Presumed Guilty

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, sexual content, racism, substance use, addiction, and physical abuse.

Rusty informs Bea and Aaron about Mae’s death. A news story describes how a hiker spotted Mae’s car’s taillight. A deputy found Mae’s body in the wreck and suspected she had taken a wrong turn and crashed. Aaron goes to his room and sobs, and Bea takes a sleeping pill. Rusty wakes in the middle of the night and hears Aaron leave in Bea’s car. Rusty informs Bea of Aaron’s disappearance and imagines he needed to grieve alone. Bea worries that Aaron’s actions will make the police suspicious. Rusty leaves messages of condolence for the Potters. Joe asks Rusty to pick up Bea’s car from his farm, where Aaron left it after trading it for his truck.

At Joe’s farm, Bea refuses to step inside her childhood home. Joe willingly gave Aaron the truck because he knew the boy needed space. Joe is happy Mae can’t torment Aaron anymore, and he told Aaron that he’d soon forget about Mae, just like how Joe forgets about his late wife. At this comment, Bea drives away furiously. Bea doesn’t hear that Aaron pushed back against Joe’s statement.