Perception s01e03 Episode Script
86'd
Which comes first.
.
Yesterday or.
.
Tomorrow? Hands up for yesterday.
Right.
And tomorrow? Wow.
Nobody? Not one? Morticia, explain how you arrived at that predictable, but unprovable, conclusion.
It's not something anybody has to prove.
It's just something you know.
Daniel: Something you know? All we know is that what we think of as past, present, and future is nothing more than a.
.
Than a story stitched together in our Basal Ganglia.
Our entire concept of time is a.
.
Is an artificial construct.
In that case, I don't need to hand in my lab report.
Because for all you know, I already did.
[ Laughter .]
That is entirely correct! Of course, by that thinking, I may already have flunked you.
[ Laughter .]
Max: Artificial construct or not, you have a curriculum review with the Provost in 7 minutes, and don't forget you've got before office hours at 4:00, so if you could pick up the pace? Okay, you're overbooking me, Lewicki.
The brain needs downtime to function.
Not yours.
What did you tell me when you hired me? "Schedule equals sanity".
If you really cared about my sanity, you'd keep the Provost out of my curriculum.
You know what? You're absolutely right.
A little break will do you good.
I'll be back in a minute.
And never say I don't bring you treats.
"Extreme Kakuro".
Very nice.
Agent Moretti.
Hey, how are you doing today? I'm fine.
Thank you, Max.
How are you? I'm good, I'm good, but unfortunately, Professor Pierce is a little busy right now.
Well, he doesn't look very busy to me.
If you need a consultant, I can introduce you to another very fine Professor in the Department.
Thank you, Max, but it's really Dr.
Pierce that I need to talk to.
I hate to sound dramatic, but it really could be a matter of life and death.
Whose? Doc.
.
You can tell the Provost I'll be there as soon as I can.
Okay, what if he's ad.
.
And if he complains that I'm late, tell him it's all in his Basal Ganglia.
Kate: Remember The Date Night Killer, summer of '86? Vaguely.
Wait, Daniel, it was the crime of the decade.
How can you not remember this? Well, it's a hard to keep up with the news when you're cramming for your MCATs.
Okay, for five weeks in a row, every Friday, a girl would go missing in the afternoon and turn up dead in a landfill on Sunday morning, raped and beaten.
Well, the killings stopped, but they never caught the guy who did it.
Why are you working on a cold case? Because it's not cold any more.
These are clippings from 1986.
But Sunday before last, a body turns up in Avondale, same M.
O.
as '86, same Chloroform burns around the mouth, but CPD didn't make the connection until another body showed up just this past Sunday in Lincolnwood.
But this time, they got a print.
crime scenes from back then.
So if the killer sticks to the pattern, another girl disappears Friday night.
And turns up dead on Sunday.
How can I help you catch him? Victim number 6.
Lacey Penderhalt.
The killer grabbed her Friday, July 18, 1986.
The next day, a propane stove blew up an abandoned house in Maywood.
Firemen found Lacey in the cellar, tied up, unconscious, but alive.
By the time she came to, she was so traumatized, she had some kind of a psychotic break.
The police tried to question her, but she was incoherent.
Did she ever recover? Well, she's been living in a psychiatric nursing home for the past 26 years, apparently pretty out of it.
And you want me to see if I can get through to her.
The Bureau's got 50 agents working crime scenes, chasing down leads, tracking present-day victims.
But I think that the answer is Lacey.
Well, if I'm gonna have any hope of reaching her, I'm gonna need to know more than this.
Absolutely.
I just don't think you should hear it secondhand.
I think you should get this from somebody who was there.
Who's that? Retired Police Detective Joe Moretti.
.
A.
K.
A.
my Dad.
It was a terrible summer.
I wouldn't let Katie I was 6, Dad.
Not exactly the target demo.
Talk to me when you're a parent.
Every Detective on the force was working some angle of that case.
My squad, we were checking out the clues from the killer's journal.
- Mm.
- He kept a journal? You buried the lead, Agent Moretti.
[ Chuckles .]
Don't worry.
I brought a copy.
They found the original in the wrecked house.
This is where the killer kept track of all his crushes.
"I met the most incredible girl on the El today.
Lily.
.
Isn't that a beautiful name?" Lily Pasetti.
Victim number 3.
Sounds like he was fixated on her.
Yeah, for a week.
Every Monday and Tuesday, he'd meet a new girl, and she'd be "the one".
On Wednesday and Thursday, he'd write about dancing with them in a club or swimming with them at the lake.
And every Sunday, it was the same thing.
.
How the girl disappointed him, how she'd broken his heart or turned out to be a phony.
"I bought Sandra a drink at The Blacklight".
Anybody at The Blacklight see who bought her a drink? She was a hot number.
Friends said there was a ton of guys buying her drinks.
But we couldn't put any one of those guys at the club where Lily was dancing or swimming at the lake with Suzanne.
But the entries about Lacey are different.
"I saw Lacey today, and I thought," "wow, she's been here all summer, everywhere I look".
He knew her.
That's why we were always hoping that Lacey would come around but.
.
She's nuttier than Grandma's fruitcake.
- Dad, mm-mm.
- Sorry, Katie.
Just a figure of speech.
What I can't figure out is why he would take it up again after a 26-year vacation.
Maybe he got scared after you found his hideout, or.
.
Maybe he just found some other way to scratch what was itching him.
Either way, it's time to go talk to Lacey Penderhalt.
Thanks.
And maybe someday you'll even come around when you don't need something.
- No, no, no.
No, no, no.
- Dad.
.
I understand, fresh in town, new job, lots to do.
Hmm.
Speaking about fresh in town, when is Donnie coming in from D.
C.
? Soon.
Definitely.
Yeah, soon.
I.
.
And I'll call you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Yeah.
Wait.
I just remembered.
I met you parents' night, Katie's freshman year.
You're the Professor she had the big crush on - the whole time she was in college.
- [ Squeals .]
Nope.
What? So, you're probably wondering who Donnie is.
None of my business.
Well, it's okay.
I should have told you.
You don't have to tell me anything.
He's my husband.
You're married? Soon-to-be divorced.
I met him in D.
C.
it just did not work out.
Why are you lying to your Father about that? He hated Donnie the second he laid eyes on him.
"He's all wrong for you, Katie".
I just couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right, you know? Agent Moretti? Dr.
Pierce? - Ryan Cutler.
- Thank you for seeing us, Dr.
Cutler.
Does Lacey know we're coming? Lacey doesn't know much of anything.
If you're hoping for help solving your case, I'm afraid you're going to be very disappointed.
Hi, Lacey.
My name is Dr.
Pierce.
And uh, this is my friend, Kate Moretti, with the FBI.
Is it all right if we ask you some questions? I'll come back a little later, if that's all right.
I'm gonna need to see her complete medical history.
I'm.
.
I'm, uh, told that I can be a little addled, so, uh, let me see if I understand what it is that I've been reading.
beaten, raped, tied up and gagged, Lacey Penderhalt was understandably hysterical, agitated, and disoriented, for which condition she was administered 2 milligrams of Lonoxonol, which, even in that prehistoric era, was 10 times the recommended dose of a dangerously powerful sedative, which has since been proven to trigger psychosis in patients with recent head injuries.
Because the drug caused Lacey to present as psychotic, she was diagnosed with Traumatogenic schizo-affective disorder.
.
A phrase I mercifully haven't heard spoken in 20 years.
.
And treated with heavy doses of Chlorpromazine, another genuine relic of Psychotherapeutic antiquity, which rendered her nearly comatose.
The now mentally disabled patient was transferred to a long-term care facility, where the so-called Doctors rubber-stamped the original diagnosis like the good little employees they were.
The patients in this facility get the very best possible care.
Right, I.
E.
, once a month a functionary on the payroll of the nationwide health conglomerate that owns this chain of warehouses for the mentally ill glances at a chart, checks a box, and moves on to the next patient on the shelf.
- You're going to leave now.
- Yes, I am, but I'll be back.
In the meantime, I want Lacey taken off her meds so I can ask her some questions.
I am not going to endanger my patient on the strength of an opinion offered by an ivory tower theoretician after a 30-second examination.
The fact is, the decision isn't really in your hands, is it, Doctor? We're talking to the wrong person.
This is Lacey's room.
I haven't touched a thing since the night.
.
She was attacked.
We all knew the killer was out there.
I never should have let her out of my sight.
According to the statement you gave back then, Lacey told you she was going to a movie? "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" she.
.
Kept saying, "Mom, I'm not an idiot".
"There's a million people on the street.
I'm not gonna walk down some dark alleyway".
Dr.
Pierce.
.
If I let you do what you're asking.
.
If they stop giving her the drugs.
.
Will she know me again? Honestly, I don't know the answer to that.
But if we try this.
.
We might be able to stop the killer from hurting anybody else's daughter.
- You're just in time.
- Have you stopped her meds? You tell me.
[ Gasping .]
Who are you?! Who are you?! Get away from me! Valium, 20cc's.
Unless my esteemed colleague can offer a better suggestion.
If you'd seen what I did to this poor woman.
I'm sure you did what you thought was right.
So did Joseph Stalin.
How could I have been so wrong about something.
.
Daniel? What is it? Me.
.
In about 40 years.
[ Sighs .]
That was weird one, even for me.
You're hallucinating.
What else is new? Didn't I read a book once by a certain brilliant neurosurgeon who speculates that sometimes, even the most frightening hallucinations can be the brain's way of making sense of things that seem random? Maybe the author of that book was just trying to make himself feel better.
Daniel, think.
What is the old you telling the young you? [ Gasps .]
- That's it.
- Daniel, what is it? - That's what must have happened.
- What? Yeah, but where.
.
Where was I? I.
.
I didn't see it in there.
Natalie, I.
.
I can't.
.
I can't explain it right now.
Doc? Are you having an episode? Yes, I'm having an episode.
Well, Doc, it's okay.
I need to go to the hospital right now.
You know, I.
.
I knew I should have kept Agent Moretti away from you.
We'll have a Doctor see you right away.
I don't need to be admitted, Lewicki.
I need to see Lacey.
[ Door opens .]
I knew it.
What the hell are you doing here? Lacey didn't get upset because she was having some kind of psychotic hallucination.
She saw her own reflection in the glass, and she didn't know who it was.
What are you talking about? Have you got her back on the Antipsychotics yet? Not yet.
Good.
Maybe she'll talk to me.
If you bother her again, you'll be dealing with Security, not me.
Doctor, it's Tuesday night.
On Friday, another girl disappears.
Do you want that girl's blood on your hands? Lacey.
Lacey, I need to talk to you.
Can you hear me? - Who are you? - My name's Dr.
Pierce.
How did I get here? You were the victim of a violent crime.
Where's my Mom?! You'll see your Mother very soon, I promise you.
Right now, the police need to know the very last thing you remember.
I remember talking to my friend.
.
Cindy on the phone last night, and then I.
.
And then I went to sleep.
What night was last night? Thursday.
What happened to me? What is going on? Lacey.
.
How old are you? Right there.
.
Significant accumulation of Hemosiderin.
.
Old hemorrhaged blood.
Uh, meaning what? Lacey suffered a traumatic brain injury at the time of her abduction, either at the hands of her killer or because something fell on her head when the house blew up.
How come nobody noticed this back in 1986? They didn't have this technology, so they just drugged her, assuming it was a psychiatric problem, and they kept drugging her.
Okay, now, how does this help us? It gives us a diagnosis.
.
And a plan.
How are you feeling, Lacey? Who are you? How did I get here? Where's my Mom? Lacey has a textbook case of Anterograde Amnesia.
Which means what, exactly? It's a rare disorder in which the subject is unable to create new memories.
Kate: That's why she thinks she's 17, boss.
.
Not because she's delusional, but because nothing that's happened to her for the last 26 years has stuck.
She can hold onto things for a short while.
.
The length of a conversation, maybe a little longer, but then it's gone.
- Does she remember who attacked her? - No.
Everything stops at Thursday night.
Well, what good is a witness who can't remember someone she met an hour ago, much less the man who attacked her and kidnapped her in 1986? Actually, we have every reason to believe that because of her condition.
.
She does remember him.
How do you figure that? According to the journal, the killer is someone that Lacey interacted with several times in the days leading up to her abduction.
Everything that happened to her that week is as fresh in her mind a.
.
As this morning is for us.
If the physical injury caused the amnesia, then why wouldn't she remember everything up to the moment she got clobbered? Because her memory wasn't cut like a ribbon.
It was.
.
It was smashed, like glass.
Lacey's Mother has kept her bedroom like a time capsule.
Nothing has changed since the day she left.
Now, if we bring her home when she's sedated, let her wake up where she expects to, and for her, it'll be a Friday morning in 1986.
We'll be able to ask her about everything that she saw that week.
We know what to ask.
We got the journal.
Not exactly orthodox.
All due respect, Sir, "orthodox" hasn't exactly caught this killer.
Look, the Mother's got to be what, like 65? How are you gonna explain her aging 26 years overnight? Probert, I do know that women are a complete mystery to you, but have you ever heard of a little something called a makeover? Daniel: You look wonderful, Mrs.
Penderhalt.
You took care of the cordless phones, everything else? It's all in the garage.
S.
.
She looked so peaceful last night, asleep in her own bed.
I'm just terrified of what's going to happen when she wakes up.
She'll be at home, in her own room.
And you'll just introduce her to some people who want to ask her a couple questions.
Well, what happens when you are gone? I mean, say we walk into the kitchen and we're talking, and suddenly she can't remember what we're talking about or how she even got in there? So tell her a half-truth.
She got a bump on the head, and that's why she's been a little forgetful.
The Doctor says she needs to stay home and rest, and she'll be fine tomorrow.
And then that tomorrow never comes.
She's at home with someone who loves her and not with strangers in some hospital.
What happens when she looks at her own hands? For 26 years, she hasn't washed a dish or chipped a nail.
I.
.
I wish my hands looked like hers.
[ Up-tempo music plays .]
Mom! Could you, like, knock? Lacey: What's going on? Lacey, I'm sure you've been hearing on the news about The Date Night Killer.
Oh, my God.
Did another girl get killed? Please tell me it's not somebody I know.
No.
No, angel.
Everybody's fine.
Mom.
.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm just so.
.
I'm just so happy to have you home, honey.
Where else would I be? Right.
Are you feeling all right? You don't look so hot.
No, I'm fine.
I just.
.
I didn't sleep very well.
Mrs.
Penderhalt, can I trouble you for a cup of coffee? No trouble at all.
I'll be right back, honey.
Oh, I love them.
Oh.
[ Laughs .]
Great minds.
Lacey, the police found a journal that the killer has been keeping all summer of the girls who he's kidnapped and uh.
.
I'm afraid that the most recent entries have been about you.
Are you saying he wants to kill me? That's why we're here.
We need to ask you some questions about who you've been talking to this week, because we believe that one of those people could be the killer.
On Monday, he wrote in his journal.
.
"Had a blast watching Lacey play softball".
Do you remember anyone watching you play softball? No.
Unless.
.
Unless? Coach Parker.
But it couldn't be him.
I mean, he's, like, the greatest guy ever.
Except? Sometimes, I think there's.
.
Something a little skeezy about the way he looks at Cheryl James.
Do you think it could be coach Parker? Uh, we don't know, but we will certainly check it out.
Someone complained about inappropriate behavior 26 years ago? Not a complaint, just a report.
About an under aged girl named Cheryl James.
[ Scoffs .]
Cheryl James Parker, my wife of 22 years.
On Tuesday, he writes, "saw Lacey at the pool".
You were at the pool on Tuesday? Yeah.
It's free on Tuesdays.
I.
.
I always go.
Anybody flirt with you? [ Gasps .]
There's this hot lifeguard.
.
Rick Matthews.
Oh.
He's always flirting.
I have a picture of.
.
Of him.
Hmm.
Mom! What happened to my mirror? It broke during the night.
I cleaned it up while you were asleep.
The pictures are all in the top drawer.
That's me and Cindy and Rick.
Hmm.
He says he's gonna go to L.
A.
to become a rock star.
Yeah.
I remember Lacey Penderhalt.
[ Chuckles .]
And where were you the last two weekends? Playing the upper peninsula.
We're the hottest Motley Crue tribute band.
.
West of Cleveland.
Thursday, "I saw Lacey at work yesterday.
She's so distracting!" "But there's nobody I'd rather be distracted by".
Work? Oh, that could be Eddie Russell.
He's a junior partner at the law office where I do filings on Monday and Wednesday.
Did he talk to you? Oh, he's always talking to me.
And every time he does, I feel like I need to take a bath.
Hmm.
Apparently, he had too many eggnog at the office Christmas party, and he was chasing his assistant down the fire stairs when he lost his balance.
Been in a bed for six years now.
Seems there is justice in the universe after all.
Well, thank you.
I'm very sorry to.
.
[ Cellphone rings .]
Excuse me.
I need to take this.
- Mm-hmm.
- Moretti.
- Then you're off the case? - Mm.
Just off Lacey.
He wants me running down leads with everybody else.
Then what are you doing in a bar? They've already checked and double-checked those leads.
And I did not graduate third in my class from Quantico to be a triple-checker.
Will you leave those alone? They're older than you are.
So, what, you want me to go down there and tell your boss he's wasting talent? No.
What I want to know is if there's anything else you can remember from '86 that might help us.
Babe, I've done the full download.
But I do have a question.
You always tell your old man the truth? I don't see what that has to do with anything.
Well, just think about it.
In her own head, Lacey is 17.
She tells her Mother she's going to the movie, alone, on a Friday night.
So? Come on, Katie.
You think I forgot that certain night in 1997 when a certain that she was going to the mall with Marsha Ford? Her Dad bumps into her on Navy Pier in the company of a bum with a ring in his nose.
He was not a bum.
He was a philosophy major at Northwestern.
The point is, daughters don't always tell their parents the truth.
[ Knock on door .]
Is he here? You really should call first.
Yes.
Next time, I promise.
Look, what you're doing is not good for him.
What are you talking about? Like, his condition? Because I know about his condition.
Is he having some sort of a.
.
No, no, no.
He's fine.
But he's agitated.
Okay? He missed office hours.
He hasn't gotten any work done.
He's obsessing on the case.
If you keep disrupting his routine, who knows what could happen? Listen, I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be here if it weren't extremely urgent that I bring him to Lacey's house right now.
What are you two whispering about? [ Knock on door .]
Lacey.
.
Honey, this is Dr.
Pierce and Agent Moretti of the FBI.
The FBI? Why? What's going on? Uh, Lacey, I'm sure you've heard about The Date Night Killer on the news.
Oh, my God.
Did somebody I know get killed? No, but we have reason to believe that the killer is somebody you know.
What? Mrs.
Penderhalt, can I trouble you for a cup of coffee? It's no trouble at all.
Honey, I'll be right back.
Lacey, um.
.
We know that you told your Mother that you were gonna be going to the movies tonight, alone.
"Ferris Bueller".
- We know you're not telling us the truth.
- Yeah.
Why would I lie? Lacey, I was 17 myself once.
And I know how grown-ups can freak out and overreact about nothing.
I mean, my Dad once grounded me for just saying that I thought Keith Richards looked cool with a cigarette.
So I know why you might feel like, you have to make things up sometimes.
But please.
.
Think about all those girls who were killed.
Think about the girls who still might die.
You can help us save them.
I was going to go meet a guy.
I didn't tell my Mom because she would kill me.
Uh-huh.
He's 24.
Who is he? He's a photographer.
He saw me in the Park and asked to take my picture, and I said yes.
That's all he did.
.
Take your picture? He kissed me.
But he never asked me to take off my clothes or anything like that, I swear.
Mm-hmm.
What's his name? Kenny Strand.
[ Camera shutter clicking .]
Relax! Come on.
Have fun.
We're selling perfume here, not remaking "Night of The Living Dead".
- Kate: Kenny? - Can't you see that I'm.
.
Sorry.
I thought you were my idiot assistant.
What can I do for you? Are you the Kenny Strand who took pictures of girls in Oak Park in the summer of 1986? That's me, in the long-gone days before I sold my soul.
Ever done any modeling? Actually, I'm in a different line of work.
And I have some questions to ask you.
I always wondered what happened to Lacey.
One night, she didn't show up for the shoot.
Never heard from her again.
Hmm.
But you did take her picture? She's all over my first book.
When you made out with her, were you aware that she was under 18? [ Chuckles .]
Uh, it was an innocent kiss.
I was uh.
.
Getting her more comfortable, getting her to loosen up in front of the camera.
Yeah, I'm sure you wanted all the girls you photographed loosened up.
It was nothing like that.
Look at the pictures.
I was celebrating their youth, their innocence.
What do you think? I'm not seeing anything fetishized or eroticized here.
[ Cellphone ringing .]
Excuse me.
[ Beep .]
Moretti.
Cut Ansel Adams loose.
What are you talking about? Another woman was just abducted in Bedford Park.
So much for your nut job expert and your brain-damaged witness.
Guy said his girlfriend left the club around 9:20 for a smoke.
Half-hour later, he goes looking.
Girlfriend's gone.
Bouncer says around 9:25, he saw a guy around 50, white, medium height, practically carry some drunk-off-her-ass girl to his car.
Chloroform.
Bouncer asks the guy if he needs a hand.
Guy says he's glad his little girl has the sense to call her Daddy when she's too drunk to drive herself home.
Girl's name is Melinda Davis.
[ Elevator bell dings .]
Kate: If we don't find her in the next 24 hours, we're definitely gonna find her on Sunday morning.
What the hell? Daniel, what's wrong? Nothing.
Boss wants us to canvass the area for witnesses and check Security cams within a five-mile radius for medium-sized, maybe blue, maybe Honda's.
All right.
Well, I need to find someone to bring you home.
Otherwise, Lewicki's gonna come after me with an ax.
Yeah.
Let's take the stairs.
[ Classical music plays .]
[ Sighs .]
Natalie: What are you doing here? You mean besides getting run over by imaginary, homicidal bicycles? It's better than a real one.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Nice shirt.
Oh.
Yeah.
Now that I've dug it out again, I don't really want to take it off.
That was a great night, wasn't it? Which night? The night we saw Tears For Fears at the Vic.
We didn't go to that concert together.
Of course we did.
We were dating then.
We went everywhere together.
Daniel, I asked you to go with me, and you kept saying that the government scanners in public places were monitoring your thoughts.
I ended up going with Josh Lewis.
Josh Lew.
.
No, you.
.
No, you're wrong.
You're wrong.
We went to Tears For Fears together.
Don't give me that look.
I can.
.
Hey, I can prove it.
Shout, shout! Let it all out! These are the things.
.
Here you go.
Two stubs, Tears For Fears, August 10, 1986.
.
I'm talking to you.
Come on! Daniel.
.
Those aren't stubs.
They're whole tickets.
You bought them, but you never went to the concert.
What are you talking about? W.
.
W.
.
We pushed our way to the front.
We almost got trampled to death on the dance floor.
I.
.
I.
.
I got a T-shirt! You bought that shirt at Hegwisch Records.
What? You told Kate that you didn't remember The Date Night Killer because you had your head in the books.
You shouldn't have to sell your soul.
But it was in my books.
Yes, but that was also the summer that you started to.
.
Break.
So I imagined the whole thing? I put myself in Josh Lewis' place? You confused desire with reality.
Just like the killer.
What do you mean? He wrote in his journal that he.
.
He danced with his victims, he bought them cocktails, he swam in the lake with them.
But he never really did.
His entire connection to these women is all in his head.
He.
.
He.
.
He's a delusional Erotomaniac! That's why.
.
Why the leads in the journal don't lead anywhere.
Yes, the women danced and drank a.
.
And swam in the lake! But not with the killer.
He wrote that he saw Lacey everywhere that summer.
But that's just because he was following her around! Which means.
.
The bicycles.
Let me see that book again, the.
.
The one with the photographs.
I'll call you back.
Look.
.
Daniel, Kenny's alibi checked out.
He's not our killer.
Give me the book.
Yeah.
Look at that.
- That's a bicycle.
- Uh-huh.
And there.
Another bicycle.
Did you notice all this before? I.
.
Yes.
[ Stammers .]
I didn't notice that I was noticing until later.
Look at that.
Fireworks.
Everybody's looking up at the fireworks, everyone in the whole Park.
Look at this one guy on the bike.
- Right.
- Who's he looking at? That's me and.
.
That's Cindy and that's Aileen.
Mm-hmm.
Do you recognize this guy here on the bike? No.
[ Gasps .]
But I know where he works.
See that "M" on his shoulder bag? - Uh-huh.
- That's for Mercury Messengers.
At the law office where I work, the bike boys are always coming in and out, picking stuff up.
Thank you, Lacey.
You may have just helped us catch a killer.
Roger: There were 33 messengers working for Mercury in 1986.
But three are dead.
Two living out of the country, seven nonwhite, four untraceable, and a whole bunch of solid alibis.
Leaving eight possibilities.
We like number 29, Simon Kaydee.
He's the right age in '86.
He drives a dark-blue Nissan Altima.
The subject of several reports of domestic violence.
He lives in Stickney.
It's practically farmland out there.
It's a good place to tie up a girl in your basement.
And get this.
.
Just last night, he swiped his credit card at a mall just two miles from the club where the girl was nabbed.
All right.
Let's move on Kaydee.
Whoa, where do you think you're going? - With you.
- Like hell you are.
Stay here.
I'll call you as soon as I can.
[ Classical music plays .]
Man: Come on, Doc.
You're smarter than these jokers.
You know I'm not the guy.
You saw my blushing bride and the date of the wedding, too.
.
Six weeks ago.
What's your point? If a guy's got a pretty little filet mignon like that at home.
Why would he want to go out and slaughter himself a hamburger every Saturday night? Look harder, Doc.
It's all right there.
Everything you need to know.
[ Knock on glass .]
Call Agent Moretti! I need to talk to her! Daniel, slow down.
I can't hear you.
I'm saying you need to forget about number 29.
Number 17 I.
.
Is your man.
.
Keith Trevoy of Berwyn.
How do you know? The question we couldn't answer.
.
Why did he start killing again? I.
.
It's all about the itch he needed to scratch.
W.
.
W.
.
What was he looking for? The one.
The.
.
The girl he could love who would love him back.
Number 17.
.
He got married September 27, 1986.
.
B.
.
But his wife died four weeks ago.
.
Just before the recent murders.
Y.
.
You've got to get to Berwyn! We have orders to show up in Stickney.
There are three dozen agents on their way to Stickney.
They can spare a couple.
[ Tires screeching .]
Keith: I know how much you love Pinot Noir.
It's so wonderful that.
.
We like the same things, isn't it? Call for backup.
[ Beep .]
No more screaming, okay? Help me! We're going in.
I'll cover the front.
Yeah.
[ Sobbing .]
[ Clatter .]
[ Groans .]
Aah! [ Gun cocks .]
[ Gasps, whimpers .]
[ Sobs .]
Put down the knife.
It's over, Keith.
CPD and the FBI have this place surrounded.
Then I might as well kill her.
- No! - You don't want to do that.
She's the one.
She's not gonna let you down like the others.
How do you know that? We read her diary.
We found it in her house.
She said that she loves you.
She didn't realize it at first, but now she knows that you're what she's always wanted.
Go on, Melinda.
Tell him.
Tell him how you feel.
It's true.
I love you.
.
More than anyone I've ever met.
Then why didn't you say so? [ Gasps .]
Because.
.
You scared me.
But I love you.
Liar! [ Groans .]
[ Siren wailing in distance .]
My kid, the hero! [ Cheers and applause .]
What? I can't brag about my daughter in my own bar?! [ Laughs .]
It's not like I didn't have help.
Ah, but you knew where to go for help, which is.
.
The whole key to life.
[ Laughs .]
Come on, Katie.
What? What? You should be celebrating.
Pour us a couple of scotches, Dad.
What's up? Remember what you, uh, were saying about kids sometimes lying to their parents? I got something to tell you.
It's about Donnie.
I knew it.
Hey, Lacey, honey.
I'd like you to meet a friend of mine.
This is Dr.
Daniel Pierce.
Doctor? Is somebody sick? Oh, no.
No, nothing like that.
Um, your Mother tells me that you like Tears For Fears, and um.
.
Well, I just happen to have two tickets to see them at the Vic that I can't use.
Would you like them? Oh, my God! Are you serious?! - They're all yours.
- [ Gasps .]
Thank you! I love you! [ Laughs .]
Oh, thank you so much.
Hmm.
Your daughter saved lives.
I hope you know that.
Yes, but she's never gonna know that.
And she's never going to go to that concert.
No.
But every day, you can give her those tickets.
And every day, she'll be just as excited to get them.
Thank you, Dr.
Pierce.
Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me.
Anterograde Amnesia is a terrible affliction.
But if you'll forgive this.
.
Stodgy, old science Professor a moment of philosophical speculation, it's an affliction that can remind us of something very important.
All we really have is the present moment.
.
He'll be finished in a minute.
Actually, I, uh.
.
I came to talk to you, not him.
Uh, me? Yeah, look, I just wanted to apologize for bursting in the way I do all the time.
Actually, I'm the one who should be apologizing.
- Why? - [ Chuckles .]
You see, a big part of my job is finding puzzles hard enough to take him out of his own head for a while.
And.
.
This week, I realized something.
You bring him puzzles, too.
So if I were you, I would truly savor the here and now, that precious and irreplaceable right-this-second that is never to be repeated again in all of history.
.
Quiet moment, a beautiful campus, your friends on either side of you.
Sun streaming in through the windows.
Savor this! While you can.
Because for the rest for the rest of the week, you're all gonna be busting your asses on a twelve page paper on time and memory.
Due at 8:30 A.
M.
Monday morning.
No exceptions, no excuses.
Aw! Aw, Professor Pierce! Come on you guys this is the fun part.
.
Yesterday or.
.
Tomorrow? Hands up for yesterday.
Right.
And tomorrow? Wow.
Nobody? Not one? Morticia, explain how you arrived at that predictable, but unprovable, conclusion.
It's not something anybody has to prove.
It's just something you know.
Daniel: Something you know? All we know is that what we think of as past, present, and future is nothing more than a.
.
Than a story stitched together in our Basal Ganglia.
Our entire concept of time is a.
.
Is an artificial construct.
In that case, I don't need to hand in my lab report.
Because for all you know, I already did.
[ Laughter .]
That is entirely correct! Of course, by that thinking, I may already have flunked you.
[ Laughter .]
Max: Artificial construct or not, you have a curriculum review with the Provost in 7 minutes, and don't forget you've got before office hours at 4:00, so if you could pick up the pace? Okay, you're overbooking me, Lewicki.
The brain needs downtime to function.
Not yours.
What did you tell me when you hired me? "Schedule equals sanity".
If you really cared about my sanity, you'd keep the Provost out of my curriculum.
You know what? You're absolutely right.
A little break will do you good.
I'll be back in a minute.
And never say I don't bring you treats.
"Extreme Kakuro".
Very nice.
Agent Moretti.
Hey, how are you doing today? I'm fine.
Thank you, Max.
How are you? I'm good, I'm good, but unfortunately, Professor Pierce is a little busy right now.
Well, he doesn't look very busy to me.
If you need a consultant, I can introduce you to another very fine Professor in the Department.
Thank you, Max, but it's really Dr.
Pierce that I need to talk to.
I hate to sound dramatic, but it really could be a matter of life and death.
Whose? Doc.
.
You can tell the Provost I'll be there as soon as I can.
Okay, what if he's ad.
.
And if he complains that I'm late, tell him it's all in his Basal Ganglia.
Kate: Remember The Date Night Killer, summer of '86? Vaguely.
Wait, Daniel, it was the crime of the decade.
How can you not remember this? Well, it's a hard to keep up with the news when you're cramming for your MCATs.
Okay, for five weeks in a row, every Friday, a girl would go missing in the afternoon and turn up dead in a landfill on Sunday morning, raped and beaten.
Well, the killings stopped, but they never caught the guy who did it.
Why are you working on a cold case? Because it's not cold any more.
These are clippings from 1986.
But Sunday before last, a body turns up in Avondale, same M.
O.
as '86, same Chloroform burns around the mouth, but CPD didn't make the connection until another body showed up just this past Sunday in Lincolnwood.
But this time, they got a print.
crime scenes from back then.
So if the killer sticks to the pattern, another girl disappears Friday night.
And turns up dead on Sunday.
How can I help you catch him? Victim number 6.
Lacey Penderhalt.
The killer grabbed her Friday, July 18, 1986.
The next day, a propane stove blew up an abandoned house in Maywood.
Firemen found Lacey in the cellar, tied up, unconscious, but alive.
By the time she came to, she was so traumatized, she had some kind of a psychotic break.
The police tried to question her, but she was incoherent.
Did she ever recover? Well, she's been living in a psychiatric nursing home for the past 26 years, apparently pretty out of it.
And you want me to see if I can get through to her.
The Bureau's got 50 agents working crime scenes, chasing down leads, tracking present-day victims.
But I think that the answer is Lacey.
Well, if I'm gonna have any hope of reaching her, I'm gonna need to know more than this.
Absolutely.
I just don't think you should hear it secondhand.
I think you should get this from somebody who was there.
Who's that? Retired Police Detective Joe Moretti.
.
A.
K.
A.
my Dad.
It was a terrible summer.
I wouldn't let Katie I was 6, Dad.
Not exactly the target demo.
Talk to me when you're a parent.
Every Detective on the force was working some angle of that case.
My squad, we were checking out the clues from the killer's journal.
- Mm.
- He kept a journal? You buried the lead, Agent Moretti.
[ Chuckles .]
Don't worry.
I brought a copy.
They found the original in the wrecked house.
This is where the killer kept track of all his crushes.
"I met the most incredible girl on the El today.
Lily.
.
Isn't that a beautiful name?" Lily Pasetti.
Victim number 3.
Sounds like he was fixated on her.
Yeah, for a week.
Every Monday and Tuesday, he'd meet a new girl, and she'd be "the one".
On Wednesday and Thursday, he'd write about dancing with them in a club or swimming with them at the lake.
And every Sunday, it was the same thing.
.
How the girl disappointed him, how she'd broken his heart or turned out to be a phony.
"I bought Sandra a drink at The Blacklight".
Anybody at The Blacklight see who bought her a drink? She was a hot number.
Friends said there was a ton of guys buying her drinks.
But we couldn't put any one of those guys at the club where Lily was dancing or swimming at the lake with Suzanne.
But the entries about Lacey are different.
"I saw Lacey today, and I thought," "wow, she's been here all summer, everywhere I look".
He knew her.
That's why we were always hoping that Lacey would come around but.
.
She's nuttier than Grandma's fruitcake.
- Dad, mm-mm.
- Sorry, Katie.
Just a figure of speech.
What I can't figure out is why he would take it up again after a 26-year vacation.
Maybe he got scared after you found his hideout, or.
.
Maybe he just found some other way to scratch what was itching him.
Either way, it's time to go talk to Lacey Penderhalt.
Thanks.
And maybe someday you'll even come around when you don't need something.
- No, no, no.
No, no, no.
- Dad.
.
I understand, fresh in town, new job, lots to do.
Hmm.
Speaking about fresh in town, when is Donnie coming in from D.
C.
? Soon.
Definitely.
Yeah, soon.
I.
.
And I'll call you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Yeah.
Wait.
I just remembered.
I met you parents' night, Katie's freshman year.
You're the Professor she had the big crush on - the whole time she was in college.
- [ Squeals .]
Nope.
What? So, you're probably wondering who Donnie is.
None of my business.
Well, it's okay.
I should have told you.
You don't have to tell me anything.
He's my husband.
You're married? Soon-to-be divorced.
I met him in D.
C.
it just did not work out.
Why are you lying to your Father about that? He hated Donnie the second he laid eyes on him.
"He's all wrong for you, Katie".
I just couldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he was right, you know? Agent Moretti? Dr.
Pierce? - Ryan Cutler.
- Thank you for seeing us, Dr.
Cutler.
Does Lacey know we're coming? Lacey doesn't know much of anything.
If you're hoping for help solving your case, I'm afraid you're going to be very disappointed.
Hi, Lacey.
My name is Dr.
Pierce.
And uh, this is my friend, Kate Moretti, with the FBI.
Is it all right if we ask you some questions? I'll come back a little later, if that's all right.
I'm gonna need to see her complete medical history.
I'm.
.
I'm, uh, told that I can be a little addled, so, uh, let me see if I understand what it is that I've been reading.
beaten, raped, tied up and gagged, Lacey Penderhalt was understandably hysterical, agitated, and disoriented, for which condition she was administered 2 milligrams of Lonoxonol, which, even in that prehistoric era, was 10 times the recommended dose of a dangerously powerful sedative, which has since been proven to trigger psychosis in patients with recent head injuries.
Because the drug caused Lacey to present as psychotic, she was diagnosed with Traumatogenic schizo-affective disorder.
.
A phrase I mercifully haven't heard spoken in 20 years.
.
And treated with heavy doses of Chlorpromazine, another genuine relic of Psychotherapeutic antiquity, which rendered her nearly comatose.
The now mentally disabled patient was transferred to a long-term care facility, where the so-called Doctors rubber-stamped the original diagnosis like the good little employees they were.
The patients in this facility get the very best possible care.
Right, I.
E.
, once a month a functionary on the payroll of the nationwide health conglomerate that owns this chain of warehouses for the mentally ill glances at a chart, checks a box, and moves on to the next patient on the shelf.
- You're going to leave now.
- Yes, I am, but I'll be back.
In the meantime, I want Lacey taken off her meds so I can ask her some questions.
I am not going to endanger my patient on the strength of an opinion offered by an ivory tower theoretician after a 30-second examination.
The fact is, the decision isn't really in your hands, is it, Doctor? We're talking to the wrong person.
This is Lacey's room.
I haven't touched a thing since the night.
.
She was attacked.
We all knew the killer was out there.
I never should have let her out of my sight.
According to the statement you gave back then, Lacey told you she was going to a movie? "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" she.
.
Kept saying, "Mom, I'm not an idiot".
"There's a million people on the street.
I'm not gonna walk down some dark alleyway".
Dr.
Pierce.
.
If I let you do what you're asking.
.
If they stop giving her the drugs.
.
Will she know me again? Honestly, I don't know the answer to that.
But if we try this.
.
We might be able to stop the killer from hurting anybody else's daughter.
- You're just in time.
- Have you stopped her meds? You tell me.
[ Gasping .]
Who are you?! Who are you?! Get away from me! Valium, 20cc's.
Unless my esteemed colleague can offer a better suggestion.
If you'd seen what I did to this poor woman.
I'm sure you did what you thought was right.
So did Joseph Stalin.
How could I have been so wrong about something.
.
Daniel? What is it? Me.
.
In about 40 years.
[ Sighs .]
That was weird one, even for me.
You're hallucinating.
What else is new? Didn't I read a book once by a certain brilliant neurosurgeon who speculates that sometimes, even the most frightening hallucinations can be the brain's way of making sense of things that seem random? Maybe the author of that book was just trying to make himself feel better.
Daniel, think.
What is the old you telling the young you? [ Gasps .]
- That's it.
- Daniel, what is it? - That's what must have happened.
- What? Yeah, but where.
.
Where was I? I.
.
I didn't see it in there.
Natalie, I.
.
I can't.
.
I can't explain it right now.
Doc? Are you having an episode? Yes, I'm having an episode.
Well, Doc, it's okay.
I need to go to the hospital right now.
You know, I.
.
I knew I should have kept Agent Moretti away from you.
We'll have a Doctor see you right away.
I don't need to be admitted, Lewicki.
I need to see Lacey.
[ Door opens .]
I knew it.
What the hell are you doing here? Lacey didn't get upset because she was having some kind of psychotic hallucination.
She saw her own reflection in the glass, and she didn't know who it was.
What are you talking about? Have you got her back on the Antipsychotics yet? Not yet.
Good.
Maybe she'll talk to me.
If you bother her again, you'll be dealing with Security, not me.
Doctor, it's Tuesday night.
On Friday, another girl disappears.
Do you want that girl's blood on your hands? Lacey.
Lacey, I need to talk to you.
Can you hear me? - Who are you? - My name's Dr.
Pierce.
How did I get here? You were the victim of a violent crime.
Where's my Mom?! You'll see your Mother very soon, I promise you.
Right now, the police need to know the very last thing you remember.
I remember talking to my friend.
.
Cindy on the phone last night, and then I.
.
And then I went to sleep.
What night was last night? Thursday.
What happened to me? What is going on? Lacey.
.
How old are you? Right there.
.
Significant accumulation of Hemosiderin.
.
Old hemorrhaged blood.
Uh, meaning what? Lacey suffered a traumatic brain injury at the time of her abduction, either at the hands of her killer or because something fell on her head when the house blew up.
How come nobody noticed this back in 1986? They didn't have this technology, so they just drugged her, assuming it was a psychiatric problem, and they kept drugging her.
Okay, now, how does this help us? It gives us a diagnosis.
.
And a plan.
How are you feeling, Lacey? Who are you? How did I get here? Where's my Mom? Lacey has a textbook case of Anterograde Amnesia.
Which means what, exactly? It's a rare disorder in which the subject is unable to create new memories.
Kate: That's why she thinks she's 17, boss.
.
Not because she's delusional, but because nothing that's happened to her for the last 26 years has stuck.
She can hold onto things for a short while.
.
The length of a conversation, maybe a little longer, but then it's gone.
- Does she remember who attacked her? - No.
Everything stops at Thursday night.
Well, what good is a witness who can't remember someone she met an hour ago, much less the man who attacked her and kidnapped her in 1986? Actually, we have every reason to believe that because of her condition.
.
She does remember him.
How do you figure that? According to the journal, the killer is someone that Lacey interacted with several times in the days leading up to her abduction.
Everything that happened to her that week is as fresh in her mind a.
.
As this morning is for us.
If the physical injury caused the amnesia, then why wouldn't she remember everything up to the moment she got clobbered? Because her memory wasn't cut like a ribbon.
It was.
.
It was smashed, like glass.
Lacey's Mother has kept her bedroom like a time capsule.
Nothing has changed since the day she left.
Now, if we bring her home when she's sedated, let her wake up where she expects to, and for her, it'll be a Friday morning in 1986.
We'll be able to ask her about everything that she saw that week.
We know what to ask.
We got the journal.
Not exactly orthodox.
All due respect, Sir, "orthodox" hasn't exactly caught this killer.
Look, the Mother's got to be what, like 65? How are you gonna explain her aging 26 years overnight? Probert, I do know that women are a complete mystery to you, but have you ever heard of a little something called a makeover? Daniel: You look wonderful, Mrs.
Penderhalt.
You took care of the cordless phones, everything else? It's all in the garage.
S.
.
She looked so peaceful last night, asleep in her own bed.
I'm just terrified of what's going to happen when she wakes up.
She'll be at home, in her own room.
And you'll just introduce her to some people who want to ask her a couple questions.
Well, what happens when you are gone? I mean, say we walk into the kitchen and we're talking, and suddenly she can't remember what we're talking about or how she even got in there? So tell her a half-truth.
She got a bump on the head, and that's why she's been a little forgetful.
The Doctor says she needs to stay home and rest, and she'll be fine tomorrow.
And then that tomorrow never comes.
She's at home with someone who loves her and not with strangers in some hospital.
What happens when she looks at her own hands? For 26 years, she hasn't washed a dish or chipped a nail.
I.
.
I wish my hands looked like hers.
[ Up-tempo music plays .]
Mom! Could you, like, knock? Lacey: What's going on? Lacey, I'm sure you've been hearing on the news about The Date Night Killer.
Oh, my God.
Did another girl get killed? Please tell me it's not somebody I know.
No.
No, angel.
Everybody's fine.
Mom.
.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm just so.
.
I'm just so happy to have you home, honey.
Where else would I be? Right.
Are you feeling all right? You don't look so hot.
No, I'm fine.
I just.
.
I didn't sleep very well.
Mrs.
Penderhalt, can I trouble you for a cup of coffee? No trouble at all.
I'll be right back, honey.
Oh, I love them.
Oh.
[ Laughs .]
Great minds.
Lacey, the police found a journal that the killer has been keeping all summer of the girls who he's kidnapped and uh.
.
I'm afraid that the most recent entries have been about you.
Are you saying he wants to kill me? That's why we're here.
We need to ask you some questions about who you've been talking to this week, because we believe that one of those people could be the killer.
On Monday, he wrote in his journal.
.
"Had a blast watching Lacey play softball".
Do you remember anyone watching you play softball? No.
Unless.
.
Unless? Coach Parker.
But it couldn't be him.
I mean, he's, like, the greatest guy ever.
Except? Sometimes, I think there's.
.
Something a little skeezy about the way he looks at Cheryl James.
Do you think it could be coach Parker? Uh, we don't know, but we will certainly check it out.
Someone complained about inappropriate behavior 26 years ago? Not a complaint, just a report.
About an under aged girl named Cheryl James.
[ Scoffs .]
Cheryl James Parker, my wife of 22 years.
On Tuesday, he writes, "saw Lacey at the pool".
You were at the pool on Tuesday? Yeah.
It's free on Tuesdays.
I.
.
I always go.
Anybody flirt with you? [ Gasps .]
There's this hot lifeguard.
.
Rick Matthews.
Oh.
He's always flirting.
I have a picture of.
.
Of him.
Hmm.
Mom! What happened to my mirror? It broke during the night.
I cleaned it up while you were asleep.
The pictures are all in the top drawer.
That's me and Cindy and Rick.
Hmm.
He says he's gonna go to L.
A.
to become a rock star.
Yeah.
I remember Lacey Penderhalt.
[ Chuckles .]
And where were you the last two weekends? Playing the upper peninsula.
We're the hottest Motley Crue tribute band.
.
West of Cleveland.
Thursday, "I saw Lacey at work yesterday.
She's so distracting!" "But there's nobody I'd rather be distracted by".
Work? Oh, that could be Eddie Russell.
He's a junior partner at the law office where I do filings on Monday and Wednesday.
Did he talk to you? Oh, he's always talking to me.
And every time he does, I feel like I need to take a bath.
Hmm.
Apparently, he had too many eggnog at the office Christmas party, and he was chasing his assistant down the fire stairs when he lost his balance.
Been in a bed for six years now.
Seems there is justice in the universe after all.
Well, thank you.
I'm very sorry to.
.
[ Cellphone rings .]
Excuse me.
I need to take this.
- Mm-hmm.
- Moretti.
- Then you're off the case? - Mm.
Just off Lacey.
He wants me running down leads with everybody else.
Then what are you doing in a bar? They've already checked and double-checked those leads.
And I did not graduate third in my class from Quantico to be a triple-checker.
Will you leave those alone? They're older than you are.
So, what, you want me to go down there and tell your boss he's wasting talent? No.
What I want to know is if there's anything else you can remember from '86 that might help us.
Babe, I've done the full download.
But I do have a question.
You always tell your old man the truth? I don't see what that has to do with anything.
Well, just think about it.
In her own head, Lacey is 17.
She tells her Mother she's going to the movie, alone, on a Friday night.
So? Come on, Katie.
You think I forgot that certain night in 1997 when a certain that she was going to the mall with Marsha Ford? Her Dad bumps into her on Navy Pier in the company of a bum with a ring in his nose.
He was not a bum.
He was a philosophy major at Northwestern.
The point is, daughters don't always tell their parents the truth.
[ Knock on door .]
Is he here? You really should call first.
Yes.
Next time, I promise.
Look, what you're doing is not good for him.
What are you talking about? Like, his condition? Because I know about his condition.
Is he having some sort of a.
.
No, no, no.
He's fine.
But he's agitated.
Okay? He missed office hours.
He hasn't gotten any work done.
He's obsessing on the case.
If you keep disrupting his routine, who knows what could happen? Listen, I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be here if it weren't extremely urgent that I bring him to Lacey's house right now.
What are you two whispering about? [ Knock on door .]
Lacey.
.
Honey, this is Dr.
Pierce and Agent Moretti of the FBI.
The FBI? Why? What's going on? Uh, Lacey, I'm sure you've heard about The Date Night Killer on the news.
Oh, my God.
Did somebody I know get killed? No, but we have reason to believe that the killer is somebody you know.
What? Mrs.
Penderhalt, can I trouble you for a cup of coffee? It's no trouble at all.
Honey, I'll be right back.
Lacey, um.
.
We know that you told your Mother that you were gonna be going to the movies tonight, alone.
"Ferris Bueller".
- We know you're not telling us the truth.
- Yeah.
Why would I lie? Lacey, I was 17 myself once.
And I know how grown-ups can freak out and overreact about nothing.
I mean, my Dad once grounded me for just saying that I thought Keith Richards looked cool with a cigarette.
So I know why you might feel like, you have to make things up sometimes.
But please.
.
Think about all those girls who were killed.
Think about the girls who still might die.
You can help us save them.
I was going to go meet a guy.
I didn't tell my Mom because she would kill me.
Uh-huh.
He's 24.
Who is he? He's a photographer.
He saw me in the Park and asked to take my picture, and I said yes.
That's all he did.
.
Take your picture? He kissed me.
But he never asked me to take off my clothes or anything like that, I swear.
Mm-hmm.
What's his name? Kenny Strand.
[ Camera shutter clicking .]
Relax! Come on.
Have fun.
We're selling perfume here, not remaking "Night of The Living Dead".
- Kate: Kenny? - Can't you see that I'm.
.
Sorry.
I thought you were my idiot assistant.
What can I do for you? Are you the Kenny Strand who took pictures of girls in Oak Park in the summer of 1986? That's me, in the long-gone days before I sold my soul.
Ever done any modeling? Actually, I'm in a different line of work.
And I have some questions to ask you.
I always wondered what happened to Lacey.
One night, she didn't show up for the shoot.
Never heard from her again.
Hmm.
But you did take her picture? She's all over my first book.
When you made out with her, were you aware that she was under 18? [ Chuckles .]
Uh, it was an innocent kiss.
I was uh.
.
Getting her more comfortable, getting her to loosen up in front of the camera.
Yeah, I'm sure you wanted all the girls you photographed loosened up.
It was nothing like that.
Look at the pictures.
I was celebrating their youth, their innocence.
What do you think? I'm not seeing anything fetishized or eroticized here.
[ Cellphone ringing .]
Excuse me.
[ Beep .]
Moretti.
Cut Ansel Adams loose.
What are you talking about? Another woman was just abducted in Bedford Park.
So much for your nut job expert and your brain-damaged witness.
Guy said his girlfriend left the club around 9:20 for a smoke.
Half-hour later, he goes looking.
Girlfriend's gone.
Bouncer says around 9:25, he saw a guy around 50, white, medium height, practically carry some drunk-off-her-ass girl to his car.
Chloroform.
Bouncer asks the guy if he needs a hand.
Guy says he's glad his little girl has the sense to call her Daddy when she's too drunk to drive herself home.
Girl's name is Melinda Davis.
[ Elevator bell dings .]
Kate: If we don't find her in the next 24 hours, we're definitely gonna find her on Sunday morning.
What the hell? Daniel, what's wrong? Nothing.
Boss wants us to canvass the area for witnesses and check Security cams within a five-mile radius for medium-sized, maybe blue, maybe Honda's.
All right.
Well, I need to find someone to bring you home.
Otherwise, Lewicki's gonna come after me with an ax.
Yeah.
Let's take the stairs.
[ Classical music plays .]
[ Sighs .]
Natalie: What are you doing here? You mean besides getting run over by imaginary, homicidal bicycles? It's better than a real one.
Yeah.
Hmm.
Nice shirt.
Oh.
Yeah.
Now that I've dug it out again, I don't really want to take it off.
That was a great night, wasn't it? Which night? The night we saw Tears For Fears at the Vic.
We didn't go to that concert together.
Of course we did.
We were dating then.
We went everywhere together.
Daniel, I asked you to go with me, and you kept saying that the government scanners in public places were monitoring your thoughts.
I ended up going with Josh Lewis.
Josh Lew.
.
No, you.
.
No, you're wrong.
You're wrong.
We went to Tears For Fears together.
Don't give me that look.
I can.
.
Hey, I can prove it.
Shout, shout! Let it all out! These are the things.
.
Here you go.
Two stubs, Tears For Fears, August 10, 1986.
.
I'm talking to you.
Come on! Daniel.
.
Those aren't stubs.
They're whole tickets.
You bought them, but you never went to the concert.
What are you talking about? W.
.
W.
.
We pushed our way to the front.
We almost got trampled to death on the dance floor.
I.
.
I.
.
I got a T-shirt! You bought that shirt at Hegwisch Records.
What? You told Kate that you didn't remember The Date Night Killer because you had your head in the books.
You shouldn't have to sell your soul.
But it was in my books.
Yes, but that was also the summer that you started to.
.
Break.
So I imagined the whole thing? I put myself in Josh Lewis' place? You confused desire with reality.
Just like the killer.
What do you mean? He wrote in his journal that he.
.
He danced with his victims, he bought them cocktails, he swam in the lake with them.
But he never really did.
His entire connection to these women is all in his head.
He.
.
He.
.
He's a delusional Erotomaniac! That's why.
.
Why the leads in the journal don't lead anywhere.
Yes, the women danced and drank a.
.
And swam in the lake! But not with the killer.
He wrote that he saw Lacey everywhere that summer.
But that's just because he was following her around! Which means.
.
The bicycles.
Let me see that book again, the.
.
The one with the photographs.
I'll call you back.
Look.
.
Daniel, Kenny's alibi checked out.
He's not our killer.
Give me the book.
Yeah.
Look at that.
- That's a bicycle.
- Uh-huh.
And there.
Another bicycle.
Did you notice all this before? I.
.
Yes.
[ Stammers .]
I didn't notice that I was noticing until later.
Look at that.
Fireworks.
Everybody's looking up at the fireworks, everyone in the whole Park.
Look at this one guy on the bike.
- Right.
- Who's he looking at? That's me and.
.
That's Cindy and that's Aileen.
Mm-hmm.
Do you recognize this guy here on the bike? No.
[ Gasps .]
But I know where he works.
See that "M" on his shoulder bag? - Uh-huh.
- That's for Mercury Messengers.
At the law office where I work, the bike boys are always coming in and out, picking stuff up.
Thank you, Lacey.
You may have just helped us catch a killer.
Roger: There were 33 messengers working for Mercury in 1986.
But three are dead.
Two living out of the country, seven nonwhite, four untraceable, and a whole bunch of solid alibis.
Leaving eight possibilities.
We like number 29, Simon Kaydee.
He's the right age in '86.
He drives a dark-blue Nissan Altima.
The subject of several reports of domestic violence.
He lives in Stickney.
It's practically farmland out there.
It's a good place to tie up a girl in your basement.
And get this.
.
Just last night, he swiped his credit card at a mall just two miles from the club where the girl was nabbed.
All right.
Let's move on Kaydee.
Whoa, where do you think you're going? - With you.
- Like hell you are.
Stay here.
I'll call you as soon as I can.
[ Classical music plays .]
Man: Come on, Doc.
You're smarter than these jokers.
You know I'm not the guy.
You saw my blushing bride and the date of the wedding, too.
.
Six weeks ago.
What's your point? If a guy's got a pretty little filet mignon like that at home.
Why would he want to go out and slaughter himself a hamburger every Saturday night? Look harder, Doc.
It's all right there.
Everything you need to know.
[ Knock on glass .]
Call Agent Moretti! I need to talk to her! Daniel, slow down.
I can't hear you.
I'm saying you need to forget about number 29.
Number 17 I.
.
Is your man.
.
Keith Trevoy of Berwyn.
How do you know? The question we couldn't answer.
.
Why did he start killing again? I.
.
It's all about the itch he needed to scratch.
W.
.
W.
.
What was he looking for? The one.
The.
.
The girl he could love who would love him back.
Number 17.
.
He got married September 27, 1986.
.
B.
.
But his wife died four weeks ago.
.
Just before the recent murders.
Y.
.
You've got to get to Berwyn! We have orders to show up in Stickney.
There are three dozen agents on their way to Stickney.
They can spare a couple.
[ Tires screeching .]
Keith: I know how much you love Pinot Noir.
It's so wonderful that.
.
We like the same things, isn't it? Call for backup.
[ Beep .]
No more screaming, okay? Help me! We're going in.
I'll cover the front.
Yeah.
[ Sobbing .]
[ Clatter .]
[ Groans .]
Aah! [ Gun cocks .]
[ Gasps, whimpers .]
[ Sobs .]
Put down the knife.
It's over, Keith.
CPD and the FBI have this place surrounded.
Then I might as well kill her.
- No! - You don't want to do that.
She's the one.
She's not gonna let you down like the others.
How do you know that? We read her diary.
We found it in her house.
She said that she loves you.
She didn't realize it at first, but now she knows that you're what she's always wanted.
Go on, Melinda.
Tell him.
Tell him how you feel.
It's true.
I love you.
.
More than anyone I've ever met.
Then why didn't you say so? [ Gasps .]
Because.
.
You scared me.
But I love you.
Liar! [ Groans .]
[ Siren wailing in distance .]
My kid, the hero! [ Cheers and applause .]
What? I can't brag about my daughter in my own bar?! [ Laughs .]
It's not like I didn't have help.
Ah, but you knew where to go for help, which is.
.
The whole key to life.
[ Laughs .]
Come on, Katie.
What? What? You should be celebrating.
Pour us a couple of scotches, Dad.
What's up? Remember what you, uh, were saying about kids sometimes lying to their parents? I got something to tell you.
It's about Donnie.
I knew it.
Hey, Lacey, honey.
I'd like you to meet a friend of mine.
This is Dr.
Daniel Pierce.
Doctor? Is somebody sick? Oh, no.
No, nothing like that.
Um, your Mother tells me that you like Tears For Fears, and um.
.
Well, I just happen to have two tickets to see them at the Vic that I can't use.
Would you like them? Oh, my God! Are you serious?! - They're all yours.
- [ Gasps .]
Thank you! I love you! [ Laughs .]
Oh, thank you so much.
Hmm.
Your daughter saved lives.
I hope you know that.
Yes, but she's never gonna know that.
And she's never going to go to that concert.
No.
But every day, you can give her those tickets.
And every day, she'll be just as excited to get them.
Thank you, Dr.
Pierce.
Thank you for bringing my daughter back to me.
Anterograde Amnesia is a terrible affliction.
But if you'll forgive this.
.
Stodgy, old science Professor a moment of philosophical speculation, it's an affliction that can remind us of something very important.
All we really have is the present moment.
.
He'll be finished in a minute.
Actually, I, uh.
.
I came to talk to you, not him.
Uh, me? Yeah, look, I just wanted to apologize for bursting in the way I do all the time.
Actually, I'm the one who should be apologizing.
- Why? - [ Chuckles .]
You see, a big part of my job is finding puzzles hard enough to take him out of his own head for a while.
And.
.
This week, I realized something.
You bring him puzzles, too.
So if I were you, I would truly savor the here and now, that precious and irreplaceable right-this-second that is never to be repeated again in all of history.
.
Quiet moment, a beautiful campus, your friends on either side of you.
Sun streaming in through the windows.
Savor this! While you can.
Because for the rest for the rest of the week, you're all gonna be busting your asses on a twelve page paper on time and memory.
Due at 8:30 A.
M.
Monday morning.
No exceptions, no excuses.
Aw! Aw, Professor Pierce! Come on you guys this is the fun part.