"Danny?" "Wake up, partner." "Man, you better wake up." "Sleep your life away." "Wake up, bitch!" "Kerwin?" "Changed their minds, I guess." "What?" "Ain't that some shit." "Where my stuff, man?" "Um, they..." "Well, they took it right after you... you left." "That's cold." "Where is everybody?" "I'm not sure." "They didn't even lock my door." "How'd you get back here, buddy?" "Just came back." "Where else was I supposed to go?" "Kerwin?" "When I did that drive-by, you know..." "Yeah." "Shot up that dude, Carl, with that 9-mil 'cause..." "I can't even remember now exactly why I did it." "Ain't that some shit?" "Anyway..." "I never saw that little girl in there." "One of them little car seats." "Down low." "Never even saw her, dude." "Got that feeling..." "that's where I'm going next." "Where's that?" "To see her." "Face her, I guess." "Not looking forward to it, I can tell you that." "What do you say to a little girl who you..." "What do you say?" "Maybe you just let her know who you-- who you are now, Kerwin, who you've become." "That's the thing, dude." "It's getting hard to remember who I am." "More vague by the minute." "You're a beautiful person, Kerwin." "That's all you have to remember." "I like that." "Thanks, partner." "Sure." "Let's-- let's skip the goodbyes on this one." "Okay." "Seriously, though, man, you better wake up." "Why?" " Why?" " What does it matter?" "It matters 'cause you got a chance to live, Danny." "So I'm living." "You look at life like it's a burden." "Life is a gift, man." "It's a gift." "You better take that with you, too." "Take it where, Kerwin?" "Take it where?" "They finally did it." "Amantha." "Look at him, mom." "He might as well be dead." "I mean it." "The doctors had to put him in a coma just to keep his brain" "Amantha, stop." "I'm getting a gun." "I swear to God." "Just kill them all." "Who would you start with?" "Oh, I don't know." "Probably Judy Dean, the bitch." " What the hell?" " Daniel." "Nurse!" " Nurse!" "He's waking up!" " Nurse!" "It's okay, Daniel." "Oh, my God." "He's waking up." "Well, we all agree he's waking up!" " How?" " I don't know." "You got to be kidding me!" "It's okay, sir." "You're in the hospital." "We're gonna give you something to help you sleep." "Nurse Miley." "Got it." "You don't have to fight." "You don't have to fight anymore!" " Ma'am, please." " Please what?" "Let him rip his tubes out?" "Let us do our job, ma'am." "It's okay." "Just calm down." "It's okay Daniel." "It's okay, honey." "It's okay, Daniel." " It's okay, sweetheart." " Just try and relax." "I'm sorry, Danny." "I'm sorry you have to go through this." "We'll be here, honey." "We'll be here when you come back." "Hey, you know why EMTs are so fat?" "I don't know, Lid." "Why?" "Because they wait around all day and then they drive everywhere." "In this case, they drove all over the suspect's tire tracks." "And they parked 20 feet away and walked to the crime scene." "Lucky for you, though, huh?" "How's that?" "Need me to tell you?" "So, what did the witness say?" "Saw a blue truck drive out the back exit of the cemetery." "She ID anybody?" "Nah." "Said the truck was too far away." "Uh, something a little odd, though." "She said if she had to guess who the men were, she'd say they were black." "Well, she said African-American." "Yeah." "I know." "Keep a guy here for the night." "The weather holds, we'll be able to see better in the morning." "Hey, you moving on or something?" "What?" "You know, different line of work?" "'Cause if you catch these guys, let alone convict them, your re-election chances..." "are toast." "Got to do my job, Lid." "What job is that, Carl?" "Putting guys in jail for beating the hell out of a man who should already be dead?" "Can you believe that?" "They didn't even know how much medication to use to keep him in a friggin' coma." "I'm gonna get some coffee and then I'll spell Ted." "Isn't that, like, brain doctoring 101?" "Speaking of which, the doctor doesn't even show up until 30 minutes after Daniel's back down under." "Unbelievable!" "Mama, why don't you go home with Ted?" "I'll stay the night." "No." "He's my son, and I'm not leaving him, not tonight." " You go home." " Mama." "I'm not leaving him, Amantha." "They don't have anybody guarding the door, Daggett Maggot." " Nobody's gonna come to Atlanta." " Promise?" "Our only hope is they're too stupid to access Google Maps." "Hi." "How is he?" "Not good." "Thanks for asking." "Is there anything I can do?" "Wouldn't be a brain surgeon, by chance?" "Where's Teddy?" "Um, he didn't want to upset anyone by coming, so he thought it might be better if he stayed home tonight." "If Teddy wants to be here, he should be here." "Right, Amantha?" "Seriously doubt he wants to be here." "But of course, mother." "You mean well, don't you?" "I do mean well, Janet." "I have to go relieve Ted." "May I, um..." "Yes?" "May I see Daniel for a few minutes?" "I'd like to be alone with him." "Of course." "But in a little while, yes." "Thank you." "At least he's been washed in the blood, literally and figuratively now." "So, worst-case scenario, he goes straight to Heaven, right?" "That is what I believe, yes." "And he can spend eternity listening to-- oh, I don't know-- country music with a gospel twist?" "I'm sure show tunes are out." "I don't know about music." "I'm just... so sorry." "Sorry for what, Tawney?" "I'm just sorry for everything that's happened to him." "I'm so, so sorry." "Well... we all are." "Sorry." "Thank you." "I just don't understand why God would let something like this happen to him." "I mean, to anyone, but..." "especially to him." "He suffered so much already." "I mean, I know it's always a question, but..." "It's always the question." "It's one of the big ones." "And they say we... we can't... know God's intention sometimes, that-- that it's too big for a human to understand, but..." "I sure don't understand this, and I don't see how I ever will." "I don't think God plans things like this, Tawney." "I mean, why would somebody do that?" "Especially a God, you know, if they had that kind of power, and... why would you even want to hang out with that-- that God-- you know?" "Much less worship him, really, so..." "I just have to believe that it's all some cosmic cause and effect or just plain... random." "Do you believe in God?" "Well, I believe in evil, so, uh..." "I don't really want to talk about it." "Excuse me while I go and smoke a carton of cigarettes." "This complicates things." "Yep." "If they'd just gone on and killed him," "I could've started focusing on my run for governor." "And you could be back to busting potheads." "So they took him up to Atlanta?" "Yeah." "Paulie Hospital's not real big on brain surgery." "They gonna cut on him?" "I don't know." "They put him in a coma." "That can't be good." "Did he say anything before they put him down?" "No." "He wasn't responsive at all." "Well, this could be the worst outcome, really." "How's that?" "Well, if he survives and he's brain-damaged, try going up against that in a courtroom." "Nothing more effective than a well-timed drool." "Regardless of what happens to Holden," "I'm gonna find out who did this." "I'm surprised you ain't gonna try and talk me out of it." "I would never dissuade a man from doing honest work." "You make sure you lay off of Holden for the time being." "Sure way to lose the PR battle-- kick a man while he's down, as it were." "That's what makes life so... interesting and confounding." "What's that?" "Variables, Sheriff." "Variables." "Just seven days after his release from death row," "Paulie resident Daniel Holden was discovered severely beaten here at the Paulie Knoll cemetery." "You got wet." "It's raining." "Holden, as you may recall, was convicted of the 1994 rape and murder of his girlfriend, Hanna Dean, a conviction that was vacated just last week." "You want some dinner?" "I fixed you some." " Now details are still..." " Sure." "It appears Holden may have been visiting Hanna Dean's grave here at the cemetery when he was attacked." "The Sheriff's Department confirms that they are interviewing witnesses but have not yet focused on any suspects." "Their spokesperson says it isn't surprising in a case this early..." "I love you, baby." "Reporting from Paulie." "Back to you, Laura." "Baby?" "I heard you." "Daniel made quite an impression on you, didn't he?" "He did." "You see some of what I do in him." "Yes, ma'am." "I'm gonna give you a little time with him." "Y-you don't have to do that on my account." "No, I" " I want you to." "Tawney... could you pray over him?" "Yes." "I" " I could." "I sure could." "Can't hurt, right?" "Tawney..." "I know Teddy isn't the most polished person in the world." "I don't expect that to change, to be honest." "And he's never felt good about himself." "But I have hopes that will change some in time." "Yes, ma'am." "But I do know this, Tawney." "He loves you more than anything in this world." "Wake up, Danny Boy!" "Danny Boy!" "Hey!" "What're you doing?" "!" "Wake up!" "Wake up!" "Wake up!" "Shut up!" "We're trying to sleep down here!" "Hey, shut up, you!" "Hey, you in there?" "I'm gambling that even you couldn't sleep through that ape-clamor, huh?" "Huh?" "!" "Now look." "I'm not a psychiatrist." "The Devil himself knows I've talked to enough of them." "By my calculations... you have been sleeping like 18 hours a day since they put your little buddy down." "Now, it's not a stretch to say that you might be clinically depressed." "That's not something to trifle with, Dan." "Now, granted, our options are limited." "But there's still good old-fashioned talk therapy." "Tried and true." "And believe it or not, I'm a good listener." "But I have a confession, Dan." "I mean, if we're gonna have a trusting, open, doctor-patient relationship... well, Dan..." "I'm one of the ones that buggered you in the shower that time." "Number four, I think it was." "Some of them other boys already choked you out." "You were passed out, laying facedown on the floor when it was my turn." "I think you were still unconscious, too." "I can't be sure." "I'm not gonna lie, say that I didn't enjoy it, Dan." "But it wasn't personal, Danny." "Seriously." "I mean, I didn't really know you then." "You was just some teenaged punk." "Could've been any other warm booty, as far as I cared." "It's just friction and chemistry." "I just wanted that tingly feeling, you know?" "Could've been a watermelon." "Well... maybe not." "Youth does have its appeal." "Hey." "Damn, dad." "What're you doing?" "Just waiting on coffee to get made." "You're here early." "Yeah." "Didn't sleep much last night." "What's up with the muffins?" "Oh." "Some of our younger customers like a healthier choice." "Hmm." "How about you?" "You get any rest?" "Little bit." "So, uh..." "Tawney said that, uh, they have him stabilized," " so that's good." " Mm-hmm." "All right, dad, what's up?" "Janet was upset that you didn't come by the hospital last night." "Dad, Amantha can't stand to be in the same room with me." "All right?" "I didn't want to go down there and start some kind of fight or something." "That's the last thing mom needed." "Right?" "You need to find out a way not to fight with Amantha and be there for your stepmother." "It's more complicated than that, dad." "Well, maybe so, but right now, it needs to be that simple." "Hey, Carl." "Teddy." "Your dad in?" "Yeah, he's in back." "What's up?" "Uh, nothing major to report." "Just want to talk to your dad for a minute." "Yeah, let me go grab him." "Listen, there's..." "not a real good time to talk about this, but, uh... any decision yet on the bid?" "Well, it was a-- you know, it was a fair price on the tires and all, but, uh..." "We didn't get it, did we?" "Sorry, Ted." "Somebody beat our price?" "You know, there were other factors to be taken in consideration besides just price." "I mean, ultimately, it's the County Commissioner's decision." "I see." "Look, you know if it'd been up to me..." "Oh, yeah, of course." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "Just not a good time, Ted." "You know?" "Maybe next go-round, when things settle down." "Well, hey, I appreciate the chance, Carl." "I'm sorry, Ted." "I know this all affects the whole family in ways that y'all have no control over." "You don't know the half of it, Carl." "What do you mean?" "Nothing." "I'm gonna go get dad." "Danny, thank you for giving this to me." "Is that why you left it in my car?" "I'm gonna keep him in here with you, let him watch over you." "He makes me think of dad, you know?" "Sorry to bother you, but there's a visitor." "Oh." "Okay." "Uh..." "It's okay, Amantha." "I'll stay here and watch over him till you get back." "Thank you." "Oh." "Hi." "Hi." "This is a bad time, isn't it?" "There's not a good time, really." "I see." "No, wait." "Melvin, I didn't mean that you should go." "It's-- it's just that, well..." "Daniel's in a coma." "A coma?" "Wow." "But we're hopeful, Melvin." "And Daniel's a fighter." "Yeah." "I, uh" " I figured he was." "Your whole family's got to be fighters, I guess." "I don't know about that." "Circumstances usually dictate." "You're way too smart to be in Paulie." "What?" "You stay there too long, you do too much thinking at the same time, it's bad for your mental health." "Good to know." "While I'm there," "I'll keep thinking to an absolute minimum." "Is that for Daniel?" "Yeah." "Um..." "Now, it-- it's not something he can enjoy right now, but, um..." "it'll-- it'll keep." "Oh." "That's good." "It's a turtle." " Hmm?" " A chocolate turtle, not a-- not a real one, of course." "You know, I thought maybe a-- a turtle theme, like when we were kids, and..." "Mm." "Sounds pretty stupid when I say it out loud." "No." "It's very thoughtful, Melvin." "You don't want to leave that in a car." "The sun." "I wouldn't think so." "At room temperature, it should be fine." "Yeah, I'm sure it's full of preservatives." "Most things are these days." "It's really hard to find chocolate products without, uh..." "Anyway..." "I'll make sure Daniel gets it when he... wakes up." "Well..." "Yeah." "Uh, I'm..." "I'm glad you came, Melvin." "I" " I debated... whether or not I should, but, uh... regrets grow tiresome." "I heard that." "Well, I'm sure it'll mean a lot to Daniel." "It means a lot to me, too." "Uh..." "Thank you, Melvin." "That truck belongs to Jake Johnson." "And?" "He's a friend of Bobby Dean's." "We could just go get lunch and forget about it." "Nobody'd blame you, Carl." "Not that they'd ever find out." "What's up?" "A woman saw you leaving the cemetery, Jake." "She ID'd you and your truck." "And we know Bobby Dean was there, too." "It'd be best if you just come clean right now." "Best for you." "I know this wasn't your idea, Jake." "There's no reason for you to take the biggest fall." "I wasn't there." "You were ID'd, Jake." "Clear as day." "Well..." "I guess you just need to go on and arrest me, Sheriff." "I ain't saying no more." "No." "I'm gonna give you a day or two to think about it." "Oh, uh... you don't mind if we take a few photos of your tires, do you?" "Since you weren't there and all." "I guess not." "Hey, Carl, you reckon they wore masks?" "For the beating?" "I mean, if they didn't intend to kill him... they wouldn't want to get recognized, either." "Could have." "And, uh, I was thinking... if they were wearing masks and they still had them on when they drove out of the cemetery..." "Jake would know I was lying about the ID on him." "Son of a bitch." "What about the boys on the bicycles?" "The ones following the ambulance." "Yeah, I talked to their mamas." "They both said their boys didn't see anything." "You didn't talk to the boys?" "No." "Their mamas wouldn't let me." "What the hell was I gonna do?" "Can't come out here dressed like that." "But I want to be with you, daddy." "You want a spanking?" "Go back inside." "You okay?" "Yeah." "Everybody's sneaking up on me today." "I'm sorry." "I didn't-- I didn't mean to." "Oh, it's okay." "It's just..." "What-- what happened to your neck?" "I don't know." "I-I wrenched it or something." "How?" "Don't know." "I woke up yesterday, and it was stiff." "Must have slept on it wrong." "Well, do you want me to rub on it?" "No, it's okay." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "Teddy, could you hold me?" "Yeah." "What's wrong?" "Oh, nothing." "You sure?" "Yeah, just got to get to the hospital." "Do you want me to come with you?" "No." "Not this time." "I just want to be there for mom, you know?" "Yeah, of course." "All right." "I need you to uncover your window, Holden." "I'm not gonna tell you again." "I have a headache." "I need you to uncover your window and back up to the door to be cuffed." " Holden." " I have a headache." "We're gonna send in the Sert Unit to forcibly extract you from your cell." "I wish you wouldn't." "You leave us no choice if you refuse to cooperate." "You know how this works." "This is your last chance." "I repeat-- I have a headache, and I do not wish to be disturbed at this time!" "Oh, thank you, sirs." "Can I have another?" "I'm still planning on redoing the kitchen, you know?" "Don't think this little setback's gonna get you out of helping me." "Hey." "Uh, I'm gonna be in the waiting area." "Just want to let you know I was here." " Come on in." " Are you sure?" "I mean, aren't there rules about this kind of thing?" "You're exempt." "Come by me." "It'll be all right." "Teddy's here to see you, buddy." "Isn't that nice?" "How you holding up?" "Oh, me?" "I'm good." "I should be asking you." "I've been in here..." "thinking about so much." "I bet." "Including you." " Me?" " Mm." "When Ted Sr. and you came to the house the first time, before Ted and I got married, do you remember that day?" "Yes, ma'am." "You were in your Sunday suit." "Didn't want to blow it for dad." "I'd never seen such a little gentleman before." "Oh, I was on my best behavior." "Amantha had on some thrift-store dress." "She was being all sullen and rolling her eyes like a teenager." "And it didn't bother you a bit." "You just took it in stride, talking about football and racecars." "Yeah, I used to get real chatty when I was nervous." "I don't know." "For a little while that day, I..." "I didn't think about all the bad things, you know?" "I just..." "saw this glimpse... this possibility of the future." "Oh, it's okay." "Teddy, I don't think I could bear it if he..." "It's okay." "Mom, you know if you need anything, I'm here." "You know that." "I do know that." "You probably just needed a good cry." "I guess." "Oh, my." "I'm" " I'm gonna go freshen up." "I'll be right back." "Oh, should we get a nurse?" "Oh, don't worry." "They'll come running if any of the buzzers go off." "Sit down." "I know he's glad you're here." "You'll be all right." "What?" "You tell me, Teddy." "Nothing." "Now, how exactly did we get here?" "I wished for you to see this place, and here we are." "Where'd all the leaves go, though?" "They froze they ass off." "Are those cows?" "Yes." "Bovine." "I guess there's a bull around, too, huh?" "They're kind of necessary." "Man, I mean, it's nice and everything-- you know, country life-- but I grew up on them streets, D." "I'm not exactly a pig in slop here." "There's this statue I wanted you to see." " Statue?" " Yeah." "Her head's gone." "Oh, man." "She a friend of yours?" "I had grown fond of her, but she's lost her head." "This ain't real, is it?" "Well, the place itself is, but us being here... no." "I'm actually in a hospital..." " in a coma." " A coma?" "But I got out." "Wait." "What you talking about?" "I got out, Kerwin." "Out?" "You mean off the row." "Off the row." "You got out alive?" "I did." "Walked right out." "Oh!" "I told you, D!" "I told you!" "I told you!" "Whoo!" "That made me so happy, boy!" "Made me so happy." "Oh, man." "Man, your sorry ass, showing no optimism-- none." "For years, none, zero, and here you are in the natural world, man." "Kickin' it with these country-ass cows... runnin' with the bull." "That's it." "That's a beautiful thing, D." "When you put it that way..." "Wait." "You say you in a coma?" "I fought the mob, and the mob won." "Oh, man." "How long was you off the row before...?" "Seven days." "Oh, that ain't right, man." "One week of freedom, and now you're in a coma." "Oh, but it was the wildest week, Kerwin." "I mean, every day felt like a lifetime." " It was pretty overwhelming." " I bet." "I met this girl, this-- this young woman." "So beautiful." "Such light." "That's wonderful, D." "It was, yes." "That's more the reason you got to get out this coma, bro." "You know, D, you might want to get some glue for this thing." "Them nasty-ass cows get to rubbing they behinds against, and then..." "Good point." " Ah, man." " Buddy?" "What?" "You're my best friend, Kerwin." "My only friend, really." "You'll make more friends now, Danny." "And I don't want to let you down." "Let me down?" "I just" " I don't think I can do this." "Everything out here..." "it's just so complicated." "There's so much pain and-- and hate." "And I think I may just be... just too broken, you know?" "Just too broken." "One of the things that kept me going on the row, maybe that thing was the hope that you'd get out one day, Danny." "But that was just me, you know?" "Me living through you." "And I never felt envious of you, not one time." "I was just grateful to have something to hope for, even if it was for the life of another person." "And you know, maybe especially because of that." "And when I realized that, when I became conscious of that hope inside that 7x9 hellhole," "I just thank God for it." "Every day, Daniel." "Every day." "'Cause it gave me something to live for." "You feel me?" "I do." "But now that's over with." "That time has passed." "And I'm not of this world now, so..." "This is your world." "And, uh... and you lying in a coma, and you can't deal with it anymore?" "You just too tired, and you-- you ready to see what's on the other side?" "Well, it's just not my place to tell you what to do, brother." "Just not my place." "But whatever you decide..." "I'm still gonna love you, D." "Always." "Forever and always." "Thank you, Kerwin." "I love you, too." "I know." "This is beautiful." "You telling me you can come here anytime you want?" "In theory." "Yeah." "I don't know, D." "Might be something to it." "Yeah." "All I'm sayin'." "Yeah." "All I'm sayin', D." "All I'm sayin'."