Sacrament

[MLM-114 (4C14)]

 

Written by Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Michael Watkins
U.S. Air Date: February 21, 1997

[Transcribed by Maria Vitale
Edited by Libby]

[polaroid fade up]

[Inside St. John's church, a baptism is underway. Frank's brother Tom, his wife Helen, their baby are with a small gathering of friends and family. Helen holds her son in her arms.]

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
FEBRUARY 4
11:47 AM

PRIEST:  Holy water embodies the purity of God's love. It washes away sin cleansing us, so that we may truly be born again. Helen, I know you've traveled a great distance to have your son baptized in the same church where your husband Tom was baptized.

HELEN:  We have.

PRIEST:  Who will be your son's godfather?

[Frank steps forward.]

FRANK:  I will.

PRIEST:  Frank, your duty is to help your brother and his wife shelter and protect this child from harm. Do you accept this duty?

FRANK:  I accept.

[Helen places the child in Frank's arms. He turns to show the baby to his own daughter, Jordan.]

PRIEST:  In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost...

[The baby sneezes twice on Frank.]

FRANK:  God bless you!

[They all chuckle. The priest continues.]

PRIEST:  I baptize thee Charles Francis Black.

[He pours the holy water over the child's head.]

 

[Later, in the narthex, Tom is telling Catherine some childhood stories about Frank. Jordan is running and playing with a young boy near her age.]

TOM:  I wanted it so bad I dreamt about it. The Old Man says no, no way, am I going to get that bike. Christmas morning I wake up - there it is.

CATHERINE:  He got it for you?

TOM:  Frank got it. Anyway, I am so excited, I practically jump on it.

FRANK:  Flew is more like it.

[Catherine laughs.]

TOM:  Immediately, I lose control. I lay this three-foot scrape down the side of the Old Man's T-Bird.

[Frank becomes distracted from the conversation because he is looking at Helen who stands near the entrance door. She's holding the baby and talking to a man. He can only see the back of the man's head.]

CATHERINE:  What happened?

TOM:  Well I tell you I am shaking at this point. The Old Man comes out. Frank says he did it.

CATHERINE:  (Looks at Frank) You didn't.

FRANK:  (smiles) I did. Couldn't sit down for a week. (Catherine laughs again.) Where's Jordan?

CATHERINE:  Um, she's in there. (She points toward the nave.)

FRANK:  I'm going to go check on her.

CATHERINE:  Okay.

[Frank heads off in that direction.]

[Inside: He can the sound of a child crying. He finds the boy Jordan had been playing with, standing in the aisle by a pew. He moves closer and finds Jordan huddled on the floor, crying. He picks her up, sits down with her on his lap and tries to comfort her.]

FRANK:  It's okay, it's okay. It's okay, sweet thing. It's okay. Did something scare you?

JORDAN:  He's hurting her, Daddy!

[Frank looks at the boy, still standing in the aisle, and then back at Jordan.]

FRANK:  Who's he hurting?

JORDAN:  Aunt Helen!

[Frank carries Jordan back out to the narthex.]

FRANK:  Catherine.

CATHERINE:  What is it?

FRANK:  She's a little upset.

[He hands her to Catherine.]

CATHERINE:  Oh, sweetie!

FRANK:  (To Tom) Where's Helen?

TOM:  She took the baby to the hotel.

FRANK:  When?

TOM:  Just a minute ago.

[Frank opens the church doors and goes outside. It is very cold but he spots Tom and Helen's car - the rear door is ajar. He runs toward the car. The baby can be heard crying. Frank opens the door and finds the baby in his child-safety seat. He sees a drop of something red on his cheek. He wipes it off and realizes it is blood.]

[This triggers a brief violent vision for Frank of a man trapped in a pool of flames, a symbol consisting of marks made within two concentric circles, then of that image being burned into the arm of someone, more flames and finally of the man trying to claw his way out of the burning pool.]

[Tom comes running out after Frank and checks on his son in the rear seat who is still crying. Frank then looks around trying to find Helen.]

TOM:  Where's Helen, Frank? Where is she?

[Frank continues to look in all directions, not answering his brother.]

[fade to black]

[main titles]

"He said to me in a dreadful voice that I had indeed escaped his clutches, but he would capture me still."
St. Teresa of Avila

[polaroid fade up]

SEATTLE PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING
FEBRUARY 4
3:12 PM

[Frank looks at computer screen and a number of pictures files of convicted sex offenders on Det. Giebelhouse's computer, at his desk. He looks at face after face, having flashes of memory of the back of the man's head but no one seems familiar. He becomes so absorbed with the faces he fails to hear what's said to him.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Frank? Yo, Frank! You there?

[He finally gets Frank's attention.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  You find anything?

[Frank gestures no.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Yeah, well, the back of a man's head is not a lot to go on.

FRANK:  You have any more files?

GIEBELHOUSE:  That's it. Every sex offender, social deviant and rapist, not currently incarcerated in the greater Seattle area. Nice to know who your neighbors are.

[Bletcher walks into the room.]

BLETCHER:  I'm going county-wide with Helen's description. I'm pulling men off vacation, Frank. No one's going to sleep until we find her.

FRANK:  No one else saw him at the church. You might want to go door-to-door in the immediate area and see if anybody saw her with him.

BLETCHER:  Yeah, we're doing it.

FRANK:  Gas stations, convenience stores, toll booths - anywhere that they might have had to stop.

BLETCHER:  Yeah, we got it covered, Frank.

FRANK:  This was a bold move. We're looking for somebody that's done this before.

BLETCHER:  Frank, uh, can I have a moment, in my office?

[Frank follows Bletcher into his office, sits down as Bletcher shuts the door.]

BLETCHER:  Look, uh, Frank, I know about the threats against your family - the guy who's been sending you pictures of Catherine - and I know that you're going to want The Millennium Group to be part of this.

FRANK:  You need their help.

BLETCHER:  I can't. The department won't allow it.

[Frank storms up from his seat.]

FRANK:  Don't give me that, Bletch.

BLETCHER:  Now just listen to me for a second. No prosecutor can get a conviction using evidence supplied by the victim's brother-in-law. You gotta step back.

FRANK:  I can't.

BLETCHER:  Frank, no one in the world can help me more than you. But if you're helping me on this, you're not helping me.

FRANK:  She's my brother's wife, Bletch.

BLETCHER:  Go home. Be with your family. They need you there.

[Frank leaves Bletcher's office and meets up with his brother who has been anxiously waiting for him to return. They walk towards the elevator.]

TOM:  What did he say? Does he have any suspects?

FRANK:  Not yet.

TOM:  Well, what are they doing?

[Frank takes him by the arm and continues walking.]

FRANK:  Looking for her, Tom.

TOM:  It's nearly four hours. She could be anywhere by now.

[Frank presses the button for the elevator.]

FRANK:  He won't take her any farther than he has to.

TOM:  What? Where is she?

[The elevator doors open and Frank gets in.]

TOM:  Damn it, Frank! What do you want me to do?

FRANK:  You're doing everything you can, Tom.

[He gestures for Tom to join him.]

 

[The Black residence, as Tom and Frank arrive home.]

[Frank takes Jordan in his arms.]

FRANK:  You feeling any better?

JORDAN:  Yeah.

TOM:  How's the baby?

CATHERINE:  He's fine. He's running a little fever. I just put him down for a nap.

TOM:  Good. I'll, I'll go check on him.

JORDAN:  Can I come too?

TOM:  Sure, sweetheart.

[He takes Jordan upstairs by the hand. Catherine kisses Frank on the cheek.]

CATHERINE:  Hi. Come on.

[They head towards the kitchen together.]

CATHERINE:  What's going on?

FRANK:  They have no motive, no suspects, no forensic evidence to speak of. They're treating this as a completely random act.

[Catherine sighs. Frank walks over to get a glass of water.]

FRANK:  You talk to Jordan yet?

CATHERINE:  She said she didn't see anything. How did she know that someone was hurting Helen?

FRANK:  I don't know. Maybe she sensed something was wrong. I'll find Helen, Catherine. I won't let anything happen to her.

CATHERINE:  I'd be careful about making that promise, Frank. I know how these cases turn out. We both do.

FRANK:  I'll find her.

[The doorbell rings. Frank goes to find that Tom has let an officer in who had come to return his luggage.]

OFFICER:  That's it.

TOM:  Thanks.

OFFICER:  You're welcome.

[The police officer leaves.]

TOM:  Police. They finished examining the luggage.

[Frank starts picking up the bags, one by one, looking them over, searching.]

TOM:  What are you looking for?

FRANK:  I'm not sure.

TOM:  Frank, please. Let me in, okay? I'm an academic. I'm not a cop. I don't know the rules.

FRANK:  There are no rule books. Every situation is different.

[Tom becomes even more frustrated as Frank continues to search the bags.]

FRANK:  Do you notice anything different about these bags?

TOM:  Like what?

FRANK:  Did you label them all with your name and address on them?

TOM:  Yeah, and my office phone.

[Frank picks up one of the bags and brings it over to Tom who is sitting on the stairs.]

FRANK:  This one doesn't have a tag on it.

TOM:  So maybe it fell off.

FRANK:  It also could have been removed by the man who took Helen.

 

[It is raining, as a young bald man, Richard Green, enters a hardware store. He is one of the sex offenders Frank saw at the police department earlier.]

CLERK:  Uh, can I help you, sir?

[He picks up a shopping basket.]

GREEN:  I need some supplies for a project.

CLERK:  What kind of a project?

GREEN:  I'm adding a room to my house.

CLERK:  That's quite a project.

GREEN:  Yes, it's going to take some time.

[He looks around a bit on his own.]

GREEN:  I need some rope, and some hand tools.

CLERK:  What are you making - a tree house?

[He smiles at Green but that soon fades as he's realizes the young man didn't catch the humor and his glass-eyed stare begins to unnerve him.]

CLERK:  Uh, I'll go grab the rope from the back. Um, tools are in the first aisle.

GREEN:  Thank you.

[Green goes through the aisles, picking up tools and placing them into his basket. A trowel, a utility knife, duct tape. He picks up and rubs his thumb over the teeth of a handsaw.]

CLERK:  I got some dry wall tape for you. You putting in studs?

GREEN:  Yes.

CLERK:  Uh, aluminum or wood?

GREEN:  Wood.

CLERK:  Uh, I got a special on these.

[He picks up and shows Green a power nail gun.]

CLERK:  Uh, works like gangbusters. You, you could drive a nail through a 2 x 4 like a hot knife through butter.

GREEN:  I'll take it.

[The clerk hands it to him. The label on the nail gun reads: 'Powerfix Cordless Power Nail Gun.']

GREEN:  Thank you.

 

[Frank and Tom have gone to the airport to try and find any trace of a man near the luggage and/or Helen upon their arrival using the airport's surveillance tapes. An airport security officer is running through the tapes for them.]

SECURITY OFFICE
SEA-TAC INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
6:12 PM

SECURITY:  Hard drive purges itself every 72 hours to save on storage space. Another 20 minutes and this footage would have been erased from the system.

[Several security monitors are shown with people milling about, picking up their luggage, talking, etc. Time stamp on the lower right-hand corner of one of the monitors begins at: 18:32:24]

FRANK:  Where were you standing when you picked up your luggage, Tom?

TOM:  I don't remember, uh. Over there, I think, by the curve.

[He looks for himself on one of the screens. Time stamp begins at: 18:32:21]

TOM:  What are you looking for?

FRANK:  The way Helen spoke to the man I saw was casual, as if she'd met him before.

[They look intently at all of the monitors. One shows several people disembarking a plane, another shows people walking towards a gate to board another plane and again the monitor showing people by the luggage carousel.]

FRANK:  Could have been someone who initiated contact with her here, then tracked her to the church.

[Frank picks out Tom on the last monitor.]

FRANK:  That's you, right?

TOM:  Yeah, that's me.

FRANK:  Where's Helen?

[Tom searches for faces on each of the monitors and finally finds her.]

TOM:  There she is.

[She is standing with the baby in her arms by a luggage cart, waiting for Tom to return with their bags. There is one bag, a carry-on, already on the cart. A man approaches her, seems to exchange a few words with Helen and then leaves. He possibly could have taken the luggage tag at that time.]

TOM:  Oh, my God.

FRANK:  (To the security officer) Could you move that back six frames, please?

[They have an image, although not a clear one, of the man onscreen. Frank puts on his glasses for a closer look at the man.]

TOM:  Is that him?

[Frank envisions Helen being attacked in the car. He can hear her screams and he sees her blood on her hands. Tom whispers again.]

TOM:  Is that him?

 

[Seattle Public Safety Building, Bletcher's office. Frank has shown Bletcher a still printout from the airport security tape of the man he suspects has taken Helen. Bletcher slams his fist against the photo on his desk.]

BLETCHER:  Frank, I told you to stay out of this.

FRANK:  That was the man I saw talking to Helen at the church. He used her luggage tag to track her down.

BLETCHER:  Now how do you know that?

FRANK:  My brother's secretary got a call Friday from a man that said he was a friend of his. She gave him the name of the church where the baptism was being held.

BLETCHER:  Frank, you're taking a huge leap here. This guy at the airport could just be a guy at the airport, but you can't see that because you're too damn close to this and your judgment can't help but be affected by it.

FRANK:  That's him. I got guys who can use enhancement software to give us a useable image - something that we can work with.

BLETCHER:  Yeah, back off, Frank! (Frank shrugs.) An hour ago we found a stolen car, abandoned in a supermarket parking lot.

FRANK:  Helen's blood was inside.

BLETCHER:  The rear seat upholstery and carpet.

FRANK:  But she's still alive, Bletch, otherwise she'd still be in the car. He's moved her to another location. But we don't have much time.

[Bletcher doesn't respond. Frank then meets up with Tom who has been waiting for him just outside.]

FRANK:  Tom, let's go. Come on.

[He heads toward the elevator and Tom follows.]

[But present on the bench where Tom has been sitting is Richard Green. He turns to watch both Blacks enter the elevator. Some of the same images Frank has envisioned also run through Green's mind: he hears himself screaming, he sees himself trying to claw his way out of the burning pool, he sees the burned-in scar of the symbol covered in blood, he sees fire, feels his own pain and sees himself covered in blood. Vision over, he just sits there, stone-faced as always, biting his nails.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

FEBRUARY 5
7:42 AM

[The Black residence. It is a sunny morning, birds are singing, as Catherine moves through a still-dark house toward the kitchen to prepare a bottle for the baby. She takes one out of the refrigerator and places it in the microwave oven. As she turns, she's startled by Tom who had been sitting in the dark for some time, unable to sleep.]

TOM:  Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.

CATHERINE:  Well, that's okay. I just didn't expect to find you sitting here in the dark.

[She turns on the light in the kitchen.]

TOM:  I came down for a glass of water. I guess I lost track of the time.

CATHERINE:  Have you seen Frank?

TOM:  He left a few minutes ago. Said he was taking a walk.

[The microwave beeps.]

TOM:  Been sitting here trying to prepare myself - for whatever happens.

CATHERINE:  That's just what Frank does when he's worried about something.

TOM:  Yeah, well, that's the Black family. Try to anticipate the future so you don't have to dwell on the past.

CATHERINE:  You couldn't stop what happened to Helen, Tom, any more than you can control the future.

TOM:  (sighs) It's all these images, uh, running through my mind. I, I don't know what life was like before yesterday. (sighs again) All I, all I see are pictures of her, suffering, and I'm not there to save her.

[The baby can be heard crying upstairs.]

CATHERINE:  He's probably just hungry.

TOM:  Oh, I'll be up in a minute.

[Catherine touches his shoulder to try and comfort him, then heads to the microwave for the baby's bottle. Tom reaches up his hand to meet hers but it's already gone. He nearly becomes emotional but holds it all in again instead.]

TOM:  Would you mind turning out the light?

[Catherine turns it off and goes upstairs with the bottle.]

 

[Frank has not gone for a walk but for a meeting with Peter Watts in Watts' car.]

FRANK:  Thanks for coming on such short notice, Peter.

WATTS:  I'm sorry about your sister-in-law, Frank. I have some news for you.

[He hands Frank an envelope.]

WATTS:  I was concerned it might be the same man that's been sending you pictures of your family. I haven't been able to completely rule that out but I came up with some other possible suspects.

[Frank opens the envelope. Inside he finds documents and police files on several sex offenders. (All pages are only partially show onscreen.) Contents are as follows:]

CRIMINAL PROFILE:
... see little evidence of incidental activity, no ...
... suspect obviously conducts himself in a ...
... instigating no distrust in potential victims...
... an individual whose primary target is a single female ...
... sadistic/masochistic/sexually deviant purposes ...
... stealthy, motivated; leaves few clues, indicating ...
... Although this crime was initially classified as ...
... police because a lack of evidence made it difficult ...
... the pattern of behavior, it is being reviewed ...
... due to the brazen methodology displayed by ...

SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
INFORMATION BULLETIN
TO: ALL CHIEFS OF POLICE JEFFERSON COUNTY - WHITMAN COUNTY - PIERCE COUNTY LINCOLN COUNTY - PEND OREILLE COUNTY - SNOHOMISH COUNTY - KLICKITAT COUNTY - THURSTON COUNTY
FROM: LT. DET. ROBERT BLETCHER
DEPARTMENT: SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

FRANK:  It's official memoranda, channeled through the Seattle PD. How'd you get it?

WATTS:  Unofficially. Recently passed federal legislation requires that local PD be alerted when sex offenders are released or paroled into the community.

FRANK:  (sighs) Well, tell the Group I really appreciate it.

WATTS:  Given the unofficial nature of our investigation, I thought it best I not tell the Group. (Frank nods.) I'll be in touch.

[Frank gets out of Watts' car, returns to his home and goes to his office in the basement.]

[He takes out the pages from the envelope and studies each one. He looks through the files of the sex offenders and stops at Richard Green's. The young man in a 1988 photo is bald. He thinks back to his memory at the church - how the man looked from behind. He focuses on what appears to be a clear sign that the man must be wearing a wig.]

[He calls Bletcher by phone at his office. Bletcher picks up but there are a couple of detectives in the office with him.]

BLETCHER:  Yeah, Bletcher.

FRANK:  Bletch, I've got a suspect for you.

BLETCHER:  Hang on. (To the detectives) Just give me a minute, will you?

[He hands them a folder, they leave and he gets back to Frank on the phone.]

BLETCHER:  God damn it, Frank, what did I tell you?

FRANK:  His name is Richard Green.

BLETCHER:  Yeah, Richard Green was in the files you looked at. You didn't I.D. him.

FRANK:  Green's head is shaved. I think the man at the church wore a wig.

BLETCHER:  Is that what you think, or is that what you want to think?

FRANK:  Before his incarceration, Green worked as a skycap.

BLETCHER:  Yeah, at SEA-TAC. That's how he targeted his victims. We had him in for questioning last night. He's a wacko, Frank, but he's clean, as far as we can tell. He served his time and he lives with his parents. Now I want to know how you got hold of Green's confidential files?

[Reflected on Frank's shut off computer monitor, he sees Catherine come down the stairs to join him.]

FRANK:  It came across my desk.

BLETCHER:  Well, the next time something comes across your desk, just let it keep moving, okay?

[Frank turns to look at Catherine.]

FRANK:  You guys should be watching him, Bletch.

BLETCHER:  We've already got him under surveillance. Now I'm not asking you this time, Frank, I'm ordering you. Leave it alone!

[He slams the phone down. Frank hangs up the phone.]

CATHERINE:  They have a suspect?

FRANK:  They might. Before his release two weeks ago, a man named Richard Green served an eight-year sentence in an asylum for the criminally insane. He's a sexual sadist who raped, tortured and mutilated two women.

CATHERINE:  You think he took Helen?

FRANK:  He fits.

CATHERINE:  You've got to tell Tom.

FRANK:  If Green has Helen, then what's happened to her is beyond his worst fears. I can't tell I can't tell my brother that. I won't until I'm sure he needs to know.

 

[The Green residence. Richard Green is putting things into a bag: dry wall tape, duct tape, various tools. The television is on in the background. He is highly agitated, pacing back and forth. He walks to the window and looks at the police, sitting in a car across the street, on stakeout.]

GREEN:  Sons of bitches!

[He grabs the bag and heads for the door.]

GREEN:  I'm going out.

GREEN'S MOTHER:  Richard. Oh.

[Green leaves as his father comes up from the basement, smoking a cigarette. He stares at his wife as he walks past here.]

[Outside, the two detectives, Giebelhouse and Teeple, watch as Green comes out of the house.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Take a look. Mr. Psycho's taking his morning stroll.

[Green looks over to their car, throws down his bag and loses it.]

GREEN:  That's it!

TEEPLE:  What's it?

GIEBELHOUSE:  This guy's yo-yo's snapped.

[Green begins shouting and running towards their car, carrying a chisel in his hand.]

GREEN:  That's it! That's it! That's it!

GIEBELHOUSE:  Oh, boy!

[Both detectives get out of their car and try to reason with Green. He is waving and slashing the chisel at them and continues to shout.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Cool it, Mr. Green.

GREEN:  I didn't hurt anybody! Leave me alone!

GIEBELHOUSE:  Just calm down, Mr. Green. Nobody says you did anything.

GREEN:  Leave me alone! I told you, I didn't hurt anybody!

[Mrs. Green shouts at her son from her doorstep.]

GREEN'S MOTHER:  Richard, get in here!

[She gets his attention. He calms down and heads back towards his home.]

TEEPLE:  We could bring him in on charges.

GIEBELHOUSE:  If this guy knows where that woman is, he's not going to do us much good sitting in a cell.

[She comes out to meet her son and bring him back inside. The detectives get back into their car.]

GREEN'S MOTHER:  You leave my son alone! Just ask the hospital! He's all better now!

GIEBELHOUSE:  Yeah, he's the picture of mental health.

 

GLENROSA STATE HOSPITAL
FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE
3:46 PM

[Frank goes to the hospital that has just discharged Green to see what he can learn from the doctor who treated him there.]

[An orderly unlocks the door to the ward and allows Frank to enter.]

FRANK:  Thank you.

MOSS:  Mr. Black? I'm Dr. Moss. We spoke on the phone about Richard Green.

FRANK:  I wonder if you could show me his room?

MOSS:  Sure thing.

[They walk down the corridor towards Green's old room.]

MOSS:  I'm sorry to say that I wasn't surprised to hear that Richard's in trouble again.

FRANK:  According to his record, he completed his scheduled course of treatment.

MOSS:  The psychiatric review panel determined that schedule. If I could have held him longer than eight years, I would've, but I was overruled.

FRANK:  Then you expected him to commit more crimes.

MOSS:  We have an excellent record here. Ninety percent of the criminally insane patients we treat never commit another crime.

[She enters a security code and presses a buzzer to gain access to the patients' sleeping quarters.]

FRANK:  But you weren't surprised that he'd be among the ten percent that do.

 

[At the Black residence, Tom sneaks into Frank's basement office. He tries to open a file cabinet, but it is locked. He turns on the light at Frank's desk; looks through a file on top of the desk; opens a drawer and finds some keys. He turns on another light above some file cabinets and uses the keys to unlock it. Inside he finds the official police memoranda that Peter Watts had given to Frank earlier. It reads, in part:]

SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
INFORMATION BULLETIN
TO: ALL CHIEFS OF POLICE JEFFERSON COUNTY - WHITMAN COUNTY - PIERCE COUNTY LINCOLN COUNTY - PEND OREILLE COUNTY - SNOHOMISH COUNTY - KLICKITAT COUNTY - THURSTON COUNTY
FROM: LT. DET. ROBERT BLETCHER
DEPARTMENT: SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
MESSAGE...
FIND ATTACHED A HOT LIST FOR SUSPECTS...
KIDNAPPING CASE. THESE SUSPECTS...
DURING THE LAST TWO WEEKS. AND...
SUSPECTS LINKED WITH THIS CASE. ...
TO BRING ANY OF THEM IN FOR QUESTIONING...
PLACE AT ST. JOHN'S CHURCH...

 

[At the hospital, Frank and Dr. Moss reach Richard Green's old room. The doctor opens the door and Frank enters.]

MOSS:  It's been cleaned up. I'm not sure what you're expecting to find.

[Frank climbs on top of the bed to look through a small barred window located high up on the wall. He looks out the window.]

FRANK:  Was he delusional?

MOSS:  He claimed Satan was forcing him to do evil. He thought he was protected as long as he stayed here, but the Devil would pull him back into evil when he got out.

[Frank again envisions Green trapped in a burning pool of fire, screaming, trying to claw his way out.]

FRANK:  He saw himself as a victim - tortured like the women that he abducted.

MOSS:  I wish I could say we did something to alleviate his delusions. Truth is we let that man out of here with only a prescription bottle and a prayer.

[Frank turns to look at the doctor and climbs down from the bed. He then rolls the bed away from the wall.]

MOSS:  What are you doing?

[There is a symbol carved into the wall, near the floor, which was hidden by the bed.]

FRANK:  Do you recognize it?

MOSS:  Richard must have done that. He had crude burn marks on his left bicep. They look the same.

[Frank bends down to take a closer look at the marks. There is an eight-pointed star with symbols drawn in and around it. These are contained within two concentric circles.]

FRANK:  It's the Mark of Lucifer. It's an ancient symbol drawn as a sign of eternal loyalty.

 

[Back in Frank's basement, Tom finds Frank's gun at the back of the drawer he's opened. He removes it from its holster. On the desk is one of the files from the police memorandum - Richard Green's. And on top of that lies an ammo quick-load clip. Tom takes the ammo and loads the gun.]

 

[Sometime later, Catherine is carrying Jordan and goes to answer a ringing phone.]

CATHERINE:  Hello.

FRANK:  Catherine, it's me.

CATHERINE:  Oh, Frank, I'm so glad you called. I had to take the baby to the Meredith's'. Jordan's sick.

FRANK:  What's wrong?

CATHERINE:  Uh, I don't know. She's burning up. I'm taking her to the doctor now.

FRANK:  Where's Tom?

CATHERINE:  Isn't he with you?

FRANK:  What are you talking about?

CATHERINE:  He left about an hour ago. He said he was going to meet you downtown.

[Frank shuts off his cellphone and leaves the hospital.]

 

[Outside the Green residence, Tom pounds on the door. Richard Green opens it.]

GREEN:  What do you want?

TOM:  Where is she?

GREEN:  I don't know.

[Tom points Frank's gun at Green.]

TOM:  You know. You're going to tell. Tell me where she is.

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[Tom continues to point the gun at Green, becoming more emotionally distraught, and repeating his question.]

TOM:  Where is my wife?

[Green doesn't respond.]

TOM:  You son of a... ! Where is my wife?!

[He grabs Green by the lapel of his jacket, forcing him to his knees.

TOM:  I will kill you. (He cocks the gun.) Tell me!

GREEN:  I don't know.

[The detectives come running up behind Tom, guns drawn, pointing at Tom, trying to reason with him.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Mr. Black! Put it down, Mr. Black.

[Tom gets down on his knees in front of Green, practically begging his question once again.]

TOM:  Tell me where she is.

GIEBELHOUSE:  We don't want to get confused about who the bad guy is here, Mr. Black. Put it down.

TOM:  He took her!

GIEBELHOUSE:  We don't want to hurt you, Tom. But we will if we have to, you know that.

[Green's mother comes up behind her son, in the hallway to see at what's happening.]

TOM:  He can tell me where she is! Let me make him tell me where she is!

[Green puts his hand on the gun, holding it to his chest.]

GREEN:  Go ahead. Shoot me.

GIEBELHOUSE:  Don't do it, Tom.

GREEN:  Kill me! Do it!

GIEBELHOUSE:  That's what he wants. He can't tell you anything if he's dead. Put it down.

GREEN:  (Grunts.) Come on! Come on!

[Tom begins to crumble, lowering the gun.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  That's it.

[He reaches out to Tom.]

TOM:  Please.

GIEBELHOUSE:  Come on. You know this isn't going to work. Put it down. (Tom finally does.) That's it. Now put it down. That's it.

[Tom finally sits on the ground, crying.]

 

10:32 PM

[Frank arrives home, quite angry. He sees Tom sitting at the dining room table, enters the room, pulling the sliding doors shut behind him that lead into the room.]

FRANK:  What the hell were you trying to do over there, Tom?

TOM:  The only thing I could do.

FRANK:  Breaking into my basement and stealing my gun? You only made it worse.

TOM:  I was trying to find her.

FRANK:  So was I.

[Tom snaps a glare at Frank.]

TOM:  This never would have happened if we hadn't come here to see you! You don't see it, do you, Frank? You bring it upon yourself. It's a sickness! You can't just keep it locked away in the basement!

FRANK:  I would do anything to protect you and yours.

TOM:  By keeping me in the dark, just like you always have. I don't want your protection. I want the truth!

FRANK:  Some truths are better left unknown.

TOM:  But you can't keep them from us, can you, Frank? You can't keep them from any of us.

[Frank is taken aback by what Tom has said and is unable to respond.]

 

[Upstairs in Jordan's bedroom. Ben, the Black's dog, lies on top of Jordan's bed, at her feet. Jordan is fast asleep. Frank goes up to check on her.]

[Frank sits at the edge of the bed and touches his daughter's head. He smiles at her. Then he notices a Band-Aid on her out-stretched arm.]

[Catherine stands in the doorway and calls to him softly.]

CATHERINE:  Frank?

[He leaves his side and joins his wife.]

FRANK:  They took blood?

CATHERINE:  At first the doctor thought that she picked up something from the baby. But it's the same thing as when we first moved in here. They ran some tests and they couldn't find anything wrong with her.

FRANK:  How is she tonight?

CATHERINE:  She's still running a fever. (sighs) She's such a good little girl. Never complains. It's like the whole world has gone to hell.

[They embrace, trying to comfort each other when Frank notices his beeper and the message: 2000, time: 23:02]

 

[Sound of thunder. It begins to rain heavily. Frank's Jeep pulls up beside Peter Watts' car on a road somewhere. Tom is with Frank as Watts steps out of his car and walks over to the Jeep.]

FRANK:  This is my brother Tom.

[They nod at one another.]

WATTS:  I got into the police garage and examined the abandoned vehicle with Helen's blood. I found these in one of the heating vents.

[He hands Frank something inside of an evidence bag. Frank turns on a light to examine the leaves contained in the bag.]

WATTS:  They're from a Port Orford tree. It's a kind of cedar native to Japan. The only place it's found in the State of Washington is Peninsula National Park. The Department of Natural Resources did a trial planting there.

FRANK:  Twenty miles north.

[Peter Watts nods.]

 

[Peninsula National Park. The three of them drive up to the park in Frank's Jeep.]

[Using a flashlight, Watts checks a map, looking for entrances into the park.]

WATTS:  This is the only access road into the park.

TOM:  Why take her here? Aren't there people around?

FRANK:  Not at this time of the year. He'd take her to a remote spot, someplace where he wouldn't be overheard.

[Watts looks off to one side, spotting something.]

WATTS:  Frank, stop the car. There's a cabin back there.

[The three of them, each with flashlights, run into the woods, towards the cabin to check it out.]

[They open the door and Frank and Tom stand by the door while Watts searches through the cabin. It is empty, filthy, its windows covered with newspaper and the back door wide open. The floor is littered with paper, covered in blood.]

TOM:  Oh, dear God.

[Under a bit of newspaper, Watts sees a ring. He moves the paper to one side.]

WATTS:  Do you recognize this ring?

TOM:  It's Helen's.

 

FEBRUARY 6
7:01 AM

[Same location, outside the cabin. It's morning and they've been there all night. There are police and sheriff vehicles everywhere. Bletcher is also there, giving orders on his radio.]

BLETCHER:  Cover every inch of these woods.

VOICE On RADIO:  Ten-four.

[Inside the cabin, forensics is taking samples of blood from the walls, and taking prints from the windows, etc. Frank is standing by the open door, looking at the blood inside.]

BLETCHER:  Bastard got away from us, Frank.

FRANK:  You did everything you could.

BLETCHER:  It wasn't enough. We made some casts of the tire tracks outside. They match the abandoned car. I got my men in the woods, looking for her body. It may be a little late, Frank, but, uh, you got any thoughts about this? Anything you think we've missed?

FRANK:  I don't know how he did it. You've had him under surveillance since Sunday night. How did he have time to get up here and dispose of the body?

BLETCHER:  He could have killed her Sunday afternoon before we brought him in for questioning, before we even knew he was a suspect. There's a lot of blood here. Some of it may be Green's. I'll give you a call once we get the goods to pick him up.

[Tom is stunned, silently crying in Frank's Jeep. Frank stops to ask a favor of Peter Watts before joining his brother.]

FRANK:  One last thing: could you make sure the ring doesn't get lost?

[Frank is twisting his own wedding ring. Watts nods. Frank sighs deeply and he heads toward his car. He looks through the windshield at his brother who is staring straight ahead. Frank gets in the car.]

FRANK:  Peter Watts is going to stay here and review the evidence. Tom?

[Tom continues to stare straight ahead.]

TOM:  I feel nothing. There's nothing inside. None of this is real.

FRANK:  Are you ready to leave?

[Tom finally looks at Frank and nods.]

TOM:  Let's get out of here.

[Frank starts the jeep.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

FEBRUARY 6
10:16 AM

[The Black residence. Outside, it's a sunny day. Inside Jordan's bedroom, she is still in bed, sick. Catherine dampens a towel and takes her temperature.]

CATHERINE:  So, how you feeling?

JORDAN:  Okay.

[She takes the thermometer from Jordan's mouth and looks at it.]

JORDAN:  What's it say, Mommy?

CATHERINE:  It says you're still sick, sweet face.

JORDAN:  Aren't you going to work today?

CATHERINE:  I'm going to stay home from work today.

[She places the damp towel on Jordan's forehead.]

JORDAN:  Why?

CATHERINE:  So I can be home with you.

JORDAN:  Why?

CATHERINE:  Because you're my sweet little girl.

JORDAN:  Why?

[They both begin giggling.]

CATHERINE:  Because I love you and I'm going to tickle you silly if you keep asking me why!

[She tickles her and they both laugh again.]

[Frank arrives home and calls out from downstairs.]

FRANK:  Anyone home?

JORDAN:  Daddy and Uncle Tom are home.

CATHERINE:  Mommy'll be right back.

[She kisses Jordan's hand and heads for the door.]

JORDAN:  Mommy?

CATHERINE:  What is it, Jordan?

JORDAN:  Why is he so mad?

CATHERINE:  Why is who so mad?

JORDAN:  The man who's making Aunt Helen cry.

[Catherine turns and stares at her daughter as Frank comes into the bedroom to greet Jordan.]

FRANK:  Hi, sweetie.

JORDAN:  Hi, Daddy.

FRANK:  Hi.

[Frank smiles at her and turns toward Catherine. His smile dissolves into concern when he sees her expression.]

FRANK:  Catherine?

[She doesn't say anything. She just looks from him to Jordan.]

 

[The Green residence. The police are putting handcuffs on Richard Green and taking him into custody. The Mark of Lucifer can be seen on his left arm as they take him away.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Let's go.

[Frank arrives.]

BLETCHER:  There were traces of Green's blood in the cabin. He's our guy, but he's still not talking. We found these tools in his room.

[He shows Frank the bag of tools Green tried to leave the house with earlier.]

BLETCHER:  He had this wig in his dresser drawer.

[He shows Frank a wig in an evidence bag.]

FRANK:  That's not why you called me here.

BLETCHER:  No. There is something else. I think you should take a look.

[Bletcher and Frank go out to the Green backyard.]

[Police have cordoned off several areas of the yard. Two officers are using metal detectors. Another two are sifting a segment of dirt. And still others are digging a hole. Everything is carefully marked and labeled.]

BLETCHER:  Forensic techs found a plastic clothes bag buried under six inches of sod.

[Bletcher tries to make a path through some officers who are busily making notes.]

BLETCHER:  Excuse us, guys.

TECH:  Let's see what we've got here.

[One of the techs is about to remove a plastic covering from something in the dug hole. Frank bends to get a closer look. Before the covering is lifted he turns to Bletcher.]

FRANK:  It's not her.

[Frank walks away. Bletcher leans over to take a look at the revealed body and sees a decomposed corpse that could not possibly be Helen Black.]

 

5:15 PM

[The police department. Tom is holding Helen's ring, still in an evidence bag. Frank takes it from him.]

TOM:  Where is she?

FRANK:  They're still questioning him in there. He insists he doesn't know where she is.

[Peter Watts arrives.]

FRANK:  Peter.

WATTS:  We examined the remains at Green's house. Something interesting.

[Frank is hesitant to let Tom see whatever Watts has brought with him.]

TOM:  I want to see.

FRANK:  Tom.

TOM:  I can take it.

[Frank gives in and nods to Watts.]

WATTS:  Here.

[They move over to use a desk lamp and view several Polaroids Watts has taken of the remains. Watts shows the photos to Frank while Tom has to peek over Watts's shoulder.]

[The photos show the hole, clearly marked and its sections labeled. The body still in the hole in various stages of being unearthed.]

WATTS:  The wrappings on the victim preserved the body exceptionally well. Judging from the decay, this woman would have died nine or ten years ago predating Green's incarceration. Like the victims previously identified as his, she was sexually assaulted, mutilated.

FRANK:  What did you want me to see?

WATTS:  Here.

[The last photo is of the victim, her mouth wide open. There is a burn mark visible. It resembles the Mark of Lucifer.]

WATTS:  The roof of the victim's mouth.

FRANK:  They're burn marks.

WATTS:  Probably from a cigarette, it's hard to tell. They appear to depict a star surrounded by a circle.

FRANK:  That's the same symbol burned into Green's arm. We have to go back to Green's house. There's something we missed.

 

[They drive back to the Green residence. Bletcher has just arrived too. They all get out of their cars and head for the front door. Police are already on the scene and inside the house.]

BLETCHER:  You want to let me in on the secret, Frank?

FRANK:  Richard Green didn't kill her at the cabin, Bletch.

BLETCHER:  We got his blood at the scene.

FRANK:  You've had him under surveillance since Sunday. He only had the opportunity to move her once. If he killed her, he would have had to do something with the body.

[They open the door and enter. Mrs. Green rushes over to try and stop them.]

GREEN'S MOTHER:  What is it now? What do you people want?

BLETCHER:  Bear with us, Mrs. Green, huh?

[Frank gestures for Tom to join him as he begins pounding the walls, searching for a hollow spot.]

BLETCHER:  You're not making sense to me here, Frank.

FRANK:  Those tools you showed me were clean. They weren't part of his torture kit, Bletch. He was using it to hide the body.

[Peter Watts calls out to Frank from the basement.]

WATTS:  Frank!

[Frank grabs Tom's arm and runs to join Watts.]

[Watts is running his hand along a wall.]

WATTS:  This is new.

[Watts punches a hole in the wall with his fist, then uses a flashlight to see what's inside.]

WATTS:  No.

[He finds nothing in that area. Frank then begins pounding away at another area with his forearm and shoulder. Watts, Frank and Tom tear and yank at bits of dry wall until they reveal a bound, gagged and unconscious Helen. Tom begins crying, fearing that she's already dead. Frank reaches in to find her hand.]

FRANK:  She's warm.

BLETCHER:  God! Let me get a paramedic!

[Bletcher runs off to get help as Tom, moaning and crying, moves in to free his wife from her restraints and to remove the tape from her mouth.]

TOM:  Oh, baby! Oh, God!

[Helen's mouth is covered with blood as Tom and Watts continue to try and remove her from the wall.]

[Frank is on his knees, helping, when he looks up and sees Green's father looking down on them from the top of the stairs. He rises and continue to look at the man who is defiantly smoking a cigarette, completely dispassionate and removed from what's happening around him. This triggers a brief recurrence of the vision Frank had earlier. He again hears Richard Green screaming, surrounded by fire, the mark of Lucifer burned into the man's arm, blood. He knows the truth about Richard's father.]

 

FEBRUARY 20
TWO WEEKS LATER

[The Black residence. Frank sits outside on his porch, on the top step. Bletcher drives up, and goes up to the house.]

BLETCHER:  Hi, Frank.

FRANK:  Hey, Bletch.

[He joins Frank on the step.]

BLETCHER:  I just wanted to give you the rundown before Tom and Helen came back from the hospital.

FRANK:  Bad news?

BLETCHER:  The old man's got a good attorney. Can't prove his involvement one way or the other.

FRANK:  He used his son to procure his victims. He was the Devil that Green couldn't escape.

BLETCHER:  Yeah, his, Green's shrink is working on him now but his testimony won't be worth much.

[Frank shakes his head.]

BLETCHER:  I'm sorry, Frank.

FRANK:  You saved Helen's life, Bletch. It's your surveillance that forced him into hiding her in his house.

[Tom and Helen drive up. As Tom gets out of the car, Jordan and Catherine, who is carrying the baby, come out of the house and speak with Bletcher.]

CATHERINE:  Hi, Bob.

BLETCHER:  Hi, Catherine. Hi, Jordan. How're you doing? I heard you were sick.

CATHERINE:  She's much better now.

[Tom walks over to open the door for his wife and help her out of the car. Frank steps over to the curb to meet them. She looks weak but is recovering from her ordeal.]

[Catherine brings the baby to Helen and places him in her arms.]

CATHERINE:  Here's the little man you've been waiting to see.

[Deep bite marks can be seen on Helen's left cheek as she holds and smiles at her son.]

[Frank looks at Jordan, who is clutching at her mother's side. He walks over to her and stretches his hand out to her.]

FRANK:  Come on, sweetheart. Let's take a walk.

[Father and daughter walk off together, hand in hand as his brother's family is reunited.]

[fade to black]

[main titles]

Starring

Lance Henriksen (Frank Black)
Megan Gallagher (Catherine Black)
Terry O'Quinn (Peter Watts)
Brittany Tiplady (Jordan Black)
Stephen James Lang (Detective Giebelhouse)
and
Bill Smitrovich (Lt. Bob Bletcher)

Guest Starring

Philip Anglim (Tom Black)
Dylan Haggerty (Richard Green)
Brian Markinson (Teeple)

Co-Starring

Lorena Gale (Dr. Patricia Moss)
Daphne Goldrick (Green's Mother)
French Tickner (Store Clerk)
Ken Roberts (Green's Father)
Liz Bryson (Helen Black)

 

Music by Mark Snow
Editor: Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
Production Designer: Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography: Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer: Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer: Ted Mann
Co-Producer: Ken Dennis
Co-Producer: Robert Moresco
Producer: Chip Johannessen
Co-Executive Producer: Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer: Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer: John Peter Kousakis
Written by Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Michael Watkins

Executive Producer: Chris Carter

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