Absence of the Good Page #2

- Hang on. Caleb.

- Yeah?

You know anybody in the sheriff's

office at Cache County?

You're about to.

Couple's name is Sheridan.

Family's lived out here

for about, oh, four generations.

Heard about your case, and I thought

you just might want to take a look.

Now, the murders happened last month.

One of the hands found 'em out here.

Somebody beat the back

of their heads in. This was here too.

Have no idea what it means.

Probably some kid.

"Gone back home.

Love--"

What does that look like to you?

It could be a "B," an "H."

It's painted over though.

Any indication of the bodies

being moved after the fact, Sheriff?

Nah, not that I could tell.

What about the barn?

Any sign of cleaning up?

It's a barn. Take a lot

of cleaning to spruce it up.

- That's it?

- That's it.

All right.

Take a look at this.

Tell me if that guy

looks familiar to you at all.

Not that I can say.

Well, hang on to it.

Maybe somebody

will simplify our lives.

- Thanks again for your call, Sheriff.

- Pleasure.

All right.

Listen, you find this joker,

I'd like a chance to talk to him myself.

Sheridans were friends of mine.

You got it.

Hello!

Sir?

Excuse me, sir?

Detective?

You might want to see this.

You think this guy

is Mr. Clean?

Go get the boys to come down here

and dust, all right?

Yes, sir.

Give me a few minutes first, huh?

You got it, sir.

Hold on a second.

D and D, right.

The year? Right.

- Where's Barnes?

- He's in the basement.

He wants to dust

for prints down there.

- Childress.

- Right there.

Yeah?

Dormitory from hell.

All right, so the guy upstairs

is Charles Lowman.

We got him on the books for an old DUI

and a couple of drunk and disorderlies.

He's been dead about 48 hours.

Same amount of time

as Agnes Thurmond.

Gets worse.

Same blows to the back of the head.

Same good housekeeping seal.

Only thing missing is a note.

But he didn't need one.

He had a map.

Yeah, that clears up everything.

What do you think happened here?

Boarders?

I don't think anybody

comes down here to live.

I think somebody would

come down here to hide.

- From what?

- Whatever scares 'em.

I think we should invite

our friend Dr. Lyons in for a look.

Oh, sh*t. I gotta go.

- Everything okay?

- I forgot something very important.

You change your mind?

Yeah.

I thought this was a good idea.

Talk to somebody

and work this thing through.

I could talk to you.

We could always talk.

I know.

We will.

I can try harder, Caleb.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

What if I go up there...

and she says I'm crazy?

And then you'd leave.

I can't lose you too.

You're not crazy.

And I'm not going anywhere.

I just think about him,

that's all.

I know.

Then why don't you show it?

God, you never f***ing show it!

Caleb, people who hurt,

they cry.

They ache, they lose themselves.

They ache for what's lost,

for what's gone.

I don't want to go in there.

Okay.

I'm Detective Barnes. My wife

had an appointment with Dr. Lyons.

Detective.

- Where's your wife?

- She won't be able to make it.

Do you want to reschedule?

Come in.

The lieutenant called.

There's been another murder.

- Do you think it's the same person?

- It's possible.

Mr. Clean?

I don't like that.

- Excuse me?

- Names.

I don't like those names.

They catch on and before you know it,

people are just walking around...

saying them like it's just

some weird neighbor.

Isn't that the point?

That if we name them,

they're not as scary.

- They still are.

- Have a seat.

What scares you, Detective?

Questions like that.

It was just a question.

You know what St. Augustine said.

Excuse me?

St. Augustine.

He said that evil has no embodiment,

no incarnation.

It is simply absence of the good.

Absence of the good?

He believed that a will,

by nature, is good.

So when somebody commits an evil act,

they're turning away from who they are.

Their own nature.

They cannot commit an evil act...

without the absence of good.

And that scares you?

Yes.

Have you ever seen an evil act?

Yes.

How did you know?

I knew.

Was your son's death an evil act?

That was an accident.

What's the difference?

Intention.

But the older child

brought the gun to school.

Not to hurt anyone.

Are you really that objective?

I've been through this before,

Doctor.

What would you like for me to tell you?

About my dreams?

- Do you have dreams?

- No.

He's about 30.

Very rigid, strict.

From a poor family,

but he probably lies about it.

He has an acute sense of justice, which

is why he thinks he'd be a good cop.

If he ever applied, he probably wouldn't

make it past the first interview.

Best he could do would be

a private security company.

He has trouble holding any job. He'll

say it's because no one respects him.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

I'm sorry, Caleb.

So what do you think?

Jennifer.

What?

My ex-wife Jennifer.

First time I ever danced with her

was to this song.

- What year was that?

- '77.

Twenty-two years ago...

and Roger, our bus driver,

makes our boy...

to be late 20s, early 30s.

Yeah, well, it depends on

when he bought the record though.

- That's all I got.

- Okay.

Here's what I got.

Guy breaks into Lowman's house,

right, kills him...

cleans up, takes the key,

goes to Agnes' house...

does the same thing to her.

Okay. So he goes to all that trouble

to get to the box...

and then leaves it there.

Why?

He did what he came to do.

He didn't need it anymore.

Or maybe he wanted it there.

Still doesn't make him our guy.

He goes to Agnes' house, Glenn.

He goes directly to the shed.

Why?

Because he knew the box was there.

Because he put it there.

Because he lived there as a kid.

So why does he have a key

to the other house?

Follow the map. It leads back to Agnes'.

He wanted to go back.

Because he lived there first.

And he never wanted to leave.

- You realize how thin this is.

- I don't think so.

All we gotta do is place this kid

at either house at the right time.

Help me with this, Detective.

How would you define "thin"?

Lab's gotta rush

on that palm print.

What I'm saying is,

how do we know there is a kid?

This is not just some loony tune

going through his second childhood.

He's out there right now, playing

mumbly-peg with the entire neighborhood.

We don't.

We don't?

You have anything else?

Something to keep me warm at night?

Look, we're workin' on it, Lou.

We'll get you somethin'.

Please do.

-This feels right, and you know it.

-I don't know it, and you don't know it.

In the harsh light of day,

the lieutenant's right. We are reaching.

- What do we got?

- Nothin'.

Come on, Glenn. That's bullshit.

All right, fine.

Why don't we just work the case,

make a few notes...

stick 'em in a frickin' file and forget

about the whole goddamn thing?

- Is that what you want to do?

- What are you getting at me for?

Hi there.

Can I help you find something?

Sir?

Excuse me, sir.

You can't go back there.

Sir!

Did we get the records

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