The Mentalist s01e22 Episode Script
Blood Brothers
Excuse me.
What kind of tree is this? Couldn't say.
Smells good.
So you're not a local? Born five miles down the road.
Just don't give a crap about trees.
Name's Justin Prentiss.
Student at a private-school operation a couple miles from here.
They realized he was missing around 6 this morning activated the electronic monitoring device on his ankle found him and called us at 8.
- Estimated time of death? Coroner puts time of death somewhere between 10 and 1 last night.
I wanted to take him down soon as Forensics were done.
But per your request, we didn't touch him.
We won't be long.
You can have him soon as we're done.
- What's with the ankle bracelet? - Good question.
Mr.
Maclean.
This is the principal of the school, Asher Maclean.
These people are from the CBI.
They wanna know why your student has an electronic monitoring device on him.
Justin had some truancy issues recently.
- Hence the device.
- What kind of school is this? Bright Arch is a wilderness program for troubled youth.
- Like a summer camp? - No, we're an accredited high school.
Students stay at Bright Arch for a year on average.
We provide structure and discipline through interaction with nature.
Plus the regular high-school curriculum, of course.
Hm.
She doesn't like you, and you don't like her.
- Why is that? - No comment.
Chief Brody? Why don't you like him? - What has that got to do with anything? - I'm just curious.
Think you might show a little more respect.
- Respect for? - There is a dead child here.
Yes.
Yes, he's dead.
He doesn't care how I talk to you.
I've never worked with the CBI.
All your units come with a clown? - We get the job done.
- Well, how about getting it done now so we can take this kid out of here? How would that be? Yeah.
We'll do that.
Yep, you can take him.
I got the basic facts.
- Oh, is that right? That quick, huh? - Yeah.
You wanna enlighten us? Oh, Forensics probably told you a lot of it already, I would guess.
His knuckles and his knees suggest that he was overpowered in a hand-to-hand struggle.
The blow to the head was the coup de grĂ¢ce.
But the ground around him is relatively undisturbed which means that the struggle would have taken place elsewhere.
Uphill, presumably.
Injured animals tend to move downhill, of course.
Do you have any actual facts? It's an actual fact that you dislike Mr.
Maclean here because he's a tree-hugging, liberal wacko who's probably running some kind of cult.
He dislikes you because you're a small-minded provincial hayseed.
Not that you are, necessarily.
That's just what he thinks.
Facts pertaining to this poor boy.
There was no moon last night, so it was very dark.
Justin wouldn't have been able to move very far, injured as he was.
He had a lot of dirt in his hair Iot of dirt in his ears, and deep up under his nails.
So somewhere close by, somewhere very close by there's a spot where someone Where someone buried him alive.
Oh, my God.
All right, all right, all right.
Settle down, folks.
Take your seats.
Over here, I got you a spot.
Let's go.
- I heard he got buried alive.
- Cut it out, man.
I know the last couple of days have been rough.
Losing Justin hurts but his death cannot become your crutch for a negative attitude.
You can learn and grow from this experience.
Bryan.
Sir, do we still get to do the sacred fire ceremony on Friday? I think there's all the more reason to do it now.
We need healing.
All right, listen, kids.
The strangers you see here are detectives that will be investigating the situation with Justin.
They are here to find out what happened to him and I want all of you to answer any questions they have as best you can.
- Yes, yes, yes, people? - Yes, yes, yes! Is it true that he was buried alive? - Orrin - Oh, yeah, that is true.
- What? - That's true? - Who did it? - That's enough, Elliot.
Let's all get back to our classes quickly.
We're wasting daylight.
You guys talk to the counselors.
We'll press the principal, see what he knows.
We'll talk to the kids last.
- Mr.
Maclean, I wanted to - Agent Lisbon, excuse me.
Orrin.
We speak only when recognized as part of the discussion.
Okay? Get out of here.
I'm sorry about that.
Well, welcome to Bright Arch.
Shall we convene in my office? Yes, yes, yes.
Honey, try to calm down, okay? We'll find everything - You son of a bitch.
- Calm down.
What happened? What happened? What did you do? - Mr.
Prentiss, David, let's be calm now.
- Step back, sir.
Now.
It's okay.
It's okay.
This man was supposed to look after my son.
It's his responsibility to keep his students safe, and he didn't.
- He didn't.
- David.
Mr.
Prentiss, let's go and talk.
This way.
This way, now.
How did you learn about Bright Arch? One of David's colleagues has a child who had gone way off track and they saw very positive results from the program.
- Justin was misbehaving? - He changed a lot over the last year.
Suddenly, he was always locked in his room, dour, uncommunicative.
Violent on occasion.
- Therapy didn't work.
- What kind of violence did he engage in? He often shouted at me and would threaten his father.
Just shouting? No physical abuse? No criminal behavior? No.
Please find out who did this.
Please.
Kids love the drama of things like this.
I hope it can be resolved quickly.
You know, you look like Burt Reynolds in this shot.
- How long has Bright Arch been running? - Almost 10 years now.
- That was all of the students? - Yes.
We like to keep a low counselor-student ratio so that everyone gets the focused individual attention that they need.
Right.
What's the pitch? - I don't follow.
- The pitch, the gimmick, the hook.
How do you sell this place to prospective parents? We don't have to sell it.
They come by word of mouth.
This is a simple, natural, healing community where your troubled and underachieving sons and daughters are encouraged to get in touch with their inner resources.
Encouraged how? By a code of honor and discipline.
By learning wilderness skills and teamwork through an up-close experience with Mother Nature.
- That's a good pitch.
- It's a good program.
- Yes, Cassie? - I got your tea.
Oh, thank you.
One of our great success stories.
Arrived here about nine months ago angry and withdrawn.
- She's blossomed wonderfully.
- Tell me about Justin.
Why was he wearing an electronic monitoring device? I didn't see anyone else wearing one.
Justin had only been with us three months.
He was still in the rebellious phase.
The day before yesterday, he left without permission for several hours.
He refused to tell us where he had been and with whom.
His punishment was eight hours in the reflection room and the electronic monitoring device for two weeks.
Confinement and dog collars.
Yeah, that'll certainly encourage the discovery of inner resources, I guess.
Do the parents know that's part of the deal? It's in the brochure.
Page 3.
So you must get a lot of problem kids.
How do you handle the psychos that won't knuckle under, no matter what? We don't take them in the first place.
- I vet thoroughly every acceptance.
- No name jumped in your head when you heard about the murder? - No.
- You ever heard of Z Krew? - No.
What's that? - I'd like to talk to Justin's friends.
- Of course.
- He was in Missy Jenkins' teaching pod.
- Great.
Bear in mind that I, or one of my staff members, need to be present before you talk with our students.
- Is that right? - It's the law.
- Really? I hate the woods.
Would you rather be playing desk jockey with Van Pelt right now? Who sends their kids to a place like this? It's not cheap either.
A little discipline is good for the soul.
Yeah, but this is like a juvie prison camp.
No.
This is like spring break in Cancun compared to juvie.
Wait, you were in juvenile hall? Seriously? - Yeah.
Didn't you read my file? - No.
- Wait, did you read mine? - Of course.
What do you got? Interesting, huh? Maybe there's treasure involved.
- Maybe not.
- Follow the trail.
Find out.
Now over and under over and under and through.
Simple.
Again.
Over and under and over Hey, come on.
and under.
Chris, hit the reflection room.
One hour.
Marley, give me 25.
- But he started it.
- Yeah, I hear you and I do not care.
Twenty-five.
Hey, lady.
- Are you talking to me? - Yeah, I'm talking to you.
This is important.
Look at me.
CBI.
That's police, there'll no backchat.
- You do exactly as I tell you.
- What? Hold this.
CBI.
California Bureau of Investigation.
Well, ma'am, we have reason to believe - Untie me this instant.
- Sorry, ma'am.
- Mr.
Maclean, told me to do that.
- No, he didn't.
Yes, he did.
He's in his office right now.
Go and ask him.
My people, we have precious little time until our friend returns.
I need to know who knows most about what around here.
Elliot's been here like two years, so he knows everything.
That's a long time to be stuck out in the woods.
- I like it here.
- So, what's the deal with Justin? - Who disliked him? - Nobody.
He was fine.
- You say that like he was a prize jerk.
- No, he wouldn't win any prizes.
I mean, he was basically a good kid, but he just fought a lot.
With everybody.
What do you think he was doing out in the woods? - Who knows? - The woods are a bad place.
- Yeah? Why's that? - The axman Zachariah lives there.
Shh.
- Who's Zachariah? - There is no Zachariah.
It's just a story.
- Yeah, I was just kidding.
- No, you weren't.
Come on, guys.
Aren't you a little old to believe in stuff like that? A year ago they found a townie kid dead in the woods.
He'd been chopped up with a ax.
His head was 20 feet up in a tree, with a crazy look on his face.
Okay.
Now, does Zachariah have anything to do with Z Krew? - Was Justin in Z Krew? - Jane? Jane.
What the hell are you playing at? You can't tie people up.
- Yeah, sorry.
- I should think you would be.
My apologies, Mr.
Maclean.
We'll be back tomorrow morning if that's convenient.
See you in the morning.
I hope you got something useful for the trouble you caused.
Yes, I did.
The story of the mad axman Zachariah who lives in these here woods.
- Z.
- Yes, Z.
I would have gotten more, but you came back too quickly.
Reality check.
I'm your supervising agent.
I'm not your decoy.
So, what'd it say? - What? - You know, my file.
- You haven't read your own file? - No.
It's against the rules.
You're kidding.
What? I like rules.
Why be a cop if you don't like rules? Come on.
What'd it say? You know what it says.
It's your life.
I didn't know you were adopted.
- But other than that, no surprises.
- Adopted? What? Kidding.
Ha-ha.
Very funny.
- So why were you in juvie? - You know, the usual reasons.
That house is marked on this map with a skull and crossbones.
What are the usual reasons for being in juvie? I'll tell you all about it sometime.
Hey, check this out.
- Looks like Justin's shoe.
- Yep.
- I'll call Forensics, mark it up.
- Yeah.
- Hello? - CBI.
Anybody home? Hello? CBI.
- Try the other side? - Yeah.
You move, you die, you Mameluke sons of bitches.
- Kneel down.
- Hey, we're cops.
Kneel! I'm gonna blow your damn faces off you, you hear? - Hey, hey, Winston.
- I'm gonna Winston, you fool, put that gun down.
Let go.
God.
- Thank you.
- No problem.
Yeah, thanks.
What are you doing here? Winston called 911.
Lucky, I was close.
Can you please tell me why I'm still here? I had nothing to do with that kid who died.
Nothing.
You assaulted us.
If you wanna talk about Justin, that's fine.
How am I supposed to know who you are? You're banging on my doors, "CBI, CBI.
" That's supposed to mean something? Yeah, we do need better brand awareness.
But your response was disproportionate.
Your brandished a firearm.
So here we are.
My security alarm went off.
I was loaded.
I reacted.
- That's all.
- You're very security conscious.
- Why is that? - Why not? - Are there people who dislike security? - What's been your history of contact with the students from Bright Arch? - Zero.
I have a zero history of contact.
You know the kid who was killed, Justin Prentiss who was buried close to your property line? He had a map that showed your house marked with a skull and crossbones.
- I don't know what that means.
- How about Zachariah? - That name ring any bells? - No.
- Looks like it's gonna be a long night.
- I just wanna be left alone.
And I want those kids to leave me alone.
They go up to my property, mess with my stuff.
They break windows, they spray paint my doors pull all kinds of stunts all night, like a routine.
Okay.
So, what did you do in response? I did everything to try and stop them, short of actual violence.
I built fences.
I planted poison oak.
I installed alarms.
They just took it all like it was a game.
- Were they at your house last night? - The night before.
Three or four of them, throwing balloons of red paint.
Would you be able to identify any of the kids if you saw them? They always wore masks.
I wanna apologize for the misunderstanding yesterday.
Mr.
Jane will comport himself properly today.
Yes, I will.
Who's Zachariah? - Who? - Zachariah.
- Never heard of him.
Who is he? - Liar.
- Liar? - Pants on fire.
- They're ablaze.
- I wanna cooperate with you people.
But this man is I don't know what he is trying to do, but I resent it.
You sound more than a little paranoid This is what I'm talking about.
How is this police work? Oh, I'm kidding with you.
I get bored.
The thing is, you have heard of Zachariah.
You know who Zachariah is, and you're scared of Zachariah.
- And we're gonna find out why.
- Let's put a pin in that, shall we? We have information putting Justin at Mr.
Winston's house the night he went AWOL.
He went there on a regular basis with a group of kids to torment Mr.
Winston.
- So says Mr.
Winston.
Has he any proof? - Why would he lie? Because he's a crazy old man with a grudge against this school.
Perhaps he's crazy enough to do something.
He's complained plenty of times.
There's never reality to it.
Chief Brody disagrees.
She thinks some of your students are vandals and you're protecting them.
Chief Brody is a small-town cop.
She gets ideas in her head.
Look, the truth is that nobody around here likes us very much.
They think the kids are all drug addicts and delinquents.
They're scared.
You mind if we sit down with some students to ask them about Mr.
Winston's allegations? Not at all.
As long as you follow proper legal protocol.
Of course.
Hey, hey, hey.
Agent Lisbon of the CBI would like to talk to you for a moment.
Let's all listen with respectful attention, all right? Yes, sir.
Jane, they're all yours.
- Hello, kids.
- Hello.
That's the best you got? Hello, kids.
- Hello.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Who wants to see some magic? - Hands? - I do.
Good.
Watch me closely.
Concentrate.
Make sure I don't do anything sneaky.
- All right, this is ridiculous.
- Hush.
Watching my hands.
I'm gonna need a volunteer.
You.
Stand up.
Come here.
- Name? - Orrin.
Well, Orrin, today's your lucky day.
I'm gonna look into your mind and I am gonna read your thoughts.
You're thinking, "Gosh, I hope he can't read my thoughts because then he'd know that I was up in the woods with Justin the night before he died throwing paint bombs at the old crazy man's door.
" Orrin, that was kind of dumb.
You should have thought of something a little more innocent.
We're gonna have to have a little talk.
Follow me.
Sorry about that.
I don't know Tell me more about Zachariah.
Orrin, you may ask for a lawyer at any time.
- Then my parents will know, right? - Yes.
That's okay.
Zachariah and the Z Krew.
Why should I tell you? You know what I'm thinking.
Yeah.
But it would be more polite if you said it aloud, for their benefit.
You can't really read minds, can you? Shrewd insight.
No, of course I can't.
Then how'd you do that then? Call me out like that? You scratched your poison oak.
My colleagues tell me that only grows in one place around here.
- Up at Mr.
Winston's.
- Fudge.
Yeah.
So tell me more about Zachariah.
- I can't.
- Really? Orrin, we can let this go, or we can take it to the next level.
And that's gonna involve your parents and lawyers.
Zachariah was a lumberjack, hundreds of years ago.
A log fell on him in the river and pinned him by the arm.
His logging crew tried, but they couldn't get him out.
The river was rising, and a snowstorm was coming.
They figured that he was done for anyway so they left him there, left him for dead.
Zachariah was so angry at them for leaving him he chopped off his arm to free himself, then went back to the lumber camp and hacked every one of his workmates to death.
Then chopped them up and put their heads in trees.
Cool.
- The lumber camp where they died? - Uh-huh.
This is it, right here.
- This school is the exact same spot.
- Wow.
- And Z Krew? - It's like a secret club.
We go up in the woods and do stuff.
Zachariah is like our leader.
- Who's, like, the deputy leader? - I don't know.
- No? - Come on.
We wear masks.
The only person you know is the person that asked you to join.
Who was that? Bryan.
Hey, man, wait up.
There he is.
- I got this.
- Please, I got this.
After you.
Nice.
- Who initiated you to Z Krew, Bryan? - Guy that jumped me in left last year.
- Who runs Z Krew? - I don't know.
Hard to believe you didn't recognize anybody's voice.
No talking on Z Krew ops.
We only communicate by note and sign language.
That's the whole fun of it.
Look, Z Krew's about running around in the woods, playing warriors.
Nobody gets killed.
Z Krew's got nothing to do with Justin's murder.
- Do you? - No.
You want my guess? Guesswork is inappropriate for this sort of situation, Bryan.
Guesswork's okay.
Cassie.
- She's in it somehow.
- How so? Justin was He was big in love with her.
She wouldn't deal, and he didn't like it.
I saw them arguing, both real mad, a couple days ago.
And now she's totally freaked out about his death.
- So you know - Many of us are upset, Bryan.
- Does Cassie have a boyfriend? - No.
So, what do you think happened? Cassie killed him? - That's ridiculous.
- Let him answer.
Hey, ask her.
All I'm saying, it wasn't me.
Do you know where we could find Cassie? I'm sure that she has nothing to do with this.
But I will have someone fetch her for you.
- Gave you a little trouble, huh? - No.
- Hey, guys.
- What the hell is that? - What happened to you? - Old age.
Shut up, you.
- What are you doing here? - Gee, thanks for the welcome.
- No, I mean You know what I mean.
- Lisbon wanted an extra hand.
If we're gonna have to interview all students and staff.
Seriously, this is the biggest they had? - Hey, Van Pelt.
- Hey, boss.
We're short a girl by the name Cassie Miniver.
Bryan says Justin was in love with Cassie.
Recently saw them in a fierce argument.
Oh, Cassie.
Yeah, she brought Maclean a cup of tea.
Yeah, we wanted to question her, but she's gone.
- Interesting.
- Anybody else missing? No, there isn't.
So she's most likely running, not abducted.
- Precisely.
- What do you think, boss? Chief Brody's setting up a search.
We should start looking in the woods around the school.
Oh, that sounds horribly tedious.
Shout if you need me.
Go ahead, relax.
Enjoy yourself.
God forbid you should do anything tedious.
- Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! Cassie! Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Can I ask you something? - Yeah.
Would you? Have you ever read your co-worker's personnel files? No.
Why? No.
I'm good.
Neither did I.
Okay.
Hey.
- Hi.
- Where you headed? - Into town.
- Excellent.
That's exactly where I need to go.
All right.
Thanks.
Grateful.
- Would you shut the gate for me, please? - Nope.
- Why? - Well, as soon as I get out of the car you'll drive away without me.
Why on Earth would I do that? The three Furies.
Fear, shame, guilt.
- What? - The heart wants what the heart wants.
It won't be denied.
It makes us do bad things.
What are you talking about? Cassie, I have a gift for you.
Cassie? Needn't be shy.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Here.
Try it on.
Beautiful.
Ta-da.
What is this? Mr.
Maclean was helping Cassie run away.
- Why? - He didn't want us to speak to her.
- Because? - I have nothing to say.
Nonsense.
You have plenty to say.
He wanted her to go before we got a chance to talk to her and find out that she and he were having what you would call, "sexual relations.
" - Is that true? - I'm saying nothing.
I admit nothing.
I wanna talk to my lawyer.
Cassie, don't say anything.
- You miserable little pervert.
- That's enough, chief.
- She assaulted me.
- I don't think so.
We're going back to Sacramento.
Now, you can either come of your own accord or we can arrest you.
Which is it? Fine.
Good choice.
We didn't We weren't, no.
Cassie, look at me.
It's very easy to see when you're lying.
You get a little pulse going in your neck just there.
Yeah.
Always best to tell Agent Lisbon the truth.
Did Mr.
Maclean have sexual relations with you? It's okay.
Yes, he did.
- One time? Or more than that? - More.
Maybe twice a week for a few months.
You know that by having sexual relations with you Mr.
Maclean was committing a crime, right? - I guess.
- Was it consensual? I guess.
You guess? Did you want Mr.
Maclean to have sex with you? - No, ma'am.
- So he coerced you? No, ma'am.
- I don't understand.
- I was scared.
Scared of who? Mr.
Maclean? - No, he's just a sad creep.
- Who then? You can talk freely, Cassie.
You're safe here.
- Nowhere is safe.
- Zachariah made you do it? A zombie lumberjack made you sleep with Mr.
Maclean? He told me I had to.
Cassie, you know that Zachariah doesn't exist? You know that kid that they found chopped up in the woods? He thought the same thing.
Okay, how does Zachariah tell you his wishes? - Through somebody from Z Krew maybe? - I've said too much already.
I don't wanna say anymore.
Please, don't make me.
I'll be right back.
Cassie made a statement.
Charge Mr.
Maclean with statutory rape.
Will do, boss.
Sex with a minor.
Tell you what, things look very bad for you right now.
I was kind and caring to a troubled girl.
That's all.
Yeah, that's what they all say until the lab tests come back.
The way we figure this, Justin was in love with Cassie and found out you were abusing her - Please.
And threatened to tell the authorities.
So you clubbed him to death you thought, and buried him.
- No.
No.
No? Well, that's what we're thinking.
How are we wrong? Did he attack you? Was it self-defense, maybe? I want my lawyer.
I'm saying nothing more to you people.
- We got nothing to put him with Justin.
- We need a confession.
- You won't get one.
- Why won't we get one? A prize for the first one to tell me the answer.
Just tell us your damn theory.
I will do that on our way back to Bright Arch.
We need to get there in time for the sacred fire ritual.
Rigsby, let's have a quick cup of tea, then we'll go.
Explain first, then we'll go.
Sacred fire? Hello, kids.
Good to see you all again.
- Pretty dramatic few days, huh? - Oh, yeah.
Probably heard a lot of crazy stuff about what's been going on.
Well, don't worry about it.
Life goes on.
Your teachers thought it'd be good to carry on with the fire ceremony.
- Everyone okay with that? - Yeah.
Excellent.
I thought we'd start with a ghost story.
- You all know about Zachariah, yeah? - We do.
- But we don't talk about him.
- It's bad luck.
Zachariah doesn't scare me.
So everyone knows about that terrible evening when Zachariah hacked his former friends to pieces, yeah? What a lot of people don't know is what happened after that horrible incident.
As punishment, the townspeople gathered together and built a huge bonfire right here on this very spot.
And they burned Zachariah alive.
And as the flames melted the flesh from his body Zachariah didn't scream.
He just smiled at those watching, and he made a solemn vow.
That whenever someone does evil in these woods if you call Zachariah's name three times and mark the ground with a Z then he will rise from the grave and he will take them.
Yeah, right.
If the sinner doesn't confess his sins, if he doesn't repent then Zachariah will drag them down into his ghastly lair to suffer with him in black darkness for all eternity.
- That's it? - Yes, that's it.
That was weak, dude.
Well, it's only weak if the curse isn't true.
We all know that evil has been done in these woods.
But is there anyone here willing to call Zachariah's name? Anyone? Zachariah? Zachariah.
Zachariah.
Told you.
Weak.
You forgot the most important part.
You have to mark the ground with a Z.
Guess he's on vacation.
Elliot, was it you? Did you kill Justin? This is your last chance.
Did you kill Justin? Yes.
Yes, it was me.
Saved.
That was close.
- Oh, hey, Rigsby.
- Hey.
I knew it was a joke.
I was just kidding.
No, you're a liar and a murderer, Elliot.
Everyone can see that.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
A little help here.
- Give it up kid.
Come on, it's over.
Justin was an insect.
He shouldn't have interfered.
Yes, you had a sweet little system going.
He kept the kids in line with messages from Zachariah.
And kept Maclean in line with blackmail.
Protect Elliot and let the Z Krew rule, or be exposed as a habitual rapist.
- You're a very clever young man.
- Yes, I am.
That's why my parents abandoned me in this dump.
I'm too clever for them.
And for you.
You haven't really caught me.
I'm a minor.
Nothing bad will happen to me.
Then why don't you tell us why you killed Justin? For the record.
You know why.
Justin was always soft on Cassie.
But when he found out what she was doing with Maclean on my order he got angry, threatened to ruin everything.
And I tried to shut him up with a message from Zachariah but he wouldn't back off.
He laughed at me.
He shouldn't have done that.
I don't like being laughed at.
Well, goodbye, Elliot.
Hey.
How did you know it was me? When Cassie brought Maclean tea in a cup with Z's on it that was a warning from you.
You were first to bring forth Zachariah.
You've been at this school longer than anyone, with no desire to leave.
The sacred fire ceremony confirmed my hunch.
Everybody else was scared that I was invoking Zachariah.
But you were contemptuous and cynical.
A true artist watching a cheap imitator.
Until fear made you a believer.
It can do that to you.
Bye.
Sit down.
I appreciate it.
- Thank you.
- Well There he is.
Here I am.
I was just telling Mr.
And Mrs.
Prentiss it was you that found their son's killer.
Yes, I'm very sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
We're very grateful.
It gives us some kind of closure at least.
Your son died bravely.
He saved a young girl in trouble.
You should be very proud.
- Thank you, again.
- Absolutely.
- Take care.
- Thank you.
What kind of tree is this? Couldn't say.
Smells good.
So you're not a local? Born five miles down the road.
Just don't give a crap about trees.
Name's Justin Prentiss.
Student at a private-school operation a couple miles from here.
They realized he was missing around 6 this morning activated the electronic monitoring device on his ankle found him and called us at 8.
- Estimated time of death? Coroner puts time of death somewhere between 10 and 1 last night.
I wanted to take him down soon as Forensics were done.
But per your request, we didn't touch him.
We won't be long.
You can have him soon as we're done.
- What's with the ankle bracelet? - Good question.
Mr.
Maclean.
This is the principal of the school, Asher Maclean.
These people are from the CBI.
They wanna know why your student has an electronic monitoring device on him.
Justin had some truancy issues recently.
- Hence the device.
- What kind of school is this? Bright Arch is a wilderness program for troubled youth.
- Like a summer camp? - No, we're an accredited high school.
Students stay at Bright Arch for a year on average.
We provide structure and discipline through interaction with nature.
Plus the regular high-school curriculum, of course.
Hm.
She doesn't like you, and you don't like her.
- Why is that? - No comment.
Chief Brody? Why don't you like him? - What has that got to do with anything? - I'm just curious.
Think you might show a little more respect.
- Respect for? - There is a dead child here.
Yes.
Yes, he's dead.
He doesn't care how I talk to you.
I've never worked with the CBI.
All your units come with a clown? - We get the job done.
- Well, how about getting it done now so we can take this kid out of here? How would that be? Yeah.
We'll do that.
Yep, you can take him.
I got the basic facts.
- Oh, is that right? That quick, huh? - Yeah.
You wanna enlighten us? Oh, Forensics probably told you a lot of it already, I would guess.
His knuckles and his knees suggest that he was overpowered in a hand-to-hand struggle.
The blow to the head was the coup de grĂ¢ce.
But the ground around him is relatively undisturbed which means that the struggle would have taken place elsewhere.
Uphill, presumably.
Injured animals tend to move downhill, of course.
Do you have any actual facts? It's an actual fact that you dislike Mr.
Maclean here because he's a tree-hugging, liberal wacko who's probably running some kind of cult.
He dislikes you because you're a small-minded provincial hayseed.
Not that you are, necessarily.
That's just what he thinks.
Facts pertaining to this poor boy.
There was no moon last night, so it was very dark.
Justin wouldn't have been able to move very far, injured as he was.
He had a lot of dirt in his hair Iot of dirt in his ears, and deep up under his nails.
So somewhere close by, somewhere very close by there's a spot where someone Where someone buried him alive.
Oh, my God.
All right, all right, all right.
Settle down, folks.
Take your seats.
Over here, I got you a spot.
Let's go.
- I heard he got buried alive.
- Cut it out, man.
I know the last couple of days have been rough.
Losing Justin hurts but his death cannot become your crutch for a negative attitude.
You can learn and grow from this experience.
Bryan.
Sir, do we still get to do the sacred fire ceremony on Friday? I think there's all the more reason to do it now.
We need healing.
All right, listen, kids.
The strangers you see here are detectives that will be investigating the situation with Justin.
They are here to find out what happened to him and I want all of you to answer any questions they have as best you can.
- Yes, yes, yes, people? - Yes, yes, yes! Is it true that he was buried alive? - Orrin - Oh, yeah, that is true.
- What? - That's true? - Who did it? - That's enough, Elliot.
Let's all get back to our classes quickly.
We're wasting daylight.
You guys talk to the counselors.
We'll press the principal, see what he knows.
We'll talk to the kids last.
- Mr.
Maclean, I wanted to - Agent Lisbon, excuse me.
Orrin.
We speak only when recognized as part of the discussion.
Okay? Get out of here.
I'm sorry about that.
Well, welcome to Bright Arch.
Shall we convene in my office? Yes, yes, yes.
Honey, try to calm down, okay? We'll find everything - You son of a bitch.
- Calm down.
What happened? What happened? What did you do? - Mr.
Prentiss, David, let's be calm now.
- Step back, sir.
Now.
It's okay.
It's okay.
This man was supposed to look after my son.
It's his responsibility to keep his students safe, and he didn't.
- He didn't.
- David.
Mr.
Prentiss, let's go and talk.
This way.
This way, now.
How did you learn about Bright Arch? One of David's colleagues has a child who had gone way off track and they saw very positive results from the program.
- Justin was misbehaving? - He changed a lot over the last year.
Suddenly, he was always locked in his room, dour, uncommunicative.
Violent on occasion.
- Therapy didn't work.
- What kind of violence did he engage in? He often shouted at me and would threaten his father.
Just shouting? No physical abuse? No criminal behavior? No.
Please find out who did this.
Please.
Kids love the drama of things like this.
I hope it can be resolved quickly.
You know, you look like Burt Reynolds in this shot.
- How long has Bright Arch been running? - Almost 10 years now.
- That was all of the students? - Yes.
We like to keep a low counselor-student ratio so that everyone gets the focused individual attention that they need.
Right.
What's the pitch? - I don't follow.
- The pitch, the gimmick, the hook.
How do you sell this place to prospective parents? We don't have to sell it.
They come by word of mouth.
This is a simple, natural, healing community where your troubled and underachieving sons and daughters are encouraged to get in touch with their inner resources.
Encouraged how? By a code of honor and discipline.
By learning wilderness skills and teamwork through an up-close experience with Mother Nature.
- That's a good pitch.
- It's a good program.
- Yes, Cassie? - I got your tea.
Oh, thank you.
One of our great success stories.
Arrived here about nine months ago angry and withdrawn.
- She's blossomed wonderfully.
- Tell me about Justin.
Why was he wearing an electronic monitoring device? I didn't see anyone else wearing one.
Justin had only been with us three months.
He was still in the rebellious phase.
The day before yesterday, he left without permission for several hours.
He refused to tell us where he had been and with whom.
His punishment was eight hours in the reflection room and the electronic monitoring device for two weeks.
Confinement and dog collars.
Yeah, that'll certainly encourage the discovery of inner resources, I guess.
Do the parents know that's part of the deal? It's in the brochure.
Page 3.
So you must get a lot of problem kids.
How do you handle the psychos that won't knuckle under, no matter what? We don't take them in the first place.
- I vet thoroughly every acceptance.
- No name jumped in your head when you heard about the murder? - No.
- You ever heard of Z Krew? - No.
What's that? - I'd like to talk to Justin's friends.
- Of course.
- He was in Missy Jenkins' teaching pod.
- Great.
Bear in mind that I, or one of my staff members, need to be present before you talk with our students.
- Is that right? - It's the law.
- Really? I hate the woods.
Would you rather be playing desk jockey with Van Pelt right now? Who sends their kids to a place like this? It's not cheap either.
A little discipline is good for the soul.
Yeah, but this is like a juvie prison camp.
No.
This is like spring break in Cancun compared to juvie.
Wait, you were in juvenile hall? Seriously? - Yeah.
Didn't you read my file? - No.
- Wait, did you read mine? - Of course.
What do you got? Interesting, huh? Maybe there's treasure involved.
- Maybe not.
- Follow the trail.
Find out.
Now over and under over and under and through.
Simple.
Again.
Over and under and over Hey, come on.
and under.
Chris, hit the reflection room.
One hour.
Marley, give me 25.
- But he started it.
- Yeah, I hear you and I do not care.
Twenty-five.
Hey, lady.
- Are you talking to me? - Yeah, I'm talking to you.
This is important.
Look at me.
CBI.
That's police, there'll no backchat.
- You do exactly as I tell you.
- What? Hold this.
CBI.
California Bureau of Investigation.
Well, ma'am, we have reason to believe - Untie me this instant.
- Sorry, ma'am.
- Mr.
Maclean, told me to do that.
- No, he didn't.
Yes, he did.
He's in his office right now.
Go and ask him.
My people, we have precious little time until our friend returns.
I need to know who knows most about what around here.
Elliot's been here like two years, so he knows everything.
That's a long time to be stuck out in the woods.
- I like it here.
- So, what's the deal with Justin? - Who disliked him? - Nobody.
He was fine.
- You say that like he was a prize jerk.
- No, he wouldn't win any prizes.
I mean, he was basically a good kid, but he just fought a lot.
With everybody.
What do you think he was doing out in the woods? - Who knows? - The woods are a bad place.
- Yeah? Why's that? - The axman Zachariah lives there.
Shh.
- Who's Zachariah? - There is no Zachariah.
It's just a story.
- Yeah, I was just kidding.
- No, you weren't.
Come on, guys.
Aren't you a little old to believe in stuff like that? A year ago they found a townie kid dead in the woods.
He'd been chopped up with a ax.
His head was 20 feet up in a tree, with a crazy look on his face.
Okay.
Now, does Zachariah have anything to do with Z Krew? - Was Justin in Z Krew? - Jane? Jane.
What the hell are you playing at? You can't tie people up.
- Yeah, sorry.
- I should think you would be.
My apologies, Mr.
Maclean.
We'll be back tomorrow morning if that's convenient.
See you in the morning.
I hope you got something useful for the trouble you caused.
Yes, I did.
The story of the mad axman Zachariah who lives in these here woods.
- Z.
- Yes, Z.
I would have gotten more, but you came back too quickly.
Reality check.
I'm your supervising agent.
I'm not your decoy.
So, what'd it say? - What? - You know, my file.
- You haven't read your own file? - No.
It's against the rules.
You're kidding.
What? I like rules.
Why be a cop if you don't like rules? Come on.
What'd it say? You know what it says.
It's your life.
I didn't know you were adopted.
- But other than that, no surprises.
- Adopted? What? Kidding.
Ha-ha.
Very funny.
- So why were you in juvie? - You know, the usual reasons.
That house is marked on this map with a skull and crossbones.
What are the usual reasons for being in juvie? I'll tell you all about it sometime.
Hey, check this out.
- Looks like Justin's shoe.
- Yep.
- I'll call Forensics, mark it up.
- Yeah.
- Hello? - CBI.
Anybody home? Hello? CBI.
- Try the other side? - Yeah.
You move, you die, you Mameluke sons of bitches.
- Kneel down.
- Hey, we're cops.
Kneel! I'm gonna blow your damn faces off you, you hear? - Hey, hey, Winston.
- I'm gonna Winston, you fool, put that gun down.
Let go.
God.
- Thank you.
- No problem.
Yeah, thanks.
What are you doing here? Winston called 911.
Lucky, I was close.
Can you please tell me why I'm still here? I had nothing to do with that kid who died.
Nothing.
You assaulted us.
If you wanna talk about Justin, that's fine.
How am I supposed to know who you are? You're banging on my doors, "CBI, CBI.
" That's supposed to mean something? Yeah, we do need better brand awareness.
But your response was disproportionate.
Your brandished a firearm.
So here we are.
My security alarm went off.
I was loaded.
I reacted.
- That's all.
- You're very security conscious.
- Why is that? - Why not? - Are there people who dislike security? - What's been your history of contact with the students from Bright Arch? - Zero.
I have a zero history of contact.
You know the kid who was killed, Justin Prentiss who was buried close to your property line? He had a map that showed your house marked with a skull and crossbones.
- I don't know what that means.
- How about Zachariah? - That name ring any bells? - No.
- Looks like it's gonna be a long night.
- I just wanna be left alone.
And I want those kids to leave me alone.
They go up to my property, mess with my stuff.
They break windows, they spray paint my doors pull all kinds of stunts all night, like a routine.
Okay.
So, what did you do in response? I did everything to try and stop them, short of actual violence.
I built fences.
I planted poison oak.
I installed alarms.
They just took it all like it was a game.
- Were they at your house last night? - The night before.
Three or four of them, throwing balloons of red paint.
Would you be able to identify any of the kids if you saw them? They always wore masks.
I wanna apologize for the misunderstanding yesterday.
Mr.
Jane will comport himself properly today.
Yes, I will.
Who's Zachariah? - Who? - Zachariah.
- Never heard of him.
Who is he? - Liar.
- Liar? - Pants on fire.
- They're ablaze.
- I wanna cooperate with you people.
But this man is I don't know what he is trying to do, but I resent it.
You sound more than a little paranoid This is what I'm talking about.
How is this police work? Oh, I'm kidding with you.
I get bored.
The thing is, you have heard of Zachariah.
You know who Zachariah is, and you're scared of Zachariah.
- And we're gonna find out why.
- Let's put a pin in that, shall we? We have information putting Justin at Mr.
Winston's house the night he went AWOL.
He went there on a regular basis with a group of kids to torment Mr.
Winston.
- So says Mr.
Winston.
Has he any proof? - Why would he lie? Because he's a crazy old man with a grudge against this school.
Perhaps he's crazy enough to do something.
He's complained plenty of times.
There's never reality to it.
Chief Brody disagrees.
She thinks some of your students are vandals and you're protecting them.
Chief Brody is a small-town cop.
She gets ideas in her head.
Look, the truth is that nobody around here likes us very much.
They think the kids are all drug addicts and delinquents.
They're scared.
You mind if we sit down with some students to ask them about Mr.
Winston's allegations? Not at all.
As long as you follow proper legal protocol.
Of course.
Hey, hey, hey.
Agent Lisbon of the CBI would like to talk to you for a moment.
Let's all listen with respectful attention, all right? Yes, sir.
Jane, they're all yours.
- Hello, kids.
- Hello.
That's the best you got? Hello, kids.
- Hello.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
Who wants to see some magic? - Hands? - I do.
Good.
Watch me closely.
Concentrate.
Make sure I don't do anything sneaky.
- All right, this is ridiculous.
- Hush.
Watching my hands.
I'm gonna need a volunteer.
You.
Stand up.
Come here.
- Name? - Orrin.
Well, Orrin, today's your lucky day.
I'm gonna look into your mind and I am gonna read your thoughts.
You're thinking, "Gosh, I hope he can't read my thoughts because then he'd know that I was up in the woods with Justin the night before he died throwing paint bombs at the old crazy man's door.
" Orrin, that was kind of dumb.
You should have thought of something a little more innocent.
We're gonna have to have a little talk.
Follow me.
Sorry about that.
I don't know Tell me more about Zachariah.
Orrin, you may ask for a lawyer at any time.
- Then my parents will know, right? - Yes.
That's okay.
Zachariah and the Z Krew.
Why should I tell you? You know what I'm thinking.
Yeah.
But it would be more polite if you said it aloud, for their benefit.
You can't really read minds, can you? Shrewd insight.
No, of course I can't.
Then how'd you do that then? Call me out like that? You scratched your poison oak.
My colleagues tell me that only grows in one place around here.
- Up at Mr.
Winston's.
- Fudge.
Yeah.
So tell me more about Zachariah.
- I can't.
- Really? Orrin, we can let this go, or we can take it to the next level.
And that's gonna involve your parents and lawyers.
Zachariah was a lumberjack, hundreds of years ago.
A log fell on him in the river and pinned him by the arm.
His logging crew tried, but they couldn't get him out.
The river was rising, and a snowstorm was coming.
They figured that he was done for anyway so they left him there, left him for dead.
Zachariah was so angry at them for leaving him he chopped off his arm to free himself, then went back to the lumber camp and hacked every one of his workmates to death.
Then chopped them up and put their heads in trees.
Cool.
- The lumber camp where they died? - Uh-huh.
This is it, right here.
- This school is the exact same spot.
- Wow.
- And Z Krew? - It's like a secret club.
We go up in the woods and do stuff.
Zachariah is like our leader.
- Who's, like, the deputy leader? - I don't know.
- No? - Come on.
We wear masks.
The only person you know is the person that asked you to join.
Who was that? Bryan.
Hey, man, wait up.
There he is.
- I got this.
- Please, I got this.
After you.
Nice.
- Who initiated you to Z Krew, Bryan? - Guy that jumped me in left last year.
- Who runs Z Krew? - I don't know.
Hard to believe you didn't recognize anybody's voice.
No talking on Z Krew ops.
We only communicate by note and sign language.
That's the whole fun of it.
Look, Z Krew's about running around in the woods, playing warriors.
Nobody gets killed.
Z Krew's got nothing to do with Justin's murder.
- Do you? - No.
You want my guess? Guesswork is inappropriate for this sort of situation, Bryan.
Guesswork's okay.
Cassie.
- She's in it somehow.
- How so? Justin was He was big in love with her.
She wouldn't deal, and he didn't like it.
I saw them arguing, both real mad, a couple days ago.
And now she's totally freaked out about his death.
- So you know - Many of us are upset, Bryan.
- Does Cassie have a boyfriend? - No.
So, what do you think happened? Cassie killed him? - That's ridiculous.
- Let him answer.
Hey, ask her.
All I'm saying, it wasn't me.
Do you know where we could find Cassie? I'm sure that she has nothing to do with this.
But I will have someone fetch her for you.
- Gave you a little trouble, huh? - No.
- Hey, guys.
- What the hell is that? - What happened to you? - Old age.
Shut up, you.
- What are you doing here? - Gee, thanks for the welcome.
- No, I mean You know what I mean.
- Lisbon wanted an extra hand.
If we're gonna have to interview all students and staff.
Seriously, this is the biggest they had? - Hey, Van Pelt.
- Hey, boss.
We're short a girl by the name Cassie Miniver.
Bryan says Justin was in love with Cassie.
Recently saw them in a fierce argument.
Oh, Cassie.
Yeah, she brought Maclean a cup of tea.
Yeah, we wanted to question her, but she's gone.
- Interesting.
- Anybody else missing? No, there isn't.
So she's most likely running, not abducted.
- Precisely.
- What do you think, boss? Chief Brody's setting up a search.
We should start looking in the woods around the school.
Oh, that sounds horribly tedious.
Shout if you need me.
Go ahead, relax.
Enjoy yourself.
God forbid you should do anything tedious.
- Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! Cassie! Cassie! - Cassie! - Cassie! - Can I ask you something? - Yeah.
Would you? Have you ever read your co-worker's personnel files? No.
Why? No.
I'm good.
Neither did I.
Okay.
Hey.
- Hi.
- Where you headed? - Into town.
- Excellent.
That's exactly where I need to go.
All right.
Thanks.
Grateful.
- Would you shut the gate for me, please? - Nope.
- Why? - Well, as soon as I get out of the car you'll drive away without me.
Why on Earth would I do that? The three Furies.
Fear, shame, guilt.
- What? - The heart wants what the heart wants.
It won't be denied.
It makes us do bad things.
What are you talking about? Cassie, I have a gift for you.
Cassie? Needn't be shy.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Here.
Try it on.
Beautiful.
Ta-da.
What is this? Mr.
Maclean was helping Cassie run away.
- Why? - He didn't want us to speak to her.
- Because? - I have nothing to say.
Nonsense.
You have plenty to say.
He wanted her to go before we got a chance to talk to her and find out that she and he were having what you would call, "sexual relations.
" - Is that true? - I'm saying nothing.
I admit nothing.
I wanna talk to my lawyer.
Cassie, don't say anything.
- You miserable little pervert.
- That's enough, chief.
- She assaulted me.
- I don't think so.
We're going back to Sacramento.
Now, you can either come of your own accord or we can arrest you.
Which is it? Fine.
Good choice.
We didn't We weren't, no.
Cassie, look at me.
It's very easy to see when you're lying.
You get a little pulse going in your neck just there.
Yeah.
Always best to tell Agent Lisbon the truth.
Did Mr.
Maclean have sexual relations with you? It's okay.
Yes, he did.
- One time? Or more than that? - More.
Maybe twice a week for a few months.
You know that by having sexual relations with you Mr.
Maclean was committing a crime, right? - I guess.
- Was it consensual? I guess.
You guess? Did you want Mr.
Maclean to have sex with you? - No, ma'am.
- So he coerced you? No, ma'am.
- I don't understand.
- I was scared.
Scared of who? Mr.
Maclean? - No, he's just a sad creep.
- Who then? You can talk freely, Cassie.
You're safe here.
- Nowhere is safe.
- Zachariah made you do it? A zombie lumberjack made you sleep with Mr.
Maclean? He told me I had to.
Cassie, you know that Zachariah doesn't exist? You know that kid that they found chopped up in the woods? He thought the same thing.
Okay, how does Zachariah tell you his wishes? - Through somebody from Z Krew maybe? - I've said too much already.
I don't wanna say anymore.
Please, don't make me.
I'll be right back.
Cassie made a statement.
Charge Mr.
Maclean with statutory rape.
Will do, boss.
Sex with a minor.
Tell you what, things look very bad for you right now.
I was kind and caring to a troubled girl.
That's all.
Yeah, that's what they all say until the lab tests come back.
The way we figure this, Justin was in love with Cassie and found out you were abusing her - Please.
And threatened to tell the authorities.
So you clubbed him to death you thought, and buried him.
- No.
No.
No? Well, that's what we're thinking.
How are we wrong? Did he attack you? Was it self-defense, maybe? I want my lawyer.
I'm saying nothing more to you people.
- We got nothing to put him with Justin.
- We need a confession.
- You won't get one.
- Why won't we get one? A prize for the first one to tell me the answer.
Just tell us your damn theory.
I will do that on our way back to Bright Arch.
We need to get there in time for the sacred fire ritual.
Rigsby, let's have a quick cup of tea, then we'll go.
Explain first, then we'll go.
Sacred fire? Hello, kids.
Good to see you all again.
- Pretty dramatic few days, huh? - Oh, yeah.
Probably heard a lot of crazy stuff about what's been going on.
Well, don't worry about it.
Life goes on.
Your teachers thought it'd be good to carry on with the fire ceremony.
- Everyone okay with that? - Yeah.
Excellent.
I thought we'd start with a ghost story.
- You all know about Zachariah, yeah? - We do.
- But we don't talk about him.
- It's bad luck.
Zachariah doesn't scare me.
So everyone knows about that terrible evening when Zachariah hacked his former friends to pieces, yeah? What a lot of people don't know is what happened after that horrible incident.
As punishment, the townspeople gathered together and built a huge bonfire right here on this very spot.
And they burned Zachariah alive.
And as the flames melted the flesh from his body Zachariah didn't scream.
He just smiled at those watching, and he made a solemn vow.
That whenever someone does evil in these woods if you call Zachariah's name three times and mark the ground with a Z then he will rise from the grave and he will take them.
Yeah, right.
If the sinner doesn't confess his sins, if he doesn't repent then Zachariah will drag them down into his ghastly lair to suffer with him in black darkness for all eternity.
- That's it? - Yes, that's it.
That was weak, dude.
Well, it's only weak if the curse isn't true.
We all know that evil has been done in these woods.
But is there anyone here willing to call Zachariah's name? Anyone? Zachariah? Zachariah.
Zachariah.
Told you.
Weak.
You forgot the most important part.
You have to mark the ground with a Z.
Guess he's on vacation.
Elliot, was it you? Did you kill Justin? This is your last chance.
Did you kill Justin? Yes.
Yes, it was me.
Saved.
That was close.
- Oh, hey, Rigsby.
- Hey.
I knew it was a joke.
I was just kidding.
No, you're a liar and a murderer, Elliot.
Everyone can see that.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa.
A little help here.
- Give it up kid.
Come on, it's over.
Justin was an insect.
He shouldn't have interfered.
Yes, you had a sweet little system going.
He kept the kids in line with messages from Zachariah.
And kept Maclean in line with blackmail.
Protect Elliot and let the Z Krew rule, or be exposed as a habitual rapist.
- You're a very clever young man.
- Yes, I am.
That's why my parents abandoned me in this dump.
I'm too clever for them.
And for you.
You haven't really caught me.
I'm a minor.
Nothing bad will happen to me.
Then why don't you tell us why you killed Justin? For the record.
You know why.
Justin was always soft on Cassie.
But when he found out what she was doing with Maclean on my order he got angry, threatened to ruin everything.
And I tried to shut him up with a message from Zachariah but he wouldn't back off.
He laughed at me.
He shouldn't have done that.
I don't like being laughed at.
Well, goodbye, Elliot.
Hey.
How did you know it was me? When Cassie brought Maclean tea in a cup with Z's on it that was a warning from you.
You were first to bring forth Zachariah.
You've been at this school longer than anyone, with no desire to leave.
The sacred fire ceremony confirmed my hunch.
Everybody else was scared that I was invoking Zachariah.
But you were contemptuous and cynical.
A true artist watching a cheap imitator.
Until fear made you a believer.
It can do that to you.
Bye.
Sit down.
I appreciate it.
- Thank you.
- Well There he is.
Here I am.
I was just telling Mr.
And Mrs.
Prentiss it was you that found their son's killer.
Yes, I'm very sorry for your loss.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
We're very grateful.
It gives us some kind of closure at least.
Your son died bravely.
He saved a young girl in trouble.
You should be very proud.
- Thank you, again.
- Absolutely.
- Take care.
- Thank you.