"I'm sorry." "But this has to be a two-way street, and if you refuse to answer my simplest questions, to at least help me understand where I've fallen short in your eyes," "then where are we?" "How can I fix that?" "How can I fix us?" "You're shoving me away." "Don't you understand that?" "I love you, and I honour you, and I respect you no less than the day I came to know you, but if you can't be here with me, if you can't speak to me," "if you can't work through this with me, then I have no choice but to walk away." "I've given up everything for you." "Everything." "I'm sorry." "Forgive me." "And like Job, a man who experienced enough pain for a hundred men, we, too, have our hurdles in life that seem to take great and unfair pleasure at watching us fall to the ground as we try to climb over them." "But we pick ourselves up, dust off our hands, plant new seed, creating new hope, and we do so not really knowing his plan, or what he has in store," "but having the patience and the faith to believe that the reward is well worth the wait." "And all is revealed," "as is the gift of God's plan for you." "And though Audrey was taken from us far too young, we know that she's in a good place, and in the loving care of God Almighty." "The sorrow we feel in our hearts is as cold as the winter that confines us, but with time, the power of our community, its faith," "Mary, James and Gen will feel the warmth of a new spring, and a new day." "It's always hard to lose a loved one, especially a mother, but we have to remember that our loving Lord wants not pain." "Our loving Father cherishes not watching us sink into the depths of our despair." "They're in heaven now." "Could we just go?" "Come on, kids." "Run inside, sweetie." "Get to your homework." "Bye, Uncle James." "She's got a good spirit." "I have a few other names for it." "For what it's worth, I'm glad you're back." "Everyone's missed you." "It'll be nice to get to know Ian and Abigail again." "I know they'd like that." " What?" " You're the only person I know who could put on a 30-year-old jacket and it still fits." "So, you think you'll be sticking around for a while this time?" "First of all, it's a 40-year-old coat." "Yeah." "And yeah." "Yeah, that's the plan." " That's the plan." " Yeah." "Mary, I..." "I know we've had our differences, Dad and I, but..." "He just seems so..." "He's so angry, so bitter." "Jimmy, it's been tough on him for a long time." "And then with the fire..." "Yeah." "Yeah, I can imagine." "It's just horrible." "It's been real horrible." "Just so sad." "Yeah, well, I better let you get inside." "See you around?" " Yeah." "Bye." " Bye." "In closing, I want to say that these very difficult times will serve to remind us how fragile, how fallible, how human we really are." "The resolve of this whole community has been challenged and severely tested," "but because we are tied together by the love of God, and he has made us into a family, let us determine to demonstrate our common strengths and our common faith in God." "God has not called us to huddle together, but to reach out with wide, open arms to our friends, to our neighbours," "to love them with the love that God has given to us." "We have been taught that this too shall pass." "And so we put our faith in God." "His promises will be fulfilled." "Hey." " Just one of you?" " Yeah." "Thanks." " Coffee?" " Yeah, that'd be great." "Thank you." "Guess who." " I don't know." " Come on, guess." "You feel that muscle closing down on your throat?" "Who could that be?" "I don't know, but seriously, I can't breathe." "Yeah, and you're gonna black out in about two seconds" " unless you make a guess." " Let him go, Duane, before he passes out." "Duane?" " How's it going, preach?" " Coffee, Duane?" " Black would be beautiful, darling." " Thanks, Loretta." "You're looking handsome as ever, Jimmy." "Coffee's coming up." "Man, people were starting to think you forgot all about us." "Been a while, stranger." "You darn near killed me." "Yeah, and I would have, too, if not Loretta stepped in and saved your sorry butt." "Man, oh, man." "It's good to see you, Jimmy." "And we all knew it was coming." "Just a matter of time, and then..." "Well, you saw the place." "Burned down to the ground." "Good people, the Pierces." "Where's Travis at now?" "He's over in Bishop, the psychiatric place." "They're doing some kind of evaluation stuff the court ordered." " What happens after that?" " I don't know." "Frankly, Jimmy, I don't care." "It's out of my hands now." "The Travis you knew and what he became, night and day." "Especially in the last couple of years." "And the stuff that we thought was cute but weird just got..." "I don't know." "Weird." "Weirder." "We should've got him into a place where he fit in a long time ago." "Now we all got to take some of the blame for not doing it sooner." "Just a matter of time, and here we are." "Anyway, what about you?" "What happened to you, Jimmy?" "I wish I knew." "You just wake up one morning and say, "Sorry, Lord, this dance is over"?" "Yeah, something like that." "Well, I imagine that's gonna be one heck of a messy divorce." "Yeah." " Hey, we'll catch up later, all right?" " All right." "Hey, Steve." "Hey." "Take it up." "Can I give you a hand with that?" "I'm fine." "We gonna keep pretending like I'm not here, or are we gonna talk about this?" "I know you're here." " There's nothing to talk about." " I don't know about that." "How about how much I've disappointed you over all the years?" "I imagine the disappointment I feel is nothing compared to what you're going through and feeling about yourself right now." "So I'll tell you what." "You take care of you, and I'll take care of me." "I can't believe he put so much stock in me." "I don't know, Jimmy." "Like I said, things have been real tough around here." "Not just for us, but for everyone." "Rust has been real bad the last couple of crops." "And then the fire." "The Pierces, they came here five years ago from England, and they showed us a spirit like..." "They just loved being here, and farming and working the land." "The Pierce boy, he was about 12." "Actually wanted to be a farmer, just like his dad." "That's rare these days." "The daughter, she was a few years older." "Really pretty." "She fit right in with all the kids in town." "Really pretty gal." "Just a shame." "It just makes no sense." "He's a real hard worker, Mr Pierce, Sam, and a good Christian." "He was a little tough on his kids, especially the daughter." "Real strict with her." "But he genuinely embraced the opportunity of being here." "And it started to pick up the spirits of everyone else in the community." "What do you think is up there, Travis?" "I don't know." "Besides clouds and stuff, and God?" "Yeah." "Maybe Mrs God?" "I just can't connect, Travis." "It's like my arm's a lead weight, and it won't do what I'm asking it to." "Then quit talking to it, Jimmy, and play the game." "Play the game." "Play the game." "Play the game." "Come on, Travis, your friend is here." "I'll be right outside." "You behave yourself, Travis." "Aye, captain." "Pretty messed up, eh?" "Yeah." "Pretty messed up." "Well, you're looking good." "Got all your letters." "I saved them." "My mom has them at the house in a box." "Good." "I'm glad to hear that." " Are you okay?" " I guess." "I suppose you'll want to know what happened." " No, it's all..." " I don't mind." "I don't remember a whole bunch." "Only doing it." "Used a cigarette to get her going." "Then they came and I told them what I'd done." "And then they take me away." "But they've been pretty good to me, considering." "So, what about you?" "I hear you got some news of your own." "My mom said you come back 'cause you weren't preaching." "She said you ran out of "Jesus juice. "" "Yeah." "Something like that." "Well, then, I guess we've both got our problems." " Remind you of someone?" " He's much better than I ever was." "I wouldn't be so sure about that, but he is good." "Thinking about going pro?" "Which one of them down there doesn't?" "I went and saw Travis." "Figured you would." "How's he doing?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "Like I told you, Jimmy, he's not the same guy you remember." "And some people around here couldn't tolerate it any more." "Old man Riley down at the pharmacy all over my tail to do something about it." "Believe me, Jimmy," "I'm taking some heat here for what happened." "Attaboy, Cartre." "You know, everyone keeps saying that he's different." " I don't understand." "What's..." " Where do you want to start?" "How about the fact that he started wearing one of those freaking little..." "What do you call those little dresses that the ballet girls wear?" " A tutu?" " Yeah." "He started slipping on one of those in the middle of the night, dead of winter." "Starts prancing down Main Street, twirling around like a fairy princess while we were all asleep." "Poor guy." "One screw at a time, his whole head's come loose." "Come on, Duane, his wardrobe was always a little different." " We knew that." " Are you listening to what I'm saying?" "Yeah, we tolerated the fact that he didn't bathe much and dressed like a moron, but this ain't that." "I can't talk about it no more." "It just makes me sick thinking about it." "You didn't have to pull those bodies out of the house." "Now, what's done is done and can't be undone." " Hey." "What you watching?" " Nothing." "Yeah?" "I hear that's a good show." "Saw Duane's boy skating at the rink." "He's good." "That's what I hear." "All right, look, Dad, I'm sorry I didn't become what you or everybody else had in mind for me." "You think that's what's eating me, do you?" "Isn't it?" "What you do with your life is your business." "We all make our own choices." "Okay, fine." "Yeah, great, I buy that." "Why you so angry with me?" "Who said I was angry?" "I'm not angry." "Okay, disappointed." "For no reason ever explained to me, you ran away from here and me, and everything that God had planned for you." "Now and then, you come bouncing back, most likely when you're running away from something else, and this time you need answers, because the road you've been on is so filled with U-turns, you don't know which way it runs." "All right, look, Dad, first of all, I became a minister." "I didn't run away from you or anybody else." "I had a calling, and it wasn't as sudden as you make it out to be," " and you know that." " Fine." "And I didn't come here looking for answers or your sympathy." "Son, every seed you've planted, everything you've ever put in the ground, including your mother, hasn't yielded a single thing." "And that's not my fault, it's not your mother's fault, and it certainly isn't God's fault." "My question for you is simple." "Do you ever plan on finishing anything?" "Mrs Wexler?" "It's James Moore, ma'am." "Looks like we got dumped on pretty good." "I don't suppose you could oil that chain on that bike you put away." "She's one of my favourites." "Rescued her from the dump and worked real hard on her, and the damp will just..." "Do her in." "You still haven't answered my question." " I told you." " No, you didn't." "Travis, listen to me." "I want you to tell me everything that happened exactly." "Everything that happened that night after you left the game in Taft." "Are you supposed to be doing that in here?" "No, but what are they gonna do, put me in jail?" "Okay." "Normally, I stay around after a game." "You know how I do." "Win or lose," "I want to be there for the boys." "But this time, fourth quarter ended, horn went off, and I just got on my bike and got out of there as fast as I could." "Got on my bike and started riding." "I was so mad, I was riding real fast." "I was mad, 'cause we lost and we shouldn't have." "Those boys got no heart, not like you used to." "I was real mad, Jimmy." "And then, like, all that road went by." "I didn't even notice." "The next thing you know, I seen it from the road, the Pierce place." "Everybody liked Mr Pierce, but he had a mean streak." "Didn't like me." "He pretended to, but he didn't." " What do you mean, he didn't like you?" " I don't know." "He just didn't." "He pretended to, but I know what he was thinking." "And what was that?" ""Boy, it would sure be nice to get rid of Travis." ""Take him to that recycling plant where he works and recycle him. "" "Never liked me from the day he moved here." "With his fancy accent, I could tell." "His wife was nicer." "So were the kids." "Listen." "Listen to me, Travis." "Okay, so you were riding your bike home from Taft, you were real mad because the boys lost," "and then you're riding past the Pierce farmhouse." "Yeah." "Then it come to me. "Burn it down." "Burn him before he burns you. "" "So I did." "Just like that." "No thinking." "I just snapped and burned it down." "I didn't mean for everyone to die." "Just keeps getting worse." "What?" "Looks like a kid blew his brains out with a shotgun in there." "It's not pretty." "Who?" "Local kid." "Drew Abbott." "His family moved here after you were gone." "Kid was nothing but trouble from the get-go." "Man." "Duane." "Duane." "I can't find the mother." "Okay." "Get hold of his father." "He's doing nightshift over in Deerview." "And find his mother." "Suicide?" "Why?" "I don't know, Jimmy." "I don't know." "It's a mess in there." "That boy was always working me overtime." "Drunk or drugs." "Who knows what these days." "It's not the first call I've had about him." "Loud-mouthing, doing stupid stuff, showing off." "Like I said, it's not the same place when we were kids." "Not by a long shot." "Hey, Jimmy." "If you got one left in you, say a prayer?" "Killed himself, huh?" "He shot himself." "I could have seen that train wreck coming." "Please." "Please answer me." "I need answers." "James." "They told me I might find you here." "We have a new church now." "Brick and stucco." "It's a lot warmer than this old place." "So, you woke up one morning, and try as you might," "He just wasn't there, right?" "Yeah." "Something like that." "John, I've prayed, I've begged, I've gone to my knees," "I've read and reread the scriptures until my eyes want to fall off my face, and..." "Just nothing." "No answers." "Nothing." "But a lot of questions." "It just doesn't make sense." " What is it that doesn't make sense?" " Any of it." "Anything." "Everything." "Everything that's happening in the world." "This thing with Travis." "This terrible thing that he's done." "Will somebody, please, somebody, somebody explain to me what's going on?" "John, every day I look around, innocent lives are being destroyed." "Wars over differences of faith?" "And children?" "Sweet, innocent young children being taken from us by guns and bullets and brutal acts of nature." "And those of us who are supposed to be protecting them, giving them faith, showing them guidance, they commit the most unspeakable acts of all." "They all but desecrate His name." "Is it any wonder that people are running away from the church, they're abandoning their faith?" "I know, I know in my heart, I know that He has a reason, but for the first time in my life, I need to understand here." "I need to understand why He would allow such terrible things." "And He won't answer me now, when I need Him so desperately, when I have..." "I have given my entire life to Him." "It scares the hell out of me." "James, when you were younger, did I ever tell you the story of my first little cat, Freddie, and how I lost my arm?" "What?" "No." "Well, listen carefully." "I was a boy about only five years of age." "I desperately wanted a little dog." "And I'd picked one out, my mom and I, and we brought it home." "But my dad just about blew a gasket." "He stormed at us." ""I don't want to be walking around this house" ""and step in piles of dog poop. "" "And he ordered us to return the dog immediately." "And I was devastated." "I was heartbroken." "And then, about a week later, my mom showed up with a little kitten." "She persuaded my dad that that did not pose the same sanitation problems." "Now, he was not thrilled with this, but he was a man of occasional reason and a bit of common sense, and I think he also understood that this would teach me a sense of responsibility by looking after the little thing." "Anyway, I got my dear, precious little Freddie, and I was thrilled." "And less than three months later, he died." "Just like that." "I was so broken-hearted." "Do you know what I came up with through all this?" "What?" "There cannot be a God, and if there perchance was, he was a mean old man, even meaner than my dad." "And my dad could cut through granite with his temper and his tongue." "Well, obviously, you found your way back." "Yes, I did." "As you will, too, James." "Have patience." "Have faith." "God has not forsaken you." "Now, wait a minute." "Wait a minute." "What does that have to do with losing your arm?" "Nothing." "Absoutely nothing." "I just wanted to make sure that you were listening." "Let's go." "Dad." "I'll be in the car." "Daddy." "Hey." "I'll be right back." "Sweetie." " Hey, Jim." "I heard you were around." " Yeah." "Rick." "It's been a while." "Maybe we better go." "Why, Mommy?" "Yeah, she's right." "Come on, go grab your old man, let's put a couple of tables together." "He's in the car." "He won't come back." "Maybe another time." "Hey, son." "Jimmy, let's catch up." "Mary knows where to find me." "Yeah, yeah." "Sounds like a plan." "I'll give you a call." "All right." " Bye, sweetie." " Bye." "Want me to stick that in the microwave for you?" "It's gotta be as cold as the cow that died for it by now." "No." "No, it's fine, thanks." "Hey..." "The girl back there wearing the beret, who is she?" "That's Amanda Spencer." "She was Drew Abbott's girlfriend." "Or whatever they call it these days." "You know, she hasn't always been this way." "She kind of flew off the rails." "A lot of them do." "You know, there's nothing really here for them, no real way out." "And then what Drew did..." "Yeah." "Yeah." "Maybe you should." "Thank you." "What's done is done and can't be undone." "Burn it down." "Burn him before he burns you." "It just makes me sick thinking about it." "You didn't have to pull those bodies out of the house." "Used a cigarette to get her going." "Do you ever plan on finishing anything?" "I don't buy it, Travis." "I don't buy any of it." "Your whole story." "Me neither." "I don't buy your story and what's going on with you." " How about that?" " This isn't about me." "Yeah?" "Maybe this is all about you." "How about that?" " Would you stop?" " You stop." "You started it." "Aren't you worried about what's gonna happen to you in here?" "What's gonna happen to your mother?" "She'll be fine." "I'll be fine, too." "God has His plan." "You should know that better than anyone." "Or maybe that's something you forgot." "Maybe that's what's going on here." "Championship game against Fairmont." "You busted your pinkie when that tub of lard, Puckett, crushed you." "Remember that?" "Yeah, that's right." "We were five yards from the end zone." "Next play, if you didn't get hurt, what play were you gonna call to take the ball in?" "Pass to Tyler." "That's right." "But you couldn't throw, so what did you do?" "Fake the pass, hand off to Clay." "Touchdown." "It's not ours to question His plan, Jimmy." "Just to play the game." "All is calm All is bright" "Round yon Virgin Mother and Child" "Holy Infant so tender and mild" "Sleep in heavenly peace" "Sleep in heavenly peace" "You know, this gal I'm seeing, the one at Norm's," "I know what that looks like." "Half my age, Mary older than me." "I know what I am going through." "I'm not stupid, I'm reacting." "I know, it's a cliche." "But you know what?" "It feels good." "She makes me feel good." "And that's something, with all due respect to your sister," "I went without for a long time." "I'm sorry to hear that." "When you left here, Mary was 14." "Your mother wasn't in the ground six months." "Now, I'm not here to blame you or anyone, but your little sister was left to play daughter, mother, friend, and everything in between." "And your dad was hurting." "Bad." "And the worse he got, the harder she tried." "And in all these years, nothing has changed." "He's still angry, and she's still trying to make him happy." "I just couldn't compete with that any more." " Do you want me to take her?" " No, she's fine." "She's so sweet." "Do you want a cup of coffee?" "I'm good." "So, what happened with Rick?" "What?" "What happened with you guys?" "Is it about that woman at Norm's?" "No, that came after." "Or at least I think so." "So, what happened?" "Truth?" "It doesn't matter." "He and I aren't meant to be together." "I thought that having Abby, our little midlife surprise, might be the glue." "But I'm okay." "Actually, I'm happier." "Ricky's a good dad, and that's all that's important." "How about the kids?" "They'll be fine." "Look at Abby." "Kids rebound." "It's better they see us happy apart than miserable together." "Mary?" "Do you hold it against me that I left?" "What are you talking about?" "Well, when you were a kid," "I left you to take care of Dad and everything." "Do you hold that against me?" "I mean, you have every right." "I was so selfish." "Yes, you were." "But you were hurting, and I knew that." "To everyone around here, you were a hero, but I saw what was going on." "How can I fix that?" "You can't." "What is important to me is that you're here now and that you find some peace." "Watch it, watch it, watch it." "Go." "He's good." "He's real good." "He's better than I ever was." "Not that good." "Hey, Jim." "Dad, I'll meet you back in the truck." " You good?" " Okay." "Fine." "Just thought you might want to know." "They're gonna be moving Travis, so whatever they've got set up next to happen is gonna happen before the year's out." "Why?" "What..." "That's all I know." "That's all I know." "Sorry, Jimmy." " What did Duane want?" " Nothing." "Yeah?" "I hear that's a good show." "Travis." "What about him?" "I don't know." "Do you think he did this?" "What's your take on all this?" "What I think doesn't matter." "But isn't Travis saying the same thing, that he did it?" "I thought this mess was over and done." "Yeah." "You know, I don't go sticking my nose in anyone's manure, but if you're asking if it feels like a square peg is being forced into a round hole, well..." "Wait, so you're saying you don't think he did it?" "I didn't say that." "I said I don't get involved in stuff like this." "But I will tell you this, however." "There's a seed of truth in every lie." "What that seed is, what becomes of it, that's all up to the guy that's pulling the plough." "Mrs Wexler!" "Come on." "I know you're..." "Mrs Wexler!" "Go away!" "Leave me alone!" "Mrs Wexler!" "Mrs Wexler!" "I'd really like to talk to you, ma'am!" "What do you want?" "It's me, ma'am." "It's Jimmy Moore." "I know who you are." "You got old." "And bald." "Yes, ma'am." "Well, the Lord, He giveth and He..." "And He can snatch it right back from you." "Yes, ma'am." "Look, I'd like to talk to you about Travis." "There is nothing to talk about." "Do you think maybe we could go inside, we could sit down, or maybe I could take you and get you a cup of coffee?" "I don't need coffee." "And I don't need conversation." "Travis is gone." "Everyone's happy." "Fine." "Not me." "Not you?" "No, ma'am, I'm not happy." "And why is that?" "Gut feeling." " Ma'am?" "You all right?" " Come in." "Shut the door." "Don't take up smoking." "No, ma'am." "And stop with the "ma'am" business, would you?" " We're both too old for that." " Okay." "Travis didn't do what he's being blamed for." "Plain and simple." "I know it." "You know it." "You know this as a fact?" "I know this as a mother." "Okay, well, then, who did do it?" "You're suggesting there is someone?" "What makes you think that?" "Because everybody..." "Yeah." "Right." "Okay." "I see where you're going with this." "So, let's say there's some other explanation." "Then why is Travis taking the blame?" "Why is he saying that he did it?" "It makes no sense." "No, it doesn't, Jimmy, but it's Travis we're talking about here." "Half of whatever he did in his life never made sense, but the other half made perfect sense." "Hi." "Yeah, hi." "How would I find a lawyer assigned to a particular case?" " What case?" " Travis Wexler." "He was involved in..." "That's Paula Roggin." " How would I find her?" " Who are you?" "Friend of the defendant." " Well, it's your lucky day." " Thank you." "Paula, there's somebody to see you." "Three minutes." "I have to get back to court." " Clock's ticking." " My name's James Moore." "I'm from over in Kipling." "You're representing a friend of mine." " Travis Wexler." " Right." "What do you want?" "Well, first off, I don't think he did it." "You can stop right there." "Mr Wexler, Travis has admitted to this." "He's legally confessed, and the court has entered that confession." "I know, but still..." "Mr Wexler's been deemed legally competent, so that confession is now going to stand." "So what happens now?" "Well, in the next couple of weeks, the court will make the ruling official, and then he'll be remanded to the appropriate facility in compliance with that ruling." "What facility?" "For how long?" "Let me put it this way." "Travis won't be coming home anytime soon." "I'm sorry." "Now, if you'll excuse me." "You don't want to go there, Jimmy." "Why not?" "Isn't that exactly what you're supposed to do?" " Go there, get the facts?" " Look, we got the facts." "He was there." "Him and Pierce didn't get along." "Everybody knew it." "He snapped and burned the place down, then confessed." "End of story." "So that's it?" "Case closed?" "Aren't you supposed to at least look for other..." "What do you call, scenarios?" "Jimmy, don't do this." "Do not come in here and do this." "You've been gone half a lifetime." "Lots has changed." "Everything has changed." "Yes, case closed." "There are no other scenarios." "Yes?" "Okay." "All right." "I'll be right there." "I'm asking you, Jimmy." "Stop." "I'm begging you." "You've gotta let this go." "I don't understand the question." "You want to run that by me again?" "How long would you say it was before the Pierce farmhouse was fully engulfed?" "Out of control?" "How long would that take?" "That's a tough one." "We had it real hot end of summer and into fall." "Everything was real dry." "Again, it's hard to say." "I've seen a place like that go up in a matter of minutes." "Curtains, furniture, floorboards." "No shortage of fuel." "So maybe, what, 10, 15 minutes?" "Maybe." "Of course, if the fire has its way, which it often does, two, three minutes, nothing to be done." "Could that have happened there?" "It did, according to Travis." "Yeah." "Just one more thing, if you don't mind." "I'm starting to, but go on ahead and ask anyway." "I appreciate you guys are all volunteers down here." "You probably don't have all the resources you need, but do you keep any kind of a record of what time you guys might have arrived there at the Pierce farmhouse?" "Something exact, if possible?" "You're right." "We're not a cross the t's and dot the i's kind of outfit." "I don't really know where you're going with this, but I do try to maintain some integrity around here." "My computer." "Let's see here." "We arrived on the scene at 10:43 p. m. exactly." "Our findings, as well as Travis' firsthand account, tell us the fire had been going for approximately 17 minutes at that point." "That time was corroborated, give or take a minute, by Earl Jackson, who has the next farm over." "He was out having a smoke." "His wife doesn't let him do that inside any more, 'cause they have a new baby." "He saw it right from the get-go." "He was the one that called us." "There was nothing we could do." "It was all but gone when we arrived." " So then the fire started..." " It was started." "Didn't just magically appear, like abracadabra." "...at about 10:26 or somewhere right around there." "No." "Exactly 10:26." "That's when we got the call from the Jackson farm, just as it started." "Anything else?" "Can I help you?" "Hey." " You call for me?" " No, sweetie, I got it." "It's cold out here." "Go back inside." "What can I do for you?" "Hey, my name is James Moore." "I know who you are." "Figured you'd be bigger, considering your rep." " Earl Jackson." " Hey." "I'm sorry." "This'll just take a minute of your time." " Shoot." " I'm friends with Travis Wexler." "If it'll help you cut to the chase and get me back to work and out of this cold any sooner," "Ed Beaujot called and said you might be dropping by." "What do you need to know?" "Yeah, all right." "Well, the night of the fire, did you see anything?" "More than I wanted to." "What about Travis?" "Did you see him?" "You see anybody else?" "You see those trees way over there?" "Plus it was night." "Real dark out here at night." "No, just the fire, that's all I saw." "All right, so you saw the fire and you called it in?" "Right." "I was out here having a smoke." "Did you go to the Pierce place after you called it?" " Couldn't." " Why not?" "Baby was inside." "What about your wife?" "What about her?" "Where was she?" "Visiting relatives." "All right, so you're out here, you're having a smoke, the baby's inside." "Wait..." "You just left the baby inside the house alone?" "He was sleeping." "He was fine." "You see that line on the ground?" "Friend, you just crossed it." "Drive carefully." "Can't see it." "The road's all ice." " Coach?" " Yeah?" "Yeah, hey, my name's Jim Moore." "What can I do for you?" "That's a heck of a team you got out there." "Would be if they didn't play like a bunch of girls." "You don't look much like a volleyball guy." "Yeah?" "Darn near failed science when I went here, and now I teach chemistry." "We wear many hats." "Welcome to public education." "Yeah." "Listen, I understand you also coach varsity football." "Please tell me you got a kid who wants to play." "I'm down to 20 guys." "Some of them doing some serious double duty." "Sorry." "Can't help you with that." "Okay." "What do you want?" "When you played Kipling in football a couple of months ago, there was a fire." "Yeah." "This is gonna sound kind of weird, but do you keep any kind of a record of what time that game might have ended?" " Something official?" " I don't know." "Why?" "I'm just doing a little follow-up." "I thought they caught that crazy fellow on that." "It was a done deal." "Yeah." "Well, yeah." "I don't understand what you're after then." "Are you a cop, a reporter?" "No, no, no." "But I'm a minister, if that'll help." "Nope." "Nobody keeps that kind of information." "But I'll tell you this much." "Game got started a little late on account we couldn't get one of the banks of lights to turn on." "So instead of a 7:00 kick-off, we got going somewhere around 8:00." "Now, town ordinance says that games are supposed to be done and crowds dispersed by 10:00." " I know we were a little bit past that." " How far past it?" "Not much." "Fifteen minutes, give or take a few." "Okay, so the game was over by 10:15." "You're pretty sure about that?" "As sure as the fact that we kicked Kipling's butt that night." "If we'd taken any longer to do it, they'd have kicked us out anyways." "One thing this town likes more than their hockey and their football, it's their sleep." "What if I can prove all of this?" "Mr Moore, number one, you're not supposed to be back here." " Number two, this is no longer in my hands." " Paula, we need to get this signed." "This is crazy." "You're supposed to be defending him." "Was defending him." "Now I'm defending 10 other people who deserve more than one overworked civil servant at Christmas, who doesn't have the time or manpower to give them what they deserve either." "Forget the demands of my own family." " So that's it?" " Yes, that is it." " Well, this is insane." " Yes, it is." "Happy holidays." "One half of me says, "Let it go. "" "The other half says, "No." ""You have no choice but to pursue it with a vengeance. "" "I don't think vengeance is the proper tack, for either case." "See, God has given all of us a free will." "You know that." "Why is this so important to you?" "Well, isn't that obvious?" "Is it something more than just your obvious friendship and loyalty to Travis?" "I suppose I'd like to know the truth." "And what if the truth is exactly as they say it is?" "Then I'll come to terms with it." "There's the rub." "Can you?" "Praise God." "You see?" "It's all there." "It's not possible." "Travis leaves the game at 10:15." "Okay, so the game was over by 10:15." "You're pretty sure about that?" "As the fact that we kicked Kipling's butt that night." "If we'd taken any longer to do it, they'd have kicked us out anyways." "But this time, fourth quarter ended, horn went off, and I just got on my bike and got out of there as fast as I could." "So then I tried doing that ride." "And I'm telling you, Duane," "I'm not in my best shape ever, but I'm not in bad shape." "I do that exact same distance from Taft High School to the Pierce farmhouse over and over." "Twenty-five minutes is my best time, and I was pushing it." "Even if Travis beat me by five, maybe even 10 minutes, you're still looking at 15 minutes." "There's no way he could've gotten to the Pierce farmhouse by the time Ed Beaujot said that fire got started." "There's no way." "So then the fire started at about 10:26 or somewhere right around there." "No." "Exactly 10:26." "That's when we got the call from the Jackson farm, just as it started." "You saw the fire and you called it in?" "Right." "I was out here having a smoke." "So Earl Jackson calls in the fire at 10:26." "Game's over at 10:15." "Travis does the ride." "It takes 15 minutes, at best." "Add it up." "It's 10:30, Duane." "He wasn't there, at least not when it started." "Not when Jackson called it in." "He couldn't have been." "Even if everybody's off by a couple of minutes." "Look, I've asked you to stop." "Clearly you haven't." "And there's nothing I can do, legally, to make you stop." "So, unless you do something stupid and make it my business," "I'm just gonna step back and let you dig your own grave." "Open your eyes." "It's good to finally hear some resolve in your voice." "So, why do you suppose Travis would make up a story like that?" "I don't know." "Okay, if not Travis, who did it?" "Maybe it was an accident." "They're saying it was pretty dry." "I thought they determined it was started with a cigarette." "That's what the paper said." "Isn't that the way Travis said he started it?" "Yes, sir." "That part all adds up." "Well, then, the way I see it, you need to concentrate less on the why and how, and start focusing on who." "The Pierces, they came here five years ago from England." "England, no less, and took over the Parker farm, and they showed us a spirit like..." "They just loved being here, and farming and working the land." "The Pierce boy, he was about 12." "Actually wanted to be a farmer, just like his dad." "That's rare these days." "The daughter, she was a few years older." "Really pretty." "She fit right in with all the kids in town." "I thought they determined it was started with a cigarette." "That's what the paper said." "Isn't that the way Travis said he started it?" "He's a real hard worker, Mr Pierce, Sam, and a good Christian." "He was a little tough on his kids, especially the daughter." "Real strict with her." "Looks like a kid blew his brains out with a shotgun in there." "It's not pretty." " Who?" " Local kid." "Drew Abbott." "His family moved here after you were gone." "Kid was nothing but trouble from the get-go." "Man." "I could have seen that train wreck coming." "You want something?" "Amanda, can I talk to you?" "Amanda," "I know what happened that terrible night, and you have nothing to be afraid of if I'm right." "You were there that night, weren't you?" "You, Drew, maybe the rest of you." "But you were there." "Weren't you?" "Were you trying to get the Pierce girl to hang out?" "I mean, it was a Friday night, the weekend, right?" "Beth Ann, wake up." "Come on." "But she couldn't, could she?" "Man, she's not coming." "'Cause her old man kept her on a tight leash." "Beth Ann." "Come on." "Beth Ann." "Come on out." "Come on." "So there you are, you're trying to get her to sneak out." "Drew's probably acting crazy, leading the charge." "Come on, we're gonna party." "And he was smoking, wasn't he?" "Never saw him without a cigarette in his mouth." "Dude." "And then her old man shows up, and he's probably angry." "Real angry." "Tells you to get out of there." "Go away." "Can't you see we're trying to sleep?" "Chill out, man." "Drew gets in his face." "Get lost." "We're trying to sleep in here." " Drew, come on." " Come on, what's wrong with you, man?" "I'm giving you to the count of three." "Really?" "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." "What are you waiting for, mate?" "Fine." "Have it your way." "Drew, come on, let's go before he does something stupid." "No way." "This guy needs a wakeup call." "Now, this is the part I'm not sure about." "But it was Drew's cigarette that started that fire, not Travis'." "So, did he mean to do it?" "It was an accident." "What?" "It was an accident." "It was just an accident." "It was an accident." "Come on!" "Wake up, man!" "I got all night, buddy!" "Come on, Drew." "Let's go." "Drew, let's just leave." "This guy needs a wakeup call." "Come on." "Drew, what are you doing?" "Let's go!" "I ain't scared of you!" "You should be scared of me!" "Come on, Drew, let's go." "Drew?" "Drew, get over here." " Oh, my God." " Oh, my goodness." "Guys, let's..." "Oh, my God." "Hey!" "Beth Ann!" "He didn't mean to do it." "Somebody call 911!" "Anything!" " Andy, use your cell phone!" " Andy, come on." " No reception." "I can't get anything." " Keep trying!" " I'm trying." " Help!" "Do something!" " I gotta go in there." "I've gotta get them." " Hold on." " Drew!" " Drew, we've gotta get help." "Drew, come on!" "We've gotta go back to town!" "We tried to help, but I was so scared." "I'm so sorry." "What's gonna happen?" "Oh, God, what's gonna happen?" "Help, please, help." "Come here." "It's okay." "It's okay." "You're okay." "It's all over." "It's all over." "So that's when Travis shows up." "Heart still pounding from his ride, he sees the fire." " It was your cigarette, Drew!" " You don't know that!" "Shut up!" " Could have been anything!" " It was your cigarette, man!" " It was an accident!" " Holy cow." "Travis is Travis." "Afraid or not, he gets back on his bike, he pedals toward that house with every ounce of strength and energy he can muster." "Whatever fear he's feeling is won over by the goodness that's always been in his heart." "But by the time he gets there, there's nothing he could do." "The flames are out of control." "I can only imagine what must have been going through his head, not being able to help." "Must have been his worst nightmare." "But why the lie?" "Why the confession?" "I don't know." "Maybe he felt guilty that he..." "He couldn't do anything, that he couldn't help, that he couldn't save them." "No." "He sacrificed himself for us." "He was saving us." "Thank you." "I suppose I don't need to say it, but thank you, Jimmy." "Come on, Travis." "It doesn't make up for half the stuff you've done for me in my life." "Well, then, all's even in the world once again." "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." " Sounds like a plan." " Sounds like a plan." "All right." "Hey." "You know, you could've just told Duane it was an accident in the first place." "Yeah, I started thinking about that, sitting in that tiny little cell, thinking," ""This tiny little cell stinks. "" "No." "Even if everyone believed me, those kids would have been looked at funny their whole lives, 'cause everyone would have still wondered what really happened." "It's no piece of cake going through life, people looking at you funny like that, trying to figure out your secrets." "They didn't need that." "Besides, I figured everyone's been wanting to get rid of me so bad, and no one knew how to do it." "I'd just do it for them." "Nobody wants to get rid of you, Travis." "Yeah, right." "One thing at a time." "Sounds like a plan." ""The spirit of the place astounds." "The joy of it all." ""The reception bestowed upon us is surely of your making," ""and the generosity of those who have received us." ""We are blessed to be here, to use our hearts and hands," ""to honour, to serve, to sow the seed." ""All men walk in the shadows of uncertainty," ""and it was with anxious concern that we set forth on our journey." ""We have been taught that it is without faith" ""that we stumble and fall and cannot get up." ""And it is without community that we fear the darkness," ""but here in this remote freckle on your bountiful Earth," ""we have found solace." ""We have found a comfort amongst strangers," ""and a beacon of light from a community so strong" ""that no shadow shall do us harm, no matter how wide it's cast." ""Nor shall it prevent us from living the life you have created for us," ""to serve in your name," ""and enjoy your abundant and wondrous gifts." ""We thank thee, Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ," ""for the opportunity before us." "Your humble and faithful servant," ""Samuel Pierce. "" "From the ashes of that tragedy, lasting words." "A personal preface to the everlasting words of God Almighty." "You see, the dark events that happen in our lives aren't hurdles that God puts before us to see how high we can jump or how hard we stumble." "No, no." "Our God is more loving than that." "He's smarter than that." "No, those hurdles are the way we choose to look at the bad stuff of our lives, those dark shadows cast of doubt and fear." "All too often, we get so caught up, we get so intertwined, so knotted up in the threads of our life, we forget to look at the bigger picture." "The entire weaving of His fabric." "Now, I don't know about you, but when I pull that blanket up over me on a cold winter's night, and Lord knows, we got plenty of them around here," "I don't want to depend on one single, measly, tiny little thread to keep me warm." "No." "I want that entire blanket to smother and comfort me." "Well, if I don't, I'm gonna freeze my butt off." "And that's the way God works." "Not thread by thread, but the entire weaving of His warmth and His being." "And for that, He wants one thing, and one thing only." "Our faith." "Our unbroken belief and infinite trust in the journey that He has planned for us." "No matter how challenged we may feel, whatever dark shadow we find ourselves cast under, no matter how squeaky the rusted hinge, He is there for us," "fighting that rust that works its way into all of our lives, and smothering us with that unconditional" "and everlasting blanket of warmth and comfort."