Original subtitles

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

If I die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take.

God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy,

and Grandma and Grandpa LaPierre,

and Grandma and Grandpa Jackson, and...

OK. OK, Amber Lynn. Bedtime. Come on.

You grab Mike. OK? Hop in.

Let's get you cosy-cosy, toasty-toasty.

Snug as a bug.

- Night-night, Lynnie. - Night, Daddy.

- Night, Mommy. - Night, love.

Bedlights out, Amber Lynn.

Good girl. That's a good girl.

(gunfire on TW

Stop right there!

- Weapon on the floor. - This is great.

(door closes)

Billie?

(man gasps)

Oh, sweet angel!

(door slams)

Billie! Amber Lynn!

Amber Lynn LaPierre, that's right.

A federal investigation is underway.

For the kidnapping in Sacramento, California.

- Why are you here? - I want this case.

I'm certain I've got enough competent agents in here.

- I can see that. - This is a kidnapping, Agent Mulder.

A little girl snatched from her bedroom. Basic FBI work. It's not an X-File.

I'm aware of the facts.

We're ruling out possibilities before making any statements.

That's what I'm talking about.

l can'tjust give you the case. I have to follow protocol.

Behavioural gets first crack, then the people down at NCMEC.

Two, three, fours hours, this case is gonna be a circus.

Every star-struck attorney is gonna wanna represent these people for free.

If somebody doesn't ask the right questions right now, they may never get asked.

You've got till noon.

Mulder...

The agents in my office... they have a pool going.

They think she's dead.

Don't bet on it.

Excuse me. Have they found the girl?

Is she dead?

Sorry, no press allowed inside.

Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI. I'd like to speak to Mr and Mrs LaPierre, ifl may.

My clients have nothing to say.

Harry Bring. How can I help you?

Mr Bring, your card says real-estate law and conveyances.

Have you ever handled a murder case?

- This isn't a murder case. - It might as well be,

once the facts about Amber Lynn's disappearance get out.

My clients are not murderers, and I resent any such accusation.

If you really want to help your clients, Mr Bring, get them a real lawyer.

It's OK, Harry.

Billie and I got nothing to hide.

Mr and Mrs LaPierre, my name is Fox Mulder. I'm a special agent with the FBI.

And I have a lot of experience with crimes like the one that took place here.

You've made a statement, but I'd like to ask you about that.

And I'd like you to answer in as much detail

as you and your lawyer are comfortable with.

I want to ask you about the note you found.

Where did you find it?

- In my daughter's bedroom. - When?

When I went to check on her.

- And do you know what time that was? - Nine thirty, I think.

It was right about then.

- l was watchin' TV in here. - What were you watching?

I never heard of it before. It was good.

What about you, Mrs LaPierre?

- l was in bed already. - Were you asleep?

Half.

Is that Amber Lynn's bedroom that I saw down the hallway there?

Yes.

Do you always lock your doors at night, even if you're home?

Yes.

You know most of your neighbours, I bet. You're on good terms with them?

Most of them, yes.

Can you think of anyone that would want to hurt Amber Lynn?

- (Billie) No. - (Harry) That's enough questions.

They've been very helpful, but I think you can see

that these folks have nothing to hide.

I want you to understand something,

because this is gonna get very confusing from here on in.

But whatever else the FBI says or does,

they will try their damnedest to find your little girl.

OK.

Thank you.

Agent Mulder, do you think they will?

Find her?

I hope so.

Yeah... I really do.

(knock at door)

It's open.

Mulder?

Come on in.

What are you doing?

- Thinking. - About?

Amber Lynn LaPierre.

- Mind if I turn on alight? - Yeah. I do.

Skinner is royally pissed.

At you.

- I'm sure he is. - He expected a report at noon.

He waited. And now he's sent me to find you to get it.

- I don't have a report. - They had to move on the case.

The media got wind of the police findings. They're gonna broadcast them.

- The parents are being held for questioning. - They're not guilty.

The facts would say othenNise.

There's no sign of a break-in. Both parents were at home when the girl disappeared.

They lied about where they found the note.

- Why? - That's what I've been thinking about.

(no sound)

Is it the media, orjust our own morbid fascination with the killing of an innocent?

She's not dead, Scully.

(mobile phone)

- Mulder. - (woman) Fox, it's me.

Mom? Hi.

I'm watching the news. That little girl in California. You're out there, aren't you?

Yes, I am.

- Are you OK, Mom? - When are you coming back here?

Well, I'm not sure, you know? I don't know.

- Call when you get back, Fox. - OK, lwill.

You take care, Mom. You hear?

From the note, we have determined several facts.

There is a threat of violence but no demand for money or ransom.

The note is short and written on a torn piece of paper, suggesting haste and no planning.

The paper's a type used by dry-cleaners to protect laundered garments.

The torn piece that the note was found on

matches exactly a piece that was found in the garbage of the LaPierre home.

The ink matches a felt-tip pen that was also found in the garbage.

One set of prints were found on it - Billie LaPierre's.

Is it her handwriting?

That's difficult to prove, due to the pen and the quality of the paper,

which tends to cause bleeding, makes the handwriting indistinct.

It also looks like there's been an attempt to disguise the writing.

In Mrs LaPierre's handwriting, we see dominant letter forms.

The S in "strangle", "stray dog", here in "Santa Claus",

matches up with the S's in...

"Dollars", "Seven" and "cents".

- Enough to make a connection. - But not an indictment.

Do you have information you'd like to share with us, Mulder?

Bud LaPierre says he'd been watching TV

and had gotten up to go to bed when he found Amber Lynn missing.

But, according to the police report, the TV set was still on

when the first officers arrived.

By his own account, both parents put Amber Lynn to bed

and were never more than 20 feet from her room.

The LaPierres know all their neighbours in the street, are on good terms with them.

But no one saw a stranger, on a Friday, at a fairly early hour,

enter into a locked and lighted home and remove this little girl undetected.

- Husband's lying for his wife. - I don't think so.

VVhy?

Because that doesn't explain what happened to this little girl.

- What are you doing? - I've seen something in that note before.

That's not what I mean.

You're personalising this case. You're identifying with your sister.

My sister was taken by aliens. Did I say anything about aliens, Scully?

There are a lot of good agents who do not have the patience for this.

What did I do? I provided a logical counterpoint.

You told them that they were wrong, Mulder.

And they are.

Pocatello, Idaho. 1987.

Look familiar?

- Kathy Lee, the visitors are here. - Can you let them in, please?

Ms Tencate, my name is Agent Mulder. This is Agent Scully.

Can we have a seat?

It's not the Ritz.

We just have a few questions.

We've reviewed the facts of your case, and they seem to speak for themselves.

Your six-year-old son Dean was taken from his bed while he slept.

A note was found threatening his life, later determined to be written by you.

You pled innocent at trial, but you were convicted and sentenced to 12 years,

even though your son's body was never found.

Yes, that's right.

Your story is that on the night your son disappeared

you had a vision of him dead, but you thought it was your mind playing tricks.

But when you checked on him, he was missing from his bed. Is that accurate?

Yes.

After seven years of incarceration you changed your story

and confessed to the murder of your son in a fit of insanity, a psychotic break.

- Yes, that's right. - Why did you do it?

I don't know. I was full of rage.

I have a copy of the note that you wrote.

Do you mind if I show it to you?

Now, there's a phrase, down here at the bottom.

"No one shoots at Santa Claus."

Can you explain what that means to me?

It means that, when someone promises you something, a gift, like Santa Claus,

that no one would do anything for fear of not getting the gift.

A little girl disappeared from her bed three days ago.

This is the note that was left at that scene.

Can you take a look at that and tell me what it says at the bottom?

The same thing.

Neither note makes a specific demand.

In both cases there is no evidence of foul play or a break-in.

As in your son's case, there's no body to be found.

- I told them where the body was. - Yes, you did. But it wasn't where you said.

- I can't explain it. - You can.

I can't!

You can't explain it because you didn't do anything.

You didn't kill your son and you didn't bury him.

You're not guilty of anything other than a lie. Just like these people.

The only reason you changed your story was to get outta here,

because you knew the parole board might buy the story of a psychotic break,

but they would never let a woman out ofjail

who claimed her son just disappeared out of thin air.

Now, these people... they need someone to tell them it's OK.

Someone to corroborate their story.

- I'm not that person. - They need your help.

That was utterly irresponsible, Mulder.

It was out of line and without any basis in reality.

- Do you think that woman killed her son? - She was convicted.

So how do you explain those two notes could contain the same obscure phrase?

I can't explain it. But you're doing what I said: you're personalising this case.

No. I'm gonna solve this case. I am gonna solve it.

- How? - I'm gonna find those kids.

What if they're dead, Mulder?

Don't go looking for something you don't wanna find.

(weeping)

Guard? Guard, please can you get them back?

Guard? I need to talk.

This is Fox Mulder. Leave a message. I'll try to get back to you.

Fox, it's your mother.

I'd hoped you'd call upon your return,

but I haven't heard from you. I'm sure you're busy.

There are so many emotions in me, I wouldn't know where to start.

So much that I've left unsaid, for reasons I hope one day you'll understand.

(door opens)

This is highly unusual. I wanna know what you're doing here.

There's something I want your clients to see.

- I wanna know what it is first. - About shootin' Santa Claus.

You're gonna wanna see it, too.

I believe you share a secret.

I'm, um... I'm doing this because I feel that it's the right thing to do,

and because I know what you're going through.

And I wouldn't want to happen to you what happened to me.

I just want to tell you that your little girl is OK.

And I know you're afraid of the truth,

because I saw things that I was afraid of, too.

And I can't explain all of it, except to say

that I don't remember ever thinking those words that I wrote, let alone writing them.

(Billie sobs)

It was like they wrote themselves using my hand.

But, um... what I know... for sure,

because I feel it in my heart,

is that my son is safe and protected... and in a better place.

(newscaster) Rumours aside, the parents of Amber Lynn LaPierre

were released today for lack of evidence,

and after giving a new statement to the police,

which, insiders say, has the authorities baffled and confused,

recounting a detailed story that claims supernatural forces were at work.

(door opens)

The LaPierres, seen here returning home, declined to comment.

Federal investigation of the case will continue,

but will no longer focus on the LaPierres as primary suspects.

We will intensify our search for Amber Lynn,

and we remain hopeful of her eventual safe return.

Intensify our search where? The Twilight Zone?

- I have a corroborating witness. - In prison.

There's a connection between these two women.

The only connection, Agent Mulder, is you.

I've got people busting their butts on this thing, putting together hard evidence,

while you're out gathering fairy tales from murderers.

It doesn't make sense. It's incomprehensible in any kind of a real-world way.

I deal in the real world, Agent Mulder.

You begged onto this case.

All you've done is hand our only suspects the Twinkie defence.

- Sir? - What? What is it, Agent Scully?

- I need to have a word with Mulder. - It can wait.

- No, it can't, sir. - What is it, Scully?

Mulder, your mom's dead.

- Mulder? - In here.

- What is it? - Diazepam.

She used them to sleep.

- Was there a note? - (Mulder sighs)

She called when lwas in California. She wanted to talk, but... I never called her back.

Oh, Mulder...

Why would she do this?

It just doesn't make any sense.

- We never truly know why. - No. She wouldn't kill herself.

Why are these pictures gone?

There were photos here of my sister and I.

This is all that she had left of us and they're missing. Why...?

She saw me on the news. She wanted to talk about the missing girl.

She wanted to tell me something. Maybe she couldn't tell me over the phone

cos she was afraid they would do something like this.

- Who? - Whoever took my sister.

Look at this place. It's all staged.

The pills, the oven, the tape - it's like a bad movie script.

They would have threatened her. She would be upset. They would sedate her.

I would look for a needle mark,

or something else in her system besides these pills.

No, Mulder. Please don't ask me to do this.

- Scully, who else can I ask? - An autopsy?

It's one thing on a stranger, but you're my friend and she's your mother.

I know, but if you don't do it, I might never know the truth.

You've seen things.

I need to understand them.

Something's happened to you?

My mother's dead.

You know why.

Look, I can help you. I can talk to the parole board for you.

- But right now I need you to help me. - I don't understand what you want.

I'm not here by accident.

My sister was taken away from me... when she was eight years old.

Like your son was taken away from you.

- Where's your sister now? - I don't know.

- Your mother knew, didn't she? - Why do you ask that?

- She was trying to tell you. - Tell me what?

- She'd seen them. - Who?

The walk-ins.

Old souls looking for new homes. Your sister's among them.

You can see them?

Yes. But sometimes it's very difficult, because they live in the starlight.

Is my sister dead?

They took her, to protect her soul from the great harm it would have suffered in her life.

Just like they did my little boy.

Where do they take them?

Your boy?

This little girl, Amber Lynn LaPierre?

I don't know.

But they're OK.

I'm sure your sister's there, too.

(children playing and laughing)

(children sing "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer")

Hey, buddy. The kids wanna see Santa.

- What about it? - He'sjust flying in.

(children cheer)

("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" on Tannoy)

Fox, it's your mother.

I'd hoped you'd call upon your return, but I haven't heard from you.

I'm sure you're busy.

There are so many emotions in me, I wouldn't know where to start.

So much that I've left unsaid, for reasons I hope one day you'll understand.

There are so many emotions in me, I wouldn't know where to start.

So much that I've left unsaid, for reasons I hope one day you'll understand.

(knock at door)

I'm glad you're here. My mother was trying to tell me something.

I think I've figured it out. Something about my sister that she was never able to tell me.

So much that I've left unsaid, for reasons I hope one day you'll understand.

She knew what I'd find with this case out in California.

- How could she know? - A child disappearing without a trace,

without evidence, in defiance of all logical explanation?

She knew because of what's driven me, what I've always believed.

- Mulder... - Scully, these parents who have lost...

who have lost their children,

they've had visions of their sons and daughters in scenarios that never happened,

but which they describe in notes that came through as automatic writing

and words that came through to them psychically...

from old souls protecting the children.

My mother must have written a note like that herself...

describing the scenario of my sister's disappearance,

of her abduction by aliens.

Don't you see, Scully? It never happened.

All these visions that I've had have just been to help me cope and deal with the loss,

but... I've been looking for my sister in the wrong place.

That's... what my mother was trying to tell me.

That's what she was trying to warn me about.

That's why they killed her.

Your mother killed herself, Mulder.

I conducted the autopsy. She was dying of an incurable disease.

An untreatable and horribly disfiguring disease called Paget's carcinoma.

She knew it. There were doctors' records.

She didn't wanna live.

She was trying to tell me something.

She was trying to tell you to stop.

To stop looking for your sister.

She was just trying to take away your pain.

(gasps)

(knock at door)

- How's he doing? - It's been a hard night for him.

Billie LaPierre's got something to say, and she'll only talk to Mulder.

It's not a good...

- What is it? - This case has heated up.

I've booked two flights for us.

Then you better book three.

Honey, wake up.

He's here.

Come in, Agent Mulder.

It's OK. She's here to help.

What happened here, Billie?

I saw my daughter... right in this room.

Standing right there.

I swear to God, she was right over there...

in the pyjamas her grandma gave her... saying something to me.

What was she saying?

I don't know.

Her lips were moving but I couldn't hear.

I thought...

I thought she was saying "74".

74? The number 74?

Does that mean anything to you?

74 mean anything to you, Mr LaPierre?

- Let's go home. - Mulder, we just got here.

We won't find these people's daughter alive.

How do you know that?

What we're hearing, it's the delusional talk of people that don't wanna accept the truth.

- You think they know what happened? - Maybe.

But you can't see a ghost and still hope to find her alive. Both things can't be true.

And if this little girl's spirit really did appear to her mother,

then there's probably only one explanation.

You think their daughter's dead.

What about the handwritten note?

I don't know what that means. I don't know what is the truth and what isn't any more.

I'm way too close to this case to make any kind of sound judgment.

I would like to ask for you to let me off this case, please. I'd like to take some time off.

What is it?

- Santa Claus. - What?

Stop. Turn around.

Some of these tapes go back to the '60s.

I think I know what we're gonna find here.

It's what my mother was afraid of - my sister.

It's Amber Lynn LaPierre.

This tape is dated two days before her disappearance.

Hey!

- Stop! - (fires gun)

Keep your hands up!

- What's your name? - Ed Truelove.

You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent.

If you give up that right,

anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

(Scully continues recitation of rights)

Scully?

(child) I made this!

Visiontext Subtitles: Adrian Isaac