"You're gonna be residing at your sister's at the Hollingdale apartments?" "And you're gonna be there until?" "I go into exile." "For a month?" "24 days, to be exact." "You're gonna need her to sign this and return it to me by Wednesday at the latest." "If you know her primary number, you can go ahead and fill it in now." "Or you can get it to me by Wednesday." "Wednesday." "Scout's honor." "You're gonna be required to participate in weekly appointments," "drug screens, both random and scheduled." "You're gonna have to answer your phone whenever I call." "You cannot be intoxicated by alcohol." "You cannot get arrested." "I got a job." "You already got a job?" "Painting the swimming pool at my sister's apartment complex." "One of the most important factors to staying out, Daniel, is employment." "It's really good to know you already got something lined up." "Okay, last thing for today." "You ready?" "Been saving up." "Are you on probation, too, Sheriff?" "He needs to deposit a sample." "Is there a problem?" "No problem." "Just need to speak with Mr. Holden when you're done with him." "He'll be a minute." "A male officer should be here to go in with you, Daniel." "Just killing time, Sheriff?" "Just want to talk about George." "Melton." "He's died, unfortunately." "George Melton is dead." "You want to watch me pee on the record, Sheriff?" "So, did you get a chance to visit with George" " before he died, Daniel?" " Visit?" "It'd have to be after you got out of prison, right?" "George never visited me in prison." "That wasn't the question." "I'm sorry." "What was the question?" "Did you see George Melton after you got out of prison and before he died?" "I didn't see George before or after." "After what?" "After he was..." "After he died." "Were you about to say "killed"?" ""After he was killed"?" "I think I was, yes." "Why would you say that?" "It was a mistake." "Just put it on the edge of the sink." "What was your mistake, Daniel?" "Sheriff, you wouldn't be here without a suspicion of foul play." "I was nervous." "I-i started to say the wrong word, the wrong verb." "That's all. "After he died" was what I meant." "I didn't see George before or after he died." "Fair enough." "So this is the first time you heard about his death?" "I just said that." "Yes." "Forgive me, Daniel, but you didn't seem surprised at the news." "Surprised?" "What do you mean by surprised?" "Surprised?" "I mean surprised." "I don't think anything surprises me, Sheriff." "I should probably go." "Of course." " Just one more question, though." " My lawyer should be here." "Was it yours or Trey's idea to go to Florida?" "Mine." "N-no." "Trey's." "It was Trey's idea to go to Florida." "It was my idea to go to Trey's." "You sure about that?" "Sure?" "Who is ever completely sure about anything?" "So you're never surprised or sure about anything, huh?" "We shouldn't talk anymore without a referee present." "I'll tell Jon Stern to call you posthaste." "Blech." "Hey." "Ted?" "What's up?" "I've been gathering up a bunch of Daniel's stuff, and I've been thinking." "Jon's been helping me to line up all the logistics that Daniel's gonna have to have locked down by the time he... moves." "Anyway, he's gonna need money." "That's obvious." "I agree on both accounts." "And if..." "If the world were a little more right," "Daniel would have inherited the store from Lester when he died." "I just mean that some of the money in the store would have been Daniel's, and I think some of it should be Daniel's regardless." "You talking about..." " A safety net." " Cash?" "From the store, what would have..." "Been his." "Got it." "You mind looking into that for me?" "Sure." "I'll call the bank and see what we need to do." " Thank you." " Mm-hmm." "Janet?" "Yes?" "Teddy's coming over later on." "Everything okay?" "Not with that kitchen." "Tired of it being like that." "We're gonna fix it." "Why's this blue hot-dog guy suddenly so P.O.'ed at me, you know?" "And I was like, "I love Six Flags, and I'd love to have those free passes, but I need to teach this guy a lesson."" "So I let him pass me." "And then like 10 feet before home base," "I just trip him so bad." "And he just eats it right there..." "I mean, hard." "All of Turner Field just went crazy." "And he gets up all mad, you know, and knocks me down..." "Really easily 'cause I'm still in the hot-dog suit." "But it was definitely one of those" ""I'll be telling this story forever" kind of moments." "Thanks." "Yeah, thanks, Perrie." "Hilarious." "Okay, future Thrifty Towners of America, who's next?" "Hm?" "Hm?" "Here's the deal, folks." "For a group to learn together, it's got to..." "Laugh together, right?" "It's a proven fact..." "By, like, Einstein or someone." "Come on, who's next?" "Hmm?" "Hmm?" "Hmm?" "You." "Yeah." "Come on down, you." "Don't make me." "I'll come get you." "Uh, give..." "Amanda a hand, everybody." "You'll be fine, you'll be fine." "I work at the Thrifty Town in Paulie, and it's the only one I ever knew existed before a month ago, so I don't know the, uh, store..." "Store number or whatever." "No, that's..." "Uh..." "I got the job because Peanut was knocked up and on bed rest." "Peanut..." "I wouldn't be here without you." "You know that." "God bless." "Um, why don't you, uh, tell us a story that only you can tell us?" "Anything." "Uh... hm." "When I was 12, my older brother went to prison for killing his girlfriend and was on death row for the next 20 years..." "That is, until I..." "Until I got in touch with all these organizations and lawyers and spent thousands of hours on the phone and writing letters and doing all this shit over years and years, and then, finally, he got out." "They let him out." "DNA's a mofo, y'all." "There's a lesson for you right there." "Wow." "You hear about this more and more, right?" "Um... so your brother's free now." "An innocent man locked up all those years." "I'd say he owes you a Coke." "Am I right?" "Totally." "A Coke would be nice, Mike." "No." "He hasn't bought me a Coke." "Instead, a month after he got out" "He said he did it." "He said he killed her." "And then he signed a plea deal that put that in the official record forever, and now he's living on my couch." "So, that's me." "I'm Amantha Holden, and I've never been in a hot-dog race at a baseball stadium." "I'msuitedup ." "We 'rereadytodothis." "Iknowthislooksalittle ridiculous, but believe me, youreallyhavetoprotect yourself when using this stuff." "Wow." "Looks better already." "You don't think I'm in over my head, do you?" "Not in this pool." "If we were plastering, yeah, but painting looks really straightforward on the video." "Thanks for the opportunity, Melvin." "You kidding me?" "You're doing me the favor." "Porter... you know, the big boss..." "He's so cheap, he wanted to Spackle." "I said, "you can't Spackle a pool, Porter."" "I just want to do it right." "I got no doubt you will, Daniel." "Everything go okay..." "Your meeting with the probation person?" "She's a nice lady." "Mind if I ask you a question?" "Not at all." "Where to?" "I mean, where's the ideal?" "My banishment?" "Your move." "Any thoughts?" "Some." "Sometimes." "Pshew." "That must be hard..." "Knowing when you have to leave." "Deciding is what's hard..." "O-on where to go." "I'm not used to deciding on anything." "Postponing is more my strength." "Well, how about pretending to decide?" "Pretend i-it could be anywhere." "I mean, there's so many ways to think about that." "You can go East or West, North, South." "Industrial or agricultural." "Urban, suburban." "Bourbon, scotch." "Spin the globe." "Where's the, uh..." "Where's the finger go?" "Tunis, maybe." "Carthage." "Interesting." "Sunny, Sandy." "Old, aged, sown with salt." "Truth be told, Melvin, I..." "I don't see any foreign travel in my future, ever." "So for now, let's you and me pretend it's Tennessee." "Tennessee?" "Why not?" "Uh..." "I can think of 100 reasons." "How much longer?" "85 minutes." "Tawney?" "Hey!" "It's me!" "Hey." "I..." "I-I-I thought you said you'd be at the store." "Is everything okay?" "What?" "Yeah." "Except you're not living with me right now." "We're never seeing each other." "Teddy." "I'm sorry." "I know I'm not supposed to be here." "No, it... it's not "not supposed to be here."" "It's just you said you wouldn't be." "I just wanted to see you up close." "Close?" "I shouldn't have surprised you like this, so I'm sorry." "It's fine." "How you been?" "Not great, to be honest." "If you want me to be honest." "Of course." "How 'bout you?" "How you been?" "It's been hard, of course." "Been helping Beth and Mitch around the house and helping with Maty." "He helps you keep your mind off your troubles." "I'm sure they appreciate the help." "They've been very kind to me." "Yeah, ol' Mitch, he's something." "Well, I probably shouldn't be here too long." "Can I give you a hand?" "No." "I got it." "I'm not gonna keep you from leaving, Tawney." "I-i know." "I know that." "Of course I don't want you to leave, but I'm not gonna physically stop you." "I'd never do that." "I know." "Well..." "I've been thinking about that therapist..." "You know, the one the Mitchersons went to." "I was thinking maybe it's a good idea." "You know, you said she really helped Mitch and Beth." "Well, o-o-our situation's a little more complicated, Teddy." "But if she's good, I mean, well, maybe she could help us, give us a chance, anyway." "I mean, I'll even set it up, if you want me to." "I'll make the call." "I kind of already been seeing her." "Kind of?" "What's that mean?" "I already been seeing her." "I see." "You... you said you didn't want to, Teddy." "You mentioned it once on the phone." "I mean, I just needed a minute to think about it, Tawney." "So, he just showed up at your house on a bicycle?" "Unannounced and half in the bag." "What did he want to know about George?" "I honestly thought he might hurt him, Carl." "Why would Daniel want to hurt George?" "Come on, Carl." "'Cause George testified that Daniel raped Hanna?" "I mean, what do you think?" "And Daniel would be angry about that because it was a lie?" "George might've lied." "George might've told the truth." "I don't know, 'cause I wasn't there." "Either way, Holden could be pissed about it." "So you just decided to take off to Florida on the spur of the moment?" "I didn't have much going on that day." "And like I said," "I was kind of worried about George from the start." "I halfway wondered if we'd find him hanging from a noose with a pair of pantyhose on his head." "Worried he might have killed himself?" "I mean, not really." "Why would he want to kill himself?" "Look, I was making a joke, Carl." "It was in poor taste." "Truth is, I expected George to be smoking a joint and listening to the Black Crowes." "That was his thing." "How'd you get in?" "The door was unlocked." "You find it strange he'd leave his front door unlocked in a low-rent trailer park?" "It was a back door, but no." "One man's strange is another man's" ""I left the back door open so my buddy could drop off that dime bag he owed me."" "Look, I-I-I don't know why the door was open." "It just was." "I don't know George's day-to-day." "I was just glad that the a/c was working." "You said you hadn't talked to George in a long time." "I did... say that." "It had been a while." "Too long, obviously." "Look, we hunkered in, and we kicked back a couple of beers, waited for George to mosey on home." "But he never did." "No, he never did." "That surprise you?" "Not really..." "To be honest." "Why's that?" "I don't know." "Just a feeling, I guess." "It's like we were waiting for no one, for nothing, like Godot or somebody." "I don't follow you." " Oh, he's fictional." " Okay." "Point is, it got really clear that it was gonna be just me and Daniel that night." "And then he says, "George ain't coming."" "Daniel says that." "Daniel says that." ""George ain't coming," just out of the blue." "Now we all know where George was." "Where was that?" "Carl..." "If you're trying to catch me on something, it ain't gonna happen." "I didn't do anything." "I'm just trying to piece together what occurred..." "What you saw, what you were thinking, that kind of thing." "I understand." "It just gets a little confusing sometimes." "Of course." "These things always do." "Let's circle back to Daniel saying," ""George ain't coming back."" "Did it seem like Daniel knew something about George that he wasn't sharing?" "I know where you're going with this, and you know how I feel about Holden, so I'm biased already." "I'll take that under consideration." "But of course it was disturbing to hear that." "Ominous." "Whatever." "How could it not be?" "But can I say that Daniel knew George was dead or that he killed George?" "Not 100%, no." "Not even near that." "But did I want to go to sleep in that trailer with that wigged-out son of a bitch just pacing around?" "Not on your life, man." "I should probably get going." "I've been thinking about my mom." "Your real mama?" "One and only." "Just a lot of thoughts keep popping up in my head." "I know the feeling." "I think dad knows what Daniel did to me." "What..." "What makes you say that?" "I don't know." "Maybe I'm just paranoid." "You know, maybe we... we could see Rebecca together for a while." "That her name?" "Yeah." "You don't mean that." "I think you need to talk to somebody, Teddy." "I'll be fine." "Teddy, I mean it." "Let's both go and... and talk about all of it." "Tawney, would you just go?" "Please." "What'd y'all fight about?" "What everyone does..." "Politics, religion, him killing Hanna." "Y'all talked about that?" "I mean, yeah, eventually." "I told him I thought he did it." "That shouldn't be news to anybody, right?" "How'd Daniel handle that?" "Well, he didn't take too kindly to it." "He got all mad and grabby." "Tossed me up against the wall when I wasn't looking, and then he slammed me down to the ground." "He physically attacked you?" "Yeah, blindsided me." "Then he put his hands around my neck." "Holden literally put his hands around your neck?" " Well, it damn sure wasn't a metaphor." " Did he choke you?" "Well, you know, I don't know the difference between squeezing and choking, but, yeah, there was considerable pressure." "What'd you do?" "Well, i-i just kept yelling at him to stop till he snapped out of it." "I think I slapped him around a couple times, too." "When you say "snapped out of it," what do you mean?" "I don't know." "It's like he was..." "In a trance." "He was gone, Carl." "I mean, in hindsight, just all seemed too planned out." "Premeditated, I guess." "How so?" "Well, I mean, maybe not the choking part, but him coming over to my house unannounced, wanting to go to George's house unannounced, and trying to get me to take all those pills." "I don't know." "It's just too... thought through." "What was Daniel wearing?" " What?" " Clothes-wise." "I don't know." "Pants and a shirt, I think." "I... why?" "It's just a memory-check kind of thing." "Well, kind of got to get back to work, Carl." "Might have some more questions for you later, Trey." "Sure." "Anytime, Carl." "Prefer it not be at work, but whatever you got to do." "Need to clean as you go." "Dad's dictums." "You'd better get used to it." "How are things going these days?" "In general?" "With you and Tawney." "You decide on a floor yet?" "She wants wood." "Sounds nice." "Sounds like money." "Well, that opens things up." "Not sure why you sanded all the cabinets we aren't keeping." "You still want the new island here?" "Just the least expensive one you can find at Lowe's, Ted." "I would like to buy local." "So would I, but Pearlie's doesn't have kitchen islands." "It's a nice gesture, but it's unrealistic." "Thanks for helping out, Teddy." "You've always been so handy." "Look, I'm not trying to invade anybody's space, Janet, take over anything." "Dad just asked me if I'd lend him a hand." "You're not invading, Teddy." "It's always nice to have family pitch in." "If wood's too expensive, Ted, just get vinyl." "I don't really care." "Happy new year, Jon." "Daniel, it's almost March." "Well, it's the first time we've convened this year." "Any resolutions?" "You're getting out of here." "The DNA's finally been tested." "Your sentence is being vacated." "Daniel, you're going home." "You did hear me, right?" "You heard what I said?" "It wasn't mine?" "It wasn't yours." "It's really happening." "I'd say in weeks..." "Months maybe, but it's happening." "I can go home?" "Yeah." "You can go anywhere." "You can go to Tulsa or New York or anywhere." "What's in Tulsa?" "You told mother?" "Amantha did." "It's gonna be really hard for her." "What do you mean?" "To survive, she had to let me go, Jon." "Now she has to conjure me back up." "She won't have to conjure you, Daniel." "You'll be the real thing." "I'll do my best." "All aboard karaoke express!" "Last call!" "Here we go." "Good God." "That's that, I guess." "That's what, you guess?" "Uh..." "I missed my bus." "Wait for the next one with me?" "There's not another party bus to karaoke night." "Oh." "Now, that's got to be disappointing." "I'm not a karaoke gal, really." "Well, you've got that in your favor." "What you drinking, there?" "That is bourbon with a splash of..." "Hey, that's my drink." "I'm Forrest." "I'm trees." "Wow, I have never heard that one before." "Really?" "Amantha Holden." "Yeah." "Training for?" "TBD." "Uh, room 721, please." "Thank you." " Of course." "It's not my money." " Even better." "So, what do people say?" "Tell me about yourself." "Uh, okay." "Well, i-i live in Arlington, Virginia." "I work for a big-ass shipping company..." "Maersk." "That's a manly name." "Maersk." "Um, anyway, been in Savannah for a week... meetings." "Decided to spend a day in Macon and a night." "On purpose?" "Wanted to see where Otis Redding grew up." "Of all the terrible reasons to spend a night in Macon," "I guess that one is less terrible." "Going back home?" "No." "Onward, outward..." "Valencia, Spain." "So you're a journeyman?" "Yeah." "I'm out living the life." "Are you?" "Living the life, Forrest?" "I'm living a life." "I don't know about the life." "What about you, trainee Amantha Holden?" "Oh, I am living the life, for sure." "Would you care for another?" "Long as you're still not paying for it." "Thank you, Jon." "I appreciate it." "Just no surprises this time, Daniel." "I've told you everything I can remember..." "Everything that seems relevant." "Everything you say in here, Daniel, it matters." "I understand." "I hope you do." "Daniel doesn't have to do this." "He's here as a courtesy." "I appreciate the courtesy." "First, I'd like to get into your little excursion you went on." "Since I've been out?" "Yeah, since you've been out." "In or outside the county of Paulie?" "Let's start with the outside." "Which one?" "How many you been on?" "Two so far." "We know about Florida." "I went to Atlanta." "For what reason?" "To see a painting." "You went to Atlanta to see a painting?" "One painting, yes." "And a dead man's mother." "He was murdered." "Murdered?" "Daniel." "By the state of Georgia, yes." "Okay." "Well, let's just skip Atlanta and get to Florida." "Sounds like fun." "You show up at Trey Willis' house on your brother's bike." "True." " Unannounced." " Also true." "You'd already been drinking." "Not true." "You're saying you hadn't been drinking?" "True." "I don't drink and ride." "Daniel, just answer the questions." "You told Trey that you had no hard feelings toward him." "That true?" "I did say that." "Then why did you attack him?" "Attack him?" "Sheriff." "Did you have an altercation with Mr. Willis in Mr. Melton's trailer?" "I did." "What precipitated that?" "He tried to twist things around." "What things?" "He taunted me." "I threw Trey up against George's wall and then onto the ground." "What happened when you got him on the ground?" "I don't remember." "Daniel." "You don't remember." "He kept giving me pills." "Trey said you were choking him." "We will end it right here." " Do you see yourself as having a temper?" " I do." "Do you think you have trouble controlling your impulses?" "Sometimes." "Did you kill George Melton?" "I did not." "Yours and Trey's fingerprints were found all inside that trailer, but only yours were found on George's wallet and cellphone." "That seemed curious to me." "That is curious." "You'd think George's would be on there, too." "Care to speculate why they weren't?" "Trey wiped them off before I touched them." "Why would Trey do that?" "A miscalculation, perhaps." "Trey said he left you there." "He did..." "Very rude of him." "So how'd you get back home from Florida?" "I took the midnight train." " Daniel." " What does it matter?" "If it doesn't matter, then why not tell me?" "You search for the truth with a machete, Sheriff." "Daniel..." "Just tell him." "My sister-in-law." "Tawney Talbot." "Yes, Tawney Talbot." "Of all people, why her?" "She was someone I could trust." "Trust with what?" "With who I am." "Does she know about your incident with Ted?" "What?" "What..." "I told her." "Daniel, what incident?" "So you're not denying you attacked him." "D... stop." "It's over." "We're done here." "We're done." "That's me." "Yes, it is." "God, that is..." "That... that is an incredible story." "Oh, freaking out a bunch of wannabe Thrifty Towners?" "Hardly." " Self-sabotage at best, nothing more." " No" "Why do you do that?" "Self-sabotage?" "No, self-deprecate." "It's... it's almost every other sentence." "Uh... some sort of self-defense mechanism." "It makes me sad." "What the hell do I know?" "What the hell do you know?" "And who the hell says something makes them sad?" "Really?" "How about real men?" "Look, I know dirtbags in hotel bars the world over say this all the time, but I'm gonna say it, and I'm gonna mean it." "I bet the other dirtbags don't say they really mean whatever it is you're about to say, though." "I have never met anyone like you, ever." "Take that literally." "I've..." "I've never met anyone with your life, ever." "It's... it's amazing." "And... and you are amazing for having dealt with it the way you have." "I mean, I can't even begin to imagine how hard it's been for you, but you..." "By God, you've pulled it off." "You are impressive, Amantha Holden." "And you're one hell of a trainee." " And you're going places, kid." " I can tell." "Well, Mr. Forrest, uh" "It has been lovely drinking free booze with you." "It has been lovely." "But, uh..." "Think I'm gonna head on up." "Yeah, yeah." "Right." "Me too, actually." "Um..." "I didn't think it was relevant." "You can't decide what's relevant ever again." "They're looking at modus operandi." "George was shot." "They are looking at motive, at... at someone who can't control himself, at revenge, at opportunity." "When would I have had the opportunity, Jon?" "Are Teddy and Trey the only people you've assaulted since you got out?" "Neither without provocation." "Are they the only ones?" "Yes." "When you get out of here, out of Dodge, you have got to get some help." "You've got to see somebody about your impulse issues..." "If we get you out of here." "Of course." "You can't do that to people." "Whatever the provocation, you can't do that to people!" "I'm sorry, Jon." "I'm sorry to put you through this." "You're not putting me through anything, Daniel." "It's not about me." "Look, setting George Melton aside for a moment, if you were ever convicted of assault of another person, you would go back to jail for a long time." "Do you understand?" "Sure." "That's what you agreed to." "That's the deal you made." "Would that be so bad?" "Yeah, it'd be bad!" "You know why?" "'Cause you haven't given this a chance." "We'll pick it back up again tomorrow." "How's your sister doing?" "I don't know." "She's not here." "She's in Macon..." "Some training thing." "So she decided to take the job." "Good for her." "Well..." "Hang tough, buddy." "Will do, Jon." "What floor?" "Eight." "Above the fray." "Will you come to my room?" "I'd love to."