"Daddy, I forgive you." "You were a drunk and you probably couldn't help yourself." "You'd been in a world of trouble yourself." "So I'm here to forgive you." " Caleb." "Caleb, wait." " I did it, didn't I?" "Yes, you said the words, but you didn't mean it." "Maybe I ain't ready to forgive him, Merlyn." " I mean, look what he did to you." " But I forgive him, Caleb." "And until you learn to forgive Daddy in your heart, it's going to haunt you." " What is?" " Your own resentment." "Your bitterness." "It's like a slow-acting poison on your soul." "It leads to anger and violence." "Okay, Merlyn, if you say so." "Nice to hear you talking sense, Merlyn." "What you said just now." "How resentment is the number-one killer." ""A slow-acting poison on the soul." Very poetic." "Yeah, almost as poetic as when you refer to my death as a "mercy killing."" "I put you out of your misery, yeah." "But unfortunately, I didn't finish the job." "I don't suppose you'd find it in your heart to forgive me, now would you?" "No." " You don't deserve it." " What do I deserve then?" "You deserve to be banished to a small, dark planet... into a tiny cold speck of dust light years from here." "You deserve oblivion, Lucas." "Son of a bitch." "I'm gonna get you." "Send forth The One." "Send him forth." "Send him forth." "The Hillside Strangler, ten women..." "Richard Speck, eight nurses." "And the granddaddy of them all..." "Albert DeSalvo, "The Boston Strangler"... thirteen women." "I never lived long enough to be a granddaddy." "Yet, you've become a folk hero." "A legend in the annals of serial killing." "My reputation far exceeds my crimes." "Nowadays, you strangle thirteen women... you make the front page for a day or two, and then everyone forgets." "Unless, of course, you're a celebrity." " But you were a celebrity." " That's not why I did it." "I preferred anonymity." "All fame ever got me was the certainty I'd be murdered in prison." "And so you were." "Well, don't get all riled." "I didn't ask you down here for a fight." "I've got a job for you." "Pretty." "Not really my type though." "She's a gentle soul." "Pure of heart, and all that crap." "Good." "She'll probably be too trusting." "You know, it's still amazing... how even after you raped and strangled the first three or four... women still open their doors to you." "I had the gift of gab, plus good manners." "Politeness gets you in anywhere." "So, just tell me how you want me to play it." "She's got a brother, Caleb." "He'll draw her out for you, and once she's in the open..." " do your thing." " Don't worry, I will." "One good thing about being dead is..." "I don't have to worry about locks and chains." "I can come and go like that." "If I'd have been dead up in Boston, well... no telling how many I could've racked up." "Just make sure you only get the one in my town, DeSalvo." "Besides, you're gonna have your hands full." "She's tricky." "I get my hands around her neck, she'll cease to exist." " Period." " You guarantee it?" "Absolutely." "When the dead kill the dead... well, they just become nothing." "Sort of like anti-matter." "Gail, it's Caleb Temple, your only living relation." "I'm here at the library, just like we said." "Or maybe I got my signals crossed." "But I'll wait here until 10:00, that's closing time." "Damn it." "Dr. Miller to the nurses' station." "Dr. Miller to the nurses' station." "Honey, I'm sorry, but Dr. Peale's tied up with a patient." " For how long?" " That's hard to say." " You want me to give him a message?" " Yeah." "Tell him if I don't write up the life cycle of a river parasite... in the tropical equator by tomorrow, I'm dead." " Wait, what about the library?" " I tried that." "There's nothing about tropical disease in any Trinity library." "I can assure you of that." "Not the public library, silly." "How about the hospital library?" "I mean, we've got books on every disease known to man..." " if you know where to look." " I wouldn't." "Well, I would." "Come on, let's go." ""Paging Dr. Caleb Temple." How does that sound?" "Morning, son." "Is the lady of the house around?" " No, sir, not at this time." " Oh, well." " Why don't we just talk man to man?" " What about?" "Refrigerator burn-out." "Caleb, did you know... that bad compressor wiring is the number one cause..." " of house fires in the entire nation?" " How'd you know my name?" "Market research." "I asked where the boarding house was... and a friend of yours said that's where that nice Temple boy lives." "Pointed me this way." "Sara, that pretty nurse at the hospital." "I don't know anything about Miss Holt's icebox, mister." "Why don't I show you, then?" "The first tune-up's for free." "Then you can do it yourself, if you want." " Or you can ask me." " All right." " What was your name again?" " Albert." "Albert DeSalvo." "But you can call me Al." "All right, Al." "The kitchen's straight through there." " This won't cost anything, will it?" " Not a penny." "This being a boarding house and all." " I bet you this fridge takes quite a pounding." " Yes, sir, it does." "I hear Miss Holt complaining about it all the time." "I bet she does." " For one thing, the compressor relay's shot." " Is that bad?" "Bad's a relative word, Caleb." "It could be better, it could be worse." "Mind if I watch?" "I could use the help, little buddy." "Hand me those pliers." " Very good." " Thank you." "All right, now, Eddie." "Now, Mrs. Roybal saw you... coming out of her garage with her lawnmower." "Plus, we found all that other stuff at your place." "So, why don't you just save us all some time and admit it?" "You're the thief." "Now, if you don't wanna wear more than that trash can..." "I'd sign that, you understand?" "Are you sure you can handle all this while I'm at the convention, Ben?" "Sure, Lucas, sure thing." "I hate to leave you alone." "I mean you and Floyd, but, heck." "Maybe I'll bring home "Sheriff of the Year."" "That you might." "I'd bet the ranch on that." "Floyd, would you take Eddie on down to cell three for me?" "Floyd?" "You gotta sharpen up your powers of persuasion, there, Ben." "Well, good luck." "Hi, Sara, it's Jenny." "You must be working late again." "Call me when you get home, honey." " Who is it?" " An overnight delivery, ma'am." " Who?" " It's an overnight delivery for... a Sara Jewett, RN." "Is that you, ma'am?" " Yeah." " I believe it's prescription drugs, ma'am." "I think there has been a mistake." "I didn't order any drugs." "Perhaps they're for the hospital, Sara." "The hospital's closed for the night, except for emergencies." "Darn!" "And I've gotta be in Nashville by morning." "You'd really be helping me out if you'd just sign for this stuff... so I can be on my way." "Do you want me to put that in the fridge?" "It says it's perishable." "No, I can do that." "Where do I sign?" "Don't you get tired... of taking care of people all the time, Sara?" " No, I love my work." " So do I." "All right." "Oh, God." "What would Lucas do?" "How would Lucas Buck handle this?" "Get that poor girl's face covered up." "They're gonna know she died, Ben." "They're not gonna know how... unless you leave her out here for everybody to look at." "You want to keep it hush about somebody breaking in?" " That's not what happened, Floyd." " Sure it is." "She's dead." "Look, you can't strangle yourself." "As hard as you might try with your own two hands, you can't do it." "You speaking from experience, Floyd?" "Did you try him again?" "I called the convention center, I called the hotel, I called the local sheriff." "The word's out all right, but nobody's seen him." "Maybe he's on his way back." "Maybe that Lucas Buck sixth sense is telling him something: "Come on back."" "Regarding the crime at Cherry Lane, victim either knew the assailant... or was naive in letting him in." "Let's just secure the crime scene... store the evidence and let Lucas handle this." "We're way out of our league here." "Look, Floyd, this is a murder investigation." "I'm in charge." "Now, you either wake up and follow my lead... or you go jockey the desk back at that station." " You understand?" " Yeah." "All right." "Now go chaperone that body back to the morgue." "And if anybody else gets a look at that girl's face... it's your hide." "What you doing, Caleb?" "Science." "Giant fluke worms." "Parasites that invade the eyeballs." "Isn't life gross?" "I don't think so." "I know you got cheated out of life, Merlyn." "At least, you don't have to keep worrying about getting cancer... or one of these ugly worms or nothing." " Do you?" " Do I what?" " Worry about that stuff?" " Course I do, it's only human." "I don't think, you gotta worry about giant fluke worms around here, Caleb." "Maybe down in Louisiana, but not around here." "It's no joke." "I don't ever want to get sick... and I've done seen a lot a death, thank you." "We're all born questioning our own mortality, Caleb." "Besides, it's not that bad..." " where I'm at." " No?" " What's worse?" " Non-existence." "Being neither here, nor there." "Victim knew assailant... or at least was naive in letting him in." "Lacerations around the throat indicate a struggle, and there was evidence..." " You did not hear that." " I wish I hadn't." "But I suppose blaming the victim..." " is par for the course around here." " Say what?" "She let a stranger into her house." "So I guess she deserved to be strangled and raped." "Nobody said that, and nobody said anything about rape." "Then she was strangled." "Look, Miss Emory, I have not announced a press conference." "When I have a statement to make, I'll make it." "By the time you have a statement, I'll have gray hair." "You wanna give us a few seconds?" "Who concluded that the victim wasn't raped?" "The medical examiner found no semen in the victim." "Maybe he was impotent." "Look, rape is a hate crime against women, not a sex act, you know." "Look, why are you going off on me all of a sudden?" "Well, Lucas isn't here." "Well, maybe if Lucas was here, you'd get an inside scoop... but not on my watch." "I keep my personal and my professional lives separate, Deputy." "I advise you to do the same." "The attack on the woman occurred at approximately 10:15 pm..." "Eastern standard time." "The assailant is still unknown." "So, the old thing broke down on you after all, huh?" "Don't worry." "We'll be finished with this in no time." "Screwdriver." "Two inch." "The filter needed to be replaced and the belt was worn down." " You like fixing things?" " Yeah." "So do I." "Miss Holt's got an old-fashioned radio." "I can take it apart and put it together again." " You don't say." " Sure can." "Caleb, can I ask you a personal question?" " Shoot." " No, I better not." "Go ahead." "If I don't like what you're asking..." " I don't have to answer." " Your sister's dead, isn't she?" " Yes, sir." " So is mine." "Diane." "Died last year." "She was my best friend." "I miss her awful." "I wish..." " What?" " I could get in touch with her." "I mean, talking to her is great, it's fine... but I wish she'd talk to me." "What if..." " What?" "Go on." " What if I get my sister to help?" "That's what she does, is help folks." " What was she, a therapist or something?" " No." "But she would've been a good one, if she hadn't been killed." "Never you mind." "It's no shame if someone doesn't live up to her potential." "Some folks never get a break." "Anyhow, when you see her... put in a good word for me, would you, buddy?" "I'll see what I can do." "Tell her of my predicament." "My life's been a hard one." "I could just talk to my sister again, it would be wonderful." " Caleb." " I'm in here." "Hey." " Everything okay?" " Course it is." "Al was fixing the fridge." "Al?" "I didn't know it was broken." "Excuse me for not introducing myself." "I'm Albert DeSalvo." "I've been explaining refrigerator maintenance to Caleb." " Where's Miss Holt?" " Out, I guess." "We're going to surprise her when she gets back." "You're not related to the Boston DeSalvos, by any chance?" "My people are all passed away, miss." " Bye, Al." " See you, little buddy." "Poor guy." "Why?" "What's he to you?" " He's just real nice." " I'm sure he is." "But now listen, please." "This is not the time to be talking to strangers and making friends with them." " Why not?" " Well, because it just isn't." "Okay?" "Just a second." " Who is it?" " It's the messenger." " What messenger?" " From the newspaper." "I've got those clippings you requested." "I didn't request any clippings." "That's what it says:" ""For research for Gail Emory."" "Well, I'm sorry, you must have the wrong address." "I don't think so, Miss Emory." "Aren't you Gail Emory, the reporter?" " Miss Emory?" " Sheriff's station." " This is Gail Emory." " Miss Emory, are you there?" " Are you okay?" " Someone's at the door." "I hope..." "Yes, it is." "You wanted research on the Boston Strangler." " No." " Yes." "Here I am." "Personally, the name always sounded a bit gimmicky to me... but it sold newspapers." " The Boston Strangler's dead." " You're right." "I am." "You know what "DeSalvo" means?" "The savior." "I can save you from a lifetime of pain and misery." "Gail, it's Ben Healy." "Gail?" "Miss Emory?" "Gail?" "Gail?" "Where is he?" "Gail, are you okay?" "How did he get in?" "He just did." "One second, he was on one side of the door... and then the next second, he was right in front of my face." "Floyd, if you do that again, I will break your finger, I swear to God I will." " All I meant was that I think that..." " I know what you meant." "Now, you apologize to the lady." "Miss Emory says that the assailant gained entry like that." "That's just how it happened." "Now, you apologize." " I'm sorry." " "I'm sorry, Miss Emory."" " I'm sorry, Miss Emory." " Good." "Now go out to the squad car, and fetch me an incident report." " Thanks for backing me up." " Don't mention it." "I just can't tolerate disrespect for women when I'm in charge." "Being in charge suits you." "So, is this the same guy who killed Sara Jewett?" "Well, it looks that way." "Strangulation by nylon stockings." " Just like the Boston Strangler." " What?" "He said that he was the Boston Strangler." "Yeah, like I'm Sherlock Holmes." "I'm sorry, Miss Emory." "It's just that it's hard enough as it is." " Ben, I've seen him before." " You've..." " Where?" " At the boarding house." "The victim was strangled with her nylon stockings... according to Deputy Sheriff Ben Healy." "He added that all leads are being investigated." "Shoot." "I wanted to hear this." "Caleb, are you all right?" " There's a great danger in town." " Don't I know it." "That poor nurse." "She was a nice lady." "She tried to help me, and look what happened." "You don't think any of this is your fault, I hope." "I mean, the man that did this is, he's sick." "What are you talking about, Merlyn?" "There's something preying on women." "But I don't know what it is." "I can feel it." "It's getting closer." "Merlyn?" "Hello?" "Damn it, Miss Holt." "I can't believe she doesn't have call waiting." "How many calls does a boarding house get on a busy day?" "Five?" "She doesn't need it." "Who could he be talking to?" "I'm going over." "Caleb?" " He finished his cereal." " He's a big eater." "So what?" "So, if he was forcibly abducted, things would be unfinished." " Disturbed, you know what I mean?" " I know what you mean." " Did I say "abducted," Ben?" " No, but you were thinking it, Gail." "Now, weren't you?" " I'm checking the attic." " I checked the attic, Gail." " I'm sure he's fine." " How can you be so sure?" "He could be out there with the Boston Strangler." "Well, now, the Boston Strangler wasn't really interested in little boys." "And besides, we're not dealing with the Boston Strangler." "We don't know what we're dealing with, Ben." "Gail, Caleb's fine." "He's probably at a friend's house." "Here, why don't you call around for him?" "I'm sure he'll be glad to see you here when he gets home." "Okay." " Call me as soon as you know anything." " I will, I promise." "Excuse me, where's my cousin?" " Where's who?" " My cousin, Gail Emory." "A man called me from the hospital and said she was rushed into surgery." "Emory?" "Caleb, in here." " What are you doing here?" " Cleaning up." "Red paint." " How's your cousin?" "Is she all right?" " They say she ain't here." "Why, that's ridiculous." "I'm sure I heard them say, "Gail Emory."" " Who said?" " One of the nurses, I believe." " I wouldn't have called you unless..." " You called?" " You was the man on the phone?" " I didn't mean to trick you." "I just wanted you to come over here." "What's going on here, mister?" "Is Gail sick or not?" "Calm down, little buddy." " I ain't your buddy." " All right." "I shouldn't have pulled that stunt." "I'm sorry." "I just wanted you to call your sister for me, that's all." " Well, tough." " Caleb, call her." " Call her, you little bastard." " Call her yourself." "You're crazy!" "So it's you, isn't it?" " Well?" " Your photo does you no justice." " What do you want?" " Just a chat." " Can we go someplace more comfortable?" " Like a dark alley?" "Maybe you want to break into my bedroom." "Please, Miss Temple, I'm not like that." "Oh, no?" "Then what is it?" " Then what do you want?" " Truth is..." "Lucas asked me to come down here to take care of a little problem for him." " What problem is that?" " You." "Oblivion." "I have nothing invested in him." "We could put our heads together, have a little fun." "I doubt that very much." "We could double-cross him." "He deserves it, doesn't he?" "You want on the side of angels, Mr. DeSalvo?" " Then you leave Trinity." " I'm afraid I can't." "Not till I do the job I've been hired to do." "You see, I have professional pride." "Is that it?" "Don't go." "You bitch!" "You can't escape me." "I've been at this afterlife game a hell of a lot longer than you have." "Hey, what's the matter with you?" "I'm sorry." "I just dropped some things." " Try to keep it down in here, will you?" " Of course." "I'm so sorry." "Say... would you like to go out for some coffee?" " I don't get off for quite a while." " You'll get off." "No." "No!" "Strangulation marks, but no prints." " Gloves." " Maybe you missed them." "The prints, I mean." "No, Floyd." "I dusted that poor nurse's house myself." "That's what you meant, isn't it?" "You think I'm not up to this?" "Is that it?" "I just wonder what Lucas would do if he were here, that's all." "I'll tell you what Lucas would do." "He'd go down to the pool hall, and he'd slap a few people on the back... and squeeze a few hands, and then he'd extort lunch money... out of some poor bastard that he caught jaywalking." "He wouldn't bother to pore over this damn report... or do any actual police work." " Pore?" " Yeah, pore." "Comb, study." "Get bogged down in the boring minutia." "But, maybe... just maybe, Floyd, by doing the boring grunt work." "We might actually prevent another terrible thing from happening here." "Sheriff's department, Healy speaking." "What?" "Right away." "Let's go, Floyd." " Where to?" " Hospital." "Another terrible thing's happened already." "Damn." " You feeling better?" " Yeah, I guess so." "Well, so am I." "Caleb, don't feel so bad that Albert tricked you." "You were right to be concerned about me." " You think he'll try to hurt you again?" " No." "And he's not going to hurt you, either." "Why don't you go up to bed?" "You look tired." "Yeah, I guess I am." " You going to stay here tonight?" " You bet." "Good night." "Sweet dreams." "Good night, sweet dreams." "Say your prayers." "I don't know." "None of these fellows even look like him." "How do you know, Floyd?" "We haven't personally met the man, yet." "Maybe he's not even in the sex offender's file." "Did you ever think about that?" "Where do you think he might be then?" "The white-collar crimes?" "The guy's a plumber or a handyman, for crying out loud." "All reports told us." "God, this is disgusting." "Hey, Floyd, we're the thin blue line between peace and chaos, light and dark." "You've got to learn to look at the seamy side of life." "I can't even look at this." "Wait a minute." "Plumber and a handyman." "Gail's right." "Looks like we have ourselves a copycat." "The Boston Strangler?" "Get out!" "Hi." "You like to play rough, little buddy." "Ever play "Skin the cat?"" " What do you want from me?" " You know what I want, little buddy." "It's your move." "Or do you want me to go first?" "Caleb?" " It's Gail." "Come on, open the door." " Get away from me." " Caleb, open the door, it's locked." " Put that down." "Open the door." "Now." "Caleb!" " Leave him alone." " Sure." "You're the one I want, anyway." "You know that." "No new tricks?" "So it's me you want?" "All right, then." "Go on, Caleb." "I'll be all right." " I ain't leaving." " Go on!" "No, it's Gail Emory, please just tell Ben to get to the boarding house." " He can't hurt you, right?" " Not physically." " But the spirit is fragile." " It won't hurt for long." " Goodbye, Caleb." " I told you, I'm not leaving." "Hey, leave her alone." "You give your soul so your brother can live, is that it?" " Lucas, do it." " This isn't for me, you understand." "This isn't personal." "This is for Lucas." "Leave her alone." "No!" " Gail?" " Get up here, Ben." "You'd better go." "I can't believe this." "Believe it." "That you saved my soul with that same force." "What force?" "The same force that's going to destroy your own soul." "Caleb!" "Goodbye, Caleb." "Stand back." "You okay?" " Where is he?" " He's gone." "What happened?" "I don't know." "Delas, I need these photos sent out over the telex ASAP." " Floyd..." " Yes, sir." "I need you to download the composite sketch into the computer..." " so we can get that out, too." " Yes, sir." "Also, I want you to inform the FBI and the Governor of South Carolina... and as a courtesy, the Mayor of Boston." "Chief of Police, Wichita, on line two." "Do you want to take it?" "Yeah, and also I want to set up a DNA test as soon as possible." " You got all that?" " I think so." "Well, good." "Now, come on, go." "Good man." " Lucas, you're back." " Yes, I am." "Oh, yeah." "I'll be with you in just a second." "Ben Healy." "Yes, sir." "An Albert DeSalvo copycat, just as sure as shooting." "We're running a DNA match... on some skin particles he left behind, right now, just to see if..." "Now, he could have been the bastard's son or something... but I'm telling you, Chief, it might as well have been the Boston Strangler himself." "Ben Healy." "Deputy Ben Healy." "That's H-e-a-I-y." "Well, thank you, sir." "I appreciate that." "Bye-bye." "I leave town, and the Boston Strangler shows up?" "Boy, I miss everything." "Okay, everybody, party's over." "You take your sour mash and go home." "Lucas, we've had a hell of a time here." "We had two homicides and an assault... and we're damn lucky it wasn't worse than that." "Lucky nothing, Sheriff." "It was all Ben." "He did one hell of a job." "Floyd, when I want an opinion from you, I'll beat it out of you." "You got that?" "It's about time things get back to normal around here." "Well?" "Aren't you going to congratulate me?" "For what?" "Sheriff of the Year, buddy." "Sheriff of the Year." "Congratulations." "Sheriff of the Year."