"Oh, God..." "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change..." "Why do you fight it so hard, Earl?" "The courage to change the things that I can..." "Come on." "You've been a good boy for a long time." "You know you want to do this." "And wisdom..." "Wisdom to know the difference." "Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it." "Trusting that He will make all things right ifl surrender to His will, that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next." "Amen." "I could go on and on about what a great guy Earl is, how he gives so freely of his time and his money, even how he..." "Well, even how he cuts his toenails." "Let's get Earl up here to speak for himself." "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a businessman, philanthropist, a very dear friend, and the Portland Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year," "Mr. Earl Brooks!" "Thank you all very much." "The first thing I would like to say is that I..." "I don't even know how I cut my toenails." "Twenty years ago, when I started the Brooks Box Factories, I never dreamed I would..." "I never dreamed that I would one day be standing here." "Did you see Sis Wallace's dress?" "You could see her nipples." "At her age." "Wow." "She's got to keep those things hidden." "The only thing that would have made this evening more perfect is if Jane had been here." "Emma, she called to congratulate me, all right?" "She has midterms coming up." "I think she's dropping out." "We'll see." "Nothing she does is wrong to you, is it?" "Well, she missed a good party." "It's not like it's not set up." "You already know how to bypass the alarms." " You know how to pick the locks." " No." "You're the fucking Man of the Year." "You deserve a treat." "No, Marshall." "I said no." "Well, I heard you." "But you don't mean no." "What's wrong?" "Nothing." "You're frowning." "I'm thinking about what I didn't say in the speech." "Honey." "It was so moving." "You made us all laugh." "I don't think anybody felt left out." "They have their dance class tonight." "We could just drive by and look at them." "There's no harm in just having a look." " No means no, Marshall." " Please." "Pretty please." "I thought the food tonight was very good, but I was not crazy about the dessert." "Would you like to stop somewhere and get something sweet?" "Okay." "I know that I don't want a small dog." "Labradors are supposed to be great." "The Voltes have always had golden retrievers." "They're very happy with them." "There's an Irish Lab that I read about." "It's a little smaller in build and still as playful." "Standard poodles." "People are very happy with them." "But maybe a rescue mutt." "What do you think?" "Don't let me do this." "Don't let me do this, please." "I don't want to start again." "You promised, Earl." "You promised." "Please." "Please." "Why do you fight it so hard, Earl?" "I'm going to stay up awhile, maybe go to the studio and play with some glazes." "Okay." "I'm going to read." "If I'm not awake, wake me when you come back." "By the way," "I thought you were wonderful tonight, Mrs. Brooks." "Thank you, Mr. Brooks." "Oh, lordy, Earl my boy, I have missed this." "We are going to have so much fun." "This is the last time, Marshall." "Understand me." "It's the very last time." "Don't you dare quit on me, you piece of shit." "I want to see what they're doing." "Hello." "Be quiet." "Sit up." "Whoa, Earl." "What the fuck is this?" "These fucking pigs like to do it with the curtains open." "You should have known that." "This is a big mistake for you, Earl." "Almost like I want to get caught, huh, Marshall?" "Well, don't fucking do that." "I don't think either of us would enjoy spending the rest of our lives on death row, or a lethal injection." "Yes, sir." "Oh, God, forgive me." "Forgive me." "Please forgive me." "Please forgive me." "Please." "Please forgive me." "Oh, God, please forgive me." "You're a fucking artist, Earl." "I'll give you that." "Don't even think about it." "You know the rules." "Now go upstairs and make love to your beautiful wife." "Can we have the room, please?" "Thank you." "There's your thumbprint, right there." " One his, one hers?" " That's what it looks like." "This guy hasn't been active for over two years." "He always rearranges the bodies, but this is way out of character." "Usually, it's much more romantic, arms around each other, kissing, mouths open, tongues touching." "The bullets went straight through the victims." "The killer recovered the slugs." "Were these open or closed when you got here?" "Closed." "Hmm." "Could be the work of a copycat." "No, it's never been revealed to the public that the killer retrieves his slugs." "Jesus." "I was hoping this guy was either dead or in jail on some other charge." "We checked the whole neighborhood." "So far, nobody saw a thing." "Leaving them like this, he must've been really angry at them for some reason." "Where would they keep their vacuum cleaner?" "So, I'll bet you 100 bucks, Hawkins, that there's no bag in this vacuum cleaner." "I have no idea what the hell you looking for." "He vacuumed the house and took the bag." "Well, what if he killed somebody that didn't have a vacuum cleaner?" "He wouldn't do that." "Our best hope is if someone in there saw something." " Detective Tracy Atwood?" " Yes?" "Hi." "This is for you." "You've been served." "You fucking asshole!" "I am in the middle of a fucking murder investigation." " Listen, lady, I'm just the messenger." " Hawkins, what's the deal here?" "Conroy, get this ass out of here." "What is it?" "My soon-to-be-ex-husband's scumbag lawyer trying to show me just how painful she can make my life if I don't give them what they want." "Are there any new members?" "Okay." "Hello, my name is Vaughn." "I'm an alcoholic and I haven't had a drink in 10 months." "Hi." "My name's Earl and I'm an addict." " Anyone else?" " You are such a fucking hypocrite." "If you were honest you'd step up there and say," ""Hi, I'm Earl." "I killed two people last night." ""I really got off on it, but I need your help to be cured. "" "I'm different, Marshall." "I won't argue that with you." "But this is the only place that has ever helped me be normal and I have been straight, up until last night, for the past two years." "I'm not going to kill again and I am not going to quit coming here because it upsets you." "We need a clean-up crew for afterwards." "We need some volunteers for the..." "Thank you, Earl." "I appreciate that." "Based on your requirements, this is our first attempt..." "Mr. Brooks, your daughter is waiting for you in your office." "Well, I hope this is what you had in mind." "If not, we would love to work with you further on the design." "It's always fun to challenge our machines." "Now, if you gentlemen would excuse me," "I need to see how much this is going to cost me." "Understand." "Daughter cost money." "Me, too." "I believe you do understand." "Matt Johnson wants to schedule a lunch for Friday." "Can I talk to..." " Sunday, did..." " Can you hold just a second?" "Did Jane call and say she was coming?" "I would have given you that message, Mr. Brooks." " She in there?" " Yeah." "She..." "She has some boxes and suitcases downstairs." "And she didn't have any money for the cab." "And you paid for that?" " Thank you." " You're welcome." " Hold my calls." " Sure." "I told you." "When it's appropriate." "You let me know." "And could I have some water?" "Hello, gorgeous." "What are you doing here?" "I'm sorry, Daddy." "Please don't be angry with me." "All right, I can guess what you've done, but why don't you tell me, and then I'll decide." "I dropped out of school." "Oh, Jane." "Okay, have you told your mother?" "No, I wanted to talk to you first." "Well, you're going to have to tell her, Jane, all right?" "I'm not going to do that for you." " Why can't you..." " Sit." "And then, together, the three of us will decide where to go from here." "Okay, but I've thought a lot about this." "College is a waste of time for me." "How does..." "How does somebody know that halfway through their freshman year?" "You didn't even go to college, Daddy, and you're successful." "I want to come work for you." "She's not telling you everything." "She's hiding something." "I know." "I'm not hiring right now, sweetheart." "Okay, but just listen to me for one second." "Jane." "All right." "Look, what would happen to the business, if, God forbid, something were to happen to you?" "Okay." "Mom would probably have to sell to strangers." "Now, look, I'm willing to start at the bottom." "You can treat me like a regular employee." "I just want to learn everything there is to know about running the box business." "Then, when the time comes, it can stay in the family." "Hmm." "Well, that's sweet, honey, but you're not talking about business." "You're talking about emotion." "Now, get up." "In fact, your mother and I came this close to selling out last year." " What?" " That's right." "And had we been offered a little more money, and they still may come back to us, we would sell." "What would you do without the business?" "Yes?" "I'm sorry." "The man outside insisted that I give this to you." "He claims that you'll find what's inside very interesting." "What is he, Sunday?" "Is he a salesman?" "I've never seen him before." "I'll just give it back to him." "I'll tell him to call..." "No, Sunday." "Sunday, here." "Thank you." "Jane, part of spending four years at college is to give yourself a chance to find out" "who you are and what you want to do." "I'll talk to Mom, but I'm not going back to school." "Mmm-hmm." "And where would you live?" "To save money, I would move back home." "But no rules, no curfew." "I want to be treated as an adult." "And would you pay for rent?" "Hmm?" "Would you pay for food?" "No, Dad." "You're a very wealthy man." "I think you can afford to keep me." "Sunday, would you show the gentleman who gave you the envelope into the conference room and tell him that I will meet him there?" "SUNDA Y ON INTERCOM:" "No problem, Mr. Brooks." "And..." "What happened to the BMW, Jane?" "A friend's going to drive it up." "It'll be here next weekend." "And get Jane a cab." "Call your mother." "Are you going to give me a job?" "If it were up to me, and I think your mother will agree with this," "I think you should go back to school." "You see that, Marshall?" "That's why I didn't want to do the dance couple!" "Stop your fucking whining, Earl." "You enjoyed doing that couple just as much as I did." "And look at the bright side." "He came to us." "He didn't go to the cops." "If he tries to shake us down, we kill him, period!" "We make it fun, but we kill him." "End of story." "What can I do for you, Mr..." "Let's say Smith." "Okay, Mr. Smith." "Before you get the wrong impression, Mr. Brooks," "I'm not here to shake you down." "Well, then, these are the only copies of these photos, and you have no others." "No." "I have other copies and other photos." "And if anything happens to me..." "How did you find me, Mr. Smith?" "You're Man of the Year, Mr. Brooks." "Your picture was in the paper." "And if it hadn't have been..." "I don't know." "I don't know what I would've done." "Lucky me." "What is it that I can help you with?" "I've been watching that couple for months." "Yeah." "They liked to make love with the blinds opened." "Sometimes I would take pictures." "You know, visual aids for later." "It's a great way to get off, I'll tell you that." "It was fun, I thought, until I saw you kill them." "And I have never, ever felt a rush like that, ever." "I know you're the Thumbprint Killer." "You've done this before." "What I want..." "What I want is for you to take me with you next time you kill someone." "And I'd like that to be soon." "And you were worried this was going to be unpleasant?" "The answer is simple." "Just tell Mr. Smith that you've decided never to kill again and he'll go away." "You enjoy watching me suffer, don't you?" "In a word, yes." "Where do you think he has the other pictures?" "He put them in a safety deposit box, but I'll bet the box is at the bank where he keeps his checking account, and the key" "is on his key chain." "He really wants to do this." "He's not going to the cops." "We have a deal?" "From the angle of these pictures, you live on the third floor of the apartment building across the alley from the couple's house." " Well..." " Yes or no, Mr. Smith?" "Yes." "What time do you get home from work?" "6:30, 7:00, depending on the traffic." "You can never come here again." "You can never call me." "Do you understand that?" "Yes." "Okay." "Tomorrow night." "Not tonight." "Tomorrow night at 8:00, leave your apartment building and walk east." "I'll pick you up there." " If you're thinking about doing anything..." " We're both aware of the rules, Mr. Smith." "But I feel I must warn you." "If it turns out that you enjoy killing, it can become very addictive." "It could ruin your life." "I want to do this." "Okay." "Have I covered everything?" "I can't think of anything else." "Then I'll see you tomorrow night, Mr. Smith." "We've talked to our client and we've come up with a figure that we feel is more than fair." "We can have a check for that amount in your office by 6:00." "Oh, well, we told you in the beginning what we wanted." "That hasn't changed." "We feel our offer is more than generous." "I paid for everything while we were together." "And now I'm being asked to give this guy a bonus?" "For spending time with me?" "Time that I've already paid for in the first place?" "You know as well as I do, counselor, you're not going to get $1.5 million." "Oh, I don't know that." "No." "Well, in fact, this is the front page of yesterday's paper." ""Hangman escapes. "" ""After torturing his victims, Thorton Meeks would hang them in public places," ""church steeples, balconies, freeway overpasses... "" "Where is this going?" "Well, your client captured Mr. Meeks." "Come on, Tracy, this is not a lot of money for you." "And we both know how frightened I was after Meeks said he was going to escape and come back and kill you." "Let me ask again." "What is your point?" "Our point is that Meeks or someone like Meeks may come after my client in order to hurt your client." "That's very imaginative, counselor, but it's not based in reality at all." "Jesse?" "Now, just let us handle this, please?" " Tracy..." " Jesse, you know what would make me feel really safe right now?" "If you got hit by a truck and died." "Well, that's it." "Mr. Vialo and I are leaving." "You've threatened the safety of my client." "We're going to have to get a restraining order." "See you in court." ""Get hit by a truck and die. "" "Fuck it." "It felt good." "It's not what's here, it's what's not here that's interesting." "I mean, if I didn't know better, I'd say these people were killed by a ghost." "The autopsy said there was a tiny piece of plastic in the female victim's brain." "It's a dead end." "He bags the gun." "He puts a one-gallon plastic freezer bag over his hand to his wrist." "The little bit of plastic comes out with the first slug and the shells go in the bag." "I hear you're looking for me." "I received a subpoena from your husband for your work records, where you were, date and times, for the past two years." "They're just trying to blackmail me into a settlement, but my lawyers assure me that it'll never go to court." "I can't take that chance." "Almost three quarters of your cases are current, so until you settle your divorce, I'm going to have to put you on a desk." "That's also blackmail." "Do you have any idea what this guy has done to me?" "While we were married?" "While I was paying for everything?" "He was just out fucking every woman he could get his hands on." "He fucked my friends." "He fucked my cousin!" " He made me look like an idiot." " And?" "And what?" "Get over it." "You can't grow old as a woman without having at least one lousy man in your life." "You can't grow old as a woman without having at least one lousy man in your life." "Well, I made him an offer and I'm not going to give him a dime more." " Did you hear that Meeks escaped?" " Yeah." "I've got every unit looking for him." "Do you want me to put a detail on you?" "I think I can take care of myself." "That's one of your biggest problems, Tracy." "You don't know how to ask for help." "What the fuck?" "What the fuck?" "Don't worry." "If I were here to kill you, you would already be dead." "After you left today, I realized that our friendship was a little one-sided." "So, tomorrow night when we meet, would you be so kind as to bring all the pictures and the memory card from your camera?" "That way we can like each other simply for who we are." "If you don't show up," "I will presume that you've gone to the police and I will kill you." "Even if I go to jail because of you, Mr. Smith, someone will find you, wherever you are, and they will kill you." "Mr. Brooks?" "Mr. Brooks?" "Mr. Brooks." "Mr. Brooks?" "Wow!" "It's nice to have you home." "Doesn't my happiness mean anything..." "Hello." "Hello." "You have to explain things to me because I'm your mother." "That's why." "What's wrong, girls?" "Hmm?" "Ask your daughter what the real reason is she dropped out of school." "I told you, it's not the real reason." "Honey, you wanted to go to college." "You had good grades." "Your father pulled in favors to get you into that school." "If this isn't the reason, then please, dear God, tell me the reason." "Why does your mother think that you've dropped out of school?" "I'm pregnant." "But that's not the reason I dropped out." "Being pregnant wouldn't keep me from going to school if I wanted to." "Who's the father?" "Some guy I was seeing." "Some guy?" "Does he know?" "Of course he knows, Dad." "He's married and got two kids and wants nothing to do with me." "Oh, honey." "Oh, honey." "I'm not going to go through with it, so there's nothing to be upset about." "I mean, I wasn't even going to tell you guys." "There will be no abortion, Jane." "No, Dad." "You're not going to tell me what to do, okay?" "It's my body and I'll do what I want with it." "I'm sorry, you're right." "I said it wrong." "I wasn't trying to tell you what to do." "What I was..." "What I was trying to say is that a grandchild would be a wonderful gift for your mother and me." "Would you really want to have a grandchild?" "Even if I'm not married?" "Yes." "A child is what's important." "We would..." "We would love it and cherish it completely." "And we would..." "We would help you raise it." "If it means that much to you, I'll think about it." "I'm going to have to start getting up a little earlier, aren't I?" "Oh, my God." "Well, we were right." "She was hiding something." "Pregnant's not all of it." "She's hiding something bigger." "Something much bigger." " You think so?" " I know so." "And so do you." "It's darker tonight than it was on your night." "But still..." "How did you manage to not bump into the furniture?" "Was the light on?" "Or did you turn it on?" "Because I know you, and you wouldn't risk a shot in the dark." "Where have you been?" "Did you miss the thrill of killing?" "What if these are stuck closed because you yanked them closed?" "Which would mean..." "They were open when you came into the room." "Thank you." "I appreciate your time." " Sorry." "Sorry." " No, I'm sorry." "I was just about to knock." "I'm Detective Atwood, Portland Police." " How are you doing this evening?" " Fine." "You a photographer, Mr. Baffert?" " No." " No?" "Thank you." "No, actually it's kind of a hobby." "I just started." "Well, I don't know if you're aware, but there was a murder." "Yes, in the house across the way." "Well, you didn't happen to see anything unusual or suspicious that night, did you?" "No." "No." "I wondered that when it happened, but no." "I'm sorry." "I'm supposed to be meeting somebody and I don't want to be late." "Well, here's my card, if you do hear something." "Remember anything." "Yeah, I wish I could be more help, but..." "Sorry." "He looks clean." "Looks like he's alone." "No, I'll tell you, he really wants to do this." "Maybe I should pull over there and pick him up." "No, just honk." "Maybe he'll get killed crossing the street and save us the mess of doing it." "Almost." "It's coming down hard." "They say it will be sunny tomorrow." "I never trust those guys." "They say it's going to be clear and then it rains, and they say it's going to rain and it's sunny." "I believe this is what you asked for." "The pictures and the memory card, all here?" "Boom." "You and I both know that not all the pictures are in here." "And you made a copy of the memory card, isn't that so?" "But you understand my position." "Yes, I do." "But it's my hope that once you get to know me better, you'll feel comfortable in giving me everything that I have asked you for." "Sounds fair." "I thought you might be interested in this." "This is the policewoman who is looking for you." "Wow." "We've never known anyone who was looking for us before." "We're going to have to find out everything there is to know about this woman." "This is close, Marshall." "This is too damn close." "So, what's the plan?" "What do we..." "What are we doing here, tonight?" "We drive around until we see someone we think we might enjoy killing." " Really?" " Mmm-hmm." "You don't have somebody in mind?" "I don't enjoy this, Mr. Smith." "I do it because I'm addicted to it." "And before you entered my life I vowed that I would never kill again." "So this is your party." "You can choose anyone you want and we'll do it together." "Can it be somebody that I know?" "No." "You never kill someone you know." "It's the easiest way to get caught." "Okay?" "Yeah." "Buckle up." "You look a little bit like that E.T. guy." "Remember that movie when he flies on the bike?" " Yeah, yeah." "I like that movie." " Yeah." "Jesus Christ." "Fuck him!" "It's his fault." "He's an asshole." "Fuck you." "Maybe Mr. Smith would like to kill the driver of the pickup." "What about the driver of the pickup?" "What if we kill him?" "Yes." "Yes!" "I've always wanted to fucking kill somebody who fucked with me in traffic." "Well, do you want to kill the driver of the pickup or the owner?" "They may not be the same." "The driver." "Okay." "We'll drive around until we get a good look at him or her." "Would it bother you to kill a woman?" "No." "No, an asshole's an asshole." "I wasn't in town that night." "My roommate was." "Maybe he saw something." " Well, may I speak to him?" " He's on his way to Tokyo right now." "He's also a flight attendant." "Did the victims ever leave their bedroom curtains open?" "All the time." "I don't know if they thought we couldn't see them doing it, if that's what you're asking, or if they didn't care." "Well, here's my card." "If you could have your roommate call me, and the people at this number know how to reach me any time of day or night." "I won't be here." "But I'II leave him a note." " Okay, great." "Thank you." " Sure." "Would you recognize him if you saw his driver's license picture?" "Yeah." "I've memorized the license number." "You write it down." "I got it." "Wow." "Well, when you get home, go on the Internet." "Find out everything you can about this guy." " We aren't going to kill him tonight?" " No." "We could, but then we wouldn't be in control." "We could leave loose ends." "And we both know the danger of that." "Yeah, we do." "What are you doing?" "What are you doing?" "Look at me." " Look at me." " Why?" "Close your eyes." " Why?" " Close them." "What's the license plate number?" "Shit!" " P, 4..." " No." "I know it's Oregon." "Because of the tree?" "Don't feel bad." "I've been doing this a long time." "Pen, paper." "Look out the window and write it down." "Okay." "What was your first time like?" "You really don't want to know that much about me, Mr. Smith." "No, I think that was right." "Go back." "Okay." "We're in." "For all the taxes we pay, you'd think they'd make it more difficult to hack into the police personnel file." "Her father's Gerald Atwood." "Why does that ring a bell?" " Someone you did business with?" " No." "Someone we killed?" "No, not someone we killed." "Let me see here." "MBA, College of William and Mary." "She's been a cop for 12 years." "Married Dr. Carlson, divorced Dr. Carlson, married a Jesse Vialo, restaurateur." "Separates from Jesse Vialo, sued for support by Jesse Vialo, seeing a shrink because of Jesse Vialo." "She's caught a lot of people." "And look here." "This isn't the first time she's been looking for us." "Okay, here we are." "Jesse Vialo." "Good-looking, a little younger than she is." "Younger, restaurateur..." "She married him on the rebound from the doctor and I'll bet he married her for her money and connections." "Just because her old man's rich doesn't mean she's rich." "Maybe he's one of the kind of guys that would rather give it to the opera than to his kids." "Wouldn't she have to declare any outside income and holdings?" "You are..." "You are a genius." "The opera didn't get much." "Hmm." "Why would a woman worth 60-plus million dollars, and probably more to come" "want to be a cop?" "I like that about her." "You are such a fucking snob, Earl." "You like her because she's rich." "No, I like her because she's found something that's hers." "It's not the family business and she's good at it." "I'd like Jane to find something that's hers and that she could be good at." "That's exactly why Atwood scares the shit out of me." "She's a cop who doesn't need the money and she's looking for us." "That's one fucking dangerous human being." "The fact that you're not wrong does not make me admire her any less." " Hey, Nancy." " Hi, Tracy." "Thank you for meeting me here." "I got you a latte." "Thanks." "Do you mind if we walk and talk while I hear about your big idea?" "Sure." " You really want to settle this?" " If I can." "I'd like to use your father." "No." "My father does nothing for nothing." "Tracy, I understand, but your father has a lot of political muscle." "Now, his pull won't make everything go away, but it'll be a tremendous help." "Absolutely not." "You're right." "We could have done this all on the phone." "If you're willing to play the game and ride the desk for a year," "I'm sure we can settle at 1.25, 1.5." "I'm not sitting on a desk." "Then the only other option is your father." "Or money." "1.5, and that's it." "Okay." "I'll call them today." "I just need to get this done as soon as possible." "That's what Jesse's counting on." "I'll call you when I have something." "Oh, Tracy!" "Your husband says there's a picture of him holding some trophy that you still have?" "What picture?" "He has everything." "He claims it's his favorite picture, and you put it up where you store your suitcases." "I'II look." "I know." "Petty." "But you're going through a divorce." "Thanks for the latte." "I told you I was coming back to get you." "I already found a place where I'm going to hang you." "But first..." "I'm going to watch her have some fun with you." "Then she's going to watch me have some fun with you." "You know the drill." "Don't fucking move!" "Shoot me!" "Come on, shoot me, motherfucker!" "Five down." ""Sleeper's demon. "" "Sleeper's demon." "Incubus." "Maybe he went home with someone else." "Can you still see his pickup?" "Mmm-hmm." "This is not the kind of guy who leaves his pickup in an unguarded lot overnight." "How do you know that?" "Somebody didn't do their homework last night." ""Tom Sawyer's villain. "" "Tom Sawyer's villain." "Let me get it." " Injun Joe." " Yeah." "Where do we know that guy from?" "You really should pay more attention to what you read, Earl." "Well, that's what I have you for, Marshall." "His picture was on the front page of the papers a couple days ago because he escaped from jail." "He's the killer they call The Hangman." "Remember that cop that you like?" "Atwood?" "Who's chasing us?" "She's the one who put him away." "Well, well, well." "What would life be without surprises?" "There he is." "There he is!" "You know what's wild?" "This guy, I bet he's got all sorts of plans for tonight, tomorrow night..." "He has no idea he'll already be dead." "He won't be able to do any of them." "Nope." "I don't think I want to kill this guy." "What?" "I love what you are thinking." "You have no idea what I am thinking." "Yes, I do, and it's wonderfully twisted." "Wait a minute." "You promised." "I know I said we would, but I don't think it would be that much fun." "So that's it?" "Just no?" "Yes." "I see." "Did you get the license plate?" " Yeah." "We found the van in an underground parking lot about two miles from where they left you." "It was stolen last night." "We're checking security camera tapes." "If Meeks and the woman left in a car, we'll have a license plate number." "These are the women we have pictures of who know Meeks." "None of the attendants remember seeing them." "What about that chiropractor, Alvin Griffin?" "You know, the one who sold Meeks the steroids." "We've had a tap on his phone ever since Meeks escaped." "No contact there so far, and he sure isn't going to talk to us." "How about a warrant to search the house?" "You get me in the door and he'll talk to me." "How's your divorce going?" "I took your advice and told my lawyer to settle." " None of these are the woman in the van." " Whoa." "Trying to suture up here." "Sorry." " And your ego can handle that?" "No, but it doesn't like the other choices." "Because the FBI is riding hard on me to take over the Thumbprint Killer." "Until Meeks is caught, Hawkins is with you." "Nothing personal, Hawkins, but I don't think you'd take a bullet for me." "I wouldn't take the bullet, I might push you out of the way." "I'll give you two days." "Then I want a progress report on your divorce." "Look, I have all the pieces for the Thumbprint Killer." "I'm just not looking at it the right way." "I'll keep the FBI out of it for three days." "That is ugly." "Mr. Smith wants you to notice that he's pouting." "Yes, I know." "I know you're upset, Mr. Smith, and I am sorry." "Yeah." "I'm upset." "Maybe I was a little abrupt back there, but let me explain." "Finding someone you think would be fun to kill is a bit like..." "Well, it's a bit like falling in love." "You meet a lot of candidates, and you like some of them and they're nice, but they're not right." "And that special one comes along, and your heart, it beats faster and you know that's the one." "The man in the pickup did not make my heart beat faster." "Okay, the man didn't make your heart beat faster." "Then who?" "I don't know, but I think..." "I think I have someone in mind." " Do you want me to do some work on it?" " No, let's just..." "Let's just see how it plays out." "That's what I'm talking about." "That's my problem." "That makes me feel like I'm being jerked around!" "It was supposed to be last night and then it was going to be tonight!" "And now it's, "Let's see how it plays out. "" "I feel like you're..." "I feel like you're backing out of our deal." " I don't like how that feels." " I promise you." "I promise you it will happen." "When?" "When is it going to happen, Mr. Brooks?" "When?" "Tomorrow night." "Same time." "When you come out of your building, I want you to turn right." "Go to the first street that you can go west on." " I will pick you up on that street." " Okay." "I want to do this." "But if it continues to drag out, I could change my mind." "Hmm." "Don't you think I want to do this, Mr. Smith?" "Maybe you don't think that you have to anymore." "Even if that guy was charming and funny, I still wouldn't like him." " Hi." " Hi." "What can I do for you?" "Detective Smolny, Portland Police Department." "This is Detective Carfagno." "She's from Palo Alto, California." "Emma." "Emma!" "Did Jane ever tell you that there was a murder at her school?" " No." " Nothing?" "Not that a friend died or someone she knew died?" "Or some..." "Somebody in her dorm died?" "No." "Why?" "Well, there are two detectives downstairs." "One of them is from Palo Alto." "They want to ask her some questions about a murder that occurred there shortly before she came home." "Gosh." "Well, I'm sure if she was close to somebody who was murdered she would've said something." "Yeah." "I called Roger." "He suggested a criminal attorney." "They'll be here within the hour." "Yeah." "I'll get dressed." " This is too close." " I know!" "Jane, how well did you know Phillip Ramsey?" "He and I were in a couple classes together, but that's about it." " Did you ever drive him to class?" " No." "You ever been to his apartment?" "Do you know where he lives?" " Which complex was he in?" " What happened to your BMW, Jane?" "It was actually stolen, Sunday night or Monday morning." "Detective, hold on a second." "My understanding is that she's not a suspect." "Well, that was interesting." " You know, I don't feel so well." " I think you should lie down." "Okay?" "I think she should lie down." "Dad, I'm sorry I didn't say anything before." "It was really horrible, but, I didn't know the guy that well and..." "It happened around the same time I found out I was pregnant," " so it just kind of went out of my mind." " I understand." "I'm going to go up with her." "God help me." "What do I do?" "She did it." "Didn't she?" "Yeah." "It'll take the cops a week to 10 days to put their case together and then..." "And then they will come back and arrest her." "What are you going to do?" "Oh, God." "Oh, God!" "I've been afraid of this since before she was born." "She has..." "She has what I have." "Yes, she does." "But you were always smart about it." "She was stupid." "She did it because she got off on it." "Okay, I understand." "She did it for fun." "Okay, I understand." "But why didn't she think it through?" "A hatchet?" "And she left it there?" "They were pretty graphic, weren't they?" "That was to shock her into making a mistake." "What does she think I think?" "Didn't she remember what she told me, that the BMW was being driven across the country by a friend?" "Now, right in front of me, she tells the cops that it was stolen." "You always cleaned up after her, whatever she did, all her life." "If the BMW has anything incriminating in it," "I hope it was stolen." "Or she dropped it at the bottom of a very deep lake." "Think she knows how much trouble she's in?" "I think..." "I think she thought she'd gotten away with it, until the cops showed up." "I should have listened to her." "She was trying to tell me." "It was there." ""I didn't quit school because I was pregnant. "" "I should've dug deeper." "And where would you be but at exactly the same place that you are now?" "It's not your fault, Earl." "Part of your problem with her is that you always think it is." "She has what I have, Marshall." "So, on a very basic level, it is my fault!" "What are you going to do?" "Maybe the best thing for her would be to let her go to jail." "What about her child?" "Emma and I would help her raise it." "You might be right, Earl." "You know?" "You just might be." "Because if she's not stopped, she's going to kill again, and if she really wants to take over the box business, the next victim could be" "you." "I don't think she'd go that far." "Hey." "We received a counteroffer." "Are you sitting down?" " Yeah, go ahead." " $5 million." "Oh, my God." "You got to be kidding me." "He can't get that, can he?" "No, no, no, my sense of it is that by asking for five they're hoping you settle anywhere between 2.5 and 3." "Shit." "Can you stall them?" "Well, they know you want this done quickly, so they're going to expect a quick counteroffer." "Look, I need two days." "Just wait two days." "Tell them that it's a big number and that I have to think about it." " Okay." " Oh, and that picture that he wanted?" "Tell him I couldn't find it." "Yes, Mr. Brooks?" "Mr. Brooks?" "Mr. Brooks?" "Before you open your mouth be very sure this is the right thing to do." "I will never be sure." "You get pissed at me because I'm always the one arguing to go ahead and do murder." "Not this time, Earl." "This is your decision." "I know it's wrong." "I know in my heart it's wrong." "Then don't do it." "Go with Mr. Smith tonight and finish that and let the police put Jane in jail." "Hopefully that will save her and we can happily go on with our tortured lives." "That's exactly what I want to do." "That's exactly what I should do." "The thing is, she is my daughter." "And I love her." "Mr. Brooks?" "I'm going home." " Cancel everything for the rest of the day." " I'll take care of it." "If you need me, need me, Sunday, I'll be at my studio." "Call me there." "I probably won't pick up, so just leave a message." "I'll try not to bother you." "The thing that bothers me about this, besides the fact that we are not prepared and" "a multitude of other things is what does Mr. Smith do when he's walking west tonight and you don't show up?" "That little freak could flip out." "I will take care of it on the way to the airport." "What are we doing?" "What are we doing?" "What are we doing?" "You sound like a whiny-ass kid." "We're playing a hunch." "We've been following this guy all day." "He's boring, okay?" "And everything we run on him comes up clean." "Well, if it didn't, it wouldn't be called a hunch." "Meeks, he's the guy we should be looking for." "Meeks." "Look where?" "Please, tell me." "Look, everyone knows who Meeks is and is looking for him." "The chiropractor was the last link to his old life that I know." "If we're going to find him now, then somebody's going to turn him in, or we're going to trip over him at a bus stop." "On the other hand, nobody knows who the Thumbprint Killer is or where he is." "However, I have a fucking hunch that this guy, Baffert, does." "I've got two days to play that hunch." "So, if you think you're wasting your time with me, then I'd be happy to do it alone." "I had a fight with my wife this morning." "What's your problem?" "My husband wants $5 million." "Here you are, sir." "Sir?" "Thank you." "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." "Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time." "That's it for you, asshole!" "Remember me?" "Can you step out of the car, please?" "I want to talk to you." "So, Mr. Baffert, what is it that you have to tell me?" "What do you mean?" "I don't have anything to tell you." "Really?" "Because I was driving around and I suddenly got this feeling that you had something to tell me about the murders." "No." "Nothing." "Well, that's disappointing, because when I left, after we talked last time," "I felt I had missed a clue that was right in front of me that could solve this whole case." "I don't know why you would feel that." "Didn't you tell me that you were an amateur potter, that you liked to make bowls and vases?" "No, I told you that my hobby was photography and not pottery." "Well, maybe that was it." "The flight attendant upstairs said the victims liked to keep their bedroom curtains open when they had sex." "Could I see some of those photos you took of that couple?" "You're harassing me, Detective Atwood." "You knew very well that I'm not a potter, and I don't have any pictures." "So my feeling is your feeling is wrong, and you should just move your car and let me go home." "What's your job here?" "What do you do?" "I'm a mechanical engineer." "Wow, you got to be really smart for that, don't you?" "I guess." "Then be smart, Mr. Baffert." "Because you lied to me, right there at the end." "I'll be watching you." "When you want to tell me the truth, you know how to get in touch with me." "See you later, alligator." "Captain Lister got us that search warrant for Meeks' chiropractor." "That's good." "God damn it, this guy knows something." "He almost told me and then something happened." "Think he did it?" "I don't think it's quite that simple." "You want to call for backup?" "Yeah, we should be ready for anything." "In fact, get a canine unit and a chopper." "I don't have the energy to chase this guy if he decides to run." "OFFICER ON MEGAPHONE:" "Mr. Alvin Griffin, you are surrounded." "Lay down on the floor with your hands on top ofyour head." "Clear." "Meeks was a steroid freak." "This was usually full." "It's empty now." " You think Meeks has Alvin with him?" " He thinks Alvin turned him in." "On me." "Hawkins, meet Alvin Griffin." "How do you feel?" "Dirty." "That's understandable." "You've never killed for this reason before." "The feeling will pass." "I don't think so." "That's the whole thing, Marshall." "If I could find a way to just end it all, disappear where there was absolutely no trace of me, because eventually I will get caught doing this and it will be very embarrassing for me and Emma and Jane." "So I've been thinking." "Is there a way that Mr. Smith could kill me and make me disappear?" "Well, number one, Mr. Smith is not smart enough to do that." " I know that." " Number two, there is no reason, if you're careful, to believe you will ever get caught." "I know that I will have to plan it for Mr. Smith, but I think..." "I think that's what I want to do." "Well, I'm not particularly fond of that plan, Earl." "Remember, if you die, I go with you, and I like being alive." "I like eating." "I like fucking." "I like killing." "I have to end it, Marshall." "One way or another." "And I think this is the best way." "Fuck you, then!" "Come on." " Hi." " Hi." " You worked all night?" " Yeah," "I had ideas for pots that took too long, and the clay kept winning." "It'll be fine." "Oh, and there's this yellow Chinese glaze that I'm trying to get right." "Hey, Daddy." "Thought you'd be gone already." "Roger called." "There was another murder last night at your school." "Oh?" "Yeah." "Done the same way as the one they talked to you about, right down to the hatchet being left at the scene." "They think they have a serial killer." "Obviously, you were here last night, so you're in the clear." "Wow, that's..." "That's good news, isn't it?" "I mean..." "Even if you're innocent, it's good to know you're not a suspect." "Oh, yeah." "How's the..." "How's the morning sickness?" "Better than yesterday." "You want to have lunch with me today?" "I'd love to, but I don't know how I'm going to feel later." "Thank you." "Do you love me, Jane?" "Of course I love you, Daddy." "You're my father." "Have you decided whether or not to have the baby?" "Not yet." "Okay." "It's time to go." ""Dear Emma and Jane, my loves." ""I have a terminal illness" ""and instead of subjecting you to my deterioration," ""I have decided to disappear." ""Don't try to find me." "I don't want to be found." ""Please believe that the time I spent with you" ""brought me the greatest joy ofmy life." ""Love, Dad. "" "So you're going to go through with it?" "It's all planned to work out." " Ready to rock and roll, Mr. Smith?" " Yeah." "I smell gun oil." "Different gun oil than yours." "He brought his gun." "After he gets what he wants, he plans to kill me." "Oh." "Now I get it." "You were counting on this." "It has a certain logic." "But if your plan was to have him kill you, why do you have to kill somebody else first?" "He'll need to see that to get up the courage to kill me." "Not even you believe that, Earl." "It just makes it more exciting, doesn't it?" "To think that he's going to kill you after you kill somebody else." "You're getting your rocks off, big time." "That's why you're doing this." "Not true." "And if it were, so what?" "Hello?" "Yeah, put him through." "MALE FLIGHT ATTENDANT:" "Ijust got your message." "The weird thing is that they closed their curtains." "At first they were open, like they always were, and they were making love, like they always did." "Then when I looked again, the curtains were closed and there were what looked like camera flashes coming from behind the curtains." " Camera flashes?" " That's what it looked like." "That's why he poses them." " I'm sorry?" " No, no, nothing." "Look, the guy you should talk to is the guy on the floor below us." "Would that be a Mr. Baffert?" "Yeah." "He told me once that he had taken some great pictures of that couple making love." "He's the one you should talk to." "Okay, great." "Thank you." " HAWKINS:" "Yeah." " Hawkins?" "Meet me at Baffert's apartment with a search warrant." "Put these on." "Nice outfit." "Try a couple of deep breaths through your nose." " I have to take a crap so bad." " What?" "I have to take a crap." "We won't be long." "Crap." "Called your wife's lawyer." "They're thinking about the $5 million." "Realistically, how much you think we can get?" "Well, if we go to court, best case scenario, two." "I think we should hold firm for three." "Let's not get piggish." "2.5, 2.7 would still be a great deal." "There's more if we want it." "We have to do this quickly." "Remember?" "Marie's meeting us here." "Yes." " We could ask her to join us." " It's not funny." "Are we alone?" "Yeah." "Hello." "Do it." "Do it." "Don't do that." "Mr. Baffert?" "Mr. Baffert?" "Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "You are the fucking man." "Oh, man, did you see the look on her face?" "The look on her fucking face was great!" "It was great." "It was fantastic." "That was everything that I hoped it would be." " Thank you." " You're welcome." "Mr. Baffert?" "Knock-knock?" "Anybody home?" "Mr. Baffert?" "Hello?" "Obviously, Baffert's gone..." "Hey." "Obviously Baffert's gone." "God damn it, Hawkins." "Don't you ever knock?" "I wasn't able to get the search warrant." "Well, we might've just gotten lucky." "This is the moving company's work order, and this looks like the address where they're taking Baffert's stuff." " Where were you when you called me?" " I was at home, in bed." "Can you prove that?" "I was at home in bed." "Why do I need to prove that?" "Your husband, Jesse, and his lawyer were killed tonight." "Get the fuck out." "It looks like the Thumbprint Killer." "I've been ordered to bring you in for questioning." "Why?" "I didn't want Jesse dead." "Look, I hated what he was doing to me, but I didn't want him dead." "Got it on the record, said you wanted him dead." "And who better to fake a Thumbprint killing than you?" "You don't actually believe I'd do that." "If our jobs have taught us anything, Tracy, it's that people do strange things." "They just want to ask you some questions." "And I'm happy to answer their questions after we go check out this address." " I have to take you in." " Look, this is the answer to the Thumbprint Killer and this is where I'm going." "Don't make me cuff you, because I will if I have to." "It'd be really nice if you could go with me, but if you do and this goes bad, then they're going to burn your ass." " So this never happened." " You're nuts." "Yeah, that's what they say." " Here comes the gun." " Yep." "What are you doing?" "You're smart enough to figure that out, Mr. Brooks." "Well, we're going 65 miles an hour, Mr. Smith." "If you shoot me now, there's a good chance that we'll both die." "Not now." "Take this next off-ramp." "You mean this one?" "That wouldn't be very smart of me, now would it?" "Think about this, numb-nuts." "You pissed yourself back there." "You left your DNA at the scene of a double homicide and there is nothing to indicate that I was ever there." "If the cops do an analysis of that urine, and they will, you are the Thumbprint Killer." "No." "No." "I have pictures of you from the first murder." "Yes, but what were you doing at the second murder?" "Hmm?" "Let me help you with a thought." "You say that I forced you to come along, and if I'm not here, more specifically, my body is not here to say otherwise, you might have a chance at just beating the rap." "You're probably asking yourself, "Why would I help you?"" "Well, I am tired, Mr. Smith." "I'm tired of killing, but I'm an addict." "I can't quit." "I've tried, but I cannot do it on my own, so I need you to kill me." "But I need for you to do it smart, all right?" "In a way that I disappear and my family never knows what I was." "How?" "How do I fucking do that?" "There's a cemetery I know about." "We find an open grave." "You shoot me." "I fall into the grave." "You shovel in just enough earth to cover me." "Tomorrow, a casket is lowered onto me and I've disappeared." "It's a good plan, don't you think?" "Why?" "Why should I trust you?" "You don't have to trust me, Mr. Smith." "You're the man holding the gun." "You saw me put mine in the trunk." "Remember?" "I don't know." "You really want me to kill you?" "Yes." "Okay." "Okay." "But one sudden move and I drop you, and I make sure that your family knows what you are." "I understand." "You've come down in the world, Mr. Baffert." "Take your hand out of your pocket real slow." "You don't want to climb over, do you?" "What are you doing with the key to a cemetery?" "I own it." "Why do you own a cemetery?" "Well, you always want to invest in things that people can't do without." "Water and cemeteries?" "Pretty safe bets." "Here, you'll need this to get out." "Fuck!" "Fuck!" "Hey, Atwood!" "I want to show you something." "Okay." "There we are." "Okay." "Now, if I stand here and you stand there..." "Not..." "Not too far away, and you shoot me, I should..." "I should fall straight back into this hole." "You don't think I have the guts to do this, do you?" "No, I'm hoping you do, Mr. Smith." "I'm hoping you do." "Okay, let's..." "Let's get this over with." "I'll close my eyes." "I'm sorry, Mr. Smith." "I really did want you to kill me." "But in case at the last minute I changed my mind," "I returned to your apartment and I bent the firing pin on your gun." "In fact, I even brought another one for you to use so you could finish me, if I had decided to go through with it." "Unfortunately for you, my daughter's pregnant." "And just before you pulled that trigger," "I realized how much I want to see the end of that story." "Don't do this to me." "If you touch even a hair on my head, the cops are going to find those pictures." "And they're going to know that you killed that couple." "The contents of your safety deposit box, Mr. Smith, have vanished." "It hurts, doesn't it?" "Help me!" "Before I was the Thumbprint Killer, Mr. Smith," "I killed a lot of people in a lot of different ways." "Thank you." "It says there that the Thumbprint Killer is a monster." "Annoys you a little bit you can't take credit, doesn't it?" "No." "Anyone who's good at what they do wants credit, but since I'm not going to do it anymore, I will let Mr. Smith have the credit." "Don't kid yourself, Earl." "You're going to kill again." "No, I'm not." "I'm going back to the AA meetings, and I will control it." "But there is an answer I would like to have." " Atwood." "Why are you a cop?" "Who is this?" "You're rich." "You have a good education." "You could have gone into your father's business." "Instead you went outside all of that and became successful on your own." "Why?" "If you want something from me, then you're going to have to tell me who you are or I'm going to hang up." "Did you think your husband's killing was random?" "And I certainly didn't have to give you Meeks." "Mr. Baffert?" " What's the answer?" " You don't sound like you." "Well, I have a little cold." " Are you going to give me the answer?" " Where are you?" "I'll tell you, if you can give me the true answer to my question." "My father was very disappointed that I was born a girl and he let me know it." "I've spent my whole life trying to prove him wrong." "Thank you." "Wait!" "You promised to tell me where you are." "Me?" "I'm on top of a building." "That wasn't Baffert." "Oh, Jane." "Jane." "Jane!" "Jane!" "Earl, honey, wake up." "Wake up." "You were dreaming." "Oh, Emma." "I was..." "I woke you up." "It's okay." "It's okay." " Oh, God." " I'm here." "Go back to sleep." "Why do you fight it so hard, Earl?" "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." "Living one day at a time and enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardships as the pathway to peace." "Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is and not as I would have it, trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will, that I may be reasonably happy in this life," "and supremely happy with Him forever in the next." "Amen."