"My name is Melinda Gordon." "I just got married, just moved to a small town, just opened up an antique shop." "I might be just like you." "Except from the time that I was a little girl," "I knew that I could talk to the dead." "It's all right, honey." "Earthbound spirits, my grandmother called them, the ones who have not crossed over because they have unfinished business with the living, and they come to me for help." "To tell you my story," "I have to tell you theirs." "So today, 25 years after judge Walter Merrick took his oath of office, we are here to dedicate this courthouse in his name." "These qualities have earned him the deep respect which he so richly deserves." "So how come I've never heard of this guy?" "Maybe you need to be on trial more often." " You're hilarious." " Yeah." "Fair, impartial, and open-minded, a man of learning and knowledge" "I've seen his name in the paper a few times." "He gives lots of money to local charities." "And now I'd like all of you to stand with me..." "On this momentous occasion... as we honor this great man." "Maybe he should give some money for some new color guard uniforms." "Melinda!" "Stop!" " He's lucky you got there in time." " He's lucky he's alive." "I figured this for a heart attack or a stroke, but nothing showed up on the test?" "Nothing will." "What did you see?" "A man, maybe 40 and angry." "Very angry." "It's like he was trying to suck the life right out of the judge." "Well, he almost succeeded." "Yeah, things are definitely changing out there." "I heard that." "What did you feel?" "It was almost like I was being smothered, or choking." "I don't know." "It's like there's more and more spirits out there that are dangerous, and they have even more power to hurt people." "Maybe even kill them." "Maybe this has been happening all the time." "Maybe you're just seeing more now." "I don't think so." "Hey, Mr. Slade." "Hey!" "I was taken advantage of!" "For 18 years I worked here." "What did I get for it?" "!" "Nothin'!" "No respect!" "Look at me when I'm talking to you, fool!" "Hey!" "I grew up in this town." "I had a future." "I got a family." "I got a son." "You don't think I wanna be with my family?" "And he took it all away from me!" "You don't deserve this, judge Merrick!" "You will never see this dedication to your good name!" "Never!" "Never!" "Never!" "So why was he at the hardware store?" "Mike's remodeling." "Sometimes it can stir things up." "Oh." "Remember how I was thinking we should put some new shelves in the back?" "Let's not." "Listen to me!" "I lost everything!" "Where's my justice?" "Where's my justice, huh?" "!" "Where's my justice for me?" "!" "I'll be right back." "You two!" "You two!" "You think you're friends?" "!" "That was a nice trip." "You'd get justice, wouldn't ya?" "You know why?" "'Cause you're white!" "And you, you wouldn't get nothing!" "No justice for you, boy!" "No justice for you!" " Justice for what?" " Excuse me?" "I can help you." "Wait." "Wait, don't go." "Too late to help!" "For my hardware store to compete with the big chains out on the highway," "I've got to update the store, you know?" " Give it a little polish." " Your table's ready." "Sell some hard-to-find items." "Uh, you know, personal service... the whole deal." "So how's the construction going?" "Any problems?" "Sure." "Everything costs twice as much as my contractor said it would be." "That's not really what I meant." "I meant, uh, noises, things being moved, cold drafts." " Things that go bump in the night?" " Did anyone die there?" "You know about that?" "No, not really." "I'm just trying to learn everything I can about the town, good and bad." "Yeah, it was back when my dad had the store. 1974 or '75." "Yeah, one of the employees got killed." "In the store?" "No, I don't think so." "Why?" "You think I might have ghosts or something?" "No." "Um, I just have a very morbid curiosity." "You ever notice how people will shop like crazy in a pouring rain, but one clap of thunder and they scurry home like roaches?" "Hmm." "Roaches." "Nice visual." "I liked it." "And where is the rain, by the way?" "It's been thundering for, like 2 hours and not a cloud in the sky." "Here, this is him." "Ely Fisher attacked a white co-worker, Link Hofstadter, when he insulted him." "Ooh." "Must have been one serious insult." "Then Link killed him, but no charges were ever filed." "Why does that sound backwards to me?" "They were saying there was rumblings of racism." "You think?" "What?" "It was almost 30 years ago." "It's hard to imagine that people still think like that, especially here." "Did I ever tell you my vodka story?" "No." "I was in this liquor store looking for a good bottle of wine, but they didn't have a really good selection." "So I'm leaving, behind this pretty blonde, and the alarm goes off." "And then the security guard practically tackles me." "They thought you were shoplifting?" "The blonde had put a bottle of vodka under her coat." "And she didn't know there was a sensor on it, but-- well, I was the one that they saw." "I didn't think stuff like that still happened, at least not in the city." "It wasn't in the city." "Melinda, it was right here in Grand View." "You see things I don't and vice-versa." "Yeah, but most people in this town are not like that." "Well, I don't know all of them." "I didn't know any of them in 1975." "What else does it say?" "Ely, he had a wife and a young son." "Oh!" "Wait." "Wow." "Judge Merrick." "Yeah, he was the prosecuting attorney." "He was also the one who didn't file charges against Link." "So why is Ely suddenly back?" "I don't think he's too happy that judge Merrick is being honored." "All right." "I'm ready to do the whole "scurry and roach" thing myself right now." " See you tomorrow." " Have fun." " Ok, thanks." "Bye." " Really, go ahead and eat." " No, I'll wait." "Lasagna." "Tastes better when it's reheated anyway." "I'll be home in an hour." "You sound a little funny." "What's going on?" "I'll explain later." "Look, the weather stinks." "Do you have to go see this judge tonight?" "Yeah, I think I do." "Listen, do you know anybody at the courthouse that might know where the Fisher's moved after Ely died?" " Well, that depends." " On what?" "On whether or not you really come home in an hour." "9:02." "Set your watch." "Check." "Drive safe, babe." "Bye." "Stop it!" " Thank you." " I'll check on you later." "The nurse said someone's coming to repair the monitor." "I can stay until they get here." "2 close calls in one week." "This is getting to be a habit." "Is there anything I can do?" "I think saving my life was enough for one night." "You were at the ceremony, weren't you?" "Um, is there anyone I can get in touch with for you?" "No." "My wife passed a few years ago." "Haven't seen my brother in years." "Now, if i die..." "I'm sure there would be a few people happy to get that call." "People you sent to jail?" "Most of them are still in jail." "My sentences stuck." "I was proud of that." "Ely Fisher?" "Beg your pardon?" "He died in 1975." "You were a prosecutor then." "1975?" "Sweetie, I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning much less 30 years ago." "This is gonna sound strange, but I think you might be in danger." "Please." "The only danger I face is my cholesterol." "And I'm... getting a little tired now." "Of course." "Maybe I'll come back another time." "Mr. Merrick, are you all right?" "I'm all right." "Your father was Ely Fisher." "He worked at the hardware store in Grand View." " Who wants to know?" " My name is Melinda Gordon." "How'd you get this number, lady?" "Dad, you said you'd-  just hold on!" " One second, buddy." "My husband works for the county, and he looked up some courthouse records." "Courthouse?" "Yeah." "I'm doing some research, and I was wondering if we could discuss it." "I could come to Martinsville." "What do you want, lady?" " Daddy, come on." " Hush, Jameel." "Walter Merrick." "Do you know him?" "Yeah, I know Merrick." "He's the man who killed my mother when I was 7." "Your mother..." "I'm sorry." "I knew that your father had died." "My father didn't just die." "My father was murdered." "I can't believe it." "I lose my father, my mother, and judge Merrick gets a building named after him." "What am I sayin'?" "Of course I can believe it." "You said he killed your mother." "How?" "Do I know you... or what you want?" "Why should I tell you anything?" "You came here, didn't you?" "I came to visit my aunt Rose." "Well, I think there's more to the story than what's in the newspaper." "A white man killed my father and got away with it." "That's the story." "Come on, dad." "Let's go." "Look, I'm sorry, ok?" "I didn't mean to... to upset you or your dad." "I just want to help, both of you." "Help?" "How are you gonna help him?" "Come here." "Look, you see that store right there?" "That's where your granddaddy worked." "See that alley down there?" "That's where he died." "Your grandfather worked in that hardware store for 18 years." "And then Mr. Slade hired that punk Link Hofstadter." "I don't need to be treated this way, not by any man." "Ely." "Ely, wait." "It's the only fair way." "With all due respect, Mr. Slade." "I've come to work on time for 18 years." "Never took one sick day." "And you're gonna start him at a dollar more an hour than you pay me?" "How is that fair?" "You think I'd work for less than some colored man?" "His father, I owe him a favor." "Oh, yeah, I know." "Everybody around here owes the Hofstadters a favor." "And this one can't tell the difference between a lamp shade an a light socket." "Hey!" "You watch your mouth, boy!" "And that night... that night," "Link waited on him, jumped him and killed him in cold blood." "Dad, my hand." "Link said that it was self-defense." " And the newspapers, they say" " The Hofstadters own the newspapers." "And they own half the mortgages on the properties in Grand View." "But there were no witnesses." "I heard there was a witness, and the Hofstadters paid them off, whoever they were." "Is there any proof?" "That's just what Merrick said, the man whose name is on that plaque back there." "Go away!" "Get lost!" "I was about the same age as Jameel." "And my mother couldn't believe that Merrick was not gonna press charges." "My mother wasn't gonna just let it go." "She wanted justice." "But judge Merrick told her there were no witnesses and that it was Link's word against hers." "But she knew." "Your husband threatened to kill Link." "There was a witness!" "She knew my father would never hurt anyone." "It was self-defense." "At least put it in front of a grand jury." "Let them decide." "My mother died that day." "They said it was a heart attack." "And I guess they were right." "'Cause her heart broke that day." "That's a horrible thing for a 7-year-old to see." "Do you think I want your sympathy?" "Do you know what became of Link?" "Yeah, I kept track of that bastard." "He got sick a couple of years ago and died... in the comfort of his home... surrounded by his wife and kids." "Get outta here!" "Come on!" "You know what's weird?" "Ely never showed himself today." "Maybe he's all gone now." "That's what I love about you:" "Forever an optimist." "It was more like standing on that square, you could see Ely's anger on his son's face." "They make the same expressions when they're mad... which is all the time." "Well, the man's father was killed, probably in a hate crime." "Nothing was done." "That would pretty much make me mad all the time." "I get it." "I do." "It's just... so sad to see such an angry little boy, that hatred passed down from father to son." "That's the way of the world, my love." "Always has been." "You know, maybe if I get them together, the judge could tell Randall what happened and break they cycle." "Right." "And then they could get started on that pesky little gaza strip thing." "I'm serious." "There's a reason I am pulled into these people's lives." "I know, I know." "Some things are beyond your help, anybody's help." "Some people, all they wanna do is hold on to their hatred." "Well, I won't know unless I try." "Wait." "You mean now?" "Yeah." "I can't sleep anyway." "I'm coming with you." "No." "You might scare him off." "He does not sound like a guy who scares easy." "Please?" "There's nothing you can do." "Wait." "What are you saying?" "I'm supposed to wait here while you go out in this weather looking for this... whatever he is?" "No." "Don't wait." "Get some rest." "I'll be home soon." "Who are you?" "What do you want?" "!" "What have I done to you?" "!" "I know what happened to you, to your wife and your son." "What about my son?" "He's in pain." "He's filled with hatred." "He should be." "No, you're wrong." "It's gonna ruin his life." "Look, I can help you talk to the judge" "I'll talk to him when he's dead like me, and that's what I'll make him before he ever gets a chance to see that dedication to his good name." "Don't do this." "There's a better way." "I'm taking him!" "You better stand back, or I may have to take you, too." "There are people over here who are very interested in you." "Hey, it's ok." "It's ok." "Don't be mad." "I spent a lot of time on that case." "Interviewed dozens of people." "I was a brand-new prosecutor, and I wanted to make my bones." "The Hofstadters are very powerful." "Is that why you decided not to prosecute?" "No." "If ambition were my only concern, a murder trial would have been the best way to get my name in the papers." "Everything isn't in black and white." "Interesting choice of words." "No, I knew Link Hofstadter." "I knew his family." "He was a fine young man." "You want to know what really happened that night?" "I come to work on time for 18 years, damn you, took crap from customers who let me carry their refrigerator to the damn door and then got nervous when I took it inside." "Customers who made me put their change on the counter so we wouldn't accidentally touch hands." "But I took it." "Oh, I smiled." "I said thank you, and you're paying him a dollar more an hour than you pay me?" "His father, I owe him a favor." "A dollar more!" "And this meathead can't tell the difference between a lampshade and a light socket." "I'd watch your mouth, boy." "Don't you ever call me boy." "You dumbass cracker." " Just stop it." " Call me boy again, you're dead!" "That's enough." "We're okay." "I won't have this." "Not in my store." "One more fight, I fire you both." "That night, Ely waited for him." "Ely could take care of himself." "He was good with his fists." "Hey, boy," "I got somethin' for you." "Come on." "Come on, cracker." "Show me what you got." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on, cracker!" "Come on, show me what you got." "I'm not losing my job over you." "Come on." "Come on, boy." "Come on, boy." "Come on." "It was a case of self-defense." "How do you know that?" "You weren't even there." "I took statements from the people who saw the two of them arguing in the street." "The medical reports backed up everything Link said." "I came to this very hospital to question him that night." "He had two broken ribs, and he needed 19 stitches to close up his cheek." "And Ely?" "The blow to his head killed him instantly." "Link was all torn up about it." "I doubt he ever forgave himself." "There were rumors about a witness." "Oh, I knew about the rumors." "They were never substantiated." "Not one." "Why are you digging all this up?" "Why now?" "Ely's family feels like there was an injustice done." "I'm sure they do." "It was a tragedy from every side." "But you can't bring criminal charges against a man, ruin his good name, maybe taint him for life, for defending himself." "Daddy, why are you crying?" "Look, I'm not crying." "It's just the wind." "It blew something in my eye." "It's real windy in the square." "Then why are we sitting here so long?" "Maybe..." "I don't know." "Makes me feel closer to my dad." "I feel a little mixed up." "Come on, let's go." "But daddy, you told me never to cry." "Yeah, that's right." "Don't you ever let anybody make you cry." "You only trust your own kind." "That's how you stay strong." "That's how you stay ready." "Ready for what?" "Ready for places like this." " He looks just like in the pictures." " Who?" "What are you talking about, Jameel?" "Grandpa." "Come on, let's go." "But, dad, he's standing right there." "I swear." "I think I'm getting carpal tunnel syndrome." "No way, our insurance doesn't cov... the boy, he can see me." "Lots of kids can see spirits." "Are you talking to me?" "Okay, should I get ready to run screaming from the store?" "I'll get back to you on that one." " How come he can see me?" " I don't really know." "They usually grow out of it by the time they're eight or nine." "When they realize they're not supposed to be seeing them." "Your grandson's seven, I think." "So why didn't you talk to him?" "I don't know what to say." "Yes, you do." "Wait, hey, oh, no." "Are you gonna leave me here alone with the..." "All right." "I'll be in the back if, uh... if you need me." "Hi." "There's something I need to show you in my store." "Where are we going, daddy?" "Don't worry about it." " What's your name?" " Jameel." "Jameel Fisher." "Mm-hmm, second grade." "Who's he talking to?" "What's going on here?" "The other night when I called, it's because I had seen your father." "What're you talking about?" "My father's dead." "Your dad, he can't see me, can he?" "No, just me and the lady." "What're you, some kind of grifter?" "What, you're gonna tell me my future next?" "Look, I have this gift." "Do you still live here?" "No, but I did." "All my life." "I was born in the same house your aunt Rose lives in now." "Wait a minute, you were born in a house?" "What?" "Back then, lots of people were." "Couldn't afford the hospitals." "Granddaddy was born in a house, not a hospital." "They were too poor." " How are you doing this?" " I'm not." "Me and your aunt Rose, we slept in a dresser drawer when we were babies." "Then Celia came along, they finally bought a crib." "Who's Celia?" "Celia." "She passed when she was just a little thing." "She drowned down in a pond." "I was supposed to be watching her." "Daddy, is that why you won't let me go swimming unless you watch?" "'Cause granddaddy wasn't watching Celia?" "All right, what is this?" "Only me and my family knows that story." "Your father knows." "My father." "He's here." "He is, daddy." "All right, if granddad's here," "ask him what happened that night." "It's not like what Link Hofstadter said." "Came out of the barn, and I could smell the alcohol on him." "Hey, sambo." "Come here." "I got something for you." "Mr. Hofstadter," "I didn't mean nothing about what I said at the store today." "Come on, boy, show me some of your sass now!" "I'm not losing my job over you." "I heard his ribs crack." "But he wasn't gonna let me win." "What would he tell his redneck friends?" "It wasn't like Link said." "I was just going to get some milk for your daddy's breakfast." "My daddy gives me milk for my breakfast too." "He wasn't looking for a fight." "That's what my mom said." "Nobody would listen." "She cried, she cried, she couldn't work." "She lost her job." "I just wanted a way to make them pay, Link and that prosecutor." "He wanted to punish Link and Merrick." "Well, wait, if he's still here," "after all this time, how come he didn't talk to me?" "I was the same age as Jameel is right now." "I didn't know I could." "I was just trying to make them pay." "You know what it would've meant, pop?" "If I could just see you?" "To just know that you were there." "Teach me the things that a father is supposed to teach his son." "It's not like that, Randall." "He just didn't know that he could." "What about mom?" "Where were you when she died?" "And where is she?" "Tell him" "I was there that day." "Rachel saw this light, she wanted me to come with her, but I couldn't, I just couldn't." "Your mother crossed over." "And your father couldn't because he was too angry." "Well, I know all about the anger." "All right, 'cause that's all he left me." "What good has he done, huh?" "Wait!" "Back there you asked me where he was when you needed him to teach you the things fathers teach their sons." "There are some things you need to teach your son." "Maybe even some things you need to teach your father." "Yeah, well, my father's gone." "Either you're working some scam, or you're just plain crazy." "I'm not, and you know it." "She's not, daddy." "Please, come with me to see judge Merrick." "And do what?" "Lay this to rest." "Come in." "She your boss?" "Um, she's my partner." "You're partners with a white lady?" "Well, she's also my friend, Jameel." "She's my best friend." "My dad says that people wouldn't fight if they stuck with their own kind." "Well, your dad's a pretty smart guy." "You know what my kind is?" "Here." "People who are respectful of others," "people who are intelligent, kind, funny, nice to kids," "people like Melinda." " She's funny?" " Oh, she's so funny." "See that's the thing about people, Jameel." "You don't know who they are just by looking at them." "You have to get to know them." "But your dad is absolutely right." "Once you find out that someone's your kind, you stick with them." "You owe me." "Can I do anything for you?" "Rain check." "Yeah, I remember, but not now, ok?" "It's your turn to help me." "And it's gotta be now." "Why?" "Because I was working here the night they brought Link Hofstadter in." "I waited two hours for the son of a bitch." "I was just gonna throw him a beating." "You know, show him how he has to treat a white man." "You're the witness." "He told me everything." "Well... this is a nice send-off." "They're letting me out on parole." "I suggested they sentence me to community service, but..." "I'm sorry, do I know you?" "This is Randall Fisher." "Ely's son." "The two of you will have to excuse me." "I've gotta get dressed." "There was a witness, wasn't there?" "A nurse, who came to you." "I don't know what you're talking about." "I'm going home now." "Hey, I wasn't gonna end him." "Maybe he shouldn't have raised his hands to me." "You know, he should've just taken what he had coming." "Maybe then I would've left him alive." "Hey, come here." "We have to keep this place safe." "For our kind." "But that's not it, is it?" "The E.R. nurse came to you and told you what Link had said to her." "Mr. Merrick, I'm the nurse who called you." "Link told me everything." "I talked to Link too." "He was drunk." "There's more people to think he got jumped by a black man in an alley and he didn't defend himself." "That's not the story." "Well, it's a case I can't win." "So the case is closed." "The next day there was $5,000 in my checking account." "The Hofstadters put $5,000 into her checking account." "What?" "I didn't know, I swear." "She never told me." "She tried to tell you once, but you told her that the case was closed." " But if I'd known they paid her..." " you should've looked again." "But you wanted to look away." "How do you know all of this anyway?" "How do I know you didn't just invent it?" "It's the truth." "Check the bank records if you don't believe me, but the easier way, is just to do nothing." "This was a stupid argument that got out of hand." "It was an argument over a dollar an hour." "This had nothing to do with a dollar an hour or a seat on a bus or a water fountain." "This is about something bigger and you know it." "I didn't know about the money." "Well, you do now." "I just didn't believe he could've done something like this." "We know what you believe, judge, then and now, and we both know why you looked away, don't we?" "Walter Merrick was not only a judge in this courthouse for 25 years, he was instrumental in restoring Grand View to the town many of us grew up in." "The storm has passed." "He's healthy and strong as ever." "Judge Walter Merrick." "Thank you very much." "I've been recognized as many things in this town." "A tough, but fair-minded judge, a deacon of my church," "a good husband." "The one thing I was not known as... is a racist." "30 years ago, a black man, Ely Fisher was killed" "right in the square." "The plain truth is, I assumed" "Ely Fisher was the guilty one." "I made a judgment call that was callous" "and bigoted." "It would be easy to say, it was 30 years ago, but the truth" "is that I was that same man until yesterday." "Despite great progress in this country, racism" "is still very much alive." "It can be subtle, handed down from generation to generation." "This tragedy is my shame." "My debt." "But, if it becomes a reason to change," "for even one of you, or one of your children," "Ely Fisher's death will have gained new meaning." "So later today, I will officially recommend that this plaque be removed and that a new one replace it." "One that dedicates this courthouse" "to Ely Fisher." "Hey, there's grandpa." "Where'd grandpa go?" "Thank you all for coming, and enjoy the festivities." "Is he gone for good?" "I don't know." "Ely, I..." "Grandpa, daddy needs to talk to you." "I'm right here." "He's here." "Ask him how he feels." "I hardly know." "I'm glad the right thing was done, but it don't change much." "Thought I'd feel happy, like I won." "I don't think anyone won." "He's glad that the truth came out, but it didn't change much." "It does, pop." "I thought staying mad all that time really gave me something." "Something to stay here for." "Something to keep me going." "But it took a lot away too." "From me, from you, even Jameel." "And that's gotta stop." "I'm not mad, grandpa." "That's good, little man." "And you make sure your pops doesn't stay mad either." "You tell him he can let go of this now." "He's got a clean slate." "So do I." "I see it." "A light." "I guess it's time." " You're ready." " Time for what, grandpa?" "To see your grandma Rachel and your aunt Celia." "Can I meet them?" "No." "Not quite yet." "He looks like his mother." "That's a good thing too." "He's glad that you look like your mother." "I thought... that it would hurt too much" "if I knew you." "Or if I remembered you too well." "But you left such a big hole." "Tell him he grew up strong." "And I'm proud of him for that." "But he's gotta grow up soft now." "He's gotta teach his son to be both." " Tell him I said goodbye." " I will." "Ely, wait." "Before you said that there are people who are interested in me." "Who and why me?" "I was mad," "I didn't mean to scare you." "What did you mean?" "I don't know." "I'm not sure." "There's a lot I don't understand." "They know about you." "And not everybody is happy about what you do." "Transcript:" "RaceMan" " Synchro: jh26"