Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2001) s05e17 Episode Script
Vacancy
Snow schmo.
We live in Denver.
We laugh as so.
Alice, I cannot miss this flight.
It's really coming down now.
That cigar smell nauseates me.
That tea rose you showered in isn't doing me any favors, either.
But I'm too much of a gentleman Two of us were the only single bride maids at the shower, they gave us crap.
I think they were jealous.
Honey, their lives are over, and yours have just begun.
When I get back from the bathroom, we have to go.
That girl is Rocky mountain hard.
Um, give me your number, in case our flight gets cancelled.
Okay.
Car service won't come in this weather.
/ Wow! Looks like we are gonna be stranded in New York city.
We have nowhere to stay There's a cab! Hurry! Come on! We should've stayed with those guys.
They were hot.
They were not hot.
And that cigar smoke Oh, so macho.
Okay, name one male person whose bones you want to jump.
Wait, wait, wait, how about cabbie McCutie? Sir! Excuse me, sir.
Will you kiss my friend to settle an argument? / Alice, stop.
Now.
I just heard on my radio all airports are closed.
Whoo! / Oh, no.
Maybe you can find out hotel near here.
Really sorry.
I thought this would be faster than the highway.
This is Brooklyn, right? Park slope? No, we're nowhere near there.
This is Myrtle avenue.
The Brooklyn Lights Inn on Flushing.
It's close.
I see angels.
Snow angels.
All right, Alice.
- Two-C, bathroom's down the hall.
- Two beds, right? We need two beds.
You're out of luck, dear.
- Sweet dreams.
- Thanks.
Come on.
You need some towels? I want all my friends to be happy.
No, no, no.
Alice, someone was watching me in the bathroom.
Well Just Pete and Jayson, we were here.
Towels for you to wrap in with all my love I told you not to knock after midnight.
I'm an old man, and I need to sleep.
I need a key deposit.
Key deposit? It's the middle of the night! No, this is on you.
I asked you three times No, no! This is harassment! That's what this is, you under Some something happened to my friend.
Law & Order CI They were in town for a bridal shower.
On the way to the airport, they heard everything shut down, so a cab dropped them off here.
A motel zero, good choice.
One of the girls, Alice, went to the John in the middle of the night.
When she came back, her friend Megan is dead.
- Where's Alice now? - Wyckoff hospital, getting checked out.
The guests, we're gonna need their names and their room numbers.
Place is a toilet.
- How are we doing with witnesses? - Not so good.
Woman next door heard one of the girls yell, "that's gross.
" Valuables are still here.
- Was there another key? - Just that one.
Door self-locks, no sign of forced entry.
Oh, yeah.
These girls were doing some heavy drinking last night.
Here's who they did it with.
Pete and a phone number.
There's a tobacco smell.
It's all around here.
All the wounds are to the head.
There's no sign of struggle.
The first blow might've immobilized her.
This'd do the trick.
Lead crystal.
"Tory's merry maidens.
" Beaten to death with her bridesmaid's gift.
The blood.
The way it's smeared.
As if somebody laid down next to her, and rolled in it.
Wyckoff General Hospital Brooklyn, New York Tuesday, March 28 I got in bed in the dark.
It was wet and sticky.
I, I thought she threw up.
Did you say anything to her? I think I yelled at her for getting sick.
And then I turned on a light, and saw all the blood.
You see anybody in the hall? There was a guy singing when we went to sleep.
And Megan said someone was watching her.
Where? In the bedroom? Maybe the bathroom? I can't remember.
I was drunk.
- Either of you smoke? - No.
Megan went nuts at Tory's shower when one of the girls lit up.
She complained about the smell all day.
I think she was a health freak.
You think? You didn't know her well? Just through Tory, you know, the bride? Who's Pete? You had his number.
He's a guy we met at this bistro, before we went to the airport.
I wanted to stay, but Megan made us leave.
Were you angry at her? You blame her for ending up at the hotel? She would've been better off without me.
Why? Did you feel responsible? Because you left her in the room, alone? You know, we found the room key on the table next to the door.
Is that where you left it when you came back? Yeah.
Is that because it was dark and the table was the only thing that you could see in the light from the hall? Right.
No.
See, Alice, we found the key on the nightstand.
You didn't take the key with you at all, did you? I couldn't find the key in the dark, so I left the door open using the deadbolt.
I didn't think I'm so sorry.
I didn't think that anything like that was gonna happen.
I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.
We've alibied everyone on this floor, so maybe someone from another floor.
Who's in this room? Two-F.
Two-F, it was vacant.
Peephole's been cleaned.
There's a clear view to the girls' room.
He might've waited here until one of them went into the bathroom.
There's no trash.
Not even a candy wrapper.
Our guy's got self-control.
Well, it looks like there might be one bad habit he couldn't resist.
Cigar.
Somebody had a cigar burning in here.
The wastebasket in the girls' room the liner bag, it was tied off to the side, wasn't it? Cigar.
And look at this.
It's still oily.
It's from smoke.
Smoke box? Megan, she had the smell of tobacco around her neck, and one of her friends said she hated that smell.
Our boy knew that.
He cured his gloves with smoke to shove them in her face.
It's someone who knew her.
Someone who followed her here.
Hi, Pete, it's Alice.
I'm still in New York.
Something awful's happened, and I'm feeling so messed up over it.
Call me? Talk about dodging a bullet.
Pete and Jayson didn't leave when we did.
They said they were gonna wait out the snow.
- Either of them have a car? - Yeah.
But I don't know which one.
I can't believe they followed us.
- Did you call Pete from the hotel? - Yes.
I asked him to come rescue us.
He said he was too tired.
And what happened between Jayson and Megan? She thought he was too macho.
You said that she didn't like the smell of tobacco.
- Jayson, was he a smoker? - Cigars.
Megan switched seats to get away from the smell.
How'd Jayson take that? Bad.
He called her Rocky mountain hard, loud enough so everybody heard.
Clever.
Have you talked to Pete since Sunday? I left a message for him last night.
I'm just really alone here.
I know you asked me to stay a few days, but I'm sleeping on Tory's couch.
And she's got her fiance.
Well, the, uh, the department can get you a hotel room.
Have you talked to anybody at victim services? Not yet.
Yeah.
Well, we'll get someone to, uh, speak with you.
Okay.
/ And, uh you could wait here.
Thank you so much.
Looks like you're her designated white knight.
She's over Pete, and onto you.
She wants to be rescued.
If this is the way she is in a police station, I can only imagine the signals she was sending Pete and Jayson.
Alice told us the two of you hit it off on Sunday.
We had a good time.
Just waiting for the snow to stop.
And then she left with her friend.
She called you later from the hotel, is that right? Like, five times.
They, uh, they ended up in some dump, and she wanted us to come down there and get them.
Us.
So your friend Jayson, he was with you when Alice called.
No, I was still at the bistro.
And he'd already left to go dig his car out.
We heard that he struck out with Megan.
She was just anxious about her flight.
Anxious and rude to your friend.
I mean, she said that he smelled.
The changing of her seat Not that your friend's manners were any better.
What did he call Megan? Rocky mountain hard? I don't know what Alice told you.
Well, the word "macho" came up.
Maybe the kind of macho pride to drive to Brooklyn and teach Megan a lesson.
Before you accuse people, you should consider the source.
The source, you mean Alice? That night she called five times.
You are so bad to leave me here.
Get wine, come out.
You know we'll have fun.
She's just angry that we didn't drive out to Brooklyn in a snowstorm.
Check my phone.
Alice called me at 9:36.
Jayson left the bistro at 9.
- Ask the hostess.
- Why would she remember? They ripped his down jacket in the coat room.
Jayson made a big stink.
They'll remember him.
Brasserie Nylorac Thursday, March 30 Yesterday we got this letter with a picture of his coat and the bill.
This doesn't look torn, it's cut.
That's what I tried to tell him.
Well, his coat gets cut right after he publicly insults Megan.
Maybe someone in the bar took offense? Maybe Megan had a secret admirer? Can we see your receipts for Sunday night? All right, this check, it's a single.
The table number's been crossed out and changed.
Sir sits-a-lot.
He changed tables.
- He's a regular? - Every couple weeks.
Real picky about where he sits, but he tips big.
Could you show us the first table he sat? Yeah, right over here.
Here, facing the mirror.
And the four-top, which table was that? Under that painting.
Yeah, he could've watched the table from here.
- And the table that he moved to? - Over here.
And now I can see the chair behind the pillar.
He moved to keep an eye on her.
You know sir sits-a-lot's name? Sorry.
And he always pays cash.
Two burger patties rare, no bun.
Four coffees.
Always the same thing? Except he used to want the patties medium well.
And then for a while it was medium rare.
And now he wants it rare.
Any other eccentricities? He likes the way our napkins smell.
He borrowed a couple to show his laundry.
He say which laundry? Suds palace, two blocks down.
I told him we don't do custom smells.
We just need his name.
What about the smells? He had allergies? Yeah, allergic to being normal.
Special instructions for everything.
Like all the pants he made my mother take in.
Take in.
He was losing weight? What he said.
Like we care.
Here.
L.
Summerhill.
No address, no phone number.
I think he's at the Merriweather hotel.
He's always bringing in their towels.
Mr.
Summerhill? It's me, Ruben.
I need to talk to you about this week's bill.
Clear.
Yeah, clear.
Oh, something tells me we're tracking the right scent.
I overheard the maids talking about this.
Would you mind waiting in the hall? We'll probably need you for a sketch.
So, dead animals.
Live women.
The losing weight, the rare meat, the burned meat, he's in process.
Picky, picky, picky.
I guess how Mr.
Summerhill pays the rent on his little picture gallery? A cab driver's log sheet.
Wonder if he drops off fares at the Brooklyn Lights Inn? Vetiver.
- What's that? - Your perfume.
- You know what vetiver is? - No idea.
It's a grass that grows wild in the tropics.
Really? That's fascinating.
Only two Lester Summerhills registered with the DMV.
Both over 50, none with a hack license.
Latent ran the prints and got nothing.
All right, well, his toiletries are missing.
If he's in escape mode, why leave these behind? You know half-naked women and animal carnage suggests violence against women without really showing it.
The adventure squad, my kid brother had one of those.
This one's smashed up.
He gets his kicks destroying vintage toys? Some kids like to play rough.
We need to know who bought it.
A guy, mid-thirties, maybe? Yeah, that's him.
I didn't get his name, though.
He paid cash about a month ago.
You mentioned kids, he had a kid with him? No, not this time.
But the first time he came in, two months ago? He had a little boy with him, maybe five or six.
They bought that ant farm.
Any idea if he was related to the boy? Maybe an uncle? When he came in to buy this, I asked him how his son was doing, and he said he didn't have a son, but in a way that didn't invite further conversation.
There's a coupon here for a free magnifying glass.
There's also a section for the retailer to fill out.
That's you.
Yeah.
I even mailed it in for the kid.
They should've sent him his magnifier by now.
We'll check.
Home of Tim & Ellen Rainey HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, New York Monday, April 3 Mrs.
Rainey? It's the police.
Police.
Anybody home? Clear.
Osborne's dad looks just like our sketch.
Interesting he'd deny having a son.
This is are you curious? Now you got me going.
This label says "Joe.
" All those books, medical books, books on addiction plays.
It's Willie Loman's son, Bif, he was a college student, he stole a pen during an interview.
I don't know who Joe is, but he's got issues.
That's Joe, a gay mormon, Angels in America.
These, these bins, they each represent a character that this guy is working on.
And all these materials, this is what he uses to prepare.
Our cab driver's an actor.
He's working on another character.
Our son's fine.
He's at school.
I haven't talked to Tim in two weeks.
He moved into a hotel three months ago.
That's part of his acting process.
He isolates himself from us so he can fully transform into his character.
Must be hard to deal with.
What role is he preparing this time? A serial killer.
Lester Summerhill, for a film.
- So his character drives a taxi.
- A bus.
But Tim's had a hack license since college.
He thought, uh, driving a cab again would give him the same feeling of observing his passengers.
Like Summerhill picking his victims.
What do you want with Tim? The hotel was concerned with what they found on the walls of his room.
Yeah, he told me about these.
Wait, they were still on his wall? You thought he was done with them? The movie fell through last month.
- Did Tim know? - Yeah.
But he said he didn't want to come home just yet.
- Have you tried to see him? - I don't know what hotel he's in.
The taxi commission doesn't know what cab he's driving.
There are 46,000 people with hack licenses out there.
I'm surprised they talked to you.
Did you go through a private investigator? Tim has an FBI agent who helped him research his role.
I called him.
I was worried.
The last time we spoke, Tim was so cold.
I rode in his cab a few months ago.
I was reading a book about serial killers, and he volunteered that he'd read the book too.
And what did he have to say about it? He was very impressed by it.
Most civilians are.
I pointed out the flaws to him.
Had to be grateful for that.
You still have the receipt for that cab ride? I can dig it up for you.
When you talked to Rainey, how did he seem? It was last month, he seemed fine.
He said he was developing the feral aspects of his performance.
Feral.
Well, how would he propose to do that? He wanted me to take him to crime scenes, let him talk to suspects.
It was all getting to be a bit much.
Well, how did you get him to back off? Little aversion therapy? Well, I let him listen to a tape.
A 911 call.
The call recorded a woman being assaulted and killed by an intruder.
I never heard from him again after that.
Tim? / Hey! Where are Ellen and Osborne? Are you guys living in the city again? No, uh I'm doing a play.
Uh, big changes.
We are pregnant.
And we're finally moving into that condo.
That's great.
The housewarming's two weeks from now.
You have to come.
You, uh, back to driving a cab.
No, I'm, uh, research.
Come to our party, okay? See you, Tim.
No easy listening? Well victim does a lot of screaming and pleading for her life.
In the end, she just manages baby talk.
And the killer doesn't say a word.
It's just breathing, and grunting, and well, if Rainey had any romantic notions about his character, this would've destroyed them.
Well, you can ask him when we catch him.
I traced the medallion number on the receipt to the cab's owner.
He says Tim heads to the taxi hold at JFK every afternoon around 2.
We got no probable cause for arrest, but I have an idea about that.
Hi, fellas.
A little business proposition here.
If you understand, my girls are high-class.
When you drive a lonely man to a five-star hotel, think of me.
- I pay 50 bucks for every referral.
- I wish I can help you out.
Sorry.
All right, man, but thanks for listening anyway, all right? No problem.
How about you? Got any? Got any ideas for me? My kid's got a medical situation.
I'm looking for some, some hours.
I don't own my own cab.
I'm sorry.
Couple hundred dollars a week, that's all I need.
- Look, I'm not asking for pity or - Look, there's an escort service.
She'll give you $50, every businessman you send her.
Have a good day.
Thanks, man, you made my day.
I appreciate that.
Mine too.
You're under arrest for promoting prostitution.
The charge is crap.
- It's entrapment.
- Says you.
Looking over your logs, I see you drove a fare from Tribeca last Sunday to Flushing avenue in Brooklyn.
Wouldn't be the Brooklyn lights inn, would it? Yeah.
Two women from out of town.
Their flight got snowed in.
That was a bad night.
Where'd you eat? You have my journal.
You know I was at the same restaurant they were.
Crosses arms when Alice speaks tea rose soap.
I'm preparing for a role in a film as a serial killer.
We heard it got cancelled.
You spoke to my wife.
It's delayed.
Money problems.
Until they solve it, you're gonna stay in that hotel room, looking at the pictures of women and animals.
Can't explain method acting in one sitting to two non-actors.
I've read a little about method acting.
That's the actor uses his own memories to inform his character's, uh, like, emotional life.
That's right.
I, uh, search myself.
I find a personal experience that makes the character's story real for me.
It's called affective memory.
If I'm trying to forget Robert Goren, why would I want to use the memories of Robert Goren? The only emotions authentic to you are your own.
Authentic emotions.
Well, look, you seem to know what you're talking about.
I mean, your entries in this journal correspond to what we know about stalkers and serial killers.
Hmm, that stuff about smells stalkers talk about how scent fuels their attachments.
Stalkers can become very invested in their victims, even want to protect them.
If you watch long enough, sure.
You know, agent Welken, he played you that tape because he thought it would put you off your research.
But that didn't happen, did it? The emotion on that tape was real.
I realized I had been looking at pictures, and playing with props instead of searching myself.
In life, and in art, I'm committed to honesty.
I figured I'd be a better person, better actor, if I just stuck with my process and found the truth of the character.
But your wife wanted you home.
Well, that's her.
Always pulling the plug on me when things start getting good.
Getting good.
Like those girls getting in your cab.
I never enter my subjects' lives.
If I had, Megan might still be alive.
How do you figure? Well, her friend Alice tried to push Megan and me together.
She pushed hard.
She even asked me to kiss Megan.
That's a drunk for you.
Right.
The whole trip, Alice was going on about how she left behind this guy Pete, and he was a sure thing.
But it was all a come-on just to lure me into the hotel for sex.
For sex with Megan? No.
Alice was bugging Megan about not liking men.
And it seemed to me, she was just using Megan as bait.
I mean, Alice wanted someone to come back to her room that night.
And she wasn't too picky about who it was.
I hate to think who she invited in after I said no.
Alice was drunk.
She was throwing herself at Pete.
She might've picked somebody up at the hotel.
So far Rainey's proving himself a more reliable witness than Alice.
You got to wonder why.
We have been over and over this.
I asked him to kiss Megan.
But it was a joke.
I was drunk.
Are you sure it wasn't a come-on to get him up to your room? For what, to have sex with Megan? God, no.
Of all people! Or sex with you.
Look, please, I was drunk, okay? You said, "of all people.
" Was it true that you were teasing Megan about not liking men? You meant that she was gay, right? Megan wasn't officially out, but we all knew she was gay.
You mean everybody at the bridal shower.
They give her a hard time? Not really.
Tory's fiance said Megan should marry me because we're still alone.
So you don't think that that hurt Megan? Now, the suggestion that you might be gay, it offended you.
Well, it's not fair to assume just because I'm single.
Were you afraid Megan got the wrong idea? How would I know? I was drunk.
You keep saying that like it's an explanation.
But I blacked out.
But you know Megan told you somebody was watching her.
You know you woke up and couldn't find the key.
You can't black out and know anything, Alice.
You can't have it both ways.
Everybody thinks that I don't want to help.
But I do.
I have been so sick over this.
I want to remember, I want to help you.
Try now, Alice.
You want to help, try remembering now.
Yes, yes, I asked them for two beds.
I think I was worried about Megan.
I think she got too close, and, I panicked.
- I hit her.
- Alice I, I pushed her.
I think she must've hit the floor, and bled.
I killed her! I killed her! I killed her! I killed her! I killed her! Megan was killed in a bed.
There's no evidence that she was on the floor.
The details may be wrong, but Alice's guilt seems genuine.
Sure, it's genuine.
She feels guilty she left the door unlocked, that she's homophobic.
But if I hadn't pushed her We wouldn't have a statement exculpating Mr.
Rainey.
But you did.
And now we do.
You made this problem.
Now fix it.
I knew she was unreliable.
I knew she was a mess, but something about her made me want to just push her.
It'll be all right.
Look, these photos.
The hairdos - what do you think, '70s? - Looks about right.
That's the same period as this van.
It's when Rainey was a child.
We have anything in his pedigree? He grew up in Ohio.
Moved from Youngstown to Cleveland when he was seven.
It's the same time his last name was changed to Rainey from Miles.
Eames.
Okay.
Carver wants to see us.
Captain says bring body armor.
My client was arraigned last night on a charge of promoting prostitution.
But based on the prosecutor's information that he's a prime suspect in a murder, bail was set at half a million dollars.
It's now come to my attention the police have elicited a confession from another suspect in this case.
Your honor, the statement Ms.
Magill refers to is a memory recovered from the alcoholic blackout.
You're saying the confession is invalid.
Its evidentiary value has not been established.
Maybe the detectives have some personal experience judging the veracity of people in alcoholic stupors.
I can sort this out without their help, Ms.
Magill.
Bail is reduced to 50,000.
Good day.
Looks like Mr.
Rainey is going home.
The personal experience.
My dad's sister lived with us for a year.
She was a foul-mouthed, promiscuous drunk.
The next day she could never remember a thing.
My dad refused to give up on her, until one day she hit my little brother.
Then we never saw her again.
There's no way Rainey could've known that.
Rainey picked up on your attitude towards drunks.
Just like he picked up on Alice's homophobia.
He said Alice was just putting the moves on him.
Bogus insight.
Faked us out.
Put you on a collision course with Alice.
He preyed on my weakness, now we can prey on his.
Look what came up on a database search of Ohio.
Police Precinct Youngstown, Ohio Friday, April 7 Tim was six when he found his mother.
She was attacked with a brick from the front walk.
Did he see the attack? You know, I don't think so.
We didn't even know what stalking was back then.
I mean, I should've put it together.
I mean, she had changed addresses five times in one year.
I mean, she pulled her kid out of four different schools.
So you know who killed her? Linda told friends that she was having problems with some guy at work.
We interviewed him.
He said she was crazy, sleeping around.
And you believed him.
Well, by the time we wised up, our guy'd left town.
We were worried about Tim's safety, so my wife and I had him stay with us until his uncle came for him.
You had to answer his questions about the crime.
Yeah, I told him that the man was angry at his mommy, not him.
Helped him sleep at night.
He have any other problems? Red meat.
He couldn't even stand to be around it.
It must have been that blood smell.
Must've gotten a nose full of it when he found his mother.
Did you ever tell him, over the years, that it was a stalking murder? Didn't see any wisdom in it.
I mean, a child that young, if you don't keep reminding them, they forget.
You hope.
Osborne.
Dinner, now, let's go.
What is your problem? Why every time he's happy you have to tear him away? It's not his fault.
It's yours.
I need a little time to myself.
My client completely disavows this so-called confession.
She was under duress.
I know what duress is.
And she was not under duress.
I'm not willing to withdraw the material witness warrant.
I'm sorry.
Please, I know now, I couldn't have killed Megan.
I I was mean to her.
I don't know why.
But I didn't hurt her.
Let's go.
It'll work out, Alice.
Hang in there.
Thank you, detective.
I'm trying to walk a tightrope, and you just sawed it in half.
Now, unless you have evidence against Mr.
Rainey you haven't told me about Just the beating death of his mother with a heavy object.
A fascinating parallel.
Now turn it into evidence.
Look, Rainey's uncle, he sent us these family snapshots.
The truck was a gift from his mother, just like the one that he bought.
And smashed.
Maybe these are the authentic emotions that he was reaching for.
Maybe he reached too far he lost control of them.
My lawyer doesn't want me talking about the case.
Well, actually the DA is filing charges against Alice.
You're pretty much in the clear.
We came to return the items we found in your hotel room.
We even put them in a plastic bin for you.
/ It's okay.
I wanted to bring this here.
I read this book.
"Respect for acting.
" I respect what you do.
He's been talking my ear off about it.
You have to let him in.
Is your son here? No.
Ellen took him to a movie.
You can just put that down anywhere.
There's not a lot of room in there.
I'll just put it down here.
There's one thing that I learned from this book.
A method actors' life story is their tool box.
It's my mother.
What are you doing with that? You weren't the only one looking inside Tim Rainey.
We were looking too.
Your mother's death was unsolved.
She was murdered by a boyfriend.
I don't need to know which one.
With all your self-examination for your art, I'm surprised that you didn't put it together.
Put what together? The moving around your mother did, all the locks on her door She was being stalked.
How could I know? I was six.
Here you are.
The stalker, who was he? Dead now.
Cancer at 40.
You know, some people believe that if you live a guilty life, it will kill you, and the people that you love.
Don't put that there.
The fear in the faces of the women that you stalked, that pushed a button in you, didn't it? It did, Tim, right? Didn't it? It was like electricity.
Like a an affective memory, right? I knew it meant something.
Yeah, it was the same look on your mother when she was being stalked.
I guess that's why you kept at it.
Stalking and the photos in the hotel room.
I mean, even after they cancelled the film.
I wasn't analyzing.
I was just feeling it.
Right, the senses.
Even the smells came back.
The rare meat, and the the blood.
You wanted to know what that meant, didn't you? A great actor can't stay ignorant of his own life.
No, he can't.
I guess that's when things started going good for you.
You said your wife wanted to pull the plug.
Your mother was like that.
When she got afraid, she pulled you out of school away from your friends.
You don't have a memory of that? Of how you felt? She dragged me out of Star wars.
Never even saw the end of the movie.
I thought she was just being mean.
Yeah, you got angry at her.
You lashed out.
You know, like a child does.
You broke the toy that she gave you.
You bought this one.
And then you smashed it, to remember the anger, to build it up.
You were right out there on the verge of the truth.
You understood your life for the first time.
That's why you went to Megan's room.
- No, I didn't.
- To up the stakes.
Because the more terror for Megan, the more breakthrough for Tim.
I'm not the kind of beast who hunted my mother.
But here you are, Tim.
Sleeping in the den, knocking yourself out with sleeping pills and alcohol.
Yeah, why is that? Why? Is that so your family is safe from you? Because you opened the box.
And now you're not sure if you can close it.
It's acting.
I can control it.
No, you're faking, Tim.
Because you told us that you're committed to honesty.
Honesty would make you a better man.
Well, you need to remember your authentic emotions.
You need to go to the truth.
I didn't I didn't go there to hurt her.
- I believe that.
- It just all came rushing back.
Her look my hate they said mommy had a lot of boyfriends.
They said she made a man mad.
That's all lies.
I started hitting her.
Punishing her.
- Megan? - Yeah, Megan.
I ran back to the other room.
My heart was pounding so hard.
I thought the whole place could hear it.
I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Her fear, when she saw me.
I just wanted to do it again.
You're under arrest for murder, Tim.
Come on.
My family will be home soon, I can't - Yeah.
- I can't face them like this.
You can call them later from the precinct.
I'll put in a call to Alice when we get back.
This search for the truth, it's it's not for the fainthearted.
We live in Denver.
We laugh as so.
Alice, I cannot miss this flight.
It's really coming down now.
That cigar smell nauseates me.
That tea rose you showered in isn't doing me any favors, either.
But I'm too much of a gentleman Two of us were the only single bride maids at the shower, they gave us crap.
I think they were jealous.
Honey, their lives are over, and yours have just begun.
When I get back from the bathroom, we have to go.
That girl is Rocky mountain hard.
Um, give me your number, in case our flight gets cancelled.
Okay.
Car service won't come in this weather.
/ Wow! Looks like we are gonna be stranded in New York city.
We have nowhere to stay There's a cab! Hurry! Come on! We should've stayed with those guys.
They were hot.
They were not hot.
And that cigar smoke Oh, so macho.
Okay, name one male person whose bones you want to jump.
Wait, wait, wait, how about cabbie McCutie? Sir! Excuse me, sir.
Will you kiss my friend to settle an argument? / Alice, stop.
Now.
I just heard on my radio all airports are closed.
Whoo! / Oh, no.
Maybe you can find out hotel near here.
Really sorry.
I thought this would be faster than the highway.
This is Brooklyn, right? Park slope? No, we're nowhere near there.
This is Myrtle avenue.
The Brooklyn Lights Inn on Flushing.
It's close.
I see angels.
Snow angels.
All right, Alice.
- Two-C, bathroom's down the hall.
- Two beds, right? We need two beds.
You're out of luck, dear.
- Sweet dreams.
- Thanks.
Come on.
You need some towels? I want all my friends to be happy.
No, no, no.
Alice, someone was watching me in the bathroom.
Well Just Pete and Jayson, we were here.
Towels for you to wrap in with all my love I told you not to knock after midnight.
I'm an old man, and I need to sleep.
I need a key deposit.
Key deposit? It's the middle of the night! No, this is on you.
I asked you three times No, no! This is harassment! That's what this is, you under Some something happened to my friend.
Law & Order CI They were in town for a bridal shower.
On the way to the airport, they heard everything shut down, so a cab dropped them off here.
A motel zero, good choice.
One of the girls, Alice, went to the John in the middle of the night.
When she came back, her friend Megan is dead.
- Where's Alice now? - Wyckoff hospital, getting checked out.
The guests, we're gonna need their names and their room numbers.
Place is a toilet.
- How are we doing with witnesses? - Not so good.
Woman next door heard one of the girls yell, "that's gross.
" Valuables are still here.
- Was there another key? - Just that one.
Door self-locks, no sign of forced entry.
Oh, yeah.
These girls were doing some heavy drinking last night.
Here's who they did it with.
Pete and a phone number.
There's a tobacco smell.
It's all around here.
All the wounds are to the head.
There's no sign of struggle.
The first blow might've immobilized her.
This'd do the trick.
Lead crystal.
"Tory's merry maidens.
" Beaten to death with her bridesmaid's gift.
The blood.
The way it's smeared.
As if somebody laid down next to her, and rolled in it.
Wyckoff General Hospital Brooklyn, New York Tuesday, March 28 I got in bed in the dark.
It was wet and sticky.
I, I thought she threw up.
Did you say anything to her? I think I yelled at her for getting sick.
And then I turned on a light, and saw all the blood.
You see anybody in the hall? There was a guy singing when we went to sleep.
And Megan said someone was watching her.
Where? In the bedroom? Maybe the bathroom? I can't remember.
I was drunk.
- Either of you smoke? - No.
Megan went nuts at Tory's shower when one of the girls lit up.
She complained about the smell all day.
I think she was a health freak.
You think? You didn't know her well? Just through Tory, you know, the bride? Who's Pete? You had his number.
He's a guy we met at this bistro, before we went to the airport.
I wanted to stay, but Megan made us leave.
Were you angry at her? You blame her for ending up at the hotel? She would've been better off without me.
Why? Did you feel responsible? Because you left her in the room, alone? You know, we found the room key on the table next to the door.
Is that where you left it when you came back? Yeah.
Is that because it was dark and the table was the only thing that you could see in the light from the hall? Right.
No.
See, Alice, we found the key on the nightstand.
You didn't take the key with you at all, did you? I couldn't find the key in the dark, so I left the door open using the deadbolt.
I didn't think I'm so sorry.
I didn't think that anything like that was gonna happen.
I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry.
We've alibied everyone on this floor, so maybe someone from another floor.
Who's in this room? Two-F.
Two-F, it was vacant.
Peephole's been cleaned.
There's a clear view to the girls' room.
He might've waited here until one of them went into the bathroom.
There's no trash.
Not even a candy wrapper.
Our guy's got self-control.
Well, it looks like there might be one bad habit he couldn't resist.
Cigar.
Somebody had a cigar burning in here.
The wastebasket in the girls' room the liner bag, it was tied off to the side, wasn't it? Cigar.
And look at this.
It's still oily.
It's from smoke.
Smoke box? Megan, she had the smell of tobacco around her neck, and one of her friends said she hated that smell.
Our boy knew that.
He cured his gloves with smoke to shove them in her face.
It's someone who knew her.
Someone who followed her here.
Hi, Pete, it's Alice.
I'm still in New York.
Something awful's happened, and I'm feeling so messed up over it.
Call me? Talk about dodging a bullet.
Pete and Jayson didn't leave when we did.
They said they were gonna wait out the snow.
- Either of them have a car? - Yeah.
But I don't know which one.
I can't believe they followed us.
- Did you call Pete from the hotel? - Yes.
I asked him to come rescue us.
He said he was too tired.
And what happened between Jayson and Megan? She thought he was too macho.
You said that she didn't like the smell of tobacco.
- Jayson, was he a smoker? - Cigars.
Megan switched seats to get away from the smell.
How'd Jayson take that? Bad.
He called her Rocky mountain hard, loud enough so everybody heard.
Clever.
Have you talked to Pete since Sunday? I left a message for him last night.
I'm just really alone here.
I know you asked me to stay a few days, but I'm sleeping on Tory's couch.
And she's got her fiance.
Well, the, uh, the department can get you a hotel room.
Have you talked to anybody at victim services? Not yet.
Yeah.
Well, we'll get someone to, uh, speak with you.
Okay.
/ And, uh you could wait here.
Thank you so much.
Looks like you're her designated white knight.
She's over Pete, and onto you.
She wants to be rescued.
If this is the way she is in a police station, I can only imagine the signals she was sending Pete and Jayson.
Alice told us the two of you hit it off on Sunday.
We had a good time.
Just waiting for the snow to stop.
And then she left with her friend.
She called you later from the hotel, is that right? Like, five times.
They, uh, they ended up in some dump, and she wanted us to come down there and get them.
Us.
So your friend Jayson, he was with you when Alice called.
No, I was still at the bistro.
And he'd already left to go dig his car out.
We heard that he struck out with Megan.
She was just anxious about her flight.
Anxious and rude to your friend.
I mean, she said that he smelled.
The changing of her seat Not that your friend's manners were any better.
What did he call Megan? Rocky mountain hard? I don't know what Alice told you.
Well, the word "macho" came up.
Maybe the kind of macho pride to drive to Brooklyn and teach Megan a lesson.
Before you accuse people, you should consider the source.
The source, you mean Alice? That night she called five times.
You are so bad to leave me here.
Get wine, come out.
You know we'll have fun.
She's just angry that we didn't drive out to Brooklyn in a snowstorm.
Check my phone.
Alice called me at 9:36.
Jayson left the bistro at 9.
- Ask the hostess.
- Why would she remember? They ripped his down jacket in the coat room.
Jayson made a big stink.
They'll remember him.
Brasserie Nylorac Thursday, March 30 Yesterday we got this letter with a picture of his coat and the bill.
This doesn't look torn, it's cut.
That's what I tried to tell him.
Well, his coat gets cut right after he publicly insults Megan.
Maybe someone in the bar took offense? Maybe Megan had a secret admirer? Can we see your receipts for Sunday night? All right, this check, it's a single.
The table number's been crossed out and changed.
Sir sits-a-lot.
He changed tables.
- He's a regular? - Every couple weeks.
Real picky about where he sits, but he tips big.
Could you show us the first table he sat? Yeah, right over here.
Here, facing the mirror.
And the four-top, which table was that? Under that painting.
Yeah, he could've watched the table from here.
- And the table that he moved to? - Over here.
And now I can see the chair behind the pillar.
He moved to keep an eye on her.
You know sir sits-a-lot's name? Sorry.
And he always pays cash.
Two burger patties rare, no bun.
Four coffees.
Always the same thing? Except he used to want the patties medium well.
And then for a while it was medium rare.
And now he wants it rare.
Any other eccentricities? He likes the way our napkins smell.
He borrowed a couple to show his laundry.
He say which laundry? Suds palace, two blocks down.
I told him we don't do custom smells.
We just need his name.
What about the smells? He had allergies? Yeah, allergic to being normal.
Special instructions for everything.
Like all the pants he made my mother take in.
Take in.
He was losing weight? What he said.
Like we care.
Here.
L.
Summerhill.
No address, no phone number.
I think he's at the Merriweather hotel.
He's always bringing in their towels.
Mr.
Summerhill? It's me, Ruben.
I need to talk to you about this week's bill.
Clear.
Yeah, clear.
Oh, something tells me we're tracking the right scent.
I overheard the maids talking about this.
Would you mind waiting in the hall? We'll probably need you for a sketch.
So, dead animals.
Live women.
The losing weight, the rare meat, the burned meat, he's in process.
Picky, picky, picky.
I guess how Mr.
Summerhill pays the rent on his little picture gallery? A cab driver's log sheet.
Wonder if he drops off fares at the Brooklyn Lights Inn? Vetiver.
- What's that? - Your perfume.
- You know what vetiver is? - No idea.
It's a grass that grows wild in the tropics.
Really? That's fascinating.
Only two Lester Summerhills registered with the DMV.
Both over 50, none with a hack license.
Latent ran the prints and got nothing.
All right, well, his toiletries are missing.
If he's in escape mode, why leave these behind? You know half-naked women and animal carnage suggests violence against women without really showing it.
The adventure squad, my kid brother had one of those.
This one's smashed up.
He gets his kicks destroying vintage toys? Some kids like to play rough.
We need to know who bought it.
A guy, mid-thirties, maybe? Yeah, that's him.
I didn't get his name, though.
He paid cash about a month ago.
You mentioned kids, he had a kid with him? No, not this time.
But the first time he came in, two months ago? He had a little boy with him, maybe five or six.
They bought that ant farm.
Any idea if he was related to the boy? Maybe an uncle? When he came in to buy this, I asked him how his son was doing, and he said he didn't have a son, but in a way that didn't invite further conversation.
There's a coupon here for a free magnifying glass.
There's also a section for the retailer to fill out.
That's you.
Yeah.
I even mailed it in for the kid.
They should've sent him his magnifier by now.
We'll check.
Home of Tim & Ellen Rainey HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, New York Monday, April 3 Mrs.
Rainey? It's the police.
Police.
Anybody home? Clear.
Osborne's dad looks just like our sketch.
Interesting he'd deny having a son.
This is are you curious? Now you got me going.
This label says "Joe.
" All those books, medical books, books on addiction plays.
It's Willie Loman's son, Bif, he was a college student, he stole a pen during an interview.
I don't know who Joe is, but he's got issues.
That's Joe, a gay mormon, Angels in America.
These, these bins, they each represent a character that this guy is working on.
And all these materials, this is what he uses to prepare.
Our cab driver's an actor.
He's working on another character.
Our son's fine.
He's at school.
I haven't talked to Tim in two weeks.
He moved into a hotel three months ago.
That's part of his acting process.
He isolates himself from us so he can fully transform into his character.
Must be hard to deal with.
What role is he preparing this time? A serial killer.
Lester Summerhill, for a film.
- So his character drives a taxi.
- A bus.
But Tim's had a hack license since college.
He thought, uh, driving a cab again would give him the same feeling of observing his passengers.
Like Summerhill picking his victims.
What do you want with Tim? The hotel was concerned with what they found on the walls of his room.
Yeah, he told me about these.
Wait, they were still on his wall? You thought he was done with them? The movie fell through last month.
- Did Tim know? - Yeah.
But he said he didn't want to come home just yet.
- Have you tried to see him? - I don't know what hotel he's in.
The taxi commission doesn't know what cab he's driving.
There are 46,000 people with hack licenses out there.
I'm surprised they talked to you.
Did you go through a private investigator? Tim has an FBI agent who helped him research his role.
I called him.
I was worried.
The last time we spoke, Tim was so cold.
I rode in his cab a few months ago.
I was reading a book about serial killers, and he volunteered that he'd read the book too.
And what did he have to say about it? He was very impressed by it.
Most civilians are.
I pointed out the flaws to him.
Had to be grateful for that.
You still have the receipt for that cab ride? I can dig it up for you.
When you talked to Rainey, how did he seem? It was last month, he seemed fine.
He said he was developing the feral aspects of his performance.
Feral.
Well, how would he propose to do that? He wanted me to take him to crime scenes, let him talk to suspects.
It was all getting to be a bit much.
Well, how did you get him to back off? Little aversion therapy? Well, I let him listen to a tape.
A 911 call.
The call recorded a woman being assaulted and killed by an intruder.
I never heard from him again after that.
Tim? / Hey! Where are Ellen and Osborne? Are you guys living in the city again? No, uh I'm doing a play.
Uh, big changes.
We are pregnant.
And we're finally moving into that condo.
That's great.
The housewarming's two weeks from now.
You have to come.
You, uh, back to driving a cab.
No, I'm, uh, research.
Come to our party, okay? See you, Tim.
No easy listening? Well victim does a lot of screaming and pleading for her life.
In the end, she just manages baby talk.
And the killer doesn't say a word.
It's just breathing, and grunting, and well, if Rainey had any romantic notions about his character, this would've destroyed them.
Well, you can ask him when we catch him.
I traced the medallion number on the receipt to the cab's owner.
He says Tim heads to the taxi hold at JFK every afternoon around 2.
We got no probable cause for arrest, but I have an idea about that.
Hi, fellas.
A little business proposition here.
If you understand, my girls are high-class.
When you drive a lonely man to a five-star hotel, think of me.
- I pay 50 bucks for every referral.
- I wish I can help you out.
Sorry.
All right, man, but thanks for listening anyway, all right? No problem.
How about you? Got any? Got any ideas for me? My kid's got a medical situation.
I'm looking for some, some hours.
I don't own my own cab.
I'm sorry.
Couple hundred dollars a week, that's all I need.
- Look, I'm not asking for pity or - Look, there's an escort service.
She'll give you $50, every businessman you send her.
Have a good day.
Thanks, man, you made my day.
I appreciate that.
Mine too.
You're under arrest for promoting prostitution.
The charge is crap.
- It's entrapment.
- Says you.
Looking over your logs, I see you drove a fare from Tribeca last Sunday to Flushing avenue in Brooklyn.
Wouldn't be the Brooklyn lights inn, would it? Yeah.
Two women from out of town.
Their flight got snowed in.
That was a bad night.
Where'd you eat? You have my journal.
You know I was at the same restaurant they were.
Crosses arms when Alice speaks tea rose soap.
I'm preparing for a role in a film as a serial killer.
We heard it got cancelled.
You spoke to my wife.
It's delayed.
Money problems.
Until they solve it, you're gonna stay in that hotel room, looking at the pictures of women and animals.
Can't explain method acting in one sitting to two non-actors.
I've read a little about method acting.
That's the actor uses his own memories to inform his character's, uh, like, emotional life.
That's right.
I, uh, search myself.
I find a personal experience that makes the character's story real for me.
It's called affective memory.
If I'm trying to forget Robert Goren, why would I want to use the memories of Robert Goren? The only emotions authentic to you are your own.
Authentic emotions.
Well, look, you seem to know what you're talking about.
I mean, your entries in this journal correspond to what we know about stalkers and serial killers.
Hmm, that stuff about smells stalkers talk about how scent fuels their attachments.
Stalkers can become very invested in their victims, even want to protect them.
If you watch long enough, sure.
You know, agent Welken, he played you that tape because he thought it would put you off your research.
But that didn't happen, did it? The emotion on that tape was real.
I realized I had been looking at pictures, and playing with props instead of searching myself.
In life, and in art, I'm committed to honesty.
I figured I'd be a better person, better actor, if I just stuck with my process and found the truth of the character.
But your wife wanted you home.
Well, that's her.
Always pulling the plug on me when things start getting good.
Getting good.
Like those girls getting in your cab.
I never enter my subjects' lives.
If I had, Megan might still be alive.
How do you figure? Well, her friend Alice tried to push Megan and me together.
She pushed hard.
She even asked me to kiss Megan.
That's a drunk for you.
Right.
The whole trip, Alice was going on about how she left behind this guy Pete, and he was a sure thing.
But it was all a come-on just to lure me into the hotel for sex.
For sex with Megan? No.
Alice was bugging Megan about not liking men.
And it seemed to me, she was just using Megan as bait.
I mean, Alice wanted someone to come back to her room that night.
And she wasn't too picky about who it was.
I hate to think who she invited in after I said no.
Alice was drunk.
She was throwing herself at Pete.
She might've picked somebody up at the hotel.
So far Rainey's proving himself a more reliable witness than Alice.
You got to wonder why.
We have been over and over this.
I asked him to kiss Megan.
But it was a joke.
I was drunk.
Are you sure it wasn't a come-on to get him up to your room? For what, to have sex with Megan? God, no.
Of all people! Or sex with you.
Look, please, I was drunk, okay? You said, "of all people.
" Was it true that you were teasing Megan about not liking men? You meant that she was gay, right? Megan wasn't officially out, but we all knew she was gay.
You mean everybody at the bridal shower.
They give her a hard time? Not really.
Tory's fiance said Megan should marry me because we're still alone.
So you don't think that that hurt Megan? Now, the suggestion that you might be gay, it offended you.
Well, it's not fair to assume just because I'm single.
Were you afraid Megan got the wrong idea? How would I know? I was drunk.
You keep saying that like it's an explanation.
But I blacked out.
But you know Megan told you somebody was watching her.
You know you woke up and couldn't find the key.
You can't black out and know anything, Alice.
You can't have it both ways.
Everybody thinks that I don't want to help.
But I do.
I have been so sick over this.
I want to remember, I want to help you.
Try now, Alice.
You want to help, try remembering now.
Yes, yes, I asked them for two beds.
I think I was worried about Megan.
I think she got too close, and, I panicked.
- I hit her.
- Alice I, I pushed her.
I think she must've hit the floor, and bled.
I killed her! I killed her! I killed her! I killed her! I killed her! Megan was killed in a bed.
There's no evidence that she was on the floor.
The details may be wrong, but Alice's guilt seems genuine.
Sure, it's genuine.
She feels guilty she left the door unlocked, that she's homophobic.
But if I hadn't pushed her We wouldn't have a statement exculpating Mr.
Rainey.
But you did.
And now we do.
You made this problem.
Now fix it.
I knew she was unreliable.
I knew she was a mess, but something about her made me want to just push her.
It'll be all right.
Look, these photos.
The hairdos - what do you think, '70s? - Looks about right.
That's the same period as this van.
It's when Rainey was a child.
We have anything in his pedigree? He grew up in Ohio.
Moved from Youngstown to Cleveland when he was seven.
It's the same time his last name was changed to Rainey from Miles.
Eames.
Okay.
Carver wants to see us.
Captain says bring body armor.
My client was arraigned last night on a charge of promoting prostitution.
But based on the prosecutor's information that he's a prime suspect in a murder, bail was set at half a million dollars.
It's now come to my attention the police have elicited a confession from another suspect in this case.
Your honor, the statement Ms.
Magill refers to is a memory recovered from the alcoholic blackout.
You're saying the confession is invalid.
Its evidentiary value has not been established.
Maybe the detectives have some personal experience judging the veracity of people in alcoholic stupors.
I can sort this out without their help, Ms.
Magill.
Bail is reduced to 50,000.
Good day.
Looks like Mr.
Rainey is going home.
The personal experience.
My dad's sister lived with us for a year.
She was a foul-mouthed, promiscuous drunk.
The next day she could never remember a thing.
My dad refused to give up on her, until one day she hit my little brother.
Then we never saw her again.
There's no way Rainey could've known that.
Rainey picked up on your attitude towards drunks.
Just like he picked up on Alice's homophobia.
He said Alice was just putting the moves on him.
Bogus insight.
Faked us out.
Put you on a collision course with Alice.
He preyed on my weakness, now we can prey on his.
Look what came up on a database search of Ohio.
Police Precinct Youngstown, Ohio Friday, April 7 Tim was six when he found his mother.
She was attacked with a brick from the front walk.
Did he see the attack? You know, I don't think so.
We didn't even know what stalking was back then.
I mean, I should've put it together.
I mean, she had changed addresses five times in one year.
I mean, she pulled her kid out of four different schools.
So you know who killed her? Linda told friends that she was having problems with some guy at work.
We interviewed him.
He said she was crazy, sleeping around.
And you believed him.
Well, by the time we wised up, our guy'd left town.
We were worried about Tim's safety, so my wife and I had him stay with us until his uncle came for him.
You had to answer his questions about the crime.
Yeah, I told him that the man was angry at his mommy, not him.
Helped him sleep at night.
He have any other problems? Red meat.
He couldn't even stand to be around it.
It must have been that blood smell.
Must've gotten a nose full of it when he found his mother.
Did you ever tell him, over the years, that it was a stalking murder? Didn't see any wisdom in it.
I mean, a child that young, if you don't keep reminding them, they forget.
You hope.
Osborne.
Dinner, now, let's go.
What is your problem? Why every time he's happy you have to tear him away? It's not his fault.
It's yours.
I need a little time to myself.
My client completely disavows this so-called confession.
She was under duress.
I know what duress is.
And she was not under duress.
I'm not willing to withdraw the material witness warrant.
I'm sorry.
Please, I know now, I couldn't have killed Megan.
I I was mean to her.
I don't know why.
But I didn't hurt her.
Let's go.
It'll work out, Alice.
Hang in there.
Thank you, detective.
I'm trying to walk a tightrope, and you just sawed it in half.
Now, unless you have evidence against Mr.
Rainey you haven't told me about Just the beating death of his mother with a heavy object.
A fascinating parallel.
Now turn it into evidence.
Look, Rainey's uncle, he sent us these family snapshots.
The truck was a gift from his mother, just like the one that he bought.
And smashed.
Maybe these are the authentic emotions that he was reaching for.
Maybe he reached too far he lost control of them.
My lawyer doesn't want me talking about the case.
Well, actually the DA is filing charges against Alice.
You're pretty much in the clear.
We came to return the items we found in your hotel room.
We even put them in a plastic bin for you.
/ It's okay.
I wanted to bring this here.
I read this book.
"Respect for acting.
" I respect what you do.
He's been talking my ear off about it.
You have to let him in.
Is your son here? No.
Ellen took him to a movie.
You can just put that down anywhere.
There's not a lot of room in there.
I'll just put it down here.
There's one thing that I learned from this book.
A method actors' life story is their tool box.
It's my mother.
What are you doing with that? You weren't the only one looking inside Tim Rainey.
We were looking too.
Your mother's death was unsolved.
She was murdered by a boyfriend.
I don't need to know which one.
With all your self-examination for your art, I'm surprised that you didn't put it together.
Put what together? The moving around your mother did, all the locks on her door She was being stalked.
How could I know? I was six.
Here you are.
The stalker, who was he? Dead now.
Cancer at 40.
You know, some people believe that if you live a guilty life, it will kill you, and the people that you love.
Don't put that there.
The fear in the faces of the women that you stalked, that pushed a button in you, didn't it? It did, Tim, right? Didn't it? It was like electricity.
Like a an affective memory, right? I knew it meant something.
Yeah, it was the same look on your mother when she was being stalked.
I guess that's why you kept at it.
Stalking and the photos in the hotel room.
I mean, even after they cancelled the film.
I wasn't analyzing.
I was just feeling it.
Right, the senses.
Even the smells came back.
The rare meat, and the the blood.
You wanted to know what that meant, didn't you? A great actor can't stay ignorant of his own life.
No, he can't.
I guess that's when things started going good for you.
You said your wife wanted to pull the plug.
Your mother was like that.
When she got afraid, she pulled you out of school away from your friends.
You don't have a memory of that? Of how you felt? She dragged me out of Star wars.
Never even saw the end of the movie.
I thought she was just being mean.
Yeah, you got angry at her.
You lashed out.
You know, like a child does.
You broke the toy that she gave you.
You bought this one.
And then you smashed it, to remember the anger, to build it up.
You were right out there on the verge of the truth.
You understood your life for the first time.
That's why you went to Megan's room.
- No, I didn't.
- To up the stakes.
Because the more terror for Megan, the more breakthrough for Tim.
I'm not the kind of beast who hunted my mother.
But here you are, Tim.
Sleeping in the den, knocking yourself out with sleeping pills and alcohol.
Yeah, why is that? Why? Is that so your family is safe from you? Because you opened the box.
And now you're not sure if you can close it.
It's acting.
I can control it.
No, you're faking, Tim.
Because you told us that you're committed to honesty.
Honesty would make you a better man.
Well, you need to remember your authentic emotions.
You need to go to the truth.
I didn't I didn't go there to hurt her.
- I believe that.
- It just all came rushing back.
Her look my hate they said mommy had a lot of boyfriends.
They said she made a man mad.
That's all lies.
I started hitting her.
Punishing her.
- Megan? - Yeah, Megan.
I ran back to the other room.
My heart was pounding so hard.
I thought the whole place could hear it.
I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Her fear, when she saw me.
I just wanted to do it again.
You're under arrest for murder, Tim.
Come on.
My family will be home soon, I can't - Yeah.
- I can't face them like this.
You can call them later from the precinct.
I'll put in a call to Alice when we get back.
This search for the truth, it's it's not for the fainthearted.