"What'd you do after you strangled her?" "I, um, I went and got some flowers." "Some flowers?" "Wildflowers." "Jacob's ladder." "Come again?" "It's a wildflower." "And then, what did you do?" "I-I put the flowers in her hair." "Was she naked?" "Um, yeah, she was naked." "And how did she get unclothed?" "Uh, I had taken her clothes off." "Before?" "Before?" "Yes, before." "You took her clothes off before" "Before I raped her." "What'd you do then, Daniel?" "I sat with her." "You sat with her?" "Yes, I sat with her and held her hand." "Why'd you hold her hand, son?" "Didn't seem right to leave her alone." "Why not?" "She seemed so real." "Real?" "What do you mean, "real?"" "Alive." "One?" " Uh, do you still have the, um" " Wildcat Special?" "No, the, uh, Country Fried Steak." "Biscuits?" "Please." "To drink?" "Water-- just water." "Thank you." "Marcy, I'm not goin' till he goes." "It's all right, Bill." "Jimmy's stayin'." "You sure?" "Yeah, it's all right." "All right." "Um, could I have another, please?" "The cook's gone home." "I've got some leftover fried chicken." "I was just gonna take it home." "I can pay." "I don't charge for leftovers." "Hey, Daniel." "Hello, Ted." "Mom made a fresh pecan pie." "It's on the counter." "Everything go okay tonight?" "I'm not pretending to be more than I am, but if you ever need to talk." "Okay." "You found the pie." "What is he, the bomb squad?" "It's just kids playin' a prank." "Loud prank." "Well, these things can make some noise and do some damage, but it's pretty primitive, really." "Now, I'm not sayin' it wasn't connected to all that's goin' on, but" "What all is goin' on?" "If somebody wanted to do real damage, they would've, you know?" "No, we don't know." "Maybe you could give us an example, or five, so we could at least try and prepare." "Look, we don't want anybody hurt, but we can't be everywhere at once." "We understand that, Carl, but is there any way you can get more patrols in this area?" "We'll do what we can, Ted, but" "If you got somethin' to say, say it." "Him being here stirs up things." "Where's he supposed to go, Sheriff?" "He's only lived two places his whole life." "Somewhere besides here, ma'am, for his safety and yours." "Like you care about that." "My personal feelings have nothin' to do with it." "You believe that, really?" "You self-deluded ass." "Amantha!" "Wouldn't be so sure who's deluded, ma'am." "What?" "I'm sorry-- what did you say?" "You son of a bitch!" "You know, we're more scared of you than some lynch mob." "You are the lynch mob!" "And you know what?" "Next time you mess with me on a public street," "I will make a citizen's arrest!" "You hear me?" "Everything okay?" "Yeah." "Just had an accident." "Oh." " Well, hotel food can be" " Yeah, yeah." "Make you breakfast?" "Okay." "Poach your eggs?" "What?" "Poach your eggs?" "Better on your stomach." "Sure." "How was the baptism?" "It was fine-- went fine." "I guess he's saved now." "I guess he is." "Mama!" "I'm home." "Kinda makes me miss the good ol' days, when it was just the cro-magnons calling the house." "It's not safe for him here." "I know." "I know, I know." "Guess I'll go to my... inspiring, new apartment and unpack." "I don't know." "I'll save the boxes." "Jump the gun?" "Don't I always?" "No-- you usually face the gun, Amantha." "You always have, ever since you were a child." "Mama, don't start talkin' like that." "You're freaking me out." "Okay." "Senator Foulkes is coming." "Lenton, I believe you've lost a step." "Been burning your candle at both ends." "Lenton, offer the Senator a refreshment." "Just hydrated." "Have a seat." "What's your problem, Miss Person?" "I'm sorry?" "Why the tight lips?" "It's only been five days, Roland." "Six." "I'm reviewing the case." "It's a bit more complicated now." "I guess you heard about the mailbox." "Word gets around." "If we don't go after Holden in an expeditious manner, most people around here are gonna jump to one of two conclusions." "Either I went after an innocent man, or you don't have the ovaries to go after a guilty one." "And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let people start fantasizing about my mailbox." "I'm not so much worried about my mailbox as I am about my house, if I were to try and lose a case like this." "I'm not gonna rush in without enough ammunition." "We got two bullets the size of bull balls." "Now, that's more than enough to indict with any grand jury of our choosing." "We'll fill in the blanks later." "Let's play out one of your metaphors." "Not gonna shoot from the hip, or go out half-cocked." "Hence, the tight lips." "Now, if the sheriff could at least locate the one witness who testified to seeing Holden rape Hanna Dean, that'd be a good start." "Wouldn't it?" "All I'm sayin', is the sheriff's right." "They're just voicing their disapproval." "Them coming onto our property, blowing things up, is more than freedom of speech." "I-I'm not saying that's the right way to do it, but that's what they're doin'." "Well, they might find themselves with their backsides covered in buckshot next time." "What's wrong?" "Nothin'." "I don't think he's slept more than a few hours since he got out." "Light's always on in his room, all hours of the night." "Sounds like a guilty conscience to me." "Hey, dad, I'll pick up more coffee today." "Why?" "I think that's a little stale." "Janet and I have been talkin' about the possibility of maybe Daniel leavin' for a little while." "That-that might be best for everybody." "Be a hard subject to broach." " Asking your son to leave his home, after" " Dad, can you say, without a doubt, he's completely innocent?" "Hundred percent?" "Yeah." "I can do that." "Things heating' up out there?" "Yes." "I'm gonna redo the kitchen." "Oh." "They have all these makeover shows now, and I think I can redo our kitchen for not that much money." "You know, not anything real fancy." "Just, uh, get rid of the vinyl." "New countertops maybe." "I like soapstone." "Isn't it funny?" "For years, I didn't have the gumption to change out the dinnerware." "And now, I just wanna go rip everything up." "That's a good instinct." "Daniel?" "Yes, mama?" "Well, um, you bein' home and all..." "well, honey, it's just... well... you wanna help?" "Help?" "Rip up the kitchen with me." "I love you, Daniel." "I'm glad, mama." "It's okay, sweetheart." "Mama." "Yeah?" "I need some wrapping paper." "Wrapping paper?" "Uh, of course, honey." "Any particular kind?" "I don't know." "Christmas would be fine." "Would it do?" "I don't have a problem with it." "Okay." "Not much to show for all my time in Atlanta." "Is that the measure?" "Things?" "This is America, Jon." "Right." "You think that's gonna keep the bad guys out?" "No." "What about a gun?" "What?" "Just wondering what you might think about a gun." "As in, having one?" "A lady something or other." "What are you doing?" "Pretending to be Ted Kennedy in his grave." "Are you serious?" "There aren't many institutions to turn to around here." "Hello-- welcome to Polly." "My name is Amantha, and I'll be your tour guide." "And then, there's our diddling problem." "Did I just say "diddling?"" "We do it enough." "Might as well say it." "The Senator knows." " What?" " I think." " Well, how could that be?" " 'Cause the whole town is bugged." "There's spies everywhere." "Motel maintenance man works for Homeland Security." "Take your pick." "Hey." "I won't be here for a while, you know?" "I know." "This is not my only case." "I know, Jon" " I know." "So..." "I think either you move back to Atlanta, or let's get you a gun, if you're gonna stay here in this place." " Jon" " No, and don't tell me that you've dealt with this before, because you haven't dealt with this before, Amantha." "You were 12 years old." "You were living with your parents." "Daniel was already in jail and on his way to death row." "That's what kept the bad guys at bay back then, not you!" "Hey, Trey-- it's Carl." "Checkin' in." "If you hear from George, let me know, would ya?" "I'm havin' a hard time tracking him down." "Appreciate it." "Hope to see ya on Wednesday." "Hey, Daniel." "Come on in." "Well, where's Amantha?" "Uh, she's doing laundry." "Are you doin' okay..." "with things?" "I don't think so, Jon." "I don't think so." "That's not-- that's normal." "What is?" "Not doing okay..." "considering everything." "W-why don't you come in?" "Well, it shocked me to find you here." "You know, just not used to contemplating all the variables one might encounter." "I mean, there were variables inside, but wasn't like out here, where it's... you know, and if you don't have the-the years of experiences." "The-- there isn't the-the repetition of everyday living to make things mundane." "Because-because mundane is-is calming and soothing." "Mundane isn't out of the ordinary." "And when everything is out of the ordinary..." "It can be too much sometimes, you know?" "Like finding you behind this door, when I-I didn't even consider there could be somebody else behind this door, but my sister." "You know, your-your mind puts it together, of course." "But, I mean, even just the door opening is still very unreal." "Does that make sense?" "Of course." "Daniel, it does." "Okay." "Oh." "Hey, honey." "This is a nice surprise." "What's up?" "You remember the pecan grove that dad used to take us to?" "You-you were-you were only about five or six." "The one with the cows." "Yes... with the cows." "I do remember." "You think you wanna go for a drive out there?" "You still know how to get out there?" "I think so." "Okay." "When I confessed, it..." "it was such a relief." "I mean, to be free of all that unbelievable guilt and-and regret that I was feelin'." "After I told 'em that I'd killed her, I could finally accept she was dead, you know?" "You'd just turned 18." "High on mushrooms." "After all that time on-on the row, the guilt returned." "Guilt for what?" "Guilt that I was alive, and guilt that..." "I began to accept it as my destiny, my fate, and I began to embrace it as my purpose." "Survivor's guilt." "No more complicated than that." "Is that it?" "Do you think I could ever make it out here, really?" "Of course you can, and you will." "I don't believe in anything." "Well, what about me, and mom, and your new brother?" "I've caused you all so much pain." "No, Danny." "They caused us all so much pain." "I'm so sorry I said what I said to you, Amantha." "It's okay." "I'd take it back, if I could." "No, it's a lot of truth in what you said." "It's okay." "I don't know what to do." "Well, you know, we could go back to Atlanta and stay up there for a while." "You know, there are people-people who know how to help you with what you're going through." "Get away from all the pressures of being here." "All the triggers around you." "The danger here." "What is it, honey?" "What's going on, Daniel?" "My strange life." "Does it look open?" "I don't know." "I've never seen it open." "See ya later, sister." "Countin' on it, brother." "I know that's right." "Hey." "Love ya." "I love you, too." "We're a leaky family." "You the man." "With a plan." "Wish I had a ceiling fan." "Some can't, some can." "Well, some will, some won't." "Some do, some don't." "Damn!" "Why'd I say, "won't?"" "Wait, now-- wait, now." "Hold up-- hold up." "Uh-uh, some will, some won't." "Some do, some don't." "I shine, I flaunt." ""I flaunt?"" "Yes, sir." "Some will, some won't." "Some do, some don't." "I shine, I flaunt." "I'm dull, I'm gaunt, and I quit." "What?" "Come on, man." "Tired of playin'." "What-what?" "You-you got plans?" "You goin' somewhere?" "He ain't goin' nowhere." "Long after they put that death needle in your arm, he's gonna be right here with me." "You're the saddest man I've ever known." "Whoa-whoa-whoa." "You're the sad man, Danny." "Cryin' in your sleep over your little Hanna." "Gonna be cryin' over your little Kerwin, too." "Won't be me cryin'." "That's why you're the saddest man I've ever known, 'cause you can't feel anything for anybody." "You can't cry for anybody." "Oh, man, he got ya." "Peckerwood got bitch-slapped." "Nobody bitch-slapped me!" "Oh, thou doth protest too much, Peckerwood." "Shut up, bitch!" "The award for saddest man in the world goes to Peckerwood," "Peckerhead, Crackerbox, Uncle Jed, Wendall Jelks!" "Shit." "Ha!" "Hello-- hello?" "Hey, there." "Hey, I'm Chet." "I-I'm Daniel." "Oh, hey, uh, Daniel." "You're elusive, Chet." "That's an under-appreciated skill." "So it can be developed." "I think so-- probably helps to have a little bit of a knack for it first." "Is that-that too much-- that music?" "Is that a little much?" "No, it's just right." "My friends think I'm a sad-aholic." "Don't get help." "I just like to have somethin' to balance out the farce, you know?" "I think farce may be sadder." "God, you're right." "It's all sad." "And farcical." "You, uh, lookin' for anything in particular, Daniel?" "You know who I am, don't you, Chet?" "I do, Daniel." "I would like to-to get somethin' for-for somebody." "Uh-- someone special?" "Someone I recently met." "Well, ain't you somethin'?" "I got somethin' for ya." " Their adopt-a-friend special just" " Decided actually" " Chapel road," " all the way to Covington" " The Landmark Homerville" "Restaurant was shut down." "I like your top." "I got it today, for you." "Looks good on you." "Thank you, Teddy." "Teddy." "Yeah, babe?" "I think the baptism might have been a mistake." "Too much, too soon." "I don't know." "I just don't know." "You had good intentions." "You think so?" "I know so." "You're a good person, Tawney." "Need to go." "Daniel?" "Daniel?" "Daniel?" "I-I need to say somethin' to my friend." "Doesn't look like he wanna speak to you." "I just need a moment." "Need to go." "Please?" "It's okay." "Look at me." "Look at me, brother." "Daniel?" "I know you didn't do it." "How do you know?" "Because I know ya." "Because I know ya." "Because I know ya." "We have to go." "Bye, brother." "Get him up." "Hello, Tawney." "I just wanted to let you know that I'm doin' okay." "Doing better, and-and I hope you're doing okay, and Ted." "I'm going away for a while, to get better or different." "That's all." "Good-bye." "All clear!"