"Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Mom,next me can I pour the milk?" "We'll see,sweetie." "You have to be able to get it in the bowl." "Ariel..." "I can do that." "I pour good." "You don't pour good, you pour well." "Okay,so when can I start pouring?" "As soon as they get rid of gravity." "First we have to promote you to cereal pouring detail." "I'm getting a promotion?" "Starting tomorrow.We'll start with the cereal, we'll see how it goes.Then we'll think about milk." "I'm getting a promotion!" "Girls,keep it down to a dull roar." "Your dad's still sleeping." "No,he's not." "Aren't you going to have any breakfast?" "This is breakfast." "I got out of there ten of 2:00, and what is it now-- it's 7:20." "I've got to be back there in 45 minutes." "It's been over a week now like this." "No wonder you're so tired." "They got guys working on this project in their late 20s." "They're out of there,like, 7:00,8:00 at night." "They can do the work while talking on their cell phone at the same time that they're checking a blog and e-mailing a friend." "I'm barely 40, and I feel like an antique." "Well,that's crazy." "You've been there nine years." "You have more experience than anyone else." "Yeah,I cost them more than anyone else,too." "I just..." "I can't shake the feeling that this project is some kind of a bake-off." "That when it's all done, the winner is going to get a pat on the back, the loser's going to get shown out the door." "What do you mean loser?" "It's a project, not a contest." "How do you know?" "I don't know." "Well,okay then." "I work there." "I do." "I feel like I never see you." "That's because you never do see me." "I don't get a kiss?" "Huh?" "Nothing.I'll see you tonight, or whenever." "sir?" "Yep." "I have those parole applications you asked me to take a look at." "Great." "Anything in there jump out at you?" "Not really." "Just a collection of horrible human beings looking for a little mercy despite the fact that they had none for their victims." "Yeah,today is the day." "Parole board hearings." "Yahoo." "Nothing like spending time in a concrete bunker listening to a bunch of vermin swear that they've seen the light,found the way, and if only you'll let them out into society they'll cure cancer and" "make the world safe for old ladies and orphans." "Care to come with?" "Is there a problem?" "Oh,no." "I just have to pick up my girls from school." "Joe's been working crazy hours on this project." "That shouldn't be a problem." "This will only take a couple hours." "so how does this work?" "It's pretty cut and dried." "The prisoner is announced by the parole board." "He's given an opportunity to make his statement-- express remorse for his crimes." "Once the board has her his request, they'll ask if we have any objections." "Tell us about the crime you committed,mr." "Cosgrove." "I shot my wife." "You shot her 16 times,mr." "Cosgrove, in the back." "You killed her." "What the board needs to determine at this time is do you regret that you committed this crime?" "I do,sir.I regret it every day of my life." "I'm a very different man from the one who arrived here ten years ago." "I work hard to be a better person." "I gave my life over to the lord." "Would the state care to comment?" "Due to the heinous nature of this crime, as well as to the fact that,to my recollection, this prisoner has never shown any remorse before this hearing, the state would ask that parole be denied at this time." "The board is inclined to agree." "Parole is denied." "Don't worry,just onmore to go." "The board will now consider the petition of mr." "Sam elkin." "You've served five years of a life sentence, and this is the first time you've been eligible to appear before the parole board,correct?" "Yes,sir." "That's correct,sir." "Tell us about your crime,mr." "Elkin." "Mr. Elkin?" "You know what I did." "It's important that we hear it from you." "I guess I kidnapped my girlfriend... my ex-girlfriend." "We broke up about a month before... she broke up-- it was her idea." "I wait for her in her car." "I had a key." "She used to let me use it." "Anyway,I waited for her." "I knew she'd be going out." "It was tuesday." "She always went out on tuesdays." "I forced her to drive out into the desert." "And once we were there, we... we did it." "I..." "I made her do it." "When we were done,I just, uh,started choking her." "She was tiny." "It didn't take long." "It was almost morning by then, so I drove her car back into the city with her dead body in the passenger seat." "Pulled into a busy car wash on bell road." "The kind with two lanes-- one where they clean the inside, and an express where the car just goes through unattended and they clean the outside." "Once the car was inside the wash," "I,uh,just turned and walked away." "that's what you needed to hear,right?" "It's my understanding that until you became eligible for parole this month, you repeatedly denied committing any of these crimes." "Uh,yes,sir." "And I regret that,sir." "Mr. District attorney?" "While I am moved to finally hear mr." "Elkin admit to these heinous acts," "I can't help but be suspicious of his motives." "Mr. Elkin is,after all,well aware that taking responsibility for his crimes is a condition of his parole eligibility." "Perhaps his apology and remorse will carry more weight when he has another five years to sleep on them." "hello?" "I'm lonely." "Hi,lonely." "My name's joe." "So what do you think?" "What are the chances i'll see you before today becomes tomorrow?" "Uh,you wouldn't happen to know what the temperature in hell is,would you?" "You haven't heard anything about a big freeze,maybe?" "They didn't mention it on the news,no." "Mm." "Then I'm probably going to be here for a while." "talk to me." "Tell me about your day." "I sat in on a parole hearing today." "Heard this guy confess that he killed his girlfriend." "I got this strong feeling that he didn't do it." "And?" "And I just had a dream about him kissing this woman." "The dead girlfriend?" "Someone else." "You know what I think?" "I think you've got kissing on the brain." "No one's kissed me on the brain,or anywhere else for that matter,for quite some time." "Oops." "I think break time is over." "Love you,too." "Love you,three." "whatever you want, you're going to have to do it yourself." "Not funny." "When did you get in?" "I don't know.I couldn't bear to look at the clock." "I really have to get some sleep." "I just found out the client's coming in tomorrow at 3:00 for an update." "Oh,crap." "What?" "Did we ever get my suit pants fixed after the cuff came unraveled at christmas?" ""We"?" "If by "we,"" "you really mean "me," then no." ""We" didn't know about your cuff." "Okay,forget it." "I'll wear shorts and a t-shirt." "I can go straight from the meeting to unemployment and then directly to the car wash to look for a job." "hey... there is a tailor who works at the mall by city hall who does alterations while you wait." "I can drop them off first thing and pick them up at lunch." "On second thought, bring those brains of yours over here." "I think I do feel like kissing them." "No,I just felt him there, and he was standing over my bed, just looming there." "And then he leaned down..." "and then he kissed me." "you'd better not be playing solitaire on that computer." "It's almost 2:00." "You're cutting it close." "You're welcome." "I'm sorry." "There was a thank you in there." "You just didn't hear it." "Well,you're right." "I'm running late." "The strangest thing happened to me on the way over here." "I saw this woman." "She looked just like that girl i've been seeing in my dreams--the one who keeps getting kissed?" "She was going up an escalator." "I was going down." "Geez." "There's no reason some stranger in a mall should be getting all the action." "I'm sorry i haven't been around." "Thank you for lunch." "You tip all the delivery people that way, or was that special for me?" "forgive me,mr." "Dubois." "I just wanted to remind you we're going to be leaving in approximately 30 minutes." "I'm all over it,edrick." "I'm just going to grab a bite to eat, and then I'm going to change." "Edrick,this is my wife,allison." "Allison,this is edrick, who is single-handedly making it tough for mere mortals like me to have to work anything less than a 24-hour day." "Joe..." "I need your help..." "Allison?" "edrick?" "First generation american." "My parents didn't speak much english when I was born,but they loved american names." "Couldn't decide between ed and rick." "Ed-rick." "Nice meeting you, mrs." "Dubois." "Thirty..." "minutes." "I'm counting the seconds." "The elkin case?" "Sam elkin?" "Why would you want to revisit the elkin case?" "It's five years old.The case is closed." "The accused man confessed." "Call me old-fashioned, but if you want to revisit old cases," "I'd certainly prefer that you find one that's unsolved and where the guilty party isn't already behind bars." "I told you yesterday i felt strongly i'm star to regret king you to come with." "Tat.D I told you yesterday i complete agree." "He was lying...about feeling badly, about being filled with remorse, abouhis supposed concern for amanda crane's friends and family." "I have court." "Mr." "District attorney..." "allison,look at the coroner's report." "I did." "Then you know that elkin's sperm was still inside the victim when we recovered her body." "There's got to be something more than just your sense that this man wasn't being truthful." "I've been having this dream..." "This wom not the victim-- she's lying in bed in the dark." "Her lover comes up and steals a kiss." "Sounds romantic." "Up until last night, the man had no face." "Now I see it's sam elkin." "I'm not sure I know what that means." "I'm not sure I know what it means,either, but I actually saw this woman today, a block away from here at the mall." "Seems to me there must be some reason i'm dreaming these dreams, some reason i met elkin yesterday, some reason I crossed paths with this woman today." "Go talk to scanlon.If the two of you can find something in the file worth looking at... thank you." "Excuse me,uh,I'm looking for detective lee scanlon." "That's his desk over there." "Must have stepped out for a second." "ExcuseE." "Uh,you look a bit upset." "My name's,uh,allison dubois." "I work with the district attorney's office." "I was wondering if I can be of some kind of help to you." "I don't know." "I've been waiting to see a detective since early this morning." "I came here with a friend." "We waited for an hour and a half, then they told us to go away for an hour." "So we took a walk around the mall,came back." "Then they said it would be another two to three hours." "My friend finally had to leave." "I'm missing a day's work." "You know what?" "I work with one of the detectives here." "Let me see if I can't get him to talk to you." "Oh,thanks." "That would be great." "I'm sorry,miss...?" "Walsh." "Kathleen walsh." "I'm not married." "Mrs. Dubois explained you've been waiting a long while.What can we help you with?" "Well,I should tell you, I called the police yesterday morning." "They came by my house,but... start from the beginning." "Tell us what happened." "Six months ago,i moved to phoenix-- just before the start of the school year." "I teach music." "Anyway,I found this wonderful apartment for very little money." "But shortly after i settled in, I began to hear noises... only at night." "They'd start just as I was getting ready for bed." "Do you have any pets?" "A cat-- boots." "But I've had him,like,forever." "He doesn't make these sounds." "Okay,so you heard there sounds... yeah." "I would call out, but no one would answer." "Uh,this would happen... like,three,maybe four times a week." "So what'd you do?" "I didn't think that there was anything to do." "I wasn't certain that there was anything really there... so frankly,for a long time,I did nothing." "But then the noises started to change." "What do you mean?" "Change how?" "Well,there was this clicking sound." "Clicking?" "a camera." "Huh?" "I was wondering if you thought it sounded like a camera." "Um..." "I don't know." "Okay." "Whatever it was, there's this new sound." "And I ignored that for a while,too." "But then two nights ago..." "I felt him there... close." "He was standing over the bed." "Forgive me for asking,but how do you know that?" "How do you know he was there?" "Stand up." "Excuse me?" "Would you stand up,please?" "Close your eyes." "Any questions?" "No." "and then?" "He kissed me." "So what'd you do?" "I screamed." "And then he was gone." "And then i called the police, and then the police came over." "And then" "I have no way of proving this... but I think they laughed at me." "Whoa,hold it,you're..." "I want to make sure i've got this right." "You're not alleging that this guy raped you, struck you,fondled you?" "A man broke into my apartment... and he kissed me." "miss walsh... you're going to tell me to change the locks, move in with a friend... buy a big dog?" "Can I see you,allison,uh... in private for one second?" "What are you doing to me?" "What am I doing to you?" "Shouldn't the question be what are you gonna do for that woman?" "Uh,no." "I don't think so." "What is your problem?" "She's clearly being victimized." "She came to you for help." "Victimized?" "A man keeps breaking into her apartment." "Maybe." "No." "Not maybe." "Based on what she's telling me, the police who went into her apartment couldn't find any evidence of a break in." "And obviously,there's no witnesses." "She is a witness." "I don't think so." "To what?" "To the breaking and entering." "Well it doesn't actually appear as though there was any breaking." "Which would lead me to suspect that there probably wasn't any real entering,either." "So what do you want me to do?" "Protect her." "From what?" "This dangerous band of marauders and thieves who may have broken into her place and stolen,what,a kiss?" "What are you so hot about?" "You don't even know this lady?" "Didn't you just tell me you met her ten minutes ago?" "I know what she's telling us is true" " I saw it." "Oh,you were there?" "And I saw something else,too." "A man who's serving a life sentence for a murder that i don't think he did, he was the person doing the kissing." "You're not making much sense, if the guy's still in prison." "I know,it doesn't make a lot of sense to me either." "What do you want me to do,allison?" "ms." "Walsh...you ever heard of a man named sam elkin?" "No." "Doesn't ring a bell." "Why?" "Uh,never mind." "No big deal." "I've conferred with mrs." "Dubois here and we've decided to post a visible police presence right outside your building." "They'll be there 24 hours a day, and if anyone comes in or out,they'll see it." "Additionally,we'll set up a direct phone link to your apartment." "If anyone does come in, you just pick up that phone and we're there." "Wow." "That's great." "I was just hoping that maybe you could send someone over to take a second look." "Really?" "I wouldn't hear of it." "This kissing thing, that's not something i want to play around with." "Well,thank you." "And thank you,mrs." "Dubois." "Oh,no,it's nothing." "That's what we're here for." "Absolutely." "That is what we're here for." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Are you here?" "Are you watching me?" "hey." "You're home, and it's not even 12:00." "Will wonders never cease?" "you'd almost think that I lived here." "I missed you." "I hate waking up and having dreams and not having you to share them with." "Well,good." "Because I suspect that pretty soon, not only will i be around during the middle of the night, but quite possibly during the day,as well." "What are you talking about?" "Well,we went to see the client today, and it's like i was invisible." "Nobody really wanted to hear from me." "It was the edrick show." "All day,all the time." "You know,the guy's been an engineer for 15 minutes, but it's like he's galileo the way they hang on his every word." "Honey... and not just... not just the client, but the senior guys from our frm,as well." "I know thaok." "I used to get that look." "That's the "you're the future of this company" look." "Hmm,I think you're exaggerating." "I met edrick." "He bows at your feet." "He worships you." "He's got me lined up in his crosshairs." "he covets my parking space." "He lusts after the senior vice president nameplate on my office door." "He pines for my four extra vacation days a year." "And you know what the surprising part is" "I don't think i really give a damn." "It's good to be home." "And you?" "Any more kissing dreams?" "Mm,the kissing has stopped." "There is no kissing." "No real clarity,either." "interview elkin again?" "Whatever for?" "I've been having these dreams." "Allison... all of them are very similar." "Up until last night,I thought they were about this blind woman,kathleen walsh, being kissed by a man who has no features, being kissed by sam elkin." "But then last night, I had the same dream, set in the same place, but kathleen is gone." "Elkin's dead girlfriend, amanda crane,is in her place." "And this suggests?" "I don't know,but I'd like to try and find out." "I don't have it, and I couldn't do it." "I left here at 10:30 last night." "No matter how much I try, I can't design with my eyes closed." "The drawings,the silicone diode-- I don't have them,I'm still working on them." "Sorry,kid." "I need your help." "Excuse me?" "All my work." "I sent it down to qc, double-check the specs." "None of it checked out." "The quality control guys called it gibberish." "It's only a matter of time before everyone upstairs hears about it." "I need your help,mr." "Dubois." "so what'd I do?" "Well,that's what I was hoping to figure out." "I don't know if you remember me." "My name's allison dubois." "I work with the district attorney's office." "I was here for your parole hearing the other day." "Sat right over there." "You waiting for a thank you?" "It's gonna be a long wait." "Well,no,I'm not here for a thank you." "I'd just like to get some questions answered." "Well,I don't know." "Depends on the questions." "I mean,what's in it for me?" "Looks like I'm gonna be in here the rest of my life." "I'm not what you'd call highly incentivized." "Okay,well,let's start with an easy one then." "Why did you sit there the other day and plead forgiveness for a crime that you didn't commit?" "I mean,I know your lawyer must have told you your only chance of parole was for you to come in and sit there and tell the board what they wanted to hear, but I'm here to tell you," "I strongly suspect that you did not commit that crime." "Now,I'm not on the board,and I'm with the district attorney's office, but I'm no attorney, so I can't really promise you anything." "But if you have a story to tell," "I would like to hear it." "And if I believe you," "I will do everything I can to be sure that everyone listens." "I loved amanda crane." "She was a college girl, I was a guy who fixed cars." "Her friends didn't think much of me." "Her family didn't think much of me." "But I loved her." "We went together for months." "Used to spend almost every day together." "Every day except tuesdays." "At first,she was always coming up with excuses." "I have a test, I have a paper due." "Then she switched her story on me." "Said she had a job, she had to work." "Didn't really bother me at first." "Didn't think much of it." "Then I lost my wallet one night, had no money to get home." "I went over to her dorm, she wasn't there." "It was:00 in the morning." "Next day she tells me she was working all night." ""Doing what?" I said." "That's when things started to get strange." "For a while,she wouldn't tell me, but I wouldn't let it go." "I was like a dog with a bone." "Finally,one night, she tells me." "She met a man." "He offered to pay her way through school." "All she had to do was go over to this apartment he owned." "When she gets inside, she puts on a blindfold,spends the night." "And do what?" "Exactly." "That's what I wanted to know." "She swears to me, she's not doing anything." "She just puts on a blindfold,takes off her clothes,puts on a nightgown,goes to bed." "Got up the next morning, put her clothes back on,took the blindfold off,and walked out the door." "And that was it?" "So she said." "I asked her if he was there." "She said she supposed so, but she never heard him, never felt him, never sensed he was there." "I didn't believe her at first." "I used to drop her off a couple of blocks away.She'd let me use the car." "Then one night,I followed her." "She caught me before she got there." "She was furious." "We had a huge fight, broke up." "I'd call her, she wouldn't answer." "I'd go over to her dorm, she wouldn't let me in." "That's when she got the restraining order." "I stayed away for a month, but then I couldn't take it any longer." "I went over to her dorm." "damn near busted the door down." "Her roommate threatened to call the cops, but amanda finally let me in." "Roommate took off, and we had another huge fight and then,a huge cry... and then,we made love." "I told her I was going to find a way to pay for school." "I was going to do it." "She told me she loved me, she missed me." "She was going to quit.She was going to find a way to tell that guy that night." "That was the last time i saw her." "Next thing I know,they found her car at that car wash." "My dna was everywhere." "It was inside the car,inside her." "I told them my story, but no one believed me." "Ma'am?" "What are you thinking?" "I was thinking,have you ever met kathleen walsh?" "No,I don't think so." "What does she look like?" "I'm thinking she looks a lot like this guy's next victim." "so what you are saying is that there's this man who likes to watch women sleep?" "I'm not going to even pretend to know what he likes." "You think this is the guy who's been sneaking into your friend kathleen's apartment?" "Well,she's not my friend, but yes, what I'm saying is i feel very strongly the man who's been watching kathleen is the same man who was watching elkin's girlfriend,amanda, and very well may have been responsible for her death." "You know,when I was preparing for elkin's parole hearing,I remember reading his statement." "This crazy story about his girlfriend having a job, only he didn't know where, and he didn't know with whom." "I know,it sounds so bizarre." "Bizarre?" "no,it aspires to "bizarre."" "allison,this man's sperm was still inside her when they found the body." "Yeah,they made up the night before." "He went by her dorm.Her roommate saw him." "Precisely,he was in violation of the restraining order she took out against him." "Not exactly the kind of thing you want to put in front of a judge in hopes of reopening a case." "What if we could catch him?" "You lost me." "Well,we know he likes kathleen." "So what if we can remove the visible police presence outside the building-- the squad car, the patrolman?" "Are you suggesting that we use this woman as bait?" "We might be able to do it safely.Wire the place up so we could hear everything,hide a bunch of swat guys." "We're already providing round- the-clock police protection against an intruder i'm not convinced even exists!" "Now we're talking about spending more of the taxpayer's money to catch someone you think might have committed a five-year-old murder, for which we already have someone in prison?" "Doesn't matter-- won't work unless kathleen walsh agrees to stay in that apartment without a police car standing watch outside her building." "Which I'm guessing might be a tough sell." "Well,can't we at least ask her?" "It's 11 minutes past 8:00." "She might not have left for work yet." "It's up to y." "hello." "Ms. Walsh,this is district attorney devalos." "I'm sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but we think we may have developed a significant lead in your case, and I was wondering if I might be able to persuade you to let us pull the police presence" "in front of your building for several nights in hopes of drawing the suspect out." "Obviously,we would install other safety measures." "Last night was the first good night's sleep i've had in months." "I can't tell you what it was like to get into bed and know I was alone." "Know I was alone." "Hey,where you going?" "I got to call scanlon." "yeah." "He's in the apartment." "Allison?" "I don't know how he got in there,but... are you talking about kathleen walsh's place?" "I got a cop and a cop car sitting in front of her building,trust me." "I'm telling you, he can get past them." "We changed the locks on every door, and checked the latches on all her windows." "It doesn't matter." "Allison,what you're saying doesn't make any sense." "Please!" "You have a man right there." "Can't you send him up?" "It's 2:00 in the morning, allison." "Lee!" "All right,I'll send someone up there." "I'll call you right back." "I'm not sure how I feel about you calling strange men at 2:00 in the morning." "I'm worried,joe." "I got a bad feeling." "That's good enough for me." "You were right about edrick, by the way." "What do you mean?" "Did he fall to his knees,beg for mercy?" "Pretty damn close." "Two officers went up,allison." "They checked the whole place." "No one was in there, and no one was getting in there," "I mean,except for one fairly cheesed-off blind lady, who said she was enjoying the best night's sleep she'd had in months." "Really?" "But I don't understand." "No offense,allison, but it's 2:00 in the morning." "you,me,and devalos are supposed to meet at 8:00 A.M." "Would it be okay if we chatted then?" "Sure." "Now you're suggesting we use this woman as bait?" "Well,we know he likes kathleen, so maybe we could remove some of the visible police presence around the building-- the car sitting there, the patrolman?" "Okay... what do you want me to say?" "Well,I don't know.Last night,I convinced myself that you thought it was a good idea." "Well..." "I don't know what to tell you." "Allison,be realistic." "After you convinced detective scanlon to send the police charging into this woman's apartment at 2:00 in the morning, the other tenants in the building, who are already up in arms about being stopped every time they come in and go out,have had it up to here." "Not to mention what it's costing the department keeping personnel there 24-7." "I think we have to pull the plug on this thing." "But,sir,that man was there!" "I saw him-- we were here having a meeting like this... allison..." "I have enormous respect for you, but it's 8:10, and I'm due in the judge's chambers in 20 minutes." "8:10?" "Last night, you said it was 8:11." "Last night?" "What are you talking about?" "Hey,I need to use your phone." "hello." "Kathleen,it's allison." "Are you standing in your kitchen wearing your bathrobe holding a cup of hot coffee?" "Well,no." "Now I'm making my way into the living room, wearing my bathrobe, holding a cup of hot coffee." "Kathleen,I need you to stay calm and do exactly as I say." "Take that hot coffee you're holding and throw it over your right shoulder." "This is detective scanlon.I need you to get up there now.Enter kathleen walsh's apartment,weapons drawn." "Kathleen,do it now-- he's right behind you!" "Mom,don't be ridiculous." "no!" "Police!" "Release that woman, and put your hands in the air!" "we got him,then you're right." "I want to thank you for your bravery." "And I would also like to apologize for the initial skepticism that came from this office." "Apology accepted." "Turns out your tormentor was also your neighbor." "It seems your apartment and his were originally designed as a single unit." "Mr. Christopher russo and his mother lived there until the early '90s, when his mother passed on, and he decided to turn it into two apartments." "Your living room closet shares a common wall with one in his bedroom." "He finally confessed to everything last night from his hospital bed." "He hired amanda crane five years ago." "When she told him that the arrangement no longer worked for her, he told her he had pictures of her." "She threatened to call the police." "They fought; he strangled her." "He claims to have been so horrified by the act of killing amanda, that he completely swore off having anything to do with the opposite sex." "Started renting the apartment and completely forgot about the common closet." "Then,you came along,a beautiful tenant with a built-in blindfold, and his old compulsions just took over." "Well,I'm just happy to know he's behind bars." "Which reminds me,there is someone who would very much like to meet you." "Kathleen." "This is sam elkin." "It's very nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you,sam." "I've never slept with an executive senior vice president before." "Five extra vacation days a year." "Very impressive." "So what did edrick have to say about it?" "He was upset,but i explained to him, with age comes experience, and with experience comes wisdom." "And what comes with wisdom?" "With any luck... allison dubois."