What happens in True Detective: Season 1, Episode 7 – ‘After You’ve Gone’?
Warning: Major spoilers ahead
In 2012, Rust and Marty head for a drink – where Rust reveals he’s found evidence that not only connects the recent murders at Lake Charles with their 1995 Dora Lange case, but a number of disappearances in Louisiana can be linked to the cult too.
Rust tries to persuade Marty to join him in his investigation but he refuses, so Rust forces his hand by saying he owes him – because back in 1995, Marty killed main suspect Reggie before they could get a confession out of him.
With a reluctant Marty onboard, Rust takes him to the storage unit which he’s been operating from. He brings him up to speed on what he’s found, including a number of disappearances linked to Tuttle’s schools - one of which Marie Fontenot attended. In 2010, Rust had spoken with a former student who revealed that people in animal masks used to abuse the children and take pictures of them.
Rust admits to Marty that he broke into Tuttle’s house and found video footage of Marie Fontenot’s rape and murder. But he denies having anything to do with his murder. Marty, having seen the video, agrees to help Rust to figure out who is behind the crimes.
Rust and Marty question Jimmy Ledoux, one of Reggie’s relatives, who remembers meeting a man with scars on his face. They also speak to Delores Jackson, someone who worked for Tuttle’s father, who reveals that Tuttle’s dad had an illegitimate grandson – part of the Childress family - who had a scarred face.
Marty discovers that the deputy who looked after Marie Fontenot’s disappearance was one of his friends, Steve Geraci. After speaking with Geraci, Marty concludes that Marie’s disappearance was covered up on the request of Geraci’s boss Ted Childress. Convinced that he’s not getting the truth, the pair lure Geraci onto a boat and try to coerce information from him.
Elsewhere, Detective Gilbough and Papania are trying to locate the burnt-down church Rust had mentioned – stopping to ask a local caretaker if he knows. He points them in the right direction and they head off, not noticing that the man’s face was covered in scars.