-I'm not supposed to talk to you.
You're not a cop. You're, like, some crazy person.
-I need you to run this for some DNA.
-What is it? -A girl named Elsie.
Her dad is also the father of the Jane Doe's baby.
Her mom's disappeared off the face of the earth.
I think there's a connection.
-I told you, I can't remember anything about my mother's face.
-Maybe he can help you remember.
-What do you think? [ Camera shutter clicking ]
-Whatever you think Peter did, you're wrong.
He wouldn't hurt these girls.
-Hey! What the hell are you doing?
It's that guy again. The one who's been creeping on us.
-Perv! -Come on, let's get him. Run!
♪♪
-Get him!
-[ Grunts ] -Aah! Aah!
-[ Panting ] What did you do?
-You ran Elsie's DNA? -It's gonna blow your mind.
-He's not your father.
-What?
♪♪
[ Brakes squeal ]
-♪ I know where your secrets hide ♪
♪♪
♪ Strike of fear ♪
♪ The dark collides ♪
♪ Where you run, your sins will follow ♪
♪♪
♪ Aah ♪
♪ Shadows come into the light ♪
♪ Aah ♪
♪ I know where your secrets hide ♪
♪ Aah, aah ♪
[ Door creaks ]
♪ Aah, aah ♪
♪ I know where your secrets hide ♪
♪ Say goodbye ♪
♪ Before the flame ♪
♪ I see all the damage you've done ♪
♪♪
♪ Aah ♪
♪ Shadows come into the light ♪ -[ Snoring ]
-♪ Aah ♪
♪ I know where your secrets hide ♪
♪♪
[ Gun cocks ]
♪♪
-Hunter...
You came back.
♪♪
-Hey, Dad.
♪♪
-♪ Oo-o-o-oh ♪
♪ Oo-o-o-o-oh ♪
♪ Oo-o-o-oh ♪
♪ Who are you-o-o-o-o? ♪
♪ Oo-o-o-oh ♪
♪ Who are you-o-o-o-o? ♪
♪ Oo-o-o-oh ♪
-Where's Terrence?
-Gone.
Left this morning.
-What do you mean "gone"? -He's 18.
Not a foster kid anymore.
Our little T-bone is all grown up.
Conveniently forgot to strip his bed.
But happy birthday to him, I guess.
-So the second the benefits end
and the checks stop coming, you kick him out?
-No one kicked him out.
I love Terrence like one of my real kids.
I was gonna throw him a birthday party.
I guess he was just ready to go.
-He didn't even say goodbye.
-Honey, he's a man now.
Men leave.
Look at your dad...
♪♪
-Cool.
The foster orphan really ties the whole room together.
-I'm not gonna stuff her back into a drawer to be forgotten.
-Come on, it's sunny outside.
There are parks...
museums...
real live people.
-No thanks.
-Fine.
Have fun with your depressing wall of death.
[ Siren wailing in distance ]
[ Knocking on door ]
-What?
-It's Elsie.
-I'm in the middle of something.
-I skipped school, took two buses to get here,
and I need to pee.
-[ Sighs ]
And what are you doing ditching school?
-Have you ever heard of Marie Kondo --
sparking joy?
You need her.
You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?
-Nope. Just like I have no idea
what you're doing in my apartment.
Oh, just put your stuff down anywhere.
Alright. The bathroom's over there.
-You're, like, an actual crazy person.
♪♪
-What are you doing?
-This your room?
-No.
It's my sister's. -Cool.
What's her name? -Roan.
Let's go.
♪♪
Alright, what are you doing over here, Elsie?
-We need to figure out how Peter ended up with me
and why he sat in prison for child abandonment
if I'm not even his child.
Oh, pizza. Can I have some?
I missed breakfast.
-Sure. There is no "we." I don't work for you.
I'm trying to identify two dead women.
-So you just drop a bomb on my life, tell me
my dad's not my dad, then ditch me?
-I didn't ditch anything.
See this?
This is every Elsie that was born
in the last 15 to 20 years in the country,
and I'm trying to figure out which one,
if any of them, is you. -Short list.
-Yeah, well, you have kind of a old-timey, weird name.
Scottish.
It's short for Elspeth.
Means "pledged to God."
-Elspeth?
-The sheriffs are out there trying to find Peter.
I'm trying to figure out how you're connected.
I told you I would call you as soon as I have something.
-Dude, time's up. I'm about to age out.
Know what that means? They cut you off.
No benefits, no place to live.
I got nowhere to go.
If there's a chance there's somebody out there for me,
I need to find them now.
-[ Sighs ]
Let me make a call.
♪♪
-Still like your eggs runny?
Sleep all right?
God knows what condition that bed's in.
Nobody's been in your room since you left.
-Sometimes I have trouble sleeping.
-I had a pretty decent night myself.
Especially since my son didn't blow my head off.
-Did I scare you?
-I know you too well to be scared.
-Thanks for putting me up.
I won't be here long.
-It's your house, too.
-Never felt like it.
-Well, maybe if you stayed a while, you'd feel different.
-I'm headed up to Canada.
So, I need some money.
-I don't have much.
Whatever you took out of the safe last night,
you're welcome to it.
Your mama's got some old jewelry.
Mostly junk, but help yourself.
This place is falling apart and all I can do is watch it happen.
-Or you could sell it.
-And go where?
The old folks home?
This house is a birthright
that's been passed down from one Kingston to the next --
right down to you.
You can run all you want,
but this is where you belong.
You're home.
♪♪
-Almost home.
[ Giggles ]
Close your eyes.
-Which...? -No. No peeking.
♪♪
Tada!
-Oh. -Welcome to chez nous.
-That's a cool paint job.
-Some naked guys at Burning Man
painted it for us in exchange for a song.
-That is the kitchen. -Okay.
-That is the bedroom. That is the bathroom.
And that's the guest room.
There's plenty of room here if you want to crash.
♪♪
I mean, you chased off the perv.
You're our guest of honor.
-Okay, so basically, I'm your human scarecrow.
-No, we're not some damsels in distress.
We can take care of ourselves.
-Yeah, but just safety in numbers, right?
I mean, the world is crawling with creeps.
-How do we know he's not a creep?
He just stabbed that guy in the eye, right?
Which is kind of overkill.
-Just shut up, okay? -No, she's right.
Just...
I got scared.
And I'm sorry you had to see that.
-You know what?
You look like...
you could use some tea.
♪♪
[ Laughter ]
-What the hell is that?
-It's magic tea.
Made from magic mushrooms.
♪♪
-Thank you.
♪♪
-Lily's been working on a DNA profile for you.
-I thought you checked and there were no matches in the system?
-Not in CODIS, no.
That's the database law enforcement uses.
But genealogy websites have been a total game changer.
I mean, millions of people are now volunteering their DNA.
That's how the Golden State Killer was caught, actually.
One of his relatives signed up for a genealogy website
and their family tree led police
to a man who's been escaping the law for 40 years.
-And so we follow the tree to Elsie's parents, right?
-Ideally, yes.
But I still have a lot of leg work to do --
making connections with people who aren't in these databases.
I can't tell you who your parents are...yet.
We have to go backwards to go forwards.
Like, way back.
♪♪
So, I found thousands of your distant relatives,
and the earliest ones come from here...
Southern Africa.
They're called the Saan people.
You're also descended from a line of Turks
who were settled in Istanbul after the Byzantine Empire.
I traced your DNA to the Iroquois tribe...
black slaves who were captured in West Africa...
...white soldiers in the Confederate Army...
They came from three continents and more than 20 cultures.
♪♪
You're not alone in the world.
You're part of a bigger story.
♪♪
So far, the people I have found share less than 1% of your DNA.
But one of those people
will lead us to a closer relative --
your grandparents...
or your mom and dad.
-[ Exhales slowly ]
♪♪
[ Guitar playing ]
♪♪
-Look at her hands.
♪♪
-Whoa.
Where'd she learn to play like that?
-Our dad was in a bluegrass band.
We never really saw him because he was always on the road.
But he shoved instruments in our hands before we could even talk.
-Was your mom in the band, too?
-No.
No, she, uh, joined some cult in Montana
and gave up all her earthly possessions.
♪♪
-I used to dream about playing music.
♪♪
Dad said it was for sissies.
But Mom had this -- this record collection.
Whenever Dad was out,
we used to pick one and we'd put it on.
We'd dance...
[ Sighs ]
♪♪
[ Chuckles ]
♪♪
[ Guitar playing stops ]
♪♪
-Oh, my God.
You're a black hole. -You're wasted.
-You're a black hole trying to suck us in.
♪♪
-Quit it, psycho, you're messing with our high.
-You're trying to tear us apart. -Shut up!
I mean, God forbid you're not the center of attention
for two minutes.
You're so insecure!
-I'm not the one trying to screw a black hole
that just wandered out of the wood!
♪♪
-[ Grunts ]
-[ Growls ]
[ Both grunting ]
♪♪
-Hey, hey!
♪♪
-Get away from me!
♪♪
-Yeah, you better run, bitch!
♪♪
-A tenth of a percent of a DNA match for some guy in Turkey
is not gonna lead me to Peter
or who those girls were. -Sorry.
I mean, Elsie's family tree could have 20,000 people in it.
This is needle in a haystack stuff.
Plus I have a real job.
I'm -- I'm so sorry.
I didn't mean to say that I have a real job and you don't.
-Stop apologizing. It's irritating.
And you're right.
Uh, thanks.
For everything.
I know you don't have to be here...
-I'm glad I am.
You know, working with blood and hair and fingernails all day --
it's just nice to help somebody that's...
-Alive?
-Yeah. [ Chuckles ]
-Yeah.
Uh, well, I gotta get this juvenile delinquent
back to school. So... -[ Chuckles ] Okay.
Well, I'll see you soon.
I hope. [ Chuckles ]
-Alright. -Bye.
[ Door closes ]
♪♪
-What?
-She's into you.
-She's straight.
-[ Scoffs ] Okay, "investigator."
♪♪
[ Cellphone vibrates ]
♪♪
-Yeah?
-Oh, uh, I have a paper with this number,
but I, uh -- I don't know why.
-What paper? Who's this?
-This is Luther Clausen.
Someone put a drawing of a woman in my window.
-Oh, of course, Luther.
Uh, hi, I'm Harper.
I'm investigating a case,
and I wanted to ask you a couple questions.
-What kind of questions?
-It'd be better in person.
Um, I can be there this afternoon.
-I, um...I suppose so.
W-Who are you, again?
-I'm Harper.
I'll be there as soon as I can.
Thanks, Mr. Clausen.
[ Cellphone beeps ]
-Who was that?
He sounded totally high.
-He's the guy who owns the land near Cherry Falls
where the dead bodies were found.
-Oh, cool.
I'm coming with you.
-What? No.
I'm not taking a child with me.
-I'm not a child.
-I work alone.
-Peter's connected to those dead sisters, I'm connected to Peter.
I have just as much right to be there as you.
-Hey, I bent over backwards trying to help you today.
I need you to back off.
-Oh, my God.
What am I doing out of school?
And I'm a minor?
Where was I last seen?
With some crazy lady impersonating a cop?
I'm suddenly feeling very kidnapped.
Maybe I should call that sheriff.
What was his name again?
Wally?
-I'm not gonna be blackmailed by a 12th grader.
Get out.
♪♪
-All I do is wait around for people to tell me what's next,
where my next placement is.
I don't want to wait around to find out who I am.
Let me help you, please.
♪♪
-[ Exhales sharply ]
Alright, close the door.
♪♪
-[ Exhales sharply ]
[ Static ]
[ "Teach Me to Live Without You" playing ]
-♪ You taught me the meaning of living and breathing ♪
♪ Now teach me to live without you ♪
♪♪
♪ You say it's over between us ♪
-[ Chuckles ] Mom...
-♪ And we'd better call it a day ♪
♪♪
♪ Best for us both if we parted ♪
♪♪
♪ And each go ♪
♪ Our separate ways ♪
♪ You taught me the meaning of living and breathing ♪
-Come on, don't be a jerk!
Where are you?
♪♪
My sister has these freak-outs
whenever I pay the slightest bit of attention
to anyone other than her.
-Freak outs?
-Yeah. [ Sighs ]
Like, this one time, we were playing a gig in New Mexico
or something, and she just
walked into the desert with no shoes and no water.
It took me six hours to find her, and she was --
she was trying to suck the moisture out of the cactus.
She had all these needles stuck in her teeth
and she couldn't sing for a week.
-It's not safe for her to be out there.
If -- if she wants me to leave, I'll leave.
-Hunter...
You're so sweet.
But you don't have to go.
She'll get over it.
Come out, Shadow!
That's what we call each other.
Like Peter Pan and his Shadow?
Our parents were such narcissists
we basically had to raise ourselves.
We're all each other has, really.
I guess she's just scared of losing me.
-Well, I would be, too.
I've never cared about anybody that much.
Except maybe my mom.
And she died when I was 13.
Liver cancer.
-What was her name?
-Elsie.
-That's a beautiful name.
-Yeah.
That's what I would name my daughter,
if I ever had one.
-So you want kids?
-I guess.
I'd be scared to mess them up like my dad did me.
I mean, he's the one that put this black hole inside me.
Your sister was right. I can feel it.
I can feel it...
-Everybody's got a darkness inside of them.
It's the light you share with the world that counts.
You don't have to be your dad.
You don't have to be your family.
You don't have to be lost anymore...
-[ Chuckles ]
-...lost boy.
♪♪
-♪ I know where your secrets hide ♪
♪♪
♪ I know where your secrets hide ♪
♪ Aah, aah ♪
♪♪
♪ Aah, aah ♪
♪ I know where your secrets hide ♪
♪ Aah, aah ♪
-[ Panting ]
[ Trees creaking ] -♪ Aah ♪
♪ Shadows come into the light ♪
♪ Aah ♪
-[ Panting ]
♪♪
Hello? Is anyone home?
Hello? I'm lost, please open up. Please.
♪♪
[ Knocking ]
-Okay, don't touch, say, or do anything.
-Got it.
-Hello?
-Hi, I'm Harper.
This is Elsie. She's my -- -Intern.
-Oh, yes. I-I forgot you were coming.
Come in.
♪♪
-This woman was found 15 years ago in the park,
and her sister was just discovered on your property.
-Yes, the sheriffs were here.
I told them that they don't look familiar.
But no one looks familiar to me anymore.
It's a world full of strangers.
Alzheimer's. I was diagnosed last year.
Now it's getting so I have to write down my own name.
I couldn't even find my other shoe today.
I mean, it's awful.
-I'm sorry to hear that.
-I'm all alone out here. I don't have any family left.
-You ever been married, Luther?
-No, afraid not.
-Cool pictures.
-Yes, it's my hobby.
Anyone ever take your picture?
You're very pretty.
-Focus, Luther.
These are pretty girls.
They'd be hard to forget, wouldn't they?
-Dude, take it easy.
[ Smoke alarm blaring ]
-Shoot, my Lean Cuisine.
I left it in the oven. -I got it.
-So you get a lot of people swimming in that lake?
-It's private property.
I put out a sign because they scare away my birds.
They kids call it Blood Lake,
but it's red because of the micro algae.
That's how Cherry Falls got its name.
-Really? Wow.
-I had a nest of sandhill cranes.
When they're mating, they sing together.
You ever hear a sandhill crane sing?
-Can't say that I have.
Alright.
What about this woman?
Anything?
-Ah, I wish I could help.
I don't get many visitors.
♪♪
-Alright.
One last picture.
You seen this guy?
-That's the bastard!
He -- He took my eye!
-He did that to you?
You know Peter?
-Who's Peter?
-Hey. I think you need to see these...
♪♪
-I didn't do anything to them.
I just like taking pictures.
Y-You better leave.
-Elsie, out now.
-Get out!
Get off my property!
-Put the knife down!
[ Both grunting ]
-[ Crying ]
♪♪
-Next on "Sacred Lies"...
-Where were you? You are grounded!
-You don't know what they were dealing with,
what their families had to go through.
-I know their families didn't care enough
to go looking for them.
-Hey, hey, hey, hey!
-Hello? -Hey, Elsie.
I'm sorry I left like that.
I promised I'd tell you the whole story,
and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
-I know why you're doing this.
I set you off back there.
-I don't know how to tell you...
-Tell me what?
-Let me go!