"You know what happens at that height?" "The brain dies from lack of oxygen." "Cell by cell." "It just shuts down." "And the body goes with it." "I can't stop thinking about what it must have been like." "Why don't you start at the beginning?" "It's always the easiest." "Okay." "I'll start at the beginning." "I grew up on the plains in Indiana." "I was a flatlander through and through." "To be honest, I really didn't have much to leave behind." "Virtually no family and very few friends." "Anyway, it was January." "I'd already been in London, a year and a half..." "For the first six months, I'd been incredibly lonely." "Then I met Jake." "What I loved the most was how comfortable we were with each other." "I felt safe." "Okay, let's go." "I design CD-ROMs and web sites for corporate clients." " That must pay well." " I sound fancier than it is." "Jake was an engineer." "Tunnels and bridges, that sort of thing." "He kept his tube tickets in a wallet he got when he was twelve." "Same wallet." "Same inside pocket." "Alice?" "I'll see you later." " Hey, Alice." "You going in?" " Yeah." " I'll see you in a minute." " Okay." "Reconfigure the training program manual to make it look like a game on the web site." "We tried that with the Appliance Kings." "Yeah, this isn't about washing machines." "Now we're training a worldwide sales force." "You're the new media pioneers." "Think of something." "Alice, you still have the old template, don't you?" "Are you with us, Alice?" "I'm going out to get my hair trimmed." "I'll be back after lunch." "Shoot!" " And you got in?" " Yeah." "I got in." " What's your name?" " Alice." "Don't turn away." "Come here tomorrow." "I have to work." "Then, come back tonight." "I can't." "Whenever you want, Alice." "You decide and I'll be here." "I couldn't believe what had happened that day." "I knew it shouldn't happen again." "I wanted everything back the way it was." "What do you want me to do?" "Nothing." "Just keep doing what you're doing." "That's when I found out his name." "Adam Tallis." "And that he climbed mountains." "He caused quite a stir here yesterday." "He saved six people up there." "No oxygen." " You stop me whenever you want." " Please, don't stop." "Please, don't stop." "I bought your book today." "It isn't my book." "I'm just in it." "It looks good." "People died, Alice." "Something went very wrong." "There was a woman named Françoise Colet." "I lost her whole group." "I still don't understand what happened." "There was no room for error." "Everything had been checked." "I was in love with her." "Do you know what it's like over twenty thousand feet?" "It's like this." "Without air, the brain cells die." "It shuts down." "And then the rest of the body follows." "It has been two years and it doesn't go away." "I live with someone." "But you're here." "I have to go." "No." "Don't put them on." " Hello?" " Hi." "Where are you?" "I'm running some errands." "Ah." "Do you think you can pick up my watch on the way home?" " I'm running behind schedule." " Of course I can." "I missed you today, Alice." "Miss you." " I love you." " Love you." "Knock it!" "Knock..." "Nice!" "And give it!" "What are you doing?" "!" "Oh God, ref." "That's a bit harsh." " Jake?" " Yeah, sorry, I'm just..." "Oh, there's nobody there!" "Jake, I have to leave you." " You what?" " I can't go on like this." "I'm sorry." "I have to leave." "You have, you have to leave me?" "Alice we're together." "We're perfect together." "I wanna marry you." "I met somebody." "Who?" "Who did you meet?" "You don't know him." " I'm sorry." " When did you meet him?" "I didn't mean to hurt you." "It's not the point." "It's very much the point!" "We go to the market together every Sunday." "I buy your fucking tube tickets for you!" "Jesus!" "Where are you going?" "You were looking for Adam?" "He's not here at the moment." "It's cold out there, come in." "Please, come in." "I've been climbing in Chile." "Adam always takes these pictures down." "Or makes sure his back is turned to them." "Oh, please, sit down." "For me, pictures tell me who I am." "But for Adam, they steal his soul." " Want some?" " No, thank you." " No, it's quite good." " No." "Oh, I'm his sister." " You're his sister?" " Yep." "I'm Deborah." "We climb together a lot." "He was having some work done on his place, so he stayed here while I was gone." "This is Mr. Know-It-AII." "It's his name." "This is Françoise, right?" "That's the real reason my brother takes the pictures down." "Because it's... it's too hard for him to see her." "My brother's a brave guy, but sometimes he's afraid of remembering." "What he forgets is that he's not the only one responsible." "I was up there too." "She was my best friend, Alice." "Yes, I know your name." "You're very beautiful." "I can see why he'd fall so hard for you." "The thing about my brother is you're either with him or you're not." "And once you've made the jump and you're with him, that's it." "There's no discussion." "Can I have his address?" "Yes, of course." "Thank you." "I left him." "You're hurting me." "Adam?" "Morning." "Alice, this is Joanna." "Joanna, Alice." "Joanna Noble from "The Guardian"." "I'm interviewing Adam about his Himalayan clean-up project." "Nice to meet you." "Where can I find a shirt?" "Adam?" " Your phone." " Could you get that for me?" "No one there." "And it's just become a playground for the rich and inexperienced." "I have to go to work." " Will you think about me today?" " Yes." " What are you doing today?" " Thinking about you." " Do you want to learn how to climb?" " Sure." " Come and see me after work." " Okay." "He's good." "He's not as strong as he was last week tough." "Ah, he'll get there." " Hi." " It's great to see you." "I see you've got a harness." " Do you want to put it on?" " I guess." "Just put your feet in there and pull it like a pair of trousers." "That's great." "That's right, double back and look, there we go." " It suits you." " Thank you." "It's okay." "I'm helping her." "Hi." "How are you?" "I'm sorry." " Let me check your harness." " Okay." "Seems to be good." "She's my sister, but she drives me mad." "I swear it's chemical." " Are you ready?" " Well, no." "Maybe." "Well, finally, Alice." "The flatlander who captured the mountain boy." "Alice, meet Klaus." "Klaus, Alice." "I liked your book." "Well, thank you." "Well, nice to meet you." "This looks hard." "It's all in the mind." "I mean, my taste in clothes has completely changed." "I bought this practically transparent pink T-shirt." "And I won't even tell you about the lingerie." "No, it's probably best." "I'm still in the big white cotton panties." "I'm sorry, I'm a little maniac." "Have you seen Jake?" "Course I have, he's been my friend for fifteen years." "How is he?" "He's smoking like a fiend and he's completely fucked up." "It's not like there's no reason, is there?" "Sorry." "I think that you're destroying both of your lives." "I'm sorry." "You had somebody who loved you." "You loved each other and you let him go for good sex." "Love isn't just a good fuck, you know." " This is more." " More what?" "More everything." "When I'm with him, everything is more." "Oh, God!" "You could write greeting cards, you really bloody could." "I'm sorry." "Right." "Let's get out of here." "I could do with some retail therapy myself I think." "I can't." "I'm gonna see Adam at three o'clock and you can meet him." "I've been spending way too much money and I saw this dress and it was in this really amazing store." "Really?" " Give it here." "Come on." " Oh my God, Alice!" "It's okay, she's fine." "Call the police." "Adam!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "When I saw him..." "Oh, Jesus." "That'll never happen again." "I won't let it." "Are you all right?" "Are you okay?" " I'll always be here, Alice." " Yeah." "I'll protect you." "Say you believe me." "I believe you." "Marry me." "Marry me." "And soon." "Tomorrow." "The day after." "As soon as possible." "Marry me." "Yes." "Sir, can we ask you some questions, please?" ""Use your head, Alice." "What do you really know about him?"" " Hey, you ready?" " Look at this." "Someone is trying to scare you." "There was another call this morning, but they didn't say anything." "It makes me sick." "If anything else happens like this again, make sure you tell me." " Okay?" " Okay." "You'll be fine." "Do you, Alice, promise to love and cherish Adam for as long as you both shall live?" "I do." "And do you, Adam, promise to love and cherish Alice for as long as you both shall live?" "I do." "May the Lord bless this union and secure it from all harm." "How do you know the priest?" "This is my family church." "You have a family church?" "I have a mother that doesn't talk to me and a dad I've never met." "It doesn't matter." "Our life began when we first saw each other." " I need you to see something." " What?" "No, no, no wait." "Now I want you to see this through my eyes when I was six." "Look..." "like this." "You know the story that we're broken into two pieces and we spend our lives searching for our other half?" "You're it." "Okay, here we are." "We're getting dressed here?" "Yep." "Here." "No, no, don't do that." "I need to remember you like this." "Come on, before you freeze to death." "Come on." "Alice?" "This is the only way station for hikers in the whole area." "The church has kept supplies up here for years." "You went hiking on your wedding day?" "It was his idea of romance." "Adam." "I thought that a honeymoon was lying in bed with room service." "Oh, I'll give you a honeymoon you won't forget." "I promise." "No, no, no, sit down." "Sit down." "Choose your rhythm and then commit to following it." "Count if you have to." "I'm gonna make you strong." "I wanted him to be proud of me." "So I followed the trail for hours." "Adam?" "You made it." " What's that?" " It's an anchor." "To catch a falling body." "Catch." "Do you trust me?" "Don't move." "I gave up all control." "I let him decide when I could breathe and when I couldn't." "And I loved it." "I love you." "I love you." "God, I love you!" "We returned to London and Joanna Noble's article came out." "I was happier than I'd ever been..." "Excuse me." "Hello, Jake?" "No, it's Sylvie speaking." "Hello, Alice." "I must have dialed wrong." "I thought I was calling Jake." "Oh, no, no, that's fine." "I just happened to be over actually." "Jake's gonna be back soon, I think." "Look, Alice, this is gonna sound a bit weird and I was definitely gonna tell you but Jake and I have actually been seeing each other." "You and Jake?" "Well, it... it just sort of happened." "Did you move in?" "Yeah, I did." "Sort of." "Oh, God." "How cliché is this?" "Old friend moves in to console jilted boyfriend and then these two find themselves together." "Are you gonna be okay with this?" "Yeah, I'm okay." "Alice..." "We're gonna be late." "Hurry up." "Alice?" "Yeah, I gotta go." "We'll talk about it later, okay?" "Here we go." "Good evening." "Good evening, Adam." "Hey, Alice." "Alice, I'm sorry." "Sorry." "Excuse me." " Hi." " How are you doing?" "It's Alice Tallis." "My rhyming sister-in-law." "Are you okay?" "I have a headache and I was looking for some aspirin." "Oh, no, give me your hand." "Give me your hand." " Can you feel that?" " Yeah, it really hurts." "Close your eyes." "Breathe." "Slowly." "That's good." "It's a meridian that controls the kidney or the brain or the left big toe." "I forget which." "But it's whatever works, right?" "Thank you." "Close your eyes." "Close your eyes." "Okay, you can open." "Oh my God!" "I want to drink to that beautiful lady in blue." "Where is she?" "I don't think she's ever climbed past the third floor, but she has conquered our Adam." "What she doesn't know is that to get Adam she also gets us." "Most of the people using the program are women." "And we tried to sell them a game." "But women don't like games." "Women lime stories." "Men like games." "Men like to slay the dragon and get the princess." "But women like to know how the dragon and the princess get in there in the first place." "A game is the wrong approach." "Sorry." "Alice Tallis." "This is Joanna Noble." "Do you remember me?" "Oh yes, I remember you." "I got a weird note about the article." "I'm not gonna do anything with it." "I'm certainly not gonna follow it up." "It's probably stupid of me... but I somehow felt obliged to tell you about it." "Shall I send it to you?" "Yeah, you can send it." "Is it private?" "I don't want this sitting in a public in-basket." " I understand." "You can fax it." " Okay." "I'll do that." " You have the number?" " Yeah, I got it from your secretary." "Okay, thanks for calling." "Sorry, I had to take that." "No problem." "Gave me a chance to think." "We shouldn't be playing games." "It's obvious." "Women don't like games." "I think this project needs a new face." "Dear Joanna Noble, what you wrote made me sick." "Your big hero, Adam Tallis, raped me." "Why don't you try reporting the truth?" "It's out of paper." "I've decided that from now on this is Alice's project." "You're the new point man." "I mean, point girl." "Woman." "Excellent." " Congratulations, Alice." " Thank you." " Open or closed?" " Closed." "Ligue para a vítima se quiser a verdade:" "Michelle Stowe." "Fuck!" "Alice Tallis' office." "Hello." "Claudia?" "It's Adam." " Oh, hi, Adam." " Is Alice there?" " No, she's just left actually." " Where did she go?" "I think she went to the doctor's." "You thought this woman was sending the notes." "Yes." "Hello, I'm Joanna Noble from "The Guardian"." "I called you before." "Are you Michelle Stowe?" "Yeah, I am." "Come in." "I was having a birthday party." "I asked him to dance and then..." "I don't know we started kissing." "I was shit-faced." "Think I even put my hand in his shirt." "Then we went outside." "I guess the air must have straightened me up, cos I remember wondering what the hell I was doing." "Then he pulled me into the bushes." "Undid my dress." "There was a zip." "In the back." "I was so young." "I started to cry." "He put his hand over my mouth and kept going." "He's strong." "There was nothing I could do." "I tried to fight him." "When he was done, he shook me and said something like..." ""It's only sex, just sex."" "He got up and left the party with his sister." "So you wanna write an article about this, then?" "I mean, he's not royal or anything, but he's close enough." "We could make some money out of this, Joanna." "It doesn't work that way." "Everybody's always blabbing about who's sticking it into who." "You have no proof." "This is a question of 'he said, she said'." "Jesus, Alice." "I can't believe you did this." "What if she calls my editor?" "I could be fired." "Do you think that nosy wives have immunity from normal behavior?" "I knew the minute I called that it was a mistake." "I'm sorry, Alice." "I thought you should know what I did." "It was really just innocent curiosity." "It's never innocent." "Curiosity gets people killed." "What would you do if it was your husband?" "I don't have one." "You not only have one, but one who's wild about you." "You're right." "I have to trust him." "People have stories." "You and I... everyone." "But couldn't tell you one complete story about my husband." "Practically everything knew about him came from a book or a newspaper." "Or shreds of information dropped by other people." "I couldn't help myself..." "I needed to know more." "Adele Blanchard." "It's crazy, but want to show the world my bruises." "What we're doing is dangerous but still can't help wanting more." "The only way to end this is to be brutal." "We have to stop what we're doing." "I've decided to go back to my husband." "I'm not strong enough to live on the edge with you any more." "I know you won't fall, but I will." "I'm sure of it." "This tears me apart, but I have to go back to Michael." "I love you..." "Adele." "I've been thinking about you." "Me, too." "I called the office yesterday looking for you." "Oh, yeah?" "Claudia said you weren't feeling well, thought you might be at the doctor's." "I... had an appointment but I never got out of my meeting." "Where was the meeting?" "At the client's hotel." " Which hotel?" " The Hilton." "I'm sorry for being nosy." "I just like to picture what you do during the day." "Where did you get this?" "Deborah gave it to me." "She has good taste." "Adam?" "I got a call about... a weird call about the article." "And there was this woman named Michelle Stowe." "She sent a fax." "It didn't happen." "I never raped her." "I shouldn't have..." "I've known her since we were kids." "And think she saw me as a way out." "If you'd met her, you'd understand." "I'm not surprised she contacted you." "I'm just sorry you had to hear all that." " Hurry up." "Are you ready?" " I'll just get my jacket." "Oh, hi, Alice." "I'm sorry to barge in like that, but your husband refuses to understand that sponsors need talk shows." "And knew he'd only show up if drove." "Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be on a talk show?" "It's just a stupid chat show." "Bye, Alice." "Shit!" " Directory Inquiries?" " Yes..." "Adele Blanchard." " Which city, please?" " It's London." "Do you have a listing for Adele Blanchard on Marchmont Road?" "One moment." " Yes?" " I'm looking for Adele Blanchard." " I'm her mother." " Is she home?" "You must be one of her American friends." "We tried to contact everyone." "She's been missing for eight months." "Missing?" "What did you say your name was?" "Joanna." "She never tried to contact her husband?" "Not even a letter to an old boyfriend or something?" "Eight months and not a word." "And this is from a daughter who manages to e- mail her mother from Nepal." "Joanna, promise me you'll never think the worst about Adele." "It helps a little if..." "If one tries to be positive." "She was so happy that day." "No jitters." "Nothing." "Do you know him?" "Adam Tallis." "She climbed all over the world with him." "My son-in-law Michael is a trader in Milan." "At first he never stood in her way when it came to climbing." "But after two years he got fed up." "It was either climbing or the marriage." "She chose the marriage." "The day before she was supposed to go back to Milan she went out..." "And never came back." "I found that in her bags." "It's probably the last picture taken of her." "Today had two signs that Adele is close by." "You arrived." "And Adam called." "He wanted to know if there was anything new in the investigation." "Would you like to stay for dinner?" "No, thank you." "Just have to get home." "It's really late." "I'm disappointed." "He should be here around five." "You and Adam would love each other." "Sit, sit." "I'll get it." "Oh, Joanna, do you really have to go now?" "What a shame." "I was hopping that you would stay a little." "Adam?" "What are you doing?" "I'm making you mine." "Sometimes feel like I don't know you." "Oh, you know me." "You know everything you need to know." "Look at me." "Open your eyes." "Please." "Open your eyes!" "Have you been with another man?" "No." "What are you doing, then?" "What's going on in there?" "Why do you keep sneaking around?" "Is the suspicion exciting?" "Do you need it to get off?" "What is it?" "I found Adele's letters." "You found... her letters?" "Is that how you tell the story?" "What, they were just sitting on the table and you just happened to notice them?" "Look what just happened to find." "These... and these." "And found these." "Here, read them." "I have nothing to hide, Alice!" "To sneak around behind my back because you need it to get rougher and rougher." "Is that it?" "I'm trying to understand you." "You do this so punish you?" "Is that where you're going?" "Please, untie me." "If you trusted me you wouldn't be in this position." "I just..." "I wanted to know more about you." "And wanted to know your past." "And wanted to know your stories." "I just thought if knew more, that could love you more." "I know the only thing that matters is us together." "Know that." "Because when you're not around I get lost." "It drives me crazy to think about losing you." "I'm yours, Alice." "What more do you need to know?" "I could break your neck." "I love you so much." "Do you want to stay here?" "I mean, do you like this?" "Adam..." "have to pee." "Oh, my God." "Alice?" "Alice, please don't do this!" "Alice!" "Please." "Where are you going?" "Alice, please, what are you doing?" "Alice?" "And that's when came to you." "I want to be clear with you." "In my experience, charges of domestic violence are too little too late." "I want you to re-open the Adele Blanchard case." "Well, it's not easy to re-open a case like this." " Britain is swimming in missing persons." " He killed her." "Any case, missing person or murder... needs evidence." "I have to ask you what you have." "Adele's letters?" "No." "Warning notes?" " No." " You have... two photos." "Proof of nothing." " He raped Michelle." " She never reported it." "Yes?" "Start without me." "I'll be thee in a bit." "I'd like to help you, Mrs. Tallis." "...knew what everyone else does, but we like it." "He can't see you." "She's pretty shaken up." " Is she?" "I mean, is she hurt?" "Jesus, she was running into traffic." "Let's get a doctor." "Is there a doctor?" "She'll be fine." "I would never hurt her." "I love her." "You brought him in?" "He walked in looking for you." "He brought a pair of shoes." "He was worried about your feet." "I believe your husband has the potential for violence." "I believe he's unpredictable." "But is he a murderer?" "I don't know." "The truth is, what you two have been doing together was consensual." "You said it yourself." "You liked it." "Can you close the blinds?" "I won't be able to keep him for more than a few hours." "That's as much of a window I can give you." "You're accusing a hero and you have absolutely no evidence." "Deborah?" "Alice, what's happened to you?" "I'm sorry." "I'm not crazy." "I just..." "I went to the police station but they wouldn't believe me..." "Then he came in and he brought my shoes and he thought was nuts." "I know he's your brother but you were her friend, too." "You remember when you said that you were either with him or not?" "Well, I'm not..." "I'm trying to understand..." "I just..." "wanna ask..." "Was Françoise with someone else?" "Yes." "It wasn't an accident." "She left him so he killed her." "Maybe." "This is the anchor that we used." "It's made of titanium, but the important thing is it can hold two thousand falling pounds." "I've got a friend in Katmandu who sent me an anchor they're making locally with the wrong material." "This is what happened with just seventy five pounds." "Maybe you're right." "Adam could have switched the anchors for Françoise's group." "He killed them." "Leave him, Alice." "I know him." "You have to leave him for your own good." "Deborah, it's not the only time." "What?" "I think that he was with a woman, Adele Blanchard." "And think that she was gonna leave him to go back to her husband." "But think that he killed her." "Adele was never gonna go back to Michael." "Everyone knew their marriage was over." "I read her letters." "She ended it with Adam." "I think that... that she's there." "What?" "I went to the police." "They won't do anything, they need evidence." "I think he buried her here, at St. Edmundís." "I need you to help me find her." "Do you wanna go with me?" "I have a confession to make." "I sent you those notes." "I know about my brother's violence." "I've seen it." "I should've done more, but..." "There's no excuse..." "But he scares me." "I'm glad you got away from him, Alice." "You'll be okay now." " Can I take that?" " Yeah, sure." "I think it's here." "He took the pictures just by the angel." "Oh my God!" "Deborah." "Deborah!" "She didn't have to die." "If only she'd told me she was going back to Michael." "I gave her one, too." "She thought it was beautiful, just like you did." "Why did you to this?" "Why did you do this?" "Who do you think gave him his first piece of silk?" "He was just fifteen." "I'm talking about fucking, Alice!" "That's right." "We fucked right here!" "Adam is mine." "He's mine!" "Why?" "!" "I was never yours." "We were kids." "Kids." "It's over." "It's all over." "Alice?" "Oh, my God." "Adam." "She and I..." "We used to come here together." "I just thought you had to trust me." "And that's how it ended." "Yet, not a day goes by without at least one thought about the passion." "Maybe was so blinded by it... that missed all the clues to his past." "I often wonder... what would have happened if I hadn't looked up that morning." "Two years later, I saw him once more." "I don't know." "Maybe a flatlander like me can't live at that altitude." "Maybe it never would have been possible to sustain what we had." "Maybe." "Well, that's what I tell myself..."