[Somber music plays ]
[Crying]
[Dramatic music plays]
NICK: So all Mariah's friends and family are in there,
and we can't talk to any of them.
Well, there must be someone we can talk to.
Maybe.
[Music playing on cellphone]
EILEEN: [Speaking Arrernte] You got no shame.
[Speaking Arrernte] Are you mad?
What was that all about?
Fuck you!
Don't fuck with me. I'll give you a hiding.
Yeah...
-You know her? -She's Mariah's friend.
She was there at the hospital with her.
How old is she?
TONI: 14 or 15.
NICK: So we'd need a parent or guardian to talk to her,
and I'm guessing they're all in there.
We don't need a parent to get a welfare check.
Hey.
Do you know who I am?
Yeah, you're that cop.
Are you okay?
That's a nice bracelet.
Looks expensive.
I didn't steal it.
Kumantjayi gave it to me.
Flash things.
Where'd she get the money?
She didn't steal it. She had a job in town.
Tourist one.
Okay.
Well, did you see her Sunday night?
Fantasia, Kumantjayi was at your house at 8:00.
But she wasn't found until midnight.
The crash site is only 20 minutes away.
So do you have any idea where she could have been?
Making TikTok videos.
TONI: For four hours?
She was a really sexy dancer.
She was gonna be a star.
Okay.
Thank you.
Hey.
Look after yourself.
[Crying]
You can drive.
[Somber music plays]
DOCTOR: This injury here is the cause of death.
A blow of some sort to the back of her head.
From the car seat?
Not possible.
What about the wound on her cheek?
DOCTOR: Perhaps by the same object.
There's bruising so she was still alive when she was hit.
But Mariah was found outside of her car, on the ground.
There's no way someone with this kind of brain injury
could have gotten out of the car.
How did she get there, then?
That would be your job.
Now this is everything that came in with her.
I'll just sign it all over.
Oh. There's something else that might be of interest.
Mariah had unprotected sex within a few hours of her death.
NICK: Sexual assault?
No injuries. No vaginal tearing.
It looks like the intercourse was consensual.
So there is a boyfriend.
[Dramatic music plays]
Bull didn't seem to know what Mariah was up to.
Well, can you blame her for sneaking around?
What kind of dad stops his daughter
from seeing her own family?
The kind who wants to give his daughter
what the community can't.
Like your dad did?
We're not talking about me.
Okay.
Why don't we talk about us?
There's nothing to talk about.
Really?
So, that's it?
I didn't promise you anything.
We were living together, Toni.
And we seemed happy, I thought.
So what changed?
You know what changed?
You're on secondment.
You're not gonna stay.
Before you know it, you'll be back in gloomy old
Melbourne with your hipster mates.
I thought you were coming with me.
I don't like the cold.
Europeans call these ranges the MacDonnell Ranges.
But for the Arrernte, they represent the Yeperenye story.
Ancestral beings that traveled through this area
in the creation stories.
Just over there is a sacred site.
Aboriginal women, children, and the uninitiated
are forbidden to cross the line into the gap.
That means you, right?
You too.
You're not an initiated man.
Besides, if tourists can go in there, why can't I?
Were you friends outside of work?
DAVID: Not really. We --
We didn't hang out or anything.
Do you know anything about her private life?
We found a large amount of cash in Mariah's possession.
Do you have any idea where she got it?
Was she doing drugs?
-I don't think so. -NICK: Sell drugs?
I wouldn't know anything about that.
I don't want to get Mariah into trouble.
TONI: But?
She might have been doing private tours on the side.
Wealthy tourists, they -- they always wanna see
stuff other people don't get to.
I couldn't do it 'cause I'm white,
but Mariah being Indigenous,
she could show them places, for a good price.
Secret places.
TONI: Mariah's car was found
near where the Men's Business was being held.
Surely she wouldn't stupid enough
to take tourists out there?
If they found her, they'd kill her.
But I thought Samuel already questioned the men.
What?
I'm worried he might be conflicted.
Why?
Well, he's not related to them, is he?
-Not all of them. -Are you serious?
Well, it's a small community. What do you expect?
Well, we have to interview them again.
Officially.
-I can't. -Why not?
It was men's cultural business.
Women aren't even supposed to know about that.
Okay, so how do we get around that, then?
You'll have to talk to them.
Fantasia said that Mariah was making TikTok videos.
If we could just get into her phone...
No, once it's password protected,
it's impossible to get into.
TONI: Hey, can we stop up here for a minute?
You just went.
Are we counting?
[Sighs]
Her socials are public.
We can see everything.
She's popular.
900 followers.
There's lots of friends and family commenting on her death.
"Rest in peace" notices.
She likes a selfie.
TONI: [Chuckles] Don't they all?
[Music plays on cellphone]
It's like, oh, mm-mm!
[Both chuckle]
Alright, let's see who's commenting on her pictures.
One guy's here a lot.
Keeps posting that love-heart eye emoji in all her pictures.
I can't see his face.
There's a picture with their arms around each other.
Yeah, this is definitely the boyfriend.
Is there a name?
NICK: No, just says "B."
Well if we find the boyfriend, we've probably found the killer.
Go away!
Oh, shit.
[Suspenseful music plays]
What is it?
Go away!
NICK: It's your brother.
[Dramatic music plays]
Toni, you said it yourself.
If Brendan was the last one to see Mariah --
No, my brother's not a killer.
Okay.
Well, let's go prove it.
[Dramatic music plays]
So, agreed, you stay in the car
while I talk to Xavier about Brendan.
What happened to staying in the car?
You can do the talking.
What's she doing here?
Well, you can talk to her or you can talk to me.
What do you want?
We're looking for Brendan Alma.
Hasn't been here for a few days.
Heard he might be working on Keithy Jones' car.
You ever see Brendan with Kumantjayi?
No.
Mind if we take a look at the car?
Where are the tires?
Can't talk to her.
Where are the tires?
Over here.
NICK: How long have they been working on this?
XAVIER: Years. Ready to kick them out.
Where's Keithy now?
[Metal music plays on radio]
Toni.
That's Broderick.
I can't talk to him either.
What, you related to him too?
We used to be an item.
We're looking for Brendan.
Thought Keithy might help.
Good luck with it.
He was driving the car when they found Mariah.
He took her to the clinic.
If anyone knows anything, he does.
Alright.
Find out what happened to his hand.
Broderick, right?
Just need to ask you a couple of questions about M.
Where was she when you found her?
I already told Samuel this.
Yeah, we just want to make sure we haven't missed anything.
BRODERICK: Kumantjayi was laying on the ground, next to the car.
NICK: Was she conscious?
[Dramatic music plays]
You gonna help me cook or what?
Ah...
TONI: Oi.
Oi!
-Keithy, wake up! -Argh!
-TONI: Where's Brendan? -I don't fuckin' know.
Fuck off.
I'll give you $20 if you tell me.
[Groans]
TONI: Sit back down.
You knew Kumantjayi, didn't you?
She was a friend.
That's why you're so upset.
When was the last time you saw her?
Saturday night.
[Speaking Arrernte] Where?
She was with your brother.
♪ I'm a monument, you can never move me ♪
[Laughs]
Give it here!
-I gotta go. -What for?
You come back here!
Oi!
Come back here!
Where's Brendan now?
Grandpa Samuel took him.
Took him where?
Ah, I don't know. Might be at the outstation.
[Speaking Arrernte] Where you going?
Keithy?
He won't go far. He's got no cash.
You gave him money, didn't you?
Why? We're trying to keep him away from grog.
Well, it's not workin', is it?
[Speaking English] Long as you get what you want!
TONI: Anything?
NICK: No, nothing yet. He's making me work for it.
I gotta go to my family's outstation.
I think Brendan might be out there.
Alright, I'll come with you.
You can't.
I gotta go alone.
How's that gonna work?
Look, if Brendan killed Mariah...
Toni, we can't have him arrested by his own sister.
My Uncle Ezekiel is out there.
He's the big boss for all of us.
He's not gonna let his nephew jump in the car
with a white cop.
Okay, but don't interview him, don't even talk to him.
Just bring him back here and we do it together.
Officially.
BRODERICK: [Speaking Arrernte] Hey, whitefella.
Come back to work and dig this hole.
[Dramatic music plays]
TONI: [Speaking Arrernte] Hello, Uncle.
[Speaking English] I'm looking for Brendan.
You seen him?
[Speaking Arrernte] No.
Keithy told me you brought him out here.
Keithy should worry about himself.
[Welding tools crackle]
TONI: [Speaking Arrernte] What's that?
[Speaking Arrernte] Leave it. You can't fix it.
[Speaking English] Brendan!
Brendan.
What's going on?
You know when he drinks he goes mad.
That's why we brought him here.
-He's detoxing? -Yeah.
You could kill him doing it like this.
You said bring him here.
Yeah, but not like this.
He needs to dry out and get proper medical support.
No!
Is there some other reason why you're keeping him out here?
Some reason why you won't let me talk to him?
Might be.
A girl is dead.
If you know something, you need to tell me.
Even if it is family.
[Speaking English] Brendan didn't kill her.
If you're so sure about that then you'll let me take him.
[Dramatic music plays]
[Sighs]
Brendan, I need to ask you something.
The car accident.
That young girl.
You were seeing her, yeah?
You used to be such a happy kid.
Always laughing.
I can't remember the last time I saw you smile.
When we were kids, you'd always come back from Adelaide
at Christmas and bring me a big bag of lollies.
[Chuckles]
Yeah, you loved me for my lollies.
I shared them with all the other kids too.
But then you stopped coming back
and those kids would flog me up
'cause I didn't give them lollies.
Because you wasn't there.
I'm sorry, I didn't know.
But I'm here now.
I just need you to tell me the truth.
Were you sleeping with M?
Why didn't you just tell me?
Frightened.
-Of what? -Her dad. Bull?
A mad bastard.
If he found out she was with someone like me,
he'd kill me.
She told you that?
Brendan.
I don't know how else to ask you this.
But did you have sex with M the night she died?
[Sighs]
[Suspenseful music plays]
Did you have a fight?
No, she just left.
Did you follow her?
Climb out the window and go after her?
Brendan!
Did you chase after her?
Make her run into that tree?
[Suspenseful music plays]
Brendan!
Shit!
NICK: Yep, that's pretty much all we have to go on.
Rhonda just wanted an update on where we're at.
Okay.
So I told her we've interviewed a number of people
in Alice Springs and at Perdar Theendar,
but there's no major suspects yet.
And Broderick's account was pretty similar
to what Samuel reported.
Mariah was already on the road.
All they did was take her to the clinic.
Did you find out what happened to his hand?
Yeah, says he burned it.
Did he say how?
NICK: Reckons it was another kangaroo cook-up.
-Do you believe him? -Nah, not for a minute.
I think he was trying to get into the burning car.
But Mariah was already on the road?
Yeah, exactly. He let something else slip, too.
Said they saw headlights of a vehicle
driving away when they approached.
But when I asked him if he knew the car, he backed off.
He's hiding something.
NICK: Yeah, I reckon.
Good work.
Keep on it.
Let me know how you go.
-Hey, Nick, thank you -- -What the fuck's going on, Toni?
What I didn't tell Rhonda
is that our main suspect is your brother.
That you left me stranded so you could speak to him alone,
and that I haven't heard from you since.
Okay, I'm sorry.
So did you find Brendan?
Yeah.
Where is he?
He did a runner.
Okay, we need to put out an alert.
Brendan got a car?
TONI: Nick, we can't do that.
A bunch of white cops after him?
We know how that ends.
Toni, I don't want this to be true, either.
But he was her boyfriend, she had sex, she's dead.
If this was anyone else,
you'd have them sitting in interrogation right now.
We got an issue.
I just got off the phone from an irate tourist couple.
They want to report Mariah Cawood with fraud.
We paid her $2,000, and then, pfff!
We never heard from her again.
Where exactly did Mariah promise to take you?
She said she was just gonna take us out to
one of those Aborigine places.
Mariah's dead, and you were paying her
to take you out to secret places.
-I think trouble's found you -- -It was just some place she said
that no one else was allowed to go.
She also said that she was going to sell us
some more of those rocks.
What kind of rocks?
Special rocks.
Look. Tjuringas.
Shit, cover them up!
[Birds calling]
[Dramatic music plays]
SAMUEL: [Speaking Arrernte] Hey, come and have a look.
[Speaking Arrernte] What are you doing?
Have a look here.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
How does this whitefella know?
See all these scratches here? They're not real Tjuringas.
[Speaking Arrernte] They've been lying to the tourists.
They don't know.
[Speaking English] Okay.
So I was wrong about the rocks.
But Kumantjayi was taking tourists to sacred places,
faking sacred objects, selling them.
If someone in the community found out, what would happen?
[Speaking English] Give her a good hiding.
Exactly.
So what if the car accident was a good hiding gone wrong?
Someone chased after her, ran her into a tree?
[Speaks Arrernte] [Speaking English] Might be.
So who would do that?
Bosses of this country.
And who's that?
Me. You.
Our family.
Sorry to ask you this,
but where were you the night of Mariah's accident?
[Speaks French]
What?
Learning French.
Apenange, this theory of yours?
Don't mean anything.
'Cause until you walked in with these fake rocks,
I didn't even know that girl was doing anything.
What if Brendan did?
Well, let's go and talk to your brother.
[Dramatic music plays]
I'll do it.
[Sighs]
[Sirens chirp]
[Cellphone rings]
Hey.
NICK: Hey.
How'd you get on?
They're not real.
Mariah was selling fakes for cash.
NICK: [Chuckles]
Yeah, gotta admire her entrepreneurial spirit.
Where are you now?
Still looking for Brendan.
NICK: You want me to help?
Yeah.
That'd be great.
Hey, Nick?
NICK: Yeah?
Um...
I know I've been a bitch lately.
Just -- [Indistinct shouting]
-Holy shit! -NICK: What?
It's Brendan!
Brendan!
Got something to fuckin' hide, eh?
Tell me why you're fuckin' running?
Come here you little cunt!
TONI: Brendan!
[Dramatic music plays]
Oh, shit!
Where's Brendan?
Like I already told you 50 times already,
okay, I picked him up, and then we had a yarn,
and then I dropped him off.
Why wouldn't you take him all the way home?
[Chuckles]
It irritates you, doesn't it?
Your little princess, hanging out with her people.
Ohh, after everything you built for her,
straight back to poverty without a second glance.
Gets under your skin, eh?
Beautiful Mariah taking a walk on the wild side
with some dirty Black bloke --
Don't --
Did you follow her out there?
Oh, is that it?
You wanted to see who stole your little girl's heart?
Or some other part of her anatomy.
Christ.
Where were you the night your daughter died?
I was in bed, alright?
Watching Netflix, Season 2 of "The Bridge."
It's a bloody good show.
Shit, you should watch it.
You should.
'Cause I reckon you'd fuckin' learn something.
[Knock on door]
Oh, here's the boss.
[Door opens, closes]
Forensics checked Bull's tires.
They don't match the prints you found at the crash site.
Maybe, but that's gonna take a really long time
and right now, we don't have enough to hold him.
-Come on, Rhonda. -We don't.
Here.
Go on.
[Pen scratching]
We need to organize a search party.
And where would we start?
Bull said he dropped Brendan off at the boundary gates.
And even if he's telling the truth, we are talking
hundreds of square kilometers of uninhabited bush.
We need an army.
Get some trackers.
What'll it look like if I spend taxpayers' money on a search
for the investigating detective's brother?
Every second person I talk to on this case is related.
That didn't bother you when you forced me to take this on.
What if your brother isn't dead?
What if he's just pissed somewhere?
[Scoffs]
Maybe it was Bull who chased his daughter
into the tree that night.
But if it wasn't, there's a vehicle
hidden out there in the community somewhere.
I suggest you go back to Perdar Theendar.
[Dramatic music plays]
[Television playing indistinctly]
ISABELLE: Eileen's the only one allowed
to finish the paintings for Paris.
If we don't find her, we're screwed.
I'm sure Xavier's involved.
We should have Xavier charged with kidnapping.
[Speaking Arrernte] Why are we lying?
Eileen is not at Xavier's outstation.
[Speaking Arrernte] If we tell the truth,
it will make our friend too sad.
Easier to go along with it.
Careful.
Speaking in another language will make me think
that you're trying to hide something from me.
GRACE: [Speaking English] Hey, you're good. You noticed!
VIV: [Speaking English] That's Luritja language.
It's from south side.
We had a bet you'd be able to pick it up.
I lost.
[Gasps] Ohh!
[Speaking Arrernte] Who is that?
What happened?
Who done this to you?
Brendan, what happened?
Who did this to you?
ISABELLE: Is he breathing? Can you tell if he's breathing?
VIV: [Speaking Arrernte] Who did this to you?
Brendan. Brendan! Brendan!
[Dramatic music plays]