Northern Lights (2009) - full transcript

Being away makes me realize

I need to get control over my life.

I need to make changes. Permanent changes.

-Hey.
-Hey.

Sorry I got so far ahead.

Are you hungry?
I think I've got some jerky left.

We might have to hunker down,
wait out the storm.

Welcome to Lunacy, Nate. Lunacy, Alaska.

-Good to put a face to a voice, Mayor Hopp.
-Oh, just Hopp, like the rabbit.

-Nip?
-No, thanks.

Well, if you're expecting a brass band
or a welcoming parade,



you might be disappointed.
We only do that on Founders Day.

-Nice boots.
-Yeah, thanks.

-It wasn't a compliment.
-Wow. It's cold, huh?

Cold? Honey, cold is
when your nuts break off like icicles.

This here's almost balmy.

I thought I'd take you to town,
get you situated.

Seeing as tomorrow's New Year's Eve,

you might wanna get
any incidentals you need

before the town shuts down for a few days.

We can stop at Ray's, if you want.
That's the market.

-Do you want to?
-Sorry?

Stop for incidentals?

-No. Thanks.
-All right.

-Come on, let's get going.
-Yep.



This is where you'll be staying.

So the Lodge is a hotel,
bar, diner, social club.

Dead this time of year,
except for the locals.

Summer's when you'll see things
heating up with the tourists.

Now, your room comes with the job.

You decide you wanna live elsewhere,
that's on you, all right?

Hey, Bing. You still not talking to me?

This here's Nate Burns.

-Cheechako.
-Yeah.

It means ''outsider.'' Kind of.

Bing's angry with me
that I didn't give him your job.

Truth is, he's probably angrier with you.
You better get used to it.

Maybe you should have hired from within.

Oh, well, no. Lunacy's a small place, Nate.
We needed an outsider,

someone who's got no connection
with the rest of us.

It's the only way to get the job done.

Don't crap where you eat.
Come on, it's just up here.

ls that him?

Stand down, Charlene.
I'm just taking him up to his room.

You can go in for the kill once I'm gone.

-What, she wanted the job, too?
-Charlene?

-Oh, no, she'll just wanna take you to bed.
-Excuse me?

Well, you're a good-looking guy there, Nate,
and pickings are kind of slim in the winter.

Although she isn't all that choosy.

No, Charlene owns the Lodge.
She inherited it from Old Man Hidel.

You're a long way from Baltimore, Nate.

I hope you know what you got yourself into.

Look, people are gonna ask you
why you decided to leave the big city

to be police chief
in the middle of nowhere.

I didn't tell anybody
about what happened to you.

People come here for all sorts of reasons.

-Don't feel obliged to share.
-Thanks.

Well...

-I'm around if you need me.
-Okay.

-Nice boots.
-So I've been told.

I'm Nate Burns.

-You are...
-Otto Gruber.

Deputy Gruber, sir.

-Let me guess. You wanted the job, too.
-I applied.

Anyone in town that didn't want it?

-Police Station.
-Lodge. Mackie brothers.

Yeah, okay. I'm on my way.

Mackie brothers.

-ls that code for something?
-You'll see.

I'll kick your ass!

-Hey, hey, hey!
-Get up, get up. Get up.

Hey! Hey!

That's enough. Hey, enough!

-Who the hell are you?
-The new chief.

-The cheechako.
-Quick study.

"-Drunken Master," numb-nut.
-You wanna see "Drunken Master..."

"Drunken Master" was
the best Jackie Chan movie ever!

"Rush Hour," dude.

You hear that?
You hear the absolute ignorance?

-You wanna see ignorance?
-All right. You know what? Otto, cuff them.

-What, you're arresting them?
-That's right.

What for?

Look, the Mackie brothers have been
beating each other up since they were kids.

-It's normal.
-Yeah, tonight's New Year's Eve.

Tonight's for partying and loving.

Don't you think, Nate?

All right. This is what I'm gonna do.

You're gonna pay Charlene a fine of $100
for creating a public nuisance.

-A hundred bucks?
-Each.

And if it isn't paid by midnight,
I'm sending Otto after you. Understood?

Understood?

-Fine.
-Good.

You got a hundred bucks?

You know, personally, I think
"Operation Condor" was Chan's best work.

"Operation Condor?" That's his worst movie.

That man's just gonna drown himself
in the deep end of the pool.

Nate Burns.

Max Hawbacker.
I'm with "The Lunatic."

Not him. "The Lunatic's" the weekly paper.
He's Ed Woolcott.

-Chief.
-Hey.

And I believe you've already met Bing.

He and Ed work on the town council.

Politics makes for strange bedfellows.

-What do you mean, ''Strange bedfellows''?
-Here we go.

He means we can work together
despite our differences, Bing.

Yeah, or despite you being an epic windbag.

-I voted against hiring you, by the way.
-Okay.

It's nothing personal, Nate, it's just that,
you know, Lunacy's a summer town.

Waste of money hiring a full-time
police chief, but who knows?

You might prove the windbag wrong.

Yeah, Ed is also bank president and
has a hard time parting with his cash.

This is my wife, Carrie.

-It's nice to meet you.
-Hi.

Hey. Ed telling you
how I shouldn't have hired you?

-He still resents my being mayor.
-No, I don't resent you being mayor,

I just don't always agree with
how you run things.

So, Nate, how about an interview sometime?

Oh, you know, I don't think
your readers will be all that interested...

ls it true that you were shot last year?

Hey, Chief. How about a dance?
Come on. Come and dance with an old lady.

I'm sorry about that.
Max must have done some digging.

He's not usually one to spread rumors.

Just give it some time.
People just need to get to know you.

I don't know.
How long does it take to become a local?

Well, you see John over there?

He came here 22 years ago to teach school.
He's the new guy.

At least he was, until you.

Well, I could use a drink. Want a drink?

-Sure.
-Yes.

Nice boots.

-What is so wrong with my boots?
-Nothing.

If you're, you know,
going to an apple press in Vermont.

They just won't last the winter here,
that's all.

-Meg Galligan.
-Nate Burns.

-It's a pleasure to finally meet you.
-Finally?

Yeah, I feel like I've seen you everywhere
since I've gotten here.

Well, you haven't been here all that long,
and this is Lunacy.

You see everyone everywhere.

-So you're the new chief, huh?
-Yeah.

-Care to dance?
-Sure, maybe in a minute.

Oh, come on. Meg won't mind.
Will you, Meg?

No, of course I don't mind. I never mind.

Oh, now, don't be like that.
Meg, it's New Year's.

-Maybe a rain check, huh?
-Okay.

Here you go, Nate.

What just happened?

Well, they have what you might call issues.

-Meg is Charlene's daughter.
-Her daughter?

-What was she, 12, when she had her?
-Well, 20, actually.

But Meg's father, Pat Galligan,
took off in '94

without so much as a goodbye.

And Charlene did the best she could
raising Meg alone,

but, you know, sometimes the small things
that fall through the cracks

can add up to a whole world of pain.

-Mayor.
-What?

-I'd like you to meet with the Walkers.
-Yeah, okay. Excuse me.

-Care to toast the New Year?
-No, thanks. I don't like champagne.

That's almost UN-American.

What? No. Not drinking beer is UN-American.

-So, have you slept with my mother yet?
-Since yesterday? No.

Charlene and I have different values.
I have them.

I see. Someone already told you
the sad, sad story of Meg Galligan.

Daddy runs off, she becomes a loner
and her mom becomes the town slut.

Isn't that a country western song?

So what are you doing here, Burns?

Well, apparently, right now,
I'm waiting for my eyeballs to freeze.

You won't make it to spring.

Are you always this straightforward?

Look, all I'm saying is, there's two kinds
of people who come through here,

tourists and locals.

And the tourists, they come in by June,
they're gone by fall.

Locals, they commit.

And they're usually
running from something.

I'm not a tourist. I have a contract.

Wow. A contract. That's huge.

What are you running from?

No, no. I'm not showing you mine
until you show me yours.

Hey, look.

-What's that?
-Those are the northern lights.

Best show in the winter, but it's usually
too damn cold to appreciate them.

Figured tonight would be a good exception.

Yeah, I've heard of them, I've seen pictures,
but that's not like the pictures.

Yeah. The best things never are.

You know, there's a lot of myths
about the northern lights.

One says that the lights
come from the realm of the dead.

And when they flash rapidly,

it's dead friends and family
trying to contact their living relatives.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five...

-Looks like it's just you and me.
-It's a better end to the year than I expected.

-I didn't mean to scare you.
-No, you didn't scare me.

-I scare you a little.
-No, you don't.

But, you know, I'm not...
I'm not looking for...

A relationship? Yeah, neither am I.

It's just a bunch of yokels
shooting off a celebration.

Yeah, maybe, but I still have to check.

Of course you do. You have a contract.

You better go.

Happy New Year.

Morning.

Heard we might get some flurries today.

Imagine. Snow in Alaska.
Thanks for the weather report.

Sir? Can I help you with something?

Yeah, well, we used to call them 1410s.
Booking report forms?

You know, the Mackies,
they got me thinking about them.

Where do you keep them,
those booking forms?

Lunacy Police Department, Deputy Gruber.

Slow down, Linda, I can't understand.

How long?

Okay. No, no, I'll call you.

We got a situation.

His mom said
Stephen and his friend left Thursday.

They were headed to No Name
to go climbing.

Here's the trail head.

Two days out would probably put them
on the North Face here.

That gives us about six hours to find them
and get them off before that front moves in.

ls this something we do,
get people off mountains?

If we don't,
those kids are as good as dead.

Flurries in town means sub-zero temps
in the mountains.

-How do we get up there?
-Only one way.

Down! Down, Cujo!
Down, boy! It's okay. It's okay.

Rocky, come.

Good boy. It's okay.

-What do you want, Nate?
-There are two kids stuck up

on No Name Mountain
and there's a storm approaching.

And you want me to fly you up there?

Yes. You're the only pilot in town.

-No, I'm not.
-Otto said...

Right. Otto. Funny guy, that Otto.

Here. I don't want you
hurling all over my plane.

I'm fine.

You did that on purpose.

-So why are you a pilot?
-Partly DNA.

My dad always taught me to look at the sky
and see all the possibilities.

-Why are you a cop?
-I like the rules.

-Why does that not surprise me?
-That doesn't mean I don't break them.

-Hey. I see one of them.
-Right here!

Can you land?

Hey!

-This is Romeo Hotel Yankee.
-Go ahead.

-Yeah, Otto, we found one of the kids.
-Roger.

-Hey, you Stephen Thompson?
-Yeah.

Chief Burns.

-I'm glad to see you.
-All right.

We gotta get you out of here
before the storm hits. Where's your friend?

He's with the dead guy.

-Where?
-This way.

-Where?
-Give me your flashlight.

Look.

Oh, my God.

That's my father.

All right. Well, tell him
I'll be there as soon as I can.

-You need any help?
-No.

Okay. I gotta get back to the station.

Sergeant Coben from the state police called.

Who's stopping you?

He looked exactly the same as he did
15 years ago when he left.

-Well, the cold preserved his body.
-He never called, he never wrote.

Do you have any idea what that's like
when you're a kid?

-Well, you can stop blaming him.
-He's not the one that I blamed.

Great. Charlene. Now I have to tell her.

Sergeant Coben? Chief Burns.

-All right.
-Hi.

-How you doing?
-Great.

Good. I realize
this is a jurisdictional cluster.

Yeah, we'll be taking Pat Galligan's body
to Anchorage tonight.

-I'll need you to sign this release.
-What are you talking about?

Galligan's body was found outside
of town limits. Jurisdiction falls to us.

Well, the murder may have happened
on the mountain,

but odds are
the murderer is probably local.

And you have evidence to that effect?

I was a homicide detective in
a city a thousand times this size.

My evidence is my gut.

Yeah, well, now you're a small town cop
in Lunacy, Alaska.

And this case is mine.

You're right.

Good luck, Sergeant.

You're killing me here.
But I think you're bluffing, so I see you...

What's up?
You look more serious than usual.

John, can you excuse us?

-Must be bad if we can't have witnesses.
-Mom. Please.

Yeah, it's okay. I gotta grade papers anyway.
See you later.

-I have to tell you something.
-Okay.

-Oh, man. Are you pregnant?
-No.

-Sick?
-Just listen to me!

It's about Dad.

Well, if he's calling and asking for money,

-he can just forget it.
-He's dead.

He's been dead a long time.

He was in a cave up on No Name.

Someone hacked an ice ax into his chest
and left him there to die.

He was murdered? When?

Maybe since he left. Maybe 15 years.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
No, no, no, no. Pat... Pat, Pat!

He didn't leave us?

-He was dead all this time?
-Yes.

People said they saw him... Another woman.

Pat. Pat!

I have to go.

Meg, Meg, Meg, Meg, please!
Please stay, please!

-Please, please stay. Please stay!
-I can't. I can't.

Pat Galligan has been
a shadow in our lives.

He left,
and we did not remember him fondly.

We accused him of being a coward,
of abandoning his family.

Well, we'll just have to live with regret
for misjudging him.

We may never know
what happened on that mountain.

But, as we grieve,

well, we can remember Pat as our friend
and why we loved him.

So, to Pat Galligan.
May you finally rest in peace.

-To Pat.
-Pat.

Pat.

Max looks like he's taking this pretty hard.
Were they close?

-No one was close with Pat.
-How's Charlene holding up?

Shouldn't you be asking her?

Well, I noticed you spend a lot of
your free time hanging out at the Lodge.

-I like the food.
-Yeah, me, too.

But I don't eat there every night.

Look, Charlene's broken up
like the rest of us.

We all had this idea of Pat,
who he was and what he did.

Now our collective history's changed.

It turns out we were wrong to be so angry.

-Who was he?
-Pat?

Charming and reckless.

I got here a couple of years
before he took off.

If he asked you to do something,
you'd do it

'cause it was always something you
wouldn't have the guts to do on your own.

But a man who has what others covet
also makes enemies.

Well, what did he have?

Ease of manner and lack of ambition
allowed him to do as he pleased.

Pat, he enjoyed other women
from time to time when he wasn't home.

-Well, that's not much of a husband.
-He wasn't a husband at all.

He and Charlene never married.

Word of advice, Chief.

In Lunacy,
things that seem one way usually aren't.

-Sorry. I was looking for... Hey.
-Hey.

Hey, I should have called. I'm sorry.

This is Jacob.
Jacob, this is Nate, the new chief.

-I have to go.
-Okay. I'll get that book, okay?

-You mind if I come in?
-No. Come on in.

So, you live in Lunacy?

I got a place here.
Most of the time I'm flying.

You're a pilot, too.

Meg said you were the one
who found her father.

Yeah. Did you know him?

Yeah. And as far as I'm concerned,
Pat Galligan got what he deserved.

Here you go.

Thank you.

-Take care of yourself.
-All right.

I'll see you soon.

Rocky, look, it's okay. Rocky, it's okay.

-Do you wanna take your coat off?
-Oh, no. I'm freezing.

So. You and Jacob, huh?

Yeah, he takes care of me.
Sort of like my second father.

Him and my dad were best friends. Once.

He's the one who taught me to fly.

You didn't think we were together, did you?

-How was I supposed to know?
-Did you see how old he was?

Well, some women are into that.

So that's why you're here,
to survey my social life.

No. Sergeant Coben from the state police
is gonna call you.

So, he's concerned about my social life?

No one is concerned about your social life.

Coben needs a statement. Your dad's murder
is in the jurisdiction of the state police.

What? How come?
The killer's probably here in Lunacy.

Why are you really here, Nate?
You could have called me about Coben.

Yeah.

You weren't at the wake.

-So you were worried about me.
-No.

-You look worried.
-I was concerned.

You know, people said nice things
about your dad. You should have been there.

I was exactly where I should have been.

But I think it's sweet that you care.

So, what makes you think
the killer's in Lunacy?

My dad left in November of '94.

No one goes climbing that late in the fall
unless you trust who you're going with.

-He had to have known them.
-Them?

A winter climb on No Name
would have needed at least three.

My dad was reckless and impulsive,

but he would have never attempted it
with less than three.

And, he would have never
gone with a stranger.

That's the second time someone said
that your dad was reckless.

What else do you remember about him?

The day he left,
it was early in the morning.

I was in bed.
He came up to kiss me goodbye.

What do I remember?

His cheek was cold
and he smelled like cedar.

He was funny.

He knew how to do card tricks
and he used to read me "The Little Prince."

I forgot you were just a kid when he left.

You know, you're smarter
than the state police.

You should be handling this case.

I came here to get away
from cases like this.

Why?

I was shot last year and my partner,
my best friend, was killed.

-What happened?
-It was... It was complicated.

Great. Then I won't ask you
about your complications

and you don't ask me about mine.

And nowthat we've
run out of things to say,

do you wanna have sex?

-Excuse me?
-Sex, Nate.

You know, hot, wet,
forget-all-our-problems sex.

It's basic. It's primal.
It feels good, and it's low in fat.

Yeah, I bet. I appreciate the offer.

Don't you ever have fun?

That's all I'm talking about, Nate. Fun.

I find you cute. You find me hot.

What makes you think I find you hot?

The way you're looking at me right now.

Will you put on that red parka?

-Wait a second. You do this to every guy?
-No. I'm very, very selective.

-Bedroom?
-Couch.

Okay.

You said he fell.

I agreed to keep my mouth shut
for the money

because I thought it was an accident.

But you killed him, and I'm a part of it.

Hey.

I can't live with it any longer.

Forgive me.

I killed Pat Galligan.

And now I'll join him in Hell.

Max Hawbacker.

I'll call the state guys.

He left last night.
I don't know, it was around 10:30.

Said he had to take care of something.

-Did Max own a gun? A .22?
-Nate, everyone owns a gun in Alaska.

Yeah. A .22.
But why would he kill himself with it?

What were you doing here?

Max called me yesterday morning.

He was doing a story about my dad
and wanted an interview.

-How long did Max own the paper?
-Since '94?

Same year Pat Galligan disappeared.

-Were Pat and Max friends?
-Yeah. They went climbing a few times.

-Any reason why Max would wanna kill Pat?
-Where the hell are you going with this?

Any reason?

Carrie, Max left a note on his computer.

I'm gonna show it to you,
but it's not gonna be easy.

This is a lie. This is a horrible lie.

Max never hurt anyone in his life.
How dare you?

Max never killed anyone.

If you wanna know about Max,

then you should know that
he taught me to slow dance

so I wouldn't look like a jerk
at my first dance.

He let me cheat at Monopoly.

He filled in so many other parts
of my life growing up,

but you didn't wanna talk about Max.
You wanted to accuse.

I'm sorry you don't approve.

How could you talk to her like that?

I mean, do you have any idea what
that woman is going through right now?

Yeah, actually, I do.
I know what it's like to lose someone.

Your partner.

Oh, yeah, but that's right.
You don't wanna talk about it.

You'd just rather take all those feelings
and zip them up.

Look, if you wanna get involved,
get involved.

Otherwise, start packing.

Chief Burns.

Yeah, she's actually right here.

Okay. I will. Thanks.

That was Sergeant Coben from Anchorage.

They need to know what to do
with your father's remains.

Chief.

-Hey, Meg.
-Burns. Burns!

What can I do for you, Mr. Woolcott?

Well, look, someone broke into
my fishing shack

and they stole my rods and reels.

Why don't you go down to the station
and have Otto file a report?

Well, I'd really appreciate it
if you'd take care of it.

-They were very expensive.
-I'm sure they were, Ed.

You know, I don't think you're getting
the full impact of this moment, Nate.

I'm asking you for a favor.

I don't ask too many people for favors,
so pay attention.

You know,
only in a small town would a petty larceny

trump the death of your newspaper guy.

What?

Max is dead?

Oh, Ed. Ed, I'm sorry.

Horrible about Max. You okay?

No.

-Why would Max kill Dad? It makes no sense.
-No, it doesn't.

If Max would've killed Dad,

then why wouldn't he have just left town
instead of settling down

and waiting for someone to find Dad's body
with an ice pick in his chest?

I always thought Pat was in Anchorage.

Why Anchorage?

The night before he left, we had a fight.

I told him that we had to move somewhere,
that he could get a job.

So, he took off for Anchorage.

-He must have decided to go climbing after.
-You should tell Nate that.

You're sort of sweet on him, huh?

Anyway, they need to know
what to do with Dad's body.

-What do you think?
-I don't care. I...

I just don't think it matters
what happens to his body.

Of course it matters.

-How could you have loved him, Charlene?
-What?

You thought he left you.

And after all this time, you still loved him.
I saw it in your face.

Pat was my heart.

You only find that once.

So that's why you slept around,

'cause of your
enduring feelings for my dad?

You have no idea what it's like
to love somebody that hard

and be completely rejected.

-Yeah. I have some idea about that.
-I never rejected you.

You and I are a lot more alike
than you know, Megan.

I slept with lots of men
because I could never trust just one.

You avoid them for the same reason.

Whatever. Just think
about the body thing, okay?

He must have hired a pilot.

If he went straight from Anchorage
to No Name, he must have flown up there.

Pat should be cremated.

You were right.

There were three of them
up on that mountain.

Your dad gave them nicknames.

Pat was Luke Skywalker,
I think Max was Han Solo,

and the third person was Darth Vader.

-How do you know this?
-Your dad's journal.

You should read it.
He writes about the climb.

-Says they were jacked up on speed.
-Where did you get this?

State police.
They returned your dad's personal effects.

-They've closed the case.
-What are you talking about?

Well, Max confessed. End of story.

What do they need
with a 15-year-old murder?

How about justice? Justice would be good.

And you just said
this journal proves Max didn't kill my dad.

No, that proves that your dad was
high on drugs and liked "Star Wars."

So that's it? Game over?
You just accept this and move on?

-It's not my case.
-Okay.

Let's say for the sake of this conversation
that it was your case.

-What would you think?
-It doesn't matter.

It matters to me.

I don't think Max was the killer.

Okay, if Max wasn't the killer,
then why would he commit suicide?

You don't think it was a suicide.

I saw Max at the wake. He looked wrecked.

I'm not even sure he knew that
Galligan was dead until we found his body.

-We're a small town.
-Meaning?

Meaning, it's the dead of winter.
The only way in here is by plane.

We know who comes and who goes.

You're the only one who's come here
since Max's death. So unless you killed him,

it's one of us.

This isn't about you towing that car

-and you know it.
-What's it about, then?

Bing, we've called Chief Burns,
we've called Otto.

What'd you call them for?

-I swear to God, I will run you over.
-You're not going anywhere.

It's a public street, Bing.

Now, look, we're all friends here.

At least we've known each other for too long
to go crazy over something like this.

What's going on?

I'll show you what's going on, Chief.

-That's my fishing gear and he stole it.
-That's a crock!

Where'd you get that gear?

-Found it.
-You found it?

Yep. I was hooking up that,
saw it in the back of my truck.

-Just like that?
-Just like that.

-All right, come on, let's go.
-I ain't going nowhere with you.

I need your statement, Bing. Let's go.

Hey!

-I just... I just...
-Put down the rifle.

-Put it down.
-I'm just taking it!

Put down the damn gun, Bing.

I was gonna give you the damn statement.

I didn't wanna leave the armed rifle
in the cabin of my truck.

-Are you gonna arrest him?
-No.

-No?
-Look, Ed. You got your stuff back, right?

-I'm still missing my gloves and my knife.
-I'll send out an APB.

There's no need for sarcasm, Burns.

I'm gonna fine Bing for resisting arrest.
But as far as robbery, I have no evidence.

And it seems pretty lame that he'd come up

with a story as dumb as ''I found it,''
unless he did.

You're a poor excuse for a law official,
you know that?

You are gonna regret this decision.
So will you.

What are you gonna do,
cancel my gold card?

All right. That's enough.

There you go, Bing.

Hey, hold on.

You guys ever go climbing
with Pat Galligan?

Otto told me the case was closed.
If the case is closed, I ain't no suspect.

Everyone went climbing with Pat.

But that's something you only did once.

Let me guess. He was reckless.

This is him. This is my dad.

Wow, I was expecting Sid Vicious
the way everyone talked about him.

Oh, wow. Man, your mom was hot.

You know, for a mother, she was hot.
ls this Hopp?

Yeah, and her husband.

He died a couple of years ago.
He was mayor. She took over.

Jacob.

Ed Woolcott,

the blowhard.

Ed's Ed.

Although I did hear
he was pretty wild back in the day.

Oh, yeah? How wild?

Some say he parted his hair to the right,
instead of the left.

-And what's his beef with Bing?
-Good morning.

When Bing started his towing service,
he went to Ed and asked him for a loan.

Ed turned him down and Bing's been
paying his mom back for the last 15 years.

-Bing has a mother?
-Yeah.

Max. Carrie.

Mackie brothers.

There's John.

-Here you go, Charlene.
-Oh, thank you.

See you next week.

You need help? I got it. There.

Otto. He's smiling. He has teeth.

God, this is crazy.

These people are like family to me,
and one of them killed my dad and Max.

You know, Charlene said something.

She said that when my dad left,
it was for Anchorage.

She never even knew he went climbing.
Someone had to have flown them up there.

-Jacob.
-No, Jacob would have told me.

-Are you sure?
-I trust him.

Okay.

Well, what was your dad
doing at Anchorage?

Gambling probably.
Charlene was always picking up the pieces.

God, all this time we spent
arguing over why he left.

It had nothing to do with her.

Or me.

Blame is exhausting, isn't it?

Feeding it. Maintaining it.

What happened in Baltimore, Nate?

It has nothing to do with us.

If you can't tell me, then there is no us.

You got to deal with your past first.

Miles away from nowhere,

and all I can think of
is how much I wanna be home.

I miss the smallness of Meg's hand in mine,
walking with her,

looking up at the sky
and thinking of all the possibilities.

She is my possibility.

I was married,

and my wife was cheating on me.

The day I found out, I called my partner.
I needed someone to talk to, to drink with.

I made him leave his family
to come baby-sit me.

When we got to the bar, there was
a drug deal going down in the back alley.

We... Well, we could have
just turned the other way,

but I made us go in.

The dealer shot me twice
and killed my partner.

I was in the hospital for his funeral.

-Nate, I'm so sorry.
-He died because of me.

I made his wife a widow.

You know, I loved these people
and I destroyed their lives.

I never even return her phone calls,

so I know about blame.

Blame bought me a one-way ticket to Alaska.

-You can't live like that.
-What else is there?

I want you to know,
I don't do this for just anyone.

Oh, wow.

Yeah. You know what?
You're a girl who knows her cheese.

It's not just the cheese.
It's how evenly toasted it is.

That's the secret?

Hey, thanks for giving me my dad's journal.

-Interesting reading?
-I think you knew it would be.

The odd thing about scars
is that you get hurt,

but when it heals,

the area around the wound
becomes so much stronger.

Call her.

Call your partner's wife.

What do you say we just go out sometime?

-Like on a date?
-Yeah. Come on. Our first date.

And we'll do something crazy. You know,
dinner and a movie or something.

I'll check my calendar.

Do you know what this is?

This is one of life's perfect moments.

It's the sandwich.

We could go to a movie,
or we could knit socks.

Or we could re-grout the bathroom.
That's always fun.

Did you have a visitor yesterday?

I heard Rocky barking last night.

I was gonna go out and check on him,
but he stopped.

Yeah, well, whoever was here knows Rocky

and knows him well enough
to keep him quiet.

Seems like someone wants to
keep tabs on the chief.

Someone was watching us.

You said Max bought the paper
just after your dad disappeared.

Yeah. I guess he came into some money.

-From where?
-I don't know.

I think it's time I started doing my job
before someone else gets killed.

Well, according to school records,
you were gone most of November of '94.

-I took some time off.
-That seems kind of odd,

for a teacher to take time off
in the middle of the school year.

You ever teach middle school?

November of '94?

Hell, I don't even remember
what I did last week.

Me neither.

-1994? We were putting in the new vault.
-ls that something you did personally?

No, of course not.

So you cannot account
for every day in November?

Oh, I can account for every day,
I just can't account for your suspicion.

You don't think I climbed up No Name
with Pat and stuck an ice ax in him.

-He was twice my size.
-But not your husband's.

Well, now that's a filthy thing to say to me,
to say about a man you didn't even know.

I didn't know Galligan either. You did.

Okay, then.

So, you'll get back to me if you remember
anything about any time in 1994?

-Morning, Nate.
-Charlene.

So, I hear you're sleeping with Meg.

All right. What is with you and Meg?

You guys always speak
what's on your mind?

Well, except to each other.

You go easy on him.

Someone flew Pat Galligan
up that mountain.

You wouldn't have any idea
who that might have been?

-Nope. But I can ask around.
-I'd appreciate that.

All these years and you never had
anything going on with Charlene?

No. And if you ever ask me
something like that again,

I won't be so polite.

Jacob, what's the secret with the dog?

How he doesn't growl or bark
when you're around?

-What's your secret?
-Maybe he just likes me.

Yeah.

I love first dates.
There's so much mystery.

Do I get a kiss at the end of the night?

I guess we'll have to see
how the rest of the night goes.

-Hey, I have a favor to ask of you.
-Does it involve lotions?

No. I have this thing
I have to do with Charlene.

Do you think you could take care of Rocky
for a couple of days?

Oh, a date,
and you're entrusting me with your dog.

-Yeah.
-What are we, in a relationship?

That is just sick.

-Hey. What's going on?
-Somebody slaughtered a poor dog.

Meg.

Oh, my God.
That's Luke, the Thompsons' dog.

Stephen Thompson.

-The kid we rescued from the mountain?
-Yeah.

Those are mine. Where did you find them?

The gloves under a car, the knife stuck
in the chest of the Thompsons' dog.

What, Luke? That's sick.

Bing. He took my fishing gear,
he must have taken these, too.

Anyone could have had the knife.
You could have used it.

-Me?
-Yeah.

I'm just trying to point out the difference
between speculation and fact.

Of course.

-Do you think Bing did this?
-No.

He's been at the Lodge all night drinking.

There are probably a dozen people
who saw him there.

Yeah, it's too much of a setup.
It's too obvious.

It's been a long time
since I've been out here.

I never liked camping that much.

-How did you know Dad was the one?
-I just knew.

He made me laugh. He was so funny.

I just knew.

-Should we do this?
-Sure.

I've been trying to think
of something meaningful to say.

I'm not very religious.

Do you remember that book
Dad always used to read me?

"The Little Prince." You loved the fact
that there was a pilot in it.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

There's this part
where the little prince is dying,

and he says not to be sad
because when he leaves,

he'll be living on a star and laughing.

That's how I like to think of him.

A laugh,
living way out there in the cosmos.

I think that's just the way
he would have wanted you to remember him.

Bye, Dad.

Fine! You could starve. Think I care?

Fooled you. Look at you.
You're not so tough.

Hey, Rocky. Rocky, Rocky.
Good boy. Good boy.

Sorry. Meg's gone.
I'm just looking after the dog.

That's a first.

-She'll be back in a couple of days.
-I'll come back then.

You were right.

Someone flew Galligan and his crew
up No Name.

-Pilot's name was Paul Simon.
-Like the singer?

Yeah.

-How do I get in touch with him?
-It'll be tough, unless you're psychic.

Paul was stabbed to death in Anchorage
a week after the flight.

That's not all.

I found out Galligan won 25 grand
playing poker right before he went climbing.

Max came into $3,000 in December of '94.

So either Max killed
Galligan for the money,

or the third person on the mountain
killed Galligan,

got the 25 grand,
and then paid Max to keep quiet.

-What are you talking about?
-And my gut's telling me it wasn't Max.

Which means the killer is still out there.

We can put the parking off Second Avenue,
behind the bookstore.

-That's 20% more cost.
-Look...

-Can I interrupt?
-Hey, Nate.

-Hey. Are we okay?
-For now.

What can I do for you?

Actually, I heard Ed was here.
I have a bank question.

It goes back a few years.

Well, I've got a long memory
when it comes to banking.

Good. I've got a source

that says Pat Galligan won
a good pile of money playing cards.

-Oh, yeah, Pat loved playing poker.
-Yes. He did.

-I played with him more than once.
-You? A gambler?

You know, I'm not as stuffy as you think.
Owned a motorcycle once, you know.

Oh, yeah, you were a real wild one.

Anyway, Pat,
he always played for small stakes.

-I can't imagine him winning big.
-Well, my source says otherwise.

Now, did he ever send money back
to your bank before his last climb?

No, not that I recall.

So, Pat didn't put money in the bank,

and Max,
he buys the paper a few weeks later.

Jacob also makes a down payment
on his first airplane around then.

Bing buys his first tow truck.

That's a lot of money flying around Lunacy.

And here we are trying to figure out
how we're gonna find the money

to recruit the new teacher.

John's leaving at Spring Break.
He told me last night.

Well, that's sudden. Why's he leaving?

Beats me. Just said it was time.

Hello?

Hello?

Lose something?

I knocked.

And when I didn't answer,
you just decided to let yourself in?

Small town living.

-What do you want?
-I heard you were leaving.

-I didn't realize that was a criminal act.
-I didn't say it was.

Does Charlene know
how you feel about her?

Did Pat know how you felt about her?

-Do I need to be talking to a lawyer?
-I don't know. Should you?

-You were at the movies the other night.
-Yeah, so were a lot of people, you included.

But I didn't stick a knife
in the Thompsons' dog.

Neither did I.

I had feelings,
strong feelings for Charlene.

-Hardly did me any good after Galligan left.
-Was murdered.

You wanna know
where I was in November of '94?

I was in Arizona visiting my sister.

I was trying to get away
from how I felt about Charlene.

I got back, Pat was already gone.

You know,
it's taken me a long time to realize

that Charlene will never see me
for who I am.

She'll only ever see me
for who I'm not. Pat.

Who, by the way, I did not kill.

How could you have stood by all these years
and watched Charlene be with other men?

I had my chance, but I didn't act.

I was just so caught up
in my fear of getting hurt

that I couldn't see what I was losing.

And now, it's just too late.

Hello? Hello?

Susan?

-Nate?
-Yeah.

-You there?
-Where are you?

-Alaska.
-Alaska? You've got to be kidding.

Yeah, I should have called a long time ago.
You know, I meant to.

I don't even know what to say. I'm sorry.

I know I destroyed your life.

Nate, a 24-year-old meth addict
destroyed my life.

You were the good guy.
Is that why you're in Alaska?

Oh, God, you're an idiot.

Get your ass out of the tundra
and come home.

You wanna work off your guilt,
come paint my house.

Yeah, sure. Not if you're still thinking
of painting it that puke green.

Okay. Are you dissing my style?
Dissing it 3,000 miles away?

Oh, speaking of style.
You know who I saw last week? Carmichael.

-Who's that?
-Remember that skinny little Vice cop?

-Really?
-He's now the size of Camden Yards.

-Hey, boys. What's that?
-Moose.

-Can't fine us for hunting, Chief.
-I wasn't going to.

But you're blocking the intersection.
Move the truck.

-Cheechako.
-I heard that.

Okay, settle down.

It's okay. Hey, hey, hey, hey.

Oh, is that a kiss?

ls that what you're doing? Oh, my gosh!

-You're just a big softy after all.
-Hi.

I leave you guys alone for a couple of days,
and this is what happens?

Wow. You're home early.

Hey, cutie. Get out of here,
get some fresh air. Give me a whack at him.

-I thought I would surprise you.
-Well, I am glad. I missed you.

I brought you a present.

You brought me a present?
What'd you bring me?

Wow! Wow, look at these!

Hey, don't mock my booty call.

No, I'm not.
I mean, you know, these aren't boots.

These are you saying
that you want me around

for a long, long time.

-Maybe.
-Good.

Then marry me.

I knew it! I just knew it.

You give a guy good sex and a hot meal
and now he's asking you to marry him.

I love you.

Don't you think marriage
just might screw that up?

I love you.

Damn it. I love you, too.

Something's got Rocky.

-Meg, what are you doing?
-Protecting my dog.

-All right, give me the gun.
-You've got your own gun!

Rocky!

Rocky, get away! Rocky, get back!

Rocky, come here! Now! Get over here!

What are you doing?

Someone baited this bear to come here
with moose meat.

Whoever it was knew that
Rocky would corner that bear.

And if Rocky was cornered, then...

-Then you'd go after him.
-No.

I wasn't supposed to be here.
Who knows you carry a 9mm?

-The whole town.
-Exactly.

With that kind of gun, an enraged bear
would have ripped you apart.

Someone was counting on that.

-You know, Nate asked me to marry him.
-What did you say?

I... I guess I didn't.

What, you didn't answer him?

I was going to,
I just didn't have a chance.

-Do you love him?
-Yes.

Then marry him, and hold on to that feeling
for the rest of your life.

-Hold on to it hard.
-I'll try.

You know, all I ever wanted for you
was to be happy.

Why can't you want the same thing
for yourself?

-John is moving away.
-I know.

Mom, he loves you.

He's a good guy.
He'd do absolutely anything for you.

That's something.

But is it enough?

I guess that's up to you.

-Yeah?
-Nate?

Just a sec.

Meg told me the good news.
I'm so happy for both of you.

-And if you break her heart, I'll kill you.
-Oh, well. Thanks for the warning.

-I'm not kidding.
-Okay.

-Okay.
-Hey, Charlene.

I know you and Pat fought before he left,
but he would have come back.

When you do what I do,
you get to know a victim.

Sometimes a lot better than
the people who knew him living.

-And Pat would have come back.
-Thank you.

That's the nicest thing
anyone's ever said to me.

Especially someone
who's not trying to get in my pants.

-Okay. You're funny.
-Why, thank you.

Well, these things take time. I know.
Oh, hey, Nate.

Yes, I know.
I've been hearing it all over town myself.

I think you're overreacting. Yeah. Meeting.

Yeah, I'll talk to him. Okay. Good.

I'll be right back.

John, wait. Wait.

What do you want from me?
Do you love me? Do you?

I want to love you. I do. I...

If you stay, I'll try.

See, that's the difference
between you and me.

I know I love you,
but I can't settle anymore.

I can't sit there, buried in a book,
pretending that it doesn't hurt me

when you're taking someone else to bed.

There won't be anyone else.

I promise you that.

Thinking about you leaving
is breaking my heart.

Please. Please don't go.

There's an emergency
town council meeting tonight.

I need to warn you.

We have some concerns
about your handling of recent events.

Look, we've had more trouble here
since we hired you than before.

We've had a murder, a suicide,
a dog getting killed.

Yeah, let's not forget
the stolen fishing gear.

It was a mistake to hire you, or anyone
else, for that matter, from outside.

Well, no, the reasons for going outside
were valid.

Well, that may be,

but some of the less lawful elements
of this town,

they look at this as some kind of a dare.

-Hey, we're not getting stitched up as much.
-It's true.

-Can I say something?
-Yes.

Your trouble didn't start
when you hired me.

It started 15 years ago
when someone killed Pat Galligan.

And whoever killed Galligan is still here.

And it's the same person
who killed Max Hawbacker.

-Oh, come on.
-No, Max killed himself out of guilt.

Well, that's what the killer
wants you to believe.

That's crazy talk.

I swore to protect and serve this town,
and that's exactly what I'm gonna do.

So starting today, I'm officially reopening
the Max Hawbacker case as a homicide.

-What? Come on!
-All right, all right, all right.

Look, we don't have time to waste on this.

-I'm gonna call the matter to a vote.
-Now, hold on a minute.

I move that we relieve Chief Burns
of his duties immediately.

-He has a contract, Ed.
-All those in favor?

-Opposed?
-Enough is enough.

-The ayes have it. You're out.
-What?

-Oh, come on.
-You can't do that.

You can't do that. You just railroaded him.

Everybody just calm down!
Order! Order, please!

-Chief.
-Not anymore.

I'm sorry. What's up, Stephen?

-Luke was my parents' dog.
-Yeah, I know. I'm sorry about that.

Anyway, I did something.
Something I shouldn't have.

I took this from the cave.

It was next to the body.

My dad didn't have a pierced ear.
Neither did Max.

I'll make sure the state police get it.
Thank you.

You'll make sure the state police get it?

-What's that? You're just gonna walk away?
-I've been fired, Meg.

So, yeah, I might walk.
There's nothing holding me here anymore.

I asked you to marry me,
you still haven't given me an answer.

I can't give you answer
until I know where you wanna be.

You called her.
You called your partner's wife.

-Yeah.
-Good.

Good. So you're not here
by default anymore. You're not running.

I love you, Nate.

I love you more than I thought
I could ever love anyone.

And I wanna see you happy.
So, if Baltimore makes you happy, then go.

Be there.

But if you stay, stay and fight.
And fight hard.

-Anything?
-No. I'll have to look through them again.

I know I've seen this earring.
I thought for sure it was in one of these.

Come on.

This is really not a good time.

-Meg?
-I see you and John talked.

Here it is.

I knew I saw it.
This is who killed your father.

There they go.

-All right, please, Meg, go home.
-I'm not leaving until you arrest him.

I've known him my whole life,
and he killed my dad and Max.

All right. Well, we have to wait for Coben.

He should get here
just as the parade's wrapping up.

So, we're just gonna sit around
and wait to hand over the suspect?

-Yeah. No one gets hurt today, understand?
-Burns.

-Meg! Meg!
-Burns!

-Burns!
-Nate!

We're in the middle of Founders Day,
for Pete's sake.

All right, what's going on?

-I called Coben to arrest Pat's killer.
-Who?

How'd you get here so fast?

I was at a hit and run
not an hour away from here.

All right. Here's what we're gonna do.

Listen, you're gonna have to
hang on until the parade is over.

There's too many people here
to risk him seeing you.

Wait a minute. Didn't you get fired?

I mean, if anyone's in charge here,
it's your deputy.

Oh, forget that.
Lunacy's damn lucky to have Burns here.

I agree.

-What are they doing here?
-Oh, great. What the hell is this?

Coben, I told you, nobody shows up
until the parade is over.

Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa!
I'll decide who shows up

and when they show up, all right?

Get down! Get down!

Down, down, down!

Back away!
You toss your gun and you back away!

Back away!

I'll kill her, Burns. You know I will.

-What the hell are you doing?
-Shut up!

Where you gonna go, Ed?
Where you gonna go?

Don't you worry about that.
You worry about her.

-I'll put a bullet right in her brain.
-Yeah, just like you did to Max?

Look, I did what I had to do.

I mean, that's how you survive around here,
isn't it?

You're not gonna walk away from this one.
I will drop you where you stand.

You don't drop your gun,
you'll have killed her,

just like you killed your partner.

-You can't live with that, can you?
-But I can.

Meg!

You know me, you bastard.

You hurt her
and I'll drop you like a sick animal.

-You killed my father.
-Meg. Ease back.

-I'm not letting him take her.
-I won't either, but put down the gun.

Hey!

-Meg!
-Meg! Are you okay?

If anyone dies today, it's gonna be you.

-What the hell are you doing?
-My job. This is my town.

Put down the gun, you son of a bitch!

You're nuts, Burns.
You don't even belong here!

Meg? Meg!

-Cuff this coward.
-Be my pleasure, Chief.

Let's go, Ed.

Are you okay? Honey, are you all right?

Get a doctor.

Mom, calm down. I'm fine.

Carrie, are you all right?

-Are you okay? Did you get hit?
-No, I'm fine.

The bullet just grazed my arm,
but, God, it hurts like hell.

Yeah, tell me about it.

Hey, don't you ever do
something like that again.

Ed switched lawyers today.
He got some hotshot from the outside.

You know, he now claims
that he killed your dad in self-defense.

That Pat went crazy on drugs
and attacked him.

And the money?

Yeah, he claims he won the 22 grand
that showed up suddenly in his account

in November of '94.

-Great.
-Hey, don't you worry.

We have the Mackies
that sold him the moose meat.

And not to mention about, I don't know,

a lot of people who have cell phone
pictures of him shooting you.

He'll do time.

-Let's go walk down to the river.
-That sounds good.

We can lie down and make love
until we're too weak to move.

Now, that sounds even better.

-Frostbite might get you.
-The cold?

It's not so bad anymore.
I think I'm finally getting used to it.

Not bad for a cheechako.

You're not that anymore. You are one of us.

-You never told me if you'd marry me.
-Yeah, right. That.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.