"Thanks." "Is it okay if I smoke?" "Sure." "My matches are all wet." " You got a lighter?" " Yeah, it's here somewhere." "It's my wife's car." "There we are." "I remember once going on a school trip to the top of the Empire State Building." "When I looked down at the people on the street they looked like ants." "I pulled out a penny and some of us talked about what would happen if I dropped it from up there and it landed on somebody's head." "Of course, I never crossed that line and actually dropped the penny." "I don't think Early Grayce even knew there was a line to cross." "It's about the mind of a serial killer and culpability." "Whoever can't distinguish right from wrong is like a child." "By law, he should be treated like a child." "Not imprisoned or executed." "There you go again." "Next you'll lay it all at the altar of misfiring synapses amok biochemicals and horrendous childhoods." "It's true." "Most of these poor people suffer from chemical brain imbalances." " Is that enough tequila?" " No." "The answer is research and treatment under hospital conditions." "Not the electric chair." "Great, Brian." "Unless it's your mother they find in the refrigerator." "But executing the killer wouldn't bring my mother back." " Thank God." " Oh, everybody's a joker." "It would sure make you feel better." "No, actually, it wouldn't." "The bottom line is, these people are evil, plain and simple." "How about a bowl of chili?" "A hot one." "Be right there!" ""Antichrist will be a woman in a man's body with seven heads and seven tails."" "Make that to go." ""The Antichrist will be a woman in a man's body." "Seven heads and seven tails."" ""Antichrist will be a woman in a man's body." "Seven heads and seven tails."" "I always knew I'd be a writer." "But there's a difference between an article and a book." "I know." "I wrote an article." "Everything I wanted to know about serial killers fit on four pages." "Brian, what are we doing here?" "Research." "Come on, look at this." "You'll get some great photos in here." "This is where her nightmares began." "Her father worked the night shift here." "Most nights he'd take her with him." "She was 1 1 years old." "Of course, the bastard knew nobody could hear her screams over the noise of the machines." "The article got me a book deal, a little cash up front." "But between the rent and the convertible, the advance was gone." "I owed a book, and I was stuck." "All I knew about serial killers I learned at a university library." "And the only thing I knew for certain was that people didn't kill each other in libraries." "She murdered her first victim here." "They found him stuffed in the corner." "They found her second victim over there." "Can you imagine the rage and pain she felt returning here?" "The victim returns to the scene of the crime." "And becomes the criminal." "Where did everybody go?" "I didn't take that long." "Size seven." "That's right, ain't it?" "Super size seven." "Oh, Early, you're a specialist." "Happy birthday, Adele." "Oh, thank you, honey." "These are beautiful." "This reminds me of Cinderella when the prince gave her his glass slipper." "Except these ones are red and they ain't see-through." "And there's two of them." "That my chili?" "Oh, honey." "Happy birthday to me." "Thank you." "Tonight turned out to be interesting." "Oh, those fascinating friends of yours and their stimulating conversation." "No, the warehouse." "I'm not that stoned." "Oh, the warehouse." "Actually, yeah, it was interesting." "It was definitely the highlight of the evening." "Just being there where it all happened I could almost..." "Take your shirt off." "Yes, ma'am." "Come here." "Early!" "What?" "I'll be waiting for you when you get back." "Put your titty back up." "Wait, I forgot!" "Mr. Diebold stopped by yesterday." "If we don't give him his money by the end of the month he'll kick us the F-U-C-K out of here." "He cussed at you?" " You gonna talk to him?" " Well..." "Shut up!" "He comes back here, don't you open that door." "Well, suppose he hears me inside?" "I picked up some Chinese." "Did you hear from the gallery?" "You got your slides back?" "What did they say?" "You know, same story, different day." "They're idiots." ""Too graphic."" ""Too overt."" ""Not suitable for mass consumption." I forget which." "You don't want to be suitable for mass consumption." "I know." "It's just..." "Who cares anyway, right?" "Not me." "Christ, I'm dying here." "Why can't we just get the hell out of here?" "Why can't we just go to California?" "Why not?" "Just like that?" "Yeah, just like that." "Yeah." "What the hell did I know about California?" "For some people, it was still a place of hopes and dreams." "A chance to start over." "The idea was if you could just get there, everything would be okay." "And if it wasn't okay there then it probably wasn't gonna be okay anywhere." "Adele, whose car is that out front?" "She's not here." "Shit." "Well, look who stopped by." "I ain't supposed to be at the parole office till tomorrow, 2:00." "You're supposed to notify me when you lose your job." "Yeah." "I stopped by the mirror factory today." "You left quite a mess behind." "Well, that wasn't my fault." "It's a dangerous area and they treat me like shit." "Nobody ever has treated you right, have they?" "Your daddy was picking on you when he threw you out of the house for stealing the tires off his truck." "The police." "Way out of line when they kept you from beating that bartender half to death." "You know I bet the Lord will be picking on you come Judgment Day." "Now hold on there!" "I ain't got nothing against God, see?" "It's just people he let..." "Get out of there!" "What are you looking for?" "That girlfriend of yours not much for housekeeping, is she?" "Well, I was thinking about moving anyhows." "Maybe down to Texas." " Get a job on one of them rigs." " What are you talking about?" "Well..." "You know you can't leave the state." "Just a thought." "What you can do is get a job." "You be at this address 3:00 sharp." "What is it?" "Janitor's job." "Well, don't want to be no janitor." "I don't give two shits what you want and what you don't want." "I'm telling you to be there." "Or you'll be having dinner with the sheriff." "You understand me, boy?" "You ought to try putting a bag over your head for that cough." "Works every time." "You peg-armed piece of shit." "She came back to the warehouse that her father molested her in." "Why?" "Because this place is the catalyst." "She needed to relive her nightmares before she could kill those men." "The victim..." "Oh, hey, sleeping beauty." " I didn't have the heart to wake you." " Thanks." "Oh, my head." "What are you doing?" "I sat down with your photos..." "which are wonderful." "Thank you." "...and my tapes and I started writing." "How's it going?" "It's the best stuff I've ever done." "And I think I know why." "Why?" "Because for the first time I understood her as a human being." "I was walking where she walked, where she killed." "I was in her skin." "Looking through her eyes." "I think we got a book here." "With your pictures and my writing, it's a book." "On the warehouse murders?" "No, on the most infamous murders in American history." "We'll go where they lived and where they killed." "You take the pictures, I'll write the text." " What are you talking about?" " About this!" "We can go through Tennessee." "We can drop through Arkansas wherever the hell Arkansas is." "There it is." "Then we can drop down into Texas and from there, it's a straight shot into..." " California!" " California." "And we don't stop till we hit the fucking ocean." "Thank you." "We don't have the money but we'll figure it out." "We'll figure it out." "Hold it a minute, boy!" "Shit!" "You'll settle that rent here and now!" "I'm tired of your bullshit!" "I want my money!" "Dipshit." "Son of a bitch!" "Come back!" "You tell him I want you both out of here by Sunday or I'll call the police." "Elvis, get the fuck off of him!" "The rideshare was my idea." "I thought if a student wanted to go to California they'd help pay for the gas." "Carrie wasn't crazy about the idea but the Lincoln only got eight miles a gallon." " They say the whole thing..." " Will slide into the ocean." "I heard." ""Looking for somebody to take turns driving and share expenses on a week-long, cross-country tour of historic murder sites"?" "You've got to be kidding." "Brian, who in their right mind would want to do that?" " I would." " Like I said..." "Hey, good luck on that thesis." "Don't know where the personal office is at, do you?" "The personnel office is first door on the left." "What, down there?" "Stinking bitch." "Shit." "Early?" "How you doing, mama?" "Fine." "Boy, I'm tired." " Dinner ready yet?" " Almost." "Well, let me know." "Early?" "Yeah?" "Will you tell me more about California?" "Yeah, I guess so." "Let's see." "For one thing people think faster out there on account of all that warm weather." "Cold weather makes people stupid." "That's a fact." "I guess that explains why there are so many stupid people around here." "It sure does." " You know what else?" " What?" "You never have to buy no fruit." "It's on the trees everywhere you turn." "And they ain't got speed limits." "I hear your first month's rent is free." "State law." "I'm thinking till we get settled, we'll move from month to month." "How would that be with you, mama?" "What will we do out there?" "By God, the first thing we'll do is get a six-pack of Lucky Lager and we'll climb up to that famous Hollywood sign and we'll howl at the moon." "Yeah." "Just like that." "I heard there ain't nothing on that moon except some little golf balls that the astronauts left behind." "No, that ain't right." "That's bullshit." "The government's sending people there." "Just don't want us to know." "Now, get!" "Well, let me know when you're finished." "Shit." " What was he like over the phone?" " He was real polite." "He kept calling me "sir."" " I like that." " I bet you do." "You should try it once in a while." "I don't know." "This is really weird." "We should have met them first." "Beggars can't be choosers." "They were the only ones to answer the note." "Oh, God." "Please don't let them be as boring as Brian's friends." "Anything but that." "Early, we shouldn't be doing this." "Now, you know you ain't even allowed to be leaving the state." "And these people are strangers and what kind of people stop at places where other people got murdered?" "What if these people are dangerous?" "They ain't." "They're writers." "Honey." "Early Grayce." " You settle things with Mr. Diebold?" " Yeah, I did." "Left him with the car." "We're all straight now." " What is that?" " That's Lucy." "That's mine!" "What kind of cuckoo brain carries a cactus in her purse?" "I don't know." "Straighten up." "You've got to be kidding." "They look like Okies." "Jesus, they look kind of weird." "They don't have five bucks." "You let me do the talking." " Let's keep going." " Lighten up." " How many times you gonna say that?" " As many as it takes." "Lighten up." " Early?" " Mr. Kessler?" "Hi, I'm Brian Kessler." "Nice to meet you." "You must be Adele." "Uh-huh, that's Adele." " Nice to meet you." " Hi." " Can I help you with your luggage?" " Oh, yeah." "I'll get these." "Hi, I'm Adele." "Hi, I'm Carrie." "I like your hair." "Oh, thanks." "Because it's short." "Oh, yeah." "Well thanks." "Carrie was right." "If you looked up "poor white trash" in the dictionary a picture of Early and Adele would be there." "But if I was gonna be a good writer, I'd have to ignore the clichés and look at life through my own eyes." "So, Early." "What do you do?" "Well, I do some work at the..." "Well, I did some work at the mirror factory." "Know what, Brian?" "One night when we was staying up late we was talking about how much bad luck he must have from all those mirrors he broke." "And I swear we came to 449 years that it would take for him to work it all off." "And he'd have to, after he died he'll have to keep coming back to Earth over and over and over again." " Karma." " Yeah, karma." " What?" " Karma." "You know when you do something bad to someone and fate pays you back by something bad happening to you." "Is that French?" "We can stop if you and Adele haven't had breakfast." "Well, it's like this." "I don't eat breakfast." "It's because of what he read in this book once." "That folks needing breakfast is a myth or something." "And it was put out by the cereal people." "Jesus Christ!" " Who are you?" " I'm his parole officer." "Right." "Talked to you on the phone." "What the hell happened?" "They say it's a torch job." " That sound like your boy?" " Could be." " Where do I find him?" " I don't know." "Crazy son of a bitch was talking about moving to Texas." "Without his car?" "What about the owner of the house Mr. John Diebold?" "Know where he is?" "I don't know." "I tell you, he won't be happy when he sees this." "Jesus Christ!" "Early seemed harmless." "Primitive but harmless." "Of course, the fact was he'd killed his landlord less than an hour before we met him." "He was even wearing the guy's ring." "Who knows what he did with the finger." "Here you go, mama." "Oh, thank you, honey." "Look what I got." "I got a camera." "Who gets the water?" " Here you go, Bri." " Thanks." "I got bags of chips and some jerky if you want." "Just in case." "From the moment I began working on the book I found myself asking one question over and over. :" "What's the difference between a killer and one of us?" "What is it they had or didn't have that separated them from us?" "The Novaks are long gone but the fence they hired Michael Zeruba to put up is still here." " The Novaks..." " Hey, you two." "Come on, show your love." "The Novaks embraced the young drifter as one of their own." "The neighbors said he was a quiet young man, often seen pushing the children on the swing set." "Everything was fine until the Novaks ran out of work for Michael to do and had to ask him to leave." "How does a man get to the point where he can kill another human being in cold blood?" "Early, could you move out of the way, please?" "The first to die was the 9-year-old daughter." "Hi, I'm Brian Kessler." "What's your name?" "Pa?" "Pa, where are you?" "Pa, there's somebody at the door who wants to see you." " What?" "Who is it?" " I don't know." "Good afternoon, sir." "I'm sorry to wake you." "My name is Brian Kessler." "I'm a writer." "I'm working on a book on the most famous murders in American history." "I'm sure you're aware that this is the Novak farm." "I was wondering if my girlfriend, Carrie could come in and take a few pictures and I'll just tape some notes and we'll be out in five minutes." "Just a few minutes." "I could walk around, get a feel for it." "Goddamn ghouls." "We drove all day to get here." "I'd be out in five minutes." "Five minutes!" "Brian, come on." "Just forget about it." "Come on." "At the time I was angry Mr. Baxter slammed the door in my face." "But it was just his way of forgetting of pretending that nothing terrible had ever happened there." "I guess it's only natural to try and forget the bad things that happen." "You never really do, though." "Well, we've come 480 miles so far." "Not bad for a day's haul, huh?" "Pretty good, bud." "You got any family or friends in California, Early?" "No." " You do?" " No, I don't." "Do you have any friends or family in California, Carrie?" "What?" "No." "Well, that's okay." "At least we all got each other, right?" "I mean that's something." "Mama used to say that when you have people around you it's better that you're not alone." " Check." "Because when you're alone, it's hard to develop your personality." "And with more people around you, it helps because friends are really important and..." "Thank you." " Thanks, bud." " That's..." "We'll get the next one." "We gotta hit the sack." "Let's go, mama." " Have sweet dreams." " Good night, Adele." "Good night, Early." "That's funny." "I didn't know you were so prejudiced." "Because I object to having somebody take off their shoe and scratch their foot while I'm eating I'm prejudiced?" " He can't help the way he was raised." "I feel sorry for him." "You feel sorry for him." "That's so sweet." "Obviously, you didn't get a whiff of that sock." "Bitch, bitch, bitch." "Thirty bucks for a motel." "For what?" "Lumpy mattress, crummy TV and a crapper?" "Don't think so!" " Honey, sing me a song." " Not now." "I'm busy, mama." " Just stay put." " Please." "Okay." "If you don't sing it, I'm gonna sing it myself." "Honey?" "When we get to California, will you take me to that Chinese restaurant where all them footprints are out in front?" "Only if they let me put mine down too." "Pretty smooth, how they stiffed us on dinner." "He didn't stiff us." "He paid for the gas." "Remember?" "Brian, I am telling you, I am telling you." "They're almost broke and we are gonna end up paying for the two of them." "And don't change the subject." "It's my favorite subject, though." "Oh, my God." "Good morning." "Morning, Early." "Breakfast?" " No, I don't eat breakfast." "Never do." " Sir." "We don't have a liquor license, so I'm afraid you'll have to..." "That's okay." "I got plenty more where this one come from." " Morning." " Morning, Adele." "You cut your hair." "Early cut it." "He said it makes me look more pretty." "And I think he's right because he's right." "Nice job, Early." "You like to order some breakfast?" "No, I won't be having breakfast this morning, thank you." "Want some of this?" " Finish." " Thanks." "What you reading?" "Sex Art in the American Culture." "No, I never read that one." "I can't wait to get on the road." "I love that convertible." "Yeah, it's great." "Because I like wind, Brian." "So do I." "You want me to get your stuff?" "No, thanks, Early." "I can manage." "I meant to say luggage, ma'am." "I got them." "Hi, honey." "Mama." "When you dream there are no rules." "People can fly." "Anything can happen." "Sometimes, there's a moment as you're waking when you become aware of the real world around you but you're still dreaming." "You may think you can fly, but you better not try it." "Serial killers live their whole lives in that place." "Somewhere between dreams and reality." "Guess it's your turn to pay, Early." "Hey, move it!" "Stupid son of a bitch." "You know, I used to smoke before I met Early." "But he broke me of that." "Broke you?" "Yeah, because Early, he don't think that women should smoke or drink or cuss." "So you know what I do?" "I spell all my cuss words." ""S." Ouch." ""S-H." Ouch!" "S-H-l-T!" "But you don't do any of those other things." "No." "I mean, I better not." "He whips you?" "No!" "No, no." "Only when I deserve it." "You were in there a long time." "Yeah." "I took a dump." "You don't want to go in." "It's wall-to-wall stink." "Just gonna go wash my hands." "Ain't got no sink." " No sink?" " Nope." "Damnedest thing I ever seen." "Let's go." "How about I drive, bud?" "No, mama, get in the back." "$28.35, sir." " How much?" " $28.35." "Hope I got that." "Make it an even 30." " Thank you, sir." " Yeah." "When you first meet people, all you see are the differences between you." "But as time passes, you start noticing the similarities." "I guess that's how all friendships begin." "Okay, so you first." "You put down a card, and then I put down a card." "And then when they match up and it's the same card then you go "snap" and I take it." "And I take the cards that's there and..." "Like that." "Snap." "I thought you said you never played this before." "I haven't." "I really haven't." "I'm a fast learner, I guess." "I was reading in your deal how they never caught that Black Doler killer." " Black Dahlia." " Yeah." "They didn't." "Well, I was wondering how come." "See what I'm getting at?" "It's like..." "Well, some people think he just stopped killing disappeared back into society." "That's dandy, but I want to know what a smart fellow like yourself thinks." "I always thought it was a serial killer." "Anybody who took that much time and care bisecting a human being..." " Bisecting?" " You know, he cut them in two." " He hacked them up?" " Two pieces, yeah." "In half." "Anybody who did that must've enjoyed it and he would've done it again until somebody stopped him." "That's good." "That's a good theory, Bri." "You want to hear mine?" "Sure." "Okay." "Ain't you gonna record it?" "Early Grayce's Black Dahlia theory." "June 23rd." "Okay." "Now, I'm betting he's still alive." "Real old, living in a trailer park or something somewhere." "But he's alive, see?" "Now, he's thinking about what he done." "Going over it, over and over it, in his head every night figuring he's smart for getting away with it." " That's possible." " Hey, you shoot pool?" "Come on, bud." "Designated driver." "Minnesota Fats." "Don't forget your key." "Why did I open my big mouth?" "Please come home soon." "Let's go!" "Jesus, bud, you damn near swallowed her!" "Why didn't you go with them, Adele?" "Because you know how Early feels about women drinking." "So how did you and Early meet, anyways?" "I was hitchhiking this one day and Early stopped." "And I walked up to look in the window and I looked in." "And Early's face, he was down like that because he was serious." "And then he..." "He said:" ""You getting in? " And..." "And then he looked up." "And that's when I saw his eyes." "And, I swear, Carrie, he has the eyes of an angel." "And then, I just..." "I ended up moving in his trailer with him because I thought it'd be kind of neat." "But..." "You know what?" "I was thinking that..." "What if me, you, and Brian and Early all moved into a house together in California?" "Wouldn't that be fun?" "Well, I mean..." "Well, we'll see what happens." "You never know." "Okay." "Do you want me to fix your hair for you?" "Yes." "Because I don't really like it that much." "Come on, then." " Okay." " It doesn't look that bad but I think we should fix it." "I'm betting we're gonna find us some doors around here." "Yeah, the doors out front, on the street." "Not "doors."" " Huh?" " Doors, bud." "Openings to other dimensions." "You see, I read, bud." "And I'm telling you, if a man knows what he's doing he can transport himself to anywhere in this goddamn universe." " Didn't know that, did you?" " No, I didn't." "I should tell you I'm not much of a pool player." "Oh, it ain't hard." "I can teach you." " Really?" " Yeah." "Spot you a few balls first game too." " You're not gonna hustle me, are you?" " How much money you got?" "What's that?" "That's a portfolio of my work." "That's what that is." "Your pictures?" "Can I look at them?" "Yep." "Go right ahead." "Oh, my Lord!" "Did you take this one?" "I took all of those." "Yeah, that one's me." "No, it isn't!" "Hold still, you." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Oh, my God, Carrie." "If Early ever saw me in a picture like that I'd be black-and-blue for a week." "You shouldn't let him do that to you." "You think Early's mean to me?" "Well, he's not." "He may punch me once in a while but he's not mean." "When I was 1 3 there were these three boys." "And they raped me in the back of this truck and..." "And they hurt me so bad that I was in the hospital for, like, four months." "And I feel safe with Early because most of the time, he treats me really nice." "And I know that he'd never..." "He would never let anything like that ever happen to me again." "I like my hair." "You did a really good job, Carrie." "It's really professional." "Hey, Marlene!" "Come here, baby." "Why don't you and me get together tonight and sweat it up some?" "Fuck off, T.J." "Hey!" "There you go." "That'll be five bucks." "Wait." "Wait a minute." "These aren't Lucky Lager." " We ordered Lucky Lager." " Take a look around you." "If you see something lucky around here, you let me know." "Why don't you tell me what you think is so funny?" " What?" " You think I'm funny?" "No." "What would a jizz-gargling cum-drunk fairy like you do with a pretty girl like that?" "What are you talking about, man?" "Just relax." "Hit him." "Because it's coming." "What's that?" "This your boyfriend?" "No, he's not my boyfriend." "Why don't you cool it, man?" " Hey, asshole!" " This ain't Lucky Lager." "Break it up!" "Wasn't that guy's fault." "T.J. Started it." "Dipshit!" "Rack 'em up!" "Because your pink replaces your red" "My ma was a beautician." " Really?" " Yeah, she likes pink a lot." "You should've seen her face." "She was mad when she first found out I was with Early on account of him just getting out of jail and all." "She hasn't talked to me in over a year now." "I wish she'd call me, Carrie." "Early's been in jail?" "Uh-huh." "What for?" "For carrying a gun." "And resisting arrest." "It's a really interesting story, actually." "He put up a fight with the policeman and they struggled because he didn't want to be arrested." "I'd have done the same thing." "Why aren't you laughing now?" "I don't know." "I just don't think that carrying guns and resisting arrest is very funny." "Well I'm gonna go back to my hotel room now, Carrie." "I had a really great time with you." "I just think I had too many beers." "And I wasn't even supposed to be drinking in the first place." "Adele, you don't have to go." "I didn't mean..." "Great." "Look at this dipshit." " Hey, watch it, asshole!" " Fuck you!" "Get him, Bri." "Tear him up!" "Oh, I gotta see a man about a mule." "What?" "Take a piss." "Hey, see if there's any "reebs" in the back seat." " What?" " "Reebs." Beers." "That's what we used to call them when we were kids." "That's "beer" spelled backwards." "Shit." " Think I chipped the concrete, Bri." " The last one." "I want you to have it for saving my ass back there." "It ain't nothing." "I picked out that big Yankee mother a year ago." "It ain't nothing." "I picked out that big Yankee mother a year ago." "By God, I'm uglier than you are." "Come on!" "Thank you." "How long you had your woman, bud?" "Oh, three years." "She's a good one." "She's a breeder, you dog." "I'll tell her you said that she's a breeder." "She'll like that." "I'll tell her." "Can I get a hork off that, bud?" "Do you remember them doors?" "Them doors I was talking about, Bri?" "I got me a couple of them, found me a couple of them in Kentucky." "Hell, I wasn't even looking for the first one." "I was on the side of the road, swinging my sickle." "I turned around, and there's this door this big old door." "And light's coming out, blinding me, real gold." "And I'm thinking, "This can't be."" "So I close my eyes and I count one, I count two I count three, I count four, five and I open my eyes..." "It wasn't there." "Come on." "Am I late?" "I'm sorry." "Early and me, we got into a fight in this bar." "I'm fine, though." "I was just..." "It was me and him against, like, 30 guys." "You know, we gotta talk about your good buddy Early." "Who said he's my good buddy?" "You sure been acting like you were." "Out whooping it up and drinking and everything." " You've been drinking too." "Come on." " Oh, yeah, right." "You should've seen how scared she was that he was gonna find out." "He beats her, you know." "How do you know that?" "Because she told me, that's how I know that." "I gotta see a man about a mule." "But only when she "deserves" it." "Did you happen to know that he was in jail?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "For stealing a car." "Really?" "Is that what he told you?" "He told her it was for carrying a gun." "Brian, it could be for murder for all we know." "Will you stop being so fucking melodramatic?" "Melodramatic!" "If it was murder he'd still be in jail or he'd be on parole in which case, he wouldn't be allowed to leave the state." "Maybe he wasn't allowed to leave the state." "You ever think about that?" "Oh, okay." "We'll get the keys and sneak out." "Is that what you want?" "What's wrong with you?" "Can we talk about this in the morning when the room isn't spinning?" "So how are you feeling now, Brian?" "Does your stomach feel kind of like it's in these knots and it's twisty and you could just explode at any given moment?" "Well, my daddy, he used to make this great drink for hangovers." "And he'd make a blend of sauerkraut juice and Tabasco sauce..." "Goddamn!" "You see that woman?" "She's butt-ugly." " He put in a little bit of lemon..." " Hairy too." "...for the tartness." "And then the last ingredient, Brian this is the best one, was an egg so that he could have breakfast and get rid of his hangover all in the same time." "Shave that dog and teach it to hunt!" "Early lived in the moment." "He did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted." "It was that simple." "I don't know if I was fascinated or frightened by him." "Probably both." "Okay, what should I call you?" "I can't call you Lucy." "Lucy's gone." "I'll call you Shelly." "Hi, Shelly." "I know you're thirsty." "What?" "What's going on?" " Look." " What?" "Look!" "The only thing my old man ever give me was this goddamn .45." "Japanese, but it's pretty good." "Go on, shoot it." "No, take it." "Shoot it." " I don't know how to do it." " You can do it." " I haven't..." " Point it and shoot the damn thing." "No, you're jerking it." "You're all like this!" "You gotta hold it soft." "Like your pecker." "Okay?" "Boys will be boys." "You know any tricks, Carrie?" "No." "Now, hold on." "Hold on." " You want to learn some?" " No." "Aim." "Okay, loosen up." "Loosen your elbow." "You gotta breathe, bud." "Hold it." "Shoot." " Hey, Carrie!" " Good one." "You look good with a gun, Brian." "That's a good one, bud." "That's super." "Good one." "Like that gun?" "I'll give it to you." "I want you to have it." " I don't need a gun." " Go on, take it." "I'll get me another one." "You never know out in California with all them cuckoos." "Best hold on to it." "Now give it another shot, you mean boy." "Go on." "Shoot that damn thing." "That's super." "That's some super shooting." "Look at that." "We're gonna sit this one out, bud, if that's to your "satisfication."" "Fine." "Honey!" "Honey." "If you need some help, bud, you just holler." "I'll be there." "Shit." "What is that?" "A copy of the tape they found." "He recorded everything." "Where am I?" "Mister, can you help me?" "Speldor had him working in here before he was 8 years old..." " Who are you?" "...killing animals with a sledgehammer that was bigger than he was." "Can you..." "Can you get me out of here, please?" "Look, I don't know who you are." "I don't know what you want me to be but, please, just let me go, okay?" "When she was pissed at him..." "What are you doing?" "...she'd beat the shit out of him then lock him in here overnight." "I have..." "My parents, they have money." "I'll give you money if that's what you want." "Let me go." "One morning..." "Oh, God!" "Oh, God!" "...the little boy wakes up picks up the sledgehammer..." "What are you gonna do with those things?" "...starts hurting back." "Oh, God, no!" "How does he get from..." "What are you doing?" "I'm finished." "I know you're upset about the gun." "I'm not upset about the gun!" "I'm upset about the gun, but that is not it." "It's..." "God, can we please turn this off?" "Goddamn it, what is going on here?" "A week ago, you would never have picked up that gun." "Never!" "Then this afternoon, you're out there wielding a gun like you're Clyde-fucking-Barrow!" "What's going on with you?" "Please talk to me!" "It was stupid." "It was a cheap thrill, I admit it." "It was stupid." "It was just bang-bang, like kids." "Okay?" "But I need you to take these photos." "We need them." "I don't want to blow it." " Oh, the pictures." "The book." " Okay?" "God, that really is all that matters to you, isn't it?" "That really is all you care about, isn't it?" "God, I cannot believe I agreed to do this!" "That is such crap!" "You wanted to come take these photos every bit as much as I wanted you to." "Wrong." "Wrong!" "I did whatever it took to get you off your ass and us on our way to California." "And there's a big difference." " Early." " What?" "Early." "Wait." " Jesus Christ!" " I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "I want him out of our car." "Why?" "What happened?" " I want him out of our car." " What happened?" "Next gas station, it's either him or me." "It's up to you." "...hundreds of acres and forced 7 0 people to evacuate was originally thought to have been arson." "Yeah, can I get a carton of Victory Kings and $20 worth of gas in the car?" "Thanks." "Their names haven't been released..." "Here's your change." "Looks like a bad one coming in." "Y'all better be careful." "Where you headed?" "California." "California." "I hear it never rains out there, huh?" "It must be nice." "Hi, Carrie." "I have to go to the bathroom." "...fatal stabbing and robbery of Joseph Davies Robbins at this East Texas gas station." "He is armed and dangerous." "If you see this man, please notif with a history of arrests is still at large." "Grayce is 25 years old, 5' 1 1, " with long brown hair." "He has a tattoo on his left arm." "He was last seen in East Texas at a gas station..." "I ain't riding no bus, bitch." "...to be responsible for the murder of his landlord John Diebold of Nassau County." "The murder occurred last Tuesday." "We would like to repeat. :" "There is a nationwide hunt for Early Grayce." "Knew that boy'd have a hogleg here somewhere." "Not a word." "Hello!" "Get over here, skinny." "Sit your ass in that corner." "Come on." " Honey, what are you doing?" " They gave us the boot, mama." "Keep Brian busy." "I don't want him coming in." " Honey, you're scaring..." " Right now, missy." "Get!" " Hi." " Hi." "I'm just getting my things, and then I'm gonna leave, Brian." "What's your name, boy?" "Walter Livesy." "I think I gotta kill you, Walter." "How do you feel about that?" "Not so good." " You sure you have to?" " I don't know." "Wish I did." " Early, please..." " Shut up!" "Goddamn it!" "I'm trying to have a conversation with Walter." "I'm sorry about that, Walter." "Hey, don't forget your yo-yo." "Listen, Adele you not coming with us has nothing to do with you guys." "It's between Carrie and me." "Where you from?" "Vernon, Florida." "Don't know it." "Any hunting?" "Turkeys, sometimes." "Yeah, turkeys are real smart." "Smarter than most people think." "Tell you what, Walter." "I want you down on your belly." "Get on your belly." "Stay there for a long time after we leave." "We got a deal, son?" " Yes, sir." " Okay." "You mind if I hold on to that Bible?" "What do you want with your Bible, Walter?" "He thinks I'm gonna kill him." " That'd make me a liar, wouldn't it?" " No, sir." "No?" "Here you go, Walter." "I wonder if Adele would like one..." " What was that?" " Oh, my God." "Nothing, Brian." "It was just the thunder." "Oh, my God." "Hey, Early, what the fuck are you doing?" "You'll like this one." "Get in." "Big fella, you're riding shotgun." "Adele, you drive." " What are you doing?" " Come on, bud." "Come on, let's go." " You all right?" "What happened?" " Get us out of here, mama." "Oh, she gonna lie." " What happened?" " He shot him in the head." " Who shot who in the head?" " No, he didn't, Carrie!" "Everybody just shut up!" "Goddamn, bitch, quit squawking!" "Nothing's changed." "I'm gonna get you there, safe, to California." "If Adele don't kill us with her driving first." "Early." "What'd you get us?" "I got Chinese food." "What is it?" "The guy, he didn't speak too good of English so I just got what they had." "Smells like butt." "You get the beer?" "What is this, Chink beer?" "Goddamn it, Adele." "Well give this one to what's-her-name." "Come over here, bud." "Get you some grub." "What the hell's a Chinaman doing in the middle of an American desert?" "Adele, where are the forks and spoons?" "Is it me, or has this trip gone downhill since we ran out of Lucky Lager?" "Wish I had me some chili beans." "How many people have you killed, Early?" "Well, now, how many people you seen me kill?" "None." "That's how many I killed." "If you say so." "Damn right I do!" "Just shut up!" "Eat your food." "You ain't never killed no one, have you, Bri?" " No." " No?" "Ain't seen nobody killed either, have you?" " No, I haven't." " No." "Tell me something, big time:" "How the hell you gonna write a book about something you know nothing about?" "Mama, sing us a song or something." "I wish Carrie was happy" "I wish she would smile" "You guys want your picture taken?" "Come on, Carrie, smile." "He was breathing when I walked out of there." "See, Carrie, it's okay." "He was breathing." "Ain't we getting near the next murder site?" "It doesn't matter anymore." "The hell if it don't." "Give me that map." "Someday me and Adele, we'll be walking along we'll see your book in some store window." "We'll buy it and put it on our coffee table, right, mama?" "Let's go have us a look, people." " Early, I'm gonna stay here." " You don't want to go, mama?" "You watch Carrie." "I'll take the pictures, Bri." "You run, Bri gets it." "Lead the way, bud." "So, uh, what happened here?" "Two brothers, prospectors, lived here in the '70s." "Yeah, so?" "They picked up hitchhikers, young men, and brought them here." "Hey, Bri." "It won't give me nightmares, will it?" "Get out of the way." "This one's called "Walk the Dog."" "My favorite one is "Rock the Cradle."" "They were asked just before they were executed why they did it." "And they said, "To be famous."" "Why did you do it, Early?" "Do what, Bri?" "You didn't have to kill the guy." "Move a little to the left." "You wanted to." "Why?" "Help me out, Early, I don't know shit about killing." "You gotta tell me." " Does it make you feel good?" " Huh?" " Powerful?" " Huh?" " Superior?" " Huh?" "What?" "Who are you angry with?" "Your mother?" "Your father?" "You want to know about my daddy, do you?" "Yeah." "I'll tell you about my daddy." "Adele, you gotta help us out here and talk to Early." "He's sick and he needs some help." " You've gotta..." " You're messing up my trick." "Adele, listen to me, please." "The police are after him." "He killed a man back there." "No, that ain't true." "I saw him kill a man!" "No, Carrie, that ain't true." "It ain't true." "I'm your friend, why would I lie?" "He said he didn't." "Why would I lie about this?" "I know you know." " I don't know why you're saying this." " Why would I lie?" "He said he didn't do it, and you ain't my friend." "You're on private property." "I need some kind of identification." "I'm sorry, Carrie." "Please don't say anything." "We got a match." "I'll call for backup." "Please, don't say anything." "All right, ladies." "I'd like both of you to step slowly away from the car..." "No, Early!" "Got them both on a dead run." "No, no, no, Early!" "Come on, mama." "Tell me that don't hurt." " Shoot him." " What?" "Put that crippled dog out of his misery." "You want to know about it, you gotta do it, son." "Shoot him!" "Lay it on in there." "Come on, mean boy." "Come on, mean boy, do it!" "Shoot him!" "Shoot the dog, shoot the dog!" "It's him or you, boy!" "Shoot him!" "Come on!" "Go!" "Go, mean boy!" "Pussy faggot!" "Look at his face!" "It's not your father!" "Look at him!" "I know that, you idiot!" "That police is in a world of hurting, and this is a mercy kill." "Let's hit the road." "Not even a simple "Thank you."" "Thank you." "Thank you for what, Adele?" "I don't know, Early." "It was for saving your fucking life back there!" "You were this close to spending the night in the county morgue!" " He wasn't gonna shoot, you murderer!" " Stop it, Carrie." " Are you fucking insane!" "?" " Shut up!" " He's a murderer!" " Shut up, Carrie!" "Goddamn bunch of loons!" "Look, mama, there's a pretty house." "Maybe they got some beer." "Look at all the cactuses." "They're beautiful." "You know what makes cactuses so strong?" "You can just forget about them forever and they'd still live." "They'd just keep growing..." "We got to do something before Early kills somebody else." " And they breed." " Adele, will you listen to me?" "You can't do nothing, Brian." "Just sit still." "Adele." "You have beautiful cactuses, ma'am." "I just love them." "My mama had a garden and I had this baby cactus." " And I was gonna plant it..." " You gotta talk to Adele." "She looks up to you." "She'll listen." "I tried talking to her at the mine." "It didn't work." "Then try again." "Hey, Bri, you ever stop and think, if you switched two letters in your name you'd spell "brain"?" "Boy, you got a problem." "What's wrong with grandma?" "Where's your husband?" "I'm a widow." "Yeah?" "That you, Peaches?" "Sweetheart, come on over here." "It's so clear, you can't believe it." "It's just amazing." "Come on over." "Take a look, honey." "I want you to see this." "Peaches?" "Early?" "Early." "Guess what, Early?" "Miss Musgrave has this guest house in the back and it's real beautiful." "And it's empty, hon." " She said if me and you wanted to..." " Hank!" "Hank!" "Well, you're a widow now, Peaches." "Boring." "Boring." "Dog shit." "That don't leave much to the imagination, does it?" "I know him." "That's my daddy." "Fucker." "Boring." "You're not gonna die." "That's you, ain't it?" "Yeah, that's me." "Do you like it?" "What do you think?" "Dog shit." "You can go now." "Call me." "You should control your woman, boy." "Stinky." "Stinky." "Lucky for you they take all kinds in California." "That's where we'll be tomorrow." "California." "Adele!" "Mama!" "Stupid." "Adele!" "Goddamn it." "Peaches!" "Peaches!" " Peaches!" " Stop it!" "Stop it, Early!" "Stop it!" "What are you doing?" "Get the piano up and try and slide your hands under." "Mama, what are you..." "Why are you crying?" "I'm the one that got hit." "Because I decided, Early." "I'm not gonna climb up that Hollywood sign with you." " And why not?" " You're mean, Early!" " No, I'm not." " You hurt those people, Early." "I don't want to do it with you." "I loved you, Early." "You just be quiet." "You are mean." " Run!" "Go!" " No, I'm not leaving you here!" " Brian..." " Go!" "Go!" " Adele!" " Shut up!" " Adele!" " Shut up!" " Adele!" " Shut up!" "Shut up!" "Looks like I need me a new woman." "No!" "Shut up!" "Oh, God, I'll do anything." "I'll go with you." "Please don't kill him." "Oh, God, I'll do anything." "Please don't kill him!" "Oh, mama, we gotta find us a door." "Save us some time..." "Goddamn, that's a super dress." "Yeah, that's just super." "Oh, I didn't think he'd left anyone alive." "Where's Carrie?" "They took off down the road." "Watch your head." "Grab that chair." "I'm gonna lift the piano." "Slide it under." "He pulled out all the phone lines." "The nearest one is 21 miles away." "He took the fire road west." "Take your car and get to that phone." "Call the police." "Shit!" "Get up there." "Well, how you all doing?" "I'm Early." "This is my woman, Carrie." "Sorry to inconvenience you all like this, but, well looks like we'll be staying the night." "Don't you move you Pinocchio-looking knuckleheads." "No!" "Door where you been?" "Gotta transport..." "Transport..." "Carrie!" "Motherfucker!" "Brian came back!" "Hey, Bri, you want to ask me some questions?" "Ask me some questions!" "Come on!" "Do I feel powerful?" "Do I feel superior?" "No." "I feel good." "You're bleeding." "You're bleeding." "Skynyrd!" "Lynyrd Skynyrd!" "I like that one." "The keys." "They're around his neck." "I'll never know why Early Grayce became a killer." "I don't know why any of them do." "When I looked into his eyes I felt nothing." "Nothing." "That day, I learned any one of us is capable of taking another human life." "But I also learned that there is a difference between us and them." "It's in feeling remorse." "Dealing with guilt." "And confronting your conscience." "Early never did." "June 22nd, the Novak Farm." "Mr. Baxter slammed the door in my face today, calling me a damn ghoul." "I'm betting he's still alive." "Real old, living in a trailer park or something somewhere." "But, he's alive, see?" "Now, he's thinking about what he done." "Going over it, over and over it, in his head every night figuring how smart he is for getting away with it." "Thank you." "Hey, how's it going?" "Not bad." "How was your swim?" "It's freezing." "It's November." "I know." "There's this gallery in Venice and I showed them my work, the Icon series." " I think they're interested." " That's great." "Well, it's not definite, but it's encouraging." "Well, let's celebrate." "I'll take you to lunch." "Okay." "So, what happens next?" "I have a meeting at the gallery on Thursday and they want to see some more of my work, so..." "I'm sure they're gonna love it as much as I do." "Hi." "Guess who this is." "It's me." "It's Adele." "I know I'm probably not supposed to be talking on the tape recorder, but..." "I just wanted to say thank you for taking me and Early with you on your trip because me and Early's having a really good time." "And I just hope that when we get to California that you guys don't forget all about us." "Because friends are important and, well, you're the only friends we got." "Bye."