White Orchid (The White Orchid)

Hello. Is this a David D. Finch?

Uh, yes. Yes, it is.

My name is Claire Decker.

I'm a freelance investigator for San Luis Obispo County

for Social Services.

I found a birthday card from 1992.

It's great work again, Claire.

You sure I can't hire you full-time?

You know, uh, my nephew,

he still talks about you.

He's an associate professor now at Cal Poly.

Thank you.

Architecture.

That's very sweet,

but I don't think so. I'm sorry.

Well, I had to try.

I want you to take this case.

I couldn't.

Sure, you could, and it'll do you good.

You're always saying how all you do is sit around at home.

The truth be told is I don't really want

to give this to one of my people.

I think this case would be best handled out of house.

I don't know.

You know, we're so seldom assigned murder victims,

and there has never been a case like this in our department.

This is important to me.

Now, you'll have to meet with Sheriff Mann.

He and I have a little bit of a history,

so he's gonna angle to try and get you thrown off the case

at every corner, but the fact is that after six months,

if the decedent has no known relatives,

then they are required to report it to us.

You could be doing some good here, Claire.

You're an excellent investigator.

You are.

Have fun.

Thanks a lot.

I like you, Claire. We've worked together before,

but this is not what you do.

This is not some spinster found dead all alone.

This is not some old man found in a remote farmhouse on Black Mountain Road.

This is not that.

I'm simply following protocol, sir.

I called Vivian-- Ms. Hershey--directly.

I asked her not to intervene.

She does this just to spite me.

Look.

Yeah.

Claire, look.

She was shot through the heart.

Her head severed from her body

with almost surgical precision.

Both of her hands removed, cut clean through the bone,

most likely with a medical power saw.

Her breast implants were sliced from her torso

with a scalpel or very sharp razor.

This is the picture that the public sees.

This...

is what I see.

This is why I can't sleep at night.

How are your daughters, sir?

They're good. Heh.

They're great, actually.

Loves of my life.

They've really bounced back since--

well, since my wife died.

Sir, I haven't had a chance to tell you personally,

I'm so sorry.

Thank you.

I've made you a confidential copy of the case file.

As you know, our victim took great pains

to make sure that her identity was a secret.

Her driver's license, social security card, both fake.

That's not even her picture, just some actress from L.A.

She rented the Chandler house

almost exactly three months before the murder.

It's hidden up there, but it's really one

of the most beautiful houses on the coast,

so it's not cheap.

She kept mostly to herself.

She did do some volunteer work for a local food bank

delivering, you know, meals to the elderly, to the infirm.

There's a list in there.

She also had a series of...

one-night stands, both men and women.

You'll find wigs, perfume...

sexual items up at the house.

She would lure these people there.

They'd drink and do drugs and...

She was not a good girl, not like you.

Claire, your job is strictly her identity.

Do not get involved with the murder investigation.

The caretaker has the keys.

He knows you're coming.

You'll have access for 24 hours a day,

whenever you want to at the house,

although I don't know what you'll see.

We've been over every inch.

What do you think?

To be honest...

I'm afraid she might find something we missed.

He thinks I'm this wallflower.

Well, you are a wallflower.

God, I can't believe you're on this case.

Don't you have to be at rehearsal or something?

Your--Your boyfriend James, he just got a new car.

Why don't you go take a long, hard ride?

I'm playing Chopin at the festival on Friday.

I'll leave two tickets.

Okay.

Can you drop it?

I don't know if I can do anything,

but I'll try.

Listen, when she moved in, was the house completely empty?

Yes, except for the phone.

She told me she had bad credit and no credit cards.

They'd made her put the phone in my name.

She even used my old answering machine.

Who uses those anymore?

Look.

There's one now.

Still the lookie-loos.

They'll drive right up here in her driveway.

I even catch 'em sneaking around the yard.

I should remove it.

What's with all the plants?

Yeah, I picked them up last night.

I just realized it seemed so empty in here.

Hmm.

Her house is amazing.

She has such nice things,

her makeup, her perfume.

Are you wearing contacts?

Yeah. I hardly ever wear them, but--

The thing is that I know that Mann is gonna get me thrown off the case

if I find anything substantial.

You gonna go back there?

She has a whole drawer full of sex toys.

We need to go shopping.

Hey, Claire.

Good morning, Annie.

You're here like clockwork every week.

Oh, and what's this? Are we getting kinda fancy?

Going out this weekend?

It's gonna look really good on you.

Hello, Claire.

Sheriff.

Thought I'd swing by, see how you were doing.

Doing fine.

Find anything?

There's not much to see so far.

Nice car.

It's beautiful.

You know, keep me informed if you find anything.

Of course, sir.

I'm gonna go around and talk to some of the neighbors tomorrow.

You look good, Claire.

Vivian, hi.

Hey. Just checking in.

Yeah, I was gonna just call you in the morning.

I'm still going through stuff.

Hmm. Have you found anything?

No.Well, just so you know,

Mann called again this morning,

asking me to take you off the case,

and I just politely told him to fuck off.

Thank you.

Well, you find anything,

you let me know.

Have a good night.

Okay.

I like the new look, Claire.

She brought strange men back to that apartment time and time again.

This is a nice community.

It's respectable.

She was amazingly beautiful,

and she seemed like such a nice person.

Oh, you said you'd come back.

Um, no, I'm sorry, ma'am.

My name is Claire Decker.

I'm a freelance investigator

for San Luis Obispo County for Social Services.

I don't talk to police.

I'm sorry. I'm--I'm not police.

You're wearing her perfume.

Yes...

I am.

She was a very nice young lady.

Ma'am, would it be okay

if I asked you a few questions about her?

We'd like to find out who she was,

settle her estate.

My name is Teresa Suskind. Come in.

Please, sit down.

I would offer you coffee,

but I'm out of supplies.

Juliette used to bring me supplies

from the food bank every once in a while.

So how well did you know Juliette?