" It's been a long time, Chris." "Two, three years." " Three years, two months." " As I recall when you walked away from here, you made me a promise." "Do you remember that, Chris?" "I guess it's been so long you've forgotten." "I didn't forget." " So why are you here, Chris?" "Just a friendly visit?" " I didn't do anything!" "You gotta believe me." " I did believe you three years ago." "That nearly cost me my job." "I still believe you didn't kill that girl." "Even though all the evidence said you did." "But now you're here again." "Two more people are dead." "Do you think I should keep on believing you, Christopher?" " I know it looks bad." "Bad?" "I got two corpses stretched out in the morgue." " I didn't do it, I'm not a killer!" " Then explain how it is that you were the only other person in the house at the time of the killings." "Your fingerprints are all over the murder weapon." "No one else had even set foot in the house for the past two months, except for the two victims." "You and" "Michelle." " I'll give you one last hearing." "Start at the beginning." " During finals week at Valley College," "Stewart Moreland came to give a lecture on building a corporate empire from scratch." "I got a chance to talk with him after the lecture." "We got along really well." "Go on, Chris." " Well, he knew I was looking for work over summer break." "So he offered me a job as houseman for his home in Beverly Hills." "He told me he was away most of the time, his wife could use a hand." "Naturally, I jumped at the offer." " Oh, you startled me." "Um, the door was unlocked, so I thought I..." "Just" "You must be the new houseman." "Chris, is it?" "Yes, Chris." "Chris Thompson." "I'm sorry I'm late, Mrs. Moreland." "I can get to work right away." "That's alright." "Why don't you take your things and go around back to the guesthouse and unpack and relax for a while?" "You must be exhausted." "Thank you." "Hi, this is Chris, thanks for calling." "Please leave your name and number at the beep, and I'll get back to you." "Thank you." "Mrs. Moreland." " Would the room be adequate for you?" " Oh, yeah, this will be just fine." "Thank you, Mrs. Moreland." " I'm going to be having dinner in about an hour." "Would you like to join me?" "Yeah, that sounds great." "See you in an hour." "Great." "Oh, Mrs. Moreland, I was wondering" "Call me Charlotte." "Okay, Charlotte." "I was wondering what the phone number here is." "747-7973." "So, I'll set a place for you." "Thank you." "I don't give two shits about those goddamn redwood trees." "Take care of it." "Look, I want that permit." "Just handle it." "Yeah, fine." "Bye." "Jesus, you'd think those bastards would know who I am by now." "I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to be yelling." "It's okay." "I know you didn't mean anything." "Hello?" " Hi, honey, miss me that much already, huh?" "Who is this?" "It's me!" " Ugh, Chris, you really scared me." " Oh, come on, I didn't mean to scare ya." "I'm sorry." "You did." " Does this mean we can't do it over the phone tonight before I go to bed?" "You pervert." " Listen, I wanna give you my phone number." "K, QOt a pen?" "Yeah, go ahead." "Okay, it's 747-7973." "7973?" "Yup!" "Oh, look, I gotta go." "Charlotte invited me for dinner." "I haven't even cleaned up yet." "Charlotte?" " Mrs. Moreland, she told me to call her Charlotte." " Oh, well, you tell her to call you Mr. Thompson." "I will." "I gotta go, okay?" "I'll talk to you tomorrow?" " Okay." " Bye_" "Bye." " Hi." " Hi." " I'm glad you decided to join me." "Come on in." "Thanks." " We're not working you too hard, are we?" "No." " Damn it, Evan, I want that permit." "What the fuck am I paying you $275 an hour for?" "To keep your ass out ofjail." "And for that wise-ass comment, it's now $300 an hour." "Seriously." "What's it gonna take to get Uncle Sam to give us a permit to clear some of that lousy brush up there?" " Listen, it's not gonna be that easy." "There's a lot of tree people out there, and they're gonna fight this thing all the way." " Well then find out what tree people cost and we'll buy a few of them." " I'll see what I can do at 300 bucks an hour." "Yeah." "Keep me posted, huh?" " This ought to just about do it." " I think that would be just fine." "Why don't you wash up?" "I'll make you some dinner." "Ooh, that sounds good to me." " She doesn't answer this damn phone pretty soon," "I mightjust arrange a little business trip this weekend for the two of us." "Hi." "Oh, hi?" "That's the kind of greeting I get?" "A guy worked hard all day long and he calls a little woman and all he gets is an "Oh, hi?"" "Yeah." "Yeah, I'll be home Friday afternoon." "Probably in time for dinner." "But listen, I gotta get out of there first thing Monday morning," "I'm closing that big Tahoe deal." "But I'll see you Friday." "Bye." "H 9Y" "Don't look so glum." "You know I've gotta pacify the old lady." "At least 'til I figure out what I'm gonna do with her." "I know." " You're still my number one girl, you know that." "Anyway, come Monday, it'll just me and you in the redwoods." " Okay, let me see if I've got this right." "Center Stage Studios, 8255 North Vista, 1 pm-." " Now, don't be late." "And good luck." "Okay, I'll call you later and tell you how it goes." " Talk to you later, bye." "Okay, bye" "There's my luscious baby lady." "Look, I know you're pissed about Charlotte, so am I." "Hell, if things were easy, they'd be different." " You said you were gonna talk about with Evan." "Those goddamn lawyers." "All they want is their piece of the pie." "You've gotta live by your own law." " Stewart, I don't wanna pressure you, but I need to know where I stand." " You don't know where you stand?" "Maybe." "But I want more." "I wanna belong to you." "You do belong to me." "You know what I mean." "Yeah, I suppose." "It's just that if I divorced her," "I don't think she could handle it." "Listen, I'll talk to Evan in the morning." "Maybe he can work something out." "If not, what the hell, I'll sell her to the Arabs." "Hey, I'm not serious." "I probably couldn't get more than a goat or a couple of camels for her anyway." " I know, but you scare me sometimes." "I'm all talk, darling." " Hi, this is Chris, thanks for calling." "Please leave your name and number at the beep, and I'll get back to you." "Thank you" "Hi honey, this is Michelle." "I just called to say hi and see how you're doing." "I think you have my number." "Bye." "Hmm..." "Chris, it's interesting story." "And it sounds like you're telling me the truth." "Why don't you continue on?" "Hello?" "Hi." "Chris!" "Miss you." "Oh, you better." "I miss you, too." "What's going on over there?" " I've got an interview tomorrow for some feature." "That's great!" "Would you hurry up and get famous?" "I'm trying." "I know you are, sweetie." "I love you." "Me too." "I better go to bed." "All this hard labor." "Are they treating you nice?" "Yeah." "Good night." "Nighty night." " Bye." " Bye." "# I want to know you more" "# There's no time just like now" "# To say to you" "# Making love to you" "# That's the way I'm thinking of" "# Making love just with you" "# Making love the way you do" "# It's the way for us to do" "# Making love" "# I saw your face" "it is no fun getting older." " I didn't expect you to be worried about something like that." "What do you mean?" "You look great." " Well, thanks, but that's not all of it." " Bottom line, Evan, is I want a divorce from Charlotte." "Really?" "Ah." "She just doesn't do it for me anymore." " She just doesn't do it for you anymore, huh?" "The novelty's worn off." "You got any idea what this is gonna cost me?" "Well, do you have a prenup?" "A pre what?" "A prenuptial agreement." "That's a contract that says who gets what should you split up." "No, I don't think so." " Look, this isn't gonna be cheap." "Are you sure you wanna go through with this?" "Yes." " Look, did you start Moreland Industries before or after your marriage?" "Way before." "Before." "Well, look, my dear friend." "Put it in legal terms, you're fucked." "You're gonna have to give Charlotte half of everything if you get a divorce." "You're shittin' me." " No, there's none of that around here." " Well, damn it, there's gotta be some other way." "Not that I can think of." "Jesus H. Christ." " Chris, would you do me a favor?" " Sure." " I can't reach the backs of my legs or my shoulders." "Mm." "That's good." "" Hey, great!" "Perfect!" "I love it!" "I love it." " Yeah, well, things kinda fell into place." "Hey, you're a lucky guy that the governor's reelection fund was running kinda low." "Look, hell, it's not luck." "Things always have a way of working out for me." "They can't stop me." " Well, look, Stew, I gotta run now." "I got a million things to do." "I'll talk to you later, alright?" "Yeah, whatever you say, boss." "So long." " Hey, get over here and congratulate me." "I've done it again." "Done what?" " The Tahoe deal, the only thing that really matters." "I got the permit!" "That's great!" "How about some dessert?" "I've got some cherry pie in the refrigerator, and I can make us a cup of coffee." "No thanks." "I think I'm gonna hit the sack." " Look, it's really no trouble at all." "Why don't I just make us a cup of coffee?" "Please just sit with me." " Hi, this is Chris, thanks for calling." "Please leave your name and number at the beep, and I'll get back to you." "Thank you" "Hi honey, it's me." "Did you talk to Evan?" " As a matter of fact, I talked to him just today." "You did?" "About that Tahoe deal." "Can you imagine it only took 50 grand to buy 66 redwoods from our honorable governor?" "Dede..." "Evan told me that if I divorce her, she gets half of everything." "Aren't I worth it?" "You're worth the world." "It's just that splitting up this company would cause a lot of serious side effects." "Don't worry about Charlotte." "Shit happens." " Thanks a lot for sitting with me." "I really didn't want to be alone yet." "Chris, can I ask you something?" "Oh, nevermind." "Uh, if you don't mind," "I think I'll go to bed now." "Oh, of course." "Oh, and thanks again for keeping me company." "Sure." "Hello?" "Hi." "Did you get my message?" "No, I just walked in." "I just called you right away, didn't even check the machine." "You work until 10 o'clock?" " No, I just finished dinner with Charlotte." "I guess she's pretty lonely." "I mean, her husband only comes out weekends." "Hmm." "So how'd your interview go?" "It went good, but I can never tell about these things." "I should hear something by tomorrow." " You don't have to kiss anyone in this one?" "No." "That's good." " But I have to give eight guys blowjobs." "Great, who's gonna direct?" " You know I'd never let anybody else touch me." "I know." " But it's nice to know it would bother you." " Oh, you like to see me in pain, huh?" " I like to make you squirm a little." " And with those kind words, I think I'll go to bed." "Hey, I'm only joking." "Yeah." " Did you ask if it would be okay if I visited?" "No, not yet." "I wanted to wait for Mr. Moreland to come this weekend." " Whatever you think is best." " Yeah, I don't think it'll be a problem." "Good night." "Night." " Chris, as you're telling me, this Mrs. Moreland sounds like a very interesting woman." "Or should I say obsessed." "I mean, really, tell me more." "Boy, it's hot out here." "I'll cool you off." "Get off!" "You monster." "You're all wet." " Half of everything, huh?" "Yup, it's all she wrote." " What if I caught her having an affair or something?" "Would that help?" "Oh, judges do tend to take that kind of thing into consideration but wouldn't get you off the hook or anything." " Well, like I said, every little thing helps, you know?" "What are you getting at?" "I got an idea." "I got this college kid we hired to do some chores around the house." "He probably could use some extra bucks." "And let's face it, Charlotte's not half bad." "Horny little son of bitch would probably love it." "Hey, are you outta your mind?" "I'm serious." "Maybe we could rig up a video camera and get the whole thing on film." "Hell, she'd back out without even a trial." " Hi, this is Chris, thanks for calling." "Please leave your name and number at the beep, and I'll get back to you." "Hi honey, it's me." "I love you." "Call me back later." " Chris, your story sounds a little far-fetched." "But go on." "H8'!" "" "How's my number one girl?" "Fine." "They let you out of school early?" "Hey, I'm the principal, babe." "Class is dismissed." "Hey Chris, working hard?" "Yup!" "Or you're hardly working." "Hi baby." "Yeah, I just couldn't wait to call you, you know." "Hey, listen, I better get going." "I'll give you a call later, okay?" "Goodbye, darling." "Hello?" "Hi." "Are you okay?" "Why didn't you call me back last night?" "I wasn't in a good mood." "I didn't wanna spoil yours." "Oh, that's great about the movie." "Hey, what's going on?" "You just don't call me 'cause you're in a bad mood." "I love you." "I don't care what kind of mood you're in." "You're right." "I'm sorry." "So when are you gonna hear about the movie?" " Oh, not until sometime next week." "So I could come visit you if you'd just ask already." "Okay" "I will tonight." "Okay" "Hey, so next time you're in a bad mood, you'll call me, right?" "Yeah, I will." "I'll call you soon, bye." "_ Okay." "Bye" "Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine." " You sure?" " Yeah." " Hey Chris, the pool looks great." "Glad you like it." "H8'!" "" "We didn't get to try some of that good home cooking." "Yeah." "If you're good I'll let you try some." "Who said we can be good?" "Yeah." "We can try." "Sunday's my mother's birthday, so I could come up Monday sometime in the afternoon?" "I can't wait." "Me either." "You better get a lot of rest." "Because you sure as hell aren't gonna get any as soon as I get my hands on you." "Is that a threat?" "It's a promise." "Ooh, tell me more." "You said I was a pervert." "Bring your bathing suit." "You can kick back while I work." "Ooh, sounds like fun." "Can I supervise?" "Hello?" " Hi." " Hi." "Um..." "I need to talk to somebody." "Please." "Okay" "Do you want me to walk over there?" "Um, no, no." "I'll come to you." "Okay" "You awake?" "Good morning, baby." "Boy, did I miss you last night." "You know I couldn't even sleep." "Every time I'd roll over and see Charlotte," "Jesus, I wish you were here." "We're alone now, you know." "Um." "What is it?" " Well, Michelle's coming up here today and..." "Well, look, I don't know how I let what happened happen, but I love Michelle, and I want to stay with her." " So you're telling me that it's over." "Yeah, I guess so." "Well..." "What are you going to tell little Miss Perfect?" "I don't know." " Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much, Chris." "Affairs are something she'd have to deal with sooner or later." "Yeah." "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" "Me too!" "How was your drive?" "Too long." "Well, you're here now." "Hi, you must be Michelle." "I'm Charlotte." "Chris told me all about you." "Oh really?" " Yeah, he said you've been really good to him." " You must be very tired after your trip." "I have a guest bedroom all set up for you." " I was thinking she'd stay with me, if you don't mind." "Oh." "Why would I mind?" "Of course, you want to stay together." "How could I be so foolish?" "I hope she wasn't offended." "Don't worry." "Let's get your stuff." "Yeah." "And the kid's got a girlfriend, so looks like using him is out." " Look, you're not serious, are you?" " I'll let you know when I'm kidding." " Look, there's not much you can do." "The law says that she gets half of everything." " Yeah, does she get to keep my left nut, too?" " Well, that all depends on whether or not the court determines it to be an asset." " What do you got in this thing?" "You're such a tease." "I'm a tease?" "I gotta finish pulling weeds, and I got a rocket in my pocket." "Sorry" "Honey, could you come here a minute?" "What?" " I want you to put some lotion on my back for me." "Mm, that feels good." "Water's calling me." "Hey, don't stop." "_ surfs up!" " Judging from the expression on your face" "I'd say you found yourself quite a masseur." "So Chris tells me you're an actress?" "I'm working on it." "Yeah." "That's a tough business." "I once had dreams of becoming an actress." "What happened?" " Well, among other things, I met my husband." "And he didn't want me working, let alone running around Hollywood looking for acting jobs." "But it all worked out for the best, I guess." " So you're telling me that Michelle got along with Mrs. Moreland?" " I'm telling you that I saw them talking." "And Michelle was laughing." "I had no reason to suspect anything." "No idea what was going on in Charlotte's mind." "It wasn't 'til later at dinner." "Charlotte was distracted, tearful." "But even then I wasn't worried." "Not really." " It's really nice of you to make dinner like this." "I wasn't expecting it to be so much like a vacation." "It's no trouble at all." "I really enjoy having guests." "What does your husband do?" " Well, he's got his hands just about everyone's pocket." "Mostly it's real estate." "on." " So how long will you be staying with us?" " Only a couple of days, if that's okay." "Of course." " You know, I really feel bad for Charlotte." "Why?" "Well, think about it." "She's out in this big house, all alone most of the time." "Her husband only comes out on weekends." "And she doesn't seem to like him much." "It'd be enough to drive me nuts." "Well, you're here to visit me, not to worry about her." "Well, that's true." "" Bed?" "Sounds like a plan." "Yeah." "Come on, hurry up." " Give me a second, give me a sec" "Come on." "Come on!" "Okay, now move over." "Come on!" "Okay, alright." "Here, come on." "No!" "Don't!" "Ah!" "Ooh!" "Don't!" "Don't." "Move." "Move!" "No, you move." " You!" " Come on!" "Don't, I don't wanna spit." "Don't." "Here, come on, move." "Don't!" "Come on!" "Get out of the way, I wanna spit." "Don't look!" "Ah!" "Stop it." "Put your head in there." " Get a towel." "Towel?" "It's your fault you gave me too much toothpaste." "I can see why you spend so much time with Charlotte." "She's so easy to talk to." "Yeah." "Hey, what's the matter?" "Nothing." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "Good." "Chris." "Are you sure that this just isn't simply a fantasy that you concocted in your own mind?" "Sleep well?" "Fine, thanks." " Chris, I'm gonna need you to go into town and pick up a few things." "Sure." "Just a few things." "There's a list on the counter." "Okay, I'll go now." "Oh, no, no, you don't have to." "It's alright." " I'll stay here and help clean up." "How sweet." " I'll see you later." " Okay." " The keys to my car are next to the paper." "I can take Michelle's car." "Oh, no, no, that's okay." "Take mine." "_ AI rig hty" "Oh, sit down." "There's plenty of time to do that." "So..." "How long have you been seeing Chris?" "Almost two years." "He's very nice." "And very, very handsome." "Yes, I know." "And you're so young." "And so beautiful." "Get up." "Slow." "Little bitch." "Michelle, darling." "I need you to do me a little favor." "I need you to call that nice, handsome, intelligent boyfriend of yours and tell him that you were called away on that movie you told him about last week." " Hi, this is Chris, thanks for calling." "Please leave your name and number at the beep, and I'll get back to you." "Thank you" "Hi honey." "My agent called me about the movie." "I'll let you know where I am." "I'll call you later." " Quite the little actress, aren't we?" "Aw." "Poor thing." "I have a few things to take care of upstairs, so you'll have to excuse me for a while." "But I'll be back to check on you later." " So you're telling me that Mrs. Moreland made it appear that Michelle had left?" "Yes." "She tried to tell me Michelle had left, but that wasn't the truth." "Charlotte was crazy with jealousy." "But I didn't know how far gone she was." "What she was willing to do because of her hatred for Michelle." "Hmm, go on." "Did you get everything?" " Yeah, but that was the longest list of a few things that I ever seen." "Oh, I'm sorry." "Oh!" "I got some flowers in there for Michelle." "Oh, she's gone." "Gone?" " Yeah, but it's good news, I think." "Her agent called and said something about a movie." " Did she leave me a note or anything?" "Um, check your machine." "She called your number as soon as she found out." "I'll be right back." "Hi honey." "My agent called me about the movie." "I'll let you know where I am." "I'll call you later." " You were right, she did leave a message for me." "So did you tell her?" "No." "Why not?" " It's not the easiest thing to do." " Well, nobody said you had to tell her." "I mean, I'm certainly not going to tell her." "No, I can't." " Look, it happens to everyone sometimes." "It's not that!" "I can't be with you anymore." "How are you?" "Fine?" "Good." "Have you ever done something you wish you didn't do?" "Don't answer." "Of course you have." "We all have." "I know I have." "You know who else has?" "I do." "Chris, your perfect little Mr. Wonderful." "He did something very bad." "Something you'd have to see to believe." "I think you'd really be upset if you knew." "Save your strength." "I don't know for what, but you just might need it." "He wanted to tell you." "He didn't know how." "At least he wanted to tell you." "That's admirable." "He just didn't know how." "They say "a picture is worth a thousand words."" "Where is she?" "I killed her." "I showed her what we did." "And then I killed her." "You what?" "She was no good for you." "She didn't know what you needed." "Only I know what's best for you." "Couldn't you tell?" "She was a whore." "A dirty, sleazy little whore who just wanted to use you." "I couldn't let that happen, I just couldn't." "You understand that, don't you?" "Don't you?" "I only did it for you." "I love you." "You do love me, don't you?" "Doesn't anybody love me?" "No!" "I wouldn't kill her." "I wouldn't do that to you." "I love you." "Chris!" "Help me!" "Chris!" "Oh my God!" "Get me out of here!" "Michelle." "It's okay." "Shit!" "It's Mr. Moreland." "You bastard." "Jesus Christ!" "I'll be damned if I knew how this happened." "I guess it really doesn't matter, though, does it?" "Things always seem to work out for me somehow." "You bastard!" "And that's it." "That's the truth, I swear." " Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find" "Ms. Arno to corroborate your story." " I told you, she was furious!" "She'll be back." "You'll see." "I'm sorry, Chris." "But taking into account these circumstances and your record," "I have no choice but to recommend confinement." "You can't." "This isn't happening." "Not again." "Michelle." " Yes, what a perfect opportunity." "A lonely, neglected rich woman." "Deprived of her, shall we say, needs." "But that's not it." " And you, an obviously attractive well-equipped young stud." "The kind of guy who would tease a woman like Charlotte Moreland until she would do anything to get your, uh, what is the right word?" "Love?" "No, you're wrong." "Wasn't like that at all." "You're trying to make me believe I'm crazy." "That I could kill people." "That's not true." "I could never hurt anybody." "It was Charlotte." "She did it." "She did it!" "Charlotte!" " I'm sorry, Christopher." "But now two people are dead." "Your story doesn't add up." "Too many holes." "I'm afraid this time I will see to it that you're committed to the Robert G. Porter" "State Hospital for the Criminally Insane." "With no chance for a parole." "Michelle." "Michelle, I still love you." "I really do." "I really do."