01x08 - An Incredibly Beautiful Thing

[bunniefuu]

[Bell jingles]

[Voice breaking] Please help me! They're coming!

O... okay. Calm down, miss. Tell me what's wrong.

[Sobs]

They're... they're gonna find me.

I... I know because they're following me!

Uh, uh...

[Cries]

Who's "they"?

Do you have a g*n?

Um...

Uh, I... I'm gonna get you some help.

[Dialing]

[Sobs]

Hi.

This is Ellis Hinkley out in Cedar Pass.

I've got a distraught young lady in my station.

I'm gonna need Walt or a deputy to come by.

[Sobs]

Oh, how much is the milk?

[Tires screech]

[Bell jingles]

[Paper tears]

[Bell jingles]

[Bell jingles]

Ellis?

Anybody here?

[g*n cocks]

[Thunder rumbles]

Oh, no.

[police radio chatter]

[Camera shutter clicking]

[Car door closes]

[Sobbing] I'm so sorry.

Is he over there behind those tires?

Ruby.

[Sobbing]

Ruby, Ruby.

I... I had no idea he was in danger.

Ruby... Take a breath.

Take a breath.

You're the closest thing we have to an eyewitness.

Just tell me as best as you can what you remember.

Ellis said there was a distraught young lady, and he asked me to send you out.

She asked him the price of milk.

Poor Ellis.

Now, why don't you head on back?

Ellis was a good man.

I'm sorry, Walt.

You have nothing to be sorry for, okay?

[Camera shutter clicks]

[Bell jingles]

I swabbed some blood for the kit.

I figure that it's the girl's.

If it was Ellis', prints would have led right up to his body.

Whoever it is, they weren't wearing shoes.

Those smudges are from bare feet, so...

[Sighs]

[Bell jingles]

Didn't find any casings near Ellis.

Somebody knew to pick them up.

We got 10s, 20s, 5s, even some 50s.

So much for the robbery motive.

Unless it was botched.

Maybe someone came along in the midst of a hold-up, robbers took off.

If someone interrupted a robbery, don't you think they'd have called it in?

People don't like to get involved.

Vic: Is that a camera?

This girl is crazy town.

I can take a screen grab of that woman and get it on the local news.

That's our best sh*t at I.D'ing her quickly.

What did she just see?

So, Ellis wrote something down.

He took the sheet of paper with him.

Wasn't on his body.

So, the k*ller takes the casings and a note?

The pad is still here.

17-78. What is that, a phone number?

No.

It's part of a license-plate number.

17... that's Cumberland County.

Wyoming plates all start with a number that identifies the county.

No sh*t.

Ellis must have seen a car drive up.

Something must have concerned him.

Find out how many plates in Cumberland County start with 17-78.

Jealous boyfriend or husband?

Ellis gets all chivalrous, tries to intervene in a domestic dispute.

Or it could be related to that thing in South Dakota.

What thing?

Oh, right. You don't read the paper.

There's been a string of gas-station robberies by a young couple... kind of a Bonnie-and-Clyde thing.

Call your contacts at the South Dakota state police.

See what kind of car this couple is driving.

Meantime, let's try and find this girl from the video right now.

She's the only lead we got.

You alright?

Looks like you're trying to hang yourself.

Jimmy's microphone keeps cutting out during the middle of his songs.

I need to find a different cable.

Take your time. Crowd's never seemed happier.

[Chuckles]

When's the last time you played, Walt?

[Sighs] Last time I felt like it.

Besides, I've got other priorities now, so...

Such as?

When's the last time you tracked someone?

[Sighs]

Who would I be tracking this time?

Possible m*rder suspect. Young woman, early 20s.

She's the last person to enter Ellis Hinkley's service station in Cedar Pass before he was sh*t dead.

What do you know?

I think she left in a car. Arrived by foot.

I'd like to know where she came from.

She's unstable, maybe armed.

I'll send a deputy along with you.

I work alone.

Not this time.

Walt, how does this sound?

"Ellis Hinkley, beloved local businessman and good samaritan, passed away before his time of wounds suffered at the hands of an unknown assailant."

You writing the police blotter for the paper?

I'm trying to write Ellis' obituary.

Usually, that job falls to the family.

I know, but he didn't have any.

That's a good start, Ruby.

I'll start over.

[Door opens, closes]

Can I help you folks with something?

Sheriff Longmire. Hi. My name is Johnson Mace.

This is my wife, Maureen.

Pleased to meet you.

Our daughter, Evelyn, disappeared 2½ years ago.

We thought that she was dead.

But apparently, you have evidence that she's alive.

Evelyn disappeared over two years ago.

The police couldn't find any sign of her.

We put up a reward.

We even hired a private investigator to find her.

Nothing... Until now.

You're from Portland, right?

Yeah.

Then how did you see her picture on the local news?

Our friends did. They live in Jackson Hole.

They called, said they saw a picture of Evelyn on TV, so I booked a jet immediately.

So, please tell us, what do you know?

I want to be honest with you.

Evelyn's a person of interest in a homicide case.

What?

Does Evelyn have a history of mental illness or drug use?

No. She was just a normal girl.

Has she ever been arrested?

Yes, once. Shoplifting.

But that was wiped from her record.

Johnson: There was also a check-forging charge.

She was on bail, awaiting a trial, when she disappeared.

Our daughter is... was aimless.

She was just trying to find herself.

But she would never, ever harm another person.

Did she have a boyfriend?

Teddy Brown. We didn't approve of him.

But it's impossible that she ran off with him.

Why's that?

He still lives in Portland.

We see him from time to time.

Usually coming out of a bar.

Ferg: I mean, I went on outward bound.

You know, I'm a little rusty.

But I learned survival skills, rock climbing, orienteering.

Ferg, you realize that tracking's a solitary journey?

Oh, sorry. Oh.

Yeah, my pod leader... he said it was a conversation between man and nature.

A conversation that you are interrupting.

This is a toe print pointing right toward the front door.

The girl came from that direction.

No one else has come forward with information about this woman.

How about a cash reward? The Maces could afford it.

That's asking the parents to put up a bounty on their own daughter.

They want to find her.

They may not want to send her to prison.

Vic: I have been on the phone with the D.M.V. all morning.

It's my favorite branch of the state government.

Any luck?

Out of the four license plates that start with 17-78, only one could have possibly been in Ellis' gas station yesterday.

It's a late-model Chrysler leased to Newett Energy & Exploration, LLC.

Isn't that your husband's company?

It is, and he got us a sit-down with the supervisor.

Pulling some strings. Nice work, Vic.

Got to watch out for you.

Tell your husband thanks from me.

Actually, I don't think I will.

I had to promise that you wouldn't be involved so he'd agree to help.

Walt: We're interested in a vehicle connected to your company.

We know a vehicle with the beginnings of that plate number was near the scene of a homicide.

I'm... I'm sorry.

Did you say the beginnings of the plate number?

We're gonna need a list of everyone who's driven that car in the last three days.

Uh, pardon me for asking, but, uh, aren't you the sheriff of Absaroka County?

That's right.

Since we happen to be standing here in Cumberland County, shouldn't Sheriff Wilkins be the one asking the questions?

I'd feel a lot better if he were here.

This is a very simple request, Mr. Vaughn.

I'm afraid our company privacy policy's also very simple, Sheriff Longmire.

Any requests for personal information on employees requires a subpoena.

Mr. Vaughn, do you happen to know Randy Cahill?

I can't say I know him.

Wait, isn't he the editor of the Durant Courant?

That's him.

Hmm.

He's always bugging me for scoops.

I bet he'd be interested to know that your company is stonewalling a homicide investigation.

Huh.

So, Mr. Vaughn here has to decide whose privacy is more important... that of a single employee or the huge corporation that pays his salary.

I'll take a look at those numbers one more time.

I used to do some work down in South America.

I thought I'd left behind the corruption and the blackmailing from the local police force.

The vehicle with those plates is... it's a company car.

It's used by Leland Townes.

He's not really an employee, technically.

So, who is Leland Townes?

He owns this property.

We lease his mineral rights so we can drill here.

Henry, look at this.

Ferg, we are not collecting rocks.

No, this is herderite.

Okay.

Herderite doesn't occur naturally in Wyoming.

Is that true?

Yeah.

Most herderite comes from Brazil or Africa.

I collect minerals. [Chuckles]

You're full of surprises.

Why do you think it's here?

It is a bread crumb.

Leland: I inherited the place about five years ago from my dad, but I'm a terrible rancher.

The land went to hay a few years later, so I decided to lease some of it to Newett.

And they promised that they'd clean it up after they were done drilling.

It sure is nice to get a paycheck every month.

We got your name and address from Newett.

They apparently lease a car for you. Is that right?

Yeah, and it's a nice one, too.

Anyone besides you use that car?

No.

Do you recognize this guy?

Yeah.

From... somewhere.

I...

Oh, wait.

He's the, uh... the cashier at the gas station at State Road 27.

You, uh, been to that station recently?

Oh, I know what this is about.

This is about the crazy woman, isn't it?

Crazy woman?

Yeah.

I mean, I pulled in there yesterday to get some gas, and this young lady... homeless, I guess... she nearly jumped on my hood, and she started screaming about "they" coming to get her.

Is this her?

Yeah, that's her. She seemed unhinged.

She kind of scared me, so I just... I drove off.

Didn't want to get involved, if you know what I mean.

The station owner was sh*t.

Oh, no. Is he gonna make it?

No.

[Dog barking in distance]

I feel awful. I should have called 911.

Do you remember seeing any other people at that station... any other vehicles?

Yeah, actually.

There was a black S.U.V. pulled in, and, um, I don't know the make.

They all look the same to me.

Did you see anyone get out of it?

No.

But, uh, the license plate had an evergreen tree in the middle between the numbers.

Oregon plates.

Evelyn's boyfriend, Teddy Brown... find out what kind of vehicle he drives.

The D.M.V. again.

What am I, being punished for something?

Character building. [Laughs]

[Telephone rings]

Library's down the street, Jim.

I can't take anything out there.

I'm not a resident of Absaroka.

And you're not the sheriff of Cumberland County.

You upset about something, Jim?

I got a nasty phone call from the C.E.O. of Newett Energy.

They were upset about getting the third degree.

You threatened to go to the media?

Oh.

You know how these corporate types are.

They can't see the upside of a thing till you point out the downsides.

Those guys at Newett, they write campaign checks... big ones.

That doesn't give them the right to break the law, but it does entitle them to a little respect.

And by the way, I feel like I've earned a little respect, too.

I got a homicide case, Jim.

I didn't have time to check in.

I get that. But you were on my turf.

It ain't much, but it's mine, okay?

Mea culpa.

I'll... I'll check in on any future visits.

Thanks, Walt.

Hey, Branch. Nice campaign signs.

Better keep an eye on this one, Walt.

Every day.

[Laughs] Better you than me!

[Clears throat] So...

Talked to South Dakota.

Not a lot of info on this Bonnie-and-Clyde couple, but part of their M.O. is not using their own vehicles.

They steal a different car for each hold-up.

I suppose you've already got a list of all reported auto thefts.

I did.

But, Walt, given our limited resources, we're dealing with a needle/haystack situation here.

I really think we've got to let the Maces offer their reward.

Putting money on the table is gonna triple the number of haystacks.

Just wait till you see the garbage leads they're gonna try and sell us.

[Sighs]

But... given the circumstances...

I think you're right.

[g*n cocks]

I...

I took him by the hospital, and... they examined him he was a little dehydrated, but he's in good shape.

Good.

You talk to Children's Services?

Yeah.

Because a crime was involved, I convinced them to grant us custody until a social worker can come and take over.

They're gonna send me the paperwork.

Oh, this was in the baby's swaddling blanket.

"I love you."

Do you think Evelyn was the mother?

[Sighs]

Cady: What kind of mom puts her baby in a rabbit hutch?

I think that she was trying to protect him.

Or hide him.

We don't even know for sure the baby's hers.

Maybe she just abandoned him.

You know, that happens more than you think.

I... I don't think so.

She left these crystals along her path, like bread crumbs, to mark the way back.

That's what the milk was about.

What?

Ruby said the girl asked Ellis about milk, so maybe she hid her baby, went outside to go to the store, planned to go back to him, but something stopped her.

Where did you say you found him, Ferg?

Uh, right... here.

Right there.

You two stay here. Look after him.

Evelyn was trying to hide this child.

Maybe someone's looking for him.

Walt: You looking for something?

[Groans]

Hi.

You're a good boy. Yes, you are.

Who's next?

Branch: Thank you for coming forward, but our missing girl is not a redhead.

You sure?

Does this mean I don't get the $100,000?

[Telephone rings]

Moretti.

Walt: Can you bring me the photo of Evelyn Mace?

Walt, where the hell are you?

My office.

I found Evelyn's boyfriend, Teddy Brown.

I got him on the phone.

He said he'd been in Portland the whole time.

I haven't been able to confirm his alibi.

Who is this?

This is October.

October what?

Just October. Discovered the baby.

She's looking for him.

That's what you say.

I say I was just out for a walk.

Wearing a BabyBjörn.

Do you know this woman?

Hmm. What a nice picture.

Of course I know April.

That isn't her name.

She doesn't go by Evelyn anymore.

Are you looking for Evelyn's baby?

The boy is not April's baby.

He's our baby.

April stole him.

What do you mean by "our"?

He belongs to our family.

That's how we live, as it was meant to be... a loving community of brothers and sisters in harmony with the earth and each other.

It's an incredibly beautiful thing.

Okay. Where's April?

Even if I knew where April was, I couldn't tell you.

Why don't you tell us about your family, then?

You wouldn't get it.

How many members are there in your family?

12.

It's the golden number.

Does your cult have a name?

Why is there so much ignorance in the world?

You live your lives divorced from the land and its bounty.

You fill your bodies with chemicals and poisons each day.

You worship a Messiah who vanished 2,000 years ago.

Maybe you're the cult.

I think I'll go now.

No, you won't.

You're the only person that's seen Evelyn in the last two years.

Until you tell us where she's been, you're not leaving here.

[Groans]

You cannot detain me for walking in the woods with a BabyBjörn, Sheriff, so I'm gonna go.

That's as*ault.

Shall I press charges?

Walt: Vic... Let her go.

I get it. Let them go, catch them later.

Clearly, she's not gonna tell us anything.

Maybe she'll lead us somewhere.

Ferg, there's a water glass in my office.

Pull her prints off that glass, see if she turns up in the system somewhere.

[Dog barks in distance]

You lost, Kemosabe?

No, I would be Tonto, and you would be Kemosabe.

You're trespassing. Raise your hands.

[g*n cocks]

How.

Vic, you're supposed to be following October.

I am. Look.

She hasn't moved since she left.

It's like some creepy little vigil.

Don't let her out of your sight.

Walt, this gentleman insists he has valuable information about Evelyn Mace, but he will not talk to anybody but you.

[Door closes]

My wife is a nurse and midwife.

She delivered a baby for that girl.

Really?

Mm-hmm.

When was that?

Maybe two months back.

Where's your wife?

Where's my check?

I've got a man dead, and this girl could be the key to finding the k*ller.

You realize that?

I do.

So, where's my check?

[Chickens clucking]

[Dog barking in distance]

Please let me out.

Please let me out!

[Cries]

I want my baby!

Please let me...

[Sobbing] Let me out.

I'm looking to speak to a nurse named Catherine Holt.

Woman: Let me see if I can find her, Sheriff.

Ferg wants to talk to you.

You know, it'd be a lot easier if you got a cellphone of your own.

I don't need one. What's up, Ferg?

Ferg: I got a hit on October's prints.

Her legal name is Fiona Hines.

H-i-n-e-s.

She's 27, and guess what... she also went missing but five years ago in Madison, Wisconsin.

Last seen at a Greyhound station.

She still sitting outside?

Yeah.

She hasn't moved for hours.

Honestly, Sheriff, she's starting to freak me out.

You're all right, Ferg.

You wanted to see me?

Did you deliver this young lady's baby about two months ago?

Dr. Forest, dial 118, please.

I'm sorry I didn't come forward, but these people are scary.

Which people?

Those girls from the farmers market... the ones that sell organic milk and eggs and jam.

A couple of months back, one of them came pounding on my door at 3:00 A.M. and said her sister was having a baby and there were complications.

I guess they knew I was a midwife.

They offered me $2,000.

We need the money, but I had no idea what I was getting into.

They blindfolded me, then we drove for like 40 minutes.

No one spoke the entire time.

Did you have any idea where you were driving?

Could you hear or see anything?

No, not really.

I tried to count the turns, but I got confused.

I think we crossed railway tracks just before we got there.

Got where?

When they took the blindfold off, I was in this weird room with a mural.

The pregnant girl was in bad shape.

The baby was breech.

I got him turned around, and after about another hour of pushing, she delivered.

None of these women spoke to you at all?

[Sobs]

On the way home, one of them whispered, "if you tell anybody about this, I will wake you in your bed one night and stick a Kn*fe into your belly."

[Sobs]

You hear any rumors about cults in the area?

You know, you hear about survivalists up in the woods, but that's dudes with beards and g*ns and tins of food.

This sounds different.

More like Waco or that Heaven's Gate thing.

Who's leading it? Where are they?

[Cellphone rings]

Hey.

Yeah.

Of course.

Ruby wants to patch in a call to you...

On my cellphone.

Walt: This is Sheriff Longmire.

Jim: Hey, Walt.

I guess you figured if you weren't snooping yourself, it'd be okay to send your lndian.

I thought we were clear on this.

Henry's there?

He is.

And he was trespassing on Newett Energy property.

Put him on.

What happened?

I followed the Yellow Brick Road.

It ended here, near the grille of a black S.U.V.

You didn't happen to see a license plate.

No. I was a little distracted.

Sit tight, Henry. Branch, you head back.

I've got to go get Henry and find a judge.

This is like the world's longest staring contest.

Ferg, come on.

I've worked with Monica for years.

She's been in Children's Services for like a decade.

You can't be too careful. All right?

She checks out.

Thanks.

Thank you for your patience.

Here he is. Did you park nearby?

Oh, yeah. Just around the corner.

Okay. I'll walk you to your car.

[Baby coos]

Branch: Okay, then. Bye-bye.

Cady: Where are you parked?

Monica: Oh, I'm just right around the corner there.

So, Cady.

Branch, don't.

Don't what?

Don't walk you to this nice woman's car?

You need to stop calling me.

Maybe if you answered your phone...

[Horn honks]

Oh! [Screams]

Give me that!

Oh!

[Grunts]

Branch: Cady, are you okay?

Hey! [Horn honks]

Go! Go, go, go!

[Chuckles]

Walt, you want me to give you a warrant to search the entire property of Newett Energy based on a hunch?

It's more than a hunch, Gil.

Right.

There's those vague recollections by a blindfolded woman.

Judge Mayhew, I tracked that girl back from the scene of the crime to their property.

And you and the eagle scout found some crystals.

Herderite. It is non-native.

Your Honor, Henry's a skilled tracker.

He's also a trespasser.

Walt, without some real evidence, I'm not signing that.

Vic: 17-78-611.

17-78-611.

17-78-611.

Holy sh*t. That's October.

Vic.

What's up, Vic?

Vic: October stabbed the social worker. I got hit by a car.

Wait, what?

It doesn't matter.

The plate number of the car that tried to flatten me... it's registered to October under her legal name, Fiona Hines.

Guess where the address is.

A cult?

Walt, I had no idea anything like this was going on here.

I thought he and these girls were a bunch of hippie organic-farmer types, you know?

Walt: It didn't strike you as odd that this man was living with 12 young women out in the middle of nowhere?

I didn't think it was any of my business.

Leland and the energy company are funding your campaign, right?

I'm not in anybody's pocket, Walt.

I can trust you to back me up when I go through that door?

You know you can.

[Sighs]

Looks like the cult hit the road.

Vic: Their cars are here.

They've got to be here somewhere.

Over there.

[g*n cocks]

Put your hands up, Mr. Townes.

Do as he says, Leland.

[Police radio chatter]

Leland: That's the g*n.

You can check the ballistics.

Put your hands up.

An object in motion stays in motion.

It's the law of the universe.

I did not want to k*ll that old man at the gas station, but he was gonna take April from us.

And it was ordained.

Nothing shall interfere with the plan.

You don't need this.

I've already escaped.

Where's Evelyn?

You mean April.

She's with January and February and March...

May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December.

Walt: Where are the girls, Leland?

What's this plan you're talking about?

Leland: What was it Louis Armstrong said?

If you have to ask, you'll never know.

We're all just points in the universe, converging on the infinite.

Whoa. Whoa. Hey. Whoa.

What the hell?

Must have taken something. He's poisoned himself.

Get some water!

Must have been something in the tea.

Ferg: What should we do?

Should we call an ambulance?

No time.

[Gurgling]

[Coughing]

Welcome back.

I'm not gonna let you die, Leland.

You might as well tell me where Evelyn and the girls are.

I've found that those who fight hardest against death are the ones most tempted by its salvation.

They're lost.

April was lost before she came to me.

What did you provide her that she didn't have before?

Context.

I made her realize that we're all just individual points...

Converging on infinity.

[Train bell clanging]

Right.

I showed her.

We're all just part of this earth, here for a short time.

Need to step aside, make room for new people.

April was trying to avoid her destiny.

I couldn't let that happen.

So, you found her at the gas station.

All that business about the black S.U.V. from Oregon... you made that up.

Time to move on to the next stage.

The next stage is death.

[Laughs]

No, you silly little man.

The next stage... rebirth.

Death... just a door.

Why now, Leland?

Why try and k*ll yourself now?

It was ordained.

The boy's birth was the sign.

Evelyn's baby.

April's and my son.

When he arrived, it was clear we'd all served our purpose.

You know, Sheriff, you served your purpose, as well.

I know... you're not happy.

Why not just let go?

Why not drive around those gates, k*ll the pain, become immortal?

Let's walk through the door together.

Points converging on the infinite.

Yes.

[Tires squeal]

Got a train heading west near Postal Road.

Do whatever it takes to stop it.

[Siren wails]

[Train horn blares]

[Siren wailing]

Come on! [October groans]

They're still breathing.

Get them up!

[Train horn blares]

Help!

Where's my baby? Is he okay?

He's fine.

We'll get you out of here.

[Siren wails]

[Brakes hiss]

[Train horn blares]

Branch: He's hit the brakes, but I don't know if he can stop it in time.

[Sobbing]

[Screams]

[Train horn blares]

Come on.

Get up! Get up!

Don't move.

I got you.

[Wheels squeak]

[Music]

Ruby: "Ellis Hinkley, long-time resident of Absaroka County, passed away on Friday. A valued member of the community, Ellis leaves behind no family. But his kindness, his decency, and his courage will be remembered by everyone who knew him. He will be missed."

Sounds about right.