My Neighbor's Secret (2009) Movie Script

Booked us a great hotel

on Lake Shore Drive.

You're gonna love Chicago.

Seem a bit nervous

there, Gretch.

You OK?

And I want to single out one

person on our design team.

He's only been with

us for nine months,

but his tireless efforts brought

this commission on on time

and under budget.

Fred Keller.

Here, here.

Thank you, Nick.

I'm not used to so much praise.

They thought I might

ask for a raise.

Cheers

Cheers.

You did a great job, Brent.

The restaurant looks amazing.

Too bad Gretchen

couldn't be here.

Well, unfortunately, she had

a big client presentation.

But thank you.

So what times are we meeting

with Mr. Curlicue tomorrow?

10:00 a.m.

Sharp.

I have to remember to

set my watch back an hour.

I always forget that.

Don't worry, I'll remind you.

Can't have you

showing up too early.

Hey.

Your wallet!

It's Gretchen.

Please leave a message.

Hey, Gretch, it's me.

We're still at Bel Canto.

Just give me a call, OK?

Bye.

Hello?

Is this Mr. Keller?

Yes, this is Brent Keller.

This is Detective Neal.

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

Your wife is dead.

Uh... I'm sorry.

I don't think I heard you.

We

found her body in a parking lot

at the airport.

It looks like she was murdered.

Oh, god, no.

I'm sorry, Mr. Keller.

We're still

gathering information,

but looks like a robbery.

She was with another man

who also got it the same.

You were with Mr.

Keller all evening?

Mm-hmm.

We work together at

Morphic Architecture.

We were celebrating the opening

of one of our new buildings.

Did either of you

know Mrs. Keller?

She didn't make it to

many office functions.

She'd just gone back to work

at some ad agency downtown.

Oh, they were crazy in love.

Practically newlyweds.

All right.

That's great.

Thanks.

That's all we need for now.

If you need any help...

contacting people, making

arrangements, whatever,

I'm here for you.

OK?

Brent.

We just heard.

Sean's sister called

us with the news.

We're so sorry.

Jason and I saw

you getting home.

We know it's late,

but we had to come by.

Is there anything

we can get you?

Do you want to come

over for a while?

You really shouldn't be alone.

My wife's never coming home.

I don't know what I'd do if

anything ever happened to you.

Have you checked the

security camera tape?

Anybody come forward yet?

It's been less than

24 hours, Mr. Keller.

Well, what about any witnesses?

Any fingerprints?

We're doing everything possible.

No, apparently

you're not, detective.

The guy who killed my

wife is still out there.

All right, listen.

We've run the bullet casings.

There were no matches at IBIS.

Whoever did this

was just looking

to score some quick cash.

There was nothing left

at the crime scene.

No credit cards,

driver's license.

Your wife traveled to Chicago

on business with Mr. Miller?

Yeah.

She had a presentation

with a client.

Ever since we've

been married, we've

never spent the night apart.

Did your wife and Mr.

Miller socialize much

outside the office?

What kind of a question is that?

You people don't

seem to understand.

I've got a funeral to plan.

And I don't even

know where to begin.

Cremation or burial?

I don't know, we didn't

talk about that stuff.

We talked about

starting a family,

about building a nursery,

about what to name our kids.

I'm sorry.

I can't do this right now.

Do you guys mind if I go?

Sure.

He can come over and play.

If you're late picking him

up, don't worry about it.

- OK.

- Oh, I gotta go.

Jason's home.

- Bye.

Bye.

Sorry.

I'm sorry.

The schedule was crazy.

And then, uh, was in

the middle of my charts,

and Paula asks me to help

her out with a consultation.

Ever since you

joined the practice,

you've spent more

time with her than us.

Honey, come on.

You know that's not true.

It's the flu season.

This happens every year.

It'll be over in a few weeks.

How about a glass of wine?

Yes.

Have you, uh, seen or

talked to Brent lately?

The, uh, lights are

off over there again.

No.

Not since the funeral last week.

Yeah.

We should really check in.

Oh, I did.

Left three messages.

Nothing.

I'll walk over

tomorrow with Austin.

Yeah, thanks for

understanding, Nick.

Take

all the time you need.

Yeah.

I'll probably get more

work done from home anyway.

That's right.

Hopefully, I'll be

back in a couple weeks.

I knew I could count on you.

Absolutely, Brent.

Hang in there.

Thank you.

Bye.

Daddy!

Guess what?

What?

I got an A in math.

You did not.

Did you?

I did, look!

Did you?

Oh, my.

Oh, my god!

I knew it!

I knew it, dude!

Ahhh!

When's the last time you

had a home-cooked meal?

Come in.

Ah, you didn't have to

go to all this trouble.

You're a saint.

You know, if you ever want

to stop by and just talk,

I'm home writing.

Mm-hmm.

And I use that word loosely.

Oh, the book not going well?

It hasn't been a good year.

I've never had writer's

block like this.

Well, the great American

novel was not written in a day.

I think I'll be remembered

more for writing grocery

lists and sick notes for Austin.

Yeah, don't be so

hard on yourself.

Hey, when am I going to be able

to read one of these books?

Well, I've got boxes

of them in the basement.

I can drop some by.

Oh, great.

Hi!

I'm Kimberly, Brent's assistant.

Casey from across the street.

The writer!

Cool.

I love creative people.

Oh, is that lasagna?

Mm.

I wish I could still eat carbs.

Where do you want these?

Office.

OK.

Bye.

Hey, I got an idea.

I don't want you

to lose the sales,

so why don't I go to

Chatterdon's and pick up

a couple of the

books, and, uh, you

have to promise to

autograph. Them for me.

All right.

Great.

So how's it going?

Oh... um, well,

I've never felt so alone.

And the pain is unbearable.

And I swear that I can feel

it in the depths of my soul.

I'm sorry, Brent.

Wow.

Maybe, uh, maybe you

should be the writer.

Yeah.

Can I use that someday?

Yeah, but you gotta

pay me a royalty.

You know, a couple

years ago, I lost

my younger brother

Matt in a car accident.

A drunk driver hit him.

How long did it take before,

uh, you started to feel...

Before I could erase his

messages off my voice mail?

Look at his picture

without crying?

Well, I guess I better go.

I guess so.

Um, let me show you out.

OK.

I keep thinking they're

waiting for her to come home,

like she went to the store and

she'll be back in a minute.

You know what

helped me the most?

Grief counseling.

Yeah, my whole life people

have been telling me what to do.

I'm not really

big on therapists.

Well, me neither.

But I realized there was a part

of me that didn't want to stop

grieving, because it

meant letting go of Matt.

Anyway, just hang in there.

Now, call if you need anything.

OK.

"He had

proposed to her on a summer day

as they walked along the beach.

A beautiful golden

seashell lay at her feet,

and she had insisted

on taking it with her.

And now, as she held it, she

could almost hear him saying,

I want to be with you forever."

I've been

painting flowers

since I was a kid... since

I first picked up a crayon.

I know... it's such a girl thing.

No, not at all.

It's amazing.

The way you capture life.

I... I don't know how you do it.

Beautiful.

Gretchen.

Will you marry me?

Say yes.

You know you want to.

Say yes.

Yes.

Yes!

Brent.

I was gonna stop by later.

How are you doing?

Oh, better.

I have my ups and downs.

But thanks for asking.

I'm going to be working

from home for a while,

and a couple months

ago you and Jason

mentioned something

about remodeling?

I've always wanted

to redo the kitchen,

but we avoided it when

Austin was younger.

Oh, well, if you're

interested, sometimes I

act as my own contractor.

Being across the street

would make it really easy

for me to oversee construction.

I can save you a lot of money.

Look, and I need a passion

project right now, can you see?

Just something to take

my mind off things.

You know, the

timing might be good.

I'll talk to Jason about it.

Thanks.

I've taken up

enough of your time.

God, you're on

fire this morning.

It's all those carbs.

Casey's lasagna was

out of this world.

Yeah.

You know, I think, uh, I think

she works out her frustrations

about writing through

cooking, you know?

Hey, did she, uh, talk to

you about the renovation work?

She did.

And I think it's a great idea.

But look, I gotta warn you...

uh, blueprints make me crazy.

So you're going to have

to deal with Casey.

That's cool.

Hey, do you mind if I

stop by and take a look?

Uh, yeah, no.

What?

Is that that same leg hurting?

Yeah.

It's the leg I broke as a kid.

It never healed right.

Hm.

Now my body's acting all creaky,

and I can't sleep at nights.

Come on, considering

what you've been through,

it's understandable.

Do you take any

medication right now?

Yeah.

I'm on every sleeping

pill imaginable.

Nothing works.

When was the last time

you had a physical?

Well, it was before

we left Amsterdam.

I don't really have an

internist here in Philly.

You live across

the street from one.

All right?

What?

You don't trust me?

All right, McDreamy.

I'll make an appointment.

Mm.

All right.

So I had a

very interesting

conversation yesterday.

Austin's teacher called.

He told her he didn't

do his homework

again because of

soccer practice.

Anyway, I thought we could

go down to the school

and talk to her.

I don't want to pull

him off the team,

but we need to do something.

I've got a meeting

with my editor at 2:00,

but I could meet

you there after?

Oh.

Eh, you know what?

Can we shoot for

later in the week?

I promise I'll make some time.

Jason.

When in this is going to stop?

I'm just asking for equal

time for Austin and me.

Yeah, see, I don't think

that's what this is about.

This schedule is killing us.

Well, yeah!

I'm teaching three

nights a week,

and I'm up for the chair of

the curriculum committee,

and this is the exact wrong

time for me to cut back.

It's not just the teaching.

It's the board of

regents meetings,

the medical association,

the fund raisers.

You're afraid something's

going to happen again?

This is how it started before.

It's only been a year.

I won't go through that again.

Morning, Dr. Hest.

Hey, Emily.

Welcome back from vacation.

Thanks.

Morning, Doctor.

Morning.

You have that look today.

Mm.

Getting off to kind of a

rough start this morning.

Hang in there.

You know, if we

harvest this porch,

I could double the

size of this kitchen.

And the piece de resistance...

your very own bread oven.

Oh, my god.

You're no ordinary cook, Casey.

You deserve the best.

You're kind of like, uh, Mrs.

Thibodaux winning the lottery.

You've read my book?

Yeah.

I'm halfway through

"Barcelona Summer."

You're an incredible writer.

Jason should be

very proud of you.

He is.

But he's not a fiction guy.

Mostly medical journals,

the occasional biography.

Based on what you told

me about your brother,

I'm guessing the main

character's based on him?

You know, very few

people got that.

When Jason read it, he

didn't realize it was Matt.

Your book was healing.

It helped me a

lot with Gretchen.

Yeah.

Oh!

Whoa!

Careful.

Sorry.

Ah.

Austin.

Do you have any old photographs

of your house and your family

I can borrow?

Why?

Well, I know it sounds strange,

but it's kind of a surprise.

Look, I know you and

Jason as neighbors,

but I have no sense of how you

guys live here in the house day

to day.

I don't have any copies.

These are originals.

They're very close to my heart.

I'm trusting you with my family.

I see you helped

yourself to their cash.

Uh, a guy's got to eat.

Think of it as my

bonus, all right?

I did everything you told me.

Now it's time to pay the piper.

I thought we should celebrate.

You too good to drink with me?

Of course not.

I'm just not much

for hard liquor.

...Saintly

enough to avoid the booze,

but ready to get

down and dirty when

it comes to the cheating wife.

So, uh, how long was

she screwing him?

I'm trying my best to

put her out of my mind.

You marry for life.

Hopefully, you do it

once, you do it right.

There's no greater sin

than a woman's betrayal.

Tell that to my old lady.

Ah, somebody hurts

you, you hurt them back.

That's how my father was.

You messed with

him, he'd come back

looking for a pound of flesh.

I bet he beat the

crap out of you.

He broke my leg when I was six.

I learned my lesson.

I never crossed him again.

Don't blame your wife, man.

Blame her boyfriend.

All right?

It's always the guy.

Guys are dogs.

It wasn't his fault.

Jason started it.

I thought his name was Sean?

Jason's been trying

to break up my marriage

since the first day we met.

Uh, you have, uh, such

a... a strong visual sense.

Have you ever thought about

working in advertising, or...

Naw.

Gretchen's not interested.

Yeah, because you

can do it freelance.

It doesn't take

up too much time.

I, uh, have an old

fraternity buddy

who works at one of the

big ad firms here in town.

They do very high end stuff.

I think they would pay a

fortune for your talent.

Art and commerce don't mix.

Come on.

Of course they do.

I mean, look what

happens every time

a Warhol goes on the

auction block, right?

You have to excuse my husband.

His mother was an art curator.

Guilty.

But listen, Gretch...

no pressure.

But if and, and

when you're ready,

give me a call at the office

and I'll set up an introduction.

...Looks like

you can use a refill.

I thought you'd never ask.

I been with a lot of women, man.

I'll tell you, you

can't trust the bitches.

They throw everything

right back in your face.

Not all of them, Lonnie.

Some of them are amazing

women like Casey.

They come into your life

when you least expect it.

And everything changes.

Make sure the bid

includes all the demolition

and cleanup, then get back

with me by the end of the week.

All right?

Mm-hmm.

OK.

See you.

I'll put on some

coffee, and there's

homemade croissants

on the table.

Oh, great.

Thanks.

Hey, how do you

want me to lock up?

Oh, um, our spare.

Just leave it under the

planter when you go.

I'm gonna be downtown all

day, and Austin's got soccer,

so I won't be available

until after 5:00.

OK.

OK?

Bye.

Now, call if

you need anything.

Casey, wait.

This

is the Hest residence.

Leave a message.

Hi.

Casey.

Call me when you get in.

No biggie, just

wanted to say hi.

Here.

I gotta go.

See ya.

Hey.

Hey, Mom.

Hurricane Austin makes landfall.

How was school today, honey?

Mom, you're supposed

to be putting these up.

How is anyone going to know?

I know, I know.

All right.

Put your seat belt on, let's go.

3:10?

Hey, you guys are home early.

Yeah.

The soccer field was muddy, so

the coach cancelled practice.

Oh.

How did it go?

You'd be surprised how

much I accomplished.

Hello.

Hey, little buddy,

what you doing?

Well, hello, Jason.

What are we hiding?

COMPUTERIZED FEMALE

- Access granted.

OK, now... oh.

Ooh.

Up you go.

Nice.

Yep.

The best seat in the house.

Now, where did you go?

Mm.

My god, you smell good.

What is that?

Is that a girl in your bed?

Feels good.

Aw, come on Jason.

Get in the game.

I'm gonna be at

Chatterdon's this morning

nailing things down

for the reading.

Want to meet for lunch?

Uh... yeah, I'd love to, but,

uh, schedule's jammed, and, uh,

well, Mayor Morris is coming

in for a 2:30 meeting.

Say hello.

We owe him a dinner.

His poll numbers

aren't looking so good.

Yeah.

Well, that's the

least of his worries.

He met with his

oncology team yesterday.

Cancer's back.

So I told them I wanted

to be the one to tell him.

Oh, Jason.

I'm sorry.

...You beat this stuff

into remission, and, well,

I guess the timing couldn't

be worse, you know?

No, Jason.

The timing couldn't be better.

This is Dr. Hest.

Jason, looks

likes you're one of

the three finalists.

That's terrific.

I trust you're

still interested

in the position.

Absolutely.

No, I... I look forward

to hearing from you.

- Good.

- Thank you so much.

All right.

- Bye.

Bye now.

Well, that's great news.

Uh, search committee narrowed

the list to three names.

So you are looking at

the possible new chair

of the curriculum committee.

Mm?

That's... great.

Austin, go get your coat.

We have to get going.

OK.

So, uh, Paula and

I discussed this.

What we're going

to do initially...

Paula?

How about talking

to your wife first?

OK.

Let's go.

Bye, Dad.

I'll see you, kiddo.

Hey.

Hi.

Is there any way Dr.

Hest can see me today?

We're really good friends, and

he told me just to stop by.

Fill this out, and, uh,

I'll see what I can do.

Fantastic.

Do you have Mr. Gehrlig's file?

Yes.

I've got Mr. Gehrlig

in room two for you.

RECEPTIONIST:... to see you.

He says you told him to drop by.

How's your mom doing?

Oh, false alarm.

She got confused

with the thermostat.

Her house was like a sauna.

Until I find an assisted

living situation I can handle,

then she's gonna

have to live with me.

OK, I'll let him know.

Well, you're in luck.

The doctor will see you.

Thanks.

I thought so.

Just worry what it'll be next.

Is that Jason's

partner, Dr. Fisher?

Yeah.

She's really nice.

Ah, Mr. Mayor.

Dr. Hest is ready to see you.

So, why am I here, Jason?

Why the sudden appointment?

Cancer's back.

Oh, god.

It's a Stage IIA melanoma, but I

think we got on the front end.

I'm running against a

guy half my age, Jason.

How's this going to look?

Well, obviously,

chemo can be tough.

But, uh, you know, maybe you

want to rethink a few things.

I can't go public with this.

All right.

Look, you know, I'm...

I'm just your doctor.

You know, I'm not

your campaign advisor.

Obviously, treatment from

our end is confidential.

Hey.

We beat this back before,

and we'll do it again.

Right?

Yeah.

All right.

Dr. Hest in Dr. Fisher's office.

Doctor.

Hm?

A 2 is first, and your

friend's in B 3.

Hey, where's that

cheery face I'm

used to seeing first

thing in the morning?

Yeah, I've been doing

this for a while, you know?

Nothing prepares you

for a day like today.

Why don't you hop up

on the table there.

I wanted to check

your blood pressure.

It's a little bit high.

Yeah.

I wouldn't blame yourself.

Blame myself for what?

It's strange how things happen.

Left turns in life

you never see coming.

I mean, you introduce Gretchen

to Sean, he hires her,

they go away on

that business trip,

and then something

horrible happened.

Brent.

You know that I was

trying to help, right?

You know, sometimes I

wonder, if they had never met,

if she'd still be here, if

she'd be pregnant by now.

I don't know what to say.

...Uh, I,

I'm sorry, Jason.

I didn't mean to upset you.

I'm still trying to

make sense of it all.

I mean, you never expected

any of this to happen, right?

I have

a little surprise for you.

I got someone I really

want you to meet.

He's a very good friend of mine.

Happens to be one of the

top ad guys here in town,

and he might be

able to help you.

Great.

Sean Miller?

This is Gretchen Keller,

and, uh, her husband, Brent.

Gretchen, as in the

amazing brilliant painter.

Jason, you never let up, do you?

Sean is the guy who

came up with the campaign

for the new T2 cellphone.

Oh.

Oh, every time I open up a

newspaper, I can't escape it.

I suppose in your line of

work, that's a compliment.

Rising star of

Dimension Vanderbilt.

Yeah, they're the biggest

ad firm here in town.

Oh.

Those images Jason emailed

me were phenomenal, Gretchen.

Thank you.

They were part of a plein air

series I did in Amsterdam.

You sent Jason your artwork?

Yeah.

He's been after me ever

since he saw that canvas,

so I brought a disk over to

his office the other day.

As I told you on the phone, most

of our freelancers

start part time, but...

Oh, you two have spoken already.

While I was at Jason's,

he put in a call to Sean.

Yeah, I wanted to

get the ball rolling.

Yeah, I'd really love

to see your portfolio.

Yeah.

Hey, you know, that's

very kind of you, Sean,

but my wife is really very busy.

Brent, come on.

I mean, how often

do you get to meet

someone with Gretchen's talent?

She deserves her day in the sun.

Jason, I'd... I'd

rather you didn't.

Hey.

What are you guys up to?

Oh, it looks like,

uh, Sean might

want Gretchen to work for him.

That's fantastic.

Well, let's not put the cart

before the horse, shall we?

I feel like a matchmaker here.

You know, maybe I

missed my calling.

He's the one.

He had priors for possession

and aggravated assault.

The rap sheet goes on and on.

His prints were on everything.

I want to see him.

It's not going to be possible.

Detective Ruiz?

Excuse me a second.

He's dead.

Yeah, it looks like an

accidental overdose.

Where's her ring?

I, I, I don't see it here.

He probably sold it.

That was the one thing I wanted.

He took away the most

important thing in my life.

He got everything he deserved.

Damn him!

I'm sorry.

Just... just give me a minute?

Detective Neal.

Hey, we got

forensic results in

the Hopkins case.

Looks like a normal match.

Same collection I did the DNA...

What's going on?

Oh, I don't know.

It started sputtering,

and then it just died.

I've got a meeting with

my editor downtown,

he's got playoffs later,

Jason's tied up on campus.

What a day.

Look, why don't you go

to the garage with the car

and just take a cab back.

I'll take Austin to school.

We'll meet you at

the game later.

He's been on my case anyway

to com watch him play.

Mom, that'd be awesome.

Really?

Yeah.

Are you sure?

Absolutely.

After everything

you've done for me,

it's the least I can do for you.

You ready to go, buddy?

Yeah.

Say goodbye to your mom.

Bye, Mom.

Bye.

Ah.

There you are.

Access granted.

Morris.

Hm.

Stage Ila melanoma.

Ouch.

Thank you.

Philadelphia Observer.

Yes.

Hi.

I'd like to speak your

political editor, David Brown.

Can

you hold for a moment, please?

Yeah, I'll hold.

David Brown.

Hi, Mr. Brown.

I have a story for

you about our mayor

that I think you might

find very interesting.

Why didn't you

tell me you took your artwork

over to Jason's office?

Because I didn't think

anything would come of it,

and I didn't want

to get my hopes up.

Sometimes I get tired of being

at home by myself, Brent.

Painting's a lonely life.

Ah.

I know it sounds old

fashioned, but, ah...

I want to protect

you from that world.

It's all smoke and mirrors.

I can take care of myself.

I want to pursue this.

Think it would be good for me.

Just start part time,

like Jason suggested.

Hey.

Did you figure out what

was wrong with the car?

Water in the gas tank.

I think I got contaminated

gas last time I filled up.

It'll be ready tomorrow.

You're sweet to do

this for Austin.

Ah, poor guy was so upset

that his dad couldn't make it,

I thought he was gonna cry.

Says he's always

at work with Paula.

What is that, one of the nurses?

His partner at the clinic.

Ah.

That's right.

I met her the other day.

She's divorced,

gorgeous, a doctor.

I'm sure she's no

competition for you.

Go, Austin!

Come on!

Come here, buddy.

That goalkeeper is

way off his line.

Sometimes he's well

out of the net.

Take an outside shot.

Yeah, I know it's risky,

but it may be worth it.

I don't know.

They're creaming us.

Hey, you can do it, buddy.

All right, now put on

that game face, all right?

Get out there.

Come on.

OK.

All right.

I owe you big time.

And I intend to

collect big time.

Let's go, Austin!

Come on!

You can do it!

Yes!

All right!

Whoo!

Good game.

We won, yay!

You seem quiet.

Aw, it's just days like

today that I really miss her.

Give yourself time, Brent.

There's no justice, Casey.

The guy who did

this will never pay

the price for what he did to me.

You mean the drug addict?

Right.

The drug addict.

You know, if he were still

here, I would take away

everything that was

important in his life.

His job, his family.

And then he'd know

what it was like to be

completely alone...

the way he left me.

I'm sorry.

I... I still get a little angry

when I... when I think about it.

Woo!

Whoa!

Hey!

You were amazing.

Great job out there, my friend.

You're amazing.

What did I say about

the game face, huh?

Looks like it worked.

- It worked, right?

- Yeah, it did.

You want to get out of here?

You hungry?

Yeah.

Let's go.

All right.

Let's do it.

Hey, Brent.

Thanks for coming to

my soccer game today.

Oh, you bet, buddy.

Go start your bath, OK?

OK.

What a great day.

It reminds me that I

can still have all this.

Of course you can,

starting with me.

Thanks again.

Yeah.

All right.

Show time.

Starting with the old, and

ending with your new dining

and sitting room.

Incredible.

How do you do that?

Dah... trade secret.

Wow.

It is like we get to

test drive our new house

without spending a dime.

Do you have a drawing of

the remodeled husband doing

dishes in the remodeled kitchen?

Even I have my limitations.

No way.

A fireplace?

They make a zero

clearance model.

I can vent it to the wall.

Oh, my god.

It's amazing.

Let's do it.

All right.

I'll draw up the contracts.

But before we're done,

the most important aspect.

No!

That's awesome.

Hello?

Hey, Paula.

Hey.

Did you see the paper?

Yeah.

Paula, this looks bad.

Really bad.

Who would do such a thing?

I don't

know, but I can't imagine

it would be anyone

from our office.

Have you spoken

to the mayor yet?

No.

Return my phone call.

That's where we at?

Well, there are radio stations

and newspapers on the phone.

There are more reporters

outside with TV cameras.

- Yeah.

- What are we going to do?

Well, I just got

off with Sid Gamsby.

He's in the middle

of a deposition,

so he said he'd call us later.

But he did say, shut everything

down for the rest of the day.

Send all the phones

to voice mail.

Just close down the

office until tomorrow.

This violates HIPAA law.

We could lose our license.

You mean if the leak came

from this office, right?

Yeah.

Doctors?

Someone from the state board

of ethics is on the phone.

Who wants to take it?

It had to come from our office.

I mean, there were

literally details

taken right from my case

notes in the report.

But there's only three people

with security clearance

to get into the AMR, so...

Well, could it

have been Deborah?

She gave her two weeks' notice.

Maybe she's retaliating?

Yeah.

I don't know what

to think anymore.

Yeah, you're right,

though, about Paula.

Whenever... since

she became partner,

Deborah has been miserable.

I wish she had

fired her years ago

when she mixed up

that medication order.

Is that gonna be in public too?

God, I hope not.

I... I had the same thought.

I asked Sid about it.

He said it would

depend on the scope

of the ethics investigation.

Ethics investigation.

God, I cannot

believe this is happening.

...We're gonna

get through this, honey.

I'm sorry.

Jason, that's OK.

What is going on?

The reading this afternoon.

Want something that

looks professional,

but not corporate.

Something a little arty.

Casey, I am so sorry.

I... you know, with all

that's been going on, I...

I completely forgot you had

the reading this afternoon.

She's a writer, Jason.

She lives to write.

What is there to forget?

You know what?

You're gonna be amazing.

And.

And then you know what

I think we should do?

I think we should

go out tonight.

You know?

We deserve the night out.

I'm gonna...

No, you don't.

I've got other plans for you.

It's OK.

No.

It's not OK!

Calm down.

I'm sitting in the dark!

None of the lights will come on?

N... no.

Uh, and the heat's out.

The furnace went out, too?

Eh, eh, no... I don't know.

OK.

Put a sweater on until

I can get over there.

Paula.

Well, hurry up.

Yes, Mom.

I'll be right over.

Please!

OK.

Bye.

What's going on?

She says the power's out.

And the woman I have that

comes in during the day

to take care of

her is out of town.

So she's really stressed out.

I got to get over there.

Mm.

I have some late patients.

Can you cover for me?

N... no.

I'm actually already late

for Casey's reading, so...

Oh, no, well, they

were in yesterday,

but we had to shut down.

One's got a high temp, the

other's got acute bronchitis.

I wouldn't ask if it

wasn't an emergency.

OK.

Yeah.

I'll do it.

Hey.

Hi.

I thought you could

use a friendly face.

Well, what are you doing here?

I wanted to hear

you say those two

perfect sentences you wrote.

You're so sweet.

Did you come with Jason?

No, but I'm sure he'll

be here in a minute.

I mean, missing this would be

grounds for divorce, right?

Hey.

You should see this

place, Jason... it's packed.

I'm so nervous.

Are you having trouble parking?

No,

I'm... I'm actually

stuck here at the office.

Look, I'm... I'm not going to

be able to make it, honey.

I'm sorry.

No.

I, I understand.

Look,

Paula had to leave.

- Paula.

- Yeah.

It's an emergency.

An emergency?

Yeah.

Listen, I have to go.

We're about to get started.

All right.

Jason's not coming?

The one time I

need him to be here.

You don't need anybody, Casey.

Today is all about

you and your writing.

OK?

"Ghosts of

Amherst" by Casey Hest.

Chapter one, "Adrift."

"Claire stood

on the porch of

their beach house,

staring out to

the turbulent sea.

The bitter wind

caressed her face

as she remembered the

last time she and Coll

had been together on this spot.

He had told that he loved her.

How many other lies had

he told her that weekend?

She never felt so

alone, an aching

that came from the

depths of her soul...

a pain wrought of

abandonment and betrayal.

"Her husband of

nine years would be

leaving her for another woman.

She'd never been unfaithful

to her husband until today.

But she couldn't stop thinking

about the new man in her life...

how they'd make love for

hours, the smell of salt spray

on his skin."

Hey.

So the owner said this

is the biggest crowd

they've ever had

for a local author.

I think they really liked it.

Hello?

Did you hear the applause?

When are you going to

learn to take a compliment?

Hey, you know, we

should celebrate.

There's a new champagne

bar that opened on Main.

Oh, yeah, I read about it.

They're supposed

to have great jazz.

Its early.

You have a sitter

for the evening.

Come on.

You know you want to go.

You deserve it.

I want to do this for you.

Mm.

I can't.

I'm sorry, Brent.

I have to get home.

Oh, come on Jason.

You could do better than that.

Yellow roses?

If you really loved her,

you'd bring red, buddy.

You know, I feel terrible.

How'd it go?

Great.

Yeah?

My editor was thrilled,

crowd was terrific.

There was only

one thing missing.

I don't know what to say.

I mean, um, I didn't really

have a choice, you know?

Of course you had a choice.

It was an emergency.

Paula needed me.

Then apparently, I didn't.

Look, can we talk about this?

What's there to talk about?

I've heard enough

excuses for one night.

That's right, Casey,

shovel it right back at him.

Anything here?

Yeah.

Well, the data transfer

seems to be going...

Have they found anything?

Uh, no.

Not so far.

All the logons were cleared

with security cards.

But they told me there

won't be anything

conclusive for a few days, so...

I think we should

cancel on the diabetes

foundation on Thursday.

Uh, this is the

things that's honoring

you for your pro

bono work, right?

Yeah.

But it just doesn't feel right.

Yeah.

I mean... look.

I think showing up

makes a statement

that we're going to

fight this thing.

You're their guest of honor.

It's a great cause.

We're going.

Hm?

My god, what's going on?

Don't ask.

Hey, thanks for coming by.

I actually have those,

uh, construction

contracts for you

in my office, so...

Hey, do you want to get a drink?

Yeah.

Actually, you know what, I might

have time before class if, uh...

Jason, I'll cover for you.

You saved me last night.

All right.

Thanks.

All right, I'll

be right with you.

Hi.

I'm Paula Fisher.

I know.

Jason told me about

your remodeling plans.

Sounds wonderful.

Take good care of him.

He's my number one priority.

It's been a tough

year for us, you

know... lot of changes

and challenges.

Trouble is, I just... I got so

many distractions right now,

I just... I'm not doing a very

good job of making her happy.

No, that's not true.

Jason, you and Casey are

like the perfect couple.

Listen, you just gotta relax.

You know, you got a lot

of good people around you.

Like Paula at your work.

I mean, she seems

like a terrific lady.

Mm.

Casey doesn't always

see it that way.

Yeah, Paula's the reason

I missed the book reading.

Mm.

Hm.

...Paula and I...

we, uh, we have a diabetes

foundation dinner this Thursday.

And uh, the problem is, I

tell Casey that, I mean,

she'll go through the roof?

Yeah, well, why burden

her with a non-event?

You know, go to the dinner.

Yeah, she worries

a lot, especially

when it comes to you.

Oh, you really are

getting to know her.

Yeah.

Why make her miserable?

You know... just don't tell her.

Nah.

I don't know.

That doesn't feel right to me.

Well, with all due respect,

this isn't about how you feel,

Jason.

I mean, you are doing

this for Casey, right?

Ah, god... I'm late.

I gotta run.

Nah, then I got this.

You got it?

Oh, yeah.

All right.

Hey, thanks.

This was good.

Guess I needed this.

All right, um, I'll see you.

Sean.

What a surprise.

Hey, Brent.

I just dropped by to pick

up some concept drawings.

She is amazing, just

like Jason promised.

Did Gretch tell you the news?

Oh, not yet.

Our Chicago clients,

the Ritz hotel family,

flipped out over your wife's

design for the new logo,

and, well, they want her to

join me for the presentation

next week.

In Chicago.

Yeah, the windy city.

Gretchen's going to

love it, aren't you?

Ah.

I gotta go.

OK.

I'll let myself out.

OK.

Look, I know what those

presentations are like, Gretch.

People say horrible

things about your work

while you're still

sitting there.

You don't need to be a part

of that dog and pony show.

It's only two days.

Jason was right.

I really miss working.

I... I don't want to hear

another word about Jason.

What are you talking about?

This is all good.

The exposure's really

important for my career.

For your career?

Listen to yourself,

Gretch... groveling

to sell corporate logos

in the windy city.

Well, Sean and I

both agreed that...

Sean is not your husband.

I want to go, Brent.

Are you sleeping with him?

What's wrong with you?

How could you even

think such a thing?

I love you, Brent.

But I don't

understand you lately.

You still haven't

answered my question.

Of course I'm not

sleeping with him.

Kimberly, hello.

Hi.

OK, this is strange.

I was just going

through the bills,

and you have a gasoline

charge on the 10th

down on Canal Street.

Uh, well unless I was visiting

a soup kitchen, it wasn't me.

Listen, I... I really don't have

time for this right now, so...

Well, I think

someone's been

using your number.

What?

I looked

at your schedule for that day,

and you were all the way across

town on the Venturi job site

until 4:30.

All right.

I'll...

I handle it.

Just, uh, just leave it alone.

Well, Brent...

I said,

I'll handle it!

Brent?

I, uh, I'm sorry.

I just got a million

things going on right now.

I gotta go.

...Too late to

have second thoughts?

Hello?

- Mr. Venturi.

- Yes?

Hi.

It's Kimberly from

Morphic Architecture.

Hi.

Yes, I'm just doing

some accounting,

and we billed you

for a site visit

on the 10th with Brent Keller.

Oh, on the 10th?

No, that's a mistake.

He canceled that day.

He canceled?

Yep.

Oh, OK.

Thanks.

I'll make the correction.

Thank you.

Bye.

Good morning, Dr. Hest.

Good morning.

Hey.

You're looking sharp

for a Thursday morning.

You never wear

that suit to work.

Yeah.

I got a meeting with Sid

in our malpractice insurer.

Should be a lovely morning.

Oh, by the way, uh, go ahead

and have dinner without me.

I have a late meeting with

the curriculum committee.

I thought they were done.

Yeah.

I think they probably

just want to talk

about the whole

situation with the mayor.

So...

You're a natural

born liar, Jason.

You really want

this job, don't you?

I gotta go.

Wish me luck.

Good luck.

Canal Street.

Same day.

Hey.

Sorry.

Oh, it's all right.

We got plenty of time.

Hey.

What are you still doing up?

I was anxious to hear how

everything went tonight.

Oh, uh... you know, I

think, uh, I don't know,

I think the research

committee will probably

have an answer any day now, so...

Great.

What did they ask about?

You know, family and

uh... research, work ethic.

I'm sure you answered

with your usual candor.

Yeah.

Look, I, uh... I'm beat, so I'm

gonna hit the sack, all right?

I'd like to talk

to this committee.

I'd love to sit there in my

doctor's wife sensible flats

and pearls, and tell them what

a cheating liar my husband is.

Well, I mean, who knows Jason

Hest better than his wife?

Where did you get this?

Isn't that you and Paula?

Yes, but look,

I... I can explain.

I knew those would be the

first words out of your mouth.

All right, this is crazy.

Caller ID is blocked.

Somebody's messing

with our lives here.

I don't care who sent it, Jason.

That's not the point.

You lied to me about

where you were tonight.

That is not what happened.

This is just like the mess

with Jessica last winter.

You said you were at a medical

conference, when the two of you

were off skiing in Vermont.

I knew you were having an

affair, you son of a bitch!

I'll bet she was one

of your students.

We've spent the last year trying

to put our marriage back

together, and now this?

What the hell is wrong with you?

You know, when I first

found out about Jessica,

I couldn't decide which

was worse... the affair,

or you lying about it.

Casey, this is not...

Are you sleeping with Paula now?

No.

It was a fundraiser.

All right?

She was being honored.

Sid thought we...

Sid.

Who cares about Sid?

Why didn't you just tell me?

Why didn't I tell you?

Maybe because I'm

knew I'd get this kind

of a reaction over a non-event.

A non-event.

Is that the best you can

do, call it a non-event?

[LAUGHS} I couldn't have

said it better myself.

That sounds like somebody

with something to hide.

You know what, I don't

want you here tonight.

Stay at a hotel, stay

with your brother.

I don't really care.

Really.

That's right.

Kick his sorry ass to the curb.

OK.

What are you going

to tell Austin?

I'll tell him you're

away on business.

You're gone half

the time, anyway.

He probably won't even notice.

Hey, I wanted to

stop by and make

sure everything was ready to go.

We start demolition

in the morning.

I don't think I'm

up for it, Brent.

Is there any way

we can reschedule?

Casey, what's wrong?

You look terrible.

I'm so sorry, Casey.

God, what else has

he been lying about?

I feel like such a fool.

You thought you loved him.

Hey, look, I have

a friend at work

whose husband was

having an affair, too.

They drifted apart.

They stopped having sex.

He claimed that it was

because he was stressed out.

Truth was, he was just

riddled with guilt.

It affected her work, her

self esteem... everything.

And the lies kept piling up.

How did she finally find out?

She caught him in bed

with his business partner.

What am I gonna do?

And how do I tell Austin?

Everything's such a mess.

You'll start over like a

million other single parents.

What's wrong with me?

Why did I stay with him?

Don't beat yourself

up like this.

You are a terrific mother,

a wonderful writer,

and one of the most amazing

women I have ever met.

Oh.

This isn't right.

I... I didn't

mean for that to happen.

I... I need you to go.

I'm not going to

leave you like this.

I'm fine.

Just please go?

When's Daddy coming home?

Hello?

Hey.

You OK?

I've been calling all day.

Um, I'm sick to

death about what happened.

Uh.

Austin's been asking for you.

I made a horrible mistake.

Please forgive me.

I... I just... I just

want to come home.

I don't know what

I'm feeling right now.

I can't undo what I did.

I can't take away the

pain that I caused you.

But I'm telling you

the truth right now.

Paula and I are not

having an affair.

You told me one time when we

were in the middle of all that.

You said that we

had to be completely

honest with each other if we

were gonna make this work.

I'm sorry.

I have to go.

[SIGHS}

Hey.

Can we talk?

Sure.

I can't stop thinking

about yesterday.

...Brent, it...

it wasn't right.

Well, of course it was.

You can't deny you

have feelings about me.

Feelings?

Ever since you came

over that morning,

I... I can't get

you out of my mind.

Yesterday was...

it was a mistake.

It can never happen again.

Of course it will.

It was just the beginning.

Look, you've just been

through a horrible time.

Your emotions are

all over the place.

No, no, no.

I know exactly how I feel.

Brent!

You didn't fight me yesterday.

You kissed me.

Be honest with yourself.

There's nothing between us.

There'll never be

anything between us.

I love my husband.

But no amount of

flowers is going

to make up for

what he did to you.

That's between Jason and me.

It's time for you to go.

But he doesn't understand you.

I mean, he treats you like dirt.

He's been lying to

you ever since he

had that affair with Jessica.

He... and his old patterns

are coming up again.

I mean, just look at Vermont.

How did you know about that?

Uh, Jason told me.

We had drinks the other night.

I would never do

anything to hurt you.

I care about you more than

Jason would ever imagine.

Please go.

You need to leave, Brent.

Now.

Please, no.

Go.

How could you do

this to me, Casey?

I was just trying to

save you from that liar.

You're the one for

me, and you know it.

This is Jason.

Leave a message.

Jason, it's me.

Can you call me?

I need to talk to you.

I'll be home writing

the rest of the day.

Hey, Ted.

Hey.

Security camera

at the gas station

confirmed it was Keller's car.

Did you make any headway

with the background check?

11 years ago, he was

in London, married.

And at first it didn't show

up on the background check,

because it was

outside the country.

So I dug a little deeper.

Did you talk with his ex-wife?

Oh, yeah.

And did I get an earful.

What?

Same setup.

Keller meets her overseas,

whirlwind romance,

they settle down.

Eight months later,

things get weird.

He isolated her from her family.

She quit her job, stopped

seeing her friends.

Classic abuser.

Exactly.

She tried to leave him.

He got violent.

She finally filed a restraining

order and divorced him.

But she had to move away anyway,

because he kept following her.

Should we petition

to reopen the case?

I think we already have.

Casey?

Austin?

Yeah, Dad?

Hey!

Listen.

I gotta talk to your

mom for a few minutes.

And then, uh, then maybe you and

I can spend some time together.

All right?

Maybe you can help me on

my social studies quiz.

Done.

OK.

Case?

Jason.

What are you doing home?

Sorry I didn't get

back to you earlier.

There was a emergency

at the hospital.

Is... is everything OK?

I'm not sure.

What do you mean?

Are you... you seem upset.

Did you tell Brent Keller

any personal stuff about us?

Of course not.

Well, he knew about

the ski trip with Jessica.

Casey, I don't talk

about that with anyone.

But he said you had

drinks the other night?

Yeah, we had drinks.

And talked about the

whole mess with the mayor.

And then I think he asked

about Paula, and that was it.

...He's asked me about

her a couple times now.

Why is he so interested

in our personal lives?

He was here yesterday,

and I was really upset

about everything was going on.

And he tried to comfort me.

Comfort you... uh, what...

what does that mean?

He leaned over and kissed me.

Really?

I was feeling confused

and vulnerable.

You were.

...It didn't

mean anything, Jason.

I don't have feelings for him.

I don't know how it happened.

Tell him the truth, Casey.

You love me.

Then today

he came back again,

and he got really weird

when I asked him to go.

He's convinced that I

should leave you for him.

OK.

Um, this is crazy.

I mean...

Your marriage is over, Jason!

Why can't you see that?

I bet he's the one who

sent you that picture.

I don't know.

I don't know, but

all I know is that I

got really, really

uncomfortable.

I don't want him

in the house again.

Daddy, where are you?

You said you'd come and help me.

Hey... hey, kiddo,

I'll be right there.

...I can see

you and Mommy talking.

There's no privacy

in this house.

I mean... god, I hope

Austin didn't just

hear what I was talking about.

I've... I've told him before.

Case?

Brent's been in this

house all along.

He's had access

to all our stuff.

Yeah.

And we've had a parade

of construction people

in and out of here.

What are you getting at?

Well, I'm just saying, he...

he seems to know an awful lot

about what's been

going on with us.

And then... I didn't

tell you this.

But the other day, he came

in the office for a checkup.

And he... he said some

pretty strange things.

He sort of implied

that he didn't

blame me for Gretchen's death.

What?

What if he's been watching us?

That's impossible, Jason.

Really?

Is it?

I mean, first, we don't know who

sent you that picture, right?

And now you're telling me that

he knew about me and Jessica.

What are you looking for?

I don't know.

No.

No, no!

What is it?

No, no, no.

I don't know.

I mean, it's obviously

some kind of camera.

Case?

He's been spying on us.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

No!

Case.

We can't stay here tonight.

I'm calling the police.

Where's Austin?

Dad, my homework.

Oh.

Yeah.

Um, Austin?

Your dad and I want you to

go get your jacket on, OK?

We're going to go out.

Like on a trip?

Uh, yeah.

You know, like on

a little sleepover.

Oh, great.

Breakers.

I'll get 'em.

Go get dressed, OK?

Hurry up.

Come on.

I'll call the police.

All right.

Do.

No power.

Uh, OK.

Let me, uh, I'll

grab the flashlight

and then get my stuff

out in the kitchen.

I'll get Austin.

OK.

Jason?

Yeah, everything's OK, honey!

Ugh!

Aw.

I loved her more

than anything in the world,

and you took her

away from me, Jason.

You destroyed my marriage.

You humiliated me.

And nobody does that to me.

And now you're going to

find out what it feels

like to lose your wife,

your child, your house.

And then we'll be even.

Oof!

Jason?

Is that you?

Jason's gone.

Mommy, I'm afraid.

Let's go.

You OK?

Casey?

I know you're in there.

Casey!

Stop playing games,

Casey, and let me in!

I hear you.

And I'm starting

to get really mad!

Oh, god.

Casey, open up!

I want you to do something

very important for me, OK?

I mean it!

I'm not going away, Casey.

Mommy, I'm scared.

I know how brave you can be.

OK?

Come here.

I want you to crawl

up onto the roof.

OK?

OK.

Come on.

Let's go.

There you go.

It's OK.

You can do it.

C-A-S, E, Y.

OK.

When you reach the end,

grab onto the rose trellis,

and climb down.

I want you to run across the

street to the Moores', and tell

them to call the police.

Do you understand me?

Mm-hmm.

Casey!

Casey.

You're going to make me do

something I don't want to do.

I love you.

Hurry.

It didn't have to end this way.

You could've made

it so much easier.

I was never angry with you.

It was always your husband.

Jason never did

anything to hurt you.

He ruined my marriage.

What are you talking about?

Gretchen loved you.

She turned her back on me.

And for what...

the likes of Sean?

She wasn't having an affair.

I had to do it.

You didn't.

She betrayed me.

I loved her so much.

Oh, no.

But I couldn't let her

go away with that guy.

But then you came

into my life, Casey.

I wasn't supposed

to fall for you,

but everything changed ever

since that day you came over.

And then you let me down.

You pushed me away.

You didn't leave me

any other choice.

Stay away from my family!

Ugh!

Oh!

Jason?

Oh-ah!

Uh, uh!

Uh!

Uh.

Jason?

Oh, Jason.

Oh, my god.

Look at him now.

Your pathetic little husband.

I offered you everything.

You were the one...

the perfect wife,

the perfect mother,

the perfect companion.

But you threw it all away.

You did the same

thing Gretchen did.

You chose someone else over me.

No.

Oh!

Jason?

Oh, my god!

I'm so sorry.

You're gonna be OK.

I think he's lost

a lot of blood.

Mommy!

Austin, come here.

Hey, buddy.

You're safe, hon.

I'm so proud of you.

Daddy, what happened to you?

I'm gonna be OK, kiddo.

You OK?

Mrs. Hest?

You all right?

If I could just stop

shaking for a minute.

We'd like you to say away from

the house for a little while,

until our forensics team has

a chance to sweep the place.

They already found

four more cameras.

Oh, my god.

How are you doing today, sir?

Is my wife here?

I wouldn't know.

I just came on shift.

Isn't she beautiful?

You need to rest now.

Tell Casey that I'm

ready to go home.

Woo!

Go Austin, come on!

Yes!

Goal!

Yes!

Great, son.

Doo-dah!

I knew you were the best.

Hey.

Miss me?

What?

What's happening?

It was him.

He was there.

It's all right.

Come here.

Mom, what's wrong?

My Neighbor's Secret (2009) - full transcript