Real Detective (2016) s01e03 Episode Script
Damage
(panting)
- There's not a case out there
that can't be solved.
My reputation
is being a hard-working,
diligent, tenacious detective
that didn't give up.
But you're the only voice
for these victims.
You just have to keep on
charging ahead.
I have solved every
homicide that I got.
I didn't want anybody
to get away with murder.
You just don't let
the bad guys win.
But, in this case
with Alvin Johnson, it's kind
of devastating to me the fact
that maybe this is going to be
the case that I don't solve.
(theme music)
- When you think of Florida,
you're thinking
of palm trees and, you know,
being on the beach and all.
Polk County, which is
the center part of the State,
it's rural. It has
grazing land, orange groves
and the population
at that time wasn't nearly
what it is today.
Now this is Florida,
but on that particular night
it was windy, it was
cold and it was dark.
This is a roadway off Highway 27
that's very seldom traveled.
It was just kind
of an eerie feeling.
- Hey Tommy, it's Lopez. I'm
on Highway 27 near Davenport.
(female on radio)
This is kind of weird.
A dispatcher called
about someone with a flat tire.
I get here and no flat tire,
but I got a dead body.
It looks like a hit and run.
You still around?
- Well it's two AM.
I was on my way home.
All right.
(starts the siren)
(burning rubber)
(tires screeching)
(pedal to the floor)
- Ran straight over
the poor fella.
It's a possible hit and run.
- Maybe.
A possible robbery.
(radio chatter)
Gun on the dash.
- Maybe he had it out
for safety.
- A lot of good
that did him.
It hasn't been fired. Why
don't you get your tech guys
to dust that for prints?
Why don't you get them
to check that tire iron, too?
- The victim's van was running
with the lights on
and there was a tire jack
in front of the van itself.
It appeared that he had
stopped to help someone.
- Alvin Johnson.
It's not your day, is it, Alvin?
Well, it looks like
they ran over him
and dragged him.
I don't think this is
a hit and run.
- What makes you say that?
- Three bullet holes.
He was shot before
he was run over,
or maybe to finish the job,
or maybe to make it
look like a hit and run.
Hey!
(panting)
Hey!
- Don't move.
Don't you move.
I want you to put
your hands up on that tree.
Keep them there.
What are you doing
running from the police?
Making me run through the woods;
that's no way to get
in my good books!
You got a gun on you?
- No.
- You got anything in your
pockets that's going to poke
or stick me?
- No.
- What's this?
Hey, that's a lot
of money, buddy.
- It it's mine.
- Yeah, sure it is.
- I found it on him,
OK? The dead guy.
I'm a good citizen.
- Good citizens don't run
from the police.
- I was going to turn in
the money and call
you guys, I swear I was.
- What, are you out here
looking for a pay phone?
- I didn't do it!
- Come on.
- I heard the shots,
then a car drove away.
- Oh come on,
you can do better than that.
- I heard talking,
muffled -- an argument.
And then I heard someone say,
"You bitch." Then the shots.
- What are you doing
out here in the woods anyway?
- I live here.
- He was making it day by day.
I felt sorry for the guy.
Although we found no gun
at the campsite,
I had the crime scene techs
check for gun residue
to see if, in fact,
he had fired the gun.
There's nothing worse
that I've ever experienced
in law enforcement --
you know, the 40 years --
than having to notify
next of kin
that someone in their
family has been killed.
- Good evening, ma'am.
My name is Detective Tommy Ray.
I'm with the Polk
County Sheriff's Office.
Do you know
an Alvin Johnson?
- (Eastern European accent):
Of course. He's my husband.
He's at work.
- Where is that?
- Circus World,
to check on the bears.
He'll be back later.
- Would you mind if I come in?
- Why? Where's Alvin?
- Ma'am, I'm sorry to say
your husband's
been shot, killed.
That's why I'm here.
- Everything was so off the
wall from what I expected.
You know, from the crime scene
itself to going to the residence
where this guy lived
and then with his wife
coming to the door.
Carmen was 10, 15 years younger
than what the victim was.
(sobbing)
And when I first met Lisa,
Lisa was sitting on the floor
in pigtails crying her eyes out.
- Lisa, uh
you're an aerialist
at the circus?
- Yeah.
(sniffles)
I work with my dad, too.
How could this happen?
- Yeah, it's tough, I know.
I'm sorry.
- Ah, Carmen, you
and Alvin trained bears?
- Alvin, mostly.
H-H-He he was gifted.
- And Alvin is
Lisa's father?
- (almost imperceptible):
No, stepfather.
He took good care of us.
- Was there anyone that
might want to hurt him?
- Only friends.
Alvin did not have enemies.
- Yeah,
Alvin was really well liked.
(sniffle)
Always there for me, my mom.
- Yeah,
he was a great guy. Funny, too.
- Lisa's best friend, Pam, was
there and she was devastated.
- And what about at the circus?
Anything there or anyone?
Carmen, did Alvin own a gun?
Because we we found a gun
on the dash of the van.
Why would your husband be
driving around with a gun?
- Alvin always had
guns with him.
- Well, why did he feel
like he needed to carry a gun?
- He said he would
be right back.
Alvin!
- Mama! Mama!
(sobbing)
- Did Alvin
ever seem agitated
or nervous to you? Did
anything ever catch your eye?
- He was always nice
to me. Quiet.
- Carmen, I'm going
to give you that,
give you and Lisa
a little bit of time, OK?
If you need anything at all,
call the number on the card.
I'm here to help.
- Thank you.
- I mean that. Anything
at all, anytime.
- They were so innocent. Not
knowing what step to take next,
I just felt so much sympathy
and compassion for them.
I was bound and determined
that I was going to solve
this case and find out
who had killed
their father and husband.
- Hey, whatever happened
to that guy that I chased out
into the woods?
- Rusk? He's clean.
They didn't find
any gun residue on him.
- That figures because I didn't
think it was a robbery.
- What do you mean?
- Check this out.
Pretend this is
Alvin's van, all right? Look,
this is Alvin
and this is the tire iron.
What's that tell you?
- Well the tire iron tells me
someone was trying to fix
a broken down vehicle.
- Exactly. So he pulls over,
he gets out of the van. He feels
comfortable enough to leave
the gun behind.
He doesn't feel threatened.
- Which is strange
in the middle of the night
in the middle of nowhere.
- Right. See, I think Alvin knew
who he was pulling over
to help. He goes to fix
the flat tire and, boom.
I think Alvin was set up.
I think it was a trap.
(phone ringing)
Homicide.
What-- Where?
Really?
On my way.
- What was that about?
- You're not going to believe
this. You remember Dan
from Homicide out in, uh
- Gibsonton.
- Gibsonton, yeah. They just
caught another body
from Circus World shot dead.
- Just like Alvin?
- Just like Alvin!
(police radio chatter)
- Tommy.
- Hey, Dan!
- A carnie, shot
point blank in the chest.
And I I knew about your case,
so I gave you a call.
(horse neighing)
- It was extremely unusual
the fact that you would have
two circus performers murdered
during the same timeframe.
So, I felt there
must be a connection.
I just had to find out
what the motive was,
what was behind this.
- They didn't take anything?
- No, he had 40 bucks
in his pocket.
- Showtown. A carnie bar
Ugh, any witnesses?
- Uh-uh.
Tight-knit community.
- Yeah, well. Good luck
getting anything out of them.
You know these two
murders may be linked.
They both worked
at Circus World.
I'm going to take a look at
ballistics. Why don't you see
if my guy, Alvin Johnson,
and yours knew each other.
- Will do.
- All right, buddy.
- Much appreciated, Tommy.
- The fact that I had
two circus performers
killed within a short
amount of time, you know,
that added to the stress
or at least,
you know, the concern
for Carmen and Lisa.
Their whole life
had been destroyed.
They had no means of support.
The sympathy I had for them
was just unbelievable.
- We heard that there was
another murder at Circus Town.
Do you know
anything about it?
- Well, we're working
on it; nothing yet.
- I'm sorry. I don't
have any money.
I promise I will
pay you when I get some.
- Look, I'd like you to consider
having an officer
stay with you tonight.
- Why?
Do you think we're in danger?
- Two murders at Circus World.
I think it's a good idea.
- We'll be okay, Tommy, really.
- Was Alvin involved in
anything out of the ordinary,
like gambling or anything
that would give somebody
reason to be angry with him?
- Not that I knew of.
Like I said,
everyone loved Alvin.
- So he didn't have
problems with anybody?
Okay. You need anything else?
- No. We are good, Tommy.
Thanks for
looking out for us.
- See you, kid.
- Bye.
- Where did you get these?
- What?
- These.
(engine roaring)
♪♪♪
(billiard balls breaking)
- The Showtown's a really
unique place.
A lot of the circus
and carnival workers
hang out there.
You know Lobster Boy, the
Bearded Lady. To say the least,
it was a unique place.
(chuckles)
- Alvin kept to himself mostly.
What can I say? Alvin
was a bit of a weird guy,
but those girls sure loved him.
They'd do anything for him.
Sometimes I wondered why.
- What do you mean?
Alvin wasn't good to them?
- Oh no, nothing like that.
Alvin just wasn't easy
to deal with.
He kept to himself.
Had a bit of a temper, and
boy, did he love his guns.
- Loved his guns, huh?
- Mm-hm.
- Have you heard any talk about
Alvin or the other murders?
- Folks have been
awfully quiet.
Happy to let you know
if I hear anything though,
sweetheart.
- I turned out I was the one
that was the freak. I was
different from everyone else.
A lot of the feedback was like,
"We take care of our own.
"Don't worry about it.
If there's something occurred
"involving one of the circus
performers or carnival people,
we will take care of it."
(charging a gun)
(gunshots)
(little engine whirring)
(knocking)
- The 45 you found on
the dashboard of the van
is not your murder weapon.
- I could have told you that.
- Alvin Johnson
was shot with a 357.
My guess:
a snub nose revolver.
- The same gun used
to kill that carnie?
- No, that was a 40.
You can see there's a sizable
difference in the entry wounds,
as well. I tested
them both, just to be sure.
- So either they're unrelated
or the killer has
two different guns?
I just want you to know
that, ah this ain't charity.
This is the Emergency
Victim's Fund.
Get you both some money.
- I don't know what I would
do without you, Tommy.
You've been so kind to us.
Even filling this out for me.
This is hard on us.
- Yeah, I understand.
That's why I'm here.
(She sniffles and he sighs.)
(Pen drops on the table.)
Did Alvin ever
hurt you or Lisa?
- Of course not!
He was the best thing
that ever happened to us.
This should help.
Alvin took care of everything.
I didn't realize
how much I relied on him.
- Hey, it's going
to be okay.
- Thank you, Tommy.
- I felt the need to do this
because of the financial status
Carmen had. She was trying
to sell tools and things
that her husband had
just to make ends meet.
It's very devastating and
the whole time you're talking
with them, you're thinking,
"Who could have done this?
You know, how could this
have happened?"
- Yeah. No, the bullets
weren't a match.
It's OK. Thanks, bye. Yeah.
Well, Dan got his killer:
a scorned wife shot a man
dead for cheating on her.
The cases aren't related.
(big sigh)
(phone ringing)
- I get down,
but I never go down.
I don't give up.
If you work hard enough
and long enough,
something's going to come up.
I had to go back to square one.
- The dispatcher called about
someone with a flat tire.
(female on radio)
I get here and no flat tire,
but I got a dead body.
- I needed to see the dispatcher
by the name of Valerie,
that called the officer out
the night of the murder.
- Hey girl, do you remember
sending an officer out
to Highway 27 the other night?
- Yeah, sure,
I wanted to check up
on that poor woman.
- Uh, what woman?
- The woman with the flat tire.
I was worried for her. Well, I
was driving on the way to work
at the end of the night
and there was a woman
with a flat tire. So when I got
into the precinct, I dispatched
an officer to see
if she was all right. Why?
- We found a dead
body out there.
- You know maybe
Valerie saw our killer.
- When was this?
- I was working the midnight
shift so it was, like, quarter
to two. Thinking back,
she was quick to get rid of me.
- What kind of car
was she driving?
- Well it happened so fast I
can't even remember the color,
let alone the make.
- And plates?
- I can't remember, sorry.
- What about the woman?
Was she alone?
- I think so. I-I-I can't say.
- What did she look like?
- Young. 20 maybe,
I think. Um, she, uh
she was wearing
a football jacket,
I remember that.
It had an "H" on it.
- Do you think you can
describe her to a sketch artist?
- Oh, yeah.
- Hold on.
- This is the break
that we needed.
- Here's the composite.
- If y'all could help me get
this out, it'd sure mean a lot.
If you spot anything,
you need my help,
give me a call. I'm all over
this case. Just let me know.
- Tommy, phone.
- Take a message.
- It's Lisa. Says she needs
to talk to you now.
- Lisa.
Wait right there. I'm on my way.
Let's go.
(engines and sirens)
(indistinct radio chatter)
- I never thought he'd do
something like this.
- "I killed your stepdad, Alvin,
but I wanted to kill you."
Who is this from?
- His name is Charles,
Charles Pridgen.
I can't believe he'd do this.
- Who is he?
- He's a bad man, Tommy.
- He'd always come around
the circus looking for me.
- He would not leave her alone.
- Did he hurt you?
- No, but he was always hitting
on me to the point where
he got pretty aggressive.
Alvin helped me.
Threatened him. Said he better
back away or else.
- Threatened him how?
- I'm not sure, but
Charles stopped showing up
after that. That's why
I didn't think it was an issue.
- Is that why Alvin was carrying
around a gun so much?
- Charles is crazy, Tommy.
I can't believe he'd do this.
This is all my fault.
- Okay, hey, hey. Slow down.
Stop right there. We don't know
what's going on. Let me
get into this. This officer
outside is going to stay here
with you.
- Carmen and Lisa
are scared to death.
These poor girls
they're they're lost.
- Here's the file
on Charles Pridgen.
This guy's just plain crazy.
- Charles Pridgen was
a very dangerous individual.
He was mentally unstable.
When Lisa finally
confided this information,
you know, it was very
upsetting, like, you know,
why didn't you tell me
this from the start?
- OK, thank you.
Hey, that was Chattahoochee,
the mental facility
Pridgen's staying at.
He was incarcerated
at the time of the murder.
- So he didn't kill him?
- Why is he saying he did?
- Well, he could
have hired someone.
- I'm going to go find out
why he sent that letter.
- Chattahoochee,
that was where a lot
of the mentally insane people
were housed.
And it's like a prison complex
that's surrounded,
you know, with guards and all.
When I was a kid,
it used to be that
if we acted up, like:
"We're going to put you in
Chattahoochee or you belong
in Chattahoochee,"
something to that effect.
- So, you killed Alvin Johnson?
- Damn straight I did.
I meant to kill Lisa, too.
- Well, how did you do it?
Because I know that you were
locked up at the time of the
murder, so how did you do that?
- I have my ways.
- Who'd you hire?
- Why the hell
should I tell you?
I'll tell you one thing though,
Lisa has it coming. Led me on.
- Charles Pridgen
worked at Flea Market,
next to a booth
that Carmen and Lisa had.
He began stalking Lisa.
He was probably 10
to 15 years older than Lisa.
Alvin had forbid him to call
Lisa or be around her.
The guy had brutally murdered an
89 year old woman prior to this.
He was a danger
to the community.
And in his letter, he implied
that he had someone kill Lisa,
but they ended up
killing Alvin Johnson instead.
If he hired a killer,
I needed to find out who.
I checked the station log
and found out
that Charles Pridgen
had a sister, Tameeka,
and that she had come
to visit her brother.
She was the only person
that was on the jail record
of even coming to see Charles.
- Well I heard someone say, "You
bitch!" And then the shots.
(engine revving)
(tires screeching)
- Hey, check this out. Do they
not look exactly alike?
- Yeah, they do.
- Say hello to Tameeka Pridgen.
This is Charles' sister. She
came to visit him while he was
locked up. So maybe
Pridgen's telling the truth:
maybe he did kill Alvin.
Had his sister do it for him.
- She looked a lot like the
composite, and she immediately
became a person of interest.
- She could have tracked Alvin,
set up on the highway,
faked a flat tire.
- Alvin pulled over, figured
a woman stuck on the highway
could use some help.
- Leaves his gun behind
because he doesn't
feel threatened.
(engine roaring)
- It was time to meet Tameeka.
I believe that I was
about to meet with the killer.
- How dare you? (yelling)
- You need to calm down.
- I ain't never
killed no one, ever!
Charlie's a dumb, lying--
I went to see him
because he's my brother
and I wanted to tell him
that Alvin guy was
run over and killed.
- So you told Charles
about Alvin's murder?
- Are you deaf? I thought
it was going to make him happy.
He hates him. And I was
working the night it happened.
- Is that so?
- Yeah, go check; you'll see.
I've had it. It's not my fault
my brother's deranged.
Why do you think
he's in an asylum?
I know my rights.
Are you arresting me?
- No, ma'am.
- Then leave me the hell alone.
- Tameeka was obnoxious,
she was a hell raiser,
wouldn't cooperate.
But eventually I found out
that she wasn't involved
and she was, in fact,
telling the truth.
I went straight back to Pridgen
to get him to back off
from Carmen and Lisa.
- So, I had a nice visit
with your sister, Charles.
- Tameeka don't have
nothing to do with this.
- Well, I know that.
Which means that you didn't have
anything to do with it either.
See, I know that you don't
talk to the other inmates,
and I know that your sister's
the only person that you've had
a contact with on the outside.
- So what?
- So, read
between the lines.
I know you didn't do it.
So, you leave those women alone.
- You're wrong.
I killed Alvin.
I don't care what you say,
I'm going to keep writing
those letters.
- You can write
all the threatening
letters that you want,
but we know you didn't do it,
and we know that you can't.
- Lisa ain't the girl
you think she is.
That Lisa and Carmen, heh heh
they got you fooled.
- (Narrator):
Not long after Charles Pridgen
was ruled out as a suspect,
he committed suicide.
He climbed up this oak tree,
35 feet high,
screamed Lisa's name
and then did a swan dive
and killed himself
because he couldn't have Lisa.
- Thanks, you can leave.
I got it from here.
- OK.
- Bye, bud.
- Charles Pridgen
had no way of killing
Alvin, and he has
no way of hurting you.
- Thank you.
You're a saint, Tommy.
- We're going to find this guy.
(rain falling and thunder)
- (Narrator):
Many nights I'd lie in bed
thinking about ways
to solve this case,
and about Carmen and Lisa
depending on me to bring
this to closure for them.
- I would go back over,
I would read the report,
I would revisit the crime scene;
I would do any and
everything that I thought
maybe I had missed.
- (Narrator):
At this point, it's just
rehashing, going back
over everything
to see where I made a mistake,
but nothing came out of it.
(phone ringing)
- Homicide.
- (female detective): Hey Tommy,
remember you asked me to look
into Alvin's finances to see
if there is anything unusual.
- Yeah.
- Well I did and
there was really nothing
out of the ordinary. So then,
I decided to look into Carmen
and Lisa and
Carmen's broke, Tommy.
She's been living off
the Victim's Fund
that you helped her with.
But then,
I decided to look
into Lisa's file
and she just got paid
a huge chunk of cash
from a company
called Montcalm Publishing.
- Wait, when was this?
- Just about a month ago.
(sighs)
And Tommy,
they make adult magazines.
For some reason, Lisa's being
paid really good money by them.
- Really?
(car honking)
- (Narrator):
You know when I first got
this information, I really
didn't believe it. I thought
maybe there was a mistake.
Looking at her, she sure didn't
look like the innocent girl
that I had first met the day
her stepfather was murdered.
- She was young.
Uh 20, maybe?
- Lisa ain't the girl
you think she is.
- (Narrator):
Got another side to her,
maybe a darker side
that I wasn't aware of.
You know, I had to look
a little bit closer.
It threw everything I knew
about this case into question.
(sighing)
- So Valerie said she saw
a girl that fit Lisa's age,
but sure doesn't look like Lisa.
- Well just because Lisa
posed nude
for an adult magazine
doesn't mean she killed Alvin?
- No, it doesn't mean that,
but what it means is she's
sure not who I thought she was.
Still missing the
big three: the murder weapon,
the motive
and solid ID.
(man's voice on radio)
(woman's voice on radio)
- What's up?
- I think I know
who killed Alvin Johnson.
- I couldn't believe how this
was sitting right under my nose
the whole time
and I couldn't see it.
- She was wearing a football
jacket, I remember that.
It had an "H" on it.
- (Narrator):
So I went to see Pam Dill,
Lisa's best friend at the
restaurant where she worked.
- Pam? How you doing?
Tommy Ray, Homicide
Detective, do you remember me?
Could we have a chat?
I'm gonna be really honest
with you, Pam;
I've got a witness
that says that she saw
a woman in a football jacket
at Alvin Johnson's
murder scene.
She said the jacket
had an "H" on it.
- It wasn't me.
- OK.
If what you're saying is true,
why don't you come on down
and do a polygraph for me. I'm
going to get you off my list
once and for all.
- OK, fine.
- Let's go.
- Now?
- Yeah. That way we can
sleep better tonight.
(click)
(deep breath)
(whirring sound)
- (Narrator):
After talking with Pam,
I brought Lisa in. It was time
that we had a serious
heart to heart.
(door closing)
- You better convince me
that I'm wrong.
(click)
- It was Pam, I swear.
I'm innocent, Tommy,
I swear on my life.
I would never lie to you.
(clicking and whirring)
- (Pam): Lisa and I came up
with the idea together.
We had borrowed
my friend's car.
We called Alvin and said we were
broken down on the highway.
(engine off)
(car door slams shut)
- (Pam):
Lisa put the flashers on
while I planted the tire iron.
(hard metallic sound)
That's when
the woman drove by
and saw me.
- (Valerie): Are you OK?
- (Pam): Fine, thanks.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah, someone's on the way.
- (Pam): She wanted to help.
- OK.
- I got rid
of her quick.
Not long after that,
Alvin got there.
- (Narrator):
You know as Pam's
telling me this story,
I'm having flashbacks of things
that didn't add up. And now,
hearing the story,
everything made sense.
- Talk about getting stuck
in the middle of nowhere.
What's wrong with the car?
- There were things
that she told that
only the person at the
crime scene would have known.
I'm thinking about
the placement of the jack
being right in front of the van.
I mean everything she said
completely matched
the physical evidence
we had found at the scene.
The only decision I had to make
was: Who actually
pulled the trigger?
But you know, in my heart
of hearts, I'm hoping that Lisa
isn't the killer. That it is Pam
who is the one
that committed the homicide.
- Bitch.
(gunshot)
- Then before I could blink
Lisa had pulled the gun,
fired three rounds straight.
She was aiming
for his groin,
but got him
straight in the chest.
After the shots,
we panicked.
We jumped in the car
and drove off.
(engine starting)
(bumping and braking)
(speeding off again)
I drove over Alvin
by accident.
- Why did Lisa
want to kill Alvin?
- Talk to her
about that.
- Where did she
get the gun?
- Alvin.
He gave it to her so she could
protect herself from Pridgen.
She lied
to you, Tommy.
So did I.
I'm sorry.
- (Tommy's voice from recorder):
What kind of gun was it?
- (Pam, from recorder):
A 357 Magnum.
(clicking off recorder)
- Pam pulled the trigger, Tommy,
not me. She's lying.
Pam always talked about how we
should just get it over with.
That Alvin was a bad person
and done nothing but bad.
And then, all of a sudden,
she was next to me
and she went, boom, boom,
like two or three times
and it threw him back.
He was still moaning
when we jumped in the car,
so Pam ran over him
to finish the job.
- Why didn't you tell me
about the 357
that Alvin gave you
to protect yourself with
against Charles Pridgen?
- You never asked.
- You lied to me.
- No!
No, I swear I didn't, Tommy.
This is all a big mistake.
(sigh)
- Where did you
hide the gun, Pam?
- We buried it.
It's up at Cyprus Gardens.
I doubt you'll find it.
It's all swamp and overgrown.
(duck quacking)
- Pam led us to a 357
that was registered
to Alvin Johnson.
Alvin was killed with
the gun that he gave you
to protect
yourself with.
Why'd you kill him?
- When I was
four years old, Tommy
Alvin raped me
for the first time.
I was four years old.
He continued molesting me
until the day he died.
He deserved
to die, Tommy.
He deserved it.
(click)
(sighs)
- You should have reported him.
Not kill him.
Because now Alvin's dead
and you're going to jail.
(door closing)
- (Narrator): It wasn't so much
that I was upset with her,
it was the fact that she had
thrown her life away.
I think Lisa French
took a bad situation,
if that was in fact
occurring, and made it
a thousand times worse.
I think Carmen failed Lisa
for not seeing that
and not coming forward
and reporting it
to law enforcement.
- (sobbing)
In this particular case,
I put my whole heart into it.
I just felt so sorry.
Any and everything
I could do to help them,
and I tried to.
Almost above and beyond.
It was so devastating
when I found out
that all this was made up,
that she wasn't the person
that she pretended to be.
I let my emotions and my
sympathy blind my judgment.
They got me hook,
line and sinker.
- There's not a case out there
that can't be solved.
My reputation
is being a hard-working,
diligent, tenacious detective
that didn't give up.
But you're the only voice
for these victims.
You just have to keep on
charging ahead.
I have solved every
homicide that I got.
I didn't want anybody
to get away with murder.
You just don't let
the bad guys win.
But, in this case
with Alvin Johnson, it's kind
of devastating to me the fact
that maybe this is going to be
the case that I don't solve.
(theme music)
- When you think of Florida,
you're thinking
of palm trees and, you know,
being on the beach and all.
Polk County, which is
the center part of the State,
it's rural. It has
grazing land, orange groves
and the population
at that time wasn't nearly
what it is today.
Now this is Florida,
but on that particular night
it was windy, it was
cold and it was dark.
This is a roadway off Highway 27
that's very seldom traveled.
It was just kind
of an eerie feeling.
- Hey Tommy, it's Lopez. I'm
on Highway 27 near Davenport.
(female on radio)
This is kind of weird.
A dispatcher called
about someone with a flat tire.
I get here and no flat tire,
but I got a dead body.
It looks like a hit and run.
You still around?
- Well it's two AM.
I was on my way home.
All right.
(starts the siren)
(burning rubber)
(tires screeching)
(pedal to the floor)
- Ran straight over
the poor fella.
It's a possible hit and run.
- Maybe.
A possible robbery.
(radio chatter)
Gun on the dash.
- Maybe he had it out
for safety.
- A lot of good
that did him.
It hasn't been fired. Why
don't you get your tech guys
to dust that for prints?
Why don't you get them
to check that tire iron, too?
- The victim's van was running
with the lights on
and there was a tire jack
in front of the van itself.
It appeared that he had
stopped to help someone.
- Alvin Johnson.
It's not your day, is it, Alvin?
Well, it looks like
they ran over him
and dragged him.
I don't think this is
a hit and run.
- What makes you say that?
- Three bullet holes.
He was shot before
he was run over,
or maybe to finish the job,
or maybe to make it
look like a hit and run.
Hey!
(panting)
Hey!
- Don't move.
Don't you move.
I want you to put
your hands up on that tree.
Keep them there.
What are you doing
running from the police?
Making me run through the woods;
that's no way to get
in my good books!
You got a gun on you?
- No.
- You got anything in your
pockets that's going to poke
or stick me?
- No.
- What's this?
Hey, that's a lot
of money, buddy.
- It it's mine.
- Yeah, sure it is.
- I found it on him,
OK? The dead guy.
I'm a good citizen.
- Good citizens don't run
from the police.
- I was going to turn in
the money and call
you guys, I swear I was.
- What, are you out here
looking for a pay phone?
- I didn't do it!
- Come on.
- I heard the shots,
then a car drove away.
- Oh come on,
you can do better than that.
- I heard talking,
muffled -- an argument.
And then I heard someone say,
"You bitch." Then the shots.
- What are you doing
out here in the woods anyway?
- I live here.
- He was making it day by day.
I felt sorry for the guy.
Although we found no gun
at the campsite,
I had the crime scene techs
check for gun residue
to see if, in fact,
he had fired the gun.
There's nothing worse
that I've ever experienced
in law enforcement --
you know, the 40 years --
than having to notify
next of kin
that someone in their
family has been killed.
- Good evening, ma'am.
My name is Detective Tommy Ray.
I'm with the Polk
County Sheriff's Office.
Do you know
an Alvin Johnson?
- (Eastern European accent):
Of course. He's my husband.
He's at work.
- Where is that?
- Circus World,
to check on the bears.
He'll be back later.
- Would you mind if I come in?
- Why? Where's Alvin?
- Ma'am, I'm sorry to say
your husband's
been shot, killed.
That's why I'm here.
- Everything was so off the
wall from what I expected.
You know, from the crime scene
itself to going to the residence
where this guy lived
and then with his wife
coming to the door.
Carmen was 10, 15 years younger
than what the victim was.
(sobbing)
And when I first met Lisa,
Lisa was sitting on the floor
in pigtails crying her eyes out.
- Lisa, uh
you're an aerialist
at the circus?
- Yeah.
(sniffles)
I work with my dad, too.
How could this happen?
- Yeah, it's tough, I know.
I'm sorry.
- Ah, Carmen, you
and Alvin trained bears?
- Alvin, mostly.
H-H-He he was gifted.
- And Alvin is
Lisa's father?
- (almost imperceptible):
No, stepfather.
He took good care of us.
- Was there anyone that
might want to hurt him?
- Only friends.
Alvin did not have enemies.
- Yeah,
Alvin was really well liked.
(sniffle)
Always there for me, my mom.
- Yeah,
he was a great guy. Funny, too.
- Lisa's best friend, Pam, was
there and she was devastated.
- And what about at the circus?
Anything there or anyone?
Carmen, did Alvin own a gun?
Because we we found a gun
on the dash of the van.
Why would your husband be
driving around with a gun?
- Alvin always had
guns with him.
- Well, why did he feel
like he needed to carry a gun?
- He said he would
be right back.
Alvin!
- Mama! Mama!
(sobbing)
- Did Alvin
ever seem agitated
or nervous to you? Did
anything ever catch your eye?
- He was always nice
to me. Quiet.
- Carmen, I'm going
to give you that,
give you and Lisa
a little bit of time, OK?
If you need anything at all,
call the number on the card.
I'm here to help.
- Thank you.
- I mean that. Anything
at all, anytime.
- They were so innocent. Not
knowing what step to take next,
I just felt so much sympathy
and compassion for them.
I was bound and determined
that I was going to solve
this case and find out
who had killed
their father and husband.
- Hey, whatever happened
to that guy that I chased out
into the woods?
- Rusk? He's clean.
They didn't find
any gun residue on him.
- That figures because I didn't
think it was a robbery.
- What do you mean?
- Check this out.
Pretend this is
Alvin's van, all right? Look,
this is Alvin
and this is the tire iron.
What's that tell you?
- Well the tire iron tells me
someone was trying to fix
a broken down vehicle.
- Exactly. So he pulls over,
he gets out of the van. He feels
comfortable enough to leave
the gun behind.
He doesn't feel threatened.
- Which is strange
in the middle of the night
in the middle of nowhere.
- Right. See, I think Alvin knew
who he was pulling over
to help. He goes to fix
the flat tire and, boom.
I think Alvin was set up.
I think it was a trap.
(phone ringing)
Homicide.
What-- Where?
Really?
On my way.
- What was that about?
- You're not going to believe
this. You remember Dan
from Homicide out in, uh
- Gibsonton.
- Gibsonton, yeah. They just
caught another body
from Circus World shot dead.
- Just like Alvin?
- Just like Alvin!
(police radio chatter)
- Tommy.
- Hey, Dan!
- A carnie, shot
point blank in the chest.
And I I knew about your case,
so I gave you a call.
(horse neighing)
- It was extremely unusual
the fact that you would have
two circus performers murdered
during the same timeframe.
So, I felt there
must be a connection.
I just had to find out
what the motive was,
what was behind this.
- They didn't take anything?
- No, he had 40 bucks
in his pocket.
- Showtown. A carnie bar
Ugh, any witnesses?
- Uh-uh.
Tight-knit community.
- Yeah, well. Good luck
getting anything out of them.
You know these two
murders may be linked.
They both worked
at Circus World.
I'm going to take a look at
ballistics. Why don't you see
if my guy, Alvin Johnson,
and yours knew each other.
- Will do.
- All right, buddy.
- Much appreciated, Tommy.
- The fact that I had
two circus performers
killed within a short
amount of time, you know,
that added to the stress
or at least,
you know, the concern
for Carmen and Lisa.
Their whole life
had been destroyed.
They had no means of support.
The sympathy I had for them
was just unbelievable.
- We heard that there was
another murder at Circus Town.
Do you know
anything about it?
- Well, we're working
on it; nothing yet.
- I'm sorry. I don't
have any money.
I promise I will
pay you when I get some.
- Look, I'd like you to consider
having an officer
stay with you tonight.
- Why?
Do you think we're in danger?
- Two murders at Circus World.
I think it's a good idea.
- We'll be okay, Tommy, really.
- Was Alvin involved in
anything out of the ordinary,
like gambling or anything
that would give somebody
reason to be angry with him?
- Not that I knew of.
Like I said,
everyone loved Alvin.
- So he didn't have
problems with anybody?
Okay. You need anything else?
- No. We are good, Tommy.
Thanks for
looking out for us.
- See you, kid.
- Bye.
- Where did you get these?
- What?
- These.
(engine roaring)
♪♪♪
(billiard balls breaking)
- The Showtown's a really
unique place.
A lot of the circus
and carnival workers
hang out there.
You know Lobster Boy, the
Bearded Lady. To say the least,
it was a unique place.
(chuckles)
- Alvin kept to himself mostly.
What can I say? Alvin
was a bit of a weird guy,
but those girls sure loved him.
They'd do anything for him.
Sometimes I wondered why.
- What do you mean?
Alvin wasn't good to them?
- Oh no, nothing like that.
Alvin just wasn't easy
to deal with.
He kept to himself.
Had a bit of a temper, and
boy, did he love his guns.
- Loved his guns, huh?
- Mm-hm.
- Have you heard any talk about
Alvin or the other murders?
- Folks have been
awfully quiet.
Happy to let you know
if I hear anything though,
sweetheart.
- I turned out I was the one
that was the freak. I was
different from everyone else.
A lot of the feedback was like,
"We take care of our own.
"Don't worry about it.
If there's something occurred
"involving one of the circus
performers or carnival people,
we will take care of it."
(charging a gun)
(gunshots)
(little engine whirring)
(knocking)
- The 45 you found on
the dashboard of the van
is not your murder weapon.
- I could have told you that.
- Alvin Johnson
was shot with a 357.
My guess:
a snub nose revolver.
- The same gun used
to kill that carnie?
- No, that was a 40.
You can see there's a sizable
difference in the entry wounds,
as well. I tested
them both, just to be sure.
- So either they're unrelated
or the killer has
two different guns?
I just want you to know
that, ah this ain't charity.
This is the Emergency
Victim's Fund.
Get you both some money.
- I don't know what I would
do without you, Tommy.
You've been so kind to us.
Even filling this out for me.
This is hard on us.
- Yeah, I understand.
That's why I'm here.
(She sniffles and he sighs.)
(Pen drops on the table.)
Did Alvin ever
hurt you or Lisa?
- Of course not!
He was the best thing
that ever happened to us.
This should help.
Alvin took care of everything.
I didn't realize
how much I relied on him.
- Hey, it's going
to be okay.
- Thank you, Tommy.
- I felt the need to do this
because of the financial status
Carmen had. She was trying
to sell tools and things
that her husband had
just to make ends meet.
It's very devastating and
the whole time you're talking
with them, you're thinking,
"Who could have done this?
You know, how could this
have happened?"
- Yeah. No, the bullets
weren't a match.
It's OK. Thanks, bye. Yeah.
Well, Dan got his killer:
a scorned wife shot a man
dead for cheating on her.
The cases aren't related.
(big sigh)
(phone ringing)
- I get down,
but I never go down.
I don't give up.
If you work hard enough
and long enough,
something's going to come up.
I had to go back to square one.
- The dispatcher called about
someone with a flat tire.
(female on radio)
I get here and no flat tire,
but I got a dead body.
- I needed to see the dispatcher
by the name of Valerie,
that called the officer out
the night of the murder.
- Hey girl, do you remember
sending an officer out
to Highway 27 the other night?
- Yeah, sure,
I wanted to check up
on that poor woman.
- Uh, what woman?
- The woman with the flat tire.
I was worried for her. Well, I
was driving on the way to work
at the end of the night
and there was a woman
with a flat tire. So when I got
into the precinct, I dispatched
an officer to see
if she was all right. Why?
- We found a dead
body out there.
- You know maybe
Valerie saw our killer.
- When was this?
- I was working the midnight
shift so it was, like, quarter
to two. Thinking back,
she was quick to get rid of me.
- What kind of car
was she driving?
- Well it happened so fast I
can't even remember the color,
let alone the make.
- And plates?
- I can't remember, sorry.
- What about the woman?
Was she alone?
- I think so. I-I-I can't say.
- What did she look like?
- Young. 20 maybe,
I think. Um, she, uh
she was wearing
a football jacket,
I remember that.
It had an "H" on it.
- Do you think you can
describe her to a sketch artist?
- Oh, yeah.
- Hold on.
- This is the break
that we needed.
- Here's the composite.
- If y'all could help me get
this out, it'd sure mean a lot.
If you spot anything,
you need my help,
give me a call. I'm all over
this case. Just let me know.
- Tommy, phone.
- Take a message.
- It's Lisa. Says she needs
to talk to you now.
- Lisa.
Wait right there. I'm on my way.
Let's go.
(engines and sirens)
(indistinct radio chatter)
- I never thought he'd do
something like this.
- "I killed your stepdad, Alvin,
but I wanted to kill you."
Who is this from?
- His name is Charles,
Charles Pridgen.
I can't believe he'd do this.
- Who is he?
- He's a bad man, Tommy.
- He'd always come around
the circus looking for me.
- He would not leave her alone.
- Did he hurt you?
- No, but he was always hitting
on me to the point where
he got pretty aggressive.
Alvin helped me.
Threatened him. Said he better
back away or else.
- Threatened him how?
- I'm not sure, but
Charles stopped showing up
after that. That's why
I didn't think it was an issue.
- Is that why Alvin was carrying
around a gun so much?
- Charles is crazy, Tommy.
I can't believe he'd do this.
This is all my fault.
- Okay, hey, hey. Slow down.
Stop right there. We don't know
what's going on. Let me
get into this. This officer
outside is going to stay here
with you.
- Carmen and Lisa
are scared to death.
These poor girls
they're they're lost.
- Here's the file
on Charles Pridgen.
This guy's just plain crazy.
- Charles Pridgen was
a very dangerous individual.
He was mentally unstable.
When Lisa finally
confided this information,
you know, it was very
upsetting, like, you know,
why didn't you tell me
this from the start?
- OK, thank you.
Hey, that was Chattahoochee,
the mental facility
Pridgen's staying at.
He was incarcerated
at the time of the murder.
- So he didn't kill him?
- Why is he saying he did?
- Well, he could
have hired someone.
- I'm going to go find out
why he sent that letter.
- Chattahoochee,
that was where a lot
of the mentally insane people
were housed.
And it's like a prison complex
that's surrounded,
you know, with guards and all.
When I was a kid,
it used to be that
if we acted up, like:
"We're going to put you in
Chattahoochee or you belong
in Chattahoochee,"
something to that effect.
- So, you killed Alvin Johnson?
- Damn straight I did.
I meant to kill Lisa, too.
- Well, how did you do it?
Because I know that you were
locked up at the time of the
murder, so how did you do that?
- I have my ways.
- Who'd you hire?
- Why the hell
should I tell you?
I'll tell you one thing though,
Lisa has it coming. Led me on.
- Charles Pridgen
worked at Flea Market,
next to a booth
that Carmen and Lisa had.
He began stalking Lisa.
He was probably 10
to 15 years older than Lisa.
Alvin had forbid him to call
Lisa or be around her.
The guy had brutally murdered an
89 year old woman prior to this.
He was a danger
to the community.
And in his letter, he implied
that he had someone kill Lisa,
but they ended up
killing Alvin Johnson instead.
If he hired a killer,
I needed to find out who.
I checked the station log
and found out
that Charles Pridgen
had a sister, Tameeka,
and that she had come
to visit her brother.
She was the only person
that was on the jail record
of even coming to see Charles.
- Well I heard someone say, "You
bitch!" And then the shots.
(engine revving)
(tires screeching)
- Hey, check this out. Do they
not look exactly alike?
- Yeah, they do.
- Say hello to Tameeka Pridgen.
This is Charles' sister. She
came to visit him while he was
locked up. So maybe
Pridgen's telling the truth:
maybe he did kill Alvin.
Had his sister do it for him.
- She looked a lot like the
composite, and she immediately
became a person of interest.
- She could have tracked Alvin,
set up on the highway,
faked a flat tire.
- Alvin pulled over, figured
a woman stuck on the highway
could use some help.
- Leaves his gun behind
because he doesn't
feel threatened.
(engine roaring)
- It was time to meet Tameeka.
I believe that I was
about to meet with the killer.
- How dare you? (yelling)
- You need to calm down.
- I ain't never
killed no one, ever!
Charlie's a dumb, lying--
I went to see him
because he's my brother
and I wanted to tell him
that Alvin guy was
run over and killed.
- So you told Charles
about Alvin's murder?
- Are you deaf? I thought
it was going to make him happy.
He hates him. And I was
working the night it happened.
- Is that so?
- Yeah, go check; you'll see.
I've had it. It's not my fault
my brother's deranged.
Why do you think
he's in an asylum?
I know my rights.
Are you arresting me?
- No, ma'am.
- Then leave me the hell alone.
- Tameeka was obnoxious,
she was a hell raiser,
wouldn't cooperate.
But eventually I found out
that she wasn't involved
and she was, in fact,
telling the truth.
I went straight back to Pridgen
to get him to back off
from Carmen and Lisa.
- So, I had a nice visit
with your sister, Charles.
- Tameeka don't have
nothing to do with this.
- Well, I know that.
Which means that you didn't have
anything to do with it either.
See, I know that you don't
talk to the other inmates,
and I know that your sister's
the only person that you've had
a contact with on the outside.
- So what?
- So, read
between the lines.
I know you didn't do it.
So, you leave those women alone.
- You're wrong.
I killed Alvin.
I don't care what you say,
I'm going to keep writing
those letters.
- You can write
all the threatening
letters that you want,
but we know you didn't do it,
and we know that you can't.
- Lisa ain't the girl
you think she is.
That Lisa and Carmen, heh heh
they got you fooled.
- (Narrator):
Not long after Charles Pridgen
was ruled out as a suspect,
he committed suicide.
He climbed up this oak tree,
35 feet high,
screamed Lisa's name
and then did a swan dive
and killed himself
because he couldn't have Lisa.
- Thanks, you can leave.
I got it from here.
- OK.
- Bye, bud.
- Charles Pridgen
had no way of killing
Alvin, and he has
no way of hurting you.
- Thank you.
You're a saint, Tommy.
- We're going to find this guy.
(rain falling and thunder)
- (Narrator):
Many nights I'd lie in bed
thinking about ways
to solve this case,
and about Carmen and Lisa
depending on me to bring
this to closure for them.
- I would go back over,
I would read the report,
I would revisit the crime scene;
I would do any and
everything that I thought
maybe I had missed.
- (Narrator):
At this point, it's just
rehashing, going back
over everything
to see where I made a mistake,
but nothing came out of it.
(phone ringing)
- Homicide.
- (female detective): Hey Tommy,
remember you asked me to look
into Alvin's finances to see
if there is anything unusual.
- Yeah.
- Well I did and
there was really nothing
out of the ordinary. So then,
I decided to look into Carmen
and Lisa and
Carmen's broke, Tommy.
She's been living off
the Victim's Fund
that you helped her with.
But then,
I decided to look
into Lisa's file
and she just got paid
a huge chunk of cash
from a company
called Montcalm Publishing.
- Wait, when was this?
- Just about a month ago.
(sighs)
And Tommy,
they make adult magazines.
For some reason, Lisa's being
paid really good money by them.
- Really?
(car honking)
- (Narrator):
You know when I first got
this information, I really
didn't believe it. I thought
maybe there was a mistake.
Looking at her, she sure didn't
look like the innocent girl
that I had first met the day
her stepfather was murdered.
- She was young.
Uh 20, maybe?
- Lisa ain't the girl
you think she is.
- (Narrator):
Got another side to her,
maybe a darker side
that I wasn't aware of.
You know, I had to look
a little bit closer.
It threw everything I knew
about this case into question.
(sighing)
- So Valerie said she saw
a girl that fit Lisa's age,
but sure doesn't look like Lisa.
- Well just because Lisa
posed nude
for an adult magazine
doesn't mean she killed Alvin?
- No, it doesn't mean that,
but what it means is she's
sure not who I thought she was.
Still missing the
big three: the murder weapon,
the motive
and solid ID.
(man's voice on radio)
(woman's voice on radio)
- What's up?
- I think I know
who killed Alvin Johnson.
- I couldn't believe how this
was sitting right under my nose
the whole time
and I couldn't see it.
- She was wearing a football
jacket, I remember that.
It had an "H" on it.
- (Narrator):
So I went to see Pam Dill,
Lisa's best friend at the
restaurant where she worked.
- Pam? How you doing?
Tommy Ray, Homicide
Detective, do you remember me?
Could we have a chat?
I'm gonna be really honest
with you, Pam;
I've got a witness
that says that she saw
a woman in a football jacket
at Alvin Johnson's
murder scene.
She said the jacket
had an "H" on it.
- It wasn't me.
- OK.
If what you're saying is true,
why don't you come on down
and do a polygraph for me. I'm
going to get you off my list
once and for all.
- OK, fine.
- Let's go.
- Now?
- Yeah. That way we can
sleep better tonight.
(click)
(deep breath)
(whirring sound)
- (Narrator):
After talking with Pam,
I brought Lisa in. It was time
that we had a serious
heart to heart.
(door closing)
- You better convince me
that I'm wrong.
(click)
- It was Pam, I swear.
I'm innocent, Tommy,
I swear on my life.
I would never lie to you.
(clicking and whirring)
- (Pam): Lisa and I came up
with the idea together.
We had borrowed
my friend's car.
We called Alvin and said we were
broken down on the highway.
(engine off)
(car door slams shut)
- (Pam):
Lisa put the flashers on
while I planted the tire iron.
(hard metallic sound)
That's when
the woman drove by
and saw me.
- (Valerie): Are you OK?
- (Pam): Fine, thanks.
- Are you sure?
- Yeah, someone's on the way.
- (Pam): She wanted to help.
- OK.
- I got rid
of her quick.
Not long after that,
Alvin got there.
- (Narrator):
You know as Pam's
telling me this story,
I'm having flashbacks of things
that didn't add up. And now,
hearing the story,
everything made sense.
- Talk about getting stuck
in the middle of nowhere.
What's wrong with the car?
- There were things
that she told that
only the person at the
crime scene would have known.
I'm thinking about
the placement of the jack
being right in front of the van.
I mean everything she said
completely matched
the physical evidence
we had found at the scene.
The only decision I had to make
was: Who actually
pulled the trigger?
But you know, in my heart
of hearts, I'm hoping that Lisa
isn't the killer. That it is Pam
who is the one
that committed the homicide.
- Bitch.
(gunshot)
- Then before I could blink
Lisa had pulled the gun,
fired three rounds straight.
She was aiming
for his groin,
but got him
straight in the chest.
After the shots,
we panicked.
We jumped in the car
and drove off.
(engine starting)
(bumping and braking)
(speeding off again)
I drove over Alvin
by accident.
- Why did Lisa
want to kill Alvin?
- Talk to her
about that.
- Where did she
get the gun?
- Alvin.
He gave it to her so she could
protect herself from Pridgen.
She lied
to you, Tommy.
So did I.
I'm sorry.
- (Tommy's voice from recorder):
What kind of gun was it?
- (Pam, from recorder):
A 357 Magnum.
(clicking off recorder)
- Pam pulled the trigger, Tommy,
not me. She's lying.
Pam always talked about how we
should just get it over with.
That Alvin was a bad person
and done nothing but bad.
And then, all of a sudden,
she was next to me
and she went, boom, boom,
like two or three times
and it threw him back.
He was still moaning
when we jumped in the car,
so Pam ran over him
to finish the job.
- Why didn't you tell me
about the 357
that Alvin gave you
to protect yourself with
against Charles Pridgen?
- You never asked.
- You lied to me.
- No!
No, I swear I didn't, Tommy.
This is all a big mistake.
(sigh)
- Where did you
hide the gun, Pam?
- We buried it.
It's up at Cyprus Gardens.
I doubt you'll find it.
It's all swamp and overgrown.
(duck quacking)
- Pam led us to a 357
that was registered
to Alvin Johnson.
Alvin was killed with
the gun that he gave you
to protect
yourself with.
Why'd you kill him?
- When I was
four years old, Tommy
Alvin raped me
for the first time.
I was four years old.
He continued molesting me
until the day he died.
He deserved
to die, Tommy.
He deserved it.
(click)
(sighs)
- You should have reported him.
Not kill him.
Because now Alvin's dead
and you're going to jail.
(door closing)
- (Narrator): It wasn't so much
that I was upset with her,
it was the fact that she had
thrown her life away.
I think Lisa French
took a bad situation,
if that was in fact
occurring, and made it
a thousand times worse.
I think Carmen failed Lisa
for not seeing that
and not coming forward
and reporting it
to law enforcement.
- (sobbing)
In this particular case,
I put my whole heart into it.
I just felt so sorry.
Any and everything
I could do to help them,
and I tried to.
Almost above and beyond.
It was so devastating
when I found out
that all this was made up,
that she wasn't the person
that she pretended to be.
I let my emotions and my
sympathy blind my judgment.
They got me hook,
line and sinker.