Red Lights Page #2

because you can't explain it.

That's not

exactly true.

I can't explain why your

department gets double our budget,

but I don't deny

it's the case.

So let's talk,

join forces.

We're making huge strides

forward in the SPRC.

A discerning vision like

yours could really help.

I don't do hocus

pocus, Shackleton.

I suggest you

don't either.

You didn't

even touch that.

How do you do that?

Isn't that incredible?

Well, it doesn't

always work, Mike.

I got lucky today,

that's all.

The fact is,

we can all do it.

Well, frankly, I knew

that, uh, blind people

had a more developed

sense of smell,

but after what we've

seen here tonight--

You're right.

You're right.

Simon Silver became

popular at the end of the Sixties

and his fame continued

to grow over the next decade.

In 1.975, he suddenly

announced his retirement,

stunning his legion of fans.

Many linked his exit

from the limelight

with the death of a veteran

journalist, Martin Weiner,

a skeptical reporter

who suffered

a heart attack

while attending

one of Silver's shows.

The post-mortem concluded

the heart attack was

the result' of

natural causes

but Silver was never able

to shake off the suspicion

surrounding Weiner's death.

He disappeared just' as suddenly

as he had become a star,

which is why his

come-back announcement

more than 30 years after

his last public appearance...

Margaret, I

was watching that.

Sorry, I, uh--

I thought maybe you wouldn't

hear me, 'cause you--didn't.

Is Dr. Matheson around?

Uh--

No, she's not.

Mm.

Can I leave the

assignment with you?

Yeah.

Just watch

the coin, okay?

- Where'd it go?

- Lift your glass, please.

Where did you

learn to do that?

You can't always

trust your eyes.

You did most of the magic

by looking in the wrong place.

Oh, now you're really

taking the fun out of it.

The simpler, the better.

That's the principle.

The only way to pull a

rabbit out of a hat

is by putting it there

in the first place.

Open it.

It's in your left hand.

Did you--

Did you see that?

No, I got lucky.

The class is really

great, you know?

It makes you think.

So, right, um--

you been working

for Matheson long?

Or are you

a psychologist too?

Or a magician?

Wha--?

Uh, no,

I'm not a magician.

Um, actually,

I'm a physicist.

- So why do you do this?

- Do what?

Investigate fake

paranormal stuff.

Don't you think

it's a bit weird?

- I just try to help Margaret--

- I mean, what for?

If someone claims to have

powers and actually don't,

who cares?

Why bother?

Why bother?

If your mom was one

of those people

who went to see

a psychic

because, um-- her stomach

was bothering her

and the psychic

told her that it was nothing,

that it was just a--

a touch of gastritis.

But then

later on--

you find out

it was stomach cancer

and it's too late to treat.

Do you think then you'd

say "Why bother?"

Did--did that

happen to you?

Okay, watch this.

Ready? Here we go.

Oh, God!

Jesus Christ!

Oh my God,

how did you do that?

Doesn't that hurt?

No.

Well, a litt--

a little.

Simon Silver,

perhaps the most celebrated

psychic of all time,

will visit us here

in just under three weeks.

On/ine bookings have

sky-rocketed in just six hours.

And as soon as the Columbus

Theatre box office opens,

there will be a mad

rush for tickets.

Margaret Matheson.

Hello?

Hello?

Are you okay, Stevie?

You want your music, Stevie?

You want us

to put on your music?

Sometimes it helps him

to listen to music.

Okay.

He thinks

this is really cool!

We do too, but

we don't paint!

Only Stevie paints!

Isn't that right, Stevie?

You paint, don't you?

Kids, huh?

Automatic painting,

my ass!

I was about to make him

eat those crayons.

You heard it, it was, it

was the interference.

It was because Stevie and Van Gogh,

they just-- they don't talk.

If it would

help him channel,

I'm sure the mother would be

happy to cut off his ear.

- Well, a 90 mile drive

- Hm.

And not one

lousy doodle.

Are you okay?

If it were just

me on my own, I--

I don't think

I could continue.

I'm getting too old

for this sh*t.

Oh, come on.

Where did

you spring from?

You know you could

have a brilliant career

at any university

in the world, right?

You know that.

- Mm. I like this.

- But why are you with me?

Hey, so, um--

Yeah, I was, uh--

You know, maybe

it would be good if

someone else joined the team.

Do you ever think about that?

She's a little young,

don't you think?

Who?

For what?

Right.

I think I'll

look in on David.

If you could drop

me there, please.

Okay.

The reason people

believe in ghosts is

the same as the

reason they believe

in haunted houses

or tunnels of light.

Because it would mean that there

was something-- after death.

I only wish there were.

But I'm not prepared

to let my--beliefs

be determined by my

desires or my--needs.

If David woke up now

and looked in the mirror,

he wouldn't even

know who the man was

staring back at him.

He wouldn't know who I was.

If I thought for one second

that there was something else,

I would shut off all this crap

and let my son go.

Margaret.

A contactee was visited

and raped on a daily basis

by an extraterrestrial.

Savagely possessed.

Every night.

So she goes to a hypnologist

and the visits stop.

So she goes back to the

hypnologist and says:

"Can't you just make him

come back once a week?"

You know, there are two

kinds of people out there

with a special gift:

the ones who really think

they have some kind of power

and the other guys--

who think

we can't figure them out.

They're both wrong.

Aren't

you a little young?

For what?

Right.

So what are

we looking for?

Red lights.

Red lights?

Discordant notes,

things that

shouldn't be there.

Like that

guy over there.

Hot dogs, hamburgers!

Hey, what about

over there?

Well spotted.

- I'm so so sorry.

- What, are you blind?

- It's totally my fault.

- Watch where you're going.

- No, I wasn't watching. I'm sorry.

- Give me that.

- I'm sorry.

- Go on, just get lost now, will you, buddy?

Apologies.

Hoo.

Ha.

Like candy from a baby.

Good.

In we go.

Okay.

Ah. Dr. Matheson.

I take it you've been

told I like the box all to myself.

Yes, of course, doctor,

we know that,

but I was just thinking

we'd have a safe--

And I'm sure you understand

that this deployment

is not what I meant

when I said discreet.

I'm sorry,

Dr. Matheson.

I'll give the orders

to pull back.

Doctor, how come we're

so sure this guy's a fraud?

Ever heard

of Occam's razor?

Occam's razor?

When I hear the

drumming of hooves,

I don't

think unicorns,

I think horses.

Hm.

My name

is Leonardo Palladino.

I can see things.

Just like you.

If not, I would be blind.

I am a mentalist.

I've got a mind, like you.

I'm a clairvoyant.

Because

I can see clearly.

He hasn't changed

a single word.

The only difference--

- You know Palladino from before?

- Hm.

Well, not exactly.

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