The Changeling Page #3

Hello, Minnie. How are you?

I'm fine.

They've been

going through the files.

Let me have that name again.

I'm very glad to be of help,

as you know.

Good-bye.

This is the senator's

campaign bio, 1960.

I got it from the main library,

had them Xerox it for me.

- You found something?

- It's a kind of rough retrospective...

somebody drew up when they were thinking

of turning the house into a museum.

Richard Carmichael and family

occupied the house 1899 to 1906.

Richard was the senator's father.

His mother died

when he was born in 1900.

It's all in there.

Look at the part

about his illness.

"Joe Carmichael, their son, at age three

was struck down by atrophic arthritis-"

A little further down.

"It was decided to send little Joe

to the famed Nordbach Sanatorium...

in Basel, Switzerland,

for special therapy.

Accompanied by his father, he embarked

for Europe in October, 1906...

not to set foot on American soil again

until the cessation of World War I."

See how it might have been done?

Richard's son, a sick child...

was murdered by his father

and buried secretly.

Then the substitute,

a six-year-old orphan...

was put in his place,

shipped right overseas right away...

with the father attending-

it all worked for them.

Even the war worked. It kept him

in Switzerland till 1918.

He came back here,

he was 18 years old.

Who was gonna know

he wasn't the real son?

If he wasn't crippled anymore,

it was because he was cured.

Do you think he knows about

the murder and the replacement?

I don't know.

How could any father

do such a thing?

Richard's wife was Emily Spencer,

the daughter of H.T. Spencer...

who founded

the Spencer Carmichael empire.

He died in 1905.

He was a zillionaire. His will-

his will might be very interesting.

There must be a copy of it

in the hall of records.

I'm also going to find out if there was

a Spencer or Carmichael ranch somewhere.

Yeah- a ranch with a well.

This is the 1908 atlas of Seattle...

which is open to the part of the city

where the Carmichael ranch was located.

- Right here.

- What does that little mark there mean?

According to the legend here, that was

the location of a well on the property.

- I see.

- And in the 1914 atlas...

which is opened here

to the same area...

there's been one large lot

that's apparently been sold off...

but the property is very much the same,

and the well's still there.

- Right. Exactly.

- The 1928 atlas was quite a change.

There's further subdivision

of the property.

The symbol for the well has

disappeared...

and a house has been built here.

The ranch is listed in the will...

part of the inheritance of little Joseph

Carmichael, all of five years old.

He got just about everything.

- What about the father, Richard?

- Bypassed...

except as his son's guardian,

and therefore trustee of the estate.

Well, old man Spencer's daughter

was dead...

and, obviously, he wasn't

too fond of his son-in-law.

Yes, but wait.

Richard doesn't get any money...

but he still controls his son,

and his son is worth a fortune...

unless-

unless, for some reason, the boy dies

before attaining the age of 21.

In that case,

the entire estate goes to charity.

That would have shut Richard out

completely...

and there he was

with a son who was...

weak, sickly, bedridden-

couldn't even walk.

He must have decided

not to take a chance on the boy.

The money was just too tempting.

What are you gonna tell her?

About the well under the house

and the body.

- And the medal with the name on it?

- No. Nothing about Carmichael.

- She'll think you're crazy.

- You'll tell her I'm not.

Good evening, Mrs. Grey.

I'm John Russell.

This is Miss Norman.

Mr. Russell, I wouldn't have listened

to your story for two minutes...

I wouldn't have let you in here

but for something you said on the phone.

You said this seance affair of yours

happened three nights ago.

- Right?

- That's right.

Well, three nights ago,

on Monday night...

Linda, my daughter,

woke up screaming...

just after midnight.

She'd had a nightmare.

When I went in to her,

she was hysterical, she was sobbing.

I'd never seen her like that before.

Oh, I mean, she'd had nightmares

before, but not-

She said she'd seen a boy-

very small, very thin...

almost gnomelike-

and he was trying to come up

through the floor.

He kept staring at her.

Here, in the middle.

She hasn't been in this room since,

won't come near it. She sleeps with me.

What we want, is-

What you want, Mr. Russell,

is to tear this room apart.

Well, I have your phone number.

I'll have to think about it.

What the hell's going on?

Linda!

They're still digging...

but they found the well.

Okay.

- Did you find anything?

- No, nothing yet.

This is Tony, Mrs. Grey's son.

Miss Norman.

- Hello.

- Hi.

Thanks.

- Gimme that flashlight, will you?

- Sure.

I think I found something.

What is it?

It's a hand.

What?

It's a hand.

I'll call the police.

Nothing more?

Doesn't look like it.

You think there might be

something else down there?

Assistant coroner said those bones

had been down there maybe 50 years.

Do you have some idea

who that child was?

No, not really.

What's "not really" mean?

I'm gonna want

statements from everybody.

Mrs. Grey, do you have some other

place you could stay for tonight?

- Yes, it's all been arranged.

- Good.

I think you should have told them.

It's gotta be there.

Without that medal,

there's no evidence, there's nothing.

- You have the tape.

- Tapes can be altered.

They know that.

Did you see the expression on his face?

It was obvious you were

holding something back.

I'll say.

Look, it's very late. Get some rest,

and I'll talk to you in the morning.

- Fine. Drive careful.

- You too.

What's the matter?

"St. Paul's Church

September 8, 1900...

Joseph Patrick Carmichael."

It was there.

It was there.

You have to show it to the police.

It's the only piece of solid evidence.

They didn't find it or see me dig it up.

Why should they believe it was there?

You can't just ignore them.

The police aren't going to trouble

themselves with a 70-year-old case.

- Still, it's an unsolved murder.

- Nah.

Whatever's to be done

has to be done by me.

I've got to get to Carmichael.

- He won't see you now.

- He'll see me.

Senator!

- Hey, hold it right there! Hold up.

- Mr. Carmichael! Senator-

- Wait a minute, now.

- Get the hell out of my way.

Senator, I'm John Russell.

I'm living in your house.

Senator, look.

I want to show him that.

I want to talk to him. Let me go!

Senator!

Look at this medal.

It's a baptism medal.

- It's got your name on it.

- You got him?

- We got him.

- It was buried with the body.

A little boy.

The police know about it.

Who was that?

Some kind of crackpot?

I've no idea.

Never mind. Come on.

Dale, I want you to radio back

to police headquarters...

Captain DeWitt.

Ask him to call me in Spokane

at this number.

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