01x10 - The Pall of LaPier

Episode transcripts for the miniseries "Houdini and Doyle". Aired: March 2016 to May 2016.*
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"Houdini and Doyle" is a supernatural crime drama based on the friendship of Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle. "An Edwardian X-Files".
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01x10 - The Pall of LaPier

Post by bunniefuu »

(BIRDSONG)

(BELL CLANGING)

(BIRDSONG)

Mr LaPier.

Galen. Galen!

Are you all right? Galen.

Mrs LaPier?

It's... It's Jesper.

(HE GASPS)

Oh, my...

Ah... Help!

Help! Help!

Someone help!

D... Dr Millet!

Dr Millet!

(SCARY MUSIC)

Help!

Help!

Welcome back.

Oh...

Very stylish.

Houdini: Ah, the latest in Canadian fashion.

Someone stole my suitcase.

Your mysterious woman?

Probably.

How was New York?

Terrific. I slept like a baby.

How's the writing?

Wonderful. I ran out of paper.

Houdini: I looked up a doctor for you.

Best respiratory specialist in the world.

He agreed to review your wife's case.

You had no right to do that.

You're welcome.

(DOOR OPENS)

Ahh...

Houdini: Hey.

Always late but worth the wait!

Welcome back.

I've decided to stay here for a while.

Oh, you met a guy?

I arranged a meeting with Mr Walbridge.

Doyle: For when?

Two days ago.

You went alone?

Stratton: I had to.

You have no idea who this man is or what he's capable of.

He never showed up.

Benjamin.

Yes, my love. It's me.

You're alive.

It was all a lie. The funeral.

The mourning. Tears.

You were an undercover agent?

Until they found me out.

But you have to stop pursuing this.

They k*lled Nigel Pennington and they won't hesitate to k*ll you, too.

Wow.

Doyle: Indeed.

Wonderful news.

You've been under a lot of stress.

He's been on your mind. You sure this wasn't some kind of... you know.

Hysterical vision to which females are prone?

Females? No... everyone sees things.

An Austrian doctor posited we can have vivid dreams, indistinguishable from reality.

Oh, yeah?

See?

This wasn't a vision or a dream.

Houdini: Which means your husband was a secret t*rror1st fighter who faked his own death.

Yes. And that's why I'm not going with you. I have to find him.

But... (LAUGHS)

He asked you to trust him, leave him alone.

I trust him. Which is why...

I can't leave him alone, knowing he's in danger.

Doyle: Which is exactly why you can't pursue this.

I'm prepared to accept the risks.

Well, we aren't.

Doyle: I've been in touch with the authorities at LaPier, Ontario, there's a case they need our help with.

There's always going to be another case.

There's always going to be something that seems more important.

47 dead.

Doyle: Whatever k*lled these people may k*ll again.

They need you.

Whoa. Whoa.

Corporal Bazay?

Constable Stratton, I presume.

Indeed. What's the latest on the investigation?

We're still waiting.

Bazay: The feds are sending specialists.

Doyle: What if whatever it is is spreading?

Bazay: This could have been anything. The plague, an act of God.

I'm not about to risk my men's lives.

So you're gonna risk other people's lives?

Stratton: There was a survivor?

One. Reverend Farley.

He went back in, won't come out.

Doyle: What do you think caused this?

I think it was a sneak att*ck by the Indians.

I understood there was no sign of v*olence.

They have their ways.

Ah, so you're a bigot.

Houdini: Is there anyone credible we can talk to?

Bazay: If you want to risk your lives... be my guest.

Right this way.

Am I the only one who doesn't like Canadians?

In case there's something contagious.

I feel so much safer now.

(SIGHS)

Absolutely no sign of trauma.

Some of them d*ed over their breakfast.

No indication they tried to run.

What's just as important as why these people d*ed... is why the Reverend survived.

Reverend Farley?

Houdini: Hey.

Whoa. Whoa.

It's all right.

Why me?

You're a man of God.

He entrusted me with their lives.

Why would he take them all away?

They say the Lord moves in mysterious ways, but this, I...

Can you tell us anything about it?

What you saw or heard?

I fell asleep, working on the bell.

The last sign of life that I saw, was Galen LaPier coming home around one.

When I woke up, it was seven.

Doyle: That's a window of six hours.

Was anyone sick?

We'd all feared influenza.

I'd taken precautions, drinking nothing but boiled coffee.

It may be best for you to leave here.

I... I... I can't abandon them.

Not now.

Houdini: Maybe it's the flu.

The Russian influenza k*lled a million people in the last ten years.

My friend William Mycroft succumbed to it, but the flu doesn't strike that quickly.

Houdini: Well, no flu you've seen.

Maybe the Lord mysteriously moved in with a whole new strain.

God said unto Noah, "The end of all flesh is before me, and behold, I shall destroy them with the earth."

If you're thinking this is biblical, one, God promised never to do it again.

Sealed the deal with a rainbow. Two, that's just dumb.

Then maybe this is the work of the devil.

Houdini: Come on.

We all know you're not that gullible.

You don't trust your husband, do you?

That's why you want to find him and learn the truth. Not because he's in danger.

Doyle: This wasn't the flu.

This k*lled both men and mice alike.

Maybe Adelaide is right.

I saw a doctor's office. Let's see what his records has to say.

You know, before we completely abandon reason.

Houdini: I'm guessing the doctor was alive at five to seven.

This thing hit, he fell and smashed his watch.

Stratton: According to the Reverend, everyone was dead by seven.

Doyle: Inhumanly fast and fatal.

I thought I saw someone.

(OFF SCREEN) An Indian man, by the trees.

He's gone now. No, it wasn't a vision.

In the last four days, the doctor had only one patient, a 12-year-old girl, complaining of weakness, nausea and moderate hair loss.

Subsisting on nothing but broth.

Checked in three days ago.

No indication she checked... out.

Libby Cotter.

Tomorrow would have been her 13th birthday.

(SHE GASPS)

Libby: I remember being sick to my stomach.

My parents were scared I had the flu.

They brought me to Dr Millet.

This was Monday?

I think so.

Today's Thursday.

Do you remember anything about the last three days?

No.

Something happened here, in LaPier.

We're not exactly sure what.

Where's Dr Millet?

I'm sorry, dear.

Libby: What do you mean?

Where are my parents?

Libby, I'm...

I'm sorry, Libby.

I'm sorry. I am... so sorry.

My parents.

(LIBBY SOBS)

Stratton: Corporal Bazay is with Libby.

He's arranging for a nurse and tracking down her relatives.

I've been thinking about her symptoms. I think she may have Addison's Disease, a kidney ailment.

If Farley has the same thing, could that be what kept them alive?

That was my hope. But Farley's records suggest nothing of the sort.

(SIGHS)

I don't have a medical explanation.

So what else do the survivors have in common?

Farley's been drinking nothing but boiled coffee and Libby's been out for three days, so she hasn't had anything.

And before that, nothing but broth, probably made with boiled water.

Houdini: If the survivors didn't have any fresh water, maybe the victims were poisoned by the water supply.

Let's find that water source.

Another Indian?

(SNIFFS)

Highly acidic. Quite possibly toxic.

And pouring out of every tap and water bucket in LaPier.

But why would everyone die at exactly the same time, given the differences in age, weights, tolerances?

Maybe the toxins were building to a critical point?

(OFF SCREEN) Maybe there was an increase in the sluice?

Whatever it was, I bet this is our answer.

Don't pack your bags quite yet.

What about everyone downriver?

Bazay: Wake up, Walt!

You've got visitors.

(CHATTER)

That's him.

I am Wattabakinai.

And that is why I answer to "Walt".

Constable Stratton.

Harry Houdini and Arthur Conan Doyle.

You break out of white man's jails.

All the time.

Houdini: Everyone here okay?

Everyone is good.

We think whatever k*lled the people in LaPier was in their water supply.

We need you to stop drinking it.

Now you take our water?

It may be poisoned by the mine.

Why would the Corporal start telling us the truth now?

Perhaps we should stay.

Here? With them?

Bazay: I don't think that's wise.

We'll stay if they'll have us.

You're welcome.

And do what?

Houdini: Convince them not to drink the water.

Failing that, treat them.

Bazay: Suit yourself. I'll be back in the morning.

Good luck.

Houdini: So, huh... what's in this?

Only what Mother Earth provides. Figured you wouldn't want to drink the water.

Well...

Houdini: Ahh! Ooh!

Ohho! She knows how to throw a party.

I've... seen you in LaPier.

You're not afraid to be there?

I don't fear justice.

That's what happened to LaPier? Justice?

Some sort of... revenge?

For crimes against our people.

Huh. You did it?

Mother Earth did it.

A long time ago, a young prospector came to our valley and found copper.

He said we would all share in the bounty.

He came back with many men.

Forced us off our land.

Some of us went peacefully.

Relocated here to their abandoned cabins.

Most were k*lled.

Now we call this valley "MikoEw,"

"stained with blood".

We have waited a long time for our day of reckoning.

Children d*ed in LaPier.

Call that justice?

Our children d*ed too.

As Galen LaPier did yesterday.

The young prospector is no more.

You had nothing to do with the deaths?

We did not take lives.

But it's because of our losses that lives were taken.

A lie comes at a great price.

To both believer and the liar.

Oh... you're not joining us?

I prefer water.

Uh...

(WIND WHISTLING IN BACKGROUND)

If I die, you'll have your answer.

If I don't, I'll have mine.

You're Sherlock's father.

Ah... Well, yes, but he d*ed.

In a story.

He was born in a story.

Hm.

I like him.

Grew rather fond of him myself, for a while.

A lot of things happened.

My father d*ed.

My wife took ill.

(ANIMAL HOWLS IN DISTANCE)

Houdini: You still feeling all right?

Walt: Yes. Good.

You have dreams, Walt?

Every night. I dream we return to our home.

They seem real to you?

As real as this.

So how do you tell the difference?

There is no difference.

It is all life.

(DOOR OPENS)

So far, so good. No sign of illness.

Yet. I suggest we sleep in shifts.

Well, I'm wide awake. I'll take the first shift. You go.

Night, Jailbreak.

Yeah! I've got an Indian name.

Hey. Here.

Thanks for the loan. It was a good read.

This is the last thing of my husband's I have left.

I know.

(FIRE CRACKLING)

(HE SIGHS)
(ROOSTER CROWS)

Good morning.

Doyle: All seems to be well here.

Which means it may be time for a new theory.

You got one?

No.

I was reading about dreams.

The Austrian doctor?

Houdini: Seems you can't read in your dreams.

So I wrote this note to myself.

Doyle: Why do you feel you need this test?

This is about your "obsessed fan", isn't it?

You've had inexplicable visions of her and you're desperate to prove they're dreams.

Otherwise, it could mean you've been seeing a ghost.

You'd love that.

You'd never tell me anyway.

Cos it wouldn't be true.

Are you telling me that if, right now... you were to see your mother... standing before you, a clear distinct image of her, that you still wouldn't accept it as evidence of the afterlife?

It'll never happen.

Hypothetically?

No. I wouldn't accept it.

So, how would you explain it?

Simple. It would mean I was going insane.

Look at this inscription.

Doyle: "Has everything a purpose and a mission?"

It's a quote from the book.

I hadn't looked at it in years, and then the other day...

I saw this in the paper you gave me.

It's the same quote.

There are a lot of Twain fans over here.

What if it isn't a coincidence?

Then maybe it's... a cipher.

A key to unlock a secret code somewhere in the book.

Like pirates showing us where they buried their treasure.

Or anarchists showing where they plan to strike next, by communicating secret instructions to their associates.

Bazay: You were right.

It's not over.

We have three more deaths.

Not here. In the village upriver from the mine.

Doyle: No sign of trauma. Just like the ones in LaPier.

Houdini: Why only three victims?

This village is even closer to the copper mines.

It's not the water, it's the valley. This village is part of the MikoEw.

Stratton: Walt had nothing to do with this. We were with him all night.

The good news is, we have many survivors.

Unfortunately, it'll be much harder to find commonalities.

Anything?

We need answers. The people here are terrified.

You should evacuate this village immediately.

Bazay: To where?

47 people dead there. Another three here. Where next? Battersea?

Sunbury? Kingston? That's 20,000 people.

Just get them out of the MikoEw! Now!

Houdini: Bazay's taking the whole village to Toronto.

Let's hope there's safety in numbers. How's it going?

Well, come on. Give me something.

I did have a thought.

The three victims: a 10-year-old boy, a healthy 70-year-old-woman and a 26-year-old man with a broken leg did have something in common.

When they d*ed, they were all in bed.

The first two had retired and the third was laid up because of his leg.

OK. And?

And... that's it.

I said I had a thought, not a solution.

Stratton: It is a cipher.

32 pails, 64 woollen rolls, 24 feet of lead pipe. Pails, woollen, lead.

Words beginning with the same letter repeat several times.

Doyle: PWL. Page, word, letter.

And the numbers 32nd page, 64th word, second and fourth letter?

And when this quote appears, it signals that what follows is an encrypted message.

Without this book, there's no message.

Houdini: So what does it spell?

KI... and NG.

I'm getting a date. They're going to k*ll the King. In two days.

We have to return to London immediately.

What about the people here?

It's the King of England.

His m*rder could throw the whole empire into chaos.

Which is why he'll be replaced overnight.

"The King is dead." "Oh, hey, long live the King."

Telegraph Merring. Put him on alert.

I believe Houdini's right.

That sounded weird.

Doyle: The King's just one person.

If you can save more lives by staying here, I think you should.

Houdini: What was your husband doing with the assassin's handbook in the first place?

The inscription wasn't in his handwriting.

The Home Office must have given it to him.

Yeah. I'd want to believe that, too.

Your dead husband shows up, begging you to drop the case.

Why? Because he cares about you?

This coming from a man who let you find him hanging from a rafter.

You didn't know him.

All I need to know is that he lied to you.

And that you still love him.

Perhaps.

But if he was on the wrong side of this, he'd be in London right now, not here.

And if he is a good guy, he needs to be informed immediately.

But if he is not... the last thing you want to do is tip him off.

Your call.

I'll inform Merring.

I've no idea how to contact Benjamin.

(ANIMAL HOWLING IN DISTANCE)

(KNOCKING)

What are you doing here?

I had to see you again.

How did you know where I was?

I had someone watching you.

To make sure you were safe.

I need the truth.

I've told you.

You've told me a lot of things.

You just need to hold on a little longer.

I can't. I need to know now.

Do you have anything to do with this plot to k*ll the King?

I'm trying to stop it.

You worked it out.

You're absolutely amazing.

Who are you?

(MOTHER'S VOICE)

Ehrie, it's me.

Don't be afraid.

You will come back to New York very soon.

(BIRDSONG)

(HE GASPS)

(COOING)

Dogs and mice are dead. Why aren't birds?

Because they were above the k*ller.

Er...

A gas heavier than air?

Carbon dioxide.

In high enough concentrations, it's deadly.

I read about the Cave of Dogs in Naples.

People noticed that as they descended with their pet, it would pass out because carbon dioxide was collecting along the ground.

Harmless to them, but not to their dog.

There is no link between Libby and Farley.

She survived because her Addison's caused alkalosis, a deficiency of CO2, which allowed her to tolerate an excess of it.

An excess that would have k*lled anyone else.

Unless they were high above the gas, the belfry, for example.

So, where did this tidal wave come from?

Carbon dioxide.

The mine must have tapped into a pocket of the gas, unleashing a deadly wave, which surged through the village, maybe ten or 20 feet high, asphyxiating everything in its path.

Stratton: It dissipated but there was still enough to cause the deaths upriver.

The three victims who were in bed at the time, they were just a few feet off the ground.

If the gas is heavier than air, how did it travel uphill?

There's another entrance to the mine upriver.

Doyle: It's still flowing out.

The match tells us that the wave is now only a foot deep.

But who knows what might happen in the future?

This mine has to be shut down and sealed off immediately.

You may have saved a lot of lives.

Houdini: Well, I guess you can leave, first thing tomorrow.

Save your husband.

Doyle: We all can.

You're right. This is stupid. Dangerous.

Which is why I can't let you go with me.

I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to either of you.

No mine. Everyone's gonna be moving out.

Looks like the MikoEw is yours again.

Mother Earth moves in a mysterious way.

The preacher said something very similar to that.

He's a good man.

He and the girl are welcome to stay with us.

Uh, the preacher's moving to Kingston.

The little girl's moving in with her aunt.

It's nice of you to offer.

Especially since not many would offer you the same.

I have what is in my heart.

No matter what they have in theirs.

I just lost my mother.

And it's... k*lling me.

She is not lost.

Do you believe in the afterlife?

There is no before or after.

It is all life.

The body returns to the earth, and the spirit stays here.

What? As a ghost?

As part of us.

I am everyone who has d*ed before me.

My father, my wife, my sons...

They live here now.

Your mother is not lost.

She's home.

Thank you.

She says, "Say hello to the President."

He's coming to Buffalo tomorrow.

Houdini: The Pan-American Exposition is in Buffalo, New York. The President will be there tomorrow, September 2nd.

And he's staying at the King Edward Hotel.

Stratton: The target isn't the King.

It's the President of the United States.

You must be Houdini. Agent Branowski. I got your telegram.

It's just you?

Until I can confirm your information.

Doyle: There's no time for that.

Where's the President?

He's in his suite, getting ready for his appearance.

They could be planning to get him on his way out.

Take me to him.

I can't do that until I can confirm...

I'm Constable Stratton of Scotland Yard.

You have my word our source are sound.

If we're wrong, you'll look like a fool. If we're right, you'll save the President's life. You pick.

Just Mr Houdini.

You check the lobby. I'll cover the mezzanine.

Branowski: You should know, the President is very sceptical of rumours.

Sounds like my type of guy.

(CHATTER)

You're not gonna talk him out of making his appearance.

Then he's just got a brand new bodyguard.

Mr President. I'm Harry Houdini. I'm here to save your life.

(CHATTER)

(BELL DINGS)

Herbert Delmar Murray, you're hereby subpoenaed by the Third Circuit Court.

Good day to you.

Benjamin Graves?

Arthur Conan Doyle. I'm an associate of your wife.

Pleased to meet you.

I believe we're both here for the same reason.

To stop the assassination of the President of the United States.

Indeed, Dr Doyle.

(BELL TOLLING SLOWLY)

(HEARTBEAT)

(g*nsh*t)

Houdini: Get down!

(SCREAMING)

(g*nsh*t)

(BARREL FIZZING)

(URGENT SHOUTING)

We need to get you to a doctor!

Houdini: Doc! Doc!

I'm all right. I'm all right.

I'm sorry, Penny.

I tried to warn you.

You left me that note.

You vandalised my flat.

Took all your things.

Except that damn book.

Benjamin: I needed to stop you.

You k*lled people.

I freed people.

I never knew you at all.

I know...

I've told too many lies.

But I need you to believe one thing.

Believe that I loved you.

Benjamin...

Please tell me that you believe that.

I love you.

(DOYLE GROANS)

I think I underestimated my wound.

Oh, come on. I've lost more blood than that shaving.

Man: This way!

Forget him! Over here! Now!

Doc, they're gonna give you a medal. You don't wanna be dead for that.

Doc...

Well, do something!

Man: Apparently, you're dying.

Again.

What are you doing here?

The fact is... that as you drift toward oblivion, you're compiling your dreary list of regrets.

And it seems that topping the list is... k*lling your golden goose.

I'm quite certain that isn't the case.

Of all the people in the world you could be thinking of right now, you've chosen me.

Not your adorable children, nor your darling Touie.

Uh...

Leftward eye movement.

Quickening pulse.

Hand flinch.

You are thinking about your wife.

You are thinking about her waking up again and how much she'd love to find you've resurrected me.

She didn't particularly like you.

She loved how you were when you wrote me.

Engaged. Passionate.

Happy.

It seems that's all she wants for you.

Yes?

Yes.

Is it too late?

♪ I only know you half the time ♪
♪ I only know you half the time ♪
♪ Half the time I think I'm really blind ♪


(SPLASH)

♪ I only know you half the time ♪

Doyle: Ah.

Good to see you out and about.

Unless you gotta throw up again.

I seem to have found my sea legs.

How are you feeling?

Better every day.

He says it still hurts when he pees.

I did say that.

In confidence.

I wanted to say thank you... for saving my life.

You're welcome.

I can't imagine how difficult it was.

I wish it was the level-headed reaction of a professional policeman...

But it was far less noble than that.

He broke my heart.

Have you thought about what you want to do when you get home?

I'm going to stay at Scotland Yard.

Oh, good for you.

People have to find their answers.

Telegram, Doctor.

Oh.

It's from your respiratory specialist.

He's agreed to treat Touie.

He's offered to leave for London, immediately.

That's wonderful news.

Thank you...

Sir.

Doyle: "Baskerville."

Thank you, Harry.

I don't want gratitude. I want reimbursement.

It was an expensive suit you chose to bleed out on.

(HE SIGHS)

(HE SNIFFS)
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