" Hello." " Hi." " How you all doing?" " Fine, thank you." " Here, if you don't mind." " No." "You know, when I read your ad..." "I could tell you were a man who knew how to treat a woman." "Don't say that too loud." "Why?" "Well, I just don't want people knowing I'm listed in the personals." "Why, what's wrong with the personals?" "Nothing, I guess." "You're not one of those "dark secret" types, are you?" "No, I'm not, no." "My life is like an open book." "A short, boring, open book." "Then don't be so modest." "You know, Cindy, really, I'm nothing special." "Base to Car Two." "Ben, you out there?" "What you got, Floyd?" "All kinds of people are calling about a foul smell in Goat Town." "See, this is what I do for a living." "You're a brave man." "Well, what kind of smell is it, Floyd?" "I don't know." "They say it's coming from an abandoned house on 12th Street." "Great." "Why don't you take this one?" "Because I'm going on my dinner break." "I'm kind of in the middle of something..." "Ben, it's all right, let's take it." "Let's go together." "Come on." " You got to be kidding." " No, let's go." "Come on." "Tell him." "All right." "All right, Floyd, we're on our way." "You are a nut." "Oh, man!" " Jeez, maybe you'd better wait in the car." " I don't smell anything." "What, you got a cold?" "...45, 46... 47, 48... 49, 50." "There's $2 worth." "Come on, let's go." "Cindy, wait." "Oh, man." "Cindy!" "Cindy?" "Oh, man." " Cindy, where the hell are you?" " Got you." " You scared me." " Come here, look." "Look, somebody's at home." " Man, you really don't smell anything?" " No." "You're better off." "Now you wait here." "Merlyn, honey, can you hear me?" "Someone's at the door." "Yes, darling, but we won't have to worry about that no more." "Someone's at the door." "Did you see that?" "I saw a man with his arms around a young girl." "Well, you didn't see what he did?" "You mean this." "Hi, Ben." "Remember me?" "I'm dry over here." "What happened?" "Bad date?" "Just pour." "Save some for the rest of us." "It's cold out there." "Thanks, and one more for my friend." "Oh, thanks." "Actually, I meant for my date, but hey, go ahead, knock yourself out." "I didn't see anybody." "Of course, whole town's full of ghosts tonight, anyway." " Ghosts?" " Yeah." "Either I'm hallucinating... or I'm having a thing with Cindy, the friendly ghost." "Well, mine is definitely flesh and blood." "And I'm not quite sure she's for real yet, either." "All I wanted was a girl with her head screwed on straight." "Is that too much to ask?" "Well, my girl, she's bulletproof." "I mean, she is smart, sophisticated, sexy as all get-out." "And she couldn't care less... if I disappeared on the next slow boat to Uganda." "That's a good thing?" "In my line of work, it's the main thing." "Epidemiologist." "Have plague, will travel." "So, you know, I get involved with someone... they gotta know the score." "Well, I'm sorry I missed her." "You haven't." " Hey, baby." " Oh, no." "She's your dream girl, huh?" "Sorry, I just kind of let it slip out." "Well, they all do." "Just another day in Trinity, huh, Selena?" "You cheat on Lucas, the dead come back to life." "You know, Ben..." ""cheating" is such a judgmental term." "I'm just giving him what he deserves." "Besides, Lucas has a girlfriend." "Is everybody happy." "Notes on how not to conduct your social life." "For a possible newspaper article, magazine piece." "Future psychoanalyst." "Never, and I repeat... never allow a man to goad you into thinking... that he's worth getting involved with, just because you've slept with him." "Sex doesn't equal love." "Never has." "Never will." "Nowadays it hardly even merits a dinner and a movie." "Safe sex, yeah." "Safe love... no such thing." "And if the man who's pursuing you happens to be... a small-town sheriff by the name of Lucas Buck... and that's "Buck" with a "B"... be doubly cautious." ""Try some wine, Miss Emory." ""It's good for the blood, Miss Emory." ""Have some more, Miss Emory."" "This son of a bitch is not to be trusted." "Still..." "You can't beat his charm." "Keep that thing running." "You might want to refer back to it later." "Which part?" "We ain't got there yet." "May I have this dance?" "You bury the truth and it stinks, Ben." " Watch your step." " Oh, God!" "Dig it up, Ben." "Dig it up." "Ben." "Be a man, Ben." "Confront the truth." "What I'm saying is, with x-ray vision and being able to fly and all that... nobody can beat Superman, not even Hercules." "Bet you he could." "Man, heck, Superman's got meltdown vision, too." "I lost my money to this stupid machine again." " So?" " So get me a soda, dink." "Why don't you get it yourself?" "Why don't you go on to class, little Orphan Annie?" "Why don't you go back to the sewer you came from?" "Why don't you get out of here?" " Leave him alone!" " Make me!" " Come on, Boone, let's go." " Stop it!" "It's okay." "Come on, Boone, hurry up." "Hurry up, Boone." "It's not Diet." "Come on, Boone." "They say you're so ugly your mother jumped out of the hospital window... when you were born." " Shut up!" " You shut up!" " Come on, let's get out of here." " Don't..." "Come on, Boone." "Maybe this will help." "You could have broken his hand." "You could have minded your own business... and maybe none of this would have happened, Annie." "You all right?" "Why did you do that?" " I was just trying to help." " Well, you didn't." "Boone." "Boone." "Why do you let her do that to you?" "Maybe he likes it." "Did you just see what happened, Miss Coombs?" "Should be a good lesson for you." "Don't be putting your hands where they don't belong." "At least not yet, anyway." "You go on to class, Caleb." "I'll be there in a minute." "These boys just don't know what they're messing with." "The news is awfully scary these days." " What happened?" " Dysautonomia." "It's an imbalance in the nervous system." "Usually strikes during sleep." "But you weren't sleeping, were you?" "I had a rough night last night." "Who's the lucky girl?" "Be careful." "I just might tell you." "Hey, Ben." "Heard you were in Goat Town." "Oh, yeah." "I forgot to thank you for that." "What?" "I went to your "Happy House of Smells."" "What are you talking about?" "I'm talking about that stink palace on 12th Street you sent me to." "Next time, you can skip your own dinner." "Am I missing something here?" "Ben." "Floyd wasn't on the desk last night." "He didn't send you anywhere." "What do you mean?" "He called me on the radio when I was with..." "When you were with who?" "I really don't think you want to get into this right now." "Where exactly were you on 12th Street?" "12th and Main." " Floyd, get us some coffee." " I already got a cup, Lucas." "What were you doing there, Ben?" "I was having a little flashback." "My own personal "smell-o-vision."" "A girl, a guy, a broken neck." "Seen this movie?" "Merlyn Temple sent me to that house, Lucas." " Merlyn Temple's dead." " I know." "The death of that girl was a merciful act, Ben." "If it's haunting you, if she's haunting you, then you haven't accepted that." "Start." " Why do you think she sent me there?" " How should I know?" "Maybe I ought to just go back there and find out." "Maybe you should sit your ass down and do some work." "I'm sick of keeping secrets, Lucas." "Then leave that one alone, Ben." "'Cause the next time you go back there, you'll be stinking up the place yourself." "You catch my drift?" "Hi, it's Barbara Joy." "Listen, the child support check is late again." "If you could just send it today, I'll leave the lawyer out of it this time." "It's in the mail." "I mean, it's for Ben Jr., so just as soon as you can, okay?" "Thanks." "Good afternoon, Deputy Healy." "It's Mike Butterfield... from Trinity Guardian Classifieds." "We still haven't received payment for your personal ad from last Thursday." "Could you please stop by the office tomorrow morning to work this out?" "Thanks." "Hey, Butterfield, good news." "This could be my lucky day." "Hello, Ben, this is Merlyn Ann Temple... calling from the Trinity Hall of Records." "We've got something here that I think it's important you take a look at... as soon as possible." "Please don't make this any harder than it has to be." "It's time to pay the piper, Ben." "You can't shut me out, Ben." "It's not going to be that easy." "You know what you have to do, don't you, Ben?" "Better get a shovel, Ben." "It's time to start digging." "Excuse me, I'm due for a tune-up." "Can you fit me in?" "Well, I reckon it's a little slow today." "I can see that." "Your flowers bit me." "Oh, I'm so sorry." "Pain, pleasure." "Pleasure, pain." "Oh, what's a girl to do?" "Now, why aren't you in school today, little girl?" "I came to give you a warning." "If you want to play romance, I'm game." "You can send me all the flowers you want." "But don't ever say I didn't warn you of the consequences." "Well, I guess that's just a chance I'm gonna have to take, little missy." "Not here." "Are you rejecting me, Doctor?" "Temporarily." "I don't like rejection." "Tonight, 9:00." "The pool table." "Bring your money." "Bring your stick." "Hey." "Where's Boone?" "He's not coming." "You mean, he knew I had chili dogs and fries, and he's not coming?" "Well, you snooze, you lose." "He's mad at me because of a bully." " What bully?" " Tina Rawls, an eighth grader." "Boone said I made things worse for him 'cause I stood up to her." "Well, maybe it's time that Boone learned how to stand up for himself." "You're not advocating violence, are you, Miss Emory?" "Violence is never the answer." "If you hurt someone, you've lost them." "Better to bring them over to your side." "Well, how do I do that?" "By giving them what they want." "Well, Tina wants people to steal for her." "No, no." "That's just on the surface." "What she really wants is love." "Now, what you do is, you seduce her... and turn on the charm... and make her your own." "Said the spider to the fly." "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar." "And if the girl is brain-dead?" "Your lunch is getting cold." " Thanks for getting it." " Sure." " Bye." " Bye." "What if the girl's already given herself over to him?" "Momentary lapse." "She'll come to her senses." "Unless some irrevocable force is at work." "Something she can't compete with, an almost supernatural desire." "Did I ever tell you about the illusion of free will?" "Dig deeper." "Deeper." "I am!" "Just leave me alone." "I'm doing the best I can." "Every picture tells a story, Ben." "Look, what do you expect from me?" " What do you expect me to do?" " I know he killed you." "I wasn't the only one, Ben." "I'm not the only one." "Killed who?" "Nothing." "I was just talking to myself." "I don't guess you know anything about reading title reports." "Reporting 101." "What's the address?" "It's 214, 12th Street." "That in Goat Town?" "Yeah, I think it is, yeah." "You have to look up the parcel number." "All right." "Well, the bank owns it now." "Let's see who owned it before." "My God." "Judith Temple." "Caleb's mother." "Lucas didn't want me coming back here." "Well, I heard Judy kept a lot of secrets." "Maybe Lucas was one of them." "Okay, now you can't tell Lucas we were here." "I'm not gonna tell him, Ben." "And when you open that door, you're gonna be hit with one powerful stink." "I highly recommend, if you've got a handkerchief or something... that you cover your mouth." "You don't smell anything?" "Oh, man!" "This place was a sanctuary for kids." "Kids who didn't have any other place to go, would come here." "You know, they used to call my Aunt Judy, St. Judy." "Why's that?" "Well, Jude was the patron saint of children." "I'm gonna go upstairs." "Gail, you mind telling me what we're looking for?" "Whatever Lucas is hiding." "Let me tell you about the illusion of free will." "The illusion of free will." "She doesn't live here alone." "Have you see my mother lately?" "Ben." "Hey, sorry." "You look like you just saw a ghost." " Ben, I found something." " What is that?" "It's one of Lucas' favorite sayings." "St. Judy was on the receiving end." " He forced her..." " To have sex with him." "I think so." "And then she had Caleb." "Then he pushed her." ""lllusion of free will," Lucas calls it." "And he got her pregnant." "But why kill her?" "Maybe it was an accident." "Did she jump, or was she pushed?" "You've got no conscience about anything." "All guilt is relative." "Loyalty counts." "Never let your conscience be your guide." "The death of that girl was a merciful act, Ben." "Confront the truth." "It's too late for my mother." "Now she's dead." "And besides..." "Lucas already covered all his tracks." "You're not gonna find anything here." "Well, great." "Now what?" "Go back to the abandoned house." "I've already been there." "Just tell me what you want me to do." "You want me to arrest him?" "No." "I want you to prevent this from ever happening again." "There are people who need you, Ben." "Merlyn, you're gone, and I'm sorry." "And I'm sorry about your mother, too." " But there's nothing left for me to do." " There's Caleb." "And Gail." "Gail?" "What about her?" "She's with Lucas now." "But it's not too late for her." "Not if you take the scales from her eyes." "Merlyn, don't..." "Everything all right, sir?" "No." "Interesting likeness." "You were involved with her, weren't you?" "Involved?" "That's a bit tricky." "Tricky?" " Where did you get this?" " That doesn't matter." "But I've seen more pictures, and drawings, and letters." "She was obsessed with you." "Well, I guess I should be flattered." "Now I know why you've been so interested in Caleb." "You're his father." "Well, there's a leap." "Am I wrong?" "Am I wrong?" "No." "Don't look so surprised." " How did it happen?" " How do you think?" "Were you having an affair?" " "An affair"?" "That what we're having?" " Answer me." "She was my family." "She was more than that." "I think you recognize a kindred spirit." "Like you, Judith naively believed that she could control her own destiny." "But where you part company..." " is at the bedroom door." " So, what do you mean?" "Was she a lover or wasn't she?" " Love had nothing to do with it." " So you raped her." "Was that it?" "The illusion of free will." "You son of a bitch!" "Yes or no?" " Yes or no, Lucas?" " You really want to know?" "Yes!" "I know what you are." "In my soul, I know what you are." "And would you change me if you could?" "No." "Get off!" "So tell me the truth." "For once." "Okay, I will." "I didn't do it." "If they would fix this stupid machine." "Watch this." "My arms are just long enough." "Nope." "These two are mine." "But I'll teach you how to get some of your own." "Move aside." "Instead of going right, go left." " You feel the metal bar?" " Yeah." "Now push it down." " Push it down." " Okay." "Oh, my God." "Caleb, please unplug this thing." " Nope." "Don't think so." " What?" " Believe I'm thirsty now." " Come on, Caleb." "My arm!" " Come on, Caleb, please." " Wonder what would hit the spot." " You could break my arm." " Could be right." "Let me go and we'll call things square, please." "Please, Caleb." "I'm sorry." "You ever read the Bible, Tina?" "They got the expression in there, "Eye for an eye."" " Sheriff Buck taught me that." " Caleb, please, I'm sorry." "I'm kind of torn between root beer and orange." "Which would you choose?" "What do you want from me?" "Nothing, I already got it." "My arm!" "Caleb, please!" "Merlyn!" "All right, Merlyn!" "You wanted me to come back here." "Well, here I am." "So, if you got something to show me, do it now, 'cause it stinks in here." "What you smell is the truth, Ben." "As hard as you try to bury it, you can't." "It just keeps festering until somebody digs it up." "I'm not the only one with secrets." "You watched me die." " You watched my mother." " What could I do?" " What could I do?" " Anything." "Scream." "Cry." "Denounce." "Anything." "All right, Merlyn, all right." "But I'm trying now." "I'm trying, but I feel like I'm blind or something." "No." "Look around you." "Who are they?" "Kids from the neighborhood." "Kids that might have had a life... if they'd only had someplace to go." "Are they dead?" "See how one person affects so many lives?" "If Judith had survived... there might have been a place for these children." "Oh, my God." "It's too late for us, Ben." "But not for you." "Hi, sweetheart." "Are you the..." "You're the one who lives here." "Oh, honey." "We got to get you to a doctor, honey." "No." "My mother will kill me." "No, she won't, honey, not for getting help." "You're freezing to death." "No." "She left me here." "I can't leave." "If I'm not here, she'll..." "She needs me." "Now, honey, now listen to me, all right?" "We'll get you patched up." "Then I'll explain things to your mama, okay?" "Come on." "Come on, it'll be okay." "I promise." "Let's go." "Okay, here we go." "You ever been in a police car before?" " No." " They go real fast." "I thought she deserved it, but afterwards..." "Afterwards what, son?" "You felt a twinge of remorse?" "Yeah, I guess so." "Well, don't bother." "Remorse is for babies." "She'll hate me now." "What do you care?" "She'll respect you." "Hey, Ben." "Terrific job out there tonight." "Ben's the one who delivered our girl safely into the doctor's care." "Good work, Deputy." " She hurt bad?" " Bad enough." "But she's more scared than anything else." "Tina?" "Go ahead, see for yourself." "You defied me." "Yes, sir, I did." "I consider that house a sacred place, Ben." "A woman that I cared for... invested a good part of her life there." "I know." "I suppose... she would have been proud of you." "I can't look the other way anymore, Lucas." "If I see something that bothers me..." "I'm going to speak up about it." "Okay." "Well, say it." "Say it." "You raped her, and then you killed her." " Who?" " Judith Temple." "Caleb's mother." "Hey, Ben." "You know what?" "You're right." "But if you ever defy me again..." "I'm gonna cut off your head and use it for a bowling ball." "Good night." " Did you run a background check on her?" " Yeah." "Mother was single, alcoholic." "Left town about six months ago." "She's probably been living in that house by herself ever since, poor thing." "Well, she's lucky you found her, Ben." " Was her hand broke?" " Yeah, but that's not the worst of it." "She's hypothermic." "Night like this, no heat, she might have frozen to death." "Well, whatever it takes to fix her up, I'll pay for it myself." "I keep hearing what a terrible person Lucas is." " But if he hired you..." " No." "He hired me 'cause I was a weak, yellow sack of manure." "I thought that was your aftershave I was smelling." "I think what you're smelling is fear." "But I'm gonna deal with it now." "Good." "You go home and get some rest and I'll call you tomorrow with an update." "All right, thanks." "How you feeling?" "I imagine you're pretty sore at me." "I would be, too, if somebody pulled a trick like that on me." "Say something, Tina." "I'm really sorry." "I really am." "That was a mean, stupid, cowardly thing I done... and I'm ashamed of myself." "And you don't have to forgive me neither." "I just want you to understand, so I can understand." "This was supposed to be some kind of lesson, I guess." "Yeah." "I learned one, all right." "He..." "Something made me do it, Tina, but..." "No." "I have free will, don't I?" "That's not the lesson I'm talking about." " I learned I could trust somebody." " You did?" "Good. 'Cause I'm gonna turn over a new leaf." "I'm not cut out for this bully thing." "Not you." "Not yet, anyway." "Not yet." "So, you want to stay with me tonight?" "No." "Well, at least let me drive you home." " What a strange thing to do." " What?" "Stand me up." "What, hasn't that ever happened to you before?" "Not that I can remember." "Well, welcome to the real world, honey." "They're not all what they seem." "Well, who is?" "I'm not." "Lucas sure the hell isn't." "Maybe he just got stuck at the hospital." "Maybe not." "Anyway, I'm a big girl." "I can believe whatever I want." "Night, Allie." "Night, Selena." "Hey, Allison." "You still open?" "Always." "Now, you're gonna drive me to drink." "You did real good, Ben." "My mama would have been proud of you." "So." "So?" "What about that dance?" "You know, I think I've finally figured out what my problem is." "And what's that?" "All the good ones are dead."