Monster

[MLM-204 (5C04)]

 

Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Perry Lang
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
U.S. Air Date: October 17, 1997

[Transcribed by Libby
Edited by Brian A. Dixon ]

 

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
Henry IV, pt. 2, Act 4, SC 2

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) Once upon a time, there lived a chicken named Henny Penny. One day an acorn hit her on the head. "My goodness," said Henny Penny, "the sky is falling, the sky is falling." So she ran to tell the king.

[Inside a children's classroom there are paintings pinned to a wall, images of turkeys made from children's handprints. The children are sitting in a half-circle on the ground while a woman, Miss Penny, reads the story to them.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) On her way she met Ducky Lucky, and Goosey Loosey. "The sky is falling, the sky is falling. We must tell the king."

[The classroom is a chaotic array of small colorful chairs, desks covered with art supplies, toys, children's books, and more children's artwork.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) On their way they met Turkey Lurkey. "Where are you going Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky and Goosey Loosey?" asked Turkey Lurkey.

[More decorations can be seen on the wall. Imposed is a shot from outside of the building, MISS PENNY'S DAYCARE.]

[The filming of the playground is handled in various ways: by superimposing the end of a shot over the beginning of the next, by slowing down the film to give a jerky appearance, and some shots appear to have been run backwards. The effect is unreal and an unsettling contrast to the standard story time session taking place in the Daycare center.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) "The sky is falling, the sky is falling, we must tell the king." On their way they met Foxy Loxy.

[Lightning flashes and thunder rolls ominously above a playground in disarray. Tricycles, toy cars, and a swing set lie scattered across the sandy lot before Miss Penny's Daycare.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) "The sky is falling, the sky is falling, we must tell the king."

[A number of toy dinosaurs are perched atop a fence, positioned as if battling with one another. A tea set sits on a small yellow table, the cups and tea pot filled with dirt.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) "Oh, my," said Foxy Loxy, "I must show you the quickest way."

[A rooster stands confined in a small cage.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) So Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Loosey Goosey, and Turkey Lurkey, followed Foxy Loxy to a dark hole.

[Another nearby cage holds two white rabbits and a pair of colorful name tags taped to the cage reveal their names: HILLORY and BILL.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) But this was really the hole to Foxy Loxy's den. "Follow me," said Foxy Loxy, and went into the hole.

[Lighting flares over the swing set in the sandlot.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) Then all of a sudden, Foxy Loxy turned around and ate up Turkey Lurkey, in one big bite.

[More lightning flashes as a white picket fence whisks by.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) Then Foxy Loxy ate up Goosey Loosey. Ducky Lucky said, "Run Henny Penny, run for your life!" Then Foxy Loxy ate up Ducky Lucky in one big bite.

[A small doll is lying in a dense, dead bush by the fence.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) Then Henny Penny ran all the way home, and never told the king the sky was falling.

[As the battered and dirty doll comes more prominently into view the lightning and thunder quicken.]

[fade to black]

[main titles]

[polaroid fade up]

"MONSTER"

[A child's painting pinned to a wall depicts "Jordan," "Mommy," "Ben," and a yellow house.]

WATTS: You'll fly into St. Louis, take a connecting flight to Little Rock.

[A Seattle Seahawks jersey thrown over a chair reads, "Warren, 42".]

WATTS: It's about an hour and a half's drive northeast to Probity, maybe ten thousand people.

[A computer monitor shows the familiar ouroboros and the greeting, "Welcome Frank. There are 805 days remaining."]

WATTS: It's a small town on the brink of a calamitous event. The Millennium Group is sending you to consult for the District Attorney, Gordon Roberts. A caution: he's up for re-election in November.

FRANK: So, no-one's been arrested. No-one's even been brought in for questioning. It's all accusations. What's the Group's interest? Why is Millennium sending me to a small town where something might happen?

[Watts is silent.]

FRANK: If this is more than rumors, it's a horrible crime. And I can't imagine what I would do if it happened to Jordan. But child abuse has always happened. Unfortunately, probably always will. How is this about the end of the world?

WATTS: Just go there, Frank. Find the evil. This is who we are.

[The schoolyard before Miss Penny's Daycare center is vacant.]

WATTS: (V.O.) The woman under suspicion is named Penelope Elizabeth Plott. Opened a daycare with her husband, Raymond, in 1961.

[Miss Penny, looking quite worried, is looking out through the wire covered window in the front door of the daycare center.]

WATTS: (V.O.) Her husband died of prostate cancer two years ago.

[There is a group of mothers out on the sidewalk, beyond the white picket fence, giving out handouts.]

WATTS: (V.O.) They had no children of their own. She puts all the money she makes, not very much, back into the daycare. In 36 years not a single incident has ever been reported.

[One woman is looking at the handout in her hands. It reads: "DID SOMETHING HAPPEN? Dear Parent, Inquiries indicate your child has been or is currently enrolled at Miss Penny's Daycare. I am extremely concerned about the safety of my child and of course all the children attending Miss Penny's Daycare. The following task is an unpleasant one, but unfortunately a necessary one..."]

 

[Frank and Jordan are in a shoe store looking at sneakers. Jordan is impatient, nagging, whiney, and being particularly difficult. Frank is doing his best to remain patient, contain his annoyance, and finish their shopping.]

JORDAN: Dad, there's something I want to ask you.

FRANK: What?

JORDAN: Who does Princess Leia root for?

FRANK: Seahawks. Give me those, give me those.

[Jordan has taken a shoe from the display. Frank goes to take it from her. She obviously thinks it's all a game.]

FRANK: (to salesman) Excuse me, could you see if there's a size ten, please.

JORDAN: Dad, who does Darth Vader root for?

FRANK: Raiders.

SALESMAN: Did you check the rack over there?

FRANK: Yeah, that's why I'm asking you. If you've got some in back, or something.

JORDAN: Dad!

FRANK: I've got to get her home. Size ten. Thank you.

[Frank turns round to look for Jordan. She's nowhere in sight. Frank goes looking for her.]

FRANK: (exasperated) Jordan. Jordan! Oh, Jordan.

JORDAN: Dad.

[She's sat on the floor. Frank picks her up.]

FRANK: What did we talk about when we went into a store? You scared me.

JORDAN: Dad, look, running shoes.

FRANK: Yeah, you already have a pair of those.

JORDAN: Those are high-tops!

FRANK: I'll ask Mommy if you can buy those.

JORDAN: She already said I could have them!

FRANK: (to salesman, who is chatting to a colleague) Excuse me.

FRANK: (to Jordan) I'll ask her again and if she says you can have them then I'll buy them for you when I get back from Arkansas.

JORDAN: Dad, I don't want you to go!

SALESMAN: Got them in an eight and a half.

[Jordan grabs his chin and turns his face towards her.]

JORDAN: Why are you even going?

SALESMAN: Want to try them on?

FRANK: (to salesman) Listen, I asked for size ten. I said ten because I wear ten. Those are eight and a half.

JORDAN: Look, look, look at all the purple.

FRANK: Jordan, yes, I see. Jordan! They won't fit.

JORDAN: Look at all the flowers.

[Frank sits her on a nearby counter top.]

FRANK: Jordan, chill out. Chill!

[Jordan becomes quiet and sad. The salesman gives Frank an awkward glare of disdain as he watches the father reprimand his daughter.]

 

[In Probity, at the house of Deputy Bill Sherman, a woman hands the Deputy one of the fliers that were being distributed at the protest in front of Miss Penny's Daycare. He closes the front door looking concerned.]

[In the bathroom, a young boy is pouring foaming liquid into the water in a bathtub in preparation for bath time. His mother is standing in the doorway and the Deputy comes to her side and shows her the handout. The boy begins to undresses as his parents look on and they soon see a sizable red wound on his back.]

DEPUTY: Bill Junior? Somebody bite you, son? (pause) I'm not mad at you, I just want to know who did this.

KID: If I tell you, she'll kill me.

 

[On an airborne airplane at night Frank Black sits against a window, wearing headphones and sifting through documents and file folders. He's listening to Bobby Darin's "Goodbye Charlie."]

{Music: "Goodbye Charlie, hate to see you go. Goodbye Charlie, gee I'm feeling low. But I'm clueing you in, someone's doing you in, pal. Goodbye Charlie, hate to see you fade. My, my Charlie, thought you had it made. But they're dumping you off after bumping you off, pal. Don't you know lechery leads you to treachery, things boomerang. Someone you trifle with pulls out a rifle without a pang, bang, bang, bang..."}

[Frank is reading documents including the handout and a photograph of Bill Sherman Jr.'s bite mark with a ruler showing it's seven centimeters in length. He puts the documents down, pinches the bridge of his nose and settles in to look out the window at the night sky. Some rows away sits Lara Means. The music fades. There's a glow from the window beside Lara. She turns to see a bright light shining through clouds, then it fades. Lara seems deeply affected by this.]

 

[Inside a bathroom, Catherine Black stands with Jordan at the sink as she is brushing her teeth.]

CATHERINE: Good girl.

[Jordan brushes for a moment and when she spits out the toothpaste into the sink there's blood as well. Catherine gasps.]

 

[At Miss Penny's Daycare the kids are all asleep, wrapped in blankets upon mats on the floor. Miss Penny is on the phone speaking quietly.]

MISS PENNY: Hi. Is this Bill? This is Miss Penny. I was just... Bill Junior didn't show up today and I just wanted to make sure he was okay.

[There's a click and a dial tone. Miss Penny sadly hangs up the phone.]

[There's a knock at door. Miss Penny opens it to see Frank Black.]

FRANK: Hi. Are you Penny Plott?

MISS PENNY: Sssh. Nap time.

FRANK: (whispers) Oh. Are you Penny Plott?

[Miss Penny nods.]

FRANK: My name is Chris Warren. I've just been transferred over from Seattle, and I need day care for my five year old son.

MISS PENNY: Can you come back in half an hour? It's nap time.

FRANK: Oh, gee, that would be kind of tough on me. I got a moving van coming to the house by 1:30. I had to leave my wife in a lurch. We heard how great you are with kids. Do you think I could just look around for a minute and check it out? Then I can report back to the missus.

MISS PENNY: Sure, of course. Be quiet though, okay? The little ones need their rest.

[Frank walks about the room, examining the children's painted handprints on the wall and looking over the napping children.]

FRANK: I gotta use the potty.

[Frank goes into the bathroom. Miss Penny is suspicious and looks through the gap at the bottom of the door. She see Frank's feet moving around the room. Frank flushes the toilet and then opens the medicine cabinet. On the top shelf is a bottle of prescription tranquillizers. He takes the bottle out and opens it, pouring the contents into the palm of his hand, to see that the pills have been broken into quarters. After replacing the bottle and shutting the medicine cabinet he has a sudden vision, seeing mouth and teeth in a monstrous and demonic beast-like face. Taking a deep breath, he opens bathroom door to find Lara Means standing there.]

LARA: The Oakland Raider Defense is tough against the run. Why, I'd think you'd be back in Seattle preparing for your next game, Mr. Warren.

MISS PENNY: Sssh!

LARA: Here's my thing. If you don't have a warrant, anything that you're looking for, which you won't find anyway, is inadmissible. Now, Miss Penny has a class to attend to, you have to report to the D.A.N. I'm sure we'll meet again, so until that time, why don't you get the hell out of here.

MISS PENNY: Okay, everybody. Nap time's over. Come on, get your blankets. Who wants to hear a book?

KIDS: Yeah! Me! Me!

MISS PENNY: You want me to read you something?

[Frank walks to the front door and leaves.]

MISS PENNY: We could have some food or a snack. What about your blankets?

[The kids are chattering and playing around. One child, Danielle, is silent. She's staring at another, Jason, who is still seemingly asleep.]

MISS PENNY: Jason. Jason?

[Lara, alerted, goes over to the child.]

KIDS: What's wrong? Why doesn't he wake up?

[As Lara moves to the motionless body of the child it becomes clear that he's not asleep and the children begin to scream.]

MISS PENNY: Oh! Oh! Everybody, let's go outside.

[Outside, Frank hears the commotion and stops.]

LARA: Jason, can you hear me? Can you hear me?

MISS PENNY: Everybody!

[Frank enters. Danielle remains standing still, staring at Lara and Jason as the other children run frightened to the front door.]

LARA: He's not breathing.

MISS PENNY: Everybody, follow me. Danielle!

[Miss Penny grabs Danielle, who smiles as she's pulled away.]

[Miss Penny and kids move outside into the sand lot out front. Miss Penny looks back in through the glass in door. Lara and Frank kneel on the floor beside Jason and begin to administer CPR. Frank compresses the child's chest as Lara leans in to breath in his mouth, each counting as they go. Frank has another vision of the snarling demonic beast as he lifts his hands from Jason's chest. Then, Lara has a vision of her own. She sees a brightening glow in the corner of the room and, looking over, she can see the shape of a figure within it.]

FRANK: We lost him.

[Frank and Lara remain kneeling next to Jason's body in the center of the classroom as Miss Penny stares sorrowfully in through the window in the front door.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[A medical x-ray shows a jaw and set of teeth.]

DENTIST: Has there been any recent trauma? A fall from a bike or off the swings?

CATHERINE: She'd have told me. And I asked her about it the night that she was brushing her teeth but (sighs) she said that she couldn't remember. She's been with me nearly the entire time since my husband and I separated.

DENTIST: Does Jordan spend any time with your husband without you?

CATHERINE: Yes, he has her on weekends.

[The dentist takes a Polaroid photograph of Jordan's teeth, showing a bloody gash in the gums along her lower jaw, and places it next to the x-ray.]

DENTIST: This photo shows a tear in Jordan's lingual frenula. Now, there are many ways this could occur. However, it is an injury most often resulting from blunt-forced trauma.

CATHERINE: My husband would never, never lay a hand on her. He's never even raised his voice at her.

[A nurse in the other room looks on with shock and concern as Catherine speaks, looking as if she believes Catherine is in denial.]

DENTIST: Has he shown any signs of stress from the separation?

CATHERINE: Nothing that could bring about something like this. My husband is a very focused man.

DENTIST: What do you know of his work situation?

[Catherine has no response.]

 

[Inside a Probity coroner's office a coroner, Frank Black, and District Attorney Gordon Roberts are examining a diagram of Jason's face and neck that has been marked to indicate injuries.]

CORONER: It was these marks on Jason Wells that drew my suspicions. The dashes are small lacerations and the circles are contusions.

ROBERTS: We should bring her in. This is the second account in a week of a child at Miss Penny's with suspicious markings, including our own Deputy's son.

[The three turn their attention to the photograph of the bite wound on Bill Sherman Jr.'s back.]

FRANK: I read your DA's report on the plane. There are some bite lacerations on the lower back of the Deputy's son. Completing the arc creates a circumference too small for Penny Plott.

ROBERTS: Could Plott have made these marks?

CORONER: More likely made by the boy himself struggling for air. The cause of death was asphyxiation, probably caused by an acute asthmatic attack. He had a history of it.

ROBERTS: Could she have brought it on? She had to have somehow been negligent. Something is going on there.

FRANK: "Something." "Something" may be Penny Plott, may be another parent, may be nothing but circumstantial events. You can't tell for sure. If you go looking for that something that you want to find, you can find it, you can find anything, but it may not be the truth. And that is the something you're looking for, isn't it?

ROBERTS: All right. Right now the only ones who know the truth are the children.

FRANK: Yeah.

 

[In a police interview room, as seen through a one-way window, two police officers are moving furniture out of the room.]

COP #1: Let's get this out of here. Got a half hour till the kids arrive.

[A video camera is being set-up behind the one-way glass. Lara burst into the room.]

LARA: A parent called Penny Plott and told her what's going on. Here's my thing, I know what you're gonna do no matter what you hear from these kids so let's just dispense with all the future motions and court hearings about the legality of these interviews by allowing me to participate.

ROBERTS: You Miss Plotts' attorney?

LARA: Lara Means. I'm a forensic psychologist.

ROBERTS: We already have one of those. Mr. Black.

FRANK: We've already met.

LARA: We didn't work so well together.

ROBERTS: (condescending) Well, Miss Means, with the proper court order you can examine the tapes of these interviews.

FRANK: No, let her participate. Children are often very oblique in their responses. We wouldn't want any misinterpretations, would we?

 

[Yellow house. Jordan sits on the bed, putting on a pair of shoes and tying the laces.]

CATHERINE: You were such a good girl at the dentist, I'm going to take you to the park.

[Catherine looks at herself in the mirror, running fingers through the curls of her hair.]

CATHERINE: Jordan, what would you think if I straightened my hair? Maybe it's time for a change. (turning to Jordan) Sweetheart, put on your high-tops.

JORDAN: I don't wanna wear them any more.

CATHERINE: Why not?

JORDAN: Daddy and I had a fight over them.

CATHERINE: Jordan, is there anything you want to tell me?

[Jordan is silent.]

CATHERINE: Did something happen?

 

[Inside the Probity Police interview room Frank and Lara sit together, interviewing various children one at a time. The footage cuts between the responses of various children.]

FRANK: Do you know the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie?

[A little girl shakes her head.]

LARA: Can you tell me the difference?

[A young boy looks blank.]

DANIELLE: Telling the truth is telling what happened, telling a lie is telling something that never happened.

FRANK: Can you tell me the name of your school?

BOY #1: Miss Penny's.

LARA: How many kids are in your class?

GIRL: There's Tina, Taylor, Harrison, Max...

FRANK: Can you tell me what you like about your school?

BOY #2: Miss Penny.

BOY #3: Miss Penny.

DANIELLE: She spanked me.

LARA: Did you ever see Miss Penny spank any of the other kids?

BOY #1: No.

[A girl shakes her head.]

[Boy #3 screws up his face. Lara's smile turns to puzzlement. Boy #3 leans to one side and reaches to grab his cheeks and eyes, making a face at the one-way window. District Attorney Roberts sighs and rubs his face.]

DANIELLE: I remember one time. I believe it was during snack time. Jason said he had to go to the bathroom but Miss Penny wouldn't let him. She said, after snack time, but he can't hold it so he peed in his pants. She got so mad and took him into the bathroom. Now, I didn't see anything but I heard a sound like a smack. And then Jason began to cry and he wheezed like he did and then I heard him scream, "No! Don't touch me there! Don't touch me there!"

[Roberts smiles triumphantly.]

 

[Outside Miss Penny's Daycare there's a crowd of deputies and press. Miss Penny is led away in handcuffs and put into the back of a police car.]

DANIELLE: (V.O.) A few days later, on the playground, she took him away from the others. She had a doll and I heard her say, "If you ever tell..." And then she twisted the arm and broke the head and threw it into the bushes.

[The broken doll from opening scene still lies in the bushes.]

 

[Inside a police interrogation room, Miss Penny sits wearing an orange prisoner's jumpsuit while rocking in her seat overcome by grief.]

MISS PENNY: Are you crazy? Has the world gone crazy? I would never, could never do these things you say I did. Never!

FRANK: Did you spank Jason Wells? Danielle Barbakow?

MISS PENNY: Yes, I spanked them. When they're very bad I spank them. And when they're good, I hug them. That's how I've done it for 36 years, why should I change? Who said this new way is better? Show me the proof the world is better because we can't discipline a child. It's gotten worse! Bill Sherman is the deputy here. [She stands and turns to face the one-way mirror.] Are you in there, Bill? Shame on you! I wiped your ass when you were five, and your brother's. How can you do this? Oh, I would never bite a child. I would never touch them like you say someone has said I did. How dare you. It's all I have, all I ever had. I love those kids. I am good, I'm a good person. Why would you do this to a good person?

 

[District Attorney Roberts faces an angry gathering at a public meeting and press conference.]

MAN: How in the name of god could you release her?

ROBERTS: I didn't release her. Judge LaRouse set bail. My investigation is still ongoing.

WOMAN: Will you close her school?

ROBERTS: I can't close her school until she's been proven guilty.

WOMAN: If you don't close it, we will.

CROWD: Yeah! We will!

[Deputy Sherman has been sitting in the front row of the audience. He gets up and turns round to address the people.]

DEPUTY: I've seen a mark on my own son. He won't say who did it. I want that person punished. As a father I need that. I was there and I heard the children. And I've tried, I've tried to believe that it could be her. But I can't. In all those years, did anyone see anything? All the doctors that looked at our children, who've looked at us. Nothing. When I was 18 and my now boss threw me in jail drunk, Penny Plott came to my cell. She led me to this uniform. In my heart I know she is a good person. That she's not responsible.

MAN: Will you take your son back to her?

[Deputy Sherman doesn't answer.]

MAN: Huh?

WOMAN: I believe the children. I believe the children!

[The crowd begins to chant, "I believe the children! I believe the children!"]

 

[Outside Miss Penny's Daycare a crowd of protestors chants, "We believe the children!" The white picket fence has now been painted with those words. Danielle Barbakow is holding a placard and also chanting. Deputy Sherman and his wife lead their son to the front steps of the daycare center. The press takes photographs.]

WOMAN'S VOICE: How can you do this, Bill?

SHERIFF: Come on, let the boy in. Come on, back up. Let the boy in.

[Frank and Lara watch separately, apart from the crowd. The parents and kids protesting pause.]

DEPUTY: Okay, buddy. You have a good day.

[Bill Junior looks back at Danielle, who stares at him. He runs to the front door.]

MAN: (V.O.) Think about it, Bill! Think about what you're doing.

[Miss Penny eagerly opens the door to allow Bill Junior inside. Another man is spraying letters on the fence. The Sheriff approaches the Deputy and his wife.]

SHERIFF: You two follow me. We're going to the station. We have a few questions for you to answer.

[Deputy Sherman takes his wife's hand and walks away. More shouts and chanting erupt as the white picket fence is set on fire. Lara walks over to Frank, both looking very concerned.]

LARA: Here's my thing. I sense that I can trust you with what I'm about to say. Okay, look, I know that this is going to sound crazy even here, but, I think, what I think is going on here is that...

FRANK: It's the girl.

[Lara looks a little surprised that Frank has taken the words right out of her mouth.]

LARA: …it's the girl.

[Danielle is standing at the fence, glaring at the two with a serious and determined look upon her face.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[A file folder lies upon an examination table labeled, "Wells, Jason #1748-12." Frank is standing in the coroner's lab, going through it. A drawing documents the marks on Jason's face and neck and their sizes. Frank has also taken one of the paintings from Miss Penny's Daycare, a piece of paper that displays Danielle's painted handprint. With a ruler Frank measures the fingers of Danielle's print and then takes note of the measurements of Jason Well's contusions. Another case file, "Sherman Jr, Billy," contains the photograph of the bite mark on Bill Junior's back. Frank takes note of the bite's measurement and then turns to the case file on Danielle Barbakow to consult measurements of her teeth. Frank considers the data as he collects his files and turns to leave.]

[Frank consults with Lara in his motel room.]

LARA: I took the county census. 125 years on both sides of Danielle Barbakow's family. We got war heroes, ministers, captains of industry -

[Pages fly out of Frank's hands as he leaps off the motel room bed in shock as the mattress begins to vibrate. He turns to face the bed and breathes a short laugh as he realizes what has happened.]

LARA: – no indications of mental illness or violent tendencies.

[Lara thumps the machine next to the bed with a fist and the vibrations stop.]

FRANK: Thank you.

LARA: They're well off, always have been. Medical records that I have access to verify that Danielle is the biological daughter of Robert and Virginia Barbakow. Here's my thing. Now, I don't know that we can base our suspicions of your re-check of the coroner's report, finger painting is in no way an accurate...

FRANK: It's her.

[Pause.]

LARA: Is that a gut feeling?

FRANK: I have good instincts.

[Pause.]

LARA: Y'know, I'm the kind of shrink that when it comes to my subjects and patients – [she clicks her fingers, shakes her head, and sits down] but when it comes to my personal life, yeah, people that I thought were total creeps when I first met them turned out to be my closest friends. People that I liked and hit it off with always broke my heart. So, I rely on other sources. Here, my gut says, how can anyone know about, yet alone commit, murder at five years old.

FRANK: It's happened, more and more.

LARA: Has our culture bred this possibility? Is it violence on TV. Is she Damien. Is this girl some evolutionary mutation? And are there more of these kids, these people, coming?

FRANK: Here's my thing, Lara. Recently I've seen, I've experienced evil. It feels like a force, like gravity, like the wind. It has blown across Cambodia, been a cyclone in Nazi Germany, it gusts throughout Los Angeles. Danielle Barbakow is a pre-storm, a breeze, of an approaching hurricane.

[Lara ponders this and thinks about what to say next.]

LARA: There's a group that I'm involved in that you may be interested in.

[Frank gets up and moves to sit next to her.]

FRANK: There are 799 days remaining.

[Lara looks stunned.]

LARA: Did you know about me?

FRANK: No. [shakes his head] Did you know about me?

LARA: No, no. You've been to the Old Man, that's why you feel what you feel about the girl.

FRANK: I have no reason yet to doubt Millennium's beliefs.

LARA: But I'm suspicious about the way that they go about it. Are we being prepared or used? Why would they send us here on opposite sides without letting us know?

FRANK: It's a test.

LARA: To find the evil.

FRANK: And we've passed.

 

[Later. Frank and the District Attorney, Gordon Roberts, are talking.]

ROBERTS: We are in the process of collecting evidence based on Danielle Barbakow's testimony. A further interview of her at this time is not part of our investigation.

FRANK: I was sent as a consultant to you by the Millennium Group. We often reach conclusions most aren't willing to consider, let alone believe. It is my counsel, Gordon, that this will not turn out the way you want it to happen. So, you need to consider that Danielle should not be part of the investigation, she should be under investigation.

ROBERTS: Is that why you pulled her dental records?

FRANK: Yeah.

ROBERTS: Why the coroner saw you downstairs with her finger paint drawing?

FRANK: Exactly.

ROBERTS: And now you expect me to believe that a five year old girl killed, murdered, her own classmate. And then you expect me to spend our limited man-hours investigating her?

FRANK: No, I will. All I ask you to do is set up an interview.

ROBERTS: The only thing I'm going to set up is a plane ticket back to Seattle. And I will phone the Group and tell them that your services are no longer required.

FRANK: Save the man-hours. I'll contact the Group and let them know I'm going to stay on my own until the truth is found.

 

["The Fly" is showing on the television in the Barbakow household. Danielle is happily watching. Her mother comes in and is followed by Lara and Frank.]

MRS BARBAKOW: Dani. You remember Miss Means and Mr. Black.

[Danielle is engrossed by the television.]

MRS BARBAKOW: Mr. Black would just like to ask you a few questions about Miss Penny.

LARA: Do you feel okay about that?

[Danielle is still entirely focused on the classic horror movie, relishing the final moments as a half-man/half-fly screams, "Help me! Help me!"]

FRANK: Danielle, what's your favorite room in the house?

DANIELLE: My room.

FRANK: How about showing it to me.

[On the television, an aghast Vincent Price watches a man kill the grotesque human fly with a rock. Danielle giggles at this. Then she gets up and goes out, leading Frank to her room. Mrs. Barbakow switches off television and goes to follow. Lara intercepts her.]

LARA: He just wants her to feel comfortable and also I thought we could talk.

[Upstairs, Frank and Danielle go into her room. It's a nicely decorated girl's room, painted pink and full of toys and decorations. She walks straight over to the window and stares out, her back to Frank.]

FRANK: Wow, my daughter would like this room. Danielle, it's nice.

DANIELLE: Thanks.

[Frank sits on the edge of the bed.]

FRANK: Did any of the kids from Miss Penny's come over here and play?

DANIELLE: Some. Just the ones I like.

[In the sitting room Lara talks to Mrs. Barbakow.]

LARA: We understand the effects these adult situations can have on children. Have you noticed any changes in Dani since this all started?

MRS BARBAKOW: No. I know some of the other parents have had troubles with their kids. They love Miss Penny. But Dani's taken it well. She's always been an old soul.

[Back inside Danielle's bedroom Frank continues to question Danielle.]

FRANK: Did you like Jason Wells?

[Danielle turns around and stares at Frank oddly, the two of them some distance apart. Frank watches her with interest for a moment, then sees more flashing visions of a demonic beast.]

DANIELLE: (shouting, deliberately) No! No! Get away from me!

[Frank watches her closely as she begins to act. Back in the sitting room, Mrs. Barbakow is immediately distressed as she hears the screams.]

DANIELLE: (V.O.) Get away from me!

[In the bedroom, Frank realizes the ramifications of the situation. He rises slowly from the bed, backing away from Danielle while watching her actions with curious interest.]

DANIELLE: Get out! Get out! Don't touch me! Get out!

[Mrs. Barbakow and Lara run upstairs. They meet Frank as he is coming down the staircase.]

FRANK: I'm sorry, Mrs. Barbakow, she's very upset. She doesn't want to talk.

LARA: (to Mrs. Barbakow) We should go. We'll call you later and check up on her.

[Mrs Barbakow nods. Lara turns away.]

[In the bedroom, Danielle turns to look at a pewter angel statue.]

[Outside the house Frank and Lara walk down the front path.]

[Mrs. Barbakow goes upstairs. As she nears Danielle's bedroom she hears a muffle thump and something falling.]

MRS BARBAKOW: Dani?

[Outside, Lara and Frank near the gate as he takes her arm and stops her.]

LARA: What happened?

FRANK: Lara. Do you see, feel, images in your mind like I do?

[Mrs. Barbakow goes into bedroom]

MRS BARBAKOW: Dani? Oh. Dani. Oh, god.

[She pulls aside boxes and toys that have fallen down. Danielle is lying under them, collapsed on the floor. Mrs. Barbakow picks her limp body up. Danielle seems unconscious and has blood on her mouth. The pewter angel statue is in its place on the shelf.]

 

[Back in the motel room, Frank and Lara sit down to talk.]

LARA: He should be a comfort but his appearance always frightens me. Not as a symptom of insanity because I believe in him, but when he appears it's always a portent of evil. You know, in the New Testament they're almost absent. They show up to announce Christ's birth and later explain his death, but in the Old Testament they're everywhere. Angels are constant messengers. They forewarn God's wrath, announce disaster, alert the faithful of oncoming persecution. Their popularity with the church and its followers rises and falls, usually increasing during times of war –

[The Sheriff, District Attorney and deputies are arriving outside the motel.]

LARA: – persecution, natural disaster. But even with the threat of nuclear war gone, cooperative global economy, major advances in every science, more people believe and see angels than in any other time in history. (pauses, upset) Because something is happening, Frank. And there are 797 days left.

[Suddenly, the door is forced open. Police storm the room.]

SHERIFF: Cuff him. Mr. Frank Black, pursuant to the penal code of the State of Arkansas, you are being taken into custody for assaulting a minor and conspiracy to commit child abuse.

ROBERTS: You know, I wouldn't have believed that you were capable of breaking Danielle Barbakow's jaw until I checked with Seattle PD and found out you're under investigation for a possible assault on your own daughter.

FRANK: What?

ROBERTS: (to cop) Get him outta here.

[Frank is quickly handcuffed and marched away. Roberts looks at Lara. She seems stunned. Roberts turns to follow the deputies out of the room and slams the door behind him, leaving Lara alone.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[At an outside seating area with benches surrounded by trees, Peter Watts is waiting. Catherine leaves a nearby building and walks up to him.]

CATHERINE: I feel like I'm meeting with the other woman.

WATTS: I don't know exactly how I should take that. But I'd say if you were another man, we'd be punching it out right about now.

CATHERINE: In my mind, Frank had an affair. He hid the truth, he had a life other than his family, and he was changed in ways that broke up that family.

WATTS: What you're talking about was done out of selfishness. What Frank did was from sacrifice to protect his family. That is his life.

CATHERINE: Then tell me. Tell me about Millennium. Tell me so that I can understand, how sacrifice means not living in the same house with your wife and daughter.

WATTS: No. I can't tell you that and I never will. You, of anyone, should know what can happen if you get too close to what we do. Catherine, there are people in this world who have a gift and no matter how hard they try to ignore it they know its true purpose, what that gift must be used for. This is who we are. Now, no matter what you've come to believe, no matter how much you're confused or have been hurt emotionally, you know that he could never do this.

CATHERINE: Jordan's dentist was required by law to file a report to Social Services based on an unexplained injury. I tried to call Frank at the hotel and at the police station to alert him and explain.

WATTS: Frank is in trouble. He needs your help - more than just a call.

CATHERINE: Frank needs my help? Or the Group?

 

[Inside the Probity Police station, Frank Black now sits in the same interrogation room used to question Miss Penny. He wears an orange prisoner's jumpsuit.]

ROBERTS: Did you hit Danielle the same way you hit your daughter.

FRANK: No.

ROBERTS: How did you hit them differently?

[Roberts sits down across from him.]

FRANK: I didn't hit either one.

ROBERTS: Is this why your wife left you?

[Frank is silent.]

ROBERTS: Dani's jaw is wired shut. This is what she wrote when asked how you hit her.

[Roberts holds up a crumpled piece of paper inside of a plastic evidence bag that has the word "HAND" written on it.]

ROBERTS: "Hand."

FRANK: Look at the alternative light imaging photograph of the girl. See my hands? There's not a mark on them.

[In the coroner's lab, Lara means is examining a photograph of Danielle Barbakow's horribly bruised face.]

ROBERTS: (V.O.) For what reason did you go to Danielle Barbakow's house?

FRANK: (V.O.) You know why.

ROBERTS: (V.O.) Why did you go after I dismissed you from the case?

FRANK: (V.O.) To prevent this from happening.

 

[Lara notices an odd pattern on Danielle's cheek in one of the photographs and utilizes a magnifier to more closely examine the image.]

 

[Lara knocks at the front door at the Barbakow's house. Mrs. Barbakow opens the door.]

LARA: I know that if I were you, I'd probably have already slammed the door in my face, but if I could just have five minutes...

MRS BARBAKOW: Come in.

LARA: Thank you.

[Lara enters. Mrs. Barbakow closes door.]

LARA: Mrs. Barbakow, I'm not a mother. I hope to be. But I'm not going to insult you by saying that I know how you feel. But I am going to ask you to talk to someone who does know how you feel. I'm asking you to go down and talk to Frank Black.

[A man, Mr. Barbakow, has appeared behind her.]

MR BARBAKOW: Why would she do that?

LARA: Because I think you'd find the truth.

MR BARBAKOW: I already know it.

LARA: Sir, I don't think you do.

[The three are now gathered in Danielle's bedroom. Mr. and Mrs. Barbakow are looking over a photograph Lara has given them.]

LARA: Dani indicated that Mr. Black used his hand. The infrared photograph shows that pattern, the shape, the lines...

[As Lara is putting on a rubber glove she notices the pewter angel statue sitting upon Danielle's dresser. She picks it up.]

LARA: The shape is the wing's tip, the lines, the feathers.

MR BARBAKOW: Are you implying my daughter did this to herself.

LARA: If I run fingerprints it would more than imply that Mr. Black didn't do it.

MR BARBAKOW: He could have used a blanket to hold it.

LARA: There would be blood on the blanket.

MR BARBAKOW: I don't want to hear your lies. This is all for the lawyers and a judge and jury to decide.

LARA: You know, maybe at one time that was true. Maybe. But after what this town has gone through, after what this country goes through every day, don't hide behind all that. Don't you want some control? Don't you want to make certain that you know the truth? Even if it's not what you want to know?

 

[Inside the police interrogation room, Mr. and Mrs. Barbakow sit opposite Frank Black in his prisoner's uniform.]

MR BARBAKOW: I convinced myself to come here today so that I could look at and understand just what kind of a monster could do this to my little child.

FRANK: And you see what?

MR BARBAKOW: Have you looked at yourself?

FRANK: You're seeing what you want to see. What you can see. I've seen monsters. They exist. Just like when you look in a mirror, there are monsters behind it. But even more destructive is the everyday man, the functionaries, that believe and act without questioning.

MR BARBAKOW: You're trying to call me a monster? This is sick.

[Mr. Barbakow laughs defensively and begins to get up.]

FRANK: Listen, if you walk out on this conversation, it may be the biggest mistake you ever made in your life. (pause) It's up to you.

[Mr. Barbakow reluctantly sits back down. Frank moves his chair so as to speak directly to Mrs. Barbakow.]

[Lara and Roberts watch the scene through the one-way mirror.]

FRANK: When my daughter was born, it was the most important day of my life. (smiles) I had a child late in life. She came out, she looked like... Her head was shaped like a football. Looked like she traveled a thousand light years. Her hands were as wrinkled as a 90 year old man's. And everybody in that room got zapped by God, they were all jaded, nurses and doctors, and we were all stoned from the joy of this experience. You remember? And I realized that I'd forgotten that I was born. (chuckles, emotional) Thought I'd manufactured myself. And the gift she gave me was that from that day on, I could look at every man and see the child in them. If you think that I would desecrate that, or any other man or woman's, then when you look into your child's eyes, you don't see it. When you go into your daughter's room at night to put her to bed and you look into her eyes and you say goodnight and you walk out of the room, when you leave do you feel a terrible loneliness? You're the only one that can answer that.

[Catherine enters next door to join Lara and Roberts in observing Frank.]

FRANK: And that is why I'm appealing to you, because there is a witch-hunt in progress over here and they're not going to understand.

[Frank stands and walks right up to the mirror.]

FRANK: You can take my money and you can take my yellow house, you can take my life, but do not attempt to take my daughter from me, especially on a lie.

[Mr. Barbakow laughs and turns to his wife, not accepting any of this. Mrs. Barbakow hushes him.]

MRS BARBAKOW: I always believed that that's what I would see, Mr. Black, when I looked in my daughter's eyes. And I've tried. And I've lied to myself that I do, but I never have. I only see something that I don't understand. I know you didn't hit Dani. I've known it from that day, because I heard her do it to herself.

[She gets up and turns to the glass, tears in her eyes.]

MRS BARBAKOW: I don't know how it works, but I don't think Mr. Black should be here any more.

 

[Frank enters the Sheriff's office. He's now back in his own clothes, putting on his jacket. Catherine and Jordan are already there, waiting for him.]

JORDAN: Daddy!

[Jordan runs to him. He picks her up immediately.]

CATHERINE: Frank, the dentist had to report the injury.

[Frank puts Jordan down, then crouches down and checks her mouth.]

FRANK: Did you get that biting Holyfields' ear off?

JORDAN: No. We came to help you, but I guess you didn't need us.

FRANK: I'll always need you.

[They hug. He looks at Catherine who smiles. Frank leads Jordan toward the door, past where Lara is shaking hands with Mr. and Mrs. Barbakow. Lara walks off through the office. An officer says, "Mr. and Mrs. Barbakow? Yes, there are some formalities here." Roberts and the Sheriff watch through window while Mr. and Mrs. Barbakow sign a form.]

[fade to black]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) Once upon a time there lived three little pigs –

[Deputy Sherman and his wife are packing their car. A "SOLD" sign is posted on their front lawn.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) – the first little pig built a house of straw. Then, along came a big bad wolf. "Let me in, or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down."

[The Deputy and his wife get into their car.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin." So, the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down and ate up the little pig.

[The car, with Bill Junior in the back seat, drives away.]

[Mrs. Barbakow is looking out of her window.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) The second little pig had built a house of sticks.

[Mrs. Barbakow is watching as District Attorney Roberts, the Sheriff and his deputies walk up the front path.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) Then along came the big bad wolf. "Let me in, or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down." "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin," said the pig.

[Mrs. Barbakow opens the front door for the law enforcement officials. Mr. Barbakow in standing at the bottom of the staircase and hesitates to move for them.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) So the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down, and ate up the little pig.

[Catherine sits in an airplane, looking out of the window. Jordan is asleep beside her, cuddled up to Frank who is also asleep.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) The third little pig built a house of brick, then along came the big bad wolf. "Let me in or I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in."

[Further back in the plane is Lara, writing in a folder.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin," said the pig. So the wolf huffed and puffed but couldn't blow the house down.

[Lara looks hesitantly out of the window but only sees clouds and a darkened sky.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) So, he climbed to the chimney and said, "Let me in or I'll climb down the chimney and eat you all up."

[In a dining room, at a dinner table full of food, a man, two boys, and a woman fold their hands to say grace.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) But the little pig had a pot of boiling water and the wolf fell right into the pot.

[The smiling woman looks to her left. Danielle sits beside her with a blank look on her face, watching the others. After a moment, Danielle puts her hands together like the others.]

MISS PENNY: (V.O.) And the little pig ate the wolf all up and lived happily and safely ever after.

[Behind Danielle, on a table at the back of the dining room, is a computer. The monitor displays the ouroboros.]

[fade to black]

[end titles]

Starring:

Lance Henriksen (Frank Black)
Megan Gallagher (Catherine Black)

Also Starring:

Terry O'Quinn (Peter Watts)
Brittany Tiplady (Jordan Black)

Guest Starring:

Kristen Cloke (Lara Mean)s
Mary Gillis (Penny Plott)
Robert Wisden (Gordon Roberts)
Lauren Diewold (Danielle Barbakow)
Chris Owens (Deputy Bill Sherman)
Gillian Barber (Mrs. Barbakow)
Fred Keating (Mr. Barbakow)

Co-Starring:

Ken Roberts (Police Chief Jenkins)
Judy Norton (Coroner (I) )
J. Douglas Stewart (Dentist)
Kevin Blatch (Shoe Salesman)
Thomas Miller (Billy Sherman, Jr.)

Uncredited:

Elizabeth McLaughlin (Mrs. Sherman)
Adam Pospisil (Ethan)
Samantha Smith (Lisa Blair)

Music by Mark Snow
Editor: Chris Willingham A.C.E.
Production Designer: Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography: Robert McLachlan
Executive Story Editor: Michael R Perry
Associate Producer: Julie Herlocker
Associate Producer: Kathy Gilroy-Sereda
Associate Producer: Jon-Michael Preece
Consulting Producer: Chip Johannessen
Consulting Producer: Darin Morgan
Co-Producer: Robert Moresco
Co-Producer: Paul Rabwin
Producer: Thomas J Wright
Co-Executive Producer: Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer: John Peter Kousakis
Written by Glen Morgan & James Wong
Directed by Perry Lang

Executive Producers: James Wong & Glen Morgan
Executive Producer: Chris Carter

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