"There are certain moments in our lives that are pregnant with possibility:" "end of high school... the day we marry... the day we die." "These are the times we seem to be standing at destiny's crossroads, waiting for fate to deliver the next bend in the road, waiting for a message from above." "Mail's here!" "Anything for me?" "Uh, something from Dart mouth, and it's thin." "Ah." "Mm, mm, mm, mm, mm." "You're very welcome!" "Whoa!" "What you got there kiddo?" "Uh, something for you and Mom with fancy writing on it." "And for Mom, something from your doctor." "Which doctor?" "Witch doctor?" "Who said anything about a witch doctor?" "Yeah." "You keep that up, I'm gonna take you to a witch doctor." "Really?" "Which witch doctor?" "Hey, hey, looks like we've just been invited to the wedding of a Ms. Lynn DiNovi and a Mr. Lee Scanlon." "Good news?" "Bad news?" "No news?" "Uh, just new insurance, new rules." "I'm never good at this stuff." "Ariel?" "You all right?" "I got in!" "I got in!" "I got in." "I got financial aid." "I got in!" "You got in where?" "Dartmouth." "Dartmouth!" "Dartmouth!" "Dartmouth!" "Dartmouth!" "I got in, my first choice, Dartmouth." "Oh, my God, Dartmouth." "Oh, my God, I'm so proud of you!" "Just don't understand why she has to go to college in New Hampshire." "Because that's where Dartmouth is." "Because that's where she wants to go." "Because it's time for us to let her live her life." "Hey, I got no problem with her living her life." "Just, why can't she do it here?" "You know, I grew up here." "I went to college here." "I'm perfectly happy." "This letter's from your doctor." "It's not about insurance." "Where did you get that?" "From my pocket?" "According to this, he needs to see you." "He's concerned about that piece of tumor he had to leave in your skull 'cause it was attached to your spine." "Yeah, he's so concerned that he wrote me a letter." "I mean, he didn't call me, he didn't e-mail me." "I mean, he wrote me a letter." "And you know what?" "It's not that urgent." "If you read the whole thing, you'll see." "What he really wants is for me to come in so they can try some new drug on me." "It's a solicitation for test subjects." "And I'm not sure how I feel about being a test subject." "Allison, we're talking about a drug that..." "I'm reading now." ""...virtually eliminates the possibility" ""of seizure or death sometimes associated with vestigial cerebral growths."" "I think you'd at least want to talk to somebody about that." "Man, I do want to talk to somebody about that, but I'm not having seizures." "I think I would know if I were staring at imminent death." "Listen, I promise you, on Monday, I will call the doctor." "I'll find out what's happening." "Thank you." "I'm just saying that I think if we both take a position about" "Ariel going to school closer to home," "I think she might do it." "Hey, look, I heard you, Allison." "Problem for me is that that's not my position." "Are you forgetting?" "I grew up in Michigan, and I moved to Phoenix to study engineering, thousands of miles away from home." "And thank God I did." "Otherwise, how else would I have met you?" "Now, if she wants to move to New Hampshire to go to school," "I think we should encourage her to go." "Am I gonna miss her?" "Absolutely." "But I couldn't be more excited for her." "Now, come on." "Tell me you're going to get on board with this." "What?" "Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of ghoul." "I love my daughter." "Am I excited for?" "Hey, you know what?" "I'm more than excited for her." "Am I ready for her to move across country?" "No." "Am I ready to not see her for days or weeks or months at a time?" "No." "I would rather die!" "It's not about you!" "Hey, you know what?" "She was accepted to three other schools, all of them a lot closer." "And that's where I want her, a lot closer, and if..." "You know what?" "If that makes me an awful person," "I can live with that." "Come on, Allison." "You come on." "Oh." "Whoa." "This is nice." "I don't remember you waking up once." "I don't think you had a dream all night." "When was the last time that happened?" "Um..." "Al, you awake?" "Honey, the alarm went off." "Al?" "Al?" "Al." "Al?" "Al!" "Al!" "Al!" "Medium 6x22 It's a Wonderful Death Original Air Date on May 21, 2010" "♪ I'm tramping' ♪" "♪ Trampin' ♪" "♪ Try'n-a make heaven my home ♪" "♪ Trampin', tramping' ♪" "♪ Try'n-a make heaven my home ♪" "♪ I'm tramping' ♪" "♪ Trampin' ♪" "♪ Try'n-a make heaven my home ♪" "♪ Trampin', tramping' ♪" "♪ Try'n-a make heaven my home ♪" "♪ I'm tramping' ♪" "♪ Trampin' ♪" "♪ Try'n-a make heaven my home ♪" "♪ Hallelujah ♪" "♪ I'm tramping' ♪" "♪ Trampin' ♪" "♪ Try'n-a make heaven my home. ♪" "Excuse me." "Ice, ice, ice." "I filled the trays with water again 20 minutes ago." "And you'd think, out of respect for Mommy, these people would drink their damn liquor at room temperature." "Hey." "Come here." "Um..." "Daddy." "Sorry." "Excuse me." "Yeah." "What is it, honey?" "Nothing." "You doing all right?" "It's a lot to get used to." "My name's Mary-Louise." "I heard about what happened to you, and..." "I, um..." "I live in Phoenix." "Lived in Phoenix." "I read about you." "I know who you are." "I just... thought I'd look in." "See if you were making the adjustment okay." "So, you're...?" "Dead?" "Mm." "Four days." "I think I'm supposed to have moved on by now." "Don't think they like you hanging around." "I don't know." "I just, um... think I'm a little scared." "The whole final destination thing makes me a little uneasy." "I wasn't a bad person, but I was no angel, either." "Besides, once you get over the shock-- this, being dead, hanging around-- it's not the worst thing in the world." "Besides, I kind of want to make sure the police catch the bastard who did this to me." "Are you saying you were murdered?" "Ugh." "Can I show you something, please?" "Can you see him?" "His name's Clarence, Clarence Denton." "Apparently, he's been in and out of prison." "Rape, assault." "Lovely man." "I guess he'd been watching me for a while." "I was on my computer in the den." "Heard this noise in the kitchen." "I went in to see what it was, and he came up behind me and strangled me with a belt." "I still have no idea how he got in my house." "Then he put his hands all over me, did all kinds of things to me." "Now watch this." "Supper time." "Oh my God." "Her name is Shannon Mitchell." "I think he grabbed her in Tempe two nights ago." "Anyway, you get the idea." "So now you know." "Ever since I died, that's what I've been doing." "Watching him." "Trying to figure out what to do about it all." "And then I heard about you." "I..." "I know it's crazy." "You're as dead as I am." "But I guess I was just kind of hoping." "Any-hoo..." "I feel better now that I've told somebody." "I'm gonna leave you to your family." "Let you get your bearings." "Mary-Louise." "You're the first new friend I've made in the hereafter." "Ariel?" "Ariel?" "Hi, Mom." "Hi... my darling." "You look nice." "Maybe I can just do this lay here... dream about you." "Okay." "We can do that." "No." "At some point, I'm gonna need to wake up." "Ariel... you are awake." "Ariel... you are awake." "I am here." "No..." "Honey, you remember last night?" "You saw me outside the kitchen window?" "I saw you, too." "Daddy doesn't see me." "You sisters can't see me." "But you can." "But-but-but..." "I don't know." "I mean, is this how it's supposed to be?" "But aren't you supposed to go some other place?" "Some other wonderful place?" "Look, it's not... it's not that I don't want you here, because I do, forever... t how am I supposed to explain this to Dad?" "Honey, tell Daddy, tell him I am fine." "Tell him I feel good, that I'm in no pain, okay?" "You tell him he's my everything, he's the great love of my life, and that I'm watching over him." "I think that'll make him happy." "And your sisters, sweetie, please, tell your sisters that I love them, that I'm so proud of them, and that I am with them in their lives still." "And that goes for you too, Ariel, my big girl." "My beautiful girl." "I am with you for as long as you need me." "Oh, honey, I need you to do something for me." "I met this woman." "She gave me some information about the man who murdered her." "About the man who murdered her?" "That's right." "He's got a girl he's holding hostage." "Okay." "You'll need to get a pen and paper." "I'm gonna give you some names." "You'll need to get them to the district attorney." "Ariel, baby, pen and paper?" "Uh, backpack." "Uh, kitchen." "Um..." "Hey." "How're we doing this morning?" "We're doing." "Hey, honey, you seem a little manic." "I know this is hard." "I know this is like the worst thing ever." "Hey, come on." "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa." "I want to tell you something." "Hey, no, wait, wait, wait." "Your Mom is actually here..." "right now." "She's watching all of us." "She's watching you." "She's proud of you." "Don't ask me how, but I know." "What?" "You look like you want to say something." "Where does Mom keep the pens?" "Right in the drawer." "Thanks!" "So, we're all dying to hear." "What's the temperature like in New Hampshire?" "31 degrees." "And it's homecoming weekend." "What's that?" "It's nothing." "It doesn't matter." "I'm not going to Dartmouth." "I'm going to Mesa." "And Mesa doesn't have homecoming, so just forget about it." "Hey, Bridge, Marie, go to your room." "Get your stuff together." "We're leaving in five minutes." "Hey, Bridge, did you have Daddy sign that permission slip?" "How do you know about that?" "What difference does it make how I know about it?" "If you don't hand that slip in today, you're not going on that trip." "That's not fair." "Just get the slip, Bridge." "So how's your mom?" "She's fine." "She misses you." "She here?" "Now?" "No." "When I woke up this morning, she gave me a whole list of crimes and criminals to tell the D.A. about." "She made me promise to get on Bridge about that permission slip, and" "I'm supposed to tell you that Marie's still having bad dreams, and that maybe she should sleep in your bed tonight." "You know, I would've figured that out eventually-- about Marie-- and Bridge, I know it's mean, but maybe she should have missed the field trip." "And maybe next time she'd know to get the slip signed." "I'm just saying, if you went to Dartmouth..." "You know what?" "You're right, Dad." "And what about that man that Mom told me about that's gonna stuff a nine-year old boy into the trunk of his car the day after tomorrow?" "Am I not supposed to tell the DA about that, too?" "Am I maybe just supposed to let that happen?" "I don't know, Ariel." "I'm just worried about you." "I know that from where your Mom is, she sees all kinds of things, that she knows all kinds of things." "And maybe, maybe she does know what's best." "But still, I'm worried about you." "Dad, are we going or not?" "!" "Her name's Amanda Tillman." "A maid at the Robin's Nest Motel found her this morning." "I'm sorry." "My mom came to visit me this morning, but she didn't say anything about this." "Oh, well, your mom and you have spoiled me." "I guess I can't expect every case to be handed to me on a silver platter." "Ariel... you know that day that you came in here and you told me about Clarence Denton?" "The man who was holding the girl-- the one who killed the woman my mother met shortly after she died?" "The man, as it turned out, who killed all those women, yes." "Ever since that day," "I've felt a little guilty." "Having your mom work here all those years was an incredible gift." "And having her continue to help us even after her passing, it... it seems almost too good to be true." "And sometimes I worry that it's all happening at your expense." "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be." "So, lunch." "Ah, time for this diabetic to give himself a shot of insulin." "All right, then." "Do you mind if I use my mom's old desk to get some schoolwork done?" "Not at all." "Be my guest." "Thank you." "What's wrong?" "!" "It's quite a turnout." "Allison, I was hoping you'd be stopping by." "Insulin overdose." "Never saw that coming." "Hmm." "I've been with her every second these past few days, watching her cry, not being able to hold her, not being able to tell her that everything's gonna be okay." "How did you deal with that?" "For me, it's a little different." "I can talk to Ariel, which means I can talk to Joe." "Well, you know, that's why she's working at your office." "You should know, though, that my successor's already been appointed." "Her name is Kelly Shuler." "But to be honest with you, I have no idea if she'll be open to working with you and Ariel." "Don't you worry about that." "Let me worry about that." "Listen..." "I know that you can't talk to Lily." "So if there's any last words, anything at all you want to say, please," "Ariel and I are happy to help." "No." "Thank you." "She knows how I feel." "When I was alive," "I made it a point of telling her every single day." "Now she just needs to get on with her life." "I owe her that." "Hey, I'm turning in." "You all right?" "Just studying for a midterm." "Um, all right." "Don't stay up too late." "Good night, Daddy." "He's getting so thin." "He's not eating enough." "Don't worry." "I'll get him to eat more." "Maybe I'll, uh, make some pasta this weekend." "Honey, have you heard about this new D.A.?" "Of course." "Well, have you given any thought about how you're going to approach her... what you're going to say?" "You know, she might not be as open to working with us as Devalos was." "Actually, I wasn't going to approach her." "I thought maybe now is as good a time as any to, you know, pay more attention to school." "Maybe transfer to Dartmouth." "What?" "Have you looked at that lately?" "Mom, I..." "Come on, open it" "Every page in that book is a person whose life we've saved or a criminal that we've put in jail." "That man there, Clarence Denton, without us he would have gotten away with murdering Mary-Louise Graff." "And that young girl he kidnapped?" "She would be dead right now instead of at home with her family." "Okay." "I'll talk to her tomorrow." "But right now, I need to study, and then I need to sleep." "Someone here?" "Hello?" "Warren, is that you?" "Are you home, darling?" "No, don't." "It's better in the dark." "Warren's not here." "No one's here." "It's just you... and me." "Yeah." "Yeah, there." "I have a feeling you're gonna like this." "Oh, Mom..." "He's not the one who murdered her." "I don't understand why you're showing me this." "The murder of Mary-Louise Graff is a closed case." "In fact, you closed it, didn't you?" "Uh, Clarence Denton confessed to everything, didn't he?" "He did." "Hmm." "But he was guilty of a lot of other crimes." "I mean, remember that girl that he kidnapped and tortured?" "You could get the death penalty for that alone." "So when they said that they'd take execution off the table if he confessed to the murder of Mary-Louise Graff, he jumped at it." "I mean, he would have said he shot President Kennedy if he knew that he could avoid the needle." "Look at this." "This woman was found hanging by a noose in a hotel room." "Makes two women in one week." "This is a case that needs my attention." "This is a case that needs closing." "That's all, Ariel." "You're making a huge mistake." "I just want to help you." "You're young, you're beautiful, you're smart." "Why aren't you out having the time of your life?" "Why on earth would you want to spend your days working in this office?" "You know what?" "I am going to help you." "I am going to do you the biggest favor of your life." "I'm giving you notice." "30 days from today you're fired." "This is the last month that you will work in the district attorney's office." "And you know what, Ariel?" "One of these days, you will thank me." "So go." "Where are you going?" "To school, Mom." "To school." "Because that's where I belong." "That's where I'm supposed to be." "So that I can grow up." "So that I can be an adult." "So that one day, I can tell someone like me how little they know and what they should be doing with their life." "What about Mary-Louise Graff?" "What about her?" "!" "She's dead." "I mean, isn't she the one who got us into this?" "Wasn't she the one who was sure that Clarence Denton killed her?" "Yes, but..." "Yes, but that's not what I saw in my dream." "Okay, the fact is, she told me her killer came up behind her." "I guess she didn't get a good look at him." "I can't explain why she thought Denton did it." "I am sorry." "But the fact remains, her killer is still out there." "And you know what he looks like." "You even have a picture of him." "Mom, the woman fired me." "Yes, but you still have a month." "Honey, come on, a month is plenty of time to show her how useful you can be." "That's plenty of time to change her mind." "We just have to put a name to that face." "We just have to find out who killed Mary-Louise." "Mom, I have a test." "Oh, Honey, I know." "I just need you to make one little stop on your way to school." "This doesn't make any sense." "They caught the man who murdered my wife." "He's been in jail, for some time now." "I was actually hoping that you'd be willing to look at composite sketch of a new suspect." "This is a joke." "You're playing some sort of sick joke on me." "I promise you, Mr. Graff, this isn't..." "YOUNG MAN:" "Hey, I'm going out for a bit, Dad." "Don't wait on me for dinner, okay?" "Ooh..." "I didn't know you had company." "How's it going?" "I'm Ryan." "Yeah, there." "I have a feeling you're gonna like this." "His name is Ryan Graff." "He's Mary-Louise Graff's stepson." "He's the one who murdered her." "I see." "And you know this because he confessed it?" "Or, no, no, wait, um, you saw it or, or, no, you-you dreamt it." "Well, that means it must be true." "And I know that you know this, but I-I can't admit a dream as evidence in court." "I can't put it on the stand." "I can't submit it to cross-examination." "And since there's virtually no forensic evidence left at the scene of Mary-Louise's murder, your theory about her stepson is really a waste of my time." "You know what?" "Forget what I said this morning." "Today was your last day." "I will have someone pack up your things and get them to your house tomorrow." "Now you have a nice evening." "MARY-LOUISE North..." "North." "North!" "Oh, God!" "Ryan, you cannot keep ignoring our safe word." "That's why it's there-- to keep me safe." "I say the word, you're supposed to stop." "I don't want to stop." "It only gets really good towards the end." "It only gets really good when it seems like you're about to slip away." "Don't say that." "You're scaring me." "Good." "Good." "I want to scare you." "It should be scary." "It's the only way that it will work." "That's the point." "Really?" "That's the point?" "God, I thought it was scary enough." "You're my husband's son." "Oh, I'm sorry." "It doesn't work for me anymore." "You wait." "Someday..." "I'm going to sneak up behind you in the dark... and there won't be..." "a safe word." "Oh." "No, there won't be any safety at all." "Mary-Louise was having an affair with her stepson." "You saw it, too." "Listen, honey, I need you to do something for me." "I need you to call Detective Scanlon and tell him what you know." "Why?" "What do I know?" "I think this whole preoccupation with sex and asphyxiation is important." "I mean, think about it-- all the girls who were murdered, weren't they found hanging from belts?" "I think there might be a connection." "I'm done, Mom." "What?" "I'm not calling anybody." "I'm not doing anything." "What I just dreamt doesn't make any difference." "And I already told the new D.A. who I think it is that did this, and she doesn't care." "Well, we'll make her care." "Call Detective Scanlon." "You call Detective Scanlon." "You investigate this." "I can't do that." "I am dead." "Well, then act like it." "Leave me alone." "Crawl back into your grave, and I will come visit you on Mother's Day and Christmas." "Ariel!" "I mean it, Mom." "I am done." "I am packing my bags tomorrow morning, and I am going to find a college that I want to go to." "And then I'll get a job so I can work my way through school." "What are you talking about?" "What college?" "Are you talking about Dartmouth?" "I don't know, Mom, but I'm certainly not telling you." "I am tired of running away from my future." "It's about time that I start running towards it, no matter how far from here it is!" "Don't drink that!" "This is insane!" "No matter where you go, I will follow you." "Well, then I'll move again." "What about your father, your sisters?" "They're gonna wake up and you're just gonna be gone?" "You can blame yourself for that." "Stop that, Ariel!" "You are too young to drink!" "What are you doing?" "!" "Isn't this why you started drinking?" "So that you'd get rid of the ghosts?" "Because there is one ghost that I am tired of listening to." "Ariel, what are you saying?" "!" "You are breaking my heart!" "Oh, my goodness." "It's really working." "I can't see you anymore." "I can barely hear you." "Oh, wow..." "No, Ariel!" "Ariel, listen to me!" "You can't leave me!" "You can't leave this house!" "Bye, Mommy." "I gotta go now." "Dear Dad, I know you'll understand, although I imagine you'll find it hard to forgive me." "I just need to escape and find a path to my own life." "Please tell Bridgette and Marie that I love them, that they're aays in my heart." "You too, Dad." "All my love." "Ariel." "I'm so, so sorry, Joe!" "This is so hard letting her go." "I-I didn't mean it to end this way." "Dad, you think she's ever coming back?" "I don't know, girls." "I-I-I-I just don't know." "Yes, yes, of course she's coming back!" "I'm gonna find her." "I'm gonna bring her back." "I'm gonna undo this." "I will!" "I will find her!" "You'll see!" "I will find her!" "♪ Trampin' ♪" "♪ Try'n-a make heaven my home. ♪" "Who are you looking for?" "Oh!" "Your detective friend?" "Mary-Louise, I thought you moved on a while ago." "Nope." "Just been keeping out of the way, enjoying the show." "Wow, that new DA?" "She's changed everything:" "reorganized the police department, moved your buddy back to traffic detail." "Guess he won't be able to help you find your daughter, which is just as well." "She really doesn't want to be found." "You know about all that?" "Of course." "I had to keep my eye on the two of you." "You really were the only ones who could upset my plan." "What plan?" "So, wait a second." "So you weren't mistaken when you told me that Clarence Denton killed you?" "You knew it was your stepson all along?" "Of course I knew all along." "No girls found in the last 24 hours hanging by a leather belt from a showerhead, by the way." "I do believe the worst is over." "Why would you do that?" "Why would you lie to me?" "Why would you help your stepson get away with killing you?" "I loved him, Allison." "Still do." "From the moment he slipped that belt around my neck, I knew who it was." "The second I died, I started looking for someone to frame for my murder." "I saw Denton kidnap and kill that girl, and I knew I had my answer." "Once I pointed you in his direction, it was only a matter of time till they caught him." "Naturally, the DA offered him a deal for confessing to my murder" "And, of course, he confessed." "He had nothing to lose and everything to gain." "Mary-Louise... that makes no sense." "Ryan killed you." "Now he's killing other women." "No, they are not the same thing." "My death was an unfortunate accident." "My death was the very definition of an act of passion!" "Those other deaths... these other deaths..." "it's not as if anyone is actually gonna miss the victims." "A few pieces of bar trash losing their lives is hardly the end of the world." "What is important is that the killing stop." "And it has." "He's done." "I know this." "You have my word on it." "Your word?" "What choice did I have?" "You made a fool out of me!" "I bullied my daughter into helping solve your murder, when you knew who the killer was all the time." "And now she's gone!" "Well, that's not my fault." "But I'd be happy to help you find her." "Not if hell froze over!" "The world is a very big place, Allison." "And while it's true we can see everything, we can't see it all at once." "You know, two spirits are better than one... although actually, it doesn't really matter." "Your daughter's gone." "You're never gonna see her again." "Not now, not ever." "Hey..." "Did you feel that?" "Of course I felt that." "Why wouldn't I feel that?" "Can you hear me?" "Why do you do this?" "Why do you torture me?" "Mm..." "Okay." "Now what was that for?" "Because you make me feel alive!" "Hey, it's just part of the service." "Mom...?" "Hi." "What are you doing on the floor?" "Just getting ready." "For what?" "For when you go." "To Dartmouth?" "But I haven't even left yet." "That's okay." "You know, I'm probably going to call you every day." "You'd better." "And text." "Texting is good." "And e-mail." "Yeah." "Me, too." "And pictures." "I'll send you lots of pictures." "And you know I'm gonna want to come visit." "Sleep in your dorm room in a sleeping bag right next to your bed." "So, you want me to get you a sleeping bag?" "That's okay." "I'm just practicing." "Yeah." "I love you, Mom." "Ah... 10:15." "Just in time for lunch." "Sorry." "I had an important doctor's appointment." "God, it's good to see you." "It's okay." "You can come in anytime you like." "Listen, I can't do this here." "People can't hear you talk, but they can hear me." "Oh, my God." "You actually can see me." "Follow me." "That's pretty amazing." "I mean, I heard that you can see people like me, but still, it's..." "it's hard to believe." "My name is Mary-Louise Graff, and I need your help." "A few days ago, I was murdered by a man named Clarence Denton..." "Hold it, hold it, hold it." "Mary-Louise, do you want me to call the police?" "About my murder, and the fact that he's kidnapped..." "Kidnapped a young girl named Shannon Mitchell, and he's keeping her in his trailer." "Yeah, yeah, I know about that." "Oh, and I know about your stepson." "I made a little call on my way to work." "In fact, you know, the police should probably be picking him up right about now." "So, see?" "You don't have any unfinished business to worry about." "You should leave you free to go wherever it is you're meant to go." "Oh, Mary-Louise, I do hope you packed for the heat." "Ladies and gentlemen, performing their very first dance as a married couple, please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Lee Scanlon!" "♪ ♪" "They look so happy!" "Come on." "You can't leave us out here to dance on our own." "You look beautiful!" "You look beautiful!" "And look at you." "I hear Dartmouth!" "Yeah!" "Pretty far away." "How you feel about that, Mama?" "It's her future." "You can't run away from your future." "You have to run to it, no matter how far away it is." "To the future!" "To the future!"