Powers, Principalities, Thrones and Dominions

[MLM-118 (4C18)]

 

Written by Ted Mann & Harold Rosenthal
Directed by Thomas J. Wright
U.S. Air Date: April 25, 1997

[Transcribed by Maria Vitale
Edited by Libby]

[polaroid fade up]

[A man walks out of a store carrying a bag of groceries and heads for his car in the parking lot.]

[A young man in a leather jacket leaning on a car, watches the first man as he walks past him. He continues to stare as the first man reaches his car, opens the rear door and places the bag of groceries inside the car and shuts the door. As he is about to open the front door the young man, who is standing a car away from him, shuts his eyes and draws in a deep breath. The first man pauses as the young man opens his eyes, letting out his breath. The first man turns to look at the young man.]

YOUNG MAN:  By Uriel, and by Raziel, powers, principalities, thrones and dominions, I bind and command you: Stand!

[Just then Frank can be seen coming out of the store, walking towards the parking lot. He sees both men ahead of him. From his perspective he sees the young man stretch out his right arm, empty hand extended, palm forward, towards the other man.]

YOUNG MAN:  I, Sammael, bound by his will, command you: Depart!

[Our view, and that of the bystanders, is that there is a gun in the young man's hand, which he is pointing at the other man.]

[Frank stands and watches as Sammael's out-stretched empty hand fires a bolt of lightning at the other man, striking him in the chest. Frank hears thunder.]

[Our view: we see and hear the gun being fired.]

[People scream. Some run in one direction or another in panic as Frank tries to make his way through.]

[Our view: Sammael lowers his arm to his side, letting the gun fall to the ground.]

SAMMAEL:  Die, you son-of-a-bitch.

[Frank walks over to the man, and tries to find a pulse. Finding none, he walks over to Sammael, cautiously puts up a hand as he reaches down to pick up the gun. The gun hasn't been fired. The hammer is still back. He uncocks the gun and looks at Sammael.]

[fade to black]

[main titles]

"Paranoia is just a kind of awareness, and awareness is just a form of love."
Charles Manson

[polaroid fade up]

BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON
FOUR DAYS EARLIER

[It is day and raining heavily outside of a house in a somewhat rural area. A Bellingham squad car pulls up to the house. A flash as from a camera can be seen from a second-floor window. Several local people are milling about with umbrellas. An officer steps out of the car and heads for the house.]

[Inside. There are numerous officers and detectives at the crime scene. Candles are lit throughout the room. Several of the officers are dusting for prints, measuring off sections of the rooms, taking photographs as Peter Watts describes the room to someone on his cell phone.]

WATTS:  There's a summoner's circle on the floor. The body is on an altar. Blood drained into a chalice. Ceremonial candles. Signs of Lucifer on the wall. Inverted crosses. There's a grimoire.

[An ancient-looking book lies open on a stand. One page has a sketching of an arch with the name: 'PHAESTOS' and the other page is a sketching of a woman standing with an inverted cross in her right hand and a candle lit at both ends in her left. Above it is scrawled: 'IN SHADOW OF THE GOLDEN FIRE.']

WATTS:  There's not much that isn't here, Frank.

[He turns the page and there are more sketches of winged demons, various symbols including the inverted pentagram.]

[The Black residence. Frank is seen talking on the phone and Catherine is seen in the foreground writing at the kitchen table. The perspective alternates between the two during their conversation.]

FRANK:  You've had experiences with these kinds of situations before.

WATTS:  Some, yeah. Not like you've had. This doesn't seem to be the type I've seen before.

FRANK:  If you're asking, Peter, I'm not ready to come back to work yet.

[Catherine is carefully listening to Frank's end of the conversation.]

WATTS:  I can probably handle this myself. I get in trouble, I'll give you a call. You take care.

FRANK:  Okay.

[He hangs up the phone and turns to face Catherine. Neither say a word.]

 

[At the crime scene, the investigation continues. Watts speaks with Det. Damon Rummer.]

WATTS:  Was the victim the only occupant of the residence?

RUMMER:  Yes, sir. He, uh, he lived here by himself. He was a deacon at the First Immanuel Church.

[Watts looks across the room as two detectives move past a window. He then sees the young man, Sammael, standing outside the window on the ledge looking directly at him.]

RUMMER:  Active in Promise Keepers.

[Another detective begins walking past the window, momentarily obscuring Watts's view but when he has passed...]

RUMMER:  There's no way he would have been involved in any of this.

[...Sammael is gone.]

DETECTIVE:  No way.

[Watts makes his way over to the window to look outside. It is still raining as he looks down at the narrow ledge outside and at the officers below. The room is on the second floor. He turns to face the detectives.]

WATTS:  Did anybody see that?

RUMMER:  See what?

WATTS:  The kid out here on the ledge looking in.

[The detective doesn't answer but an officer near him shakes his head. Watts turns back to look out the window and is puzzled at the young man's appearance and disappearance.]

 

[Meanwhile, at the Black residence, Frank is in his bathroom, washing his face, cleaning his ears and running his fingers through his hair when Catherine appears at the door. As he dries himself with a towel, he sees her reflection in the mirror.]

FRANK:  Hey.

CATHERINE:  Hey. Peter asked for your help, didn't he?

FRANK:  Yeah, but he doesn't need it.

CATHERINE:  You knew it was coming.

[He buries his face in the towel and keeps it there.]

FRANK:  (muffled) I'm not ready. Not yet.

CATHERINE:  You knew it was just a question.

[He finally removes the towel as they look at one another in the mirror.]

CATHERINE:  Something you've been asking yourself.

FRANK:  A question?

CATHERINE:  Of when. (pause) You can't deny who you are, Frank, to yourself or to me.

FRANK:  I've lost my concentration. After Bob.

CATHERINE:  You have to come to terms.

[Long pause, then Frank sighs and finally turns to face his wife.]

FRANK:  You know, I forget sometimes, I think I'll give him a call. Then I remember, Bob's dead. Murdered here in our house.

[He sits down on the edge of the bathtub.]

CATHERINE:  You have to go back to work. I don't see any other choice for you. If we let things go on this way, it's only a matter of time.

FRANK:  Until what?

CATHERINE:  Until something gives.

[Another long pause. Jordan calls out from the other room.]

JORDAN:  Daddy?

FRANK:  In here, honey.

[She enters the bathroom and he picks her up and sits her on his lap.]

JORDAN:  Are you staying home from work today again, Daddy?

FRANK:  What do you have to say about it?

JORDAN:  I don't know. Are you?

[Frank looks to Catherine before replying.]

FRANK:  No, but I won't be far away. And I'll come home for dinner, okay?

JORDAN:  'Kay.

 

[The police station in Bellingham. Frank is looking at several photographs, the first two of which are of that etching with the name, 'PHAESTOS'. Both have a ruler placed near the image in order for size and scale to be established. The third is of the body on the altar. Frank continues to look at the photographs throughout.]

RUMMER:  Mr. Black? We're not, uh, how should I say, uh, accustomed to the nature of this style of homicide. Our perpetrator eviscerated his victim. Gutted him and stored his organs in clay pots.

[Peter Watts is also present. Frank looks at the photos of the bloodied clay pots.]

FRANK:  Lungs, heart and brain in separate pots?

RUMMER:  Yes.

FRANK:  They're called canopic jars, used by ancient Egyptian embalmers to store and preserve the organs of their clients.

[There are also several young officers in the room.]

RUMMER:  All this filth came from the kill site. Eddie, uh, the victim, he ran the lighting store down on Bayne Street.

[Frank is looking at an object - the book from the stand? - sealed in an evidence bag.]

RUMMER:  The way he was killed, there are rumors going around, people are pretty upset. I, I think we need to move very quickly on this, Mr. Black.

FRANK:  Yes, I understand.

RUMMER:  I'd like to give the public some guidelines on how best to protect themselves and their families.

FRANK:  I'd say as little as possible, for now.

[He looks over at Watts.]

RUMMER:  Okay. After you see the remains, uh, perhaps you could give me some guidance. I'd, uh, I'd really appreciate it.

[Frank nods.]

RUMMER:  You do understand?

[Frank doesn't reply.]

RUMMER:  (to Watts) Mr. Watts.

[Frank and Watts look at each other in silence.]

 

[The mortuary. Undertaker Phil Brice examines the body and describes his conclusions to Frank and Watts.]

BRICE:  I feel confident the cause of death was the knife wound to the neck. With the carotid artery severed the blood flow to the brain would cause the victim to lose consciousness very quickly. Death would follow from the massive hemorrhaging.

[Frank sighs deeply. The four clay pots can be seen on a counter top.]

BRICE:  That would fit with the preparation of the organs. The Egyptians preserved their distinguished dead in similar fashion with mineralized salts, other compounds.

WATTS:  Your knowledge of these things - they're of professional interest to you?

BRICE:  I've studied their techniques.

RUMMER:  Phil's the undertaker but he's been county coroner now for the last 5 years.

BRICE:  I'm not a doctor, understand. I'm in mortuary science. Anyway...

RUMMER:  (to Brice) You think Eddie knew what was happening to him?

BRICE:  Possible.

[Frank stares straight ahead as he has a vision.]

[He flashes on Bletcher's death. He sees Bletcher struggling with someone. A flash of white light (lightning?) reveals that it is Lucy. In her left hand is a knife which she is using to attack Bletcher from behind. The flashes of white light continue throughout. Then the image becomes that of Bletcher, already dead with his throat slashed and suspended up on the rafters of Frank's basement. The last images are of the knife as it cuts through Bletcher's throat. Blood is everywhere. Vision ends.]

BRICE:  The brain can live for a few minutes without oxygen.

[Frank swallows hard but can stand no more.]

FRANK:  Excuse me, I have to go to the restroom.

[He leaves. Watts watches him leave.]

 

[Afterwards, Watts waits for Frank in the display room where several coffins stand ready for inspection. Frank steps out from the restroom.]

FRANK:  (exhales deeply) May be too soon, Peter.

WATTS:  I pushed you. Shall I find somebody to drive you back to the city?

FRANK:  No, I'm going to take a walk, collect myself.

WATTS:  I didn't tell you, Frank. There's something I need your head on. Something I saw after we got off the phone.

FRANK:  What?

WATTS:  I saw a kid looking into the second-story window of the crime scene. No ladder. No trace of him. It was strange to me.

FRANK:  Was there something else?

[Watts nods.]

WATTS:  Yeah.

[He hands Frank an envelope. They walk over to one of the closed coffins. Frank wipes his hand over one of them before placing the envelope on top of it.]

[He removes its contents: photographs. The top one is of several of the local people standing outside the house where the murder took place. A woman in the foreground stands with an umbrella. Behind her, well off in the background is a figure Watts has circled. It is the same young man, Sammael, who stood outside the window looking directly at him at the crime scene.]

WATTS:  Spectators at the crime scene. That's the guy I saw.

FRANK:  You always hope for a break, that maybe the killer will return to the scene, for his thrills.

WATTS:  But you don't think so this time?

FRANK:  I don't feel I should even try to comment. My clarity on this is not what I'd hoped.

[One last look at the photograph of Sammael.]

 

[Sammael can be seen walking up to, then standing behind a tree in a park across from a children's amusement park, 'Adventure Land.' Several small children are playing.]

[Then a man can be seen looking at Sammael from a distance. He turns and walks along as we see some other children walking past a baby carriage. Inside, the baby plays with a toy. The baby-sitter is sitting near the carriage reading a magazine. When she hears a sound from the baby, she gets up, brings with her a small bottle and gives it to the baby. She then steps away for a moment.]

[This man now appears near the baby carriage. In his right hand is a small knife. The baby looks up as the man approaches.]

[The baby-sitter can be seen having a drink at a nearby water fountain as the man comes up behind her, grabs hold of her forehead with his left hand and slits her throat with his right. Blood splatters onto the fountain. She gasps for breath as he drops her to the ground. Then he drops the knife as well before walking away as the girl lies dying. The blood can be seen in the fountain as the water continues to run, washing only part of it away.]

 

[At the mortuary, Det. Rummer and Brice enter the display room where Frank and Watts have been talking.]

RUMMER:  Mr. Black, I can't wait. I need to tell the people of this town something or you've got to give me a good reason not to.

[Frank doesn't answer but looks to Watts to do so.]

WATTS:  We don't think this man has killed before, or not often. He'll be excited, high on his success. He'll want to enjoy the sensation that he's caused. It's unlikely he'll feel the need to kill again soon.

RUMMER:  Soon? Well, how long is soon? One week? One month?

[Two officers enter.]

OFFICER:  Chief. We got a homicide. Baby-sitter in Park Verden Playground. Some guy cut her throat in broad daylight.

RUMMER:  Did we get him?

OFFICER:  He's in custody. Miller and Trautman are bringing him in now.

RUMMER:  (to Frank and Watts) Well, I guess my question's been answered.

[Then Rummer, Brice and the officers leave Frank and Watts behind in the display room, looking at one another in silence.]

 

[An interrogation room at the Bellingham police station. The man who killed the baby-sitter is being questioned by Rummer. An officer stands guard in the room. Also present are Frank, who stands quietly by the closed door and Watts who sits at the table with the suspect and Rummer.]

RUMMER:  We've got witnesses. We've got the murder weapon. We got you, Martin.

MARTIN:  I want a lawyer.

RUMMER:  Oh, he's coming.

[Watts rises from the table to speak with Frank.]

RUMMER:  You used the same knife on Eddie Pressman you used on the girl?

[Martin does not respond but he smirks instead and looks directly at Frank.]

WATTS:  We got our guy, Frank. No reason for you to stay around if you'd rather leave.

[Frank notes the taunting stare Martin is giving him. The smirk, the smile behind his eyes. He again flashes on Bletcher's murder.]

[He sees flashes of bright white light (lightning) throughout. Bletcher struggling with someone who has grabbed him from behind. This time the figure behind Bletcher is partially obstructed by one of the unfinished beams in Frank's basement but what is visible no longer looks like Lucy but a man. He sees the knife slashing Bletcher's throat. And finally, an image, again only partially visible of the killer: only the left eye and part of the head and hair can be seen. It somewhat resembles Lucy but it could have been someone else. Vision ends.]

FRANK:  I think that it would be better.

[Watts nods and Rummer walks over to join them.]

RUMMER:  Anybody can be wrong, Mr. Black. The guy left his prints all over Pressman's house. The important thing is accomplished. We got him. Thank you.

[He shakes Frank's hand. He turns and goes back to his seat to continue the interrogation.]

FRANK:  (whispers to Watts) Ask him about the man at the window.

WATTS:  (whispers) I will.

[Watts returns to the table as Frank again looks at Martin who had been staring at him throughout. Frank turns, opens the door and leaves the room.]

 

[Out in the squad room, a man shuts a briefcase. This is the man who was killed in the opening scene. He looks up as Frank walks through the room towards him. He walks up and introduces himself to Frank and shakes hands with him.]

PEPPER:  I'm Al Pepper, counsel for the accused.

FRANK:  Frank Black.

PEPPER:  (smiling) I'll see you when you get back.

[He walks past Frank and heads toward the interrogation room. Frank turns to watch him.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[The Black residence, night. Inside, Frank are Catherine are eating dinner as they discuss the investigation.]

CATHERINE:  How did everything go today?

FRANK:  Strange. I shouldn't have gone back. Now I'm wondering why I did it.

CATHERINE:  You said they had a suspect? They arrested somebody for the crime?

[Frank nods.]

CATHERINE:  You don't have to go back, do you?

FRANK:  No.

[He gets up from the table, takes his plate with him, and heads for the sink.]

CATHERINE:  But you're going back anyway.

FRANK:  This case, I have a feeling it involves me in some way - some way I'm not clear about yet.

[Catherine walks over and stands behind him.]

CATHERINE:  Are you going to be able to sleep?

FRANK:  I'll be up in a bit.

[Catherine leaves him alone as he washes his dinner plates.]

[He goes down to the basement and looks up at the rafters where Bletcher's body was found.]

 

[Later, Frank's computer screen can be seen with the word: 'PHAESTOS' as he speaks with Watts by phone.]

FRANK:  The Greek word 'PHAESTOS' from the open page of the grimoire.

WATTS:  Do you know what that is?

FRANK:  No, but it's not meaningless. It may have been to the killer, but it's significant apart from him.

WATTS:  I'm not sure I understand.

[The view cuts back and forth between the two during their conversation.]

FRANK:  It's a signature, I think.

WATTS:  Whose? The killer's?

FRANK:  Unlikely. The ritual elements at the murder scene were drawn from a wide variety of different mystic traditions. Stage dressing - the work of a schizoid fantasist, lacking any spiritual seriousness.

WATTS:  Then who wrote it?

FRANK:  Someone who states his presence nearby. It's intended as a message.

WATTS:  To whom?

FRANK:  To me, I think.

WATTS:  You want to run that by me, Frank, before I run it by him?

FRANK:  I'm not so sure you have the right guy, Peter.

WATTS:  It's pretty well checked out. I was just about to go home, actually. You want me to hold off?

FRANK:  Would you mind?

WATTS:  I'm here as long as you need me.

[Watts hangs up the phone. The perspective stays with him. He'd been using a phone in a small office at the police station in Bellingham. Through the open door, he sees Mike Atkins. Watts walks over to greet him.]

WATTS:  What are you doing here, Mike?

[They shake hands.]

ATKINS:  Got a call. Heard you could use some help.

WATTS:  From whom?

ATKINS:  Frank.

WATTS:  Frank?

ATKINS:  Well, he told me he'd meet us back here in the morning. He told me the case would take an unexpected turn.

[Watts remains silent but looks puzzled.]

 

[Later that night, as Frank and Catherine are asleep, the front door can be heard closing. Frank hears the sound, checks to see if Catherine is still asleep and gets out of bed.]

[He goes down the stairs to the living room where he sees Bletcher sitting in chair, trying to say something to him but there is no sound.]

[Startled by the nightmare, Frank again wakes up, checks to see if his wife is still asleep, gets out of bed and goes down to the living room. This time the chair is empty.]

[Relieved that it was only a dream, Frank passes a hand over his face as Catherine comes down the stairs.]

CATHERINE:  Is it Bob?

FRANK:  He was trying to say something. It seemed so real.

[Together, they go back up the stairs. In the hallway, they stop and talk.]

FRANK:  (whispering) It was so real.

CATHERINE:  It's a subconscious influence to be expected. You're going to filter everything through your emotions for a while.

FRANK:  This was different. I felt it yesterday when we were interviewing the suspect.

CATHERINE:  You felt Bletcher?

FRANK:  It's as if he knew him, or knew something about him. Unless I'm losing my ability.

CATHERINE:  Is that what you think?

FRANK:  I think I've lost my trust in it.

 

[Bellingham, the next day. Watts and Mike Atkins stand by the water fountain in the park where the baby-sitter was slain. Frank pulls up in his Jeep and heads over to join them.]

ATKINS:  Frank.

FRANK:  Hey, Mike.

ATKINS:  You didn't call me, did you?

FRANK:  Call you?

WATTS:  Somebody's been impersonating you, Frank. Asked Mike to meet us out here. Said the case was turning.

ATKINS:  The strange thing is, it's true.

[Frank looks around at everyone in the park, trying to find whomever may have orchestrated their meeting there.]

FRANK:  What do you mean?

WATTS:  The two motorists who claimed to have seen Martin attack and kill the nurse, failed to identify him in the lineup and they were certain that they could.

FRANK:  What about the physical evidence?

ATKINS:  Martin's bloodstained jacket was sent to the lab in Seattle. When it arrived, they couldn't find any bloodstains on it.

[Frank had been wringing his hands throughout. Then walks over to the fountain and splashes some water on his face.]

WATTS:  We've established with a fair degree of certainty that the same knife that was used in the satanic killing of Pressman was used on the baby-sitter here.

FRANK:  Martin did the killings?

WATTS:  Every piece of evidence that links him directly with either killing is lost, tainted or otherwise compromised - including Martin's fingerprints on the knife which was wiped clean after it was admitted to the property room.

FRANK:  Why?

ATKINS:  Most people'd be asking how. You told Peter this involved you. What did you mean?

FRANK:  There may be a link between Bob Bletcher's murder and these killings.

WATTS:  You think Martin killed Bletcher?

[Frank doesn't reply.]

FRANK:  What about Martin's attorney? What do we know about him?

WATTS:  Not much yet, but he's been asking to see you.

 

[Back at the Bellingham police station, Pepper sits alone at a table in Interview Room #103 with a legal pad, writing the name 'PHAESTOS' on the page. He finally tears the sheet from the pad, crumbles it and tosses it into a waste basket across the room.]

[As Frank enters, Pepper rises to greet him. They shake hands.]

PEPPER:  Aleister Pepper, representing the accused. Just call me Al, Mr. Black.

FRANK:  Aleister.

PEPPER:  The name carries some notoriety in certain circles. Please.

[He gestures for Frank to sit down, which they both do.]

PEPPER:  I find the association distasteful. I go by 'Al.'

FRANK:  I see.

PEPPER:  I was hoping to talk to you earlier but you were unavailable.

[Frank shakes his head.]

PEPPER:  In the interim, things have changed. I'm not privy to all the details but I understand there've been certain evidentiary problems concerning both of my client's pending matters.

FRANK:  I won't discuss it.

PEPPER:  I am confident that I can defend my client, Mr. Black - almost certainly see him set free. I am also very aware that it is very likely that he committed the crimes of which he's accused.

FRANK:  Yes.

PEPPER:  It might better serve him to concede a degree of guilt in these current matters, accept his sentence and serve his time.

FRANK:  Why?

PEPPER:  Why? In an institutional setting, Mr. Martin might avail himself of therapeutic services. He might be rehabilitated.

FRANK:  I have no authority to bargain on the court's behalf or anyone's.

PEPPER:  Except your own, Mr. Black.

[Long pause.]

PEPPER:  I have a very successful law firm. I'm looking to expand. I need an investigator - someone with your abilities.

FRANK:  You remind me of someone. Have we met before?

PEPPER:  I seem to be blessed with a familiar face.

FRANK:  Oh.

PEPPER:  I am offering you a partnership. Name your salary. Name your hours. Design your own benefits package.

[Frank stands up.]

FRANK:  Not interested.

[Pepper rises too.]

PEPPER:  I know that you are unhappy in your current circumstances, Mr. Black. That would all change. You and your loved ones would be safe - well out of harm's way. I can't make the legal advice I give to Martin contingent upon your accepting my offer. Unethical. But you think about it. I know you'll have many questions. I will be happy to answer all of them, anytime.

[He picks up his briefcase and heads for the door.]

FRANK:  Why?

[Pepper stops and turns to face Frank.]

PEPPER:  Except that one.

[He smiles, then leaves.]

[Frank bends down and picks up the discarded paper from the waste basket as Watts and Mike Atkins enter the room.]

FRANK:  (to Watts) Did Martin's lawyer have access to the evidence? Could he have seen this?

[He shows Watts the paper with 'PHAESTOS' written six times, each appears to have been written by a different hand.]

WATTS:  No, I don't see how he could have.

 

[Outside, the courthouse. Inside, Martin's arraignment, Judge Myers presiding. Also present are: Det. Rummer, Frank, Watts and Mike Atkins.]

MYERS:  (to the prosecution) You've asked the court to deny bond.

A.D.A. FISHER:  Your honor, Mr. Martin is charged in connection with two crimes of extreme ferocity.

[As the A.D.A. continues, Martin turns around and looks directly at Frank - ]

A.D.A. FISHER:  He constitutes a continuing menace to society.

[ - who, at first, doesn't give it much importance but then stares right back at him - ]

A.D.A. FISHER:  I hope to be able to provide the court, very promptly, with compelling evidence supporting the state's opinion.

- neither one blinking.]

JUDGE:  Until you do, Mr. Fisher, defendant Martin's prior petty criminal convictions...

[Pepper, noticing this at last, also turns to look at Frank. Frank returns Pepper's stare.]

JUDGE:  ... suggest he's more likely to present society with an inconvenience than a hazard. Mr. Martin?

[The staring game is over as Martin's attention is drawn by the judge and he turns back to face her.]

JUDGE:  You've stolen a large number of car batteries.

[Frank, Watts and Mike Atkins show their frustration and incredulity at the sole remaining charge against Martin.]

MARTIN:  Sorry.

JUDGE:  All right, before I set bail, Mr. Pepper, do you have anything to say that would bear on the amount of bail?

PEPPER:  My client has instructed me he is not seeking bail at this time, preferring to await his vindication and release.

MARTIN:  Can I confess something, your honor?

JUDGE:  Mr. Pepper?

PEPPER:  (to Martin) We should discuss any statement that you're planning to make.

MARTIN:  (ignoring him) I cut a detective's neck in Seattle.

[Frank reacts to the confession.]

MARTIN:  I left him hanging on a basement wall. Bletcher. Bob Bletcher was his name.

[Both Frank and Watts lean forward in their seats.]

MARTIN:  I don't know why but it's been bothering me.

[Watts sits back but looks over at Frank, who continues to stare at Martin - neither is able to say a word.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[Outside, the Bellingham Public Safety Building. The young man, Sammael, is sitting on a bench outside the building, reading a newspaper.]

[Inside, Frank waits for Mike Atkins who brings him some news.]

ATKINS:  Martin's attorney's agreed to his being moved to Seattle.

FRANK:  I think the victim was ritualistically slaughtered to get the Millennium Group involved - to get me involved.

ATKINS:  The kid's a punk, Frank. What you're suggesting is a sophistication beyond his intelligence or competence.

FRANK:  Someone turned his limited wit to their purpose. He's being controlled.

ATKINS:  Who are you talking about?

FRANK:  Martin's lawyer. He knew I was coming back. He said so. The evidence disappearing made sure of it.

ATKINS:  This guy Pepper?

FRANK:  Why are you here? Who called you, Mike? This kid Martin?

ATKINS:  Nope. I don't think so.

FRANK:  I think you should be leaving, soon.

ATKINS:  Why is that?

FRANK:  I'm not certain but I think there's a process going on which could be dangerous.

ATKINS:  I'm staying, Frank. There isn't even a discussion.

FRANK:  Will you find out everything you can about Martin's lawyer?

ATKINS:  Sure. What are your plans?

FRANK:  Spend some time with Martin and get a feel for him. He likes to talk.

 

[Out in the squad room, Det. Giebelhouse is there along with Watts, Det. Rummer and A.D.A. Fisher. Frank had been watching as Giebelhouse arrived and was greeted by Watts.]

[Frank shakes hands with him.]

FRANK:  Thanks for coming.

GIEBELHOUSE:  Wanted to see the son-of-a-bitch. Look him in the eyes.

FRANK:  All we have is a confession. We still have to prove it out.

RUMMER:  Martin's on his way from holding.

[The doors open as three officers escort a shackled Martin into the squad room. The short man seems even more dwarfed by the height of his escorts.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  This him? This little snotball?

FRANK:  I'll be riding back to the city with you and the prisoner.

 

SECURITY ENTRANCE
SEATTLE PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING

[The car with Frank, Giebelhouse, Martin and another detective pulls into the garage of the Seattle P.D. A number of officers and detectives have gathered waiting to get a glimpse at Bletcher's murderer. Also in the crowd is Sammael.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Looks like we have a welcoming committee.

[Frank looks over to his left and spots Sammael who then turns and runs out of the area.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  Come on, folks, let's move it!

FRANK:  Come on, let me out!

[The other detective gets out of the car and opens Frank's door. He runs out of the garage to the street but has lost sight of Sammael.]

 

[In the squad room, Giebelhouse is with A.D.A. Mills who will be handling the Bletcher murder charge against Martin in Seattle. Another detective hands the woman the case file.]

A.D.A. MILLS:  Mr. Black.

[They shake hands.]

FRANK:  Are you going to give us an indictment?

A.D.A. MILLS:  He was in town during the right time period. Got a bus ticket. Driver saw him get on and off. We'll be able to get an indictment off of Martin's confession.

FRANK:  But there's no evidence linking him to Bletcher's killing.

A.D.A. MILLS:  He may recant his confession. His attorney may argue that the manner in which he confessed is proof of unreliability. Detective Giebelhouse says that he's sure this guy killed Bletcher. He says you're sure of it too.

FRANK:  I'm not so sure.

GIEBELHOUSE:  What?

 

[Down in the holding area, two officers lock Martin up in a holding cell. The cell is barren except for two cots and a toilet.]

[Once the officers leave, Martin walks over and sits down on the toilet. He then produces a razor blade, cuts across his left thumb and shuts his eyes.]

 

[Frank arrives home. He's parked his car in the driveway and walks around it to head for the front door. He notices a car parked in front of his house.]

[Inside, he sees Jordan playing on the floor in the living room and his wife sitting on the couch. He hears a man's voice talking to her.]

MAN:  Well that is the picture, Mrs. Black. I know you want to do some checking and of course you'll want to talk to Frank but, um, how does it sound?

FRANK:  Catherine?

CATHERINE:  Frank? I'm so glad you're home.

JORDAN:  Hi, Daddy!

FRANK:  Hi. How's my girl?

[As he enters the living room, the man is finally shown to be none other than Pepper.]

[Frank kisses his daughter on her head and embraces Catherine.]

PEPPER:  Hello, Frank. I hope, uh, I hope you don't mind, Frank, but I was in the neighborhood and I just dropped by on the chance that you might be in. And I met your lovely wife.

CATHERINE:  Mr. Pepper said you and he were working together.

FRANK:  Catherine, will you take Jordan upstairs? There's something I want to discuss with Mr. Pepper.

[Catherine picks up Jordan as she starts to complain.]

JORDAN:  Oh, Daddy, do I have to?

FRANK:  Yes, we're just talking boring business.

CATHERINE:  Come on, I'll give you your bath.

PEPPER:  Good night, Mrs. Black. A pleasure.

[Catherine doesn't respond but continues on her way towards the stairs.]

PEPPER:  Oh, what a lovely, lovely family. Frank, you must be very happy.

FRANK:  Don't ever come to my house. Stay away from my family.

PEPPER:  I'm, I'm sorry, Frank. I, uh, I meant no offense. I'll leave at once.

[He picks up his coat, opens the door and as he leaves, he offers an apology.]

PEPPER:  I would never have come if I had any idea that this would upset you. Sincerely, Frank. That's the last thing...

[Frank shuts the door on him as he is speaking. As he turns, he finds Catherine standing at the landing midway up the stairs.]

 

[Back at the holding cell, Martin can hear the voice of a man laughing, then speaking to him. It sounds like Pepper.]

PEPPER:  Oh, Martin! You'll be a free man. Gonna take the midnight special out of this wicked place soon. See that big light coming? Hear the steel wheels on the rails? (laughs again) Oh, yes! You, free, Martin!

[Martin looks at the razor blade in his hand. He uses it to slice off a chunk of a soap bar near him. He then takes that piece of soap to stuff into the key hole of the lock on the door to his cell.]

[He then sits down on the floor, cross-legged and slices across his own throat, places his hand on the wound and begins screaming.]

[The guards coming running up to the cell door as one of them tries to open the lock.]

1st GUARD:  Come on, get it open, for God's sake!

[Martin is gurgling, trying to breathe.]

2nd GUARD:  I'm trying! The key hole's plugged up with something! I can't get the key in!

[Martin collapses against one of the cots.]

1st GUARD:  Martin! Listen to me, Martin!

MARTIN:  Can you speak up? I can't hear you man.

[He dies.]

 

[The morgue. Martin is lying on an examination table. Frank and Giebelhouse are standing on either side of the body. Also present is the pathologist.]

FRANK:  Has anyone determined who passed him the blade?

GIEBELHOUSE:  He was clean into the cellblock. That's the information we got. It came from another prisoner is what I'm hearing.

[The pathologist has placed a scan image up on a light box and examines it before speaking.]

PATHOLOGIST:  The presence of the razor blade has produced understandable conclusions about the cause of death. But Mr. Martin here didn't die from self-inflicted injuries.

GIEBELHOUSE:  He sure as hell bled from them.

FRANK:  What did he die of?

PATHOLOGIST:  Well, he missed the carotid artery in the neck and the wounds are nothing more than messy scratches.

[Giebelhouse has walked over to the light box as the pathologist shows him the scan image.]

PATHOLOGIST:  You see this dark area here, in the mid-brain? That indicates a massive hemorrhage.

GIEBELHOUSE:  You're saying the kid tried to ice himself, but screwed it up?

PATHOLOGIST:  He died of an aneurism - of natural causes.

FRANK:  That's what you'll put in your report?

GIEBELHOUSE:  You disagree?

FRANK:  What killed this man was anything but natural.

[Frank leaves.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

 

DOWNTOWN SEATTLE

[Frank walks into Al Pepper's office.]

PEPPER:  Frank! I wasn't expecting you but I'm glad you stopped by. Would you like to take a look at the offices that I've set aside for you?

FRANK:  I've just seen your show of good faith.

PEPPER:  Really?

FRANK:  Your client's dead, but you know that.

PEPPER:  Yeah. The, uh, department notified me last night.

FRANK:  What I want to know is how you did it.

PEPPER:  Fortuitous and timely, hmmm? Our minor conflict of interest has been resolved.

FRANK:  I don't think so.

PEPPER:  As I've said to you before, you needn't make up your mind now. My offer remains open for as long as is necessary.

FRANK:  You've come to me before.

PEPPER:  So you've said.

FRANK:  You killed that kid and I'm going to connect you to it.

PEPPER:  Frank, you understand that life for you and your wonderful family can only become more difficult, more dangerous.

FRANK:  (angry) Don't threaten me!

PEPPER:  (softly) Join me.

[Frank turns and begins to leave.]

PEPPER:  I can wait, Frank. Your situation may not allow you that luxury.

[Frank doesn't respond, he just leaves Pepper's office.]

 

[He leaves the building and gets into his Jeep. He slams the palm of his hand on the steering wheel in frustration and hears his pager buzzing. He checks it and sees the message: '2000'.]

[He then calls in using a public phone. The other person is never shown.]

FRANK:  Hey, Mike.

ATKINS:  Where are you, Frank?

FRANK:  On my way home.

ATKINS:  Have you heard from Watts?

FRANK:  No.

ATKINS:  Called me an hour ago. Said he was going to meet me here with you.

FRANK:  Where are you?

ATKINS:  At my hotel. I've got something you both should see.

FRANK:  I'm on my way.

[He hangs up the phone.]

 

[Frank comes out of an elevator at the hotel. Watts is there in the hallway.]

WATTS:  Frank.

FRANK:  Peter.

WATTS:  He's not here.

FRANK:  He just called me.

WATTS:  He called you?

FRANK:  Yeah, he told me to meet him here. He made it sound urgent.

WATTS:  Who called me? I thought you did.

FRANK:  No.

[They head for Mike Atkins' room, #303. Frank knocks on the door and calls out to him.]

FRANK:  Mike? Mike!

[Frank kicks the door open.]

[Inside, Mike Atkins is lying naked on the ground, a black sheet covers him and a pillow is beneath his head. His throat has been slashed and a knife is sticking out of his chest. He's holding his throat with both hands and gurgling.]

[As Frank looks from Mike Atkins to the open window, he sees a man, dressed in black clothes with black gloves, hanging from the outside of the veranda. He then drops down to the ground below. Frank runs to the window, looks down and sees the man running away.]

WATTS:  Go after him! Go after him!

FRANK:  Do what you can for him!

[And he runs out the door as Watts takes out his cell phone and tries to call for help.]

WATTS:  Hang on, Mike.

 

[As Frank runs out the main entrance of the hotel, he sees the man running to his left. He tries to head him off.]

[He runs to the corner, turns left, continues to run across a parking lot in front of a food store. He sees the man run into the store. Frank enters after him. From the other corner, Sammael can be seen walking past the store.]

[Inside the store, Frank walks across the aisles, looking for the killer.]

[In one aisle, he sees Al Pepper. The moment Pepper sees Frank, he smiles and begins to run through the store. Frank give chase.]

[In the next aisle - Pepper has become Martin.]

[In the next - Lucy.]

[Frank runs down the aisle after Pepper/Martin/Lucy. But he's lost 'them.']

[What follows next are the events which opened the show:]

[A man (Pepper) walks out of a store carrying a bag of groceries and heads for his car in the parking lot.]

[A young man (Sammael) in a leather jacket leaning on a car, watches as Pepper walks past him, nodding hello. He continues to stare at him as he reaches his car, opens the rear door and places the bag of groceries inside the car and shuts the door. As he is about to open the front door Sammael, who is standing a car away from him, shuts his eyes and draws in a deep breath. Pepper pauses as Sammael opens his eyes, letting out his breath. Pepper turns to look at Sammael.]

SAMMAEL:  By Uriel, and by Raziel, powers, principalities, thrones and dominions, I bind and command you: Stand!

[Just then Frank can be seen coming out of the store, walking towards the parking lot. He sees both men ahead of him. From his perspective he sees Sammael stretch out his right arm, empty hand extended, palm forward, towards Pepper.]

SAMMAEL:  I, Sammael, bound by his will, command you: Depart!

[Our view, and that of the bystanders, there is a gun in Sammael's hand, which he is pointing at Pepper.]

[Frank stands and watches as Sammael's out-stretched empty hand fires a bolt of lightning at Pepper, striking him in the chest. Frank hears thunder.]

[Our view: we see and hear the gun being fired.]

[People scream. Some run in one direction or another in panic as Frank tries to make his way through.]

[Our view: Sammael lowers his arm to his side, letting the gun fall to the ground.]

SAMMAEL:  Die, you son-of-a-bitch.

[Frank walks over to Pepper, and tries to find a pulse. Finding none, he walks over to Sammael, cautiously puts up a hand as he reaches down to pick up the gun. The gun hasn't been fired. The hammer is still back. He uncocks the gun and looks at Sammael.]

 

[The Seattle Public Safety Building. Inside an interrogation room. Giebelhouse and another detective question Sammael as Watts and Frank watch from another room.]

WATTS:  Mike had been doing some background work. He spoke about it briefly. Said he'd found out some thing about the attorney Pepper.

FRANK:  I asked him to do that.

WATTS:  Before he passed, he told me that he didn't want you blaming yourself. That...

[Frank sighs.]

WATTS:  ...you told him to go home, that he was in danger.

[Frank rubs his eyes and nods.]

FRANK:  I did. (sighs again)

WATTS:  I read what he put together on Pepper, if now's any time.

[Frank nods again.]

WATTS:  Pepper had a successful practice in the city - mostly conveyancing, real estate law. Six months ago, he had a heart attack. Apparently, he was technically dead for a brief period of time. The medical team managed to revive him and after his recovery, he changed the focus of his legal work. Martin was his first serious criminal client.

[There's a knock at the door. Giebelhouse enters.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  We've got a confession. Nothing as to motive.

[He hands Frank Sammael's statement.]

GIEBELHOUSE:  The kid admits to killing Pepper but claims no part in the death of your associate Atkins. I'm sorry. We're done with him for now. You want some time with him before he's locked down?

[Giebelhouse lets Frank into the interrogation room. Sammael is sitting at a table with his hands cuffed behind him. Frank sits across from him.]

[Outside the room, Giebelhouse locks the door. Watts hands the confession back to him who exchanges it for the key to the locked interrogation room. Watts stands waiting outside the door for Frank.]

FRANK:  You didn't shoot Pepper, did you?

[Sammael doesn't respond.]

FRANK:  I didn't see it that way.

SAMMAEL:  You have a unique perspective.

FRANK:  All along my question has never been 'How?' or 'Who?' but 'Why?' Why did you act? Why stop Pepper?

SAMMAEL:  His own actions made it possible.

FRANK:  The murders? The baby-sitter? Mike Atkins?

SAMMAEL:  No. His future actions. He would not have stopped with Atkins.

FRANK:  My family?

SAMMAEL:  You must understand - you were not saved. He was not prevented from doing harm to anyone. He suffered the consequence of his own error. Any benefit to you, to your family, was incidental.

FRANK:  What you did, had nothing to do with me.

SAMMAEL:  No. There's not that kind of action.

[Pause.]

SAMMAEL:  I know you grieve deeply at the loss of your friends.

[Frank finally allows some emotion to come through as he sighs. His eyes fill with tears.]

FRANK:  Yes.

SAMMAEL:  We weep for ourselves.

[Frank stands up, trying to hold his emotions in check.]

SAMMAEL:  Don't worry about me. What happens here can only pain me, not harm me. Good-bye, Frank.

FRANK:  I would like to talk to you again sometime. Another time.

SAMMAEL:  I'm sorry. You have no idea how painful it is for me to be here.

[Frank knocks on the door and Watts unlocks it.]

WATTS:  Who is he?

FRANK:  I don't know. Maybe he's part of something all of us are otherwise unaware of.

WATTS:  Mike said something like that. It made no sense to me. He said something else. He said you should love your family as much as you can and be prepared for the possibility that it may not be enough.

[Catherine has arrived at the police station. She walks to meet Frank and take him home.]

CATHERINE:  Peter.

WATTS:  Hi.

CATHERINE:  Frank.

[They kiss.]

FRANK:  It has to be enough.

CATHERINE:  What?

FRANK:  Nothing. I want to take you home.

[They walk down the hall together, arms around each other's waists and Catherine kisses Frank on the cheek, as Watts watches.]

[fade to black]

[end titles]

Starring

Starring

Lance Henriksen (Frank Black)
Megan Gallagher (Catherine Black)
Lance Henriksen (Frank Black)
Megan Gallagher (Catherine Black)

Terry O'Quinn (Peter Watts)
Stephen James Lang (Det. Giebelhouse)
Brittany Tiplady (Jordan Black)
and
Bill Smitrovich (Lt. Bob Bletcher)

Guest Starring

Richard Cox (Alistair Pepper)
Robin Gammell (Mike Atkins)
Rodney Eastman (Sammael)
Sarah-Jane Redmond (Lucy Butler)

Co-Starring

Alf Humphreys (Damon Rummer)
Guy Fauchon (Martin)
Dean P. Gibson (Phil Brice)
Robert Moloney (Uniformed Cop Adams)
Judith Maxie (Judge Myers)
Allan Franz (Medical Examiner Anderson)
Bonnie Hay (A.D.A. Mills)

Uncredited

Marya Delver (Nanny Annie)
Terry King (Mike)
Gerry Nairn (Lyon)

 

Music by Mark Snow
Editor: George Potter
Production Designer: Mark Freeborn
Director of Photography: Robert McLachlan
Associate Producer: Jon-Michael Preece
Creative Consultant: Walon Green
Consulting Producer: Ted Mann
Co-Producer: Ken Dennis
Co-Producer: Robert Moresco
Producer: Chip Johannessen
Co-Executive Producer: Frank Spotnitz
Co-Executive Producer: Ken Horton
Co-Executive Producer: John Peter Kousakis
Written by Ted Mann & Harold Rosenthal
Directed by Thomas J. Wright

Executive Producer: Chris Carter

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