Tightrope Page #3

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- Maybe we should...

- What was her name?

Who?

The girl at the river.

Judy Harper, a nurse.

Every mass murderer

has a motive, Wes.

It could be as bizarre as

voices commanding him to kill.

The voices could come from God

or from the refrigerator.

Or it could be as simple as

anger, frustration, revenge.

That's why he uses

handcuffs on the women.

- Has he contacted you?

- No.

- I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

- Why?

Once you started going after him, you

became closer to him than anyone else.

Unless there's another psychopath

out doing the same thing.

I'm not sure how close I wanna get.

There's a darkness

inside all of us, Wes.

You, me and the man

down the street.

Some have it under control.

Others act it out.

The rest of us try to walk a

tightrope between the two.

Wanna go hoist some oysters?

I've never seen you

work out there before.

I came there looking for you.

- They found another body.

- I know.

- Sorry about it.

- Well, why tell me?

I didn't know who else to tell.

You didn't have to bring

me here to tell me that.

No.

- Thank you.

- So why did you?

Well, I saw you working

out in that gym.

I was wondering what you'd be like.

Why the, uh, sudden interest?

I was wondering if you came alone.

What else were you wondering?

You really wanna know?

Yeah.

What it would be like...

to lick the sweat off your body.

Do you...?

Do you always say exactly

what's on your mind?

You don't like it?

It could be a little more subtle.

What I said?

More the way you said it.

How would you like me to say it?

As if you're not saying it

to somebody every night.

What else would you like?

I'd like to find out what's

underneath the front you put on.

- Maybe you wouldn't like what you'd find.

- Maybe you're scared I would.

- You're not married, are you?

- What makes you say that?

Just a hunch.

You hear the one about the cop

whose wife left him a note...

saying she'd fallen in

love with anyone else?

- Your wife leave you a note?

- No, she left me two kids.

- Where is she now?

- Still here in New Orleans.

You ever thought of moving away?

No. Twenty-eight years ago,

I borrowed $40 from my father...

packed up an old beat-up suitcase,

took a bus and came here.

I was 17 at the time.

I walked down through the French quarter,

looked out over the Mississippi...

and swore I'd never leave.

- Ever come close?

- Only once.

When I looked down and saw

that suitcase missing.

Have you ever been married?

- Nope.

- How come?

I guess I haven't

met the right man.

Maybe I scared him away.

Then he definitely

wasn't the right man.

- My mother thinks it's my job.

- What do you think?

- Doesn't matter. I like what I do.

- Helping women?

Oh, men too.

What makes you so

sure they need it?

We all need it.

Okay, gals, come on. Wake up.

Come on. We're gonna go

back to our own beds now.

- Hi, Dad.

- Where you been?

Get Dad. Come on. Get on my back.

Unh. Your dad had a date tonight.

- Who with?

- Uh, somebody he met.

- Where'd you go?

- Out on the river.

- Is she nice?

- Oh, yeah.

- Do you like her?

- Yeah, she's nice.

- Did you kiss her?

- Hey, come on. Give me a break, will you?

I bet that's her right now.

And she wants to see you again.

- And you can have a hard-on anytime you want.

- Ha-ha-ha.

"Another one will soon be dead.

You could stop it if you

knew what was ahead."

Think it's from a crank?

No.

Sam's. What's that?

I'm Sam.

Ooh, you're strong.

I love being punished

by a strong man.

Ahem. He said, uh, you'd want this.

- What for?

- Me.

He's wrong.

He said you were just like him.

Who's he?

Use the whip.

You're, uh...

You're to wear this to Praline's.

I don't know who he is.

Dixie.

Looking for something...

Alice?

He said this was your first time.

- Who?

- You don't know?

- He bought me for you.

- You've seen him?

When was he supposed to pay you?

Right after this, at the old

warehouse across the street.

Well, you go on over to that

warehouse and collect your money.

- You don't want it?

- No.

He said you did. You

just don't know it yet.

Well, he's wrong.

How do you know if you

haven't tried it?

Maybe I have.

I'm at a warehouse at 1460 Water.

- We searched the whole warehouse. He's gone.

- Hmm.

- The saliva on the stamps tested...

- Blood type O.

Right.

The notes are from...

a '72 Olivetti. The letters

E and S are worn down.

The K is misaligned.

That's all I can tell.

- What about the red ribbon?

- Same as the fibers from the other victims.

"... if you knew what's ahead."

Becky?

Becky?

Becky?

She could still be alive.

Couldn't she?

Still no sign?

It won't be long.

Any luck with him?

No.

You're letting him go?

Yeah.

I heard you knew her too.

That's right.

Just out of curiosity, Wes, did you

happen to know any of the other victims?

No.

Alex?

Do you have someone

who could drive by my house?

Your kids?

- Yeah.

- Sure.

You remember the smudge marks

in Melanie Silber's bedroom?

Yeah.

- The killer made them.

- How do you know?

Because they have the same chemical

composition as particles on that doll.

- Any idea what they are?

- Some kind of glass fragments...

coated with a barley residue.

- Where could they come from?

- Who knows? Maybe a grain storage bin.

He must've picked up the fragments

in the treads of his tennis shoes.

- He wore tennis shoes?

- Heh.

By tomorrow, I might

even know the make.

- Hello?

- Hi. Can I see you tonight?

- I've got some work.

- Can it wait?

Are you okay?

I don't know.

They found one of the

bodies near here.

I know.

- They're getting closer.

- Closer to what?

To me.

Boo!

Do you investigate

many sexual crimes?

Why?

I was wondering if they've

had any effect on you.

Well, they did make me want to treat

my wife a little more tenderly.

How did she respond?

She said she wasn't

interested in tenderness.

They're nice kids.

Yeah, they're about the only thing

in my life I haven't screwed up.

Well, some people

don't even have that.

Why didn't your wife

take them when she left?

Because they're a part

of what she left.

What did you tell them?

I didn't tell them anything.

They already knew.

Do they get jealous when

you bring a woman over?

I don't bring a woman home.

How about that woman

you just bumped into?

She's just sort of a friend.

That kind of friend have anything

to do with your wife leaving?

I made those kind of

friends after she left.

Can we come back

tomorrow night, Daddy?

We'll talk about that later.

I want a balloon.

Here, I got it.

Here you are.

Yeah.

Come on.

- Dad?

- Mm-hm?

Beryl's nice. She's pretty

too, don't you think?

Yeah.

I can tell she wants

to see you again.

Oh, you can, can you?

If I were you, I'd ask

her out this weekend.

Oh, you would, would you?

Dad...

- ...find out if she likes dogs.

- Oh, of course.

You'll have to excuse the mess.

Well, you should see

my place sometimes.

I don't exactly have a

lot of help around here.

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