"Richard." "Richard." "Yeah?" "I think I heard something." "Stay here." " Richard?" " God..." "Damn it." "How you feeling, son?" "Peachy, aside from almost shitting myself." "Yeah, must have been a scary thing for a man like you." "A civilian, I mean." "His name was, uh, Freddy Russel." "You know him?" "I know shit when I step in it." "I'm gonna have to ask you to come down to the station, make out a formal statement, okay?" "Okay." "Now what?" "It'll go to the grand jury." "They'll look over your statement, your wife's, mine, and they'll nobill you." "What about the courts?" "It'll never get that far." "It was self-defense." "He was unarmed." "Well, you didn't know that." "It's called "fear of life."" "Uh, legally, he might as well have been pointing a gun at you." "Look..." "He's a wanted felon." "You're an upstanding citizen without a record." "Sometimes the good guy wins." "We're gonna have to keep that awhile, okay?" "Belonged to my dad." "He was a good man." "He'd have been proud." "Of what?" "My finger slipped." "You okay?" "Jordan, son, stop jiggling." "Now, you can't take that to school with you." " Why?" " Just because." "Because why?" "Because I'm your father and I said so." " Bang!" " Hey." "You dead!" "Don't you say that to me." "I don't want to snap at you, son, but I don't like that game." "Come on." "Let's go." "Dane's Frames." "For you, Mr. Dane." "Morning." "Morning." "Hello?" "It's me." "Just a minute." "Richard... it's all over the school." "The students keep asking me about it." "Shit." "Maybe you should go home." "I can't." "I have to talk with the police later." "What the hell for?" "Uh..." "I don't know." "They-they want a statement from me." "How are you feeling?" "Fine." "I'll see you later tonight, okay?" "Oh, man." "That air conditioner feels good." "I hear you got you one last night." "Back at the paper, they told me." "I couldn't believe it was you at first." "I didn't think you had it in you." "Hey, take it easy, Jack." "It's not something I'm proud of." "Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of." "Some son of a bitch breaks into my house, he better be ready to pick his teeth out of his ass." "Shoot, man, if it was me" "It wasn't you." "It was me." "Now, Jack, if you got mail, leave it." "Otherwise, I'm busy." "Here you go, y'all." "Y'all need anything else right now?" "Uh, beer." "Little early, isn't it?" "Not today." "Right this way." "Howdy, Rich." "How you feeling?" "Like a bucket of shit." "Shake it off." "So what happens now?" "We bury the son of a bitch." "When?" "Tomorrow, noon, Greenley's Cemetery, courtesy of the county." "He got any family?" "He got a daddy in Huntsville Prison." "He just got paroled." "Shit don't fall far from the tree." "And I can get these installed today?" "Ted." "Hey, Rich." "We'll be out of your hair in a little while." "That couch looks hideous." "We can take it back." "I thought we agreed on the floral theme." "I made a decision." "I'm sorry." "I didn't think it was a big deal." "I thought we made these decisions together." "Can we talk about something besides the couch?" "Okay." "Did you see the locksmith bill?" "You've reached the Dane residence." "Please leave your name after the beep." "Thank you, and God bless." "Here, looking for the base." "Called safe by the first base umpire." "Got to try to catch him lare" "I guess he ran that all the way." "One and two..." "Outside..." "Amen." "So we got to get here at 6:00 in the morning..." "I am not getting here at 6:00 in the morning..." "Quiet and peaceful, isn't it?" "You're, uh," "Dane, right?" "Come to watch the shit go in the hole?" "Very Christian of you." "I'm sure this doesn't make it any better for you," "Mr. Russel, but I'm sorry for what happened." "He didn't give me much choice." "Yeah." "You're right." "Doesn't make it any better." "Oh, that was a nice picture of your family in the paper." "Your boy- he looks a whole lot like you, doesn't he?" "Now, you have a nice day now, you hear?" "Yeah, it's Richard." "Is she free?" "Well-yeah, okay." "Tell her not to worry but to meet me at the police station." "No, everything's fine." "Jordan, your dad's here." "Come on back." "Jordan." "Hey." "Jordan!" "Jordan, hey." "Come on." "Come on." "Come with me right now." "We're going." "Come with me." "We're going." "Get in the car." "Come on, son." "Son, come on." "Get in the car." "Did he say anything to you at the school?" "No, he just waved." " He waved?" " Yeah." "So what do you want me to do here, Rich?" "I want him arrested." "For what?" "He hasn't done anything." "He threatened my son." "He said your boy looks like you." "It's not a threat." "He showed up at Jordan's school." "In broad daylight, in front of witnesses, and did nothing." "He wants my son." "I know it." "I want protection." "That's not gonna happen, not without a legal reason." "I'll tell you what I'll do, Rich." "Unofficially, I'll have a car stop by your house every couple hours over the next few days, give you a little peace of mind." "He's probably just trying to scare you." "Don't let him." "What were you thinking?" "Richard." "Why even go there?" "It was a mistake, okay?" "I fucked up." "I don't like that word, not in front of Jordan." "What are we supposed to do now?" "Maybe you and Jordan should stay at your mom's for a while until this blows over." "What if he follows us there?" "I don't want to put her in danger too." "What about your dad's cabin?" "No, it's too isolated." "Besides, that's the last place I want to be." "I want a igloo colada." "Son, don't talk when other people are talking." "It's not polite." "Eat your dinner." "I say we stay home, take Jordan out of school for a little while, let the cops handle it." "We wait him out." "We already got bars on the windows and" " But I don't want" " Damn it, Jordan!" "Get back in the car." "What?" "The lock's busted." "Oh, my God." "Go to the Fergusons' and call the police." "Ask for Price." "What are you doing?" "Aren't you coming with us?" "Richard, get in the car." "Ann, get, now." "Come with us." "I said go." " Richard, don't be stupid." " Go, Ann." "Whoever it was knows his way around alarm systems." "We know who it was." "Excuse me, Detective." "That goes for everybody." "I was wrong." "I thought he'd move on, but at least we have a reasonable suspicion now." "That means I can give you official protection." "Now, all you got to do is be normal- go to work, take Jordan to school, be seen." "And everywhere you go," "I'll have someone watching." "So when he makes his move, we make our move." "So we're the bait." "For want of a better word, yeah." "What do you say, Ann?" "Let's nail that son of a bitch." "I got men hiding out in the woods." "He sees me drive away, he's gonna think you're here all alone." "This is Kevin." "He's a good man, ex-Special Forces." "Anyone see you come in here?" "Piece of cake." "Kevin's gonna stay here with you." "For how long?" "As long as it takes." "What do we do?" "You go to bed." "Get some sleep." "You're gonna need it." "I like him when he's sleeping." "Yeah." "He's sweet." "God damn..." "It's one of the neighbors looking for his dog, over." "Any word?" "Nothing so far." "Lieutenant, come in." "Yeah." "Price here." "Lieutenant, we just found his car about 1/4 mile south of you." "Any sign of him?" "No." "Well, fan out and see if you can flush his ass." "Kevin?" "He's in the fucking house!" "What the hell?" "He's in the goddamn house!" "Jordan!" "Move!" "Go!" "Go!" "Haul your ass!" "Price!" "Jordan?" "Get the door." "Let them in the door." "The door's locked." "Somebody go around back." " I can't get it open!" " Open up, Ann!" "Jordan!" "Jordan!" "Oh." "He's in the woods." "Move." "Move." "Thank God." "Oh!" "Tracked him down to the river, but the rain's making it hard." "How'd he get in?" "How'd he get in the house, Ray?" "He never left." "Son of a bitch was in the crawl space the whole time." "Jesus Christ." "We'll get him, Rich." "Don't you worry." "Nuevo Laredo?" "Yep, piece of shit went to Mexico." "Mexico?" "Federales picked him up across the border." "We got him, Rich." "Dragging him back to Huntsville as we speak." "His age, he'll never set foot in this county again." "Listen, uh, we just wrapped the paperwork on the Freddy file." "Why don't you stop down and we'll close this out for good?" "Then you owe me a beer, compañero, okay?" "Okay." "That's it." "Sign these last two, and you're on your way." "All right." "What's this?" "It says "Freddy Russell."" "So?" "So that's not the guy I shot." "Is that some kind of mistake or what?" "That's Freddy Russel." "It's just a bad mug shot, not very recent." "People change, Rich." "Well, not that much." "You were pretty upset that night, remember?" "Yeah, he died right in front of me." "I look at pictures of faces all day." "That is not the guy." "It's called shock, okay?" "Memory gets a little fuzzy." "It happens." "Now, why don't you go home and let me deal with the police work, huh?" "Give my regards to Ann, huh?" "Sheriff's offices." "Price here." "Hey, Ray." "This is Richard Dane." "What is it, Rich?" "That wanted poster is bugging me." "It's not him, Ray." "We've been through this." "It's late." "I'm busy." "Give it a rest." "Well, just hear me out." "I did, and you're wrong." "Case closed, over." "Now get some sleep." "Sheriff's office." "Yeah, Lieutenant Price, please." "Sorry." "He's not here, sir." "Can I take a message?" "Come on." "Bring him down here." "Move along." "Let's go." "Keep him quiet." "That's it." "Get him out." "Get down." "Get down." "That's good." "That's good." "There you go." "Going down." "Get down." " Down." " Get down." "Whoa." "What happened to your shoes?" "Oh." "I drove out and checked on the cabin yesterday." "Must have stepped in some muck." "I thought you didn't like going there." "Yeah, I know, but I figured I got to clean it out sometime." "And?" "My father didn't leave much behind." "There you go." "Richard?" "I didn't kill your son." "Fuck you." "Look, I think the cops have been lying to us both all along." "Where's my shoe?" "The cops are up to something, right?" "Something to do with your son, with you." "Why do they want you dead?" "How should I know?" "Same reason you do." "Look." "Something's going on." "They used my family as bait to find you." "Now, I want to know why." "Did you take my lighter?" "No." "Well, where is it?" "What's the matter?" "You scared?" "Huh?" "When's the last time you heard from your son?" "Oh, it's been a good long while." "He was about the same age as your boy." "I could have left you on those train tracks, but I didn't." "I didn't kill your son." "Who you gonna trust, the cops that just tried to kill you or me?" "All I know is what I'm told." "And I'm told I got nothing left." "I didn't kill your son." "So you say." "Okay." "You're coming with me." "Ah..." "Dig." "Do it." "Ugh." "Jeez." "That ain't him." "That's not Freddy." "God..." "Jesus." "Who would do that?" "Somebody who didn't want him identified, ever." "Come on." "Get out of there." "What do we do now?" "We?" "Yeah." "I'll pay you back." "Hey." "Ben." "Russel." "Long time." "I need some help." "It's about my son." "Good morning." "Ray." "You got a minute?" "Yeah." "What do you need?" "I was wrong to hang up on you the other night." "I want to apologize." "Oh, forget it." "No, you were right." "I was all worked up over nothing." "No, you were concerned, and you were kind of right." "See, Freddy- he was wanted." "He dyed his hair." "He was wearing contact lenses." "That's why you were confused." "Well, I'm just glad his old man's headed back to prison." "Any day now." "I'm sure you're doing everything you can." "I appreciate that." "Important thing is, he's not a threat anymore, right?" "Can I help you?" "You think you could corral this little filly in a frame for me?" "Kind of a rush job." "It don't have to be too fancy." "You're busy, Rich." "I'll catch you." "All right." "Sounds like old Ben's got himself in a real shitstorm this time, and he's dragged you right in there with him." "Who are you?" "Name's Jim Bob Luke." "Luke Detective Agency," "Houston, Texas." "This one made it all the way to the Houston paper." "Front page." "Mentions Freddy four times, just in case you missed it." "This is six weeks ago." "Buried on the back page." "Mentions Freddy once." "So he turned state evidence, then?" "And your boy found himself on the ass end of a federal case." "Now, we know Freddy ain't no saint, but if he's messing around with these boys in the Dixie Mafia, they some bad dudes." "How far do you want to take this, Ben?" "If he's alive, I want to see him." "All right." "Well, I got some hunches on that." "I want to feel them out first." "But first thing, we got to relocate." "If Price is as slick as his mustache, we got to get the old hoss here out of the county." "What do I do?" "For now, just go home, you know, act dumb." "Let me do some legwork, and when I get Russel settled somewhere," "I'll-I'll give you a call." "Hey, thanks." "Thanks." "Over here." "Wanted to buy you a drink, partner, for bringing Holly back in one piece." "Yeah." "Last time, he blacked her eye." "Someday, someone's gonna settle..." "I'd like to do it myself." "At one time, a Singapore Sling would have been the only answer." "What?" "No, no, no, no." "Say that again." "You broke up." "I" " I can't" "No, I'm- I'm catching every third word." "Say it again." "Here you go." "All right, thanks." "What'd you find out?" "Well, I made a bunch of calls." "I got this gal I used to run with." "She works in the office of the FBI." "It seems Freddy is assigned to the witness relocation program." "You know what that is?" "They give people a new start, new name, new place- mob informers and shit." "Yeah, you got the picture, framer." "They're the ones that set you up." "So over the last couple years, your son's been running with the Dixie boys, doing whatever Mafia types do." "And the shit gets way over Freddy's head, and the law comes down on him hard." "So to keep from going to the slammer, he starts to sing like a little bird against his old buddies, the Dixie boys." "Now, you don't want to fuck with the Dixie Mafia." "And the feds know that, so they make Freddy a deal." "They'll hide him if he gives them what they need." "So they faked it." "It's beautiful." "If the Dixie Mafia believes that Freddy is dead, well..." "What's the use of gunning for a dead guy, right?" "Good plan, don't you think?" "Then who's in that grave?" "Yeah, and where's my son?" "Well, that's a good one." "Oh!" "That would be for me." "These things are amazing." "You seen these?" "Ah, fuck, you've been in prison forever." "Jim Bob." "You're breaking up." "Hold on." "Okay, that's better." "Go ahead." "You should really be scared..." "I need another beer." "Well, if it ain't Josey Wales." "Hey, kill any banditos lately, cowboy?" "Jack, you're drunk." "Leave me alone." "Ah, let me buy you a drink." "And you can tell me about how you" " I don't want your drink, Jack, and I don't want your company." "Let me tell you something, Mr. Dane" "Ahh!" "Oh, God!" "Hurts, doesn't it?" "Hey." "Hey." "Let him go." "It's not a good idea." "You didn't have to do that." "Well, I didn't want to see you damage the fella." "Can we get three beers?" "In Washington, it has been established that persons who have recently died have been returning to life and committing acts of murder." "Widespread investigation of morgues and funeral homes..." "Hoss, if you want to see your boy, we got to move." "You can stay at my place." "Human victims..." "Y'all are leaving?" "This whole operation's being run out of the Houston office." "That's my hood." "Freddy will be close by." "Behind locked doors..." "I'm going with you." "That situation has now changed, and we're able to report a definite..." "I still don't know who I shot." "Civil defense machinery has been organized to provide rescue stations with food, shelter..." "I have to tell my wife something." "And protection by armed National Guardsmen." "I don't know." "Seems kind of sudden, doesn't it?" "Well, this is a good opportunity for the shop." "Uh, have you been drinking?" "Yeah, I stopped and had a couple." "I'm celebrating." "If I get this contract, well, it'd be big." "You're serious about this, aren't you?" "Mm-hmm." "Well, how long will you be gone for?" "Just a couple days, no more than a week, I figure." "I don't know." "I don't like the idea of you going to Houston and leaving me and Jordan all alone." "Well, they got him, Ann." "Don't make me sound girly." "Well, don't act girly." "Don't tease me, Richard." "Well, you should be happy." "I've been waiting for something big like this." "Well, will it stop you from moping around the house?" "Maybe we can go on a vacation after, someplace cool?" "It's been a while since we've been away." "Yeah." "We could drop Jordan at your mom's and have us a little adult time." "Hmm?" "You want to do it, Sparky?" "You haven't called me that since high school." " Mm." " You are drunk." "Drunk and randy" "I thought that's how you like me." "Let's get us some java." "When you said he was a pig farmer," "I thought you were kidding." "Morning, boys." "Come on in, and I'll make you some bacon." "The DMV issued 162 new driver's licenses to males in Freddy's age range." "Out of that stack, 93 of them poor bastards is married." "So of the single dudes, 47 of 'em is Caucasian, and a whole of 28 around 6 feet tall." "Well, any of 'em got blue eyes?" "Grand total of two." "Well, what about them?" "Why don't we start with them?" "Already did." "Well, at least the first one." "And?" "That sorry son of a bitch still lives with his parents." "But the other one- this one right here- one Frank C. Miller, blond, blue-eyed," "6 feet and change, the same Mr. Miller who just ordered cable and a phone line at his new house outside of Houston." "And previous address unknown." "That's not bad for a pig farmer." "Well, when I crack this case," "I might just let you frame the headlines, framer." "Best way to find out for sure- call him." "No, I want to take a look at him first." "Come on, you cranky old bastard." "Just call him up." "I ain't calling him." "That's the house right there." "That's not the color I pictured." "Well, we're not even sure it's him yet, are we?" "No better time than the present." "You make it sound like it's some kind of showdown." "Well, in a way, it is." "I have to make- Watch out!" "Ah!" "Shit!" "Damn!" "What the fuck?" "Jesus!" "What in the dog shit is wrong with you?" "Don't you have any mirrors on this damn Pinto?" "Do you know how to use them?" "Who's gonna pay for- we could split it." "You-ah!" "Hey!" "You want some of this?" "Huh?" "That's for my car." "And that's for my hat." "Ben, check him." "God damn." "Tore my fucking head off." "It ain't Frankie Miller, is it?" "No, smart-ass." "Huh." "Good thing he wasn't in an OK Corral mood." "Goddamn piece of shit Pinto!" "What's that?" "Home movies, looks like." "Shut up!" "Ah, he's moving." ""Batting Practice"?" "Let's get a look at his swing." "Take that gun and shoot that fucking dog, will you?" "She's cute, man." "Is this your first- ask her if this is her first time." "Hey, it's me." "Uh, I'm in Houston, and everything's fine." "I got a meeting in a little while." "I'll call you later and let you know how it went." "Yeah, there you go." "Okay." "Love you both." "Get on top of him." "Yeah, I like that." "Yeah." "How old-how old are you?" "She ain't even old enough to drive." "What did she say?" "So he's a pervert." "Let's turn this shit off." "Whoo!" "Yeah!" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Let's tell him we got the wrong house and we can't find the guy or some shit." "What about Freddy?" "You saw that trunk." "There are a lot more tapes where that one came from." "Doesn't that matter to you?" "Well, yeah, it matters to me." "But we can't tell Ben about any of it, not yet." "About what?" "It ain't nothing we need to jump into right now." "What's on the tape?" "What's on the tape?" "Do yourself a favor, hoss." "What's on the tape?" "Huh?" "How do you work this fucking thing?" "She's cute, man." "Is this your first- ask her if this is her first time." "Ben?" "Ben?" "Hey." "Open the door." "Open the door, Ben." "Put the gun down." "Would you put the gun down, Ben?" "We could go to the cops and show them the tape." "Well, it wouldn't do any good." "They know what their boy is doing." "He is protected." "But he's killing women." "Prostitutes who cross the border illegally, and nobody cares." "How long you known him?" "We were in Korea together." "He saved my life." "He never said he was in the service." "I don't know whether you've noticed it or not, but old Ben ain't much on the small talk, is he?" "Stubborn as a mule, though." "Get some rest, boy." "All right." "What the fuck?" "I got cows in that pasture." "What are you gonna do when a dog goes bad on you, bites somebody or hurts somebody?" "There's only two things you can do, right?" "You either chain him up or put him down." "But which do you think is more cruel?" "Huh?" "You talking about killing your own son?" "That's crazy." "Well..." "I can't very well chain him up, can I?" "I need a drink." "Haven't even had my goddamn coffee yet." "Son of a bitch." "Thank you, darling." "You got it, baby." "Have you given any thought as to how you're gonna do this thing?" "Well, it ain't rocket science." "What about the big Mex?" "If he's there, we'll shoot him too." "Oh, good." "Well, I'm glad you got a plan." "I was worried that you were just gonna wing it." "You got a better idea?" "Not yet, but I'm working on it." "Just remember, he's my son, and I'm pulling the trigger." "Good luck." "Hey, there." "Hey." "Ho!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Honey, I'm sorry." "I didn't see you." "That's okay." " Sorry." " That's okay." " Okay, ice cream?" " No." " No?" " Potato sauce." "Potato sauce?" "And his low throw allows..." "Glad the trip went well." "I hope you get the contract." "What?" "I said I'm glad the trip went well." "Man on first and third..." "Oh." "Takes the plate." "Here it comes, the two-and-two pitch." "Hits it sharp!" "Going back!" "Going back!" "It's out of here!" "I'll tell you..." "Call." "What do you got?" "Show 'em." "Framer's back." "Well, how about that?" "The video store is a cover." "Your boy's got more brains than you do, Ben." "Must take after his mama." "Okay, framer, go in there and look for exit doors and side rooms, things like that." "You got it?" "And just act normal, all right?" "What about the Mexican?" "Just be quick about it." "Okay, okay." "Hey." "Hey." "Is there something I can help you with, sir?" "Yeah, uh..." "You have a foreign films section?" "Don't carry nothing foreign but Jap and Mex stuff." "Uh, that's right, just Japanese and Mexican fare, uh, some British too." "We got limey stuff?" "George, I prefer you not use offensive terms like that if you're gonna work for me, okay?" "Yes, sir." "I didn't mean nothing by it." "Sorry." "Uh..." "It's all right." "Is there anything else that I can help you with today?" "Uh..." "Yeah, uh, what time y'all close?" "11:00 p.m., sharp." "Shit." "All right." "Chicken?" "No, they out of the chicken- only beef." "Oh, actually, hey, you know," "I just got this new release in from, uh- what" " You all right?" "Yeah." "They close at 11:00." "Ben." "Eenie, meenie." "Here." "Just in case." "All right, that's them." "Let's make this quick." "Just tell us when." "Oh, shit, shit, shit." "Oh, fuck." "They got company." "I don't like this." "Let's take 'em all on." " There's six of 'em, Ben." " Ooh!" "We don't know how many more are on the inside." "Ah, fuck 'em." "Ben." "We're gonna do this the right way." "Are you feeling me, Ben?" "Take the gun out of my ear, Jim." "I'm feeling you." "Wait." "Look." "All right, see ya." "What do we do?" "Follow 'em." "All right." "This must be where they do it." "Lot of cowboys down there, Ben." "You want to rethink your math?" "Fuck the math." "Looks like there's only gonna be one left outside." "That means five on the inside, plus the girl." "Count to ten, and then one of you step out and get his attention." "I'll do the rest." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six" " You're actually counting?" "He-he said to count." "Damn." "Oh, shit." "Hey." "Hey." "All right, boys, it's Howdy Doody time." "I'll be upstairs." "Yeah, I'll be upstairs." "This guy- so I told you I'm coming." "Hold on." " Tell me again." " I told you already." "Get me a drink." "I never had a chance to love you" "What was that?" "Get your ass back down here!" "No!" "No, no." "Ah!" "Fuck!" "Ah!" "Fucking shot" "Who the fuck are you, man?" "Fuck!" "Fu" " Thanks." "Hey, up here, boys." "Fuck!" "Go down!" "Shit." "It's all right." "Shh." "You're all right." "You're all right." "You're all right." "It's okay." "Fucker!" "Ben." "Take the shot." "Freddy..." "I" " I'm Ben Russel." "I'm your father." "I came here to kill you." "Are you really my dad?" "Far as I know."