"Oh, God." "Morning." "Jesus." "No..." "Daniel." "I forgot you were here." "I don't know how that's possible, but I... did." "I don't know why I drink." "Don't like the high, and I hate the hangover." "What are you looking for?" "Time." "You have the time?" "You have a watch." "It's broken." "I don't have the time." "I have a phone that has the time." "A phone?" "Yes." "I saw a phone in the kitchen." "In the drawer." "The one with the, uh, i-ice-cream scooper." "Okay, I'm definitely late." "There's cereal." "I don't think there's any milk." "No problem." "Sorry, the fridge isn't perpetually stocked like mom's." "See, the way I roll is..." "I don't eat." "I don't eat." "I don't eat." "And then I eat shit." "A lot of shit." "Seems to be working." "How's your bed?" "Airy." "Oh, you need a key." "I-i don't have to have a key." "Yes, you do." "People steal shit around here." "That was the one problem I didn't have where I used to live." "Mom's?" "The place before." "You need some money?" "No, I just needed a place to stay, Amantha..." "Temporarily." "That's all." "Well, have a great day." "Yes, you too." "Did Teddy say where Tawney was?" "He said he didn't know." "Huh." "I think it had something to do with Daniel." "Is that right?" "Oh, and Amantha called." "Said Daniel's staying with her now." "Well, that's good to hear." "Well, that is good to hear." "But I wonder why Daniel just up and went to Amantha's all of a sudden." "That's curious, don't you think?" "I'm sure he had his reasons." "And I wonder why you're lying to me, Ted." "I'm not lying to you, Janet." "Okay, maybe not, but you're sure not telling me something." "I asked him to leave." "Why?" "Why would you do that?" "And I asked him to tell you the reason." "Well, he didn't." "What was the reason, Ted?" "Daniel assaulted Teddy." "What?" "He choked him out." "Choked him out?" "You mean he strangled him?" "No, that's different." "Uh, evidently, when you choke somebody out, you cut off their blood supply, and they pass out." "Pass out?" "That's the way you gain control or whatever." ""Gain control"?" "How do you know all this, Ted?" "The senator told me." "Anyway, Teddy told the Sheriff, and he, the Sheriff, told the senator, and..." "And so on." "I didn't want to have to tell you this, Janet." "I'm gonna make some coffee." "Come down when you're dressed." "They call it "aging out" when you turn 18." "What happens when you age out?" "Uh, well, legally, you can leave the system, but, um..." "You can also stay if you get a job or go to school..." "If you and your foster parent agree..." "Until you're 21, if you want." "And what did you do?" "I stayed until I was 20." "Miss Kathy liked help with the younger kids and..." "And I liked doing it." "And I liked miss Kathy, too." "She was, um..." "You know, fair." "Firm but fair." "I always felt safe with her." "Do you feel safe with Ted?" "Teddy." "That's what we call him... "Teddy."" "His dad's Ted." "I don't know if he likes being called "Teddy."" "But..." "It helps people keep them apart." "Did you ever ask him?" "What?" "If he liked being called "Teddy."" "Um..." "No, i-i never..." "Never thought to." "Tawney, you can say whatever you want to here." "Do you know that?" "He's so mad..." "Teddy." "When he gets mad, how does that make you feel?" "It's usually about something that I've done, so I would try to figure out what it was first." "That's what you were thinking." "But how were you feeling?" "Wow." "That's funny, um..." "Well..." "I feel concerned." "Uh, t-that's not a feeling either, is it?" "Concerned about what?" "Uh, about what was gonna happen next." "Teddy would n-never hit me." "He never has." "But..." "He can bear down on you sometimes." ""Bear down"?" "Corner you." "Like you're trapped." "Like there's no way out." "And what do you want to do when you feel that way?" "Run." "Run like the devil." "That's a very reasonable impulse, Tawney." "But I never did." "Uh..." "Not until that night." "Tawney, do you want to save your marriage?" "You're gonna have to trust someone..." "At some point." "I feel so guilty." "About what?" "When I had my miscarriage..." "Part of me was relieved." "You're not the first woman to have had that experience." "And you won't be the last." "And from what little I know about you already, it's not that surprising, you know?" "I suppose." "No gun found, no note, nothing in the vicinity of the river that indicates suicide." "Well, maybe something will turn up helpful in Florida." "I'm not willing to jump to conclusions of foul play yet." "I already went to Florida, Ms. Person." "When?" "Couple of days ago to George's trailer." "Before all this happened or before we knew all this happened." "Please don't tell me you went inside Mr. Melton's trailer." "It was unlocked." "Seriously, Sheriff?" "You shouldn't have gone inside without a warrant." "I realize that now." "Not even your jurisdiction." "You're state." "Ma'am, I've been thinking, we could bring in the GBI on this end, let them oversee things here in Paulie if it'd make you feel better." " And what would that be saying?" " It would be saying that we're doing everything on the level." "It would be saying that things are already tainted here." "Are things tainted here, Sheriff?" "Not by me." "And/or that there's no faith that the investigation can be handled by you, the Sheriff, or me, the District Attorney." "Is that what you want?" "Of course not." "That's why I'm telling you this now." "I sure don't want to step aside, but I'm willing to if you feel that's what's best." "I'm so sorry." "Forgot to set my alarm." "Happens to the best of us." "Amantha, this is our returning mother, Peanut." "Thanks for keeping my place warm." "You're kind of a legend around here." "Well..." "So, that's Wyatt Andrew." "God, that must've hurt." "Not really." "I had an epidermis." "Amantha." "That's such an unusual name." "Family name?" "No." "Actually, my mother's dyslexic." "Kidding." "It is a family name, Peanut." "My great-aunt was Amantha..." "Amantha Kathryn." "Bet you get called "Amanda" a lot." "Mm, not so much anymore." "What about you..." "Family name?" "Oh, no." "Daddy just started calling me that." "I mean, he liked boiled peanuts and all, but we don't really think that was the reason." "Hi, Terry." "Hey, Amantha." "Amantha?" "Thought I'd just give Peanut her register back." "Been here nine years." "Nine years?" " Seriously?" " Yeah." "Did she start when she was 5?" "Terry's leaving early." "Till then, you can stock." "Great." "Um, you thought anymore about our conversation?" "I have." "Good." "Let's talk about it later." " Okay." " Okay." "What did you come across when you went inside, Sheriff?" "Because whatever you found can't be used if you handled it or if it can't be reasonably argued that it would've discovered in an official investigation." "I don't think that's gonna be a problem." "Okay." "George's wallet was there for one." "How do you know it was his?" "I saw his driver's license." "What else?" "His cellphone." "I thought you said George's cellphone was used six weeks ago in Paulie." "Yes." "So, if that's his phone, it somehow got back to his trailer after he died." "Uh, let's don't get ahead of ourselves." "I mean, we don't know the exact time of death or if that is, indeed, his phone." "There's something else." "Daniel Holden and Trey Willis had been there a couple of days before me." "How do you even know this?" "Security cameras on the property, and Holden left a note in the trailer for George." "A note?" "Saying he'd stopped by and then apologizing for bashing George's wall in." "Good Lord." "Any more bombs?" "No." "Very well." "I'll call the district attorney in Live Oak and explain what happened." "You should send someone other than yourself from the Sheriff's department down to monitor the scene, and under no circumstances are they to enter that trailer." "Yes, ma'am." "And don't you go on anymore expeditions again without conferring with me first." "Of course." "Let me know when you notify next of kin." "Yes, ma'am." "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What should I do?" "What the hell should I do?" "Chop wood." "And carry water." "Elementary, dear Kerwin." "This guy gets out on a DNA thing, then he re-confesses, and his punishment is he's banished from Paulie, Georgia?" "Welcome to America, friend." "That's not a punishment." "That's a reward." "Easy now." "We have friends down there." "I don't know why..." "Sounds like a back-room deal, which usually means both sides had something to hide." "It's all right." "I forget to turn it on sometimes, too." "Is that right?" "Beety dickson said he saw that thing a-flapping the other day." "Said it reminded him to get some new tires for his wife." "That's great, dad." "Somebody return those rims outside?" "A guy got behind on his payments." "That's the first one, isn't it?" "So far." "Not bad when you think about it." "When's the last time you talked to mama?" "Margaret?" "Yeah, dad." "My mother, your ex-wife." "About five years ago." "She wanted to borrow some money." "Why?" "I don't know." "Just been thinking about her, I guess." "That's good." "I'm gonna go run some errands if that's all right." "Sure." "Janet says Daniel's moved in with Amantha." "Just... thought you might want to know." "Okay, dad." "Now I know." "Hello, Jon." "Janet." "What brings you by?" "Is Daniel in?" "He's not answering his phone." "Actually, he's staying with Amantha now." ""Staying"?" "Like, living with her?" "Yes, they're, um..." "Housemates." "Well, uh, please come in." "Don't jump in." "It's, uh..." "It's empty." "I'm gonna repaint it." "Makes sense, doesn't it?" "To empty it before you paint it." "Yeah, you..." "You don't want to forget that step." "No." "Do you know who I am?" "The manager, i would suspect." "Melvin." "Melvin." "Oh, Melvin." "Hello, Melvin, I-I'm sorry." "It's been a long time." "Yeah." "Well, good to see you, Daniel." "Out and about." "Yes." "How are your turtles?" "Well, they're dead." "I mean, they lived a good life, uh, except..." "One." "To the good life." "And the turtles in all their flavors." "Mm." "Let me show you the laundry room." "I'd appreciate that." "I was rather spoiled as a child." "How's that?" "I never actually did laundry." "Oh..." "Yeah." "Well..." "I can show the basics." "It's overrated, really..." "The mechanics." "The process I find soothing." "Oh, do you have quarters, Melvin?" "I always keep a roll on me for just this reason." "People don't keep a lot of change these days..." "Loose change on their person." "Money's becoming more and more virtual." "Illuminating." "I have a ten." "Perfect." "Well, he just wanted a change, I guess." "Did he discuss it with you?" "Um..." "Not in detail, no." "Well, that's one of the things I want to speak with him about." "Daniel is gonna have to be more accountable to others of his whereabouts." "As in officially." "The terms of his probation are somewhat stringent." "I don't even know what the decision was, Jon." "How long is his probation?" "20 years." "Oh, my God." "I..." "I tried to mitigate the terms as much as possible." "But he did, after all, plead to a serious offense." "I'm sorry." "I know you did your best." "Are you gonna be around, Jon, um, until he... until he goes?" "Actually, I'm leaving in a couple of days." "I have other cases." "Of course." "And Amantha and I are..." "Taking a step back for a bit, too." "On the personal front." "Don't know if she mentioned it." "Not a word." "A Holden trait." "But I'll be a phone call away, Janet." "Anytime day or night." "And..." "I can get on a plane." "That's very kind of you, Jon." "I am not abandoning your son." "Well, me neither." "So, uh, what can I do to help our Daniel?" "Well..." "He needs to decide on a place to live." "A city and state would be a positive step forward." " Right." " The sooner, the better." "The new Canaan Project is a non-profit that helps ex-offenders re-acclimate in society." "It sounds institutional." "It's certainly structured, but..." "It offers job counseling..." "Psychological counseling." "I think we lose sight of just how damaged he is sometimes." "Not me." "I see it all the time." "I thought being here would help." "I'm sure it did." "Mm, now we just need to make sure he gets the best chance possible to..." "Thrive." "Well..." "Let's get busy then." "Hey, Teddy." "Hey, Mitch!" "What are you up to?" "Oh, I just wanted to see if I could come by and talk to Tawney for a minute." "Well, she's not here right now." "You know where she's at?" "Oh, she's off with Beth and maty." "That's nice." "Well, I just..." "Brought some of her things." "Is that right?" "Knocked on your door." "I was in the bathroom, Ted." "Well, anyway, I'll..." "Throw this stuff in her car." "I can give them to her." "She's got, you know, personal things in here, you know, girlie stuff, so..." "I'm not gonna bother with her personals, Teddy." "Yeah." "Okay." "Just tell her I, um..." "You don't have to tell her anything." "It's..." "Self-explanatory." "Okay." "Have a good day." "You got a problem with me, Mitch?" "Not at all, Teddy." "Just trying to be a good neighbor." "I guess we got different ideas on what that means." "Ain't you got somebody else that can do this for you?" "Not yet." "Guess that's why you get paid the big bucks." "Guess so." "So, now what?" "What do you mean?" "You moving on to the whodunit phase?" "We're a long way from saying this happened to George by another's hand." "Well, let me know when you get there." "You don't believe there's any way your son could've done this to himself?" "Could George have taken his own life?" "Maybe." "But he would've taken a bunch of them damn pills he was on o-or stuck his head in an oven." "He wouldn't have done it like this." "There's no way." "We can't be 100% sure about anything, Benji, unless we see it with our own eyes." "Well, where's the gun then?" "See, you don't get it, Sheriff." "George didn't have no backbone." "Ever since he was a little boy, you could see that." "And there was nothing I could do to give him one neither." "Well, I appreciate you talking with me under these circumstances." "And, again, I'm awful sorry for your loss." "I'd check in on Trey Willis if I was you." "Why's that?" "He came by looking for George a while back, but something about it smelled." "Could you be more specific?" "Not really." "Something smells, it smells." "Well, if anything more comes to mind, give me a call." "Oh, you done made up your mind anyway." "Hello?" "In here." "Tornado?" "I'm looking for Daniel's social security card." "What are you up to?" "Why is Daniel at my apartment?" "I don't know, honey." "I guess he wanted a change." "Okay, well..." "I was kind of hoping to get on with my life now that everything's been decided, not baby-sit a 38-year-old, convicted murderer." "Everything hasn't been decided, Amantha." "What do you mean, mom?" "We don't even know what state he's gonna live in." "I don't know what state he's in now, Mother." "Look, you don't have to do anything other than let him stay there for a little while." "Of course, Mother." "What's another 20 years?" "Jon came by." "You're not gonna tell me why Daniel's not living here?" "I don't want to talk about it." "Okay, mom." "You want to talk about the kitchen?" "Just one more thing." "Of course, sir." "That's $27.14, sir." "$23.23." "Sir, if I may?" "Yes?" "You're paying for, well, convenience here." "If you have the time, one of the larger grocery stores would allow..." "More bang for your buck, I believe is the phrase." "Perhaps I'll just..." "Take the doughnuts." "Excellent choice, sir." "♪ Oh, little Johnny Walker caught a bullet last night ♪" "♪ Now he ain't taking' nothin' no more, more, more ♪" "♪ Most folks earn what they get for a livin' ♪" "Whoo!" "♪ And all I want to do is stomp and holler ♪" "♪ Ah, some people just gonna sneak on through ♪" "Jared." "What's up?" "♪ One of these days, I'm gonna find my way ♪" "Dad send you over here?" "No." "Just in the neighborhood then?" "No, I just..." "Wanted to see how you're doing, I guess." "You want to eat Tawney's ribs?" "What?" "Hello?" "Daniel?" "I figured out how to use your stereo." "I hear that." "Too loud?" "Got a bit of a headache." "I'm sorry." "Found this station in Macon down low on your FM dial." "The deejay... or the curator would be more accurate..." "He's like 142, perfectly affected voice." "Telling little backstories about each composer." "You know, when you think of a person who has dedicated their life to sharing the talents of others with the world with no rancor or envy..." "Is that beautiful?" "It's nice, yes." "Anyway, I hope you're hungry." "I have prepared a nostalgic meal..." "I.E., not healthy." "Please tell me you haven't eaten." "I haven't eaten." "Good, well, uh, take a seat, and I will call for you when dinner is served." "Would you care for an aperitif?" "I'm good." "Thanks." "So am I." "Heard Daniel flew the Coop." "I think he's at Amantha's." "You know what that means?" " What what means?" " Flew the Coop." "Isn't a Coop where chickens live?" "Never thought about it like that." "You know why he flew the Coop?" "Not really." "Everybody talks around stuff." "Can't figure out what they're saying half the time." "You got your learner's permit?" "Yeah." "Let's go for a ride." "Where to?" "You don't need a destination when you're a teenager." "You do it for the thrill." "A thrill ride?" "Could be." "Who knows?" "Dinner tonight will be all-beef Franks with a chili topping, a side of the tater of tots, and chef's surprise for dessert." "Certainly brings back memories." "Well, there was a time when this was all you would eat." "Sounds about right." "So, how was your day, sister?" "Oh..." "Let's not get into that." "Fair enough." "Mine, you ask?" "Well, I..." "Did a light load of laundry," "I went shopping, and acquired gainful employment." "Doing what?" "Painting a pool." "I'm a pool painter under the employ of one Melvin." "Are you okay?" "Jon and I are getting a divorce, so to speak." "I'm sorry to hear that." "It was a marriage of convenience anyway." "And it's no longer convenient." "This is all very thoughtful, Daniel, but I..." "Just can't pretend that I give a shit." "Janet said you were at a girl's last night." "Yep." "That's where I was." "She got a name, this girl?" "Claire." "I declare." "You like her?" "As a friend." "Would you like me to stop asking you questions?" "I wouldn't mind it." "Hang a right up here." "I asked a girl out the first night I could legally drive." "Her name was Julie." "Sweet Julie." "Julie who?" "She... she doesn't live here anymore." "Sweet Julie had, um..." "A reputation, I guess you might say." "Claire have a reputation?" "Not that kind." "Good for her." "Keep straight." "When I asked her out," "Julie was a little guarded at first, but I was like," ""look, I like you, you know," "I want to get to know you better."" "She believe you?" "You know what they say." "Hope springs eternal." "Anyway..." "I took her to the Pizza Barn, right, which was a big deal back then." "That was before Pizza Hut showed up and blew them out of the water, which I still don't get." "And we had the, uh..." "We had the Big Barn Supremo." "It was about the size of a tire you'd put on one of them priuses." "And I asked her about her brother and her sisters and her classes and stuff like that, buttering her up, you know?" "It's a lot like sales, really." "All right, slow down." "Why?" "Slow down, slow down." "You're gonna pull over right up here." "Put it in park and kill the engine." "Now, where was I?" "You were buttering her up." " You know the, um, the new Kroger is at?" " Yeah." "That's where we used to go parking back in the day." "No shit?" "Before it was the Kroger, it was Lovers' Lane." "Really, just an overgrown triple lot on the edge of town." "That's where I took her after the Pizza Barn." "She was a little disappointed at the detour but not totally surprised." "We made out some." "She was a sweet little kisser." "And that's... that's about as far as she wanted to go, really." "But I had my mind set on doing it." "You know, getting it over with." "I mean, that's how I looked at it at the time." "Anyway things progressed." "We did a little car wrestling." "I mean, she wasn't beautiful like Tawney, you know, but..." "She was cute enough." "Had a sweet disposition, too." "Probably her downfall when you think about it." "Uh-oh." "This could be awkward." "Should we go?" "Mnh-mnh." "Don't move." "That wouldn't have been good." "So, are... are we, like, stalking or something?" "Oh, who knows these days?" "Looks like they're about to sit down and eat." "Let's just sit here for a while." "So, what happened?" "With you and Julie?" "What do you think happened?" "I mean, I didn't, you know, make her do it, force her." "Date-rape her or whatever." "Just kept at it." "Second base, third base, back to first." "Told her I wouldn't tell anybody." "Like, "pretty, pretty please, Julie." "Pretty, pretty please."" "You know, she asked me if that's the only reason you asked me out." "I was like, "no, hell no." "I asked you out 'cause I like you." "Pretty, pretty please, Julie, pretty, pretty please?"" "And then, finally, she just let out a big ol' sigh and gave in." "Let me have it." "Did you ever tell anybody?" "Don't ever do that to Claire, Jared, or any other girl." "I'm not gonna do that." "Yeah, 'cause those..." "Those guys who make you feel like a pussy 'cause you ain't got your cherry popped, they're just a bunch of assholes." "And in 10 years, you ain't gonna know most of 'em." "You know that?" "I do know that." "You know when I told you you wasn't like him?" "Like Daniel?" "I remember." "You're not like me either." "And that's a good thing." "About ready to go back?" "Let's just stay here a little while longer." ""