307 Through a Glass Darkly
[MLM–307 (3ABC07)]
Written by Patrick Harbinson
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
Edited by Chris Willingham, A.C.E.
Air date: 13 November 1998
[Transcribed by Libby]
[A little girl is sat on a swing in a deserted park. She's singing.]
GIRL: Three blind mice, three blind mice. See how they run, see how they run. They all run after the farmer's wife, who cut off their tails with a carver's knife. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life.
TULLANE CREEK, OREGON
1979
[The girl is alone, crying. She can be seen from a nearby wooded area.]
GIRL: Three blind mice, three blind mice. See how they run, see how they run. They all run after the farmer's wife, who cut off their tails with a carver's knife. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life. Three blind mice. Three blind mice.
[There is a van parked in the trees. A man is sat inside. He gets out. He's dressed in a hooded jacket. He starts walking slowly towards the girl.]
GIRL: See how they run, see how – ––
[She's wary.]
GIRL: – – they run.
[The scene changes to an out–of–focus sunny version. The girl, instead of being unhappy and wary, is happy and laughing.]
[The scene changes back to the real–life version. The man is stood silently in front of the girl. He leans forward. The girl screams and runs away.]
[Police sirens blare. Two police cars arrive. The hooded man runs off towards a picnic area, and police officers give chase.]
COP: Freeze, Brunelli!
[The man, Brunelli, tries to jump over a picnic table but an officer lunges at him, bringing him to the ground.]
COP: Where is she! Where's the other one!
[Men walking through some woods. There are police officers, plus Brunelli who is in handcuffs.]
COP: Where?
[Brunelli points. The men walk further to a small delapidated cabin. The cop grabs Brunelli and forces him into the cabin.]
COP: Oh my god.
[There's a bed. A figure is almost covered – only the hair can be seen.]
STATE PENITENTIARY
SALEM, OREGON
NOVEMBER 7, 1998
[Brunelli is sat in a cell. He slowly looks up. Frank is watching through a mesh–covered window. Brunelli whispers to himself 'I pray the Lord my soul to keep'. Frank looks away.]
[Later, in the cell, there's a painting of the Madonna and Child, various religious books, a candle in a jar.]
WOMAN: That's Brunelli's home for the last 20 years. For the last twelve he chose solitary confinement.
FRANK: He killed a child.
WOMAN: That was more than twenty years ago, Mr Black. This man has changed. He's earned his parole.
[Frank pulls back the blanket on the bed. Pinned to the wall is a simple hand–drawn sketch depicting a girl on a swing.]
[There's the sound of a girl singing Three Blind Mice.]
[main titles]
[polaroid fade up]
[A man's hands clasped, handcuffed. A hearing is in progress in the State Penitentiary. There is a Chairman and other Board members, Brunelli sits off to one side accompanied by guards/advisors. A number of people are sat in rows facing the Board members. Amongst the attendees is Frank. Various of the attendees address the Board.]
POLICE OFFICER: Mary Flanagan was already missing four days when we caught Brunelli. Caught him attacking young Casey Peterson. For three days he denied that he had kidnapped Mary, then he led us right to her body. She'd been sexually assaulted. Been left with no food, no water. She died of thirst. Can you imagine that? She died of thirst. She was ten years old.
WOMAN: He has served twenty years.
MAN: Twenty years isn't enough. He didn't just kill Mary. He ruined my daughter Casey's life.
CHAIRMAN: Mr Black, you're here as an expert witness as to this man's suitability for parole.
FRANK: Yes, I am, sir.
CHAIRMAN: What is your conclusion?
[Flashback to opening scene from Brunelli's view. This is mixed with the views of the hearing but the picture and sound is jumpy and unfocussed.]
FRANK: The man who committed these crimes has an overpowering sexual need. Recidivism and child sex crimes is among the highest in all criminal categories. If you let this man back into the world, he will find himself under unbearable pressure. If you have sons and daughters, ask yourself: would you risk that to this man's remorse.
[Brunelli is praying quietly, the picture and sound still jumpy.]
CHAIRMAN: Mr Brunelli. Despite the opinion of the expert witness, your genuine remorse as evidenced by the psychiatric reports and your exemplary behaviour, persuades us that you are now fully rehabilitated and therefore grant your request for parole.
[Later. Brunelli is on a bus. It stops and he gets off to be confronted by an angry crowd and police officers.]
BRUNELLI: Officer Dietz.
DIETZ: I didn't want you back here. But the law says you got that right and I respect the law. The law also says I have to tell the people who you are, where you are, and what you've done.
BRUNELLI: I understand.
[A car arrives. Brunelli sees it and smiles and walks towards it through the crowd.]
DRIVER: Hi, Max.
BRUNELLI: Where's my dad, Mr Jarret.
JARRET: Well, he's not here.
BRUNELLI: But I wanna go home. Why isn't Dad here?
JARRET: You know, I think you'd be better off apart from him, for a while.
DIETZ: You taking responsibility for him, Jerry?
JARRET: I'm treating him like a human being, yeah.
DIETZ: Yeah? Good luck.
[Brunelli gets into the back of the car. A woman is sat in the front passenger seat. Dietz watches as Jarret drives away. Another car, a man driving and a young woman in the front passenger seat, draws up. It stops and they watch as Brunelli is driven away.]
FBI ACADEMY
QUANTICO, VIRGINIA
FRANK: The parole board had already decided what they were going to do.
HOLLIS: What if the religious stuff is genuine.
FRANK: You know what a holding pattern is?
HOLLIS: In serial offenders, it's a delay in the offence cycle. Can be caused by something like a prison sentence, but, twenty years?
FRANK: Twenty years to imagine a plan and refine what you're about to do before you get arrested.
[Frank and Hollis are standing by the elevator. Frank hits the elevator button.]
HOLLIS: Frank, a Portland radio station contacted the press office. They want you to do a phone–in about Brunelli, about what it means him being let back here.
FRANK: I told them no. I didn't want him let out, but I don't want this to be become a witch–hunt either. I wouldn't join that.
[Frank gets into the elevator. The door closes.]
[Tullane Creek grocery store. Brunelli puts his purchases on the counter. A female clerk behind the counter walks away. Other customers watch while he packs his purchase. He holds up a banknote for everyone to see then puts in down on the counter. He picks up his bag and walks through the store. As he exits, a man comes up and smacks Brunelli across the face.]
MAN: You piece of dirt. Why'd you come back?!
BRUNELLI: Daddy!
[His father throws Brunelli's purchases to the ground.]
MAN: They should've killed you.
[His father walks off. Brunelli picks up his purchases and puts them back into the torn bag.]
[Frank's house. Frank enters.]
JORDAN: Daddy!
[She runs to him and he picks her up.]
FRANK: Hey, how're you doing?
JORDAN: Daddy, you're squashing me.
[He puts her down.]
FRANK: What smells so good?
JORDAN: Apple turnovers. Sally showed me how to make them.
SALLY: Welcome home, Mr Black.
JORDAN: The secret's in the pastry.
FRANK: It is, huh? Thanks, Sally.
SALLY: No trouble. She's a treasure.
FRANK: [to Jordan] Did you miss me?
JORDAN: Yeah. But I've been very busy.
[Frank presses the play button on the answering machine.]
[Female voice: "voice mail for" Frank: Frank Black, Female voice: "recorded from FBI Quantico 7:30 p.m. "]
MAN'S VOICE: How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive, but Jesus says not till seven times but until seventy times seven.
[When the message starts playing, Frank ushers Jordan away but she comes back. Frank switches off the machine.]
JORDAN: Who was that, Daddy?
FRANK: Nobody.
JORDAN: Has he done something bad?
[Wooded area. Kids riding bikes. Brunelli is hiding behind the trees. He notices a teenage girl walking through the woods. The scene changes to a sunny version and the girl smiles at him. In the real version, a woman stops when she sees Brunelli walking towards the girl. Again, Brunelli's view is the sunny version. In the real version, Brunelli stops in front of the girl who is anxious and looks around.]
WOMAN: Hey! Who is that?
[Brunelli runs off and the girl runs in the opposite direction.]
[Later. A picnic area by the side of a lake. A young girl is riding her bicycle.]
[Later. Inside a shack, Brunelli is listening to a local radio talk show.]
PETERSON: I'm telling you. He comes anywhere near my home, anywhere near my daughter, I'll shoot him.
RADIO HOST: That might be kind of illegal, Mr Peterson.
[A small radio is on a table. Brunellis is holding a lighted match which he snuffs out between his finger and thumb. He does this several times while listening to the radio.]
PETERSON: What's illegal is letting him terrorise our town again. The people who let this happen should be ashamed.
RADIO HOST: Well, we did ask the FBI's expert witness, Mr Frank Black, to explain how it happened, but sadly Mr Black declined. Instead, we've got Randle Jarret, the man who defended Max Brunelli in the 1979 trial. Mr Jarret.
JARRET: Max Brunelli has spent the last twenty years in a cell. He knows he did a terrible thing. He's been punished.
[Brunelli, tight lipped, strikes another match.]
JARRET: He's served his time under the law and whether you, me or anyone else likes it, he is a free citizen. All he wants is a chance.
[The woods again. A bicycle lies on the ground, the back wheel spinning.]
[A child sleeping. Suddenly her eyes open. It's Jordan, awakening from a nightmare. She sits up, crying. Frank comes in.]
FRANK: Hey.
[He sits on the bed and hugs her.]
FRANK: It's Ok. It's just a bad dream.
JORDAN: I was running. But he was always there.
FRANK: He's not there. He's not anywhere. Go back to sleep.
JORDAN: Daddy, that's where he is. He wants to know why you won't forgive him.
[The phone rings.]
[The woods, and the abandoned bicyle.]
SHERIFF: Her name is Shannon McNulty. She just turned ten years old. She got a new bike for her birthday. Often used to come here and ride after school. Her parents encouraged it, why wouldn't they? It's a quiet place, nothing ever happens.
HOLLIS: No witnesses?
SHERIFF: No. Head this way. The tracks go down here obviously. This way. I got people in town looking through every empty space.
[They duck under police tape.]
SHERIFF: Well, we got some pretty good casts. We're working them up right now.
[Hollis sees Frank in the distance.]
HOLLIS: And what about Brunelli?
SHERIFF: He's in a cell, denying everything. Shannon's a fiesty little kid. We'll find her.
[A basement area. Light is coming through a grid in the ceiling and through gaps in an access door. Shannon, the girl on the bicycle, is trying to pull off some wooden planks on the wall. She eventually succeeds only to find there's a concrete wall behind.]
[fade to black]
[polaroid fade up]
[Hands holding a photo of Shannon. Brunelli looks at the photo. He's in an interview room with Hollis. Frank and an officer stand against the wall.]
HOLLIS: She's ten. Her parents' hearts are broken. All they want is for their baby to come home. Where is she, Max?
[Hollis takes the photo from him and holds it up in front of his face.]
BRUNELLI: If she's not here, she's with the Lord.
HOLLIS: At the moment, it's just a kidnapping. It's bad, but it's not too bad. Not if you help us now.
[Brunelli looks over at Frank.]
BRUNELLI: I want to be forgiven.
HOLLIS: People will understand. Tell us where she is, Max.
BRUNELLI: I don't want to be understood. I want to be forgiven.
[There's a knock on the door. Jarret enters.]
JARRET: What is this?
SHERIFF: We're just asking questions.
JARRET: Without a lawyer. [to Brunelli] Have they roughed you up? [to Sheriff] You did, didn't you. Has he been charged?
SHERIFF: Not yet.
JARRET: Do you have any evidence linking him to this abduction?
[The Sheriff hesitates.]
JARRET: I want this man released. This is a gross abuse of his civil rights.
SHERIFF: We've got a missing ten year old girl. And until we find her, his civil rights can go to hell.
[Later. Hollis and Frank are searching Brunelli's shack using flashlights.]
HOLLIS: It's already been 48 hours. Are we too late?
[Frank picks up a container and spills out hundreds of spent matches onto the table.]
FRANK: No. Mary Flanagan took nearly a week to die. He doesn't just kill his victims. He just lets them die. He evades final responsibility.
[Hollis pulls out from a set of drawers a rolled–up sock. She empties out the sock – three small religious medals.]
HOLLIS: Frank. I've got something.
FRANK: What?
[Frank picks one up.]
FRANK: St Joseph. The holy family.
[Vision: the sunny version of the smiling girl on the swing.]
FRANK: There's something else here. Something.
[Frank continues searching. He pulls back the covers on the bed, then picks up the pillow and discards it. Then he pulls up the mattress. There's a tear in the cover and he pulls out from it a small book. Hollis goes over and shines her flashlight on it. Frank riffles through the pages. On each page is a charcoal sketch of a girl on a swing, each picture slightly different so as the pages are quickly turned it produces a rough animation of the girl swinging backwards and forwards.]
[Frank takes the book over to the table, Hollis following. He picks up a spent match and using the burnt end makes a mark on one of the pages.]
HOLLIS: He drew all that with matches? How long would that take?
FRANK: He had twenty years.
[The Sheriff appears in the doorway.]
SHERIFF: We took a cast of Brunelli's tires. Goodrich All–Terrain – same tires at the crime scene. Plus, on Brunelli's tires, sand, same as at the crime scene. It's not much, but – –
[Hollis quickly leaves. Frank looks again at Brunelli's drawings.]
[Interview room.]
HOLLIS: We have your tire tracks, sand from the beach, we know you were there, Max.
JARRET: Half the cars in this town use those tires, Agent Hollis. Practically the only brand they sell here. As for the sand, he could have picked that up anywhere. You have nothing.
HOLLIS: Max? Do you really want to hurt Shannon?
BRUNELLI: I don't want her to die.
HOLLIS: Then tell us where she is.
[Brunelli briefly looks at Jarret.]
BRUNELLI: Up the rangers' trail. Four miles.
JARRET: Max.
BRUNELLI: Four miles. On the south west of town, along Kodiak Creek. Past Jackson Falls. Turn west off the trail. Three hundred paces. There's an old trailer. I'm sorry.
[Hollis has quickly made notes, then stands and goes over to Frank.]
SHERIFF: It's the place where we found Mary Flanagan. Exact same words.
HOLLIS: Have you searched it?
SHERIFF: It's the first place we tried. Nothing.
[Woods. Hollis and cop. An old trailer. Hollis opens the door with some difficulty and goes inside.]
COP: It's like the Sherrif said. We searched this place. There's nothing here.
[Hollis checks some cloth on the bed. Underneath are wild flowers.]
[Police station. Frank and the Sheriff watch a video of Brunelli.]
BRUNELLI: The rangers' trail. Four miles on the north west of town. Follow Kodiak creek, past Jackson Falls. Turn east, west, turn west off the trail. Go three hundred paces. There's an old trailer. That's where she is. I'm sorry.
[Sheriff pauses the video.]
SHERIFF: Twenty years ago, same story brought forward. He's playing with us. He's gonna wait until Shannon's dead.
[Basement. Shannon scratches at the concrete floor with a nail. She's dirty and tired, curled up on the floor.]
[Brunelli lighting, then snuffing out matches. He's using them to draw a picture of a girl on a bicycle. He's in a cell. Frank is watching him from the outside corridor through a window in the door. Hollis enters the corridor.]
FRANK: What did you find?
HOLLIS: Flowers. A whole bunch of wild flowers. Who would do that?
[Brunelli becomes aware he's being watched. The match burns down to his fingers.]
FRANK: Jarret's been kicking up a fuss at the County level. They have no evidence. They're going to have to let Brunelli go.
[fade to black]
[polaroid fade up]
[Woods. Frank and the Sheriff.]
SHERIFF: Here's the last sighting. Mary Flanagan was on her way home from school. She never made it. School's up through there. Kids have been taking this shortcut for years.
FRANK: So this place, and the place where Shannon was riding her bike, the kidnapper could have predicted they'd be there.
SHERIFF: Yeah.
FRANK: But the playground where Casey Peterson was attacked, the kidnapper couldn't have known she'd be there. She had a fight with a friend and she ran off on her own. Isn't that right? It's pure chance.
SHERIFF: Yeah. But, so?
FRANK: The selection of victims is different.
SHERIFF: So he got careless. That's how he got caught. What's more, Frank, Brunelli was here.
FRANK: Why weren't we told this?
[Frank's phone rings.]
FRANK: Yeah.
HOLLIS: Something odd, Frank. From looking at the Mary Flanagan crime scene pics, she was a healthy ten year old, she took a long time dying. But there's no sign she tried to escape.
FRANK: What are you saying? She was kept somewhere else?
HOLLIS: And moved when she was too weak to do anything. It's possible.
FRANK: Hold on a second, hold on.
FRANK: [to Sheriff] Where did Brunelli used to live?
[Basement. Hollis walks slowly down the creaky wooden steps, with flashlight. There's an old chair, a rocking horse, children's toys.]
[Frank climbs some stairs to the upper floor.]
[In the basement, Hollis's flashlight picks up some scraps of cloth pinned to a wooden support – blue plaid.]
[Upstairs, Frank enters a bedroom. A bare room. Painted on the wall is a scene for a young child's bedroom. Frank looks at it – a vision of a girl on a swing, sunny, laughing. Hollis comes in accompanied by the Sheriff.]
FRANK: You find something?
HOLLIS: Same material Shannon was wearing.
SHERIFF: I'm pulling him in. Even Jarret can't get round this.
[Brunelli's father enters. He sees the scene on the wall.]
BRUNELLI SNR: Wow.
FRANK: Mr Brunelli, was this your son's room?
BRUNELLI SENIOR: Yes. We did this when he was a kid. I had it all painted over.
FRANK: Why did you do that?
BRUNELLI SENIOR: Why? It's kid's stuff.
FRANK: He was a kid, wasn't he?
BRUNELLI SENIOR: Yeah. But not all his life. He had to grow up, didn't he? Now he's gone and done it over again. He's gotten in here. How in the hell did he – –
VOICE [on radio]: Sheriff! Brunelli's moved to the park.
SHERIFF [into radio]: I'm on my way.
[The Sheriff and Hollis leave. Frank continues to look at the painting.]
[Park. Brunelli stands by an empty swing, moving it backwards and forwards. The Sheriff is watching him through binoculars. Frank, Hollis and other cops are there.]
SHERIFF [to Frank]: Keep it in your jacket. We should be able to hear you well enough.
[A cop hand a police radio to Frank who puts it inside his jacket.]
[Frank walks over to Brunelli.]
FRANK: Why did you approach Casey twenty years ago?
BRUNELLI: She was alone. I wanted to comfort her.
FRANK: Are you looking for her now?
BRUNELLI: Not here. She's too old for swings. Thirty–one years old next week.
FRANK: Have you made her a present?
BRUNELLI: I might have done. They're watching me, aren't they?
FRANK: Yeah, they are.
BRUNELLI: They want me to lead them to her.
FRANK: Who are we talking about?
BRUNELLI: Shannon.
FRANK: But you don't know where she is.
[The Sheriff and Hollis watch, listening to Frank via the radio.]
FRANK: You don't know where she is, do you, Max.
SHERIFF: What's he doing?
[Hollis shakes her head.]
FRANK: You didn't do this. You didn't take Shannon.
BRUNELLI: Why do you say that?
FRANK: I know what it is to suffer. To feel guilt.
BRUNELLI: You do?
FRANK: Yeah, I do.
BRUNELLI: Do you know what it is to suffer for twenty years? Twenty years! Look.
[Brunelli unzips his jacket and takes it off. He pulls up his t–shirt, showing scars on his abdomen.]
BRUNELLI: The Lord punished me. Child killer. January 14th, 1980. Child abuser. June 6th, 1983. They tried to kill me. But the Lord kept me alive so I could be abused in turn by four men, eight men, twelve. Until I trusted in the Lord and no man's hand could hurt me! And you know what it is to suffer?
FRANK: I know you wouldn't hurt them.
BRUNELLI: How do you know?
FRANK: I know what I see.
[Brunelli starts to cry.]
BRUNELLI: I will remember where Shannon is.
FRANK: What?
BRUNELLI: I will remember!
[Brunelli picks up his jacket and walks away.]
[Basement. Shannon's hand – a rat sniffs at it then crawls over her arm. She doesn't react. She's still lying on the basement floor but whimpers in her sleep.]
[Police station. Frank is looking at some documents.]
HOLLIS: Will you please tell me what you're doing.
FRANK: Trying to find out who took Shannon McNulty.
HOLLIS: You think it's a copycat, don't you.
FRANK: No. It's the same man.
[Jarret angrily enters the office accompanied by his daughter, Julie, who was approached by Brunelli earlier, and Jarret's wife.]
JARRET: That sonofabitch went after my daughter. Julie's the one Brunelli was after in the woods, behind the school.
SHERIFF: Did he do anything to you, Julie?
HOLLIS: Did he say anything?
SHERIFF: You have to help us, Julie.
JULIE: I don't, I don't know.
HOLLIS: Hey, hey, it's OK. Now, you have to try, Julie. You might tell us something that will help us find Shannon. Did he say anything?
JULIE: He said, don't be afraid.
FRANK: Hey, he gave you something, didn't he?
[Julie looks over at her father.]
FRANK: What did he give you, Julie?
[Julie slowly pulls out the chain around her neck – hanging from it is a St Joseph medal.]
[Evidence bag with scraps from Shannon's clothing.]
HOLLIS: Why did they take so long? It happened six days ago.
FRANK: Julie kept it quiet.
HOLLIS: Why? What's Brunelli doing? Flowers in the cabin where Mary was found, drawings of the girl on the swing, the painted room. It's like he came back here for a purpose.
FRANK: Revisiting. Making his peace.
HOLLIS: Why Julie? She wasn't even born.
FRANK: What hasn't he done yet? Where hasn't he gone? Casey, he'll go to her.
HOLLIS: Is she in danger?
FRANK: No, he is.
[Casey's house. Kitchen. Casey is peeling potatoes at the sink. She hears footsteps and looks up.]
CASEY: That you, Dad?
[She goes the front porch door and opens it and sees who is there. She slowly goes to the screen door and opens it a little way.]
BRUNELLI: Don't be afraid.
[She goes outside. Brunelli hands her a small package. She takes it. Brunelli smiles.]
[A car is moving fast through the darkened streets, Hollis driving.]
[Casey is indoors, flipping through Brunelli's book with the drawings of a child on a swing.]
[Outside, Brunelli walks down the steps, smiling. Suddenly, a cop hits him and he falls to his knees. Another man also hits him.]
PETERSON: How dare you come round my house, you freak!
[The men continue to beat Brunelli.]
HOLLIS: Hold it!
[Hollis aims her gun at them. They stop.]
HOLLIS: Back off. Back right off.
[Casey comes out of the house.]
CASEY: Oh my god.
[Police office. Frank is watching Brunelli's confession video again.]
BRUNELLI [on video]: Four miles north west of town. Follow Kodiak Creek. Past Jackson Falls. Turn east, west – –
[At this point on the video, Brunelli looks at Jarret. Frank pauses then rewinds the tape.]
BRUNELLI: Past Jackson Falls. Turn east, west, turn west off the trail. Go three hundred paces. There's an old trailer. That's where she is. I'm sorry.
[On the video, Jarret strikes a match and lights his cigarette. Frank leans forward and focusses on Jarret's hands as he snuffs out the lighted match with his fingers.]
[fade to black]
[polaroid fade up]
[Hollis enters the room.]
FRANK: It's Jarret.
HOLLIS: What?
FRANK: He used Brunelli. He's been using him from the beginning.
HOLLIS: I don't understand.
[Hollis sits down opposite Frank.]
FRANK: Have you heard of false memories? Created memories? Iatrogenic implantation?
HOLLIS: They're psychological terms, used in therapy. We're talking about Brunelli's lawyer.
FRANK: His lawyer's the only friend he had. Brunelli trusted him. Jarret created memories, entire memories, based on Brunelli's feelings of guilt.
HOLLIS: Guilt for what?
FRANK: What do we know Brunelli did?
HOLLIS: Casey Peterson. He attacked her.
FRANK: No, he approached her. He said he wanted to comfort her. She got scared, ran away. The next thing he knows, he's arrested for kidnapping. And the only man to step forward to defend him was Randle Jarret.
HOLLIS: You're saying Jarret killed Mary Flanagan and then just waited twenty years?
FRANK: No, he didn't wait, he couldn't.
HOLLIS: His own family?
FRANK: Julie isn't Jarret's only daughter.
HOLLIS: Is that why Brunelli went to Julie? Did he know?
FRANK: He just recognised feelings of pain in another person. I was blind to it. Come on.
[Frank and Hollis at Jarret's home. Hollis knocks on the door. Mrs Jarret opens it.]
FRANK: Where's your husband, Mrs Jarret?
MRS JARRET: It's two in the morning.
[Frank pushes in past her, Hollis following.]
MRS JARRET: He's not here.
FRANK: Where is he?
MRS JARRET: He took that man Brunelli to the hospital.
FRANK: Where's Julie?
MRS JARRET: Asleep.
[Frank picks up a family photograph.]
FRANK: Your other daughter, Amanda. Where is she?
[Mrs Jarret hesitates.]
MRS JARRET: She went to live with my sister.
FRANK: Why? Will you tell us why? You have a basement here?
MRS JARRET: No.
[A door opens upstairs.]
HOLLIS: Julie?
[Julie stands on the stairs.]
MRS JARRET: Go back to bed.
FRANK: Hi, Julie.
HOLLIS [to Julie]: Do you have a basement?
MRS JARRET: Go to bed, Julie.
[Hollis holds her hand out to Julie.]
HOLLIS: It's OK. Come on.
JULIE: Why? Why are they asking that?
HOLLIS: Where is it, Julie?
JULIE: At the back of the yard. Storm cellar.
[Mrs Jarret sighs, upset.]
FRANK [to Hollis]: Check the storm cellar. Get hold of Dietz.
HOLLIS: You going to the hospital?
FRANK: That's not where he's taken him.
[Back yard. Hollis searches using her flashlight. She sees a wooden door, set an angle in the ground, and lifts it. She climbs down the steps.]
[Jarret pulls up in his car outside Brunelli's house. Brunelli gets out and they both go into the house.]
[Hollis continues down the steps of the storm cellar. This is where Shanon was held, but it's empty. Hollis sees the broken plank that Shannon pulled off the wall. She sees the markings Shannon had scratched on the floor: 'Dear Mom and Dad, I love you.']
[In Brunelli's house, Jarret and Brunelli are standing on the stairs.]
JARRET: You know where she is, don't you, Max. In the room you prepared for her just like you planned.
BRUNELLI: I didn't.
JARRET: You planned, you imagined, you made your little drawings, and she's lying up there with her dress, exactly the way you wanted. But she's getting very weak, Max.
BRUNELLI: I want to save her.
JARRET: Then you must tell the truth.
BRUNELLI: But, but I don't know the truth.
JARRET: You want to save her life? You're still telling lies. Max, how will God forgive you?
BRUNELLI: I tried to save the last one, but she was already dead.
JARRET: [shouts] Because you delayed. Just like you're delaying right now. [quietly] I'm going to defend you. I will ask them to understand. I will ask for their forgiveness. Don't you want to be forgiven? Don't you want to lift this weight from your soul? Huh?
[Brunelli nods, then goes up the stairs. He pauses and looks back at Jarret who nods to him. Brunelli runs up the stairs into the bedroom. On the bed is a young girl, lying very still, covered by a blanket. Brunelli, very upset, walks over to her. He pulls off the blanket and picks her up and cradles her still body.]
BRUNELLI: [screams] Nooooooo!
[The front door bursts open. Frank enters, shing his flashlight around. He hears a noise from upstairs and rushes up the stairs. Just as he reaches the top he's knocked back by Jarret. Frank tumbles down the stairs to the half–landing and Jarret follows him. Just as Jarret is about to hit Frank with a length of wood, Brunelli grabs Jarret's arm and the two tumble down the stairs past Frank. When they stop, Brunelli grabs Jarret round the neck.]
BRUNELLI: You lied! You lied!
FRANK: Max!
[Brunelli quickly responds to Frank's call and follows him back up the stairs and into the bedroom. Frank checks the girl's pulse.]
FRANK: She's not dead. Get some help.
[A police car.]
COP [into radio]: Brunelli's house on Pine.
RADIO: You got a suspect?
COP: Yes. Randle Jarret. Send an ambulance. Shannon will be there.
[Hollis is in the car also.]
[Outside Brunelli's house. Brunelli sees a car approaching and waves to the driver to stop.]
BRUNELLI: Help! Stop! Hey!
[The car, minus one headlight, is being driven by Brunelli's father. As the car comes towards him, Brunelli stands still and calm in the road. The driver turns the wheel. There's the sound of an impact.]
[fade to black]
[Sirens. The police car arrives and Hollis gets out. She runs over to where paramedics are treating Brunelli.]
BRUNELLI: I tried to save her.
FRANK: You did save her.
BRUNELLI: Am I forgiven?
FRANK: Am I?
[In another car, Jarret is sat in the back handcuffed. His daughter, Julie, stands by the car, beating on the window with her fists.]
JULIE: I don't understand! I don't! Look at me, Daddy! Look at me! How could you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! Daddy! Look at me, Daddy!
[Jarret holds his hands to shield his face.]
JULIE: I don't, I don't understand, I don't. Look at me! I hate you! Look at me!
[Frank and Hollis go over to the girl and gently lead her away.]
[Later. Brunelli, his arm in a sling, is in the hallway of his and his father's house. He's cleaning up the rocking horse from the basement. He hears a noise on the porch. He goes over to the door and pulls back the net curtain. On the porch is a gift basket containing items like those he bought from the store. He opens the door and goes out onto the porch. He looks around to see who had left it there. At the end of the drive are two youngsters on bicycles. One of them, Shannon, smiles and waves to Brunelli. The children cycle away. Brunelli stands on the porch, smiling. His father comes out on to the porch. Brunelli picks up the basket and goes inside. His father follows him and closes the door.]
[fade to black]
[end credits]
Starring:
Lance Henriksen (Frank Black)
Klea Scott (Emma Hollis)
Also Starring:
Brittany Tiplady (Jordan Black)
Guest Starring:
Tom McCleister (Max brunelli)
Scott Sowers (Randie Jarret)
Paul Jarret (Sam Peterson)
William MacDonald (Sheriff Paul Dietz)
Co–Starring:
Eileen Pedde (Karen Jarret)
Karin Konoval (Dr Angela Horvath)
Ron Sauve (Brunelli's Dad)
Shawn Delgaty (Julie Jarret)
Tiffany Desrosiers (Shannon McNulty)
Featuring:
Michelle Hart (Casey Petersen)
Jim Poyner (Judge)
Marco Roy (Deputy Lucas)
Anthony Ulc (Deputy Bobby)
Music by Mark Snow
Editor: Chris Willingham A.C.E.
Production Designer: Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography: Robert McLachlan
Executive Story Editors: Kay Reindl and Erin Maher
Production Manager: Kathy Gilroy–Sereda
Associate Producer: Jon–Michael Preece
Co–Producer: Julie Herlocker
Co–Producer: Patrick Harbinson
Co–Producer: Laurence Andries
Co–Producer: Michael R Perry
Co–Producer: Kathy Gilroy–Sereda
Co–Producer: Paul Rabwin
Consulting Producer: Daniel Sackheim
Producer: Thomas J Wright
Co–Executive Producer: Frank Spotnitz
Co–Executive Producer: Ken Horton
Co–Executive Producer: John Peter Kousakis
Written by Patrick Harbinson
Directed by Thomas J Wright
Executive Producers: Michael Duggan and Chip Johannessen
Executive Producer: Chris Carter
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