The Ravine (2021) - full transcript
On a weekday morning in a peaceful suburb of Akron, Ohio, the town awakens to discover that Rachel Turner and her son, Evan, have been brutally murdered during the night. A short while later, Danny Turner is found in his car at the bottom of a ravine, after having taken his own life.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
JOANNA: God does not view sin
in different levels.
That was a creation of man.
RICHARD: Did you
come up with that?
JOANNA: No. Someone else.
A writer.
[ENGINE IDLING]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[DANNY CRYING]
I'm sorry.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[SNIFFLES]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[INHALING SHARPLY]
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
-[ENGINE REVVING]
[BELLS TOLLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
EMILY: Tony, the car is here.
You've been standing
at that window,
staring at it all night.
Emily, hon, I got it.
Just meet me in the lobby.
I'll be a minute. Okay?
Sure.
[EXHALES]
Danny, what the hell.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Hello.
-LOGAN: Is Tony there?
-Yes, he is.
But we're on vacation
and we're actually trying
to get away from things.
Can't this wait
until we get back?
I'd rather not, ma'am.
It's an urgent matter.
It's Logan. He says
he needs to talk to you
right away.
I think you should take it
before he has a stroke
or something.
Hey, Tony... Sir.
There's a reason
why my cell phone is off.
Now make it quick.
We have dinner reservations
in 15 minutes.
Sorry to bother you,
but I'm kind of freaked out.
I'm not sure what to do.
What's this all about, Logan?
LOGAN: Well, I met
with Danny last night
at Belleau Street store.
He, uh... He told me
to come with him
to his house and...
uh, wait in the garage
until he needed my help.
So, you know, uh,
I did that, but then
I fell asleep.
I don't know what Danny did,
but he woke me up this morning,
told me I had to leave
right away, so I did.
But he was acting real...
strange, spooky, you know?
-I... I think
you ought to call him.
-[LINE DISCONNECTS]
[LINE RINGING]
BILL: Tony.
TONY: Bill.
Really glad I reached you.
I need a big favor.
Danny left me a really
strange message last night.
I need you to get ahold of him.
BILL: You got it, bud.
Yeah, I'm in my truck right now.
I'm heading to the gym,
so I'll just swing by.
I'll call you back
in a few minutes.
I'm sure everything is okay.
Yeah, I'll check it out.
Ciao, boss. Hey, stop worrying.
Jeez.
I have a bad feeling this time.
[PERSON BREATHING HEAVILY]
-[DIALING]
-[LINE RINGING]
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
-[KNOCK ON DOOR]
-[DOORBELL RINGING]
BILL: Danny? Rachel?
Is anybody home?
RACHEL: [ON VOICEMAIL]
You've reached Rachel.
DANNY: Danny.
EVAN: Evan.
CHRISTOPHER: And Christopher.
-ALL: Please leave a message.
-[BEEP]
Hello. Danny?
[PERSON BREATHING HEAVILY]
Rachel. Anybody home?
Hey, it's Bill Schroeder.
Can you let me in?
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Chris, where are
your mom and dad?
-Go.
-Watch it, watch it.
-Go.
-Take the shot.
-[MAN EXCLAIMS]
-Nice shot.
Airball.
Uh, ball in.
MAN: Attack! Attack!
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
MAN 1: Junior.
MAN 2: Go, you go!
We good! We good!
CAROLYN: You have a good day,
buddy, all right?
Have a good soccer game.
Score a goal for me.
-See ya.
-All right.
-Bye, sweetheart.
-Bye, Mom.
Bye, guys!
[SIGHS]
Embarrassing, dude.
MAN: Over here, over here!
-[PHONE RINGING]
-Ooh.
Hey, how was your morning?
MITCH: Amazing.
Just heading to the office.
You sound out of breath.
Yeah.
I almost missed Joey and Luke's
pickup this morning,
I'm running so late.
Gotcha.
Hey, did, uh... Did Danny call?
He didn't... He didn't show up.
Frankie, sweetheart.
It's time to go.
Uh...
No. No messages.
Not that I know of.
I'm sorry.
I'm trying to get Frankie
out the door. [PANTING]
MITCH: Okay.
Yeah, hun.
No worries, babe.
You got a couple minutes
for one of your amazing
pep talks?
-I need to nail this thing.
-Yes, of course.
-Uh, what time are they due in?
-Two hours.
We have an hour to pitch
the, uh, entire design package.
Need ten minutes, tops, babe.
You're my biggest fan.
Yeah, speaking of biggest fan,
Rachel called, left a message
while we were at dinner
the other night,
and, um, she passed
her real estate exam,
so we are going to go out
this weekend and celebrate.
Well, then maybe we'll all have
something to celebrate
this weekend.
Hey, I'm just pulling up now.
Okay, sweetheart. You got this.
-Love you.
-I love you.
-Okay.
-FRANKIE: I'm ready to go, Mom.
[SIGHS] Bless your heart.
[LAUGHS] All right, stinker.
We got some work to do.
-Come with me.
-You don't like my shirt?
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
-Kate.
-Hey, Mitch. Support is ready.
Robert.
-Good to see you.
-Good to see you.
-How are you?
-Great.
MITCH: Gentlemen,
how was your flight down from...
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
The way I see it, your account
presents many challenges.
Am I right, Kate?
Tell me what you don't like
about Wholesome Grocer.
Better yet, I'll tell you.
Parking, pricing,
impulse stacking, clientele.
But you're not Wholesome Grocer,
and that's exactly what we want
the consumer to know.
The second case,
we build Green Acres.
Not just a TV show.
[BELLS TOLLING]
RICHARD: Joanna.
Does your head hurt now?
JOANNE: Better, love.
The morning brought
a small sense of relief.
[WATER RUNNING]
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
Thank you.
Perhaps you should
stay in bed today.
Maybe today is not your day.
[CHUCKLES] But every day
is my day, you know that.
Just give me a minute.
[PHONE RINGING]
Hey, Mom, where are you?
What's going on?
MOTHER: You need to sit down,
sweetheart.
It's about Danny and Rachel
and the boys.
What's going on?
They okay?
Rachel's gone.
And one of the boys and...
[SOBBING] And Danny, too.
What do you mean, gone?
I just...
I just heard from
Rachel last night.
MITCH: The idea is to give
the shop an organic feeling
without the...
crunchy granola feeling
mixing the...
Creative with the practical.
I'm so sorry.
Kate, can you take over?
[INDISTINCT WHISPERED CHATTER]
Kate, I guess it's your floor.
KATE: Yeah, of course.
MOTHER: Danny killed Rachel
and one of the boys
last night.
They found his car
in the bottom of the quarry
down at St. Francisville.
Police think he drove it
off the edge on purpose.
Mm...
No, Mom,
you must be mistaken. I...
[CHUCKLES] That's...
But they...
Honey, it's no mistake.
No.
Danny...
Danny would never
hurt the kids, so...
And...
And if... And if Rachel was...
If they were having problems,
Rachel would have told me.
So you're wrong.
All right. We're good now.
What's up?
TONY: Mitch.
Emily and I are on our way home
right now.
What happened?
It's Danny.
[SOBBING] No.
No!
No...
Oh, no, no, no!
No!
[MOTHER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
No!
Oh, my God!
No, no, no, no, no!
No.
Carolyn?
Carolyn?
MITCH: Listen, boys,
there's something
we got to tell you and...
there's no easy way to say it.
And it's gonna sound awful.
LUKE: What happened?
CAROLYN: I think
Danny was sick.
You know, like...
sick in the head, in his mind.
LUKE: Breakfast.
And he... he hurt
Rachel and Evan very badly.
He... He...
He killed them.
And he... he couldn't
forgive himself, he...
He killed himself.
[SOBS]
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
JOEY: Thank you.
MITCH: All right,
make it so, boys.
All right, sir.
Mom?
Be right back.
Tuck Foxy in.
And then have Foxy tuck you in.
CAROLYN: I love you.
MITCH: Yeah. Thank you.
You, too.
Let's get you
straightened up here.
-Dad?
-MITCH: Yes?
Are we all going to heaven?
MITCH: I don't know.
-Good night, Mom.
-Good night, my love.
Good night. Hit the light.
We love you, buddy.
Oh, my God, please.
RACHEL: Hey, sweetie,
it's Rachel.
What are you up to?
I'm about to go take my exam.
And I just was calling to get
one of your famous pep talks.
Also, it's raining here,
and I was just wondering
if it's raining there, too.
It's really nasty here.
Joanna?
Where you going?
I need to see them.
I need to help.
What are you
going to say to them?
Brief is life, but love is long.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
MITCH: According
to this report,
they found Danny's car
by accident.
A couple of hikers
came across the tracks
and followed them to....
The edge of a ravine.
We're lucky
they even found his car.
[DOOR OPENS]
Mom, Dad...
Um, can we sleep
with you tonight?
CAROLYN: Of course.
Come here.
Hey, look.
You boys have to sleep
though, right?
Here, lift up, sweetheart.
Let me get you under the covers.
Okay.
You got your daddy,
right, sweetheart?
-Yeah, we're good.
-All right.
[KISSING]
♪ Everybody listen to me
♪ And return me my ship
♪ I'm your captain
Almost. Good try.
[CHUCKLES]
Hey, honey!
What's the score, Christopher?
Like Grandpa always says,
"We got Luke and Evan
"running like two bald guys
fighting over a comb."
[LAUGHTER]
CAROLYN: Evan go through
a growth spurt just recently?
Evan's gonna
be in high school
before we know it.
RACHEL: Don't even say that.
What's up, munchkin?
Best summer ever, Mom.
CAROLYN AND RACHEL: Aw!
-Just look at them.
-So sweet.
Young, innocent.
[LAUGHS] Not for long.
RACHEL: Oh, my gosh.
Well, it wasn't always easy,
but somehow we made it work,
didn't we?
Yes, we did.
-Cheers to you.
-Here's to that.
[LAUGHS]
What are you cackling about?
Your first day. Henderson High.
-Let's not...
-Oh, yes, yes, yes.
-Let's do.
-[CHUCKLES]
Um... Oh!
"You look like
you could use a lab partner.
"I'm Rachel." [LAUGHING]
-You didn't talk like that.
You did not.
-I do!
High school. Let's not.
No. So scary.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
We shall never
speak of it again.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
Yes, we will.
Hey, little man.
Don't be running
with no shoes on.
We'll end up
in the hospital again.
Shit.
DANNY: You ever...
You ever wonder if...
we end up
in the right place in life?
Yeah, sometimes.
I don't know, maybe...
maybe it's just about freedom,
you know?
Doing whatever you want
whenever you want to do it.
Being tied down...
-Buy a Porche.
-[CHUCKLES]
Seriously, like,
what do you think
your life would be like
if you didn't have Carolyn
and the boys?
You know?
I don't know. I do have a life
with Carolyn and the boys.
I just...
I don't think about it.
[CAROLYN AND RACHEL
CHATTING INDISTINCTLY]
CAROLYN: Girls and boys
have different...
Oh, that reminds me. Here.
I got you something
for the Mustang.
Ah!
Are you kidding me?
"If they don't know
it happened..."
BOTH: "It didn't happen."
MITCH: "NOLA."
You had this made?
Nah. Found it in a tourist shop
down the court.
Kind of like
"What happens in Vegas."
You know?
I don't know.
Seemed appropriate. [CHUCKLES]
-Hey, hands to yourself.
-Thank you.
-You're very good at that.
-Thank you.
[WATER SPLASHING]
Yeah.
-Careful. Wine.
-Guys, there's a bottle
of wine right there.
DANNY: Hey!
I love you, Renee.
You love me,
you learn my name, honey.
Yeah. [LAUGHS]
RACHEL: And you come over
and hang out with us. [LAUGHING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪ I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
♪ I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
I think I'd rather be doing
just about anything
other than meeting with
a homicide detective today.
I know, I know.
In a weird way, it, uh...
it'll be good for us.
You know?
We need to know all the facts.
When nothing makes sense,
we need to know what happened.
[MITCH SIGHING GRIMLY]
My best friends are dead.
That's what happened.
[SIGHS]
I had a dream
about Rachel last night.
You what?
Yeah. I was, uh...
sitting by the pool,
and I must have dozed off.
When I opened my eyes,
or at least I think
my eyes were open,
I... I could see her face.
She was smiling.
Laughing and...
speaking, though her
lips weren't moving.
But it was like...
she was there,
but she wasn't there?
And she told me to convince you
to speak at her funeral
and that she'll be there
with you.
[CHUCKLES]
She came to me last night, too.
[CAROLYN CHUCKLES]
I think we're both
just imagining things.
BEN: Please accept
my condolences.
My name is Detective Ben Lee
from the...
East Baton Rouge
Sheriff's Office.
And you can call me Ben.
I know how difficult
this must be for all of you,
so I'll try to be
as brief as possible.
Let me be clear that I can
only release a limited amount
of information,
and I must insist that
you keep the details
of what I tell you
to yourselves
as this is an
ongoing investigation.
Once the media gets ahold
of some of these details,
they're gonna have a field day.
Carolyn.
-Bill.
-Mitch.
ANNA: Hi. I'm so sorry.
BILL: You know Anna?
ANNA: Mitch.
MITCH: Tony.
TONY: Hey.
MITCH: I'm so sorry.
TONY: Thank you.
MITCH: When did you get back?
TONY: About an hour ago.
-[SOBBING]
-MARY ANN: Can't believe
they're gone.
Why did he do this? Why?
BILL: Ben and I go way back.
Kids played ball together.
He's graciously offered
to fill us in.
Thanks for doing this, Ben.
Ben, when I landed
at the airport,
I received a message
from a reporter
saying that Danny
did not shoot Rachel or Evan.
Danny did not shoot
Rachel or Evan,
but Danny did shoot himself.
Danny didn't own a gun.
Shotgun.
He shot himself with it
as he drove his SUV
into the quarry.
-[CRYING]
-[SHUSHING]
-[MARY ANN SOBBING]
-Okay. Okay, okay. [SHUSHING]
CAROLYN: Stop.
-I can't do this.
-Okay, okay, okay, okay.
She's in a warfare now.
Rachel and Danny Tucker,
and she...
she raised Evan and Chris
like her own brothers.
She looked up to Danny
like a father.
-This doesn't make any sense.
-[PHONE BEEPS]
DANNY: [ON RECORDING]
Hey, Tony. It's Danny.
Um...
Listen, I... I just fired Logan
and, uh, he got real pissed.
He said he was gonna kill me.
[DANNY BREATHING SHAKILY]
Look, I'm...
I'm driving home now
and I... I think he might be
following me.
So, uh...
I don't know. I...
I think this guy
could be dangerous.
And I... I just thought
you should know.
Um...
Yeah, I don't know what to do.
Call me back, okay?
-[LINE DISCONNECTS]
-[BELLS TOLLING]
This doesn't make any sense.
Have you arrested
Logan Vonda yet?
On November 17th,
last Tuesday,
at approximately 7:30,
Daniel Turner left his home
to go to
Steve's Sporting Goods Store
on Belleau
for the purpose of firing
Logan Vonda,
an employee
who had been caught stealing.
Previously that day,
Danny had requested
that Mary Ann pick up
Evan and Christopher
and bring them
back to her apartment
for the evening.
Danny told her that Rachel
would be working late,
and he wanted her
to get a good night's rest
because she would be starting
a new job following day.
Mary Ann arrived
later than planned,
approximately 7:00.
Rachel arrived home at 7:15.
Mary Ann said
that she didn't notice
anything strange or different
about Danny or Rachel.
After Danny left,
Rachel and Mary Ann
decided that the boys
would not be going
to Mary Ann's apartment
that night.
You're saying that
Danny thought the boys
were gonna be with Mary Ann
when he went to go fire Logan?
I... I should've known
that something was up.
If I had only insisted
that the boys stay with me.
-At least Evan
I could've stopped.
-No, no, no...
[CRYING HYSTERICALLY]
CAROLYN: No,
you couldn't have
done anything.
[SHUSHING]
Have... Have you
interviewed Vonda?
According to his statement,
the store closed 7:45,
and that's when Danny arrived
and accused him of stealing
from the cash register.
Logan Vonda begged Danny
not to fire him
and Danny said something like,
"Okay, there might be
another way,"
and said he should follow him
to R.J. Vale Elementary.
Once they got there,
Logan said that he asked Danny
to tell him about the idea
he had back at the store,
thinking that Danny wanted him
to obtain drugs for him.
Danny didn't do drugs.
BEN: When he suggested
he could take care of Danny,
if that's what he wanted,
he said Danny started laughing
and says something
along all the lines of
"It's gonna to take
much more than that."
So it's possible that
Logan Vonda helped Danny
kill Rachel and Evan.
But you said
he committed suicide.
Are you sure?
I mean, how do we know
he's telling the truth?
Vonda could've
committed the murders
and then...
and then staged Danny's death.
Oh, that...
that makes more sense.
Yeah, I mean, you already have
Logan admitting to plotting
a crime with Danny.
He gets off scot-free,
and Danny's not here
to speak for himself.
Look, I know this is very hard
for you to take,
but I can speak with certainty
that Danny committed
these killings,
and then he took his own life.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[SIGHING]
[SNIFFLING]
MITCH: "The trust
of the innocent
is a liar's most useful tool."
Stephen King.
Danny liked Stephen King.
This is feeling like
a Stephen King novel to me.
Some of you
may be aware that Danny
did a stretch in prison
along with Tony here.
Prison? What's he talking about?
We broke into a house
and got caught, Bill.
Danny attacked a guy. He...
He beat him with a tire iron.
BEN: Had it not been
for Tony stopping him,
it is almost certain
he would have killed the man.
We've all made mistakes, Bill.
That was over 20 years ago,
and I can attest that
Tony having gone through
that as a kid
has made him the good man
that he is today.
Danny...
Well, cussing and drinking
doesn't make you a murderer.
BILL: Uh...
I believe that, Mitch, I do.
But it's just...
Danny doesn't...
Danny didn't have a temper.
Hell, I always knew you two
as just high school
football heroes.
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]
[GIRLS LAUGHING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
ANNOUNCER : [OVER PA]
...with 45 seconds left
on the clock,
Tony Turner behind center
needs to convert here
to keep the drive alive.
Turner calls an audible.
That's the snap.
Turner well into his left.
Here comes the Blitz.
He's got a man open
down the line.
Turner gets his brother Danny
at dead center!
He's in the 15, the 10,
the five, touchdown!
[CROWD CHEERING]
The Cougars win the game.
The Cougars win the game.
Unbelievable!
The Turner brothers
do it again.
He's got them
to a final score of...
[TRUMPET PLAYING NOTES]
Danny? Hey, you okay?
Yeah, hey...
-YOUNG TONY:
Danny, let's go.
-Yeah.
Am I gonna see you
at the party later?
Sure. Um,
I want you to meet someone.
Danny Turner,
this is Rachel McKenna.
Danny scored
the winning touchdown today.
Wow. Cool.
-YOUNG TONY: Come on, man,
let's go!
-Nice to meet you, Danny.
-Nice meeting you, too.
-[HORNS HONKING]
-What did you say
your name was, Renee?
-No, it's Rach...
It's Rachel.
YOUNG TONY: We're late
for the kegger, man.
TONY: When the scholarships
didn't come in,
things eventually
kind of fell apart.
That summer, Danny and I
picked up stock boy jobs
at Tager's Lumber Yard
to make some extra money.
But it was never enough.
What do we got here?
So we started
stealing inventory
and fencing it to pick up
the extra bucks.
I knew a guy in Baton Rouge
that would pay
25 bucks per saw.
We could make $500.
You have to understand,
we were making
minimum wage at the time.
Things continued like that
for about a year.
Then we got
a phone call from Bags.
What's up, man?
[POOL BALLS CLINKING]
Nice.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
YOUNG TONY: Yo, Bags. Over here.
BAGS: Ah! There they are.
-[LAUGHS] Yo, what's going on?
-What's up?
Hey, Danny! Come here, bud.
BAGS: How we doing, fellas?
YOUNG TONY: Good, good.
BAGS: Good.
YOUNG TONY: What do you
got for us?
I got something for you.
You know that antique shop
over at Novelty?
The one that sells
all that crap like
old clocks and paintings
and tables and stuff?
Well, I had to do
deliveries there every day,
and I started getting friendly
with the big bald dude Jack
who hauls all the stuff around
for the two old farts
that own the joint.
He said that they do a lot,
[SNICKERING] and I mean,
a lot of business in cash,
then they take it home
to their house in Lafayette.
Cash!
Say that's true,
how are we supposed to get
the cash out of the safe
if we don't know
the combination.
Jack knows the combination.
Like, he won't do the break-in,
but he'll give it to us
if we cut him in.
Check this. He says that
they're planning
to go to Florida
for a few months in January.
If we give him
a 1,000 bucks upfront,
he'll make us a copy
of the house key
and give us the code
to the alarm system.
Merry Christmas, boys.
[ALL CHUCKLING]
-[BANGING ON TABLE]
-Come on! Huh?
Ho-ho-ho. [LAUGHS]
TONY: Jack said
the safe was bolted
inside a cabinet upstairs.
There was at least
$50,000 in it.
Jack also said the homeowners,
Don and Linda Grant,
they closed up shop
week after Christmas every year.
Just put the lights on timers
and bolted out of town.
So we hung out for a few days
just to make sure
the place was empty.
We were so excited
because we had the keys.
We weren't exactly pros
and we should've realized
at the time that the...
YOUNG DANNY: Okay, go ahead.
...the whole plan
rested on a stranger
whose last name
we didn't even know.
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING
ON CAR STEREO]
BAGS: Yo, Danny, turn it up.
[MUSIC GETS LOUDER]
[ELECTRIC GUITAR SOLO PLAYING]
TONY: Kevin and Missy Grant
were driving in
from Chicago that day.
They were gonna stay
at the house for a few days
before heading down to Florida
to meet up
with Kevin's parents.
[ALARM SYSTEM BEEPS]
MISSY: Thank you.
TONY: Kevin's parents
didn't know at the time
that Missy
was three months pregnant.
And we didn't know that
they were gonna to be there.
[BAGS HUMMING]
BAGS: Hey, how did you guys
get here before me?
A tire iron?
The place is empty, Danny.
What's the difference?
TONY: We should have seen
that there was something wrong
with Danny,
something in his head.
I'll leave it in the gym bag
just in case.
Forget it. Come on.
YOUNG TONY: [WHISPERING]
What are you're doing?
Turn... Turn them off.
Turn them off. Turn them off.
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
[ALARM BEEPS]
-[UNLOCKING DOOR]
-[ALARM BEEPS]
[ALARM BEEPS]
TONY: That lamp bothered me.
The lamp was off
when I knew that
those lights were
supposed to be on a timer.
[SHUSHING]
Something's wrong.
BAGS: [CHUCKLES] Chill, Tony.
No one's here but us chickens.
Let's go.
-[FAINT LAUGHTER]
-[THUDDING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Do you hear something?
[MISSY MOANS]
TONY: I remember how young
and frightened we all were.
Danny in particular, his...
his big old eyes
just talking out of his head.
BAGS: Hey, give me a hand.
BAGS: [WHISPERING]
Here, take this. Hold this up.
[CHUCKLES] Oh, boy...
[LAUGHING]
BAGS: What did I tell you?
What did I tell you?
There! Go on! Tony! Check!
YOUNG TONY: All right.
Load it up.
-[LOUD THUD]
-[BOTH GASP]
[WHISPERING] There's
someone in the house.
[BAGS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
We have to call the cops.
I left my phone downstairs.
[THUDDING]
Kevin, be careful.
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[BAGS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
What the hell are you doing?
Don't do anything stupid
and no one's gonna get hurt.
Kevin?
Missy, go downstairs,
call the cops. Now!
[PANTING]
YOUNG TONY: No, come back.
[GRUNTS]
TONY: So, Bill, when you say
that It's hard to believe
that Danny had a temper,
I say that you did not know
Danny the way I did.
[KEVIN GROANS]
Bastard! [GRUNTING]
-Don't... ever... hit... me.
-Get off, Danny!
No, Danny!
BAGS: Come on, chill out!
We gotta go!
I'm outta here.
Go!
[PANTING] Where is it?
Where is it?
[PHONE BEEPS]
[MISSY SCREAMING]
Call the cops and I'll kill you.
Aah! [GRUNTS]
[MISSY GROANS]
[SOBBING]
[MISSY GROANING IN PAIN]
Bags took the cash. He bolted.
We went after him.
He was tearing down
Highway 10 in Henderson and...
[SIGHS]
He collided with a tree
on the side of the road.
And half of him
went through the windshield.
Danny and I got back
to our house and the cops
were already there.
They're waiting for us
because it turns out
that Missy went to
Henderson High School.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
She recognized us
from our star high school
football days.
So go figure that.
Kevin Grant suffered
a brain injury,
broken ribs, punctured lung.
He was recovering
in that hospital for a month.
If Danny beat him any more,
he never would've made it.
[DOCTORS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
TONY: Because of the violent
nature of our crime
and the fact that we were
high school football heroes,
our case was front page news
for a few days.
We were advised to take a deal,
so we did.
We agreed to 10 to 25.
[JAIL CELL BUZZER SOUNDS]
[CELL GATE CLOSING]
[INMATES TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
TONY: We were thrown
in St. Charles Parish
Correctional Facility.
Danny was put in a cell
on the opposite side
of the prison from me
and the only contact we had
was the writing of a letter,
or an occasional phone call.
[DOOR BUZZING]
GUARD: All right, let's go.
TONY: I realized during
my time there that
that was an opportunity for me
to change direction in my life,
to make something of myself.
And at that moment,
I felt this overwhelming
sense of gratitude
for my whole situation.
I accepted the fact
that it was a good thing
that we got caught.
I felt sorry for Danny.
I felt responsible for him.
There was nothing I could do.
I wrote him letters
and I tried to get him to admit
that what he did was wrong,
that he was damn lucky
that he did not kill
Kevin Grant that night.
That he had a chance
to do the right thing
from that moment forward.
He didn't listen to me.
He said that he was
just gonna play nice,
he was gonna work the system
because that afforded him
certain privileges
that made life on the inside
a lot easier.
But he just wanted out...
and to stay out.
You two knew them best.
Yeah, Carolyn,
you and Rachel
were like sisters.
I've heard the stories.
And, Mitch, when you say Tony
became a better man
due to his past, I believe it.
I do, Tony.
So Danny's hiding this darkness
inside, I get it, but...
Don't we all?
I mean, it doesn't...
doesn't mean we're all capable
of murdering our families.
BEN: I suppose.
But a crime scene tells a story,
much like Tony's.
And it's up to my guys
to read it correctly.
TONY: Carolyn,
your father, Joe,
his regular visits,
they made all the
difference in the world.
They really did.
Imagine your high school coach
visiting you in jail...
just to remind you that...
the outside world
still cared about you.
And he reminded us
not to give up hope
and to stay strong
because a miracle
could come at any time.
And it did.
In the form of a letter
from Kevin Grant.
He wrote in his letter
that he had come
to the conclusion
that in order to be free,
he needed to forgive.
So he wanted to meet
Danny and me in prison
so he could
forgive us in person.
KEVIN: Yet forgiveness
is an easier thing
to talk about...
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
How are you?
-Orange. Nice.
-[BOTH CHUCKLE]
TONY: Imagine that.
The guy that you had
beat the crap out of
is asking for permission
to forgive you.
[VOICE SHAKING] The honesty
in his letter was undeniable.
Um...
We never properly met.
I was in the hospital
during your trial.
Yeah, last time
we were in the same room
was on that night.
I like the mustache.
I'm so used to seeing you
from the news clippings
of the case.
It makes you look older.
I feel older.
[EXHALES] Um...
After that night...
I spent the next few years
driven crazy with anger.
I'd lie in bed at night
just... just wishing
I'd picked up that bat,
and smashed you both
over the heads.
Why did I not defend my wife?
Listen, Kevin,
-I mean, we're sorry. We just...
-I know you are.
Because you got caught.
But it... it could have easily
have gone the other way.
I could have been killed
and Missy, too.
It could have been much worse.
And it took me
a long time to see that.
But, uh...
after I recovered, I, uh...
I went back to work.
We had our... our son...
and I thought
life would get back to normal.
But instead...
instead I... I...
I sank into a deep depression.
Uh...
One night...
[DOOR CLICKS SHUT]
I was closing up the shop
around 8:00.
And I see this guy Harold,
who often slept
on the grate across the street.
And he was talking
with this well-dressed,
soft-spoken woman.
And, I, uh...
I go to walk past
and he calls out.
He says, "Hey, Kevin..."
-Hey, Kevin.
-"...slow down, man."
-Come on.
-"This is Joanna."
-Come on.
-"She... She's here for you."
[ECHOING] Hi, Kevin.
And, uh...
[SIGHS WEARILY]
That night,
I had brought with me
a bottle of pills,
and I was going to
sit in my car and die.
I couldn't see
the wonderful things
I had to live for,
like Missy,
and my son
and my parents and my friends.
I was...
I was so full of hate for you,
for myself, for... for...
for not being a man
that night that I...
I couldn't see what
my death would do
to those who loved me.
I...
I couldn't see
how much I had to live for.
And all of a sudden,
Joanna took my hand
and she stared intensely
into my eyes,
like she could
look into my mind.
JOANNA: I came to tell you
something, Kevin.
Let go of your anger.
Go home tonight
and pray for the men
that hurt you
and mean it.
Pray that those men you hate
will be happy.
And one day free.
Pray for God to allow you
to forgive them
because that is the only way
you will ever be free.
One more thing, Kevin.
Your plan for tonight
is a very bad idea.
KEVIN: I went back to my car
and I looked
at the bottle of pills.
But instead of taking them...
I prayed.
I out... I prayed out loud
like she told me to.
I prayed for you both
to have a good life.
I prayed
to be able to forgive you.
I prayed to be able
to forgive myself.
And the most
amazing thing happened.
I felt free.
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
Thank you.
TONY: Danny said that
he had these visions
of a woman with gray hair
and olive-colored skin.
He said she was so real
that when he closed his eyes,
she was standing right there
in the cell in front of him.
We had a hearing
for early release.
The committee
overseeing our cases
read letters of support...
from Linda,
and Missy and Kevin Grant.
And the decision
to release us earlier
was unanimous.
[JAIL CELL BUZZER SOUNDS]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION
AND LAUGHTER]
[PEOPLE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
-Come on. Come on.
-What you got? What you got?
Run faster! Get in there!
Back up, back up!
ALL: Yeah!
MAN: That's my boy.
That's my boy.
That's my boy.
See you boys next week.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[SIGHS]
TONY: All right. I got
a date with Emily tonight.
What are you guys up to?
Good for you.
Maybe she can kiss
your basketball boo-boos.
[CHUCKLES] That's funny.
-Good night, guys.
-See you, buddy.
Hey, speaking of dates...
-I got someone
I want you to meet.
-Oh, come on, man.
-Come on.
Come for a quick drink.
-Come on.
You'd like that... the band.
It's Steve Manano's band.
You like them, right?
-MITCH: Yeah.
-Quick one.
-Okay.
-You'll like her, too,
don't worry.
-Oh, Jesus.
-[DANNY CHUCKLES]
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, Mike. What up?
-MITCH: What was her name again?
-Her name's, uh, Carolyn.
She went to Henderson High.
Think you might know her.
Hey!
Whoo!
Oh, shit. Look who's here.
Jimmy! Don't you drink too much.
I don't wanna have to
carry you home.
Come on, now. Hear that.
Hear that in your bones?
You gotta feel that music
in your bones. Come on, man.
-CAROLYN: Danny!
-That's my girl!
Hey. Hey, listen!
There's someone
I want to reintroduce you to.
What do you mean, reintroduce?
Yeah. Reintroduce you
because, a long time ago
after a game,
I wanted to introduce you
to my friend Rachel
but you'd taken off
to a keg party or something.
-Yeah, yeah. That sounds
like me back then. I'm sorry.
-Yeah.
-Hey, this is my buddy Mitch,
the one I was telling you about.
-Hi!
-Mitch, this is Carolyn.
-Nice to meet you.
-What?
-Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too. [LAUGHS]
Mitch is a great guy.
He's an okay basketball player,
but he's the best architect
you'll ever meet.
-Oh!
-He designed one of our shops.
Yeah, he was... he graduated
a couple of years ahead of us
at Henderson.
-Oh, okay.
-Oh, you gotta remember
this face.
Look at this guy.
Tall, dark and handsome.
CAROLYN: Sorry. [CHUCKLES]
-It was nice to meet you.
-Likewise.
Yeah.
It's okay. His tongue swells up
when he gets hit
by the love bug.
-Oh.
-Oh, man.
[CHUCKLES] Oh, my God,
there's my friend Rachel.
Okay, come with me.
Hey, do me a favor... Rachel!
-Do not call her Renee again.
-Okay. Okay.
RACHEL: Hi!
-I'm Danny.
-I'm Rachel.
-Right. I remember.
-Yeah.
DANNY: I'm sorry, yeah.
RACHEL: Hey, I love this song.
You wanna dance?
Do you, um, I don't know,
wanna have a drink?
-Why not?
-Okay.
DANNY: What do you like
for breakfast in the morning?
That's a really bad question
to ask.
-That sounds really terrible.
Forget it.
-[LAUGHS]
-Are you inviting me
to breakfast?
-Yeah, that's why it sounds bad.
I wasn't asking you
that kind of...
Forget I asked you that.
Just dance with me.
Come on.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Club soda, please.
CAROLYN: How's your drink?
Strong enough for you?
♪ You seein' my baby walking
♪ Tell her I caught my train
And gone
♪ If you see my baby walkin'
[ALARM RINGING]
[ALARM STOPS]
[TV BEEPS]
I'm standing at the edge
of Nicholson Quarry
in St. Francisville
where the final act
of the Turner family tragedy
took place Tuesday morning.
It was here that Danny Turner,
husband and father
of the victims,
took his own life.
Though the final report
has not yet been released
by the medical examiner...
[TV BEEPS OFF]
RACHEL: [VOICEMAIL RECORDING]
Hey, sweetie, it's Rachel.
What are you up to?
I'm about to go take my exam,
and I just was calling...
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Ben.
Thank you for agreeing
to meet with me.
Glad you reached out.
BEN: Look, I didn't want
to get into all these details
in front of the family.
But, uh...
This is kinda what happened.
Danny told Logan
that he wanted him to help
fake a jewelry heist
at his house to make
an insurance claim of $30,000,
which he said
he would share with Logan.
Logan said he didn't think
it was really a crime.
So they left Logan's car
at R.J. Vale Elementary school
and then drove
to Danny's house together.
Now here's
where it gets interesting.
Around 11:30 p.m.,
Danny came back
and told Logan
that Rachel was asleep
and to break the glass
in the back door
of the garage
to make it look
like a break-in.
[WHISPERS] And I want you
to put a brick through
the window, okay?
You do that for me.
Make it look like we,
you know...
just like somebody
robbed the house, got it?
-All right.
-You got a phone on you.
BEN: Now according
to phone records,
Danny then made several calls
in the next few hours,
including one to his brother
and several to Logan's friends
in which he claimed
that he had just fired Logan
and Logan
had threatened to kill him.
[CLEARS THROAT] Hey, Tony.
It's Danny. Um...
Listen, I... I just fired Logan.
Doesn't this Logan guy
also have a record?
I mean, why do the police
believe what he has to say?
Okay, so, Logan has a record,
but his statements check out.
Look, when you're dealing
with a crime like this,
it's very common
for witnesses to be people
with dicey backgrounds.
We know Logan isn't a Boy Scout.
The fact that Danny
made these calls
suggests that he was trying
to frame Logan
and create an alibi
for himself.
You think it was premeditated?
BEN: Around 1:00 a.m.,
he came back
and said that he never
really planned to steal
any jewelry.
In fact, there wasn't
any jewelry to steal.
-Instead, he wanted
Logan's help killing Rachel.
-There's a change of plan.
I, uh... I need to...
I need to kill my wife.
Okay? So I need you to do it
'cause I can't fucking do it.
[CHUCKLES] What the hell
are you talking about, man?
Nobody would hang around
after somebody tells 'em
they want help
killing their wife.
This Logan kid's lying.
Logan said he stayed on
because
Danny said something like,
"Did you think
I was serious, dude?"
-[LAUGHS]
-I'll split the fucking
insurance money with you, okay?
That was if I break a window.
-Look, man...
-I can't kill nobody.
Come on, bro. Come on.
You can fucking do it.
You're fucking with me, right?
-[BOTH LAUGHING]
-You're fucking with me
right now.
Yeah. [LAUGHS]
I'm fucking with you.
Shh!
Calm the fuck down, dude.
Logan says he was convinced
Danny wasn't serious
about killing Rachel.
He was jumpy and wild-eyed
and he refused to give Logan
his cell phone back,
and then abruptly
went back into the house.
That's when Logan got spooked.
He got a screwdriver
and held on to it in the car.
And he says he fell asleep.
-Asleep?
-Yeah.
Come on, man.
You're so convinced
he had nothing to do it,
you're not making sense.
Sometime after midnight,
Danny went upstairs with intent
to bludgeon Rachel to death.
Rachel was asleep at that time.
You may recall
a brownish lamp
in the living room
with a very heavy base?
Well, Danny
got a kitchen knife,
cut the cord
and used that lamp
as the primary weapon.
MITCH: And Rachel knew
this was happening?
Yeah. We think so.
Danny probably thought
that one blow to her head
would have been
sufficient to kill her,
like on TV. Well, it didn't.
-In fact, she fought back.
-[DANNY SCREAMS]
Danny then used
the kitchen knife to stab her.
[RACHEL CRIES]
But the kitchen knife
was only two inches long.
So at some point,
Danny grabbed a pair of scissors
from the sewing table,
and stabbed her with those.
[RACHEL SCREAMS]
Did she know it was Danny?
Well, the struggle
went on for several minutes,
and even though
we suppose the room was dark,
she must have
recognized his voice.
And apparently,
there was a great deal
of shouting between them.
That's probably
what woke the children.
Rachel had, um,
marks on her arms
and what we presume to be
Danny's skin
under her fingernails.
I mean...
She was fighting
for her life, Mitch.
There's no doubt
she recognized the attacker.
My notes say that she suffered
from a severed
left carotid artery
which resulted
in exsanguination...
bleeding to death.
That would likely be
the official cause of death
when the report is completed.
Mitch, I've been doing this
for 20 years. I've never...
[SIGHS]
I've never seen
anything like this.
Lamp,
knife,
scissors.
[RACHEL'S VOICEMAIL
PLAYING INDISTINCTLY]
Hey, sweetie, it's Rachel.
I'm calling you
because I have an exam
and I just wanted to get
one of your famous pep talks.
Also, it's raining
really nasty right here,
and I wondered
if it's raining there, too...
Carolyn.
...talk to you soon.
Love you, girl.
Were you listening
to Rachel's message again?
[SIGHS]
Actually, you know, I don't...
I don't... [SIGHS]
I don't really listen to it.
Actually, that's not true.
-Yeah, it is.
-No.
It bothers me that you can't
be honest with me right now...
So I listen to it sometimes.
I don't understand
why it's a bad thing.
It's comforting to me
to hear Rachel's voice.
You don't understand
how much I need
a comforting voice right now.
-I don't understand, huh?
-No, you don't.
I've been dealing with this
right alongside you
the whole time.
Okay? And it... it frustrates me
that I can't figure out
how to move on.
-[MOANS]
-Move past it!
It's killing me!
Well, I don't listen to it
over and over again,
if that's your concern.
-You're lying to me.
-I'm lying?
You wanna talk about lying?
How about you
and your secret investigations?
Your late night phone calls,
coming home after the boys
have gone to bed,
sneaking in
and then checking up on me.
You don't understand
what I'm going through.
You don't care! You don't care.
You care only about yourself,
so leave me alone about this.
Why are you guys so mad?
Oh, no... Sweetheart.
Honey...
[MITCH SIGHS]
We're not, baby. We're...
Say good night to daddy.
Good night, buddy.
-Good night.
-Come on.
I'm sorry we woke you up,
sweetheart.
We'll get you a pillow.
Get all cuddled in.
Hey, sweetie. It's Rachel.
What are you up to?
Uh, I am about
to go take my exam
and I was just calling to get
one of your famous pep talks.
Also, it's raining here
and I was just wondering
if it's raining there, too...
-[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
-[BEEPS]
[MITCH SIGHS]
Well, it's straight
from the heart.
I know people
will remember Rachel
as the generous
and honest person that she was.
It's...
It's truthful, as it should be.
I just don't feel like
this is real.
Hope I can do it.
Look...
people will understand that
this is very hard thing to do.
You just have
to have faith that...
-[ORGAN PLAYING]
-[CHURCH BELLS TOLLING]
[PEOPLE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
We're here to celebrate
the lives
of Rachel Turner
and her son Evan,
two beautiful souls
who were taken from us
far too soon,
but delivered into the hands
of the Lord.
The will of God
will never take you
where the grace of God
will not protect you.
Now I'd like to call on
Carolyn Bianci
if she would come
to the lectern
and share some words.
[SOBS] My name
is Carolyn Bianci [SNIFFLES]
and I am privileged to say that
Rachel had been my best friend
since ninth grade.
We formed
an immediate connection and...
and developed a bond that
continued for the past 26 years.
I knew that in Rachel
I had a friend for life.
We shared
a lot of our lives together
because she was so willing to...
to invest her time and her heart
into her friends.
And I love her
and I miss her dearly.
[SNIFFLES]
As you all know, Rachel...
Um, Rachel was never the type
to settle.
She always demanded
more of herself
and always wanted
the best for her family
and for her friends.
So in addition to raising
two wonderful boys,
Evan and Christopher,
whom she was so proud of,
she opened her home
with no hesitation to Mary Ann
because of her love of family
and her enormous heart
for others.
They say if you can find
one true friend in your life,
you are blessed,
and we are all so blessed
because, in Rachel,
we had that one true friend.
[SNIFFLES]
My husband Mitch...
is constantly reminding
our three sons that
our decisions shape our lives,
and ultimately,
shape the individuals
that we become.
We all have one
question before us today
and that question is
what meaning will we attach
to these events.
If we choose tragedy,
then we will all lose.
So the challenge
that I want to put there
for all of us,
including myself is,
is to take that piece of Rachel
that we were all so fortunate
to experience
and hold that
in their hearts forever...
by...
allowing it to inspire us
as mothers and fathers
and friends.
We will take
Rachel and Evan's light forward.
Thank you, Carolyn.
REVEREND: I would
regret this day forever
if I do not summon the courage
to speak of another.
We've spoken of Rachel and Evan.
But we have not made
mention of Danny Turner,
husband and father.
I'd be remiss if I did not
at least mention that he, too,
is a child of God.
And he, too, has passed
into another life, prematurely.
And he will be missed.
[ROARS] Got you.
MITCH: He said it was
a combination of
multiple stab wounds,
a severed carotid artery,
numerous blunt-force traumas,
and a broken jaw.
But the severed artery alone
probably caused her death.
Why did he kill Evan?
Why did he do that?
Well, Ben said, based on
physical evidence and
comments from Christopher...
it appears Evan
attempted to... to stop Danny
from attacking Rachel
and Danny lashed out,
possibly thinking Logan Vonda
was behind him.
I don't know what to think.
Why didn't he hurt Christopher?
Bill said Christopher
had blood on his back,
I'm guessing from Danny
pushing Christopher
into his room.
Well, maybe Danny
ran out of adrenaline,
came to his senses
and was able to stop
at that point.
Or someone intervened.
-[WAVES CRASHING]
-[BELLS CHIMING]
WOMAN: [SOFTLY] Joanna. Joanna.
Come back here.
You are so sweet.
You know he's going
to understand.
But we have to let him sleep.
It's his birthday.
I'm gonna surprise him anyway.
Okay.
Go on outside, okay?
Okay.
[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]
[YOUNG JOANNA HUMMING]
[WIND BLOWING]
[WIND CHIMES CHIMING]
Ha!
[GASPS]
[ECHOING] Daddy?
Daddy!
Daddy!
[WATER DRIPPING]
Jo, shh.
What has gotten into you?
Mom, I know something's wrong.
I saw this big blue balloon
come out the window
and go into the sky.
JOANNA'S MOTHER: What happened?
What do you mean,
a big blue balloon?
I saw this big blue balloon
and it flew away
and took Daddy with it.
[SIGHS]
Daddy is okay.
Why don't you set the table
and I'll go wake him up?
Okay? All right.
Please, God. Please, God.
Please, God. Please.
JOANNA'S MOTHER:
[SCREAMING] Honey!
Oh, God, no. He's gone!
[PHONE RINGING]
This is Mitch Bianci.
BEN: Listen, I thought about it
after our talk and...
I know where Vonda is.
Where?
Well, you were right.
His actions are not of a man
who just happened to be
at the wrong place
at the wrong time.
But you need to
understand something.
He did not do this.
Where is he?
Promise me you won't
hurt him, Mitch.
Look, I know how important
this is to you,
and that's why I didn't
tell you at the diner, okay?
So just promise me.
I think you need
to hear it from him.
I think it's the only way.
[SOFTLY] Please, please, please.
Please, God, please.
Oh, my God, please.
[SOBBING]
I can't take this anymore,
I can't take this anymore,
I can't take this anymore.
I want it to stop.
[PRAYING INDISTINCTLY]
[PRAYING INDISTINCTLY]
I'm begging you, I beg you.
At least a million times a day,
I beg you, please...
Please just make it stop.
Why? Why, why? Why does
this world seem so miserable?
So... and...
and... [CRYING] fruitless,
and hopeless, and random?
[LOUDER] I don't understand.
Help me understand,
I wanna know why.
I wanna know why.
[CAROLYN CONTINUES SOBBING]
CAROLYN: Please.
Help me stop thinking
about this, please.
Please, God.
Help me.
[RAINDROPS PATTERING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
MITCH: I'm looking
for Logan Vonda.
Does he live here?
My name is Mitch Bianci.
I was a friend
of Danny Turner's.
I know who you are.
How'd you find me?
I've got nothing to say to you.
All right? Leave me alone.
I just want to talk to you.
Get a better idea
of what Danny did that night.
I know you weren't to blame.
I said all I'm going to say.
Already said everything
to the cops.
MITCH: Can you just
come out for a sec?
I'm not looking for trouble.
I'll pay you for information.
How much?
LOGAN: So, what do you
want to know?
Why did Danny ask you
to come to the house that night?
I want to hear it from you
because this whole thing is...
[INHALES AND EXHALES DEEPLY]
And Danny was my friend,
and I need to know.
You want to know why.
I don't know.
All I know is what he told me.
I don't know,
it was just some...
some made-up stuff.
He was trying to make it
look like I did it.
He was going to use
that shotgun on me.
After he killed Rachel.
Make it look like self-defense.
And to save his wife,
he'd have to kill me.
Did you go into the house?
After Danny said
he was going to kill her,
why would I set foot
in that house?
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
I'd just been out front,
making it look like a...
a break-in.
I ain't stupid.
How did you sleep
with all the yelling
and screaming?
And where did Danny
get a shotgun?
You wanna know the truth?
That's all I want.
I was... I was holding on
to a couple of Oxys.
I was saving 'em
for when I got home.
After he went in the house
that last time, I...
I popped 'em.
Just nodded out.
[EXHALES]
Just one last question.
When Danny told you
he was gonna kill Rachel,
why didn't you do anything?
I don't know,
go to the neighbors,
call the cops.
You could have
saved their lives.
You really think I don't wish
I did things different?
I live with this every day.
Knowin' that if...
if I'd... helped,
I'd done something, anything...
Rachel, Evan, they...
they could still be alive.
I know that.
I...
I don't want your money.
Joanna Larson.
So happy to meet you.
Rachel asked that I come.
[CRYING] She...
I'm Carolyn.
I know.
I...
I'm sorry, do I know you?
We've never
personally met until now,
but I've been thinking about you
a great deal these few days.
-Why am I here?
-Yes.
And why have I been
thinking about you
given we don't know each other?
A perfectly reasonable question
to ask someone who just
showed up at your house.
May I come in?
Yes.
-Yeah?
-Yes.
Have you figured it out yet?
I was sent here to help you.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
I wasn't really gonna take them,
but the doctor said
they would make me feel better.
Uh...
You said Rachel
asked you to come.
What did you mean?
JOANNA: Life changes
in an instant,
the ordinary instant.
Joan Didion.
Yes, exactly.
"To choose between
darkness and light."
"And that
we always have free will."
JOANNA: And when
a tiny nub of truth
makes a lie seem real,
it blurs our choices
like there are two voices
inside your head.
Tell me something.
When you're upstairs,
in that sacred spot,
praying on your knees,
you believe that
God hears you, don't you?
I want to.
I want to so badly.
But every day, I wake up...
and I just feel the same
pain and grief and hurt, and...
and, you know, I just...
I have these horrible...
thoughts.
Who... How'd you...
How do you know where I...
Because it was shown to me.
That morning, Carolyn,
I awoke with the natural
to a particularly angry dawn.
CAROLYN: The natural?
Are... are you saying
you see things
when they happen?
You saw these murders happen?
Not so like I'm seeing you.
This is something different.
More like how Mitch saw Rachel
a few days before the funeral.
How could you
possibly know that?
Oh, it all started the day I saw
my father pass away.
[WIND CHIME CHIMING]
[JOANNA CHUCKLES]
Since that morning, I found
that I could look at someone
and know if he's at risk,
because darkness
had him in its grip.
[CAR HORN BLARING]
[TIRES SQUEAL]
JOANNA: Sometimes,
I was able to help.
Other times...[CHUCKLES]
free will takes over,
and then a person may make
the very worst decision.
As did Danny.
Ironically enough,
I had two occasions
to help Danny.
It only takes one bad decision.
CAROLYN: Does the darkness
ever let go?
JOANNA: Maybe, Carolyn.
But Danny is in heaven.
Oh, gosh.
Things have a way of...
well, changing
as the universe directs.
It's a spiritual contract.
And it's out of our control.
Sometimes, I think of it...
more as a responsibility
that I've been given.
But I believe... No.
I know that
I have been selected
to help where I can.
Oh, oh, oh,
I have so much to tell you.
But it's important
that your husband
be a part of the conversation.
JOANNA: Oh...
He's been suffering so much,
I'm worried about him.
CAROLYN: I don't know
where he is.
We've been fighting.
I woke up this morning
and he was gone.
-I would call the office...
-He's on his way home to you...
right now.
Time for me to go.
This is my address.
Visit me tomorrow
with your husband
and feel better.
Help is on the way.
[DOOR OPENING]
[DOOR CLOSING]
-[CAR DOOR CLOSING]
-[ENGINE STARTING]
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
-CAROLYN: Mitch?
-Hey, listen. I found...
I just met
the most amazing woman. She...
She said that Rachel
sent her here to help us.
MITCH: I found Logan Vonda.
You what?
Before you say anything, I...
I... I'm glad I did.
Because now I... I...
I understand why Danny
did what he did, but... but...
Not why he did what he did,
but how it happened.
She said Danny is in heaven.
MITCH: No, no, no.
Uh... Danny made his choice.
She said that
you would say that. She...
She told me to tell you...
the butterfly thinks
you have beautiful eyes.
MITCH: There's something
I'd like to do
before we go visit Joanna.
I'd like to
stop by Nicholson Quarry.
Why would you wanna do that?
it seems appropriate.
BEN: I was chatting with
the owners of the quarry.
I think we ought to put
a metal fence between
those two trees back there.
They're afraid it might become
one of those places
where people come and...
-You know?
-Golden Gate Bridge.
Yeah.
I didn't expect
to find you here.
I come here whatever I can...
looking for something.
Maybe the same reason
you're here now.
Listen, what if I told you
that we uncovered evidence
of financial trouble
in the Turner household?
Maybe even some
marital problems.
Would that make a difference?
No.
Not anymore.
Okay.
I'm gonna go now.
Let me know if you find
what you're looking for.
[ENGINE STARTS]
[ENGINE STARTS]
I have felt Rachel's presence
so many times since she died.
But I... I just...
I convinced myself
that I was imagining things.
And then yesterday
when I met Joanna,
she told me that... that...
That Rachel's soul lives on,
and sometimes our souls,
they... they intersect.
Joanna was in the church.
She sat in the very last pew.
She told me Rachel
was proud of me
for speaking on her behalf.
She was standing next to me
at the altar
and I felt it. I felt it. I...
I felt it.
MITCH: Yeah, I felt it, too.
Hi, I'm Richard.
You must be Carolyn and Mitch.
I've been expecting you.
MITCH: Like when Rachel was
standing in the doorway
laughing and smiling.
CAROLYN: Yeah, she was there.
She was there.
When Joanna and I were talking,
she was there.
Sanctuary night.
Beautiful, isn't it?
RICHARD: Hmm.
If God cares about the grieving,
why wouldn't he prevent it?
RICHARD: I don't know
how she does it,
but anything she touches
just seems to grow and grow.
[CHUCKLES]
Joanna says it's because
of all the conversations
she's had with the trees
over the years.
Ah. There she is.
-I'll see you later.
-CAROLYN: Thank you.
-JOANNA: Mm.
-[CAROLYN CHUCKLES]
Is that why we're here, Mitch?
Why you refuse to believe
that he's in a better place?
I don't know
if I can ever forgive him.
I don't know,
but I have to believe
that he's in heaven. I...
I have to believe that.
No.
Mitch...
Why would a murderer like Danny
be allowed into heaven?
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[SIGHS]
You know, I never once saw
Danny in a bad mood.
Always had a smile on his face,
and I've known him a long time.
Heck, he introduced us.
I've never even seen him
lose his temper, not once.
You know, I mean, he didn't...
He didn't do everything right.
He... didn't work very hard,
didn't manage
his finances very well,
but if you knew him like I did,
you would say that he led
a happy and productive life.
And then to murder
your wife and your kid...
and then to kill yourself...
it makes no sense.
So I just... I...
I need to understand.
You understand
more than you realize, Mitch.
Danny's easygoing nature
was a mask
and was the result of his fears.
A fear of not being good enough.
A fear of failure.
A fear of not being loved.
[MITCH INHALES DEEPLY AND SIGHS]
JOANNA: That's what drove him
to always be nice,
so that he would
always be liked.
But Danny had anger in him,
a darkness.
Ah.
JOANNA: The fact that he wore
a mask to disguise it
didn't make it any less real.
In fact, it made it
all the more explosive
when it finally came out.
You love them too much.
Yeah, sure.
That don't mean that
sometimes I don't feel
like pointing it all west
and just driving to some town
where no one can find me.
JOANNA: Because he thought
of himself as unworthy.
So he tried
to compensate by lying,
and cheating, pretending
he was something he wasn't.
He fought with the darkness,
and lost again and again
because he stopped
trusting in God.
Without trust...
there is no faith.
Yes, we do have free will.
Yes, we do make mistakes.
Yes, we all experience darkness.
Two angels appeared
at Danny's bedside
the night before and said,
"Do not do
what you are about to do."
Those angels attempted
to convert Danny's thinking,
to show him
there was another way.
But the lure of darkness
was impossible
for Danny to resist.
He was given the opportunity
to choose darkness and light.
In his confusion,
it was the darkness
that appeared to be the truth.
I said, "We always have
free will, Danny."
That's what
I tried to remind him of.
But I knew he wouldn't listen.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[DANNY WHIMPERING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[DANNY SCREAMING]
[GRUNTING]
JOANNA: I seized
the opportunity
to push him towards the light.
[STRAINING]
VOICE: [WHISPERING]
Cut the cord.
Cut the cord.
JOANNA: For a moment
I thought we had won.
Then the darkness overtook him.
It pushed him towards
the lamp and shouted...
VOICE: It's too late
to turn back.
Don't you stop now.
Don't you stop, Danny.
Don't stop.
JOANNA: The instant
he sliced that cord,
and picked up the lamp,
he was prodded up the stairs.
VOICE: It's too late
to turn back.
It's too late to turn back.
[THUNDERCLAP]
[VOICES SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
God, don't let this happen!
[VOICES SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
God, don't let this happen!
Now the darkness gave him
one last nudge.
It works a million times a day
all over the world.
A tiny nub of truth that...
that makes a lie seem real.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[JINGLING]
[STIRRING]
[RACHEL STIRRING]
RACHEL: Danny?
What? [GROANS IN PAIN]
[MUFFLED SCREAMING]
[SCREAMING CONTINUES]
[SCREAMING]
EVAN: What are you doing?
JOANNA: After Rachel,
he lashed out at Evan.
He was told he was doing
the best thing for his son,
so he believed it.
[EVAN SCREAMING]
I begged God to stop him.
Stop it now!
And fell to my knees.
And perhaps I was heard.
[DANNY WHIMPERING]
I will never know.
[CRYING] Hey... Hey...
put some shoes on, buddy.
Can't run around the house
with no shoes on, come on.
Put some shoes on.
Hey, it's okay. It's okay.
Shh. It's okay. It's okay.
Go back to bed.
JOANNA: He was on his way
to kill Christopher,
when finally an angel blocked
Christopher's doorway
and told Danny, "Stop.
"You are not taking this one."
Those words
brought Danny to his senses,
and saved Christopher.
I want you
to consider something.
Perhaps it will
help you to understand
the power of forgiveness.
[CRYING]
Please forgive me.
JOANNA: You can
remain angry at Danny.
You can hate him.
You can hope
that he rots in hell,
punished
for the rest of eternity.
That's your choice.
But then you stay trapped
in your anger,
and in prison
in your own emotions,
because of a desire
to see another suffer.
Ask yourself something.
Do you want
to be guided by hate...
or by love?
Danny, like all of us,
he was a sinner as we are,
but his father
loved him nonetheless
and brought him back home.
God does not view sin
in different levels.
That was the creation of man.
Rachel and Evan
have forgiven him.
I think... you should, too.
[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]
JOANNA: God does not view sin
in different levels.
That was a creation of man.
RICHARD: Did you
come up with that?
JOANNA: No. Someone else.
A writer.
[ENGINE IDLING]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[INHALES SHARPLY]
[DANNY CRYING]
I'm sorry.
[ENGINE REVVING]
[SNIFFLES]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[ENGINE REVVING]
[INHALING SHARPLY]
-[BREATHING HEAVILY]
-[ENGINE REVVING]
[BELLS TOLLING]
[DOOR OPENS]
[DOOR CLOSES]
EMILY: Tony, the car is here.
You've been standing
at that window,
staring at it all night.
Emily, hon, I got it.
Just meet me in the lobby.
I'll be a minute. Okay?
Sure.
[EXHALES]
Danny, what the hell.
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
Hello.
-LOGAN: Is Tony there?
-Yes, he is.
But we're on vacation
and we're actually trying
to get away from things.
Can't this wait
until we get back?
I'd rather not, ma'am.
It's an urgent matter.
It's Logan. He says
he needs to talk to you
right away.
I think you should take it
before he has a stroke
or something.
Hey, Tony... Sir.
There's a reason
why my cell phone is off.
Now make it quick.
We have dinner reservations
in 15 minutes.
Sorry to bother you,
but I'm kind of freaked out.
I'm not sure what to do.
What's this all about, Logan?
LOGAN: Well, I met
with Danny last night
at Belleau Street store.
He, uh... He told me
to come with him
to his house and...
uh, wait in the garage
until he needed my help.
So, you know, uh,
I did that, but then
I fell asleep.
I don't know what Danny did,
but he woke me up this morning,
told me I had to leave
right away, so I did.
But he was acting real...
strange, spooky, you know?
-I... I think
you ought to call him.
-[LINE DISCONNECTS]
[LINE RINGING]
BILL: Tony.
TONY: Bill.
Really glad I reached you.
I need a big favor.
Danny left me a really
strange message last night.
I need you to get ahold of him.
BILL: You got it, bud.
Yeah, I'm in my truck right now.
I'm heading to the gym,
so I'll just swing by.
I'll call you back
in a few minutes.
I'm sure everything is okay.
Yeah, I'll check it out.
Ciao, boss. Hey, stop worrying.
Jeez.
I have a bad feeling this time.
[PERSON BREATHING HEAVILY]
-[DIALING]
-[LINE RINGING]
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
-[KNOCK ON DOOR]
-[DOORBELL RINGING]
BILL: Danny? Rachel?
Is anybody home?
RACHEL: [ON VOICEMAIL]
You've reached Rachel.
DANNY: Danny.
EVAN: Evan.
CHRISTOPHER: And Christopher.
-ALL: Please leave a message.
-[BEEP]
Hello. Danny?
[PERSON BREATHING HEAVILY]
Rachel. Anybody home?
Hey, it's Bill Schroeder.
Can you let me in?
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
Chris, where are
your mom and dad?
-Go.
-Watch it, watch it.
-Go.
-Take the shot.
-[MAN EXCLAIMS]
-Nice shot.
Airball.
Uh, ball in.
MAN: Attack! Attack!
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
MAN 1: Junior.
MAN 2: Go, you go!
We good! We good!
CAROLYN: You have a good day,
buddy, all right?
Have a good soccer game.
Score a goal for me.
-See ya.
-All right.
-Bye, sweetheart.
-Bye, Mom.
Bye, guys!
[SIGHS]
Embarrassing, dude.
MAN: Over here, over here!
-[PHONE RINGING]
-Ooh.
Hey, how was your morning?
MITCH: Amazing.
Just heading to the office.
You sound out of breath.
Yeah.
I almost missed Joey and Luke's
pickup this morning,
I'm running so late.
Gotcha.
Hey, did, uh... Did Danny call?
He didn't... He didn't show up.
Frankie, sweetheart.
It's time to go.
Uh...
No. No messages.
Not that I know of.
I'm sorry.
I'm trying to get Frankie
out the door. [PANTING]
MITCH: Okay.
Yeah, hun.
No worries, babe.
You got a couple minutes
for one of your amazing
pep talks?
-I need to nail this thing.
-Yes, of course.
-Uh, what time are they due in?
-Two hours.
We have an hour to pitch
the, uh, entire design package.
Need ten minutes, tops, babe.
You're my biggest fan.
Yeah, speaking of biggest fan,
Rachel called, left a message
while we were at dinner
the other night,
and, um, she passed
her real estate exam,
so we are going to go out
this weekend and celebrate.
Well, then maybe we'll all have
something to celebrate
this weekend.
Hey, I'm just pulling up now.
Okay, sweetheart. You got this.
-Love you.
-I love you.
-Okay.
-FRANKIE: I'm ready to go, Mom.
[SIGHS] Bless your heart.
[LAUGHS] All right, stinker.
We got some work to do.
-Come with me.
-You don't like my shirt?
[ELEVATOR DINGS]
-Kate.
-Hey, Mitch. Support is ready.
Robert.
-Good to see you.
-Good to see you.
-How are you?
-Great.
MITCH: Gentlemen,
how was your flight down from...
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
The way I see it, your account
presents many challenges.
Am I right, Kate?
Tell me what you don't like
about Wholesome Grocer.
Better yet, I'll tell you.
Parking, pricing,
impulse stacking, clientele.
But you're not Wholesome Grocer,
and that's exactly what we want
the consumer to know.
The second case,
we build Green Acres.
Not just a TV show.
[BELLS TOLLING]
RICHARD: Joanna.
Does your head hurt now?
JOANNE: Better, love.
The morning brought
a small sense of relief.
[WATER RUNNING]
[SIGHS]
[SIGHS]
Thank you.
Perhaps you should
stay in bed today.
Maybe today is not your day.
[CHUCKLES] But every day
is my day, you know that.
Just give me a minute.
[PHONE RINGING]
Hey, Mom, where are you?
What's going on?
MOTHER: You need to sit down,
sweetheart.
It's about Danny and Rachel
and the boys.
What's going on?
They okay?
Rachel's gone.
And one of the boys and...
[SOBBING] And Danny, too.
What do you mean, gone?
I just...
I just heard from
Rachel last night.
MITCH: The idea is to give
the shop an organic feeling
without the...
crunchy granola feeling
mixing the...
Creative with the practical.
I'm so sorry.
Kate, can you take over?
[INDISTINCT WHISPERED CHATTER]
Kate, I guess it's your floor.
KATE: Yeah, of course.
MOTHER: Danny killed Rachel
and one of the boys
last night.
They found his car
in the bottom of the quarry
down at St. Francisville.
Police think he drove it
off the edge on purpose.
Mm...
No, Mom,
you must be mistaken. I...
[CHUCKLES] That's...
But they...
Honey, it's no mistake.
No.
Danny...
Danny would never
hurt the kids, so...
And...
And if... And if Rachel was...
If they were having problems,
Rachel would have told me.
So you're wrong.
All right. We're good now.
What's up?
TONY: Mitch.
Emily and I are on our way home
right now.
What happened?
It's Danny.
[SOBBING] No.
No!
No...
Oh, no, no, no!
No!
[MOTHER SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
No!
Oh, my God!
No, no, no, no, no!
No.
Carolyn?
Carolyn?
MITCH: Listen, boys,
there's something
we got to tell you and...
there's no easy way to say it.
And it's gonna sound awful.
LUKE: What happened?
CAROLYN: I think
Danny was sick.
You know, like...
sick in the head, in his mind.
LUKE: Breakfast.
And he... he hurt
Rachel and Evan very badly.
He... He...
He killed them.
And he... he couldn't
forgive himself, he...
He killed himself.
[SOBS]
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
JOEY: Thank you.
MITCH: All right,
make it so, boys.
All right, sir.
Mom?
Be right back.
Tuck Foxy in.
And then have Foxy tuck you in.
CAROLYN: I love you.
MITCH: Yeah. Thank you.
You, too.
Let's get you
straightened up here.
-Dad?
-MITCH: Yes?
Are we all going to heaven?
MITCH: I don't know.
-Good night, Mom.
-Good night, my love.
Good night. Hit the light.
We love you, buddy.
Oh, my God, please.
RACHEL: Hey, sweetie,
it's Rachel.
What are you up to?
I'm about to go take my exam.
And I just was calling to get
one of your famous pep talks.
Also, it's raining here,
and I was just wondering
if it's raining there, too.
It's really nasty here.
Joanna?
Where you going?
I need to see them.
I need to help.
What are you
going to say to them?
Brief is life, but love is long.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
MITCH: According
to this report,
they found Danny's car
by accident.
A couple of hikers
came across the tracks
and followed them to....
The edge of a ravine.
We're lucky
they even found his car.
[DOOR OPENS]
Mom, Dad...
Um, can we sleep
with you tonight?
CAROLYN: Of course.
Come here.
Hey, look.
You boys have to sleep
though, right?
Here, lift up, sweetheart.
Let me get you under the covers.
Okay.
You got your daddy,
right, sweetheart?
-Yeah, we're good.
-All right.
[KISSING]
♪ Everybody listen to me
♪ And return me my ship
♪ I'm your captain
Almost. Good try.
[CHUCKLES]
Hey, honey!
What's the score, Christopher?
Like Grandpa always says,
"We got Luke and Evan
"running like two bald guys
fighting over a comb."
[LAUGHTER]
CAROLYN: Evan go through
a growth spurt just recently?
Evan's gonna
be in high school
before we know it.
RACHEL: Don't even say that.
What's up, munchkin?
Best summer ever, Mom.
CAROLYN AND RACHEL: Aw!
-Just look at them.
-So sweet.
Young, innocent.
[LAUGHS] Not for long.
RACHEL: Oh, my gosh.
Well, it wasn't always easy,
but somehow we made it work,
didn't we?
Yes, we did.
-Cheers to you.
-Here's to that.
[LAUGHS]
What are you cackling about?
Your first day. Henderson High.
-Let's not...
-Oh, yes, yes, yes.
-Let's do.
-[CHUCKLES]
Um... Oh!
"You look like
you could use a lab partner.
"I'm Rachel." [LAUGHING]
-You didn't talk like that.
You did not.
-I do!
High school. Let's not.
No. So scary.
[CAR ENGINE REVVING]
We shall never
speak of it again.
[BOTH LAUGHING]
Yes, we will.
Hey, little man.
Don't be running
with no shoes on.
We'll end up
in the hospital again.
Shit.
DANNY: You ever...
You ever wonder if...
we end up
in the right place in life?
Yeah, sometimes.
I don't know, maybe...
maybe it's just about freedom,
you know?
Doing whatever you want
whenever you want to do it.
Being tied down...
-Buy a Porche.
-[CHUCKLES]
Seriously, like,
what do you think
your life would be like
if you didn't have Carolyn
and the boys?
You know?
I don't know. I do have a life
with Carolyn and the boys.
I just...
I don't think about it.
[CAROLYN AND RACHEL
CHATTING INDISTINCTLY]
CAROLYN: Girls and boys
have different...
Oh, that reminds me. Here.
I got you something
for the Mustang.
Ah!
Are you kidding me?
"If they don't know
it happened..."
BOTH: "It didn't happen."
MITCH: "NOLA."
You had this made?
Nah. Found it in a tourist shop
down the court.
Kind of like
"What happens in Vegas."
You know?
I don't know.
Seemed appropriate. [CHUCKLES]
-Hey, hands to yourself.
-Thank you.
-You're very good at that.
-Thank you.
[WATER SPLASHING]
Yeah.
-Careful. Wine.
-Guys, there's a bottle
of wine right there.
DANNY: Hey!
I love you, Renee.
You love me,
you learn my name, honey.
Yeah. [LAUGHS]
RACHEL: And you come over
and hang out with us. [LAUGHING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
♪ I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
♪ I'm your captain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
I think I'd rather be doing
just about anything
other than meeting with
a homicide detective today.
I know, I know.
In a weird way, it, uh...
it'll be good for us.
You know?
We need to know all the facts.
When nothing makes sense,
we need to know what happened.
[MITCH SIGHING GRIMLY]
My best friends are dead.
That's what happened.
[SIGHS]
I had a dream
about Rachel last night.
You what?
Yeah. I was, uh...
sitting by the pool,
and I must have dozed off.
When I opened my eyes,
or at least I think
my eyes were open,
I... I could see her face.
She was smiling.
Laughing and...
speaking, though her
lips weren't moving.
But it was like...
she was there,
but she wasn't there?
And she told me to convince you
to speak at her funeral
and that she'll be there
with you.
[CHUCKLES]
She came to me last night, too.
[CAROLYN CHUCKLES]
I think we're both
just imagining things.
BEN: Please accept
my condolences.
My name is Detective Ben Lee
from the...
East Baton Rouge
Sheriff's Office.
And you can call me Ben.
I know how difficult
this must be for all of you,
so I'll try to be
as brief as possible.
Let me be clear that I can
only release a limited amount
of information,
and I must insist that
you keep the details
of what I tell you
to yourselves
as this is an
ongoing investigation.
Once the media gets ahold
of some of these details,
they're gonna have a field day.
Carolyn.
-Bill.
-Mitch.
ANNA: Hi. I'm so sorry.
BILL: You know Anna?
ANNA: Mitch.
MITCH: Tony.
TONY: Hey.
MITCH: I'm so sorry.
TONY: Thank you.
MITCH: When did you get back?
TONY: About an hour ago.
-[SOBBING]
-MARY ANN: Can't believe
they're gone.
Why did he do this? Why?
BILL: Ben and I go way back.
Kids played ball together.
He's graciously offered
to fill us in.
Thanks for doing this, Ben.
Ben, when I landed
at the airport,
I received a message
from a reporter
saying that Danny
did not shoot Rachel or Evan.
Danny did not shoot
Rachel or Evan,
but Danny did shoot himself.
Danny didn't own a gun.
Shotgun.
He shot himself with it
as he drove his SUV
into the quarry.
-[CRYING]
-[SHUSHING]
-[MARY ANN SOBBING]
-Okay. Okay, okay. [SHUSHING]
CAROLYN: Stop.
-I can't do this.
-Okay, okay, okay, okay.
She's in a warfare now.
Rachel and Danny Tucker,
and she...
she raised Evan and Chris
like her own brothers.
She looked up to Danny
like a father.
-This doesn't make any sense.
-[PHONE BEEPS]
DANNY: [ON RECORDING]
Hey, Tony. It's Danny.
Um...
Listen, I... I just fired Logan
and, uh, he got real pissed.
He said he was gonna kill me.
[DANNY BREATHING SHAKILY]
Look, I'm...
I'm driving home now
and I... I think he might be
following me.
So, uh...
I don't know. I...
I think this guy
could be dangerous.
And I... I just thought
you should know.
Um...
Yeah, I don't know what to do.
Call me back, okay?
-[LINE DISCONNECTS]
-[BELLS TOLLING]
This doesn't make any sense.
Have you arrested
Logan Vonda yet?
On November 17th,
last Tuesday,
at approximately 7:30,
Daniel Turner left his home
to go to
Steve's Sporting Goods Store
on Belleau
for the purpose of firing
Logan Vonda,
an employee
who had been caught stealing.
Previously that day,
Danny had requested
that Mary Ann pick up
Evan and Christopher
and bring them
back to her apartment
for the evening.
Danny told her that Rachel
would be working late,
and he wanted her
to get a good night's rest
because she would be starting
a new job following day.
Mary Ann arrived
later than planned,
approximately 7:00.
Rachel arrived home at 7:15.
Mary Ann said
that she didn't notice
anything strange or different
about Danny or Rachel.
After Danny left,
Rachel and Mary Ann
decided that the boys
would not be going
to Mary Ann's apartment
that night.
You're saying that
Danny thought the boys
were gonna be with Mary Ann
when he went to go fire Logan?
I... I should've known
that something was up.
If I had only insisted
that the boys stay with me.
-At least Evan
I could've stopped.
-No, no, no...
[CRYING HYSTERICALLY]
CAROLYN: No,
you couldn't have
done anything.
[SHUSHING]
Have... Have you
interviewed Vonda?
According to his statement,
the store closed 7:45,
and that's when Danny arrived
and accused him of stealing
from the cash register.
Logan Vonda begged Danny
not to fire him
and Danny said something like,
"Okay, there might be
another way,"
and said he should follow him
to R.J. Vale Elementary.
Once they got there,
Logan said that he asked Danny
to tell him about the idea
he had back at the store,
thinking that Danny wanted him
to obtain drugs for him.
Danny didn't do drugs.
BEN: When he suggested
he could take care of Danny,
if that's what he wanted,
he said Danny started laughing
and says something
along all the lines of
"It's gonna to take
much more than that."
So it's possible that
Logan Vonda helped Danny
kill Rachel and Evan.
But you said
he committed suicide.
Are you sure?
I mean, how do we know
he's telling the truth?
Vonda could've
committed the murders
and then...
and then staged Danny's death.
Oh, that...
that makes more sense.
Yeah, I mean, you already have
Logan admitting to plotting
a crime with Danny.
He gets off scot-free,
and Danny's not here
to speak for himself.
Look, I know this is very hard
for you to take,
but I can speak with certainty
that Danny committed
these killings,
and then he took his own life.
[BREATHING HEAVILY]
[SIGHING]
[SNIFFLING]
MITCH: "The trust
of the innocent
is a liar's most useful tool."
Stephen King.
Danny liked Stephen King.
This is feeling like
a Stephen King novel to me.
Some of you
may be aware that Danny
did a stretch in prison
along with Tony here.
Prison? What's he talking about?
We broke into a house
and got caught, Bill.
Danny attacked a guy. He...
He beat him with a tire iron.
BEN: Had it not been
for Tony stopping him,
it is almost certain
he would have killed the man.
We've all made mistakes, Bill.
That was over 20 years ago,
and I can attest that
Tony having gone through
that as a kid
has made him the good man
that he is today.
Danny...
Well, cussing and drinking
doesn't make you a murderer.
BILL: Uh...
I believe that, Mitch, I do.
But it's just...
Danny doesn't...
Danny didn't have a temper.
Hell, I always knew you two
as just high school
football heroes.
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]
[GIRLS LAUGHING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
ANNOUNCER : [OVER PA]
...with 45 seconds left
on the clock,
Tony Turner behind center
needs to convert here
to keep the drive alive.
Turner calls an audible.
That's the snap.
Turner well into his left.
Here comes the Blitz.
He's got a man open
down the line.
Turner gets his brother Danny
at dead center!
He's in the 15, the 10,
the five, touchdown!
[CROWD CHEERING]
The Cougars win the game.
The Cougars win the game.
Unbelievable!
The Turner brothers
do it again.
He's got them
to a final score of...
[TRUMPET PLAYING NOTES]
Danny? Hey, you okay?
Yeah, hey...
-YOUNG TONY:
Danny, let's go.
-Yeah.
Am I gonna see you
at the party later?
Sure. Um,
I want you to meet someone.
Danny Turner,
this is Rachel McKenna.
Danny scored
the winning touchdown today.
Wow. Cool.
-YOUNG TONY: Come on, man,
let's go!
-Nice to meet you, Danny.
-Nice meeting you, too.
-[HORNS HONKING]
-What did you say
your name was, Renee?
-No, it's Rach...
It's Rachel.
YOUNG TONY: We're late
for the kegger, man.
TONY: When the scholarships
didn't come in,
things eventually
kind of fell apart.
That summer, Danny and I
picked up stock boy jobs
at Tager's Lumber Yard
to make some extra money.
But it was never enough.
What do we got here?
So we started
stealing inventory
and fencing it to pick up
the extra bucks.
I knew a guy in Baton Rouge
that would pay
25 bucks per saw.
We could make $500.
You have to understand,
we were making
minimum wage at the time.
Things continued like that
for about a year.
Then we got
a phone call from Bags.
What's up, man?
[POOL BALLS CLINKING]
Nice.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
YOUNG TONY: Yo, Bags. Over here.
BAGS: Ah! There they are.
-[LAUGHS] Yo, what's going on?
-What's up?
Hey, Danny! Come here, bud.
BAGS: How we doing, fellas?
YOUNG TONY: Good, good.
BAGS: Good.
YOUNG TONY: What do you
got for us?
I got something for you.
You know that antique shop
over at Novelty?
The one that sells
all that crap like
old clocks and paintings
and tables and stuff?
Well, I had to do
deliveries there every day,
and I started getting friendly
with the big bald dude Jack
who hauls all the stuff around
for the two old farts
that own the joint.
He said that they do a lot,
[SNICKERING] and I mean,
a lot of business in cash,
then they take it home
to their house in Lafayette.
Cash!
Say that's true,
how are we supposed to get
the cash out of the safe
if we don't know
the combination.
Jack knows the combination.
Like, he won't do the break-in,
but he'll give it to us
if we cut him in.
Check this. He says that
they're planning
to go to Florida
for a few months in January.
If we give him
a 1,000 bucks upfront,
he'll make us a copy
of the house key
and give us the code
to the alarm system.
Merry Christmas, boys.
[ALL CHUCKLING]
-[BANGING ON TABLE]
-Come on! Huh?
Ho-ho-ho. [LAUGHS]
TONY: Jack said
the safe was bolted
inside a cabinet upstairs.
There was at least
$50,000 in it.
Jack also said the homeowners,
Don and Linda Grant,
they closed up shop
week after Christmas every year.
Just put the lights on timers
and bolted out of town.
So we hung out for a few days
just to make sure
the place was empty.
We were so excited
because we had the keys.
We weren't exactly pros
and we should've realized
at the time that the...
YOUNG DANNY: Okay, go ahead.
...the whole plan
rested on a stranger
whose last name
we didn't even know.
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING
ON CAR STEREO]
BAGS: Yo, Danny, turn it up.
[MUSIC GETS LOUDER]
[ELECTRIC GUITAR SOLO PLAYING]
TONY: Kevin and Missy Grant
were driving in
from Chicago that day.
They were gonna stay
at the house for a few days
before heading down to Florida
to meet up
with Kevin's parents.
[ALARM SYSTEM BEEPS]
MISSY: Thank you.
TONY: Kevin's parents
didn't know at the time
that Missy
was three months pregnant.
And we didn't know that
they were gonna to be there.
[BAGS HUMMING]
BAGS: Hey, how did you guys
get here before me?
A tire iron?
The place is empty, Danny.
What's the difference?
TONY: We should have seen
that there was something wrong
with Danny,
something in his head.
I'll leave it in the gym bag
just in case.
Forget it. Come on.
YOUNG TONY: [WHISPERING]
What are you're doing?
Turn... Turn them off.
Turn them off. Turn them off.
[KEYPAD BEEPING]
[ALARM BEEPS]
-[UNLOCKING DOOR]
-[ALARM BEEPS]
[ALARM BEEPS]
TONY: That lamp bothered me.
The lamp was off
when I knew that
those lights were
supposed to be on a timer.
[SHUSHING]
Something's wrong.
BAGS: [CHUCKLES] Chill, Tony.
No one's here but us chickens.
Let's go.
-[FAINT LAUGHTER]
-[THUDDING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Do you hear something?
[MISSY MOANS]
TONY: I remember how young
and frightened we all were.
Danny in particular, his...
his big old eyes
just talking out of his head.
BAGS: Hey, give me a hand.
BAGS: [WHISPERING]
Here, take this. Hold this up.
[CHUCKLES] Oh, boy...
[LAUGHING]
BAGS: What did I tell you?
What did I tell you?
There! Go on! Tony! Check!
YOUNG TONY: All right.
Load it up.
-[LOUD THUD]
-[BOTH GASP]
[WHISPERING] There's
someone in the house.
[BAGS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
We have to call the cops.
I left my phone downstairs.
[THUDDING]
Kevin, be careful.
[BREATH TREMBLING]
[BAGS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
What the hell are you doing?
Don't do anything stupid
and no one's gonna get hurt.
Kevin?
Missy, go downstairs,
call the cops. Now!
[PANTING]
YOUNG TONY: No, come back.
[GRUNTS]
TONY: So, Bill, when you say
that It's hard to believe
that Danny had a temper,
I say that you did not know
Danny the way I did.
[KEVIN GROANS]
Bastard! [GRUNTING]
-Don't... ever... hit... me.
-Get off, Danny!
No, Danny!
BAGS: Come on, chill out!
We gotta go!
I'm outta here.
Go!
[PANTING] Where is it?
Where is it?
[PHONE BEEPS]
[MISSY SCREAMING]
Call the cops and I'll kill you.
Aah! [GRUNTS]
[MISSY GROANS]
[SOBBING]
[MISSY GROANING IN PAIN]
Bags took the cash. He bolted.
We went after him.
He was tearing down
Highway 10 in Henderson and...
[SIGHS]
He collided with a tree
on the side of the road.
And half of him
went through the windshield.
Danny and I got back
to our house and the cops
were already there.
They're waiting for us
because it turns out
that Missy went to
Henderson High School.
[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]
She recognized us
from our star high school
football days.
So go figure that.
Kevin Grant suffered
a brain injury,
broken ribs, punctured lung.
He was recovering
in that hospital for a month.
If Danny beat him any more,
he never would've made it.
[DOCTORS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
TONY: Because of the violent
nature of our crime
and the fact that we were
high school football heroes,
our case was front page news
for a few days.
We were advised to take a deal,
so we did.
We agreed to 10 to 25.
[JAIL CELL BUZZER SOUNDS]
[CELL GATE CLOSING]
[INMATES TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
TONY: We were thrown
in St. Charles Parish
Correctional Facility.
Danny was put in a cell
on the opposite side
of the prison from me
and the only contact we had
was the writing of a letter,
or an occasional phone call.
[DOOR BUZZING]
GUARD: All right, let's go.
TONY: I realized during
my time there that
that was an opportunity for me
to change direction in my life,
to make something of myself.
And at that moment,
I felt this overwhelming
sense of gratitude
for my whole situation.
I accepted the fact
that it was a good thing
that we got caught.
I felt sorry for Danny.
I felt responsible for him.
There was nothing I could do.
I wrote him letters
and I tried to get him to admit
that what he did was wrong,
that he was damn lucky
that he did not kill
Kevin Grant that night.
That he had a chance
to do the right thing
from that moment forward.
He didn't listen to me.
He said that he was
just gonna play nice,
he was gonna work the system
because that afforded him
certain privileges
that made life on the inside
a lot easier.
But he just wanted out...
and to stay out.
You two knew them best.
Yeah, Carolyn,
you and Rachel
were like sisters.
I've heard the stories.
And, Mitch, when you say Tony
became a better man
due to his past, I believe it.
I do, Tony.
So Danny's hiding this darkness
inside, I get it, but...
Don't we all?
I mean, it doesn't...
doesn't mean we're all capable
of murdering our families.
BEN: I suppose.
But a crime scene tells a story,
much like Tony's.
And it's up to my guys
to read it correctly.
TONY: Carolyn,
your father, Joe,
his regular visits,
they made all the
difference in the world.
They really did.
Imagine your high school coach
visiting you in jail...
just to remind you that...
the outside world
still cared about you.
And he reminded us
not to give up hope
and to stay strong
because a miracle
could come at any time.
And it did.
In the form of a letter
from Kevin Grant.
He wrote in his letter
that he had come
to the conclusion
that in order to be free,
he needed to forgive.
So he wanted to meet
Danny and me in prison
so he could
forgive us in person.
KEVIN: Yet forgiveness
is an easier thing
to talk about...
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
How are you?
-Orange. Nice.
-[BOTH CHUCKLE]
TONY: Imagine that.
The guy that you had
beat the crap out of
is asking for permission
to forgive you.
[VOICE SHAKING] The honesty
in his letter was undeniable.
Um...
We never properly met.
I was in the hospital
during your trial.
Yeah, last time
we were in the same room
was on that night.
I like the mustache.
I'm so used to seeing you
from the news clippings
of the case.
It makes you look older.
I feel older.
[EXHALES] Um...
After that night...
I spent the next few years
driven crazy with anger.
I'd lie in bed at night
just... just wishing
I'd picked up that bat,
and smashed you both
over the heads.
Why did I not defend my wife?
Listen, Kevin,
-I mean, we're sorry. We just...
-I know you are.
Because you got caught.
But it... it could have easily
have gone the other way.
I could have been killed
and Missy, too.
It could have been much worse.
And it took me
a long time to see that.
But, uh...
after I recovered, I, uh...
I went back to work.
We had our... our son...
and I thought
life would get back to normal.
But instead...
instead I... I...
I sank into a deep depression.
Uh...
One night...
[DOOR CLICKS SHUT]
I was closing up the shop
around 8:00.
And I see this guy Harold,
who often slept
on the grate across the street.
And he was talking
with this well-dressed,
soft-spoken woman.
And, I, uh...
I go to walk past
and he calls out.
He says, "Hey, Kevin..."
-Hey, Kevin.
-"...slow down, man."
-Come on.
-"This is Joanna."
-Come on.
-"She... She's here for you."
[ECHOING] Hi, Kevin.
And, uh...
[SIGHS WEARILY]
That night,
I had brought with me
a bottle of pills,
and I was going to
sit in my car and die.
I couldn't see
the wonderful things
I had to live for,
like Missy,
and my son
and my parents and my friends.
I was...
I was so full of hate for you,
for myself, for... for...
for not being a man
that night that I...
I couldn't see what
my death would do
to those who loved me.
I...
I couldn't see
how much I had to live for.
And all of a sudden,
Joanna took my hand
and she stared intensely
into my eyes,
like she could
look into my mind.
JOANNA: I came to tell you
something, Kevin.
Let go of your anger.
Go home tonight
and pray for the men
that hurt you
and mean it.
Pray that those men you hate
will be happy.
And one day free.
Pray for God to allow you
to forgive them
because that is the only way
you will ever be free.
One more thing, Kevin.
Your plan for tonight
is a very bad idea.
KEVIN: I went back to my car
and I looked
at the bottle of pills.
But instead of taking them...
I prayed.
I out... I prayed out loud
like she told me to.
I prayed for you both
to have a good life.
I prayed
to be able to forgive you.
I prayed to be able
to forgive myself.
And the most
amazing thing happened.
I felt free.
[SIGHS SOFTLY]
Thank you.
TONY: Danny said that
he had these visions
of a woman with gray hair
and olive-colored skin.
He said she was so real
that when he closed his eyes,
she was standing right there
in the cell in front of him.
We had a hearing
for early release.
The committee
overseeing our cases
read letters of support...
from Linda,
and Missy and Kevin Grant.
And the decision
to release us earlier
was unanimous.
[JAIL CELL BUZZER SOUNDS]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION
AND LAUGHTER]
[PEOPLE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
-Come on. Come on.
-What you got? What you got?
Run faster! Get in there!
Back up, back up!
ALL: Yeah!
MAN: That's my boy.
That's my boy.
That's my boy.
See you boys next week.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[SIGHS]
TONY: All right. I got
a date with Emily tonight.
What are you guys up to?
Good for you.
Maybe she can kiss
your basketball boo-boos.
[CHUCKLES] That's funny.
-Good night, guys.
-See you, buddy.
Hey, speaking of dates...
-I got someone
I want you to meet.
-Oh, come on, man.
-Come on.
Come for a quick drink.
-Come on.
You'd like that... the band.
It's Steve Manano's band.
You like them, right?
-MITCH: Yeah.
-Quick one.
-Okay.
-You'll like her, too,
don't worry.
-Oh, Jesus.
-[DANNY CHUCKLES]
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, Mike. What up?
-MITCH: What was her name again?
-Her name's, uh, Carolyn.
She went to Henderson High.
Think you might know her.
Hey!
Whoo!
Oh, shit. Look who's here.
Jimmy! Don't you drink too much.
I don't wanna have to
carry you home.
Come on, now. Hear that.
Hear that in your bones?
You gotta feel that music
in your bones. Come on, man.
-CAROLYN: Danny!
-That's my girl!
Hey. Hey, listen!
There's someone
I want to reintroduce you to.
What do you mean, reintroduce?
Yeah. Reintroduce you
because, a long time ago
after a game,
I wanted to introduce you
to my friend Rachel
but you'd taken off
to a keg party or something.
-Yeah, yeah. That sounds
like me back then. I'm sorry.
-Yeah.
-Hey, this is my buddy Mitch,
the one I was telling you about.
-Hi!
-Mitch, this is Carolyn.
-Nice to meet you.
-What?
-Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too. [LAUGHS]
Mitch is a great guy.
He's an okay basketball player,
but he's the best architect
you'll ever meet.
-Oh!
-He designed one of our shops.
Yeah, he was... he graduated
a couple of years ahead of us
at Henderson.
-Oh, okay.
-Oh, you gotta remember
this face.
Look at this guy.
Tall, dark and handsome.
CAROLYN: Sorry. [CHUCKLES]
-It was nice to meet you.
-Likewise.
Yeah.
It's okay. His tongue swells up
when he gets hit
by the love bug.
-Oh.
-Oh, man.
[CHUCKLES] Oh, my God,
there's my friend Rachel.
Okay, come with me.
Hey, do me a favor... Rachel!
-Do not call her Renee again.
-Okay. Okay.
RACHEL: Hi!
-I'm Danny.
-I'm Rachel.
-Right. I remember.
-Yeah.
DANNY: I'm sorry, yeah.
RACHEL: Hey, I love this song.
You wanna dance?
Do you, um, I don't know,
wanna have a drink?
-Why not?
-Okay.
DANNY: What do you like
for breakfast in the morning?
That's a really bad question
to ask.
-That sounds really terrible.
Forget it.
-[LAUGHS]
-Are you inviting me
to breakfast?
-Yeah, that's why it sounds bad.
I wasn't asking you
that kind of...
Forget I asked you that.
Just dance with me.
Come on.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Club soda, please.
CAROLYN: How's your drink?
Strong enough for you?
♪ You seein' my baby walking
♪ Tell her I caught my train
And gone
♪ If you see my baby walkin'
[ALARM RINGING]
[ALARM STOPS]
[TV BEEPS]
I'm standing at the edge
of Nicholson Quarry
in St. Francisville
where the final act
of the Turner family tragedy
took place Tuesday morning.
It was here that Danny Turner,
husband and father
of the victims,
took his own life.
Though the final report
has not yet been released
by the medical examiner...
[TV BEEPS OFF]
RACHEL: [VOICEMAIL RECORDING]
Hey, sweetie, it's Rachel.
What are you up to?
I'm about to go take my exam,
and I just was calling...
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
Ben.
Thank you for agreeing
to meet with me.
Glad you reached out.
BEN: Look, I didn't want
to get into all these details
in front of the family.
But, uh...
This is kinda what happened.
Danny told Logan
that he wanted him to help
fake a jewelry heist
at his house to make
an insurance claim of $30,000,
which he said
he would share with Logan.
Logan said he didn't think
it was really a crime.
So they left Logan's car
at R.J. Vale Elementary school
and then drove
to Danny's house together.
Now here's
where it gets interesting.
Around 11:30 p.m.,
Danny came back
and told Logan
that Rachel was asleep
and to break the glass
in the back door
of the garage
to make it look
like a break-in.
[WHISPERS] And I want you
to put a brick through
the window, okay?
You do that for me.
Make it look like we,
you know...
just like somebody
robbed the house, got it?
-All right.
-You got a phone on you.
BEN: Now according
to phone records,
Danny then made several calls
in the next few hours,
including one to his brother
and several to Logan's friends
in which he claimed
that he had just fired Logan
and Logan
had threatened to kill him.
[CLEARS THROAT] Hey, Tony.
It's Danny. Um...
Listen, I... I just fired Logan.
Doesn't this Logan guy
also have a record?
I mean, why do the police
believe what he has to say?
Okay, so, Logan has a record,
but his statements check out.
Look, when you're dealing
with a crime like this,
it's very common
for witnesses to be people
with dicey backgrounds.
We know Logan isn't a Boy Scout.
The fact that Danny
made these calls
suggests that he was trying
to frame Logan
and create an alibi
for himself.
You think it was premeditated?
BEN: Around 1:00 a.m.,
he came back
and said that he never
really planned to steal
any jewelry.
In fact, there wasn't
any jewelry to steal.
-Instead, he wanted
Logan's help killing Rachel.
-There's a change of plan.
I, uh... I need to...
I need to kill my wife.
Okay? So I need you to do it
'cause I can't fucking do it.
[CHUCKLES] What the hell
are you talking about, man?
Nobody would hang around
after somebody tells 'em
they want help
killing their wife.
This Logan kid's lying.
Logan said he stayed on
because
Danny said something like,
"Did you think
I was serious, dude?"
-[LAUGHS]
-I'll split the fucking
insurance money with you, okay?
That was if I break a window.
-Look, man...
-I can't kill nobody.
Come on, bro. Come on.
You can fucking do it.
You're fucking with me, right?
-[BOTH LAUGHING]
-You're fucking with me
right now.
Yeah. [LAUGHS]
I'm fucking with you.
Shh!
Calm the fuck down, dude.
Logan says he was convinced
Danny wasn't serious
about killing Rachel.
He was jumpy and wild-eyed
and he refused to give Logan
his cell phone back,
and then abruptly
went back into the house.
That's when Logan got spooked.
He got a screwdriver
and held on to it in the car.
And he says he fell asleep.
-Asleep?
-Yeah.
Come on, man.
You're so convinced
he had nothing to do it,
you're not making sense.
Sometime after midnight,
Danny went upstairs with intent
to bludgeon Rachel to death.
Rachel was asleep at that time.
You may recall
a brownish lamp
in the living room
with a very heavy base?
Well, Danny
got a kitchen knife,
cut the cord
and used that lamp
as the primary weapon.
MITCH: And Rachel knew
this was happening?
Yeah. We think so.
Danny probably thought
that one blow to her head
would have been
sufficient to kill her,
like on TV. Well, it didn't.
-In fact, she fought back.
-[DANNY SCREAMS]
Danny then used
the kitchen knife to stab her.
[RACHEL CRIES]
But the kitchen knife
was only two inches long.
So at some point,
Danny grabbed a pair of scissors
from the sewing table,
and stabbed her with those.
[RACHEL SCREAMS]
Did she know it was Danny?
Well, the struggle
went on for several minutes,
and even though
we suppose the room was dark,
she must have
recognized his voice.
And apparently,
there was a great deal
of shouting between them.
That's probably
what woke the children.
Rachel had, um,
marks on her arms
and what we presume to be
Danny's skin
under her fingernails.
I mean...
She was fighting
for her life, Mitch.
There's no doubt
she recognized the attacker.
My notes say that she suffered
from a severed
left carotid artery
which resulted
in exsanguination...
bleeding to death.
That would likely be
the official cause of death
when the report is completed.
Mitch, I've been doing this
for 20 years. I've never...
[SIGHS]
I've never seen
anything like this.
Lamp,
knife,
scissors.
[RACHEL'S VOICEMAIL
PLAYING INDISTINCTLY]
Hey, sweetie, it's Rachel.
I'm calling you
because I have an exam
and I just wanted to get
one of your famous pep talks.
Also, it's raining
really nasty right here,
and I wondered
if it's raining there, too...
Carolyn.
...talk to you soon.
Love you, girl.
Were you listening
to Rachel's message again?
[SIGHS]
Actually, you know, I don't...
I don't... [SIGHS]
I don't really listen to it.
Actually, that's not true.
-Yeah, it is.
-No.
It bothers me that you can't
be honest with me right now...
So I listen to it sometimes.
I don't understand
why it's a bad thing.
It's comforting to me
to hear Rachel's voice.
You don't understand
how much I need
a comforting voice right now.
-I don't understand, huh?
-No, you don't.
I've been dealing with this
right alongside you
the whole time.
Okay? And it... it frustrates me
that I can't figure out
how to move on.
-[MOANS]
-Move past it!
It's killing me!
Well, I don't listen to it
over and over again,
if that's your concern.
-You're lying to me.
-I'm lying?
You wanna talk about lying?
How about you
and your secret investigations?
Your late night phone calls,
coming home after the boys
have gone to bed,
sneaking in
and then checking up on me.
You don't understand
what I'm going through.
You don't care! You don't care.
You care only about yourself,
so leave me alone about this.
Why are you guys so mad?
Oh, no... Sweetheart.
Honey...
[MITCH SIGHS]
We're not, baby. We're...
Say good night to daddy.
Good night, buddy.
-Good night.
-Come on.
I'm sorry we woke you up,
sweetheart.
We'll get you a pillow.
Get all cuddled in.
Hey, sweetie. It's Rachel.
What are you up to?
Uh, I am about
to go take my exam
and I was just calling to get
one of your famous pep talks.
Also, it's raining here
and I was just wondering
if it's raining there, too...
-[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
-[BEEPS]
[MITCH SIGHS]
Well, it's straight
from the heart.
I know people
will remember Rachel
as the generous
and honest person that she was.
It's...
It's truthful, as it should be.
I just don't feel like
this is real.
Hope I can do it.
Look...
people will understand that
this is very hard thing to do.
You just have
to have faith that...
-[ORGAN PLAYING]
-[CHURCH BELLS TOLLING]
[PEOPLE SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
We're here to celebrate
the lives
of Rachel Turner
and her son Evan,
two beautiful souls
who were taken from us
far too soon,
but delivered into the hands
of the Lord.
The will of God
will never take you
where the grace of God
will not protect you.
Now I'd like to call on
Carolyn Bianci
if she would come
to the lectern
and share some words.
[SOBS] My name
is Carolyn Bianci [SNIFFLES]
and I am privileged to say that
Rachel had been my best friend
since ninth grade.
We formed
an immediate connection and...
and developed a bond that
continued for the past 26 years.
I knew that in Rachel
I had a friend for life.
We shared
a lot of our lives together
because she was so willing to...
to invest her time and her heart
into her friends.
And I love her
and I miss her dearly.
[SNIFFLES]
As you all know, Rachel...
Um, Rachel was never the type
to settle.
She always demanded
more of herself
and always wanted
the best for her family
and for her friends.
So in addition to raising
two wonderful boys,
Evan and Christopher,
whom she was so proud of,
she opened her home
with no hesitation to Mary Ann
because of her love of family
and her enormous heart
for others.
They say if you can find
one true friend in your life,
you are blessed,
and we are all so blessed
because, in Rachel,
we had that one true friend.
[SNIFFLES]
My husband Mitch...
is constantly reminding
our three sons that
our decisions shape our lives,
and ultimately,
shape the individuals
that we become.
We all have one
question before us today
and that question is
what meaning will we attach
to these events.
If we choose tragedy,
then we will all lose.
So the challenge
that I want to put there
for all of us,
including myself is,
is to take that piece of Rachel
that we were all so fortunate
to experience
and hold that
in their hearts forever...
by...
allowing it to inspire us
as mothers and fathers
and friends.
We will take
Rachel and Evan's light forward.
Thank you, Carolyn.
REVEREND: I would
regret this day forever
if I do not summon the courage
to speak of another.
We've spoken of Rachel and Evan.
But we have not made
mention of Danny Turner,
husband and father.
I'd be remiss if I did not
at least mention that he, too,
is a child of God.
And he, too, has passed
into another life, prematurely.
And he will be missed.
[ROARS] Got you.
MITCH: He said it was
a combination of
multiple stab wounds,
a severed carotid artery,
numerous blunt-force traumas,
and a broken jaw.
But the severed artery alone
probably caused her death.
Why did he kill Evan?
Why did he do that?
Well, Ben said, based on
physical evidence and
comments from Christopher...
it appears Evan
attempted to... to stop Danny
from attacking Rachel
and Danny lashed out,
possibly thinking Logan Vonda
was behind him.
I don't know what to think.
Why didn't he hurt Christopher?
Bill said Christopher
had blood on his back,
I'm guessing from Danny
pushing Christopher
into his room.
Well, maybe Danny
ran out of adrenaline,
came to his senses
and was able to stop
at that point.
Or someone intervened.
-[WAVES CRASHING]
-[BELLS CHIMING]
WOMAN: [SOFTLY] Joanna. Joanna.
Come back here.
You are so sweet.
You know he's going
to understand.
But we have to let him sleep.
It's his birthday.
I'm gonna surprise him anyway.
Okay.
Go on outside, okay?
Okay.
[DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES]
[YOUNG JOANNA HUMMING]
[WIND BLOWING]
[WIND CHIMES CHIMING]
Ha!
[GASPS]
[ECHOING] Daddy?
Daddy!
Daddy!
[WATER DRIPPING]
Jo, shh.
What has gotten into you?
Mom, I know something's wrong.
I saw this big blue balloon
come out the window
and go into the sky.
JOANNA'S MOTHER: What happened?
What do you mean,
a big blue balloon?
I saw this big blue balloon
and it flew away
and took Daddy with it.
[SIGHS]
Daddy is okay.
Why don't you set the table
and I'll go wake him up?
Okay? All right.
Please, God. Please, God.
Please, God. Please.
JOANNA'S MOTHER:
[SCREAMING] Honey!
Oh, God, no. He's gone!
[PHONE RINGING]
This is Mitch Bianci.
BEN: Listen, I thought about it
after our talk and...
I know where Vonda is.
Where?
Well, you were right.
His actions are not of a man
who just happened to be
at the wrong place
at the wrong time.
But you need to
understand something.
He did not do this.
Where is he?
Promise me you won't
hurt him, Mitch.
Look, I know how important
this is to you,
and that's why I didn't
tell you at the diner, okay?
So just promise me.
I think you need
to hear it from him.
I think it's the only way.
[SOFTLY] Please, please, please.
Please, God, please.
Oh, my God, please.
[SOBBING]
I can't take this anymore,
I can't take this anymore,
I can't take this anymore.
I want it to stop.
[PRAYING INDISTINCTLY]
[PRAYING INDISTINCTLY]
I'm begging you, I beg you.
At least a million times a day,
I beg you, please...
Please just make it stop.
Why? Why, why? Why does
this world seem so miserable?
So... and...
and... [CRYING] fruitless,
and hopeless, and random?
[LOUDER] I don't understand.
Help me understand,
I wanna know why.
I wanna know why.
[CAROLYN CONTINUES SOBBING]
CAROLYN: Please.
Help me stop thinking
about this, please.
Please, God.
Help me.
[RAINDROPS PATTERING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
MITCH: I'm looking
for Logan Vonda.
Does he live here?
My name is Mitch Bianci.
I was a friend
of Danny Turner's.
I know who you are.
How'd you find me?
I've got nothing to say to you.
All right? Leave me alone.
I just want to talk to you.
Get a better idea
of what Danny did that night.
I know you weren't to blame.
I said all I'm going to say.
Already said everything
to the cops.
MITCH: Can you just
come out for a sec?
I'm not looking for trouble.
I'll pay you for information.
How much?
LOGAN: So, what do you
want to know?
Why did Danny ask you
to come to the house that night?
I want to hear it from you
because this whole thing is...
[INHALES AND EXHALES DEEPLY]
And Danny was my friend,
and I need to know.
You want to know why.
I don't know.
All I know is what he told me.
I don't know,
it was just some...
some made-up stuff.
He was trying to make it
look like I did it.
He was going to use
that shotgun on me.
After he killed Rachel.
Make it look like self-defense.
And to save his wife,
he'd have to kill me.
Did you go into the house?
After Danny said
he was going to kill her,
why would I set foot
in that house?
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
I'd just been out front,
making it look like a...
a break-in.
I ain't stupid.
How did you sleep
with all the yelling
and screaming?
And where did Danny
get a shotgun?
You wanna know the truth?
That's all I want.
I was... I was holding on
to a couple of Oxys.
I was saving 'em
for when I got home.
After he went in the house
that last time, I...
I popped 'em.
Just nodded out.
[EXHALES]
Just one last question.
When Danny told you
he was gonna kill Rachel,
why didn't you do anything?
I don't know,
go to the neighbors,
call the cops.
You could have
saved their lives.
You really think I don't wish
I did things different?
I live with this every day.
Knowin' that if...
if I'd... helped,
I'd done something, anything...
Rachel, Evan, they...
they could still be alive.
I know that.
I...
I don't want your money.
Joanna Larson.
So happy to meet you.
Rachel asked that I come.
[CRYING] She...
I'm Carolyn.
I know.
I...
I'm sorry, do I know you?
We've never
personally met until now,
but I've been thinking about you
a great deal these few days.
-Why am I here?
-Yes.
And why have I been
thinking about you
given we don't know each other?
A perfectly reasonable question
to ask someone who just
showed up at your house.
May I come in?
Yes.
-Yeah?
-Yes.
Have you figured it out yet?
I was sent here to help you.
[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]
I wasn't really gonna take them,
but the doctor said
they would make me feel better.
Uh...
You said Rachel
asked you to come.
What did you mean?
JOANNA: Life changes
in an instant,
the ordinary instant.
Joan Didion.
Yes, exactly.
"To choose between
darkness and light."
"And that
we always have free will."
JOANNA: And when
a tiny nub of truth
makes a lie seem real,
it blurs our choices
like there are two voices
inside your head.
Tell me something.
When you're upstairs,
in that sacred spot,
praying on your knees,
you believe that
God hears you, don't you?
I want to.
I want to so badly.
But every day, I wake up...
and I just feel the same
pain and grief and hurt, and...
and, you know, I just...
I have these horrible...
thoughts.
Who... How'd you...
How do you know where I...
Because it was shown to me.
That morning, Carolyn,
I awoke with the natural
to a particularly angry dawn.
CAROLYN: The natural?
Are... are you saying
you see things
when they happen?
You saw these murders happen?
Not so like I'm seeing you.
This is something different.
More like how Mitch saw Rachel
a few days before the funeral.
How could you
possibly know that?
Oh, it all started the day I saw
my father pass away.
[WIND CHIME CHIMING]
[JOANNA CHUCKLES]
Since that morning, I found
that I could look at someone
and know if he's at risk,
because darkness
had him in its grip.
[CAR HORN BLARING]
[TIRES SQUEAL]
JOANNA: Sometimes,
I was able to help.
Other times...[CHUCKLES]
free will takes over,
and then a person may make
the very worst decision.
As did Danny.
Ironically enough,
I had two occasions
to help Danny.
It only takes one bad decision.
CAROLYN: Does the darkness
ever let go?
JOANNA: Maybe, Carolyn.
But Danny is in heaven.
Oh, gosh.
Things have a way of...
well, changing
as the universe directs.
It's a spiritual contract.
And it's out of our control.
Sometimes, I think of it...
more as a responsibility
that I've been given.
But I believe... No.
I know that
I have been selected
to help where I can.
Oh, oh, oh,
I have so much to tell you.
But it's important
that your husband
be a part of the conversation.
JOANNA: Oh...
He's been suffering so much,
I'm worried about him.
CAROLYN: I don't know
where he is.
We've been fighting.
I woke up this morning
and he was gone.
-I would call the office...
-He's on his way home to you...
right now.
Time for me to go.
This is my address.
Visit me tomorrow
with your husband
and feel better.
Help is on the way.
[DOOR OPENING]
[DOOR CLOSING]
-[CAR DOOR CLOSING]
-[ENGINE STARTING]
[CELL PHONE RINGING]
-CAROLYN: Mitch?
-Hey, listen. I found...
I just met
the most amazing woman. She...
She said that Rachel
sent her here to help us.
MITCH: I found Logan Vonda.
You what?
Before you say anything, I...
I... I'm glad I did.
Because now I... I...
I understand why Danny
did what he did, but... but...
Not why he did what he did,
but how it happened.
She said Danny is in heaven.
MITCH: No, no, no.
Uh... Danny made his choice.
She said that
you would say that. She...
She told me to tell you...
the butterfly thinks
you have beautiful eyes.
MITCH: There's something
I'd like to do
before we go visit Joanna.
I'd like to
stop by Nicholson Quarry.
Why would you wanna do that?
it seems appropriate.
BEN: I was chatting with
the owners of the quarry.
I think we ought to put
a metal fence between
those two trees back there.
They're afraid it might become
one of those places
where people come and...
-You know?
-Golden Gate Bridge.
Yeah.
I didn't expect
to find you here.
I come here whatever I can...
looking for something.
Maybe the same reason
you're here now.
Listen, what if I told you
that we uncovered evidence
of financial trouble
in the Turner household?
Maybe even some
marital problems.
Would that make a difference?
No.
Not anymore.
Okay.
I'm gonna go now.
Let me know if you find
what you're looking for.
[ENGINE STARTS]
[ENGINE STARTS]
I have felt Rachel's presence
so many times since she died.
But I... I just...
I convinced myself
that I was imagining things.
And then yesterday
when I met Joanna,
she told me that... that...
That Rachel's soul lives on,
and sometimes our souls,
they... they intersect.
Joanna was in the church.
She sat in the very last pew.
She told me Rachel
was proud of me
for speaking on her behalf.
She was standing next to me
at the altar
and I felt it. I felt it. I...
I felt it.
MITCH: Yeah, I felt it, too.
Hi, I'm Richard.
You must be Carolyn and Mitch.
I've been expecting you.
MITCH: Like when Rachel was
standing in the doorway
laughing and smiling.
CAROLYN: Yeah, she was there.
She was there.
When Joanna and I were talking,
she was there.
Sanctuary night.
Beautiful, isn't it?
RICHARD: Hmm.
If God cares about the grieving,
why wouldn't he prevent it?
RICHARD: I don't know
how she does it,
but anything she touches
just seems to grow and grow.
[CHUCKLES]
Joanna says it's because
of all the conversations
she's had with the trees
over the years.
Ah. There she is.
-I'll see you later.
-CAROLYN: Thank you.
-JOANNA: Mm.
-[CAROLYN CHUCKLES]
Is that why we're here, Mitch?
Why you refuse to believe
that he's in a better place?
I don't know
if I can ever forgive him.
I don't know,
but I have to believe
that he's in heaven. I...
I have to believe that.
No.
Mitch...
Why would a murderer like Danny
be allowed into heaven?
[INHALES DEEPLY]
[SIGHS]
You know, I never once saw
Danny in a bad mood.
Always had a smile on his face,
and I've known him a long time.
Heck, he introduced us.
I've never even seen him
lose his temper, not once.
You know, I mean, he didn't...
He didn't do everything right.
He... didn't work very hard,
didn't manage
his finances very well,
but if you knew him like I did,
you would say that he led
a happy and productive life.
And then to murder
your wife and your kid...
and then to kill yourself...
it makes no sense.
So I just... I...
I need to understand.
You understand
more than you realize, Mitch.
Danny's easygoing nature
was a mask
and was the result of his fears.
A fear of not being good enough.
A fear of failure.
A fear of not being loved.
[MITCH INHALES DEEPLY AND SIGHS]
JOANNA: That's what drove him
to always be nice,
so that he would
always be liked.
But Danny had anger in him,
a darkness.
Ah.
JOANNA: The fact that he wore
a mask to disguise it
didn't make it any less real.
In fact, it made it
all the more explosive
when it finally came out.
You love them too much.
Yeah, sure.
That don't mean that
sometimes I don't feel
like pointing it all west
and just driving to some town
where no one can find me.
JOANNA: Because he thought
of himself as unworthy.
So he tried
to compensate by lying,
and cheating, pretending
he was something he wasn't.
He fought with the darkness,
and lost again and again
because he stopped
trusting in God.
Without trust...
there is no faith.
Yes, we do have free will.
Yes, we do make mistakes.
Yes, we all experience darkness.
Two angels appeared
at Danny's bedside
the night before and said,
"Do not do
what you are about to do."
Those angels attempted
to convert Danny's thinking,
to show him
there was another way.
But the lure of darkness
was impossible
for Danny to resist.
He was given the opportunity
to choose darkness and light.
In his confusion,
it was the darkness
that appeared to be the truth.
I said, "We always have
free will, Danny."
That's what
I tried to remind him of.
But I knew he wouldn't listen.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[DANNY WHIMPERING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[DANNY SCREAMING]
[GRUNTING]
JOANNA: I seized
the opportunity
to push him towards the light.
[STRAINING]
VOICE: [WHISPERING]
Cut the cord.
Cut the cord.
JOANNA: For a moment
I thought we had won.
Then the darkness overtook him.
It pushed him towards
the lamp and shouted...
VOICE: It's too late
to turn back.
Don't you stop now.
Don't you stop, Danny.
Don't stop.
JOANNA: The instant
he sliced that cord,
and picked up the lamp,
he was prodded up the stairs.
VOICE: It's too late
to turn back.
It's too late to turn back.
[THUNDERCLAP]
[VOICES SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
God, don't let this happen!
[VOICES SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
God, don't let this happen!
Now the darkness gave him
one last nudge.
It works a million times a day
all over the world.
A tiny nub of truth that...
that makes a lie seem real.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[JINGLING]
[STIRRING]
[RACHEL STIRRING]
RACHEL: Danny?
What? [GROANS IN PAIN]
[MUFFLED SCREAMING]
[SCREAMING CONTINUES]
[SCREAMING]
EVAN: What are you doing?
JOANNA: After Rachel,
he lashed out at Evan.
He was told he was doing
the best thing for his son,
so he believed it.
[EVAN SCREAMING]
I begged God to stop him.
Stop it now!
And fell to my knees.
And perhaps I was heard.
[DANNY WHIMPERING]
I will never know.
[CRYING] Hey... Hey...
put some shoes on, buddy.
Can't run around the house
with no shoes on, come on.
Put some shoes on.
Hey, it's okay. It's okay.
Shh. It's okay. It's okay.
Go back to bed.
JOANNA: He was on his way
to kill Christopher,
when finally an angel blocked
Christopher's doorway
and told Danny, "Stop.
"You are not taking this one."
Those words
brought Danny to his senses,
and saved Christopher.
I want you
to consider something.
Perhaps it will
help you to understand
the power of forgiveness.
[CRYING]
Please forgive me.
JOANNA: You can
remain angry at Danny.
You can hate him.
You can hope
that he rots in hell,
punished
for the rest of eternity.
That's your choice.
But then you stay trapped
in your anger,
and in prison
in your own emotions,
because of a desire
to see another suffer.
Ask yourself something.
Do you want
to be guided by hate...
or by love?
Danny, like all of us,
he was a sinner as we are,
but his father
loved him nonetheless
and brought him back home.
God does not view sin
in different levels.
That was the creation of man.
Rachel and Evan
have forgiven him.
I think... you should, too.
[INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]