The library's closing.
Oh.
Thank you.
Nance?
It's so early.
- What are you doing up?
- Making coffee.
You been up long?
I just can't get it out of my head.
A dead body in my first listing.
- Are you okay?
- I don't wanna go back to that house.
Give it time.
We'll get the details.
Bill, why do the police want my shoes?
Am I a suspect?
It's standard elimination procedure.
There's nothing to worry about.
Our phone number's
on that "For Sale" sign.
We have to take it down.
Nancy, that sign is evidence now.
We can't touch it.
Could you at least take my name
and number off?
Please?
I'll make a phone call.
Thank you.
Hello?
Hey, Holden, it's Bill.
Sorry to call so early.
Hey, Bill. What's up?
Can't go to Atlanta today.
Can we postpone?
Why?
I don't know if I caught something
from the kid or food poisoning.
- Yeesh.
- I was up all night.
- Yeah, I'll be back on my feet tomorrow.
- Don't worry about it, I'll go.
- Alone?
- Yeah.
- I don't know, Holden.
- I'm fine. I know what I'm doing.
I'll interview Pierce.
You come down tomorrow.
All right. I'll see you tomorrow morning.
I'll call you tonight
to let you know how it went.
Oh, hey, I almost forgot.
Jim Barney will be at the airport.
He's still really interested
in what we're doing here,
so I said we could grab a cup of coffee.
Jim Barney.
Why does that name sound familiar?
You met him at the office.
He interviewed for Gregg's position.
Oh, yeah, the black guy you like.
I'll call him, tell him you're solo today.
- Okay, thanks.
- See ya.
I postponed.
You did?
I'll take your shoes, swing by the house,
see what I can do
about the "For Sale" sign.
Holden can handle today.
- I'll join him tomorrow.
- Honey, thank you.
- Mom?
- Hmm?
- Hey, bud.
- I'm sorry.
Brian!
What happened?
Why don't you wait for me in the bathroom,
and we'll get you all cleaned up?
- I'm sorry.
- It's all right, honey. Go ahead.
I'll have to strip the bed.
Ladies and gentlemen,
this is your captain speaking.
We're expecting a bit of turbulence.
Uh, we ask that you remain seated
and keep your seat belts fastened
for the duration of the flight.
As a result of ongoing construction
in Atlanta,
we have yet to be assigned a gate
for our arrival,
but as soon as we have more information,
we'll be sure to let you know.
Agent Ford, Jim Barney. Good to see you.
- Need help with that?
- I got it, thanks.
Nothing checked?
Big changes around here.
We taxied for 20 minutes.
It'll be the world's largest airport
when it's finished.
Bigger means better, right?
So how's the new guy working out?
Gunn?
No, the other fellow. Smith.
Gregg.
Mixed bag.
Not all bad.
About as well as nepotism ever does.
That's too bad.
Bill was in your corner, you know.
Bill and I were due to grab breakfast.
He was gonna give me an update
on the BSU caseload.
If you want to get a coffee,
maybe you could instead.
How quickly can you ingest this file
on William Pierce?
I already did that.
And Hance.
Excuse me, sir. It's a crime scene.
Special Agent Tench. FBI.
- Detective Spencer around?
- Let me get him for you, sir.
Agent Tench. Uh, Bill.
I brought you some shoes.
Thank you.
Hey, do you mind if I take my wife's name
and phone number off this sign?
She's a little squeamish.
I don't see why not.
I'll have it pulled and brought inside.
Got it.
You've been here all night.
Yeah.
Do you have a second?
Sure.
We used the code your wife gave us
to open the lockbox,
but there were no keys in it.
The front door was locked from the inside
and all the windows secure.
That key only worked
on the front door, as I recall.
Back door was open when we got here.
Some mud had been tracked
through the family room.
I've never s...
I'm sorry.
Would you mind?
Not at all.
Family reported the victim missing.
One of our officers, out in the woods,
noticed the back door wide open.
That's how we discovered the body.
Watch your clothes,
there's lightening dust everywhere.
There were no signs of trauma
to the hands or feet.
There were bruises on the neck
and back of his head.
He may have been dragged down the stairs.
A lot of footprints.
Adults and kids.
This is where we found the victim.
Down here.
A baby?
Toddler.
Twenty-two months.
f*ck.
Did he go missing from his home?
From the park.
Fifty yards through the woods there.
He was tied to two pieces of old flooring.
Very carefully placed.
On a cross.
Crucified.
Any adornments? Candles?
Flowers?
None.
The face was covered with a rag.
We found a pile of them in a cupboard.
You think it might be a cult?
Wouldn't be my first impression.
They tend to be more elaborate.
The Dickinsons are just destroyed.
I'll bet.
Oh, no, that can't be.
Oh, Bill, no!
- I know them!
- You do?
Yes! From church. You do too.
And their baby boy is just a...
He's an angel.
- How did he die?
- I don't know.
Was he inside the house?
Oh, God!
On the new carpet? No, no!
Don't, don't, don't!
Did they have to break a window to get in?
No, the key was missing from the lockbox.
No, no, no, don't tell me anything!
We should go by.
Offer our condolences.
Make them... Bring them something.
Not today, Nance.
They need a day or two just to...
I have to call the owner of the house.
Yeah, I think you do.
What am I gonna say?
Tell them the truth.
Was there blood?
- No.
- How do you know?
You know more than you're saying.
Those poor parents!
I need a glass of wine...
before I make the call.
We're conducting interviews
with people who have been convicted
of violent crimes.
Anything we discuss
cannot be used against you in your appeals
or applications for parole.
We'll be asking you
about your family history,
antecedent behavior, and thought patterns
surrounding the crimes.
Our goal is to publish
a statistical analysis
which will not include your name.
Does that sound all right?
I ain't sure.
- What is it you aren't sure about?
- What you just said.
You got to slow way the f*ck down.
Sorry.
No bother. No bother at all.
I ain't got nothin' but time.
- As I said, Mr. Pierce...
- Call me Junior.
All right, Junior.
We are talking to people,
such as yourself.
Such as myself?
You find a lot of people such as myself?
I meant, people who have been convicted
of particularly violent crimes.
Multiple murderers to be precise.
Whatever we talk about,
anything you say in here won't...
Can't be used against you in your appeals
or applications for parole.
Hilarious.
Got me an 880-year sentence.
I ain't applying for no parole.
I never gettin' outta here.
Probably right.
I'd like to start by asking
about your family history.
Fine.
- Antecedent behavior.
- Okay.
- That means what you...
- I know what that means.
I ain't half, I'm whole-witted.
I speak seven languages, you know.
No, I didn't know that. Impressive.
As I was saying,
what you were thinking and doing...
Spanish,
German,
French, Russian,
Libyan,
- and Apache.
- That's six.
Well, I speak seven.
Spanish,
German,
French,
Russian,
Libyan,
Apache...
English?
Bingo!
Also, what you thought and did
after you committed the murders.
Let's start with your childhood.
How would you describe it?
What's he gonna do while you and me
doing all this askin' and answerin'?
He don't look like any FBI agent.
- You know what I mean.
- No, I don't. What do you mean?
Didn't think the FBI had coloreds.
Learn something new every day.
Your childhood.
How would you describe it?
Poor.
Could you give us just a little bit more?
Real poor.
All right.
It was Depression times.
Everyone was poor.
Most kids were just skin and bones.
No food on the table
unless you want to pick berries,
or sh**t yourself a squirrel.
I ain't feeling self-commiseration now.
- Everyone had it the same.
- Self... Never mind.
How about your family?
Only Momma.
sh*t-for-brains,
barely convert in English.
But she loved me.
Daddy?
He weren't stupid.
Got my intellick from his side.
Run his mouth like no one's.
One day he ran.
He up and dissipated.
- I'm sorry. Dissipated?
- Vamoosed.
Spanish for run away.
Did you like your father?
No, sir.
He bugged the p-i-s-s outta me.
Well, that pretty much covers family.
Do you mind if we...
I'd like to ask questions
specifically about the crimes themselves.
The eight murders.
I'd like to answer them questions
specificus, that's Latin,
but I can't.
Because I ain't done eight murders.
- No?
- No what?
It says right here, December 1970,
you r*ped...
That confession was co-hearsed.
The sheriff,
he put a cigarette out on my privates.
Okay then, seven murders.
No.
- No?
- Can't talk about seven murders
because I ain't done seven murders
neither.
I see.
The waitress, Kathy.
I ain't m*rder*d any waitress.
The housekeeper.
I ain't m*rder*d Virginia neither.
Hazel.
I ain't m*rder*d Hazel.
Junior, you confessed
to all three of those.
Erogenously.
- Erogenously?
- Wrongly.
- It's right here in your confession.
- I can't help that.
I did not m*rder them women.
Then why confess?
You can't confess to crimes
and then turn around and say
- you didn't commit them.
- Yes, I can.
No, you can't.
Yes, I can.
No, you can't.
Yes, I can.
- Not in the eyes of the law.
- Yes, I can.
- Once you confess...
- You ever looked in the eyes of the law?
- It's just a figure of speech.
- Have you?
No, Junior, I have not.
Don't go using some speech figure,
trying to get me say something
- I ain't never gonna say.
- I apologize.
I ain't gonna stand for
any of that co-hearsion ever again.
- Ever!
- I understand.
Oh.
I see what you're getting at.
What am I getting at, Junior?
You think I'm simple.
Let me tell you somethin'.
That judge on them cases?
He said I was continent to stand trial.
So that there proves it.
Junior, I just wanted some clarity
about you changing your mind.
Oh.
You can't figure that out?
Think about it.
- I was intimated.
- Intimated?
Why you always repeating my words?
You have a very impressive vocabulary,
and I don't always understand
your colloquialisms.
Yeah.
I got all the good words.
You certainly do.
Thank you, Junior.
You want one?
Love one.
Unless you're offering two.
Hmm.
The chocolate and the smooth...
all in one treat.
You don't ever get these in here.
- Mm!
- You drove a truck, right?
Yes, sir.
I drove for...
the Georgia Highway Department.
You enjoy that?
I liked being on the road.
Met all kinds of people.
All kinds of treats.
One day I had an accident on the job site.
A steel girdle fell on my head.
And doctor said my ence...
My encephalic vitality cells were damaged.
My brain is stimulated by...
I can't pronounce it,
but I can spell it.
H, Y...
P...
O...
T...
H...
Y...
O...
I...
D...
I, S...
M.
I understand.
I imagine not everybody you meet
on the road is polite.
Am I right?
Amen, brother.
Momma taught me.
She used to say,
"Junior, stick up for yourself."
- I always did.
- Like how?
Well, this one time...
some shop-bitch,
she called me moron.
Moron?
Once.
I see.
Junior, you mind
if we go back to those murders?
The ones you didn't commit?
We go back to whatever you want...
as long as you got more of these.
You told the police
where to find the bodies.
- Yes, sir.
- How'd you know where to go?
I'm clearvoyant.
Use my psychic magnet,
telepathy.
Everybody started asking me
about them murders.
I turned up my sixth sense.
Told them exactly how each one happened,
where the bodies was at.
Weren't no confession.
- I was helpin'.
- Of course you were.
They never were gonna find
them bodies. Never have any peace.
I helped them families.
I alloyed their distressment.
Can I ask about the other murders?
Gas station attendants,
the store owner, and the clerk?
Oh. Yeah.
I did those.
"She called me a moron."
- Wow.
- She wasn't far off.
I've never seen Mallomars used
for interrogation purposes.
I read your Kemper and Brudos transcripts.
Cigarettes and shoes.
And there's that photo of Pierce
in his cell.
Which?
He's surrounded by junk food:
chocolate bars, mini-doughnuts.
His cell's practically a 7-Eleven.
He tipped his hand, he's got a sweet...
Watch it, man!
There's children out here!
- All right, you all hold hands.
- Slow down!
Hold your hand.
Hold your brother's hand, baby.
Is this an Atlanta thing?
The city doesn't provide the same level
of services to all neighborhoods.
The next great metropolis has got
some issues.
- What time tomorrow?
- We should leave by 9:30.
If you want breakfast before we go,
I'll be in the restaurant.
- Put it on Quantico.
- Thanks, I can't.
The wife insists on feeding me mornings.
See you at 9:30.
All right.
Welcome to the Omni. I'll have someone
come right out to help you.
- Thank you.
- Tanya?
- Can you assist this gentleman, please?
- Yes.
Welcome to the Omni, sir.
You're checking in?
Yes, please. Ford...
Holden.
All right. Ford, Holden.
Oh, sorry, Ford is my last name.
It's a bad joke in Australia. Like here.
There it is.
It's a queen bed for one night?
Yes.
Oh, may I check your ID first?
Not that I don't believe you're not...
Of course.
Special Agent Ford. FBI?
- May I?
- Oh, yes.
Credit card.
Right.
Sorry.
And the, uh, key card.
You know, we should, um...
We've been having some troubles
with these machines.
It's been up and down all day.
Everything's broken
before it's fixed, right?
- Always.
- I should probably go up with you.
Just to check. This way,
you don't have to come all the way back.
That's okay. I don't...
Oh this way, Agent Ford.
Long day?
Very.
You in town for a conference?
- On a case actually. Two.
- Hmm. For one night?
It's... pretty basic.
Is it, like, some secret government thing?
Like, if you tell me, you gotta k*ll me?
No, I'm not CIA.
I'm an investigator.
I study multiple murderers.
Here we are.
You want to take a look around?
See if it's what you...
Because we have other rooms.
Junior or executive suites.
This seems fine.
There are towels in the bathroom.
And there's an iron in the closet.
- Can I get you some ice?
- I'm ordering room service.
I'll just ask them to bring some.
Well, I probably shouldn't say so,
but the room service here is...
- It's, uh...
- Hit-or-miss?
- Mostly miss.
- Thank you.
I'll figure it out.
Are you sure?
Let us know if you need anything.
There's a direct line to the front desk.
It's the little button on the...
Got it.
Well, you have a good night, Agent Ford.
Good night.
Thank you.
I get off in about an hour.
If you can wait to eat,
I'll show you the best meal in Atlanta.
Okay.
Agent Ford.
Hey!
You look great.
Sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry.
We aren't supposed to fraternize
with guests.
It's fine. Can I catch us a cab?
Oh, no. Just a little further.
Here we are.
It's a mess in here.
I'm not usually like this.
Don't worry.
With all my running around,
I can't seem to find the time.
Well, you know.
My partner and I used to be on the road.
We basically lived out of our car.
I've seen much worse.
Oh, that doesn't...
You just have to hold it or...
- It's fine. We aren't going very far.
- Okay.
The AC doesn't work.
You wanna let the window down?
Sure.
- You a music fan?
- I am.
Mostly, uh, new wave stuff. Recently.
Other things too.
- I like movies. I like to read.
- Mm-hmm.
I wish I had time to read more.
Seems like every day I go from work,
to home, and back to work again.
You don't go out ever?
I... don't believe you don't go out.
Some.
Rarely. Mostly, I work.
I can relate to that.
I used to go to church a lot.
Not so much anymore.
You give up on God?
Not yet.
I help out sometimes.
Organizing community events,
scholarship fundraisers
for high schoolers.
Little stuff.
So you do get out.
If that's what you call getting out.
I take classes.
Well, took classes
at the community college,
Atlanta Tech.
Ten credits away from my Associate's.
Hospitality Management.
Congrats.
Almost. I'm saving up
before I go back and finish.
Don't wanna take out loans,
be in a whole lot of debt, you know.
It's why I drive this old thing.
It's cost effective.
Sounds smart.
How long have you been
studying multiple murderers?
Only recently.
It's a brand-new unit at Quantico.
Well, it sounds important,
what you're doing.
Thank you.
- Here we are.
- Oh. Looks closed.
Let's go.
Um...
Ernie.
This is Agent Ford.
- Holden.
- This is my cousin.
- You look kind of young for FBI.
- Ernie.
- Stop it. Don't listen to him.
- It happens.
They're sitting
in the back there.
Go on ahead. I'll make you a plate
and bring it over to you.
"They"?
Thank you all so much for waiting.
Sorry we're late.
Is that the FBI
we've been waiting to meet?
Yes, ma'am.
This is Special Agent Holden Ford.
- Special Agent Ford...
- Holden, please.
This is Mrs. Willie Mae Mathis,
Miss Venus Taylor, and Mrs. Camille Bell.
Agent Ford...
Holden.
He'll only be in town for one night,
so I'm sure you all would like
to talk to him.
Why don't you sit down and enjoy the plate
Cousin Ernest set,
before it get cold?
Thank you. This looks delicious.
So you heard...
what's been happening here in Atlanta?
No.
Not for lack of trying.
Our calls aren't answered,
our questions ignored.
- Well, please tell me.
- What is it you do, Special Agent Ford
of the FBI?
Well, Holden's
with a very important office,
and he handles cases just like y'all's.
Tell 'em what you told me.
I'm with the Behavioral Science Unit,
a select division of the bureau.
I study serial K*llers.
That is,
K*llers who m*rder multiple victims.
For instance, people like Son of Sam.
You caught Son of Sam?
- No.
- But someone in your unit did?
No, ma'am. I said we study Son of Sam
to catch others like him.
- You've heard of Gene Devier?
- I have.
Well, Holden caught him.
How old are you, Agent Ford?
I'm almost 30.
He won't do us any good.
No one will listen to him.
Thank you for coming here, Agent Ford.
- No one will listen to me?
- Please? Mrs. Bell...
This is my daughter.
Angel.
She slept over at a friend's house.
They were gonna watch TV.
She loves The Jeffersons.
Loved.
Angel didn't come home.
I called the police.
They said give it a couple days.
Give it a couple of days?
Near the woods over on Campbellton Road.
That's where they found the body.
I'm so sorry for your loss, Miss Taylor.
My son...
My Jeffrey is 11.
Jeffrey...
I'm sorry.
That woman...
is a warrior.
Works three jobs,
takes care of six kids.
She has seen too much pain.
Her husband was a watchman.
sh*t dead during a robbery while on duty.
What can I do, Mrs. Bell?
My son Yusuf was at Dunbar Elementary.
He was one of 20 students enrolled
in gifted classes there.
He was a good boy.
At age four, Yusuf could quote you
Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech
from memory.
Very clever, that child.
Miss Eula, our neighbor, she asked
if he'd run down to Reese's Grocery
to pick her up some snuff.
Yusuf, like Angel, never came back.
At the funeral,
a whole lot of people showed up.
Even the mayor.
But nobody asked
how the body of a nine-year-old boy
gets stuffed in a maintenance trap,
a hole in the concrete
of an abandoned school,
the way Yusuf's had.
There are no answers
to questions you can't even conceive.
We don't come here on Wednesdays
for the food, Agent Ford.
We waited, we prayed, but we are done.
Our children are dying.
And someone must do something about it.
I'd like to help.
Here's everything we've collected so far.
Newspaper clippings,
photos where the bodies were found,
eyewitness reports from neighbors
the authorities
didn't even bother to interview.
Do the police have these?
Not everything
in there has been dittoed.
- Be precious with it.
- I promise.
And don't make promises.
We parents teach our kids
ways to go about in this world.
How to take care of yourself,
take care of each other.
Our promise is
to do our best to help keep them alive.
When they found Angel,
she had someone else's underwear
stuffed down her throat.
My son Yusuf,
his feet had been carefully washed
by whoever strangled him.
Willie Mae's child is still missing.
Who knows where he is
or what's been done to him.
Save your promises, Agent Ford.
Thank you.
Hmm?
For listening. Those women needed somebody
to hear them out.
It's the very least I could do.
No one's taken them seriously until now.
I should've told you where we were going.
I... thought maybe
you wouldn't want to come with me.
No. No, nothing to be sorry about.
I hear it's the best meal in Atlanta.
- Hey.
- I thought you guys were in Atlanta.
Holden's there.
I was going, but, um... got a bug.
He said he could handle it.
Do you think he should be
in the field alone?
I do. This'll be good.
Rip off the Band-Aid.
Well, Bill, you of all people know that
these interviews can be unpredictable.
You really think testing
Holden's emotional equilibrium
- right now is necessary?
- I spoke to him last night.
He seemed fine.
He completed yesterday's interview
without incident.
He and Jim.
Barney.
And today's guy shouldn't be a challenge.
Okay.
- Hi. I'm just picking him up.
- Of course.
- Not hungry?
- Morning.
I thought spending that many hours
with a violent degenerate
might keep me awake.
- I slept like...
- Have you heard of Camille Bell?
Terrible.
You know the case?
Everybody does.
Her story's been in the paper and on TV.
The mayor attended her son's funeral.
- I had dinner with her last night.
- You did what?
With her, and Venus Taylor,
and Willie Mae Mathis.
You're in town overnight,
and they manage to find you.
Every time the phone rings,
Atlanta PD is afraid to pick up.
Those women want answers,
and no one has any.
They asked me to review these files
on their individual cases.
- You agreed?
- Well, of course.
There's a lot here to look into.
Slow down a minute
before you step in anything
and make the front page
of the Journal-Constitution.
- Again.
- Fair enough.
I'll set up a meeting,
get us a broader perspective.
Things operate differently down here
than they do up in Virginia.
- I'm beginning to see that.
- We should jet.
Mr. Hance,
we'd like to discuss your mental state
during and after the crimes.
Let's start with the letters you sent
to the Columbus Police Chief.
After you k*lled Gail Jackson,
in fact, five weeks after,
you began writing letters
claiming to be a vigilante group
called the "Forces of Evil."
Why would you contact the police?
'Cause they were white.
The police?
The Forces of Evil.
But you made them up.
I made 'em up to be white.
In this first letter,
you said the abduction of Gail Jackson
was revenge for the deaths
of seven elderly white women in Columbus
at the hands of the Stocking Strangler.
And that you would k*ll Gail
if the Strangler wasn't caught.
That is a very... complicated story.
Thank you.
How did you think it would help you,
contacting the police?
Because everybody was scared
of the Stocking Strangler.
And they was looking
for a black man for that.
But... you didn't have anything to do
with those murders.
No, sir.
So now they be looking
for those white men.
The Forces of Evil.
For kidnapping Gail Jackson.
I see.
But when you first sent this letter,
the police didn't know
Gail Jackson was missing.
In fact, they didn't even know
Gail Jackson existed.
That's why I had to tell them.
You also told them where to find
the body once she was k*lled.
They can't be after those white men
if they don't have no body for no k*lling.
So, I told them where to find her.
But initially, you were pretending
she was just kidnapped,
not dead.
'Cause that's how I was gonna get
the ransom.
All right.
The second letter.
So even though you know
Gail Jackson's dead,
a woman the police aren't looking for,
you demand $10,000 for her return.
Because they still think she kidnapped.
So they gotta give me the money.
You'd already told them
where to find the body.
They didn't think there was a body yet.
They think she still alive.
And what prompted you,
several days after the letters,
to make a phone call to the police
telling them exactly
where to find her remains?
'Cause they weren't finding her.
How am I gonna throw 'em off my trail
if they ain't goin' after those white men
for her m*rder?
The Forces of Evil.
I see.
It all comes back around.
Like a doughnut.
Just like a doughnut.
And then when you k*lled Irene Thirkield?
Had to write another letter.
Now, these letters are all written
on Army stationery from your base.
Did you do that deliberately?
Yes... uh, because it was
the easiest thing I could find.
Were you at all worried
the police might trace this stationery
back to you?
No, because I told them
not to worry about it.
Throw 'em off my trail.
I see that. At the bottom.
"Don't put any stock
in this stationery from the base.
Anybody could get their hands on it."
Thank you, Mr. Hance.
You certainly helped me clarify.
I wrote two more letters.
And I made another phone call.
You certainly did.
Wanna talk about them letters?
Well,
I think we've got what we need.
Mr. Hance, you met Karen Hickman,
Gail Jackson,
and Irene Thirkield at local bars?
Yes, sir.
They always at the bars.
So you'd seen these women before.
We all going to the same bars.
Can't help but see the same folks.
When you went to the bars,
were you looking for female companionship?
No, sir.
I wasn't looking for nothin'.
Except have a drink's all.
Did you approach
or talk to any of these women?
They come over to me.
A woman comes over to you,
she starts talking.
Maybe Gail.
Yes, sir.
She all friendly.
Says we should go somewhere.
And did I have $20.
- And what'd you say?
- I looked into my wallet.
Then I said I did have $20.
What were you thinking about
when you left the bar?
Anything in particular?
I didn't never think about nothing.
Once you had her in your car,
what'd you do?
Drove.
Just drove?
Then I stop.
- And pull her out of the car.
- And...
was she awake at this point?
Sometimes they making a lot of noise.
So I hit 'em.
Make 'em stop.
But you didn't just hit her.
You sure can't nobody use this?
Absolutely.
After she stopped making noise...
I get me the tire iron...
from back of the car.
I b*at her...
so's you can't recognize her.
And you did the same to Irene?
b*at her too. Her head come off.
So's you can't tell who it is.
Were you aware
both Gail and Irene were prostitutes?
I don't know. They just always around.
Talkin' to us.
The first woman, Karen Hickman,
she was different from them, right?
She was a soldier, a private.
She just around.
Around? Like she "got around"?
No, just... local.
You chose not to use a tire iron with her.
You used your car.
- How many times did you run her over?
- Don't know.
Lost count.
Was she different from Gail
and Irene in any other way?
Karen was white.
The other women were black.
Suppose so.
Didn't ever notice.
Is it possible
that the fact that she was white
was... a reason you picked her?
Never seen her as that.
She just a grunt like the rest of us.
He's retired?
Semi.
GBI brings him back when they want
to keep something out the mainstream.
And Garland hears everything,
but it's best to catch him before sundown.
I didn't know the FBI was interested
in all this.
We're not, officially.
Like I'm not here
watching a redneck bar, officially.
Agent Ford met last night
with Camille Bell.
And Venus Taylor and Willie Mae Mathis.
It's where I got this.
That Camille Bell is formidable.
She... They've asked me
to review their cases.
Is anyone examining
the obvious similarities here?
Six children
of the same socioeconomic background,
abducted in broad daylight.
It's clearly a h*m* victim pool.
That's how the mothers are hoping
you'll look at it.
You know, by linking these, uh, together,
they've managed, to their credit,
to keep them from becoming cold cases.
But, I mean, it's a stretch
to connect these through evidence.
You don't think it's unusual
to have this many juvenile murders
so close together?
We average eight to ten
child murders every year.
Atlanta has the fourth highest m*rder rate
in this country,
so these kids, sadly...
they don't represent a blip.
Even if the numbers
aren't out of the norm,
the fact that most are male,
of slight build...
You might have a predator here.
Look, you got a sh**ting
and a strangulation at one location.
On good authority,
this one's drug-related.
Angel Lenair: the only sexual as*ault.
Melton Harvey:
we couldn't even determine cause of death
from his remains.
And Yusef Bell...
...strangulation. Uh...
Sweet kid too. I mean, it just...
it breaks your heart, but...
To be honest,
I don't see a link in these cases.
We're finding MO isn't always consistent
with serial K*llers,
and we have to look at victim type
as a marker.
This city is full of potential victims
that fit your pool.
I mean, easy pickings.
Look, if you're lookin' for a monster,
it's poverty.
These kids are growing up vulnerable,
scrounging for pennies
in high-risk situations,
surrounded by v*olence,
sometimes in their own homes.
Family Services already had files
on some of these.
And they reopened
every single one of them to investigate.
Maybe the mothers just want to know
their children aren't being ignored.
They've had almost no communication
from police.
Every single one of those cases
is still active.
And there's a historic distrust
between the black community
and the police,
and rightly so.
The politics are complicated.
Barn, um...
Some people are feeling left behind
in the "New South."
We're the first large Southern city
to elect a black mayor.
That's progress.
And he's trying to build
the world's largest airport
to attract business dollars,
but white flight's taking the tax base
he needs to do it to the suburbs.
How does that translate
to neglecting children's homicides?
They're trying to keep the noise down.
High m*rder rate,
even the whisper of a predator:
that sh*t scares dollars away.
Uh, we've got movement,
gentlemen.
A male, about six feet,
black baseball cap.
Copy that.
- He's walking into the bar.
- Well, best get back at it.
These yahoos tend to get
a little active around sundown.
You still watching them?
I'm always watching them.
Mob?
Buncha good ole boys come in,
pay their dues,
darn their sheets.
Thank you, Garland. Appreciate it.
Agent Ford, you might have something here.
I... I can't tell at this stage.
But... the truth is,
and we all hate to admit this,
but to find connections,
unfortunately...
...we have to wait for more bodies.
Hey.
Agent Ford.
I got your message.
You had a meeting this afternoon?
- Yes.
- Well, I waived the late checkout fee.
- How'd it go?
- It went well.
I met with the senior GBI agent.
He's spoken with the lead investigators
on the Bell and Lenear cases.
Lenair.
We've agreed to stay in touch.
And he's assured me
that they're already following up
with Child and Family Services.
Give me that.
Tanya, I'm not saying that I agree
100 percent with how APD is handling this.
Though, from what I can see,
- they are working diligently to solve...
- Following up with DCFS?
It's always the same. Neglect, abuse.
The family's to blame.
Look, on average,
there are ten child murders
in Atlanta per year.
Now, that's awful.
But from where it stands,
these numbers alone
don't represent a statistical anomaly.
Those numbers have names, Agent Ford.
You're all checked out.
If there's nothing else.
Karen was white.
The other women were black.
Suppose so.
Didn't ever notice.
Is it possible
that the fact that she was white
was a reason you picked her?
Never seen her as that.
She just a grunt like the rest...
Waste of time.
Well, it's fairly obvious that you
lost interest during both interviews.
If Jim Barney wasn't there,
it would've been a complete waste of time.
From now on,
we have to interview subjects
who can, at the very least,
tie their own footwear.
There's no point in preparing questions
if you don't bother to ask them.
Pierce might speak seven languages,
but English was barely one of them.
What did we learn?
If either of them had one thought
about what they were doing,
before or during the murders,
they didn't have
the wherewithal to articulate it.
I agree they hardly planned ahead.
But Pierce and Hance both exhibit
elements of self-aware behavior
- following the murders.
- How does that help us?
We want to categorize their behavior
before or during.
We also need to look
at post-crime behaviors.
You know,
elaborate, albeit unsuccessful, cover-ups.
Diversion of law enforcement
with absurdly complex stories.
Grandiose
self-characterizations of intelligence.
You're saying we've been too rigid
in our thinking?
- Maybe.
- Change the classifications,
or do we need new ones?
Post-crime? Organized/disorganized?
Can't we just find
more articulate subjects?
Pierce, he's interesting.
You were not there.
And you are far too kind.
He k*lled impulsively:
the shopkeeper, gas station attendant.
He k*lled compulsively too.
Three of his victims tied up and r*ped,
m*rder*d. BTK-like.
And Hance, he's interesting.
Though he claims he didn't notice,
he k*lled outside his race,
which we know is highly unusual.
We should spend more time on that.
We may have been too certain
of our thinking about racial grouping.
I'm not sure about the racial component.
Really, Gregg?
What part of Karen Hickman being white
and William Henry Hance being black
are you unsure of?
Obviously, I agree with you there.
I was looking at it
from the essentialist perspective.
From the "essentialist perspective."
What's that?
Aristotle proposed that all things
have a substance or essence
that makes them what they are.
Similarly, Plato argued
that groups are bound
by an essential characteristic.
And what are the essential characteristics
that place Hance and Hickman
in the same group?
Their uniform.
They're both soldiers.
Just a thought.
I have to meet up with Nancy.
- Date night?
- Somethin' like that.
That's interesting, Gregg.
Racial grouping
may not always be the dominant factor.
We should look into that.
Kemper.
His victims were all white,
except for one,
but the dominant factor
was they were all coeds.
Well, thank goodness Jim Barney
stuck with the instrument.
Detective Spencer,
I want to thank you
for agreeing to come to tell us
what you can about this terrible tragedy.
Please.
Thank you, Father Monaghan.
Good evening, I'm Art Spencer,
Fredericksburg PD.
As you know, three days ago,
we received a call.
A young child was reported missing.
Less than 24 hours later,
one of our officers found him
in an empty house.
There were no signs of forced entry.
No one saw or heard a thing.
The child was deceased.
We canvassed the neighborhood
and will continue to do so.
Our lab technicians completed
their sweep of the scene.
As of this moment, we have no suspects.
Excuse me, Detective.
Sorry to interrupt, but,
well, we'd like to know...
how did Daniel die?
- Sir?
- Dale. Dale Harmon.
Mr. Harmon, I'm sure you can appreciate
the medical examiner
has not delivered his findings.
I can't give any details
while we're still investigating.
Was Daniel m*rder*d?
It's too early to answer that question.
There are unsettling rumors that this was
some kind of cult sacrifice or something.
We have no reason to believe that...
at this moment.
What does "at this moment" mean?
That's not particularly calming
to any of us in this room.
Let's not traffic
in gossip and speculation.
Father, I... We... We understand.
And I wanna be sensitive
to the grieving family.
But hearing anything like cults
or ritual sacrifice is...
is very upsetting.
Most of us here tonight have
young children. And they're scared.
So we're asking you
to share with us some answers.
Our ten-year-old daughter
doesn't want to go to school.
She's afraid to even play in our backyard.
I can assure you, as soon
as we are certain of the answers,
we will provide them.
My son told me the other night
he's scared to fall asleep because...
"I don't know
if I won't wake up like Daniel."
Excuse me.
Art, may I?
I'm Bill Tench.
I work at the FBI.
Some of you may not know me.
I don't come to Sunday service
as often as my wife Nancy.
Two days ago, I visited the crime scene.
I respect everyone's frustrations,
but let me reassure you this has nothing
to do with a cult or anything like that.
Rod, everyone,
Detective Spencer's
doing everything he can.
He has my full confidence.
Please... a little patience.
But Bill, you have experience with...
Thank you for speaking up.
Yes, thank you for that,
Agent Tench.
I'd like us all to take a moment and pray.
For our congregants the Dickinsons...
and for the detectives
working on this case.
♪ Gonna make you ♪
♪ Make you, make you notice ♪
♪ Gonna use my arms ♪
♪ Gonna use my legs ♪
♪ Gonna use my style ♪
♪ Gonna use my sidestep ♪
♪ Gonna use my fingers ♪
♪ Gonna use my, my, my imagination... ♪
Give me a second.
♪ 'Cause I gonna make you see ♪
♪ There's nobody else here... ♪
- The usual?
- Please.
- ♪ I'm special ♪
- ♪ Special... ♪
Pretty soon, I'm gonna have
to start calling you a regular.
Last time, I promise.
People will talk.
In my job, I can't have people talking.
I was kidding.
So what does one do for fun around here?
You have a lot of free time at Quantico?
Not really, no.
But if I did, if I did have a night off,
is there a place?
For us?
Are you looking for a tour guide...
or a date?
A date.
♪ 'Cause I gonna make you see ♪
♪ There's nobody else here ♪
♪ No one like me ♪
- ♪ I'm special ♪
- ♪ Special ♪
- ♪ So special ♪
- ♪ Special ♪
♪ I gotta have some of your attention ♪
♪ Give it to me ♪
♪ 'Cause I gonna make you see ♪
♪ There's nobody else here ♪
♪ No one like me ♪
- ♪ I'm special ♪
- ♪ Special ♪
- ♪ So special ♪
- ♪ Special ♪
♪ I gotta have some of your attention ♪
♪ Give it to me ♪