PROFILER
1X20: INTO THE ABYSS
ORIGINAL AIR DATE ON NBC: 04/26/1997
TRANSCRIBED FROM DVD
Written by: DAVID A. SIMONS
Directed by: DAN LERNER
Transcript by Intrepid
Courtesy of http://www.webphilia.com/~anthology/wnp.html
Please do not archive this transcript without permission from the
Transcriptionist.
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==========================
SUMMARY: The VCTF is called in to track down a serial killer who kills his
victims in a ritualistic manner, cutting smiles into their faces and covering
heir heads with expensive lace. Sam may be in desperate need of a vacation and
turns to a psychic for some help with the case. John quits the team during an
argument with Bailey.
==========================
PROFILER
1X20: INTO THE ABYSS
==========================
FADE IN.
[EXT. FRONT YARD - NIGHT]
(A man carrying a small medical bag in his left hand slowly walks up the front
yard toward the house.)
(Inside the house, we see the ventilator pump rise up and down.)
(Through the mirror's reflection, we see the dark figure of the man at the
door.)
(He's at the door and pushes the door open. Through the mirror's reflection, we
see the person in bed.)
(Cut to: Kitchen. The Woman in her bathrobe opens the refrigerator door. She
takes out a carton of milk and closes the door.)
(In the living room, the figure approaches the sleeping woman in the hospital
bed.)
(In the kitchen, the woman fills the tea kettle with water and turns the faucet
off. She puts the kettle on the gas stove.)
(The person in the living room walks past the sleeping pigeon cooing in the bird
cage and past the table top filled with various prescription pill containers.)
(The figure detaches the ventilator tube from the sleeping woman. She wakes up
immediately, gasping for breath.)
(The WOMAN in the kitchen opens the container of tea.)
(The figure lifts up the choking woman's pillow and shoots her.)
(The WOMAN in the kitchen hears the sound and turns to look in the direction of
the living room.)
(In the living room, the person places a lace covering over the dead woman's
face.)
(The WOMAN in the kitchen heads for the living room.)
(The person in the living room secures the lace over the dead woman's face. He
takes out a knife and holds it to her face.)
(Cut to: The sleeping pigeon in the bird cage.)
(A match is held to the incense to start it burning.)
(Cut to: The dark figure closes the window from the outside as he leaves.)
(Cut to: The WOMAN in the kitchen opens the door, a cup of tea in her hand.)
WOMAN: I heard a noise. Is something wrong?
(She turns on the lights. She sees the DEAD WOMAN in the bed, her face cut, her
head wrapped in lace and the palms of her hands flat over her chest.)
(THE WOMAN gasps. She screams.)
FADE TO
END OF TEASER
ROLL TITLE CREDITS
FADE IN.
[EXT. ROAD IN FRONT OF RESIDENCE -- DAY]
(JOHN walks up toward the house. He flashes his badge, holding it up as he
passes the coroner's car. He ducks under the crime scene tape around the
residence's front lawn. He looks at the OFFICER holding the tape up.)
JOHN: (to OFFICER) Lou Handleman -- he around here?
(The OFFICER points toward the house. JOHN heads in that direction. He walks
around to the side of the house and sees LOU HANDLEMAN there.)
JOHN: Looking good, Lou.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Johnny.
(They shake hands enthusiastically.)
JOHN: I'll be damned.
LOU HANDLEMAN: How are you?
JOHN: I missed you.
LOU HANDLEMAN: How's it going with the Fibs?
JOHN: You know, no complaints. I heard you got a new rank. Congratulations.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Captain. How about that?
JOHN: Why are you here in the mud and the blood?
LOU HANDLEMAN: We're stretched tight since you left the shop. And you?
JOHN: Sounds like we may have a pattern linking this case to one in Ohio two
weeks ago. My boss thought we should check it out. Come on. I'll introduce
you.
(JOHN points over to BAILEY who is just getting out of the car and making his
way toward the house.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: Hell, I know Malone from way back when he was a greenstick fresh
out of Quantico. He likes the book?
JOHN: He's not so bad.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Must not be. He snagged you away from me.
(They reach BAILEY and SAM. LOU HANDLEMAN extends his hand to BAILEY. SAM is
on the phone.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: Good to see you again, Malone.
BAILEY: (smiles) Lou Handleman. How've you been?
(SAM hangs up.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: All right.
(BAILEY introduces SAM.)
BAILEY: This is Sam Waters, our profiler. Sam, Lou Handleman.
LOU & SAM (BOTH): Nice to meet you.
BAILEY: Let's have a look-see, huh?
LOU HANDLEMAN: Sure.
JOHN: After you.
CUT TO:
[INT. RESIDENCE - APARTMENT - BEDROOM - DAY]
(They approach the body on the bed, her head wrapped in lace, cheeks cut and
hands on her chest. The OFFICER notates on the clipboard.)
(Through the mirror's reflection, we see BAILEY, SAM, JOHN and LOU HANDLEMAN
walk into the room.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: This is Tina Holtz. Was bedridden with muscular dystrophy for,
uh, about fifteen years.
(SAM gets a good look at the body. She leans over and angles herself with the
body to get a glimpse of what TINA HOLTZ saw when she looked at the mirror.)
SAM: Her whole life was out that window.
(SAM notices the ashes on the dresser. She inhales.)
SAM: Incense.
LOU HANDLEMAN: That's right. I think it's the killer's because it's burned
right into the wood.
(Quick black & white flash to: [CITY - ALLEYWAY - DAY] Car horns beep. On the
alley floor is another body, head wrapped in lace, cheeks cut, incense burning
and hands positioned flat on the chest.)
(Cut to: TINA HOLTZ - head wrapped in lace, cheeks cut and hands positioned
flat on the chest.)
(End of flashback. Resume to present.)
SAM: Same lace, incense classic repose in death, her hands over her heart.
Just like Dayton, Bailey.
(JOHN turns to look back at BAILEY who is just getting up from a kneeling
position.)
BAILEY: And the mouth -- *** la morte - the grinning of death. *** has lost
her touch - except they don't use the lace.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Grant told me about the other one. Looks like a single shot to
sever the spinal cord at the base of the neck, head repositioned on the pillow.
Her nurse heard the shot about, uh, 3:15.
JOHN: She's not wearing her breather, or did you take it off?
LOU HANDLEMAN: Not us. She would've asphyxiated slowly, but someone took her
out quickly with the gun. I figure some kind of Kevorkian deal.
SAM: A mercy killing? (LOU HANDLEMAN looks at JOHN. SAM looks at the corpse.)
No. Why the mutilation, the lace? No. Doesn't make sense.
(SAM leaves the room.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. RESIDENCE - FRONT PORCH - DAY]
(SAM walks out of the house and nods at the OFFICER standing just outside the
door. SAM is there for less than a moment when a enthusiastic photographer
snaps her photo twice. SAM turns around and heads back into the house.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. RESIDENCE - FRONT YARD - DAY]
(BAILEY is writing in his notebook.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: So, with at least two of these in two states, you probably think
this is your case.
BAILEY: It's not just because it crosses state lines. This is exactly the kind
of case we're set up to handle.
LOU HANDLEMAN: If I told you to go pound sand, there'd be a federal warrant
inside of an hour.
BAILEY: Come on, don't put us through that.
LOU HANDLEMAN: (seriously) Keep me in the loop, Bailey. Maybe I can help.
(BAILEY puts his notebook away and heads for the house. LOU HANDLEMAN turns and
heads for the street. He stops and turns back to BAILEY.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: By the way, the patrol guys tell me they rousted your daughter
once or twice.
BAILEY: Frances? She just got to Atlanta last month. You sure?
LOU HANDLEMAN: Afraid so. Kid of an FBI SAC gets picked up, I always want to
know about it. Same with the city council. Same with the mayor. You know how
it goes. Can't be owed too many favors. But don't you worry about it. It's
nothing heavy, loitering, a little el supremo on the air. We'll take care of
it.
(BAILEY doesn't say anything. LOU HANDLEMAN turns and walks away leaving BAILEY
thinking about what was just said.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. FBI BUILDING (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. VCTF - COMMAND CENTER - DAY]
(They are at the conference table going over the case. Photos and other
pertinent information appear on the wall monitor.)
JOHN: Ok. Both Tina Holtz in Atlanta and Barry Langtry in Dayton were killed
with the same-caliber gun. It's an Austrian-designed 9-millimeter glock.
BAILEY: Registrations?
JOHN: About 1,000 between Georgia and Ohio. We're still checking.
BAILEY: All right. What else?
JOHN: Same lace. (JOHN turns to the monitor where a photo of the lace appears
on screen.) Handmade, very expensive classic irish design. We're checking
fabric stores. Oh, and the incense is myrrh.
BAILEY: As in "frankincense and"?
JOHN: Exactly.
BAILEY: Maybe some kind of, uh, religious connection? What do you think, Sam?
(SAM takes out some tablets and popped them into her mouth. She takes a sip
from her water bottle and swallows.)
SAM: Mmm.
BAILEY: You ok?
SAM: Mm-hmm. Mmm. Nothing a couple of weeks in Fiji wouldn't cure. Sorry.
Ahem. I don't think that the myrrh necessarily means that it's religious. I've
been studying death cults and religious customs, and incense is pretty common.
It's the lace and the bloody smile are more intriguing.
BAILEY: Smile in death. Final release from pain?
SAM: Well, yeah, but Langtry wasn't sick, so it's not a mercy killing, I mean,
not in the usual sense, anyway.
BAILEY: You think he'll hit again?
SAM: (sighs) I don't know. (She stands up.) We need something aside from
M.O. to connect the victims.
JOHN: How about a guess.
(SAM starts gathering her things.)
SAM: I really need more to go on.
BAILEY: Would you at least agree that the mouth-cutting isn't for thrills?
Some kind of message?
SAM: It could be. I just don't know what he's saying. (She sighs.) Look,
without a crystal ball, there's not much more I can tell you, all right? Good
night.
JOHN: I'd say she's burnt.
BAILEY: She needs some time off.
JOHN: (shakes his head) Well, you're gonna have to twist her arm. She's not
gonna ask for it.
(BAILEY puts the file folder on the table and sighs.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. FIRESTATION - DAY]
SAM: (v.o.) Chloe!
[INT. SAM'S PLACE - LIVING ROOM - DAY]
(SAM calls out for CHLOE.)
SAM: Chloe, sweetie, have you seen my other brown shoe?
(SAM continues to look for CHLOE.)
SAM: Chlo?
[INT. SAM'S BEDROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(SAM walks into the room and finds CHLOE sitting at the vanity wearing badly
applied red lipstick.)
(Quick flashback to: TINA HOLTZ with the red stained lace.)
SAM: Chloe, sweetie, what are you doing, huh? You have to go to school.
CHLOE: No, I don't. It's Saturday.
(SAM checks her watch and heads toward CHLOE.)
SAM: Yeah. You're right. It is Saturday. (SAM kneels next to CHLOE.) Well
... mama's lost her mind. But you look very pretty.
CHLOE: You think so?
SAM: Yeah. I do, but you're really not old enough to be wearing this stuff yet.
CHLOE: I want to look like you.
SAM: Oh, Chloe. (She turns and looks at the mirror.) You have a few years
before you want to look like me.
(CHLOE looks in the mirror and smiles.)
(The phone rings. SAM hands the lipstick to CHLOE.)
SAM: Hold that. I'll be right back.
(SAM gives CHLOE a kiss, and gets to her feet to answer the phone. She walks
out of the bedroom and into the ...
[INT. SAM'S PLACE -- LIVING ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(She picks up the phone off the table.)
SAM: (to phone) Hello.
BAILEY: (from phone) Morning, Sam.
SAM: Hey, Bailey.
INTERCUT WITH:
[INT. BAILY'S RESIDENCE - DINING ROOM - DAY]
BAILEY: Sorry it's the weekend, but there's been another hit with the death
smile. Taxi driver in Macon.
SAM: Are you sure it's the same?
BAILEY: It's the same. Well, John's already there. I've got a chopper on
standby. How long before you can get ready?
(BAILEY looks out the window and sees a car pull up to the curb.)
(SAM picks up the hand-held mirror and looks at her reflection.)
SAM: I'm ready.
(As BAILEY watches, FRANCES gets out of the car and walks up the drive toward
the house.)
BAILEY: I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes. Bye.
(He hangs up.)
(BAILEY watches as FRANCES walks toward the door. He takes a step back and
sighs. FRANCES opens the front door and walks into the house.)
FRANCES MALONE: Morning, officer.
BAILEY: That's not funny. It's 7 A.M. I've been out all night looking for
you.
FRANCES MALONE: So that's where you were. I tried to call. Look, can we, um
... talk about this later, please? I'm gonna crash.
BAILEY: Where have you been?
FRANCES MALONE: What's the difference? Look, instead of cooking, some of my
friends and I went to go get a burger and then checked out --
BAILEY: We had a deal, remember? 11:00.
FRANCES MALONE: I got sick, daddy, food poisoning. I was puking and
convulsing. I thought I was gonna have to go to the hospital.
BAILEY: I don't buy it, Frances.
FRANCES MALONE: Fine. Suit yourself. (She turns and heads for the kitchen.
I'm starving. What do we got to eat around here?
(She tosses the keys onto the table and opens the refrigerator door.)
BAILEY: Frances, did it ever occur to you to just play it straight with me?
(She turns to look at him. BAILEY gives her a sad look.) Didn't think so. (He
turns to grab his jacket.) Then we've got more to talk about than I thought.
Gotta go to Macon on a case, try to be home early. Get some sleep. Don't leave
the house.
FRANCES MALONE: What? I'm grounded for eating a burger?
(Leaving the front door open, BAILEY turns around and heads back toward the
kitchen. He picks up the keys from the table.)
BAILEY: Give it a rest, Frances. Stay here till I get home.
(He turns and leaves. The front door slams shut behind him.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. CITY (STOCK) - DAY]
LEGEND:
MACON, GEORGIA
[EXT. CITY STREET - DAY]
(A helicopter flies overhead.)
NATHAN: I found these in the cab.
JOHN: Great.
(NATHAN hands several baggies of evidence to JOHN. JOHN turns and carries them
with him as he heads in the opposite direction. He passes an OFFICER who
removes the crime scene tape for him.)
JOHN: Thank you.
(He meets up with BAILEY.)
BAILEY: What do you got for us, John?
JOHN: We got Ben Hodge, all right? His dispatcher lost him over the radio
about 2:40.
(BAILEY and JOHN turn and head for the taxi cab.)
JOHN: The cops located the cab about dawn.
(BAILEY and SAM look into the taxi cab. Behind the wheel is the dead driver,
lace wrapped around his head, a bloody smile on his face.)
JOHN: Locals say it's pretty quiet around here at nighttime. No residential.
Mostly warehouses.
SAM: It's peaceful, peaceful place to rest.
(JOHN hands the evidence bag to SAM.)
JOHN: Here.
(She looks at the prescription.)
SAM: It's an antidepressant, controls bipolar disorders.
JOHN: Macon cops already called his doctor. Up until 6 years ago, this guy
here, Ben Hodge, son at Georgetown Law, the whole bit.
SAM: What made him lose it all?
JOHN: His wife and son were murdered, random mugging in D.C., never solved.
(Quick flashback to: The other dead bodies with the lace around their heads.
End of flashback. Resume to present.)
SAM: He was in emotional torment. Maybe they are mercy killings.
BAILEY: What about the others?
JOHN: I'm still getting full background on Tina Holtz and Barry Langtry.
BAILEY: Stay with it. Something in their past may help tie this all together.
I don't know. You know, we could use more, Sam.
SAM: I don't have any more right now. What do you guys think? Do you think
you just push a button, and all these answers are gonna come out of me? (She
stops.) I'm sorry. Um, I don't know any more right now. Ok.
(SAM turns and walks away.)
CUT TO:
[INT. JACK'S PLACE - DAY]
(CLOSE UP of the photo of SAM taken from the crime scene. It's blown up on a
poster board with various small newspaper articles pasted beside it.)
JACK: (whispers) Samantha.
(JACK sits a distance away looking at the photo.)
JACK: (whispers) My ... Butter ... cup ...
(Cut to: Close up of an Ouija Board.)
JACK: (whispers) Only your surrender will grant you peace.
(He puts his hands on the pointer and it moves around the board.)
(JACK puts his head down.)
FADE OUT.
FADE IN.
[INT. VCTF - COMMAND CENTER -- DAY]
(SAM rushes into the room. BAILEY is there waiting for her.)
BAILEY: Meeting was for 9:00.
SAM: I'm sorry, I overslept.
BAILEY: What's wrong?
SAM: Nothing, nothing -- I just need that week in Fiji or ... maybe a lobotomy
at this point.
BAILEY: Go with Fiji. Couldn't hurt to see something beautiful for a change.
SAM: Yeah, well, I'll get a wall calendar.
BAILEY: Seriously, Sam, I've been there a few times -- not Fiji ... I mean the
end of the rope.
SAM: Come on, Bailey, don't be melodramatic, all right? I just--I overslept.
I forgot to set my alarm ... I guess.
(SAM puts an open text book down on the table and places the photo of the body
at the crime scene on it to show the comparison.)
SAM: I traced the bloody smile from Sicily to Medieval Europe to the Romans
and, ultimately, to primitive Africa. Now, some cultures buried their dead with
these types of masks to send them on their way in a happy frame of mind.
(Camera moves from the photo to the text book of a death mask.)
BAILEY: Call that happy?
SAM: The killer does. What's happening with the Holtz case?
(SAM and BAILEY both walk over to the conference table where JOHN is seated.
They both take their seats.)
BAILEY: We found out Barry Langtry's wife was killed five years ago. He was
cleared. Case was never solved. Same with Tina Holtz. Her daughter was raped
and murdered in '91.
SAM: So what's the link between 3 murders from 5, 6 years ago?
JOHN: Look at this. They're related to the current victims.
(JOHN points to the monitor which has a photo of a woman in a red blouse behind
a wheel. The caption reads: JOANNE LANGTRY {R#404-300}.)
BAILEY: John checked with therapists, doctors, victim support groups, see if
the current victims knew each other.
(The second photo shows a girl on the grass with her face covered.)
JOHN: No connection other than losing a family member to violent crime.
BAILEY: What about the knife? Any details on the knife?
JOHN: Well, it was sharper than a stick, not as sharp as a scalpel.
SAM: Well, whatever it is, he's very good with it, very precise.
JOHN: Ok, the lace on all three victims was cotton, twenty-four inches wide,
handmade at a small mill in Ireland. There's only one store in Atlanta that
imports it.
BAILEY: Assuming it was bought here.
JOHN: If so, Haywood textiles imports five bolts in '89, sold it to only three
customers, right? (A photo of LYLE VIZCARDO, DECORATOR {R#8}, appears on the
monitor.) A decorator bought 4 bolts of it for a historic renovation. He died
last year in a traffic accident.
(The death certificate for LYLE VIZCARDO; DEATH CERT. {REF#3227} appears on the
monitor. Then, a photo of BETHANY'S BRIDAL BOUTIQUE, {R#3}, appears on the
monitor.)
BAILEY: Last bolt was split between a bridal shop and another woman, Diane
Wykoff.
(Copies of a GUN PERMIT and GUN REGISTRATION appear on the monitor.)
JOHN: She's got a Glock registered to her name.
BAILEY: Well, what are we doing here? Good work, John.
CUT TO:
[EXT. HAZEL AVE - WYKOFF RESIDENCE - FRONT YARD -- DAY]
(SAM walks up to the gate in the green picket fence. She looks at the house
with the overgrown front yard.)
SAM: Are you sure this address is current?
BAILEY: According to the assessor. Weird thing is the phone company
disconnected service four years ago.
(BAILEY opens the gate and walks through; SAM and JOHN follow. They head up the
path. JOHN closes the gate behind him.)
BAILEY: Reminds me of this crazy old man who lived on the street where I grew
up. Junk house, we called it. We used to throw rocks at it. He'd come out
shaking his fist. Then we'd run the hell away.
(They head up to the front of the house.)
(From the inside, someone is watching them.)
(JOHN is on the front porch and moves away from the windows.)
JOHN: They must be allergic to light or privacy freaks. The blinds are closed
on every window. We'll have to come back with a warrant.
SAM: Unless you feel like chucking a few rocks at it.
(SAM turns and heads back to the car.)
BAILEY: Huh?
CUT TO:
[INT. BAR - NIGHT]
(LOU HANDLEMAN heads for the table carrying two beers. He hands one to JOHN.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: Here, Johnny.
JOHN: Drink up.
(LOU HANDLEMAN takes a seat at the tbale.)
JOHN: Cheers.
(They clink glasses and drinks.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: So where does the FBI rank and file hang out?
JOHN: They don't.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Whew. You happy over there?
JOHN: It's pretty intense.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Well, look, if it gets too intense, uh, you might consider
coming on board -- a new unit that I'm forming. Only thing that's missing is
the, uh, the right guy to run it.
JOHN: Me? You serious?
LOU HANDLEMAN: Yeah. Think about it. I hear you got a suspect in the Holtz
case.
JOHN: How'd you hear?
LOU HANDLEMAN: Come on, John. How long have I been on the force? People talk
to me.
JOHN: You got something for us?
LOU HANDLEMAN: I know the Wykoffs. He used to volunteer for us. He's a ... a
psychic.
JOHN: You take that stuff seriously?
LOU HANDLEMAN: He helped us solve about a half-dozen cases that were totally
dead-end, and when he led us to the Benton Park killer, whew, that sure as hell
made a believer out of me.
JOHN: His wife's got a gun, same as used in the killing.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Thanks for the tip, but I know that already. She told me when
she got it. Thought it'd make him feel safer. Have you talked to him yet?
JOHN: No, not yet.
(JOHN'S pager beeps. He checks it.)
JOHN: I gotta run.
(JOHN stands up.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: Johnny. I meant what I said. You think about it.
CUT TO:
[EXT. - ROAD (STOCK) - DAY]
LEGEND: BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
(A helicopter flies overhead.)
[EXT. ROAD - DAY]
(The DETECTIVE leads SAM, BAILEY and JOHN to the body.)
SAM: Who found the body?
MORGANNA STYLES: Bunch of dogs. They kept sniffing around so one of the
neighbors came over last night. Almost had a heart attack.
(SAM follows the path to the pool. The OFFICERS lift up the crime scene tape to
let them through.)
(At the bottom of the empty pool is the body in the same ritualistic pose.)
BAILEY: Who is she?
MORGANNA STYLES: We don't know yet. One shot to the spine.
BAILEY: Expect a slug from a 9-millimeter glock.
(They walk into the empty pool. JOHN lifts up the lace to show SAM the body's
face.)
SAM: It's Diane Wykoff. I recognize her from her photograph.
BAILEY: Well, so much for our prime suspect.
MORGANNA STYLES: She's been dead, uh, couple of weeks. Coroner'll have to pin
it down.
BAILEY: Well, there's not much blood here, except on the lace. He probably
killed her somewhere else.
JOHN: Why kill her someplace else and bring her to Alabama?
SAM: Because this place meant something to her. He wanted her to be at rest.
MORGANNA STYLES: How do you figure that?
(Quick flashback of: The killer prepares the bed of leaves on which the body's
found. Push in to the lace covering the face. End of flashback. Resume to
present.)
SAM: Well, he's taken more care with her than with the others, pine boughs, the
flowers. It's as if he's trying to be kind to her, trying to do something good
for her.
BAILEY: It's got to be someone she knows. They took the lace, her gun, someone
close.
MORGANNA STYLES: She married?
JOHN: Yeah. He's a psychic.
JOHN: His name's Elliott Wykoff.
BAILEY: When'd you find that out?
JOHN: Handleman told me last night. Wykoff worked some cases until he dropped
out about five years ago. Handleman asked if we'd talked to him.
BAILEY: What'd you tell him?
JOHN: I said no, we were looking for his wife.
BAILEY: You mind excusing us for a minute?
MORGANNA STYLES: No problem.
(The DETECTIVE steps away.)
BAILEY: Why would you discuss anything about our case with Handleman?
JOHN: He had pertinent information.
BAILEY: Well, then, it should come to me, John. You know procedure. What are
you thinking?
JOHN: I got a prior relationship with Handleman. No offense, but he's not
gonna give you jack squat.
BAILEY: Just make sure you don't give jack squat to him.
JOHN: Ok. Fine.
(JOHN walks away from BAILEY. BAILEY sighs and puts on his glasses. JOHN walks
over to SAM.)
SAM: So, what happened to Wykoff?
JOHN: Gave it up. Couldn't handle all the pain he was seeing.
SAM: Became a recluse. Shut out the world completely. Doesn't sound so bad.
BAILEY: We need to find him and tell him about his wife. See if he's the one
who killed her.
CUT TO:
[EXT. COMMUNITY (STOCK) - DAY]
LEGEND: ATLANTA, GEORGIA
(A helicopter flies overhead.)
[EXT. HAZEL AVE - WYKOFF RESIDENCE - FRONT YARD -- DAY]
(Close on the back of JOHN'S legs as he heads back to the porch where BAILEY and
SAM are waiting for him. He's on the phone.)
MALE VOICE: (from phone) You clear with that?
JOHN: (to phone) I got it. Thanks.
(He hangs up.)
JOHN: Ok. Here's the link between the victims: Wykoff worked with all three of
them about five years ago.
SAM: They must have been his last cases.
JOHN: They were. He tried to solve the murders in their families, but he came
up short.
BAILEY: You got this from Handleman?
JOHN: No. Atlanta, Macon, Dayton D.A.s. Cases still open.
SAM: He couldn't stand their pain back then. Bothered him so much he gave up
his work, but the families are still suffering.
BAILEY: So his solution is to kill them?
(BAILEY turns and knocks on the door.)
BAILEY: (shouts) Wykoff! FBI! We've got a warrant!
(He turns back to look at SAM, then he deliberately breaks through the glass
with the flashlight he's carrying. He reaches in and opens the door.)
[INT. WYKOFF RESIDENCE - FOYER/MAIN HALL -- DAY]
(Guns drawn, BAILEY and JOHN step into the darkened house. BAILEY checks the
next room. SAM steps into the house. He pulls down the sheet covering the
windows allowing the sunlight through.)
JOHN: Wykoff! FBI!
(There's no answers.)
BAILEY: Search it.
(JOHN pulls the sheets off of the windows allowing light into the room. Hanging
on the walls are dark and chilling paintings.)
(JOHN takes out his gun and heads deeper into the house. SAM follows.)
[INT. WYKOFF RESIDENCE - DINING ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(BAILEY rounds the corner, his gun pointed into the dark dining room. He walks
inside. SAM approaches and follows him in.)
(SAM looks around as BAILEY rips the covering over the windows to let more
sunlight into the house. He looks around and notices the dining table littered
with papers, an ash tray filled with cigarette butts, an open can of pasta and a
plate with the partially-eaten meal.)
SAM: This food can't be more than a couple days old, but Diane Wykoff's been
dead for weeks. He's still here.
(JOHN looks at BAILEY. Both men look upwards toward the second floor. They
raise their guns and go to check the rest of the house.)
[INT. WYKOFF RESIDENCE - STAIRS - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(BAILEY, SAM and JOHN cautiously make their way up the stairs. SAM again notes
the paintings hanging on the walls.)
[INT. WYKOFF RESIDENCE - SECOND FLOOR - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(BAILEY checks the first door leading to the study. SAM walks past and heads
into the next room; JOHN follows BAILEY into the study.)
JOHN: All clear.
(BAILEY steps out into the hallway and turns on the lamp revealing yet another
starling painting on the wall.)
(JOHN reads the book titles.)
JOHN: "The Devil's Own", "Into the Abyss", "Impressions of Man". All light
reading by Elliott Wykoff, psychic-slash-positive thinker.
SAM: (looking at the painting) This is the same figure that's in one of the
paintings downstairs.
(She looks at the book shelf, fingering the place where the wood meets the
wall.)
SAM: This bookshelf was added later.
(JOHN and BAILEY check the book shelf out. BAILEY finds the latch that opens
the book shelf like a door.)
[INT. WYKOFF RESIDENCE - BED ROOM - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(BAILEY, gun out, steps into the secret room - a door way into a bedroom. JOHN
and SAM follow him inside. BAILEY pulls the cloth covering the window off
allowing light into the room.)
(There's a closed door, probably leading to a closet. BAILEY looks at JOHN who
raises his gun. BAILEY opens the door; JOHN rushes inside. He holds the pose
for a moment, then seeing nothing, puts his gun down.)
(He turns the overhead light on and finds ELLIOTT WYKOFF on a sleeping bag on
the floor. He starts when the lights go on.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Diane? Uhh. Diane?
(He's curled up in the small space - confused, disoriented and shouting for his
wife.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Diane! Diane! Diane!
(SAM, BAILEY and JOHN stare at ELLIOTT WYKOFF as he cowers and screams.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Diane! Diane!
FADE OUT.
FADE IN.
[EXT. FBI BUILDING (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. VCTF - COMMAND CENTER - DAY]
(JOHN walks past the wall monitor with court documents on display.)
BAILEY: We just got back the title search on the house in Birmingham.
JOHN: Wykoff?
BAILEY: Belonged to the Wykoff's fifteen years ago.
SAM: Good place to rest.
BAILEY: Raises Elliott Wykoff's odds as a suspect. Not many people would know
about their Birmingham place.
JOHN: As her husband, Wykoff had access to the pistol and the lace she bought.
SAM: He doesn't read like our killer. The person that we're looking for is
neat, organized, clinically precise.
BAILEY: Could be an act, though, Sam. Anyone who makes their living as a
psychic for twenty years is a pretty good con artist.
JOHN: (absently) Handleman swears he's real. He's the last person I'd expect
to go in for black magic.
(BAILEY reacts at the mention of HANDLEMAN'S name.)
SAM: I want to speak to Wykoff alone. That time as a recluse, he may be
agoraphobic.
(SAM starts to gather her things together.)
JOHN: They should be finished processing him in half an hour.
SAM: I'll talk to him tomorrow. I want to get through some of his work.
BAILEY: It's four o'clock, Sam. He wrote five books. You can't get through
them all.
SAM: Well, actually, he wrote six. There's an unpublished manuscript and I'll
just get through what I can get through.
BAILEY: Not and sleep.
(SAM turns to answer BAILEY and drops all the books on the floor. JOHN and
BAILEY get to their feet to help her pick them up.)
SAM: No, I got it. You guys, I'm fine.
(BAILEY hands her some papers.)
BAILEY: You can only do what you can do, Sam.
SAM: Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you. See you tomorrow.
(SAM turns and leaves. Concerned for her, BAILEY watches her go.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT]
(JOHN and ANGEL walk outside.)
JOHN: You want to stop by Tamara's for a drink?
ANGEL: No, thanks.
JOHN: I know I haven't been much fun tonight, but I've been kind of distracted.
You gonna make a big deal out of this?
ANGEL: I'm gonna go home.
JOHN: Fine.
ANGEL: I don't need to be entertained, John, but when you're with me, be with
me.
JOHN: I know. I'm sorry. Actually, I do want to talk to you about something,
but-
VALET (MAN): (interrupts) Ticket, sir?
(JOHN turns and hands the VALET his ticket.)
JOHN: Thanks. (to ANGEL) I've been offered my own unit if I go back to
Atlanta P.D.
ANGEL: Does it sound good?
JOHN: It sounds great. I'd be reporting to an old buddy, Lou Handleman, and
get to call my own shots. But how do I leave? I've never told anybody this
before, but ... I've always wanted the ... respect and admiration of my peers,
kind of like Eliot Ness in the old days.
ANGEL: Everybody's got dreams, John. It's not wrong to follow them. It's
wrong to deny them.
JOHN: (smiles) Beauty and wisdom.
(JOHN turns and opens the car door.)
JOHN: Big guy was using the good stuff when he made you. Still want to go
home?
ANGEL: (smiles) Eventually.
CUT TO:
[EXT. FBI BUILDING (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. VCTF - SAM'S OFFICE - DAY]
(SAM holds the door open for ELLIOTT WYKOFF.)
SAM: Mr. Wykoff, please come in.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Thanks.
(He steps nervously into the room.)
SAM: Uh, excuse the mess. Um, can I get you something?
(ELLIOTT WYKOFF sees the photo board of the serial murders. He stops, then
walks over to the board.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Evil.
SAM: Excuse me?
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: That answers any question you were going to ask me. Evil.
SAM: Whose evil?
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: The world's. It shines on us like the sun, but we don't get
warmer, we grow cold, and some of us ...
(He turns and finds the composite drawing of "JACK". He suddenly stops.)
SAM: "Some of us"? Uh, Mr. Wykoff, in your books you describe yourself as
empathic.
(ELLIOTT WYKOFF pulls a chair up to SAM'S desk.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: We leave something of ourselves on everything that we I can
sense that. I have felt ... the ugliest of urges ... the most unspeakable
cruelty, the deepest sorrow. I've died a hundred deaths. (He stops.) You
don't believe me. You--you think I'm crazy.
(He surges to his feet and takes a couple of steps away from the desk.)
SAM: No, no. Are you saying that you can predict who the next victim will be?
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: No. I can't predict the future. I can only sense the feeling,
past and present.
(He sighs heavily. He reaches out to grab SAM'S hand. She pulls back a
little.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Give me your hand. (He sees her apprehension and apologizes.)
Sorry. (He tries again.) Please?
(She holds out her hand; he takes it. He looks away, then exhales.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Ohh. Ungh. (He smiles at her, his other hand over his heart.)
You idolized your mother. She loved puzzles. You used to sit up together
working them.
(He laughs.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: It made you feel so alive. That's what hunting these killers
was at the beginning, puzzles.
(He grasps both his hands over hers. He gasps.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Ohh. Ohh. (He's not smiling anymore.) Then you encountered
evil, evil in its purest form. You looked into the abyss, and ... (WYKOFF turns
and looks at the "JACK" drawing on the board.) he ... he looked at you. (He
lets go of SAM'S hand and walks over to the board.) He smiled at you.
(ELLIOTT WYKOFF has his hand near the drawing.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: It's close, but it's not him, is it?
SAM: No. Uh, Mr. Wykoff, uh- you--you talk about the crimes that you couldn't
solve. All of these recent deaths are related to those unsolved cases --
(ELLIOTT WYKOFF leaves the boards and walks over to SAM. He kneels in front of
her.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Miss Waters, you have a gift. It's ... it's like my empathy.
Please be careful. It can destroy you and everything you love ... just like it
did my Diane.
(SAM nods and starts to cry. WYKOFF pulls a tissue out and hands it to her. He
grasps her hands again.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Oh, oh, I know.
CUT TO:
[INT. VCTF - BULLPEN - DAY - SOME TIME LATER]
(SAM exits her office.)
SAM: Bailey? Can I talk to you for a minute?
(BAILEY finishes signing the clipboard and hands it to the AGENT. He follows
SAM to JOHN'S desk.)
JOHN: (to phone) I gotta run.
(He hangs up. SAM is standing next to his desk and waits to BAILEY to join
them.)
SAM: Um, look, I don't think that Wykoff is faking. I really believe that he
is empathic.
JOHN: Sounds like a candidate for emotional mercy killing to me.
SAM: When he talks about his wife, he says that she's his buffer. When he
refers to her in his books, he calls her his anchor and his caretaker. Now,
why's he going to kill her?
JOHN: Maybe she threatened to leave him.
SAM: No. I don't buy that. I think the key is in his unpublished manuscript.
(She puts the manuscript down on the desk and starts flipping through it.)
SAM: It started off as writings about his unsolved cases which involve the
current victims and devolved into these paintings and drawings, and then,
finally, he just stopped. Look at this on the last page. He calls this "The
Abyss: The repository of all human evil." This is where Wykoff thinks he's
headed. Now, what if the killer is so close to him that he believes it, too?
BAILEY: And the killer thinks he's saving people by killing them before they
fall into --
SAM: Exactly.
JOHN: Wykoff's a recluse. Nobody knew him except for his wife. No accountant,
no lawyer. He never went to the market. The mailman never saw him. He was cut
off from all humanity.
SAM: Well, not completely. In every one of his books -- even his unpublished
manuscript -- he thanks his editor, his secretary, and his police advisor, Lou
Handleman.
(JOHN notes BAILEY'S reaction to the name.)
JOHN: The editor moved to France three years ago.
SAM: They had a pretty close working relationship. He's now an editor with
Violet Blue Publishing.
(BAILEY looks at his watch.)
BAILEY: Ok. Talk to him.
(BAILEY puts a hand on SAM'S shoulder. He turns and leaves.)
SAM: Thanks.
(SAM turns and leaves. JOHN watches them go.)
CUT TO:
[INT. VIOLET BLUE PUBLISHING - OFFICE - DAY]
(SAM interviews MR. HOLLISTER.)
SAM: Mr. Hollister, were you working for Mr. Wykoff when he withdrew from
public life?
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: That's a nice way to put it. He went bonkers. Couldn't
leave his house. But, yeah, I was working for him. Please, sit down.
SAM: Did he have any friends, anyone that he could confide in?
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Just his wife, and she wasn't all that stable either.
SAM: Have you seen him recently, or...
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: You mean since I stopped working for him?
SAM: Yes.
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: No, I haven't. At this point, I'm not even sure he would
know me if he saw me.
SAM: I see. Um, all right. Well, thank you for your time.
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Sure.
CUT TO:
[EXT./INT. BAILEY'S RESIDENCE - NIGHT]
(BAILEY steps up to the front porch and hears a male voice inside the house
laughing over and above the loud rock music. He peers into the house through
the window.)
(He opens the door and walks inside.)
(The place is a mess.)
(There's a strange kid sleeping on his seat, a plate of food between his legs.
BAILEY kicks him in the feet awakening him.)
BAILEY: Out.
(He turns and finds another kid sleeping, head on the table. BAILEY sweeps the
mess on the table onto the floor.)
BAILEY: Get out. (He grabs the kid by his shirt and pulls him up.) Out. Out
of the house.
(He pushes the kid toward the door. BAILEY turns and heads into the next room.
He walks into the living room and the music gets louder.)
(He turns and finds FRANCES dancing with a strange boy. He walks toward them
and they stop dancing when they notice him.)
(BAILEY turns the music off.)
BAILEY: (to the rest of the kids) Ok. Party's over. Pack up and get out.
Come on, out. Get out. Now.
(As they leave, BAILEY rounds on FRANCES.)
BAILEY: Impromptu party? Where's your head, Frannie?
FRANCES: Where's yours? You can't go throwing my friends around like that. You
know, he could sue or something.
BAILEY: I've got news for you. You're seventeen years old, and you're not
running the show; I am.
FRANCES: Oh, Really?!
(BAILEY turns and shouts to the kids.)
BAILEY: I said, get out of the house!
FRANCES: Well, this is my life.
BAILEY: And you're screwing it up. That's it. Now you are grounded. No calls,
no visitors. You go to and from school and you come back to this room until I
say different.
FRANCES: Fine.
(FRANCES runs into her bedroom.)
BAILEY: Till I say different.
(She slams the door and paces the floor.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. FBI BUILDING (STOCK) - DAY]
[INT. VCTF - HALLWAY - DAY]
(The elevator bell dings, the doors open and BAILEY walks out. He looks around
and heads for his office. A big, husky man in a suit catches his attention.)
DICK SOLUM: Agent Malone. Dick Solum, Federal Public Defender. I'll cut right
to it. You've got Elliott Wykoff in your lockup. You've had him for 48 hours,
and you've filed diddly. Now file or kick him.
BAILEY: I'll take it under advisement.
DICK SOLUM: You seem to have forgotten the constitution. Now kick him and do
it soon.
BAILEY: Walk away, Solum.
(DICK SOLUM leaves. JOHN and SAM walk toward BAILEY.)
SAM: He's right, you know. I don't think Wykoff did it.
(BAILEY turns and heads back into his office.)
[INT. VCTF - BAILEY'S OFFICE - DAY]
(SAM and JOHN follow BAILEY into his office. BAILEY puts his briefcase down and
sighs.)
BAILEY: I don't think he killed anybody, either, Sam. But I'm sure he knows
more.
SAM: Well, maybe not. Maybe he doesn't want to know. Maybe that's why he's
locked himself away in his house for the last five years. Look, let's just
assume for a minute that he is what he says he is. Now, we get a constant
parade of the horribles on television, on the radio, in the newspaper.
Everybody we meet bears their own cross. Can you imagine what it would be like
carrying the weight of all of that?
JOHN: Could break him.
(Quick flashback to: ELLIOTT WYKOFF in SAM'S office. Flashes of the paintings
of people in pain. End of flashback. Resume to present.)
SAM: It did break him. And who's more in need of emotional mercy killing than
Elliott Wykoff? He could be next.
(BAILEY sees something and walks out of the office. He calls out to the first
AGENT he sees walking by.)
BAILEY: Washington.
WASHINGTON: Sir?
BAILEY: Set up on Wykoff's house.
WASHINGTON: Twenty-four hour?
BAILEY: Follow him remotely.
WASHINGTON: Yes, sir.
(WASHINGTON leaves to get it done. SAM steps out of the office.)
SAM: Bailey ... I'm gonna head over with Wykoff. I just want to make sure he's
ok.
(SAM leaves.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. WYKOFF RESIDENCE - ROADSIDE - DAY]
(DICK SOLUM and ELLIOTT WYKOFF get out of the car parked across the street from
his house. SAM walks up to them.)
SAM: Mr. Wykoff?
DICK SOLUM: That's as far as you go. Come on, Elliott.
SAM: Mr. Wykoff, I'd like to see you in, if I may.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: I'm all right. Please, just let me go inside.
SAM: All right. Then I'll come by tomorrow and check on you, if that's all
right with you.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: I'd like that. I would. And we can talk more about, you know
... him.
(SAM glances at DICK SOLUM.)
SAM: Well, I don't want to add to your burden.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: I want to lighten yours. Might do us both good. But right
now, I really need ... (DICK SOLUM moves to grab ELLIOTT, but he pulls away from
him.) ... a little solitude.
(ELLIOTT turns and heads into the house.)
(Quick flashes of: ELLIOTT WYKOFF in the small closet; DICK SOLUM at BAILEY'S
office. End of flashes. Resume to present.)
SAM: Who called you?
DICK SOLUM: That's confidential.
SAM: Elliott Wykoff isn't socially functional. He probably hasn't used a phone
in years. He would not call a lawyer, so who called you?
(DICK SOLUM turns and walks away without answering her question.)
FADE OUT.
(COMMERCIAL SET)
FADE IN.
[INT. VCTF - BAILEY'S OFFICE -- DAY]
(BAILEY questions LOU HANDLEMAN.)
LOU HANDLEMAN: If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was a suspect.
BAILEY: The victims were all related to cases you worked on.
Killer also uses a glock. So do you.
LOU HANDLEMAN: So do half the cops in this city. What's this really about,
Bailey? You embarrass me like this, haul me down to the federal building as
part of a murder investigation. What's your beef? You pissed 'cause I
mentioned that your daughter's not red riding hood?
BAILEY: Personal motives have no place in bureau procedure.
LOU HANDLEMAN: (scoffs) Oh. Duly noted. You know, I thought about applying
to, uh ... feeble, boring, and incompetent about twenty years but I'd have never
stuck it out with your rules, and how Johnny Grant manages is beyond me. He
said you slapped him with a gag order.
BAILEY: Don't give me that crap. If one of your subordinates was horse trading
with my agents without your say-so, you'd put a stop to it real quick.
LOU HANDLEMAN: Probably. On the other hand, if a little back scratching helps
put away the bad guys, I'm all for it. You wouldn't scream if we bagged the
Jack of all Trades, would you?
BAILEY: What about Jack?
LOU HANDLEMAN: Oh. John was filling me in on the case. Now that I know
something about it, if my department should come up with this guy, everybody
wins, right?
[INT. VCTF - BULLPEN - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(LOU HANDLEMAN leaves BAILEY'S office. BAILEY steps out of the office and sees
JOHN sitting with SAM at his desk.)
BAILEY: John.
JOHN: Yeah. (to SAM) Excuse me.
SAM: Yeah.
[INT. VCTF - BAILEY'S OFFICE - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(BAILEY talks with JOHN.)
JOHN: We had a drink. That's all.
BAILEY: What did you talk about?
JOHN: Oh, come on, Bailey, you run my life fourteen hours a day. Now, you want
to dictate my personal time?
BAILEY: Handleman threw it in my face you filled him in on some of the details
about the Jack investigation.
JOHN: Didn't happen. You reminded me of the rules once. That's all it takes.
BAILEY: Ok. I believe you. Handleman's pulling my chain.
JOHN: What's your problem with Handleman?
BAILEY: I hardly know the man, John. From what I've seen, he's like a small-
town politician who never found a corner he couldn't cut.
JOHN: That's bull. He's a damn fine cop. He's not one of those brown-shoe,
walking cufflinks we have too many of around here.
BAILEY: I didn't realize you resented working here so much. You miss the
Atlanta P.D.?
JOHN: Yeah. Sometimes I do. They have one form for every ten of ours. When
they give you responsibility, they at least give you the room to do your job
your own way.
BAILEY: The bureau's a bit more rule-bound than the local P.D. I'll give you
that.
JOHN: Maybe so, but working here is still like having your head in a vice.
It's catching up on all of us. I mean, look at Sam. She's edgier than I've
ever seen her. And you're here, what, fourteen, sixteen hours a day? You got a
teenager you barely have time for.
BAILEY: Yeah. I'm still trying to figure out how to be a father. I'm not
succeeding. She's pushing it every way she knows how, John.
JOHN: I'll say. She's already on a first-name basis with half the cops in
Atlanta.
BAILEY: Where'd you get that from?
JOHN: Handleman mentioned it the other day.
BAILEY: You're talking with him about Frances? That's totally unacceptable.
Business is one thing, John. My personal life: Off-limits.
JOHN: Listen, it just came up. What do you expect me to be, Bailey, some kind
of robot who needs your permission every time I want to think?
BAILEY: This is my daughter, John, and you're talking about her with some guy
who's trying to compromise me.
JOHN: At least he trusts me to do my job.
BAILEY: Is that what you think? You're way out of line, John.
JOHN: Probably. Or I would be if I still worked for you.
(JOHN puts his badge on BAILEY'S desk. He turns and leaves the office.)
FADE OUT.
FADE IN.
[INT. BAR - NIGHT]
(JOHN is sitting at the bar. SAM joins him.)
SAM: Uh- Can I get a martini, straight-up, please.
BARTENDER: Yes, ma'am.
JOHN: Hey.
SAM: What's the score?
JOHN: Somebody's winning, I think.
SAM: So, I heard you quit.
JOHN: Have you decided what you're going to do?
SAM: What do you mean?
JOHN: Come on. We've been through a lot together. We know each other pretty
well by now. You're stressed to the max. You should save yourself. You've
seen too much. You're burning out.
SAM: That's funny, you know that? That's what Wykoff told me.
JOHN: So, why don't you listen to him?
SAM: Part of me likes the fact that I help get these maniacs off the street,
right? But ... there's another part of me, you know, and I'm starting to feel
like I'm fading away. I-I'm ... scared. But I'm not going to quit.
JOHN: If that's what you're living with day to day... you should get the hell
out, too.
(JOHN stands up, pays for his drink and leaves.)
CUT TO:
[EXT. WYKOFF'S RESIDENCE - STREET OUTSIDE -- DAY]
(SAM walks up to the two agents watching WYKOFF'S house.)
WASHINGTON: Hi.
SAM: How's Wykoff today?
WASHINGTON: Oh, quiet. No visitors except the mailman.
SAM: I'm going to go inside and say hello. (She hands them a couple of small,
white packages.) I thought you could use some coffee and donuts.
WASHINGTON: Thanks.
SAM: Yeah. I've got a walkie if I need you.
WASHINGTON: Ok.
(SAM heads for the house.)
CUT TO:
[INT. WYKOFF RESIDENCE - LIVING ROOM - DAY]
(ELLIOTT WYKOFF answers the door.)
SAM: Hi.
(He motions for SAM to enter.)
SAM: Thank you.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Good morning.
SAM: Good morning. You're looking better today.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: I'm glad to be back home.
SAM: Yeah, I can imagine.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Please, have a seat.
SAM: Thank you. Um ... I brought some things. Um ... the man whose presence
you sensed, he may have handled these, and I thought that ...
(She looks at ELLIOTT and finds him rubbing his forehead.)
SAM: Thank you.
(She opens the tube and takes out the dried rose and several baggies of
evidence, notes and things.)
(ELLIOTT stands up, opens the bag with the ring in it and picks up the rose. He
starts feeling the objects.)
(He has a quick indiscernible flash.)
(He looks at SAM.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: What was his name?
SAM: Uh, we call him Jack.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Jack.
(ELLIOTT has another quick flash of JACK'S workshop.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: He likes the name. His--his identity is quite fluid; but the
core, it's fixed, putrid.
(He clenches the piece of jewelry in his hand and has another quick flash. This
time of JACK'S photo of SAM.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Oh, god.
(He has another flash of JACK.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: He hated someone you loved. Killed him, didn't he?
SAM: Yes.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Ungh ... goes back a long way. (He has another quick flash of
JACK. The flashes come faster.) His family, uh, sent him away for doing
unspeakable things. Oh, god! I can't -- (He drops the items back onto the
table.) I can't do it.
(Alarmed, SAM gets to her feet.)
SAM: Elliott, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
(A door opens and WILLIAM HOLLISTER steps into the room.)
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Elliott, are you all right?
SAM: What are you doing here? How did you get inside?
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: It's all right. He takes care of me. He's a friend.
SAM: Why did you lie to me about not having seen Wykoff in years?
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: It was none of your business. You should leave him alone.
You can see how damaged he is.
SAM: You're the one who called the lawyer.
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Who else was going to protect him? You have no idea what
this man has been through, and obviously you don't care.
SAM: He never stopped working for you, did he, Elliott?
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: I stopped paying him years ago. How could I? But his devotion
never lagged.
(ELLIOTT WYKOFF takes WILLIAM HOLLISTER'S hand in his.)
(Sam has a quick flash of the two clasped hands, then of the hands placed over
the dead bodies. Of the head-covered lace and of the bloody grins. End of
flashes.)
(SAM picks up her walkie-talkie from her bag.)
SAM: Mr. Hollister, uh ... I would like you to come with me.
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: (to ELLIOTT) She's only here to use you, Elliott.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: No, no, please, don't take William away.
SAM: (to ELLIOTT) It's ok, Elliott. It's ok. All right. Mr. Hollister,
could you please just step outside? (to walkie-talkie) Washington, I need you
to give me a hand, please.
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: It's all ... it's all going to turn out for the best. (He
holds up and cocks the weapon.) It's all really going to be fine.
(ELLIOTT is startled.)
SAM: Mr. Hollister, please put the gun down.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: What are you doing?
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Don't worry.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: William!
SAM: It's going to be all right. He thinks that he's helping you.
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: It's going to be all right.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: Did you kill my Diane?
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: No.
(ELLIOTT knows he's lying.)
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: You killed my Diane.
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: No, please. Elliott.
ELLIOTT WYKOFF: You killed my Diane.
(HOLLISTER tries to comfort ELLIOTT.)
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Please, please. I am here to help you. I'm here to take
away your pain. I'm here to take away your pain.
(WASHINGTON and the other agent step into the house.)
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Elliott, please. Please don't go away from me. Please.
Please come --
(SAM grabs the gun from HOLLISTER. WASHINGTON and the other agent grab
HOLLISTER.)
WILLIAM HOLLISTER: Let go of me!
WASHINGTON: Get on the floor!
WASHINGTON: Down! Get on the floor!
AGENT: I got him.
WASHINGTON: Please ... get up! Let's go!
WASHINGTON: Let's go!
(WASHINGTON and the other agent takes WILLIAM HOLLISTER away. SAM turns to
ELLIOTT.)
SAM: Ok. Ok. Elliott. Elliott.
(She shakes him, but he's not responding.)
SAM: Elliott?
(She feels for a pulse and finds that he's still alive, but frozen in whatever
trap his mind's caught in.)
SAM: Oh ... Oh, Elliott.
CUT TO:
[INT. VCTF - BULLPEN - DAY]
(BAILEY walks over to JOHN'S empty desk and sits in JOHN'S seat. He picks up
the pink slip of paper on the desk and reads it.)
CUT TO:
[INT. VCTF - SAM'S OFFICE - DAY - CONTINUOUS]
(SAM is taking down ELLIOTT WYKOFF'S paintings from its frames. BAILEY walks
into her office.)
BAILEY: Hey.
SAM: Hey.
BAILEY: I found out why Hollister was so obsessed with Wykoff. He was
kidnapped. Wykoff led the police to him, saved his life.
(SAM takes the canvass and folds it after removing it from the frame.)
SAM: Hmm. What a way to pay him back.
BAILEY: How's Wykoff doing?
(She moves to work on the next painting.)
SAM: Well, I called the hospital about a half an hour ago, and ... there's no
change. He has non-pathological catatonia.
BAILEY: Treatable?
SAM: Maybe.
BAILEY: Well, good luck to him.
SAM: He predicted it. He knew he would fall into the abyss.
BAILEY: It's an abstraction. It's not a real place, Sam. It's in his mind.
(BAILEY helps SAM fold the canvass.)
SAM: Yeah. What's the difference?
(Their hands clasp and they look at each other.)
CUT TO:
[INT. JACK'S PLACE]
(Electric light bulbs are lit. JACK places the needle of a phonograph on the
record. Old-time jazz music plays as JACK cuts out the face of the photo of one
of the paintings hanging in WYKOFF'S house.)
(He places a photo of SAM on a transparency over it, her face where the hole is.
He colors in SAM'S lips pink and adds some color blush to her cheekbones.)
(He then outlines her eyes with a black pen adding in a tear drop to her left
eye. He also colors in her mouth.)
JACK: (v.o.) Remember ... mommy always used to say that improvement ... begins
with "I."
(Camera pushes in to the photo SAM'S left eye.)
FADE OUT.
==========================
THE END
==========================
[Closed Captioning made possible by court tv. Captioned by the National
Captioning Institute www.Ncicap.Org]
Courtesy of http://www.webphilia.com/~anthology/wnp.html
Contact the Transcriptionist at (intrepidly002@yahoo.com)
Please do not archive this transcript without permission from the
transcriptionist.
==========================
TITLE/OPENING CREDITS
==========================
PROFILER
1X20: INTO THE ABYSS
ORIGINAL AIR DATE ON NBC: 04/26/1997
TRANSCRIBED FROM DVD
ALLY WALKER as Dr. Samantha "Sam" Waters
ROBERT DAVI as Agent Bailey Malone
JULIAN McMAHON as John Grant
ROMA MAFFIA as Grace Alvarez
MICHAEL WHALEY as Nathan Brubaker
PETER FRECHETTE as George Fraley
ERICA GIMPEL as Angel Brown
CAITLIN WACHS as Chloe Waters
Created by: CYNTHIA SAUNDERS
Executive Producers: IAN SANDER
Executive Producers: KIM MOSES
Guest Stars
JAMES HANDY as Lou Handleman
LELAND CROOKE as Elliott Wykoff
HEATHER McCOMB as Frances Malone
DANA GLADSTONE as Hollister
and
JACK
Co-Producer: JOHN FORREST NISS
Co-Producer: CHARLES HOLLAND
Produced by: ANTHONY SANTA CROCE
Supervising Producer: CYNTHIA SAUNDERS
Executive Consultant: STEVE FEKE
Co-Executive Producer: GEORGE GEIGER
Written by: DAVID A. SIMONS
Directed by: DAN LERNER
==========================
END CREDITS
==========================
Sanders/Moses Productions
NBC Studios
NBC Enterprises
Also starring
ROBERT MACHRAY as Dick Solum
KATHRYN JOOSTEN as Morganna Styles
DINO MEMINGER as Agent Washington
SONJA PARKS as Stephanie Abrams
Story Editor: BOB LOWRY
Casting: ANTHONY BARNAO
Director of Photography: MICHAEL BONVILLAIN
Production Designer: JONATHAN CARLSON
Edited by: JON KOSLOWSKY, A.C.E.
Main Title Theme: ANGELO BADALAMENTI
Music by: JEFF RONA
Unit Production Manager: ANTHONY SANTA CROCO
First Assistant Director: RICHARD FEURY
Second Assistant Director: JEFF KAY
Costume Designer: TOM McKINLEY
Production Supervisor: LORIE ZERWECK
Camera Operator: JAMIE MAXTONE-GRAHAM / ERIC ANDERSON
First Asst. Cameraman: BUTCH PIERSON
Dolly Grip: RICK MAXEY
Production Sound Mixer: KEN SEGAL
Second Second Assistant Director: LAURA SYLVESTER
Location Manager: ILT JONES
Gaffer: JOHN SPRAGUE
Key Grip: RONN COONEY
Construction Coordinator: ANDREW MOORE
Transportation Coordinator: STEVE ZERWECK
Special Effects Coordinator: JOHN GRAY
Art Director: JEREMY A. CASSELLS
Art Department Coordinator: JANIENE KURI
Costume Supervisor: SUSANNA T. SANDKE
Set Decorator: RICHARD REAMS
Property Master: BLANCHE SINDELAR
Make-up Artist: VIVIAN BAKER
Hair Stylist: LAURA DELUISA
Production Accountant: KATHY RILEY
Script Supervisor: JANEL F. REEVES
Production Coordinator: MIKE HUBERT
Assistant to Executive Producer: NICHELLE M. PROTHO
Assistant to Supervising Producer: MADELINE BELL
Assistant to Producer: SUSAN SCHMIDT
Production Supervisor: KENNETH RAICH
Computer Graphics: PAUL LeBLANC
Assistant Editor: J.J. ROGERS
Insert Coordinator: CRAIG FELLER
Additional Music: PATRICK WOODLAND
Video Playback: BOB MORGENROTH
Post Production Coordinator: AYANNA HART
Supervising Sound Editor: PETER AUSTIN
Sound Effects Editor: LINDA KEIM
Music Editor: BRIAN RICHARDS
Re-Recording Mixers: MIKE GETLIN / DEAN OKRAND / BILL THIEDERMAN
Main Title: SUZANNE KILEY
Telecine: MACE JOHNSON
Da Vinci: RICK DALBY
Optical Online: ROGER AMES BERGER
Autopsy Equipment Provided by SHANDON LIPSHAW
The characters and events depicted in this program are fictional. Any
similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or to any actual events is
coincidental and unintentional.
Executive in Charge of Post Production: JOSEPH DERVIN, JR.
(c) 1997 National Broadcasting Company, Inc. All rights Reserved.
Executive in Charge of Production: JOHANNA PERSONS
==========================
DVD DISCLAIMERS:
==========================
(c) 2003 NBC, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Art and Design (c) 2003 A&E Television
Networks. All Rights Reserved. Marketed and distributed in the U.S. by New
Video. NBC and the Peacock Design are Registered Trademarks of the National
Broadcasting Company, Inc. Profiler, its characters and related Trademarks are
Property of NBC Studios, Inc.
aetv.com
Dated:06/05/2004~lky
http://www.webphilia.com/~anthology/wnp.html