Death and Other Details
Season 1 Episode 3
Episode Title: Troublesome
Original release date: January 23, 2024 (Hulu)
Plot summary: Interpol seizes control of the investigation. Rufus and Imogene must now investigate the Colliers in secret.
* * *
[car horns honking]
[ship horn blows]
[people chattering]
♪ suspenseful music playing ♪
[camera shutter snaps]
RUFUS COTESWORTH: Reader, we’ve been here before.
Two days before the murder, the day the Varuna set sail.
Can’t believe we’re gonna be trapped on this thing for 10 days.
I’m so sorry I dragged you into this.
[cart rattles]
[indistinct chatter, laughter]
RUFUS: I’m going to tell you the same story a third time now.
Can you figure out what’s different?
The trick is to look again, but through new eyes,
the eyes of a stranger,
an amateur.
The eyes of a fool, if you like.
LLEWELLYN: Let’s just dump all this stuff straight into the ocean.
♪
Got somethin’ important in those? Keith Trubitsky… Tripp’s friend.
Oh, right.
Toilets.
Well, technically, we manufacture
the flush levers on the toilets.
I see. Okay.
So, I hear you’re closin’ on some Chinese money.
Tripp’s fun, huh? Never shuts up, does he?
What’s in there? Due diligence?
Mm.
You know digital files are better for the environment.
I’ll plant a tree.
Bring those to the fourth deck… preferably dry.
[cart rattles]
RUFUS: People mistook Danny for a fool.
It was his quiet power.
Get ’em to underestimate him.
Spill their secrets.
Didn’t cost him much
until, in the end,
cost him his life.
[watch ticking]
[watch dings]
[beeps, starts recording]
This is Agent Hilde Eriksen,
Interpol badge number 7160 signing in at 9 AM, Thursday, the 24th.
Preliminary examination of the body of Mr. Danny Turner,
alias Keith Trubitsky.
I am assisted by Rufus Cotesworth, civilian investigator.
He will be consulting on the case.
Should I introduce myself?
I think that will suffice.
You loved this man, didn’t you?
How long did he work for you?
Long enough.
So, the killer entered the suite without a weapon.
They did not intend to off your friend.
Something escalated. An altercation.
No defensive wounds.
The fight wasn’t physical.
Did your friend like to drink?
[chuckles] Not to excess.
Just you, then?
I enjoy a tipple.
You have gone without for about a day
since you learned of the murder.
Your hand is unsteady.
You should drink more water. It does wonders for the complexion.
Careful…
I’d like to see the crime scene.
♪
Llewellyn? Celia’s trying to pull the ripcord.
I need you to call me back.
Sorry. Hi. Crazy day.
I keep saying that, but it keeps on being true.
I’m going to go to the pool.
I’d love to come, but the, uh…
LEILA: I understand.
I’ll, I’ll try to meet you there later.
LEILA: Mm-hmm.
[cabin door opens, shuts]
How is she holding up?
Leila? She’s fine.
Everything’s fine
Did her usual sweep for listening devices.
How many pillows did you lose this time?
♪
[glass shatters]
Six.
[fork clatters]
Where are the knives? I need a goddamn knife!
[chicken breast thuds]
Gross.
I have been trying to close this financing for eight months
and now, all of a sudden, it’s up in flames,
and I can’t even get Llewellyn on the phone.
What are you gonna do about it?
[TV characters speaking in native dialect on tablet]
ANNA: [clears throat] Mrs. Chun.
[pauses show]
Please… come back to the table.
We were so close.
No one in my family had anything to do with the murder.
We are all devastated that a man has lost his life.
Everything we know we’ve already shared with the investigators.
Mrs. Chun… you don’t want to walk away from this opportunity.
This is how you gain a foothold in the U.S.,
and exposure to a heritage name.
I represent my family’s interests.
You have 24 hours.
♪
[grunts] [gasps]
When?
Winnie.
This is bullshit.
The first people they look at will always be the staff.
Which is why I need to know anything curious
any of you might have done, however small.
We have nothing to hide.
Tell me the truth… so that I can lie for you.
Your favorite activity, playing the martyr.
I’m trying to keep this family safe.
And if one of the crew had been murdered?
You told me, last year, Vicky in the kitchen slit her wrists.
They didn’t even do an inquest.
They just chucked her overboard.
Enough.
TEDDY: Enough.
There will be eyes on all of us until this is solved.
Watch your step.
JULES: This is reckless. We need to dock the ship.
It doesn’t benefit any of us for the truth to come out.
The truth is a man died on my watch,
and you’re trying to cover it all up to save your business.
I am following all the official protocols!
I have the world’s greatest fucking detective on board.
What more could I do?
Just dock the ship.
Let them question everyone on land.
Should I find it curious that you wish to disembark so desperately?
AGENT HILDE ERIKSEN: I read your report.
Oh, I’m flattered.
Uh, please ignore my typographical errors.
Hm.
What I find interesting are the notes you chose not to play.
Ah.
You posit no theory of the case?
‘Tis early for a theory.
And yet, you have one.
I’m quite confident you won’t like it.
What makes you so sure?
You’re reading Veblen in its condensed publishing.
Says to me you prefer cutting to the heart of the matter.
Ears are pierced, but you do not wear earrings.
You no longer believe in embellishment.
Perhaps you once did, but now, grand theories bore you.
They are… frivolity.
You’re a bureaucrat. You’ve been given an assignment.
Carry it out efficiently. [phone dings]
Inspector Friedrich says hello.
Ah.
He enjoyed reminiscing,
and, I assume, briefing you as to how I like to work.
What a head of hair on Friedrich. [chuckles]
So, no, keep your theories.
Oh, and for your next book, I find with a crime like this,
nine times out of 10, the solution is straightforward.
Meat and potatoes.
And the 10th?
Just potatoes. Eh.
To the crime scene.
♪
No fingerprints.
Wiped clean.
Anything missing from the scene?
A journal, brown, orange strap.
Danny never went anywhere without it.
Perhaps a motive lies within it.
♪
Interesting.
The murder was done ad hoc
with whatever weapon the killer could find.
But this? This feels intentional.
Like someone with an agenda.
Hm.
Or perhaps Danny dropped it?
That’s a sapphire crystal.
It would not have scratched with just a mere drop.
No… this was done with force.
A hammer,
or a boot heel.
♪
[crystal shatters]
AGENT ERIKSEN: 2:16, inside the window of our missing security footage.
Ah. The killer broke in and smashed the watch.
They likely planned to leave it at that. But for our victim waking in the night.
That’s when the argument ensued, and the deadly harpoon was fired.
Then the killer deleted video evidence tying them to the scene.
Pure potatoes.
How does that jive with your theory, Mr. Cotesworth?
Does it matter? [chuckles]
One of us will be right in the end.
♪ Suspenseful theme playing ♪
♪
♪
[water sloshes]
Hey.
So, what’s her angle?
Another Cutty Sark, sir.
We are schooled to anticipate our guests.
I’ll take a water.
It is as we expected.
She is focused on the missing security footage.
She believes the killer entered during those seven minutes and 23 seconds.
So, it’s a race.
We have to figure out who killed Danny before she places me at the crime scene.
It’s not a race.
Sounds like a race.
[softly] It’s a race.
I’m on it.
Let’s go.
♪
Llewellyn, where are you? Pick up, pick up, pick up.
He’s still missing? [Anna sighs]
I’m gonna put an ankle bracelet on him.
But then you’d have to touch his ankle.
Hi, Teddy. It’s Anna Collier. Of course, you know that.
I need security to bring our files to our suite.
TEDDY: I’ll deliver the files myself.
[Teddy sighs]
Let me guess. You hate it.
It’s looking a bit… depressing.
I can put some color back in,
but I think that…
Mm-hmm. About earlier.
I’d strongly prefer it if you didn’t
question my authority… in front of the staff.
The staff?
You mean, our family?
[scoffs] I knew you’d understand.
Perhaps something a bit brighter.
[Winnie chuckles]
♪
♪ Suspenseful music playing ♪
♪
[door lock beeps]
[phone buzzing]
What do you mean it’s on the ceiling?
How’s that even possible?
I’ll be right there.
Do not let anyone else in.
[receding footsteps]
[door thuds]
♪
What you don’t need, two safes.
[indistinct chatter]
Alexandra.
Toby.
Your son is on TikTok playing himself in shuffleboard.
[slight chuckle] Children are resilient.
Hm.
They are.
But they’re takin’ it in… even if no one’s talkin’ it out.
I remember… summer before sixth grade,
one day, it was so hot and we were all out on the street.
Someone came up in the alley,
and shot Marcus Wilson three times in the back.
Cops came around and, well, that was the kinda block
where you didn’t talk to cops, so nobody did.
They never caught the shooter.
Marcus had a baby,
maybe a one-year-old.
Anyway,
that was the day I decided I would find the bad guys and put ’em away.
You didn’t even do it for the likes. [Alexandra coughing]
Hm.
[Alexandra coughs]
Somethin’ weird is goin’ on.
Hopefully, just bad, dumb luck coincidence,
but… we need to be prepared to answer more questions with Interpol.
What happened?
My staff got a call from our SuperPAC,
asked me to make nice with Keith Trubitsky.
Even suggested the champagne vintage.
They couldn’t tell me who the donor was who made the request,
and I didn’t think anything of it at the time.
There’s nothing unusual about that.
I sent the bar cart the goddamn killer was hiding in, Toby.
I need names.
I need you to find out who made that request.
You put together the SuperPAC. You know who calls in all my favors.
And you know there’s a wall between you and them for a reason.
Was it Lawrence Collier?
Alexandra.
He’s the only donor on this boat.
Why the fuck would he set me up like that?
I supported five of his 10 opportunity zones.
Halfway is not good enough.
So, it is him?
I did not say that.
Take a breath.
If you even fix your face to tell me to calm down.
I think sometimes he forgets that I’m the Governor.
Sometimes… you forget who put you there.
♪ Ominous music plays ♪
[lock clicking]
[slight chuckle]
[office door opens]
TEDDY: It’s a four-digit combination.
Right, left, right, right.
I can explain.
You were trying to break into my safe.
Oh… so can you.
Does your friend know you’re here?
Perhaps I should inform her. And then, of course, Interpol.
[gasps] There is a thief in our midst. A bad one.
I believe you both know that I’m here on Rufus Cotesworth’s behalf.
Then it should be no problem at all to read Interpol in.
Please, don’t do that.
Teddy, leave us.
The Colliers are expecting these documents.
SUNIL: I’ll handle it.
There are easier ways to meet women.
Check her pockets on the way out.
So… Cotesworth sent you to burgle me?
Look, we think our murder victim got his hands on those documents.
We think it’s what got him killed.
Fine.
Have Interpol issue a subpoena, and then the authorities can open my safe.
Or…
Hm?
Or we could look at them together?
Huh.
Why would I do that?
You want this whole murder wrapped up, quickly.
Interpol gets involved, all the red tape. It could take weeks, months.
Why do you wanna see them so badly?
[sighs] What am I missing here?
♪ Melancholy music playing ♪
We get our hands on those books,
we get that little girl the truth she’s been waitin’ for.
The truth you promised her.
Rufus thinks that the Colliers were paying blackmail
to the man that killed my mom.
Viktor Sams.
[scoffs] And if he’s wrong?
Well, you wasted a hour of your life… with me.
♪
[sighs]
How much can we afford to give up is what I need to know.
Tripp, open up! TRIPP [muffled]: Ow! Fuck!
Steve, everything’s fine. Just give me those numbers.
Yes.
Have you left this room today?
Good morning to you, too.
Clean yourself up. Family meeting.
Okay. Wait, why? Is everything okay?
Everything’s fine.
Okay.
[Tripp groans]
You were making so much progress.
There are peaks and valleys in the journey to self-control.
I’ll handle it… it’s cool.
It is not cool. They’re looking for a murderer.
Yeah, well, I didn’t kill anyone, so…
I didn’t kill anyone, Anna!
Tripp,
Trubitsky pulled out of your deal.
What if he told someone? That makes you a suspect.
Yeah. You did court-ordered anger management.
It was one fucking golf cart. Can…
[groans] What time’s this family meeting?
Keep your phone on. I’ll call you.
Love ya.
Yeah, you too.
LLEWELLYN [on voicemail]: Yep. Please leave a message.
[sighs] Llewellyn, wake your raggedy ass up right now. Thank you.
[deep breath] [phone buzzing]
Steve, stop. D… I know 12 and a half is a big ask, but…
Are you… Are you at a Little League game?
Go sit in your stupid hybrid SUV
and finish running the numbers I asked for, right now. Thank you!
[ends call]
[keypad beeping]
I’m going to need a list of everyone who has that code.
Of course. This one and the previous one.
[door opens]
♪ suspenseful music playing ♪
You can go.
Your men are loyal.
Some of them are women.
What a world!
How did you come to work on the Varuna, Mr. Toussaint?
It’s a funny story, actually.
Mr. Bhandari encountered him in London a few months ago.
You approved the appointment, Miss Goh?
[chuckles] I serve at the pleasure.
And a guest was murdered on his watch.
Surely you have an opinion now?
Ah, you want gossip.
Always.
But if we must stick to facts,
Mr. Toussaint was supposed to be on duty that night,
but never clocked in.
I fell ill.
Did you… check in at the medical bay?
He did not.
I took a pill and, uh, went to bed.
Hm… How reliably French of you.
No one to corroborate your whereabouts that evening?
♪
[heavy breathing]
[moaning]
[panting]
[moaning]
[grunts]
No. No one to confirm your story.
I guess you’ll have to take me at my word.
This is challenging
because later that same night,
someone stole seven minutes and 23 seconds of footage.
Could not have been someone from my team.
Oh.
Are you in the practice of sharing the code?
Perhaps even a guest gained entry?
And why do you not have cameras anywhere below decks?
We trust our crew.
Ha!
I am sorry. Apologies.
No worries.
Someone entered this room. Someone deleted footage.
I intend to find out who.
I will run a background check on every member of the crew,
starting with your loyal security staff.
I can’t stop you.
[watch dings]
Oh.
Look at that. I’m on lunch.
Mr. Cotesworth, care to join me?
Delighted.
♪ Suspenseful music playing ♪
[Teddy scoffs]
Barely slept last night.
But these things are proper magic.
Have you seen Leila?
Not today, but I’ve just been at the pool.
Something wrong?
Everything’s fine.
You look exhausted. I’m gonna order you a B12 injection.
I’ve got plenty of vitamins, thank you.
Can you get Mrs. Collier one of your…
I said no fucking vitamins,
but thank you.
ELEANOR: You’re wound tight.
[sighs] If I didn’t know any better, I’d say your grandmother
is using this murder to sweeten the terms.
But you do know better.
Leila will turn up.
You never liked her.
I just don’t like her for you.
You were supposed to wait.
I did wait. I…
You had me wrapped around your finger. I would’ve moved to Shanghai for you.
I would’ve done anything. You left.
I sat around and cried for six months.
You can cry?
Not sober.
How was I supposed to know what you wanted?
You disappeared.
I’m here now.
Eleanor, I mean this,
your timing is for shit.
♪ Light, cheery music playing ♪
[lock clicking]
[Sunil exhales sharply]
We’re looking for blackmail, but… I don’t know.
These are… these are all just tax returns.
No. These aren’t tax returns.
This is an audit into the company’s financials goin’ back 50 years.
And by the way… their good times are well in the past.
So, the Chuns were right. They’re broke?
They’re illiquid. Highly levered.
They’re broke.
Hm.
It gets real ugly two years ago. This massive capital expenditure.
You hated being a banker?
Yep. [chuckles]
Hm. [chuckles]
Hm.
Mind you, no one suspected the Crown Prince was capable
of stealing 500 million kronor from his own mum
until I discovered the Queen of Sweden’s plot
to have him committed.
Pardon me?
Cutty Sark, neat. On the house.
Oh, uh… Ah.
Ah.
Hm, lovely.
What I did not know…
Hm.
is the prince
could overhear my revelation from the palace privy.
Damn 18th-century plumbing.
Royal Guard was nowhere to be found.
I had to chase the bloke myself. He left his trousers behind.
So, you’ve seen the crown jewels, too.
Well, you’d need a magnifying glass for that.
We’re relics.
Now it’s down to data trackers, cameras, facial recognition.
Some cop at a computer…
Hm.
Would’ve caught the prince
long before his fateful bowel movement.
Miss the old days?
I miss nothing.
And expect less.
Somethin’ tells me
people have a bad habit of underestimating you.
An overlooked detective is on the fast track to the truth.
You read my book.
I watched a lot of Columbo.
[watch dings]
Oh, back on the clock. RUFUS: Ah.
I’ll find you later. I have a few things to attend to.
A lead toward your grand theory?
[chuckles] If anything of substance arises,
you will be the first to know.
It is amazing the time a man is willing to waste proving himself right.
[Rufus chuckles]
♪
You got my message.
[laughs] We need to work on your tradecraft.
I found the files.
What have we learned?
Oh, nothing. It’s a disaster.
Llewellyn, pick up! Pick up!
[sighs]
[door lock beeps]
ANNA: Honey?
Leila?
Babe?
♪
SUNIL: If they paid blackmail to anyone, they’ve hid it well.
Nothin’ dodgy in here.
Just a classic three-generation family business.
Very few survive past that.
If the Chun family are keen on plunking cash down on this,
I certainly can’t see why.
Mm.
IMOGENE: Hold on.
RUFUS: May I?
It’s a bill of lading.
♪
But this has nothing to do with profits and losses.
I don’t think the Colliers know that this is in here.
Two tons of Captionem Blue? What the fuck is that?
I, I failed science.
B… minus. Still stings. IMOGENE: Mm.
Captionem Blue.
A banned ultra-bright pigment,
invented so you could see highway signs at night.
Clothing manufacturers liked it because it was cheap, didn’t bleed.
Peachy.
Except it causes cancer, dementia, and all manner of knock-on ailments.
It says it was banned in 1989. When’s this receipt from?
I, I can’t make out the date. IMOGENE: Here, let me.
[phone buzzing] ANNA [on phone]: Hey, you with Leila?
No. Didn’t make it to the pool. Got swept up in something.
ANNA: Hot French security guard something?
I’m with Rufus. ANNA: Oh… I’m sorry.
Any progress on the case?
[whispers] No.
No.
How’s it going with the Chuns?
ANNA: My entire side of the table is MIA. No one’s answering their phones.
Leila never turns hers on. [scoffs]
It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
[ends call]
Why didn’t you want me to ask her about this?
‘Cause without a date on that document, it is meaningless.
You wanted a smoking gun. Collier Mills was using banned chemicals.
RUFUS: When?
They were banned in 1989.
Paper in your hand could be 40 years old.
There’s no telling if it is related to the fresh body downstairs.
It has to be related.
Perhaps, perhaps.
But wanting a connection and proving it are different things.
I can’t prove that Danny saw this. I can’t prove that it got him killed.
I warned you not to enter the case with preconceptions.
You want it all to be connected.
You want it all to go back to your mother’s case.
Of course, I do.
How many clues have passed you by
because you’ve been focused on that?
Anyone on this ship could’ve killed Danny.
You’ve stopped paying attention.
♪
♪
Mom?
[water running]
[sighs deeply]
Mom… we need to talk.
Like, now.
[water continues running]
Mom?
[muffled moaning]
ANNA: Celia Chun wants to… [Katherine moaning]
ANNA: Jesus fucking Christ!
Anna! Wait!
Oh, God!
ANNA: N-No, no!
KATHERINE: Anna, Anna, please!
Fuck.
How could we have been so careless?
It’s all right. Anna will understand.
If this gets out, it will be the end of me.
My church, my reputation.
If my daughter knows one thing,
it’s how to keep… a secret.
Mm.
Katherine… we can’t.
You’re still married.
On paper.
And… I was still married in the shower.
Once it’s resolved, we can be together.
I can be patient.
No, you can’t.
That’s what I love about you.
Mm.
Mm.
[indistinct chatter]
[Imogene sighs]
♪ ominous music plays ♪
ANNA: I know the Jiangsu revamp was expensive,
but it pays for itself in 10 years.
Okay?
Look, I gotta go.
Alright. I’ll talk to you later, Eleanor.
Hi. Sorry. You’re here.
And you’re still working with Eleanor?
It’s business.
Right.
You know, people always say that, but it’s almost never true.
What do you know about business?
I can spell it.
Wow. [Imogene chuckles]
We need an investor.
Her grandmother has more money than God.
What’s Jiangsu?
Do you actually care?
I care about you.
But, no, I’m bored already. I moved on. [both laughing]
How’s Leila?
Oh, come see.
Oh, just tell her that you left your cell phone in your car.
Right, ’cause the 5G will zap her brain cells.
On second thought, now you don’t get to see her.
Oh, no. Okay. I’m sorry.
Sorry. I’ll be nice.
I will be nice.
[chuckles] She hid a knife under the bed.
Anna,
are you okay in here?
It’s fine.
Just need to remember to wear shoes in the house, that’s all.
♪ Suspenseful music playing ♪
♪
[Anna sighs]
ANNA: I hate everyone everywhere all the time.
LAWRENCE: Of course, you do.
I wish you wouldn’t drink so much.
The doctor said…
I take my vitamins with it.
[sighs] We’re meeting with Celia Chun tomorrow.
Mm.
You don’t have to say anything. I’ll do all the talking.
You wanna shut me up?
I want you to sit there and show them that I’m in charge.
You wanna shut me up.
We have one chance, Dad.
We make this deal or we go Chapter 11.
And whose fault is that?
You wanna play pin the tail on the asshole?
Fine. I made decisions and now we’re outta cash.
But the mess I cleaned up was all you, Dad.
I found the Chuns.
I’m running this deal.
I’m the only adult in this family,
and I’ll sell my fucking soul to bring Celia Chun back onside.
There she is.
My CEO.
Not until you announce it.
♪
[Lawrence slurps] [Anna sighs]
[watch ticking]
♪ suspenseful music playing ♪
[watch dings]
[beeps, starts recording]
This is Agent Hilde Eriksen, Interpol badge number 7160,
signing on at 9 AM, Friday, the 25th.
I am assisted yet again by Rufus Cotesworth, civilian investigator.
Now… I’m in the mood to go through people’s things.
After you.
♪
Where is Mr. Toussaint?
Simon, Dominic.
Yes, Miss Goh?
Where’s Jules?
We asked everyone to be here for the search.
I haven’t seen him since last night.
He’s telling the truth.
How do you know?
Practice.
We must search Mr. Toussaint’s room.
♪
Cotesworth.
Hm.
♪
Eriksen.
♪
This book was a gift… to you.
My father gives me mystery books.
Jules borrowed it.
He always gives them back.
Interesting.
I don’t see how.
Of course, you don’t.
We’d like to see your room.
You’ve already searched it.
♪ Ominous music playing ♪
♪
[mechanism clicking]
[door squeaking]
[Anna clears throat]
I thought we were meeting with the whole family.
Nope. Just me.
And our entire corporate history, as requested.
And required… by law.
Obviously.
♪ Suspenseful music playing ♪
This is a waste of time.
AGENT ERIKSEN: This one is not like the others.
Are you a fan?
Um… that’s not mine.
♪
RUFUS: It turned out Jules Toussaint was an alias.
Oh, fuck.
RUFUS: The man running security on the Varuna
had a rap sheet longer than an overwritten metaphor.
♪
He was just like Danny in that way. He made sure others underestimated him.
[muffled gasping]
Shh.
[whispers] You shouldn’t have come here.
RUFUS: Our mistake.
♪ Common People by Pulp playing ♪
♪ She came from Greece, she had a thirst for knowledge ♪
♪ She studied sculpture at Saint Martin’s College ♪
♪ That’s where I… caught her eye ♪
♪ I wanna sleep with common people ♪
♪ Like you ♪
♪ Oh what else could I do ♪
♪ And she just smiled and held my hand ♪
♪ Rent a flat above a shop ♪
♪ Cut your hair and get a job ♪
♪ Smoke some fags and play some pool ♪
♪ Pretend you never went to school ♪
♪ But still you’ll never la, la, la, la ♪
♪ Oh, la, la, la, la ♪
♪ Oh you ♪
♪ song fades out ♪
[child giggles] [bicycle bell rings]
[machine whirring]
