Medium (2005–2011): Season 4, Episode 14 - Car Trouble - full transcript
When Allison dreams that her car blows up - with her and the girls inside - she refuses to even try to start the car. Joe buys her a nearly new SUV but she has a waking dream where a female passenger is shot in the car. After a bit of research, she finds that the owner of the vehicle sold it because his wife was shot during a carjacking some months before. As her dreams continue, she finally gets to see the person who apparently shot the woman but he has an airtight alibi for the night in question. At work meanwhile, Joe frets over their pending patent application when they hear someone in an old East bloc country may already have one. He has other worries however vis-à-vis his new business partner.
From the second we awaken from
a night's slumber, we depend on--
no,take for granted-- all
sorts of invisible,silent,
and violent systems that make
our modern lives possible.
Take that alarm clock.
Before it can do its job and
wake me up, it has to have power.
Water,coal and wind power are harnessed
by turbines and turned into...electricity,
which is then sent through cables that
are over our heads and under our feet.
So it's easy to forget that at
any given time we are surrounded
by thousands or millions or billions of
volts of electricity coursing all around us.
Joe? Girls? Come on! Today's a big day.
Even something as simple as frying an
egg begins thousands of feet underground
erthe se ofrehistoric plants and
animals are pulverized into gas...
then sucked out of the
ground and processed,
and then piped all across the country
through over one million miles of pipes,
all of it there to heat us and
make having a hot breakfast easier.
Come on,girls. Hurry
up! We're gonna be late.
And then there's that
modern miracle we call a car.
Built around the internal
combustion engine,
the average American car holds anywhere
from 12 to 16 gallons of gasoline.
That's somewhere between 100 and 150
pounds of instantly combustible liquid.
It also contains a battery and at
least six to eight quarts of oil.
If you stop and think about it,
taken as the sum of itsparts,
it's really a rolling bomb,
equipped with stereophonic
sound and adjustable seats.
But we don't do that.
We don't think of it in pieces.
We think of it as a whole.
It's a car. Our car.
And we love it.
Medium
Season04 Episode14
Car Trouble
- Hey,Ariel?
- Yeah?
Did you ever notice that on the
cereal box, there's a picture of a kid,
sitting at a table eating cereal,
and on that table is a cereal box,
and on that cereal box
is a picture of a kid,
sitting at a table eating cereal,
and on that table is another
cereal box, and on that box...
- Dad,you have to make her stop.
- Bridge,stop.
What? I'm just trying to find out.
Do you think they go on forever?
Do you think the cereal boxes just keep
going and getting smaller and smaller
till there's one just
the size of a molecule?
You know,when you go under water in the
bathtub, you're staying down there too long.
Ariel...
Why? Because you don't know the answer?
Do you girls know where your mother is?
I know the answer. I'm
just not wasting it on you.
Honey,do you know where your mommy is?
Allison?
What are you doing out here?
Sorry.
Uh,what are you doing out here?
You're not going to believe
this, but I had a crazy dream.
You don't say.
I-I was taking the kids to school,
and they climbed in the car,
and I turned the key, and it blew up.
What do you mean,blew up?
Okay,Allison, that's crazy.
I mean,cars-- they-they...
Cars don't just blow up.
Not unless somebody puts
a bomb underneath them.
Or forgets to put in oil in,
and the engine catches on fire.
I mean,cars don't just blow up.
Yeah,I know that. I do.
That's why I came out here. I just...
I figured, I'll just sit in the
car. I'll turn the key and prove it.
Okay.
The thing is, I just... I can't do it.
I've been sitting out here
for 15 minutes. I just can't.
I can't get my hand to turn the key.
Okay,Allison, get out of the car.
Why? What are you going to do?
I'm going to slide in and turn the key.
You can't do that.
You could kill our kids.
You could kill yourself,
kill me,destroy our house.
Allison...
I dreamt it.
What are you doing?
Where-Where are you going?
I'm gonna round up our kids.
I'm gonna go stand on the corner with
them while you try to start the car.
Well,hold on a second.
Mom,I don't understand.
Why are we standing on the
corner staring at our own house?
It's kind of hard to explain.
It's stupid.
Never mind!
Don't do it!
Joe!
Answer me!
Dad?
Joe,don't turn that key! Joe!
Do not turn that key!
You guys calling me?
Thank God you didn't do it.
Do what, sweetie?
Sweetie,hey,hey, hey,it's okay.
I've just been trying to turn the
car on for the last five minutes.
It's dead. It won't do anything.
It won't start,won't click,won't
turn over. Nothing. It's dead.
Don't worry.
Okay,thanks. Gracias.
Well,that was fun.
All of us in the car
together,going to school.
Dropping off the girls.
So,if you're going to take
the car to go meet Scanlon,
how am I going to get home tonight?
Well,just call me when you're ready.
I'll ask Ariel to watch the
girls, and I'll come and get you.
Okay,I suppose that works.
Um,all right,so I guess I'll call
you once I hear from the mechanic.
I'll fill you in.
Hey,this is great! I'm early.
I just realized, I don't have to
drop you off. I can come in with you.
I can see your new
office, see where you work.
You sure you want to do that?
That's an awful lot of excitement
for this early hour in the morning.
This is nice.
Oh,yes,we have it all.
Floors,ceiling,window.
Which one's yours?
Hey,I got a good feeling.
Oh,that's static electricity. That's
your feet dragging on the carpet.
Hey,where you going?
Allison? What are you doing?
Hey,Allison?
She's got a picture of her
boyfriend on her desk! We like that.
Hey,don't do that. Don't go in there.
She's pretty! You never told
me that she was so pretty.
Allison,I beg of you,
get out of her office!
She's going to walk through
that front door any second.
If you're going to be a
successful entrepreneur,
- you better learn to calm down.
- Come on!
Thank you.
What's the big deal? Everybody does it.
Mrs. Dubois?
Allison.
Meghan Doyle.
So nice to finally meet you.
Yeah,it's nice to finally meet you.
I recognized you from the
pictures on Joe's desk.
So this is nice. Special occasion?
Uh,no. We just,you
know, decided to carpool.
Um,actually, I need to get going.
I'll walk you to the car.
We should get together
for dinner one night.
That-That would be fun. It
was nice finally meeting you.
Nice meeting you,Allison.
Well,she's very pretty.
Well let's try not to
hold that against her.
So,wait a second. You're saying that the
entire electrical system needs to be replaced?
Well,how much is that going to cost?
You're kidding me.
I don't think the car cost
that when we bought it.
No,don't start work on the car,
not until you hear back from me.
Oh,yeah?
Well,that's serendipitous.
Sorry,Ricky. I'm going
to have to call you back.
Um,but I'm very interested.
Okay,I will. I will call. Bye.
Sorry. Car place.
My wife's car is,like,
dead to the world.
Sorry. That's not why
you came to see me.
The company that's doing our
patent search just called me.
We're completely clear
everywhere in North America.
South America looks fine,Asia.
But he's worried that there
may be a patent filed in
what they used to refer to as
one of the Eastern Bloc countries.
He wouldn't be specific with me,but
they have free market economies now.
They're trading partners,competitors.
So,if somebody already
beat us to the punch,
in let's say the Czech Republic...
So wait a second. What are you saying?
Are you saying that they think that somebody
in Eastern Europe already came up with my idea?
What does that mean?
It means...
it's a good thing all
this furniture is rented.
It means we wait.
I don't know what it means.
I'm hoping it that
doesn't mean anything.
I'm hoping,in a day or two, once they've
finished their research, it means nothing.
That's what I'm hoping.
Don't panic. I'm a friendly burglar.
I'm even bringing in the mail.
Hey,what are you doing home?
I thought you were going
to call me for a ride.
Did they fix my car yet?
Uh,no,they didn't.
Okay,so how'd you get home?
And why do you have that
funny look on your face?
- Ah,well,therein lies a tale.
- Really.
Yes.And though it begins quite sadly,
'tis a tale with a
happy ending, methinks.
Mom, why is Dad talking funny?
I don't know.
Um,your car, I'm afraid,has
shuffled off this mortal coil.
What does that mean? They can't fix it?
Uh,well, anything can be fixed, but it would
cost more than it's actually worth to do it.
Well,Joe,I love that car.
I know you do,babe.
Honey,that's the first
car we bought together.
We brought our daughters home
from the hospital in that car.
I know.
But remember how I said that
this story had a happy ending?
Okay,so the mechanic,
who was fixing our car,
he called me,and he told me that he'd
just put new tires on a pristine SUV
that the owner was
looking to get rid of.
- For a steal.
- For a steal?
Yeah. I mean,this thing,this,
I mean this car is...
is big. It's clean. It's roomy.
It's got all kinds of things
that your car never had.
Navigation. CD player. Cup holders.
Cup holders? I do love cup holders.
I don't know. A used car.
Well,I know, honey, but the truth
is we can't afford a new one.
And this car really isn't that used.
Yeah,okay,but,you know, it
belonged to somebody else.
It had a past life with somebody else.
But I'm telling you, this car looks like
it just came right off the showroom floor.
So,you've seen it?
Actually,I drove it.
Actually,I bought it.
I know it was wrong
to buy it without you.
Just it seemed too good to be true.
- It's pretty in here.
- My car seat's already in here!
Is this car that I'm going
to drive when I turn 16?
Our mechanic called and told me what
time the guy was going to get there--
the guy who owned it to pick it
up-- and so I just went over there.
I was just having one of those
days where everything went wrong
and then I saw this car
and it just seemed so right.
It's kind of a big
change being this high.
Now,look, if you don't like this, you
can take my car and I'll take this.
Come on,girls. Hop in! We're going
to take this baby for a test drive.
I call the front!
- I call the back!
- I call the back,too.
Seat belts!
- Seat belt.
- Buckle up.
Sounds nice!
Hey,can you check the spaghetti?
No problem.
Now don't go too far.
Remember, none of you have passports.
Say good-bye to Daddy,girls.
We may never see him again.
Bye,Dad!
So I guess now we wait.
What exactly are we waiting for?
Uh,for the patent folks to check the records
of all those Eastern European countries.
And that'll take?
Oh,I don't know. A day or two.
We should know something, uh,tomorrow
night. Or the night after that.
The time difference doesn't help.
All right,so I'm going to
ask the obvious question.
You know,if everything could go away
tomorrow, should we really be buying a car?
I don't know. Probably isn't very smart.
Just felt great.
I can't explain it.
It's just been so hard.
Not being able to buy anything.
And not being able to do
anything for my family.
I love that car.
It's a beautiful car.
I was actually thinking I'd
like to go sit in it some more.
- You want to?
- No.
I'm telling you,Joe.
Someone was shot in that car! A woman.
She was sitting in the
seat right next to me.
Well,I'm sorry,honey, but I
don't think that's possible.
I mean,what I mean to say is
I-I did a records check on it.
One of those online
things and nothing came up.
Of course nothing came up!
Those things are supposed to tell you
if a car's in a collision or an accident.
Not something like this.
No wonder this car was such a bargain.
Well,hold on a second.
Wait,wait,wait, wait,wait,wait.
Look... be fair here.
There's nothing wrong
with the car itself.
It had no way of knowing it was
going to end up being driven by you.
Excuse me.
All right,okay. Hold on a
second. That came out wrong.
- What I'm trying to say...
- No,I know what you're trying to say.
But I'm not the problem
here. This car is haunted.
And I cannot, I will not drive it again,
much less ask my children to sit in it.
All right. All right.
Fine. Okay. I hear you.
First thing in the morning, I'll drive
it back to the guy that I bought it from.
I'll see if I can convince
him to give me my money back.
Thank you.
In the meantime, you
drive the kids in my car.
Thank you.
Hello. Well,what do you know?
If it isn't the fella who
robbed me blind yesterday.
I'm sorry to drop in like this.
Oh,it's okay. In fact,
I was going to call you.
Forgot to give you a couple of things.
Cigarette lighter, extra key,
little jar of touch-up paint.
I appreciate that.
The thing is,um, I got a problem.
Okay. What kind of problem?
Well,it's my wife,um...
She's not crazy about the car.
Really?
Do you think maybe she just
needs some time to get used to it?
If only it were that simple.
Well,I'm sorry, but I
don't know what to tell you.
Well,I was hoping you'd tell
me that you hadn't sent the,uh,
notice of sale in to the DMV yet.
Well,I have.
But it wouldn't have made
any difference if I hadn't.
If you'll excuse me, I have to
go in now. Get ready for work.
Uh,well,the thing is,uh, I don't know if
it's the same with cars,but with houses,
when you sell 'em, you're obligated
to disclose certain things.
Like if there's been a... a
recent death on the premises.
Okay. So what'd you do?
You Google me or something?
You figure now that you know, you can come
back here, maybe I'll cut the price even more?
I'm not looking for a bargain.
I just want to give you the
car back. Get my money back.
Pretend the whole thing never
happened. I'm sorry if I upset you.
Do you know what happened?
My wife,uh, did the research. I just...
My wife was killed in that car. Shot.
While I watched.
It was a carjacking.
Not three miles from here.
Coming back from a
movie. Stopped at a light.
This guy comes out
of nowhere with a gun.
Told us to get out of the car.
I can remember my hand reaching for
the door when I heard her say it.
"Floor it,Tim. Floor it."
Stupid me. I listened to her.
I can't really blame him for
not wanting to take it back.
I know. I feel terrible for him.
So what are we going to do?
Well,I don't know.All I
can think to do is sell it.
- Oh,make it someone else's problem.
- Allison.
Well,it doesn't seem right.
Yeah,it's actually a great car.
If you say so.
Well,I do say so.
And besides we can't afford to buy
another car until we get rid of this one.
With any luck whoever buys it is going
to be as blissfully unintuitive as I am.
That's not funny.
It's not meant to be funny.
Allison,look, if you hadn't told me
about Rory Carmer's ghost riding shotgun,
I'd be driving it around right now thinking
it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Oh,right. So now it's my fault?
I'm not saying that. I'm just saying...
Look,you,you know what I'm saying.
I know. We have to sell it.
Um,yes. Hold on,hold
on, sweetie,hold on.
Yeah,well,we will. We
will. As soon as we can.
Well,what does that mean?
Well,that's the other thing I found out.
Looks like we're going to be stuck
with it. For at least a couple of weeks.
Why?
Well,because we can't legally
sell it until we have the title.
And I called the DMV and,uh, they're still
like two weeks away from mailing it to us.
This is a fantastic phone call.
Oh,yeah,we aim to please.
Look,Allison,you'll just have to drive my
car and I'll drive the hearse, all right?
It's not the end of the world.
I just,I miss my old car.
Well,that's a productive point of view.
- Look,I-I should really
get to work. - Okay.
- All right, I'll talk to you later.
- Bye.
- More car trouble,huh?
- Yeah.
I heard you guys going at it.
Oh,no,no,no,no. We weren't...
She's not terribly happy
with the car that I bought.
And the truth is I shouldn't
have bought it without her.
Ah,but this too will pass.
Um,it's not like we
had a fight or anything.
Okay. If you say so.
What?
You don't get to be my age and still
single and not know what a fight is.
But you're right. It will pass.
Had one myself last night and I'm
expecting the make-up phone call any minute.
Looking forward to it,in fact.
So,how are the drawings coming?
They're coming.
Uh,is there any news
on our patent search?
'Cause I gotta tell you, I really
didn't sleep very well last night.
- All right,the drawings.
- Drawings.
It's all here. 911
calls,forensics report,everything.
You mind telling me what
you want all this for?
I don't know. I started thinking maybe
this whole car thing happened for a reason.
Maybe I'm supposed to help
find this woman's killer,
bring him to justice so he can
never do this to anyone ever again.
Well,good luck. A lot of good
detectives already spent months on this.
I'll be at my desk if you need me.
Oh,my God,she's...
she's-she's not breathing.
I don't think she's breathing!
Sir,what is your location?
Uh,we're,like,three blocks south of
the Fantasy Theatre on-on that big road
that runs parallel to the freeway.
Okay,the man with the gun-- did you see
which direction he came from,Mr. Carmer?
Um,no.
Uh,I was adjusting the radio,
looking... looking for a station.
My wife loved classical music...
We pulled up to the light,
and-and there he was.
Was he white? Black? Latino?
Uh,it was dark.
And-And I-I don't want to
get this wrong. I mean...
he could have been white,
but I-I think he was Latino.
Sorry to interrupt.
One of the other
detectives needs the room.
I'm gonna have to ask you to clear out.
I think I saw him,Lee.*******
Hey,Al,it's... I'm
sorry. Did I wake you?
Hey,listen,sweetie,
how-how crazy is this?
Uh,it's-it's 10:00 at night, and I just now
realized that I don't have my wallet in my pocket.
Um,where are you? In the living room.
Hey,do me a favor-- just go by... go in the
kitchen and see if it's... if it's by the phone.
Yeah. Yeah,I can hold on...
Okay. Oh,good, good,good,okay.
No,no,no,no,no. I don't
need you to bring it to me.
I just need to know that it's there.
Yeah. Uh,it-it may be a while
still,sweetie. I'm sorry.
Miss you.
I thought you were with the boyfriend.
Best-laid plans...
Or not laid,as the case may be.
No,actually,I got a call
in the middle of dinner.
It turns out there's no
one in the whole wide world
as inventive as Joe Dubois.
What are you saying? Are you saying
the patent people finally called?
Are you saying the idea's
in the free and clear?
I'm saying... that we're
in business,partner.
We have a prototype to
build, a future to forge.
That is great news.
Now you probably want to get
back to your boyfriend, celebrate.
No.
Is that the best idea you have?
I mean,that doesn't
sound very inventive.
That doesn't sound like
much of a celebration.
Hello.
I'm sorry. Did I wake you?
No,you didn't wake me.
I just now realized that
I don't have my wallet.
Your wallet?
Yeah. Hold on.
Allison.
What-What are you doing here?
I told you you didn't have
to come all the way down here.
No. I know. I wanted to.
Couldn't sleep. Thought
I'd take a drive.
Is something wrong? Don't go in there.
No. I don't know.
Where's Meghan?
Oh,I don't know. She
went home hours ago.
She's the money. I'm the brains.
She leaves early. I stay
late. America,America.
- Here.
- Thank you.
How about I follow you home?
I'd like that.
And you'll view the
suspects from in here.
You'll be able to see them and hear
them, but they won't be able to see you.
Mr. Carmer,I'd like to introduce you
to an associate of mine, Allison Dubois.
Allison,this is Tim Carmer.
Dubois? Are you any relation to...
Joe's my husband.
Actually,Mrs. Dubois here was instrumental in
getting us to take another look at your case.
She actually pointed us
towards a possible suspect that,
uh, we missed the first time around.
I,uh,consult with the police department,
so when my husband mentioned that
your wife's murder was unsolved...
My God,that's... nice of you.
I was stunned when the
detective called me this morning.
I had given up any hope of ever
finding the man who did this.
Well,we can't actually be sure
we've found him yet,Mr. Carmer.
Not until you identify him.
Should we give this a whirl?
Take as much time as you need.
Could you ask #3 to step
a little closer,please?
#3,could you step forward,please?
I'm sorry. I just can't be sure.
Uh,I just don't get it.
I see him so clearly in my head,Joe.
I know,honey,but it's not
your word they're looking for.
Um,so,listen...
uh,I spoke to our
mechanic about the SUV,
and he actually has somebody
else who might be interested.
Um,the guy wants to come by
and see it tomorrow afternoon.
Thing is,he doesn't want to drive
all the way downtown to my office.
He'd rather come here.
Um,is there any chance we could carpool in
the morning so the car will be here for him?
Well,sure.
As long as I don't have to get in it.
No,you don't have to get in it.
I think the guy just wants
to see what it looks like.
The mechanic already has him
convinced it runs like a top.
You know what-what was nice?
Do you know what was nice?
The way you showed up
at the office last night.
Just kind of out of nowhere.
I mean,I told you I didn't actually need
the wallet, but you brought it over anyway.
That was nice.
I... I have a confession to make.
Oh,really? We like
confessions. Is it juicy?
Not really.
I,uh...
I fell asleep on the couch last night.
I had a dream just before you
called to ask about your wallet.
Okay. Something you want to share?
In the dream,
you heard about your idea
from the patent people.
No one else had thought of it. No
one else in the whole wide world.
And... you and Meghan
were really happy about it.
That why I brought you your wallet.
I thought, maybe it's really
going to happen tonight.
And I don't want to miss it.
I want to be there
when he's really happy.
So,now,what does this mean?
I mean,is there a statute of dream
limitations on these kind of things?
When will I hear about the patent?
And is it going to come true?
Is-Is the news going to be good?
I don't know. I'm the woman who said
that her car was going to blow up.
Well,that's not very encouraging.
Recognize him?
This is our guy. My guy.
The man from the lineup yesterday.
I-I don't understand.
He's a model, a male model.
Oh,when he isn't, uh,carjacking
and killing people, you mean?
Well,I can't vouch for that,
but,uh,I did do some checking,
and a lot of other people
can vouch for the fact
that this fellow wasn't even in Phoenix
on the night that Mrs. Carmer was shot.
Apparently,he was in Los Angeles on
some kind of a modeling assignment.
A model?
I saw him in the mug book you gave me.
He looks exactly like the
man I keep seeing in my head.
Well,he was in the mug
book because,uh,apparently,
he feels the need to augment his modeling
income with the occasional petty theft.
Some of that might be because he's also
trying to support a minor drug habit.
I don't know what to tell you,Allison.
The answer to the question, "Who killed
Rory Carmer?" is not this fellow here.
You're going to make
me get in,aren't you?
Route guidance is now active.
Destination ahead 7.9 miles.
Destination ahead 7.9 miles.
Destination ahead 7.9 miles.
Your route guidance will start now.
Destination ahead 5.3 miles.
Home is ahead one-quarter mile.
Home?
Right turn ahead.
Turn right now.
Home is 100 feet ahead on the right.
You are home.
Not my home.
Oh,my gosh!
Turn right now.
Wait. What are you talking
about? Turn right where?
Turn right now.
Turn right now.
Your destination is ahead in 20 feet.
Ten feet.
Five feet.
Three feet.
Destination nine inches ahead.
Destination four inches ahead.
You have arrived at your destination.
Help!
Please! Somebody!
I can't believe I let you drag me
to that movie in the first place.
Not only was it moronic, it
was long. Look at the time.
I'm sorry you didn't like the film,dear.
What on earth? Not a second one.
This way you know how
far over you can be.
As if I don't know how to park
my own car in my own garage.
When did you put this
nonsense up anyway?
This afternoon.
That's why you parked my car in the
driveway and let the sprinklers get it wet.
Oh,for goodness' sakes...
Wait. I haven't shown
you the best part yet.
What,Tim? What is the best part?
Look. Over there.
I-I-I don't
see anything.
Inside the vise. Do you see?
What is that? It
almost looks like a gun.
It is. It is a gun.
What on earth is that doing there?
Watch.
Hey,thanks for giving me a ride,Lee.
I didn't know who else to call.
Joe doesn't have a car today.
It's fine,Allison.
I'm still trying to make sense
out of everything you just told me.
You and me both.
So let's say that is what happened.
Let's say he did kill
her. How do we prove it?
I-I don't know. Get a
search warrant, find the gun.
No judge is going to give me a warrant
on the basis of a dream or a hallucination
or whatever it was you had back there.
Frankly,I'd be amazed
if he still had the gun.
Might be some blowback on the vise we could tie
to whatever they recover from the car,but still.
I'll never get a warrant to take a
forensics team in there and find out.
Boy,I'd love to talk to him again;
love to take a look around that garage.
Well,it's wide open.
The car's sitting right there.
The keys are in the ignition...
if the garage hasn't
closed itself already.
That's certainly going to freak
him out when he gets back from work.
I'd expect some angry
phone calls tonight.
I guess he heard you.
Hello?
Allison,what the hell's going on?
What do you mean? What
are you talking about?
The guy I told you about came by
the house to see the car today.
He couldn't find anything.
He couldn't find you.
Oh,my God. I'm so sorry,Joe.
I don't even know... how to begin.
Well,it doesn't matter
now. He's never coming back.
Hey,when you coming home?
When can I come pick you up?
When the time comes, I'll
probably just take a cab.
It might not be until really late.
We got word the patent
guys might call tonight.
She's got a,um, she's
got a date and I'm...
since I'm the minority partner, I've
got to sit and baby-sit the phones.
I don't get it. Why do they have
to call in the middle of the night?
Why can't they call your cell?
Allison,I don't know. It's Eastern
Europe. There's a time difference.
I don't know why she didn't
give them my cell,but she didn't.
Look,I've got to go now.
I'm sorry about the car.
Oh,we'll figure it out.
Thanks for the ride,Lee.
Thanks for everything.
Hey,you know what?
You need someone to pick up the SUV
from Carmer,right? It's still yours.
Maybe I'll drop by Carmer's tonight,
drive over there with another officer.
Say we're there to pick up the car.
Use it as an excuse to
go through the garage.
You get your car back.
Maybe I get some evidence.
Oh,my God, that would be amazing.
Power.
It takes many forms,
revealing itself in many ways.
"At the bottom of a hill
lived Jack and his mother.
"And by the side of their little cottage,
Jack had planted a very large bean."
Is this Jack and the Beanstalk?
That's a boy story,Mom.
You can't read a boy story.
- Dad's got to read that.
- Yeah,that's a boy story.
The idea that a waterfall
a thousand miles away
makes it possible for me to
turn on a lamp seems like magic.
That I can fill a bathtub with hot
water in the middle of the night
makes no logical sense,either.
Electricity,serendipity...
they both surround us, both doing
their work silently, invisibly.
Lee?
You hear something?
Hello?
You love me?
Of course I love you.
Did you get your call?
Are you coming home?
No,no,and yes.
I got another call. I
found a buyer for the SUV.
You're kidding?
it turns out that mechanic is serious about
how much he loves Carmer's death-mobile.
He wants to buy it.
And he's willing to pay us
$500 more than we paid Carmer,
which is a good thing because
I think we're going to need it.
What do you mean? What for?
He thinks I'm nuts and I think I'm nuts, but
I told him to go ahead and fix your old car.
Joe,that is so exciting!
That is fantastic!
Honey,hold on a second.
I'm getting another call.
Hello?
Allison,it's Lee. You sitting down?
Well,kind of.
He's dead,Allison.
What are you talking about?
Tim Carmer,he died from
carbon monoxide poisoning.
When we got here,we noticed the garage
door was down, locked up tight as a drum.
You could hear the SUV running in there.
Oh,my God.
I just kept thinking about that story you
told me this afternoon, and wondering...
was this something he did to himself?
Or you think maybe
he,uh... It's crazy,right?
Hey,Al,you still there?
It's okay. I think...
I think I lost her.
I thought you were
out with the boyfriend.
Best-laid plans...
Or not laid,as the case may be.
a night's slumber, we depend on--
no,take for granted-- all
sorts of invisible,silent,
and violent systems that make
our modern lives possible.
Take that alarm clock.
Before it can do its job and
wake me up, it has to have power.
Water,coal and wind power are harnessed
by turbines and turned into...electricity,
which is then sent through cables that
are over our heads and under our feet.
So it's easy to forget that at
any given time we are surrounded
by thousands or millions or billions of
volts of electricity coursing all around us.
Joe? Girls? Come on! Today's a big day.
Even something as simple as frying an
egg begins thousands of feet underground
erthe se ofrehistoric plants and
animals are pulverized into gas...
then sucked out of the
ground and processed,
and then piped all across the country
through over one million miles of pipes,
all of it there to heat us and
make having a hot breakfast easier.
Come on,girls. Hurry
up! We're gonna be late.
And then there's that
modern miracle we call a car.
Built around the internal
combustion engine,
the average American car holds anywhere
from 12 to 16 gallons of gasoline.
That's somewhere between 100 and 150
pounds of instantly combustible liquid.
It also contains a battery and at
least six to eight quarts of oil.
If you stop and think about it,
taken as the sum of itsparts,
it's really a rolling bomb,
equipped with stereophonic
sound and adjustable seats.
But we don't do that.
We don't think of it in pieces.
We think of it as a whole.
It's a car. Our car.
And we love it.
Medium
Season04 Episode14
Car Trouble
- Hey,Ariel?
- Yeah?
Did you ever notice that on the
cereal box, there's a picture of a kid,
sitting at a table eating cereal,
and on that table is a cereal box,
and on that cereal box
is a picture of a kid,
sitting at a table eating cereal,
and on that table is another
cereal box, and on that box...
- Dad,you have to make her stop.
- Bridge,stop.
What? I'm just trying to find out.
Do you think they go on forever?
Do you think the cereal boxes just keep
going and getting smaller and smaller
till there's one just
the size of a molecule?
You know,when you go under water in the
bathtub, you're staying down there too long.
Ariel...
Why? Because you don't know the answer?
Do you girls know where your mother is?
I know the answer. I'm
just not wasting it on you.
Honey,do you know where your mommy is?
Allison?
What are you doing out here?
Sorry.
Uh,what are you doing out here?
You're not going to believe
this, but I had a crazy dream.
You don't say.
I-I was taking the kids to school,
and they climbed in the car,
and I turned the key, and it blew up.
What do you mean,blew up?
Okay,Allison, that's crazy.
I mean,cars-- they-they...
Cars don't just blow up.
Not unless somebody puts
a bomb underneath them.
Or forgets to put in oil in,
and the engine catches on fire.
I mean,cars don't just blow up.
Yeah,I know that. I do.
That's why I came out here. I just...
I figured, I'll just sit in the
car. I'll turn the key and prove it.
Okay.
The thing is, I just... I can't do it.
I've been sitting out here
for 15 minutes. I just can't.
I can't get my hand to turn the key.
Okay,Allison, get out of the car.
Why? What are you going to do?
I'm going to slide in and turn the key.
You can't do that.
You could kill our kids.
You could kill yourself,
kill me,destroy our house.
Allison...
I dreamt it.
What are you doing?
Where-Where are you going?
I'm gonna round up our kids.
I'm gonna go stand on the corner with
them while you try to start the car.
Well,hold on a second.
Mom,I don't understand.
Why are we standing on the
corner staring at our own house?
It's kind of hard to explain.
It's stupid.
Never mind!
Don't do it!
Joe!
Answer me!
Dad?
Joe,don't turn that key! Joe!
Do not turn that key!
You guys calling me?
Thank God you didn't do it.
Do what, sweetie?
Sweetie,hey,hey, hey,it's okay.
I've just been trying to turn the
car on for the last five minutes.
It's dead. It won't do anything.
It won't start,won't click,won't
turn over. Nothing. It's dead.
Don't worry.
Okay,thanks. Gracias.
Well,that was fun.
All of us in the car
together,going to school.
Dropping off the girls.
So,if you're going to take
the car to go meet Scanlon,
how am I going to get home tonight?
Well,just call me when you're ready.
I'll ask Ariel to watch the
girls, and I'll come and get you.
Okay,I suppose that works.
Um,all right,so I guess I'll call
you once I hear from the mechanic.
I'll fill you in.
Hey,this is great! I'm early.
I just realized, I don't have to
drop you off. I can come in with you.
I can see your new
office, see where you work.
You sure you want to do that?
That's an awful lot of excitement
for this early hour in the morning.
This is nice.
Oh,yes,we have it all.
Floors,ceiling,window.
Which one's yours?
Hey,I got a good feeling.
Oh,that's static electricity. That's
your feet dragging on the carpet.
Hey,where you going?
Allison? What are you doing?
Hey,Allison?
She's got a picture of her
boyfriend on her desk! We like that.
Hey,don't do that. Don't go in there.
She's pretty! You never told
me that she was so pretty.
Allison,I beg of you,
get out of her office!
She's going to walk through
that front door any second.
If you're going to be a
successful entrepreneur,
- you better learn to calm down.
- Come on!
Thank you.
What's the big deal? Everybody does it.
Mrs. Dubois?
Allison.
Meghan Doyle.
So nice to finally meet you.
Yeah,it's nice to finally meet you.
I recognized you from the
pictures on Joe's desk.
So this is nice. Special occasion?
Uh,no. We just,you
know, decided to carpool.
Um,actually, I need to get going.
I'll walk you to the car.
We should get together
for dinner one night.
That-That would be fun. It
was nice finally meeting you.
Nice meeting you,Allison.
Well,she's very pretty.
Well let's try not to
hold that against her.
So,wait a second. You're saying that the
entire electrical system needs to be replaced?
Well,how much is that going to cost?
You're kidding me.
I don't think the car cost
that when we bought it.
No,don't start work on the car,
not until you hear back from me.
Oh,yeah?
Well,that's serendipitous.
Sorry,Ricky. I'm going
to have to call you back.
Um,but I'm very interested.
Okay,I will. I will call. Bye.
Sorry. Car place.
My wife's car is,like,
dead to the world.
Sorry. That's not why
you came to see me.
The company that's doing our
patent search just called me.
We're completely clear
everywhere in North America.
South America looks fine,Asia.
But he's worried that there
may be a patent filed in
what they used to refer to as
one of the Eastern Bloc countries.
He wouldn't be specific with me,but
they have free market economies now.
They're trading partners,competitors.
So,if somebody already
beat us to the punch,
in let's say the Czech Republic...
So wait a second. What are you saying?
Are you saying that they think that somebody
in Eastern Europe already came up with my idea?
What does that mean?
It means...
it's a good thing all
this furniture is rented.
It means we wait.
I don't know what it means.
I'm hoping it that
doesn't mean anything.
I'm hoping,in a day or two, once they've
finished their research, it means nothing.
That's what I'm hoping.
Don't panic. I'm a friendly burglar.
I'm even bringing in the mail.
Hey,what are you doing home?
I thought you were going
to call me for a ride.
Did they fix my car yet?
Uh,no,they didn't.
Okay,so how'd you get home?
And why do you have that
funny look on your face?
- Ah,well,therein lies a tale.
- Really.
Yes.And though it begins quite sadly,
'tis a tale with a
happy ending, methinks.
Mom, why is Dad talking funny?
I don't know.
Um,your car, I'm afraid,has
shuffled off this mortal coil.
What does that mean? They can't fix it?
Uh,well, anything can be fixed, but it would
cost more than it's actually worth to do it.
Well,Joe,I love that car.
I know you do,babe.
Honey,that's the first
car we bought together.
We brought our daughters home
from the hospital in that car.
I know.
But remember how I said that
this story had a happy ending?
Okay,so the mechanic,
who was fixing our car,
he called me,and he told me that he'd
just put new tires on a pristine SUV
that the owner was
looking to get rid of.
- For a steal.
- For a steal?
Yeah. I mean,this thing,this,
I mean this car is...
is big. It's clean. It's roomy.
It's got all kinds of things
that your car never had.
Navigation. CD player. Cup holders.
Cup holders? I do love cup holders.
I don't know. A used car.
Well,I know, honey, but the truth
is we can't afford a new one.
And this car really isn't that used.
Yeah,okay,but,you know, it
belonged to somebody else.
It had a past life with somebody else.
But I'm telling you, this car looks like
it just came right off the showroom floor.
So,you've seen it?
Actually,I drove it.
Actually,I bought it.
I know it was wrong
to buy it without you.
Just it seemed too good to be true.
- It's pretty in here.
- My car seat's already in here!
Is this car that I'm going
to drive when I turn 16?
Our mechanic called and told me what
time the guy was going to get there--
the guy who owned it to pick it
up-- and so I just went over there.
I was just having one of those
days where everything went wrong
and then I saw this car
and it just seemed so right.
It's kind of a big
change being this high.
Now,look, if you don't like this, you
can take my car and I'll take this.
Come on,girls. Hop in! We're going
to take this baby for a test drive.
I call the front!
- I call the back!
- I call the back,too.
Seat belts!
- Seat belt.
- Buckle up.
Sounds nice!
Hey,can you check the spaghetti?
No problem.
Now don't go too far.
Remember, none of you have passports.
Say good-bye to Daddy,girls.
We may never see him again.
Bye,Dad!
So I guess now we wait.
What exactly are we waiting for?
Uh,for the patent folks to check the records
of all those Eastern European countries.
And that'll take?
Oh,I don't know. A day or two.
We should know something, uh,tomorrow
night. Or the night after that.
The time difference doesn't help.
All right,so I'm going to
ask the obvious question.
You know,if everything could go away
tomorrow, should we really be buying a car?
I don't know. Probably isn't very smart.
Just felt great.
I can't explain it.
It's just been so hard.
Not being able to buy anything.
And not being able to do
anything for my family.
I love that car.
It's a beautiful car.
I was actually thinking I'd
like to go sit in it some more.
- You want to?
- No.
I'm telling you,Joe.
Someone was shot in that car! A woman.
She was sitting in the
seat right next to me.
Well,I'm sorry,honey, but I
don't think that's possible.
I mean,what I mean to say is
I-I did a records check on it.
One of those online
things and nothing came up.
Of course nothing came up!
Those things are supposed to tell you
if a car's in a collision or an accident.
Not something like this.
No wonder this car was such a bargain.
Well,hold on a second.
Wait,wait,wait, wait,wait,wait.
Look... be fair here.
There's nothing wrong
with the car itself.
It had no way of knowing it was
going to end up being driven by you.
Excuse me.
All right,okay. Hold on a
second. That came out wrong.
- What I'm trying to say...
- No,I know what you're trying to say.
But I'm not the problem
here. This car is haunted.
And I cannot, I will not drive it again,
much less ask my children to sit in it.
All right. All right.
Fine. Okay. I hear you.
First thing in the morning, I'll drive
it back to the guy that I bought it from.
I'll see if I can convince
him to give me my money back.
Thank you.
In the meantime, you
drive the kids in my car.
Thank you.
Hello. Well,what do you know?
If it isn't the fella who
robbed me blind yesterday.
I'm sorry to drop in like this.
Oh,it's okay. In fact,
I was going to call you.
Forgot to give you a couple of things.
Cigarette lighter, extra key,
little jar of touch-up paint.
I appreciate that.
The thing is,um, I got a problem.
Okay. What kind of problem?
Well,it's my wife,um...
She's not crazy about the car.
Really?
Do you think maybe she just
needs some time to get used to it?
If only it were that simple.
Well,I'm sorry, but I
don't know what to tell you.
Well,I was hoping you'd tell
me that you hadn't sent the,uh,
notice of sale in to the DMV yet.
Well,I have.
But it wouldn't have made
any difference if I hadn't.
If you'll excuse me, I have to
go in now. Get ready for work.
Uh,well,the thing is,uh, I don't know if
it's the same with cars,but with houses,
when you sell 'em, you're obligated
to disclose certain things.
Like if there's been a... a
recent death on the premises.
Okay. So what'd you do?
You Google me or something?
You figure now that you know, you can come
back here, maybe I'll cut the price even more?
I'm not looking for a bargain.
I just want to give you the
car back. Get my money back.
Pretend the whole thing never
happened. I'm sorry if I upset you.
Do you know what happened?
My wife,uh, did the research. I just...
My wife was killed in that car. Shot.
While I watched.
It was a carjacking.
Not three miles from here.
Coming back from a
movie. Stopped at a light.
This guy comes out
of nowhere with a gun.
Told us to get out of the car.
I can remember my hand reaching for
the door when I heard her say it.
"Floor it,Tim. Floor it."
Stupid me. I listened to her.
I can't really blame him for
not wanting to take it back.
I know. I feel terrible for him.
So what are we going to do?
Well,I don't know.All I
can think to do is sell it.
- Oh,make it someone else's problem.
- Allison.
Well,it doesn't seem right.
Yeah,it's actually a great car.
If you say so.
Well,I do say so.
And besides we can't afford to buy
another car until we get rid of this one.
With any luck whoever buys it is going
to be as blissfully unintuitive as I am.
That's not funny.
It's not meant to be funny.
Allison,look, if you hadn't told me
about Rory Carmer's ghost riding shotgun,
I'd be driving it around right now thinking
it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Oh,right. So now it's my fault?
I'm not saying that. I'm just saying...
Look,you,you know what I'm saying.
I know. We have to sell it.
Um,yes. Hold on,hold
on, sweetie,hold on.
Yeah,well,we will. We
will. As soon as we can.
Well,what does that mean?
Well,that's the other thing I found out.
Looks like we're going to be stuck
with it. For at least a couple of weeks.
Why?
Well,because we can't legally
sell it until we have the title.
And I called the DMV and,uh, they're still
like two weeks away from mailing it to us.
This is a fantastic phone call.
Oh,yeah,we aim to please.
Look,Allison,you'll just have to drive my
car and I'll drive the hearse, all right?
It's not the end of the world.
I just,I miss my old car.
Well,that's a productive point of view.
- Look,I-I should really
get to work. - Okay.
- All right, I'll talk to you later.
- Bye.
- More car trouble,huh?
- Yeah.
I heard you guys going at it.
Oh,no,no,no,no. We weren't...
She's not terribly happy
with the car that I bought.
And the truth is I shouldn't
have bought it without her.
Ah,but this too will pass.
Um,it's not like we
had a fight or anything.
Okay. If you say so.
What?
You don't get to be my age and still
single and not know what a fight is.
But you're right. It will pass.
Had one myself last night and I'm
expecting the make-up phone call any minute.
Looking forward to it,in fact.
So,how are the drawings coming?
They're coming.
Uh,is there any news
on our patent search?
'Cause I gotta tell you, I really
didn't sleep very well last night.
- All right,the drawings.
- Drawings.
It's all here. 911
calls,forensics report,everything.
You mind telling me what
you want all this for?
I don't know. I started thinking maybe
this whole car thing happened for a reason.
Maybe I'm supposed to help
find this woman's killer,
bring him to justice so he can
never do this to anyone ever again.
Well,good luck. A lot of good
detectives already spent months on this.
I'll be at my desk if you need me.
Oh,my God,she's...
she's-she's not breathing.
I don't think she's breathing!
Sir,what is your location?
Uh,we're,like,three blocks south of
the Fantasy Theatre on-on that big road
that runs parallel to the freeway.
Okay,the man with the gun-- did you see
which direction he came from,Mr. Carmer?
Um,no.
Uh,I was adjusting the radio,
looking... looking for a station.
My wife loved classical music...
We pulled up to the light,
and-and there he was.
Was he white? Black? Latino?
Uh,it was dark.
And-And I-I don't want to
get this wrong. I mean...
he could have been white,
but I-I think he was Latino.
Sorry to interrupt.
One of the other
detectives needs the room.
I'm gonna have to ask you to clear out.
I think I saw him,Lee.*******
Hey,Al,it's... I'm
sorry. Did I wake you?
Hey,listen,sweetie,
how-how crazy is this?
Uh,it's-it's 10:00 at night, and I just now
realized that I don't have my wallet in my pocket.
Um,where are you? In the living room.
Hey,do me a favor-- just go by... go in the
kitchen and see if it's... if it's by the phone.
Yeah. Yeah,I can hold on...
Okay. Oh,good, good,good,okay.
No,no,no,no,no. I don't
need you to bring it to me.
I just need to know that it's there.
Yeah. Uh,it-it may be a while
still,sweetie. I'm sorry.
Miss you.
I thought you were with the boyfriend.
Best-laid plans...
Or not laid,as the case may be.
No,actually,I got a call
in the middle of dinner.
It turns out there's no
one in the whole wide world
as inventive as Joe Dubois.
What are you saying? Are you saying
the patent people finally called?
Are you saying the idea's
in the free and clear?
I'm saying... that we're
in business,partner.
We have a prototype to
build, a future to forge.
That is great news.
Now you probably want to get
back to your boyfriend, celebrate.
No.
Is that the best idea you have?
I mean,that doesn't
sound very inventive.
That doesn't sound like
much of a celebration.
Hello.
I'm sorry. Did I wake you?
No,you didn't wake me.
I just now realized that
I don't have my wallet.
Your wallet?
Yeah. Hold on.
Allison.
What-What are you doing here?
I told you you didn't have
to come all the way down here.
No. I know. I wanted to.
Couldn't sleep. Thought
I'd take a drive.
Is something wrong? Don't go in there.
No. I don't know.
Where's Meghan?
Oh,I don't know. She
went home hours ago.
She's the money. I'm the brains.
She leaves early. I stay
late. America,America.
- Here.
- Thank you.
How about I follow you home?
I'd like that.
And you'll view the
suspects from in here.
You'll be able to see them and hear
them, but they won't be able to see you.
Mr. Carmer,I'd like to introduce you
to an associate of mine, Allison Dubois.
Allison,this is Tim Carmer.
Dubois? Are you any relation to...
Joe's my husband.
Actually,Mrs. Dubois here was instrumental in
getting us to take another look at your case.
She actually pointed us
towards a possible suspect that,
uh, we missed the first time around.
I,uh,consult with the police department,
so when my husband mentioned that
your wife's murder was unsolved...
My God,that's... nice of you.
I was stunned when the
detective called me this morning.
I had given up any hope of ever
finding the man who did this.
Well,we can't actually be sure
we've found him yet,Mr. Carmer.
Not until you identify him.
Should we give this a whirl?
Take as much time as you need.
Could you ask #3 to step
a little closer,please?
#3,could you step forward,please?
I'm sorry. I just can't be sure.
Uh,I just don't get it.
I see him so clearly in my head,Joe.
I know,honey,but it's not
your word they're looking for.
Um,so,listen...
uh,I spoke to our
mechanic about the SUV,
and he actually has somebody
else who might be interested.
Um,the guy wants to come by
and see it tomorrow afternoon.
Thing is,he doesn't want to drive
all the way downtown to my office.
He'd rather come here.
Um,is there any chance we could carpool in
the morning so the car will be here for him?
Well,sure.
As long as I don't have to get in it.
No,you don't have to get in it.
I think the guy just wants
to see what it looks like.
The mechanic already has him
convinced it runs like a top.
You know what-what was nice?
Do you know what was nice?
The way you showed up
at the office last night.
Just kind of out of nowhere.
I mean,I told you I didn't actually need
the wallet, but you brought it over anyway.
That was nice.
I... I have a confession to make.
Oh,really? We like
confessions. Is it juicy?
Not really.
I,uh...
I fell asleep on the couch last night.
I had a dream just before you
called to ask about your wallet.
Okay. Something you want to share?
In the dream,
you heard about your idea
from the patent people.
No one else had thought of it. No
one else in the whole wide world.
And... you and Meghan
were really happy about it.
That why I brought you your wallet.
I thought, maybe it's really
going to happen tonight.
And I don't want to miss it.
I want to be there
when he's really happy.
So,now,what does this mean?
I mean,is there a statute of dream
limitations on these kind of things?
When will I hear about the patent?
And is it going to come true?
Is-Is the news going to be good?
I don't know. I'm the woman who said
that her car was going to blow up.
Well,that's not very encouraging.
Recognize him?
This is our guy. My guy.
The man from the lineup yesterday.
I-I don't understand.
He's a model, a male model.
Oh,when he isn't, uh,carjacking
and killing people, you mean?
Well,I can't vouch for that,
but,uh,I did do some checking,
and a lot of other people
can vouch for the fact
that this fellow wasn't even in Phoenix
on the night that Mrs. Carmer was shot.
Apparently,he was in Los Angeles on
some kind of a modeling assignment.
A model?
I saw him in the mug book you gave me.
He looks exactly like the
man I keep seeing in my head.
Well,he was in the mug
book because,uh,apparently,
he feels the need to augment his modeling
income with the occasional petty theft.
Some of that might be because he's also
trying to support a minor drug habit.
I don't know what to tell you,Allison.
The answer to the question, "Who killed
Rory Carmer?" is not this fellow here.
You're going to make
me get in,aren't you?
Route guidance is now active.
Destination ahead 7.9 miles.
Destination ahead 7.9 miles.
Destination ahead 7.9 miles.
Your route guidance will start now.
Destination ahead 5.3 miles.
Home is ahead one-quarter mile.
Home?
Right turn ahead.
Turn right now.
Home is 100 feet ahead on the right.
You are home.
Not my home.
Oh,my gosh!
Turn right now.
Wait. What are you talking
about? Turn right where?
Turn right now.
Turn right now.
Your destination is ahead in 20 feet.
Ten feet.
Five feet.
Three feet.
Destination nine inches ahead.
Destination four inches ahead.
You have arrived at your destination.
Help!
Please! Somebody!
I can't believe I let you drag me
to that movie in the first place.
Not only was it moronic, it
was long. Look at the time.
I'm sorry you didn't like the film,dear.
What on earth? Not a second one.
This way you know how
far over you can be.
As if I don't know how to park
my own car in my own garage.
When did you put this
nonsense up anyway?
This afternoon.
That's why you parked my car in the
driveway and let the sprinklers get it wet.
Oh,for goodness' sakes...
Wait. I haven't shown
you the best part yet.
What,Tim? What is the best part?
Look. Over there.
I-I-I don't
see anything.
Inside the vise. Do you see?
What is that? It
almost looks like a gun.
It is. It is a gun.
What on earth is that doing there?
Watch.
Hey,thanks for giving me a ride,Lee.
I didn't know who else to call.
Joe doesn't have a car today.
It's fine,Allison.
I'm still trying to make sense
out of everything you just told me.
You and me both.
So let's say that is what happened.
Let's say he did kill
her. How do we prove it?
I-I don't know. Get a
search warrant, find the gun.
No judge is going to give me a warrant
on the basis of a dream or a hallucination
or whatever it was you had back there.
Frankly,I'd be amazed
if he still had the gun.
Might be some blowback on the vise we could tie
to whatever they recover from the car,but still.
I'll never get a warrant to take a
forensics team in there and find out.
Boy,I'd love to talk to him again;
love to take a look around that garage.
Well,it's wide open.
The car's sitting right there.
The keys are in the ignition...
if the garage hasn't
closed itself already.
That's certainly going to freak
him out when he gets back from work.
I'd expect some angry
phone calls tonight.
I guess he heard you.
Hello?
Allison,what the hell's going on?
What do you mean? What
are you talking about?
The guy I told you about came by
the house to see the car today.
He couldn't find anything.
He couldn't find you.
Oh,my God. I'm so sorry,Joe.
I don't even know... how to begin.
Well,it doesn't matter
now. He's never coming back.
Hey,when you coming home?
When can I come pick you up?
When the time comes, I'll
probably just take a cab.
It might not be until really late.
We got word the patent
guys might call tonight.
She's got a,um, she's
got a date and I'm...
since I'm the minority partner, I've
got to sit and baby-sit the phones.
I don't get it. Why do they have
to call in the middle of the night?
Why can't they call your cell?
Allison,I don't know. It's Eastern
Europe. There's a time difference.
I don't know why she didn't
give them my cell,but she didn't.
Look,I've got to go now.
I'm sorry about the car.
Oh,we'll figure it out.
Thanks for the ride,Lee.
Thanks for everything.
Hey,you know what?
You need someone to pick up the SUV
from Carmer,right? It's still yours.
Maybe I'll drop by Carmer's tonight,
drive over there with another officer.
Say we're there to pick up the car.
Use it as an excuse to
go through the garage.
You get your car back.
Maybe I get some evidence.
Oh,my God, that would be amazing.
Power.
It takes many forms,
revealing itself in many ways.
"At the bottom of a hill
lived Jack and his mother.
"And by the side of their little cottage,
Jack had planted a very large bean."
Is this Jack and the Beanstalk?
That's a boy story,Mom.
You can't read a boy story.
- Dad's got to read that.
- Yeah,that's a boy story.
The idea that a waterfall
a thousand miles away
makes it possible for me to
turn on a lamp seems like magic.
That I can fill a bathtub with hot
water in the middle of the night
makes no logical sense,either.
Electricity,serendipity...
they both surround us, both doing
their work silently, invisibly.
Lee?
You hear something?
Hello?
You love me?
Of course I love you.
Did you get your call?
Are you coming home?
No,no,and yes.
I got another call. I
found a buyer for the SUV.
You're kidding?
it turns out that mechanic is serious about
how much he loves Carmer's death-mobile.
He wants to buy it.
And he's willing to pay us
$500 more than we paid Carmer,
which is a good thing because
I think we're going to need it.
What do you mean? What for?
He thinks I'm nuts and I think I'm nuts, but
I told him to go ahead and fix your old car.
Joe,that is so exciting!
That is fantastic!
Honey,hold on a second.
I'm getting another call.
Hello?
Allison,it's Lee. You sitting down?
Well,kind of.
He's dead,Allison.
What are you talking about?
Tim Carmer,he died from
carbon monoxide poisoning.
When we got here,we noticed the garage
door was down, locked up tight as a drum.
You could hear the SUV running in there.
Oh,my God.
I just kept thinking about that story you
told me this afternoon, and wondering...
was this something he did to himself?
Or you think maybe
he,uh... It's crazy,right?
Hey,Al,you still there?
It's okay. I think...
I think I lost her.
I thought you were
out with the boyfriend.
Best-laid plans...
Or not laid,as the case may be.