Stole the woman
of my dreams, Dave.
I ever tell you at, Brenda?
What? What's it matter now?
I said it. Anyway.
Brenda and Dave-- giving
the rest of us idiots hope.
Say something nice?
David turned me down,
even after I took
my clothes off.
But we've all grown up, right?
Bren, your turn.
Say something to you and Dave
years from now,
when you're old
and shriveled
and watching this
on your Craftmatic
Adjustable Bed.
Hey, you and me,
um, years from now.
I guess...
maybe I'll think I'm crazy
for saying this,
but I can't wait
until we're old... and happy
and grandchildren
piled 'round us
on our Craftmatic
Adjustable Bed.
Listen up!
Who's the Einstein
that left their lights on?
Volv G D- L B
Oh, that's me.
Uh, babe.
Give me your keys.
I'll go.
I forgot something
in the car anyway.
A surprise.
Ugh, no more surprises,
please.
No, this is a good one,
so you don't have to tell
the proposal story all night.
Long as you're not
running out on me.
Prevailing wisdom
is that I don't deserve you.
You don't.
Brenda.
Brenda!
There's no way
she'd just disappear.
She probably went
to get something.
If she went somewhere,
she would have taken her car.
Brenda!
What is that?
No.
I really don't remember,
but if you say I was there,
I guess I was.
Her fiancé must be
real broken up.
Bet he misses her.
Ted Huffard, deputy sheriff
in Ripley, West Virginia,
sent it.
Pulled him over
for an illegal turn,
finds the plates in the trunk.
Car is not only stolen,
it's in felony vehicle status.
What for?
Seen leaving a restaurant
parking lot in Chestnut Hill
the night
Brenda MacDowell was abducted.
August , ' .
Car's a late-model
gold Honda Accord.
Driver's side dent.
Reported stolen
in Grays Ferry
two days
before Brenda disappears.
Hmm, the night of
her engagement party,
guy lures her
out of the restaurant
by turning
on her Volvo's headlights,
then calls the plates
into the restaurant.
Smart trick.
Presumed homicide--
investigation
never turned up the body.
Looks like a happy girl.
There's a ribbon bouquet found
at the scene, lots of blood.
No matches,
not even hers.
Till now.
DNA matched this guy's?
Huffard offered him
a cigarette,
got a match off his saliva.
His blood.
So she fought back.
Lot of good it did her.
This nutjob got a name?
He calls himself John
Smith, but the number
on the Florida license
he was carrying
doesn't exist.
No match on the prints
and DNA's not in CODIS.
More like a John Doe.
We need a body
and a confession before he gets
to Philly and lawyers up.
Tonight.
Who's going to take the ride?
Toni's making casserole.
You gonna play the
casserole card again?
I'll go.
Going to need you
on call, Nick,
in case we get anything.
Chasing a bag of bones, boss.
Tell that to her fiancé.
You found Brenda?
You know him?
No, if I did,
I'd k*ll him myself.
Could be the guy
who reads your meter or
the grocery store clerk.
Never seen him before
in my life.
Well, thanks for taking a look,
David.
We'll keep you posted.
You know, everyone keeps telling
me I need to, uh, move on.
But how am I supposed
to do that?
I need you
to find her this time.
I need to bury her.
See what we can do.
I'll walk you out.
Take a ride?
West Virginia
is more than a ride.
You're talking
all night here.
You got something
else going on?
Was planning on washing my hair,
actually.
Still having trouble sleeping,
huh?
Look, you coming or not?
Yeah.
But I'm driving.
Then let's go.
John Smith's waiting.
You folks drive all night,
did you?
About four hours.
From Philly, that's flying.
Well, my partner's got
a lead foot.
Judge took care of the
extradition papers.
Hope y'all have better luck
getting a body out of him.
Plan on taking our time
getting back.
Give us a chance to talk.
He's polite, good manners.
Wouldn't have picked him
out of a crowd.
He was going nuts in his cell,
so I put him over here instead.
Get up now, John.
Detectives Rush and Valens
taking you back to Philly.
Man said get up.
Sorry, all right.
Things make it hard to stand.
Not meant to be comfortable.
I never met a female detective.
Certainly hope they appreciate
everything you've given up
to do what you do.
You got a real name
or we part of this
John Smith charade?
You want to talk to me.
Blood, DNA.
Already got enough
to put you away.
Don't need you saying jack.
Then why are we taking
the scenic route,
unless you want
to find her body?
Give you a chance to
help yourself, cooperate.
We'll talk to the DA,
see what we can do.
You a Kenso?
You sound like you're
from Kensington.
Port Richmond maybe.
I'll ask the questions.
Kensington.
There's no place to stop
for food this way, bathroom.
Guess you'll have
to hold it.
Your perfume.
It's flowery.
Not what I'd expect
from someone in your position.
Don't wear it.
Cologne then.
It's aftershave.
There's nothing flowery
about it.
So how'd you do it, John?
Taking a child's one thing.
Woman like Brenda
would have screamed.
You see the world
in a certain way,
the way you want it to work.
You don't know that.
Are you saying
you two had some kind of...
relationship?
I'm saying
sometimes the pieces
of the puzzle don't fit.
'Cause she fought back.
Your blood
at the scene.
You get your ass
handed to you
by a woman, Johnny boy?
I'm not the guy you look at
and think "r*pist."
I'm more like the guy you see
at the dentist's office.
No reason to fight me.
So you wanted
to be important,
stand out.
'Cause women
like Brenda don't notice losers
like you.
A well-mannered woman like that?
She notices.
All you got to do is ask.
Excuse me.
Sorry, over here.
I pick up take-out
for my wife--
she's six months along,
craving chili fries--
and my car won't start.
Murphy's Law, right?
Uh, mind if I use
your cell phone to call AAA?
Mine just d*ed.
You can use
the phone inside.
Hey,
Brenda MacDowell, right?
I'm John Smith.
We ran the marathon
for Hart-Fitzgerald together.
You're at the firm?
Paralegal,
getting my degree at night.
Right.
John Smith.
Hey, don't worry about it.
I work in the basement.
You're in litigation,
right?
Didn't think that
WestTech case was winnable.
Thanks.
If you could, um,
you know, hurry.
That party in there
is for me.
I'm getting married.
Oh, congratulations.
Best decision
I ever made.
Hi, John Smith again.
We got cut off.
Right, ' Accord.
Do you mind giving it a try?
I might have done
the trick there.
Hey.
Hey, it worked.
Real stunt you pulled there
at the end of the marathon.
Never seen a girl
so pleased
with her damn self.
Just gave us abduction,
brain trust.
Well, don't say
I never gave you anything.
Oh, impressive, John.
Any ape can hold a g*n.
You talked to her,
roped her in.
You got her when she
least expected it
in some parking lot going
to turn off her lights.
She saw the world
a certain way.
The way she wanted it to work.
Makes a person
weak, vulnerable.
And that's how you work.
Finding their soft spot.
Kind of like you, Detective.
Well, read me well.
Just like you read her.
You a runner, John?
No.
What were you doing
at the marathon?
Not a paralegal,
are you, John?
No John Smith
at your fiancée's law firm,
nobody who matches
his description.
We think he was stalking her.
Following her routine,
knew where she worked.
We ran the marathon
together last year.
You see anyone suspicious?
Showing a real interest
in Brenda there?
No.
I just had eyes
for her.
Oh! We did it!
We... did it.
What's our time?
Four hours, minutes,
and seconds.
So, if I ever had any doubts
about what we're capable
of doing... together...
I mean, everything
in front of us...
Are you...? Bren!
Will you?
Marry me?
I-I'm supposed to ask!
I was gonna ask you!
So, is... is that...?
Yes! Yes!
Let's get married!
We'll have to check
that footage, David.
Give you a few minutes.
You meet a lot of people
like me, don't you?
Does it ever get any easier?
I'll be outside
when you're finished.
You can do it, Brenda.
That's it!
You okay, honey?
You all right?
I'm okay.
You scraped your knee.
I can do it, Daddy.
I want to try again.
Go, sweetie!
Go, Brenda!
Never let go, do they?
Ones that don't get the bodies.
Vera found the owner
of that gold Honda.
Draggin' my ass
out of bed in middle
of the night, and for what?
I reported that car stolen
eight months ago.
We need your help finding
the man who took it.
Have you seen this guy?
He the SOB who got me
my parking tickets?
Parking tickets?
Four of 'em since it's stolen.
Newark, all of 'em.
Parking guy got the VIN number
through the windshield.
Same cross street's on all four.
He's going back
to the same place,
staying long enough
to get ticketed.
His neighborhood?
Or where he dumped the body.
Thank you, Mrs. Phillips.
What about my damn car?
Don't know him.
Great idea, Miller:
knocking on doors
in the middle of the night.
None of these mopes
has seen the guy.
Memory serves, it was
your great idea, Mr. Casserole.
Philly PD.
You seen this guy?
Live over there,
the brown door,
about a year back.
Only cr*cker on the block.
This cr*cker got a name?
Keep to himself.
Drove an old gold thing.
Honda?
Sound about right.
PPD! Open up!
Do you hear something inside?
I don't hear nothin'.
Neither do I.
What the hell?
I think we found her.
That smell's coming
from down here.
What the hell?
The place belongs
to a John Smith.
Bought it with $ , cash.
John Smith? He buys
a house with an alias?
I find a buyer in
this neighborhood,
I ain't asking
questions,
either.
Yeah, he's ready for us.
Couldn't hide her forever.
Toilet, sink.
You could keep someone
alive for however long
you wanted.
How long?
Long enough to do this.
This is like a POW camp.
Your mind on the wall,
all you got.
Must have taken her weeks.
Months.
She didn't just die
in this dungeon.
She lived here, too.
We found her, John.
Game over.
You found Brenda?
Kept her in that
Newark dungeon for months
before you k*lled her.
What the hell
you doing with her
all that time?
Newark?
You mind opening a window?
Yeah, I do mind.
I can't breathe.
You didn't like
your cell back in
West Virginia.
Don't like to feel crowded.
You spend time in lockup, John?
You showing her what it feels like?
No.
'Cause that's where you're headed.
Rest of your days in a cage.
Yeah, pretty girl, Brenda.
Yes, she was.
Oh, so what?
You can't pitch a tent, Johnny?
That your problem?
You think it was about sex?
Power.
You can't imagine
a man wants to keep a woman
around without hurting her,
can you?
Not locked
in his basement, homes.
If I wanted to have sex,
I could pay for women
off the streets, in bars.
Common as road k*ll,
filth like that.
Nice tail on this one.
Sure you didn't get
a piece of that?
You get a piece of that?
Bet you think about it,
time to time?
Oh, if you weren't having
your way with her,
why did you keep her
for so long?
Tell me something first.
What gets you out of bed
in the morning?
Everyone's got something
they hold onto.
Keeps them tethered
to this world.
No wedding ring.
A boyfriend, perhaps?
So what was Brenda
holding onto?
Love.
What are you doing?
Where am I?
You were sleeping.
You woke up.
You stay away from me!
David!
David!
David's not here.
Help!
Someone help me!
Help!
No one can hear you.
Who are you?
What do you want?
Nothing.
They'll find me.
They won't stop
until they find me!
They might be looking
for you,
but no one's looking for me.
How long do you think
it'll be
till there's a red Mustang
in his driveway?
Everyone's going
to tell him to move on.
That's a guarantee.
How do you know
about David's ex-girlfriend?
Who are you?
That look on your face.
It's just like
little Brenda on her bike.
Red lips.
Red knee.
Any other kid would have run
to Mommy.
Not you.
Determined.
Always.
You don't know me.
I know you.
I'm just waiting
for you to catch up.
That get you off, huh?
The mind games?
I told you once:
it wasn't about sex.
You wanted something.
Drive her nuts?
The chicken scrawl on the walls.
She tried to keep her sanity
for a while
by marking off the days,
but there was
no point to that.
Little Brenda.
You knew her
when she was a kid?
You're the detective.
Figure it out.
He said she was
marking off the days.
No windows, no lights
coming into that room.
So how did she know
what day it was?
Will, it's Rush.
Brenda on her bike.
A fall, um,
skinned knee maybe?
That mean
something to you?
The part of the movie
where Brenda
learned to ride her bike,
skinned her knee--
he must have seen it.
Did you show it
to anyone else?
No.
Brenda was going to show it
at the engagement party.
Uh, it was still in her car
when she disappeared.
She make it herself?
Or give it to one
of those places
that edits your
home video for you?
She gave it to, uh,
some company.
She got the movies
from our families
and gave them to some place.
She mention the name?
Your Best Angle.
Something like that?
It was, uh...
It was near her office.
John, just talked to
the owner of Best Angle.
Place Brenda brought
her home videos?
Turns out John Smith
worked there.
Owner says
he was their best editor.
Worked there for a year,
paid in cash,
before quitting four days ago.
Owner says he's on his way
to Marion, Illinois
for his next gig.
Till his bad turn in Ripley.
Four previous employers
since ' :
Life Videos in Newark,
Edit Right in Detroit.
Two more in Atlanta and Queens.
All editing houses.
So?
One client from each
of his jobs matches
a missing woman
from the same city,
same year.
Boss.
ME's preliminary report
is back.
Dental records on
the Newark body didn't match
Brenda MacDowell's.
Wasn't Brenda in that basement.
Newark?
Colleen Legarth.
Missing since November ' .
They find a cause of death?
No strangulation, no ligatures,
no broken bones.
Tox report's clean.
How's he k*lling them?
Five women.
Five cities.
Five basements.
Let Lil and Scotty know.
This guy is not
just a serial k*ller.
He's a collector.
Notice
you never use your signal.
Cops drive however they want.
Gotta have some perks
with the job.
Body in Newark wasn't Brenda.
You lied.
I never lied.
You made an assumption.
The way you wanted
to see it.
Four other women locked up
out there somewhere.
You wanted us to know
about 'em.
Why?
How did you k*ll them?
Your fancy labs
can't tell you?
You watched their tapes,
picked them for a reason.
Somethin' you liked
about 'em.
Or hated.
You still haven't
told me what gets you
out of bed, Detective.
Tell me where Brenda is
and I'll make sure
you don't get the needle.
Is it the rush you get
from seeing dead people?
Has to be a reason
you became a homicide cop.
That what happens to you?
When you k*ll 'em?
Death's the only thing
that's real.
It's the purest thing
you'll ever see.
You God now?
Question is,
what's that rush covering
for you?
You seem to know
a lot about it.
Why don't you tell us?
When there's one thing
you hold onto,
it takes on
a special significance.
And when that's taken away,
you're left with nothing.
Like that woman from Newark.
Colleen.
What'd you say?
What'd you say?
That's right.
I'm right here.
Look at that smile.
Honey!
She just smiled at me!
She smiled!
Look at you.
Beautiful as the sun.
Please.
Pretty little girl.
Maybe she'd like it here, too,
someday.
Such fragile things
they hold onto.
And when they're gone,
they just...
float away.
That's
how you k*ll them?
k*ll them.
That's a funny way to put it,
really.
Talk about Brenda.
You got nothin'
to lose, right?
Where'd you put her body?
We've been talking
about that one all night.
Boring.
But not the end.
Not how you crushed her.
No, you don't talk
about that.
Why not?
It takes
a lot of discipline keeping
a woman locked up for months.
No one hearing her screams.
Must be a reason
you got caught now.
And made that bad turn.
Meticulous guy
like you.
Something rattled you.
No. You're wrong.
Got under your skin.
For you to make
a mistake like that.
I don't make mistakes!
Brenda's still alive,
isn't she?
You know, I think
I'm done talking.
He left Philly
four days ago.
If she's still alive,
we don't have much time.
I dug up all the victims.
Newark's the only city
where you have
both the abduction site
and the dump site.
The abduction took place here.
Here's the basement.
Less than a -minute drive.
He gets them inside before
the chloroform wears off.
He's finding basements
in poor neighborhoods
where no one sees anything,
says anything.
Here's the restaurant
where Brenda was abducted.
Searching a -minute radius,
three low-income
neighborhoods fall inside.
Our contact at the recorder's
office is looking for properties
bought in cash for less
than ten grand by John Smith.
I'll see how's Miller doing
on the videos?
Got Tech Support
out of bed,
downloaded the movies
John Smith made of his victims.
What's the common thread?
We know that, we find Brenda.
We dreamed about this day
for so long.
And here you are.
Different classes,
different ages.
Some had families;
some didn't.
Only thing
in common is...
they all had something
to live for.
Fiancé,
kid, God.
Wide net there.
Maybe not so wide.
Monica had God.
Colleen had her baby.
And Brenda had David.
Chose women with something
to live for.
Someone they loved.
Not something
you'd know about.
Must have driven you crazy.
All the things they had.
Not you, though.
I edited their sloppy lives
into something beautiful.
I gave them a way
to believe the delusions
they were hanging onto.
Delusions? Look who's talking.
What's on those videos
isn't who they are.
It's a charade.
To give their lives meaning.
Like the job gives your life
meaning.
I've had it with your BS.
Where's Brenda?
Don't pretend you don't know
what I mean, Detective.
Where'd you put
her body, you freak?
No, I, I do.
I know what you mean.
Who are you
when it's taken away?
The job.
No one.
Like them.
Even the one who had God.
Monica.
The singer.
She gave up the easiest.
She couldn't understand
how God could leave her
in that room so alone.
I saw it in her eyes.
The moment she realized
there was no God.
That if God was anything,
he was the greatest
con man of all.
Once hope is gone,
dying is just a formality.
You sealed her in there alive?
First, I took the door
off its hinges.
She was free to go, run.
I wouldn't have stopped her.
But she wasn't looking
for a way out anymore.
Sounds like you're...
familiar, Detective.
Son of a...
Where's Brenda?
Hmm?
Where is she?
Scotty!
Hmm?
Hey! Stop!
She's here.
In these woods.
A mile further,
there's a blinking yellow light.
Path to the right
heads into the woods.
A quarter mile in,
there's a clearing.
Put him in the car.
I'll drive.
I'm going in.
The guy's got
an endgame, Lil.
Who knows what he's got
waiting in those woods?
We're running out of time.
But we know his pattern.
Houses, basements.
Not woods.
What if we're wrong
and she's in there right now?
No service.
We don't have time
to wait for backup.
We're armed. He's not.
You ready to pull the trigger?
Let's go.
Try anything,
I'll blow your head off.
You get Lil or Scotty
on the line yet?
Cell phone keeps
dumping to voice mail.
Last time they called
was Waynesburg.
Nothing between here
and there but lumber.
The hell are they doing?
Going renegade.
With a psychopath in custody.
Almost there.
Keep moving.
Know these woods
pretty good.
This where you're from,
you sick bastard?
What's that?
Got something.
If only you had
videos of your own.
Of course, there'd be
no one in them.
No one to show them to.
Shut up.
I'm taking a look.
Scotty...
I got it.
What do you got?
Nothing.
It's a dried-up well.
You said you wanted to know
what happened
to Brenda.
Well, Brenda's not in there.
No, but someone else is.
So cold.
So cold...
So cold...
Please help me!
It was the most beautiful thing
I ever saw.
Watching a woman die?
Watching her give up.
The rest is just a formality.
We understand each other
finally.
Dungeons like this well.
You were trying
to recreate this, hmm?
Who was she?
Nobody.
I came here.
I listened to your story.
Now tell me where Brenda is.
You're just like them,
trying to hold on
to something make-believe.
Because there will
always be another
Brenda out there, another me.
Maybe it's time you see,
detective,
how false your God is.
Tell me where she is.
Looks like
we've run out of time.
Where is she?!
She's dead.
No.
Pull the trigger!
You son of a...
Lil, it's what he wants.
Can't spend his life
in a cell like his
victims did.
That's why he brought us
out here.
She was weak.
Like you.
Brenda's alive.
I know she is.
She wasn't like that woman
in the well; she was strong.
You need to believe that,
but you're wrong.
No.
She broke in that dark, lonely,
little room.
Just like one day
you will, too.
You can't tread water
forever.
Eventually,
you'll get tired
just like Brenda.
No, that song.
She was humming
that song.
"Chasing far all gloom
and terror,
"brightening all the path
we tread."
The bells at Ascension Church
in Kensington
have been playing that song
every morning
since I was a kid.
That's how Brenda knew
what day it was.
That's how she held on.
I told you, she's dead.
Even in the ugliness
of Kensington,
she found something to cling to,
something beautiful.
She didn't break,
did she, John?
She never gave up.
Because when it was all taken
away in the end,
she still had herself.
I know where that church is.
I know that neighborhood.
Find her, Lil.
Don't walk away from me!
Don't you leave!