The following story is fictional and does
not depict any actual person or event.
January ,
Is't from Rwanda, uncle Tad?
, dead in a hundred days.
Rwanda's where the gorillas are, aren't they?
I love gorillas.
Did you see any?
Uh, it wasn't that kind of trip.
Did you see anybody get k*lled, uncle tad?
Just a lot of dead bodies.
You should've stuck to the gorillas, if you ask me.
I need a drink.
I'll get you one, dad.
Hey, we're on our own tonight, gin.
Ice bucket's empty.
I gave the help the night off 'cause of the snowstorm.
Well, that is magnanimous of you, dad.
So it'll be nice.
Just family for once.
who could that be?
lauren?What are you doing here?
It is my favorite grandson's birthday.
Is it not?
Oh, thank you, sweetheart.
Mom, I didn't think you'd make it.
Look at your hair.
I had it colored.
I can see that.
There's the man of the hour now.
Hi, grandma.
You look just like your father.
How is the unmentionable one, anyway?
I wouldn't know, mom.
He's in ohio with his new wife.
Well, he was good-looking.I'll give him that.
And I see you're back from safari.
Sherpas carry you, or did you make it through the snow on your own?
Your morbid fascination with death is getting worrisome, tad.
Thank you, mother.I'm glad you like them.
They're horrid.
As opposed to this lovely creature.
I'm diane gilbert, mrs.Williams.
Oh, please.Lauren.
Do tell, tad.
She's with me, not tad.
Of course she is.
Yikes.
Power's out.
Diane: I love blackouts.
Tad: Does this mean we can all leave?
No.It means we're going to get cozy,
have a nice family gathering...plus one.
Mom?You okay?
Will someone please do something?
Decedent:Williams,Lauren
Cause of Death:Drowning
That's the internet mogul?
Mr.Heller?
Hey, detectives!Thanks for coming.
Hungry?Want a garden burger?
No.Thanks.
You have information on lauren williams?
Yeah.Lady supposedly drowned accidentally?
That's right.
Look under the board.
I'm the first owner since
the place was put on the market back in ' .
So nobody's touched anything.No
do you see it?
Scratch marks.
You okay there, scotty?
It looks like a fingernail.
Red nail polish.
Take a look.
It's lauren williams's, isn't it?
Could be.
Means she was m*rder*d, doesn't it?
It means she put up a fight.
Question is, who was she fighting?
Hurry up.Bus ain't gonna wait.
Morning, kiddo.'
Sup.
Hey, you.
Found this in my sheets this morning...someone's sock.
Mysterious.
Yeah.No ideas how it might've got there?
Possibly this new neighbor, moved in below.
Frisky fella?
Frisky ain't the half of it.
Well, maybe had the lady let the poor guy stay the night,
he'd be less careless.
Lady's got a son.
Son don't need to know what his mama's up to.
I hear that.
So, uh, you have a nice day now, detective.
You too, ma'am.
Get on now.
See you tonight?
If you're lucky.
Rush: So if that fingernail is lauren's,
my guess is someone was on the diving board holding her head under.
While she scratched and clawed at
the only thing she could reach.
The night of january ,
half the city lost power from
: P.M.To : A.M.
Me puts the time of death at approximately : A.M.
Which means she was probably k*lled in the dark.
Ex-husband claimed he found her the next morning
around : floating in the pool.
Blood alcohol was .
That sauced, no wonder they thought it was an accident.
There were only five people in the house that night, other than lauren.
Stanford, the ex-husband; virginia, the daughter; tad, the son.
Diane gilbert, stanford's fiancée at the time.
And matthew, lauren's -year-old grandson.
Five rich little indians.
Follow the money, see who benefited from lauren's death.
My money's on the ex.
Well, scotty and will are with him now.
Well, that's good.
'Cause I'm guessing he's involved.
Why's that?
Stanford williams was at the time and his fiancée was .
That makes him a k*ller?
That makes him a scumbag.
You're sure lauren was m*rder*d?
Jeffries: You find that hard to believe?
Yes and no.
Because...?
Because of who was at the house that night, of course.
And no?
Because my ex-wife was a raving bitch.
Bad divorce?
Hideous.
Well, that much hostility,
why'd she show up at your house that night?
My daughter ginny invited her out of courtesy, thinking she wouldn't come.
Must've been awkward with your fiancée there.
Awkward would be putting it mildly.
So maybe you took advantage of the blackout,
got rid of your ex once and for all.
After she cleaned me out,
I thought of little else but k*lling lauren.
But drowning was never an option...too humane.
Really?
My fantasy was to bury her alive,
scarabs feasting on her intestines.
Where were you between midnight
and the time you
found your wife in the pool, mr.Williams?
I was in bed.
With your fiancée?
No.Alone, I'm afraid.
Lauren made sure of that.
How?
She dropped a b*mb on us, as she was her wont to do.
here are more candles.
Stan, there are fresh batteries in the drawer for the flashlight.
Well, you certainly seem to know
your way around, don't you?
Lauren, don't start.
I'm just saying your new one seems very handy.
Incoming.
Mom, it's matt's birthday.
I know how difficult this musbe for you, diane,
being in a house with no electricity.
I'm not sure I follow.
Lauren: A reminder of your childhood, dear.
You are from tinley, arkansas, aren't you?
You researched my fiancée?
Maybe back in your day there was no electricity,
mrs.Williams, but in mine...
your three children are living with your mother back in tinley, aren't they?
Stan: Lauren, that's enough.
Stanford, don't tell me you didn't know about diane's brood?
Now don't let the fact that stanford
was an abject failure
as a father with our children worry you, diane.
I'm sure he'll be a wonderful pop to your young'uns.
Stan told me you were a bitch, but...
but what, dear?
He didn't tell me you were so cruel.
Three kids?
You're going to pay for this.
lauren took no prisoners.
So, bombshell have the desired effect?
Lauren did me a favor, saved me from
getting saddled with three more mouths to feed.
So you see, I had no reason to k*ll her that night.
Well, how'd diane take you breaking it off with her?
Badly.
You're saying somebody actually m*rder*d mrs.Williams?
Somebody who was in the house the night of the blackout.
Somebody who had reason to want her dead.
Well, I was there and I had reason, but I didn't k*ll her.
No?She was more pathetic than anything else.
That right?
After years of marriage, stanraded lauren in for a newer model.
You?
Now that I have a few more miles on me, I can understand how she felt.
But you didn't understand that back in ' .
When you were the one with the low mileage.
No.
Well, lauren cost you your chance of marrying into the williams clan.
In retrospect, that blackout was a blessing.
A blessing?
Being trapped in that house, in the dark, with those people.
Eye-opening?
Terrifying.
Thought you would've booked.
Gone from bad to worse out there.Whiteout.
Oh, the good old days.
Your family looked so perfect.
"Looked" being the operative word.
That's your mother?
Took it when I was .
She was incredible.
She was a beauty queen from garth, pennsylvania.
Garth?
That's as bad as tinley.
Williams steel had a plant there.
That's how she met my dad, on an inspection tour.
So what went wrong?
My dad lost interest after we were born.
Started fooling around.
Although he could've been cheating before,
for all I know.
No.It was later.
Around the time you were born, tad.
I knew it had to be my fault somehow.
can you imagine cheating on a woman that looked like that?
I can.
You're wasting your talent and your life.
What's it to you?
I'm your mother.
When convenient.
We'll talk about this later.
No, by all means, continue.
I'm not gonna be who you want me to be, mom.
Oh, you mean a success,
as opposed to an abject failure.
I'm not sure reuters or the associated press would agree with you.
Peddling pictures of the world's misery?
Please.It's shameful.
Okay, just stay the hell out of my life.
I will do no such thing.
If only that were really you.
Don't mind me.
When are you going to grow up and become a man?
The day you die.
So you just left them there,
at each other's throats?
Diane: Went upstairs, and waited for stan to break up with me.
Which he did.
Moms always know just where to strike.
Woman went for the jugular.
She pushed tad over the edge.
And he pushed back.
Investigating the m*rder of my mother is a serious waste of taxpayer dollars.
Oh, yeah?
Because whoever did it deserves a medal.
Maybe that's you.
We know you argued with you, night she was k*lled.
You know well,I argue with her every time I saw her.
Always get that heated?
Well,she want me to be someone I wasn't.
And I wanne be someone she wasn't.
So maybe you got sick of disapprove
Yeah.She trying to change you.
She had no power of me.
Mothers always have power.
whether you like it or not.
Listen,Tad.we did some checking.
You inheritted million dollars
when your mom dead.
Much to my dad's dismay
What's that?
All the money he got from the settlement he squandered it.
And now,you are rich,and he isn't.
I gave every cent of that money away.
You gave away million dollars.
I got numbers if you wanna donate.
Oh damn ,you could've kept some
Some money cost more than worth.
Your sister Virginia felt that way?
Is she only other person to inherit from your mom.
My sister¡®s circumstances were different.she has a son.
So she needed your mom's money.
So mom thought.
Poor Matt his birthday feast, sandwiches.
Made a roast mom.
Power is out if you have noticed the oven is electric.
I know.It's not your fault.
You trying to make me fell like this.
Don't be so defensive Ginny
I know you give you all when it comes to matt.
Time to darkling recover, Gin
And that public school you are sending him into is just so public.
Matt's education is none of your business.
It is my business.As long as you cash my checks.
You really gonna go there,are you?
When the unmentionable one left you high and dry, who bail you out?
Told you not to take her money.
Shut up,Tad.
Not everyone enjoy squalor the way you do.
So what did you think,mom.If I don't take Matt out of Public school,
You going to cut me off.
Don't be so melodramatic.
You know what? Screw this. Screw you.
What do you think your...?
I'm gonna get my son get the hell away from you.
Do not walk away from me,Virginia
She is right,Gin run.
Your money is not worth the price that it comes with.
Hey,man.
You say that now.but come into the month,what are you going to do?
you walk out that door
you'll never get another penny from me.Ever.
I was never prouder of my sister than at that moment.
But she didn't leave the house that night.
'Cause according to the police report, she was there in the morning.
Yeah, whiteout trapped us all there.So what?
She and your mom have words later?
Where's this going?
Like you said, your sister needed the money.
And your mom conveniently d*ed
before she could change her will.
My sister wouldn't hurt a fly.
Detectives, this is my son, matt, on winter break from med school.
We're here to talk about your grandmother.
Heard from my uncle you think she was m*rder*d.
I find that impossible to believe.
I don'T.
She was a shrew.
So we heard.You heard wrong.
She was just complicated.
How's that?
Not the double-edged sword,
beauty was her curse bit, mom.
It's true.
When her looks faded,
she had nothing to fall back on.
My mother likes to think the best of people,
but my grandmother was a total bitch, plain and simple.
Excuse me.
You'll have to forgive him.
He only really knew my mom after my father dumped her.
She was different before?
Proud, fearless.
Only one thing scared her, and she hid it from everyone but me.
What?The dark.
Which is why it's so sad she d*ed in a blackout.
All alone in that pool.
She wasn't alone if someone drowned her.
My family was dysfunctional, not homicidal.
Where were you that night, ginny, between : and : ?
I was asleep, in my old bedroom.
We know your mom threatened to cut you off, ginny.
Well, then you must also know that I told her to go to hell.
That I didn't want her money.
Single mom.No visible means of support.
Maybe you circled back.
Made sure you got what was coming to you.
You don't understand.
Money wasn't what divided us.
Jeffries: But something did.
Something worse.
I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself, gin.
Don't be.
She's right about the end of the month.
I got a little money if you need it.
Another night of laughs in hell house.
Hey, that's my line.
I remember.
You always made me feel like such
a tool for saying it.
You were .What did you know?
Matt's .Bet he knows more than you think he does.
I thought you made your grand exit.
Snow's too deep.
So where's matt?
I sent him up to bed so he wouldn't be exposed to you.
Isn't there a belfry somewhere
you can hang upside down from?
Now I'm the vampire?
If the cape fits.
Three against one, is that it?
Aren't you forgetting, I'm not the one who destroyed this family.He is.
At least dad doesn't lord his money over his children.
That's because he doesn't have any, dear.
'Cause you took it all.
Lauren: Half.
You squandered the rest all on your own.
I am so glad we could spend this quality time together.
We're like this because of your father's predilections for prepubescents.
Shut up, lauren, before you make me do something I'll regret.
Regret?
That would imply you had a conscience.
I'm serious.
No one wants you here.
Well, I'm not gonna let you turn my children against me.
Not with what i know about you.
- Don't you...
- pervert.
You are a sick twisted pedophile.
That's it!Come on.
Enough!Both of you just shut up!Shut up!
That was the last straw, my mom sinking that low.
What did you do?
I curled up in a ball and I drank myself to sleep.
Any truth to what your mom was saying, ginny?
About my dad?No way.
You sure about that?
My dad never touched me.
What about your brother, tad?
My dad may be a lot of things, but...
maybe that's what tad was trying to tell you when he was .
No.Absolutely not.
you lose a game or something?
No.
Then what?Girl trouble?
How'd you know?
I'm a detective.What'd she do?
Think she's lying to me.
About what?
Says she's got to go to her grandma's house instead of coming to my game.
How'd she say it?
She twirl her hair or look away when she told you?
Nah, in the eye.
Then she's telling the truth.
For real?
Secrets of the trade.Tells.
When I got a suspect in the box--
the interrogation room--
you got to look for the tells.
So if leandra looked away, then she'd be lying?
Nine times out of ten.
You know, you ain't got to be all nice to me
just 'cause you and my mom are...whatever.
You know about that, huh?
Well, maybe you should become a detective.
m*rder cop like you?
Why not?
Yeah.That'd be cool.
Yeah, it would be.
Nice!
Lauren may have been a bitch, stan...
but that's nothing compared to what we heard about you.
Do tell.
Lauren called you a pervert.
A sick, twisted pedophile.
She would say anything to hurt me.
Which is why you had to shut her up.
Once and for all.
That damn woman is still ruining my life.
So you do remember lauren calling you out?
She could never forgive me for cheating on her.
With children?
Maybe even your own.
With younger women.
Even if what you're saying is true, stan,
gives you one hell of a motive.
She's smiling from the grave, you know that?
Laughing at me.
She wasn't laughing when you drowned her.
I didn't drown her.
This is exactly what she would have wanted.
What is?
Eating our own.
Turning on each other.
Be specific.
Late that night, lauren trained her sights on
the only one of us she hadn't sunk her fangs into.
You didn't think I'd let you go to bed without opening your present, did you?
This is awesome, grandma.Thank you.
you know, I gave tad a camera on his th birthday.
Well, maybe I'll become a photographer like him.
You do, and I'll take that camera away from you right now.
I forgot.You don't like his pictures.
Matt, listen, now that you're a man, there's something I need to talk to you about.
Okay.
Your mother does the best she can.
- I know that.
- Yeah.
But there's a big, wide world out there.
London, paris, madrid.
Europe.That's cool.
And I want to take you.
In fact, I thought maybe you
might come live with me for a while.
Live with you?
What about my mom?
She wants what's best for you, too.
But she's a woman, matt.
She needs a man in her life.
What's that mean?
It's not easy to meet someone with a teenage son around.
We'd have loads of fun, I promise you.
What do you say we go for a swim?
Now?My mom said to stay up here.
What your mom doesn't know won't hurt her.
Come on.Get your suit on.
But that was the last time you saw lauren alive.
Heading to the pool with matt?
I'm not saying my grandson
had anything to do with anything.
He was just a boy.
You went swimming with your grandmother the night she was k*lled.
Never mentioned that.
I don't want to talk about this.
You were the last one to see her alive, matt.
I didn't k*ll her.
Your grandmother was trying to turn you against your mom.
Like I said, she was a shrew.
But you love your mom.
So you had to stop your grandma from digging her claws in.
That's not all she tried to do.
Tell me, matt.
She tried to destroy me.
I didn't realize you were such a good swimmer.
This was such a great idea, grandma.
Oh, call me lauren.
"Grandma" sounds so formal.
Okay.
Go ahead.Say it.Call me lauren.
Okay, lauren.
Now was that so hard?
You're blushing.
It's just kind of weird.
Under those good looks, you're bashful, aren't you?
No.
Do you have a girlfriend?
Not like a regular one.
Good.
Take it from me, it's best to get some experience with someone you can trust first.
Really?Absolutely.
Someone to teach you the ropes...tell you where to touch, where to feel.
Don't you want to know what makes a woman tick?
I guess.I don't know.
Matt...
look at me.Look at me.
Tad: Get out of the water,att.
You heard me.Get going.
Your grandmother was seducing you.
I don't know what she was trying to do to me.
Your uncle rescued you...
leaving tad there alone with his mother.
Your father,he was a pedophile
Don'T...don't do this.
We're not saying she didn't deserve it.
Because, no doubt, you had your reasons for hating her.
For stopping her from doing to matt
what she did to you.
I didn't k*ll her.
Jury will understand, tad.
Go light, under the circumstances.
And I don't know who did k*ll her, either.I swear.
We know you were there, in the dark.
The last one to see her alive.
what you don't understand is...
I didn't just hate my mother.I loved her, too.
Which is what makes it so twisted, so screwed up.
Lot of gray.
That's why I like black and white.
So what happened, tad, after matt left?
I confronted her...at long last.
Would you be a dear and bring me a towel?
I always thought I was bad.
You know, defective.
But it wasn't my fault.You made me.
Just like you tried to make matt.
Oh, please.Let's not rewrite history here tonight, shall we?
I'm not saying I...that I didn'T.
That it wasn'T...part of it.
I don't need to hear this.
But what we did,
I never would've imagined possible.
You are jealous...aren't you?
Of your own nephew.
Because you know what I'll give him.
Give him?
Don't you mean give yourself?
The audience you need.
I never heard any complaints from you.
You used me!
We used each other.
You were my mother.
I still am.
How could you do it?
How could you do that to me?
How could he stop wanting me?
I was still beautiful.Wasn't I?
In that picture that you took.
Yes, mom, you were beautiful.
And what about now?
Is it all gone?
You're still beautiful, mom.
Thank you, tad.
But you are selfish.
And you are ugly on the inside.Really ugly.
You can say what you want.
No one will ever compare with me.
Not for you.Not ever.
Good-bye, mother.
It's funny.
I walked away from her,
swearing I'd never see her again.
I didn't think it'd be true, though.
The lights came on?
Yeah.Blackout was over.
But your father found your mom the next morning with the lights off.
Meaning whoever k*lled lauren entered when the lights were on.
Then turned them off.
Wanted it dark for a reason.
You were the only one who knew your mom's secret, ginny.
About being afraid of the dark.
So?
The blackout was over.
The lights were back on.
I don't follow.
That's why you turned them off.
To scare your mom.
To hurt her, because of what matt told you.
'Cause he did tell you, didn't he?
He never told me anything.
I knew just by looking at him.
'Cause you saw your brother look the same way when he was ?
I let him down.
Betrayed tad when he needed me most.
But you weren't going to make the same mistake twice.
My mother was the most unhappy woman I've ever known.
The only thing that gave her pleasure was
making other people as miserable as she was.
But you weren't going to let her do that to matt.
I guess it doesn't matter now, does it?
Because I did protect my son from her.
Yes, you did.
And he's okay.
He's better than okay.
Gonna be a doctor.Save people.
The way I should've saved tad.
Ginny, don't be rude.
Turn the lights back on.
You know I don't like the dark.
Yeah, mom, I know.
Are you still angry about the money?
No.Because you know, I'm all bark and no bite.
If only that were true.
Did your brother come talk to you?
What is it with you and men, mom?
Why are they the only ones that matter?
Don't be absurd.
I worshipped you when I was a little girl.
Wanted to be just like you.
Now I really am going to bed.
You can never see my son again, you understand me?
Poor, plain ginny, always afraid I'm going to steal her men away.
He is not a man.
He is a -year-old boy.
Like moths to a flame.
That's the power of beauty.
That's the power you'll never understand.
I feel sorry for you.
Poor, plain ginny feels sorry for me?
You've never loved anyone in your whole life except yourself.
What would you know about love?
More than you'll ever will, mom.
Mom, give me your hand.
Mom!
I don't need your help!
You need somebody's help, mom.
Your power's fading.
You might ask your precious son about that.
Oh, god.I told you I hate you.
I hate you.