"Carl Kolchak." "Perri Reed and this is Jain McManus." " Senior Crime Reporter?" " I've been here four years." " Know how long I've covered crime?" " You are expected to get along." "It's my wife." "Look at her left hand." " What is it?" " I don't know." "She didn't have it before she died." "It's the same marks here in Seattle, and again in Sacramento, and again and again." "Something terrible is happening and no one sees it because no one wants to." "[Carl] I drive the night." "Looking into the darkness, where our fears reside." "Of things the mind dismisses but the heart knows are real." "Evils that lie hidden in the blackness." "I have seen these evils." "They have taken my wife, pregnant with a child never to be born." "Leaving me haunted by questions about her strange death, and the deaths of so many others no one dares to explain." "So I drive, knowing we fear the night not because it hides these evils," "but rather because it reveals them." "This is really good, Brenda." "All I did was tighten it a little." "You recast my approach to the actuarials." "It's much better." "Thanks." "You're so nice to do this." "Staying late and all." "You want to get a drink or something?" " I've still got to do a letter." " [clattering]" " Who's that?" " The janitor?" "No, he already came and went." "Hello." "Nobody's supposed to be up here." "I'll be right back." "[sighs]" "[gurgling]" "Is anybody here?" "There wasn't, uh..." "Brenda?" "[sighs]" " Brenda." " [screams]" "All units to a 187 at Second and Flower." "Two victims." "Cause of death unknown." "All units to a 1 87... [police radio]" "[indistinct] [camera shutter whirs]" "[alarm beeps]" " Good morning." " Aren't you the early bird?" "Night owl, actually." "I gather you saw my story." "I did." "Front page." "Impressive." "Two victims even." "Their bodies strangely desiccated." "Almost mummified." "No one knows exactly how." "Your story says these people were murdered." "Well, I got that from a confidential source." "Funny." "I just spoke to Detective Cuevas." "He called me on my way in to work this morning to tell me your story was wrong." "Really?" "Why do I get the feeling you're laughing at me right now, Carl?" " This is serious." " And I take it seriously." "Setting aside how someone could have killed people this way, security cameras don't show anyone else there." "So the police have concluded that no one killed them." "They've concluded they weren't murdered, but rather it was an accident." "They were exposed to an unidentified toxin." "A toxin?" "I just thought I'd come to you before going to Vincenzo." "Well, that's fair and I appreciate it." "But the police are wrong." "They're wrong?" "Just because the cameras didn't pick up the killer" " doesn't mean he wasn't there." " No, it means..." "The victims were last seen 90 minutes before they were found." "And I checked, there's no known toxin that can work that fast." " Are you sure?" " Even if there was, why would only two people out of 3,000 in there be exposed?" "I don't know." "But explain how a killer could have done this." "I can't." "No one can." "But someone preyed upon those people while they were alone in some big empty building where no one could hear their screams." "So you're saying if there's a killer, he may take more victims?" "I'm saying that's the story." "If you're interested." " You're bothered, aren't you?" " By what?" "Because I got the story last night, not you." "I'd be happy for you, Kolchak, if it were right." "How'd you find out about it, anyway?" "On your police scanner?" " You don't trust me, do you?" " What?" " You don't." " I never said that." "No." "You didn't." "[police radio]" "Want to tell me why you're just standing here?" "You want to get the story right, don't you?" " Come on." " You're kidding me, right?" "The police won't just let us into their crime scene." " So you're sneaking in?" " I'm not sneaking." "I'm snooping." "I can't believe I'm doing this." "Step inside or someone will see you." "It's called disturbing a crime scene." "It's a felony." "Forensics have already been." "And I think you're going to want to see this." "What?" "These marks show where the victims were." "Now the woman, Brenda Cook, she came in here, ran to the male victim, Jeremy Steckler... and they collapsed on the floor here." "None of which proves this was a homicide." "No." "But what are these?" " Third person." " His marks end here, though." " What, did you find something?" " This stain on the carpet." "Body fluids?" "No, it looks like some kind of gel." "[shrieks]" " What happened?" " It burns." "...any details about the mysterious deaths of two office workers..." " I'm watching it now." " [woman] Was that your office?" "They were at Second and Flower, I think." " [TV] A detective..." " Hmm?" "I like working at night." "I can hear myself think without the phone ringing all the time." "[clattering]" " [woman] Is something wrong?" " Nothing." " Darling, please come home." " Hold on a second, Lynda." "[Lynda] Mark?" "Mark?" "Hello?" "[clattering]" "Who's there?" "[shrieks]" "[pings]" "[pings]" "[pings]" "[scraping]" "[scraping]" "[scraping]" "[beeps]" " [man] Cuevas." " Detective Cuevas, Perri Reed." "I thought you'd be calling." "Please don't tell me the guy who died was killed by a sick building." " Maybe he was." " You've got to do better than that." "You think I'm lying?" "What else am I supposed to think?" "You didn't mention the other footprints at the first crime scene." "It wasn't some mystery killer, if that's what you're thinking." "We think they belonged to the janitor who found the bodies." "What about the gel smeared on the floor?" "How do you know about that?" "Why don't you just tell me what it is?" "I'll tell you all about it, if you let me buy you a drink tonight." "I'm not having a drink with you." "You are if you want to know why these people are dying." "[phones ring]" "Morning." "What are these?" "Follow-up to Kolchak's exclusive, we hope." "Comparing the pictures I took of the crowd outside the crime scene" " to the crowd outside the first scene." " Looking for...?" "Killers often return to the scene to relive their crimes." "If the same face shows up in both places, it could be him." "That or a very determined looky-loo." "In any case, it's worth a try." "Yeah." "Kolchak, can I see you for a second?" " There is no killer." " What makes you say that?" "Detective Cuevas just told me everything the cops know." "How'd you get him to do that?" "Don't ask." "Are you familiar with Diazinon?" "Yeah, it's a pesticide." "Very powerful, very toxic, but approved for outdoor use only." "Now according to the police, janitors used it illegally in both buildings" " for the past six months." " Bug spray?" "It's the only connection between crime scenes." " They're running tox screens now." " Bug spray?" "It's the story everyone's going with." "It's more credible than some killer shriveling people." "Well, how do you explain this?" "Their best guess right now is some other chemical that the janitors been using." "They're running tests." " What, the police are lying?" " No, they're wrong." "Somebody's wrong, all right." " I need to know your source." " It's confidential." "Your last confidential source turned out to be you." "Look, you have my word, it's genuine." "If I'm not going to go to Vincenzo with this right now," "I need a whole hell of a lot more than your word." "I need to know you're right." " [Perri] Your source is the coroner?" " Patience, Grasshopper." "Jain said you were at the crime scene before the cops." " That's right." " How?" "I sensed a disturbance and was led there psycho-magnetically." "You're joking, right?" "Yes, I am." "No, I monitored the radio frequency used by private security firms." "There's a ten or fifteen-minute lag time before the cops show." " So, I was there when they arrived." " [beep]" " Do you ever use the front door?" " Not if I can help it." "[Perri] So you're telling me your source is Alex Nyby?" " A legitimate source." " He's an orderly, Kolchak." "You bribe him for information." " So?" " Has it occurred to you that he'll tell you what you want to hear to get more bribes?" " Ah, there's that trust thing." " "Trust thing"?" "Yeah, you have a problem with it." "Other people must have told you." "I do not have a problem with trust." "It just so happens that you're a very suspicious character." "Oh, my God." "This is the man that died last night?" "Mr. Mark Rothman, alleged victim of pesticide poisoning." "No, man, it's not there." "His throat's abraded, just like the others." "What do you mean, "just like the others"?" "Nyby found abrasions on the throats of the first victims." "Why didn't the coroner rule these deaths a homicide?" "They're abrasions, for sure." "There's not the internal bleeding you'd find in strangulation cases." "Oh." "So you're saying that they were strangled but not strangled?" "Exactly!" " You said you had something for me." " Yes, I do." " Does that look familiar?" " The stuff that burned your finger." " Yeah, that'd be my guess." " Where'd you get it from?" "They scraped traces of it off this guy's neck here and I, uh, stole a little for you." " Thanks, Alex." " No problem." "Ooh, wait a minute." "Aren't you, uh, forgetting something?" "Oh, yeah." "Oh, what, more Laker tickets?" "[chuckles] Ballet, actually." "The ballet?" "Yes." "The, uh, Bolshoi." "The Bolshoi?" "I'm trying to get tickets to that." "Really?" "So I hear." "I can't believe you like the ballet." "Well, I, uh, I don't." "No." "What am I supposed to do with these now?" "[Perri] I'm just thinking out loud here, but your idea is what exactly, Kolchak?" "Someone grabbed their necks with this jelly on their hands?" " Possibly." " And that idea doesn't seem," "I don't know, um, insane?" "No more insane than the idea that those people died from bug spray." "Any idea why he would target people in office buildings?" "No, not yet." "I saw you look for the mark on that body back there." "Yeah, I haven't found it on any of the victims." "Why would you?" "What connection could those deaths have to your wife's?" "I told you, I think these strange deaths are connected somehow." "How?" "I don't know." "But these people they shouldn't..." "shouldn't be dying." "Not this way." " Dr. Messinger." " Yes." "This is Carl Kolchak." "He's a colleague of mine." " Hi." " Hi." "How can I help you?" "Perri said your specialty is biochemistry" " and you've helped her before." " I'm chair of the department here." "Well, we hoped you might be able to analyze this substance." "Kolchak got some on his finger." "It burned my skin, but not the carpet where I found it." "Ah, well, that's interesting." "Where'd you get this sample from?" "We found it on the neck of a homicide victim." "A homicide victim?" "How'd you get a hold of it?" "We can't reveal our sources." "I'll tell you what." "I'm not interested in blindly serving someone else's agenda." "So, if you can't tell me where you got the sample from..." "You heard about the bodies downtown?" "I heard about it on the radio." "Pesticide poisoning, wasn't it?" "Does that look like a pesticide to you?" "I think the authorities can solve this without your help." "Yeah, maybe they will, eventually." "But three people in the last two days have died." "Until someone finds out why, more people are gonna be murdered." "[engine starts]" "Another shocking assault on an office worker tonight." "Authorities say the man was attacked in the Hope Street office building downtown, and survived." "No details have been released yet, but police say that the victim suffered major burns around his neck area." "The victim's been sedated." "He told the police he was attacked" " by someone who grabbed his throat." " I just got off the phone with Cuevas." "Is he acknowledging a connection to the other deaths?" "Not officially." "But at least he's not talking bug spray anymore." " Where's McManus?" " At the hospital, trying to find out about this guy's condition." "The Chief of Police said they've questioned everybody with access." "Security guards, janitorial crews..." " But no suspects?" " No." "The question is, why?" "If this is the same killer who attacked the other people, why isn't the victim dead already?" "I can keep the front page open two more hours." "[hold music plays]" "Hot date?" "Let's just say I'm happy to be here." " I'm touched." " [phone clicks]" " Dominic Messinger." " Hi, it's Carl Kolchak and Perri Reed." "I thought you'd call." "I saw it on the news." "Could he have been exposed to the substance we gave you?" "If he was, I don't know how he survived." "Are you near a computer?" "I swabbed this rat's throat with the gel you left." "These images were taken over the next two minutes." "Oh, my God." " What happened?" " Mummified mouse." "In a manner of speaking, yes." "The rat was completely dehydrated." "How?" "That gel's a synthetic compound." "A super astringent." "Like witch hazel, concentrated 1 0, 000 times." "It draws all the water from the body." " OK, but then where is it?" " What do you mean?" "If this gel is drawing water from these people's bodies, there should be puddles left behind, right?" " Something must have absorbed it." " I think it was... someone." "The man, who got exposed to this astringent, somehow." "Like a chemical plant or something." "And now he's drinking people up?" " Right." " With his hands?" " Right." " And he'd be doing this, why?" " I think he needs this." " Then he wouldn't stop." "No, he wouldn't stop." "Not unless someone stopped him." "You can't take that out." "That explains what killed them." ""Gel" found on one victim's neck, but not on the others?" "A synthetic compound his body secretes through his hands." "And we did find it at the first crime scene, on the floor." "That doesn't mean that's what killed these people." "That explains what the compound does." "It strips people's bodies of water." "Do you know how ludicrous that sounds?" "Yes, I do." "If this killer wants to drink water with his hands, why doesn't he stick them under a faucet?" "OK." "Run that." "All it says is the police believe these deaths are homicides." "It's a non-story." "Then next time, bring me something I can print." " He's right, you know." " What do you mean, he's right?" " We don't have the story." " A killer's on the loose." " But we don't have the story." " A predator's out there." "The longer we're silent, the more people will die." "We need to find out where this compound came from" " and how he got exposed to it." " We want to catch this guy, we need to answer my question." "Why did this last victim survive?" " How'd it go?" " I snuck past hospital security, but they bounced me before I could get to the victim's room." "What do you got?" " Pictures of the hallway?" " I told you they kicked me out." "Wait." "Stop." "Go back." "Yeah." "Stop." "Can you blow that up?" "Yeah." "Now, these meds are going to our victim, right?" " Right." " Can you read that?" " The label on the lV bag?" " I think I can." "Thiamin and folate." "How the hell can..." "Who are you calling?" "My father." "He's a doctor." "Dad, it's Perri, I hope I didn't wake you." "No, I have a question." "Why would you prescribe thiamin and folate to an in-patient?" "I don't get it." "What's his iv bag going to tell us?" "If the cops won't tell us why he survived, his medication might." "Great." "Thanks." "They're multivitamins, used to treat alcoholics for malnourishment." "So the hospital's treating this man for alcoholism?" "Evidently." "What does being an alcoholic have to do with why he survived?" "Yeah, maybe nothing." "[radio] S. S. 241, this is 668 north La Cienega." "Resident pick up." "Ride will be waiting on the street." "Thanks so much for coming." "I was afraid to walk back to my car." "I feel bad calling, but I heard about these people being killed." "[Carl] Anything?" "I've called chemical companies in seven states." "No luck." "What about you?" "A theory." "I did some research on alcoholism." " You ever hear of hypomagnesia?" " It's Latin, "not enough magnesium."" "In addition to malnourishment, alcoholics commonly suffer from it." "Not enough magnesium results in a severe electrolyte imbalance." "OK, I'm with you so far." "What if that's why this victim survived, and the others didn't?" "As an alcoholic his body didn't have what the killer needed." "Electrolytes?" "Why didn't he just go crazy in the sports drink aisle at the supermarket?" "He could, unless it's not electrolytes he's after, but the minerals in our body that carry them." "Like magnesium?" "It could explain not only why this last victim survived, but why the killer doesn't go after people living on the streets." "He needs healthy victims." "I don't know." "I mean it makes sense if I squint real hard." "Yeah." "Are these from the third crime scene?" "Yeah, Jain just put those up." "You're disappointed, aren't you, Carl?" "About what?" "The explanation for why the killer's doing this." "Whatever it is, it's scientific." "Medical." "[Perri] You thought it was supernatural." "Something you could connect back to whatever killed your wife." "Kolchak?" "It's been right in front of us the whole time." "What?" "It's not a face in the crowd, but outside it." "This security guard." "Here... here... and here." "The cops already questioned the guards who worked in those buildings." "The same guard in all three crime scenes." "What if he worked for the security firm, but wasn't assigned to any of those buildings?" "[radio] S. S. 107 to LAX terminal two." "Party of three." "No luggage." "S. S. 1 07 to LAX terminal two..." "Uh, can I help you?" "I'm Carl Kolchak, this is Perri Reed and Jain McManus, we're from The Beacon." "I'm Mr. Cory, the manager." "Could you stop taking pictures?" "We need to confirm the name of a guard you employ." "This man." "Our personnel records are confidential." "I said stop." " We'll write the story anyway." " I guess so." "How do you spell "Cory"?" "With or without an "E"?" "Uh, what story?" " Your hiring practices." " Lack of screening." "Employing a convicted felon to guard an unsuspecting public." "I don't know what you're talking about." "This man was convicted of second degree murder and armed robbery." " We already know his name." " T ony Vincenzo." "You wouldn't be violating any confidentiality rules." "We only need to confirm it's the same T ony Vincenzo." "I really can't do that." "You're right." "We'll just run the story anyway." "Unless your records contradict our information about this man." "In which case, we'd be glad to drop the whole thing." "His name is Warren Prees, from Tucson, Arizona." "If that's his real name." "I don't get why he bothers holding down a job." "If he's killing these people, why not take their money?" "Access." "He can get pass codes, find out where the cameras are." "Slip in and out without ever being detected." "The fox guarding the henhouse." " That's where he lives?" " That's where his paychecks go." "Wait, where are you going?" " I'm going in." " It's illegal." ""ln battling evil, excess is good." It's Kahlil Gibran." " Sounds more like Donald Rumsfeld." " We should call the police." "We have no proof, other than his picture." "We can't just break in." "He's killed three people in four days." "What if he needs to feed to stay alive?" "Do you want to give him time to kill again?" "T ell me you're not going to break the lock?" "No." "Give me a lift?" " Can we turn the lights on?" " No, he might come back." "OK." "So, what are we looking for?" "Anything that connects this man to the murders." "This is interesting." "Looks like our security guard gets around." "He can't stay in one place too long." "[clunking]" " Hello?" " [clattering]" "[gasps]" "[shrieks]" "Oh, my God." "Guess this is the right place." "[glass crunches]" "[whimpers]" "He's here." "How do we get out of here?" "That way." "OK, we're dead." "Police!" "Call the cops!" "[Perri] Kolchak!" "[tires screech] [horns blare]" "Kolchak!" "[Perri] Kolchak!" " Morning." " Kolchak." " How you feeling?" " Thirsty." " We've worked on the story." " Have you?" "We think we have our killer's real name, Bernard Faroux." "Lordsburg, New Mexico." "Released on disability a year ago from his security job at an industrial vinyl chloride plant." "I take it they use astringents at the plant?" "He claimed to have inhaled it for six months from a leaky ventilation system." "Of course, the company denied his claims." "So we have nothing but his allegations." "I've referred it to Detective Cuevas all the same." "What about the other bodies we found?" "Some were women he'd been called to escort home." "And the others?" "What?" "What is it?" "There's something else, Kolchak." "Something I..." "We were hoping that you could explain." "I took it at the warehouse." "Pretty sure she was the only one that had it." "We already checked, she didn't have that mark before she died." "How can that be?" "I don't know." "[Carl] There are evils that live amongst us." "Hidden behind walls," "Iurking in dark shadows." "[beeps]" "Open your eyes and you'll see them." "But be careful you don 't open them too wide." "[siren]" "For once you've seen the darkness... [police radio]" "... the fear of it remains a part of you."