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"The murderer gazes deep into detective Fletcher's eyes.

"'I'll get you one day', he hissed

"As detective Fletcher led him to the patrol car."

The end. Time for bed.

More! More!

Jackson Kinley, don't you go arguing, you hear?

What happens to the murderer, granny?

They took him to jail.

Fed him bread and water.

And?

And then they electrocuted him.

I knew it! I knew you had a better ending!

(Making crackling sounds)

(Muffled groaning)

(Sirens wailing)

(Reporters shouting)

Male reporter: Now, warden, was there a stay of execution?

Warden: Okay, I have just a brief statement.

At 12:06 am, in accordance with the sentence handed down...

- Mr. Kinley! - Mr. Kinley!

Did his wife show up?

Woman: What were his last words?

Did he show any remorse?

Unfortunately, I think he probably loved prison.

For some people, it's no punishment at all.

You don't look like a man who's just witnessed an execution.

What's a man who just witnessed an execution supposed to look like?

Pulitzer prize-winning author, Jackson Kinley

Was invited by Robert norwood to be present at his execution.

Undoubtedly, this will be the final chapter

in a book about this serial killer that has ended here, tonight

At Nebraska state penitentiary.

Jackson: (On tape) Interview with norwood, June 19th.

Why did you spare their lives in the beginning?

Norwood: The little red-haired girl changed all that. The one from Boston.

I kept her for...

Three weeks.

Walked her on a leash through the commons

One rainy afternoon before I killed her.

After that

Letting them live seemed like a self-indulgence.

Jackson: So you mad e a conscious decision?

Norwood: You mean, did I say to myself,

"okay, norwood, go out and kill some people"?

Jackson: Yes.

It never entered my mind one way or another.

It was just a way of life.

Before I met them, they were dead.

After I met them, they were dead.

You get it, don't you, Kinley?

Yeah.

You get it.

(Telephone rings)

(Answering machine clicks)

Hi, this is dora overton. I'm a friend of Ray's...

I'm a friend of sheriff ray tindall.

Um...

Ray died this afternoon.

It was his heart, they think.

The da wants, uh...

Well, there's going to be an autopsy.

The funeral is this Wednesday.

(Answering machine clicks)

Oh, ray.

Hmm.

Minister: Our father,

we pray that you will be most gracious with those who mourn,

casting your loving care upon them

That they may know thy great compassion, mercy, and comfort.

Take us from this place

With the remembrance of the joy that so filled our dear, departed brother.

Jackson: Well, here's to you, old buddy. (Sighs)

Hmm.

"Kinley, everything you've been searching for is here."

What the hell?

Ray: "In an age of mass death,

"one life, unlawfully taken, still matters so much

"that the failure to discover how and by whom that life was taken

"contains all we know of romantic terror.

"Jackson Kinley."

(Panting)

(Door closes)

(Footsteps)

Who's there?

Jackson: Hello?

Ray's journal.

Mr. Kinley. Theodore warfield, district attorney.

- How do you do? - Please have a seat.

I've read most of your books.

Ray and I discuss them.

The one that I found most provocative was on Wesley bright.

How'd you happen to be interested in him?

Killed an entire family.

I was curious why a man would do something like that.

Today, they call them sociopaths.

Back in the 19th century, you know what they would have called him?

A moral imbecile. Evil, pure and simple.

It's in their genes.

Well, maybe so.

You attended his execution.

Yes, I did. It wasn't pretty.

No. That's where you're wrong, Mr. Kinley.

They're beautiful. Majestic, even.

It's one of the few places where we get to dispense pure and true justice.

Well, now, you didn't come here to discuss my theories on the law.

What can I do for you?

Do you know what ray was doing out in the canyon?

Never know with ray.

I was wondering if I could have a look at the autopsy report.

Autopsy report?

You requested an autopsy.

I'll get it for you.

And the police report, if I may.

There wasn't an investigation.

They would have written up a report. It's standard procedure.

There wouldn't be much in it.

No, I know. Just photographs, initial observations.

The cops never leave it blank.

Sometimes, it's never more than a weather report, but it's always filled in.

Mrs. Hunter?

You find what you're looking for, Mr. Kinley?

I take it you suspected foul play.

Any sign of that in our reports?

Nope.

Well, good. I'd like to know about it, if you did.

You'd be the first person I'd have told.

Good. You know, Ray's passing was a tragedy to us all.

I know you and he were close.

Yeah.

You were here last time, six, seven years ago?

Yeah. For my grandmother's funeral.

Mmm-hmm.

You know, ray was awfully proud of you.

He read and he re-read your books.

Well, now, if there's anything else we can do for you,

just let us know.

I like to keep an open door here to the public.

There is one thing. A Dr. Stark signed the coroner's report.

That wouldn't happen to be Vernon stark?

Yes, that's right.

Thank you.

Little Jack Kinley.

It's good to see you again, doctor.

Come on in, son, and sit down.

How are you?

Are you still the sufferer, my boy?

Well, those attacks you used to have, the asthma?

Oh, no. I finally outgrew it.

Do you remember that day?

It was about a month before we learned about your mama's passing.

What day?

We almost lost you.

You were about five.

And you were suffocating, turning blue.

The old woman brought you in.

She didn't have a potion for that one.

She hated to admit she needed my help.

Huh. Granny dollar.

I thought you were already dead.

We tried an injection, but it didn't work.

You wouldn't breathe.

Then I thought of something.

One last try.

We put you in a car and drove as fast as we could.

Your grandmother held your head out the window

So the air was forced down your lungs.

I don't remember...

I don't remember that particular attack.

Well, that's the glory of childhood.

You can forget such evil things.

Death was very close to you that day.

Death was snatching at you.

Just like that.

(Chuckles)

Well, actually, sir, I came to ask you about another death.

Uh, ray tindall's. You did the autopsy?

He had a massive heart attack.

- As massive as I've ever seen. - You're certain?

Oh, he wouldn't slow down. Smoked, drank, overworked.

Was he taking any medication?

Oh, just the opposite.

He was doing everything wrong.

I told him a hundred times to stay away from doing anything strenuous.

Then he walks down the canyon.

You used to live over there. You know what that canyon's like.

If he'd told me he was going there, I'd have pulled the pistol out and said,

"here, ray, just shoot yourself.

"It'll save us the trouble of having to hunt for you."

In a way, he killed himself.

He knew...

He knew that canyon was no place for him.

Oh, don't play with that, son.

What do you want?

- I'm looking for dora overton. - I'm her.

- I'm Jackson Kinley. - I know who you are.

I want to thank you for calling me about ray.

Ray would have wanted that. Wouldn't he?

You and ray were...

Yes.

Why, he never mentioned you to me.

Why are you here?

Did you take his files?

I was going through some of his things last night.

And I noticed that the o's were missing from his files.

O... overton.

Want to come in?

Ray's journal.

I needed it. To see if it had the answer.

It didn't.

Answer to what?

Ray and I drifted apart.

I thought it could've had to do with...

I'd asked ray to help me out with a personal matter.

So, the missing files, did you take those, too?

No. I could have, but they were gone already.

Ray told me about you in high school.

What you were like. Real quiet.

Genius.

He said that you were best friends.

Yeah.

Well, ray, was, uh...

Well, he was my only friend.

He was proud of you.

He would write to you, but you never wrote back.

We spoke.

A few weeks ago.

But, yeah, I didn't write. I, uh...

I don't know. It was always ray.

Always left it to him.

(Thunder rumbles)

He said you could play.

Uh, yeah, a little.

Go ahead.

Hmm.

Scheherazade.

This one of your favorites?

Ray brought it.

Ray brought this?

He liked it.

Go ahead.

(Jackson playing piano)

Dora: Will you be staying?

- Staying? - Sequoyah.

Uh, no, no. I'm leaving tomorrow.

Mmm.

Yeah.

I'm gonna miss him.

We both will.

Good night.

(Fiddle music playing on the radio)

Waitress: Excuse me, Dan.

Michael, my order up?

Michael: Here you go, darlin'.

- Waitress: Excellent. Thanks. - Michael: Sure.

Waitress: Here you go, al.

(Door creaks)

You're too early.

We don't open till noon.

Thought you were flying back to New York.

Nice place.

Thanks.

- Had it long? - Uh-huh.

(Breaks coin roll)

(Coins clattering)

What do you want?

- I was just wondering... - About?

Uh, the missing file.

It had something to do with you, didn't it?

Had everything to do with me.

Remember a girl named Ellie dinker?

The woman in black who wandered around town?

That was Ellie's mother.

Uh, right.

- Ellie dinker was murdered. - Yes.

By Lloyd...

Overton.

Lloyd Walter overton was my father.

They electrocuted him.

- For killing Ellie dinker. - He didn't do it.

How old were you when he was executed?

Six months.

- You didn't know him. - I know he didn't do it.

Is this the personal matter ray was helping you with?

Ray was helping me with everything.

Talk to me.

Let's go outside.

All my life, I listened to my mother's litany.

Which was?

Thomas warfield executed your father.

Old man warfield was the prosecutor back then.

And mom would drone on and on, repeating his closing arguments.

Do you remember it?

"Lloyd overton took a child into the woods.

"Lloyd overton did unspeakable things

"To a young girl who was powerless to resisting.

"That man there...

"That man, Lloyd Walter overton,

"with malice aforethought

"took Ellie dinker's life."

(Sighs)

There's no escaping the past here.

Is there?

Jackson: I remembe r Ellie dinker's mother used to

Wander up and down here.

Always whispered, "Ellie? Have you seen my Ellie?"

It's always better to know, isn't it?

To know what?

The truth.

I'm caught in a time warp here.

Jackson: Sequoyah building and lumber.

Dora: My father was working here that day.

He got sick, and he went home early.

His truck broke down, and someone saw him talking to Ellie dinker

by the side of the road.

And then the next day, they found Ellie's dress

Not far from where my father's truck had stalled.

And they found a blood-stained tire iron

And Ellie's shoes in his truck.

But the body was never found, was it?

No.

Got home by 3:00. That's not enough time to

Fix a pick-up, kill someone, hide the body, and...

Well...

What, you think he's guilty?

No, I was just...

I'm just trying to put the pieces together.

And?

And what?

You're no different than the rest of them are.

Rest of who?

Sequoyah.

Are you telling me that ray was wasting the state's time and money

on a 40-year-old case?

Well, he must've had something to go on.

I'll tell you what he had.

He had dora overton.

Now, relatives never want to believe a jury's verdict.

From what I hear, dora was brainwashed by her mother.

Your father was the district attorney then, right?

- He prosecuted Lloyd overton? - That's right.

Sent him straight to the electric chair.

He never doubted overton's guilt?

No.

Overton raped Ellie.

Flung her body off a cliff.

Threw it in a river. Nobody knows where.

- Nobody except... - Did you know her?

- What? - Ellie dinker.

Sounded as if you knew her.

Did you?

Well, we were friends.

The girl is dead, Mr. Kinley.

Your father, is he still alive?

No. We lost him five years ago.

The case is truly closed.

There are no statutory limits on murder cases.

Of course, you know that.

Uh, I'd like to access the evidence and the trial transcripts.

Photographs and official records.

Why are you doing this, Mr. Kinley?

I told you. It mattered to ray.

Are you a lawyer?

Oh, gosh, no.

Just poking around?

Mrs. Dinker do the same thing.

Harriet... Harriet Calhoun, she used to be the county clerk.

She'd bring Mrs. Dinker all these files.

Uh, when was that?

After the trial. And the execution.

Even after that.

The poor thing couldn't let it be.

When was the last time she was here?

About five years ago. Right before she died.

Did she ask for anything in particular?

I could ask Mrs. Calhoun.

She's on a trip now, she went to visit her grandson.

But when she comes back, I could ask.

Well, if you need anything else, you just let me know.

Oh, Mrs. Dinker poked through these for 30 years?

She surely did.

First witness, Mrs. Martha dinker.

Warfield: Mrs. Dinker, you saw your daughter at noon?

Mrs. Dinker: Ellie went to the mountain

To see her friend, kitty slater.

Warfield: Did you actually see Ellie head up the mountain?

Please.

Did you see Ellie go up the mountain?

Yes, sir.

I seen her go.

Can you remember what Ellie was wearing that morning?

She had on a green dress.

And a brown pair of shoes.

Was the dress a dark green or a light green?

Dark green.

And it had a little white Lacy collar that I made for her.

Did you ever see your daughter again?

No, sir.

Mrs. Dinker.

Do you see this dress I'm holding?

Please, I ask you.

Is this your daughter Ellie's dress?

I ain't seen it since that day.

(Sobbing)

That evening, Mrs. Dinker suspected, quote,

"Something bad had happened."

And went to sheriff Maddox.

Sheriff Maddox set up a roadblock and sent his deputy, Wade

to search the woods north of the mountain road.

Warfield: So, what did you find in those woods, deputy?

I found a green dress sort of hanging on a limb.

Did you find anything in the truck?

Yes, sir.

I found a tire iron.

Looked to me to have blood and hair on it.

And there was a pair of brown shoes.

(Whispering)

Warfield: What happened then?

Well, me and the others, uh...

We went to overton's place.

We sort of fanned out, you know, in case he tried to run for it.

And we waited.

Then overton and his wife come up the hill.

I got on one side of him, and sheriff Maddox, he got on the other.

And he says, "Lloyd,

"you know a little girl named Ellie dinker?"

And overton just didn't say nothing.

His face just sort of went pale.

Objection, your honor.

Judge: Sustained.

- And then you arrested him? - Yes, sir.

He didn't put up any fight about it.

He just sort of come over with us.

His wife was cryin' and such, but, uh...

Overton, he didn't offer no resistance.

No resistance.

Sheriff Maddox accuses him of murder.

Mrs. Overton is there watching, and he...

Passively gives up, as if it didn't matter.

(Click)

Here you are.

Well, thank you, ma'am. That's very kind of you.

You're from these parts, aren't you, Mr. Kinley?

Uh, yes, ma'am.

I... I don't believe I knew your folks.

Well, ma'am, I didn't either.

They were killed in a car accident when I was four.

I was raised by my granny dollar.

Mrs. Dollar?

Uh, yes... I remember her.

Well, among other things, she was a... A mystery aficionado.

Must be why I'm so curious about this case.

(Grandfather clock tolling)

(Blues piano music playing)

Dora: Excuse me.

I thought you'd gone.

No.

Dora: Why not?

- Why, do you want me to go? - No.

Uh, it's up to you, isn't it?

You want a scotch?

Sure.

You always keep such late hours?

Mmm-hmm.

Not very good at small talk?

No.

What's that?

Ray... I think he was trying to tell me something.

About what?

I'm not sure.

Who else knew ray was working on the case?

Nobody. It wasn't official.

Didn't tell anyone else?

It got to ray, you know?

Made him secretive.

I found him burning copies of old transcripts in his fireplace.

Evening, dora.

Evening, Mr. Talbott.

Who was that?

Lonely old man. Comes in here once a week.

Sits here staring at me while I work.

Funny old guy.

I wouldn't call that funny. I'd call that...

Astute.

Probably feels guilty.

For what?

Losing the case.

That's Horace talbott.

He was my father's lawyer.

It's on the house.

Jackson: Well, don't you think it was odd that overton would've taken the time

to hide the body, and then just leave the dress out in the open,

Flapping in the wind?

Things that don't make sense

always bother me, Mr. Kinley.

You say you're doing this for miss overton?

Yes, I guess you could say that, sir.

Well, like you, I'd like to set her mind at rest.

And for that reason, I wouldn't like to get into an explanation

For her father's actions.

Well, then you have an explanation, sir?

Yes. He was deranged.

Lloyd was a quiet man.

You'd have thought that he was a mute, if you hadn't known better.

But underneath, there was an upheaval.

Maybe for years, he'd watched little girls go by

and he'd wanna grab one, have his way with her.

And then...

Then one day, he kills.

You've written about such people.

Did you know him before the trial?

Very slightly.

If you felt this way about him, why did you defend him?

My connection was not with overton, but with his wife Sara.

She worked for me. Or should I say, for my late wife.

In what capacity?

My wife was an invalid, Mr. Kinley.

So Mrs. Overton did our cooking and cleaning.

And, uh... Naturally I knew her.

When her husband was arrested, she came to me.

But you didn't believe he was innocent?

No.

The evidence, his manner...

He was a time bomb.

Did the jury realize you felt this way, sir?

(Scoffs)

Overton was following an impulse.

He had a need.

Like you, Mr. Kinley.

Your current need is to pursue an old case.

That day on the mountain, overton pursued Ellie dinker.

The only difference between you and overton is that he had an extreme need.

And yours is a safe

and utterly common one.

I am old, the case is old.

Everyone involved is dead.

Are you asking me to leave, Mr. Talbott?

Yes, I am, Mr. Kinley.

But as you see, I am doing it politely.

I'm just an ordinary man, Mr. Kinley.

My self-indulgences set me apart.

The day I saw the honey-haired girl in the laundro-mat

Or the waitress in the pink uniform with...

Well, they were asking to be had.

But my daily life

is uneventful.

Boring.

(Videotape stops)

"Did Mr. Overton discuss his private life with you, Mr. Snow?"

His what?

You and overton worked together. You talked, didn't you?

Oh, sure. Always.

Did he ever express in confidence...

Uh, discuss his troubles?

Oh, yes, sir. We talked a lot.

Well, in the course of these conversations

Were you able to get a good idea of his state of mind on November, the 3rd?

He was upset.

His mind was wandering, and he wasn't doing his job too good.

Did you try to find out what the trouble was?

Oh, yes, sir. I had to. His work was off.

I can't put up with that.

So I asked him straight out, I said, "Lloyd, what's going on?"

But he just looked at me. He didn't say nothing, so I went at him again.

And did he tell you what was bothering him?

Yes, sir.

Woman troubles.

(People whispering)

That's what he said.

"I got real bad woman troubles" he says to me.

Real bad woman troubles.

Warfield: Mr. Talbott.

Woman trouble, huh?

Did he mention Ellie dinker?

No, sir.

And did you ever see he and Ellie dinker together?

Nope.

You have, however, seen Mr. Overton with his wife?

Well, sure. Everybody has.

So all you know is

Lloyd overton said he was having trouble with a woman.

Yeah, I guess.

You ever kill a woman?

No, sir.

And do you know any man

Who has never had woman trouble?

No.

Well, I don't either, Mr. Snow.

I can't think of a single one.

Thank you.

(Judge bangs gavel)

Mr. Snow?

Ain't nobody home!

I'd like to ask you some questions, Mr. Snow.

You're wasting your time.

Think you have some information for me.

Did you lie about Lloyd overton?

You do know what perjury is?

Son, I got one foot in the grave.

Think I give a shit about what comes out on me?

Well, just so you know, there are no statutory limits on murder cases, Mr. Snow.

I didn't kill Ellie dinker.

But you know who did, don't you, Luther?

Did warfield frame overton?

Something happened.

Nobody knows.

Now, that's the glory of it.

I remember you. You was that little boy.

You used to play around this neck of the woods.

You're one of them.

One of who?

Yeah, you growed up big, just like...

Her.

Sequoyah don't want your kind around.

Now get out of here.

Just what kind are you talking about, Mr. Snow?

(Wheezy gasping)

Be careful.

You never know who you really are.

Argh!

(Breathing heavily)

(Man talking on TV)

cut his throat.

Then he shot three times.

Then he stabbed several times, also raped her.

Is that what you do, Kinley?

Play these things over and over again, till you understand them?

I couldn't sleep.

I would've phoned you, but I don't have a phone.

I brought you these.

My father's war letters.

I'm trusting you, Kinley.

It's all I have left of him, so I want them back.

When you read them, you'll see that he couldn't have done it.

He hated war. He hated killing.

And then after he was wounded,

he was shattered.

The letters changed.

But it didn't harden him.

He was good.

You'll see.

He was good.

- Here's your pie. - Thank you.

The question is, what was Ellie dinker doing on a mountain road alone

And why she wasn't with her friend kitty slater?

- You want more coffee? - Uh, no. Thanks.

You're that writer fella, aren't you?

Everybody's talking about how you're writing a book about the Ellie dinker murder case.

Oh, is that a fact?

Uh-huh.

Everybody's talking.

Uh... luanne?

Maybe you could help me out.

Uh, Ellie dinker had a best friend.

Uh, her name was kitty slater.

You wouldn't happen to know where she is?

Sure. Everybody knows kitty slater.

She runs the barber shop just down the street.

- Is that right? - Uh-huh.

Ugh! When she was steamed up

She'd give people hell like she was on fire.

Right before the murder, she was real mad.

Boiling over.

- Did she say why? - Oh, I didn't ask.

Didn't have to.

A man, probably.

They had a way of letting her down.

Anyone in particular?

Hmm. Why, you writing about Ellie?

Uh, I know it's been a long time, but if you remember anything...

Uh, anything at all...

Well...

Ellie never did show up.

I mean, she was supposed to come up, and then we were walkin' back to town together.

There was gonna be a parade at sunset,

but she never made it to our house.

Hmm. Why would she come all the way up the mountain

Just so you two could turn around and go on back down to town?

Oh, she wanted it that way.

I mean, I said to her, "Ellie, I'll come by 'round your house."

But she said, real firm-like, "no. I'll come up."

Just like that.

And that's the last words she said to me.

What the hell was she doing here?

Hmm.

So, I read your father's letters.

And?

Good men have been known to kill, dora.

You think he did it?

- I didn't say that. - Well...

Well, that's what you're thinking.

No.

Then what are you thinking?

I'm... I'm just wondering why he didn't testify.

If he was innocent, he should've spoken.

Well, I don't know why he chose not to.

Your father seemed to be a very decent, hard-working man.

In love with his wife.

But when he was accused of murder,

he made no attempt to save himself.

No, it doesn't make sense to me.

Didn't ray ever talk to you about his theory?

No.

Do you think there was anything going on

between Ellie dinker and your father?

Definitely not.

- What makes you so sure? - My mama.

She said it was impossible.

Well...

Wives don't always know.

Sure they do, Kinley.

They just pretend not to.

Did you read them all?

Yeah.

He starts out so brave, so idealistic, and then after he was shot

it's almost as if he was waiting to die.

Sometimes I think that if he had lived,

I wouldn't have gotten along with him very well.

I don't like weak people.

Tomorrow, I'm gonna walk the route Ellie dinker took up the mountain.

You are?

Mmm-hmm. I'm gonna start where her house was and...

I'll go with you.

You will?

Yeah.

You're a city boy now.

You need me to.

(Car honks horn)

Morning.

You still reading those transcripts?

Uh, your father did an excellent job.

Considering all the evidence was circumstantial.

He was the finest lawyer sequoyah ever produced.

I'm prejudiced, I guess.

Well, still in all, having never found a body,

It must've left him with a little doubt, don't you think?

About overton's guilt?

None whatsoever.

- How you doing, dora? - Getting by.

Come on.

Ellie left through the backyard, remember?

She took this trail.

Kinley.

It took us half an hour.

So that puts Ellie here at 12:30 in the afternoon.

But your father didn't leave work till 12:30 in the afternoon.

Yeah.

So she was already here before he even arrived.

Jackson: Why? Was she waiting for him?

(Engine sputters)

Why'd she want to meet at the slater's house instead of her own, huh?

Just to come all the way up here, go right on back down, and...

And why did she leave five hours early?

So, she is up here.

Your dad's truck pulls over.

Uh, in his letters...

Uh-huh?

He doesn't give any details about his wounds?

He was hit in both legs.

Mama said he limped.

Hmm.

(Exhales)

Why can't I let this go?

Well, be glad you can't.

Least you know something about your father.

You know your family history. I...

I don't know anything about mine.

I got no letters, no pictures.

Nothing.

What's worse?

I don't know.

Nah, it's better to know.

I used to think it was better not to have anyone to answer to, you know...

Anyone whose affections mattered.

Is that a warning?

You trying to tell me you're a loner?

No, it's just an explanation, dora.

Oh. I see.

Thank you, honey. Could you just put that on my tab, please?

Luanne: Sure thing, Mr. Wade.

So, Mr. Wade, mind if I ask you a few questions about the investigation?

Shoot.

How did you first hear about the murder?

Well...

We got this radio call.

We got this call that Ellie dinker was missing.

That she'd been on her way up to kitty slater's house and, uh, didn't make it.

So we went over to the slater's house, talked to them.

Nothing to learn there.

Then we divided up.

I took the woods.

I found Ellie dinker's dress.

It was just hanging there, bent over a limb.

Like it was...

Jackson: Like it was what?

Well, like it was waiting for me.

At the site where the dress was found

Was there any indication of a struggle?

Nope.

Murder didn't happen there.

There was no blood, no broken plants. Nothing.

He must've carried her there from someplace else.

He?

Overton.

You had no reason to doubt you had the right man?

No, not really.

But, there wasn't a body?

Nope. Just a bloody dress.

Did you look?

What's that?

Did you look for the body?

Listen...

Now, I told ray how it was that day.

That was my first year on the job.

Now, I hadn't seen nothin' like that.

Knowin' what I know today,

It wasn't a real hunt.

No, I'm convinced nobody really cared about finding Ellie dinker's body.

(Thunder rumbles)

(Water splashing)

Kinley.

Come on out of there.

So, you thought my father dumped Ellie's body into the well?

I just wanted to eliminate the possibilities.

I checked it out already six years ago.

- You did? - Mmm-hmm.

Found Mrs. Dinker in the yard.

Peering down into the well.

"My little girl down there?" She said.

Hell, I climbed right in.

- Kinley... - Hmm?

I wanna know the truth, okay?

If he did it, I can live with that.

Tell me.

Tell you what?

Do you think he did it?

No.

With you and ray...

Was it love?

Maybe it was.

For him.

You stayed the night.

Didn't you want me to stay?

I just didn't think you would.

Ray never did.

(Sighs)

Let's not make any promises.

Okay.

It doesn't mean anything. Doesn't have to mean anything.

Right.

No, it... Doesn't have to mean a thing.

You better go now. Okay?

Why?

'Cause that's the way it is.

- With people? - No. With me. It's me.

I hate clinging women. I hate 'em.

They end up expecting something, and then they end up...

- Victims. I know. - Right.

- Dora, you're not... - I've worked very hard not to become one.

And I haven't been, and I don't intend to start now.

Does a cup of coffee come with this refrain?

I... I just want to be careful.

- Of what? - Of becomin' trivial.

What do you want, dora?

I want to find out who killed Ellie dinker.

And I don't want to die until I know that.

Is that what last night was all about?

- May I help you? - Oh! Oh, my.

Oh, Mrs. Hunter, I'm sorry.

I knocked and knocked.

I was leaving it for you.

I found the answer.

You know, about Mrs. Dinker,

About what she was interested in?

Well, Harriet Calhoun finally got back from her vacation,

and she told me that Mrs. Dinker

Used to ask for one thing. Volume 4.

Volume 4.

Well, that was her own testimony.

That's right.

And Harriet says that Mrs. Dinker didn't even read the whole volume.

She just read one page.

- One page? - Yes.

The poor thing would leave the book open and...

Harriet couldn't help but noticing.

Number 4-14.

I thought you'd want to take a peek at it.

Uh, yes, I would.

I'll be wantin' that back, you hear?

Of course, ma'am.

"Mrs. Dinker, can you remember what Ellie was wearing that morning?"

She had on a green dress

And a brown pair of shoes.

Thomas: Was the dress a dark green or a light green?

Dark green.

And it had a white Lacy collar that I made for her.

Did you ever see your daughter again?

No, sir.

Mrs. Dinker...

Please.

I ask you, is this your daughter Ellie's dress?

I ain't seen it since that day.

Jackson: What was she saying?

The dress?

She didn't actually identify the dress.

Harlan.

I'd like to take a look at Ellie's dress, if you don't mind.

How did you find me out here?

What, are you undercover or something? (Sniggers)

Mr. Warfield's secretary told me.

I'm on official business.

Folks plant marijuana between the rows of corn.

Those few that need the extra money.

Why wasn't there a better search for Ellie's body?

Huh? And why is it that so many people, they just didn't care?

I think you know something about this, Harlan.

Why don't you just talk to me?

Ellie dinker wasn't no Princess.

She was more of a teenage whore.

But her mama thought Ellie was an angel.

And we was being southern gentlemen, looking after our ladies.

That's why we didn't dig deep,

'Cause we knew what we'd find.

You think she was...

Turning tricks out there on that mountain road?

(Laughs)

I figured overton arranged to meet her for a quick fix of jelly roll.

She made a smart-ass remark.

They had a dispute over the fee.

She ends up dead.

That's your theory, huh?

Harlan, that's bullshit. What, you've been a cop for how many years?

And you're telling me that you are satisfied

with the way that investigation was handled?

What I'm telling you is that warfield called the shots.

It was his baby from day one.

Well, how about that dress?

- Will you forget about it? - I'd like to see it.

Well, so would I.

It's gone. Vanished.

I could use a drink.

We kept it all in a box.

Tire iron, her shoes, dress.

All the physical evidence

down in the courthouse basement.

I was organizing stuff, and...

And I come across this box.

The flaps is open. Everything's there.

Everything except Ellie dinker's dress.

Well, don't take this personal, Harlan.

That investigation was pretty shoddy.

Yep. Somebody wanted it that way.

Looks like somebody still wants it that way, too, 'cause

we both know Ellie dinker's dress didn't just get up and walk off by itself, now.

(Both chuckle)

Now, ray, he knew the answer.

Now, how do you know that?

'Cause he changed, that's why.

Was like he didn't want to know anymore.

Whatever he learned, it, uh... It sat heavy on him.

Now, look here, Jack...

It's time for you to get back home.

(Blues rock playing)

I want everything.

I want to know... Whatever your mother saved

That had anything to do with your father.

Any other letters, articles, any newspaper clippings

That come from the trial, anything.

I want it all.

Listen to this one.

"Lloyd Walter overton, though only 35

"Looked much older than his years.

"He closed his eyes in a tight squint

"as if in anticipation of the shock

"that was to come.

"Or perhaps to prevent himself the indignity of a scream."

"His eyes did not open again in this world."

The man who wrote this was on your father's side.

You got a phone book?

Why?

I gotta find this guy.

I don't have a telephone, remember?

Uh-huh.

(Chuckles)

Townsend: Who the hell is it?

You better not be sellin' anything at this hour.

Are you the Gordon townsend who worked for the sequoyah standard?

I might be. Why?

I'd like some information on the Ellie dinker case.

Well, it's about time.

Townsend: It was odd.

It took a while for word to get out about Ellie's disappearance.

She'd been gone for a couple of days before I knew about it.

Sheriff Maddox set up the roadblocks, and then suddenly, just like that

they found her bloody dress hanging on a tree.

That very day, they nailed overton.

My wife used to water these.

She's gone now.

I take it you don't think overton murdered the girl.

He didn't have a motive.

Well, Luther snow testified that...

Oh, "woman troubles." That's a load of crap.

You taking notes?

Uh, if you don't mind.

Yeah, well, take this down. Uh...

After overton was arrested, I wrote to the army and got his war record.

Oh, he'd been wounded, all right.

But what his lawyer failed to mention to the jury

was that Lloyd overton had been shot up in the groin.

In his genitals.

But his wife was pregnant.

Overton had lost the capacity to handle women.

That included his wife and Ellie dinker.

- Are you sure about that? - I've got his war record.

Why didn't you tell anyone this?

Who said I didn't?

I went straight to his attorney.

"Mr. Talbott, I got proof for you right here."

Oh, he was smooth. Thanked me profusely.

But he didn't lift a finger. Never brought it up at the trial.

After overton was sentenced, I went to visit him in prison.

I told him I knew.

And he insisted that I leave it alone.

Why?

Pride, I guess.

A month later, he was dead.

I got all my notes.

Records, everything.

I hoped one day somebody would come.

It's all there.

I gave that to another fella just a month ago.

Who?

Sheriff ray tindall. I gave it to him, but he never did a damn thing with 'em.

Just brought 'em back, never said a word. Just handed 'em back to me.

When was this?

The day he died.

Overton was a broken man. Emasculated.

Suffering through the inexplicable pregnancy of his wife

and accused of murder, and you refused to save him.

Gordon townsend told you about his condition before the execution.

Yes, he did, but I already knew about it.

You... how?

From his wife, Sara.

She was a beautiful woman.

Oh, so...

You and Sara.

We were both married to invalids, Mr. Kinley.

Who had withdrawn from society.

Not only is he physically devastated, he's cuckolded by his lawyer.

It's late, Mr. Kinley.

Much too late.

Mr. Talbott, what happened when the beautiful Sara discovered she was pregnant?

We discussed the possibility of abortion.

Which was illegal in those days, sir.

Illegal, but obtainable.

Neither of us wanted that.

I asked her to marry me.

She refused.

She wouldn't do that to overton.

And then the good old sacrificial lamb overton gets arrested.

That's convenient. And you supposedly defend him.

I tried to save him!

And that's why you kept his wounds a secret.

He didn't tell me about that. I couldn't let on that I knew without implicating Sara.

Well, let's not forget you, sir.

Besides, it was irrelevant.

Lloyd overton killed Ellie dinker.

He was seen with her just hours before she died.

And the shoes in the truck and the bloody dress

And the tire iron. They're all circumstantial, sir. You let him die!

He murdered her!

He was a man ready to explode.

Think of the rage that he carried in him.

He was a half man with a pregnant wife!

Who knows what went on in his mind?

And then he spots this girl on a deserted road,

and she sashays up to him, wagging her behind, and he snaps!

I tried to save him.

For Sara and the child.

Jackson...

Will you tell dora?

Should I?

Ray didn't.

He knew? He got this far?

He came here about a month before he died.

I asked him if he was gonna tell dora and...

And he said absolutely.

No hesitation. Absolutely.

Apparently, something changed his mind.

I watch her, you know.

I follow her.

Seen you two together.

(Sobbing) She... she's...

My only child.

I don't go to her bar for the ambience.

I go just so I can be in the same room with her.

(Voice choking) I'd like to hold her in my arms.

Once before I die.

- You all right? - Oh, yeah.

You're sweating.

Oh, I do that sometimes.

On a cold night?

Yeah.

That's your first lie to me.

Thank you.

Well, as I live and breathe it's the author, Mr. Kinley.

Usual, luanne.

How's that book of yours coming along?

Book?

The one on the overton trial.

No use playing coy about it.

The whole town's buzzing.

(Sniggers)

Sure they're not, uh, buzzing about the missing evidence?

What evidence?

Ellie dinker's dress.

You're speakin' to me in riddles, Mr. Kinley.

Well, her dress is missin' from the courthouse basement.

Who come up with that?

Harlan Wade.

Everyone signs in before touching evidence.

That is very closely monitored.

Well, according to Harlan, the dress disappeared somewhere between

May and August of '92.

Mmm.

The courthouse was closed then.

For renovations.

Outside of the cleaning staff, no one else was allowed in.

You happen to know who was on that cleaning staff?

Hmm. Mrs. Trumbell.

She had a stroke last year.

Who else?

Betty Raines.

Is that the same Betty Raines who testified at the overton trial?

You wouldn't happen to know where she lives?

Are you writing about my father?

- Do you know where she lives? - I won't have anyone fouling his memory, you hear?

After that trial, my father sent a good deal of money to Mrs. Overton.

She didn't even know who it was from.

I don't suppose they do that sort of thing in New York, now, do they?

But here, we're close.

My father felt that woman's suffering.

You wanna write about the trial, fine.

But lay off my father.

Is that clear?

So, are you gonna give me her address, or do I have to ask your secretary for it?

Thank you, luanne.

(Rings doorbell)

Betty Raines? May I speak with you?

As far as you could tell, Mrs. Raines,

were Luther snow and overton good friends?

No. They were nothin' to each other.

They just worked together, that's all.

Then...

Why did Luther snow say that he was in his testimony?

I think to please Mr. Thompson.

He owned the sequoyah building and lumber company where we all worked.

- hmm. - Mr. Thompson and all them other bigwigs,

sheriff Maddox, Mr. Warfield and them...

They all hung around together.

Had a lodge up in the canyon.

Used to go hunting, drinkin', things like that.

And Luther, he did odd jobs for all of them.

So, why did you testify for overton?

Because he was innocent.

(Laughs quietly)

Mr. Warfield, he threatened me.

He said if I went to court for overton

that I would be fired.

He said Ellie weren't nothing but a whore.

You know, Mrs. Dinker...

She didn't believe that overton done it, either.

She come to me after the trial.

She said there were something wrong with the dress.

She asked me if she could see it.

Did you show it to her?

Mmm, well, it was hers.

If it belonged to anybody, it belonged to her.

What did she say or do when you brought it to her?

She spread it out on this table right here.

Didn't say nothin'.

She just, uh, ran her fingers

Over the chest part of it...

And then she just left it laying there.

I never did take it back.

There it is.

Hmm.

Wait a minute.

Where's the collar?

Mrs. Dinker said she made a lace collar for this dress.

Well, it was there.

You can see where it was stitched down real good.

Somebody cut it off.

Not torn?

No. It was cut clean with scissors.

This dress was taken off without a struggle.

Thomas: Lloyd overton took a child into the woods.

Lloyd overton forced her down upon the ground.

(Child gasping)

that man took a tire iron in his hands

and did unspeakable things

To a girl that was powerless to resist.

That man, Lloyd Walter overton

took Ellie dinker's life.

Argh!

Jackson: Oh, I'm sorry I woke you.

I, uh... I just, uh, had another rough night.

We all do sometime.

Yeah. Yeah, well, hmm.

I don't know, ever since I've been down here, I can't shake this one.

Dream.

When ray and I were kids

we went lookin' for this cottage way back in the woods that ray had heard about.

We were almost there, real close.

The air was...

It was real thick. It was like swamp air.

And we come across this... Well, hmm.

The best I can describe it is a drapery of... of vines.

Just coiling, green...

It was impenetrable.

You ever find the cottage?

No, we had to turn back. I had an asthma attack.

But ray has left me this damn vine. It's...

He probably wanted to remind you of that particular day.

You're never gonna tell me, are you?

Tell you what?

Everything.

The truth.

What you've found.

What I've found?

Yeah.

You.

Kinley...

I should have told you this sooner, but I didn't.

What?

That day when I found ray burning the transcripts, I managed to save one.

Hmm.

Edna Mae Kinley.

Yeah.

Seems your mother was on trial

a long time ago.

You know, I'm not authorized to do this.

I'm depending on you, Mrs. Hunter.

State of Georgia vs. Edna Mae Kinley.

"on the charges of

"practicing medicine without a license?"

Prosecuted by Thomas warfield.

First witness,

Edna Mae Kinley.

So you, your mother Mrs. Georgette dollar

And your son Jackson, all reside in your cottage?

We do.

And the boy's father?

Long gone.

Do you own that cottage, Mrs. Kinley?

Just about.

Well, how do you manage the payments? Do you have a job?

I perform miracles.

(People murmuring)

Silence!

Thomas: Well, I have a few questions.

- Questions? - Yes.

Ask 'em.

About making a living.

It's all in your head.

What?

What you see when you look at me?

- I... - You're looking for a cure.

Looking for a way out.

- Are you saying that you... - I provide the way.

They want a way out.

You practice medicine.

I give them things.

Mostly plants from the woods.

Are you guilty?

Yes.

I'll say this.

Nothing else.

There is no way out.

There are just voices.

Everything is in your head.

Nobody knows anything.

It's only a wish that gets you through.

I don't practice medicine.

These people who come to me, they don't want medicine.

I practice magic.

Sometimes when it's a problem in their head, I give 'em magic for that, too.

See, their troubles are like stones, but even a stone can disappear.

You just pick it up and throw it in the river, and like magic, it's gone.

There's no harm in any of this.

You find what harm I've done, you make me pay for that.

That's all I got to say.

Teddy warfield says the overton case is consuming you.

Are you becoming a nuisance, Jackson?

Yes, I'm afraid so, doctor.

Um...

Was Ellie dinker ever your patient?

Yeah.

She ran around a lot.

Yes, she did.

When did you last treat her?

A week before the murder. She came to me...

She was pregnant.

She wanted an abortion.

You have to understand something, Jackson.

Ellie wasn't your average teenager.

She was, uh, very...

Shall we say...

Frank.

She asked,

"can you get rid of it?"

Will you join me? It's late enough in the afternoon, don't you think?

Yes. Thank you, sir.

I told her that performing an abortion was illegal.

I never saw her again.

It was obvious overton was the father.

Naturally, we had to...

Protect Ellie's name. Yes, I understand.

Dr. Stark, overton did not impregnate Ellie dinker.

He couldn't have.

During the war, he was shot in the groin.

So it was quite impossible.

You ask your pal Horace talbott about that.

Are you sure of this, Jackson?

He and warfield both knew. They chose to withhold it from the jury.

And me.

If you didn't perform abortions, who would?

Hmm?

Is this something somebody would have gone to my mother about?

Jackson, I'm sorry you found out about that.

Let it go now, you hear?

There's nothing more you want to know. It's over.

Right.

Ray: Kinley,

I found some things at your granny dollar's house.

The envelope.

A case I was working on.

I was going to burn them, but I left them here, instead.

I figured if you'd found it, it's because you looked real hard.

Hmm. Luther snow.

Horace talbott.

Thomas warfield.

Old man Thompson. The whole gang.

Hmm.

"Two women burned beyond recognition."

Edna Mae: Oh, god.

Oh.

Ellie.

Granny dollar: She's dead.

Ellie!

Ellie!

(Sobs)

No!

Luther, you better go on and get out of here.

No, I want you to stay.

You can't do anything right.

Did you tell precious Teddy about this?

Son, you know that little tramp you were screwing...

That dinker girl?

Just found out you got her pregnant.

Thomas: My boy doesn't know.

Oh, don't worry, son. Daddy'll fix it for you.

He doesn't need to know he got her pregnant, you hear me?

No problem. Daddy'll give it to me to get rid of.

I'm not the one that killed her! You did it!

- You're the one! - You are the one!

You came to me for a miracle, Thomas.

By god, perform one.

Raise her from the goddamn dead!

Mama.

Mama, get him out of here.

Mama, I said... Get him out of here now!

(Edna Mae cries)

Come on. We got to get out.

(Young Kinley breathing heavily)

(Breathing heavily)

Argh!

Get up. Get up, boy.

Granny dollar: Vines crawled all over the cottage.

Hiding it from view.

And soon, everyone forgot it was there.

Hear me, boy.

You'll forget all this.

Granny dollar: What do you want, mister?

I hurt real bad.

I need a cure.

It takes money.

Oh, I got that.

What's your name?

Lloyd. Lloyd overton.

I work over at sequoyah building and lumber company.

Anybody know you come here?

No. No. No, ma'am, not a soul.

I got no use for physicians, ma'am.

All I need's a potion. A healing.

I'll take care of you. Come on.

Come on in here. Come on.

Stay here, boy.

No, Lloyd.

Drink this.

Go on.

- (Coughs) - Lay back.

Sleep.

You sleep now.

Edna Mae: Mama!

Put her shoes in the trunk there.

Luther...

Put her into edna Mae's car.

Then you get out of here.

(Wheezing)

(Wheezing)

Mama?

(Wheezing)

Edna Mae: Mama.

Mama, he's turning blue!

I'll take care of him.

(Wheezing)

Take her across the state line.

Don't come back for a couple of weeks. Go on.

Okay. Look, Jackson. Jackson, I'm going to come back for you, okay?

I'm going to come back for you, honey.

(Wheezing)

Mama!

(Wheezing)

(Wheezing)

(Tires screech)

(Wheezing)

Breathe, boy.

Breathe!

Breathe!

Go on.

Breathe.

Breathe, boy, breathe!

(Coughs)

(Wheezing)

(Gasps)

(Labored breathing)

(Honks horn)

(Breathing normally)

Oh, why didn't you tell me?

You should've just told me, ray.

Goddamn maniac.

Kinley, what the hell? You could've killed us both.

Kinley.

You all right?

Warfield.

I think there's a few things you need to know.

Your father and...

And Ellie dinker...

And my...

My mother.

My mother.

(Breathing heavily)

No!

What is it, Kinley?

I know now.

Everything?

Yeah.

Are you going to tell me?

Yes.

Oh, yes.