killed the Chief Usher of the White House to avenge a flaming Wagyu?
I didn't kill the Chief Usher.
- Why is he wearing your bloody shirt? - I'm getting to that.
- I have diplomatic immunity. - That's what they tell me.
No, I mean… [chuckles] …I do.
- Okay. - Whether they tell you or not, I do.
- Okay. - Just wanna be clear on that.
- Right. - Are you clear on that?
It's clear you've told me you have diplomatic immunity.
Everything I tell you here is confidential.
- [gentle music playing] - [quiet chattering]
She got her start with a food truck.
Did they have food on the food truck?
It's a bit like a child's plate, isn't it?
[guests chattering quietly]
[Rylance] I saw her during dinner.
She was obviously still upset.
[guests laughing]
[man] The invitation said dinner, right?
[guests continue laughing]
[Rylance] I… I guess I just…
I just wanted to tell her I was sorry about what had happened.
For my role in it.
[Cupp] Did you find her?
[Kylie singing in background]
The fuck are you doing in here?
[Rylance] Yes.
[clears throat]
- This stays in this room, right? - Yes.
Well… not really.
♪ Keep holding on to now, now ♪
♪ Dreaming we'll be dancing forever ♪
♪ Floating on this feeling together ♪
♪ Yeah… ♪
[sighs]
Australians.
Okay, you know… [laughs awkwardly]
That's not fair.
I was really following her lead.
[cookware clanging]
[brisk jazz music playing]
[chef] Come here.
[chef squeals]
[moans softly]
[chef mutters quietly]
[Cupp] What about the blood?
I'm afraid to ask.
She was, uh…
[inhales] …enthusiastic.
- [Rylance groans] - [chef gasps]
[Rylance] I got a bloody nose.
[sighs] Look, um… I'd appreciate it if you don't tell anyone this.
About the bloody nose or sex with the chef?
We didn't have sex.
[both moaning]
How do you define sex?
I define it as a thing I enjoy more than talking about real estate
and less than looking at birds.
Anyway, I have diplomatic immunity.
- Okay. - Appreciate it if you didn't mention it.
He got a bloody nose while having sex with the chef.
- Huh? - And there's more.
Feels like after that there should be more.
He said that there were other people outside.
What people?
I don't know. I just… saw some things.
[both moaning]
- [slow exhale] - [moaning continues]
- [chef moaning] - Wait, wait, wait. There's…
[moaning] …someone. Oh yeah.
[both moaning]
[Rylance] Wait, there's another person…
- I was uncomfortable. - [Cupp] Well…
[Rylance] Like we were being watched.
[Cupp] It's the White House.
I went back inside, and that's when I ran into him.
Who?
[tense music playing]
Mr. Wynter.
Mr. Foreign Minister.
- Everything okay? - Yes, fine. Just, uh…
[laughs awkwardly] …getting some air.
You're bleeding.
- [clears throat] Am I? - Yes.
Right. Yes. It's a bloody nose.
- Are you alone out there? - [awkwardly] Yes.
Let's get you cleaned up.
[tense string music playing]
[Rylance] He took me upstairs.
Through the back.
How did you know we had traded shirts, anyway?
The shirt Mr. Wynter was wearing didn't fit.
Nobody as meticulous as Wynter wears a shirt that loose.
And when I opened his jacket, I saw a single white bone button,
which is the trademark of renowned Melbourne shirtmaker Whistler & Fox.
I spent two months in Melbourne on the Kyrgios murder.
That was you?
The blood on the shirt had been dry longer than the blood on his jacket.
The switch had been made before his death.
And when we met later, I could see your shirt was snug
and not of the quality of the suit, which is D.H. Redican of Sydney, correct?
[Rylance chuckles]
Remarkable.
You know, I was living in Melbourne when Orin Kyrgios was killed.
He lived one block over from my ex-wife.
You might've even interviewed her. She was home the day they found his body.
Huh. Oh, you should've seen it. It was absolute chaos.
Well, I saw it on the news.
I wasn't there, but she called me 'cause she was in a tizz. [whistles]
That's not uncommon, though, for us… [fades]
- [slow exhale] - Thump.
No, it was a friendly divorce. Look, we were young--
Okay. That it between you and Wynter, then? In the office?
No.
No?
Well, he was an attractive man.
Yeah, but no, no, no. Not that. Um…
[distant pop music playing]
There we go.
[phone ringing]
He got a phone call. I couldn't hear what the other person was saying,
and I was trying not to listen, of course.
Hello?
But Mr. Wynter insisted I stay in the room.
[Wynter] I think it would be good. You know that.
Give me five minutes.
[inhales slowly] Gotta be honest,
kind of a… dud ending to an otherwise very entertaining story.
No, no.
It's what he said after that.
After he hung up.
[replaces handset]
[exhales slowly]
I am going to be dead by the end of the night.
[tense music playing]
- [Morgan] Those were his exact words? - Yes.
"I am going to be dead by the end of the night."
Yes.
Okay, we understand the shirt though. Why he's wearing A.B.'s shirt.
Why A.B. had blood on his shirt.
- We solved that mystery. - We didn't solve it.
And, look, we don't know what A.B. meant, right?
I mean, it's just… something he said.
It's something people say.
"I'm gonna be dead by the end of the night?"
Yes.
- Who says that? - Dead people.
Has anyone here ever said, "I'm going to be dead by the end of the night?"
Yeah, uh, the one time I went camping, I said that.
- What do you want to do? - Trace that phone call to Wynter's office.
And I want to confirm the blood on his shirt came from Mr. Rylance.
- I want toxicology from Wynter. - We'll have to move the body.
- That's fine. - Anything else?
- Not right now. - Okay. Well, good.
Uh, I'm gonna go let everyone go…
- Hang on, Mr. President. - Mr. Prime Minister?
Someone was killed tonight, during our State Dinner,
and you point the finger at one of us.
Now we're gonna all walk out of here?
So when the world finds out about this, which they will,
they'll think some crazy Australian murdered somebody in the White House.
- Yeah. - [tense music playing]
No, mate. That doesn't work for us.
- Nobody's gonna think that. - Why not?
What else are they gonna think? Huh?
Does anybody here have any idea who killed Mr. Wynter?
Uh, we think it was a suicide.
Oh, you do, Detective Hollinger? Does she?
[inhales]
- Do you? - No.
[Roos] So the only actual detective here,
one who solved an unsolvable case in Australia,
known to be one of the greatest detectives in the world,
doesn't think it's a suicide, and she's here to investigate.
So, why don't we let her investigate? Like, right now.
Would it be helpful for you to talk to everybody here tonight?
Yes, of course, but--
Stephen! This isn't your call.
Perry, it was my call not to come to this fucking dinner at all, but I came.
Instead of a Wagyu Volcano, I get a bloody murder.
[Trask snorts]
No, it's just like an actual bloody murder.
Uh, anyway, uh, you were saying?
So, what I'm saying is,
as bad as things are between our two countries right now,
shit is gonna get a whole lot worse
if we walk out with the stink of this on us.
What I'm saying is, let her get the job done.
- Find the killer, and then we all go home. - I am home.
Well, maybe you should be more worried
about having a murderer running around your house right now.
But, you're right.
Your call.
[tense music playing]
I need your help.
- How? - I need to talk to everyone here.
And the only way I can do that is if you have the Australian delegation stay.
[laughs]
I can't do that.
Then I'll have to make the most detailed and persuasive case possible
as to why it's necessary.
You're saying if I don't get our delegation to stay,
you'll tell them about me and the chef?
- She has a name. - I actually don't know what that is.
- Marvella. - Marvella?
Really? [laughs]
Marvella what?
I think it's just Marvella. She's from Portland.
If I can convince the Australians to stay, you won't tell them about me and…
[Rylance clears throat]
…the chef.
For as long as I possibly can.
Uh, that was the deal, yes.
- She told you this at the time? - No. Later.
- When? - When she started to trust me.
- When was that? - [Park] Later.
But she told Chief Dokes.
That is true.
And what did you think when you heard it?
I thought Foreign Minister Rylance would never agree to it.
And that even if he did agree to it,
he would never convince Prime Minister Roos.
And if he did convince Prime Minister Roos,
Prime Minister Roos would never convince President Morgan.
Meaning that even after all these years,
I still made the ridiculous mistake
of underestimating Cordelia Cupp.
Uh, folks, there has been a serious security incident
in the White House this evening.
Uh, I can't go into the details,
but, unfortunately, this means before anyone can leave,
the police need to talk to some folks.
And that might include any one of you. It might include me too.
So I'm asking for your cooperation, your patience.
I know how inconvenient this is.
I can assure you that we have the very best people working on this,
and it is being handled as professionally and as expeditiously as possible.
- [quirky music playing] - [bird squawking]
[Bix chuckles] Wait. Stop. Hold on.
I… I… Let me get this straight.
- Senator Bix. - No, no.
I just want to make sure I understand what I'm hearing right now.
So Detective Cupp wants to continue her investigation that evening--
especially in light of what she learned from Mr. Rylance--
but she knew that President Morgan and Harry Hollinger
would never let her do that,
because they wanted to call this a suicide and let everyone go home.
So she doesn't even ask.
She doesn't even pretend to wanna stay.
Instead, Ms. Cupp, a consulting detective
with the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department,
strikes a deal with the Foreign Minister of Australia
to keep his sexual escapade with the White House Chef secret
in exchange for him convincing his boss,
the Prime Minister of Australia,
to manipulate the President of the United States
into holding 200 people at the White House all night
so she could finish her work.
And then, having done that,
having made it look like it was the Australians who wanted to stay,
she goes outside birding for a few minutes.
Do I… do I have that all right?
Yes.
God, I love this woman! [laughs]
Oh, thank you. [clears throat]
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
Please, go on. Thank you, Senator Filkins.
[Bix clears throat]
Uh, we set up three interview areas.
One in the State Dining Room,
in the China Room, and in the Green Room, which is where we started.
- What is that? - Paper.
- For what? - Writing.
- Writing what? - Words.
Okay, great. Thank you.
How do you want to do this?
Right. Yes.
Okay. I'll ask the questions. You don't talk.
If you feel you have something you really want to say,
try to make that feeling go away.
If at any point you want to leave the room for any reason, please do.
Can you write your name and job title down for me?
Yeah, and then if you could hold that up, that'd be great.
[camera clicks]
Need a way to remember everyone. Thank you.
[Cupp breathes deeply]
Okay?
So, now what?
Do you have any questions for me?
Anything?
I'm guessing you want to know about A.B.
Sorry about whatever happened, but
I don't know anything.
So…
if that's it,
can I leave?
I'm gonna leave.
Last time I saw him? That's what you want to know, isn't it?
Okay.
This evening. Bruce got called in. Bruce the engineer.
There was so much shit tonight, okay?
You have no idea. Bruce got called in, and I'm looking for Bruce,
and I go by Mr. Wynter's office because I thought Bruce might be there
and I hear Mr. Wynter arguing with someone.
[Wynter, muffled] No, you're not going to talk to me like that! No!
I'm going to expo--
[Eddie] This was around, maybe, 9?
Y… you're asking me, so I'm telling you.
Who is he arguing with, and what is he arguing about?
Fuck if I know.
I don't know.
I know it wasn't Bruce because I saw him right after that.
That's all I know and that is all I'm saying
and you can just sit there looking at me or whatever this shit is.
I'm leaving.
I have never heard Mr. Wynter sound that agitated before. That angry.
I've been here 17 years. He keeps it under control.
Kept it.
But he was worked up.
He started yelling, "I'm gonna tell them everything!"
[Wynter yells] I am going to tell them everything! Everything!
[door rattles]
Shit bothered me.
I'm good with you asking the questions.
Last time I saw A.B. tonight?
6:30? 6:45? In the basement.
- [camera clicks] - 8. On the Ground Floor.
- [camera clicks] - 8:45. Old Family Dining Room.
[Rachel] Who?
[gasps softly]
Yeah. I saw him in the hallway just now.
- Didn't I? - You did not.
[Sheila] It was around 9. In the Grand Foyer.
- I saw him coming out of the East Room. - By himself?
[camera clicks]
- No. - Who was he with?
Okay.
I never left the East Room. Who said that?
- Someone. - Someone?
- [Harry] I was watching the concert. - [Cupp] The whole time?
[Harry] Yes. It's Kylie Minogue. Why would I leave?
[Cupp] To go kill A.B. Wynter.
[scoffs]
[Kylie Minogue singing]
[Cupp] Did you see A.B. Wynter in the East Room?
[Harry] No. When?
- [Cupp] Tonight, during the concert. - [Harry] No.
[Cupp] What about Foreign Minister Rylance?
[Harry] No, I didn't see him either.
[Cupp] You didn't see him get up during the concert and walk out of the room?
[Harry] No.
[Cupp] And you didn't see Mr. Wynter follow him?
[Harry] No.
- [Cupp] And you didn't leave? - No.
Maybe I went to the bathroom.
He was gone for 22 minutes.
Was Mr. Hollinger the one Mr. Wynter was yelling at in his office?
That's the question? I can't say for sure.
What I can say is that after I heard Mr. Wynter yelling, I ran downstairs.
And Mr. Hollinger was right behind me.
- Not true. - You weren't in Mr. Wynter's office?
- No. - Were you on the third floor tonight?
I live on the third floor.
Were you on the third floor between 9 and 10 o'clock?
Not that I recall.
Not that you recall.
I didn't see anything on the second floor, no.
I didn't ask about the second floor.
[door opens]
He's on his way.
[frantic jazz music playing]
Nice shoes.
[camera clicks]
Uh, I was in bed at 9:30. [sniffs]
Did you see or hear anything after that?
Not until grammy next door started screaming.
[screams]
Hey, can I get some muesli or something?
Why didn't you go to the dinner?
- Uh, why didn't you go to the dinner? - I wasn't invited.
- Same. - You're the President's brother.
- And you live in his house. - It's not his fucking house.
- Why didn't he invite you? - I don't know. Because he's an asshole.
And he wanted to have the most boring fucking party imaginable.
Well, that clearly didn't work.
Yeah. [slurps]
- What about Marvella? - What about her?
- Shouldn't you be starting with her? - Why?
Because she said she wanted to kill him.
I am going to kill you!
- Maybe she wasn't the only one to say it. - But she did say it. Why not start there?
I start by listening.
To everything. You learn that when you're out trying to find birds.
You have to watch and listen to as much as possible.
You have to take it all in. Otherwise, you start focusing on the wrong things.
Pro tip, Special Agent Park:
Don't pick up your binoculars until you know what you're looking at.
Let me ask you, Ms. Haney. When Ms. Cupp was conducting these interviews,
what was happening in the rest of the house?
Everyone was downstairs, of course, Senator.
On the first floor, mainly.
But we were told we could use the Ground Floor too.
[frantic jazz music playing]
If we needed anything from the basement, food or supplies
or anything from housekeeping,
we had to go with one of the FBI agents who were brought in later.
They didn't want anyone together who had been in the house when Mr. Wynter died.
For obvious reasons.
Were people upset at being held there?
For the most part, no.
Not in the earlier part of the evening.
Well… some were…
I hate Australia!
But… most people were okay.
We, the staff,
we tried our best to keep people occupied.
One hand, up, flat palm.
Flat palm, waist level. Up, very good. Thank you.
[woman] Jacqueline hired Aaron Shikler to do this of her husband, JFK.
The one thing she asked is that he would not look piercingly
directly at the camera, and he wouldn't have bags under his eyes.
I said, Jimi, come on, man. Don't stiff me like that.
I know you play a right-handed guitar upside down.
But it doesn't matter. I can play it either way.
Of course, Mr. Jackman was the best.
[Jackman] You are tap dancing in the White House! Remember that.
This is bigger than Carnegie Hall!
[Haney] I think most people were just anxious about talking to Ms. Cupp.
[quiet, tense music playing]
I got called in to the third floor to fix the plumbing in Tripp Morgan's room.
Anything eventful?
In Tripp Morgan's toilet? Yes.
Otherwise, no.
- Did you mind being called in? - It's my job.
- Some people don't like their jobs. - Well, I used to like mine.
What time did you leave Mr. Morgan's room?
Hmm, about 9:30.
- Did you see him? - No.
He said he went to bed at 9:30.
Hmm.
I'm just the engineer.
- Were you on the third floor tonight? - No.
- You have an office next to the Game Room. - Yes.
A.B. Wynter was found dead in the Game Room.
Yes. Okay. I'm sorry. What are you suggesting?
Do you like games, Mr. Gotthard?
Was I on the third floor tonight?
No.
- No. - No.
- Were you on the third floor tonight? - No.
Mackerel or sardines?
[quirky music playing]
- [music fades] - [sighs heavily]
Tell me about the night. Did anything unusual happen?
- Other than my boss dying? - Other than that, yes.
- [camera clicks] - It was lovely. Until now.
It was fine.
You know the flowers were messed up, right?
The First Lady of Australia is allergic to bottlebrush.
You know what I had in every arrangement?
- It's too easy if you say bottlebr-- - Bottlebrush. Nobody told me.
[Melody gasps] Oh…
- [sneezes] - [camera clicks]
There did seem to be something going on with the seating.
[frantic jazz music playing]
[inaudible]
I didn't see that.
I was kind of focused on Hugh Jackman though. I'll be honest.
Have you been drinking?
Am I under oath?
[camera clicks]
There was something wrong with the food.
The thing wrong with the food was that there was no food.
[gentle jazz music playing]
There was no entrée.
[camera clicks]
There was an entrée. It just wasn't served.
Oh, okay.
[guests laughing]
Also, there was no dessert.
[angrily] Not true!
[clears throat]
I wouldn't say the evening was going, uh, poorly.
I have sung "Can't Get You Out of My Head" seven times.
It's a State Dinner. There are bound to be issues.
Seven fucking times.
Little things, mostly.
No entrée.
The man sitting next to me was odd.
[frantic jazz music playing]
Like, really odd.
The calligrapher was having issues.
Well, um… hasn't been a good night.
- I'm sure you heard about the accident. - The accident?
There was an accident. Outside. Talk to Chuy.
[camera clicks]
Talk to Sylvia.
You should talk to George McCutcheon.
Oh no. You want the other George McCutcheon.
No, you want the other George McCutcheon.
Yes, there's Big George, and Little George, and me.
And there were two other George McCutcheons before any of us.
My great-uncle George McCutcheon was a butler under President Truman.
Now he originally worked for the railroad--
- Do you know anything about an accident? - No, I didn't see anything.
I was inside at that point. Maybe talk to Emily.
Is there only one Emily?
Far as I know.
Yes, I was outside. I heard a crash.
A Secret Service van ran into the south gatehouse.
A few people came running out. A.B. was one of them.
A.B. was never outside tonight.
It was probably 15 people.
Including A.B.?
[Rosalind] No, definitely not.
I was with A.B. when the accident happened.
Well, next to him. He was fighting with the florist.
- Why was he fighting with the florist? - [gasping]
- [Melody sneezes] - He wasn't fighting with the florist.
He was fighting with the former First Lady. Kim Abkin.
- [jazz music playing] - [inaudible speech]
No, no. He was arguing with one of the butlers.
[inaudible]
It was a woman.
[inaudible]
A man.
[inaudible]
An argument? No, no, they were laughing.
[inaudible]
[chuckles] No way. Never.
I literally never saw the man laugh. Not once.
[Didier] That's not true.
A.B. and I enjoyed a good laugh many times.
[whispers] Someone crashed the party.
So if you just give us a moment…
Two people crashed the party.
[woman] Lorenzo, let me handle this. Hi, how are you?
The music didn't show.
No, no, no. No. Helen, do not fuck with me.
Kylie Minogue was a guest.
We have a cancellation. We were hoping you would perform for us this evening.
The First Lady of Australia almost died.
[Melody sneezes loudly, gasps]
I almost died.
- [glass smashes] - [rapid drumroll]
- [Kylie singing] - [yelling]
I am going to be dead by the end of the night.
Listen, I've worked every State Dinner since Ronald Reagan's first term,
and this was easily the most stressful, the most unorganized,
the most dramatically incompetent one I've ever seen.
- Whose fault was that? - How long do you have?
- Thirty seconds. - [Rollie laughs]
Oh shit. You… you're serious.
Whose fault was it? It was my fault. Of course.
I'm the White House Social Secretary. I bear full responsibility.
But if you're asking me who I think is really responsible for this disaster,
it's these people all around you.
[whispers] And I don't mean the Australians.
This house is a fucking mess, Ms. Cupp.
A.B. did the best he could, but they were constantly making his life miserable.
- They? - The people who work here. The staff.
And this didn't all start tonight, okay? Not even close.
You want to understand tonight? You have to go back. To the holidays.
[rattling]
[tense festive music playing]
[breathes deeply]
[Lilly] To the terrorist attacks on March 4th.
That way.
- [distant rumbling] - [Lilly] To Moving Day.
The day the old President moves out and the new President moves in.
It was a nightmare. It was bad for everyone.
But A.B. was constantly under assault.
[quietly] And I'm not sure he ever really clicked with the Morgans.
With Elliott Morgan in particular.
Elliott is indecisive.
"Uh, well, uh, uh, that's… that's tricky."
"I, uh…"
Say what you will about A.B., he was decisive.
This is very upsetting.
I'm sorry about the hour.
No, that he's dead. It's upsetting that he's dead.
Yeah, right, of course.
[clears throat] Did you see him this evening?
Yes, many times.
- Anything strike you as unusual? - Unusual? Um…
Well, um, uh, that's… that's tricky.
I, uh… You know what?
He did seem distracted. I will say that.
Yeah. A.B. was an unusual character, Ms. Cupp.
He wasn't especially warm.
He could be very uncompromising.
My husband, Perry, the… the President,
um, he and A.B. did fight a few times.
- I will be honest. - Today?
Today… yes.
Other days.
Look, I liked A.B. Yeah. Uh, not everyone did.
[sighs] Mr. Wynter's old school.
That could rub a lot of people the wrong way.
And did. But I respected him.
He respected me.
We made it work.
Like I said, a lot of people in this house had issues with A.B.
But me? No.
No. A.B. and I got along great. Always.
We were just trying to navigate this shit together.
I can honestly say I hate literally every fucking person in this house,
starting and ending with my brother.
But me and A.B., we were always super cool.
I had no issues with A.B. Wynter. Ever.
- I had the utmost respect for A.B. - I cared deeply for the man.
We never had a cross word.
He brought me great joy.
I don't think I ever met a finer person.
He was like a father to me.
I want to emphasize that I would put Hugh Jackman first.
I loved A.B. Wynter.
Meh. Not my favorite.
But I vastly preferred him to my son's husband.
The President of the United States?
[Nan gags]
[Marvella] Did A.B. and I get along? [sighs] Okay, truth?
We had different styles. But he was all right. Always had my back.
I definitely appreciated him. Most definitely.
Most definitely?
- Yes. - You threatened to kill him.
- When? - Tonight.
Oh, that? You mean in the kitchen?
I am going to kill you!
- You threaten to kill him in another room? - That's just the way we spoke.
- Did he threaten to kill you? - I should say that's the way I spoke.
I'm just saying that it wasn't unusual.
It wasn't unusual for you to threaten to kill A.B. Wynter?
That's not really what I'm saying.
- That's what you said. - That's not what I meant.
- Where were you after dinner? - When?
[Cupp] After dinner.
What the fuck is this?
- Were you ever outside tonight? - No.
Let me ask this a different way: Were you ever outside tonight?
That seems like the same way. How is that different?
And the answer's no.
No.
No. No!
- I don't feel comfortable lying to you. - You shouldn't.
- Like you know that I'm lying. - I do.
I was outside tonight.
I know.
- With some dude from Australia. - He has a name.
I honestly don't know what it is.
[quietly] David Rylance.
Right.
Um…
It was a mistake. I guess.
I was frustrated. I had a lot of energy. He was there.
I just need to burn that shit off sometimes, you know what I'm saying?
Don't you ever just need to fuck?
[Cupp] No.
Where did you go after Mr. Rylance went back inside?
I… I went around the east side of the house
and in… in through the basement.
Did anyone see you?
- I hope not. - That is definitely not what you hope.
Because I've heard 1,000 different things tonight
and the only thing I'm sure of is that you threatened to kill A.B. Wynter
and that you can't be accounted for after 9 p.m.
And that the White House Calligrapher is having some trouble.
[camera clicks]
I didn't kill A.B. Wynter.
- Okay. - And someone did see me.
She came in that door.
It was around 9:15, 9:30.
[Cupp] How long was she down here?
I don't know. But it was a while.
Did you talk to her?
[sighs]
Do you understand how traumatizing this is for me?
This man worked here for 23 years.
He gave his life to this house.
He was a good man.
He was my best friend.
And now he's dead.
I'm sorry.
Please. Take as long as you need.
[Angie breathes slowly]
Actually, we're in a bit of a time crunch.
Do you think A.B. Wynter could've hurt himself, Ms. Huggins?
[Angie] I'll be honest. I knew the man, but I didn't know the man. You feel me?
I mean, I found out things tonight about A.B. that I didn't know before.
Things? What things?
Personal things.
Whatever he was going through, it went inside those books.
- Books? - Notebooks.
His journals. He wrote everything down in them.
- You haven't found those? - No.
Do I think he would kill himself? That's what you're asking?
He was enormously stressed and frustrated.
I know that.
He felt like bad things were happening here,
and that hurt him deeply.
He felt responsible for this place.
After tonight? I don't know. Maybe.
Maybe he could have.
[Filkins] Did Detective Cupp identify any suspects during these interviews?
- [Park] Suspects? - Yes.
Detective Cupp didn't really think in terms of "suspects," Senator.
She said she found people "interesting."
Did she say she found anyone "interesting"?
And when I say people, I mostly mean birds,
but, uh, yes, she did.
It wasn't during the interviews, though.
After we went upstairs, Detective Cupp started poring through everything.
Looking at pictures, thinking through the stories.
Not just from the interviews.
Everything she had seen and heard up to that point. And… it was a lot.
It was the only time the whole evening I saw her frustrated.
Like, she just couldn't get any traction on anything.
- I'm just looking around. - He was gone for 22 minutes.
- Where's Marvella? - Haven't seen her.
- For how long? - An hour.
Someone crashed the party.
- Thump. - I'm just the engineer.
[Park] She wasn't going to solve the case at that point. She knew that.
But she was ready to start. She had listened, and she was ready,
but she didn't know where it was.
She told me at one point earlier in the day
that this sometimes happened in the field, when she was out looking for birds.
She said that the only thing you could do was wait.
- [bird squawks] - And that it would come.
- [bird squawks] - And then it did.
Detective Cupp. We traced the call to Wynter's office.
And?
What is this place?
It's used by the grounds crew and the White House Gardener.
- Emily? - Yes, Emily Mackil.
- Do you want me to get her? - No, not right now.
[soft, curious music playing]
I am going to be dead by the end of the night.
Let's check it. Just in case.
- [glass smashes] - There's more broken glass!
[Rylance moaning]
- [both moaning] - [glass smashes]
- [slow inhale, exhale] - [glass smashes]
[falcon squawks]
[music intensifies]
[falcon squawks]
[indistinct chattering]
- Have they moved the body? - Wynter?
- Has anyone else died? - They're moving him now.
- Where? - Out the back.
No, no, bring him out the front. Through the Grand Foyer.
- [Harry] Grand Foyer? - That's where everybody is.
Exactly. He needs to come out the front.
[Glick] Well, I don't know about this.
[indistinct chattering]
Why did she want them to bring Wynter's body out the front?
She wanted everyone together in one place.
[Filkins] Why? Why did she want everyone together in one place?
Uh… because of the falcon.
- The falcon? - Yes.
Is that like The Penguin?
Totally different kind of bird.
No, I mean, is it a nickname for someone? Like The Penguin in Batman.
Oh, no. This was an actual falcon.
Earlier that night, I asked Detective Cupp
if there was anything on Teddy Roosevelt's list of birds
that she really wanted to see.
The falcon. It's not a rare bird, even here in D.C.,
but it would be amazing to see one at the White House.
[Park] She said she loved the falcon because of the way it hunted.
[Cupp] They can identify even the most imperceptible weaknesses
in their prey.
If you look up what a falcon ends up killing,
you'll almost always discover something like this.
The slightly damaged wing. The broken leg. The inexperience of youth.
The unfamiliarity with the terrain.
There will be something.
[quiet, tense music playing]
They'll pick a single bird out of a flock of thousands.
The odd one.
The weak one.
They'll find it.
She knew there was a place to start, she just didn't know where it was exactly.
Who it was. And the falcon helped her find it.
She realized after talking to everyone, after hearing and seeing so much,
that she needed to see everyone together,
in the same place, at the same time, and then she could pick that person off.
And that's where she would start.
[somber music playing]
She was hunting.
[tense music playing]
[door opens]
[Tripp clicks tongue, sniffs]
[music intensifies]
- [door closes] - [music softens]
[quiet chattering]
[ominous music playing]
[screaming]
[solemn instrumental music playing]