[ Wind rushing ]
-♪ My father understands the demons ♪
♪ I wrestle with in my daydreams ♪
♪ And knows what to say when they are winning ♪
♪ And I go spinning all night ♪
♪ Screaming, "I don't need your help" ♪
♪ He knows that means I need it bad ♪
♪♪
♪ My father ♪
♪ Understands the demons I wrestle with ♪
♪ In my daydreams ♪
♪ And knows what to say when they are winning ♪
♪ And I go spinning all night ♪
♪ Screaming, "I don't need your help" ♪
♪ He knows that means I need it bad ♪
♪♪
-♪ Today, you tell me you are leaving ♪
-Regina.
What a pretty name.
-[ Scoffs ]
-Listen, can I ask you a huge favor?
My car broke down just up the road.
Is there any way you could watch my little girl
while I go get it towed?
-Where's her mother?
-Uh, she's, uh, gone.
Cancer.
-♪ I'll be lonesome ♪
-How long you gonna be?
-An hour or two.
Here.
We'll order some food, and I can give you a tip.
-Just put your money away.
She'll be just fine with me.
-Thank you.
Thank you so much.
-What's her name?
-Elsie.
♪♪
Be a good girl.
♪♪
[ Door opens, bell jingles ]
[ Door closes ]
♪♪
[ Guitar playing ]
♪♪
-♪ My eyes ♪
♪ Are wide open ♪
♪ We can make it ♪
♪ To the other side ♪
♪ Our love ♪
♪ It's a-rovin' ♪
♪ It's yours ♪
♪ Alive in mine ♪
♪ We will both ♪
[ Indistinct conversations ]
♪♪
-Hi, Elsie.
♪♪
-Am I getting kicked out again?
-You're being transferred to a new placement.
I think you'll be happier there.
-That's what you said the last 10 times.
-It's a much better fit for you.
There's no adult male parent in the house.
-Can I go get my stuff? -It's already in my car.
♪♪
Elsie! -[ Grunts ]
[ Glass cracks ] -You bitch!
♪♪
[ Dialing ]
[ Ringing ]
[ Siren wails in distance ]
[ Ringing continues ] -Hi.
Can I speak with the head of the household?
-Take me off your list!
[ Cellphone beeps, dialing ] -Yeah?
-Hello. How's your day going?
-Who's this?
-Hi, this is Harper with an exciting offer
to get you supplemental insurance
so that you never have to experience a lapse in coverage.
[ Click ]
[ Cellphone beeps, dialing ]
[ Ringing ]
-Hello? -Hi.
This is Pro-Plan Insurance.
-Stop calling me!
How many times do I have to tell you?!
-Ma'am, calm down.
I personally have never called you.
-I told you stop calling me!
What is wrong with you people?!
-No, what is wrong with you,
Nancy Winthrop of White Beach, Sarasota?!
What makes you think it's okay
to belligerently scream at a total stranger
who hates their job making sure
that you never have a lapse in coverage?!
[ Cellphone beeps ]
[ Sighs ]
[ Siren wails in distance ]
♪♪
[ Mouse clicking ]
♪♪
[ Glasses thud ]
♪♪
[ Brakes squeal ]
[ Birds chirping ]
[ Car door closes ]
-We need to make this one work, okay?
I don't want to take you back to the Center again.
♪♪
[ Door creaks ]
[ Knock on door ]
♪♪
-Hey! Oh.
Hi. You must be Elsie.
I'm Shannon. -Thanks for having me.
-It's my pleasure.
Welcome home.
Look. It's Elsie.
Come on in.
♪♪
These are my daughters, Shayna and Chanel.
Girls, say hello to Elsie.
-Hey. -Hey.
-And this is Terrence.
He's been with us almost two years, honor student.
He's off to college soon.
We're so proud.
-Nice to meet you, Elsie.
-Thanks.
-As you know, I'm fostering three children at the moment.
Nita's upstairs in her room.
So it's a bit cozy,
but we're excited to make room for Elsie.
I know it hasn't been an easy road for her.
-Where can I put my stuff? -I'll show her.
-Oh, thank you, Terrence. So helpful.
Such a good kid.
-Uh, let me give you a hand. -I got it.
-Chill.
Nobody's gonna steal your stuff here.
So...
have you been to the Downtown Center?
That's -- That's where my little brother's at.
-Sucks.
Group homes are like jails for kids that nobody wants.
Last time I was there, this 12-year-old bitch
stabbed me in the neck with a pen.
But at least the staff's not allowed to touch you,
except to restrain you or whatever.
What's this?
-Shannon likes to act all Mother Teresa
in front of the social workers,
but this -- this is what's really up.
She's fostering for the free rent and maid service.
But her bio kids, Shayna and Chanel,
they will not even wash their own dish.
-What's a "commode"? -It's a fancy word for "toilet."
Shannon likes to keep it classy.
And she's a psycho about the schedule.
So breakfast is at 7:00 a.m.
She really means that.
-I won't be here long, anyway.
I'm aging out this year.
-Me, too.
I'm outta here the second I turn 18.
I'm gonna get an apartment with this guy I know.
I'm gonna get a job and, uh --
and file for custody of my little brother.
♪♪
What?
What's that look supposed to mean?
-Nothing. Where's my room?
[ Door creaks ]
-This is Nita.
She doesn't talk. -Perfect.
♪♪
[ Door creaks ]
♪♪
Don't touch me or my stuff, or I will kill you.
♪♪
Understand?
♪♪
[ Indistinct conversations, telephone rings ]
-Amelia Harper.
I'm Detective Wally. What can I do for you?
-I'd like to see
the Cherry Falls Jane Doe file, please.
I'm with the Jane Doe Archives.
-What's the Jane Doe --
-It's a global center for missing and unidentified women.
-It's an armchair detective website.
She's one of those podcast people.
-I don't have a podcast.
I'm a volunteer.
-Like I told you the last five times,
we don't share open cases with every true-crime junkie
who wanders in off the Internet.
-Okay, that case has been shelved for 15 years.
So, what harm does it do to get some fresh eyes on it?
-She wants to dig around in our files, play hero,
prove we're a bunch of morons
who don't know how to do our jobs.
-There's nothing to prove.
Your beer-gut boys' club speaks for itself, so...
-You wanna solve cold cases?
Go to the police academy. Be a real cop.
Oh, wait, you wouldn't pass a psych-eval, you nut job!
-Alright, take it down a notch.
What harm can it do? -You'll regret it, Wally.
Goddamn podcast people.
-This way. -Thank you.
[ Telephone ringing ]
[ Police radio chatter ]
Okay, so, over 3,000 acres of state park to comb through,
not to mention private land,
and you had how many guys on this?
-I'm not sure.
That was 15 years ago.
But I'm telling you, we did everything we could
to help this woman -- ran her sketch in the media,
set up a hotline, chased down thousands of leads.
-It says here that she was a local?
-Isotope testing indicated she most likely grew up in Colorado.
But there was never a missing-persons report filed.
I never understood how that happens.
And how does a girl like that go missing
with no family looking for her?
-Sometimes, families are the reason people disappear.
♪♪
And the reason nobody looks.
[ Baby coos ]
-Morning.
[ Cellphone chimes ]
[ Baby cooing ]
-Breakfast is at 7:00.
-It's only 7:15.
-You want some of my toaster waffle?
-Stay out of it, Terrence.
Elsie has to learn to follow the rules like everyone else.
-So, what am I supposed to do, starve?
'Cause I-I had to wait an hour for Shayna and Chanel
to get out of the shower.
-It's our shower. -Yeah, you don't get to tell us
how long we can take in our own bathroom.
-Shayna, Chanel, ignore her.
Finish your breakfast.
♪♪
-[ Grunts ]
-Do that one more time, and I swear...
-[ Grunting ]
♪♪
-Hey! -Don't touch me!
Don't ever touch me!
[ Baby crying ]
-Everybody out, please.
[ Crying continues ]
Everyone out.
Now!
[ Crying continues ]
[ Keys jingle ]
[ Items clattering ]
[ Silverware clattering ]
[ Drawer closes ]
[ Spoon clatters ]
[ Chair scrapes ]
I understand things have been hard for you.
But this behavior is unacceptable.
You have to learn to control yourself and follow the rules,
or you're going to keep getting sent away,
keep getting in trouble.
And you don't want to end up like your dad.
-You don't know anything about my dad.
-Oh.
Well, I know he's sitting in Englewood Correctional,
serving time for child abandonment.
-What? How do you know that?
-Your social worker. It's -- It's in your file.
-They don't let us see our file.
I didn't even know my dad was still alive.
-Oh.
Honey, I thought you knew.
He was arrested on a DUI or something,
and he had this old warrant from abandoning you.
He's been locked up for years, I think.
-Years?
♪♪
[ Indistinct whispering ]
♪♪
-[ Thinking ] Cherry Falls Jane Doe.
♪♪
What were you doing out here?
Did they carry you in, or did they find you here?
But why here?
What's here?
♪♪
Anybody home?
♪♪
-This is a one-time deal.
I'm not driving you all the way out here again.
Your father lost his parental rights
when he dumped you like trash.
I just want you to keep your expectations low, okay?
-They couldn't be any lower.
-What kind of man abandons his own baby?
[ Buzzer ]
♪♪
-Hmm.
I guess I always knew this day was gonna come.
Ah, look at you.
All grown up.
-I'm Shannon Shepherd, Elsie's foster mother,
and I just want you to know this little girl's been through hell.
-Ma'am...
thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
It means the world to me to know
that Elsie's got people in her life who care about her.
-Well, you're welcome.
Elsie's a-a very special girl.
-I'm sorry, Mrs. Shepherd --
-Miss.
-Can I have a moment alone with Elsie?
-Oh, of course.
Yes, you have a lot to catch up on.
I'll be right outside if you need me.
[ Door buzzes ]
[ Door opens, closes ]
-I don't -- I don't know how much you remember.
-I was 3.
My only memory of you is you leaving me at that diner,
walking away, and never coming back.
-I thought you'd be better off.
-Better off ditched by the side of the road with strangers?
-I hoped you'd find a family,
with parents who could give you a good childhood.
-My first foster home, I stayed two weeks.
'Cause I wouldn't talk.
I wouldn't even say my own name,
and they wanted a perfect, cute, little doll
they could love, not some traumatized freak.
After that, I was put in a house with six bio kids
who would beat on me, steal my food,
till I finally had to start talking
to tell my foster parents what was happening,
and they sent me back, too.
You break a dish, don't act grateful enough,
foster dad look at you a little too long...
Anything can get you sent away.
That's the kind of childhood you gave me.
-I'm sorry. I didn't know.
-How would you?!
'Cause you never checked on me.
You never called.
[ Sighs ] You never sent me an e-mail.
-I thought about you every day.
-Thank you for that.
Do you have any idea what it's like growing up
feeling like you don't belong anywhere or to anyone?
-I do.
I get that you're angry.
Of course you are.
I'm not a monster.
I want you to know that.
-What about my mom?
What was her name?
-Wendy.
-Last name?
How did she die? -Liver cancer.
[ Door buzzes ]
You look just like her.
You still have the guitar?
You play?
-I've just always known how to.
I don't know why.
I don't remember anything about my mom, not even her face.
Just part of this song. I think maybe she sang it to me?
♪ My eyes ♪
♪ Are wide open ♪
♪ We can make it ♪
♪ To the other side ♪
-I, um, I got to get out of here.
-At least tell me her last name.
-I can't talk about her. -It's a simple question.
-It's not simple!
♪♪
I'll tell you everything.
I promise.
♪♪
Just not like this.
♪♪
I'm so glad you found me.
♪♪
[ Door buzzes ]
♪♪
[ Door closes ]
♪♪
[ Indistinct whispering ]
♪♪
[ Camera shutter clicks ]
♪♪
[ Rocks clattering ]
♪♪
[ Guitar playing ]
♪♪
-♪ My eyes ♪
♪ Are wide open ♪
♪ We can make it ♪
[ Echoing ] ♪ To the other side ♪
♪ Our love ♪
[ Overlapping ] ♪ It's a-rovin' ♪
♪ It's yours ♪
♪ Alive ♪
♪ In mine ♪
♪ We will both ♪
♪ Wind up broken ♪
♪ Certain that we have died ♪
♪ But on the day ♪
♪ Much like this one ♪
-[ Grunts ]
-♪ We're gonna get back up ♪
♪ And we will rise ♪
♪♪
-Next time on "Sacred Lies"...
I'm guessing from the bone structure,
it was a female. -Sorry, who are you?
-I'm the one that found her.
-This isn't a cold case anymore.
It's an active homicide investigation.
-I am a different man now,
and I'd like the chance to prove it to you.
-No mother in the picture. Died, according to Dad.
-Did anyone make sure the dad's story was true?
Elsie? Do you recognize these women?
Maybe you saw them with your dad.
♪♪