[elevator pings]
A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES
Good morning.
Have you come straight from the airport?
Uh-huh.
I just need a coffee.
- Need some change? - Please.
Milk, no sugar.
[machine whirring]
- Have they brought the girl in, yet? - Luisa's started questioning her.
Is that so?
Thank you.
- [indistinct voice over speaker] - Why have you started without me?
Morning to you, too, María. Happily, I'm only following orders.
- Carlos... - Orders from Joaquín.
[Luisa] Nothing?
[Carmen] No.
[Luisa] Why didn't you call anyone
when you discovered your sister was dead?
Told you. Don't remember.
The information here says that your sister died
a few hours before your parents returned.
They didn't arrive until 2.
What were you doing, the rest of the time?
I don't know.
Try to remember, Carmen.
I just don't remember.
Carmen, try to remember what happened.
Don't know.
[Carlos] How was your holiday in Paris?
- [interrogation continues over speaker] - Really good.
Good.
I missed you guys a lot, though.
As I told you on the telephone, the parents were at the hospital.
The mother has lupus and they were doing some tests.
When they got home they found the body in the bath.
And the girl didn't tell anyone that something had happened?
She says she can't remember
when she discovered that her sister had drowned.
The girl's not well.
She takes something called Haloperidol.
- Haloperidol, yeah. - A certain antipsychotic.
Here's the information from Social Services.
Here are the Forensics.
The family is quite the picture.
The father, unemployed for years. The mother has a chronic disease.
They live on the outskirts in terrible conditions.
Social Services had assigned benefits for the younger sister for her autism,
and she took good care of the house and the younger sister.
How old was she?
Fourteen years old.
[door buzzing]
She isn't helping us much.
[María] I see...
Did you verify that she was alone at the house?
Yes.
And the hospital confirmed
that the parents were still there at the time of death.
What happened to her?
[Carlos] The father hit her when they discovered the body.
Apparently he got really violent.
There's something going on here. It doesn't feel right.
[high-pitched whine]
[haunting music playing]
[sighs]
Carmen, try to recount what happened.
I need to know how you discovered that your sister had drowned
and what you did.
That's enough for now. She doesn't remember, she told you.
She's not being accused, we just want to know what happened,
and you're not helping.
Stop interrupting me and let me do my job.
What were you doing when your sister was having a bath?
She's already told you that.
What were you doing when your sister was having a bath?
I was in the kitchen, cooking something.
- Why did you leave her alone? - I had to make something for lunch.
My father gets angry when his lunch isn't prepared.
But you knew that your sister couldn't be left alone.
I often left her in the house when I had lots of things to do.
Your parents say that she never took a bath alone.
I left the door open in case she called me.
- You left the door open, then? - Yes.
So you were worried something might go wrong?
What does she mean?
You knew your sister couldn't take a bath by herself.
That's why you left the door open.
Yes, it was in case she called me.
And she didn't call for you?
No.
You noticed nothing? No call out, no crying?
When did you discover she was no longer alive?
I don't know. When I went to the bathroom.
- When was that? - I don't know.
How much time had passed? That's an easy question.
- I don't know. - Try to remember.
I do not know.
Why did you do nothing except lock yourself in your room?
I don't know.
Don't you realise that your sister might not even have been dead
when you discovered her?
She was dead.
What makes you so sure?
Because she was dead.
You should have told someone or got her out.
You might have saved her if you got her out.
My sister was dead.
- Can I leave? - You can't leave yet.
- When can I go? - When I say you can.
And for that, I need some effort to remember what happened.
I've clearly told you, I don't know.
Look at the monitor.
Oh, come on, now. Is that necessary?
This young woman's suffered a trauma.
It might help you to remember.
Let me go home.
- Why didn't you call anyone? - Let me go home.
She was your sister.
When your parents came home she'd been dead for hours.
You were the only one in the house.
Let me go home.
[María] She's lying.
She's not telling us everything.
What makes you so sure?
Because little girls drown in a swimming pool, not in a bathtub.
This girl was disabled.
[Rai] She suffered from autism.
That's different.
- Call it what you like. - They're not the same.
I need another coffee.
Whose treat, then?
Is she just acting so simple?
I mean, it's as though she's out of her mind.
It's the medication.
But she may also not be telling us everything she knows.
Perhaps she's still in shock and really can't remember.
Perhaps.
- You think she did it? - I don't know.
I don't know, maybe it was just negligence.
But it's very strange. She's not a child any more.
She may be on medication but she was still able to take care of her sister
and the house all those years.
She's certainly not useless.
But why would she want to kill her sister?
Jealousy? Or she'd just had enough?
That house was like a time bomb waiting to go off.
[beep]
Maybe she didn't act alone. Perhaps the parents are involved, too.
Looking at the family history, anything is possible.
No, the parents were at the hospital,
and the father hit the girl when the body was discovered.
- They said she was to blame. - It could have been for dramatic effect.
Look at it this way, Carlos.
Suppose she isn't even affected by what's just happened or what she did,
but because of what she had to do?
If the parents wanted to get the child out of the way,
the girl is the perfect one to commit the crime.
She's been diagnosed and is depressed.
She's alone in the house, she commits an act of negligence.
She'll have the same legal responsibility as an eight-year-old.
It's a perfect way to clean up the whole ugly mess.
Why would the parents want to kill the little girl?
They could have had 1,001 reasons. It isn't the first time we've seen this.
Maybe an insurance policy.
My cousin has a son who suffers from autism.
He says his wife can barely sleep.
The worst thing is thinking about what will happen to him
when they're gone.
Last Christmas Eve, when he was drunk, he confessed to me
that the best thing that could happen to his son would be for him to die first.
If the girl couldn't bear the burden and the parents did nothing at all...
Perhaps she did it subconsciously.
She was left alone and didn't hear her when she called.
Or perhaps she thought it was the best thing for her.
Could be. But I always believe in the version that's most prosaic.
Investigate the policy.
And try to find out if the parents always went to the hospital together.
- How was your time in Paris? - Really good.
You went alone, no?
Yeah.
I needed time to think.
[Carmen breathing heavily]
Thank you.
[Carmen sighs]
Carmen, you're not helping at all.
Would you like to have another look at the photos?
To be reminded of everything that happened?
- No. - Well, then.
You were the only one there, Carmen.
What happened?
What happened, Carmen?
- Carmen! - I heard her.
[Carmen] I heard her calling me.
I heard her calling me but I had something on the stove.
Then she stopped calling me.
You could hear her?
- Yes. - Why didn't you go to the bathroom?
- Because I had something on the stove. - But she might have needed help.
I didn't think so.
I had to finish the meal. My dad gets angry when lunch isn't ready.
Carmen, just tell me what really happened.
You're manipulating her responses
and you're trying to put words in her mouth all the time.
Nothing she says here is worth a thing
if she doesn't repeat it later in front of a judge.
If you continue to interrupt, I'll have to ask you to leave the room.
[lawyer] Carmen, you don't have to answer any questions
if you don't want to, OK?
You can remain silent and you have a right not to say anything.
All right?
- [lawyer] I have nothing more to say. - Please can I leave? Can I go home?
[Luisa] You will, but first we have to finish.
- I want to go now! - Not until we're finished.
I have the right not to answer. I don't want to answer any more.
- You were telling me that you heard her. - No, no, I didn't.
I didn't hear her.
- You were telling me that you heard her. - No!
I was in the kitchen but didn't hear!
- You're contradicting yourself. - No, no...
You're manipulating me to say things.
Like everyone else, you just think I'm crazy, but I'm not crazy.
I didn't hear my sister.
I didn't hear my sister! I didn't hear her! Not her!
I didn't know my sister was drowning.
- It's not true. - Not like that, Luisa.
I understand you're under pressure, I know it's a very difficult situation,
but your not cooperating doesn't make it any easier.
Thank you, Luisa.
I'll take it from here.
Now, I'd like to speak to Carmen on her own, please.
I know life would be easier if we attorneys didn't exist,
but don't forget, Inspector, that we are all under the rule of law.
We're taping everything so there's no need to panic.
Still, I'd prefer to stay here if you don't mind.
[María speaking softly] Hello, Carmen.
My name's María.
- I'm the Chief Inspector. - I want to go home.
I know. And I can help you get home.
But first, I just want to have a little talk with you.
Let me go home, please.
I only want to help you.
And to talk a bit about you and Aurora, your sister.
I've already told you everything I remember.
Carmen...
I need you to look at me if that's possible.
Please, would you?
Sit down.
Sit down, Carmen.
How did you do that?
My father.
Did he hit you?
What for?
He got angry with me.
Because you left your sister alone in the bathroom?
Do you feel guilty about that?
No.
I knew I had to make lunch.
My father gets angry when the lunch isn't prepared.
Does he do it a lot?
Do what?
Beat you.
Sometimes.
[María] Did he hit your sister too?
Carmen, there's no shame in telling me, you know.
Yes, I think so.
- You think so? - I don't know.
No one has the right to beat you, Carmen.
Your mother told my colleagues here
that you had to look after your sister while they went to the hospital,
and that you knew you couldn't leave her alone.
My mother knows nothing. Mother's never taken care of us.
So why would she say that? Why would she lie?
I don't know.
So your mother never did anything for you, you said.
What does she do, then?
Watches TV and sleeps.
And your father?
Did he help you take care of your sister?
He did not.
So you did everything on your own.
The cooking, the cleaning up,
looking after the house, and caring for your sister.
That's a lot to deal with, Carmen,
especially having to do it all on your own.
Your sister needed a lot of attention.
My sister has never been a problem for me.
You don't have to be ashamed of conceding it.
It's normal.
My sister has never been a problem for me.
What was she like?
- My sister? - Yes.
Just...
special.
Special?
In what way was she special?
Because...
she shone.
She shone?
How did she do that?
I think she doesn't even realise she's doing it.
When you're by her side, you forget everything.
The miracle that she has in her eyes...
When she smiles at you...
she makes everything seem easy.
You talk about her as if she were still with us.
As if she were still alive.
That's because she is, to me.
Just before I go to sleep every night, I sing her a song.
It makes her so tranquil and she sleeps well.
I now know that when I sing her song again, she'll be with me.
[mournful music playing]
It's very moving, Carmen.
Very tender.
Why did you say earlier there are people who think you're crazy?
Because they think it.
Who?
My parents, the ones from Social Services...
- But that's not true? - No.
Do your parents know how grateful your sister is to you?
No. My parents don't know about anything. Nothing at all.
They don't know anything about what?
They know nothing about how she feels.
You've always looked after your sister, haven't you?
She's my sister.
But you left her alone in the bath. And she drowned.
Earlier in the talk you said that your sister shone,
and that made everything seem easier.
What exactly did you mean?
I'm not talking about it.
- Why is that? - Because I don't want to.
OK, that's fine. We'll keep talking about your sister, then.
Tell me more about her.
I'm sure I'd have really loved to get to know her.
What do you want to know?
Earlier, you said taking care of your sister made you very happy.
Yes.
Do you think she was happy too?
Yes, I would say so.
You would say so?
Yes.
Why do you say you would say so, and not "definitely"?
No one is happy all the time.
My sister included.
Of course they're not.
Are you sure you don't want to tell me anything more?
[pulsing music playing]
[Carmen] I've already told you everything I know.
Your sister was very beautiful.
I've seen some photos of her.
And you are a beautiful woman.
No, I'm not pretty.
Yes, you are.
Perhaps you're unable to see it because you're always shut up in your house
working, cleaning or cooking,
but if you spent a little bit of time fixing yourself up,
you'd see what I'm saying.
There would be queues of guys who wanted to get to know you.
No. I don't like men. I don't want to get to know them.
OK. You don't have to talk to men if you don't want to.
- What would you like to do, then? - I don't know.
It could be anything you want.
I don't know. There's nothing!
Do you feel resentful because you're shut up in the house all day?
- No. - Never blamed your sister for that?
I don't mind taking care of my sister. I told you that.
But you left her alone in the bathroom, Carmen.
You knew that something could happen to her.
Carmen,
if you don't tell me what happened the judge may charge you
and you'd go back to that existence.
You hold your family together. It isn't fair.
He can put me in a cell.
He won't put you in a cell, but you have to tell me what happened to you.
I only want you to tell me so you feel better.
It can't make me feel better because my sister is dead.
I know, Carmen, but you have to think about you, now.
I can't think about me.
If you don't think about yourself you'll never feel the same.
- What do you know? - You haven't had a life for years.
Your parents have always left you.
You had to parent your sister at only 16.
You were still a child and your parents made you do that.
They've always left you on your own, you had to prepare the food,
your father got angry if you didn't, he beat you...
It's no surprise you were fed up.
I could even understand you doing something terrible...
Did you do something terrible?
My dad will kill me if I tell you.
No, he won't. I promise.
And probably be locked up, too?
That depends on what happened.
I don't mind going to prison if he's locked up as well.
But why? Why would you both have to go to prison?
Because it was him.
My dad told me that I should drown her in the bath.
Made me drown her. Forced me.
So it was you?
[Carmen] Yes.
[lawyer] Hey, wait a minute. One moment, Inspector.
Carmen, what you're saying is very serious.
May I continue, please?
- Carmen, did you drown your sister? - Yes.
But why?
Why would you?
Because my dad asked me to do it.
My dad said I had to do it. It was the only solution to our problem.
You do realise what you're saying, here?
Yeah.
And your mother, does she know any of this?
My mother knew but she did nothing about it.
Will we all be sent to jail?
Carmen...
why did you do it?
Your sister was just a child.
If you felt overwhelmed there are other ways of doing things.
My dad said it was the best for her.
So I did it for her sake.
She's so bloody good.
[lawyer] Inspector, you know this is pointless,
and it has no legal validity.
The confession that my client has just made
would have to be repeated in front of a judge.
Is this something you'd repeat in front of a judge?
Yes.
[lawyer] Inspector, I need to speak to my client alone.
Please could you leave us, just for five minutes.
That's fine.
Interrogation is interrupted at...
09:54.
[beep]
- [keypad beeping] - [door buzzing]
Social Services are shit.
How could they leave this little girl in the hands of these people?
- [María] Is Carlos back, yet? - No, not yet.
Go and tell Joaquín, then, for now. Explain what has happened.
The attorney is trying to persuade the girl to change her statement.
She won't change it.
Why are you so sure?
Her attitude.
[phone buzzing]
Carlos, what's going on?
OK.
The girl has confessed to doing it under pressure from her father.
[sighs]
Come back here. I've just called Joaquín.
No insurance.
And it isn't the first time the girl was left alone with her sister.
The hospital says that the mother was always accompanied by the father.
I don't get it. Do you?
The girl cared for her sister
so the parents didn't have to look after her.
And with her death, they won't get any more money from Social Services.
Does it make sense to you?
If there had been a policy it would all be clear, wouldn't it?
- But this doesn't make sense, does it? - Perhaps it was out of compassion.
Nobody kills out of compassion, Rai.
- Can I be honest? - Of course you can.
Honest with you hasn't gone well for me.
That's another story, Rai. Don't mix them up.
The whole time, you thought it was you leading the interview.
That the person in charge was you.
But from the outside it didn't seem that way.
- That girl isn't stupid. - Explain away.
You gave her a way out,
presenting the idea of blaming her parents,
and she noticed it and she was relieved.
As if that was what she had been seeking from the beginning.
But she's confessed to doing it.
If her parents manipulated her she'll get off easily.
But what will happen to them?
It was the only thing that interested her.
And why would she implicate them if they didn't do it?
Hmm?
Because of hate.
- Because they treat her like a slave? - Maybe, I don't know.
I'm just telling you what I felt when you were questioning her.
You gave her the way out she was looking for, María.
But why not say it, right from the start?
Why didn't she accuse her father at the beginning of the interview?
Would you have believed her if it had all been so easy?
It was in the moment, which you gave to her.
Perhaps you're right.
There's a way we can know the truth.
And you can help me.
- [keypad beeping] - [door buzzing]
- Commissioner. - María.
Are you sure about what you're doing?
Because as soon as the press find out, they will be all over this.
These are the kind of stories they love. You don't realise.
So either we get this case right, or we'll look like incompetent fools.
I'm not sure.
Oh, fuck...
The girl has confessed to doing it, but I'm not sure she's telling us the truth.
I'll go and speak to her again.
- Shall I go with you? - No. I need Rai with me.
- He'll be more helpful on this. - No, María, let's not mess this up.
If we're not sure then there's no case. We can't fuck this up.
The death of a child with autism is very delicate.
We'll say it's an accident and let it go.
You're always so prudent, Joaquín.
And you're so unconscious.
We're going to find out what happened.
[haunting music playing]
- [keypad beeping] - [door buzzing]
Well? Are you clear about the charge yet?
- Please, can we finish up here? - [María] Not yet.
Carmen, this is Rai, a colleague of mine.
I've asked him to come because he has something to tell you.
Hi, there, Carmen.
Rai has a brother with autism.
Sit down, please.
Please...
[beep]
Interrogation resumes at 10:02.
We are joined by agent Rai Messeguer Ortiz.
Badge number: 25625.
Rai?
I know how you're feeling.
My little brother is really important to me.
The most important thing in the world.
But he's luckier than your sister, it seems.
My mother and I look after him.
But you did it alone.
No one needs to help me take care of my sister.
Sometimes we need help even if we don't realise it.
Sometimes we get desperate, because we can't cope with it all.
And we might think that death is the best way out.
I've explained to the Inspector,
there have been times when I thought he'd be better off dead.
Without the support, he can't be alone in the world.
We don't want to judge you, Carmen.
Just give you support.
Understand what's happening to you and why you did it.
I already told you.
I did it because my father made me do it.
It's normal for you to be angry and frustrated.
You were the slave of the family.
No one helped you with all the things you were supposed to do.
It's obvious that your parents never lifted a finger, nor your sister.
No.
- I wouldn't take it out on her. - You let her die.
Because my father made me do it. Because he told me it was for the best.
I wouldn't have, otherwise.
That's what you're telling us, but they don't agree with that.
- They say you're not telling the truth. - [Rai] They say you're lying.
Why would I lie?
Since you've confessed to drowning your sister, we've no other choice.
We're going to have to charge you with it. I'm sorry, Carmen.
And my parents?
The case against your parents is different, though.
We have no proof against them, so... it's your word against theirs.
That's outrageous.
My father made me do it and my mother should have stopped him!
I believe you, Carmen, but a judge won't.
I don't think this is helping anyone, do you?
Carmen has confessed, though. You already heard her.
So what do we do?
Then she accused her parents of making her do it.
But there's no proof against them.
We can't possibly charge them on your altered confession.
You can see what we're saying, Carmen.
Without any proof, it'll be difficult to get the judge to believe your version.
How can we do that?
Your parents have an alibi.
Do you understand the implications of that?
They weren't at home when you drowned your sister.
And why would they want to kill her?
Social Services gave them a good sum of money, and you looked after her.
They didn't have to do anything.
She brought money into the household,
and they needed it, because your mum is unwell.
My mother isn't that unwell.
[María] We believed you.
And we thought your parents might have received some money
from an insurance policy of some sort.
So we had to find out.
There's nothing there. There is no policy, Carmen.
[Rai] Carmen, why did you kill her?
There has to be a reason. Anything that could possibly help you.
We're doing our best to try to help you.
You know I have a brother like Aurora,
and I know how you've been feeling.
But if you don't tell us the truth, the only one going to prison will be you.
No choice but to kill her.
[María] What do you mean, no choice?
You made up the bit about your father forcing you because you feel bad.
- No. - [María] But you chose to kill her.
You did it because you were made to be the slave of the house.
- No. - You killed her out of jealousy.
No, no, no!
Carmen, your parents say that they worshipped Aurora.
They claim that you're distorting it all.
My disgusting parents never cared for Aurora! Never cared!
It's just your word against theirs.
A judge won't know who to believe.
I believe in you, Carmen.
That's why we've decided that you confront your parents.
To bring them here so you can tell them face-to-face what you've told us.
- No, no. Please... - Rai, tell them to come out.
You can't. No, no, please...
- I'm begging you. Please don't. - [María] Why not?
- Please, please... - Why don't you want them to come?
- Because he'll lose it. - What do you mean?
Because he went crazy! He went crazy!
It's OK, Carmen. He can't beat you here.
He beat you because he went crazy? Is that right?
- Yes. - What happened, Carmen?
- Because he didn't want my sister to die. - Not to die?
Not to die... He didn't want her to die!
Listen to what I'm telling you! He didn't want my sister to die.
What did he want to happen, then, Carmen? What did he want?
He wanted to keep doing it! He wanted to keep doing it to her!
Doing it!
- [Carmen sobbing] - [María] "It"?
- "It"? - Yes, he wanted to keep doing it to her.
- He wanted to keep doing it to her, it! - What does "it" mean, Carmen?
What he used to do to me!
He started doing it to me, and I didn't want him to do it to my sister.
Not my sister...
Not my sister, please. Not my sister...
Not my sister... Not my sister...
Carmen, calm down, sweetheart.
- I didn't want him doing it to my sister. - Calm down. It's OK.
I didn't want him doing it to my sister. I didn't want him to. That's why I did it.
- I didn't want him to do that to her. - [María] You did it to save her.
I did it because I didn't want him to do it to her. I couldn't...
[María] I know. You did it to save her.
Not my sister. Not my sister...
There. It won't happen anymore. That's right. Calm down.
I didn't want her to go through it.
You did it so he wouldn't hurt her any more.
You did it so he wouldn't do it anymore. You did it to save her.
[María continues whispering to Carmen]
[Carmen sobbing]
[María] You killed her to save her, so he couldn't do it to her any more.
You did it to save her.
[Carmen continues sobbing]
[siren passing outside]
[Rai sighs]
Abuse...
It destroys everything.
The judge will understand the situation. He's not going to charge her.
It's not important.
There's no escaping from it, Rai.
No way.
You were right, though.
The motive was compassion.
The ultimate compassion.
[sighs]
Get out while you can, Rai.
It's not worth it any more.
You only see the bad of the world.
And get away from me.
I have nothing that would be good for you.
[ping]
[haunting music playing]
Let's destroy this scumbag.
[haunting music playing]
[door slams]