***
I just want you to know,I'm
not going to let you down.
Kate Butler-- parents reported
her missing three years ago.
Pennsylvania m*llitary Institute.
I knew the cadets hated her.
Rhianna?
That's what they called
Ryan after Kate smoked him.
Look,it wasn't... the students
that Kate Butler had to worry about.
Cadet Gardner here will show you to Moe.
He's my operations officer.
Look,I'd be lying to you to say that ere
wasn't resentment among some of the cadets.
- Lawrence!
- Yes,Major.
Come on,Scotty.Pick up.
the following story is fictional
and does not depict any actual person or event
("Once" by Pearl Jam playing)
*I admit it What's to say?*
*I'll relive it Without pain Backstreet
lover on the side of the road*
*I got a b*mb in my temple
that is gonna explode*
*I got a -gauge buried under my
clothes I play Once upon a time*
*I could control myself Ooh,once upon a
time I cold lose myself Yeah,yeah,yeah*
*Oh,try and mimic What's insane
I am in it Where do I stand?*
And what day is it?
Saturday.
Any blurred vision,nausea?
No.
No signs of hypothermia,but you
took a pretty good sh*t to the head.
Might have a concussion.Going to need to
run a couple of tests-- CT scan,for one--
- and we'll follow that up with...
- How long is that going to take?
The tech will be down in a couple
of minutes to bring you upstairs...
if they're not too backed up.
Either way,you're going to need to
take it easy for a while,Detective,
and...
Hey,where you going,Lil?
The doc released you already?
Oh,uh,did all the tests
and came back fine.
They haven't even dredged your
squad car out of Neshaminy Creek yet.
Did CSU find anything at the scene?
Skid marks from the vehicle
that ran you off the road.
Will,Nick and Kat are searching PMI's
campus for a car with body damage.
Lil!
It was Cadet Lawrence Gardner,boss.
He... he wrote that sword hate
mail,att*cked Kate Butler in the shower.
- He wanted her gone.
- Whoa,slow down,Lil.
No,m fine.I'm telling you.
We know where Lawrence is now?
Scotty went to PMI thi
morning to pick him up.
He wasn't in his
room,anywhere on campus.
We have broadcasts all over
the region looking for him now.
Got to be the same guy
that ran me off the road.
Now,let me drive you home.At
least get a change of clothes.
Got everything I need in my locker.
Hey,guys.
Lil.
- Hey,how you doing?
- I'm fine.
You'd do anything to get out of
that bucket of bolts,wouldn't you?
What do you got?
Picked up Lawrence's
files when I was up there.
Reason he's still a senior: he took six
months off two weeks after Kate disappeared.
Mom said he had mono.
The oldest excuse in the book.
What about Keith Henderson,uh,black
cadet who said he was on tours?
Yeah,checked the tours
and confinements lists.
Kid was on it.The swipe card
says he never left campus.
Doesn't add up.Barracks sign-out log
says he left the dorm same time Kate did.
That's 'cause the log was copied.
Found it last night in the diner.
November ,' ,the
night Kate disappeared.
Check this one out: November .
Names,signatures,times.Everything's
the same.
Same damn sign-out log.Only
the date's be changed.
Made it look like Kate didn't come back.
The truth is,she never even left.
So,who doctored these logs?
Lilly.
Today's not the day.
Only place I know where to find you.
You get the letter I sent?
You can't fix everything
with a damned letter,Dad.
You at least read it?
Lilly?
Your turn,pook.
I know.
Lilly... I have to go do some things.
It means that I... I may
have to be gone a while.
Where are you going?
Don't know yet.
With Mommy?
No,no,I don't... I don't
think so.Probably not.
Who's going to sleep by her?
Well,sometimes mommies and daddies,they
don't... they don't sleep by each other.
Which way can I move my knight?
Uh... L-move,twand one.
But if you take my pawn,I'll
take your knight with my rook.
Or you could do that.
You really are a smart kid.
Lilly.
What's the matter?
- Are you okay?
- I got to get back.
Celeste.
My wife's name.
Been married years.
We have a daughter,Maggie,and
a son,Finn.
They want to meet you.
Lil.
John Stillman.
Paul Cooper.
I,uh,didn't meano interrupt.
You're not.
I got to go.
We found the car that
ran you off the road.
It's on the PMI campus.
Passenger-side mirror is busted.
Dent,front right side.
Paint transfer from another
car.CSU tech took a sample.
Looks like yours.
Said the treads looked good
for the skid marks at the scene.
Is it the car that hit you?
All I saw were the headlights.
Glad you're okay.
Thanks.
PMI staffer said it's a campus
car.Tow squad's on its way.
Belongs to the school?
We just got to find out who had
access and where the keys are.
Time to shut this campus down.
Trap a rat in his hole.
DEFCON One in effect,Detectives.
Front gate is closed.Every door
with a handle or hinge,locked down.
Who are the campus cars for?
We make them available to
administrators who may need them.
What about students?
- Only senior aides.
- Lawrence Gardner.
He a senior aide?
Assaulting and k*lling Kate
Butler,running a cop off the road.
- Those are some serious accusations you're making.
- Suburban with the damage.
Was Lawrence using it?
He was picking up a football
recruit at the airport yesterday.
Still has the keys.
Lawrence have access to the
barracks sign-out logs in ' ?
Lawrence's always done his
best to serve the school.
Just answer the question.
He was Echo Company clerk.
Why did Lawrence take a six-month
leave of absence,December ' ?
Wasn't mono,was it,Moe?
Fatigue.
"Fatigue." You saying the kid
had some kind of breakdown?
Looking back... a few days before she
disappeared,it all starts to make sense.
("Alive" by Pearl Jam playing)
Fight till you drop.
You go down,you die.
Someone will take care
of your girl.Understood?
Sir,yes,sir!
Now,which one of you chuckleheads thinks he can
take Cadet Lawrence,best pugil stick in Echo Company?
No one wants to man up?
I'd like a sh*t,sir.
Cadet Butler... you a man?
No,sir.But I'd like a sh*t,sir.
Think you're special,Butler?
Is that how you see
yourself,special as a snowflake?
Sir,I'm no snowflake,sir.
Step up,Maxipad.Don't
say I didn't warn you.
Lawrence,take no prisoners.
Yes,sir.
Hit him,Kate--
that's right.
Come on!Come on,Lawrence.
Don't let a girl kick your ass.
Come on,Lawrence--
don't let her get you.
Knock that bitch down!
Get her!Get her!Get her!
Get up,Kate--
come on!
Take her down,Lawrence.
Don't you ever come near me again.
Girl was tougher than I thought.
Saying she was out for revenge?
Didn't know about the
as*ault at the time.
Well,Lawrence didn't
walk out the front gate.
He's got to be holed
up somewhere on campus.
There's only one room in
the barracks with a lock.
Where's the key to Kate's room?
Police--
open up.
Scotty.
Get him down.
Forget it--
he's gone.
Key to the room.
And keys to the Suburban.
Son of a bitch.
Look at the rope.
Standard slipknot.
It's on the right side.
How did he tie it himself?
Lawrence was left-handed.
Knot should be on the other side.
Rope's up under the
chin.Like he was lifted up.
Did it himself,it would've
dug into his Adam's apple.
Marks on the back of the neck.
This kid didn't k*ll himself.
Someone did it for him.
Lilly?
You all right?
Number three.
You sure?
Yes.
It was him.
Number three,John.
You're a brave girl,Lilly Rush.
Who are you?
John Stillman.
Detective Stillman's the one
who caught the man that hurt you.
My mother said it was too late.
Long as you ask the right
questions,never too late.
Lil?
Sure you're okay?
- Tired,that's all.
- I asked around.
Lawrence spent his share of time
in the chapel.Religious type.
Explains all that biblical hate mail.
Hiding her nakedness
from the sight of God.
Going to talk to the chapln.See if
he confided in him about anything.
Campus lockdown came a little too late.
Coroner thinks Lawrence might've
been k*lled some time last night.
Get back to your duties.
All hail the commandant.
Detective Rush.I've just
informed Cadet Gardner's family.
Second homicide in four years.
You got a PR disaster on your hands.
I was told this was a su1c1de.
Lawrence was dead before he was hung.
Someone must've found out
we were looking at him.
- This happened last night?
- That mean something you?
Hank Butler came to see me.
He had been drinking.
You son of a bitch.
My daughter's gone.Kate is gone.
- Hank,sit down.
- You were in charge,Lou.
I tried talking to her,but
she was her father's daughter.
She kept her own counsel.
Talk to her about what?
A racking.May have gone too far.
Why didn't you call me?
You said no special treatment.
What happened?
Couple of weeks before she disappeared,I
think she may have been assaulted.
I want the name of every
cadre in Echo Company.
Now.
Hank and I were knobs together.We
graduated the same year.
And you gave him those names?
He would've found out anyway.
Lawrence Gardner on that list?
What time did he leave your office?
Little after midnight.
I assumed he went
straight home,but now...
Forgot this last time you were here.
I heard about a guy,lost
his PMI ring at boot camp.
Ten year anniversary,his wife had a
replacement made to the exact specs.
Cadet number inside,and whole nine.
- Charlotte told you about that?
- You used to love that school.
- It's hard to remember.
- How about last night?
- Remember that,Hank?
- Yeah,I do.
Had a date with a bottle.
Was a terrible date.Just what I wanted.
The date go down at PMI?
Sallyport guard saw your car
leaving campus at : a.m.
About the time Cadet
Lawrence Gardner was k*lled.
Eye for an eye,Hank?
I didn't hurt anyone.
You find that son of
a bitch before we did?
I know what I said.
But I saw the chapel.
- The chapel,Hank?
- Yeah.
And I asked God's forgiveness for
what happened last time I was there.
("Nothingman" by Pearl Jam playing)
Attention to orders.
As First Sergeant,Echo
Company,I'd like to present the PMI
Distinction Medal to a fourth class
cadet who has shown outstanding merit.
Cadet Butler,front and center.
Sir.
Cadet Butler,you have displayed outstanding
qualities in both academics and physical training.
Thank you,sir.
Do you have anything to say?
Yes,I do,sir.
Stand at ease.
"What we obtain too
cheap,we esteem too lightly.
" 'Tis dearness only that
gives everything its value.
" I didn't understand why First Sergeant
Addison was quoting Thomas Paine ting e****
**an Rolution like he was,
but we're still fighting.
Fighting for the strength to keep at
it,fighting for the respect of our company,
and for the pride of our families.
I hope to earn them all someday.
Echo Company,atten-hut!
I remember the first d she was born.
Those tiny little hands,they had such
a tight grip,like she'd never let go.
Three hours is long time
to spend in a chapel.
Sure you didn't go anywhere
else that night,Hank?
I didn't go looking for those cadets.
I left the list that Murillo
gave me on his secretary's desk.
Going to be checking with her on that.
Was the last chance I had
to tell her how proud I was.
And I walked away.
Got the Bucks County Coroner's
report on Cadet Lawrence Gardner.
Cause of death,manual strangulation.
And no scrapings under his
nails,no bruises or cuts.
Kid didn't put up a fight.
Or it happened so fast,he
didn't have time to wake up.
Chaplain said Lawrence
helped out with the services.
He was running a spiritual
retreat the night Kate was k*lled.
Off campus the whole weekend.So,he
couldn't have k*lled her.
Well,find out who else
had access tthat Suburban.
Ifawrence wasn't dring
it,I wa to know who was
CSU found something in Kate's
quarters where Lawrce's dy was found.
A letter to Kate.
Found it rolled up inside
the metal bar in her closet.
"Tee good reasons "we
should be together.
one:" They'll never find out.
" "Two: None couldove you as much as Io.
Three: can't live thout you."
- J.F.A."
- J.F.A.
- James Addison?
- James Frederick Addison.
Commandant asked him
to keepn eye on Kate.
Gives a whole new
meaning to "shine detail.
" Kate decides to call it off.
But he won't let her go.
Puts her in a footlocker instead.
Got Romeo in the box.You ready?
Be right there.
Son!Congratulations!
Your mother and I are so proud of you.
Hey,Lil,you coming or what?
You see my dad come by
here a few minutes ago?
No.No.Is everything all right?
Yeah.Yeah.
Just trying to tie up
some loose ends,Lieutenant.
What you told us about Kate
being att*cked in the showers.
- I told you everything I ow.
- Right,on shine detail.
She ever mention being romantically
involved with another cadet?
No.She wasn't.
Well,you seem pretty sure about that.
She wouldn't risk violating
the non-fraternization policy.
Would you?
I don't know what you mean.
Found this love letter in her room.
It's your handwriting,Don Juan.
You didn't just watch out for Cadet
Butler.You took advantage of her.
Senior cadet is a position of power.
She couldn't get rid
of you if she wanted to.
- She wasn't getting rid of me.
- You knew about the as*ault,that Lawrence was unstable.
Told us about the barracks sign-out
log,the list of guards with sabers.
You knew Lawrence would
look good for her m*rder.
You string him up,case
closed,right,we all go home?
Beautiful job.
You just put the knot
on the wrong damn side.
I don't get it.I thought
Lawrence k*lled himself.
Lawrence didn't k*ll himself,James.Just
like Ka didn't run away.
Give us three good reasons we
shouldn't lock your lying ass up.
All right,so I liked her.
And when she didn't like you back?
What did you do then,James?
I wrote her that letter.
She doesn't give you the
answe you're looking for.
Try and convince her
otherwise,she says no...
No!She felt the same way.
I know she did.
("Given to Fly" by Pearl Jam playing)
Cadet Butler?
There's a million good reasons
we should be together,James.
But I can't.
Not until after Recognition Day.
What's gonna change then?
Won't be a knob anymore.
They won't treat you any
different,Kate.Trust me.
The hell with them.I'm
not doing this for them.
You're doing it 'cause of your old man.
Growing up,
my dad talked about this place
like the Earth revolved around it.
But now,I'm doing it for me.
And the harder they
push,the rder I fight back.
That's the way you want to go about
it,it's gonna be a long four years.
- I won that medal legit.
- Lots of guys won medals,Kate.
Just 'cause you can hack it
doesn't mean they'll accept you.
I can't make them like me.
They think you're some
tight-ass grinder,a barracks rat.
You never go out,you never
even let them get to know you.
You don't think I want that?
I've never been invited.
I'm inviting you now.
You said it yourself.They hate me.
Well,then,let them see
the other side of you.
The side that I see.
Don't just prove to them
that you can hack it.
Prove to them that you belong.
I thought she was gonna come
out that night and meet me.
That maybe things could
change for Kate at e school.
But she never showed up?
I didn't blame her.I
mean,the guys were tough.
But no barracks rat ever
makes it through PMI.
- Barracks rat?
- Guys who hole up in the dorms all weekend.
Too stressful a place.You...
you got to blow off some steam.
There's no way you can make it
through that school without friends.
Excuse me.
You all right?
Freezing.
- Who turned off the heat?
- Cutbacks.Dropped the thermostat.
Do me favor.
Check the sign-out logs
for all of Kate's knob year.
Find the barracks rats,cadets
who never left on the weekends.
Ma'am?
Yowanted to see me,Lieutenant?
I see you made the pinch
on that carjacking,Rush.
Yes,Lieutenant.Had a lucky day.
You create your luck by hard work.
Well,if I was paying more attention,I might have
caught the guy before he got out onto the highway.
You did well on the
detective's test,too.
Looks like you'll make it next week.
Thank you,sir.Figure I'll
probably end up in East.
I have a few guys set to
retire next couple of years.
I could use somebody with your
instincts and determination.
Homicide?
You interested?
Of course,sir.
Well,learn your job at East,do it right.
I'll keep an eye out,and
we'll talk when the time comes.
I'll be ready,sir.
Good,because you'll be the first female homicide
detective in the Philly Police Department.
You're gonna need a thick skin.
I can handle myself.
I knew that a long time ago.
There was a letter sitting
on my desk.You see it?
Nope.But I did check out the
barrack's sign-out log from ' .
- All of them?
- Hup two.
There's only one cadet who never left the
barracks on a weekend his entire knob year.
Ryan Stewart.
Never even went home for the holidays.
You should check out his transcript.
Those marks-- it's a wonder they
let him stay at the school at all.
Rhianna had a lot of issues.
You know,being soft,dull and friendless
is no way to go through college.
Cadet Ryan Stewart,Philly PD.
Go away!
There's something blocking it.
Open the door,you little pissant.
- Just leave me alone!
- Relax,Ryan.Just want to talk.
No.There's nothing to talk
about.I can't take this anymore.
Take what anymore?
What you did to Kate?
Look,I'm sick of lying.
We can help.
Come on,Ryan.We can help you.
Nobody's gonna help me.
Look,I can't go to
jail.Nobody's gonna bail me out.
Bad shape.Bad shape.
g*n!
You come any closer,I swear
to God,I'm gonna sh**t.
You don't have to worry about that.I'm
gonna blow your brains out for you.
Get your ass on the ground!
It was me.I did it I'm sorry.
All right,you ready?
Talk about that night.
It was just me in the barracks.
That Saturday night?November , ?
Every Saturday night.
You know,it was just me.
Kate was there,too?
The only other cadet around.
And even with all the crap
that she took,she was a girl.
And they still liked her better than me.
("Release" by Pearl Jam playing)
Ryan?What are you doing here?
Oh,it's... it's calculus.
This new chapter is k*lling me.
- I heard you were a great tutor,so I...
- I haven't even looked at it yet.
Oh,I just figured you'd probably
be holed up studying,too,so...
You're not going out?
No.
What's new?I guess we
have that in common,huh?
Why don't you take my notes?
Okay,cool.
So,what are you...?
What's up?Are you just...?Are
you just going to bed?
Look,Ryan,I got to get ready.
Where you going?
Meeting some of the guys.
You're kidding.
Who?
Echo Company?
They-They invited you out?
- You should come,too.
- No.
I get it.They'd,uh... they'd ther
just hang out with a chick than me.
- Come on,Ryan.
- Oh,no,no.
Oh,you mean,Rhianna,right?
Worthless tub of goo?
Don't say that.You got to show
them you can hang with them.
No.You probably just think
that I'll wash out anyway,right?
Is that what...?That's
what you think,right?
No.I didn't say that.
No.You-You think that.Right?
They all think it.
You-you know that
the guys above us--
they all say that they're the last
true class of PMI because of you.
- Not 'cause of me.
- You have ruined everything.
Graduating from here
used to mean something.
- Ryan,just take the notes.
- No,I don't want the notes.
Damn it,Ryan.
And I just kept waiting
for her to stand up...
...but she didn't.
How did you get rid of the body?
What?
You were a freshman.You
didn't have a car.
So how did you get rid of the body?
Somebody helped him.
Lawrence?
Kid doesn't have it in him to
pull off a premeditated m*rder.
And why confess to
one m*rder,but not two?
The Suburban from PMI that hit you was
ticketed five times in the past four years.
South, West and Ridge Avenue.
On the way to Roxborough.
Same driver used the car every time.
Army.
Rangers,right?Got to be a tough
son of a bitch to wear that beret.
Came back to PMI in
' as a PT instructor.
You're an institution.
Part of the long blue line.
Fourth generation... sir.
Been looking over Ryan
Stewart's transcript.
Uh,academic... probation twice.
Poor to failing marks in... ...PT.
Ma'am?
The kid was
a-a non-hacker.
Hardly PMI material.
Hindsight is always / .
Yeah,but you promoted that chucklehead.
Got your sigture on his evaluations.
"Cadet Stewart shows promise.
" You saying I gave
him a pass,Detective?
That what it snds like to you?
Took another look at
those campus car records.
Every Sunday morning,it was you
who checked out one of those cars.
I take my mother to mass on Sundays.
A diligent son.
Well,it turns out you're
a creature of habit.
You got three speeding tickets-- two
on the ,and another on Ridge Avenue.
Same car.
I like to be on time.
See,Ridge Ave off goes
right through Roxborough.
And the cemetery where Kate
Butler's body was buried.
Now you're saying I had something
to do with Cadet Butler's m*rder?
Told you,Lawrence drove that car.
Lawrence was just the
clerk who knew too much.
Knew about the doctored
sign-out logs from the barracks.
Lawrence Gardner was unstable.
What you wanted us to think when you
stuffed the car keys in his pocket.
Teach you that in hand-to-hand combat training--
how to k*ll a man in his sleep,string him up?
Pretty fanciful.
Yeah.
Same way you panicked when
my partner got too close.
Ran her off the road in that same car.
What happened between Cadets Stewart
and Butler was tragic and shameful,
but if you're looking to spread the
blame,I suggest you start with the courts.
The courts...
k*lled Kate Butler?
Do you know how many congressmen
have graduated from PMI?
Twelve.Six senators,eight
four-star generals.
Those courts ordered us to
change the way we do things here.
Now here we are.
Stuck installing women's
latrines and tampon dispensers.
There are over women's
colleges in this country.
Do you see any men banging
down the doors trying to get in?
The value of a separate
education is that it is separate!
Sound bitter,Moe.
Because of this catastrophic
experiment,an army of lawyers
and press stand ready to shut
down the institution I love,
the one thing I share with
my father and his before him.
Excuse me if I forgot to shed a
tear for Hank Butler's daughter.
That why you buried her?
Think I'll take one
of those lawyers now.
Long night.
Can't piece it together.
The story.
What you always told me.
Ask the right questions
till the story makes sense.
So what's the right question?
You remember the honor code,Ryan?
"A cadet shall not lie,cheat,or
steal, nor tolerate those who do.
" He. What? "Nor shall
he tolerate those who do.
" That's right,by and for men,the way it's
always been,the way Moe wants it to stay.
See,Moe believed in me.
Still worried he'll think less of you?
That you're not a man if
you don't take the rap?
Not PMI material?
The school has a tradition.
It has a code.
That's what he'd have you believe.
But if the honor code
is the backbone of PMI...
why did he ask you to lie?
Lawrence Gardner didn't
k*ll himself,did he?
No,he didn't,Ryan.
I went to tell him what I did wrong.
I didn't know what else to do.
("Immortality" by Pearl Jam playing)
You'd better have a hell of a good reason
for bothering me on a Saturday night,boy.
I hurt her,sir.
Get in here.
Get a hold of
yourself,cadet.Who did you hurt?
Cadet Butler,sir.
I hit her and she didn't get up.
Where is she?
In her room.She's not breathing,sir.
What do you mean she's not breathing?
I didn't mean it,sir.
Who else knows?
Came straight to you,sir.
You want to graduate from
this institution,don't you,son?
More than anything,sir.
Be a PMI man just like your father?
- Sir,yes,sir.
- Good.
Go get a footlocker out of storage.
This did not happen,not on this campus.
Do y understand me,son?!
Loud and clear,sir.
As you were.
Sir,yes,sir.
Got you,Moe.
That so?
You sent Ryan for that footlocker,made Cadet Butler's
body disappear,and you framed Lawrence for the job.
What,now you going to tell
me that kid is really dead?
I just... I just know he didn't do it.
That's all that matters.
Stories.
You're just telling yourself stories.
Even tried to take out a cop.
- You?- Busier than a one-legged man
in an ass-kicking competition,Moe.
You can only keep the flood
back for so long,Detective.
The flood?
Pretty soon it's going to
pull you down... for good.
You put that girl in a box!
I put you there,too,sweetheart.
No. No,I got out.
I got you!
Not from where I'm sitting.
What the hell is going on?!
Long as you ask the right
questions,never too late.
It's okay,Lil.It's going to be okay.
We're going to get this
guy,all right,we'll get him.
EMT said she kept going on
about the barracks sign-out log.
Just located the car
that ran her off the road.
On campus.
Dear Lilly,there are two sides to every story,neither
of which I think you'll find satisfactory.
Suffice it to say,there is no way I could
have stayed with your mother and survived.
In that sense,you're
already stronger than me.
("Black" by Pearl Jam playing)
I was a lousy father.
When I got sober enough to
figure out how much I missed,
it was too late to undo the damage.
* Sheets of empty
canvas Untouched sheets *
Much to my regret,
I'll always be the dad
who bought you a bike,
but never taught you how to ride it.
* Spread out before me
As her body once did *
There were a few moments
I tried to reconnect along the way.
But you were on your own
path by then,your own woman.
And you turned out great,kid.
*****
{a }* Now the air I tasted and
breathed Has taken a turn Ooh,*
* and all I Taughher was Everything...*
I've missed so much of your life.
For that,I am sorry.
Not only to you,but for depriving myself
for all those times you needed a father,
somebody to protect you.
* And now my bitter hands
Cradle broken glass *
When you showed up that day at
the park all these years later,
my heart about mped out of my chest.
I thought maybe you came
to judge me till I realized
I'm the only parent you got left.
Like it or not,you only get one father.
* Gone bad Turned my worldo
black Tattooed all I see *
* All that I am All I'll be...*
Just know,if there's ever another moment
in your life when you need me,I'll be there.