Absence of the Good Page #5

Look, if your concern

is about my focus---

My concern is for this case.

Dr. Lyons called. She thinks

you should go back on personal leave.

- That's bullshit.

- Perhaps.

Look, you wanna catch this guy,

it's right now.

I am here, and I am fine.

All right,

but have enough sense...

to take yourself off the case

if it's best for all concerned.

Don't wait for it to fall apart.

Nobody will question your decision,

least of all me.

I'll keep that in mind.

You do that.

We're checking applications...

following up on Dr. Lyon's ideas

of a cop wanna-be.

You know what I think it is?

You're thinking too hard.

- Is that right?

- Yeah. Get outta here--

Stop watchin' me, Glenn.

- Sir.

- Tell me something, Doctor.

- What scares you?

- Excuse me?

I said, what scares you?

Have you ever seen an evil act?

Shouldn't you be home?

I answered your questions.

You answer mine.

And if I do?

This isn't a word game.

I'm not being rhetorical.

Have you ever seen an evil act?

No.

Then don't judge me.

It scares me too, Detective,

the absence of the good.

Because it doesn't happen

all at once.

Something eats away at us

inside...

and we don't even know it.

- Mrs. Gaskin?

- Detective.

He's not here.

He's on a service call.

I fell down.

You ought to be more careful.

Especially with that baby coming.

I have the address...

where he is.

It's not far from here.

I'll go get it.

- Yes?

- John Gaskin.

- Jack.

- What are you doin'?

Go back inside, will ya.

- What do you want?

- Got a minute?

Hang on.

- We can't find this house on the map.

- Yeah, I read about what happened.

If I could remember anything,

I'd tell you.

What happened to your brother?

What happened?

Your father abused the whole family.

What do you think made Bard snap?

I don't know. Maybe the old man

knocked something loose in his head.

- Christ knows he tried.

- He singled him out?

- Yeah, he singled him out.

- How'd your father die?

Lung cancer.

He smoked like a chimney.

- And your mother?

- I don't know.

We lost touch.

I just heard from Julie that she died.

- When?

- Two, three years ago.

Then you never spoke

to Julie again?

The line was disconnected.

-But you tried to get in touch with her?

-Yeah, yeah, I tried. What is this?

Last night I saw your truck

drive by one of the old addresses.

You wouldn't be looking

for Bard, would ya?

Last night I was on

a service call. Okay?

If my truck drives past one of the old

places, believe me, it's a coincidence.

Where was the call?

The north end. I'll give you

the address. You can check it.

I will.

Christ! You people.

How do you think I feel

knowing this is going on?

You seem pretty relaxed to me.

One thing has got nothin'

to do with the other. Okay?

Right.

Did Sheila tell you I was here?

I saw your truck out front. The manager

told me what room you were in.

Okay?

Right.

Wendy's been gettin' all over me

about all this overtime.

Yeah, you can't win.

Robby.

Yeah, what?

Look at that across the street.

What do you see?

Is that him?

Is it?

Call it in.

4-Delta-1-2-5.

I got him.

I think he saw me.

Go, go, go, go, go!

Sh*t. He's runnin'.

Go, go, go!

Go.

Move out! Move!

Come on! This way!

Check in with Red Team!

Blue Team, fan out!

I want some space between us!

Where is he?

Sh*t!

- You got him?

- Keep moving!

We got no visual!

There's nothin' here!

What's it read like?

SWAT in! Don't shoot!

Oh, son of a b*tch!

Where is he?

- I don't know!

- Go, go, go!

Go deeper in!

- Where's that canine?

- Over here!

Down by the water.

Bring the dog in.

- Check in the water.

- Nothing here.

- You got him?

- We're still looking.

- Where is he?

- I don't know how he got past us.

Don't you tell me

he got through.

My instructions were to deploy my men

on a line parallel to the street.

That presupposed

he had no other way out.

You were supposed to

drive him towards me!

- You let him get through!

- He went through here.

Comes out the other side of the street.

I don't know how the hell he found it.

He didn't find it!

He used to play here when he was a kid!

He knew it was here,

and you and your men didn't!

You knew that?

Thanks for telling me.

You jumped the gun.

My men had 30 seconds notice.

You f***in' blew it,

and you know it.

Now, I'd really appreciate it, when

I'm attempting to debrief your ass...

if you wouldn't be fraggin' me

over this sh*t.

- You let him get away!

- All right, all right!

How long ago did he rabbit?

How long?

- Three, maybe five minutes.

- Let's just cut the sh*t and find him!

- Telephone. Sheriff Burnett.

- I'll call him back.

He says it's important.

Barnes.

Saw the name "Gaskin." Couldn't

figure out why it sounded so familiar.

Then I put it together with your sketch.

That's when it all came back.

Come on.

I'll show you.

Is Detective Barnes here?

I'm Sarah Quinn.

- No, he's at work right now.

- When's he gonna be home?

I'm not sure.

I have the number, though.

No, I've gotta see him.

It's really important.

How long did

the Gaskin family live here?

A few weeks.

Mr. Sheridan hired the father

for the summer as a laborer.

Mend the fences, fix the barn,

that kind of thing.

Started out all right.

Then he fell off the wagon

pretty quick.

We started getting calls after that

from a couple of bars.

You ever have to come out here?

A couple of times.

There'd be all this yellin',

screamin', cryin'.

Mr. Sheridan was pretty upset.

Even went after the old man

with a hammer.

Had to take him back with me,

let him cool off overnight in a cell.

My God.

The Sheridans took those.

It was about all they could do.

How somebody could do that

to a little kid.

What did you do?

I called all the right people,

all right.

Told 'em what was goin' on

out here.

Promised they'd look into it.

That's it?

No.

That's not it.

Mama backs up his story.

Says how her little boy falls down.

So I can't arrest him.

I even tried to get the son of a b*tch

to take a swing at me.

At least that way

he'd be away from the kids.

- And then what happened?

- Nothin'.

It was the last I saw of 'em.

Sheridan said there was

more yellin' and screamin'.

Then they just

packed up the car and left.

This is where it started.

He killed the Sheridans first...

and then everybody else

came afterward.

All right.

But why them?

Why them first? He wasn't here long.

He hardly knew the Sheridans.

What is this?

Trap door.

Every barn's got one.

Watch out for snakes.

That poor little boy.

Which boy?

In the picture.

Which boy?

Bard.

Police! Get down!

Get down! Get down!

- I'm not Gaskin! I'm not him!

- Please! My baby!

I'm not Gaskin!

- Don't hurt my baby!

- Where is he?

Clear!

Take those cuffs off her.

Where is he?

I haven't seen him

since you came this afternoon.

Barnes.

Garcia, you got him?

- Damn it!

- We're okay, Sarge.

He saw it, Glenn.

Jack watched his father murder Bard.

For all those years

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