"Daniel Holden was released from prison this week." "How do you feel about that?" "I feel upset." "Sure do." "So you still believe Daniel Holden is guilty." "What?" "Guilty?" "!" "He's as guilty as there's a hell waiting on him." "Daniel Holden murdered my baby girl." "And he was convicted to die." "Why ain't he dead, huh?" "Why ain't you dead, Daniel Holden?" "!" "Why ain't you dead?" "!" "Hello?" "Oh, hello." " Daniel, you awake?" " Uh-huh." "Oh, um..." "I thought maybe we could go to the refuge today." "Do you remember the refuge?" "It's still there." "They have a baboon now." "A baboon?" "Yeah." "It's just one." "They have the usual suspects, too." "Bears, bisons, chickens, cockatiels, cockatoos, cougars, cows," "America versus the world, deer, dogs, donkeys, ducks, emus, geckos." "Sound like fun?" "Oh, maybe later." "I don't know yet." "Oh, okay." "Well, I'll just be downstairs." " No worries." " No worries." ""350 degrees for 15 minutes."" "Good grief, Mother." "And thank you." "I love this country so much, if there was a bald eagle right here..." "I'd "bleep" it." "Oh, you're getting a text." "What?" "What is it?" "It's nothing." "It's just my mom." "Your mom?" " No, it's not." " Claire, give it here." "What is this?" "It's nothing." "Just someone being annoying." ""We're gonna kill your sis and make you watch, bitch."" "Can you give it back, please?" "Who sent this?" "You think I actually know?" "How long has this been going on?" "A few days." "Is this all of them?" " Jared." " No." "We have to tell somebody." "Who?" "Usually moms are a good start." "My mom, seriously?" "Well, we have to do something." "I mean, what if somebody really means it, Jared?" "Okay, fine." "Can I have my phone back, please?" "You're getting dessert this time." " Well, we'll see." " I wasn't asking." "Got himself the "Wildcat special."" "How are the biscuits today?" "Uh, good, biscuits are good." "That woman sure knows how to make the dough rise, don't she?" "Listen..." "I just wanna say I think it's a mighty noble thing you do." "Trying to right wrongs, defend innocent men." "So why don't you go find yourself one?" "Seriously, how's the family doing?" "I'm a big fan of the Teds." "Um, everyone's extremely happy to have Daniel back home where he belongs." "I bet they are." "And Daniel, how's he adjusting to life on the outside?" "Daniel is extremely happy to be back home where he belongs." "I don't think that boy's ever been extremely happy in his whole damn life." "That's hard to say." "He's never really had a life." " You mind if we get "real"?" " I always try to keep it real, Senator." "I don't give a rusty rat's ass where the jizz landed." "This case was airtight from the moment we pried that poor, dead girl from that boy's clammy hands." "It's not so much where it landed as whose it was." "That thorny little issue's gonna stick to you forever." "Well, you got lucky with that panty nonsense, I'll give you that." "I'm still not sure you realize what you're doing." "Is that right?" "Coming down here, giving one family false hope and another a whole fresh set of grief." "You ever consider how hard it is gonna be on them when we drag his ass back to prison?" "He's going back to prison?" "'Cause that's news to me." "I thought there would at least be another trial first, you know?" "Due process." "That sort of thing." "That's not my call, is it?" "I'm just a humble state senator." "That sister of his... she's a basket of firecrackers, ain't she?" "It's always a pleasure, Senator." "Daniel, honey." "Mom made a quiche." " Can I come in?" " Better not." "Well, it's nice and warm." "Could you just leave it outside?" "Outside the door?" "Uh-huh." " Sure." "Hey, Daniel." "Everything all right?" "Daniel?" "Hey, Daniel, what's going on?" "My father died." "What happened?" "Heart attack." "I'm so sorry, man." "Taking off." "There's a piece of monkey bread." "What?" "On the counter for your trip." "That's sweet, honey, thank you." "Have fun." "Won't be very much fun without you there with me, sweetie." "Are you vacuuming?" " What?" " Are you vacuuming?" "I'm almost done." "You think you might be ready to go out in a little bit?" "I don't know." "I think I might just lay low today." "Oh." "Uh... sure." "I'm sorry." "No, there's nothing to be sorry about." "I might go look at an apartment really quick." "Okay." "'Cause I'm moving back here." "Well, here's my cell number if you need me." "Mr. Gaines, how are you doing?" "Mr. Stern, welcome." "Thank you, dear." "I was sorry to hear about your, uh... situation." "How can I help you?" "Well... any insights or regrets you may have had about the case?" "You're... you're a fresh-faced boy, Mr. Stern." "That's more a matter of luck than talent." "You keep at this and you'll have two or three cases in your life... make you look like me." "Like Daniel's?" "How is he now?" "I don't know, sir." "Boy was just a baby when they put him in." "18." "But people never understand what... what gets lost in all this revisiting." "It was the tenor of the town back then." "I can only imagine." "No, you can't, Mr. Stern." "Not unless you bore witness to it." "Not unless you were knee-deep in it." "Smelled it." "Smelled what, sir?" "Some of your people know." "The older ones." "Humans don't change that much in 50 years." "Or a hundred." "Or a thousand." "It's the laws that change." "The rules of civilization." "We just repeat ourselves." "Everybody with a part to play." "What part did Daniel play, sir?" "Hanna was a girl of no means." "Beautiful, whip smart," "damned honor student." "Daniel was a... a strange boy." "Last I checked, that's not a crime." "My best hope was keep the boy off death row." "Wanted to enter a guilty plea." "Daniel's father wasn't having none of it." "I need his files, sir." " All gone, son." " What?" "My daughter, she threw them all away." "Why would she do that?" "She was so mad, she couldn't help herself." "People don't want that stuff laying around." "Boxes and boxes of pain." "It's human nature..." "they want to get past it." "I don't know why she chose to stay in this town." "The grief she took." "Her just a lawyer's daughter and, of course, she had her part to play, too." "Don't you see?" "Coming home from teaching school, crying and carrying on." "Begging me to quit the case." "Of course, I couldn't." "I had to play my part, too, to the bitter end." "Mr. Gaines, please." " I could tell you..." " Tell me what?" "I'm not so sure we didn't come from goddamn monkeys." "Going to nowhere." "Sorry, I wish I could help you." "Just don't let all of this technology lull you, son." "How's that?" "Into thinking we're in modern times." "Watch yourself." "Hello?" "♪ When we first met in '82 back in school ♪" "♪ Used to play up all the fools ♪" "♪ Sometimes you'd be my number five, sometimes you'd be my 22 ♪" "♪ But, um, screw the dumb shit, 'cause little Rhymea's true ♪" "♪ I can't wait to say "I do" and, oh, yeah, honey ♪" "♪ I got my chariot rollin' ♪" "♪ Now I'm mic controlling', got some spunk in my funk ♪" "♪ Here's my life, Rhymealinda, for better or for worse ♪" "♪ You don't stop, you don't stop ♪" "♪ And you don't stop, you don't stop ♪" "♪ And you don't stop, you don't stop ♪" "♪ You don't... you don't stop ♪" "♪ You don't stop, you don't stop ♪" "♪ And you don't stop, you don't stop ♪" "♪ And you don't stop, you don't stop ♪" "♪ And you don't stop ♪" "♪ Well, it's done, she tagged me ♪" "♪ Duck, duck, goose, I'm batter up ♪" "♪ I can't sleep, the fly brotha must produce ♪" "♪ The power pack and I'm stacked ♪" "♪ I gotta kiss her ass, my tongue I hold before I curse ♪" "♪ If you really want me, take me for better or for worse ♪" "♪ And you don't stop, you don't stop ♪" "♪ You don't stop and you don't stop ♪" "♪ And you don't stop and you don't stop... ♪" "It's the fifth one today." " Did you call..." " They're from an online texting site." "Can you track it down?" " Find the IP or something?" " It's hard to say." "Maybe, I'll have to look into it." "Do you have any idea who this could be from?" "Well, it's hard to find the biggest asshole in a sea full of assholes." "Well, in the meantime, maybe just think about getting your number changed." "That's what I said." "If I get my number changed, I'm gonna have to tell my mom." "She's gonna ask why." "Look, don't respond to it." "Keep track of all of them." "Most of all, and I mean this, hey, you call me if you need to, okay?" "Living room here." "Double doors." "Kitchen here." "Master bedroom." "Just a closet." "Master bath here." "Good water pressure." "It's strong." "Is there a washer and dryer on site?" "What?" "I never believed a word those people were saying about him." "They strung Daniel up by the balls if you ask me." "I mean, this whole case was just a bunch of crap." "That's the way I see it." "I mean, Daniel..." "we weren't... we weren't close, but... he was always very nice to me." "He, um... took care of my turtles." "Red-eared sliders mostly." "You know, uh... when my family would go on vacation, he would come feed 'em." "You know, I always meant to go see him." "But I never did." "Well... you weren't the only one." "Well, you tell him, if he needs anything," " I'm here for him." " I will tell him." "It's Melvin." "Melvin." "♪ Sometimes I want to take you down ♪" "♪ Sometimes I want to get you low ♪" "♪ Brush your hair back from your eyes ♪" "♪ Take you down, let the river flow ♪" "♪ Sometimes I go and walk the street ♪" "♪ Behind the green sheet of glass ♪" "♪ A million miles below their feet... ♪" "Daniel?" "Okay." "Hi there." "Oh." "Hi." "Come in, come in." "Are you thirsty?" " Do you want some iced tea?" " Oh, no." "I can't stay." "I just came to drop this by and maybe say hi to Daniel." "Oh, yeah." "He's resting." "I just think the past few days have been a lot for him." "I'm sure it has." "Um... well, help yourself to some monkey bread." "And would you mind just giving this card to Daniel?" "Absolutely." "I just wanna say how much I look up to you." " Really?" " For what you've done... for Daniel." "I mean, nobody fought for him like you did and now he's here, out in the big blue world." "Thank you, Tawney." "I don't know that I could've stayed so strong." "Well..." "I'll see you later." "♪ Take time with a wounded hand ♪" "♪ 'Cause I like to steal ♪" "♪ Take time with a wounded hand ♪" "♪ 'Cause it likes to heal... ♪" "♪ I like to steal... ♪" "♪ But I'm half the man I used to be ♪" "♪ This feeling as the dawn, it fades to gray ♪" "♪ I'm half the man I used to be... ♪" "♪ Half the man I used to be... ♪" "♪ Half the man I used to be. ♪" "This is your special mixtape, Daniel Holden." "Happy birthday." "I love you, Daniel." "♪ Still... ♪" "♪ Falling ♪" "♪ Breathless and on ♪" "♪ Again ♪" "♪ Inside ♪" "♪ Today. ♪" " Hey." " Hey." "Uh, it's been a rough day and I need a stiff drink." "Is that even possible in this town?" "Uh, sorta." "Um, come pick you up?" "God, yes." " Hey." " Hey." "What you up to?" "About to go meet some friends." " You have fun." " Okay." "You... you wanna come?" "Yeah." "Sure." "I can't believe I thought going to the refuge to see one baboon and a bunch of emus was a good idea." "You just wanted to spend time with your brother." "They have a baboon?" "He made it through deer hunting season." "He just... wanted to play dress up in Dad's old clothes listening to his Walkman." "It was so sweet." "We're patting hands now?" "Where are we again, besides the middle of nowhere?" "The county I come from, you can sentence a man to die, but you can't buy a beer." "So we had to go to the next county over for that privilege." " I'm not so sure this is a good idea." " Oh, it's a good idea." "It's been a long week already." "I need to get drunk" " and you're my designated driver." " You know what I mean." "What about you, sailor?" "How was your day?" " Complicated." " Join the crowd, Melvin." " Melvin?" " Not worth getting into." "I wanna talk to you about something, but I don't want you to turn into the "A-train" on me." "I hate it when you call me that." "I call you that for a reason." "Okay." "I won't freak out." "Jared called me." "Not freaking, but why?" "He's been getting some pretty god-awful text messages." "Um... some of them about what people wanna do to you." "Like what?" ""Slit her throat until she's dead" was the one that got my attention." "Well, that's graphic." "Shouldn't you only have to do that once?" "He called me because he didn't wanna upset your mom." "Assholes." " It doesn't scare you?" " No, it doesn't scare me." "It makes me sad for my little brother." "Do you know how many prank calls we got back then?" "Notes in my locker that said, "I'll give you something to choke on, bitch."" " This isn't new." " Daniel being out is." "I've been through it." "I just didn't want Jared to have to go through it, too." "And then he has to hide it from everybody." "What a family." "Amantha, you're gonna have to pull it together." "I know, Jon." "It's just that being back here is bringing up a shitload of old feelings." "And that's why I've been a tad clingy of late." "Not to mention the fact that I am very fond of you, Jon Stern." "And I am very fond of you, too, Amantha Holden." "And I know that attraction is partly because of our common interest... my brother, the center of our universe, but damn it..." "Can I buy you a drink?" "No." "Thank you." "Your brother moving back here?" "I don't know." "Um..." "I don't..." "I don't... know his permanent plans." "I don't know." "See you around." " What the hell was that about?" " We have to go." "Well?" "It's Hanna's brother." "All grown up." " What?" " Little Bobby Dean." "I watched Daniel go to death row, he buried his sister, and then we went to algebra class together." "You're just too young and too in the middle of it to know how crazy it all was at the time." "You know he's messed up." "Jon, I need you to take me somewhere." "Do you see that patch of trees right there on the rocks?" "That's where..." "I haven't been out here in such a long time." "My God." "After it was all over, the trial and everything, and Daniel was sentenced to die... it became pretty taboo to come out here." "But you know kids." "I mean, we broke that one pretty quick." "In a few years, it had become this macabre rite of passage." "I didn't know about it at the time for obvious reasons, but the older teenagers would bring the younger teenagers out here." "Always at night." "And they would tell the story of this boy named Daniel and this girl named Hanna." "How Daniel had wanted to have sex with Hanna, but Hanna was a virgin and wanted to save herself for marriage." "But Daniel did it to her anyway." "Even though Hanna begged him not to." "And then he said they would "get married now."" "And he consummated it by strangling her to death and covering her body with wildflowers." "Just as an older teenager was finishing telling the morbid tale and you could hear a pin drop in a car full of kids, other teenagers, who had been hiding, would suddenly bang on all the car windows." "Kids would pee their pants." "How did you find out about this?" "My best friend told me." "She had come out here one night." "Felt guilty about it." "Said she had been hanging on to her secret for over a year before she finally confessed." "And I made her come out here and go through the whole thing." "You know me." "She cried a lot, but she did it." "What happened to her?" "I don't know." "I never talked to her again after that." "Not one word." "You know me." "I've been thinking about her a lot lately." "Jenny Park." "You could get in touch with her, you know." "It's not too late." "Yeah." "I guess." "Amantha." "Daniel?" "Hey." "It's got your name on it." "Come on, why not?" "Ripped By mstoll"