01x09 - Aurora

[bunniefuu]

[HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRRING]

[SIRENS WAILING]

MAN [OVER RADIO]: Yeah,
Rescue, this is Air Support.

We're at, uh, 1,500.

[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

♪ ♪

- Is that my daughter?
- No, no, no.

- Is that Lana?
- Please stand back, sir.

Let him through.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

Is that Lana, Mr. Russo?

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

[SIGHS]

That's not her.

That's-that's her friend Jamie.

- Have you found Lana?
- No. No, not yet,

but we're dredging the river,
we'll keep searching.

[SIREN WAILING]

_

- GAVIN: Colter Shaw?
- Yeah.

Gavin Russo.

[SIGHS]

- Please come on in.
- Thanks.

_

- Can I get you something?
- No, thank you.

That's my daughter Lana.

Three years ago, her and her
best friend Jamie left school.

They were supposed to walk home,

but instead they disappeared.

They found Jamie, right?

Yeah.

Her body washed up from
the river three days later.

Drowning was the cause of death.

But they never found Lana.

The police said that they
would never stop looking,

but eventually they did.

[TAKES DEEP BREATH]
What'd they tell you?

That my daughter was at
the bottom of the river,

that she probably d*ed
alongside her friend,

that they hurt themselves,

but they never found a trace.

You said hurt themselves,
like some kind of pact?

Yeah. They-they found the girls'
backpacks with a-a-a note.

- And what'd the note say?
- "So much pain"

and "I want to die."

But Lana would never k*ll herself.

I know her.

After her mother passed,

it was just the two of us,
and we were very close.

If she was upset or had
an emotional crisis,

I believe she would have come to me.

And what about Jamie's parents?

Oh, they just... seemed to accept it.

What do you think happened
to your daughter?

Not what the police said.

I mean, I-I could never believe that...

Jamie, I don't know, but not Lana.

And I just can't, as a... as a father...

[EXHALES]

I could just never get over the feeling

that she was out there somewhere.

You're offering a $30,000 reward

that you just posted online.

I don't want to give you false
hope. It's been three years.

The odds are not great.
You're asking someone

- to find your daughter's body.
- Yeah.

Wh-What if I told you that I have
proof that she's still alive?

What kind of proof?

That's her, that's my daughter.

This was taken two weeks
ago at the county fair.

See? All the way in the back.

- You sure that's her?
- Her hair i-is different

and she's a little thinner, but...
I know my daughter's eyes.

I know her face.

That's her.

Did you run facial
recognition on the photo?

Doing that as we speak.

Photo's too grainy.

I need a higher-resolution
photo or a better app.

We could track down the photographer.

I already did that.

Called and left a message,
waiting to hear back.

VELMA: If Lana's alive,

why hasn't she come home or checked in?

COLTER: Her father thinks
maybe someone's after her,

she's staying away to protect him.

He got the idea from
a documentary he saw

- about another missing kid.
- Oh, God.

I think he's just...
trying to make sense of it.

This is why I don't like cold cases.

You didn't see his face when
he was talking about her.

I think, at the very least,

maybe I can give him some closure.

I'll let you know.

_

_

Think that could be Lana Russo?

Mr. Shaw, I would love
to say that this was her,

but I think you're chasing ghosts.

I understand she's been presumed
dead and her case is closed.

Not officially, but with budget cuts

we just can't put resources into it.

Look...

Gavin kept coming in here
with half-baked ideas

and possible sightings, and
we checked out every lead,

- but none of them ever panned out.
- [KNOCKING]

Yeah, thanks. Just put it on the table.

Thank you.

Gavin's convinced she
didn't commit su1c1de.

Maybe it was an accident
or something impulsive,

but Gavin is in denial.

Look, I-I have kids, I would be, too.

What he's been through is unimaginable.

But don't-don't get me wrong, okay?

I am not opposed to
you investigating this.

This is one of those cases
that has haunted me.

There are days when I'm having my coffee

and, I don't know, her...
her face comes to me

and then, before you know it,
I'm out driving by the river

where we found the other girl
as if it happened yesterday.

- I'm not here to cast blame.
- I know, I know.

And the truth is, is that I am
happy to share the burden.

And if you find anything...

well, hell, there's no reward
big enough for that.

I wouldn't mind taking a
look at that note they left.

Yeah.

Let's see.

Oh. Here it is.

- _
- And then there's the journal

we found in Lana's backpack

and the entry made on the
day they went missing.

A lot of that kind of stuff in there.

Gavin said she was into horror
and the supernatural.

Teen angst, right?

- Not depression.
- No, this wasn't teenage angst.

At least not the way I remember it...

big emotions, listening to The Smiths.

I mean, these girls were... troubled,

I guess is what you could call it.

What do you mean?

Well, we interviewed all their
classmates and the teachers,

and Lana and her friends
were considered, you know,

kind of weird.

You remember how it is.
The social outcasts of the school.

I was, uh, homeschooled, actually.

Ew. One of those snowflakes.

No. No, not that kind of homesc... Um...

If you want to know how build
an off-the-grid power generator

or, say, calculate the
drop on a 165-grain

seven-millimeter round at 500 yards,

I'm your guy.

Sounds like useful knowledge.

Can be.

Now, these girls were different.

They dressed mainly in black.

They were into dark things,

there were a lot of rumors about them

and, and some of the other students.

That's why nobody was really
shocked when this went down.

Dark things, like what?

Paranormal activity.

m*rder podcasts, the spirit world.

They were obsessed with Harkwood.

It's an old abandoned mental hospital.

They posted a couple videos
online. Creepy stuff.

Like I said, these girls
were kind of messed up.

How far is the hospital away from
the river where the body was found?

Less than a mile.

You still have those videos they made?

Yeah.

LANA: I'm kind of
freaking out right now.

A couple weeks ago,

I read about the Harkwood Witch.

She's the ghost of a
lady named Ada Bram,

who was in and out of
the mental hospital.

[WOMAN SCREAMS]

[WHISPERING VOICES]

They say, once you know
about the Harkwood Witch...

[WHISPERING VOICES]

... she finds you.

So, what do you think?

I think I missed out on meeting

a lot of interesting people,
being homeschooled.

[CHUCKLES] Maybe you did.

You said they were
obsessed with Harkwood.

Mind if we go by and check it out?

♪ ♪

Welcome to Harkwood. Shall we?

_

I don't know why we bother with
the lock and key for this place.

Property's so big, it's hard
to keep it locked down.

[LOCK CLICKS]

What exactly are you looking for?

I want to get a picture
of Lana's state of mind

before she disappeared.

You said there are no videos
of her ever being here

like the ones you found in her bedroom?

Not that I ever saw.

All right.

Ready, Homeschool?

[EXHALES]

There's something about this
place that draws people.

A dark energy.

You afraid of ghosts?

Nah, too much of a cynic.

Besides, all the bad
people in the world,

- who has time for ghosts?
- Yeah, I hear you.

There's no shortage
of sketchy types here.

There are drug addicts, vagabonds,

and all sorts of scum.

Got to run them off every so often.

So, then, if Lana did come here
on the day of her disappearance,

there's a chance she ran into someone.

Mm. Possible, but I wouldn't bet on it.

We interviewed all the
people we picked up

around here at the time.

[PHONE VIBRATES]

Yeah.

All right, I'm coming.

I got to go deal with this.

Find any ghosts,
you know where to find me.

Yeah, okay.

[WATER DRIPPING]

_

[MUFFLED THUMP]

[PHONE VIBRATING]

[CLEARS THROAT]

Hello?

MAN: Colter Shaw?

Hey, I'm the photographer
with The Bugle.

You left me a message.

- Thanks for calling me back.
- Of course.

I may have what you're looking for.

COLTER: Photographer
said these three photos

were taken seconds apart.

The middle one is the
one that was published.

The resolution's much better.

All right, isolate her.

Okay, now pull up her old photo.

You can go ahead and run it.

[COMPUTER TRILLING]

_

She's alive.

_

All right, Detective Brock
is putting out a BOLO

and canvassing all the
vendors from the county fair.

I knew that was her.

Look right here. She's looking
right at the camera.

It's like she wants to be seen.

Maybe she needs help.

COLTER: She went to
the blood drive booth.

It's a good place to go for assistance.

None of this makes any sense.

What is she even doing
at the county fair?

I don't know. It doesn't look like
she's being held against her will.

And then, in this one right
here, she looks scared.

She might be in a fugue state.

It's when someone doesn't
know who they are,

usually triggered by a traumatic event.

Maybe if she saw Jamie go in the
water and she couldn't help her?

That might do it.

People react all sorts of
ways to traumatic events.

Did you... know all of her friends?

To be honest, there
was really only Jamie.

The rest were just acquaintances

- in the film club.
- Do you have any names?

I'm thinking maybe she
reached out to someone.

All right, where is it?

There it is. That's the film club.

Mm-hmm.

She like anybody?

Not that she mentioned,

but then again, that's
not the sort of thing

a 16-year-old discusses with her dad.

Hmm.

Who's Tobias Calhoun?

She looked at these
two pages quite a bit.

He's the only student on both pages,

and he also happens
to be in the film club.

That's Toby. He was her
ninth grade biology partner.

But, uh, I think she found him annoying.

Did you hear from him
after she disappeared?

No, I heard that he
dropped out of school

six months after she...

Any idea where he might be now?

I saw him working at a
bakery the next town over.

TOBY: Lana? No, she hasn't called me.

- Are you sure that's really her?
- Yeah.

You guys friends?

Uh, yeah. We were in film club,

liked the same horror movies.

- You guys ever hang out?
- Define "hang out."

Well, like when you were
together, what would you do?

Look, I already talked to the cops.

I wasn't even in school the
week they disappeared.

Oh, hey, you're not in trouble
or anything like that.

I'm just trying to get a
sense of who Lana is.

She made these paranormal
activity videos.

- You ever work on them together?
- A few times, yeah.

I told the cops what I thought.

- Which was?
- So, the girls didn't k*ll themselves

just 'cause they were, like, depressed.

I tried explaining that the
note could've just been EVP.

It's, uh, "electronic voice phenomena."

The page was from Lana's notebook

where she would record messages

from the spirits when
we were filming, so...

[ENTRY BELL JINGLES]

What exactly do you think happened?

Nah, you're gonna laugh at me.

Oh, come on. Try me.

Uh, I got this when we were
trying to film at Harkwood.

- That old mental hospital.
- Yeah.

One minute we're filming.

The next, I feel a sharp
pain and I'm bleeding.

Without a doubt, no one's
going to believe me, but...

... we encountered a presence there.

A presence? Like a... like a person?

No.

When was the last time you
were at Harkwood with Lana?

Uh, maybe a week before
Lana and Jamie disappeared.

And then I stopped. Never went back.

Why?

Because of the Harkwood Witch.

I think she got Lana and Jamie,

she got into their heads somehow,

made them k*ll themselves.

And you think she was trying
to do the same thing to you?

I told the cops everything.

They just looked at me like I was crazy.

But I'm not.

No, I... I think when someone
believes in something strongly,

it can be very powerful.

- I'm not making this up, man.
- Didn't say that you were.

Lana was there when you
sensed this presence?

Yeah.

You still have those videos that
you made from Harkwood?

BROCK: I don't know how
relevant Toby's last video is

if it was from the week
before the girls disappeared.

COLTER: Just trying to start at
the beginning of the timeline,

from when things started to get strange.

And that something is a presence?

- A witch.
- Okey dokey.

How are you on canvassing the
vendors from the county fair?

I just got the full list,

trying to figure out who was nearby,

but neither the blood donor booth

or the crystal jewelry
vendor in the photo

remember seeing Lana.

Maybe there's something in the video.

You want to play it?

Okay, uh, we're in a patient wing now,

and I can say it feels
really cold in here.

LANA: EMF meter is picking something up.

We are definitely in
the presence of spirits.

[EERIE SCREECHING]

Oh, my God. Look.

LANA: Ada Bram, the Harkwood Witch

always wore a piece of red
string around her wrist

- when she was a patient here.
- TOBY: Well, don't touch it.

- Are you crazy?
- I'm just...

The meter's off the chart.

TOBY: This is getting so sketch.

We should just get out of here.

Come on, Toby, I thought
you were here for this.

[CREAKING, THUMPING]

TOBY: Holy crap. Did you guys see that?

Something's definitely here.

Oh, stop! Oh, God! [GRUNTS]

- LANA: You okay?
- TOBY: I don't know.

- I think something bit me.
- What happened?

Oh, I'm bleeding.

- What?
- Do me a favor.

Can you rewind that to
when the camera fell?

You okay?

Oh, I don't know. Oh,
I think something bit me.

- LANA: What happened?
- Pause right there.

Go back a few frames. Right there.

Can you zoom in to that right there?

That's a thermal heat signature.

A witch has a thermal signature?

A witch is a human.

Someone was watching them.

All the patients' rooms

were either in the east or west wings.

[COLTER SIGHS] I'll take the west.

Okay. Let's do this.

♪ ♪

[WATER DRIPPING]

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Hey.

♪ ♪

Stop!

Hey, stop right there!

♪ ♪

[BOTH GRUNT]

Get over here. Come on.

Who the hell are you?

Have you seen these kids before?

We have your record.

Richard McBroom.

Picked you up for shoplifting
a couple times.

You've lived over at the hospital
off and on for five years.

We kick you out, you move back in.

Did you do something to these two girls?

Go buy me a sandwich and a soda, please.

Sometimes, when someone's stonewalling,

a little food helps.

Mm-hmm.

- Maybe I should talk to him.
- Not exactly legal.

And you really think he's gonna open up

to a guy who just took him down?

[SCOFFS]

All right, look, I'll...

I'll take you in there with me,

but just to keep it above board,

you are now a consultant
for the Aurora PD.

Whatever it takes.

Thought you might be hungry, hmm?

This is Colter Shaw.

He's helping us.

Hi.

You can go ahead and eat. It's okay.

You live at the hospital?

Sometimes.

It's peaceful there.

Most people are scared
of the ghosts. I'm not.

But people do go there to see ghosts,
right, like these kids here?

I saw them with their camera and stuff,

but I didn't do nothing,
just watched them.

I believe you. I don't think
you did anything bad.

Maybe you saw something?

BROCK: Take a good look at these
two girls right here, okay?

Now remember back to March


The weather was really bad that day.

One of these girls is dead,

and the other one... still missing.

I didn't see her, but I saw this girl.

I remember 'cause my
sleeping area was flooding,

and I had to pack up and go.

- And where'd you see her?
- In the woods,

outside the hospital... near the river.

She was kind of far, so I'm not 100%,

but I'm pretty sure it was her.

She had on a yellow raincoat,

but it was way too big for her.

- Was she alone?
- No.

Someone was with her,

in a black raincoat

- with a hood.
- No way.

I couldn't see his face.

He was taking her away.

Want to tell me what's going on?

Just-just-just give me a minute, okay?

Might be nothing.

Doesn't seem like nothing.

It's an old case about ten years back.

It wasn't mine, but a teenage
boy was kidnapped, m*rder*d.

They found him buried
in a shallow grave.

His body was wrapped
in a yellow raincoat.

It's just, it's got to be a coincidence.

The k*ller Errol Price was
caught, he confessed.

He's been in the state pen
for the last five years.

What if it's not a coincidence?

_

To the family of Anthony Farley,

I want to sincerely
apologize for the pain

and suffering I have caused you.

I succumbed to an evil inside of me,

but the good Lord has shown
me the error of my ways.

I will now dedicate the rest
of my life to repenting.

I would gladly trade
my life for Anthony's.

Uh, that's all I have to say.

You did well, Errol.

He says he's repentant,

but he's refused to meet with any cops.

And he hasn't explained the significance

of the yellow raincoat he
buried the little boy in.

I put in a request to visit.

Said I was also remorseful
about a crime.

Maybe he could help me.

See if I can get him to talk.

You may be wasting your time.

You don't believe that, do you?

Want to grab a cup of coffee?

So he was pretty upset

the fourth time I missed
our son's baseball game,

and rightly so.

Lana had been missing a year,

but I felt compelled to follow
up on some clue Gavin had.

And ended up right back here,
where we found Jamie's body.

Next day, my husband filed for divorce.

- I'm sorry.
- No.

Part of the job, I guess.

Every detective I know is either single

or on their third or fourth marriage.

You have any cases you can't quit?

One.

From when I first started this job.

And... the death of my father.

He d*ed in a fall, and it
was ruled an accident.

I'm not so sure about that.

I had questions about
my family for years.

Just like me and Lana.

You should look at this.
It's Errol Price's file.

There are similarities to Lana's
case that just bother me.

I don't believe in the supernatural,

but if ever there were a case to
make me reconsider, this is it.

There's a dark energy at Harkwood.

Maybe it touches people
that have a connection.

Or it's just an ordinary building,

and people who are prone to dark
thoughts are delusional about it.

[PHONE CHIMES, VIBRATES]

Errol's agreed to see me.

[MAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY OVER P.A.]

[LOCK BUZZES, LATCH CLICKS]

Mr. Shaw, pleasure to meet you.

Appreciate you seeing me.

You said you're also
remorseful about a crime?

I let my father's k*ller go free.

Which sort of led me
to my work, in a way.

I'm here because I need information.

[SCOFFS]

About?

Something you've refused
to talk about in the past.

You buried your victim
in a yellow raincoat.

Why?

That's a very personal question.

There's a missing girl I'm looking for.

She was last seen wearing
a yellow raincoat

while she was being taken away.

It's not a rare item.

It's a bit like saying
she was taken away

wearing brown boots or a pink hat.

I don't think my reason will help you.

Humor me.

I'm sparing you the quotidian.

This girl needs all
the help she can get.

We are all in need, Mr. Shaw.

Including you.

You cooperate,

preferential treatment around here,

some advantages.

What do you think?

Let's go.

[SIGHS]

[DOOR CLOSES]

[LATCH CLICKS, LOCK BUZZES]

All right, then.

[CLEARS THROAT]

When I was a child and
the weather was bad,

my father would have me
wear a yellow raincoat

to go out with him to chop wood.

Or so he told my mother.

What he really did was take
me out to the shed where...

he did unspeakable things to me.

And you did the same to your victim?

I did as I was taught.

[SNIFFLES]

I read your police report.

When you were arrested,
you said, "We will be avenged."

- What did you mean by "we"?
- Well, obviously myself.

And Astaroth.

A demon that was living
inside of me for a while,

but I've since banished him.

When the police searched
your home, they found a box.

Inside the box was a
teddy bear and some toys.

It was labeled "Mr. Vic Pereema."

Who-Who's that?

- One of the previous tenants, I think.
- Hmm.

He didn't leave a forwarding address,

and I... didn't want to
throw his things out

in case he came back.

Not your partner in crime?

No.

I worked alone, Mr. Shaw.

With Astaroth, the...

... demon thing?

Yes, the demon.

I can see you don't
believe in such things.

It's a pity because it's the ignorance
that you pay for in the end.

[LOCK BUZZES]

Now, if you'll excuse me,

I need to prepare for
my Bible study class.

BROCK: Hey, just got off the phone
with Errol Price's old landlord.

There was never a tenant
named Vic Pereema.

He's lying. He knows who it is.

Do you think there was an accomplice?

It's a good chance.

I thought Errol Price was repentant.

I'm not buying it.
He's protecting his partner.

You think the accomplice grabbed Lana?

He didn't ask me any
questions about her.

He wasn't curious at all,
which is very suspicious.

And then he ended the
conversation really quickly

once I brought up a partner.

All right. Well, we'll run Vic
Pereema's name through NCIC

- and see if we get a hit.
- Could you check his mail

and phone records from the prison,

see if they've been in contact?

Already on it.

I'm gonna go talk to the sister,
see if she knows anything.

♪ ♪

[KNOCK AT DOOR]

Can I help you?

Are you Maeve Price?

I am.

- What can I help you with?
- I have a couple questions

I want to ask you about
your brother Errol.

I don't do interviews

and I don't want to be in a documentary.

- So if you'll excuse me...
- It's nothing like that.

I-I just, I have a couple of questions.

I'm looking for a missing girl.

I won't take up too much of your time.

- I promise.
- Okay.

Come on in.

Thank you.

- Please.
- Thanks.

I'm sorry if I was curt

- when I answered the door.
- That's okay.

I'm sure you get a lot of requests.

[CHUCKLES SOFTLY] You have no idea.

Crime shows, podcasts, journalists...

you name it, they've come to my door.

I had one strange man ask me

if he could take dirt
from the flower bed.

Hmm.

I'm sure it's not easy being
the sister of Errol Price.

No, it's not.

Most people stopped talking to me.

The ones that didn't, well...

... it wasn't very Christian,
what they had to say.

I finally had to move.
I-I couldn't take it anymore.

You have no idea what it's
like to have to answer

for the sins of your family.

Actually, I do.

The Lord tests all of us in
ways we'll never understand.

You said a girl is missing?

Lana Russo.

Disappeared three years
ago when she was 16.

Her father hired me to help find her.

My brother couldn't have been involved.

He's been locked up
for five years now...

I understand. Um...

Does the name Vic Pereema
mean anything to you?

Can't say it rings a bell.
Why do you ask?

Well, I think your brother
might have had an accomplice

- or a friend.
- [LAUGHS]: Friends?

Errol didn't have any.

He's always been a loner.

[KETTLE WHISTLING]

I forgot I put the kettle on.

Was gonna make some tea. Do you mind?

No.

Chamomile or Earl Grey?

Earl Grey is fine.

♪ ♪

_

MAEVE: I put a little honey in mine.

You?

Honey's great. Thanks.

Mind if I use your restroom?

MAEVE: It's down the hall, on the right.

♪ ♪

I hope you like lemon
cookies. It's all I have.

How do you know about Vic Pereema?

Vic Pereema's an anagram
for Maeve Price.

Hey!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

- [TASER POPPING]
- [GRUNTS]

[SHOUTS]

I'm gonna k*ll you!

[GRUNTING]

Lana Russo?

[SNIFFLING]

Who are you?

I'm Colter Shaw.

Your dad hired me to find you.

I'm here to take you home.

[CHUCKLING NERVOUSLY]

[SIREN CHIRPING]

["TURN AWAY" BY BECK PLAYING]

♪ Turn ♪

♪ Turn away ♪

Dad!

♪ From the sound of your own voice ♪

♪ Calling no one ♪

♪ Just a silence ♪

♪ Learn to see around the edge... ♪

GAVIN: I still don't
know how to thank you.

The reward just doesn't
seem like it's enough.

It's plenty.

I still don't know how you found me.

Well, you can thank your father.

He never stopped believing
you were alive.

- ♪ Hold ♪
- [DOOR OPENS]

TOBY: Lana?

♪ Hold the line... ♪

Toby?

It's good to see you.

TOBY: Oh, my God.

[CHUCKLES]

GAVIN: I think she's gonna be okay.

It's gonna take some time, though.

She's lucky to have you.

♪ Takes you over ♪

♪ The wall that love divides ♪

♪ Between waking and slumber... ♪

Well, Maeve Price was talking
till her lawyer showed up.

She and Errol both
liked to visit Harkwood.

Felt a kinship to the place.

That's where she first saw the
girls, so she stalked them.

Used their interest in
the Harkwood Witch

to lure them with the
red string bracelet.

And a week later, she's got them
both at gunpoint down by the bridge.

She pushed Jamie in the river

- and she grabbed Lana.
- And then kept her for three years.

Then, a couple weeks ago, the
city needed to inspect her house.

She was afraid they were gonna
see Lana, so she tied her up,

put her in the back of the van,
and took her to work that day.

Which just so happened to
be at the blood drive tent

- at the county fair.
- Yeah.

Lana managed to escape the van,

and that's when the photo was taken.

She was too weak.
She couldn't get very far

before Maeve grabbed her again.

So, did Maeve do this for
herself or for her brother?

It's hard to say.

They're both so twisted
from their childhood.

They both wanted a proxy
to hold on to and t*rture,

just like their father abused them.

And it explains why Lana's still alive.

Yeah. I think I owe Gavin an apology.

I think you came to a logical conclusion

based on the evidence you had.

Well, I am grateful to
have this case behind me.

And I hope you find some
answers about your family.

Me, too.

I'm gonna head in. You coming?

No, no, I'm gonna hit the road.

Safe travels, Homeschool.