01x06 - The One About the Yiddish Vampire

[bunniefuu]

Someone was here last night.

Jeannie drew that. She just had a bad dream.

Dreams are messages, bro.

Manager of the strip club, Claude Bolton.

Can you send me a mugshot?

I snuck into Heath Hofstadter's house yesterday.

Someone put clean sheets on the box springs.

Put down the g*n!

Come take a look at this.

What the hell did that?

I've been having some personal problems.

All I'm asking for here is an opportunity.

What is happening to me?!

Holly wants me to go to the cemetery where Terry's buried.

That's the barn where they found Maitland's clothes.

You need to tell me what this is about, Holly.

It would be better if I told you in person.

I think you should drop the investigation.

Something very bad is gonna happen.

I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it.

As the dollar fell on profit-taking after 12 straight weeks of gains...

Gold had fallen to 1,320 earlier on Monday, its lowest as a strong US jobs report has sent the dollar soaring to a four-year high.

The man who was k*lled in a bizarre stand-off with Dayton police earlier today, has now been identified as Tracey Powell, 21, of nearby Edgemont.

According to a police source, Powell's g*n, a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson, was unloaded.

Hey, how are you? Good.

Um, Tracey Powell on the news.

Uh, I... I saw him two days ago at, uh, Heath Hofstadter's gravesite.

I talked to him, I took some photos.

I was just wondering if there was any way...

You want me to look into it?

I'm on it.

Hey, can I tell you something that's true?

I've been thinking about you all day, and the sound of your voice right now, it's like...

Thank you, um...

Goodnight, Andy.

Jesus Christ.

Take two sledgehammers and call me in the morning.

Hmm.

Well...

Honey, it's five o'clock, why don't you go back to bed for an hour or so?

I'm up.

Okay.

All right, I'm gonna make some coffee.

Whoa.

Wait, wait.

What's this?

You... That kid Merlin that we interviewed in Tennessee, the one who stole the white van. So, first of all, he tells us that he didn't see the guy who stole it.

Then he switched the story up, said he did see the guy.

Now, being that he wasn't the most articulate eye wit I've ever interviewed, we just had him make a sketch of the guy's face, and that's what that is.

He saw this man? Yeah, that's what he said.

So he saw him too?

I don't know, Jeannie.

I'm sorry. Excuse me.

Look...

Stop... Stop... Stop! Stop!

What the f*ck?

Are you high? You high on my bus?

What is she doing?

- Stay in your seat, bud. What's the matter with you?

I must have had a nightmare, and woke up...

g*dd*mn.

Thank you.

I'm telling you. This face and this face belong to the same person.

Yours was a dream face. This one is done by a... a nervous kid who's glancing over his shoulder at somebody while he's race walking away.

No... Remember the faces Jessa described?

Yeah. Remember?

There were three of them. Right.

Jessa's a six-year-old girl.

She's dealing with an unimaginable loss.

So... She thinks she sees a blurry version of her dead father, and then twice more.

Each time...

You know, looking less and less like her dad, and more like some blob that's swallowing him up.

I mean, you don't have to be a trained psychologist to... to... Ralph!

He said you would die. He said you would too.

Yet here we are. I mean, sleep deprived, but still kicking.

I know that you feel you made a horrible mistake arresting Terry, I know it kills you.

But what if you're making a worse mistake keeping this going?

What if it was Derek we found that night in the park, would you want me to stop?

That's hitting below the belt.

Baby, would you?

No. I wouldn't.

But, don't presume to tell me... I dreamed this.

I'm not presuming anything. It's what I believe.

Who's going to the meeting with the investigator?

Huh? Uh, me, Sablo, Pelley, Howie...

A g*ng of four.

I'd like to come too.

Yeah? Yeah.

And what do you think about inviting everybody else?

Everybody like who?

Like whoever's had anything to do with Terry Maitland.

Tamika, Jack Hoskins, Glory... I'm not sure what Holly's gonna say, so if it ends up being something awful, I... She needs to see that you're making some progress.

She needs that pretty badly.

I mean if you want, I'm happy to go over and deliver the invitation personally.

Sure... Yeah, why don't you do that?

Ralph Anderson. Hey, it's me, I'm off today.

And, um, I was just wondering if... there was anything I could do to help out with that meeting today.

Okay. All right, on it.

Hey. What you doing?

Just sorting through some things...

Wanna help me?

No, I'll leave you to it.

I don't want this, I want pancakes.

Daddy always made... Pancakes are for weekends.

Daddies are for weekends.

I hope it doesn't bother you that all of this once belonged to Derek. Bother me? No.

You're giving my girls his precious things.

Toys should be played with. Mm.

That's why they're called toys.

So you think I should go to this meeting today?

Only if you want.

You're gonna be there? I will.

Glory... I need to ask something of you.

Well, of Jessa... And I... I'd...

I would never, if I didn't think it was so important.

Just ask.

And this second man... who came to you...

You say he was blurrier than your daddy, but would you still say he had your daddy's eyes?

No. The second man's eyes looked like holes.

And when you say "holes"... you mean?

They looked like circles... black circles.

And how about his mouth?

Just so you know, Maya hasn't called Terry "Daddy" in two years. She thought it was babyish.

Now that he's gone, he's "Daddy" again.

And Jessa, now that the nightmares are over, has turned so... deep... into herself that's it's like she's on her own pretend planet.

All this to say, Jeannie, this thing you just put my girls through...

It better be worth it.

Thank you for the toys.

You blew off your last session.

Uh, yeah, yeah I know, I sent you an email though...

Didn't I? No.

Going AWOL on me isn't going to help your situation.

Yeah, I know, it's, um... Well... It won't happen again.

Tell me what's going on.

Um...

Nothing much.

What does that mean?

It means I'm dealing with things.

Ralph...

Let me explain something to you which I might not have made clear enough before.

If I believe the trauma of sh**ting Oliver Peterson will make you ineffective in your job, or a danger to yourself or others, I'm mandated to share that with the review board.

That being said... understand that I'm not your father... your life partner, your boss, or your friend.

I'm your therapist.

Anything you say to me stays in this room.

So I'll ask again... I saw my son.

Saw him where? In a dream.

Um... Definitely a dream.

You sound not so sure.

No, it... it was a dream.

Can you describe it to me?

No, I just, um...

He was standing in the corner of the room...

His room. And he said, uh, I need to let him go.

Said it twice in fact, and, um...

And that's it, that's all she wrote.

It's kind of an obvious... message, I guess.

Obvious in what way? Well, I have to let him go.

I have to stop, um, grieving him so deeply, I guess. Um...

Get on with my life.

You have any thoughts about... why you had that dream now?

It could be that he was... telling me not to confuse him with Ollie Peterson, though, 'cause he would've been the same age as Ollie, if Ollie lived.

If... If he lived, and if Ollie lived too.

But I kinda think that this dream is a big breakthrough.

Don't you?

Holly Gibney. Hey.

You wanna hear something interesting?

Guess whose fingerprints they found in Tracey Powell's car?

I don't like guessing games.

Heath Hofstadter? Nope.

The Williams sisters.

His victims.

But not Heath's? No, ma'am.

Any blood? Not a drop.

Did Tracey know the girls? He did.

Apparently he used to date the older half-sister.

He was in and out of their house all the time.

So... a coincidence?

It could've been. But you don't think so?

You think he was an accomplice?

The guy k*lled himself, didn't he?

There must have been something weighing on him.

Thank you, Andy.

Holly Gibney.

I'm Jack Hoskins.

Detective Anderson asked me to pick you up.

So I have to tell you... I'm pretty new to the team.

To this investigation.

And, wh... while I have you, I was wondering if...

You could maybe give me a little sneak preview of... what you're gonna be talking about later.

You know, so I don't go in like a total Dunsky Dumbkoph.

I'm sorry, I'd rather not.

Still organizing my thoughts.

Do I have like a big red zit on the tip of my nose?

What?

I... I don't know, just wondering why you keep staring at me like that.

Can I be honest?

Please.

You look like you're going through some kind of hell.

What do you mean?

You look like...

You look like someone's been trying to rip out your heart.

Has someone you love just left you?

Well, in fact... my wife walked out on me a few months ago.

But I have to say, it was one of the happiest days of my life.

Hm.

Hm.

We should go. You're gonna be late.

Well, I can tell you one thing.

I'm afraid nobody's going to believe me.

What won't they believe?

I'm sorry?

You said nobody's gonna believe you.

Why?

I really, really don't want to speak about it until the meeting.

Okay, so... Let's say this theoretical

"Not Terry" is some kind of evil genius...

He kills the boy, he plants Terry's DNA all over the scene, but still, how does he get a hold of it? Could have collected it from Terry. The house.

Yeah, but you're talking about a truckload of DNA there.

So the k*ller is who? Lex Luthor?

Staying with the mad-scientist theory...

Fine, he manages to plant this synthetic, or whatever, DNA, all over the crime scene and the van...

But does he also manage to somehow plant Terry's entire person in another city?

Not a moment too soon.

Holly...

March 30th, Frankie Peterson, age 11, was found m*rder*d.

The accused, Terry Maitland. The evidence, DNA, eyewitness testimony, video.

The counter evidence, DNA, eyewitness testimony, video.

A human being cannot exist in two realities at the same time.

March 6th, 24 days earlier, uh, the Williams sisters, Asha and Carolyn Williams, eight and ten years old, were found m*rder*d in Dayton, Ohio. Based on DNA and eyewitness testimony, Heath Hofstadter was arrested and charged, but just as with Terry Maitland, credible eyewitness testimony and, uh, gas station security camera footage put him 60 miles away at the time.

February the 11th, uh, 23 days before the murders in Dayton, Luis Aparicio, seven years old, was found butchered in the Bronx.

Based on DNA and eyewitness testimony, Maria Caneles was arrested and convicted, despite contradicting eyewitness testimony and video footage that put her in New Jersey at the time of the killings.

A human being cannot be in two realities at the same time.

Thirty days before Terry Maitland was arrested for the m*rder of Frankie Peterson, he was in Dayton, Ohio.

He collided with Heath Hofstadter in the hallway outside of his father's hospital room.

There was a scratch, and that scratch drew blood.

Twenty-seven days before the double murders in Dayton, Heath was in New York, where he encountered Maria Caneles at the hotel bar.

So, a month before Luis Aparicio's death, Maria Caneles had some seemingly accidental physical encounter with an individual who would later be arrested for the m*rder of a child, shortly after he had contact with Terry Maitland, who would later be charged with the m*rder of a child.

Terry Maitland, Heath Hofstadter, Maria Caneles...

I believe that all three were not only innocent... but I believe they were victims themselves.

And I believe that all three were selected.

What do you mean "selected"? Selected by who?

The... There... There are times when looking at a series of seemingly impossible, yet, uh, distinctly connected events... Selected by who, Holly?

When the facts before you are so filled with uncanny coincidences... that perhaps the first step to seeing things clearly is not to find a way to dismiss those facts, but to, um, expand your sense of what reality might entail.

Maria Caneles and the people around her believe that the real k*ller of Luis Aparicio was... was a malevolent entity called El Cuco.

Did you say, "an entity"?

As a child, when I misbehaved, I was told...

El Cuco would come take me away and eat me.

Yet here you are. I know, I'm just saying.

Every culture has its El Cuco.

Its so-called mythical child eaters, or shape shifters, body snatchers, or body doubles.

The story goes back to the Samarians, to the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Romans, to... the Hebrews, the Muslims, the Christian cultures. Um, the tale of this creature goes back through time, and is on all continents and has survived to this day.

You don't have to listen to this crap, Glory.

Let's go. No, I want to hear the rest.

Let her talk.

I... I don't know whether this presence is El Cuco, but I do know that it's evil.

And I believe it... I believe it's real.

The key now... The key is not to trace this monster back to Maria Caneles, or whoever infected her, or whoever infected that person, or whoever, or whoever, or whoever, back to the dawn of time. The key, the critical key now, today, is to stop it from going forward, which means we have to catch the person who was most recently infected, contain that person... Are you f*cking kidding me?

Are you f*cking kidding me?

This is what you've been doing this whole time?

This is your big plan to exonerate my husband?

Is by going after the f*cking boogeyman?

Are you insane? Are you insane?

Getting the goods on the f*cking boogeyman, that's your plan?

God damn, all of you.

Well, if she's right about who's next, it's gotta be Claude Bolton.

If she's right? Yeah.

No, I'm not saying, I mean... That it's what? Logical?

That it's rational? You're not letting me finish.

You know what I think we should do in this investigation, next? We should go find a really reputable psychic. If that doesn't work, we should go to a toy store, and spring for a Ouija board, 'cause those things are surefire f*cking crime solvers.

All she's asking for is that we keep an open mind.

You know what, you... you... You keep your mind open, I'm just gonna look for facts, evidence.

You know, dumb cop sh*t like that.

And it wasn't just the children and their so-called K*llers. Death started fanning out into their families... The way they all went... heart att*cks, strokes, suicides, revenge killings.

And it's still going on now. And the thing about this cousin, this, uh, Tracey Powell...

I'm absolutely sure that he was involved in the murders of the Williams sisters.

They found the girls' fingerprints... in his car and... from where the girls were found.

But, he didn't k*ll them.

This thing that became Heath did that.

And he delivered them up.

Why would he do that?

I don't think he had a choice.

I think this thing... had him completely under his control.

Is there something wrong?

Is something wrong?

What?

Nothing.

Howard, I'm not saying that I believe her...

I'm just saying I'm not ready to say I don't.

Okay.

Look, a lot of the things that she said, about myths and legends over history, I've actually read a lot of that stuff.

You have? Yeah.

And over the centuries... you know, people got called devils, and demons, you know, called witches.

The werewolf of this, the vampire of that.

And we always say, "Well, people back then, they were ignorant, and hysterical and superstitious."

Because nowadays, we've got science, psychology.

So we know better than to mistake humans for demons.

You know, but what if...

What if every now and then, we mistake a demon for a human?

Very interesting. I think so.

Did you ever hear the one about the Yiddish vampire?

Vampire, he flies in through the window of a church, his fangs are out, priest immediately goes for a crucifix. Shoves it in his face, "Back, you fiend." Vampire laughs, says, "Ni gunisht helfen, bubbalah."

"It ain't gonna help you, baby."

He says it in Yiddish.

Okay.

See you later, Alec. Yeah, I'll see you.

What a f*cking clown show that was.

Ralph. No wonder she wouldn't tell me anything, I would've... Ralph.

Shut her down. Cut it out.

I invited her to stay with us.

I can stay at a hotel.

No, I wouldn't hear of it.

We'll put you in the guest room. Sheets are clean, I'll just get some towels.

What are these?

Why didn't you bring them to the meeting?

I should have.

The... The first one is the guy I saw.

Put a kid through hell to get the middle three.

And this one's from that kid in Dayton.

I wasn't sure what they all signified.

They signify his transformation.

You know the pattern. So far, it kills every 24 to 27 days. What I couldn't figure out was, why he waited... Wh... What the time meant.

But, Jeannie, it's all right here.

He was transforming.

He was sitting at this table...

Which chair? This one.

Um, but... but it was pushed back there, and I was sitting right here.

Did you dust for fingerprints?

I checked the rug beneath the legs and there was no indentation.

There was no sign that someone had been sitting there recently.

No alarms were triggered, and there were no broken windows, so there was absolutely no sign of a break-in.

So, you didn't dust for fingerprints?

No, I did not.

Do you have any Scotch tape in the house?

In the desk. Um, any colored markers?

Derek has... had some.

I'll check in his room.

So, um, El... El Cuco, right?

More like some hybrid entity.

Like I said, it's been known by a number of names.

But I guess "El Cuco" is close enough.

Hm. Yeah, I guess it...

It beats calling it The Thing, or The Creature, right?

I've known a few people like you.

I've known plenty of people like you.

You've got your own reality.

No justifications, no excuses.

If people can't make it out to where you are...

You just have to send them a postcard, right?

Don't you think I know what I sounded like today?

Do you think I enjoy being humiliated and laughed at like that?

Have the widow of a m*rder*d man curse me to my face?

Yeah, it must've been tough. But if I believe something to be true, then I have to deliver that truth no matter what.

That being said, I am sorry that today turned out to be... what it became.

And I am sorry that I am such a disappointment to you, in particular.

Just let me see this one thing through.

Take a look.

Oh, my God.

It left its calling card.

Is that... supposed to be the same residue that they found in the barn?

My assumption is yes.

Right. Assumptions aren't gonna fly.

We gotta have it tested.

Have the other samples been tested?

They're still working on them. Still?

That's because they found a number of unknown substances and they've never considered the fact that what they're looking at isn't human, it isn't animal, it isn't mineral, or vegetable, it isn't even of this world, and when they finally decide to throw up their hands, they'll dismiss it all as contamination, and be grateful that they don't have to submit their findings at a trial.

But if you had to guess...

It's shedding, like a snake.

Heya there, Jackie boy!

Um, uh...

You're dead.

Don't you know that?

Is that so?

Please go away.

You f*cked up, Sonny Jim.

Just like you always do.

Why did he have to send you?

Who better?

Yeah, Daddy! b*at me a rhythm!

Eight to the bar!

Stop... Stop...

What does it mean? Was he here, or...

I'm trying to work things out as I go, just... same as you.

Your gut reaction.

I'd say both.

It could be a projection if... If when he's in the process of transforming, if he's too weak to move, if he's unable to risk any physical encounters because of the fragility of his state, which is probably why he needs a safe place to go, uh, to complete the metamorphosis, which is why he probably needs a sl*ve like Tracey Powell to do the things he's unable to do himself.

If he can't risk any physical exposure, but he has the ability to project himself, then...

You said there was no indentation under the chair.

Mm-hmm.

If what you saw, Jeannie, was an image, and he wasn't actually physically present, then...

How much does a radio wave weigh?

How much does a hologram weigh?

Was it really you?

Yeah?

Uh, no, that's all right.

Yeah, I'll be... I'll be right over.

I'm sorry...

about everything that Holly said tonight. I'm...

I should have found out what she was gonna share before I thought to include you.

But this is just a bump in the road.

In no way are we giving up.

You know...

In a marriage, you can be so close to someone that you start to feel like you're the same person.

Yeah.

But we all keep things from each other.

I did from Terry.

I bet you and Jeannie do.

Of course we do.

I was married to Terry for 14 years.

And he's a special guy.

He's a good husband, a good father, smart.

He was funny.

And he never tripped up, not even once.

Tripped up?

We shouldn't have to work this hard to prove his innocence.

What if... What if he... k*lled...

that boy?

No. No.

No.

Okay, so look at me and tell me you're 100 percent sure that he didn't do it.

Glory the... The evidence contradicts itself, so there's no relying on it, but in my gut...

In my gut, no, he didn't k*ll Frankie Peterson.

Well then who the f*ck did, Ralph? El Cuckoo?

Glory, let me tell you something that I've learned to be true.

Whenever I find myself unable to uncover a reasonable explanation for a so-called inexplicable criminal act, it only means...

I haven't uncovered it yet.

But then I do.

Because there's always one out there.

Always.

♪ I never reply When you hit me ♪

♪ I'm off the grid You can't get me ♪

♪ Secure the bag like Gucci ♪

♪ You see me racked up Can't miss me ♪

♪ I never go down With my hands up ♪

♪ f*ck the rounds We pour another cup ♪

Security to main bar.

Son of a bitch. This has nothing to do with you, man.

No, f*ck you, man. What, you want a piece of me?

Come on, guys, break it up.

Hey, come on, man, hey, break it up.

Hell, hey, come on.

Hey, are you crazy? You're still on parole.

Hey, hey, hey, walk away. Now.

Walk away, huh?

Yeah, bro, get you some air.

All right.

Fucker.

Tea bags? Above the coffee maker.

So are my services terminated?

Not my decision.

You know it's one thing to respect the unexplainable... but it's another to pretend that you know the specific thing, give it a name and a resume.

Isn't that what we've been doing with God?

With all the gods throughout human history?

And wasn't it Napoleon who said that all religious wars are basically just people k*lling each other over who has the better imaginary friend?

He's trying to stop us. He tried to stop me from getting here. He's terrifying the people around you, your wife, that little girl, that detective, uh, who couldn't make it today...

Tamika Collins... You should ask her what kept her away. There's no mystery there.

She has a newborn at home.

Uh-huh.

The way I look at it...

He wouldn't be trying to stop us if what we were doing wasn't threatening to him, and he wouldn't be threatened if he wasn't... vulnerable.

I would think that you would be the one he would want to go after the most.

Right. Sorry.

No unexpected visits?

No dreams?

What did he say to you?

It wasn't him.

What did he say to you?

He said I... I need to let him go, but it wasn't him. Did you tell your wife?

No.

Okay...

Goodnight, Ralph. Yeah, night.

It wasn't him.

Okay...

Okay.

Holly Gibney. It's Jack... Hoskins.

Mm-hm.

I just want to say that I hated the way you were treated yesterday.

But what if you could get your hands on something truly tangible?

Tangible, like what?

Well, I went out to the barn where they found what they assumed were Maitland's clothes.

Forensics team had come and gone, taken everything they thought there was to take.

But they were wrong.

At first, I didn't understand what I was looking at...

But now I do.

You need to come see it for yourself.

Hey... Do yourself a favor.

Don't talk to the Andersons about this until you get back.

They're only gonna give you static.

I was coming your way. How'd you know where I live?

First thing that came up when I searched.

Please don't be offended, I don't want to trust anyone's driving today.

Why not?

I was on a bus yesterday. It almost crashed.

That'll do it.

You should've seen the other guy.

How far away is the barn?

Could be an hour, could be more depending on traffic.

Can I do something for you? What's that?

You would look much better without the makeup.

Hmm.

Oh, sorry.

Forgot something back at Ralph's.

What?

Uh, I printed out some stuff on El Cuco that I know you're gonna want... No... It'll keep.

It's best we just get to where we're going.

Hey, Holly. It's Ralph. Can you call me back, please?

Why me? Why did it pick me?

This thing... It's drawn to pain.

Pain is... its wine.

Jack's taken our investigator, Holly Gibney.

I believe there's something else out there.

And it's worse than I ever imagined.