The X-Files s03e21 Episode Script
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This is it? I just sign this, and it's done? As soon as I file it with the city clerk.
This pen- she gave it to me.
It was an anniversary present.
- I don't remember which one.
- Walter.
They are expecting the signed documents by the end of business today, - which was ten minutes ago.
- I know what time it is.
Then you should sign.
- What are you doing, Walter? - After 17 years, they can wait another day.
Listen.
No one knows better than I what an emotional experience this is.
Don't lawyer me, Jane.
- I'll do it tomorrow.
- Why put yourself through another day of this? I said tomorrow.
- Buck, I think we have to wait.
- Bye! I know, the regular.
I'll be right back.
Excuse me, are you holding this for someone? It's the only open seat.
Go ahead.
Good evening.
What can I get you? Uh, tonic water with lime, please.
Sir, would you like another one? Sure.
Thanks.
For what? Ordering another drink? There's a man behind me wearing a red tie.
For some reason, he felt compelled to tell me half his life story.
I was afraid if you got up, he might try to get in the other half.
I guess some people think that you owe 'em something just 'cause youre out alone.
- Does that ever bother you? - What? Being alone.
- Okay.
- Excuse me, sir.
Excuse me.
Thank you.
- I'm looking for Detective Waltos.
- Who's asking? My name is Mulder.
I work with Assistant Director Skinner.
I'd like to speak with him.
After he gives his statement.
We're gonna finish up at the station house.
Why don't you just get a statement here? It seems the assistant director is suffering from a minor memory lapse.
Yeah? It's me.
I just got your message.
You said Skinner called in a homicide.
It appears to be a little more complicated than that.
Seems like he had a front-row seat.
- I don't understand.
- I don't understand it either.
They're not letting me talk to him.
Hold on a second.
Excuse me, sir? I appreciate your concern, Agent Mulder, but there's no need for you to get involved.
Detective.
Detective.
Detective! Will you at least tell me what happened? What does he say happened? He claims he met the victim in the bar downstairs.
After a couple of drinks, they decide to get a room, which is all fine, except when he wakes up, he finds her lying next to him with a broken neck.
- That's all he says he remembers.
- You don't believe him? He refused to take a polygraph test.
It's not helping his credibility.
What about the victim? Has she been identified? Not yet.
She had no purse, nothing with her name on it.
There must be evidence of an intruder of some kind.
Agent Mulder, I've been on the job for 18 years.
I know the drill.
Then if you know the drill, you should be canvassing hotel employees, housekeeping- I appreciate that he's a colleague of yours, but I want you to understand something: He's also a suspect.
Detective, when you're done questioning him, I'd appreciate a call.
All right.
- Get any of that? - Most of it.
Mulder, I'm on my way.
No, no, no, I want you to take a look at that body.
Get down to the coroner's.
I'll meet you there.
The conspicuous absence of any contusions or lacerations would strongly suggest that the victim's injuries were sustained without a struggle.
From my observations, I would have to concur with the county coroner's report that her murder was most probably a sudden and violent act in a vulnerable moment.
Beyond this, I found nothing in my postmortem examination - to recommend further investigation.
- Beyond what? Her spinal cord was crushed, Mulder.
The cervical vertebrae was fractured in what appears to be manual trauma.
Were Skinner's the only prints lifted from the body? So far.
They found no semen samples.
There was some irritation, probably an allergic reaction to latex.
At least they were having safe sex.
Have they learned anything more? Yeah, her name was Carina Sayles.
She was legal secretary for one of the criminal defense firms here in town.
- Have you talked to anybody she worked with? - One of the partners.
She was fired a few weeks ago over an indiscretion.
An indiscretion? Yeah, she was moonlighting.
She was taking a little work from one of the firm's clients.
- What kind of work? - This client operated an escort service.
She was a prostitute.
- Give me five minutes here.
- I'll get the car.
Addendum: Observed what appears to be a residual phosphorescence around the victim's mouth and nose.
Note to have this analyzed.
- Yes? - Lorraine Keller here? She's busy right now.
Is there something I can help you with? Busy or not, we need to speak with her.
I'll tell her youre here.
Lorraine! - Business must be booming.
- I think you mean banging.
Whatever this is about, can we do it later? I'm running late.
We'd like to ask you some questions about an employee of yours - Carina Sayles.
She does work for you, doesn't she? I'm ten minutes late for a meeting with her.
That's all right.
I dont think she's gonna be making that meeting.
Oh? Why not? She's dead.
She was murdered last night.
- How? - That's what we're still trying to determine.
I, um- I don't know what to say.
You can start by telling us if she was working last night.
And if she was, who paid for her company? - I'm afraid I can't do that.
- I guess that would hurt future book sales, huh? - You'd be surprised who some of my clients are.
- No, I don't think I would be.
I also doubt they'd want to get entangled in a homicide investigation.
Look, we just need one name from you.
Who hired Carina Sayles? Lets just say you both work for the government, and so do I.
Cut the crap.
Who hired her? She called me last night.
She said that she'd met someone in a bar who was interested in a transaction.
- I took his credit card.
- Then you have his name.
Walter Skinner.
Thank you.
What the hell was he thinking? It just doesn't seem like him.
You think he'd be a little more discrete.
I think the lack of discretion is the least of his sins.
Still not enough to prove anything conclusively.
No, but that doesn't mean that we can discount the evidence.
You really believe Skinner did this? Look, Mulder, I feel the same way about Skinner as you do, but we were just shown a dated record with Skinner's credit card number on it.
Credit card fraud happens every day.
Skinner was in bed with a prostitute at the time of her death, and he's offered us no explanation or alibi.
The truth is, we don't know very much about him.
We don't know what he does off-duty, who he really is.
We know that he's put his ass on the line for us a number of times.
We owe it to him to find out what really happened.
Even if it means proving his guilt.
Yeah, Mulder.
Thank you.
- Who was that? - Detective Waltos.
Skinner's been released.
- Sir? Sir? - This doesn't concern either of you.
- Of course it concerns us.
- Why won't you tell us what happened last night, sir? Read the police report if youre really that curious.
Does it explain why you refused to take a polygraph test? Or why there's a prostitute in the morgue with your fingerprints all over her? You didn't know she was a prostitute, did you? What are you doing, you jerk? Walter, I just heard what happened.
I was coming to see you.
- Walter! - Do you know him? I used to think so.
I'm Sharon Skinner.
I'm his wife.
We were just a little caught off-guard.
Neither of us even knew that he was married.
He never told us.
Well, one of the things Walter's always been good at is keeping secrets.
But the truth is, we haven't been together for almost eight months.
- Has he always been such a private person? - It's more than that.
He lives under this misguided notion that silence is strength.
He's built a wall to keep everyone out.
- Including you? - Yeah, especially me.
Is that why you were separated? Yeah, I just realized one day that we were no longer married.
We'd become roommates instead.
We were paying the bills, taking out the garbage.
I couldn't live like that anymore.
Excuse me.
Scully.
You were one of the few people that Walter ever mentioned from work.
Not that he said much, but from the way he talked, I could tell he respected you.
That's probably why I feel that I can ask you.
- Ask me what? - If Walter really killed that woman? Sorry.
Mulder, we've gotta go.
You've got our numbers if you need to reach us.
You still haven't answered my question.
No, I don't think he did it.
What's going on here? - Agents Mulder and Scully? - That's right.
I'm Special Agent Bonnecaze.
I've been called up from the Norfolk field office to coordinate this inquiry.
I don't know what you do down in Norfolk, but last time I checked, riffing through a man's office was considered an invasion of privacy.
Well, we're operating under guidelines specified by the Office of Professional Conduct.
- A protocol, I understand, you've opted to disregard.
- What do you mean? I want both of you to make yourselves available tomorrow afternoon.
Available for what? - A formal hearing regarding A.
D.
Skinner's case.
- What case? He hasn't even been charged yet.
The hearing is to assess and determine his ability to continue in his position as Assistant Director.
In the meantime, well be appointing our own investigators to pursue any criminal case.
And I must ask you to stop looking into this any further.
What? in case we turn up any evidence that might support his innocence? Any evidence you may have obtained, Agent Mulder, you'll be presenting tomorrow afternoon at the hearing.
Skinner's not answering his phone.
- He's doing everything he shouldn't be doing.
- Yeah, why? He knows better.
The evidence is still circumstantial at best.
He's behaving like a guilty man, Mulder.
The man's marriage is breaking up.
He's stressed out.
It's his irrational behavior that concerns me.
It speaks to his state of mind.
If an otherwise stable man is compelled to go out and hire a prostitute, - what else is he capable of? - Please.
Give him the benefit of the doubt.
I am, Mulder, believe me.
I'm not trying to convince myself.
When I mentioned that hooker to him, he didn't even seem to know.
Well, maybe he doesn't remember.
What do you mean? Either he remembers, or he's a liar.
Not necessarily.
This mans running away from a train.
He sees it coming straight at him.
He hears its whistle.
Several times a month, he ran away from that train until one night when he broke his wife's arm when he threw her to the foor.
- Night terrors? - No.
Night terrors and sleepwalking occur during slow-wave non-dream sleep.
The clinical term for this is " REM sleep behavior disorder.
" Although rare, dozens of cases of sleep-related violence have been attributed to it.
That's fascinating, but what does it have to do with Skinner? This videotape came from the Bethesda Sleep Disorder Center where Skinner has been receiving treatment for the past three months.
- From running away from trains? - Same disorder, different dreams.
According to Skinner's psychiatrist, he's been experiencing a recurring dream in which he's confronted by an old woman.
She speaks to him, but he doesn't understand a word.
Sometimes she straddles his chest, suffocating him.
So you think that Skinner may have killed the victim in his sleep? Defending himself against this imaginary old woman.
A lot of these patients have no recollection of their nocturnal activities, which might explain Skinner's amnesia.
- That's not such a strange story.
- It isn't? It's ancient, actually.
You may have heard it, although not in such clinical terms.
In the Middle Ages, a visitation like the one Skinner described would have been attributed to succubus.
It's a spirit that visits men in the night, usually in the form of an old woman.
- Visits them for sex? - Usually.
Although sometimes the succubus becomes so attached to the man that she would kill any woman competing for his affection.
Here.
- What's that? - Reports of residual and luminous phenomenon have been associated with some succubus encounters.
At least according to the mythology.
Why? I feel kinda strange saying this, but I found something during my postmortem examination that I think you should see.
It's a circular patch around the victim's mouth and nose, approximately 11 centimeters in diameter.
It retained light energy.
It glowed in the dark.
I know what I saw, Mulder.
It was here.
This phosphorescence required no U.
V.
or infrared light? - No, it was definitely visible to the naked eye.
- Did you get a sample? - Yeah, I sent one over to Chem/Tox.
- And? Well, my first hunch was that it was that it was some kind of fungal growth, but the only substance that they detected was amylase, which is found in saliva.
but the only substance that they detected was amylase, which is found in saliva.
So I had them send over a sample to the elemental analysis unit.
The results should be back.
Yes, this is Agent Dana Scully.
I'm calling to find out the lab results on a tissue sample that I sent in earlier this morning.
- Thank you.
- What'd they say? That there was no analyzable substance in the sample container.
Are you sure you saw something? Mulder, I'm afraid this isn't exactly something that I'd make up.
Maybe that's it.
Maybe that's why Skinner's running.
He's afraid.
- That he did it? - That he doesn't know he didn't do it.
Hi.
You didn't answer your phone.
It just kept ringing.
I unplugged it.
I haven't been sleeping too well lately.
Are you going to invite me in, or should I start building an ark? Come in.
You still haven't gotten around to unpacking.
Yeah, well, you know, work.
So what are you doing here, Sharon? I'm not sure.
After I saw you today, I didn't know what else to do.
You're trying to satisfy some morbid curiosity about what happened.
That's not why I came.
I just- I just wanted to make sure youre okay.
I'm okay.
Except right now, company's about the last thing I need.
I'm not company, I'm your wife.
Ex-wife.
Remember, you're the one who asked for the divorce? Only because you didn't have the guts to ask for one yourself, so don't put it on me.
Fair enough.
So what else do you want me to say? Nothing.
I don't want you to say anything.
- I just want you to let me in.
just this one time.
- Why? Because I know you.
I know that youre scared and that you could use some comfort.
I also know that youll never let me give it to you.
just take care of yourself, okay? What's this about? Wanna grab your coat and come with us? Like to ask you a few questions.
Why? What the hell's going on? - It's your wife- she's been in an accident.
- Is she all right? Someone ran her off the road.
You're gonna have to come with us.
God.
We'll also need to see the keys to your car, sir.
- How is she? - The C.
T.
scan shows subdural hematoma.
She's in surgery right now to relieve pressure on her brain.
Scully's trying to get more information.
- I have to see her.
- Can't do that, sir.
- Why not? They said I wasn't being charged.
- Not yet, but they're building a pretty convincing case.
- You think I did this to Sharon? - No, I don't, but I'm in the minority.
What about Agent Scully? Scully- Scully doesn't understand why you're not trying to defend yourself.
Defend myself against what? Dont you think if I knew what was happening tome that I would try to- I don't know what to believe anymore.
What about the old woman in your dream? Who is she? It's gonna come out.
Look, if you don't start trusting someone, you don't stand a chance.
A few months ago, I started seeing her again.
Again? I told you once what- what happened to me in Vietnam.
I was caught in an ambush.
Yeah, you were the sole survivor.
You also described what sounded like a near-death experience.
There was nothing near about it, Agent Mulder.
I was a dead man.
That's when you first saw her? I saw lots of things over there.
- I didn't give much credence to any of'em.
- Why not? I got through that experience like most 18-year-olds.
By numbing myself with whatever was around.
I was no choirboy.
I- I inhaled.
So you just dismissed her as another hallucination? - I tried.
- But you couldn't.
She was there with me, watching me, as I was watching myself die and my blood spilling from a hundred different places until she lifted me up and carried me back, away from the light.
Maybe she was trying to protect you.
Maybe she's trying to protect you now.
Protect me from what? That's a question only you can answer.
I don't know.
I don't have a clue.
- Number five.
- This is Skinner's car? According to Walter's report, the hood was still warm when they got to Skinner's apartment, even with the rain.
Look at the left front panel.
They match the paint in the dent of Sharon Skinner's car.
Waltos's people finish going over the interior? The only prints they found on the steering wheel were Skinner's.
- Can I borrow your flashlight? - Sure.
Why? I don't know what youre expecting to find, Mulder, but Skinner's hearing is in half an hour.
- I'll meet you there.
- What are you doing? Collecting evidence.
- You know how an air bag works? - Your car hits something, a bag fills with air, you don't die.
Not air.
Nitrogen.
Now, the latent image, the one we're interested in, is found in the byproduct of that explosion in the finely dispersed sodium metal that coats the interior of the air bag.
See this pattern here? It was created by whoever was behind the wheel when the airbag deployed.
- It doesn't look like a face.
- Not yet.
First, I'm scanning the pattern, then I'm running it through software which translates its varying densities into a dimensionalized likeness.
After that, it's a matter of fine-tuning.
- How long does that take? - You need this in a hurry, it sounds like.
I'm not the only one who needs it.
Let's go over the physical evidence again.
You say you found nothing damning.
No, sir, none of the physical evidence we recovered directly connects the assistant director to her death.
You reexamined the victim's body.
Did you find anything of note? I took a sample of an extraneous substance that turned out to be unidentifiable.
How's that? A naturally occurring enzyme around her mouth and nose.
- And do you have any idea why it was there? - No.
If you are withholding something from this committee- Sir, I feel reluctant to say or to speak for Agent Mulder.
To say what? Agent Mulder had a theory that the substance could have come from a visitation.
But you have another explanation.
No, I'm sorry, I don't.
Do you believe in paranormal phenomena, Agent Scully? Whatever extreme cases I have encountered, I have always viewed through the lens of science.
I believe that is why I was assigned to the X-Files and to Agent Mulder.
And has A.
D.
Skinner always been as discriminating as you? Excuse me, sir, I don't understand the question.
Would you say that, like yourself, your direct superior has been affected by- or enchanted by- Agent Mulder's notion- No, sir.
Not at all.
And yet he continues to sign off on whatever extreme cases you and Agent Mulder elect to investigate.
I believe the assistant director has protected us out of a respect for the work.
just as you might protect him by trumping up unidentifiable evidence? No, that is not true.
- Thank you, Agent Scully, that will be all.
- Sir, if I may- - That will be all! - I'm not finished.
Yes, you are, Agent Scully.
Hello? - Mulder? - Hello? You missed it.
Not that anything you said would've made a difference.
- What happened? Where's Skinner? - Out of a job.
- They dismissed him? - He would've had a better chance against a firing squad.
They used us to do it, didn't they? They used the X-Files.
- How'd you know? - Because I think Skinner's been outmaneuvered, Scully.
- They found a weakness, and they're exploiting it.
- Why? To put us in check.
You remove Skinner, you weaken us.
What am I looking at? This is the man that stole Skinner's car last night and tried to kill his wife.
But I don't understand.
Why orchestrate an elaborate scheme to set him up? - Why not just kill him? - They already tried that once.
A second attempt would be too obvious, even for these thugs.
Anyway, I think Skinner's probably worth more to them alive and disgraced - than dead and buried.
- Who is this guy? I don't know.
Danny couldn't find anything on him.
He's still running it.
So how are we supposed to find him? This guy's a pawn.
Pawns always make the first move.
So he must've hired the prostitute.
- What happened? - Jumper.
Happens whenever it rains two days straight.
He got to her first.
Mulder, look.
Usually there'd be something set up in the room to get pictures, tape, whatever.
Judy, we need you to identify somebody.
Is this the man who hired Carina? - He said that nobody would get hurt.
- He lied.
Skinner's not the only person he set up.
Are you saying he killed Carina? And Lorraine.
He's cleaning house.
We need you to arrange a meeting.
I can't.
Lorraine's the only one who ever really talked to him.
Unfortunately, Lorraine can't get to the phone right now.
Please don't make me do this.
Look what he did to your friends.
Were your only chance of coming out of this okay.
You know, Mulder's right.
I'll stay with you, if you want, until we take him into custody.
I want you to call him.
Tell him you're scared because we questioned you.
Tell him you want money to get out of town.
You'll meet him at the Ambassador Hotel bar.
Okay? Hello? Hi.
This is Judy Fairly.
You might not remember me, but I work for Lorraine.
One moment, please.
Yes? Some F.
B.
I.
agents came to see me about what happened to Lorraine.
- What did you tell them? - Nothing.
I didn't say anything, but they scared the hell out of me.
Look, I need some money.
That can be arranged.
- Can you meet me? - Where would you like to meet? The Ambassador Hotel at- In an hour? I'm close.
I'll see you in an hour.
I had to tell you, Sharon, before anything else happens.
I'm not signing those papers.
For a lot of reasons, most of them, I'm just realizing myself for the first time.
Some of the things I've seen.
The violence and the lies that I've witnessed men inflict on one another.
I can never tell you that.
Not that I ever stopped believing in the work, but there were contradictions that I couldn't reconcile which meant shutting down part of myself just to do my job.
I never told you what I should've told you.
That what really got me through each day was knowing that I'd be sleeping next to you that night, knowing that I had a reason to wake up in the morning.
I'm not sure if you can even hear me now or if it even makes a difference to you anymore, but I at least wanted you to know that.
Sharon? Somebody- Listen to me.
Did you get him? No, he hasn't shown up yet.
- He should have been here 15 minutes ago.
- What's going on? Nothing.
- Great.
- Maybe it's the rain.
This guy isn't about to let a little rain stop him.
Mulder, hang on a second.
- Judy! - Scully, what's going on? Mulder, get up here right now.
He's upstairs.
Judy? What the hell are you doing? I'm sorry.
I called, but you didn't answer.
What's the matter? You okay? - Sir? - Come in.
This is our report.
You'll see, though, that several questions remain unanswered.
The identity of the man I shot? We ran his face and fingerprints through every available database.
There's still no matches, and we're doing a dental record search, but that'll probably be a dead end too.
And regarding the other man, the telephone number we had for him has been disconnected, and there's no record of an account.
Don't waste your time, Agent Scully.
You won't find him.
just get whatever forensic evidence you need off the body you have and bury it.
- Is there a problem, Agent Mulder? - Yeah, there's something else you'll find missing in there.
An explanation for how you knew to beat the hotel last night.
I was hoping you could fill in that line item yourself.
I'm afraid I can't do that, at least not at this point in time.
Why not? Because whatever I believed may have happened, that has no place on an official report.
Then why dont you just tell me.
Off the record.
If youll excuse me, I have some catching up to do.
The O.
P.
C.
did a number on my office.
But I wanna thank you for the quick turnaround on this.
This pen- she gave it to me.
It was an anniversary present.
- I don't remember which one.
- Walter.
They are expecting the signed documents by the end of business today, - which was ten minutes ago.
- I know what time it is.
Then you should sign.
- What are you doing, Walter? - After 17 years, they can wait another day.
Listen.
No one knows better than I what an emotional experience this is.
Don't lawyer me, Jane.
- I'll do it tomorrow.
- Why put yourself through another day of this? I said tomorrow.
- Buck, I think we have to wait.
- Bye! I know, the regular.
I'll be right back.
Excuse me, are you holding this for someone? It's the only open seat.
Go ahead.
Good evening.
What can I get you? Uh, tonic water with lime, please.
Sir, would you like another one? Sure.
Thanks.
For what? Ordering another drink? There's a man behind me wearing a red tie.
For some reason, he felt compelled to tell me half his life story.
I was afraid if you got up, he might try to get in the other half.
I guess some people think that you owe 'em something just 'cause youre out alone.
- Does that ever bother you? - What? Being alone.
- Okay.
- Excuse me, sir.
Excuse me.
Thank you.
- I'm looking for Detective Waltos.
- Who's asking? My name is Mulder.
I work with Assistant Director Skinner.
I'd like to speak with him.
After he gives his statement.
We're gonna finish up at the station house.
Why don't you just get a statement here? It seems the assistant director is suffering from a minor memory lapse.
Yeah? It's me.
I just got your message.
You said Skinner called in a homicide.
It appears to be a little more complicated than that.
Seems like he had a front-row seat.
- I don't understand.
- I don't understand it either.
They're not letting me talk to him.
Hold on a second.
Excuse me, sir? I appreciate your concern, Agent Mulder, but there's no need for you to get involved.
Detective.
Detective.
Detective! Will you at least tell me what happened? What does he say happened? He claims he met the victim in the bar downstairs.
After a couple of drinks, they decide to get a room, which is all fine, except when he wakes up, he finds her lying next to him with a broken neck.
- That's all he says he remembers.
- You don't believe him? He refused to take a polygraph test.
It's not helping his credibility.
What about the victim? Has she been identified? Not yet.
She had no purse, nothing with her name on it.
There must be evidence of an intruder of some kind.
Agent Mulder, I've been on the job for 18 years.
I know the drill.
Then if you know the drill, you should be canvassing hotel employees, housekeeping- I appreciate that he's a colleague of yours, but I want you to understand something: He's also a suspect.
Detective, when you're done questioning him, I'd appreciate a call.
All right.
- Get any of that? - Most of it.
Mulder, I'm on my way.
No, no, no, I want you to take a look at that body.
Get down to the coroner's.
I'll meet you there.
The conspicuous absence of any contusions or lacerations would strongly suggest that the victim's injuries were sustained without a struggle.
From my observations, I would have to concur with the county coroner's report that her murder was most probably a sudden and violent act in a vulnerable moment.
Beyond this, I found nothing in my postmortem examination - to recommend further investigation.
- Beyond what? Her spinal cord was crushed, Mulder.
The cervical vertebrae was fractured in what appears to be manual trauma.
Were Skinner's the only prints lifted from the body? So far.
They found no semen samples.
There was some irritation, probably an allergic reaction to latex.
At least they were having safe sex.
Have they learned anything more? Yeah, her name was Carina Sayles.
She was legal secretary for one of the criminal defense firms here in town.
- Have you talked to anybody she worked with? - One of the partners.
She was fired a few weeks ago over an indiscretion.
An indiscretion? Yeah, she was moonlighting.
She was taking a little work from one of the firm's clients.
- What kind of work? - This client operated an escort service.
She was a prostitute.
- Give me five minutes here.
- I'll get the car.
Addendum: Observed what appears to be a residual phosphorescence around the victim's mouth and nose.
Note to have this analyzed.
- Yes? - Lorraine Keller here? She's busy right now.
Is there something I can help you with? Busy or not, we need to speak with her.
I'll tell her youre here.
Lorraine! - Business must be booming.
- I think you mean banging.
Whatever this is about, can we do it later? I'm running late.
We'd like to ask you some questions about an employee of yours - Carina Sayles.
She does work for you, doesn't she? I'm ten minutes late for a meeting with her.
That's all right.
I dont think she's gonna be making that meeting.
Oh? Why not? She's dead.
She was murdered last night.
- How? - That's what we're still trying to determine.
I, um- I don't know what to say.
You can start by telling us if she was working last night.
And if she was, who paid for her company? - I'm afraid I can't do that.
- I guess that would hurt future book sales, huh? - You'd be surprised who some of my clients are.
- No, I don't think I would be.
I also doubt they'd want to get entangled in a homicide investigation.
Look, we just need one name from you.
Who hired Carina Sayles? Lets just say you both work for the government, and so do I.
Cut the crap.
Who hired her? She called me last night.
She said that she'd met someone in a bar who was interested in a transaction.
- I took his credit card.
- Then you have his name.
Walter Skinner.
Thank you.
What the hell was he thinking? It just doesn't seem like him.
You think he'd be a little more discrete.
I think the lack of discretion is the least of his sins.
Still not enough to prove anything conclusively.
No, but that doesn't mean that we can discount the evidence.
You really believe Skinner did this? Look, Mulder, I feel the same way about Skinner as you do, but we were just shown a dated record with Skinner's credit card number on it.
Credit card fraud happens every day.
Skinner was in bed with a prostitute at the time of her death, and he's offered us no explanation or alibi.
The truth is, we don't know very much about him.
We don't know what he does off-duty, who he really is.
We know that he's put his ass on the line for us a number of times.
We owe it to him to find out what really happened.
Even if it means proving his guilt.
Yeah, Mulder.
Thank you.
- Who was that? - Detective Waltos.
Skinner's been released.
- Sir? Sir? - This doesn't concern either of you.
- Of course it concerns us.
- Why won't you tell us what happened last night, sir? Read the police report if youre really that curious.
Does it explain why you refused to take a polygraph test? Or why there's a prostitute in the morgue with your fingerprints all over her? You didn't know she was a prostitute, did you? What are you doing, you jerk? Walter, I just heard what happened.
I was coming to see you.
- Walter! - Do you know him? I used to think so.
I'm Sharon Skinner.
I'm his wife.
We were just a little caught off-guard.
Neither of us even knew that he was married.
He never told us.
Well, one of the things Walter's always been good at is keeping secrets.
But the truth is, we haven't been together for almost eight months.
- Has he always been such a private person? - It's more than that.
He lives under this misguided notion that silence is strength.
He's built a wall to keep everyone out.
- Including you? - Yeah, especially me.
Is that why you were separated? Yeah, I just realized one day that we were no longer married.
We'd become roommates instead.
We were paying the bills, taking out the garbage.
I couldn't live like that anymore.
Excuse me.
Scully.
You were one of the few people that Walter ever mentioned from work.
Not that he said much, but from the way he talked, I could tell he respected you.
That's probably why I feel that I can ask you.
- Ask me what? - If Walter really killed that woman? Sorry.
Mulder, we've gotta go.
You've got our numbers if you need to reach us.
You still haven't answered my question.
No, I don't think he did it.
What's going on here? - Agents Mulder and Scully? - That's right.
I'm Special Agent Bonnecaze.
I've been called up from the Norfolk field office to coordinate this inquiry.
I don't know what you do down in Norfolk, but last time I checked, riffing through a man's office was considered an invasion of privacy.
Well, we're operating under guidelines specified by the Office of Professional Conduct.
- A protocol, I understand, you've opted to disregard.
- What do you mean? I want both of you to make yourselves available tomorrow afternoon.
Available for what? - A formal hearing regarding A.
D.
Skinner's case.
- What case? He hasn't even been charged yet.
The hearing is to assess and determine his ability to continue in his position as Assistant Director.
In the meantime, well be appointing our own investigators to pursue any criminal case.
And I must ask you to stop looking into this any further.
What? in case we turn up any evidence that might support his innocence? Any evidence you may have obtained, Agent Mulder, you'll be presenting tomorrow afternoon at the hearing.
Skinner's not answering his phone.
- He's doing everything he shouldn't be doing.
- Yeah, why? He knows better.
The evidence is still circumstantial at best.
He's behaving like a guilty man, Mulder.
The man's marriage is breaking up.
He's stressed out.
It's his irrational behavior that concerns me.
It speaks to his state of mind.
If an otherwise stable man is compelled to go out and hire a prostitute, - what else is he capable of? - Please.
Give him the benefit of the doubt.
I am, Mulder, believe me.
I'm not trying to convince myself.
When I mentioned that hooker to him, he didn't even seem to know.
Well, maybe he doesn't remember.
What do you mean? Either he remembers, or he's a liar.
Not necessarily.
This mans running away from a train.
He sees it coming straight at him.
He hears its whistle.
Several times a month, he ran away from that train until one night when he broke his wife's arm when he threw her to the foor.
- Night terrors? - No.
Night terrors and sleepwalking occur during slow-wave non-dream sleep.
The clinical term for this is " REM sleep behavior disorder.
" Although rare, dozens of cases of sleep-related violence have been attributed to it.
That's fascinating, but what does it have to do with Skinner? This videotape came from the Bethesda Sleep Disorder Center where Skinner has been receiving treatment for the past three months.
- From running away from trains? - Same disorder, different dreams.
According to Skinner's psychiatrist, he's been experiencing a recurring dream in which he's confronted by an old woman.
She speaks to him, but he doesn't understand a word.
Sometimes she straddles his chest, suffocating him.
So you think that Skinner may have killed the victim in his sleep? Defending himself against this imaginary old woman.
A lot of these patients have no recollection of their nocturnal activities, which might explain Skinner's amnesia.
- That's not such a strange story.
- It isn't? It's ancient, actually.
You may have heard it, although not in such clinical terms.
In the Middle Ages, a visitation like the one Skinner described would have been attributed to succubus.
It's a spirit that visits men in the night, usually in the form of an old woman.
- Visits them for sex? - Usually.
Although sometimes the succubus becomes so attached to the man that she would kill any woman competing for his affection.
Here.
- What's that? - Reports of residual and luminous phenomenon have been associated with some succubus encounters.
At least according to the mythology.
Why? I feel kinda strange saying this, but I found something during my postmortem examination that I think you should see.
It's a circular patch around the victim's mouth and nose, approximately 11 centimeters in diameter.
It retained light energy.
It glowed in the dark.
I know what I saw, Mulder.
It was here.
This phosphorescence required no U.
V.
or infrared light? - No, it was definitely visible to the naked eye.
- Did you get a sample? - Yeah, I sent one over to Chem/Tox.
- And? Well, my first hunch was that it was that it was some kind of fungal growth, but the only substance that they detected was amylase, which is found in saliva.
but the only substance that they detected was amylase, which is found in saliva.
So I had them send over a sample to the elemental analysis unit.
The results should be back.
Yes, this is Agent Dana Scully.
I'm calling to find out the lab results on a tissue sample that I sent in earlier this morning.
- Thank you.
- What'd they say? That there was no analyzable substance in the sample container.
Are you sure you saw something? Mulder, I'm afraid this isn't exactly something that I'd make up.
Maybe that's it.
Maybe that's why Skinner's running.
He's afraid.
- That he did it? - That he doesn't know he didn't do it.
Hi.
You didn't answer your phone.
It just kept ringing.
I unplugged it.
I haven't been sleeping too well lately.
Are you going to invite me in, or should I start building an ark? Come in.
You still haven't gotten around to unpacking.
Yeah, well, you know, work.
So what are you doing here, Sharon? I'm not sure.
After I saw you today, I didn't know what else to do.
You're trying to satisfy some morbid curiosity about what happened.
That's not why I came.
I just- I just wanted to make sure youre okay.
I'm okay.
Except right now, company's about the last thing I need.
I'm not company, I'm your wife.
Ex-wife.
Remember, you're the one who asked for the divorce? Only because you didn't have the guts to ask for one yourself, so don't put it on me.
Fair enough.
So what else do you want me to say? Nothing.
I don't want you to say anything.
- I just want you to let me in.
just this one time.
- Why? Because I know you.
I know that youre scared and that you could use some comfort.
I also know that youll never let me give it to you.
just take care of yourself, okay? What's this about? Wanna grab your coat and come with us? Like to ask you a few questions.
Why? What the hell's going on? - It's your wife- she's been in an accident.
- Is she all right? Someone ran her off the road.
You're gonna have to come with us.
God.
We'll also need to see the keys to your car, sir.
- How is she? - The C.
T.
scan shows subdural hematoma.
She's in surgery right now to relieve pressure on her brain.
Scully's trying to get more information.
- I have to see her.
- Can't do that, sir.
- Why not? They said I wasn't being charged.
- Not yet, but they're building a pretty convincing case.
- You think I did this to Sharon? - No, I don't, but I'm in the minority.
What about Agent Scully? Scully- Scully doesn't understand why you're not trying to defend yourself.
Defend myself against what? Dont you think if I knew what was happening tome that I would try to- I don't know what to believe anymore.
What about the old woman in your dream? Who is she? It's gonna come out.
Look, if you don't start trusting someone, you don't stand a chance.
A few months ago, I started seeing her again.
Again? I told you once what- what happened to me in Vietnam.
I was caught in an ambush.
Yeah, you were the sole survivor.
You also described what sounded like a near-death experience.
There was nothing near about it, Agent Mulder.
I was a dead man.
That's when you first saw her? I saw lots of things over there.
- I didn't give much credence to any of'em.
- Why not? I got through that experience like most 18-year-olds.
By numbing myself with whatever was around.
I was no choirboy.
I- I inhaled.
So you just dismissed her as another hallucination? - I tried.
- But you couldn't.
She was there with me, watching me, as I was watching myself die and my blood spilling from a hundred different places until she lifted me up and carried me back, away from the light.
Maybe she was trying to protect you.
Maybe she's trying to protect you now.
Protect me from what? That's a question only you can answer.
I don't know.
I don't have a clue.
- Number five.
- This is Skinner's car? According to Walter's report, the hood was still warm when they got to Skinner's apartment, even with the rain.
Look at the left front panel.
They match the paint in the dent of Sharon Skinner's car.
Waltos's people finish going over the interior? The only prints they found on the steering wheel were Skinner's.
- Can I borrow your flashlight? - Sure.
Why? I don't know what youre expecting to find, Mulder, but Skinner's hearing is in half an hour.
- I'll meet you there.
- What are you doing? Collecting evidence.
- You know how an air bag works? - Your car hits something, a bag fills with air, you don't die.
Not air.
Nitrogen.
Now, the latent image, the one we're interested in, is found in the byproduct of that explosion in the finely dispersed sodium metal that coats the interior of the air bag.
See this pattern here? It was created by whoever was behind the wheel when the airbag deployed.
- It doesn't look like a face.
- Not yet.
First, I'm scanning the pattern, then I'm running it through software which translates its varying densities into a dimensionalized likeness.
After that, it's a matter of fine-tuning.
- How long does that take? - You need this in a hurry, it sounds like.
I'm not the only one who needs it.
Let's go over the physical evidence again.
You say you found nothing damning.
No, sir, none of the physical evidence we recovered directly connects the assistant director to her death.
You reexamined the victim's body.
Did you find anything of note? I took a sample of an extraneous substance that turned out to be unidentifiable.
How's that? A naturally occurring enzyme around her mouth and nose.
- And do you have any idea why it was there? - No.
If you are withholding something from this committee- Sir, I feel reluctant to say or to speak for Agent Mulder.
To say what? Agent Mulder had a theory that the substance could have come from a visitation.
But you have another explanation.
No, I'm sorry, I don't.
Do you believe in paranormal phenomena, Agent Scully? Whatever extreme cases I have encountered, I have always viewed through the lens of science.
I believe that is why I was assigned to the X-Files and to Agent Mulder.
And has A.
D.
Skinner always been as discriminating as you? Excuse me, sir, I don't understand the question.
Would you say that, like yourself, your direct superior has been affected by- or enchanted by- Agent Mulder's notion- No, sir.
Not at all.
And yet he continues to sign off on whatever extreme cases you and Agent Mulder elect to investigate.
I believe the assistant director has protected us out of a respect for the work.
just as you might protect him by trumping up unidentifiable evidence? No, that is not true.
- Thank you, Agent Scully, that will be all.
- Sir, if I may- - That will be all! - I'm not finished.
Yes, you are, Agent Scully.
Hello? - Mulder? - Hello? You missed it.
Not that anything you said would've made a difference.
- What happened? Where's Skinner? - Out of a job.
- They dismissed him? - He would've had a better chance against a firing squad.
They used us to do it, didn't they? They used the X-Files.
- How'd you know? - Because I think Skinner's been outmaneuvered, Scully.
- They found a weakness, and they're exploiting it.
- Why? To put us in check.
You remove Skinner, you weaken us.
What am I looking at? This is the man that stole Skinner's car last night and tried to kill his wife.
But I don't understand.
Why orchestrate an elaborate scheme to set him up? - Why not just kill him? - They already tried that once.
A second attempt would be too obvious, even for these thugs.
Anyway, I think Skinner's probably worth more to them alive and disgraced - than dead and buried.
- Who is this guy? I don't know.
Danny couldn't find anything on him.
He's still running it.
So how are we supposed to find him? This guy's a pawn.
Pawns always make the first move.
So he must've hired the prostitute.
- What happened? - Jumper.
Happens whenever it rains two days straight.
He got to her first.
Mulder, look.
Usually there'd be something set up in the room to get pictures, tape, whatever.
Judy, we need you to identify somebody.
Is this the man who hired Carina? - He said that nobody would get hurt.
- He lied.
Skinner's not the only person he set up.
Are you saying he killed Carina? And Lorraine.
He's cleaning house.
We need you to arrange a meeting.
I can't.
Lorraine's the only one who ever really talked to him.
Unfortunately, Lorraine can't get to the phone right now.
Please don't make me do this.
Look what he did to your friends.
Were your only chance of coming out of this okay.
You know, Mulder's right.
I'll stay with you, if you want, until we take him into custody.
I want you to call him.
Tell him you're scared because we questioned you.
Tell him you want money to get out of town.
You'll meet him at the Ambassador Hotel bar.
Okay? Hello? Hi.
This is Judy Fairly.
You might not remember me, but I work for Lorraine.
One moment, please.
Yes? Some F.
B.
I.
agents came to see me about what happened to Lorraine.
- What did you tell them? - Nothing.
I didn't say anything, but they scared the hell out of me.
Look, I need some money.
That can be arranged.
- Can you meet me? - Where would you like to meet? The Ambassador Hotel at- In an hour? I'm close.
I'll see you in an hour.
I had to tell you, Sharon, before anything else happens.
I'm not signing those papers.
For a lot of reasons, most of them, I'm just realizing myself for the first time.
Some of the things I've seen.
The violence and the lies that I've witnessed men inflict on one another.
I can never tell you that.
Not that I ever stopped believing in the work, but there were contradictions that I couldn't reconcile which meant shutting down part of myself just to do my job.
I never told you what I should've told you.
That what really got me through each day was knowing that I'd be sleeping next to you that night, knowing that I had a reason to wake up in the morning.
I'm not sure if you can even hear me now or if it even makes a difference to you anymore, but I at least wanted you to know that.
Sharon? Somebody- Listen to me.
Did you get him? No, he hasn't shown up yet.
- He should have been here 15 minutes ago.
- What's going on? Nothing.
- Great.
- Maybe it's the rain.
This guy isn't about to let a little rain stop him.
Mulder, hang on a second.
- Judy! - Scully, what's going on? Mulder, get up here right now.
He's upstairs.
Judy? What the hell are you doing? I'm sorry.
I called, but you didn't answer.
What's the matter? You okay? - Sir? - Come in.
This is our report.
You'll see, though, that several questions remain unanswered.
The identity of the man I shot? We ran his face and fingerprints through every available database.
There's still no matches, and we're doing a dental record search, but that'll probably be a dead end too.
And regarding the other man, the telephone number we had for him has been disconnected, and there's no record of an account.
Don't waste your time, Agent Scully.
You won't find him.
just get whatever forensic evidence you need off the body you have and bury it.
- Is there a problem, Agent Mulder? - Yeah, there's something else you'll find missing in there.
An explanation for how you knew to beat the hotel last night.
I was hoping you could fill in that line item yourself.
I'm afraid I can't do that, at least not at this point in time.
Why not? Because whatever I believed may have happened, that has no place on an official report.
Then why dont you just tell me.
Off the record.
If youll excuse me, I have some catching up to do.
The O.
P.
C.
did a number on my office.
But I wanna thank you for the quick turnaround on this.