[ Beeping ]
Oh, bollocks!
- Dad, what's going on? - Beans on toast, love.
- At 4:00 A.M.? - Best time of the day.
[ Beeping stops ]
Not bad on the beans, but more like beans on crisp.
Yeah. Well, I got a little distracted, didn't I?
A video of golden eagles dragging goats off a mountain.
It's brilliant. Only happens in this one little tiny part of Spain.
How's the book coming along?
Let's have another whack at the toast then, shall we?
Have you even tried writing anything?
Just a sentence. Any sentence.
That's what I do when I can't write a paper.
You can go back to bed now, love, if you want.
"Happy families are all alike.
- However, every unhappy family"... - bored.
- No, it's very Russian. - You think you can do better?
"Let there be Lightman."
Hire a ghostwriter. Night, love.
Take 'em away. Don't need 'em.
All the research I need is in here.
Perfect. Deaf as a post. It's just deaf.
No post.
Follow me.
Is Loker in?
Yeah, he's somewhere. He should be back in a minute.
Sit.
Stay.
The red dot test.
Oi. You sent mutt and Jeff to spy on me, didn't you, eh?
Cal Lightman, Candice McAllister.
So you don't deny it then? Sarah and Charles are here to help you, Cal.
Do you two need a minute? You know,
I am having a hard time writing this book.
Same thing happened on the first one... the one that this whole place is built on.
Dr. Lightman, may I say what a huge fan I am of that book.
Is it "Candice" with an "i" or "Candace" with an "a"?
'Cause "Candace" with an "a" i find to be far more classy. You know what I mean?
- We're running late. - What can I do for you?
Um, I thought you said Dr. Lightman was...
Busy. That's exactly what I said.
Good-bye, Cal.
Hey!
Come in here. Make yourself useful.
With your book? What book?
I need to see foster's calendar.
You mean hack into her computer.
Your words, not mine.
- Dr. Lightman, i can't just hack into... - or you're fired.
Watch my fingers.
Wasn't that hard, was it?
On your way then.
[ Computer beeps ]
What the... what... Did you do this?
Hey. This is my desk. Can't hear you.
The red dot test. He's got you doing the red dot test?
Can you leave me alone now?
Excuse me? I need to focus.
No, don't worry about me. I didn't want anything from the coffee cart.
** [ Piano: Classical ]
[ No audible dialogue ]
Oh, Megan! Your dress!
It's all right, mom. You can't see it anyway. Relax.
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
Help you, sir? You lost?
Contestants and parents only here.
I must've wandered through the wrong door.
Well, how about you wander back out again? [ Girl ] Dad.
You made my braid crooked.
I'd jump right on that if I were you.
How many times have I told you, Megan, food is not your friend?
[ Sighs ]
- I'm calling security. - I work with the pageant.
- Yeah? Doing what? - This and that.
Yeah, I thought so. You're out of here.
Wouldn't you rather be a soccer mum?
Drs. Foster and Lightman are here to vet our finalists,
to make sure we are plastic surgery and drug free.
Lucky for you, i got writer's block.
So you got into my calendar. Good for you. But I've got this covered, Cal.
Who's the favorite in this little freak show then?
- Freak show? - You wonder why i kept you out of this.
What about you, eh?
You the favorite?
She is one, yes. But nothing is certain.
Well, one thing's for certain.
It's all gonna go horribly wrong for someone.
[ Man ] * dream, send me a sign *
* turn back the clock *
* give me some time *
* I need to break out *
* make a new name *
* let's open our eyes *
* to the brand-new day **
that girl needs help.
And I mean yesterday.
Dr. Lightman, you already called this a freak show.
Correct.
Are you sure your prejudices...
Aren't informing what you're seeing?
Everything this girl does is deliberate.
Put it this way:
I hope I'm wrong.
These girls are under a great deal of pressure.
Don't misread that for something it's not.
When you hear hooves...
Think horses, not zebras.
Either way, it's a stampede.
What are you doing in here? You're hiding?
- Job hunting. - Impressive.
On Lightman's laptop, which you took from his office.
Guess what the first line of Lightman's book is.
He takes your desk away, and this is how you deal with it.
"Let there be Lightman."
I mean, he's certifiable.
You don't even have the guts to do this in his office.
You slink away. You hide in here with his computer.
- Poetic justice. - You mean pathetic justice.
** [ Piano: Classical ] [ Woman ] All right, come on, Megan.
How many times have we been through this? Hold that extension.
And now sell the smile. Sell the smile.
Really sell it.
Mrs. cross. Uh, Megan.
This is Dr. Cal Lightman.
I'm here for the pre-interview.
New procedure before the finals, after some other pageants have had some troubles.
She's gonna have to do a lot better than that.
Mom, could I take a break? No. Come on.
- It's good practice. Just hold it. - ** [ Piano continues ]
Do you go out of your way to make her miserable?
- Excuse me? - Here's another one.
Does she try to look like you,
or do you try to look like her?
Come on, Megan. Let's go.
Mrs. cross, we specialize in reading people's emotions.
Well, then I don't need to tell you how angry I am.
And scared. Don't forget that part.
You just attacked my mother. How is she supposed to feel?
You ever think about ending it all?
What?
Of course not.
Your face just said yes, love.
- You know, you got a big mouth. - Yep.
And she's hiding something on her shoulder.
What?
Keep your hands off of my daughter.
My hands aren't on your daughter.
But someone's have been.
Haven't they, love?
[ Gasps ] Oh, my god.
Megan!
Who did it love? Eh?
Who was it, love?
It was him.
It was Mr. Fletcher.
Laura, no. He touched me.
Megan, no.
He molested me.
No, Megan. No.
Megan, i...
Look, you all know me. There's no way i could ever...
Laura... Megan, please. You gotta tell them the truth.
[ Cal ] You know,
you just rang a bell you can't un-ring.
You know that, Megan, right?
Megan?
You called the wrong number.
You need to call child protective services.
No, what I need is a dodgy cop...
Who can keep this off the record till I say.
Yeah? When's that fool showing up?
I do need this one. A man's life just got flushed down the crapper.
Maybe he's got it coming. You thought of that?
You been drinking, detective?
It's called mouthwash, professor.
Am I under arrest?
A girl said you molested her. Kids lie.
Which one? Be more specific.
Megan. Megan cross.
All right, say that name again without squinting.
Do you wear contacts? Yeah.
He wears contacts. See? His contacts are dry.
What, with outrage? Do me a favor.
Mr. Fletcher, if there's anything you're not telling us about this,
you'll make it a lot easier on yourself if you just come clean.
Bloody hell. You people really do talk like that.
Who? Latinas or poles? Oh, you mean cops.
Did you push her? Did you shove her?
Did you hit her? Did you, you know, hold her down?
A little bit of everything really.
If you want to know about Megan,
talk to her mother.
Well, he didn't molest that girl.
- You wanna walk me through your thinking on that? - In a word, no.
How sure are you?
You can go, Mr. Fletcher.
That answer your question?
I'm not letting this pageant go down, and neither will the magazine.
[ Woman ] There he is.
Don't let him leave, all right? He's hiding something.
And so is Megan, by the way.
I can't guarantee his safety. Oh, don't be such a girl.
- Tell them to get a life. - I beg your pardon?
The magazine people.
Is it helpful in what you do to be so prejudiced?
Come here, sweetheart.
Look, I come here,
and I spotted a girl who feels the same way about your pageant as I do.
So I would say yes, in this case, it is helpful.
What was that about? Candice with an "i," not an "a." I knew it.
Let's go tag-team her mama.
** [ Piano: Classical ] Forgive me, but if a man touched a child of mine,
particularly in a sexual way...
You heard my mom. We're not filing charges.
Did Thomas admit anything? No.
Then it's his word against ours.
If you don't mind my saying, Megan, you seem very calm and composed.
- He just groped me, okay? - No.
It's not okay. You're 16 years old.
- It's just a bruise. - We're fine.
- We? - ** [ Ends ]
All right, Megan, one more time.
** [ Piano: Classical ]
Every look, every word is in lockstep.
They're a perfect symbiosis.
Yeah, except she's dying to get away from her mum.
Laura even uses the royal "we."
There's no separation of mother and daughter.
I've never seen two people so on the same page.
Let's tear the page in half.
I can see why you're the favorite.
I thought we were done here.
[ Clattering ] Mrs. cross,
if Megan is a victim of molestation,
you need to deal with that.
We don't dwell on the negative. It shows through to other people.
Like the judges.
We've been preparing for this pageant for years.
If this were the Olympics, no one would question her desire to keep her head in the game.
Your daughter has suffered a trauma.
She needs to talk about it so that she can regain control.
Stealing?
Yeah. It tastes better that way.
- You let Mr. Fletcher go. - Yeah. Lack of evidence.
Interesting.
You don't seem too bothered by that.
I can't afford to let it.
Let it what?
Ruin your chances of being miss freak show cover girl?
God!
- You asked for my help. - No, I didn't.
Well, at the very least, you asked for my full attention.
Right before you pointed the finger at Fletcher.
- Megan. - Mommy's calling.
Rehearsal?
[ Sniffing ]
[ Knocking ] [ Anna ] Sorry to interrupt.
You said to let you know when they got here.
Has Loker been in here?
- Loker? - Yeah. When I was out.
'Cause, you know... [ Sniffing ]
I can smell him.
He calls it eau de toilette.
French.
One way of putting it, i suppose.
One of my pens is missing.
Hello, gents.
They said we had to come here, or I was out of the competition.
Megan, have you told your mum yet?
Told me what?
That's all right. No need. It can wait.
You, with me.
You, you're with the delightful Dr. foster.
It was the end of the first day of the competition.
Mr. Fletcher has this r.V.
And you were inside his r.V.?
Yeah. It's pretty big.
And, uh, you know, we hang out there sometimes during competitions.
We got to know him and deedee pretty well.
So it wouldn't have been unusual for you and Mr. Fletcher to be alone together?
Not really. No.
When it happened, i, uh...
You know, he could see that I'd been upset, you know,
that I'd been crying.
And, uh...
So, when was this, Megan?
Day before yesterday.
And, uh...
You know, I messed up my personal interview.
Mr. Fletcher said that it wasn't fair.
He was... he was comforting me. You know?
And then...
Then he put his hand...
On my neck.
And I just thought he was being nice.
She didn't come to you? No.
I had no idea.
And then...
Megan.
You have nothing to be ashamed of.
It's important that you know that.
Take your time.
And then he touched me.
He molested me.
I tried to push him away, but...
That's enough. I'm not gonna watch my little girl in pain anymore.
Tell yourself what you like, love.
But that in there, that's not pain. That's...
That's not even close, that.
Okay. She's enjoying herself.
- Is that how you got the bruises? - Yeah.
And then I kicked him and broke free.
She's getting off on your pain.
- [ Cal ] First Fletcher, now her mother. - [ Gillian ] She's a sadist.
She's a bloody emotional vampire.
And the case still remains: Fletcher did do something to her in that r.V.
We need to involve the police... the real ones.
Spoilsport. [ Candice ] Dr. Lightman.
My pageant's about to go up in flames.
Down in flames.
Up in smoke.
[ Sighs ] Two more girls just came forward.
They both say Thomas Fletcher touched them inappropriately.
Right.
[ Police radio chatter ]
You call this off the record, do you?
We've got 24 hours, and then we have to do the paperwork.
Right? Mm-hmm.
What's all this?
- Deedee, can you step over here, please? - For what?
Do what she says, love.
We're taking her into custody. Social services.
- Like hell you are. - Guys.
Hey, back off. No! Dad!
Get off of me! Deedee! Dad!
- I'm gonna help him, love. - Dad!
- You son of a bitch. - Just until we get this cleared up.
- Dad! - Deedee!
- Where are you taking her? - Somewhere safe. I promise you that.
Get... no...
I'm innocent.
You know I'm innocent.
Deedee!
Two more girls came forward.
I gotta talk to Laura.
Oh, now he tells me.
Tell you wh...
Okay, look, we used to be more than just friends.
Oh, so now you think she's going to wanna help you out all of a sudden.
What is it, memories from the road then?
After my wife died, i sold the house.
Too much history.
Anyway, this thing's pretty handy when it comes to the pageants.
Yeah, and for a bit of the other,
you know, when the girls are off lying about world peace.
You mean Laura and me, huh? There's no crime in being lonely.
Well, Megan would beg to differ.
When Megan came by the other day, I didn't think anything of it at the time.
I didn't think... She come on to you?
I turned her down.
I tried to be nice about it. She went crazy.
She grabbed a pair of scissors sitting here.
She came at me, and I grabbed her.
I wrestled 'em out of her hands, and... [ Sighs ]
Which is how she got the bruises.
Still, Megan's getting what she wants...
Your pain.
Are you really going to take Ashley out of the pageant?
Are you more worried about the girls who've come forward...
Or about your pageant?
Hi.
- Oh, wait, wait. - Nancy!
My daughter, Fletcher?
They're making it up.
All of them?
[ Low growl ]
One thing I know for sure, Candice,
is that abusers of the kind that we're talking about here...
Lack that kind of self-control.
We finished the red dot test, Dr. Lightman.
Loker actually told us what it was.
You did it too, did you? Yeah.
- That's keen. - Ten hours long.
Yeah. Two dots, 10 hours.
Actually, there were three. Right.
Excellent. Congratulations.
How many dots were there? I don't know. I've never finished it.
- Then what was the point? - Each dot represents a microexpression.
What'd she just say? Hilarious.
Could you take Mr. Fletcher to my office...
And make sure he gets some rest?
This is a local pageant from last year.
See how she smiles? Even though she lost.
The winners cry and the losers smile.
[ Button clicks ] Losers wanna appear gracious. Winners wanna...
Is that it? No.
No, you need to see this. [ Button clicks ]
[ Applause, cheers ]
I wonder how long she practiced that dive.
Triumph at losing. You don't see that every day.
Do you know how to create a disturbed personality?
Constant criticism...
And lack of affection.
Works like a charm, that does.
You mean like how you treat Loker?
Who?
This chair taken?
You didn't say he was coming.
You thought that was bad, wait till you see this.
Wait for what?
Megan. Look, I just wanna talk for a second, okay?
She has nothing to say to you.
They took deedee.
And if you don't tell the truth, i may never get her back.
You do see what I'm talking about, don't you?
- I don't see anything. - What are you two talking about?
To be honest, this doesn't feel right, Dr. Lightman.
Is he trying to get you to disqualify us from the pageant?
- Us? - You are trying to disqualify us.
Your daughter's feeding off your pain, Mrs. cross.
Do you ever wonder why he just went cold on you?
Megan knows why i stopped calling, Laura. Don't you, Megan?
Megan is a victim here. You're blaming the victim?
I'm the one with all the bruises.
Pain is your daughter's drug of choice.
Isn't that right, Megan?
Mr. Fletcher here, his pain is like crank to you.
Good news: He can get away from that.
Bad news:
You can't.
Enjoy the freak show.
He touched my hair, the back of my neck,
like he was comforting me.
At first, I thought he was being friendly.
Then I felt sick.
My hands went numb.
I couldn't catch my breath.
Thank you, Ashley. Can you give us a minute?
She said the exact same thing as the first girl.
Word for word.
There were also unmistakable language similarities to Megan.
[ Cell phone rings ]
Wallowski.
For how long?
Now what?
Megan's missing. She went for a walk and never came back.
[ Woman ♪1 ] Quit hiding! [ Woman ♪2 ] Where's Megan?
[ Man ] What did you do to her?
Tell your friend in there he's a coward.
Oh, what, like men who hide behind their wives, you mean?
You took away my desk. So here I am.
Where's my pen?
Your pen?
Yeah, the one you stole off my desk. My pen.
Are you kidding me?
Rumor travels fast.
Your point being?
One of these people, or one of their daughters,
has gotta know where Megan is.
Have you thought of that?
[ Siren wails, stops ]
[ Cal ] Come here, darling.
What is this?
What?
I thought i saw a look there.
[ Pounding ]
Hey, Fletcher. Police.
[ Door opens ]
Stand back, please.
[ Woman ] Yeah!
[ Wallowski ] Dr. Lightman, it just came over the radio.
His daughter deedee's in intensive care, hurt bad.
I'm taking him to the hospital now.
What happened to her? I don't know. Could be self-inflicted.
Don't quote me on that.
- [ Engine starts ] - You've got potential, you have, darling.
[ Siren chirps ]
Pen.
Thief.
[ Woman on P.A. ] Dr. mclucas, please call the page operator.
Hello, Megan.
Where's deedee?
What, you're disappointed, are you?
You're the face reader.
Is this how it happened with Fletcher?
Come on, Dr. Lightman.
You're the one that lured me here.
You wrecked Fletcher's life.
And now you're trying to do the same with me, is that it?
I like you better than him. You get me.
Open your hand.
Do you prefer cutting up or inflicting pain on other people?
Show me what you got.
Let's get you out of here, shall we?
I know what you're trying to do.
I don't need any help. I got you.
But you can't tell anyone.
You do,
I'll say you attacked me.
Hang on a sec.
Go on then.
That was just lovely.
Well, tell that to Thomas Fletcher.
Megan.
I found out where Megan kept it hidden.
The other girls told me. I'm so sorry, honey.
Maybe it's not too late to get you back into the finals.
After what they did to you, forget it.
"He touched my hair, the back of my neck.
I felt sick. My hands went numb.
I couldn't catch my breath." Sound familiar?
Who else knew about this diary?
Ashley and Ellen, and now me.
That explains their similar language.
Here's one.
"Went to see back to the future with Joyce.
First in the school to see it."
It's not Megan's diary. It's her mum's.
A lot of dog-eared pages.
She's been getting off on her mum's pain night after night.
It's how she survives between victims.
Or pageants, where she can inflict the most pain on the most people.
And we took all that away from her.
My mum killed herself.
With pills.
You try to make sense of it.
Then you just move on.
No one can ever hurt me like she did.
Your mum will move on.
Yeah, after a while, she'll move on.
If you... take that dive.
It sounds cold,
but it's the truth.
Your mom really kill herself?
Oh, yeah.
Silly Cal, eh?
I know about her diary.
Now, that's good.
Anger.
It means you feel something other than pain.
She could never stand it if I had a hair out of place.
[ Scoffs ] She'd go to bed for days.
There'd be no food.
She wouldn't talk.
No wonder I never met my dad.
Look,
if you really wanna hurt your mum...
And her bloody pageant,
no one does that stuff better than me.
[ Applause ]
Teenstyle, one of the nation's leading magazines,
would like to thank all of our participants...
For making this pageant such a special occasion for all of us.
[ Continues speaking ] She shouldn't even be back here, you know.
Well, it's the best i could do, you know,
to get her down off the ledge.
'Cause, of course, i didn't have a shrink handy.
[ Candice ] And now, after all the talent, ** [ Drumroll ]
After all the poise and beauty,
we come to the big moment.
** [ Drumroll stops ]
Who will be miss teenstyle magazine?
Whose face will grace next month's cover?
Our third runner-up and second place winner is...
Miss Oregon, Jessica Peterson!
[ Applause, cheers ]
[ Applause dies down ] Our first runner-up...
And second place winner is...
** [ Drumroll ]
** [ Drumroll stops ] Miss Connecticut,
Megan cross!
[ Applause, cheers ]
Ladies and gentlemen, miss Texas is your winner!
[ Applause, cheers ] Mindy Lee, congratulations!
** [ Dance ]
Isn't she beautiful? Miss teenstyle magazine!
[ Candice ] Beautiful!
[ Sniffles ]
[ Door opens ]
[ Footsteps approaching ]
How you doing? You all right?
"He touched my hair, the back of my neck.
I felt sick."
Where did you get that?
Here you are, love.
Mom.
I found it in your closet.
She was telling your story, wasn't she?
I'm done with pageants.
What, honey? I know this hurts right now.
Hey. Will you knock it off.
I'm not doing this anymore, mom.
I'm not putting on a fake smile to music I don't even like.
I'm not... I'm not pretending that I wanna save the world. I'm...
You can't do this to us.
Us or me?
I'll see myself out.
Oh, sorry about that.
It's a gift from Fletcher,
a grateful soccer mom.
Is there anything you wanna talk to me about?
What, you mean like about my dead mother?
If you like.
No, I was just comin' here. I was looking for someone to play with.
Are you sure there's nothing you wanna say to me?
Look. I know.
No, we can talk about it anytime, really.
Anytime you want, you know. How about now? You good?
Talk about it right now if you want.
Come here, ball.
[ Sighs ]
Lightman said you were a big help reading the crowd the other day.
Big help? He actually said that?
Look, he wants you out of the lab and onto the street, Eli.
That's why he cleaned your desk off.
To do what? He hasn't told me anything.
[ Chuckles ] Make it up. Do what he does.
I already applied for a job... At the Pentagon.
Pentagon?
Lightman's former employer?
Yeah.
You're really gonna do this.
If I get the gig, I'm history.
Yeah. "Big help."
He actually used those words.
[ Typing ] [ Door opens ]
Hey, hey.
[ Door closes ] Hey. Hey.
I'm warming up dinner.
Oh.
[ Lid opens ] [ Bubbling ]
Whose cat?
What's wrong?
It was a joke, love.
When people tell a joke, right, it's polite to laugh.
Did you have a bad day?
[ Inhales, exhales ]
I spoke ill of your grandmother today.
Really?
Yep.
I've never done that before.
Well, I mean, i wouldn't forgive you if you killed yourself either.
It wasn't her fault, you know.
I mean, she was...
She was an ill woman. She was, uh... [ Whistles ]
You know... [ Clicks tongue ] Out to lunch.
Ah.
So... not her fault.
Look at those fingers go.
Little hummingbirds, they are.
What's that then?
It's, um, a foreword to your book.
Really?
- Yeah, and do you wanna hear the first part? - Yeah, go on then.
"It's not easy growing up in a house...
Where someone knows your every thought...
Or thinks they do."
A lot of pressure then?
Eh? You don't have to use it.
No, it's lovely. [ Kisses ] Then why do you look like you're about to throw up?
Well, 'cause now i got a foreword and, you know, no book.
Meow? Yes, please.
[ Typing ]