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Transcript of Millennium episode "Dead Letters"

Presented below is an episode transcript of Dead Letters from Chris Carter's Millennium TV series. These transcripts have been provided thanks to the dedication and time consuming hard work of Millennium fans Libby and Maria Vitale. Millennium - This is who we are is extremely greatful to Libby who has painstakingly checked, updated and edited each one for accuracy to make sure that they are as true to the actual episodes as possible.

 

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Dead Letters - Transcript


Season:

1

MLM Code:

#MLM-102

Production Code:

4C02

Original Airdate:

1996-11-08



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Episode Profile | Synopsis | Credit List | Original Fox Photos |  Episode Images


Dead Letters

[MLM-102 (4C02)]

 

Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed By Thomas J. Wright
U.S. Air Date:
November 08, 1996

[Transcribed by Maria Vitale
Edited by Libby]

 

[Night. A man sits at a desk in a darkened room with only a lamp to illuminate his work.]

[Next, a dream sequence for Jordan:]

[Day, outdoors, on the Blacks' lawn. A birthday party for Jordan. Several children are playing musical chairs, with Catherine supervising. All of the children are wearing costumes; Jordan is dressed as a princess, complete with wand and a crown. 'Pop Goes the Weasel' music can be heard as the children run around a table with several chairs. Catherine is running with them till she calls out: 'Stop.' As the children dash for the chairs, Catherine looks around and asks:]

CATHERINE:  Where's Jordan?

[She repeats her question but the sound of it is echoed now. Jordan is there among the other children in front of her yet Catherine cannot see her. She moves off to look for her. Jordan looks up and sees a clown.]

[Jordan then wanders through their home in the middle of the night. She walks into the dining room. Footsteps can be heard. She looks up and sees her father walking down a spiral staircase. She calls out to him. Her voice is also echoed.]

JORDAN:  Daddy? Daddy?

[He continues to climb down the stairs, neither hearing nor seeing her. A long shot of the spiral stairs can be seen. It seems to go on forever as Frank continues to descend it at a steady pace.]

[Laughter can then be heard, drawing Jordan's attention away from Frank on the stairs. It is the clown from her party. She sees him with his hands resting on what appears to be the floor, only it's upside down. Only his upper torso can be seen and his head is right side up looking at her and laughing. He drums his fingers on the floor above him. Jordan looks at the clown and screams in terror. Last image is of a close up of the clown's face, smiling as Jordan continues her scream.]

[Having finally awakened from the nightmare, she appears in her parents' bedroom, standing by her father's side of the bed. He wakes up and sees her there.]

FRANK:  What's the matter, honey?
JORDAN:  I had a bad dream.
FRANK:  Oh, come on.

[He pulls back the covers and invites her into bed, wrapping his arms around her. Catherine opens her eyes for a moment, looks over to see Jordan in bed with them, then closes them again and cuddles up next to Frank.]

FRANK:  (to Jordan) Everybody has bad dreams.
JORDAN:  Why?

[Frank's pager starts beeping. It sits on the nightstand next to his watch. It flashes a small red light, then its screen illuminates with a green glow. On it can be read: '2000.' Frank reaches over, picks it up and looks at it. He sets his head back down on the pillow.]

 

PORTLAND, OREGON
3:42 A.M.
MULTNOMAH/CLACKAMAS COUNTY ANIMAL CENTER #4

[Several dogs can be heard barking. Frank walks down a long dark corridor, cages on either side of him. A few of the cages contain wild animals which have been caught and transported there. One of the animals hisses at Frank as he passes. He has two brief visions.]

[He sees: the letter 'Y' written on what looks like a thin strip of tape, white light engulfing the letter; then the letters 'R' and 'Y.' End of visions.]

[At the end of the corridor, a police photographer takes some pictures of the crime scene. A trooper stands by the door. A Detective Jenkins, is there waiting for Frank as he buttons up his coat and enters the room. A tech is taking measurements with a tape measure. The victim has been cut in two, the halves separated and posed - both have been covered with sheets. A hand and forearm can be seen and blood has stained through the sheets.]

JENKINS:  Everything's been left as we found it. We covered the victim but the perpetrator covered his own fecal remains.

[Frank looks down at the remains, then walks over to where the woman's upper torso and head rest against a wall, pulling on a rubber glove as he goes. He crouches down and pulls back the sheet to look at her face which has been covered with gray duct tape by the killer.]

JENKINS:  Hair and fiber are going to be a mess. There's tons of animal fur around. But we started dusting already.
FRANK:  (interrupts) Did you find a message?

[Jenkins stares down at one of the techs, who stares right back at him. Frank continues.]

FRANK:  On the body or cut into the skin?

[Long pause. Frank stands as Jenkins puts on his glasses and crouches down to look and looks under the sheet. He then looks up at Frank and shakes his head. Frank sees several very quick images.]

[He sees: the letter 'R'; the same 'R' again; 'Y'; 'I'; and the same 'I' again. End of images.]

[fade to black]

[main titles]

"For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me. And what I dreaded has happened to me, I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest, for trouble comes."
Job 3:25,26

[polaroid fade up]

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
7:00 A.M.

[Day, sunny, outside Molly's Coffee Shop.]

[Inside, Frank sits at a counter, chewing on some food, while trying to piece together and make sense of the letters he's seen in his visions. On a napkin he's written:]

RI Y
RITUALLY [line stricken through it]
IRREVOCABLY [line stricken through it]

[He completes the second word as:'RITUALLY,' strikes a line through it realizing it repeats the third word. Then he adds an 'SK' to the first word to form:'RISKY'. He pauses, thinks about it for a moment before striking that word as well.]

[He looks up as Millennium Group member Jim Penseyres enters the coffee shop and sits down beside him. He continues to work on the letters as Jim speaks to him.]

PENSEYRES:  There are those in the Group who think we shouldn't take the case in Portland. Some are unconvinced the subject will kill again.
FRANK:  He will.
PENSEYRES:  Others think we should wait – applying the Holmes criteria defining serial killers involving three victims with a time period between murders of at least 30 days.
FRANK:  He won't wait. He'll kill again. Ten days. A week, maybe.
PENSEYRES:  Frank, with the hundreds of cases we're being asked to consult on, and all the smaller law enforcement agencies that need us, why should the Group send you down there?
FRANK:  He left a message, I'm certain of it.
PENSEYRES:  There was no report of any message.
FRANK:  It's there. I just haven't found it.
PENSEYRES:  Okay. Portland detectives called us in on this but for their crime stats, they'll want to get the credit. There's a man down there that's worked with Portland P.D. - Jim Horn. We're considering him for the Group. He's had extensive background in behavioral science and his work was directly responsible for finding the Highway 8 killer in San Diego. He's a real good guy. Works out of an office in downtown Portland.

[He places an envelope before Frank with the information but he's still preoccupied with those three letters. On a fresh napkin, he's written: Y I R]

 

[Jim Horn's office. We see him dialing part of a phone number: '7-7-9-4.']

RECORDING:  We're sorry. The number you have dialed is incorrect. Please check the number...
JAMES:  How the hell could it be incorrect? It's my number.
RECORDING:  ...if you'd like to speak with a service representative, enter '1' now.

[Jim presses the button. A different recorded message can now be heard.]

RECORDING:  All our representatives are busy. If you wish to hold, your call will be answered in the order it was received. The current waiting period is 45 minutes.

[There's a knock on his door, but Jim doesn't hear it.]

JAMES:  That's how long I've been dealing with you, you mechanical...

[Frank opens the door, enters just as Jim slams down the phone, then closes the door as he introduces himself.]

FRANK:  Jim Horn? Frank Black.
JAMES:  Welcome to Portland, Frank.

[They shake hands.]

JAMES:  Heard great things about you from Steve Choleski at I.S.U. Have a seat. Coffee?
FRANK:  Thanks.

[He walks over to get Frank a cup.]

JAMES:  I don't want to come off like a jerk, but I go by 'James' now.
FRANK:  Okay, James.
JAMES:  Thanks. No big thing.

[Pause, an awkward silence. Frank looks at Horn with a slight smile. Horn stares back at him.]

JAMES:  You profiling me? You got that look like you're profiling me.
FRANK:  No, James. Just wondering what's wrong.
JAMES:  (laughs) Sorry. My wife and I are going through a separation and, uh, I had to disconnect the fax line out at the house. And the phone company - man, they can make you feel like a worthless ass.
FRANK:  Sorry to hear about your wife. I see you have a kid.

[He looks over to a photograph on Horn's desk of him with his young son.]

FRANK:  Me too.
JAMES:  That's my boy, T.C. He's turned two.
FRANK:  I've never been separated, but I hear it's rough.
JAMES:  Yeah. This work, makes things hard, you know.
FRANK:  I've been there.
JAMES:  Jim Penseyres sent down the stuff last night. I hope you don't mind but I sketched out a rough profile.

[He highlights his profile for Frank, checking some notes that he's written and placed in a folder.]

FRANK:  Very interested.
JAMES:  Jim tells me you think there might be a triggering stressor. I couldn't agree more. Divorce, maybe.
FRANK:  He's never married - never had sex.
JAMES:  You get that from there being no sexual mutilation or intercourse with the victim?
FRANK:  It appears that the murder created a charged psychological release in the killer, but the only physiological release he could perform was defecation.
JAMES:  I read those remains as a signature of his hatred for women.
FRANK:  The defecation was covered. He was embarrassed by it.
JAMES:  They haven't identified the victim yet but I believe he knew her.
FRANK:  Why is that?
JAMES:  The duct tape. He objectified her but he took the care to cover just the face, not the entire head. He wanted as much of his obsession visible as possible, but he couldn't have her looking at him, couldn't hear her fear. That's an indication of remorse. It's rare to have remorse for a stranger. I'd expect him to visit the victim's grave site, tell her how bad he feels.

[Frank nods in agreement.]

JAMES:  I'll admit I can't get a fix on why the staging of the body in the animal shelter. It could be a hundred reasons.
FRANK:  That will be answered by his message.
JAMES:  You mean the message in the way he posed the victim? Cutting the body in two?
FRANK:  Well, he takes something from the victims but leaves something of himself behind.
JAMES:  Like what?
FRANK:  He left a written message.
JAMES:  There was no message at the crime scene or on the victim.
FRANK:  We'll go find it.
JAMES:  You're sure about this?
FRANK:  Yes, I am.
JAMES:  (sighs) Frank, I'm going to be right up-front about this. I've heard a lot about you. A lot. Don't get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for your work, but I gotta tell ya, I'm doubtful about some of the things I've heard about you.
FRANK:  That's all right, James. I've been there too.

 

[Day, sunlight streams through an open window and down on the same man in the opening scene. On the desk before him are various etching and engraving tools, a brush and a sharp hobby or craft knife. He's wearing rubber gloves and is looking through a microscope. He takes an engraving tool with a finely-pointed tip, dips it into a bottle of ink and writes on something under the microscope.]

 

[Meanwhile, Frank and James Horn return to the animal center. The dogs are barking. James reads information from the sheriff's report on the victim that was murdered there. The folder includes a photo of the woman. Frank searches around the crime scene with a flashlight for anything that might have been overlooked.]

JAMES:  The girl was Karen Anderson, 21. Parking enforcement officer. Just moved up from Northern California. No boyfriend, attractive. Everyone says real friendly. Her uniform was found in a sanitation transfer station down in Oregon City. Blood stains and fabric tearing confirmed he dismembered her while she was still wearing the uniform.

[Frank seems to be paying little attention to James throughout, continuing to look at everything in the room: a tray of medical instruments, pieces of paper - anything that catches his eye. James pauses, then continues.]

JAMES:  That may have been how he had prior contact with her. Simple - she gave him a ticket.

[James pauses again as he watches Frank who is examining a mirror over a sink.]

JAMES:  We can go over the parking tickets she issued in the last week, see if any of the violations fit the subject.

[He pauses yet again. His patience at an end, he releases his frustration on Frank.]

JAMES:  Come on, Frank! Work with me!

[Frank looks up at Horn, finally, but then continues examining the mirror.]

JAMES:  We've got evidence here that is here, in hand! If you're so focused on looking for some specific message that isn't there, you're going to overlook the obvious signatures.

[Frank stops looking, faces James and stares at him.]

JAMES:  Come on, Frank. You got a problem with me, let's hear it.

[They each take a step towards one another but then a pager starts beeping. Both men check to see if it is theirs. It was James'.]

 

U.S. POST OFFICE
PORTLAND, OREGON

[Inside. Officers can be seen questioning some postal employees. Frank and James arrive and walk through the building to get to the latest crime scene.]

[They walk past some stacked boxes as Frank notices a sign on the wall: 'DEAD LETTERS OFFICE' with an arrow pointing in the direction they are headed. He pauses before the sign. James, who is walking ahead of him, pauses to look back at Frank. Then Frank resumes walking, now past James, who is looking at the very same sign. This triggers two brief visions for Frank.]

[First: a dark thin strip of tape, then a bright light illuminates it, part of a letter 'A' and the letter 'Y', then it is dark again; a very bright white light flashes leaving the faint impression of the letter 'R'.]

[Second: the same thin strip of tape, the letters 'A' and 'I'; then the 'I' alone with a bright flash of white light; and again, the 'I' repeats in the same manner. End of vision.]

[Frank pauses again, looks over to his right. James stops ahead of him.]

JAMES:  Down this way.

[Frank moves on past him again.]

[As they both enter the Dead Letters area, Frank buttons up his jacket. Techs are already dusting for prints, wearing dust masks over their mouths and rubber gloves on their hands. The area has been cordoned off with yellow tape.]

[Inside what appears to be an elevator, lies the latest victim. She too has been cut in half, the remains have been covered with black plastic. A bloody limb has been left uncovered and the head is also visible from underneath the plastic. The face is completely covered with gray duct tape and blood can be seen. Markers have been placed near the remains.]

[James looks at the woman's face from where he stands. The marker near her head reads:]
EE
96-4187
29 Oct 96

[James is unable to view any more and walks away from the crime scene as Frank pulls on a pair of rubber gloves, steps carefully around the remains, crouches down beside the victim's head and pulls back the black plastic slightly, while reaching in his pocket for his glasses. As he puts them on, he asks one of the techs for:]

FRANK:  Tape.

[The man stops what he's doing, puts down his brush and flashlight, peels a long strip of tape and places it in Frank's waiting, out-stretched hand.]

[Frank then presses the tape against the gray duct tape on the woman's face and asks for:]

FRANK:  Acetate.

[The tech walks over with several sheets. Frank picks one, then smooths the tape out onto the clear plastic sheet. Using a lighted magnifying lens, he reads the message the killer has left on the body.]

[Through the lens (Frank's POV), we see the letters:]

...E T O M O R R...

[Then Frank has another brief vision.]

[He sees: 'H A I'; then 'I R'. End of vision.]

FRANK:  Hair today, (pause) Hair today, gone tomorrow.

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[At James Horn's office. Enlarged images of the two halves of the message that was found on the victim are displayed on a board: 'HAIR TODAY' and 'GONE TOMORROW'. Frank and James discuss the message. James offers his theory of the killer.]

JAMES:  These messages are a big 'Up yours!' to the police. He dared us to find it. Thought we'd be too stupid. The guy definitely knew we'd search for hair and fiber. A police freak. Feels superior to us. Might even be an ex-cop. Older. The hairs are gray.

[Elsewhere on the board are photos of the victims from both crime scenes.]

JAMES:  But if this guy is that smart, he's getting the hairs from another individual. Maybe this person's connected to the two women. Maybe that's how he had prior contact with the victims. (pause) Can't shake the feeling he's had prior contact, Frank. Something in my head, something in my subconscious is telling me. (long pause) When I look at the victims, when I look at their faces...

[He looks at the picture of the first victim's face, covered with gray duct tape.]

JAMES:  ...all I can see...

[Just then, his young son, T.C. comes running into the room, calling out to him.]

T.C.:  Daddy, Daddy!

[James, realizing that the graphic photos of the victims are in full view of his son, he turns and shouts for him to leave.]

JAMES:  T.C. get out! Get out of here!

[The little boy seems crushed and lowers his head. His mother, Cindy, snaps back at James.]

CINDY:  Jim, stop it! He couldn't wait all week to see you and now...

[She looks up and see the photos. Her son walks over to her and hugs her leg. She caresses his head.]

CINDY:  You know how I feel about him ever seeing those.

[She takes the boy out to the hallway just outside the office. James shouts at her, then walks out to hallway after them.]

JAMES:  That's why I told him to get out!
CINDY:  You knew I was dropping him off. You should have taken them down.

[James closes the door behind them but they can still be heard and seen through the glass. Frank gets up from his chair and takes down the photos from the board, placing them face-down on top of a file cabinet.]

JAMES:  I said 4 o'clock.
CINDY:  He wanted to surprise you. Look, if you're working and -
JAMES:  Don't start. Of course I want to see him. Come here, buddy.

[He picks up his son, enters the office again with him, as his wife leaves.]

FRANK:  I'm really going to need you to focus on this, James.
JAMES:  Look, this is my weekend with T.C., but I realize there are lives on the line.
FRANK:  Maybe if you got away from here. Maybe a step back will help you take a step forward.

 

[The Black residence, their bedroom. Frank and Catherine are in bed watching TV. He distractedly clicks through channels while talking to Catherine about James.]

FRANK:  I can feel, I can see that. When focused, when removed, he's actually a very good asset. And a good man, too.
CATHERINE:  Why don't you tell him?

[He finally gives up and clicks off the TV.]

FRANK:  Where he's at right now, he'd never hear me.

[He hands the remote over to Catherine.]

CATHERINE:  You're different people, Frank, at different places and times. Just because you didn't hear me back then doesn't mean he won't hear you now.
FRANK:  (pauses) Hmmm.

[He pulls her head closer to his.]

 

[The next day, the Blacks have a barbecue in their backyard with their guests, James and T.C. Horn. Jordan and T.C. are playing to one side. James and Catherine are sitting by a table as Frank tends to the grill. He's just lowered the cover to let the burgers cook. They're all drinking beer.]

CATHERINE:  How do you like your hamburger, James? Medium? Rare?

[James doesn't hear her. He's busying watching the children play.]

FRANK:  James?

[He gestures at the grill.]

JAMES:  Hmm? Oh, uh, medium's fine, thanks.

[Catherine looks over at the children.]

CATHERINE:  They play well together.
JAMES:  Yeah. It's great to watch them, huh? They have no idea. Things we see, things we know are out there. (pause, takes a sip of beer) I hope I'm not screwing him up. (another pause) I never ever dreamed at that perfect moment that my time with him would be regulated by petitions, attorney retainers, orders of the court. That mother, father and son would become nothing more than a case number. That as a father, I risk adding nothing to his life. I could become nothing but - face covered in gray tape.

[Catherine turns and looks at Frank who touches her arm, signaling her to leave him and James alone to talk, which she does. He then stands up near the grill and offers his own theory of the killer to James.]

FRANK:  When I read Dostoyevsky there was a passage, something like: 'There's nothing more sad than a life that ends and no one knows or cares.' Hair today, gone tomorrow. The subject is angry that his life will go unnoticed, that he will have left nothing. The hatred of himself is directed toward the world which has held him back because it objectified him - reduced him, reduced us all to universal bar codes.

[James is listening to what Frank has to say as he's scratching off the label from his beer bottle.]

FRANK:  We are animals in a caged shelter, controlled by dog catchers. The gray tape makes the victims look like how he feels - faceless - a dead letter lost at the post office. He's killed before, when he was young - most likely a female prostitute. After an early setback - a girlfriend, a job - he sought out a woman that wouldn't turn him away. The solicitation increased his feelings of nothingness and so he killed her before sex. My guess? He was never caught. He got away with it. The subject has felt guilt ever since, angered at a world that should have punished him but didn't. The murder, however, was the most significant event in his life. He's returned to this place, to the event. He wants nothing more than to be stopped. But he will do everything in his control to remain significant.

[Frank then realizes he's badly neglected to check on the burgers. He turns to the grill. Some smoke can be seen and as he removes the cover, thick smoke fills the screen as the scene dissolves to the next one.]

 

[The camera pans across a white screen to the thin film of tape on which the killer writes his message. Something has already been written on it, but it is too small to read. He dips the tool into the bottle of ink, looks through the microscope as we see through his perspective: 'N O T H I N' as he adds the letter 'G' to the end.]

 

[Later that night, at the Black residence, Frank is lying across the bed, reading a story to T.C. and Jordan, who are sharing her bed during the Horns' visit.]

FRANK:  'You monkeys, you,' he said, shaking his finger at them. 'Give me back my caps.' So the monkeys are shaking their fingers back at the peddler saying, 'Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk.'

[Frank uses his finger to make a clicking sound with his lips like a monkey which makes the children giggle and laugh. Frank smiles at them both.]

JORDAN:  Daddy, can I sleep in your bed tonight?
FRANK:  No, you're having a sleepover.
JORDAN:  The monkeys will get me.

[Frank holds up the book.]

FRANK:  These monkeys? No, no.
JORDAN:  If I have a bad dream...
T.C.:  (echoes Jordan) If I have a bad dream...
FRANK:  If you feel like you're going to have a bad dream, you will. But if you think you're going to have a good dream, you'll have a good dream too.
JORDAN:  Do you know all about bad dreams?
FRANK:  I know enough about bad dreams to keep them from you and T.C. Say your prayers.

[T.C. and Jordan press their hands together but only Jordan recites her prayer.]

JORDAN:  When I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake...
FRANK:  (to himself) Yeah, both your daddies need 'em.
JORDAN:  ...I pray the Lord my soul to take.

[Meanwhile, Catherine listens to James unburden himself about his work as they sit downstairs in the living room drinking wine.]

JAMES:  I don't know, Catherine. Maybe it's because T.C.'s been taken out of my everyday life. Or, he's two now and he's becoming a person, you know? But I can't - these murderers - before, they were a fascinating, psychological, societal puzzle. Most, I could even feel sympathy for them because of their horrible lives. But now - when I walk into a crime scene, all I see is my little boy's face superimposed on the victim. And, and these killers can't be simply cases or psychological anomalies anymore. They're just monsters. Just monsters.

 

[The parking garage beneath St. Joseph's Hospital. A nurse, having just finished her shift, walks to her car. She hears footsteps behind her and turns. A security guard flashes a light in her face.]

GUARD:  You going to be all right?

[Startled, she is unable to see the man because of the light in her eyes from the flashlight. She tries holding up one hand, then the other to mask the light. She can only see his outline, making out his uniform's cap.]

NURSE:  Yeah. My car's just over here. Good night.

[He turns off the flashlight and walks away.]

[She walks over to her car, inserts the key into the door lock when she hears a man call out.]

MAN:  Help! Help!

[She looks over to an orange mini bus and can see the man through the windshield and side window of the vehicle. He is standing outside of his car and can be heard struggling with some packages.]

NURSE:  You okay over there?
MAN:  Oh, yeah. It's just - my glasses fell off when I tried to shut the door with my arms full and I can't... don't worry. I- I'll find them. Thank you.

[She considers for a moment, then cautiously walks over to the orange mini bus. She sees the man barely succeeding in holding two large coolers in his arms.]

MAN:  Thank you so much. I- I- I... they should be near the door. I didn't really feel them fly too far off.

[She crouches down and looks underneath the vehicle, spots the glasses and reaches over to pick them up.]

NURSE:  Oh. Here they are.

[As she turns to hand them to the man, he strikes her as hard as he can across the face with one of the coolers, knocking her into the open mini bus. He then pulls out a long strip of gray duct tape and places it over her eyes as she moans. He gets into the van next with her and pulls the door shut. On one of the windows is a bumper sticker with a red cross. It reads: 'Human blood supply. Driver carries NO cash.' We can no longer see them but we can hear more tape being pulled and torn as the killer covers her face as he did his other victims.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL
PORTLAND, OREGON

[After the discovery of the latest victim. Chalk outlines mark the location of the nurse's body parts which have already been removed. Her head, arms and legs had been carefully posed. Her torso was cut into three pieces. Each outline has a labeled police marker placed inside it ranging from 'A' to 'H'. Another marker labeled '2' is just outside the collection of others and is near a broken lens from the killer's glasses.]

[Frank and James are present and discuss the crime scene and the killer.]

FRANK:  He's feeling more confident.
JAMES:  How do you know that?
FRANK:  He killed the woman in the same location he disposed of the body.
JAMES:  No. Security guard reported nothing out of the ordinary. Crime scene team found no evidence the murder occurred here.

[Frank looks at James, then crouches down. James joins him. Frank places a flashlight down on the ground near a couple of drops of blood.]

FRANK:  The blood splatter patterns are moving away from the scene, not arriving at it. A mobile slaughterhouse. He would need room to work.
JAMES:  Probably a van.
FRANK:  Mm-hmm.

[Frank reaches over and picks up the broken glass with a gloved hand. The lens is thick and looking through it triggers some quick, brief visions for Frank.]

[He sees: a bright white light, then victim being thrown down into the van; a flash of white light and gray duct tape being placed over her eyes; another flash of white light and gray tape being place over her mouth. It ends with another flash of white light.]

[James takes the piece of glass from Frank and looks at it.]

JAMES:  Left lens. Partial print. My guess - it's from the victim. We can check the prescription, notify optometrists in the city.
FRANK:  He's too smart. He'd use one of those one-hour places outside of town. A place where he could go unnoticed.

[One of the other officers on the scene approaches Frank with an acetate with the latest message taped to it.]

OFFICER:  Mr. Black?

[He hands Frank the sheet of plastic and walks away. He and James then walk over to one of the lights used to illuminate the crime scene. Frank looks through a magnifying lens and we see the message from his POV. It reads: 'NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED']

[Frank doesn't say anything so James takes the sheet and the magnifying lens to see for himself.]

JAMES:  (upset, raising his voice) That's it?! That son of a bitch too bored with our progress?! He thinks we're not enough of a challenge?!

[He draws the attention of several members of the press which have been kept well out of the crime scene in a cordoned off area. One of them turns a light in Horn's direction to try and film him.]

FRANK:  James, you show your frustration in front of them and he's going to know.

[He gestures with his head toward the press. A couple of reporters are poised to make notes and a photographer readies to take a picture of him and Frank.]

FRANK:  It does us no good now to get mad about what he thinks or wants. We can only use it to find him. He wants a challenge. Let's give him one.

[A flash from the photographer's camera as James and Frank both face the press.]

 

[The killer's room. The camera pans across his table. We can see that he has been taking souvenirs from his victims. The nurse name tag is there and it reads: 'MARJORIE R.N.' There is a patch from the postal worker's uniform with the emblem and 'US POSTAL SERVICE' on it. And the meter maid's traffic whistle and violation ticket notebook. All items are splattered with blood.]

[Also on the table, the killer can be seen clipping the front page news item of the nurse's murder. He opens a scrap book entitled 'Memories.' He turns to a page where a clipping of the first murder has been pasted. The headline reads: 'Mutilated Body of Meter Maid Found.' It includes a picture of the girl posing in her uniform and a crime scene photo with the white scene covering her remains.]

[He turns the page to where the second victim's clipping has been pasted. The headline reads: 'Postal Worker Murdered in Elevator - Body Found in Several Pieces.' There is a photo of the woman posing in her uniform.]

[The killer turns to a blank new page. He dips the brush into a bottle of paste, then runs it along the back of the clipping. With gloved hands he turns the clipping over and smoothes it across the black page of the scrap book beneath the newspaper's banner: 'Portland Herald.' The headline reads: 'Nurse Found Brutally Murdered in Hospital Parking Lot.' There is a picture of the victim posing in her uniform and a photo of the crime scene of the chalk outlines and police markers within a cordoned area.]

[A close up excerpt of the clipping can be seen as the camera pans across a line of text: 'the word "ventured" was misspelled "ventered."' The man's face be seen reading the article. Another line of text is shown: 'officials believe the murderer to be of lower intelligence.']

[He opens a drawer, takes out a dictionary and looks up the word 'venture.' Seeing that he had in fact spelled it correctly, he pauses for a moment, then angrily throws the book across the room. He collects himself after another pause and walks over to pick the book up from the floor. He calmly returns to the table and replaces the book in the drawer and closes it.]

[He looks at the clipping once more and reads another line from it: 'A candlelight vigil will be held at 8:00pm.']

 

[Later that night, outside the hospital, a memorial has been set up by friends of the dead nurse. Flowers, gifts, lit candles all surround a photo of the woman, a rosary has been draped over the frame. A small statue of the Madonna praying is placed near the photo. There is a wreath with the name 'MARJORIE' on it and several lit candles scattered throughout the display.]

[An open circle of lit candles surrounds the entire memorial as those who have come to pay their respects stand around the candles, each taking a turn walking up and placing a small cross pin either at the base of the picture frame or just in front of it.]

 

5:03 A.M.

[The memorial can be seen beside an illuminated sign announcing: 'SAINT JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL - EMERGENCY ENTRANCE' with an arrow pointing to the right. The candlelight vigil is over, the mourners have long since gone home but James Horn can be seen tearing a styrofoam coffee cup to shreds as he sits in a car with Frank and Det. Jenkins. Frank notices James' nervousness.]

JAMES:  Can't believe he didn't bite.
FRANK:  Still might.
JENKINS:  Eh, it'll be light in an hour.
JAMES:  He'll never do it then. I say we give him his opportunity now.

[He turns to look at Frank who gently nods. Jenkins then speaks into a radio.]

JENKINS:  All units, this is Charlie One.

[A police officer who has been posing as a hospital security guard, walks out from the shadows, past the memorial, hand to his ear listening to his commander's orders and checking his watch.]

JENKINS:  (to the radio) 'Okay, we're going to drain the weasel. Whenever you're ready, Alpha One.
RADIO:  I copy.

[The 'security guard' walks away leaving the memorial seemingly unattended.]

[Suddenly a lone figure walks toward the memorial. He catches the attention of those in the car, particularly James and Frank. Jenkins again gets on his radio to his men.]

JENKINS:  All units, suspect approaching.

[The man, in a long coat kneels down before Marjorie's photo.]

JENKINS:  (to the radio) Take him!

[Police car rush to the scene, tires screeching, lights flashing, sirens. James and Frank run toward the suspect. James gets there first. He grabs the man and slams him against the engine hood of a police car that has pulled up in front of them. He slams the man's head down against the hood a second time and punches him before Frank manages to grab James, spin him around and away from the man. Frank then grabs the man's arm and holds up the hospital ID bracelet for James to see.]

FRANK:  (to the man) You a patient here?
PATIENT:  (shaken, frightened) If I knew you were this strict, I wouldn't have left my room.
FRANK:  What the hell are you doing?
PATIENT:  Marjorie was my nurse. I just wanted to pay my respects but my doctor wouldn't let me. It took me this long to sneak out here.
FRANK:  (to an officer) Yeah, take him back to his room.
OFFICER:  It's okay, it's okay. Come on.

[Frank grabs James by the arm, turns him away from the scene, making him walk off a bit with him. Frank is angry.]

JAMES:  I thought it was the guy. We all did.
FRANK:  What if it was, James? Is bouncing the subject's head off the hood of the car going to do anything to change all the other murders that will occur today?
JAMES:  Come on, Frank! Some guy cuts your wife and your daughter into eight pieces and you just stand there and you read him his rights?!
FRANK:  He hasn't killed our wives or our families and he's not going to. If you make every one of these personal, you'll go insane and that's from having been there, James.
JAMES:  (sighs) I get so far into the heads of the killers and the victims.
FRANK:  (shakes his head) You haven't got there at all.
JAMES:  Don't you tell me where I am!
FRANK:  You put them in your head.
JAMES:  I keep reliving - what it's like to be cut in half, or four, or eight.
FRANK:  (losing patience) This isn't about you, James! The whole thing - what's going on out here - it's about us! Me, you, the killer and the victim.

[Frank turns away from James and looks over at the memorial. He gets down on his knees and looks at something as James speaks.]

JAMES:  I can't help but take this personally. Another person is going to die, horribly.

[Frank looks down at the row of pins on the picture frame and the few that lying before it.]

JAMES:  Because I s-... we screwed up. I-... we did all this for nothing.

[Frank pulls on a rubber glove.]

FRANK:  No, we didn't. We handed out 30 pins from the hospital charity to be placed here.

[Frank picks up one of the pins and holds it up.]

FRANK:  There's 31. We wanted one taken, but one was left. He was here.

[A close up of the pin reveals the word: 'VENTURED' engraved on the cross.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[James Horn's office. Frank views a video the police had filmed of the mourners at the candlelight vigil. He keeps pausing the tape to look at some of the men who attended the memorial. He then fast-forwards to the next man. The killer has been caught on tape, only Frank doesn't know it yet. James enters the office.]

JAMES:  The flyers with the suspects fitting our profile from the memorial have been dispatched to optometrists and eyeglass labs around the area. Plus, a resident, four blocks from the hospital, recalls seeing an orange van driving around the area the night of the memorial.

[Frank looks at the flyer. It reads as follows:]

PORTLAND POLICE BULLETIN
DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE?
THE PORTLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS YOUR HELP IN IDENTIFYING THESE PEOPLE
{ Photo } { Photo } { Photo }
{ Photo } { Photo }
THIS IS FOR IDENTIFICATION ONLY
THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT SUSPECTS.
PHOTOS WERE TAKEN AT ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL
NOVEMBER 5th, 1996 BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 2:30 AND 5:30pm.
IF YOU RECOGNIZE ANY OF THESE PEOPLE
PLEASE CALL US AT 1-503-555-0505
[The killer's photo is in the bottom row, the one on the left.]

[The phone rings. James answers it.]

JAMES:  Yeah.

[He listens and writes down something on a piece of paper before hanging up the phone.]

JAMES:  A saleslady from one of those cheapy eyeglass places down in Woodburn recalls one of the suspects from the flyer.
FRANK:  Which one did she recall?

 

[At the Woodburn eyeglass lab, the saleslady, Janice Sterling, points to the killer's photo on the flyer.]

JANICE:  This guy.
JAMES:  You're sure?
JANICE:  Oh, yeah. Yeah, I remember. He was a total ass.
FRANK:  In what way?
JANICE:  Just real attitude. He even had trouble taking a number like everybody else.
FRANK:  He needed one lens replaced - the left lens?
JANICE:  Well, that I don't remember. But what I do remember is that he was getting all weirded out.
JAMES:  Weirded how?
JANICE:  I guess his glasses got a little lost in the shuffle, so I asked him for a service slip number and he gets all sweaty, and his eyes got real weird. So I went back, I asked the technicians, maybe they had seen them. And I guess they were in the tray right behind me but all the trays are marked with the customer's name on it. And he starts going: I have a name! I have a name!

[She puts her right hand to the side of her head by her ear, mimicking the killer. It triggers several quick visions for Frank.]

[He sees and hears: Janice screaming, being attacked by the killer; she is struck across the face; then several images of Janice's face, covered with gray duct tape. End of visions.]

FRANK:  Pardon me, Janice. Could you wait here a moment?

[She nods her head.]

FRANK:  James and I will be right back.

[They leave the office, go through the shop and walk outside.]

[Outside, it is a bright, sunny day. The shop's awning can be seen. It reads:
'SPECTACLES -
SPECIALIZING IN FRAMES.']

FRANK:  You were right, James. He does have prior contact with the victims. She's next. This name and address are false. Paid in cash. But we should look for the orange van. I'll devise a proactive strategy with Portland P.D. Hang in there, James. We're close.

[Frank goes off to get things in motion as James looks down at the flyer in his hands, looks up and sees the killer walking across the street. James moves toward the man. He looks at the photo on the flyer again and at the suspect again as he walks past a tree, but, as he does this, the suspect becomes someone else. It's James' imagination. The man he had mistaken for the killer, is younger, thinner and looks nothing like the suspect. The man crosses the street, walking past James, staring at him because James has been staring at him this entire time.]

[Just then an orange van drives past James. He quickly takes out a pen and notes the tag # of the vehicle on the flyer. The van turns right at the next corner. As he finishes writing, he looks up and sees a second orange van, identical to the first one, turn left from that same corner and driving in his direction. James then sees every single vehicle on the street, either parked or in motion, as an orange van - all identical to one another. He knows that his judgment and reasoning is impaired.]

 

[Outside, Portland, at night. It is clear and the city lights are reflected on the river.]

[Inside, the eyeglass lab. It is late, the shop is empty and closed for business. To the rear of the shop, the office can be seen. Frank is there standing by one of its windows, then he closes the blinds.]

[In the office, Frank, James, Det. Jenkins and the saleslady, Janice, watch as a female police woman is being wired with a microphone by a male officer.]

FRANK:  Given the subject's previous behavior, he'll attempt the abduction in the back parking lot after office hours. He'll enter the lot from the alley past the dumpsters.
JENKINS:  We've got that entrance blocked off. (into the radio) Are all the unmarked vehicles in position at the lot's other points of entry?
RADIO:  Affirmative.

[He places the radio in his jacket.]

JENKINS:  Okay. Miss Sterling usually leaves the building around 9:15. So we've got about 20 minutes.

[Janice looks nervous.]

FRANK:  Are you all right, Janice?
JANICE:  Yeah.
FRANK:  You'll be safe in here. Detective Jenkins, Mr. Horn, myself - we'll stay in here with you. And there's about 20 officers outside hiding. This will all be over in the next hour.

[James seems as if he's panicking.]

JAMES:  Frank, um, I'm not sure it's such a good idea for me to be around.

[The female decoy and Jenkins both turn and look at James.]

FRANK:  Come here.

[Frank pulls him to one side. James is perspiring heavily and is edgy. Frank looks at him.]

FRANK:  Why don't you blow out of here, go home. I'll let you know how it went.

[Frank opens the door to the office and lets James out.]

[James leaves the shop and gets into his car, starts the engine and drives off.]

[Back at the shop, Janice leaves the office, walks to the front door of the shop, turns over the 'OPEN' sign in the door. The reverse reads: 'CLOSED - PLEASE CALL AGAIN - WILL RETURN' with a small clockface showing 9 o'clock. Then she goes about closing up the shop office.]

[Meanwhile, James stops at an intersection for a red light. He's lost in thought as the light turns green. A car horn beeps behind to get his attention. He looks in his rearview mirror and sees an orange van behind him. He checks the side mirror and sees a man with glasses at the wheel of an orange van.]

[James steps out his car and walks back to find a woman is driving a car with a young child beside her. The woman becomes frightened, rolls up her car window, drives around James' car and leaves the area.]

[At the shop, Janice has finished her nightly routine, shut off all the lights in the shop and gone back to the office. She nervously sits at the table without shutting the office door. Frank gets up and closes it before sitting back down at the table near Janice. He places a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her.]

[The female officer then leaves the building, posing as Janice. She leaves by the back door which has a sign: 'SPECTACLES - EMPLOYEES ONLY.' She locks the door and heads for the parking lot. She pauses to look around when she gets to the car, keys in hand.]

[Then an orange van shuts off its headlights as it enters the alley. The vehicle tag # reads: 'PLA-9H4, Oregon.']

[While inside the office, Frank and the others sit and wait. The decoy then speaks into her mike to Frank.]

DECOY:  (whispers) Nothing here.
FRANK:  (to the decoy via radio) Act like you forgot something. Come back inside.

[She fumbles around with her bag then heads back to the rear entrance.]

[Elsewhere, the van approaches the entrance to the parking lot through the alley with its headlights still turned off. The way is blocked by a dark blue sedan. Its tag # is: 'RHO-325.' Someone can be seen crouching by one of the rear tires. The man in the orange van shouts. We can see his face reflected in his rear view mirror. He is wearing eyeglasses.]

MAN:  I need to get by!

[The owner of the blue sedan is James Horn. He looks up and sees the van and the killer correctly this time. He rises and walks toward the van.]

JAMES:  Got a flat. Can you help me?

[Back at the lab, the female decoy tries again. She leaves the building, locks the rear door and heads for the car. Again she speaks into her mike.]

DECOY:  Nothing.

[Jenkins speaks to his men on the radio.]

JENKINS:  Unit Seven, anything up in the alley?

[Meanwhile, in the alley:]

JAMES:  I'm stuck. I can't move. I need a jack. Got one?

[Back at the lab:]

RADIO:  This is Unit Seven. We got a car with a flat blocking an orange van.
FRANK:  (to Jenkins) What kind of car?
JENKINS:  (to the radio) Give me a make on that car.
RADIO:  It's a blue Taurus.

[Frank jumps up from his seat.]

[In the alley:]

[James reaches for the side door handle. The killer rushes to get out of the van and grabs James' wrist.]

JAMES:  No, no. I can get it. Just a jack. I'll be out of your way in five minutes.

[James begins pulling open the side door as Frank can be seen storming out the rear door of the eyeglass lab.]

[When the door is fully open, two rolls of gray duct tape fall to the ground at his feet. Inside, he sees that the floor of the van is soaked with blood and there is a large tool box with the tools the killer uses to dismember his victims.]

[The killer grabs James from behind and throws him into the van. He begins punching him as Frank can be seen running as hard as he can through the parking lot, past the female decoy, heading towards the alley.]

[James manages to get the killer off him and begins pummeling him.]

[Frank runs through the alley.]

[The killer tries to reach James' eyes, to gouge them out with his fingers. James slams the man down hard on the floor of the van.]

[Frank continues to run, getting closer.]

[James continues to punch the man who tries to escape from the van only to be grabbed and thrown back inside, hitting his head against the tool box.]

[Frank comes running up on the van at last past James' car, shouting.]

FRANK:  Jim, no! No!

[James keeps punching the killer despite the fact the man been knocked unconscious from the blow to his head by the tool box.]

FRANK:  No!

[He grabs James, pulls him back and has to physically hold onto him though he continues to struggle. Several police cars pull up with their lights and sirens on.]

JAMES:  No!

[The officers rush to the orange van, all have their weapons drawn.]

OFFICER:  Call backup here.

[James calms down enough to look over to the killer who is bloodied and unconscious beside the tool box filled with saws, hatchets, clippers. He finally realizes what he has done.]

[Frank, exhausted and angry, turns and walks away from the scene.]

[The officers go about the business of examining the scene, making their reports, etc. as the camera pulls back to show Frank walking away, alone.]

 

[James Horn's office. He is looking at a color photo of the killer. James is clean-shaven, having removed his beard and moustache. He tosses down the photo of the killer onto his desk. It lands in front of a photo of his young son, T.C. Footsteps can be heard approaching the office. James looks up to find Frank standing in the doorway.]

FRANK:  Just checking in. I'm back to Seattle.

[He notices that most of James' things have been packed up in boxes around the office.]

JAMES:  Everything in the van is inadmissible.
FRANK:  The victims' possessions were found at the subject's house. Hair and fiber, DNA samples. District attorney feels it's enough, that he won't get away.

[Long pause.]

JAMES:  I wanted to work with the Group. And I know, because of my actions that's over, but - I need you to tell me - . Help me, Frank. How do you do this? Why do you do it?

[Frank doesn't reply but just looks at James.]

 

[Night, the Black residence, the Blacks' bedroom. Catherine is fast asleep but Frank lies awake. Jordan quietly enters the bedroom. Her father picks her up and places her on top of his chest, cradling her head on his shoulder and caresses her back. He looks at her as she rubs her nose.]

[fade to black]

[End titles]

Starring

Lance Henriksen (Frank Black)
Megan Gallagher (Catherine Black)
Brittany Tiplady (Jordan Black)

Guest Starring

Chris Ellis (Jim Penseyres)
Ron Halder (The Killer)
and
James Morrison (Jim Horn)

Co-Starring

Garvin Cross (Patient)
Anthony Harrison (Det. Jenkins)
Lisa Vultaggio (Janice Sterling)
Rob Morton (Lewis)
Maria Louisa Figura (Cindy Horn)
Cooper Olson (T.C. Horn)
Michelle Hart (Marjorie Holden)
Fulvio Cecere (Security Guard)
Andrew Laurenson (Clown)
Allison Warren (Officer Sarah Stevens)
Ken Shimizu (C.S.T. Member)

Story Editor: Charles Holland
Music By Mark Snow
Editor: Chris Willingham A.C.E.
Production Designer: Sheila Haley
Director of Photography: Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer: Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer: Ted Mann
Consulting Producers: James Wong & Glen Morgan
Co-Producer: Ken Dennis
Co-Producer: Chip Johannessen
Co-Producer: Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer: Jorge Zamacona
Co-Executive Producer: Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer: John Peter Kousakis

Executive Producer: Chris Carter



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